paint fome pictures for them, he replied, that "they had no occa. fion for him, having in their city fo fine a ROSE." His mafter-piece, the confecration of St. Nicholas, is over the high altar of the chapel of St. Anne, in St. Nicholas church, at Ghent. Rubens finished the picture of the adoration of the wife men, now at the high altar of the choir in the abbey-church of St. Michael, Antwerp, in lefs than a fortnight, and received for it as many hundred florins, as he had employed days. The abbot being difgufted at this high price, was pacified by his picture, which Rubens gave him. This picture may be feen on the tomb of that abbot, near the high altar. It is affirmed, that as many florins have been offered for that, as Rubens received for the other. Soon after Vandyck's return from Italy, he accidentally met with D. Teniers, who accofted him with great politenefs, and afked him, whether he had much business fince he came from Rome? "What bufinefs, think you, can I have had time to do?" replied Vandyck; "I am only just arrived here. Would you believe, that I offered to draw that fat brewer's picture, who just now paffed us, for two piftoles, and that the looby laughed in my face, faying it was too dear? I affure you, that, if the cards do not turn up better, I fall make no long ftay at Bruffels." Soon after this, he painted thofe two famous pictures, the Nativity, and a Dying Chrift, the firft in the parish church, the second in that of the Capuchins, at Termond. When he was in Holland, he was very defirous to fee Franc Hals, the painter, who had great reputation then for portraits, On entering his room, he afked to have his picture drawn. Hals, who knew Vandyck only by fame, undertook it, and went to work. The latter, feeing his head finished, rofe up, faying, that it was a ftriking likeness. Afterwards he propofed to Hals, that if he would fit in return, he would alfo draw his picture; to which Hals having agreed, merely from curiofity, exclaimed, on feeing his picture finished in fo fhort a time, "Thou art the devil, or elfe Vandyck." This picture of Hals has been engraved by Cofter, at the Hague. Vandyck, finding he could not make a fortune in his own country, took a refolution of going over into England. Accordingly he borrow. ed fome guineas of Teniers, and fet out, furnished with letters of recommendation. His fuperior genius foon brought him into great reputation; and above all, he excelled in portraits, which he drew with an inconceivable facility, and for which he charged a very high price, according to the inftructions which had been given him on that head. It is affirmed, that for fome of them he received 400 guineas a piece. He foon found himself loaded with honours and riches, and, as he had a noble and generous heart, he made a figure fuitable to his fortune; his table was elegant, and plentifully furnished, and he often entertained his guests, after dinner, with a concert performed by the beft muficians of London. Notwithstanding this expence, he amaffed great wealth; when a chemift had the art to infinuate himself into his esteem,and infpired him with a defire of converting copper into gold; but the fecret fecret had no other effect, than making him convert his gold into Imoke. Rubens, being informed of it, wrote to his difciple; he acknowledged his error,and corrected it. At length, Vandyck, being at an early age fubject to the gout, was attacked by a fever, which undermined him by degrees, and carried him to the grave in the year 1641,at the age of 42. He was buried in St. Paul's, and left to his heirs a confiderable estate, which fome have, made amount to 40,000l. fterling. Behind the high altar, in St. James's church at Antwerp, is Ru bens's chapel, in which he was interred May 31, 1640, aged 63. At the altar of that chapel, is a picture of his painting, reprefenting the bleffed Virgin fitting with the child Jefus in her lap, accompanied by St. Jerom and St. George. The latter, who is on the left, with a banner in his hand, is the portrait of Rubens, who has there drawn himfelf; and, what is more remarkable, the faces of the Virgin, and of two other Sainteffes, are thofe of his three wives. This admirable picture is engraved by Pontius. M. Parys, canon of Antwerp, who is a relation of Rubens's third wife, has, among other pictures, thofe of Rubens, and his fecond and third wife, all drawn by that great master. [Though the above is generally faid and believed, no hiftorian (as we remember) mentions more than two of his wives, viz. Catherine de Breats, and Helena Forman.] Flemish fchool; he was born in 1606, in a mill upon the banks of the Rhine, from whence he derived his name of Van Rhin. This mafter was born with a creative genius, which never attained perfection. It was faid of him, that he would have invented painting, if he had not found it already difcovered. Without ftudy, without the affiftance of any mafter, but by his own instinct, he formed rules, and a certain practical method for colouring, and the mixture produced the defigned effect. Nature is not fet off to the greateft advantage in his pictures; but there is fuch a ftriking truth and fimplicity in them, that his heads, particularly his por traits, feem animated, and rifing from the canvafs. He was fond of ftrong contrafts of light and fhade. The light entered in his workingroom only by a hole, in the manner of a camera obfcura, by which he judged with greater certainty of his productions. This artift confidered painting like the stage, where the characters do not strike unless they are exaggerated. He did not purfue the method of the Flemish painters of finishing his pieces. He fometimes gave his light fuch thick touches, that it feemed more like modelling than painting. A head of his has been fhewn, the nofe of which was fo thick of paint, as that which he copied from nature. He was told one day, that by his peculiar method of employing colours, his pieces appeared rugged and uneven-he replied, he was a pain. ter, and not a dyer. He took a pleafure in dreffing his figures in an extraordinary manner: with this view he had collected a great numi ber of eaftern caps, ancient armour, and and drapery long fince out of fa fhion. When he was advifed to confult antiquity to attain a better tafte in drawing, as his was ufually heavy and uneven, he took his counsellor to the clofet where thefe old vestments were depofited, faying, by way of derifion, those were his antiques. Rembrandt, like most men of genius, had many caprices. Being one day at work, painting a whole family in a fingle picture, word being brought him that his monkey was dead, he was fo affected at the lofs of this animal, that without paying any attention to the perfons who were fitting for their pictures, he painted the monkey upon the fame canvass. This whim could not fail difpleafing thofe the piece was defigned for; but would not it; chuf price for his prints. At other times he would print his plates half finished, and expofe them to fale; he afterwards finished them, and they became fresh plates. When they wanted retouching, he made fome alterations in them, which promoted the fale of his prints a third time, though they differed but little from the first impreffions. His pupils, who were not ignorant of his avarice, one day painted fome pieces of money upon cards, and Rembrandt no fooner faw them, but he was going to take them up. He was not angry at the pleafantry, but his avarice still prevailed. Anecdotes of Antonio Verrio. YHARLES having ing rather to lose the fate of his C to revive the manufactory of picture. This freak will appear ftill more extraordinary in Rembrandt, when it is confidered, that he was extremely avaricious, which vice daily grew upon him. He practifed various ftratagems to fell his prints at a high price. The public were very defirous of purchafing them, and not without reafon. In his prints the fame tafte prevails as in his pictures, they are rough and irregular, but picturefque. In or. der to heighten the value of his prints, and increase their price, he made his fon fell them, as if he had purloined them from his father; others he expofed at public fales, and went thither himfelf in difguife to bid for them; fometimes he gave out that he was going to leave Holland, and fettle in another country. Thefe ftratagems were fuccefsful,and he got his own tapestry at Mortlake, which had been interrupted by the civil war, fent for Verrio, a Neapolitan, to England; but, changing his purpofe, configned over Windfor to his pencil. The king was induced to this, by feeing fome of his paintings at lord Arlington's. at the end of St. James's Park, where at prefent ftands Buckingham - house. The first picture Verrio drew for the king, was his majesty in naval triumph, now in the public dining-room in the caftle. He executed moft of the cielings there, one whole fide of St. George'shall, and the chapel. On the cieling of the former, he has pictured Anthony Earl of Shaftefbury, in the character of Faction, difperfing libels; as in another place, he revenged a private quar rel with the house-keeper, Mrs. Marriot, by borrowing her ugly face With face for one of the furies. ftill greater impropriety, he has introduced himself, Sir Godfrey Kneller, and Bap. May, furveyor of the works, in long periwigs, as fpectators of Chrift healing the fick. He is recorded as operator of all thefe gaudy works, in a large infcription over the tribune at the end of the hall. The king paid him generously. Vertue met with a memorandum of monies he had received for his performances at Windfor: as the comparison of prices in different ages, may be one of the moft ufeful parts of this work, and as it is remembered what Annibal Caracci received for his glorious labour in the Farnese palace at Rome, it will not perhaps be thought tedi. ous, if I fet down this account. An account of monies paid for painting done in Windfor-Caftle for his majefty, by Signior Verrio, fince July, 1676. 1. s. d. 300 0 0 200 O O 250 0 0 50 oo King's guard-chamber ftairs Queen's prefence-chamber 250 250 I10 O 100 0 0 200 O O 200 oo - 200 O O The king's bounty did not stop here; Verrio had a place of maftergardener, and a lodging at the end of the park, now Carleton-house. He was expenfive, and kept a great table, and often preffed the king for money, with a freedom which his majesty's own franknefs indulged. Once at Hampton-Court, when he had but lately received an advance of a thousand pounds, he found the king in fuch a circle, that he could not approach. He called out, Sire, I defire the favour of fpeaking to your majesty. Well, Verrio, faid the king, what is your requeft? Money, Sir; I am so short in cafh, that I am not able to pay my workmen; and your majefty and and I have learned by experience; that pedlars and painters cannot give credit long. The king fmiled, and faid, he had but lately ordered him 1000l. Yes, Sir, replied he, but that was foon paid away, and I have no gold left.. At that rate, faid the king, you would spend more than I do to maintain my family. True, anfwered Verrio; but does your majefty keep open table as I do? The revolution was by no means agreeable to Verrio's religion or principles. He quitted his place, and even refufed to work for king William. From that time, he was for fome years employed at the Lord Exeter's at Burleigh, and afterwards at Chatsworth; at the former, he painted feveral chambers, which are reckoned amongst his beft works. He has placed his own portrait in the room where he reprefented the hiftory of Mars and Venus; and for the Bacchus beftriding a hogfhead, he has, according to his ufual liberty, borrowed the countenance of a dean, with whom he was at variance. At last, by perfuafion of Lord Exeter, he condefcended to ferve King William, and was fent to HamptonCourt, where, among other things, he painted the great ftair cafe, and as ill, as if he had fpoiled it out of principle. His eyes failing him, Queen Anne gave him a penfion of 2001. a year for life, but he did not enjoy it long, dying at Hampton-Court in 1707. Anecdotes of Boerhaave. Though we have in a former volume, given a general character of this great man, we doubt not but the following additional particus lars of his life, will be acceptable to our readers. H ERMAN Boerhaave was born at Woerhout.near Leyden, in the year 1660. This great phyfician has given us the inftitutes of medicine, which he wrote for the inftruction of his pupils; Aphorifms upon the Knowledge and Cure of Disorders: he may be ftiled the Euclid of phyficians, and these the elements of chemistry. This laft work is confidered as the mafter-piece of this illuftrious man, who has published several other useful works. From the time of the learned Hippocrates, no physician has more juftly merited the esteem of his cotemporaries, and the thanks of pofterity, than Boerhaave. He united to an uncommon genius, and extraordinary talents, the qualities of the heart, which gave them so great a value to fociety. He is painted to us as above the middle fize, and well proportioned; of a ftrong robuft conftitution. He made a decent, fimple, and venerable appearance, particularly when age had changed the colour of his hair: in a word, he greatly refembled the picture that is given us of Socrates; he had the fame features, but they were foftened, and more engaging. He was an eloquent orator, and declaimed with dignity and grace. He taught very methodically, and with great precifion; he never tired his auditors, but they always regretted that his difcourfes were finished. He would fometimes give them a lively turn with raillery; but his raillery was refined and ingenious, and it enlivened the subject he treated of, with |