Mr. C. J Nieuwenhuys' excellent and very valuable catalogue of the pictures in the private gallery of the king of Holland, contains an account of no less than nine authentic works of John Hemling, and of four others, under the head “ ATTRIBUE." As this catalogue is privately printed, and not to be readily obtained, the reader will, perhaps, not be displeased to have copious extracts from it, especially regarding the artist under consideration. The reputation which Mr. Nieuwenhuys has acquired as a profound connoisseur, in all that relates to the German, Flemish, and Dutch painters, and the extensive commerce he has had for many years in the best works of the best masters, are guarantees for a right judgment. He commences his account of the works of the master, in the king's collection, by stating that John Hemling was born at Bruges about the year 1440, and that he was living in the year 1499. He then gives a detailed and critical description of the two pictures (Nos. 6 and 7) containing the ten subjects of the Life of St. Bertin. St. John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene, St. Stephen, and St. Christopher, (Nos. 8, 9, 10, and 11,) are next described. The Repose in Egypt, (No. 12,) formerly in Mr. Aders's collection in London; the portrait of a Young Lady, (No. 13,) taken from a sepulchral monument in the church of St. Donat, at Bruges, in 1818, and on which is inscribed OBYT AN° DNI 1479; and lastly, St. Luke painting the Virgin (No. 14). The Birth of St. John; the Baptism of Christ; the Portrait of a Man, supposed by Kugler to be that of the artist, (Nos. 16, 17, 18,) also range under the head "Attribué." Lastly, St. Christopher (No. 19) is said to be "of the school of Hemling." This arrangement shows a desire not to mislead by following in the track of those who had, with less knowledge, affirmed them all to be by Hemling. No doubt several of them are worthy of his pencil.

With regard to the birth-place and name of the artist, which have been subjects of dispute, (and which dispute is not yet terminated,) Mr. Nieuwenhuys adduces proofs in support of Bruges and Hemling, that will strongly fortify the partisans in their favour. He observes, "Descamps, qui a écrit avec beaucoup de légèreté, affirme que Carel van Mander se trompe lorsqu'il dit que Hemling est né à Bruges, mais il ne donne aucune preuve à l'appui de sa réfutation;

il prétend que ce peintre naquit dans la petite ville de Damme; or, il me semble que, quand on nie des faits, il faut au moins pouvoir présenter quelque bonne raison pour justifier son assertion, et c'est ce que Descamps n'a pas fait; en outre, il se trompe encore lorsqu'il prétend avoir lu sur la bordure d'un de ses tableaux que se trouve à l'hôpital de Bruges, OPUS JOHANNIS HEMMELINCK. M.CCCC.LXXIX. Sa description du tableau est aussi incorrecte que celle de l'inscription, puisqu'il dit que le tableau auquel il se reporte est la naissance de Notre Seigneur, et les Bergers en adoration. Il n'y a point de tableau à l'hôpital Saint Jean que représente l'adoration des Bergers; mais nous voyons, par ce qu'il dit de volets, qu'il veut parler du tableau de l'Adoration des Mages, peint par Hemling, dans lequel il a introduit le portrait du donateur Jean Floreins, âgé de 36 ans. On dit que le peintre s'y est peint lui-même dans la personne qui regarde par la fenêtre à droite; mais il ne porte pas la robe des malades, ainsi que le dit M. Descamps, dont l'ouvrage fourmille d'erreurs." Of this picture Mr. Nieuwenhuys gives a full description, which he closes with an exact copy of the inscription thereon; with the date and authentic signature of the master: ANNO MCCCCLXXIX. OPUS HANIS HEMLING. In the same year he finished, for the_same_ establishment, one of the most important of his works. It is 65 inches high and 64 wide. The principal subject is a Holy Family, or the Marriage of Saint Catherine; on the right wing is St. John writing the Apocalypse in the Isle of Patmos ; on the left, St. John the Baptist. It is remarkable for the execution and finish. On the exteriors of the wings are the portraits of the donors of the picture, accompanied by their patrons and patronesses; in the interior of the picture, at the lower border, Hemling has distinctly traced, OPUS JOHANNIS HEMLING · ANNO · M.CCCC.LXXIX. 1479., the H in Johannis and in Hemling being exactly of the same form, thus, H. Mr. Nieuwenhuys remarks, "Ces inscriptions étant lisiblement écrites, il est certain qu'on ne peut prendre la première lettre du nom d'Hemling pour un M au lieu d'un H; d'autant mieux

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que l'artiste s'est servi de la même lettre H dans le mot JOHANNIS, sur lequel on ne peut se tromper. Independamment de cette preuve evidente, tous les M sont tellement distinct qu'ils n'ont rien de commun avec les H." He adds, "J'ai consciencieusement copié ces inscriptions sans en altérer la moindre lettre; car ce n'est que par la parfaite exactitude que l'on peut éclairer le lecteur." This is bringing the question in the fairest and clearest manner before the reader. That there are instances of the letter H being substituted for M is well known; but whether it was owing to caprice, ignorance, or a dialect, it is not easy to determine. Instances may be found on a medal of the Emperor Maximilian; and an inscription on the nimbus surrounding the head of the Virgin by Gentile da Fabriano, given by Rosini in the third volume of his Storia della Pittura Italiana. That Hemling resided at the hospital of St. John at Bruges is quite certain; and it is an immemorial tradition, with the religious tenants of that establishment, that he was a soldier when he first presented himself there; that he was received, carefully attended, and remained long enough there to paint the pictures which are still preserved; but that he was a dissolute character is not in proof. Mr. Nieuwenhuys very justly observes, "D'après la noblesse et l'élevation de pensées qu' Hemling a deployées dans ses œuvres, on peut, on doit même attribuer ses infortunes à des causes plus honorables. Le quinzième siècle offrait un vaste champ aux imaginations chevaleresques; la gloire des armes enflammait alors tous les esprits. On pourrait conjecturer avec vraisemblance qu' Hemling s'enrôla sous le drapeau de Charles le Téméraire, soit dans la guerre de 1474, enterprise pour replacer l'Evêque de Cologne sur son siège, soit dans la fatale campagne contre les Suisses, campagne si funeste aux Flamands et où Charles le Téméraire resta sur la champ de battaille, près de Nanci, le 5 Fevrier 1477. On sait qu'après cette défaite, les debris de l'armée rentrèrent en Flandre dans l'état le plus deplorable. Cet évènement offre plus de rapport avec l'anecdote qui concerne Hemling; et ce qui viendrait encore confirmer cette opinion, ce sont les dates des ouvrages que nous venons de décrire." Works of such

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exquisite beauty, and holiness of character, are not the ductions of a dissolute mind. Descamps must, therefore, have been in error, when he reported that "Hemling s'enrôla par libertinage en qualité de simple soldat, et que le déréglement de sa conduite l'avait mené dans la plus grande misère." Mr. Nieuwenhuys observes, "If the life of Hemling is not so well known to us as we could desire, we have at least the satisfaction of knowing a great number of his authentic works, which are the guides to a just appreciation of his fine talents. His pictures are the most beautiful pages of his history. It is to be regretted that many other artists of great ability, contemporaries with Hemling, have not signed their works; such as the celebrated Roger de Bruges, Hugo Vander Goes, Dirck Van Haerlem, Vander Meire de Gand, and others, whose pictures are so rarely known, that when they are discovered they are attributed, for the most part, to Van Eyck, or to Hemling; and it is because their works bear a resemblance to those two better known great masters that the mistake arises," and it continues because the possessors are content to rest in the belief that they are the productions of artists of such renown. Mr. Nieuwenhuys concludes his remarks on the works of Hemling with the following observations: "Dans mes refutations, je n'ai cherché qu'à constater des faits qui, pour moi, sont avérés. L'experience m'a appris à me defier des opinions hasardées, et de toutes ces théories imaginaires que les écrivains répètent les uns après les autres, et qui tombent devant la réalité, dès qu'on a sous les yeux les monuments euxmêmes, dont tant de critiques parlent sans les avoir vus, ou sans les avoir compris." The reader may feel obliged by these extracts, taken, by permission, from a book that is not in commerce, and, therefore, not easily obtained. It is due, also, to the inquirer, and no less so to the author of "l'Histoire de la Peinture Flamande et Hollandaise," M. Alfred Michiels, to direct attention to the numerous particulars that are given in that valuable and interesting work. It is true that M. Michiels is an enthusiast in art, and writes in a very poetical style on the beauties and excellencies of the ancient Flemish and Dutch painters; but his enthusiasm is tempered with judgment, and his poetical language harmonizes with the subjects he describes.

With regard to John Hemling and his works, his opinions agree in the main with those of Mr. Nieuwenhuys; some of his descriptions are more diffuse, and he enriches his accounts of the pictures with a relation of the legends from which they are taken, and with anecdotes and reflections that show his whole heart is interested in the matter. His relation of the tastes and temper of Charles le Temeraire, and of Hemling's connexion with that despotic potentate, disprove the aspersion on the character of the latter, that he was of dissolute habits. His account of Hemling's introduction to the hospital of St. John, divested of some of its poetical embellishments, has an air of probability; and that of his labours there, is supported by facts. He describes about one hundred pictures, to be found in various places, attributed to John Hemling, and gives a minute account of the miniatures in the famous manuscript in the library of St. Mark at Venice, pointing out those that he conceives to belong indubitably to that master; also of others in the libraries at Oxford, the Hague, and Munich. He is not

willing to allow that John Hemling ever worked at the Carthusian Monastery at Miraflores in Spain, though he admits the genuineness of his pictures there. As he mentions Juan Flamenco, and conjectures that under that name John Hemling is intended, if he had referred to Cean Bermudez, he would have found that he resided in the said Carthusian Monastery at Miraflores for three years, and that he received, in addition to his maintenance, the sum of 53,545 maravedis for his labours there. (See the articles Juan Flamenco and Juan de Flandes in the enlarged edition of “ Bryan's Dictionary.") The following extract from M. Michiels is interesting, both as regards the spelling of the name, and the year of John Hemling's birth; though he will not admit the inference that the Germans would draw from it. "En 1822, M. Von Lassberg, demeurant à Eppishausen, près de Constance, acheta dans la dernière Ville un manuscrit du quatorzième siècle. Il renfermait la chronique alsacienne de Konigshoven, rédigée en 1386. La généalogie d'un Hans Hemling occupe la fin du livre, et les caractères annoncent une époque assez rapprochée de la date qu'on vient de lire. On avait alors l'habitude de consigner des notices de ce genre dans les Bibles et autres ouvrages pré