Identifier: earlyflemishpain00crow (find matches)
Title: The early Flemish painters: notices of their lives and works
Year: 1872 (1870s)
Authors: Crowe, J. A. (Joseph Archer), 1825-1896 Cavalcaselle, G. B. (Giovanni Battista), 1820-1897
Subjects: Painters Painting
Publisher: London : J. Murray
Contributing Library: Harold B. Lee Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Brigham Young University

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its solid walls. The freedom and grace with which these scenesare composed are partly due to the facility with whichMemling treated groups and figures of small pro-portions, but they tell of progress in the art of distribu-tion and arrangement. It would be difiicult to selectany picture of the Flemish school in which the dra-matis personse are more naturally put together thanthey are in the shrine of St. Ursula, nor is there asingle panel in the reliquary that has not the charm ofrich and well contrasted colour. Great delicacy offeeling is shown in suggesting the martyrdom of St.Ursula by its penultimate phase. Excess of northernphlegma or sobriety of action may strike us as a fault;but the absence .of exaggerated violence in movementor incident must be acknowledged as an importantquality. We might almost fancy that Memling studiedthe varying types of dwellers on the Rliine, so cha-racteristically diverse are the masks, or so clever andever changing the features and expression; yet we
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DEATH CF ST. URSULA.From t±ie SLriae by llemliQjJ, ia the KospitaJ of Bruges page ^S^ CHAP. XI.) HANS MEMLING. 287 remember that Bruges, at the close of the 15th centurywas still a mart which people of every clime werewont to visit, and a clever student of physical peculi-arities might find variety enough in its quays andstreets without leaving the circuit of its walls. A richfund of life and grace is revealed in shapes of sym-metrical proportions or slender make and attitudes ofbecoming elegancCc Nothing is more striking than theminuteness of the painters touch, or the perfectmastery of his finish, except the patience and accuracywith which he renders reflections or projections ofshadow in burnished armour. The tone is bright andfor a Fleming even luscious. The sweet harmony andpleasing serenity of female faces are as grateful to theeye as the dignified cliaracter of their carriage andmien. More precious than a shrine of silver, says VanMander, is Memlings shrine of St. Ursula ;>

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