Dawn of the Renaissance—The Transitional Period—Coffers and Bahuts—Court of Margaret of Austria—PerrÉal’s Style—Margaret’s Tomb by PerrÉal—Taste of the Regent—Margaret’s Tapestries, Carpets, Table-covers and Cushions—Her Curios—Flemish Tapestries—Cartoons by Bernard Van Orley—William de Pannemaker—English Tapestries—Last Days of the Gothic Style—Guyot de Beaugrant, Lancelot Blondeel and Peter Pourbus—Stalls in the Groote Kerk, Dordrecht—Carvings in Haarlem—Invasion of the Renaissance—Walnut, the Favourite Wood for Furniture and Carving—Versatility of the Artists—the Fleming as Emigrant—the Renaissance in Burgundy—Hugues Sambin—Sebastian Serlio—Peter Coeck of Alost—Pupils of Peter Coeck—Lambert Lombard—Francis Floris, the “Flemish Raphael”—the Craze for Numismatics—Hubert Goltzius—Cabinets of the Sixteenth Century—Italian Furniture—Characteristic Features of Renaissance Furniture—Ornaments: the Arabesque, Pilaster, Cartouche, Cuirs, Banderole and Caryatid—Publications of Decorative Design—Alaert Claes, Lucas van Leyden, Cornelis Bos and Martin van Heemskerck.

As in all other departments of human taste, thought and activity, there is no sudden change in Decorative Art, no swift rupture with old traditions. There is a period of transition, during which one style supplants another almost imperceptibly. Even when one great genius arises, he meets with opposition from the members of the old school; and it takes years for his ideas finally to triumph. Moreover, periods overlap: in one district the old style will persist half a century after the new is firmly established in another. Again, even in the same town, we sometimes find the two streams flowing side by side for some time. This is true of the Renaissance, as of all other styles. We even find that a palace within a space of ten years’ time might be begun in the Gothic and completed in the Renaissance style.

When Charles the Bold received his deathblow on the field of Nancy, a new era was dawning. The arts that had been fostered by the splendid Dukes of Burgundy already felt the impetus of a new movement. It was a period of momentous changes. Printing had already been invented, and designs for title-pages alone were to have a tremendous effect on Decorative Art. America was shortly to be discovered, and before long exotic woods were to end the exclusive sway of walnut and oak. Above all, Italy was to be practically rediscovered by Western Europe. Although many courts benefited by the fall of Constantinople, in 1453, the luxurious Italian states received by far the greater number of skilled artisans who brought with them the traditions of Classic Art. The maritime republics were, moreover, no strangers to the art products of the gorgeous East; and Venice especially then held almost a monopoly of the Levant trade, and distributed Oriental wares to France, Germany, England and the Netherlands.

The days of Feudalism had come to an end: Mediaevalism was dead. Wars of petty piracy and private spite ended almost simultaneously in Western Europe; wars of national competition in trade and bitter wars of religion were to succeed. In England, the Wars of the Roses were extinguished in 1485: the last private battle between the retainers of feudal lords was fought in 1483. In France, Louis XI, after the death of Charles the Bold, had reduced his other great vassals to order. In Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella had expelled the Moors and married their mad daughter, Joanna, to the heir of the Burgundian dominions, the issue of this marriage being Charles V, who was born at Ghent in 1500. In 1494, Charles VIII had crossed the Alps; and in Italy the French were as dazzled by the luxury and magnificence they saw as the Crusaders had been at Byzantium four centuries before. On their return, the Renaissance in France and the Netherlands may be said to have begun to bloom.

Before the opening of the sixteenth century, however, there was a remarkable activity in all the arts; and a coming change can be felt. The spirit of the Gothic and of the Classic style—Christian and Pagan—were already at war. In the Low Countries, this transitional period is noticeable during the last days of the House of Burgundy. Simultaneously, architecture and ornament insensibly underwent modifications, in which we recognize the earliest Renaissance, as it appeared also in France under the reign of Louis XII. Building and furniture have already become Classic in form and general aspect: the antique column becomes a leading feature of decoration, although the pilaster, which offers a convenient flat surface for the carving of arabesques, is often preferred. These arabesques are particularly characteristic of this transitional period. They consist of rather slender and simple branches, allowing considerable spaces of the background to appear; and very frequently they are divided into two symmetrical parts about a strongly accented middle axis. There is little relief and little projection in the composition. The details of ornamentation are taken especially from the floral world; and, if human figures or animals are used, they are attenuated and expressionless, and play an unimportant rÔle. Figures of this description appear in Plate V that represents a coffer in carved wood in the Flemish style, from the Cluny Museum, Paris. The panel in the centre represents the Annunciation, rudely carved. Pilasters decorated with leaves separate it from two niches that contain figures boldly but crudely carved. Above the Annunciation is a lock of fine workmanship, the flap of which bears the figure of the crowned Virgin, in high relief.

Another typical coffer, or huche, of Flemish workmanship of the sixteenth century appears on Plate VI. Here we have three panels separated by caryatides. The subjects of the panels are Christ on the Cross, the Annunciation, and the Adoration of the Infant Jesus. The panels are also decorated with the heads of cherubs.

Another huche, or bahut, of the sixteenth century, of more delicate workmanship, is shown in Plate VII. The subject of the central panel is taken from the story of David. Allegorical figures decorate the pilasters, and Mercury and Cybele fill the niches. This is also from Cluny and is of French work of the sixteenth century.

The Renaissance was too strong a movement not to carry everything before it; but it must not be imagined that it met with no opposition. There were people in high places who clung obstinately to the old order of things and resented innovations. Gothic art was still supreme under the short rule of Mary of Burgundy; but her daughter Margaret of Austria, Regent of the Netherlands, had to face the new ideas, and found it hard to reconcile herself with them, notwithstanding her encouragement of the arts as a whole. She kept a brilliant court, and she and her husband, Philibert of Savoy, warmly encouraged genius and talent. She gathered around her more than one hundred and fifty painters, sculptors, architects and decorators in all branches of art.

On the death of her husband she was inconsolable; and planned a splendid church in which his and her remains should finally rest side by side. In 1505, she intrusted the planning of the work to Jean PerrÉal. In an early letter, he writes to her that he is delighted to undertake the work, and will take advantage of all he has observed regarding convents in Italy, where the most beautiful in all the world are to be found. In another letter, in 1509, we read: “Jy me suis mis aprÈs tant pour mon devoir envers nostre MajestÉ que pour l’amour que je vous doy, et ay revyrÉ mes pour-traictures, au moins des choses antiques que j’ay eues Ès parties d’Italie, pour faire de toutes belles fleurs ung trossÉ bouquet, dont j’ai monstrÉ le jet au dict Le Maire.”

The Flemish character of PerÉal’s early style had undoubtedly made him acceptable to the Regent. During her residence in France, from 1483 to 1493, she had then been subjected to no other than Flemish influence in art. The Italian taste had not yet reached Paris. But PerrÉal crossed the Alps with Charles VIII in 1495; Louis XII went into Italy in 1502, and again in 1509. We are thus on the threshold of the Renaissance. PerrÉal, as the above quotation shows, instead of remaining true to the memories of his Flemish education, wanted to seek adventures in the domain of Italian art. He had the temerity to offer to Margaret for her tombs a bunch of his troussÉs bouquets. She was scandalized, and broke off all relations with the erring artist. She looked around her for an artist who conformed to the principles of Flemish art, one who would not be likely to betray national traditions for foreign modes. Her choice fell upon a master mason named Louis van Beughem to build the great church of Brou. A member of one of the corporations of St. Luke, faithful to Gothic art, van Beughem produced a work that shows that style in its latest development and decadence. He showed so much zeal and ability that Margaret forced him to take charge of not only the masonry, but of the woodwork and windows too. With him were associated John of Brussels for the decorative work, and Conrad Meyt for the carving. Conrad of Mechlin was Margaret’s favourite “image-maker.” She paid him the generous salary of five sous a day. She paid her head cook twenty-six. Conrad carved the choir-stalls and other woodwork that demanded decorative treatment. He also executed all the great sculptural work on the tombs, including the life-size figures of Philibert of Savoy, Margaret’s dead spouse, and herself, represented both alive and dead, Margaret of Bourbon, ten children, a couching lion and many armorial devices.

This instance is interesting as showing that the greatest abilities in that age were applied to the smallest matters of art as well as the greatest. Among the objects for which Conrad was paid in 1518–19, we find two Hercules in wood, and two portraits of the princess in wood (for these he received eight Philippus in all), a wooden turret for the Regent’s cabinet and a carved stag’s head for her library chimney-piece.

Margaret’s tastes are easily learned from the inventory she drew up with her own hand of her possessions in Mechlin shortly before her death. She seems to have cared almost exclusively for paintings, rich embroideries and curios. She made a complete list of her pictures, many of which were undoubtedly painted to please her by the artists of her Court. Among her embroideries were a great number of handsome ecclesiastical vestments and a few coifs, belts and gorgets for herself embroidered with gold thread “À la mode d’Espagne.” The greater number of her tapestries, bed-hangings, cases for cushions, table-covers and serviettes, etc., to adorn the shelves of dressoirs were from Spain. Her tapestries are worth noting. She had two pieces woven of gold, silver and silk, representing the history of Alexander the Great, which came from Spain; four pieces, representing the story of Esther, also of gold, silver and silk, also from Spain; three pieces of gold and silk depicting the life of the Cid; two of the Seven Sacraments, another of Alexander; and four of Saint Helena. In addition to these Spanish tapestries, she had six pieces called the “CitÉ des Dames,” presented to her by the city of Tournay when she went there to meet the King of England.

The gift of the CitÉ des Dames may perhaps have made some atonement for her vexation at having to attend that splendid meeting of the King and Emperor. She was very unwilling to go, and wrote to her father Maximilian, on September 22, 1513, as follows:

“If you think it necessary for me to go and I can be of service to you, I am ready to do all that it pleases you to order, but otherwise, it is not the part of a widow woman to trotter and visit armies for pleasure.”

She also owned seventeen rich Spanish velvet carpets. Among her chamber-hangings, bed-hangings, and canopies were several articles made of rich cloth of gold, bordered with crimson and embroidered with the arms and device of the “late King of Aragon.”

She had a camp (or folding) bed with hangings of cloth of gold richly embroidered with gold thread and silk, and a canopy for a camp bed covered with cloth of gold and trimmed with a fringe of black silk and gold threads; and she also owned four large pieces of cloth of gold, each differently bordered, to decorate her throne, and also one of green velvet. She had two curtains of green and grey tafetas, and four of crimson tafetas, a number of pieces of cloth of gold, four hangings for a chamber of green velvet and white damask, and two palls, one of white silk embroidered with gold, and the other gold, green, red and white; and the furnishing of a camp bed with canopy, counterpane and three curtains of green tafetas lined with black. Margaret did not despise leather hangings, for she had several pieces of “tapestry of red morocco” each 4½ ells long and just as wide, trimmed with bands of green brightened with gold, and three other pieces of “red morocco” with gilded bands. These probably came from Spain.

A “pavilion” of grey and yellow silk threads “as a protection against the flies,” shows how early the mosquito net was known.

We should also note “packs for mules in the Spanish style,” covered with cloth of gold and silver.

Among her table-covers was one of cloth of gold and white with trimmings of crimson velvet embroidered and fringed with gold, and one of cloth of gold with a crimson satin border.

The collection of “serviettes” were exquisitely embroidered with gay coloured silks and gold threads. Some of them were trimmed with silk borders and some with narrow fringe. One, for instance, was embroidered with violet, and adorned with a violet fringe; another was embroidered in silver, blue, flesh-colour, crimson and green and had a little fringe of red, blue and gold. The two dozen beautiful cushions were of cloth of gold with gold tassels; of gold and blue lozenges; and embroidered in variously coloured silks.’

The choice articles in her cabinet included three fine pieces of amber; a branch of coral in a wooden box; four other branches of coral; a piece of coral shaped like a horn; a little silver box with two coral images; a little parfumador of silver for scent-balls; a little Spanish fan, beautifully made; a little gilded St. George in a black leather case; a little agate salt-cellar with a gilded foot; three spoons—one of mother-of-pearl with a silver handle, the others of cornelian with handles of chalcedony; a picture of St. Mark on canvas; two East India boxes; a pair of East Indian slippers; a piece of violet silk; a little retable, containing an image of Notre Dame and St. Joseph; another, with a hawthorn in blossom; a little paradise with all the apostles represented; a lacquer box garnished with silver; a little silver cage; two tablets of wood framing pictures; two clocks, the larger one striking the hours and half hours; a Saint Margaret made in the likeness of Mlle. de Mon-Lambert; a little crying child painted by a good artist; the Emperor’s face in black and white; the little Duke of Milan on canvas; an Annunciation on canvas; a Saint Anthony made by Master Jacques; a little ivory picture given to Madame by M. de ChiÈvres; the face of the Duke Philip; a silver gilt picture of the Annunciation with two leaves of porcelain, portraits of the late King Philip and Queen Joanna, his wife; a Notre Dame in amber; a beautiful steel mirror; a Notre Dame of alabaster; a round piece of alabaster in which a lion is cut; and several sets of chess, of silver, silver-gilt, ivory, carved wood, ivory and wood; a set in jasper wrapped in a flag; and a set of chalcedony and jasper in an old painted box. She also had two dice-boxes, one gilt and one ivory. She also owned a good deal of curious needlework; two steel mirrors, one framed in silver gilt; and a netted purse of green and silver, marked with a unicorn.

Margaret was by no means peculiar in her liking for sumptuous tapestries. The walls of every palace, castle and mansion of the day were adorned with rich hangings, and these products of the Flemish looms were sought by prince and prelate throughout Europe.

Although Flanders continued to produce the most important sets of tapestry during the sixteenth century, and cartoons were supplied by the Flemish artists, Bernard van Orley, Michel Coxie and Peter of Campana, and the French artists, Primaticcio, Matteo del Nassaro, Caron and Lerambert, by far the greater number of designs came from Italy. Paul Veronese, Titian, Pordenone, Salviati, A. del Sarto, Bronzino, Giovanni da Udine, Giulio Romano and Raphael are among the most prolific designers; and in the tapestries after their cartoons, the grouping and distribution of the figures as well as the colouring (that requires much more shading) differ greatly from the works of the past. The borders are also more varied; instead of being decorated only with fruits and flowers tied with ribbons, other motives are introduced—birds, nude children, fishes, crustaceans, vegetables, emblems, quivers, masks, grotesques, etc., etc.

Most of these fine sets were made in Brussels to order; but many tapestries were made there and sold in Antwerp. If Brussels was the workshop of Europe, Antwerp was the mart. In this city, where all kinds of merchandise abounded, Guicciardini informs us that more than a thousand foreign merchants had established themselves and exhibited for sale to the eyes of purchasers the fine tapestries made in Brussels. There was a special place, “Le Pand, halle aux tapisseries, where many beautiful and marvellous inventions and works were exhibited and sold.”

Regarding the Brussels tapestries, the same old traveller tells us:

“Especially admirable and yielding great profit, is the trade of the tapestry-makers, who weave, design and warp pieces in high warp in silk, gold and silver, at great expense, and with an industry that wins everybody’s admiration and wonder.”

During the sixteenth century, the looms of Flanders enjoyed great vogue and received orders from all the princes of Europe. When the merchants of Florence wished to enrich the Church of St. John with tapestry, they sent to Flanders; when Francis I, who possessed some magnificent pieces of Flemish tapestry, wanted to make a present to the Pope, he had twelve scenes from the Life of Christ made at Arras, from cartoons by Raphael; and from 1518–39 there are many entries in the accounts of the Treasury of France for sums paid for Flemish tapestries for the King. As there was no manufactory for high-warp tapestry in France, Francis I decided to establish one in Fontainebleau in 1539, and gathered there fifteen skilled Flemish workmen whom he placed under the direction of Philibert Babou, Sieur de la BourdaiziÈre, and Sebastian Serlio, the Italian architect.

Throughout the Renaissance, tapestry was regarded on a level with painting. The Pope, the Doges of Venice and the wealthy families—the D’Estes, the Medicis and Sforzas—made superb collections and decorated their halls with splendid hangings. The greater number of these were made in Flanders, although a few lords—the D’Estes and Sforzas, for example—had looms of their own, worked by Flemings.

Subjects from mythology, the Scriptures and martyrology are still popular, but scenes from the old romances of chivalry are banished. Valiant princes and prosperous cities make use of the weaver’s art to commemorate their victories and triumphs, and many gorgeous sets depicting current events are hung in mansions, villas, and town halls. Antwerp, for example, orders The Course of the Scheldt for her Town Hall. Flanders also makes such pieces as The Hunts of Maximilian, Battle of Pavia, Victories of the Duke of Alva, Destruction of the Armada, The Deliverance of Leyden in 1574, The Defeat of the Spaniards by the Zealanders, Genealogy of the Princes of Nassau, etc.

Brussels produced the famous set of ten, The Acts of the Apostles, ordered by Leo X in 1515. The cartoons, for which Raphael received 100 ducats each (£200), were sent to Peter van Aelst, the most noted tapestry-worker in Flanders. The Pope paid him 15,000 gold ducats (£30,000) for the set. Peter van Aelst was varlet de chambre and weaver to Philippe le Beau, in 1504, and later to his son, Charles V. Bernard van Orley, a pupil of Raphael, was associated with him in the production of The Acts of the Apostles, which were hung in the Sistine Chapel, December 26, 1519. In 1549, Vasari wrote of them: “One is astonished at the sight of this series; its execution is marvellous. One can hardly imagine how it was possible, with simple threads, to produce such delicacy in the hair and beards, and to express the suppleness of flesh. It is a work more Godlike than human; the waters, the animals and the habitations are so perfectly represented that they appear painted with a brush and not woven.”

Another beautiful set, The Loves of Vertumnus and Pomona, now in Madrid, was also made by Flemish weavers from Italian cartoons; and were bought by Charles V in Antwerp, before 1546.

Bernard van Orley designed The Grand Hunts of Guise, or of Maximilian, formerly attributed to DÜrer. In these realistic pictures of costume, landscape and national types, there is a return to the Flemish disregard for perspective and grouping.

Mention should be made of the famous Lucas Months, long believed to be the work of Lucas van Leyden, but certainly by a Flemish artist. These were frequently copied at the Gobelins. In the month “January” a superb sideboard is represented.

A very celebrated tapestry-worker, William de Pannemaker, was commissioned by Charles V to weave The Conquest of Tunis, the cartoons for which were made by Jan Vermay, or Vermeyen, of Beverwyck, near Haarlem. Although eighty-four workers were employed, it took five years to complete it.

Pannemaker also made The Victories of the Duke of Alva.

What the principal centres of tapestry were, we learn from an edict of Charles V, in 1544, that says: “It is forbidden to manufacture tapestries outside of Brussels, Louvain, Antwerp, Bruges, Oudenarde, Alost, Enghien, Binche, Ath, Lille, Tournay and other free towns, where the craft is organized and regulated by ordinances.”

Holland also produced tapestry in this century. Looms were set up in Middelburg in 1562; and later in Delft, where Franz Spierinck worked.

A little tapestry was produced in Italy, but even there the greater number of weavers were Flemings. Two Flemish tapestry-workers, Nicholas and John Karcher, were employed by the Duke d’Este, at his court in Ferrara; and Cosmo I employed Nicholas Karcher and John Rost of Brussels at his establishment, the “Arazzeria Medicea,” in Florence.

The store-rooms of royalty and nobles in England were filled with superb sets that were brought out for decoration on occasions. Most of these were imported from the Continent; but towards the end of Henry VIII’s reign, William Sheldon orders one Robert Hicks to make maps of Oxford, Worcester, Gloucester and Warwick counties at his manor in Warwickshire, and calls Hicks “the only auteur and beginner of tapestry and arras within this realm.”

Returning now to the consideration of furniture as an architectural accessory, we find that Margaret of Austria’s tastes were shared by many of her contemporaries. The Gothic style lingered here and there far into the sixteenth century, and even those whose sympathies were frankly in favour of the Renaissance did not entirely cast away Gothic traditions. (See Plate X.)

For example, let the student examine the beautiful choir of St. Gertrude in Louvain. The stalls are adorned with statuettes and twenty-eight reliefs of scenes from the lives of Our Lord, of St. Augustine, and of the patron saint, Gertrude. The ornamentation recalls the last days of the Gothic style. The work ranks among the finest examples of wood-carving in Belgium. It was executed by Mathias de Waydere, of Brussels in 1550.

Mechlin was the capital of the Netherlands while Margaret was Regent. Her palace, now the Palais de Justice, shows both the old and new styles. The older parts date from 1507, and were built in the late Gothic style by Rombout Keldermans. Before the palace was finished, in 1517, a French architect, Guyot de Beaugrant, was associated with Rombout in the work. This part of the palace is the oldest Renaissance building in Belgium.

It is somewhat puzzling to reconcile Margaret’s preference for Gothic art with the fact that her own palace shows a halting between two opinions. It may be that she merely drew the line between civil and ecclesiastical edifices, and would welcome in a palace, or town hall, decorations that she would exclude from a church.

Oudenarde, the birthplace of Margaret’s grandniece, who was also to be Regent of the Netherlands, contains work that marks this transitional period. The doorway of the Council Chamber in the Town Hall is a splendid piece of Renaissance wood-carving, executed by Paul van Schelden in 1531; and a fine chimney-piece carved in the Flamboyant style only two years earlier. Another late Gothic chimney-piece, by his brother Peter, is in the Salle des Pas Perdus.

Guyot de Beaugrant was the architect who executed the most famous and important monument of this period. This is the chimney-piece of the Palais de Justice at Bruges. Of all the productions of this kind that the sixteenth century has bequeathed to us, and they are numerous, none is more remarkable, either for its dimensions or the beauty of the work. Its general effect is imposing, and its masses are distributed with that feeling for effect that reveals the man of genius.

The lower part is of black marble with four reliefs in white marble on the frieze, representing the story of Susanna and the Elders. The painter, Lancelot Blondeel of Bruges, supplied the designs for the upper part, which is of carved oak. The statues represent Charles V as Count of Flanders, Mary of Burgundy and her spouse, Maximilian, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, all ancestors of Charles. Busts of his parents, Philip and Joanna, adorn the throne; and on two small medallions are Margaret herself and Launoy the commander at Pavia.

As for the details, pilaster, figurines, bas-reliefs, shields, medallions, trophies of arms, etc., everything is of incomparable finish, and the art of wood-carving has never been so boldly pushed to its uttermost expression. This occupies nearly the entire side of the Court Room and was made in memory of the Battle of Pavia and the Peace of Cambrai, by which the independence of Flanders was recognized. This masterpiece was begun in 1529; it was completed in 1530, the year of Margaret’s death.

Lancelot Blondeel, of Poperinghe, was essentially a painter of the transition period. He was a man of most extraordinary gifts, being at the same time a painter, sculptor, mason and engineer. Besides painting, he designed several masterpieces of sculpture in addition to this celebrated CheminÉe du Franc. He was also a wood-engraver, and made drawings for the glass painters and tapestry-workers. In 1546, moreover, he submitted plans to the magistracy of Bruges for a canal to connect that city with the sea. He gave his daughter in marriage to Peter Pourbus, the last of the great painters of the school of Bruges. Pourbus was as versatile as his father-in-law, and was intrusted by the city with the organization of public festivals and rejoicings. He dabbled a little in architecture, engineering and cartography.

Works of the early Renaissance are rarer in Holland than in Flanders; but Holland possesses one of the most remarkable carvings of the sixteenth century, the stalls of the Groote Kerk in Dordrecht done by Jan Terween Aertsz, of Antwerp, in 1538–42. Four years only were required to carve this great allegory. These stalls, of magnificent proportions, are divided into two sections: one, at the side of the altar, consists of thirty stalls in two tiers. This is the most richly treated, being intended for the clergy. The sides on the passageways are most elaborately carved. The second section is much simpler and has no separate seats. It is intended for the choristers. No work in the Low Countries surpasses this. The spectator is first attracted by the superb construction and handsome outlines, but it is only when the details are examined that the work is fully appreciated. The dazzled eye notes such a profusion of ornamental figures and motives that it would be hard to find their equal. The only carvings in the Netherlands that can be compared with them are the choir-stalls in the cathedral at Ypres, made in 1598, but these have not quite the same distinction in execution. The first carvings one notes are the friezes in relief above the seats and under the graceful little columns that adorn the back. The subjects of these bas-reliefs are the Triumph of Christ; the Triumph of the Eucharist; Scenes from the Old and New Testament; the Triumphal Procession of Mutius Scaevola; and the Triumphal Entry of Charles V in Dordrecht, on July 21, 1540. The cycle of the Triumph of Christ opens with two archangels with trumpets, announcing the King of Kings; then follow Adam and Eve, Noah with the Ark, Moses with the Tables of the Law, Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac, David with his harp, Jonah, Samson with the lion, Elias and John the Baptist—all prototypes of Christ. Then come the twelve apostles with palm branches, and Christ in a triumphal car, decorated with dragons’ heads and richly ornamented with the symbols of the Cross and dove, and drawn by symbols personifying the four Evangelists. Chained to Christ’s car is Death, accompanied by the monster Sin, swallowed by the colossal open jaws of Hell, in which the Devil is seen riding. Lastly, come Mary and the four saints, Catherine, Barbara, Lawrence and Christopher.

The Triumph of the Eucharist opens with choristers and other children singing, followed by Franciscan monks, nuns, canons, deacons, deans, the Fathers of the Church—Augustine, Jerome, Ambrose and Gregory, then the Church in a triumphal chariot with the Holy Sacrament, then the Pope, cardinals and bishops. The procession of Mutius Scaevola is, of course, Roman in character, and consists, likewise, of eight panels. The Triumph of Charles V resembles in some respects the Triumph of Maximilian by DÜrer (DÜrer visited the Low Countries in 1520). Two cavaliers with trumpets open the march and are followed by three others; then comes a grandee of Spain with the orb of the Empire, his horse led by pages. Other grandees follow, then the imperial train, guided by allegorical virgins, and the Emperor, seated under a baldaquin in a richly-decorated chariot, with the palm of peace in his left, and the sceptre in his right hand. The sword and orb of state lie at his feet.

Some of the terminal figures on the ends of the stalls are very fine, particularly Matthew, Luke, David, Solomon and Daniel in the lions’ den. The heads and busts that are developed out of the foliage are of exceptional interest. The misÉricordes (seats) are decorated with humorous and Biblical scenes. The luxuriant foliage that forms no little part of the ornamentation is in the style of the first Italian Renaissance and in many places is mingled with musical instruments, heads, fruits, figurines, children and coats-of-arms.

Terween is supposed to have been born in Dordrecht, in 1511. He died in 1598. For other Gothic carved work during the early Renaissance the student may go to the Groote Kerk of Haarlem. This is also especially interesting on account of its transitional features; for while the magnificent choir-stalls and rood-screen still retain the Gothic character (the screen was erected in 1540 by Diderik Sybrandszoon, of Mechlin, and bears several municipal coats-of-arms), the side railings of the inner choir are in the style of the early Renaissance. A remarkable example of Mediaeval carved oak, called the “H. Geest Stoel,” is also preserved in this church.

The church of St. Nicolas, at Dixmuiden, also contains a splendid rood-loft carved in the richest Flamboyant style, dating from about 1520.

The Gothic period, therefore, practically ended at the close of the fifteenth century. The Renaissance restored Greek and Latin taste. In furniture, it followed the forms and ornaments of architecture, as the Gothic had done; so that now, instead of pointed arches with trefoils, quatrefoils, or flamboyant tracery, we have pediments and various Orders with their columns, capitals, arcades and superpositions of colonnades.

After the transitional period, during which the Decorative Arts freed themselves from the domination of ecclesiastical influence and acquired individuality of form, we find a rapid development during the sixteenth century. The Renaissance quickly passed through its stages of growth in the styles of Louis XII and FranÇois I, and burst into full bloom in the Henri II style.

Before the invasion of the new school, Gothic tracery quickly disappears; and with all the wealth of decoration, cartouches, mascarons of gods, heroes, nymphs, etc., in order to produce the proper effect and the correct massing of details, it becomes necessary to submit furniture to the rules of Classic architecture; and furniture, therefore, breaks with all traditions of the past and becomes a special art. New tools, new methods, and a new technique are invented. Walnut becomes the fashionable wood, and to follow the taste of the day the Flemings forsake their much-loved oak. Nearly all the great pieces of the Burgundian school of this period are carved in this wood.

After slight hesitation, Flanders welcomed the Renaissance with open arms. Like the Venetian, the Fleming was artistic and commercial at the same time, and thoroughly understood how to turn his talents into profit. He scented a new fashion as soon as it made its appearance, assimilated it and added a touch or two of his own. The Renaissance found in Flanders, moreover, as we have seen, a ground already prepared by the princes of the House of Burgundy. Skilful engravers provided the studios with models and designs, wood-carvers multiplied to embellish the palace and church, town-halls and guild-houses, castle of the lord and home of the burgher and merchant.

The great artists of the period were extraordinarily versatile: they were architects, sculptors, painters, glass-painters, goldsmiths, designers for furniture and triumphal arches, machinists, historians, engravers, numismatologists, and sometimes geographers and poets all at once; and a talent for art always seemed to run through all the members of one family through several generations, including both men and women.

They had great intellects that were equal to every conception, and their skilful hands were capable of the most minute as well as the most important work. If the Renaissance produced so many original works, the cause must be sought in the complete education of the masters of this remarkable period. The artists of the Low Countries knew how to assimilate in the most complete fashion the artistic principles of other schools; but although drawing inspiration from foreign sources they knew how to imprint on their creations a particular cachet, which distinguishes Flemish work. They used to great advantage the colour of the material, the exigences of the climate and produced picturesque combinations.

The Fleming was the traveller par excellence of the Renaissance—sculptor, cabinet-maker, painter, architect, potter, weaver, goldsmith—we find him everywhere. He even reaches Hungary, Russia and Turkey. Spain he finds a congenial soil, and also England.

Although Burgundy resisted the Italian invasion for a time, the Renaissance was destined to reach, perhaps, its most brilliant development, after Italy, in this very province. It is generally conceded that the Burgundian style owes its character to Hughes Sambin, an architect and master carpenter, born about the beginning of the sixteenth century. In 1535, he finished the porch of St. Michel’s in Dijon, and in 1572, published in Lyons, after a period of study in Michael Angelo’s studio, a book filled with wood engravings, and entitled Oeuvres de la diversitÉ des termes dont on se sert en architecture, rÉduit en ordre par Maistre Hughes Sambin, architecteur en la ville de Dijon.

Sambin’s most important work is the Palais de Justice in Dijon, where there is a very beautiful wooden door carved by him, or under his direction, and the Salle des Procurateurs, built under Henri II, the ceiling of which is carved wood. Sambin’s book shows that he was an adept in the Renaissance style, and devoted to the study of antique monuments. Regarding him, Champeaux says:

“In truth, it is the taste for caryatides and grotesque figures surrounded by garlands, and supporting broken pediments that predominate in all his compositions. The result is a certain character of heaviness and bizarrerie that is more conspicuous in the buildings contributed by him than in his furniture, for the material of the latter, less cold than stone, allows more scope to the original fantasy of the artist. The furniture inspired by Sambin’s designs does not exhibit the ponderous grace of the armoires and buffets made in Paris; the lines are not traced with the same tasteful harmony; but it must be recognized that no school equals the vigour and the dramatic expression of the Burgundian artists of this period. The figures of the caryatides and chimerical animals that support the various parts of their furniture and conceal the uprights, are animated with a brutal energy that only skilful chisels can create. Moreover, the walnut wood of which they are carved has been clothed with a warm tone that sometimes equals that of Florentine bronzes.”

A fine example of the Burgundian school appears on Plate IX. This is an armoire showing fine and bold carving with Renaissance motives. The panels of the lower drawers are carved with grotesque figures, flanked by pilasters bearing caryatides. The drawers above them are furnished with keyholes. The upper section has a large central panel with a terminal figure in the centre, the head of which forms a fine ornament between the broken pediment. On either side are terminal figures. This beautiful armoire resembles in form the “court cupboard” that was so extensively used in England at this period.

Many of the great artists of the day went to Italy to study on the spot, but it would seem that the works of Sebastian Serlio were in high repute, and were closely studied in the Low Countries. Guicciardini, who wrote in 1588, tells us that “Peter Coucq of Alost was great in cartoons or designs for tapestry; and has the peculiar praise of first bringing from Italy the canon of architecture, and translated into Flemish the work of Sebastian Serlio of Bologna, to the great advantage of the Netherlands.”

Peter Coeck was born in Alost in 1502, and died in Brussels in 1550. He was a devoted follower of Serlio. He translated his works into French and Flemish, and engraved all the plates for this publication himself. These were issued in Antwerp: parts I-III in 1516, part IV in 1539, and part V was published by his widow in 1553.

Coeck was painter to Charles V, and to his sister, Mary of Austria, Queen of Hungary (born in Brussels in 1503), to whom Charles V gave the government of the Low Countries. In her the arts and sciences found as enthusiastic a patron as they had in her aunt Margaret of Austria. Just as the latter had had her favourite painters in van Orley and Jean Mostaert, so she chose Peter Coeck for hers.

Coeck achieved great fame in the remarkable triumphal arches which he designed for the joyous entrance of Philip II into Antwerp. In 1527, he was made master of the Guild of St. Luke. Thierry de Moelenere intrusted him with the decoration of his rich house in Antwerp, in which he displayed his knowledge as architect, painter and sculptor. Some of the caryatides from this house are now preserved in the Steen Museum. A superb mantelpiece with three tiers of subjects carved by his hand is in the Town Hall of Antwerp.

Coeck also executed a window for the Church of Notre Dame in Antwerp.

Among his pupils were the painters, Pierre Clays, Gilles de la Hee, Nicholas van Nieucasteel, surnamed Nicholas Lucidel, and Pierre Breugel the Elder (who married his daughter).

Lambert Lombard (1506–66), went to Italy in 1537. He returned to LiÈge in 1539. He was a painter, and more particularly an architect. He set up a school of painting and engraving, the first of its kind there. Three of his pupils brought great honour to his school: these were Francis Floris, called the “Flemish Raphael,” William Key and Hubert Goltzius. He worked very little himself beyond designs for engravers, and more often for paintings on glass. He was rich enough to indulge his taste for objects of antiquity. It was at this date that the study of numismatics came into existence in Belgium, and learned men took delight in setting up a cabinet of medals and coins: among the wealthy it became even a mania that was carried to extremes. Lombard’s collection, the beauty of which was praised by all his contemporaries, was composed of medals, coins, carvings, and other objects of high antiquity.

Hubert (or Hugo) Goltius (or Goltz), was a painter, engraver, numismatologist and historian. He was born at Venlo in 1526 and died in 1583. He studied under Lambert Lombard and was also influenced by Erasmus’ friend, van Watervliet, who guided him in his classic studies, Greek and Roman antiquities, etc.

Goltius visited all the great towns in Belgium, Holland, Germany, France and Italy, in order to examine the cabinets of collectors for material for his book on coins. His itinerary reveals an astonishing number of collectors of coins and medals.

Goltius made the decorations in Antwerp for the fÊtes of the Golden Fleece. He was also appointed historian to Philip II.

A marriage coffer of leather, designed by him, represented the King of Spain and Margaret of Austria standing beside the Fountain of Love.

The craze for medals, coins and curios during the sixteenth century was widespread. We have seen that the Regent had a coffer full of corals and various trifles. To meet the demand for housing curios, the cabinet was developed. This was usually a double chest, the upper one smaller than the other. Both closed with doors and contained drawers and shelves.

Like almost all the pieces of furniture called “cabinets” of the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the one reproduced on Plate VIII is in two parts, the upper being smaller than, and standing back on the top of, the lower. It is carved in walnut wood, enriched with sculptures, and here and there plaques of marble are set in order to relieve the monotony resulting from the sole use of wood. Stone of various colours was largely used at this period, as an inlay for furniture in the Netherlands and France, and more especially in Germany.

The principal fault with which the Flemish artists of the period are reproached is that of “painting the lily.” They frequently are lacking in restraint, and overcharge their surfaces with riot of ill-combined mouldings and carvings; but in this specimen we have fine restraint. Its structure and general disposition are strong and well-contrived; the mouldings have a good profile; the sculpture is in the right place, and, at the same time, is subordinated to the lines whose mission is to contain and quiet it. This piece belongs to the best school of the Renaissance, and will hold its own in almost any surroundings.

In the lower part of this cabinet, the two panels that form the doors are carved with the figures of Diana and Juno with their attributes. The drawers above are decorated also: the central one has a lion’s head, to which a ring is suspended, and the two others have a simple knob. In the panels of the upper doors, Paris is presenting the golden apple to Venus, whose beauty has outshone that of her rivals. A garland of fruits with a mascaron in the centre is above this, and the whole is topped by a broken pediment framing an armed Pallas.

If we cast a glance at Italian furniture, we shall see that the French and Flemish artists at first frankly copied what they had seen when they accompanied the three expeditions to Naples.

In the sixteenth, as in the preceding century, the Italians were particularly fond of the Roman triumphal arch and sarcophagus, as forms for furniture. The Classic Orders were in great vogue, and the arabesque and candelabra-shaped pilasters, introduced so long ago into decoration, were renewed and made popular by Raphael. To the ancient style of marquetry, composed of little geometrically-cut cubes of natural wood, there succeeded a marquetry of coloured woods arranged to form actual pictures with perspective. Some of the furniture was carved, and then painted, or gilded; but other furniture shows large surfaces that are decorated with beautiful oil paintings.

The Italian furniture was particularly da pompa, made for the adornment of long galleries, enriched with paintings, gildings, tapestries, velvets, damasks, brocades, cushions, curtains, mirrors, and sumptuous cassoni. Beds, chairs, tables, cabinets, mirror and picture frames, standing candelabra, bellows, coffers, chests, seats and buffets (credenza), are of the most luxurious nature; and the latter display magnificent gold and silver work (Cellini is busy at this period), and marvellous examples of faÏence; for, be it remembered, it is also the period of Luca della Robbia and his school.

The Italians cared little or nothing for the large chimney-pieces, so dear to the northern races in their colder climate; and the great seats by the fireside have also no attractions. The Italian has no oak, nor half-timbered houses with pointed gables without and heavy beams within: his woods are walnut, pine and chestnut for ordinary furniture, and ebony, cedar and cypress for his luxurious articles. His materials, like his taste, are more decorative than practical.

Such was the taste that invaded the Low Countries during the Renaissance; much of it brought home by the Flemish artists who visited Italy; and some of it coming into the country by way of France, where Serlio was the guiding spirit, Cellini had settled, and the school of Fontainebleau was in full blast.

The characteristic feature of Renaissance furniture consists in the monumental faÇade that is like a Roman temple, and various orders of Classic architecture are superimposed: it is Doric at the base; Doric in the centre; and Corinthian at the top. The whole is surmounted by a pediment, the triangle of which is broken in the centre to receive a bust, vase or statuette. (See Plate VIII.)

The projections stand out boldly and form sharp cornices. In the panels, in the supports and between the columns, niches are cut out and framed in an architectural motive of some kind. In them are figures of heroes or classic deities. Sometimes also there are round medallions in the form of dormer windows from which curious heads with outstretched necks peer forth.

Plate X.—Bedroom, by De Vries “Cubiculum.”