NETHERLANDS SCHOOLS OF PAINT ING. Clider this title may best he grouped Flemish and Mitch schools, \side!' possess in eunnnuu contain di-tilletiVe e1uia1itirc and have had -1 similar developillent. The Hein MI selinol may be said to begin with Ilnyheelit and Jan van 114n1, ‘vhose remarkable ilriprOVe mmt of oil painting revolutionized the art. The chief characteristies of the oarly Flemish school are a pronounced realism. highly detailed finish, and the use of landscape background: its best had a good sense of color, perspective, atmosphere, light and shade. Jan van Eyck funneled the selo)01 of Itruges, the chief centre in Flanders: and his follower or rival, Roger van der Weyden (died 1 464), founded the school of Brabant, with a centre at Brussels, which was more ('motional and dramatic in character. In the sixteenth century the chief seat of the Flem ish school was at -Nntwerp, where Quentin •Alassys ((lied 1530) founded a school. which in the seventeenth century found its culmination in Rubens ( 1577-1G40) and his pupils, Van Dyck and dordaens. The productions of the later Flem ish school are characterized by brilliant line and cobir, though they are materialistic and lack heauty of face and tenderness of feeling. Al though Flemish as regards its characteristic realism. it was much influenced by Italian paint ing, t.specially in color. Contemporary with Rnbens and his followers were a number of im portant genre painters, who were thoroughly Flemish, untouched 1w Italian influence. The chief representatives were Teniers the Younger, 'Brouwer, and Gonzales Coques. In the eigh teenth century Flemi:-.11 painting declined, and was of little importance.
The painting of the early Dutch school re sembles that of the Flemish, and was much influ enced by the Van Eyeks. Haarlem is recorded as being the chief centre, lint none of the works of the reputed founder of the school, Aelbert Guwater (fifteenth century). survive. Its chief masters
were Dierick Bouts (died 1475) and Lucas van Leyden (1494-l533). The sixteenth century was a period of Italian influence and unimportant productions, but the seventeenth was the golden age of Dutch painting. Haarlem remained the chief centre, and there was an important school at Amsterdam. With an entire absence of Ital ian infinenee. there arose an art more realistic, more dist Metly national than the Flemish. The overtlinwe of Spain and Catholicism did away with the demand for religious paintings. which were superseded by portrait, genre, landscape, and animal subjects. In these the Dutch achieved perfection alike in color and design, lint they seldom attempted larger compositions, in which they were indifferently successful. Among the Dutch artists in the seventeenth cen tury, the chief masters in portraiture are Frans Hats and Rembrandt ; the latter was equally great in landscape, and introduced light effects, which have not yet ceased to influence painting. In genre painting the most important were Adriaen van Ostalle for peasant scenes, and I:erard Terburg for more refined subjects, besides Gerard Don, •lan Steen, Pieter de Ilooghe, and Jan Van der Meer. The Dutch were the first to practice landscape and animal painting for its own sake: their greatest landscapists were Buys dad and Ilobbeinag while in animal painting Wou\erntan, Paul Potter, -\driven van de Velde, and Aelbert Cnyp are preeminent. In marines the greatest names are Willem van do \"ehele the Younger and Backhuisen: and in all the branches of still-life painting the Dutch excelled predeces sors and contemporaries. In the nineteenth cen tury a new se11001, distinctly Dutch, arose, includ ing important artists like Israels, the peasant painter, the brothers Maris in landscape. INIesdag in marines, and Alanve in animal subjects.