_Wouwerman_ (Dutch: 1619-1668). _See 878._
In Wouwerman's battle-pieces, says Ruskin, there is "nothing but animal
rage and cowardice"--with which he contrasts the noble battle-piece by
Paolo Uccello (583). "It is very singular," he adds, "that unmitigated
expressions of cowardice in battle should be given by the painters of
so brave a nation as the Dutch. Not but that it is possible enough
for a coward to be stubborn, and a brave man weak; the one may win his
battle by blind persistence, and the other lose it by a thoughtful
vacillation. Nevertheless, the want of all expression of resoluteness
in Dutch battle-pieces remains, for the present, a mystery to me. In
those of Wouwerman, it is only a natural development of his perfect
vulgarity in all respects" (_Modern Painters_, vol. v. pt. ix. ch.
viii. §§ 8-10).