_Adrian van der Werff_ (Dutch: 1659-1722).
"The painter who by his astounding success did most after
Gerard de Lairesse to lead the art of painting into a
perverse path was Adrian van der Werff. He was born at
Kralinger-Ambacht, near Rotterdam, and received lessons in
drawing from Cornelis Picollet, and then entered the studio
of Eglon van der Neer, where he made rapid progress. At
first he seemed inclined to follow the bent of his master,
but he deserted the study of nature for the pursuit of the
ideal, and in doing so he fell into cold sentimentality and
tasteless affectation. His groups became pretentious, his heads
monotonous, his bodies have no life, and his flesh-colouring
assumes the polish and the tint of ivory. These defects,
however, did not prevent his misleading a certain number of
people who believed themselves to be connoisseurs. The Duke of
Wolfenbüttel and other high personages of his time contended
for the possession of his pictures at enormous prices, and
praised the merits of their favourite artist to the skies.
No one more assisted him in his career, and in the making of
his reputation, than the Elector-Palatine John William, who,
not satisfied with giving him very considerable commissions,
also conferred upon him the title of Chevalier, and ennobled
his family. (The artist signs himself on occasion 'Chevalier
van Werff'). The compositions which he painted for his patron
are now to be seen at Munich" (Havard: _The Dutch School_, p.
280). There is in the Dulwich Gallery a "Judgment of Paris" by
Van der Werff--a celebrated work painted in 1718 for the Duke
of Orleans and much admired by Sir Joshua Reynolds. The heads
are wanting in expression and the flesh is bloodless, but the
painting is of the greatest finish. There are also pictures
by him in the Wallace Collection. "The cold porcelain-like
colour," says Mr. Phillips in his catalogue, "and mechanical
finish of this artist in the treatment of the nude are much
less appreciated by modern connoisseurs than they were by
his contemporaries. Still his general accomplishment and
the certainty of his execution, in a vicious and wholly
conventional style, are not to be denied."
In our picture "the courtly painter of polished, lascivious nudities
faces the spectator in a wig of the period of Louis Quatorze, looking
as dignified and impersonal as the painters of that particular age
did manage to look in their portraits." The statue of Fame, holding a
wreath, is characteristic. The portrait is signed, and dated 1685.
1661, 1662. WINGS OF THE ALTAR-PIECE, No. 1093.
_Ambrogio de Predis_ (Milanese: about 1450-1515).
This long-forgotten painter was rediscovered by Morelli in
1880, who claimed for him a considerable place in the Milanese
school. This claim has since been historically confirmed by the
document, referred to in the notes to No. 1093, showing that
Ambrogio de Predis was at work in Milan with Leonardo da Vinci,
employed as his assistant to paint the wings of the altar-piece
of which the central portion was the "Vierge aux Rochers." By
a fortunate purchase these wings by Ambrogio now hang in our
Gallery, on either side of Leonardo's picture. Ambrogio's best
work was in portraiture, of which an example (one of the two
signed and dated by the artist) is also in our Gallery (No.
1665). Ambrogio and his brother Bernardino were sons of a
certain Lorenzo Preda of Milan. There is also a Cristoforo de
Predis, a miniaturist, one of whose miniatures (representing
Galeazzo Maria Sforza) is in the Wallace Collection, and it is
probable that from him Ambrogio received his first education in
art. In 1482 he was established as Court Painter to Ludovico
il Moro. In 1493 he accompanied Bianca Maria Sforza on the
occasion of her marriage to the Emperor Maximilian, but was
back again at Milan in 1494. In 1502 we find him at Innsbruck,
where he seems to have settled. In 1506 he designed some
tapestries for the Emperor, after which year nothing more is
known of him. In the Vienna Gallery is a signed portrait by him
of the Emperor, dated 1502, and to him Morelli ascribes the
celebrated profile portrait of Bianca Maria in the Ambrosiana
at Milan (there erroneously called Beatrice Sforza), hitherto
assigned to Leonardo. Among other portraits now ascribed to
Ambrogio are the "Page" in the Morelli Collection at Bergamo,
and "Fr. Brivio" in the Poldi Pezzoli Collection at Milan. De
Predis is "a conscientious and careful painter, though his
drawing and modelling are often defective, particularly in the
representation of the hand." He "seems to have been an artist
of some individuality, even after coming under Leonardo's
influence. He was by nature too much of a miniaturist to
concern himself with the larger problems of painting, and was
very limited in his range--even his portraits are uniformly
treated. He seems, judging by his drawings, to have sought
to improve himself by a careful and conscientious study of
Leonardo's work, and when he had the advantage of the master's
guiding hand he could produce works (like these angels) one
of which, though lacking the qualities of profound art, has
a certain charm and even dignity of its own" (_Catalogue of
Milanese Pictures_ at the Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1898,
p. li.; Morelli's _German Galleries_, pp. 413-415; _Roman
Galleries_, pp. 180-189).
The angel in 1661 may, as suggested above, have been designed, or
begun, by Leonardo himself; that in 1662 must be entirely the work of
Ambrogio. These paintings remained in their place, as we have seen
under 1093, up to 1787. They were purchased in 1878 from Duke Jean
Melzi d'Erie at Milan for £2160.