THE ART TREASURES OF THE MUSÉE CONDÉ AND HOW THEY WERE BROUGHT TOGETHER
No sooner had the Duc d'Aumale resolved to bestow Chantilly with all its
treasures as a gift to the French nation than he joined, with even more
enthusiasm than he had previously done, the ranks of the great European
collectors, and he frequently attended in person important sales in
London, Paris, and elsewhere.
During the long years of exile, passed chiefly in England, he usually
resided either at Orleans House near Twickenham or at Woodnorton in
Worcestershire (till recently the residence of his nephew, the present
Duke of Orleans). It was, however, at the former place that all the
valuable manuscripts, paintings, books, and objects of art brought from
Chantilly were then housed.
The first exhibition of his taste as a pronounced bibliophile was given
by his acquiring the celebrated Standish Library, a collection
originally bequeathed to Louis Philippe by the English collector
Standish but sold by auction in 1851 on the death of that King. This
remarkable collection contained numerous Aldine editions and hundreds
of Italian and German _incunabula_. To this famous library the Duke next
added that of M. Armand Cigongne, a collection composed almost
exclusively of works in French--volumes of prose and poetry, exquisitely
bound, and many of them still bearing the coats-of-arms and book-plates
of former proprietors.
The most important acquisition, however, (added in 1855), was the famous
illuminated MS. known as _Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry_, an
unique example of primitive French Art, to a description of which we
shall return later on.
In course of time other additions were made of great value and interest:
such as, for instance, _Les Fables de Marie de France_, _Le Roman
d'Aspremont_ (thirteenth century), a copious selection of ballads and
songs of the fourteenth century, and many other works of note, amongst
them being a copy in four volumes of the _Songs_ of Laborde, illustrated
with original designs by Moreau.
In the year 1861 the Duc d'Aumale, for the moderate sum of 14,000
francs, purchased from the well-known connoisseur M. Reiset a collection
of no less than 380 drawings by Italian, Flemish, Dutch, and German
masters. Amongst these may be specially noted: _A Reading Monk_, by
Raphael (hung in the Galerie du Logis), and a design, dated
approximately 1505, which approaches in execution the _St. Catherine_ in
the Gallery of the Louvre.[18] Here are also drawings attributed to
Verrocchio: a _Warrior on Horseback_, five studies of horses, and an
interesting drawing of _A Man and Woman_, all in the style of Pisanello.
_La Joconde_ (also in the Galerie du Logis), a cartoon for the picture
attributed to Leonardo da Vinci at St. Petersburg, came from the Reiset
Collection, as also did studies for Signorelli's _Last Judgment_ at
Orvieto; studies for Michael Angelo's _Prophets_ in the Sixtine Chapel;
and drawings by Fra Bartolomeo for his great composition in the Pitti. A
fine group of eleven figures by Lucas van Leyden, illustrating _The
Return of the Prodigal Son_, is one of the most important items in this
series; and a study of a _Virgin_ by Dürer, an interesting _Portrait_ by
Holbein the elder, a _Mountainous Landscape_ by Rembrandt, and certain
studies of costume attributed to Pisanello, etc., are all worthy of more
than a passing notice.
Orléans House was soon found to be far too small to contain all these
treasures, and an annexe was built to it. The Duc d'Aumale presently
organised an exhibition, to which he invited the members of the
Burlington Fine Arts Club. Disraeli, who was present, and was much
struck by what he saw on that occasion, referred to him in his speech at
the anniversary of the Foundation of the Royal Literary Fund in the
following appropriate words: "Happy the prince who, though exiled from
his palaces and military pursuits through no fault of his own, finds a
consolation in books and an occupation in the rich domain of Art. Happy
the prince who, whilst living on terms of equality with the people of a
strange country, still distinguishes himself by the superiority of his
noble mind and character. Happy the prince who in adverse circumstances
can defy fate and make conquests in the kingdom of letters, which
cannot, like dynastic authority, be taken away from him." The great
statesman here alluded to the stupendous historical work in seven
volumes on the _History of the Princes de Condé_ upon which the Duke was
at that time occupied.
It must be remembered that these more recent acquisitions were
supplementary to the already existing collection which His Royal
Highness had inherited as heir to the last Prince de Condé--a collection
which comprised, amongst other things, two fine Van Dycks (the
_Princesse de Barbançon_ and the _Comte de Berghe_), paintings by
Christophe Huet, by Desportes and by Oudry, and precious Gobelins and
Beauvais tapestries.
Furthermore yet another collection came into the Duke's possession on
the death of his father-in-law, the Prince of Salerno, and with it no
less than seventy-two paintings, including works by Andrea del Sarto,
Luca Longhi, Giulio Romano, Luca Penni, Perin del Vaga, Daniele di
Volterra, Baroccio, Bronzino, Mazzola, Carracci, a _Portrait_ by Moroni,
a Guido Reni, a Spada, an Albano, a _Portrait of Himself_ by Guercino, a
fine _Madonna_ by Sassoferrato, two landscapes by Gaspar Dughet, and
several paintings by Salvator Rosa.
Examples of the Northern Schools in this same collection include
portraits of _Elisabeth Stuart_, Queen of Bohemia, daughter of James I
of England, by Mierevelt and of the _Duke of Neubourg_ by Van Dyck.
In the Salerno Collection is an interesting little work by Ingres
representing _Paolo Malatesta and Francesca da Rimini_ in the ecstasy of
their first kiss, and also a portrait of a _Young Woman_ by Van Loo and
some fine mosaics from Herculaneum and Pompeii.
Although this Salerno Collection is full of interest in itself, compared
with later acquisitions it is but of secondary importance. It was French
Art that chiefly attracted the Duke, and he consequently missed no
opportunity of extending his purchases in that direction. From the
well-known firm of Colnaghi in Pall Mall he bought portraits of members
of the Valois family, such as, for instance, _Henri II_ as a child
(attributed to Clouet), and as King by Primaticcio; the _Comte de Cossé
Brissac_; _Madame and Mademoiselle de Longueville_, by Beauburn; and
other portraits by Mignard, Largillière, etc.
At the Bernal Sale in 1855 he acquired for 6,000 francs the
much-discussed portrait of _Odet de Coligny_; portraits of _Queen
Eleonore_, of _Henri II_, of _Henri III_, of _Elisabeth of Austria_, and
of _Louis XIV_, the last named of these being by Hyacinthe Rigaud.
At the famous Utterson Sale the Prince acquired some of those wonderful
sixteenth-century French drawings which formed the nucleus of his unique
collection of this branch of art; and at about the same period he also
bought a number of engravings, amongst which were fine examples by Marc
Antonio Raimondi and Rembrandt.
From the collection of his brother the Duke of Orleans he bought _The
Assassination of the Duc de Guise_ by Delaroche, and a painting by
Descamps; and at the Lawrence Sale in 1856 secured a portrait of his
ancestor _Philippe Egalité_ by Sir Joshua Reynolds. This was apparently
a sketch for the life-size portrait commissioned by the Prince of Wales
(afterwards George IV) during the French Prince's exile in England. The
larger picture, formerly at Carlton House, was destroyed by fire in
1820, which greatly enhances the value of the sketch at Chantilly.
The portraits of _Mazarin_ and _Richelieu_ by Philippe de Champaigne,
now at Chantilly, were formerly at Château d'Eu, and formed part of
Louis Philippe's collection, as also did de Troy's _Déjeuner d'Huîtres_
and Lancret's _Déjeuner de Jambon_. From the same source came two
splendid cabinets by Riesener and the Beauvais furniture now in one of
the salons of the Petit Château.
The Prince was evidently a great admirer of Poussin, for in 1854 he
acquired for 9,175 francs the celebrated _Massacre of the Innocents_,
and in 1860 another work by the same master, _Thésée découvrant l'épée
de son père_, which is typical of that artist's particular style.
At the Northwick Sale in 1859 yet another Poussin, _The Infancy of
Bacchus_, was added; besides a large panel by Perugino, an early work,
once in the Church of San Girolamo at Lucca. An interesting painting
representing a _Dance of Angels_, probably by a Sienese master of the
fifteenth century, came also from this same sale. Titian's _Ecce Homo_
was bought for 15,000 francs from the Averoldi family of Brescia, for
whom it is said to have been painted.[19]
_The Woman taken in Adultery_ (attributed to Giorgione), _The Martyrdom
of St. Stephen_ by Annibale Carracci, and _Mars and Venus_ by Paolo
Veronese were bought in London in 1860 from M. Nieuwenhuys; and in 1864
at a public sale in Paris the celebrated painting by Ingres representing
_The Story of Antiochus and Stratonice_ fell, amid general applause, to
the lot of the Duc d'Aumale for 92,100 francs.
Rosa Bonheur's _A Shepherd in the Pyrenees_, presented by the Duke to
his wife, was acquired next, together with Gérome's _Le Duel après le
Bal_ and Protais' _Avant et après le Combat_.
From the Soltykoff Sale in Paris, for the sum of 54,000 francs, came the
four large portraits in Limoges enamel representing _Henri d'Albret,
King of Navarre_, _Antoine de Bourbon_, _Louis de Bourbon_, and
_Catherine de Lorraine_.
[Illustration: PLATE XX.
The Minerva of Chantilly.
Greek Bronze.]
In 1865 Baron Triqueti, who often represented the Prince at these sales,
was sent to Paris to acquire the famous Pourtales vase, a Greek amphora
with red figures of the time of Phidias. For this interesting work of
art he paid 10,000 francs; whilst two small Greek bronzes--one
representing _Jupiter_ and the other a statuette of _Minerva_--were
knocked down to him for 8,000 and 19,300 francs respectively. Upon this
occasion the Duke was bidding against the Louvre, the British Museum,
and Monsieur Thiers. These two bronzes, which were found near Besançon,
are of unequal merit; the _Jupiter_ is of only average workmanship; but
the _Minerva_ statuette is considered one of the greatest treasures at
Chantilly. Léon Heuzey places it in the late archaic period at a time
when the Greeks were still endeavouring to ennoble and beautify their
goddess before they finally arrived at the height of their ideal in the
famous _Athena of Lemnos_. The fact that this statuette was found at
Besançon indicates how highly Greek Art was valued, not only in Rome,
but also in Cisalpine Gaul; for such small portable figures often
accompanied their owners on their journeys, and who knows what great
personage it may have been who brought this exquisite little _Minerva_
with him to Gaul? We know that Tiberius never travelled without his
much-cherished _Amazon_ of the Vatican.
A fragment of an antique sarcophagus representing _Bacchus and Ariadne_
was acquired for 7,200 francs at the Nolivos Sale and is exhibited now
in the Salle Minerve along with the above-mentioned statuettes and some
charming Tanagra figures.
On the death of his mother, Queen Marie Amélie, the Duc d'Aumale
inherited a great many family portraits and miniatures, the most
noteworthy among these being a life-size portrait of _Gaston d'Orléans_
by Van Dyck, of which there is a replica in the Radnor Collection. This
painting was given to Louis Philippe by George IV and was probably
painted at the request of Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I, who
was a sister of the Royal sitter. There is not the slightest resemblance
in his features to the good King Henri IV, his father. Treachery lurks
in his mouth and eyes, and we cannot help being reminded that he was the
direct cause of the execution of the last Montmorency.
From the same source came a portrait of _Queen Marie Amélie_ herself,
painted by Gérard in 1817, and likenesses of the same Queen and two of
her daughters by Vigée Le Brun; a portrait of _Louis Philippe_ as Duc
d'Orléans, when professor at Reichenau, by Winterhalter; and others of
_Philippe Egalité_ and his charming wife, a daughter of the Duc de
Penthièvre, and of the _Duc d'Aumale_ as a child by Robert Fleury. Most
of the gems and miniatures are likewise from the collection of Queen
Marie Amélie; and to the miniatures, in course of time, were added
others of members of the Royal Family of France bought by the Duke
himself, such as of _Anne de Bretagne_, _François I_, _Gabrielle
d'Estrées_ and her two sons, _Henri II_, _Henri IV_, and _Sully_, the
famous Minister of Finance; of the _Duc de Guise_ (_le Balafré_), _Marie
de Medicis_, _Marie Thérèse_, Queen of Louis XIV, the _Grand Dauphin_
and his wife _Marie Anne of Bavaria_, and many more.
In 1865 Mr. Colnaghi sold to the Duke Meissonier's _Les Dragons sous
Louis XV_ and a landscape by S. W. Reynolds, who is best known as an
engraver. The charming portrait of _Maria, Lady Waldegrave with her
Daughter_ by Sir Joshua, was bequeathed to the Duke by Frances, Countess
of Waldegrave; and Lord Holland in 1860 presented him with
_Talleyrand's_ portrait by Ary Scheffer. From Sir Charles Robinson the
Duc d'Aumale acquired some fine Italian manuscripts, and an interesting
Rheno-Byzantine painting representing the _Emperor Otto I_ seated
between two allegorical female figures, each holding a small globe
signifying the vassal states of the Empire. This painting, which is of
considerable historical value, is apparently a detached portion of a MS.
illuminated for the Emperor about the year 1000. From the same source
came another fragment, a _Resurrection_, dating from the fourteenth
century and belonging to the Sienese School. This hangs in the Rotonde
near a miniature of a _Christ on the Cross_ attributed to Giulio Clovio.
In 1868, two years before his exile was suddenly terminated by the
downfall of the second Empire, the Duc d'Aumale bought for the sum of
600,000 francs the collection of the Marquis Maison; and amongst the
pictures which formed it were eight Descamps, three Marilhats, one Gros,
four Watteaus, four Greuzes and two paintings by Prud'hon. After that
followed the acquisition of one of Fromentin's finest works, _La Chasse
au Faucon en Algérie_; whilst a sea-piece by Vandervelde together with
the _Dunes at Scheveningen_ by Ruysdael were bought at the San Donato
Sale.
Presently there came the celebrated _Vierge de la Maison d'Orléans_ by
Raphael, which the Duke acquired at the Delessert Sale for the sum of
160,000 francs--a fascinating picture supposed to be one of the two
panels described by Vasari as having been painted for Guidobaldo di
Montefeltro, and of which he says "that they were small but exceedingly
beautiful examples of the master's second manner."[20] At one time in
the possession of Gaston d'Orléans, this charming work passed from
France into Flanders at the end of the sixteenth century, where it is
supposed to have belonged to David Teniers the Younger. Passavant
thought that it was then that the background was repainted and the shelf
with the various pots and vases added--a supposition which has,
however, since been refuted. The youthful Madonna is seated on a
cushioned bench in a small homely room; and behind her hangs a light
curtain of reddish grey. She bends tenderly over the Infant Christ, who
gazes intently at the spectator with an expression full of feeling and
inspiration. This is perhaps the most divine-looking of all Raphael's
Infants. The Bridgewater _Madonna_, seated on a similar seat in a homely
habitation, is closely analogous to the Virgin in this work, but instead
of the shelf there is an arched window to the right. The lights in both
pictures are subtle and extremely delicate, whilst the shadows are in
strongly marked contrast.
In the eighteenth century the Orléans _Madonna_ subsequently returned to
France to the house of the well-known collector Crozat, from whence it
passed into the Orléans Gallery and obtained thus its distinctive
appellation. During the Revolution this entire collection was
transported to Brussels, and the _Madonna_ changed hands several times
before it finally entered the haven of the Musée Condé.
* * * * *
[Illustration: PLATE XXI.
_Photo Giraudon._
The Virgin of the Maison d'Orléans.
By Raphael.
Musée Condé.]
When the Duc d'Aumale returned to Chantilly after an absence of twenty
years, he at once formed as we have seen a plan for erecting a museum
upon the ruins of the old Château, with the further intention of
presenting the mansion with all its contents to the French nation. Many
years, however, elapsed before the building was complete and ready to
receive all the treasures which it was destined to hold; but meanwhile
the Duke continued to increase the collection by munificent and
judicious purchases.
At the Faure Sale in 1873, Delacroix's dramatic composition of _The Two
Foscari_ was acquired; in 1877 there were added the four Tanagra figures
which now adorn the case wherein the _Minerva_ is enshrined; and an
exquisite example of Italian enamel, representing _Apollo guiding the
Chariot of the Sun_ (attributed to Benvenuto Cellini), was bought from
M. Cadard for 6,000 francs.
In 1876 a very important acquisition was made in the shape of a
collection of French portraits, once in the possession of Gaignières but
subsequently belonging to Alexandre Lenoir, from whom it had passed into
England and become the property of the then Duke of Sutherland. This
collection, which was at Stafford House until the Duc d'Aumale acquired
it, consists of no less than 69 painted portraits, 148 drawings in
coloured chalk and several pastels. Amongst the most interesting of
these portraits are: _Francis I_ (painted about 1515), his sister,
_Marguerite d'Angoulême_, and her husband, _Henri d'Albret, King of
Navarre_; _Jeanne d'Albret_; _Admiral de Coligny_, and his brother the
_Cardinal_; _Catherine de Medicis_, _Diane de Poitiers_, _Charles IX_,
_Henri III_, _the Duc d'Alençon_, and _the Duc de Nemours_ (all
attributed to François Clouet); _Marguerite de France_, and _Madame de
Lansac_ (attributed to Corneille de Lyon); _Philippe de Clève_, _Sieur
de Ravenstein_; _Jean de Bugenhagen_ (attributed to Holbein); _Catherine
de Bora_, the wife of Luther; _Charles V_; _the Count and Countess
Hornes_; _Henri IV_ (by Pourbus), and an attractive likeness of his
daughter _Elizabeth, Queen of Spain_; _Gabrielle d'Estrées au bain_;
_the Duc de Retz_; _the Duc d'Aumont on horseback_; _Sully_ and
_Charost_ (by Quesnel); _George I_; several portraits by Mignard, among
them a magnificent likeness of _Molière_, another of _Mazarin_, and two
pastels representing _Colbert_ and _Quinault_. From the same collection
are the portraits of _Pope Benedict XIV_ by Subleyras and of _Marie
Antoinette_ as _Hebe_ by Drouais.
Another portrait which attracts much notice is that of Antoine de
Bourgogne, the _Grand Bâtard_, the second of the nineteen illegitimate
sons of Philippe le Bon. This painting was presented to the Duc d'Aumale
by the Duke of Sutherland. It is an exquisite work of art which has been
variously attributed to Memling, to Roger van der Weyden, and to Ugo van
der Goes, but it is to the last-named artist that it can be assigned
with greater probability. The _Grand Bâtard_[21] wears the Order of the
Golden Fleece instituted by his father at Bruges in 1430, and appears to
be about forty years of age, the period of life when he gained his great
victory over the Moors at Ceuta. He was not only a valiant warrior, but
also an arduous bibliophile and collector. His Château of La Roche
contained many interesting illuminated manuscripts now dispersed, and of
these the _Froissart_ at Breslau is amongst the most celebrated. Like
all those that belonged to him, it bears his autograph "_ob de
Bourgogne_" "ob" being an abbreviation of the Greek word _[Greek:
obalós]_, which means _bâtard_.[22]
The drawings of this Sutherland Collection, especially those belonging
to the sixteenth century, are less important, many of them appearing to
be copies by inferior hands; those, however, of the seventeenth century
by Quesnel and Dumoustier are first-rate. Among the portraits in pastel
may be noted likenesses of _Madame de Montespan_, _Louis XIII_, _Gaston
d'Orléans_, _Louis de Haros_, and an interesting portrait of _Watteau_
designed by Boucher after an original by Watteau himself.
In 1877 the Duc d'Aumale availed himself of another opportunity of
restoring to France a French collection which had been brought to
England, namely, that of M. Carmontelle, which comprised no less than
450 coloured sketches for portraits which date from the year 1757 to the
year 1775. Carmontelle, as tutor to the Duc de Chartres, had plenty of
opportunity during his leisure hours to sketch all the men and women
with whom he came in contact, which he did merely for his own amusement,
without any expectation of payment. The facility with which he executed
these sketches astonished even Grimm, who remarked upon his skill. In
about two hours each, with the greatest ease, he reproduced all the most
noticeable figures in the life of the period, from the Dauphin and his
courtiers, the Princes and Princesses of the House of Bourbon and
Orléans, the officers, ladies and gentlemen, ecclesiastics, musicians
and actors, down to the domestics, and even the floor-scrubber at
Saint-Cloud. These sketches amounted at the time of his death to the
number of 700, and in 1807 were bought _en bloc_ by his friend Richard
de Ledans, who disposed of a good many of them. When he died in 1816 450
drawings only were left. These were at once bought by Pierre de la
Mesangère, editor of _Le Journal des Dames et des Modes_, and they form
an exceedingly valuable record of the fashions at the time of Louis XV.
In 1831 the Carmontelle drawings reappeared in Scotland in the
Duff-Gordon-Duff Collection, whence they were acquired by the Duc
d'Aumale for the sum of 112,500 francs, to add to other examples of this
artist's work, particularly a portrait of _Carmontelle_ himself, which
he already possessed. They are now stored in large portfolios in the
Salle Caroline at Chantilly, and, catalogued with comments and notes by
the late Anatole Gruyer, afford great pleasure and amusement to those
who have leisure to examine them.
[Illustration: Plate XXII.
Photo. Giraudon.
A GAME OF CHESS.
Carmontelle.
Musée Condé.]
The next acquisitions were a number of paintings collected by M. Reiset,
who had already, as we have seen above, passed on his drawings to the
indefatigable Duke. The price paid for these was 600,000 francs, and
they include no less than twenty-five pictures of the Italian School,
amongst which we may mention the following: a small panel representing
the _Death of the Virgin_, attributed to Giotto (unfortunately much
repainted); _The Coronation of the Virgin_, by Giovanni del Ponte di San
Stefano; an allegorical figure representing _Autumn_, attributed to
Botticelli[23]; an _Annunciation_ by Francia and a _Holy Family_ by
Jacopo Palma; several Luinis and two small Filippo Lippis; and an
exquisite little _Madonna holding the Infant Christ_ by Bissolo. _The
Marriage of St. Francis of Assisi to Poverty_, by Sassetta (formerly
assigned to his pupil Sano di Pietro) is one of the most attractive
works by this master. It once formed part of an altarpiece at S.
Severino, long since broken up and dispersed. Several smaller panels
from the same altarpiece are to be found in the Chalendon Collection in
Paris, and one belongs to M. le Comte Martel; whilst the central portion
is in the possession of Mr. B. Berenson.[24]
In the painting at Chantilly Sassetta may be seen at the height of his
imaginative power.[25] An atmosphere of religious calm breathes over the
landscape from which the three figures of Chastity, Humility and Poverty
are floating upwards; the latter turning to wave a last friendly
greeting to the Saint whom they are leaving on earth. It is full of the
naïve sentiment for which this artist is so conspicuous.
Another interesting painting which belonged to the Reiset Collection is
the portrait of _Simonetta Vespucci_, formerly assigned to Pollaiuolo,
but attributed by Dr. G. Frizzoni to Piero di Cosimo. Simonetta was a
young Genoese lady renowned for her beauty, who came to Florence as the
wife of a Cattini. Poliziano wrote sonnets upon her charms, and Giuliano
dei Medici fell madly in love with her. Among the numerous likenesses of
her by Botticelli and others, in the National Gallery, at Berlin, and
elsewhere, this one in the Musée Condé seems to be the most lifelike.
Reiset bought this portrait in 1841 from the last member of the Vespucci
family.
Attention may here be drawn to a fine sea-piece by Everdingen, the
master of Ruysdael; to two small portraits of a _Husband and Wife_ of
the Van Eyck School; and to a _Procession_ attributed to Dierick
Bouts--all excellent examples of the Dutch School.
An extremely interesting picture, now known to be of French origin, came
also from the Reiset Gallery, namely, _The Virgin as Protector of the
Human Race_[26]--a work executed in 1452 by Charonton and Vilatte for
Jean Cadard and his wife, and of special importance in the history of
French painting.
[Illustration: Plate XXIII. Photo. Giraudon.
THE MYSTIC MARRIAGE OF S. FRANCIS, BY SASSETTA.
Photo. Giraudon.
SIMONETTA VESPUCCIA, BY PIERRE DI COSIMO.
Musée Condé.
_To face page 146_]
Five large Poussins, two Gaspar Dughets, a portrait of _Napoleon_ by
Gerard; and no less than three works by Ingres came also from this
same source: namely, the _Artist's own portrait as a youth_, a portrait
of a _Madame Devançay_, and the painting of _Venus Anadyomene_, upon
which he is known to have spent much time and thought throughout the
last forty years of his life.
Finally, to all these other treasures were added some drawings by
Prud'hon. Then in 1882, from the Hamilton Palace Sale interesting
portraits by Corneille de Lyon, and a small likeness of _Montaigne_
probably by a late pupil of that master; and at various subsequent
London sales drawings were purchased by Botticelli, Canaletto, Tiepolo,
Salomon Ruysdael, Dumoustier, Ingres, Van Loo, and Gericault, besides a
great number of engravings.
Whilst the Duke was making these important acquisitions he was at the
same time gradually rebuilding the old Château of the Condés in order to
house them adequately, and it is not to be wondered at that intellectual
France took a great interest in this vast artistic enterprise. His Royal
Highness was elected a Member of the Institut de France and invited to
occupy the chair of M. de Cardaillac at the Académie des Beaux Arts. It
was on this occasion that Victor Hugo, whom the Prince had referred to
in his address of eulogy upon his predecessor, wrote him the following
memorable letter:
_Cher et Royal Confrère,_
_Je viens de lire vos nobles paroles sur moi. Je vous ecris emu.
Vous êtes né prince et devenu homme. Pour moi votre royauté a
cessé d'être politique et maintenant est historique; ma république
ne s'en inquiète pas. Vous faites partie de la grandeur de la
France. Et je vous aime._[27]
It was, however, during the last years of his life that the Duke really
made his most important acquisitions. In 1885, for the sum of £3,800, he
bought from Mr. Fuller Russell the charming diptych painted in 1466 for
Jeanne de France, daughter of Charles VII. This painting was formerly
attributed to Memling, but Count Paul Durrieu now assigns it to Zanetto
Bugatto of Milan, one of that master's greatest pupils in Italy.
[Illustration: PLATE XXIV.
_Photo. Giraudon._
The Three Graces.
By Raphael.
Musée Condé.]
In the same year Raphael's picture of the _Three Graces_ was purchased
for the sum of £30,000 from the executors of the Earl of Dudley--a panel
so small as not to exceed the dimensions of a man's hand. The youthful
Raphael in this composition was clearly inspired by the beautiful
antique marble group at Siena; and we may observe how the genius of two
great artists in two such diverse epochs can be happily blended
together. The _Three Graces_ at Chantilly and _The Dream of a Knight_ at
the National Gallery are not far apart and may probably both be dated
at about 1500-1503; but around the former picture there seems to hang
some unsolved problem. The Duc d'Aumale expresses himself about it in
the following terms: "Are these really the _Three Graces_ whom we have
here before us? Or was it not rather the intention of Raphael to
represent the _Three Ages of Womanly Beauty_? To the left the virgin
with a veil around her slender hips; to the right the woman in her prime
wearing a necklace of coral; and in the centre, with her back turned to
the spectator, the woman in her full maturity, merely exhibiting her
fine profile. Does not this picture imply that Woman at all ages holds
in her hand the Empire of the World?"
This little panel, originally in the Borghese Gallery, passed
successively into the collections of Reboul, Fabre, Sir Thomas Lawrence,
Woodburn, and Lord Dudley whence it finally entered the sanctuary of the
Musée Condé.
Another important picture of the Italian School is the _cassone_ panel
representing _King Ahasuerus and Esther_.[28] This was originally
painted for the Torrigiani family of Florence and was formerly ascribed
to Filippino Lippi; but modern art-criticism assigns it to the
suppositious "Amico di Sandro," who, if he really did paint it, has
almost surpassed Filippino in both beauty and grace.
Another panel from the same _cassone_, representing the _Second
Appearance of Esther before Ahasuerus_, is in the possession of Leopold
Goldschmidt at Paris; whilst the two side panels of _Mordecai on
Horseback_ and _Esther as Queen walking in her Garden_ are in the
Lichtenstein Gallery at Vienna.
One more Italian picture deserves notice. It is a replica of the famous
composition which passed some years ago from the collection of Prince
Chigi in Rome into that of Mrs. John Gardiner at Boston, U.S.A. It
represents the _Virgin and the Holy Child_ attended by an angel who
offers the latter roses. This picture has much of the charm of both
Botticelli and Filippino but is by neither of them. It is the work of
some unknown but unquestionably highly gifted artist.
* * * * *
[Illustration: PLATE XXV.
_Photo. Giraudon._
The Story of Esther.
School of Sandro Botticelli.
Musée Condé.]
In spite of these important purchases of Italian pictures the Duc
d'Aumale never neglected an opportunity of acquiring French works of
art, and he extended his collection as far as possible in that
particular direction. So that from M. Destailleur, from the Comte de
Fresnes, and from the Baron Seillier he acquired books that had been
bound expressly for François I, for Henri II and for Marguerite de
Valois. At the Hamilton Palace Sale he purchased for 12,375 francs a
_Book of Hours_ of the fourteenth century which had been specially bound
for its then owner, François de Guise. In 1892 the sumptuous _Psalter of
Ingeburge of Denmark_, wife of Philippe Auguste, found its way into this
ever-increasing collection; and this was quickly followed by the
interesting _Breviary_ executed in the fourteenth century for Queen
Jeanne d'Evreux.
In 1889 more than 310 French drawings were acquired from Lord Carlisle,
including original work by Jean Perréal, by Jean and François Clouet, by
Corneille de Lyon and by the Dumoustiers. The artistic, iconographic and
historical value of these drawings has been pronounced on all hands to
be almost unique; more especially with regard to the portraits of
celebrated personages living between the years 1514 and 1560. _Francis
I_ with his Queens, his mistresses, his courtiers, and the ladies of his
_petites bandes_; the famous _Preux de Marignan_, the great
_Montmorency_ and the _Colignys_, _Henri II_ and his numerous sons and
daughters; _Catherine de Medicis_ and _la belle Diane_--all these famous
heroes and heroines of history are met together in effigy at Chantilly:
a place they all knew so well and enjoyed so much during their lifetime.
The question of how these drawings, so highly valued under the Valois
_régime_, were ever allowed to leave France has never been
satisfactorily solved. Horace Walpole possessed a similar collection,
but it was of much less artistic importance. It was the collection once
owned by Mariette and is now apparently in the possession of an English
peer.[29] Gaignières also collected French drawings of the same type,
but after his death they greatly depreciated in value and passed from
the Bibliothèque Royale into the Bodleian Library at Oxford. But the
Howard portfolio, the most important of all, and also the Salting
Collection were discovered in Florence. It is certain that there is a
common link between all of the sets, and similar handwritings are to be
found upon the margins of most of them. We must, however, postpone
further discussion on this interesting question until a later chapter.
In 1889 the great painting by Meissonier, _Les Cuirassiers de 1805_, was
bought at the Secrétan Sale for the sum of 190,000 francs; and soon
after came Détaille's finest work, _Le Colonel Lepic à Eylau: "Haut les
Têtes."_
In 1890 Corot's _Concert Champêtre_ cost the Duke 20,000 francs and
proved how fully he appreciated the more recent art-movements in France.
His Royal Highness made his last acquisition in 1891, perhaps the most
important of all, and one which certainly procured for him immense
satisfaction--namely, forty miniatures by the famous Jean Fouquet from
the _Book of Hours_ of Étienne Chevalier. These unique treasures were
purchased from Herr Brentano of Frankfurt for the sum of 250,000 francs
and will be fully described presently.
[Illustration: Plate XXVI.
Photo. Giraudon.
PLAN OF ROME.
Pol de Limbourg and his Brothers.
From The "Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry."]
The Musée Condé affords the most unique opportunities for the study of
French art. The Wallace Collection may be richer in the work of the
seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, but there is nothing
in that collection which can compare with the examples of French
fifteenth and sixteenth century art enshrined at the Musée Condé; for
example, the exquisite miniatures of the Brothers Limbourg and of Jean
Fouquet, or the precious pencil portraits by the Valois Court-Painters.
It is to these that closer attention will be drawn in the following
chapters.