Buchanan, William: Memoirs of painting: with a chronological history of the importation of pictures by the great masters into England since the French Revolution (Band 2) (London: Ackermann, 1824)

MR. BUCHANAN’S IMPORTATIONS. 303
for the arts for which Antwerp had formerly
stood so pre-eminent among the cities of the Low
Countries.
At Brussels the same lack of fine pictures
existed as at Antwerp. The collection of the
banker Danoot remained nearly the same as at
the period when it was visited by Sir Joshua
Reynolds, with this difference, that the fine studies
by Rubens, so much extolled by Sir Joshua, had
been overcleaned, and lost much of their original
value. The collection formed by De Burtin was
more a collection of high sounding names than
one of high merit. A pompous description of it
had been printed in two vols. octavo ; but, never-
theless, it was “ Nomen et preterea nihil.” The
collection of Monsieur Reyndaers possessed a few
genuine pictures of the most esteemed masters of
the Flemish and Dutch schools, and the best of
these Mr. Buchanan purchased, in particular, a
Storm, by Backhuysen, and a large picture of a
Stag-hunt, by Philip Wouvermans, both of which
are now in the possession of Edward Gray, Esq.
He also purchased from Monsieur Reyndaers two
fine landscapes by Hobbima, which are well known
to the English public, from having been after-
wards sold by Mr. Christie at the public sale
of Mr. Watson Taylor’s collection in 1823, for
the large sum of £1750.