DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61252#0086
42
THE QUEEN’S GALLERY.
dragon, presenting to the daughter of the king of Selene,
the fair Princess Cleodolinde, the end of the girdle which
she gave him to bind the monster, (these circumstances
are from the antique legend;) the saint and the princess
are portraits of Charles I. and Henrietta Maria. Near to
the spectator, on the left, is a group of four females be-
wailing the ravages of the beast, exhibited in the dead
bodies lying near them, and from the sight of which two
infants recoil with horror. Behind, the squire of the
saintly knight is seen, mounted and armed cap-a-pie, and
bearing his banner with the red cross; a page holds his
horse; beyond them is seen a group of persons on a high
bank, and others mounted on trees, who survey the scene;
and on the other side, three females, who are embracing
each other, and, as the French catalogue has it, “ temoignent
par leur attitudes une frayeur melee de joie.” Two angels
from above descend with the palm and the laurel to crown
the conqueror.
The history of this picture is interesting; it was painted
by Rubens during his visit to England, and in King
Charles’ catalogue it is designated as “ the great St. George
which the king bought of Mr. Endymion Porter;” but
there is a tradition that Rubens presented it to the monarch,
and the complimentary nature of the subject confirms this
account. On the dispersion of the royal collection, it was
taken to Paris, and purchased by the Due de Richelieu; it
then passed into the possession of the Duke of Orleans, and
when the Flemish part of the Orleans Gallery was sold in
England, in 1798, it was bought by Mr. Morland for 1000
guineas, and sold by him to George IV. Thus one revo-
lution sent it out of the country, and another revolution
sent it back to us.
C. 4 ft. 11 in. by 7 ft. 4 in. (Smith’s Cat. 563.)
99 Pan and Syrinx.—Pan is represented as bounding 5
down a bank in pursuit of the nymph, who has thrown her-
self among the reeds for refuge. A picture of great ani-
mation in the design, and most richly coloured. From the
collections of the Due de Montesquieu and Walsh Porter.
P. 24 in. by 2 ft. 11 in.
There exists a smaller sketch of the same subject.
THE QUEEN’S GALLERY.
dragon, presenting to the daughter of the king of Selene,
the fair Princess Cleodolinde, the end of the girdle which
she gave him to bind the monster, (these circumstances
are from the antique legend;) the saint and the princess
are portraits of Charles I. and Henrietta Maria. Near to
the spectator, on the left, is a group of four females be-
wailing the ravages of the beast, exhibited in the dead
bodies lying near them, and from the sight of which two
infants recoil with horror. Behind, the squire of the
saintly knight is seen, mounted and armed cap-a-pie, and
bearing his banner with the red cross; a page holds his
horse; beyond them is seen a group of persons on a high
bank, and others mounted on trees, who survey the scene;
and on the other side, three females, who are embracing
each other, and, as the French catalogue has it, “ temoignent
par leur attitudes une frayeur melee de joie.” Two angels
from above descend with the palm and the laurel to crown
the conqueror.
The history of this picture is interesting; it was painted
by Rubens during his visit to England, and in King
Charles’ catalogue it is designated as “ the great St. George
which the king bought of Mr. Endymion Porter;” but
there is a tradition that Rubens presented it to the monarch,
and the complimentary nature of the subject confirms this
account. On the dispersion of the royal collection, it was
taken to Paris, and purchased by the Due de Richelieu; it
then passed into the possession of the Duke of Orleans, and
when the Flemish part of the Orleans Gallery was sold in
England, in 1798, it was bought by Mr. Morland for 1000
guineas, and sold by him to George IV. Thus one revo-
lution sent it out of the country, and another revolution
sent it back to us.
C. 4 ft. 11 in. by 7 ft. 4 in. (Smith’s Cat. 563.)
99 Pan and Syrinx.—Pan is represented as bounding 5
down a bank in pursuit of the nymph, who has thrown her-
self among the reeds for refuge. A picture of great ani-
mation in the design, and most richly coloured. From the
collections of the Due de Montesquieu and Walsh Porter.
P. 24 in. by 2 ft. 11 in.
There exists a smaller sketch of the same subject.