DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.22421#0080
16
SIR PETER LELY.
Letter IT.
Palma Vecchio, six by Correggio, seven by Parmegianino, twenty-
seven by Holbein, four by Rubens, thirteen by Vandyck, fourteen
by William Van de Velde, which were in that palace; and of
which a very considerable part were evidently genuine, the greater
portion were destroyed on that occasion.
Among the private collections in the time of King Charles II.
the most important was probably that of Sir Peter Lely, who at
that time filled the same place as portrait painter which Vandyck
had occupied under Charles I. Among the 167 pictures which it
contained there were two by Titian, eight by Paul Veronese, five
by Rubens, and three by Claude. The principal pictures in the
collection, however, were those of Vandyck. Of the twenty-six by
him, twenty-three were portraits, chiefly of great excellence. There
was also a series of thirty-seven portraits of eminent persons, painted
on a small scale in brown chiaroscuro, for the use of the engravers.
Twelve of them are in the Munich gallery; most of the others in
the possession of the Duke of Buccleuch, at Montague House, in
London. Lely's collection was also rich in drawings by the great
masters, especially by Raphael, Polidoro, and Michael Angelo,
and also in engravings. After his death the whole were sold by
auction in 1680.
When the taste for collecting pictures revived after the com-
mencement of the eighteenth century, it was not encouraged either
by the Crown or by Parliament, but solely by private individuals,
who, at the same time, introduced the custom of placing their col-
lections for the most part at their country seats. The following
families have been more or less distinguished by their love of art:—
The Dukes of Marlborough, Bedford, Devonshire, and Hamilton;
the Marquises of Lansdowne and Bute ; the Earls of Pembroke,
Exeter, Leicester, AVarwick, Spencer, Burlington, Radnor, Egre-
mont; Sir Robert Walpole, Mr. Paul Methuen, and Mr. Welbore
Agar Ellis ; the three latter more particularly deserve mention.
These collections, which were formed by the end of the eighteenth
century, are, however, of a very different character from those of the
time of Charles I. They betray a far less pure and elevated taste,
and in many parts show a less profound knowledge of art. We,
indeed, often find the names of Raphael, Correggio, and Andrea
del Sarto, but very seldom their works. The Venetian school is
better represented, so that there are often fine pictures by Titian,
SIR PETER LELY.
Letter IT.
Palma Vecchio, six by Correggio, seven by Parmegianino, twenty-
seven by Holbein, four by Rubens, thirteen by Vandyck, fourteen
by William Van de Velde, which were in that palace; and of
which a very considerable part were evidently genuine, the greater
portion were destroyed on that occasion.
Among the private collections in the time of King Charles II.
the most important was probably that of Sir Peter Lely, who at
that time filled the same place as portrait painter which Vandyck
had occupied under Charles I. Among the 167 pictures which it
contained there were two by Titian, eight by Paul Veronese, five
by Rubens, and three by Claude. The principal pictures in the
collection, however, were those of Vandyck. Of the twenty-six by
him, twenty-three were portraits, chiefly of great excellence. There
was also a series of thirty-seven portraits of eminent persons, painted
on a small scale in brown chiaroscuro, for the use of the engravers.
Twelve of them are in the Munich gallery; most of the others in
the possession of the Duke of Buccleuch, at Montague House, in
London. Lely's collection was also rich in drawings by the great
masters, especially by Raphael, Polidoro, and Michael Angelo,
and also in engravings. After his death the whole were sold by
auction in 1680.
When the taste for collecting pictures revived after the com-
mencement of the eighteenth century, it was not encouraged either
by the Crown or by Parliament, but solely by private individuals,
who, at the same time, introduced the custom of placing their col-
lections for the most part at their country seats. The following
families have been more or less distinguished by their love of art:—
The Dukes of Marlborough, Bedford, Devonshire, and Hamilton;
the Marquises of Lansdowne and Bute ; the Earls of Pembroke,
Exeter, Leicester, AVarwick, Spencer, Burlington, Radnor, Egre-
mont; Sir Robert Walpole, Mr. Paul Methuen, and Mr. Welbore
Agar Ellis ; the three latter more particularly deserve mention.
These collections, which were formed by the end of the eighteenth
century, are, however, of a very different character from those of the
time of Charles I. They betray a far less pure and elevated taste,
and in many parts show a less profound knowledge of art. We,
indeed, often find the names of Raphael, Correggio, and Andrea
del Sarto, but very seldom their works. The Venetian school is
better represented, so that there are often fine pictures by Titian,