the name of J. D. Hondt; it represents a skirmish of cavalry and foot-soldiers near a village.

ABRAHAM TENIERS was a younger brother of David, and practised under him. His subjects, style, and manner were the same, the execution only inferior: they, however, pass current with some as genuine pictures by Teniers, meaning David. He was born at Antwerp in 1619, or there about, and died in 1691.

FRANCIS DU CHATEL, born at Brussels in 1625, was a favourite pupil of Teniers, and profited much under such an excellent instructor; he imitated his manner with freedom, but without servility, so that many of his pictures are to this day attributed to his master. But Du Chatel, having travelled to France, and associated with Vander Meulen, and being previously acquainted with the works of Gonzales Coques, which he much admired, adopted a manner in which was blended something of each, so that his pictures are frequently puzzling even to the connoisseur. The light penciling of Teniers, however, predominates, even when his portraits of family-groups are evidently in imitation of Gonzales Coques. He died in 1679.

HENDRICK MARTIN ROKES, generally called Zorg, or Sorgh, is supposed by some writers to have been instructed by Teniers, but there is no evidence of the fact, nor does his style of painting countenance it; it is more analogous to that of Brauwer, or even Ostade, than to that of Teniers.

ARNOLD MAAS, or MAES, painted village festivals and other merry-makings, in the manner of Teniers, of whom he was a scholar; they are executed in a free and lively manner, and well coloured, though not with the natural vivacity and transparency of his master in action and colour. He was born at Gouda in 1620, and died, it is supposed, in 1664.

ADRIAN VAN OSTADE.

THIS highly esteemed painter was born at Lubeck in 1610, but received his instruction at Haerlem under that very able artist, Frank Hals; he was fellow-student with Brauwer. Neither of these youths, who became afterwards such distinguished artists, adopted the style of their master, but each created one of his own; and it may be said of that of Ostade

that it almost reached perfection, for no other painter has yet excelled it. His scenes are chiefly interiors, and his actors are boors drinking, smoking, and amusing themselves with cards, and other pastimes and indulgences suited to uneducated and groveling natures. But humble as the scene is, and low as the characters are, the skill of the painter invests them with such a charm that fastidiousness loses disgust under the influence of admiration. Other of his compositions are of a somewhat higher grade, as a lawyer's study, a chymist's laboratory, a school room, his own domicile or painting room, a fish market, a skittle ground, a country fair, village amusements, etc. In the arrangement of the characters and the distribution of the objects and accessories, everything is made to contribute to the perfection of the composition, to union in colour, and the magical truth of the chiaroscuro. He surpasses also in physiognomical distinctions most of the class to which his pictures belong; though his boors are of the same grade, they are not all cast in the same mould; they have diversity of character and different degrees of intellect. There is much care shown in his finishing, yet his penciling is always free and delicate, and the breadth well preserved. On the whole, he may be considered at the head of the class to which he belongs, for composition, colouring, chiaroscuro, and distinction of character. He had the good fortune to have his works highly appreciated during his life, and they have never since lost their estimation; they are still purchased with avidity, and no price is considered too great for a fine composition by him in good preservation. He died at Amsterdam in 1685.

The amateur will find in Smith's Catalogue Raisonné, vol. i. and Supplement, descriptions of about three hundred and eighty of his pictures, and in many instances the prices at which they have sold in public sales at different periods; and this generally has been at a largely-increasing ratio. The amateur is recommended to study the admirable etchings and engravings by this master, as they will impress his mind with accurate images of the forms and characters to be found in his genuine pictures, and in some instances only require his colouring to make them as interesting as paintings; the collector, however, will prefer them as they are. His coloured drawings are almost unattainable.

SCHOLARS AND IMITATORS OF ADRIAN OSTADE.

ISAAC OSTADE, born at Lubeck in 1617, was instructed by his brother, and in his earlier pictures imitated his manner, but not very successfully; conscious of this, he shook off the trammels of imitation, and formed a manner peculiarly his own. His compositions represent out-door scenes at country inns, with travellers and horses; generally with a rich glow of colour sweetly harmonized, and most skilfully gradated; views of Dutch villages; or winter amusements on frozen canals, with numerous figures, in which he displays his knowledge of perspective and power of imitating the appearance of nature in that dreary season, and the cold humidity of his country's climate. Though he was not very excursive in seeking for subjects, he varied them in representation so as not to repeat himself; yet there is such a general resemblance, that his works are easily recognised. His pictures are of high value in commerce, particularly those of travellers or sportsmen at inn doors, with their horses, (generally a grey one among them,) their dogs, and other animals: one has been sold for the large sum of thirteen hundred pounds sterling. His views of villages and frozen canals also rank high; for good specimens, from two hundred and fifty to five hundred guineas have been given, and estimates of others, in public or private collections, have reached to one thousand guineas. For further particulars of his very interesting works the amateur should consult Smith's Catalogue Raisonné, wherein there are descriptions of about one hundred and twelve of his pictures; a large number for an artist who died at the early age of thirty-seven.

CORNELIUS DUSART, a decided imitator of Adrian Ostade, was born at Haerlem in 1665. His scenes and characters are precisely the same as his master's, but there is considerable difference in the colouring and chiaroscuro. He, however, approximates so nearly to him in some, that an inexperienced amateur may be deceived; indeed there are pictures by him so speciously disguised, that a connoisseur has cause for hesitation in deciding. His colouring is clear, but differs from that of Ostade by a pervading redness, and his characters have a peculiarity of expression that does not cor

respond exactly with his type. Still many of his pictures have considerable merit, and are worthy of a place in a good collection. Dusart died at Haerlem in 1704.

CORNELIUS BEGA, born at Haerlem in 1620, was a pupil of Adrian Ostade, and in many respects a close imitator of his manner. He was skilful in design, and showed considerable taste in composition. In colour he is cold, a lilac or leaden hue prevails, except in the countenances of his figures, which are sometimes too much flushed. His subjects, like Ostade's, are boors regaling in tabagies, or in cellars, seldom without a female among them; or cottages, with the inmates merry-making, which enables him to exhibit a humorous delineation of character without much grossness. There is great merit in his pictures, and there are some that deserve a place in a collection that is enriched by those of his master. He died at the age of 44.

HENDRICK MARTIN ZORG, or SORGH, whose family name was ROKES, was born at Rotterdam in 1621, was first a pupil of Buytenweg, and afterwards studied under Teniers, and imitated the manner of Brauwer. But there are pictures by him that have much of the style of Ostade, and as he was fond of introducing objects of still life, it is probable that he would make that part of Ostade's pictures an object of imitation; in other respects there is very little to compare. His subjects are conversations, domestic scenes, and fish markets; these are well composed, the figures skilfully drawn, and the general effect good, but wanting in force from weakness of colouring and imperfect gradation; faults never to be found in Ostade. His small interiors with a number of domestic utensils are very pleasing. He died in 1682. His father was master of the passage boat from Rotterdam to Dort, and obtained the sobriquet of ZORG for his care and punctuality.

CHRISTIAN WILLIAM ERNEST DIETRICH, or DIETRICY. This general and successful imitator of many of the Dutch and Flemish masters was a native of Wiemar in Saxony, born in 1712. He was more than respectable as an original painter, but he was remarkably clever and ingenious as an imitator of the manner and style of others. He copied, or imitated, almost to deception, Ostade, Rembrandt, Poelemburg, Ruisdael, Jan Both, and others; even some, whose

works are renowned for their highly-wrought finishing, were chosen by him to exhibit the versatility and skill of his pencil. It requires considerable acquaintance with the genuine works of the original masters to detect some of his imitations, for he was an excellent colourist, and nothing tends more, at first sight, to deceive, than a striking resemblance in that respect. He resided chiefly at Dresden, and died there about 1774.

ADRIAN BRAUWER, OR BROUWER.

It is not decided whether Brauwer was a native of Flanders, or Holland; some writers say he was born at Oudenarde, others at Haerlem, in 1608; he practised in both countries, and his pictures partake of the schools of each. He showed an early inclination for the art, and exhibited so much skill as a child in painting birds and flowers, to ornament the bonnets of peasant girls, an article in which his mother dealt, that it attracted the notice of Frank Hals, who offered to take the boy as an apprentice. He was accordingly placed in his hands, and soon discovered so much ability that Hals found he had made a profitable acquisition. But the pupil was not treated with the kindness his talents merited; on the contrary, he was separated from the other scholars, one of whom was Adrian Ostade, and confined to a garret, where he was treated with severity, and compelled to work to supply his master with the means of indulging in his low debauchery. The feelings of the other pupils, who probably paid for their instruction, were outraged by this treatment of the poor lad, and Ostade, it seems, persuaded him to escape from such ungenerous tyranny. Unkindly as he had been treated by his master, he had profited much by his instruction; for when he got to Amsterdam, after a second elopement, his talent was soon recognised, and would have been liberally rewarded had he possessed prudence as well as ability. The tyranny to which he had been subjected, and the low habits he had witnessed of his master, had vulgarized his mind, and, if a judgment may be formed by the subjects he usually painted, the companions of his indulgences were of the almost brutalized order of humanity. Rubens appre ciated his talents, and would have placed him in the position where reputation, distinction, and pecuniary reward would