漏 Copyright 2001 R. G. Harrison Letter 436 Antwerp, 24 鈥?27 November 1885
Dear Theo,
I want to tell you that I am in Antwerp, and that I already have seen a few things. I have taken a room for 25 fr. a month, No. 194 Rue des Images, over a colour dealer鈥檚. So when you write, kindly send your letter to that address, instead of c/o G.P.O.
I shall begin by telling you that I saw Ley鈥檚 dining hall, you know, 鈥淭he Walk on the Ramparts,鈥?鈥淭he Skaters,鈥?鈥淭he Reception鈥?and 鈥淭he Table,鈥?and on a panel between the windows 鈥淪t. Luc.鈥?To my astonishment the composition was somewhat different from the ultimate compositions, at least I imagine so 鈥?although I have not yet been able to compare photos of the pictures with them.
Then, it was painted in fresco 鈥?i.e. on the plaster of the wall. Now fresco really must and can last for centuries, but these have already faded considerably, and the one over the mantlepiece especially (part of 鈥淭he Reception鈥? already shows some cracks. The highly ingenious son of Baron Leys has also improved the hall by having a door enlarged so that in 鈥淭he Skaters,鈥?the legs of the fellows standing on the bridge looking over the railings have been cut away, which makes a deplorable effect. Besides, the light is terribly bad there; now that hall was originally painted 鈥?I imagine 鈥?to be used by lamplight. Therefore, because I honestly could not see anything, I gave the servant a tip and asked her to light the chandelier for me, and then I could see better.
After so much that had rather disappointed me 鈥?in the first place that the colour of the fresco, and, alas, I am afraid bad fresco, is not what we are used to from Leys 鈥?after so much that disappointed me 鈥?after all it is superb.
The maidservant, the woman near the baker鈥檚 shop, the lovers and other figures in 鈥淭he Walk on the Ramparts鈥?鈥?the bird鈥檚-eye view of the city, the silhouette of the towers and roofs against the sky, the bustle of skaters on the frozen moat 鈥?are superbly executed.
I have also seen the museum of old pictures and the Mus茅e Moderne. I agree with you that the figures on the first plane, those heads in 鈥淟e Christ au Purgatoire,鈥?are very beautiful, finer than the rest, and than the principal figure; those two blonde women鈥檚 heads especially are Rubens at his best.
I was very much struck by Frans Hal鈥檚 鈥淔isherboy鈥? Mr. De Vos 鈥?portrait of master of the guild 鈥? Rembrandt, very beautiful, two small Rembrandts, which perhaps are not by Rembrandt, but by N. Maes?
or somebody else; Jordaens 鈥?鈥渁 chip off the old block鈥? Van Goyen, S. Ruysdael. And the Quentin Matsys; the drawing 鈥淪t. Barbara鈥?by Van Eyck, etc.
In the Mus茅e Moderne: the great Mols is Mesdag-like, with smears of Vollon plainly visible. (Vollon knew him well.) Braekleer, not the bad one 鈥?a Brabant inn, curiously fine, beautiful landscapes by C. de Cock,
Lamorini猫re, Coosemans, Asselbergs, Rosseels, Baron, Munthe, Achenbach, a good Clays, two old Leyses 鈥?one Braekleer-like, the other romantic, the latter good; a beautiful portrait by Ingres, a fine portrait by David, other good things, also horrible things like life-sized cows by the God-fearing Verboeckhoven, etc.
But I have seen very little at the art dealers鈥? next to nothing, one little painting the size of a hand, not even as good as Raffaelli, otherwise nothing special, and I am afraid that metaphorically business is at death鈥檚 door. But 鈥?there is a good old Dutch proverb, 鈥淣ever despair.鈥?I like Antwerp, have explored the city in every direction; the quays are most characteristic.
Well, it will never hurt knowing Antwerp a bit; it will probably prove to be like everything everywhere,
namely disillusioning but with its own atmosphere.
Besides, it is good to have a change now and then.
Goodbye, write soon if you can.
Ever yours, Vincent