The German pictures in the gallery are quite as limited as the Spanish with only one masterpiece of commanding importance. The large “Ambassadors” by Holbein is not that one, it being a rather commonplace affair for all its vastness; but the “Portrait of Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan,” makes amends for it. Here Holbein is at his simplest and his noblest. The lady is dressed in black velvet and silk with fur edgings, and is shown against a blue background. She stands there looking at us with a faint attempt at a smile, with her beautiful hands crossed in front of her. This is one of the ladies that Henry VIII wished to marry. He had this portrait of her painted by Holbein, but did not succeed in marrying her. The portrait is a wonder of good drawing and good taste. There is nothing of value by Dürer in the German collection, and the only other notable picture there is a portrait of a young girl by Lucidel.
[Illustration: HEAD OF A GIRL, LOOKING UP
Naturally the English pictures loom large in the National Gallery, though many of them in recent years have been transferred to the Tate Gallery. Here one sees Hogarth in his series “Marriage a la Mode” and in several portraits. He was the beginner in the school and one of its best painters. He, of course, had not the court and society following of Sir Joshua Reynolds who came after, with many full-length portraits of nobility painted to look a trifle nobler than reality. He was a famous master, and never did a better group than the “Lady Cockburn (co´-burn) Children.” He signed his name on the edge of the dress at the bottom, and told Lady Cockburn, with a courtier’s bow, that he could not neglect the opportunity to go down to posterity on the hem of her ladyship’s garment. The saying pleased him quite as much as his painting, for he repeated it to Mrs. Siddons when painting her portrait. It is not known whether the ladies compared notes, but if they did it probably resulted in a bad quarter of an hour for Sir Joshua.
[Illustration: THE AVENUE AT MIDDELHARNIS, HOLLAND
Gainsborough, the contemporary of Reynolds, also painted Mrs. Siddons, and made the more famous portrait of her. The color is a trifle cold in blues, and the surface is glassy; but the portrait has dignity, personality and style. This is the picture that Gainsborough had such difficulty in painting the nose that at last he exclaimed in a rage, and it is said with some mild profanity, “Madame, there seems to be no end to your nose.” Many excellent portraits by both Reynolds and Gainsborough, with their contemporaries Hoppner, Romney, and others are here. The best Romney is the celebrated “Parson’s Daughter,” and the best Lawrence, the sad-faced bust portrait of Mrs. Siddons.