A CHRISTIAN PAINTER OF THE
NINETEENTH CENTURY




RIVINGTONS
n........................... Waterloo Place
a.fol...-..............  High Street
COamtlrille.................Trinity Street
IB-331




A CHRISTIAN PAINTER
OF
Cbe  t1einteentb Centurp
BEING THE
LIFE OF HIPPOL YTE FLANDRIN
BY THE AUTHOR OF
A DOMINICAN ARTIST," "LIFE OF S. FRANCIS DE SALES,"
ETC. ETC.
Arb'ork
POTT, YOUNG, AND COMPANY
COOPER UNION, FOURTH AVENUE
MDCCCLXXV








Rrefatory  Jrote
I  CANNOT commit this little book to the publi c
without expressing gratitude to the kindness
and courtesy of M. le Vicomte Henri Delaborde,
who has so freely given me the benefit of all his
resources in connection with Flandrin's works and
life. If these pages should lead to his friend and
countryman being better known among ourselves,
and to his noble example being followed, it will,
I know, more than reward him.








Contents
PAGE
HIPPOLYTE FLANDRIN'S BIRTH.....    2
FAMILY.....  3
ASPIRATIONS TO ART...                           4
ADMITTED TO THE LYONS SCHOOL OF ART              6
GOES TO PARIS....                            8
HUMBLE LIFE IN PARIS..      II
BECOMES A PUPIL OF INGRES...                   I4
FIRST PICTURE....19
ACADEMY COMPETITION..                   20
STUDIES.....23
ESCAPES CONSCRIPTION.....     27
REVOLUTION OF 1830....                      30
AUGUSTE FLANDRIN..   32
STUDY FOR THE CONCOURS...                38
CHOLERA.....    46
OBTAINS THE ROMAN STUDENTSHIP.54
AMBROISE THOMAS.......   6
JOURNEY TO ROME..                              6I
THE FRENCH ACADEMY                              65
WORK IN ROME......   68
EASTER DAY....                    76




x                   CONTENTS.
PAGE
OVERBECK...                                      78
DEATH OF DEROCHES...                          80
PAUL JOINS HIPPOLYTE AT ROME                       81
SUFFERS FROM HIS EYES..      85
M. INGRES GOES TO ROME..86
FLANDRIN TRAVELS IN ITALY.              91
PICTURE OF S. CLAIR.......   97
FROM THE PURGATORIO....   I00
OUR LORD BLESSING THE CHILDREN. 04
FEVER.....  06
GOES TO FLORENCE...   114
DEATH OF FLANDRIN'S FATHER...   19
NAPLES....22
RETURN TO FRANCE.....        29
TO PARIS...                                     31
DISAPPOINTMENTS...    134
ARY SCHEFFER......                         141
LOUIS LAMOTHE...                       50
OPERATION FOR SQUINTING...               15
PAINTS THE CHAPEL OF SAINT SEVERIN.              153
MADE MEMBER OF THE LEGION OF HONOUR. 54
PAINTS THE CHATEAU DE DAMPIERRE.               157
DEATH OF AUGUSTE FLANDRIN...   I58
MARRIAGE WITH MADLLE. ANCELOT.                 59
PAINTS SAINT GERMAIN DES PRf.S..   61
BIRTH OF A SON.....    163
DAILY LIFE......66
FLANDRIN AT COURT.....                        67
PAINTS SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL...169




CONTENTS.                      xi
PAGE
PAINTS S. PAUL AT NIMES...   I7
REVOLUTION OF 1848.......   I72
CRITICISM OF BISHOP PLANTIER...                176
DISTURBANCES IN LYONS.......    80
FRESCOES IN SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL..   183
REST IN THE SOUTH.......   185
PAINTS THE CHURCH AT AINAY...     88
NAVE OF SAINT GERMAIN DES PRkS.   189
VISIT TO ARLES.........   191
JOURNEY TO BLOIS......   92
To ALLEVARD.....195
INVITATION TO COMPItGNE......    97
M. INGRES NOMINATED SENATOR....   198
JOURNEY TO BELGIUM.....20I
FLANDRIN RECEIVES THE PRUSSIAN ORDER OF MERIT.   205
GOES TO ITALY.....                206
ARRIVAL AT ROME...                              214
PRESENTATION TO THE POPE..   220
ANNOYANCE AT CHANGES IN THE ACADEMY..         224
FAILURE OF HEALTH....                            232
PARE BESSON'S PAINTINGS.....     236
EXPEDITION TO OSTIA....                        238
SEIZED WITH SMALLPOX.              241
DEATH.......                               242
TRIBUTE OF M. BEUL......                   243








A CHRISTIAN PAINTER OF THE
NINETEENTH CENTURY.
A LL those who are interested in Modern Art,
especially those who look upon mural decoration as one of its noblest objects, and who desire to
see the walls of our churches an abiding lesson to the
eye of the faithful, are acquainted with the name of
Hippolyte Flandrin, and more or less with his works.
But among the numbers who have admired and
studied his paintings in Saint Germain des Pres, Saint
Severin, or Saint Vincent de Paul, at Paris, the Church
of Saint Paul at Nimes, or that of Ainay at Lyons, few
probably know anything concerning the painter, or the
mind which prompted that skilful hand to trace the
devout imaginations which have won for Flandrin the
name of the Fra Angelico of our day.
It was not a life of great events, or strange picturesque combinations like some of the early masters,
whose lives seem when read as artistic as their works;
neither was he a devot, to be held up as an unusual
A




2           HIPPOL YTE FLANDRI.
and specially edifying instance of artist-piety.  Nevertheless, there was that about Hippolyte Flandrin's life
which makes it worthy of record, and interesting to
those who take pleasure in tracing a true, honest,
manly, straightforward character through the toils and
difficulties which inevitably beset every life lived with
a clear, noble, deliberate intention of working out a
vocation in God's Service, be that vocation what it
may.  And the purity and truthfulness and manliness
with which Flandrin followed his artist's vocation,
-bearing up stedfastly under the pressure of poverty
and disappointment, and, while without any special
profession of piety, cleaving with a true resolute heart
to the plain duties of a Christian life, come what
might,-are a deep lesson and encouragement to all,
most particularly, one would imagine, to the numerous brotherhood of artists following in his steps; and
as assuredly many of them share in his poverty and his
trials, may not his example help some of them to
share in that which was his strength as a man and his
inspiration as an artist, namely, his pure life and his
God-fearing ways?
Hippolyte Flandrin inherited a love of art.  In
early days his father too had aimed at becoming a
painter; and, after a few years spent in a house of business, he threw up his occupation, ambitiously hoping
to become an historical painter in what was known at




BIR TH A T L YONS.               3
that time as the School of Lyons, his native place.
But either the father's talent was inferior in its kind,
or it could not contend against the disadvantages of
a tardy education, and Flandrin the elder soon found
that, if he wished to find bread for the seven little
mouths which were gathered around him to be filled,
he must take to the less dignified line of miniature
painting, and indeed reckon himself fortunate when by
that he could eke out the scanty means which alone
he possessed besides-consisting of the rent of a small
house in the Rue des Bouchers at Lyons, which he
shared with his sister. The fourth of the hungry birds
in the Flandrin nest was Hippolyte, born March 23,
I809.  Both his brothers were art aspirants too, and
the younger one, Paul Flandrin, still living, is reckoned as one of the first landscape painters in France.
Their mother had experienced a good deal of the un,
certainty and depressing hopelessness of a disappointed
artist's career; and though she resigned herself somewhat reluctantly to its adoption by her eldest son
Auguste, five years older than Hippolyte, when it became a question of the younger boys following the same
unprofitable calling, the good house-mother fairly set
her back to the wall, refusing to listen to any sentiment
or artistic pleading, and declared that one painter was
quite enough in the family,-it was enough to have one
son the victim of uncertainty, caprice and disappoint



4               MILI TA R Y FE VER.
ment: she would have no more forsooth! No, indeed!
Hippolyte should not be tempted into the studio —he
should be apprenticed to an honest silk merchant; and
as to little Paul, he should set to work at the tailor's
trade; and the shop where he was to learn his business was forthwith fixed upon.  Meanwhile, probably
owing to the scanty purse at home, the boys were not
sent to school, and having, in common with so many
of their age, a hot military fever upon them, Hippolyte
and Paul spent most of their time in close attendance
upon the regiments quartered in Lyons. Not a march
or parade did they miss;'-the barrack and the chazmp
de macnauvire were both studied with absorbing interest;
and when they came home from their day's pursuit,
the evenings were spent in drawing all they had seen,
one helping another in rendering detail accurately; and
happy the day was to them when, by some fortunate
chance, any military illustrations-lithographic or engraved-fell into their hands as a supreme authority.
Hippolyte's military ardour never departed." Later on
he was fully prepared, in case of war breaking out, to
enter the Garde Mobile; and one of the first works
whichbrought him any remuneration-after all it was
only thirty-five francs!Iwas the portrait of a gendarme, painted soon after his arrival in Paris.
In the Journal of his last days in Rome, Flandrin's admiration for and interest in his country's soldiers comes out strongly.




FIRST ASPIRA TIONS.                5
At this time the boys had no higher aim than to
imitate Horace Vernet, or Charlet, and their battlepieces, their field-days, parades and military scenes
acquired a certain reputation for the " petits Flandrin,"
somewhat to their mother's dismay, who dreaded
nothing so much as to see them led astray by the
pernicious snare, as she believed it to be, of an artist's
life. But in vain poor Madame Flandrin pleaded the
cause of tailoring and silk mercery,-her sons found
a powerful advocate on their side, who succeeded
in silencing, if not in convincing, their mother.  In
I82, when the boys were eleven and twelve years old,
the sculptor Foyatier came to Lyons, and renewed
his acquaintance with the Flandrin family.  He was a
living witness against the maternal advocacy; for
eighteen years ago, Foyatier-now a successful artist,
established in Paris, and on his way at the actual
moment to Rome,-this same sculptor had come
eighteen years before from the country village where
his previous life had been spent herding sheep, and
had induced a vendor of statuettes (supplied chiefly to
religious houses) to take him as an apprentice, and
from this humble beginning he had advanced to his
present position. Foyatier found no difficulty in convincing the father and sons that the latter would do
well to despise the prospects of trade and follow the
leadings of art; and even the prudent mother was not




6             FIRST ED UCA TION.
invulnerable to the argument of personal success, and
the prestige of an homme arriv, which gave force to
Foyatier's words. He pleaded and argued so successfully, that, before he went on to Italy, he saw the,
two little fellows installed as pupils in a studio directed
by a painter named Magnin, and a better-known
artist, the sculptor Legendre-Heral.  And so the
boys were launched upon the sea of art, and for a
while the skies were clear and the sunshine cheered
them.  Hippolyte studied both from the antique and
from the living model, and, still aiming to become a
painter of battle-fields, he was encouraged in that line
by his masters, who looked approvingly upon the
sketches of military subjects which he often made
from nature when out of the studio. But before long
Magnin went to Italy, where he died, and Flandrin,
whose ambition was whetted by what he had already
learned, sought and found admittance into the lcole de
Saint Pierre, the Academy of Fine Arts of Lyons.
Here he studied for seven years under Revoil, then
director of the atelier, and a diligent, unwearied, painstaking study it was; supplementing the appointed
hours of work with as much private toil as he could
manage, especially the study of animals-going daily to
one of the faubourgs where he had an opportunity of
drawing the latter from the life, all with a view to his
supposed vocation in the military line. But meanwhile




EARLY STRUGGLES.                  7
the pressure of poverty made itself heavily felt at home,
and in every possible way the two boys, who were the
most dutiful and affectionate of sons, strove to lighten
their parents' burden, to which they were conscious of
adding by the pursuit of their dearly-loved profession,
instead of following a lucrative trade.  It is touching
to find them striving in every possible way to earn a
few sous; one time drawing little vignettes for the
shops where cheap pictures are sold, another time
executing lithography, and gladly selling a stone with
twenty finished subjects for fifteen francs, even designing rebuses and bonbon cases for the confectioner;anything whatsoever that could bring in but a handful
of grist to the slowly dropping family mill.
Moreover, there was another object for which sous
and centimes were to be scraped together. Of course
Paris was their great aim and aspiration; the paradise
of imagination, where Vernets and Davids, Murillos
and Raffaeles, and all the treasures of art, which as
yet were to them  only myths or faintly shadowed
forth by more or less imperfect engravings and lithographs, might be seen and worshipped; the world of
reality, where the first living masters might be found to
teach willing pupils to excel themselves. Yes, to Paris
Hippolyte and Paul Flandrin intended fully to go;
but how were the funds ever to be obtained for carrying
out their intentions?  Never mind! their hearts were




8         FLAADRIN GOES TO PARIS.
in it; and when a resolute earnest lad sets himself
steadily to work out his heartfelt vocation, somehow
or other he is sure to do it. So, little by little, a sum
was hoarded up, small indeed, but sufficient, as the
young Flandrins hoped and believed, for their actual
necessities, and therewith they made the important
plunge into the world. It was a humble start, for the
journey alone would pretty well have swallowed up
their little store if they had not chosen the slow but
cheap way of travelling, and walked to Paris. Flandrin's own boyish account of the great event is the
best portrait of what he was then as a lad of twenty.
"PARIS, Apfril II, 1829.
" Mon cher Papa et ma chere Maman,-There is an
end to all your anxiety; we have arrived here safe and
sound, and I will tell you all about our journey. I
am sure you have thought a great deal about us all
the time, but not more than we have thought of you.
When we left Auguste at Dijon, sorrowfully enough,
we took the high road to Montbard. So far we had
walked over a vast plain, about which Auguste is sure
to have told you. By degrees the road became more
desolate, and the air colder.  We went uphill for
three hours; the cheerful villages all disappeared, and
we went between two woods of small oak trees, till at
last we came down into a valley very like Bugey-high




TALE OF TRAVEL.                 9
rocks, well wooded mountain sides, and a little river
in the bottom. When we reached the opposite side
we came into a very cold wind, which soon brought
snow. It was nearly dark; we tried two lonely inns,
but they could not, or would not, receive us, and we
had to go on another mile to an inn, where we did
very well for that night. The next day was splendid,
but a hard frost; we slept at Montbard, a little town
built on a sort of mamelon.  I saw nothing remarkable
there but a fine crenelated tower. Here the weather
changed, and rain made the roads horrid, but at last
we struggled through them, and got to Tonnerre to
sleep. That was our fifth day from Lyons. The sixth
day we went on twelve miles to La Roche, a village
near Joigny, in perpetual storms of wind and rain,
against which we had no means of defence except
this."  (Here comes a sketch by Paul of the two
brothers cowering, half-sheltered, under a tree, with a
legend beneath, "Ah si la maman nous voyait la!"
and another, in which they are both squatting under
a streaming umbrella, with the inscription, "a defaut
d'arbres").  "So we waited patiently for a pause
in the storm, talking of home the while.  The
seventh day a continuance of this weather induced us
to go as far as Sens in a carriage, but I repented this
heartily, for I was tremendously sick. Sens is to my
mind a very pretty, clean, cheerful town, and the




IO            FIRST IMPRESSIONS.
cathedral is magnificent. On the eighth day we slept
at Moret, just on the borders of the forest of Fontainebleau, and the day after we went through the forest, beginning to find that we were nearing Paris by the good
roads, the numerous villages, and quantity of carriages.
At Fontainebleau we admired the grand chateau; the
eagles are still all crowned with laurels, and here and
there some fleurs de lys appear. Thence we went to
Rys, only six miles from Paris, and the next day we got
up, eagerly hoping soon to see it. But we went at least
five miles'without seeing anything. However, at last,
from a rising ground, we saw the great city, and were
very much struck with the ensemble which appeared;
the domes of the Invalides and Pantheon, the towers
of Notre Dame, and many others. But when we
reached the city nothing astonished us; on the contrary, several things shocked me.  I thought we
should have been obliged to make our entry with
flying colours, i.e. open umbrella; but instead of that
the sun broke out, and the weather was beautiful. I
must tell you all my impressions another time; but I
have already seen the Vendome Column. Oh, how
fine it is! Our love to Uncle and Aunt Martin. As
for you, we love you as much as we did at Lyons, and
Auguste and Caroline too; we forget no one. Embrace every one of the family you see for us."
The first thing was to find a dwelling-place within




FRUGAL LIFE.                    ii
the compass of the brothers' very small means. After
some toil in the shape of lodging-hunting, they found
an unfurnished room  in the Quai de la Cite, No. 13,
on the fourth floor, which seemed to the young men
very dear, its rent, though the room was small, being
I40 francs for the year.  In a letter to his father,
Hippolyte gives an inventory of their furniture, which
is soon transcribed. It consisted of a bedstead with
paillasse and mattress, a table, two chairs, a candlestick, and a water-pot. "I nearly forgot the broom!"
he adds, with the further assurance that he and Paul
kept their little abode "as clean and tidy as possible."
Their manner of life was as frugal and unsophisticated
as the anxious parental hearts which brooded over
them  afar could have desired.  "We get up at five
o'clock and go out for a whiff of fresh air in the
Luxembourg, which is not far, and then at six we set
to work.  At eight or nine we breakfast.  Unfortunately, bread was never so dear as it is just now.
Then we work till six in the evening. Our breakfasts
cost five sous each, and we dine for fifteen sous apiece,
which makes forty sous a day between us.  We feed
at a very clean'restaurant, where we eat the simplest
and plainest things we can get."
However, the brothers could not always achieve even
such a dinner as this, and it not unfrequently happened that they were obliged to content themselves




12               A TIGHT FIT!
with three sous' worth of fried potatoes, bought on the
Pont Neuf, and divided between the two! But there
was no grumbling, no craving after self-indulgence.
The two strong affections, love of art and love of their
parents, made that impossible.
"You bade us not run into debt," Hippolyte writes:
"oh! as to that you may be quite easy! I would rather
make the greatest sacrifices. Be certain of your children's love. Far away as they are, they will do nothing
which you could disapprove, and they will try to be a
comfort to you." And again, on February 5, 1830, he
says, "You bid us be economical. I assure you we are,
for we do not spend more than fifteen or sixteen sous
each on our daily food, and to do that one must needs
be very careful. I don't think that since we came here
we have spent one sou unprofitably. Indeed, we feel
too strongly how much sacrifice you make for your
sons, dear mother, in the money you send us, and you
may be certain that we shall husband it to the very
uttermost."
It was hard work to make both ends meet nevertheless, and at the end of three months Hippolyte
says, " In spite of economy, our money melts fast; we
work with all our might to earn something." And when
Flandrin the father contrived with difficulty to send
a hundred francs, hardly saved, to his boys, Hippolyte
wrote warm thanks, adding, "I am afraid you must




HOME LOVE.                    13
have pinched yourself to send it, and the thought
grieves me. Oh! if only my longings were fulfilled,
how I should delight in being able to help you! But
I don't get on as I should like."
His home affections were very strong, and a letter
from father or mother was one of the greatest delights
that could gladden the young students.    You can't
imagine the pleasure with which we get your letters,"
he writes (May i6, 1829).  "It is an event which
cheers us up, and is altogether an epoch to us." And
writing to his brother Auguste, Hippolyte says:  I
can't describe to you the intense longing I have to see
and hug you, as well as le5papa et la maman.  Almost
every night I am off to Lyons, and yesterday I was
downright cross with Paul for waking me, because just
then I was embracing you all.  I was crying for
joy.... Remember that we agreed to pray for one
another every night. I never fail to do so, and I am
quite sure our poor mother never fails either. She
loves us so dearly, and she is such a long way off!
Poor father and mother, your children are all scattered
now! "
But the passionate home love tended to strengthen
rather than diminish the other affection, which cannot
be called its rival,-love of art. The original programme of the two brothers had not been carried out.
They left Lyons with an introduction from Revoil, the




I4                  M. INGRES.
director of that school of art, to Hersent, as also a
recommendation to the same master from  General
Paultre de la Mothe, then in command at Lyons, who
had shown a kindly interest in the young art students.
But falling in with a brother-student, Joseph Guichard
(now Professor at the School of Art in Lyons), they
learnt that whereas he too had started with introductions to Hersent, he had been so impressed with the
superior merits of Ingres, whose pictures he had seen
in the Salon, that he had transferred himself to that
master's instructions. Hippolyte was impressed by his
friend's arguments, and partly from a real conviction
that Ingres was the superior artist, partly from the
natural inclination to have the companionship of a
compatriot whom  he liked, he gave up the idea of
seeking Hersent, and resolved to become a pupil of
Ingres.
Writing to his father (April I4, I829), Flandrin
assures him that this change of purpose did not arise
from caprice.  " First of all," he says, " M. Ingres is
reckoned in Paris as a man of higher talent than M.
Hersent; and further, his school is much better governed and quieter. He does not allow the detestable
buffoonery which often makes it impossible for the
best men to remain in a studio."
By the 3oth of that same month the brothers were
established in M. Ingres' studio, and from that moment




NEW ART VIE'S.                 5
Hippolyte Flandrin became a devoted friend and admirer of one whom he loved as a man and admired as
an artist. Flandrin had to make almost a fresh start,
for Ingres' views and practice in art were very different
from those of Revoil; but he was not self-conceited or
bent upon his own ideas, and he soon gave up all his
old aspirations to become a painter of battle-fields or
the like, and threw himself heart and soul into the
higher art-tone of his new master. That it was more
his natural element than the one into which circumstances had originally thrown him  is proved
alike by his works and his character, which, even in
the early days of his studentship, impressed those he
mixed with by its calm earnestness,-the farthest removed from what was, and probably is, too frequently
the tone of the young artist-world. Throughout his
life affection and respect seemed to surround Flandrin
wherever he was known, his gentleness and modesty
exercising a marked influence even over those who
might hardly have been supposed likely to appreciate
them.
"Those who knew Flandrin in his student days,"
says his friend, the Vicomte Delaborde, " remember a
young man with a gentle, dreamy expression of almost
mystic character; invariably reserved in words, and
altogether stamped with such a modest nobility of
mind and manner, that one felt at once, after a fashion,




I6          A MODEL'S CRITICISM.
overawed by his modesty and attracted by his sweetness. It was the same kind of influence which he
exercised a little later at Rome on all around him, to
which a remarkable testimony was borne in her own
way by a woman of the lower orders, who spent her
life as a model to the students of the Academy. One
day this woman was giving vent to a string of epigrammatic sayings, vivid and glowing as her southern skies,
and dealing out slender mercies upon the personal
appearance and manners of the students,-the ugliness
of one, the affectation or dandyism of another, and so
forth; when some one asked why she bestowed no
criticism on Flandrin, who possessed neither regularity
of feature nor any other definite personal beauty?
There was no hesitation in her reply: " 0 in quanto
a lui, pare proprio la Madonna!"
Such critics are apt to be truthful, and Flandrin's
life did not belie the Italian peasant's notion, that
" handsome or ugly, he was Madonna-like in purity
and truth."  The young artist who could find solace,
in his life of struggle and privation in a Parisian garret,
from the thought that the home circle he loved was
praying for him amid those struggles; whose heart
overflowed in love for his parents in expressions simple
as those of a little child, notwithstanding the reserve
his habitues remarked in him, and who remained faithful to his religious duties amid all the temptations of




INGRES' SCHOOL OF ART.                 17
an artist's career in Paris, might well have carried an
exterior stamp, separating him from most of his contemporaries in the keen sight of one better versed in
men's ways than in books.  If there were more artists
in whom such a resemblance could be traced, perhaps
we should have more pictures of a high standard of
religious art than we actually find.
Flandrin speedily attached himself to his master with
a profound admiration and respect, both as an artist
and a man.  Ingres' veneration for the antique, and
his real science, satisfied Flandrin's taste, while his
abhorrence of all that is merely factitious or conventional, and his earnest desire to promote the study of
nature, and to express and characterise her truths in
all their beauty and reality, satisfied the innate truthfulness and simplicity of his heart.  " When you fail
in the respect you owe to nature, or affect to correct
her, you strike a blow at your mother herself," Ingres
used to say to his pupils;' and it was an argument
which Flandrin above all was prepared to admit.
"The empire exercised over the young artists who
crowded his studio," says Vicomte Delaborde, " is a
fact too well known, and established by the amount of
talent brought to light beneath that powerful influence,
I' Quand vous manquez au respect que vous devez a la nature,
quand vous pretendez la corriger, vous donnez un coup de pied
dans le ventre de votre mere."
B




18          FLANDRIN'S 0 WN MIND.
to need discussion. And to say that Flandrin received
a decisive impulse from the chief's hand, is only to
reaffirm what everybody knows, and what the disciple,
when himself a master, acknowledged more heartily
and sincerely than any one.  We only need draw
attention to the important element in the results which
sprang from  the individual qualities of the pupil.
Faithful as Flandrin ever was to the teaching and
example of the great artist, whose chief disciple he
would scarcely have presumed to think himself, he was
no less faithful to his own bent, no less ready to listen
dutifully to the inner voice which guided him. While
looking upon himself, (as he did in all good faith to the
end,) as absolutely formed by M. Ingres, he might duly
have attributed some of his individual merits, revealed as
they are on canvas or wall, in a striking combination
of science and inspiration, to the resources of his own
imagination, and the natural elevation of his own mind.
And while Flandrin was as yet occupied only in trying
his strength under the master's eye, seeking progress
in the strictest obedience at his work, in the most
scrupulous abnegation, somewhat of that depth of
tender feeling and grace, which were later to shine
forth so prominently, already appeared.  For the
moment his business was only to paint studies from
life, simple academical studies, in which the main
point seemed to be the imitation of nature, according




" RECOGNITION OF THESEUS."              19
to the rules laid down by Ingres. And accordingly
all Flandrin's efforts were devoted to this end, such
works of his earliest years as we possess proving the
attention and precision with which he applied the precepts he received to a due rendering of the realities
before him. But this proves too that he was endowed
with more than a most rare faculty of assimilation. If
Flandrin was foremost among his fellow-students in
skill and acquired science, he was no less foremost in
the natural serenity of his style and the instinctive
grace of his imagination. Any one who will examine
the picture (in the Ecole des Beaux Arts) which won
the Roman prize, will find a sure promise of the success which ensued. Notwithstanding the difference of
subject and the local conditions in either case, we may
fairly affirm that those qualities which are fully developed on the walls of Saint Germain des Pres, Saint
Vincent de Paul, and Saint Paul at Nimes, may be
found in germ in that pagan subject, the Recognition
of Theseus." 
This picture was painted during a time of no small
struggle and difficulty.  Ingres wished his pupils to be
admitted into the Academy, and in the September
following their arrival in Paris we find Hippolyte
writing for their baptismal registers, and announcing to
Lettres, etc. d'"Hipolyte Flandrin, p. 23.




20              THE " CONCOURS."
his parents that he and his brother had been admitted
to the "Concours de l'Academie."
"We have begun the competition to-day," he writes
(September I4, I829).  "There are three hundred
competitors, and out of these fifty have to be selected.
When judgment is given, I will tell you whether we
are accepted, and where we come in the list.  Our
school has just distinguished itself in the competition
for the Roman fellowship, in the person of ltex ane,
who got the  second  sculptor's prize, and  richly
deserved the first, but it was taken into consideration
that his rival was twenty-nine, and could not compete
again. But, notwithstanding, he must be well satisfied,
for M. Ingres presented him to us saying,'Here is
the premier grand prix  for sculpture,-he  richly
deserves it.'  One must feel very happy to receive
such approbation from one's master. M. Ingres has
already talked of this concours to me, and possibly
next year I may try for it, but it is a difficult thing!
Only think:-one must first compete for what is
called'esquisse, a composition painted from some
historical subject given by the professors; then, if
one is accepted, one has to paint an academie, and
after all the trials ten men are admitted to compete for the great prize.  He who is so lucky as to
win it gets eight hundred francs for his journey
from Paris to Rome, and an allowance of a thousand




A CADIMIE RO YALE.                21
crowns for five years. Oh! if one might but be so
happy!"
Eventually Flandrin attained this desired object,
but for the present he was contented with a minor
though very important success.   On October Io,
1829, he writes home to say, "The result of the concours for the Academie Royale is, that out of four
hundred competitors one hundred and fourteen have
been accepted, ourselves being of the number. We
were among the first, for I am ninth and Paul thirteenth.  The difference between Paul and me is
owing to some trifling thing more or less, for we are
much alike as to our powers."..
Ingres was pleased at the success of his pupils, and
having obtained a hint through a friend of the exceeding straitness of their means, he sent for Hippolyte,
"spoke very encouragingly, and said he should henceforth give us twenty francs a month, half the cost of his
lessons.  Only think how I thanked him! But he
bade me tell no one, or he should be very angry..
I can't, however, resist the temptation of giving you
this pleasure."
Strait indeed those means were.  That winterI829-3o-was exceptionally severe:  the Seine was
frozen over, and on all sides there was intense suffering, with which the efforts of active charity were
unable fully to cope.  Many persons died of the




22         A FIGHT WITH POVERTY.
cold, and in the young Flandrins' garret the thermometer stood at 14~ centigrade.  They could not keep
water there from freezing, and the oil in their lamp
froze to a block; but Hippolyte sends a cheerful report
that he and Paul " are well, and wait patiently for
spring to bring a change from this severe weather."
Not unfrequently, however, the brothers had no
resource save to go supperless to bed, and continually
during that long hard winter they used to do this as
early as five in the afternoon, as the only way of enduring the cold of their draughty, fireless attic. Sometimes indeed they were so fortunate as to have some
little commission,-a sketch, or a lithograph to execute
for a shop, in which case the well-husbanded oil had
to be melted for their little lamp, and the pleasure of
work and the food it supplied kept their blood warm;
while often it involved a nice calculation as to whether
they might prudently use a little of the aforesaid
precious oil on anything save work, and if the decision
was affirmative, the long hours spent in bed were beguiled with books, the brothers reading aloud in alternation, trying at once to forget their present discomfort, and to make up for past deficiencies in their
education. It was to these studies, which were still
more earnestly and methodically prosecuted later on
at Rome, that Flandrin was indebted for almost everything he knew, exclusive of art.  "Tardy as this




LITERAR Y PERCEPTIONS.               23
self-education may have been, and incomplete in many
ways," (writes Vicomte Delaborde,) "it nevertheless
resulted in a reality and depth on certain subjects
which are not always attained by several years' routine
at college.  Unquestionably with Flandrin, as with
most other eminent artists, there were natural instincts
capable  of originating, fertile and  elastic in the
regions of imagination; but study and reflection had
greatly added to the power of these innate capacities,
and  developed  what began  by  a mere general
perception and feeling into a rare delicacy and taste.
I doubt," (the same eminently artistic literary man
goes on to say,) "whether it be possible to fathom the
mysteries of Dante's depth of thought with more
penetration  than  did  Flandrin; or whether any
professor of literature ever appreciated the incomparable beauties of the Divina Commedia more truly
than he did.   Not to speak  of Holy Scripture,
with which he daily fed alike his art inspirations and
his Christian faith, his memory was so well stored with
the poetry of ancient times, (which he had begun to
know at the age when most men forget them,) that
those strains became a standing measure to which
everything else was compared in his mind, and which
was to him the test of false and true poetry-of real
imagination or its mere imitation. Yet Flandrin could
not read either Homer or Virgil in the original text,




24           CLASSIC IIA GINA TION.
and it was only by means of translations that he could
unlock the door of classic literature.   But what
matter, so long as by even this sidelong approach
his instincts attained the  object which  so  many
who tread the direct road fail to reach?  Many
a scholar who is familiar with every shade of meaning
in the ancient classic languages, many an adept in
all imaginable grammatical difficulties, knows much less
as to the general character and the moral signification
of the masterpieces he has studied, than a gifted artist
who has only contemplated them, so to say, at a
distance through translations."
This power of pure and classic imagination was
displayed in Flandrin's first real picture-his Theseus,
which  won  him  the  greatly  longed-for Roman
scholarship. It conveys a clear idea of the struggle
which the young painter was undergoing with poverty,
that just before the time when this all-important
concours was to begin, he was so entirely without
money to meet the necessary expenses of colours,
models, etc., that he reluctantly decided to withdraw
from the competition, and it was only on hearing M.
Ingres' expression of disappointment, (for he was
confident in his pupil's powers, and fully believed
he would prove successful,) that Flandrin resolved
to face the difficulty, however great, and to endure any
amount of privation and personal discomfort rather




PERSE VERANCE.                   25
than thwart or disappoint the master for whom he felt
such unbounded gratitude.  But the daily struggle for
subsistence was hard; a few lithographs executed on
commission, an occasional copy from  some  great
picture in the Louvre; sometimes such a piece of
good luck as the portrait of a certain gendarme, who
was so delighted with his own likeness that he voluntarily added five more to the stipulated price of
thirty francs;-it was by such means as these that
Flandrin held on for the bare life. His letters during
that hard first year in Paris are full of character,
bright, cheerful, and humble.
"Match I, I830.
"I have not been more fortunate here, for just as
the concours of perspective came on (which is the preliminary of others, specially that for the Roman prize,
for which I had been carefully preparing and hoping
to succeed in it) I fell ill, and on the very eve got a
sort of coup de sang and feverish attack. On the day
of competition I made a great effort to get up and go
to the Academy.  I began, but by the middle of the
day I was so knocked up, I was obliged to leave off.
Happily my illness did not last long, but yielded after
a few days to the effects of an infusion of millepertuis.
As to the concours, a great many of the young men
who are fit competitors for the great prize have not
studied perspective, and according to the rules they




26             HOME LONGINGS.
and I alike ought to be out of the competition. But
this would make the class so weak, that for once the
rules are to be ignored, and in this case I shall try to
go in for the great concours."
" April 5, I830.
"Dearest Mother,-It is so long since I have had
the happiness of a chat with you, you must be scolding me for being so long about it; but forgive me, for
latterly in particular I have had so much to do! There
are all my usual studies, and others necessary for the
five or six concours coming on, some of which have
already begun; and then there is all this bother about
the conscription, which keeps me running about
hither and thither. Indeed that has made me terribly
anxious, but I have been rather easier about it the
last few days, although nothing is as yet decided. I
write under cover to cousin Mariette.... Tell her
that I have not forgotten her advice, but follow it
daily. Yes, indeed, dear mother and cousin, you will
see us come back to Lyons as we went, believing in
God, and taking some pains to keep His Commandments. (You will be surprised that I should say believing in God, but hardly any one here does believe in
Him.)  We shall return loving and respecting our
parents. Ah, indeed! every time I think of seeing you
again I am so happy I could cry for joy. I picture to
myself my arrival; how I shall run up the stairs, my




THE CONSCRIPTION.                  27
heart beating fast, and then seeing you and feeling your
arms round me! Then I fancy how I shall run over
all the rooms with Paul; —but there is one which makes
me very sad-I mean our sister's room, the sister'
whom I do not want to make you forget; she was too
good, and we shall ever have her present to our
thoughts; but I want to supply her loss to you, and
all our efforts shall be put forth to show you how
much we love you.
"' Pray let me have an answer to this letter, I want
so much to know how you all are... Mama, papa
only writes letters of half a sheet now. I know how it
tries him, but his children cannot see him any longer,
and he must think of the delight it is to read his
letters! As to Auguste, I expect him to write very soon.
He may write what he will, if only it be a good long
letter....  Be at rest as to our Easter duties, we are
preparing for them. Five months more before we shall
see you, it seems so long! But we will make good
use of the time."
The following letter alludes to Flandrin's fear of
being taken by the conscription:-, "Aptril 15, 1830.
"My dear Papa,-At last I am out of danger, and I
Caroline Flandrin, who died the end of August 1829, after
a long illness.




28                AN ESCAPE.
lose no time in telling you. Yesterday I passed the
Council of Revision.  I had been terribly anxious
since you told me my number. Nobody gave me any
hope, and I should probably have been taken but for
the exertions of a member of the Council to whom M.
de Chateaugiron had introduced me, for one of the
generals said'There are fellows who squint worse
than that sent off!'  But meanwhile M. de Chateaugiron's friend whispered something to the President,
who shortly after dismissed me. My first thought was
of the happiness it would be to you dear papa and
mama; then I dressed quickly that I might run and
tell Paul, who was waiting impatiently for news. So
at last I am free from this anxiety, and I shall set to
work with a clearer mind.... Something happened
on Easter Day which gave me great pleasure, as I am
sure it will you. I had been competing with all the
other Academy pupils for the historical composition
prize. The picture is done in one day, each competitor shut up in his stall. The subject was mythological; Hercules having gone down to chain Cerberus,
who takes refuge under Pluto's throne, he drags the
monster out by force.  I did my best with it. On
Easter Day, M. Ingres summoned all the competitors,
and when we arrived, he expressed himself well satisfied with the competition; and then coming up to me,
Flandrin had squinted from his birth.




A SUCCESSFUL CONCOURS.              29
said,'Here is the fellow who deserved the medal,
but they have been horribly unjust! You had seven
votes, and the other man eleven. It has hurt me very
much, and made me quite ill, for any injury done to
you is as to my own children.' Then I told him what
I really felt, that I greatly preferred his approbation
to the medal, (which is quite true, though it is a gold
medal of the first class,) and how much I feel all the
trouble he takes on our behalf. He encouraged us,
and urged us to do well in the three approaching
concours, which lead on to the Roman prize, but as to
that I have no hope at all. It becomes harder and
harder. All the same I will tell you the results as
they happen. In the last competition for places Paul
was fifth.  He could hardly have done better.  M.
Ingres is very well satisfied with us."
"PARIS, May I9, I830.
"My dear Papa,-You remember the concours which
are the steps towards competing for the Roman prize.
You know that I got in at the first trial, but since that
I have competed with sixty other pupils drafted out of
several lots.  We had to make a composition on a
subject from Grecian history in one day, and each
man shut up in his stall. Twenty were to be taken
out of the sixty competitors, and I was the eleventh,
greatly to M. Ingres' satisfaction and my own, as I




30            REVOLUTION OF I830.
thought of the pleasure it would be to you-father,
mother, and brother. But I have another trial to pass,
to compete with the nineteen accepted with me, and
this time the subject is a great' Academy' painted in
four sittings.  I began to-day, but I tremble, because
I have a very bad position.' However, I shall do my
best, and then God's Will be done."
"PARIS, May 31, 1830.
" My dear Papa,-The coucours has not turned out
well for me, I have not succeeded. I did worse than
usual just when I ought to have done better.  M.
Ingres was very much vexed, yet he was very kind in
comforting me, and in pointing out that next year I
might be more successful in what I tried to do now.
Oh, I am not at all out of heart. I burn with the love
of my work, and M. Ingres! M. Ingres himself is
satisfied with us. Then too we shall soon have the
happiness of seeing you again, earlier than we expected, in September I think. The very thought fills
me with a kind of impatience and joy such as I never
felt before! How delightful it will be!"
Soon after the Revolution of July 1830 broke out,
and Flandrin's next letters are brief, their object
being merely to allay the anxieties his parents were
sure to feel on behalf of himself and his brother Paul.
In the hall where the competitors painted.




A  O URNE Y HOME.               3I
"zdIy 28, I830.
"Fearing you will be alarmed about us when you
hear of the outbreak here, I write to assure you that
we are keeping quietly at home, and acting very
prudently. We hear perpetual firing, everybody is
taking arms and making ready for the worst. The
Palais Royal quarter, boulevards and quays, are the
scene of battle. It is very sad. What will come of it
all? But grievous and horrible as it is, pray, dearest
father and mother, do not be anxious about us; we
will not go out. I only beg Auguste to be as prudent
at Lyons as we are here.... I cannot frank my
letter, the street is intersected by barricades, but please
be easy, we will not run into danger. Write to us."
Shortly after this the brothers went home, making
the long journey on foot, and returning in October to
Paris in the same primitive way.
On October 26, I830, Hippolyte writes: —"We
came by Arnay-le-Duc, Saulieu, Avallon, Vermanton,
etc., walking fourteen or fifteen lieues daily.  At
Auxerre we found the Garde Nationale of several towns
called out. It seems some days ago the labourers and
vinedressers of Auxerre combined to demand that the
price of corn be lowered, and they gathered round the
Hotel de la Prefecture with loud threats. The Garde
Nationale tried to disperse them, but the mob disarmed




32           A UGUSTE FLANDRIN.
and ill-used several, and burnt warehouses, broke into
stores, and sold the corn as they pleased. So further
help was called in, and the Garde Nationale from several
places round came to disperse the mob, and made a
good many prisoners.  Further on we came upon
some hussars who were going to support the National
Guard.  Otherwise our journey was uneventful.  I
never was hotter or saw finer weather, which lasted
us to Paris,-and it is more noisy and lively than
ever."
Flandrin's eldest brother Auguste had followed the
family bent, and was likewise an artist; but under the
pressure of poverty he was at present disposed to
devote himself entirely to the more certainly remunerative work of lithography.   Hippolyte wished his
brother to come forth into a more artistic sphere; and
eventually Auguste yielded to his advice, and came
also to Paris to study under Ingres. The following
letter is on this subject:" PARIS, Nov. I, 1830.
"My good and dear Auguste,-I write to tell you
something which has pleased us very much, when we
went to see M. Ingres on our return. He received
us warmly, embraced us several times, and then we
showed him the sketches made at Lyons. He was very
much pleased with them, first of all with those from




CRITICISMS.                33
the Perugino,' and then those made during our journey,
among which he picked out the Quay of Saint Clair
and the views of Bugey. Among these he greatly
admired the coloured sketch of the Forest of Mazieres,
with the Lake of Geneva in the distance, and said it
was admirable, but the Pyramion, half-covered with
clouds, fixed his attention. He took it aside to examine it, and then exclaimed,'Your brother must
have a great deal of talent!' He told me to make a
foreground, whatever I pleased; and then to keep it, as
he would use it as a background in one of his pictures.
He thinks it would be a great pity if you do not paint,
and I entreat you with all my heart to do so. I believe
you would sell your pictures, and I know you would
be happy in the occupation,-only choose fine subjects
such as raise your own mind. Draw scenes in which
nature is great and terrible, such as the valleys of
Saint Rambert or Charabottes, or the hills of Ain.
How I enjoy recalling them! and we were together
then!
"...Now to answer you as to my mind and
Paul's as to Gros's pictures.  We do not like them,
because, to say nothing of the drawing, which is very
weak, they are devoid of power and effect. There is
plenty to catch the eye of what is glittering and brilliant, but that is all. I grant that there is very skilful
The Ascension in the Museum at Lyons.
C




34               HARD WORK.
manipulation in his pictures, but it is not what one
wants, for it is not a good rendering of nature, which
is far more tranquil. We may be told that we are
cold, but, on the contrary, the nature that I behold is
far warmer, more vigorous and energetic than Gros
paints it, but at the same time it is calmer. This is
what I think, but do not let what I say go beyond our
own home."
PARIS, Dec. I7, 1830.
"My dear Papa,-...We are well, except that I
have had bad toothache for the last month, and have
at last had two teeth drawn in three days. I was
sorry to lose them, but I was suffering so much, and
could hardly do anything. Now I am better, and we are
hard at work. God grant that we may not be hindered
by war, for we should most certainly be in the Garde
Mobile, and no one would care to be dispensed from
that. Meanwhile we are working as if nothing could
interrupt us, and I believe it is the best thing to do:
-one must use the present moment well if one does
not wish to regret it afterwards."
" ESTRLPAGNY, EURE, Dec. 28, 1830.
"My dear Papa,-I know you will be very much
surprised at the date of my letter, but I will tell you
how it has come to pass. The ministers' prosecution
raised an excitement in Paris, and all the row went on




DISTURBANCES IN PARIS.               35
in our quarter,' it being supposed that they were in the
Luxembourg.  It was necessary to keep troops and
National Guard out (there were certainly forty thousand
men in our quarter). The people were shouting for the
ministers' heads, and would not wait for the judgment.
Free circulation in the streets was stopped; we were
obliged to be escorted by National Guards to get into
our own room.  One could do nothing at the studio; in
short, everything looked like an immediate crisis. So,
one of our companions' asked us to go with him to
his relations in Normandy, and work with him. After
asking M. Ingres' leave, we accepted, and here we are,
most kindly received by his parents, who are very good
to us. They live near Rouen, to which place we have
just made an expedition. Some other time I will tell
you about all the interesting things we have seen.
We received the trunk on the day we started.  Really,
dear papa, we cannot thank you enough for the trouble
you have taken about it and all its contents, greatcoats, trousers, shoes and stockings, portfolios, coverlids. We are most heartily grateful for all these things.
We know all your love for us; we have had plenty of
proofs of that all our lives, and we thank you for everything with hearts full of gratitude and love...
I The Flandrins were at this time occupying a room in the
Rue Mazarin.
2 Jules Bisset.




36           A GENEROUS MASTER.' PARIS, Feb.i 8, I831.
"...  Complaints in every direction! I don't
know if it is the same at Lyons, but here people
complain more of the new government than of the old.
The newspapers cry out, and caricatures are more
spiteful than ever.   I don't know if there is just
cause, but it seems as though it were difficult to rule,
since France changes her regime ten times in thirty
years, and is none the better satisfied. I should know
but little of what goes on if others in the studio did
not talk about it; I am altogether too much occupied
with drawing and painting to acquire information
otherwise. I do most earnestly desire to get on, in
order to relieve you of the sacrifices you make for us.
I work as hard as ever I can....  My thoughts are
often full of you, and those are the pleasantest I have."
"PARIS, March 30, I831.
"We are doing all we can to earn something.  I
have a pupil at fifteen francs a month, who comes to
our room for his lessons.  It is not much, but still!
M. Ingres daily shows more kindly interest in us: he
has just put the climax to his goodness by remitting
all that we ought to pay him, so that we have nothing
to spend but ten francs a month for models. We do
all we can to show our gratitude, and I have been so
fortunate as to be able to be of some use in making




STUDIES.                    37
some copies for him. He encourages me to try and
get into the concours for the Roman prize. Before
that there are twenty trials, but I will make every
effort, and then, whatever the result may be, I shall
have nothing to reproach myself with. Our time is
quite filled with studying in M. Ingres' studio, the
concours at the Academy, and preparation for what is
called the concours de Rome. That implies a great
deal of trouble and work, for one has to hunt up
museums and libraries, in order to learn about the
costumes and ways of the ancients, and to read up
their history. We shall know in May whether I get
in, and meanwhile I am working with a hearty good
will.... We often see M. Foyatier, and he very
kindly sometimes asks us to dinner, we gladly accepting.  He is working at several statues for the great
exhibition about to take place.  M. Ingres, our dear
master and benefactor, is also going to exhibit a large
and admirable picture.' Oh, what a good disciple I
want to be!"
"PARIS, April15, I83I.
"...Oh! how I love our dear M. Ingres, and how
earnestly I long to do him credit in the concours!
Three of these are just over, and successfully; that of
perspective, of attitude, and of composition. May
The Martyrdom of S. Symphorien, which was not finished
till three years later.




38              GARDE MOBILE.
God be pleased to help me on to the end, for I have
still two concours to go through before reaching that
which is called the concours de Rome. But it will all
be settled soon, and I will write and tell you the
result.
"There has been a fresh census made of the
National Guard in Paris just lately, and I could not
escape this time. I am inscribed on the lists of the
Garde Mobile. I was asked if I could supply my
uniform, but I answered that it was impossible, so,
whenever I am  wanted, I shall be clothed and
equipped by the Government. What I want to get
off is the service of the Garde Sedentaire, because
mounting guard and exercising are such a loss of time.
But when the Garde Mobile is called out you may be
sure the case is urgent, and everybody ought to be
willing to contribute to the safety and defence of their
country, and to be ready to leave everything for so
useful and honourable a duty. A few days ago we
had a splendid review of forty thousand men. The
King presented the standards, and the troops were
magnificent, especially some of the cavalry, among
others the Cuirassiers.  It was a Sunday-neither
muddy nor dusty-the Champ de Mars was quite full
between spectators and troops, and it lasted till
evening. All went off well, and no accident marred
the day's success."




COMPOSITION PRIZE.                39
There is a P.S. to this letter in Paul Flandrin's
handwriting as follows: —"Papa, I am quite out of
breath! I rushed up to tell Hippolyte that he has got
the medal, the composition prize. I have just heard
it. I am so glad to have to tell you such a good
thing.  I can imagine your pleasure.  We saw the
exhibition this morning, and everybody adjudged the
prize to him."
"PARIS, May 30, 1831.
"Mon bon ami, my dear Auguste,-I have got
through the last trial before reaching the concours for
the great prize, but it has been cruelly hard! The
subject was a figure painted three feet high. I did it,
and yesterday was the day of judgment. I was satisfied myself, I had good reason to hope; but you shall
hear! M. Ingres, M. Guerin, M. Granet, and three
other members of the Institut, on  going into the
exhibition hall, pronounced me to be first.  But no,
M. Gros and his party carried the day, and I was
tossed out from  being first to last; and finally M.
Ingres, in despair, went away, after protesting with
all his might against what had been done, and I was
rejected! You can fancy how I felt yesterday when
I heard it; that is to say, when I learnt that I had
been rejected, without knowing any of the circumstances. I did not dare go near M3. Ingres, and yet
I had nothing to reproach myself with; my figure




40                SYMPATHY.
was much the best, I may say so without vanity.
At last, in the evening, I resolved to go to him. I
found him at the dinner-table, but he could not eat.
Several members of the Institute, M. Guerin among
them, had come to comfort him, but he was a long
way off that. He received me saying,'Here is the
lamb that has been butchered!' And then, addressing his wife, who was trying to quiet him, he said,'Oh! you have no idea how cruel and bitter injustice
is to a young man's heart!' and all this was said with
such a heartfelt manner, that the tears were falling
from my eyes. He made me sit down to dinner, and
embraced me as a father his son. I went away
comforted. How much I owe to this man, who has
already done so great things for us, and who has, perhaps, done most of all now. I don't know what to
say to him, what to call him, but the thought of him
fills my eyes with tears, out of mere gratitude.  But
still, from time to time I am beset with regrets, for it
might have been a great start for me, and I had good
reason to hope. I was prepared to strain every
nerve.. I was en train, and, moreover, it was the only
way of testifying my gratitude to M. Ingres, for to
you, dear brother, I may say it-my good master had
reckoned greatly on my picture. Perhaps he was too
hopeful, but I would have spared nothing to justify
his confidence. And then it would have been such a




A UGUSTE'S AFFECTION.              41
pleasure to papa and mama, and to you. I felt all
that, and it doubled the delight I felt in what I hoped.
I shall keep my painting, the one just rejected, for
you, and bring it to you when I come to Lyons."
There is a touching little incident connected with
this picture, and the competition for which it was
produced. As usual, Hippolyte was greatly straitened
for means, and had he been admitted as a competitor
for the Roman prize (" admis en loge," as the technical
phrase is) he would have been unprepared to meet
the inevitable though not very heavy expenses. So,
feeling tolerably confident of such a prospect, he
decided on the only attainable means of raising
necessary funds, and wrote to his brother Auguste, in
whose hands the medal he had won a month before
was left, to sell it to some goldsmith, and send him
the money. Auguste had a small sum in hand himself,
which he forwarded at once to Hippolyte, cherishing
the first token of his younger brother's success, which
he- could not bear to sell, and when Hippolyte, finding
what had been done, wanted to return the money,
which, however acceptable, had lost its original object,
Auguste affectionately insisted on his brother's keeping
it and using it as he pleased. Hippolyte accordingly
made use of it to begin a small picture now in the
possession of his family, called, " Virgil's Shepherds,"




42               HINDRANCES.
which was finished later on at Rome, when the muchdesired scholarship had been really won.
"PARIS, Jtune 29, I83r.
"My Dear Papa,-Forgive me for not answering
sooner-it was owing to something stronger than I! I
have been confined to bed for some days with a malady
which is very common here, called le or la grippe
(influenza), and I would not write until I was getting
quite well for fear of making you anxious.
"Dear father and mother, it was your fete day
lately, and I let it pass unnoticed! But what could I
say?  That I love you?  Oh, you know that!  My
whole heart is yours, and I can only renew the deed
of gift! It is wholly yours, and will always beat fast
at the precious names of father and mother. And all
I can say Paul says too,-he is heartily one with me.
" I knew how keenly you would share my trouble at
my failure in the examination. From time to time
regrets will come over me anew, but on the whole I am
comforted  (which is more than I thought to be).
But that you know is M. Ingres' doing,-you heard of
all his kindness to me.  I shall never forget it all!
He often does the same sort of thing. The other day
he inquired whether I thought you were vexed with
me because of my failure, as, if it were so, he would
write something on my behalf in one of my home




ENTHUSIASM FOR POLAND.             43
letters. I told him I did not think you were vexed
with me, but that all the same I should be very
pleased if he would write. So he promised, and I am
going to take my letter to him.... Mama, if you
see Madame Lacuria, tell her, please, that her son
is well. He took great care of me during my illness,
and did all manner of things for me. Dear papa and
mama, take care of yourselves, that your children
may find you well, and have no drawback to the pleasure of seeing you.  The time will soon come.  Oh,
how delicious it is to think of coming home! "
Hippolyte might say that he was too busy to know
anything of the outer world on his own account, but
he was too genuine a Frenchman to be without keen
feeling for European politics. His enthusiasm for
Poland, common to so many of his day, breaks out
in some letters of this date:
" PARIS, Aug. I, 183I.
".... Our life here is very quiet, and I have
nothing to tell but what I have told you over and over
again. From  time to time some event rouses us,
but not often. Such an exceptional thing has just
happened in the recent fetes. We saw the magnificent
review which the King held on the 2gth, and a glorious
sight it was. There were at least a hundred and
thirty thousand men under arms, two hundred cannon,




44            LOVE OF LIBERTY.
and as many caissons, which altogether made two
immense lines, nearly two miles long, crossing the
town from  barrier to barrier.  The whole defiled
before the King and Don Pedro, the Emperor of
Brazil, shouting'Vive la Pologne' with the utmost
enthusiasm. May these shouts reach the Russian
camps and their Emperor's palace, and tell them that
the Poles will not be destroyed, for they kindle the
sympathy of every generous heart. Oh, that Poland
were not so far off! "
Before this he had written to his brother Auguste:
--  Dis don —it seems as if papa thought me a
Carlist. I don't know what has given him the idea,
but truly, I don't believe anybody loves liberty more
than I do, and as a proof I like the Belgians, and I
admire the Poles and their great deeds.  If one
admires their deeds one must needs recognise and
admire the principle whence they spring. As for me,
I pray daily that they may be triumphant; but one
must do something more, and give them practical help.
Are we to do nothing for a nation which fought side
by side with our troops for fifteen years, which fell
with us, and which has undergone so much barbarous
mutilation and oppression merely because its cause
was bound up with our own? Many people grumble,
but government holds its own, and does not heed




RHE U.MA TISM.                 45
popular clamour.  But all this is only for you-I say
it to you, because I like you to know all I think."
The brothers had just paid another visit to their
home, (again on foot,) when a serious insurrection
broke out in Lyons among the always hot-headed, insubordinate silk-weavers of that city; occasioned this
time by the promulgation of a fixed tariff of wages.
The young Flandrins were overtaken at Sens by
tidings  of what had been going on, and hardly
refrained from going back to be near their parents in a
season of danger.  However, they judged it wiser to
go on to Paris, and hear the true state of things, and
there tidings from home satisfied them to a certain
extent that their return to Lyons was useless.  But
Hippolyte writes vehemently to Auguste, indignant
with the Government, and ready to defend all the
Lyonnese, masters and workmen alike!
The winter of I832 was another season of laborious
trial and strict self-denial. Hippolyte began for the
first time to suffer from the rheumatic affections which
were a continual torture to him during the rest of his
life, fostered as they were by frequent work in damp or
cold churches. This first attack seems to have come
on while he was engaged in copying Sebastian del
Piombo's Visitation in the Louvre.
"For the last month " (he writes February 14, 1832)
"I have been working at the Musee at a copy. It pays




46             FLANDRIAN A COOK.
badly, but then while earning something I am studying too, as the picture is a fine one. The worst of it is
having to work without any fire in a gallery seven
hundred feet long. The winter is not very severe, but
I can tell you it needs a good will to remain five or
six hours together without stirring."
Another and more imminent peril was at hand in
the shape of cholera. Hippolyte writes to his father:"PARIS, March 27, 1832.
"I must send you scraps and odd bits, for I have
not a clear hour to myself. The examinations are
coming on, and they follow so fast one upon the other
that the several studies necessary for each fill up all my
time.  It won't do to dawdle!  Dear papa, you are
afraid lest we should want for anything, but we are
only afraid lest you should inconvenience yourself too
much for us, and that distresses us. We have never
spent so little as this winter, and that because we, with
Lacuria, have cooked for ourselves.  We clubbed together, bought a great saucepan and three pots, and
now we make soups and dishes of potatoes, and sometimes a pot au feu, which lasts the whole week.  You
may imagine that the cooking is plain, but it is more
wholesome than in a restaurant; and perhaps feeding in
this way may help us to escape the cholera morbus,
which has broken out here suddenly, terrifying every



CHOLERA.                    47
body.  No other subject is talked about, and the
wonderful thing is that it has happened in the midst
of splendid weather, which we have had for the last
two months.  People expected to see the cholera
advance gradually through the departments between
Paris and England; but not at all! it leapt straight
from  London here.  Wards are set aside in the
hospitals, ambulances, and dep6ts for drugs are prepared on all sides, but they say the best remedy
is in an orderly, quiet, and simple habit of life. And
so we try not to be fidgetty; for, according to that, we
may be hopeful.  Our room is clean and airy, and so
we entreat you not to be anxious about us. Let us
have trust in God.
"You will have heard already at Lyons that the
cholera is here, and so I write without loss of time to
tell you that both of us and Lacuria are well."' PARIS, April 13, 1832.
"I have just received your letter, which shows how
alarmed you are about us, but I think you would get
one from me that same day.  It was not altogether
reassuring, for Paris was anything but quiet, and the
ravages of the cholera were spreading.  Since that it
has been worse still; more than a thousand persons
have been attacked daily.  Indeed it is a sad sight to
see all the litters carrying sick people, or processions of




48            PRUDENT COUNSELS.
ten or twelve corpses at once-no rare thing, I assure
you. But for the last two days the malady has visibly
decreased; not only fewer people are attacked, but the
disease is less severe, and more easily subdued. May
God grant that it spare Lyons 1"
"PARIS, April I9, 1832.
"My  Dear Papa and Mama,-I have received
your last letter which speaks of our coming to Lyons.
I did not answer the same day, because Lacuria had
just written to his parents on the same subject, and I
thought they would give you tidings of us; so I waited
two days, in order that you might hear the oftener.
"We had thought of going to Lyons in order to
share your danger if the cholera reached you, but
meanwhile it broke out so suddenly here that we have
been so far in a state of indecision. The best doctors
say, and all the newspapers repeat their opinion, that
it is most imprudent to go away now.  They say that
if one is in the heart of the malady and has become
acclimatised, it is better to stay quiet, for that one is
much more likely to sicken in a change of air; and this
has been pretty well proved by the number of people
who, flying from Paris, have been taken ill, twenty, thirty,
or forty miles hence, in places where there had been
no previous infection. So you see, dear papa, that
we have substantial reasons for deciding to remain.




A LMEDAL WON.                  49
Moreover, the worst of the evil is happily over, it is
dying away, and it is quite impossible to account for
the line of its advance. There were great apprehensions about the more confined and dirty quarters of
Paris, but so far the cholera has not been worse there
than elsewhere; —for instance, our quarter, which is
certainly one of the best, has been most severely
attacked.  Happily it is decreasing now, and has
crossed the river. It is said now to be worst in the
Marais.
"The reports sent to Lyons must have been very
alarming, and perhaps they may have been exaggerated.
But the scourge has been very severe, for yesterday
the Moniteur officially announced more than ten thousand deaths since the beginning.  I trust that all
necessary precautions will be taken at Lyons, since
there at any rate there is some warning.   Be as easy
about us as you can. Take care of yourselves for
our sakes."
In his next letters to his father Flandrin says: "We
have no time to think about the cholera, for now I am
embarked in the concours, and have gained a medal
which gives me a permanent right to the first places in
the Academy.  But now the matter in hand is the
famous Roman concours."  And a few days later he
says: "I told you that I had got a medal. Well,
D




50         HISTORICAL COMPOSITION.
since that the whole school has competed for the;
historical composition. Twenty were to be selected.
out of this large number, and I was fifth. Now there
is the last trial to come, the one in which I was
rejected last year.  I am preparing for it with all my
might, and mean to pull hard at the collar. M. Ingres
is very much pleased at the way in which I have been
received.  He is as kind and good to us as everwe often go to his house. He is well, and I pray God
to preserve him long to us."
All this time Flandrin's health was in a very uncertain state, and practically he was quite unfit for the
work before him.  Weakened as he had been by privation and overwork, the atmospheric influences of the
cholera told severely upon him, and he became so
weak that he could literally not walk without the support
of his brother's arm; and almost immediately after the
beginning of this anxious competition (his entree en
loge, as it is called) he became too ill for any further
resistance, and had to take to his bed, in spite of the
importance of the work in hand.  It was a severe
trial, and the more alarming that one of Flandrin's
fellow-competitors for the Roman prize was struck
down by the cholera, and died almost at once. The
doctor who was called in to Flandrin threatened him
with the like results if he attempted to leave his bed,




A TTA CK OF CHOLERA.               51
still more if he tried to work; and for a few days he
submitted, from sheer impossibility of doing anything
else.  But the moment he felt the least return of
strength he dragged his weary frame back to the scene
of competition, leaning painfully on his brother's arm;
and after working till he well-nigh dropped, he would
go back to bed for the next day, quite exhausted, to
begin the same process the day after! Perhaps the
excitement really kept him  up-anyhow, with his
usual affectionate  consideration  for his  parents,
Hippolyte treated his illness as lightly as possible to
them.  He writes:DE MA LOGE, PARIS, June I, 1832.
" I write a hasty line because you are anxious and
believe me to be ill.  I did not know that Lacuria
had said anything about it, or I would have given you
particulars before. It is only that I have had just a
little touch of cholera. It lasted five days, during
which I was pretty well spent, but the cousin of one
of my companions nursed me, and I soon got well.
Happily it was not much, and now I am full of very
different matters! I have to paint a picture, it is my
first, and I am competing with men who have tried
seven or eight times already. But I will not be discouraged,-at least I hope I shall not."




52            CONCOURS DE ROME.
"PARIS, June 24, 1832.
"I wish I could see you,.. but I am forcibly
detained here —gratitude itself ties me down. I must
try to justify M. Ingres' confidence by my picture, I
must defend his doctrine and the credit of his school
against men who are so prejudiced, that even if they
saw the truth they would not acknowledge it for fear
of condemning themselves.  You see I have a weighty
task upon my shoulders; God grant that I may be able
to bear it. But if it should crush me, at least I shall
have left nothing undone, and shall have used every
effort."
"PARIS, Aug. 31, 1832.
"At last I can give you a sign of life. Thank God
I have come to an end of the concours.  Now there is
a month to wait before knowing the result, which is
trying, as we should already have set out to join you,
if I did not fear that M. Ingres, who takes so much
interest in us, might think us indifferent. So we must
wait till after the judgment, which will be given by
the end of September. Till then our pictures are all
under seal, and M. Ingres-whose first glance will
pronounce my sentence-will only see mine at the
same time with the rest of the jury. I await that with
the keenest impatience, for one word of praise from
him is of infinite value to me.  On the last day of
competition the candidates can communicate with one




SUSPENSE.                  53
another, so that we saw each other's pictures. Mine
is in quite a different line from the rest, and it made
an impression which they did not conceal.  They
judged me much more favourably than I have judged
myself, for they talked about my winning the prize,
and I was not thinking of that. The Director, Subdirector, and Professor who came that evening to affix
the seal of the School on the pictures, spoke of mine to
M. Ingres, and very favourably too. All this would tend
to excite my hopes, but no! I must keep them down.
My dear master is on tenterhooks like myself. He
often says,' Oh, if you have done well how much I
shall owe to you!' How dreadfully long this month
will seem! 
"PARIS, Sept. 9, 1832.
" My dear Auguste,-If you only knew how impatient we are to see you!  But various essential
matters hinder me, things which I cannot set aside.
I am waiting most impatiently for the time when M.
Ingres will be able to tell me what he thinks of my
picture. You can hardly imagine how I long for and yet
dread the moment! The judgment of my competitors
was in its favour, and I must confess to you that in
my own heart and conscience I think myself superior
to the rest. This is a confession which I entreat you
to keep to yourself-it might appear unseemly for me
to make it. Besides, I warn you that I expect nothing;




54                  SUCCESS.
for my work is not in the least like the present style
of things. Not that I am the least bit satisfied with
my picture anyhow-I see numbers of faults which
with more time I could have corrected; but remember
that there are twelve figures, background, a great deal
of architecture, and a heap of accessories: and all that
had to be done in thirty-five days, for I was ill during
the first six weeks, and the others had half done before
I began to paint."
At last the longed-for moment arrived, and Flandrin found he had been successful! Let him tell his
own story.
" PARIS, Sept. 25, 1832.
"My dear Papa and Mama,-I must tell you of
our joy. I have worked hard and taken great trouble,
but I am altogether rewarded by the satisfaction of my
dear master. Let me tell you everything. To-day our
pictures were exhibited. When the time of opening
drew near my heart beat fast, for it is very alarming
to find oneself for the first time exposed to public
criticism and censure. At last the doors were opened,
the public entered, and from behind I could look on
at the groups of spectators. First I saw an enormous
gathering cluster round my picture, and then a number
of people whom I did not know asked me if I was not
M. Flandrin? and when I said yes, they congratulated




A POPULAR PICTURE.             55
me. A  minute after all our own fellow-students
arrived together.  They examined, criticised, and
then came up to me, squeezed me, surrounded me,
embraced me; and indeed these tokens of friendship
pleased me very much! Soon after the men from
other studios came, and many of them added their
testimony to that of my own comrades; and then
there came a crowd of people whom I had never seen,
among whom were some of the reporters, as you may
see in the Constitfuionne of the 26th. I was very happy
in the general approbation, but I still wanted that of
M. Ingres; he had not yet seen my picture, and I
trembled. About noon I went to see him, and told
him what was going on at the Exhibition. He shed
tears of joy, and told me to come back at five o'clock,
when he should have seen it. All the day there was
a crowd round my picture. When five o'clock came
I went to my master. He met me with open arms,
and told me that very few painters had made so
brilliant a debit, that he was proud of me as his pupil,
and a number of other flattering things. I repeat all
this because you are my father, mother and brother,
and because what gladdens me makes you so happy.
And certainly I could not have a more welcome
reward than M. Ingres' satisfaction, and the way in
which he expressed it. In short, the day's result is,
that artists and the public have decided by an




56             THE PRIZE WON.
immense majority that I deserve the prize. With the
public and M. Ingres on my side I think that I do
deserve it, but I don't expect to get it."
"Thursday, 27th.-To-day the crowd is as great as
yesterday, and says the same thing.  Many people
have been to congratulate M. Ingres, which pleases
him very much. This morning he went to his pupils,
and praised my picture highly, speaking of us with
so much kindness and affection. All this is far more
than I expected."
"Friday, 28th.-There is still a crowd around my
picture, and everybody says I shall get the prize; but
I don't believe it, for the cabal is horribly active.
"Here we are at Saturday, 29th. It is the day of
judgment, but yet I am much calmer than when I was
waiting for M. Ingres' opinion. Now he and the public
have adjudged the prize to me, and that makes me
calm. I have done my best, and I hope I shall bear
injustice bravely since I have done my duty. Among
painters our battle is the struggle between good and
evil-the two principles can never be reconciled; and
so our enemies are going to collect all their strength.
M. Ingres has just left me to go to the judgment,
saying,' We shall see how far men can carry iniquity!"'
Below the last lines come the following words, written
with a trembling hand in large writing:-" Well, I was
mistaken! I have got the prize! I will tell you all




FLANDRIN'S DELIGHTT.           57
fully soon. Adieu! Your son who loves you, oh, so
very much! "
"PARIS, Sept. 30, 1832.
"My dear Papa and Mama,-You cannot fancy
M. Ingres' delight! In spite of all his enemies one of
his pupils has at last succeeded in winning this prize!
To be the French student sent to Rome, and that by
universal consent! My picture remains at the school,
to be placed in the Salle des grands jirix.
" Our journey will be delayed still, for the prizes are
not given yet, and I must receive my brevet with my
own hand. I am very sorry, for I long to embrace
you, tell and explain everything to you; but we
must wait another three weeks. It does seem so long!
" An idea has come into our head, and if it could
come to pass I should be so delighted! It is, that
Auguste might come at once to Paris; he would see
the distribution of prizes, the Exhibition, in short, all
Paris; and after a few days we should set out together
for Lyons, and after staying there for two months I
should start for Rome, where I must be by January
ist.  If Auguste could do this, it would make me
very happy; but he must make haste, for we long to
get to you.
M. Ingres is always talking to me of Rome, and
what I am to do there. It seems that I shall inhabit
the Villa Medici, the most beautiful palace in Rome,




58           PAUL WINS A MEDAL.
that city of palaces.  I cannot realise it!  What a
wonderful thing, to have five years entirely given up
to study and cultivating one's talent! On the other
hand, there are some very sad things. M. Ingres says
that next year Paul must get the first prize for landscape, but meanwhile we shall be separated. Think
of that!
"PARIS, OCt. 21, 1832.
"My dear Papa,-I am still kept from you, first by
a portrait I am painting for M. Ingres which I cannot
get finished, and further, by what does not depend on
myself.  I have to receive my passport for Rome, and
the money for my journey, all which is done at the
Ministere des Affaires ttrangeres, where they do not
hurry themselves.  But they have been promised me
this week, and then I shall take leave of my dear master
and come to you quickly..
" Now for a piece of news! Paul has competed for
the first time in historical landscape composition.
Yesterday judgment was given, and it is he, it is Paul
has won the medal! We are pleased, and so is M.
Ingres; he looks upon it as a good augury for the great
prize next year.  Long live M. Ingres and his school!
"The distribution of prizes came off a few days
ago at the Institut. People say that there never was
such applause as burst out when I went up to salute
the President and M. Ingres. My dear good master




CELEBRITY.                   59
was so moved, and squeezed me in his arms so tightly!
How I do love him! more than I can tell.  I hope
soon to tell you the day we start, and the day we
shall arrive. I am boiling with impatience. Adieu!
I embrace you all three with my whole heart."
Flandrin was the first pupil of Ingres who had won
the grand prix, and it was an event which caused a
great stir in the art world of Paris. " The success of
his school," says Vicomte Delaborde, "had the charm
of novelty to some, but to others it signified a double
victory over the old academic idealism, and over the
avowedly revolutionary tone which inspired a certain
set of artists at that time."
All this contributed to make Flandrin a greater fame
than was usual under the circumstances, and he found
himself suddenly becoming a celebrity, less on account
of his real talent than as the advanced guard or representative of a party.  This was not, however, the
temptation it might have been to a more vain or selfconscious man; he was never disposed to come forward or meet the world's advances, and even if his
natural humility and simplicity had not withheld him
from profiting by the opening society offered him, his
means were an effectual barrier between the young
artist and such indulgence.  He could  not even
afford the clothes necessary; and when M. Bertin,




60            AMBROISE THOMAS.
director of the Journal des Debats (a man of considerable weight in the political and literary world), wishing to make acquaintance with the rising artist, invited
him to dinner, Flandrin had to find some excuse, his
real reason for not accepting being scarcely available,
i.e. that he possessed nothing in the way of head gear
save a casquette, and had not wherewithal to buy a hat.
Six happy weeks were spent by Flandrin at Lyons
with his family, and then at last he set off for the
Paradise  of artists-Rome, accompanied  by two
other successful competitors for the grand prix;
Leveil, who had won that for architecture, and Ambroise Thomas, the future composer of Caid and the
Songe d'une nuit d'te, who had just gained the first
prize for musical composition, and to whom, from
this time, Flandrin was bound with the ties of closest
friendship.  From  Thomas, Flandrin  learnt what
music really is, and during the happy days spent in
the Villa Medici, it was the young painter's constant
delight, after a day of hard study and work, to spend
the evening listening to his friend's exquisite rendering
of the chefs-d'euvre of his art.  It was a delight
which never failed to the end; until the day when the
same skilled and loving hands for the last time drew
forth from the organ of Saint Germain des Pres the
strains to which his friend's ear was closed for ever in
this life; and while Hippolyte Flandrin's coffin waited




DEPARTURE FROM FRANCE.              61
before the altar, Ambroise Thomas burst forth with
Beethoven's great Andante (Symphony in A), and
almost overwhelmed himself by the memories and
associations wakened thereby.
To those now accustomed to rush through the great
Mont Cenis tunnel, the following account of the young
artist's journey will seem almost like fiction.
"ROME, 7an. I2, I833.
"My dear Papa and Mama,-I must set you at rest
and tell you of our journey and safe arrival. After I
had said good-bye to you and my brothers, those dear
brothers! I felt that I was really rushing away from
you and from Lyons. As long as I could I looked
back to Lyons, which contains all I love, and sighed
heavily. One of my companions did all in his power
to cheer me, but he did not set to work the right way.
His gaiety worried me, tears would have relieved me
far more than laughing and singing. However, by
degrees they brightened me up, and the first night we
slept at La Tour du Pin...  The next day we entered
Savoy-inspection by the Savoyard Douane, and approach to the Alps. I enjoyed my companions' admiration, for they had never seen anything of the
kind, and I shared it heartily, for the scenery was
very fine. We entered a very narrow valley, frowning
rocks above us, the road cut out of their sides, and




62               MOVNT CETIS.
down below the precipice a torrent, the foam of which
we could see as we heard its roar. The weather was
fine, but the temperature grew colder, and in a few
hours we began to walk over snow (I say walk, for we
constantly did walk, and that very willingly). The
next day we crossed the Grotte des tchelles, and went
for some hours through a wild valley, which however
grew wider as we approached Chambery, which is a
pretty, lively town, and all around it cheerful. Montmelian and Aiguebelle are in this valley, and then we
entered into the Maurienne. There the landscape
changes, it becomes wilder, the pyramid-like mountains
are of darker rocks, scattered over with fir-trees, whose
dark boughs add to the gloom of the scene. The
valley rises up to Lanslebourg, and you see Mont
Cenis. At three o'clock in the morning we began the
ascent. Our team consisted of eight mules and seven
conducteurs. We went slowly, by the light of a lantern:
-everything was covered with snow, nothing to be
heard but the grelots of our team, and the howling
wind, which soon brought the clouds over us, so that
we could see no farther than the ground we stood on.
A fine snow came whirling round and blinded us; and
meanwhile we listened to a story told by one of the
men, of a post carriage which went over the precipice
ten days ago. Everything was lost, men, horses and
carriage. He wound up by saying,' As for to-day I




TURIN.                   63
am not afraid of the snow, but it is the wind!' And
then the coachman, the one you saw, asked very
gravely if we had said our prayers, and commended
his wife and children to God.  All this was not
exactly alarming, but it was rather exciting. We
three young men went on ahead, and were first at the
top. We could see nothing but the road, the clouds,
the crosses put up here and there to mark the windings of the way, and the little refuges. At the top
we breakfasted; the mules were taken off, and we
went on with our three horses. And now our troubles
began; for, crossing the plain of Mont Cenis, there was
a high wind, the carriage got into ruts, and we had to
keep it from upsetting by pulling it with ropes on the
opposite side from that on which it was tilted. I can
assure you I never was hotter than while about this,
knee-deep in the snow! Part of the descent on the
Italian side was difficult, but we soon left the snow, the
sun grewwarm,the mountains were lower, and wereached
Susa in splendid weather, and so went on to Turin.
" We stayed a day at Turin, and I wrote to you
from there. The streets are straight, wide, and full
of life. The two next days we were in the plains
of Lombardy.  At the Austrian customhouses we
were examined and rummaged, and even the letters
in our portfolios were read. At last we arrived at
Milan, a superb town which one should have plenty




64              THE APENNINES.
of time to see. We spent Christmas Day and the
following day there. The cathedral is sublime, all in
white marble, more than three hundred and sixty feet
high; we went up to the top twice by an open staircase.
The interior is full of precious sculptures and pictures,
in short, the whole thing is a marvel. It is impossible
to tell you all we saw in a letter, but we made careful
notes each evening, and I shall lose nothing.
"'After Milan, we saw Piacenza, Parma, Modena.
Everywhere customhouses, everywhere passports called
for, coming in and going out of all the towns-it is a
downright persecution.  Many a time we cried out
Vive la France / We stayed a day at Bologna, and then
started again to cross the Apennines. At first we had
bad weather in the mountains; there was a fine snow
falling all that day and the next morning, but about
nine o'clock the wind rose, carried away the mists,
and gave us a view of the mountains. The road became worse and worse, and we were constantly obliged
to have four oxen as a renfort to our three horses.
The summits of the Apennines are wild, and the
crosses one sees here and there are dreary, for they
are expiatory, and point out the spot of some assassination.  We were ascending still for three-quarters of
this day.  The wind was terrible; it carried the snow
about like dust, and we were constantly smothered in
whirlwinds of it. The clouds rested on the mountain




ARRIVAL AT ROME.                 65
crests, and were carried away with frightful rapidity.
More than once we thought the carriage would be
upset, but happily we got over all the highest points
without accident, which is more than every one can
say, for we saw  one carriage upset.  At last the
weather became glorious, and the next day we descended and reached Florence.  I must jump over
the rest of our journey, which was prosperous, and
tell you about Rome.
"We saw it, not without excitement, when about
five lieues off; the dome of St. Peter's rising above all.
A few minutes after we met some of our comrades,
who had come to meet us; all the others had made a
mistake, and come out the day before. At the Porta
del Popolo I met M. Bodinier's brother,I and several
other friends who went with us to the Academy. We
were delightfully received by the students, and dined
that evening with M. Horace Vernet.  As the student
whom I succeed is ill, I have a charming room provisionally.  I command the whole town; and the first
thing I saw from my bed on waking was St. Peter's
and the Vatican. The house and gardens and everything is far better than I had been told. Why are
Bodinier is a French artist, the painter of various Italian
subjects, among which a picture called "Ave Maria dans la
Campagne de Rome" is well known. It is now in the Museum
at Angers.
E




66            THE MASS OF BOLSENAA.
you not here, in this glorious country? The next day,
at breakfast, I got M. Ingres' letter enclosed in yours.
Oh! what a pleasure it was, I kissed them, and cried
over them...."
Flandrin's delight in Rome was as great as might
be expected.  In his first letter to his brothers he
speaks enthusiastically of his visit to the Vatican,
which had exceeded his greatest expectations. Especially he particularises the Mass of Bolsena, the
School of Athens and the Dispute.  He writes to his
parents:"ROME, Feb. 6, I833.
"Rome  comprises everything necessary to make
an artist happy; a glorious sky, a beautiful country, a
fine type of men, grand monuments, and the most
splendid pictures and sculptures. Every day I make
acquaintance with some chef-d'euvre, but I do not
hurry, because one grows utterly weary with seeing
Alluding to this, M. Delaborde says, "Is it not noticeable
that of all Raffaele's chefs-d'ceuvre in the Vatican the one which
he specially mentions is precisely the least complicated both as to
subject and execution, the one perhaps which contains most
markedly that reality in type, that unction and simplicity of expression which was eventually to stamp the French painter's own
works? It would seem as if Flandrin's earnest admiration for
the Mass of Bolsena might be partly because he saw his own
presentiments developed therein, and felt at home before that
picture which so essentially embodies inspiration without effort,
and truthfulness without display."




LIFE AT ROME.                  67
too much at once, and I do not want to weary of
what is beautiful.  But in spite of all these things
I am sad, especially in the evenings, because I want
you.  I am alone, and my thoughts always turn to
you.  I have a magnificent view from  my window,
and in the evening, when the sun is down, I look out
over this great town, over the Campagna beyond, and
my gaze loses itself in the vast horizon of the sea. But
my thoughts go farther, much farther-to you, and I
see you alone, sad, far from your children; the. picture
saddens me, and I shed tears, which are some relief,
and then I turn to a comforting idea, that of my return,
and this gives me courage and energy for work."
"Feb. 14.-For some time I have been at work,
but not as yet very actively. Several things hinder
me.  First, I have still a good deal to see; then the
room and studio which I occupy at present, though
most delightful, are only temporary, which keeps me
in suspense, and prevents my settling thoroughly.  I
shall not have my permanent quarters till April.
However, I am not losing my time.  I am working
from Raffaele,' and, above all, I profit by the contents
of a splendid library. Sometimes I go in the evening
to the Director's, where there is often a great crowd,
I~ Flandrin made some very interesting studies from the Stanze
at this time, which are now in the possession of his pupil, Louis
Lamothe.




68                OCCUPATIONS.
but that does not suit me best. I like it better when
there are not so many people, and when my late
travelling companion Thomas plays exquisitely..
Yesterday, Boieldieu, one of the first French composers,
who is passing through Rome, came to M. Vernet's
salon. Thomas was introduced to him, and then he
asked for me, shook hands, and seemed much interested.   He has a fine head, which indicates the
genius he has displayed."
"Feb. i5.-I have just finished some drawings
from  the antique, for which the Minister sent to M.
Vernet, on behalf of a work going on in Paris. The
Director applied to me, and I undertook them. Now
I am doing some bits from Raffaele, in the Vatican,
as a study. Then, as I told you, I read a great deal;
and I am learning Italian, at which I am working
steadily, because it is so useful, that one can hardly
get on without it.  We have a great deal to do with
Italians, and it is, moreover, a great enjoyment to
read and know the great classics of this language; so
I work hard at it. To-day I have been taking the
portrait of a sculptor student who has finished his
time and is returning to Paris-Jaley  by name; this
Now member of the Academie des Beaux Arts, and the
sculptor of two of the finest modern historical statues in France,
Mirabeau and Bailly, executed for the Chambre des Deputes by
the order of M. Thiers when he was Ministre de l'Interieur.




HOME CRAVINGS.                 69
will remain in the Academy.... I am on very
pleasant terms with all my fellow-students, and have
nothing whatever to complain of as concerns them.
I hope they may say as much of me. I am very
happy here, but I don't want to go to sleep in my
bien-&tre. I know what is due to M. Ingres, and his
letter, which I read over often, is a constant stimulus
to me. May the result justify my efforts!"
There was one drawback to Hippolyte's full happiness, to which allusion is often made. It was the first
time in their lives that he and his brother Paul had
been separated; and, while thoroughly appreciating
the relief from grinding want, and the opportunity of
"talking face to face with Raffaele and Phidias," he
sorely missed the dear companion who had hitherto
shared the hardships of his life, and whom he now
craved after to share its pleasures. Writing to Paul,
he says: "Rome is sublime in her beauty, but one's
mind is not always equally able to enjoy it. I am
often very sad, especially in the evening, when I look
at the magnificent sunset sky, and my thoughts wander
afar. When the lights in the town begin to glimmer
I shut my window, and read Plutarch till about nine
o'clock, and then I go to bed and read over your
letter and M. Ingres', and fall asleep thinking of you
and him..... Can it be really true that I have left




70                   HOPES.
the Rue Mazarin and the studio, Pont Royal and the
city, with her two crowning towers of Notre Dame!
I dwell more on all their beauties now that I am
absent.  This country is delightful, but it will be
much more so when we enjoy it together.  Ailons,
courage, let us work away! The progress we both
make will add to the delight of meeting again!"
Flandrin's letters to his brothers, who were now
together in Paris, are full of enthusiastic love for art,
and earnest cravings for advance in it both for himself
and them.
"ROME, Feb. 25, I833.
" I rejoice to see that you are working hard; I have
always felt that Auguste would not have cause to
repent of his resolution, and what you Paul and
Bodinier tell me of his progress is precisely what
pleases me best, because I have confidence in your
judgment, and I know that you love him too much to
flatter him.  Dear Auguste, persevere bravely, and
we will all three go on together and help one another.
For my own part, I feel greatly the want of an aid
and helper; of some one to raise my courage when it
fails, as too often happens, and which has already
happened here, although amid so much that is new
and exciting I ought to be free from such a malady.
But it is just because the sight of all these beautiful
things makes me long to work, and several misadven



SETTLING TO WORK.                71
tures hinder me from working as I should like. First
of all, there is no room in the Vatican, it is full of
copyists, and if you want to paint you must engage a
scaffold three months beforehand.  Then, on the
other hand, I cannot work at the Academy, because I
have not yet got my studio, the man whom I succeed
not having finished his last picture.  M. Vernet has
been so kind as to lend me his studio, but it is so full
of his pictures and concerns, and, in honest truth,
those are so entirely different from what I want to do,
that I cannot stay there long, still less work there.
(Don't repeat this to any one; it is not well to get
wrong with the people one lives with, especially when
there is nothing whatever of which to complain.)
But I hope soon to be in my own quarters, for which
I shall have waited. three months, not in idleness
certainly, but to my great inconvenience."
"Marc/h i, 1833.-Don't be anxious about my
health; I am quite well now. It was only that a little
while back, while working in the Vatican, I got a chill,
which brought back my. pains; but now I have got a
good cloak of thick Roman cloth, which is an invaluable defence against the cold, and since that I have
worked on without any return of the pains. (However,
I beg the aforesaid pain not to look upon this as said
in defiance.)
"I was very sorry to hear of M. Ingres' illness, both




72                   MUSIC.
because of his own suffering, and because it must delay
his picture. I do so dread that it will not be in the
Exhibition! and if it appeared now it would be so
propos! Everybody's eyes are fixed in expectation
on our master, and I really believe that great work
would be appreciated. That would be the final stroke
of victory, at least I think and hope so with all my
heart.... You were right to reassure M. Ingres
about   - and  ~-; we seldom  meet, and they are
working hard. Tell M. Ingres that the only people with
whom I talk art are himself, Raffaele and Phidias.
I have never had any discussion in the Academy, and
hope not to have. Words are not very effectual to
convince in such a case; example goes a great deal
further; let us try to argue by that means.
"My dear Paul, you talk  about music, and
Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony.  Oh, how I should
like to have heard it with you! The way you speak
shows that you appreciated it thoroughly.  I am
fortunate enough to know it, not indeed as executed
by the perfect orchestra of the Conservatoire, but
admirably rendered on the piano by my good friend
Thomas, who gives us some of the best music almost
every evening. We have Beethoven, Mozart, and all
the best masters in turn, and often there is music in
The Martyrdom of Saint Symphorien. It was not exhibited
till I834.




SOCIETY.                   73
M. Vernet's salon, when I promise you I am never
absent! All the best society comes there. Yesterday evening we had a Grand Duchess of Baden, a
Bavarian Princess, and another from Sweden, besides
ambassadors, dukes, counts, and countesses, barons
and so forth; among whom I often see very fine heads
andgood draperies. Among the beauties Mademoiselle
Vernet is always conspicuous. As to me I look and
listen from my corner, and sometimes I actually pluck
up courage to cross the salon before everybody!"
"ROME, March 25, I833.
" I was delighted to hear of the sensation caused by
M. Ingres' portrait, though I fully expected it. And I
was still more pleased to hear that several of his
pupils had distinguished themselves, and so bore
witness to his sound teaching, and the truth of his
principles.... Tell M. Ingres that I often take his
favourite walk from the Academy to the Coliseum
by Santa Maria Maggiore, and always with a little
sketch-book in my pocket. I go into the churches and
make croquis. If you only knew the effect of going into
Santa Maria Maggiore! First one is struck by the
mysterious gloom which enfolds the choir and aisles,
and the perfect stillness which prevails, two or three
people only kneeling in a corner. A few days ago I
went there, and was startled by this religious impres



74          STA. MARIA MAGGIORE.
sion. All of a sudden a beautiful chant rose from
some distant chapel, in the most perfect harmony with
all the surroundings.  My eye grew  accustomed to
the darkness, and then I could distinguish the figures
in Greek mosaic which decorate the back of the choir,
and which are really awful in their greatness. Indeed
these old basilicas impress me quite differently from
St. Peter's, which is a marvel of grandeur and richness;
but duly to estimate it you must use your feet rather
than your eyes, for, as one has often heard, it looks far
less spacious than it really is."
" ROME, Aril 20, 1833.
" At last I am finally settled in my own room and
studio, a nice one of twenty feet square joining my
room. It is adorned with some good bas-reliefs, some
other casts, all I have in the way of engravings and
sketches, and two or three heads I have drawn from
Raffaele."  [Flandrin also inscribed on one of the
panels of his studio the words of Psalm xcii. 4, "Thou,
Lord, hast made me glad through Thy works, and I will
rejoice in giving praise for the operation of Thy
Hands."]  "I have left the beautiful view I had over
the town for a quieter scene; my present room looks
on to the gardens. Between and above the laurel
trees I see the fine pines of the Villa Borghese,
glimpses of the plain, and towering above all the




FLANDRIN'S STUDIO.                  75
beautiful snow-covered Sabine hills. It is a wonderfully
calm refreshing view.  At this moment as I write the
sky is bright with stars; I hear no sound save that of
a fountain, the plaintive monotonous cry of a bird, and
now and then a distant clock striking.   There is
nothing to remind one of the town.  All is calm,
silent, beautiful; one can think and dream as one will.
Oh! this stillness has a great charm for me, and when
I feel it I travel the more readily to you-I see and
speak with you! But one must come back to realities,
and we shall not meet again this long while yet.
Never mind, courage!  The thing is to make good
use of the time, and that is what I am trying to do.
I am making special studies from  models in order to
overcome the faults I am  conscious of.... I hear
that the Duke of Orleans' has ordered a picture of M.
Ingres.  I am  delighted, because at least that will be
seen, and nothing more is needed for M. Ingres'
paintings."
To M. Lacuria.
"ROME, April 23, I833.....  How  often I have wanted you to enjoy
things with me, for at Paris we shared interests so
This picture was the Antiochus and Stratonice, which was
bought by M. Demidoff at the sale of the Duke of Orleans'
gallery in I853, and is now the property of the Duc d'Aumale.




76              EASTER DA Y.
fully!  And so amid the Alps, at Milan in the
cathedral, at Florence with Masaccio, Giotto and da
Fiesole, at Rome with Raffaele and Michael Angelo;
in town or country, wherever I am among beautiful
things, I think of my brothers, and always including
you. I suppose they have shown you my letters, and
that you know all about me-so let me tell you what
I saw on Easter Day. Early in the morning I went
to Saint Peter's. The great piazza was already full of
neighbouring peasants, with their wives and children,
and among them a great many pilgrims, some coming
from far. The greater part were sitting on tle ground,
waiting for the benediction, which was to be given at
noonday. There were wonderfully beautiful groups.
Soon the church also filled. The crowd in these
churches is not a quiet one as it is in France; there
are no chairs, and the people are continually moving
and heaving like the waves of the sea.  I was fortunate enough to get a good place, and to assist at the
Pope's high mass. The ceremonial is magnificent.
After mass the Pope went solemnly through the
church, carried on a throne by sixteen men, and preceded by all the Bishops now in Rome. I never saw
such fine heads as some of the Greek or Armenian
Bishops. Then came all the Cardinals, and lastly the
Pope. He was carried to a tribune in the midst of
the faqade of Saint Peter, which commands the




ROMAN CHURCHES.                77
piazza from a height of at least one hundred and fifty
feet. Everything combined to make this spectacle
sublime. The sun, which had been clouded, shone
forth at that moment as the Pope appeared in the
tribune, sitting on his throne, still raised on his
bearers' shoulders. Then the most absolute silence
prevailed amid the vast crowd; the Pope rose, spread
out his hands, and gave his blessing' to the city and
the universe.' At the same moment the guns fired,
their thunder mingling with the sound of bells, drums,
bands. I never saw  anything so majestic or so
solemn. Long shall I remember it! "
" May 4.-I often go into the churches. Perhaps I
go too much as a looker on, but I cannot help thinking of France, and comparing what one sees there
with what goes on here.  The churches in Rome are
very numerous, and no doubt that is one reason why
one finds so few people in them at any given time. I
recall the crowds one finds in the Lyons and even
in the Paris churches,-how striking and quiet and
reverent they are! Here people come and go, talk
out aloud, salute their friends and acquaintance, andspecially if it be a high festival-one would hardly
believe oneself to be in a church! We complain of
the exterior of the Parisian clergy, it is far worse
here! But the monks are admirable; they are grave,
recollected, and many of them  look most entirely




78               OVERBECK.
religious. I take to them because they have an open,
frank manner, which one does not find among the
bourgeois, and in the matter of physical beauty they
are infinitely superior, especially the mendicant orders.
I fancy this is because the monks are peasants, or
hommes du peuple, and these have preserved a very
remarkable and characteristic physiognomy, whereas
the middle classes and rich people are of the most
ordinary type."
"May 25.-A few days ago Vibert and I went to
see Overbeck, who was good enough to show us his
works. We were charmed with the religious spirit
which pervades them; and we were specially struck by
an immense composition representing the revival of
art and science under the influence of religion. It is
most beautiful and well conceived, but Overbeck uses
means of expression which are not his own; he altogether takes the old masters' garb-he observes
nature, but by his own confession he hardly ever has
it actually before his eyes when working. Moreover,
he aims less at painting than at expressing his thoughts
as though in writing. To my mind he is wrong, for
if he intends to make use of painting as a way of
writing his thoughts, the more true and correct his
medium  the better the rendering will be.  But we
came away most pleasantly impressed, talking of the
religious impression which Overbeck knows how to




THE CAMPA GNA.                 79
give his works, and which always conveys a calm
cheerfulness..
To his Brothers.
" ROME, May 22, 1833.
"I have just been making a two days' expedition in
the neighbourhood. If you could but have been with
us! There were my friend Vibert, Stiirler, M. Ingres'
pupil, Thomas, and three others.  I never in all my
life saw anything to compare to that beauty. We first
crossed a part of the Campagna, which was new to
me, intersected by long lines of aqueducts: buffaloes
and oxen grazing in the marshes.  At Albano we left
the carriage, and walked by a delicious path beneath
the finest, most beautiful trees I ever saw, the sea, lit
up with sunshine, sparkling amid their branches. As
far as Ariccia, which is much higher than Albano, it
was but one exclamation at the beauty! As for me I
could only be silent and gaze on the beautiful sea,
which we overlooked from on high, the islands more
than twenty miles off, and the Campagna with Rome
in the midst, looking merely like a cloud of dust.
Directly after we came upon the Lake of Albano, the
bed of which is the vast crater of a volcano, on the
edge of which stands Castel Gondolfo. The next day
we started early on donkey-back. My ass was bigger
than ordinary, and just like those which Raffaele has




80             GROTTA FERRA TA.
painted in the Loggia.  We went slowly through fine
woods to the top of Monte Cavo, whence there is
the most marvellous panorama imaginable.  After
revelling in it a long while, we came down again,
passed through the village Rocca di Papa, and went
to Grotta Ferrata, where we visited Domenichino's fine
frescoes. Thence to Frascati, and at last back to
Rome, eager for work, as the people in all those
places struck me quite as much as the scenery. The
women are most exquisitely beautiful-such grandeur,
such breadth! Here indeed are Raffaele's models!
He took them from this beautiful nature-nature who,
queenly and supreme as she is, gives so freely to those
who woo her with humble cravings."
"ROME, 7uly I7, I833.
"My dear Paul,-I am very sad after seeing our
dear comrade Deroches' drowned before my eyes
without the possibility of saving him. Some twenty
of us had gone to bathe, only about ten being able
to swim, of whom Deroches was one. They all went
up about a mile higher than we who could not swim,
meaning to come down the stream.  Only Deroches
stayed behind, and, in spite of all we could say, he would
Deroches was a young painter (not an Academy student)
working at Rome.. His mother had just joined him, and the
next day he was to start for France with her. He had stopped
in the midst of packing for this bathing party.




A COMRADE DROWNED.                   81
cross the Tiber; but, coming back, he got exhausted
in the most rapid part of the current. I saw him raise
his hands for help, I heard his last cry of agony. It
was horrible! I shall never forget it! He never reappeared, and there was nothing to be done. You
can imagine our despair. A moment after the others
came down.  Perhaps if they had been there Deroches
might have been saved! Then his poor mother had
to be told. The next day we returned to the spot, in
hopes of recovering the body, and rendering it the last
offices, but all efforts were in vain. Three days later
I went with two other men to verify the body, which
had been brought to shore. It was him, but terribly
disfigured.  We buried him  in a church near the
Academy-his poor mother was gone.  I cannot tell
you how all these sad events have told upon me, it
seems all like a horrible dream. That poor young
fellow, so full of hopes-all come to an end. And now
M. Guerin' is dead.  He died yesterday, after more
than two months' failure. Madame Horace never left
him, and Bodinier did all that a son could do for him.
He is a real friend! To-day is the burial, to-morrow
a service.  You see what a sad chain of events it is."
It was only a year before Flandrin's earnest desire
was fulfilled, and his brother Paul rejoined  him
Horace Vernet's predecessor as Director of the Academy.
F




82             MONEY MA TTERS.
at Rome. Hippolyte, as usual, was thoroughly unselfish, sharing all his small means with his brother,
and even contriving, though not without the greatest
difficulty and constant self-denial, to send his mother,
from time to time, sums which, however small they
may seem as compared with the lavish expenditure
of wealthy people, were large and important both to
giver and receiver in this case.
In March I833, Flandrin writes to his brother
Paul:-" Tell me in your next letter if you sent mama
what I told you, and what you have taken yourself
from my money in M. Ingres' hands. I only want to
know what we actually have, for remember that when
you need it my money is yours and theirs as much as
mine."  And again:"Oct. 20, I833. —... I send this letter under
cover to our cousins, because I have things to say
which will not do for a family letter.... I want to
know what you have done about the money we had
in. Paris... Tell me, and also about any other little
resources you may have. If only I had my 3000 francs
at my own disposal, then we should both be well off,
whereas now I am in a close fit myself. For the last
ten months I have been trying to lay by  oo francs
for mama, but I have not managed it. Yet you know
that I am not a spendthrift! nor have I become one.
But I will explain to you how, with 3000 francs a year,




EXPENSES.                     83
one may be without a sou to spare. You see 2I00
francs are deducted for board  and lodging, and
medical advice if needed. So then there remain 900
francs, to pay for attendance, tailor, shoemaker and
laundress, light, wood (and already I am obliged to
have a fire for my model), canvas, models, and all
other appliances. So you see there is a superabundance in one direction and positive stint in the other.
One is very comfortable at the Academy, one wants
for nothing, but nevertheless one has not means to
get as many models as one requires.  All the fellows
who do anything of consequence for their envois'
spend five or six hundred francs more than their
pension, and that is what I am unable to do.-But to
return to your matters, we shall find you some resources here....  You may do these things from
time to time, without really neglecting your other
studies. Oh, when you see these landscapes! How
often I have delighted to think of the pictures you
may make from them! You will find Poussin and his
grand simplicity at every turn. There is no landscape
painter here who has got eyes in his head, but when
you see the Roman Campagna you will paint it as it is.
The "envois" were pictures which, according to the original
rules of the French Academy, her students at Rome were bound
to send to Paris from time to time as guarantees that they were
really studying and advancing in their profession.




84         PA UL FLANDRIN A T ROME.
You will advise me, I shall advise you, and we shall
renew the old student life I love so dearly...
Early in January I834, Paul Flandrin arrived at
Rome, and then Hippolyte was able to go on working
at his "envoi," which for very excitement in the
delightful prospect had come to a standstill, and was
reposing with its face to the wall, until the young artist
should feel steady enough to continue it. In the September of 1833 Flandrin had sent his brother Paul a
sketch of this proposed picture, in order that it might be
submitted to M. Ingres. It was done from nature, and
the sketch selected was chosen out of sundry attempts.
"The subject is from  the Iliad.  At the moment
when the Grecian army gathered to make a fresh
assault on the town, Polites, Priam's youngest son,
trusting to his agility, ventured alone among the
Trojans to remain without the walls, and seated on
the tomb of the ancient  Esetes, he watched the
Greeks.  I want advice on another matter.  Next
year I must make my copy (another envoi), and after
seeing  innumerable  fine works, I have fixed  on
Raffaele's glorious Galatea. It is a great undertaking,
but still I should like it very much.  It has such
breadth and vigour, and is at the same time so fair!
Flandrin eventually gave up copying the Farnese fresco, and
his co5ie d'envoi was from the School of Athens. It is now to
be found in the Ecole des Beaux Arts.




PICTURES AND STUDIES.                85
If M. Ingres approves, you see what my picture would
be. Here, the only idea is to paint great pictures, but
I am less ambitious, and though I may be laughed at, I
should be quite content if it were possible for me to
paint one good figure. I hold that I came to Rome not
so much to paint pictures as to acquire the power of
painting them."
"ROME, Dec. 24, 1833.'...When I began my figure I resolved to show
it to nobody, but you can't imagine how difficult that
is! First of all, I was obliged out of respect to show it
to M. Horace Vernet. He examined it for a long time,
and said,' I confess honestly that I was not prepared
for this, it is very original and in very good tone.'
But one can't trust to that. Since I have been forced,
will you, nill you, to show it to others who have praised
it highly, but as to reckoning upon all that!... To
you, brother, I look for real frankness,-it is the truest
proof of friendship which can be given."
About this time Flandrin's eyes became a source of
trouble to him; the first allusion to this anxiety is in
a letter to his brother Auguste dated May 3, I834,
and his usual tenderness for his mother appears in his
regret that a letter of a few days' earlier date may have
fallen into her hands and alarmed her about his eyes.
"I complained a good deal of them, and asked you




86           VERNET AND INGRES.
to consult Cousin Beaumers. It is a great trouble to
me! It is a weakness in my good eye, and for the
last six weeks I have done nothing in order to give it
rest, which is almost the only remedy suggested. But
don't make yourself unhappy, for the last few days it
has been rather better; only I do regret all the time it
makes me lose!"
It was becoming now a question of Ingres succeeding Horace Vernet as Director of the French Academy
in Rome, and in the same letter Flandrin alludes to
this: —" I also told you not to start for Paris till you
knew  whether M. Ingres is coming to Rome as
Director, in which case I should advise you to come
here at once. When you see M. Ingres you will know,
here it is spoken of as a thing settled and done. Give
him our love, and beg him to forgive me for not having
yet made the little sketch he wants from his picture at
the Trinita di Monti.' I looked out in vain for a
moment when I could get the ensemble. However, as
the time for sending envois grew near, I went to try
and copy as much as I could see, when my poor eyes
put an invincible hindrance in the way. It is very
hard that casual circumstances should make us who
love our dear master so much seem ungrateful; he
asked Paul to copy a head of St. Peter in the Vatican,
i Our Lord giving the keys to St. Peter,-a picture now in
the Luxembourg Gallery.




ART ED UCA TION.                87
and Paul has never yet been able to get near it. The
hall of the Disputa is full of Russians making enormous copies, and during the year and a half I have
been here, though I have been longing to copy some
heads, I have never succeeded.  But Paul has bespoken a place, and the first thing he means to do is
this head for M. Ingres.  Tell him all this."
In spite of Flandrin's personal pleasure in the
prospect of Ingres coming to Rome, he regretted
it professionally.  "In my  private  opinion,"  he
wrote to his brother, "it is a misfortune for art. The
thought of seeing him again delights me, but I grieve
that he should forsake a position in which he had so
desirable an influence over art in France." And in
another letter he says:-" In coming here I regret to
see him give up the works he was about to execute,
and which, being permanently located in Paris, (one
was the decoration of a chapel in Saint Sulpice, the
other some wall painting in the new church of Notre
Dame de Lorette,) in places open to all the world,
would have taught so many people, for I believe that
in order to correct the judgment of a perverted public
you must constantly show them what is really good.
M. Ingres has done this already, and it has not been
duly appreciated, but it is a question of education.
People must have what is really beautiful before their
eyes till they get accustomed to it."




88             HORACE VERNET.
To  M. Ingres himself Flandrin wrote a little
later:"RoME, yuly 25, I834.
"My dear Master,-Now that all uncertainty is
over, we may give ourselves up to the pleasure of
seeing you again, as is but natural. You have done
so much for us, showed such real interest in us! And
so you are coming back to beautiful Rome, and I trust
it will give you all the rest and quiet you need, and
that you will leave the endless worries of Paris behind
you. Meanwhile you will work, and your paintings
will be constantly teaching the right road in France.
" M. Vernet tells me that he has written to you, and
that he by no means congratulates you on coming
here. I could not help telling him that I thought it
would have been kinder to say so before your appointment than after. If M. Vernet has had some trifling
annoyances, it is generally considered due to the
legerete of his character, which nevertheless is full of
kindness. I, who have never received anything but
kindness from him, am of this mind; and I only speak
out so freely because I am afraid his letter may have
prejudiced you against the students here, who are all
full of respect and esteem for you. I am sure that
they have only to know you and love you. We ourselves are only too happy in regaining our dear master
and his good advice, and we anticipate the day of




POLITES.                   89
meeting longingly....-Your grateful and respectful
pupil."
Meanwhile Flandrin's envoi, Polites, had reached
Paris, and he writes to Auguste, September 22,
I834:-"Thanks for what you tell me about my envoi.
I foresaw M. Ingres' judgment; I knew all its faults, but
I did not feel that I could correct them save in another
picture. I was setting to work in good earnest when
the affection of my eyes came to make me lose
this year during which I reckoned on making some
progress. I do regret it bitterly. I should have been
so glad to show M. Ingres something better. But to
have nothing at all! However, as my eyes are pretty
well now, I am beginning another picture. If I could
express all I feel it would be better unquestionably.
Please give my love to M. Ingres, and tell him that
I see all the justice of his criticisms on my envoi,
which are so much good advice which I shall try to
use. And please thank him  in behalf of us all for
the interest he takes in all that concerns us. I think
he hardly knows how much we love him. Make my
respects to Madame Ingres, and say that if we may
know the day of their arrival at Rome, and it will not
annoy them, some of us would like very much to go
out and meet them."




90           PICTURE FROM DANTE.
"ROME, Oct. 28, 1834.
"...I have been glad to see in the newspapers
that my figure has not been thought ill of. Indeed it
has been more praised than I expected, and I am glad
that M. Ingres has had no annoyance on that score.. I have begun a picture which I should like to
have presentable against M. Ingres' arrival.   The
canvas is ten feet high, the subject taken from Dante's
Purgatorio; eleven figures in the foreground.  You
see I have embarked in a great undertaking, and I
fear M. Ingres may not approve of it, but now it is
some way on, and I must do my best.  If only you
had been here you should have been my modelfor
Virgil! Don't mention this picture to any one."'
"ROME, Feb. I8, I835.
"My dear Papa,-..   I am working with all my
might for the Exhibition, which opens in six weeks.2
M. Ingres seems satisfied with my picture, but not so
I myself; I should like to begin something else in
hopes that it might be better. Paul too works hard,
and I expect his progress will be rapid under M.
This picture was exhibited in 1836, and won the second
medal.  It was bought soon afterward by the town of Lyons
for 3,500 francs, and is now in the Museum.
2 According to the former rules of the French Academy there
was an exhibition every spring of the students' envois, after which
they were sent to France.




TRA VELS.                  91
Ingres' advice, and that we shall soon see some good
landscapes of his. M. Ingres seems very happy here.
He has been so well received by all the first artists of
every nation; and he found so much order, regularity
and harmony among the students, that he was quite
touched, and has said so repeatedly."
"ROME, May 9, I835.
"My dear Auguste,-...Our exhibition has just
closed; I wish you and papa and mama too could
have seen it, for M. Ingres expressed keen satisfaction,
and I have been congratulated by many artists; but still
I am not the more satisfied with myself, and I am very
far from going to sleep over it!  What really pleased
me (this is only between ourselves) was the satisfaction
M. Ingres showed on the first day of the Exhibition.
While first my figure' and then my picture were being
hung, his eyes sparkled with delight, and as he passed
me, he gave me a private squeeze of the hand, and
every time I have seen him since he has spoken in the
most hearty and encouraging manner."
"PISA, Yune I5, I835.
"My dear Papa,-A fortnight ago we set out, Paul,
Oudine and myself.   We have already seen Viterbo,
Orvieto, Bolsena, Aquapendente, Sienna, Volterra,
I A figure of Euripides, now in the Musee at Lyons.




92              HOT WEA THER.
and many smaller places, which are all interesting
because of what they contain either in architecture,
painting or sculpture; and  everywhere we made
sketches, which will be valuable remembrances, and
which we shall like to show you.  It is very pleasant
to walk, but horribly tiring in such weather. It is
only prudent to walk from three in the morning till
nine or ten o'clock, and then again after four or five in
the afternoon.  Thanks to neglecting this rule two or
three times, we are about the colour of mahogany,
and my slender beard and moustaches come out quite
white against our tint! but we will not make it any
deeper, and will be more careful."
To Eugene Roger.
" RME, Aug. I, I835.
"According to promise I will tell you all we did
after parting at the Porta Perugina. Florence was
lovely as seen from the hills we ascended, and as
usual when leaving anything I became full of regrets.
We often looked back, but in about two hours
Florence finally disappeared. In the middle of the
night we halted at San Giovanni, Masaccio's country.
Then slept at Castiglione. The next morning we
went under Cortona, but the great heat prevented us
from  even thinking of going up.  Lake of Thrasimene-awful heat; cicali such as I never saw  or




PERUGIA.                    93
heard before!  Once at Perugia we were greatly
pleased, and would fain have stayed there more than
two days, but Assisi lured us on. We were astounded
by our visit to San Francesco.  It is not merely the
finest collection of pictures of that school I ever saw,
but they pleased me more than any others. Cimabue
and Giotto are marvellously great!  However, we
were tired with the last two months' work, and could
not do much; and, bothered by the daily storms, we
left on the sixth day, promising ourselves to return on
purpose, and we still have to see Foligno and Spoleto.
During the three last days of our journey, we did not
know how to express our admiration for the beautiful
scenery through which we were passing; but amid all
this we were pestered with one terrible nuisance-the
fleas! I never saw anything like it. Only fancy, in
the carriage all four of us had to set to work at one
fellow's leg to get him something like clear!
"At Otricali we saw Mount Soracte and Monte
Cavi again, and I must confess we were very glad to
do so. We got back to Rome two months from our
start to a day.  Adieu! Ton camarade bien affectionne."
" ROME, Aug. 15, I835.
"My dear Auguste,-I understand your reasons,
and highly approve of your resolution not to leave our




94                 PARTINGS.
parents while there is any fear of cholera attacking
our city.  It is an excellent reason, and I would that
Paul and I could help you to comfort and encourage
our parents.  Your other reasons strike me as feeble.
Dear fellow, do what you think best, but consider all
I told you, and believe always in the sincere love of
your brothers. I reckon on that love as the real
happiness of my life-our life, I mean to say.
"I should have liked you to know our musician,
Ambroise Thomas, with whom I have formed a real
hearty friendship. He taught me to understand the
real beauty of music. Every one loves and esteems
him. For nearly three years we have benefited by
him as man and as artist, and by his admirable talent;
but there is an end to everything! He must go, and
I feel it very deeply. Since I have been here I think
I am much more sensitive to these things, and yet
they have come so often over and over again! Nearly
the whole Academy has been changed since I came;
I have had time to get attached to my comrades, and
then one by one I have seen them go, and Thomas is
the last, and quite the greatest loss I can have.
Without Paul I should be quite alone..... The
lovely music which I heard daily has become a
necessity to me. It had become a remedy against the
frequent attacks of discouragement which murder
one and destroy the best part of one's life...




THE FLANDRIN BROTHERS.               95
P.S.-We have just heard of the abominable crime of
July 28th,' and, like every one that loves his country,
we were horrified."
"RoME, Aug. I6, 1835.
"My dear Papa,-.. As the cholera is approaching Rome, to spare you anxiety through exaggeration,
I may as well tell you that it is at Leghorn, sixty miles
hence. At present there does not seem much to fear,
and it may leave us on one side, People say that the
situation of Rome, in an entirely volcanic country, is
favourable; we shall see. And if it comes, Paul will
come to me, we shall go out but little, and spend
the evenings with M. Ingres. After all, the best thing
is to wait patiently, and have trust in God. You bid
us pray to God for you, dear Papa. We never fail to
do so, but assuredly we shall do so now with double
earnestness, and on our side we look with comfort to
your prayers for us."
The close affection between the three brothers is
very touching; simple and unassuming as he was,
Hippolyte always seems to be forced into the position
of eldest, rather than Auguste, who was actually the
senior. Probably Hippolyte's position as an Academy
prizeman, and his superiority of means, small as that
was, were partly the cause of his being involuntarily
Fieschi's attempt.




96         WORK IN THE VATICAN.
treated as leader. His little bits of brotherly advice
are generally accompanied with some unselfish offer
or suggestion. Thus he writes, urging Auguste (who
was taking portraits at Lyons) to " work at them as if
they were studies. Don't let the thought of money
creep into them, for it spoils whatever it touches. All
the same, don't let that hinder you from asking a
better price than you have hitherto done."
Hippolyte and Paul were always longing to have
the trio united, and in the autumn of 1835 their wish
seemed likely to be realised. The French Government
commissioned Ingres, as Director of the Academy in
Rome, to have copies made of all Raffaele's pictures
in the Loggia and Stanze of the Vatican, and he
wished to associate Auguste Flandrin with his brother
Paul in the work. It does not exactly appear why
Auguste declined the offer, but Hippolyte writes, Sept.
29, I835: "Paul is working at his copies from Raffaele's
Loggia. I have seldom seen anything so difficult to
copy, but he is doing it very well, and between ourselves, we cannot help being very sorry that, after
being selected by M. Ingres, you should not be able
to come; for this work, while it forces one to make
real progress, would have brought you in useful supplies, and would probably have enabled you to try a
picture. However, it is not quite a lost chance, for,
if you come later, I hope M.: Ingres will give you




ST. CLAZIR.                   97
some of the copies to make.  Only yesterday he told
me how sorry he was not to see you at work there..   Paul works all day at the Vatican, and I in
my studio at my envoi.  It is a figure (called the.
Jeune Berger); and besides that I have a picture in
hand for the magnificent Cathedral of Nantes. The
subject is fine-St. Clair restoring sight to the blind.
The scene is at Nantes, where St. Clair was Bishop in
the third century, and my canvas is nine feet high. The
Bodiniers arranged it. They proposed to me to paint
the picture, and I accepted with great pleasure, so as to
do something that has a destination. As to the price we
must say nothing about that. I am doing fifteen figures,
the size of life, for a thousand francs, pretty much what
the expenses will be-but what would you have?  I
would rather that than be obliged to hire a lumberroom."
To M. Armbroise Thomas.
" ROME, yan. 20, I136... As you say, you have returned to an active
life, I, as well as all who know you, hope that you
will neglect nothing, that you will seize opportunities,
and that before long we shall hear you spoken of. If
such opportunities occur, do not lose your courage.
Work, always work on.; It will not be lost, even if
there were no other result than strengthening your
powers.  I remember you used to say -yourself that
G




98             FELL O W-STUDENTS.
to write well a man must write much...... I will
tell you what we are all about. Jouffroy has just finished a very beautiful figure.  Husson, who has three
months' extension of his time, is getting on with his
group.  Simart is doing a great bas-relief, which
promises well; Oudine a figure, with which M. Ingres
is delighted,  Jourdy and Brian have each a figure in
hand.  In architecture I am  best acquainted with
Baltard's envoi, which is very interesting and well
done.  As to Elwart, he is composing comedies,
dramas, songs, and odes; besides cantatas, duets,
trios, and ever so many masses.  He works as hard
as possible. For myself, I have almost finished my
figure, and am  getting on with my picture, which
began with ten figures, and now has seventeen,-a
little bit of dear old  Thomas, which everybody
recognises, is one."
To the Same.
"ROME, March I7, 1836.
"Yesterday M. Ingres came to me in the salon, and
squeezing my hand, said in a whisper,' Oh, how more
than ever I miss him!' He did not mention your
name, but we are so much in the habit of talking of
you that I quite understood.  Your letter and the
little bit of Beethoven [an autograph] pleases him
much.  By this time you will have seen Oudine,




A HURT.                   99
and perhaps Elwart. Instead of them we have got
Farochon, and also Boulanger, who seems a very good
sort of fellow. I am so glad you gave him your waltzes.
I often linger in the corridor to hear him practising
them....  What of Meyerbeer's new opera? [the
Huguenots, just out.]  Mind and tell me in your
next letter."
To M. Lacuria.
"ROME, March 24, I836.
"It is so long since I sent you a friendly word,
that, although I have nothing to write with save my
left hand or the two middle right fingers, I must not
hesitate to begin. The cause of my incapacity is this.
After finishing both my picture and figure, with back
and chest broken and eyes worn out with tire, I intended to set myself up again by a little expedition
to the sea, returning by the mountains; when, choosing
some brushes in a shop, and using my nail vigorously
to draw them out of a packet, the wood split, and a
splinter went up under the nail as far as the first joint.
I had to run half over the town to find a'surgeon who
could take it out, and the result has been a great deal
of pain, and instead of a tour I have been condemned
to keep my room  and be starved! But don't be
alarmed-I am much better.
" Janmot has a letter from you, in which you abuse




o00          LA CURIA'S CRITICISMS.
yourself tremendously for having-so you say-written
all manner of nonsense to me about my picture.
I don't agree with you.  I thought some of your
advice very useful, and I have kept it.  My studio
is in such a mess that I can't just now put my hand
on your letter, so I cannot refer to it, but I will
answer from  memory.  First of all; as I like your
tone, I was very pleased to read your praise of certain
parts which myself, too, I think the best. Then, looking at it as a whole, you say that you do not recognise
Hell, or the expression of fear which is so prevailing
in Dante. But here you are mistaken; it is Purgatory
that is treated, and the predominant feeling in Dante's
mind is not fear, but pity: a feeling which I have
tried to express by Dante's action, that of consoling
the suffering souls. As to the criticism that there is
a lack of power in the expression, I entirely agree with
it. Dante's poetry is quite another thing. It has often
made me afraid with a sublime fear; but to convey
that one needs something far beyond the talent of a
man who can see, or fancies that he sees, what is true
beauty at intervals as transient as lightning, and then
grows lost in the analysis of form, tone, and all that is
purely mechanical. It is the trouble which the mechanical part is to me which involves so poor a result
in expression. I feel and confess'it, and yet (perhaps
I may be mistaken) it does not seem to me a reason




ENCOURA GEIMENT.               Io
for avoiding difficult subjects, and that because one
never shakes off pettiness of handling so well as when
subject to a predominant thought. I think that ought
to enable one to improve far more than aimless studies.
To my mind, the more one asks the more one gets.
Ask a great deal, and you will get a little; ask but
little, and you get —nothing! I am not sure if you
will understand me, anyhow I am sure that you would
understand what I want to say if I were talking. It
is so difficult to write these things 
" I have finished my other picture, my Saint Clair,
and M. Ingres came to see it. If you only knew how
encouraging he was! Well, I think I must tell you all
about it, on condition that it goes no further. He came
in, sat down in front of the picture, and for a bit said
nothing.  I was confused, and so was Paul.. At last
he got up, looked at me, and embraced me warmlyyou know his way  saying,'Well, mon ami, art is not
lost, and I have not been useless!' I felt very small
to be the subject of such words, and did not know
how to speak, only my tears fell. The dear good man
was so happy! I shall never forget that minute! But
I could only tell such a thing to a friend like yourself,.my dear Lacuria; you must see as well as I do that it
would damage me in the sight of others.
"I remember your asking me some time ago if I
really loved this country? Somehow I cannot ex



102            LOVE FOR ROME.
press what I feel. I love France dearly-my parents
and friends are there, and assuredly I love it best; but
when I think of leaving Rome I am heart-broken.
When I look from my window on that beautiful plain,
and the fine chain of Sabine mountains-those fine
mountains with their grand old names; and then at our
lovely garden, and at the old palace where I dwell;
when I see all this from one window, and then turning
to the other I command the whole town, with the sea
line in the horizon, I cannot bear to think of leaving
it all. It will cost me a great deal, but it must be
done; I feel that I ought not to live here...."
To M. Ambroise Thomas.
"ROME, April 30, 1836.
"....Yesterday I was alone; it was very fine, and
I went to the upper galleries of the Coliseum, where
I had never been since you left. How childish one
is! Coming to that last arch, I was quite overcome.
However, I got there, and nothing is changed, except
that the two little seats, intact, are surrounded with
big plants and flowers. I thought of you, and recalled
what you said one day as we were going up the Pincio,
about our being happy if some day we could make a
name, and attain some reputation as artists. I reechoed you; and now we must remind one another of
it, for such a stimulus is helpful. There are still two




GOLD MEDALS.                 103
years before we shall meet again,-two of our best
years: they should be well spent."
Amid all this enthusiastic devotion to his art and
artist friends, the parents at Lyons were never forgotten; the same warm  outpourings of love which
went to them from the young boy first leaving home
continued to cheer M. and Mme. Flandrin in regular
succession from Rome, and one of the first thoughts,
amid any credit won or prizes obtained, was sure to
be the pleasure it would give at home. Thus he writes
to his parents (June I, I836): "... I often look at a
little sketch I made long ago, of Lyons from the
heights of Montesuy. I think of you there, waiting
for us, and then the time seems very long! But, on
the other hand, when I think of'the work done, it
seems so little, and time to have gone so quickly by 
However, I can conscientiously say that I have worked
hard, and I feel that I have advanced."
And to Ambroise Thomas (June 14) he says: " I
hear from you and from Bodinier that I have got a
medal. I am very glad for my father's sake. Bodinier
will give it to him en passant."
This was a second class gold medal for the picture
from Dante, and the following year the Saint Clair
won a first gold medal. Flandrin was then preparing
for his last envoi,-a picture now at Lisieux. He was




104          A FRIENDLY MODEL.
very reserved about it, and made all his fellow-students
promise not to look at it until it was finished, wishing
to be uninfluenced by any comments or criticism save
those of his brother Paul. So far did he carry this
fancy, that wanting very much to use a student,
Dominique Papety by name, as a model-Papety
having remarkablywell-formed hands-Flandrin almost
gave him up rather than reveal his secret! The goodnatured fellow met his friend's difficulty by offering to
come and sit blindfold! and in this way the resolution
was kept. Flandrin writes to his friend, Ambroise
Thomas:"ROME, 7une 14, I836.
"I have fixed upon a Scriptural subject I have
always loved, and which M. Ingres approves highly. I
take the moment when the Jewish women brought their
children to Jesus Christ that He might bless them, the
disciples repulsing them, and Jesus rebuking the disciples, saying,' Suffer the little children to come unto
Me, and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom
of Heaven.' I can imagine a wonderfully beautiful
scene; the grand meaning and feeling stamping our
Lord's words afford a magnificent opening, but it is an
alarming thing to undertake. M. Ingres' approbation
encourages me greatly. I was afraid he might have
preferred something else, but, on the contrary, he was
delighted with this subject. All this is between our



EXHIBITION A T L YONS.            105
selves, please. Until my picture has got on, I shall
say nothing about it to any one. Besides, I shall hardly
begin to paint it before January, having my sketch to
make, a copy, and a journey to Naples."
"ROME, 7uly 8, 1836.
"My dear Auguste,-Flacheron tells me that there
is to be an Exhibition of Paintings at Lyons in October, and as I often grieve that papa never sees anything we are doing, I have a mind to send my Dante.
Flacheron also says something which encourages me
to do this, namely, that the town will have from forty
to fifty thousand francs to spend, and, who knows?
they might perhaps buy my picture! M. Ingres is
vexed that it was not bought at Paris, but there is no
good thinking about that now it is over. So will you
find out about the exhibition, and when pictures should
be sent in, and then write to Lacuria, or any one else
who cares enough for us to take the trouble, and ask
him to go to the tcole des Beaux Arts, and reclaim
the Dante and the Shepherd, and have them packed
with the frames they had in the Louvre. It must all
be done as cheaply as possible, for they have already
cost me about eight hundred francs, and I am hardly
disposed to sell the clothes off my back for so uncertain a chance.
"I am so glad to tell you that the other day, while




io6             PICTURES SOLD.
Paul was working at the Vatican, a fellow-student
helped me to sell two of his landscapes. That gives
him a little nest-egg of eight hundred francs, which
came at a good time, for that very morning he found he
only possessed a baiocco and a half, or about two sous!
I am particularly glad, because I was afraid he would
not have been able to come to Naples with me, and I
could not have helped him. Working as I do, I am
not rich enough to lend fifteen francs to anybody!not a very brilliant position, as you perceive, but so
happy in many ways, that I think I shall always look
back to this time longingly!"
The Dante was exhibited at Lyons, and was bought,
as Flandrin hoped, by the municipality for 3500
francs. His figure of Euripides was also bought by
the town for Iooo francs.  The Shepherd, which was
sent to Lyons with Dante, was going to be purchased by Flandrin's old Lyonnese master, LegendreHeral, but, with his usual kindliness and liberality,
Flandrin refused to accept a price, and gave it to the
Professor, who in return volunteered to execute a bust
of his father for Hippolyte.   This was joyfully accepted.  He bids Auguste tell Heral  "how grateful
we are, and how pleased at the prospect. I cannot
say how delighted I am  to have a portrait of our
father, and by him! Tell him that I think my Shep



ROMAN FEVER.                 107.
herd has found a better position than I looked for,
and that his approval is a weighty encouragement to
me. He must excuse my writing myself, my head
is very weak, and I cannot get rid of fever. We have
lately been at Albano, to try change of air as a last
remedy. The first few days we were both better, but
the fever returned, and now we are back at Rome,
waiting to see what time will do. However, Paul is
something better, and perhaps he will shake it off
before the spring. Don't say anything about it to
papa and mama; but I must confess to you that it is
very unfortunate for us to be losing such precious
time  "
It was a terrible time of fever, and all the strangers
residing in Rome seem to have suffered. Flandrin
writes to Ambroise Thomas:"ROME, Aug. 29, 1836.
"....This is one of the worst years for fever.
In the Villa Medici alone, M. and Mrne. Ingres,
Simart, Jourdy, and Boulanger (twice over) have had
it, and I am just getting better. I was comfortimg
myself by preparing for our journey to Naples, where
we were to meet Baltard, and my eldest brother was to
join us. Our plans were magnificent! But it all had
to be given up. Cholera has broken out severely at
Ancona; all communication with the kingdom  of




Jo8              A STILL LIFE.
Naples is suspended, no passports given; and I have
written to my brother to defer his journey, for if the
cholera should come here, it would be stupid for him
to come so far to meet it! So farewell to lovely
Naples, which I accept on the faith of your descriptions. Without having ever seen it, I seem to know
it, and even to have most lively recollections thereof!
I should have looked for well-known footsteps, and
names inscribed. I feel quite familiar with the Hermit
of Vesuvius' book! Doesn't all this make you think
that one forgets less quickly at Rome than in Paris?
It may be so, eh? and does not seem unlikely. Ah,
well, mon ami, all this charming prospect of journey,
excursions and expeditions has been exchanged for
fever and the alarm of cholera!
" My life is perhaps still more recluse than when you
were here, and that is a year and nine days ago, which
upon calculation shows me that I have still more than
sixteen months. Poor dear Rome, how shall I leave
her? The other night, before going to bed, I took a
chair and sat out on the balcony to enjoy the moonlight view of the town.  It was one of those nights
when the light, coming from behind the masses of
buildings, throws them out so well. The frogs croaking and the fountain splashing did not mar the silence
which prevailed, their monotony almost seemed to
blend with and increase it. There was not a motion,




CHOLERA AT NAPLES.                109
not a light. Just as I was going in a few chords of a
piano fell upon my ear-and oh! they brought back
so much that.... Basta! I was only going to tell
you that I should be very sorry to leave Rome,
although it will be to see my parents and friends."
The alarm of cholera was serious. Hippolyte wrote
a little later to Auguste:-" Cholera is making great
destruction at Ancona, but as yet it has not advanced
further.   The  French garrison has behaved very
grandly. Finding that the terrified natives forsook
the sick, General Cubieres asked for volunteers to go
and nurse the cholera patients, and almost all the soldiers came forward, and rivalled one another in zeal.
Supplies were wanting, for the neighbourhood sent in
nothing; but the French General set that straight by
threatening to make a sally with the garrison and pick
up whatever he could lay hands on for the town."
The malady spread to Naples in spite of precautions,
and Flandrin had reason to rejoice that he had not
gone there.  He writes to his old friend Eugene
Roger (October 31, 1836):-"....  Baltard has not
returned, for the cholera broke out at Naples before
he left it, and he is obliged to make a sort of quarantine
for three weeks at Sora, with his wife and child. It was
partly his own fault, for it was not hard to foresee how it
would be. At Naples there are already as many as two




lio      THE FRENCH AMBASSADOR.
hundred and fifty cholera cases daily. It seems as if
it must come here before long, and yet who knows? It
has spared Lyons.  You have heard how grandly our
fine soldiers have behaved at Ancona; the Italians let
them have an easy monopoly of courage and selfdevotion. I must tell you a story. Just lately one
of our last year's students, Famin, an architect, was
making an expedition to Anagni without a passport,
when the Governor of the town arrested him, and sent
him from one prison to another in chains. As soon
as he got free and reached Rome, he went straight off
to M. de Latour-Maubourg. It was nine in the morning. The Ambassador wrote off a thundering letter to
the Cardinal Secretary of State, who appeared himself
by noon to make excuses for the Government, and to
say that a courier was already despatched to recall the
Governor of Anagni, and order him to Saint Angelo,
where he has now been a week. The Ambassador
further insisted on a circular describing the assault
and its punishment being sent to all the Governors of
towns in the Roman State. We are well pleased with
our Ambassador, and very grateful to him for avenging
us of such treatment so speedily.
"What you tell me of X. is very grievous..
Accumulating work, undertaking everything, and receiving money, is not all that a man has to think of!
I agree with you, that in such matters one's character




FLANDRIN AND HIS -MO THER.           I 1
as a man must be borne in mind as well as one's
talents as an artist.
"We have had a terrible autumn. Rome has been
devastated with fever, and at the Academy almost
everybody, from the Director to the porter, has had
their turn. I am just getting over my third attack,
and I very much fear that it will not let me get my
copy quietly done."
"ROME, Feb. 12, 837.
"My dear good Mama, —... I am quite sure you
shared my pleasure when the town bought my pictures.
It is a piece of good fortune which I want to share
with you. I know, dear little mother, how much you
dislike living in a dirty apartment, and if nothing has
been done to ours since I left, I am sure by this time
it must be very little to your taste. So will you please,
dearest mama, to do me a pleasure, and accept the little
sum of one hundred francs for some improvements, if
they can be done without putting papa out? In that
case you must take the money for anything else you
will. Auguste will be my banker and give it you.
You will take it, dear little mother, won't you, and
try to beautify your small abode?  Auguste was to
have come here in January, but I begin now to
despair of seeing him before I go. Yet he might
have got so much good from it. I hope at least he
will remember how persistently I have begged and




112               MOCCOLETTI.
entreated him to come.  Adieu, dearest mother.  I
pray daily for you and for our dear father. I am
quite sure that neither do you forget us, and I attribute
all the good things which befall me to my darling
mother's prayers."
To M. Ambroise Thomas.
ROME, Feb. I3, 1837.
".... After a dreary rainy winter, spring begins to
cheer us now.  The bright sun and flowering trees
recall one of our first walks-we bought fir cones and
oranges at the Quattre Fontane, and went to eat them
at Caracalla's Baths...   Here, as the cholera is
dreaded, the Carnival was forbidden; but as the
Romans bore the privation patiently, though regretfully, they were permitted to have the Moccoletti on
the last day. The Corso was full, and everything
seemed all right, but the first moccoletti were hissed
and forcibly extinguished: there was quite a hubbub
with carriages getting out of the row, shops shutting,
and all the rest of it; and now it is called'the Revolution of the Moccoletti,' and, as usual, the Romans
say that its chief promoters were the students of the
French Academy.
"Your Carnival cannot have been very gay either,
with your influenza.  We have been very unfortunate
here-poor M. Ingres has been. very ill.....Paul




FEVER AGAIN.                  113
has not had any fever for two months, so I hope he has
done with it; but as for me, I don't seem to have had
my share, for it keeps coming back twice in each week.
I am waiting impatiently for the amendment which
the doctors say spring will make. It has thrown me
back so much, that I can assure you I shall have no
difficulty in finding occupation from now till April
I838.
"Feb. 23.-My letter was delayed by an attack of
fever, but to-day I am better.... You ask if I
often go over the scenes of our favourite walks? Alas,
for a long time I have scarcely stirred! I have only
been once to Torre de Schiavi since you left, the
violets at Villa Pamfili were gathered without us, and
since the day we went together to the Villa Mellini
I have never been able to return. Tre anni, bagatella!"
"ROME, 7une I8, 1837.
"My dear Auguste,-.... You say that we shall
soon see you, and that I am not to set off without
you; but, my dear fellow, I am not my own master,
especially in my present state of health. I am still
beset with fever, and the doctors say the month of
September must not find me in Rome, or that I shall
assuredly be ill all next year again. So I must try to
get away in the beginning of August.  You can
imagine that it is grievous after having worked, and
H




114               DEPRESSION.
my works having had so much more success than I
expected, to be hindered just when a much more
important work is in hand, and when I want to
collect all my strength, and make a sort of final effort.
I feel that I am  almost losing even the wish to
succeed. Illness and weakness have given me a sort
of disgust and depression which follow me everywhere.
Shall I really be obliged to give up all my hopes?
But, after all, I am not always in this disheartened
state. A few days without fever restores some energy,
and I feel my love of work again.  I have made a
beginning of my great picture in one of these intervals,
but one ought to be very strong to carry a thing like
that through."
"FLORENCE, Aug. 24, 1837.
"My dear Auguste,-.... In the last days of
July, after the terrible news from Sicily, a few cases of
cholera appeared in Rome, where the alarm was very
great, because Government and the doctors have
done everything they could to persuade people that it
is contagious.  I had been for two months without
fever, and was working at my last picture, unfortunately harder than I had strength for.  I was to start
in August, so as to avoid the fever season, but fatigue
brought it on too soon; and just as the first cases of
cholera appeared I fell ill again, and the remedies
caused violent inflammation.  After some days of




QUARANTINE.                 II5
uncertainty as to whether the plague was among us
or not, we were reassured, and M. Ingres and our
friends advised us to go away and try to cut my fever
short, for fear I might have it through another year.
Alas, if I could have foreseen what has happened I
would not have gone, and I am sure that I should
not have suffered as much in sharing the danger with
them as amid the fatigue and anxiety we have experienced. We started, thinking that this attack was only
much the same as some thirty or forty attacks I have
had since I was at Rome.  We took the Sienna
route for Florence, August 3rd, in a fearful heat, and
with a vetturino, who went like a tortoise, only getting
on some ten or twelve lieues a-day. And oh! what I
suffered, being ill to begin with. When we reached
the Tuscan frontier we were met by two men, who
informed us that we must go back, as the Tuscan
Government had set up a cordon sanitaire; and we
had to go and lie in quarantine at Aquapendente
for a fortnight, a horrid little town. We were five
Frenchmen and one German, all artists, and all very
good friends. We agreed to go and make out the
time at Perugia, a very beautiful place, on a hill,
and with a much better air. When we got there
they hesitated whether they would let us in or not.
It ended by our being admitted, and then I got some
fresh fever. However, the quiet suited me, and I was




16               FL ORENCE.
mending. Soon the news from Rome grew alarming,
and we heard from a crowd of fugitives that cholera
had broken out very decidedly; that there were as
many as two, sometimes even three hundred deaths
daily, and that our good M. Sigalon was one of the
first victims.... How I regretted having left M.
Ingres and the Academy under such circumstances!
However, as it was impossible to return, and our
quarantine was over, we set out for Florence. When
we reached the frontier they signalled to us to go back,
and some soldiers came out to arrest us. But at last,
after a great deal of debating, we were admitted.
Two hours later we were dining at Arezzo, thinking
ourselves lucky in having at last crossed the Tuscan
frontier, when suddenly we heard that the cholera had
broken out in Florence. Just think of this. But we
had gone too far to turn, so we went on, and on
arriving here we found that there have only been one
or two cases, which it is hoped will not have any succession. If it should increase we are ready to start,
without quite knowing where to go, for cholera is
everywhere,-at Rome, Naples, Genoa, Leghorn,
Venice. So you see, my dear fellow, we cannot give
you any advice as to your journey.... My poor
picture! it will indeed be fortunate if it ever gets
decently finished. However, we must hope for better
times."




MANTUA.                    117
To M. Eugene Roger.
"SERMIDA, Oct. II, I837.
"Here we have been for several days watching the
Po rush by, and waiting until we can cross it.  I must
tell you how it has all come about. At Padua we
devoured the Titians and Mantegnas, but, above all,
the Giottos in Santa Maria del Arena. What a jewel
that chapel is! What soft sweet harmony among the
Titians! I approve your choice.  You will preserve
a thing like to perish, and which is most admirable. I
imagine you to be at work by this time.' After three
days we started for Vicenza and Verona.  Our first
business was to find out whether Verona was healthy,
and would do for our quarantine. On first asking we
were told that the town was sanissima, and a certificate
to that effect was given us, but unfortunately we could
learn nothing for certain, so we started for Peschiera
and the Lago di Garda.  And at Mantua they could
hardly guarantee the quarantine we proposed keeping;
so there was nothing for it but to go to the frontier
and make sure.  We saw Giulio Romano's frescoes in
the Palazzo del Te, and I was surprised, amazed.
Certainly in some of them he comes out like an old
Eugene Roger had undertaken to copy a fresco of Titian's
in the Scuola di Sant' Antonio at Padua. His copy is now at the
Ecole des Beaux Arts.




118           COMING CHANGES.
master. We stayed there three days, not failing to
visit the Palazzo del Te daily; and we should have
been glad to work there, but the fever traces we saw
on so many faces frightened us. I have not had
any actual fever since we parted, but I feel that this
air is bad for me. I am still weak."
To M. Ambroise Thomas.
ROME, Dec. IO, I837.
"Only twenty days more.of my time here! The
end is coming, but I shall feel it much more than you.
I have still some troublesome things to do. I have
to leave this quiet peaceful position, this beautiful
country, which-fever notwithstanding-I love more
and more-dear M. Ingres and our comrades. Of
course I shall have my country and parents and
friends instead, and I appreciate the compensation;
but still in my heart there is a sad gloomy thought of
parting from the soothing stillness one enjoys here,
to go and fight in that ant-hill for bread to live
upon! If at least I could have waited till I had
decided! But no, I feel that I am pushed on, and
that I must leave in three weeks. You advise me to
go at once and finish my picture in Paris, but indeed
I cannot, my dear fellow. I am sure that my picture
would suffer, and it has already suffered enough
through my bad health and the unfortunate circum



DEA TH OF HIS FA THER.           I19
stances amid which it has been produced. But I am
doing all I can. In fear and trembling at the short
time remaining, I am using that to the utmost..
My plans are as follows, supposing cholera and other
things to agree. I hope to have pretty well finished my
picture by the middle of April. Then I shall go to
Naples and stay there a month.  Thence return to
take leave of Rome, and take the steamboat for
Marseilles. Then six weeks or two months at Lyons,
and by August I hope to embrace you. But you shall
hear again. At this moment I hear the pifferari.
How they recall past times. Yesterday evening we
went to the Ponte Molle to meet Roger. It was so
pleasant. Alas! alas! I shall never do that again for
any one, unless it be for the man who succeeds me I"
The happy meeting with his parents to which
Hippolyte Flandrin had looked so continually through
his years of study at Rome was not to take place.
His father, who had seemingly been in bad health for
some time, died just before the expiration of Flandrin's
studentship. He writes as follows:"ROME, Jan. 26, I838.
"My dearest Mama and poor Auguste,-I will
not attempt to dwell on our grief, you know it all by
your own. We have lost our good, loving father; and




120             CONSOLA TIONS.
you have both been all you ought to him; you could
prove your love for him, you have fulfilled all your duties
-but we! After an exile of five years, just as we were
about to return, our one thought was to see you again,
and by our loving care to make up for time lost; yes,
it was really lost, inasmuch as we have not been able
to help or comfort you-just at this moment our dear
father is gone from us. We could not embrace him
or hold his hands, and you have been suffering and
weeping without us. It is very hard to bear! But I
am only adding to your grief by all this!
" We thank Auguste warmly for the details he sends
us.  They are an alleviation you must feel strongly.
He is gone, loving us all, upheld by the religious mind
we could most have wished for him; —the holy mind,
which can loosen the tenderest bonds without breaking them. What courage that must have given him!
I ought to comfort you, and fain would do so; and it
is very trying to us, dearest mama, not to be with you
and able to do so as far lies in our power. But I trust
to our brother, that dear brother who has done so
much for us all, and for whom we feel such boundless
gratitude.  I trust to your religion, the true source of
our courage and all your goodness; and I trust too
to your love for us. Mama, you do wish to live for
your three children, don't you? and you will ask God
that you may-do so, just as we ask it continually?




SYMPA THY.                121
Oh, if we could but embrace you! I beseech you to
be brave and resigned; I rely on it because of your
love for us. Do not be anxious about us; we are
surrounded by kind friends.... Imperative duties
detain us here for a while, but we shall lose no time in
coming to you. Take care of yourself I beseech you.
We pray for our dear father, and for you and for
our brother. Do you pray for us too. Adieu, dearest
mother, adieu, dear brother and friend."
To MM. Ambroise Thomas and Harln.
" ROME, March I6, I838.
"Dear Friends,-I write hurriedly to you, because,
as you guessed, I am working at my picture, and
have no time to spare. Your letter was very welcome,
and your expressions of friendship all the more precious, that within the last two months we have had a
heavy sorrow. We have lost our dear father, and a few
days after, one of our comrades, Clerginet, had the
same loss. I had finished my time, I was going to
see him.... O dear friends, it will be a sad return!
So you see I have had to work at my unlucky picture
amid sickness and sorrow. God knows what it will
turn out! Nobody has seen it yet, not even M. Ingres.
As for me, I am tired out to the last degree, and am no
judge. Adieu, dear old fellows. The sympathy of
friends is a true balm, and I know we have yours."




122             LEA VES ROME.
"ROME, March 30, 1838.
"Dear Auguste,-I answer your last letter in haste.
I was quite sure you would approve our choice.
Assuredly our dear mother deserves every proof of
confidence and love. Thanks for your good report of
her, it is a great comfort to us. Dear fellow, I have
had much the same thoughts as you about our weakness.
We have no more strength to bear a prolonged sorrow
than a very great joy, or a protracted season of rest.
Already we sometimes reproach ourselves for beginning to sing again at our work; yet I don't think any
one could love a good father more devotedly. His
memory is always present, and our regret is very
deep. I hope it will soften, and that we shall find
comfort in recalling his words and doings to one
another's mind."
To M. Ambroise Thomas.
" NAPLES, J7ne 14, i838.
"I am writing to you from Santi Combi's on the Santa
Lucia, and what is more, from your own old room.
Every day I look out on all you love so much,-the
beautiful gulf, Vesuvius, the mountains and islands.
I have all these, I drink them in and admire them;
and yet the beloved Rome is continually rising up
before me. I left it on the 4th. Poor M. Ingres!,how sorry I am to leave him for two years and a half 




NAPLES.                  123
Our comrades were very kind, they went as far as
Porta San Giovanni with me; we were twenty-three
in all there when we separated. Here we have been
already over and over again to the Museum, Pompeii,
Herculaneum  and Vesuvius, which is very placid at
the present moment, but fine all the same. At the
Hermitage my first object was to get the book of I833,
and to find your name. I was so pleased to find it
I could not resist putting mine by it. I am here;
with Paul and my eldest brother, who joined us at last,
as also Boulanger and Roger, capital travelling companions. We are starting for Psestum. Then we
propose going by sea to Leghorn, and taking Pisa,
Florence and Milan, that our brother may see them.
Then a time at Lyons with my dear mother; and
early in September we hope to join you, and see
what can be done."
To M. Eugzene Roger, 2Naples.
"FLORENCE, J7uly 6, I838.
"Here we are, but not without our troubles! For
the first seven hours after leaving you our voyage was
a sort of enchantment. The sea was superb, mountains and islands put on the most marvellous effects
of form and colour, the sun set gloriously behind Cape
Circe, the bright moon lit up the sea. All was calm;
but towards ten o'clock the wind rose, clouds covered




124              SEA S[ICKNESS.
the sky, general malaise began to be felt, every one
grew restless and began to try to find bearable positions-in vain! On all sides lamentations and grunts!
Then came rain, which forced every one to seek shelter,
stumbling about and holding on as they could. Inside, such a sight! a downright battlefield.  There
we stayed, like the rest, stretched pell mell on the floor
like so many sacks of corn. The waves were dashing
noisily over the deck, and washing down into every corner of the vessel, drenching us all; but I never stirred
a finger to avoid getting wet, nor any one else either!
However, after three or four hours, by some superhuman efforts, we did contrive to slither into our
berths, and there we stayed till ten the next day, when
we reached Civita Vecchia.  We landed and met
Famin and good old Guenepin, who had come to meet
us. We wanted to dine with them, but, all in much
the same condition, we had to content ourselves with
seeing them eat, casting dismal glances the while at
the sea dashing up against rocks and ramparts.
"However, we re-embarked bravely, under our
friends' auspices, and though the sea was very rough
we had not strength left to be as ill as the night
before.  We stayed huddled up in our holes till we
reached Leghorn, where we left Boulanger.  The sea
was calmer, so I hope he will have got on better.
Pisa delighted us, and Florence is always charming to




RESULTS OF STUD Y.                25
me. In spite of all we have seen at Naples, the old
Tuscan masters hold their own to my mind.  I
delight more than ever in them and in Raffaele."
These last words, written as Flandrin's student
life in Italy closed, are noticed by his friend and biographer, Vicomte Delaborde, as a noteworthy resume
of the impressions he had received, and a programme
of his future work and the earnest aim of his life.
"Do we not find the continued proof of this preference for the old Tuscan masters and for Raffaele"
(M. Delaborde  asks) "more and more in all his
works, from the Chapel of Saint Severin to the nave
of Saint Germain des Pres?  Not that his respectful
memories for his great models took shape in mere
literal imitation or technical likeness.   Hippolyte
Flandrin knew  too well that, like ancient art, the
Italian Renaissance is not a language, the beauty and
genius of which can be adopted by the mere outward
copyist.  Rather than rest content to imitate the
exterior of the great works which he took as his
permanent models, he devoted himself to studying
their spirit, striving to revert to the source whence
their inspiration flowed, so that he too might drink
thereof. So that while the Stanze of the Vatican are to
his mind the most absolute expression of pictorial perfection; while, as he repeatedly would affirm, Giotto's




126               INFLUENCE.
frescoes in Santa Maria del Arena, or those of Fra
Angelico in the Chapel of Nicholas V., ought to be' the very breviary' of the painter of religious subjects,
Flandrin none the less sought daily to study on his
own account, and to adapt the lessons of the past
to the requirements of his personal feeling and the
wants of the present day."
Three years spent in Rome had indeed not been
wasted.  His influence among his fellow-students had
been great-it is one of themselves' who speaks of it
as " a downright fascination to all who came near him
-the fascination of a superior artist and a good man;"
and the two things were wonderfully blended.
From his birth he had possessed-and they never
failed him-the passionate instincts of an artist, a keenness of perception of, and craving for, every expression
of external beauty, realising the great truths of all
forms of beauty, and irresistibly constrained, so to say,
to give it shape; but he was also a Christian, one for
whom there could be no beauty save on the condition
that it tells of God; one who in the region of the ideal
could no more separate his admiration from his belief
than he could separate his speculative knowledge from
his actions in daily life. The most perilous days of
early youth were steered through in safety by the help
of a pious childhood, and the wholesome examples of
I Ambroise Thomas.




HIGH ASPIRA TIONS.               I27
a pure home; and he was kept straight amid the
temptations of artist life by the remembrance of the
lessons of that home, and a voluntary obedience to
the duties there impressed upon him. So that, as one
of his friends says, when he became a man, Flandrin
" only needed to be himself to be a Christian, just as to
be an artist he only needed to follow his natural
tastes and exercise his faculties." It was this perfect
harmony between his characteristic talent and his
habits of life, this entire conformity of the painter's
inspirations with the principles and practice of the
man, which have won Flandrin a claim to an altogether exceptional respect, and an unquestionable
authority. Where so many other painters of sacred
subjects under David, or earlier still, had but played a
part skilfully, Flandrin devoted himself wholly to his
art, because his work was as much the creation of his
heart as of his mind.  His piety in nowise dulled
him to the delights of real beauty, any more than his
zealous prosecution of art distracted him from metaphysical contemplation; and when in his early days at
Rome, Flandrin wrote to his brother to send him some
brushes and the Pensees de Pascal, he was unconsciously gathering up all the occupations, longings and
passions of his life-a life divided between the need
to paint sacred things and the no less imperative
need to meditate upon and  penetrate  into  their




128            MORAL SINCERITY.
mysteries. Later on, when decorating the Church of
Saint Paul at Nimes, he inscribed the names of father
and mother, sister and brother's wife and children, of
all whom he had loved or lost, within a fold of the
drapery of his figure of Christ at the top of the choir.
It was not done as a token of his faith, or a profession
of affection; the inscriptions are totally invisible, and
moreover Flandrin only told one person what he had
done, bidding him keep the secret.  It was an ex voto
intended for no eye save that of God, and it was as a
prayer that his hand traced the words.
Probably the secret of Flandrin's influence as a
man and as a painter may be traced to the same
cause, what M. Delaborde calls his " thorough moral
sincerity."
"Men believe in the artist's authority and his eloquence, because he himself believed in the things of
which his pencil tells; they are touched with his
emotion, infected as by a happy contagion with the
Christian tenderness which breathes in all his works,
because he felt it himself in every task, not by a mere
effort of will or accidental act of intelligence, but
through the wonted springs and innate cravings of his
heart.  Flandrin's thoughts followed  readily and
naturally into those ideal regions, those supernatural
spheres where formerly Fra Angelico's spirit drank
its inspirations; and when he covered the walls of




TRADITION AND REALISM.              I29
churches with types of earthly renunciation or told
the tale of heavenly mercy, when he depicted the
beauty of self-abandonment to God, resignation and
love in such unearthly purity, he seemed less to be
fulfilling a task than obeying the laws of a natural
vocation; rather to be embodying his familiar thoughts
and memories than carrying out any formal plan."
"It was a new undertaking," M. Delaborde says elsewhere, "to combine the severity of religious thought
with calm grace and peaceful ease of expression; just
as it was in a fashion audacious-in practice anyhow
most skilful-to unite the time-honoured traditions of
beauty with conformity to what nature sets before our
eyes; to embody on canvas the likeness of life's
visible truths, together with the results of a training
acquired  in  picture-galleries."   This  undertaking
Flandrin achieved in his Dante, his Saint Clair, his
picture of our Lord blessing the children; and while
not forgetting the debt owed to other modern artists,
among whom Orsel is chief-his aim being, as he said
himself, "to baptize Greek art "-Flandrin carried out
the principle and combined the higher tone of Christian realism with the recognised traditions of ancient
art, believing heartily in both, and that more and more
to the end of his life.
The episode of Roman life was finished; and returning to his native Lyons, Flandrin writes pathetically:
I




130          FAREWELL TO ROME.
"I have done with my student life, and I must confess, that, in spite of the return to home and friends, it
is with regret, a most keen regret, that I part from this
period of my life.  I might have been more fortunate
perhaps, for eighteen months of fever do not tend to
make one see things en beau; but I found so much
not to be found elsewhere, so much to be deprived
of, which seems intolerable as I look forward! It
costs me more than I can say to part from it all;
and, of course, just now the loss is felt at every turn,
and the compensations are scarcely appreciable: perhaps later on I shall be more open to them." Probably
most people who have spent any time, above all in
study, at Rome, have more or less such cravings to
return to its marvellous fascinations; certainly from
the day of his departure in I838 to the time he
returned there-as it proved, to die-Flandrin longed
after his beloved Rome; and in his letters, telling of
worries, social conventionalities, and the like, from
time to time a pathetic "O! for Rome once more!"
creeps in.
But he was not a man to sit down and lose time
over vain regrets or sentimentalities. The promised
visit to his mother was paid on his way to Paris, where
work, hard, resolute work, was Flandrin's deliberate
aim and intention. He writes to his friend Ambroise
Thomas:



RETURN TO PARIS.                131
"LYoNs, Aug. 9, 1838.
"... We gladly accept your proposal that we
should come to you for the first few days.  How
pleasant it will be to talk! though indeed, as you say,
we shall hardly know where to begin. But somehow
I think we shall soon find ourselves in Rome! It is
an endless subject, and one which I rejoice to associate
so much with you. Coming back, after Florence, there
are the Apennines, Bologna, and some other fine things;
but how shall we find elsewhere the picturesque
character of that wonderful land?  Where else that
rich, lovely vegetation, those woods of laurel and ilex,
those magnificent pines, olives, orange and lemon
trees, pomegranates, aloes? They are all replaced by
willows and plane trees; the land is a marshy ricefield; everything is by rule and line! What a change!
Nevertheless, after all this fastidious preparation, I could
not cross the last Italian boundary with indifference.
Among the glaciers at the top of the Simplon we said
a loving and grateful farewell to Italy;-and indeed we
have a large debt of happiness owing to her!"
The days of pedestrian journeys were over,-time
was a more precious thing now to the artist brothers,
and a diligence journey, much hindered by rains,
brought them to Paris in the first days of September
1838. The first impression on his return was such




132           THE DING Y N7ORTH!
as probably most of us have felt on re-entering a
Northern town after sojourning in the South and amid
the glowing tints of Italy.  "There was the familiar
Paris again, but with more noise, mud, smoke, and
crowd than ever! For a moment it appalled me; it
never had seemed so immense."
A weary time ensued, seeking an atelier.  "Interminable running about in horrible weather after a
studio. But at last we have ended in getting one in
the Rue de Lille. It is fairly good, but very dear,
although cheaper than the rest. Seven hundred francs!
and then, besides that, we have to think about our
own quarters, for we are still with Thomas."
After installing himself in this studio, Flandrin and
his brother Paul returned to Lyons for a month,
finally settling in Paris in November, whence he writes
to his mother:"Nov. 30, I838.-Monday was a dismal day;
we were leaving you for a long time, and the rain,
which lasted nearly all day, would not allow us to go
on deck, and we had to stay below till we reached
Chalons, at half-past nine in the evening. There we
took the diligence, which was full, and in the coupe
between us we had an Englishman, who proved very
agreeable. At ten o'clock, final start; but our pace
was that of the tortoise, and the climax was, that at
Avallon, on Tuesday evening, there were no horses to




SALE OF A PICTURE.               133
be had at the messagerie. So we waited five hours in
the middle of the street, until at last, in despair, when
it was past midnight, we decided to go and knock up
the mayor, the head of the police, the juge de paix,
and all the authorities of the place! Their united
efforts at last took effect with the postmaster, who
would not give us horses because the officials had not
applied to him first of all. At last we got off,-rain,
fog, everything horrible-to Paris, where, instead of
arriving, as promised, on Wednesday evening, we did
not find ourselves till seven o'clock on Thursday
morning.  We were tired, but would not go to bed.
We went to the Musee (Louvre), and thence to our
studio, where we found everything in order."
Hippolyte Flandrin's picture of our Lord with the
little ones was in the Louvre, and, as we have seen, he
was anxious to sell it; but his artist's pride had some
severe struggles to endure. Soon after his return to
Paris he writes to his brother Auguste:"PARIS, Dec. 3, 1838.
"I want you to do me a service, into which I know
you will throw yourself zealously. This is it. Yesterday I was going to the Ministere de l'Interieur to see
M. Dumont," to whom I attribute the success of my
picture with the Minister, when it came into my head
to go first to M. Gatteaux, who said,' Well, I have seen
I Chef du Bureau des Beaux Arts.




134             MOR TIFICA TION.
Dumont; he told me that your picture is sold, and that
they will give you three thousand francs!' So far
from  being overcome by this generosity, I made a
grimace which I had to hide as best I could; and I
asked M. Gatteaux what was to be done with my
picture.   He said nothing was known, but they
thought of sending it to some country museum.  I
thanked him for the information and retired, postponing my visit to M. Dumont out of prudence.  I
was prepared for something of this sort, but one is
always taken by surprise when a thing actually happens.
If I did not expect a very magnificent price, at least
I reckoned on a more honourable position.  But you
see it is a great favour;-they don't suppose I could
possibly refuse such a thing! They don't know what
to do with it, but nevertheless they buy it and rid
one of it! Oh, how I should like to say' It is sold at
a higher price!' So please see Petrus, and ascertain
what chance there is of his plan for getting the picture
bought for Saint Louis being carried out. Nevertheless, one must act prudently; for I must confess my
object would be to show that I have other resources,
and I must further confess that I would rather sell it
for less here if I had been given a place in a Paris
church or gallery. I think, dear old fellow, that you
will understand. See to it, but keep my letter and its
drops of vinegar to yourself! "




"LES GROS BONNETS."               I35
"PARIS, Dec. 7, 1838.
"Thanks, dear Auguste, for what you have done. I
shall not, however, go to M. Roland; it is impossible
for me to make such a proposition myself. Moreover,
M. Gatteaux says that these gentlemen at the Ministere
would be charmed at my refusal, and that it would be
tantamount to scratching my own name off the list for
future work. So you see I must end by doing as they
would have me, which is rather hard, for at that rate,
considering Paris expenses, it would be impossible for
me to do another work on the same scale. They
grind painting down to the mere trade level by depriving one of the possibilities of progress. You see
I was not far wrong in my judgment beforehand of the
world we have to do with. As for you, work away, and
make the most of what you have got down there. Paris
is not so beautiful after all when you are in it! But your
picture! your picture!"
"PARIS,.an. 6, 1839.
"Thanks, my dear Auguste, for the advice you give
me in the kindness of your heart;-but, but-oh,
what a lot of buts! As to going to see the'gros
bonnets,' I assure you that is quite too great a hardship.
Since I came here I have tried to do it, and if it were
to go on I could not stand up against it at all. Oh,
for my dear Rome! But here to be treated with so
little consideration, and to be obliged as a matter of




136               PA TRONA GE.
calculation to thank people for the miserable offers
they make one-if indeed they do as much as that,
for they think themselves conferring such a favour that
they dispose of one's work without so much as condescending to say they have bought it! You didn't
know that they were going to send my picture to
Fecamp, a thing which M. Dumont happily put a
stop to.... I went to see the Prefet a fortnight ago;
but between ourselves be it said, I determined not
to go there again in a hurry, not being accustomed
to be received in such a way, that is to say, so
drily, with the most marked coldness, leaving me to
say what I would, without a word as to what he had
seen or had not seen. In spite of this I invited him
as well as I could to come and see my picture and
Paul's.  He could not promise,-said that he would
try, etc. etc., and here is a fortnight gone by and no
Prefet.  I have seen a great many people who might
have been useful to me, but most of them think it
enough if they are civil. There was no one but good
M. Foyatier,' who was excited at the idea of my picture going for three thousand francs.  He talked,
brought people to see it, did everything in his power,
but...Well! patience. Only work is out of the question with this perpetual running about, and one is
I The sculptor whose example and pleadings had first led
Flandrin's parents to consent to his studying art.




WORK.                     137
decidedly worth more than the other, for some people,
-and it seems that I am one of them,-never can
make much of that trade!
"One thing in your letter displeases me very much:
I mean the discouraged tone in which you speak of
your picture.'  It vexes me exceedingly, for I was so
full of hope. It is so well begun, that one might
almost consider it done. Now then, once for all, do
what you can, and I shall be satisfied.... Pray,
dear old fellow, work away, and I will answer for your
success. Paul's picture improves daily, and what I
have done to mine has had a good result too. Take
good care of our dear mother. Oh, if we could but
have her here, how happy we should be, for, to tell
the truth, we are not over-cheerful in this Paris, with
all its absurd grandeur, where one doesn't come at
one's friends as one would like. Thomas himself we
see but rarely; between Desgoffe and us there lies
about a lieue and a half, and inasmuch as directly rain
or fog come Paris turns into a pond, more or less
deep, we cannot pay one another many visits....
Don't go and fancy, after all, that I am out of heart.
When I have thoroughly set to work, when I have begun
another picture, it will be all right. The thing which
really weighs me down is the rent I have on my hands."
This was a picture of Savonarola preaching in San Miniato,
which he exhibited in Paris in I840, and which is now in the
Musee at Lyons.




138            INTERRUPTIONS.
"PARIS, Feb. 13, I839.
"Sometimes I forget myself, and date my letters
from  Rome, though, certainly, there are plenty of
things to remind me that I am no longer there! The
Salon (Exhibition) draws near.  To-morrow we send
in our pictures. God grant that Paul's pictures may
be well placed, for I think if they are seen they will
be successful. We are working hard, but with constant
interruptions; for we have a constant stream of visitors
-sometimes as many as twenty or thirty persons.
Just conceive, with short, dark days, and all the visits
we are obliged to pay, how much time is lost! We
have not been able to stay at home one evening since
we got here. All this is a matter of constraint and
necessity, and without exaggeration we have only once
been able to get an hour's walk-whenever we go out
it is sure to be on unavoidable business.  I don't
know whether I shall get accustomed to this kind of
life, but just at present it wearies me horribly. O
Rome! Rome!
"As for you, it seems to me that you are working
very hard.  So much the better, but you don't tell me
about other things. Are you thinking of marrying?
It would be reasonable.  And have you done as I
advised you, and seen a little more of the world this
winter?  If you hide yourself, my dear fellow, you
will not be found out..... I must tell you, just for




THE SALON.                  139
yourself and mama, that there is an idea of giving
me a chapel in Saint Severin-very bad pay as I hear,
but it is an opening for doing something really good,
and just now that is what I must think most about.
I am working at compositions for it, and in a month's
time I fancy it will be decided. Till then don't let
us be too confident, but it would be delightful."
To M. Eugene Roger, at the Academy of France at
Rome.
"PARIS, March II, 1839.
".... As to the Salon, March 2, at eleven
o'clock, we got in with the stream of the crowd. The
opening had been delayed a day in consequence of
the quantity of works sent in.  It was splendid
weather, and the great salon was dazzling. First of all
we saw M. Vernet occupying the whole of one side with
three pictures of the Prise de Constantine. At the first
glance I was taken by a certain life about them, and
by the clear, simple way in which the action is given,
but go into details, and they lose considerably. Then
come Decamp's pictures, which strike me as better
than anything of his I have seen before.  I can
hardly describe them, as there are eleven, and it
would be too long a story. On the other side of the
great salon, rather too high unfortunately, comes
Paul's great landscape, which is greatly improved,




140          GRIEFS OF AN ARTIST.
and which, to my mind, is the most classical in the
whole Exhibition, although Aligny, Edouard Bertin,
Marilhat, Corot, etc., have pictures in it. There is also
a Saint Luke painting the Blessed Virgin in the great
saloon by Ziegler, which does not please me immensely, but in which one is forced to recognise
power and repose, which separate it in a measure from
the otherwise universal confusion and chaos.
" Except the pictures I have mentioned, the grand
salon is full of the worst things in the Exhibition.
Apparently out of consideration  for my unlucky
cartoon, they wouldn't put it in such company; it is
in the gallery where the Davids are. That might have
been all very well if it had been at a reasonable
height, but they have perched it right up atop, with a
window above it, so that the daylight makes a sort
of frame to it, and a window opposite, like a mirror.
Indeed, I wish it were still less seen, and then people
would not try to form any opinion of it up there!
"Then, by way of portraits, we have all the
Royal Family, by Winterhalter, but they are not very
remarkable.  There is a picture by one Leullier, of
the Christians thrown to wild beasts in the Coliseum.
Perhaps the subject is not particularly well chosen,
but the animals are drawn admirably, and their action
wonderful; it is full of energy.  Desgoffe has several
good pictures, but, like Paul's four others, they are




AR Y SCHEFFER.                 14 
villanously hung. Signol has a picture for Versailles,
Saint Bernard preaching the Crusades; and Bezard
too has a picture, which is a good composition and
well conceived, but the details are entirely study, and
I think there are certain points which can only,be
attained in the actual presence of nature.
"At the end of the great gallery Scheffer exhibits
five pictures, which touch one another, and make a
sort of background to each other in a very clever way.
To my mind they are full of delicate feeling, but at
the same time a little bit pleureur.  The colouring
wants power; it is simple, but rather flat and smooth.
Nevertheless, M. Scheffer is supreme in the salon, as
may be supposed.  As for the rest, ma ifoi! I have
nothing to say about them, except that I don't know
what they are at!..
"I must tell you that, amid all the misfortunes of
my picture, it has got a happier prospect in store.
They have promised me that, after the Exhibition, it
shall go for a time to the Luxembourg, and after that
to Lyons. Just now there is a question of my painting
a chapel in Saint Severin. If that might come to pass
I should be very happy, although I am told beforehand that it will not pay, and that it will have to
be well and quickly done.  I have often thought,
my dear Roger, of taking a studio (of pupils), as you
used to advise at Naples.  Some fifteen young men




142          PROPOSED STUDIO.
have already applied to me, but, not knowing M.
Ingres' mind on the subject, I refused them. Some
however persist, and I have determined to write to M.
Ingres about it. As I wrote to him a few days ago,
I enclose a note for him to you. If you talk it over
together, and he does not answer at once, I wish you
would do so yourself. You know all I think about the
matter, and the reasons which have made me refuse
hitherto. So, if M. Ingres should talk to you about it,
tell him everything, for above all things I would not
have him think one presumptuous and self-assuming."
M. Ingres heartily urged Flandrin to open a studio
for pupils, and in the month of April I839 he wrote
to his brother Auguste that he was preparing to do so,
and looked forward with pleasure to extending his
master's school; but he never carried out the intention,
and six months later he says in a letter to Auguste
that Madame George Sand was anxious he should
take her son as a private pupil, but that he had refused,
for want of proper accommodation.
The picture Flandrin exhibited at this Exhibition, of
our Lord blessing little children, met with very great
admiration among his brethren of the art. Among these
Ary Scheffer was prominent. He had been one of the
first to visit the picture while yet in the painter's studio,
and, regardless of his great name and undoubted suc



SCHEFFER AND DELAROCHE.             I43
cesses, he exclaimed, " Why is it not given to me to
follow confidently as you do in this track! Why did I
not acquire a teaching such as you have had, but which
it is too late for me to seek! You can express what
you feel as you will; you know, and I do not know. My
pictures only let intentions peep out without affirming
anything, and your pictures prove it to me by force of
contrast."  Nor were these mere words, for Scheffer
studied Flandrin's works carefully, often took counsel
with him, and to the end treated him with a deference
which caused much more perplexity than pride to the
younger artist. Paul Delaroche was equally liberal
in sympathy and applause, and M. Gatteaux exerted
himself to obtain scope for the exercise of the talents
he appreciated. It was through him that Flandrin was
commissioned first to paint the Chapel of St. John in
Saint Severin, and later, the Choir of Saint Germain
des Pres. Conscious of the truth of his art principles,
and standing emphatically by them throughout, there
was no particle of self-assumption or vanity in Flandrin's mind. Whatever success he obtained he always
attributed to the teaching of his beloved master, to
whom, up to the last days of his life, he showed the
same deference expressed in the first year of his
studentship, the same gratitude " for one I can never
admire or love sufficiently."  And this exceeding
modesty and freedom from self-assumption or conceit




I44               HUMILITY.
drew men to Flandrin in a wondrous way. "Completely without self-confidence as he was, timid and
shrinking to the last degree when encountering praise
or having to go through some worldly ceremonial" (so
writes a friend), " how well he understood reassuring
and convincing any one who stood in need of counsel,
encouragement, or sympathy!" In all dealings with
other men, Flandrin set himself entirely aside, even
among those who were unquestionably his inferiors:
whether in public or private he always avoided everything tending to bring himself forward, and seemed to
dread being made prominent as much as most men
dread being overlooked. Not that he did not desire
to win the prizes of his art, but it was without selfconsciousness or vanity-for the art's sake, not for his
own; and to see Paul successful was a greater happiness than to be successful himself. Yet he was not
other than alive to what he considered justice.
After the Exhibition of I839 he writes to his mother
and Auguste: "Paul has had great success; to my
mind his landscape is the best in the Exhibition, and
fortunately I am not singular in my opinion.... The
prizes have been awarded. The croix d'honneur to
MM. X., a nmiraille of medals to MM. So-and-so. M.
Paul Flandrin, whose picture has been deservedly
noticed and admired, has permission to take it home
again, a favour he will know how to justify by renewed




ARRIVE QUE POURRA!               145
efforts. M. Hippolyte Flandrin's picture has been
bought, as you know, by the Ministere de l'Interieur.
It was destined for the Luxembourg Gallery, then for
that of Lyons; but in consideration of the legitimate
success it has obtained its destination is changed, and
it is to be sent to Lisieux, a town of eight or ten thousand inhabitants, with a Musee already containing two
pictures and three casts, and where the Municipal
Council may be inclined to vote a grant for the construction of a hall fit to contain these objects of art.
Voil! But all the same, one must be resigned, and
reckon one's-self fortunate, and seek in one's own conscience a reward which I know is worth more than
that of the world. Anyhow, that is what one ought to
do, but it is difficult. Sometimes one lets off a strain
of uncontrollable indignation. Adieu, dear old fellow;
let us always do our best, and then-arrive qte
pourra! "
And again:"PARIS, May I7, I839.
"Now the Exhibition is over, and between ourselves
I may tell you that your two brothers were of the best,
but there was not the smallest offer from the Ministry
or the King's household. Nevertheless, they buy the
most rubbishy works, and shower prizes, croix d'honneur and the like, upon them. That's what comes of
being well backed, which is very far from being our
K




146        GENERAL DE LAMOTHE.
case. We know a great many people, but no one
speaks on our behalf, and as to asking for myself it is
a thing I could not do. But remember, please, this
grumbling is only between ourselves. I always do and
always shall tell you whatever I think, and perhaps
there may be some hope yet. I should specially have
liked to see poor Paul's picture sold. If you had seen
it among all the rest, there really was no comparison.
All artists did him justice, but the administration is
not connaisseuse."
Among the friends who appeared in Paris now, the
brothers were pleased to see General Paultre de Lamothe again,-the same good soldier who was commanding at Lyons in the days of their boyhood, and
who used to take so much interest in the military
sketches of the "petits Flandrin," now, as he prophesied, become "real artists." After one of his neverforgotten affectionate visits to his mother, Flandrin
returned in July I839 to Paris. " The rheumatism," he
announces, " took its departure on the way, and I must
tell you that I behaved very well, for though I had left
all I love I was not too sad.  I should like to know if
little mother has been as good, and whether I have to
scold or to thank her!  Meanwhile I embrace her
with all my heart.  I found a heap of letters heresome asking me to dinner, some to dance! and one




RUE DE,'ABBA YE.               147
telling you, Paul, that your picture is come back from
Orleans, that is to say, unsold as before.... I saw
my  chapel this morning..... Work hard, Paul,
and don't you, Auguste, lose any of your zeal. Dear
mama, you will pray for all three! "
Paul remained a little longer with their mother, and
while at Lyons, he received dismal news of his pictures
from Hippolyte.
".... My dear Paul,-I must tell you what is
not pleasant; but after all we are men, and so hard
enough (coriaces) to bear worse than this.  I told you
that your picture had come back from Orleans, the
one sent to Nantes is also returned, and finally the
big one is not more fortunate.... Ci vuole azienza!.... Dear old fellow, you remember that on leaving
Lyons I regretted not having been able to go up5 there
to our dear father. Well, it worries me.  If you
could go with Auguste and say a little prayer for us
both, it would be a good thing.  If it is possible,
please do so, dear Paul.  But if you cannot, don't
tell Auguste to go alone; he has suffered too much
already."
Paul rejoined his brother, "and everybody says,'Voia le Flandrin tout entier!'"   The two artists
established themselves in No. I4 Rue de l'Abbaye,
and there Flandrin continued to live until the final
journey to Rome, in i863, where he ended his days.




148             SAINT SEVERIN.
Hippolyte's letters to Auguste continue to urge study.
" Work, raise the tone of your mind, think of all that
is beautiful and expansive, and if you can, read. I
shall for ever sing the same song; one must renew,
revive one's ideas. Forgive me for perpetually bothering you, but I am too thoroughly convinced of the
value of the advice not to repeat it continually.
Homer, Plutarch, Tacitus, Virgil, and such inspire the
beauty which we love."
The commission for Saint Severin had been given to
Flandrin, and at the end of the year he writes:"PARIS, Dec. 23, 1839.
"My  cartoons occupy me greatly with all the
necessary study for them, to say nothing of all the
painters and masons one has to direct. All this too
in about five hours' daylight, and such daylight too!
Paris is a gutter-a very swamp-through which one
must paddle to pay visits, and comply with the exigencies of this ridiculous world. (Dear Rome, where
art thou?)  Oh, how often I get into a rage, and would
fain get rid of all this world's nonsense! But one
must live. In this famous Paris people won't hunt
you out, you must appear, and very often the most
impudent fares best.  I have not yet been able to
return to the Ministere. I cannot forget all the proceedings about my picture, and nothing short of




INDEPENDENCE.                 149
necessity will take me there again. I know people
who are quite content to spend a couple of hours
every Thursday in M. Cave's antechamber, and who
accept his bad humour as well as his good humour;
but I am sure you would not like it any better than I
do. Poor Paul is still less of a visitor, and still less
fortunate.  Neither portraits nor pictures, nothing
befalls him, not the smallest bit of provender, and
consequently it is impossible for him to follow your
advice about laying by.  As to me, I can do no
better. We shall soon both be driven to our last
resources, for they will advance me nothing for the
Chapel until the cartoons are done, and even then the
money paid in will be swallowed up at once by the
work-people, who are already putting in their claims."
Hippolyte's watchful interest for Auguste did not
flag. He writes: —
"PARIS, Feb. 5, 1840.
".... IIn your last letter you speak  of not
coming to Paris. I cannot consent to that. How can
you profit by the Exhibition? You must see yourself
and others there, or else not work at all for exhibitions, as it would be quite a mistake to judge yourself
according to the favour or rejection of the public.
You must study yourself there. It is all very well to
say that you are held fast by your pupils. You might




50          A UGUSTE'S PICTURES.
easily leave them for a fortnight, and let us enjoy a
glimpse of our brother."
"Feb. 6, I840.-This evening late we received your
pictures, all arrived in good health. You can imagine
our impatience unpacking them, but I should have
liked you to witness our joy in recognising a quantity
of delightful things. To-day, before it was light, we
were at your pictures, and according to your permission we have rubbed, glazed, softened, deepened
little odd touches, all things which you would have
done yourself if you had had a week to spare. But I
tell you that we were very much satisfied. You should
have seen Louis' delight."
Louis Lamothe was first a pupil of Auguste, who
sent him in November 1839 to his brother's care, and
to the end Lamothe remained the devoted friend and
assistant of Hippolyte Flandrin.  Auguste's picture
was duly sent to the Exhibition.
"PARIS, March 6, I840.
"When we get you we will tell you the faults we
find with your picture. Meanwhile all we can say is,
that it has pleased us very much, as well as many
others, artists and friends, for I must tell you that it
appeared in a sort of Exhibition we had at home for a
few days.
"The Salon opened yesterday, and I want to tell




OPERA TION FOR SQ UINTING.          151
you that you are very well placed. You are seen, and
gain more than you lose. So all is for the best, and
it comforts us a little for the horrible place assigned to
our poor Paul's four pictures; but he is very brave,
and does not allow himself to be cast down, and I
have a firm conviction that he will soon rise, as to
talent, above those highest placed and most thought
of.  I am sorry that you can't come now, because
naturally I lose a certain time through the Exhibition,
which we could have spent together, whereas by and
bye, when you come, I shall be in full chapel work,
and as they hurry me it will be difficult to leave it."
Flandrin's wish that his mother should come to
Paris was fulfilled this year, and it is touching to find
him making little arrangements for the comfort of her
journey,-with daughter-like care, begging her to keep
her feet warm, planning to meet her at the bureau on
her arrival, trying to make her comfortable in the
little room, doing his best to amuse her and be her
companion, although so pressed with work that, as he
tells Auguste in a letter of April ist, he "has not a
moment of rest, really not time to eat."
Flandrin had always been subject to a squint, and
when the supposed discovery was made, that by means
of an operation severing a particular muscle in the
eye this deformity could be rectified, he readily
consented to undergo the treatment. At the moment




152            FAILURE OF SIGHT.
the operation appeared to be successful, but his eyes
soon  recovered  their normal condition, and  he
squinted as much as ever, with the undesirable
addition of a rapid failure of sight in his right eye,
which had always been  weaker than  the  other.
Before long this right eye became perfectly useless,
and for years all Flandrin's work was done under
the difficulty of such an imperfect sight.  He writes
to Auguste:"PARIS, Feb. 19, 184I.
"Tell mama that my eye is mending, and will
soon be well. People here have been so wonderfully
kind, they have taken as much interest in it as if it
were an important matter.  It got known, and the
house was always full of visitors, whose sympathy I
fully appreciate.... Adieu-I am forbidden to tire
myself, which does not coincide with all my business,
for I never was so pressed."
"Feb. 24, I84I.-I know you would be pleased at
the success of the operation...   Unfortunately the
last few days there has been some going back. At
times the eye returns to its old position, but they hope
that as it recovers strength it will keep right.  I have
suffered enough to deserve thorough success; and the
anxiety caused by this little fluctuation was very keen
at first, but we must bear what cannot be helped, and
trust everything to God's Grace."




CHA TEA U DE DAMPIERRE.           I53
At this time Flandrin undertook to paint the great
hall of theChateau de Dampierre, and it was when
about to go thither that he wrote urging Auguste and
his mother to come and live with him and Paul in
Paris,-all the tender consideration for her comfort
and desire for his brother's advancement, which were
so marked a part of his character, taking part in his
arguments.
"We want you. Is it not a trial for those who love
one another to live apart, perpetually sighing after
reunion?  Do what you will, our dear mother must
have long seasons of solitude when you are at work;
but among the three we could give her more constant
companionship-if not one, it could be another.
Moreover, when I look at your portrait of M.
Desguidi, I say that it is a pity to hide away such
talents, which would increase here more rapidly and
more surely, besides finding better opportunity for
coming to light.  Think of all this, but don't be
too long thinking. Half one's life is spent in projects..."
In April i84I Flandrin writes in high spirits about
his work, though so hurried and pressed about the wall
paintings at Dampierre, that he had to leave Paris
just as the Exhibition opened, and as the public was
admitted to see his Chapel in Saint Severin. He and
Louis Lamothe worked from six in the morning to six




154           LEGION OF HONOUR.
in the evening; but Flandrin never shrank from work,
though before he had finished his paintings at Dampierre, he fell ill from over-pressure, and from the bad
air he breathed, shut up in a close hall with a quantity
of other painters at work. The Chapel met with
great admiration, and, what Flandrin valued more
than the approbation of Prefect, Municipal Council
and Institut,-Varcollier, whose judgment M. Ingres
esteemed  highly, wrote  a highly commendatory
critique of it. A further testimony to his merits
appeared  in his nomination as a member of the
Legion d'Honneur, and the man's simple, unselfish
character comes out in the way he announces this fact
to his mother and brother.
"PARIS, z7lne 24, 1841.
" I lose no time in telling you the news which M.
Ingres has brought to celebrate your f6te and mine.
The King appoints me a Member of the Legion of
Honour, and I am happy to see the pleasure it gives
to our friends. I am certain of yours, and that of our
relations and friends at Lyons, which greatly increases
the value of the honour conferred on me.  I heartily
long for the same to be granted to my dear Auguste
and Paul, who only need full opening to show their
talent, to obtain their deserts...."
Flandrin's.stedfast mind on religious subjects is




MA TRIMONY.                  155
put forth in a plain practical way, when replying to his
brother Auguste, who had asked his advice on the
subject of matrimony.
"PARIS, 7uly 18, I84I.
"With respect to... believe me, even if a man
has allowed his religion to grow slack in his heart for
long, it is dangerous to become united with a woman
of a lower standard. Those differences which seem
unimportant at first may by and bye become causes
of disunion, especially where there are children, and
without wishing to hinder or weaken the religious
instruction they receive, father or mother find themselves, if not condemned, at least accused by their
young ones. And besides, you know as well as I do
that it is in religion only (we have a beautiful illustration of it in our mother) that we can find any real
strength amid trials and sorrows. If a man feels this
sincerely and deeply, what a misery not to share the
conviction fully with her whom he loved! Consider
all this, my dear fellow, and think it well over."
And a little later he says on the same subject: "I
want you to have a wife who loves you heartily, and
above all of a high tone of mind.   That seems to
me the most important thing to be wished, for it
includes what may be called the ordinary gifts, those
everyday virtues which affect the happiness of life at
every hour."




156            " GENS ETABLIS."
Apparently the advice was followed, for Auguste
Flandrin did not marry. Hippolyte spent part of
that autumn at Lyons, and wrote of his brother's
works as advancing greatly in breadth and solidity.
Returning to Paris, he continued actively to promote
Auguste's professional interests, getting some of his
portraits (which the younger brother criticises freely
though lovingly) into the Exhibition of 1842, where
his own picture of " Saint Louis dictant ses Etablissements,"' was exhibited; and continuing to urge the
plan already proposed, for the whole family to live
together in Paris, where he tells his mother he now
has a housekeeper to cook and take care of things,
living quite like " gens etablis."  His affectionate
heart seems to have craved for his mother's presence.
"May God long preserve you to your children," he
writes to her, "and render you happy in their love. I
trust my father sees and knows it all; he knows that
we do not forget him. His memory is precious and
honourable to us-happy the children who can keep
such memories of their parents.  Dearest mother, I
know that these remembrances do not sadden youthey are ever with you, and it is so comfortable to
talk of what one loves."  And to Auguste he says,
"May God preserve our mother to us, and allow us
to share in your care for her. May the reunion I have
Now in the Palais du Senat.




DEA TH OF THE DUC D'ORLEANS.    157
so long desired come to pass, so that we may all
enjoy one another for such time as is given us. Time
does indeed pass very quickly, and I regret above
all not to be living for those I love best."
Letter after letter is full of the like affectionate
urgency. In spite of pressing work, Dampierre was finished at the end of May 1842, with a last most fatiguing
effort in painting the ceiling (for Flandrin suffered
cruelly from rheumatism); a portrait of Mademoiselle
Delessert, which he says "frightens me horribly;" and
preparation for his great frescoes in Saint Germain des
Pres, a work just entrusted to him. His tenderheartwas
sorely touched by the sad death of the Duc d'Orleans,
July I3, 1842, which, he says, had thrown all Paris
into gloom  and mourning, and more than ever he
longed to be united to his own dearly-loved ones.
That was the last letter he ever wrote to his brother
Auguste, who was suddenly seized with brain-fever,
from which he did not recover. The instant Hippolyte
heard of his brother's illness; he left everything, and
started for Lyons, arriving there August 23rd. Auguste
recognised his brothers, and showed signs of pleasure
at seeing them, but could  not speak, and  in a
few days he died, lovingly tended to the last by his
two brothers and his mother.  Flandrin writes to a
friend:




158          DEA TH OF A UGUSTE.
"LYONS, Sept. I, I842.
"It is all over, and this morning we laid him in his
last earthly resting-place. From the time we got here
we watched the disease advancing steadily, but still
there was some hope, and to the end everything possible was done, but vainly. The last agony began about
five o'clock on Tuesday morning, and he was gone
by ten o'clock. We closed his eyes, and after a loving
embrace, we left him, to devote ourselves to our poor
mother.  Her resignation is very beautiful, but it is a
heavy blow.... Our dear brother's death has been
generally and deeply felt in the town.  Almost every
one of any position attended the funeral this morning, and this last proof of respect and affection was
very soothing to us. You knew him, and I am sure
you will regret him. Nous ktions si bien a trois / Now
we seem to have lost so much.  So we must draw all
the closer to our friends...."
And to Ambroise Thomas, Flandrin writes mournfully:-" Now that the first stunning grief is past, if you
only knew how deep our grief is! Everything seems
to feed and increase it. It was so good to be three,
and when there are only two, one seems so near being
left alone! Sad indeed for the one left last! Forgive this outpour of weakness, but there it is, in the
bottom of my heart. The one who seemed so strong,




FLAN DRIN'S MARRIAGE.             159
so full of life, has been taken so suddenly from us.
On the very first day he said that he felt himself taken
for death. Our poor mother feels this severe blow
very keenly, but with great courage. We must not
be ungrateful to God, but thank Him for sparing her
to us."
His letters of that autumn to his mother are naturally full of the beloved one who had gone from them,
and the tenderness of his consolations to the bereaved
mother are very touching. Hippolyte was himself about
to carry out the good advice he had given to Auguste,
and to unite himself to a wife who was likeminded
and who would strengthen him in all that was good.
His mother's approbation was anxiously and dutifully
sought when he resolved to make Mademoiselle Aimee
Ancelot his wife.
"We rejoice in your consent, which we hold to be
an indispensable blessing in so weighty a matter. I
shall take the good tidings this day to her family,
thereby adding to the kindness with which they receive
me-all are prepared to love you. The more I see of
them the happier I am.... We hope to be married
about Easter. Your presence cannot be dispensed
with, indeed we would willingly wait to have you
present. I am grieved to have to write so hurriedly,
for on such an occasion there is very much I should
like to say. But to be brief, dearest mother, I will




I60                  AIMEE.
only say that I accept this great happiness with trust
in God and in my good intentions.  Your prayers
cannot fail to bring us a blessing. May the event bring
some gladness to your poor heart, so sorely tried, yet
still so fresh and warm and loving. On Ash-Wednesday we heard Mass for our dear Auguste. It was six
months from the day, and we assisted, feeling our loss
as freshly as in the first days.  Pray continually,
dearest mother, for him and for us."
" The more I know of her who is about to be my
wife," he writes to Ambroise Thomas, " the more I
love her, and rejoice;" and on May ioth, the day
before the wedding, he writes to the same friend:
"I am  very happy, I am  just winning my prize... I find even more than I could have dared to
hope for! She is charming, so gentle and tender.
Rejoice with me! Please come rather early, for the
organist is not in Paris, and if you come at a quarter
to twelve or half-past eleven, you can feel your ground.
Try to remember some of the beautiful bits we used
to be so fond of, the Ave verum, etc."
The marriage  took  place  May ii, I843, and
Madame Flandrin must have felt that, as Hippolyte
said, she had gained another child, rather than lost
her son, or his devoted tender care and affection.' Your trois petils love you dearly;" he used to write,
ever associating Aimee as well as Paul in all his




SAINT GERMAIN DES PRSS.             I6I
tenderness to his mother.  He was occupied from
May I842 to the end of I844 with the decoration of
the sanctuary of Saint Germain des Pres, paintings in
which the large subjects consist of the Entry into
Jerusalem and our Lord bearing His Cross on Calvary,
as also of figures on the left side representing Faith,
Hope, Charity, and Patience, Saint Germain and S.
Doctrovee (the first Abbot of Saint Germain des
Pres) receiving the model of the church from Childebert and Ultrogoth; and on the right side, Justice,
Prudence, Temperance  and  Strength, with  Saint
Vincent,-the Pope Alexander III., the Abbe Morard,
Saint Benedict and King Robert. The paintings in
the choir were of a later date, 1846 to 1848, and those
in the nave were in progress from 1855 to I861.
Flandrin's heart was in his work; he repeatedly
thanks God for having given him the opportunity of
devoting himself to religious painting, and the tenor
of his thoughts, always calmly devout, seems to
have become increasingly so under the influence of
his sacred task.
"Just now as I went to work," he writes to his
mother, "I begged the Blessed Virgin to go and see
you in your dark little corner by the clock, where I
fancy you must be very triste in this bad weather. I
am sure she will have given heed to my prayer. She
must love you, —you are so good and kind and
L




162        QUEEN MARIE AMZLIE.
patient, and you bend your will so gently and submissively to God's Will. I only wish we could imitate
you as much as we love you!"  Among other works
finished at this time (I844-5) was a picture painted
for the Prince de Berghes, for his mortuary chapel at
Saint Martory, near Saint Gaudens (Haute Garonne).
It was to be a Mater dolorosa, and Flandrin took as
the motto of his picture the words of Jeremiah, " O
all ye that pass by behold and see if there be any
sorrow like unto my sorrow."   He described it himself as "the Blessed Virgin at the foot of the Cross,
offering the instruments of our Saviour's Passion to
Christians as a subject of meditation."  This was
painted during the cold dark days which would not
allow of his working at Saint Germain des Pres. Perhaps the best tribute that could have been paid to
this picture was involuntarily offered by the Queen
Marie Amelie, whose mother's heart, still bleeding
from the awfully sudden death of the Duc d'Orleans,
was transfixed by the beauty and sympathy of Flandrin's representation of the Mother of Sorrows, so that
on first seeing the picture in the Exhibition of 1845,
she burst into a flood of tears, and stood gazing in
rapt earnestness before it.  It was no mere artistic
effect that could do this, but the painter's life was in
keeping with the subjects on which he worked.  He
r Lamentations i. I2.




A FIRST-BORN SON.                I63
does not say much in his letters upon religious subjects, but there is an undercurrent of practical devotion and serious thought which betokens the constant
influence religion had over all he did. That his
duties were regularly attended to, and as no mere
form, such sentences in his letters as the following
show:-" April i, 1845.-Yesterday we all three kept
our Easter (avons fait nos paques) together, and consequently together prayed for you.  It is a great
happiness when fulfilling so holy a duty to see those
one loves beside one, though, alas! they were not all
there!"
A fresh source of happiness was opened this year
to Flandrin, when  he became a father; and an
enthusiastic admirer of his baby son he was from the
first. He writes to his own mother:
"PARIS, Oct. 9, I845.
"Dearest Mama,-I have good news for you. A
little man came into the world last night.  He and
his mother are doing well, the doctor is satisfied, and
I leave you to imagine whether I am.  I know how
glad you will be....  Oh the delight of hearing the
first cry of this little cherished being, so beloved
already! You, dearest mother, know what the delight
is, and I can see you now thanking God for having
given it to your children.  Naturally we think the




164             BABY WORSHIP.
little darling charming, and really, prejudice apart, I
think he is much prettier than most children of his
age. We dwell upon that, because there is nothing
else to be expected of him  now, but later on we
must hope to find that he has a good heart, and to
train it well. I mean him to love everything good
and beautiful; in short, I intend him to be a thorough
good fellow, able to love and worthy of being loved."
And again:"PARIS, Dec. 15, 1845.
"I must tell you, dear mother, that our dear child
gets on wonderfully.  He has grown so as to surprise
everybody, and his intelligence is beginning to wake
up; he follows one with his eyes, and gives one such
pretty little smiles when one talks to him; he listens
with a kind of attention, sometimes answering with
the sweetest little cooing.  When he laughs, it is
perfectly delicious, and like a sunbeam lighting up the
house.  Of course I see it all with a father's eyessomewhat prejudiced-but nevertheless, dear mother,
everybody thinks your little grandson very charming.
We will try to make him grow up good.... We
have made the little one kiss this letter-so he sends
you his own kiss."' PARIS, Feb. 20, 1846.
".... I wish I could send you a portrait of your




HOME LIFE.                    I65
little grandson, with the gracious smile which is so
bewitching, but, alas! everything of that sort is so
changeable, so fugitive, so bad to catch.... Oh
how  I wish you could watch our darling  child's
growth, his good looks, his fun, and his attempts to
chatter  If you could only see his delight on seeing
us when he wakes up-how he flutters legs and arms
all at once, like a little bird that fain would fly, if
only its feathers were not still too short!... I send
you two or three scratches made of the little fellow,
but though they are like after a fashion, they are
quite without his life and grace."
At the end of a technical letter to his friend
Lacuria, we find the admiring father reporting " no/re
petit to be a model for Raffaele's beautiful children,"
and moreover gifted with a laugh quite superior to
ordinary babies, able to listen with intelligent attention;
in short, altogether a wondrous piece of babydom!
Remembering those early days of privation and discomfort in Paris, so bravely borne-by the artist brothers,
it is pleasant to find them leading a life, unexciting
and hard-working enough certainly, but comfortable
and happy, as well-filled and industrious.
"PARIS, 7an. Io, I847.
"This is how our winter days are spent.  Up at




-166             REPUTATION.
eight o'clock-not very early to be sure, but I must
tell the truth. So  up at eight o'clock-quick, a cup
of milk, and then we are in the studio till eleven,
when real breakfast comes.  At half-past eleven
quickly back to the studio, where we work till five
o'clock. Then by wolf's light (entre chien et loup)
a run on the Quai Voltaire, if the weather permits,
which it does not always.  Dinner at six.  In the
middle of the repast the heir is brought in and takes
his place between papa and mama, in his high chair.
He coaxes us a great deal, eats a little, and amuses us
endlessly. After that come games and rolling on the
carpet, then he grows sleepy and is undressed, making
his round of kisses, and so disappears. Father and
uncle then set to work at drawings, compositions,
reading or writing connected with their work, till their
time for getting sleepy comes too!  Meanwhile, after
her child's toilette, and after having mended stockings,
gowns and caps, my dear wife sometimes goes to the
piano and practises for a bit, which is always a
pleasure to us. And so my days go by...."
Flandrin had now no need to look out anxiously
for work-his name was well known, and as he says
himself, he was overwhelmed with  commissions,
although refusing numbers, and he only wished for
ten hands! His reputation was fast making him a




ROYALTIES.                  167
lion in the world, and as such he found himself sought
and feted. His account of an evening at the Duc de
Nemours', given to his mother, is written with all the
simplicity of his early days in the garret au 5eme
"Aimee told you, dearest mama, that I had been asked
to Court. Was not that something wonderful? Nevertheless it is quite true. I went, and was very much interested. It was a concert at the Due de Nemours'.  I
made myself smart-black coat, white waistcoat, white
tie, black trousers, silk stockings, varnished boots, but
woe's me! going up the staircase, I perceived that
every one in sight was in knee-breeches! It was very
alarming, especially as there is a much stricter etiquette
at the Duke's salon than in the King's. However, on
I went, and in a few minutes I had the comfort of
seeing one, two, three, and in course of time a good
many trousers to keep me in countenance.  The
Duke and Duchess de Nemours made a round of the
salons, speaking to their guests, and trying to say
something courteous to every one. I pitied them
with all my heart, for it really is a hard task. A little
later the King and Queen of the Belgians, the Duke
and Duchess d'Aumale and de Montpensier arrived:
the ladies'went into the concert-room, the princes
stayed among the men, talking with ministers, peers,
deputies, savants, literary men and artists. The Duc
de Montpensier, to whom I was presented, came and




I68         DELICACY OF FEELING.
thanked me for a drawing I made some months ago
for his album, referred to several of my works with a
most winning grace, and finally (what quite won my
heart) asked after my brother and his'beautiful
pictures.' The Duchesse de Nemours too was very
gracious. About midnight the concert came to an
end, the royalties retired, the crowd dispersed quietly,
and I came home to my wife, and tried to tell her all
about the splendid apartments, the ceremonial, the
princes and princesses, the great people, and all the
other wonders I had seen  "
The success of Flandrin's paintings in the choir of
Saint Germain des Pres was so great, that in December
I846 the Municipal Council asked him to undertake
the proposed decoration of the Church of Saint
Vincent de Paul, a work most attractive to Flandrin
from an art point of view,'as well as in respect of the
two hundred thousand francs offered with the commission. But with his usual absolute unselfishness
and consideration for others, Flandrin  refused a
commission he would gladly have accepted, out of
delicacy towards his old master Ingres, who seems to
have undertaken the work and then resigned it. It
is not quite obvious wherein he could have been
annoyed at Flandrin's acceptance of the task, for
after his resignation, and before the offer was made to
Flandrin, it had been offered to Paul Delaroche, who




PICOT.                    I69
refused it. But anyhow, Flandrin feared to pain his
beloved master, saying that "it would have been a
grand and delightful undertaking, but my position with
respect to M. Ingres is very delicate, and I would far
rather give up the undertaking than run the slightest
risk of wounding him...... As I cannot accept the
work, it has been intrusted to M. Picot, a member of the
Institut, but the Prefect, in reply to the remonstrances
of the Council, has promised that Saint Germain
shall be finished, and, to say the truth, I think I should
like that even better than the work I have refused."
As it happened, though Flandrin at last executed
both these works, that of Saint Vincent de Paul was
first taken in hand; for just as Picot was about to
begin in 1848 the Revolution disturbed everything,
and when a new town administration came into office,
Armand Marrast, the Mayor, withdrew the commission
to paint the Church of Saint Vincent from Picot and
offered it to Fiandrin. Disgusted at what he considered unfair treatment of a brother artist, Flandrin
declined the task a second time, and it was only on
Picot's own urgent representations that he would
listen to any propositions on the subject, and even
then he insisted on Picot taking part in the work as
well as himself. Meanwhile, Flandrin worked on at
Saint Germain des Pre's. In a letter to his brother
Paul, dated  June   2, [847, and referring to this




170          WHITE DRAPERIES.
Church, he says:.... "I am quite worried by an
idea which came into my head yesterday. Remembering that there is no really old tradition as to the
colour of the Apostles' garments, I thought I would
make them all white. You know one day you said
something about it, so all night long I thought or
dreamed about it. These twelve men uniformly white
would be much more imposing, and have a finer effect
than broken up into different tones, and moreover
they are in Heaven, around the Throne of the Lamb.
Morally it is far finer, but would the eye be as well
satisfied as the mind?  Would the whites harmonise
with the whole tone of the decorations?  That is
what I wanted to try and find out to-day, by painting
in Saint Matthew white, whom you saw violet. Unluckily it was not quite dry, and the under tints
transpired somewhat, and consequently the white is
not brilliant enough to enable me to judge definitely
as to the effect.... June I8th.-I consulted M.
Ingres and M. Gatteaux, and both answered,'Don't
do it.'  But notwithstanding, after a night of indecision, I decided on the white, and have now
repainted three figures. MM. Ingres and Gatteaux
came to Saint Germain, and both exclaimed,'Bravo!
it is really much better so!' entirely approving my
determination; so now my mind is at rest, and I am
getting on."




S. PAUL ATN IMES.              171
Another considerable work was about to devolve
upon Flandrin, the decoration of the Church of St.
Paul at Nimes, in which he was assisted by his
brother Paul, Louis Lamothe, already mentioned, and
Paul Balze. In the autumn of 1847 the two Flandrins went to Nimes, to study the ground on which
they were to work, and to overlook the needful preparations. "We are in a little hotel, where some good
people take ample care of us, but I have been terribly
disappointed on going to see the Church and the
preparatory works, which are very far from what they
ought to be. The scaffolding is miserable, and must
be put up afresh, and the walls are badly prepared.
It is all very annoying." A year later, after a short
visit to Lyons with wife and children (there was a
second babe now), Flandrin took up his quarters at
Nimes, where the clear blue sky of the South.recalled
his beloved Rome; yet he was not generally attracted
by the place, and seemed to feel the time of his abode
there long. The Revolution disturbed Nimes, always
politically restless, and Flandrin was prepared for
possible serious interruptions; but after some " red and
socialist banquets," which produced a little surface
commotion, the town returned to its ordinary aspect,
and was quiet enough. Flandrin writes eagerly to
Ambroise Thomas for intelligence as to the new constitution and the general attitude of Paris, saying that




172          REVOLUTION OF 1848.
he and his fellow-labourers, engrossed from morning
till night in their work, and hidden in the church
which was the scene of that work, saw nobody, and
had no means of knowing what was going on in the
world they had left. For more than a month, Hippolyte says, they had not even received a letter able
to put them at all up to the actual state of things, or
the real tone of Paris.
" In spite of the delight of a work we rejoice in,"
Flandrin writes (Dec. 15, 1848) to his friend Victor
Baltard, "we are keenly alive to our isolation and the
separation from our friends. I can hardly believe
that it is only two months since we left Paris. The
time, as a whole, seems horribly long, although weeks
go by like days, and days like hours. In order to get
back as soon as possible to you all, I use them to the
best of my power.  Although the most splendid
weather tempted us, and we should have liked to go
and enjoy the glorious light and its effects on the
rocks and the fair vegetation of the South, we resisted
heroically. We have steadily given all working days
up to work, so that we are really taking shape, and I
am somewhat surprised myself to see how much we
have been able to do in six weeks..... The ioth
passed off quietly here. There was plenty of life and
animation, but the most perfect order everywhere.
Louis Napoleon had 7000 votes; Ledru-Rollin from




VIVE LA CONSTITUTION!             I73
I500 to i600; Cavaignac from I200 to 1300. Only
it is said that Ledru-Rollin has a majority in the rest
of the Department, and an immense number of votes
all through the South, but I hope that the Centre and
the North will restore things somewhat, and bring
about a better result. Meanwhile I say, Vive la Constitution/ and submit with the most absolute good
faith to whatever universal suffrage may bring to pass,
-it is the only possible basis in the present times for
a political structure. And then I say with you, May
God protect France! and I hope on...... I have
just received a letter from M. Hittorf about Saint
Vincent de Paul, in which he says, among other
things, that Varcollier professes to be greatly dissatisfied with me because of my coming to Nimes and my
work here. I must confess that this astonishes me,
and I can only say that I am very sorry, for I know
how friendly he has been tome in all this business.
But what brought me here? I am fulfilling a promise,
and that is what I hope all through life to do always.
Moreover, I do not understand quite how any one can
complain of my inactivity, inasmuch as in three
months I have produced all the sketches and twentyfour metres of cartoons for the town. Anyhow, be so
kind as to make my respects to M. Varcollier, and
tell him that I am working so as to return to Paris by
the beginning of the season, and that I am adding a




174        OBSERVANCE OF SUNDA Y.
third cartoon to two already done, which are about to
be transferred to the wall."
"NiMES, Yan. 5, I849.
".... Our regime here is much the same. We
shut ourselves up within the four walls as soon as it is
light, and do not come out again till dark. The days
are too short, and we work by lamplight. We suffer
from cold and rheumatism, albeit in the South, and I
hope we shall have done by Easter. I can tell you it
will have been by pulling hard against the collar."
It was during this pressure of work that Flandrin had
a bad fall from one of his scaffolds, in which he was
considerably hurt, but he did not give way to pain
for an hour more than he could help, and in a few
days, while yet stiff with bruises, he was again hard
at work.
Flandrin alludes in one of the above-quoted letters
to the "working days," and remembering how little
such observation is general in France, especially perhaps, among men of his profession, it is interesting to
find that he observed the rest of the Sunday. In a
letter to his old master, M. Ingres, he says that their
work " has had no interruption save that of Sundays.
I long to submit this enormous work to you," he goes
on to say, " and to hear your criticisms. I shall have
to leave it so hastily that I shall hardly be able to




LIFE AT NIMES.                 175
take in the ensemble, or to keep a lasting impression of
it. In order to judge of it and of myself somewhat
fairly, I should like to see it again at the end of six
months.  My good helpers have been most devoted,
and I think we have executed the paintings as rapidly
as was possible..... We have had a most enchanting climate during this winter, and the rare expeditions we could indulge in were so attractive that Paul
thinks of staying on in this country to draw."
April found Flandrin still at Nimes in spite of his
uninterruptedly laborious toil.  "It is so difficult to
finish a work," he writes to Victor Baltard, "and this,
which is one of the finest I could have to execute, has
led me on further than I expected. I wish you could
see it; I think you would say I was right to have
sacrificed and braved a good deal in order to finish it.
Besides, a host of bothers which one could not foresee
have hindered me, and, in spite of a beautiful winter,
we have worked as much as a fortnight together by
lamplight.  However, now I am really finishing, but
I am so weary with this persistent work that I really
must have a few days of rest."
Flandrin had reason to be satisfied with his work
at Nimes, which seems prodigious to have been
accomplished within the time.  In the apse he has
painted a colossal Christ in Majesty, Saints Peter and
Paul beside Him, and at His Feet a king and a slave,




176           BISHOP OF NIMES.
laying the one his crown, the other his chains, on the
steps of the Throne; on the choir walls are three
series of figures, representing the Evangelists, Archangels, and the Doctors of the Greek and Latin
Churches; besides two processions of Martyrs and
Virgins, a Coronation of the Blessed Virgin, and the
Vision of S. Paul. Nor were these figures painted
hastily, however rapid their production may have been.
They were both conceived and executed in a spirit of
deep devotion; as the Bishop of Nimes, Monseigneur
Plantier said, "Flandrin sought to preach after his
own manner, and to him painting became eloquence,
wherewith he uttered a magnificent profession of faith
in the walls of God's Temples."
Bishop Plantier seems to have been intimate with
Flandrin, and to have thoroughly appreciated the
artist's deep and real religion, which as he says, had
inspired him " with a conscientious love of art, so that
painting was no mere profession in Flandrin's eyes,
but a ministry, for the functions of which he prepared
himself as an evangelist going forth to teach. Long
since I remember discussing his future works with him,
when he had been asked to decorate the Cathedral at
Strasbourg, and the thing which struck me most
was the religious awe with which he contemplated his
task, and the earnest solicitude with which he collected the materials necessary to guide him.  The




FAITH AND ART.                  177
bare idea of any voluntary shortcoming or negligence
revolted not merely his artistic feelings, but his faith
as a Christian. I shall never forget his saying to me
in the most touching manner,'Providence has constrained me to give myself up rather exclusively to
religious art.' It was true. God, Who had claimed
Overbeck's talents for Himself in Germany, seems in
like manner to have claimed Flandrin in France, in
order to prove to the nineteenth century, amid the
reign of rationalism, that sincere faith and fervent love
for the Church are not incompatible with the highest
inspirations of art....  Heart and intellect combined
in him to direct his talent. Too often amongst ourselves the Christianity of art is a mere circumstance,
it renders a scene from the Gospel as it would one
from  Homer-its inspirations  are  factitious and
shallow; but in Hippolyte the artist and Christian
were absolutely one soul, his compositions and his
moral graces sprung from a common source. He himself revered and worshipped that which he invited
others to adore, and the saints who became the heroes
of his pencil were also the models of his life....
He was just as simple in the practice of his religion as
in the expression of his faith, and the combination of
simplicity and superiority were very striking in him.
If, to use a proverbial expression, he possessed lafoi
du charbonnier, he was no less possessed by the
M




178       FLANDRIN LEA VES NIMES.
highest faith of genius,.. and with all its vigour
he combined its most refined delicacy.... Look at
the procession of virgins in our Church of Saint
Paul; every stroke, their attitude, the calm purity of
glance, the seraphic expression of countenance, the
grand severity of drapery, all tell of souls so pure
that all about them is spiritualised, so that merely
the indispensable material existence remains. And
these pure forms are a correct indication of him who
traced them-he too was transparent and clear as
crystal."
As a whole, those best able to judge have pronounced Flandrin's frescoes at Nimes as second to
those in Saint Vincent de Paul in Paris. Perhaps
the involuntary preference which he had for the one
place over the other may have told upon his powers,
and he continually missed the sympathy and counsel
which he liked to seek from friends, and which could
not be attained in the Southern city as in Paris. The
latter part of the time spent at Nimes was saddened
by the death of several friends, as also by a severe
illness which the precious little Auguste underwent;
and up  to the moment of departure  Hippolyte
was longing to be gone.  When, however, the time
really came, his affectionate heart had found roots,
as it was wont to do everywhere, and he writes to his
brother Paul, who lingered behind:



VISIT TO L YONIS.              179
"LYONS, May II, I849.
"I was grieved to leave you, and I felt leaving
Nimes and all our kind friends there very much. We
had magnificent effects on sky and mountains, such
poetical sights and significations! I think, my dear
half (not shadow'), you ought to turn your attention
specially to this side of art. Auguste was silent,
except when now  and then a duck crossing the
road drew  forth  a  shout of delight!  Zizi was
very good.  We saluted the Pont du Gard from
afar.... We took the boat at four o'clock  (at
Valence), but it did not get on, and when we made
that remark to the captain he said quietly,' Oh no,
it's true she does not go so fast as the rest, but she
can keep on at it longer!' So it ended in our reaching mama about ten o'clock. She looks well, and is
not in the least altered.... If you notice anything you don't like in Saint Paul's, I leave it all to
you; do whatever you think right." And a few days
later he says, " Thank you for having touched up our
pictures.  You will go and see them  again as you
pass through Nimes, won't you, and tell me what
impression they leave on you?  On the last day I
was not at all satisfied, and I cannot shake off the
recollection."
This was in allusion to Paul Flandrin's habit of modestly
calling himself his brother Hippolyte's " ombreportee."




180            DISTURBANCES.
Flandrin reached Lyons quite ill from the effects of
overwork and exhaustion, and the doctor insisted on
his resting quietly there for a time. Quiet, however,
was not to be had at command. It was the election
time, and there was a serious popular outbreak.
Flandrin describes it as follows:
" LYONS, yune 17, I849.
"The day before yesterday Lyons was in great
excitement, every one expecting news from Paris, and
in spite of torrents of rain people gathered in groups
all about the town. According to the Red newspapers,
Ledru-Rollin was master of Paris, the President and
ministers at Vincennes.  Then the crowd swarmed
over the Terreaux, and the quays, singing and announcing' good news' for the next day. Although the
rain never stopped, a host of people stayed all night
in front of the Hotel de Ville, shouting and hallooing.
Some two hundred were arrested. Yesterday morning
(Friday) I ran over to the Terreaux to fetch Rene,
Mariette being ill. The place was crowded, and the
Hotel de Ville full of troops; only what is their mind?
The struggle was not believed to be so near,
although we heard of sentinels disarmed, and soon we
heard feux de pelo/on, and then guns from the Croix
Rousse. I hurried off to fetch mama, who was with
Mariette, and brought her home in great alarm. From
eleven to three the guns in the Croix Rousse thundered




FUSILLADES.                  181
incessantly against the barricades, then there came a
pause of about three quarters of an hour.  We heard
nothing, the soldiers were in possession of the barricades, the bridges occupied by guns, and all communication  between  the two  sides of the river
suspended.  All of a sudden the fusillade began
again, extended down the quays, and came so near
to us that a woman was wounded in her own house,
Rue des Bouchers, No. i8.  [It was No. 11 that the
Flandrins inhabited.]  Just then a ball struck our
house as I was double-locking the outer gate. The
firing went on till about half-past eight, and then
gradually died away.  It had hardly stopped when
lightning  and  thunder began, and it seemed as
though God's Voice were denouncing the horrors of
the day.  But, alas! this people seems deaf to all
lessons! The day before all sorts of false intelligence
was made up and circulated in order to bring about
strife-the people know that. Again during the fighting the leaders set about other reports just as false,
and they know that too. Yet nothing will open their
eyes, and they go on with the same stupid idiotic faith
in their deceivers.  Aux armes / that is for ever their
first and only cry, as if our institutions and liberties
did not supply any other means of expressing our
wants! The truth is, these gentlemen want to subject
others and not to be subject themselves.




182          MADAME FLANDRIN.
"General Gemeau, who commanded operations,
acted with admirable decision. Everything was foreseen, arranged, and executed as rapidly as possible.
But for that the evil might have reached a most
alarming extent, and the country owes a great deal to
men who dare to compromise and sacrifice themselves
for it thus. A subscription is being raised for the
wounded soldiers and for the families of those who
were killed.  I have just made my contribution;
surely it is but fair that we should show our gratitude
to our defenders when other people are so ready to
spend money in seducing and corrupting."
Madame Flandrin was, not unnaturally, greatly
shaken by the terror of this time, when shells were
flying about her house, and dead and wounded carried
beneath her windows; and at eighty (as she then
was) such an alarm brought on serious illness, so that,
in spite of her wonderful vigour and energy, great
fears were entertained for her life. However, the
danger passed away, and the venerable mother lived
to enjoy the unfailing affection and care of her sons
until February I858, when she died, at the age of
eighty-nine.  When able to leave his mother without
anxiety, Flandrin, though still very far from well, and
often suffering acutely from rheumatism, which his long
hours of work, often spent in cramped positions and
in cold damp localities, tended too much to confirm,




SAINT VINCENT DE PA UL.           I83
went back to Paris, and begun his work in the Church
of Saint Vincent de Paul. In September I849 he speaks
of being comparatively free from pain for a few days
together as of an unwonted thing. Flandrin's paintings in this church are considered by many as his
finest work. Certainly no one will dispute the exceeding beauty and dignity of many of the figures which
form the long processions on either side the nave; on
the one Apostles, martyrs, doctors, bishops, and confessors; on the other virgin martyrs, holy women,
penitents, and saintly household groups,-"pictorial
litanies," as they have been graphically called. Those
who delight to visit Saint Vincent de Paul, and gaze
upon that wondrous group of imaged saints, will be
interested in a little anecdote connected with the
broad terrace which they will remember at the top of
the flight of steps leading up to the west door, and
which is specially characteristic of the master whose
hand has decorated it.  One September evening he
had taken his little son there with him after dinner,
and standing on the top of the broad steps, " I gazed
in wondering admiration at the sky, one side of which
still was bright with the glowing tints of the setting
sun, while on the other the moon's bright orb
rose silently. Auguste tried to count the stars. I
talked to him about our Father in Heaven, and the
child knelt down upon the stones, and leaning against




i84         AUGUSTE THE SECOND.
the door with folded hands, began to pray for all of
us."  The training of this boy may be indicated by
this, as well as by his father's thanks, five years later,
to M. Ingres, on the occasion of his giving Auguste a
Homer in that original Greek which Flandrin himself
had so often longed to command; as also by a few
brief lines addressed to the boy himself on his first
going to school:"Oct. 6, 1858.
"My dear Auguste,-My dearest child, whenever
you feel unhappy or dispirited, or if you should unfortunately be tempted by any bad example, in order to
gain courage or avoid wrongdoing, think of God, Who
has been so good to you hitherto; of the Blessed
Virgin, who watches over you; of your dear loving
mother; and of your father, whose happiness depends
on your good conduct and well-doing. In short, love
us as we love you."
Meanwhile the frescoes in Saint Vincent de Paul
were progressing.  Flandrin announces M. Ingres'
inspection of them, and his approval, with as much
satisfaction and modesty as in his earliest student
days; and a little later he reports a visit from M.
Berger, then Prefet de la Seine, who, after great
admiration, inquired how long Flandrin would be
occupied in this work, and, hearing that two years




AVIGNON.                    185
more were probably necessary, answered that in that
case he would be ready quite at the right time
for Saint Germain des Pres, which was destined for
him to decorate. Flandrin tells his good prospects,
laughing about his own " bonheur insoant," with a half
hesitation to his brother Paul, whose success he
would fain have seen equal to his own. He never
seemed eager about acquiring  honours or praise,
though eager enough about the success of his work.
Thus he neither expresses great disappointment at his
failure on two occasions (in 1849 and i851) to be
elected a member of the Academie, nor great exultation when, in I853, he became a successful candidate
for this dignity.
In the autumn (I85I) some rest became absolutely
necessary, and Flandrin went to the South of France
with his wife and children. He writes from Avignon
to his brother: "I have just been to Notre Dame.
From  the high terrace in front of the church there
was a most glorious view; the sun was just sinking, the
Rhine and the plain in shadow, but the Ventaux
and the chain of Alps lit up with its last bright rays.
Glorious! glorious! and then that ancient church,
with its grand images in front. It was open, and I
went in and said a little prayer for you and for us."
Tidings of the death of the Flandrins' first master,
Legendre Heral, reached him at Marseilles; and after




186             FRESH HONO URS.
some kindly and religious expression of feeling, and
allusions to their education in art, Flandrin goes on to
bid Paul " always strive to get at the poetical meaning
of nature, to find the most beautiful and most true
side of everything, inasmuch as that it is which is
most closely bound to things eternal, which is, in
short, the moral sense that unites man to God."
In 1852 Flandrin had the great delight of seeing
his brother receive the Cross of the Legion of Honour,
which, as he says, brightened up his own marvellously.
A year later he himself received the higher dignity of
"Officier de l'Ordre de la Legion d'Honneur," and in
1854 he was appointed to a Professorship in the
tcole des Beaux Arts.  His strength seems often to
have failed amid the pressure of work, at home and
abroad, for he painted a good many portraits during
the time that his great frescoes were in hand, the
demands upon his purse being considerable; and he
says to his brother that his labour was as necessary as
the first day he set to work, although he felt that he
no longer could work as he had done, but that everything became a toil. His constant aim to preserve a
quiet mind amid labour, anxiety, or popularity is very
striking.  "II ne faut pas se troubler," he says, "if
only I could practise that admirable precept." An
occasional trip to the sea, Eu, Treport, or Havre,
revived him, and his keen appreciation of all natural




AN UNWILLING YUDGE.                187
beauty, sea, sky, sunset, or moonlight, generally brings
back some remembrances of that artist's paradise, his
beloved Rome.  The work in Saint Vincent de Paul
was finished at last, in 1854, and the following year
Flandrin engaged in another considerable undertaking
of the same kind at Lyons.  Before going there to
decorate the church of Ainay, he had to take part as
one of the judges in that redoubtable Exhibition field
wherein he had formerly suffered so much.  His
vivid recollection of his own early days made the
office a painful one.  He writes to his mother:"PARIS, Aril I 855.
I have been stupid enough to be rather ill again.
All the plaster was new in the Salles d'Exposition
where we held our jury of decision, the rain and snow
came in; in short, I caught cold, and was obliged to
take to my bed... All this jury business does not
please me at all. One must reject people who believe
in their own talent, and bestow maledictions on you
for the vexations inflicted on them, just as they may
be.  Of course here and there one or two, people
there may be who are dealt with severely, and made
to grieve unjustly, but it is almost impossible that it
should be otherwise. Still it does not the less grieve
your son, who you know does not like much better
than his dear mother to see any one distressed,




i88                  AINA Y.
especially humble folk. Altogether I shall not be'at
all sorry when I can return to my own business."
In July of that year (1855) Flandrin took up his
quarters at Lyons in order to paint the Church of
Ainay.   He found the Cure ready to trust him
thoroughly, and the first measure taken was to get
an order from that gentleman to have all his scaffolding taken down and put up anew, as it had been prepared so as to make painting impossible! There
were other drawbacks when he began to paint; the
walls were badly prepared, and so wet that the first
outlines had to be drawn three times; then a platform
on the scaffolding gave way, and Flandrin had a fall,
not from any important height, but enough to sprain
both his feet and cause him  to lose several days.
The church was dark, the lights inconvenient, and
July though it was, several days were so gloomy, that
he said a candle would have been acceptable! and
the curves of the rounded parts of the building, which
necessarily altered the outlines of his figures, were
troublesome.  Another trouble to which Flandrin
was sensitive, was that every one in the church could
see what was going on, and, as he says, criticism set
to work as soon as there were four strokes drawn!
Flandrin declared to his brother that if he had known
all the difficulties beforehand which were to beset




NA VE OF ST. GERMAIN DES PRES.   189
him, he would never have undertaken the work. " I
am ruining my sight, and take what trouble I may, I
believe this work will never count as worth much!"
This however was an unnecessarily gloomy view of
the matter, and there were many who, like the Bishop
of Nimes (whose opinion and criticism Flandrin invited), saw a grand poem written on the three apses
(if it be correct so to call the terminal absides of the
aisles) of Ainay Church. Behind the high Altar is a
grand figure of Our Lord blessing the world, with the
Blessed Virgin, Saints Blandina and Clotilde, the
Archangel S. Michael, Saint Pothinus, the Apostle of
Lyons, and S. Martin.  In the smaller right hand
apse is Saint Benedict seated in his Abbot's chair,
with two monks at his feet dedicating the Abbey
of Ainay to his Rule, and on the other side Saint
Badulph.
The following year Flandrin returned to Saint
Germain des Pres, where he was commissioned to
paint the nave, that is the intervals between the
windows, containing forty figures, and eighteen groups
in the spaces between the arcades and windows. The
former represent the principal types and promises of
Holy Scripture from Adam and Eve to Zacharias, from
Noah to Saint John Baptist, while the lower groups
consist of prophecies from the Old and fulfilments
from the New Testaments. Thus, Balaam prophesy



10o           UATFINISHED WORKi
ing the Star which should arise in Judah is beside the
adoration of the Magi; Joseph sold by his brethren
by the Betrayal; the Tower of Babel beside the Mission
of Pentecost, and so on. If the writer may be permitted
here to hazard an opinion as to the merits of Flandrin's paintings, one is tempted to say, that among
these groups his finest works are to be found; the
dignity, poetry, and devotional feeling of many of
those groups are marvellous. Perhaps Flandrin himself enjoyed this more than any other of his works. He
had completed the nave, and was occupied in preparing to paint the transept (or arm of the cross in which
the church is built), when death closed his earthly
labours in God's service. When he left Paris in I864
Flandrin foresaw that he should not live to complete
the work.  "Le bon Dieu ne veut pas que je finisse
sa maison," he said, with a touching smile of resignation, conscious of the weakness to which illness had
reduced him.
Always reticent and free from the self-consciousness
which leads us to dwell largely on our own doings,
Flandrin writes but little of this his favourite work;
the few times he alludes to it in his letters are very
characteristic, as when he writes to his landscape
painter brother Paul (while painting Adam and Eve in
Paradise, and Moses before the burning bush), " I am
working at life-size landscape myself, and as the best




ARLES.                    191
way out of my difficulty, I have a mind to go and see
if your concierge will let me make one or two studies
in your atelier;" and in another letter to M. Laurens,
he says: "I am working at the nave of Saint Germain
des Pres-just at this moment on the subject of God
rebuking Adam  and Eve after their fall; is it not
enough to mnake one tremble?"
His failing health involved many absences and
attempts at gaining strength.  In September 1859
Hippolyte describes to Paul a journey just ended:"At Aries, we went to the Hotel du Forum-pah!
what filth! The town was sweltering under a sirocco,
the very stones trickled, the sky lowered heavily, but
all the same how I enjoyed re-visiting Saint Trophime
and the Cloister, the Theatre and Arena. And all
those beautiful and interesting things in the Muse!
The head of Diana is a marvel, the Silenus, the Four
dancers, the young Roman, are all worth hearty study,
and though I saw them too hastily, they have left very
delightful recollections behind. In spite of the railroad Aries is Aries yet; the women keep their beauty
and their costume, and the Southern flavour is strong
and entire.  At Tarascon, Avignon, and Orange,
through which we merely passed, I devoured regretfully everything with my eyes!  Le Ventaux was
cloud-capped.  Then came Montelimart, Valence,
Saint Vallier: the South is slipping from us, yet at




192                  BLOIS.
Vienne, and still more at Lyons, we found a sky which
somewhat recalled it. We decided on sleeping at the
Perrache station, and the next day, with pleasant
though somewhat changeable weather, we went from
Lyons to Paris. Less and less of the beloved South,
but nature always affords food for admiration, causes
for praising God and thanking Him.  We came back
to the Forest of Fontainebleau, etc., in the light of
one of the finest sunsets I have ever been given to
behold.  Paris was quite dark, the macadam still wet
with yesterday's rain. Here is our own dear street;
we got out of the carriage, and you can fancy our
delight in hearing our poor little Paul' shouting our
names with all his might.  Next day I had to see to
a heap of letters and papers. I hurried off to the
tcole to see the pictures in competition.... My
day was so full I could not write sooner."
"BLOIS, Aug. 31, I860.
" My dear Paul,-It has rained, it does rain, it will
rain! You will remember we had three tolerable days;
and so we packed up, but meanwhile the weather
lowered, and when the cab came to take us to the railroad, there was no room for doubt; it rained hard enough
to appal people who have not been case-hardened by
the last eight months' regime.  All the same we set' Hippolyte Flandrin's third child.




THE CItA TEA U.              193
out, took our tickets and places, and started. Through
the rain we made out Etampes, the plains of La Beauce,
Orleans, Beaugency, and at last Blois.  Forty-four
lieues through this torrent of rain and a driving wind.
Then came a short respite. We went into an intensely
picturesque town, guarded by its fine castle. After
taking possession of rooms in the h6tel, we armed
ourselves with umbrellas, and headed by Paul, we went
all about that great monument, penetrated within,
saw it from top to bottom, and admired inside and
out alike. What a blessing that the restoration has
been intrusted to M. Dauban, to whom we owe, not
a mere preservation, but the very new birth of a
chef-d'xeuvre of originality and beauty.  What poor
wretched artists we are in comparison to such as
those! On leaving the Chateau, we climbed to the
heights in order to see the Loire, but the wind was
violent, the clouds heavy and low, and we were soon
driven back to the picturesque old streets, full of
interesting old houses. We went to the churches, and
at last came in to rest and dine-raining still. In the
evening we went with umbrellas to the fair on the
Quays.  When we went to bed the clouds were
dispersing, and the moon bright, but this morning the
rain is coming down steadily again, with a pretence of
innocent good faith which is most irritating; it looks
as if it would never leave off! Nevertheless we have
N




194                A IA MODE.
ordered a carriage to go and see Chambord, four
lieues distant.. "
Some idea of the way in which work was crowded
upon Flandrin,-the successful artist as he had become,
-may be gathered from a letter to M. Lacuria, dated
"PARIS, ran. 25, I86I.
".... My life becomes more and more harassing. In addition to the old tasks which more than
filled it, I am now a la mode / As I told you before,
the success-absurd, because it was beyond boundsof two poor portraits' has brought about this glut of
applications. I have refused at least one hundred and
fifty since the last Exhibition, but there are certain
princes, ministers, etc., who demand, or command,
with a persistence which drives me to despair, and to
whom I submit with so bad a grace, that I am visibly
dwindling away.  C'est'fini, I have ceased to be a
painter! Farewell to study, and to that delightful
hope of improvement which kindles all one's vigour
and strength.  This sort of good fortune crushes me,
and I wish I knew how to get free from it, of which I
have no hope! And yet, if even that were all!.. 
I One of these was a portrait of Mademoiselle Maison, now
Madame la Baronne de Mackau, which; on being exhibited in
I859, at once obtained the name of " lajeunefille a'ceillet."




ALLE VARD.                 195
Repeated  failures of health, over-work, and a
journey to Allevard les Bains, seem to have been the
history of that year. Flandrin writes, August I 5th, to his
brother Paul, who, by the way, was married before
this:-"..... Monday was the hottest day I ever
knew in Paris; when our packing was done we were
exhausted, and I felt it was very imprudent to start
in such a torrid heat...... However, we set off at
seven in the evening, and were fortunate enough to
have our compartment to ourselves, and whenever
any one was likely to get in, we all six poked our heads
out so as to keep off intruders.  In about two hours'
time we said our prayers as though at home, and little
Paul slept till four o'clock, when the sun roused him
up.  Near Chalons the sky brightened, the stars
vanished, and soon the Saone glittered amid the sweet
plains round Magon..... We came to the beautiful
valley you remember so well... All my dear old
childish memories seized upon me.  At Culoz we
took the Victor Emanuel line, crossing the Rhone,
coasting the Lac de Bourget, and stopping at Aix and
Chambery. At Montmelian we left the railroad.  It
was eleven o'clock, horribly hot, and very tiring; we
were broiled and stifled, as you and I were sometimes
of old in Italy."
Flandrin rejoiced in the beauty of the scenery
around, and would fain have indulged in his brother's




196               MEM ORIES.
department of landscape painting, but his eyes were
suffering, and he had to give them  rest. He had
hoped to go on to his "dear South," but the Concours
de Rome was coming on, and he felt bound to assist
at it. Stopping at Lyons on their way back to Paris,
Flandrin wrote that the pleasure he had expected to
find in returning there was destroyed by his bad
health.  "These three days I have been unable to see
either people or things. The first evening of our
arrival I went at nine o'clock with Auguste and Cecile,
and gazed at our dearest mother's windows, and as I
was speaking with emotion of her dear memory, I felt
a tear fall on my hand, and Cecile was crying quietly.
These tears of my children were very soothing to me
I must confess."
Among the portraits Flandrin was called upon to
paint in his heyday of popularity was that of the
Emperor Napoleon III. (exhibited I863, and afterwards placed in the Luxembourg).  He alludes to
it in a letter to M. Laurens, dated
"PARIS, Dec. IO, I86I.
"I have been long answering you, but I have been
under tremendous fire-finishing my paintings in
Saint Germain, or rather preparing to uncover what
is finished, for there is a lot still to compose and
execute. About a fortnight since the scaffolding was
removed, and I saw the ensemble for the first time.




COMPI GNE.,                 97
Then I went to spend a week at Compiegne.  Can
you fancy me in shorts, with a crush hat under my
arm? Indeed, dear friend, I was not at my ease!
Nevertheless, their Majesties, really courteous, treated
their guests most kindly, and took pains to provide for
their pleasure. We had chasse a tir, a course, and
curee-balls, plays, etc., but all that is not worth the
good daily bread of work, and one's own free studio
and fireside!  Still this visit will not have been
unprofitable with a view to my portrait of the
Emperor, and I know my sitter much better now than
before."
The run upon Flandrin's portraits continued.  He
writes to M. Lacuria from Auteuil:
"June 29, I862.-I am not delivered from portraitpainting, but I am a little less beset, and I profit by
it to return to that which ought to engross me entirely,
and which, between ourselves, is much less wearisome to me..... Health permitting, we are making
an attempt to get to Rome, after which I have been
sighing these twenty-four years, and the sight of which
I fancy would do me a world of good morally. I was
imprudent enough to talk of going there before the
children, who are wild to go; and if anything obliges
us to defer the journey till another year there will




I98         M. INGRES A SENA TOR.
assuredly be great lamentations.  As to myself, I feel
that I have already postponed it too long, and that if I
could have indulged in such enjoyment some years
ago it would have greatly added to my powers in the
work at Saint Germain des Pres. Well, we think, and
long to go, but all the while we know that a thousand
things may hinder us.
" How I should enjoy going over the Campana collection with you, that new source of material for the
study of art from the very earliest time to our own
day! This altogether unique collection ought to be
most carefully preserved apart from our other treasures.  Unfortunately the Administration des Musees
is intent on doing everything in its power to absorb
it and swell the collections of the Louvre, which
ought only to be added to by an occasional chefd'ceuvre, while everything of inferior merit is weeded
out.  The Emperor has heard everything that can
be said on this behalf already; but perhaps he will
yield from want of localities to contain the treasures,
or money to create fresh ones.
"You have doubtless heard of M. Ingres' nomination
to the dignity of Senator. It is a graceful homage
on the part of the authorities, for which I feel very
grateful to the Emperor, with whom it originated.
When M. Ingres went to thank the Minister, M.
Walewski, he replied,'I rejoice in your nomination




COMMISSION DES BEA UX ARTS.           199
with all my heart, but it is entirely the Emperor's own
doing.'  Moreover, the fact was announced  in a
charming letter to Madame Ingres from the Empress,
who wished to be the first with her congratulations,
expressed most graciously and nobly.  There is a
general satisfaction felt at this act of justice towards
the chief of our French school of art, and only here
and there some slight growling.  We felt that this
was an occasion for expressing to our master all the
gratitude and respect we feel for him, his example and
his teaching; so some forty of his pupils and old
Roman students met at my house, and we voted an
address to him, and a gold medal with his likeness,
and the inscription'A  Jean-Auguste  Dominique
Ingres, Peintre d'histoire, Senateur, ses eleves et ses
admirateurs.' The address is at the Ecole des Beaux
Arts, where all who will are signing it.  I know your
mind so well that I was sure you would approve of
my signing it for you.... I agree with you, in order
to progress, one must recollect one's-self and obey the
dictate of one's heart; I believe it is the only way to
reach other men's hearts. Simplicity and sincerity
are our greatest strength. I must watch; I sometimes
feel that too constant work in one groove tends to a
falling off."
Flandrin had been for some time on the Commission des Beaux Arts of the Prefecture de la Seine, and




200               A BUSY TIME.
he was also on a Commission lately established by M.
Walewski, which, among other duties, was expected
to advise the Minister concerning commissions, purchases, and rewards to be given to artists.
The journey to Rome did not take place  that
autumn.  Flandrin writes to his brother from Paris,
Aug. 2, 1862: " Never, no, never have I been so
tormented, distracted, and hustled as I was lately.
Distribution of works for the town and Ministere, the
Emperor's fete, when all the nominations for the
Legion of Honour are made, elections at the Institut,
at the tcole des Beaux Arts, and everywhere else!
It is enough to drive one wild! I am becoming simply
idiotic, and the only thing which surprises me is that
I have any energy left to try to work! but, as you may
imagine, all this pleasant engrossment of my time, with
an almost entirely failing sight, produces a woful
result.... Without wishing to murmur against the
events which keep us apart, dear Paul, I do grieve
over it.  What a blessing it would be if we could
spend a summer together, meeting to talk over everything as in old times, under some kindly tree! Unfortunately it does not seem as though rest were
meant to be had in this world.  So we must make
ready for it in the next by leading good lives, and
patiently accepting the troubles and vexations which
abound here."




BELGIUM.                  201
An interesting letter to M. Lacuria gives Flandrin's
impression of some of the great works of art in
Belgium:
"October 19, 1862.-... We went first to Lille
to see the magnificent collection of Raffaele's and
Michael Angelo's drawings in the Musee there.
Raffaele shines in quantity and quality of his incomparable works-it is a real treasure. Thence we went
to Bruges, a striking town in the character of its
private dwellings, as well as in churches, markets,
Hotel de Ville, etc. Above all, there is a public
Palace, which to my eyes is a very type of such
buildings belonging to the rich and powerful communities of the fourteenth century.  The Hopital
Saint Jean contains many deservedly famous and precious paintings of Hemling. The churches, which are
fine and remarkable, have all acquired a something
peculiar since the Spanish dominion, which strikes
one a good deal. Those beautiful large Gothic naves
are often cut in two by jubes [roodlofts or galleries]
in  black and white marble, and overladen with
ornaments, pictures, sculptures, wood carvings. There
are some very beautiful things among these, which we
looked at again and again with the most intense
interest, but unfortunately I had not time to draw.
"We were very much struck by our visit to the
]Beguinage —ere in some forty humble houses (but so




202                VANA EYCK.
clean as to defy all description 1) a number of women
live in retreat, bound by no vows, but under one rule,
and wearing a fixed dress.  The houses surround an
irregular square of soft turf, shadowed by fine trees.
The peace and calm of the place are infectious, and
one feels as if an asylum there from time to time
would be a great boon. The whole town is curious
and interesting, and its early painters have supplied
me with memories by which I would fain profit.
What wonderful men the brothers Van Eyck were!
"From Bruges we went to Ghent, which as a town
rather disappointed me; the modern element has so
greatly effaced its old aspect. Still it is rich in many
ways, but the one attraction to me is in the Cathedral of Saint Bavon,-Jan Van Eyck's Triumph of
the Lamb. The whole arrangement of the subject,
the light and colour blend into perfect poetry, the
effect of which is increased as you penetrate farther,
and study the character and moral sense of all the
figures. I don't think I ever saw such a combination of beauty. We went back to this picture three
times in one day.  The churches in Antwerp are
full of Rubens' and Van Dyck's; some of the
Rubens' are certainly much finer than any that we
possess. They are magnificent, and so finished, that
while looking at them one asks no more; but turn to
the early pictures, and they make one forget all this




COLOGNE.                   203
magnificent and  splendid  talent, for they appeal
directly to one's heart, and leave lasting impressions
there. There is much more to tell, but time fails. I
must only say that we went on to Brussels, Malines (a
charming  town), Louvain, Liege, Aix la Chapelle,
and lastly Cologne, taking Namur on our return.
There are many beautiful and touching objects of
interest at Cologne, in the cathedral and in the
many ancient churches, which  are  ossuaries for
thousands of martyrs. Only we found it very difficult
to communicate with the inhabitants, and ought to be
highly proficient by this time in the art of pantomime,
in spite of which we often were forced to give up
all hope of understanding or being understood.  At
last we returned to Paris, which seemed horrid;
indeed, I don't know any place where the houses are
so ugly and without form.  The Rue de l'Abbaye,
which I care for most of all, received us quietly, and
we heartily thanked our good God for having given
the five of us this enjoyable outing, with fine weather
and no ill-health."
This last year did not diminish Flandrin's occupation or responsibilities. "Days, months, fly by," he
writes (St. John's Day, I863), "and soon a year,
which has been all but lost as far as work is concerned,
will be gone. My two last compositions for the nave
of Saint Gerrnain des Pre's are not yet finished, and




204         IMPORTANCE OF FORM.
yet I do most earnestly desire to go to work at them
again."  One very engrossing duty was the Jury des
recompjenses, to which Flandrin always devoted his
full hearty attention, at whatever cost to his own
immediate pursuits. He was not altogether satisfied
with this year's Exhibition.  "We get little else now,"
he says (June 1863), writing to M. Lacuria, "but
peinture degenre. Among that class of works we find
charming things, a great deal of talent and feeling,
and certain landscapes in colouring and style put forth
one side of truth, which is not without its value, but
which to my mind is only secondary. Form  is a
point more and more neglected, and yet physiognomy,
character, the moral sense of things, are strictly in its
domain. Is not everything grand in art dependent on
good drawing?  I may be mistaken, but it seems to
me that photography has inflicted a mortal blow on
art.  Many people, with its aid, and industry, can
perform things otherwise left undone, but where shall
we find that vigorous drawing, that living spirit which
we admire in great masters, and which can only be
the result of constant observation and study of nature?
"You will have heard of the Venuses, by Cabanel
and Baudry! Both works are remarkable for different
qualities; only why do not such clever men put themselves under the banner of ancient art? They would
acquire more power to avoid seeking those endless




PRUSSIAN ORDER OF MERIT.            205
refinements and insipid prettinesses which may win
present success, but which, perhaps, may not keep it
long."
About the same time Flandrin mentions that he
had just received the Prussian Order of Merit, with a
letter from the artist Cornelius, which he says makes
him feel quite ashamed, from  the thought that so
many honours have been showered upon him as compared to many of his brethren in art, whose greater
merits are so little recognised.  Characteristically
enough, his first idea seems to be the satisfaction his
old master would derive from this compliment, and the
news was taken to M. Ingres as an offering certain to
be acceptable for his fete-day.
Illness pressed more and more heavily on the
painter; he felt less and less able to encounter the
endless worries and anxieties which his position, public
and private, involved; and in the autumn of 1863 he
resolved to leave all behind and carry out the longcherished plan of a winter in Italy, where he hoped to
recruit his failing bodily strength, and to get some
degree of mental rest and refreshment; determined, as
he said, " to do nothing but do homage to my beloved
Rome."  He grieved to leave his work at Saint
Germain des Pres unfinished, but though saying that
"God would not have him finish His House," Flandrin
looked hopefully at that time to restored health and




206         FAREWELL TO FRANCE.
renewed energy at his work. But in fact he left Paris,
on October I8, I863, never to return. In his Journal
he dwells upon the beautiful but somewhat melancholy
aspect of the country in its autumnal hues, adding
that, as the train whirled on, memories of early days
at Lyons and at Rome rose up vividly in his mind,
and he had been going far back into the first phase of
his life. The travellers, consisting of Flandrin, his
wife and three children, and M. Laurens, paused at
Lyons, and there his last act in his native land was to
go "' I hzaut," as he always described the cemetery
where his father and mother were buried, and pray
beside their graves.  Friendly hands had decorated
their graves with fresh flowers, and Flandrin was
deeply touched at the little incident.  There had
been many changes and chances since the days when
the "petits Flandrin" used to pick up stray lessons
from M. Duclaux how to draw animals, with a view to
their intended line as painters of battle-pieces. M.
Duclaux was still living at Lyons, and Flandrin tried
to see him, as well as the few relations still dwelling
there, but he was absent. They left Lyons, on October
20th, for Marseilles, proceeding again thence by railway to Nice.  Flandrin's admiration of the scenery
is ecstatic.  "The variety, the richness of outline, of
form and effect, altogether exhausted my powers of
expression-I could only hold up my hands! Indeed,




MENTONE.                     207
the journey to Nice is more wondrous than I can
possibly say. If I were a landscape-painter, I think
I should feed upon this country for long.
"On the 24th we left Nice by a fine road which winds
among the mountains, and after two hours and a half
ascent, we reached the summit, and saw the sea again, as
also the Alps and their glaciers; the Gulf of Villafranca,
and its guest the Montebello, at our feet. For a long
time we kept on the heights, and saw Eza lying beneath
us, a little nest of Saracen pirates, perched on an isolated rock. Now the Saracens are replaced by Christians, and the little church'rises gracefully amid the poor
village which stands in a cleft of the rock. By degrees
we descended-road superb,-passed Turbia, an ancient Roman station,... Monaco, bright and smiling,
in the bottom, and a little further on, Roccabrucca
and Mentone, our last possession on the Italian side.
We reached our h6tel at four o'clock, and went out
directly to go close to the sea, to wet our feet in it as the
waves advanced; and then we went all over the little
town, climbing from street to street, from terrace to
terrace, up to the three churches which, grouped
together, crown it. The cathedral is large and grand
after a fashion, but what taste in general! Painting is
downright abused, for you see houses of every colour,
yellow, white, pink, green. Just opposite our hotel' is
Flandrin must have stayed at the HOtel de Londres.




208                SAN REMO.
the Hotel de Turin, which is painted ultramarine,
with green shutters, and  turned up with  yellow.
Beyond the frontier, in Italia proper, nothing is more
common  than  blue  houses, pink turrets, striped
faGades; yet all the while this brilliant architecture,
which is not often good, presents delicious bits of
outline and proportion. All the little towns have a
character of their own, and a special grace.  At
Mentone I was struck with the beauty of some of the
women and children, especially with their gentle, good
expression.  On Sunday morning we went to Mass,
and then started again with our vetturino. A little
further we came to Ventimiglia, a pretty little fortified
town, crossing the road.  There we breakfasted at
La Locanda d'Italia, and I tried my Italian for the
first time.  We breakfasted opposite a sort of chapel
to the Re galant' uomo and Garibaldi.  From Bordighera to San Remo-shore covered with a real wood
of palm  trees.  The streets and ensemble of San
Remo are very striking, lofty palaces adorned with
porticos, loggia, terraces, reminding one of Spanish
towns.  Being Sunday, the people were all out; we
saw lovely women, and I regret most heartily not
having been able to preserve any of those beautiful
types.  So again at Porto Maurizio and Oneglia.  If
I could but draw instead of writing!
"October 26th.-Off at seven o'clock.  Sea calm,




GENOA.                    209
dolphins playing on the surface, as though saluting the
rising sun.  By degrees the mountains grow lower,
and there are more villages amid the boundless forest
of olive trees which shrouds them like a soft curtain.
At Loano (where Massena fought the Austrians and
Sardinians) we breakfasted. A large lady, with a huge
crinoline, assisted by her daughter and a cameriera in
crinolines to match, showed us into the salon, which
was neither more nor less than a shrine to Garibaldi..... Thence to the salle-a-manger, where we had
a rustic but tolerable meal; that was all very well,
but what was not so well was the ridiculously exorbitant bill."
"October  27th.-Left Savona at eight o'clock.
Weather and country both beautiful. But the olive
trees are becoming fewer and smaller-one only sees
a palm  tree here and there, and the caroubas are
replaced by ilex.  As we approached Genoa (seeing
its beautiful clusters and striking faro from a great
distance) the houses became more red, more green,
more blue, and above all more yellow, and were
decorated with the most fantastic architectural inventions, the most comical ornamentation.  My little Paul
unconsciously made  a happy criticism, exclaiming,' Oh, papa, look at all these card-houses!' On reaching the Lanterne, at the entry of the port, we saw the
whole of Genoa, and I can well understand her being
0




210             PASS OF BRA CCO.
called the Superb.  The height of her houses and
palaces, the profusion of her towers, domes and
belfries, her bold groups of buildings, give to the
whole a proud look of wealth very suitable to the
reputation of this rival to Venice."
They lionized Genoa, much as everybody does, and
started again for Sestri on the 2gth, breakfasting at
the little solitary inn on the heights midway, so familiar
-with its glorious view and vine-covered trellises-to
all Mediterranean travellers.  Flandrin's enjoyment of
the scenery was intense, and his description of the
colouring of the Pass of Bracco will bring the scene
vividly to many a memory.  "Olive trees are replaced by ilex, and then by chesnuts, and at last the
huge mountain sides are clothed by a scanty dun
fleece-often bare.  Above Bracco, at the top of the
ascent, which took three hours, we found bare ground
of every colour, from black and violet to sulphur
tints, separating us from the dark rocks which hid
their summits amid the clouds-a very embodiment of
chaos and desolation.  No trace of man beyond the
road, except when from one of the steepest points a
young girl came running down through the fog to see
us pass, and then stood motionless, gazing and smiling
-a lovely picture contrasting with the wild landscape."
At Borghetto (where, as elsewhere, they encountered a perpetual glorification of Garibaldi) they were




PISA-CAMPO SANTO.                211
stopped by the old grievance-floods on the Magra.
An English family and the Princess Orloff shared the
Flandrins' detention of two days, one of which was
All Saints' Day, when the somewhat rude but hearty
services of the little village church touched the
painter with a great sense of reality and simplicity.
From Sarzana to Pisa he was again in raptures over
the scenery, which, he says, should make the fortune
of a landscape-painter.  Pisa was an old friend, and
renewed his former impressions, "with its tranquil
streets, vast palaces and lovely churches, around
which the grass grows freely."   He took his wife and
children to see the town.  "The four great monuments
appeared at once all golden against a glorious blue
sky.  The Leaning Tower is as disagreeable to me as
before.  I don't like that sort of curiosity.  After
dwelling upon the external view of this rare combination of buildings, we went to the Baptistry, where
the interior architecture especially struck us with its
grandeur and boldness, and withal its simplicity.
"The Campo Santo, which I remembered as one of
the things which had struck me most, fully confirmed
my former impressions; the simplicity of its architecture, where severity and elegance are so blended,
struck me fully as much as in my youth. It was with real
emotion that I entered and saw the ravages time has
made on those venerable walls.  Some treasures are




212                 SIENNA.
altogether departed, and the rest are fading fast.
Orcagna's grand subjects are treated with a power and
pathos such as they deserve, but the life of San
Ranieri is much damaged, and Benozzo Gozzoli's
great work is fading. Some frescoes are still tolerably
perfect, some groups worthy of Masaccio, which I
would fain see preserved."
Flandrin and his eldest boy went over to Lucca,
and he was greatly impressed by the cathedral, with
its exquisitely rich sculptured porch, and with the two
famous Fra Bartolommeos in San Romano.  He took
a regretful farewell of the Campo Santo before leaving
Pisa.  "The last rays of the setting sun still lingered
upon it, but soon they passed away, and we had
sorrowfully to say goodbye. Then we went into the
cathedral, where nothing could be distinguished save
the great masses, still more imposing in the shadow
and stillness. That too we had to leave. Alas, it is
passing too rapidly over such glorious things!"
They next went to Sienna, which greatly delighted
Flandrin.  He thought the Piazza and the Palazzo
almost the finest things he had seen. His admiration
of Nicola Pisano was great.  "What grand meaning
this master gives to all he touches! I had him
always in high reverence, but I must confess that this
reverence increases with every fresh work of his that I
see; they satisfy my mind entirely...  We all went




ON TO ROME.                 213
together to see the Palazzo del Governo, built by
Popes Pius II. and III., both Piccolomini, with the
delicious loggia adjoining, which is, to my mind, one
of the most important among the glories of Sienna,
as is the Porta Romana.  It is marvellous how the
artists of that period knew how to give each building
its individual meaning. This gate, according as it is
open or shut, becomes a triumphal arch or an
invincible defence. It faces the enemy with wondrous
daring, yet not without a pious thought; for the little
chapel suspended over the passage  sets forth a
representation of Him under Whose Protection the
town reposes.  From beneath the arch of this strong
yet simple building we looked out upon an enchanting landscape lit up with the autumn sun.... Truly
Sienna is the queen of towns."
Flandrin went to see M. Mussini, Director of the
Sienna Academy, who  showed him  all the treasures it possesses of old masters, and at last they
left Sienna, feeling that a much longer stay would
have been enjoyable.  Thence the travellers proceeded by Orvieto, Bolsena, Montefiascone  and
Viterbo, all full of memories of past times. Flandrin
remembered saying thirty years ago to Paul, as they
coasted the lake, that it was beautiful enough for the
new creation fresh from  God's Hand! Coming in
sight of the dome of Saint Peter's, all the party got




2I14              MEMORIES.
out of the carriage to do it homage, and as they
entered the Piazza del Popolo Flandrin's delight and
emotion grew overwhelming.
Once again in his beloved Rome; whither, indeed,
he had come to die! But as yet it was all excitement
and delight. Almost as soon as they had arrived he
hastened to his old haunts, and after dining at Lepri's,
"we instinctively took the Trinita de' Monti steps,
and, following the Pincio, now dark and deserted, I
hastened to show the front of the Villa Medici to my
wife and children.  Like a lover gazing upon his
lady's windows, I gazed; I would fain have touched
the walls within which I had been so happy; but there
were people about the door, whom I supposed to be
students, and after a moment's contemplation, we
beat our retreat by the Salita and the Via San
Sebastiano."  Flandrin wrote enthusiastically of the
same event to his brother: "There it was indeed
-the dear dwelling-where I, where we were so
happy!  Hidden among the ilexes, I dipped my
fingers in the fountain as if it were a benitier, and
gazed.       I could almost reproach myself for
coming here without you; our mutual love makes it
almost painful to have any enjoyment apart. But as
we cannot always be together, we must thank God
for the pangs which prove how dearly we love one
another."




ROME.                   215
The weather was rainy, but while his wife was
occupied in settling into an apartment in the Piazza
di Spagna, Flandrin could not resist taking his children to some of the most striking scenes in Rome;St. Peter's, which he admired even more than of old,
saying that "there is a majesty and supernatural
power about it not to be found in kings' palaces;"
the Forum and Coliseum, amid thunder and torrents
of rain, whence he and Auguste returned dripping
like fish; the Pantheon, Raffaele's tomb, the Loggia
and Stanze. "The sight of these masterpieces, whose
memory is as deep in my heart as my head, kindled
all my enthusiasm; what intense delight to realise all
this beauty! Oh, dear Paul, why are you not here?"
And he assures M. Ingres that the " intensity of their
poetry and beauty has given me new life."
Flandrin gave himself up to seeing Rome anew,
and showing its wonders of delight to his wife and
children. " It is inexhaustible," he writes. "How
many things I had not seen, or seen imperfectly,
which indeed I should doubtless see better now if
I knew more. But, I can assure you, I go to work
with a good will which is very enjoyable, and the
delight of my belongings adds to mine. Every day
we make some excursion, on foot or driving, and
for the last four weeks the weather has been fine,
the sun brilliant, almost scorching; but, on the other




216              VILLA MEDICL
hand, in the shade it is so cold that I dare not lay
aside my cloak... Except these troubles (connected
with the Academy), which give me sleepless nights,
and so are weakening, I am very happy, and I don't
know what I could do more likely to set me up again.
I am at Rome,-well lodged, in full sunshine, the
weather perfect, I am out all day enjoying the scenes
I most delight in,-what conditions could be more
favourable for recovering my health? Yet, unfortunately, to my great grief, I feel as enervate as ever,
arms and legs broken! Anyhow nobody can say now
that it is caused by over-work, for the last two months
I have done absolutely nothing but eat, drink, and
sleep, and enjoy the sunshine."
His Journal betokens the energy with which Flandrin revisited every point of interest-the Catacombs,
churches innumerable, where his devout spirit and his
artist's taste alike found rest; pictures, statues, excavations-all were a fresh source of delight to him.
The Academia calls forth his enthusiasm: "Everything there is so beautiful that I overflow with delight
and admiration, the palace more lovely than ever, the
laurels greener-the plain, the mountains with their
crown of fresh snow-the whole thing together makes
me cry out aloud to myself!  Then the bosco, still
more beautiful; and feeling that I must tell it all to
some one, I hurried home to make all my dear




THE PINCIO.                 217
ones share my delight!"  He dined in the old hall
with the students, "and felt like a student again
myself,-the reception given  me, so  hearty and
affectionate, touched me deeply."
"ROME, Dec. 4, I863.
"My dear Paul,-...I have been to the Stanze
to-day, and, for the first time since my arrival, to the
Museo, to the Transfiguration, the Coronation, the
Madonna del Foligno, and revelled in them.  I pastured in all their beauty, greater, fresher than ever. I
would I could say the same of the frescoes! Alas,
it appears to me that some of the Loggia have suffered, and that there are tokens of advancing ruin
in the Stanze, which make me tremble.  Who could
think calmly of the destruction of these marvels,
products of an art, a man and a period all alike privileged?  That period is gone for ever, nothing like
it can ever reappear-taste and ideas diverge further
from it daily, and create a wider barrier than time
itself. But I must not run on thus. Let us go together
to the Pincio. This afternoon, about four o'clock,
coming from S. Peter's, I went up there. The weather
was dark and cold, the walks deserted, the leaves
falling heavily, and even at Rome it is winter!  I
stopped and gazed with feelings which I cannot
describe, but which you will understand, upon the




2 8              CA TA COMBS.
beauties I used to gaze upon; but with what a difference!  Formerly time and hope were before me,
and now they are both left behind.  Ah! there is
the winter again!  Never mind, if we know  how
to accept our lot wisely, there is yet happiness in store
for us; so let us be wise!
" In a dark hour like that the green of the laurels
and ilex is marvellous; Mount Soracte seemed bathed
in ultramarine, and behind Monte Mario the sky
was simply golden.  You can understand the harmony of such solemn yet rich strains. I enjoy such
spectacles immensely,-I feel and love it all; but
I am doing nothing, and that is a cause of incessant
regret to me. We have been here a month, and we
have not seen one quarter of what we came to see,
yet the time has been used as actively as we could
manage. Is our whole time to pass like this? I do
not like to think so."
The account in Flandrin's Journal of their visit to
the Catacombs of Saint Calixtus on Saint Cecilia's
Day is interesting:"After Mass at the Trinita, all the family off to
the Catacombs.  Having passed by the Porta San
Sebastiano, we entered the Via Appia, then an inclosure of land, through which we were guided by a row
of box and flowers, up to the staircase, which was




ST. CECILIA'S DAY.              219
hung and lighted. The tombs in the walls begin at
once as in S. Agnes, but here the quality of tufo
gives a different appearance; the galleries are larger,
loftier, and have a more architectural form. The
effect of these fine lines, lit up with lamps here and
there, is very striking.  Not far from  the entrance
we came to a chamber or chapel in which is the niche
where Saint Cecilia's body rested for long.  This
funeral bed was strewn with flowers, and lighted by a
few flickering lamps;-it was very touching.  On one
side is an altar, where several Masses were said.  At
this moment a Cardinal, of noble countenance, was
praying, his head bent upon his hands resting on
the altar; we knelt down behind him, and so did
several of our good little soldiers.  The silence and
darkness in such a place induced great emotion, and
a solemn feeling of recollection.  Little Paul gazed
at it, almost scared, and fearing lest the excitement
should be too great for him, his mother took him
away.  We visited galleries and chapels containing
paintings with which we are familiar; tombs, rich
sarcophagi still containing bodies intact. When we
returned to the light, it seemed brighter, more golden,
more cheerful than before.  We went about a mile,
beyond the tomb of Cecilia Metella, having visited
the church of Saint Sebastian. The Via Appia, the
town half hid behind its walls, the sacred wood, the




.220            POPE PI0 NONO.
Campagna, with its long lines of aqueducts, and
inclosed with mountains, all together made an entrancing picture beneath that light."
" Nov. 30t.-Vatican-the library-what treasures!
I saw the Nozze Aldobrandini with great delight, but
above all I was excited by a collection of pictures
of Giotto, Gaddi, Memmi, and others of the same
school, gathered together by Gregory XVI.  The
expression of strong and real feeling is carried in
them to the sublime point."
On. Sunday, Dec. 6th, Flandrin and his family were
presented to the Holy Father.  "We arrived at the
Vatican at two o'clock, but were not admitted into
the waiting-room till three; our friends the Pichons
with us. The Holy Father received us kindly, and
in a really fatherly manner. After we had kissed his
foot and his ring, and while we were still kneeling,
he pointed to my wife and children (as distinguished
from  our friends who had come first), and asked,'These are your family?  All these are yours?' and
then, laying his hand on Paul's head, he added,'May
God bless you all. May your children give you every
manner of comfort by being good children, and
growing up good Catholics and good citizens.' Then
he blessed our rosaries and medals, and on Auguste
asking for a blessing on the Maison d'Auteuil, where
he has been educated, the Pope answered, reaching




SAN PIETRO IN VINCOLL.              221
out his hand,'C' e.' Then I asked him to bless my
painter's work, too, and he answered very kindly,' I
will invoke S. Luke, the patron of painters.' Then
we knelt again, and went away to make room  for
other people."
"Dec.  Iti/.-~Went to San Pietro in Vincoli. Hearing that the holy Apostle's chains were to be shown to
some people, we joined them, and both saw and
touched the saintly relics.  A young  Dominican,
having put on surplice and stole, opened an iron or
bronze chest in the thickness of the wall; then several
little doors in succession; lifted a curtain, then a veil
covering the reliquary, which is very costly; opened
the reliquary with reverence, and displayed, ring by
ring, the chains, which are carefully wrapped in fine
linen.  We began to hear the clink of metal, and at
last, by degrees, the whole of the chains appeared.
A young French priest came forward and knelt down;
he kissed them in the official's hands, who touched
his forehead with them, and put the collar which once
fettered S. Peter's neck round his. Several priests
and religious came up successively; men, women, and
children paying a like homage and receiving a like
reward.  It was a very touching  picture, which
brought tears to my eyes, and has left an impression
I fain would keep."
It is impossible to pass over the cloud which mean



222        A CADEMY INNOVA TIONS.
while was dimming what would have been a time of
so much enjoyment, and which might have gone far
to restore health to Flandrin's worn physique. It was
the conscientious devotion which he always entertained
for all that affected the growth and prosperity of high
religious art in France, which made this cloud press
so darkly upon him. There had been a series of
administrative innovations in the Academy and the
ftcole des Beaux Arts, which were held by many, and
by none more earnestly than Flandrin, to be most
damaging to the cause they loved. " The danger is
imminent," he writes to M. Baltard, " of nullifying the
Academy by exercising reforms, which have no better
means of renovation to suggest than systems (procedes)
and material means. The professors are to be of
painting, sculpture, etc. The Report tells you why;
-systems of painting, of sculpture, of architecture,
nothing but systems. And they add, with respect to
the teaching of the old school, that it consists, strictly
speaking, in nothing but a course of drawing well. I
am ready to maintain that the school had at least the
merit of recommending and of pointing out what
really is art, and the whole of art. It is by drawing
that life and beauty are expressed, the most exquisite
delicacy, the truest philosophy. What remains after
that? A garment, which I am far from despising, but
which is as a necessary consequence of true drawing




VALZUE OF DRAWING.                   223
in high art.' And then they talk of originality, and
formularise it, as if it was a thing that can be taught.
They aim  at organising freedom  of teaching in a
school, as though le pour et le contre given both at
once could create anything but doubt! I believe that
there, as elsewhere, it is a duty to teach nothing save
incontestible truths, or at least such as are upheld by
the highest examples, and endorsed  by ages.  You
may be certain that the pupils of such a school will
mould the truths of their own  day to these noble
traditions; and  there you have a promising  truth,
because it is the product of real liberty.
"It is clear affirmation which teaches, not doubt.
Do not be afraid of teaching respect and veneration
for things which are really beautiful, by the position
assigned to them, the care taken of them. Let it be
clearly known that it is these that should be loved,
admired, honoured.... No, indeed, everything is' M. Delaborde remarks that this opinion of Flandrin's was
no less unequivocally that of Leonardo da Vinci and Poussin.
Leonardo says, in his Treatise on Painting, that " students aiming
at rapid progress in the science which teaches us to imitate and
represent nature's works, should devote themselves chiefly to
drawing."  And his biographer writes of Poussin, that "as he
advanced, he devoted himself especially to beauty of form and
correct drawing, which he recognised as the chief point in painting, and for which the greatest painters have almost forsaken
everything else so soon as they understood wherein the true perfection of their art lies."




224          FLANDRIN'S VIEWS.
not equally beautiful, and you cannot put a chefd'ezuvre of Clodion and one of Phidias in the same
category, as men affect now to do."
On receiving the Report announcing the proposed
changes in the constitution of the French Academy,
Flandrin wrote to M. Ingres:-" It was the very day
after I had poured out to you all my delight in being
here again, and my admiration for all which is the
raison d'tre of our dear Academy, that I received the
bad news of these measures, which will upset it all,
and will, I greatly fear, ruin our schools. Without
entering upon a criticism of the Report, I want, my
dear master, to tell you of the answer I have felt
bound to give to the letter in which the Ministre des
Beaux Arts announced the suppression of our functions at the Ecole, and my appointment as chef d'atelier
under the new organisation. There were more sides
than one to the question, and I did not know what
was going on in Paris, or what the Institut might do.
But, all the same, taking counsel with what seems to
be the honour of the Academy and my own, I answered
His Excellency that I was gratified by this mark of
confidence, but that I had combated these now prevailing views too long and too openly to be able
honourably to support them now..... I hope and
believe that you are on the same side, and will not
disapprove what I have done."




REFUSES A POST.                225
By the same post Flandrin wrote to M. Gatteaux:
"For the last ten days I have been going over with
delight the lessons which antiquity and the great
masters afford here. Kindled with enthusiasm, my
respect and gratitude was increasing for the admirable
institution of Colbert and Louis XIV.; for this school,
which, in addition to the study of these chefs-dcezuvre
in their original position, combines the untold benefit
of a community life, enables men to share the result
of their studies in various branches of art. It was
just when I was more convinced than ever of the
value of these things, that the tidings of the ruin of all
our grand institutions came crushing upon me. I say
the ruin, for the Report which leads to the proposed
changes is as inexact in views as in criticism, and I do
not see what can come out of it all but the most utter
disruption and destruction. May I be mistaken."
And again: " For my own part, I could not hesitate
a moment.  I perceived the chaos about to ensue, and
I have refused to take any part in it. This dear
Academie de Rome, to which I have returned so
lovingly, has also received a mortal blow.   The
reduction of the studentship from five to four years,
and still more the permission to students only to
remain two years in Rome, is a poison which will
bring down its strength, and lead sooner or later to its
suppression.  I would I may prove mistaken! But I
P




226             TRUTH IN ART.
must say it again, my sorrow is all the greater because
my enthusiasm for Rome has taken still deeper root
since my return to it.  Yes, indeed, Rome is a
wondrous place, the value of which to artists I
appreciate more than ever!"
Flandrin began to write on the subject, but with
his usual modesty he refrained from publishing his
opinions when M. Ingres had given public utterance
to the views of the conservative party.  "It does not
beseem me," he wrote, "to try and add anything to
his words."  The notes which he had intended to
expand remain, containing much the same ideas as
those expressed in the letter to M. Baltard, quoted
above. He repeats still more energetically:-" It is
not doubt which will teach men, it is affirmation of
truth; and for this reason I will take no part in a
teaching which is without principle or belief. Since I
have the happiness of believing, I will not say,' This
may be beautiful,' I will only say,'This is beautiful,'
without having other influences, superior or not,
blowing hot and cold, now on the right hand, now on
the left, upsetting all my work."
All these matters were no mere passing interest
or subject for conversation to Flandrin  they engrossed his mind painfully; and if the objects of art
by which he was surrounded, and to which he gave
his attention by day, somewhat distracted him, his




SAN GREGORIO.               227
nights were sleepless and troubled by the urgency
of his feelings.  "The surprise and real grief I have
been feeling these last few days," he writes, "have
upset me greatly.   Long hours of sleeplessness
weaken me, and I cannot regain  strength."  On
Christmas Day he wrote to his brother, while Madame
Flandrin and her children were at Saint Peter's,
having been obliged to stay away himself in consequence of his suffering condition; and an increasingly melancholy tone creeps over his Journal and
letters from the date of the ill-omened Report.
"Dec. i 2th.-Went with Auguste to San Gregorio.
Domenichino's fine fresco is very much effaced, but
there is still enough to authorise one in saying that it
is his finest work. The grouping has all the grandeur
of antiquity, and the drawing is in accordance with
the majesty of the design.  We also saw the fine
antique white marble table at which Saint Gregory
used to serve twelve poor men. Thence we went to
San Paolo and Giovanni.  What peace and stillness 
and how entirely one can understand those who have
wished to lie there for their last sleep 1"
" 14/h.-Walk by the Ponte Molle to the Villa del
Papa Giulio.   A young artillery officer was very
obliging in showing it to us.  The architectural ideas
are fine, and the paintings, though only Zucchero's,
afford some agreeable results and useful lessons. We




228              SOCIAL CLAIMS.
returned by the Pincio at the hour when I have so
often watched the sun go down behind Saint Peter's."
"T15. —To the Theatre of Marcellus, and San
Bartolommeo, where I was greatly delighted with a
chapel covered with frescoes representing the life of
San Carlo Borromeo. The simplicity of composition,
the truth of action and expression, and the lovely
bits of landscape, reminded me of Domenichino. It
is so easy and skilful, and such charming colour.
Whose work is it?  I must find out."'
" 6th. —Returned with Auguste, to prowl about San
Bartolommeo, where the exquisite chapel delighted
me more and more; then to Monte Aventino.  I
tried to draw there, but I was too weary, and pains
came on everywhere. I could hardly get home."
On January 2, I864, Flandrin writes to his brother
Paul and his wife:-" Our-first thought yesterday was
for you-then, albeit at Rome, one had to think about
cards and visits. I began with our Ambassador, going
with the Academy and its Director (I like still to feel
myself one of the household), then to General de Montebello, etc. To-day we dine with Madame de -, but
the dreadful, destructive part of the business is, that at
every house to which one goes one makes five or six
new acquaintances, involving visits to be received and
The frescoes in question are by Antonio Caracci, son of
Agostino Caracci.




EXPEDITIONS.                229
returned, and all that! In vain we try to keep them off
-it cannot be done. It would be less of a burden if I
were well, but for the last fortnight I have had pain
in my head, and a buzzing in my ears, which reduce me
to something very like an idiot! My intellect is about
as much obstructed as my hearing, and the people
who want to make acquaintance with this'celebrated
artist' must be somewhat surprised at what they see
of him, or can get out of him.  Ci vuole pazienza!
but on such occasions that is not my strong point."
ROME, yan. 9, 1864.
"To-day, in fine but cold weather, wrapped up as
if we were going off to Siberia, we went in an open
carriage by the Corso, the Forum and San Giovanni
in Laterano, stopping to admire the view you remember in front of the church. For the last week the
mountains have been white with snow-Monte Cavo
covered from summit to base.  But it was glorious
under that bright sunshine. From the Albano road,
a little short of the Tavolata, we turned up to the left,
along a way which formerly was only to be distinguished by a few tumuli, which I remember well; but
during the last five years, some slight excavations
have easily brought the old pavement to light. Most
interesting tombs have been found on either side;
two especially delighted us, not only from their good




230              LITTLE PA UL.
preservation, but from the character of their rich
decoration. I don't think finer specimens of this
kind of monument can be found anywhere. We were
deeply impressed, and little Paul, who had been lost in
gazing with open mouth, suddenly exclaimed to himself as we reascended the steps which led to daylight:' Opair le coup, ceci est beau /' Indeed, his enthusiasm
for antiquity goes so far that he looks upon the day as
lost which is not devoted to the Campagna, or the buildings or excavations in Rome,-everything else is a mere
accessory. Nothing can be more comic than to hear him
declaiming archaeology and history in the kitchen,
classifying the buildings of the Republic, drawing his
inductions from this or that style of construction.
When he does not know anything about it, he invents
-nothing stops him, c'est a  ouftfer/ But he is not
quite so keen and energetic when he has really got to
earn something.  It was quite a fete-day, for in the
evening we went al nobile teatro d' Apollo, where we
had Verdi's Trovatore, and the ballet of Cristofo
Colombo, where I came once more upon the pantomime and costume which used to amuse us so much
of old.   Oh, the Court of King Ferdinand and
Isabella, and the Turks, such as could by no possibility be found anywhere but here! I beg Rome's
pardon, but you see, fortunately, she has other merits
than these  "




FRENCH SOLDIERS.               231'Jan. I4, I864.-We are almost as much plagued
here as at Paris! the numbers of people with whom
we have been obliged to make acquaintance are past
telling. One was obliged to go to the Academy, the
Embassy, and General de Montebello, commanding our army, and out of these three roots a thousand
branches have sprung.  You are introduced to M.
or Mme. So-and-So; they call upon you, you must
return the visit, and the number of these new acquaintance is so great that I really do not know half the
people again;-it is a real worry, and not one of our
own seeking I can assure you; but how can we help
it? You know how I care for our soldiers,-the sight
of our flag, especially in a foreign land, is quite a
religious, sacred attraction for me.  There are so
many here..... I often admire their vigour and
life; and it is an edifying sight too to see them filling the
Church of Saint Louis, and listening to their chaplain
(who, by the way, is worthy of his mission) with a
respect and attention which move me greatly.
" You ask, dear Paul, whether I have found any of
our traces in the Coliseum? No. A great deal has
been done which somewhat interferes with the picturesque, but which anyhow tends to support and
preserve the venerable ruin. The arcades you allude
to have been closed by walls. This morning I went
to the Academy by the Salita. The Pincio was nearly




232            FAILING HtEAL T~.
deserted, the sky, intersected with long streaky clouds,
bore a melancholy expression, and mist hung over the
town; and amidst the vague sounds which rose from
it, the sound of a bell, which I seemed to remember,
carried me back with a wonderful illusion to the days
when we were never apart, and had all things in common.  O dear old fellow, if you only knew how I
want you at every turn! The thought of my happiness in seeing you again is my only consolation when
the prospect of our departure from  Rome, which
begins to loom in the distance, comes before me.
What is the fascination this land possesses, that it takes
such a hold on all who are happy enough to love what
is beautiful?"
That happy meeting was not to take place in this
world. Although his family and friends do not appear
to have been alarmed, it is evident that, in spite of his
enjoyment of "dear Rome" and her many interests,
Flandrin's health was growing worse, and that only his
energy and unselfishness prevented it from becoming
more perceptible. He writes to his brother Paul:"Jan. 28, i864.-.... After spending some time
at San Giorgio in Velabro, I came away with a chill
which I cannot shake off: cold, neuralgia, fever;
neuralgia in the face so painful that I did not know
what would become of me. I was half blind, half deaf,
a very miserable sort of being indeed. I have been




CLINGING TO ROME.                233
rather better since yesterday, and mean to go out
again; the weather is inviting, it has become so warm,
which indeed has its own dangers. Why is my health
no better?  I often wonder at it,-ma ci vuoe pazienza,
that is the surest of all remedies.
"Since I wrote last we have hardly made any distant expeditions. We go over churches, palaces, and
galleries again and again, and in spite of the long time
I spent here formerly, I find much that is altogether
new to me, and undoubtedly I shall still leave much
unseen.  My regret at leaving Rome is so great, that
I have to comfort myself with a secret hope of returning. I do not resist the hope, for it strengthens me,
and what hope shows to be possible for me, it proves
possible for you too. So don't let us despair, but let
us fill our time in the best way and with the best
things we can."
In his Journal the same constant sufferings appear.
"Palazzo Spada-cold fearful. Palazzo Farnesethe King of Naples not yet gone out, and we are told
to return, but I was in too much pain... I am
almost blind and deaf.  I went to the Pincio alone.
It is sad not to see this bright sunshine. Everything
seems confused and uncertain.... What a wondrous
expression of grandeur and melancholy there is in
the Roman Campagna! It is very different in fine
weather, but this is quite as eloquent...."




234                  LISZT.
The Carnival came on with heavy snow, and on AshWednesday, Feb. ioth, it fell and lay on the ground
even in Rome itself.  "In the plains and on the
mountains," Flandrin says, " it is like Siberia, and
my rheumatism does not like that, or rather I don't
like it, for I am still deaf and stupid. I can only
hope that it will not last."'Feb. I7, I864.-My dear Paul,-....  We shall
really have enjoyed our absence very much, in spite
of my bad health, in spite of le monde, and in spite of
the weather, which has been very bad for the last
fortnight.   I told you before that we had made
acquaintance with the Princess Czartoryska, who is
good, pious, simple, and a wondrous musician. The
other day we went with her to Monte Mario to see
Liszt, who lives there in retirement. He received us
very kindly, and after we had rested a few minutes in
the humble room he occupies in the convent, he took
us to the Villa Mellini. It was the first time I have
seen Rome from thence, and I am not sure but that
it is the best view."
"Feb. 26th.-... I have done nothing for so long,
and the consequence is a mistrust of myself which
becomes downright weakness. I want to test by
some real work the true state of the case. The last
few days I have been trying to make some studies,
but it is very difficult to manage one's model in a




MGR. D UPANLOUP.               235
sunny room, where one's family is perpetually on the
move, and I shall accomplish but little. Meanwhile
the anxiety about the Pope's portrait presses; everybody speaks to me of it as of a thing in hand already,
and my present attitude of reserve, excuse, and
apology is untenable. The weather is detestable; it
has rained more or less continually for five weeks.
We have hardly had four or five tolerable days out of
more than thirty; and moreover this poor country is
afflicted with numerous crimes. People talk of eleven
attempts at assassination during the last fortnight, of
which some, unhappily, have been only too successful;
and as to robberies, they are endless, and committed
with incredible effrontery in church and house in broad
daylight.... Ah, our times were better than these 
One thing which has interested me more pleasantly
has been hearing Mgr. Dupanloup's sermons in the
Gesl. They were admirable, and the immense congregation testified its respect and admiration by the
most constant attention and ever increasing numbers.
All this bad weather is a great hindrance to us, we
lose so much time, in spite of our efforts to use it well,
and it really is unfortunate, for we have still a thousand things to do. Time rushes away rapidly; we
have almost come to Easter, and if I am to do any
work this year I must soon set about it."
The only paintings which Flandrin executed during




236              PE:RE BESSON.
this winter in Rome were an unfinished portrait of
his little son Paul, and two angels' heads, as studies for
the decorations he had been asked to undertake in
the new Church of Saint Augustine in Paris, which
his friend M. Baltard was at that time building. He
also made a drawing for a portrait of Madame
Flacheron.  But, independently of all the circumstantial difficulties which surrounded him, Flandrin's
health was a daily increasing hindrance.
My incapacity for work distresses me grievously,'
he writes to M. Timbal, on February 29th, "but
Rome is always Rome! Yesterday, after a visit to
Overbeck, who seemed to me younger and more alive
than he was thirty years ago, we went with a French
religious of the order of Saint Francis to study the
Forum and its environs.  There were four or five
inches of mud, but a ray of sunshine broke through
the clouds, and everything resumed its wonted charm.
The trees in the gardens of San Gregorio showed their
white blossom for the first time."
On two successive days, March ist and 2nd, Flandrin
went to San Sisto, to study Pere Besson's paintings,
which pleased him  greatly; he notices their good
composition and fulness of expression, and remarks
that the medallions in grisaille " contain things of
deep pathos and of an eloquent severity."
There is something touching in reading of this,




COMING DEPARTURE..237
almost Flandrin's last expedition in matters of art,
being connected with one who, like himself, though
after a different manner, had devoted his talents and
his life to God.
The last among his letters is to Paul Flandrin. He
talks in it of " the coming departure;" and truly that
was at hand, but not such as he expected.
"ROME, March 5, I864.
"I am better, but still I cannot get my head right.
My ears are stuffed, and I am strangely wearied by a
continual dull noise in them. But this time no one
can say that I have overdone myself; I have done
nothing, hindered as I have been by various difficulties,
and now our departure is close at hand   Anyhow we
have seen and re-seen Rome well, and I cannot tell
you the lengths to which my fanaticism about her
extend!  Everything charms me, touches me, and fills
me with an intense desire to stay here. Of late we
have been smitten with a special admiration for the
regions lying between the Capitol and the Tiber, and
the Porta San Paolo, San Sebastiano, Latina, and San
Giovanni, that is to say, for that part of Rome which
comprehends the Aventine, Ccelian, and Palatine hills,
and the valleys dividing them. These grand ruins, convents, and solitary venerable old churches, all raised
to recall the greatest events or the most touching




238                  OSTIA.
memories of early Christianity, have a heart-searching
eloquence which I would fain never forget.
"Yesterday Auguste and I (my poor wife was ill)
went with M. Visconti, the antiquary, and some other
people, to see the excavations, which have been
making for some years in the site of the ancient
Ostia. We went in a little open carriage.  It was a
fine day, and the Piazza Montanara was full of picturesque peasants; on to Bocca della Verita and Ripa
Grande, where we turned to enjoy the beautiful view
of Rome, of which you made a very good sketch.
Coasting Monte Testaccio, we passed the Porta San
Paolo, beside which the Pyramid of Caius Sextius
rises; a little further on we saluted the chapel commemorating the parting embrace of Saint Peter and
Saint Paul, then the great Basilica of Saint Paul, and
then at last came out upon the bare, lonely Campagna,
which stretched out in familiar sameness to the sea.
Stopping a few minutes at the Osteria Malafede to
rest the horses, our six carriages resumed their way;
the Tiber widens, the marshes extend, the salt pool
begins, and far off rises the castle with its magnificent
pine tree, which you must remember well.  We
came nearly to the sea-level, cross the Salini. On the
left the fine fir wood of Castel Fusano stands out, and
besides the four or five houses which compose Ostia
there is a little church, which recalls memories of




EXCA VA TIONS.               239
Saint Augustine and Saint Monica. After breakfasting
at the Osteria, we went to the excavations, which are
most exceedingly curious. One goes in by the street
of tombs-the pavement is complete.  You still see
the ruts hollowed by the chariot-wheels. It is lined
with interesting buildings. Then at the gate to which
it leads, you find a corps de garde and customhouse, after which you get into the town, divided
into several streets.  Thence you have about a mile
to go above ground to the further extremity of the
ancient Ostia, where the other range of excavations
is going on, the intention being for the two lines to
meet in the eentre. It is on this side that the baths,
temples, the shops which used to line the quays and
port, are found, decorated with paintings, and very
good and well preserved mosaics. This excursion
was made much more interesting and useful by M.
Visconti's explanations as we passed from point to
point.
" Our return, from three to six o'clock, just at the
most beautiful part of the day, was quite delightful.
The grand and lofty points of view were enhanced by
the flocks with their lambs and colts, and by the
abundant flowers. Everything seemed to be crying
out, Spring is coming! I must confess to you that
I was quite overcome, and I can see a tear of sympathy fall from  your eyes. Adieu, my Paul. Kiss




240                  SPRING.
Aline and the little ones fondly for us; we love you
so dearly.-Your devoted brother and friend."
We need scarcely ask to be forgiven for a repetition
of the latter description, in words nearly identical,
when we say that they are the last Flandrin ever
wrote in his Journal:-" It was three o'clock, and so
too late for Castel Fusano, and we took the road to
Rome, turning towards the mountains, and leaving the
sea behind us.  C'est la belle heure.  A soft sunshine
made the whole world glad with its light.  Flocks
wandered in every direction, animated by the little
ones-calves, foals, and lambs. The fruit-trees were
laden with blossom, the hawthorn was bursting into
flower, and all this grace, this youth, this resurrection,
on the stern soil of the Campagna, had an inexpressible charm of contrast which was exquisitely pathetic
and touching."
Pathetic indeed! yet not more so than the last
loving looks of the Christian painter, seeing all things
through the Vision of Beauty, which comes from Him
Alone Who is the King of all Beauty, the Monarch of
all true art, the Lord before Whom every treasure of
intellect, brain, hand, or heart, must be laid and
hallowed ere it can attain its true object-the benefit
and enlightenment of man.  But a few days later, and
Hippolyte Flandrin was to enter the dark valley,




LAST ILLNESS.                  241
whence he should indeed "leave the troubled sea of
life behind, and turn to the mountains "-the Golden
Hills "whence cometh my help." The soft sunshine
of his beloved Italy would beam on him no more, but
he was soon to enter there where the Sun of Righteousness is the light; his eyes, " dazzled now and weak,"
were soon about to"See the King's full glory break,
Nor from the blissful vision shrink:
In fearless love and hope uncloyed,
For ever on that ocean bright
Empowered to gaze, and undestroyed,
Deeper and deeper plunge in light."
He had struggled hard with failing health and
strength; a vivid sense of duty had upheld him from
giving way to the infirmities which were making his
"clay cottage to totter ere it fail."
Immediately after this expedition to Ostia, Flandrin
became more seriously ill.  "We were waiting for
fine weather to go to Naples and Pompeii," he wrote;
"the fine weather has come, but our plans have given
way before my illness, and now  everything is uncertain."
Not for long was the uncertainty.  A few days more,
and the distressing symptoms, which at first seemed only
an aggravation of what he had suffered for months past,
developed into smallpox.  It was not a very severe
attack, and on the sixth day after the malady appeared
Q




242                IN PA TRIA.
Flandrin was better, he took some food, and all
seemed to be going on well.
"Yesterday" (so writes a student of the Academy,
M. Bourgaux, to Ambroise Thomas) " I went to his
house at five o'clock, and found him in his last agony,
while, sad to say, his family had no idea that death was
so close at hand. The servants had sent for an Italian
priest, who, on arriving, said that extreme unction
should be instantly administered. That was just when
I happened to come, and I ran hastily to a neighbouring church to summon the last succours of the Church
to the dying. Two hours later he was dead."
The last words he uttered betokened how the faith
which had moulded and strengthened his life now
sustained and brightened his deathbed.  "I see the
road, a saint is leading me!" he whispered in faint
accents shortly before his death; "I see the road, it is
made ready!"
The silver cord was loosed and the golden bowl
broken, and the weary spirit had found rest for ever
IN PATRIA.
A little later and the painter returned to Saint
Germain des Pres, where his work was yet unfinished,
yet all his earnest aspirations were fulfilled.  His
earthly remains rest there, where his own brush has
raised his best monument.




FARE WELL.                 243
A few earnest words spoken by M. Beule at Hippolyte Flandrin's funeral may be quoted here.
"We have lost," the speaker said, "we have lost
one after another, in rapid succession, Ary Scheffer,
Delaroche, Decamps, Horace Vernet, Delacroix, and
now Flandrin-the youngest, but not the least important; Flandrin, who was revered by all opposing
parties; Flandrin, who upheld the standard of the ideal
and of religious art with a hand as modest as it was
firm ~ Flandrin, whose bright talent, always advancing,
rising year by year to a more radiant height, seemed
only as yet in its first bloom! What works he was
about to complete, or to begin! What immortal pages
were yet to be written on the walls of Saint Germain
des Pres and of the Cathedral at Strasburg! What a
fertile maturity lay before him!...  It were not
seemly, amid these funeral rites, to dwell upon Flandrin's life or his works.... Let us only say a long
farewell to the earthly remains which Rome would
fain have gathered in with those of Claude Lorraine
and Poussin, but which now the sanctuary of Saint
Germain des Pres possesses. Ever present to our
memory must be that gentle, melancholy, recollected
face, which seemed to belong to one of a bygone age;
to a Christian neophyte painting the Catacombs, or a
mediaeval artist decorating his monastic chapel with
inexhaustible fervour.  Flandrin was moved by a




244              IN MEMORIAM.
sincere piety, which knew  no display, but shone
brightly within; it was the source of all his pure,
lovely inspirations, wherein the utmost simplicity of
feeling was backed by profound science; wherein the
purity of antique form was united to that of Christian
spirituality. He had another rare creed which alone
can make a great artist; he believed in the dignity
of his art, in those unchangeable principles without
which there is no beauty, in rules to which the
loftiest intellect must submit, and hence the exquisite
simplicity and unity of his life."
And in the few feeling words broken by emotion
which Ambroise Thomas, that dear friend of so many
years, added to those already spoken, he quotes a
letter he had received from a young student:-" Say
that those who only knew him at the last are not the
last to regret him; say that there was never a day
when his heart did not win other hearts by the warm
outpourings of his lovingkindness; say that many a
young artist carries about for ever in his memory, the
friendly words which were suggested by his inexhaustible sympathy for the young, and his immense
love for his art."
T.  P.
MUIR AND PATERSON, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.