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HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ART. XXXVii
any profound impression, however useful they may have been in the
de velopment of the pe onality of the artist. Both in the 15th and
in the 17th century artistic strength of the country devoted itself
to painting. of the Netherlands owes its fame to the
brilliant achie s of its painters.
CHURCHE ing the centuries of the Middle Ages, art in the
Netherlands did not by any means keep pace with the advance made
in G and France: it was slow to moye, and followed in the
of German, and later of French art. The number of Ro-
buildings in Belgian territory—for Holland must first
with the Gothic era—is not great. Of these
urnai (p. 59) is the most prominent example.
er Rhenish architecture (that of Cologne), is
thedral, which, in respect of scale, surpas
1e older churches. At the same time there is an evident approxi-
mation to the French style, which, after the 13th century, pervaded
the Cathedral of T
influence of lo
1 in this ca
the entire land. It is much to beregretted that our acquaintance with
the ory of this church is so imperfect. Certain it is, that the
present edifice was begun inthe12th century and completed in the1 4th.
— When in the adjacent territory of Northern France the Goruic
Sryzz had acquired completeness, the Netherlands adopted this
model. ‘The southern portion of the land now became, in the
realm of architecture, a mere province of France; and indeed French
influence extended gradually to politics and culture also. Stately
Gothic cathedrals rear themselves in the more considerable Belgian
towns. With the church of St. Gudule in Brussels are associated
the choir of the church of Notre Dame at Bruges, St. Bavon at
Ghent, St. Rombaut at Malines, the Cathedral of Louvain, and,
stly, the renowned Cathedral of Antwerp, where a lamentable
it of structural harmony must be noted, more particularly
i whose toppling height rather astonishes by its
audacity than delights by its beauty. Although there is an evident
preference for lofty towers (the double tower is seldom seen,
but rather a single tower in advance of the western extremity),
yet, as a rule, an endeavour to secure a spacious area visibly
determines the general proportions, while the soaring height
and slender support which give so marked a character to the in-
teriors of the cathedrals of France and Germany, are but slightly
regarded. Double aisles are frequent in the churches; but the height
of the nave seldom 80 or 90 being but twice, not as
was usual elsewhere, three times, the width. The Dutch churches are
of similar construction. Gothic architecture was much more preya-
lent in Holland than is generally supposed; Utrecht, Amsterdam,
Haarlem, Leyden, and Rotterdam, for example, possess Gothic
churches on a grand scale. The building material, however, namely
brick, which has been used (the Germans learned its use from the
Dutch), gives a ponderous appearance to these edifices; while the
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