Chapter 21 of 22 · 3980 words · ~20 min read

Part 21

Between 1610 and 1616 van Goyen wandered from one school to the other. He was first apprenticed to Isaak Swanenburgh; he then passed through the workshops of de Man, Klok and de Hoorn. In 1616 he took a decisive step and joined Esaias van der Velde at Haarlem; amongst his earlier pictures, some of 1621 (Berlin Museum) and 1623 (Brunswick Gallery) show the influence of Esaias very perceptibly. The landscape is minute. Details of branching and foliage are given, and the figures are important in relation to the distances. After 1625 these peculiarities gradually disappear. Atmospheric effect in landscapes of cool tints varying from grey green to pearl or brown and yellow dun is the principal object which van Goyen holds in view, and he succeeds admirably in light skies with drifting misty cloud, and downs with cottages and scanty shrubbery or stunted trees. Neglecting all detail of foliage he now works in a thin diluted medium, laying on rubbings as of sepia or Indian ink, and finishing without loss of transparence or lucidity. Throwing his foreground into darkness, he casts alternate light and shade upon the more distant planes, and realizes most pleasing views of large expanse. In buildings and water, with shipping near the banks, he sometimes has the strength if not the colour of Albert Cuyp. The defect of his work is chiefly want of solidity. But even this had its charm for van Goyen's contemporaries, and some time elapsed before Cuyp, who imitated him, restricted his method of transparent tinting to the foliage of foreground trees.

Van Goyen's pictures are comparatively rare in English collections, but his work is seen to advantage abroad, and chiefly at the Louvre, and in Berlin, Gotha, Vienna, Munich and Augsburg. Twenty-eight of his works were exhibited together at Vienna in 1873. Though he visited France once or twice, van Goyen chiefly confined himself to the scenery of Holland and the Rhine. Nine times from 1633 to 1655 he painted views of Dordrecht. Nimeguen was one of his favourite resorts. But he was also fond of Haarlem and Amsterdam, and he did not neglect Arnheim or Utrecht. One of his largest pieces is a view of the Hague, executed in 1651 for the municipality, and now in the town collection of that city. Most of his panels represent reaches of the Rhine, the Waal and the Maese. But he sometimes sketched the downs of Scheveningen, or the sea at the mouth of the Rhine and Scheldt; and he liked to depict the calm inshore, and rarely ventured upon seas stirred by more than a curling breeze or the swell of a coming squall. He often painted winter scenes, with ice and skaters and sledges, in the style familiar to Isaac van Ostade. There are numerous varieties of these subjects in the master's works from 1621 to 1653. One historical picture has been assigned to van Goyen--the "Embarkation of Charles II." in the Bute collection. But this canvas was executed after van Goyen's death. When he tried this form of art he properly mistrusted his own powers. But he produced little in partnership with his contemporaries, and we can only except the "Watering-place" in the gallery of Vienna, where the landscape is enlivened with horses and cattle by Philip Wouvermans. Even Jan Steen, who was his son-in-law, only painted figures for one of his pictures, and it is probable that this piece was completed after van Goyen's death. More than 250 of van Goyen's pictures are known and accessible. Of this number little more than 70 are undated. None exist without the full name or monogram, and yet there is no painter whose hand it is easier to trace without the help of these adjuncts. An etcher, but a poor one, van Goyen has only bequeathed to us two very rare plates.

GOZLAN, LEON (1806-1866), French novelist and play-writer, was born on the 1st of September 1806, at Marseilles. When he was still a boy, his father, who had made a large fortune as a ship-broker, met with a series of misfortunes, and Leon, before completing his education, had to go to sea in order to earn a living. In 1828 we find him in Paris, determined to run the risks of literary life. His townsman, Joseph Mery, who was then making himself famous by his political satires, introduced him to several newspapers, and Gozlan's brilliant articles in the _Figaro_ did much harm to the already tottering government of Charles X. His first novel was _Les Memoires d'un apothicaire_ (1828), and this was followed by numberless others, among which may be mentioned _Washington Levert et Socrate Leblanc_ (1838), _Le Notaire de Chantilly_ (1836), _Aristide Froissart_ (1843) (one of the most curious and celebrated of his productions), _Les Nuits du Pere Lachaise_ (1846), _Le Tapis vert_ (1855), _La Folle du logis_ (1857), _Les Emotions de Polydore Marasquin_ (1857), &c. His best-known works for the theatre are--_La Pluie et le beau temps_ (1861), and _Une Tempete dans un verre d'eau_ (1850), two curtain-raisers which have kept the stage; _Le Lion empaille_ (1848), _La Queue du chien d'Alcibiade_ (1849), _Louise de Nanteuil_ (1854), _Le Gateau des reines_ (1855), _Les Paniers de la comtesse_ (1852); and he adapted several of his own novels to the stage. Gozlan also wrote a romantic and picturesque description of the old manors and mansions of his country entitled _Les Chateaux de France_ (2 vols., 1844), originally published (1836) as _Les Tourelles_, which has some archaeological value, and a biographical essay on Balzac (_Balzac chez lui_, 1862). He was made a member of the Legion of Honour in 1846, and in 1859 an officer of that order. Gozlan died on the 14th of September 1866, in Paris.

See also P. Audebrand, _Leon Gozlan_ (1887).

GOZO (GOZZO), an island of the Maltese group in the Mediterranean Sea, second in size to Malta. It lies N.W. and 3-1/4 m. from the nearest point of Malta, is of oval form, 8-3/4 m. in length and 4-1/2 m. in extreme breadth, and has an area of nearly 25 m. Its chief town, Victoria, formerly called Rabato (pop. in 1901, 5057) stands near the middle of the island on one of a cluster of steep conical hills, 3-1/2 m. from the port of Migiarro Bay, on the south-east shore, below Fort Chambray. The character of the island is similar to that of Malta. The estimated population in 1907 was 21,911.

GOZZI, CARLO, COUNT (1722-1806), Italian dramatist, was descended from an old Venetian family, and was born at Venice in March 1722. Compelled by the embarrassed condition of his father's affairs to procure the means of self-support, he, at the age of sixteen, joined the army in Dalmatia; but three years afterwards he returned to Venice, where he soon made a reputation for himself as the wittiest member of the Granelleschi society, to which the publication of several satirical pieces had gained him admission. This society, nominally devoted to conviviality and wit, had also serious literary aims, and was especially zealous to preserve the Tuscan literature pure and untainted by foreign influences. The displacement of the old Italian comedy by the dramas of Pietro Chiari (1700-1788) and Goldoni, founded on French models, threatened defeat to all their efforts; and in 1757 Gozzi came to the rescue by publishing a satirical poem, _Tartana degli influssi per l' anno bisestile_, and in 1761 by his comedy, _Fiaba dell' amore delle tre melarancie_, a parody of the manner of the two obnoxious poets, founded on a fairy tale. For its representation he obtained the services of the Sacchi company of players, who, on account of the popularity of the comedies of Chiari and Goldoni--which afforded no scope for the display of their peculiar talents--had been left without employment; and as their satirical powers were thus sharpened by personal enmity, the play met with extraordinary success. Struck by the effect produced on the audience by the introduction of the supernatural or mythical element, which he had merely used as a convenient medium for his satirical purposes, Gozzi now produced a series of dramatic pieces based on fairy tales, which for a period obtained great popularity, but after the breaking up of the Sacchi company were completely disregarded. They have, however, obtained high praise from Goethe, Schlegel, Madame de Stael and Sismondi; and one of them, _Re Turandote_, was translated by Schiller. In his later years Gozzi set himself to the production of tragedies in which the comic element was largely introduced; but as this innovation proved unacceptable to the critics he had recourse to the Spanish drama, from which he obtained models for various pieces, which, however, met with only equivocal success. He died on the 4th of April 1806.

His collected works were published under his own superintendence, at Venice, in 1792, in 10 volumes; and his dramatic works, translated into German by Werthes, were published at Bern in 1795. See Gozzi's work, _Memorie inutili della vita di Carlo Gozzi_ (3 vols., Venice, 1797), translated into French by Paul de Musset (1848), and into English by J. A. Symonds (1889); F. Horn, _Uber Gozzis dramatische Poesie_ (Venice, 1803); Gherardini, _Vita di Gasp. Gozzi_ (1821); "Charles Gozzi," by Paul de Musset, in the _Revue des deux mondes_ for 15th November 1844; Magrini, _Carlo Gozzi e la fiabe: saggi storici, biografici, e critici_ (Cremona, 1876), and the same author's book on Gozzi's life and times (Benevento, 1883).

GOZZI, GASPARO, COUNT (1713-1786), eldest brother of Carlo Gozzi, was born on the 4th of December 1713. In 1739 he married the poetess Luise Bergalli, and she undertook the management of the theatre of Sant' Angelo, Venice, he supplying the performers with dramas chiefly translated from the French. The speculation proved unfortunate, but meantime he had attained a high reputation for his contributions to the _Gazzetta Veneta_, and he soon came to be known as one of the ablest critics and purest and most elegant stylists in Italy. For a considerable period he was censor of the press in Venice, and in 1774 he was appointed to reorganize the university system at Padua. He died at Padua on the 26th of December 1786.

His principal writings are _Osservatore Veneto periodico_ (1761), on the model of the English _Spectator_, and distinguished by its high moral tone and its light and pleasant satire; _Lettere famigliari_ (1755), a collection of short racy pieces in prose and verse, on subjects of general interest; _Sermoni_, poems in blank verse after the manner of Horace; _Il Mondo morale_ (1760), a personification of human passions with inwoven dialogues in the style of Lucian; and _Giudizio degli antichi poeti sopra la moderna censura di Dante_ (1755), a defence of the great poet against the attacks of Bettinelli. He also translated various works from the French and English, including Marmontel's _Tales_ and Pope's _Essay on Criticism_. His collected works were published at Venice, 1794-1798, in 12 volumes, and several editions have appeared since.

GOZZOLI, BENOZZO, Italian painter, was born in Florence in 1424, or perhaps 1420, and in the early part of his career assisted Fra Angelico, whom he followed to Rome and worked with at Orvieto. In Rome he executed in Santa Maria in Aracoeli a fresco of "St Anthony and Two Angels." In 1449 he left Angelico, and went to Montefalco, near Foligno in Umbria. In S. Fortunate, near Montefalco, he painted a "Madonna and Child with Saints and Angels," and three other works. One of these, the altar-piece representing "St Thomas receiving the Girdle of the Virgin," is now in the Lateran Museum, and shows the affinity of Gozzoli's early style to Angelico's. He next painted in the monastery of S. Francesco, Montefalco, filling the choir with a triple course of subjects from the life of the saint, with various accessories, including heads of Dante, Petrarch and Giotto. This work was completed in 1452, and is still marked by the style of Angelico, crossed here and there with a more distinctly Giottesque influence. In the same church, in the chapel of St Jerome, is a fresco by Gozzoli of the Virgin and Saints, the Crucifixion and other subjects. He remained at Montefalco (with an interval at Viterbo) probably till 1456, employing Mesastris as assistant. Thence he went to Perugia, and painted in a church a "Virgin and Saints," now in the local academy, and soon afterwards to his native Florence, the headquarters of art. By the end of 1459 he had nearly finished his important labour in the chapel of the Palazzo Riccardi, the "Journey of the Magi to Bethlehem," and, in the tribune of this chapel, a composition of "Angels in a Paradise." His picture in the National Gallery, London, a "Virgin and Child with Saints," 1461, belongs also to the period of his Florentine sojourn. Another small picture in the same gallery, the "Rape of Helen," is of dubious authenticity. In 1464 Gozzoli left Florence for S. Gimignano, where he executed some extensive works; in the church of S. Agostino, a composition of St Sebastian protecting the City from the Plague of this same year, 1464; over the entire choir of the church, a triple course of scenes from the legends of St Augustine, from the time of his entering the school of Tegaste on to his burial, seventeen chief subjects, with some accessories; in the Pieve di S. Gimignano, the "Martyrdom of Sebastian," and other subjects, and some further works in the city and its vicinity. Here his style combined something of Lippo Lippi with its original elements, and he received co-operation from Giusto d'Andrea. He stayed in this city till 1467, and then began, in the Campo Santo of Pisa, from 1469, the vast series of mural paintings with which his name is specially identified. There are twenty-four subjects from the Old Testament, from the "Invention of Wine by Noah" to the "Visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon." He contracted to paint three subjects per year for about ten ducats each--a sum which may be regarded as equivalent to L100 at the present day. It appears, however, that this contract was not strictly adhered to, for the actual rate of painting was only three pictures in two years. Perhaps the great multitude of figures and accessories was accepted as a set-off against the slower rate of production. By January 1470 he had executed the fresco of "Noah and his Family,"--followed by the "Curse of Ham," the "Building of the Tower of Babel" (which contains portraits of Cosmo de' Medici, the young Lorenzo Politian and others), the "Destruction of Sodom," the "Victory of Abraham," the "Marriages of Rebecca and of Rachel," the "Life of Moses," &c. In the Cappella Ammannati, facing a gate of the Campo Santo, he painted also an "Adoration of the Magi," wherein appears a portrait of himself. All this enormous mass of work, in which Gozzoli was probably assisted by Zanobi Macchiavelli, was performed, in addition to several other pictures during his stay in Pisa (we need only specify the "Glory of St Thomas Aquinas," now in the Louvre), in sixteen years, lasting up to 1485. This is the latest date which can with certainty be assigned to any work from his hand, although he is known to have been alive up to 1498. In 1478 the Pisan authorities had given him, as a token of their regard, a tomb in the Campo Santo. He had likewise a house of his own in Pisa, and houses and land in Florence. In rectitude of life he is said to have been worthy of his first master, Fra Angelico.

The art of Gozzoli does not rival that of his greatest contemporaries either in elevation or in strength, but is pre-eminently attractive by its sense of what is rich, winning, lively and abundant in the aspects of men and things. His landscapes, thronged with birds and quadrupeds, especially dogs, are more varied, circumstantial and alluring than those of any predecessor; his compositions are crowded with figures, more characteristically true when happily and gracefully occupied than when the demands of the subject require tragic or dramatic intensity, or turmoil of action; his colour is bright, vivacious and festive. Gozzoli's genius was, on the whole, more versatile and assimilative than vigorously original; his drawing not free from considerable imperfections, especially in the extremities and articulations, and in the perspective of his gorgeously-schemed buildings. In fresco-painting he used the methods of tempera, and the decay of his works has been severe in proportion. Of his untiring industry the recital of his labours and the number of works produced are the most forcible attestation.

Vasari, Crowe and Cavalcaselle, and the other ordinary authorities, can be consulted as to the career of Gozzoli. A separate _Life_ of him, by H. Stokes, was published in 1903 in Newnes's Art library. (W. M. R.)

GRAAFF REINET, a town of South Africa, 185 m. by rail N.W. by N. of Port Elizabeth. Pop. (1904) 10,083, of whom 4055 were whites. The town lies 2463 ft. above the sea and is built on the banks of the Sunday river, which rises a little farther north on the southern slopes of the Sneeuwberg, and here ramifies into several channels. The Dutch church is a handsome stone building with seating accommodation for 1500 people. The college is an educational centre of some importance; it was rebuilt in 1906. Graaff Reinet is a flourishing market for agricultural produce, the district being noted for its mohair industry, its orchards and vineyards.

The town was founded by the Cape Dutch in 1786, being named after the then governor of Cape Colony, C. J. van de Graaff, and his wife. In 1795 the burghers, smarting under the exactions of the Dutch East India Company proclaimed a republic. Similar action was taken by the burghers of Swellendam. Before the authorities at Cape Town could take decisive measures against the rebels, they were themselves compelled to capitulate to the British. The burghers having endeavoured, unsuccessfully, to get aid from a French warship at Algoa Bay surrendered to Colonel (afterwards General Sir) J. O. Vandeleur. In January 1799 Marthinus Prinsloo, the leader of the republicans in 1795, again rebelled, but surrendered in April following. Prinsloo and nineteen others were imprisoned in Cape Town castle. After trial, Prinsloo and another commandant were sentenced to death and others to banishment. The sentences were not carried out and the prisoners were released, March 1803, on the retrocession of the Cape to Holland. In 1801 there had been another revolt in Graaff Reinet, but owing to the conciliatory measures of General F. Dundas (acting governor of the Cape) peace was soon restored. It was this district, where a republican government in South Africa was first proclaimed, which furnished large numbers of the voortrekkers in 1835-1842. It remains a strong Dutch centre.

See J. C. Voight, _Fifty Years of the History of the Republic in South Africa 1795-1845_, vol. i. (London, 1899).

GRABBE, CHRISTIAN DIETRICH (1801-1836), German dramatist, was born at Detmold on the 11th of December 1801. Entering the university of Leipzig in 1819 as a student of law, he continued the reckless habits which he had begun at Detmold, and neglected his studies. Being introduced into literary circles, he conceived the idea of becoming an actor and wrote the drama _Herzog Theodor von Gothland_ (1822). This, though showing considerable literary talent, lacks artistic form, and is morally repulsive. Ludwig Tieck, while encouraging the young author, pointed out its faults, and tried to reform Grabbe himself. In 1822 Grabbe removed to Berlin University, and in 1824 passed his advocate's examination. He now settled in his native town as a lawyer and in 1827 was appointed a _Militarauditeur_. In 1833 he married, but in consequence of his drunken habits was dismissed from his office, and, separating from his wife, visited Dusseldorf, where he was kindly received by Karl Immermann. After a serious quarrel with the latter, he returned to Detmold, where, as a result of his excesses, he died on the 12th of September 1836.

Grabbe had real poetical gifts, and many of his dramas contain fine passages and a wealth of original ideas. They largely reflect his own life and character, and are characterized by cynicism and indelicacy. Their construction also is defective and little suited to the requirements of the stage. The boldly conceived _Don Juan und Faust_ (1829) and the historical dramas _Friedrich Barbarossa_ (1829), _Heinrich VI._ (1830), and _Napoleon oder die Hundert Tage_ (1831), the last of which places the battle of Waterloo upon the stage, are his best works. Among others are the unfinished tragedies _Marius and Sulla_ (continued by Erich Korn, Berlin, 1890); and _Hannibal_ (1835, supplemented and edited by C. Spielmann, Halle, 1901); and the patriotic _Hermannsschlacht_ or the battle between Arminius and Varus (posthumously published with a biographical notice, by E. Duller, 1838).

Grabbe's works have been edited by O. Blumenthal (4 vols., 1875), and E. Grisebach (4 vols., 1902). For further notices of his life, see K. Ziegler, _Grabbes Leben und Charakter_ (1855); O. Blumenthal, _Beitrage zur Kenntnis Grabbes_ (1875); C. A. Piper, _Grabbe_ (1898), and A. Ploch, _Grabbes Stellung in der deutschen Literatur_ (1905).

GRABE, JOHN ERNEST (1666-1711), Anglican divine, was born on the 10th of July 1666, at Konigsberg, where his father, Martin Sylvester Grabe, was professor of theology and history. In his theological studies Grabe succeeded in persuading himself of the schismatical character of the Reformation, and accordingly he presented to the consistory of Samland in Prussia a memorial in which he compared the position of the evangelical Protestant churches with that of the Novatians and other ancient schismatics. He had resolved to join the Church of Rome when a commission of Lutheran divines pointed out flaws in his written argument and called his attention to the English Church as apparently possessing that apostolic succession and manifesting that fidelity to ancient institutions which he desired. He came to England, settled in Oxford, was ordained in 1700, and became chaplain of Christ Church. His inclination was towards the party of the nonjurors. The learned labours to which the remainder of his life was devoted were rewarded with an Oxford degree and a royal pension. He died on the 3rd of November 1711, and in 1726 a monument was erected to him by Edward Harley, earl of Oxford, in Westminster Abbey. He was buried in St Pancras Church, London.

Some account of Grabe's life is given in R. Nelson's _Life of George Bull_, and by George Hickes in a discourse prefixed to the pamphlet against W. Whiston's _Collection of Testimonies against the True_ _Deity of the Son and of the Holy Ghost_. His works, which show him to have been learned and laborious but somewhat deficient in critical acumen, include a _Spicilegium SS. Patrum et haereticorum_ (1698-1699), which was designed to cover the first three centuries of the Christian church, but was not continued beyond the close of the second. A second edition of this work was published in 1714. He brought out an edition of Justin Martyr's _Apologia prima_ (1700), of Irenaeus, _Adversus omnes haereses_ (1702), of the Septuagint, and of Bishop Bull's Latin works (1703). His edition of the Septuagint was based on the _Codex Alexandrinus_; it appeared in 4 volumes (1707-1720), and was completed by Francis Lee and by George Wigan.

GRACCHUS, in ancient Rome, the name of a plebeian family of the Sempronian gens. Its most distinguished representatives were the famous tribunes of the people, Tiberius and Gaius Sempronius Gracchus, (4) and (5) below, usually called simply "the Gracchi."

1. TIBERIUS SEMPRONIUS GRACCHUS, consul in 238 B.C., carried on successful operations against the Ligurian mountaineers, and, at the conclusion of the Carthaginian mercenary war, was in command of the fleet which at the invitation of the insurgents took possession of the island of Sardinia.