Page:A tour through the northern counties of England, and the borders of Scotland - Volume II.djvu/207

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the Spanish Murillo, because he never travelled out. of his own country. Charles II. proposed to have seduced him to England with the title of his first

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painter; but he pleaded his age as an excuse to decline the honour. His works are so rare, and deservedly high in estimation, that iooo guineas were given by an eminent collector at Vandergucht's sale, for a Madona and Child; a copy of which, in needle-work, may be seen at Lambeth-palace.

Murillo' s Wife, by himself. William Lord-Byron, by Dobson. Ob. r 695. Charles I. by C. janssen. Sir Godfrey Kneller, barf, was a native of Hol- stein. It is not to be wondered, that a painter who could scarcely avoid making an ordinary face appear fascinating on canvass, should be equally protected by Charles and James II. William, and Anne. He had amassed a considerable fortune by his profession, part of which was, however, swal- lowed up in the South-Sea scheme; a gulph which proved destructive to thousands. It has been dis- covered tli.it he seldom painted more than the heads and hands, leaving the back -grounds, drapery, and ornaments, to secondary artists; indeed, he even went so far as to allow them to copy his works, then touch them up himself, and sell them for ori- ginals. Thus, perhaps, ma}" be explained, why so many portraits are reputed to have been the work

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