Page:Blackwood's Magazine volume 025.djvu/717

 1829.3

Sketches of Italy and the Italians.

TOa

SKETCHES OF 1TAL? AND THE ITALIANS, WITH REMARKS ON ANTIQUITIES

AND FIXE ARTS.

(Continued.)

XXXII. RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPLES.

IN the year 1796, 1 accompanied the Princess of Anhalt Dessau from Rome on a flying visit to Naples, where, through the friendly agency of my worthy friend Heigelin, the Danish Consul, the Princess and her suite were soon established in a commodious and elegantly furnished residence above the Villa Reale, overlooking one of the noblest promenades in Eu- rope, with the celebrated group of the Toro Farnese before our windows. Our prospect included the whole bay as far as Cape Minerva, and in the blue distance of this splendid scene appeared the singularly-shaped isle of Capri.

The Princess, ever sincerely desirous to remain incog., had travelled from Lugano to Naples under the name of Madame de Sollnitz ; but her servants, thinking themselves degraded by her assumption of a lower rank, every- where proclaimed her a princess of the royal house of Brandenburg ; and not only to landlords, cooks, and waiters, but to any one who would listen to them. The consequence of this pub- licity was a considerable aggravation of her travelling expenditure, as, ac- cording to the long-established tariff of all the hotel-keepers in Europe, a prince or duke must pay twice as much, but a king or empevor three or four times as much, as a count or baron. At Naples, however, we were indebted to this treachery of the ser- vants for an early visit from the intel- ligent and gentlemanly Prussian paint- er, Philip Hackert, who, with graceful promptitude, asserted his inherent claim to attend a Prussian princess as cicerone. He escorted us to every ob- ject worthy of notice in Naples and its vicinity, and was prevented only by indisposition from accompanying us to Salerno and Ptcstum. These atten- tions were enhanced in value by our knowledge that no painter in Europe was so well paid for his professional labours, and that he was such an economist of his time as to apportion it to his various objects with mathe- matical accuracy.

Persevering industry, a love of order, and a knowledge of human na- ture, were the foundations of Hackert's fortune, which probably surpasses that of any painter since llubens. He was also well versed in statistics and fi- nance, and, had accident thrown him into the career of politics, he would probably have raised himself to the same eminence as a statesman, which he has attained as a landscape painter.

Hackert was employed by the King of the Two Sicilies to negotiate the transfer from Rome to Naples of the treasures of fine art belonging to the Farnese family ; and the consummate ability with which he conducted and accomplished this delicate mission, was repaid by the enduring confidence and liberality of his royal patron, who as- signed to him a winter-residence in the Francavilla Palace at Naples, and the old palace at Caserta for his sum- mer abode ; besides many other sub- stantial proofs of kindness and favour. The prudent artist ensured to himself the permanent enjoyment of these ad- vantages, by asking no favours for him- self or others ; by a careful avoidance of all interference in politics ; and by declining the posts of honour and badges of distinction which were ten- dered to him. His rare sagacity in this respect proved that, daring his inter- course with the titled and the power- ful, he had studied the mazes and perils of a courtier's life as successfully as the characters of trees and aerial per- spective. His ambition never soared beyond the title of Pittorc di Camera; and his advice to his brother George, when appointed engraver to the King of the Two Sicilies, was literally this : " Brother, you must beware of smo- king, because the king hates the smell of tobacco ; and you must never accept a court order, because the name of Hackert requires no such distinction."

The King listened with pleasure to the conversation of this intelligent art- ist, and often stood by him to observe the progress of his paintings. The Queen, too, honoured him with her favour, because he promoted her hus-