304 THE PORTEAITS OF JOHN KNOX.

' ing, and by the mediums used, whicli produced a

• certain circular cracking througliout the picture,

' peculiar only to the paintings of that period. Its

• being a little over the size of nature suggests that it

' was done after a smaller picture, as it is not probable

• that, had it been done from life, or from a life-sized
• head, the artist would have got into those propor-
• tions ; and most of the portraits by Porbus (as also

' by Holbein, Albrecht Diirer, the contemporary and ' previous masters) are a little under life-size, as the 'sitter would appear to the painter at a certain ' distance.

• The Somerville Picture at first reminded me more

' of Porbus than of any other painter of that time,

• although I did not then know whether Porbus had

' ever been in England, as judging by the fact that he ' painted Knox's contemporary George Buchanan, wo

• may now fairly suppose was the case. Last autumn

' at Briiges, Ghent, Brussels and Antwerp, I carefully ' examined no less than forty portraits by Francis ' Porbus, le vieux. There are two pictures at Bruges

• in each of which are sixteen portrait heads, carefully
• painted and well preserved, somewhat smaller than