icle of seventeenth century Dutch furniture is
the large and massive wardrobe, with the doors handsomely carved, not
infrequently having three columns, one in the centre and one at each side,
and these generally form part of the doors, which are also enriched with
square panels, carved in the centre and finished with mouldings. There are
specimens in the South Kensington Museum, of these and also of earlier
Flemish work when the Renaissance was purer in style and, as has been
observed, of less national character.

The marqueterie of this period is extremely rich, the designs are less
severe, but the colouring of the woods is varied, and the effect
heightened by the addition of small pieces of mother of pearl and ivory.
Later, this marqueterie became florid, badly finished, and the colouring
of the veneers crude and gaudy. Old pieces of plain mahogany furniture
were decorated with a thin layer of highly coloured veneering, a
meretricious ornamentation altogether lacking refinement.

There is, however, a peculiarity and character about some of the furniture
of North Holland, in the towns of Alkmaar, Hoorn, and others in this
district, which is worth noticing. The treatment has always been more
primitive and quaint than in the Flemish cities to which allusion has been
made--and it was here that the old farm houses of the Nord-Hollander were
furnished with the rush-bottomed chairs, painted green; the three-legged
tables, and dower chests painted in flowers and figures of a rude
description, with the colouring chiefly green and bright red, is extremely
effective.

[Illustration: A Flemish Citizen at Meals. (_From a XVI, Century MS._)]

The Renaissance in Spain.

We have seen that Spain as well as Germany and the Low Countries were
under the rule of the Emperor Charles V., and therefore it is unnecessary
to look further for the sources of influence which brought the wave of
Renaissance to the Spanish carvers and cabinet makers.

[Illustration: Sedan Chair Of Charles V. Probably made in the Netherlands.
Arranged with moveable back and uprights to form a canopy when desired.
(_In the Royal Armoury, Madrid._)]

After Van Eyck was sent for to paint the portrait of King John's daughter,
the Low Countries continued to export to the Peninsula painters,
sculptors, tapestry weavers, and books on Art. French artists also found
employment in Spain, and the older Gothic became superseded as in other
countries. Berruguete,