,,renaissance ,,in ,,italy ,,the ,,fine ,,arts ,,by ,,john ,,addington ,,symonds ,,author ,,of ,,an ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,study ,,of ,,dante1 ,,studies ,,of ,,the ,,greek ,,poets ,,and ,,sketches ,,in ,,italy ,,and ,,greece 99 99 99 99 99 ,dii ,romae indigetes1 ,trojae tuque auctor1 ,apollo1 ,unde genus nostrum coeli se tollit ad astra1 ,hanc saltem auferri laudem prohibete ,latinis3 ,artibus emineat semper1 studiisque ,minervae1 ,italia1 et gentes doceat pulcherrima ,roma2 ,quandoquidem armorum penitus fortuna recessit1 ,tanta ,italos inter crevit discordia reges2 ,ipsi nos inter saevos distringimus enses1 ,nec patriam pudet externis aperire tyrannis ,,vida1 ,poetica1 lib4 ii4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,london ,,smith1 ,,elder ,,co #ahii ,,preface#a ,this third volume of my book on the ,renaissance in ,italy does not pretend to retrace the history of the ,italian arts1 but rather to define their relation to the main movement of ,renaissance culture4 ,keeping this1 the chief object of my whole work1 steadily in view1 ,i have tried to explain the dependence of the arts on mediaeval ,christianity at their commencement1 their gradual emancipation from ecclesiastical control1 and their final attainment of freedom at the moment when the classical revival culminated4 ,not to notice the mediaeval period in this evolution would be impossible2 since the revival of ,sculpture and ,painting at the end of the thirteenth century was among the earliest signs of that new intellectual birth to which we give the title of ,renaissance4 ,i have1 therefore1 had to deal at some length with stages in the development of ,architecture1 ,sculpture1 and ,painting1 which form a prelude to the proper age of my own history4 ,in studying the architectural branch of the subject1 ,i have had recourse to ,fergusson's ,illustrated ,handbook of ,architecture1 to ,burckhardt's ,cicerone1 to ,grner's ,terra-,cotta ,buildings of ,north ,italy1 to ,milizia's ,memorie degli ,architetti1 and to many illustrated works on single buildings in ,rome1 ,tuscany1 ,lombardy1 and ,venice4 ,for the history of ,sculpture ,i have used ,burckhardt's ,cicerone1 and the two important works of ,charles ,c4 ,perkins1 entitled ,tuscan ,sculptors1 and ,italian ,sculptors4 ,such books as ,le ,tre ,porte del ,battistero di ,firenze1 ,grner's ,cathedral of ,orvieto1 and ,lasinio's ,tabernacolo della ,madonna d',orsammichele have been helpful by their illustrations4 ,for the history of ,painting ,i have made use principally of ,vasari's ,vite de' pi eccellenti ,pittori1 c41 in ,le ,monnier's edition of ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle's ,history of ,painting1 of ,burckhardt's ,cicerone1 of ,rosini's illustrated ,storia della ,pittura ,italiana1 of ,rio's ,l',art ,chrtien1 and of ,henri ,beyle's ,histoire de la ,peinture en ,italie4 ,i should1 however1 far exceed the limits of a preface were ,i to make a list of all the books ,i have consulted with profit on the history of the arts in ,italy4 ,in this part of my work ,i feel that ,i owe less to reading than to observation4 ,i am not aware of having mentioned any important building1 statue1 or picture which ,i have not had the opportunity of studying4 ,what ,i have written in this volume about the monuments of ,italian art has always been first noted face to face with the originals1 and afterwards corrected1 modified1 or confirmed in the course of subsequent journeys to ,italy4 ,i know that this method of composition1 if it has the merit of freshness1 entails some inequality of style and disproportion in the distribution of materials4 ,in the final preparation of my work for press ,i have therefore endeavoured1 as far as possible1 to compensate this disadvantage by adhering to the main motive of my subject--the illustration of the ,renaissance spirit as this was manifested in the ,arts4 ,i must add1 in conclusion1 that ,chapters ,,vii4 and ,,ix4 and ,appendix ,,ii4 are in part reprinted from the ,westminster1 the ,cornhill1 and the ,contemporary4 ,,clifton3 ,march #ahgg4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,problem ,,for ,,the ,,fine ,,arts ,art in ,italy and ,greece--,the ,leading ,phase of ,culture--sthetic ,type of ,literature--,painting the ,supreme ,italian ,art--,its ,task in the ,renaissance--,christian and ,classical ,traditions--,sculpture for the ,ancients--,painting for the ,romance ,nations--,mediaeval ,faith and ,superstition--,the ,promise of ,painting--,how far can the ,figurative ,arts express ,christian ,ideas8--,greek and ,christian ,religion--,plastic ,art incapable of solving the ,problem--,a more ,emotional ,art needed--,place of ,sculpture in the ,renaissance--,painting and ,christian ,story--,humanization of ,ecclesiastical ,ideas by ,art--,hostility of the ,spirit of ,true ,piety to ,art--,compromises effected by the ,church--,fra ,bartolommeo's ,s4 ,sebastian--,irreconcilability of ,art and ,theology1 ,art and ,philosophy--,recapitulation--,art in the end ,paganises--,music--,the ,future of ,painting after the ,renaissance4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,architecture ,architecture of ,mediaeval ,italy--,milan1 ,genoa1 ,venice--,the ,despots as ,builders--,diversity of ,styles--,local ,influences--,lombard1 ,tuscan1 ,romanesque1 ,gothic--,italian want of feeling for ,gothic--,cathedrals of ,siena and ,orvieto--,secular ,buildings of the ,middle ,ages--,florence and ,venice--,private ,palaces--,public ,halls--,palazzo della ,signoria at ,florence--,arnolfo di ,cambio--,s4 ,maria del ,fiore--,brunelleschi's ,dome--,classical ,revival in ,architecture--,roman ,ruins--,three ,periods in ,renaissance ,architecture--,their ,characteristics--,brunelleschi --,alberti--,palace-building--,michelloz zo--,decorative ,work of the ,revival--,bramante--,vitoni's ,church of the ,umilt at ,pistoja--,palazzo del ,te--,villa ,farnesina--,sansovino at ,venice--,michael ,angelo--,the ,building of ,s4 ,peter's--,palladio--,the ,palazzo della ,ragione at ,vicenza--,lombard ,architects--,theorists and ,students of ,vitruvius--,vignola and ,scamozzi--,european ,influence of the ,palladian ,style--,comparison of ,scholars and ,architects in relation to the ,revival of ,learning4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,sculpture ,niccola ,pisano--,obscurity of the ,sources for a ,history of ,early ,italian ,sculpture--,vasari's ,legend of ,pisano--,deposition from the ,cross at ,lucca--,study of ,nature and the ,antique--,sarcophagus at ,pisa--,pisan ,pulpit--,niccola's ,school--,giovanni ,pisano--,pulpit in ,s4 ,andrea at ,pistoja--,fragments of his work at ,pisa--,tomb of ,benedict ,,xi4 at ,perugia--,bas-reliefs at ,orvieto--,andrea ,pisano--,relation of ,sculpture to ,painting--,giotto--,subordination of ,sculpture to ,architecture in ,italy--,pisano's ,influence in ,venice--,balduccio of ,pisa--,orcagna--,the ,tabernacle of ,orsammichele--,the ,gates of the ,florentine ,baptistery --,competition of ,ghiberti1 ,brunelleschi1 and ,della ,quercia--,comparison of ,ghiberti's and ,brunelleschi's ,trial-pieces--,comparison of ,ghiberti and ,della ,quercia--,the ,bas-reliefs of ,s4 ,petronio--,ghiberti's ,education--,his ,pictorial ,style in ,bas-relief--,his ,feeling for the ,antique--,donatello--,early ,visit to ,rome--,christian ,subjects--,realistic ,treatment--,s4 ,george and ,david--,judith--,equestrian ,statue of ,gattamelata--,influence of ,donatello's ,naturalism--,andrea ,verocchio--,his ,david--,statue of ,colleoni--,alessandro ,leopardi--,lionardo's ,statue of ,francesco ,sforza--,the ,pollajuoli--,tombs of ,sixtus ,,iv4 and ,innocent ,,viii4--,luca della ,robbia--,his ,treatment of ,glazed ,earthenware--,agostino di ,duccio--,the ,oratory of ,s4 ,bernardino at ,perugia--,antonio ,rossellino--,matteo ,civitali--,mino da ,fiesole--,benedetto da ,majano--,characteristics and ,masterpieces of this ,group--,sepulchral ,monuments--,andrea ,contucci's ,tombs in ,s4 ,maria del ,popolo--,desiderio da ,settignano--,sculpture in ,s4 ,francesco at ,rimini--,venetian ,sculpture--,verona--,guido ,mazzoni of ,modena--,certosa of ,pavia--,colleoni ,chapel at ,bergamo--,sansovino at ,venice--,pagan ,sculpture--,michael ,angelo's ,scholars--,baccio ,bandinelli--,bartolommeo ,ammanati--,cellini--,gian ,bologna--,survey of the ,history of ,renaissance ,sculpture4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,painting ,distribution of ,artistic ,gifts in ,italy--,florence and ,venice --,classification by ,schools--,stages in the ,evolution of ,painting--,cimabue --,the ,rucellai ,madonna--,giotto--,his widespread ,activity--,the ,scope of his ,art--,vitality--,composition--,colour-- ,naturalism--,healthiness--,frescoes at ,assisi and ,padua--,legend of ,s4 ,francis--,the ,giotteschi--,pictures of the ,last ,judgment--,orcagna in the ,strozzi ,chapel--,ambrogio ,lorenzetti at ,pisa--,dogmatic ,theology--,cappella degli ,spagnuoli--,traini's ,triumph1 of ,s4 ,thomas ,aquinas--,political ,doctrine expressed in ,fresco--,sala della ,pace at ,siena--,religious ,art in ,siena and ,perugia--,the ,relation of the ,giottesque ,painters to the ,renaissance4 ,,chapter ,v ,,painting ,mediaeval ,motives exhausted--,new ,impulse toward ,technical ,perfection--,naturalists in ,painting--,intermediate ,achievement needed for the ,great ,age of ,art--,positive ,spirit of the ,fifteenth ,century--,masaccio--,the ,modern ,manner--,paolo ,uccello--,perspective--,realistic ,painters--,the ,model--,piero della ,francesca--,his ,study of ,form--,resurrection at ,borgo ,san ,sepolcro--,melozzo da ,forli--,squarcione at ,padua--,gentile da ,fabriano--,fra ,angelico--,benozzo ,gozzoli--,his ,decorative ,style--,lippo ,lippi--,frescoes at ,prato and ,spoleto--,filippino ,lippi--,sandro ,botticelli--,his ,value for the ,student of ,renaissance ,fancy--,his ,feeling for ,mythology--,piero di ,cosimo--,domenico ,ghirlandajo--,in what sense he sums up the ,age--,prosaic ,spirit--,florence hitherto supreme in ,painting--,extension of ,art ,activity throughout ,italy--,medicean ,patronage4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,painting ,two ,periods in the ,true ,renaissance--,andrea ,mantegna--,his ,statuesque ,design--,his ,naturalism--,roman ,inspiration--,triumph of ,julius ,caesar--,bas-reliefs--,luca ,signorelli--,the ,precursor of ,michael ,angelo--,anatomical ,studies--,sense of ,beauty--,the ,chapel of ,s4 ,brizio at ,orvieto--,its ,arabesques and ,medallions--,degrees in his ,ideal--,enthusiasm for ,organic ,life--,mode of treating ,classical ,subjects--,perugino--,his ,pietistic ,style--,his ,formalism--,the ,psychological ,problem of his ,life--,perugino's ,pupils--,pinturicchio--,at ,spello and ,siena--,francia--,fra ,bartolommeo--,transition to the ,golden ,age--,lionardo da ,vinci--,the ,magician of the ,renaissance--,raphael--,the ,melodist--,correggio--,the ,faun--,michael ,angelo--,the ,prophet4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,venetian ,,painting ,painting bloomed late in ,venice--,conditions offered by ,venice to ,art--,shelley and ,pietro ,aretino--,political ,circumstances of ,venice--,comparison with ,florence--,the ,ducal ,palace--,art regarded as an adjunct to ,state ,pageantry--,myth of ,venezia--,heroic ,deeds of ,venice--,tintoretto's ,paradise and ,guardi's ,picture of a ,ball--,early ,venetian ,masters of ,murano--,gian ,bellini--,carpaccio's ,little ,angels--,the ,madonna of ,s4 ,zaccaria--,giorgione--,allegory1 ,idyll1 ,expression of ,emotion--,the ,monk at the ,clavichord--,titian1 ,tintoret1 and ,veronese--,tintoretto's ,attempt to dramatise ,venetian ,art--,veronese's ,mundane ,splendour--,titian's ,sophoclean ,harmony--,their ,schools--,further ,characteristics of ,veronese--of ,tintoretto--,his ,imaginative ,energy--,predominant ,poetry--,titian's ,perfection of ,balance--,assumption of ,madonna--,spirit common to the great ,venetians4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,life ,,of ,,michael ,,angelo ,contrast of ,michael ,angelo and ,cellini--,parentage and ,boyhood of ,michael ,angelo--,work with ,ghirlandajo--,gardens of ,s4 ,marco--,the ,medicean ,circle--,early ,essays in ,sculpture--,visit to ,bologna--,first ,visit to ,rome--,the ,piet of ,s4 ,peter's--,michael ,angelo as a ,patriot and a friend of the ,medici--,cartoon for the ,battle of ,pisa--,michael ,angelo and ,julius ,,ii4--,the ,tragedy of the ,tomb--,design for the ,pope's ,mausoleum--,visit to ,carrara--,flight from ,rome--,michael ,angelo at ,bologna--,bronze ,statue of ,julius--,return to ,rome--,ceiling of the ,sistine ,chapel--,greek and ,modern ,art--,raphael--,michael ,angelo and ,leo ,x4--,s4 ,lorenzo--,the new ,sacristy--,circumstances under which it was designed and partly finished--,meaning of the ,allegories--,incomplete state of ,michael ,angelo's ,marbles--,paul ,,iii4--,the ,last ,judgment--,critiques of ,contemporaries--,the ,dome of ,s4 ,peter's--,vittoria ,colonna--,tommaso ,cavalieri--,personal ,habits of ,michael ,angelo--,his ,emotional ,nature--,last ,illness4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,life ,,of ,,benvenuto ,,cellini ,his ,fame--,his ,autobiography--,its ,value for the ,student of ,history1 ,manners1 and ,character in the ,renaissance--,birth1 ,parentage1 and ,boyhood--,flute-playing--,apprenticeshi p to ,marcone--,wanderjahr--,the ,goldsmith's ,trade at ,florence--,torrigiani and ,england--,cellini leaves ,florence for ,rome--,quarrel with the ,guasconti--,homicidal ,fury--,cellini a ,law to ,himself--,three ,periods in his ,manhood--,life in ,rome--,diego at the ,banquet--,renaissance ,feeling for ,physical ,beauty--,sack of ,rome--,miracles in ,cellini's ,life--,his ,affections--,murder of his ,brother's ,assassin--,sanctuary--,pardon and ,absolution--,incantation in the ,colosseum--,first ,visit to ,france--,adventures on the ,way--,accused of stealing ,crown ,jewels in ,rome--,imprisonment in the ,castle of ,s4 ,angelo--,the ,governor--,cellini's ,escape--,his ,visions--,the ,nature of his ,religion--,second ,visit to ,france--,the ,wandering ,court--,le ,petit ,nesle--,cellini in the ,french ,law ,courts--,scene at ,fontainebleau--,return to ,florence--,cosimo de' ,medici as a ,patron--,intrigues of a ,petty ,court--,bandinelli--,the ,duchess--,statue of ,perseus--,end of ,cellini's ,life--,cellini and ,machiavelli4 ,,chapter ,x ,,the ,,epigoni ,full ,development and ,decline of ,painting--,exhaustion of the old ,motives--,relation of ,lionardo to his ,pupils--,his ,legacy to the ,lombard ,school--,bernardino ,luini--,gaudenzio ,ferrari--,the ,devotion of the ,sacri ,monti--,the ,school of ,raphael--,nothing left but ,imitation--,unwholesome ,influences of ,rome--,giulio ,romano--,michael ,angelesque ,mannerists--,misconception of ,michael ,angelo--,correggio founds no ,school--,parmigianino--,macchinisti--,t he ,bolognese--,after-growth of ,art in ,florence--,andrea del ,sarto--,his ,followers--,pontormo--,bronzino--,reviv al of ,painting in ,siena--,sodoma--,his ,influence on ,pacchia1 ,beccafumi1 ,peruzzi--,garofalo and ,dosso ,dossi at ,ferrari--,the ,campi at ,cremona--,brescia and ,bergamo--,the ,decadence in the second half of the ,sixteenth ,century--,the ,counter-,reformation--,extinction of the ,renaissance ,impulse4 ,,appendices ,i4--,the ,pulpits of ,pisa and ,ravello ,,ii4--,michael ,angelo's ,sonnets ,,iii4--,chronological ,tables ,,footnotes3 #a ,to the original edition of this volume4 ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,problem ,,for ,,the ,,fine ,,arts ,art in ,italy and ,greece--,the ,leading ,phase of ,culture--sthetic ,type of ,literature--,painting the ,supreme ,italian ,art--,its ,task in the ,renaissance--,christian and ,classical ,traditions--,sculpture for the ,ancients--,painting for the ,romance ,nations--,mediaeval ,faith and ,superstition--,the ,promise of ,painting--,how far can the ,figurative ,arts express ,christian ,ideas8--,greek and ,christian ,religion--,plastic ,art incapable of solving the ,problem--,a more ,emotional ,art needed--,place of ,sculpture in the ,renaissance--,painting and ,christian ,story--,humanization of ,ecclesiastical ,ideas by ,art--,hostility of the ,spirit of ,true ,piety to ,art--,compromises effected by the ,church--,fra ,bartolommeo's ,s4 ,sebastian--,irreconcilability of ,art and ,theology1 ,art and ,philosophy--,recapitulation--,art in the end ,paganises--,music--,the ,future of ,painting after the ,renaissance4 ,it has been granted only to two nations1 the ,greeks and the ,italians1 and to the latter only at the time of the ,renaissance1 to invest every phase and variety of intellectual energy with the form of art4 ,nothing notable was produced in ,italy between the thirteenth and the seventeenth centuries that did not bear the stamp and character of fine art4 ,if the methods of science may be truly said to regulate our modes of thinking at the present time1 it is no less true that1 during the ,renaissance1 art exercised a like controlling influence4 ,not only was each department of the fine arts practised with singular success2 not only was the national genius to a very large extent absorbed in painting1 sculpture1 and architecture2 but the aesthetic impulse was more subtly and widely diffused than this alone would imply4 ,it possessed the ,italians in the very centre of their intellectual vitality1 imposing its conditions on all the manifestations of their thought and feeling1 so that even their shortcomings may be ascribed in a great measure to their inability to quit the aesthetic point of view4 ,we see this in their literature4 ,it is probable that none but artistic natures will ever render full justice to the poetry of the ,renaissance4 ,critics endowed with a less lively sensibility to beauty of outline and to harmony of form than the ,italians1 complain that their poetry lacks substantial qualities2 nor is it except by long familiarity with the plastic arts of their contemporaries that we come to understand the ground assumed by ,ariosto and ,poliziano4 ,we then perceive that these poets were not so much unable as instinctively unwilling to go beyond a certain circle of effects4 ,they subordinated their work to the ideal of their age1 and that ideal was one to which a painter rather than a poet might successfully aspire4 ,a succession of pictures1 harmoniously composed and delicately toned to please the mental eye1 satisfied the taste of the ,italians4 ,but1 however exquisite in design1 rich in colour1 and complete in execution this literary work may be1 it strikes a ,northern student as wanting in the highest elements of genius--sublimity of imagination1 dramatic passion1 energy and earnestness of purpose4 ,in like manner1 he finds it hard to appreciate those didactic compositions on trifling or prosaic themes1 which delighted the ,italians for the very reason that their workmanship surpassed their matter4 ,these defects1 as we judge them1 are still more apparent in the graver branches of literature4 ,in an essay or a treatise we do not so much care for well-balanced disposition of parts or beautifully rounded periods1 though elegance may be thought essential to classic masterpieces1 as for weighty matter and trenchant observations4 ,having the latter1 we can dispense at need with the former4 ,the ,italians of the ,renaissance1 under the sway of the fine arts1 sought after form1 and satisfied themselves with rhetoric4 ,therefore we condemn their moral disquisitions and their criticisms as the flimsy playthings of intellectual voluptuaries4 ,yet the right way of doing justice to these stylistic trifles is to regard them as products of an all-embracing genius for art1 in a people whose most serious enthusiasms were aesthetic4 ,the speech of the ,italians at that epoch1 their social habits1 their ideal of manners1 their standard of morality1 the estimate they formed of men1 were alike conditioned and qualified by art4 ,it was an age of splendid ceremonies and magnificent parade1 when the furniture of houses1 the armour of soldiers1 the dress of citizens1 the pomp of war1 and the pageantry of festival were invariably and inevitably beautiful4 ,on the meanest articles of domestic utility1 cups and platters1 door-panels and chimney-pieces1 coverlets for beds and lids of linen-chests1 a wealth of artistic invention was lavished by innumerable craftsmen1 no less skilled in technical details than distinguished by rare taste4 ,from the ,pope upon ,s4 ,peter's chair to the clerks in a ,florentine counting-house1 every ,italian was a judge of art4 ,art supplied the spiritual oxygen1 without which the life of the ,renaissance must have been atrophied4 ,during that period of prodigious activity the entire nation seemed to be endowed with an instinct for the beautiful1 and with the capacity for producing it in every conceivable form4 ,as we travel through ,italy at the present day1 when time1 war1 pillage1 and purchase have done their worst to denude the country of its treasures1 we still marvel at the incomparable and countless beauties stored in every burgh and hamlet4 ,pacing the picture galleries of ,northern ,europe1 the country seats of ,english nobles1 and the palaces of ,spain1 the same reflection is still forced upon us3 how could ,italy have done what she achieved within so short a space of time8 ,what must the houses and the churches once have been1 from which these spoils were taken1 but which still remain so rich in masterpieces8 ,psychologically to explain this universal capacity for the fine arts in the nation at this epoch1 is perhaps impossible4 ,yet the fact remains1 that he who would comprehend the ,italians of the ,renaissance must study their art1 and cling fast to that ,ariadne-thread throughout the labyrinthine windings of national character4 ,he must learn to recognise that herein lay the sources of their intellectual strength as well as the secret of their intellectual weakness4 ,it lies beyond the scope of this work to embrace in one inquiry the different forms of art in ,italy1 or to analyse the connection of the aesthetic instinct with the manifold manifestations of the ,renaissance4 ,even the narrower task to which ,i must confine myself1 is too vast for the limits ,i am forced to impose upon its treatment4 ,i intend to deal with ,italian painting as the one complete product which remains from the achievements of this period1 touching upon sculpture and architecture more superficially4 ,not only is painting the art in which the ,italians among all the nations of the modern world stand unapproachably alone1 but it is also the one that best enables us to gauge their genius at the time when they impressed their culture on the rest of ,europe4 ,in the history of the ,italian intellect painting takes the same rank as that of sculpture in the ,greek4 ,before beginning1 however1 to trace the course of ,italian art1 it will be necessary to discuss some preliminary questions1 important for a right understanding of the relations assumed by painting to the thoughts of the ,renaissance1 and for explaining its superiority over the sister art of sculpture in that age4 ,this ,i feel the more bound to do because it is my object in this volume to treat of art with special reference to the general culture of the nation4 ,what1 let us ask in the first place1 was the task appointed for the fine arts on the threshold of the modern world8 ,they had1 before all things1 to give form to the ideas evolved by ,christianity1 and to embody a class of emotions unknown to the ancients4#b ,the inheritance of the ,middle ,ages had to be appropriated and expressed4 ,in the course of performing this work1 the painters helped to humanise religion1 and revealed the dignity and beauty of the body of man4 ,next1 in the fifteenth century1 the riches of classic culture were discovered1 and art was called upon to aid in the interpretation of the ancient to the modern mind4 ,the problem was no longer simple4 ,christian and pagan traditions came into close contact1 and contended for the empire of the newly liberated intellect4 ,during this struggle the arts1 true to their own principles1 eliminated from both traditions the more strictly human elements1 and expressed them in beautiful form to the imagination and the senses4 ,the brush of the same painter depicted ,bacchus wedding ,ariadne and ,mary fainting on the hill of ,calvary4 ,careless of any peril to dogmatic orthodoxy1 and undeterred by the dread of encouraging pagan sensuality1 the artists wrought out their modern ideal of beauty in the double field of ,christian and ,hellenic legend4 ,before the force of painting was exhausted1 it had thus traversed the whole cycle of thoughts and feelings that form the content of the modern mind4 ,throughout this performance1 art proved itself a powerful co-agent in the emancipation of the intellect2 the impartiality wherewith its methods were applied to subjects sacred and profane1 the emphasis laid upon physical strength and beauty as good things and desirable1 the subordination of classical and mediaeval myths to one aesthetic law of loveliness1 all tended to withdraw attention from the differences between paganism and ,christianity1 and to fix it on the goodliness of that humanity wherein both find their harmony4 ,this being in general the task assigned to art in the ,renaissance1 we may next inquire what constituted the specific quality of modern as distinguished from antique feeling1 and why painting could not fail to take the first place among modern arts4 ,in other words1 how was it that1 while sculpture was the characteristic fine art of antiquity1 painting became the distinguishing fine art of the modern era8 ,no true form of figurative art intervened between ,greek sculpture and ,italian painting4 ,the latter took up the work of investing thought with sensible shape from the dead hands of the former4 ,nor had the tradition that connected art with religion been interrupted1 although a new cycle of religious ideas had been substituted for the old ones4 ,the late ,roman and ,byzantine manners1 through which the vital energies of the ,athenian genius dwindled into barren formalism1 still lingered1 giving crude and lifeless form to ,christian conceptions4 ,but the thinking and feeling subject1 meanwhile1 had undergone a change so all-important that it now imperatively required fresh channels for its self-expression4 ,it was destined to find these1 not as of old in sculpture1 but in painting4 ,during the interval between the closing of the ancient and the opening of the modern age1 the faith of ,christians had attached itself to symbols and material objects little better than fetishes4 ,the host1 the relic1 the wonder-working shrine1 things endowed with a mysterious potency1 evoked the yearning and the awe of medieval multitudes4 ,to such concrete actualities the worshippers referred their sense of the invisible divinity4 ,the earth of ,jerusalem1 the ,holy ,sepulchre1 the ,house of ,loreto1 the ,sudarium of ,saint ,veronica1 aroused their deepest sentiments of aweful adoration4 ,like ,thomas1 they could not be contented with believing2 they must also touch and handle4 ,at the same time1 in apparent contradistinction to this demand for things of sense as signs of super-sensual power1 the claims of dogma on the intellect grew more imperious1 and mysticism opened for the dreaming soul a realm of spiritual rapture4 ,for the figurative arts there was no true place in either of these regions4 ,painting and sculpture were alike alien to the grosser superstitions1 the scholastic subtleties1 and the ecstatic trances of the ,middle ,ages2 nor had they anything in common with the logic of theology4 ,votaries who kissed a fragment of the cross with passion1 could have found but little to satisfy their ardour in pictures painted by a man of genius4 ,a formless wooden idol1 endowed with the virtue of curing disease1 charmed the pilgrim more than a statue noticeable only for its beauty or its truth to life4 ,we all know that wunderthtige ,bilder sind meist nur schlechte ,gemlde4 ,in architecture alone1 the mysticism of the ,middle ,ages1 their vague but potent feelings of infinity1 their yearning towards a deity invisible1 but localised in holy things and places1 found artistic outlet4 ,therefore architecture was essentially a medieval art4 ,the rise of sculpture and painting indicated the quickening to life of new faculties1 fresh intellectual interests1 and a novel way of apprehending the old substance of religious feeling2 for comprehension of these arts implies delight in things of beauty for their own sake1 a sympathetic attitude towards the world of sense1 a new freedom of the mind produced by the regeneration of society through love4 ,the mediaeval faiths were still vivid when the first ,italian painters began their work1 and the sincere endeavour of these men was to set forth in beautiful and worthy form the truths of ,christianity4 ,the eyes of the worshipper should no longer have a mere stock or stone to contemplate3 his imagination should be helped by the dramatic presentation of the scenes of sacred history1 and his devotion be quickened by lively images of the passion of our ,lord4 ,spirit should converse with spirit1 through no veil of symbol1 but through the transparent medium of art1 itself instinct with inbreathed life and radiant with ideal beauty4 ,the body and the soul1 moreover1 should be reconciled2 and ,god's likeness should be once more acknowledged in the features and the limbs of man4 ,such was the promise of art2 and this promise was in a great measure fulfilled by the painting of the fourteenth century4 ,men ceased to worship their ,god in the holiness of ugliness2 and a great city called its street ,glad on the birthday-festival of the first picture investing religious emotion with aesthetic charm4 ,but in making good the promise they had given1 it was needful for the arts on the one hand to enter a region not wholly their own--the region of abstractions and of mystical conceptions2 and on the other to create a world of sensuous delightfulness1 wherein the spiritual element was materialised to the injury of its own essential quality4 ,spirit1 indeed1 spake to spirit1 so far as the religious content was concerned2 but flesh spake also to flesh in the aesthetic form4 ,the incarnation promised by the arts involved a corresponding sensuousness4 ,heaven was brought down to earth1 but at the cost of making men believe that earth itself was heavenly4 ,at this point the subject of our inquiry naturally divides into two main questions4 ,the first concerns the form of figurative art specially adapted to the requirements of religious thought in the fourteenth century4 ,the second treats of the effect resulting both to art and religion from the expression of mystical and theological conceptions in plastic form4 ,when we consider the nature of the ideas assimilated in the ,middle ,ages by the human mind1 it is clear that art1 in order to set them forth1 demanded a language the ,greeks had never greatly needed1 and had therefore never fully learned4 ,to over-estimate the difference from an aesthetic point of view between the religious notions of the ,greeks and those which ,christianity had made essential1 would be difficult4 ,faith1 hope1 and charity2 humility1 endurance1 suffering2 the ,resurrection and the ,judgment2 the ,pall and the ,redemption2 ,heaven and ,hell2 the height and depth of man's mixed nature2 the drama of human destiny before the throne of ,god3 into the sphere of thoughts like these1 vivid and solemn1 transcending the region of sense and corporeity1 carrying the mind away to an ideal world1 where the things of this earth obtained a new reality by virtue of their relation to an invisible and infinite ,beyond1 the modern arts in their infancy were thrust4 ,there was nothing finite here or tangible1 no gladness in the beauty of girlish foreheads or the swiftness of a young man's limbs1 no simple idealisation of natural delightfulness4 ,the human body1 which the figurative arts must needs use as the vehicle of their expression1 had ceased to have a value in and for itself1 had ceased to be the true and adequate investiture of thoughts demanded from the artist4 ,at best it could be taken only as the symbol of some inner meaning1 the shrine of an indwelling spirit nobler than itself2 just as a lamp of alabaster owes its beauty and its worth to the flame it more than half conceals1 the light transmitted through its scarce transparent walls4 ,in ancient art those moral and spiritual qualities which the ,greeks recognised as truly human and therefore divine1 allowed themselves to be incarnated in well-selected types of physical perfection4 ,the deities of the ,greek mythology were limited to the conditions of natural existence3 they were men and women of a larger mould and freer personality2 less complex1 inasmuch as each completed some one attribute2 less thwarted in activity1 inasmuch as no limit was assigned to exercise of power4 ,the passions and the faculties of man1 analysed by unconscious psychology1 and deified by religious fancy1 were invested by sculpture with appropriate forms1 the tact of the artist selecting corporeal qualities fitted to impersonate the special character of each divinity4 ,nor was it possible that1 the gods and goddesses being what they were1 exact analogues should not be found for them in idealised humanity4 ,in a ,greek statue there was enough soul to characterise the beauty of the body1 to render her due meed of wisdom to ,pallas1 to distinguish the swiftness of ,hermes from the strength of ,heracles1 or to contrast the virginal grace of ,artemis with the abundance of ,aphrodite's charms4 ,at the same time the spirituality that gave its character to each ,greek deity1 was not such that1 even in thought1 it could be dissociated from corporeal form4 ,the ,greeks thought their gods as incarnate persons2 and all the artist had to see to1 was that this incarnate personality should be impressive in his marble4 ,christianity1 on the other hand1 made the moral and spiritual nature of man all-essential4 ,it sprang from an earlier religion1 that judged it impious to give any form to ,god4 ,the body and its terrestrial activity occupied but a subordinate position in its system4 ,it was the life of the soul1 separable from this frame of flesh1 and destined to endure when earth and all that it contains had ended--a life that upon this planet was continued conflict and aspiring struggle--which the arts1 insofar as they became its instrument1 were called upon to illustrate4 ,it was the worship of a ,deity1 all spirit1 to be sought on no one sacred hill1 to be adored in no transcendent shape1 that they were bound to heighten4 ,the most highly prized among the ,christian virtues had no necessary connection with beauty of feature or strength of limb4 ,such beauty and such strength at any rate were accidental1 not essential4 ,a ,greek faun could not but be graceful2 a ,greek hero was of necessity vigorous4 ,but ,s4 ,stephen might be steadfast to the death without physical charm2 ,s4 ,anthony might put to flight the devils of the flesh without muscular force4 ,it is clear that the radiant physical perfection proper to the deities of ,greek sculpture was not sufficient in this sphere4 ,again1 the most stirring episodes of the ,christian mythology involved pain and perturbation of the spirit2 the victories of the ,christian athletes were won in conflicts carried on within their hearts and souls--,for we wrestle not against flesh and blood1 but against principalities and powers1 demoniac leaders of spiritual legions4 ,it is1 therefore1 no less clear that the tranquillity and serenity of the ,hellenic ideal1 so necessary to consummate sculpture1 was here out of place4 ,how could the ,last ,judgment1 that day of wrath1 when every soul1 however insignificant on earth1 will play the first part for one moment in an awful tragedy1 be properly expressed in plastic form1 harmonious and pleasing8 ,and supposing that the artist should abandon the attempt to exclude ugliness and discord1 pain and confusion1 from his representation of the ,dies ,irae1 how could he succeed in setting forth by the sole medium of the human body the anxiety and anguish of the soul at such a time8 ,the physical form1 instead of being adequate to the ideas expressed1 and therefore helpful to the artist1 is a positive embarrassment1 a source of weakness4 ,the most powerful pictorial or sculpturesque delineation of the ,judgment1 when compared with the pangs inflicted on the spirit by a guilty conscience1 pangs whereof words may render some account1 but which can find no analogue in writhings of the limbs or face1 must of necessity be found a failure4 ,still more impossible1 if we pursue this train of thought into another region1 is it for the figurative arts to approach the ,christian conception of ,god in ,his omnipotence and unity4 ,christ ,himself1 the central figure of the ,christian universe1 the desired of all nations1 in whom the ,deity assumed a human form and dwelt with men1 is no fit subject for such art at any rate as the ,greeks had perfected4 ,the fact of ,his incarnation brought ,him indeed within the proper sphere of the fine arts2 but the religious idea which ,he represents removed ,him beyond the reach of sculpture4 ,this is an all-important consideration4 ,it is to this that our whole argument is tending4 ,therefore to enlarge upon this point will not be useless4 ,christ is specially adored in ,his last act of love on ,calvary2 and how impossible it is to set that forth consistently with the requirements of strictly plastic art1 may be gathered by comparing the passion of ,s4 ,bernard's ,hymn to our ,lord upon the ,cross with all that ,winckelmann and ,hegel have so truly said about the restrained expression1 dignified generality1 and harmonious beauty essential to sculpture4 ,it is the negation of tranquillity1 the excess of feeling1 the absence of comeliness1 the contrast between visible weakness and invisible omnipotence1 the physical humiliation voluntarily suffered by ,him that ruled over all the angels1 that walked on the pavements of heaven1 whose feet were clothed with stars--it is all this that gives their force and pathos to these stanzas3 ,omnis vigor atque viror ,hinc recessit2 non admiror3 ,mors apparet in inspectu1 ,totus pendens in defectu1 ,attritus aegr macie4 ,sic affectus1 sic despectus1 ,propter me sic interfectus1 ,peccatori tam indigno ,cum amoris in te signo ,appare clar facie#c4 ,we have never heard that ,pheidias or ,praxiteles chose ,prometheus upon ,caucasus for the supreme display of his artistic skill2 and even the anguish expressed in the group of the ,laocoon is justly thought to violate the laws of antique sculpture4 ,yet here was a greater than ,prometheus--one who had suffered more1 and on whose suffering the salvation of the human race depended1 to exclude whom from the sphere of representation in art was the same as confessing the utter impotence of art to grasp the vital thought of modern faith4 ,it is clear that the muses of the new age had to haunt ,calvary instead of ,helicon1 slaking their thirst at no ,castalian spring1 but at the fount of tears outpoured by all creation for a stricken ,god4 ,what ,hellas had achieved supplied no norm or method for the arts in this new service4 ,from what has hitherto been advanced1 we may assert with confidence that1 if the arts were to play an important part in ,christian culture1 an art was imperatively demanded that should be at home in the sphere of intense feeling1 that should treat the body as the interpreter and symbol of the soul1 and should not shrink from pain and passion4 ,how far the fine arts were at all qualified to express the essential thoughts of ,christianity--a doubt suggested in the foregoing paragraphs--and how far1 through their proved inadequacy to perform this task completely1 they weakened the hold of mediaeval faiths upon the modern mind1 are questions to be raised hereafter4 ,for the present it is enough to affirm that1 least of all the arts1 could sculpture1 with its essential repose and its dependence on corporeal conditions1 solve the problem4 ,sculpture had suited the requirements of ,greek thought4 ,it belonged by right to men who not unwillingly accepted the life of this world as final1 and who worshipped in their deities the incarnate personality of man made perfect4 ,but it could not express the cycle of ,christian ideas4 ,the desire of a better world1 the fear of a worse2 the sense of sin referred to physical appetites1 and the corresponding mortification of the flesh2 hope1 ecstasy1 and penitence and prayer2 all these imply contempt or hatred for the body1 suggest notions too spiritual to be conveyed by the rounded contours of beautiful limbs1 too full of struggle for statuesque tranquillity4 ,the new element needed a more elastic medium of expression4 ,motives more varied1 gradations of sentiment more delicate1 the fugitive and transient phases of emotion1 the inner depths of consciousness1 had somehow to be seized4 ,it was here that painting asserted its supremacy4 ,painting is many degrees further removed than sculpture from dependence on the body in the fulness of its physical proportions4 ,it touches our sensibilities by suggestions more indirect1 more mobile1 and more multiform4 ,colour and shadow1 arial perspective and complicated grouping1 denied to sculpture1 but within the proper realm of painting1 have their own significance1 their real relation to feelings vaguer1 but not less potent1 than those which find expression in the simple human form4 ,to painting1 again1 belongs the play of feature1 indicative of internal movement1 through a whole gamut of modulations inapprehensible by sculpture4 ,all that drapery by its partial concealment of the form it clothes1 and landscape by its sympathies with human sentiment1 may supply to enhance the passion of the spectator1 pertains to painting4 ,this art1 therefore1 owing to the greater variety of means at its disposal1 and its greater adequacy to express emotion1 became the paramount ,italian art4 ,to sculpture in the ,renaissance1 shorn of the divine right to create gods and heroes1 was left the narrower field of decoration1 portraiture1 and sepulchral monuments4 ,in the last of these departments it found the noblest scope for its activity2 for beyond the grave1 according to ,christian belief1 the account of the striving1 hoping1 and resisting soul is settled4 ,the corpse upon the bier may bear the stamp of spiritual character impressed on it in life2 but the spirit1 with its struggle and its passion1 has escaped as from a prison-house1 and flown else-whither4 ,the body of the dead man1 for whom this world is over1 and who sleeps in peace1 awaiting resurrection1 and thereby not wholly dead1 around whose tomb watch sympathising angels or contemplative genii1 was1 therefore1 the proper subject for the highest ,christian sculpture4 ,here1 if anywhere1 the right emotion could be adequately expressed in stone1 and the moulded form be made the symbol of repose1 expectant of restored activity4 ,the greatest sculptor of the modern age was essentially a poet of ,death4 ,painting1 then1 for the reasons already assigned and insisted on1 was the art demanded by the modern intellect upon its emergence from the stillness of the ,middle ,ages4 ,the problem1 however1 even for the art of painting was not simple4 ,the painters1 following the masters of mosaic1 began by setting forth the history1 mythology1 and legends of the ,christian ,church in imagery freer and more beautiful than lay within the scope of treatment by ,romanesque or ,byzantine art4 ,so far their task was comparatively easy2 for the idyllic grace of maternal love in the ,madonna1 the pathetic incidents of martyrdom1 the courage of confessors1 the ecstasies of celestial joy in redeemed souls1 the loveliness of a pure life in modest virgins1 and the dramatic episodes of sacred story1 furnish a multitude of motives admirably pictorial4 ,there was1 therefore1 no great obstacle upon the threshold1 so long as artists gave their willing service to the ,church4 ,yet1 looking back upon this phase of painting1 we are able to perceive that already the adaptation of art to ,christian dogma entailed concessions on both sides4 ,much1 on the one hand1 had to be omitted from the programme offered to artistic treatment1 for the reason that the fine arts could not deal with it at all4 ,much1 on the other hand1 had to be expressed by means which painting in a state of perfect freedom would repudiate4 ,allegorical symbols1 like ,prudence with two faces1 and painful episodes of agony and anguish1 marred her work of beauty4 ,there was consequently a double compromise1 involving a double sacrifice of something precious4 ,the faith suffered by having its mysteries brought into the light of day1 incarnated in form1 and humanised4 ,art suffered by being forced to render intellectual abstractions to the eye through figured symbols4 ,as technical skill increased1 and as beauty1 the proper end of art1 became more rightly understood1 the painters found that their craft was worthy of being made an end in itself1 and that the actualities of life observed around them had claims upon their genius no less weighty than dogmatic mysteries4 ,the subjects they had striven at first to realise with all simplicity now became little better than vehicles for the display of sensuous beauty1 science1 and mundane pageantry4 ,the human body received separate and independent study1 as a thing in itself incomparably beautiful1 commanding more powerful emotions by its magic than aught else that sways the soul4 ,at the same time the external world1 with all its wealth of animal and vegetable life1 together with the works of human ingenuity in costly clothing and superb buildings1 was seen to be in every detail worthy of most patient imitation4 ,anatomy and perspective taxed the understanding of the artist1 whose whole force was no longer devoted to the task of bringing religious ideas within the limits of the representable4 ,next1 when the classical revival came into play1 the arts1 in obedience to the spirit of the age1 left the sphere of sacred subjects1 and employed their full-grown faculties in the domain of myths and ,pagan fancies4 ,in this way painting may truly be said to have opened the new era of culture1 and to have first manifested the freedom of the modern mind4 ,when ,luca ,signorelli drew naked young men for a background to his picture of ,madonna and the infant ,christ1 he created for the student a symbol of the attitude assumed by fine art in its liberty of outlook over the whole range of human interests4 ,standing before this picture in the ,uffizzi1 we feel that the ,church1 while hoping to adorn her cherished dogmas with aesthetic beauty1 had encouraged a power antagonistic to her own1 a power that liberated the spirit she sought to enthral1 restoring to mankind the earthly paradise from which monasticism had expelled it4 ,not to diverge at this point1 and to entertain the difficult problem of the relation of the fine arts to ,christianity1 would be to shrink from the most thorny question offered to the understanding by the history of the ,renaissance4 ,on the very threshold of the matter ,i am bound to affirm my conviction that the spiritual purists of all ages--the ,jews1 the iconoclasts of ,byzantium1 ,savonarola1 and our ,puritan ancestors--were justified in their mistrust of plastic art4 ,the spirit of ,christianity and the spirit of figurative art are opposed1 not because such art is immoral1 but because it cannot free itself from sensuous associations#d4 ,it is always bringing us back to the dear life of earth1 from which the faith would sever us4 ,it is always reminding us of the body which piety bids us to forget4 ,painters and sculptors glorify that which saints and ascetics have mortified4 ,the masterpieces of ,titian and ,correggio1 for example1 lead the soul away from compunction1 away from penitence1 away from worship even1 to dwell on the delight of youthful faces1 blooming colour1 graceful movement1 delicate emotion#e4 ,nor is this all3 religious motives may be misused for what is worse than merely sensuous suggestiveness4 ,the masterpieces of the ,bolognese and ,neapolitan painters1 while they pretend to quicken compassion for martyrs in their agony1 pander to a bestial blood-lust lurking in the darkest chambers of the soul#f4 ,therefore it is that piety1 whether the piety of monastic ,italy or of ,puritan ,england1 turns from these aesthetic triumphs as from something alien to itself4 ,when the worshipper would fain ascend on wings of ecstasy to ,god1 the infinite1 ineffable1 unrealised1 how can he endure the contact of those splendid forms1 in which the lust of the eye and the pride of life1 professing to subserve devotion1 remind him rudely of the goodliness of sensual existence8 ,art1 by magnifying human beauty1 contradicts these ,pauline maxims3 ,for me to live is ,christ1 and to die is gain2 ,set your affections on things above1 not on things on earth2 ,your life is hid with ,christ in ,god4 ,the sublimity and elevation it gives to carnal loveliness are themselves hostile to the spirit that holds no truce or compromise of traffic with the flesh4 ,as displayed in its most perfect phases1 in ,greek sculpture and ,venetian painting1 art dignifies the actual mundane life of man2 but ,christ1 in the language of uncompromising piety1 means everything most alien to this mundane life--self-denial1 abstinence from fleshly pleasure1 the waiting for true bliss beyond the grave1 seclusion even from social and domestic ties4 ,he that loveth father and mother more than me1 is not worthy of me1 ,he that taketh not his cross and followeth me1 is not worthy of me4 ,it is needful to insist upon these extremest sentences of the ,new ,testament1 because upon them was based the religious practice of the ,middle ,ages1 more sincere in their determination to fulfil the letter and embrace the spirit of the ,gospel than any succeeding age has been4#g ,if1 then1 there really exists this antagonism between fine art glorifying human life and piety contemning it1 how came it1 we may ask1 that even in the ,middle ,ages the ,church hailed art as her coadjutor8 ,the answer lies in this1 that the ,church has always compromised4 ,the movement of the modern world1 upon the close of the ,middle ,ages1 offered the ,church a compromise1 which it would have been difficult to refuse1 and in which she perceived art first no peril to her dogmas4 ,when the conflict of the first few centuries of ,christianity had ended in her triumph1 she began to mediate between asceticism and the world4 ,intent on absorbing all existent elements of life and power1 she conformed her system to the ,roman type1 established her service in basilicas and ,pagan temples1 adopted portions of the antique ritual1 and converted local genii into saints4 ,at the same time she utilised the spiritual forces of monasticism1 and turned the mystic impulse of ecstatics to account4 ,the ,orders of the ,preachers and the ,begging ,friars became her militia and police2 the mystery of ,christ's presence in the ,eucharist was made an engine of the priesthood2 the dreams of ,paradise and ,purgatory gave value to her pardons1 interdictions1 jubilees1 indulgences1 and curses4 ,in the ,church the spirit of the cloister and the spirit of the world found neutral ground1 and to the practical accommodation between these hostile elements she owed her wide supremacy4 ,the ,christianity she formed and propagated was different from that of the ,new ,testament1 inasmuch as it had taken up into itself a mass of mythological anthropomorphic elements4 ,thus transmuted and materialised1 thus accepted by the vivid faith of an unquestioning populace1 ,christianity offered a proper medium for artistic activity4 ,the whole first period of ,italian painting was occupied with the endeavour to set forth in form and colour the popular conceptions of a faith at once unphilosophical and unspiritual1 beautiful and fit for art by reason of the human elements it had assumed into its substance4 ,it was natural1 therefore1 that the ,church should show herself indulgent to the arts1 which were effecting in their own sphere what she had previously accomplished1 though purists and ascetics1 holding fast by the original spirit of their creed1 might remain irreconcilably antagonistic to their influence4 ,the ,reformation1 on the contrary1 rejecting the whole mass of compromises sanctioned by the ,church1 and returning to the elemental principles of the faith1 was no less naturally opposed to fine arts1 which1 after giving sensuous form to ,catholic mythology1 had recently attained to liberty and brought again the gods of ,greece4 ,a single illustration might be selected from the annals of ,italian painting to prove how difficult even the holiest-minded and most earnest painter found it to effect the proper junction between plastic beauty and pious feeling4 ,fra ,bartolommeo1 the disciple of ,savonarola1 painted a ,sebastian in the cloister of ,s4 ,marco1 where it remained until the ,dominican confessors became aware1 through the avowals of female penitents1 that this picture was a stumbling-block and snare to souls4 ,it was then removed1 and what became of it we do not know for certain4 ,fra ,bartolommeo undoubtedly intended this ideal portrait of the martyr to be edifying4 ,s4 ,sebastian was to stand before the world as the young man1 strong and beautiful1 who endured to the end and won the crown of martyrdom4 ,no other ideas but those of heroism1 constancy1 or faith were meant to be expressed2 but the painter's art demanded that their expression should be eminently beautiful1 and the beautiful body of the young man distracted attention from his spiritual virtues to his physical perfections4 ,a similar maladjustment of the means of plastic art to the purposes of religion would have been impossible in ,hellas1 where the temples of ,eros and of ,phoebus stood side by side2 but in ,christian ,florence the craftsman's skill sowed seeds of discord in the souls of the devout#h4 ,this story is but a coarse instance of the separation between piety and plastic art4 ,in truth1 the difficulty of uniting them in such a way that the latter shall enforce the former1 lies far deeper than its powers of illustration reach4 ,religion has its proper end in contemplation and in conduct4 ,art aims at presenting sensuous embodiment of thoughts and feelings with a view to intellectual enjoyment4 ,now1 many thoughts are incapable of sensuous embodiment2 they appear as abstractions to the philosophical intellect or as dogmas to the theological understanding4 ,to effect an alliance between art and philosophy or art and theology in the specific region of either religion or speculation is1 therefore1 an impossibility4 ,in like manner there are many feelings which cannot properly assume a sensuous form2 and these are precisely religious feelings1 in which the soul abandons sense1 and leaves the actual world behind1 to seek her freedom in a spiritual region4#i ,yet1 while we recognise the truth of this reasoning1 it would be unscientific to maintain that1 until they are brought into close and inconvenient contact1 there is direct hostility between religion and the arts4 ,the sphere of the two is separate2 their aims are distinct2 they must be allowed to perfect themselves1 each after its own fashion4 ,in the large philosophy of human nature1 represented by ,goethe's famous motto1 there is room for both1 because those who embrace it bend their natures neither wholly to the pietism of the cloister nor to the sensuality of art4 ,they find the meeting-point of art and of religion in their own humanity1 and perceive that the antagonism of the two begins when art is set to do work alien to its nature1 and to minister to what it does not naturally serve4 ,at the risk of repetition ,i must now resume the points ,i have attempted to establish in this chapter4 ,as in ancient ,greece1 so also in ,renaissance ,italy1 the fine arts assumed the first place in the intellectual culture of the nation4 ,but the thought and feeling of the modern world required an aesthetic medium more capable of expressing emotion in its intensity1 variety1 and subtlety than sculpture4 ,therefore painting was the art of arts for ,italy4 ,yet even painting1 notwithstanding the range and wealth of its resources1 could not deal with the motives of ,christianity so successfully as sculpture with the myths of ,paganism4 ,the religion it interpreted transcended the actual conditions of humanity1 while art is bound down by its nature to the limitations of the world we live in4 ,the ,church imagined art would help her2 and within a certain sphere of subjects1 by vividly depicting ,scripture histories and the lives of saints1 by creating new types of serene beauty and pure joy1 by giving form to angelic beings1 by interpreting ,mariolatry in all its charm and pathos1 and by rousing deep sympathy with our ,lord in ,his ,passion1 painting lent efficient aid to piety4 ,yet painting had to omit the very pith and kernel of ,christianity as conceived by devout1 uncompromising purists4 ,nor did it do what the ,church would have desired4 ,instead of riveting the fetters of ecclesiastical authority1 instead of enforcing mysticism and asceticism1 it really restored to humanity the sense of its own dignity and beauty1 and helped to proved the untenability of the mediaeval standpoint2 for art is essentially and uncontrollably free1 and1 what is more1 is free precisely in that realm of sensuous delightfulness from which cloistral religion turns aside to seek her own ecstatic liberty of contemplation4 ,the first step in the emancipation of the modern mind was taken thus by art1 proclaiming to men the glad tidings of their goodliness and greatness in a world of manifold enjoyment created for their use4 ,whatever painting touched1 became by that touch human2 piety1 at the lure of art1 folded her soaring wings and rested on the genial earth4 ,this the ,church had not foreseen4 ,because the freedom of the human spirit expressed itself in painting only under visible images1 and not1 like heresy1 in abstract sentences2 because this art sufficed for ,mariolatry and confirmed the cult of local saints2 because its sensuousness was not at variance with a creed that had been deeply sensualised--the painters were allowed to run their course unchecked4 ,then came a second stage in their development of art4 ,by placing the end of their endeavour in technical excellence and anatomical accuracy1 they began to make representation an object in itself1 independently of its spiritual significance4 ,next1 under the influence of the classical revival1 they brought home again the old powers of the earth--,aphrodite and ,galatea and the ,loves1 ,adonis and ,narcissus and the ,graces1 ,phoebus and ,daphne and ,aurora1 ,pan and the ,fauns1 and the ,nymphs of the woods and the waves4 ,when these dead deities rose from their sepulchres to sway the hearts of men in the new age1 it was found that something had been taken from their ancient bloom of innocence1 something had been added of emotional intensity4 ,italian art recognised their claim to stand beside ,madonna and the ,saints in the ,pantheon of humane culture2 but the painters re-made them in accordance with the modern spirit4 ,this slight touch of transformation proved that1 though they were no longer objects of religious devotion1 they still preserved a vital meaning for an altered age4 ,having personified for the antique world qualities which1 though suppressed and ignored by militant and mediaeval ,christianity1 were strictly human1 the ,hellenic deities still signified those qualities for modern ,europe1 now at length re-fortified by contact with the ancient mind4 ,for it is needful to remember that in all movements of the ,renaissance we ever find a return in all sincerity and faith to the glory and gladness of nature1 whether in the world without or in the soul of man4 ,to apprehend that glory and that gladness with the pure and primitive perceptions of the early mythopoets1 was not given to the men of the new world4 ,yet they did what in them lay1 with senses sophisticated by many centuries of subtlest warping1 to replace the first1 free joy of kinship with primeval things4 ,for the painters1 far more than for the poets of the sixteenth century1 it was possible to reproduce a thousand forms of beauty1 each attesting to the delightfulness of physical existence1 to the inalienable rights of natural desire1 and to the participation of mankind in pleasures held in common by us with the powers of earth and sea and air4 ,it is wonderful to watch the blending of elder and of younger forces in this process4 ,the old gods lent a portion of their charm even to ,christian mythology1 and showered their beauty-bloom on saints who died renouncing them4 ,sodoma's ,sebastian is but ,hyacinth or ,hylas1 transpierced with arrows1 so that pain and martyrdom add pathos to his poetry of youthfulness4 ,lionardo's ,s4 ,john is a ,faun of the forest1 ivy-crowned and laughing1 on whose lips the word ,repent would be a gleeful paradox4 ,for the painters of the full ,renaissance1 ,roman martyrs and ,olympian deities--the heroes of the ,acta ,sanctorum1 and the heroes of ,greek romance--were alike burghers of one spiritual city1 the city of the beautiful and human4 ,what exquisite and evanescent fragrance was educed from these apparently diverse blossoms by their interminglement and fusion--how the high-wrought sensibilities of the ,christian were added to the clear and radiant fancies of the ,greek1 and how the frank sensuousness of the ,pagan gave body and fulness to the floating wraiths of an ascetic faith--remains a miracle for those who1 like our master ,lionardo1 love to scrutinise the secrets of twin natures and of double graces4 ,there are not a few for whom the mystery is repellent1 who shrink from it as from ,hermaphroditus4 ,these will always find something to pain them in the art of the ,renaissance4 ,having co-ordinated the ,christian and ,pagan traditions in its work of beauty1 painting could advance no farther4 ,the stock of its sustaining motives was exhausted4 ,a problem that preoccupied the minds of thinking men at this epoch was how to harmonise the two chief moments of human culture1 the classical and the ecclesiastical4 ,without being as conscious of their hostility as we are1 men felt that the ,pagan ideal was opposed to the ,christian1 and at the same time that a reconciliation had to be effected4 ,each had been worked out separately2 but both were needed for the modern synthesis4 ,all that aesthetic handling1 in this region more precocious and more immediately fruitful than pure thought1 could do towards mingling them1 was done by the impartiality of the fine arts4 ,painting1 in the work of ,raphael1 accomplished a more vital harmony than philosophy in the writings of ,pico and ,ficino4 ,a new ,catholicity1 a cosmopolitan orthodoxy of the beautiful1 was manifested in his pictures4 ,it lay outside his power1 or that of any other artist1 to do more than to extract from both revelations the elements of plastic beauty they contained1 and to show how freely he could use them for a common purpose4 ,nothing but the scientific method can in the long run enable us to reach that further point1 outside both ,christianity and ,paganism1 at which the classical ideal of a temperate and joyous natural life shall be restored to the conscience educated by the ,gospel4 ,this1 perchance1 is the religion1 still unborn or undeveloped1 whereof ,joachim of ,flora dimly prophesied when he said that the kingdom of the ,father was past1 the kingdom of the ,son was passing1 and the kingdom of the ,spirit was to be4 ,the essence of it is contained in the whole growth to usward of the human mind2 and though a creed so highly intellectualised as that will be1 can never receive adequate expression from the figurative arts1 still the painting of the sixteenth century forms for it1 as it were1 a not unworthy vestibule4 ,it does so1 because it first succeeded in humanising the religion of the ,middle ,ages1 in proclaiming the true value of antique paganism for the modern mind1 and in making both subserve the purposes of free and unimpeded art4 ,meanwhile1 at the moment when painting was about to be exhausted1 a new art had arisen1 for which it remained1 within the aesthetic sphere1 to achieve much that painting could not do4 ,when the cycle of ,christian ideas had been accomplished by the painters1 and when the first passion for antiquity had been satisfied1 it was given at last to ,music to express the soul in all its manifold feeling and complexity of movement4 ,in music we see the point of departure where art leaves the domain of myths1 ,christian as well as ,pagan1 and occupies itself with the emotional activity of man alone1 and for its own sake4 ,melody and harmony1 disconnected from words1 are capable of receiving most varied interpretations1 so that the same combinations of sound express the ecstasies of earthly and of heavenly love1 conveying to the mind of the hearer only that element of pure passion which is the primitive and natural ground-material of either4 ,they give distinct form to moods of feeling as yet undetermined2 or1 as the ,italians put it1 la musica il lamento dell' amore o la preghiera a gli dei4 ,this1 combined with its independence of all corporeal conditions1 fenders music the true exponent of the spirit in its freedom1 and therefore the essentially modern art4 ,for ,painting1 after the great work accomplished during the ,renaissance1 when the painters ran through the whole domain of thought within the scope of that age1 there only remained portraiture1 history1 dramatic incident1 landscape1 genre1 still life1 and animals4 ,in these spheres the art is still exercised1 and much good work1 undoubtedly1 is annually produced by ,european painters4 ,but painting has lost its hold upon the centre of our intellectual activity4 ,it can no longer give form to the ideas that at the present epoch rule the modern world4 ,these ideas are too abstract1 too much a matter of the understanding1 to be successfully handled by the figurative arts2 and it cannot be too often or too emphatically stated that these arts produce nothing really great and universal in relation to the spirit of their century1 except by a process analogous to the mythopoetic4 ,with conceptions incapable of being sensuously apprehended1 with ideas that lose their value when they are incarnated1 they have no power to deal4 ,as meteors become luminous by traversing the grosser element of our terrestrial atmosphere1 so the thoughts that art employs must needs immerse themselves in sensuousness4 ,they must be of a nature to gain rather than to suffer by such immersion2 and they must make a direct appeal to minds habitually apt to think in metaphors and myths4 ,of this sort are all religious ideas at a certain stage of their development1 and this attitude at certain moments of history is adopted by the popular consciousness4 ,we have so far outgrown it1 have so completely exchanged mythology for curiosity1 and metaphor for science1 that the necessary conditions for great art are wanting4 ,our deepest thoughts about the world and ,god are incapable of personification by any aesthetic process2 they never enter that atmosphere wherein alone they could become through fine art luminous4 ,for the painter1 who is the form-giver1 they have ceased to be shining stars1 and are seen as opaque stones2 and though divinity be in them1 it is a deity that refuses the investiture of form4 ,,footnotes3 #b ,it may fairly be questioned whether that necessary connection between art and religion1 which is commonly taken for granted1 does in truth exist2 in other words1 whether great art might not flourish without any religious content4 ,this1 however1 is a speculative problem1 for present and the future rather than the past4 ,historically1 it has always been found that the arts in their origin are dependent on religion4 ,nor is the reason far to seek4 ,art aims at expressing an ideal2 and this ideal is the transfiguration of human elements into something nobler1 felt and apprehended by the imagination4 ,such an ideal1 such an all-embracing glorification of humanity only exists for simple and unsophisticated societies in the form of religion4 ,religion is the universal poetry which all possess2 and the artist1 dealing with the mythology of his national belief1 feels himself in vital sympathy with the imagination of the men for whom he works4 ,more than the painter is required for the creation of great painting1 and more than the poet for the exhibition of immortal verse4 ,painters are but the hands1 and poets but the voices1 whereby peoples express their accumulated thoughts and permanent emotions4 ,behind them crowd the generations of the myth-makers2 and around them floats the vital atmosphere of enthusiasms on which their own souls and the souls of their brethren have been nourished4 #c ,all ,thy strength and bloom are faded3 ,who hath thus ,thy state degraded8 ,death upon ,thy form is written2 ,see the wan worn limbs1 the smitten ,breast upon the cruel tree6 ,thus despised and desecrated1 ,thus in dying desolated1 ,slain for me1 of sinners vilest1 ,loving ,lord1 on me ,thou smilest3 ,shine1 bright face1 and strengthen me6 #d ,i am aware that many of my readers will demur that ,i am confounding ,christianity with ascetic or monastic ,christianity2 yet ,i cannot read the ,new ,testament1 the ,imitatio ,christi1 the ,confessions of ,s4 ,augustine1 and the ,pilgrim's ,progress without feeling that ,christianity in its origin1 and as understood by its chief champions1 was and is ascetic4 ,of this ,christianity ,i therefore speak1 not of the philosophised ,christianity1 which is reasonably regarded with suspicion by the orthodox and the uncompromising4 ,it was1 moreover1 with ,christianity of this primitive type that the arts came first into collision4 #e ,titian's ,assumption of the ,virgin at ,venice1 ,correggio's ,coronation of the ,virgin at ,parma4 #f ,domenichino1 ,guido1 ,ribera1 ,salvator ,rosa4 #g ,not to quote again the ,imitatio ,christi1 it is enough to allude to ,s4 ,francis as shown in the ,fioretti4 #h ,the difficulty of combining the true spirit of piety with the ideal of natural beauty in art was strongly felt by ,savonarola4 ,rio 7,l',art chrtien1 vol4 ii4 pp4 #dbb-dbf7 has written eloquently on this subject1 but without making it plain how ,savonarola's condemnation of life studies from the nude could possibly have been other than an obstacle to the liberal and scientific prosecution of the art of painting4 #i ,see ,rio1 ,l',art chrtien1 vol4 ii4 chap4 xi4 pp4 #cai-cbg1 for an ingenious defence of mystic art4 ,the tales he tells of ,bernardino da ,siena and the blessed ,umiliana will not win the sympathy of ,teutonic ,christians1 who must believe that semi-sensuous1 semi-pious raptures1 like those described by ,s4 ,catherine of ,siena and ,s4 ,theresa1 have something in them psychologically morbid4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,architecture ,architecture of ,mediaeval ,italy--,milan1 ,genoa1 ,venice--,the ,despots as ,builders--,diversity of ,styles--,local ,influences--,lombard1 ,tuscan1 ,romanesque1 ,gothic--,italian want of feeling for ,gothic--,cathedrals of ,siena and ,orvieto--,secular ,buildings of the ,middle ,ages--,florence and ,venice--,private ,palaces--,public ,halls--,palazzo della ,signoria at ,florence--,arnolfo di ,cambio--,s4 ,maria del ,fiore--,brunelleschi's ,dome--,classical ,revival in ,architecture--,roman ,ruins--,three ,periods in ,renaissance ,architecture--,their ,characteristics--,brunelleschi --,alberti--,palace-building--,michelloz zo--,decorative ,work of the ,revival--,bramante--,vitoni's ,church of the ,umilt at ,pistoja--,palazzo del ,te--,villa ,farnesina--,sansovino at ,venice--,michael ,angelo--,the ,building of ,s4 ,peter's--,palladio--,the ,palazzo della ,ragione at ,vicenza--,lombard ,architects--,theorists and ,students of ,vitruvius--,vignola and ,scamozzi--,european ,influence of the ,palladian ,style--,comparison of ,scholars and ,architects in relation to the ,revival of ,learning4 ,architecture is always the first of the fine arts to emerge from barbarism in the service of religion and of civic life4 ,a house1 as ,hegel says1 must be built for the god1 before the image of the god1 carved in stone or figured in mosaic1 can be placed there4 ,council chambers must be prepared for the senate of a ,state before the national achievements can be painted on the walls4 ,thus ,italy1 before the age of the ,renaissance proper1 found herself provided with churches and palaces1 which were destined in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries to be adorned with frescoes and statues4 ,it was in the middle of the thirteenth century1 during the long struggle for independence carried on by the republics of ,lombardy and ,tuscany against the ,empire and the nobles1 that some of the most durable and splendid public works were executed4 ,the domes and towers of ,florence and of ,pisa were rising above the city walls1 while the burghers who subscribed for their erection were staining the waves of ,meloria and the cane-brakes of the ,arbia with their blood4 ,lombardy1 at the end of her duel with ,frederick ,barbarossa1 completed a vast undertaking1 by which the fields of ,milan are still rendered more productive than any other pastureland in ,europe4 ,the ,naviglio ,grande1 bringing the waters of the ,ticino through a plain of thirty miles to ,milan1 was begun in #aagi1 and was finished in #abeh4 ,the torrents of ,s4 ,gothard and the ,simplon1 which1 after filling the ,lago ,maggiore1 seemed destined to run wasteful through a wilderness of pebbles to the sea1 were thus turned to account2 and to this great engineering work1 as bold as it was simple1 ,milan owed the wealth that placed her princes on a level with the sovereigns of ,europe4 ,at the same period she built her walls1 and closed their circuit with the sixteen gates that showed she loved magnificence combined with strength4 ,genoa1 between #abgf and #abhc1 protected her harbours by a gigantic mole1 and in #abie brought the streams of the ,ligurian ,alps into the city by an aqueduct worthy of old ,rome4 ,venice had to win her very footing from the sea and sand4 ,so firmly did she drive her piles1 so vigilantly watch their preservation1 that palaces and cathedrals of marble might be safely reared upon the bosom of the deep4 ,meanwhile1 stone bridges began to span the rivers of ,italy2 the streets and squares of towns were everywhere paved with flags4 ,before the first years of the fourteenth century the ,italian cities presented a spectacle of solid and substantial comfort1 very startling to northerners who travelled from the unpaved lanes of ,london and the muddy labyrinths of ,paris4 ,sismondi remarks with just pride that these great works were ,republican4 ,they were set on foot for the public use1 and were constructed at the expense of the commonwealths4 ,it is1 however1 right to add that what the communes had begun the princes continued4 ,to the splendid taste of the ,visconti dynasty1 for instance1 ,milan owed her wonderful ,duomo and the octagon bell-tower of ,s4 ,gottardo4 ,the ,certosas of ,pavia and ,chiaravalle1 the palace of ,pavia1 and a host of minor monuments remain in ,milan and its neighbourhood to prove how much a single family performed for the adornment of the cities they had subjugated4 ,and what is true of ,milan applies to ,italy throughout its length and breadth4 ,the ,despots held their power at the price of magnificence in schemes of public utility4 ,so much at least of the free spirit of the communes survived in them1 that they were always rivalling each other in great works of architecture4 ,italian tyranny implied aesthetic taste and liberality of expenditure4 ,in no way is the characteristic diversity of the ,italian communities so noticeable as in their buildings4 ,each district1 each town1 has a well-defined peculiarity1 reflecting the specific qualities of the inhabitants and the conditions under which they grew in culture4 ,in some cases we may refer this local character to nationality and geographical position4 ,thus the name of the ,lombards has been given to a style of ,romanesque1 which prevailed through ,northern and ,central ,italy during the period of ,lombard ascendency4#aj ,the ,tuscans never forgot the domes of their remote ancestors2 the ,romans adhered closely to ,latin traditions2 the ,southerners were affected by ,byzantine and ,saracenic models4 ,in many instances the geology of the neighbourhood determined the picturesque features of its architecture4 ,the clay-fields of the valley of the ,po produced the brickwork of ,cremona1 ,pavia1 ,crema1 ,chiaravalle1 and ,vercelli4 ,to their quarries of mandorlato the ,veronese builders owed the peach-bloom colours of their columned aisles4 ,carrara provided the ,pisans with mellow marble for their ,baptistery and ,cathedral2 ,monte ,ferrato supplied ,pistoja and ,prato with green serpentine2 while the pietra serena of the ,apennines added austerity to the interior of ,florentine buildings4 ,again1 in other instances1 we detect the influence of commerce or of conquest4 ,the intercourse of ,venice with ,alexandria determined the unique architecture of ,s4 ,mark's4 ,the ,arabs and the ,normans left ineffaceable traces of their sojourn on ,palermo4 ,naples and ,messina still bear marks upon their churches of ,french workmen4 ,all along the coasts we here and there find evidences of ,oriental style imported into mediaeval ,italy1 while the impress of the ,spaniard is no less manifest in edifices of a later period4 ,existing thus in the midst of many potent influences1 and surrounded by the ruins of past civilisations1 the ,italians recombined and mingled styles of marked variety4 ,the ,roman1 ,byzantine1 ,saracenic1 ,lombard1 and ,german traditions were blended in their architecture1 as the presiding genius of each place determined4 ,it followed that master-works of rare and subtle invention were produced1 while no one type was fully perfected1 nor can we point to any paramount ,italian manner4 ,in ,italy what was gained in richness and individuality was lost in uniformity and might4 ,yet we may well wonder at the versatile appreciation of all types of beauty that these monuments evince4 ,how strange1 for example1 it is to think of the ,venetians borrowing the form and structure of their temple from the mosques of ,alexandria1 decking its faade with the horses of ,lysippus1 and panelling the sanctuary with marbles from the harem-floors of ,eastern emperors2 while at the other end of ,italy1 at ,palermo1 close beside the ruined colonnades of ,greek ,segesta1 ,norman kings were embroidering their massive churches with ,saracenic arabesques and ,byzantine mosaics1 interspersing delicate ,arabian tracery with rope-patterns and monsters of the deep1 and linking ,cuphic sentences with ,scandinavian runes4 ,meanwhile1 at ,rome1 tombs1 baths1 and theatres had been turned into fortresses4 ,the ,orsini held the ,mole of ,hadrian2 the ,savelli ensconced themselves in the ,theatre of ,marcellus1 and the ,colonnesi in the ,mausoleum of ,augustus2 the ,colosseum and the ,arches of ,constantine and ,titus harboured the ,frangipani2 the ,baths of ,trajan housed the ,capocci2 while the ,gaetani made a castle of ,caecilia ,metella's tomb4 ,under those vast resounding vaults swarmed a brood of mediaeval bravi--like the wasps that hang their pear-shaped combs along the cloisters of ,pavia4 ,there the ghost of the dead empire still sat throned and sceptred4 ,the rites of ,christianity were carried on beneath ,agrippa's dome1 in ,diocletian's baths1 in the ,basilicas4 ,no other style but that of the imperial people struck root near the ,eternal ,city4 ,among her three hundred churches1 ,rome can only show one ,gothic building4 ,further to the north1 where ,german influences were more potent1 the cathedrals still displayed1 each after its own kind1 a sunny southern waywardness4 ,glowing with marbles and mosaics1 glittering with ornaments1 where the foliage of the ,corinthian acanthus hides the symbols of the ,passion1 and where birds and ,cupids peep from tangled fruits beneath grave brows of saints and martyrs2 leaning now to the long low colonnades of the ,basilica1 now to the high-built arches of the purely ,pointed style2 surmounting the meeting point of nave and transept with ,etruscan domes2 covering the faade with bas-reliefs1 the roof with statues2 raising the porch-pillars upon lions and winged griffins2 flanking the nave with bell-towers1 or planting them apart like flowers in isolation on the open square--these wonderful buildings1 the delight and joy of all who love to trace variety in beauty1 and to note the impress of a nation's genius upon its art1 seem1 like ,italy herself1 to feel all influences and to assimilate all nationalities4 ,amid the many styles of architecture contending for mastery in ,italy1 three1 before the age of the ,revival1 bid fair to win the battle4 ,these were the ,lombard1 the ,tuscan ,romanesque1 and the ,gothic4 ,chronologically the two former flourished nearly during the same centuries1 while ,gothic1 coming from without1 suspended their development4 ,but chronology is of little help in the history of ,italian architecture2 its main features being1 not uniformity of progression1 but synchronous diversity and salience of local type4 ,what remained fixed through all changes in ,italy was a bias toward the forms of ,roman building1 which eventually in the ,renaissance1 becoming scientifically apprehended1 determined the taste of the whole nation4 ,it is1 perhaps1 not wholly fanciful to say that1 as the ,lombards just failed to mould the ,italians by conquest into an united people1 so their architecture fell short of creating one type for the peninsula4#aa ,from some points of view the historian might regret that ,italy did not receive that thorough subjugation in the eighth century1 which would have broken down local distinctions4 ,such regrets1 however1 are singularly idle2 for the main currents of the world's history move not by chance2 and how1 moreover1 could ,italy have fulfilled her destiny without the divers forms of political existence that made her what she was8 ,yet1 standing before some of the great ,lombard churches1 we are inclined to speculate1 perhaps with better reason1 what the result would have been if that style of architecture could have assumed the complete ascendency over the ,italians which the ,romanesque and ,gothic of the ,north exerted over ,france and ,england8#ab ,the pyramidal faade common in these buildings1 the campanili that suspend arial lanterns upon plain square towers1 the domes rising tier over tier from the intersection of nave and transept to end in minarets and pinnacles1 the low long colonnades of marble pilasters1 the open porches resting upon lions1 the harmonious blending of baked clay and rosy-tinted stone1 the bold combination of round and pointed arches1 and the weird invention whereby every string-course and capital has been carved with lions1 sphinxes1 serpents1 mermaids1 griffins1 harpies1 winged horses1 lizards1 and knights in armour--all these are elements that might1 we fancy1 have been developed into a noble national style4 ,as it is1 the churches in question are often more bizarre than really beautiful4 ,their peculiar character1 however1 is inseparably associated with the long reaches of green plain1 the lordly rivers1 and the background of blue hills and snowy ,alps that constitute the charm of ,lombard landscape4 ,if ,lombard architecture1 properly so-called1 was partial in its influence and confined to a comparatively narrow local sphere1 the same is true of the ,tuscan ,romanesque4 ,the church of ,samminiato1 near ,florence about #ajac1 and the cathedral of ,pisa begun #ajfc1 not to mention other less eminent examples at ,lucca and ,pistoja1 are sufficient evidences that in the darkest period of the ,middle ,ages the ,italians were aiming at an architectural ,renaissance4 ,the influence of classical models is apparent both in the construction and the detail of these basilicas2 while the deeply grounded preference of the ,italian genius for round arches1 for colonnades of pillars and pilasters1 and for large rectangular spaces1 with low roofs and shallow tribunes1 finds full satisfaction in these original and noble buildings4 ,it is impossible to refrain from deploring that the ,romanesque of ,tuscany should have been checked in its development by the intrusion of the ,german ,gothic4 ,had it run its course unthwarted1 a national style suited to the temperament of the people might have been formed1 and much that was pedantic in the revival of the fifteenth century have been obviated4 ,the place of ,gothic architecture in ,italy demands fuller treatment4 ,it was due partly to the direct influence of ,german emperors1 partly to the imperial sympathies of the great nobles1 partly to the ,franciscan friars1 who aimed at building large churches cheaply1 and partly to the admiration excited by the grandeur of the ,pointed style as it prevailed in ,northern ,europe1 that ,gothic--so alien to the ,italian genius and climate--took root1 spread widely1 and flourished freely for a season4 ,in thus enumerating the conditions favourable to the spread of ,gottico-,tedesco1 ,i am far from wishing to assert that this style was purely foreign4 ,italy1 in common with the rest of ,europe1 passed by a natural process of evolution from the ,romanesque to the ,pointed manner1 and treated the latter with an originality that proves a certain natural assimilation4 ,yet the first ,gothic church1 that of ,s4 ,francis at ,assisi1 was designed by a ,german2 the most splendid1 that of ,our ,lady at ,milan1 is emphatically ,german4#ac ,during the comparatively brief period of ,gothic ascendency the ,italians never forgot their ,latin and ,lombard sympathies4 ,the mood of mind in which they ,gothicised was partial and transient4 ,the evolution of this style was1 therefore1 neither so spontaneous and simple1 nor yet so uninterrupted and complete1 in ,italy as in the ,north4 ,while it produced the church of ,s4 ,francesco at ,assisi and the cathedrals of ,siena1 ,orvieto1 ,lucca1 ,bologna1 ,florence1 and ,milan1 together with the town-halls of ,perugia1 ,siena1 and ,florence1 it failed to take firm hold upon the national taste1 and died away before the growing passion for antiquity that restored the ,italians to a sense of their own intellectual greatness4 ,it is clear that1 as soon as they were conscious of their vocation to revive the culture of the classic age1 they at once and for ever abandoned the style appropriate to northern feudalism4 ,they seem to have adopted it half-unwillingly and to have understood it only in the imperfect way in which they comprehended chivalry4 ,the ,italians never rightly apprehended the specific nature of ,gothic architecture4 ,they could not forget the horizontal lines1 flat roofs1 and blank walls of the ,basilica4 ,like their ,roman ancestors1 they aimed at covering the ground with the smallest possible expenditure of construction2 to enclose large spaces within simple limits was their first object1 and the effect of beauty or sublimity was gained by the proportions given to the total area4 ,when1 therefore1 they adopted the ,gothic style1 they failed to perceive that its true merit consists in the negation of nearly all that the ,latin style holds precious4 ,horizontal lines are as far as possible annihilated2 walls are lost in windows2 aisles and columns1 apses and chapels1 are multiplied with a view to complexity of architectonic effect2 flat roofs become intolerable4 ,the whole force employed in the construction has an upward tendency1 and the spire is the completion of the edifice2 for to the spire its countless soaring lines--lines not of stationary strength1 but of ascendent growth--converge4 ,all this the ,italians were slow to comprehend4 ,the campanile1 for example1 never became an integral part of their buildings4 ,it stood alone1 and was reserved for its original purpose of keeping the bells4 ,the windows1 for a reason very natural in ,italy1 where there is rather too much than too little sunlight1 were curtailed2 and instead of the multiplied bays and clustered columns of a northern ,gothic aisle1 the nave of so vast a church as ,s4 ,petronio at ,bologna is measured by six arches raised on simple piers4 ,the faade of an ,italian cathedral was studied as a screen1 quite independently of its relation to the interior2 in the beautiful church of ,crema1 for example1 the moon at night looks through the upper windows of a frontispiece raised far above the low roof of the nave4 ,for the total effect of the exterior1 as will be apparent to anyone who observes the ,duomo of ,orvieto from behind1 no thought was taken4 ,in this way the ,italians missed the point and failed to perceive the poetry of ,gothic architecture4 ,its symbolical significance was lost upon them2 perhaps we ought to say that the ,italian temperament1 in art as in religion1 was incapable of assimilating the vague yet powerful mysticism of the ,teutonic races4 ,on the other hand1 what they sacrificed of genuine ,gothic character1 was made good after their own fashion4 ,surface decoration1 whether of fresco or mosaic1 bronze-work or bas-relief1 wood-carving or panelling in marble1 baked clay or enamelled earthenware was never carried to such perfection in ,gothic buildings of the purer type2 nor had sculpture in the ,north an equal chance of detaching itself from the niche and tabernacle1 which forced it to remain the slave of architecture4 ,thus the comparative defects of ,italian ,gothic were directly helpful in promoting those very arts for which the people had a genius unrivalled among modern nations4 ,it is only necessary to contrast the two finest cathedrals of this style1 those of ,siena and ,orvieto1 with two such buildings as the cathedrals of ,rheims and ,salisbury1 in order to perceive the structural inferiority of the former1 as well as their superiority for all subordinate artistic purposes4 ,long straight lines1 low roofs1 narrow windows1 a faade of surprising splendour but without a strict relation to the structure of the nave and aisles1 a cupola surmounting the intersection of nave1 choir1 and transepts2 simple tribunes at the east end1 a detached campanile1 round columns instead of clustered piers1 a mixture of semicircular and pointed arches2 these are some of the most salient features of the ,sienese ,duomo4 ,but the material is all magnificent2 and the hand1 obedient to the dictates of an artist's brain1 has made itself felt on every square foot of the building4 ,alternate courses of white and black marble1 cornices loaded with grave or animated portraits of the ,popes1 sculptured shrines1 altars1 pulpits1 reliquaries1 fonts and holy-water vases1 panels of inlaid wood and pictured pavements1 bronze candelabra and wrought-iron screens1 gilding and colour and precious work of agate and lapis lazuli--the masterpieces of men famous each in his own line--delight the eye in all directions4 ,the whole church is a miracle of richness1 a radiant and glowing triumph of inventive genius1 the product of a hundred master-craftsmen toiling through successive centuries to do their best4 ,all its countless details are so harmonised by the controlling taste1 so brought together piece by piece in obedience to artistic instinct1 that the total effect is ravishingly beautiful4 ,yet it is clear that no one paramount idea1 determining and organising all these marvels1 existed in the mind of the first architect4 ,in true ,gothic work the details that make up the charm of this cathedral would have been subordinated to one architectonic thought2 they would not have been suffered to assert their individuality1 or to contribute1 except as servants1 to the whole effect4 ,the northern ,gothic church is like a body with several members2 the southern ,gothic church is an accretion of beautiful atoms4 ,the northern ,gothic style corresponds to the national unity of federalised races1 organised by a social hierarchy of mutually dependent classes4 ,in the southern ,gothic style we find a mirror of political diversity1 independent personality1 burgher-like equality1 despotic will4 ,thus the specific qualities of ,italy on her emergence from the ,middle ,ages may be traced by no undue exercise of the fancy in her monuments4 ,they are emphatically the creation of citizens--of men1 to use ,giannotti's phrase1 distinguished by alternating obedience and command1 not ranked beneath a monarchy1 but capable themselves of sovereign power4#ad ,what has been said of ,siena is no less true of the ,duomo of ,orvieto4 ,though it seems to aim at a severer ,gothic1 and though the faade is more architecturally planned1 a single glance at the exterior of the edifice shows that the builders had no lively sense of the requirements of the style they used4 ,what can be more melancholy than those blank walls1 broken by small round recesses protruding from the side chapels of the nave1 those gaunt and barren angles at the east end1 and those few pinnacles appended at a venture8 ,it is clear that the spirit of the northern ,gothic manner has been wholly misconceived4 ,on the other hand1 the interior is noble4 ,the feeling for space possessed by the architect has expressed itself in proportions large and solemn2 the area enclosed1 though somewhat cold and vacuous to northern taste1 is at least impressive by its severe harmony4 ,but the real attractions of the church are isolated details4 ,wherever the individual artist-mind has had occasion to emerge1 there our gaze is riveted1 our criticism challenged1 our admiration won4 ,the frescoes of ,signorelli1 the bas-reliefs of the ,pisani1 the statuary of ,lo ,scalza and ,mosca1 the tarsia of the choir stalls1 the ,alexandrine work and mosaics of the faade1 the bronzes placed upon its brackets1 and the wrought acanthus scrolls of its superb pilasters--these are the objects for inexhaustible wonder in the cathedral of ,orvieto4 ,on approaching a building of this type1 we must abandon our conceptions of organic architecture3 only the ,greek and northern ,gothic styles deserve that epithet4 ,we must not seek for severe discipline and architectonic design4 ,instead of one presiding1 all-determining idea1 we must be prepared to welcome a wealth of separate beauties1 wrought out by men of independent genius1 whereby each part is made a masterpiece1 and many diverse elements become a whole of picturesque rather than architectural impressiveness4 ,it would not be difficult to extend this kind of criticism to the ,duomo of ,milan4 ,speaking strictly1 a more unlucky combination of different styles--the pyramidal faade of ,lombard architecture and the long thin lights of ,german ,gothic1 for example--a clumsier misuse of ill-appropriated details in the heavy piers of the nave1 or a more disastrous adjustment of the monster windows to the main lines of the nave and aisles1 could scarcely be imagined4 ,yet no other church1 perhaps1 in ,europe leaves the same impression of the marvellous upon the fancy4 ,the splendour of its pure white marble1 blushing with the rose of evening or of dawn1 radiant in noonday sunlight1 and fabulously fairy-like beneath the moon and stars1 the multitudes of statues sharply cut against a clear blue sky1 and gazing at the ,alps across that memorable tract of plain1 the immense space and light-irradiated gloom of the interior1 the deep tone of the bells above at a vast distance1 and the gorgeous colours of the painted glass1 contribute to a scenical effect unparalleled in ,christendom4 ,the two styles1 ,lombard and ,gothic1 of which ,i have been speaking1 were both in a certain sense exotic4 ,within the great cities the pith of the population was ,latin2 and no style of building that did not continue the tradition of the ,romans1 in the spirit of the ,roman manner1 and with strict observance of its details1 satisfied them4 ,it was a main feature of the ,renaissance that1 when the ,italians undertook the task of reuniting themselves by study with the past1 they abandoned all other forms of architecture1 and did their best to create one in harmony with the relics of ,latin monuments4 ,to trace the history of this revived classic architecture will occupy me later in this chapter2 but for the moment it is necessary to turn aside and consider briefly the secular buildings of ,italy before the date of the ,renaissance proper4 ,about the same time that the cathedrals were being built1 the nobles filled the towns with fortresses4 ,these at first were gaunt and unsightly2 how overcrowded with tall bare towers a mediaeval ,italian city could be1 is still shown by ,san ,gemignano1 the only existing instance where the torroni have been left untouched4#ae ,in course of time1 when the aristocracy came to be fused with the burghers1 and public order was maintained by law in the great cities1 these forts made way for spacious palaces4 ,the temper of the citizens in each place and the local character of artistic taste determined the specific features of domestic as of ecclesiastical architecture4 ,though it is hard to define what are the social differences expressed by the large quadrangles of ,francesco ,sforza's hospital at ,milan1 and the heavy cube of the ,riccardi palace at ,florence1 we feel that the genius loci has in each case controlled the architect4 ,the sunny spaces of the one building1 with its terra-cotta traceries of birds and grapes and ,cupids1 contrast with the stern brown mouldings and impenetrable solidity of the other4 ,that the one was raised by the munificence of a sovereign in his capital1 while the other was the dwelling of a burgher in a city proud of its antique sobriety1 goes some way to explain the difference4 ,in like manner the court-life of a dynastic principality produced the castle of ,urbino1 so diverse in its style and adaptation from the ostentatious mansions of the ,genoese merchants4 ,it is not fanciful to say that the civic life of a free and factious republic is represented by the heavy walls and narrow windows of ,florentine dwelling-places4 ,in their rings of iron1 welded between rock and rock about the basement1 as though for the beginning of a barricade--in their torch-rests of wrought metal1 gloomy portals and dimly-lighted courts1 we trace the habits of caution and reserve that marked the men who led the parties of ,uberti and ,albizzi4 ,the ,sienese palaces are lighter and more elegant in style1 as belonging to a people proverbially pleasure-loving2 while a still more sumptuous and secure mode of life finds expression in the open loggie and spacious staircases of ,venice4 ,the graceful buildings which overhang the ,grand ,canal are exactly fitted for an oligarchy1 sure of its own authority and loved of the people4 ,feudal despotism1 on the contrary1 reigns in the heart of ,ferrara1 where the ,este's stronghold1 moated1 draw-bridged1 and portcullised1 casting dense shadow over the water that protects the dungeons1 still seems to threaten the public square and overawe the homes of men4 ,to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries1 again1 we owe the town halls and public palaces that form so prominent a feature in the city architecture of ,italy4 ,the central vitality of once powerful ,states is symbolised in the broletti of the ,lombard cities1 dusty and abandoned now in spite of their clear-cut terra-cotta traceries4 ,there is something strangely melancholy in their desolation4 ,wandering through the vast hall of the ,ragione at ,padua1 where the very shadows seem asleep as they glide over the wide unpeopled floor1 it is not easy to remember that this was once the theatre of eager intrigues1 ere the busy stir of the old burgh was utterly extinguished4 ,few of these public palaces have the good fortune to be distinguished1 like that of the ,doge at ,venice1 by world-historical memories and by works of art as yet unrivalled4 ,the spirit of the ,venetian ,republic still lives in that unique building4 ,architects may tell us that its ,gothic arcades are melodramatic2 sculptors may depreciate the decorative work of ,sansovino2 painters may assert that the genius of ,titian1 ,tintoret1 and ,veronese shines elsewhere with greater lustre4 ,yet the poet clings with ever-deepening admiration to the sea-born palace of the ancient mistress of the sea1 and the historian feels that here1 as at ,athens1 art has made the past towards which he looks eternal4 ,two other great ,italian houses of the ,commonwealth1 rearing their towers above the town for tocsin and for ward1 owe immortality to their intrinsic beauty4 ,these are the ,palazzo ,pubblico of ,siena and the ,palazzo ,vecchio of ,florence4 ,few buildings in ,europe are more picturesquely fascinating than the palace of ,siena1 with its outlook over hill and dale to cloud-capped ,monte ,amiata4 ,yet1 in spite of its unparalleled position on the curved and sloping piazza1 where the contrade of ,siena have run their palio for centuries1 this palace lacks the vivid interest attaching to the home ,arnolfo raised at ,florence for the rulers of his native city4 ,during their term of office the ,priors never quitted the ,palace of the ,signory4 ,all deliberations on state affairs took place within its walls1 and its bell was the pulse that told how the heart of ,florence throbbed4 ,the architect of this huge mass of masonry was ,arnolfo del ,cambio1 one of the greatest builders of the ,middle ,ages1 a man who may be called the ,michael ,angelo of the thirteenth century#af4 ,in #abih he was ordered to erect a dwelling-place for the ,commonwealth1 to the end that the people might be protected in their fortress from the violence of the nobles4 ,the building of the palace and the levelling of the square around it were attended with circumstances that bring forcibly before our minds the stern conditions of republican life in mediaeval ,italy4 ,a block of houses had to be bought from the family of ,foraboschi2 and their tower1 called ,torre della ,vacca1 was raised and turned into the belfry of the ,priors4 ,there was not room enough1 however1 to construct the palace itself with right angles1 unless it were extended into the open space where once had stood the houses of the ,uberti1 traitors to ,florence and ,ghibellines4 ,in destroying these1 the burghers had decreed that thenceforth for ever the feet of men should pass where the hearths of the proscribed nobles once had blazed4 ,arnolfo begged that he might trespass on this site2 but the people refused permission4 ,where the traitors' nest had been1 there the sacred foundations of the public house should not be laid4 ,consequently the ,florentine ,palazzo is1 was1 and will be cramped of its correct proportions#ag4 ,no ,italian architect has enjoyed the proud privilege of stamping his own individuality more strongly on his native city than ,arnolfo2 and for this reason it may be permitted to enlarge upon his labours here4 ,when we take our stand upon the hill of ,samminiato1 the ,florence at our feet owes her physiognomy in a great measure to this man4 ,the tall tower of the ,palazzo ,vecchio1 the bulk of the ,duomo1 and the long low oblong mass of ,santa ,croce are all his4 ,his too are the walls that define the city of flowers from the gardens round about her4#ah ,even the master-works of his successors subordinate their beauty to his first conception4 ,giotto's campanile1 ,brunelleschi's cupola1 and ,orcagna's church of ,orsammichele1 in spite of their undoubted and authentic originality1 are placed where he had planned4 ,in #abid the ,florentines determined to rebuild their mother-church upon a scale of unexampled grandeur4 ,the commission given to their architect displays so strikingly the lordly spirit in which these burghers set about the work1 that1 though it has been often quoted1 a portion of the document shall be recited here4 ,since the highest mark of prudence in a people of noble origin is to proceed in the management of their affairs so that their magnanimity and wisdom may be evinced in their outward acts1 we order ,arnolfo1 head-master of our commune1 to make a design for the renovation of ,santa ,reparata in a style of magnificence which neither the industry nor the power of man can surpass1 that it may harmonise with the opinion of many wise persons in this city and state1 who think that this commune should not engage in any enterprise unless its intention be to make the result correspond with that noblest sort of heart which is composed of the united will of many citizens4#ai ,from ,giovanni ,villani we learn what taxes were levied by the ,wool-,guild1 and set apart in #acca for the completion of the building4 ,they were raised upon all goods bought or sold within the city in two separate rates1 the net produce amounting in the first year to #b1jjj lire4#bj ,the cathedral designed by ,arnolfo was of vast dimensions3 it covers #hd1hjb feet1 while that of ,cologne covers #ha1dfa feet2 and1 says ,fergusson1 as far as mere conception of plan goes1 there can be little doubt but that the ,florentine cathedral far surpasses its ,german rival4#ba ,nothing1 indeed1 can be imagined more noble than the scheme of this huge edifice4 ,studying its ground-plan1 and noting how the nave unfolds into a mighty octagon1 which in its turn displays three well-proportioned apses1 we are induced to think that a sublimer thought has never been expressed in stone4 ,at this point1 however1 our admiration receives a check4 ,in the execution of the parts the builder dwarfed what had been conceived on so magnificent a scale2 aiming at colossal simplicity1 he failed to secure the multiplicity of subordinated members essential to the total effect of size4 ,like all inexperienced architects1 he seems to have thought that greatness of parts would add to the greatness of the whole1 and in consequence used only four great arches in the whole length of his nave1 giving the central aisle a width of fifty-five feet clear4 ,the whole width is within ten feet of that of ,cologne1 and the height about the same2 and yet1 in appearance1 the height is about half1 and the breadth less than half1 owing to the better proportion of the parts and to the superior appropriateness in the details on the part of the ,german cathedral4#bb ,the truth of these remarks will be felt by every one on whom the ponderous vacuity of the interior has weighed4 ,other notable defects there are too in this building1 proceeding chiefly from the ,italian misconception of ,gothic style4 ,the windows are few and narrow1 so that little light even at noonday struggles through them2 and broad barren spaces of grey walls oppress the eye4 ,externally the whole church is panelled with parti-coloured marbles1 according to ,florentine custom2 but this panelling bears no relation to the structure3 it is so much surface decoration possessing value chiefly for the colourist4 ,arnolfo died before the dome1 as he designed it1 could be placed upon the octagon1 and nothing is known for certain about the form he meant it to assume4 ,it seems1 however1 probable that he intended to adopt something similar to the dome of ,chiaravalle1 which ends1 after a succession of narrowing octagons1 in a slender conical pyramid4#bc ,subordinate spires would then have been placed at each of the four angles where the nave and transepts intersect2 and the whole external effect1 for richness and variety1 would have outrivalled that of any ,european building4 ,it is well known that the erection of the dome was finally entrusted to ,brunelleschi in #adbj4 ,arnolfo's church now sustains in air an octagonal cupola of the simplest possible design1 in height and size rivalling that of ,s4 ,peter's4 ,it was thus that the genius of the ,renaissance completed what the genius of the ,middle ,ages had begun4 ,but in ,italy there was no real break between the two periods4 ,though ,arnolfo employed the ,pointed style in his design1 we find nothing genuinely ,gothic in the church4 ,it has no pinnacles1 flying buttresses1 side chapels1 or subordinate supports4 ,to use the phrase of ,michelet1 who has chosen the dramatic episode of ,brunelleschi's intervention in the rearing of the dome for a parable of the ,renaissance1 the colossal church stood up simply1 naturally1 as a strong man in the morning rises from his bed without the need of staff or crutch4#bd ,this indeed is the glory of ,italian as compared with ,northern architecture4 ,the ,italians valued the strength of simple perspicuity3 all the best works of their builders are geometrical ideas of the purest kind translated into stone4 ,it is1 however1 true that the gain of vast arial space was hardly sufficient to compensate for the impression of emptiness they leave upon the senses4 ,we feel this very strongly when we study the model prepared by ,bramante's pupil1 ,cristoforo ,rocchi1 for the cathedral of ,pavia2 yet here we see the neo-,latin genius of the ,italian artist working freely in an element exactly suited to his powers4 ,when the same order of genius sought to express its conception through the language of the ,gothic style1 the result was invariably defective4#be ,the classical revival of the fifteenth century made itself immediately felt in architecture2 and ,brunelleschi's visit to ,rome in #adjc may be fixed as the date of the ,renaissance in this art4 ,gothic1 as we have already seen1 was an alien in ,italy4 ,its importation from the ,north had checked the free development of national architecture1 which in the eleventh century began at ,pisa by a conscious return to classic details4 ,but the reign of ,gothic was destined to be brief4 ,petrarch and ,boccaccio1 as ,i showed in my last volume1 turned the whole intellectual energy of the ,florentines into the channels of ,latin and ,greek scholarship4#bf ,the ancient world absorbed all interests1 and the ,italians with one will shook themselves free of the medieval style they never rightly understood1 and which they henceforth stigmatised as barbarous4#bg ,the problem that occupied all the ,renaissance architects was how to restore the manner of ancient ,rome as far as possible1 adapting it to the modern requirements of ecclesiastical1 civic1 and domestic buildings4 ,of ,greek art they knew comparatively nothing3 nor indeed could ,greek architecture have offered for their purpose the same plastic elements as ,roman--itself a derived style1 admitting of easier adjustment to modern uses than the inflexibly pure art of ,greece4 ,at the same time they possessed but imperfect fragments of ,roman work4 ,the ruins of baths1 theatres1 tombs1 temple-fronts1 and triumphal arches1 were of little immediate assistance in the labour of designing churches and palaces4 ,all that the architects could do1 after familiarising themselves with the remains of ancient ,rome1 and assimilating the spirit of ,roman art1 was to clothe their own inventions with classic details4 ,the form and structure of their edifices were modern2 the parts were copied from antique models4 ,a want of organic unity and structural sincerity is always the result of those necessities under which a secondary and adapted style must labour2 and thus the pseudo-,roman buildings even of the best ,renaissance period display faults similar to those of the ,italian ,gothic4 ,while they are remarkable for grandeur of effect in all that concerns the distribution of light and shade1 the covering and enclosing of space1 and the disposition of masses1 they show at best but a superficial correspondence between the borrowed forms and the construction these are used to mask4#bh ,the edifices of this period abound in more or less successful shams1 in surface decoration more or less pleasing to the eye2 their real greatness1 meanwhile1 consists in the feeling for spatial proportions and for linear harmonies possessed by their architects4 ,three periods in the development of ,renaissance architecture may be roughly marked4#bi ,the first1 extending from #adbj to #aejj1 is the age of experiment and of luxuriant inventiveness4 ,the second embraces the first forty years of the sixteenth century4 ,the most perfect buildings of the ,italian ,renaissance were produced within this short space of time4 ,the third1 again comprising about forty years1 from #aedj to #aehj1 leads onward to the reign of mannerism and exaggeration1 called by the ,italians barocco4 ,in itself the third period is distinguished by a scrupulous purism bordering upon pedantry1 strict adherence to theoretical rules1 and sacrifice of inventive qualities to established canons4 ,to do more than briefly indicate the masterpieces of these three periods1 would be impossible in a work that does not pretend to treat of architecture exhaustively3 and yet to omit all notice of the builders of this age and of their styles1 would be to neglect the most important art-phase of the time ,i have undertaken to illustrate4 ,in the first period we are bewildered by the luxuriance of creative powers and by the rioting of the fancy in all forms of beauty indiscriminately mingled4 ,in general we detect a striving after effects not fully realised1 and a tendency to indulge in superfluous ornament without regard for strictness of design4 ,the imperfect comprehension of classical models and the exuberant vivacity of the imagination in the fifteenth century account for the florid work of this time4 ,something too is left of mediaeval fancy2 the details borrowed from the antique undergo fantastic transmutation at the hands of men accustomed to the vehement emotion of the romantic ages4 ,whatever the ,renaissance took from antique art1 it was at first unable to assimilate either the moderation of the ,greeks or the practical sobriety of the ,romans4 ,christianity had deepened and intensified the sources of imaginative life2 and just as reminiscences of classic style impaired ,italian ,gothic1 so now a trace of ,gothic is perceptible in the would-be classic work of the ,revival4 ,the result of these combined influences was a wonderful and many-featured hybrid1 best represented in one monument by the faade of the ,certosa at ,pavia4 ,while characterising the work of the earlier ,renaissance as fused of divers manners1 we must not forget that it was truly living1 full of purpose1 and according to its own standard sincere4 ,it was a new birth2 no mere repetition of something dead and gone1 but the product of vivid forces stirred to original creativeness by admiration for the past4 ,it corresponded1 moreover1 with exquisite exactitude to the halting of the conscience between ,christianity and ,paganism1 and to the blent beauty that the poets loved4 ,on reeds dropped from the hands of dead ,pan the artists of this period1 each in his1 own sphere1 piped ditties of romance4 ,to these general remarks upon the style of the first period the ,florentine architects offer an exception2 and yet the first marked sign of a new era in the art of building was given at ,florence4 ,purity of taste and firmness of judgment1 combined with scientific accuracy1 were always distinctive of ,florentines4 ,to such an extent did these qualities determine their treatment of the arts that acute critics have been found to tax them--and in my opinion justly--with hardness and frigidity4#cj ,brunelleschi in #adbe designed the basilica of ,s4 ,lorenzo after an original but truly classic type1 remarkable for its sobriety and correctness4 ,what he had learned from the ruins of ,rome he here applied in obedience to his own artistic instinct4 ,s4 ,lorenzo is a columnar edifice with round arches and semicircular apses4 ,not a form or detail in the whole church is strictly speaking at variance with ,roman precedent2 and yet the general effect resembles nothing we possess of antique work4 ,it is a masterpiece of intelligent ,renaissance adaptation4 ,the same is true of ,s4 ,spirito1 built in #adgj1 after ,brunelleschi's death1 according to his plans4 ,the extraordinary capacity of this great architect will1 however1 win more homage from ordinary observers when they contemplate the ,pitti ,palace and the cupola of the cathedral4 ,both of these are master-works of personal originality4 ,what is ,roman in the ,pitti ,palace1 is the robust simplicity of massive strength2 but it is certain that no patrician of the republic or the empire inhabited a house at all resembling this4 ,the domestic habits of the ,middle ,ages1 armed for self-defence1 and on guard against invasion from without1 still find expression in the solid bulk of this forbidding dwelling-place1 although its majesty and largeness show that the reign of milder and more courtly manners has begun4 ,to speak of the cupola of the ,duomo in connection with a simple revival of ,roman taste1 would be equally inappropriate4 ,it remains a tour de force of individual genius1 cultivated by the experience of ,gothic vault-building1 and penetrated with the greatness of imperial ,rome4 ,its spirit of dauntless audacity and severe concentration alone is antique4 ,almost contemporary with ,brunelleschi was ,leo ,battista ,alberti1 a ,florentine1 who1 working upon somewhat different principles1 sought more closely to reproduce the actual elements of ,roman architecture4#ca ,in his remodelling of ,s4 ,francesco at ,rimini the type he followed was that of the triumphal arch1 and what was finished of that wonderful faade1 remains to prove how much might have been made of well-proportioned pilasters and nobly curved arcades4#cb ,the same principle is carried out in ,s4 ,andrea at ,mantua4 ,the frontispiece of this church is a gigantic arch of triumph2 the interior is noticeable for its simple harmony of parts1 adopted from the vaulted baths of ,rome4 ,the combination of these antique details in an imposing structure implied a high imaginative faculty at a moment when the rules of classic architecture had not been as yet reduced to method4 ,yet the weakness of ,alberti's principle is revealed when we consider that here the lofty central arch of the faade serves only for a decoration4 ,too high and spacious even for the chariots of a ,roman triumph1 it forms an inappropriate entrance to the modest vestibule of a ,christian church4 ,like ,brunelleschi1 ,alberti applied his talents to the building of a palace in ,florence that became a model to subsequent architects4 ,the ,palazzo ,rucellai retains many details of the mediaeval ,tuscan style1 especially in the windows divided by slender pilasters4 ,but the three orders introduced by way of surface decoration1 the doorways1 and the cornices1 are transcripts from ,roman ruins4 ,this building1 one of the most beautiful in ,italy1 was copied by ,francesco di ,giorgio and ,bernardo ,fiorentino for the palaces they constructed at ,pienza4 ,this was the age of sumptuous palace-building2 and for no purpose was the early ,renaissance style better adapted than for the erection of dwelling-houses that should match the free and worldly splendour of those times4 ,the just medium between mediaeval massiveness and classic simplicity was attained in countless buildings beautiful and various beyond description4 ,bologna is full of them2 and ,urbino1 in the ,ducal ,palace1 contains one specimen unexampled in extent and unique in interest4 ,yet here1 as in all departments of fine art1 ,florence takes the lead4 ,after ,brunelleschi and ,alberti came ,michellozzo1 the favourite architect of ,cosimo de' ,medici2 ,benedetto da ,majano2 ,giuliano and ,antonio di ,san ,gallo2 and ,il ,cronaca4 ,cosimo de' ,medici1 having said that envy is a plant no man should water1 denied himself the monumental house designed by ,brunelleschi1 and chose instead the modest plan of ,michellozzo4 ,brunelleschi had meant to build the ,casa ,medici along one side of the ,piazza di ,s4 ,lorenzo2 but when ,cosimo refused his project1 he broke up the model he had made1 to the great loss of students of this age of architecture4 ,michellozzo was then commissioned to raise the mighty1 but comparatively humble1 ,riccardi ,palace at the corner of the ,via ,larga1 which continued to be the residence of the ,medici through all their chequered history1 until at last they took possession of the ,palazzo ,pitti4#cc ,the most beautiful of all ,florentine dwelling-houses designed at this period is that which ,benedetto da ,majano built for ,filippo ,strozzi4 ,combining the burgher-like austerity of antecedent ages with a grandeur and a breadth of style peculiar to the ,renaissance1 the ,palazzo ,strozzi may be chosen as the perfect type of ,florentine domestic architecture4#cd ,other cities were supplied by ,florence with builders1 and ,milan owed her fanciful ,ospedale ,maggiore at this epoch to ,antonio ,filarete1 a ,florentine4 ,this great edifice illustrates the emancipation from fixed rule that distinguishes much of the architecture of the earlier ,renaissance4 ,the detail is not unfrequently ,gothic1 especially in the pointed windows2 but the feeling of the whole structure1 in its airy space and lightness1 delicate terra-cotta mouldings1 and open loggie1 is truly ,cinque ,cento4#ce ,in no other style than this of the earlier ,renaissance is the builder more inseparably connected with the decorator4 ,the labours of the stone-carver1 who provided altars chased with ,scripture histories in high relief1 pulpits hung against a column of the nave1 tombs with canopies and floral garlands1 organ galleries enriched with bas-reliefs of singing boys1 ciboria with kneeling and adoring angels1 marble tabernacles for relics1 vases for holy water1 fonts and fountains1 and all the indescribable wealth of scrolls and friezes around doors and screens and balustrades that fence the choir1 are added to those of the bronze-founder1 with his mighty doors and pendent lamps1 his candelabra sustained by angels1 torch-rests and rings1 embossed basements for banners of state1 and portraits of recumbent senators or prelates4#cf ,the wood carver contributes tarsia like that of ,fra ,giovanni da ,verona4#cg ,the worker in wrought iron welds such screens as guard the chapel of the ,sacra ,cintola at ,prato4 ,the ,robbias prepare their delicately-toned reliefs for the lunettes above the doorways4 ,modellers in clay produce the terra-cotta work of the ,certosa1 or the carola of angels who surround the little cupola behind the church of ,s4 ,eustorgio at ,milan4#ch ,meanwhile mosaics are provided for the dome or let into the floor2#ci agates and marbles and lapis lazuli are pieced together for altar fronts and panellings2#dj stalls are carved into fantastic patterns1 and heavy roofs are embossed with figures of the saints and armorial emblems4#da ,tapestry is woven from the designs of excellent masters2#db great painters contribute arabesques of fresco or of stucco mixed with gilding1 and glass is coloured from the outlines of such draughtsmen as ,ghiberti4 ,some of the decorative elements ,i have hastily enumerated1 will be treated in connection with the respective arts of sculpture and painting4 ,the fact1 meanwhile1 deserves notice that they received a new development in relation to architecture during the first period of the ,renaissance1 and that they formed1 as it were1 an integral part of its main aesthetical purpose4 ,strip a chapel of the fifteenth century of ornamental adjuncts1 and an uninteresting shell is left3 what1 for instance1 would the faades of the ,certosa and the ,cappella ,colleoni be without their sculptured and inlaid marbles8 ,the genius of the age found scope in subordinate details1 and the most successful architect was the man who combined in himself a feeling for the capacities of the greatest number of associated arts4 ,as the consequence of this profuse expenditure of loving care on every detail1 the monuments of architecture belonging to the earlier ,renaissance have a poetry that compensates for structural defects2 just as its wildest literary extravagances--the ,hypnerotomachia ,poliphili1 for instance--have a charm of wanton fancy and young joy that atones to sympathetic students for intolerable pedantries4 ,in the second period the faults of the first group of ,renaissance builders were in a large measure overcome1 and their striving after the production of new yet classic form was more completely realised4 ,the reckless employment of luxuriant decoration yielded to a chastened taste1 without the sacrifice of beauty or magnificence4 ,style was refined2 the construction of large buildings was better understood1 and the instinct for what lies within the means of a revived and secondary manner was more true4 ,to ,bramante must be assigned the foremost place among the architects of the golden age4#dc ,though little of his work survives entire and unspoiled1 it is clear that he exercised the profoundest influence over both successors and contemporaries4 ,what they chiefly owed to him1 was the proper subordination of beauty in details to the grandeur of simplicity and to unity of effect4 ,he came at a moment when constructive problems had been solved1 when mechanical means were perfected1 and when the sister arts had reached their highest point4 ,his early training in ,lombardy accustomed him to the adoption of clustered piers instead of single columns1 to semicircular apses and niches1 and to the free use of minor cupolas--elements of design introduced neither by ,brunelleschi nor by ,alberti into the ,renaissance style of ,florence1 but which were destined to determine the future of architecture for all ,italy4 ,nature had gifted ,bramante with calm judgment and refined taste2 his sense of the right limitations of the pseudo-,roman style was exquisite1 and his feeling for structural symmetry was just4 ,if his manner strikes us as somewhat cold and abstract when compared with the more genial audacities of the earlier ,renaissance1 we must remember how salutary was the example of a rigorous and modest manner in an age which required above all things to be preserved from its own luxuriant waywardness of fancy4 ,it is hard to say how much of the work ascribed to ,bramante in ,northern ,italy is genuine2 most of it1 at any rate1 belongs to the manner of his youth4 ,the ,church of ,s4 ,maria della ,consolazione at ,todi1 the palace of the ,cancelleria at ,rome1 and the unfinished cathedral of ,pavia1 enable us to comprehend the general character of this great architect's refined and noble manner4 ,s4 ,peter's1 it may be said in passing1 retains1 in spite of all subsequent modifications1 many essentially ,bramantesque features--especially in the distribution of the piers and rounded niches4 ,bramante formed no school strictly so called1 though his pupils1 ,cristoforo ,rocchi and ,ventura ,vitoni1 carried out his principles of building at ,pavia and ,pistoja4 ,vitoni's church of the ,umilt in the latter city is a pure example of conscientious neo-,roman architecture4 ,it consists of a large octagon surmounted by a dome and preceded by a lofty vaulted atrium or vestibule4 ,the single round arch of this vestibule repeats the testudo of a ,roman bath1 and the decorative details are accurately reproduced from similar monuments4 ,unfortunately1 ,giorgio ,vasari1 who was employed to finish the cupola1 spoiled its effect by raising it upon an ugly attic2 it is probable that the church1 as designed by ,vitoni1 would have presented the appearance of a miniature ,pantheon4 ,at ,rome the influence of ,bramante was propagated through ,raphael1 ,giulio ,romano1 and ,baldassare ,peruzzi4 ,raphael's claim to consideration as an architect rests upon the ,palazzi ,vidoni and ,pandolfini1 the ,cappella ,chigi in ,s4 ,maria del ,popolo1 and the ,villa ,madama4 ,the last-named building1 executed by ,giulio ,romano after ,raphael's design1 is carried out in a style so forcible as to make us fancy that the pupil had a larger share in its creation than his teacher4 ,these works1 however1 sink into insignificance before the ,palazzo del ,te at ,mantua1 the masterpiece of ,giulio's genius4 ,this most noble of ,italian pleasure-houses remains to show what the imagination of a poet-artist could recover from the splendour of old ,rome and adapt to the use of his own age4 ,the vaults of the ,thermae of ,titus1 with their cameos of stucco and frescoed arabesques1 are here repeated on a scale and with an exuberance of invention that surpass the model4 ,open loggie yield fair prospect over what were once trim gardens2 spacious halls1 adorned with frescoes in the vehement and gorgeous style of the ,roman school1 form a fit theatre for the grand parade-life of an ,italian prince4 ,the whole is ,pagan in its pride and sensuality1 its prodigality of strength and insolence of freedom4 ,having seen this palace1 we do not wonder that the fame of ,giulio flew across the ,alps and lived upon the lips of ,shakspere3 for in his master-work at ,mantua he collected1 as it were1 and epitomised in one building all that enthralled the fancy of the ,northern nations when they thought of ,italy4 ,a pendant to the ,palazzo del ,te is the ,villa ,farnesina1 raised on the banks of the ,tiber by ,baldassare ,peruzzi for his fellow townsman ,agostino ,chigi of ,siena4 ,it is an idyll placed beside a lyric ode1 gentler and quieter in style1 yet full of grace1 breathing the large and liberal spirit of enjoyment that characterised the age of ,leo4 ,the frescoes of ,galatea and ,psyche1 executed by ,raphael and his pupils1 have made this villa famous in the annals of ,italian painting4 ,the memory of the ,roman banker's splendid style of living marks it out as no less noteworthy in the history of ,renaissance manners4#dd ,among the great edifices of this second period we may reckon ,jacopo ,sansovino's buildings at ,venice1 though they approximate rather to the style of the earlier ,renaissance in all that concerns exuberance of decorative detail4 ,the ,venetians1 somewhat behind the rest of ,italy in the development of the fine arts1 were at the height of prosperity and wealth during the middle period of the ,renaissance2 and no city is more rich in monuments of the florid style4 ,something of their own delight in sensuous magnificence they communicated even to the foreigners who dwelt among them4 ,the court of the ,ducal ,palace1 the ,scuola di ,s4 ,rocco1 the ,palazzo ,corner1 and the ,palazzo ,vendramini-,calergi1 illustrate the1 strong yet fanciful bravura style that pleased the aristocracy of ,venice4 ,nowhere else does the architecture of the ,middle ,ages melt by more imperceptible degrees into that of the ,revival1 retaining through all changes the impress of a people splendour-loving in the highest sense4 ,the ,library of ,s4 ,mark1 built by ,sansovino in #aecf1 remains1 however1 the crowning triumph of ,venetian art4 ,it is impossible to contemplate its noble double row of open arches without feeling the eloquence of rhetoric so brilliant1 without echoing the judgment of ,palladio1 that nothing more sumptuous or beautiful had been invented since the age of ancient ,rome4 ,time would fail to tell of all the architects who crowd the first half of the sixteenth century--of ,antonio di ,san ,gallo1 famous for fortifications2 of ,baccio d',agnolo1 who raised the ,campanile of ,s4 ,spirito at ,florence2 of ,giovanni ,maria ,falconetto1 to whose genius ,padua owed so many princely edifices2 of ,michele ,sanmicheli1 the military architect of ,verona1 and the builder of five mighty palaces for the nobles of his native city4 ,yet the greatest name of all this period cannot be omitted3 ,michael ,angelo must be added to the list of builders in the golden age4 ,in architecture1 as in sculpture1 he not only bequeathed to posterity masterpieces of individual energy and original invention1 in their kind unrivalled2 but he also prepared for his successors a false way of working1 and justified by his example the extravagances of the decadence4 ,without noticing the faade designed for ,s4 ,lorenzo at ,florence1 the transformation of the ,baths of ,diocletian into a church1 the remodelling of the ,capitoline buildings1 and the continuation of the ,palazzo ,farnese--works that either exist only in drawings or have been confused by later alterations--it is enough here to mention the ,sagrestia ,nuova of ,s4 ,lorenzo and the cupola of ,s4 ,peter's4 ,the sacristy may be looked on either as the masterpiece of a sculptor who required fit setting for his statues1 or of an architect who designed statues to enhance the structure he had planned4 ,both arts are used with equal ease1 nor has the genius of ,michael ,angelo dealt more masterfully with the human frame than with the forms of ,roman architecture in this chapel4 ,he seems to have paid no heed to classic precedent1 and to have taken no pains to adapt the parts to the structural purpose of the building4 ,it was enough for him to create a wholly novel framework for the modern miracle of sculpture it enshrines1 attending to such rules of composition as determine light and shade1 and seeking by the slightness of mouldings and pilasters to enhance the terrible and massive forms that brood above the ,medicean tombs4 ,the result is a product of picturesque and plastic art1 as true to the ,michaelangelesque spirit as the ,temple of the ,wingless ,victory to that of ,pheidias4 ,but where ,michael ,angelo achieved a triumph of boldness1 lesser natures were betrayed into bizarrerie2 and this chapel of the ,medici1 in spite of its grandiose simplicity1 proved a stumbling-block to subsequent architects by encouraging them to despise propriety and violate the laws of structure4 ,the same may be said with even greater truth of the ,laurentian ,library and its staircase4 ,the false windows1 repeated pillars1 and barefaced aiming at effect1 that mark the insincerity of the barocco style1 are found here almost for the first time4 ,what ,s4 ,peter's would have been1 if ,michael ,angelo had lived to finish it1 can be imagined from his plans and elevations still preserved4 ,it must always remain a matter of profound regret that his project was so far altered as to sacrifice the effect of the dome from the piazza4 ,this dome is ,michael ,angelo's supreme achievement as an architect4 ,it not only preserves all that is majestic in the cupola of ,brunelleschi2 but it also avoids the defects of its avowed model1 by securing the entrance of abundant light1 and dilating the imagination with the sense of space to soar and float in4 ,it is the dome that makes ,s4 ,peter's what it is--the adequate symbol of the ,church in an age that had abandoned mediaevalism and produced a new type of civility for the modern nations4 ,on the connection between the building of ,s4 ,peter's and the ,reformation ,i have touched already4#de ,this mighty temple is the shrine of ,catholicity1 no longer cosmopolitan by right of spiritual empire1 but secularised and limited to ,latin races4 ,at the same time it represents the spirit of a period when the ,popes still led the world as intellectual chiefs4 ,as the decree for its erection was the last act of the ,papacy before the schism of the ,north had driven it into blind conflict with advancing culture1 so ,s4 ,peter's remains the monument to after ages of a moment when the ,roman ,church1 unterrified as yet by ,german rebels1 dared to share the mundane impulse of the classical revival4 ,she had forgotten the catacombs and ruthlessly destroyed the ,basilica of ,constantine4 ,by rebuilding the mother church of ,western ,christianity upon a new plan1 she broke with tradition2 and if ,rome has not ceased to be the ,eternal ,city1 if all ways are still leading to ,rome1 we may even hazard a conjecture that in the last days of their universal monarchy the ,popes reared this fane to be the temple of a spirit alien to their own4 ,it is at any rate certain that ,s4 ,peter's produces an impression less ecclesiastical1 and less strictly ,christian1 than almost any of the elder and far humbler churches of ,europe4 ,raised by proud and secular pontiffs in the heyday of renascent humanism1 it seems to wait the time when the high priests of a religion no longer hostile to science or antagonistic to the inevitable force of progress will chaunt their hymns beneath its spacious dome4 ,the building of ,s4 ,peter's was so momentous in modern history1 and so decisive for ,italian architecture1 that it may be permitted me to describe the vicissitudes through which the structure passed before reaching completion4 ,nicholas ,v41 founder of the secular papacy and chief patron of the humanistic movement in ,rome1 had approved a scheme for thoroughly rebuilding and refortifying the pontifical city4#df ,part of this plan involved the reconstruction of ,s4 ,peter's4 ,the old basilica was to be removed1 and on its site was to rise a mighty church1 shaped like a ,latin cross1 with a central dome and two high towers flanking the vestibule4 ,nicholas died before his project could be carried into effect4 ,beyond destroying the old temple of ,probus and marking out foundations for the tribune of the new church1 nothing had been accomplished2#dg nor did his successors until the reign of ,julius think of continuing what he had begun4 ,in #aejf1 on the #ahth of ,april1 ,julius laid the first stone of ,s4 ,peter's according to the plans provided by ,bramante4 ,the basilica was designed in the shape of a ,greek cross1 surmounted by a colossal dome1 and approached by a vestibule fronted with six columns4 ,as in all the works of ,bramante1 simplicity and dignity distinguished this first scheme4#dh ,for eight years1 until his death in #aead1 ,bramante laboured on the building4 ,julius1 the most impatient of masters1 urged him to work rapidly4 ,in consequence of this haste1 the substructures of the new church proved insecure1 and the huge piers raised to support the cupola were imperfect1 while the venerable monuments contained in the old church were ruthlessly destroyed4#di ,after ,bramante's death ,giuliano di ,s4 ,gallo1 ,fra ,giocondo1 and ,raphael successively superintended the construction1 each for a short period4 ,raphael1 under ,leo ,x41 was appointed sole architect1 and went so far as to alter the design of ,bramante by substituting the ,latin for the ,greek cross4 ,upon his death1 ,baldassare ,peruzzi continued the work1 and supplied a series of new designs1 restoring the ground-plan of the church to its original shape4 ,he was succeeded in the reign of ,paul ,,iii4 by ,antonio di ,s4 ,gallo1 who once more reverted to the ,latin cross1 and proposed a novel form of cupola with flanking towers for the faade1 of bizarre rather than beautiful proportions4 ,after a short interregnum1 during which ,giulio ,romano superintended the building and did nothing remarkable1 ,michael ,angelo was called in #aece to undertake the sole charge of the edifice4 ,he declared that wherever subsequent architects had departed from ,bramante's project1 they had erred4 ,it is impossible to deny that ,bramante was as great in architecture as any man has been since the days of the ancients4 ,when he first laid the plan of ,s4 ,peter's1 he made it not a mass of confusion1 but clear and simple1 well lighted1 and so thoroughly detached that it in no way interfered with any portion of the palace4#ej ,having thus pronounced himself in general for ,bramante's scheme1 ,michael ,angelo proceeded to develop it in accordance with his own canons of taste4 ,he retained the ,greek cross2 but the dome1 as he conceived it1 and the details designed for each section of the building1 differed essentially from what the earlier master would have sanctioned4 ,not the placid and pure taste of ,bramante1 but the masterful and fiery genius of ,buonarroti1 is responsible for the colossal scale of the subordinate parts and variously broken lineaments of the existing church4 ,in spite of all changes of direction1 the fabric of ,s4 ,peter's had been steadily advancing4 ,michael ,angelo was1 therefore1 able to raise the central structure as far as the drum of the cupola before his death4 ,his plans and models were carefully preserved1 and a special papal ordinance decreed that henceforth there should be no deviation from the scheme he had laid down4 ,unhappily this rule was not observed4 ,under ,pius ,v41 ,vignola and ,piero ,ligorio did indeed continue his tradition2 under ,gregory ,,xiii41 ,sixtus ,v41 and ,clement ,,viii41 ,giacomo della ,porta made no substantial alterations2 and in #aeij ,domenico ,fontana finished the dome4 ,but during the pontificate of ,paul ,v41 ,carlo ,maderno resumed the form of the ,latin cross1 and completed the nave and vestibule1 as they now stand1 upon this altered plan 7#afad74 ,the consequence is what has been already noted--at a moderate distance from the church the dome is lost to view2 it only takes its true position of predominance when seen from far4 ,in the year #afbf1 ,s4 ,peter's was consecrated by ,urban ,,viii41 and the mighty work was finished4 ,it remained for ,bernini to add the colonnades of the piazza1 no less picturesque in their effect than admirably fitted for the pageantry of world-important ceremonial4 ,at the end of the eighteenth century it was reckoned that the church had cost but little less than fifty million scudi4 ,michael ,angelo forms the link between the second and third periods of the ,renaissance4 ,among the architects of the latter age we have to reckon those who based their practice upon minute study of antique writers1 and who1 more than any of their predecessors1 realised the long-sought restitution of the classic style according to precise scholastic canons4#ea ,a new age had now begun for ,italy4 ,the glory and the grace of the ,renaissance1 its blooming time of beauty1 and its springtide of young strength1 were over4 ,strangers held the reins of power1 and the ,reformation had begun to make itself felt in the ,northern provinces of ,christendom4 ,a colder and more formal spirit everywhere prevailed4 ,the sources of invention in the art of painting were dried up4 ,scholarship had pined away into pedantic purism4 ,correct taste was coming to be prized more highly than originality of genius in literature4 ,nor did architecture fail to manifest the operation of this change4 ,the greatest builder of the period was ,andrea ,palladio of ,vicenza1 who combined a more complete analytical knowledge of antiquity with a firmer adherence to rule and precedent than even the most imitative of his forerunners4 ,it is useless to seek for decorative fancy1 wealth of detail1 or sallies of inventive genius in the ,palladian style4 ,all is cold and calculated in the many palaces and churches of this master which adorn both ,venice and ,vicenza2 they make us feel that creative inspiration has been superseded by the labour of the calculating reason4 ,one great public building of ,palladio's1 however--the ,palazzo della ,ragione at ,vicenza--may be cited as1 perhaps1 the culminating point of pure ,renaissance architecture4 ,in its simple and heroical arcades1 its solid columns1 and noble open spaces1 the strength of ,rome is realised to the eyes of those who do not penetrate too far inside the building4#eb ,here1 and here only1 the architectural problem of the epoch--how to bring the art of the ancients back to life and use again--was solved according to the spirit and the letter of the past4 ,palladio never equalled this1 the earliest of all his many works4 ,in the first half of the sixteenth century the dictatorship of art had been already transferred from ,florence and ,rome to ,lombardy4#ec ,the painters who carried on the great traditions were ,venetian4 ,among the architects1 ,palladio was a native of ,vicenza2 ,giacomo ,barozzi1 the author of the ,treatise on the ,orders1 took the name by which he is known from his birthplace1 ,vignola2 ,vincenzo ,scamozzi was a fellow-townsman of ,palladio2 ,galeazzo ,alessi1 though born at ,perugia1 spent his life and developed his talents in ,genoa2 ,andrea ,formigine1 the palace-builder1 was a ,bolognese2 ,bartolommeo ,ammanati alone at ,florence exercised the arts of sculpture and architecture in their old conjunction4 ,vignola1 ,palladio's elder by a few years1 displays in his work even more of the scholastically frigid spirit of the late ,renaissance1 the narrowing of poetic impulse1 and the dwindling of vitality1 that sadden the second half of the sixteenth century in ,italy4 ,scamozzi1 labouring at ,venice on works that ,sansovino left unfinished1 caught the genial spirit of the old ,venetian style4 ,alessi1 in like manner1 at ,genoa1 felt the influences of a rich and splendour-loving aristocracy4 ,his church of ,s4 ,maria di ,carignano is one of the most successful ecclesiastical buildings of the late ,renaissance1 combining the principles of ,bramante and ,michael ,angelo in close imitation of ,s4 ,peter's1 and adhering in detail to the canons of the new taste4 ,these canons were based upon a close study of ,vitruvius4 ,palladio1 ,vignola1 and ,scamozzi were no less ambitious as authors than as architects2#ed their minute analysis of antique treatises on the art of construction led to the formation of exact rules for the treatment of the five classic orders1 the proportions of the chief parts used in building1 and the correct method of designing theatres and palaces1 church-fronts and cupolas4 ,thus architecture in its third ,renaissance period passed into scholasticism4 ,the masters of this age1 chiefly through the weight of their authority as writers1 exercised a wider ,european influence than any of their predecessors4 ,we ,english1 for example1 have given ,palladio's name to the ,italian style adopted by us in the seventeenth century4 ,this selection of one man to represent an epoch was due partly no doubt to the prestige of ,palladio's great buildings in the ,south1 but more1 ,i think1 to the facility with which his principles could be assimilated4 ,depending but little for effect upon the arts of decoration1 his style was easily imitated in countries where painting and sculpture were unknown1 and where a genius like ,jean ,goujon1 the ,sansovino of the ,french1 has never been developed4 ,to have rivalled the faade of the ,certosa would have been impossible in ,london4 ,yet here ,wren produced a cathedral worthy of comparison with the proudest of the late ,italian edifices4 ,moreover1 the principles of taste that governed ,europe in the seventeenth century were such as found fitter architectural expression in this style than in the more genial and capricious manner of the earlier periods4 ,after reviewing the rise and development of ,renaissance architecture1 it is almost irresistible to compare the process whereby the builders of this age learned to use dead forms for the expression of their thoughts1 with the similar process by which the scholars accustomed themselves to ,latin metres and the cadences of ,ciceronian periods4#ee ,the object in each case was the same--to be as true to the antique as possible1 and without actually sacrificing the independence of the modern mind1 to impose upon it the limitations of a bygone civilisation4 ,at first the enthusiasm for antiquity inspired architects and scholars alike with a desire to imitate per saltum1 and many works of fervid sympathy and pure artistic intuition were produced4 ,in course of time the laws both of language and construction were more accurately studied2 invention was superseded by pedantry2 after ,poliziano and ,alberti came ,bembo and ,palladio4 ,in proportion as architects learned more about ,vitruvius1 and scholars narrowed their taste to ,virgil1 the style of both became more cramped and formal4 ,it ceased at last to be possible to express modern ideas freely in the correct ,latinity required by cultivated ears1 while no room for originality1 no scope for poetry of invention1 remained in the elaborated method of the architects4 ,neo-,latin literature dwindled away to nothing1 and ,palladio was followed by the violent reactionaries of the barocco mannerism4 ,in one all-important respect this parallel breaks down4 ,while the labours of the ,latinists subserved the simple process of instruction1 by purifying literary taste and familiarising the modern mind with the masterpieces of the classic authors1 the architects created a new common style for ,europe4 ,with all its defects1 it is not likely that the neo-,roman architecture1 so profoundly studied by the ,italians1 and so anxiously refined by their chief masters1 will ever wholly cease to be employed4 ,in all cases where a grand and massive edifice1 no less suited to purposes of practical utility than imposing by its splendour1 is required1 this style of building will be found the best4 ,changes of taste and fashion1 local circumstances1 and the personal proclivities of modern architects may determine the choice of one type rather than another among the numerous examples furnished by ,italian masters4 ,but it is not possible that either ,greek or ,gothic should permanently take the place assigned to neo-,roman architecture in the public buildings of ,european capitals4 ,,footnotes3 #aj ,the question of the genesis of the ,lombard style is one of the most difficult in ,italian art-history4 ,i would not willingly be understood to speak of ,lombard architecture in any sense different from that in which it is usual to speak of ,norman4 ,to suppose that either the ,lombards or the ,normans had a style of their own1 prior to their occupation of districts from the monuments of which they learned rudely to use the decayed ,roman manner1 would be incorrect4 ,yet it seems impossible to deny that both ,normans and ,lombards in adapting antecedent models added something of their own1 specific to themselves as ,northerners4 ,the ,lombard1 like the ,norman or the ,rhenish ,romanesque1 is the first stage in the progressive mediaeval architecture of its own district4 #aa ,i use the term ,lombard architecture here1 as defined above 7p4 #ca1 note71 for the style of building prevalent in ,italy during the ,lombard occupation1 or just after4 #ab ,the essential difference between ,italy and either ,northern ,france or ,england1 was that in ,italy there existed monuments of ,roman greatness1 which could never be forgotten by her architects4 ,they always worked with at least half of their attention turned to the past3 nor had they the exhilarating sense of free1 spontaneous1 and progressive invention4 ,this point has been well worked out by ,mr4 ,street in the last chapter of his hook on the ,architecture of ,north ,italy4 #ac ,even though it be now proved that not ,heinrich von ,gmunden1 but ,marco ,frisone da ,campione1 not a ,german1 but a ,milanese1 was the first architect1 this is none the less true about its style4 #ad ,see ,vol4 ,i41 ,age of the ,despots1 p4 #aec4 #ae ,pavia1 it may be mentioned1 has still many towers standing1 and the two at ,bologna are famous4 #af ,arnolfo was born in #abcb at ,colle1 in the ,val d',elsa4 ,he was a sculptor as well as architect1 the assistant of ,niccola ,pisano at ,siena1 and the maker of the tomb of ,cardinal de ,braye at ,orvieto4 ,this tomb is remarkable as the earliest instance of the canopy withdrawn by attendant angels from the dead man's form1 afterwards so frequently adopted by the ,pisan school4 #ag ,giov4 ,villani1 viii4 #bf4 #ah ,see ,milizia1 vol4 i4 p4 #ace4 ,these walls were not finished till some1 time after ,arnolfo's death4 ,they lost their ornament of towers in the siege of #aebi1 and they are now being rapidly destroyed4 #ai ,from ,perkins's ,tuscan ,sculptors1 vol4 i4 p4 #ed4 ,a recent work by ,signor ,g4,j4 ,cavallucci1 entitled ,s4 ,maria del ,fiore1 ,firenze1 #ahha1 has created a revolution in our knowledge regarding this church4 #bj ,giov4 ,villani1 x4 #aib4 #ba ,illustrated ,handbook of ,architecture1 book vi4 chap4 i4 #bb ,ib4 #bc ,see ,grner's ,terra ,cotta ,architecture of ,north ,italy1 plates #c and #d4 #bd ,compare what ,alberti says in his preface to the ,treatise on ,painting1 ,opere1 vol4 iv4 p4 #ab4 ,chi mai s duro e s invido non lodasse ,pippo architetto vedendo qu struttura si grande1 erta sopra i cieli1 ampla da coprire con sua ombra tutti i popoli toscani1 fatta sanza alcuno aiuto di travamenti o di copia di legname1 quale artificio certo1 se io ben giudico1 come a questi tempi era incredibile potersi1 cos forse appresso gli antiqui fu non saputo n conosciuto8 #be ,what the church of ,s4 ,petronio at ,bologna would have been1 if it had been completed on the scale contemplated1 can hardly be imagined4 ,as it stands1 it is immense1 and coldly bare in its immensity4 ,yet the present church is but the nave of a temple designed with transepts and choir4 ,the length was to have been #hjj feet1 the width of the transepts #fbe1 the dome #ahc feet in diameter4 ,a building so colossal in extent1 and so monotonously meagre in conception1 could not but have been a failure4 #bf ,vol4 ,,ii41 ,revival of ,learning1 chap1 #a4 #bg ,the following passage quoted from ,milizia1 ,memorie degli ,architetti1 ,parma1 #agha1 vol4 i4 p4 #ace1 illustrates the contemptuous attitude of ,italian critics to ,gothic architecture4 ,after describing ,arnolfo's building of the ,florentine ,duomo1 he proceeds3 ,in questo ,architetto si vide qualche leggiero barlume di buona ,architettura1 come di ,pittura in ,cimabue suo contemporaneo4 ,ma in tutte le cose e fisiche e morali i passaggi si fanno per insensibili gradagioni2 onde per lungo tempo ancora si mantenne il corrotto gusto1 che si pu chiamare ,arabo-,tedesco4 #bh ,observe1 for example1 the casing of a ,gothic church at ,rimini by ,alberti with a series of ,roman arches2 or the faade of ,s4 ,andrea at ,mantua1 where the vast and lofty central arch leads1 not into the nave itself1 but into a shallow vestibule4 #bi ,see ,burckhardt1 ,cicerone1 vol4 i4 p4 #afg4 #cj ,see ,de ,stendhal1 ,histoire de la ,peinture en ,italie1 p4 #abb4 #ca ,for a notice of his life1 see ,vol4 ,,ii41 ,revival of ,learning1 p4 #bdg4 #cb ,the ,arch of ,augustus at ,rimini was the model followed by ,alberti in this faade4 ,he intended to cover the church with a cupola1 as may be seen from the design on a medal of ,sigismondo ,pandolfo ,malatesta4 ,see too the letter written by him to ,matteo da ,bastia1 ,alberti1 ,opere1 vol4 iv4 p4 #cig4 #cc ,this ancestral palace of the ,medici passed in #afei to the ,marchese ,gabriele ,riccardi1 from the ,duke ,francesco ,,ii4 #cd ,von ,reumont1 ,lorenzo de' ,medici1 vol4 ii4 pp4 #ahg-aia1 may be consulted for an interesting account of the building of this ,casa ,grande by ,filippo ,strozzi4 ,the preparations were made with great caution1 lest it should seem that a work too magnificent for a simple citizen was being undertaken2 in particular1 ,filippo so contrived that the costly opus rusticum employed in the construction of the basement should appear to have been forced upon him4 ,this is characteristic of ,florence in the days of ,cosimo4 ,the foundation stone was laid in the morning of ,august #af1 #adhi1 at the moment when the sun arose above the summits of the ,casentino4 ,the hour1 prescribed by astrologers as propitious1 had been settled by the horoscope2 masses meanwhile were said in several churches1 and alms distributed4 #ce ,antonio ,filarete1 or ,averulino1 architect and sculptor1 was author of a treatise on the building of the ideal city1 one of the most curious specimens of ,renaissance fancy1 to judge from the account rendered of the manuscript by ,rio1 vol4 iii4 pp4 #cba-cbh4 #cf ,matteo ,civitale1 ,benedetto da ,majano1 ,mino da ,fiesole1 ,luca della ,robbia1 ,donatello1 ,jacopo della ,quercia1 ,lo ,scalza1 ,omodeo1 and the ,sansovini1 not to mention less illustrious sculptors1 filled the churches of ,italy with this elaborate stone-work4 ,among the bronze-founders it is enough to name ,ghiberti1 ,antonio ,filarete1 ,antonio ,pollajuolo1 ,donatello and his pupil ,bertoldo1 ,andrea ,riccio1 the master of the candelabrum in ,s4 ,antonio at ,padua1 ,jacopo ,sansovino1 the master of the door of the sacristy in ,s4 ,mark's at ,venice1 ,alessandro ,leopardi1 the master of the standard-pedestals of the ,piazza of ,s4 ,mark's4 ,i do not mean these lists to be in any sense exhaustive1 but simply to remind the reader of the rare and many-sided men of genius who devoted their abilities to this kind of work4 ,some of their masterpieces will be noticed in detail in the chapter on ,sculpture4 #cg ,especially his work at ,monte ,oliveto1 near ,siena1 and in the church of ,monte ,oliveto at ,naples4 ,the ,sala del ,cambio at ,perugia may also be cited as rich in tarsia-work designed by ,perugino1 while the church of ,s4 ,pietro de' ,cassinensi outside the city is a museum of masterpieces executed by ,fra ,damiano da ,bergamo and ,stefano da ,bergamo from designs of ,raphael4 ,not less beautiful are the inlaid wood panels in the ,palace of ,urbino1 by ,maestro ,giacomo of ,florence4 #ch ,the churches and palaces of ,lombardy are peculiarly rich in this kind of decoration4 ,the faade of the ,oratory of ,s4 ,bernardino at ,perugia1 designed and executed by ,agostino di ,duccio1 is a masterpiece of rare beauty in this style4 #ci ,not to mention the ,renaissance mosaics of ,s4 ,mark's at ,venice1 the cupola of ,s4 ,maria del ,popolo at ,rome1 executed in mosaic by ,raphael1 deserves special mention4 ,a work illustrative of this cupola is one of ,ludwig ,grner's best publications4 #dj ,south ,italy and ,florence are distinguished by two marked styles in this decoration of inlaid marbles or opera di commesso4 ,compare the ,medicean chapel in ,s4 ,lorenzo1 for instance1 with the high altar of the cathedral of ,messina4 #da ,the roof of the ,duomo at ,volterra is a fine specimen4 #db ,it will not be forgotten that ,raphael's cartoons were made for tapestry4 #dc ,bramante ,lazzari was born at ,castel ,durante1 near ,urbino1 in #addd4 ,he spent the early years of his architect's life in ,lombardy1 in the service of ,lodovico ,sforza1 and came probably to ,rome upon his patron's downfall in #adii4 #dd ,see ,vol4 ,i41 ,age of the ,despots1 p4 #cdb4 #de ,see ,vol4 ,i41 ,age of the ,despots1 p4 #cdd4 ,see ,gregorovius1 ,geschichte der ,stadt ,rom1 vol4 viii4 p4 #abg1 and the quotation there translated from ,pallavicini's ,history of the ,council of ,trent4 #df ,see ,vol4 ,i41 ,age of the ,despots1 pp4 #bif-bih4 ,vol4 ,,ii41 ,revival of ,learning1 pp4 #afa-aff4 ,for his architectural designs see his ,life1 by ,manetti1 book ii41 in ,muratori1 vol4 iii4 part ii4 #dg ,gregorovius1 vol4 vii4 p4 #fch4 #dh ,besides the great work of ,bonanni1 ,templi ,vaticani ,historia1 ,i may refer my readers to the atlas volume of ,illustrations1 ,architectural and ,pictorial1 of the ,genius of ,michael ,angelo ,buonarroti1 compiled by ,mr4 ,harford 7,colnaghi1 #aheg74 ,plates #a to #g of that work are devoted to the plans of ,s4 ,peter's4 ,plate #d is specially interesting1 since it represents in one view the old basilica and the design of ,bramante1 together with those of ,antonio di ,s4 ,gallo and ,michael ,angelo4 #di ,the subterranean vaults of ,s4 ,peter's contain mere fragments of tombs1 some precious as historical records1 some valuable as works of art1 swept together pell-mell from the ruins of the old basilica4 #ej ,see the original letter to ,ammanati1 published from the ,archivio ,buonarroti1 by ,signor ,milanesi1 p4 #ece4 #ea ,i am far from meaning that the earlier architects had not been guided by ancient authors4 ,alberti's ,treatise on the ,art of ,building is a sufficient proof of their study of ,vitruvius1 and we know that ,fabio ,calvi translated that writer into ,italian for ,raphael4 ,in the later ,renaissance this study passed into purism4 #eb ,it must be confessed that this grandiose and picturesque structure is but a shell to mask an earlier ,gothic edifice4 #ec ,compare ,vol4 ,,ii41 ,revival of ,learning1 p4 #cgj1 for the same transference of power in literature from ,central to ,northern ,italy at this time4 #ed ,palladio's ,four ,books of ,architecture1 first published at ,venice in #aegj1 and ,vignola's ,treatise on the ,five ,orders1 have been translated into all the modern languages4 ,scamozzi projected1 and partly finished1 a comprehensive work on ,universal ,architecture1 which was printed in #afhe at ,venice4 #ee ,see ,vol4 ,,ii41 ,revival of ,learning1 chap4 viii4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,sculpture ,niccola ,pisano--,obscurity of the ,sources for a ,history of ,early ,italian ,sculpture--,vasari's ,legend of ,pisano--,deposition from the ,cross at ,lucca--,study of ,nature and the ,antique--,sarcophagus at ,pisa--,pisan ,pulpit--,niccola's ,school--,giovanni ,pisano--,pulpit in ,s4 ,andrea at ,pistoja--,fragments of his work at ,pisa--,tomb of ,benedict ,,xi4 at ,perugia--,bas-reliefs at ,orvieto--,andrea ,pisano--,relation of ,sculpture to ,painting--,giotto--,subordination of ,sculpture to ,architecture in ,italy--,pisano's ,influence in ,venice--,balduccio of ,pisa--,orcagna--,the ,tabernacle of ,orsammichele--,the ,gates of the ,florentine ,baptistery --,competition of ,ghiberti1 ,brunelleschi1 and ,della ,quercia--,comparison of ,ghiberti's and ,brunelleschi's ,trial-pieces--,comparison of ,ghiberti and ,della ,quercia--,the ,bas-reliefs of ,s4 ,petronio--,ghiberti's ,education--,his ,pictorial ,style in ,bas-relief--,his ,feeling for the ,antique--,donatello--,early ,visit to ,rome--,christian ,subjects--,realistic ,treatment--,s4 ,george and ,david--,judith--,equestrian ,statue of ,gattamelata--,influence of ,donatello's ,naturalism--,andrea ,verocchio--,his ,david--,statue of ,colleoni--,alessandro ,leopardi--,lionardo's ,statue of ,francesco ,sforza--,the ,pollajuoli--,tombs of ,sixtus ,,iv4 and ,innocent ,,viii4--,luca della ,robbia--,his ,treatment of ,glazed ,earthenware--,agostino di ,duccio--,the ,oratory of ,s4 ,bernardino at ,perugia--,antonio ,rossellino--,matteo ,civitali--,mino da ,fiesole--,benedetto da ,majano--,characteristics and ,masterpieces of this ,group--,sepulchral ,monuments--,andrea ,contucci's ,tombs in ,s4 ,maria del ,popolo--,desiderio da ,settignano--,sculpture in ,s4 ,francesco at ,rimini--,venetian ,sculpture--,verona--,guido ,mazzoni of ,modena--,certosa of ,pavia--,colleoni ,chapel at ,bergamo--,sansovino at ,venice--,pagan ,sculpture--,michael ,angelo's ,scholars--,baccio ,bandinelli--,bartolommeo ,ammanati--,cellini--,gian ,bologna--,survey of the ,history of ,renaissance ,sculpture4 ,in the procession of the fine arts1 sculpture always follows close upon the steps of architecture1 and at first appears in some sense as her handmaid4 ,mediaeval ,italy found her ,pheidias in a great man of ,pisan origin1 born during the first decade of the thirteenth century4 ,it was ,niccola ,pisano1 architect and sculptor1 who first breathed with the breath of genius life into the dead forms of plastic art4 ,from him we date the dawn of the aesthetical ,renaissance with the same certainty as from ,petrarch that of humanism2 for he determined the direction not only of sculpture but also of painting in ,italy4 ,to quote the language of ,lord ,lindsay's panegyric3 ,neither ,dante nor ,shakspere can boast such extent and durability of influence2 for whatever of highest excellence has been achieved in sculpture and painting1 not in ,italy only but throughout ,europe1 has been in obedience to the impulse he primarily gave1 and in following up the principle which he first struck out4#ef ,in truth1 ,niccola ,pisano put the artist on the right track of combining the study of antiquity with the study of nature2 and to him belongs the credit not merely of his own achievement1 considerable as that may be1 but also of the work of his immediate scholars and of all who learned from him to portray life4 ,from ,niccola ,pisano onward to ,michael ,angelo and ,cellini we trace one genealogy of sculptors1 who1 though they carried art beyond the sphere of his invention1 looked back to him as their progenitor4 ,the man who first emancipated sculpture from servile bondage1 and opened a way for the attainment of true beauty1 would by the ,greeks have been honoured with a special cultas as the ,hero ,eponym of art4 ,it remains for us after our own fashion to pay some such homage to ,pisano4 ,the chief difficulty with which the student of early art and literature has to deal1 is the insufficiency of positive information4 ,instead of accurate dates and well-established facts he finds a legend1 rich apparently in detail1 but liable at every point to doubt1 and subject to attack by plausible conjecture4 ,in the absence of contemporary documents and other trustworthy sources of instruction1 he is tempted to substitute his own hypotheses for tradition and to reconstruct the faulty outlines of forgotten history according to his own ideas of fitness4 ,the ,germans have been our masters in this species of destructive1 dubitative1 restorative criticism2 and it is undoubtedly flattering to the historian's vanity to constitute himself a judge and arbiter in cases where tact and ingenuity may claim to sift the scattered fragment of confused narration4 ,yet to resist this temptation is in many cases a plain and simple duty4 ,tradition1 when not positively disproved1 should be allowed to have its full value2 and a sounder historic sense is exercised in adopting its testimony with due caution1 than in recklessly rejecting it and substituting guesses which the lack of knowledge renders unsubstantial4 ,tradition may err about dates1 details1 and names4 ,it is just here that antiquarian research can render valuable help4 ,but there are occasions when the perusal of documents and the exercise of what is called the higher criticism afford no surer basis for opinion4 ,if in such cases a legend has been formed and recorded1 the student will advance further toward comprehending the spirit of his subject by patiently considering what he knows to be in part perhaps a mythus1 than by starting with the foregone conclusion that the legend must of necessity be worthless1 and that his cunning will suffice to supply the missing clue4#eg ,thus much ,i have said by way of preface to what follows upon ,niccola ,pisano4 ,almost all we know about him is derived from a couple of inscriptions1 a few contracts1 and his ,life by ,giorgio ,vasari4 ,it is clear that ,vasari often wrote with carelessness1 confusing dates and places1 and taking no pains to verify the truth of his assertions4 ,much of ,niccola's biography reads like a legend in his pages--the popular and oral tradition of a great man1 whose panegyric it was more easy in the sixteenth century to adorn with rhetoric than to chronicle the details of his life with scrupulous fidelity4 ,a well-founded conviction of ,vasari's frequent inaccuracy has induced recent critics to call in question many hitherto accepted points about the nationality and training of ,pisano4 ,the discussion1 of their arguments ,i leave for the appendix1 contenting myself at present with relating so much of ,vasari's legend as cannot1 ,i think1 reasonably be rejected4#eh ,before the sculptor appeared in ,niccola ,pisano1 he was already a famous architect2 and it must always be remembered that he and his school subordinated the plastic to the constructive arts4 ,it was not until the year #abcc1 or #abcg1 according to different modern calculations1 that he executed his first masterpiece in sculpture4#ei ,this was a ,deposition from the ,cross1 in high relief1 placed in a lunette over one of the side doors of ,s4 ,martino at ,lucca4 ,the noble forms of this group1 the largeness of its style1 the breadth of drapery and freedom of action it displays1 but1 above all1 the unity of its design1 proclaimed that a new era had begun for art4 ,in order to appreciate the importance of this relief1 it is only necessary to compare it with the processional treatment of similar subjects upon early ,christian sarcophagi1 where each figure stands up stiff and separate1 nor can the controlling and combining artist's thought be traced in any effort after composition4 ,ever since the silver age of ,hadrian1 when a ,bithynian slave by his beauty gave a final impulse to the ,genius of ,greece1 sculpture had been gradually declining until nothing was left but a formal repetition of conventional outlines4 ,the so-called ,romanesque and ,byzantine styles were but the dotage of second childhood1 fumbling with the methods and materials of an irrecoverable past4 ,it is true1 indeed1 that unknown mediaeval carvers had shown an instinct for the beautiful as well as great fertility of grotesque invention4 ,the faades of ,lombard churches are covered with fanciful and sometimes forcibly dramatic groups of animals and men in combat2 and contemporaneously with ,niccola ,pisano1 many ,gothic sculptors of the ,north were adorning the faades and porches of cathedrals with statuary unrivalled in one style of loveliness4#fj ,yet the founder of a line of progressive artists had not arisen1 and1 except in ,italy1 the conditions were still wanting under which alone the plastic arts could attain to independence4 ,a fresh start1 at once conscious and scientific1 was imperatively demanded4 ,this new beginning sculpture took in the brain of ,niccola ,pisano1 who returned from the bye-paths of his predecessors to the free field of nature1 and who learned precious lessons from the fragments of classical sculpture existing in his native town4 ,as though to prove the essential dependence of the modern revival upon the recovery of antique culture1 we find that his genius1 in spite of its powerful originality and profoundly ,christian bias1 required the confirmation which could only be derived from ,graeco-,roman precedent4 ,in the ,campo ,santo at ,pisa may still be seen a sarcophagus representing the story of ,hippolytus and ,phaedra1 where once reposed the dust of ,beatrice1 the mother of the pious ,countess ,matilda of ,tuscany4 ,studying the heroic nudities and noble attitudes of this bas-relief1 ,niccola rediscovered the right way of art--not by merely copying his model1 but by divining the secret of the grand style4 ,his work at ,pisa contains abundant evidence that1 while he could not wholly free himself from the defects of the later ,romanesque manner1 betrayed by his choice of short and square-set types1 he nevertheless learned from the antique how to aim at beauty and freedom in his imitation of the living human form4 ,a marble vase1 sculptured with ,indian ,bacchus and his train of ,maenads1 gave him further help4 ,from these grave or graceful classic forms1 satisfied with their own goodliness1 and void of inner symbolism1 the ,christian sculptor drank the inspiration of ,renaissance art4 ,in the ,adoration of the ,magi1 carved upon his ,pisan pulpit1 ,madonna assumes the haughty pose of ,theseus' wife2 while the high priest1 in the ,circumcision1 displays the majesty of ,dionysus leaning on the neck of ,ampelus4 ,nor again is the naked vigour of ,hippolytus without its echo in the figure of the young man--,hercules or ,fortitude--upon a bracket of the same pulpit4 ,these sculptures of ,pisano are thus for us a symbol of what happened in the age of the ,revival4 ,the old world and the new shook hands2 ,christianity and ,hellenism kissed each other4 ,and yet they still remained antagonistic--fused externally by art1 but severed in the consciousness that1 during those strange years of dubious impulse1 felt the might of both4 ,monks leaning from ,pisano's pulpit preached the sinfulness of natural pleasure to women whose eyes were fixed on the adolescent beauty of an athlete4 ,not far off was the time when ,filarete should cast in bronze the legends of ,ganymede and ,leda for the portals of ,s4 ,peter's1 when ,raphael should mingle a carnival of more than pagan sensuality with ,bible subjects in ,leo's ,loggie1 when ,guglielmo della ,porta should place the naked portrait of ,giulia ,bella in marble at the feet of ,paul ,,iii4 upon his sepulchre4#fa ,niccola1 meanwhile1 did not follow his ,roman models in any slavish spirit4 ,they were neither numerous nor excellent enough to compel blind imitation or to paralyse inventive impulse4 ,the thoughts to be expressed in marble by the first modern artist were not ,greek4 ,this in itself saved him from that tendency to idle reproduction which proved the ruin of the later neo-pagan sculptors4 ,yet the fragments of antique work he found within his reach1 helped him to struggle after a higher quality of style1 and established standards of successful treatment4 ,for the rest1 his choice of form and the proportions of his figures show that ,niccola resorted to native ,tuscan models4 ,if nothing of his handiwork were left but the bas-relief of the ,inferno on the ,pisan pulpit1 the torsos of the men struggling with demons in that composition would prove this point4 ,it remains his crowning merit to have first expressed the mythology of ,christianity and the sentiment of the ,middle ,ages with the conscious aim of a real artist4 ,and here it may be noticed that1 a true ,italian1 he infused but little of intense or mystical emotion into his art4 ,niccola is more of a humanist1 if this word may be applied to a sculptor1 than some of his immediate successors4 ,the hexagonal pulpit in the ,baptistery of ,pisa1 the octagonal pulpit in the cathedral of ,siena1 the fountain in the marketplace of ,perugia1 and the shrine of ,s4 ,dominic at ,bologna1 all of them designed and partly finished between #abfj and #abgd by ,niccola and his scholars1 display his mastery over the art of sculpture in the maturity of his genius4 ,so highly did the ,pisans prize their fellow-townsman's pulpit that a law was passed and guardians were appointed for its preservation--much in the same way as the ,zeus of ,pheidias was consigned to the care of the ,phaidruntai4 ,niccola ,pisano founded a school4 ,his son ,giovanni1 and the numerous pupils employed upon the monuments just mentioned at ,siena1 ,bologna1 and ,perugia1 carried on the tradition of their master1 and spread his style abroad through ,italy4 ,giovanni ,pisano1 to whom we owe the ,spina ,chapel and the ,campo ,santo at ,pisa1 the faade of the ,sienese ,duomo1 and the altar-shrine of ,s4 ,donato at ,arezzo--four of the purest works of ,gothic art in ,italy--showed a very decided leaning to the vehement and mystic style of the ,transalpine sculptors4 ,we trace a dramatic intensity in ,giovanni's work1 not derived from his father1 not caught from study of the antique1 and curiously blended with the general characteristics of the ,pisan school4 ,in spite of the ,gothic cusps introduced by ,niccola into his pulpits1 the spirit of his work remained classical4 ,the young ,hercules holding the lion's cub in his right hand upon his shoulder1 while with his left he tames the raging lioness1 has the true ,italian instinct for a return to ,latin style4 ,the same sympathy with the past is observable in the self-restraint and comparative coldness of the bas-reliefs at ,pisa4 ,the ,junonian attitude of ,madonna1 the senatorial dignity of ,simeon1 the ponderous folding of the drapery1 and the massive carriage of the neck throughout1 denote an effort to revivify an antique manner4 ,what1 therefore1 ,niccola effected for sculpture was a classical revival in the very depth of the ,middle ,ages4 ,the case is different with his son ,giovanni4 ,profiting by the labours of his father1 and following in his footsteps1 he carried the new art into another region1 and brought a genius of more picturesque and forcible temper into play4 ,the value of this new direction given to sculpture for the arts of ,italy1 especially for painting1 cannot be exaggerated4 ,without ,giovanni's intervention1 the achievement of ,niccola might possibly have been as unproductive of immediate results as the ,tuscan ,romanesque1 that mediaeval effort after the ,renaissance1 was in architecture4#fb ,the ,gothic element1 so cautiously adopted by ,niccola1 is used with sympathy and freedom by his son1 whose masterpiece1 the pulpit of ,s4 ,andrea at ,pistoja1 might be selected as the supreme triumph of ,italian ,gothic sculpture4 ,the superiority of that complex and consummate work of plastic art over the pulpit of the ,pisan ,baptistery1 in all the most important qualities of style and composition1 can scarcely be called in question4 ,its only serious fault is an exaggeration of the height of the pillars in proportion to the size of the hexagon they support4 ,like the pulpits of the ,baptistery1 of the ,duomo of ,pisa1 and of the ,duomo of ,siena1 it combines bas-reliefs and detached statues1 carved capitals1 and sculptured lions1 in a maze of marvellous invention2 but it has no rival in the architectonic effect of harmony1 and the masterly feeling for balanced masses it displays4 ,the five subjects chosen by ,giovanni for his bas-reliefs are the ,nativity1 the ,adoration of the ,magi1 the ,massacre of the ,innocents1 the ,crucifixion1 and the ,last ,judgment4 ,in the ,nativity our ,lady is no longer the ,roman matron of ,niccola's conception1 but a graceful mother1 young in years1 and bending with the weakness of childbirth4 ,her attitude1 exquisite by the suggestion of tenderness and delicacy1 is one that often reappears in the later work of the ,pisan school--for example1 in the rough abozzamento in the ,campo ,santo at ,pisa1 above the north door of the ,duomo at ,lucca1 and at ,orvieto on the faade of the cathedral2 but it has nowhere else been treated with the same sense of beauty4 ,the ,massacre of the ,innocents1 compared with this relief1 is a tragedy beside an idyll4 ,here the whole force of ,giovanni's eminently dramatic genius comes into full play4 ,not only has he treated the usual incidents of mothers struggling with soldiers and bewailing their dead darlings1 but he has also introduced a motive1 which might well have been used by subsequent artists in dealing with the same subjects4 ,herod is throned in one corner of the composition2 before him stand a group of men and women1 some imploring the tyrant for mercy1 some defying him in impotent despair1 and some invoking the curse of ,god upon his head4 ,in the ,adoration of the ,magi1 again1 ,giovanni shows originality by the double action he has chosen to develop4 ,on one side the kings are sleeping1 while an angel comes to wake them1 pointing out the star4 ,on the other side they fall at the feet of the ,madonna4 ,it will be gathered even from these bare descriptions that ,giovanni introduced a stir of life and movement1 and felt his subjects with a poetic intensity1 alien to the ideal of ,graeco-,roman sculpture4 ,he effected a fusion between the grand style revived by ,niccola and the romantic fervour of the modern imagination4 ,it was in this way that the tradition handed down by him proved inestimably serviceable to the painters4 ,the bas-reliefs1 however1 by no means form the chief attraction of this pulpit4 ,at each of its six angles stand saints1 evangelists1 and angels1 whose symbolism it is not now so easy to decipher4 ,the most beautiful groups are a company of angels blowing the judgment trumpets1 and a winged youth standing above a winged lion and bull4 ,these groups separate the several compartments of the bas-reliefs1 and help to form the body of the pulpit4 ,beneath1 on capital's of the supporting pillars1 stand the ,sibyls1 each with her attendant genius1 while prophets lean or crouch within the spandrils of the arches4 ,thus every portion of this master-work is crowded with figures--some detached1 some executed in relief2 and yet1 amid so great a multitude1 the eye is not confused2 the total effect is nowhere dissipated4 ,the whole seems governed by one constructive thought1 projected as a perfect unity of composition4#fc ,a later work of ,giovanni ,pisano was the pulpit executed for the cathedral of ,pisa1 now unfortunately broken up4 ,an interesting fragment1 one of the supporting columns of the octagon which formed the body of this structure1 still exists in the museum of the ,campo ,santo4 ,it is an allegorical statue of ,pisa4 ,the ,ghibelline city is personified as a crowned woman1 suckling children at her breast1 and standing on a pedestal supported by the eagle of the ,empire4 ,she wears a girdle of rope seven times knotted1 to betoken the rule of ,pisa over seven subject islands4 ,at the four corners of her throne stand the four human virtues1 ,prudence1 ,temperance1 ,justice1 and ,fortitude1 distinguished less by beauty of shape than by determined energy of symbolism4 ,temperance is a naked woman1 with hair twisted in the knots and curls of a ,greek ,aphrodite4 ,justice is old and wrinkled1 clothed with massive drapery1 and holding in her hand the scales4 ,throughout this group there is no attempt to realise forms pleasing to the eye2 the sculptor has aimed at suggesting to the mind as many points of intellectual significance as possible4 ,in spite of ugliness and hardness1 the ,allegory of ,pisa commands respect by vigour of conception1 and rivets attention by force of execution4 ,a more popular and pleasing monument by ,giovanni ,pisano is the tomb of ,benedict ,,xi4 in the church of ,s4 ,domenico at ,perugia4 ,the ,pope1 whose life was so obnoxious to the ambition of ,philip le ,bel that his timely death aroused suspicion of poison1 lies asleep upon his marble bier with hands crossed in an attitude of peaceful expectation4#fd ,at his head and feet stand angels drawing back the curtains that would else have shrouded this last slumber of a good man from the eyes of the living4#fe ,a contrast is thus established between the repose of the dead and the ever-watchful activity of celestial ministers4 ,sleep so guarded1 the sculptor seeks to tell us1 must have glorious waking2 and when those hands unfold upon the ,resurrection morning1 the hushed sympathy of the attendant angels will break into smiles and singing1 as they lead the just man to the ,lord he served in life4 ,whether ,giovanni ,pisano had any share in the sculpture on the faade of the cathedral at ,orvieto1 is not known for certain4 ,vasari asserts that ,niccola and his pupils worked upon this series of bas-reliefs1 setting forth the whole ,biblical history and the cycle of ,christian beliefs from the creation of the world to the last judgment4 ,yet we know that ,niccola himself died at least twelve years before the foundation of the church in #abij2 nor is there any proof that his immediate scholars were engaged upon the fabric4 ,the ,orvietan archives are singularly silent with regard to a monument of so large extent and vast importance1 which must have taxed to the uttermost the resources of the ablest stone-carvers in ,italy4#ff ,meanwhile1 what ,vasari says is valuable only as a witness to the fame of ,niccola ,pisano4 ,his manner1 as continued and developed by his school1 is unmistakable at ,orvieto3 but in the absence of direct information1 we are left to conjecture the conditions under which this1 the closing if not the crowning achievement of thirteenth-century sculpture1 was produced4 ,when the great founder of ,italian art visited ,siena in #abff for the completion of his pulpit in the ,duomo1 he found a guild of sculptors1 or taglia-pietri1 in that city1 numbering some sixty members1 and governed by a rector and three chamberlains4 ,instead of regarding ,niccola with jealousy1 these craftsmen only sought to learn his method4 ,accordingly it seems that a new impulse was given to sculpture in ,siena2 and famous workmen arose who combined this art with that of building4 ,the chief of these was ,lorenzo ,maitani1 who died in #accj1 having designed and carried to completion the ,duomo of ,orvieto during his lifetime4#fg ,while engaged in this great undertaking1 ,maitani directed a body of architects1 stone-carvers1 bronze-founders1 mosaists1 and painters1 gathered together into a guild from the chief cities of ,tuscany4 ,it cannot be proved that any of the ,pisani1 properly so called1 were among their number4 ,lacking evidence to the contrary1 we must give to ,maitani1 the master-spirit of the company1 full credit for the sculpture carried out in obedience to his general plan4 ,as the church of ,s4 ,francis at ,assisi formed an epoch in the history of painting1 by concentrating the genius of ,giotto on a series of masterpieces1 so the ,duomo of ,orvieto1 by giving free scope to the school of ,pisa1 marked a point in the history of sculpture4 ,it would be difficult to find elsewhere even separate works of greater force and beauty belonging to this1 the first or architectural1 period of ,italian sculpture2 and nowhere has the whole body of ,christian belief been set forth with method more earnest and with vigour more sustained4#fh ,the subjects selected by these unknown craftsmen for illustration in marble1 are in many instances the same as those afterwards painted in fresco by ,michael ,angelo and ,raphael at ,borne4 ,their treatment1 for example1 of the creation of ,adam and ,eve1 adopted in all probability from still earlier and ruder workmen1 after being refined by the improvements of successive generations1 may still be observed in the triumphs of the ,sistine ,chapel and the ,loggie4#fi ,it was the practice of ,italian artists not to seek originality by diverging from the traditional modes of presentation1 but to prove their mastery by rendering these as perfect and effective as the maturity of art could make them4 ,for the ,italians1 as before them for the ,greeks1 plagiarism was a word unknown1 in all cases where it was possible to improve upon the invention of less fortunate predecessors4 ,the student of art may1 therefore1 now enjoy the pleasure of tracing sculpturesque or pictorial motives from their genesis in some rude fragment to their final development in the master-works of a ,lionardo or a ,raphael1 where scientific grouping of figures1 higher idealisation of style1 the suggestion of freer movement1 and more varied dramatic expression yield at last the full flower that the simple germ enfolded4 ,among the most distinguished scholars of ,niccola ,pisano's tradition must now be mentioned ,andrea da ,pontadera1 called ,andrea ,pisano1 who carried the manner of his master to ,florence1 and helped to fulfil the destiny of ,italian sculpture by submitting it to the rising art of painting4 ,under the direction of ,giotto he carved statues for the ,campanile and the faade of ,s4 ,maria del ,fiore2 and in the first gate of the ,baptistery1 he bequeathed a model of bas-relief in bronze1 which largely influenced the style of masters in the fifteenth century4 ,to overpraise the simplicity and beauty of design1 the purity of feeling1 and the technical excellence of ,andrea's bronze-work1 would be difficult4 ,many students will always be found to prefer his self-restraint and delicacy to the more florid manner of ,ghiberti4#gj ,what we chiefly observe in this gate is the control exercised by the sister art of painting over his mode of conception and treatment4 ,if ,giovanni ,pisano developed the dramatic and emphatic qualities of ,gothic sculpture1 ,andrea was attracted to its allegories2 if ,giovanni infused romantic vehemence of feeling into the frigid classicism of his father1 ,andrea diverged upon another track of picturesque delineation4 ,a new sun had now arisen in the heavens of art4 ,this was the sun of ,giotto1 whose genius1 eminently pictorial1 brought the ,italians to a true sense of their aesthetical vocation1 illuminating with its brightness the elder and more technically finished craft of the stone-carver4 ,sculpture1 which in the school of ,niccola ,pisano had been subordinate to architecture1 became a sub-species of painting in the hands of ,andrea4 ,it was thus1 as ,i have elsewhere stated1 that the twofold doom of plastic art in ,italy was accomplished4 ,in order to embody the ideas of ,christianity1 art had to think more of expression than of pure form4 ,expression is the special sphere of painting2 and therefore sculpture followed the lead of the sister art1 as soon as painting was strong enough to give that lead1 instead of remaining1 as in ,greece1 the mistress of her own domain4 ,on the deeper reasons for this subordination of sculpture to painting ,i have dwelt already1 while showing that a large class of subjects1 where physical qualities are comparatively indifferent and of no account1 were forced upon the artist by ,christianity4#ga ,humility and charity may be found alike in blooming youth or in ascetic age2 nor is it possible to characterize saints and martyrs by those corporeal characteristics which distinguish a runner from a boxer1 or a chaste huntress from a voluptuous queen of love4 ,italian sculpture abandoned the presentation of the naked human body as useless4 ,the emotions written on the face became of more importance than the modelling of the limbs1 and recourse was had to allegorical symbols or emblematic attitudes for the interpretation of the artist's thought4 ,andrea ,pisano's figure of ,hope1 raising hands and eyes toward an offered crown1 seems but a repetition of the motive expressed by ,giotto in the chiaroscuro frescoes of the ,arena chapel4#gb ,owing to similar causes1 drapery1 which in ,greece had served to illustrate the structure or the movement of the body it clothed1 was used by the ,italian sculptors to conceal the limbs1 and to enhance by flowing skirt or sinuous fold or agitated scarf some quality of the emotions4 ,the result was that sculpture assumed a place subordinate to painting1 and that the masterpieces of the early ,italian carvers are chiefly bas-reliefs--pictures in bronze or marble4#gc ,in a like degree1 though not for the same reason1 sculpture in ,italy remained subordinate to architecture1 until such time as the neo-,hellenism of the full ,renaissance produced a crowd of pseudo-classic statues1 destined to take their places--not in churches1 but in the courtyards of palaces and on the open squares of cities4 ,the cause of this fact is not far to seek4 ,in ancient ,greece the temple had been erected for the god1 and the statue dwelt within the cella like a master in his house4 ,christianity forbade an image of the living ,god2 consequently the ,church had another object than to roof the statue of a deity4 ,it was the meeting-place of a congregation bent on worshipping ,him who dwells not in houses made with hands1 and whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain4 ,the vast spaces and arial arcades of mediaeval architecture had their meaning in relation to the mystic apprehension of an unseen power4 ,it followed of necessity that the carved work destined to decorate a ,christian temple could never be the main feature of the building4 ,it existed for the ,church1 and not the ,church for it4#gd ,through ,andrea ,pisano the style of ,niccola was extended to ,venice4 ,there is reason to believe that he instructed ,filippo ,calendario1 to whom we should ascribe the sculptured corners of the ,ducal ,palace4 ,venice1 however1 invariably exercised her own controlling influence over the arts of aliens2 so we find a larger1 freer1 richer1 and more mundane treatment in these splendid carvings than in aught produced by ,pisan workmen for their native towns of ,tuscany4 ,nino1 the sculptor of the ,madonna della ,rosa1 the chief ornament of the ,spina chapel1 and ,tommaso1 both sons of ,andrea da ,pontadera1 together with ,giovanni ,balduccio of ,pisa1 continued the traditions of the school founded by ,niccola4 ,balduccio1 invited by ,azzo ,visconti to ,milan1 carved the shrine of ,s4 ,peter ,martyr in the church of ,s4 ,eustorgio1 and impressed his style on ,matteo da ,campione1 the sculptor of the shrine of ,s4 ,augustine at ,pavia4#ge ,these facts1 though briefly stated1 are not without significance4 ,travellers who have visited the churches of ,pavia and ,milan1 after studying the shrine1 or arca as ,italians call it1 of ,s4 ,dominic at ,bologna1 must have noticed the ascendency of ,pisan style in these three ,lombard towns1 and have felt how widely ,niccola's creative genius was exercised4 ,traces of the same influence may perhaps be observed in the tombs of the ,scaligers at ,verona4#gf ,the most eminent pupil of ,andrea ,pisano1 however1 was a ,florentine--the great ,andrea ,arcagnuolo di ,cione1 commonly known as ,orcagna4 ,this man1 like the more illustrious ,giotto1 was one among the earliest of those comprehensive1 many-sided natures produced by ,florence for her everlasting glory4 ,he studied the goldsmith's craft under his father1 ,cione1 passing the years of his apprenticeship1 like other ,tuscan artists1 in the technical details of an industry that then supplied the strictest method of design4 ,with his brother1 ,bernardo1 he practised painting4 ,like ,giotto1 he was no mean poet2#gg and like all the higher craftsmen of his age1 he was an architect4 ,though the church of ,orsammichele owes its present form to ,taddeo ,gaddi1 ,orcagna1 as capo mastro after ,gaddi's death1 completed the structure2 and though the ,loggia de' ,lanzi1 long ascribed to him by writers upon architecture1 is now known to be the work of ,benci di ,cione1 yet ,orcagna's ,loggia del ,bigallo1 more modest but not less beautiful1 prepared the way for its construction4 ,of his genius as a painter1 proved by the frescoes in the ,strozzi chapel1 ,i shall have to speak hereafter4 ,as a sculptor he is best known through the tabernacle of ,orsammichele1 built to enshrine the picture of the ,madonna by ,ugolino da ,siena4#gh ,in this monument ,orcagna employed carved bas-reliefs and statuettes1 intaglios and mosaics1 incrustations of agates1 enamels1 and gilded glass patterns1 with a sense of harmony so refined1 and a mastery over each kind of workmanship so perfect1 that the whole tabernacle is an epitome of the minor arts of mediaeval ,italy4 ,the subordination of sculpture to architectural effect is noticeable2 and the ,giottesque influence appears even more strongly here than in the gate of ,andrea ,pisano4 ,this influence ,orcagna received indirectly through his master in stone carving2 it formed1 indeed1 the motive force of figurative art during his lifetime4 ,the subjects of the ,annunciation1 the ,nativity1 the ,marriage of the ,virgin1 and the ,adoration of the ,three ,kings1 framed in octagonal mouldings at the base of the tabernacle1 illustrate the domination of a spirit distinct both from the neo-,romanism of ,niccola and the ,gothicism of ,giovanni ,pisano4 ,that spirit is ,florentine in a general sense1 and specifically ,giottesque4 ,charity1 again1 with a flaming heart in her hand1 crowned with a flaming brazier1 and suckling a child1 is ,giottesque not only in allegorical conception but also in choice of type and treatment of drapery4 ,while admiring the tabernacle of ,orsammichele1 we are reminded that ,orcagna was a goldsmith to begin with1 and a painter4 ,sculpture he practised as an accessory4 ,what the artists of ,florence gained in delicacy of execution1 accuracy of modelling1 and precision of design by their apprenticeship to the goldsmith's trade1 was hardly perhaps sufficient to compensate for loss of training in a larger style4 ,it was difficult1 we fancy1 for men so educated to conceive the higher purposes of sculpture4 ,contented with elaborate workmanship and beauty of detail1 they failed to attain to such independence of treatment as may be reached by sculptors who do not carry to their work the preconceptions of a narrower handicraft4 ,thus even ,orcagna's masterpiece may strike us not as the plaything of a ,pheidian genius condescending for once to breathe through silver1 but of a consummate goldsmith taxing the resources of his craft to form a monumental jewel4#gi ,the faade of ,orvieto was the final achievement of the first or architectural period of ,italian sculpture4 ,giotto1 ,andrea ,pisano1 and ,orcagna1 formed the transition to the second period4 ,to find one characteristic title for the style of the fifteenth century is not easy1 since it was marked by many distinct peculiarities4 ,if1 however1 we choose to call it pictorial1 we shall sufficiently mark the quality of some eminent masters1 and keep in view the supremacy of painting at this epoch4 ,a great public enterprise at ,florence brings together in honourable rivalry the chief craftsmen of the new age1 and marks the advent of the ,renaissance4 ,when the ,signory1 in concert with the ,arte de' ,mercanti1 decided to complete the bronze gates of the ,baptistery in the first year of the fifteenth century1 they issued a manifesto inviting the sculptors of ,italy to prepare designs for competition4 ,their call was answered by ,giacomo della ,quercia of ,siena1 by ,filippo ,brunelleschi and ,lorenzo di ,cino ,ghiberti of ,florence1 and by two other ,tuscan artists of less note4 ,the young ,donatello1 aged sixteen1 is said to have been consulted as to the rival merits of the proofs submitted to the judges4 ,thus the four great masters of ,tuscan art in its prime met before the ,florentine ,baptistery4#hj ,giacomo della ,quercia was excluded from the competition at an early stage2 but the umpires wavered long between ,ghiberti and ,brunelleschi1 until the latter1 with notable generosity1 feeling the superiority of his rival1 and conscious perhaps that his own laurels were to be gathered in the field of architecture1 withdrew his claim4 ,in #adjc1 ,ghiberti received the commission for the first of the two remaining gates4 ,he afterwards obtained the second2 and as they were not finished until #adeb1 the better part of his lifetime was spent upon them4 ,he received in all a sum of #cj1gih golden florins for his labour and the cost of the material employed4 ,the trial-pieces prepared by ,brunelleschi and ,ghiberti are now preserved in the ,bargello4#ha ,their subject is the ,sacrifice of ,isaac2 and a comparison of the two leaves no doubt of ,ghiberti's superiority4 ,the faults of ,brunelleschi's model are want of repose and absence of composition4 ,abraham rushes in a frenzy of murderous agitation at his son1 who writhes beneath the knife already at his throat4 ,the angel swoops from heaven with extended arms1 reaching forth one hand to show the ram to ,abraham1 and clasping the patriarch's wrist with the other4 ,the ram meanwhile is scratching his nose with his near hind leg2 one of the servants is taking a thorn from his foot1 while the other fills a cup from the stream at which the ass is drinking4 ,thus each figure has a separate uneasy action4 ,those critics who contend that the unrest of sixteenth-century sculpture was due to changes in artistic and religious feeling wrought by the ,renaissance1 would do well to examine this plate1 and see how much account must be taken of the artist's temperament in forming their opinion4 ,brunelleschi adhered to the style and taste of the fifteenth century at its commencement2 but the too fervid quality of his character impaired his work as a sculptor4 ,ghiberti1 on the other hand1 translated the calm of his harmonious nature into his composition4 ,the angel leans from heaven and points to the ram1 which is seated quietly and out of sight of the main actors4 ,isaac kneels in the attitude of a submissive victim1 though his head is turned aside1 as if attracted by the rush of pinions through the air2 while ,abraham has but just lifted his hand1 and the sacrifice is only suggested as a possibility by the naked knife4 ,the two servants are grouped below in conversation1 one on each side of the browsing ass4 ,this power of telling a story plainly1 but without dramatic vehemence2 of eliminating the painful details of the subject1 and combining its chief motives into one agreeable whole1 gave peculiar charm to ,ghiberti's manner4 ,it marked him as an artist distinguished by good taste4 ,how ,delia ,quercia treated the ,sacrifice of ,isaac we do not know4 ,his bas-reliefs upon the faade of ,s4 ,petronio at ,bologna1 and round the font of ,s4 ,john's ,chapel in the cathedral of ,siena1 enable us1 however1 to compare his style with that of ,ghiberti in the handling of a subject common to both1 the ,creation of ,eve4#hb ,there is no doubt but that ,della ,quercia was a formidable rival4 ,had the gates of the ,baptistery been entrusted to his execution1 we might have possessed a masterpiece of more heroic style4 ,while smoothness and an almost voluptuous suavity of outline distinguish ,ghiberti's naked ,eve1 gliding upheld by angels from the side of ,adam at her ,maker's bidding1 ,della ,quercia's group1 by the concentration of robust and rugged power1 anticipates the style of ,michael ,angelo4 ,ghiberti treats the subject pictorially1 placing his figures in a landscape1 and lavishing attendant angels4 ,della ,quercia1 in obedience to the stricter laws of sculpture1 restrains his composition to the three chief persons1 and brings them into close connection4 ,while ,adam reclines asleep in a beautiful and highly studied attitude1 ,eve has just stepped forth behind him1 and ,god stands robed in massive drapery1 raising ,his hand as though to draw her into life4 ,there is1 perhaps1 an excess of dramatic action in the lifted right leg of ,eve1 and too much of pantomimic language in the expressive hands of ,eve and her ,creator4 ,the robe1 again1 in its voluminous and snaky coils1 and the triangular nimbus of the ,deity1 convey an effect of heaviness rather than of majesty4 ,yet we feel1 while studying this composition1 that it is a noble and original attempt1 falling but little short of supreme accomplishment4 ,without this antecedent sketch1 ,michael ,angelo might not have matured the most complete of all his designs in the ,sistine ,chapel4 ,the similarity between ,delia ,quercia's bas-relief and ,buonarroti's fresco of ,eve is incontestable4 ,the young ,florentine1 while an exile in ,bologna1 and engaged upon the shrine of ,s4 ,dominic1 must have spent hours of study before the sculptures of ,s4 ,petronio2 so that this seed of ,della ,quercia's sowing bore after many years the fruit of world-renowned achievement in ,rome4 ,two other memorable works of ,della ,quercia must be parenthetically mentioned4 ,these are the ,fonte ,gaja on the public square of ,siena1 now unhappily restored1 and the portrait of ,ilaria del ,carretto on her tomb in the cathedral of ,lucca4 ,the latter has long been dear to ,english students of ,italian art through words inimitable for their strength of sympathetic criticism4#hc ,ghiberti was brought up as a goldsmith by his stepfather1 and it is said that while a youth he spent much of his leisure in modelling portraits and casting imitations of antique gems and coins for his friends4 ,at the same time he practised painting4 ,we find him employed in decorating a palace at ,rimini for ,carlo ,malatesta1 when his stepfather recalled him to ,florence1 in order that he might compete for the gate of the ,baptistery4 ,it is probable that from this early training ,ghiberti derived the delicacy of style and smoothness of execution that are reckoned among the chief merits of his work4 ,he also developed a manner more pictorial than sculpturesque1 which justifies our calling him a painter in bronze4 ,when ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds remarked1 ,ghiberti's landscape and buildings occupied so large a portion of the compartments1 that the figures remained but secondary objects1#hd his criticism might fairly have been taxed with some injustice even to the second of the two gates4 ,yet1 though exaggerated in severity1 his words convey a truth important for the understanding of this period of ,italian art4 ,the first gate may be cited as the supreme achievement of bronze-casting in the ,tuscan prime4 ,in the second1 by the introduction of elaborate landscapes and the massing together of figures arranged in multitudes at three and sometimes four distances1 ,ghiberti overstepped the limits that separate sculpture from painting4 ,having learned perspective from ,brunelleschi1 he was eager to apply this new science to his own craft1 not discerning that it has no place in noble bas-relief4 ,he therefore abandoned the classical and the early ,tuscan tradition1 whereby reliefs1 whether high or low1 are strictly restrained to figures arranged in line or grouped together without accessories4 ,instead of painting frescoes1 he set himself to model in bronze whole compositions that might have been expressed with propriety in colour4 ,the point of ,sir ,joshua's criticism1 therefore1 is that ,ghiberti's practice of distributing figures on a small scale in spacious landscape framework was at variance with the severity of sculptural treatment4 ,the pernicious effect of his example may be traced in much ,florentine work of the mid ,renaissance period which passed for supremely clever when it was produced4 ,what the unique genius of ,ghiberti made not merely pardonable but even admirable1 became under other hands no less repulsive than the transference of pictorial effects to painted glass4#he ,that ,ghiberti was not a great sculptor of statues is proved by his work at ,orsammichele4 ,he was no architect1 as we know from his incompetence to do more than impede ,brunelleschi in the building of the dome4 ,he came into the world to create a new and inimitable style of hybrid beauty in those gates of ,paradise4 ,his susceptibility to the first influences of the classical revival deserves notice here1 since it shows to what an extent a devotee of ,greek art in the fifteenth century could worship the relics of antiquity without passing over into imitation4 ,when the ,hermaphrodite was discovered in the vineyard of ,s4 ,celso1 ,ghiberti's admiration found vent in exclamations like the following3 ,no tongue could describe the learning and art displayed in it1 or do justice to its masterly style4 ,another antique1 found near ,florence1 must1 he conjectures1 have been hidden out of harm's way by some gentle spirit in the early days of ,christianity4 ,the touch only1 he adds1 can discover its beauties1 which escape the sense of sight in any light4#hf ,it would be impossible to express a reverential love of ancient art more tenderly than is done in these sentences4 ,so intense was ,ghiberti's passion for the ,greeks1 that he rejected ,christian chronology and reckoned by ,olympiads--a system that has thrown obscurity over his otherwise precious notes of ,tuscan artists4 ,in spite of this devotion1 he never appears to have set himself consciously to reproduce the style of ,greek sculpture1 or to have set forth ,hellenic ideas4 ,he remained unaffectedly natural1 and in a true sense ,christian4 ,the paganism of the ,renaissance is a phrase with no more meaning for him than for that still more delicate ,florentine spirit1 ,luca della ,robbia2 and if his works are classical1 they are so only in ,goethe's sense1 when he pronounced1 the point is for a work to be thoroughly good1 and then it is sure to be classical4 ,one great advantage of the early days of the ,renaissance over the latter was this1 that pseudo-paganism and pedantry had not as yet distorted the judgment or misdirected the aims of artists4 ,contact with the antique world served only to stimulate original endeavour1 by leading the student back to the fountain of all excellence in nature1 and by exhibiting types of perfection in technical processes4 ,to ape the sculptors of ,antinous1 or to bring to life again the gods who died with ,pan1 was not yet longed for4 ,of the impunity with which a sculptor in that period could submit his genius to the service and the study of ancient art without sacrificing individuality1 ,donatello furnishes a still more illustrious example than ,ghiberti4 ,early in his youth ,donatello journeyed with ,brunelleschi to ,rome1 in order to acquaint himself with the monuments then extant4 ,how thoroughly he comprehended the classic spirit is proved by the bronze patera wrought for his patron ,ruberto ,martelli1 and by the frieze of the triumphant ,bacchus4#hg ,yet the great achievements of his genius were ,christian in their sentiment and realistic in their style4 ,the bronze ,magdalen of the ,florentine ,baptistery and the bronze ,baptist of the ,duomo at ,siena#hh are executed with an unrelenting materialism1 not alien indeed to the sincerity of classic art1 but divergent from antique tradition1 inasmuch as the ideas of repentant and prophetic asceticism had no place in ,greek mythology4 ,donatello1 with the uncompromising candour of an artist bent on marking character1 felt that he was bound to seize the very pith and kernel of his subject4 ,if a ,magdalen were demanded of him1 he would not condescend to model a ,venus and then place a book and skull upon a rock beside her2 nor did he imagine that the bloom and beauty of a laughing ,faun were fitting attributes for the preacher of repentance4 ,it remained for later artists1 intoxicated with antique loveliness and corroded with worldly scepticism1 to reproduce the outward semblance of ,greek deities under the pretence of setting forth the myths of ,christianity4 ,such compromise had not occurred to ,donatello4 ,the motive of his art was clearly apprehended1 his method was sincere2 certain phases of profound emotion had to be represented with the physical characteristics proper to them4 ,the result1 ugly and painful as it may sometimes be1 was really more concordant with the spirit of ,greek method than ,lionardo's ,john or ,correggio's ,magdalen4 ,that is to say1 it was straightforward and truthful2 whereas the strange caprices of the later ,renaissance too often betrayed a double mind1 disloyal alike to paganism and to ,christianity1 in their effort to combine divergent forces4 ,it may still be argued that such conceptions as sorrow for sin and mortification of the flesh1 unflinchingly portrayed by haggard gauntness in the saints of ,donatello1 are unfit for sculpturesque expression4 ,a more felicitous embodiment of modern feeling was achieved by ,donatello in ,s4 ,george and ,david4 ,the former is a marble statue placed upon the north wall of ,orsammichele2 the latter is a bronze1 cast for ,cosimo de' ,medici1 and now exhibited in the ,bargello4#hi ,without striving to idealise his models1 the sculptor has expressed in both the ,christian conception of heroism1 fearless in the face of danger1 and sustained by faith4 ,the naked beauty of the boy ,david and the mailed manhood of ,s4 ,george are raised to a spiritual region by the type of feature and the pose of body selected to interpret their animating impulse4 ,these are no mere portraits of wrestlers1 such1 as peopled the groves of ,altis at ,olympia1 no ideals of physical strength translated into brass and marble1 like the ,hercules of ,naples or the ,vatican4 ,the one is a ,christian soldier ready to engage ,apollyon in battle to the death2 the other the boy-hero of a marvellous romance4 ,the body in both is but the shrine of an indwelling soul1 the instrument and agent of a faith-directed will2 and the crown of their conflict is no wreath of laurel or of parsley4 ,in other words1 the value of ,s4 ,george and ,david to the sculptor lay not in their strength and youthful beauty--though he has endowed them with these excellent gifts--so much as in their significance for the eternal struggle of the soul with evil4 ,the same power of expressing ,christian sentiment in a form of perfect beauty1 transcending the ,greek type by profounder suggestion of feeling1 is illustrated in the well-known low-relief of an angel's head in profile1 technically one of ,donatello's most masterly productions4#ij ,it is no part of my present purpose to enumerate the many works of ,donatello in marble and bronze2 yet some allusion to their number and variety is necessary in order to show how widely his influence was diffused through ,italy4 ,in the monuments of ,pope ,john ,,xxiii41 of ,cardinal ,brancacci1 and of ,bartolommeo ,aragazzi1 he subordinated his genius to the treatment of sepulchral and biographical subjects according to time-honoured ,tuscan usage4 ,they were severally placed in ,florence1 ,naples1 and ,montepulciano4 ,for the cathedral of ,prato he executed bas-reliefs of dancing boys2 a similar series1 intended for the balustrades of the organ in ,s4 ,maria del ,fiore1 is now preserved in the ,bargello museum4 ,the exultation of movement has never been expressed in stone with more fidelity to the strict rules of plastic art4 ,for his friend and patron1 ,cosimo de' ,medici1 he cast in bronze the group of ,judith and ,holofernes--a work that illustrates the clumsiness of realistic treatment1 and deserves to be remembered chiefly for its strange fortunes4 ,when the ,medici fled from ,florence in #adid1 their palace was sacked2 the new republic took possession of ,donatello's ,judith1 and placed it on a pedestal before the gate of the ,palazzo ,vecchio1 with this inscription1 ominous to would-be despots3 ,exemplum salutis publicae cives posuere4 ,,mccccxcv4 ,it now stands near ,cellini's ,perseus under the ,loggia de' ,lanzi4 ,for the pulpits of ,s4 ,lorenzo1 ,donatello made designs of intricate bronze bas-reliefs1 which were afterwards completed by his pupil ,bertoldo4 ,these1 though better known to travellers1 are less excellent than the reliefs in bronze wrought by ,donatello's own hand for the church of ,s4 ,anthony at ,padua4#ia ,to that city he was called in #adea1 in order that he might model the equestrian statue of ,gattamelata4 ,it still stands on the ,piazza1 a masterpiece of scientific bronze-founding1 the first great portrait of a general on horseback since the days of ,rome4#ib ,at ,padua1 in the hall of the ,palazzo della ,ragione1 is also preserved the wooden horse1 which is said to have been constructed by the sculptor for the noble house of ,capodilista4 ,these two examples of equestrian modelling marked an epoch in ,italian statuary4 ,when ,donato di ,nicolo di ,betto ,bardi1 called ,donatello because men loved his sweet and cheerful temper1 died in #adff at the age of eighty1 the brightest light of ,italian sculpture in its most promising period was extinguished4 ,donatello's influence1 felt far and wide through ,italy1 was of inestimable value in correcting the false direction toward pictorial sculpture which ,ghiberti1 had he flourished alone at ,florence1 might have given to the art4 ,his style was always eminently masculine4 ,however tastes may differ about the positive merits of his several works1 there can be no doubt that the principles of sincerity1 truth to nature1 and technical accuracy they illustrate1 were all-important in an age that lent itself too readily to the caprices of the fancy and the puerilities of florid taste4 ,to regret that ,donatello lacked ,ghiberti's exquisite sense of beauty1 is tantamount to wishing that two of the greatest artists of the world had made one man between them4 ,donatello did not1 in the strict sense of the term1 found a school4#ic ,andrea ,verocchio1 goldsmith1 painter1 and worker in bronze1 was the most distinguished of his pupils4 ,to all the arts he practised1 ,verocchio applied limited powers1 a meagre manner1 and a prosaic mind4 ,yet few men have exercised at a very critical moment a more decided influence4 ,the mere fact that he numbered ,lionardo da ,vinci1 ,lorenzo di ,credi1 and ,pietro ,perugino among his scholars1 proves the esteem of his contemporaries2 and when we have observed that the type of face selected by ,lionardo and transmitted to his followers1 appears also in the pictures of ,lorenzo di ,credi and is first found in the ,david of ,verocchio1 we have a right to affirm that the master of these men was an artist of creative genius as well as a careful workman4 ,florence still points with pride to the ,incredulity of ,thomas on the eastern wall of ,orsammichele1 to the ,boy and ,dolphin in the court of the ,palazzo ,vecchio1 and to the ,david of this sculptor3 but the first is spoiled by heaviness and angularity of drapery2 the second1 though fanciful and marked by fluttering movement1 is but a caprice2 the third outdoes the hardest work of ,donatello by its realism4 ,verocchio's ,david1 a lad of some seventeen years1 has the lean1 veined arms of a stone-hewer or gold-beater4 ,as a faithful portrait of the first ,florentine prentice who came to hand1 this statue might have merit but for the awkward cuirass and kilt that partly drape the figure4 ,the name of ,verocchio is best known to the world through the equestrian statue of ,bartolommeo ,colleoni4 ,when this great ,condottiere1 the last surviving general trained by ,braccio da ,montone1 died in #adge1 he bequeathed a large portion of his wealth to ,venice1 on condition that his statue on horseback should be erected in the ,piazza di ,s4 ,marco4 ,colleoni1 having long held the bton of the ,republic1 desired that after death his portrait1 in his habit as he lived1 should continue to look down on the scene of his old splendour4 ,by an ingenious quibble the ,senators adhered to the letter of his will without infringing a law that forbade them to charge the square of ,s4 ,mark with monuments4 ,they ruled that the piazza in front of the ,scuola di ,s4 ,marco1 better known as the ,campo di ,s4 ,zanipolo1 might be chosen as the site of ,colleoni's statue1 and to ,andrea ,verocchio was given the commission for its erection4 ,andrea died in #adhh before the model for the horse was finished4 ,the work was completed1 and the pedestal was supplied by ,alessandro ,leopardi4 ,to ,verocchio1 profiting by the example of ,donatello's ,gattamelata1 must be assigned the general conception of this statue2 but the breath of life that animates both horse and rider1 the richness of detail that enhances the massive grandeur of the group1 and the fiery spirit of its style of execution were due to the ,venetian genius of ,leopardi4 ,verocchio alone produced nothing so truly magnificent4 ,this joint creation of ,florentine science and ,venetian fervour is one of the most precious monuments of the ,renaissance4 ,from it we learn what the men who fought the bloodless battles of the commonwealths1 and who aspired to principality1 were like4 ,he was tall1 writes a biographer of ,colleoni1#id of erect and well-knit figure1 and of well-proportioned limbs4 ,his complexion tended rather to brown1 marked withal by bright and sanguine flesh-tints4 ,he had black eyes2 their brilliancy was vivid1 their gaze terrible and penetrating4 ,in the outline of his nose and in all his features he displayed a manly nobleness combined with goodness and prudence4 ,better phrases cannot be chosen to describe his statue4 ,while admiring this masterpiece and dwelling on its royal style1 we are led to deplore most bitterly the loss of the third equestrian statue of the ,renaissance4 ,nothing now remains but a few technical studies made by ,lionardo da ,vinci for his portrait of ,francesco ,sforza4 ,the two elaborate models he constructed and the majority of his minute designs have been destroyed4 ,he intended1 we are told1 to represent the first ,duke of the ,sforza dynasty on his charger1 trampling the body of a prostrate and just conquered enemy4 ,rubens' transcript from the ,battle of the ,standard1 enables us to comprehend to some extent how ,lionardo might have treated this motive4 ,the severe and cautious style of ,donatello1 after gaining freedom and fervour from ,leopardi1 was adapted to the ideal presentation of dramatic passion by ,lionardo4 ,thus ,gattamelata1 ,colleoni1 and ,francesco ,sforza would1 through their statues1 have marked three distinct phases in the growth of art4 ,the final effort of ,italian sculpture to express human activity in the person of a mounted warrior has perished4 ,in this sphere we possess nothing which1 like the tombs of ,s4 ,lorenzo in relation to sepulchral statuary1 completes a series of development4 ,if ,donatello founded no school1 this was far more the case with ,ghiberti4 ,his supposed pupil1 ,antonio del ,pollajuolo1 showed no sign of ,ghiberti's influence1 but struck out for himself a style distinguished by almost brutal energy and bizarre realism--characteristics the very opposite to those of his master4 ,if the bronze relief of the ,crucifixion in the ,bargello be really ,pollajuolo's1 we may even trace a leaning to ,verocchio in his manner4 ,the emphatic passion of the women recalls the group of mourners round the death-bed of ,selvaggia ,tornabuoni in ,verocchio's celebrated bas-relief4 ,pollajuolo1 like so many ,florentine artists1 was a goldsmith1 a painter1 and a worker in niello1 before he took to sculpture4 ,as a goldsmith he is said to have surpassed all his contemporaries1 and his mastery over this art influenced his style in general4 ,what we chiefly notice1 however1 in his choice of subjects is a frenzy of murderous enthusiasm1 a grimness of imagination1 rare among ,italian artists4 ,the picture in the ,uffizzi of ,hercules and ,antaeus and the well-known engraving of naked men fighting a series of savage duels in a wood1 might be chosen as emphatic illustrations of his favourite motives4 ,the fiercest emotions of the ,renaissance find expression in the clenched teeth1 strained muscles1 knotted brows1 and tense nerves1 depicted by ,pollajuolo with eccentric energy4 ,we seem to be assisting at some of those combats a steccato chiuso wherein ,sixtus ,,iv4 delighted1 or to have before our eyes a fray between ,crocensi and ,vallensi in the streets of ,rome4#ie ,the same remarks apply to the terra-cotta relief by ,pollajuolo in the ,south ,kensington ,museum4 ,this piece displays the struggles of twelve naked men1 divided into six pairs of combatants4 ,two of the couples hold short chains with the left hand1 and seek to stab each other with the right4 ,in the case of another two couples the fight is over1 and the victor is insulting his fallen foe4 ,in each of the remaining pairs one gladiator is on the point of yielding to his adversary4 ,there are thus three several moments of duel to the death1 each illustrated by two couples4 ,the mathematical distribution of these dreadful groups gives an effect of frozen passion2 while the vigorous workmanship displays not only an enthusiasm for muscular anatomy1 but a real sympathy with blood-fury in the artist4 ,there was1 therefore1 a certain propriety in the choice of ,pollajuolo to cast the sepulchre of ,sixtus ,,iv4 in bronze at ,rome4 ,the best judges complain1 not without reason1 that the allegories surrounding this tomb are exaggerated and affected in style2 yet the dead ,pope1 stretched in pomp upon his bier1 commands more than merely historical interest2 while the figures1 seated as guardians round the old man1 terrible in death1 communicate an impression of monumental majesty4 ,criticised in detail1 each separate figure may be faulty4 ,the composition1 as a whole1 is picturesque and grandiose4 ,the same can scarcely be said about the tomb of ,innocent ,,viii41 erected by ,antonio and his brother ,piero del ,pollajuolo4 ,while it perpetuates the memory of an uninteresting ,pontiff1 it has but little1 as a work of art1 to recommend it4 ,the ,pollajuoli were not great sculptors4 ,in the history of ,italian art they deserve a place1 because of the vivid personality impressed upon some portions of their work4 ,few draughtsmen carried the study of muscular anatomy so far as ,antonio4#if ,luca della ,robbia1 whose life embraced the first eighty years of the fifteenth century1 offers in many important respects a contrast to his contemporaries ,ghiberti and ,donatello1 and still more to their immediate followers4 ,he made his art as true to life as it is possible to be1 without the rugged realism of ,donatello or the somewhat effeminate graces of ,ghiberti4 ,the charm of his work is never impaired by scientific mannerism--that stumbling-block to critics like ,de ,stendhal in the art of ,florence2 nor does it suffer from the picturesqueness of a sentimental style4 ,how to render the beauty of nature in her most delightful moments--taking us with him into the holiest of holies1 and handling the sacred vessels with a child's confiding boldness--was a secret known to ,luca della ,robbia alone4 ,we may well find food for meditation in the innocent and cheerful inspiration of this man1 whose lifetime coincided with a period of sordid passions and debased ambition in the ,church and ,states of ,italy4 ,luca was apprenticed in his youth to a goldsmith2 but of what he wrought before the age of forty-five1 we know but little4#ig ,at that time his faculty had attained full maturity1 and he produced the groups of dancing children and choristers intended for the organ gallery of the ,duomo4 ,wholly free from affectation1 and depending for effect upon no merely decorative detail1 these bas-reliefs deserve the praise bestowed by ,dante on the sculpture seen in ,purgatory3#ih-- ,dinanzi a noi pareva si verace1 ,quivi intagliato in un atto soave1 ,che non sembrava immagine che tace4 ,movement has never been suggested in stone with less exaggeration1 nor have marble lips been made to utter sweeter and more varied music4 ,luca's true perception of the limits to be observed in sculpture1 appears most eminently in the glazed terra-cotta work by which he is best known4 ,an ordinary artist might have found the temptation to aim at showy and pictorial effects in this material overwhelming4 ,luca restrained himself to pure white on pale blue1 and preserved an exquisite simplicity of line in all his compositions4 ,there is an almost unearthly beauty in the profiles of his ,madonnas1 a tempered sweetness in the modulation of their drapery and attitude1 that prove complete mastery in the art of rendering evanescent moments of expression1 the most fragile subtleties of the emotions that can stir a tranquil spirit4 ,andrea della ,robbia1 the nephew of ,luca1 with his four sons1 ,giovanni1 ,luca1 ,ambrogio1 and ,girolamo1 continued to manufacture the glazed earthenware of ,luca's invention4 ,these men1 though excellent artificers1 lacked the fine taste of their teacher4 ,coarser colours were introduced2 the eye was dazzled with variety2 but the power of speaking to the soul as ,luca spoke was lost4#ii ,after the ,della ,robbias1 this is the place to mention ,agostino di ,gucci or di ,duccio1#ajj a sculptor who handled terra-cotta somewhat in the manner of ,donatello's flat-relief1 introducing more richness of detail and aiming at more passion than ,luca's taste permitted4 ,for the oratory of ,s4 ,bernardino at ,perugia he designed the faade partly in stone and partly in baked clay--crowded with figures1 flying1 singing1 playing upon instruments of music1 with waving draperies and windy hair and the ecstasy of movement in their delicately modelled limbs4 ,if nothing else remained of ,agostino's workmanship1 this faade alone would place him in the first rank of contemporary artists4 ,he owed something1 perhaps1 to his material2 for terra-cotta has the charm of improvisation4 ,the hand1 obedient to the brain1 has made it in one moment what it is1 and no slow hours of labour at the stone have dulled the first caprice of the creative fancy4 ,work1 therefore1 which1 if translated into marble1 might have left our sympathy unstirred1 affects us with keen pleasure in the mould of plastic clay4 ,what prodigality of thought and invention has been lavished on the terra-cotta models of unknown ,italian artists6 ,what forms and faces1 beautiful as shapes of dreams1 and1 like dreams1 so airy that we think they will take flight and vanish1 lean to greet us from cloisters and palace fronts in ,lombardy6 ,to catalogue their multitude would be impossible4 ,it is enough to select one instance out of many2 this shall be taken from the chapel of ,s4 ,peter ,martyr in ,s4 ,eustorgio at ,milan4 ,high up around the cupola runs a frieze of angels1 singing together and dancing with joined hands1 while bells composed of fruits and flowers hang down between them4 ,each angel is an individual shape of joy2 the soul in each moves to its own deep melody1 but the music made of all is one4 ,their raiment flutters1 the bells chime2 the chorus of their gladness falls like voices through a star-lit heaven1 half-heard in dreams and everlastingly remembered4 ,four sculptors1 the younger contemporaries of ,luca della ,robbia1 and marked by certain common qualities1 demand attention next4 ,all the work of ,antonio ,rossellino1 ,matteo ,civitali1 ,mino da ,fiesole1 and ,benedetto da ,majano1 is distinguished by sweetness1 grace1 tranquillity1 and self-restraint--as though these artists had voluntarily imposed limits on their genius1 refusing to trespass beyond a traced circle of religious subjects1 or to aim at effects unrealisable by purity of outline1 suavity of expression1 delicacy of feeling1 and urbanity of style4 ,the charm of manner they possess in common1 can scarcely he defined except by similes4 ,the innocence of childhood1 the melody of a lute or song-bird as distinguished from the music of an orchestra1 the rathe tints of early dawn1 cheerful light on shallow streams1 the serenity of a simple and untainted nature that has never known the world--many such images occur to the mind while thinking of the sculpture of these men4 ,to charge them with insipidity1 immaturity1 and monotony1 would be to mistake the force of genius and skill displayed by them4 ,we should rather assume that they confined themselves to certain types of tranquil beauty1 without caring to realise more obviously striking effects1 and that this was their way of meeting the requirements of sculpture considered as a ,christian art4 ,the melody of their design1 meanwhile1 is like the purest song-music of ,pergolese or ,salvator ,rosa1 unapproachably perfect in simple outline1 and inexhaustibly refreshing4 ,though it is possible to characterise the style of these sculptors by some common qualities observable in their work1 it should rather be the aim of criticism to point out their differences4 ,antonio ,rossellino1 for example1 might be distinguished by his leaning toward the manner of ,ghiberti1 whose landscape backgrounds he has adopted in the circular medallions of his monumental sculpture4 ,a fine perception of the poetic capabilities of ,christian art is displayed in ,rossellino's idyllic treatment of the ,nativity--the adoration of the shepherds1 the hush of reverential stillness in the worship ,mary pays her infant son4#aja ,to the qualities of sweetness and tranquillity rare dignity is added in the monument of the young ,cardinal di ,portogallo4#ajb ,the sublimity of the slumber that is death has never been more nobly and feelingly portrayed than in the supine figure and sleeping features of this most beautiful young man1 who lies watched by angels beneath a heavy-curtained canopy4 ,the genii of eternal repose modelled by ,greek sculptors are twin-brothers of ,love1 on whom perpetual slumber has descended amid poppy-fields by ,lethe's stream4 ,the turmoil of the world is over for them2 they will never wake again2 they do not even dream4 ,sleep is the only power that still has life in them4 ,but the ,christian cannot thus conceive the mystery of the soul fallen on sleep4 ,his art must suggest a time of waiting and a time of waking2 and this it does partly through the ministration of attendant angels1 who would not be standing there on guard if the clay-cold corpse had no futurity1 partly by breathing upon the limbs and visage of the dead a spirit as of life suspended for a while4 ,thus the soul herself is imaged in the marble most sweetly slumbering in the gates of dreams4 ,what ,vespasiano tells us of this cardinal1 born of the royal house of ,portugal1 adds the virtue of sincerity to ,rossellino's work1 proving there is no flattery of the dead man in his sculpture4#ajc ,among his other admirable virtues1 says the biographer1 ,messer ,jacopo di ,portogallo determined to preserve his virginity1 though he was beautiful above all others of his age4 ,consequently he avoided all things that might prove impediments to his vow1 such as free discourse1 the society of women1 balls1 and songs4 ,in this mortal flesh he lived as though he had been free from it--the life1 we may say1 rather of an angel than a man4 ,and if his biography were written from his childhood to his death1 it would be not only an ensample1 but confusion to the world4 ,upon his monument the hand was modelled from his own1 and the face is very like him1 for he was most lovely in his person1 but still more in his soul4 ,while contemplating this monument of the young cardinal1 we feel that the ,italians of that age understood sepulchral sculpture far better than their immediate successors4 ,they knew how to carve the very soul1 according to the lines which our ,webster1 a keen observer of all things relating to the grave and death1 has put into ,jolenta's lips3-- ,but indeed1 ,if ever ,i would have mine drawn to the life1 ,i would have a painter steal it at such time ,i were devoutly kneeling at my prayers2 ,there is then a heavenly beauty in't2 the soul ,moves in the superficies4 ,the same ,webster condemns that evil custom of aping life and movement on the monuments of dead men1 which began to obtain when the motives of pure repose had been exhausted4 ,why1 asks the ,duchess of ,malfi1 do we grow fantastical in our death-bed8 ,do we affect fashion in the grave8 ,most ambitiously1 answers ,bosola2 princes' images on their tombs do not lie as they were wont1 seeming to pray up to heaven2 but with their hands under their cheeks 7as if they died of the toothache73 they are not carved with their eyes fixed upon the stars2 but1 as their minds were wholly bent upon the world1 the self-same way they seem to turn their faces4 ,a more trenchant criticism than this could hardly have been pronounced upon ,andrea ,contucci di ,monte ,sansavino's tombs of ,ascanio ,sforza and ,girolamo della ,rovere1 if ,bosola had been standing before them in the church of ,s4 ,maria del ,popolo when he spoke4 ,were it the function of monumental sculpture to satirise the dead1 or to point out their characteristic faults for the warning of posterity1 then the sepulchres of these worldly cardinals of ,sixtus ,,iv4's creation would be artistically justified4 ,but the object of art is not this4 ,the idea of death1 as conceived by ,christians1 has to be portrayed4 ,the repose of the just1 the resurrection of the body1 and the coming judgment1 afford sufficient scope for treatment of good men and bad alike4 ,or if the sculptor have sublime imagination1 he may1 like ,michael ,angelo1 suggest the alternations of the day and night1 slumber and waking1 whereby our little life is rounded with a sleep4 ,this digression will hardly be thought superfluous when we reflect how large a part of the sculptor's energy was spent on tombs in ,italy4 ,matteo ,civitali of ,lucca was at least ,rossellino's equal in the sculpturesque delineation of spiritual qualities2 but the motives he chose for treatment were more varied4 ,all his work is penetrated with deep1 prayerful1 intense feeling2 as though the artist's soul1 poured forth in ecstasy and adoration1 had been given to the marble4 ,this is especially true of two angels kneeling upon the altar of the ,chapel of the ,sacrament in ,lucca ,cathedral4 ,civitali1 by singular good fortune1 was chosen in the best years of his life to adorn the cathedral of his native city2 and it is here1 rather than at ,genoa1 where much of his sculpture may also be seen1 that he deserves to be studied4 ,for the people of ,lucca he designed the ,chapel of the ,santo ,volto--a gem of the purest ,renaissance architecture--and a pulpit in the same style4 ,his most remarkable sculpture is to be found in three monuments3 the tombs of ,domenico ,bertini and ,pietro da ,noceto1 and the altar of ,s4 ,regulus4 ,the last might be chosen as an epitome of all that is most characteristic in ,tuscan sculpture of the earlier ,renaissance4 ,it is built against the wall1 and architecturally designed so as to comprehend a full-length figure of the bishop stretched upon his bier and watched by angels1 a group of ,madonna and her child seated above him1 a row of standing saints below1 and a predella composed of four delicately finished bas-reliefs4 ,every part of this complex work is conceived with spirit and executed with care2 and the various elements are so combined as to make one composition1 the body of the saint on his sarcophagus forming the central object of the whole4 ,to do more than briefly mention the minor sculptors of this group would be impossible4 ,mino di ,giovanni1 called ,da ,fiesole1 was characterised by grace that tended to degenerate into formality4 ,the tombs in the ,abbey of ,florence have an almost infantine sweetness of style1 which might be extremely piquant1 were it not that ,mino pushed this quality in other works to the verge of mannerism4#ajd ,their architectural features are the same as those of similar monuments in ,tuscany3--a shallow recess1 flanked by ,renaissance pilasters1 and roofed with a semicircular arch2 within the recess1 the full-length figure of the dead man on a marble coffin of antique design2 in the lunette above1 a ,madonna carved in low relief4#aje ,mino's bust of ,bishop ,salutati in the cathedral church of ,fiesole is a powerful portrait1 no less distinguished for vigorous individuality than consummate workmanship4 ,the waxlike finish of the finely chiselled marble alone betrays that delicacy which with ,mino verged on insipidity4 ,the same faculty of character delineation is seen in three profiles1 now in the ,bargello ,museum1 attributed to ,mino4 ,they represent ,frederick ,duke of ,urbino1 ,battista ,sforza1 and ,galeazzo ,sforza4 ,the relief is very low1 rising at no point more than half an inch above the surface of the ground1 but so carefully modulated as to present a wonderful variety of light and shade1 and to render the facial expression with great vividness4 ,desiderio da ,settignano1 one of ,donatello's few scholars1 was endowed with the same gift of exquisite taste as his friend ,mino da ,fiesole2#ajf but his inventive faculty was bolder1 and his genius more robust1 in spite of the profuse ornamentation and elaborate finish of his masterpiece1 the tomb of ,carlo ,marsuppini in ,s4 ,croce4 ,the bust he made of ,marietta di ,palla degli ,strozzi enables us to compare his style in portraiture with that of ,mino4#ajg ,it would be hard to find elsewhere a more captivating combination of womanly sweetness and dignity4 ,we feel1 in looking at these products of the best age of ,italian sculpture1 that the artists who conceived them were1 in the truest sense of the word1 gentle4 ,none but men courteous and unaffected could have carved a face like that of ,marietta ,strozzi1 breathing the very spirit of urbanity4 ,to express the most amiable qualities of a living person in a work of art that should suggest emotional tranquillity by harmonious treatment1 and indicate the temperance of a disciplined nature by self-restraint and moderation of style1 and to do this with the highest technical perfection1 was the triumph of fifteenth-century sculpture4 ,an artist who claims a third place beside ,mino and his friend1 il bravo ,desider si dolce e bello1#ajh is ,benedetto da ,majano4 ,in ,benedetto's bas-reliefs at ,san ,gemignano1 carved for the altars of those unlovely ,tuscan worthies1 ,s4 ,fina and ,s4 ,bartolo1 we find a pictorial treatment of legendary subjects1 proving that he had studied ,ghirlandajo's frescoes4 ,the same is true about his pulpit in ,s4 ,croce at ,florence1 his treatment of the story of ,s4 ,savino at ,faenza1 and his ,annunciation in the church of ,monte ,oliveto at ,naples4 ,benedetto1 indeed1 may be said to illustrate the working of ,ghiberti's influence by his liberal use of landscape and architectural backgrounds2 but the style is rather ,ghirlandajo's than ,ghiberti's4 ,if it was a mistake in the sculptors of that period to subordinate their art to painting1 the error1 we feel1 was aggravated by the imitation of a manner so prosaic as that of ,ghirlandajo4 ,that ,benedetto began life as a tarsiatore may perhaps help to account for his pictorial style in bas-relief4#aji ,in estimating his total claim as an artist1 we must not forget that he designed the formidable and splendid ,strozzi ,palace4 ,it will be observed that all the sculptors hitherto mentioned have been ,tuscans2 and this is due to no mere accident--nor yet to caprice on the part of their historian4 ,though the other districts of ,italy produced admirable workmen1 the direction given to this art proceeded from ,tuscany4 ,florence1 the metropolis of modern culture1 determined the course of the aesthetical ,renaissance4 ,even at ,rimini we cannot account for the carvings in low relief1 so fanciful1 so delicately wrought1 and so profusely scattered over the side chapels of ,s4 ,francesco1 without the intervention of two ,florentines1 ,bernardo ,ciuffagni and ,donatello's pupil ,simone2 while in the palace of ,urbino we trace some hand not unlike that of ,mino da ,fiesole at work upon the mouldings of door and architrave1 cornice and high-built chimney4#aaj ,not only do we thus find ,tuscan craftsmen or their scholars employed on all the great public buildings throughout ,italy2 but it also happens that1 except in ,tuscany1 the decoration of churches and palaces is not unfrequently anonymous4 ,this does not1 however1 interfere with the truth that sculpture1 like all the arts1 assumed a somewhat different character in each ,italian city4 ,the ,venetian stone-carvers leaned from the first to a richer and more passionate style than the ,florentine1 reproducing the types of ,cima's and ,bellini's paintings4#aaa ,whole families1 like the ,bregni--classes1 like the ,lombardi--schools1 like that of ,alessandro ,leopardi1 worked together on the monumental sculpture of ,s4 ,zanipolo4 ,in the tombs of the ,doges the old ,pisan motive of the curtains 7first used by ,arnolfo di ,cambio at ,orvieto1 and afterwards with grand effect by ,giovanni ,pisano at ,perugia7 is expanded into a sumptuous tent-canopy4 ,pages and genii and mailed heroes take the place of angels1 and the marine details of ,roman reliefs are copied in the subordinate decoration4 ,at ,verona the mediaeval tombs of the ,scaligers1 with their vast chest-like sarcophagi and mounted warriors1 exhibit features markedly different from the monuments of ,tuscany2 while the mixture of fresco with sculpture1 in monuments like that of the ,cavalli in ,s4 ,anastasia1 and in many altar-pieces1 is at variance with ,florentine usage4 ,on the terra-cotta mouldings1 so frequent in ,lombard cities1 ,i have already had occasion to touch briefly4 ,they almost invariably display a feeling for beauty more sensuous1 with less of scientific purpose in their naturalism1 than is common in the ,tuscan style4 ,guido ,mazzoni of ,modena1 called ,il ,modanino1 may be mentioned as the sculptor who freed terra-cotta from its dependence upon architecture1 and who modelled groups of overpowering dramatic realism4 ,his ,piet1 in the ,church of ,monte ,oliveto at ,naples1 is valuable1 less for its passionate intensity of expression than for the portraits of ,pontano1 ,sannazzaro1 and ,alfonso of ,aragon4#aab ,this sub-species of sculpture was freely employed in ,north ,italy to stimulate devotion1 and to impress the people with lively pictures of the ,passion4 ,the ,sacro ,monte at ,varallo1 for example1 is covered with a multitude of chapels1 each one of which presents some chapter of ,bible history dramatically rendered by life-size groups of terra-cotta figures4 ,some of these were designed by eminent painters1 and executed by clever modellers in clay4 ,even now they are scarcely less stirring to the mind of a devout spectator than the scenes of a mediaeval ,mystery may have been4 ,the ,certosa of ,pavia1 lastly1 is the centre of a school of sculpture that has little in common with the ,florentine tradition4 ,antonio ,amadeo#aac and ,andrea ,fusina1 acting in concert with ,ambrogio ,borgognone the painter1 gave it in the fifteenth century that character of rich and complex decorative beauty which many generations of artists were destined to continue and complete4 ,among the countless sculptors employed upon its marvellous faade ,amadeo asserts an individuality above the rest1 which is further manifested in his work in the ,cappella ,colleoni at ,bergamo4 ,we there learn to know him1 not only as an enthusiastic cultivator of the mingled ,christian and pagan manner of the quattrocento1 but as an artist in the truest sense of the word sympathetic4 ,the sepulchral portrait of ,medea1 daughter of the great ,condottiere1 has a grace almost beyond that of ,della ,quercia's ,ilaria4#aad ,much1 no doubt1 is due to the peculiarly fragile beauty of the girl herself1 who lies asleep with little crisp curls clustering upon her forehead1 and with a string of pearls around her slender throat4 ,but the sensibility to loveliness so delicate1 and the power to render it in marble with so ethereal a touch upon the rigid stone1 belong to the sculptor1 and win for him our worship4 ,the list of fifteenth-century sculptors is almost ended2 and already1 on the threshold of the sixteenth1 stands the mighty form of ,michael ,angelo4 ,andrea ,contucci da ,sansavino and his pupil ,jacopo ,tatti1 called also ,sansovino1 after his master1 must1 however1 next be mentioned as continuing the ,florentine tradition without subservience to the style of ,buonarroti4 ,andrea da ,sansavino was a sculptor in whom for the first time the faults of the mid-,renaissance period are glaringly apparent4 ,he persistently sacrificed simplicity of composition to decorative ostentation1 and tranquillity of feeling to theatrical effect4 ,the truth of this will be acknowledged by all who have studied the tombs of the cardinals in ,s4 ,maria del ,popolo already mentioned1#aae and the bas-reliefs upon the ,santa ,casa at ,loreto4 ,in technical workmanship ,andrea proved himself an able craftsman1 modelling marble with the plasticity of wax1 and lavishing patterns of the most refined invention4 ,yet the decorative prodigality of this master corresponded to the frigid and stylistic graces of the neo-,latin poets4 ,it was so much mannerism--adopted without real passion from the antique1 and applied with a rhetorical intention4 ,those acanthus scrolls and honeysuckle borders1 in spite of their consummate finish1 fail to arrest attention1 leaving the soul as unstirred as the ,ovidian cadences of ,bembo4 ,jacopo ,tatti was a genius of more distinction4 ,together with ,san ,gallo and ,bramante he studied the science of architecture in ,rome1 where he also worked at the restoration of newly discovered antiques1 and cast in bronze a copy of the ,laocoon4 ,thus equipped with the artistic learning of his age1 he was called in #aebc by the ,doge1 ,andrea ,gritti1 to ,venice4 ,the material pomp of ,venice at this epoch1 and the pride of her unrivalled luxury1 affected his imagination so powerfully that his genius1 tutored by ,florentine and ,umbrian masters among the ruins of old ,rome1 became at once ,venetian4 ,in the history of the ,renaissance the names of ,titian and ,aretino1 themselves acclimatised aliens1 are inseparably connected with that of their friend ,sansovino4 ,at ,venice he lived until his death in #aegj1 building the ,zecca1 the ,library1 the ,scala d',oro in the ,ducal ,palace1 and the ,loggietta beneath the bell-tower of ,s4 ,mark4 ,in all his work he subordinated sculpture to architecture1 and his statuary is conceived in the bravura1 manner of ,renaissance paganism4 ,whatever may be the faults of ,sansovino in both arts1 it cannot be denied that he expressed1 in a style peculiar to himself1 the large voluptuous external life of ,venice at a moment when this city was the ,paris or the ,corinth of ,renaissance ,europe4 ,at the same time1 the shallowness of ,sansovino's inspiration as a sculptor is patent in his masterpieces of parade--the ,neptune and the ,mars1 guarding the ,scala d',oro4 ,separated from the architecture of the court and staircase1 they are insignificant in spite of their colossal scale4 ,in their place they add a haughty grandeur1 by the contrast which their flowing forms and arrogant attitudes present to the severer lines of the construction4 ,but they are devoid of artistic sincerity1 and occupy the same relation to true sculpture as flourishes of rhetoric1 however brilliant1 to poetry embodying deep thought or passion4 ,at first sight they impose3 on further acquaintance we find them chiefly interesting as illustrations of a potent civic life upon the wane1 gorgeous in its decay4 ,sansovino was a first-rate craftsman4 ,the most finished specimen of his skill is the bronze door of the ,sacristy of ,s4 ,marco1 upon which he is said to have worked through twenty years4 ,portraits of the sculptor1 ,titian1 and ,pietro ,aretino are introduced into the decorative border4 ,these heads start from the surface of the gate with astonishing vivacity4 ,that ,aretino should thus daily assist in effigy at the procession of priests bearing the sacred emblems from the sacristy to the high altar of ,s4 ,mark1 is one of the most characteristic proofs of sixteenth-century indifference to things holy and things profane4 ,jacopo ,sansovino marks the final intrusion of paganism into modern art4 ,the classical revival had worked but partially and indirectly upon ,ghiberti and ,donatello--not because they did not feel it most intensely1 but because they clung to nature far more closely than to antique precedent4 ,this enthusiasm inspired ,sansovino with the best and strongest qualities that he can boast2 and if his genius had been powerful enough to resist the fascination of merely rhetorical effects1 he might have produced a perfect restoration of the classic style4 ,his was no lifeless or pedantic imitation of antique fragments1 but a real expression of the fervour with which the modern world hailed the discoveries revealed to it by scholarship4 ,this is said advisedly4 ,the most beautiful and spirited pagan statue of the ,renaissance period1 justifying the estimate here made of ,sansovino's genius1 is the ,bacchus exhibited in the ,bargello ,museum4 ,both the ,bacchus and the ,satyriscus at his side are triumphs of realism1 irradiated and idealised by the sculptor's vivid sense of natural gladness4 ,considered as a restitution of the antique manner1 this statue is decidedly superior to the ,bacchus of ,michael ,angelo4 ,while the mundane splendour of ,venice gave body and fulness to ,sansovino's paganism1 he missed the self-restraint and purity of taste peculiar to the studious shades of ,florence4 ,in his style1 both architectural and sculptural1 the neo-pagan sensuality of ,italy expanded all its bloom4 ,for the artist at this period a ,greek myth and a ,christian legend were all one4 ,both afforded the occasion for displaying technical skill in fluent forms1 devoid of any but voluptuous feeling2 while both might be subordinated to rich effects of decoration4#aaf ,to this point the intellectual culture of the fifteenth century had brought the plastic arts of ,italy1 by a process similar to that which ended in the ,partus ,virginis of ,sannazzaro4 ,they were still indisputably vigorous1 and working in accordance with the movement of the modern spirit4 ,yet the synthesis they attempted to effect between heathenism and ,christianity1 by a sheer effort of style1 and by indifferentism1 strikes us from the point of view of art alone1 not reckoning religion or morality1 as unsuccessful4 ,still1 if it be childish on the one hand to deplore that the ,christian earnestness of the earlier masters had failed1 it would be even more ridiculous to complain that paganism had not been more entirely recovered4 ,the double-mind of the ,renaissance1 the source of its weakness in art as in thought1 could not be avoided1 because humanity at this moment had to lose the mediaeval sincerity of faith1 and to assimilate the spirit of a bygone civilisation4 ,this1 for better or for worse1 was the phase through which the intellect of modern ,europe was obliged to pass2 and those who have confidence in the destinies of the human race1 will not spend their strength in moaning over such shortcomings as the periods of transition bring inevitably with them4 ,the student of ,italian history may indeed more reasonably be allowed to question whether the arts1 if left to follow their own development unchecked1 might not have recovered from the confusion of the ,renaissance and have entered on a stage of nobler activity through earnest and unaffected study of nature4 ,but the enslavement of the country1 together with the counter-,reformation1 suspended the ,renaissance in mid-career2 and what remains of ,italian art is incomplete4 ,besides1 it must be borne in mind that the confusion of opinions consequent upon the clash of the modern with the ancient world1 left no body of generally accepted beliefs to express2 nor has the time even yet arrived for a settlement and synthesis that shall be favourable to the activity of the figurative arts4 ,sansovino himself was neither original nor powerful enough1 to elevate the mixed motives of ,renaissance sculpture by any lofty idealisation4 ,to do that remained for ,michael ,angelo4 ,the greatness of ,michael ,angelo consists in this--that while literature was sinking into the frivolity of ,academies and the filth of the ,bernesque ,capitoli1 while the barefaced villanies of ,aretino won him credit1 while sensual magnificence formed the ideal of artists who were neither ,greeks nor ,christians1 while ,ariosto found no subject fitter for his genius than a glittering romance1 he and he alone maintained the ,dantesque dignity of the ,italian intellect in his sculpture4 ,michael ,angelo stands so far apart from other men1 and is so gigantic a force for good and evil in the history of art1 that to estimate his life and labour in relation to the ,renaissance must form the subject of a separate chapter4 ,for the present it is enough to observe that his immediate scholars1 ,raffaello da ,montelupo1 and ,gian ,angelo ,montorsoli1 caught little from their master but the mannerism of contorted form and agitated action4 ,this mannerism1 a blemish even in the strong work of ,buonarroti1 became ridiculous when adopted by men of feeble powers and passionless imagination4 ,by straining the art of sculpture to its utmost limits1 ,michael ,angelo expressed vehement emotions in marble2 and the forced attitudes affected in his work had their value as significant of spiritual struggle4 ,his imitators showed none of their master's sublime force1 none of that terribilit which made him unapproachable in social intercourse and inimitable in art4 ,they merely fancied that dignity and beauty were to be achieved by placing figures in difficult postures1 exaggerated muscular anatomy1 and twisting the limbs of their models upon sections of ellipses in uncomfortable attitudes1 till the whole of their work was writhen into uncouth lines4 ,buonarroti himself was not responsible for these results4 ,he wrought out his own ideal with the firmness of a genius that obeys the law of its own nature1 doing always what it must4 ,that the decadence of sculpture into truculent bravado was independent of his direct influence1 is further proved by the inefficiency of his contemporaries4 ,baccio ,bandinelli and ,bartolommeo ,ammanati filled the squares of the ,italian cities with statues of ,hercules and ,satyrs1 ,neptune and ,river-gods4 ,we know not whether to select the vulgarity1 the feebleness1 or the pretentiousness of these pseudo-classical colossi for condemnation4 ,they have nothing ,greek about them but their names1 their nakedness1 and their association with myths1 the significance whereof was never really felt by the sculptors4 ,some of ,bandinelli's designs1 it is true1 are vigorous2 but they are mere drawings from undraped peasants1 life studies depicting the human animal4 ,his ,hercules and ,cacus1 while it deserves all the sarcasm hurled at it by ,cellini1 proves that ,bandinelli could not rise above the wrestling bout of a porter and a coal-heaver4 ,nor would it be possible to invent a motive less in accordance with ,greek taste than the conceit of ,ammanati's fountain at ,castello1 where ,hercules by squeezing the body of ,antaeus makes the drinking water of a city spout from a giant's mouth4 ,such pitiful misapplications of an art which is designed to elevate the commonplace of human form1 and to render permanent the nobler qualities of physical existence1 show how superficially and wrongly the antique spirit had been apprehended4 ,some years before his death ,ammanati expressed in public his regret that he had made so many giants and satyrs1 feeling that1 by exhibiting forms of lust1 brutality1 and animalism to the gaze of his fellow-countrymen1 he had sinned against the higher law revealed by ,christianity4 ,for a ,greek artist to have spoken thus would have been impossible4 ,the ,faun1 the ,titan1 and the ,satyr had a meaning for him1 which he sought to set forth in accordance with the semi-religious1 semi-poetical traditions of his race2 and when he was at work upon a myth of nature-forces1 he well knew that at the other end of the scale1 separated by no spiritual barrier1 but removed to an almost infinite distance of refinement1 ,zeus1 ,phoebus1 and ,pallas claimed his loftier artistic inspiration4 ,ammanati's confession1 on the contrary1 betrays that schism between the conscience of ,christianity and the lusts let loose by ill-assimilated sympathy with antique heathenism1 which was a marked characteristic of the ,renaissance4 ,the coarser passions1 held in check by ecclesiastical discipline1 dared to emerge into the light of day under the supposed sanction of classical examples4 ,what the ,visconti and the ,borgias practised in their secret chambers1 the sculptors exposed in marble and the poets in verse4 ,all alike1 however1 were mistaken in supposing that antique precedent sanctioned this efflorescence of immorality4 ,no amount of ,greek epigrams by ,strato and ,meleager1 nor all the ,hermaphrodites and ,priapi of ,rome1 had power to annul the law of conduct established by the founders of ,christianity1 and ratified by the higher instincts of the ,middle ,ages4 ,nor again were artists justified before the bar of conscience in selecting the baser elements of ,paganism for imitation1 instead of aiming at ,greek self-restraint and ,roman strength of character4 ,all this the men of the ,renaissance felt when they listened to the voice within them4 ,their work1 therefore1 in so far as it pretended to be a reconstruction of the antique was false4 ,the sensuality it shared in common with many ,greek and ,roman masterpieces1 had ceased to be frank and in the true sense pagan4 ,to shake off ,christianity1 and to revert with an untroubled conscience to the manners of a bygone age1 was what they could not do4 ,the errors ,i have attempted to characterise did not1 however1 prevent the better and more careful works of sculpture1 executed in illustration of classical mythology1 from having a true value4 ,the ,perseus of ,cellini and some of ,gian ,bologna's statues belong to a class of aesthetic productions which show how much that is both original and excellent may be raised in the hotbed of culture4#aag ,they express a genuine moment of the ,renaissance with vigour1 and deserve to be ranked with the ,latin poetry of ,poliziano1 ,bembo1 and ,pontano4 ,the worst that can be said of them is that their inspiration was factitious1 and that their motives had been handled better in the age of ,greek sincerity4 ,gian ,bologna1 born at ,douai1 but a ,florentine by education1 devoted himself almost exclusively to mythological sculpture4 ,that he was a greater sculptor than his immediate predecessors will be affirmed by all who have studied his bronze ,mercury1 the ,venus of ,petraja1 and the ,neptune on the fountain of ,bologna4 ,something of the genuine classic feeling had passed into his nature4 ,the ,mercury is not a reminiscence of any antique statue4 ,it gives in bronze a faithful and spirited reading of ,virgil's lines1 and is conceived with artistic purity not unworthy of a good ,greek period4 ,the ,neptune is something more than a muscular old man2 and1 in its place1 it forms one of the most striking ornaments of ,italy4 ,it is worthy of remark that sculpture1 in this stage1 continued to be decorative4 ,fountains are among the most successful monuments of the late ,renaissance4 ,even ,montorsoli's fountain at ,messina is in a high sense picturesquely beautiful4 ,casting a glance backward over the foregoing sketch of ,italian sculpture1 it will be seen that three distinct stages were traversed in the evolution of this art4 ,the first may be called architectural1 the second pictorial1 the third neo-pagan4 ,defined by their artistic purposes1 the first idealises ,christian motives2 the second is naturalistic2 the third attempts an idealisation inspired by revived paganism4 ,as far as the ,renaissance is concerned1 all three are moments in its history2 though it was only during the third that the influences of the classical revival made themselves overwhelmingly felt4 ,niccola ,pisano in the first stage marked a fresh point of departure for his art by a return to ,graeco-,roman standards of the purest type then attainable1 in combination with the study of nature4 ,giovanni ,pisano effected a fusion between his father's manner and the ,gothic style4 ,the ,pisan sculpture was wholly ,christian2 nor did it attempt to free itself from the service of architecture4 ,giotto opened the second stage by introducing new motives1 employed by him with paramount mastery in painting4 ,under his influence the sculptors inclined to picturesque effects1 and the direction thus given to sculpture lasted through the fifteenth century4 ,for the rest1 the style of these masters was distinguished by a fresh and charming naturalism and by rapid growth in technical processes4 ,while assimilating much of the classical spirit1 they remained on the whole ,christian2 and herein they were confirmed by the subjects they were chiefly called upon to treat1 in the decoration of altars1 pulpits1 church faades1 and tombs4 ,the revived interest in antique literature widened their sympathies and supplied their fancy with new material2 but there is no imitative formalism in their work4 ,its beauty consists in a certain immature blending of motives chosen almost indiscriminately from ,christian and pagan mythology1 vitalised by the imagination of the artist1 and presented with the originality of true creative instinct4 ,during the third stage the results of prolonged and almost exclusive attention to the classics1 on the part of the ,italians as a people1 make themselves manifest4 ,collections of antiquities and libraries had been formed in the fifteenth century2 the literary energies of the nation were devoted to the interpretation of ,greek and ,latin texts1 and the manners of society affected paganism4 ,at the same time a worldly ,church and a corrupt hierarchy had done their utmost to enfeeble the spirit of ,christianity4 ,that art should prove itself sensitive to this phase of intellectual and social life was natural4 ,religious subjects were now treated by the sculptors with superficial formalism and cynical indifference1 while all their ingenuity was bestowed upon providing pagan myths with new forms4 ,how far they succeeded has been already made the matter of inquiry4 ,the most serious condemnation of art in this third period is that it halted between two opinions1 that it could not be sincere4 ,but this double-mindedness1 as ,i have tried to show1 was necessary2 and therefore to lament over it is weak4 ,what the ,renaissance achieved for the modern world was the liberation of the reason1 the power of starting on a new career of progress4 ,the false direction given to the art of sculpture at one moment of this intellectual revival may be deplored2 and still more deplorable is the corresponding sensual debasement of the race who won for us the possibility of freedom4 ,but the life of humanity is long and vigorous1 and the philosopher of history knows well that the sum total of accomplishment at any time must be diminished by an unavoidable discount4 ,the ,renaissance1 like a man of genius1 had the defects of its qualities4 ,,footnotes3 #ef ,sketches of the ,history of ,christian ,art1 vol4 ii4 p4 #ajb4 #eg ,since ,i wrote the paragraph above1 ,i have chanced to read ,mr4 ,buskin's eloquent tirade against the modern sceptical school of critics in his ,mornings in ,florence1 ,the ,vaulted ,book1 pp4 #aje1 #ajf4 ,with the spirit of it ,i thoroughly agree2 feeling that1 in the absence of solid evidence to the contrary1 ,i would always rather accept sixteenth-century ,italian tradition with ,vasari1 than reject it with ,german or ,english speculators of to-day4 ,this does not mean that ,i wish to swear by ,vasari1 when he can be proved to have been wrong1 but that ,i regard the present tendency to mistrust tradition1 only because it is tradition1 as in the highest sense uncritical4 #eh ,see ,appendix ,i41 on the ,pulpits of ,pisa and ,ravello4 #ei ,the data is extremely doubtful4 ,were we to trust internal evidence--the evidence of style and handling--we should be inclined to name this not the earliest but the latest and ripest of ,pisano's works4 ,it may be suggested in passing that the form of the lunette was favourable to the composition by forcing a gradation in the figures from the centre to either side4 ,there is an engraving of this bas-relief in ,ottley's ,italian ,school of ,design4 #fj ,rheims ,cathedral1 for example1 was begun in #abaa4 ,upon its western portals is the loveliest of ,northern ,gothic sculpture4 #fa ,antonio ,filarete was commissioned1 soon after #adca1 by ,eugenius ,,iv41 to make the great gates of ,s4 ,peter's4 ,the decorative framework represents a multitude of living creatures--snails1 snakes1 lizards1 mice1 butterflies1 and birds--half hidden in foliage1 together with the best known among ,greek myths1 the ,rape of ,proserpine1 ,diana and ,actaeon1 ,europa and the ,bull1 the ,labours of ,hercules1 c4 ,such fables as the ,fox and the ,stork1 the ,fox and the ,crow1 and old stories like that of the death of schylus1 are included in this medley4 ,the monument of ,paul ,,iii4 is placed in the choir of ,s4 ,peter's4 ,giulia ,bella was the mistress of ,alexander ,,vi41 and a sister of the ,farnese1 who owed his cardinal's hat to her influence4 ,to represent her as an allegory of ,truth upon her brother's tomb might well pass for a grim satire4 ,the ,prudence opposite is said to be a portrait of the ,pope's mother1 ,giovanna ,gatani4 ,she resembles nothing more than a duenna of the type of ,martha in ,goethe's ,faust4 ,here1 again1 the allegory would point a scathing sarcasm1 if we did not remember the navet of the ,renaissance4 #fb ,see above1 ,chapter ,,ii1 ,italian want of feeling for ,gothic4 #fc ,having said so much about this pulpit of ,s4 ,andrea1 ,i am sorry that ,i cannot refer the ,english reader to any accessible representation of it4 ,for its sake alone1 if for no other purpose1 ,pistoja is well worth a visit4 #fd ,it was long believed that he died of eating poisoned figs4 #fe ,see above1 ,footnote #af1 for the original conception of this motive at ,orvieto4 #ff ,see ,il ,duomo di ,orvieto1 descritto ed illustrato per ,lodovico ,luzi1 pp4 #ccj-cci4 #fg ,see ,luzi1 pp4 #cag-cbh1 and the first extant commission given in #acaj to ,maitani1 which follows1 pp4 #cbh-ccj4 #fh ,the whole series has been admirably engraved under the superintendence of ,ludwig ,grner4 ,special attention may be directed to the groups of angels attendant on the ,creator in ,his last day's work2 to the ,adoration of the ,shepherds1 distinguished by tender and idyllic grace3 and to the ,adoration of the ,magi1 marked no less by majesty4 ,the dead breaking open the lids of their sarcophagi and rising to judgment are justly famous for spirited action4 #fi ,in ,gothic sculpture of an early date the ,bible narrative is literally represented4 ,god draws ,eve from the open side of sleeping ,adam4 ,on the faade of ,orvieto this motive is less altered than refined4 ,the wound in ,adam's side is visible1 but ,eve is coming from behind his sleeping body in obedience to the beckoning hand of her ,creator4 ,ghiberti in the bronze gate of the ,florentine ,baptistery still further develops the poetic beauty of the motive4 ,angels lift ,eve in the air above ,adam1 in whose side there is now no open wound1 and sustain her face to face with ,god1 who calls her into life4 ,della ,quercia1 on the faade of ,s4 ,petronio1 confines himself to the creative act1 expressed by the raised hand of the ,maker1 and the answering attitude of ,eve2 and this conception receives final treatment from ,michael ,angelo in the frescoes of the ,sistine4 #gj ,le ,tre ,porte del ,battistero di ,san ,giovanni di ,firenze1 incise ed illustrate 7,firenze1 #ahba71 contains outlines of all ,andrea ,pisano's and ,ghiberti's work4 #ga ,see above1 ,chapter ,i1 ,greek and ,christian ,ideals4 #gb ,see above1 ,chapter ,i1 ,greek and ,christian ,ideals4 #gc ,what ,giotto himself was1 as a designer for sculpture1 is shown in the little reliefs upon the basement of his campanile4 #gd ,what has previously been noted in the chapter upon architecture deserves repetition here--that the ,italian style of building gave more scope to independent sculpture1 owing to its preference for flat walls1 and its rejection of multiplied niches1 canopies1 and so forth1 than the ,northern ,gothic4 ,thus1 however subordinated to architecture1 sculpture in ,italy still had more scope for self-assertion than in ,germany or ,france4 #ge ,see ,perkins1 ,italian ,sculptors1 p4 #aji1 for a description of the ,arca di ,s4 ,agostino1 which he assigns to ,matteo and ,bonino da ,campione4 ,this shrine1 now in the ,duomo1 was made for the sacristy of ,s4 ,pietro in ,cielo d',oro1 where it stood until the year #ahcb4 #gf ,bonino da ,campione1 the ,milanese1 who may have had a hand in the ,arca di ,s4 ,agostino1 carved the tomb of ,can ,signorio4 ,that of ,mastino ,,ii4 was executed by another ,milanese1 ,perino4 #gg ,see ,trucchi1 ,poesie ,italiane inedite1 vol4 ii4 #gh ,see the ,illustrated work1 ,il ,tabernacolo della ,madonna d',or sammichele1 ,firenze1 #ahea4 #gi ,the weighty chapter in ,alberti's ,treatise on ,painting1 lib4 iii4 cap4 #e1 might be used to support this paragraph4 #hj ,quercia1 born #acgd2 ,ghiberti1 #acgh2 ,brunelleschi1 #acgi2 ,donatello1 #achf4 #ha ,they are engraved in the work cited above1 ,le ,tre ,porte1 seconda ,porta1 ,tavole i4 ii4 #hb ,the bas-reliefs of ,s4 ,petronio were executed between #adbe and #adce4 ,those of the font in the chapel of ,s4 ,john 7not the lower church of ,s4 ,john71 at ,siena1 are ascribed to ,quercia1 and are in his manner2 but when they were finished ,i do not know4 ,they set forth six subjects from the story of ,adam and ,eve1 with a compartment devoted to ,hercules killing the ,centaur ,nessus1 and another to ,samson or ,hercules and the ,lion4 ,the choice of subjects1 affording scope for treatment of the nude1 is characteristic2 so is the energy of handling1 though rude in detail4 ,it may be worth while to notice here a similar series of reliefs upon the faade of the ,colleoni ,chapel at ,bergamo1 representing scenes from the story of ,adam in conjunction with the labours of ,hercules4 #hc ,ruskin's ,modern ,painters1 vol4 ii4 chap1 vii41 ,repose4 #hd ,see ,flaxman's ,lectures on ,sculpture1 p4 #caj4 #he ,this criticism of the ,gate of ,paradise sounds even to the writer of it profane1 and demands a palinode4 ,who1 indeed1 can affirm that he would wish the floating figure of ,eve1 or the three angels at ,abraham's tent-door1 other than they are8 #hf ,see the ,commentaries of ,ghiberti1 printed in vol4 i4 of ,vasari 7,lemonnier1 #ahdf74 #hg ,the patera is at ,south ,kensington1 the frieze at ,florence4 #hh ,as also the wooden ,baptist in the ,frari at ,venice4 #hi ,there is another ,david1 by ,donatello1 in marble2 also in the ,bargello1 scarcely less stiff and ugly than the ,baptist4 #ij ,the cast was published by the ,arundel ,society4 ,the original belongs to ,lord ,elcho4 #ia ,it has been suggested1 with good show of reason1 that ,mantegna was largely indebted to these bas-reliefs for his lofty style4 #ib ,this omits the statues of the ,scaligers3 but no mediaeval work aimed at equal animation4 ,the antique bronze horses at ,venice and the statue of ,marcus ,aurelius must have been in ,donatello's mind4 #ic ,the sculptor of a beautiful tomb erected for the ,countess of ,montorio and her infant daughter in the church of ,s4 ,bernardino at ,aquila was probably ,andrea dell' ,aquila1 a pupil of ,donatello4 ,see ,perkins's ,italian ,sculptors1 pp4 #df1 #dg4 #id ,istoria della ,vita e ,fatti dell' eccellentissimo ,capitano di guerra ,bartolommeo ,colleoni1 scritta per ,pietro ,spino4 ,republished1 #ahei4 #ie ,see ,vol4 ,i41 ,age of the ,despots1 p4 #caj1 note #b4 #if ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 vol4 ii4 chap1 xvi41 may be consulted as to the several claims of the two brothers4 #ig ,his bas-reliefs on ,giotto's campanile of ,grammar1 ,astronomy1 ,geometry1 ,plato1 ,aristotle1 c41 are anterior to #adde2 and even about this date there is uncertainty1 some authorities fixing it at #adce4 #ih ,purg4 x4 #cg1 and xi4 #fh4 #ii ,among the very best works of the later ,robbian school may be cited the frieze upon the faade of the ,ospedale del ,ceppo at ,pistoja1 representing in varied colour1 and with graceful vivacity1 the ,seven ,acts of ,mercy4 ,date about #aebe4 #ajj ,he calls himself ,agostinus ,florentine ,lapicida on his faade of the ,oratory of ,s4 ,bernardino4 #aja ,see especially a roundel in the ,bargello1 and the altar-piece in the church of ,monte ,oliveto at ,naples4 ,those who wish to understand ,rossellino should study him in the latter place4 #ajb ,in the church of ,samminiato1 near ,florence4 #ajc ,vite di ,uomini ,illustri1 pp4 #aeb-aeg4 #ajd ,these tombs in the ,badia were erected for ,count ,ugo1 ,governor of ,tuscany under ,otho ,,ii41 and for ,messer ,bernardo ,giugni4 ,mino also made the tomb for ,pope ,paul ,,ii41 parts of which are preserved in the ,grotte of ,s4 ,peter's4 ,at ,rome he carved a tabernacle for ,s4 ,maria in ,trastevere1 and at ,volterra a ciborium for the ,baptistery--one of his most sympathetic productions4 ,the altars in the ,baglioni ,chapel of ,s4 ,pietro ,cassinense at ,perugia1 in ,s4 ,ambrogio at ,florence1 and in the cathedral of ,fiesole1 and the pulpit in the ,duomo at ,prato1 may be mentioned among his best works4 #aje ,besides ,civitali's altar of ,s4 ,regulus1 and the tomb of ,pietro da ,noceto already mentioned1 ,bernardo ,rossellino's monument to ,lionardo ,bruni1 and ,desiderio's monument to ,carlo ,marsuppini in ,s4 ,croce at ,florence1 may be cited as eminent examples of ,tuscan sepulchres4 #ajf ,the wooden statue of the ,magdalen in ,santa ,trinit at ,florence shows ,desiderio's approximation to the style of his master4 ,she is a careworn and ascetic saint1 with the pathetic traces of great beauty in her emaciated face4 #ajg ,this bust is in the ,palazzo ,strozzi at ,florence4 #ajh ,so ,giovanni ,santi1 ,raphael's father1 described ,desiderio da ,settignano4 #aji ,the following story is told about ,benedetto's youth4 ,he made two large inlaid chests or cassoni1 adorned with all the skill of a worker in tarsia1 or wood-mosaic1 and carried these with him to ,king ,matthias ,corvinus1 of ,hungary4 ,part of his journey was performed by sea4 ,on arriving and unpacking his chests1 he found that the sea-damp had unglued the fragile wood-mosaic1 and all his work was spoiled4 ,this determined him to practise the more permanent art of sculpture4 ,see ,perkins1 vol4 i4 p4 #bbh4 #aaj ,for further description of the sculpture at ,rimini1 ,i may refer to my ,sketches in ,italy and ,greece1 pp4 #bej-beb4 ,for the student of ,italian art1 who has no opportunity of visiting ,rimini1 it is greatly to be regretted that these reliefs have never yet even in photography been reproduced4 ,the palace of ,duke ,frederick at ,urbino was designed by ,luziano1 a ,dalmatian architect1 and continued by ,baccio ,pontelli1 a ,florentine4 ,the reliefs of dancing ,cupids1 white on blue ground1 with wings and hair gilt1 and the children holding pots of roses and gilly-flowers1 in one of its great rooms1 may be selected for special mention4 ,ambrogio or ,ambrogino da ,milano1 none of whose handiwork is found in his native district1 and who may therefore be supposed to have learned and practised his art elsewhere1 was the sculptor of these truly genial reliefs4 #aaa ,see1 for example1 the remarkable bas-relief of the ,doge ,lionardo ,loredano engraved by ,perkins1 ,italian ,sculptors1 p4 #bja4 #aab ,another ,modenese1 ,antonio ,begarelli1 born in #adgi1 developed this art of the plasticatore1 with quite as much pictorial impressiveness1 and in a style of stricter science1 than his predecessor ,il ,modanino4 ,his masterpieces are the ,deposition from the ,cross in ,s4 ,francesco1 and the ,piet in ,s4 ,pietro1 of his native city4 #aac ,the name of this great master is variously written--,giovanni ,antonio ,amadeo1 or ,omodeo1 or degli ,amadei1 or de' ,madeo1 or a ,madeo--pointing possibly to the town ,madeo as his native place4 ,through a long life he worked upon the fabric of the ,milanese ,duomo1 the ,certosa of ,pavia1 and the ,chapel of ,colleoni at ,bergamo4 ,to him we owe the general design of the faade of the ,certosa and the cupola of the ,duomo of ,milan4 ,for the details of his work and an estimate of his capacity1 see ,perkins1 ,italian ,sculptors1 pp4 #abg-acg4 #aad ,this statue was originally intended for a chapel built and endowed by ,colleoni at ,basella1 near ,bergamo4 ,when he determined to erect his chapel in ,s4 ,maria ,maggiore at ,bergamo1 he entrusted the execution of this new work to ,amadeo1 and the monument of ,medea was subsequently placed there4 #aae ,see above1 p4 #aac4 ,i have spelt the name ,sansovino1 when applied to ,jacopo ,tatti1 in accordance with time-honoured usage4 #aaf ,to multiply instances is tedious2 but notice in this connection the ,hermaphroditic statue of ,s4 ,sebastian at ,orvieto1 near the western door4 ,it is a fair work of ,lo ,scalza4 #aag ,this brief allusion to ,cellini must suffice for the moment1 as ,i intend to treat of him in a separate chapter4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,painting ,distribution of ,artistic ,gifts in ,italy--,florence and ,venice --,classification by ,schools--,stages in the ,evolution of ,painting--,cimabue --,the ,rucellai ,madonna--,giotto--,his widespread ,activity--,the ,scope of his ,art--,vitality--,composition--,colour-- ,naturalism--,healthiness--,frescoes at ,assisi and ,padua--,legend of ,s4 ,francis--,the ,giotteschi--,pictures of the ,last ,judgment--,orcagna in the ,strozzi ,chapel--,ambrogio ,lorenzetti at ,pisa--,dogmatic ,theology--,cappella degli ,spagnuoli--,traini's ,triumph1 of ,s4 ,thomas ,aquinas--,political ,doctrine expressed in ,fresco--,sala della ,pace at ,siena--,religious ,art in ,siena and ,perugia--,the ,relation of the ,giottesque ,painters to the ,renaissance4 ,it is the duty of the historian of painting to trace the beginnings of art in each of the ,italian communities1 to differentiate their local styles1 and to explain their mutual connections4 ,for the present generation this work is being done with all-sufficient thoroughness and accuracy4#aah ,the historian of culture1 on the other hand1 for whom the arts form one important branch of intellectual activity1 may dispense with these detailed inquiries1 and may endeavour to seize the more general outlines of the subject4 ,he need not weigh in balances the claims of rival cities to priority1 nor hamper his review of national progress by discussing the special merits of the several schools4 ,still there are certain broad facts about the distribution of artistic gifts in ,italy which it is necessary to bear in mind4 ,however much we may desire to treat of painting as a phase of national and not of merely local life1 the fundamental difficulty of ,italian history1 its complexity and variety1 owing to the subdivisions of the nation into divers states1 must here as elsewhere be acknowledged4 ,to deny that each of the ,italian centres had its own strong personality in art--that painting1 as practised in ,genoa or ,naples1 differed from the painting of ,ferrara or ,urbino--would be to contradict a law that has been over and over again insisted upon already in these volumes4 ,the broad outlines of the subject can be briefly stated4 ,surveying the map of ,italy1 we find that we may eliminate from our consideration the north-western and the southern provinces4 ,not from ,piedmont nor from ,liguria1 not from ,rome nor from the extensive kingdom of ,naples1 does ,italian painting take its origin1 or at any period derive important contributions4#aai ,lombardy1 with the exception of ,venice1 is comparatively barren of originative elements4#abj ,to ,tuscany1 to ,umbria1 and to ,venice1 roughly speaking1 are due the really creative forces of ,italian painting2 and these three districts were marked by strong peculiarities4 ,in art1 as in politics1 ,florence and ,venice exhibit distinct types of character4#aba ,the ,florentines developed fresco1 and devoted their genius to the expression of thought by scientific design4 ,the ,venetians perfected oil-painting1 and set forth the glory of the world as it appeals to the imagination and the senses4 ,the art of ,florence may seem to some judges to savour over-much of intellectual dryness2 the art of ,venice1 in the apprehension of another class of critics1 offers something over-much of material richness4 ,more allied to the ,tuscan than to the ,venetian spirit1 the ,umbrian masters produced a style of genuine originality4 ,the cities of the ,central ,apennines owed their specific quality of religious fervour to the influences emanating from ,assisi1 the head-quarters of the cultus of ,s4 ,francis4 ,this pietism1 nowhere else so paramount1 except for a short period in ,siena1 constitutes the individuality of ,umbria4 ,with regard to the rest of ,italy1 the old custom of speaking about schools and places1 instead of signalising great masters1 has led to misconception1 by making it appear that local circumstances were more important than the facts justify4 ,we do not find elsewhere what we find in ,tuscany1 in ,umbria1 and in ,venice--a definite quality1 native to the district1 shared through many generations by all its painters1 and culminating in a few men of commanding genius4 ,when1 for instance1 we speak of the ,school of ,milan1 what we mean is the continuation through ,lionardo da ,vinci and his pupils of the ,florentine tradition1 as modified by him and introduced into the ,lombard capital4 ,that a special style was developed by ,luini1 ,ferrari1 and other artists of the ,milanese duchy1 so that their manner differs essentially from that of ,parma and ,cremona1 does not invalidate the importance of this fact about its origin4 ,the name of ,roman ,school1 again1 has been given to ,raphael and ,michael ,angelo together with their pupils4 ,the truth is that ,rome1 for one brief period1 during the pontificates of ,julius and ,leo1 was the focus of ,italian intellect4 ,allured by the patronage of the ,papal ,curia1 not only artists1 but scholars and men of letters1 flocked from all the cities of ,italy to ,rome1 where they found a nobler sphere for the exercise of their faculties than elsewhere4 ,but ,rome1 while she lent her imperial quality of grandeur to the genius of her aliens1 was in no sense originative4 ,rome produced no first-rate master from her own children1 if we except ,giulio ,romano4 ,the title of originality is due rather to ,padua1 the birthplace of ,mantegna1 or to ,parma1 the city of ,correggio1 whose works display independence of either ,florentine or ,venetian traditions4 ,yet these great masters were isolated1 neither expressing in any definite form the character of their districts1 nor founding a succession of local artists4 ,their influence was incontestably great1 but widely diffused4 ,bologna and ,ferrara1 ,brescia and ,bergamo1 ,cremona and ,verona1 have excellent painters2 and it is not difficult to show that in each of these cities art assumed specific characters4 ,yet the interest of the schools in these towns is due mainly to the varied influences brought to bear upon them from ,venice1 ,umbria1 and ,milan4 ,in other words they are affiliated1 each according to its geographical position1 to the chief originative centres4 ,what ,i have advanced in the foregoing paragraphs is not meant for a polemic against the time-honoured division of ,italian painters into local schools1 but for a justification of my own proposed method of treatment4 ,having undertaken to deal with painting as the paramount art-product of the ,renaissance1 it will be my object to point out the leading characteristics of aesthetic culture in ,italy1 rather than to dwell upon its specific differences4 ,the ,venetian painters ,i intend to reserve for a separate chapter1 devoting this and the two next to the general history of the art as developed in ,tuscany and propagated by ,tuscan influences4#abb ,in pursuing this plan ,i shall endeavour to show how the successive stages in the evolution of ,italian painting corresponded to similar stages in the history of the ,renaissance4 ,beginning as the handmaid of the ,church1 and stimulated by the enthusiasm of the two great popular monastic orders1 painting was at first devoted to embodying the thoughts of mediaeval ,christianity4 ,in proportion as the painters fortified themselves by study of the natural world1 their art became more secular4 ,mysticism gave way to realism4 ,it was felt that much beside religious sentiment was worthy of expression4 ,at the same time1 about the year #addj1 this process of secularisation was hastened by the influences of the classical revival1 renewing an interest in the past life of humanity1 and stirring a zeal for science4 ,the painters1 on the one hand1 now aimed at accurate delineation of actual things3 good perspective1 correct drawing1 sound portraiture1 occupied their attention1 to the exclusion of more purely spiritual motives4 ,on the other hand they conceived an admiration for the fragments of the newly discovered antiques1 and felt the plastic beauty of ,hellenic legends4 ,it is futile to attempt1 as ,m4 ,rio has done1 to prove that this abandonment of the religious sphere of earlier art was for painting a plain decline from good to bad1 or to make the more or less of spiritual feeling in a painter's style the test of his degree of excellence2 nor can we by any sophistries be brought to believe that the ,popes of the fifteenth century were pastoral protectors of solely ,christian arts4 ,the truth is1 that in the ,church1 in politics1 and in society1 the fifteenth century witnessed a sensible decrease of religious fervour1 and a very considerable corruption of morality4 ,painting felt this change2 and the secularisation1 which was inevitable1 passed onward into paganism4 ,yet the art itself cannot be said to have suffered1 when on the threshold of the sixteenth century stand the greatest painters whom the world has known--neither ,catholics nor ,heathens1 but1 in their strength of full accomplished art and science1 human4 ,after ,italy1 in the course of that century1 had been finally enslaved1 then1 and not till then1 painting suffered from the general depression of the national genius4 ,the great luminaries were extinguished one by one1 till none were left but ,michael ,angelo in ,rome1 and ,tintoret in ,venice4 ,the subsequent history of ,italian painting is occupied with its revival under the influences of the counter-,reformation1 when a new religious sentiment1 emasculated and ecstatic1 was expressed in company with crude naturalism and cruel sensualism by ,bolognese and ,neapolitan painters4 ,i need scarcely repeat the tale of ,cimabue's picture1 visited by ,charles of ,anjou1 and borne in triumph through the streets with trumpeters1 beneath a shower of garlands1 to ,s4 ,maria ,novella4#abc ,yet this was the birthday festival of nothing less than what the world now values as ,italian painting4 ,in this public act of joy the people of ,florence recognised and paid enthusiastic honour to the art arisen among them from the dead4 ,if we rightly consider the matter1 it is not a little wonderful that a whole community should thus have hailed the presence in their midst of a new spirit of power and beauty4 ,it proves the widespread sensibility of the ,florentines to things of beauty1 and shows the sympathy which1 emanating from the people1 was destined to inspire and brace the artist for his work4#abd ,in a dark transept of ,s4 ,maria ,novella1 raised by steps above the level of the church1 still hangs this famous ,madonna of the ,rucellai--not far1 perhaps1 from the spot where ,boccaccio's youths and maidens met that ,tuesday morning in the year of the great plague2 nor far1 again1 from where the solitary woman1 beautiful beyond belief1 conversed with ,machiavelli on the morning of the first of ,may in #aebg4abe ,we who can call to mind the scenes that picture has looked down upon--we who have studied the rise and decadence of painting throughout ,italy from this beginning even to the last work of the latest ,bolognese--may do well to visit it with reverence1 and to ponder on the race of mighty masters whose lineage here takes its origin4 ,cimabue did not free his style from what are called ,byzantine or ,romanesque mannerisms4 ,to unpractised eyes his saints and angels1 with their stiff draperies and angular attitudes1 though they exhibit stateliness and majesty1 belong to the same tribe as the grim mosaics and gaunt frescoes of his predecessors4 ,it is only after careful comparison that we discover1 in this picture of the ,rucellai for example1 a distinctly fresh endeavour to express emotion and to depict life4 ,the outstretched arms of the infant ,christ have been copied from nature1 not merely borrowed from tradition4 ,the six kneeling angels display variety of attitude suited to several shades of devout affection and adoring service4 ,the head of the ,madonna1 heavy as it is and conventional in type1 still strives to represent maternal affection mingled with an almost melancholy reverence4 ,prolonging our study1 we are led to ask whether the painter might not have painted more freely had he chosen--whether1 in fact1 he was not bound down to the antique mode of presentation consecrated by devout tradition4 ,this question occurs with even greater force before the wall-paintings ascribed to ,cimabue in the church of ,s4 ,francis at ,assisi4 ,it remained for ,giotto ,bondone1 born at ,vespignano in #abgf1 just at the date of ,niccola ,pisano's death1 to carry painting in his lifetime even further than the ,pisan sculptor had advanced the sister art4 ,cimabue1 so runs a legend luckily not yet discredited1 found the child ,giotto among the sheep-folds on the solemn ,tuscan hill-side1 drawing with boyish art the outline of a sheep upon a stone4#abf ,the master recognised his talent1 and took him from his father's cottage to the ,florentine bottega1 much as young ,haydn was taken by ,renter to ,s4 ,stephen's at ,vienna4 ,gifted with a large and comprehensive intellect1 capable of sustained labour1 and devoted with the unaffected zeal of a good craftsman to his art1 ,giotto in the course of his long career filled ,italy with work that taught succeeding centuries of painters4 ,as we travel from ,padua in the north1 where his ,arena ,chapel sets forth the legend of ,mary and the life of ,christ in a series of incomparable frescoes1 southward to ,naples1 where he adorned the convent of ,s4 ,chiara1 we meet with ,giotto in almost every city4 ,the ,passion of our ,lord and the ,allegories of ,s4 ,francis were painted by him at ,assisi4 ,s4 ,peter's at ,borne still shows his mosaic of the ,ship of the ,church4 ,florence raises his wonderful bell-tower1 that lily among campanili1 to the sky2 and preserves two chapels of ,s4 ,croce1 illuminated by him with paintings from the stories of ,s4 ,francis and ,s4 ,john4 ,in the chapel of the ,podest he drew the portraits of ,dante1 ,brunetto ,latini1 and ,charles of ,valois4 ,and these are but a tithe of his productions4 ,nothing1 indeed1 in the history of art is more remarkable than the fertility of this originative genius1 no less industrious in labour than fruitful of results for men who followed him4 ,the sound common sense1 the genial temper1 and the humour of the man1 as we learn to know him in tales made current by ,vasari and the novelists1 help to explain how he achieved so much1 with energy so untiring and with excellence so even4 ,it is no exaggeration to say that ,giotto and his scholars1 within the space of little more than half a century1 painted out upon the walls of the churches and public palaces of ,italy every great conception of the ,middle ,ages4 ,and this they achieved without ascetic formalism1 energetically1 but always reverently1 aiming at expressing life and dramatising ,scripture history4 ,the tale told about ,giotto's first essay in drawing might be chosen as a parable3 he was not found beneath a church roof tracing a mosaic1 but on the open mountain1 trying to draw the portrait of the living thing committed to his care4 ,what1 therefore1 ,giotto gave to art was1 before all things else1 vitality4 ,his ,madonnas are no longer symbols of a certain phase of pious awe1 but pictures of maternal love4 ,the ,bride of ,god suckles her divine infant with a smile1 watches him playing with a bird1 or stretches out her arms to take him when he turns crying from the hands of the circumcising priest4 ,by choosing incidents like these from real home-life1 ,giotto1 through his painting1 humanised the mysteries of faith1 and brought them close to common feeling4 ,nor was the change less in his method than his motives4 ,before his day painting had been without composition1 without charm of colour1 without suggestion of movement or the play of living energy4 ,he first knew how to distribute figures in the given space with perfect balance1 and how to mass them together in animated groups agreeable to the eye4 ,he caught varied and transient shades of emotion1 and expressed them by the posture of the body and the play of feature4 ,the hues of morning and of evening served him4 ,of all painters he was most successful in preserving the clearness and the light of pure1 well-tempered colours4 ,his power of telling a story by gesture and action is unique in its peculiar simplicity4 ,there are no ornaments or accessories in his pictures4 ,the whole force of the artist has been concentrated on rendering the image of the life conceived by him4 ,relying on his knowledge of human nature1 and seeking only to make his subject intelligible1 no painter is more unaffectedly pathetic1 more unconsciously majestic4 ,while under the influence of his genius1 we are sincerely glad that the requisite science for clever imitation of landscape and architectural backgrounds was not forthcoming in his age4 ,art had to go through a toilsome period of geometrical and anatomical pedantry1 before it could venture1 in the frescoes of ,michael ,angelo and ,raphael1 to return with greater wealth of knowledge on a higher level to the divine simplicity of its childhood in ,giotto4 ,in the drawing of the figure ,giotto was surpassed by many meaner artists of the fifteenth century4 ,nor had he that quality of genius which selects a high type of beauty1 and is scrupulous to shun the commonplace4 ,the faces of even his most sacred personages are often almost vulgar4 ,in his choice of models for saints and apostles we already trace the ,florentine instinct for contemporary portraiture4 ,yet1 though his knowledge of anatomy was defective1 and his taste was realistic1 ,giotto solved the great problem of figurative art far better than more learned and fastidious painters4 ,he never failed to make it manifest that what he meant to represent was living4 ,even to the non-existent he gave the semblance of reality4 ,we cannot help believing in his angels leaning waist-deep from the blue sky1 wringing their hands in agony above the ,cross1 pacing like deacons behind ,christ when ,he washes the feet of ,his disciples1 or sitting watchful and serene upon the empty sepulchre4 ,he was1 moreover1 essentially a fresco-painter1 working with rapid decision on a large scale1 aiming at broad effects1 and willing to sacrifice subtlety to clearness of expression4 ,the health of his whole nature and his robust good sense are everywhere apparent in his solid1 concrete1 human work of art4 ,there is no trace of mysticism1 no ecstatic piety1 nothing morbid or hysterical1 in his imagination4 ,imbuing whatever he handled with the force and freshness of actual existence1 ,giotto approached the deep things of the ,christian faith and the legend of ,s4 ,francis in the spirit of a man bent simply on realising the objects of his belief as facts4 ,his allegories of ,poverty1 ,chastity1 and ,obedience1 at ,assisi1 are as beautiful and powerfully felt as they are carefully constructed4 ,yet they conceal no abstruse spiritual meaning1 but are plainly painted for the poor laity of love to read4 ,the artist poet who coloured the virginal form of ,poverty1 with the briars beneath her feet and the roses blooming round her forehead1 proved by his well-known canzone that he was free from monastic ,quixotism1 and took a practical view of the value of worldly wealth4#abg ,his homely humour saved him from the exaltation and the childishness that formed the weakness of the ,franciscan revival4 ,by the same firm grasp upon reality he created more than mere abstractions in his chiaroscuro figures of the virtues and vices at ,padua4 ,fortitude and ,justice1 ,faith and ,envy1 are gifted by him with a real corporeal existence4 ,they seem fit to play their parts with other concrete personalities upon the stage of this world's history4 ,giotto in truth possessed a share of that power which belonged to the ,greek sculptors4 ,he embodies myths in physical forms1 adequate to their intellectual meaning4 ,this was in part the secret of the influence he exercised over the sculptors of the second period2#abh and had the conditions of the age been favourable to such development1 some of the allegorical types created by him might have passed into the ,pantheon of popular worship as deities incarnate4 ,the birth of ,italian painting is closely connected with the religious life of the ,italians4 ,the building of the church of ,s4 ,francis at ,assisi gave it the first great impulse2 and to the piety aroused by ,s4 ,francis throughout ,italy1 but mostly in the valleys of the ,apennines1 it owed its animating spirit in the fourteenth century4 ,the church of ,assisi is double4 ,one structure of nave1 and choir1 and transept1 is imposed upon another2 and the walls of both1 from floor to coping-stone1 are covered with fresco-painted pictures taking here the place occupied by mosaic in such churches as the cathedral of ,monreale1 or by coloured glass in the northern cathedrals of the pointed style4 ,many of these frescoes date from years before the birth of ,giotto4 ,giunta the ,pisan1 ,gaddo ,gaddi1 and ,cimabue1 are supposed to have worked there1 painfully continuing or feebly struggling to throw off the decadent traditions of a dying art4 ,in their school ,giotto laboured1 and modern painting arose with the movement of new life beneath his brush4 ,here1 pondering in his youth upon the story of ,christ's suffering1 and in his later manhood on the virtues of ,s4 ,francis and his vow1 he learned the secret of giving the semblance of flesh and blood reality to ,christian thought4 ,his achievement was nothing less than this4 ,the ,creation1 the ,fall1 the ,redemption of the ,world1 the moral discipline of man1 the ,judgment1 and the final state of bliss or misery--all these he quickened into beautiful and breathing forms4 ,those were noble days1 when the painter had literally acres of walls given him to cover2 when the whole belief of ,christendom1 grasped by his own faith1 and firmly rooted in the faith of the people round him1 as yet unimpaired by alien emanations from the world of classic culture1 had to be set forth for the first time in art4 ,his work was then a ,bible1 a compendium of grave divinity and human history1 a book embracing all things needful for the spiritual and the civil life of man4 ,he spoke to men who could not read1 for whom there were no printed pages1 but whose heart received his teaching through the eye4 ,thus painting was not then what it is now1 a decoration of existence1 but a potent and efficient agent in the education of the race4 ,such opportunities do not occur twice in the same age4 ,once in ,greece for the pagan world2 once in ,italy for the modern world2--that must suffice for the education of the human race4 ,like ,niccola ,pisano1 ,giotto not only founded a school in his native city1 but spread his manner far and wide over ,italy1 so that the first period of the history of painting is the ,giottesque4 ,the ,gaddi of ,florence1 ,giottino1 ,puccio ,capanna1 the ,lorenzetti of ,siena1 ,spinello of ,arezzo1 ,andrea ,orcagna1 ,domenico ,veneziano1 and the lesser artists of the ,pisan ,campo ,santo1 were either formed or influenced by him4 ,to give an account of the frescoes of these painters would be to describe how the religious1 social1 and philosophical conceptions of the fourteenth century found complete expression in form and colour4 ,by means of allegory and pictured scene they drew the portrait of the ,middle ,age in ,italy1 performing jointly and in combination with the followers of ,niccola ,pisano what ,dante had done singly by his poetry4 ,it has often been remarked that the drama of the life beyond this world--its prologue in the courts of death1 the tragedy of judgment1 and the final state of bliss or misery prepared for souls--preoccupied the mind of the ,italians at the close of the ,middle ,ages4 ,every city had its pictorial representation of the ,dies ,irae2 and within this framework the artist was free to set forth his philosophy of human nature1 adding such touches of satire or admonition as suited his own temper or the circumstances of the place for which he worked4 ,dante's poem has immortalised this moment of ,italian consciousness1 when the belief in another world was used to intensify the emotions of this life--when the inscrutable darkness toward which men travel became for them a black and polished mirror reflecting with terrible luminousness the events of the present and the past4 ,so familiar had the ,italians become with the theme of death artistically treated1 that they did not shrink from acted pageants of the tragedy of ,hell4 ,giovanni ,villani tells us that in #acjd the companies and clubs of pleasure1 formed for making festival throughout the town of ,florence on the #ast of ,may1 contended with each other for the prize of novelty and rarity in sports provided for the people4 ,among the rest1 the ,borgo ,s4 ,friano had it cried about the streets1 that whoso wished for news from the other world1 should find himself on ,mayday on the bridge ,carraja or the neighbouring banks of ,arno4 ,and in ,arno they contrived stages upon boats and various small craft1 and made the semblance and figure of ,hell there with flames and other pains and torments1 with men dressed as demons horrible to see2 and others had the shape of naked souls2 and these they gave unto those divers tortures with exceeding great crying and groaning and confusion1 the which seemed hateful and appalling unto eyes and ears4 ,the novelty of the sport drew many citizens1 and the bridge ,carraja1 then of wood1 was so crowded that it brake in several places and fell with the folk upon it1 whereby were many killed and drowned1 and many were disabled2 and as the crier had proclaimed1 so now in death went much folk to learn news of the other world4 ,such being the temper of the people1 we find that some of the greatest works of art in this age were paintings of ,death and ,hell1 ,heaven and ,judgment4 ,orcagna1 in the ,strozzi ,chapel of ,s4 ,maria ,novella1 set forth these scenes with a wonderful blending of beauty and grotesque invention4 ,in the treatment of the ,inferno he strove to delineate the whole geography of ,dante's first cantica1 tracing the successive circles and introducing the various episodes commemorated by the poet4 ,interesting as this work may be for the illustration of the ,divine ,comedy as understood by ,dante's immediate successors1 we turn from it with a sense of relief to admire the saints and angels ranged in goodly row1 each burning upward to his point of bliss whereby the painter has depicted ,paradise4 ,early ,italian art has nothing more truly beautiful to offer than the white-robed ,madonna kneeling at the judgment seat of ,christ4#abi ,it will be felt by every genuine student of art that if ,orcagna painted these frescoes in ,s4 ,maria ,novella1 whereof there is no doubt1 he could not have executed the wall-paintings in the ,campo ,santo at ,pisa attributed to him by ,vasari4 ,to what artists or artist we owe those three grave and awful panels1 may still be regarded an open question4#acj ,at the end of the southern wall of the cemetery1 exposed to a cold and equal north light from the cloister windows1 these great compositions1 after the lapse of five centuries1 bring us face to face with the most earnest thoughts of mediaeval ,christianity4 ,their main purpose seems to be to illustrate the advantage of the ascetic over the secular mode of life1 and to school men into living with the fear of death before their eyes4 ,the first displays the solitary vigils1 self-imposed penances1 cruel temptations1 firm endurance1 and beatific visions of the anchorites in the ,thebaid4 ,the second is devoted to the triumph of ,death over the pomp1 strength1 wealth1 and beauty of the world4 ,the third reveals a grimly realistic and yet awfully imaginative vision of judgment1 such as it has rarely been granted to a painter to conceive4 ,thus to the awakening soul of the ,italians1 on the threshold of the modern era1 with the sonnets of ,petrarch and the stories of ,boccaccio sounding in their memories1 this terrible master presented the three saddest phantoms of the ,middle ,ages--the spectre of death omnipotent1 the solitude of the desert as the only refuge from a sinful and doomed world1 the dread of ,divine justice inexorable and inevitable4 ,in those piles of the promiscuous and abandoned dead1 those fiends and angels poised in mid-air struggling for souls1 those blind and mutilated beggars vainly besieging ,death with prayers and imprecations for deliverance1 while she descends in her robe of woven wire to mow down with her scythe the knights and ladies in their garden of delight2 again in those horses snuffing at the open graves1 those countesses and princes face to face with skeletons1 those serpents coiling round the flesh of what was once fair youth or maid1 those multitudes of guilty men and women trembling beneath the trump of the archangel--tearing their cheeks1 their hair1 their breasts in agony1 because they see ,hell through the prison-bars1 and hear the raging of its fiends1 and feel the clasp upon their wrists and ankles of clawed hairy demon hands2 in all this terrific amalgamation of sinister and tragic ideas1 vividly presented1 full of coarse dramatic power1 and intensified by faith in their material reality1 the ,lorenzetti brethren1 if theirs be indeed the hands that painted here1 summed up the nightmares of the ,middle ,age and bequeathed an ever memorable picture of its desolate preoccupations to the rising world4 ,they have called to their aid poetry1 and history1 and legend4 ,boccaccio supplies them with the garden scene of youths and damsels dancing among roses1 while the plague is at their gates1 and death is in the air above4 ,from ,petrarch they have borrowed the form and mystic robe of ,death herself#aca4 ,uguccione della ,faggiuola has sat for the portrait of the ,captain who must quail before the terrors of the tomb1 and ,castruccio ,castracane is the strong man cut off in the blossom of his age4 ,the prisons of the ,visconti have disgorged their victims1 cast adrift with maiming that makes life unendurable but does not hasten death4#acb ,the lazar houses and the charnels have been ransacked for forms of grisly decay4 ,thus the whole work is not merely an hieroglyphical and shadowed lesson of ascetic philosophy2 it is also a realisation of mediaeval life in its cruellest intensity and most uncompromising truth4 ,for mere beauty these painters had but little regard4#acc ,their distribution of the subjects chosen for treatment on each panel shows1 indeed1 a keen sense for the value of dramatic contrast and a masterly power of varying while combining the composition4 ,their chief aim1 however1 is to produce the utmost realism of effect1 to translate the poignancy of passion1 the dread certainty of doom1 into forms of unmistakable fidelity4 ,therefore they do not shrink from prosaic and revolting details4 ,the knight who has to hold his nose above the open grave1 the lady who presses her cheek against her hand with a spasm of distress1 the horse who pricks his ears and snorts with open nostrils1 the grooms who start aside like savage creatures1 all suggest the loathsomeness of death1 its physical repulsiveness4 ,in the ,last ,judgment the same kind of dramatic force is used to heighten a sublime conception4 ,the crouching attitude and the shrouded face of the ,archangel ,raphael1 whose eyes alone are visible above the hand that he has thrust forth from his cloak to hide the grief he feels1 prove more emphatically than any less realistic motive could have done1 how terrible1 even for the cherubic beings to whose guardianship the human race has been assigned1 will be the trumpet of the wrath of ,god4#acd ,studying these frescoes1 we cannot but reflect what nerves1 what brains1 what hearts encased in triple brass the men who thought and felt thus must have possessed4 ,they make us comprehend not merely the stern and savage temper of the ,middle ,ages1 but the intense and fiery ebullition of the ,renaissance1 into which1 as by a sudden liberation1 so much imprisoned pent-up force was driven4 ,a different but scarcely less important phase of mediaeval thought is imaged in the frescoes of the ,cappella degli ,spagnuoli in ,s4 ,maria ,novella4#ace ,dogmatic theology is here in the ascendant4 ,while ,s4 ,francis bequeathed a legend of singular suavity and beauty1 overflowing with the milk of charity and mildness1 to the ,church1 ,s4 ,dominic assumed the attitude of the saint militant and orthodox4 ,dante's words about him-- ,l'amoroso drudo#acf ,della fede ,cristiana1 il santo atleta1 ,benigno a' suoi1 ed a' nemici crudo1 omit nothing that is needed to characterise the impression produced upon the ,christian world by this remorseless foe of heresy1 this champion of the faith who dealt in butcheries and burnings4 ,s4 ,francis taught love2 ,s4 ,dominic taught wrath3 and both1 perhaps1 were needed for the safety of the mediaeval ,church--the one by resuscitating the spirit of the ,gospels1 the other by resisting the intrusion of alien ideals ere the time for their triumph had arrived4 ,what the painters of these frescoes undertook to delineate for the ,dominicans of ,florence1 was the fabric of society sustained and held together by the action of inquisitors and doctors issued from their order4 ,the ,pope with his ,cardinals1 the ,emperor with his ,council1 represent the two chief forces of ,christendom1 as conceived by the mediaeval jurists and the school of ,dante4 ,seated on thrones1 they are ready to rise in defence of ,holy ,church1 symbolised by a picture of ,s4 ,maria del ,fiore4 ,at their feet the black and white hounds of the ,dominican order--,domini canes1 according to the monkish pun--are hunting heretical wolves4 ,opposite this painting is the apotheosis of ,s4 ,thomas ,aquinas4 ,beneath the footstool of this dumb ox of ,sicily1 as he was called1 grovel the heresiarchs--,arius1 ,sabellius1 ,averroes4 ,at again a lower level1 as though supporting the saint on either hand1 are ranged seven sacred and seven profane sciences1 each with its chief representative4 ,thus ,rhetoric and ,cicero1 ,civil ,law and ,justinian1 ,speculative ,theology and the ,areopagite1 ,practical ,theology and ,peter ,lombard1 ,geometry and ,euclid1 ,arithmetic and ,abraham1 are grouped together4 ,it will be seen that the whole learning of the ,middle ,age--its philosophy as well as its divinity--is here combined as in a figured abstract1 for the wise to comment on and for the simple to peruse4 ,none can avoid drawing the lesson that knowledge exists for the service of the ,church1 and that the ,church1 while she instructs society1 will claim complete obedience to her decrees4 ,the ipse dixit of the ,dominican author of the ,summa is law4 ,such frescoes1 by no means uncommon in ,dominican cloisters1 still retain great interest for the student of scholastic thought4 ,in the church of ,s4 ,maria ,sopra ,minerva at ,rome1 where ,galileo was afterwards compelled to sign his famous retractation1 ,filippino ,lippi painted another triumph of ,s4 ,thomas1 conceived in the spirit of ,taddeo ,gaddi's1 but expressed with the freedom of the middle ,renaissance4 ,nor should we neglect to notice the remarkable picture by ,traini in ,s4 ,caterina at ,pisa4 ,here the doctor of ,aquino is represented in an aureole surrounded by a golden sphere or disc1 on the edge of which are placed the four evangelists1 together with ,moses and ,s4 ,paul4#acg ,at his side1 within the burnished sphere1 ,plato and ,aristotle stand upright1 holding the ,timaeus and the ,ethics in their hands4 ,christ in glory is above the group1 emitting from ,his mouth three rays upon the head of ,s4 ,thomas4 ,single rays descend in like manner upon the evangelists and ,moses and ,s4 ,paul4 ,they1 like ,plato and ,aristotle1 hold open books2 and rays from these eight volumes converge upon the head of the angelical doctor1 who becomes the focus1 as it were1 of all the beams sent forth from ,christ and from the classic teachers1 whether directly effused or transmitted through the writers of the ,bible4 ,s4 ,thomas lastly holds a book open in his hand1 and carries others on his lap2 while lines of light are shed from these upon two bands of the faithful1 chiefly ,dominican monks1 arranged on each side of his footstool4 ,averroes lies prostrate beneath his feet with his book face downwards1 lightning-smitten by a shaft from the leaves of the volume in the saint's hand1 whereon is written3 veritatem meditabitur guttur meum et labia mea detestabuntur impium4#ach ,this picture1 afterwards repeated by ,benozzo ,gozzoli with some change in the persons1#aci has been minutely described1 because it is important to bear in mind the measure of inspiration conceded by the mediaeval ,church to the fathers of ,greek philosophy1 and her utter detestation of the peripatetic traditions transmitted through the ,arabic by ,averroes4 ,averroes1 though ,dante placed him with the great souls of pagan civilisation in the first circle of ,inferno1#adj was regarded as the protagonist of infidelity4 ,the myth of incredulity that gathered round his memory and made him hated in the ,middle ,ages1 has been traced with exquisite delicacy by ,renan1#ada who shows that his name became a rallying point for freethinkers4 ,scholars like ,petrarch were eager to confute his sect1 and artists used him as a symbol of materialistic disbelief4 ,thus we meet with ,averroes among the lost souls in the ,pisan ,campo ,santo1 distinguished as usual by his turban and long beard4 ,on the other hand1 the frank acceptance of pagan philosophy1 insofar as it could be accommodated to the doctrine of the ,church1 finds full expression in the art of this early period4 ,on the walls of the ,palazzo ,pubblico at ,siena were painted the figures of ,curius ,dentatus and ,cato1#adb while the pavement of the ,duomo showed ,hermes ,trismegistus instructing both a pagan and a ,christian1 and ,socrates ascending the steep hill of virtue4 ,perugino1 some years later1 decorated the ,sala del ,cambio at ,perugia with the heroes1 philosophers1 and worthies of the ancient world4 ,we are thus led by a gradual progress up to the final achievement of ,raphael in the ,vatican4 ,separating the antique from the ,christian tradition1 but placing them upon an equality in his art1 ,raphael made the ,school of ,athens an epitome of ,greek and ,roman wisdom1 while in the ,dispute of the ,sacrament he symbolised the ,church in heaven and ,church on earth4 ,another class of ideas1 no less illustrative of mediaevalism1 can be studied in the ,palazzo ,pubblico at ,siena4 ,there1 on the walls of the ,sala della ,pace or de' ,nove1 may be seen the frescoes whereby ,ambrogio ,lorenzetti expressed theories of society and government peculiar to his age4#adc ,the panels are three in number4 ,in the first the painter has delineated the ,commune of ,siena by an imperial male figure in the prime of life1 throned on a judgment-seat1 holding a sceptre in his right hand and a medallion of ,justice in his left4#add ,he wears no coronet1 but a burgher's cap2 and beneath his footstool are the ,roman twins1 suckled by the she-wolf4#ade ,above his head in the air float ,faith1 ,charity1 and ,hope--the ,christian virtues2 while ,justice1 ,temperance1 ,magnanimity1 ,prudence1 ,fortitude1 and ,peace1 six women1 crowned1 and with appropriate emblems1 are enthroned beside him4 ,the majestic giant of the ,commune towers above them all in bulk and stature1 as though to indicate the people's sovereignty4 ,the virtues are his assessors and inspirers--he is ,king4 ,beneath the das occupied by these supreme personages1 are ranged on either hand mailed and visored cavaliers1 mounted on chargers1 the guardians of the ,state4 ,all the citizens in their degrees advance toward the throne1 carrying between them1 pair by pair1 a rope received from the hands of ,concord2 while some who have transgressed her laws1 are being brought with bound hands to the judgment-seat4 ,concord herself1 being less the virtue of the government than of the governed1 is seated on a line with the burghers in a place apart beneath the throne of ,civil ,justice1 who is allegorised as the dispenser of rewards and punishments1 as well as controller of the armed force and the purse of the community4 ,the whole of this elaborate allegory suffers by the language of description4 ,those who have seen it1 and who are familiar with ,sienese chronicles1 feel that1 artistically laboured as the painter's work may be1 every figure had a passionate and intense meaning for him#adf4 ,his picture is the epitome of government conducted by a sovereign people4 ,nor can we fail to be struck with the beauty of some details4 ,the pale earnest faces of the horsemen are eminently chivalrous1 with knightly honour written on their calm and fearless features4 ,peace1 reclining at ease upon her pillow1 is a lovely woman in loose raiment1 her hair wreathed with blossoms1 in her hand an olive branch1 her feet reposing upon casque and shield4 ,she is like a painted statue1 making us wonder whether the artist had not copied her from the ,aphrodite of ,lysippus1 ere the ,sienese destroyed this statue in their dread of paganism#adg4 ,in the other two panels of this hall ,ambrogio ,lorenzetti painted the contrast of good and bad government1 harmony and discord4 ,a city full of brawls and bloodshed is set in opposition to one where the dance and viol do not cease4 ,merchants are plundered as they issue from the gates on one side2 on the other1 trains of sumpter mules are securely winding along mountain paths4 ,tyranny1 with all the vices for his council and with ,terror for prime minister1 presides over the ill-governed town4 ,the burghers of the happy commune follow trade or pleasure1 as they list2 a beautiful winged genius1 inscribed ,securitas1 floats above their citadel4 ,it should be added that in both these pictures the architecture is the same2 for the painter has designed to teach how different may be the state of one and the same city according to its form of government4 ,such then were the vivid images whereby ,ambrogio ,lorenzetti expressed the mediaeval curse of discord1 and the ideal of a righteous rule4 ,it is only necessary to read the ,diario ,sanese of ,allegretto ,allegretti in order to see that he drew no fancy picture4 ,the torchlight procession of burghers swearing amity by couples in the cathedral there described1 receives exact pictorial illustration in the fresco of the ,sala della ,pace#adh4 ,siena1 by her bloody factions and her passionate peacemakings1 expressed in daily action what the painter had depicted on her palace walls4 ,the method of treatment adopted for these chapters has obliged me to give priority to ,florence1 and to speak of the two ,lorenzetti1 ,pietro in the ,pisan ,campo ,santo and ,ambrogio in the ,sala della ,pace at ,siena1 as though they were followers of ,giotto2 so true is it that the main currents of ,tuscan art were governed by ,florentine influences1 and that ,giotto's genius made itself felt in all the work of his immediate successors4 ,it must1 however1 be observed that painting had an independent origin among the ,sienese1 and that ,guido da ,siena may claim to rank even earlier than ,cimabue4#adi ,in the year #abfj1 just before engaging in their duel with ,florence1 the ,sienese dedicated their city to the ,virgin2 and the victory of ,montaperti1 following immediately upon this vow1 gave a marked impulse to their piety4#aej ,the early masters of ,siena devoted themselves to religious paintings1 especially to pictures of ,madonna suited for chapels and oratories4 ,we find upon these mystic panels an ecstasy of adoration and a depth of fervour which are alien to the more sober spirit of ,florence1 combined with an almost infantine delight in pure bright colours1 and in the decorative details of the miniaturist4 ,the first great painter among the ,sienese was ,duccio di ,buoninsegna4#aea ,the completion of his masterpiece--a picture of the ,majesty of the ,virgin1 executed for the high altar of the ,duomo--marked an epoch in the history of ,siena4 ,nearly two years had been spent upon it2 the painter receiving sixteen soldi a day from the ,commune1 together with his materials1 in exchange for his whole time and skill and labour4 ,at last1 on ,june #i1 #acaj1 it was carried from ,duccio's workshop to its place in the cathedral4 ,a procession was formed by the clergy1 with the archbishop at their head1 followed by the magistrates of the ,commune1 and the chief men of the ,monte de' ,nove4 ,these great folk crowded round their ,lady2 after came a multitude of burghers bearing tapers2 while the rear was brought up by women and children4 ,the bells rang and trumpets blew as this new image of the ,sovereign ,mistress of ,siena was borne along the summer-smiling streets of her metropolis to take its throne in her high temple4 ,duccio's altar-piece presented on one face to the spectator a ,virgin seated with the infant ,christ upon her lap1 and receiving the homage of the patron saints of ,siena4 ,on the other1 he depicted the principal scenes of the ,gospel story and the ,passion of our ,lord in twenty-eight compartments4 ,what gives peculiar value to this elaborate work of ,sienese art is1 that in it ,duccio managed to combine the tradition of an early hieratic style of painting with all the charm of brilliant colouring and with dramatic force of presentation only rivalled at that time by ,giotto4 ,independently of ,giotto1 he performed at a stroke what ,cimabue and his pupil had achieved for the ,florentines1 and bequeathed to the succeeding painters of ,siena a tradition of art beyond which they rarely passed4 ,far more than their neighbours at ,florence1 the ,sienese remained fettered by the technical methods and the pietistic formulae of the earliest religious painting4 ,to make their conventional representations of ,madonna's love and woe and glory burn with all the passion of a fervent spirit1 and to testify their worship by the oblation of rich gifts in colouring and gilding massed around her1 was their earnest aim4 ,it followed that1 when they attempted subjects on a really large scale1 the faults of the miniaturist clung about them4 ,i need hardly say that ,ambrogio and ,pietro ,lorenzetti form notable exceptions to this general statement4 ,it may be applied1 however1 with some truth to ,simone ,martini1 the painter1 who during his lifetime enjoyed a celebrity only second to that of ,giotto4#aeb ,like ,giotto1 ,simone exercised his art in many parts of ,italy4 ,siena1 ,pisa1 ,assisi1 ,orvieto1 ,naples1 and ,avignon can still boast of wall and easel pictures from his hand2 and though it has been suggested that he took no part in the decoration of the ,cappella degli ,spagnuoli1 the impress of his manner remains at ,florence in those noble frescoes of the ,church ,militant and the ,consecration of ,s4 ,dominic4#aec ,simone's first undisputed works are to be seen at ,siena and at ,assisi1 where we learn what he could do as a frescante in competition with the ablest ,florentines4 ,in the ,palazzo ,pubblico of his native city he painted a vast picture of the ,virgin enthroned beneath a canopy and surrounded by saints2#aed while at ,assisi he put forth his whole power in portraying the legend of ,s4 ,martin4 ,in all his paintings we trace the skill of an exquisite and patient craftsman1 elaborately careful to finish his work with the utmost refinement1 sensitive to feminine beauty1 full of delicate inventiveness1 and gifted with a rare feeling for grace4 ,these excellent qualities tend1 however1 towards affectation and over-softness2 nor are they fortified by such vigour of conception or such majesty in composition as belong to the greatest trecentisti4 ,the ,lorenzetti alone soared high above the ,sienese mannerism into a region of masculine imaginative art4 ,we feel ,simone's charm mostly in single heads and detached figures1 some of which at ,assisi have incomparable sweetness4 ,molles ,senae1 the delicate and femininely variable1 fond of all things brilliant1 and unstable through defect of sternness1 was the fit mother of this ingenious and delightful master4 ,after the days of ,duccio and ,simone ,martini1 of ,ambrogio and ,pietro ,lorenzetti1 were over1 there remained but little for the ,sienese to do in painting4 ,taddeo di ,bartolo continued the tradition of ,duccio as the later ,giottesques continued that of ,giotto4 ,his most remarkable wall-painting is a fresco of the ,apostles visiting the ,virgin1 the motive of which is marked by great originality4#aee ,our ,lady is seated in an open loggia with a company of holy men and women round her4 ,descending from the sky and floating through the arches are three of the ,apostles1 while one who has just alighted from his arial transit kneels and folds his hands in adoration4 ,seldom have the longing and the peace of loving worship been more poetically expressed than here4 ,the seated1 kneeling1 standing1 and flying figures are admirably grouped together2 their draperies are dignified and massive2 and the architectural accessories help the composition by dividing it into three balanced sections4 ,such power of depicting movement was rare in the fourteenth century4 ,to find its analogue1 we must betake ourselves to the frescoes of ,spinello ,aretino1 a master more decidedly ,giottesque than his contemporary ,taddeo di ,bartolo4#aef ,a ,gabriel1 rushing down from heaven to salute ,madonna1 with all the whirr of arch-angelic pinions and the glory of ,paradise around him1 is a fine specimen of ,spinello's vehemence4 ,the same quality1 more tempered1 is noticeable in his frescoes of the legend of ,s4 ,ephesus at ,pisa4#aeg ,few faces in the paintings of any period are more fascinating than the profiles under steel-blue battle-caps of that godlike pair--the knightly saint and the ,archangel ,michael--breaking by the irresistible force of their onset and their calm youthful beauty through the mailed ranks of the ,sardinian pagans4 ,spinello was essentially a warlike painter2 among the best of his compositions may be named the series of pictures from the history of the ,venetian campaign against ,frederick ,barbarossa4#aeh ,it is a pity that the war of liberation carried on by the ,lombard communes with the ,empire should have left but little trace on ,italian art2 and therefore these paintings of ,spinello1 in addition to their intrinsic merit1 have rare historical interest4 ,delighting in the gleam of armour and the shock of speared warriors1 ,spinello communicated something of this fiery spirit even to his saints4 ,the monks of ,samminiato near ,florence employed him in #achh to paint their newly-finished sacristy with the legend of ,s4 ,benedict4 ,in the execution of this task ,spinello displayed his usual grandeur and vigour1 treating the grey-robed brethren of ,monte ,cassino like veritable champions of a militant ,church4 ,when he died in #adaj1 it might have been truly said that the flame of the torch kindled by ,giotto was at last extinguished4 ,the student of history cannot but notice with surprise that a city famed like ,siena for its vanity1 its factious quarrels1 and its delicate living1 should have produced an almost passionately ardent art of piety4#aei ,the same reflections are suggested at ,perugia1 torn by the savage feuds of the ,oddi and ,baglioni1 at warfare with ,assisi1 reduced to exhaustion by the discords of jealous parties1 yet memorable in the history of painting as the head-quarters of the pietistic ,umbrian school4 ,the contradiction is1 however1 in both cases more apparent than real4 ,the people both of ,siena and ,perugia were highly impressible and emotional1 quick to obey the promptings of their passion1 whether it took the form of hatred or of love1 of spiritual fervour or of carnal violence4 ,yielding at one moment to the preachings of ,s4 ,bernardino1 at another to the persuasions of ,grifonetto degli ,baglioni1 the ,perugians won the character of being fiends or angels according to the temper of their leaders2 while ,siena might boast with equal right of having given birth to ,s4 ,catherine and nurtured ,beccadelli4 ,the religious feeling was a passion with them on a par with all the other movements of their quick and mobile temperament3 it needed ecstatic art for its interpretation4 ,what was cold and sober would not satisfy the men of these two cities4 ,the ,florentines1 more justly balanced1 less abandoned to the frenzies of impassioned impulse1 less capable of feeling the rapt exaltation of the devotee1 expressed themselves in art distinguished for its intellectual power1 its sanity1 its scientific industry1 its adequacy to average human needs4 ,therefore1 ,florentine influences determined the course of painting in ,central ,italy4 ,therefore ,giotto1 who represented the ,florentine genius in the fourteenth century1 set his stamp upon the ,lorenzetti4 ,the mystic painters of ,umbria and ,siena have their high and honoured place in the history of ,italian art4 ,they supply an element which1 except in the work of ,fra ,angelico1 was defective at ,florence2 but to the ,florentines was committed the great charge of interpreting the spirit of ,italian civilisation in all its branches1 not for the cloister only1 or the oratory1 but for humanity at large1 through painting4 ,giotto and his followers1 then1 in the fourteenth century painted1 as we have seen1 the religious1 philosophical1 and social conceptions of their age4 ,as artists1 their great discovery was the secret of depicting life4 ,the ideas they expressed belonged to the ,middle ,ages4 ,but by their method and their spirit they anticipated the ,renaissance4 ,in executing their work upon the walls of palaces and churches1 they employed a kind of fresco4 ,fresco was essentially the ,florentine vehicle of expression4 ,among the peoples of ,central ,italy it took the place of mosaic in ,sicily1 ,ravenna1 and ,venice1 as the means of communicating ideas by forms to the unlettered laity1 and as affording to the artist the widest and the freest sphere for the expression of his thoughts4#afj ,,footnotes3 #aah ,in the ,history of ,painting in ,italy1 by ,messrs4 ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle4 #aai ,nothing is more astonishing than the sterility of ,genoa and of ,rome4 ,neither in sculpture nor in painting did these cities produce anything memorable1 though ,genoa was well placed for receiving the influences of ,pisa1 and had the command of the marble quarries of ,carrara1 while ,rome was the resort of all the art-students of ,italy4 ,the very early eminence of ,apulia in architecture and the plastic arts led to no results4 #abj ,milan1 it is true1 produced a brilliant school of sculptors1 and the ,certosa of ,pavia is a monument of her spontaneous artistic genius4 ,but in painting1 until the date of ,lionardo's advent1 she achieved little4 #aba ,see ,vol4 ,i41 ,age of the ,despots1 pp4 #ahb-ahh1 for the constitutional characteristics of ,florence and ,venice2 and ,vol4 ,,ii41 ,revival of ,learning1 pp4 #aah-abj1 for the intellectual supremacy of ,florence4 #abb ,a glance at the map shows to what a large extent the ,italians owed the progress of their arts to ,tuscany4 ,pisa1 as we have already seen1 took the lead in sculpture4 ,florence1 at a somewhat later period1 revived painting1 while ,siena contemporaneously developed a style peculiar to herself4 ,this ,sienese style--thoroughly ,tuscan1 though different from that of ,florence--exercised an important influence over the schools of ,umbria1 and gave a peculiar quality to ,perugian painting4 ,through ,piero della ,francesca1 a native of ,borgo ,san ,sepolcro1 the ,florentine tradition was extended to ,umbria and the ,roman ,states4 ,perugia might be even geographically claimed for ,tuscany1 inasmuch as the ,tiber divides the old ,etrurian territory from the ,umbrians and the duchy of ,spoleto4 ,lionardo was a ,tuscan settled as an alien in ,milan4 ,raphael1 though a native of ,urbino1 derived his training from ,florence1 indirectly through his father and his master ,perugino1 more immediately from ,fra ,bartolommeo and ,michael ,angelo4 #abc ,if ,vasari is to be trusted1 this visit of ,charles of ,anjou to ,cimabue's studio took place in #abfg2 but neither the ,malespini nor ,villani mention it1 and the old belief that the ,borgo ,allegri owed its name to the popular rejoicing at that time is now somewhat discredited4 ,see ,vasari1 ,le ,monnier1 #ahdf1 vol4 i4 p4 #bbe1 note #d4 ,gino ,capponi1 in his ,storia della ,repubblica di ,firenze1 vol4 i4 p4 #aeg1 refuses however to reject the legend4 #abd ,see ,capponi1 vol4 i4 pp4 #ei1 #gh1 for a description of the gay and courteous living of the ,florentines upon the end of the thirteenth century4 #abe ,see the ,descrizione della ,peste di ,firenze4 #abf ,i wish ,i could here transcribe the most beautiful passage from ,ruskin's ,giotto and his ,works in ,padua1 pp4 #aa1 #ab1 describing the contrast between the landscape of ,valdarno and the landscape of the hills of the ,mugello district4 ,i can only refer readers to the book1 printed for the ,arundel ,society1 #ahed4 #abg ,see ,trucchi1 ,poesie ,italiane ,inedite1 vol4 ii4 p4 #h4 #abh ,see above1 ,chapter ,,iii1 ,relation of ,sculpture to ,painting4 #abi ,the wonderful beauty of ,orcagna's faces1 profile after profile laid together like lilies in a garden border1 can only be discovered after long study4 ,it has been my good fortune to examine1 through the kindness of ,mrs4 ,higford ,burr1 of ,aldermaston1 a large series of tracings1 taken chiefly by the ,right ,hon4 ,a4 ,h4 ,layard1 from the frescoes of ,giottesque and other early masters1 which1 by the selection of simple form in outline1 demonstrate not only the grand composition of these religious paintings1 but also the incomparable loveliness of their types4 ,how great the ,trecentisti were as draughtsmen1 how imaginative was the beauty of their conception1 can be best appreciated by thus artificially separating their design from their colouring4 ,the semblance of archaism disappears1 and leaves a vision of pure beauty1 delicate and spiritual4 ,the collection to which ,i have alluded was made some years ago1 when access to the wall-paintings of ,italy for the purpose of tracing was still possible4 ,it includes nearly the whole of ,lorenzetti's work in the ,sala della ,pace1 much of ,giotto1 the ,gozzoli frescoes at ,s4 ,gemignano1 frescoes of the ,veronese masters and of the ,paduan ,baptistery1 a great deal of ,piero della ,francesca1 ,mantegna1 ,luini1 ,gaudenzio ,ferrari1 ,pinturicchio1 ,masolino1 c4 ,the earliest masters of ,arezzo1 ,pisa1 ,siena1 ,urbino are copiously illustrated1 while few burghs or hamlets of the ,tuscan and ,umbrian districts have been left unvisited4 #acj ,see ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 vol4 i4 pp4 #dde-dea1 for a discussion of the question4 ,they incline to the authorship of ,pietro and ,ambrogio ,lorenzetti4 ,but the last ,florentine edition of ,vasari renders this opinion doubtful4 #aca ,ed una donna involta in veste negra1 ,con un furor qual io non so se mai ,al tempo de' giganti fosse a ,flegra4 ,trionfo della ,morte1 cap4 i4 #ca4 #acb ,on a scroll above these wretches is written this legend3-- ,dacch prosperitade ci ha lasciati1 ,o morte1 medicina d'ogni pena1 ,deh vieni a darne omai l'ultima cena4 #acc ,this might be used as an argument against the ,lorenzetti hypothesis2 for their work at ,siena is eminently beautiful4 #acd ,the attitude and the eyes of this archangel have an imaginative potency beyond that of any other motive used by any painter to suggest the terror of the ,dies ,irae4 ,simplicity and truth of vision in the artist have here touched the very summit of intense dramatic presentation4 #ace ,the ,triumph of ,s4 ,thomas ,aquinas1 in this cloister-chapel1 has long been declared the work of ,taddeo ,gaddi4 ,the ,triumph of the ,church ,militant1 and the ,consecration of ,s4 ,dominic1 used to be ascribed1 on the faith of ,vasari1 to ,simone ,martini of ,siena4 ,independently of its main subject1 this vast wall-painting is specially interesting on account of its portraits4 ,the work has a decidedly ,sienese character2 but recent critics are inclined to assign it to a certain ,andrea1 of ,florence4 ,see ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 vol4 ii4 p4 #hi4 ,the same critics doubt the hand of ,taddeo ,gaddi in the ,triumph of ,s4 ,thomas1 vol4 i4 p4 #cgd1 and remark that these productions of the art of the fourteenth century are1 indeed1 second-class works1 executed by pupils of the ,sienese and ,florentine school1 and unworthy of the high praise which has ever been given to them4 ,whatever may be ultimately thought about the question of their authorship and pictorial merit1 their interest to the student of ,italian painting in relation to mediaeval thought will always remain indisputable4 ,few buildings in the length and breadth of ,italy possess such claims on our attention as the ,cappella degli ,spagnuoli4 #acf ,the amorous fere of the ,christian faith1 the holy athlete1 gentle to his own1 and to his foes cruel4 #acg ,everything outside this golden region is studded with stars to signify an epoyranios topos or heaven of heavens4 ,s4 ,thomas and the ,greeks are inside the golden sphere of science1 and below on earth are the heresiarchs and faithful4 ,rosini gives a faithful outline of this picture in his ,atlas of ,illustrations4 #ach ,for my mouth shall speak truth2 and wickedness is an abomination to my lips4--,prov4 viii4 #g4 #aci ,gozzoli's picture is now in the ,louvre4 ,i think ,guillaume de ,saint ,amour takes the place of ,averroes4 #adj ,inf4 iv4 #add4 #ada ,averros et l',averrosme1 pp4 #bcf-caf4 #adb ,in the chapel4 ,they are the work of ,taddeo di ,bartolo1 and bear this inscription3 ,specchiatevi in costoro1 voi che reggete4 ,the mediaeval painters of ,italy learned lessons of civility and government as willingly from classical tradition1 as they deduced the lessons of piety and godly living from the ,bible4 ,herein they were akin to ,dante1 who chose ,virgil for the symbol of the human understanding and ,beatrice for the symbol of divine wisdom1 revealed to man in ,theology4 #adc ,he began his work in #accg4 #add ,a similar mode of symbolising the ,commune is chosen in the bas-reliefs of ,archbishop ,tarlati's tomb at ,arezzo1 where the discord of the city is represented by an old man of gigantic stature1 throned and maltreated by the burghers1 who are tearing out his hair by handfuls4 ,over this figure is written ,il ,comune ,pelato4 #ade ,these were adopted as the ensign of ,siena1 in the ,middle ,ages4 #adf ,in the year #accf1 just before ,ambrogio began to paint1 the ,sienese ,republic had concluded a league with ,florence for the maintenance of the ,guelf party4 ,the ,monte de' ,nove still ruled the city with patriotic spirit and equity1 and had not yet become a forceful oligarchy4 ,the power of the ,visconti was still in its cradle2 the great plague had not devastated ,tuscany4 ,as early as #acee the whole of the fair order represented by ,ambrogio was shaken to the foundation1 and ,siena deserved the words applied to it by ,de ,commines4 ,see ,vol4 ,l1 ,age of the ,despots1 p4 #afb1 note #b4 #adg ,rio1 perversely bent on stigmatising whatever in ,italian art savours of the ,renaissance1 depreciates this lovely form of ,peace4 ,l',art ,chrtien1 vol4 i4 p4 #eg4 #adh ,see ,muratori1 vol4 xxiii41 or the passage translated by me in ,vol4 ,i41 ,age of the ,despots1 p4 #dhj4 #adi ,his ,madonna in ,s4 ,domenico is dated #abba4 ,for a full discussion of ,guido da ,siena's date1 see ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 vol4 i4 pp4 #ahj-ahe4 #aej ,on their coins the ,sienese struck this legend3 ,sena vetus ,civitas ,virginis4 ,it will be remembered how the ,florentines1 two centuries and a half later1 dedicated their city to ,christ as king4 #aea ,date of birth unknown2 date of death1 about #acbj4 #aeb ,he is better known as ,simone ,memmi1 a name given to him by a mistake of ,vasari's4 ,he was born in #abhc at ,siena4 ,he died in #acdd at ,avignon4 ,petrarch mentions his portrait of ,madonna ,laura1 in the #dith and #ejth sonnets of the ,rime in ,vita di ,madonna ,laura4 ,in another place he uses these words about ,simone3 ,duos ego novi pictores egregios1 nec formosos1 ,jottum ,florentinum civem1 cujus inter modernos fama ingens est1 et ,simonem ,senensem4--,epist4 ,fam4 lib4 v4 #ag1 p4 #fec4 ,petrarch proceeds to mention that he has also known sculptors1 and asserts their inferiority to painters in modern times4 #aec ,see above1 ,chapter ,,iv1 ,theology and ,s4 ,dominic4 ,messrs4 ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle reject1 not without reason1 as it seems to me1 the tradition that ,simone painted the frescoes of ,s4 ,ranieri in the ,campo ,santo at ,pisa4 ,see vol4 ii4 p4 #hc4 ,what remains of his work at ,pisa is an altar-piece in ,s4 ,caterina4 #aed ,to ,simone is also attributed the interesting portrait of ,guidoriccio ,fogliani de' ,ricci1 on horseback1 in the ,sala del ,consiglio4 ,this1 however1 has been so much repainted as to have lost its character4 #aee ,in ,s4 ,francesco at ,pisa4 #aef ,spinello degli ,spinelli was born of a ,ghibelline family1 exiled from ,florence1 who settled at ,arezzo about #acjh4 ,he died at ,arezzo in #adaj1 aged #ib1 according to some computations4 #aeg ,south wall of the ,campo ,santo1 on the left-hand of the entrance4 #aeh ,in the ,sala di ,balia of the public palace at ,siena4 #aei ,see ,inferno1 xxix4 #aba2 the sonnets on the months by ,cene dalla ,chitarra1 ,poeti del ,primo ,secolo1 vol4 ii4 pp4 #aif-bjg2 the epithet ,molles ,senae1 given by ,beccadelli2 and the remarks of ,de ,comines4 #afj ,i have not thought it necessary to distinguish between tempera and fresco4 ,in tempera painting the colours were mixed with egg1 gum1 and other vehicles dissolved in water1 and laid upon a dry ground4 ,in fresco painting the colours1 mixed only with water1 were laid upon plaster while still damp4 ,the latter process replaced the former for wall-paintings in the fourteenth century4 ,,chapter ,v ,,painting ,mediaeval ,motives exhausted--,new ,impulse toward ,technical ,perfection--,naturalists in ,painting--,intermediate ,achievement needed for the ,great ,age of ,art--,positive ,spirit of the ,fifteenth ,century--,masaccio--,the ,modern ,manner--,paolo ,uccello--,perspective--,realistic ,painters--,the ,model--,piero della ,francesca--,his ,study of ,form--,resurrection at ,borgo ,san ,sepolcro--,melozzo da ,forli--,squarcione at ,padua--,gentile da ,fabriano--,fra ,angelico--,benozzo ,gozzoli--,his ,decorative ,style--,lippo ,lippi--,frescoes at ,prato and ,spoleto--,filippino ,lippi--,sandro ,botticelli--,his ,value for the ,student of ,renaissance ,fancy--,his ,feeling for ,mythology--,piero di ,cosimo--,domenico ,ghirlandajo--,in what sense he sums up the ,age--,prosaic ,spirit--,florence hitherto supreme in ,painting--,extension of ,art ,activity throughout ,italy--,medicean ,patronage4 ,after the splendid outburst of painting in the first half of the fourteenth century1 there came a lull4 ,the thoughts and sentiments of mediaeval ,italy had been now set forth in art4 ,the sincere and simple style of ,giotto was worked out4 ,but the new culture of the ,revival had not as yet sufficiently penetrated the ,italians for the painters to express it2 nor had they mastered the technicalities of their craft in such a manner as to render the delineation of more complex forms of beauty possible4 ,the years between #adjj and #adgj may be roughly marked out as the second period of great1 activity in painting4 ,at this time sculpture1 under the hands of ,ghiberti1 ,donatello1 and ,luca della ,robbia1 had reached a higher point than the sister art4 ,the debt the sculptors owed to ,giotto1 they now repaid in full measure to his successors1 in obedience to the law whereby sculpture1 though subordinated1 as in ,italy1 to painting1 is more precocious in its evolution4 ,one of the most marked features of this period was the progress in the art of design1 due to bronze modelling and bas-relief2 for the painters1 labouring in the workshops of the goldsmiths and the stone-carvers1 learned how to study the articulation of the human body1 to imitate the nude1 and to aim by means of graduated light and dark at rendering the effect of roundness in their drawing4 ,the laws of perspective and foreshortening were worked out by ,paolo ,uccello and ,brunelleschi4 ,new methods of colouring were attempted by the ,peselli and the ,pollajuoli4 ,abandoning the conventional treatment of religious themes1 the artists began to take delight in motives drawn from everyday experience4 ,it became the fashion to introduce contemporary costumes1 striking portraits1 and familiar incidents into sacred subjects1 so that many pictures of this period1 though worthless to the student of religious art1 are interesting for their illustration of ,florentine custom and character4 ,at the same time the painters began to imitate landscape and architecture1 loading the background of their frescoes with pompous vistas of palaces and city towers1 or subordinating their figures to fantastic scenery of wood and rock and seashore4 ,many were naturalists1 delighting1 like ,gentile da ,fabriano1 in the delineation of field flowers and living creatures1 or1 like ,piero di ,cosimo1 in the portrayal of things rare and curious4 ,gardens please their eyes1 and birds and beasts and insects4 ,whole menageries and aviaries1 for instance1 were painted by ,paolo ,uccello4 ,others1 again1 abandoned the old ground of ,christian story for the tales of ,greece and ,rome2 and not the least charming products of the time are antique motives treated with the freshness of romantic feeling4 ,we look in vain for the allegories of the ,giottesque masters3 that stage of thought has been traversed1 and a new cycle of poetic ideas1 fanciful1 idyllic1 corresponding to ,boiardo's episodes rather than to ,dante's vision1 opens for the artist4 ,instead of seeking to set forth vast subjects with the equality of mediocrity1 like the ,gaddi1 or to invent architectonic compositions embracing the whole culture of their age1 like the ,lorenzetti1 the painters were now bent upon realising some special quality of beauty1 expressing some fantastic motive1 or solving some technical problem of peculiar difficulty4 ,they had1 in fact1 outgrown the childhood of their art2 and while they had not yet attained to mastery1 had abandoned the impossible task of making it the medium of universal expression4 ,in this way the manifold efforts of the workers in the first half of the fifteenth century prepared the ground for the great painters of the ,golden ,age4 ,it remained for ,raphael and his contemporaries to achieve the final synthesis of art in masterpieces of consummate beauty4 ,but this they could not have done without the aid of those innumerable intermediate labourers1 whose productions occupy in art the place of ,bacon's media axiomata in science4 ,remembering this1 we ought not to complain that the purpose of painting at this epoch was divided1 or that its achievements were imperfect4 ,the whole intellectual conditions of the country were those of growth1 experiment1 preparation1 and acquisition1 rather than of full accomplishment4 ,what happened in the field of painting1 was happening also in the field of scholarship2 and we have good reason to be thankful that by the very nature of the arts1 these tentative endeavours have a more enduring charm than the dull tomes of contemporary students4 ,nor1 again1 is it rational to regret that painting1 having started with the sincere desire of expressing the hopes and fears that agitate the soul of man1 and raise him to a spiritual region1 should now be occupied with lessons in perspective and anatomy4 ,in the twofold process of discovering the world and man1 this dry ground had inevitably to be explored1 and its exploration could not fail to cost the sacrifice of much that was impassioned and imaginative in the earlier and less scientific age of art4#afa ,the spirit of ,cosimo de' ,medici1 almost cynical in its positivism1 the spirit of ,sixtus ,,iv41 almost godless in its egotism1 were abroad in ,italy at this period2#afb indeed1 the fifteenth century presents at large a spectacle of prosaic worldliness and unideal aims4 ,yet the work done by the artists was the best work of the epoch1 far more fruitful of results and far more permanently valuable than that of ,filelfo inveighing in filthy satires against his personal foes1 or of ,beccadelli endeavouring to inoculate modern literature with the virus of pagan vices4 ,petrarch in the fourteenth century had preached the evangel of humanism2 ,giotto in the fourteenth century had given life to painting4 ,the students of the fifteenth1 though their spirit was so much baser and less large than ,petrarch's1 were following in the path marked out for them and leading forward to ,erasmus4 ,the painters of the fifteenth1 though they lacked the unity of aim and freshness of their master1 were learning what was needful for the crowning and fulfilment of his labours on a loftier stage4 ,foremost among the pioneers of ,renaissance-painting1 towering above them all by head and shoulders1 like ,saul among the tribes of ,israel1 stands ,masaccio4#afc ,the ,brancacci ,chapel of the ,carmine at ,florence1 painted in fresco almost entirely by his hand1 was the school where all succeeding artists studied1 and whence ,raphael deigned to borrow the composition and the figures of a portion of his ,cartoons4 ,the ,legend of ,s4 ,catherine1 painted by ,masaccio in #h4 ,clemente at ,rome1 though an earlier work1 is scarcely less remarkable as evidence that a new age had begun for art4 ,in his frescoes the qualities essential to the style of the ,renaissance--what ,vasari calls the modern manner--appear precociously full-formed4 ,besides life and nature they have dignity and breadth1 the grand and heightened manner of emancipated art4 ,masaccio is not inferior to ,giotto in his power of telling a story with simplicity2 but he understands the value of perspective for realising the circumstances of the scene depicted4 ,his august groups of the ,apostles are surrounded by landscape tranquillising to the sense and pleasant to the eye4 ,mountain-lines and distant horizons lend space and largeness to his compositions1 and the figures of his men and women move freely in a world prepared for them4 ,in ,masaccio's management of drapery we discern the influence of plastic art2 without concealing the limbs1 which are always modelled with a freedom that suggests the power of movement even in stationary attitudes1 the voluminous folds and broad masses of powerfully coloured raiment invest his forms with a nobility unknown before in painting4 ,his power of representing the nude is not less remarkable4 ,but what above all else renders his style attractive is the sense of arial space4 ,for the first time in art the forms of living persons are shown moving in a transparent medium of light1 graduated according to degrees of distance1 and harmonised by tones that indicate an atmospheric unity4 ,in comparing ,masaccio with ,giotto we must admit that1 with so much gained1 something has been sacrificed4 ,giotto succeeded in presenting the idea1 the feeling1 the pith of the event1 and pierced at once to the very ground-root of imagination4 ,masaccio thinks over-much1 perhaps1 of external form1 and is intent on air-effects and colouring4 ,he realises the phenomenal truth with a largeness and a dignity peculiar to himself4 ,but we ask whether he was capable of bringing close to our hearts the secret and the soul of spiritual things4 ,has not art beneath his touch become more scenic1 losing thereby somewhat of dramatic poignancy8 ,born in #adjb1 ,masaccio left ,florence in #adbi for ,rome1 and was not heard of by his family again4 ,thus perished1 at the early age of twenty-seven1 a painter whose work reveals not only the originality of real creative genius1 but a maturity that moves our wonder4 ,what might he not have done if he had lived8 ,between his style in the ,brancacci chapel and that of ,raphael in the ,vatican there seems to be but a narrow gap1 which might perchance have been passed over by this man1 if death had spared him4 ,masaccio can by no means be taken as a fair instance of the painters of his age4 ,gifted with exceptional powers1 he overleaped the difficulties of his art1 and arrived intuitively at results whereof as yet no scientific certainty had been secured4 ,his contemporaries applied humbler talents to severe study1 and wrought out by patient industry those principles which ,masaccio had divined4 ,their work is therefore at the same time more archaic and more pedantic1 judged by modern standards4 ,it is difficult to imagine a style of painting less attractive than that of ,paolo ,uccello4#afd ,yet his fresco of the ,deluge in the cloisters of ,s4 ,maria ,novella1 and his battlepieces--one of which may be seen in the ,national ,gallery--taught nearly all that painters needed of perspective4 ,the lesson was conveyed in hard1 dry1 uncouth diagrams1 ill-coloured and deficient in the quality of animation4 ,at this period the painters1 like the sculptors1 were trained as goldsmiths1 and ,paolo had been a craftsman of that guild before he gave his whole mind to the study of linear perspective and the drawing of animals4 ,the precision required in this trade forced artists to study the modelling of the human form1 and promoted that crude naturalism which has been charged against their pictures4 ,carefully to observe1 minutely to imitate some actual person--the ,sandro of your workshop or the ,cecco from the marketplace--became the pride of painters4 ,no longer fascinated by the dreams of mediaeval mysticism1 and unable for the moment to invest ideals of the fancy with reality1 they meanwhile made the great discovery that the body of a man is a miracle of beauty1 each limb a divine wonder1 each muscle a joy as great as sight of stars or flowers4 ,much that is repulsive in the pictures of the ,pollajuoli and ,andrea del ,castagno1 the leaders in this branch of realism1 is due to admiration for the newly studied mechanism of the human form4 ,they seem to have cared but little to select their types or to accentuate expression1 so long as they were able to portray the man before them with fidelity4#afe ,the comeliness of average humanity was enough for them2 the difficulties of reproducing what they saw1 exhausted their force4 ,thus the master-works on which they staked their reputation show them emulous of fame as craftsmen1 while only here and there1 in minor paintings for the most part1 the poet that was in them sees the light4 ,brunelleschi told ,donatello the truth when he said that his ,christ was a crucified contadino4 ,intent on mastering the art of modelling1 and determined above all things to be accurate1 the sculptor had forgotten that something more was wanted in a crucifix than the careful study of a robust peasant-boy4 ,a story of a somewhat later date still further illustrates the dependence of the work of art upon the model in ,renaissance ,florence4 ,jacopo ,sansovino made the statue of a youthful ,bacchus in close imitation of a lad called ,pippo ,fabro4 ,posing for hours together naked in a cold studio1 ,pippo fell into ill health1 and finally went mad4 ,in his madness he frequently assumed the attitude of the ,bacchus to which his life had been sacrificed1 and which is now his portrait4 ,the legend of the painter who kept his model on a cross in order that he might the more minutely represent the agonies of death by crucifixion1 is but a mythus of the realistic method carried to its logical extremity4 ,piero della ,francesca1 a native of ,borgo ,san ,sepolcro1 and a pupil of ,domenico ,veneziano1 must be placed among the painters of this period who advanced their art by scientific study4 ,he carried the principles of correct drawing and solid modelling as far as it is possible for the genius of man to do1 and composed a treatise on perspective in the vulgar tongue4 ,but these are not his only titles to fame4 ,by dignity of portraiture1 by loftiness of style1 and by a certain poetical solemnity of imagination1 he raised himself above the level of the mass of his contemporaries4 ,those who have once seen his fresco of the ,resurrection in the hall of the ,compagnia della ,misericordia at ,borgo ,san ,sepolcro1 will never forget the deep impression of solitude and aloofness from all earthly things produced by it4 ,it is not so much the admirable grouping and masterly drawing of the four sleeping soldiers1 or even the majestic type of the ,christ emergent without effort from the grave1 as the communication of a mood felt by the painter and instilled into our souls1 that makes this by far the grandest1 most poetic1 and most awe-inspiring picture of the ,resurrection4 ,the landscape is simple and severe1 with the cold light upon it of the dawn before the sun is risen4 ,the drapery of the ascending ,christ is tinged with auroral colours like the earliest clouds of morning2 and ,his level eyes1 with the mystery of the slumber of the grave still upon them1 seem gazing1 far beyond our scope of vision1 into the region of the eternal and illimitable4 ,thus1 with ,piero for mystagogue1 we enter an inner shrine of deep religious revelation4 ,the same high imaginative faculty marks the fresco of the ,dream of ,constantine in ,s4 ,francesco at ,arezzo1 where1 it may be said in passing1 the student of art must learn to estimate what ,piero could do in the way of accurate foreshortening1 powerful delineation of solid bodies1 and noble treatment of drapery4#aff ,to ,piero1 again1 we owe most precious portraits of two ,italian princes1 ,sigismondo ,pandolfo ,malatesta and ,federigo of ,urbino1 masterpieces#afg of fidelity to nature and sound workmanship4 ,in addition to the many great paintings that command our admiration1 ,piero claims honour as the teacher of ,melozzo da ,forli and of ,luca ,signorelli4 ,little is left to show the greatness of ,melozzo2 but the frescoes preserved in the ,quirinal are enough to prove that he continued the grave and lofty manner of his master4#afh ,signorelli bears a name illustrious in the first rank of ,italian painters2 and to speak of him will be soon my duty4 ,it was the special merit of these artists to elevate the ideal of form and to seek after sublimity1 without departing from the path of conscientious labour1 in an age preoccupied on the one hand with technicality and naturalism1 on the other with decorative prettiness and pietism4 ,while the ,florentine and ,umbro-,tuscan masters were perfecting the arts of accurate design1 a similar direction toward scientific studies was given to the painters of ,northern ,italy at ,padua4 ,michael ,savonarola1 writing his panegyric of ,padua about #addj1 expressly mentions ,perspective as a branch of philosophy taught in the high school2#afi and the influence of ,francesco ,squarcione1 though exaggerated by ,vasari1 was not inconsiderable4 ,this man1 who began life as a tailor or embroiderer1 was early interested in the fine arts4 ,like ,ciriac of ,ancona1 he had a taste for travel and collection1#agj visiting the sacred soil of ,greece and sojourning in divers towns of ,italy1 everywhere making drawings1 copying pictures1 taking casts from statues1 and amassing memoranda on the relics of antiquity as well as on the methods practised by contemporary painters4 ,equipped with these aids to study1 ,squarcione returned to ,padua1 his native place1 where he opened a kind of school for painters4 ,it is clear that he was himself less an artist than an amateur of painting1 with a turn for teaching1 and a conviction1 based upon the humanistic instincts of his age1 that the right way of learning was by imitation of the antique4 ,during the course of his career he is said to have taught no less than #acg pupils1 training his apprentices by the exhibition of casts and drawings1 and giving them instruction in the science of perspective4#aga ,from his studio issued the mighty ,andrea ,mantegna1 whose life-work1 one of the most weighty moments in the history of modern art1 will be noticed at length in the next chapter4 ,for the present it is enough to observe that through ,squarcione the scientific and humanistic movement of the fifteenth century was communicated to the art of ,northern ,italy4 ,there1 as at ,florence1 painting was separated from ecclesiastical tradition1 and a new starting-point was sought in the study of mathematical principles1 and the striving after form for its own sake4 ,without attempting the detailed history of painting in this period of divided energy and diverse effort1 it is needful here to turn aside and notice those masters of the fifteenth century who remained comparatively uninfluenced by the scholastic studies of their contemporaries4 ,of these1 the earliest and most notable was ,gentile da ,fabriano1 the last great painter of the ,gubbian school4#agb ,in the predella of his masterpiece at ,florence there is a little panel1 which attracts attention as one of the earliest attempts to represent a sunrise4 ,the sun has just appeared above one of those bare sweeping hill-sides so characteristic of ,central ,italian landscape4 ,part of the country lies untouched by morning1 cold and grey3 the rest is silvered with the level light1 falling sideways on the burnished leaves and red fruit of the orange trees1 and casting shadows from olive branches on the furrows of a new-ploughed field4 ,along the road journey ,joseph and ,mary and the infant ,christ1 so that you may call this little landscape a ,flight into ,egypt1 if you choose4 ,gentile1 with all his ,umbrian pietism1 was a painter for whom the fair sights of the earth had exquisite value4 ,the rich costumes of the ,eastern kings1 their train of servants1 their hawks and horses1 hounds and monkeys1 are painted by him with scrupulous fidelity2 and nothing can be more true to nature than the wild flowers he has copied in the framework of this picture4 ,yet we perceive that1 though he felt in his own way the naturalistic impulse of the age1 he had scarcely anything in common with masters like ,uccello or ,verocchio4 ,still less had ,fra ,angelico4 ,of all the painters of this period he most successfully resisted the persuasions of the ,renaissance1 and perfected an art that owed little to sympathy with the external world4 ,he thought it a sin to study or to imitate the naked form1 and his most beautiful faces seem copied from angels seen in visions1 not from any sons of men4 ,while the artists around him were absorbed in mastering the laws of geometry and anatomy1 ,fra ,angelico sought to express the inner life of the adoring soul4 ,only just so much of realism1 whether in the drawing of the body and its drapery1 or in the landscape background1 as seemed necessary for suggesting the emotion or for setting forth the story1 found its way into his pictures4 ,the message they convey might have been told almost as perfectly upon the lute or viol4 ,his world is a strange one--a world not of hills and fields and flowers and men of flesh and blood1 but one where the people are embodied ecstasies1 the colours tints from evening clouds or apocalyptic jewels1 the scenery a flood of light or a background of illuminated gold4 ,his mystic gardens1 where the ransomed souls embrace1 and dance with angels on the lawns outside the ,city of the ,lamb1 are such as were never trodden by the foot of man in any paradise of earth4 ,criticism has a hard task in attempting to discern the merit of the several painters of this time4 ,it is clear that we must look not to ,fra ,angelico but to ,masaccio for the progressive forces that were carrying art forward to complete accomplishment4 ,yet the charm of ,masaccio is as nothing in comparison with that which holds us spell-bound before the sacred and impassioned reveries of the ,fiesolan monk4 ,masaccio had inestimable value for his contemporaries4 ,fra ,angelico1 now that we know all ,masaccio can teach1 has a quality so unique that we return again and again to the contemplation of his visions4 ,thus it often happens that we are tempted to exaggerate the historical importance of one painter because he touches us by some peculiar quality1 and to over-estimate the intrinsic value of another because he was a motive power in his own age4 ,both these temptations should be resolutely resisted by the student who is capable of discerning different kinds of excellence and diverse titles to affectionate remembrance4 ,tracing the history of ,italian painting is like pursuing a journey down an ever-broadening river1 whose affluents are ,giotto and ,masaccio1 ,ghirlandajo1 ,signorelli1 and ,mantegna4 ,we have to turn aside and land upon the shore1 in order to visit the heaven-reflecting lakelet1 self-encompassed and secluded1 called ,angelico4 ,benozzo ,gozzoli1 the pupil of ,fra ,angelico1 but in no sense the continuator of his tradition1 exhibits the blending of several styles by a genius of less creative than assimilative force4 ,that he was keenly interested in the problems of perspective and foreshortening1 and that none of the knowledge collected by his fellow-workers had escaped him1 is sufficiently proved by his frescoes at ,pisa4 ,his compositions are rich in architectural details1 not always chosen with pure taste1 but painted with an almost infantine delight in the magnificence of buildings4 ,quaint birds and beasts and reptiles crowd his landscapes2 while his imagination runs riot in rocks and rivers1 trees of all variety1 and rustic incidents adopted from real life4 ,at the same time he felt an enjoyment like that of ,gentile da ,fabriano in depicting the pomp and circumstance of pageantry1 and no ,florentine of the fifteenth century was more fond of assembling the personages of contemporary history in groups4#agc ,thus he showed himself sensitive to the chief influences of the earlier ,renaissance1 and combined the scientific and naturalistic tendencies of his age in a manner not devoid of native poetry4 ,what he lacked was depth of feeling1 the sense of noble form1 the originative force of a great mind4 ,his poetry of invention1 though copious and varied1 owed its charm to the unstudied grace of improvisation1 and he often undertook subjects where his idyllic rather than dramatic genius failed to sustain him4 ,it is difficult1 for instance1 to comprehend how ,m4 ,rio could devote two pages to ,gozzoli's ,destruction of ,sodom1 so comparatively unimpressive in spite of its aggregated incidents1 when he passes by the ,fulminati of ,signorelli1 so tragic in its terrible simplicity1 with a word4#agd ,this painter's marvellous rapidity of execution enabled him to produce an almost countless series of decorative works4 ,the best of these are the frescoes of the ,pisan ,campo ,santo1 of the ,riccardi ,palace of ,florence1 of ,san ,gemignano1 and of ,montefalco4 ,it has been well said of ,gozzoli that1 though he attempted grand subjects on a large scale1 he could not rise above the limitations of a style better adapted to the decoration of cassoni than to fresco4#age ,yet within the range of his own powers there are few more fascinating painters4 ,his feeling for fresh nature--for hunters in the woods at night or dawn1 for vintage-gatherers among their grapes1 for festival troops of cavaliers and pages1 and for the marriage-dances of young men and maidens--yields a delightful gladness to compositions lacking the simplicity of ,giotto and the dignity of ,masaccio4#agf ,no one knew better how to sketch the quarrels of little boys in their nursery1 or the laughter of serving-women1 or children carrying their books to school2#agg and when the idyllic genius of the man was applied to graver themes1 his fancy supplied him with multitudes of angels waving rainbow-coloured wings above fair mortal faces4 ,bevies of them nestle like pigeons on the penthouse of the hut of ,bethlehem1 or crowd together round the infant ,christ4#agh ,from these observations on the style of ,benozzo ,gozzoli it will be seen that in the evolution of ,renaissance culture he may be compared with the romantic poets for whom the cheerfulness of nature and the joy that comes to men from living in a many-coloured world of inexhaustible delight were sufficient sources of inspiration4 ,it should be mentioned lastly that he enjoyed the patronage and friendship of the ,medicean princes4 ,another painter favoured by the ,medici was ,fra ,filippo ,lippi1 whose life and art-work were alike the deviation of a pleasure-loving temperament from its natural sphere into the service of the ,church4 ,left an orphan at the age of two years1 he was brought up by an aunt1 who placed him1 as a boy of eight1 in the convent of the ,carmine at ,florence4 ,for monastic duties he had no vocation1 and the irregularities of his behaviour caused scandal even in that age of cynical indulgence4 ,it can scarcely be doubted that the schism between his practice and profession served to debase and vulgarise a genius of fine imaginative quality1 while the uncongenial work of decorating choirs and painting altar-pieces limed the wings of his swift spirit with the dulness of routine that savoured of hypocrisy4 ,bound down to sacred subjects1 he was too apt to make angels out of street-urchins1 and to paint the portraits of his peasant-loves for ,virgins4#agi ,his delicate sense of natural beauty gave peculiar charm to this false treatment of religious themes4 ,nothing1 for example1 can be more attractive than the rows of angels bearing lilies in his ,coronation of the ,virgin2#ahj and yet1 when we regard them closely1 we find that they have no celestial quality of form or feature4 ,their grace is earthly1 and the spirit breathed upon the picture is the loveliness of colour1 quiet and yet glowing--blending delicate blues and greens with whiteness purged of glare4 ,the beauties as well as the defects of such compositions make us regret that ,fra ,filippo never found a more congenial sphere for his imagination4 ,as a painter of subjects half-humorous and half-pathetic1 or as the illustrator of romantic stories1 we fancy that he might have won fame rivalled only by the greatest colourists4 ,one such picture it was granted him to paint1 and this is his masterpiece4 ,in the prime of life he was commissioned to decorate the choir of the cathedral at ,prato with the legends of ,s4 ,john ,baptist and ,s4 ,stephen4 ,all of these frescoes are noteworthy for their firm grasp upon reality in the portraits of ,florentine worthies1 and for the harmonious disposition of the groups2 but the scene of ,salome dancing before ,herod is the best for its poetic feeling4 ,her movement across the floor before the tyrant and his guests at table1 the quaint fluttering of her drapery1 the well-bred admiration of the spectators1 their horror when she brings the ,baptist's head to ,herodias1 and the weak face of the half-remorseful ,herod are expressed with a dramatic power that shows the genius of a poet painter4 ,and even more lovely than ,salome are a pair of girls locked in each other's arms close by ,herodias on the das4 ,a natural and spontaneous melody1 not only in the suggested movements of this scene1 but also in the colouring1 choice of form1 and treatment of drapery1 makes it one of the most musical of pictures ever painted4 ,fra ,filippo was not so successful in the choir of the cathedral at ,spoleto1 where he undertook2 to paint scenes from the life of the ,virgin4 ,yet those who have not examined these frescoes1 ruinous in their decay and spoiled by stupid restoration1 can form no just notion of the latent capacity of this great master4 ,the whole of the half-dome above the tribune is filled with1 a ,coronation of ,madonna4 ,a circular rainbow surrounds both her and ,christ4 ,she is kneeling with fiery rays around her1 glorified by her assumption into heaven4 ,christ is enthroned1 and at ,his side stands a seat prepared for ,his mother1 as soon as the crown that ,he is placing on her head shall have made her ,queen4 ,from the outer courts of heaven1 thronged with multitudes of celestial beings1 angels are crowding in1 breaking the lines of the prismatic aureole1 as though the ardour of their joy could scarcely be repressed2 while the everlasting light of ,god sheds radiance from above1 and far below1 lies earth with diminished sun and moon4 ,the boldness of conception in this singular fresco reveals a genius capable of grappling with such problems as ,tintoretto solved4 ,fra ,filippo died at ,spoleto1 and left his work unfinished1 to the care of his assistant1 the ,fra ,diamante4 ,over his tomb ,lorenzo de' ,medici caused a monument to be erected1 and ,poliziano wrote ,latin couplets to commemorate the fame of a painter highly prized by his patrons4 ,the space devoted in these pages to ,fra ,lippo ,lippi is justified not only by the excellence of his own work1 but also by the influence he exercised over two of the best ,florentine painters of the fifteenth century4 ,whether ,filippino ,lippi was in truth his son by ,lucrezia ,buti1 a novice he is said to have carried from her cloister in ,prato1 has been called in question by recent critics2 but they adduce no positive arguments for discrediting the story of ,vasari4#aha ,there can1 however1 be no doubt that to the ,frate1 whether he was his father or only his teacher1 ,filippino owed his style4 ,his greatest works were painted in continuation of ,masaccio's frescoes in the ,carmine at ,florence4 ,it is the best warrant of their excellence that we feel them worthy to hold the place they do1 and that ,raphael transferred one of their motives1 the figure of ,s4 ,paul addressing ,s4 ,peter in prison1 to his cartoon of ,mars' ,hill4 ,that he was not so accomplished as ,masaccio in the art of composition1 that his scale of colour is less pleasing1 and that his style in general lacks the elevation of his mighty predecessor1 is not sufficient to place him in any position of humiliating inferiority4#ahb ,what above all things interests the student of the ,renaissance in ,filippino's work1 is the powerful action of revived classicism on his manner4 ,this can be traced better in the ,caraffa ,chapel of ,s4 ,maria sopra ,minerva at ,rome and in the ,strozzi ,chapel of ,s4 ,maria ,novella at ,florence than in the ,carmine4 ,the ,triumph of ,s4 ,thomas ,aquinas and the ,miracle of ,s4 ,john are remarkable for an almost insolent display of ,roman antiquities--not studied1 it need scarcely be observed1 with the scientific accuracy of ,alma ,tadema--for such science was non-existent in the fifteenth century--but paraded with a kind of passion4 ,to this delight in antique details ,filippino added violent gestures1 strange attitudes1 and affected draperies1 producing a general result impressive through the artist's energy1 but quaint and unattractive4 ,sandro ,botticelli1 the other disciple of ,fra ,lippo1 bears a name of greater mark4 ,he is one of those artists1 much respected in their own days1 who suffered eclipse from the superior splendour of immediate successors1 and to whom1 through sympathy stimulated by prolonged study of the fifteenth century1 we have of late paid tardy and perhaps exaggerated honours4#ahc ,his fellow-workers seem to have admired him as an able draughtsman gifted with a rare if whimsical imagination2 but no one recognised in him a leader of his age4 ,for us he has an almost unique value as representing the interminglement of antique and modern fancy at a moment of transition1 as embodying in some of his pictures the subtlest thought and feeling of men for whom the classic myths were beginning to live once more1 while new guesses were timidly hazarded in the sphere of orthodoxy4#ahd ,self-confident sensuality had not as yet encouraged painters to substitute a florid rhetoric for the travail of their brain2 nor was enough known about antiquity to make the servile imitation of ,greek or ,roman fragments possible4 ,yet scholarship had already introduced a novel element into the culture of the nation4 ,it was no doubt with a kind of wonder that the artists heard of ,fauns and ,sylvans1 and the birth of ,aphrodite from the waves4 ,such fables took deep hold upon their fancy1 stirring them to strange and delicate creations1 the offspring of their own thought1 and no mere copies of marbles seen in statue galleries4 ,the very imperfection of these pictures lends a value to them in the eyes of the student1 by helping him to comprehend exactly how the revelations of the humanists affected the artistic sense of ,italy4 ,in the mythological work of ,botticelli there is always an element of allegory1 recalling the ,middle ,ages and rendering it far truer to the feelings of the fifteenth century than to the myths it illustrates4 ,his painting of the ,spring1 suggested by a passage from ,lucretius1#ahe is exquisitely poetic2 and yet the true spirit of the ,latin verse has not been seized--to have done that would have taxed the energies of ,titian--but something special to the artist and significant for ,medicean scholarship has been added4 ,there is none of the ,roman largeness and freedom in its style2 ,venus and her ,graces are even melancholy1 and their movements savour of affectation4 ,this combination or confusion of artistic impulses in ,botticelli1 this treatment of pagan themes in the spirit of mediaeval mysticism1 sometimes ended in grotesqueness4 ,it might suffice to cite the pregnant ,aphrodite in the ,national ,gallery1 if the ,mars and ,venus in the same collection were not even a more striking instance4 ,mars is a young ,florentine1 whose throat and chest are beautifully studied from the life1 but whose legs and belly1 belonging no doubt to the same model1 fall far short of heroic form4 ,he lies fast asleep with the corners of his mouth drawn down1 as though he were about to snore4 ,opposite there sits a woman1 weary and wan1 draped from neck to foot in the thin raiment ,botticelli loved4 ,four little goat-footed ,cupids playing with the armour of the sleeping lad complete the composition4 ,these wanton loves are admirably conceived and exquisitely drawn2 nor indeed can any drawing exceed in beauty the line that leads from the flank along the ribs and arm of ,mars up to his lifted elbow4 ,the whole design1 like one of ,piero di ,cosimo's pictures in another key1 leaves a strong impression on the mind1 due partly to the oddity of treatment1 partly to the careful work displayed1 and partly to the individuality of the artist4 ,it gives us keen pleasure to feel exactly how a painter like ,botticelli applied the dry naturalism of the early ,florentine ,renaissance1 as well as his own original imagination1 to a subject he imperfectly realised4 ,yet are we right in assuming that he meant the female figure in this group for ,aphrodite1 the sleeping man for ,ares8 ,a ,greek or a ,roman would have rejected this picture as false to the mythus of ,mars and ,venus2 and whether ,botticelli wished to be less descriptive than emblematic1 might be fairly questioned4 ,the face and attitude of that unseductive ,venus1 wide awake and melancholy1 opposite her snoring lover1 seems to symbolise the indignities which women may have to endure from insolent and sottish boys with only youth to recommend them4 ,this interpretation1 however1 sounds like satire4 ,we are left to conjecture whether ,botticelli designed his composition for an allegory of intemperance1 the so-called ,venus typifying some moral quality4 ,botticelli's ,birth of ,aphrodite expresses this transient moment in the history of the ,renaissance with more felicity4 ,it would be impossible for any painter to design a more exquisitely outlined figure than that of his ,venus1 who1 with no covering but her golden hair1 is wafted to the shore by zephyrs4 ,roses fall upon the ruffled waves1 and the young gods of the air twine hands and feet together as they float4 ,in the picture of ,spring there is the same choice of form1 the same purity of line1 the same rare interlacement in the limbs4 ,it would seem as though ,botticelli intended every articulation of the body to express some meaning1 and this1 though it enhances the value of his work for sympathetic students1 often leads him to the verge of affectation4 ,nothing but a touch of affectation in the twined fingers of ,raphael and ,tobias impairs the beauty of one of ,botticelli's best pictures at ,turin4 ,we feel the same discord looking at them as we do while reading the occasional concetti in ,petrarch2 and all the more in each case does the discord pain us because we know that it results from their specific quality carried to excess4 ,botticelli's sensibility to the refinements of drawing gave peculiar character to all his work4 ,attention has frequently been called to the beauty of his roses4#ahf ,every curl in their frail petals is rendered with as much care as though they were the hands or feet of ,graces4 ,nor is it1 perhaps1 a mere fancy to imagine that the corolla of an open rose suggested to ,botticelli's mind the composition of his best-known picture1 the circular ,coronation of the ,virgin in the ,uffizzi4 ,that masterpiece combines all ,botticelli's best qualities4 ,for rare distinction of beauty in the faces it is unique1 while the mystic calm and resignation1 so misplaced in his ,aphrodites1 find a meaning here#ahg4 ,there is only one other picture in ,italy1 a ,madonna and ,child with ,s4 ,catherine in a landscape by ,boccaccino da ,cremona1 that in any degree rivals the peculiar beauty of its types#ahh4 ,sandro ,botticelli was not a great painter in the same sense as ,andrea ,mantegna4 ,but he was a true poet within the limits of a certain sphere4 ,we have to seek his parallel among the verse-writers rather than the artists of his day4 ,some of the stanzas of ,poliziano and ,boiardo1 in particular1 might have been written to explain his pictures1 or his pictures might have been painted to illustrate their verses#ahi4 ,in both ,poliziano and ,boiardo we find the same touch upon antique things as in ,botticelli2 and this makes him serviceable almost above all painters to the readers of ,renaissance poetry4 ,the name of ,piero di ,cosimo has been mentioned incidentally in connection with that of ,botticelli2 and though his life exceeds the limits assigned for this chapter1 so many links unite him to the class of painters ,i have been discussing1 that ,i can find no better place to speak of him than this4 ,his biography forms one of the most amusing chapters in ,vasari1 who has taken great delight in noting ,piero's quaint humours and eccentric habits1 and whose description of a ,carnival triumph devised by him is one of our most precious documents in illustration of ,renaissance pageantry4#aij ,the point that connects him with ,botticelli is the romantic treatment of classical mythology1 best exemplified in his pictures of the tale of ,perseus and ,andromeda4#aia ,piero was by nature and employment a decorative painter2 the construction of cars for pageants1 and the adornment of dwelling rooms and marriage chests1 affected his whole style1 rendering it less independent and more quaint than that of ,botticelli4 ,landscape occupies the main part of his compositions1 made up by a strange amalgam of the most eccentric details--rocks toppling over blue bays1 sea-caverns1 and fantastic mountain ranges4 ,groups of little figures disposed upon these spaces tell the story1 and the best invention of the artist is lavished on the form of monstrous creatures like the dragon slain by ,perseus4 ,there is no attempt to treat the classic subject in a classic spirit3 to do that1 and to fail in doing it1 remained for ,cellini4#aib ,we have1 on the contrary1 before us an image of the orc1 as it appeared to ,ariosto's fancy--a creature borrowed from romance and made to play its part in a ,greek myth4 ,the same criticism applies to ,piero's picture of the murdered ,procris watched by a ,satyr of the woodland4#aic ,in creating his ,satyr the painter has not had recourse to any antique bas-relief1 but has imagined for himself a being half human1 half bestial1 and yet wholly real2 nor has he portrayed in ,procris a nymph of ,greek form1 but a girl of ,florence4 ,the strange animals and gaudy flowers introduced into the landscape background further remove the subject from the sphere of classic treatment4 ,florentine realism and quaint fancy being thus curiously blended1 the artistic result may be profitably studied for the light it throws upon the so-called ,paganism of the earlier ,renaissance4 ,fancy at that moment was more free than when superior knowledge of antiquity had created a demand for reproductive art1 and when the painters thought less of the meaning of the fable for themselves than of its capability of being used as a machine for the display of erudition4 ,it remains to speak of the painter who closes and at the same time gathers up the whole tradition of this period4 ,domenico ,ghirlandajo deserves this place of honour not because he had the keenest intuitions1 the deepest thought1 the strongest passion1 the subtlest fancy1 the loftiest imagination--for in all these points he was excelled by some one or other of his contemporaries or predecessors--but because his intellect was the most comprehensive and his mastery of art the most complete4 ,his life lasted from #addi to #adih1 and he did not distinguish himself as a painter till he was past thirty4#aid ,therefore he does not properly fall within the limit of #adgj1 assigned roughly to this age of transition in painting4 ,but in style and spirit he belonged to it1 resuming in his own work the qualities we find scattered through the minor artists of the fifteenth century1 and giving them the unity of fusion in a large and lucid manner4 ,like the painters hitherto discussed1 he was working toward the full ,renaissance2 yet he reached it neither in ideality nor in freedom4 ,his art is the art of the understanding only2 and to this the masters of the golden age added radiance1 sublimity1 grace1 passion--qualities of the imagination beyond the scope of men like ,ghirlandajo4 ,it is almost with reluctance that a critic feels obliged to name this powerful but prosaic painter as the ,giotto of the fifteenth century in ,florence1 the tutelary angel of an age inaugurated by ,masaccio4 ,he was a consummate master of the science collected by his predecessors4 ,no one surpassed him in the use of fresco4 ,his orderly composition1 in the distribution of figures and the use of architectural accessories1 is worthy of all praise2 his portraiture is dignified and powerful2#aie his choice of form and treatment of drapery1 noble4 ,yet we cannot help noting his deficiency in the finer sense of beauty1 the absence of poetic inspiration or feeling in his work1 the commonplaceness of his colour1 and his wearisome reiteration of calculated effects4 ,he never arrests attention by sallies of originality1 or charms us by the delicacies of suggestive fancy4 ,he is always at the level of his own achievement1 so that in the end we are as tired with able ,ghirlandajo as the men of ,athens with just ,aristides4 ,who1 however1 but ,ghirlandajo could have composed the frescoes of ,s4 ,fina at ,s4 ,gemignano1 the fresco of the ,death of ,s4 ,francis in ,s4 ,trinit at ,florence1 or that again of the ,birth of the ,virgin in ,s4 ,maria ,novella8 ,there is something irritating in pure common sense imported into art1 and ,ghirlandajo's masterpieces are the apotheosis of that quality4 ,how correct1 how judicious1 how sagacious1 how mathematically ordered6 we exclaim2 but we gaze without emotion1 and we turn away without regret4 ,it does not vex us to read how ,ghirlandajo used to scold his prentices for neglecting trivial orders that would fill his purse with money4 ,similar traits of character pain us with a sense of impropriety in ,perugino4 ,they harmonise with all we feel about the work of ,ghirlandajo4 ,it is bitter mortification to know that ,michael ,angelo never found space or time sufficient for his vast designs in sculpture4 ,it is a positive relief to think that ,ghirlandajo sighed in vain to have the circuit of the walls of ,florence given him to paint4 ,how he would have covered them with compositions1 stately1 flowing1 easy1 sober1 and incapable of stirring any feeling in the soul6 ,though ,ghirlandajo lacked almost every true poetic quality1 he combined the art of distributing figures in a given space1 with perspective1 fair knowledge of the nude1 and truth to nature1 in greater perfection than any other single painter of the age he represents2 and since these were precisely the gifts of that age to the great ,renaissance masters1 we accord to him the place of historical honour4 ,it should be added that1 like almost all the artists of this epoch1 he handled sacred and profane1 ancient and modern1 subjects in the same style1 introducing contemporary customs and costumes4 ,his pictures are therefore valuable for their portraits and their illustration of ,florentine life4 ,fresco was his favourite vehicle2 and in this preference he showed himself a true master of the school of ,florence3 but he is said to have maintained that mosaic1 as more durable1 was superior to wall-painting4 ,this saying1 if it be authentic1 justifies our criticism of his cold achievement as a painter4 ,reviewing the ground traversed in this and the last chapter1 we find that the painting of ,tuscany1 and in particular the ,florentine section of it1 has absorbed attention4 ,it is characteristic of the next age that other districts of ,italy began to contribute their important quota to the general culture of the nation4 ,the force generated in ,tuscany expanded and dilated till every section of the country took part in the movement which ,florence had been first to propagate4 ,what was happening in scholarship began to manifest itself in art1 for the same law of growth and distribution affected both alike2 and thus the local differences of the ,italians were to some extent abolished4 ,the nation1 never destined to acquire political union in the ,renaissance1 possessed at last an intellectual unity in its painters and its students1 which justifies our speaking of the great men of the golden period as ,italians and not as citizens of such or such a burgh4 ,in the ,middle ,ages ,united ,italy was an ,idea to theorists like ,dante1 who dreamed for her an actual supremacy beneath her ,emperor's sway in ,rome4 ,the reasoning to which they trusted proved fallacious1 and their hopes were quenched4 ,instead of the political empire of the ,de ,monarchi1 a spiritual empire had been created1 and the ,italians were never more powerful in ,europe than when their sacred city was being plundered by the imperial bandits in #aebg4 ,it is necessary1 at the risk of some repetition1 to keep this point before the reader1 if only as an apology for the method of treatment to be followed in the next chapter1 where the painters of the mid-,renaissance period will be reviewed less in relation to their schools and cities than as representatives of the ,italian spirit4 ,since the intellectual unity gained by the ,italians in the age of the ,renaissance was chiefly due to the ,florentines1 it is a matter of some moment to reconsider the direct influences brought to bear upon the arts in ,florence during the fifteenth century4 ,i have chosen ,ghirlandajo as the representative of painting in that period4 ,i have also expressed the opinion that his style is singularly cold and prosaic1 and have hinted that this prosaic and cold quality was caused by a defect of emotional enthusiasm1 by preoccupation with finite aims4 ,herein ,ghirlandajo did but reflect the temper of his age--that temper which ,cosimo de' ,medici1 the greatest patron of both art and scholarship in ,florence before #adgj1 represented in his life and in his public policy4 ,it concerns us1 therefore1 to take into account the nature of the patronage extended by the ,medici to art4 ,excessive praise and blame have been showered upon these burgher princes in almost equal quantities2 so that1 if we were to place ,roscoe and ,rio1 as the representatives of conflicting views1 in the scales together1 they would balance each other1 and leave the index quivering4 ,this bare statement warns the critic to be cautious1 and inclines him to accept the intermediate conclusion that neither the ,medici nor the artists could escape the conditions of their century4 ,it is specially argued on the one hand against the ,medici that they encouraged a sensual and worldly style of art1 employing the painters to decorate their palaces with nude figures1 and luring them away from sacred to profane subjects4 ,yet ,cosimo gave orders to ,donatello for his ,david and his ,judith1 employed ,michellozzo and ,brunelleschi to build him convents and churches1 and filled the library of ,s4 ,marco1 where ,fra ,angelico was painting1 with a priceless collection of ,,mss4 ,his own private chapel was decorated by ,benozza ,gozzoli4 ,fra ,lippo ,lippi and ,michael ,angelo ,buonarroti were the house-friends of ,lorenzo de' ,medici4 ,leo ,battista ,alberti was a member of his philosophical society4 ,the only great ,florentine artist who did not stand in cordial relations to the ,medicean circle1 was ,lionardo da ,vinci4 ,this sufficiently shows that the ,medicean patronage was commensurate with the best products of ,florentine genius2 nor would it be easy to demonstrate that encouragement1 so largely exhibited and so intelligently used1 could have been in the main injurious to the arts4 ,there is1 however1 a truth in the old grudge against the ,medicean princes4 ,they enslaved ,florence2 and even painting was not slow to suffer from the stifling atmosphere of tyranny4 ,lorenzo deliberately set himself to enfeeble the people by luxury1 partly because he liked voluptuous living1 partly because he aimed at popularity1 and partly because it was his interest to enervate republican virtues4 ,the arts used for the purposes of decoration in triumphs and carnival shows became the instruments of careless pleasure2 and there is no doubt that even earnest painters lent their powers with no ill-will and no bad conscience to the service of lascivious patrons4 ,per la citt1 in diverse case1 fece tondi di sua mano e femmine ignude assai1 says ,vasari about ,sandro ,botticelli1 who afterwards became a ,piagnone and refused to touch a pencil4#aif ,we may1 therefore1 reasonably concede that if the ,medici had never taken hold on ,florence1 or if the spirit of the times had made them other than they were in loftiness of aim and nobleness of heart1 the arts of ,italy in the ,renaissance might have shown less of worldliness and materialism4 ,it was against the demoralisation of society by paganism1 as against the enslavement of ,florence by her tyrants1 that ,savonarola strove2 and since the ,medici were the leaders of the classical revival1 as well as the despots of the dying commonwealth1 they justly bear the lion's share of that blame which fell in general upon the vices of their age denounced by the prophet of ,s4 ,marco4 ,we may regard it either as a singular misfortune for ,italy or as the strongest sign of deep-seated ,italian corruption1 that the most brilliant leaders of culture both at ,florence and at ,rome--,cosimo1 ,lorenzo1 and ,giovanni de' ,medici--promoted rather than checked the debasing influences of the ,renaissance1 and added the weight of their authority to the popular craving for sensuous amusement4 ,meanwhile1 what was truly great and noble in ,renaissance ,italy1 found its proper home in ,florence2 where the spirit of freedom1 if only as an idea1 still ruled2 where the populace was still capable of being stirred to super-sensual enthusiasm2 and where the flame of the modern intellect burned with its purest1 whitest lustre4 ,,footnotes3 #afa ,see ,vol4 ,i41 ,age of the ,despots1 p4 #ab4 #afb ,see ,vol4 ,,ii41 ,revival of ,learning1 pp4 #abb-abi4 #afc ,his real name was ,tommaso di ,ser ,giovanni1 of the family of ,scheggia4 ,masaccio means in ,tuscan1 ,great hulking ,tom1 just as ,masolino1 his supposed master and fellow-worker1 means ,pretty little ,tom4 ,masolino was ,tommaso di ,cristofero ,fini1 born in #achd in ,s4 ,croce4 ,it is now thought that we have but little of his authentic work except the frescoes at ,castiglione di ,olona1 near ,milan4 ,masaccio was born at ,san ,giovanni1 in the upper valley of the ,arno1 in #adjb4 ,he died at ,borne in #adbi4 #afd ,his family name was ,doni4 ,he was born about #acif1 and died at the age of about #gc4 ,he got his name ,uccello from his partiality for painting birds1 it is said4 #afe ,see above1 ,chapter ,,iii1 ,andrea ,verocchio1 for what has been said about ,verocchio's ,david4 #aff ,a drawing made in red chalk for this ,dream of ,constantine has been published in facsimile by ,ottley1 in his ,italian ,school of ,design4 ,he wrongly attributes it1 however1 to ,giorgione1 and calls it a ,subject ,unknown4 #afg ,the one in ,s4 ,francesco at ,rimini1 the other in the ,uffizzi4 #afh ,two angels have recently been published by the ,arundel ,society who have also copied ,melozzo's wall-painting of ,sixtus ,,iv4 in the ,vatican4 ,it is probable that the picture in the ,royal ,collection at ,windsor1 of ,duke ,frederick of ,urbino listening to the lecture of a ,humanist1 is also a work of ,melozzo's1 much spoiled by re-painting4 ,see ,vol4 ,,ii41 ,revival of ,learning1 p4 #bbj4 #afi ,muratori1 vol4 xxiv4 #aaha4 #agj ,for ,ciriac of ,ancona1 see ,vol4 ,,ii41 ,revival of ,learning1 p4 #aac4 #aga ,the services rendered by ,squarcione to art have been thoroughly discussed by ,messrs4 ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 ,painting in ,north ,italy1 vol4 i4 chap4 #b4 ,i cannot but think that they underrate the importance of his school4 #agb ,he was born between #acfj and #acgj1 and he settled at ,florence about #adbb1 where he opened a bottega in ,s4 ,trinit4 ,in #adbc he painted his masterpiece1 the ,adoration of the ,magi1 now exhibited in the ,florentine ,academy of ,arts4 #agc ,see1 for instance1 the valuable portraits of the ,medicean family with ,picino and ,poliziano1 in the fresco of the ,tower of ,babel at ,pisa4 #agd ,l',art ,chrtien1 vol4 ii4 p4 #cig4 #age ,the same remark might be made about the ,venetian ,bonifazio4 ,it is remarkable that the ,adoration of the ,magi was always a favourite subject with painters of this calibre4 #agf ,i may refer to the picture of the hunters in the ,taylor ,gallery at ,oxford1 the ,vintage of ,noah at ,pisa1 the attendants of the ,magi in the ,riccardi ,palace1 and the ,carola in the ,marriage of ,jacob and ,rachel at ,pisa4 #agg ,stories of ,isaac and ,ishmael and of ,jacob and ,esau at ,pisa1 and ,story of ,s4 ,augustine at ,san ,gemignano4 ,nothing can be prettier than the school children in the latter series4 ,the group of the little boy1 horsed upon a bigger boy's back for a whipping1 is one of the most natural episodes in painting4 #agh ,riccardi ,chapel4 #agi ,for an example1 the picture of ,madonna worshipping the infant ,christ upheld by two little angels in the ,uffizzi4 #ahj ,in the ,academy of ,fine ,arts at ,florence4 #aha ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 vol4 ii4 chap4 #ai4 ,nothing was more common in the practice of ,italian arts than for pupils to take their names from their masters1 in the same way as they took them from their fathers1 by the prefix di or otherwise4 #ahb ,the most simply beautiful of ,filippino's pictures is the oil-painting in the ,badia at ,florence1 which represents ,madonna attended by angels dictating the story of her life to ,s4 ,bernard4 ,in this most lovely religious picture ,filippino comes into direct competition with ,perugino 7see the same subject at ,munich71 without suffering by the contrast4 ,the type of ,our lady1 striven after by ,botticelli and other masters of his way of feeling1 seems to me more thoroughly attained by ,filippino than by any of his fellow-workers4 ,she is a woman acquainted with grief and nowise distinguished by the radiance of her beauty among the daughters of earth4 ,it is measureless love for the mother of his ,lord that makes ,s4 ,bernard bow before her with eyes of wistful adoration and hushed reverence4 #ahc ,the study of the fine arts offers few subjects of more curious interest than the vicissitudes through which painters of the type of ,botticelli1 not absolutely and confessedly in the first rank1 but attractive by reason of their relation to the spirit of their age1 and of the seal of intimit set upon their work have passed4 ,in the last century and the beginning of this1 our present preoccupation with ,botticelli would have passed for a mild lunacy1 because he has none of the qualities then most in vogue and most enthusiastically studied1 and because the moment in the history of culture he so faithfully represents1 was then but little understood4 ,the prophecy of ,mr4 ,ruskin1 the tendencies of our best contemporary art in ,mr4 ,burne ,jones's painting1 the specific note of our recent fashionable poetry1 and1 more than all1 our delight in the delicately poised psychological problems of the middle ,renaissance1 have evoked a kind of hero-worship for this excellent artist and true poet4 #ahd ,a friend1 writing to me from ,italy1 speaks thus of ,botticelli1 and of the painters associated with him3 ,when ,i ask myself what it is ,i find fascinating in him--for instance1 which of his pictures1 or what element in them--,i am forced to admit that it is the touch of paganism in him1 the fairy-story element1 the echo of a beautiful lapsed mythology which he has found the means of transmitting4 ,the words ,i have printed in italics seem to me very true4 ,at the same time we must bear in mind that the scientific investigation of nature had not in the fifteenth century begun to stand between the sympathetic intellect and the outer world4 ,there was still the possibility of that lapsed mythology1 the dream of poets and the delight of artists1 seeming positively the best form of expression for sentiments aroused by nature4 #ahe ,de ,rerum ,natur1 lib4 v4 #gcg4 #ahf ,the rose-tree background in a ,madonna belonging to ,lord ,elcho is a charming instance of the value given to flowers by careful treatment4 #ahg ,i cannot bring myself to accept ,mr4 ,pater's reading of the ,madonna's expression4 ,it seems to me that ,botticelli meant to portray the mingled awe and tranquillity of a mortal mother chosen for the ,son of ,god4 ,he appears to have sometimes aimed at conveying more than painting can compass2 and1 since he had not ,lionardo's genius1 he gives sadness1 mournfulness1 or discontent1 for some more subtle mood4 ,next to the ,madonna of the ,uffizzi1 ,botticelli's loveliest religious picture to my mind is the ,nativity belonging to ,mr4 ,fuller ,maitland4 ,poetic imagination in a painter has produced nothing more graceful and more tender than the dance of angels in the air above1 and the embracement of the angels and the shepherds on the lawns below4 #ahh ,in the ,academy of ,fine ,arts at ,venice4 ,i do not mention this picture as a complete pendant to ,botticelli's famous tondo4 ,the faces of ,s4 ,catherine and ,madonna1 however1 have something of the rarity that is so striking in that work4 #ahi ,i might mention stanzas #abb-abd of ,poliziano's ,giostra1 describing ,venus in the lap of ,mars2 or stanzas #ii-ajg1 describing the birth of ,venus2 and from ,boiardo's ,orlando ,innamorato1 ,i might quote the episode of ,rinaldo's punishment by ,love 7lib4 ii4 canto xv4 #dc71 or the tale of ,silvanella and ,narcissus 7lib4 ii4 canto xvii4 #di74 #aij ,i hope to make use of this passage in a future section of my work on the ,italian ,poetry of the ,renaissance4 ,therefore ,i pass by this portion of ,piero's art-work now4 #aia ,uffizzi ,gallery4 #aib ,see the bas-relief upon the pedestal of his ,perseus in the ,loggia de' ,lanzi4 #aic ,in the ,national ,gallery4 #aid ,his family name was ,domenico di ,currado di ,doffo ,bigordi4 ,he probably worked during his youth and early manhood as a goldsmith and got his artist's name from the trade of making golden chaplets for the ,florentine women4 ,see ,vasari1 vol4 v4 p4 #ff4 #aie ,what1 after all1 remains the grandest quality of ,ghirlandajo is his powerful drawing of characteristic heads4 ,they are as various as they are vigorous4 ,what a nation of strong men must the ,florentines have been1 we feel while gazing at his frescoes4 #aif ,in many houses he painted roundels with his own hand1 and of naked women plenty4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,painting ,two ,periods in the ,true ,renaissance--,andrea ,mantegna--,his ,statuesque ,design--,his ,naturalism--,roman ,inspiration--,triumph of ,julius ,caesar--,bas-reliefs--,luca ,signorelli--,the ,precursor of ,michael ,angelo--,anatomical ,studies--,sense of ,beauty--,the ,chapel of ,s4 ,brizio at ,orvieto--,its ,arabesques and ,medallions--,degrees in his ,ideal--,enthusiasm for ,organic ,life--,mode of treating ,classical ,subjects--,perugino--,his ,pietistic ,style--,his ,formalism--,the ,psychological ,problem of his ,life--,perugino's ,pupils--,pinturicchio--,at ,spello and ,siena--,francia--,fra ,bartolommeo--,transition to the ,golden ,age--,lionardo da ,vinci--,the ,magician of the ,renaissance--,raphael--,the ,melodist--,correggio--,the ,faun--,michael ,angelo--,the ,prophet4 ,the ,renaissance1 so far as ,painting is concerned1 may be said to have culminated between the years #adgj and #aeej4 ,these dates1 it must be frankly admitted1 are arbitrary2 nor is there anything more unprofitable than the attempt to define by strict chronology the moments of an intellectual growth so complex1 so unequally progressive1 and so varied as that of ,italian art4 ,all that the historian can hope to do1 is to strike a mean between his reckoning of years and his more subtle calculations based on the emergence of decisive genius in special men4 ,an instance of such compromise is afforded by ,lionardo da ,vinci1 who belongs1 as far as dates go1 to the last half of the fifteenth century1 but who must1 on any estimate of his achievement1 be classed with ,michael ,angelo among the final and supreme masters of the full ,renaissance4 ,to violate the order of time1 with a view to what may here be called the morphology of ,italian art1 is1 in his case1 a plain duty4 ,bearing this in mind1 it is still possible to regard the eighty years above mentioned as a period no longer of promise and preparation but of fulfilment and accomplishment4 ,furthermore1 the thirty years at the close of the fifteenth century may be taken as one epoch in this climax of the art1 while the first half of the sixteenth forms a second4 ,within the former falls the best work of ,mantegna1 ,perugino1 ,francia1 the ,bellini1 ,signorelli1 ,fra ,bartolommeo4 ,to the latter we may reckon ,michael ,angelo1 ,raphael1 ,giorgione1 ,correggio1 ,titian1 and ,andrea del ,sarto4 ,lionardo da ,vinci1 though belonging chronologically to the former epoch1 ranks first among the masters of the latter2 and to this also may be given ,tintoretto1 though his life extended far beyond it to the last years of the century4 ,we thus obtain1 within the period of eighty years from #adgj to #aeej1 two subordinate divisions of time1 the one including the last part of the fifteenth century1 the other extending over the best years of the sixteenth4 ,the subdivisions ,i have just suggested correspond to two distinct stages in the evolution of art4 ,the painters of the earlier group win our admiration quite as much by their aim as by their achievement4 ,their achievement1 indeed1 is not so perfect but that they still make some demand upon interpretative sympathy in the student4 ,there is1 besides1 a sense of reserved strength in their work4 ,we feel that their motives have not been developed to the utmost1 that their inspiration is not exhausted2 that it will be possible for their successors to advance beyond them on the same path1 not realising more consummate excellence in special points1 but combining divers qualities1 and reaching absolute freedom4 ,the painters of the second group display mastery more perfect1 range of faculty more all-embracing4 ,what they design they do2 nature and art obey them equally2 the resources placed at their command are employed with facile and unfettered exercise of power4 ,the hand obedient to the brain is now so expert that nothing further is left to be desired in the expression of the artist's thought4#aig ,the student can only hope to penetrate the master's meaning4 ,to imagine a step further in the same direction is impossible4 ,the full flower of the ,italian genius has been unfolded4 ,its message to the world in art has been delivered4 ,chronology alone would not justify us in drawing these distinctions4 ,what really separates the two groups is the different degree in which they severally absorbed the spirit and uttered the message of their age4 ,in the former the ,renaissance was still immature1 in the latter it was perfected4 ,yet all these painters deserve in a true sense to be called its children4 ,their common object is art regarded as an independent function1 and relieved from the bondage of technical impediments4 ,in their work the liberty of the modern mind finds its first and noblest expression4 ,they deal with familiar and time-honoured ,christian motives reverently2 but they use them at the same time for the exhibition of pure human beauty4 ,pagan influences yield them spirit-stirring inspiration2 yet the antique models of style1 which proved no less embarrassing to their successors than ,saul's armour was to ,david1 weigh lightly1 like a magician's breast-plate1 upon their heroic strength4 ,andrea ,mantegna was born near ,padua in #adca4 ,vasari says that in his boyhood he herded cattle1 and it is probable that he was the son of a small ,lombard farmer4 ,what led him to the study of the arts we do not know2 but that his talents were precociously developed1 is proved by his registration in #adda upon the books of the painter's guild at ,padua4 ,he is there described as the adopted son of ,squarcione4 ,at the age of seventeen he signed a picture with his name4 ,studying the casts and drawings collected by ,squarcione for his ,paduan school1 the young ,mantegna found congenial exercise for his peculiar gifts4#aih ,his early frescoes in the ,eremitani at ,padua look as though they had been painted from statues or clay models1 carefully selected for the grandeur of their forms1 the nobility of their attitudes1 and the complicated beauty of their drapery4 ,the figures1 arranged on different planes1 are perfect in their perspective2 the action is indicated by appropriate gestures1 and the colouring1 though faint and cold1 is scientifically calculated4 ,yet not a man or woman in these wondrous compositions seems to live4 ,well provided with bone and muscle1 they have neither blood nor anything suggestive of the breath of life within them4 ,it is as though ,mantegna had been called to paint a people turned to stone1 arrested suddenly amid their various occupations1 and preserved for centuries from injury in some ,egyptian solitude of dewless sand4 ,in spite of this unearthly immobility1 the ,paduan frescoes exercise a strange and potent spell4 ,we feel ourselves beneath the sway of a gigantic genius1 intent on solving the severest problems of his art in preparation for the portraiture of some high intellectual abstraction4 ,it should also be observed that notwithstanding their frigidity and statuesque composure1 the pictures of ,s4 ,andrew and ,s4 ,christopher in the chapel of the ,eremitani reveal minute study of real objects4 ,transitory movements of the body are noted and transcribed with merciless precision2 an ,italian hill-side1 with its olive trees and winding ways and crown of turrets1 forms the background of one scene2 in another the drama is localised amid ,renaissance architecture of the costliest style4 ,rustic types have been selected for the soldiers1 and commonplace details1 down to a patched jerkin or a broken shoe1 bear witness to the patience and the observation of the master4 ,but over all these things the glamour of ,medusa's head has fallen1 turning them to stone4 ,we are clearly in the presence of a painter for whom the attractions of nature were subordinated to the fascinations of science--a man the very opposite1 for instance1 to ,benozzo ,gozzoli4 ,if ,mantegna had passed away in early manhood1 like ,masaccio1 his fame would have been that of a cold and calculating genius labouring after an ideal unrealised except in its dry formal elements4 ,the truth is that ,mantegna's inspiration was derived from the antique4#aii ,the beauty of classical bas-relief entered deep into his soul and ruled his imagination4 ,in later life he spent his acquired wealth in forming a collection of ,greek and ,roman antiquities4#bjj ,he was1 moreover1 the friend of students1 eagerly absorbing the knowledge brought to light by ,ciriac of ,ancona1 ,flavio ,biondo1 and other antiquaries2 and so completely did he assimilate the materials of scholarship1 that the spirit of a ,roman seemed to be re-incarnated in him4 ,thus1 independently of his high value as a painter1 he embodies for us in art that sincere passion for the ancient world which was the dominating intellectual impulse of his age4 ,the minute learning accumulated in the fifteenth century upon the subject of ,roman military life found noble illustration in his frieze of ,julius ,caesar's ,triumph4#bja ,nor is this masterpiece a cold display of pedantry4 ,the life we vainly look for in the frescoes of the ,eremitani chapel may be found here--statuesque1 indeed1 in style1 and stately in movement1 but glowing with the spirit of revived antiquity4 ,the processional pomp of legionaries bowed beneath their trophied arms1 the monumental majesty of robed citizens1 the gravity of stoled and veiled priests1 the beauty of young slaves1 and all the paraphernalia of spoils and wreaths and elephants and ensigns are massed together with the self-restraint of noble art subordinating pageantry to rules of lofty composition4 ,what must the genius of the man have been who could move thus majestically beneath the weight of painfully accumulated erudition1 converting an antiquarian motive into a theme for melodies of line composed in the grave ,dorian mood8 ,by no process can the classic purity of this bas-relief be better understood than by comparing the original with a transcript made by ,rubens from a portion of the ,triumph4#bjb ,the ,flemish painter strives to add richness to the scene by ,bacchanalian riot and the sensuality of imperial ,rome4 ,his elephants twist their trunks1 and trumpet to the din of cymbals2 negroes feed the flaming candelabra with scattered frankincense2 the white oxen of ,clitumnus are loaded with gaudy flowers1 and the dancing maidens are dishevelled ,maenads4 ,but the rhythmic procession of ,mantegna1 modulated to the sound of flutes and soft recorders1 carries our imagination back to the best days and strength of ,rome4 ,his priests and generals1 captives and choric women1 are as little ,greek as they are modern4 ,in them awakes to a new life the spirit-quelling energy of the republic4 ,the painter's severe taste keeps out of sight the insolence and orgies of the empire2 he conceives ,rome as ,shakspeare did in ,coriolanus4#bjc ,in compositions of this type1 studied after bas-reliefs and friezes1 ,mantegna displayed a power that was unique4 ,those who have once seen his drawings for ,judith with the head of ,holofernes1 and for ,solomon judging between the two mothers1 will never forget their sculpture4 ,the lines are graven on our memory4 ,when this marble master chose to be tragic1 his intensity was terrible4 ,the designs for a dead ,christ carried to the tomb among the weeping ,maries1 concentrate within the briefest space the utmost agony2 it is as though the very ecstasy of grief had been congealed and fixed for ever4 ,what1 again1 he could produce of purely beautiful within the region of religious art1 is shown by his ,madonna of the ,victory4#bjd ,no other painter has given to the soldier saints forms at once so heroic and so chivalrously tender4 ,with regard to the circumstances of ,mantegna's biography1 it may be said briefly that1 though of humble birth1 he spent the greater portion of his life at ,court and in the service of princes4 ,it was in #adef1 after he had distinguished himself by the ,paduan frescoes1 that he first received an invitation from the ,marquis ,lodovico ,gonzaga4 ,of this sovereign ,i have already had occasion to speak4#bje ,reared by ,vittorino da ,feltre1 to whom his father had committed almost unlimited authority1 ,lodovico had early learned to estimate the real advantages of culture4 ,it was now his object to render his capital no less illustrious by art than by the residence of learned men4 ,with this view he offered ,mantegna a salary of fifteen ducats a month1 together with lodging1 corn1 and fuel--provided the painter would place his talents at his service4 ,mantegna accepted the invitation2 but numerous engagements prevented him from transferring his household from ,padua to ,mantua until the year #adfj4 ,from that date onwards to #aejf1 when he died1 ,mantegna remained attached to the ,gonzaga family serving three ,marquises in succession1 and adorning their palaces1 chapels1 and country-seats with frescoes now1 alas6 almost entirely ruined4 ,the grants of land and presents he received in addition to his salary1 enabled him to build a villa at ,buscoldo1 where he resided during the summer1 as well as to erect a sumptuous mansion in the capital4 ,between ,mantua1 ,goito1 and ,buscoldo1 ,mantegna spent the last forty-six years of his life in continual employment1 broken only by a short visit to ,florence in #adff1 and another to ,bologna in #adgb1bjf and by a longer residence in ,rome between the years #adhh and #adij4 ,during the latter period ,innocent ,,viii4 was ,pope4 ,he had built a chapel in the ,belvedere of the ,vatican1 and wished the greatest painter of the day to decorate it4 ,therefore he wrote to ,francesco1 ,marquis of ,mantua1 requesting that he might avail himself of ,mantegna's skill4 ,francesco1 though unwilling to part with his painter in ordinary1 thought it unadvisable to disappoint the ,pope4 ,accordingly he dubbed ,mantegna knight1 and sent him to ,rome4 ,the chapel painted in fresco for ,innocent was ruthlessly destroyed by ,pius ,,vi42 and thus the world has lost one of ,mantegna's masterpieces1 executed while his genius was at its zenith4 ,on his return to ,mantua he finished the decorations of the ,castello of the ,gonzaghi1 and completed his greatest surviving work1 the ,triumph of ,julius ,caesar4 ,by his wife1 ,nicolosia1 the sister of ,giovanni and ,gentile ,bellini1 ,mantegna had several children1 one of whom1 ,francesco1 adopted painting as a trade4 ,the great artist was by temper arrogant and haughty2 nor could he succeed in living peaceably with any of his neighbours4 ,it appears that he spent habitually more money than he could well afford1 freely indulging his taste for magnificence1 and disbursing large sums in the purchase of curiosities4 ,long before his death his estate had been involved in debt2 and after his decease1 his sons were forced to sell the pictures in his studio for the payment of pressing creditors4 ,he was buried in ,alberti's church of ,s4 ,andrea at ,mantua1 in a chapel decorated at his own expense4 ,over the grave was placed a bronze bust1 most noble in modelling and perfect in execution4 ,the broad forehead with its deeply cloven furrows1 the stern and piercing eyes1 the large lips compressed with nervous energy1 the massive nose1 the strength of jaw and chin1 and the superb clusters of the hair escaping from a laurel-wreath upon the royal head1 are such as realise for us our notion of a ,roman in the days of the ,republic4 ,mantegna's own genius has inspired this masterpiece1 which tradition assigns to the medallist ,sperando ,maglioli4 ,whoever wrought it1 must have felt the incubation of the mighty painter's spirit1 and have striven to express in bronze the character of his uncompromising art4 ,of a different temperament1 yet not wholly unlike ,mantegna in a certain iron strength of artistic character1 was ,luca ,signorelli1 born about #adda at ,cortona4 ,the supreme quality of ,mantegna was studied purity of outline1 severe and heightened style4 ,as ,landor is distinguished by concentration above all the ,english poets who have made trial of the classic ,muse1 so ,mantegna holds a place apart among ,italian painters because of his stern ,roman self-control4 ,signorelli1 on the contrary1 made his mark by boldness1 pushing experiment almost beyond the verge of truth1 and approaching ,michael ,angelo in the hardihood of his endeavour to outdo nature4 ,vasari says of him1 that even ,michael ,angelo imitated the manner of ,luca1 as every one can see2 and indeed ,signorelli anticipated the greatest master of the sixteenth century1 not only in his profound study of human anatomy1 but also in his resolution to express high thought and tragic passion by pure form1 discarding all the minor charms of painting4 ,trained in the severe school of ,piero della ,francesca1 he early learned to draw from the nude with boldness and accuracy2 and to this point1 too much neglected by his predecessors1 he devoted the full powers of his maturity4 ,anatomy he practised1 according to the custom of those days1 in the graveyard or beneath the gibbet4 ,there is a drawing by him in the ,louvre of a stalwart man carrying upon his back the corpse of a youth4 ,both are naked4 ,the motive seems to have been taken from some lazar-house4 ,life-long study of perspective in its application to the drawing of the figure1 made the difficulties of foreshortening and the delineation of brusque attitude mere child's play to this audacious genius4 ,the most rapid movement1 the most perilous contortion of bodies falling through the air or flying1 he depicted with hard1 firmly-traced1 unerring outline4 ,if we dare to criticise the productions of a master so original and so accomplished1 all we can say is that ,signorelli revelled almost too wantonly in the display of hazardous posture1 and that he sacrificed the passion of his theme to the display of science4#bjg ,yet his genius comprehended great and tragic subjects1 and to him belongs the credit in an age of ornament and pedantry of having made the human body a language for the utterance of all that is most weighty in the thought of man4 ,a story is told by ,vasari which brings ,signorelli very close to our sympathy1 and enables us to understand the fascination of pure form he felt so deeply4 ,it is related of ,luca that he had a son killed at ,cortona1 a youth of singular beauty in face and person1 whom he had tenderly loved4 ,in his grief the father caused the boy to be stripped naked1 and with extraordinary constancy of soul1 uttering no complaint and shedding no tear1 he painted the portrait of his dead son1 to the end that he might still be able1 through the work of his own hand1 to contemplate that which nature had given him1 but which an adverse fortune had taken away4 ,so passionate and ardent1 so convinced of the indissoluble bond between the soul he loved in life and its dead tenement of clay1 and withal so iron-nerved and stout of will1 it behoved that man to be1 who undertook in the plenitude of his power1 at the age of sixty1 to paint upon the walls of the chapel of ,s4 ,brizio at ,orvieto the images of ,doomsday1 ,resurrection1 ,heaven1 and ,hell4#bjh ,it is a gloomy chapel in the ,gothic cathedral of that forlorn ,papal city--gloomy by reason of bad lighting1 but more so because of the terrible shapes with which ,signorelli has filled it#bji4 ,in no other work of the ,italian ,renaissance1 except in the ,sistine ,chapel1 has so much thought1 engaged upon the most momentous subjects1 been expressed with greater force by means more simple and with effect more overwhelming4 ,architecture1 landscape1 and decorative accessories of every kind1 the usual padding of quattrocento pictures1 have been discarded from the main compositions4 ,the painter has relied solely upon his power of imagining and delineating the human form in every attitude1 and under the most various conditions4 ,darting like hawks or swallows through the air1 huddling together to shun the outpoured vials of the wrath of ,god1 writhing with demons on the floor of ,hell1 struggling into new life from the clinging clay1 standing beneath the footstool of the ,judge1 floating with lute and viol on the winds of ,paradise1 kneeling in prayer1 or clasping inseparable hands with joy and bliss in overmeasure for ever--these multitudes of living beings1 angelic1 diabolic1 bestial1 human1 crowd the huge spaces of the chapel walls4 ,what makes the impression of controlling doom the more appalling1 is that we comprehend the drama in its several scenes1 while the chief actor1 the divine ,judge1 at whose bidding the cherubs sound their clarions1 and the dead arise1 and weal and woe are portioned to the saved and damned1 is ,himself unrepresented4#baj ,we breathe in the presence of embodied consciences1 submitting1 like our own1 to an unseen inevitable will4 ,it would be doing ,signorelli injustice at ,orvieto to study only these great panels4 ,the details with which he has filled all the vacant spaces above the chapel stalls and round the doorway1 throw new light upon his power4 ,the ostensible motive for this elaborate ornamentation is contained in the portraits of six poets1 who are probably ,homer1 ,virgil1 ,lucan1 ,horace1 ,ovid1 and ,dante1 il sesto tra cotanto senno4#baa ,but the portraits themselves1 though vigorously conceived and remarkable for bold foreshortening1 are the least part of the whole design4 ,its originality consists in the arabesques1 medallions1 and chiaroscuro bas-reliefs1 where the human form1 treated as absolutely plastic1 supplies the sole decorative element4 ,the pilasters by the doorway1 for example1 are composed1 after the usual type of ,italian grotteschi1 in imitation of antique candelabra1 with numerous stages for the exhibition of the artist's fancies4 ,unlike the work of ,raphael in the ,loggie1 these pilasters of ,signorelli show no birds or beasts1 no flowers or foliage1 fruits or fauns1 no masks or sphinxes4 ,they are crowded with naked men--drinking1 dancing1 leaning forward1 twisting themselves into strange attitudes1 and adapting their bodies to the several degrees of the framework4 ,the same may be said of the arabesques around the portraits of the poets1 where men1 women1 and children1 some complete1 some ending in foliage or in fish-tails1 are lavished with a wild and terrible profusion4 ,hippogriffs and centaurs1 sirens and dolphins1 are here used as adjuncts to humanity4 ,amid this fantastic labyrinth of twisted forms we find medallions painted in chiaroscuro with subjects taken chiefly from ,ovidian and ,dantesque mythology4 ,here every attitude of men in combat and in motion has been studied from the nude1 and multitudes of figures draped and undraped are compressed into the briefest compass4 ,all but the human form is sternly eliminated2 and the body itself is treated with a mastery and a boldness that prove ,signorelli to have held its varied capabilities firmly in his brain4 ,he could not have worked out all those postures from the living model4 ,he played freely with his immense stores of knowledge2 but his play was the pastime of a ,prometheus4 ,each pose1 however hazardous1 carries conviction with it of sincerity and truth2 the life and liberty of nature reign throughout4 ,from the whole maze of interlaced and wrestling figures the terrible nature of the artist's genius shines forth4 ,they are almost all strong men in the prime or past the prime of life1 chosen for their salient display of vital structure4 ,signorelli was the first1 and1 with the exception of ,michael ,angelo1 the last painter thus to use the body1 without sentiment1 without voluptuousness1 without any second intention whatsoever1 as the supreme decorative principle4 ,in his absolute sincerity he made1 as it were1 a parade of hard and rugged types1 scorning to introduce an element of beauty1 whether sensuous or ideal1 that should distract him from the study of the body in and for itself4 ,this distinguishes him in the arabesques at ,orvieto alike from ,mantegna and ,michael ,angelo1 from ,correggio and ,raphael1 from ,titian and ,paolo ,veronese4 ,this point is so important for its bearing on ,renaissance art that ,i may be permitted to dilate at greater length on ,signorelli's choice of types and treatment of form in general4 ,having a special predilection for the human body1 he by no means confined himself to monotony in its presentation4 ,on the contrary1 we can trace many distinct grades of corporeal expression4 ,first comes the abstract nude1 illustrated by the ,resurrection and the arabesques at ,orvieto#bab4 ,contemporary life1 with all its pomp of costume and insolence of ruffling youth1 is depicted in the ,fulminati at ,orvieto and in the ,soldiers of ,totila at ,monte ,oliveto#bac4 ,these transcripts from the courts of princes and camps of condottieri are invaluable as portraits of the lawless young men who filled ,italy with the noise of their feuds and the violence of their adventures4 ,they illustrate ,matarazzo's ,perugian chronicle better than any other ,renaissance pictures2 for in frescoes like those of ,pinturicchio at ,siena the same qualities are softened to suit the painter's predetermined harmony1 whereas ,signorelli rejoices in their pure untempered character#bad4 ,these1 then1 form a second stage4 ,third in degree we find the type of highly idealised adolescence reserved by ,signorelli for his angels4 ,all his science and his sympathy with real life are here subordinated to poetic feeling4 ,it is a mistake to say that these angels are the young men of ,umbria whom he loved to paint in their striped jackets1 with the addition of wings to their shoulders4 ,the radiant beings who tune their citherns on the clouds of ,paradise1 or scatter roses for elect souls1 could not live and breathe in the fiery atmosphere of sensuous passions to which the ,baglioni were habituated4 ,a grave and solemn sense of beauty animates these fair male beings1 clothed in voluminous drapery1 with youthful faces and still earnest eyes4 ,their melody1 like that of ,milton1 is severe4 ,nor are ,signorelli's angelic beings of one uniform type like the angels of ,fra ,angelico4 ,the athletic cherubs of the ,resurrection1 breathing their whole strength into the trumpets that awake the dead2 the mailed and winged warriors1 keeping guard above the pit of ,hell1 that none may break their prison-bars among the damned2 the lute-players of ,paradise1 with their almost feminine sobriety of movement2 the flame-breathing seraphs of the day of doom2 the ,gabriel of ,volterra1 in whom strength is translated into swiftness3--these are the heralds1 sentinels1 musicians1 executioners1 and messengers of the celestial court2 and each class is distinguished by appropriate physical characteristics4 ,at the other end of the scale1 forming a fourth grade1 we may mention the depraved types of humanity chosen for his demons--those greenish1 reddish1 ochreish fiends of the ,inferno1 whom ,signorelli created by exaggerating the more grotesque qualities of the nude developed in his arabesques4 ,we thus obtain four several degrees of form3 the demoniac1 the abstract nude1 the adolescent beauty of young men copied from choice models1 and the angelic4 ,except in his angels1 ,signorelli was comparatively indifferent to what is commonly considered beauty4 ,he was not careful to select his models1 or to idealise their type4 ,the naked human body1 apart from facial distinction or refinement of form1 contented him4 ,violent contrasts of light and shadow1 accentuating the anatomical structure with rough and angular decision1 give the effect of illustrative diagrams to his studies4 ,harmony of proportion and the magic of expression are sacrificed to energy emergent in a powerful physique4 ,redundant life1 in sinewy limbs1 in the proud carriage of the head upon the neck1 in the sway of the trunk backward from the reins1 the firmly planted calves and brawny thighs1 the thick hair1 broad shoulders1 spare flanks1 and massive gluteal muscles of a man of twenty-two or upwards1 whose growth has been confined to the development of animal force1 was what delighted him4 ,yet there is no coarseness or animalism properly so called in his style4 ,he was attracted by the marvellous mechanism of the human frame--its goodliness regarded as the most highly organised of animate existences4 ,owing1 perhaps1 to this exclusive predilection for organic life1 ,signorelli was not great as a colourist4 ,his patches of blues and reds in the frescoes of ,monte ,oliveto are oppressively distinct2 his use of dull brown for the shading of flesh imparts a disagreeable heaviness to his best modelled forms2 nor did he often attain in his oil pictures to that grave harmony we admire in his ,last ,supper at ,cortona4 ,the world of light and colour was to him a comparatively untravelled land4 ,it remained for other artists to raise these elements of pictorial expression to the height reached by ,signorelli in his treatment of the nude4 ,before quitting the frescoes at ,orvieto1 some attention should be paid to the medallions spoken of above1 in special relation to the classicism of the earlier ,renaissance4 ,scenes from ,dante's ,purgatorio and subjects from the ,metamorphoses of ,ovid are treated here in the same key2 but the latter1 since they engaged ,signorelli's fancy upon ,greek mythology1 are the more important for our purpose4 ,two from the legend of ,orpheus and two from that of ,proserpine might be chosen as typical of the whole series4 ,mediaeval intensity1 curiously at variance with antique feeling1 is discernible throughout4 ,the satellites of ,hades are gaunt and sinewy devils1 eager to do violence to ,eurydice4 ,pluto himself drives his jarring car-wheels up through the lava-blocks and flames of ,etna with a fury and a vehemence we seek in vain upon antique sarcophagi4 ,ceres1 wandering through ,sicily in search of her lost daughter1 is a gaunt witch with dishevelled hair1 raising frantic hands to tear her cheeks2 while the snakes that draw her chariot are no grave symbols of the germinating corn1 but greedy serpents ready to spit fire against the ravishers of ,proserpine4 ,thus the tranquillity and self-restraint of ,greek art yield to a passionate and trenchant realisation of the actual romance4 ,the most thrilling moments in the legend are selected for dramatic treatment1 grace and beauty being exchanged for vivid presentation4 ,a whole cycle of human experience separates these medallions from the antique bas-relief at ,naples1 where ,hermes hands the veiled ,eurydice to ,orpheus1 and all three are calm4 ,that ,signorelli1 if he chose to do so1 could represent a classic myth with more of classic feeling1 is shown by his picture of ,pan ,listening to ,olympus#bae4 ,the nymph1 the vineleaf-girdled ,faun1 and the two shepherds1 all undraped and drawn with subtle feeling for the melodies of line1 render this work one of his most successful compositions4 ,it would be interesting to compare ,signorelli's treatment of the antique with ,mantegna's or ,botticelli's4 ,the visions of the pagan world1 floating before the mind of all men in the fifteenth century1 found very different interpreters in these three painters--,botticelli adding the quaint alloy of his own fancy1 ,signorelli imparting the semi-savagery of a terrible imagination1 ,mantegna1 with the truest instinct and the firmest touch1 confining himself to the processional pageantry of bas-relief4 ,yet1 were this comparison to be instituted1 we could hardly refrain from carrying it much further4 ,each great master of the ,renaissance had his own relation to classical mythology4 ,the mystic sympathies of ,leda and the ,swan1 as imaged severally by ,lionardo and ,michael ,angelo2 ,correggio's romantic handling of the myths of ,dana and ,io2 ,titian's and ,tintoretto's rival pictures of ,bacchus and ,ariadne2 ,raphael's ,galatea2 ,pollajuolo's ,hercules2 the ,europa of ,veronese2 the ,circe of ,dosso ,dossi2 ,palma's ,venus2 ,sodoma's ,marriage of ,alexander--all these1 to mention none but pictures familiar to every traveller in ,italy1 raise for the student of the classical ,revival absorbing questions relative to the influences of pagan myths upon the modern imagination4 ,signorelli was chiefly occupied1 during the course of his long career1 upon religious pictures2 and the high place he occupies in the history of ,renaissance culture is due partly to his free abandonment of conventional methods in treating sacred subjects4 ,the ,uffizzi ,gallery contains a circular ,madonna by his hand1 with a row of naked men for background--the forerunner of ,michael ,angelo's famous ,holy ,family4 ,so far had art for art's sake already encroached upon the ecclesiastical domain4 ,to discuss ,signorelli's merits as a painter of altar-pieces would be to extend the space allotted to him far beyond its proper limits4 ,it is not as a religious artist that he takes his rank1 but as having powerfully promoted the rehabilitation of the body achieved for art by the ,renaissance4 ,unlike ,mantegna1 ,signorelli never entered the service of a prince1 though we have seen that he executed commissions for ,lorenzo de' ,medici and ,pandolfo ,petrucci4 ,he bore a name which1 if not noble1 had been more than once distinguished in the annals of ,tuscany4 ,residing at his native place1 ,cortona1 he there enjoyed the highest reputation1 and was frequently elected to municipal office4 ,concerning his domestic life very little is known1 but what we do know is derived from an excellent source#baf4 ,his mother was the sister of ,lazzaro1 great-grandfather of ,giorgio ,vasari4 ,in his biography of ,signorelli1 ,vasari relates how1 when he was himself a boy of eight1 his illustrious cousin visited the house of the ,vasari family at ,arezzo2 and hearing from little ,giorgio's grammar-master that he spent his time in drawing figures1 ,luca turned to the child's father and said1 ,antonio1 since ,giorgio takes after his family1 you must by all means have him taught2 for even though he should pay attention to literature as well1 drawing cannot fail to be a source of utility1 honour1 and recreation to him1 as it is to every man of worth4 ,luca's kindness deeply impressed the boy1 who afterwards wrote the following description of his personal qualities3 ,he was a man of the most excellent habits1 sincere and affectionate with his friends1 sweet of conversation and amusing in society1 above all things courteous to those who had need of his work1 and easy in giving instruction to his pupils4 ,he lived splendidly1 and took delight in dressing handsomely4 ,this excellent disposition caused him to be always held in highest veneration both in his own city and abroad4 ,to turn from ,signorelli to ,perugino is to plunge at once into a very different atmosphere#bag4 ,it is like quitting the rugged gorges of high mountains for a valley of the ,southern ,alps--still1 pensive1 beautiful1 and coloured with reflections from an evening sky4 ,perugino knew exactly how to represent a certain mood of religious sentiment1 blending meek acquiescence with a prayerful yearning of the impassioned soul4 ,his ,madonnas worshipping the infant ,jesus in a tranquil ,umbrian landscape1 his angels ministrant1 his pathetic martyrs with upturned holy faces1 his sexless ,s4 ,sebastians and immaculate ,s4 ,michaels1 display the perfection of art able by colour and by form to achieve within a narrow range what it desires4 ,what this artist seems to have aimed at1 was to create for the soul amid the pomps and passions of this world a resting-place of contemplation tenanted by saintly and seraphic beings4 ,no pain comes near the folk of his celestial city2 no longing poisons their repose2 they are not weary1 and the wicked trouble them no more4 ,their cheerfulness is no less perfect than their serenity2 like the shades of ,hellas1 they have drunk ,lethean waters from the river of content1 and all remembrance of things sad or harsh has vanished from their minds4 ,the quietude of holiness expressed in this ideal region was a legacy to ,perugino from earlier ,umbrian masters2 but his technical supremacy in fresco-painting and in oils1 his correct drawing within certain limits1 and his refined sense of colour enabled him to realise it more completely than his less accomplished predecessors4 ,in his best work the ,renaissance set the seal of absolute perfection upon pietistic art4 ,we ,english are fortunate in possessing one of ,perugino's sincerest devotional oil pictures#bah4 ,his frescoes of ,s4 ,sebastian at ,panicale1 and of the ,crucifixion at ,florence1 are tolerably well known through reproductions#bai2 while the ,vision of ,s4 ,bernard at ,munich and the ,piet in the ,pitti ,gallery are familiar to all travelled students of ,italian painting4 ,these masterpieces belong to ,perugino's best period1 when his inspiration was fresh1 and his enthusiasm for artistic excellence was still unimpaired2 and when1 as ,m4 ,rio thinks1 the failure of his faith had not yet happened4 ,it is only at ,perugia1 however1 in the ,sala del ,cambio1 that we are able to gauge the extent of his power and to estimate the value of his achievement beyond the pale of strictly religious themes4 ,early in the course of his career ,perugino seems to have become contented with a formal repetition of successful motives1 and to have checked the growth of his genius by adhering closely to a prescribed cycle of effects4 ,the praises of his patrons and the prosperity of his trade proved to his keen commercial sense that the raised ecstatic eyes1 the upturned oval faces1 the pale olive skin1 the head inclined upon the shoulder1 the thin fluttering hair1 the ribands and the dainty dresses of his holy persons found great favour in ,umbrian palaces and convents4 ,thenceforward he painted but little else2 and when1 in the ,sala del ,cambio1 he was obliged to treat the representative heroes of ,greek and ,roman story1 he adopted the same manner#bbj4 ,leonidas1 the lionhearted ,spartan1 and ,cato1 the austere ,roman1 who preferred liberty to life1 bend their mild heads like flowers in ,perugino's frescoes1 and gather up their drapery in studied folds with celestial delicacy4 ,jove is a reproduction of the ,eterno ,padre1 conceived as a benevolent old man for a conventional painting of the ,trinity2 and ,ganymede is a page-boy with the sweet submissive features of ,tobias4 ,already ,perugino had opened a manufactory of pietistic pictures1 and was employing many pupils on his works4 ,he coined money by fixing artificially beautiful faces upon artificially elegant figures1 placing a row of these puppets in a landscape with calm sky behind them1 and calling the composition by the name of some familiar scene4 ,his inspiration was dead1 his invention exhausted2 his chief object seemed to be to make his trade thrive4 ,perugino will always remain a problem to the psychologist who believes in physiognomy1 as well as to the student of the passionate times in which he lived4 ,his hard unsympathetic features in the portraits at ,perugia and ,florence do not belie1 but rather win credence for ,vasari's tales about his sordid soul4#bba ,local traditions and contemporary rumours1 again1 give colour to what ,vasari relates about his infidelity2 while the criminal records of ,florence prove that he was not over-scrupulous to keep his hands from violence4#bbb ,how could such a man1 we ask ourselves1 have endured to pass a long life in the fabrication of devotional pictures8 ,whence did he derive the sentiment of masterpieces1 for piety only equalled by those of ,fra ,angelico1 either in his own nature or in the society of a city torn to pieces by the factions of the ,baglioni8 ,how1 again1 was it possible for an artist who at times touched beauty so ideal1 to be contented with the stencilling by his pupils of conventional figures on canvases to which he gave his name8 ,taking these questions separately1 we might reply that there is no art to find the mind's construction in the face2 that painting in the sixteenth century was a trade regulated by the demand for particular wares2 that men can live among ruffians without sharing their mood2 that the artist and the moral being are separate1 and may not be used to interpret each other4 ,yet1 after giving due weight to such answers1 ,perugino1 being what he was1 living at the time he did1 not as a recluse1 but as a prosperous impresario of painting1 and systematically devoting his powers to pietistic art1 must be for us a puzzle4 ,that the quietism of his highly artificial style should have been fashionable in ,perugia1 while the ,baglioni were tearing each other to pieces1 and the troops of the ,vitelli and the ,borgia were trampling upon ,umbria1 is one of the most striking paradoxes of an age rich in dramatic contradictions4 ,it is much to be regretted1 with a view to solving the question of ,perugino's personality in relation to his art1 that his character does not emerge with any salience from the meagre notices we have received concerning him1 and that we know but little of his private life4 ,vasari tells us that he married a very beautiful girl1 and that one of his chief pleasures was to see this wife handsomely dressed at home and abroad4 ,he often decked her out in clothes and jewels with his own hand4 ,for the rest1 we find in ,perugino1 far more than in either ,mantegna or ,signorelli1 an instance of the simple ,italian craftsman1 employing numerous assistants1 undertaking contract work on a large scale1 and striking keen bargains with his employers4 ,both at ,florence and at ,perugia he opened a bottega2 and by the exercise of his trade as a master-painter1 he realised enough money to buy substantial estates in those cities1 as well as in his birthplace4#bbc ,in all the greatest artworks of the age he took his part4 ,thus we find him painting in the ,sistine ,chapel between #adhd and #adhf1 treating with the commune of ,orvieto for the completion of the chapel of ,s4 ,brizio in #adhi1 joining in the debate upon the faade of ,s4 ,maria del ,fiore in #adia1 giving his opinion upon the erection of ,michael ,angelo's ,david at ,florence in #aejd1 and competing with ,signorelli1 ,pinturicchio1 and ,bazzi for the decoration of the ,stanze of the ,vatican in #aejh4 ,the rising of brighter stars above the horizon during his lifetime somewhat dimmed his fame1 and caused him much disquietude2 yet neither ,raphael nor ,michael ,angelo interfered with the demand for his pictures1 which continued to be lively till the very year of his death4 ,that he was jealous of these younger rivals1 appears from the fact that he brought an action against ,michael ,angelo for having called his style stupid and antiquated4 ,in the celebrated phrase cast at him by the blunt and scornful master of a new art-mystery#bbd1 we discern the abrupt line of division between time-honoured tradition and the maniera moderna of the full ,renaissance4 ,the old ,titans had to yield their place before the new ,olympian deities of ,italian painting4 ,there is something pathetic in the retirement of the grey-haired ,perugino from ,rome1 to make way for the victorious ,phoebean beauty of the boy ,raphael4 ,the influence of ,perugino upon ,italian art was powerful though transitory4 ,he formed a band of able pupils1 among whom was the great ,raphael2 and though ,raphael speedily abandoned his master's narrow footpath through the fields of painting1 he owed to ,perugino the invaluable benefit of training in solid technical methods and traditions of pure taste4 ,from none of his elder contemporaries1 with the exception of ,fra ,bartolommeo1 could the young ,raphael have learnt so much that was congenial to his early instincts4 ,what1 for example1 might have befallen him if he had worked with ,signorelli1 it is difficult to imagine2 for while nothing is more obvious on the one hand than ,raphael's originality1 his strong assimilative bias is scarcely less remarkable4 ,the time has not yet come to speak of ,raphael2 nor will space suffice for detailed observations on his fellow-students in the workshop at ,perugia4 ,the place occupied by ,perugino in the evolution of ,italian painting is peculiar4 ,in the middle of a positive and worldly age1 declining fast to frigid scepticism and political corruption1 he set the final touch of technical art upon the devotion transmitted from earlier and more enthusiastic centuries4 ,the flower of ,umbrian piety blossomed in the masterpieces of his youth1 and faded into dryness in the affectations of his manhood4 ,nothing was left on the same line for his successors4 ,among these1 ,bernardo ,pinturicchio can here alone be mentioned4 ,a thorough naturalist1 though saturated with the mannerism of the ,umbrian school1 ,pinturicchio was not distracted either by scientific or ideal aims from the clear and fluent presentation of contemporary manners and costumes4 ,he is a kind of ,umbrian ,gozzoli1 who brings us here and there in close relation to the men of his own time1 and has in consequence a special value for the student of ,renaissance life4 ,his wall-paintings in the library of the cathedral of ,siena are so well preserved that we need not seek elsewhere for better specimens of the decorative art most highly prized in the first years of the sixteenth century#bbe4 ,these frescoes have a richness of effect and a vivacity of natural action1 which1 in spite of their superficiality1 render them highly charming4 ,the life of neas ,sylvius ,piccolomini1 ,pius ,,ii41 is here treated like a legend4 ,there is no attempt at representing the dress of half a century anterior to the painter's date1 or at rendering accurate historic portraiture4 ,both ,pope and ,emperor are romantically conceived1 and each portion of the tale is told as though it were a fit in some popular ballad4 ,so much remains of ,perugian affectation as gives a kind of childlike grace to the studied attitudes and many-coloured groups of elegant young men4 ,we must always be careful to distinguish the importance of an artist considered as the exponent of his age from that which he may claim by virtue of some special skill or some peculiar quality of feeling4 ,the art of ,perugino1 for example1 throws but little light upon the ,renaissance taken as a whole4 ,intrinsically valuable because of its technical perfection and its purity of sentiment1 it was already in the painter's lifetime superseded by a larger and a grander manner4 ,the progressive forces of the modern style found their channels outside him4 ,this again is true of ,francesco ,raibolini1 surnamed ,francia from his master in the goldsmith's craft4 ,francia is known to ,englishmen as one of the most sincerely pious of ,christian painters by his incomparable picture of the ,dead ,christ in our ,national ,gallery4 ,the spirituality that renders ,fra ,angelico unintelligible to minds less ecstatically tempered than his own1 is not found in such excess in ,francia1 nor does his work suffer from the insipidity of ,perugino's affectation4 ,deep religious feeling is combined with physical beauty of the purest type in a masterpiece of tranquil grace4 ,a greater degree of navet and naturalness compensates for the inferiority of ,francia's to ,perugino's supremely perfect handling4 ,this is true of ,francia's numerous pictures at ,bologna2 where indeed1 in order to be rightly known1 he should be studied by all lovers of the quattrocento style in its most delightful moments#bbf4 ,for mastery over oil painting and for charm of colour ,francia challenges comparison with what is best in ,perugino1 though he did not quite attain the same technical excellence4 ,one more painter must delay us yet awhile within the limits of the fifteenth century4 ,bartolommeo di ,paolo del ,fattorino1 better known as ,baccio della ,porta or ,fra ,bartolommeo1 forms at ,florence the connecting link between the artists of the earlier ,renaissance and the golden age#bbg4 ,by chronological reckoning he is nearly a quarter of a century later than ,lionardo da ,vinci1 and is the exact contemporary of ,michael ,angelo4 ,as an artist1 he has thoroughly outgrown the quattrocento style1 and falls short only by a little of the greatest4 ,in assigning him a place among the predecessors and precursors of the full ,renaissance1 ,i am therefore influenced rather by the range of subjects he selected1 and by the character of his genius1 than by calculations of time or estimate of ability4 ,fra ,bartolommeo was sent1 when nine years old1 into the workshop of ,cosimo ,rosselli1 where he began his artist's life by colour-grinding1 sweeping out the shop1 and errand-running4 ,it was in ,cosimo's bottega that he made acquaintance with ,mariotto ,albertinelli1 who became his intimate friend and fellow-worker4 ,in spite of marked differences of character1 disagreements upon the fundamental matters of politics and religion1 and not unfrequent quarrels1 these men continued to be comrades through the better part of their joint lives4 ,baccio was gentle1 timid1 yielding1 and industrious4 ,mariotto was wilful1 obstinate1 inconsequent1 and flighty1 ,baccio fell under the influence of ,savonarola1 professed himself a piagnone1 and took the cowl of the ,dominicans#bbh4 ,mariotto was a partisan of the ,medici1 an uproarious pallesco1 and a loose liver1 who eventually deserted the art of painting for the calling of an innkeeper4 ,yet so sweet was the temper of the ,frate1 and so firm was the bond of friendship established in boyhood between this ill-assorted couple1 that they did not part company until #aeab1 three years before ,mariotto's death and five before that of ,bartolommeo4 ,during their long association the task of designing fell upon the ,frate1 while ,albertinelli took his orders and helped to work out his conceptions4 ,both were excellent craftsmen and consummate colourists1 as is proved by the pictures executed by each unassisted4 ,albertinelli's ,salutation in the ,uffizzi yields no point of grace and vigour to any of his more distinguished coadjutor's paintings4 ,the great contributions made by ,fra ,bartolommeo to the art of ,italy were in the double region of composition and colouring4 ,in his justly celebrated fresco of ,s4 ,maria ,nuova at ,florence--a ,last ,judgment with a ,christ enthroned amid a choir of ,saints--he exhibited for the first time a thoroughly scientific scheme of grouping based on geometrical principles4 ,each part is perfectly balanced in itself1 and yet is necessary to the structure of the whole4 ,the complex framework may be subdivided into numerous sections no less harmoniously ordered than is the total scheme to which they are subordinated4 ,simple figures--the pyramid and the triangle1 upright1 inverted1 and interwoven like the rhymes in a sonnet--form the basis of the composition4 ,this system was adhered to by the ,frate in all his subsequent works4 ,to what extent it influenced the style of ,raphael1 will be afterwards discussed4 ,as a colourist1 ,fra ,bartolommeo was equal to the best of his contemporaries1 and superior to any of his rivals in the school of ,florence4 ,few painters of any age have combined harmony of tone so perfectly with brilliance and richness4 ,it is a real joy to contemplate the pure and splendid folds of the white drapery he loved to place in the foreground of his altar-pieces4 ,solidity and sincerity distinguish his work in every detail1 while his feeling is remarkable for elevation and sobriety4 ,all that he lacks1 is the boldness of imagination1 the depth of passion1 and the power of thought1 that are indispensable to genius of the highest order4 ,gifted with a sympathetic and a pliant1 rather than a creative and self-sustained nature1 he was sensitive to every influence4 ,therefore we find him learning much in his youth from ,lionardo1 deriving a fresh impulse from ,raphael1 and endeavouring in his later life1 after a visit to ,rome in #aead1 to heighten his style1 as the phrase went1 by emulating ,michael ,angelo4 ,the attempt to tread the path of ,buonarroti was a failure4 ,what ,fra ,bartolommeo sought to gain in majesty1 he lost in charm4 ,his was essentially a pure and gracious manner1 upon which sublimity could not be grafted4 ,the gentle soul1 who dropped his weapon when the convent of ,s4 ,marco was besieged by the ,compagnacci#bbi1 and who vowed1 if heaven preserved him in the tumult1 to become a monk1 had none of ,michael ,angelo's terribilit4 ,without possessing some share of that spirit1 it was vain to aggrandise the forms and mass the raiment of his prophets in imitation of the ,sistine4 ,nature made ,fra ,bartolommeo the painter of adoration#bcj4 ,his masterpiece at ,lucca--the ,madonna della ,misericordia--is a poem of glad worship1 a hymn of prayerful praise4 ,our ,lady stands elate1 between earth and heaven1 appealing to her ,son for mercy4 ,at her footstool are her suppliants1 the men and women and little children of the city she has saved4 ,the peril is past4 ,salvation has been won2 and the song of thanksgiving ascends from all those massed and mingled forms in unison4 ,not less truly is the great unfinished picture of ,madonna surrounded by the ,patron ,saints of ,florence a poem of adoration#bca4 ,this painting was ordered by the ,gonfalonier ,piero ,soderini1 the man who dedicated ,florence to ,christ as ,king4 ,he intended it to take its place in the hall of the ,consiglio ,grande1 where ,michael ,angelo and ,lionardo gained their earliest laurels4 ,before it could be finished1 the ,republic perished4#bcb ,that1 says ,rio1 is the reason why he left but an imperfect work--for those at least who are only struck by what is wanting in it4 ,others will at first regard it with the interest attaching to unfinished poems1 interrupted by the jailer's call or by the stern voice of the executioner4 ,then they will study it in all its details1 in order to appreciate its beauties2 and that appreciation will be the more perfect in proportion as a man is the more fully penetrated with its dominant idea1 and with the attendant circumstances that bring this home to him4 ,it is not against an abstract enemy that the intercession of the celestial powers is here invoked3 it is not by a caprice of the painter or his patron that1 in the group of central figures1 ,s4 ,anne attracts attention before the ,holy ,virgin1 not only by reason of her pre-eminence1 but also through the intensity of her heavenward prayer1 and again through her beauty1 which far surpasses that of nearly all ,madonnas painted by ,fra ,bartolommeo4#bcc ,but artist and patron had indeed good reason1 in this crisis of the ,commonwealth1 to select as the most eminent advocate for ,florence at the bar of ,heaven that saint1 on whose day1 ,july #bf1 #acdc1 had been celebrated the emancipation of the city from its servitude to ,walter of ,brienne4 ,the great event of ,fra ,bartolommeo's life was the impression produced on him by ,savonarola4#bcd ,having listened to the ,dominican's terrific denunciations of worldliness and immorality1 he carried his life studies to the pyre of vanities1 resolved to assume the cowl1 and renounced his art4 ,between #adii1 when he was engaged in painting the ,last ,judgment of ,s4 ,maria ,nuova1 and #aejf1 he is supposed never to have touched the pencil4 ,when he resumed it ,savonarola had been burned for heresy1 and ,fra ,bartolommeo was a brother in his convent of ,s4 ,marco4 ,savonarola has sometimes been described as an iconoclast1 obstinately hostile to the fine arts4 ,this is by no means a true account of the crusade he carried on against the pagan sensuality of his contemporaries4 ,he desired that art should remain the submissive handmaid of the ,church and the willing servant of pure morality4 ,while he denounced the heathenism of the style in vogue at ,florence1 and forbade the study of the nude1 he strove to encourage religious painting1 and established a school for its exercise in the cloister of ,s4 ,marco4 ,it was in this monastic bottega that ,fra ,bartolommeo1 in concert with his friend ,albertinelli1 worked for the benefit of the convent after the year #aejf4 ,the reforms ,savonarola attempted in the fine arts as in manners1 by running counter to the tendencies of the ,renaissance at a moment when society was too corrupt to be regenerated1 and the passion for antiquity was too powerful to be restrained1 proved of necessity ineffective4 ,it may further be said that the limitations he imposed would have been fatal to the free development of art if they had been observed4 ,several painters1 besides ,fra ,baccio1 submitted to ,savonarola's influence4 ,among these the most distinguished were the pure and gentle ,lorenzo di ,credi and ,sandro ,botticelli1 who1 after the great preacher's death1 is said to have abandoned painting4 ,neither ,lorenzo di ,credi nor ,fra ,baccio possessed a portion of the prophet's fiery spirit4 ,had that but found expression in their cloistral pictures1 one of the most peculiar and characteristic flowers of art the world has ever known1 would then have bloomed in ,florence4 ,the mantle of ,savonarola1 however1 if it fell upon any painter1 fell on ,michael ,angelo1 and we must seek an echo of the friar's thunders in the ,sistine ,chapel4 ,fra ,bartolommeo was too tender and too timid4 ,the sublimities of tragic passion lay beyond his scope4 ,though ,i have ventured to call him the painter of adoration1 he did not feel even this movement of the soul with the intensity of ,fra ,angelico4 ,in the person of ,s4 ,dominic kneeling beneath the cross ,fra ,angelico painted worship as an ecstasy1 wherein the soul goes forth with love and pain and yearning beyond any power of words or tears or music to express what it would utter4 ,to these heights of the ascetic ideal ,fra ,bartolommeo never soared4 ,his sobriety bordered upon the prosaic4 ,we have now reached the great age of the ,italian ,renaissance1 the age in which1 not counting for the moment ,venice1 four arch-angelic natures gathered up all that had been hitherto achieved in art since the days of ,pisano and ,giotto1 adding such celestial illumination from the sunlight of their inborn genius that in them the world for ever sees what art can do4 ,lionardo da ,vinci was born in ,valdarno in #adeb1 and died in ,france in #aeai4 ,michael ,angelo ,buonarroti was born at ,caprese1 in the ,casentino1 in #adge1 and died at ,borne in #aefd1 having outlived the lives of his great peers by nearly half a century4 ,raphael ,santi was born at ,urbino in #adhc1 and died in ,rome in #aebj4 ,antonio ,allegri was born at ,correggio in #adid1 and died there in #aecd4 ,to these four men1 each in his own degree and according to his own peculiar quality of mind1 the fulness of the ,renaissance1 in its power and freedom1 was revealed4 ,they entered the inner shrine1 where dwelt the spirit of their age1 and bore to the world without the message each of them had heard4 ,in their work posterity still may read the meaning of that epoch1 differently rendered according to the difference of gifts in each consummate artist1 but comprehended in its unity by study of the four together4 ,lionardo is the wizard or diviner2 to him the ,renaissance offers her mystery and lends her magic4 ,raphael is the ,phoebean singer2 to him the ,renaissance reveals her joy and dowers him with her gift of melody4 ,correggio is the ,ariel or ,faun2 he has surprised laughter upon the face of the universe1 and he paints this laughter in ever-varying movement4 ,michael ,angelo is the prophet and ,sibylline seer2 to him the ,renaissance discloses the travail of her spirit2 him she endues with power2 he wrests her secret1 voyaging1 like an ideal ,columbus1 the vast abyss of thought alone4 ,in order that this revelation of the ,renaissance in painting should be complete1 it is necessary to add a fifth power to these four--that of the ,venetian masters1 who are the poets of carnal beauty1 the rhetoricians of mundane pomp1 the impassioned interpreters of all things great and splendid in the pageant of the outer world4 ,as ,venice herself1 by type of constitution and historical development1 remained sequestered from the rest of ,italy1 so her painters demand separate treatment4#bce ,it is enough1 therefore1 for the present to remember that without the note they utter the chord of the ,renaissance lacks its harmony4 ,lionardo1 the natural son of ,messer ,pietro1 notary of ,florence and landed proprietor at ,vinci1 was so beautiful of person that no one1 says ,vasari1 has sufficiently extolled his charm2 so strong of limb that he could bend an iron ring or horse-shoe between his fingers2 so eloquent of speech that those who listened to his words were fain to answer ,yes or ,no as he thought fit4 ,this child of grace and persuasion was a wonderful musician4 ,the ,duke of ,milan sent for him to play upon his lute and improvise ,italian canzoni4 ,the lute he carried was of silver1 fashioned like a horse's head1 and tuned according to acoustic laws discovered by himself4 ,of the songs he sang to its accompaniment none have been preserved4 ,only one sonnet remains to show of what sort was the poetry of ,lionardo1 prized so highly by the men of his own generation4 ,this1 too1 is less remarkable for poetic beauty than for sober philosophy expressed with singular brevity of phrase4#bcf ,this story of ,da ,vinci's lute might be chosen as a parable of his achievement4 ,art and science were never separated in his work2 and both were not unfrequently subservient to some fanciful caprice1 some bizarre freak of originality4 ,curiosity and love of the uncommon ruled his nature4 ,by intuition and by persistent interrogation of nature he penetrated many secrets of science2 but he was contented with the acquisition of knowledge4 ,once found1 he had but little care to distribute the results of his investigations2 at most he sought to use them for purposes of practical utility4#bcg ,even in childhood he is said to have perplexed his teachers by propounding arithmetical problems4 ,in his maturity he carried anatomy further than ,delia ,torre2 he invented machinery for water-mills and aqueducts2 he devised engines of war1 discovered the secret of conical rifle-bullets1 adapted paddle-wheels to boats1 projected new systems of siege artillery1 investigated the principles of optics1 designed buildings1 made plans for piercing mountains1 raising churches1 connecting rivers1 draining marshes1 clearing harbours4#bch ,there was no branch of study whereby nature through the effort of the inquisitive intellect might be subordinated to the use of man1 of which he was not master4 ,nor1 richly gifted as was ,lionardo1 did he trust his natural facility4 ,his patience was no less marvellous than the quickness of his insight4 ,he lived to illustrate the definition of genius as the capacity for taking infinite pains4 ,while he was a boy1 says ,vasari1 ,lionardo modelled in terra-cotta certain heads of women smiling4 ,this was in the workshop of ,verocchio1 who had already fixed a smile on ,david's face in bronze4 ,when an old man1 he left ,mona ,lisa on the easel not quite finished1 the portrait of a subtle1 shadowy1 uncertain smile4 ,this smile1 this enigmatic revelation of a movement in the soul1 this seductive ripple on the surface of the human personality1 was to ,lionardo a symbol of the secret of the world1 an image of the universal mystery4 ,it haunted him all through his life1 and innumerable were the attempts he made to render by external form the magic of this fugitive and evanescent charm4 ,through long days he would follow up and down the streets of ,florence or of ,milan beautiful unknown faces1 learning them by heart1 interpreting their changes of expression1 reading the thoughts through the features4 ,these he afterwards committed to paper4 ,we possess many such sketches--a series of ideal portraits1 containing each an unsolved riddle that the master read2 a procession of shadows1 cast by reality1 that1 entering the camera lucida of the artist's brain1 gained new and spiritual quality4#bci ,in some of them his fancy seems to be imprisoned in the labyrinths of hair2 in others the eyes deep with feeling or hard with gemlike brilliancy have caught it1 or the lips that tell and hide so much1 or the nostrils quivering with momentary emotion4 ,beauty1 inexpressive of inner meaning1 must1 we conceive1 have had but slight attraction for him4 ,we do not find that he drew a fair naked body for the sake of its carnal charm2 his hasty studies of the nude are often faulty1 mere memoranda of attitude and gesture4 ,the human form was interesting to him either scientifically or else as an index to the soul4 ,yet he felt the influence of personal loveliness ,his favourite pupil ,salaino was a youth of singular grace1 with curled and waving hair1 a feature of personal beauty by which ,lionardo was always greatly pleased4 ,hair1 the most mysterious of human things1 the most manifold in form and hue1 snakelike in its subtlety for the entanglement of souls1 had naturally supreme attractiveness for the magician of the arts4 ,with like energy ,lionardo bent himself to divine the import of ugliness4 ,whole pages of his sketch-book are filled with squalid heads of shrivelled crones and ghastly old men--with idiots1 gotred cretins1 criminals1 and clowns4 ,it was not that he loved the horrible for its own sake2 but he was determined to seize character1 to command the gamut of human physiognomy from ideal beauty down to forms bestialised by vice and disease4 ,the story related by ,giraldi concerning the head of ,judas in the ,cenacolo at ,milan1 sufficiently illustrates the method of ,lionardo in creating types and the utility of such caricatures as his notebooks contain4#bdj ,it is told that he brought into his room one day a collection of reptiles--lizards1 newts1 toads1 vipers1 efts--all creatures that are loathsome to the common eye4 ,these1 by the magic of imagination1 he combined into a shape so terrible that those who saw it shuddered4 ,medusa's snake-enwoven head exhaling poisonous vapour from the livid lips2 ,leda1 swanlike beside her swan lover2 ,chimaera1 in whom many natures mingled and made one2 the conflict of a dragon and a lion2 ,s4 ,john conceived not as a prophet but as a vine-crowned ,faun1 the harbinger of joy3--over pictorial motives of this kind1 attractive by reason of their complexity or mystery1 he loved to brood2 and to this fascination of a sphinx-like charm we owe some of his most exquisite drawings4 ,lionardo more than any other artist who has ever lived 7except perhaps his great predecessor ,leo ,battista ,alberti7 felt the primal sympathies that bind men to the earth1 their mother1 and to living things1 their brethren4#bda ,therefore the borderland between humanity and nature allured him with a spell half aesthetic and half scientific4 ,in the dawn of ,hellas this sympathetic apprehension of the world around him would have made him a supreme mythopoet4 ,in the dawn of the modern world curiosity claimed the lion's share of his genius3 nor can it be denied that his art suffered by this division of interests4 ,the time was not yet come for accurate physiological investigation1 or for the true birth of the scientific spirit2 and in any age it would have been difficult for one man to establish on a sound basis discoveries made in so many realms as those explored by ,lionardo4 ,we cannot1 therefore1 but regret that he was not more exclusively a painter4 ,if1 however1 he had confined his activity to the production of works equal to the ,cenacolo1 we should have missed the most complete embodiment in one personality of the twofold impulses of the ,renaissance and of its boundless passion for discovery4 ,lionardo's turn for physical science led him to study the technicalities of art with fervent industry4 ,whatever his predecessors had acquired in the knowledge of materials1 the chemistry of colours1 the mathematics of composition1 the laws of perspective1 and the illusions of chiaroscuro1 he developed to the utmost4 ,to find a darker darkness and a brighter brightness than had yet been shown upon the painter's canvas2 to solve problems of foreshortening2 to deceive the eye by finely graduated tones and subtle touches2 to submit the freest play of form to simple figures of geometry in grouping1 were among the objects he most earnestly pursued4 ,at the same time his deep feeling for all things that have life1 gave him new power in the delineation of external nature4 ,the branching of flower-stems1 the outlines of fig-leaves1 the attitudes of beasts and birds in motion1 the arching of the fan-palm1 were rendered by him with the same consummate skill as the dimple on a cheek or the fine curves of a young man's lips4#bdb ,wherever he perceived a difficulty1 he approached and conquered it4 ,love1 which is the soul of art--,love1 the bondslave of ,beauty and the son of ,poverty by ,craft--led him to these triumphs4 ,he used to buy caged birds in the marketplace that he might let them loose4 ,he was attached to horses1 and kept a sumptuous stable2 and these he would draw in eccentric attitudes1 studying their anatomy in detail for his statue of ,francesco ,sforza4#bdc ,in the ,battle of the ,standard1 known to us only by a sketch of ,rubens1#bdd he gave passions to the horse--not human passion1 nor yet merely equine--but such as horses might feel when placed upon a par with men4 ,in like manner the warriors are fiery with bestial impulses--leonine fury1 wolfish ferocity1 fox-like cunning4 ,their very armour takes the shape of monstrous reptiles4 ,to such an extent did the interchange of human and animal properties haunt ,lionardo's fancy4 ,from what has been already said we shall be better able to understand ,lionardo's love of the bizarre and grotesque4 ,one day a vine-dresser brought him a very curious lizard4 ,the master fitted it with wings injected with quicksilver to give them motion as the creature crawled4 ,eyes1 horns1 and a beard1 a marvellous dragon's mask1 were placed upon its head4 ,this strange beast lived in a cage1 where ,lionardo tamed it2 but no one1 says ,vasari1 dared so much as to look at it4#bde ,on quaint puzzles and perplexing schemes he mused a good part of his life away4 ,at one time he was for making wings to fly with2 at another he invented ropes that should uncoil1 strand by strand2 again1 he devised a system of flat corks1 by means of which to walk on water4#bdf ,one day1 after having scraped the intestines of a sheep so thin that he could hold them in the hollow of his hand1 he filled them with wind from a bellows1 and blew and blew until the room was choked1 and his visitors had to run into corners4 ,lionardo told them that this was a proper symbol of genius4 ,such stories form what may be called the legend of ,lionardo's life2 and some of them seem simple1 others almost childish4#bdg ,they illustrate what is meant when we call him the wizard of the ,renaissance4 ,art1 nature1 life1 the mysteries of existence1 the infinite capacity of human thought1 the riddle of the world1 all that the ,greeks called ,pan1 so swayed and allured him that1 while he dreamed and wrought and never ceased from toil1 he seemed to have achieved but little4 ,the fancies of his brain were1 perhaps1 too subtle and too fragile to be made apparent to the eyes of men4 ,he was wont1 after years of labour1 to leave his work still incomplete1 feeling that he could not perfect it as he desired3 yet even his most fragmentary sketches have a finish beyond the scope of lesser men4 ,extraordinary power1 says ,vasari1 was in his case conjoined with remarkable facility1 a mind of regal boldness and magnanimous daring4 ,yet he was constantly accused of indolence and inability to execute4#bdh ,often and often he made vast preparations and accomplished nothing4 ,it is well known how the ,prior of ,s4 ,maria delle ,grazie complained that ,lionardo stood for days looking at his fresco1 and for weeks never came near it2 how the monks of the ,annunziata at ,florence were cheated out of their painting1 for which elaborate designs had yet been made2 how ,leo ,x41 seeing him mix oils with varnish to make a new medium1 exclaimed1 ,alas6 this man will do nothing2 he thinks of the end before he makes a beginning4 ,a good answer to account for the delay was always ready on the painter's lips1 as that the man of genius works most when his hands are idlest2 ,judas1 sought in vain through all the thieves' resorts in ,milan1 is not found2 ,i cannot hope to see the face of ,christ except in ,paradise4 ,again1 when an equestrian statue of ,francesco ,sforza had been modelled in all its parts1 another model was begun because ,da ,vinci would fain show the warrior triumphing over a fallen foe4#bdi ,the first motive seemed to him tame2 the second was unrealisable in bronze4 ,i can do anything possible to man1 he wrote to ,lodovico ,sforza1 and as well as any living artist either in sculpture or painting4 ,but he would do nothing as taskwork1 and his creative brain loved better to invent than to execute4#bej ,of a truth1 continues his biographer1 there is good reason to believe that the very greatness of his most exalted mind1 aiming at more than could be effected1 was itself an impediment2 perpetually seeking to add excellence to excellence and perfection to perfection4 ,this was without doubt the true hindrance1 so that1 as our ,petrarch has it1 the work was retarded by desire4 ,at the close of that cynical and positive century1 the spirit whereof was so well expressed by ,cosimo de' ,medici1#bea ,lionardo set before himself aims infinite instead of finite4 ,his designs of wings to fly with symbolise his whole endeavour4 ,he believed in solving the insoluble2 and nature had so richly dowered him in the very dawntime of discovery1 that he was almost justified in this delusion4 ,having caught the ,proteus of the world1 he tried to grasp him2 but the god changed shape beneath his touch4 ,having surprised ,silenus asleep1 he begged from him a song2 but the song ,silenus sang was so marvellous in its variety1 so subtle in its modulations1 that ,lionardo could do no more than recall scattered phrases4 ,his ,proteus was the spirit of the ,renaissance4 ,the ,silenus from whom he forced the song was the double nature of man and of the world4 ,by ill chance it happened that ,lionardo's greatest works soon perished4 ,his cartoon at ,florence disappeared4 ,his model for ,sforza's statue was used as a target by ,french bowmen4 ,his ,last ,supper remains a mere wreck in the ,convent delle ,grazie4 ,such as it is1 blurred by ill-usage and neglect1 more blurred by impious re-painting1 that fresco must be seen by those who wish to understand ,da ,vinci4 ,it has well been called the compendium of all his studies and of all his writings2 and1 chronologically1 it is the first masterpiece of the perfected ,renaissance4#beb ,other painters had represented the ,last ,supper as a solemn prologue to the ,passion1 or as the mystical inauguration of the greatest ,christian sacrament4#bec ,but none had dared to break the calm of the event by a dramatic action4 ,the school of ,giotto1 ,fra ,angelico1 ,ghirlandajo1 ,perugino1 even ,signorelli1 remained within the sphere of symbolical suggestion2 and their work gained in dignity what it lost in intensity4 ,lionardo combined both4 ,he undertook to paint a moment1 to delineate the effect of a single word upon twelve men seated at a table1 and to do this without sacrificing the tranquillity demanded by ideal art1 and without impairing the divine majesty of ,him from whose lips that word has fallen4 ,the time has long gone by for detailed criticism or description of a painting known to everybody4 ,it is enough to observe that the ideal representation of a dramatic moment1 the life breathed into each part of the composition1 the variety of the types chosen to express varieties of character1 and the scientific distribution of the twelve ,apostles in four groups of three around the central ,christ1 mark the appearance of a new spirit of power and freedom in the arts4 ,what had hitherto been treated with religious timidity1 with conventional stiffness1 or with realistic want of grandeur1 was now humanised and at the same time transported into a higher intellectual region2 and though ,lionardo discrowned the ,apostles of their aureoles1 he for the first time in the history of painting created a ,christ not unworthy to be worshipped as the praesens ,deus4 ,we know not whether to admire most the perfection of the painter's art or his insight into spiritual things4#bed ,if we are forced to feel that1 with ,da ,vinci1 accomplishment fell short of power and promise1 the case is very different with ,raphael4 ,in him there was no perplexity1 no division of interests4 ,he was fascinated by no insoluble mystery and absorbed by no seductive problems4 ,his faculty and his artistic purpose were exactly balanced1 adequate1 and mutually supporting4 ,he saw by intuition what to do1 and he did it without let or hindrance1 exercising from his boyhood till his early death an unimpeded energy of pure productiveness4 ,like ,mozart1 to whom he bears in many respects a remarkable resemblance1 ,raphael was gifted with inexhaustible fertility and with unwearied industry4 ,like ,mozart1 again1 he had a nature which converted everything to beauty4 ,thought1 passion1 emotion1 became in his art living melody4 ,we almost forget his strength in admiration of his grace2 the travail of his intellect is hidden by the serenity of his style4 ,there is nothing over-much in any portion of his work1 no sense of effort1 no straining of a situation1 not even that element of terror needful to the true sublime4 ,it is as though the spirit of young ,greece had lived in him again1 purifying his taste to perfection and restraining him from the delineation of things stern or horrible4 ,raphael found in this world nothing but its joy1 and communicated to his ideal the beauty of untouched virginity4 ,brescia might be sacked with sword and flame4 ,the ,baglioni might hew themselves to pieces in ,perugia4 ,the plains of ,ravenna might flow with blood4 ,urbino might change masters and obey the viperous ,duke ,valentino4 ,raphael1 meanwhile1 working through his short ,may-life of less than twenty ,handwritten3 #dj years1 received from nature and from man a message that was harmony unspoiled by one discordant note4 ,his very person was a symbol of his genius4 ,lionardo was beautiful but stately1 with firm lips and penetrating glance2 he conquered by the magnetism of an incalculable personality4 ,the loveliness of ,raphael was fair and flexible1 fascinating not by power or mystery1 but by the winning charm of open-hearted sweetness4 ,to this physical beauty1 rather delicate than strong1 he united spiritual graces of the most amiable nature4 ,he was gentle1 docile1 modest1 ready to oblige1 free from jealousy1 binding all men to him by his cheerful courtesy4#bee ,in morals he was pure4 ,indeed1 judged by the lax standard of those times1 he might be called almost immaculate4 ,his intellectual capacity1 in all that concerned the art of painting1 was unbounded2 but we cannot place him among the many-sided heroes of the ,renaissance4 ,what he attempted in sculpture1 though elegant1 is comparatively insignificant2 and the same may be said about his buildings4 ,as a painter he was capable of comprehending and expressing all things without excess or sense of labour4 ,of no other artist do we feel that he was so instinctively1 unerringly right in what he thought and did4 ,among his mental faculties the power of assimilation seems to have been developed to an extraordinary degree4 ,he learned the rudiments of his art in the house of his father ,santi at ,urbino1 where a ,madonna is still shown--the portrait of his mother1 with a child1 perhaps the infant ,raphael1 upon her lap4 ,starting1 soon after his father's death1 as a pupil of ,perugino1 he speedily acquired that master's manner so perfectly that his earliest works are only to be distinguished from ,perugino's by their greater delicacy1 spontaneity1 and inventiveness4 ,though he absorbed all that was excellent in the ,peruginesque style1 he avoided its affectations1 and seemed to take departure for a higher flight from the most exquisite among his teacher's early paintings4 ,later on1 while still a lad1 he escaped from ,umbrian conventionality by learning all that was valuable in the art of ,masaccio and ,fra ,bartolommeo4 ,to the latter master1 himself educated by the influence of ,lionardo1 ,raphael owed more1 perhaps1 than to any other of his teachers4 ,the method of combining figures in masses1 needful to the general composition1 while they preserve a subordinate completeness of their own1 had been applied with almost mathematical precision by the ,frate in his fresco at ,s4 ,maria ,nuova4#bef ,it reappears in all ,raphael's work subsequent to his first visit to ,florence#beg 7#aejd-aejf74 ,so great1 indeed1 is the resemblance of treatment between the two painters that we know not well which owed the other most4 ,many groups of women and children in the ,stanze1 for example--especially in the ,miracle of ,bolsena and the ,heliodorus--seem almost identical with ,fra ,bartolommeo's ,madonna della ,misericordia at ,lucca4 ,finally1 when ,raphael settled in ,rome1 he laid himself open to the influence of ,michael ,angelo1 and drank in the classic spirit from the newly discovered antiques4 ,here at last it seemed as though his native genius might suffer from contact with the potent style of his great rival2 and there are many students of art who feel that ,raphael's later manner was a declension from the divine purity of his early pictures4 ,there is1 in fact1 a something savouring of overbloom in the ,farnesina frescoes1 as though the painter's faculty had been strained beyond its natural force4 ,muscles are exaggerated to give the appearance of strength1 and open mouths are multiplied to indicate astonishment and action4 ,these faults may be found even in the ,cartoons4 ,yet who shall say that ,raphael's power was on the decline1 or that his noble style was passing into mannerism1 after studying both the picture of the ,transfiguration and the careful drawings from the nude prepared for this last work8 ,so delicate was the assimilative tendency in ,raphael1 that what he learned from all his teachers1 from ,perugino1 ,fra ,bartolommeo1 ,masaccio1 ,da ,vinci1 ,michael ,angelo1 and the antique1 was mingled with his own style without sacrifice of individuality4 ,inferior masters imitated him1 and passed their pictures off upon posterity as ,raphael's2 but to mistake a genuine piece of his painting for the performance of another is almost impossible4 ,each successive step he made was but a liberation of his genius1 a stride toward the full expression of the beautiful he saw and served4 ,he was never an eclectic4 ,the masterpieces of other artists taught him how to comprehend his own ideal4 ,raphael is not merely a man1 but a school4 ,just as in his genius he absorbed and comprehended many diverse styles1 so are many worthy craftsmen included in his single name4 ,fresco-painters1 masters of the easel1 workmen in mosaic and marquetrie1 sculptors1 builders1 arras-weavers1 engravers1 decorators of ceilings and of floors1 all laboured under his eye1 receiving designs from1 his hand1 and executing what was called thereafter by his name4#beh ,it was thus partly by his facility and energy1 partly by the use he made of other men1 that ,raphael was able to achieve so much4 ,in the ,vatican he covered the walls and ceilings of the ,stanze with historical and symbolical frescoes that embrace the whole of human knowledge4 ,the cramping limits of ecclesiastical tradition are transcended4 ,the synod of the antique sages finds a place beside the synod of the ,fathers and the company of ,saints4 ,parnassus and the allegory of the virtues front each other4 ,the legend of ,marsyas and the mythus of the ,fall are companion pictures4 ,a new catholicity1 a new orthodoxy of the beautiful1 appears4 ,the ,renaissance in all its breadth and liberality of judgment takes ideal form4 ,nor is there any sense of discord2 for the genius of ,raphael views both revelations1 ,christian and pagan1 from a point of view of art above them4 ,to his pure and unimpeded faculty the task of translating motives so diverse into mutually concordant shapes was easy4 ,on the domed ceilings of the ,loggie he painted sacred history in a series of exquisitely simple compositions1 known as ,raphael's ,bible4 ,the walls and pilasters were adorned with arabesques that anticipated the discovery of ,pompeii1 and surpassed the best of ,roman frescoes in variety and freedom4 ,with his own hands he coloured the incomparable ,triumph of ,galatea in ,agostino ,chigi's villa on the ,tiber1 while his pupils traced the legend of ,cupid and ,psyche from his drawings on the roof of the great banquet hall4 ,remaining within the circuit of ,rome1 we may turn from the sibyls of ,s4 ,maria della ,pace to the genii of the planets in ,s4 ,maria del ,popolo1 from the ,violin-player of the ,sciarra palace to the ,transfiguration in the ,vatican3 wherever we go1 we find the masterpieces of this youth1 so various in conception1 so equal in performance4 ,and then1 to think that the palaces and picture-galleries of ,europe are crowded with his easel-pictures1 that his original drawings display a boundless store of prodigal inventive creativeness1 that the ,cartoons1 of which ,england is proud1 are alone enough to found a mighty master's fame6 ,the vast mass of ,raphael's works is by itself astounding4 ,the accuracy of their design and the perfection of their execution are literally overwhelming to the imagination1 that attempts to realise the conditions of his short life4 ,there is nothing1 or but very little1 of rhetoric in all this world of pictures4 ,the brain has guided the hand throughout1 and the result is sterling poetry4 ,the knowledge1 again1 expressed in many of his frescoes is so thorough that we wonder whether in his body lived again the soul of some accomplished sage4 ,how1 for example1 did he appropriate the history of philosophy1 set forth so luminously in the ,school of ,athens1 that each head1 each gesture1 is the epitome of some system8 ,fabio ,calvi may1 indeed1 have supplied him with serviceable notes on ,greek philosophy4 ,but to ,raphael alone belongs the triumph of having personified the dry elements of learning in appropriate living forms4 ,the same is true of the ,parnassus1 and1 in a less degree1 of the ,disputa4 ,to the physiognomist these frescoes will always be invaluable4 ,the ,heliodorus1 the ,miracle of ,bolsena1 and the ,cartoons1 display a like faculty applied with more dramatic purpose4 ,passion and action take the place of representative ideas2 but the capacity for translating into perfect human form what has first been intellectually apprehended by the artist1 is the same4 ,if1 after estimating the range of thought revealed in this portion of ,raphael's work1 we next consider the labour of the mind involved in the distribution of so many multitudes of beautiful and august human figures1 in the modelling of their drapery1 the study of their expression1 and their grouping into balanced compositions1 we may form some notion of the magnitude of ,raphael's performance4 ,it is1 indeed1 probable that all attempts at reflective analysis of this kind do injustice to the spontaneity of the painter's method4 ,yet1 even supposing that the ,miraculous ,draught of ,fishes or the ,school of ,athens were seen by him as in a vision1 this presumption will increase our wonder at the imagination which could hold so rich a store of details ready for immediate use4 ,that ,raphael paid the most minute attention to the details of his work1 is shown by the studies made for these two subjects1 and by the drawings for the ,transfiguration4 ,a young man bent on putting forth his power the first time in a single picture that should prove his mastery1 could not have laboured with more diligence than ,raphael at the height of his fame and in full possession of his matured faculty4 ,when1 furthermore1 we take into account the variety of ,raphael's work1 we arrive at a new point of wonder4 ,the drawing of ,alexander's ,marriage with ,roxana1 the ,temptation of ,adam by ,eve1 and the ,massacre of the ,innocents1 engraved by ,marc ,antonio1 are unsurpassed not only as compositions1 but also as studies of the nude in chosen attitudes1 powerfully felt and nobly executed4 ,in these designs1 which he never used for painting1 the same high style is successively applied to a pageant1 an idyll1 and a drama4#bei ,the rapture of ,greek art in its most youthful moment has never been recaptured by a modern painter with more force and fire of fancy than in the ,galatea4 ,the tenderness of ,christian feeling has found no more exalted expression than in the multitudes of the ,madonnas1 one more lovely than another1 like roses on a tree in ,june1 from the maidenly ,madonna del ,gran' ,duca to the celestial vision of the ,san ,sisto1 that sublimest lyric of the art of ,catholicity4#bfj ,it is only by hurrying through a list like this that we can appreciate the many-sided perfection of ,raphael's accomplishment4 ,how1 lastly1 was it possible that this young painter should have found the time to superintend the building of ,s4 ,peter's1 and to form a plan for excavating ,rome in its twelve ancient regions8#bfa ,when ,lomazzo assigned emblems to the chief painters of the ,renaissance1 he gave to ,michael ,angelo the dragon of contemplation1 and to ,mantegna the serpent of sagacity4 ,for ,raphael1 by a happier instinct1 he reserved man1 the microcosm1 the symbol of powerful grace1 incarnate intellect4 ,this quaint fancy of the ,milanese critic touches the truth4 ,what distinguishes the whole work of ,raphael1 is its humanity in the double sense of the humane and human4 ,phoebus1 as imagined by the ,greeks1 was not more radiant1 more victorious by the marvel of his smile1 more intolerant of things obscene or ugly4 ,like ,apollo chasing the ,eumenides from his ,delphian shrine1 ,raphael will not suffer his eyes to fall on what is loathsome or horrific4 ,even sadness and sorrow1 tragedy and death1 take loveliness from him4 ,and here it must be mentioned that he shunned stern and painful subjects4 ,he painted no martyrdom1 no ,last ,judgment1 and no ,crucifixion1 if we except the little early picture belonging to ,lord ,dudley4#bfb ,his men and women are either glorious with youth or dignified in hale old age4 ,touched by his innocent and earnest genius1 mankind is once more gifted with the harmony of intellect and flesh and feeling1 that belonged to ,hellas4 ,instead of asceticism1 ,hellenic temperance is the virtue prized by ,raphael4 ,over his niche in the ,temple of ,fame might be written3 ,i have said ye are gods2--for the children of men in his ideal world are divinized4 ,the godlike spirit of man is all in all4 ,happy indeed was the art that by its limitations and selections could thus early express the good news of the ,renaissance2 while in the spheres of politics and ethics1 science and religion1 we are still far from having learned its lesson4 ,correggio is the ,faun or ,ariel of ,renaissance painting4 ,turning to him from ,raphael1 we are naturally first struck by the affinities and differences between them4 ,both drew from their study of the world the elements of joy which it contains2 but the gladness of ,correggio was more sensuous than that of ,raphael2 his intellectual faculties were less developed2 his rapture was more tumultuous and ,bacchantic4 ,like ,raphael1 ,correggio died young2 but his brief life was spent in comparative obscurity and solitude4 ,far from the society of scholars and artists1 ignorant of courts1 unpatronised by princes1 he wrought for himself alone the miracle of brightness and of movement that delights us in his frescoes and his easel-pictures4 ,like a poet hidden ,in the light of thought1 ,singing hymns unbidden1 was this lyrist of luxurious ecstasy4 ,in his work there was nothing worldly2 that divides him from the ,venetians1 whose sensuousness he shared3 nothing scientific2 that distinguishes him from ,da ,vinci1 the magic of whose chiaroscuro he comprehended3 nothing contemplative2 that separates him from ,michael ,angelo1 the audacity of whose design in dealing with forced attitudes he rivalled1 without apparently having enjoyed the opportunity of studying his works4 ,the cheerfulness of ,raphael1 the wizardry of ,lionardo1 and the boldness of ,michael ,angelo1 met in him to form a new style1 the originality of which is indisputable1 and which takes us captive--not by intellectual power1 but by the impulse of emotion4 ,of his artistic education we know nothing2 and when we call him the ,ariel of painting1 this means that we are compelled to think of him as an elemental spirit1 whose bidding the air and the light and the hues of the morning obey4 ,correggio created a world of beautiful human beings1 the whole condition of whose existence is an innocent and radiant wantonness4#bfc ,over the domain of tragedy he had no sway2 nor could he deal with subjects demanding pregnancy of intellectual meaning4 ,he paints the three ,fates for instance like young and joyous ,bacchantes2 if we placed rose-garlands and thyrsi in their hands instead of the distaff and the thread of human destinies1 they might figure upon the panels of a banquet-chamber in ,pompeii4 ,nor1 again1 did he possess that severe and lofty art of composition which seeks the highest beauty of design in architectural harmony supreme above the melodies of gracefulness in detail4 ,he was essentially a lyrical as distinguished from an epical or dramatic poet4 ,the unity of his work is derived from the effect of light and atmosphere1 the inbreathed soul of tremulous and throbbing life1 which bathes and liquefies the whole4 ,it was enough for him to produce a gleeful symphony by the play of light and colour1 by the animation of his figures1 and by the intoxicating beauty of his forms4 ,his angels are genii disimprisoned from the chalices of flowers1 houris of an erotic ,paradise1 elemental sprites of nature wantoning in ,eden in her prime4 ,they belong to the generation of the fauns4 ,like fauns1 they combine a certain wildness1 a dithyrambic ecstasy1 a delight in rapid motion as they revel amid clouds and flowers1 with the permanent and all-pervading sweetness of the painter's style4 ,correggio's sensibility to light and colour--that quality which makes him unique among painters--was on a par with his feeling for form4 ,brightness and darkness are woven together on his figures like an impalpable veil1 arial and transparent1 enhancing the palpitations of voluptuous movement which he loved4 ,his colouring does not glow or burn2 blithesome and delicate1 it seems exactly such a beauty-bloom as sense requires for its satiety4 ,that cord of jocund colour which may fitly be combined with the smiles of daylight1 the clear blues found in laughing eyes1 the pinks that tinge the cheeks of early youth1 and the warm yet silvery tones of healthy flesh1 mingle1 as in a pearl-shell1 on his pictures4 ,within his own magic circle ,correggio reigns supreme2 no other artist having blent the witcheries of colouring1 chiaroscuro1 and wanton loveliness of form1 into a harmony so perfect in its sensuous charm4 ,to feel his influence1 and at the same moment to be the subject of strong passion1 or intense desire1 or heroic resolve1 or profound contemplation1 or pensive melancholy1 is impossible4 ,the ,northern traveller1 standing beneath his master-works in ,parma1 may hear from each of those radiant and laughing faces what the young ,italian said to ,goethe3 ,perch pensa8 pensando s' invecchia4 ,michael ,angelo is the prophet or seer of the ,renaissance4 ,it would be impossible to imagine a stronger contrast than that which distinguishes his art from ,correggio's1 or lives more different in all their details1 than those which he and ,raphael or ,lionardo lived respectively4 ,during the eighty-nine years of his earthly pilgrimage he saw ,italy enslaved and ,florence extinguished2 it was his exceeding bitter fate to watch the rapid decay of the arts and to witness the triumph of sacerdotal despotism over liberal thought4 ,to none of these things was he indifferent2 and the sorrow they wrought in his soul1 found expression in his painting4#bfd ,michael ,angelo was not framed by nature to fascinate like ,lionardo or to charm like ,raphael4 ,his manners were severe and simple4 ,when he spoke1 his words were brief and pungent4 ,when he wrote1 whether in poetry or prose1 he used the fewest phrases to express the most condensed meaning4 ,when asked why he had not married1 he replied that the wife he had--his art--cost him already too much trouble4 ,he entertained few friends1 and shunned society4 ,brooding over the sermons of ,savonarola1 the text of the ,bible1 the discourses of ,plato1 and the poems of ,dante1 he made his spirit strong in solitude by the companionship with everlasting thoughts4 ,therefore1 when he was called to paint the ,sistine ,chapel1 he uttered through painting the weightiest prophecy the world has ever seen expressed in plastic form4 ,his theme is nothing less than the burden of the prophets and the ,sibyls who preached the coming of a light upon the world1 and the condemnation of the world which had rejected it1 by an inexorable judge4 ,michelet says1 not without truth1 that the spirit of ,savonarola lives again in these frescoes4 ,the procession of the four-and-twenty elders1 arraigned before the people of ,brescia to accuse ,italy of sin--the voice that cried to ,florence1 ,behold the sword of the ,lord1 and that swiftly6 ,behold ,i1 even ,i1 do bring a deluge on the earth6 are both seen and heard here very plainly4 ,but there is more than ,savonarola in this prophecy of ,michael ,angelo's4 ,it contains the stern spirit of ,dante1 aflame with patriotism1 passionate for justice4 ,it embodies the philosophy of ,plato4 ,the creative ,god1 who divides light from darkness1 who draws ,adam from the clay and calls forth new-born ,eve in awful beauty1 is the ,demiurgus of the ,greek4 ,again1 it carries the indignation of ,isaiah1 the wild denunciations of ,ezekiel1 the monotonous refrain of ,jeremiah--,ah1 ,lord1 ,lord6 ,the classic ,sibyls intone their mystic hymns2 the ,delphic on her tripod of inspiration1 the ,erythraean bending over her scrolls1 the withered witch of ,cumae1 the parched prophetess of ,libya--all seem to cry1 ,repent1 repent6 for the kingdom of the spirit is at hand6 ,repent and awake1 for the judgment of the world approaches6 ,and above these voices we hear a most tremendous wail3 ,the nations have come to the birth2 but there is not strength to bring forth4 ,that is the utterance of the ,renaissance1 as it had appeared in ,italy4 ,she who was first among the nations was now last2 bound and bleeding1 she lay prostrate at the temple-gate she had unlocked4 ,to ,michael ,angelo was given for his portion--not the alluring mysteries of the new age1 not the joy of the renascent world1 not the petulant and pulsing rapture of youth3 these had been divided between ,lionardo1 ,raphael1 and ,correggio--but the bitter burden of the sense that the awakening to life is in itself a pain1 that the revelation of the liberated soul is itself judgment1 that a light is shining1 and that the world will not comprehend it4 ,pregnant as are the paintings of ,michael ,angelo with religious import1 they are no longer ,catholic in the sense in which the frescoes of the ,lorenzetti and ,orcagna and ,giotto are ,catholic4 ,he went beyond the ecclesiastical standing ground and reached one where philosophy includes the ,christian faith4 ,thus the true spirit of the ,renaissance was embodied in his work of art4 ,among the multitudes of figures covering the wall above the altar in the ,sistine ,chapel there is one that might well stand for a symbol of the ,renaissance4 ,it is a woman of gigantic stature in the act of toiling upwards from the tomb4 ,grave clothes impede the motion of her body3 they shroud her eyes and gather round her chest4 ,part only of her face and throat is visible1 where may be read a look of blank bewilderment and stupefaction1 a struggle with death's slumber in obedience to some inner impulse4 ,yet she is rising slowly1 half awake1 and scarcely conscious1 to await a doom still undetermined4 ,thus ,michael ,angelo interpreted the meaning of his age4 ,,footnotes3 #aig ,la man che ubbedisce all' intelletto is a phrase pregnant with meaning1 used by ,michael ,angelo in one of his sonnets4 ,see ,guasti1 ,le ,rime di ,michael ,angelo1 p4 #agc4 ,michael ,angelo's blunt criticism of ,perugino1 that he was goffo1 a fool in art1 and his rude speech to ,francia's handsome son1 that his father made better forms by night than day1 sufficiently indicate the different aims pursued by the painters of the two periods distinguished above4 #aih ,though ,mantegna seems to have owed all his training to ,padua1 it is impossible to regard him as what is called a ,squarcionesque--one among the artistic hacks formed and employed by the ,paduan impresario of third-rate painting4 ,no other eagle like to him was reared in that nest4 ,his greatness belonged to his own genius1 assimilating from the meagre means of study within his reach those elements which enabled him to divine the spirit of the antique and to attempt its reproduction4 ,in order to facilitate the explanation of the problem offered by his early command of style1 it has been suggested with great show of reason that he received a strong impression from the work executed in bas-relief by ,donatello for the church of ,s4 ,antonio at ,padua4 ,thus ,florentine influences helped to form even the original genius of this greatest of the ,lombard masters4 #aii ,vasari1 vol4 v4 p4 #afc1 may be consulted with regard to ,mantegna's preference for the ideal of statuary when compared with natural beauty1 as the model for a painter4 #bjj ,see ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle's ,history of ,painting in ,north ,italy1 vol4 i4 p4 #ccd1 for an account of his antiquarian researches in company with ,felice ,feliciano4 ,his museum was so famous that in #adhc ,lorenzo de' ,medici1 passing through ,mantua from ,venice1 thought it worthy of a visit4 ,in his old age ,mantegna fell into pecuniary difficulties1 and had to part with his collection4 ,the forced sale of its chief ornament1 a bust of ,faustina1 is said to have broken his heart4 ,ib4 p4 #dae4 #bja ,painted on canvas in tempera for the ,marquis of ,mantua1 before #adhh1 looted by the ,germans in #afcj1 sold to ,charles ,i41 resold by the ,commonwealth1 bought back by ,charles ,,ii41 and now exposed1 much spoiled by time and change1 but more by villainous re-painting1 on the walls of ,hampton ,court4 #bjb ,an oil painting in the ,national ,gallery4 #bjc ,the so-called ,triumph of ,scipio in the ,national ,gallery seems to me in every respect feebler than the ,hampton ,court ,cartoons4 #bjd ,the ,madonna della ,vittoria1 now in the ,louvre ,gallery1 was painted to commemorate the achievements of ,francesco ,gonzaga in the battle of ,fornovo4 ,that ,francesco1 ,general of the ,venetian troops1 should have claimed that action1 the eternal disgrace of ,italian soldiery1 for a victory1 is one of the strongest signs of the depth to which the sense of military honour had sunk in ,italy4 ,but though the occasion of its painting was so mean1 the impression made by this picture is too powerful to be described4 ,it is in every detail grandiose3 masculine energy being combined with incomparable grace1 religious feeling with athletic dignity1 and luxuriance of ornamentation with severe gravity of composition4 ,it is worth comparing this portrait of ,francesco ,gonzaga with his bronze medal1 just as ,piero della ,francesco's picture of ,sigismondo ,malatesta should be compared with ,pisanello's medallion4 #bje ,vol4 ,,ii41 ,revival of ,learning1 p4 #bab4 #bjf ,nothing is known about ,mantegna's stay in ,florence4 ,he went to meet the ,cardinal ,francesco ,gonzaga at ,bologna4 ,this ,cardinal1 a great amateur of music and connoisseur in relics of antiquity1 came to ,mantua in ,august1 #adgb1 where the ,orfeo of ,messer ,angelo ,poliziano was produced for his amusement4 #bjg ,that he could conceive a stern and tragic subject1 with all the passion it required1 is1 however1 proved not only by the frescoes at ,orvieto1 but also by the powerful oil-painting of the ,crucifixion at ,borgo ,san ,sepolcro4 #bjh ,this story has been used for verse in a way to heighten its romantic colouring4 ,such as the lines are1 ,i subjoin them for the sake of their attempt to emphasize and illustrate ,renaissance feeling3-- ,vasari tells that ,luca ,signorelli1 ,the morning star of ,michael ,angelo1 ,had but one son1 a youth of seventeen summers1 ,who died4 ,that day the master at his easel ,wielded the liberal brush wherewith he painted ,at ,orvieto1 on the ,duomo's walls1 ,stern forms of ,death and ,heaven and ,hell and ,judgment4 ,then came they to him1 cried3 ',thy son is dead1 ,slain in a duel3 but the bloom of life ,yet lingers round red lips and downy cheek4' ,luca spoke not1 but listened4 ,next they bore ,his dead son to the silent painting-room1 ,and left on tip toe son and sire alone4 ,still ,luca spoke and groaned not2 but he raised ,the wonderful dead youth1 and smoothed his hair1 ,washed his red wounds1 and laid him on a bed1 ,naked and beautiful1 where rosy curtains ,shed a soft glimmer of uncertain splendour ,life-like upon the marble limbs below4 ,then ,luca seized his palette3 hour by hour ,silence was in the room2 none durst approach3 ,morn wore to noon1 and noon to eve1 when shyly ,a little maid peeped in and saw the painter ,painting his dead son with unerring hand-stroke1 ,firm and dry-eyed before the lordly canvas4 #bji ,see the article on ,orvieto in my ,sketches in ,italy and ,greece4 #baj ,the earlier frescoes of ,fra ,angelico1 on the roof1 depict ,christ as ,judge4 ,but there is nothing in common with these works and ,signorelli's4 #baa ,this is the conjecture of ,signor ,luzi 7,il ,duomo di ,orvieto1 p4 #afh74 ,he bases it upon the ,dantesque subjects illustrated1 and quotes from the ,inferno3-- ,omero poeta sovrano2 ,l' altro ,orazio satiro che viene1 ,ovidio il terzo1 e l' ultimo ,lucano4 ,nothing is more marked or more deeply interesting than the influence exercised by ,dante over ,signorelli1 an influence he shared with ,giotto1 ,orcagna1 ,botticelli1 ,michael ,angelo1 the greatest imaginative painters of ,central ,italy4 #bab ,the background to the circular ,madonna in the ,uffizzi1 the ,flagellation of ,christ in the ,academy at ,florence and in the ,brera at ,milan1 and the ,adam at ,cortona1 belong to this grade4 #bac ,we may add the pages in a predella representing the ,adoration of the ,magi in the ,uffizzi4 #bad ,vasari mentions the portraits of ,nicolo1 ,paolo1 and ,vitellozzo ,vitelli1 ,gian ,paolo1 and ,orazio ,baglioni1 among others1 in the frescoes at ,orvieto4 #bae ,painted for ,lorenzo de' ,medici4 ,it is now in the ,berlin ,museum through the neglect of the ,national ,gallery authorities to purchase it for ,england4 #baf ,i must not omit to qualify ,vasari's praise of ,luca ,signorelli1 by reference to a letter recently published from the ,archivio ,buonarroti1 ,lettere a ,diversi1 p4 #cia4 ,michael ,angelo there addresses the ,captain of ,cortona1 and complains that in the first year of ,leo's pontificate ,luca came to him and by various representations obtained from him the sum of eighty ,giulios1 which he never repaid1 although he made profession to have done so4 ,michael ,angelo was ill at the time1 and working with much difficulty on a statue of a bound captive for the tomb of ,julius4 ,luca gave a specimen of his renowned courtesy by comforting the sculptor in these rather sanctimonious phrases3 ,doubt not that angels will come from heaven1 to support your arms and help you4 #bag ,pietro1 known as ,perugino from the city of his adoption1 was the son of ,cristoforo ,vannucci1 of ,citt della ,pieve4 ,he was born in #addf1 and died at ,fontignano in #aebb4 #bah ,the triptych in the ,national ,gallery4 #bai ,they have been published by the ,arundel ,society4 #bbj ,these frescoes were begun in #adii4 ,it may be mentioned that in this year1 on the refusal of ,perugino to decorate the ,cappella di ,s4 ,brizio1 the ,orvietans entrusted that work to ,signorelli4 #bba ,uffizzi and ,sala del ,cambio4 #bbb ,fu ,pietro persona di assai poca religione1 e non se gli pot mai far credere l'immortalit dell' anima3 anzi1 con parole1 accomodate al suo cervello di porfido1 ostinatissimamente ricus ogni buona vita4 ,aveva ogni sua speranza ne' beni della fortuna1 e per danari arebbe fatto ogni male contratto4 ,vasari1 vol4 vi4 p4 #ej4 ,the local tradition alluded to above relates to the difficulties raised by the ,church against the ,christian burial of ,perugino3 but if he died of plague1 as it is believed 7see ,c4 and ,c41 vol4 iii4 p4 #bdd71 these difficulties were probably caused by panic rather than belief in his impiety4 ,for ,gasparo ,celio's note on ,perugino's refusal to confess upon his death-bed1 saying that he preferred to see how an impenitent soul would fare in the other world1 the reader may consult ,rio's ,l',art ,chrtien1 vol4 ii4 p4 #bfi4 ,the record of ,perugino's arming himself in ,dec4 #adhf1 together with a notorious assassin1 ,aulista di ,angelo of ,perugia1 in order to waylay and beat a private enemy of his near ,s4 ,pietro ,maggiore at ,florence is quoted by ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 vol4 iii4 p4 #ahc4 #bbc ,guadagn molte ricchezze2 e in ,fiorenza mur e compr case2 ed in ,perugia ed a ,castello della ,pieve acquist molti beni stahili4 ,vasari1 vol4 vi4 p4 #ej4 #bbd ,goffo nell arte4 ,see ,vasari1 vol4 vi4 p4 #df4 ,see too above1 p4 #aif4 #bbe ,i select these for comment rather than the frescoes at ,spello1 beautiful as these are1 because they have more interest in relation to the style of the ,renaissance4 #bbf ,the ,assumption in ,s4 ,frediano at ,lucca should also be mentioned as one of ,francia's masterpieces4 #bbg ,his father was a muleteer of ,suffignano1 who settled at ,florence1 in a house and garden near the gate of ,s4 ,piero ,gattolino4 ,he was born in #adge1 and he died in #aeag4 #bbh ,in ,s4 ,domenico at ,prato in #aejj4 ,he afterwards resided in ,s4 ,marco at ,florence4 #bbi ,may #bc1 #adih4 #bcj ,in addition to the pictures mentioned above1 ,i may call attention to the adoring figure of ,s4 ,catherine of ,siena1 in three large paintings--now severally in the ,pitti1 at ,lucca1 and in the ,louvre4 #bca ,in the ,uffizzi4 ,as a composition1 it is the ,frate's masterpiece4 #bcb ,see ,vol4 ,i41 ,age of the ,despots1 p4 #dhg1 for this consequence of the sack of ,prato4 #bcc ,l',art ,chrtien1 vol4 ii4 p4 #eae4 #bcd ,two of our best portraits of ,savonarola1 the earlier inscribed ,hieronymi ,ferrariensis a ,deo ,missi ,prophetae ,effigies1 the later treated to represent ,s4 ,peter ,martyr1 are from the hand of ,fra ,bartolommeo4 ,see ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 vol4 iii4 p4 #dcc4 #bce ,see below1 chapter vii4 #bcf ,this sonnet ,i have translated into ,english with such closeness to the original words as ,i found possible3-- ,he who can do not what he wills1 should try ,to will what he can do2 for since 'tis vain ,to will what can't be compassed1 to abstain ,from idle wishing is philosophy4 ,lo1 all our happiness and grief imply ,knowledge or not of will's ability3 ,they therefore can1 who will what ought to be4 ,nor wrest true reason from her seat awry4 ,nor what a man can1 should he always will3 ,oft seemeth sweet what after is not so2 ,and what ,i wished1 when had1 hath cost a tear4 ,then1 reader of these lines1 if thou wouldst still ,be helpful to thyself1 to others dear1 ,will to can alway what thou ought to do4 #bcg ,see the letter addressed by ,lionardo to ,lodovico ,sforza enumerating his claims as a mechanician1 military and civil engineer1 architect1 c4 ,it need scarcely be mentioned that he served ,cesare ,borgia and the ,florentine ,republic as an engineer1 and that much of his time at ,milan was spent in hydraulic works upon the ,adda4 ,it should be added here that ,lionardo committed the results of his discoveries to writing2 but he published very little1 and that by no means the most precious portion of his thoughts4 ,he founded at ,milan an ,academy of ,arts and ,sciences1 if this name may be given to a reunion of artists1 scholars1 and men of the world1 to whom it is probable that he communicated his researches in anatomy4 ,the ,treatise on ,painting1 which bears his name1 is a compilation from notes and ,,mss4 first printed in #afea4 #bch ,the folio volume of sketches in the ,ambrosian ,library at ,milan contains designs for all these works4 ,the collection in the ,royal ,library at ,windsor is no less rich4 ,among ,lionardo's scientific drawings in the latter place may be mentioned a series of maps illustrating the river system of ,central ,italy1 with plans for improved drainage4 #bci ,shelley says of the poet3-- ,he will watch from dawn to gloom ,the lake-reflected sun illume ,the yellow bees in the ivy bloom2 ,nor heed nor see what things they be1 ,but from these create he can ,forms more real than living man1 ,nurslings of immortality4 #bdj ,see ,de ,stendhal1 ,histoire de la ,peinture en ,italie1 p4 #adc1 for this story4 #bda ,in the ,treatise on ,painting1 da ,vinci argues strongly against isolating man4 ,he regarded the human being as in truth a microcosm to be only understood in relation to the world around him1 expressing1 as a painter1 the same thought as ,pico4 7,see ,vol4 ,,ii41 ,revival of ,learning1 p4 #ce47 ,therefore he urges the claims of landscape on the attention of artists4 #bdb ,i might refer in detail to four studies of bramble branches1 leaves1 and flowers and fruit1 in the royal collection at ,windsor1 most wonderful for patient accuracy and delicate execution3 also to drawings of oak leaves1 wild guelder-rose1 broom1 columbine1 asphodel1 bull-rush1 and wood-spurge in the same collection4 ,these careful studies are as valuable for the botanist as for the artist4 ,to render the specific character of each plant with greater precision would be impossible4 #bdc ,see the series of anatomical studies of the horse in the ,royal ,collection4 #bdd ,engraved by ,edelinck4 ,the drawing has obvious ,lionardesque qualities2 but how far it may be from the character of the original we can guess by ,rubens' transcript from ,mantegna4 7,see above1 ,chapter ,,vi1 ,mantegna's ,biography47 ,de ,stendhal says wittily of this work1 ,c'est ,virgile traduit par ,madame de ,stal1 op4 cit4 p4 #afb4 #bde ,in the ,royal ,collection at ,windsor there are anatomical drawings for the construction of an imaginary quadruped with gigantic claws4 ,the bony1 muscular1 and venous structure of its legs and feet is accurately indicated4 #bdf ,see the drawings engraved and published by ,gerli in his ,disegni di ,lionardo da ,vinci1 ,milan1 #aghd4 #bdg ,vasari is the chief source of these legends4 ,giraldi ,lomazzo1 the ,milanese historian of painting1 and ,bandello1 the novelist1 supply further details4 ,it appears from all accounts that ,lionardo impressed his contemporaries as a singular and most commanding personality4 ,there is a touch of reverence in even the strangest stories1 which is wanting in the legend of ,piero di ,cosimo4 #bdh ,even ,michael ,angelo1 meeting him in ,florence1 flung in his teeth that he had made the model of a horse to cast in bronze1 and could not cast it1 and through shame left it as it was unfinished4 ,see ,arch4 ,st4 ,it41 serie terza1 xvi4 #bbf4 #bdi ,in the ,royal ,collection at ,windsor there is a whole series of studies for these two statues1 together with drawings for the mould in which ,lionardo intended to cast them4 ,the second of the two is sketched with great variety of motive4 ,the horse is rearing2 the fallen enemy is vainly striving to defend himself2 the victor in one drawing is reining in his steed1 in another is waving a truncheon1 in a third is brandishing his sword1 in a fourth is holding the sword in act to thrust4 ,the designs for the pedestals1 sometimes treated as a tomb and sometimes as a fountain1 are equally varied4 #bej ,concevoir1 said ,balzac1 c'est jouir1 c'est fumer des cigarettes enchantes2 mais sans l'excution tout s'en va en rve et en fume4 ,quoted by ,sainte-,beuve1 ,causeries du ,lundi1 vol4 ii4 p4 #cec4 #bea ,see ,vol4 ,,ii41 ,revival of ,learning1 p4 #abh1 #abi4 #beb ,it was finished1 according to ,fra ,paciolo1 in #adih4 #bec ,signorelli1 with his usual originality1 chose the moment when ,christ broke bread and gave it to ,his disciples4 ,in that rare picture at ,cortona1 we see not the betrayed chief but the founder of a new religion4 #bed ,the ,cenacolo alone will not enable the student to understand ,lionardo4 ,he must give his attention to the master's sketch books1 those studies in chalk1 in tempera1 on thin canvas and paper1 prepared for the stylus or the pen1 which ,vasari calls the final triumphs of designing1 and of which1 in spite of the loss of many of his books1 the surviving specimens are very numerous4 ,some are easily accessible in ,gerli1 ,chamberlaine1 and the autotype reproductions4 ,it is possible that a sympathetic student may get closer to the all-embracing and all-daring genius of the magician through these drawings than if he had before him an elaborate work in fresco or in oils4 ,they express the many-sided1 mobile1 curious1 and subtle genius of the man in its entirety4 #bee ,raffaello1 che era la gentilezza stessa 444 restavano vinti dalla cortesia e dall' arte sua1 ma pi dal genio della sua buona natura2 la quale era si piena di gentilezza e si colma di carit1 che egli si vedeva che fino agli animali l'onoravano1 non che gli uomini4--,vasari1 vol4 viii4 pp4 #f1 #fj4 #bef ,see above1 ,chapter ,,vi1 ,fra ,bartolommeo4 #beg ,the ,holy ,family at ,munich1 and the ,madonna del ,baldacchino in the ,pitti1 might be mentioned as experiments on ,raphael's part to perfect the ,frate's scheme of composition4 #beh ,see ,vasari1 vol4 viii4 p4 #fj1 for a description of the concord that reigned in this vast workshop4 ,the genius and the gentle nature of ,raphael penetrated the whole group of artists1 and seemed to give them a single soul4 #bei ,the fresco of ,alexander in the ,palazzo ,borghese is by an imitator4 #bfj ,the ,madonna di ,san ,sisto was painted for a banner to be borne in processions4 ,it is a subtle observation of ,rio that the banner1 an invention of the ,umbrian school1 corresponds in painting to the hymn in poetry4 #bfa ,see ,vol4 ,,ii41 ,revival of ,learning1 p4 #caf1 for ,raphael's letter on this subject to ,leo ,x4 #bfb ,la ,spasimo di ,sicilia is the single ,passion picture of ,raphael's maturity4 ,the predella of ,christ carrying the ,cross at ,leigh ,court1 and the ,christ showing ,his ,wounds in the ,tosi ,gallery at ,brescia1 are both early works painted under ,umbrian influence4 ,the ,borghese ,entombment1 painted for ,atalanta ,baglioni1 a pen-and-ink drawing of the ,piet in the ,louvre collection1 ,marc ,antonio's engraving of the ,massacre of the ,innocents1 and an early picture of the ,agony in the ,garden1 are all the other painful subjects ,i can now remember4 #bfc ,for a fuller working out of this analysis ,i must refer to my ,sketches in ,italy1 article ,parma4 ,much that follows is a quotation from that essay4 #bfd ,much of the controversy about ,michael ,angelo1 which is continually being waged between his admirers and his detractors1 might be set at rest if it were acknowledged that there are two distinct ways of judging works of art4 ,we may regard them simply as appealing to our sense of beauty1 and affording harmonious intellectual pleasure4 ,or we may regard them as expressing the thought and spirit of their age1 and as utterances made by men whose hearts burned within them4 ,critics trained in the study of good ,greek sculpture1 or inclined by temperament to admire the earlier products of ,italian painting1 are apt to pursue the former path exclusively4 ,they demand serenity and simplicity4 ,perturbation and violence they denounce as blemishes4 ,it does not occur to them that1 though the phenomenon is certainly rare1 it does occasionally happen that a man arises whose art is for him the language of his soul1 and who lives in sympathetic relation to the sternest interests of his age4 ,if such an artist be born when tranquil thought and serene emotions are impossible for one who feels the meaning of his times with depth1 he must either paint and carve lies1 or he must abandon the serenity that was both natural and easy to the ,greek and the earlier ,italian4 ,michael ,angelo was one of these select artistic natures4 ,he used his chisel and his pencil to express1 not merely beautiful artistic motives1 but what he felt and thought about the world in which he had to live3 and this world was full of the ruin of republics1 the corruption and humiliation of society1 the subjection of ,italy to strangers4 ,in ,michael ,angelo the student of both art and history finds an inestimably precious and rare point of contact between the inner spirit of an age1 and its external expression in sculpture and painting4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,venetian ,,painting ,painting bloomed late in ,venice--,conditions offered by ,venice to ,art--,shelley and ,pietro ,aretino--,political circumstances of ,venice--,comparison with ,florence--,the ,ducal ,palace--,art regarded as an adjunct to ,state ,pageantry--,myth of ,venezia--,heroic ,deeds of ,venice--,tintoretto's ,paradise and ,guardi's ,picture of a ,ball--,early ,venetian ,masters of ,murano--,gian ,bellini--,carpaccio's little ,angels--,the ,madonna of ,s4 ,zaccaria--,giorgione--,allegory1 ,idyll1 ,expression of ,emotion--,the ,monk at the ,clavichord--,titian1 ,tintoret1 and ,veronese--,tintoretto's attempt to dramatise ,venetian ,art--,veronese's ,mundane ,splendour--,titian's ,sophoclean ,harmony--,their ,schools--,further ,characteristics of ,veronese--of ,tintoretto--,his ,imaginative ,energy--,predominant ,poetry--,titian's ,perfection of ,balance--,assumption of ,madonna--,spirit common to the ,great ,venetians4 ,it was a fact of the greatest importance for the development of the fine arts in ,italy that painting in ,venice reached maturity later than in ,florence4 ,owing to this circumstance one chief aspect of the ,renaissance1 its material magnificence and freedom1 received consummate treatment at the hands of ,titian1 ,tintoretto1 and ,veronese4 ,to idealise the sensualities of the external universe1 to achieve for colour what the ,florentines had done for form1 to invest the worldly grandeur of human life at one of its most gorgeous epochs with the dignity of the highest art1 was what these great artists were called on to accomplish4 ,their task could not have been so worthily performed in the fifteenth century as in the sixteenth1 if the development of the aesthetic sense had been more premature among the ,venetians4 ,venice was precisely fitted for the part her painters had to play4 ,free1 isolated1 wealthy1 powerful2 famous throughout ,europe for the pomp of her state equipage1 and for the immorality of her private manners2 ruled by a prudent aristocracy1 who spent vast wealth on public shows and on the maintenance of a more than imperial civic majesty3 ,venice1 with her pavement of liquid chrysoprase1 with her palaces of porphyry and marble1 her frescoed faades1 her quays and squares aglow with the costumes of the ,levant1 her lagoons afloat with the galleys of all nations1 her churches floored with mosaics1 her silvery domes and ceilings glittering with sculpture bathed in molten gold3 ,venice luxurious in the light and colour of a vaporous atmosphere1 where sea-mists rose into the mounded summer clouds2 arched over by the broad expanse of sky1 bounded only by the horizon of waves and plain and distant mountain ranges1 and reflected in all its many hues of sunrise and sunset upon the glassy surface of smooth waters3 ,venice asleep like a miracle of opal or of pearl upon the bosom of an undulating lake3--here and here only on the face of the whole globe was the unique city wherein the pride of life might combine with the lustre of the physical universe to create and stimulate in the artist a sense of all that was most sumptuous in the pageant of the world of sense4 ,there is colour in flowers4 ,gardens of tulips are radiant1 and mountain valleys touch the soul with the beauty of their pure and gemlike hues4 ,therefore the painters of ,flanders and of ,umbria1 ,john van ,eyck and ,gentile da ,fabriano1 penetrated some of the secrets of the world of colour4 ,but what are the purples and scarlets and blues of iris1 anemone1 or columbine1 dispersed among deep meadow grasses or trained in quiet cloister garden-beds1 when compared with that melodrama of flame and gold and rose and orange and azure1 which the skies and lagoons of ,venice yield almost daily to the eyes8 ,the ,venetians had no green fields and trees1 no garden borders1 no blossoming orchards1 to teach them the tender suggestiveness1 the quaint poetry of isolated or contrasted tints4 ,their meadows were the fruitless furrows of the ,adriatic1 hued like a peacock's neck2 they called the pearl-shells of their ,lido flowers1 fior di mare4 ,nothing distracted their attention from the glories of morning and of evening presented to them by their sea and sky4 ,it was in consequence of this that the ,venetians conceived colour heroically1 not as a matter of missal-margins or of subordinate decoration1 but as a motive worthy in itself of sublime treatment4 ,in like manner1 hedged in by no limitary hills1 contracted by no city walls1 stifled by no narrow streets1 but open to the liberal airs of heaven and ocean1 the ,venetians understood space and imagined pictures almost boundless in their immensity4 ,light1 colour1 air1 space3 those are the elemental conditions of ,venetian art2 of those the painters weaved their ideal world for beautiful and proud humanity4 ,shelley's description of a ,venetian sunset strikes the keynote to ,venetian painting3#bfe-- ,as those who pause on some delightful way1 ,though bent on pleasant pilgrimage1 we stood ,looking upon the evening and the flood1 ,which lay between the city and the shore1 ,paved with the image of the sky3 the hoar ,and airy ,alps1 towards the north appeared1 ,through mist1 a heaven-sustaining bulwark1 reared ,between the east and west2 and half the sky ,was roofed with clouds of rich emblazonry1 ,dark purple at the zenith1 which still grew ,down the steep west into a wondrous hue ,brighter than burning gold1 even to the rent ,where the swift sun yet paused in his descent ,among the many-folded hills--they were ,those famous ,euganean hills1 which bear1 ,as seen from ,lido through the harbour piles1 ,the likeness of a clump of peaked isles-- ,and then1 as if the earth and sea had been ,dissolved into one lake of fire1 were seen ,those mountains towering1 as from waves of flame1 ,around the vaporous sun1 from which there came ,the inmost purple spirit of light1 and made ,their very peaks transparent4 ,ere it fade1 ,said my companion1 ,i will show you soon ,a better station4 ,so1 o'er the lagune ,we glided3 and from that funereal bark ,i leaned1 and saw the city2 and could mark ,how from their many isles1 in evening's gleam1 ,its temples and its palaces did seem ,like fabrics of enchantment piled to heaven4 ,with this we may compare the following extract from a letter1 addressed in ,may #aedd to ,titian1 by one of the most unprincipled of literary bandits who have ever disgraced humanity1 but who nevertheless was solemnised to the spirit of true poetry by the grandiose aspect of nature as it appeared to him in ,venice4 ,that ,pietro ,aretino should have so deeply felt the charm of natural beauty in an age when even the greatest artists and poets sought inspiration in human life rather than the outer world1 is a significant fact4 ,it seems to illustrate the necessity whereby ,venice became the cradle of the art of nature4#bff ,having1 dear ,sir1 and my best gossip1 supped alone to the injury of my custom1 or1 to speak more truly1 supped in the company of all the boredoms of a cursed quartan fever1 which will not let me taste the flavour of any food1 ,i rose from table sated with the same disgust with which ,i had sat down to it4 ,in this mood ,i went and leaned my arms upon the sill outside my window1 and throwing my chest and nearly all my body on the marble1 abandoned myself to the contemplation of the spectacle presented by the innumerable boats1 filled with foreigners as well as people of the city1 which gave delight not merely to the gazers1 but also to the ,grand ,canal itself1 that perpetual delight of all who plough its waters4 ,from this animated scene1 all of a sudden1 like one who from mere ennui knows not how to occupy his mind1 ,i turned my eyes to heaven1 which1 from the moment when ,god made it1 was never adorned with such painted loveliness of lights and shadows4 ,the whole region of the air was what those who envy you1 because they are unable to be you1 would fain express4 ,to begin with1 the buildings of ,venice1 though of solid stone1 seemed made of some ethereal substance4 ,then the sky was full of variety--here clear and ardent1 there dulled and overclouded4 ,what marvellous clouds there were6 ,masses of them in the centre of the scene hung above the house-roofs1 while the immediate part was formed of a grey tint inclining to dark4 ,i gazed astonished at the varied colours they displayed4 ,the nearer masses burned with flames of sunset2 the more remote blushed with a blaze of crimson less afire4 ,oh1 how splendidly did ,nature's pencil treat and dispose that airy landscape1 keeping the sky apart from the palaces1 just as ,titian does6 ,on one side the heavens showed a greenish-blue1 on another a bluish-green1 invented verily by the caprice of ,nature1 who is mistress of the greatest masters4 ,with her lights and her darks1 there she was harmonising1 toning1 and bringing out into relief1 just as she wished4 ,seeing which1 ,i who know that your pencil is the spirit of her inmost soul1 cried aloud thrice or four tines1 ',oh1 ,titian6 where are you now8' ,in order to understand the destiny of ,venice in art1 it is not enough to concentrate attention on the peculiarities of her physical environment4 ,potent as these were in the creation of her style1 the political and social conditions of the ,republic require also to be taken into account4 ,among ,italian cities ,venice was unique4 ,she alone was tranquil in her empire1 unimpeded in her constitutional development1 independent of ,church interference1 undisturbed by the cross purposes and intrigues of the ,despots1 inhabited by merchants who were princes1 and by a free-born people who had never seen war at their gates4 ,the serenity of undisturbed security1 the luxury of wealth amassed abroad and liberally spent at home1 gave a physiognomy of ease and proud self-confidence to all her edifices4 ,the grim and anxious struggles of the ,middle ,ages left no mark on ,venice4 ,how different was this town from ,florence1 every inch of whose domain could tell of civic warfare1 whose passionate aspirations after independence ended in the despotism of the bourgeois ,medici1 whose repeated revolutions had slavery for their climax1 whose grey palaces bore on their fronts the stamp of mediaeval vigilance1 whose spirit was incarnated in ,dante the exile1 whose enslavement forced from ,michael ,angelo those groans of a chained ,titan expressed in the marbles of ,s4 ,lorenzo6 ,it is not an insignificant1 though a slight1 detail1 that the predominant colour of ,florence is brown1 while the predominant colour of ,venice is that of mother-of-pearl1 concealing within its general whiteness every tint that can be placed upon the palette of a painter4 ,the conditions of ,florence stimulated mental energy and turned the forces of the soul inwards4 ,those of ,venice inclined the individual to accept life as he found it4 ,instead of exciting him to think1 they disposed him to enjoy1 or to acquire by industry the means of manifold enjoyment4 ,to represent in art the intellectual strivings of the ,renaissance was the task of ,florence and her sons2 to create a monument of ,renaissance magnificence was the task of ,venice4 ,without ,venice the modern world could not have produced that flower of sensuous and unreflective loveliness in painting1 which is worthy to stand beside the highest product of the ,greek genius in sculpture4 ,for ,athena from her ,parthenon stretches the hand to ,venezia enthroned in the ducal palace4 ,the broad brows and earnest eyes of the ,hellenic goddess are of one divine birth and lineage with the golden hair and superb carriage of the sea-queen4 ,it is in the heart of ,venice1 in the ,house of the ,republic1 that the ,venetian painters1 considered as the interpreters of worldly splendour1 fulfilled their function with the most complete success4 ,centuries contributed to make the ,ducal ,palace what it is4 ,the massive colonnades and ,gothic loggias of the external basement date from the thirteenth century2 their sculpture belongs to the age when ,niccola ,pisano's genius was in the ascendant4 ,the square fabric of the palace1 so beautiful in the irregularity of its pointed windows1 so singular in its mosaic diaper of pink and white1 was designed at the same early period4 ,the inner court and the faade that overhangs the lateral canal1 display the handiwork of ,sansovino4 ,the halls of the palace--spacious chambers where the ,senate assembled1 where ambassadors approached the ,doge1 where the ,savi deliberated1 where the ,council of ,ten conducted their inquisition--are walled and roofed with pictures of inestimable value1 encased in framework of carved oak2 overlaid with burnished gold4 ,supreme art--the art of the imagination perfected with delicate and skilful care in detail--is made in these proud halls the minister of mundane pomp4 ,in order that the gold brocade of the ducal robes1 that the scarlet and crimson of the ,venetian senator1 might1 be duly harmonised by the richness of their surroundings1 it was necessary that canvases measured by the square yard1 and rendered priceless by the authentic handiwork of ,titian1 ,tintoret1 and ,veronese1 should glow upon the walls and ceilings4 ,a more insolent display of public wealth--a more lavish outpouring of human genius in the service of ,state pageantry1 cannot be imagined4 ,sublime over all allegories and histories depicted in those multitudes of paintings1 sits ,venezia herself enthroned and crowned1 the personification of haughtiness and power4 ,figured as a regal lady1 with yellow hair tightly knotted round a small head poised upon her upright throat and ample shoulders1 ,venice takes her chair of sovereignty--as mistress of the ocean to whom ,neptune and the ,tritons offer pearls1 as empress of the globe at whose footstool wait ,justice with the sword and ,peace with the olive branch1 as a queen of heaven exalted to the clouds4 ,they have made her a goddess1 those great painters2 they have produced a mythus1 and personified in native loveliness that bride of the sea1 their love1 their lady4 ,the beauty of ,venetian women and the glory of ,venetian empire find their meeting point in her1 and live as the spirit of ,athens lived in ,pallas ,promachos4 ,on every side1 above1 around1 wherever the eye falls in those vast rooms1 are seen the deeds of ,venice--painted histories of her triumphs over emperors and popes and infidels1 or allegories of her greatness--scenes wherein the ,doges perform acts of faith1 with ,s4 ,mark for their protector1 and with ,venezia for their patroness4 ,the saints in ,paradise1 massed together by ,tintoretto and by ,palma1 mingle with mythologies of ,greece and ,rome1 and episodes of pure idyllic painting4 ,religion in these pictures was a matter of parade1 an adjunct to the costly public life of the ,republic4 ,we need not1 therefore1 conclude that it was unreal4 ,such as it was1 the religion of the ,venetian masters is indeed as genuine as that of ,fra ,angelico or ,albert ,drer4 ,but it was the faith1 not of humble men or of mystics1 not of profound thinkers or ecstatic visionaries1 so much as of courtiers and statesmen1 of senators and merchants1 for whom religion was a function among other functions1 not a thing apart1 not a source of separate and supreme vitality4 ,even as ,christians1 the ,venetians lived a life separate from the rest of ,italy4 ,their ,church claimed independence of the see of ,rome1 and the enthusiasm of ,s4 ,francis was but faintly felt in the lagoons4 ,siena in her hour of need dedicated herself to ,madonna2 ,florence in the hour of her regeneration gave herself to ,christ2 ,venice remained under the ensign of the leonine ,s4 ,mark4 ,while the cities of ,lombardy and ,central ,italy ran wild with revivalism and religious panics1 the ,venetians maintained their calm1 and never suffered piety to exceed the limits of political prudence4 ,there is1 therefore1 no mystical exaltation in the faith depicted by her artists4 ,that ,tintoretto could have painted the saints in glory--a countless multitude of congregated forms1 a sea whereof the waves are souls--as a background for ,state ceremony1 shows the positive and realistic attitude of mind from which the most imaginative of ,venetian masters started1 when he undertook the most exalted of religious themes4 ,paradise is a fact1 we may fancy ,tintoretto reasoned2 and it is easier to fill a quarter of an acre of canvas with a picture of ,paradise than with any other subject1 because the figures can be arranged in concentric tiers round ,christ and ,madonna in glory4 ,there is a little sketch by ,guardi representing a masked ball in the ,council ,chamber where the ,paradise of ,tintoretto fills a wall4 ,the men are in periwigs and long waistcoats2 the ladies wear hoops1 patches1 fans1 high heels1 and powder4 ,bowing1 promenading1 intriguing1 exchanging compliments or repartees1 they move from point to point2 while from the billowy surge of saints1 ,moses with the table of the law and the ,magdalen with her adoring eyes of penitence look down upon them4 ,tintoretto could not but have foreseen that the world of living pettiness and passion would perpetually jostle with his world of painted sublimities and sanctities in that vast hall4 ,yet he did not on that account shrink from the task or fail in its accomplishment4 ,paradise existed3 therefore it could be painted2 and he was called upon to paint it here4 ,if the fine gentlemen and ladies below felt out of harmony with the celestial host1 so much the worse for them4 ,in this practical spirit the ,venetian masters approached religious art1 and such was the sphere appointed for it in the pageantry of the ,republic4 ,when ,paolo ,veronese was examined by the ,holy ,office respecting some supposed irreverence in a sacred picture1 his answers clearly proved that in planning it he had thought less of its spiritual significance than of its aesthetic effect4#bfg ,in the ,ducal ,palace the ,venetian art of the ,renaissance culminates2 and here we might pause a moment to consider the difference between these paintings and the mediaeval frescoes of the ,palazzo ,pubblico at ,siena4#bfh ,the ,sienese painters consecrated all their abilities to the expression of thoughts1 theories of political self-government in a free ,state1 and devotional ideas4 ,the citizen who read the lesson of the ,sala della ,pace was instructed in his duties to ,god and to the ,state4 ,the ,venetian painters1 as we have seen1 exalted ,venice and set forth her acts of power4 ,their work is a glorification of the ,republic2 but no doctrine is inculcated1 and no system of thought is conveyed to the mind through the eye4 ,daily pacing the saloons of the palace1 ,doge and noble were reminded of the greatness of the ,state they represented4 ,they were not invited to reflect upon the duties of the governor and governed4 ,their imaginations were dilated and their pride roused by the spectacle of ,venice seated like a goddess in her home4 ,of all the secular ,states of ,italy the ,republic of ,s4 ,mark's alone produced this mythical ideal of the body politic1 self-sustained and independent of the citizens1 compelling their allegiance1 and sustaining them through generations with the life of its organic unity4#bfi ,the artists had no reason to paint thoughts and theories4 ,it was enough to set forth ,venice and to illustrate her acts4 ,long before ,venetian painting reached a climax in the decorative triumphs of the ,ducal ,palace1 the masters of the school had formed a style expressive of the spirit of the ,renaissance1 considered as the spirit of free enjoyment and living energy4 ,to trace the history of ,venetian painting is to follow through its several stages the growth of that mastery over colour and sensuous beauty which was perfected in the works of ,titian and his contemporaries4#bgj ,under the ,vivarini of ,murano the ,venetian school in its infancy began with a selection from the natural world of all that struck them as most brilliant4 ,no other painters of their age in ,italy employed such glowing colours1 or showed a more marked predilection for the imitation of fruits1 rich stuffs1 architectural canopies1 jewels1 and landscape backgrounds4 ,their piety1 unlike the mysticism of the ,sienese and the deep thought of the ,florentine masters1 is somewhat superficial and conventional4 ,the merit of their devotional pictures consists of simplicity1 vivacity1 and joyousness4 ,our ,lady and her court of saints seem living and breathing upon earth4 ,there is no atmosphere of tranced solemnity surrounding them1 like that which gives peculiar meaning to similar works of the ,van ,eycks and ,memling--artists1 by the way1 who in many important respects are more nearly allied than any others to the spirit of the first age of ,venetian painting4#bga ,what the ,vivarini began1 the three ,bellini1#bgb with ,crivelli1 ,carpaccio1 ,mansueti1 ,basaiti1 ,catena1 ,cima da ,conegliano1 ,bissolo1 ,cordegliaghi1 continued4 ,bright costumes1 distinct and sunny landscapes1 broad backgrounds of architecture1 large skies1 polished armour1 gilded cornices1 young faces of fisherboys and country girls1#bgc grave faces of old men brown with sea-wind and sunlight1 withered faces of women hearty in a hale old age1 the strong manhood of ,venetian senators1 the dignity of patrician ladies1 the gracefulness of children1 the rosy whiteness and amber-coloured tresses of the daughters of the ,adriatic and lagoons--these are the source of inspiration to the ,venetians of the second period4 ,mantegna1 a few miles distant1 at ,padua1 was working out his ideal of severely classical design4 ,yet he scarcely touched the manner of the ,venetians with his influence1 though ,gian ,bellini was his brother-in-law and pupil1 and though his genius1 in grasp of matter and in management of composition1 soared above his neighbours4 ,lionardo da ,vinci at ,milan was perfecting his problems of psychology in painting1 offering to the world solutions of the greatest difficulties in the delineation of the spirit by expression4 ,yet not a trace of ,lionardo's subtle play of light and shadow upon thoughtful features can be discerned in the work of the ,bellini4 ,for them the mysteries of the inner and the outer world had no attraction4 ,the externals of a full and vivid existence fascinated their imagination4 ,their poetry and their piety were alike simple and objective4 ,how to depict the world as it is seen--a miracle of varying lights and melting hues1 a pageant substantial to the touch and concrete to the eyes1 a combination of forms defined by colours more than outlines--was their task4 ,they did not reach their end by anatomy1 analysis1 and reconstruction4 ,they undertook to paint just what they felt and saw4 ,very instructive are the wall-pictures of this period1 painted not in fresco but on canvas by ,carpaccio and ,gentile ,bellini1 for the decoration of the ,scuole of ,s4 ,ursula and ,s4 ,croce4#bgd ,not only do these bring before us the life of ,venice in its manifold reality1 but they illustrate the tendency of the ,venetian masters to express the actual world1 rather than to formulate an ideal of the fancy or to search the secrets of the soul4 ,this realism1 if the name can be applied to pictures so poetical as those of ,carpaccio1 is not1 like the ,florentine realism1 hard and scientific4 ,a natural feeling for grace and a sense of romance inspire the artist1 and breathe from every figure that he paints4 ,the type of beauty produced is charming by its negligence and navet2 it is not thought out with pains or toilsomely elaborated4#bge ,among the loveliest motives used in the altar-pieces of this period might be mentioned the boy-angels playing flutes and mandolines beneath ,madonna on the steps of her throne4 ,there are usually three of them1 seated1 or sometimes standing4 ,they hold their instruments of music as though they had just ceased from singing1 and were ready to recommence at the pleasure of their mistress4 ,meanwhile there is a silence in the celestial company1 through which the still voice of the praying heart is heard1 a silence corresponding to the hushed mood of the worshipper4#bgf ,the children are accustomed to the holy place2 therefore their attitudes are both reverent and natural4 ,they are more earthly than ,fra ,angelico's melodists1 and yet they are not precisely of human lineage4 ,it is not1 perhaps1 too much to say that they strike the keynote of ,venetian devotion1 at once real and devoid of pietistic rapture4 ,gian ,bellini brought the art of this second period to completion4 ,in his sacred pictures the reverential spirit of early ,italian painting is combined with a feeling for colour and a dexterity in its manipulation peculiar to ,venice4 ,bellini cannot be called a master of the full ,renaissance4 ,he falls into the same class as ,francia and ,perugino1 who adhered to quattrocento modes of thought and sentiment1 while attaining at isolated points to the freedom of the ,renaissance4 ,in him the colourists of the next age found an absolute teacher2 no one has surpassed him in the difficult art of giving tone to pure tints in combination4 ,there is a picture of ,bellini's in ,s4 ,zaccaria at ,venice--,madonna enthroned with ,saints--where the skill of the colourist may be said to culminate in unsurpassable perfection4 ,the whole painting is bathed in a soft but luminous haze of gold2 yet each figure has its individuality of treatment1 the glowing fire of ,s4 ,peter contrasting with the pearly coolness of the drapery and flesh-tints of the ,magdalen4 ,no brush-work is perceptible4 ,surface and substance have been elaborated into one harmonious richness that defies analysis4 ,between this picture1 so strong in its smoothness1 and any masterpiece of ,velasquez1 so rugged in its strength1 what a wide abyss of inadequate half-achievement1 of smooth feebleness and feeble ruggedness1 exists6 ,giorgione1 did we but possess enough of his authentic works to judge by1 would be found the first painter of the true ,renaissance among the ,venetians1 the inaugurate of the third and great period4#bgg ,he died at the age of thirty-six1 the inheritor of unfulfilled renown4 ,time has destroyed the last vestige of his frescoes4 ,criticism has reduced the number of his genuine easel pictures to half a dozen4 ,he exists as a great name4 ,the part he played in the development of ,venetian art was similar to that of ,marlowe in the history of our drama4 ,he first cut painting altogether adrift from mediaeval moorings1 and launched it on the waves of the ,renaissance liberty4 ,while equal as a colourist to ,bellini1 though in a different and more sensuous region1 ,giorgione1 by the variety and inventiveness of his conception1 proved himself a painter of the calibre of ,titian4 ,sacred subjects he seems to have but rarely treated1 unless such purely idyllic pictures as the ,finding of ,moses in the ,uffizzi1 and the ,meeting of ,jacob and ,rachel at ,dresden deserve the name4 ,allegories of deep and problematic meaning1 the key whereof has to be found in states of the emotion rather than1 in thoughts1 delighted him4 ,he may be said to have invented the ,venetian species of romance picture1 where an episode in a novella forms the motive of the painting4#bgh ,nor was he deficient in tragic power1 as the tremendous study for a ,lucrece in the ,uffizzi collection sufficiently proves4 ,in his drawings he models the form without outline by massive distribution of light and dark4 ,in style they are the very opposite of ,lionardo's clearly defined studies touched with the metal point upon prepared paper4 ,they suggest colouring1 and are indeed the designs of a great colourist1 who saw things under the conditions of their tints and tone4 ,of the undisputed pictures by ,giorgione1 the grandest is the ,monk at the ,clavichord1 in the ,pitti ,palace at ,florence4#bgi ,the young man has his fingers on the keys2 he is modulating in a mood of grave and sustained emotion2 his head is turned away towards an old man standing near him4 ,on the other side of the instrument is a boy4 ,these two figures are but foils and adjuncts to the musician in the middle2 and the whole interest of his face lies in its concentrated feeling--the very soul of music1 as expressed in ,mr4 ,robert ,browning's ,abt ,vogler1 passing through his eyes4 ,this power of painting the portrait of an emotion1 of depicting by the features a deep and powerful but tranquil moment of the inner life1 must have been possessed by ,giorgione in an eminent degree4 ,we find it again in the so-called ,begrssung of the ,dresden ,gallery4#bhj ,the picture is a large landscape1 ,jacob and ,rachel meet and salute each other with a kiss4 ,but the shepherd lying beneath the shadow of a chestnut tree beside a well has a whole ,arcadia of intense yearning in the eyes of sympathy he fixes on the lovers4 ,something of this faculty1 it may be said in passing1 descended to ,bonifazio1 whose romance pictures are among the most charming products of ,venetian art1 and one of whose singing women in the feast of ,dives has the ,giorgionesque fulness of inner feeling4 ,fate has dealt less unkindly with ,titian1 ,tintoret1 and ,veronese than with ,giorgione4 ,the works of these artists1 in whom the ,venetian ,renaissance attained completion1 have been preserved in large numbers and in excellent condition4 ,chronologically speaking1 ,titian1 the contemporary of ,giorgione1 precedes ,tintoretto1 and ,tintoretto is somewhat earlier than ,veronese4#bha ,but for the purpose of criticism the three painters may be considered together as the representatives of three marked aspects in the fully developed ,venetian style4 ,tintoretto1 called by the ,italians the thunderbolt of painting1 because of his vehement impulsiveness and rapidity of execution1 soars above his brethren by the faculty of pure imagination4 ,it was he who brought to its perfection the poetry of chiaroscuro1 expressing moods of passion and emotion by brusque lights1 luminous half-shadows1 and semi-opaque darkness1 no less unmistakably than ,beethoven by symphonic modulations4 ,he too engrafted on the calm and natural ,venetian manner something of the ,michael ,angelesque sublimity1 and sought to vary by dramatic movement the romantic motives of his school4 ,in his work1 more than in that of his contemporaries1 ,venetian art ceased to be decorative and idyllic4 ,veronese elevated pageantry to the height of serious art4 ,his domain is noonday sunlight ablaze on sumptuous dresses and ,palladian architecture4 ,where ,tintoretto is dramatic1 he is scenic4 ,titian1 in a wise harmony1 without either the schylean fury of ,tintoretto1 or the material gorgeousness of ,veronese1 realised an ideal of pure beauty4 ,continuing the traditions of ,bellini and ,giorgione1 with a breadth of treatment1 and a vigour of well-balanced faculties peculiar to himself1 ,titian gave to colour in landscape and the human form a sublime yet sensuous poetry no other painter in the world has reached4 ,tintoretto and ,veronese are1 both of them1 excessive4 ,the imagination of ,tintoretto is too passionate and daring2 it scathes and blinds like lightning4 ,the sense of splendour in ,veronese is overpoweringly pompous4 ,titian's exquisite humanity1 his large and sane nature1 gives proper value to the imaginative and the scenic elements of the ,venetian style1 without exaggerating either4 ,in his masterpieces thought1 colour1 sentiment1 and composition--the spiritual and technical elements of art--exist in perfect balance2 one harmonious tone is given to all the parts of his production1 nor can it be said that any quality asserts itself to the injury of the rest4 ,titian1 the ,sophocles of painting1 has infused into his pictures the spirit of music1 the ,dorian mood of flutes and soft recorders1 making power incarnate in a form of grace4 ,round these great men are grouped a host of secondary but distinguished painters--,palma with his golden-haired large-bosomed sirens2 idyllic ,bonifazio2 dramatic ,pordenone1 whose frescoes are all motion and excitement2 ,paris ,bordone1 who mingled on his canvas cream and mulberry juice and sunbeams2 the ,robusti1 the ,caliari1 the ,bassani1 and others whom it would be tedious to mention4 ,one breath1 one afflatus1 inspired them all2 and it is due to this coherence in their style and inspiration that the school of ,venice1 taken as a whole1 can show more masterpieces by artists of the second class than any other in ,italy4 ,superior or inferior as they may relatively be among themselves1 each bears the indubitable stamp of the ,venetian ,renaissance1 and produces work of a quality that raises him to high rank among the painters of the world4 ,in the same way the spirit of the ,renaissance1 passing over the dramatists of our ,elizabethan age1 enabled intellects of average force to take rank in the company of the noblest4 ,ford1 ,massinger1 ,heywood1 ,decker1 ,webster1 ,fletcher1 ,tourneur1 ,marston1 are seated round the throne at the feet of ,shakspere1 ,marlowe1 and ,jonson4 ,in order to penetrate the characteristics of ,venetian art more thoroughly1 it will be needful to enter into detailed criticism of the three chief masters who command the school4 ,to begin with ,veronese4 ,his canvases are nearly always large--filled with figures of the size of life1 massed together in groups or extended in long lines beneath white marble colonnades1 which enclose spaces of clear sky and silvery clouds4 ,armour1 shot silks and satins1 brocaded canopies1 banners1 plate1 fruit1 sceptres1 crowns1 all things1 in fact1 that burn and glitter in the sun1 form the habitual furniture of his pictures4 ,rearing horses1 dogs1 dwarfs1 cats1 when occasion serves1 are used to add reality1 vivacity1 grotesqueness to his scenes4 ,his men and women are large1 well proportioned1 vigorous--eminent for pose and gesture rather than for grace or loveliness--distinguished by adult more than adolescent qualities4 ,veronese has no choice type of beauty for either sex4 ,we find in him1 on the contrary1 a somewhat coarse display of animal force in men1 and of superb voluptuousness in women4 ,he prefers to paint women draped in gorgeous raiment1 as if he had not felt the beauty of the nude4 ,their faces are too frequently unrefined and empty of expression4 ,his noblest creatures are men of about twenty-five1 manly1 brawny1 crisp-haired1 full of nerve and blood4 ,in all this ,veronese resembles ,rubens4 ,but he does not1 like ,rubens1 strike us as gross1 sensual1 fleshly2#bhb he remains proud1 powerful1 and frigidly materialistic4 ,he raises neither repulsion nor desire1 but displays with the calm strength of art the empire of the mundane spirit4 ,all the equipage of wealth and worldliness1 the lust of the eye1 and the pride of life--such a vision as the fiend offered to ,christ on the mountain of temptation2 this is ,veronese's realm4 ,again1 he has no flashes of poetic imagination like ,tintoretto2 but his grip on the realities of the world1 his faculty for idealising prosaic magnificence1 is even greater4 ,veronese was precisely the painter suited to a nation of merchants1 in whom the associations of the counting-house and the exchange mingled with the responsibilities of the ,senate and the passions of princes4 ,he never portrayed vehement emotions4 ,there are no brusque movements1 no extended arms1 like those of ,tintoretto's ,magdalen in the ,piet at ,milan1 in his pictures4 ,his ,christs and ,maries and martyrs of all sorts are composed1 serious1 courtly1 well-fed personages1 who1 like people of the world accidentally overtaken by some tragic misfortune1 do not stoop to distortions or express more than a grave surprise1 a decorous sense of pain4#bhc ,his angelic beings are equally earthly4 ,the ,venetian ,rothschilds no doubt preferred the ceremonial to the imaginative treatment of sacred themes2 and to do him justice1 ,veronese did not make what would in his case have been the mistake of choosing the tragedies of the ,bible for representation4 ,it is the story of ,esther1 with its royal audiences1 coronations1 and processions2 the marriage feast at ,cana2 the banquet in the house of ,levi1 that he selects by preference4 ,even these themes he removes into a region far from ,biblical associations4 ,his mise en scne is invariably borrowed from luxurious ,italian palaces--large open courts and loggie1 crowded with guests and lacqueys--tables profusely laden with gold and silver plate4 ,the same love of display led him to delight in allegory--not allegory of the deep and mystic kind1 but of the pompous and processional1 in which ,venice appears enthroned among the deities1 or ,jupiter fulminates against the vices1 or the genii of the arts are personified as handsome women and blooming boys4 ,in dealing with mythology1 again1 it is not its poetry that he touches2 he uses the tale of ,europa1 for example1 as the motive for rich toilettes and delightful landscape1 choosing the moment that has least in it of pathos4 ,these being the prominent features of his style1 it remains to be said that what is really great in ,veronese is the sobriety of his imagination and the solidity of his workmanship4 ,amid so much that is distracting1 he never loses command over his subject2 nor does he degenerate into fulsome rhetoric4 ,tintoretto is not at home in this somewhat vulgar region of ceremonial grandeur4 ,he requires both thought and fancy as the stimulus to his creative effort4 ,he cannot be satisfied with reproducing1 even in the noblest combinations1 merely what he sees around him of resplendent and magnificent4 ,there must be scope for poetry in the conception and for audacity in the projection of his subject1 something that shall rouse the prophetic faculty and evoke the seer in the artist1 or ,tintoretto does not rise to his own altitude4 ,accordingly we find that1 in contrast with ,veronese1 he selects by preference the most tragic and dramatic subjects to be found in sacred history4 ,the ,crucifixion1 with its agonising deity and prostrate groups of women1 sunk below the grief of tears2--the ,temptation in the wilderness1 with its passionate contrast of the grey-robed ,man of ,sorrows and the ruby-winged1 voluptuous fiend2--the ,temptation of ,adam in ,eden1 a glowing allegory of the fascination of the spirit by the flesh2--,paradise1 a tempest of souls1 whirled like ,lucretian atoms or gold dust in sunbeams by the celestial forces that perform the movement of the spheres2--the ,destruction of the world1 where all the fountains and rivers and lakes and seas of earth have formed one cataract1 that thunders with cities and nations on its rapids down a bottomless gulf2 while all the winds and hurricanes of the air have grown into one blast1 that carries men like dead leaves up to judgment2--the ,plague of the fiery serpents1 with multitudes encoiled and writhing on a burning waste of sand2--the ,massacre of the ,innocents1 with its spilth of blood on slippery pavements of porphyry and serpentine2--the ,delivery of the tables of the law to ,moses amid clouds on ,sinai1 a white ascetic1 lightning-smitten man emerging in the glory of apparent godhead2--the anguish of the ,magdalen above her martyred ,god2--the solemn silence of ,christ before the throne of ,pilate2--the rushing of the wings of ,seraphim1 and the clangour of the trumpet that awakes the dead2--these are the soul-stirring themes that ,tintoretto handles with the ease of mastery4#bhd ,meditating upon ,tintoretto's choice of such subjects1 we feel that the profoundest characteristic of his genius is the determination toward motives pre-eminently poetic rather than proper to the figurative arts4 ,the poet imagines a situation in which the intellectual or emotional life is paramount1 and the body is subordinate4 ,the painter selects situations in which physical form is of the first importance1 and a feeling or a thought is suggested4 ,but ,tintoretto grapples immediately with poetical ideas2 and he often fails to realise them fully through the inadequacy of painting as a medium for such matter4 ,moses1 in the drama of the ,golden ,calf1 for instance1 is a poem1 not a true picture4#bhe ,the pale ecstatic stretching out emaciated arms1 presents no beauty of attitude or outline4 ,energy of thought is conspicuous in the figure2 and reflection is needed to bring out the purpose of the painter4#bhf ,it is not1 however1 only in the region of the vast1 tempestuous1 and tragic that ,tintoretto finds himself at home4 ,he is equal to every task that can be imposed upon the imagination4 ,provided only that the spiritual fount be stirred1 the jet of living water gushes forth1 pure1 inexhaustible1 and limpid4 ,in his ,marriage of ,bacchus and ,ariadne1 that most perfect lyric of the sensuous fancy from which sensuality is absent2#bhg in his ,temptation of ,adam1 that symphony of grey and brown and ivory more lustrous than the hues of sunset2 in his ,miracle of ,s4 ,agnes1 that lamb-like maiden with her snow-white lamb among the soldiers and the priests of ,rome1 ,tintoretto has proved beyond all question that the fiery genius of ,titanic artists can pierce and irradiate the placid and the tender secrets of the soul with more consummate mastery than falls to the lot of those who make tranquillity their special province4#bhh ,paolo ,veronese never penetrated to this inner shrine of beauty1 this ,holiest of ,holies where the spiritual graces dwell4 ,he could not paint waxen limbs1 with silver lights and golden and transparent mysteries of shadow1 like those of ,bacchus1 ,eve1 and ,ariadne4 ,titian himself was powerless to imagine movement like that of ,aphrodite floating in the air1 or of ,madonna adjuring ,christ in the ,paradiso1 or of ,christ ,himself judging by the silent simplicity of his divine attitude the worldly judge at whose tribunal ,he stands1 or of the tempter raising his jewelled arms aloft to dazzle with meretricious brilliancy the impassive ,god above him1 or of ,eve leaning in irresistible seductiveness against the fatal tree1 or of ,s4 ,mark down-rushing through the sky to save the slave that cried to him1 or of the ,mary who has fallen asleep with folded hands from utter lassitude of agony at the foot of the cross4 ,it is in these attitudes1 movements1 gestures1 that ,tintoretto makes the human form an index and symbol of the profoundest1 most tragic1 most delicious thought and feeling of the inmost soul4 ,in daylight radiancy and equable colouring he is surpassed perhaps by ,veronese4 ,in mastery of every portion of his art1 in solidity of execution1 and in unwavering hold upon his subject1 he falls below the level of ,titian4 ,many of his pictures are unworthy of his genius--hurriedly designed1 rapidly dashed upon the canvas1 studied by candlelight from artificial models1 with abnormal effects of light and dark1 hastily daubed with pigments that have not stood the test of time4 ,he was a gigantic improvitsatore3 that is the worst thing we can say of him4 ,but in the swift intuitions of the imagination1 in the purities and sublimities of the prophet-poet's soul1 neither ,veronese nor yet even ,titian can approach him4 ,the greatest difficulty meets the critic who attempts to speak of ,titian4 ,to seize the salient characteristics of an artist whose glory it is to offer nothing over-prominent1 and who keeps the middle path of perfection1 is impossible4 ,as complete health may be termed the absence of obtrusive sensation1 as virtue has been called the just proportion between two opposite extravagances1 so is ,titian's art a golden mean of joy unbroken by brusque movements of the passions--a well-tempered harmony in which no thrilling note suggests the possibility of discord4 ,in his work the world and men cease to be merely what they are2 he makes them what they ought to be3 and this he does by separating what is beautiful in sensuous life from its alloy of painful meditation and of burdensome endeavour4 ,the disease of thought is unknown in his kingdom2 no divisions exist between the spirit and the flesh2 the will is thwarted by no obstacles4 ,when we think of ,titian1 we are irresistibly led to think of music4 ,his ,assumption of ,madonna 7the greatest single oil-painting in the world1 if we except ,raphael's ,madonna di ,san ,sisto7 can best be described as a symphony--a symphony of colour1 where every hue is brought into harmonious combination--a symphony of movement1 where every line contributes to melodious rhythm--a symphony of light without a cloud--a symphony of joy in which the heavens and earth sing ,hallelujah4 ,tintoretto1 in the ,scuola di ,san ,rocco1 painted an ,assumption of the ,virgin with characteristic energy and impulsiveness4 ,a group of agitated men around an open tomb1 a rush of air and clash of seraph wings above1 a blaze of glory1 a woman borne with sideways-swaying figure from darkness into light2--that is his picture1 all brio1 excitement1 speed4 ,quickly conceived1 hastily executed1 this painting 7so far as clumsy restoration suffers us to judge7 bears the impress of its author's impetuous genius4 ,but ,titian worked by a different method4 ,on the earth1 among the ,apostles1 there is action enough and passion2 ardent faces straining upward1 impatient men raising impotent arms and vainly divesting themselves of their mantles1 as though they too might follow her they love4 ,in heaven is radiance1 half eclipsing the archangel who holds the crown1 and revealing the father of spirits in an aureole of golden fire4 ,between earth and heaven1 amid choirs of angelic children1 rises the mighty mother of the faith of ,christ1 who was ,mary and is now a goddess1 ecstatic yet tranquil1 not yet accustomed to the skies1 but far above the grossness and the incapacities of earth4 ,her womanhood is so complete that those for whom the meaning of her ,catholic legend is lost1 may hail in her humanity personified4 ,the grand manner can reach no further than in this picture--serene1 composed1 meditated1 enduring1 yet full of dramatic force and of profound feeling4 ,whatever ,titian chose to touch1 whether it was classical mythology or portrait1 history or sacred subject1 he treated in this large and healthful style4 ,it is easy to tire of ,veronese2 it is possible to be fatigued by ,tintoretto4 ,titian1 like nature1 waits not for moods or humours in the spectator4 ,he gives to the mind joy of which it can never weary1 pleasures that cannot satiate1 a satisfaction not to be repented of1 a sweetness that will not pall4 ,the least instructed and the simple feel his influence as strongly as the wise or learned4 ,in the course of this attempt to describe the specific qualities of ,tintoretto1 ,veronese1 and ,titian1 ,i have been more at pains to distinguish differences than to point out similarities4 ,what they had in common was the ,renaissance spirit as this formed itself in ,venice4 ,nowhere in ,italy was art more wholly emancipated from obedience to ecclesiastical traditions1 without losing the character of genial and natural piety4 ,nowhere was the ,christian history treated with a more vivid realism1 harmonised more simply with pagan mythology1 or more completely purged of mysticism4 ,the ,umbrian devotion felt by ,raphael in his boyhood1 the prophecy of ,savonarola1 and the ,platonism of ,ficino absorbed by ,michael ,angelo at ,florence1 the scientific preoccupations of ,lionardo and the antiquarian interests of ,mantegna1 were all alike unknown at ,venice4 ,among the ,venetian painters there was no conflict between art and religion1 or art and curiosity--no reaction against previous pietism1 no perplexity of conscience1 no confusion of aims4 ,titian1 ,tintoretto1 and ,veronese were children of the people1 men of the world1 men of pleasure2 wealthy1 urbane1 independent1 pious3--they were all these by turns2 but they were never mystics1 scholars1 or philosophers4 ,in their aesthetic ideal religion found a place1 nor was sensuality rejected2 but the religion was sane and manly1 the sensuality was vigorous and virile4 ,not the intellectual greatness of the ,renaissance1 but its happiness and freedom1 was what they represented4 ,,footnotes3 #bfe ,from the beginning of ,julian and ,maddalo1 which relates a ride taken by ,shelley with ,lord ,byron1 on the ,lido1 and their visit to the madhouse on its neighbouring island4 ,the description1 richly coloured and somewhat confused in detail1 seems to me peculiarly true to ,venetian scenery4 ,with the exception of ,tunis1 ,i know of no such theatre for sunset-shows as ,venice4 ,tunis has the same elements of broad lagoons and distant hills1 but not the same vaporous atmosphere4 #bff ,lettere di ,messer ,pietro ,aretino1 ,parigi1 ,,mdcix1 lib4 iii4 p4 #dh4 ,i have made a paraphrase rather than a translation of this rare and curious description4 #bfg ,see ,yriarte1 ,un ,patricien de ,venise1 p4 #dci4 #bfh ,see above1 ,chapter ,,iv1 ,political ,doctrine expressed in ,fresco4 #bfi ,see ,vol4 ,i41 ,age of the ,despots1 p4 #ahc4 #bgj ,i must refer my readers to ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle for an estimate of the influence exercised at ,venice by ,gentile de ,fabriano1 ,john ,alamannus1 and the school of ,squarcione4 ,antonello da ,messina brought his method of oil-painting into the city in #adgj1 and ,gian ,bellini learned something at ,padua from ,andrea ,mantegna4 ,the true point about ,venice1 however1 is that the ,venetian character absorbed1 assimilated1 and converted to its own originality whatever touched it4 #bga ,the conditions of art in ,flanders--wealthy1 bourgeois1 proud1 free--were not dissimilar to those of art in ,venice4 ,the misty flats of ,belgium have some of the atmospheric qualities of ,venice4 ,as ,van ,eyck is to the ,vivarini1 so is ,rubens to ,paolo ,veronese4 ,this expresses the amount of likeness and of difference4 #bgb ,jacopo and his sons ,gentile and ,giovanni4 #bgc ,notice particularly the ,contadina type of ,s4 ,catherine in a picture ascribed to ,cordegliaghi in the ,venetian ,academy4 #bgd ,these ,scuole were the halls of meeting for companies called by the names of patron saints4 #bge ,notice in particular1 from the series of pictures illustrating the legend of ,s4 ,ursula1 the very beautiful faces and figures of the saint herself1 and her young bridegroom1 the ,prince of ,britain4 ,attendant squires and pages in these paintings have all the charm of similar subordinate personages in ,pinturicchio1 with none of his affectation4 #bgf ,the most beautiful of these angiolini1 with long flakes of flaxen hair falling from their foreheads1 are in a ,sacra ,conversazione of ,carpaccio's in the ,academy4 ,gian ,bellini's1 in many similar pictures1 are of the same delicacy4 #bgg ,what follows above about ,giorgione is advanced with diffidence1 since the name of no other great painter has been so freely used to cover the works of his inferiors4 #bgh ,lord ,lansdowne's ,giorgionesque picture of a young man crowned with vine1 playing and singing to two girls in a garden1 for example4 ,the celebrated ,concert of the ,louvre ,gallery1 so charming for its landscape and so voluptuous in its dreamy sense of ,arcadian luxury1 is given by ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle to an imitator of ,sebastian del ,piombo4 ,see ,history of ,painting in ,north ,italy1 vol4 ii4 p4 #adg4 #bgi ,under the fire of ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle's destructive criticism1 it would require more real courage than ,i possess to speak of the ,entombment in the ,monte di ,piet at ,treviso as genuine4 ,coarse and unselect as are the types of the boy angels1 as well as of the young athletic giant1 who plays the part in it of the dead ,christ1 this is a truly grandiose and striking picture4 ,nothing proves the average greatness of the ,venetian masters more than the possibility of attributing such compositions to obscure and subordinate craftsmen of the school4 #bhj ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle assign this picture with some confidence and with fair show of reason1 to ,cariani1 on whom again they father the frescoes at ,colleoni's ,castle of ,malpaga4 ,i have ventured to notice it above in connection with ,giorgione1 since it exhibits some of the most striking ,giorgionesque qualities1 and shows the ascendency of his imagination over the ,venetian ,school4 #bha ,giorgione1 b4 #adgh2 d4 #aeaa4 ,titian1 b4 #adgg1 d4 #aegf4 ,tintoretto1 b4 #aeab2 d4 #aeid4 ,veronese1 b4 #aecj2 d4 #aehh4 #bhb ,i cannot1 for example1 imagine ,veronese painting anything like ,rubens' two pictures of the ,last ,judgment at ,munich4 #bhc ,for his sacred types see the ,marriage at ,cana in the ,louvre1 the little ,crucifixion and the ,baptism of the ,pitti1 and the ,martyrdom of ,s4 ,agata in the ,uffizzi4 #bhd ,these examples are mostly chosen from the ,scuola di ,s4 ,rocco and the church of ,s4 ,maria dell' ,orto at ,venice2 also from ,piets1 in the ,brera and the ,pitti1 the ,paradise of the ,ducal ,palace1 and a sketch for ,paradise in the ,louvre4 #bhe ,s4 ,maria dell' ,orto4 #bhf ,what is here said about ,tintoretto is also true of ,michael ,angelo4 ,his sculpture in ,s4 ,lorenzo1 compared with ,greek sculpture1 the norm and canon of the perfect in that art1 may be called an invasion of the realm of poetry or music4 #bhg ,there are probably not few of my readers who1 after seeing this painting in the ,ducal ,palace1 will agree with me that it is1 if not the greatest1 at any rate the most beautiful1 oil picture in existence4 ,in no other picture has a poem of feeling and of fancy1 a romance of varied lights and shades1 a symphony of delicately blended hues1 a play of attitude and movement transitory but in no sense forced or violent1 been more successfully expressed by means more simple or with effect more satisfying4 ,something of the mythopoeic faculty must have survived in ,tintoretto1 and enabled him to inspire the ,greek tale with this intense vitality of beauty4 #bhh ,the first of these pictures is in the ,ducal ,palace1 the other two in the ,academy at ,venice4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,life ,,of ,,michael ,,angelo ,contrast of ,michael ,angelo and ,cellini--,parentage and ,boyhood of ,michael ,angelo--,work with ,ghirlandajo--,gardens of ,s4 ,marco--,the ,medicean ,circle--,early ,essays in ,sculpture--,visit to ,bologna--,first ,visit to ,rome--,the ,piet of ,s4 ,peter's--,michael ,angelo as a ,patriot and a ,friend of the ,medici--,cartoon for the ,battle of ,pisa--,michael ,angelo and ,julius ,,ii4--,the ,tragedy of the ,tomb--,design for the ,pope's ,mausoleum--,visit to ,carrara--,flight from ,rome--,michael ,angelo at ,bologna--,bronze ,statue of ,julius--,return to ,rome--,ceiling of the ,sistine ,chapel--,greek and ,modern ,art--,raphael--,michael ,angelo and ,leo ,x4--,s4 ,lorenzo--,the new ,sacristy--,circumstances under which it was designed and partly finished--,meaning of the ,allegories--,incomplete state of ,michael ,angelo's ,marbles--,paul ,,iii4--,the ,last ,judgment--,critiques of ,contemporaries--,the ,dome of ,s4 ,peter's--,vittoria ,colonna--,tommaso ,cavalieri--,personal ,habits of ,michael ,angelo--,his ,emotional ,nature--,last ,illness4 ,the life of ,italian artists at the time of the ,renaissance may be illustrated by two biographies4 ,michael ,angelo ,buonarroti and ,benvenuto ,cellini were almost opposite in all they thought and felt1 experienced and aimed at4 ,the one impressed his own strong personality on art2 the other reflected the light and shadow of the age in the record of his manifold existence4 ,cellini hovered1 like some strong-winged creature1 on the surface of human activity1 yielding himself to every impulse1 seeking every pleasure1 and of beauty feeling only the rude animal compulsion4 ,deep philosophic thoughts1 ideas of death and judgment1 the stern struggles of the soul1 encompassed ,michael ,angelo2 the service of beauty was with him religion4 ,cellini was the creature of the moment--the glass and mirror of corrupt1 enslaved1 yet still resplendent ,italy4 ,in ,michael ,angelo the genius of the ,renaissance culminated2 but his character was rather that of an austere ,republican1 free and solitary amid the multitudes of slaves and courtiers4 ,michael ,angelo made art the vehicle of lofty and soul-shaking thought4 ,cellini brought the fervour of an inexhaustibly active nature to the service of sensuality1 and taught his art to be the handmaid of a soulless paganism4 ,in these two men1 therefore1 we study two aspects of their age4 ,how far both were exceptional1 need not here be questioned2 since their singularity consists not so much in being different from other ,italians of the sixteenth century as in concentrating qualities elsewhere scattered and imperfect4 ,michael ,angelo was born in #adge at ,caprese1 among the mountains of the ,casentino1 where his father ,lodovico held the office of ,podest4 ,his ancestry was honourable3 the ,buonarroti even claimed descent1 but apparently without due reason1 from the princely house of ,canossa4#bhi ,his mother gave him to be suckled by a stone-cutter's wife at ,settignano1 so that in after days he used to say that he had drawn in the love of chisels and mallets with his nurse's milk4 ,as he grew1 the boy developed an invincible determination towards the arts4 ,lodovico from motives of pride and prudence opposed his wishes1 but without success4 ,michael ,angelo made friends with the lad ,granacci1 who was apprenticed to ,domenico ,ghirlandajo1 and at last induced his father to sign articles for him to the same painter4 ,in ,ghirlandajo's workshop he learned the rudiments of art1 helping in the execution of the frescoes at ,s4 ,maria ,novella1 until such time as the pupil proved his superiority as a draughtsman to his teacher4 ,the rupture between ,michael ,angelo and ,ghirlandajo might be compared with that between ,beethoven and ,haydn4 ,in both cases a proud1 uncompromising1 somewhat scornful student sought aid from a master great in his own line but inferior in fire and originality of genius4#bij ,in both cases the moment came when pupil and teacher perceived that the eagle could no longer be confined within the hawk's nest1 and that henceforth it must sweep the skies alone4 ,after leaving ,ghirlandajo's bottega at the age of sixteen1 ,michael ,angelo did in truth thenceforward through his life pursue his art alone4 ,granacci procured him an introduction to the ,medici1 and the two friends together frequented those gardens of ,s4 ,marco where ,lorenzo had placed his collection of antiquities4 ,there the youth discovered his vocation4 ,having begged a piece of marble and a chisel1 he struck out the ,faun's mask that still is seen in the ,bargello4 ,it is worth noticing that ,michael ,angelo seems to have done no merely prentice-work4 ,not a fragment of his labour from the earliest to the latest was insignificant1 and only such thoughts as he committed to the perishable materials of bronze or paper have been lost4 ,there was nothing tentative in his genius4 ,into art1 as into a rich land1 he came and conquered4 ,in like manner1 the first sonnet composed by ,dante is scarcely less precious than the last lines of the ,paradiso4 ,this is true of all the highest artistic natures1 who need no preparations and have no period of groping4 ,lorenzo de' ,medici discerned in ,michael ,angelo a youth of eminent genius1 and took the lad into his own household4 ,the astonished father found himself suddenly provided with a comfortable post and courted for the sake of the young sculptor4 ,in ,lorenzo's palace the real education of ,michael ,angelo began4 ,he sat at the same table with ,ficino1 ,pico1 and ,poliziano1 listening to dialogues on ,plato and drinking in the golden poetry of ,greece4 ,greek literature and philosophy1 expounded by the men who had discovered them1 and who were no less proud of their discovery than ,columbus of his passage to the ,indies1 first moulded his mind to those lofty thoughts which it became the task of his life to express in form4 ,at the same time he heard the preaching of ,savonarola4 ,in the ,duomo and the cloister of ,s4 ,marco another portion of his soul was touched1 and he acquired that deep religious tone which gives its majesty and terror to the ,sistine4 ,much in the same way was ,milton educated by the classics in conjunction with the ,scriptures4 ,both of these austere natures assimilated from pagan art and ,jewish prophecy the twofold elements they needed for their own imaginative life4 ,both ,michael ,angelo and ,milton1 in spite of their parade of classic style1 were separated from the ,greek world by a gulf of ,hebrew and of ,christian feeling4 ,while ,michael ,angelo was thus engaged in studying antique sculpture and in listening to ,pico and ,savonarola1 he carved his first bas-relief--a ,battle of ,hercules with the ,centaurs1 suggested to him by ,poliziano4#bia ,meantime ,lorenzo died4 ,his successor ,piero set the young man1 it is said1 to model a snow statue1 and then melted like a shape of snow himself down from his pedestal of power in ,florence4 ,upon the expulsion of the tyrant and the proclamation of the new republic1 it was dangerous for house-friends of the ,casa ,medici to be seen in the city4 ,michael ,angelo1 therefore1 made his way to ,bologna1 where he spent some months in the palace of ,gian ,francesco ,aldovrandini1 studying ,dante and working at an angel for the shrine of ,s4 ,dominic4 ,as soon1 however1 as it seemed safe to do so1 he returned to ,florence2 and to this period belongs the statue of the ,sleeping ,cupid1 which was sold as an antique to the ,cardinal ,raffaello ,riario4 ,a dispute about the price of this ,cupid took ,michael ,angelo in #adif to ,rome1 where it was destined that the greater portion of his life should he spent1 and his noblest works of art should be produced4 ,here1 while the ,borgias were turning the ,vatican into a den of thieves and harlots1 he executed the purest of all his statues--a ,piet in marble4#bib ,christ is lying dead upon his mother's knees4 ,with her right arm she supports his shoulders2 her left hand is gently raised as though to say1 ,behold and see6 ,all that art can do to make death beautiful and grief sublime1 is achieved in this masterpiece1 which was never surpassed by ,michael ,angelo in later years4 ,already1 at the age of four-and-twenty1 he had matured his terrible manner4 ,already were invented in his brain that race of superhuman beings1 who became the hieroglyphs of his impassioned utterance4 ,madonna has the small head and heroic torso used by this master to symbolise force4 ,we feel she has no difficulty in holding the dead ,christ upon her ample lap and in her powerful arms4 ,yet while the ,piet is wholly ,michael ,angelesque1 we find no lack of repose1 none of those contorted lines that are commonly urged against his manner4 ,it is a sober and harmonious composition1 combining the profoundest religious feeling with classical tranquillity of expression4 ,again1 though the group is forcibly original1 this effect of originality is produced1 as in all the best work of the golden age1 not by new and startling conception1 but by the handling of an old and well-worn motive with the grandeur of consummate style4 ,what the genius of ,italian sculpture had for generations been striving after1 finds its perfect realisation here4 ,it was precisely by thus crowning the endeavours of antecedent artists--by bringing the opening buds of painting and sculpture to full blossom1 and exhausting the resources of a long sustained and common inspiration1 that the great masters proved their supremacy and rendered an advance beyond their vantage ground impossible4 ,to those who saw and comprehended this ,piet in #aejj1 it must have been evident that a new power of portraying the very soul had been manifested in sculpture--a power unknown to the ,greeks because it lay outside the sphere of their spiritual experience1 and unknown to modern artists because it was beyond their faculties of execution and conception4 ,yet who in ,rome1 among the courtiers of the ,borgias1 had brain or heart to understand these things8 ,in #aeja ,michael ,angelo returned to ,florence1 where he stayed until the year #aeje4 ,this period was fruitful of results on which his after fame depended4 ,the great statue of ,david1 the two unfinished medallions of ,madonna in relief1 the ,holy ,family of the ,tribune painted for ,angelo ,doni1 and the ,cartoon of the ,battle of ,pisa were now produced2 and no man's name1 not even ,lionardo's1 stood higher in esteem thenceforward4 ,it will be remembered that ,savonarola was now dead1 but that his constitution still existed under the presidency of ,pietro ,soderini--the non mai abbastanza lodato ,cavaliere1 as ,pitti calls him1 the anima sciocca of ,machiavelli's epigram4#bic ,since ,michael ,angelo at this time was employed in the service of masters who had superseded his old friends and patrons1 it may be well to review here his attitude in general toward the house of ,medici4 ,throughout his lifetime there continued a conflict between the artist and the citizen--the artist owing education and employment to successive members of that house1 the citizen resenting their despotism and doing all that in him lay at times to keep them out of ,florence4 ,as a patriot1 as the student of ,dante and the disciple of ,savonarola1 ,michael ,angelo detested tyrants4#bid ,one of his earliest madrigals1 conceived as a dialogue between ,florence and her exiles1 expresses his mind so decidedly that ,i have ventured to translate it2#bie the exiles first address ,florence1 and she answers3-- ,lady1 for joy of lovers numberless ,thou wast created fair as angels are4 ,sure ,god hath fallen asleep in heaven afar1 ,when one man calls the boon of many his4 ,give back to streaming eyes ,the daylight of ,thy face1 that seems to shun ,those who must live defrauded of their bliss6 ,vex not your pure desire with tears and sighs2 ,for he who robs you of my light1 hath none4 ,dwelling in fear1 sin hath no happiness2 ,since amid those who love1 their joy is less ,whose great desire great plenty still curtails1 ,than theirs who1 poor1 have hope that never fails4 ,as an artist1 owing his advancement to ,lorenzo1 he had accepted favours binding him by ties of gratitude to the ,medici1 and even involving him in the downfall of their house4 ,for ,leo ,x4 he undertook to build the faade of ,s4 ,lorenzo and the ,laurentian ,library4 ,for ,clement ,,vii4 he began the statues of the ,dukes of ,urbino and ,nemours4 ,yet1 while accepting these commissions from ,medicean ,popes1 he could not keep his tongue from speaking openly against their despotism4 ,after the sack of ,prato it appears from his correspondence that he had exposed himself to danger by some expression of indignation4#bif ,this was in #aeab1 when ,soderini fled and left the gates of ,florence open to the ,cardinal ,giovanni de' ,medici4 ,during the siege of ,florence in #aebi he fortified ,samminiato1 and allowed himself to be named one of the ,otto di ,guerra chosen for the express purpose of defending ,florence against the ,medici4#big ,after the fall of the city he made peace with ,clement by consenting to finish the tombs of ,s4 ,lorenzo4 ,yet1 while doing all he could to save those insignificant dukes from oblivion by the immortality of his art1 ,michael ,angelo was conscious of his own and his country's shame4 ,the memorable lines placed in the mouth of his ,night1 sufficiently display his feeling after the final return of the ,medici in #aecj3bih-- ,sweet is my sleep1 but more to be mere stone1 ,so long as ruin and dishonour reign2 ,to hear nought1 to feel nought1 is my great gain3 ,then wake me not1 speak in an under-tone4 ,when ,clement ,,vii4 died1 the last real representative of ,michael ,angelo's old patrons perished1 and the sculptor was free to quit ,florence for ever4 ,during the reign of ,duke ,cosimo he never set foot in his native city4 ,it is thus clear that the patriot1 the artist1 and the man of honour were at odds in him4 ,loyalty obliged him to serve the family to whom he owed so much2 he was1 moreover1 dependent for opportunities of doing great work on the very men whose public policy he execrated4 ,hence arose a compromise and a confusion1 hard to accommodate with our conception of his upright and unyielding temper4 ,only by voluntary exile1 and after age had made him stubborn to resist seductive offers1 could ,michael ,angelo act up to the promptings of his heart and declare himself a citizen who held no truce with tyrants4 ,i have already in this work had occasion to compare ,dante1 ,michael ,angelo1 and ,machiavelli4#bii ,in estimating the conduct of the two last1 it must not be forgotten that1 by the action of inevitable causes1 republican freedom had become in ,italy a thing of the past2 and in judging between ,machiavelli and ,michael ,angelo1 we have to remember that the sculptor's work involved no sacrifice of principle or self-respect4 ,carving statues for the tombs of ,medicean dukes was a different matter from dedicating the ,prince to them4 ,this digression1 though necessary for the right understanding of ,michael ,angelo's relation to the ,medici1 has carried me beyond his ,florentine residence in #aeja-aeje4 ,the great achievement of that period was not the ,david but the ,cartoon for the ,battle of ,pisa4#cjj ,the hall of the ,consiglio ,grande had been opened1 and one wall had been assigned to ,lionardo4 ,michael ,angelo was now invited by the ,signory to prepare a design for another side of the state-chamber4 ,when he displayed his cartoon to the ,florentines1 they pronounced that ,da ,vinci1 hitherto the undisputed prince of painting1 was surpassed4 ,it is impossible for us to form an opinion on this matter1 since both cartoons are lost beyond recovery4#cja ,we only know that1 as ,cellini says1 while they lasted1 they formed the school of the whole world1#cjb and made an epoch in the history of art4 ,when we inquire what was the subject of ,michael ,angelo's famous picture1 we find that he had aimed at representing nothing of more moment than a group of soldiers suddenly surprised by a trumpet-call to battle1 while bathing in the ,arno--a crowd of naked men in every posture indicating haste1 anxiety1 and struggle4 ,not for its intellectual meaning1 not for its colour1 not for its sentiment1 was this design so highly prized4 ,its science won the admiration of artists and the public4 ,at this period of the ,renaissance the bold and perfect drawing of the body gave an exquisite delight4 ,hence1 perhaps1 ,vasari's vapid talk about stravaganti attitudini1 divine figure1 scorticamenti1 and so forth--as if the soul of figurative art were in such matters4 ,the science of ,michael ,angelo1 which in his own mind was sternly subordinated to thought1 had already turned the weaker heads of his generation4#cjc ,a false ideal took possession of the fancy1 and such criticism as that of ,vasari and ,pietro ,aretino became inevitable4 ,meanwhile1 a new ,pope had been elected1 and in #aeje ,michael ,angelo was once more called to ,rome4 ,throughout his artist's life he oscillated thus between ,rome and ,florence--,florence the city of his ancestry1 and ,rome the city of his soul2 ,florence where he learnt his art1 and ,rome where he displayed what art can do of highest4 ,julius was a patron of different stamp from ,lorenzo the ,magnificent4 ,he was not learned in book-lore3 ,place a sword in my hand6 he said to the sculptor at ,bologna3 of letters ,i know nothing4 ,yet he was no less capable of discerning excellence than the ,medici himself1 and his spirit strove incessantly after the accomplishment of vast designs4 ,between ,julius and ,michael ,angelo there existed a strong bond of sympathy due to community of temperament4 ,both aimed at colossal achievements in their respective fields of action4 ,the imagination of both was fired by large and simple1 rather than luxurious and subtle thoughts4 ,both were uomini terribili1 to use a phrase denoting vigour of character made formidable by an abrupt uncompromising temper4 ,both worked con furia1 with the impetuosity of daemonic natures2 and both left the impress of their individuality graven indelibly upon their age4 ,julius ordered the sculptor to prepare his mausoleum4 ,michael ,angelo asked1 ,where am ,i to place it8 ,julius replied1 ,in ,s4 ,peter's4 ,but the old basilica of ,christendom was too small for this ambitious pontiff's sepulchre1 designed by the audacious artist4 ,it was therefore decreed that a new ,s4 ,peter's should be built to hold it4 ,in this way the two great labours of ,buonarroti's life were mapped out for him in a moment4 ,but1 by a strange contrariety of fate1 to ,bramante and ,san ,gallo fell respectively the planning and the spoiling of ,s4 ,peter's4 ,it was only in extreme old age that ,michael ,angelo crowned it with that world's miracle1 the dome4 ,the mausoleum1 to form a canopy for which the building was designed1 dwindled down at last to the statue of ,moses thrust out of the way in the church of ,s4 ,pietro in ,vincoli4 ,la tragedia della ,sepoltura1 as ,condivi aptly terms the history of ,giulio's monument1 began thus in #aeje and dragged on till #aede4cjd ,rarely did ,michael ,angelo undertake a work commensurate with his creative power1 but something came to interrupt its execution2 while tasks outside his sphere1 for which he never bargained--the painting of the ,sistine ,chapel1 the faade of ,s4 ,lorenzo1 the fortification of ,samminiato--were thrust upon him in the midst of other more congenial labours4 ,what we possess of his achievement1 is a torso of his huge designs4 ,giulio's tomb1 as he conceived it1 would have been the most stupendous monument of sculpture in the world4#cje ,that mountain of marble covered with figures wrought in stone and bronze1 was meant to be the sculptured poem of the thought of ,death2 no mere apotheosis of ,pope ,julius1 but a pageant of the soul triumphant over the limitations of mortality4 ,all that dignifies humanity--arts1 sciences1 and laws2 the victory that crowns heroic effort2 the majesty of contemplation1 and the energy of action--was symbolised upon ascending tiers of the great pyramid2 while the genii of heaven and earth upheld the open tomb1 where lay the dead man waiting for the ,resurrection4 ,of this gigantic scheme only one imperfect drawing now remains4#cjf ,the ,moses and the ,bound ,captives#cjg are all that ,michael ,angelo accomplished4 ,for forty years the ,moses remained in his workshop4 ,for forty years he cherished a hope that his plan might still in part be executed1 complaining the while that it would have been better for him to have made sulphur matches all his life than to have taken up the desolating artist's trade4 ,every day1 he cries1 ,i am stoned as though ,i had crucified ,christ4 ,my youth has been lost1 bound hand and foot to this tomb4#cjh ,it was decreed apparently that ,michael ,angelo should exist for after ages as a fragment2 and such might ,pheidias among the ,greeks have been1 if he had worked for ephemeral ,popes and bankrupt princes instead of ,pericles4 ,italy in the sixteenth century1 dislocated1 distracted1 and drained of her material resources1 gave no opportunity to artists for the creation of monuments colossal in their unity4 ,michael ,angelo spent eight months at this period among the stone quarries of ,carrara1 selecting marble for the ,pope's tomb4#cji ,there his brain1 always teeming with gigantic conceptions1 suggested to him a new fancy4 ,could not the headland jutting out beyond ,sarzana into the ,tyrrhene ,sea be carved by his workmen into a ,pharos8 ,to transmute a mountain into a statue1 holding a city in either hand1 had been the dream of a ,greek artist4 ,michael ,angelo revived the bold thought2 but to execute it would have been almost beyond his power4 ,meanwhile1 in ,november #aeje1 the marble was shipped1 and the quays of ,rome were soon crowded with blocks destined for the mausoleum4 ,but when the sculptor arrived1 he found that enemies had been poisoning the ,pope's mind against him1 and that ,julius had abandoned the scheme of the mausoleum4 ,on six successive days he was denied entrance to the ,vatican1 and the last time with such rudeness that he determined to quit ,rome4#caj ,he hurried straightway to his house1 sold his effects1 mounted1 and rode without further ceremony toward ,florence1 sending to the ,pope a written message bidding him to seek for ,michael ,angelo elsewhere in future than in ,rome4 ,it is related that ,julius1 anxious to recover what had been so lightly lost1 sent several couriers to bring him back4#caa ,michael ,angelo announced that he intended to accept the ,sultan's commission for building a bridge at ,pera1 and refused to be persuaded to return to ,rome4 ,this was at ,poggibonsi4 ,when he had reached ,florence1 ,julius addressed1 himself to ,soderini1 who1 unwilling to displease the ,pope1 induced ,michael ,angelo to seek the pardon of the master he had so abruptly quitted4 ,by that time ,julius had left the city for the camp2 and when ,michael ,angelo finally appeared before him1 fortified with letters from the ,signory of ,florence1 it was at ,bologna that they met4 ,you have waited thus long1 it seems1 said the ,pope1 well satisfied but surly1 till we should come ourselves to seek you4 ,the prelate who had introduced the sculptor now began to make excuses for him1 whereupon ,julius turned in a fury upon the officious courtier1 and had him beaten from his presence4 ,a few days after this encounter ,michael ,angelo was ordered to cast a bronze statue of ,julius for the frontispiece of ,s4 ,petronio4 ,the sculptor objected that brass-foundry was not his affair4 ,never mind1 said ,julius2 get to work1 and we will cast your statue till it comes out perfect4#cab ,michael ,angelo did as he was bid1 and the statue was set up in #aejh above the great door of the church4 ,the ,pope was seated1 with his right hand raised2 in the other were the keys4 ,when ,julius asked him whether he was meant to bless or curse the ,bolognese with that uplifted hand1 ,buonarroti found an answer worthy of a courtier3 ,your ,holiness is threatening this people1 if it be not wise4 ,less than four years afterwards ,julius lost his hold upon ,bologna1 the party of the ,bentivogli returned to power1 and the statue was destroyed4 ,a bronze cannon1 called the ,giulia1 was made out of ,michael ,angelo's masterpiece by the best gunsmith of his century1 ,alfonso ,duke of ,ferrara4 ,it seems that ,michael ,angelo's flight from ,rome in #aejf was due not only to his disappointment about the tomb1 but also to his fear lest ,julius should give him uncongenial work to do4 ,bramante1 if we may believe the old story1 had whispered that it was ill-omened for a man to build his own sepulchre1 and that it would be well to employ the sculptor's genius upon the ceiling of the ,sistine ,chapel4 ,accordingly1 on his return to ,rome in #aejh1 this new task was allotted him4 ,in vain did ,michael ,angelo remind his master of the months wasted in the quarries of ,carrara2 in vain he pointed to his designs for the monument1 and pleaded that he was not a painter by profession4#cac ,julius had made up his mind that he should paint the ,sistine4 ,was not the cartoon at ,florence a sufficient proof that he could do this if he chose1 and had he not learned the art of fresco in the bottega of his master ,ghirlandajo8 ,whatever his original reluctance may have been1 it was speedily overcome2 and the cartoons for the ceiling1 projected with the unity belonging to a single great conception1 were ready by the summer of #aejh4cad ,the difficulty of his new task aroused the artist's energy4 ,if we could accept the legend1 whereby contemporaries expressed their admiration for this ,titanic labour1 we should have to believe the impossible--that ,michael ,angelo ground his own colours1 prepared his own plaster1 and completed with his own hand the whole work1 after having first conquered the obstacles of scaffolding and vault-painting by machines of his own invention1#cae and that only twenty months were devoted to the execution of a series of paintings almost unequalled in their delicacy1 and surpassed by few single masterpieces in extent4 ,what may be called the mythus of the ,sistine ,chapel has at last been finally disproved1 partly by the personal observations of ,mr4 ,heath ,wilson1 and partly by the publication of ,michael ,angelo's correspondence4#caf ,though some uncertainty remains as to the exact dates of the commencement and completion of the vault1 we now know that ,michael ,angelo continued painting it at intervals during four successive years2 and though we are not accurately informed about his helpers1 we no longer can doubt that able craftsmen yielded him assistance4 ,on ,may #aj1 #aejh1 he signed a receipt for five hundred ducats advanced by ,julius for the necessary expenses of the undertaking2 and on the next day he paid ten ducats to a mason for rough plastering and surface-finishing applied to the vault4 ,there is good reason to believe that he began his painting during the autumn of #aejh4 ,on ,november #a1 #aeji1 a certain portion was uncovered to the public2 and before the end of the year #aeab the whole was completed4 ,thus1 though the legend of ,vasari and ,condivi has been stripped of the miraculous by careful observation and keen-sighted criticism1 enough remains to justify the sense of wonder that expressed itself in their exaggerated statements4 ,no one but ,michael ,angelo could have done what he did in the ,sistine ,chapel4 ,the conception was entirely his own4 ,the execution1 except in subordinate details and in matters pertaining to the mason's craft1 was also his4 ,the rapidity with which he laboured was astounding4 ,mr4 ,heath ,wilson infers from the condition of the plaster and the joinings observable in different parts1 that the figure of ,adam1 highly finished as it is1 was painted in three days4 ,nor need we strip the romance from that time-honoured tale of the great master's solitude4 ,lying on his back beneath the dreary vault1 communing with ,dante1 ,savonarola1 and the ,hebrew prophets in the intervals of labour1 locking up the chapel-doors in order to elude the jealous curiosity of rivals1 eating but little and scarcely sleeping1 he accomplished in sixteen months the first part of his gigantic task4#cag ,from time to time ,julius climbed the scaffold and inspected the painter's progress4 ,dreading lest death should come before the work were finished1 he kept crying1 ,when will you make an end8 ,when ,i can1 answered the painter4 ,you seem to want1 rejoined the petulant old man1 that ,i should have you thrown down from the scaffold4 ,then ,michael ,angelo's brush stopped4 ,the machinery was removed1 and the frescoes were uncovered in their incompleteness to the eyes of ,rome4 ,entering the ,cappella ,sistina1 and raising our eyes to sweep the roof1 we have above us a long and somewhat narrow oblong space1 vaulted with round arches1 and covered from end to end1 from side to side1 with a network of human forms4 ,the whole is coloured like the dusky1 tawny1 blueish clouds of thunderstorms4 ,there is no luxury of decorative art2--no gold1 no paint-box of vermilion or emerald green1 has been lavished here4 ,sombre and arial1 like shapes condensed from vapour1 or dreams begotten by ,ixion upon mists of eve or dawn1 the phantoms evoked by the sculptor throng that space4 ,nine compositions1 carrying down the sacred history from the creation of light to the beginning of sin in ,noah's household1 fill the central compartments of the roof4 ,beneath these1 seated on the spandrils1 are alternate prophets and sibyls1 twelve in all1 attesting to the future deliverance and judgment of the world by ,christ4 ,the intermediate spaces between these larger masses1 on the roof and in the lunettes of the windows1 swarm with figures1 some naked and some draped--women and children1 boys and young men1 grouped in tranquil attitudes1 or adapting themselves with freedom to their station on the curves and angles of the architecture4 ,in these subordinate creations ,michael ,angelo deigned to drop the terrible style1 in order that he might show how sweet and full of charm his art could be4 ,the grace of colouring1 realised in some of those youthful and athletic forms1 is such as no copy can represent4 ,every posture of beauty and of strength1 simple or strained1 that it is possible for men to assume1 has been depicted here4 ,yet the whole is governed by a strict sense of sobriety4 ,the restlessness of ,correggio1 the violent attitudinising of ,tintoretto1 belong alike to another and less noble spirit4 ,to speak adequately of these form-poems would be quite impossible4 ,buonarroti seems to have intended to prove by them that the human body has a language1 inexhaustible in symbolism--every limb1 every feature1 and every attitude being a word full of significance to those who comprehend1 just as music is a language whereof each note and chord and phrase has correspondence with the spiritual world4 ,it may be presumptuous after this fashion to interpret the design of him who called into existence the heroic population of the ,sistine4 ,yet ,michael ,angelo has written lines which in some measure justify the reading4 ,this is how he closes one of his finest sonnets to ,vittoria ,colonna3 ,nor hath ,god deigned to show ,himself elsewhere ,more clearly than in human forms sublime2 ,which1 since they image ,him1 compel my love4 ,therefore to him a well-shaped hand1 or throat1 or head1 a neck superbly poised on an athletic chest1 the sway of the trunk above the hips1 the starting of the muscles on the flank1 the tendons of the ankle1 the outline of the shoulder when the arm is raised1 the backward bending of the loins1 the curves of a woman's breast1 the contours of a body careless in repose or strained for action1 were all words pregnant with profoundest meaning1 whereby fit utterance might be given to the thoughts that raise man near to ,god4 ,but1 it may be asked1 what poems of action as well as feeling are to be expressed in this form-language8 ,the answer is simple4 ,paint or carve the body of a man1 and1 as you do it nobly1 you will give the measure of both highest thought and most impassioned deed4 ,this is the key to ,michael ,angelo's art4 ,he cared but little for inanimate nature4 ,the landscapes of ,italy1 so eloquent in their sublimity and beauty1 were apparently a blank to him4 ,his world was the world of ideas1 taking visible form1 incarnating themselves in man4 ,one language the master had to serve him in all need--the language of plastic human form2 but it was to him a tongue as rich in its variety of accent and of intonation as ,beethoven's harmonies4 ,in the ,sistine ,chapel1 where plastic art is so supreme1 we are bound to ask the further question4 ,what was the difference between ,michael ,angelo and a ,greek8 ,the ,parthenon with its processions of youths and maidens1 its gods and heroes1 rejoicing in their strength1 and robed with raiment that revealed their living form1 made up a symphony of meaning as full as this of ,michael ,angelo1 and far more radiant4 ,the ,greek sculptor embraced humanity in his work no less comprehensively than the ,italian2 and what he had to say was said more plainly in the speech they both could use4 ,but between ,pheidias and ,michael ,angelo lay ,christianity1 the travail of the world through twenty centuries4 ,clear as morning1 and calm in the unconsciousness of beauty1 are those heroes of the youth of ,hellas4 ,all is grace1 repose1 strength shown but not asserted4 ,michael ,angelo's ,sibyls and ,prophets are old and wrinkled1 bowed with thought1 consumed by vigils1 startled from tranquillity by visions1 overburdened with the messages of ,god4 ,the loveliest among them1 the ,delphic1 lifts dilated eyes1 as though to follow dreams that fly upon the paths of trance4 ,even the young men strain their splendid limbs1 and seem to shout or shriek1 as if the life in them contained some element of pain4 ,he maketh his angels spirits1 and his ministers a flame of fire3 this verse rises to our lips when we seek to describe the genii that crowd the cornice of the ,sistine ,chapel4 ,the human form in the work of ,pheidias wore a joyous and sedate serenity2 in that of ,michael ,angelo it is turbid with a strange and awful sense of inbreathed agitation4 ,through the figure-language of the one was spoken the pagan creed1 bright1 unperturbed1 and superficial4 ,the sculpture of the ,parthenon accomplished the transfiguration of the natural man4 ,in the other man awakes to a new life of contest1 disillusionment1 hope1 dread1 and heavenward striving4 ,it was impossible for the ,greek and the ,italian1 bearing so different a burden of prophecy1 even though they used the same speech1 to tell the same tale2 and this should be remembered by those critics who cast exaggeration and contortion in the teeth of ,michael ,angelo4 ,between the birth of the free spirit in ,greece and its second birth in ,italy1 there yawned a sepulchre wherein the old faiths of the world lay buried and whence ,christ had risen4#cah ,the star of ,raphael1 meanwhile1 had arisen over ,rome4 ,between the two greatest painters of their age the difference was striking4 ,michael ,angelo stood alone1 his own master1 fashioned in his own school4 ,a band of artists called themselves by ,raphael's name2 and in his style we trace the influence of several predecessors4 ,michael ,angelo rarely received visits1 frequented no society1 formed no pupils1 and boasted of no friends at ,court4 ,raphael was followed to the ,vatican by crowds of students2 his leves were like those of a prince2 he counted among his intimates the best scholars and poets of the age2 his hand was pledged in marriage to a cardinal's niece4 ,it does not appear that they engaged in petty rivalries1 or that they came much into personal contact with each other4 ,while ,michael ,angelo was so framed that he could learn from no man1 ,raphael gladly learned of ,michael ,angelo2 and after the uncovering of the ,sistine frescoes1 his manner showed evident signs of alteration4 ,julius1 who had given ,michael ,angelo the ,sistine1 set ,raphael to work upon the ,stanze4 ,for ,julius were painted the ,miracle of ,bolsena and the ,expulsion of ,heliodorus from the ,temple1 scenes containing courtly compliments for the old ,pope4 ,no such compliments had been paid by ,michael ,angelo4 ,like his great parallel in music1 ,beethoven1 he displayed an almost arrogant contempt for the conventionalities whereby an artist wins the favour of his patrons and the world4 ,after the death of ,julius1 ,leo ,x41 in character the reverse of his fiery predecessor1 and by temperament unsympathetic to the austere ,michael ,angelo1 found nothing better for the sculptor's genius than to set him at work upon the faade of ,s4 ,lorenzo at ,florence4 ,the better part of the years between #aeaf and #aebj was spent in quarrying marble at ,carrara1 ,pietra ,santa1 and ,seravezza4 ,this is the most arid and unfruitful period of ,michael ,angelo's long life1 a period of delays and thwarted schemes and servile labours4 ,what makes the sense of disappointment greater1 is that the faade of ,s4 ,lorenzo was not even finished4#cai ,we hurry over this wilderness of wasted months1 and arrive at another epoch of artistic production4 ,already in #aebj the ,cardinal ,giulio de' ,medici had conceived the notion of building a sacristy in ,s4 ,lorenzo to receive the monuments of ,cosimo1 the founder of the house1 ,lorenzo the ,magnificent1 ,giuliano ,duke of ,nemours1 ,lorenzo ,duke of ,urbino1 ,leo ,x41 and himself4#cbj ,to ,michael ,angelo was committed the design1 and in #aeba he began to apply himself to the work4 ,nine years had now elapsed since the roof of the ,sistine chapel had been finished1 and during this time ,michael ,angelo had produced little except the ,christ of ,s4 ,maria sopra ,minerva4 ,this new undertaking occupied him at intervals between #aeba and #aecd1 a space of time decisive for the fortunes of the ,medici in ,florence4 ,leo died1 and ,giulio after a few years succeeded him as ,clement ,,vii4 ,the bastards of the house1 ,ippolito and ,alessandro1 were expelled from ,florence in #aebg4 ,rome was sacked by the ,imperial troops2 then ,michael ,angelo quitted the statues and helped to defend his native city against the ,prince of ,orange4 ,after the failure of the ,republicans1 he was recalled to his labours by command of ,clement4 ,sullenly and sadly he quarried marbles for the sacristy4 ,sadly and sullenly he used his chisel year by year1 making the very stones cry that shame and ruin were the doom of his country4 ,at last in #aecd ,clement died4 ,then ,michael ,angelo flung down his mallet4 ,the monuments remained unfinished1 and the sculptor set foot in ,florence no more4#cba ,the ,sacristy of ,s4 ,lorenzo was built by ,michael ,angelo and panelled with marbles to receive the sculpture he meant to place there4#cbb ,thus the colossal statues of ,giuliano and ,lorenzo were studied with a view to their light and shadow as much as to their form2 and this is a fact to be remembered by those who visit the chapel where ,buonarroti laboured both as architect and sculptor4 ,of the two ,medici1 it is not fanciful to say that the ,duke of ,urbino is the most immovable of spectral shapes eternalised in marble2 while the ,duke of ,nemours1 more graceful and elegant1 seems intended to present a contrast to this terrible thought-burdened form4#cbc ,the allegorical figures1 stretched on segments of ellipses beneath the pedestals of the two dukes1 indicate phases of darkness and of light1 of death and life4 ,they are two women and two men2 tradition names them ,night and ,day1 ,twilight and ,dawning4 ,thus in the statues themselves and in their attendant genii we have a series of abstractions1 symbolising the sleep and waking of existence1 action and thought1 the gloom of death1 the lustre of life1 and the intermediate states of sadness and of hope that form the borderland of both4 ,life is a dream between two slumbers2 sleep is death's twin-brother2 night is the shadow of death2 death is the gate of life3--such is the mysterious mythology wrought by the sculptor of the modern world in marble4 ,all these figures1 by the intensity of their expression1 the vagueness of their symbolism1 force us to think and question4 ,what1 for example1 occupies ,lorenzo's brain8 ,bending forward1 leaning his chin upon his wrist1 placing the other hand upon his knee1 on what does he for ever ponder8 ,the sight1 as ,rogers said well1 fascinates and is intolerable4 ,michael ,angelo has shot the beaver of the helmet forward on his forehead1 and bowed his head1 so as to clothe the face in darkness4 ,but behind the gloom there is no skull1 as ,rogers fancied4 ,the whole frame of the powerful man is instinct with some imperious thought4 ,has he outlived his life and fallen upon everlasting contemplation8 ,is he brooding1 injured and indignant1 over his own doom and the extinction of his race8 ,is he condemned to witness in immortal immobility the woes of ,italy he helped to cause8 ,or has the sculptor symbolised in him the burden of that personality we carry with us in this life and bear for ever when we wake into another world8 ,beneath this incarnation of oppressive thought there lie1 full-length and naked1 the figures of ,dawn and ,twilight1 ,morn and ,evening4 ,so at least they are commonly called3 and these names are not inappropriate2 for the breaking of the day and the approach of night are metaphors for many transient conditions of the soul4 ,it is only as allegories in a large sense1 comprehending both the physical and intellectual order1 and capable of various interpretation1 that any of these statues can be understood4 ,even the ,dukes do not pretend to be portraits3 and hence in part perhaps the uncertainty that has gathered round them4 ,very tranquil and noble is ,twilight3 a giant in repose1 he meditates1 leaning upon his elbow1 looking down4 ,but ,dawn starts from her couch1 as though some painful summons had reached her sunk in dreamless sleep1 and called her forth to suffer4 ,her waking to consciousness is like that of one who has been drowned1 and who finds the return to life agony4 ,before her eyes1 seen even through the mists of slumber1 are the ruin and the shame of ,italy4 ,opposite lies ,night1 so sorrowful1 so utterly absorbed in darkness and the shade of death1 that to shake off that everlasting lethargy seems impossible4 ,yet she is not dead4 ,if we raise our voices1 she too will stretch her limbs and1 like her sister1 shudder into sensibility with sighs4 ,only we must not wake her2 for he who fashioned her1 has told us that her sleep of stone is great good fortune4 ,both of these women are large and brawny1 unlike the ,fates of ,pheidias in their muscular maturity4 ,the burden of ,michael ,angelo's thought was too tremendous to be borne by virginal or graceful beings4 ,he had to make women no less capable of suffering1 no less world-wearied1 than his country4 ,standing before these statues1 we do not cry4 ,how beautiful6 ,we murmur1 ,how terrible1 how grand6 ,yet1 after long gazing1 we find them gifted with beauty beyond grace4 ,in each of them there is a palpitating thought1 torn from the artist's soul and crystallised in marble4 ,it has been said that architecture is petrified music4 ,in the sacristy of ,s4 ,lorenzo we feel impelled to remember phrases of ,beethoven4 ,each of these statues becomes for us a passion1 fit for musical expression1 but turned like ,niobe to stone4 ,they have the intellectual vagueness1 the emotional certainty1 that belong to the motives of a symphony4 ,in their allegories1 left without a key1 sculpture has passed beyond her old domain of placid concrete form4 ,the anguish of intolerable emotion1 the quickening of the consciousness to a sense of suffering1 the acceptance of the inevitable1 the strife of the soul with destiny1 the burden and the passion of mankind3--that is what they contain in their cold chisel-tortured marble4 ,it is open to critics of the school of ,lessing to object that here is the suicide of sculpture4 ,it is easy to remark that those strained postures and writhen limbs may have perverted the taste of lesser craftsmen4 ,yet if ,michael ,angelo was called to carve ,medicean statues after the sack of ,rome and the fall of ,florence--if he was obliged in sober sadness to make sculpture a fit language for his sorrow-laden heart--how could he have wrought more truthfully than thus8 ,to imitate him without sharing his emotions or comprehending his thoughts1 as the soulless artist of the decadence attempted1 was without any doubt a grievous error4 ,surely also we may regret1 not without reason1 that in the evil days upon which he had fallen1 the fair antique ,heiterkeit and ,allgemeinheit were beyond his reach4 ,michael ,angelo left the tombs of the ,medici unfinished2 nor1 in spite of ,duke ,cosimo's earnest entreaties1 would he afterwards return to ,florence to complete them4 ,lorenzo's features are but rough-hewn2 so is the face of ,night4 ,day seems struggling into shape beneath his mask of rock1 and ,twilight shows everywhere the tooth-dint of the chisel4 ,to leave unfinished was the fate of ,michael ,angelo--partly too1 perhaps1 his preference2 for he was easily deterred from work4 ,many of his marbles are only just begun4 ,the two medallion ,madonnas1 the ,madonna and ,child in ,s4 ,lorenzo1 the ,head of ,brutus1 the ,bound ,captives1 and the ,piet in the ,duomo of ,florence1 are instances of masterpieces in the rough4 ,he loved to fancy that the form dwelt within the stone1 and that the chisel disencumbered it of superfluity4 ,therefore1 to his eye1 foreseeing what the shape would be when the rude envelope was chipped away1 the marble mask may have taken the appearance of a veil or mantle4 ,he may have found some fascination in the incompleteness that argued want of will but not of art1 and a rough-hewn ,madonna may have been to him what a ,dryad still enclosed within a gnarled oak was to a ,greek poet's fancy4 ,we are not1 however1 justified in therefore assuming1 as a recent critic has suggested1 that ,michael ,angelo sought to realise a certain preconceived effect by want of finish4 ,there is enough in the distracted circumstances of his life and in his temper1 at once passionate and downcast1 to account for fragmentary and imperfect performance2 nor must it be forgotten that the manual labour of the sculptor in the sixteenth century was by no means so light as it is now4 ,a decisive argument against this theory is that ,buonarroti's three most celebrated statues--the ,piet in ,s4 ,peter's1 the ,moses and the ,dawn--are executed with the highest polish it is possible for stone to take4#cbd ,that he always aimed at this high finish1 but often fell below it through discontent and ennui and the importunity of patrons1 we have the best reason to believe4 ,michael ,angelo had now reached his fifty-ninth year4 ,lionardo and ,raphael had already passed away1 and were remembered as the giants of a bygone age of gold4 ,correggio was in his last year4 ,andrea del ,sarto was dead4 ,nowhere except at ,venice did ,italian art still flourish2 and the mundane style of ,titian was not to the sculptor's taste4 ,he had overlived the greatness of his country1 and saw ,italy in ruins4 ,yet he was destined to survive another thirty years1 another lifetime of ,masaccio or ,raphael1 and to witness still worse days4 ,when we call ,michael ,angelo the interpreter of the burden and the pain of the ,renaissance1 we must remember this long weary old age1 during which in solitude and silence he watched the extinction of ,florence1 the institution of the ,inquisition1 and the abasement of the ,italian spirit beneath the tyranny of ,spain4 ,his sonnets1 written chiefly in this latter period of life1 turn often on the thought of death4 ,his love of art yields to religious hope and fear1 and he bemoans a youth and manhood spent in vanity4 ,once when he injured his leg by a fall from the scaffolding in the ,sistine ,chapel1 he refused assistance1 shut himself up at home1 and lay waiting for deliverance in death4 ,his life was only saved by the forcible interference of friends4 ,in #aecd a new ,eurystheus arose for our ,hercules4 ,the ,cardinal ,alessandro ,farnese1 a fox by nature and infamous through his indulgence for a vicious bastard1 was made ,pope under the name of ,paul ,,iii4#cbe ,michael ,angelo had shed lustre on the reigns of three ,popes1 his predecessors4 ,for thirty years the ,farnese had watched him with greedy eyes4 ,after ,julius1 ,leo1 and ,clement1 the time was now come for the heroic craftsman to serve ,paul4 ,the ,pope found him at work in his bottega on the tomb of ,julius2 for the tragedy of the mausoleum still dragged on4 ,the statue of ,moses was finished4 ,that1 said ,paul1 is enough for one ,pope4 ,give me your contract with the ,duke of ,urbino2 ,i will tear it4 ,have ,i waited all these years2 and now that ,i am ,pope at last1 shall ,i not have you for myself8 ,i want you in the ,sistine ,chapel4 ,accordingly ,michael ,angelo1 who had already made cartoons for the ,last ,judgment in the life of ,clement1 once more laid aside the chisel and took up the brush4 ,for eight years1 between #aecd and #aedb1 he laboured at the fresco above the high altar of the chapel1 devoting his terrible genius to a subject worthy of the times in which he lived4 ,since he had first listened while a youth to the prophecies of ,savonarola1 the woes announced in that apocalypse had all come true4 ,italy had been scourged1 ,rome sacked1 the ,church chastised4 ,and yet the world had not grown wiser2 vice was on the increase1 virtue grew more rare4#cbf ,it was impossible after the experience of the immediate past and within view of the present and the future1 to conceive of ,god as other than an angry judge1 vindictive and implacable4 ,the ,last ,judgment has long been the most celebrated of ,michael ,angelo's paintings2 partly no doubt because it was executed in the plenitude of his fame1 with the eyes of all ,italy upon him2 partly because its size arouses vulgar wonder1 and its theme strikes terror into all who gaze on it4 ,yet it is neither so strong nor so beautiful as the vault-paintings of the ,sistine4 ,the freshness of the genius that created ,eve and ,adam1 unrivalled in their bloom of primal youth1 has passed away4 ,austerity and gloom have taken possession of the painter4 ,his style has hardened into mannerism1 and the display of barren science in difficult posturing and strained anatomy has become wilful4 ,still1 whether we regard this fresco as closing the long series of ,last ,judgments to be studied on ,italian church-walls from ,giotto downwards2 or whether we confine our attention1 as contemporaries seem to have done1 to the skill of its foreshortenings and groupings2#cbg or whether we analyse the dramatic energy wherewith tremendous passions are expressed1 its triumph is in either case decided4 ,the whole wall swarms with ascending and descending1 poised and hovering1 shapes--men and women rising from the grave before the judge1 taking their stations among the saved1 or sinking with unutterable anguish to the place of doom--a multitude that no man can number1 surging to and fro in dim tempestuous air4 ,in the centre at the top1 ,christ is rising from ,his throne with the gesture of an angry ,hercules1 hurling ruin on the guilty4 ,he is such as the sins of ,italy have made ,him4 ,squadrons of angels1 bearing the emblems of ,his passion1 whirl around ,him like grey thunder-clouds1 and all the saints lean forward from their vantage ground to curse and threaten4 ,at the very bottom bestial features take the place of human lineaments1 and the terror of judgment has become the torment of damnation4 ,such is the general scope of this picture4 ,of all its merits1 none is greater than the delineation of uncertainty and gradual awakening to life4 ,the middle region between vigilance and slumber1 reality and dream1 ,michael ,angelo ruled as his own realm2 and a painting of the ,last ,judgment enabled him to deal with this metaichmios skotos--this darkness in the interval of crossing spears--under its most solemn aspect4 ,when the fresco was uncovered1 there arose a general murmur of disapprobation that the figures were all nude4 ,as society became more vicious1 it grew nice4 ,messer ,biagio1 the ,pope's master of the ceremonies1 remarked that such things were more fit for stews and taverns than a chapel4 ,the angry painter placed his portrait in ,hell with a mark of infamy that cast too lurid a light upon this prudish speech4 ,when ,biagio complained1 ,paul wittily answered that1 had it been ,purgatory1 he might have helped him1 but in ,hell is no redemption4 ,even the foul-mouthed and foul-hearted ,aretino wrote from ,venice to the same effect--a letter astounding for its impudence4#cbh ,michael ,angelo made no defence4 ,perhaps he reflected that the souls of the ,pope himself and ,messer ,biagio and ,messer ,pietro ,aretino would go forth one day naked to appear before the judge1 with the deformities of sin upon them1 as in ,plato's ,gorgias4 ,he refused1 however1 to give clothes to his men and women4 ,daniel da ,volterra1 who was afterwards employed to do this1 got the name of breeches-maker4 ,we are hardly able to appreciate the ,last ,judgment2 it has been so smirched and blackened by the smoke and dust of centuries4 ,and this is true of the whole ,sistine ,chapel4#cbi ,yet it is here that the genius of ,michael ,angelo in all its terribleness must still be studied4 ,in order to characterise the impression produced by even the less awful of these frescoes on a sympathetic student1 ,i lay my pen aside and beg the reader to weigh what ,henri ,beyle1 the versatile and brilliant critic1 pencilled in the gallery of the ,sistine ,chapel on ,january #ac1 #ahjg3ccj ,greek sculpture was unwilling to reproduce the terrible in any shape2 the ,greeks had enough real troubles of their own4 ,therefore1 in the realm of art1 nothing can be compared with the figure of the ,eternal drawing forth the first man from nonentity4 ,the pose1 the drawing1 the drapery1 all is striking3 the soul is agitated by sensations that are not usually communicated through the eyes4 ,when in our disastrous retreat from ,russia1 it chanced that we were suddenly awakened in the middle of the dark night by an obstinate cannonading1 which at each moment seemed to gain in nearness1 then all the forces of a man's nature gathered close around his heart2 he felt himself in the presence of fate1 and1 having no attention left for things of vulgar interest1 he made himself ready to dispute his life with destiny4 ,the sight of ,michael ,angelo's pictures has brought back to my consciousness that almost forgotten sensation4 ,great souls enjoy their own greatness3 the rest of the world is seized with fear1 and goes mad4 ,after the painting of the ,last ,judgment1 one more great labour was reserved for ,michael ,angelo4#cca ,by a brief of ,september1 #aece1 ,paul ,,iii4 had made him the chief architect as well as sculptor and painter of the ,holy ,see4 ,he was now called upon to superintend the building of ,s4 ,peter's1 and to this task1 undertaken for the repose of his soul without emolument1 he devoted the last years of his life4 ,the dome of ,s4 ,peter's1 as seen from ,tivoli or the ,alban hills1 like a cloud upon the ,campagna1 is ,buonarroti's2 but he has no share in the faade that screens it from the piazza4 ,it lies beyond the scope of this chapter to relate once more the history of the vicissitudes through which ,s4 ,peter's went between the days of ,alberti and ,bernini4#ccb ,i can but refer to ,michael ,angelo's letter addressed to ,bartolommeo ,ammanati1 valuable both as setting forth his views about the structure1 and as rendering the fullest and most glorious meed of praise to his old enemy ,bramante4#ccc ,all ancient jealousies1 even had they ever stirred the heart of ,michael ,angelo1 had long been set at rest by time and death4 ,the one wish of his soul was to set a worthy diadem upon the mother-church of ,christianity1 repairing by the majesty of art what ,rome had suffered at the hands of ,germany and ,spain1 and inaugurating by this visible sign of sovereignty the new age of ,catholicity renascent and triumphant4 ,to the last period of ,buonarroti's life 7a space of twenty-two years between #aedb and #aefd7 we owe some of his most beautiful drawings--sketches for pictures of the ,crucifixion made for ,vittoria ,colonna1 and a few mythological designs1 like the ,rape of ,ganymede1 composed for ,tommaso ,cavalieri4 ,his thoughts meanwhile were turned more and more1 as time advanced1 to piety2 and many of his sonnets breathe an almost ascetic spirit of religion4#ccd ,we see in them the old man regretting the years he had spent on art1 deploring his enthusiasm for earthly beauty1 and seeking comfort in the cross alone4 ,painting nor sculpture now can lull to rest ,my soul1 that turns to ,his great love on high1 ,whose arms to clasp us on the cross were spread4 ,it is pleasant to know that these last years were also the happiest and calmest4 ,though he had lost his faithful friend and servant ,urbino2 though his father had died1 an old man1 and his brothers had passed away before him one by one1 his nephew ,lionardo had married in ,florence1 and begotten a son called ,michael ,angelo4 ,thus he had the satisfaction of hoping that his name would endure and flourish1 as indeed it has done almost to this very day in ,florence4 ,what consolation this thought must have brought him1 is clear to those who have studied his correspondence and observed the tender care and continual anxiety he had for his kinsmen4#cce ,wealth now belonged to him3 but he had never cared for money2 and he continued to live like a poor man1 dressing soberly and eating sparely1 often taking but one meal in the day1 and that of bread and wine4#ccf ,he slept little1 and rose by night to work upon his statues1 wearing a cap with a candle stuck in front of it1 that he might see where to drive the chisel home4 ,during his whole life he had been solitary1 partly by preference1 partly by devotion to his art1 and partly because he kept men at a distance by his manner4#ccg ,not that ,michael ,angelo was sour or haughty2 but he spoke his mind out very plainly1 had no tolerance for fools1 and was apt to fly into passions4#cch ,time had now softened his temper and removed all causes of discouragement4 ,he had survived every rival1 and the world was convinced of his supremacy4 ,princes courted him2 the ,count of ,canossa was proud to claim him for a kinsman2 strangers1 when they visited ,rome1 were eager to behold in him its greatest living wonder4#cci ,his old age was the serene and splendid evening of a toilsome day4 ,but better than all this1 he now enjoyed both love and friendship4 ,if ,michael ,angelo could ever have been handsome is more than doubtful4 ,early in his youth the quarrelsome and vain ,torrigiani broke his nose with a blow of the fist1 when they were drawing from ,masaccio's frescoes in the ,carmine together4#cdj ,thenceforth the artist's soul looked forth from a sad face1 with small grey eyes1 flat nostrils1 and rugged weight of jutting brows4 ,good care was thus taken that light love should not trifle with the man who was destined to be the prophet of his age in art4 ,like ,beethoven1 he united a loving nature1 sensitive to beauty and desirous of affection1 with a rude exterior4 ,he seemed incapable of attaching himself to any merely mortal object1 and wedded the ideal4 ,in that century of intrigue and amour1 we hear of nothing to imply that ,michael ,angelo was a lover till he reached the age of sixty4 ,how he may have loved in the earlier periods of his life1 whereof no record now remains1 can only be guessed from the tenderness and passion outpoured in the poems of his latter years4 ,that his morality was pure and his converse without stain1 is emphatically witnessed by both ,vasari and ,condivi4#cda ,but that his emotion was intense1 and that to beauty in all its human forms he was throughout his life a slave1 we have his own sonnets to prove4 ,in the year #aecd he first became acquainted with the noble lady ,vittoria1 daughter of ,fabrizio ,colonna1 and widow of the ,marquis of ,pescara4 ,she was then aged forty-four1 and had nine years survived the loss of a husband she never ceased to idolise4#cdb ,living in retirement in ,rome1 she employed her leisure with philosophy and poetry4 ,artists and men of letters were admitted to her society4 ,among the subjects she had most at heart was the reform of the ,church and the restoration of religion to its evangelical purity4 ,between her and ,michael ,angelo a tender affection sprang up based upon the sympathy of ardent and high-seeking natures4 ,if love be the right name for this exalted and yet fervid attachment1 ,michael ,angelo may be said to have loved her with all the pent-up forces of his heart4 ,none of his works display a predilection for girlish beauty1 and it is probable that her intellectual distinction and mature womanhood touched him even more than if she had been younger4 ,when they were together in ,rome they met frequently for conversation on the themes of art and piety they both held dear4 ,of these discourses a charming record has been preserved to us by the painter ,francis of ,holland4#cdc ,when they were separated they exchanged poems and wrote letters1 some of which remain4 ,on the death of ,vittoria1 in #aedg1 the light of life seemed to be extinguished for our sculptor4 ,it is said that he waited by her bed-side1 and kissed her hand when she was dying4 ,the sonnets he afterwards composed show that his soul followed her to heaven4 ,another friend whom ,michael ,angelo found in this last stage of life1 and whom he loved with only less warmth than ,vittoria1 was a young ,roman of perfect beauty and of winning manners4 ,tommaso ,cavalieri must be mentioned next to the ,marchioness of ,pescara as the being who bound this greatest soul a captive4#cdd ,both ,cavalieri and ,vittoria are said to have been painted by him1 and these are the only two portraits he is reported to have executed4 ,it may here be remarked that nothing is more characteristic of his genius than the determination to see through nature1 to pass beyond the actual to the abstract1 and to use reality only as a stepping-stone to the ideal4 ,this artistic ,platonism was the source both of his greatness and his mannerism4 ,as men choose to follow ,blake or ,ruskin1 they may praise or blame him2 yet1 blame and praise pronounced on such a matter with regard to such a man are equally impertinent and insignificant4 ,it is enough for the critic to note with reverence that thus and thus the spirit that was in him worked and moved4 ,when we read the sonnets addressed to ,vittoria ,colonna and ,cavalieri1 we find something inexpressibly pathetic in this pure and fervent worship of beauty1 when the artist with a soul still young had reached the limit of the years of man4 ,here and there we trace in them an echo of his youth4 ,the ,platonic dialogues he heard while yet a young man at the suppers of ,lorenzo1 reappear converted to the very substance of his thought and style4 ,at the same time ,savonarola resumes ascendency over his mind2 and when he turns to ,florence1 it is of ,dante that he speaks4 ,at last the moment came when this strong solitary spirit1 much suffering and much loving1 had to render its account4 ,it appears from a letter written to ,lionardo ,buonarroti on ,february #ae1 #aefd1 that his old servant ,antonio del ,francese1 the successor of ,urbino in his household1 together with ,tommaso ,cavalieri and ,daniello ,ricciarelli of ,volterra1 attended him in his last illness4 ,on the #ahth of that month1 having bequeathed his soul to ,god1 his body to the earth1 and his worldly goods to his kinsfolk1 praying them on their death-bed to think upon ,christ's passion1 he breathed his last4 ,his corpse was transported to ,florence1 and buried in the church of ,s4 ,croce1 with great pomp and honour1 by the ,duke1 the city1 and the ,florentine ,academy4 ,,footnotes3 #bhi ,see ,vasari1 vol4 xii4 p4 #ccc1 and ,gotti's ,vita di ,michelangelo ,buonarroti1 vol4 i4 p4 #d1 for a discussion of this claim1 and for a letter written by ,alessandro ,count of ,canossa1 in #aebj1 to the artist4 #bij ,that ,michael ,angelo was contemptuous to brother artists1 is proved by what ,torrigiani said to ,cellini3 ,aveva per usanza di uccellare tutti quelli che dissegnavano4 ,he called ,perugino goffo1 told ,francia's son that his father made handsomer men by night than by day1 and cast in ,lionardo's teeth that he could not finish the equestrian statue of the ,duke of ,milan4 ,it is therefore not improbable that when1 according to the legend1 he corrected a drawing of ,ghirlandajo's1 he may have said things unendurable to the elder painter4 #bia ,engraved in outline in ,harford's ,illustrations of the ,genius of ,michael ,angelo ,buonarroti1 ,colnaghi1 #aheg4 #bib ,this group1 placed in ,s4 ,peter's1 was made for the ,french ,cardinal de ,saint ,denys4 ,it should be said that the first work of ,michael ,angelo in ,rome was the ,bacchus now in the ,florentine ,bargello1 executed for ,jacopo ,gallo1 a ,roman gentleman4 #bic ,pitti approved of the form of government represented by ,soderini4 ,machiavelli despised the want of decision that made him quit ,florence1 and the eutheia of the man4 ,hence their curiously conflicting phrases4 #bid ,see the chapter entitled ,della ,malitia e pessme ,conditioni del ,tyranno1 in ,savonarola's ,tractato circa el reggimento e governo della ,citta di ,firenze composto ad instantia delli excelsi ,signori al tempo di ,giuliano ,salviati1 ,gonfaloniere di ,justitia4 ,a more terrible picture has never been drawn by any analyst of human vice and cruelty and weakness4 #bie ,guasti's edition of the ,rime1 p4 #bf4 #bif ,he defends himself thus in a letter to ,lodovico ,buonarroti3 ,del caso dei ,medici io non mai parlato contra di loro cosa nessuna1 se non in quel modo che s' parlato generalmente per ogn' uomo1 come fu del caso di ,prato2 che se le pietre avessin saputo parlare1 n' avrebbono parlato4 #big ,it seems clear from the correspondence in the ,archivio ,buonarroti1 recently published1 that when ,michael ,angelo fled from ,florence to ,venice in #aebi1 he did so under the pressure of no ignoble panic1 but because his life was threatened by a traitor1 acting possibly at the secret instance of ,malatesta ,baglioni4 ,see ,heath ,wilson1 pp4 #cbf-ccj4 #bih ,see ,guasti1 p4 #d4 #bii ,vol4 ,i41 ,age of the ,despots1 p4 #bea4 #cjj ,to these years we must also assign the two unfinished medallions of ,madonna and the infant ,christ1 the circular oil picture of the ,holy ,family1 painted for ,angelo ,doni1 and the beautiful unfinished picture of ,madonna with the boy ,jesus and ,s4 ,john in the ,national ,gallery4 ,the last of these works is one of the loveliest of ,michael ,angelo's productions1 whether we regard the symmetry of its composition or the refinement of its types4 ,the two groups of two boys standing behind the central group on either hand of the ,virgin1 have incomparable beauty of form4 ,the supreme style of the ,sistine is here revealed to us in embryo4 ,whether the ,entombment1 also unfinished1 and also in the ,national ,gallery1 belongs to this time1 and whether it be ,michael ,angelo's at all1 is a matter for the experts to decide4 ,to my perception1 it is quite unworthy of the painter of the ,doni ,holy family2 nor can ,i think that his want of practice in oil-painting will explain its want of charm and vigour4 #cja ,it has long been believed that ,baccio ,bandinelli destroyed ,michael ,angelo's2 but ,grimm1 in his ,life of the sculptor 7vol4 i4 p4 #cgf1 ,eng4 ,tr471 adduces solid arguments against this legend4 ,a few studies1 together with the engravings of portions by ,marc ,antonio and ,agostino ,veneziano1 enable us to form a notion of the composition4 ,at ,holkham there is an old copy of the larger portion of the cartoon1 which has been engraved by ,schiavonetti1 and reproduced in ,harford's ,illustrations1 plate x4 #cjb ,vita1 p4 #bc4 ,cellini1 the impassioned admirer of ,michael ,angelo1 esteemed this cartoon so highly1 that he writes3 ,sebbene il divino ,michelagnolo fece la gran cappella di ,papa ,julio da poi1 non arriv mai a questo segno alla meta3 la sua virt non aggiunse mai da poi alla forza di quei primi studj4 #cjc ,the cartoon was probably exhibited in #aeje4 ,see ,gotti1 vol4 i4 p4 #ce4 #cjd ,gotti1 pp4 #bgg-bhb4 #cje ,springer1 in his essay1 ,michael ,agnolo in ,rome1 p4 #ba1 makes out that this large design was not conceived till after the death of ,julius4 ,it is difficult to form a clear notion of the many changes in the plan of the tomb1 between #aeje and #aedb1 when ,michael ,angelo signed the last contract with the heirs of ,julius4 #cjf ,in the ,uffizzi at ,florence4 ,see ,heath ,wilson1 plate vi4 #cjg ,boboli ,gardens1 ,bargello1 ,louvre4 ,these captives are unfinished4 ,the ,rachel and ,leah at ,s4 ,pietro in ,vincoli were committed to pupils by ,michael ,angelo4 #cjh ,che mi fosso messo a fare zolfanelli4444 ,son ogni di lapidato1 come se havessi crucifisso ,cristo4444 io mi truovo avere perduta tutta la mia giovinezza legato a questa sepoltura4 #cji ,gotti1 p4 #db4 ,grimm makes two visits to ,carrara in #aeje and #aejf1 vol4 i4 pp4 #bci1 #bdc4 #caj ,see his letter4 ,gotti1 p4 #dd4 #caa ,our authorities for this episode in ,michael ,angelo's biography are mainly ,vasari and ,condivi4 ,though there may be exaggeration in the legend1 it is certain that a correspondence took place between the ,pope and the ,gonfalonier of ,florence1 to bring about his return4 ,see ,heath ,wilson1 pp4 #gi-hg1 and the letter to ,giuliano di ,san ,gallo in ,milanesi's ,archivio ,buonarroti1 p4 #cgg4 ,michael ,angelo appears to have had some reason to fear assassination in ,rome4 #cab ,see ,michael ,angelo's letters to ,giovan ,francesco ,fattucci1 and his family4 ,gotti1 pp4 #ee-fe4 #cac ,see the sonnet to ,giovanni da ,pistoja3-- ,la mia pittura morta ,difendi orma'1 ,giovanni1 e 'l mio onore1 ,non sendo in loco bon1 n io pittore4 #cad ,according to the first plan1 ,michael ,angelo bargained with the ,pope for twelve ,apostles in the lunettes1 and another part to be filled with ornament in the usual manner--dodici ,apostoli nelle lunette1 e 'l resto un certo partimento ripieno d' adornamenti come si usa4 ,michael ,angelo1 after making designs for this commission1 told the ,pope he thought the roof would look poor1 because the ,apostles were poor folk--perch furon poveri anche loro4 ,he then began his cartoons for the vault as it now exists4 ,see the letter to ,ser ,giovan ,francesco ,fattucci1 in the ,archivio ,buonarroti1 ,milanesi1 pp4 #dbf-dbg4 ,this seems to be the foundation for an old story of the ,pope's complaining that the ,sistine roof looked poor without gilding1 and ,michael ,angelo's reply that the ,biblical personages depicted there were but poor people4 #cae ,bramante1 the ,pope's architect1 did in truth fail to construct the proper scaffolding1 whether through inability or jealousy4 ,michael ,angelo designed a superior system of his own1 which became a model for future architects in similar constructions4 #caf ,see chapters vi4 vii4 and viii4 of ,mr4 ,charles ,heath ,wilson's admirable ,life of ,michel ,angelo4 ,aurelio ,gotti's ,vita di ,michel ,agnolo1 and ,anton ,springer's ,michael ,agnolo in ,rome1 deserve to be consulted on this passage in the painter's biography4 #cag ,the conditions under which ,michael ,angelo worked1 without a trained band of pupils1 must have struck contemporaries1 accustomed to ,raphael's crowds of assistants1 with a wonder that justified ,vasari's emphatic language of exaggeration as to his single-handed labour4 #cah ,in speaking of the ,sistine ,i have treated ,michael ,angelo as a sculptor1 and it was a sculptor who designed those frescoes4 ,n io pittore is his own phrase4 ,compare an autotype of ,adam in the ,sistine with one of ,twilight in ,s4 ,lorenzo3 it is clear that in the former ,michael ,angelo painted what he would have been well pleased to carve4 ,a sculptor's genius was needed for the modelling of those many figures2 it was1 moreover1 not a painter's part to deal thus drily with colour4 #cai ,the ,laurentian ,library1 however1 was built in #aebd4 #cbj ,see ,gotti1 pp4 #aej1 #aee1 #aeh1 #aei1 for the correspondence which passed upon the subject1 and the various alterations in the plan4 ,as in the case of all ,michael ,angelo's works1 except the ,sistine1 only a small portion of the original project was executed4 #cba ,cosimo de' ,medici found it impossible to induce him to return to ,florence4 ,see ,b4 ,cellini's ,life1 p4 #dcf1 for his way of receiving the ,duke's overtures4 #cbb ,see above1 ,chapter ,,ii1 ,michael ,angelo4 #cbc ,vasari names the gloomy statue1 called by the ,italians ,il ,penseroso1 ,lorenzo1 ,duke of ,urbino1 the sprightly one1 ,giuliano1 ,duke of ,nemours2 and this contemporary tradition has been recently confirmed by an inspection of the ,penseroso's tomb 7see a letter to the ,academy1 ,march #ac1 #ahge1 by ,mr4 ,charles ,heath ,wilson74 ,grimm1 in his ,life of ,michael ,angelo1 gave plausible aesthetic reasons why we should reverse the nomenclature2 but the discovery of two bodies beneath the ,penseroso1 almost certainly those of ,lorenzo and his supposed son ,alessandro1 justifies ,vasari4 ,neither of these statues can be accepted as a portrait4 #cbd ,the ,bacchus of the ,bargello1 the ,david1 the ,christ1 of the ,minerva1 the ,duke of ,nemours1 and the almost finished ,night1 might also be mentioned4 ,his chalk drawings of the ,bersaglieri1 the ,infant ,bacchanals1 the ,fall of ,phathon1 and the ,punishment of ,tityos1 now in the ,royal ,collection at ,windsor1 prove that even in old age ,michael ,angelo carried delicacy of execution as a draughtsman to a point not surpassed even by ,lionardo4 ,few frescoes1 again1 were ever finished with more conscientious elaboration than those of the ,sistine vault4 #cbe ,see ,varchi1 at the end of the ,storia ,fiorentina1 for episodes in the life of ,pier ,luigi ,farnese1 and ,cellini for a popular estimate of the ,cardinal1 his father4 #cbf ,this extract from ,cesare ,balbo's ,pensieri sulla ,storia d' ,italia1 ,le ,monnier1 #aheh1 p4 #eg1 may help to explain the situation3 ,e se lasciando gli uomini e i nomi grandi de' governanti1 noi venissimo a quella storia1 troppo sovente negletta1 dei piccoli1 dei pi1 dei governati che sono in somma scopo d' ogni sorta di governo2 se1 coll' aiuto delle tante memorie rimaste di quell' secolo1 noi ci addestrassimo a conoscere la condizione comune e privata degli ,italiani di quell' et1 noi troveremmo trasmesse dai governanti a' governati1 e ritornate da questi a quelli1 tali universali scostumatezze ed immoralit1 tali fiacchezze e perfidie1 tali mollezze e libidini1 tali ozi e tali vizi1 tali avvilimenti insomma e corruzioni1 che sembrano appena credibili in una et d' incivilmento cristiano4 #cbg ,vasari's description moves our laughter with its jargon about attitudini bellissime e scorti molto mirabili1 when the man1 in spite of his honest and enthusiastic admiration1 is so little capable of penetrating the painter's thought4 ,mr4 ,ruskin leaves the same impression as ,vasari3 he too makes much talk about attitudes and muscles in ,michael ,angelo1 and seems to be on ,vasari's level as to comprehending him4 ,the difference is that ,vasari praises1 ,ruskin blames2 both miss the mark4 #cbh possibile che voi1 che per essere divino non degnate il consortio degli huomini1 haviate ci fatto nel maggior tempio di ,dio84444 ,in un bagno delitioso1 non in un choro supremo si conveniva il far vostro4 ,those who are curious may consult ,aretino's correspondence with ,michael ,angelo in his published letters 7,parigi1 #afji71 lib4 i4 p4 #aec2 lib4 ii4 p4 #i2 lib4 iii4 pp4 #de1 #abb2 lib4 iv4 p4 #cg4 #cbi ,braun's autotypes of the vault frescoes show what ravage the lapse of time has wrought in them1 by the cracking of the plaster1 the peeling off in places of the upper surface1 and the deposit of dirt and cobwebs4 ,mr4 ,heath ,wilson1 after careful examination1 pronounces that not only time1 but the wilful hand of man1 re-painting and washing the delicate tint-coats with corrosive acids1 has contributed to their ruin4 #ccj ,histoire de la ,peinture en ,italie1 p4 #ccb4 #cca ,that is not counting the frescoes of the ,cappella ,paolina in the ,vatican1 painted about #aedd1 which are now in a far worse state even than the ,last ,judgment1 and which can never have done more than show his style in decadence4 #ccb ,see above1 ,chapter ,,ii1 ,s4 ,peter's4 #ccc ,see ,gotti1 p4 #cjg1 or ,archivio ,buonarroti1 p4 #ece4 #ccd ,i have reserved my translation of the sonnets that cast most light upon ,michael ,angelo's thought and feeling for an ,appendix1 ,no4 ,,ii4 #cce ,the majority of ,michael ,angelo's letters are written on domestic matters--about the affairs of his brothers and his father4 ,when they vexed him1 he would break out into expressions like the following3 ,io son ito1 da dodici anni in qua1 tapinando per tutta ,italia2 sopportato ogni vergognia2 patito ogni stento2 lacerato il corpo mio in ogni fatica2 messa la vita propria a mille pericoli1 solo per aiutar la casa mia4 ,they are generally full of good counsel and sound love4 ,how he loved his father may be seen in the terza rima poem on his death in #aecd4 #ccf ,notice this expression in a letter to his father1 written from ,rome1 about #aeab1 ,bastivi avere del pane1 e vivete ben con ,cristo e poveramente2 come fo io qua1 che vivo meschinamente4 ,it does not seem that he ever altered this poor way of living4 ,for his hiring at ,bologna1 in #aejg1 a single room with one bed in it1 for himself and his three workmen1 see ,gotti1 p4 #eh4 ,his father in #aejj rebuked him for the meanness of his establishment2 ibid4 p4 #bc4 ,it appears that he was always sending money home4 #ccg ,io sto qua in grande afanno1 e con grandissima fatica di corpo1 e non amici di nessuna sorte1 e none voglio3 e non tanto tempo che io possa mangiare el bisognio mio4 ,letter to ,gismondo1 published by ,grimm4 ,see1 too1 ,sebastian del ,piombo's letter to him of ,november #i1 #aebj3 ,ma fate paura a ognuno1 insino a' papi4 ,compare1 too1 the letter of ,sebastian1 ,oct4 #ae1 #aeab1 in which ,julius is reported to have said1 terribile1 come tu vedi1 non se pol praticar con lui4 ,again1 ,michael ,angelo writes3 ,sto sempesolo1 vo poco attorno e non parlo a persona e massino di fiorentini4 ,gotti1 p4 #bee4 #cch ,when anything went wrong with him1 he became moody and vehement3 ,non vi maravigliate che io vi abbi scritto alle volte cosi stizosamente1 che io alle volte di gran passione1 per molte cagioni che avengono a chi fuor di casa4 ,so he writes to his father in #adih4 ,a letter to ,luigi del ,riccio of #aede1 is signed ,michelagnolo ,buonarroti non pittore1 n scultore1 n architettore1 ma quel che voi volete1 ma none briaco1 come vi dissi1 in casa4 #cci ,see the letters of ,cosimo de' ,medici1 ,gotti1 pp4 #cja-cac1 the letter of ,count ,alessandro da ,canossa1 ibid4 p4 #d1 and ,pier ,vettori's letter to ,borghini1 about the visit of some ,german gentlemen1 ibid4 p4 #cae4 #cdj ,see the story as told by ,torrigiani himself in ,cellini1 ed4 ,le ,monnier1 p4 #bc4 #cda ,after saying that he talked of love like ,plato1 ,condivi continues3 ,non senti mai uscir di quella bocca se non parole onestissime1 e che avevan forza d' estinguere nella giovent ogni incomposto e sfrenato desiderio che in lei potesse cadere4 ,compare ,scipione ,ammirato1 quoted by ,guasti1 ,le ,rime1 p4 xi4 #cdb ,her intense affection for the ,marquis of ,pescara1 to whom she had been betrothed by her father at the age of five1 is sufficiently proved by those many sonnets and canzoni in which she speaks of him as her ,sun4 #cdc ,see ,grimm1 vol4 ii4 #cdd ,see the ,sonnets translated in my ,appendix and in my ,sonnets of ,michael ,angelo and ,campanella1 ,london1 ,smith ,elder1 #ahgh4 ,see also the letters to ,cavalieri1 quoted by ,gotti1 pp4 #bca1 #bcb1 #bcd4 ,it is surely strained criticism to conjecture1 as ,gotti has done1 that these epistles were meant for ,vittoria1 though written to ,cavalieri4 ,taken together with the sonnets and the letter of ,bartolommeo ,angiolini 7,gotti1 p4 #bcc71 they seem to me to prove only ,michael ,angelo's warm love for this young man4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,life ,,of ,,benvenuto ,,cellini ,his ,fame--,his ,autobiography--,its ,value for the ,student of ,history1 ,manners1 and ,character1 in the ,renaissance--,birth1 ,parentage1 and ,boyhood--,flute-playing--,apprenticeshi p to ,marcone--,wanderjahr--,the ,goldsmith's ,trade at ,florence--,torrigiani and ,england--,cellini leaves ,florence for ,rome--,quarrel with the ,guasconti--,homicidal ,fury--,cellini a ,law to ,himself--,three ,periods in his ,manhood--,life in ,rome--,diego at the ,banquet--,renaissance ,feeling for ,physical ,beauty--,sack of ,rome--,miracles in ,cellini's ,life--,his ,affections--,murder of his ,brother's ,assassin--,sanctuary--,pardon and ,absolution--,incantation in the ,colosseum--,first ,visit to ,france--,adventures on the ,way--,accused of ,stealing ,crown ,jewels in ,rome--,imprisonment in the ,castle of ,s4 ,angelo--,the ,governor--,cellini's ,escape--,his ,visions--,the ,nature of his ,religion--,second ,visit to ,france--,the ,wandering ,court--,le ,petit ,nesle--,cellini in the ,french ,law ,courts--,scene at ,fontainebleau--,return to ,florence--,cosimo de' ,medici as a ,patron--,intrigues of a petty ,court--,bandinelli--,the ,duchess--,statue of ,perseus--,end of ,cellini's ,life--,cellini and ,machiavelli4 ,few names in the history of ,italian art are more renowned than that of ,benvenuto ,cellini4 ,this can hardly be attributed to the value of his extant works2 for though1 while he lived1 he was the greatest goldsmith of his time1 a skilled medallist and an admirable statuary1 few of his many masterpieces now survive4 ,the plate and armour that bear his name1 are only in some rare instances genuine2 and the bronze ,perseus in the ,loggia de' ,lanzi at ,florence remains almost alone to show how high he ranked among the later ,tuscan sculptors4 ,if1 therefore1 ,cellini had been judged merely by the authentic productions of his art1 he would not have acquired a celebrity unique among his fellow-workers of the sixteenth century4 ,that fame he owes to the circumstance that he left behind him at his death a full and graphic narrative of his stormy life4 ,the vivid style of this autobiography dictated by ,cellini while still engaged in the labour of his craft1 its animated picture of a powerful character1 the variety of its incidents1 and the amount of information it contains1 place it high both as a life-romance and also as a record of contemporary history4 ,after studying the laboured periods of ,varchi1 we turn to these memoirs1 and view the same events from the standpoint of an artisan conveying his impressions with plebeian raciness of phrase4 ,the sack of ,rome1 the plague and siege of ,florence1 the humiliation of ,clement ,,vii41 the pomp of ,charles ,v4 at ,rome1 the behaviour of the ,florentine exiles at ,ferrara1 the intimacy between ,alessandro de' ,medici and his murderer1 ,lorenzino1 the policy of ,paul ,,iii41 and the method pursued by ,cosimo at ,florence1 are briefly but significantly touched upon--no longer by the historian seeking causes and setting forth the sequence of events1 but by a shrewd observer interested in depicting his own part in the great game of life4 ,cellini haunted the private rooms of popes and princes2 he knew the chief actors of his day1 just as the valet knows the hero2 and the picturesque glimpses into their life we gain from him1 add the charm of colour and reality to history4 ,at the same time this book presents an admirable picture of an artist's life at ,rome1 ,paris1 and ,florence4 ,cellini was essentially an ,italian of the ,cinque-cento4 ,his passions were the passions of his countrymen2 his vices were the vices of his time2 his eccentricity and energy and vital force were what the age idealised as virt4 ,combining rare artistic gifts with a most violent temper and a most obstinate will1 he paints himself at one time as a conscientious craftsman1 at another as a desperate bravo4 ,he obeys his instincts and indulges his appetites with the irreflective simplicity of an animal4 ,in the pursuit of vengeance and the commission of murder he is self-reliant1 coolly calculating1 fierce and fatal as a tiger4 ,yet his religious fervour is sincere2 his impulses are generous2 and his heart on the whole is good4 ,his vanity is inordinate2 and his unmistakable courage is impaired1 to ,northern apprehension1 by swaggering bravado4 ,the mixture of these qualities in a personality so natural and so clearly limned renders ,cellini a most precious subject for the student of ,renaissance life and character4 ,even supposing him to have been exceptionally passionate1 he was made of the same stuff as his contemporaries4 ,we are justified in concluding this not only from collateral evidence and from what he tells us1 but also from the meed of honour he received4 ,in ,europe of the present day he could hardly fail to be regarded as a ruffian1 a dangerous disturber of morality and order4 ,in his own age he was held in high esteem and buried by his fellow-citizens with public ceremonies4 ,a funeral oration was pronounced over his grave in praise both of his life and works1 and also of his excellent disposition of mind and body4#cde ,he dictated the memoirs that paint him as bloodthirsty1 sensual1 and revengeful1 in the leisure of his old age1 and left them with complacency to serve as witness of his manly virtues to posterity4 ,even ,vasari1 whom he hated1 and who reciprocated his ill-will1 records that he always showed himself a man of great spirit and veracity1 bold1 active1 enterprising1 and formidable to his enemies2 a man1 in short1 who knew as well how to speak to princes as to exert himself in his art4 ,enough has been said to prove that ,cellini was not inferior to the average morality of the ,renaissance1 and that we are justified in accepting his life as a valuable historical document4#cdf ,to give a detailed account of a book pronounced by ,horace ,walpole more amusing than any novel1 received by ,parini and ,tiraboschi as the most delightful masterpiece of ,italian prose1 translated into ,german by ,goethe1 and placed upon his index of select works by ,auguste ,comte1 may seem superfluous4 ,yet ,i cannot afford to omit from my plan the most singular and characteristic episode in the private history of the ,italian ,renaissance4 ,i need it for the concrete illustration of much that has been said in this and the preceding volumes of my work4 ,cellini was born of respectable parents at ,florence on the night of ,all ,saints' ,day in #aejj1 and was called ,benvenuto to record his father's joy at having a son4#cdg ,it was the wish of ,giovanni ,cellini's heart that his son should be a musician4 ,benvenuto in consequence practised the flute for many years attentively1 though much against his will4 ,at the age of fifteen so great was his desire to learn the arts of design that his father placed him under the care of the goldsmith ,marcone4 ,at the same time he tells us in his memoirs3 ,i continued to play sometimes through complaisance to my father either upon the flute or the horn2 and ,i constantly drew tears and deep sighs from him every time he heard me4 ,while engaged in the workshop of ,marcone1 ,benvenuto came to blows with some young men who had attacked his brother1 and was obliged to leave ,florence for a time4 ,at this period he visited ,siena1 ,bologna1 and ,pisa1 gaming his livelihood by working in the shops of goldsmiths1 and steadily advancing in his art4 ,it must not be thought that this education was a mean one for so great an artist4 ,painting and sculpture in ,italy were regarded as trades1 and the artist had his bottega just as much as the cobbler or the blacksmith4#cdh ,i have already had occasion to point out that an apprenticeship to goldsmith's work was considered at ,florence an almost indispensable commencement of advanced art-study4#cdi ,brunelleschi1 ,botticelli1 ,orcagna1 ,verocchio1 ,ghiberti1 ,pollajuolo1 ,ghirlandajo1 ,luca della ,robbia1 all underwent this training before they applied themselves to architecture1 painting1 and sculpture4 ,as the goldsmith's craft was understood in ,florence1 it exacted the most exquisite nicety in performance as well as design4 ,it forced the student to familiarise himself with the materials1 instruments1 and technical processes of art2 so that1 later on in life1 he was not tempted to leave the execution of his work to journeymen and hirelings4#cej ,no labour seemed too minute1 no metal was too mean1 for the exercise of the master-workman's skill2 nor did he run the risk of becoming one of those half-amateurs in whom accomplishment falls short of first conception4 ,art ennobled for him all that he was called to do4 ,whether cardinals required him to fashion silver vases for their banquet-tables2 or ladies wished the setting of their jewels altered2 or a pope wanted the enamelled binding of a book of prayers2 or men-at-arms sent swordblades to be damascened with acanthus foliage2 or kings desired fountains and statues for their palace courts2 or poets begged to have their portraits cast in bronze2 or generals needed medals to commemorate their victories1 or dukes new coins for their mint2 or bishops ordered reliquaries for the altars of their patron saints2 or merchants sought for seals and signet rings engraved with their device2 or men of fashion asked for medallions of ,leda and ,adonis to fasten in their caps--all these commissions could be undertaken by a workman like ,cellini4 ,he was prepared for all alike by his apprenticeship to orfevria2 and to all he gave the same amount of conscientious toil4 ,the consequence was that1 at the time of the ,renaissance1 furniture1 plate1 jewels1 and articles of personal adornment were objects of true art4 ,the mind of the craftsman was exercised afresh in every piece of work4 ,pretty things were not bought1 machine-made1 by the gross in a warehouse2 nor was it customary1 as now it is1 to see the same design repeated with mechanical regularity in every house4 ,in #aeah ,benvenuto returned to ,florence and began to study the cartoons of ,michael ,angelo4 ,he must have already acquired considerable reputation as a workman1 for about this time ,torrigiani invited him to go to ,england in his company and enter the service of ,henry ,,viii4 ,the ,renaissance was now beginning to penetrate the nations of the ,north1 and ,henry and ,francis vied with each other in trying to attract foreign artists to their capitals4 ,it does not1 however1 appear that the ,english king secured the services of men so distinguished as ,lionardo da ,vinci1 ,,ii ,rosso1 ,primaticcio1 ,del ,sarto1 and ,cellini1 who shed an artificial lustre on the ,court of ,france4 ,going to ,london then was worse than going to ,russia now1 and to take up a lengthy residence among questi diavoli 444 quelle bestie di quegli ,inglesi1 as ,cellini politely calls the ,english1 did not suit a ,southern taste4 ,he had1 moreover1 private reasons for disliking ,torrigiani1 who boasted of having broken ,michael ,angelo's nose in a quarrel4 ,his words1 says ,cellini1 raised in me such a hatred of the fellow that1 far from wishing to accompany him to ,england1 ,i could not bear to look at him4 ,it may be mentioned that one of ,cellini's best points was hero-worship for ,michael ,angelo4 ,he never speaks of him except as quel divino ,michel ,agnolo1 il mio maestro1 and extols la bella maniera of the mighty sculptor to the skies4 ,torrigiani1 as far as we can gather from ,cellini's description of him1 must have been a man of his own kidney and complexion3 he was handsome1 of consummate assurance1 having rather the airs of a bravo than a sculptor2 above all1 his fierce gestures and his sonorous voice1 with a peculiar manner of knitting his brows1 were enough to frighten everyone that saw him2 and he was continually talking of his valiant feats among those bears of ,englishmen4 ,the story of ,torrigiani's death in ,spain is worth repeating4 ,a grandee employed him to model a ,madonna1 which he did with more than usual care1 expecting a great reward4 ,his pay1 however1 falling short of is expectation1 in a fit of fury he knocked his statue to pieces4 ,for this act of sacrilege1 as it was deemed1 to the work of his own brain and hand1 ,torrigiani was thrown into the dungeons of the ,inquisition4 ,there he starved himself to death in #aebb in order to escape the fate of being burned4 ,this story helps to explain why the fine arts were never well developed in ,spain1 and why they languished after the introduction of the ,holy ,office into ,italy4#cea ,instead of emigrating to ,england1 ,benvenuto1 after a quarrel with his father about the obnoxious flute-playing1 sauntered out one morning toward the gate of ,s4 ,piero ,gattolini4 ,there he met a friend called ,tasso1 who had also quarrelled with his parents2 and the two youths agreed1 upon the moment1 to set off for ,rome4 ,both were nineteen years of age4 ,singing and laughing1 carrying their bundle by turns1 and wondering what the old folks would say1 they trudged on foot to ,siena1 there hired a return horse between them1 and so came to ,rome4 ,this residence in ,rome only lasted two years1 which were spent by ,cellini in the employment of various masters4 ,at the expiration of that time he returned to ,florence1 and distinguished himself by the making of a marriage girdle for a certain ,raffaello ,lapaccini4#ceb ,the fame of this and other pieces of jewellery roused against him the envy and malice of the elder goldsmiths1 and led to a serious fray1 in the course of which he assaulted a young man of the ,guasconti family1 and was obliged to fly disguised like a monk to ,rome4 ,as this is the first of ,cellini's homicidal quarrels1 it is worth while to transcribe what he says about it4 ,one day as ,i was leaning against the shop of these ,guasconti1 and talking with them1 they contrived that a load of bricks should pass by at the moment1 and ,gherardo ,guasconti pushed it against me in such wise that it hurt me4 ,turning suddenly and seeing that he was laughing1 ,i struck him so hard upon the temple that he fell down stunned4 ,then turning to his cousins1 ,i said1 ,that is how ,i treat cowardly thieves like you2 and when they began to show fight1 being many together1 ,i1 finding myself on flame1 set hand to a little knife ,i had1 and cried1 ,if one of you leaves the shop1 let another run for the confessor1 for a surgeon won't find anything to do here4 ,nor was he contented with this truculent behaviour2 for when ,gherardo recovered from his blow1 and the matter had come before the magistrates1 ,cellini went to seek him in his own house4 ,there he stabbed him in the midst of all his family1 raging meanwhile1 to use his own phrase1 like an infuriated bull4#cec ,it appears that on this occasion no one was seriously hurt2 but the affair proved perilous to ,cellini1 since it was a mere accident that he had not killed more than one of the ,guasconti4 ,these affrays recur continually among the adventures recorded by ,cellini in his ,life4 ,he says with comical reservation of phrase that he was naturally somewhat choleric2 and then1 describes the access of his fury as a sort of fever1 lasting for days1 preventing him from taking food or sleep1 making his blood boil in his veins1 inflaming his eyes1 and never suffering him to rest till he revenged himself by murder or at least by blows4 ,to enumerate all the people he killed or wounded1 or pounded to a jelly in public brawls or private quarrels1 in the pursuit of deliberate vendetta or under a sudden impulse of ungovernable rage1 would take too long4 ,we are forced by an effort to recall to mind the state of society at that time in ,italy1 in order to understand how it is that he can talk with unconcern and even self-complacency about his homicides4 ,he makes himself accuser1 judge1 and executioner1 and is quite satisfied with the goodness of his cause1 the justice of his sentence1 and the equity of his administration4 ,in a sonnet written to ,bandinelli1 he compares his own victims with the mangled statues of that sculptor1 much to his own satisfaction4#ced ,there is the same callousness of conscience in his record of spiteful acts that we should blush to think of--stabs in the dark1 and such a piece of revenge as cutting the beds to bits in the house of an innkeeper who had offended him4#cee ,nor does he speak with any shame of the savage cruelty with which he punished a woman who was sitting to him as a model1 and whom he hauled up and down his room by the hair of her head1 kicking and beating her till he was tired4#cef ,it is true that on this occasion he regrets having spoiled1 in a moment of blind passion1 the best arms and legs that he could find to draw from4 ,such episodes1 to which it is impossible to allude otherwise than very briefly1 illustrate with extraordinary vividness what ,i have already had occasion to say about the ,italian sense of honour at this period4#ceg ,the consciousness of physical courage and the belief in his own moral superiority sustained ,cellini in all his dangers and in all his crimes4 ,armed with his sword and dagger1 and protected by his coat of mail1 he was ready to stand against the world and fight his way towards any object he desired4 ,when a man opposed his schemes or entered into competition with him as an artist1 he swaggered up with hand on hilt and threatened to run him through the body if he did not mind his business4 ,at the same time he attributes the success of his own violence in quelling and maltreating his opponents to the providence of ,god4 ,i do not write this narrative1 he says1 from a motive of vanity1 but merely to return thanks to ,god1 who has extricated me out of so many trials and difficulties2 who likewise delivers me from those that daily impend over me4 ,upon all occasions ,i pay my devotions to ,him1 call upon ,him as my defender1 and recommend myself to ,his care4 ,i always exert my utmost efforts to extricate myself1 but when ,i am quite at a loss1 and all my powers fail me1 then the force of the ,deity displays itself--that formidable force which1 unexpectedly1 strikes those who wrong and oppress others1 and neglect the great and honourable duty which ,god has enjoined on them4 ,i shall have occasion later on to discuss ,cellini's religious opinions2 but here it may be remarked that the feeling of this passage is thoroughly sincere and consistent with the spirit of the times4 ,the separation between religion and morality was complete in ,italy4#ceh ,men made their own ,god and worshipped him2 and the ,god of ,cellini was one who always helped those who began to help themselves by taking justice into their own hands4 ,from the date of his second visit to ,rome in #aebc1 ,cellini's life divides itself into three periods1 the first spent in the service of ,popes ,clement ,,vii4 and ,paul ,,iii41 the second in ,paris at the ,court of ,francis1 and the third at ,florence under ,cosimo de' ,medici4 ,on arriving in ,rome1 his extraordinary abilities soon brought him into notice at the ,court4 ,the ,chigi family1 the ,bishop of ,salamanca1 and the ,pope himself employed him to make various jewels1 ornaments1 and services of plate4 ,in consequence of a dream in which his father appeared and warned him not to neglect music1 under pain of the paternal malediction1 he accepted a post in the ,papal band4 ,the old bugbear of flute-playing followed him until his father's death1 and then we hear no more of it4 ,the history of this portion of his life is among the most entertaining passages of his biography4 ,drawing the ,roman ruins1 shooting pigeons1 scouring the ,campagna on a pony like a shaggy bear1 fighting duels1 prosecuting love-affairs1 defending his shop against robbers1 skirmishing with ,moorish pirates on the shore by ,cerveterra1 stabbing1 falling ill of the plague and the ,french sickness--these adventures diversify the account he gives of masterpieces in gold and silver ware4 ,the literary and artistic society of ,rome at this period was very brilliant4 ,painters1 sculptors1 and goldsmiths mixed with scholars and poets1 passing their time alternately in the palaces of dukes and cardinals and in the lodgings of gay women4 ,bohemianism of the wildest type was combined with the manners of the great world4 ,a little incident described at some length by ,cellini brings this varied life before us4 ,there was a club of artists1 including ,giulio ,romano and other pupils of ,raphael1 who met twice a week to sup together and to spend the evening in conversation1 with music and the recitation of sonnets4 ,each member of this company brought with him a lady4 ,cellini1 on one occasion1 not being provided for the moment with an innamorata1 dressed up a beautiful ,spanish youth called ,diego as a woman1 and took him to the supper4 ,the ensuing scene is described in the most vivid manner4 ,we see before us the band of painters and poets1 the women in their bright costumes1 the table adorned with flowers and fruit1 and1 as a background to the whole picture1 a trellis of jasmines with dark foliage and starry blossoms4 ,diego1 called ,pomona1 with regard doubtless to his dark and ruddy beauty1 is unanimously proclaimed the fairest of the fair4 ,then a discovery of his sex is made2 and the adventure leads1 as usual in the doings of ,cellini1 to daggers1 midnight ambushes1 and vendettas that only end with bloodshed4 ,an episode of this sort may serve as the occasion for observing that the artists of the late ,renaissance had become absorbed in the admiration of merely carnal beauty4 ,with the exception of ,michael ,angelo and ,tintoretto1 there was no great master left who still pursued an intellectual ideal4 ,the ,romans and the ,venetians simply sought and painted what was splendid and luxurious in the world around them4 ,their taste was contented with well-developed muscles1 gorgeous colour1 youthful bloom1 activity of limb1 and grace of outline4 ,the habits of the day1 voluptuous yet hardy1 fostered this one-sided development of the arts2 while the asceticism of the ,middle ,ages had yielded to a pagan cult of sensuality4 ,to draw un bel corpo ignudo with freedom was now the ne plus ultra of achievement4 ,how to express thought or to indicate the subtleties of emotion1 had ceased to be the artist's aim4 ,we have already noticed the passionate love of beauty which animated the great masters of the golden age4 ,this1 in the less elevated natures of the craftsmen who succeeded them1 and under the conditions of advancing national corruption1 was no longer refined or restrained by delicacy of feeling or by loftiness of aim4 ,it degenerated into soulless animalism4 ,the capacity for perceiving and for reproducing what is nobly beautiful was lost4 ,vulgarity and coarseness stamped themselves upon the finest work of men like ,giulio ,romano4 ,at this crisis it was proved how inferior was the neo-paganism of the sixteenth century to the paganism of antiquity it aped4 ,mythology preserved ,greek art from degradation1 and connected a similar enthusiasm for corporeal beauty with the thoughts and aspirations of the ,hellenic race4 ,the ,italians lacked this safeguard of a natural religion4 ,to throw the ,christian ideal aside1 and to strive to grasp the classical ideal in exchange1 was easy4 ,but paganism alone could give them nothing but its vices2 it was incapable of communicating its real source of life--its poetry1 its faith1 its cult of nature4 ,art1 therefore1 as soon as the artists pronounced themselves for sensuality1 merged in a skilful selection and reproduction of elegant forms1 and nothing more4 ,a handsome youth upon a pedestal was called a god4 ,a duke's mistress on ,titian's canvas passed for ,aphrodite4 ,andrea del ,sarto's faithless wife figured as ,madonna4 ,cellini himself1 though sensitive to every kind of physical beauty--as we gather from what he tells us of ,cencio1 ,diego1 ,faustina1 ,paolino1 ,angelica1 ,ascanio--has not attempted to animate his ,perseus1 or his ,ganymede1 or his ,diana of ,fontainebleau1 with a vestige of intellectual or moral loveliness4 ,the vacancy of their expression proves the degradation of an art that had ceased to idealise anything beyond a faultless body4 ,not thus did the ,greeks imagine even their most sensual divinities4 ,there is at least a thought in ,faun and ,satyr4 ,cellini's statues have no thought2 their blank animalism corresponds to the condition of their maker's soul4#cei ,when ,rome was carried by assault in #aebg1 and the ,papal ,court was besieged in the castle of ,s4 ,angelo1 ,cellini played the part of bombardier4 ,it is well known that he claims to have shot the ,constable of ,bourbon dead with his own hand1 and to have wounded the ,prince of ,orange2 nor does there seem to be any adequate reason for discrediting his narrative4 ,it is certain that he was an expert marksman1 and that he did ,clement good service by directing the artillery of ,s4 ,angelo4 ,if we believed all his assertions1 however1 we should have to suppose that nothing memorable happened without his intervention4 ,in his own eyes his whole life was a miracle4 ,the very hailstones that fell upon his head could not be grasped in both hands4 ,his guns and powder brought down birds no other marksman had a chance of hitting4 ,when he was a child1 he grasped a scorpion without injury1 and saw a salamander living and enjoying himself in the hottest flames4 ,after his fever at ,rome in #aece1 he threw off from his stomach a hideous worm--hairy1 speckled with green1 black1 and red--the like whereof the doctors never saw4#cfj ,when he finally escaped from the dungeons of ,s4 ,angelo in #aeci1 a luminous appearance like an aureole settled on his head1 and stayed there for the rest of his life4#cfa ,these facts are related in the true spirit of ,jerome ,cardan1 ,paracelsus1 ,lord ,herbert of ,cherbury1 and ,sir ,thomas ,browne4 ,cellini doubtless believed in them2 but they warn us to be cautious in accepting what he says about his exploits1 since imagination and self-conceit could so far distort his judgment4 ,it may be regretted that ,cellini has not given a fuller account of the memorable sack of ,borne4 ,yet1 confining himself almost wholly to his own adventures1 he presents a very vivid picture of the sad life led by the ,pope and cardinals1 vainly hoping for succour from ,urbino1 wrangling together about the causes of the tragedy1 sewing the crown jewels into their doublets1 and running the perils of the siege with common soldiers on the ramparts4 ,when peace at last was signed1 ,cellini paid a visit to ,florence1 and found that his father and some other relatives had died of plague4#cfb ,his brother ,cecchino1 however1 who was a soldier in the ,bande ,nere of ,giovanni de' ,medici1 and his sister ,liperata survived4 ,with them he spent a pleasant evening2 for ,liperata having for a while lamented her father1 her sister1 her husband1 and a little son that she had been deprived of1 went to prepare supper1 and during the rest of the evening there was not a word more spoken of the dead1 but much about weddings4 ,thus we supped together with the greatest cheerfulness and satisfaction imaginable4 ,in these sentences there is no avowal of hard-heartedness2 only the careless familiarity with loss and danger1 engendered by war1 famine1 plague1 and personal adventures in those riotous times4#cfc ,cellini gladly risked his life in a quarrel for his friends2 but he would not sadden the present by reflecting on inevitable accidents4 ,this elastic temper permeates his character4 ,his affections were strong1 but transient4 ,the one serious love-affair he describes1 among a multitude of mere debaucheries1 made him miserable for a few days4 ,his mistress1 ,angelica1 ran away1 and left him on the point of losing his senses or dying of grief4 ,yet1 when he found her again1 a short time sufficed to satisfy his longing1 and he turned his back with jibes upon her when she bargained about money4 ,it is worthy of notice that1 at the same time1 he was an excellent son and brother4 ,his sister was left a widow with two children2 whereupon he took them all into his house1 without bragging about what appears to have been the best action of his life4 ,in the same spirit he conscientiously performed what he conceived to be his duty to ,cecchino1 murdered by a musketeer in ,rome4 ,after nursing his revenge till he was nearly mad1 he stole out one evening and stabbed the murderer in the back4#cfd ,so violent was the blow that he could not extricate his dagger from the man's spine1 but had to leave it sticking in his nape4 ,next to his own egotism the strongest feelings in ,cellini were domestic2 and he showed them at one moment by charity to his sister's family1 at another by a savage assassination4 ,after killing the musketeer1 ,cellini retired for refuge to the house of ,alessandro de' ,medici1 ,duke of ,civit di ,penna1 who had been his brother's patron4 ,the matter reached the ,pope's ears1 for whom ,benvenuto was at work upon crown jewels4 ,clement sent for him1 and simply said3 ,now you have recovered your health1 ,benvenuto1 take care of yourself4 ,this shows how little they thought of homicide in ,rome4 ,after killing a man1 some powerful protector had to be sought1 who was usually a cardinal1 since the cardinals had right of sanctuary in their palaces4 ,there the assassin lay in hiding1 in order to avoid his victim's friends and relatives1 until such time as a pardon and safe-conduct and absolution had been obtained from his ,holiness4 ,when ,cellini1 soon after this occurrence1 stabbed a private enemy1 by name ,pompeo1 two cardinals were anxious to screen him from pursuit1 and disputed the privilege of harbouring so talented a criminal4#cfe ,the ,pope1 with marvellous good-humour1 observed3 ,i have never heard of the death of ,pompeo1 but often of ,benvenuto's provocation2 so let a safe-conduct be instantly made out1 and that will secure him from all manner of danger4 ,a friend of ,pompeo's who was present1 ventured to insinuate that this was dangerous policy4 ,the ,pope put him down at once by saying1 ,you do not understand these matters2 ,i would have you know that men who are unique in their profession1 like ,benvenuto1 are not subject to the laws4 ,whether ,paul really said these words1 may be doubted2 but it is clear that much was conceded to a clever workman1 and that the laws were a mere brutum fulmen4 ,no man of spirit appealed to them4 ,cellini1 for example1 was poisoned by a parish priest near ,florence3#cff yet he never brought the man to justice2 and in the case of his own murders1 he only dreaded the retaliation of his victims' kinsmen4 ,on one occasion1 indeed1 the civil arm came down upon him2 when the city guard attempted to arrest him for ,pompeo's assassination4 ,he beat them off with swords and sticks2 and1 after all1 it appeared that they were only acting at the instigation of ,pier ,luigi ,farnese1 whom ,benvenuto had offended4 ,during his residence at ,rome1 ,cellini witnessed an incantation conducted in the ,colosseum by a ,sicilian priest and necromancer4 ,the conjurer and the artist1 accompanied by two friends1 and by a boy1 who was to act as medium1 went by night to the amphitheatre4 ,the magic circle was drawn2 fires were lighted1 and perfumes scattered on the flames4 ,then the spirit-seer began his charms1 calling in ,hebrew1 ,greek1 and ,latin1 or what passed for such1 upon the leaders of the hosts of hell4 ,the whole hollow space now filled with phantoms1 surging up by legions1 rushing down from the galleries1 issuing from subterranean caverns1 and wheeling to and fro with signs of fury4 ,all the party1 says ,cellini1 were thrown into consternation1 except himself1 who1 though terribly afraid1 kept up the fainting spirits of the rest4 ,at last the conjurer summoned courage to inquire when ,cellini might hope to be restored to his lost love1 ,angelica2--for this was the trivial object of the incantation4 ,the demons answered 7how we are not told7 that he would meet her ere a month had passed away4 ,this prophecy1 as it happened1 was fulfilled4 ,then they redoubled their attacks2 the necromancer kept crying out that the peril was most imminent1 until the matin bells of ,rome swung through the darkness1 freeing them at last from fear4 ,as they walked home1 the boy1 holding the ,sicilian by his robe and ,benvenuto by his mantle1 told them that he still saw giants leaping with fantastic gestures on their path1 now running along the house roofs1 and now dancing on the earth4 ,each one of them that night dreamed in his bed of devils4#cfg ,the interest of this incident is almost wholly picturesque4 ,it throws but little light upon the superstitions of the age4#cfh ,the magnitude of the ,colosseum1 the popular legends concerning its magical origin1 and the terrible uses of blood to which it had been put1 invested this building with peculiar mystery4 ,robbers haunted the huge caves4 ,rubbish and weeds choked the passages4 ,sickly trees soared up from darkness into light among the porches1 and the moon peered through the empty vomitories4 ,if we call imagination to our aid1 and place the necromancers and their brazier in the centre of this space2--if we fancy the priest's chaunted spells1 the sacred names invoked in his unholy rites1 the shuddering terror of the conscience-stricken accomplices1 and ,cellini with defiant mien but quailing heart1 we can well believe that he saw more than the amphitheatre contained4 ,whether the spectres were projected by the conjurer from a magic lantern on the smoke that issued from his heaps of blazing wood1 so that the volumes of vapour1 agitated by the wind and rolling in thick spirals1 showed them retreating and advancing1 and varying in shape and number1 is a matter for conjecture4 ,cellini firmly believed that he had been environed by living squadrons of the spirits of the damned4 ,the next four years were spent by ,cellini chiefly in ,rome1 in peril of his life at several seasons1 owing to the animosity of ,pier ,luigi ,farnese4 ,one journey he took at this period to ,venice1 passing through ,ferrara1 where he came to blows with the ,florentine exiles4 ,it is interesting to find the respectable historian ,jacopo ,nardi involved1 if only as a peacemaker1 in this affray4#cfi ,he also visited ,florence and cast dies for ,alessandro's silver coinage4 ,it was here that he found opportunities of observing the perilous intimacy between the ,duke of ,civit di ,penna and his cousin--quel pazzo malinconico filosofo di ,lorenzino4#cgj ,in ,april #aecg1 having quarrelled with the ,pope1 who seems to have adopted ,pier ,luigi's prejudice against him1 ,cellini set out for ,france with two of his workmen4 ,they passed through ,florence1 ,bologna1 ,venice1 and ,padua1 staying in the last place to model a medallion portrait of ,pietro ,bembo2#cga then they crossed the ,grisons by the ,bernina and ,albula passes4 ,we hear nothing about this part of the journey1 except that the snow was heavy1 and that they ran great danger of their lives4 ,cellini must have traversed some of the most romantic scenery of ,switzerland at the best season of the year2 yet not a word escapes him about the beauty of the ,alps or the wonder of the glaciers1 which he saw for the first time4 ,the pleasure we derive from contemplating savage scenery was unknown to the ,italians of the sixteenth century2 the height and cold1 the gloom and solitude of mountains struck them with a sense of terror or of dreariness4 ,on the ,lake of ,wallenstadt ,cellini met with a party of ,germans1 whom he hated as cordially as an ,athenian of the age of ,pericles might have loathed the ,scythians for their barbarism4#cgb ,the ,italians embarked in one boat1 the ,germans in another2 ,cellini being under the impression that the ,northern lakes would not be so likely to drown him as those of his own country4 ,however1 when a storm swept down the hills1 he took a terrible fright1 and compelled the boatmen at the point of the poniard to put him and his company ashore4 ,the description of their struggles to drag their heavily laden horses over the uneven ground near ,wesen1 is extremely graphic1 and gives a good notion of the dangers of the road in those days4#cgc ,that night they heard the watch sing at all hours very agreeably2 and as the houses of that town were all of wood1 he kept bidding them to take care of their fires4 ,next day they arrived1 not without other accidents1 at ,zurich1 a marvellous city1 as clear and polished as a jewel4 ,thence by ,solothurn1 ,lausanne1 ,geneva1 and ,lyons1 they made their way to ,paris4 ,this long and troublesome journey led to nothing1 for ,cellini grew weary of following the ,french ,court about from place to place2 his health too failed him1 and he decided that he would rather die in ,italy than ,france4#cgd ,accordingly he returned to ,rome1 and there1 not long after his arrival1 he was arrested by the order of ,pope ,paul ,,iii4#cge ,the charge against him1 preferred by one of his own prentices1 was this4 ,during the siege of ,rome1 he had been employed by ,clement to melt down the tiaras and papal ornaments1 in order that the precious stones might be conveyed away in secrecy4 ,he did so2 and afterwards confessed to having kept a portion of the gold filings found in the cinders of his brazier during the operation4 ,for this crime ,clement gave him absolution4#cgf ,now1 however1 he was accused of having stolen gold and jewels to the amount of nearly eighty thousand ducats4 ,the avarice of the ,pope1 but more that of his bastard1 then called ,duke of ,castro1 inclined ,paul to believe this charge2 and ,pier ,luigi was allowed to farm the case4 ,cellini was examined by the ,governor of ,rome and two assessors2 in spite of his vehement protestations of innocence1 the absence of any evidence against him1 and the sound arguments adduced in his defence1 he was committed to the castle of ,s4 ,angelo4 ,when he received his sentence1 he called heaven and earth to witness1 thanking ,god that he had the happiness not to be confined for some error of his sinful nature1 as generally happens to young men4 ,whereupon the brute of a ,governor replied1 ,yet you have killed enough men in your time4 ,this remark was pertinent2 but it provoked a torrent of abuse and a long enumeration of his services from the virtuous ,cellini4 ,the account of this imprisonment1 and especially of the hypochondriacal ,governor who thought he was a bat and used to flap his arms and squeak when night was coming on1 is highly entertaining4#cgg ,not less interesting is the description of ,cellini's daring escape from the castle4 ,in climbing over the last wall1 he fell and broke his leg1 and was carried by a waterman to the palace of the ,cardinal ,cornaro4 ,there he lay in hiding1 visited by all the rank and fashion of ,rome1 who were not a little curious to see the hero of so perilous an escapade4 ,cornaro promised to secure his pardon1 but eventually exchanged him for a bishopric4 ,this remarkable proceeding illustrates the manners of the ,papal ,court4 ,the cardinal wanted a benefice for one of his followers1 and the ,pope wished to get his son's enemy once more into his power4 ,so the two ecclesiastics bargained together1 and by mutual kind offices attained their several ends4 ,cellini with his broken leg went back to languish in his prison4 ,he found the flighty ,governor furious because he had flown away1 eluding his bat's eyes and wings4 ,the rigour used towards him made him dread the worst extremities4 ,cast into a condemned cell1 he first expected to be flayed alive2 and when this terror was removed1 he perceived the crystals of a pounded jewel in his food4 ,according to his own account of this mysterious circumstance1 ,messer ,durante ,duranti of ,brescia1 one of ,cellini's numerous enemies1 had given a diamond of small value to be broken up and mixed with a salad served to him at dinner4 ,the jeweller to whom this charge was entrusted1 kept the diamond and substituted a beryl1 thinking that the inferior stone would have the same murderous properties4 ,to the avarice of this man ,cellini attributed his escape from a lingering death by inflammation of the mucous membrane4#cgh ,during his first imprisonment he had occupied a fair chamber in the upper turret of the castle4 ,he was now removed to a dungeon below ground where ,fra ,fojano1 the reformer1 had been starved to death4 ,the floor was wet and infested with crawling creatures4 ,a few reflected sunbeams slanting from a narrow window for two hours of the afternoon1 was all the light that reached him4 ,here he lay1 alone1 unable to move because of his broken leg1 with his hair and teeth falling away1 and with nothing to occupy him but a ,bible and a volume of ,villani's ,chronicles4 ,his spirit1 however1 was indomitable2 and the passionate energy of the man1 hitherto manifested in ungoverned acts of fury1 took the form of ecstasy4 ,he began the study of the ,bible from the first chapter of ,genesis1 and trusting firmly to the righteousness of his own cause1 compared himself to all the saints and martyrs of ,scripture1 men of whom the world was not worthy4 ,he sang psalms1 prayed continually1 and composed a poem in praise of his prison4 ,with a piece of charcoal he made a great drawing of angels surrounding ,god the ,father on the wall4 ,once only his courage gave way3 he determined on suicide1 and so placed a beam that it should fall on him like a trap4 ,when all was ready1 an unseen hand took violent hold of him1 and dashed him on the ground at a considerable distance4 ,from this moment his dungeon was visited by angels1 who healed his broken leg1 and reasoned with him of religion4 ,the mention of these visions reminds us that ,cellini had become acquainted with ,savonarola's writings during his first imprisonment4#cgi ,impressed with the grandeur of the prophet's dreams1 and exalted by the reading of the ,bible1 he no doubt mistook his delirious fancies for angelic visitors1 and in the fervour of his enthusiasm laid claim to inspiration4 ,one of these hallucinations is particularly striking4 ,he had prayed that he might see the sun at least in trance1 if it were impossible that he should look on it again with waking eyes4 ,but1 while awake and in possession of his senses1 he was hurried suddenly away and carried to a room1 where the invisible power sustaining him appeared in human shape1 like a youth whose beard is but just growing1 with a face most marvellous1 fair1 but of austere and far from wanton beauty4 ,in that room were all the men who had ever lived and died on earth2 and thence they two went together1 and came into a narrow street1 one side whereof was bright with sunlight4 ,then ,cellini asked the angel how he might behold the sun2 and the angel pointed to certain steps upon the side of a house4 ,up these ,cellini climbed1 and came into the full blaze of the sun1 and1 though dazzled by its brightness1 he gazed steadfastly and took his fill4 ,while he looked1 the rays fell away upon the left side and the disk shone like a bath of molten gold4 ,this surface swelled1 and from the glory came the figure of a ,christ upon the cross1 which moved and stood beside the rays4 ,again the surface swelled1 and from the glory came the figure of ,madonna and her ,child2 and at the right hand of the sun there knelt ,s4 ,peter in his sacerdotal robes1 pleading ,cellini's cause2 and full of shame that such foul wrong should be done to ,christians in his house4 ,this vision marvellously strengthened ,cellini's soul1 and he began to hope with confidence for liberty4 ,when free again1 he modelled the figures he had seen in gold4 ,the religious phase in ,cellini's history requires some special comment1 since it is precisely at this point that he most faithfully personifies the spirit of his age and nation4 ,that he was a devout ,catholic there is no question4 ,he made two pilgrimages to ,loreto1 and another to ,s4 ,francis of ,vernia4 ,to ,s4 ,lucy he dedicated a golden eye after his recovery from an illness4 ,he was1 moreover1 always anxious to get absolution from the ,pope4 ,more than this2 he continually sustained himself at the great crises of his life1 when in peril of imprisonment1 while defending himself against assassins1 and again on the eve of casting his ,perseus1 by direct and passionate appeals to ,god4 ,yet his religion had but little effect upon his life2 and he often used it as a source of moral strength in doing deeds repugnant to real piety4 ,like love1 he put it off and on quite easily1 reverting to it when he found himself in danger or bad spirits1 and forgetting it again when he was prosperous4 ,thus in the dungeon of ,s4 ,angelo he vowed to visit the ,holy ,sepulchre if ,god would grant him to behold the sun4 ,this vow he forgot until he met with disappointment at the ,court of ,francis1 and then he suddenly determined to travel to ,jerusalem4 ,the offer of a salary of seven hundred crowns restored his spirits1 and he thought no more about his vow4 ,while he loved his life so dearly and indulged so freely in the pleasures of this earth1 he made a virtue of necessity as soon as death approached1 crying1 ,the sooner ,i am delivered from the prison of this world1 the better2 especially as ,i am sure of salvation1 being unjustly put to death4 ,his good opinion of himself extended to the certainty he felt of heaven4 ,forgetting his murders and debaucheries1 he sustained his courage with devotion when all other sources failed4 ,as to the divine government of the world1 he halted between two opinions4 ,whether the stars or ,providence had the upper hand1 he could not clearly say2 but by the stars he understood a power antagonistic to his will1 by ,providence a force that helped him to do what he liked4 ,there is a similar confusion in his mind about the ,pope4 ,he goes to ,clement submissively for absolution from homicide and theft1 saying1 ,i am at the feet of your ,holiness1 who have the full power of absolving1 and ,i request you to give me permission to confess and communicate1 that ,i may with your favour be restored to the divine grace4 ,he also tells ,paul that the sight of ,christ's vicar1 in whom there is an awful representation of the divine ,majesty1 makes him tremble4 ,yet at another time he speaks of ,clement being transformed to a savage beast1 and talks of him as that poor man ,pope ,clement4#chj ,of ,paul he says that he believed neither in ,god nor in any other article of religion2 he sincerely regrets not having killed him by accident during the siege of ,rome1 abuses him for his avarice1 casts his bastards in his teeth1 and relates with relish the crime of forgery for which in his youth he was imprisoned in the castle of ,s4 ,angelo4#cha ,indeed1 the ,italians treated the ,pope as negroes treat their fetishes4 ,if they had cause to dislike him1 they beat and heaped insults on him--like the ,florentines who described ,sixtus ,,iv4 as leno matris suae1 adulterorum minister1 diaboli vicarius1 and his spiritual offspring as simonia1 luxus1 homicidium1 proditio1 haeresis4 ,on the other hand1 they really thought that he could open heaven and shut the gates of hell4 ,at the end of the year #aeci1 the ,cardinal ,ippolito d',este appeared in ,rome with solicitations from ,francis ,i4 that the ,pope would release ,cellini and allow him to enter his service4#chb ,upon this the prison door was opened4 ,cellini returned to his old restless life of violence and pleasure4 ,we find him renewing his favourite pastimes--killing1 wantoning1 disputing with his employers1 and working diligently at his trade4 ,the temporary saint and visionary becomes once more the bravo and the artist4 ,a more complete parallel to the consequences of revivalism in ,italy could not be found4#chc ,meanwhile the first period of his history is closed and the second begins4 ,cellini's account of his residence in ,france has much historical interest besides the charm of its romance4 ,when he first joined the ,court1 he found ,francis travelling from city to city with a retinue of eighteen thousand persons and twelve thousand horses4 ,frequently they came to places where no accommodation could be had1 and the suite were lodged in wretched tents4 ,it is not wonderful that ,cellini should complain of the ,french being less civilised than the ,italians of his time4 ,francis among his ladies and courtiers1 pretending to a knowledge of the arts1 sauntering with his splendid train into the goldsmith's workshop1 encouraging ,cellini's violence with a boyish love of mischief1 vain and flattered1 peevish1 petulant1 and fond of show1 appears upon these pages with a life-like vividness4#chd ,when the time came for settling in ,paris1 the ,king presented his goldsmith with a castle called ,le ,petit ,nesle1 and made him lord thereof by letters of naturalisation4 ,this house stood where the ,institute has since been built2 of its extent we may judge from the number of occupations carried on within its precincts when ,cellini entered into possession4 ,he found there a tennis-court1 a distillery1 a printing press1 and a factory of saltpetre1 besides residents engaged in other trades4 ,cellini's claims were resisted4 ,probably the occupiers did not relish the intrusion of a foreigner4 ,so he stormed the place and installed himself by force of arms4 ,similar violence was needed in order to maintain himself in possession2 but this ,cellini loved1 and had he been let alone1 it is probable he would have died of ennui4 ,difficulties of all kinds1 due in part to his ungovernable temper1 in part to his ill-regulated life1 in part to his ignorance of ,french habits1 gathered round him4 ,he fell into disfavour with ,madame d',estampes1 the mistress of the ,king2 and here it may be mentioned that many of his troubles arose from his inability to please noble women4#che ,proud1 self-confident1 overbearing1 and unable to command his words or actions1 ,cellini was unfitted to pay court to princes4 ,then again he quarrelled with his brother artists1 and made the ,bolognese painter1 ,primaticcio1 his enemy4 ,after being attacked by assassins and robbers on more than one occasion1 he was involved in two lawsuits4 ,he draws a graphic picture of the ,french courts of justice1 with their judge as grave as ,plato1 their advocates all chattering at once1 their perjured ,norman witnesses1 and the ushers at the doors vociferating ,paix1 paix1 ,satan1 allez1 paix4 ,in this cry ,cellini recognised the gibberish at the beginning of the seventh canto of ,dante's ,inferno4 ,but the most picturesque group in the whole scene presented to us is that made by ,cellini himself1 armed and mailed1 and attended by his prentices in armour1 as they walked into the court to browbeat justice with the clamour of their voice4 ,if we are to trust his narrative1 he fought his way out of one most dangerous trial by simple vociferation4 ,afterwards he took the law1 as usual1 into his own hands4 ,one pair of litigants were beaten2 ,caterina was nearly kicked to death2 and the attorneys were threatened with the sword4 ,in the midst of these disturbances1 ,cellini began some important works for ,francis4 ,at ,paris the ,king employed him to make huge silver candelabra1 and at ,fontainebleau to restore the castle gate4 ,for the chteau of ,fontainebleau ,cellini executed the nymph in bronze1 reclining among trophies of the chase1 which may still be seen in the ,louvre4 ,it is a long-limbed1 lifeless figure1 without meaning--a snuff-box ornament enlarged to a gigantic size4 ,francis1 who cannot have had good taste in art1 if what ,cellini makes him say be genuine1 admired these designs above the bronze copies of the ,vatican marbles he had recently received4 ,he seems to have felt some personal regard for ,benvenuto1 and to have done all he could to retain him in his service4 ,the animosity of ,madame d',estampes1 and a grudge against his old patron1 ,ippolito d',este1 however1 determined the restless craftsman to quit ,paris4 ,leaving his castle1 his unfinished works1 and other property behind him in the care of ,ascanio1 his friend and pupil1 he returned alone to ,italy4 ,this step1 taken in a moment of restless pique1 was ever after regretted by ,cellini1 who looked back with yearning from ,florence to the generosity of ,francis4 ,cosimo de' ,medici was indeed a very different patron from ,francis4 ,cautious1 little-minded1 meddling1 with a true ,florentine's love of bargaining and playing cunning tricks1 he pretended to protect the arts1 but did not understand the part he had assumed4 ,he was always short of money1 and surrounded by old avaricious servants1 through whose hands his meagre presents passed4 ,as a connoisseur1 he did not trust his own judgment1 thus laying himself open to the intrigues of inferior artists4 ,henceforward a large part of ,cellini's time was wasted in wrangling with the ,duke's steward1 squabbling with ,bandinelli and ,ammanati1 and endeavouring to overcome the coldness or to meet the vacillations of his patron4 ,those who wish to gain insight into the life of an artist at ,court in the sixteenth century1 will do well to study attentively the chapters devoted by ,cellini to his difficulties with the ,duchess1 and his wordy warfares with ,bandinelli4#chf ,this atmosphere of intrigue and animosity was not uncongenial to ,benvenuto2 and as far as words and blows went1 he almost always got the best of it4 ,nothing1 for example1 could be keener and more cutting than the very just criticism he made in ,bandinelli's presence of his ,hercules and ,cacus4 ,quel bestial buaccio ,bandinello1 as he delights to name him1 could do nothing but retort with vulgar terms of insult4#chg ,the great achievement of this third period was the modelling and casting of the ,perseus4 ,no episode in ,cellini's biography is narrated with more force than the climax to his long-protracted labours1 when at last1 amid the chaos and confusion of innumerable accidents1 the metal in his furnace liquefied and filled the mould4 ,after the statue was uncovered in the ,loggia de' ,lanzi1 where it now stands1 ,cellini achieved a triumph adequate to his own highest expectations4 ,odes and sonnets in ,italian1 ,greek1 and ,latin1 were written in its praise4 ,pontormo and ,bronzino1 the painters1 loaded it with compliments4 ,cellini1 ruffling with hand on hilt in silks and satins through the square1 was pointed out to foreigners as the great sculptor who had cast the admirable bronze4 ,it was1 in truth1 no slight distinction for a ,florentine artist to erect a statue beneath the ,loggia de' ,lanzi in the square of the ,signory4 ,every great event in ,florentine history had taken place on that piazza4 ,every name of distinction among the citizens of ,florence was connected with its monuments4 ,to this day we may read the course of ,florentine art by studying its architecture and sculpture2 and not the least of its many ornaments1 in spite of all that may be said against it1 is the ,perseus of ,cellini4 ,cellini completed the ,perseus in #aeed4 ,his autobiography is carried down to the year #aefb1 when it abruptly terminates4 ,it appears that in #aeeh he received the tonsure and the first ecclesiastical orders2 but two years later on he married a wife1 and died at the age of sixty-nine1 leaving three legitimate children4 ,he was buried honourably1 and a funeral oration was pronounced above his bier in the ,chapter ,house of the ,annunziata4 ,as a man1 ,cellini excites more interest than as an artist2 and for this reason ,i have refrained from entering into minute criticism of his few remaining masterpieces4 ,it has been well said that the two extremes of society1 the statesman and the craftsman1 find their point of meeting in ,machiavelli and ,cellini1 inasmuch as both recognise no moral authority but the individual will4#chh ,the virt1 extolled by ,machiavelli is exemplified by ,cellini4 ,machiavelli bids his prince ignore the laws2 ,cellini respects no tribunal and takes justice into his own hands4 ,the word conscience does not occur in ,machiavelli's phraseology of ethics2 conscience never makes a coward of ,cellini1 and in the dungeons of ,s4 ,angelo he is visited by no remorse4 ,if we seek a literary parallel for the statesman and the artist in their idealisation of force and personal character1 we find it in ,pietro ,aretino4 ,in him1 too1 conscience is extinct2 for him1 also1 there is no respect of ,king or ,pope2 he has placed himself above law1 and substituted his own will for justice4 ,with his pen1 as ,cellini with his dagger1 he assassinates2 his cynicism serves him for a coat of armour4 ,and so abject is society1 so natural has tyranny become1 that he extorts blackmail from monarchs1 makes princes tremble1 and receives smooth answers to his insults from ,buonarroti4 ,these three men1 ,machiavelli1 ,cellini1 and ,aretino1 each in his own line1 and with the proper differences that pertain to philosophic genius1 artistic skill1 and ribald ruffianism1 sufficiently indicate the dissolution of the social bond in ,italy4 ,they mark their age as the age of adventurers1 bandits1 bullies1 ,ishmaelites1 and tyrants4 ,,footnotes3 #cde ,in lode e onor della vita sua e opere d'esso1 e buona disposizione della anima e del corpo4 ,la ,vita di ,benvenuto ,cellini1 ,firenze1 ,le ,monnier1 #aheb2 ,documenti1 p4 #egh4 #cdf ,i do not by this mean to commit myself to the opinion that ,cellini is accurate in details or truthful4 ,on the contrary1 it is impossible to read his life without feeling that his vanity and self-esteem led him to exaggeration and mis-statement4 ,the value of the biography consists in its picturesqueness1 its brilliant and faithful colouring1 and its unconscious self-revelation of an energetic character4 #cdg ,with regard to his pedigree ,cellini tells a ridiculous story about a certain ,fiorino da ,cellino1 one of ,julius ,caesar's captains1 who gave his name to ,florence4 ,for the arms of the ,cellini family1 see lib4 i4 cap4 #ej4 #cdh ,to enlarge upon this point is hardly necessary2 or it would be easy to prove from documentary evidence that artists so eminent as ,simone ,martini1 ,gentile da ,fabriano1 ,perugino1 and ,ghirlandajo kept open shops1 where customers could buy the products of their craft from a highly-finished altar-piece down to a painted buckler or a sign to hang above the street-door4 ,the commercial status of fine art in ,italy was highly beneficial to its advancement1 inasmuch as it implied a thorough technical apprenticeship for learners4 ,the defective side of the system was apparent in great workshops like that of ,raphael1 who undertook painting-commissions quite beyond his powers of conscientious execution4 #cdi ,see above1 ,chapter ,,iii1 ,orcagna's ,tabernacle4 #cej ,see lib4 ii4 cap4 #e1 for the description of ,francis ,i4 visiting ,cellini in his work-room4 ,he finds him hammering away at the metal1 and suggests that he might leave that labour to his prentices4 ,cellini replies that the excellence of his work would suffer if he did not do it himself4 #cea ,see ,yriarte1 ,vie d'un ,gentilhomme de ,venise1 p4 #dci1 for a process instituted by the ,inquisition against ,paolo ,veronese4 #ceb ,he calls it un chiavaquore di argento1 il quale era in quei tempi chiamato cosi4 ,questo si era una cintura di tre dita larga1 che alle spose novelle s' usava di fare4 #cec ,si come un toro invelenito4 #ced ,living men have felt my blows3 those many maimed and mutilated stones one sees1 attest to your disgrace3 the earth hides my bad work4 ,see the lines quoted by ,perkins1 ,tuscan ,sculptors1 vol4 ii4 p4 #adj4 #cee ,lib4 i4 cap4 #gi4 #cef ,lib4 ii4 cap4 #cd4 ,the whole history of this woman ,caterina1 and of the revenge he took upon her and his prentice ,paolo1 is one of the most extraordinary passages in the life4 #ceg ,see ,vol4 #a41 ,age of the ,despots1 pp4 #cgg-chj4 #ceh ,see ,vol4 #a41 ,age of the ,despots1 pp4 #cfb-cfc4 #cei ,this might be further illustrated by analysing ,cellini's mode of loving4 ,he never rises above animal appetite4 #cfj ,lib4 i4 cap4 #he4 ,nel qual vomito mi usci dello stomaco un verme piloso1 grande un quarto di braccio3 e' peli erano grandi ed il verme era bruttissimo1 macchiato di diversi colori1 verdi1 neri e rossi4 #cfa ,lib4 i4 cap4 #abh4 #cfb ,notice lib4 i4 cap4 #dj1 p4 #ij1 the dialogue between ,cellini and the old woman1 on his return to the paternal house3 ,oh dimmi1 gobba perversa1 c4 #cfc ,per essere il mondo intenebrato di peste e di guerra1 is a phrase of ,cellini's1 i4 #dj4 #cfd ,lib4 i4 cap4 #ea4 #cfe ,lib4 i4 cap4 #gd4 ,clement was dead1 and ,paul ,,iii4 had just been elected1 #aecd4 ,paul sent ,cellini a safe-conduct and pardon for ,pompeo's murder to ,florence in #aece4 ,lib4 i4 cap4 #ha4 #cff ,lib4 ii4 cap4 #ajd4 #cfg ,lib4 i4 cap4 #fd4 #cfh ,see1 however1 what is said about the mountain villages of ,norcia being good for incantations4 ,that district in ,roman times was famous for such superstitions4 ,burckhardt1 ,die ,cultur der ,renaissance in ,italien1 pp4 #dbg-dbh1 gives curious information on this topic4 #cfi ,lib4 i4 cap4 #gf4 #cgj ,lib4 i4 cap4 #hh4 ,that mad melancholy philosopher ,lorenzino4 ,cf4 i4 #hj and #ha4 ,molte volte lo trovavo a dormicchiare dopo desinare con quel suo ,lorenzino1 che poi l'ammazz1 e non altri2 ed io molto mi maravigliavo che un duca di quella sorte cos si fidava 444 il duca' che lo teneva quando per pazzericcio1 e quando per poltrone4 ,cf4 again1 cap4 #hi4 #cga ,this glimpse of ,bembo in his ,paduan villa is very pleasing4 ,lib4 i4 cap4 #id4 #cgb ,quei diavoli di quei gentiluomini tedeschi4 ,this is1 however1 the language he uses about nearly all foreigners--,spaniards1 ,french1 and ,english4 #cgc ,lib4 i4 cap4 #if4 ,io ero tutto armato di maglia con istivali grossi e con uno scoppietto in mano1 e pioveva quanto ,iddio ne sapeva mandare1 c4 #cgd ,lib4 i4 cap4 #ih4 #cge ,ib4 cap4 #aja4 #cgf ,see lib4 i4 cap4 #ch1 #dc4 #cgg ,the ,governor1 perplexed by ,cellini's vaunt that if he only tried he was sure he could fly1 put him under strict guard1 saying1 ,benvenuto un pipistrello contrafatto1 ed io sono un pipistrello da dovero4 #cgh ,lib4 i4 cap4 #abe4 #cgi ,lib4 i4 cap4 #aje4 #chj ,il ,papa diventato cos pessima bestia1 lib4 i4 #eh2 ,il ,papa entrato in un bestial furore1 ib4 #fj2 ,quel povero uomo di ,papa ,clemente1 ib4 #ajc4 #cha ,ib4 #cf1 #aja1 #aaa4 #chb ,the scene is well described1 lib4 i4 #abg4 ,the ,pope was wont to have a weekly debauch1 and the cardinal chose this favourable moment for his appeal3 ,gli usava una volta la settimana di fare una crapula assai gagliarda1 perch da poi la gomitava4444 ,allora il papa1 sentendosi appressare all' ora del suo vomito1 e perch la troppa abbundanzia del vino ancora faceva l' ufizio suo1 disse1 c4 #chc ,see ,vol4 ,i41 ,age of the ,despots1 p4 #dhe4 #chd ,see especially the visit to the ,paris workshop1 lib4 ii4 cap4 #ae1 and the scene in the ,gallery at ,fontainebleau1 ib4 #da4 #che ,his quarrels1 for example1 with the ,duchess of ,florence4 #chf ,lib4 ii4 cap4 #hc1 #hd1 #hg1 #gj1 #ga4 #chg ,that beastly big ox1 ,bandinelli4 ,cf4 cap4 #gj for the critique4 ,it may be said here1 in passing1 that the insult of ,bandinelli1 ,oh sta cheto1 soddomitaccio1 seems to have been justified by ,benvenuto's conduct1 though of course he carefully conceals it in his memoirs4 ,after the charge brought against him by ,cencio1 for instance1 he thought it better to leave ,florence4--,ib4 cap4 #fa1 #fb4 #chh ,edgar ,quinet1 ,les ,rvolutions d',italie1 p4 #ceh4 ,,chapter ,x ,,the ,,epigoni ,full ,development and ,decline of ,painting--,exhaustion of the old ,motives--,relation of ,lionardo to his ,pupils--,his ,legacy to the ,lombard ,school--,bernardino ,luini--,gaudenzio ,ferrari--,the ,devotion of the ,sacri ,monti--,the ,school of ,raphael--,nothing left but ,imitation--,unwholesome ,influences of ,rome--,giulio ,romano--,michael ,angelesque ,mannerists--,misconception of ,michael ,angelo--,correggio founds no ,school--,parmigianino--,macchinisti--,t he ,bolognese--,after-growth of ,art in ,florence--,andrea del ,sarto--,his ,followers--,pontormo--,bronzino--,reviv al of ,painting in ,siena--,sodoma--,his ,influence on ,pacchia1 ,beccafumi1 ,peruzzi--,garofalo and ,dosso ,dossi at ,ferrari--,the ,campi at ,cremona--,brescia and ,bergamo--,the ,decadence in the second half of the ,sixteenth ,century--,the ,counter-,reformation--,extinction of the ,renaissance ,impulse4 ,in the foregoing chapters ,i have not sought to write again the history of art1 so much as to keep in view the relation between ,italian art and the leading intellectual impulses of the ,renaissance4 ,in the masters of the sixteenth century--,lionardo1 ,raphael1 ,michael ,angelo1 ,correggio1 and the ,venetians--the force inherent in the ,italian genius for painting reached full development4 ,what remained was but an after-bloom rapidly tending to decadence4 ,to surpass those men in their own line seemed impossible4 ,what they had achieved was so transcendent that imitation satisfied their successors2 and if they refused imitation1 originality had to be sought by deviating into extravagances4 ,meanwhile no new stock of thoughts had been acquired2 and students of history are now well aware that for really great art ideas common to the nation are essential4 ,the motives suggested by mediaeval ,christianity1 after passing through successive stages of treatment in the quattrocento1 had received the grand and humane handling of the golden age4 ,the motives of revived paganism in like manner were exhausted1 and at this time the feeling for antiquity had lost its primal freshness4 ,it might seem superfluous to carry this inquiry further1 when we have thus confessedly attained the culminating point of painting4 ,yet the sketch attempted in this volume would be incomplete and liable to misinterpretation1 if no account were taken of the legacy bequeathed to the next generation by the great masters4 ,lionardo da ,vinci formed1 as we have seen1 a school at ,milan4 ,it was the special good fortune of his pupils that what he actually accomplished1 bore no proportion to the suggestiveness of his teaching and the fertility of his invention4 ,of finished work he left but little to the world2 while his sketches and designs1 the teeming thoughts of his creative brain1 were an inestimable heritage4 ,the whole of this rich legacy of masterpieces1 projected1 but not executed1 was characterised by a feeling for beauty which has fallen to no other painter4 ,when we examine the sketches in the ,royal ,collection at ,windsor1 we perceive that the exceeding sense of loveliness possessed by ,lionardo could not have failed to animate his pupils with a high spirit of art4 ,at the same time the extraordinary variety of his drawing--sometimes reminding us of ,german method1 sometimes modern in the manner of ,french and ,english draughtsmen--by turns bold and delicate1 broad and minute in detail--afforded to his school examples of perfect treatment in a multiplicity of different styles4 ,there was no formality of fixed unalterable precedent in ,lionardo1 nothing for his scholars to repeat with the monotony of mannerism4 ,it remained for his disciples1 each in his own sphere1 with inferior powers and feebler intellect1 to perpetuate the genius of their master4 ,thus the spirit of ,lionardo continued to live in ,lombardy after he was dead4 ,there alone imitation was really fruitful1 because it did not imply mere copying4 ,instead of attempting to give a fresh and therefore a strained turn to motives that had already received consummate treatment1 ,lionardo's successors were able to execute what he had planned but had not carried to completion4 ,nor was the prestige of his style so oppressive through the mass of pictures painted by his hand as to check individuality or to prevent the pupil from working out such portions of the master's vein as suited his own talent4 ,each found enough suggested1 but not used1 to give his special faculty free scope4 ,this is in fact the reason why the majority of pictures ascribed to ,lionardo are really the production of his school4 ,they have the excellence of original work1 but not such excellence as ,lionardo could have given them4 ,their completion is due1 as searching criticism proves1 to lesser men2 but the conception belongs to the greatest4 ,andrea ,salaino1 ,marco d',oggiono1 ,francesco ,melzi1 ,giovanni ,antonio ,beltraffio1 and ,cesare da ,sesto1 are all of them skilled workmen1 losing and finding their individuality1 as just described1 in the manner of their master4 ,salaino brings exquisite delicacy of execution2 d',oggiono1 wild and bizarre beauty2 ,melzi1 the refinements of a miniaturist2 ,beltraffio1 hard brilliancy of light and colour2 ,cesare da ,sesto1 somewhat of effeminate sweetness2 and thus the qualities of many men emerge1 to blend themselves again in what is ,lionardo's own4 ,it is surely not without significance that this metempsychosis of genius should have happened in the case of ,lionardo1 himself the magician of ,renaissance art1 the lover of all things double-natured and twin-souled4 ,two painters of the ,lombard school1 ,bernardino ,luini and ,gaudenzio ,ferrari1 demand separate notice4 ,without ,lionardo it is difficult to say what ,luini would have been3 so thoroughly did he appropriate his teacher's type of face1 and1 in oil-painting1 his refinement4 ,and yet ,luini stands on his own ground1 in no sense an imitator1 with a genius more simple and idyllic than ,da ,vinci's4 ,little conception of his charm can be formed by those who have not seen his frescoes in the ,brera and ,s4 ,maurizio ,maggiore at ,milan1 in the church of the ,angeli at ,lugano1 or in the pilgrimage church of ,saronno4 ,to the circumstance of his having done his best work in places hardly visited until of late years1 may in part perhaps be attributed the tardy recognition of a painter eminently fitted to be popular4 ,luini was essentially a fresco-painter4 ,none1 perhaps1 of all the greatest ,italian frescanti realised a higher quality of brilliancy without gaudiness1 by the scale of colours he selected and by the purity with which he used them in simple combinations4 ,his frescoes are never dull or heavy in tone1 never glaring1 never thin or chalky4 ,he knew how to render them both luminous and rich1 without falling into the extremes that render fresco-paintings often less attractive than oil-pictures4 ,his feeling for loveliness of form was original and exquisite4 ,the joy of youth found in ,luini an interpreter only less powerful and even more tender than in ,raphael4 ,while he shared with the ,venetians their sensibility to nature1 he had none of their sensuousness or love of pomp4 ,in idyllic painting of a truly great type ,i know of nothing more delightful than his figures of young musicians going to the marriage feast of ,mary1 nothing more graceful than the genius ivy-crowned and seated at the foot of the cross4#chi ,the sentiment for naive and artless grace1 so fully possessed by ,luini1 gave freshness to his treatment of conventional religious themes4 ,under his touch they appeal immediately to the most untutored taste1 without the aid of realistic or sensational effects4 ,even ,s4 ,sebastian and ,s4 ,rocco1 whom it is difficult to represent with any novelty of attitude or expression1 became for him the motives of fresh poetry1 unsought but truly felt4#cij ,among all the ,madonnas ever painted his picture of ,mary with the espalier of white roses1 and another where she holds the infant ,christ to pluck a purple columbine1 distinguish themselves by this engaging spontaneity4 ,the frescoes of the marriage of the ,virgin and of ,s4 ,catherine carried by angels to ,mount ,sinai might be cited for the same quality of freshness and unstudied poetry4#cia ,when the subject demanded the exercise of grave emotion1 ,luini rose to the occasion without losing his simplicity4 ,the ,martyrdom of ,s4 ,catherine and the fresco of ,christ after the ,flagellation are two masterpieces1 wherein the depths of pathos have been sounded1 and not a single note of discord is struck4#cib ,all harsh and disagreeable details are either eliminated1 or so softened that the general impression1 as in ,pergolese's music1 is one of profoundest and yet sweetest sorrow4 ,luini's genius was not tragic4 ,the nearest approach to a dramatic motive in his work is the figure of the ,magdalen kneeling before the cross1 with her long yellow hair streaming over her shoulders1 and her arms thrown backwards in an ecstasy of grief4#cic ,he did well to choose moments that stir tender sympathy--the piety of deep and calm devotion4 ,how truly he felt them--more truly1 ,i think1 than ,perugino in his best period--is proved by the correspondence they awake in us4 ,like melodies1 they create a mood in the spectator4 ,what ,luini did not learn from ,lionardo1 was the art of composition4 ,taken one by one1 the figures that make up his ,marriage of the ,virgin at ,saronno1 are beautiful2 but the whole picture is clumsily constructed2 and what is true of this1 may be said of every painting in which he attempted complicated grouping4#cid ,we feel him to be a great artist only where the subject does not demand the symmetrical arrangement of many parts4 ,gaudenzio ,ferrari was a genius of a different order1 more robust1 more varied1 but less single-minded than ,luini4 ,his style reveals the influences of a many-sided1 ill-assimilated education2 blending the manners of ,bramantino1 ,lionardo1 and ,raphael without proper fusion4 ,though ,ferrari travelled much1 and learned his art in several schools1 he1 like ,luini1 can only be studied in the ,milanese district--at his birthplace ,varallo1 at ,saronno1 ,vercelli1 and ,milan4 ,it is to be regretted that a painter of such singular ability1 almost unrivalled at moments in the expression of intense feeling and the representation of energetic movement1 should have lacked a simpler training1 or have been unable to adopt a manner more uniform4 ,there is a strength of wing in his imaginative flight1 a swiftness and impetuosity in his execution1 and a dramatic force in his conception1 that almost justify ,lomazzo's choice of the eagle for his emblem4 ,yet he was unable to collect his powers1 or to rule them4 ,the distractions of an age that had produced its masterpieces1 were too strong for him2 and what he failed to find was balance4 ,his picture of the ,martyrdom of ,s4 ,catherine1 where reminiscences of ,raphael and ,lionardo mingle with the uncouth motives of an earlier style in a medley without unity of composition or harmony of colouring1 might be chosen as a typical instance of great resources misapplied4#cie ,the most pleasing of ,ferrari's paintings are choirs of angels1 sorrowing or rejoicing1 some of them exquisitely and originally beautiful1 all animated with unusual life1 and poised upon wings powerful enough to bear them--veritable birds of ,god4#cif ,his dramatic scenes from sacred history1 rich in novel motives and exuberantly full of invention1 crowd the churches of ,vercelli2 while a whole epic of the ,passion is painted in fresco above the altar of ,s4 ,maria delle ,grazie at ,varallo1 covering the wall from basement to ceiling4 ,the prodigality of power displayed by ,ferrari makes up for much of crudity in style and confusion in aim2 nor can we refuse the tribute of warmest admiration to a master1 who1 when the schools of ,rome and ,florence were sinking into emptiness and bombast1 preserved the fire of feeling for serious themes4 ,what was deadly in the neo-paganism of the ,renaissance--its frivolity and worldliness1 corroding the very sources of belief in men who made of art a decoration for their sensuous existence--had not penetrated to those ,lombard valleys where ,ferrari and ,luini worked4 ,there the devotion of the ,sacri ,monti still maintained an intelligence between the people and the artist1 far more fruitful of results to painting than the patronage of splendour-loving cardinals and nobles4#cig ,passing from ,lionardo to ,raphael1 we find exactly the reverse of what has hitherto been noticed4 ,raphael worked out the mine of his own thought so thoroughly--so completely exhausted the motives of his invention1 and carried his style to such perfection--that he left nothing unused for his followers4 ,we have seen that he formed a school of subordinates in ,rome who executed his later frescoes after his designs4 ,some of these men have names that can be mentioned--,giulio ,romano1 of whom more hereafter2 ,perino del ,vaga1 the decorator of ,genoese palaces in a style of overblown but gorgeous ,raphaelism2 ,andrea ,sabbatini1 who carried the ,roman tradition down to ,naples2 ,francesco ,penni1 ,giovanni da ,udine1 and ,polidoro da ,caravaggio4 ,their work1 even while superintended by ,raphael himself1 began to show the signs of decadence4 ,in his ,roman manner the dramatic element was conspicuous2 and to carry dramatic painting beyond the limits of good style in art is unfortunately easy4 ,the ,hall of ,constantine1 left unfinished at his death1 still further proved how little his pupils could do without him4#cih ,when ,raphael died1 the breath whose might sustained and made them potent1 ceased4 ,for all the higher purposes of genuine art1 inspiration passed from them as colour fades from eastern clouds at sunset1 suddenly4 ,it has been customary to account for this rapid decline of the ,roman school by referring to the sack of ,rome in #aebg4 ,no doubt the artists suffered at that moment at least as severely as the scholars2 their dispersion broke up a band of eminent painters1 who might in combination and competition have still achieved great things4 ,yet the secret of their subsequent failure lay far deeper2 partly in the full development of their master's style1 already described2 and partly in the social conditions of ,rome itself4 ,patrons1 stimulated by the example of the ,popes1 desired vast decorative works2 but they expected these to be performed rapidly and at a cheap rate4 ,painters1 familiarised with the execution of such undertakings1 forgot that hitherto the conception had been not theirs but ,raphael's4 ,mistaking hand-work for brain-work1 they audaciously accepted commissions that would have taxed the powers of the master himself4 ,meanwhile moral earnestness and technical conscientiousness were both extinct4 ,the patrons required show and sensual magnificence far more than thought and substance4 ,they were not1 therefore1 deterred by the vacuity and poor conceptive faculty of the artists from employing them4 ,what the age demanded was a sumptuous parade of superficial ornament1 and this the pupils of ,raphael felt competent to supply without much effort4 ,the result was that painters who under favourable circumstances might have done some meritorious work1 became mere journeymen contented with the soulless insincerity of cheap effects4 ,giulio ,romano alone1 by dint of robust energy and lurid fire of fancy flickering amid the smoke of his coarser nature1 achieved a triumph in this line of labour4 ,his ,palazzo del ,te will always remain the monument of a specific moment in ,renaissance history1 since it is adequate to the intellectual conditions of a race demoralised but living still with largeness and a sense of grandeur4 ,michael ,angelo formed no school in the strict sense of the word4 ,yet his influence was not the less felt on that account1 nor less powerful than ,raphael's in the same direction4 ,during his manhood the painters ,sebastian del ,piombo1 ,marcello ,venusti1 and ,daniele da ,volterra1 had endeavoured to add the charm of oil-colouring to his designs2 and long before his death1 the seduction of his mighty mannerism had begun to exercise a fatal charm for all the schools of ,italy4 ,painters incapable of fathoming his intention1 unsympathetic to his rare type of intellect1 and gifted with less than a tithe of his native force1 set themselves to reproduce whatever may be justly censured in his works4 ,to heighten and enlarge their style was reckoned a chief duty of aspiring craftsmen2 and it was thought that recipes for attaining to this final perfection of the modern arts might be extracted without trouble from ,michael ,angelo's masterpieces4 ,unluckily1 in proportion as his fame increased1 his peculiarities grew with the advance of age more manneristic and defined2 so that his imitators fixed precisely upon that which sober critics now regard as a deduction from his greatness4 ,they failed to perceive that he owed his grandeur to his personality2 and that the audacities which fascinated them1 became mere whimsical extravagances when severed from his terribilit and sombre simplicity of impassioned thought4 ,his power and his spirit were alike unique and uncommunicable1 while the admiration of his youthful worshippers betrayed them into imitating the externals of a style that was rapidly losing spontaneity and sense of beauty4 ,therefore they fancied they were treading in his footsteps and using the grand manner when they covered church-roofs and canvases with sprawling figures in distorted attitudes4 ,instead of studying nature1 they studied ,michael ,angelo's cartoons1 exaggerating by their unintelligent discipleship his wilfulness and arbitrary choice of form4 ,vasari's and ,cellini's criticisms of a master they both honestly revered1 may suffice to illustrate the false method adopted by these mimics of ,michael ,angelo's ideal4 ,to charge him with faults proceeding from the weakness and blindness of the decadence--the faults of men too blind to read his art aright1 too weak to stand on their own feet without him--would be either stupid or malicious4 ,if at the close of the sixteenth century the mannerists sought to startle and entrance the world by empty exhibitions of muscular anatomy misunderstood1 and by a braggadocio display of meaningless effects--crowding their compositions with studies from the nude1 and painting agitated groups without a discernible cause for agitation--the crime surely lay with the patrons who liked such decoration1 and with the journeymen who provided it4 ,michael ,angelo himself always made his manner serve his thought4 ,we may fail to appreciate his manner and may be incapable of comprehending his thought2 but only insincere or conceited critics will venture to gauge the latter by what they feel to be displeasing in the former4 ,what seems lawless in him1 follows the law of a profound and peculiar genius1 with which1 whether we like it or not1 we must reckon4 ,his imitators were devoid of thought and too indifferent to question whether there was any law to be obeyed4 ,like the jackass in the fable1 they put on the dead lion's skin of his manner1 and brayed beneath it1 thinking they could roar4 ,correggio1 again1 though he can hardly be said to have founded a school1 was destined to exercise wide and perilous influence over a host of manneristic imitators4 ,francesco ,mazzola1 called ,il ,parmigianino1 followed him so closely that his frescoes at ,parma are hardly distinguishable from the master's2 while ,federigo ,baroccio at ,urbino endeavoured to preserve the sensuous and almost childish sweetness of his style in its integrity4#cii ,but the real attraction of ,correggio was only felt when the new barocco architecture called for a new kind of decoration4 ,every cupola throughout the length and breadth of ,italy began then to be painted with rolling clouds and lolling angels4 ,what the wits of ,parma had once stigmatised as a ragot of frogs1 now seemed the only possible expression for celestial ecstasy2 and to delineate the joy of heaven upon those multitudes of domes and semi-domes was a point of religious etiquette4 ,false lights1 dubious foreshortenings1 shallow colourings1 ill-studied forms1 and motiveless agitation suited the taste that cared for gaudy brightness and sensational effects4 ,the painters1 for their part1 found it convenient to adopt a mannerism that enabled them to conceal the difficult parts of the figure in feather beds of vapour1 requiring neither effort of conception nor expenditure of labour on drawing and composition4 ,at the same time1 the ,caracci made ,correggio's style the object of more serious study2 and the history of ,bolognese painting shows what was to be derived from this master by intelligent and conscientious workmen4 ,hitherto1 ,i have had principally to record the errors of artists copying the external qualities of their great predecessors4 ,it is refreshing to turn from the epigoni of the so-called ,roman school to masters in whom the flame of the ,renaissance still burned brightly4 ,andrea del ,sarto1 the pupil of ,piero di ,cosimo1 but more nearly related in style to ,fra ,bartolommeo than to any other of the elder masters1 was himself a contemporary of ,raphael and ,correggio4 ,yet he must be noticed here2 because he gave new qualities to the art of ,tuscany1 and formed a tradition decisive for the subsequent history of ,florentine painting4 ,to make a just estimate of his achievement is a task of no small difficulty4 ,the ,italians called him il pittore senza errori1 or the faultless painter4 ,what they meant by this must have been that in all the technical requirements of art1 in drawing1 composition1 handling of fresco and oils1 disposition of draperies1 and feeling for light and shadow1 he was above criticism4 ,as a colourist he went further and produced more beautiful effects than any ,florentine before him4 ,his silver-grey harmonies and liquid blendings of hues cool1 yet lustrous1 have a charm peculiar to himself alone4 ,we find the like nowhere else in ,italy4 ,and yet ,andrea del ,sarto cannot take rank among the greatest ,renaissance painters4 ,what he lacked was precisely the most precious gift--inspiration1 depth of emotion1 energy of thought4 ,we are apt to feel that even his best pictures were designed with a view to solving an aesthetic problem4 ,very few have the poetic charm belonging to the ,s4 ,john of the ,pitti or the ,madonna of the ,tribune4 ,beautiful as are many of his types1 like the ,magdalen in the large picture of the ,piet#djj we can never be sure that he will not break the spell by forms of almost vulgar mediocrity4 ,the story that his wife1 a worthless woman1 sat for his ,madonnas1 and the legends of his working for money to meet pressing needs1 seem justified by numbers of his paintings1 faulty in their faultlessness and want of spirit4 ,still1 after making these deductions1 we must allow that ,andrea del ,sarto not unworthily represents the golden age at ,florence4 ,there is no affectation1 no false taste1 no trickery in his style4 ,his workmanship is always solid2 his hand unerring4 ,if ,nature denied him the soul of a poet1 and the stern will needed for escaping from the sordid circumstances of his life1 she gave him some of the highest qualities a painter can desire--qualities of strength1 tranquillity1 and thoroughness1 that in the decline of the century ceased to exist outside ,venice4 ,among ,del ,sarto's followers it will be enough to mention ,franciabigio1 ,vasari's favourite in fresco painting1 ,rosso de' ,rossi1 who carried the ,florentine manner into ,france1 and ,pontormo1 the masterly painter of portraits4#dja ,in the historical pictures of these men1 whether sacred or secular1 it is clear how much was done for ,florentine art by ,fra ,bartolommeo and ,del ,sarto independently of ,michael ,angelo and ,lionardo4 ,angelo ,bronzino1 the pupil of ,pontormo1 is chiefly valuable for his portraits4 ,hard and cold1 yet obviously true to life1 they form a gallery of great interest for the historian of ,duke ,cosimo's reign4 ,his frescoes and allegories illustrate the defects that have been pointed out in those of ,raphael's and ,buonarroti's imitators4#djb ,want of thought and feeling1 combined with the presumptuous treatment of colossal and imaginative subjects1 renders these compositions inexpressibly chilling4 ,the psychologist1 who may have read a poem from ,bronzino's pen1 will be inclined to wonder how far this barren art was not connected with personal corruption4#djc ,such speculations are1 however1 apt to be misleading4 ,siena1 after a long period of inactivity1 received a fresh impulse at the same time as ,florence4 ,giovanni ,antonio ,bazzi1 or ,razzi1 called ,il ,sodoma1 was born at ,vercelli about #adgg4 ,he studied in his youth under ,lionardo da ,vinci1 training his own exquisite sense of natural beauty in that scientific school4 ,from ,milan1 after a certain interval of time1 he removed to ,rome1 where he became a friend and follower of ,raphael4 ,these double influences determined a style that never lost its own originality4 ,with what delicacy and navet1 almost like a second ,luini1 but with more of humour and sensuousness1 he approached historic themes1 may be seen in his frescoes at ,monte ,oliveto4#djd ,they were executed before his ,roman visit1 and show the facility of a most graceful improvisatore4 ,one painting representing the ,temptation of ,monks by ,dancing ,women carries the melody of fluent lines and the seduction of fair girlish faces into a region of pure poetry4 ,these frescoes are superior to ,sodoma's work in the ,farnesina4 ,impressed1 as all artists were1 by the monumental character of ,borne1 and fired by ,raphael's example1 he tried to abandon his sketchy and idyllic style for one of greater majesty and fulness4 ,the delicious freshness of his earlier manner was sacrificed2 but his best efforts to produce a grandiose composition ended in a confusion of individually beautiful but ill-assorted motives4 ,like ,luini1 ,sodoma was never successful in pictures requiring combination and arrangement4 ,he lacked some sense of symmetry and sought to achieve massiveness by crowding figures in a given space4 ,when we compare his group of ,s4 ,catherine ,fainting under the ,stigmata with the medley of agitated forms that make up his picture of the same saint at ,tuldo's execution1 we see plainly that he ought to have confined himself to the expression of very simple themes4#dje ,the former is incomparable for its sweetness2 the latter is indistinct and wearying1 in spite of many details that adorn it4 ,gifted with an exquisite feeling for the beauty of the human body1 ,sodoma excelled himself when he was contented with a single figure4 ,his ,s4 ,sebastian1 notwithstanding its wan and faded colouring1 is still the very best that has been painted4#djf ,suffering1 refined and spiritual1 without contortion or spasm1 could not be presented with more pathos in a form of more surpassing loveliness4 ,this is a truly demonic picture in the fascination it exercises and the memory it leaves upon the mind4 ,part of its unanalysable charm may be due to the bold thought of combining the beauty of a ,greek ,hylas with the ,christian sentiment of martyrdom4 ,only the ,renaissance could have produced a hybrid so successful1 because so deeply felt4 ,sodoma's influence at ,siena1 where he lived a picturesque life1 delighting in his horses and surrounding himself with strange four-footed pets of all sorts1 soon produced a school of worthy masters4 ,girolamo del ,pacchia1 ,domenico ,beccafumi1 and ,baldassare ,peruzzi1 though they owed much to the stimulus of his example1 followed him in no servile spirit4 ,indeed1 it may be said that ,pacchia's paintings in the ,oratory of ,s4 ,bernardino1 though they lacked his siren beauty1 are more powerfully composed2 while ,peruzzi's fresco of ,augustus and the ,sibyl1 in the church of ,fontegiusta1 has a monumental dignity unknown to ,sodoma4 ,beccafumi is apt to leave the spectator of his paintings cold4 ,from inventive powers so rich and technical excellence so thorough1 we demand more than he can give1 and are therefore disappointed4 ,his most interesting picture at ,siena is the ,stigmatisation of ,s4 ,catherine1 famous for its mastery of graduated whites4 ,much of the paved work of the ,duomo is attributed to his design4 ,both ,beccafumi and ,peruzzi felt the cold and manneristic ,roman style of rhetoric injuriously4 ,to mention the remaining schools of ,italy in detail would be superfluous4 ,true art still flourished at ,ferrara1 where ,garofalo endeavoured to carry on the ,roman manner of ,raphael without the necessary strength or ideality1 but also without the soulless insincerity of the mannerists4 ,his best quality was colouring1 gemlike and rich2 but this found little scope for exercise in the dry and laboured style he affected4 ,dosso ,dossi fared better1 perhaps through having never experienced the seductions of ,rome4 ,his glowing colour and quaint fancy give the attraction of romance to many of his pictures4 ,the ,circe1 for example1 of the ,borghese ,palace1 is worthy to rank with the best ,renaissance work4 ,it is perfectly original1 not even suggesting the influence of ,venice by its deep and lustrous hues4 ,no painting is more fit to illustrate the ,orlando ,innamorato4 ,just so1 we feel in looking at it1 did ,dragontina show herself to ,boiardo's fancy4 ,ariosto's ,alcina belongs to a different family of magnificent witches4 ,cremona1 at this epoch1 had a school of painters1 influenced almost equally by the ,venetians1 the ,milanese1 and the ,roman mannerists4 ,the ,campi family covered those grave ,lombard vaults with stucco1 fresco1 and gilding in a style only just removed from the barocco4#djg ,brescia and ,bergamo remained within the influence of ,venice1 producing work of nearly first-rate quality in ,moretto1 ,romanino1 and ,lorenzo ,lotto4 ,moroni1 the pupil of ,moretto1 was destined to become one of the most powerful character painters of the modern world1 and to enrich the studies of historians and artists with a series of portraits impressive by their fidelity to the spirit of the sixteenth century at its conclusion4 ,venice herself at this period was still producing masterpieces of the genuine ,renaissance4 ,but the decline into mannerism1 caused by circumstances similar to those of ,rome1 was not far distant4 ,it may seem strange to those who have visited the picture galleries of ,italy1 and have noticed how very large a number of the painters flourished after #aeej1 that ,i should have persistently spoken of the last half of the sixteenth century as a period of decadence4 ,this it was1 however1 in a deep and true sense of the word4 ,the force of the ,renaissance was exhausted1 and a time of relaxation had to be passed through1 before the reaction known as the ,counter-,reformation could make itself felt in art4 ,then1 and not till then1 a new spiritual impulse produced a new style4 ,this secondary growth of painting began to flourish at ,bologna in accordance with fresh laws of taste4 ,religious sentiments of a different order had to be expressed2 society had undergone a change1 and the arts were governed by a genuine1 if far inferior1 inspiration4 ,meanwhile1 the ,renaissance1 so far as ,italy is concerned1 was ended4 ,it is one of the sad features of this subject1 that each section has to end in lamentation4 ,servitude in the sphere of politics2 literary feebleness in scholarship2 decadence in art3--to shun these conclusions is impossible4 ,he who has undertaken to describe the parabola of a projectile1 cannot be satisfied with tracing its gradual rise and determining its culmination4 ,he must follow its spent force1 and watch it slowly sink with ever dwindling impetus to earth4 ,intellectual movements1 when we isolate them in a special country1 observing the causes that set them in motion and calculating their retarding influences1 may1 not unreasonably1 be compared to the parabola of a projectile4 ,to shrink from studying the decline of mental vigour in ,italy upon the close of the ,renaissance1 would be therefore weak2 though the task of tracing the impulse communicated by her previous energy to other nations1 and their stirring under a like movement1 might be more agreeable4 ,,footnotes3 #chi ,frescoes in the ,brera and at ,lugano4 #cij ,s4 ,maurizio1 on the ,screen1 inner church4 ,lugano in the ,angeli4 #cia ,in the ,brera4 ,see also the ,madonna1 with ,infant ,christ1 ,s4 ,john1 and a ,lamb1 at ,lugano4 #cib ,side chapel of ,s4 ,maurizio at ,milan4 ,these frescoes are1 in my opinion1 ,luini's very best4 ,the whole church is a wonderful monument of ,lombard art4 #cic ,crucifixion at ,lugano4 #cid ,see1 for example1 the oil-paintings in the cathedral of ,como1 so fascinating in their details1 so lame in composition4 #cie ,in the ,brera4 #cif ,frescoes at ,saronno and in the ,sacro ,monte at ,varallo4 #cig ,the whole lake-district of ,italy1 where the valleys of ,monte ,rosa and the ,simplon descend upon the plain of ,lombardy1 is rich in works of this school4 ,at ,luino and ,lugano1 on the island of ,san ,giulio1 and in the hill-set chapels of the ,val ,sesia1 may be found traces of frescoes of incomparable beauty4 ,one of these sites deserves special mention4 ,just at the point where the pathway of the ,colma leaves the chestnut groves and meadows to join the road leading to ,varallo1 there stands a little chapel1 with an open loggia of round ,renaissance arches1 designed and painted1 according to tradition1 by ,ferrari1 and without doubt representative of his manner4 ,the harmony between its colours1 so mellow in their ruin1 its graceful arcades and quiet roofing1 and the glowing tones of those granite mountains1 with their wealth of vineyards1 and their forests of immemorial chestnut trees1 is perfect beyond words4 #cih ,this1 the last of the ,stanze1 was only in part designed by ,raphael4 ,in spite of what ,i have said above1 the ,battle of ,constantine1 planned by ,raphael1 and executed by ,giulio1 is a grand example of a pupil's power to carry out his master's scheme4 #cii ,baroccio had great authority at ,florence in the seventeenth century1 when the cult of ,correggio had overspread all ,italy4 #djj ,pitti ,palace4 #dja ,franciabigio's and ,rosso's frescoes stand beside ,del ,sarto's in the atrium of the ,annunziata at ,florence4 ,pontormo's portraits of ,cosimo and ,lorenzo de' ,medici in the ,uffizzi1 though painted from busts and medallions1 have a real historical value4 #djb ,the ,christ in ,limbo in ,s4 ,lorenzo at ,florence1 and the detestable picture of ,time1 ,beauty1 ,love1 and ,folly1 in our ,national ,gallery4 #djc ,opere ,burlesche1 vol4 iii4 pp4 #ci-df4 #djd ,near ,siena4 ,these pictures are a series of twenty-four subjects from the life of ,s4 ,benedict4 #dje ,in the church of ,s4 ,domenico1 ,siena4 #djf ,in the ,uffizzi4 ,see also ,sodoma's ,sacrifice of ,isaac in the cathedral of ,pisa1 and the ,christ ,bound to the ,pillar in the ,academy at ,siena4 #djg ,the church of ,s4 ,sigismondo1 outside ,cremona1 is very interesting for the unity of style in its architecture and decoration4 ,,appendices ,,appendix ,i ,the ,pulpits of ,pisa and ,ravello ,having tried to characterise ,niccola ,pisano's relation to early ,italian art in the second chapter of this volume1 ,i adverted to the recent doubts which have been thrown by very competent authorities upon ,vasari's legend of this master4 ,messrs4 ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 while discussing the question of his birthplace and his early training1 observe1 what is no doubt true1 that there are no traces of good sculpture in ,pisa antecedent to the ,baptistery pulpit of #abfj1 and remark that for such a phenomenon as the sudden appearance of this masterpiece it is needful to seek some antecedents elsewhere4#djh ,this leads them to ask whether ,niccola did not owe his origin and education to some other part of ,italy4 ,finding at ,ravello1 near ,amain1 a pulpit sculptured in #abgb by ,niccola di ,bartolommeo da ,foggia1 they suggest that a school of stone-carvers may have flourished at ,foggia1 and that ,niccola ,pisano1 in spite of his signing himself ,pisanus on the ,baptistery pulpit1 may have been an ,apulian trained in that school4 ,the arguments adduced in favour of that hypothesis are that ,niccola's father1 though commonly believed to have been ,ser ,pietro da ,siena1 was perhaps called ,pietro di ,apulia1#dji and that meritorious artists certainly existed at ,foggia and ,trani4 ,yet the resemblance of style between the pulpits at ,ravello #abgb and ,pisa #abfj1 if that indeed exists 7whereof hereafter more must be said71 might be used to prove that ,niccola da ,foggia learned his art from ,niccola ,pisano1 instead of the contrary2 nor again1 supposing the ,apulian school to have flourished before #abfj1 is it inconsistent with the tradition of ,niccola's life that he should have learned the sculptor's craft while working in his youth at ,naples4 ,for the rest1 ,messrs4 ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle dismiss the story of ,pisano's studying the antique bas-reliefs at ,pisa with contempt2#daj but they omit to notice the actual transcripts from those marbles introduced into his first pulpit4 ,again1 they assume that the lunette at ,lucca was one of his latest works1 giving precedence to the pulpits of ,pisa and ,siena and the fountain of ,perugia4 ,a comparison of style no doubt renders this view plausible2 for the lunette at ,lucca is superior to any other of ,pisano's works as a composition4 ,the full discussion of these points is rendered impossible by the want of contemporary information1 and each student must1 therefore1 remain contented with his own hypothesis4 ,yet something can be said with regard to the ,ravello pulpit that plays so important a part in the argument of the learned historians of ,italian painting4 ,unless a strong similarity between it and ,pisano's pulpits can be proved1 their hypothesis carries with it no persuasion4 ,the pulpit in the cathedral of ,ravello is formed like an ambo of the antique type4 ,that is to say1 it is a long parallelogram with flat sides1 raised upon pillars1 and approached by a flight of steps4 ,these steps are enclosed within richly-ornamented walls1 and stand distinct from the pulpit2 a short bridge connects the two4 ,the six pillars supporting the ambo itself are slender twisted columns with classic capitals4 ,three rest on lions1 three on lionesses1 admirably carved in different attitudes4 ,a small projection on the north side of the pulpit sustains an eagle standing on a pillar1 and spreading out his wings to bear an open book4 ,on the arch over the entrance to the staircase projects the head of ,sigelgaita1 wife of ,niccola ,rufolo1 the donor of the pulpit to the church1 sculptured in the style of the ,roman decadence1 between two profile medallions in low relief4#daa ,the material of the whole is fair white marble1 enriched with mosaics1 and wrought into beautiful scroll-work of acanthus leaves and other ,romanesque adornments4 ,an inscription1 ,ego ,magister ,nicolaus de ,bartholomeo de ,fogia ,marmorarius hoc opus feci2 and another1 ,lapsis millenis bis centum bisque trigenis ,,xpi4 bissenis annis ab origine plenis1 indicate the artist's name and the date of the work4 ,it is difficult to understand how anyone could trace such a resemblance between this rectangular ambo and the hexagonal structure in the ,pisan ,baptistery as would justify them in asserting both to be the products of the same school4 ,the pulpit of ,niccola da ,foggia does not materially differ from other ambones in ,italy--from several1 for instance1 in ,amalfi and ,ravello2 while the distinctive features of ,niccola ,pisano's work--the combination of classically studied bas-reliefs with ,gothic principles of construction1 the feeling for artistic unity in the composition of groups1 the mastery over plastic form1 and the detached allegorical figures--are noticeable only by their total absence from it4 ,what is left by way of similarity is a sculpturesque refinement in ,sigelgaita's portrait1 not unworthy of ,pisano's own chisel4 ,this1 however1 is but a slender point whereon to base so large a pyramid of pure conjecture4 ,surely we must look elsewhere than at ,ravello or at ,foggia for the origin of ,niccola ,pisano4 ,why then should we reject tradition in this instance8 ,messrs4 ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle reply2 because the sculpture of no ,tuscan city before his period is good enough to have led up to him4 ,yet this may be contested2 and at all events it will not be easy to prove from the ,ravello head of ,sigelgaita that a more advanced school existed in the south4 ,the fact is that the art of the stone-carvers or marmorarii had never entirely died out since the days of ,roman greatness2 nor was ,niccola without respectable predecessors in the very town of ,lucca1 where he produced the first masterpiece of modern sculpture4 ,the circular font of ,s4 ,frediano1 for example1 carved with figures in high relief by a certain ,robertus of the twelfth century1 combines the ,romanesque mannerism with the navet of mediaeval fancy4 ,i might point in particular to two knights seated on one horse in what ,i take to be the company of ,pharaoh crossing the ,red ,sea1 as an instance of a successful attempt to escape from the formalism of a decayed style4 ,at the same time the general effect of the embossed work of this font is fine2 nor do we fail to perceive that the artist retained some portion of the classic feeling for grandiose and monumental composition4 ,far less noteworthy1 yet still not utterly despicable1 is the bas-relief of ,biduinus over the side-door of ,s4 ,salvatore at ,lucca4 ,what ,niccola added of indefeasibly his own to the style of these continuators of a dead tradition1 was feeling for the beauty of classical work in a good age1 and through that feeling a more perfect sympathy with nature4 ,it is just at this point that the old tale about the sarcophagus of the ,countess ,beatrice conveys not only the letter but the spirit of the fact4 ,niccola's genius1 no less vivid and life-giving than that of ,giotto1 infused into the hard and formal manner of his immediate predecessors true nature and true art4 ,between the bas-relief of ,s4 ,salvatore and the bas-relief over the north door of the ,duomo at ,lucca1 there is indeed a broad gulf1 yet such as might have been passed at one bound by a master into whose soul the beauty of a fragment of ,greek art had sunk1 and who had received at his birth the gift of a creative genius4 ,,footnotes3 #djh ,history of ,painting in ,italy1 vol4 i4 chap4 iv4 #dji ,loc4 cit4 p4 #abg1 note4 #daj ,loc4 cit4 p4 #abg4 #daa ,mr4 ,perkins1 following the suggestion of ,panza1 in his ,istoria dell' ,antica ,republica d',amalfi1 is inclined to think that this head represents1 not ,sigelgaita1 but ,joanna ,,ii4 of ,naples1 and is therefore more than a century later in date than the pulpit4 ,see ,italian ,sculptors1 p4 #ea4 ,,appendix ,,ii ,michael ,angelo's ,sonnets ,after the death of ,michael ,angelo1 the manuscripts of his sonnets1 madrigals1 and other poems1 written at various periods of his life1 and well known to his intimate friends1 passed into the hands of his nephew1 ,lionardo ,buonarroti4 ,from ,lionardo they descended to his son1 ,michael ,angelo1 who was himself a poet of some mark4 ,this grand-nephew of the sculptor prepared them for the press1 and gave them to the world in #afbc4 ,on his redaction the commonly received version of the poems rested until #ahfc1 when ,signor ,cesare ,guasti of ,florence1 having gained access to the original manuscripts1 published a critical edition1 preserving every peculiarity of the autograph1 and adding a prose paraphrase for the explanation of the text4 ,the younger ,michael ,angelo1 working in an age of literary pedantry and moral prudery1 fancied that it was his duty to refine the style of his great ancestor1 and to remove allusions open to ignorant misconstruction4 ,instead1 therefore1 of giving an exact transcript of the original poems1 he set himself to soften down their harshness1 to clear away their obscurity1 to amplify1 transpose1 and mutilate according to his own ideas of syntax1 taste1 and rhetoric4 ,on the ,dantesque ruggedness of ,michael ,angelo he engrafted the prettiness of the seventeenth ,petrarchisti2 and where he thought the morality of the poems was questionable1 especially in the case of those addressed to ,cavalieri1 he did not hesitate to introduce such alterations as destroyed their obvious intention4 ,in order to understand the effect of this method1 it is only necessary to compare the autograph as printed by ,guasti with the version of #afbc4 ,in ,sonnet xxxi41 for example1 the two copies agree in only one line1 while the remaining thirteen are distorted and adorned with superfluous conceits by the over-scrupulous but not too conscientious editor of #afbc4dab ,michael ,angelo's poems1 even after his grand-nephew had tried to reduce them to lucidity and order1 have always been considered obscure and crabbed4 ,nor can it be pretended that they gain in smoothness and clearness by the restoration of the true readings4 ,on the contrary1 instances of defective grammar1 harsh elisions1 strained metaphors1 and incomplete expressions are multiplied4 ,the difficulty of comprehending the sense is rather increased than diminished1 and the obstacles to a translator become still more insurmountable than ,wordsworth found them4#dac ,this being undoubtedly the case1 the value of ,guasti's edition for students of ,michael ,angelo is nevertheless inestimable4 ,we read now for the first time what the greatest man of the sixteenth century actually wrote1 and are able to enter1 without the interference of a fictitious veil1 into the shrine of his own thought and feeling4 ,his sonnets form the best commentary on ,michael ,angelo's solitary life and on his sublime ideal of art4 ,this reflection has guided me in the choice of those now offered in ,english1 as an illustration of the chapter in this volume devoted to their author's biography4 ,though the dates of ,michael ,angelo's compositions are conjectural1 it may be assumed that the two sonnets on ,dante were written when he was himself in exile4 ,we know that1 while sojourning in the house of ,gian ,francesco ,aldovrandini at ,bologna1 he used to spend a portion of his time in reading ,dante aloud to his protector2#dad and the indignation expressed against ,florence1 then as ever fickle and ungrateful1 the gente avara1 invidiosa1 e superba1 to use ,dante's own words1 seems proper to a period of just resentment4 ,still there is no certainty that they belong to #adie2 for throughout his long life ,michael ,angelo was occupied with ,dante4 ,a story told of him in #aejf1 together with the dialogues reported by ,donato ,giannotti1 prove that he was regarded by his fellow-citizens as an authority upon the meaning of the ,divine ,comedy4#dae ,in #aeah1 when the ,florentine ,academy petitioned ,leo ,x4 to transport the bones of ,dante from ,ravenna to ,florence1 ,michael ,angelo subscribed the document and offered to erect a statue worthy of the poet4#daf ,how deeply the study of ,dante influenced his art1 appears not only in the lower part of the ,last ,judgment3 we feel that source of stern and lofty inspiration in his style at large2 nor can we reckon what the world lost when his volume of drawings in illustration of the ,divine ,comedy perished at sea4#dag ,the two following sonnets1 therefore1 whenever written1 may be taken as expressing his settled feeling about the first and greatest of ,italian poets3#dah-- ,,dal ,,ciel ,,discese ,from heaven his spirit came1 and robed in clay ,the realms of justice and of mercy trod1 ,then rose a living man to gaze on ,god1 ,that he might make the truth as clear as day4 ,for that pure star that brightened with his ray ,the ill-deserving nest where ,i was born1 ,the whole wide world would be a prize to scorn2 ,none but his ,maker can due guerdon pay4 ,i speak of ,dante1 whose high work remains ,unknown1 unhonoured by that thankless brood1 ,who only to just men deny their wage4 ,were ,i but he6 ,born for like lingering pains1 ,against his exile coupled with his good ,i'd gladly change the world's best heritage6 ,,quante ,,dirni ,,si ,,de' ,no tongue can tell of him what should be told1 ,for on blind eyes his splendour shines too strong2 ',twere easier to blame those who wrought him wrong1 ,than sound his least praise with a mouth of gold4 ,he to explore the place of pain was bold1 ,then soared to ,god1 to teach our souls by song2 ,the gates heaven oped to bear his feet along1 ,against his just desire his country rolled4 ,thankless ,i call her1 and to her own pain ,the nurse of fell mischance2 for sign take this1 ,that ever to the best she deals more scorn3 ,among a thousand proofs let one remain2 ,though ne'er was fortune more unjust than his1 ,his equal or his better ne'er was born4 ,about the date of the two next sonnets there is less doubt4 ,the first was clearly written when ,michael ,angelo was smarting under a sense of the ill-treatment he received from ,julius4 ,the second1 composed at ,rome1 is interesting as the only proof we possess of the impression made upon his mind by the anomalies of the ,papal rule4 ,here1 in the capital of ,christendom1 he writes1 holy things are sold for money to be used in warfare1 and the pontiff1 quel nel manto1 paralyses the powers of the sculptor by refusing him employment4#dai ,,signor1 ,,se ,,vero ,my ,lord6 if ever ancient saw spake sooth1 ,hear this which saith3 ,who can1 doth never will4 ,lo6 thou hast lent thine ear to fables still1 ,rewarding those who hate the name of truth4 ,i am thy drudge and have been from my youth-- ,thine1 like the rays which the sun's circle fill2 ,yet of my dear time's waste thou think'st no ills ,the more ,i toil1 the less ,i move thy ruth4 ,once 'twas my hope to raise me by thy height2 ,but 'tis the balance and the powerful sword ,of ,justice1 not false ,echo1 that we need4 ,heaven1 as it seems1 plants virtue in despite ,here on the earth1 if this be our reward-- ,to seek for fruit on trees too dry to breed4 ,,qua ,,si ,,fa ,,elmi ,here helms and swords are made of chalices3 ,the blood of ,christ is sold so much the quart3 ,his cross and thorns are spears and shields2 and short ,must be the time ere even his patience cease4 ,nay let ,him come no more to raise the fees ,of fraud and sacrilege beyond report6 ,for ,rome still slays and sells ,him at the court1 ,where paths are closed to virtue's fair increase4 ,now were fit time for me to scrape a treasure1 ,seeing that work and gain are gone2 while he ,who wears the robe1 is my ,medusa still4 ,perchance in heaven poverty is a pleasure3 ,but of that better life what hope have we1 ,when the blessed banner leads to nought but ill8 ,a third sonnet of this period is intended to be half burlesque1 and1 therefore1 is composed a coda1 as the ,italians describe the lengthened form of the conclusion4 ,it was written while ,michael ,angelo was painting the roof of the ,sistine1 and was sent to his friend ,giovanni da ,pistoja4 ,the effect of this work1 as ,vasari tells us1 on his eyesight was so injurious1 that1 for some time after its completion1 he could only read by placing the book or manuscript above his head and looking up4#dbj ,i' ,,ho ,,gi ,,fatto ,,un ,,gozzo ,i've grown a goitre by dwelling in this den-- ,as cats from stagnant streams in ,lombardy1 ,or in what other land they hap to be-- ,which drives the belly close beneath the chin3 ,my beard turns up to heaven2 my nape falls in1 ,fixed on my spine3 my breast-bone visibly ,grows like a harp3 a rich embroidery ,bedews my face from brush-drops thick and thin4 ,my loins into my paunch like levers grind2 ,my buttock like a crupper bears my weight2 ,my feet unguided wander to and fro2 ,in front my skin grows loose and long2 behind1 ,by bending it becomes more taut and strait2 ,backward ,i strain me like a ,syrian bow3 ,whence false and quaint1 ,i know1 ,must be the fruit of squinting brain and eye2 ,for ill can aim the gun that bends awry4 ,come then1 ,giovanni1 try ,to succour my dead pictures and my fame2 ,since foul ,i fare and painting is my shame4 ,the majority of the sonnets are devoted to love and beauty1 conceived in the spirit of exalted ,platonism4 ,they are supposed to have been written in the latter period of his life1 when he was about sixty years of age2 and though we do not know for certain to whom they were in every case addressed1 they may be used in confirmation of what ,i have said about his admiration for ,vittoria ,colonna and ,tommaso ,cavalieri4#dba ,the following1 with its somewhat obscure adaptation of a ,platonic theory of creation to his own art1 was probably composed soon after ,vittoria ,colonna's death4#dbb ,,se ',l ,,mio ,,rozzo ,,martello ,when my rude hammer to the stubborn stone ,gives human shape1 now that1 now this1 at will1 ,following his hand who wields and guides it still1 ,it moves upon another's feet alone4 ,but ,he who dwells in heaven all things doth fill ,with beauty by pure motions of his own2 ,and since tools fashion tools which else were none1 ,his life makes all that lives with living skill4 ,now1 for that every stroke excels the more ,the closer to the forge it still ascend1 ,her soul that quickened mine hath sought the skies3 ,wherefore ,i find my toil will never end1 ,if ,god1 the great artificer1 denies ,that tool which was my only aid before4 ,the next is peculiarly valuable1 as proving with what intense and religious fervour ,michael ,angelo addressed himself to the worship of intellectual beauty4 ,he alone1 in that age of sensuality and animalism1 pierced through the form of flesh and sought the divine idea it imprisoned3#dbc-- ,,per ,,ritornar ,l ,as one who will reseek her home of light1 ,thy form immortal to this prison-house ,descended1 like an angel piteous1 ,to heal all hearts and make the whole world bright4 ',tis this that thralls my heart in love's delight1 ,not thy clear face of beauty glorious2 ,for he who harbours virtue1 still will choose ,to love what neither years nor death can blight4 ,so fares it ever with things high and rare1 ,wrought in the sweat of nature2 heaven above ,showers on their birth the blessings of her prime2 ,nor hath ,god deigned to show ,himself elsewhere ,more clearly than in human forms sublime2 ,which1 since they image ,him1 compel my love4 ,the same ,platonic theme is slightly varied in the two following sonnets3#dbd-- ,,spirto ,,ben ,,nato ,choice soul1 in whom1 as in a glass1 we see1 ,mirrored in thy pure form and delicate1 ,what beauties heaven and nature can create1 ,the paragon of all their works to be6 ,fair soul1 in whom love1 pity1 piety1 ,have found a home1 as from thy outward state ,we clearly read1 and are so rare and great ,that they adorn none other like to thee6 ,love takes me captive2 beauty binds my soul2 ,pity and mercy with their gentle eyes ,wake in my heart a hope that cannot cheat4 ,what law1 what destiny1 what fell control1 ,what cruelty1 or late or soon1 denies ,that death should spare perfection so complete8 ,,dai ,,dolce ,,pianto ,from sweet laments to bitter joys1 from peace ,eternal to a brief and hollow truce1 ,how have ,i fallen6--when 'tis truth we lose1 ,mere sense survives our reason's dear decease4 ,i know not if my heart bred this disease1 ,that still more pleasing grows with growing use2 ,or else thy face1 thine eyes1 in which the hues ,and fires of ,paradise dart ecstasies4 ,thy beauty is no mortal thing2 'twas sent ,from heaven on high to make our earth divine3 ,wherefore1 though wasting1 burning1 ,i'm content2 ,for in thy sight what could ,i do but pine8 ,if ,god ,himself thus rules my destiny1 ,who1 when ,i die1 can lay the blame on thee8 ,the next is saddened by old age and death4 ,love has yielded to piety1 and is only remembered as what used to be4 ,yet in form and feeling this is quite one of the most beautiful in the series supposed to refer to ,vittoria ,colonna3#dbe-- ,,tornami ,,al ,,tempo ,bring back the time when blind desire ran free1 ,with bit and rein too loose to curb his flight2 ,give back the buried face1 once angel-bright1 ,that hides in earth all comely things from me2 ,bring back those journeys ta'en so toilsomely1 ,so toilsome-slow to him whose hairs are white2 ,those tears and flames that in one breast unite2 ,if thou wilt once more take thy fill of me6 ,yet ,love6 ,suppose it true that thou dost thrive ,only on bitter honey-dews of tears1 ,small profit hast thou of a weak old man4 ,my soul that toward the other shore doth strive1 ,wards off thy darts with shafts of holier fears2 ,and fire feeds ill on brands no breath can fan4 ,after this it only remains to quote the celebrated sonnet used by ,varchi for his dissertation1 the best known of all ,michael ,angelo's poems4#dbf ,the thought is this3 just as a sculptor hews from a block of marble the form that lies concealed within1 so the lover has to extract from his lady's heart the life or death of his soul1 ,,non ,,ha ,l',,ottimo ,,artista ,the best of artists hath no thought to show ,which the rough stone in its superfluous shell ,doth not include3 to break the marble spell ,is all the hand that serves the brain can do4 ,the ill ,i shun1 the good ,i seek1 even so ,in thee1 fair lady1 proud1 ineffable1 ,lies hidden3 but the art ,i wield so well ,works adverse to my wish1 and lays me low4 ,therefore not love1 nor thy transcendent face1 ,nor cruelty1 nor fortune1 nor disdain1 ,cause my mischance1 nor fate1 nor destiny3 ,since in thy heart thou carriest death and grace ,enclosed together1 and my worthless brain ,can draw forth only death to feed on me4 ,the fire of youth was not extinct1 we feel1 after reading these last sonnets4 ,there is1 indeed1 an almost pathetic intensity of passion in the recurrence of ,michael ,angelo's thoughts to a sublime love on the verge of the grave4 ,not less important in their bearing on his state of feeling are the sonnets addressed to ,cavalieri2 and though his modern editor shrinks from putting a literal interpretation upon them1 ,i am convinced that we must accept them simply as an expression of the artist's homage for the worth and beauty of an excellent young man4 ,the two sonnets ,i intend to quote next#dbg were written1 according to ,varchi's direct testimony1 for ,tommaso ,cavalieri1 in whom--the words are ,varchi's--,i discovered1 besides incomparable personal beauty1 so much charm of nature1 such excellent abilities1 and such a graceful manner1 that he deserved1 and still deserves1 to be the better loved the more he is known4 ,the play of words upon ,cavalieri's name in the last line of the first sonnet1 the evidence of ,varchi1 and the indirect witness of ,condivi1 together with ,michael ,angelo's own letters1#dbh are sufficient in my judgment to warrant the explanation ,i have given above4 ,nor do ,i think that the doubts expressed by ,guasti about the intention of the sonnets1#dbi or ,gotti's curious theory that the letters1 though addressed to ,cavalieri1 were meant for ,vittoria ,colonna1#dcj are much more honourable to ,michael ,angelo's reputation than the garbling process whereby the verses were rendered unintelligible in the edition of #afbc4 ,a ,,che ,,pi ,,debb' ,,io ,why should ,i seek to ease intense desire ,with still more tears and windy words of grief1 ,when heaven1 or late or soon1 sends no relief ,to souls whom love hath robed around with fire8 ,why need my aching heart to death aspire ,when all must die8 ,nay1 death beyond belief ,unto these eyes would be both sweet and brief1 ,since in my sum of woes all joys expire6 ,therefore because ,i cannot shun the blow ,i rather seek1 say who must rule my breast1 ,gliding between her gladness and her woe8 ,if only chains and bands can make me blest1 ,no marvel if alone and bare ,i go ,an armed ,knight's captive and slave confessed4 ,,veggio ,,co' ,,bei ,,vostri ,,occhi ,with your fair eyes a charming light ,i see1 ,for which my own blind eyes would peer in vain2 ,stayed by your feet the burden ,i sustain ,which my lame feet find all too strong for me2 ,wingless upon your pinions forth ,i fly2 ,heavenward your spirit stirreth me to strain2 ,e'en as you will1 ,i blush and blanch again1 ,freeze in the sun1 burn 'neath a frosty sky4 ,your will includes and is the lord of mine2 ,life to my thoughts within your heart is given2 ,my words begin to breathe upon your breath3 ,like to the moon am ,i1 that cannot shine ,alone2 for lo6 our eyes see nought in heaven ,save what the living sun illumineth4 ,whether we are justified in assigning the following pair to the ,cavalieri series is more doubtful4 ,they seem1 however1 to proceed from a similar mood of the poet's mind4#dca ,s' ,,un ,,casto ,,amor ,if love be chaste1 if virtue conquer ill1 ,if fortune bind both lovers in one bond1 ,if either at the other's grief despond1 ,if both be governed by one life1 one will2 ,if in two bodies one soul triumph still1 ,raising the twain from earth to heaven beyond1 ,if love with one blow and one golden wand ,have power both smitten breasts to pierce and thrill2 ,if each the other love1 himself foregoing1 ,with such delight1 such savour1 and so well1 ,that both to one sole end their wills combine2 ,if thousands of these thoughts all thought outgoing ,fail the least part of their firm love to tell2 ,say1 can mere angry spite this knot untwine8 ,,colui ,,che ,,fece ,he who ordained1 when first the world began1 ,time that was not before creation's hour1 ,divided it1 and gave the sun's high power ,to rule the one1 the moon the other span3 ,thence fate and changeful chance and fortune's ban ,did in one moment down on mortals shower3 ,to me they portioned darkness for a dower2 ,dark hath my lot been since ,i was a man4 ,myself am ever mine own counterfeit2 ,and as deep night grows still more dim and dun1 ,so still of more mis-doing must ,i rue3 ,meanwhile this solace to my soul is sweet1 ,that my black night doth make more clear the sun ,which at your birth was given to wait on you4 ,a sonnet written for ,luigi del ,riccio1 on the death of his friend ,cecchino ,bracci1 is curious on account of its conceit4#dcb ,michael ,angelo says3 ,cecchino1 whom you loved1 is dead2 and if ,i am to make his portrait1 ,i can only do so by drawing you1 in whom he still lives4 ,here1 again1 we trace the ,platonic conception of love as nothing if not spiritual1 and of beauty as a form that finds its immortality within the lover's soul4 ,this ,cecchino was a boy who died at the age of seventeen4 ,michael ,angelo wrote his epicedion in several centuries of verses1 distributed among his friends in the form of what he terms polizzini1 as though they were trifles4 ,a ,,pena ,,prima ,scarce had ,i seen for the first time his eyes ,which to thy living eyes are life and light1 ,when closed at last in death's injurious night ,he opened them on ,god in ,paradise4 ,i know it and ,i weep1 too late made wise3 ,yet was the fault not mine2 for death's fell spite ,robbed my desire of that supreme delight1 ,which in thy better memory never dies4 ,therefore1 ,luigi1 if the task be mine ,to make unique ,cecchino smile in stone ,for ever1 now that earth hath made him dim1 ,if the beloved within the lover shine1 ,since art without him cannot work alone1 ,thee must ,i carve to tell the world of him4 ,in contrast with the philosophical obscurity of many of the sonnets hitherto quoted1 ,i place the following address to ,night--one1 certainly1 of ,michael ,angelo's most beautiful and characteristic compositions1 as it is also the most transparent in style#dcc3-- ,o ,,nott'1 ,o ,,dolce ,,tempo ,o night1 ,o sweet though sombre span of time6-- ,all things find rest upon their journey's end-- ,whoso hath praised thee1 well doth apprehend2 ,and whoso honours thee1 hath wisdom's prime4 ,our cares thou canst to quietude sublime1 ,for dews and darkness are of peace the friend2 ,often by thee in dreams upborne ,i wend ,from earth to heaven1 where yet ,i hope to climb4 ,thou shade of ,death1 through whom the soul at length ,shuns pain and sadness hostile to the heart1 ,whom mourners find their last and sure relief6 ,thou dost restore our suffering flesh to strength1 ,driest our tears1 assuagest every smart1 ,purging the spirits of the pure from grief4 ,the religious sonnets have been reserved to the last4 ,these were composed in old age1 when the early impressions of ,savonarola's teaching revived1 and when ,michael ,angelo had grown to regard even his art and the beauty he had loved go purely1 as a snare4 ,if we did not bear in mind the piety expressed throughout his correspondence1 their ascetic tone1 and the remorse they seem to indicate1 would convey a painful sense of cheerlessness and disappointment4 ,as it is1 they strike me as the natural utterance of a profoundly devout and somewhat melancholy man1 in whom religion has survived all other interests1 and who1 reviewing his past life of fame and toil1 finds that the sole reality is ,god4 ,the two first of these compositions are addressed to ,giorgio ,vasari4#dcd ,,giunio ,,gi ,now hath my life across a stormy sea ,like a frail bark reached that wide port where all ,are bidden ere the final judgment fall1 ,of good or evil deeds to pay the fee4 ,now know ,i well how that fond phantasy ,which made my soul the worshipper and thrall ,of earthly art1 is vain2 how criminal ,is that which all men seek unwillingly4 ,those amorous thoughts which were so lightly dressed1 ,what are they when the double death is nigh8 ,the one ,i know for sure1 the other dread4 ,painting nor sculpture now can lull to rest ,my soul that turns to ,his great love on high1 ,whose arms to clasp us on the cross were spread4 ,,le ,,favole ,,del ,,mondo ,the fables of the world have filched away ,the time ,i had for thinking upon ,god2 ,his grace lies buried deep 'neath oblivion's sod1 ,whence springs an evil-crop of sins alway4 ,what makes another wise1 leads me astray1 ,slow to discern the bad path ,i have trod3 ,hope fades2 but still desire ascends that ,god ,may free me from self-love1 my sure decay4 ,shorten half-way my road to heaven from earth8 ,dear ,lord1 ,i cannot even half-way rise1 ,unless ,thou help me on this pilgrimage3 ,teach me to hate the world so little worth1 ,and all the lovely things ,i once did prize2 ,that endless life1 not death1 may be my wage4 ,the same note is struck in the following1 which breathes the spirit of a ,penitential ,psalm3#dce-- ,,carico ,d' ,,anni ,burdened with years and full of sinfulness1 ,with evil custom grown inveterate1 ,both deaths ,i dread that close before me wait1 ,yet feed my heart on poisonous thoughts no less4 ,no strength ,i find in mine own feebleness ,to change or life or love or use or fate1 ,unless ,thy heavenly guidance come1 though late1 ,which only helps and stays our nothingness4 ',tis not enough1 dear ,lord1 to make me yearn ,for that celestial home1 where yet my soul ,may be new made1 and not1 as erst1 of nought3 ,nay1 ere ,thou strip her mortal vestment1 turn ,my steps toward the steep ascent1 that whole ,and pure before ,thy face she may be brought4 ,in reading the two next1 we may remember that1 at the end of his life1 ,michael ,angelo was occupied with designs for a picture of the ,crucifixion1 which he never executed1 though he gave a drawing of ,christ upon the cross to ,vittoria ,colonna2 and that his last work in marble was the unfinished ,piet in the ,duomo at ,florence4#dcf ,,scarco ,d' ,,un ,,importuna ,freed from a burden sore and grievous band1 ,dear ,lord1 and from this wearying world untied1 ,like a frail bark ,i turn me to ,thy side1 ,as from a fierce storm to a tranquil land4 ,thy thorns1 ,thy nails1 and either bleeding hand1 ,with ,thy mild gentle piteous face1 provide ,promise of help and mercies multiplied1 ,and hope that yet my soul secure may stand4 ,let not ,thy holy eyes be just to see ,my evil past1 ,thy chastened ears to hear ,and stretch the arm of judgment to my crime3 ,let ,thy blood only lave and succour me1 ,yielding more perfect pardon1 better cheer ,as older still ,i grow with lengthening time4 ,,non ,,fur ,,men ,,lieti ,not less elate than smitten with wild woe ,to see not them but ,thee by death undone1 ,were those blest souls1 when ,thou above the sun ,didst raise1 by dying1 men that lay so low3 ,elate1 since freedom from all ills that flow ,from their first fault for ,adam's race was won2 ,sore smitten1 since in torment fierce ,god's son ,served servants on the cruel cross below4 ,heaven showed she knew ,thee1 who ,thou wert and whence1 ,veiling her eyes above the riven earth2 ,the mountains trembled and the seas were troubled3 ,he took the ,fathers from hell's darkness dense3 ,the torments of the damned fiends redoubled3 ,man only joyed1 who gained baptismal birth4 ,the collection of his poems is closed with yet another sonnet in the same lofty strain of prayer1 and faith1 and hope in ,god4#dcg ,,mentre ,m' ,,attrista ,mid weariness and woe ,i find some cheer ,in thinking of the past1 when ,i recall ,my weakness and my sins and reckon all ,the vain expense of days that disappear3 ,this cheers by making1 ere ,i die1 more clear ,the frailty of what men delight miscall2 ,but saddens me to think how rarely fall ,god's grace and mercies in life's latest year4 ,for though ,thy promises our faith compel1 ,yet1 ,lord1 what man shall venture to maintain ,that pity will condone our long neglect8 ,still1 from ,thy blood poured forth we know full well ,how without measure was ,thy martyr's pain1 ,how measureless the gifts we dare expect4 ,from the thought of ,dante1 through ,plato1 to the thought of ,christ3 so our study of ,michael ,angelo's sonnets has carried us4 ,in communion with these highest souls ,michael ,angelo habitually lived2 for he was born of their lineage1 and was like them a lifelong alien on the earth4 ,,footnotes3 #dab ,see ,guasti's ,rime di ,michel ,agnolo ,buonarrote1 ,firenzi1 #ahfc1 p4 #ahi4 ,the future references will be made to that edition4 #dac ,i can translate1 and have translated1 two books of ,ariosto at the rate nearly of one hundred lines a day2 but so much meaning has been put by ,michael ,angelo into so little room1 and that meaning sometimes so excellent in itself1 that ,i found the difficulty of translating him insurmountable4--,note to ,wordsworth's ,english version of some sonnets of ,michael ,angelo4 #dad ,see above1 ,chapter ,,viii1 ,the ,piet4 #dae ,see ,gotti's ,life1 p4 #dh1 and ,giannotti's works 7,firenze1 ,le ,monnier1 #ahej71 quoted by ,gotti1 pp4 #bdi-beg4 #daf ,see ,appendix to ,gotti's ,life1 ,no4 #be4 #dag ,see ,gotti's ,life1 p4 #bef4 #dah ,guasti1 pp4 #aec-aee4 #dai ,guasti1 pp4 #aef1 #afg4 #dbj ,guasti1 p4 #aeh4 #dba ,see above1 ,chapter ,,viii1 ,vittoria ,colonna4 #dbb ,guasti1 p4 #bbf4 #dbc ,guasti1 p4 #bah4 #dbd ,ib4 pp4 #ahb1 #baj4 #dbe ,guasti1 p4 #bab4 #dbf ,delivered before the ,florentine ,academy in #aedf4 ,see ,guasti1 p4 #agc1 for the sonnet1 and p4 lxxv4 for the dissertation4 ,see also ,gotti1 p4 #bdi1 for ,michael ,angelo's remarks upon the latter4 #dbg ,guasti1 pp4 #ahi1 #ahh4 #dbh ,see ,archivio ,buonarroti2 and above1 p4 #cah1 note #b4 #dbi ,rime1 p4 xlv4 #dcj ,gotti's ,life1 pp4 #bca-bcc4 #dca ,guasti1 pp4 #aij-bjb4 #dcb ,ib4 p4 #afb4 #dcc ,guasti1 p4 #bje4 #dcd ,guasti1 pp4 #bcj-bcb4 #dce ,guasti1 pp4 #bdd1 #bde4 #dcf ,ib4 pp4 #bda-bde4 #dcg ,guasti1 p4 #bdf4 ,,appendix ,,iii ,chronological ,tables of the ,principal ,artists mentioned in this ,volume ,the lists which follow have been1 drawn up with a view to assisting the reader of my chapters on ,architecture1 ,sculpture1 and ,painting4 ,i have only included the more prominent names2 and these ,i have placed in the order of their occurrence in the foregoing pages4 ,in compiling them1 ,i have consulted the ,index to ,le ,monnier's edition of ,vasari 7#ahgj71 ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle's ,history of ,painting1 and ,milizia's ,dictionary of ,architects4 ,,architects ,name ,born ,died ,arnolfo di ,cambio #abaj #acaa ,giotto di ,bondone #abgf #accg ,andrea ,orcagna -- about #acfi ,filippo ,brunelleschi #acgg #addf ,leo ,battista ,alberti #adje #adgb ,michellozzo ,michellozzi #acia #adgb ,benedetto da ,majano #addb #adig ,giuliano di ,san ,gallo #adde #aeaf ,antonio di ,san ,gallo #adee #aecd8 ,antonio ,filarete -- #adfe8 ,bramante ,lazzari #addd #aead ,cristoforo ,rocchi -- -- ,ventura ,vitoni -- -- ,raffaello ,santi #adhc #aebj ,giulio ,romano #adii #aedf ,baldassare ,peruzzi #adha #aecf ,jacopo ,sansovino #adgg #aegj ,michele ,sanmicheli #adhd #aeei ,baccio d',agnolo #adfb #aedc ,michael ,angelo ,buonarroti #adge #aefd ,andrea ,palladio #aeah #aehj ,giacomo ,barozzi #aejg #aegc ,vincenzo ,scamozzi #aeeb #afaf ,galeazzo ,alessi #aejj #aegb ,bartolommeo ,ammanati #aeaa #aeib ,,sculptors ,name ,born ,died ,niccola ,pisano after #abjj #abgh ,giovanni ,pisano about #abdj #acbj ,lorenzo ,maitani -- #accj ,andrea ,pisano about #abgc about #acdi ,giotto di ,bondone #abgf #accg ,nino ,pisano -- about #acfj ,giovanni ,balduccio about #acjj about #acdg ,filippo ,calendario -- #acee ,andrea ,orcagna -- about #acfi ,lorenzo ,ghiberti #acgh #adee ,giacomo della ,quercia #acgd #adch ,filippo ,brunelleschi #acgg #addf ,donatello #acff #adff ,andrea ,verocchio #adce #adhh ,alessandro ,leopardi -- after #aebb ,antonio ,pollajuolo #adbi #adih ,piero ,pollajuolo #adda #adhi8 ,luca della ,robbia #adjj #adhb ,agostino di ,duccio -- after #adfa ,antonio ,rossellino #adbg #adgh8 ,matteo ,civitali #adce #aeja ,mino da ,fiesole #adca #adhd ,desiderio da ,settignano #adbh #adfd ,guido ,mazzoni -- #aeah ,antonio ,begarelli #adgi about #aefe ,antonio ,amadeo #addg8 about #aebj ,andrea ,contucci #adfj #aebi ,jacopo ,sansovino #adgg #aegj ,michael ,angelo ,buonarroti #adge #aefd ,raffaello da ,montelupo #aeje #aefg ,giovanni ,angelo ,montorsoli #aejg #aefc ,baccio ,bandinelli #adic #aefj ,bartolommeo ,ammanati #aeaa #aeib ,benvenuto ,cellini #aejj #aega ,gian ,bologna #aebd #afjh ,,painters ,name ,born ,died ,giovanni ,cimabue #abdj8 #acjb8 ,giotto di ,bondone #abgf #accg ,andrea ,orcagna -- about #acfi ,ambrogio 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