The art schools of mediaeval Christendom

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Contents

Pkeface by Professor Ruskin I. Thf Art of the Eaklt Christians . II. The Byzantine Churches in. The Lombard Carvers IV. The PiSAK Sculptors V. The Tuscan Schools of Painting VL The Dawn of the Renaissance VII. The Two Florentine Hones ..

VIIL The Teutonic Schools. — L IX. The Teutonic Schools.— IL AlbiH DUrtr X. The Teutonic Schools.— IIL Hata He&nn XL The Renaissance and Savonaroia

XIL Rapfabllb

Preface

The number of British and American travellers who take unaffected interest in the early art of Europe is already large, and is daily increasing ; daily, also, as I thankfully perceive, feeling themselves more and more in need of a guide-book containing as much trustworthy indication as they can use, of what they may most rationally spend their time in examining. The books of reference published by Mr, Murray, though of extreme value to travellers who make it their object to see (in his, and their, sense of the word) whatever is to be seen, are of none whatever, or may perhaps be considered, justly, as even of quite the reverse of value, to travellers who wish to see only what they may in simplicity understand, and with pleasure remember : while the histories of art, and biographies

VI PREFACE.

of artists, to which the more earnest student in his noviciate must have recourse, are at once so voluminous, so vague, and so contradictory, that I cannot myself conceive his deriving any other benefit from their study than a deep conviction of the difficulty of the subject, and of the incertitude of human opinions.

It seemed to me, on reading the bssays collected in this volume, as they appeared in the periodical for which they were written, that the Author not only possessed, herself, a very true discernment of the qualities in mediaeval art which were justly deserving of praise ; but had unusually clear understanding of the degree in which she might expect to cultivate subh discernment in the general mind of polite travellers : nor have I less admired her aptitude in collation of essentially illustrative facts, so as to bring the history of a very widely contemplated rai^e of art into tenable compass, and very graceful and serviceable form. Her reading, indeed, has been, with respect to many very interesting periods of religious workmanship, much more extensive than my own ; and when I consented to edit the volume of collected papets, it was not without the assurance of considerable advantage to myself during the labour of revising them.

The revision, however, I am soriy to say, has been interrupted and imperfect : — very necessarily the last, from the ignorance I have just confessed of more than one segment of the great illuminated field of early religious art to which the writer most wisely has directed equal and symmetrical attention ; — and interrupted, partly under extreme pressure c^ other occupation, and partly in very fear of being tempted to oppress the serenity of the general prospect, which I think these essays are eminently calculated to open before an ingenuous reader, with the stormy chiaro-scuro of my own preference and reprobation. I leave the work, therefore, absolutely Hiss Owen's, with occasional note of remonstrance, but without retouch ; though it must be distinctly understood that when I allow my name to stand as the Editor of a book, it is in no mere compliment (if my Editorship could indeed be held as such) to the genius or merit of the Author ; but it means that I hold myself viii PREFACE.

entirely responsible, in main points, for the accuracy of the views advanced, and that I wish th^ work to be received, by those who have confidence in my former teaching, as an extension and application of the parts of it which I have felt to be incomplete.

J. RUSKIN.

Oxford,

Novetnbir rj, 1875.

OF

MEDIEVAL CHRISTENDOM.

Chapter I. The Art Of The Early Christians

Profession of Christianity by Cunstantine .. .. .. 323

Traditional date of the found-^fi'in of the first three great basilicas of Rome — S. Peer's, S. Paul's, and S, John Lateran .. .. 334

Removal of the seat of the ihnpire to Constantinople .. 330

When the Christian era dawned on the world, the embodiment of human passions and physical powers in the mythological art of Greece and Rome, had found its inevitable end in a sensual worship ; and a religion more gross than had been that which the Israelites were destined to sweep out of Canaan d^raded the nations of the civilised world. Thus, when the Christian faith first began to leaven mankind, it was reactionary in all its tendencies. Its first mission was to fight hand to hand with the corrupted morality of the age ; truly a gigantic task, and one requiring the concentrated enei^ies of its leaders. Remembering this, it is easy to imagine that the early Christians would eschew such forms of art as might remind their converts of cast-off superstitions, or introduce into religion an element of materialism ; it is obvious that the occasion demanded scrupulous care, in the removal of stumbliog-blocks which might hinder the growth of an uodefiled faith. Thus, sculpture, an art peculiarly devoted to the decoration of heathen worship, and also in itself tending somewhat to materialism, was but little cultivated at first. Images were, probably, entirely excluded from Christian worship ; and although Eusebius and Sozomen mention representations, as of SS, Peter and Paul, and even a statue of our Lord,' said to have been erected by the woman healed of the issue of blood, yet those must have been rare exceptions to the rule. Few attempts were even made, at least in the first two centuries, to bring the facts of the life and death of the God-Man, or the story of the Redemption, before the eyes of the faithful. By all^ory and metaphor, indeed, by symbols and types, they loved to remind themselves of Him they wor-

* Some such statue did BCtiuJl; exist, cince it is recorded that Julian the Apostate diretr it down. See Liil>ke'5 'History of Sculptorc,' vol. i. bk. iv. ch. L shipped ; as the Vine, or the Fish, or the Lamb, or in the still dearer symbol of the Good Shepherd, or in Old Testament types they would represent Him ; but seldom in more familiar forms. Perhaps they feared to express the hitherto unrealised idea of Incarnate God by the representation of His Human Form ; perhaps they did not need such helps, who lived so near to their Lord.

The earlier Christian paintings are distinguished, indeed, by their close similarity to contemporary pagan decorations, and it has been often remarked of the art of the Catacombs, that but for some central figure or medallion giving a character to the whole, it would be difficult to believe that one were in a Christian building. Various causes no doubt combined to effect this, the chief of which probably was that, as Dr. Northcote observes, it was not in the power of the Christians to invent at once a new langu^e in art Extending S. Paul's principle that nothing is common or unclean to Christian people, they used fearlessly the symbols and even the mythology of paganism, exorcising the evil and inspiring the good with new and infinite meaning. It is probably a mistake to lay too much stress on the fear of idolatry in the early Church, or to accept it as suf&cieat reason for the scarcity of historical repre- B 2 sentatlons. The symbolism of the early Christians has in fact been used to an unfair extent as an argument against the use of devotional painting in churches. No other kind of art was in -reality possible to the age, than that of the classic style, and accordingly it was used, merely excluding idolatrous representations.

It was the time, too, of the deepest decline of 'the Roman Empire ; and, since the age of Augustus, art had been used so exclusively for the mere production of articles of luxury, that neither originality nor mechanical knowledge remained to it in Rome. Greek artists emigrated to Italy to build Roman temples ; imitations of Greek sculpture were set up in the palaces, statues of foreign workmanship brought by the Roman armies in innumerable quantities,* bronze work and pottery imported from Etruria. It was impossible that, in a period when all the wealtfi and power of Rome were unable to command original art, a smalt and despised sect, with no resources, should be able to embody new ideas, or find fresh forms for their thoughts.

Two characteristics of the temper and thought of the early Church are seen remarkably in its art The

• See PeAins" 'Tuscan Sculptors,' Introduclion, pp. ixxii-ixxiv. Five hundred bronze statues weie taken fiom DelphE alone, lo decorate tlie Golden House of Nero.

OF MEDIEVAL CHRISTENDOM. J

first shows itself in a symbolism, which seems to have been its natural language, so to say, the expres- »on of an habitual groove of thought ; the other, in such a choice of subject as would remind ever of immortality rather than death ; of the Manger and Star of Bethlehem, rather than of the Cross and Sepulchre. The preference for symbolical expression shows itself not only in the numerous allegorical figures representing sacred ideas, with which we are all familiar, but, often, in entire compositions, such as is to be seen in the instance of an ancient painting of the Catacomb of S. Callixtus. The Good Shepherd stands in the midst of the picture, the lost sheep on His shoulders ; on each side a man hastening away from Him, illustrative of the Church's commission to preach the Gospel. As they hurry on, streams of * water ppur from a rock on each side, representing sacramental grace, which they stretch out their hands to receive. Two sheep stand before each of them, one of each pair listening to the call, and on these two flow the waters of life ; of the other two, one has signilicantty turned his back on the Shepherd, and the other is eating grass. Of later date than this, on a sarcophagus of the fourth century, are sculptured, in minute groups between the arches, some still more curious symbolic representations.

The Baptism of Christ is figured by a sheep placed in a stream, on whose head another sheep is layingits paw ; the raising of Lazarus, by a sheep touching a dead man with a wand ; the three children in the furnace, and the striking of the rock by Moses, are also symbolised in the same way.

Another form of symbolism used by the early Church, and common in art until the end of the sixth century, is that of representing a subject or series of subjects from the Old Testament, as illustrative of the life of our Lord, and with the intent to dwell on the mystical interpretation. Noah in the Ark, Jonah under the ivy," the three children in the furnace, the ascension of Elijah, the sufferings of Job, the sacrifice of Isaac, Daniel in the lions' .den, Moses striking the rock, are familiar subjects in early Christian art Historical pictures of our Lord's life are rare in Catacomb art, and the Adoration of the Magi seems to have been the favourite, as it was perhaps the first of this class of subject in early painting. The earliest

• In accotdmcewith inearlyreading of iheword'goord.' See'Ait Teaching of the Priuutive Church,' by the Rev. R. St. John Tyrwhill, Index, p. 347. 'Ivy,' htdtra, is S. Jerome's rendering of the Septnsginl word, for which he eiplaincd that he could not find 3. Latin equivilenl, when S. Anguatine objected to the alteration of the original sense in the Vulgale. I lun indebted for this note lo Mr. Tjrwhitl, and may add, as r^pudi the qootation from his book, that thete is an erratum in thii {>as«tg« of it. For 'Volgate' read 'Septnagint.'

OF MEDIEVAL CHRJSTESDOif. 7

known picture of our Lord, is a head io the Catacomb of SS. Nereo and Acbilleo, and another and similar one in S. Ponziano, of the sixth centuiy, is thought by Mr. Hemaos* to be the most beautiful of all the early ideal portraits of Christ Representations of the Passion are altc^ethcr unknown in the earliest ages, and rate at any period until after the sixth century. Even the cross was always used by the early Christians rather as a sign of triumph, and of the victory of Life over Death, than as a reminder of the sufferings of Christ ; and it was with buds and flowers springing from it, and gems inlaid within it, that they represented it The earliest picture of the Passion is sculptured on a. sarcophagus of the fourth century, in the Lateran Museum. There are five compartments, divided by pillars. The centre one contains the 'Labaniin,'t doves picking at the wreath around it, and a cross below with two soldiers sleeping beneath. On one side is represented our Lord before Pilate; occupying

* ' HiEtoric and Mrammeotal Rome,' ch. U. p. 348.

t The ' Lobamni of ConsUDdne,' dunen by him »i ttii sUndud alas the vuion wbicb sppcBred to him, ins a ipai with a tmuiene branch from which faoni; a pm|>le banner corered with peaHs. It was sDimnmled tij a chaplet set with geitii,,vrithia which wu X P, which foimed the monognni of oar Loid'i lume. See Ensebiiu' ' liGc of two compartments ; on the other, He is carrying His cross, a soldier placing on His head a crown ; but it is not a crown of thorns — it is of flowers ; " the crown wherewith He was crowned in the day of the gladness of His heart," Such was the gleam of brightness which lighted up the meditations of the early Church on the Passion of her Lord. One other sarcophagus • deserves special notice, that of Junius Bassus, a prefect of Rome, who, in the simple language of the primitive Church, "went to God, a neophyte," A.D. 359. There are two rows of sculptured pictures, divided into 5ve compartments each. Above, in the midst, sits the Lord enthroned, His feet resting on the earth, which is mythol<^cally personified by Tellus. On one side He is before Pilate, on the other is the repentance of S. Peter. Below is the entry into Jerusalem, and on each side the sufferings of Job, and the delivery of Daniel typical of the Passion and Resurrection.!

Much discussion has taken place concerning the earlier representations of the blessed Vii^in. There is no doubt, however, that the first pictures of the

* In the crTpt of S. Peter's. The same one on which ore scnlpCuied the groups of sheep above mentioned.

t Hit. Jameson gives an engraving of this sarcophagni in ' The life of Our Lord,' vol. i. p. \2.

Vii^n Mother represent her in the historical incidents of the Nativity and the Adoration. Whether or not the ' Orantes,' or praying female figures, were intended in any degree to suggest the idea of the Intercession of the Mother of Christ, her figure does appear in this attitude of prayer, in painting, as also on some of the gilded glasses* of the Catacomb tombs. The first instance of the Mother and Child represented tc^ether — the primitive Madoiina of Christiftn art — is in the Catacomb of S. Agnes, and is probably of the fourth century. She stands with her arms uplifted in prayer, while the Divine Child is in front of her, and also standing. It was probably after the Council of Ephesus (43 1 ), when the Nestorian heresy was denounced, and the title of ' Mother of God ' insisted 00, that the impetus was given to the increased devotion to the Virgin Mother. Among other representations of artistic interest in the fourth century, are a sarcophagus carving of S. Peter receiving from our Lord the Iceys which have been his symbol thence-

* The gilded glasses found in the Catacombs are tlie remains of ^aa cups which were buried wiih the martyrs, anii supposed to have been used in the Agapse or social feasts of the eavly Christians. HaTiiig been embedded in the fiesli moitiu', the bottoms of Ihet« glanei reniuaed, when time bad destroyed all the rest. There is a Ui^ oollection in the Vatican, and a few are preserved in the Bntish Miueiun.

lo THE ART

forth throughout Ihe range of Chrutian art; and painting on the apse of a Catacomb chapel of the Lord enthroned in the midst of the twelve Apostles — the prototype of those glorious groups whidi should hereafter look down in solemn grandeur of purple and gold from the walls of the Italian churches. To the same century are also referred the first attempts to portray the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity in human form ; of whidi perhaps the oldest remaining instance is on a sarcophagus io the Lateran Museum, of the fourth century, representing the creation of Eve." That this questionable mode of representation was not common, however, we may conjecture from the scarcity of examples remaining. S. John Damascene (700-754) laid down the rule that " God, Who is bodiless and invisible," should only be represented as the Incarnate Son, and other r^[ulations were laid down by the Church on the subject In the majority of instances in which the presence of God the Father is represented, the usual symbol is a hand, or at most a head, surrounded by clouds and nimbus. And although, in the creation of Adam and Eve, _ the Divine Creator is often represented as a young man, this was only in accordance with the belief of

* Hemuit' ' Ancient Chiiitiuilty and Sacred Art,' ch. ii. p. 61.

' MEDJ^^AL CH.

_ : CHRISTENDOM.

the Church thar the Second Person in the Blessed Trinity accomplished the act of creation. A description given by S. Faulinus of Nola, the great reviver of Church art in the next century, of a mosaic placed by himself in his cathedral church, shows the symbolic type then used to represent the mystery. "The Trinity," he b^ns, "shines in all the fullness of the mystery." Then he goes on to explain the form ^of the representation. " Christ is in the midst of the water, the Voice of the Father sounds in the clouds, the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a Dove." " This, be it observed, is not intended for a picture of the Baptism of Christ, since in all such representations S. John Baptist is present

There were in Rome above sixty subterranean cemeteries, which were the earliest repositories of Christian art ; five or six probably begun in Apostolic times ; t four or live which existed in the second centuiy ; and two of the fourth century. They are computed t to amount, with all their ramifications, to an extent equal to Soo or 900 miles, and to contain between six and seven millions of Christian dead. Dr. Northcote is of opinion that the Catacombs

• Pascal's ' Inxtitntiaiu de I'Art Cht^ticn,' p. 37. t According to Dr. Northcote. ' \ ' Ancient Cbmtknitjr aod Sftcred Art,' ch. u. p. 47.

were originally used exclusively for burial-places, which were permitted impartially to all by the laws of the land ; their use as places of worship dating only from the persecutions of the Christians. In the great tenth persecution under Diocletian, however, even these burial-places were confiscated to the state, and it is supposed that at that time the Christians broke away the staircases, and blocked up the entrances, in order to prevent the pagans from entering.

It is an authenticated fact that the early Christians were allowed the privilege, equally with the pagans, of possessing places of worship in Rome. On the site now occupied by S. Maria in Trastevere, a church is supposed to have been built in the third century ; and ' in the reign of Alexander Severus (222-235 ), there arose a dispute concerning a right of property on this place, between the Christians and some pagan innkeepers. On the matter being referred to the emperor, he pronounced the remarkable dedsion that it was "better God should be worshipped in that place, in whatever way, than that it should be given to the sellers of wine."* There were in the time of Diocletian (284-305),t and until the beginning

t " II were beyond our power," writes Eusebius, " to give aeiotint

of the glory and liberty of Cbristiuiity, and the bononr in whicb it was of the fourth century, twenty-five of these churches in Rome itself, besides fifteen suburban churches, probably connected with the Catacombs. It is conjectured that the form of these primitive churches was that of an ark* — that favourite symbol of the early Christians for the Church of Christ — surmounted by a cylindrical roof, and with the addition of an apse for the sanctuary. Such was the opinion of the learned Patriarch of Constantinople, consulted by M. Tcxier ; t and one church of this description at least exists in the East — that of Sion, — ^built, according to tradition, in Apostolic times.

Two ancient churches remain in Rome, the sites of which are consecrated by historical associations, more primitive and more sacred perhaps than gather around any other place beyond the Holy Land itself — those held by Greeks uid barbarians, before DiacledoD. Secvants of the imperial palacet declaied freely their religion. Many Christians were in charge of piovioces. Vast coaconises of men flocked to the cfaorcbes. They erected spadons churches in every city, daily increasing iu magnitude and importance." — Eusebius' ' Ecclesiastical Hislocy,' book *jii.

* " ' Let the chnich be oblong,' " say the ' Apostolic Constilntions,' " 'turned towards the east, ba,ving cells on both sides towards the east, u it ii to resemble a ship, and let the throne at the Bishop be in the midst, with the presbytery sitting on either side of it, and the deacons standing by, clad in light but seemly raiment, for they arc likened to tijlon and oanmen.' "—Lord Lindsay's ' History of Christian Art,' 10L L kL i. p. so.

vof S. Pudenziana and S. Clement The former is built* on the subterranean remains of the mansion of the senator Pudens, mentioned in the Epistle to Timothy, and much of the ancient structure of this interesting building has been brought to light by the recent exertions of Mr. Parker. In this place, S, Peter lived, it is said, for seven years, and S. Paul was a frequent guest ; here the great sacrifice was offered day by day, by Apostolic hands ; f and here, as tradition says, the first ordination was held, and the saintly Clement, whose name was even then "written in the book of Life," received the Apostolic charge.

Scarcely less interesting is the basilica of S. Clemente, which now comprises three distinct churches, one over the other. The earlier basilica was built by Adrian I. in 790, over a church of the fourth century, which occupied the site of the family mansion of S. Clement ; J and it is perhaps the most perfect

* It was buill lirst by Adrian I., then by Gregoiy VII., and lastly by Innocent II. Tbe beButifiil mosaic of the apse is thought to be ■ relic of the church of the ninth century, built by Adiian. * t The largest of the uDdergraund chambers, containing remains of punting on the walls, and of lesselated pavement, is supposed to have been the chapel. A side altar of the church still contaiiks a part of the table said to have been used by S. Peter. ' Ancient Christianity and Sacred Art,' ch. i. p. 35.

\ This is referred to by S. Jerome.

Specimen remaining of the form and proportions of a primitive basilica, the details of the first church having been exactly preserved by Adrian in his restoration. Another church was again built over that of Adrian, in the twelfth century, in which are preserved the bevitiful choir fittings of the lower church, among them, one of the few remaining specimens of the candelabrum used anciently for the ' Gospel light'

The churches of the age of Constantine were either basilican, octagonal, or cruciform. The latter shape was only partially defined, with very slight projections, and of this the ancient rock church of Inkermannis an example.* A few octagonal churches of this age are said by Dr. Neale to remain in Lycia ; but it was not until the Lombard age, when the science of constructing domes had become well known again, that octagonal churches were common ; and the only early specimen of that form in Rome, known as the Baptistery of Constantine, was not built until the pontificate of Sixtus III., who died in 440. Round churches were mostly built for baptisteries, as was that of 5. Constantia, the only church remaining entire, of the age of Constantine. After the death of

* Dr. Neale's ' Introduction to History of the Eastern Chmch,' vol. i. .. L ch. iii p. 237.

his daughter Constantia, it was converted into a sepulchral chapel for her, but was not used as a church till the thirteenth century.* The basilican form was the rule for the churches of the age of Constantine. When Christianity finally emei^ed from persecution, and the primitive churches . no longer sufficed for Christian worship, many of the basilicas or judgment halls of ancient Rome were given over for the use of the new religion, and thus became the models of construction for, as they gave the name to, the churches of that age. ' The word corresponds with that signifying palace,t and was originally given either because of the size of the building, or because the royal office of administering justice was dispensed there, " The basilicas," wrote S. Isidore of Seville (circa 565-636), "were first the abode of kings, or the palaces in which they rendered justice ; and it is from them that the name comes. Now, the Divine temples are called basilicas because it Is there that the worship of God, the King of kings, is offered, and that sacrifice is made to Him." These buildings were oblong, with a semicircular recess at one end for the judges; a short transept crossed the upper part, where the

• See Galljf Knight's 'Eccletiistica] Archilectwe of Ilaly." On S. Constantia. t Ibid. Intiodnction.

OF MEDIEVAL CHRISTENDOM. i?

advocates used to sit, the gallery over it being reserved for the public The basilicas were thus admirably adapted for Christian use. The semicircle became the seats of the higher clergy, the colonnades divided off the parts apportioned to the different classes of worshippers, and the galleries served for the women.

The churches of the age of Constantine were very plain in their exterior, being generally built of brick, and having for then- sole ornament the sculptured architraves which surmounted the porch, and which were generally taken from some ancient building. The science of architecture had shared the deep decline of the arts in Rome at this period, and so fatal to their duration was the insufficient knowledge of the builders, combined with the unwise haste of the emperor, who exacted that a church should be finished tn a given time,* that of the numerous churches built by Constantine in Rome, only one remains entire, t The interior was usually divided into three parts by columns supportii^ round arches, the capitals being taken from some classical building, as in many cases were the columns themselves. Stone

* ' Andenl Cbristiuiity and Sacred Art in Italy,' ch. iv. p. 138. t The historian Zoumui sayg that most of them fell into ruin shortly aRcT hit life-time.

roofs were unknown at this period, since the builders were unable to make the necessary calculations regarding the weight An open rafter roof, therefore, completed these primitive churches, generally concealed by a flat ceiling of gilded panels. The faithful were summoned to worship by the striking of an iron instrument in the porch, until the invention of bells, in the fifth century. No belfnes existed in Italy until the eighth century, when the first was raised by the side gf S. Peter's Basilica, by Pope Stephen II., and the feature of the Campanile introduced thus late into Italian architecture, was never considered as a part of the structure, but remained a separate erection.

It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to give the exact date of Constantine's abandonment of paganism. Not long after his victories over Maxentius (312 A.D.), celebrated for their connection with the legendary * appearance of the cross to the emperor and the institution of the ' Labarum ' as his standard, he began to extend favours to the Christian Church. In the next year, he endowed the Church with the right to hold and inherit property ; a permission far more valuable, as Dr. Milman remarks,* than personal

■ ' History of Latin Cbrislianity,' voL L bk. i. ch. iL p. 73.

gifts of money or land would have been ; since it laid the foundations of the wealth which the Churcli gradually acquired, without arousing the jealousy of the aristocracy. He also revised the inheritances of Christian families ; and in cases in which no heir claimed the property of the martyrs, it was delivered over to the Church. It was probably not till 323 A.n. that Constantine really accepted the Christian faith, although it was several years before this that he conferred the splendid gift of the Lateran palace on the Bishops of Rome, and also himself assisted in laying the foundations of the Basilica of 5. Peter. These two churches, together with S, Paul's on the Ostian Way, built on the spot of that Apostle's martyrdom, were the first churches of Rome.