St。13。Theseus:arecliningstatuefromtheeasternpedimentoftheParthenon,nowintheBritishMuseum。
TheSonofPriam:probablytheParisoftheAeginetanSculpturesnowintheGlyptothekatMunich,whichiskneelinganddrawingthebow。
Apollo:”AwordonthelineaboutApollothesnake-slayer,whichmyfriendProfessorColvincondemns,believingthattheGodoftheBelvederegraspsnobow,buttheAegis,asdescribedinthe15thIliad。Surelythetextrepresentsthatportentousobjectqou^rin,deinh/n,a’mfida/seian,a’riprepe/’——marmare/hn
as`shakenviolently’or`heldimmovably’bybothhands,notasingleone,andthatthelefthand:——
a’lla\su/g’e’nxei/ressila/b’ai’gi/daqusano/essanth\nma/l’e’pi/ssei/wnfobe/einh`/rwas’Axaiou/s。
andsoon,th\na’/r’o`/g’e’nxei/ressine’/xwn——
xersi\ne’/x’a’tre/ma,k。t。l。Moreover,whileheshookithe`shoutedenormously’,sei^s’,e’pi\d’au’to\sau’/sema/lame/ga,whichthestatuedoesnot。PresentlywhenTeukros,ontheotherside,pliesthebow,itisto/j`one’/xwne’nxeiri\pali/ntonon。Besides,bytheactofdischarginganarrow,therightarmandhandarethrownbackaswesee,——aquitegratuitousandtheatricaldisplayinthecasesupposed。TheconjectureofFlaxmanthatthestatuewassuggestedbythebronzeApolloAlexikakosofKalamis,mentionedbyPausanias,remainsprobable;thoughthe`hardness’
whichCiceroconsiderstodistinguishtheartist’sworkmanshipfromthatofMuronisnotbyanymeansapparentinourmarblecopy,ifitbeone——Feb。16,1880。”——ThePoet’sNote。
Niobe:groupofancientsculpture,inthegalleryoftheUffiziPalace,inFlorence,representingNiobemourningthedeathofherchildren。
theRacers’frieze:thefriezeoftheParthenonisperhapsmeant,thereferencebeingtotheFULNESSOFLIFEexhibitedbythemenandhorses。
thedyingAlexander:”`TheDyingAlexander’,atFlorence。
Thiswell-known,beautiful,anddeeplyaffectinghead,whichbearsastrongresemblancetotheAlexanderHeliosoftheCapitol——especiallyinthetreatmentofthehair——hasbeencalledbyOttfriedMuellerariddleofarchaeology。ItisnodoubtaGreekoriginal,andoneofthemostinterestingremainsofancientart,butwecannottakeitforgrantedthatitisintendedforAlexander,andstilllessthatitistheworkofLysippus。
Itisdifficulttoimaginethatthefavoredanddevotedartistofthemightyconquerorwouldchoosetoportrayhisgreatmasterinapainfulandimpotentstrugglewithdiseaseanddeath。
ThisconsiderationmakesitextremelyimprobablethatitwasexecutedduringthelifetimeofAlexander,andthewholecharacterofthework,inwhichfreepathosistheprevailingelement,anditscloseresemblanceinstyletotheheadsoncoinsoftheperiodoftheDiadochi,pointtoalateragethanthatofLysippus。”——
`GreekandRomanSculpture’byWalterCoplandPerry。London,1882。
p。484。
14。
So,testingyourweaknessbytheirstrength,Yourmeagrecharmsbytheirroundedbeauty,MeasuredbyArtinyourbreadthandlength,Youlearned——tosubmitisamortal’sduty——
WhenIsay”you”,’tisthecommonsoul,Thecollective,Imean:theraceofManThatreceiveslifeinpartstoliveinawhole,AndgrowhereaccordingtoGod’sclearplan——
St。14。common:general。
15。
Growthcamewhen,lookingyourlastonthemall,YouturnedyoureyesinwardlyonefinedayAndcriedwithastart——WhatifwesosmallBegreaterandgranderthewhilethanthey?
Aretheyperfectoflineament,perfectofstature?
Inboth,ofsuchlowertypesarewePreciselybecauseofourwidernature;
Fortime,theirs——ours,foreternity。
16。
To-day’sbriefpassionlimitstheirrange;
Itseetheswiththemorrowforusandmore。
Theyareperfect——howelse?theyshallneverchange:
Wearefaulty——whynot?wehavetimeinstore。
TheArtificer’shandisnotarrestedWithus;wearerough-hewn,nowisepolished。
Theystandforourcopy,and,onceinvestedWithalltheycanteach,weshallseethemabolished。
17。
’Tisalife-longtoiltillourlumpbeleaven——
Thebetter!What’scometoperfectionperishes。
Thingslearnedonearth,weshallpractiseinheaven:
Worksdoneleastrapidly,Artmostcherishes。
Thyselfshaltaffordtheexample,Giotto!
Thyonework,nottodecreaseordiminish,Doneatastroke,wasjustwasitnot?”O!”
ThygreatCampanileisstilltofinish——
St。15-17。”GreekarthadITSlessontoteach,andittaughtit。
Itreassertedthedignityofthehumanform。Itre-statedTHETRUTH
ofthesoulwhichinformsthebody,andthebodywhichexpressesit。
Mensawinitscreationstheirownqualitiescarriedtoperfection,andwerecontenttoknowthatsuchperfectionwaspossibleandtorenouncethehopeofattainingit。Inthisexperiencethefirststagewasprogress,thesecondwasstagnation。
Progressbeganagainwhenmenlookedontheseimagesofthemselvesandsaid:`wearenotinferiortothese。Wearegreaterthanthey。
Forwhathascometoperfectionperishes,andweareimperfectbecauseeternityisbeforeus;becauseweweremadetoGROW。’”——Mrs。Orr’sHandbooktotheWorksofR。B。
St。17。”O!”:BonifaceVIII。notBenedictIX。,asVasarihasit,wishingtoemployGiotto,sentacourtiertoobtainsomeproofofhisskill。ThelatterrequestingadrawingtosendtohisHoliness,Giottotookasheetofpaperandapencildippedinredcolor;
thenrestinghiselbowonhisside,toformacompass,withoneturnofhishandhedrewacirclesoperfectandexact,thatitwasamarveltobehold。Thisdone,heturnedtothecourtier,saying,”Hereisyourdrawing。”ThecourtierseemstohavethoughtthatGiottowasfoolinghim;butthepopewaseasilyconvinced,bytheroundnessoftheO,ofthegreatnessofGiotto’sskill。
Thisincidentgaverisetotheproverb,”Tuseipiutondochel’O
diGiotto”,thepointofwhichliesintheword`tondo’,signifyingslownessofintellect,aswellasacircle——
AdaptedfromVasariandHeaton。
18。
Isittruethatwearenow,andshallbehereafter,Butwhatandwheredependonlife’sminute?
HailsheavenlycheerorinfernallaughterOurfirststepoutofthegulforinit?
ShallMan,suchstepwithinhisendeavor,Man’sface,havenomoreplayandactionThanjoywhichiscrystallizedforever,Orgrief,aneternalpetrifaction?——
St。18。life’sminute:life’sshortspan。
19。
OnwhichIconclude,thattheearlypainters,Tocriesof”GreekArtandwhatmorewishyou?”——
Replied,”Tobecomenowself-acquainters,Andpaintman,man,whatevertheissue!
Makenewhopesshinethroughthefleshtheyfray,Newfearsaggrandizetheragsandtatters:
Tobringtheinvisiblefullintoplay,Letthevisiblegotothedogs——whatmatters?”
20。
Givethese,Iexhortyou,theirguerdonandgloryFordaringsomuch,beforetheywelldidit。
Thefirstofthenew,inourrace’sstory,Beatsthelastoftheold;’tisnoidlequiddit。
Theworthiesbeganarevolution,Whichifonearthyouintendtoacknowledge,Why,honorthemnow!endsmyallocution
Norconferyourdegreewhenthefolksleavecollege。
21。
There’safancysomeleantoandothershate——
That,whenthislifeisended,beginsNewworkforthesoulinanotherstate,Whereitstrivesandgetsweary,losesandwins:
Wherethestrongandtheweak,thisworld’scongeries,Repeatinlargewhattheypractisedinsmall,Throughlifeafterlifeinunlimitedseries;
Onlythescale’stobechanged,that’sall。
22。
YetIhardlyknow。WhenasoulhasseenBythemeansofEvilthatGoodisbest,And,throughearthanditsnoise,whatisheaven’sserene,——
Whenourfaithinthesamehasstoodthetest,——
Why,thechildgrownman,youburntherod,Theusesoflaboraresurelydone;
ThereremainetharestforthepeopleofGod:
AndIhavehadtroublesenough,forone。
23。
ButatanyrateIhavelovedtheseasonOfArt’sspring-birthsodimanddewy;
MysculptorisNicolothePisan,Mypainter——whobutCimabue?
Norevenwasmanofthemallindeed,FromthesetoGhibertiandGhirlandajo,Couldsaythathemissedmycritic-meed。
So,nowtomyspecialgrievance——heigh-ho!——
St。23。NicolothePisan:NicoloPisano,architectandsculptor,b。ab。1207,d。1278;thechurchandmonasteryoftheHolyTrinity,atFlorence,andthechurchofSanAntonio,atPadua,areesteemedhisbestarchitecturalworks,andhisbas-reliefsintheCathedralofSienna,hisbestsculptural。
Cimabue:GiovanniCimabue,1240-1302,”endsthelongByzantinesuccessioninItaly……Inhim`thespiritoftheyearstocome’
isdecidedlymanifest;butheneverentirelysucceededincastingoffthehereditaryByzantineasceticism。”——Heaton。Giottowashispupil。
Ghiberti:LorenzoGhiberti,thegreatFlorentinesculptor,1381-1455;
hisfamousmasterpiece,theeasterndoorsoftheFlorentineBaptistery,ofSanGiovanni,ofwhichMichaelAngelosaidthattheywereworthytobethegatesofParadise。
Ghirlandajo:DomenicoBigordi,calledGhirlandajo,orthegarland-maker,celebratedpainter,b。inFlorence,1449,d。1494;”intreatment,drawing,andmodelling,G。excelsanyfresco-paintersinceMasaccio;shareswiththetwoLippis,fatherandson,afondnessforintroducingsubordinategroupswhichwasunknowntoMassaccio。”——WoltmannandWoermann’sHistoryofPainting。
24。
Theirghostsstillstand,asIsaidbefore,Watchingeachfrescoflakedandrasped,Blockedup,knockedout,orwhitewashedo’er:——
NogettingagainwhattheChurchhasgrasped!
Theworksonthewallmusttaketheirchance;”WorksneverconcededtoEngland’sthickclime!”
IhopetheyprefertheirinheritanceOfabucketfulofItalianquicklime。
25。
Whentheygoatlength,withsuchashakingOfheadso’ertheolddelusion,sadlyEachmasterhiswaythroughtheblackstreetstaking,Wheremanyalostworkbreathesthoughbadly——
Whydon’ttheybethinkthemofwhohasmerited?
Whynotreveal,whiletheirpicturesdreeSuchdoom,howacaptivemightbeout-ferreted?
Whyisittheyneverrememberme?——
St。25。dree:endureA。S。”dreo’gan”。
26。
NotthatIexpectthegreatBigordi,NorSandrotohearme,chivalric,bellicose;
NorthewrongedLippino;andnotawordI
SayofascrapofFraAngelico’s:
Butareyoutoofine,TaddeoGaddi,Tograntmeatasteofyourintonaco,SomeJeromethatseekstheheavenwithasadeye?
Notachurlishsaint,LorenzoMonaco?