it must be cut right away and a new coating of plaster applied; it is of no avail to syringe it with water in order to keep it damp for painting on, as the water only weakens the nature of the lime in the plaster. The chemical action between the atmosphere and the lime, necessary for the firm locking up of the colours, will have taken place after four or five hours’ time, according to condition of the atmosphere; and this action will not repeat itself or be brought about by any application of water after the period named.
When the day’s work is finished, any part of the surface not painted on must be cut away, and the plaster all around the edge must be under-cut, the cut sloping well inwards, so as to form a key for the new piece of plaster for the next day’s work. This coating of plaster should be rather more than half-an-inch in thickness, and should be finished to a level, but not too smooth, a surface, with the wooden trowel, or “float.” An iron trowel must not be used. After the plaster is laid on it should remain about ten minutes or so before painting, so as to allow it to set. It should then be coated with a tint, that would be a deep vellum colour when dry, made of a mixture of lime-white and a little raw sienna, about the thickness of cream; this will give a slightly smoother surface to the plaster and will act as a luminous ground for the subsequent colouring, besides acting a very important part as an under-coating on which the superimposed colourswill “bear out” more effectively. The water used should be distilled or boiled, or rain water collected in clean vessels, as hard water generally contains a quantity of chalk, and for this reason it is not so powerful a solvent of the lime as soft or distilled water.
The portion of the design selected for the day’s painting is traced from the cartoon, and is transferred to the soft plaster through the holes, which are pricked through the tracing paper, by means of pouncing with powdered charcoal contained in a muslin bag, or it may have the outline traced through with a sharp-pointed wooden stile; this will leave a slightly depressed line on the soft plaster, and is a cleaner method than the charcoal pounce, and on the whole the more preferable one.
We have now arrived at the stage of the work when the painting may be proceeded with. It may be here mentioned that, in order to try the hues of the colours and various tints, an ordinary brick having a thick coating of plaster of Paris, that has been allowed to become thoroughly dry, should be at hand. If a touch from the brush, dipped in any tint, be put on this plastered brick it will dry immediately, and show at once the actual shade of colour that such a tint will be when, after some days, it has dried out on the plaster surface. It generally takes three or four days, according to the season of the year, or heat of the room, before the wall surface and the applied colours finally dry out, and all
[To face p. 23.Plate 4.—Trial Piece of Fresco PaintingG. F. Watts, R.A., Victoria and Albert Museum
[To face p. 23.Plate 4.—Trial Piece of Fresco PaintingG. F. Watts, R.A., Victoria and Albert Museum
[To face p. 23.
Plate 4.—Trial Piece of Fresco Painting
G. F. Watts, R.A., Victoria and Albert Museum
colours, more particularly the lighter tints and half-tones, dry eventually ever so much lighter than they appear when first laid on. It is only the very darkest tones, or pigments used in their full strength, those that have no lime mixed with them, that dry anything near the full strength of their wet state, and then there are exceptions to this; so it follows that in buon-fresco painting the artist must paint in a much darker key than the work is intended to appear when it has dried out.
As regards the method of execution in painting it may be urged that the artist will work according to his own feeling or temperament: for example, some may decide to paint in thin transparent washes or glazings, as in water-colour painting; others may prefer to use the colours in a thick impasto method, as in oil painting. Either method may be adopted with success, but we should say that a judicious mixture of both methods, in the same work, will obtain the clearest and most luminous results, for, as a matter of technique, fresco lends itself admirably to either methods of painting. The general rule is to model the shades, half-tones and lights, broadly at first and in the order named, with brushes rather large than small, and then to finish off by strengthening the shadows with lesser touches, or by a series of delicately hatched lines, and brightening the lights in the same way, using for these purposes sable rigger brushes. The reason for this is that every touch tells, especiallywhen using a sable brush; you cannot press or lean on your brush on the soft plaster without disturbing the underneath colours, and possibly destroying the surface of the plaster as well. It will be seen from this that the fresco painter must cultivate a light hand for his work; he cannot indulge, for instance, in that dexterity of handling that may be accomplished in oil or in, say, spirit-fresco painting, simply because of the danger of working up the soft and wet plaster ground: he must know what he has to do, and must do it frankly and at once; for, although to a certain extent the artist may be able to paint over parts and so correct occasional mistakes, it is not advisable to do so, as the corrections will more or less show when the work has dried out, by looking muddy, and consequently less luminous than they ought to be. The only alternative, when a correction is necessary, is to cut the piece out, and lay on a fresh plaster ground. All this shows how important it is to have a full-sized cartoon in light and shade, and also a colour scheme previously prepared, from which the fresco painting may be almost copied directly on to the wet plaster.
[To face p. 25.Plate 5.—Trial Piece of Fresco PaintingG. F. Watts, R.A., Victoria and Albert Museum
[To face p. 25.Plate 5.—Trial Piece of Fresco PaintingG. F. Watts, R.A., Victoria and Albert Museum
[To face p. 25.
Plate 5.—Trial Piece of Fresco Painting
G. F. Watts, R.A., Victoria and Albert Museum
Inbeginning the painting of flesh and draperies on the wet plaster, or indeed in any other kind of wall painting, it is important to commence with a kind of modified outline. This, of course, applies also to any other prominent objects in the design or composition. It is therefore advisable that, before laying in the first masses of colours, the main features of the drawing should be outlined firmly with a sable brush, even if you modify or half-obliterate the outline when afterwards painting within it. Having outlined the portion selected for painting on the prepared light or cream-coloured ground, supposing it to be a head or other part of the human figure, a very good way to begin is to lay in the shadows first, using a soft or half-worn hog-hair brush, the shadow colour to be of a warm greenish tint, of a mixture of emerald oxide of chromium, raw sienna, and light red, used thinly to get transparency. Immediately after the shading, or modelling of the shadows, is accomplished ageneral flesh-coloured tint is made, of a medium tone, and is swiftly brushed over the parts where the lights and half-tones would be, taking care that it is worked very thinly or sparingly into the shadows. This flesh-coloured tint ought to have a very little quantity of lime-white to render it semi-opaque. As soon as this is done the carnations of the cheeks and lips and colours of the eyes should be painted in. Then on the top of the general flesh tint the colours of the forehead, cheeks, and neck should be worked in, according to the colour of the sketch, gradually brightening the lighter parts and strengthening the shadows as required. For this second painting of the flesh the shade colour, modified of course according to the complexion and position it is to occupy, may be made of a mixture of raw sienna, light red, burnt sienna, and a very little emerald oxide. The same colours, with vermilion and lime-white added, may be used for lights and half-tones, and the transition tones between lights and half-tones may be obtained by lightly dragging the lighter tints over the half-tones, which operation usually produces the natural greyness required in these parts. For the darker markings of the nostrils, lips, eyes, and eyebrows, or any dark accentuations of the flesh tints, burnt umber used alone or mixed with a little vermilion, or burnt sienna, may be employed. Black may also be used for the same purpose if mixed with burnt sienna or vermilion. At this stage the flesh-coloured
parts may be left to dry in a little and get firmer before finally finishing these parts, when attention may now be directed to the painting of the hair, head-dress, or any small accessory. These portions of the work may be laid in at once with an almost flat tint of strong local colour, and the lights and shades modelled into it. On coming back to the flesh portions it may be found necessary to do a considerable amount of retouching; this can still be done near the end of the day’s work, as long as the touches are small and delicate, and provided there is no serious repainting attempted. As regards the general question of retouching a word of warning is necessary; and that is, it often happens that some touches which are intended to dry out lighter than the colour on which they are superimposed will appear actually darker than the underneath colour when they are freshly laid on; this generally happens when the colour which is being used contains some lime-white in its mixture, and it is owing to this capricious behaviour of opaque or semi-opaque tints that some artists have preferred to work almost entirely in transparent washes on the lime-white ground. It stands to reason, however, that the work will be more luminous and more permanent if the colours are all mixed in some degree with lime, and also there will be more complete incorporation or cohesion with the colours and the plaster ground.
It may be mentioned that if a general tone ofcolour is to be given to any large surface, or if the same colour is to appear in different parts of the fresco, as in draperies, skies, buildings, etc., a few shades of the colours required should be mixed and preserved in closed jars for future use, as it is almost impossible to match shades of a colour with any degree of accuracy where lime is one of the ingredients of the mixture.
The simplest way to paint drapery in fresco is to first outline the work, and also indicate the principal folds in outline, then prepare three shades of the general colour so that the darkest or shadow tint will not be so dark as the final darkest shade, nor the lightest so light as the finished lights are intended to be. Paint in the shades and shadows first, the middle tints or half-tones next, and always finish with painting the lights; each tint, of course, in the operation must be lightly or delicately modelled into its neighbouring tint. This will constitute the first painting, and when finished it should be allowed to remain for ten minutes, or more, to sink properly into the plaster. For the second painting a darker shade than the darkest used in the first is prepared, and the darkest accents and depths of the folds are delicately expressed; and with a still lighter tint than the lights of the first painting, used in a fairly thick consistency, and with a full brush, the higher lights of the drapery are then painted in. The piece of work ought now to present the appearance of a monochrome study inlight and shade, but it may be necessary to indicate reflected lights in some portions of the shadows, and the lights may want a blush of some other colour to make the study a more truthful representation of drapery texture, or of the accidental lights, and also reflections from surrounding objects. These extra tints should be put in their proper places after the second painting is done; and care should be taken to mix them of a purer or brighter colour than they appear in the coloured sketch, so that, when they are glazed lightly over the work, the underpainting, which is of a different colour, will slightly show through and modify these bright glazings to the required tones. It may be necessary to glaze over more than once in order to get the desired effects, but that will not matter, provided that the glazing is done with a light hand, so that the underpainting is not disturbed.
When painting foliage, flowers, fruit, ornament, or architecture, the same method of working will also apply, but the treatment of such objects would be simpler, and will be found less difficult, than the painting of drapery.
We have gone somewhat into detail in giving this description as to the methods of painting in buon-fresco, but we have done so because we believe it to be the best and highest form of wall decoration, and we are convinced that if a dry wall is obtained, properly prepared, and none but the best and safest colours used, it is a perfectly possiblemedium for wall decoration, even in this climate of ours.
As a proof of this we wish to mention that the fresco painted in this method, and with colours similar to what have been described as suitable for buon-fresco, by Sir Edward J. Poynter, P.R.A., in the chancel of St. Stephen’s Church at Dulwich, about thirty-five years ago, is at the present moment in a perfectly sound condition, and is almost as fresh looking and bright as when first painted. It is exposed to the effects of condensed vapour and moisture in the winter months, when the church is heated, and it is subjected to the fumes of the gas that lights the church, yet it shows no signs of deterioration; on the contrary, the surface looks, and feels to the touch, more like terra-cotta, or of the texture and firmness of biscuit porcelain, than anything else one can think of.
When one hears of frescos perishing in this country, like some of those in the Houses of Parliament, we may be sure that the causes are not always due to the damp climate, nor altogether to sulphur gases, but either to a badly prepared wall surface, or, what is more than likely, the use of one or two doubtful colours, that in perishing will even loosen or destroy other sounder colours when juxtaposed to or mixed with them.
Photo. Bolas.[To face p. 30.Plate 3.—St. Stephen before his Accusers, and the Stoning of St. StephenSir E. J. Poynter, Bart., P.R.A., Fresco in St. Stephen’s Church, Dulwich
Photo. Bolas.
Photo. Bolas.
[To face p. 30.
Plate 3.—St. Stephen before his Accusers, and the Stoning of St. Stephen
Sir E. J. Poynter, Bart., P.R.A., Fresco in St. Stephen’s Church, Dulwich
Themethod of painting followed out in the spirit-fresco system, as far as the manipulation of the colours is concerned, is almost precisely the same as that of the lime or buon-fresco process, the exception being, that the over-paintings and retouchings may be executed at any time, weeks, months, or even years, after any previous painting of the same parts; but as the preparation of the wall is of course somewhat different, and the medium is altogether so, a short description of the method or system may be of interest to students.
Spirit-fresco painting is a method or process invented by Mr. Gambier Parry of Gloucester, and which he adopted when painting his mural decorations in St. Andrew’s Chapel in Gloucester Cathedral, and in Highnam church. The process was adopted by the late Lord Leighton for the wall paintings of “The Arts of Peace,” and “War,” in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and, many years previous to the painting of these works, for the fresco painted by him in Lyndhurst church in theNew Forest. Some of the frescos in the Manchester Town Hall, by Ford Madox Brown, are painted in this process, and some of the paintings by various modern artists which decorate the interior of the Royal Exchange are executed in the spirit-fresco medium on coarse canvas, and afterwards fastened to the wall.
Although we cannot claim for spirit-fresco that peculiar quality of monumental dignity, nor the undoubted luminosity or power of reflecting light that is characteristic of buon-fresco paintings, still, if the entire system is carefully carried out, from the preparation of the wall down to the finished painting, the work should be as lasting and as permanent as any other kind of wall painting.
For instance, the spirit-fresco executed by Lord Leighton in Lyndhurst church, forty-four years ago, had still retained its brilliancy of colour and was in a perfectly sound condition three years ago, when the writer last saw it. In the winter season water from the condensed moisture constantly runs down the surface of this fresco, but does not seem to injure it. No amount of damp or wet on the surface will injure spirit-fresco paintings, as the colours are practically locked up in wax, upon which water has little or no injurious effect, but if the wall is damp at the back, or water gets in by accident, the plaster ground behind becomes soft and friable, and the coloured surface is soon destroyed. Damp behind the surface is the greatest enemy to this kind of fresco,
[To face p. 32.Plate 9.—Detail from The Arts of War FrescoLord Leighton, Victoria and Albert Museum
[To face p. 32.Plate 9.—Detail from The Arts of War FrescoLord Leighton, Victoria and Albert Museum
[To face p. 32.
Plate 9.—Detail from The Arts of War Fresco
Lord Leighton, Victoria and Albert Museum
and consequently the inner surface of an outside wall should not be chosen for an important work in this process.
As the writer had the honour of assisting Lord Leighton in the execution of the “Arts of Peace” and “War” frescos in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and also prepared both walls before the paintings were executed, he is therefore enabled to give a brief description, as outlined below, of the whole method of procedure, both as to the preparation of the walls and the method of painting adopted, which will serve to explain the system of spirit-fresco painting.
It may be mentioned that the walls were prepared in strict accordance with Mr. Gambier Parry’s method and directions. Mr. Parry inspected this part of the work, and declared that the whole preparation had been done to his satisfaction.
First of all the rough brick surface of the wall had a coating of plaster, consisting of a mixture of lime and river sand, exactly of the same proportions, and laid on in the same thickness as that of the first plaster coating in buon-fresco. After this had remained for two years, a second coating, again similar in composition and in thickness to that used in the last-named process, was applied. This plaster coating was finished off with a rectangular wooden trowel, and, in the case of the wall on which the “Arts of War” fresco was painted, it was left with a fairly rough surface. The wall surface ofthe “Arts of Peace” fresco was, on the contrary, brought to a much smoother face, as it was the desire of Lord Leighton to have a smooth surface for the latter painting, for working on the rough surface of the former fresco was, as he remarked, “like painting on a gravel walk.”
When the coating of plaster, which was rather more than half-an-inch in thickness, had remained for about eight months, in order that it might get thoroughly dry, the wall was saturated with two coats of the “wall wash,” this being made from the medium in which the spirit-fresco colours are ground, mixed with one and a half of its bulk of turpentine. The spirit-fresco medium is a mixture of pure white wax, gum elemi, oil of spike, and artists’ copal; the proportions of each are given at end of this chapter. After the second coating of the wall wash had dried in, a day being allowed for this, a coating made of dry white lead, and half its quantity of gilders’ whitening, thinned out with wall wash, was applied as thickly as it could be conveniently used. A little yellow ochre was added to this mixture in order to obtain a creamy white ground, which enables the artist to see by contrast the pure white lights that may be used in the painting, as the work proceeds.
The “Arts of War” fresco ground was treated with one coating only of this last mixture, which accounted for its extremely rough texture, while the “Arts of Peace” wall surface had three coatings, as
[To face p. 34.Plate 8.—Detail from The Arts of War FrescoLord Leighton, Victoria and Albert Museum
[To face p. 34.Plate 8.—Detail from The Arts of War FrescoLord Leighton, Victoria and Albert Museum
[To face p. 34.
Plate 8.—Detail from The Arts of War Fresco
Lord Leighton, Victoria and Albert Museum
the nature of the subject was thought to demand a smoother surface.
The wall wash, preparation coats, and the colours used in the painting, being all mixed or diluted with the same medium, and the spike oil, used in the artist’s dipper, having the effect of opening up the ground coating, allows the colours to unite with, or melt into, the ground, the latter being extremely porous, so that when finished and dry the work forms a continuous body from the surface right into the plaster. In this continuity of body spirit-fresco resembles closely that of the buon-fresco.
The process admits of repainting and retouching as often as may be necessary, though it is best, for the sake of gaining a desired luminous effect, to paint frankly with a full brush, laying on the colour in an impasto, and where depth of tone or transparency is desired these effects are best obtained by washing in thinly or glazing the shadows, using the colours and the spike oil medium, as in water-colour painting. The method of work is really, in the execution, a mixture of the techniques of oil and water-colour painting. One of its great advantages is the practically unlimited range of colours allowed on the palette, and another is that the artist can take up his work at any time, or stage, neither of which obtains in buon-fresco.
It may be of interest to describe the method of carrying out the painting of the work in connection with the South Kensington frescos. The originaldesigns were painted carefully in brown monochrome, in light and shade, and were enlarged as fine outlines on a canvas to the exact size of the wall space; from these enlargements tracings were made on tracing cloth, and these tracings were pricked through and pounced on to the wall with powdered charcoal, this impression being intensified by going over it with a lead pencil. A small coloured sketch in the case of each fresco was prepared in oil colour, which was fairly closely copied in the colouring of the larger work. For convenience, the monochrome cartoons in each case were photographed to full scale, in sections, and the light and shade was faithfully copied from these photographs, so that in the execution of the painting on the wall there should be no hesitation, nor any experimenting in colour.
The first piece of work done on the wall was one of the largest and most prominent figures, and was painted as far as possible in direct and full colour. The nature of the medium, however, does not always lend itself to the finishing of the work straight off in one painting; this is the case especially in the flesh tints, or in any elaborate drapery modelling. The method usually adopted was to lay in the tints with a full brush and solid colour, carrying the modelling as far as possible in the first painting. Too much working over the same part is liable to bring up the wax, and to cause the work to dry unpleasantly glossy. When there is a danger of this occurring it is better to leave off and take up the part again after
[To face p. 37.Plate 10.—Detail from The Arts of PeaceLord Leighton, Victoria and Albert Museum
[To face p. 37.Plate 10.—Detail from The Arts of PeaceLord Leighton, Victoria and Albert Museum
[To face p. 37.
Plate 10.—Detail from The Arts of Peace
Lord Leighton, Victoria and Albert Museum
allowing a day or so for drying. When any part required a second or third painting, which usually happens, it was found best to begin by moistening the whole of it over with a very thin transparent tint of the local colour, using plenty of spike oil; this has the effect of opening up the wall surface by causing a slight melting of the paint underneath. The painting was then carried to a completer stage of finish by reinforcing the higher lights and deeper shadows. The process lends itself to the accomplishment of almost any degree of finish by the use of subsequent washes of thin colour in the shadows. It is better, as a matter of technique, in any kind of fresco painting to always employ the brush strokes in the direction of the lines of the form, and not across it, as is often done in oil painting; one reason for this is that the work can be accomplished more directly and rapidly, and another is that the drawing of the forms is better expressed.
It may be noticed that there is a marked difference in the technique of the painting of the two frescos in the museum. The “Arts of War,” painted first, is treated broadly, and the colour throughout used rather thickly, while in the “Arts of Peace” a thinner method of treatment in the use of the colour is apparent, and the modelling in the latter, especially in the heads and nudes, is carried to a higher degree of finish, without any loss of breadth, by means of small brush strokes, or “hatching.” This method of work is of special value infresco painting, and was adopted to a very great extent by the Italian frescanti of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Michael Angelo painted, or at least finished his frescos in the Sistine Chapel in hatched lines; Lord Leighton had satisfied himself on this point by a close examination of the Sistine frescos when he copied the figure of Adam from the “Creation of Man,” which is painted in one of the ceiling panels of the chapel. The broader method of treatment, as seen in the technique of the “Arts of War” fresco, is the more popular, but Lord Leighton preferred the technique of his later work, the “Arts of Peace.”
The following are the constituents of the medium in which the spirit fresco-colours are ground, according to Gambier Parry:—
The colours in a dry powder are ground up in this medium, and put into tubes for use. Spike oil to be used freely in the dipper, when painting.
Photo. Alinari.[To face p. 39.Plate 11.—The Birth of the VirginGiotto, Cloister of Sta. Maria Novella, Florence
Photo. Alinari.[To face p. 39.Plate 11.—The Birth of the VirginGiotto, Cloister of Sta. Maria Novella, Florence
Photo. Alinari.
[To face p. 39.
Plate 11.—The Birth of the Virgin
Giotto, Cloister of Sta. Maria Novella, Florence
Duringa visit to Italy in the summer of last year the writer made some notes on the composition, colour, technique, and present state of some of the Italian frescos, which he hopes may interest the reader.
Among the frescos by Giotto (1276-1336) which still exist in Florence, perhaps the finest are those in the Bardi Chapel, in the Church of Santa Croce, where so many of the illustrious Florentines are laid at rest.
“ ... here reposeAngelo’s, Alfieri’s bones, and his,The starry Galileo, with his woes;Here Machiavelli’s earth returned to whence it rose.”
“ ... here reposeAngelo’s, Alfieri’s bones, and his,The starry Galileo, with his woes;Here Machiavelli’s earth returned to whence it rose.”
“ ... here reposeAngelo’s, Alfieri’s bones, and his,The starry Galileo, with his woes;Here Machiavelli’s earth returned to whence it rose.”
The three small frescos on the walls of the cloisters of the Church of Santa Maria Novella are of great interest to students, as they were painted by Giotto when his artistic powers were in full maturity, and are among the best examples of the master.
On the walls and ceiling of the Bardi Chapel, Giotto has painted a series of frescos illustrating scenes in the life and death of St. Francis of Assisi. On the right wall, beginning from the top, is the “Confirmation of the Rules of his Order by the Pope”; “St. Francis before the Sultan”; “Challenging the Magi to the Ordeal of Fire”; “St. Francis blessing Assisi”; and, his appearing to the Bishop of Assisi. On the left wall are the paintings, “St. Francis flees from his Father’s House,” and, his Death, where he is surrounded by his sorrowing confraternity. The latter fresco is the lowest one on the left, and is one of Giotto’s best compositions, though it is not much more than a coloured outline, and has been much repainted. It is the only painting of the series in this chapel which has been noticed by Vasari in his life of Giotto. The figures in this fresco are painted almost in grisaille, with the exception of the cloak of the kneeling figure of the podesta, which is a deep red. The sky, which has been repainted, is a dark blue, in the centre of which appears the figure of the saint in a halo, surrounded, or supported by four angels on clouds. The colouring of this portion is in beautiful golden tints, and is evidently the untouched work of Giotto’s hand. The background architecture is expressed in broken tints of a yellowish stone-colour. In spite of the repainting, the complete design and some of the original colouring and handling still remain. It is
Photo. Alinari.[To face p. 40.Plate 12.—Death of St. FrancisGiotto, Bardi Chapel, Sta. Croce, Florence
Photo. Alinari.[To face p. 40.Plate 12.—Death of St. FrancisGiotto, Bardi Chapel, Sta. Croce, Florence
Photo. Alinari.
[To face p. 40.
Plate 12.—Death of St. Francis
Giotto, Bardi Chapel, Sta. Croce, Florence
one of the best of Giotto’s didactic works, apart from the excellence of its design. The saint, sketched calmly in death; the intense, yet dignified sorrow of some of his surrounding brethren; and the eager examination by others of the marks of the stigmata, are well expressed in the attitudes and faces of the central groups of figures, while both sides of the painting are occupied by observant and stately figures, who look on the central scene where all the action is represented. This symmetrical kind of composition, produced by placing the more quiescent and choragic figures at either side of the picture, and the chief actors in the centre, was a favourite design of Giotto’s, which he adopted in many of his great works—among others, for example, in “St. Francis fleeing from his Father’s House,” painted on the upper part of the left wall, and in the “Ordeal of Fire,” on the centre of the opposite wall. It may be pointed out that many Italian artists subsequent to Giotto have also adopted this arrangement in their decorative compositions.
It is a moot question whether Giotto thought the illustration of the scene, or the story, or the correct balance and distribution of the units of his composition was the more important; in any case, however, he invariably told his story well, no one could tell it better, while at the same time his compositions are undoubtedly consistent with the principles of good decoration.
In this chapel of the Bardi, on either side of the window, Giotto has painted life-size figures of St. Louis (King of France), St. Louis of Toulouse, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, and St. Claire. Each is standing under a painted niche of the Campanile-Gothic architecture. The “St. Louis of France” is the most interesting, and the finest figure of the series; and although considerably repainted, it has still much of Giotto’s work left untouched, especially in the head and hexagonal pointed crown. It is a most dignified and serious rendering of the saintly king, as he stands in a firm and easy pose, Osiris-like, with his kingly attributes of sceptre and whip of authority in either hand.
The three small frescos by Giotto, painted on the walls of the cloisters, in the Church of Santa Maria Novella, at Florence. Two of these, the “Meeting of Joachim and Anna at the Golden Gate,” and the “Birth of the Virgin,” are on the recessed wall, on either side of the tomb of the Marchessa Strozzi-Ridolfi, and on the right of these two will be found the third, the “Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple.” These small frescos measure each about 4 feet in width, and are shaped like quarters of a circle. From the technical point of view, the “Meeting of Joachim and Anna” is the most interesting, as it has suffered least of the three from repainting, and there are some fine passages of beautiful, though faded colour, and of frank and decisive brushwork, which is decidedly characteristic of the hand of
Photo. Alinari.[To face p. 42.Plate 13.—St. Louis, King of FranceGiotto, Bardi Chapel, Sta. Croce, Florence
Photo. Alinari.[To face p. 42.Plate 13.—St. Louis, King of FranceGiotto, Bardi Chapel, Sta. Croce, Florence
Photo. Alinari.
[To face p. 42.
Plate 13.—St. Louis, King of France
Giotto, Bardi Chapel, Sta. Croce, Florence
Photo. Alinari.[To face p. 43.Plate 14.—Meeting of SS. Joachim and Anna at the Golden GateGiotto, Cloisters of Sta. Maria Novella, Florence
Photo. Alinari.[To face p. 43.Plate 14.—Meeting of SS. Joachim and Anna at the Golden GateGiotto, Cloisters of Sta. Maria Novella, Florence
Photo. Alinari.
[To face p. 43.
Plate 14.—Meeting of SS. Joachim and Anna at the Golden Gate
Giotto, Cloisters of Sta. Maria Novella, Florence
Giotto. Joachim is clothed in red drapery, the folds of which are very naturally arranged, and the technique of the painting of this garment reveals the swift and sure touch of the master. There is no hesitation in the execution of the brush-drawn folds, the colour is laid on thinly and transparently, so that the effect of the light ground is still apparent through the superimposed tints. Giotto painted his frescos, as far as one can make out, very thinly, and so aimed in getting a luminous and almost transparent effect, so we may safely come to the conclusion that when certain parts of his frescos look heavy and solid we may be sure that those parts have been repainted by some one else. St. Anna has blue drapery, and the figure next, on the left, has an orange cloak. The delightful little angel, repainted however, is of a yellow golden colour, and the sky has been repainted in a rather too dark blue colour; it is quite likely that the latter has been originally much lighter, and the angel deeper and warmer in tone. The architecture of the Golden Gate and the adjacent buildings, behind the figures, is painted in creamy white and pinkish tints. The two figures of the passing men with game are coloured in greys and pale reds, and afford good examples of the early Italian costume. The landscape of the background is very much faded to a neutral grey; it may have been clothed with flowers by Giotto, but the little tufts of vegetation which are now sprinkled over the hillside are evidently recent additions.
If we wish to see some of the best works in fresco that have been executed by Beato Fra Angelico (1387-1455), we must visit his old monastery of St. Mark’s, now the Museum of St. Mark’s, in Florence, and the best of all are the series of the small frescos painted by him between 1436 and 1445, walls of the cells, formerly occupied by the monks of this old monastery. In fourteen of the cells will be found the small frescos, one in each cell, each measuring about six feet in height, by about four in width. The remaining cells contain frescos painted by Fra Angelico’s brother, Fra Benedetto, and the others by his pupils or assistants. The latter are very inferior in design and workmanship to those of the first-mentioned series.
In the first cell on the left is painted the scene at the Sepulchre, where “Christ appears to the Magdalen,” the design and colour of which are extremely good. The robe on the figure of Christ is of a linen-white tone, with umberish shades; that of the Magdalen is of a yellowish pink colour; the hurdle fence which runs across the background of the picture is of a golden straw colour; trees, flowers and foliage are chiefly in tints of broken greens, and the rock work and entrance doorway to the tomb are in cool greys. In the fresco of the second cell, the “Deposition of Christ in the Sepulchre,” the composing lines of the draperies and of the rocks flow harmoniously into, and also out of each other, the figures are so arranged as to form a decorative
Photo. Alinari.[To face p. 44.Plate 15.—Christ Appearing to Mary MagdaleneFra Angelico, Monastery of St. Mark, Florence
Photo. Alinari.[To face p. 44.Plate 15.—Christ Appearing to Mary MagdaleneFra Angelico, Monastery of St. Mark, Florence
Photo. Alinari.
[To face p. 44.
Plate 15.—Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalene
Fra Angelico, Monastery of St. Mark, Florence
pattern-like effect, at the same time the intense fervour and piety of the subject is well expressed. The figure of the female saint at the feet of Christ has a red dress, the remainder of the lower figures have purple garments, and St. Dominic has the black and white dress of his order. The “Resurrection,” painted in the eighth cell, has a colour arrangement of pale purples, greens, white, and dark blue, which is very harmonious. The colouring of the fresco in the last or inner cell on the right, the “Adoration of the Magi,” though somewhat faded, is still very beautiful: the Virgin has a blue dress, and for the rest of the colouring, peach and plum, and golden tints prevail. The colour schemes of the frescos in the other cells, that have been painted by Fra Angelico, are similar to those of the first and second of the series, with the exception of the tenth, which has the entire background of the subject, the Presentation in the Temple, painted in a broken Venetian red colour, which can hardly have been the original colour.
The execution or technique of these small frescos by Angelico is exceedingly firm and direct; they are frankly painted, without any apparent hesitation of touch—indeed, in these paintings the student will find a more masterly freedom in the workmanship than in the case of the laboured and miniature-like paintings of the more popular altar-pieces and easel pictures of this master. These remarks apply to those of the cell frescos, which are the authenticwork of this master; and under this head would come more particularly the first, the third (the “Annunciation”), sixth (the “Transfiguration”), ninth (“Coronation of the Virgin”), and the “Adoration of the Magi,” on the wall of an inner cell.
Two better-known works of Angelico are, the “Annunciation,” on the wall of the upper corridor, facing the staircase, and his larger work, the lunette of the “Crucifixion” in the chapter-house of this monastery. The fresco of the “Annunciation,” which has been considerably repainted, is very simple in composition, but very effective; and the colouring, though now dull and opaque, has still something reminiscent of Angelico’s colour arrangements. The Virgin’s dress is dark blue, with olive-green lining; the angel’s dress is a pinkish dove-colour; the grass, foliage, and flowers are in grey greens and white; architecture, a light stone-colour; and the paling behind is a warm grey.
The great work of the “Crucifixion” in the chapter-house is in a fairly sound condition, but it has been much repainted. The colour treatment of the background is somewhat unusual, as it is marked out in three distinct and sharply divided bands of colour: the upper portion being of a dark purplish red (the original colour may have been a dark blue), the central horizontal band of a light vellum tint, and the lower, or ground colour, of a golden yellow. The painting of the figures in their present condition is
Photo. Alinari.[To face p. 46.Plate 16.—The Deposition in the SepulchreFra Angelico, Monastery of St. Mark
Photo. Alinari.[To face p. 46.Plate 16.—The Deposition in the SepulchreFra Angelico, Monastery of St. Mark
Photo. Alinari.
[To face p. 46.
Plate 16.—The Deposition in the Sepulchre
Fra Angelico, Monastery of St. Mark
Photo. Alinari.[To face p. 47.Plate 17.—Detail of The CrucifixionFra Angelico, Monastery of St. Mark, Florence
Photo. Alinari.[To face p. 47.Plate 17.—Detail of The CrucifixionFra Angelico, Monastery of St. Mark, Florence
Photo. Alinari.
[To face p. 47.
Plate 17.—Detail of The Crucifixion
Fra Angelico, Monastery of St. Mark, Florence
most careful in execution: those on the right half, the Dominican fathers and brothers, and other founders of religious orders, are in the dark grey, white, and brown dresses of their orders, the balance of colour on this side being obtained by the bright red of the Cardinal’s hat and of a book-cover, and the golden-coloured nimbi of the figures. A warmer scheme of colour is noticed on the left half of the painting, where golden tints, soft reds, grey greens, white, and grey complete an excellent harmony. The figure of Christ on the Cross is in very pale flesh tints, and has a white garment; the flesh tints of the thieves on either side being darker in tone. The general effect of the colouring is very pure and luminous.
After Giotto, we may say, that the artist whose influence is most apparent in Italian art was the Florentine painter, Masaccio (1401-1428?). His most important works are the frescos he painted in the Brancacci Chapel of the Church of S. Maria del Carmine, at Florence. The instructor of Masaccio is supposed to have been Masolino da Panicale (1384-1435), who first painted some frescos in the above chapel, and who, according to Vasari, was commissioned to decorate the chapel with scenes from the history of St. Peter, some of which he had executed, but they are no longer in existence, unless we place to his credit the “Adam and Eve” fresco on the right wall, although some writers have ascribed this work to Filippino Lippi(1460-1505), the son of the painter Filippo Lippi, and a scholar of Botticelli.
There are really very few works left by Masaccio, but those which still are in existence clearly prove that he was far in advance of any artist of his time in his complete mastery of the human figure, as shown by his searching and accurate draughtsmanship, his great knowledge of anatomy, and his facility in giving spirit, action, and vitality to his decorative compositions. His gifts in these directions place him at the head of the greatest artists of the early half of the fifteenth century. His achievements are all the more wonderful if we believe, as it is said, that he died at the early age of twenty-six, though some authorities state that he reached the age of forty-one years. The finest authentic work from his hand is the fresco of “The Tribute Money,” which he painted on the left wall of the Brancacci Chapel, and this work still remains as a monument to his great powers. This work is a picture which includes three scenes in its composition; namely, (1) The central group, where Christ rebukes St. Peter, around whom are the standing figures of the apostles, with varied expressions of indignation; the figure in the foreground, back view, in this group is that of the tax-collector, and the last figure of this central group, on the right, is a portrait of Masaccio. (2) The scene on the left, middle distance, represents St. Peter finding the money in the body of the fish, and (3) that on the