St. Philip (Nanni Di Banco)Alinari, photo.John Andrew & Son, Sc.ST. PHILIP (NANNI DI BANCO)Church of Or San Michele, FlorenceThe statue stands in a niche, and is one of a series ornamenting the outside of the church of Or San Michele in Florence. In building this church all the merchants and artisans of the city contributed to support the work. Each trade was at that time represented by a guild or association whose members united to advance their common business interests.[7]These various guilds furnished the statues for the niches, each supplying the figure of its own patron saint. St. Philip was the gift of the Guild of Hosiers, and was executed by the sculptor Nanni di Banco.Donatello had at first been approached by the guild, but considering his price exorbitant they gave the order to Nanni, who promised to accept any terms they decided upon. When the statue was done, however, the sculptor demanded a sum larger than the price of Donatello. The latter was now called upon to act as referee, and he set a still higher price upon the work. The Hosiers were indignant. "Why," they asked, "had Donatello rated Nanni's work at a higher price than his own, which would have undoubtedly been better?" "Because," replied the great sculptor, laughing, "being less skilful than I, he has worked harder, and therefore deserves more pay." A compromise was effected, and the statue set in place.That Donatello could indeed have made a betterstatue we shall presently see when we study his St. George, designed for the same church. St. Philip lacks distinction, and it has not the animation which the greater sculptor knew how to impart to his work. Nevertheless it has certain artistic qualities which make it worthy of Donatello's championship.The lines of the drapery are well studied. Apparently Nanni had learned something in this respect from the Greek sculpture. Where draperies are simple and hang in long unbroken lines, the effect is impressive and dignified. When they are voluminous and broken, they lose in dignity. Good art is always simple and has no meaningless lines.We are interested in examining the niche in which the statue is set. It is Gothic in design, and with its pointed top and side pinnacles recalls the cathedral windows in northern Europe. An architectural frame of this sort is often called a tabernacle, being in fact a miniature church in form. In the triangular space at the top is a bas-relief figure in half length which seems to represent Christ. The base is ornamented with an arabesque or scroll design, flanked at each end by the arms of the Hosiers' Guild. The side pillars have rich Corinthian capitals. Just inside are twisted pillars of curious workmanship.Our illustration also shows a portion of the wall against which the niche is placed. We see that the church is built of stone, set in square blocks. On each side of the niche is a metal ring through which torches were thrust.[4]St. John, chapter i., verses 43-51.[5]St. John, chapter xiv., verses 1-11.[6]Mrs. Jameson'sSacred and Legendary Art, p. 235.[7]The Florentine guilds of this period may be compared with those of the seventeenth century in Holland. See the chapter on the "Syndics of the Cloth Guild" in the volume on Rembrandt in the Riverside Art Series.IIIST. JOHN THE BAPTISTBY DONATELLOIn the hill country of Judæa lived the priest Zacharias and his wife, Elisabeth, who were the parents of St. John the Baptist. They were pious people, "walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless." One day, as Zacharias was ministering in his office in the temple, an angel brought him the glad tidings that he was to have a son. "Thou shalt call his name John," said the vision, "and thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth."A great career was promised for the coming child. He was to be a preacher filled with spiritual power. Like the old prophet Elias, he was to turn the hearts of the people to God, and to prepare the way for the Christ. As a sign that the angel's words were true, Zacharias was stricken dumb until his son was born. Then "his tongue was loosed, and he spake and praised God."The neighbors marvelled at the mystery of John's birth, and they saw that "the hand of the Lord was with him." "And the child grew and waxed strongin spirit," until he came to manhood.[8]Then was fulfilled the angel's prophecy concerning him. He became a great preacher, and multitudes flocked to hear him.John's manner of life was like that of a hermit. He dwelt in the wilderness about the river Jordan, wearing a garment of camel's hair bound about his loins with a leathern girdle. His food was locusts and wild honey. He gathered his audiences in the open air and baptised his disciples in the river.Though stern in his teachings he became for a time very popular. Yet he always spoke of his own work with great humility. "There cometh one mightier than I after me," he said.[9]This was Jesus, who, on presenting himself for baptism, was greeted by John as the "Lamb of God." The prophet's mission was now accomplished. He was soon after thrown into prison and beheaded, at the order of King Herod, whose sins he had openly rebuked.The story of the Baptist's life brings readily before the imagination the strange figure of the man.[10]It is not so easy to fancy how he might have looked as a boy. The bas-relief of our illustration shows us what form the idea took in the mind of the sculptor Donatello.ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST (DONATELLO)Alinari, photo.John Andrew & Son, Sc.ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST (DONATELLO)National Museum, FlorenceThe little fellow seems tall and slender for his years, as if he had stretched his limbs by running much in the open air. The face is somewhat serious, but perfectly childish. The lips are parted in a half smile. He has a good forehead, and is an independent thinker. He impresses us as a straightforward character, a boy to like and trust.It would be too much to say that he shows the making of a great man. It is enough that he is an honest, healthy boy with a mind of his own. He is hardly pretty, but he is very interesting. The hair is his most charming feature, waving in little tendrils over the head. He is not plump enough for his figure to show fine curves. On the contrary, the modelling is on rather severe lines, as if in keeping with the character.Certain well understood signs show who he is. The circle about his head is the halo, the symbol of a sacred character. The skin garment fastened at the shoulder reminds us of the strange clothing John wore in the desert. The tall cross is the emblem of the prophet, as a forerunner of the crucified one.Donatello's art covered a wide range of subjects, but in none was he more at home than in representing children. He has been called "the poet of child-life." There are interesting points of comparison between the example before us and the Musical Angels of the altar at Padua. St. John the Baptist is evidently a real little boy, transferred to the stone just as he was. The piping angels, on the other hand, are child ideals, without counterpartin real life. St. John's large ear, with its irregularly bent rim, and his straight upper lip, are features such as an artist must certainly have copied, not invented. The angel faces, on the other hand, are moulded in the perfect curves which originate in the imagination of the artist. Donatello was, above all things else, a close student of human nature. Sometimes, indeed, he chose very unattractive models, and reproduced them so faithfully that the realism is almost painful. His artistic eye was always open to new impressions. Perhaps, one day as he walked through the streets of Florence, he noticed among the children playing there this little fellow of the long neck and pensive face. "Ecco," said he, to himself, "il Giovannino."[11]The child's face and bearing had a quaint seriousness precisely suited to the character.It is wonderful how the sculptor's art has made the little boy seem actually alive in the bas-relief. The hair is executed with the skill peculiar to Donatello, and seems to grow from the head. Such studies from real life--genrestudies, as they are called--were lessons which prepared the artist for higher works of idealism. The little St. John may have been the original material for some of the angel figures.[8]The circumstances of John's birth are related in the first chapter of St. Luke, from which the quotations are drawn.[9]St. Mark, chapter i., verse 7.[10]See the pictures of St. John the Baptist in the volumes onTitianandCorreggioin the Riverside Art Series.[11]"There is the little John."IVTHE INFANT JESUS AND ST. JOHNBY MINO DA FIESOLEJesus and St. John the Baptist were of nearly the same age, and there was a peculiar tie between them. Their mothers, Mary and Elizabeth, were cousins, and before the boys were born the two women had confided in each other their hopes for the future of their children. Angelic messengers had predicted a remarkable destiny for both boys. Jesus was to rule over an everlasting kingdom, and John was to be his prophet preparing the way for him. These were secrets which the outside world could not have understood, and Mary paid a visit to her kinswoman that they might talk of them together.As John's home was in the hill country and Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem, we do not know how soon the boys met. It might be supposed that Mary and Elizabeth would be eager to bring them together. While the mothers took council on the training of their sons, the children would be at play.The little ones were, we believe, brought up quite simply, with no sense that they were different from other children. Jesus was a natural leader. We remember how he surprised his mother at the ageof twelve by asserting his own judgment.[12]Among his playfellows he must have shown much earlier that he was the one to take the first place. John was doubtless taught by his mother to defer to his little cousin. He was not lacking in spirit himself, but he could sometimes be very humble. In his manhood he spoke of Jesus as one whose shoe's latchet he was not worthy to unloose.[13]It is pleasant to picture the two children together in our fancy, and we do not wonder that artists have liked the subject.[14]Our illustration shows us the theme wrought in marble. The child Jesus sits on the steps, and the little St. John approaching kneels in adoration. We see at once the religious meaning of the artist: the relation between the two in after life is foreshadowed in this imaginary incident. Each child carries the symbol of his character. A halo behind the head of Jesus signifies his divine origin. He holds on his knee a globe surmounted by a cross, in token that he who was crucified shall be the ruler of the world. In the symbol of the globe the old artists anticipated the later discoveries of science as to the form of the earth. Some of the ancient philosophers had taught that the earth is a sphere, and through the writings of Aristotle the belief was spread among the scholars of the Middle Ages.[15]That the idea made its way into art is perhaps because the sphere is the most perfect and beautiful form, and hence the fitting symbol of God's created work.[16]The Infant Jesus And St. John (Mino Da Fiesole)Alinari, photo.John Andrew & Son, Sc.THE INFANT JESUS AND ST. JOHN (MINO DA FIESOLE)Cathedral, FiesoleSt. John carries the cross, which is his usual emblem as a prophet of Christ. It is tall and slender because it was supposed to be made of reeds. The reference is to Jesus's words concerning John when asking the people if they had sought the prophet merely as "a reed shaken by the wind."The infant Jesus is a vigorous child, straight and perfectly formed. The little St. John is an older and taller boy, wearing a tunic. The younger child is delighted to have a playfellow. There is an eager smile on his face, and he puts out his right hand as if he longed to take the curious plaything St. John carries. Both children are plump, with well-shaped heads, but there is nothing precocious-looking about either. They are indeed uncommonly pretty, but for the rest are like other children, eying each other somewhat shyly in the early stages of acquaintance. It will not be long before they are the best of friends.The figures in our illustration form a part of a marble altar-piece by Mino da Fiesole. The whole composition consists of three niches approached bysteps. In the central compartment kneels the mother Mary, adoring with folded hands the child, who sits below her. We see in our picture only the lower part of her dress behind the Christ child. In the side niches are figures of saints, the little St. John kneeling in front of the one on the Madonna's right.Mino da Fiesole has been called "The Raphael of sculpture," and his work in this altar-piece illustrates the fitness of comparing him with the great painter. Especially do the figures of the two children here remind us of the child ideals of Raphael. At the time when this work was executed (1462) painters and sculptors had just begun to represent the Christ child undraped. The earlier artists had always shown the little figure clad in a tunic. We shall presently see how this old custom was still followed in bas-reliefs of the Madonna and Child by Luca della Robbia and Rossellino. The more progressive artists were unwilling to conceal the beauty of the child's figure by any sort of dress. By the beginning of the sixteenth century the old way had entirely given place to the new.[17]In our picture we see that a Latin inscription on the base of the lowest step contains the name of Leonardo Salutati, bishop of Fiesole.[18]It was by the order of this bishop that the altar was executed, as was also the tomb opposite it in the cathedral of Fiesole.[12]St. Luke, chapter ii., verse 49.[13]St. Luke, chapter iii., verse 16.[14]See Chapter IX., on the "Children of the Shell," in the volume onMurilloin the Riverside Art Series.[15]This is on the authority of a French writer, A. Jourdain, quoted by William H. Tillinghast in an essay on the "Geographical Knowledge of the Ancients," in theNarrative and Critical History of America. In the same essay an anonymous poem of the thirteenth century is quoted to show the prevalent belief in the sphericity of the earth.[16]In Didron'sChristian Iconography, several interesting illustrations from old miniatures, etc., show the globe in the hand of the Creator. It is curious that this supposedly exhaustive authority on church symbolism gives no account of the origin and history of this emblem.[17]See Madonna pictures by Raphael, Titian, Correggio, and Michelangelo in other volumes of the Riverside Art Series.[18]Eps, with the curious mark above, stands forepiscopus.VBOYS WITH CYMBALSBY LUCA DELLA ROBBIAThe bas-relief of our illustration is one of a series of marble panels designed to ornament the singing-gallery of a church. The children moving forward with song and cymbal remind us of the bands of singers and musicians who took part in religious processions of ancient times. We read of such processions among both the Greeks[19]and the Hebrews.[20]The custom of singing was adopted by the Christian church from its foundation,[21]and gradually the musical part of the service was developed into a fine art. There was a famous system of choral chanting under Pope Gregory I.,[22]and in the eleventh century part singing was introduced. At length the organ came into use, and by the fifteenth century it had become an important part of the church furnishings.It was early in this century when the wardens of the cathedral at Florence had an organ constructed on what the old writer Vasari called "a very grandscale." In connection with this an organ loft, such as the Italians call acantoria, was needed to accommodate the singers. The Florentine sculptor, Luca della Robbia, received the order for this work, and was occupied with it some nine years (1431-1440).The cantoria is entirely of marble, built like a balcony, with the upper part or balustrade supported on five consoles or brackets. Four square bas-reliefs, separated by pilasters, ornament the front of the balustrade, and four more fill the corresponding spaces below, separated by the consoles. The artist took as the motive of his decorative scheme the one hundred and fiftieth psalm. This hymn of praise furnished his imagination with a series of pictures illustrating many kinds of music. The entire psalm is quoted in the Latin version on the gallery, the inscriptions running in narrow bands across the top and bottom and between the two rows of panels. These are the verses in the familiar English version of King James, grouped in the three sections into which they are divided:--"Praise God in his sanctuary:praise him in the firmament of his power.Praise him for his mighty acts:praise him according to his excellent greatness.Praise him with the sound of the trumpet:praise him with the psaltery and harp.Praise him with the timbreland dance:praise him with stringed instruments and organs.Praise him upon the loud cymbals:praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.Let everything that hath breathpraise the Lord."Boys With Cymbals (Luca Della Robbia)Alinari, photo.John Andrew & Son, Sc.BOYS WITH CYMBALS (LUCA DELLA ROBBIA)The Duomo, FlorenceThe eight illustrations of the gallery omit nothing mentioned by the psalmist. Here are the trumpets, the harp, the psaltery, and the timbrel. Here is the choric dance, followed by players on organs and stringed instruments; after these come the loud cymbals or tambourines, and finally the "high sounding cymbals" of our illustration.The players are a half dozen children, some dressed in tunics, and others wearing scarf-like garments which leave their limbs free. Two are crowned with flowers in the Greek fashion, and others have a fillet or band bound about the hair. The leader walks with his head thrown back, his mouth wide open, singing with all his might, oblivious of everything but his music. He holds the cymbals high, striking them together in the rhythm of his song. His companion is a jolly little fellow, not at all concerned in the music, but laughing at something which attracts his attention in the distance.There is another rogue just behind the leader. Without losing step he throws his weight forward on bending knee, putting his ear to the upper cymbal. He is evidently amusing himself with the lingering vibrations of the metal. The flower-crowned boy bringing up the rear smiles at us cheerily, as he steps along, clashing his cymbals with right good-will. The children in the background seem to take their task more seriously, as if sharing the spirit of the leader.It is clear that our artist found the models for his figures in the streets of Florence. These round-faced children with their large mouths are not pretty enough for imaginary types. They are perfectly natural, and that is why we like them.The grouping is skilfully planned to give unity to the composition without any stiffness. There are no awkward gaps between the figures, but the lines flow from one to another, binding them together. The half kneeling posture of the child in the middle makes diagonal lines to unite the leader with the boy in the rear. We notice in the drawing the same sweep of line which we have admired in Donatello's bronze reliefs of angels. The three figures in front are modelled in high relief, and in beautiful curves; the children in the rear are in low relief.The work of Luca della Robbia was not confined to marble. Soon after completing the organ gallery he made a bronze door for the interior of the cathedral. He is best known for his work in enamelled terra-cotta, of which we shall hear more in later chapters.[19]See Chapter III. in the volume onGreek Sculpturein the Riverside Art Series.[20]Psalm lxviii., verse 25, and 1 Chronicles, chapter xiii., verse 8.[21]St. Matthew, chapter xxvi., verse 30.[22]The pontificate of Gregory I. was from 590 to 604.VITOMB OF ILARIA DEL CARRETTO(Detail)BY JACOPO DELLA QUERCIAA certain marquis of Carretto, living in Lucca at the close of the fourteenth century, had a daughter named Ilaria. Ilaria was like Helen of Troy, "a daughter of the gods, divinely tall and most divinely fair."[23]Her face was delicately cut in a patrician mould, and she carried her head with the air of a princess. The marquis must have been proud of his beautiful daughter, and as she grew into womanhood he looked about for a suitable match for her. There was little romance about marriages in those days, and when a rich widower sought Ilaria's hand, she was doubtless thought by all a very fortunate maiden.Her husband, Paolo Guinigi, was the signor or lord of the city of Lucca, and though somewhat despotic in temper was at least without vices. He was besides the richest man in Italy. In his treasury, says the historian, "diamonds and rubies, emeralds and pearls, were counted by hundreds." The palace awaiting the bride was magnificentlyfurnished. There was linen from Paris and other French cities, exquisite in quality and in stores so abundant as to delight the heart of a housewife. The walls were hung with tapestries of many colors woven in Arras. Priceless vessels of gold and silver adorned the table. Nor were signs of learning lacking. There was a library, well stocked with the works of classical authors, written in manuscript in the manner of the times.So far as surroundings make for happiness Ilaria may well have been a happy woman. We like to fancy her queenly figure moving through the stately apartments of the palace or on the green terraces of the garden. But she did not long enjoy the splendors of her surroundings, for two years after her marriage she died. Her husband then ordered of the sculptor Jacopo della Quercia a marble tomb to be placed in the cathedral. On the sarcophagus lay the portrait figure of the lady herself; the sides were richly carved with cherubs holding festoons of flowers, and above was a canopy.Ilaria lies with hands crossed just where they would naturally fall in her sleep.[24]Her feet rest against a little dog, which, according to the old writer, Vasari, was an emblem of conjugal fidelity. It is surely no harm to fancy that the little creature was the lady's pet. The gown is girdled high, and falling in long, straight folds, is wrapped about the feet. Over this is worn a mantle made with large, loose sleeves, and a high flaring collar, which comes well up under the chin.[25]Tomb of Ilaria Del Carretto (Jacopo Della Quercia)Alinari, photo.John Andrew & Son, Sc.DETAIL OF TOMB OF ILARIA DEL CARRETTO (JACOPO DELLA QUERCIA)Cathedral, LuccaOur illustration shows only the head and shoulders of the figure. The head rests on a pillow in a hollow shaped to receive it, and the shoulders are supported by a second and larger cushion underneath. Ilaria's waving hair is parted over the high brow, and brought down on each side the face, completely concealing the ears. A few short tendrils have escaped, and curl daintily over the forehead. She wears a large flower-wound wreath or crown, set aslant over the shapely head. It may be that this is a sort of head-dress worn in her time. No one can look at the face without thinking of a flower, and most of all of the lily. The mouth is moulded in exquisite curves; Ilaria was, indeed, a bewitching woman.Had the fair marchioness lived to middle age her fortunes would have been sadly altered. In 1430 there was a political upheaval in Lucca, and Guinigi was driven from the city.[26]His palace was pillaged, and the mob even laid desecrating hands upon Ilaria's tomb. An attempt to remove it seems to have been frustrated, and it was dropped on the floor of the transept, where it now stands. It lost,however, the canopy and one ornamented side of the base.As a work of art, Ilaria's tomb has been greatly admired by critics. Even in our little picture we can, with no great training, see how well the sculptor has rendered the texture of the hair and the softness of the plump chin. Even the tassels on the cushion are carved with clever imitative skill. We must be careful to look at the face just as the sculptor intended it to be seen, not upright, but lying horizontally. It is only thus that we get the significance of the beautiful continuous line across forehead and nose. The line of the head-dress exactly follows that of the hair, and is drawn at the same angle as the edge of the collar, which it meets. In the triangular space thus formed is fitted the lovely profile of the face. Ruskin has written with much enthusiasm of the merits of Ilaria's tomb. From it, he declared, one may receive "unerring canon of what is evermore lovely and right in the dealing of the art of man with his fate and his passions." Still more helpful is his interpretation of the feeling which the sculptor has conveyed. After first explaining that "every work of the great Christian schools expresses primarily conquest over death," he shows that this particular tomb has "all the peace of the Christian eternity." We may see, he says, "that the damsel is not dead but sleepeth; yet as visibly a sleep that shall know no ending until the last day break and the last shadows flee away."[27][23]Tennyson's "A Dream of Fair Women."[24]Not "folded below her bosom," nor "laid on her breast," as in two familiar descriptions.[25]That this mantle was a prevailing style of the period among the aristocracy, we judge from an old Spanish painting, in which King Ferdinand of Aragon and his queen both wear it. The picture is reproduced in Carderara'sIconografia Española, and copied in Planché'sCyclopedia of Costumes.[26]The exact date is here given because of the vagueness of some writers who refer to the event as "not many years" and "within twenty years" after Ilaria's death in 1405.[27]Quoted by Sydney Colvin in an article on Jacopo della Quercia, in thePortfolio, 1883. See alsoModern Painters, Part III.VIIMADONNA AND CHILD(Detail of lunette)BY LUCA DELLA ROBBIAIn reading the gospel narrative of the life of Jesus we are glad to learn something of his mother Mary. Her life had some peculiar hardships to test the strength of her character. It was a strange lot for a mother to have to tend her babe in the manger of an inn, but such was Mary's experience. At the time of Jesus's birth she and Joseph were in Bethlehem, whither they had come to pay their taxes. There were many other people there on the same errand, and the inn was so crowded that the young mother had to find quarters in the stable.While the child was still very young a terrible danger threatened his life. An order went forth from King Herod to slay all the young children of Bethlehem. Still the mother's courage did not fail. She arose by night, and, taking her babe, fled with her husband into Egypt. Returning at length to their home in Nazareth, she watched her boy's growth, and kept all his sayings in her heart.When Jesus entered upon his ministry Mary wasthe first to show perfect confidence in her son.[28]She seems to have followed him whenever she could.[29]Her courage sustained her even in the hour of his agony, and we read how she stood with his disciples at the foot of the cross.[30]It is this woman of quiet fortitude whom we see in Luca della Robbia's bas-relief of the Madonna and Child. We are impressed at once with a sense of her strength and poise of character. It is precisely such as fits the story of her life. Steadying her little boy with both hands, she turns her face in the direction in which he is looking. The Child seems to stand on a sort of balustrade in front of his mother. With feet wide apart he holds himself erect in a firm posture. His right hand is raised in a gesture of benediction. With his left he grasps firmly a long scroll bearing the Latin inscription, "Ego sum Lux Mundi" (I am the Light of the World).Both mother and child seem to belong to the happy, every-day working world. Mary has the straight figure, full throat, and square shoulders of a Tuscan peasant girl. Her only aristocratic feature is the shapely hand. She holds her chin level, like a country maiden used to carrying burdens on the head. It may be that the artist had seen her like in some market-place in Florence. The boy too has the square shoulders and sturdy frame of a child of the people.Madonna And Child (Luca Della Robbia)Alinari, photo.John Andrew & Son, Sc.MADONNA AND CHILD (LUCA DELLA ROBBIA)Shop in the Via dell' Agnolo, FlorenceSome artists have tried to give a supernatural and ethereal beauty to the mother and child. Others have represented them enthroned in splendor like a queen and prince receiving their court. Luca della Robbia went to no such extremes. There is nothing morbid or sentimental in his art: nor does he care for any worldly pomp and ceremonial. His religious ideals were very simple, suited to the needs of common life. The Christ child here is a dear little human baby, and the Madonna is the poet's ideal of "a creature not too bright or good for human nature's daily food."[31]The bas-relief is one of the famous works in enamelled terra-cotta, known as "Della Robbia ware." The idea of overlaying clay with a glazing was not original with Luca della Robbia, but he seems to have been the first to apply it to sculpture. In his own day he was looked upon as a great inventor, and his works were very popular. The material was inexpensive, and lent itself readily to all sorts of decorative purposes. Its beauty, moreover, was of a lasting quality. While paintings fade, the Della Robbia ware, "gem like, shall as very gems endure."[32]The only injury to which it is liable is the breaking off of some projecting portions. In our picture we see that a fragment is broken out of the child's wrist. Fortunately, however, there are no defects in the important parts of the work.The figures are in the centre of a lunette or semi-circular composition, with an adoring angel on each side holding a jar of lilies. The piece is set up over a doorway on the outside of a building in a narrow street in Florence. The location explains the attitude of the mother and child. If they looked directly out of the picture as in an altar-piece, there would be but one place, on the opposite side of the street, where the passer-by could meet their eyes. As it is, they turn their faces toward the vista of the street as if to welcome the approaching wayfarer. While still a long way off one feels the cheerful influence of their gaze. Even when coming from the opposite direction it is pleasant, after passing the door, to know that the friendly eyes follow us on our way.The workmanship of Luca is seen in the artistic qualities of the sculpture. There was a severe simplicity in his drawing of the outline and draperies which contrasted with the more elaborate work of his followers. Luca was also a close student of nature, and drew his materials from the world about him.
St. Philip (Nanni Di Banco)Alinari, photo.John Andrew & Son, Sc.ST. PHILIP (NANNI DI BANCO)Church of Or San Michele, Florence
The statue stands in a niche, and is one of a series ornamenting the outside of the church of Or San Michele in Florence. In building this church all the merchants and artisans of the city contributed to support the work. Each trade was at that time represented by a guild or association whose members united to advance their common business interests.[7]These various guilds furnished the statues for the niches, each supplying the figure of its own patron saint. St. Philip was the gift of the Guild of Hosiers, and was executed by the sculptor Nanni di Banco.
Donatello had at first been approached by the guild, but considering his price exorbitant they gave the order to Nanni, who promised to accept any terms they decided upon. When the statue was done, however, the sculptor demanded a sum larger than the price of Donatello. The latter was now called upon to act as referee, and he set a still higher price upon the work. The Hosiers were indignant. "Why," they asked, "had Donatello rated Nanni's work at a higher price than his own, which would have undoubtedly been better?" "Because," replied the great sculptor, laughing, "being less skilful than I, he has worked harder, and therefore deserves more pay." A compromise was effected, and the statue set in place.
That Donatello could indeed have made a betterstatue we shall presently see when we study his St. George, designed for the same church. St. Philip lacks distinction, and it has not the animation which the greater sculptor knew how to impart to his work. Nevertheless it has certain artistic qualities which make it worthy of Donatello's championship.
The lines of the drapery are well studied. Apparently Nanni had learned something in this respect from the Greek sculpture. Where draperies are simple and hang in long unbroken lines, the effect is impressive and dignified. When they are voluminous and broken, they lose in dignity. Good art is always simple and has no meaningless lines.
We are interested in examining the niche in which the statue is set. It is Gothic in design, and with its pointed top and side pinnacles recalls the cathedral windows in northern Europe. An architectural frame of this sort is often called a tabernacle, being in fact a miniature church in form. In the triangular space at the top is a bas-relief figure in half length which seems to represent Christ. The base is ornamented with an arabesque or scroll design, flanked at each end by the arms of the Hosiers' Guild. The side pillars have rich Corinthian capitals. Just inside are twisted pillars of curious workmanship.
Our illustration also shows a portion of the wall against which the niche is placed. We see that the church is built of stone, set in square blocks. On each side of the niche is a metal ring through which torches were thrust.
[4]St. John, chapter i., verses 43-51.[5]St. John, chapter xiv., verses 1-11.[6]Mrs. Jameson'sSacred and Legendary Art, p. 235.[7]The Florentine guilds of this period may be compared with those of the seventeenth century in Holland. See the chapter on the "Syndics of the Cloth Guild" in the volume on Rembrandt in the Riverside Art Series.
[4]St. John, chapter i., verses 43-51.
[5]St. John, chapter xiv., verses 1-11.
[6]Mrs. Jameson'sSacred and Legendary Art, p. 235.
[7]The Florentine guilds of this period may be compared with those of the seventeenth century in Holland. See the chapter on the "Syndics of the Cloth Guild" in the volume on Rembrandt in the Riverside Art Series.
In the hill country of Judæa lived the priest Zacharias and his wife, Elisabeth, who were the parents of St. John the Baptist. They were pious people, "walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless." One day, as Zacharias was ministering in his office in the temple, an angel brought him the glad tidings that he was to have a son. "Thou shalt call his name John," said the vision, "and thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth."
A great career was promised for the coming child. He was to be a preacher filled with spiritual power. Like the old prophet Elias, he was to turn the hearts of the people to God, and to prepare the way for the Christ. As a sign that the angel's words were true, Zacharias was stricken dumb until his son was born. Then "his tongue was loosed, and he spake and praised God."
The neighbors marvelled at the mystery of John's birth, and they saw that "the hand of the Lord was with him." "And the child grew and waxed strongin spirit," until he came to manhood.[8]Then was fulfilled the angel's prophecy concerning him. He became a great preacher, and multitudes flocked to hear him.
John's manner of life was like that of a hermit. He dwelt in the wilderness about the river Jordan, wearing a garment of camel's hair bound about his loins with a leathern girdle. His food was locusts and wild honey. He gathered his audiences in the open air and baptised his disciples in the river.
Though stern in his teachings he became for a time very popular. Yet he always spoke of his own work with great humility. "There cometh one mightier than I after me," he said.[9]This was Jesus, who, on presenting himself for baptism, was greeted by John as the "Lamb of God." The prophet's mission was now accomplished. He was soon after thrown into prison and beheaded, at the order of King Herod, whose sins he had openly rebuked.
The story of the Baptist's life brings readily before the imagination the strange figure of the man.[10]It is not so easy to fancy how he might have looked as a boy. The bas-relief of our illustration shows us what form the idea took in the mind of the sculptor Donatello.
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST (DONATELLO)Alinari, photo.John Andrew & Son, Sc.ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST (DONATELLO)National Museum, Florence
The little fellow seems tall and slender for his years, as if he had stretched his limbs by running much in the open air. The face is somewhat serious, but perfectly childish. The lips are parted in a half smile. He has a good forehead, and is an independent thinker. He impresses us as a straightforward character, a boy to like and trust.
It would be too much to say that he shows the making of a great man. It is enough that he is an honest, healthy boy with a mind of his own. He is hardly pretty, but he is very interesting. The hair is his most charming feature, waving in little tendrils over the head. He is not plump enough for his figure to show fine curves. On the contrary, the modelling is on rather severe lines, as if in keeping with the character.
Certain well understood signs show who he is. The circle about his head is the halo, the symbol of a sacred character. The skin garment fastened at the shoulder reminds us of the strange clothing John wore in the desert. The tall cross is the emblem of the prophet, as a forerunner of the crucified one.
Donatello's art covered a wide range of subjects, but in none was he more at home than in representing children. He has been called "the poet of child-life." There are interesting points of comparison between the example before us and the Musical Angels of the altar at Padua. St. John the Baptist is evidently a real little boy, transferred to the stone just as he was. The piping angels, on the other hand, are child ideals, without counterpartin real life. St. John's large ear, with its irregularly bent rim, and his straight upper lip, are features such as an artist must certainly have copied, not invented. The angel faces, on the other hand, are moulded in the perfect curves which originate in the imagination of the artist. Donatello was, above all things else, a close student of human nature. Sometimes, indeed, he chose very unattractive models, and reproduced them so faithfully that the realism is almost painful. His artistic eye was always open to new impressions. Perhaps, one day as he walked through the streets of Florence, he noticed among the children playing there this little fellow of the long neck and pensive face. "Ecco," said he, to himself, "il Giovannino."[11]The child's face and bearing had a quaint seriousness precisely suited to the character.
It is wonderful how the sculptor's art has made the little boy seem actually alive in the bas-relief. The hair is executed with the skill peculiar to Donatello, and seems to grow from the head. Such studies from real life--genrestudies, as they are called--were lessons which prepared the artist for higher works of idealism. The little St. John may have been the original material for some of the angel figures.
[8]The circumstances of John's birth are related in the first chapter of St. Luke, from which the quotations are drawn.[9]St. Mark, chapter i., verse 7.[10]See the pictures of St. John the Baptist in the volumes onTitianandCorreggioin the Riverside Art Series.[11]"There is the little John."
[8]The circumstances of John's birth are related in the first chapter of St. Luke, from which the quotations are drawn.
[9]St. Mark, chapter i., verse 7.
[10]See the pictures of St. John the Baptist in the volumes onTitianandCorreggioin the Riverside Art Series.
[11]"There is the little John."
Jesus and St. John the Baptist were of nearly the same age, and there was a peculiar tie between them. Their mothers, Mary and Elizabeth, were cousins, and before the boys were born the two women had confided in each other their hopes for the future of their children. Angelic messengers had predicted a remarkable destiny for both boys. Jesus was to rule over an everlasting kingdom, and John was to be his prophet preparing the way for him. These were secrets which the outside world could not have understood, and Mary paid a visit to her kinswoman that they might talk of them together.
As John's home was in the hill country and Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem, we do not know how soon the boys met. It might be supposed that Mary and Elizabeth would be eager to bring them together. While the mothers took council on the training of their sons, the children would be at play.
The little ones were, we believe, brought up quite simply, with no sense that they were different from other children. Jesus was a natural leader. We remember how he surprised his mother at the ageof twelve by asserting his own judgment.[12]Among his playfellows he must have shown much earlier that he was the one to take the first place. John was doubtless taught by his mother to defer to his little cousin. He was not lacking in spirit himself, but he could sometimes be very humble. In his manhood he spoke of Jesus as one whose shoe's latchet he was not worthy to unloose.[13]
It is pleasant to picture the two children together in our fancy, and we do not wonder that artists have liked the subject.[14]Our illustration shows us the theme wrought in marble. The child Jesus sits on the steps, and the little St. John approaching kneels in adoration. We see at once the religious meaning of the artist: the relation between the two in after life is foreshadowed in this imaginary incident. Each child carries the symbol of his character. A halo behind the head of Jesus signifies his divine origin. He holds on his knee a globe surmounted by a cross, in token that he who was crucified shall be the ruler of the world. In the symbol of the globe the old artists anticipated the later discoveries of science as to the form of the earth. Some of the ancient philosophers had taught that the earth is a sphere, and through the writings of Aristotle the belief was spread among the scholars of the Middle Ages.[15]That the idea made its way into art is perhaps because the sphere is the most perfect and beautiful form, and hence the fitting symbol of God's created work.[16]
The Infant Jesus And St. John (Mino Da Fiesole)Alinari, photo.John Andrew & Son, Sc.THE INFANT JESUS AND ST. JOHN (MINO DA FIESOLE)Cathedral, Fiesole
St. John carries the cross, which is his usual emblem as a prophet of Christ. It is tall and slender because it was supposed to be made of reeds. The reference is to Jesus's words concerning John when asking the people if they had sought the prophet merely as "a reed shaken by the wind."
The infant Jesus is a vigorous child, straight and perfectly formed. The little St. John is an older and taller boy, wearing a tunic. The younger child is delighted to have a playfellow. There is an eager smile on his face, and he puts out his right hand as if he longed to take the curious plaything St. John carries. Both children are plump, with well-shaped heads, but there is nothing precocious-looking about either. They are indeed uncommonly pretty, but for the rest are like other children, eying each other somewhat shyly in the early stages of acquaintance. It will not be long before they are the best of friends.
The figures in our illustration form a part of a marble altar-piece by Mino da Fiesole. The whole composition consists of three niches approached bysteps. In the central compartment kneels the mother Mary, adoring with folded hands the child, who sits below her. We see in our picture only the lower part of her dress behind the Christ child. In the side niches are figures of saints, the little St. John kneeling in front of the one on the Madonna's right.
Mino da Fiesole has been called "The Raphael of sculpture," and his work in this altar-piece illustrates the fitness of comparing him with the great painter. Especially do the figures of the two children here remind us of the child ideals of Raphael. At the time when this work was executed (1462) painters and sculptors had just begun to represent the Christ child undraped. The earlier artists had always shown the little figure clad in a tunic. We shall presently see how this old custom was still followed in bas-reliefs of the Madonna and Child by Luca della Robbia and Rossellino. The more progressive artists were unwilling to conceal the beauty of the child's figure by any sort of dress. By the beginning of the sixteenth century the old way had entirely given place to the new.[17]
In our picture we see that a Latin inscription on the base of the lowest step contains the name of Leonardo Salutati, bishop of Fiesole.[18]It was by the order of this bishop that the altar was executed, as was also the tomb opposite it in the cathedral of Fiesole.
[12]St. Luke, chapter ii., verse 49.[13]St. Luke, chapter iii., verse 16.[14]See Chapter IX., on the "Children of the Shell," in the volume onMurilloin the Riverside Art Series.[15]This is on the authority of a French writer, A. Jourdain, quoted by William H. Tillinghast in an essay on the "Geographical Knowledge of the Ancients," in theNarrative and Critical History of America. In the same essay an anonymous poem of the thirteenth century is quoted to show the prevalent belief in the sphericity of the earth.[16]In Didron'sChristian Iconography, several interesting illustrations from old miniatures, etc., show the globe in the hand of the Creator. It is curious that this supposedly exhaustive authority on church symbolism gives no account of the origin and history of this emblem.[17]See Madonna pictures by Raphael, Titian, Correggio, and Michelangelo in other volumes of the Riverside Art Series.[18]Eps, with the curious mark above, stands forepiscopus.
[12]St. Luke, chapter ii., verse 49.
[13]St. Luke, chapter iii., verse 16.
[14]See Chapter IX., on the "Children of the Shell," in the volume onMurilloin the Riverside Art Series.
[15]This is on the authority of a French writer, A. Jourdain, quoted by William H. Tillinghast in an essay on the "Geographical Knowledge of the Ancients," in theNarrative and Critical History of America. In the same essay an anonymous poem of the thirteenth century is quoted to show the prevalent belief in the sphericity of the earth.
[16]In Didron'sChristian Iconography, several interesting illustrations from old miniatures, etc., show the globe in the hand of the Creator. It is curious that this supposedly exhaustive authority on church symbolism gives no account of the origin and history of this emblem.
[17]See Madonna pictures by Raphael, Titian, Correggio, and Michelangelo in other volumes of the Riverside Art Series.
[18]Eps, with the curious mark above, stands forepiscopus.
The bas-relief of our illustration is one of a series of marble panels designed to ornament the singing-gallery of a church. The children moving forward with song and cymbal remind us of the bands of singers and musicians who took part in religious processions of ancient times. We read of such processions among both the Greeks[19]and the Hebrews.[20]
The custom of singing was adopted by the Christian church from its foundation,[21]and gradually the musical part of the service was developed into a fine art. There was a famous system of choral chanting under Pope Gregory I.,[22]and in the eleventh century part singing was introduced. At length the organ came into use, and by the fifteenth century it had become an important part of the church furnishings.
It was early in this century when the wardens of the cathedral at Florence had an organ constructed on what the old writer Vasari called "a very grandscale." In connection with this an organ loft, such as the Italians call acantoria, was needed to accommodate the singers. The Florentine sculptor, Luca della Robbia, received the order for this work, and was occupied with it some nine years (1431-1440).
The cantoria is entirely of marble, built like a balcony, with the upper part or balustrade supported on five consoles or brackets. Four square bas-reliefs, separated by pilasters, ornament the front of the balustrade, and four more fill the corresponding spaces below, separated by the consoles. The artist took as the motive of his decorative scheme the one hundred and fiftieth psalm. This hymn of praise furnished his imagination with a series of pictures illustrating many kinds of music. The entire psalm is quoted in the Latin version on the gallery, the inscriptions running in narrow bands across the top and bottom and between the two rows of panels. These are the verses in the familiar English version of King James, grouped in the three sections into which they are divided:--
"Praise God in his sanctuary:praise him in the firmament of his power.Praise him for his mighty acts:praise him according to his excellent greatness.Praise him with the sound of the trumpet:praise him with the psaltery and harp.Praise him with the timbreland dance:praise him with stringed instruments and organs.Praise him upon the loud cymbals:praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.Let everything that hath breathpraise the Lord."
"Praise God in his sanctuary:praise him in the firmament of his power.Praise him for his mighty acts:praise him according to his excellent greatness.Praise him with the sound of the trumpet:praise him with the psaltery and harp.Praise him with the timbreland dance:praise him with stringed instruments and organs.Praise him upon the loud cymbals:praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.Let everything that hath breathpraise the Lord."
Boys With Cymbals (Luca Della Robbia)Alinari, photo.John Andrew & Son, Sc.BOYS WITH CYMBALS (LUCA DELLA ROBBIA)The Duomo, Florence
The eight illustrations of the gallery omit nothing mentioned by the psalmist. Here are the trumpets, the harp, the psaltery, and the timbrel. Here is the choric dance, followed by players on organs and stringed instruments; after these come the loud cymbals or tambourines, and finally the "high sounding cymbals" of our illustration.
The players are a half dozen children, some dressed in tunics, and others wearing scarf-like garments which leave their limbs free. Two are crowned with flowers in the Greek fashion, and others have a fillet or band bound about the hair. The leader walks with his head thrown back, his mouth wide open, singing with all his might, oblivious of everything but his music. He holds the cymbals high, striking them together in the rhythm of his song. His companion is a jolly little fellow, not at all concerned in the music, but laughing at something which attracts his attention in the distance.
There is another rogue just behind the leader. Without losing step he throws his weight forward on bending knee, putting his ear to the upper cymbal. He is evidently amusing himself with the lingering vibrations of the metal. The flower-crowned boy bringing up the rear smiles at us cheerily, as he steps along, clashing his cymbals with right good-will. The children in the background seem to take their task more seriously, as if sharing the spirit of the leader.
It is clear that our artist found the models for his figures in the streets of Florence. These round-faced children with their large mouths are not pretty enough for imaginary types. They are perfectly natural, and that is why we like them.
The grouping is skilfully planned to give unity to the composition without any stiffness. There are no awkward gaps between the figures, but the lines flow from one to another, binding them together. The half kneeling posture of the child in the middle makes diagonal lines to unite the leader with the boy in the rear. We notice in the drawing the same sweep of line which we have admired in Donatello's bronze reliefs of angels. The three figures in front are modelled in high relief, and in beautiful curves; the children in the rear are in low relief.
The work of Luca della Robbia was not confined to marble. Soon after completing the organ gallery he made a bronze door for the interior of the cathedral. He is best known for his work in enamelled terra-cotta, of which we shall hear more in later chapters.
[19]See Chapter III. in the volume onGreek Sculpturein the Riverside Art Series.[20]Psalm lxviii., verse 25, and 1 Chronicles, chapter xiii., verse 8.[21]St. Matthew, chapter xxvi., verse 30.[22]The pontificate of Gregory I. was from 590 to 604.
[19]See Chapter III. in the volume onGreek Sculpturein the Riverside Art Series.
[20]Psalm lxviii., verse 25, and 1 Chronicles, chapter xiii., verse 8.
[21]St. Matthew, chapter xxvi., verse 30.
[22]The pontificate of Gregory I. was from 590 to 604.
A certain marquis of Carretto, living in Lucca at the close of the fourteenth century, had a daughter named Ilaria. Ilaria was like Helen of Troy, "a daughter of the gods, divinely tall and most divinely fair."[23]Her face was delicately cut in a patrician mould, and she carried her head with the air of a princess. The marquis must have been proud of his beautiful daughter, and as she grew into womanhood he looked about for a suitable match for her. There was little romance about marriages in those days, and when a rich widower sought Ilaria's hand, she was doubtless thought by all a very fortunate maiden.
Her husband, Paolo Guinigi, was the signor or lord of the city of Lucca, and though somewhat despotic in temper was at least without vices. He was besides the richest man in Italy. In his treasury, says the historian, "diamonds and rubies, emeralds and pearls, were counted by hundreds." The palace awaiting the bride was magnificentlyfurnished. There was linen from Paris and other French cities, exquisite in quality and in stores so abundant as to delight the heart of a housewife. The walls were hung with tapestries of many colors woven in Arras. Priceless vessels of gold and silver adorned the table. Nor were signs of learning lacking. There was a library, well stocked with the works of classical authors, written in manuscript in the manner of the times.
So far as surroundings make for happiness Ilaria may well have been a happy woman. We like to fancy her queenly figure moving through the stately apartments of the palace or on the green terraces of the garden. But she did not long enjoy the splendors of her surroundings, for two years after her marriage she died. Her husband then ordered of the sculptor Jacopo della Quercia a marble tomb to be placed in the cathedral. On the sarcophagus lay the portrait figure of the lady herself; the sides were richly carved with cherubs holding festoons of flowers, and above was a canopy.
Ilaria lies with hands crossed just where they would naturally fall in her sleep.[24]Her feet rest against a little dog, which, according to the old writer, Vasari, was an emblem of conjugal fidelity. It is surely no harm to fancy that the little creature was the lady's pet. The gown is girdled high, and falling in long, straight folds, is wrapped about the feet. Over this is worn a mantle made with large, loose sleeves, and a high flaring collar, which comes well up under the chin.[25]
Tomb of Ilaria Del Carretto (Jacopo Della Quercia)Alinari, photo.John Andrew & Son, Sc.DETAIL OF TOMB OF ILARIA DEL CARRETTO (JACOPO DELLA QUERCIA)Cathedral, Lucca
Our illustration shows only the head and shoulders of the figure. The head rests on a pillow in a hollow shaped to receive it, and the shoulders are supported by a second and larger cushion underneath. Ilaria's waving hair is parted over the high brow, and brought down on each side the face, completely concealing the ears. A few short tendrils have escaped, and curl daintily over the forehead. She wears a large flower-wound wreath or crown, set aslant over the shapely head. It may be that this is a sort of head-dress worn in her time. No one can look at the face without thinking of a flower, and most of all of the lily. The mouth is moulded in exquisite curves; Ilaria was, indeed, a bewitching woman.
Had the fair marchioness lived to middle age her fortunes would have been sadly altered. In 1430 there was a political upheaval in Lucca, and Guinigi was driven from the city.[26]His palace was pillaged, and the mob even laid desecrating hands upon Ilaria's tomb. An attempt to remove it seems to have been frustrated, and it was dropped on the floor of the transept, where it now stands. It lost,however, the canopy and one ornamented side of the base.
As a work of art, Ilaria's tomb has been greatly admired by critics. Even in our little picture we can, with no great training, see how well the sculptor has rendered the texture of the hair and the softness of the plump chin. Even the tassels on the cushion are carved with clever imitative skill. We must be careful to look at the face just as the sculptor intended it to be seen, not upright, but lying horizontally. It is only thus that we get the significance of the beautiful continuous line across forehead and nose. The line of the head-dress exactly follows that of the hair, and is drawn at the same angle as the edge of the collar, which it meets. In the triangular space thus formed is fitted the lovely profile of the face. Ruskin has written with much enthusiasm of the merits of Ilaria's tomb. From it, he declared, one may receive "unerring canon of what is evermore lovely and right in the dealing of the art of man with his fate and his passions." Still more helpful is his interpretation of the feeling which the sculptor has conveyed. After first explaining that "every work of the great Christian schools expresses primarily conquest over death," he shows that this particular tomb has "all the peace of the Christian eternity." We may see, he says, "that the damsel is not dead but sleepeth; yet as visibly a sleep that shall know no ending until the last day break and the last shadows flee away."[27]
[23]Tennyson's "A Dream of Fair Women."[24]Not "folded below her bosom," nor "laid on her breast," as in two familiar descriptions.[25]That this mantle was a prevailing style of the period among the aristocracy, we judge from an old Spanish painting, in which King Ferdinand of Aragon and his queen both wear it. The picture is reproduced in Carderara'sIconografia Española, and copied in Planché'sCyclopedia of Costumes.[26]The exact date is here given because of the vagueness of some writers who refer to the event as "not many years" and "within twenty years" after Ilaria's death in 1405.[27]Quoted by Sydney Colvin in an article on Jacopo della Quercia, in thePortfolio, 1883. See alsoModern Painters, Part III.
[23]Tennyson's "A Dream of Fair Women."
[24]Not "folded below her bosom," nor "laid on her breast," as in two familiar descriptions.
[25]That this mantle was a prevailing style of the period among the aristocracy, we judge from an old Spanish painting, in which King Ferdinand of Aragon and his queen both wear it. The picture is reproduced in Carderara'sIconografia Española, and copied in Planché'sCyclopedia of Costumes.
[26]The exact date is here given because of the vagueness of some writers who refer to the event as "not many years" and "within twenty years" after Ilaria's death in 1405.
[27]Quoted by Sydney Colvin in an article on Jacopo della Quercia, in thePortfolio, 1883. See alsoModern Painters, Part III.
In reading the gospel narrative of the life of Jesus we are glad to learn something of his mother Mary. Her life had some peculiar hardships to test the strength of her character. It was a strange lot for a mother to have to tend her babe in the manger of an inn, but such was Mary's experience. At the time of Jesus's birth she and Joseph were in Bethlehem, whither they had come to pay their taxes. There were many other people there on the same errand, and the inn was so crowded that the young mother had to find quarters in the stable.
While the child was still very young a terrible danger threatened his life. An order went forth from King Herod to slay all the young children of Bethlehem. Still the mother's courage did not fail. She arose by night, and, taking her babe, fled with her husband into Egypt. Returning at length to their home in Nazareth, she watched her boy's growth, and kept all his sayings in her heart.
When Jesus entered upon his ministry Mary wasthe first to show perfect confidence in her son.[28]She seems to have followed him whenever she could.[29]Her courage sustained her even in the hour of his agony, and we read how she stood with his disciples at the foot of the cross.[30]
It is this woman of quiet fortitude whom we see in Luca della Robbia's bas-relief of the Madonna and Child. We are impressed at once with a sense of her strength and poise of character. It is precisely such as fits the story of her life. Steadying her little boy with both hands, she turns her face in the direction in which he is looking. The Child seems to stand on a sort of balustrade in front of his mother. With feet wide apart he holds himself erect in a firm posture. His right hand is raised in a gesture of benediction. With his left he grasps firmly a long scroll bearing the Latin inscription, "Ego sum Lux Mundi" (I am the Light of the World).
Both mother and child seem to belong to the happy, every-day working world. Mary has the straight figure, full throat, and square shoulders of a Tuscan peasant girl. Her only aristocratic feature is the shapely hand. She holds her chin level, like a country maiden used to carrying burdens on the head. It may be that the artist had seen her like in some market-place in Florence. The boy too has the square shoulders and sturdy frame of a child of the people.
Madonna And Child (Luca Della Robbia)Alinari, photo.John Andrew & Son, Sc.MADONNA AND CHILD (LUCA DELLA ROBBIA)Shop in the Via dell' Agnolo, Florence
Some artists have tried to give a supernatural and ethereal beauty to the mother and child. Others have represented them enthroned in splendor like a queen and prince receiving their court. Luca della Robbia went to no such extremes. There is nothing morbid or sentimental in his art: nor does he care for any worldly pomp and ceremonial. His religious ideals were very simple, suited to the needs of common life. The Christ child here is a dear little human baby, and the Madonna is the poet's ideal of "a creature not too bright or good for human nature's daily food."[31]
The bas-relief is one of the famous works in enamelled terra-cotta, known as "Della Robbia ware." The idea of overlaying clay with a glazing was not original with Luca della Robbia, but he seems to have been the first to apply it to sculpture. In his own day he was looked upon as a great inventor, and his works were very popular. The material was inexpensive, and lent itself readily to all sorts of decorative purposes. Its beauty, moreover, was of a lasting quality. While paintings fade, the Della Robbia ware, "gem like, shall as very gems endure."[32]The only injury to which it is liable is the breaking off of some projecting portions. In our picture we see that a fragment is broken out of the child's wrist. Fortunately, however, there are no defects in the important parts of the work.
The figures are in the centre of a lunette or semi-circular composition, with an adoring angel on each side holding a jar of lilies. The piece is set up over a doorway on the outside of a building in a narrow street in Florence. The location explains the attitude of the mother and child. If they looked directly out of the picture as in an altar-piece, there would be but one place, on the opposite side of the street, where the passer-by could meet their eyes. As it is, they turn their faces toward the vista of the street as if to welcome the approaching wayfarer. While still a long way off one feels the cheerful influence of their gaze. Even when coming from the opposite direction it is pleasant, after passing the door, to know that the friendly eyes follow us on our way.
The workmanship of Luca is seen in the artistic qualities of the sculpture. There was a severe simplicity in his drawing of the outline and draperies which contrasted with the more elaborate work of his followers. Luca was also a close student of nature, and drew his materials from the world about him.