Tuscan Sculpture by Estelle M. HurllThe Riverside Art SeriesRAPHAELREMBRANDTMICHELANGELOMILLETREYNOLDSMURILLOGREEK SCULPTURETITIANLANDSEERCORREGGIOTUSCAN SCULPTUREVAN DYCKRepresentative pictures by famous Artists, with interpretative text and portrait of the painter. Edited byEstelle M. Hurll.Each volume, crown 8vo, 75 cents, net;School Edition, linen, 50 cents, net; paper, 35 cents, net.HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO.Boston and New YorkIL MARZOCCO (DONATELLO)Alinari, photo.John Andrew & Son, Sc.IL MARZOCCO (DONATELLO)National Museum, FlorenceThe Riverside Art SeriesTUSCAN SCULPTUREOF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURYA COLLECTION OF SIXTEEN PICTURESREPRODUCING WORKS BY DONATELLO, THEDELLA ROBBIA, MINO DA FIESOLE, ANDOTHERS, WITH INTRODUCTIONAND INTERPRETATIONBYESTELLE M. HURLLPrinter LogoBOSTON AND NEW YORKHOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANYThe Riverside Press, Cambridge1902COPYRIGHT, 1902, BY HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO.ALL RIGHTS RESERVEDPublished March, 1902.PREFACEThis little collection is intended as a companion volume to "Greek Sculpture," a previous issue of the Riverside Art Series. The two sets of pictures, studied side by side, illustrate clearly the difference in the spirit animating the two art periods represented.The Tuscan sculpture of the Renaissance was developed under a variety of forms, of which as many as possible are included in the limits of our book: the equestrian statue, the sepulchral monument, the ideal statue of saint and hero, as well as various forms of decorative art applied to the beautifying of churches and public buildings both without and within.ESTELLE M. HURLL.New Bedford, Mass.February, 1902.CONTENTS AND LIST OF PICTURESPAGEIl Marzocco(The Heraldic Lion of Florence). By Donatello(Frontispiece)IntroductionI.On some Characteristics of Tuscan Sculpture Of the Fifteenth CenturyviiII.On Books of ReferencexiIII.Historical Directory of the Works in this CollectionxiiiIV.Table of Biographical DataxviI.Musical Angels.By Donatello1II.St. Philip.By Nanni di Banco7III.St. John the Baptist.By Donatello13IV.The Infant Jesus and St. John.By Mino da Fiesole19V.Boys With Cymbals.By Luca della Robbia25VI.Tomb of Ilaria del Carretto(Detail). By Jacopo della Quercia31VII.Madonna and Child(Detail of lunette). By Luca della Robbia37VIII.The Meeting of St. Francis and St. Dominick.By Andrea della Robbia43IX.St. George.By Donatello49X.Bambino.By Andrea della Robbia55XI.The Annunciation.By Andrea della Robbia61XII.The Ascension.By Luca della Robbia67XIII.Tomb of the Cardinal of Portugal.By Antonio Rossellino73XIV.Equestrian Statue of Gattamelata.By Donatello79XV.Shrine.By Mino da Fiesole86XVI.Il Marzocco (The Heraldic Lion of Florence).By Donatello (See Frontispiece)91Pronouncing Vocabulary of Proper Names and Foreign Words95Note: With one exception the pictures were made from photographsby Alinari; the "Musical Angels" was made from a photographby Naya.INTRODUCTIONI. ON SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF TUSCAN SCULPTUREIN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY."The Italian sculptors of the earlier half of the fifteenth century are more than mere forerunners of the great masters of its close, and often reach perfection within the narrow limits which they chose to impose on their work. Their sculpture shares with the paintings of Botticelli and the churches of Brunelleschi that profound expressiveness, that intimate impress of an indwelling soul, which is the peculiar fascination of the art of Italy in that century."These words of Walter Pater define admirably the quality which, in varying degree, runs through the work of men of such differing methods as Donatello, the della Robbia, Mino da Fiesole, and Rossellino. It is the quality of expressiveness as distinguished from that abstract or generalized character which belongs to Greek sculpture. Greek sculpture, it is true, taught some of these artists how to study nature, but it did not satisfy Christian ideals. The subjects demanded of the Tuscans were entirely foreign to Greek experience. The saints and martyrs of the Christian era were at the opposite pole from the gods and heroes of antiquity. Hence the aim of the new sculpture was the manifestation of the soul, as that of the classic art had been the glorification of the body.Jacopo della Quercia was one of the oldest of the sculptors whose work extended into the fifteenth century, beingalready twenty-five years of age when that century began. Standing thus in the period of transition between the old and the new, his work unites the influence of mediæval tradition with a distinctly new element. His bas-reliefs on the portal of S. Petronio at Bologna are probably his most characteristic work. The tomb of Ilaria del Carretto is in a class by itself: "In composition, the gravest and most tranquil of his works, and in conception, full of beauty and feeling."[1]Donatello is undoubtedly the greatest name in Italian sculpture previous to Michelangelo. The kinship between these two men was felicitously expressed in Vasari's quotation from "the most learned and very reverend" Don Vicenzo Borghini: "Either the spirit of Donato worked in Buonarroti, or that of Buonarroti first acted in Donato." Vitality, force, action, suggestiveness, character, such are the words which spring to the lips in the presence of both masters.The range of Donatello's art was phenomenal, from works of such magnitude as the equestrian statue of Gattamelata, to the decorative panels for the altar of S. Antonio at Padua. At times he was an uncompromising realist, as in his statue of the bald old man, the Zuccone, who figured as King David. Again he showed himself capable of lofty idealism, as in the beautiful and heroic St. George. Which way his own tastes leaned we may judge from his favorite asseveration, "By my Zuccone." The point is that it mattered nothing to him whether his model was beautiful or ugly, whether he wrought out an ideal of his imagination or studied the character of an actual individual; his first care was to make the figure live. In consequence his art has what a critic has called "a robustness and a sanity" which have made it "a wellspring of inspiration to lesser men."The only subject practically left out of Donatello's work was woman. Children afforded him all the material he needed for the more decorative forms of his art. For the rest the problems which interested him most were perhaps best worked out in the study of the male figure.A recent biographer of Donatello, Hope Rea, points out some interesting characteristics of his technical workmanship. In every work subsequent to his St. Mark, "the hair," she says, "is conspicuous by its appearance of living growth." And again, explaining the excellence of his drapery, she shows how he went beyond the ordinary consideration of the general flow and line of the stuffs, to a study of the sections of the folds. Hence drapery with him "is not only an arrangement of lines for decorative effect, or a covering for the figure, but it is a beauty in itself, filled with the living air."Nanni di Banco is a name naturally associated with that of Donatello, not only on account of the friendship between the two, but from the fact that both worked on the church of Or San Michele. Nanni was one of the smaller men whose work is overshadowed by the fame of a great contemporary. His art has not sufficient distinction to give it a prominent place; yet it is not without good qualities. Marcel Reymond insists that the public has not yet appreciated the just merits of this neglected sculptor. In his opinion the St. Philip was the inspiration of Donatello's St. Mark, while Nanni's St. Eloi had an influence upon St. George.With Luca della Robbia began the "reign of the bas-relief," as Marcel Reymond characterizes the period of fifty years between Donatello and Michelangelo. Women and children were the special subjects of this sculptor's art, and it is perhaps in the Madonna and Child that we see his most characteristic touch. How well he could represent spirited action, we see in some of the panels ofthe organ gallery. How dignified was his sense of repose, is seen in the lunette of the Ascension.Much as he cared for expression,--"expression carried to its highest intensity of degree," as Walter Pater put it,--he never found it necessary to secure this expression at the cost of beauty. That he studied nature at first hand his works are clear evidence, but that did not preclude the choice of attractive subjects. His style is "so sober and contained," writes a recent critic, "so delicate and yet so healthy, so lovely and yet so free from prettiness, so full of sentiment, and devoid of sentimentality, that it is hard to find words for any critical characterization."[2]"Simplicity and nobility," the words of Cavalucci and Molinier, is perhaps the best phrase in which to sum up the art of Luca della Robbia.In his nephew, Andrea della Robbia, the founder of the school had a successor whose best work is worthy of the master's teaching. If he lacked the simplicity and severity of the older man, he surpassed him in depth of Christian sentiment. Sometimes, it is true, his tenderness verges on weakness, his devoutness on pietism. If we are tempted to charge him with monotony we must remember what pressure was brought upon a man whose works attained such immense popularity. The bambini of the Foundling Hospital and the Meeting of St. Francis and St. Dominick show the high level to which his art could rise.Antonio Rossellino and Mino da Fiesole may be classed together as sculptors to whom decorative effect was of first importance; they loved line and form for their intrinsic beauty. They delighted in elaborate and well ordered compositions. Elegance of design, delicacy and refinement in handling, are invariable qualities of their work. Such qualities were especially to be desired in the making of those sepulchral monuments which were so numerous in their period. Of the many fine works of this class in Tuscany each of these two sculptors contributed at least one of the best examples.It is superfluous to point out that the sweetness of these sculptors is perilously near the insipid, their grace too often formal. We are brought to realize the true greatness of the men when we behold the grave and tranquil beauty of the effigy of the Cardinal of Portugal, or the vigorous characterization of the bust of Bishop Salutati.It is John Addington Symonds who says the final word when he declares that the charm of the works of such men as Mino and Rossellino "can scarcely be defined except by similes." And these are the images which this master of similes calls up to our mind as we contemplate their works: "The innocence of childhood, the melody of a lute or a song bird as distinguished from the music of an orchestra, the rathe tints of early dawn, cheerful light on shallow streams, the serenity of a simple and untainted nature that has never known the world."[1]Sidney Colvin.[2]Notes onVasari's Lives, edited by E. H. and E. W. Blashfield and A. A. Hopkins.II. ON BOOKS OF REFERENCE.There are but few works devoted exclusively to the subject of Italian Renaissance sculpture. For many years American students seeking information in this direction have relied chiefly upon the works of C. C. Perkins: "Tuscan Sculptors" (2 vols.), London, 1864; "Italian Sculptors" (in Northern, Southern and Eastern Italy), London, 1868; and finally the volume which unites and revises the material of both earlier works, "Historical Handbook of Italian Sculpture," New York, 1883.The recent work of Marcel Reymond, "La Sculpture Florentine," Florence, 1898, has been heartily welcomed by students of all nationalities. It consists of four volumes, all well illustrated, devoted respectively to: (1) Les Prédécesseurs de l'Ecole Florentine et la Sculpture Florentine au XIVesiècle [The Precursors of the Florentine School and Florentine Sculpture of the 14th Century]. (2) Première moitié du XVesiècle [First half of the 15th century]. (3) Seconde moitié du XVesiècle [Second half of the 15th century]. (4) Le XVIesiècle et les Successeurs de l'Ecole Florentine [The 16th Century and the Successors of the Florentine School]. As it has not been translated into English this work is not so widely read by the general public as it should be, but it is probably to be found in most large libraries.A newly published book, "Italian Sculpture of the Renaissance," by L. J. Freeman, M. A., appears just as this volume goes to press. It is a brief survey, critical and interpretative, of the principal works of the most prominent Florentine sculptors of the period, with some account of the characteristics of the early and later Renaissance work. Some forty fine illustrations elucidate the study.Of the general works on the history of art from which material on our subject may be drawn, the most important is of course Vasari's "Lives." In the recently revised English version, edited by E. H. and E. W. Blashfield and A. A. Hopkins (New York, 1897), are some valuable footnotes summing up the characteristics of the individual sculptors.Of inestimable value for purposes of serious study are the volumes by Eugène Müntz, "Histoire de l'Art pendant la Renaissance." The material bearing on the sculptors illustrated in this present collection is found in his volume devoted to "Les Primitifs" (Paris, 1889). Those to whom the French text presents no difficulty will derive much benefit from the study of this book, which may be consulted in the large public libraries.A book available to all, and of a delightfully popular nature, is the volume on "The Fine Arts" in John Addington Symonds's series of The Renaissance in Italy. This writer had a remarkable gift for putting much suggestive comment into a compact and readable form.General histories of sculpture allotting a proportionate space to the consideration of the Italian sculptors of the Renaissance are, by Lucy Baxter, "Sculpture, Renaissance and Modern" (New York, 1891); Lübke, "History of Sculpture," translated from the German by F. E. Bunnett (London, 1878); Allan Marquand and A. L. Frothingham, "Textbook of the History of Sculpture" (New York, 1896).A special study of the work of Donatello is made by Hope Rea in a volume of the series of Handbooks of the Great Masters in Painting and Sculpture. A complete list of the sculptor's works is given. Luca della Robbia is the subject of two important French works: by Cavalucci and Molinier, "Les Della Robbia" (Paris, 1884); by Marcel Reymond, "Les Della Robbia" (Florence, 1897). There is a chapter on Luca della Robbia in Walter Pater's "Studies in the History of the Renaissance" (1890), and another in Mrs. Van Rensselaer's "Six Portraits" (Boston, 1889).Mrs. Oliphant has written pleasantly both of Donatello and of Luca della Robbia in "The Makers of Florence."III. HISTORICAL DIRECTORY OF THE WORKS INTHIS COLLECTION.Frontispiece.Il Marzocco(the heraldic lion of Florence). (Donatello.) Made of pietra serena and originally placed on theringhieraof the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence. Now in the National Museum (Bargello) of that city, while a bronze copy occupies its place in front of the palace.1.Musical Angels.(Donatello.) Bronze bas-reliefs from the high altar of S. Antonio, Padua. Ordered in 1448. Completed in 1450. Marcel Reymond holds that the execution of these reliefs was committed to assistants. In 1576 a new altar was ordered, and Donatello's bronzes were dispersed. In 1895 a reconstruction of Donatello's altar was made, setting the parts in place according to what is supposed to have been the original design.2.St. Philip.(Nanni di Banco.) Marble statue in niche on outside of Or San Michele, Florence. The date is uncertain; Marcel Reymond considers it one of Nanni's oldest works, placing it before 1408.3.St. John the Baptist.(Donatello.) Bas-relief in pietra serena in the National Museum (Bargello), Florence. No date is assigned.4.The Infant Jesus and St. John.(Mino da Fiesole.) Detail of marble altarpiece in alto relievo in cathedral of Fiesole, being a part of the monument of Bishop Salutati. Ordered in 1462.5.Boys with Cymbals.(Lucca della Robbia.) One of the marble bas-reliefs ornamenting the organ gallery for the Florence cathedral. Organ gallery begun in 1431, finished 1440. Removed from cathedral in 1688. Reliefs put in Uffizi Gallery 1882, and then in the Bargello. Thence taken to the museum of the Duomo, where they are now to be seen, set up in place on the reconstructed gallery.6.Tomb of Ilaria del Carretto (Detail).(Jacopo della Quercia.) Marble tomb in the cathedral of Lucca. Milanese dates it 1413, but Ridolfi's description of the Lucca cathedral places Jacopo's work there in 1406 or 1407, and Müntz thinks this date conclusive.7.Madonna and Child (Detail).(Luca della Robbia.) Glazed terra cotta lunette over the door of a building(now a shop) in the Via dell' Agnolo, Florence. Considered by Marcel Reymond the most difficult of Luca's work to date. According to Dr. Bode, executed before 1431; according to Allan Marquand, between 1430 and 1440; according to Marcel Reymond, towards 1450.8.Meeting of St. Francis and St. Dominick.(Andrea della Robbia.) Glazed terra cotta lunette in the Loggia of San Paolo, Florence. Classified by Marcel Reymond under Andrea's third manner, because distinguished by perfect knowledge of artistic principles.9.St. George.(Donatello.) Marble statue originally designed for a niche on the church of Or San Michele, Florence. Executed in 1416 at the order of the Guild of Armorers. In 1887 it was removed to the National Museum, Florence, to preserve it from injury by exposure to the weather. A bronze copy was substituted for it on the church.10.Bambino.(Andrea della Robbia.) One of a series of glazed terra cotta medallions on the façade of the Foundling Hospital, Florence. Judged by its relation to the art of Luca della Robbia, this is among the early works of Andrea. From certain data in the history of the hospital, Cavalucci reckons that it was executed about the year 1463.11.The Annunciation.(Andrea della Robbia.) Altarpiece at La Verna. Marcel Reymond says that from the beauty of style and the advanced knowledge of technique exhibited here, this work must belong to Andrea's maturity, that is, in the neighborhood of his fortieth year. It is classified by Reymond in Andrea's "first manner."12.The Ascension.(Luca della Robbia.) Enamelled terra cotta lunette, decorating tympanum of door of sacristy in the cathedral at Florence. The first work in this material by Luca of which we have the date, 1446.13.Tomb of the Cardinal of Portugal (Detail).(Antonio Rossellino.) Tomb in colored marble in the church of San Miniato, Florence. Ordered in 1461.14.Equestrian statue of Gattamelata.(Donatello.) In the Piazza del Santo, Padua. Commission given 1444. Work begun 1446. Statue set up, 1453. Erected at the expense of Gattamelata's son, Gio. Antonio.15.Shrine.(Mino da Fiesole.) A marble tabernacle, decorated in mezzo-relievo and originally made for the nuns of the convent of the Murate. Removed in 1815 to S. Croce, Florence. No date is assigned to it.IV. TABLE OF BIOGRAPHICAL DATA.Jacopo di Pietro d'Angelo, of La Quercia Gossa, a castello once near Siena and since destroyed. Born 1371; died 1438. Variously stated to have been a scholar of Maestro Goro and of Luca di Giovanni. Milanese believes that these claims are groundless, and that Jacopo was a pupil of his own father, who was a goldsmith. Best known for his marble reliefs ornamenting the portal of S. Petronio, Bologna.Nanni di Banco.Son of Antonio di Banco, who was at work in the Florence Cathedral in 1406. He is known to have been considerably older than Donatello, and Marcel Reymond suggests the date 1374 as the probable year of his birth. Died 1421.Donatello.The familiar name applied to Donato di Niccolò di Betti Bardi. Born in Florence, 1386; died in Florence, 1466. His visit to Rome in company with Brunelleschi has been called the most important of the initial steps in the revival of antiquity in art. The friendship and patronage of Cosmo de' Medici brought the artist many commissions.Luca di Simone di Marco della Robbia.Born in Florence, 1399 or 1400; died 1482.Andrea della Robbia, nephew of Luca. Born 1435; died 1525.Antonio Rossellino.One of the five sons of Matteo di Domenico Gambarelli, all being artists. Born in Settignano in 1427; died about 1499.Mino di Giovanni di Mino, usually calledMino da Fiesole. Born in 1431 in Poppi, in the Casentino, a district between the sources of the Arno and Tiber, north of Arezzo. Died in 1484. He was a friend of Desiderio da Settignano, but probably not one of his pupils.IMUSICAL ANGELSBY DONATELLOIn the western part of Italy, lying a little north of the centre, is the district known as Tuscany. Here, in the valley of the Arno, is the city of Florence, glorious with her storied palaces and churches. Around her are clustered Pistoja and Lucca, Pisa and Leghorn, Siena and Arezzo, all notable towns in Italian history. Here, too, is Carrara, with its stores of beautiful marble.It was from this little district of Tuscany that the sculptors came forth who have helped to make Italy famous as the birthplace of modern art. The development of Tuscan sculpture covered a period of some three centuries, beginning with the Pisan Niccolò, who worked between the years 1220 and 1270, and culminating with the great Florentine Michelangelo, who died in 1564. We shall study in this little collection a few works of the fifteenth century.It was the time called by historians the Renaissance, which means literally "the new birth." The world was awakening from the long sleep of the Middle Ages, and Italy was the first to be aroused. Certain adventurous spirits began to ponder thepossibility of a new continent beyond the sea. There was a great revival of learning, accompanied by a passionate love of the beautiful. Schools of art were established throughout the length of Italy.In other volumes of this series we have learned how the churches, palaces, and public buildings were filled with paintings.[3]We shall now see that sculpture also contributed much to the adornment of the cities. Statues, busts, and bas-reliefs, in marble, bronze, and terra-cotta, ornamented many buildings both without and within.Our illustration shows two panels from the series of twelve bronze reliefs on the front of a church altar. Two little boy angels are making music with their pipes. The companion panels are also filled with musical angels, some singing and others playing on various instruments.The New Testament begins and ends with the music of angels. The birth of Jesus is heralded by a multitude of the heavenly host singing "Glory to God in the highest." The golden city of St. John's vision is filled with "the voice of harpers, harping with their harps," in the new song before the throne of God. Thence has arisen the beautiful custom of artists to represent angels as musicians.The child angels of our picture have tiny pointed wings as a sign of their heavenly origin. Certainly we cannot imagine such buoyant little creatures treading the earth like mortals. One stands on tip-toe like a bird poised for flight. The other skips through the air with joyous motion. The head of one is encircled by a halo, the emblem of purity. The other wears a fillet of flowers over his curls. Each carries two little pipes, the simplest of musical instruments.Musical Angels (Donatello)Naya, photo.John Andrew & Son, Sc.MUSICAL ANGELS (DONATELLO)Church of San Antonio, PaduaIt was long ago in the childhood of the race that some shepherd, plucking a reed from the bank of a stream, first found that the hollow stem had a voice of its own. The pipe thereafter became a favorite instrument among primitive people. We read in the Old Testament Scriptures that the ancient Hebrews used it in the celebration of their festivities. At the Greek festivals also the pipers had a place in the procession of musicians.Our angel pipers are blowing lustily with puffing cheeks--"Such sweetSoft notes as yet musician's cunningNever gave the enraptured air."They are genuine musicians, not children playing with the pipes as with toys. They move to the rhythm of their piping, their lifted faces expressing their delight. Their thin garments cling to their figures, and the loose ends flutter about them.Every line of the modelling is beautiful, the poise of the figures full of rhythmic grace. The angel at the left stands in profile, with face slightly turned away from the spectator. The right hand figure skips directly out of his panel, swinging lithely about towards the left, as he moves. The outlines of both figures describe long fine curves, with whichthe edges of the drapery run parallel. In the drawing of the right hand angel we may trace delicate patterns of interlacing ovals.Some portions of the work seem to be modelled in very high relief. The limbs, we are told, are in low relief, supported on a metal back, an inch or so thick, by which they are thrown out to a proper distance from the background.The altar to which our panels belong is in the church of S. Antonio, Padua, and was executed by the Florentine sculptor, Donatello, in 1450. The entire scheme of decoration is very elaborate. On the front is a row of musical angels, in which the panels here reproduced occupy opposite ends. Above these are five reliefs of larger size; and still higher are seven life-size statues of saints. The whole is surmounted by a crucifix. Even the back of the altar is ornamented with reliefs, and the work is an example of the spirit of the age, which thought nothing too rich or beautiful for the purposes of worship.[3]SeeRaphael,Michelangelo,Titian, andCorreggio.IIST. PHILIPBY NANNI DI BANCOSt. Philip was one of the first group of disciples whom Jesus called to his service. He was a native of Bethsaida in Galilee, but we do not know what occupation he pursued there. There is a tradition that he was a chariot driver, and in any case he was certainly a laboring man like all of the twelve. Having attached himself to Jesus he began at once to work in his cause. He persuaded Nathanael to come and see the Master, and thereby won a new adherent.[4]Philip was not spiritually minded, like John, nor impetuous, like Peter, but in his own way he wanted to know the truth. Perhaps he was a little slower than others to grasp religious teaching. It may be that he was franker than many in confessing that he did not understand.He and Thomas were somewhat alike in this respect, and once, when Jesus was talking of departing to the Heavenly Father, both interrupted him with questions. Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and it sufficeth us." "Have I been so long timewith you and yet hast thou not known me?" replied Jesus. "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father."[5]Apparently Philip learned his lesson well, for we read in traditional history of his faithful missionary services in later life. He was twenty years in Scythia preaching the gospel. Then he went to Hieropolis in Phrygia, where the people worshipped a serpent. The apostle drove the serpent away, but the pagan priests sought his life in revenge. He was bound to a cross and stoned to death, praying even in his agony for his enemies.[6]The statue of St. Philip in our illustration shows him as a somewhat commonplace-looking man with heavy features. It accords with the usual account of him that his face should not be particularly intellectual. His attitude is full of dignity, and denotes a well-balanced character. The large well-knit hands are those of an artisan. He is of about middle age, as the artists usually represent him. A plain man of good common sense and sterling worth--this was Philip both in fact and in the statue.In pictures and statues the apostles nearly always carry the symbols of their identity. St. Philip's emblem is the cross, but it is here dispensed with, and we have only the Latin inscription to show us who he is.
Tuscan Sculpture by Estelle M. Hurll
The Riverside Art SeriesRAPHAELREMBRANDTMICHELANGELOMILLETREYNOLDSMURILLOGREEK SCULPTURETITIANLANDSEERCORREGGIOTUSCAN SCULPTUREVAN DYCKRepresentative pictures by famous Artists, with interpretative text and portrait of the painter. Edited byEstelle M. Hurll.Each volume, crown 8vo, 75 cents, net;School Edition, linen, 50 cents, net; paper, 35 cents, net.HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO.Boston and New York
Representative pictures by famous Artists, with interpretative text and portrait of the painter. Edited byEstelle M. Hurll.Each volume, crown 8vo, 75 cents, net;School Edition, linen, 50 cents, net; paper, 35 cents, net.
Representative pictures by famous Artists, with interpretative text and portrait of the painter. Edited byEstelle M. Hurll.
Each volume, crown 8vo, 75 cents, net;School Edition, linen, 50 cents, net; paper, 35 cents, net.
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO.Boston and New York
IL MARZOCCO (DONATELLO)Alinari, photo.John Andrew & Son, Sc.
The Riverside Art SeriesTUSCAN SCULPTUREOF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURYA COLLECTION OF SIXTEEN PICTURESREPRODUCING WORKS BY DONATELLO, THEDELLA ROBBIA, MINO DA FIESOLE, ANDOTHERS, WITH INTRODUCTIONAND INTERPRETATIONBYESTELLE M. HURLLPrinter LogoBOSTON AND NEW YORKHOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANYThe Riverside Press, Cambridge1902
Printer Logo
The Riverside Press, Cambridge
COPYRIGHT, 1902, BY HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO.ALL RIGHTS RESERVEDPublished March, 1902.
PREFACE
This little collection is intended as a companion volume to "Greek Sculpture," a previous issue of the Riverside Art Series. The two sets of pictures, studied side by side, illustrate clearly the difference in the spirit animating the two art periods represented.
The Tuscan sculpture of the Renaissance was developed under a variety of forms, of which as many as possible are included in the limits of our book: the equestrian statue, the sepulchral monument, the ideal statue of saint and hero, as well as various forms of decorative art applied to the beautifying of churches and public buildings both without and within.
ESTELLE M. HURLL.New Bedford, Mass.February, 1902.
ESTELLE M. HURLL.
PAGEIl Marzocco(The Heraldic Lion of Florence). By Donatello(Frontispiece)IntroductionI.On some Characteristics of Tuscan Sculpture Of the Fifteenth CenturyviiII.On Books of ReferencexiIII.Historical Directory of the Works in this CollectionxiiiIV.Table of Biographical DataxviI.Musical Angels.By Donatello1II.St. Philip.By Nanni di Banco7III.St. John the Baptist.By Donatello13IV.The Infant Jesus and St. John.By Mino da Fiesole19V.Boys With Cymbals.By Luca della Robbia25VI.Tomb of Ilaria del Carretto(Detail). By Jacopo della Quercia31VII.Madonna and Child(Detail of lunette). By Luca della Robbia37VIII.The Meeting of St. Francis and St. Dominick.By Andrea della Robbia43IX.St. George.By Donatello49X.Bambino.By Andrea della Robbia55XI.The Annunciation.By Andrea della Robbia61XII.The Ascension.By Luca della Robbia67XIII.Tomb of the Cardinal of Portugal.By Antonio Rossellino73XIV.Equestrian Statue of Gattamelata.By Donatello79XV.Shrine.By Mino da Fiesole86XVI.Il Marzocco (The Heraldic Lion of Florence).By Donatello (See Frontispiece)91Pronouncing Vocabulary of Proper Names and Foreign Words95
Note: With one exception the pictures were made from photographsby Alinari; the "Musical Angels" was made from a photographby Naya.
"The Italian sculptors of the earlier half of the fifteenth century are more than mere forerunners of the great masters of its close, and often reach perfection within the narrow limits which they chose to impose on their work. Their sculpture shares with the paintings of Botticelli and the churches of Brunelleschi that profound expressiveness, that intimate impress of an indwelling soul, which is the peculiar fascination of the art of Italy in that century."
These words of Walter Pater define admirably the quality which, in varying degree, runs through the work of men of such differing methods as Donatello, the della Robbia, Mino da Fiesole, and Rossellino. It is the quality of expressiveness as distinguished from that abstract or generalized character which belongs to Greek sculpture. Greek sculpture, it is true, taught some of these artists how to study nature, but it did not satisfy Christian ideals. The subjects demanded of the Tuscans were entirely foreign to Greek experience. The saints and martyrs of the Christian era were at the opposite pole from the gods and heroes of antiquity. Hence the aim of the new sculpture was the manifestation of the soul, as that of the classic art had been the glorification of the body.
Jacopo della Quercia was one of the oldest of the sculptors whose work extended into the fifteenth century, beingalready twenty-five years of age when that century began. Standing thus in the period of transition between the old and the new, his work unites the influence of mediæval tradition with a distinctly new element. His bas-reliefs on the portal of S. Petronio at Bologna are probably his most characteristic work. The tomb of Ilaria del Carretto is in a class by itself: "In composition, the gravest and most tranquil of his works, and in conception, full of beauty and feeling."[1]
Donatello is undoubtedly the greatest name in Italian sculpture previous to Michelangelo. The kinship between these two men was felicitously expressed in Vasari's quotation from "the most learned and very reverend" Don Vicenzo Borghini: "Either the spirit of Donato worked in Buonarroti, or that of Buonarroti first acted in Donato." Vitality, force, action, suggestiveness, character, such are the words which spring to the lips in the presence of both masters.
The range of Donatello's art was phenomenal, from works of such magnitude as the equestrian statue of Gattamelata, to the decorative panels for the altar of S. Antonio at Padua. At times he was an uncompromising realist, as in his statue of the bald old man, the Zuccone, who figured as King David. Again he showed himself capable of lofty idealism, as in the beautiful and heroic St. George. Which way his own tastes leaned we may judge from his favorite asseveration, "By my Zuccone." The point is that it mattered nothing to him whether his model was beautiful or ugly, whether he wrought out an ideal of his imagination or studied the character of an actual individual; his first care was to make the figure live. In consequence his art has what a critic has called "a robustness and a sanity" which have made it "a wellspring of inspiration to lesser men."
The only subject practically left out of Donatello's work was woman. Children afforded him all the material he needed for the more decorative forms of his art. For the rest the problems which interested him most were perhaps best worked out in the study of the male figure.
A recent biographer of Donatello, Hope Rea, points out some interesting characteristics of his technical workmanship. In every work subsequent to his St. Mark, "the hair," she says, "is conspicuous by its appearance of living growth." And again, explaining the excellence of his drapery, she shows how he went beyond the ordinary consideration of the general flow and line of the stuffs, to a study of the sections of the folds. Hence drapery with him "is not only an arrangement of lines for decorative effect, or a covering for the figure, but it is a beauty in itself, filled with the living air."
Nanni di Banco is a name naturally associated with that of Donatello, not only on account of the friendship between the two, but from the fact that both worked on the church of Or San Michele. Nanni was one of the smaller men whose work is overshadowed by the fame of a great contemporary. His art has not sufficient distinction to give it a prominent place; yet it is not without good qualities. Marcel Reymond insists that the public has not yet appreciated the just merits of this neglected sculptor. In his opinion the St. Philip was the inspiration of Donatello's St. Mark, while Nanni's St. Eloi had an influence upon St. George.
With Luca della Robbia began the "reign of the bas-relief," as Marcel Reymond characterizes the period of fifty years between Donatello and Michelangelo. Women and children were the special subjects of this sculptor's art, and it is perhaps in the Madonna and Child that we see his most characteristic touch. How well he could represent spirited action, we see in some of the panels ofthe organ gallery. How dignified was his sense of repose, is seen in the lunette of the Ascension.
Much as he cared for expression,--"expression carried to its highest intensity of degree," as Walter Pater put it,--he never found it necessary to secure this expression at the cost of beauty. That he studied nature at first hand his works are clear evidence, but that did not preclude the choice of attractive subjects. His style is "so sober and contained," writes a recent critic, "so delicate and yet so healthy, so lovely and yet so free from prettiness, so full of sentiment, and devoid of sentimentality, that it is hard to find words for any critical characterization."[2]"Simplicity and nobility," the words of Cavalucci and Molinier, is perhaps the best phrase in which to sum up the art of Luca della Robbia.
In his nephew, Andrea della Robbia, the founder of the school had a successor whose best work is worthy of the master's teaching. If he lacked the simplicity and severity of the older man, he surpassed him in depth of Christian sentiment. Sometimes, it is true, his tenderness verges on weakness, his devoutness on pietism. If we are tempted to charge him with monotony we must remember what pressure was brought upon a man whose works attained such immense popularity. The bambini of the Foundling Hospital and the Meeting of St. Francis and St. Dominick show the high level to which his art could rise.
Antonio Rossellino and Mino da Fiesole may be classed together as sculptors to whom decorative effect was of first importance; they loved line and form for their intrinsic beauty. They delighted in elaborate and well ordered compositions. Elegance of design, delicacy and refinement in handling, are invariable qualities of their work. Such qualities were especially to be desired in the making of those sepulchral monuments which were so numerous in their period. Of the many fine works of this class in Tuscany each of these two sculptors contributed at least one of the best examples.
It is superfluous to point out that the sweetness of these sculptors is perilously near the insipid, their grace too often formal. We are brought to realize the true greatness of the men when we behold the grave and tranquil beauty of the effigy of the Cardinal of Portugal, or the vigorous characterization of the bust of Bishop Salutati.
It is John Addington Symonds who says the final word when he declares that the charm of the works of such men as Mino and Rossellino "can scarcely be defined except by similes." And these are the images which this master of similes calls up to our mind as we contemplate their works: "The innocence of childhood, the melody of a lute or a song bird as distinguished from the music of an orchestra, the rathe tints of early dawn, cheerful light on shallow streams, the serenity of a simple and untainted nature that has never known the world."
[1]Sidney Colvin.[2]Notes onVasari's Lives, edited by E. H. and E. W. Blashfield and A. A. Hopkins.
[1]Sidney Colvin.
[2]Notes onVasari's Lives, edited by E. H. and E. W. Blashfield and A. A. Hopkins.
There are but few works devoted exclusively to the subject of Italian Renaissance sculpture. For many years American students seeking information in this direction have relied chiefly upon the works of C. C. Perkins: "Tuscan Sculptors" (2 vols.), London, 1864; "Italian Sculptors" (in Northern, Southern and Eastern Italy), London, 1868; and finally the volume which unites and revises the material of both earlier works, "Historical Handbook of Italian Sculpture," New York, 1883.
The recent work of Marcel Reymond, "La Sculpture Florentine," Florence, 1898, has been heartily welcomed by students of all nationalities. It consists of four volumes, all well illustrated, devoted respectively to: (1) Les Prédécesseurs de l'Ecole Florentine et la Sculpture Florentine au XIVesiècle [The Precursors of the Florentine School and Florentine Sculpture of the 14th Century]. (2) Première moitié du XVesiècle [First half of the 15th century]. (3) Seconde moitié du XVesiècle [Second half of the 15th century]. (4) Le XVIesiècle et les Successeurs de l'Ecole Florentine [The 16th Century and the Successors of the Florentine School]. As it has not been translated into English this work is not so widely read by the general public as it should be, but it is probably to be found in most large libraries.
A newly published book, "Italian Sculpture of the Renaissance," by L. J. Freeman, M. A., appears just as this volume goes to press. It is a brief survey, critical and interpretative, of the principal works of the most prominent Florentine sculptors of the period, with some account of the characteristics of the early and later Renaissance work. Some forty fine illustrations elucidate the study.
Of the general works on the history of art from which material on our subject may be drawn, the most important is of course Vasari's "Lives." In the recently revised English version, edited by E. H. and E. W. Blashfield and A. A. Hopkins (New York, 1897), are some valuable footnotes summing up the characteristics of the individual sculptors.
Of inestimable value for purposes of serious study are the volumes by Eugène Müntz, "Histoire de l'Art pendant la Renaissance." The material bearing on the sculptors illustrated in this present collection is found in his volume devoted to "Les Primitifs" (Paris, 1889). Those to whom the French text presents no difficulty will derive much benefit from the study of this book, which may be consulted in the large public libraries.
A book available to all, and of a delightfully popular nature, is the volume on "The Fine Arts" in John Addington Symonds's series of The Renaissance in Italy. This writer had a remarkable gift for putting much suggestive comment into a compact and readable form.
General histories of sculpture allotting a proportionate space to the consideration of the Italian sculptors of the Renaissance are, by Lucy Baxter, "Sculpture, Renaissance and Modern" (New York, 1891); Lübke, "History of Sculpture," translated from the German by F. E. Bunnett (London, 1878); Allan Marquand and A. L. Frothingham, "Textbook of the History of Sculpture" (New York, 1896).
A special study of the work of Donatello is made by Hope Rea in a volume of the series of Handbooks of the Great Masters in Painting and Sculpture. A complete list of the sculptor's works is given. Luca della Robbia is the subject of two important French works: by Cavalucci and Molinier, "Les Della Robbia" (Paris, 1884); by Marcel Reymond, "Les Della Robbia" (Florence, 1897). There is a chapter on Luca della Robbia in Walter Pater's "Studies in the History of the Renaissance" (1890), and another in Mrs. Van Rensselaer's "Six Portraits" (Boston, 1889).
Mrs. Oliphant has written pleasantly both of Donatello and of Luca della Robbia in "The Makers of Florence."
Frontispiece.Il Marzocco(the heraldic lion of Florence). (Donatello.) Made of pietra serena and originally placed on theringhieraof the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence. Now in the National Museum (Bargello) of that city, while a bronze copy occupies its place in front of the palace.
1.Musical Angels.(Donatello.) Bronze bas-reliefs from the high altar of S. Antonio, Padua. Ordered in 1448. Completed in 1450. Marcel Reymond holds that the execution of these reliefs was committed to assistants. In 1576 a new altar was ordered, and Donatello's bronzes were dispersed. In 1895 a reconstruction of Donatello's altar was made, setting the parts in place according to what is supposed to have been the original design.
2.St. Philip.(Nanni di Banco.) Marble statue in niche on outside of Or San Michele, Florence. The date is uncertain; Marcel Reymond considers it one of Nanni's oldest works, placing it before 1408.
3.St. John the Baptist.(Donatello.) Bas-relief in pietra serena in the National Museum (Bargello), Florence. No date is assigned.
4.The Infant Jesus and St. John.(Mino da Fiesole.) Detail of marble altarpiece in alto relievo in cathedral of Fiesole, being a part of the monument of Bishop Salutati. Ordered in 1462.
5.Boys with Cymbals.(Lucca della Robbia.) One of the marble bas-reliefs ornamenting the organ gallery for the Florence cathedral. Organ gallery begun in 1431, finished 1440. Removed from cathedral in 1688. Reliefs put in Uffizi Gallery 1882, and then in the Bargello. Thence taken to the museum of the Duomo, where they are now to be seen, set up in place on the reconstructed gallery.
6.Tomb of Ilaria del Carretto (Detail).(Jacopo della Quercia.) Marble tomb in the cathedral of Lucca. Milanese dates it 1413, but Ridolfi's description of the Lucca cathedral places Jacopo's work there in 1406 or 1407, and Müntz thinks this date conclusive.
7.Madonna and Child (Detail).(Luca della Robbia.) Glazed terra cotta lunette over the door of a building(now a shop) in the Via dell' Agnolo, Florence. Considered by Marcel Reymond the most difficult of Luca's work to date. According to Dr. Bode, executed before 1431; according to Allan Marquand, between 1430 and 1440; according to Marcel Reymond, towards 1450.
8.Meeting of St. Francis and St. Dominick.(Andrea della Robbia.) Glazed terra cotta lunette in the Loggia of San Paolo, Florence. Classified by Marcel Reymond under Andrea's third manner, because distinguished by perfect knowledge of artistic principles.
9.St. George.(Donatello.) Marble statue originally designed for a niche on the church of Or San Michele, Florence. Executed in 1416 at the order of the Guild of Armorers. In 1887 it was removed to the National Museum, Florence, to preserve it from injury by exposure to the weather. A bronze copy was substituted for it on the church.
10.Bambino.(Andrea della Robbia.) One of a series of glazed terra cotta medallions on the façade of the Foundling Hospital, Florence. Judged by its relation to the art of Luca della Robbia, this is among the early works of Andrea. From certain data in the history of the hospital, Cavalucci reckons that it was executed about the year 1463.
11.The Annunciation.(Andrea della Robbia.) Altarpiece at La Verna. Marcel Reymond says that from the beauty of style and the advanced knowledge of technique exhibited here, this work must belong to Andrea's maturity, that is, in the neighborhood of his fortieth year. It is classified by Reymond in Andrea's "first manner."
12.The Ascension.(Luca della Robbia.) Enamelled terra cotta lunette, decorating tympanum of door of sacristy in the cathedral at Florence. The first work in this material by Luca of which we have the date, 1446.
13.Tomb of the Cardinal of Portugal (Detail).(Antonio Rossellino.) Tomb in colored marble in the church of San Miniato, Florence. Ordered in 1461.
14.Equestrian statue of Gattamelata.(Donatello.) In the Piazza del Santo, Padua. Commission given 1444. Work begun 1446. Statue set up, 1453. Erected at the expense of Gattamelata's son, Gio. Antonio.
15.Shrine.(Mino da Fiesole.) A marble tabernacle, decorated in mezzo-relievo and originally made for the nuns of the convent of the Murate. Removed in 1815 to S. Croce, Florence. No date is assigned to it.
Jacopo di Pietro d'Angelo, of La Quercia Gossa, a castello once near Siena and since destroyed. Born 1371; died 1438. Variously stated to have been a scholar of Maestro Goro and of Luca di Giovanni. Milanese believes that these claims are groundless, and that Jacopo was a pupil of his own father, who was a goldsmith. Best known for his marble reliefs ornamenting the portal of S. Petronio, Bologna.
Nanni di Banco.Son of Antonio di Banco, who was at work in the Florence Cathedral in 1406. He is known to have been considerably older than Donatello, and Marcel Reymond suggests the date 1374 as the probable year of his birth. Died 1421.
Donatello.The familiar name applied to Donato di Niccolò di Betti Bardi. Born in Florence, 1386; died in Florence, 1466. His visit to Rome in company with Brunelleschi has been called the most important of the initial steps in the revival of antiquity in art. The friendship and patronage of Cosmo de' Medici brought the artist many commissions.
Luca di Simone di Marco della Robbia.Born in Florence, 1399 or 1400; died 1482.
Andrea della Robbia, nephew of Luca. Born 1435; died 1525.
Antonio Rossellino.One of the five sons of Matteo di Domenico Gambarelli, all being artists. Born in Settignano in 1427; died about 1499.
Mino di Giovanni di Mino, usually calledMino da Fiesole. Born in 1431 in Poppi, in the Casentino, a district between the sources of the Arno and Tiber, north of Arezzo. Died in 1484. He was a friend of Desiderio da Settignano, but probably not one of his pupils.
In the western part of Italy, lying a little north of the centre, is the district known as Tuscany. Here, in the valley of the Arno, is the city of Florence, glorious with her storied palaces and churches. Around her are clustered Pistoja and Lucca, Pisa and Leghorn, Siena and Arezzo, all notable towns in Italian history. Here, too, is Carrara, with its stores of beautiful marble.
It was from this little district of Tuscany that the sculptors came forth who have helped to make Italy famous as the birthplace of modern art. The development of Tuscan sculpture covered a period of some three centuries, beginning with the Pisan Niccolò, who worked between the years 1220 and 1270, and culminating with the great Florentine Michelangelo, who died in 1564. We shall study in this little collection a few works of the fifteenth century.
It was the time called by historians the Renaissance, which means literally "the new birth." The world was awakening from the long sleep of the Middle Ages, and Italy was the first to be aroused. Certain adventurous spirits began to ponder thepossibility of a new continent beyond the sea. There was a great revival of learning, accompanied by a passionate love of the beautiful. Schools of art were established throughout the length of Italy.
In other volumes of this series we have learned how the churches, palaces, and public buildings were filled with paintings.[3]We shall now see that sculpture also contributed much to the adornment of the cities. Statues, busts, and bas-reliefs, in marble, bronze, and terra-cotta, ornamented many buildings both without and within.
Our illustration shows two panels from the series of twelve bronze reliefs on the front of a church altar. Two little boy angels are making music with their pipes. The companion panels are also filled with musical angels, some singing and others playing on various instruments.
The New Testament begins and ends with the music of angels. The birth of Jesus is heralded by a multitude of the heavenly host singing "Glory to God in the highest." The golden city of St. John's vision is filled with "the voice of harpers, harping with their harps," in the new song before the throne of God. Thence has arisen the beautiful custom of artists to represent angels as musicians.
The child angels of our picture have tiny pointed wings as a sign of their heavenly origin. Certainly we cannot imagine such buoyant little creatures treading the earth like mortals. One stands on tip-toe like a bird poised for flight. The other skips through the air with joyous motion. The head of one is encircled by a halo, the emblem of purity. The other wears a fillet of flowers over his curls. Each carries two little pipes, the simplest of musical instruments.
Musical Angels (Donatello)Naya, photo.John Andrew & Son, Sc.MUSICAL ANGELS (DONATELLO)Church of San Antonio, Padua
It was long ago in the childhood of the race that some shepherd, plucking a reed from the bank of a stream, first found that the hollow stem had a voice of its own. The pipe thereafter became a favorite instrument among primitive people. We read in the Old Testament Scriptures that the ancient Hebrews used it in the celebration of their festivities. At the Greek festivals also the pipers had a place in the procession of musicians.
Our angel pipers are blowing lustily with puffing cheeks--
"Such sweetSoft notes as yet musician's cunningNever gave the enraptured air."
"Such sweetSoft notes as yet musician's cunningNever gave the enraptured air."
They are genuine musicians, not children playing with the pipes as with toys. They move to the rhythm of their piping, their lifted faces expressing their delight. Their thin garments cling to their figures, and the loose ends flutter about them.
Every line of the modelling is beautiful, the poise of the figures full of rhythmic grace. The angel at the left stands in profile, with face slightly turned away from the spectator. The right hand figure skips directly out of his panel, swinging lithely about towards the left, as he moves. The outlines of both figures describe long fine curves, with whichthe edges of the drapery run parallel. In the drawing of the right hand angel we may trace delicate patterns of interlacing ovals.
Some portions of the work seem to be modelled in very high relief. The limbs, we are told, are in low relief, supported on a metal back, an inch or so thick, by which they are thrown out to a proper distance from the background.
The altar to which our panels belong is in the church of S. Antonio, Padua, and was executed by the Florentine sculptor, Donatello, in 1450. The entire scheme of decoration is very elaborate. On the front is a row of musical angels, in which the panels here reproduced occupy opposite ends. Above these are five reliefs of larger size; and still higher are seven life-size statues of saints. The whole is surmounted by a crucifix. Even the back of the altar is ornamented with reliefs, and the work is an example of the spirit of the age, which thought nothing too rich or beautiful for the purposes of worship.
[3]SeeRaphael,Michelangelo,Titian, andCorreggio.
[3]SeeRaphael,Michelangelo,Titian, andCorreggio.
St. Philip was one of the first group of disciples whom Jesus called to his service. He was a native of Bethsaida in Galilee, but we do not know what occupation he pursued there. There is a tradition that he was a chariot driver, and in any case he was certainly a laboring man like all of the twelve. Having attached himself to Jesus he began at once to work in his cause. He persuaded Nathanael to come and see the Master, and thereby won a new adherent.[4]
Philip was not spiritually minded, like John, nor impetuous, like Peter, but in his own way he wanted to know the truth. Perhaps he was a little slower than others to grasp religious teaching. It may be that he was franker than many in confessing that he did not understand.
He and Thomas were somewhat alike in this respect, and once, when Jesus was talking of departing to the Heavenly Father, both interrupted him with questions. Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and it sufficeth us." "Have I been so long timewith you and yet hast thou not known me?" replied Jesus. "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father."[5]
Apparently Philip learned his lesson well, for we read in traditional history of his faithful missionary services in later life. He was twenty years in Scythia preaching the gospel. Then he went to Hieropolis in Phrygia, where the people worshipped a serpent. The apostle drove the serpent away, but the pagan priests sought his life in revenge. He was bound to a cross and stoned to death, praying even in his agony for his enemies.[6]
The statue of St. Philip in our illustration shows him as a somewhat commonplace-looking man with heavy features. It accords with the usual account of him that his face should not be particularly intellectual. His attitude is full of dignity, and denotes a well-balanced character. The large well-knit hands are those of an artisan. He is of about middle age, as the artists usually represent him. A plain man of good common sense and sterling worth--this was Philip both in fact and in the statue.
In pictures and statues the apostles nearly always carry the symbols of their identity. St. Philip's emblem is the cross, but it is here dispensed with, and we have only the Latin inscription to show us who he is.