Fine Arts

Introduction

Art is the flower of civilization, the ornament of life.

Although the artistic instinct may be said to be innate in man, although the feeling for the beautiful is deeply implanted in our nature, still it does not come forth to light until the requirements of the body have been satisfied; for want gives the death-blow to art, which can only attain its full development when the mind is free from care. So long as nations are occupied in securing their material well-being, we find among them only those rude forms which seem sufficient to meet the immediate demands of security and comfort; and it is not till a later period that we find the sense of the beautiful making its existence practically manifest, by joining the agreeable to the useful, and the ornamental to the necessary.

Art rises with the mental cultivation of a people; and in its productions the character, disposition, and degree of civilization of a people are accurately reflected. An effeminate sensual people are strangers to vigorous forms in their works of art; and with the decline of scientific cultivation, art also declines.

Before proceeding to perform the task we have undertaken in this treatise, that of giving a brief history of the Fine Arts in all times and among the principal nations of the earth, we must premise a few words on the meaning of the term art, and the accessory notions connected therewith.

By the term art in general, we understand that species of activity whereby something internal and spiritual is brought forth into the visible world, or in other words the power of representation. The essence of art then, as such, consists in this, that its design is only to represent; and thereby it distinguishes itself from all other, viz. from practical pursuits, which are constantly directed to the attainment of some end in external life. This, too, is what distinguishes art from a trade or handicraft. A handicraft sets an object before us as practically useful; art adorns it and renders it more agreeable to the eye.

The external object or object to be represented in art is a sensible form, whether created by the fancy or borrowed from external nature. But as even corporeal seeing, and in a far higher degree mental, artistic seeing, is an operation of the fancy, we must regard the latter as the principal condition of artistic representation. Thus the painter properly paints with his eyes; and his art is, to see regularly and beautifully. To creation, or the power of seeing, must be joined as a subordinate one the power of representing the form in a material, that of execution.

That which is represented, the mental conception, whose expression is what properly constitutes an artistic form, we call a work of art. It is an idea of a particular sort which at the same time is combined with a powerful and lively feeling of the soul; so that sometimes both idea and feeling are united in a spiritual condition, while at others the idea becomes more prominent, although in the adoption of the form properly so called the feeling always predominates.

By the laws of art we mean nothing more than the conditions under which the faculty of feeling of the human soul can be excited to beneficial action by means of external impressions; and they determine the artistic form, in accordance with the demands of the feelings. But first of all the artistic form must possess a general regularity, which results from the observance of mathematical relations or of organic forms of life, and institutes the limits within which the artistic forms move. This, for instance, in statuary, is the relation borne by the organic fundamental forms to the particular plastic figure.

After regularity, beauty is the next requisite of the artistic form in reference to the feelings; and we call beautiful those forms which cause the soul to feel in a manner which is truly beneficial and salutary, and entirely suited to its nature; in other words, which make it vibrate naturally. The highest beauty stands in opposition to the endeavor to represent something peculiar; wherefore Winckelmann says, that perfect beauty must be as void of peculiarity as the purest water.

The two extreme points in the chain of sensations are the sublime and the pleasing. The former requires of the soul an energy raised to its utmost limits; while the latter, without any stirring up of its powers, draws the soul of itself into a circle of salutary sensations. Moreover every work of art must possess a unity to which everything in it bears reference, and by virtue of which its various parts are so held together, that the one as it were demands and renders necessary the other.

The divisions of art are founded on the nature of the form under which its representations are produced. All forms that possess a certain regularity are adapted to the purposes of art, particularly mathematical forms, on which the nature of bodies and of their systems depends, and organic forms, in which life on our earth attains to a wider and higher development. The more obscure and undeveloped the idea to be embodied in a work of art, the better adapted for the purpose are mathematical forms; but the clearer the idea, the more recourse is had to the forms of organized nature for its expression.

Every form presupposes magnitude, and it is in the nature of this magnitude that each several art originates. If the magnitude be one of time, we then have music and eloquence; for tone is ever a magnitude of time. To these arts, taken in a wide sense, belong also Orchestrics or the art of dancing, which to time adds space, and to the extent of the motion the manner which it is performed; for man can effect a representation in space and time only by the motion of his own body. The arts which represent in space alone, those of design, make use either of geometric or of organic forms.

Geometric forms may certainly be the object of art properly so called, since they may be elaborated according to the rules of art, and thus are produced utensils, vessels, dwellings, and places of assembly. This branch of the fine arts is called Tectonics, and its highest grade of development Architectonics; its peculiar character results from adaptedness to a purpose combined with artistic representation. But those arts which have to do with organic forms, are essentially imitative and are based on studies of nature. They are: 1, Plastics or Sculpture, by which the forms themselves are presented corporeally; and, 2, Design or Graphics, which present on a surface, by the use of light and shade, a semblance of corporeal forms. The aid of color may be resorted to in both these arts; but in plastics its use becomes less advantageous as there is an endeavor to imitate nature, and under such circumstances the want of actual life makes itself so much the more sensibly and unpleasantly felt. This too is the reason of the unfavorable and almost repulsive effect produced on most persons by a collection of wax figures. When color is combined with graphics, it raises this art to the dignity of Painting. As sound arises from vibrations of the air, so color, according to Euler, is produced by vibrations of the luminous æther, and consequently has in its effects and laws a strong resemblance to sound. While sculpture exhibits all organic forms with the utmost completeness, leaving nothing undefined, painting contents itself with the effects of light and mere appearance; but on the other hand it can make use of a far greater number of forms than sculpture, which in this respect is tolerably limited. Bas-relief forms a connecting link between sculpture and painting. The ancients treat it more in the manner of sculpture, the moderns more in that of painting.

The pursuit and practice of art is either national or individual, according as it results from the mental activity of an entire people or of a single person, and is characterized by the peculiar habits and idiosyncrasy of such people or person. This character we call style, and as there is an Egyptian or Grecian style, so too there is a style of Phidias or Praxiteles when the idiosyncrasy of the individual artist is powerful enough to characterize his entire productions. Manner, on the contrary, is a vicious intermixture of the personal with the artistic, arising either from habit or from a morbid tendency of the feelings, in consequence of which the form, without regard to the requirements of the subject, is constantly modified in a similar manner.

Art stands everywhere in a special connexion with religious life, with the ideas entertained of the Deity; inasmuch as religion opens to mankind a spiritual world which, although it does not appear externally, yet requires an external representation, which is found for it under one shape or another in art; and a religion is found to be artistic and plastic in proportion as its ideas are susceptible of representation in the forms of the organic world. If art is compelled first to search out or invent forms for the representation of the Deity, it takes a mystical direction, as for instance was the case with the animal symbols of the Grecian divinities, and then he alone whose mind is penetrated with the special feeling and belief can discern the divine life in the animal.

As architecture has been handled sufficiently at length in another Division of this work, the subjects which remain for us to treat of here are Plastics or Sculpture, Painting, and Music. Each of these we will take up separately, combining our remarks on the art itself with the history of the same.

Sculpture, or the Plastic Art

The art of representing the objects of organic nature in all sorts of materials, as clay, stone, metal, wax, &c., in such a manner as to be perceived by the sense of feeling, is called sculpture, or, as mallet and chisel are not always used in it, the plastic art; and to this is always reckoned by way of exception that part of tectonics which relates to the artistic arrangement of the various articles of furniture, as vases, &c.

Sculpture either represents its objects full-rounded, in all their proportions, so as to be viewed from every side, and then it furnishes the truest copy of nature, or else it presents a half-rounded image, which projects only by a portion of its thickness, either half of it (bas-relief) or somewhat more than half (haut-relief), from the plane surface which both serves as a background, and cements the figures together. We have already remarked that relief forms the connecting link between sculpture and painting. A detail of the processes by which the art of sculpture is carried into practical execution would be out of place here. We will only state that the artist first prepares a model on a reduced scale of the object to be represented, and this he transfers to the block by gradually removing the superfluous parts until the finest details are brought out.

We will now consider the art of sculpture as it has been practised by different nations and at different times.

Non-Classic Antiquity

We reckon as belonging to the nations of non-classic antiquity all those whose civilization and mental culture are older than those of the Greeks and Romans; and consequently, with but few exceptions, those primitive nations of whose mental cultivation it is true we possess relics, but whose writings have either wholly or for the most part perished.

The Hindoos

The people among whom we find the earliest traces of mental cultivation are the natives of India, the easternmost branch of the Caucasian race; and that they are gifted with great powers of mind is evinced by their possession of a highly elaborated language, a religious system skilfully wrought out, and poetry teeming with imagination and fancy. Still they were not fitted for the successful cultivation of the plastic art in an original manner. The quiet contemplative spirit of ancient and the luxurious fancy of later times found in the existing forms of nature no expression for the shapes to which imagination gave birth; and hence we meet among them with only supernatural and chimerical images of deities. And although our wonder is excited at the perseverance of Indian artificers in excavating their grotto temples, and in hewing out entire mountains, still we miss that guiding spirit which might have regulated and used such great industry and such an enormous expenditure of power to the attainment of magnificent results. We have had occasion in an earlier part of this work to express our sentiments in full with respect to Hindoo architecture; but in the sculptures of India, i. e. in the high and low reliefs which adorn the walls of the rock temples, and which, in addition to their images of the gods, also represent scenes from the heroic and legendary ages, we miss both the guiding spirit and that strictness of system which characterize an art that has long been cultivated on a native basis. Hence while the Indian sculptures surpass those of Egypt, of which we shall soon speak, in naturalness of position and freedom of movement, they must yield to the latter in strictness of drawing and the regular disposition of the figures. In the expression of characteristic distinctions of the bodily form of the different personages little seems to have been accomplished, as appears for instance from the relief on the facade of the sanctuary in the grotto temple at Kenneri (pl. 1, fig. 4); and everywhere the attributes are represented by the dress, the coloring, or by monstrous appendages. The greatest amount of skill is shown in the representation of female figures, as e. g. the image of Lakshmi from the pagoda of Bangalore (pl. 2, fig. 14), and another from the grotto temple of Rama in Isura (fig. 15). Nevertheless in the accumulation of attributes, the combination of figures with many limbs, as e. g. in the Trimuti on the bas-relief in the grotto temple of Elephanta (pl. 1, fig. 2) and the relief from the grotto temple of Wisua Karmah at Ellora (fig. 3), the constrained postures, and the striving after ornament (see the head-dress of the Trimurti, fig. 2), the art of ancient India, as exhibited in the rock-hewn temples, is on the whole very moderate, when compared with the monstrosities of many modem Indian idols and paintings.

The Medes and Persians

The architecture of the Medes and Persians has already been discussed in its appropriate place. Of the remains of their sculpture but little has hitherto been known; but great light has been thrown on their progress in this art by the recent explorations in Nineveh. Most of the plastic monuments discovered are reliefs, in which the principal figure is usually a king or a hero (see the relief from the ruins of Persepolis, pl. 1, fig. 1), who is clothed in a richly embroidered tunic, with an upper garment and a tiara, and usually followed by two figures similarly dressed; or who is represented fighting, seated at table, holding his court, &c. Frequently too he appears holding a staff as a sceptre, and with a retinue of canopy-bearers and eunuchs behind him (pl. 2, fig. 18). In battle a figure, probably a guardian deity, frequently stands behind him holding a defensive weapon over his head (fig. 19), or he is followed simply by a shield-bearer (fig. 17) with a peculiar head-dress (fig. 16). Female figures are rarely seen, but often those of animals, as lions, horses, and bulls, the latter also with human faces. Several reliefs represent sieges, fortresses, &c. The skill shown in the drawing of the bodies, the delineation of the hair, &c., is highly praised.

The ruins of Persepolis, from which the above cited reliefs are taken, exhibit a great quantity of architecture adorned with sculptures. Strange symbolical forms of beasts executed in high relief stand as royal insignia at the entrances; and similar ones are frequently made use of for architectonic purposes. Among the principal figures are the unicorn with and without wings and an enigmatical beast with a royal head-dress, also the griffin and the lion. Groups in which a mythological hero vanquishes a monster of this kind are frequently represented in relief very remarkable are the reliefs on the grand stairway in the ruins of Persepolis, where the provinces of the kingdom are represented bringing the yearly presents to the king. The costumes are characteristic. The noblest, that worn by the king himself, is the Median dress, the stola of the Magians. To the ordinary belongs the coat with empty sleeves, the Persian kandys, resembling the Hungarian pelisse. Among head-dresses are the tiara with side-ribands, such as is worn by the king (fig. 19), the kidaris, and the kyrbasia (fig. 17). A peculiar covering for the head is represented in the Numidian half-bust (fig. 13).

The circle of the plastic arts with respect to mythology is among the Persians very limited, and we find only the image of Ormuzd, a half-figure hovering in the air and ending below in wings, together with the symbolical animal; all else belongs to historical representation. Strict propriety demands everywhere careful clothing and majestic movement, which even in combat with monsters is not disturbed; to the same reason is to be attributed the entire absence of female figures. The folds of the garments are regular throughout, and the hair is very carefully treated. The drawing is executed with firmness and precision; the features bear a dignified impress, together with the stamp of nationality; the postures and gestures present a pleasing variety, and even the figures of animals are grandly and vigorously sketched. The work in the very hard stone is everywhere neatly executed, and the treatment of the reliefs is peculiar. Although Grecian artists worked for the Persians (Pliny names e. g. Telephanes), still in everything there is manifested a native style of art the result of centuries of cultivation.

The Babylonians and Phœnicians

The Babylonians, early brought together under monarchies and favored by the protected situation of their low-lying river-land, began at a very remote period to erect buildings of importance; and this of course was accompanied by the cultivation of the plastic arts, although sculpture properly so called never attained a very high point of excellence among them. We meet most frequently with reliefs which were impressed in the clay before it was burnt and then coated with various colored varnish, and also statues of deities made of wood and plated with gold or silver. Works regularly sculptured in stone are hardly ever found, as the material had to be brought from a great distance, and even wood, excepting that of the palm-tree, was scarce. The statues of the gods, however, were made of a colossal size; for Herodotus mentions the image of Belus which cost 800 talents of gold, and another image 24 feet in height. Diodorus informs us that they made brazen statues of their kings. Daniel, too, set up stone images; but these belong to a later period, and probably were also of burnt clay.

Still many engraved stones are found which were executed by the Babylonians; and Herodotus says that every Babylonian had his signet. These stones are cylinders of chalcedony, hematite, agate, &c., and the figures engraved on them are for the most part representations of the principal gods of the Babylonish religion. The style of these productions is very various, but mostly resembles the Persian.

The Phœnicians thought less of indestructible than of ornamental works of art; their temples were usually very rude, and the wooden walls were very often plated with gold. Sculptured work among them attained to no great excellence, and statues of stone were very rare. Nor can cast statues be shown to have existed among the Phœnicians, although they were not unacquainted with the art of brass-founding, since they cast vessels of elegant and frequently of colossal form. Of the sculptures of the Phœnicians little or nothing has come down to us; but we know, from their coins and engraved stones and from the accounts of the ancients, that the figures of their gods by no means exhibited those characteristic and significant traits which indicate an indigenous school of art. Some gravestones there are, as those in pl. 2, figs. 11, 12, which show as little artistic skill as they do originality of invention. In their figurative representations the Phœnicians often employed combinations of the human form with those of animals, while by means of dwarf-like or shapeless and strangely designed figures they strove to express the mysterious nature of the deity.

The Egyptians

The Egyptians form a distinct branch of the Caucasian race of mankind, elegant and slender in form, and fitted for persevering labor. We find them in the earliest times through the whole extent of the valley of the Nile; and as the country has a peculiar, secluded, and uniform character, so we find the people to have led from a most remote epoch a monotonously regulated and, as it were, petrified life. Their religion had become a very complicated ceremonial worship. The hierarchy and the system of castes made their influence felt in every department of human activity, and each employment was carried on by people who were born to it. We find among the Egyptians the art of writing already in use and brought to great perfection; it consisted first of a monumental writing, the hieroglyphics, some of which have a phonetic value; then the hieratic writing, which appears to have arisen through an abbreviation of the hieroglyphics in transferring them to paper; and the demotic, which is Still further simplified, and approaches nearest to the nature of alphabetical writing. This last was used for legal documents, letters, and all the purposes of ordinary life. Through the knowledge obtained in recent times of these species of writing, and especially of the hieroglyphics, we have been able to determine the age of many monuments, which, as Egyptian art remained unchanged for thousands of years, could hardly been done from their style.

In Egyptian art the following periods are to be distinguished:

1. Before the Syro-Arabian invasion of the Shepherd kings, sixteen dynasties; at the end of which nothing escaped destruction but the pyramids of Memphis, a work of the fourth dynasty. Here fragments of temples are found built in, which show exactly the same style as the later buildings.
2. The period of the native princes, who, starting from the southern border of the kingdom, gradually regained possession of it, and whose glory under Rhamses the Great, Sesostris (1472 b. c.), &c., reached its greatest height. The names Ehamses, Sesostris, Amenophis, Thutmosis, all belonging to the eighteenth dynasty, are found on numberless monuments, and also in Lower Nubia. Thebes was then in the height of its splendor.
3. Egypt under foreign dominion, first Persian, then Greek, and lastly Roman; which, however, produced no essential change in the manners and customs in the interior of the country. It was reserved for Christianity with its direct assaults to break up this mummy-like, dried up, and therefore imperishable Egyptian world.

With respect to locality, the monuments and productions of Egyptian art may be divided into:

1. The Upper Nubian. Here was Meroe, where the dominion of the priesthood survived the longest (270 b. c.). Here are still found considerable ruins and remains of art, but which exhibit the Egyptian style only in its later degenerate stage.
2. The Lower Nubian, which show an affinity to those of Upper Egypt. They are mostly in the form of excavated structures, the Nile Valley being in this portion too narrow to admit of large foundations. According to the hieroglyphic inscriptions, they date from the flourishing period of Thebes; and their for the most part unfinished condition shows that they belong to a transition period. A specimen of such grotto-like constructions is found in the temple of Hathor at Ipsambul (pl. 2, fig. 10). This is the smaller of two monuments, the larger of which is almost wholly buried in the sand. The one here represented is free from sand, and is situated close to the Nile. Before it stand six colossi about 50 feet high, three on each side; in each group the outer figures represent priests and the middle one a priestess. The interior has a statue placed in a niche. The walls are adorned with painted bas-reliefs. Some scholars assert that these two monuments are not temples, but royal tombs or cenotaphs, perhaps for Rhamses the Great.
3. The Upper Egyptian, comprising those of the region above Thebes and of Thebes itself; all of which date from the 18th and 19th dynasties, and together exhibit one and the same powerful and grandiose style.
4. The Middle and Lower Egyptian have been mostly destroyed, partly during the frequent civil wars, and partly in consequence of the rise of new and large cities in their neighborhood. In the Oases also there are found some ancient remains, e. g. a temple of Ammon, the royal citadel, catacombs, &c.

The Egyptians particularly excelled in sculpturing stone; and since the art of sculpture appeared ever among them as the handmaid of architecture, and as the adorner of the works of the latter, it bears, so to speak, a thoroughly architectonic character. Their statues, made for the most part of the hardest species of stone, e. g. granite, syenite, porphyry, basanite, or hard fine-grained sandstone, and the smaller ones of hematite, serpentine, or alabaster, are mostly intended to rest in a standing or sitting posture against pylons, columns, and pillars; for figures standing alone are very rare. They are designed and executed with masterly precision. In the sitting figures (pl. 2, fig. 7) there reign the greatest repose and equilibrium of attitude; the treatment of the standing figures is stiff, and they rarely have much action. The feet are often placed close together (see figs. 1, 2, and 3, from the Capitoline Museum in Rome), the arms are occasionally somewhat elevated. Free and moving postures (like fig. 6) seldom occur. Sometimes the figures place one foot forward, as if to advance (figs. 4 and 5 from the British Museum), but without altering the rigid posture of the body. The principal type of the Egyptian standing figures is represented in fig. 4. The size is often very colossal; for figures are found of from 53 to 60 feet in height, for the transportation of which great multitudes of men were required, as is seen in a relief at Thebes, where a sitting statue is represented in the act of being removed. The forms of these statues are for the most part correct, and by the simple curves of their outlines produce an imposing effect; but their great approximation to geometrical forms produces a want of life and warmth in the conception of the details. The parts of the body are formed after the material type, although based on certain rules of proportion. The forms of the sexes are well distinguished; but a definite character is nowhere exhibited in the images of the gods and kings; they are distinguished only by their attributes and dress, viz. by various head-dresses, and by having the heads of animals, birds, &c., as is shown in the plates to the Egyptian mythology, in another division of this work.

The forms of animals exhibit much more spirit and depth of observation than those of men, a study of nature which displays itself even in their religion. The blending together of the forms of several animals is often very happily executed, though sometimes the effect is rather odd. Rams occur most frequently (fig. 8) though generally with a lion’s claws and tail; also lions, jackals, different kinds of apes, the ibis, and sphinxes. Androsphinxes (fig. 9) are lions with human heads; the largest is that near the pyramids of Gizeh (see Plates Division VII., pl. 6, fig. 6), which is 117 feet in length and 40 feet high, hewn out of the living rock, and had in its breast between its paws the entrance to the great pyramid. Other composite forms of animals consist of the lion and hawk, the lion and urseus with wings, the serpent and vulture, &c. We find here exhibited the striking contrast, that the Egyptians in their combinations most willingly sacrifice the head of the human figure, whereas the Greeks in the same case constantly retain the head: we will instance only the syrens and similar combinations.

The reliefs of the Egyptians are not as successful as their figures; for it is obvious that their artists strove to represent every member of the body as complete as possible. Hence in Egyptian reliefs we often have in the same figure a side view of the head, a front view of the breast, and a side view of the haunches and legs. A front view of the face seldom occurs, in religious reliefs never. In representations connected with religious worship a constant type for the positions was soon established, which perpetually recurs. The action is freer in representations of domestic life and the like; the most awkward are those of battle-scenes, and in general where the subject demands figures on various levels and consequently a perspective arrangement. The Egyptian reliefs seldom project from the level surface of the wall but mostly from fields which have been hollowed out (koilanaglyphs, reliefs en creux).

In addition to the works of sculpture, we must here also mention, as a department of Egyptian art, their works in burnt clay. These exhibit many excellent productions, consisting partly of vessels, to which the so-called canopuses belong, and partly of small figures coated with a colored enamel and mostly very well designed. So too the well known scarabsei, amulets worn on a string round the neck, and which are very often found between the bandages of mummies, frequently consist of burnt clay, although many are of carved stones (amethyst, jasper, lapis lazuli, &c.). Sculptures in metal are rare; on the other hand the Egyptians were able to carve beautifully in wood, although of this latter material there was no great abundance. The sarcophagi of the mummies exhibit many specimens of these branches of art.

If in conclusion we take a retrospective glance at the objects chiefly represented, and the manner of their representation, we find that the Egyptians were wholly destitute of the impulse to represent that which fills and moves the soul because it is beautiful; on the contrary, all their representations, excepting the figures of their gods, are purely historical, are as it were memories carved in stone, on which account even their sculpture is for the most part accompanied by hieroglyphic inscriptions. The gods never appear in action, but all the reliefs relate exclusively to their worship. To the kings the artists have given as far as possible a portrait likeness; and in the battle scenes the closest accuracy is observed, which extends even to the number of the enemy slain and captured, as is also the case with the game in hunting and fishing scenes. In the representations of domestic employments which are often met with in the tombs, respect is always had to the occupations in which the deceased was engaged. The mode of contemplating the world natural to the Egyptians, the reflex of a cold, jejune intellectual life, gave birth to a style of artistic representation which presents the most perfect contrast to the glowing, sensual, and poetic conceptions of the Greeks.

The Etruscans

Although the art of the Etruscans at a somewhat advanced period adopted a good deal from the Greeks, still we find among them at a so much earlier date a tolerably advanced and original style of art, that we are compelled to consider it independently before directing our attention to classical antiquity properly so called.

The Etruscans were an industrious people, of a bold, enterprising spirit; and the structures reared by them, which long before the time of the Romans were equally remarkable for their extent and for the architectural skill displayed in them, are still partially preserved to us in their mighty ruins. It was with the aid of the Etruscans that the Romans began their buildings; Etruscans laid their walls; Etruscans constructed their canals; and the Roman houses were planned after the mode long in use among the Etruscans. The art of constructing arches with stones hewn into a wedge-like shape was also known to and practised by the Etruscans; although most of their walls were of a Cyclopean character, or built of polygonal stones.

The clearest idea of the degree of perfection reached by the plastic arts among the Etruscans is furnished by their works in burnt clay, of which a quantity have come down to us; and although many are formed after the Greek manner, there are many others which exhibit a distinct, well developed native style. Everywhere in them we discern a certain preference for plastic ornament. This preference is displayed in the form of the antefixæ, the acroteria, and the reliefs and statues in the pediments of the temples. The Etruscans even executed colossal figures in burnt clay; witness the quadriga on the Capitoline temple, and the statue of Jupiter in the same, both of which were formed of burnt clay.

Along with this branch of plastics, properly so called, we find that the Etruscans possessed the art of brass-founding; and they had both bronze colossi and little statuettes, many of which have come down to us; and bronze statues, which they knew how to gild, adorned the temples and their pediments. In addition to casting there was practised the art of chasing (toreutics); and this enabled them to produce embossed works in gold and silver, which were among the articles most eagerly sought after even during the most flourishing period of art in Athens and in Rome. Among these we reckon candelabra, goblets, mirrors, shields, chairs, trestles, &c., &c. Carved works in ivory also come from Etruria. The art of sculpturing stone in relief seems not to have been extensively practised; for but few of the extant specimens of that class of sculptures exhibit the careful and firm handling to which we are accustomed in the productions of the flourishing period of Etrurian art. Most of these ancient remains that have been found in the country in recent times belong to a much later and degenerate period of art, probably to the times of the Roman domination. Pl. 1, figs. 7, 8, are fragments of Etruscan sarcophagi; these were usually of alabaster, tufaceous limestone, travertine, and sometimes of burnt clay; and were adorned with bas-reliefs, which mostly pertain to the tragic mythology, and contain many allusions to death and the lower world. Thus for instance, fig. 8 exhibits the Etruscan Mantus, or leader of the dead, armed with a hammer. Other representations of the kind are Mania, the goddesses of the lower world, the Furies, &c. Parting scenes, dying scenes, and funerals, are also frequently represented on such sarcophagi.

Classic Antiquity

The Greeks

1. First Period (previous to 580 b. c.). The Greeks, originally an Egyptian colony, had their seat from remote times in Greece proper, a part of the coast of Asia Minor, and Lower Italy; and there they had fixed dwellings, with temples and citadels, which were mostly founded by the Pelasgi. We still discern the ruins of the cities of Mycenæ, Tiryns, &c., whose origin dates from that period. The climate and the natural scenery of the country contributed to produce a beautiful equilibrium between the sensual and the spiritual in the life of this people; but a long period of development and many favorable circumstances were needed before the innate artistic sense could exhibit itself in external materials as an actually formative art. Yet we find even in the so called heroic period, i. e. in the times succeeding the domination of the Hellenic races, a certain love of splendor evinced in the construction of their houses and in their utensils.

In the period depicted by Homer, great progress had already been made in the decoration of utensils; and works were executed not only in wood, but likewise in the precious and the base metals, and in ivory and amber. The ark of Cypselus, which was sent as an offering by the Cypselidæ, the tyrants of Corinth, to Olympia, stood there in the Herseum (temple of Here), and is famed for its beautiful workmanship. It was pretty large, of an oval form, and made of wood, with figures partly carved out of the wood, and partly of inlaid gold or ivory. These ran round the chest in five rows one above the other, and represented scenes from the heroic epic cycle, which related to the race of the Cypselidæ.

In these times the art of working in metals had also attained to great perfection. The description given by Homer of the shield of Achilles presents us with an elaborate composition consisting of many figures; although it may be suspected that these consisted not of embossed but of inlaid work. The art of casting in metal was invented and perfected in and after the time of Homer. The invention is ascribed to Rhœcus the Samian, a son of Phileas, and his son Theodorus. Rhœcus was an architect and built the Herseum in Samos. His sons Theodorus and Telecles worked with him on the Heraeum, laid the foundation for the temple of Diana in Ephesus, and cast brazen statues. Theodorus, son of Telecles, was not an architect, but confined himself wholly to working in metals. He wrought for King Croesus a great silver vase, set the ring of Polycrates, and made a golden vase for the palace of the king of Persia.

At the same time with casting, Glaucus of Chios invented the art of soldering; and to him also is attributed the art of softening iron and hardening steel. Glaucus was highly celebrated for his works in metal, and there was in the temple at Delphi a very beautiful pedestal to a vase, of his workmanship.

The potter’s art flourished at the same time, especially at Corinth; and very beautiful vessels of pottery were made there by mixing the very fine clay of the place with fine sand. Dibutades, who is said to have invented the art of drawing (or at least the silhouette), was the first, according to Pliny, who mixed ruddle with clay and thus colored it. To him our red crayon is also ascribed.

If now we pass to the art of sculpture properly so called of those times, we find that Homer makes no mention of statues; whence it ensues that only the art of carving in relief had then been invented. The most ancient remains of sculpture that have come down to us, the lions over the gate of My cense, are reliefs, as also a Niobe on a rock of Sipylus, near Magnesia. The principal cause of this circumstance may lie in the then imperfect development of technical skill; but be this as it may, the fancy of the Greeks was then so much occupied in depicting the wonderful and the superhuman, that the hero-myths were more suited to the representations of poetry than of plastics. This we see from the poems of Homer, where the gods constantly appear in gigantic and often in ghost-like forms, that cannot be clearly defined. It is for this reason that the earliest representations of the gods make no claim at all to be considered as images of the deity, but are only symbols, often unhewn stones, stone pillars, wooden posts, &c. Thus for instance in the temple of the Graces at Cyzicus there was a triangular pillar, which Athene herself had presented as a first work of art; the Hero at Argos was a stone pillar, the Athene at Lingus a smooth log, and the Dionysius at Thebes a pillar encircled with a garland of ivy. Afterwards, in order to image the deity more precisely, attributes were added, and at last arms which held these attributes. In this manner arose the terminal statues or Hermæ, which long remained the only mode of representing the gods.

The wood-carvers first ventured to make entire images of the gods when the attributes rendered the whole figure necessary; and such images, as e. g. the Ionic Palladium, were then regarded as of the most sacred character. The feet, according to the simplest manner, were not separated, and the eyes were indicated by a stroke. Afterwards a walking attitude was given to the statues, and eyes slightly opened; but the hands, when they had nothing to bear, hung close against the sides. In the last century of this period metal statues of the gods first made their appearance.

2. Second Period (580–460 b. c.). With the increasing wealth of the Greeks and their constantly extending relations, there were introduced among the people a greater degree of refinement and a more highly cultivated taste for art; gymnastic games and pantomimic representations had reached their most flourishing, state about the 50th Olympiad, and excited a lively enthusiasm for the beautiful and the significant in the human figure. The athletæ first directed attention to a closer study of nature, and artists exerted themselves to celebrate distinguished combatants by portraits and statues: the perfection thus attained was of course transferred to the representations of gods and heroes. Here also the best works were executed in relief; and we find in the figures of the gods on the dedicatory craters and tripods spirited representations of the human form. These figures already exhibit both character and expression. Nevertheless the type originally adopted was departed from only by degrees. The pious regard for ancient usage was extended even to the material; though gradually the practice was introduced of putting a head or arms of marble, ivory, or gold upon the wooden body, until at last they went so far as to employ the art of casting in metals for the representation of the deities in their temples.

During this period the gods were represented as sitting enthroned, or in some other quiet and fixed posture; no attempt is made to charm; the limbs are powerful, the expression stiff and grave, and the colossal statues of the gods frequently have smaller inferior deities, which indicate their character, or other sacred objects, placed upon their outstretched hand.

Of a precisely similar character were the mythological groups which served to adorn the gable fields, the friezes, metopes, and acroteria of the temples; and these ornaments had reference either to the deity to whom the temple was dedicated or to the family legends of the dedicator. The sculptures on the temples of Ægina, of Selinuntise, and from the ruins of Xanthus may be considered as forming the limits of this period. The sculptures discovered in the year 1823 near the middle temple of the acropolis of Selinuntise, and now in Palermo, are metopes of a Doric temple, wrought in tufaceous limestone, and are 4 feet 9\(\frac{1}{2}\) inches high, and 3 feet 6\(\frac{1}{2}\) inches broad; they belong to the very earliest period of art. They exhibit traces of having been painted, as is everywhere observed in the architecture of Selinuntise. One of these metopes, which we have copied in pl. 1, fig. 12, represents Hercules carrying off the captured Cercopes suspended from a pole. Hercules is naked; yet there are traces which show that on the body was fastened a lion’s skin of gilded bronze. Another metope found there represents Perseus with the cap and winged shoes of Hermes, Athene in the peplus, and Medusa with Pegasus. From other sculptures of a frieze in the cella, as of a goddess transfixing a warrior, the torso of a dying warrior, &c., we have selected the mask of a figure (fig. 6).

The Æginetan sculptures were discovered by several Germans, Danes, and Englishmen in the year 1811; they were restored by Thorwaldsen and transported to Munich, where a separate apartment was appropriated to them in the Glyptothek. They formed two corresponding groups in the fields of the two gables of the temple of Athene in Ægina; the western group is the most complete, although the figures of the eastern group are somewhat better executed and of a larger size. Athene heads the combat of the Æacidæ or Æginetic heroes against Troy: in the western group, the battle is around the body of Patroclus; and in the eastern group, about that of Oicles, who, as companion in arms of Hercules against Laomedon, was slain by the Trojans. Of these sculptures we have given fig. 10, Athene, fig. 11, an archer, Paris, and fig. 9, a heavy-armed warrior, Hercules; and in fig. 5 is given the head of another warrior. Gilded bronze was here and there fastened on to the marble, as is shown by many holes still existing in the statues, from which the position of the weapons attached to them can be made out. The hair also was partly made of wire fixed on the heads of the figures. On the weapons, the dresses, the pupils of the eyes, and the lips, but not on the other parts of the body, traces of color are found. The arrangement of the groups is simple and architecturally symmetrical, being adapted to the shape of the gables.

These sculptures have their counterpart in those of a large tomb discovered by Fellows in the year 1838, at Xanthus; which must necessarily be as old if not older than those of Ægina, since Xanthus was taken and destroyed by Harpagos in the third year of the 58th Olympiad. The sculptures of this place are found in five different tombs; but one of them, the largest and best preserved, is the most remarkable. On a base stands a quadrangular tower consisting of a single block of limestone; its top was once surrounded by a frieze, which was about 20 feet from the ground, and above it was a bold cornice with an abacus. The frieze is now in London, and is set up in the British Museum. The figures on it are about 3 feet 6 inches high, and are distributed over three slabs of white marble on either side. The east and west sides are 8 feet 4 inches long, the north and south sides somewhat shorter. On the west, which is the principal side (pl. 1, fig. 14), the frieze is interrupted by a small doorway, over which is represented a cow suckling her calf. This opening leads into a chamber 7\(\frac{1}{2}\) feet high, and doubtless was intended not for entering the monument but for placing within it a cinerary urn, or something of the sort. The style of art exhibited in these sculptures is purely Greek, and several of the figures are found repeated with great similarity on other monuments. This renders more striking the dissimilarity in the religious rites, the deities, and their attributes which they represent. The compositions of the four sides stand in evident connexion with each other. On one side, the western (fig. 14), appear Demeter and Cora, the former with a patera, the younger figure with a pomegranate and a flower. Before her stand the three Horæ or Charites, the middle one with a pomegranate, the hindmost one with an egg. The other three sides (the northern is depicted fig. 13) are occupied in the middle by three gods sitting enthroned, with staves in their hands, and wearing wide-sleeved garments and mantles; two of them are bearded, but the third, although also old, is without a beard. These three gods may be Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto, as appears from their attributes, which are a quadruped that looks like a bear, a triton on the throne of the second, and a pomegranate in the hand of the third. To these three gods a family appear to be making offerings: the man in armor presents a helmet, the woman a dove, and the child a cock and a pomegranate. The child is represented on the long eastern side; on which there are also two female figures and a man with a staff and a dog. On the northern and southern sides there is placed on each side of the main group a harpy carrying off a young girl. While these accessories are perfectly suitable and intelligible as sepulchral designs, the main groups seem incapable of explanation with reference to the native mythology and symbolism. Of colored ornament nothing is perceived besides the blue ground, except a little red on the peak of the helmet, and also on the edge of the plinth and on the throne.

If we now cast a glance at the style of art at this period, we find that the forms of the body are excessively muscular, the joints and sinews exceedingly prominent, and the contours consequently hard and trenchant. This very boldness in design led to that truth to nature which has been so much admired in the sculptures of Ægina for instance; still the proportions are short and somewhat stumpy. The gestures are rather violent, although along with great animation there is always a certain stiffness, something abrupt and angular. On the other hand a great deal of delicacy is exhibited in the neatly and regularly folded garments; the nicely braided, wire-like curling, and symmetrically arranged hair; in the peculiar position of the fingers constantly observed in taking hold of sceptres or staves, and with female figures in holding up their dresses; in the gliding movement on the extremities of the feet; and in numerous other particularities. In the shape of the head there reign at this period certain fundamental forms, which owe their origin partly to the ancient imperfection of art and partly to an inelegant conception of the national features, and which became so firmly settled into a type as to be retained even after a persevering study of nature had greatly improved the drawing of the other parts of the body. To this belong (pl. 1, fig. 5) the far retreating forehead, the peaked nose, the mouth drawn in with the corners elevated, the flat elongated eyes, the angular chin, the lank cheeks, and the ears placed very high.

Of the statues of wood of this period nothing has come down to us; and of the works in bronze, with the exception of analogous works in Etruria, only a very ancient stiff bronze figure has been preserved. On the other hand, besides the above mentioned sculptures, there exist a few others which belong to this period. Prominent among these is the statue of Athene in the Dresden collection of antiquities, on whose peplus the Battle of the Giants is represented in relief. There are also a number of reliefs of this period distributed through various museums. Of these we will mention here only the Theft of the Tripod, which was a favorite subject. In Dresden there is a three-footed stand for a tripod, one side of which we have copied in pl. 3, fig. 11. Here the tripod, which on one side of the stand Hercules is represented as stealing and Apollo endeavoring to prevent the theft, has been brought back to the temple and set upon the altar; a priestess is decking it with sacred fillets, and a priest as Neocorus (temple-servant) stands by, holding a broom, the sign of his office. The third side represents the preparation of the altar for giving responses, by a priestess and a priest or soothsayer. To this period also belong the altar of the twelve gods now in Paris, and the decoration for a fountain preserved in the Capitoline Museum. We have copied a portion of it (pl. 3, fig. 10), on which Vulcan, Neptune, Mercury, and Vesta are represented with their attributes. This marble relief is still in very tolerable preservation, and is one of the principal monuments in which we may study the early Greek style.

Remains of the arts of die-cutting and coining have also come down to us from those ancient times. Coins were stamped already under the Argive king Pseido in the eighth Olympiad; but it is not till the period of which we are treating that two-sided coins occur, whereas before only one side was stamped, and the back showed the mark of the support on which it was placed (quadratum incusum). We give as a specimen of the coinage of this period a silver coin of Gela. The obverse side (fig. 22) exhibits the fore part of a bull with a human face, intended no doubt for Bacchus under the form of an animal; the reverse (fig. 23) represents a quadriga, which is crowned by a victory. The obverse bears the Greek inscription ΓΕΑΑΣ, the name of the city to which the coin belongs. Another belonging to this period is an Attic coin, and represents on the obverse (fig. 25) the head of a lion with the fore paws, and on the reverse (fig. 26) a Gorgon’s head with a protruding tongue. Both these coins are of great value for the study of the archaic, or so-called powerful, Grecian style of art. A third coin of this period, likewise of Attic origin, exhibits (fig. 24) a Minerva Polias seated and holding the serpent to which she had intrusted the charge of Erichthonius.

3. Third Period (460–336 b. c.). This period embraces the time from Pericles to Alexander. Athens, which had now become the centre of Greek civilization, arrived rapidly in consequence at the height of a power equal to that ever enjoyed by a city; and the great wealth which the Persian wars had but slightly laid under requisition was at first expended in fortifying Athens, and afterwards in magnificently adorning the city itself; for in this period were erected the temple of Theseus, the Parthenon, the Propylæa, the Odeon, the Theatre, and many other splendid buildings in Athens. With the progress of architecture sculpture naturally kept even pace, and both soon spread over the whole Peloponnesus. The productions of art still exhibited everywhere the repose and severity of the olden period, although more flexibility and grace are observable in the figures. But when, in consequence of the Peloponnesian war, the power of Athens had been undermined, and previously existing ties were dissolved, art also struck out into new paths, and exhibited in its creations more sensibility and passion, a disturbed equilibrium, and an uneasy striving of the soul after external impressions.

In the period of which we are now treating new schools of art were formed, and Calamis and Pythagoras spread their style over all Greece. Although not free from hardness, their works present much to admire, particularly in noble statues of the gods, delicate and graceful women, and fiery steeds. Immediately after these two artists and their pupils arose Phidias, a master, whose fame was so great and whose genius so powerful that the whole host of artists then collected in Athens adopted his ideas. Phidias himself worked chiefly at colossal statues composed of gold and ivory, to the magnificent execution of which an unexampled liberality on the part of the states and a more extended technical knowledge mutually contributed. Here belongs e. g. the colossal statue of Pallas in the Parthenon (pl. 4, fig. 1), which represented a virgin clad in armor, but victorious and ruling in serene majesty. The grandiose simplicity of the principal figures was relieved by rich ornaments on the pedestal, the arms, and even the edge of the sandals. Athene here bore an ægis with a Gorgon’s head; on her helmet was a sphinx executed in full supported by griffins in relief; in her hand a spear; and at her feet a shield, on which her left arm rested, supporting in its hand an image of the goddess of Victory four cubits high. The sacred serpent of Erichthonius coiled itself at the feet of the goddess. On the inside of the shield was represented the Combat of the Giants, and on the outside the Battle of the Amazons. On the edge of the Tyrrhenian sandals was a relief which portrayed the Combat of the Centaurs and Lapithæ.

Besides these statues and other works of the brass-caster’s and metal-worker’s arts, Phidias executed numerous statues of gods and heroes of brass and marble, especially many modifications of the statue of Athene, among which was distinguished the colossal statue of Pallas Promachos, which, standing between the Propylæa and the Parthenon, towered above them both, and was visible far out at sea. This statue was left unfinished at the death of Phidias; and it was not until nearly a generation later that Mys completed, after designs by Parrhasius, the Battle of the Centaurs on the shield and the other chased works with which the molten statue was adorned. Agoracritos and Alcamenes, pupils of Phidias, also executed many statues of the gods, and the Aphrodite of Alcamenes is celebrated. There now exist of the works of the Phidian school only the sculptures that decorated some of the temples of Athens. There are still preserved some of the eighteen sculptured metopes of the temple of Theseus. In the ten metopes towards the east the exploits of Hercules, and in the eight towards the south and north those of Theseus were represented. Besides the sculptures of the temple of Theseus there are also a considerable number of sculptures from the Parthenon. To these belong:

1. The metopes, about 4 feet high, having a projection of about 10 inches. There were 92 tablets in all: 15 from the south side are now in the British Museum, 1 in the Louvre in Paris, besides fragments in Copenhagen; and 32 from the south side were drawn by Carrey, at the order of Count Nointel, the French ambassador to the Porte in the year 1674, when the building, which has since been greatly injured, was still in a tolerable state of preservation.
2. The frieze of the cella, 3\(\frac{1}{2}\) feet high and 528 feet in length, of which about 456 feet are still pretty well known. Of these, besides the plaster casts of the entire west side, there are 53 tablets in the British Museum, and one in the Louvre (pl. 3, fig. 9). Four have only recently been dug up in Athens. The whole represent the procession in the Panathensean festivals. On the west side was seen the preparation for the cavalcade; then in the south and north were seen, in the first half, the cavalry of Athens galloping in bands; next, those who took part in the chariot contest after the procession, accompanied by goddesses of battle as charioteers; and further to the south the aged men and women of the city; in the north were choirs with flute and cither-players, bearers of vessels and offerings (ascophoræ, caneplioræ, hydraphoræ), and furthest in front and on both sides bullocks for sacrifice with their attendants. On the east side are seated, surrounded by virgins who bring the offerings and the presiding magistrates, twelve gods, between whom the priestess of Pallas Polias and the priest of Poseidon Erechtheus form the central group.
3. Statues in the pediments. The pediments are 11\(\frac{1}{2}\) feet high and 94 feet long; the depth of the lower cornice is 2 feet 11\(\frac{1}{2}\) inches. The British Museum possesses nine figures from the eastern pediment, and from the western pediment one figure and five considerable fragments. Carrey’s drawing gives the western pediment almost complete. In the eastern pediment is represented Athene’s first appearance amongst the gods; in the western pediment, Pallas contending with Neptune for the sovereignty of Athens conquers him by causing Erichthonius to harness up the horses which Neptune had made. Here belong the horse’s head (pl. 3, fig. 18) and the animals’ heads (figs. 19 and 20), which however are taken from the frieze.

The influence of the school of Phidias, which had left the early stiffness completely behind it, manifested itself also in the temple sculptures of other parts of Greece, but modified by the genius and taste of other masters and pupils. We may instance the sculptures of the temple in Olympia, which, although freed from the fetters of the early style, are far from having attained the grandeur of the ideal conceptions of Phidias. The reliefs from the friezes of the temple of Apollo Epicurius in Phigalia, which are in the British Museum in an almost perfect state of preservation, represent the Combat of the Centaurs and the Amazons in the sight of Apollo and Diana, and betray in individual groups unmistakable indications of Athenian models. They display in the composition a matchless power of invention and a most lively fancy; nevertheless there appears in them a far less refined feeling for forms, a fondness for excessively violent gestures and incorrect attitudes, a hang of the garments with peculiarly awkward folds almost as if ruffled by the wind, and in the general treatment of the subject itself a harsher character than is to be found in the school of Phidias.

Along with the Attic school there arose under Polycletus that of Sicyon and Argos. Although Polycletus in his colossal statue of Hera in Argos had brought the art of casting and graving to a higher state of perfection, he showed himself far inferior in invention to Phidias in his statues of gods; but the art of modelling statues of athletæ in brass which prevailed in the Peloponnesus was brought by him to the greatest perfection, since here all that was required was to represent the most symmetrical proportions of the youthful body. And hence one of the statues of Polycletus, the Doryphorus, became the canon of proportions of the manly form, which however was then somewhat shorter and stouter than it afterwards became. To Polycletus is also ascribed the establishment of the principle of throwing the weight of the body in a statue principally on one foot; whence resulted the beautiful contrast between the supporting and compressed, and the supported and more developed half of the human body. Under such circumstances it may well have been the case that Polycletus gained the victory over Phidias, Ctesilaus, and others in an artistic contest the subject of which was the representation of an Amazon. The Amazon of Phidias, leaning on a lance and preparing for a charge, is in the Vatican; the wounded Amazon of Ctesilaus (pl. 3, fig. 7) is in the Capitoline Museum: and as both these statues are very beautiful, we may well suppose that of Polycletus to have been of the highest excellence in the representation of these blooming and powerfully developed female forms.

The spirit of art manifested itself still more corporeally in Myron of Eleuthera, whose own personal qualities led him to a vivid conception and representation of the forms of animated nature. His cow, his dog, and other similar productions were exceedingly spirited, and his quoit-pitcher (discobolus), represented in the act of hurling, is shown, by the numberless imitations made of the statue, to have been of the highest perfection. Among mythological forms that of Hercules suited him best, whom he sculptured along with Zeus and Athene in a group for the Samians. His formation of the countenance, however, remained but indifferent; and his stiff treatment of the hair corresponded to that of the earlier brass statuary in the period of the Æginetic sculptures.

His opposites were found in Callimachus and Demetrius. The works of Callimachus were distinguished by an industry that was never contented with its performances, nay he sometimes spoilt them by his too anxious and minute execution of details. He invented the application of the drill to working in marble. Demetrius of Athens on the other hand was the first who in his fac-simile portraits, especially of old people, exhibited a faithfulness which went so far as to copy accurately even accidental defects and blemishes.

After the Peloponnesian war there arose in Athens a new school of art in accordance with the new condition of things in Attica. It was especially through Scopas, a native of Paros, and Praxiteles of Athens, that art first received that tendency to the delineation of the more excitable and tender feelings which corresponded to the frame of men’s minds at that time; although it must be added that these masters united therewith a noble and grand conception of their subjects.

Scopas wrought chiefly in marble, whose milder lustre no doubt seemed to him better adapted to the character of his productions than glittering-brass; most of his statues refer to the myth of Dionysus and Aphrodite. He was the first who represented the Bacchic frenzy in a free and unfettered shape, and his Mænade with wildly flowing hair sculptured in Parian marble was universally celebrated. The ideal of Apollo also owes to him the more graceful and animated form of the Pythian cither-player, which he effected by giving more life and spirit to the figure previously in use. Whether the group of Niobe and her Children in the temple of Apollo Socianus in Rome was the production of Scopas or of Praxiteles, the Roman connoisseurs themselves were unable to determine. At any rate the group manifests an art which loved to represent impressive and agitating subjects, but observed at the same time a moderation and noble reserve which guard against any violation of the feeling for the sublime and beautiful. Unfortunately the group has come down to us in such a fragmentary condition, that it is hardly possible to judge of the composition and design which animated and held together its various parts.

Praxiteles likewise wrought chiefly in marble, and most of his subjects are taken from the myths concerning Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Eros. It was he whose ideal images of Eros represented the perfect beauty and amiability of that boyish age which to the Greeks appeared the most attractive of all; while his nude Venus displayed the utmost luxuriance of charms joined to a spiritual expression which presented the queen of love herself as a woman filled with inward longing and in need of love. Splendid as the works of Praxiteles really are, still in his images of the deities (and to these he almost exclusively confined himself) there appears too prominently, in place of the divine dignity and sovereign might which are found in the works of the older sculptors, the worship of that beauty which charms the senses. This may have been in good measure the result of the artist’s way of life, who lived constantly among the hetseræ. A like spirit pervaded the works of Leochares, whose Ganymede embodied the idea of the favorite of Zeus carried off by the eagle in a manner equally charming and noble. The growing fondness for the delineation of sensual charms manifests itself still more strongly in the hermaphrodite figures, an artistic creation which we probably owe to Polycles. The reclining hermaplirodite of which we have given a copy (pl. 3, fig. 3) is one of the best productions of this class. It is now in Paris, and was formerly in the villa of Borghese. It was discovered in building the church of Maria della Vittoria in Rome, and was presented by the clergy to Cardinal Scipio Borghese, who by way of acknowledgment built for them the facade of their church. Bernini restored it by replacing the left foot, and throwing a piece of drapery over it to cover the joint. The cushions are also by Bernini. There is another hermaphrodite in the Florentine Museum; but both are exact copies of the bronze hermaphrodite of Polycles.

As the first artists of this school still cherished the spirit of Phidias, and only so far departed from it as to endeavor to breathe into their gods and mythic figures an inner spiritual life, so Euphranor and Lysippus showed themselves disciples chiefly of the school of Polycles or of Argos and Sicyon, whose chief aim was the representation of physical beauty and athletic strength. The favorite of Lysippus among the heroes was Hercules; and him he delineated in a new manner, developing with such skill his muscles and limbs, as to serve as a model for all future representations of that hero.

This conception is shown in the Farnese Hercules (pl. 5, figs. 1 and 2), which is a copy of Lysippus by Glycon the Athenian. This colossal statue was found in the baths of Caracalla, under which emperor it was probably brought to Rome. The hand with the apples is new, the legs also were restored by Giuliano della Porta; but when in 1787 the original legs belonging to the statue were found, they were put on again in place of the new ones.

The study of nature was pursued with great zeal at this period along with that of the works of the older masters, and this was the source of many refinements in matters of detail. Thus, for example, Lysippus put on the hair more naturally and with picturesque effect. Artists also bestowed the greatest attention on the study of the proportions of the human figure; and Euphranor (with Xeuxis among the painters) adopted a much slenderer model; this Lysippus was the first to reduce to harmony, after which it became the predominant one in Grecian art. It must be confessed, however, that this system was less the offspring of a warm and intimate appreciation of nature than of a desire to elevate the productions of art above those of actual life. There is also exhibited in the works of the latest artists of this period a strong tendency to the colossal, which became predominant in the subsequent period. The Jupiter of Lysippus at Tarentum was 40 Grecian cubits (about 68 feet) high.

4. Fourth Period (336–146 b. c.). The conquest of Persia by the Greeks gave to Grecian artists many occasions for the display of their skill, while it also communicated a peculiar direction to art itself: as the artists’ sphere of observation was extended, and the wonders of the East excited them to emulate the magnificence and splendor of its works. But as there existed a firmly established style of art developed from a native germ in the different peoples on the one hand, and a strong line of demarcation between the conquerors and the conquered on the other, no hybrid style resulted from this cause, but Grecian art, even when transplanted abroad, remained Grecian still.

Nevertheless we meet with a peculiar phenomenon in this period of art. The external relations of Greece and its connexion with foreign countries had called forth a hitherto unknown fondness for splendor and had thus given a new impetus to the life of art; while the internal and properly creative energy, after the natural Hellenic circle of ideas had been embodied in plastic forms, was brought to the necessity either of pausing in its career or of being artificially spurred on to a new flight. The latter took place in fact; and accordingly we find in the period of which we are now treating a striving after effect, even at the expense of what is truly valuable in art.

In the beginning of this period we find that along with the disciples of Praxiteles the most flourishing was the Sicyonian school, in which brass-casting was practised in the ancient perfection and in a noble style, especially by Euthycrates; but afterwards this art fell into disuse, until it was revived again in Athens towards the end of this period through the study of the older works of art, when the Grecian taste obtained the supremacy in Rome. The school of Rhodes was a branch of that of Sicyon, and Chares of Lindus, a pupil of Lysippus, cast the largest of the hundred colossal statues of the Sun, which was reckoned one of the seven wonders of the world. This colossus, which stood not over but near the harbor, was 70 Grecian cubits high, and was cast in a number of pieces. To this period belongs also most probably the Laocoön (pl. 6, fig. 7), a miracle of art as respects the fine and noble taste displayed in the execution of so difficult a task, but evidently calculated for dazzling effect and the exhibition of skill, and perhaps of a somewhat theatrical character. At all events pathos is carried in this work as high as the nature of the plastic art admits, and especially much higher than it was ventured to carry it in the time of Phidias. The group of Laocoön, who with his two sons is encircled and killed by two serpents, and of which Pliny speaks with great admiration, was found in the year 1506 in the Baths of Titus, and now stands in the Vatican. It consists of six pieces: the right arm is new, and was restored after a model by Giovanni Agnolo; a portion also of the feet is new. The group known by the name of the Farnese Bull, and which in ancient times was much admired and frequently copied, belongs also to this period.

Here too we must mention Pyromachus of Pergamus, who celebrated the victories of Attains I. and Eumenes II. over the Celts by groups of warriors cast in bronze; for to these groups some celebrated statues owe their origin, as the Ephesian sculptors then likewise engaged in the execution of such works. Here belongs in all probability the Dying Gladiator (pl. 5, fig. 5), which was formerly attributed to Ctesilaus, but which the arrangement of the hair, the chain about the neck, and other peculiarities manifestly show to be a Celt. Accordingly we must regard it as a production of Pyromachus. Its affecting character, together with the accurateness of design and the profound study of anatomy which this statue evinces, has made it in all times an especial favorite with artists and connoisseurs.

In Ephesus the three Agasiases were celebrated as sculptors, and we possess from the hands of one of them, the son of Dositheos, the celebrated statue of the Louvre in Paris known by the name of the Borghese Gladiator. That this statue represents a warrior (although Lessing took it for a Chabrias, Mongez for an athlete, Hirt for a foot-ball player, and Quatremere de Quincy for a racer) is certainly the most probable supposition, if we assume that this warrior was engaged in defending himself with spear and shield against the attack of a horseman. This statue probably formed part of a large group by Agasias.

In the cities where the Macedonian rulers resided statues were executed for the temples about this time; but they exhibited little that was new in the way of invention, being for the most part mere copies of celebrated earlier works. Still the custom of glorifying the kings by portrait-statues and busts produced many new and spirited masterpieces, especially since artists carried their flattery so far as to represent the rulers in the form and costume and with the attributes of certain deities. Thus Alexander appeared at one time adorned with the dress and the horns of Zeus Ammon, and at another with the lion’s skin and club of Hercules. Busts of kings, poets, philosophers, orators, &c., were made at this period in countless numbers, and not a few of them have been preserved even to our day. On pl. 3 we have copied some of them, in order to show their style and mode of treatment: of these fig. 12 is a bust of the poet Homer; fig. 13, that of the philosopher Periander; and fig. 15, that of Thales of Miletus. We have given in fig. 14 the bust of Theophrastus, and in fig. 17 that of Hippocrates; fig. 16 is the bust of the famous orator Æschines. Besides the portrait-statues a great deal was done in the way of highly ingenious embossed work in vases and utensils of metal; and Syria, Asia Minor, and Sicily were full of such works.

That art in spite of every exertion had declined in the time of Philip and Antiochus the Great, is not to be disputed; yet soon after there arose, especially in Athens, statuaries in brass, who, if they did not reach the ancient lofty point of art, still produced excellent things. They were joined by Cleomanes, an Athenian, who in his Venus showed himself remarkably happy in carrying out the idea of Praxiteles. This Venus, known by the name of the Venus de’ Medici or the Medicean Venus (pl. 4, fig. 2), was when found in a very mutilated condition. The statue consists of eleven pieces, and the hands and part of the arms were wanting; the ears bore ornaments, and the beautifully arranged hair was gilded. This Venus is an imitation of that of Cnidus; but her nudity no longer needed the excuse of the bath, and even the dolphin is only a support and not intended to indicate a sea voyage. At this time flourished Glycon, of whose statue of Hercules we have already spoken, and Apollonius. They both took the works of Lysippus as their chief models.

The arts of die-cutting and gem-engraving were practised to a great extent during this period, especially after the custom had been adopted from the east of ornamenting vases, lamp stands, and such like objects with jewels or engraved stones. As the gems in this case were not to be used as seals, they cut them in relief, in the form of cameos, for which purpose the variegated onyx was frequently made use of. The finest production of this kind is the Gonzaga cameo, now in the possession of the emperor of Russia. It is nearly six inches long, and represents (pl. 3, fig. 21) the profile portrait of Ptolemy II. and the first Arsinoe in a style remarkable for its beauty and spirit. Another exquisite cameo, though not equal to the preceding, is in the Vienna Museum, and exhibits the heads of the same Ptolemy and of the second Arsinoe. Entire goblets and paterae were at this period carved out of precious stones (e. g. of onyx), and were real miracles of beauty and of perfect execution. The dies for coins at the beginning of this period were excellent, but towards its close they betray a decline in art.

The seizure of works of art, which under various pretexts had been practised towards conquered nations from the earliest times, became in the time of the Roman domination a regular reward which the Roman generals and governors took to themselves for their victories; and although in these plunderings some degree of moderation was at first observed, as under Marcellus and Fabius Maximus, they were soon carried on without any restraint. Under Sulla many statues found their way into the melting-furnace, and this robbery of art was pursued systematically by Verres; he was followed by the emperors; and an approximate calculation of the number of statues then brought out of Greece amounts to nearly a hundred thousand.

Together with the works of art, art itself removed to Rome, and after the fall of Greece, Italian art alone lays claim to our attention.

The Romans

1. First Period. (Previous to the Year 600 a. u. c.) In the period during which Rome remained under the Etruscan kings, it also, as an Etruscan capital, received its temple statues (of which it had none previously) from the hands of Etruscan artists, although they consisted of nothing but images of wood and clay. Even during the times of the republic, the Romans, in their zeal to promote the common welfare, applied their practical sense so exclusively to grand and practically useful undertakings, such as making aqueducts and roads, that but little attention was bestowed on the cultivation of art for its own sake. Nevertheless political ambition gradually gave an importance to the plastic arts. The senate and people, and also grateful foreign states, erected statues of brass in the public places to men of desert; and the first statue of this metal, according to Pliny, was a Ceres, which was paid for out of the confiscated property of Spurius Cassius. When in the time of the Samnite war the dominion of Rome was extended over Magna Græcia, they began, after the manner of the Greeks, to dedicate statues and colossi to the gods out of the spoils of war.

The coins of those times and the productions of the gem-engraver show a very rude state of art: the impress is flat, the figures coarse, and the head of Roma without beauty. Apart from the coins, no specimens of the imitative arts of that period have come down to us.

2. Second Period. (From the Year 600 a. u. c. to the Middle Ages.) During this period art was concentrated at Rome. This, however, was owing merely to political ascendency, and by no means to high artistic talent; for the Roman genius always remained too wholly devoted to practical and political life, to allow full scope to that careless ease and free play of the fancy which give birth to art. The taste of the Romans for art may be best divided into the following epochs.

1. From the taking of Corinth to the reign of Augustus. The fondness of the great for splendor attracted artists to Rome, and in consequence a certain taste for art was awakened, the artists occupied themselves in imitating and emulating the ancient works, and connoisseurship and learning in art took up their abode in Rome.
2. The time of the Julii and Flavii. The emperors understood how, by promoting art and by great structural undertakings, to turn the people’s attention from political matters, and even the half crazy enterprises of some of them were the means of furnishing employment to artists and fostering art. Although the artists had already departed considerably from the noble simplicity of the old masters, still a decided decline of art was not yet perceptible.
3. From Nerva to the time of the Thirty Tyrants. During the long continued peace there was a transitory flickering up of art in Greece and in Rome under Hadrian; but gradually a want of inner life and spirit became manifest, and was succeeded by jejuneness and pomposity. The transplanting of the worship of Isis to Rome was not without an injurious influence on art, as it weakened the spirit of Greco-Roman culture.
4. From the Thirty Tyrants to the Byzantine period. The ancient world fell, and with it ancient art. With the declining faith in the gods of paganism there disappeared the entire mode of viewing things in which ancient art originated, and art itself was subjected to the service of a tasteless semi-oriental ostentation.

If now we cast a somewhat closer glance at the state of art in the epochs above indicated, we find that under Octavian and his predecessors in Rome a number of sculptors and brass-casters distinguished themselves, among whom were Pasiteles and Arcesilaus. The models of the latter were more highly prized than the finished statues of other masters. There was also no want of artists who made very beautiful silver vases; and among the coins of that time there are many that can vie with the Greek. Under the empire the arts appear already degraded to the service of luxury and caprice; yet there were still admirable sculptors, who adorned the palaces of the Cæsars with marble groups of beautiful invention. The bronze caster Zenodorus cast a colossal statue of the emperor Nero 110 feet high, which was set up before Nero’s golden house; but when the temple of Venus and Roma was erected on the spot, the colossus was removed with the aid of twenty-four elephants. The best sources for the study of the art of that period are:

1. The sculptures on public monuments. Among these are the reliefs on the Arch of Titus, representing the apotheosis of the emperor and the triumph over Judæa, well designed and arranged, but negligently executed; and likewise the reliefs on the Forum of Nerva, which are beautifully designed, but badly draped.
2. The statues of the Emperors. Of these some are very well executed, both as clad in the toga and in the accoutrements of war. Another mode of representation, that of exhibiting the emperors in a heroic or deified character, was at this time very much in vogue. These were either naked Achillean statues armed with a spear, or they were modelled in a sitting posture with a peculiar drapery designed to suggest the idea of Jupiter. Of the former kind we have still several specimens, e. g. the Pompey in the Palazza Spada, the Augustus in the Casa Rondanini, &c.; and likewise of the latter, e. g. the sitting statues of Augustus and Claudius, from Herculaneum, and a standing Augustus of bronze holding the thunderbolts, also from Herculaneum, &c. The gems of this period furnish equally important materials for the history of art. The greatest master of the time in this branch was Dioscorides, who among other things engraved a head of Augustus which the emperor himself used as his seal. But still more important than the intaglios are the cameos, which represent the members of the Julian and Claudian families at different epochs, and which, besides the splendor of the material and the skilful way in which it is employed, are also remarkable for their execution. Of the gems of this period which have come down to us we will particularize here only the three largest:
   1. The Paris cameo, 13 inches by 11, a sardonyx of five layers, representing the apotheosis of Augustus;
   2. The Netherland cameo, 10 inches high, a sardonyx of three layers, admirably designed, but poorly executed, representing Claudius as a Jupiter triumphant with Messalina, Octavius, and Britannicus on a chariot drawn by Centaurs;
   3. The Vienna cameo, 9 inches by 8, the Gemma Augustea, of the most exquisite finish, representing an apotheosis of Augustus. In the coins the same degree of excellence is observed, the heads being animated, characteristic, and noble, and the mythologico-allegorical composition ingenious and spirited, although sometimes carelessly executed.

Under Trajan were executed the reliefs of Trajan’s Column. The figures are energetic, the heads characteristic, the positions good, and by ingenious motivos the monotony of military arrangement is avoided; so that the work, in spite of many faults in the treatment of the nude figure and of the draperies, has a high value. To it belongs the fragment in pl. 14, fig. 8, where Trajan is seen receiving the submission of a conquered king. Under Hadrian, in consequence of that emperor’s fondness for art, partly affected as it was, it took a more elevated flight. This is shown among others by the statues of Antinous, the emperor’s favorite, of which a great number were made. Astonishing is the skill with which this personage is represented by the artists in the various characters of man, hero, and god, while preserving and expressing his individuality in all of them. One of the finest statues of Antinous is that of Belvedere (pl. 6, fig. 1).

During the long reign of the Antonines, when the repose which Rome enjoyed failed to restore her former vigor, and when oratory degenerated into dull insipidity embroidered with bombastic phrases, the arts also assumed a jejune and insipid character in keeping with the general taste. Accordingly we here find busts of the emperors, in which the hair and beard luxuriating in excessive abundance, are executed with anxious care, while the expression given to the countenance is trivial in the extreme. The art of gem-engraving also shows a state of decline, and the coins both in invention and execution are of inferior merit.

The unquiet times of Commodus, and of Septimius Severus and his family, did not suffer the arts to rise, but caused them to hasten still more rapidly to their fall. The best works of those times are still the imperial busts, although here too taste seems trampled under foot. Perukes upon the head and draperies of parti-colored stones indicate the taste in which the whole is treated. The empresses were often represented with scanty clothing as Venuses; but the insipid portrait-like character of the countenance, to which is frequently added the head-dress of the period, plainly a peruke, presents for the most part a ludicrous contrast to the general design. Thus we find in the Museo Pio Clementino the statue oi Sallustia Barbia Urbiana, the wife of Alexander Severus, as Venus (pl. 4, fig. 8), with an Amor at her side; and the statue of Julia Soæmias, the mother of Heliogabalus (pl. 4, fig. 9), whose head-dress is made to put on or take off.

The best works of this time, which also exhibits some signs of a peculiar productivity, are the sarcophagi, the high reliefs on which, representing scenes from the legends of Demeter, Dionysus, and the heroic mythology, so modify the subjects as to express in many ways the hope of a life beyond the grave. The fable of Eros and Psyche is likewise often employed for this purpose; and the cleverly composed groups of the two lovers, one of which we have given in pl. 5, fig. 7, cannot be assigned to a date previous to Hadrian, as the execution is not always of particular merit. At the same time art was employed to embody the ideas introduced by the invasion of Oriental culture, its services being now laid under contribution for the worship of Mithras, as they had been at a former period for that of the Egyptians. The Abraxas gems too, with the pantheistic figure of Jao Abraxas and other kindred forms, owe their origin to this period. But gradually the excess of elaboration gave place to meagreness and poverty; on the coins, which still afford the best clues to the then state of art, the heads are made constantly smaller in order to bring in also a part of the figure and accessories. At the close of the third century the busts lose all their relief, the drawing becomes incorrect, and the entire composition flat, characterless, and only distinguishable by the accompanying legend.

The works of the sculptors also become rude and awkward, as is seen in the reliefs on the Arch of Constantine and on the Column of Theodosius; the reliefs on the sarcophagi after the turgid, overloaded style of the figures of the Roman period, are subjected in the Christian monuments to an architectural arrangement, and in their execution are rude and meagre. The Christian worship favors painting more than sculpture; and it was only now and then that so called honorary statues continued to be executed, especially in Byzantium; but in these the character and individuality of the persons is entirely disregarded. The making of splendid vases of the precious metals and adorned with gems is the only branch of art that seemed to hold its ground still for a considerable time, and even here mere workmanship took the place of truly artistic composition.

The removal of the imperial residence to Byzantium, together with the introduction of Christianity, whose simple symbols and unostentatious worship furnished the artists of that transition period with no special incentive to the creation of new works, rendered the utter downfall of ancient art properly so called inevitable; while the inroads of the Germanic tribes into Italy, the wars, famine, pestilence, and all kinds of suffering which afflicted Rome in the sixth and seventh centuries, caused the destruction both of artists and in a great measure of their works. Still it was not the force of these outward events, to which art was long subjected in a constantly increasing degree, that mainly effected its downfall; it was rather the inward exhaustion and enfeeblement of the human mind, the loss of the elevated feeling that formerly inspired it, which caused the utter prostration of the fabric of ancient art.

Of the Subjects of the Plastic Art in Antiquity

As the design of the formative arts in general is the imitation of actual nature, so the plastic art must choose the subjects of its representations from the circle of positive existences. It can only idealize, ennoble, or modify, according as it has to deal with historical personages or with those of religion and mythology. Subjects of the latter kind are always favorite ones among a people gifted with a genius for art; because in them the creative faculty has freer scope for action and development. We will bestow on both classes a more particular consideration.

Mythological Subjects

Before art properly so called existed among the Greeks, the poetical genius of that people had already called into being a vast treasure of myths; and these formed as it were the fruitful soil from which a rich and luxuriant growth of flowers of art must necessarily spring. The mystic nature of religion, though which the Divine Being, as something entirely different from humanity, admits only of indication and never of personification, had been thrust by poetry into the background; and when the plastic art sought to represent the gods, it found in them only idealized human beings elevated to the highest point of perfection. Although even this was quite impossible without an entirely peculiar conception, without inspiration, without an act of genius on the part of the artist, still there prevailed throughout the nation a general idea of each deity, that served as a test of the representation. If this idea was satisfied by the character of the artist’s production, there was constituted at once a normal figure or type of the god, which was adopted and followed, though not with slavish literalness, by succeeding artists. All this is exhibited most completely in those deities which possess the most individual character; i. e. whose whole being cannot be reduced to a fundamental idea. These are the twelve Olympic gods, Zeus with his children and brothers and sisters.

1. The Twelve Gods of Olympus. a. Zeus. Zeus, the Jupiter of the Romans, was the father of all life in nature. Old descriptions make him to be the god who rules in heaven, upon the earth, and under the earth; but the conception of him embodied by artists is that of the gracious and mighty ruler of gods and men. This union of his qualities was adopted already by Phidias. To it belonged the arrangement of the hair rising high over the centre of the forehead and falling back like a mane on both sides, the forehead clear and open above and vaulted beneath, the deep sunk but wide open and round eyes, the fine and mild contour of the upper lip and cheeks, the full flowing and curly beard, the broad deep chest, and the powerful muscular development. The most important statue of the kind still existing, although by no means a work of the first class, is the Verospi Jupiter in the Museo Pio Clementino. Later artists occasionally deviate from this type, some of them giving to Jupiter a more youthful form with less beard, while others, giving to his youth an expression of anger though moderated and of martial vehemence, represent him as an avenging, punishing deity.

b. Hera. The female counterpart of Zeus was Hera, the Juno of the Romans. Her union with him, which is the source of nature’s blessings, constitutes her essence, and at the same time makes her the goddess of marriage. As a lawful wife and powerful goddess she has attributed to her a proud and imperious character, which artists, however, knew how to soften. From very ancient times her principal attribute was the veil, and in the oldest statues it envelopes her completely. The colossal statue by Polycletus wore a crown with the figures of the Hours and Graces in relief. In one hand she held a pomegranate as an indication of the great deity of nature, and in the other a sceptre on which perched a cuckoo. In the countenance of Juno is depicted an imperishable bloom and maturity of beauty, softly rounded, and commanding reverence without harshness. Her forehead, bordered with hair flowing down on each side, forms a gently arched triangle; and her full and open eyes look straight before her. Her form is blooming and completely developed, that of a matron. Her dress leaves only her neck and arms bare. The best extant statue, although of no particular excellence, is the Barberini Hera in the Museo Pio Clementino.

c. Poseidon. The god of the sea was Poseidon, the Neptune of the Romans; and to him the rivers and springs were sacred. The artistic form of this god is based on the fundamental idea of the poets, that, as ruler of a stormy element, he is like Zeus august and powerful but without his calm majesty of demeanor, while he exhibits something hard and rough both in his corporeal and mental movements. Hence he is represented in the most flourishing period of Grecian art with a rather slenderer figure than Zeus and more powerful muscles, which are rendered still more prominent by his posture. His countenance is angular in its character, with less calmness and repose in the features, and with wild disordered hair. There still exists a statue of Poseidon by Phidias in Carrey’s drawing of the western pediment of the Parthenon, standing with feet wide apart and swelling veins in the breast. The modifications, however, to which the form of Poseidon is subjected even in the productions of ancient Greek art are so considerable, as to render it difficult to define its general character (see pl. 3, fig. 10, second figure).

d. Demeter. Connected with Poseidon appears Demeter, the Roman Ceres, the goddess of nourishing and sustaining nature, conceived of as a mother. This character, regarded in a purely human point of view, is also made the foundation of the artistic representations of the goddess; and the most beautiful embodiments of the idea are found in the school of Praxiteles, viz. in the gold and ivory statue in the temple of Eleusis. Demeter has a more matronly and motherly appearance than Hera; the expression of her face, the back part of which is concealed by the upper garments or veil thrown over her head, is gentler and milder; and her form, which is completely enveloped in clothing, appears stouter and fuller, as becomes the mother of all. Her attributes are a garland of corn-ears about her head, poppies and ears of com in her hand, and a torch and fruit-basket. Not unfrequently she is seen enthroned; although it is as common to behold her walking over the earth and dispensing her fruits. A colossal statue of Demeter with her attributes complete is preserved in the Museo Pio Clementino.

e. Apollo. Phoebus Apollo was a god of health and of order, as opposed to a hostile nature and world. With respect to nature, he is the god of the more cheerful seasons of the year who drives away the winter; and as regards human affairs, a god who destroys oppressors and protects the good. An ingenious symbolism represented the different aspects in which Apollo was regarded by the contrast of the weapons and the lyre, the bent and the unbent bow, &c. This god was a favorite subject with the great artists who immediately preceded Phidias. On the whole Apollo was then represented as of a more mature and manly form than afterwards, with stronger and stouter limbs, a rounder, shorter face, an expression rather earnest and energetic than amiable and charming, and mostly unclothed except when appearing as leader of the Muses. The slender shape, the longish oval head, and animated expression of the features were first given to Apollo by the younger Attic school. The statues of Apollo may be divided, according to the idea which predominates in them, into the following classes:

1. The Apollo Callinicus, who strides away with anger not yet entirely allayed from his vanquished opponent. Of this kind is the Pythian Apollo or Apollo of Belvedere, so called because it formerly stood in the Cortile di Belvedere (pl. 6, fig. 2). It was found near the harbor of Antium, and is of Lycian marble; it seems to have been copied from a statue in bronze, which is rendered probable by the entire disposition of the chlamys (short cloak). The left fore-arm and the fingers of the right hand have been supplied, and also some portions of the legs.
2. The Apollo reposing after battle, with his right arm thrown over his head and beside him his closed quiver. Of this kind is the beautiful Apollino in Florence.
3. The Apollo playing the lyre, who appears very variously costumed. A statue of this sort is in the Museo Borbonico.
4. As the Pythian Agonistes, clothed in a solemn and gorgeous costume and wearing the Pythian stola; such is the Apollo in the Vatican, after Scopas.

f. Artemis. The Diana of the Romans is the Grecian Artemis. Her character, like that of her brother Apollo, has two phases; she being sometimes regarded as a combating or hunting, and at other times as a life-giving and light-dispensing goddess. In the olden style she constantly appears in long and elegant drapery, which displays her full, blooming form. Afterwards, when Scopas, Praxiteles, and others had developed her ideal, Artemis appeared, like Apollo, slender and light-footed, with hips and breast without the fulness of womanhood; her face is that of Apollo, only more delicate, rounder, and less strongly marked. Her dress is a Doric chiton (tunic), usually girt high. The shoes of the huntress are those of Crete, which protected the foot all round. As a huntress, or as a combatant, Artemis in the better statues is represented sometimes in the act of drawing an arrow from her quiver, and sometimes as on the point of shooting it. The huntress Artemis is likewise guardian of wild beasts, and then she appears accompanied by a sacred doe. Pl. 4, fig. 7, is copied from a statue in Versailles, now in the Louvre, where Diana is represented as a huntress, slenderly and delicately but powerfully formed, with the horned doe by her side, and adorned with a Stephana (fillet or wreath). As tutelary deity of the temple of Ephesus, Artemis appears in an Asiatic Amazon costume.

g. Hephæstus. A mighty god, the god of fire, was Hephæstus, the Vulcan of the Romans, a consort of Aphrodite; but he was not able to maintain his dignity either in poetry or in the plastic art. The former makes him a skilful smith, but misshapen, limping, ridiculous, and a cuckold in his own house. The formative art represents him in the earlier times as a dwarf; afterwards as an active, laborious man, youthful (pl. 3, fig. 10, first figure), and robust; while the later schools gave him the appearance of a mature and bearded man, with a slight indication of lameness, which however does not deform his powerful figure, but rather makes it more interesting. He is recognised by his smith’s implements and sometimes by a semi-oval Lemnian cap.

h. Pallas Athene. A pure and exalted being closely related to the god of heaven, appears Pallas Athene, the Minerva of the Romans, under the form of an Athenian maiden, who in the world sometimes diffuses light and warmth and wholesome life, and at other times destroys hostile beings. She is the goddess of energetic industry, of clear intellect, and the protectress of every profession and every person that undertakes and executes with discretion things of utility. Art, with which in the earlier times Pallas was an especial favorite, represented her in the ancient palladia with raised shield and brandished spear; although there were also statues in a tranquil and even in a sitting posture, with distaff and spindle. In the more advanced state of early Greek art, Athene appears constantly in a posture ready for combat, more or less advancing, and wearing over the chiton a stiffly folded peplos (richly woven robe) and a large aegis (coat of mail), which sometimes also lay over the left arm serving as a shield. The outlines of her body show but little feminine fulness in the hips and breast, and the legs, arms, and back are almost those of a man. The countenance has a peculiar cast, but the features are very harsh and ungraceful. Since the ideal of an Athene was perfected by Phidias (pl. 4, fig. 1) we discern in her a tranquil seriousness, self-conscious power, and clearness of intellect; her virginity denotes simply her elevation above all feminine weakness; she is too masculine to be capable of surrendering herself to man. The clear forehead, the long and finely shaped nose, the somewhat stern cast of the mouth, the large and almost angular chin, the not fully opened and rather downcast eye, the hair pushed back from the forehead and carelessly flowing down the neck, all agree with the character of this wonderful ideal creation. Later attempts to resolve this seriousness into grace, as in the Pallas of the Villa Albani (pl. 3, fig. 4), would only end in rendering her characterless. The modifications of the figures are closely connected with the dress. Pallas, in many statues of the perfected style, has a himation (toga) thrown about her, either so that falling over in front it covers merely the lower parts of the body and thus heightens the majestic impression of the figure, or so as to conceal both the left arm and a part of the segis, and then the shield either rests on the ground or is wanting altogether; sometimes in this case the serpent is seen. The first mentioned style of drapery is displayed in the Pallas (pl. 5, fig. 6) found at Velletri in the year 1747, a grand statue 9\(\frac{1}{2}\) feet high, now in the Louvre. The himation covering the arm and the segis is found in the Pallas with the Serpent (pl. 3, fig. 5) which now stands in the new wing of the Vatican. Pallas the champion has an uplifted shield, no himation, and the whole figure exhibits a combative action and athletic form. Sometimes Athene appears as a politically active oratorical figure, and without helm or ægis, as a peace-maker.

i. Ares. Ares, the god of war, the Mars of the Romans, is significantly placed along with Aphrodite in the twelve god system. He was too much an idea to become a favorite subject of the plastic art; and hence it is that, although some remarkable statues of Ares by Alcamenes and Scopas are mentioned, his plastic character is not well defined. A compact powerful muscular development, and short, often disordered, curling hair, seem in general to belong to the representation of this god. Ares has smaller eyes, rather more widely distended nostrils, and a less serene forehead than the other sons of Zeus; he has a more manly appearance than Apollo and even than Hercules, is bearded, although in later times also without a beard (pl. 3, fig. 2), and, when not represented entirely naked, only wears the chlamys. His arms are a helmet and sword; he is rarely provided with complete armor. Ares seldom appears in battle groups, and only as a giant-slayer on gems; but we often see him with Aphrodite, although this union of love and war is not always regarded as a frivolous adultery, but in a more serious sense. One of the most beautiful representations of this kind is the group in the Florentine Museum (fig. 2).

h. Aphrodite. Aphrodite, the Roman Venus, is represented by the artists of the most highly finished school with the natural forms of her sex. She is all woman, more so than Athene or Artemis. The ripe bloom of maidenhood is in general the degree of physical development in which the forms of her body appear. The shoulders are small, the bosom formed like a virgin, the fulness of the hips tapers away into elegantly shaped feet, which, little adapted to firm standing and walking, seem to betray a light and gentle gait. Her face appears delicate and rather long; and her languishing eyes and smiling mouth give it an expression of tenderness and exquisite sweetness. Her hair is elegantly arranged, usually encircled by a diadem, or restrained by a band, or else knotted into a krobylos. Here too the dress is connected with the essential modifications of the form. The completely clothed Venus, who however wears only a thin chiton, which enables one to divine more than it conceals, and who with a graceful movement of her right arm merely draws forward a little the upper garment which falls down behind, is derived from the Urania of the early artists. She was worshipped as Mother Aphrodite, had rounder and stronger forms, shorter proportions, and a more matronly character. From this widely differ the statues which, without the chiton, have only an upper garment thrown round the lower part of the body, and are further characterized by having one foot resting on a slight elevation. In these the goddess appears as a heroine; the forms of her body are firm, powerful, and slender; the bosom is less rounded than in the other statues; and the countenance furnished with more prominent features is full of pride and self-consciousness. This is Aphrodite the victorious, whether she embraces Ares himself (pl. 3, fig. 2), or bears his helmet or shield, or a palm, or, as her sign of victory, the apple. Of this sort is the Venus Victrtix from the amphitheatre of Capua, now in the Museum of Naples (pl. 4, fig. 5), who rests her left foot on a helmet. Very nearly related to this one in the drapery is the Venus of Melos, now in the Louvre (fig. 3), the work of an artist of Antioch on the Meander, if the inscription belongs to it. This statue was restored twice in antiquity.

Of greater fulness and roundness, although less powerful, appears Aphrodite at the Bath, her bosom covered with a piece of the drapery hanging round behind her, and still more soft and delicate in the hetæra figure of Venus Callipygos. On the other hand, faultlessly beautiful proportions are observed when the goddess is completely undraped, and the unsullied bloom of maidenhood forms a medium between Aphrodite the mother and Aphrodite the conqueror. The statue here becomes the complete symbol of female loveliness, brightened by the manifestation of natural shame into an expression of pure womanhood. Of this kind is the Cnidian Venus, who is just laying aside her garments, and the Medicean Venus of Cleomenes (fig. 2), which is very like the torso (mutilated statue) in the Dresden Museimi (fig. 4) and the Capitoline Venus (fig. 6), with the same position of the hands, but less bent forward, with a more womanly shape, greater individuality in the features (perhaps a portrait?), a high head-dress, and near her a vase of unguents and a bathing-towel. This statue is in good preservation, even to the fingers. Such statues of Venus are found in almost all museums of consequence. Other attitudes, which show more movement and action, notwithstanding the peculiar charms which they disclose, have not the same pervading and uniform fulness of beauty. Of this class is the Venus girding on the cestus, putting on a shoulder-belt, defending herself, and above all crouching in the bath. The finest is one of the last description in the Museo Pio Clementino (pl. 5, fig. 8), and in the Louvre there is a similar representation of the goddess. In groups Venus appears sometimes with Adonis, for instance holding him in her arms as he lies mortally wounded by the boar. Adonis is represented as a beautiful youth with powerful forms but almost boyish features, e. g. in a statue in the Museo Pio Clementino (fig. 9).

l. Hermes. Among the ancient Greeks Hermes, the Roman Mercury, stands in the circle of the powers that send up fruits and bounteous blessings from below; and this giver of all good the Greeks set up in the form of a post, furnished with a bearded head and a phallus, in all roads, fields, and gardens. But gradually he became an agmnomic and mercantile deity of gain and traffic, and received the form of an active, powerful man, with a strong and pointed beard, long tresses, a chlamys thrown back, a travelling hat, winged shoes, and in his hand a caduceus which often resembles a sceptre. He is thus exhibited in all the older works of art; but the Attic school represents him as a gymnastically perfected youth, with a broad expanded chest, and slender but powerful limbs, clothed with the chlamys and travelling hat, and his hair cut short and not much curled. His features indicate a calm and acute intellect, and a friendly benevolence, which is also expressed in the gentle inclination of the head. As executor of the commands of Zeus he is often seen half-seated and already prepared to spring up again; sometimes in bronzes winging his way through the air, or resting after a long journey with his arm leaning on a pillar. In accordance with this posture and these characteristics, Visconti explains also the statue which goes by the name of the Antinous of Belvedere (pl. 6, fig. 1) as a reposing Hermes. As a preparer of sacrifices and guardian of cattle Hermes often appears undraped and leading a ram, as on the Capitoline Puteal (pl. 3, fig. 10, the third figure).

m. Hestia. The household hearth, which forms the centre of domestic life and a regular worship of the gods, stood under the protection of Hestia, called Vesta by the Romans. She forms very appropriately, standing along with Hermes the god of sacrifice, the key-stone to the twelve god system (pl. 3, fig. 10, the fourth figure). The form of this goddess, as sculptured by Scopas, was that of a woman in matronly costume, but without the character of maternity, quietly standing or sitting enthroned, with broad, powerful forms, and a serious expression in her simple features.

2. The other Deities. a. Dionysus and his Attendants. The worship of Dionysus, the Bacchus of the Romans, has retained more than the preceding the character of a worship of nature; and the circle of Dionysian forms, which in a manner constitute their own Olympus, represents the life of nature with its effects on the human mind, in various stages, sometimes noble and sometimes ignoble. The old Dionysus was a stately, majestic form, with a luxuriance of curling hair restrained by the mitra, a gently flowing beard, clear and blooming features, and rich almost effeminate clothing. It is not till the time of Praxiteles that the youthful Dionysus appears with bodily forms softly flowing into one another, which bespeak the half-feminine nature of the god. His features exhibit a peculiar mixture of happy intoxication and undefined longing. The mitra over his forehead and the vine or ivy wreath about his head produce an advantageous effect; the hair flows richly and in long ringlets over his shoulders; the body is entirely naked, at most with only a roe-skin thrown about it; and the feet are sometimes covered with the Dionysian cothurnus. An ivy-entwined staff ornamented with a fir-cone (the thyrsus) serves him as a support; he usually stands in an easily reclining posture, and seldom sits enthroned. A particularly beautiful statue of Dionysus is that of Versailles now in the Louvre (pl. 5, fig. 10), where the god leans on the trunk of a tree entwined with the foliage of the vine and brandishes the thyrsus. Somewhat different is the Bacchus in the Dresden Museum, who, as appears from the position, is expressing the juice of grapes into a cup (fig. 11).

To the attendants of Dionysus belong in the first place the Satyrs, who represent in a lower stage that life of nature which we have seen displayed by the god himself in its most elevated form. They are figures powerfully built but not ennobled by gymnastics, sometimes flabby, sometimes firm, with snub-nosed or otherwise ignobly formed countenances, goat-like ears, and bristly hair; in old age with a bald forehead; to which is added a little tail. Sometimes, however, the satyrs rise into very noble, slender shapes, and are hardly to be distinguished as satyrs except by their pointed ears.

Here too belong the Sileni, which are properly nothing but old and bearded satyrs: still the name is confined chiefly to one satyr-form, which is usually connected with a wine-skin and itself has something of the appearance of one; in its drunken unwieldiness too it has more need of a support than the others, and this is afforded him sometimes by an ass and sometimes by satyr-boys. He is usually the instructor and fosterer of Dionysus’s children.

Lower in the animal world stand the race of Pans and Panisks, representing the secret delight and dark horror of sylvan solitudes. Here too appears at first the human form characterized as Pan by the shepherd’s pipe, the pastoral crook, the bristly hair, and sprouting horns; but the Praxitelian school brought the goat-footed, horned, and hook-nosed shape into vogue.

The female figures in the train of Dionysus offer less variety. Prominent among them is the graceful, blooming, ivy-crowned, and often richly dressed Ariadne. From the nymphs who exhibit no excitement of character, and the rarely occurring female satyrs, the Mænads (Thyades, Clodones, Mimallones, Bassarides) are distinguished by their revelling enthusiasm, dishevelled hair, and head thrown back, with thyrsi, swords, serpents, roe-calves, tympana, and fluttering, loose-flying garments.

To the Dionysian circle of beings belong also the Centaurs, as they seem perfectly fitted, by the unrestrained rudeness with which an animal life of nature is manifested in them, to join themselves to Dionysus. In the earlier times they were represented in front entirely as men, with a horse’s body growing on behind; but from the time of Phidias the blending was effected more happily by joining to the belly and breast of a horse the upper part of a human body, whose cast of countenance, pointed ears, and bristly hair, betray an affinity to the satyr; whereas in female forms (Centaurides) the human portion shows more womanly and attractive shapes.

b. Eros. In temple-statues appears Eros, the Amor of the Romans, as a boy of graceful and developed beauty; but later art preferred the sportive. Anacreontic shapes of the childish form. As a still undeveloped, lively, and active boy he is seen, e. g. trying to fit the string to his bow, to carve his bow, &c.; and we have Erotes busily engaged in dragging off the insignia of the gods, taming wild beasts, and boldly and wantonly roving about among sea-monsters. Real children were also frequently represented in portrait-statues as Erotes (pl. 4, fig. 8). As a modification of the same idea we find Pothos and Himeros (Desire and Longing) represented in similar figures, and often grouped with Eros. Still more significant is the joining him with Anteros, the demon who enjoins reciprocal and avenges slighted love.

A very rich and important class of sculptures is furnished by the union of Eros with Psyche, the soul, which is represented as a maiden with butterfly-wings, and often simply as a butterfly; by which union is expressed the idea of Eros elevating the soul to a higher blessedness, and guiding it through life and death. Sometimes both Eros and Psyche appear without wings, as in the beautiful group copied pl. 5, fig. 7.

With the fable of Eros we connect also Hymenaeus, who appears as a more serious and larger Eros, and is at the same time related to Comus, the leader of the joyous festal throng. A favorite subject of later art, when it had become effeminate and luxurious, was Hermaphroditus, a creation of artistic fancy rather than a symbol of nature, who sometimes stretches himself restlessly in sleep, as the Hermaphirodite on a lion’s skin in the Florentine Museum, and that from the Villa Borghese now in Paris, restored by Bernini and reclining on a pallet (pl. 3, fig. 3), and sometimes stands wondering at his own enigmatical nature, or in various groups with Erotes and Satyrs.

The Charites (Graces), as social deities allied to Aphrodite, were sculptured in the earlier times in elegant forms, and sometimes lightly draped, although usually entirely naked. They are characterized by mutual embracing and joining of hands. In pl. 9, fig. 3, we give Canova’s Graces; and in fig. 5, Thorwaldsen’s Graces, which, although belonging to modern times, are not inappropriate here, as conceived in the genuine spirit of antiquity.

c. The Muses. The ancient artists recognised only three Muses, among whom they distributed the principal instruments of music; and it was not till Apollo became the leader of the Muses, that they appeared, nine in number, as draped figures, with fine intellectual countenances, and nicely distinguished from each other by expression, attributes, and sometimes by attitude. Still the parts performed by individual Muses are not so accurately distinguished in ancient art, but that many deviations may be discerned. Sometimes the Muses appear adorned with plumes; and this is explained by their victory over the Sirens, which are seldom represented as entirely human, but often as virgins with birds’ legs and wings, or as birds with virgins’ heads, and furnished with various instruments.

d. Gods of Health. Asklepius, among the Romans Æsculapius, receives in art most commonly the form of a mature man, of a Zeus-like but less sublime presence, with a mild, benevolent expression, his copious hair encircled by a fillet, a himation about his left arm and passing across under his heart, and in his hand a staff enwreathed with a serpent. But besides this there was a youthful bearded Asklepius. With him is grouped Hygeia, the goddess of health, a virgin of a particularly blooming appearance, who is usually giving drink to a serpent from a patera. Along with Asklepius is also frequently found Telesphorus, a little masked demon, the spirit of the hidden vital power.

e. The Primeval World. The Creation of Man. Representations of the older gods who are closely connected with the obscure origin of things, Uranus, Gæa, and the Titans, occur rarely or not at all as separate statues, although they find a place in reliefs and paintings. Kronos, however, makes his appearance, characterized by his veiled head and often also by his straight-hanging hair and sickle. Rhea acquired a greater significance, and Phidias sculptured her with the attributes of a mural crown, a timbrel, and a span of lions. Atlas, the Titanian bearer of the heavens, appears only, under an almost comical aspect, on reliefs and vase-paintings; and the fable of Prometheus, especially of the fettered Titan, incited artists at an early period to its representation. The giants who figure as opponents of the gods are represented by the older artists as an exceedingly large-sized race; and it was not till afterwards that they were converted, as an indication of their earthly origin, into rock-hurling, snake-footed monsters.

f. The Lower World and Death. Hades, among the Romans Pluto, the ruler of the shadowy realm, is distinguished from his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, by the hair hanging down over his forehead and by his sombre aspect; beside him sits enthroned Persephone (Proserpine) as the Hera of the nether world. These deities appear chiefly on funeral urns and sarcophagi; statues of them are very rare. Sleep and Death in the productions of ancient art are rarely and with difficulty to be distinguished; and thus is given that pleasing view of death and the grave, which the ancients were fond of seeking to preserve. The genius of Death is supposed to be found, and modern art has retained the symbol, in a winged youth with drooping head and hands crossed over an inverted torch; whereas Sleep for the most part appears with poppy-heads in his hand. Very beautiful is the representation of Sleep as a boy in the Dresden Museum (pl. 4, fig. 10). At his feet is a lizard, indicating the presence of the god of dreams. Morpheus is also found under the figure of an old man with wings.

g. Time. Of the representation of Kronos, who was also the god of Time, we have already spoken; as for the Horæ, who were warders at the gates of heaven and servants of Helios, and who mostly retained their signification in art, the succession of blossoming and ripening is their characteristic. The earlier artists represented only two of them, the later ones three or more. When four in number, they appear for the most part as the Seasons, and they are still more frequently represented as youths. A relief with dancing Hours (pl. 3, fig. 8) was formerly in the Villa Borghese, but is now in the Louvre in Paris. It is probably a copy from the masterpiece of Callimachus, the subject of which was Lacedemonian girls in the act of dancing.

h. Beings of Light. The Sun-god, if we except the Phœbus or Sol of the Romans, was held especially worshipped only in Rhodes. He appears with rounded forms and with rays streaming from his head, clothed in white, in his chariot, and guiding his steeds with the whip. Selene (Luna), in her usual form, is distinguished from Artemis, who also appears as the Moon-goddess, only by more complete drapery and by a veil which forms an arch over her head. Eos (the Dawn) appears either herself in a quadriga in magnificent form, or along with Helios as guide of the horses of the sun. Horoscopi play an important part on reliefs, for determining periods of time. Iris, from a luminous appearance in the sky, the rainbow, was converted in art into a light-winged messenger of the gods. She often appears on reliefs with the caduceus and a flower.

i. The Winds. Of the eight Winds only Boreas appears alone and independent on several reliefs, for instance on the coffer of Cypselus, where he has serpent-feet; and sometimes he is accompanied only by Zephyrus. All the eight Winds are sculptured in relief with their attributes on the tower of Andronicua Cyrrhestes. The Harpies were properly dangerous wind-gusts, and appear usually in the form of winged women (pl. 1, fig. 13), and sometimes with more or less of the likeness of birds, as the myth leaves their shape tolerably undefined.

h. The Water. The attendant circle of Poseidon entirely resembles that of Dionysus, except that here the water and its inhabitants come into play. Their representations extend from the lofty forms of Poseidon, Amphitrite, and Thetis, through many intermediate gradations, to the fantastic shapes of the sea-monsters. A fine contrast is presented by the fish-tailed and satyr or centaur-shaped Tritons (sea and river gods) on the one hand, and on the other by the Nereids, for the most part in human form, in the earlier art lightly draped and afterwards undraped (graceful maiden shapes), whose pliant configuration is charmingly developed in manifold postures and windings. The water-gods appear, according to the importance of the streams, either as old men or as youths with urns, cornucopiæ, and rushes as attributes, which are further modified by the nature of the country and the condition of the nations that inhabit it. So the Nereids of the Sea correspond with the Kaiads of the rivers, which are represented as half-clothed maidens frequently holding large shells.

l. The Vegetation. The gods of the groves and fields are for the most part of Roman origin. To these belong Silvanus and Vertumnus, although our museums contain no statues of the latter. Among the attendants of Silvanus are the Fauns; and while he appears as an aged or at least a mature man, they are slender but powerfully formed youths with short curly hair and cheerful countenances. They are the guardians of the woods, appear usually naked or at most with only a beast’s skin, in general a panther’s or lion’s hide, thrown loosely about them. Pl. 6, fig. 3, is copied from a beautiful statue of a Faun at rest leaning against the trunk of a tree. Flora, the goddess of spring and of flowers, seems to have been formed by the Romans from the Grecian Hora of spring. One of the first statues of Flora is the Farnese Flora, now in the Museum of Naples (pl. 3, fig. 6); although only the torso is ancient, the head, the extremities, and the attributes being modern restorations. The Pomona of the Romans is the Autumnal Hora of the Greeks; and Priapus is properly only a guardian of fields and gardens.

m. Human Pursuits and Conditions. The number of personifications and deifications, bordering on allegory, of human qualities and relations, as also of representations of abstract ideas, is very considerable. But all these representations, with few exceptions, are either male or female figures of various ages, which can be distinguished from one another and accurately determined only by means of the attributes assigned to them; or also such allegorical figures are based on the representations of olden deities with such slight modifications as suffice to give them an individual character.

3. The Heroes. The fixity and definiteness of individual characteristics, which we have found produced in Grecian works of art not only by means of attributes and treatment but also by the shape and configuration of the body, were extended by ancient artists also to the heroes, at least the principal of them. Now, however, we can recognise so definitely very few of these heroes, in fact none scarcely but Heracles; for instead of the numerous marble and bronze statues, the productions of great artists, which antiquity possessed, we have nothing scarcely but the reliefs on sarcophagi and vase paintings, which latter are too light and sketchy to exhibit even a portion of those characteristics which the Greek artists knew how to stamp upon their masterpieces. It is, therefore, only by the contents of some large representation that we can ascertain the personages represented; and even here there is too often a choice between different cycles of heroes.

a. Heracles. Heracles was a national hero of the Greeks, and in him the heroic ideal is expressed with the greatest vividness. The characteristic feature of Heracles, strength steeled and proved by exertion, was expressed even in the earliest representations, but was developed in the highest degree by Lysippus and Miron. Even the youthful Hercules displays this concentrated energy in the immense strength of the muscles of his neck, the thick short curls of his small head, the small eyes, the form of his limbs, and the breadth and prominence of the lower part of his forehead. But his character is still more forcibly exhibited in the victor of fierce combats, the toil-laden hero of mature age as represented with especial predilection by Lysippus. The swelling muscles rendered protuberant by perpetual toil, the powerful arms, thighs, legs, breast, and back, and the serions features of his resolute countenance, produce an impression which cannot be effaced by transitory repose. For the twelve labors of Heracles, which were very frequently sculptured on reliefs, there were soon established certain modes of representation, which varied according to time and place. The strictly warlike exploits of Heracles became less generally the subjects of representation by the plastic art; and he appears for the most part in the costume introduced by Hesiod, where the lion’s skin, the club, and the bow form the ordinary accoutrements of the hero. Another phase of the character of Hercules is displayed in his relation to Omphale, where the hero spinning in female attire is opposed to the heroine in her nudity armed with the club and lion’s hide. In his relation to his son Telephus, who was suckled by a hind and found again, artists, with whom it was a favorite subject, especially in the time of the Antonines, must have followed other sources than the usual mythological legend. Of the statues belonging here, of which there is no inconsiderable number, we will particularize only the Farnese Hercules in repose (pl. 5, figs. 1 and 2), of which we have already spoken; the Combat with Antæus, a magnificent marble group in the Florentine Museum (pl. 3, fig. 1); and lastly the Hercules with the boy Telephus on his arm (pl. 6, fig. 5), a wonderfully fine statue which is found in the Museo Pio Clementino, and is in excellent preservation. Another style of representation is seen in the Hercules in careless, sportive ease among the attendants of Dionysus. A Hercules in this state of easy repose was represented by the statue of which there remains to us the world-renowned Torso Belvedere, whose posture perfectly agrees with that of the Hercules reposing among the satyrs. This torso is copied in pl. 5, fig. 3. Hercules seems here to have leaned on his right arm in a sitting posture; the left arm was thrown over his head; and a happy feeling of comfort is diffused over all the muscles of the hero’s body, without lessening the impression of immense power.

b. The other groups of Heroes. The hero-figure of Theseus, even before the time of Phidias, was fashioned after that of Hercules; he received however a conformation of body less compact and especially indicative of activity and skill in wrestling, a more open and graceful cast of countenance, and short, curly, but less crisped hair. His costume is the lion’s hide and club, sometimes also the chlamys and petasus (hat). At a much later period, Hippolytus, allied to Artemis, had given to him by artists the form of a slender and noble youth. The Boeotian heroes are designated by the covering for the head worn in their country. Winckelmann thought that he recognised Jason’s graceful and lofty hero-form in the statue of the sandal-tyer in the Louvre known by the name of Cincinnatus (pl. 5, fig. 12), but there is so little of the hero in this admirable statue, that the contented husbandman is rather to be sought in it than the bold leader of the Argonauts. Moreover, according to ancient descriptions, a leopard’s skin seems to have pertained to his costume. Medea appears sometimes in a simple Grecian garb, and sometimes in oriental drapery, in a sleeved coat (kandys) hanging over the under dress, with the strife of passions expressed in her countenance.

Among the Thessalian heroes Peleus alone is deserving of notice in art, in consequence of his relation to the Nereid Thetis, who is usually striving to defend herself against her ravisher. Achilleus was represented by the ancient artists with hair reared up like a mane, nostrils expanded with courage and pride, and a slender but thoroughly noble and powerful form of body. His attitude is heroic, with one leg somewhat advanced and the himation lightly falling over its thigh; when seated, as in some gems and reliefs, the himation falls in the same manner as with Zeus. Meleager, the hero of the Calydonian hunt, is represented in a famous statue in the Museo Pio Clementino (pl. 6, fig. 8) as a slender, powerful youth, with a broad chest, stout limbs, curly hair, and a chlamys thrown back and wrapped about the left arm. He is unmistakably designated by the boar’s head on which he leans. A very fine, perhaps the finest statue of Meleager, was found at Marinella in 1838, and is now in Berlin. With Meleager appears Atalanta, in a shape resembling Artemis. The Thracian Orpheus appears as an inspired lyre-player, at first in Hellenic costume, and afterwards in a Phrygian garb.

Of the heroes of the Peloponnesus, Bellerophon is celebrated through his connexion with Pegasus and the Chimæra. He appears as a slender, heroically bold youth, usually naked, either riding Pegasus or vanquishing the Chimæra, though sometimes thrown off, on reliefs and gems. Perseus is usually figured like Hermes, and in later times is splendidly armed. The Dioscuri, who always retained very much of their divine nature, exhibit a perfectly unblemished youthful beauty, a slender and powerful shape, and, as an almost never failing attribute, the semi-oval hat, or the hair lying close to the back of the head and projecting in thick curls about the forehead and temples, as in the colossal group on Monte Cavallo.

Besides the heroes, there appear also in Asia effeminate figures of mythological importance: e. g. the boy-favorites of Zeus (Ganymede) and of Heracles (Hylas); and also the Amazons, who have the character of Asiatics both in costume and accoutrements, and are distinguished by a certain softness of form; although the statues, as e. g. the Capitoline Amazon (pl. 3, fig. 7), and the reliefs mostly adhere to the simple, light drapery, and the strongly rounded forms of the limbs, which were given to them in the period of Polycletes.

Subjects from Human Life

1. Of an Individual Kind. a. Historical Representations. In the domain of ancient art historical representations are much less frequent as pictures of individual events than as a conception of the subject in its general features. In Greece, moreover, painting was oftener than sculpture directed to the celebration of historical occurrences, victorious battles, or the lives of sages and poets. Vet there are a great number of wonderful and surprising stories of great filial devotion, love, and the like, as that of the Catansean brothers, of Hero and Leander, and some others, which have acquired the prerogatives of myths in the formative art almost as completely as in poetry. Among the Romans these historical representations were more frequent, the events being not merely mythically alluded to but plainly depicted on triumphal arches and columns. The apotheoses belong rather to the department of allegory than to that of historical representation. Ancient art manifests great skill in portraying and discriminating between the different races of mankind; and on the reliefs it is easy to distinguish the Dacians, Sarmatians, and Germans from the Romans.

b. Portrait-Statues. Portrait-statues, medals, &c., originated in the desire to honor the victors in the sacred games; but as republican spirit decayed their number was multiplied by political ambition to an enormous extent. They were mostly of brass, rarely of marble, and often only busts or medallions. It was not till after the busts that portrait-statues came into vogue. At first portrait-images were formed of distinguished individuals of earlier times in the same manner as of heroes in accordance with their known character, their writings, &c., as e. g. the head of Homer (pl. 3, fig. 12). At the time when learning was cultivated, the portraits of authors, and particularly of philosophers, formed a special branch of art, as they formed the ornaments of museums and libraries. The artists displayed astonishing talent in portraying the peculiar branch of study and the literary character of these personages. Of the philosophers we can identify with certainty the busts of Heraclitus and Anaxagoras, Pythagoras, Thales (fig. 15), Periander (fig. 13), Socrates, Plato, Carneades, Theon of Smyrna, Aristotle, Theophrastus (fig. 14), Antisthenes, Diogenes, Zeno, Chrysippus, Posidonius, Epicurus, Methrodorus, and Ilermarchus. Of the poets we have Alcseus, Sappho, Anacreon, Stesichorus, &c.; of orators, Isocrates, Lysias, Demosthenes, Æschines (fig. 16), Leodamas, and many others. Of physicians we possess Hippocrates, Asclepiades, and others. Many authentic busts too of Athenian statesmen have been preserved, of princes perhaps only Alexander.

2. Representations of a General Kind. a. Religious Acts. Subjects taken from everyday life very frequently have reference to the worship of the gods and the rites and games connected therewith; but all the representations of this class consist chiefly of reliefs or of paintings. To these also belong vases, libations, offerings, the decking of the statues of the gods, sacrifices to the dead, &c. Persons engaged in the service of the altar, especially when their functions introduced a significant and pleasing attitude, were also represented in statues, and frequently in an established style appropriated thereto, as the Canephorge, &c.

b. Agones. Plastic representations belonging to the domain of gymnastics, and of which the Greeks especially were very fond, constitute an entire class of themselves. The greatest number indeed, that forest of the statues of victors which adorned the temple courts of Olympia and Pytho, are lost to us; but still there are many remains, consisting of marble copies, reliefs, vase-paintings, and gems, from which a tolerably complete cycle of such representations can be collected. Short curling hair, robust limbs, powerful forms, and comparatively small heads, characterize this entire class of figures. The leading aim here was to represent with perfect truth the particular conformation of the body and the characteristic movements of the different kinds of combat; although the athletæ were often sculptured in general attitudes, such e. g. as that of anointing the body, praying for victory, &c.

Horse and chariot races were also frequently represented by the Grecian artists with life and spirit; and the great frieze in the interior of the Parthenon, which portrays the Panathensean festival, and of which we have copied a small portion (pl. 3, fig. 9), shows how admirably skilled were the Grecian artists in displaying the horse in all his attitudes. The Romans too were fond of seeing their circus games depicted, especially in mosaic; and the combats of the gladiators gave occupation at least to the subordinate arts of painting and pottery in the way of paintings on walls and on vases. The same too was the case with representations of the art of dancing and of musical contests. Only those branches of the formative art which, neglecting severe principles, imitate life extensively, as vase-paintings, miniatures, mosaics, &c., reproduce scenes from the stage.

c. War. The ancient triumphal monuments, e. g. Trajan’s Column, the triumphal arches, &c., the sculptures on which relate to success in war, furnish us the best opportunity for studying the mode in which the Romans treated these subjects. Even sea-fights, according to the style of the ancients, of making the human figures everywhere prominent and reducing the inanimate masses into mere accessories, could be compressed into a comparatively small space. Statues of combatants in interesting postures may not unlikely have belonged originally to large historical groups, and have been afterwards executed as separate works. To this class we would assign both the famous Borghese Gladiator (pl. 5, fig. 4), and the Dying Gladiator (fig. 5), two of the finest statues that have come down to us from antiquity. The Borghese Gladiator is of marble, little above the size of life, and, according to an inscription upon it, the work of Agasias, son of Dositheos of Ephesus. The statue is now in the Paris Museum.

d. The Chase and Rural Life. Representations of the chase, especially of the boar-hunt and hunting the hare, are very frequently found in ancient reliefs and paintings. The occupations of rural life, however, are seldom represented by immediate imitation of the reality, since the occasion for depicting them was frequently furnished by the worship of Ceres and Bacchus; at all events we almost always find mythological figures interwoven in representations of this sort. Still in the domain of ancient art there are not wanting delineations of rustic simplicity and sturdiness; while in youthful figures this rustic character acquires an expression of harmless innocence and naïveté. A representation of this sort from rustic life of truly touching simplicity is seen in the Boy extracting a Thorn from his Foot in the Capitoline Museum (fig. 13), a bronze statue of the size of life; the Boy wrestling with a Goose (after Boethos’s statue in bronze), especially the group in the Capitoline Museum (pl. 6, fig. 6), also belongs here. Beliefs and paintings on houses designed to announce the professions of the occupants gave occasion for manifold representations of handicrafts and trades. Frequently the subject was taken from domestic and married life, as for instance social banquets, which on sarcophagi, &c., appear as feasts of the dead, the feasters being often represented as gods of the lower world.

The Middle Ages

From the Decline of the Plastic Art in the Third Century Down to the Thirteenth Century

The decay as well as the flourishing growth of the arts and sciences has ever been dependent on those two mighty sources of all movement in the moral world, religion and the form of government. Sometimes one, sometimes the other, determines the fate of the arts; but generally speaking the influence of both causes has operated so uninterruptedly from the very birth of the arts down to our own times, that their history is almost inseparably connected with the history of religious opinion and of political revolutions. Accordingly the mighty revolution which accompanied the downfall of the Roman empire and the introduction of an entirely new religion could not fail to exercise an influence upon art and its forms, and this all the more as even under the first emperors a decline of correct taste had become perceptible. Even the apparent restoration of the arts under the Antonines was of no duration; it was a last fleeting effort, like the sudden flashing up of a candle before it utterly expires.

In the time of Constantine the Great, art was already at so low an ebb and there was such a dearth of able artists, as we have already had occasion to observe, that in order to adorn with sculptures the triumphal arch which the senate and people erected to the emperor after his victory over Maxentius, they were forced to take the sculptures from Trajan’s arch and attach them to that of Constantine, so that only a few reliefs were made new which have reference to the deeds of Constantine. But these last are as inferior to the others in composition as they are in drawing and execution. One of the best productions of that time is a relief now preserved in the Capitoline Museum. It is known by the name of Pietas Militaris and represents warriors transporting a wounded companion in arms from the field of battle (pl. 7, fig. 1). Here belong also some statues of Constantine and his sons; but these also exhibit the decline of art, which now advanced with gigantic steps, as is shown by the contracted stature and disproportionate breadth given to the human figure.

This decline of the arts, however, did not take place so suddenly as some endeavor to maintain; the decay in fact was very gradual, so that it was not till the end of the fifth century that they went so far as to patch together new buildings out of ancient fragments. In Rome especially it was during the sway of Pope Gregory the Great that this deterioration of art gained the ascendency; although the bishops in the provinces had been in the practice for several decenniums of pulling down the temples and building churches and basilicas out of them, while they eagerly destroyed the statues of the gods with true fanatical rage.

As soon as Constantine the Great had resolved to rear a new Rome on the site of ancient Byzantium, not only were the best artists summoned to Byzantium from Rome, but also the finest and most celebrated works of art throughout the whole extent of the Roman dominion were carried off to the new capital; and when its dedication took place in the year 330, men beheld with admiration in the streets and public squares of Byzantimn, no longer as objects of idolatrous veneration but simply as creations of art, the statues of the Pythian Apollo and Apollo Smintheus, the tripod of the Delphic oracle, the Muses of Helicon, the famous statue of Pan, the Cybele, said to have been set up by the Argonauts on Mount Dindymus, the Athene from Lindus, the Amphitrite from Rhodes, and countless other productions of genius; though these were afterwards destroyed by the Christians as idolatrous images deserving no better fate, and were partly buried in fragments under the floors of churches, in order that they might be as it were trodden under foot by the professors of the true faith. But we need not be astonished that, in spite of this fanatical zeal for destruction, so many statues of the gods have been preserved to our times; for the adherents of the old religion buried these images, in order to preserve them from destruction, from which cause they are found even now in places where no temple or altar ever stood.

But Constantine did not content himself with merely collecting works of art; he also caused others to be executed. To these belong the above mentioned portrait-statues, which were set on high pillars, and a fountain, whose plastic ornaments had reference to the Christian religion. Above appeared Christ as the good shepherd, and another bronze group represented Daniel in the lions’ den, a subject which in succeeding times was often treated by sculptors. Constantine also caused a statue to be executed of Athalaric, king of the Goths.

Among the many churches which Constantine built in his new capital was the Church of Peace, designed to be the emperor’s burial-place, which was afterwards enlarged by Constantius and dedicated to St. Sophia. He adorned it on the outside with 450 statues, which doubtless had no reference to religion, as the use of sacred effigies was not introduced in the early times of Christianity. This church was afterwards burnt down; and when Justinian caused it to be rebuilt, there were found on one side buried in the rubbish more than seventy statues of Greek divinities and a few of Christian emperors, which statues were then set up again in different parts of the city.

In the reign of Julian the Apostate the heathen temples were restored and built up again, and new statues of the gods erected. Taste was not yet utterly extinct; for artists were still accustomed to visit Elis for the purpose of copying Phidias’s statue of Jupiter Olympius. After Julian’s early death nothing scarcely was done for art; and Theodosius the Great was the first who caused a few plastic monuments to be erected. Among them were two columns resembling Trajan’s Column. One of them, placed in the Tauric Forum, bore reliefs relating to the emperor’s exploits against the Goths and Vandals. Bajazet caused it to be totally destroyed. The other column is still standing, but is so surrounded by the buildings of the Harem as to be inaccessible. Gentile Bellini made a drawing of it in the time of Mohammed II., and it was described by Menestrier. Many statues in short were erected to Theodosius, his wife, and his son, but just as many to charioteers, actors, and buffoons.

The destructive zeal of the Christians increased with time. Not content with demolishing all the statues, paintings, and mosaics of mythological import, they also attacked other objects of art. Everything pagan was for the most part utterly destroyed; but if a thing was put to some use, it had first to be purified. Thus Harald, king of Denmark, by the advice of abbot Hermold of Languedoc, had two statues of Jupiter and Neptune melted down, to cast church vessels out of them. When materials were needed for building new churches and basilicas, heathen temples and even profane edifices were pulled down to furnish them.

The fifth century was the most fatal of all for the remains of ancient art and civilization, for then the barbarian hordes invaded and laid waste the Roman provinces. The first were the West Goths under Alaric, who captured Rome in the year 409, but spared the works of art. Then followed in the year 437 the persecution of the Catholic Christians by Genseric the Arian. In the year 445, under the reign of Pope Leo I., Attila, who called himself the Scourge of God, invaded Italy; and in 455 Genseric set fire to Rome, on which occasion the palace of Sallust with all its treasures of art perished in the flames. The imperial palace was plundered; and a ship laden with bronze statues foundered on her voyage to Carthage. And when, in the year 476, under the reign of Pope Simplicius I., Odoacer, king of the Heruli, dethroned the Roman emperor Augustulus and put an end to the Western Empire, many other treasures of art were sacrificed. It is hardly necessary to say that in such times artists created nothing new. All that was then accomplished in the department of sculpture was confined to reliefs and a few insignificant portrait-statues. Especial pains were taken in adorning the graves in the catacombs; and if we wish to behold the remains of art of that period, we must betake ourselves thither. Although here and there in these worlds, which for the most part are the productions of artists of an inferior stamp, we meet occasional echoes from the better periods of art, as e. g. in the reliefs, pl. 7, fig. 2, copied from a Christian sarcophagus in the cemetery of the Vatican, which represent the restoration of the dead to life according to the vision of the prophet Ezekiel; still the great majority of them are weak in invention, coarse in execution, and generally faulty in drawing.

It was not till the year 493, when Theodoric, king of the East-Goths, possessed himself of the supreme power in Italy, that bounds were at length set in earnest to the rage for destruction; while Theodoric himself expended large sums not only for preserving but for restoring the monuments of antiquity and the objects of art. When at that period an ancient bronze statue was stolen at Como, the strictest search was instituted, and the thief when discovered put to death. Many considerable structures were reared by Theodoric in Ravenna, Naples, Pavia, &c.; and both during his lifetime and in the reign of his daughter, queen Amalasunta, several statues were erected to him, in one of which, at Naples, was applied the invention of a particular kind of mosaic, the whole statue being composed of small colored stones. The cement however did not hold, so that in a few years the statue fell to pieces.

In the year 531, in the reign of Justinian, the church of St. Sophia in Constantinople was consumed by fire, when innumerable sculptures perished; and about the same time Belisarius destroyed all the aqueducts of Rome. A few years later (a. d. 537), when Rome was again besieged by the Goths, at the assault on the Mausoleum of Hadrian (now the Castle of St. Angelo), the defenders broke in pieces the statues which adorned it and hurled them at their assailants. Under the dominion of the Longobards, which began with Alboin in 568 and ended with Desiderius in 774, as the native rudeness of this people begot in them an utter indifference towards the fine arts, a number of the precious relics of ancient art were again suffered to perish. Vet new works were produced, and queen Theodelinde in particular caused many sculptured works to be executed; of these there still remains a bas-relief on the gate of Monza, representing the queen with king Agilulph, which however affords a very melancholy picture of the then state of art. In Pavia also, in the church of St. Michael, sculptures of that period are extant.

Art sustained irreparable losses through the reign of Pope Gregory I., who caused numberless statues to be destroyed, and of Pope Sabinian I., under whom any one at pleasure took possession of the existing statues, and if he could not carry one off entire, he took at least the head away. Pope Honorius I. (a. d. 662) built much and caused a good many works of sculpture to be executed. Paltry and destitute of all artistic value as are the works of those times, of which a large number have come down to us, contemporary writers are lavish in the praises they bestow upon them. Nor is this to be wondered at; for in a time of universal ignorance, when an acquaintance with the art of writing was a rare accomplishment, the production of a painting or a piece of sculpture, however poor its quality, seemed a glorious performance, and this all the more as in the East during the first centuries of Christianity, the making of sacred images and sculptures was strictly prohibited by the teachers of the church. Nevertheless art has ever found in the doctrines and traditions of religion its best and most numerous subjects, and its chief stimulus and support.

In the year 662, according to others 692, the Concilium Quinsextum was held at Trullo; and then it was decreed in the 82d canon, in opposition to the decrees of previous councils, that in future the lamb should not be depicted on the cross, but Christ in the human form. From that epoch commences the use of crucifixes in painting and sculpture; and in the earliest ones Christ appears always clothed, with a royal crown on his head, and fastened with four nails to the cross. The use of three nails did not arise till the time of Cimabue, who is regarded as the restorer of painting.

Shortly after, namely in the year 723, began the systematic attacks on images of the Iconoclasts which set the eastern and western churches at variance, and led throughout the greater part of the East to an utter destruction of the sacred monuments both of painting and sculpture. Now too began a time when the persecution of the works of art was extended to the artists themselves: for in the year 825 Michael II. issued repeated edicts against the adoration of images; and his successor Theophilus caused the holy figures in the pictures still extant to be painted over with birds, flowers, and ornamental foliage in the Arabian taste, while he threatened those artists who engaged in the representation of sacred subjects with severe punishments, and threw them into prison. But in the year 866 the use of sacred images began again and spread so rapidly that each military cohort carried with it the image of its saint in a small chapel mounted on two wheels.

Many writers are of opinion that the crusades proved of great benefit to the arts in the west and were the chief cause of their resuscitation. This supposition is based chiefly on the foregone conclusion that in Italy art was utterly extinct; so that its first principles had again to be brought from the East, where the splendor of the imperial court had constantly preserved it from destruction. To this assertion, however, we cannot assent. The crusades not only depopulated the country, but they also impoverished it; for the crusaders took immense sums of money with them out of the country. Of course, the artists, whose occupation flourishes when peace and comfort prevail, had to suffer. Not is it true that any important works of art were brought by the crusaders into the West to serve as models: all the booty taken consisted of gold, silver, or precious stones, which, without regard to artistic value, were divided amongst the warriors, and by these again for the most part squandered away. At the taking of Jerusalem, in the year 1099, Tancred, it is true, had the good fortune to attack and carry the mosque of Omar, which was filled with jewels, and gold and silver lamps and candlesticks, and also statues, taken from former Christian churches; but all these were the work of Christians in the East, and consequently dated from a period in which taste and consequently the arts were already at a very low ebb. Hence the crusades were not directly of any advantage to art; but indirectly they were, as we shall soon see.

Although now and then a Genoese or Venetian vessel may have brought from the East works in alabaster, porphyry, or verd-antique, and perhaps also occasionally a statue or a reliquary, such insignificant matters can hardly have exerted any influence on the revival of the arts. But the wealth which the cities of Italy acquired through their favorable position for commerce, and which doubtless was increased by means of the crusades, may well have fostered in the citizens the love of splendor and consequently a taste for art. The bishops, abbots, and monasteries, moreover, had enriched themselves during the crusades by the acquisition of lands sold or pledged to them, and by real or falsely authenticated gifts from persons who had lost their lives in the East; and these vied with the rich trading cities in their love of splendor, and in the munificence with which they adorned their palaces and churches with marble, works of sculpture, paintings, and mosaics. In this manner the crusades were indeed the indirect means of elevating the arts; the direct causes, however, which produced this effect were the industrious pursuit of trade and the astuteness of the clerical order, who knew how to turn the circumstances of the times to their own advantage.

Notwithstanding the degraded condition of the plastic art in the 9th and 10th centuries, the fondness for beauty and for embellishment which is inherent in man extended the practice of art over every part of Europe, and we perceive its feeble beginnings in those buildings of the period which have survived to our times. For although Charlemagne caused marble and columns to be brought from Italy for his structures at Aix-la-Chapelle, there are also statues extant which were executed for him in Germany.

But with the 11th century there commenced a period in which German art outstripped that of all other countries; and as in those times German architecture attained a high state of perfection in the short space of two centuries, and German architects practised their art in Italy, Spain, France, and likewise in the north of Europe, so too sculpture arose here from its slumber earlier than in Italy. For while in Italy it was not till the year 1250 that an advance was effected by the exertions of Nicolas of Pisa, a better style of art had been already exhibited in Germany in the reliefs of choir-screens in the church of Our Lady at Halberstadt finished in the year 1200, the monumental effigy of the abbess Agnes at Quedlinburg of the year 1203, and the bas-reliefs in the church at Gernrode.

From the Revival of Art in the Thirteenth to the Seventeenth Century

If in the 12th and 13th centuries the art of sculpture made a more rapid advance in Germany than anywhere else, and if notwithstanding we possess no grand and independent works of statuary executed by Germans of that period, the cause of the phenomenon is to be sought in the intimate connexion in which sculpture then stood with architecture. If we consider the facade of a dome of those times, we behold, it is true, an abundance of plastic figures; they have, however, even when very carefully finished, no individual significance, but are intended to act merely as parts of a whole. The plastic art had become as it were the handmaid of architecture. As with the sculptures of the facades so too with the ornaments of the high altars of German churches, especially those of the 15th century. Here too the statues of the shrine and the statues of the open and lofty tabernacles were merely designed to contribute to the effect of the whole, which lay mainly in the architecture. When the age of virtuosoship arrived, and men recognised the statues of a master, sculpture retreated more from the fronts to the interiors of churches, the better to satisfy the increasing tendency to a fond elaboration of details. Still the architectural idea remained predominant. We find the gold-embroidered stole and the bishop’s crosier adapted to the architectural style; the censers are little silver chapels, the pyx is a little golden steeple, and the reliquary a little church of gold plate, whatever may be the number of statues introduced. If we cast a glance at the style of the figures of the 13th century produced by German art, we perceive that the measured severity of the Roman style retained as its basis has yielded to a rich subjective heartiness of feeling, and that especially in Saxony a school was produced where excellence consists less in an adequate study of nature and a skilful representation of movements than in a pious adoption and genial use of the means which the ancient works of art placed in their hands. The human figures lose their cold, rigid character, and assume a graceful demeanor; and the features have a soft and amiable expression. The shoulders, however, with the arms fitted close to them, are often made too narrow; the hands too appear sometimes awry, and the stomach rather too prominent. The drapery is arranged in long, waving folds.

Nicolas of Pisa, born in the beginning of the 12th century, distinguished himself both as sculptor and architect, and is regarded, as we mentioned above, as the reviver of the plastic art in Italy. It is true that in the manner of his composition he did not differ from his predecessors and contemporaries; but in his forms he copied the antique and that so closely, that he made use in his works of figures from ancient sarcophagi which he found in his native city, and thus reproduced e. g. a Juno or Cleopatra as the Virgin Mary, a Plato as Joseph, &c. Although his figures are rather short in their proportions, they are incomparably superior in every respect to the productions of the immediately preceding period. His chief works date about the middle of the 13th century, e. g. the Descent from the Cross at San Martino in Lucca, 1240; The Pulpit in the Baptistery of Pisa, 1260; and that in the cathedral of Siena, 1266. He died in the year 1275. His son, Giovanni da Pisa, boldly followed the path struck out by his father; but he deviated from it in many respects, since, instead of the placid beauty of antiquity, he strove more after expression and character, and fell not unfrequently into exaggeration and distortion. One of his best productions is a Virgin with the Child Jesus (pl. 7, fig. 13) which was set up in 1298 at the southern side door of the Florence cathedral. She is of life size and holds in her right hand a flower, the sign of the Maria del Fiore, the tutelary patroness of this church, and, in allusion to the arms of Florence, a red lily on a silver field. Other works of Giovanni da Pisa which are highly spoken of are the great fountain in Perugia, 1264; the pulpit in the cathedral of Frezzo, 1286; the pulpit in St. Andrea at Pisa, 1301, &c. He died in 1320. His best pupil was Andrea Ugolino, also called Andrea da Pisa (born 1270, died 1345), who accomplished much for the perfection of his art. He wrought in company with Giotto, for whose buildings he furnished the sculptures. With his son Nino the Florentine school of sculpture attained its most flourishing condition towards the close of the 14th century. Among the best pupils of Nicolas and Giovanni da Pisa are reckoned also Agostino and Angelo de Senis (of Siena), who ornamented the tomb of the bishop of Arezzo, Guido Tarlati de Pietra Mala. Theirs is the statue of a bishop copied from this monument on (pl. 7, fig. 3. Giovanni Balducci, who flourished about the year 1340, belonged also to the best masters of the Florentine school and was born in Pisa. Among his many works that to which his fame is principally owing is a mausoleum or shrine of St. Peter the Martyr for the church of San Eustorgio in Milan. We have given a view of this work in fig. 4, and in figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8 copies of four of the caryatides on a larger scale. Of these caryatides there are eight: those in the rear represent the four cardinal virtues; those in front are the three godly virtues. Faith, Hope, and Charity, and likewise Obedience which bears the yoke, the other figures also being furnished with their appropriate attributes. The body of the monument resting on the caryatides, which contains the shrine, is decorated with eight reliefs representing scenes from the legends of the saints. Here we behold the saint stilling a tempest, visiting the sick, and exposed to view in state after his death. About him stand figures of apostles and fathers of the church. The pyramidal cover is adorned with reliefs and statues of angels; and above it is an ornamented addition containing the figures of the Holy Virgin, St. Dominic, and St. Peter the Martyr. On the apex is Christ between two angels. The entire monument is of white marble and was completed in 1339.

The next that requires mention among the masters of this age is Jacopo della Querela, who formed the transition from the ancient ideal to the natural style. He was born at Querela in 1368, and died in 1442. His chief works are in Florence, Bologna, Lucca, and Siena. In the last mentioned place is a large fountain ornamented by his chisel, on which, among other things, are the Virtues in the form of female statues. The bust of one of them is given in fig. 9. Among his contemporaries were Andrea Orgagna (d. 1389), Michele Algicani (d. 1400), Nanni d’ Antonio di Banco (d. 1420), Luca della Robbia (d. 1442); the last mentioned distinguished himself by his little burnt and glazed statuettes, which were spread as his invention throughout nearly the whole of Europe. Lorenzo Ghiberti, born in Florence in the year 1378, is less celebrated as a sculptor in stone than as a caster of statues: his gates on the Baptistery of San Giovanni at Florence have procured him undying fame, Michael Angelo himself having declared that they were worthy to form the gates to Paradise. It was in the year 1401 that Ghiberti with the six best sculptors of Italy entered upon a trial of skill respecting these gates; and thirty-four judges of art pronounced his, Brunelleschi’s, and Donatello’s designs the best, but the two last masters voluntarily yielded to Ghiberti. Besides these gates, Ghiberti cast several statues for the churches of Florence. His contemporary, the above mentioned Donatello, properly called Donato di Betto Bandi, was born in Florence in the year 1383. His merits as a sculptor are very considerable, and he was the cause of more attention being paid to the treasures of antiquity; in consequence of which the De’ Medici and other princes began to collect into museums the ancient statues still extant, and to cause those which had suffered injury to be restored. His style is noble, his attitudes easy and graceful, and his draperies clear and natural; the heads and the action of his figures are characteristic. The number of his works is not inconsiderable: among them are a relief, the Annunciation, in Santa Croce, St. Magdalen, and St. John the Baptist (pl. 7, fig. 11) in the Baptistery. This last statue was carved in wood, and was afterwards cast in bronze, after Donatello’s model, by the French sculptor Poncé. In the church of Or San Michele are the statues of St. Mark, St. Peter, and St. George, by Donatello, the last (fig. 12) being regarded as one of the best works of this master. He also executed many other works, among them the fine equestrian statue of General Gatta-Melata. He died in 1466. The transition from the 15th to the 16th century is formed by Andrea Verrochio, who was born in Florence in the year 1432, and died in 1488. He was a pupil of Donatello and teacher of Leonardo da Vinci; for Verrochio was a brass-founder, goldsmith, architect, painter, engraver, form-cutter, surveyor, carver, and musical composer, and in all these branches he excelled. When Verrochio was painting a Baptism of Christ, Leonardo da Vinci, then only thirteen years old, introduced into the picture an angel, whose beauty so astounded the master that he never after touched a pencil. Verrochio also introduced the process of taking plaster-casts from life, which had been invented by Lysistratus, a pupil of Phidias. His works are clever; his men’s heads are full of expression (fig. 10 represents the bust of a bronze statue, an apostle in the church of Or San Michele in Florence); and his female heads, especially in the treatment of the hair, are so beautiful, that Leonardo da Vinci often copied them.

But of all the masters of that period Michael Angelo accomplished the most for the perfection of art, which he brought nearest to the antique, although his great powers sometimes led him into exaggeration. Michael Angelo Buonarotti was born, 1474, at Sattignano in the territory of Florence. He was a pupil of Domenico Ghirlandajo in painting and of Bertoldo in sculpture, after which he studied anatomy for twelve years in the convent of San Spirito. Of his merits as a painter we shall have occasion to speak hereafter: his architectural achievements were discussed in another part of this work; but it is as a sculptor that he manifested most conspicuously the deep seriousness of his disposition, the clearness and directness of his conceptions, and the sublimity with which he embodied them in his works. His forms are simple and grand, and are elevated above those of common life; his characters are no portraits of individualities, and jet they display the profoundest knowledge of the human body and of the human soul. The attitudes depicted by him seem often rather violent; still they are never untrue to nature, but are in accordance with powerful emotion. Of his plastic works we will mention only the David in front of the old palace in Florence; a Pietà, a. marble group in the church of St. Peter at Rome; and an intoxicated Bacchus accompanied by a Satyr (pl. 7, fig. 18), a marble group 10 palms high, and one of his first performances. It was intended for Giacomo Galli of Florence, but was placed by Cardinal Ferdinand de’ Medici in the Florence gallery, where it still remains. Michael Angelo also designed the monument of Pope Julius II., which was erected in the basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli, but spoilt in the execution. Its chief ornament is the statue of Moses (fig. 19), which was to have stood with several other statues (of prophets and virtues) on the cornice. This colossal figure is now placed at the foot of the monument, and is certainly one of the master’s finest works. About the upper part of the tomb stand a sort of persians, representing fettered slaves, one of which we have copied (pl. 8, fig. 2). Another monument executed by Michael Angelo was that of the Medici in the church of San Lorenzo of Florence, which is famed for its statues of the Medicean family, and for those of the seasons and of the different periods of the day. Of the latter we have given the Morning and Evening (pl. 7, fig. 20), which will justify our assertion that among modern sculptors there is scarcely one that can be compared with Michael Angelo. M. Angelo died at Rome in 1564.

A short time after Michael Angelo, Benvenuto Cellini assumed a high rank among sculptors and casters of statuary. He was born in Florence in 1500; and having at an early age manifested an inclination for the plastic art, he was apprenticed to a goldsmith named Andrea Sandro, and when scarcely fifteen years of age he surpassed the best of his companions. His works soon attracted attention; and a lily composed of diamonds set in gold for Porzia Chigi introduced him to the notice of several dignitaries of the church, for whom he then wrought a good deal. When Rome was beleaguered in 1527, Cellini served as bombardier in the castle of St. Angelo, where he shot down the Duke of Bourbon who had captured the city, and wounded the Prince of Orange. He was appointed master of the mint to the pope; but manifold persecutions caused him at last to enter the service of Duke Alexander in Florence, for whom he engraved many medals and dies. He was once more called to Rome; but being again attacked, after executing several splendid vases, he went in 1537 to the court of Francis I. of France. He returned to Rome, however, in 1540, where he was thrown into prison under a false accusation; but he was liberated by Cardinal Ferrara, for whom he executed many important works. Being again summoned to France, he there set up a complete workshop, having attracted to his employ many German workmen, whose industry and skill he highly praised. To this period belong his finest works, of which many still exist, e. g. in the Ambrase collection in Vienna, in Dresden, and in other places. Here too he executed several works in sculpture, e. g. the enormous model of the statue of Mars, whose head served as a sleeping chamber, a bronze relief known by the name of the Nymph of Fontainbleau, and some others, among them the Knight’s Shield, now in England (in St. George’s Hall, Windsor Castle). Being permitted to revisit Florence, he entered into the service of Duke Cosmo, where he executed the famous but rather jejune statue of Perseus (pl. 7, fig. 16) for the market-place, which now stands in the Loggia Lanzi. In casting this statue more than 9000 pounds of metal were employed. The artist, however, received but a small part of his honorarium; for the duke, instead of the 16,000 gold scudi at which the work was valued, caused him to be paid only 3500, and that in sums of from 25 to 100 scudi. Cellini’s last work was a Saviour on the Cross of the size of life admirably sculptured in marble, and which is now in the Escurial, Cosmo having presented it to King Philip II. of Spain. Cellini died in 1572.

Giovanni da Bologna (Giambologna), born in Donay, 1524, was a pupil of Michael Angelo, and distinguished himself as a sculptor and architect. When he once showed M. Angelo a prettily executed model in clay, the master chid him harshly, and told him he should first learn to design before he began to execute. This severity irritated the young man so greatly, that he applied himself to study day and night, with the resolve that his works should yet surpass those of his master; and in fact they were worthy to be placed beside the productions of the greatest artists. He lived till the year 1608. One of his finest works is the Rape of the Sabines, of which a copy was made in bronze for the king of France, while the marble original stands in the Loggia de Lanzi. His Mercury as messenger of the gods (pl. 7, fig. 17), an admirable marble statue, remains in Florence; and in Bologna the fine statue of Neptune in the principal market is from his hand, as are likewise the bronze gate of the Cathedral at Pisa, and the equestrian statue of Cosmo I. in Florence. Giovanni was emulated by his pupil Camillo Mariani of Vicenza, by whom there are several excellent works in the Vatican, in St. John’s in the Lateran, and other principal churches of Rome. The same may be said of the works of Francesco Mocchi of Montevarchio, who owed his artistic education to Mariani, Mocchi was born In 1580, and studied very diligently; among his best works are the statue of St. Veronica, 22 feet high, for St. Peter’s at Rome, and the two fine statues of the apostles Peter and Paul before the Porta del Popolo in Rome. There are other productions of his in the church of San Andrea della Valle and Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome; in which last mentioned place is the marble statue of the Angel of the Annunciation, copied in fig. 15, which proves that the works of Mocchi are distinguished for freedom of action, well managed drapery, correct drawing, and characteristic expression in the heads.

After it had thus taken three centuries to elevate art from the deep degradation to which true Vandalism and a long period of warfare had brought it, a single individual succeeded in again bringing it down to a low ebb. This man was Lorenzo Bernini, born in Naples in 1598, a pupil of his father Pietro Bernini. The boy, who was gifted with a great deal of talent, is said to have sculptured a head in marble when only ten years old, and he certainly had a brilliant reputation both as sculptor and architect. His genius, which spurned all bounds, gave itself up to the quaintest conceits, utterly disregarding all the laws of true art and beauty, and every rule of good taste in sculpture. Hence he exerted a most deplorable influence on the entire plastic art of the 17th century, the effects of which reached far into the 18th century. His works are not creations of inspiration, but of a heated jejune fancy; accordingly they all betray more or less of affectation, and there prevails in all his works, in consequence of his preference for the pictorial principle, a mode of treatment that violates all the laws of the plastic art. So little did he care for truth to nature, that he even set himself to work to improve nature according to his perverted ideas, and so presented a phantom in place of the truth. As a specimen of his mode of composition we have copied his marble group of Apollo and Daphne (pl. 7, fig. 14), which is equally destitute of natural truth and of artistic inspiration. To the better class of his works, which unfortunately are too numerous in Rome, belong the immense figures of Constantine in the Vatican, and of Longinus in St. Peter’s, as also the more delicate ones of St. Theresa in Santa Maria della Vittoria, and of St. Bibiena in the church dedicated to that saint. The tabernacle 90 feet in height over the high altar of St. Peter’s church is a model of tastelessness; but what causes the greatest regret in connexion with this wretched production is the fact that to furnish the materials for casting it, the beautiful portico of the Pantheon was robbed of its pannelled ceiling and beams of bronze. Of Bernini’s career as an architect in Rome and in Paris, where he was received with almost superstitious reverence, but where, nevertheless, his plans were not put into execution, we have already spoken under the head of Architecture.

Modern Times

At the close of the preceding period we found that art in Italy had again begun seriously to decline; since the supremacy acquired by Bernini and his adherents, in consequence of the great favor shown them by the Pope, had sufficed to obliterate the impressions produced by the noble exertions of the true artists of the previous century, and to introduce into the plastic art a tasteless, unnatural, affected style, which robbed it of all its sublimity and its charms. It will now be our office to show how the various nations of modern times again discarded that periwig-style, and how the truly beautiful combined with the simplicity and sublimity of the antique have again attained the ascendency, so that now in more countries than one there are executed works of plastic art that deserve an honorable place beside the finest productions of classical antiquity.

Italy

So powerful was the pernicious influence of Lorenzo Bernini in his day, that it had the effect of turning aside from their path even such masters as Algardi. A few years younger than Bernini, who was born in 1598, Alex. Algardi first saw the light in 1602. In early youth he labored to perfect himself in drawing under Ludovico Caracci, and also in modelling; and notwithstanding many adverse circumstances, he at last succeeded in causing himself to be regarded as the best sculptor after Michael Angelo. His Magdalen, St. John, and St. Paul were universally admired; and the bronze statue erected by the senate to Pope Innocent, with which Algardi gained the victory over Francesco Mocchi, procured for him the cross of the order of Christ. Nevertheless his last great work, the famous bas-relief over the altar of St. Leo in the Capella della Colonna of St. Peter’s, which represents Attila encountering Pope Leo I. on the banks of the Po, and frightened back by the apparition of St. Peter and St. Paul, degenerated completely into the pictorial style of Bernini. Algardi and Bernini found imitators in the sculptors Poggi, Ferrata, and Brunelli; and Pusconi and Zamba perhaps surpassed them. It was not till the middle of the last century that the investigations and the ardent zeal for the simplicity and true beauty of the antique of such men as Winckelmann and Mengs, supported by Cardinal Albani, rekindled a love for the antique and a taste for genuine art. Cavaceppi also, although as a sculptor he belonged to the school of Bernini, collected, restored, and described the remains of antiquity with spirit and knowledge of the subject, and his copies of them are truly estimable. The first, however, who introduced into Italy a new era of art, in which the spirit of the antique awoke to new life, were Trippel and Canova. Alexander Trippel of Schaffhausen was originally a cabinet-maker, but studied sculpture under Wiedevelt in Copenhagen; in which art he soon attained to such perfection, that he was able to go to the Academy at Dresden and afterwards to Rome, where he remained and executed several very important works.

Antonio Canova was born, 1757, in Passagno in the Venetian territory, and first applied himself along with Pafael Morghen, under Volpato’s direction, to the art of engraving on copper. But this he forsook as there became developed in him a marked talent for sculpture; this last branch of art he studied in Bassano, and then went to the Academy at Venice, where in his 16th year he executed a statue of Eurydice. In the year 1780 he went to Rome, where he began and finished his Theseus slaying the Minotaur (this group is now in Vienna), and very soon gained so considerable a reputation that in 1787 he was intrusted with the execution of the sepulchral monument of Clement XIV. About this time he produced his Perseus with the Medusa’s head, which was purchased by the pope and set up in the Vatican in place of the Apollo of Belvedere which had been carried off by the French. After Canova had made a tour through Austria and Prussia, he executed in Paris in 1802 the model for the colossal heroic statue of Napoleon. Pius VIII. conferred high honors upon him, and sent him again to Paris in 1815, to demand the restoration of the plundered treasures of art. Canova died in 1822, and there was erected to him in the Chiesa dei Frari the monument which he had designed for Titian. He had also essayed his genius in the line of painting, and placed a high value on his works of that class. These were a Sleeping Venus, a Sleeping Adonis, a Descent from the Cross, &c. His masterpieces are the Cupid and Psyche (pl. 9, fig. 2) and Hebe (fig. 1), both in St. Petersburgh; two Athletæ, and Perseus with Medusa’s head, in the Vatican; Hercules dashing Hylas against a Rock, a splendid group, in the possession of the banker Torlonia in Rome; Napoleon with the sceptre and imperial globe and a Genius with a crown of palm branch, at Apsley-house, London; Venus Victrix, also in a private gallery in England; Venus coming from the bath, in the Glyptothek at Munich; the three Graces (fig. 3) and the penitent Magdalene (pl. 8, fig. 3), in the Leuchtenberg Gallery at Munich; three dancing girls (one of which is given fig. 4); the tomb of Alfieri, in the church at Santa Croce at Florence, &c. One of his finest works is the monument which Duke Albert of Austria raised to his wife Maria Christina, Duchess of Saxe-Teschen in the church of the Augustines at Vienna (pl. 11, fig. 11). It is entirely of white marble, and represents the sepulchral pyramid of the deceased, in which the mourning people, represented by the four ages of life, deposit the ashes of the beloved princess. A lion and a genius recline together on the opposite side of the gate of the pyramid, bearing the arms of Austria and of Saxe-Teschen. Another genius, accompanied by a winged palm-bearer, designates the pyramid more precisely by placing the bust of the princess over the entrance. The beautiful and expressive epitaph is, Uxori optimæ Albertus. The whole monument is executed in the most elegant manner, and breathes the profoundest sadness: the group to the right is transcendently beautiful. Canova has the undisputed merit of having greatly elevated the plastic art, and of having labored with all the zeal and earnestness of conviction to give it a fixed aim, that of grace and beauty, after the example of the ancients. The tendency of his own individual taste led Canova wherever he could, to avoid sharp forms; so that he sometimes borders on the feeble and affected, and his smooth figures seem almost destitute of bones. He usually polished his statues or coated them with a yellowish varnish. He was accustomed to model his works, leaving the shaping of the marble to skilful workmen, after which he applied the finishing touches himself.

France

In France also, a country which in so many respects has derived the materials of its cultivation from abroad and afterwards worked them up in its own manner, the baneful influence to which the plastic art had been subjected in Italy made itself sensibly felt, especially as the French wantonly introduced into the domain of art the follies of their code of fashions. From the time of Jean Gougeon, who in the year 1550 had revived the taste for sculpture in France, and whose Caryatides in the Louvre, in the hall of the Swiss, are still celebrated, art had made sure though gradual progress; yet even Germain Pilon (d. 1605), who first succeeded in representing the difierence of texture in marble, shows mannerism and occasionally inelegance in his works. A comparison of his masterpiece the Three Graces with the urn inclosing the hearts of Henry H. and Catharine de’ Medici (pl. 8, fig. 1), formerly in the church of the Celestines but now in the Museum, with the Graces of Canova (pl. 9, fig. 3) or of Thorwaldsen (fig. 5), will convince any one of the truth of our assertion. The same defects attach to the works of Sarrassin, the brothers Anguier, Theodan, Puget, Pierre le Gros, &c.; and Pigalle is the first who shows a purer taste in art, although he too leaves much to be desired. Pigalle was born in Paris in 1721, and was a pupil of the sculptors and brass-casters Lemoine and Lemayne, and in 1752 was professor in the Royal Academy of Paris. His talents first made themselves conspicuous after his return from Rome; and his Mercury and Venus, which afterwards became the property of the king of Prussia, rendered him famous. There are a considerable number of statues by him, among them that of Louis XV., and many fine reliefs. His best production was the monument to Marshal Saxe, which is still to be seen in the church of St. Thomas at Strasburg. We have copied it in pl. 10, fig. 11. This mausoleum is regarded as the most beautiful of that period, and is in fact very skilfully composed; although the mailed form of Maurice of Saxony does not harmonize with the allegorical figures, neither do these latter, especially the ancient Hercules and the modern skeleton, with each other.

The commotion produced in France during the age of the revolution and those succeeding it was naturally not without its influence on the arts. But after the first blast had passed over and the waves of the stormy sea had subsided into something like quiet, art again reared its pinions for a vigorous flight; and accordingly towards the close of the last and during the present century many good works have been produced, indeed everywhere we behold the influence of a refined taste and of an earnest study of art. It is true that in the choice of subjects many allusions may be perceived to the events of the times, as e. g. in Chaudet’s Cincinnatus (pl. 8, fig. 7), in Fogatier’s Spartacus (fig. 9), and in the reliefs on the numerous triumphal arches and monuments; yet everywhere the study of the antique is conspicuous, and as the example of the ancients was imitated in the republic, so it was in the plastic art, even down to the cutting of dies. As a specimen of the style of the period in relief we present a copy of a work of Chinard’s, taken from the triumphal arch in Bordeaux (pl. 11, fig. 13): it represents Bellona receiving a wreath from the Genius of Fame, and adorning with it the brave and ardent warrior. To this period belongs also the statue by Ph. Gross of General Kleber (fig. 10), who was assassinated in Egypt, which decorates his monument in his native city Strasburg, and is a masterpiece of composition. Yet there was no lack at the same time of works of a different class; and while for fifty years France was almost without interruption in a state of convulsive excitement, art quietly held on its way, and sought the subjects for the exercise of its skill in every department both of prosaic and poetic life. We cite as examples the Dancing Neapolitan, by Duret (pl. 8, fig. 8); the group of Ino and the Boy Bacchus, by Dumont (pl. 10, fig. 7); and the group of Leda and the Swan (fig. 8), by Seurre jeune; in which the study and to some extent the imitation of the antique cannot fail to be observed.

An independent path was struck out by Jean David of Angers; he was to French what Canova was to Italian, and Tieck, Schadow, Ranch, and Schwanthaler to German art, and he conducted it by the narrow way which leads between a slavish imitation of the antique and a mere copying of nature to the truly beautiful and sublime. Born in the year 1792, he devoted himself from his earliest youth to art, but lacked the means for pursuing his studies; his namesake, the painter David, assisted him and gave him instruction until a stipend was allowed him. The first work with which he appeared before the public was a relief, the Death of Epaminondas (pl. 11, fig. 12), which is in truth one of the most beautiful and expressive compositions of the period, and in 1811 received the first prize for a bas-relief, with which a study ing-pension was connected. David now went to Rome, where he studied the antique, and enjoyed the benefit of Canova’s instruction; after which he repaired in 1816 to England, to study the marble monuments carried off from Greece by Lord Elgin. The proposition, honorable to him in itself, to execute a monument with reliefs in honor of the victory of the English and German army, he as a good patriot rejected, and returned to Paris, where in 1822 he executed the statue of King René for the city of Aix, and a St. Cecilia for a Parisian church. In the year 1827 he produced the statue of the great Condé (pl. 10, fig. 4), which represents the hero at the moment of hurling his commander’s staff into the enemy’s redoubt, to rush forward at the head of his troops and recover it. This statue was designed as a pendant to that of Admiral Duquesne by Roguier (fig. 1), and, with the statues of Bayard by Moutoni (fig. 2), of Duguesclin by Bridan (fig. 3), and of eight other heroes and statesmen of France, to adorn the bridge of Louis XV. built by Perronnet, now the Pont de la Concorde. These statues, however, were removed, and stand now in the Museum of Versailles, while the bridge still waits for a substitute. It would here lead us too far to enumerate merely the principal works of this prolific and industrious artist, which are scattered through all parts of Europe, especially as David has manifested a great fondness for portraits. It is in this line and that of bas-relief that he has furnished the finest specimens of his talent; though it is not to be denied that he has occasionally manifested in his most celebrated works of the kind an excessive striving after effect. This is shown, for instance, very plainly in his two busts of Goethe, one of which is at Weimar and the other in Dresden, and in the bust of Tieck in Dresden. Especial notice is due to his bust of Alexander Von Humboldt, which is perfect as a likeness, and is justly famed for the sublimity which the artist has given to the brow of the illustrious naturalist. We must mention in conclusion a few of David’s sculptures which belong to the most recent times. Among these is Gutenberg’s Monument in Strasburg, which was executed in bronze after a model by David (pl. 11, fig. 3). In the physiognomy of this colossal figure we notice rather a straining after great expression than the manifestation of a profound intellect. The deep folds and furrows of the countenance, beard, &c., give an appearance of hardness. There is also something constrained in the figure, and the drapery exhibits nothing of the grand style. But notwithstanding the singularity of David’s Gutenberg in point of composition and drawing, and its disregard of the laws of artistic conception as respects the figure, in the poetry of the thought it surpasses even that of Thorwaldsen in Maintz (fig. 4): the latter represents the inventor of printing with movable types in his hand; whereas David has placed a proofsheet in his hand, on which are printed the words, Et la lumière fut! (And there was light!) Besides several monuments, among which are those of Cardinal Cheveru and the physician Larrey, David has produced a number of genre sculptures which have received universal applause and of which we shall mention here only the Boy relishing Grapes. David in his works had departed from the cold imitation of the antique, and knew how to express his ideas in a free and suitable manner; although sometimes, as we have mentioned above, he fell in consequence into a forced attempt at effect. As an opponent of the baldness and severity of the antique, he practises a style of sculpture exceedingly powerful and effective and hence perfectly adapted to the colossal; at the same time it is very different from the prevailing mode of treating clay and marble especially in Germany, and gives him liberty to exercise that warmth of inspiration and bold sweep of the hand with which he embodies his ideas. Yet notwithstanding his aversion to the antique, David pays his tribute to its excellence, especially in the nude figure; and here he inclines less to the Hellenic than to the luxuriant Roman.

In speaking of French sculpture, we must make mention of a female artist, whose early death was a severe loss to art. It was the Duchess Marie of Orleans, a daughter of Louis Philippe, late king of the French. She was born at Palermo in 1813, and in 1837 was married to Duke Alexander of Wirtemberg, whom she accompanied to Germany, but a fire having occurred in the castle of Gotha, at which she took cold, she went to Pisa for the recovery of her health and died there in 1839. This princess had a great talent for sculpture, and we have by her the well known most graceful and spirited statue, of the size of life, of the Maid of Orleans (pl. 8, fig. 10), which stands in Versailles; and in Paris the equestrian statue of the same heroine represented in the act of striking down an Englishman with her battle-axe. Her last work was a very beautiful angel of white marble, which now stands in the chapel of Sablonville on the sarcophagus of her brother, the Duke of Orleans, who met his death by an accident in 1843. The productions of the young princess are equally remarkable for the spirit of their conception and the beauty of their execution.

Germany

The plastic art of Germany in the middle ages struck out a path of its own, and consequently exhibits a high degree of originality; and although we find in it no traces of a study of the antique, there resides in most of its productions an expression of much grace and loveliness, combined with power and dignity, and a very earnest study of nature. The works of an Albert Durer, Veit Stoss, Adam Kraft, George Surlin, Peter Vischer, and numerous others, give proof of this; and the later masters, as Balthasar Permoser, Schluter, &c., did all in their power to preserve the art handed down to them in its purity, until at length the turgid style and perverted taste of the periwig period, which had originated in Italy and infected France, extended also to Germany and furnished that country with their rococo images. Fortunately this period did not last very long in Germany; for German good sense expelled the foreign intruder betimes. In Italy itself this false taste was combated and a nobler art revived by Germans: the names of Trippel, Winckelmann, and Mengs are become immortal, and sufficiently attest the German sense of the beautiful. But recent times have produced an array of artists of world-wide celebrity; and if Italy has her Canova, France her David, and Denmark her Thorwaldsen, we find contemporaneously or in quick succession in Germany the names of Zauner, Schluter, Schadow, Dannecker, Tieck, Kauch, and Schwanthaler, all of them heroes in the art of sculpture. We will here give some account of each of the five masters of the most recent times.

Joh. Heinr. Dannecker, the son of a groom, was born in Stuttgard in the year 1758, and, like Schiller, was a student at the Charles-school, but devoted himself to sculpture. As early as 17T6, at the competitory exhibition, he gained the first prize for his Milo attacked by Lions, and in 1780 he was appointed by Duke Charles sculptor to the court, with permission to pursue his studies in Paris and Rome. Here he soon distinguished himself; and after he had been there five years, his statues of Ceres and Bacchus gained him admission into the academies of Bologna and Milan. In the year 1790 he returned to Stuttgard, where he was greatly honored, and had a title of nobility conferred upon him. Besides his Ariadne, in the possession of the banker Bethmann of Frankfort (which cost 20,000 guilders, or $8000), we will mention his bust of Schiller; his colossal Christ, in Russia; and his Amor and Psyche, both in England. Dannecker died in 1841.

Joh. Gottfr. Schadow was born in Berlin, in 1764, a few years after Dannecker. He was the son of a tailor, and was taken to instruct by a pensioned sculptor of the court. He married early and went to Italy, where he wrought so industriously and with such success as to obtain at a competition the highest prize. He was made rector of the Academy of the Plastic Arts in Berlin, an office which he held from 1788 till his death, which occurred recently. Schadow was the father of sculpture in northern Germany, as Dannecker was in the south. The number of his works is very considerable, and they are distinguished by great truth to nature and vigorous conception, while those of Dannecker breathe more the spirit of the antique. Though Schadow also was no stranger to this; as many of his works, and especially the beautiful frieze on the Mint in Berlin, &c., demonstrate. Schadow executed the monument of Count Von der Mark in the church of St. Sophia in Berlin, and that of Frederick the Great in Stettin, for which even the French showed such great respect that at the last siege they took precautions to prevent any injury to it from their balls. This beautiful statue is of white marble. The statue of Duke Leopold of Dessau, known by the name of “the old Dessauer,” and the model of the beautiful quadriga over the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin are works of Schadow’s. He too was raised to the rank of nobility. Schadow had two sons, one of whom, Rudolf, born in 1786, also a sculptor of reputation, died at Rome in 1822; his Girl spinning and Girl binding her sandal are famous. His last work, Penthesilea, was finished by his friend Wolf. His brother, Wilhelm von Schadow, is painter and director of the Academy of Arts at Dusseldorf. He was born in 1789.

Christian Frederick Tieck, a brother of the famous poet Ludwig Tieck, was a pupil of the elder or so-called “old Schadow.” He was born in Berlin in 1776, and exhibited at an early age so great a talent for sculpture and drawing, that, after being for a while under the instruction of Bettenkober, he was received by Schadow into his atelier, and afterwards perfected himself in Dresden, Paris, and Rome. His forte, like that of David in Paris, to whom Tieck is greatly indebted, lies in portraits; and a good portion of the busts of celebrated Germans placed in the Valhalla at Regensburg are the productions of Tieck’s chisel. But he has also produced some admirable larger works. We will instance only the statues wrought in copper after his model in the cathedral at Berlin; and his beautiful ornamental works on the theatre newly erected in Berlin by Schinkel.

But of greater importance for the advancement of the art of sculpture in Germany are the works of Christian Ranch. He was born at Arolsen in Westphalia, in 1777, and made his first studies under Ruhl in Cassel, but was compelled by necessity to change for a while his intended course of life and become page to queen Louisa of Prussia. He here employed his leisure hours in modelling and sculpture; and this coming accidentally to the knowledge of the queen, she furnished him the means of completing his studies and going to Rome, where he produced many busts and reliefs, until the king of Prussia recalled him in 1811 and charged him with the execution of a sarcophagus for the queen, who had died in the meanwhile. Ranch performed the task; and in the exquisitely beautiful sarcophagus, which forms a couch whereupon the body of the queen reposes, we recognise the pious gratitude with which the artist labored on this tribute to the memory of his benefactress. The monument stands in the small sepulchral chapel in the royal tomb in the palace garden of Charlottenburg near Berlin, and which now contains also the sarcophagus of the king himself likewise executed by Ranch. Ranch has produced besides these a great number of admirable works. We will mention only the statues of generals Scharnhorst and Bülow of Dennewitz near the main guard-house in Berlin, and opposite the statue of Prince Blücher of Wahlstadt nesir the opera house, which were modelled by Ranch, cast by Lequine, and chiselled by Vuarin; and on the pedestals of which, in the historical groups, we recognise among the standard-bearers the portraits of Tieck, Ranch, Schadow, and Schinkel. Ranch modelled another bronze statue of Blücher for the city of Breslau, and also the beautiful monument to the deceased king Maximilian I. of Bavaria for Munich. This monument has likewise very fine reliefs and works executed in full on the pedestal; we copy here the statues of Felicitas publica (the Public Weal) (pl. 10, fig. 10), and of Bavaria (fig. 9), to show how Rauch combined a true conception of nature with a very refined study of the antique in the design and execution of his works of art. Ranch has been very happy in modifying as far as possible the unpicturesque forms of the military dress, so as not to offend the aesthetic feeling which demands drapery of a free, unconstrained, picturesque character. The number of his portrait-statues and busts is very considerable. Thus we have by Eauch a statuette of Goethe, and the statues of Luther in Wittenberg, of Albert Durer in Nürnberg, of Francke in Halle, of the two princes Mieczislaus and Boleslaus in Posen, and of Frederick William I. in Gumbinnen, which were all cast after his models. The four large Victories in the Valhalla at Ratisbon are also by Ranch, as well as countless other works of art, one of the most interesting of which is Laurentia of Tangermunde on the Stag. Recently Ranch has finished and erected a colossal equestrian statue of Frederick the Great, which is placed at the entrance of the Linden in Berlin, and is one of the grandest monuments of our time. It is true that during the last centuries the Germans have gone to excess in erecting monuments; still it is not to be denied that the style of the monuments bestowed by the Germans on their poets and statesmen, especially their favorites, is better calculated to satisfy a true feeling for art than those which have been erected by Britain to her poet Burns in Calton Hall, Edinburgh (pl. 10, fig. 12), and to her philosopher Dugald Stewart on the Calton Hill, Edinburgh (pl. 11, fig. 14), which are feeble imitations of the ancient choragic monuments.

We have still to speak of one other German sculptor, Ludwig Michael Schwanthaler, who is among the most prolific of artists, if we compare the number of his works with that of his years. This recently deceased master was born in Munich in 1802; and after receiving instruction in the elements of his art from his father, who was likewise a sculptor, he entered in 1818 the Academy of Mimich for the purpose of pursuing his studies in sculpture, but was already too independent to change the course he had marked out for himself. On that account he left Munich for Rome, and there in the year 1826 enjoyed the instruction of Thorwaldsen; after which he returned to Munich and set up an atelier of his own. Schwanthaler executed for the Glyptothek several reliefs on subjects taken from the Iliad; next for the palace of Duke Max in Munich a frieze of more than 150 feet in length, representing a wonderful Bacchanal, and then two large friezes in the new palace in Munich, one of which represents the Myth of Venus, and the other the Olympic Games. Among many designs produced by Schwanthaler we will instance only those of the wall-paintings for the six halls in the new palace on subjects from the Odyssey. For the hall of Barbarossa he executed a frieze from the crusades, and for the presence chamber the models for twelve bronze statues of the ancestors of the royal house of Bavaria. Of these statues we have copied two: Otto the illustrious (pl. 11, fig. 1), and the emperor Ludwig the Bavarian (fig. 2), to show how admirably Schwanthaler managed the costume of the middle ages, even when it seemed ill adapted for the purposes of art. It will also be perceived from these figures that Schwanthaler’s drawing is beautiful and correct, and his movements animated and true to nature; each one of his works is a new proof of the correctness of these assertions. Many honorary statues have proceeded from the hands of Schwanthaler; of which we will mention only that of Mozart for Salzburg, which represents the composer in an attitude of inspiration (pl. 10, fig. 5), while the reliefs on the pedestal (figs. 5^a and 5^b) portray the sisterly union of the muse of painting and sculpture with that of music (the Opera), and a singing scene (Song). Schwanthaler likewise modelled the statues of Jean Paul in Baireuth, of Goethe in Frankfort, of Margrave Frederick in Erlangen (fig. 6), of Kreitmayer in Munich, and of Ludwig of Hesse and Charles Frederick of Baden, the two last for Carlsruhe. Schwanthaler executed several works in sandstone, limestone, and marble, some for the Ludwigskirche, some for the Pinakothek, and some for private persons; but he gained especial celebrity by the reliefs on the pediments of the Valhalla at Regensburg, one of which, the front one, he executed after Ranch, but the other, the Battle of Arminius, after his own design. The relief on the new Exhibition-building at Munich, representing the arts under the protection of Bavaria, is also by Schwanthaler. His grandest work, however, was the model for the colossal bronze statue of Bavaria, which he did not live to see finished. It was erected before the gates of Munich in the summer of 1850, and dedicated by ex-King Ludwig I., in the month of October. Its colossal dimensions, which are admirably disguised by the most exquisite truth in the proportions, were demonstrated at the solemnities attending the erection of the head, from which at a certain elevation thirty-two artists emerged descending one by one by a ladder placed against the lower edge of the throat!

England and Denmark

While art was making vigorous progress in France and Germany, much was accomplished for it in England also; yet the number of celebrated English sculptors is not very considerable. John Flaxman kept true to the strict study of the antique, with which in most of his works, and especially in his designs to illustrate the Greek poets, he associated a great deal of winning grace and delicacy. Chantrey also, whom the English call their Canova, has judiciously combined the antique with the natural in his statues of Watt, Canning, Malcolm, and George IV., in his group of sleeping children, &c.

We now come to Bertel (Albert) Thorwaldsen, who, a descendant of kings (his ancestor was King Harald Hildebrand of Denmark, though his father was a poor ship-carver), rose to be king of sculptors. Even his birth seemed to call him to a special destiny: for he was born at sea, in 1770, as his parents were on the voyage from Iceland to Copenhagen. From his earliest childhood Thorwaldsen busied himself with the art of sculpture; and when in his 17th year he wrought in the Academy under Abildgaard, he almost invariably obtained the prize. In the year 1796 Thorwaldsen went to Italy, where he was kept after completing his studies by Hope the English banker, who ordered the execution in marble of his model of the statue of Jason (pl. 8, fig. 5), which in despair of encouragement he was about to break in pieces. The great beauty of the finished statue founded his reputation as a master, which several works in rapid succession confirmed, and it soon became a point of honor among the wealthy to possess a work of Thorwaldsen’s; so that Protestant as he was, he was intrusted with the execution of the mausoleum to Pius VII. in the church of St. Peter. Thorwaldsen visited his paternal city only four times, and resided for many years in Rome. At last he came to Copenhagen in 1842, where he suddenly died in 1844; he left his native country his heir, which has collected his works and his treasures of art in the Thorwaldsen Museum. The number of his productions is very great, so that we cannot even name them all; but one of his chief works is the Procession of Alexander, which he designed in honor of Napoleon, for an apartment in the Quirinal at Rome, and which was executed in marble for the Villa Sommariva on the Lake of Como. We have copied (pl. 9, figs. 7–11) some fragments of this frieze, which is 110 feet long, and 3 feet 8 inches in height, and the plaster model of which was completed in the space of three months. By this work Thorwaldsen proved that even a modern master could penetrate completely into the spirit of the antique and vie with the classical plastics of the Hellenes themselves. On repeating the work in marble, Thorwaldsen added to it another group, representing Count Sommariva and himself. The frieze was afterwards put in marble again for the castle of Christiansburg in Copenhagen, and as it needed to be longer, the artist added to it several other groups. The subject of this relief is the entry of Alexander the Great into Babylon, which the Persian general Mazseus delivered up to him without striking a blow. Thorwaldsen could not of course represent the entire scene as described by Curtius Rufus in his Life of Alexander (Book V.); but he has arranged in beautiful order the most important particulars. The artist conducts us, first to the banks of the Euphrates, which is represented by fishermen and the river-god himself, whom Thorwarldsen erroneously called the Tigris. Before the walls of Babylon we behold a shepherd with his flock; and close by, an altar of incense guarded by two warriors. We have given the end of this group in pl. 9, fig. 7. The two seem displeased at the friendly reception of the conqueror; on the countenances of the shepherd and shepherdess we see portrayed the intense expectation of the coming events; while the boy in utter indifference is playing with a sheep. To the group here described are joined the priests and magi, before whom horses, a lion, and a tiger are led as presents to the invading general. Music heads the procession; before which advances Bagnophanes, the treasurer of Babylon, marshalling the array, and causing altars to be hastily erected at intervals. Girls strewing flowers precede the procession, at the head of which is the goddess of Peace with a horn of plenty and a palm-branch, and behind her appears the Persian general Mazseus with his children beseeching clemency. Opposite this group begins Alexander’s procession, coming towards that of the Persians. At its head appears the conqueror himself (fig. 9), on a brazen quadriga, which the winged goddess of Victory herself guides to meet the goddess of Peace. This group, in the first copy of Alexander’s Procession, of which as is well known there are five in existence (one, properly only a plaster sketch, in the Quirinal; one in marble, for Count Sommariva; a new sketch, wrought entirely anew and of half size, in the Museum; a frieze executed in marble and of full size, after the last mentioned, for the castle of Christiansburg; and a copy of that in the Quirinal, for the Duke of Leuchtenberg), was quite differently and in general more quietly arranged, and only the copy in the castle of Christiansburg has it as it here appears. Behind this group begins the victorious procession of the army with Alexander’s armor-bearer, followed by Bucephalus with his grooms leading him; next Alexander’s generals, Hephæstion, Parmenio, and Amyntas; after whom comes an adjutant, and then the wonderful group of horsemen in pl. 9, fig. 10. This group likewise is not found in the Quirinal copy, but was composed for Christiansburg and adopted in the copy of Sommariva. After this follows a very beautiful one of four horsemen, and after these the group of horse and foot in fig. 11; these again are followed by an elephant, as a symbol of the spoils of war, loaded with conquered weapons, and the famous casket which Alexander withheld from the booty, to keep in it his copy of Homer which everywhere accompanied him; and after it a captive Persian chieftain. The whole procession is closed in all the copies by a group in which Thorwaldsen himself appears viewing the procession; but in Count Sommariva’s copy Thorwaldsen appears in an animated attitude explaining the whole procession to Count Sommariva and his son.

Of Thorwaldsen’s pieces on mythological subjects we will mention only his Venus Victrix with the apple of Eris, in the act of seizing her garments to put them on again (fig. 4), for Lord Lucan; the Three Graces (fig. 5), for the Duke of Augustenburg, a charming composition; and the Apollo (pl. 8, fig. 6), executed for the Countess Woronzow, the model of which, in place of the trunk of a tree, has the Delphic tripod. Of his mythological and historical bas-reliefs we will instance only in addition to those mentioned above, his beautiful relief of Achilles and Briseis from Homer’s Iliad, V. 345 et seq., which is copied in pl. 9, fig. 6. This relief was Thorwaldsen’s first production of the kind in Rome. It was executed while the Jason was being blocked out; and it laid the foundation of Thorwaldsen’s fame as a master of composition, which he ever after retained. This relief has been twice transferred to marble, once for the Duke of Bedford in Woburn Abbey, and once (before that) for Herr von Ropp in Mitau, when the composition was somewhat altered. Here also should be mentioned the two celebrated reliefs of Night and Morning. Of subjects taken from the Christian religion we can allude only to the colossal Christ and the twelve Apostles, the Angel of Baptism, Christ’s procession to Golgotha and several other bas-reliefs in the cathedral of Copenhagen, whose gable is ornamented with one of Thorwaldsen’s most wonderful groups in detached figures, representing St. John the Baptist preaching in the Desert. In addition to the above works, Thorwaldsen designed and modelled a considerable number of epitaphs and monuments, e. g. the monument of Pope Pius VII., already mentioned, of Copernicus in Warsaw, of Count Potocki in Cracow, of the Duke of Leuchtenberg in Munich, of the electoral Prince Maximilian of Bavaria in the same city, of Conradin of Suabia in Naples, of Schiller in Stuttgard, of Gutenberg in Maintz, &c. The statue of Schiller’s monument is copied in pl. 11, fig. 7, and figs. 8 and 9 show two of the reliefs of the pedestal; of these fig. 8 is the front, representing an apotheosis of Schiller (the two Zodiacal signs are those of the months of Schiller’s birth and death), and fig. 9 is the rear; the two sides contain hovering angels. Fig. 4 represents the statue of Gutenberg’s monument, which as a statue is altogether superior to that of David (fig. 3). Fig. 6 is a relief from the base, representing the invention of movable types; and fig. 5 is another relief which represents the first execution of the art of printing and Gutenberg in the act of examining a proof-sheet. Characteristic attributes are given to the statue itself, which holds movable type in its right and the newly printed Bible in its left hand.

Painting

As the sense of form, so too the sense of color is deeply implanted in the nature of man; and we meet in all times and in all countries with proofs that men have practised the art of painting in some mode or other, even though it be limited to staining or painting their own bodies or the objects which they have carved or constructed. The question has been asked. Which of the two arts is the older, painting or sculpture? It would lead us too far to enter here into a discussion of this question: still it appears to us that sculpture must almost of necessity have preceded that painting to which the term “art” can be applied; for to us it seems easier for the uncultivated man to mould soft clay into the shapes of objects, and even to execute images of them in hard stone, imperfectly to be sure, than to represent raised objects at different distances and hence perspectively, by drawing on a plane surface. A proof of the correctness of our supposition is furnished by the fact that we have plastic works of the Indians, Medes, Babylonians, and Persians, which are even brought to a certain degree of perfection; while of their paintings not a trace is to be found, if we except a few instances where colors are spread over walls and ceilings or over sculptures, whose antiquity, moreover, seems hardly established with sufficient certainty.

We must divide our brief survey of the history of painting, as we did that of sculpture, into two great periods, the painting of antiquity and that of the middle ages and modern times.

Antiquity

The period of antiquity extends from the time when we meet with the first traces of painting properly so called, i. e. the endeavor to represent corporeal objects with the colors belonging to them on a plane surface, among the Egyptians, down to the utter decline of this art at the time of the introduction of the Christian religion.

The Egyptians

We have found among the Egyptians the evidences of a considerable degree of culture, as compared with other ancient nations, in their architecture and sculpture as well as in other arts of scientific and social life; and the same is the case with respect to painting, although this stood at a considerably lower degree of advancement than the plastic art.

The painting of the Egyptians commences with the coloring of statues and reliefs, and does not change its character through being transferred to a level surface, whether it be walls, or tombs, or hypogæa, or the outside or inside of mummy-chests, or the byssus wrappers of mummies, or rolls of papyrus. The colors, mixed with glue or wax, are applied to the stone, or in the case of mummy-chests to a thin layer of gypsum, without regard to light and shadow; and without mixing or shading. The same simple coloring materials are employed everywhere in the same manner, with some though a very slight regard to the natural local colors, although sometimes a symbolical signification appears to be aimed at. To men is usually given a peculiar flesh color; women have somewhat more of a yellowish tinge; quadrupeds are usually red, birds for the most part green and blue, and so too is water. But everywhere the same type occurs in the drawings to which we have alluded in speaking of the reliefs. The Egyptians remained in drawing pretty much as if they were dealing with round sculptures, a new proof that sculpture is older than painting; and even in the ripest age of their art they stand at the point where other nations usually begin: they never got beyond the straight, angular, scarcely waved strokes of the first outlines of their figures, and to these figures they gave very little action, so that one is almost exactly like the other. The position and play of the muscles, together with the manifold variations which they produce in the body according to its different inflexions, the Egyptians, if acquainted with them, were unable to imitate in drawing and painting, on account of their ignorance of chiaroscuro. Still it excites our astonishment to behold in these paintings, how defective soever they may be, in the royal tombs, on the ceilings of Denderah and Syene, and on the overturned Sphinx at Heliopolis, the same glowing colors and the same perfect freshness that they exhibited at the time of their execution thousands of years ago. Count Caylus ascribed this circumstance to a mordant added to the color; yet colors usually suffer by the addition of sharp mordants, and hence we are tempted to attribute it rather to an admixture of wax, by means of which the colors were made to penetrate deeper into the stone. It may also be possible, according to the opinion of some antiquarians, that the reliefs of the Egyptians were moulded, after the fashion of our clay models, out of a plastic, colored mass, which gradually acquired the hardness of stone; and such compositions we have at the present day, which become hard enough to strike sparks with a steel. According to this view their reliefs and paintings were a sort of mosaic prepared in a moist state. Perhaps we have here the first trace of fresco painting, an opinion which seems in the highest degree probable.

But although these Egyptian paintings may rank very low as artistic productions, yet for the study of the history of the manners and customs of the Egyptians they are of inestimable value; for they afford us an insight into the domestic and social life of the people which scarcely leaves anything to be desired. This is especially true of the paintings which adorn the royal tombs and the Egyptian tombs in general, as these paintings usually relate to the former occupations of the deceased (see Architecture p. 10, or p. 10 of this volume). Thus we find in one tomb scenes from the life of a shepherd or of a husbandman, in another hunting scenes, in a third, fishing, &c. In one grave we find represented arms and implements of war, in another musical instruments, and a third shows us the religious and domestic usages and institutions of the Egyptians in their smallest details. The scene in pl. 12, fig. 1, will serve as an example. It represents the hallowing of the water of the Nile, a domestic ceremony which took place at each overflow of the river. The Nile water is celebrated for its palatable and salubrious qualities, and at the time of the overflow a stock of it was laid up in every household. Our view represents the interior of an Egyptian house. We see the whole family assembled in the principal apartment, with the master of the house at their head, and engaged in the act of blessing the water, of which we see a stock already stored up together with other provisions along the upper part of the walls; while other vessels of water are being brought in, as it appears, from out of doors, which have just been drawn. In the upper corner of the picture we see, in a sort of greenhouse or garden-house, a similar transaction going on. Another Egyptian picture is given in fig. 2, in which two parties are seen playing a game which bears a very close resemblance to our chess. In these two pictures will be found confirmed the assertion which we made respecting the drawing and the monotonous attitudes of the figures; although it cannot be denied but there are many points, as e. g. the distinction between the races of mankind, which evince a talent for accurate observation. Both of these paintings are from tombs. In the temples paintings are of rarer occurrence, and were in general confined to the coloring of reliefs; but where actual paintings exist, as in the halls of Carnak, they relate for the most part to historical events and to sacred rites.

The Etruscans

We have already, in speaking of the sculptures of the Etruscans, had occasion to express our opinions respecting the origin and the progress of civilization of this people and concerning the remains of sculptures and castings which have come down from them to our times. Of their skill in painting and drawing we also possess valuable relics in the wall-paintings of the tombs, the pictures on vases, and the engravings on metallic mirrors. The subjects delineated were usually taken from domestic life or from their religious myths. The drawing is rather meagre, the forms conventional without imitation of nature, and the drapery is indicated by fine lines rather stiffly and without being divided into masses. The features are usually destitute of expression except that they seem inclining to a smile. The coloring consists of colors laid on simply and separately without light and shade, and constantly reminds us of its Egyptian origin. In later times Grecian art exerted a great influence on the Etruscans, and the later Etruscan vases are in no respect to be distinguished from the Greek; in the ornaments especially, the Greek feeling for the beautiful is far more prominently active. The Etruscan paintings which we possess exhibit a progressive improvement in the style from the formally severe to the light sketchy manner. The localities where the greatest quantities of vases have been found are Arezzo, Camino, Chiusi, Corneto (the ancient Tarquinium, where are also the hypogæa of which we have spoken under Architecture, p. 36), Viterbo, Volterra, and Vulci; these vases exhibit the utmost variety in their forms and sizes. In pl. 12, figs. 3–7, and pl. 13, figs. 1–4, we have copied a number of patterns.

Pl. 12, fig. 3, represents a vase the painting of which is displayed in fig. 7. The sitting figure, probably a young bride, holds in her right hand a mirror, and in her left apparently an apple, both attributes of Venus, the goddess of love. Before her stands a winged genius, probably Amor, who is talking to her. On one side is a female attendant with an apple and a wreath, and on the other a maiden bringing a bowl containing fruit. The vase is 1 foot 2\(\frac{1}{4}\) inches high. Pl. 12, fig. 4, shows a Bacchante sitting between two fauns and holding a timbrel in her hand. One of the fauns stands with his left arm resting on his knee and his foot supported on a box, joking with the bacchante and offering her fruit in a bowl. The other faun, with his foot resting on a rock, touches the timbrel with one hand and points with the other to the broken fragments of a bowl. The female figure is white; all the rest is orange and black. The vase is 11 inches high. The vase-painting. fig. 5, represents Electra at the tomb of her father Agamemnon. Near her stands a large water vessel for libations, and beside it an unguent vessel and a girdle. Before Electra stands Orestes with a vase and a spear. He wears only a cap and a light cloak. The figure with the petasus (travelling hat) is doubtless Pylades; and the caduceus on which he leans points him out as a messenger. One of Electra’s maids stands near. The whole is a scene from the Electra of Sophocles. The neck of the vase is ornamented with a combat between a horseman and a foot-soldier. On the vase fig. 6 there is depicted in the middle a sepulchral monument in the form of a little temple resting on a double substructure. In the interior is seen the deceased in a sitting posture, holding a jewel casket, and only covered with a light garment. Before her stands an attendant with a fan and a wreath of flowers. Near the monument stand a male and three female figures, who are bringing offerings to the dead, chiefly articles of female ornament. This vase, which is 2 feet, 2\(\frac{1}{2}\) inches high, and is doubtless a cinerary urn, was once sold for 270 dollars.

Pl. 13, fig. 1, is a black vase 4\(\frac{1}{8}\) inches high, on which a female head and several ornaments are painted in white. Fig. 2 shows a vase on which is a Bacchante with a thyrsus and a wreath also; the other side of this vase is given in fig. 4, and shows a youth walking with a staff. Fig. 2 exhibits a cinerary urn with ornaments painted on it; and fig. 4 also a pitcher with a handle, on which is painted a priest sitting under palms. Fig. 3 is the reverse of the vase in pl. 12, fig. 5, and represents Iphigenia on the altar of Diana Taurica, and near her Orestes and Pylades. According to Millingen. the figure seated on an altar is Io (in which case the horn would indicate her metamorphosis into a heifer); she is imploring the protection of a king, behind whom appears a Satyr. A companion of lo is awaiting the event. Behind the altar stands on a pillar the statue of the goddess, near which hovers a winged genius.

Some of the vases have black figures on a red ground, others black or violet figures on a yellow ground, and others yellow or red figures on a black ground. Sometimes we find blackish or black vessels with figures and ornaments slightly raised or depressed. One of the finest vases was found in the year 1845 by Alexander Français, at Chiusi. It is very large and is now at Florence; it has black figures on a red ground, with white and red lights laid on and the finest sgraffito drawings accompanied by 115 Greek inscriptions relative to the mythological scenes (among which is the Wedding of Peleus and Thetis) and giving the names of the potter, Ergotimos, and of the painter, Klitias.

The Greeks and Romans

Among the Greeks also painting became an independent art later than sculpture; which perhaps was partly owing to the fact that Grecian civilization had little need of it. Homer speaks only of garments with figures interwoven, of ships painted over, and of horse-trappings of colored ivory; and in his time, and doubtless long afterwards, painting consisted wholly in coloring images and reliefs of clay and wood. The first advances in painting are ascribed to the Corinthians and Sicyonians; and it is asserted, though without much credibility, that Cleanthes of Corinth invented linear drawing, that Cleophantes of Corinth was the inventor of monochromes, or paintings of single colors, and that Eumacros of Athens was the first who distinguished men from women in his drawings, perhaps by a lighter color.

In Corinth, where the manufacture of fictile vases attained such a pitch of perfection, we find the first union of painting with the art of pottery, which at the same time was in vogue among the Etruscans. The fabrication of vases was divided into two main branches: the light yellow vases without gloss, of broad and depressed forms, with red, brown, violet, and black figures, and animal shapes mostly of an arabesque character; and the red and dark yellow varnished vases, of a more tasteful form, and with black figures chiefly of a mythological nature. Both kinds were made in Greece as well as in Italy, and the oldest are distinguished by the rudeness and clumsiness of the figures, and especially by the stiffness of their attitudes, the scenes they represent belonging mostly to the Dionysan myth.

After the 50th Olympiad, the art of painting, by means of Cimon of Cleonæ and others, made very considerable progress, especially in the perspective treatment of subjects. Cimon of Cleonse at that time painted in the Herseum the picture dedicated by Mandrocles the architect, which represented the bridge over the Bosphorus and the passage of Darius upon it. Vase-painting was more limited in its resources, and the prevailing species, with black figures on a dark red ground, exhibit all the peculiarities of the old style, viz. the excessive prominence of the chief muscles, the formal regularity in the folds of the drapery and the postures of the figures, and the angular abruptness of their movements.

In the period when Phidias, Praxiteles, Lysippus, and Leochares furnished specimens of the highest excellence in the plastic art, that of painting also attained, in three great stages, to a perfection which made it a worthy rival of sculpture. Ancient painting, however, remained always more closely allied to sculpture than that of modern times, by reason of the predominance of form over light and shade; the paintings of this period too are characterized by a certain separation of the figures in order not to confuse the outlines, a uniform distribution of light, and an avoidance whenever possible of foreshortenings.

The first painter of great reputation was Polygnotus of Thasus, who resided in Athens, and whose pictures are distinguished by accurate drawing, a noble and distinct mode of characterizing the mythological figures, and charming female forms. His great paintings were planned with an extensive knowledge of historical legends and according to architectonico-symmetrical principles. He was the son of the painter Aglaophon, and painted for the Poecile, the Theseion, the portico of the Propylaea, the Delphian temple, &c. Pausanias has left us descriptions of these paintings, especially of those at Delphi; after which the brothers Piepenhausen have attempted to recompose them. Next to Polygnotus are placed Iphion of Corinth, Micon of Athens, Dionysus of Colophon, and many others; none of whom, however, equalled the first named master. The first who made a deeper study of the gradations of light and shade was Apollodorus of Athens, who is hence called the shadow-painter (sciagraph er). He formed his style after that of Agatharcos of Athens, who painted for the stage.

With Zeuxis begins the second period of improved painting, in which the art attained the power of deceiving the senses; we will allude only to the grapes of Zeuxis which the birds pecked at, and to the painted curtain of Parrhasius, which one of his brother painters tried to push aside in order to see the picture behind it. Zeuxis particularly excelled in the delineation of sublime majesty (Zeus on his throne surrounded by the gods) and female beauty (Helen at Crotona); while Parrhasius was preeminent for the rich variety of his compositions and the perfect appearance of roundness which he gave to his figures. Besides Zeuxis and Parrhasius, who formed the so-called Asiatic in contradistinction to the Attic school, Pamphilus originated the Sicyonian school, which was distinguished for scientific cultivation, and for accuracy and facility of drawing. Celebrated masters of this school, in addition to Pamphilus of Amphipolis, were Pausias of Sicyon (figures of children), Euphranor of Corinth (heroes and gods), &c. At that time also (104th to 110th Olympiad) encaustic painting, if not invented, was considerably improved upon.

Before all, however, ranks the great Apelles, who united the advantages of his native Ionia, grace, sensual charms, and rich coloring, to the scientific severity of the Sicyonian school. His most charming picture was his Anadyomene in Cos, in the temple of Æsculapius, which was brought by Augustus to Home, but was already quite decayed in the time of Nero. He showed that heroic subjects were also suited to his genius, and especially portraits in the grand style, as e. g. that of Alexander wielding the thunderbolts, of his father, and of his generals. Along with Apelles, Protogenes and Theon distinguished themselves. Much praise was bestowed upon the picture of Nausicaa by Protogenes in the portico of the Propylæa at Athens, in which was depicted a harbor with vessels of state, and upon the Matricide of Orestes by Theon. Of all these famous paintings we possess nothing but obscure accounts of authors and later imitations; yet the vase-paintings of this period, with their bright, thinly distributed figures on a dark ground, afford some idea of the degree of excellence attained in the art of correct design, if we may venture to draw conclusions from the works of simple artisans as to the productions of the first artists. Polychromes (paintings in several colors) are also found on the vases of this period. Pl. 14, figs. 1 and 2, are the two sides of a beautiful specimen of these vases 2 feet 7 inches in height. The front side relates to a festival of Bacchus. A young man holding a lance is seated on his chlamys, and his hat has fallen off; he is resting after a war-dance, such as was performed at the Dionysia. Near him is a clothed Bacchante holding a thyrsus and a laurel-branch. The picture on the reverse side likewise refers to these festivals. We have here a pair of Dendrophori, such as appear in the Dionysia, with branches of laurel and other trees. Pich ornaments accompany both pictures. Fig. 3 represents the pictures on a small vase 12\(\frac{3}{4}\) inches high painted with various colors. A woman is seated at a tomb, which she is adorning with various fillets by way of offerings to the dead, while a richly clothed young man, bearing two spears, points to the foot of the monument. The vase was found by Sir William Gell in Attica; its ground is a pinkish yellow, and the drawings and contours are laid on in red. In our copy all the half-shade tones of the figures and ornaments are bright red; those next dark are of a brick red; and. the border of the youth’s chlamys, the upper garment of the female, and the 2d, 4th, 8th, 12th, and 14th rings of the pillar, as also the ornaments à la grecque, are green. The neck and foot of the vase are black.

In the period of Alexander down to the destruction of Corinth, painting was zealously cultivated; yet none of the masters of the three above-named schools attained to the fame of their great predecessors, inasmuch as hasty painting, which the state processions in the cities where the rulers resided rendered necessary, spoiled many an artist. At this time too arose rhyparography (the painting of low life, as it is called), and scenography was applied to decorating the palaces of the great. As the love of splendor now demanded that the floors as well as the walls should be decorated with colors, the mosaic art arose, which quickly developed itself, and undertook to represent great combats of heroes and animated battle scenes. The painting of fictile vases, on the other hand, ceased about this time: for we find none whose style indicates a later period of art. The first mosaic pavements were made by Sosos of Pergamus, and consisted of fictile cubes, which were mostly laid in beautiful patterns (pl. 13, figs. 19 and 21), although they often had a separate mosaic picture in the centre. One of these mosaics exhibited in the middle a cantharus (drinking-vessel) with doves drinking and sunning themselves, a picture which was afterwards repeated in the villa of Hadrian and is now preserved in the Capitoline Museum (fig. 17). Another centre-piece of a mosaic pavement of this sort exhibits several masks, an ancient imitation of which is now in the Vatican (fig. 16). Several of the decks in the state vessel of King Hiero of Syracuse were inlaid with mosaics. Pl. 14, fig. 6, is a copy of a very beautiful mosaic, now in the Villa Albani, which was found in 1760 at Arpino in the Kingdom of Naples, and on which is represented the deliverance of Hesione by Hercules. The hero has slain the sea-monster with arrows, and Telamon is helping Hesione down from the rock, on which we see the traces of chains. In the background appears a burning house, alluding to the destruction of Troy, whereby Hercules avenged the faithlessness of King Laomedon, the father of Hesione. Relief-mosaics were also made use of as medallions, of which the head, pl. 13, fig. 18, and the statue of Theodoric, of which we have already spoken, are specimens.

The plunderings and devastations to which Greece was subjected and the transportation of its treasures of art to Rome, occurrences of which we have already treated in our history of the plastic art, produced also the downfall of painting in Greece, and the artists betook themselves to Rome, in which new abode Greek art is to be looked for from this time forth.

In the age of Cæsar the art of painting bloomed once more, but soon again faded. Subjects were then chosen of the deepest tragic pathos, as for instance the pictures by Timomachos of Byzantium, of Ajax and Medea before the murder of her Children, although portrait-painting was also much in vogue. Under the emperors we find the main branch of the art, easel-painting, entirely neglected; while wall-painting, as the handmaid of luxury, was practised in preference. Scenography, which, especially in Asia Minor, had taken a fantastic direction, and spurned all the rules of architecture, was transferred to the decoration of apartments, where it was developed if possible in a still more arbitrary manner; and artists pleased themselves with working up a transparent and airy architecture into forms of vegetation and other fantastic shapes. An example is furnished in the architecture of the two wall-paintings from Pompeii (pl. 12, fig. 8, a Roman priestess, and fig. 9 a songstress), where the excessively slender columns are crowned by the ornamental pinnacles which we have placed at the sides of the pictures.

A peculiar style of landscape painting was introduced in the reign of Augustus by Ludius, who produced wall-paintings containing villas, towns, sea-ports, &c., animated with figures of persons engaged in all sorts of pursuits and often in very comical situations. In ancient buildings there are still many remains of this period of art, the date of whose execution extends down to the time of the Antonines. To these belong e. g. the paintings from the pyramid of Cestius, and the large and constantly increasing collection of wall-paintings from Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiæ, as well as those in the tomb of the Nasones. In all of these the art exhibits, even in its degenerate state, an inexhaustible invention and productiveness: everything too is depicted with lively colors and simple illumination, and is clearly and agreeably arranged with much taste for harmony of color and a general architectural effect. We here furnish a few specimens of the painting of this period. The oldest is a painting found in one of the subterranean chambers in the garden of the Villa Pamfili in Rome (pl. 13, fig. 8); it is a fresco representing a satyric or comic scene, probably the flight of a Bacchante from a drunken Faun. The nuptial celebration, fig. 7, is of great antiquarian value, and is one of the finest fresco paintings that have come down to us from antiquity; it was found under Pope Clement III. not far from the Arch of Gallienus, near Santa Maria Maggiore and the Baths of Titus, and has been called, after the villa Aldobrandini, where it was afterwards preserved, “the Aldrobrandini Wedding.” This fresco is now in the Museum of the Vatican. Winckelmann explains it to be the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, at which the goddesses of the Seasons or three Muses are singing and playing the epithalaminm. The bride seated on the torus is exhorted by Aphrodite or Peitho to receive the bride-groom who is waiting on the threshold. A charis stands ready to anoint her. In the back part of the chamber the bride’s bath is preparing. Zoega and Heinrich Meyer perceive in the figures portrayed only ordinary mortals, and consider, no doubt correctly, that the whole is simply a representation of the Greek wedding ceremonials. The figures are rather more than two palms high, and are painted very lightly and thinly but with a fine feeling for harmony and the force of colors.

Of the innumerable paintings with which archæology has been enriched by the excavations in Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiæ, we will mention only a few. To these belong, e. g. Achilles and Briseis, from Pompeii. We here behold the Peleide Achilleus seated on a throne against which leans the famous shield, and causing the weeping Briseis to be delivered by his friend Patroclus to the herald, near whom Mercury appears. It is interesting to compare this design (pl. 12, fig. 11) with the manner in which Thorwaldsen has treated the same scene in his relief (pl. 9, fig. 6). It having been declared by an oracle that Troy could not be taken without Achilles, but that if he went there he would meet with an early death, his mother Thetis disguised him in female garments and placed him at the court of Lycomedes king of Scyros. A painting from Pompeii represents his discovery there by Ulysses (pl. 12, fig. 12). The latter came to the court of the king disguised as a merchant, and proffered his wares, among which were some arms. As the women were inspecting the goods, he caused a trumpet to be suddenly sounded; the disguised Achilles unthinkingly seized a sword in his martial zeal, and was thus detected. On the shield which the crafty Ulysses has brought with him we see Achilles in the act of being instructed by the centaur Chiron in the use of arms. More peaceful scenes are depicted on two other wall-paintings from Pompeii (figs. 8 and 9), taken from the edifice called the “Pantheon,” which portray a priestess and a songstress surrounded by rich although fantastic architecture. In both pictures the drawing is excellent and the coloring beautiful; the combination of the colors too evinces much taste. Of the wall-paintings of Herculaneum we will instance only the picture of Narcissus (pl. 13, fig. 6), who, while gazing at his own image in the watery mirror, falls in love with himself, and wastes away with desire. In the background we perceive Cupid, who in silent sadness is casting away his torch, or an angel of death with his torch inverted. Another picture from Herculaneum (pl. 12, fig. 10) is a monochrome (a picture of one color), which represents Theseus preventing the Rape of Hippodamia by the Centaur Eurytos. The attitudes of Theseus and the Centaur remind one pretty strongly of Canova’s famous statue of Theseus slaying the Minotaur (now in Vienna). A pendant to this monochrome is found in a painting executed in several colors (pl. 13, fig. 5), likewise from Herculaneum, which represents Theseus the slayer of the Minotaur receiving the thanks of the Athenian youth. As specimens of the manner in which the walls were divided for painting, we give (fig. 15) the painting on a ceiling, and (pl. 14, fig. 4) a wall in the sepulchral vault of the Naso family in the neighborhood of Rome. The former, which occupies about a third of the whole ceiling, shows in the central field, surrounded by rich ornaments, two dancing Bacchantes; and in the lateral fields a horse crossing a stream, and Mercury bringing the apple to Paris and summoning him to the famous judgment which resulted in the rape of Helen and the Trojan war. The wall-painting exhibits most probably in its principal field the forms of Ovid and his wife Perilla, accompanied by Mercury and the Muse Erato.

In the age of Hadrian, painting, along with the other arts, must have revived for a brief period, for Lucian mentions as belonging to this time the pictures of Ætion, which he ranks along with those of the best masters, and Hadrian himself was a rhyparographer. But after this the decline of painting becomes all the more rapid and perceptible; the earlier luxuriance of composition and of arabesque disappears, and a clumsy and poor simplicity joined to a sensual fondness for the delineation of the nude form takes its place. This is particularly conspicuous in the paintings of the time of the Antonines and of Constantine. We will here give some specimens of paintings from the baths of Titus and of Constantine. From the former are the two pictures in pl. 12, figs. 13 and 14; the former of which represents a rural scene, a father letting his two boys ride on a goat, while the mother beats a tambourine before them. In the second picture is represented a game of ball, probably that called by the ancients pila trigonalis, which was a sort of exercise usually taken before the bath. From the ruins of the baths of Constantine we take two representations of Apollo, the Pythian (pl. 13, fig. 9) with his bow and arrow, and the Delphian with his lyre; also two nymphs or dancing girls (figs. 11 and 12) as parts of arabesques, an Amorette with bow and arrow (fig. 13), and another climbing after a fruit (fig. 14); and lastly the mosaic floors (pl. 13, figs. 20 and 22) from the Basilica, which will sufficiently confirm our assertion respecting the meagreness of the style and the poverty of the arabesques.

The Middle Ages and Modern Times

We can very fitly divide the painting of the middle ages and modern times into two periods, of which the first extends to Cimabue, the precursor of the modern period, while the latter embraces the modern and the latest times.

From the Introduction of the Christian Religion down to Cimabue (d. 1300)

With the downfall of the blooming mythology of antiquity, there appeared in its place a more earnest and simpler religion, which, while in itself less adapted to embodiment in visible forms, was not yet sufficiently elaborated for introduction into the domain of art. On the cessation of the living study of nature and the decline of all higher technical skill, the arts naturally sank, and of course painting among them, to a lower and lower ebb. Still there was zealously preserved a sort of manual skill of the painter and sculptor, which had assumed the nature of a handicraft, along with the principles and forms of ancient art. Christianity first appropriated to its own use the forms and even many of the subjects of ancient art, and gradually shaped for itself, and not without artistic feeling, a cycle of images of its own, whose introduction however was opposed by the repeated assaults on works of art of which we have already spoken in treating of sculpture. In the Christian church there arose by degrees fixed and standard forms for the holy personages, a process which was furthered by the supposition, that by going back to the oldest representations the actual form was preserved. The faces, although rudely executed, were shaped after an ideal fundamental form; the costume in the main was Grecian; and the drapery was thrown into great masses, after the ancient manner. It was not till long afterwards that the peculiarities of the middle ages in dress and gesture? penetrated into the world of antiquity. But nowhere do we perceive an independent treatment of nature, the renewed study of which in the 13th and 11th centuries produced a fresh revival of art, and at the same time liberated it from those typical and lifeless forms which are still preserved in the pictures of the Creek church as the last relics of a perished world of art. The pictures which have come down to us from these times are chiefly mosaics, and in fact it appears as if the mosaic art had almost entirely superseded painting with the usual colors; for with the exception of the illuminations of the latter centuries of this period no pictures hardly but mosaics have come down to us. Thus in the reign of Justinian, John, bishop of Naples, caused a mosaic representing the Transfiguration of Christ to be executed for the Basilica Stefania; and even still earlier, Paulinus bishop of Nola (431) had the portico of the Basilica of St. Felix adorned with paintings, in which instead of encaustic (cera liquens) mosaic was employed. About the year 441, in the reign of Sixtus III., were begun the mosaics in the Basilica of St. Paul on the road leading to Ostia; and in 462, under Pope Hilarius, those of the church of St. John in the Lateran; and under Simplicius, those of Santa Maria Maggiore. The mosaic fragment representing the head of the apostle Paul, which we have copied (pl. 14, fig. 7), is from St John’s in the Lateran. It is preserved in the Triclinium of Pope Leo.

In like manner the succeeding popes proceeded to adorn the churches partly with mosaic and partly with fresco paintings, although of the latter we have gradually fewer and fewer. Thus art is greatly indebted to the popes, who alone prevented its utter extinction in those barbarous centuries, and encouraged the other clergy to imitate their example. It is on this account that all the artistic productions of those times are to be sought either in the catacombs or in the churches. That art notwithstanding made no considerable advance, is easily conceived; and if the reliefs on Trajan’s Column, one of which, viz. Trajan receiving the submission of a vanquished king, we have copied in fig. 8, be compared with the mosaics of the 8th century, e. g. that of Christ sending forth the Apostles (fig. 10), now to be found on the Triclinium of Leo IV. in St. John’s in the Lateran, the beholder cannot but remark a considerable decline as respects both composition and drawing. With what rapid strides this decline must have proceeded is shown by a comparison of the above mentioned mosaic of about the year 797 with the mosaic executed in 705 for the Basilica of St. Peter and now preserved in the church of Sta. Maria in Cosmedin (fig. 9), which represents the Adoration of the Magi, and in which many beautiful points can still be observed that characterize the work of Greek artists, in whose hands the practice of art then almost exclusively lay.

Art remained at the same point down to the 10th century; the mosaic copied in fig. 12 will give an idea of the skill of that period. It was executed at the close of the 10th century; for it formerly adorned the tomb of the emperor Otto II. (d. 983), which stood under the portico of the old St. Peter’s church, and is one of the few works of art that were saved when that church was hastily pulled down. It is now preserved in the crypt of the present St. Peter’s. The picture represents Christ between the apostles Peter and Paul; and singularly enough Peter appears with three keys, of which the learned have never yet given a satisfactory explanation, although they regard it as a symbol of the closer union of celestial, terrestrial, and spiritual power.

After this period fresco-paintings begin again to occur in greater numbers, while traces of easel-paintings likewise make their appearance once more. Thus Pope Calixtus, when in 1120 he took prisoner the anti-pope Bordino, commemorated the event by a painting in the chambers of the Vatican; and Clement III. caused the Lateran palace to be repaired and adorned with pictures. Of the mosaics of that time a specimen is furnished in the Christ’s head (pl. 14, fig. 11) from the church of San Miniato in Florence, which was executed in 1196, and which Vasari describes as one of the works that already exhibit an advance towards perfection in art.

The miniature paintings or illuminations of the last centuries were properly the form in which easel-painting had taken refuge after being supplanted by the frescoes and mosaics; and thus ancient manuscripts furnish us with an opportunity of observing and studying the gradual decline of art. Figs. 5^a and 5^b are specimens of this class of paintings belonging to the 8th century. They are taken from a Greek manuscript, formerly in the library of the Elector of the Palatinate in Heidelberg, but now in the Vatican. The entire painting, of which we present here only a fragment, portrays the history of Joshua in a series of representations, which, like the reliefs on Trajan’s column, form a continuous band. The portion here copied begins with Josh. ix. 22, 27, where Joshua detects the artifice of the Gibeonites, but pardons them and condemns them to bondage to Israel. Next we have Joshua’s battle with the five kings of the Amorites, where, in order to complete his victory, he commands the sun and moon to stand still (x. 12, 13). Joshua takes the kings of the Amorites in a cave (x. 17, 18); when he has destroyed their army, he causes them to be led forth, and orders all the men of Israel to put their feet upon the kings’ necks (so far fig. 5^b), after which he orders them to be hanged (fig. 5^a).

About the year 1200 mention is made of a Greek painter Theophanes, who settled in Venice and there established a school of painting; among his pupils was one Gelasio of Ferrara. About the year 1219 a painter named Tullius of Ferrara executed a picture of St. Francis of Assisi; and another of the same saint was painted by Bonaventura Berlinghieri. We now gradually approach the time when the history of the arts presents us with living and breathing monuments. To these belong e. g. the works of Guido of Siena, of Andrea Tafi, BuiFalmaco di Giunta of Pisa, Margheritone of Arezzo, and lastly of Cimabue, the father of modern painting, who first discarded those hardnesses which are usually characterized as the Greek manner. His paintings manifest independent study and give some indications of chiaroscuro. His first great picture, a Madonna on the throne, is in the church of Sta. Maria Novella in Rome; and in that of San Francesco in Assisi he painted several holy figures and histories. What is shown in galleries under his name is certainly not by him.

From Cimabue to the latest Times

Although Cimabue is doubtless to be regarded as the father and precursor of modern painting, we are not to suppose that immediately before him there were no Italian painters; nevertheless at that time there was no acquaintance with the ancient pictures or the ancient statues, and the only subject of study for the artist was nature. In the works of Giotto, a pupil of Cimabue, we already observe an admirable use of the study of the productions of ancient art; here consequently the hardened and angular taste ends, and Italian art begins. The most celebrated painter who appeared immediately after Giotto was Masaccio, who flourished about the year 1400; his contemporaries were Domenico of Venice, Vittore Pisano (Pisanello), Squarcione, Mantegna, and several others, who by their example and instructions educated the great painters of the 16th century (the cinquecentisti). We see in Masaccio’s pictures not merely bodies in motion, but these bodies have souls which breathe through their movements, while the figures are better brought out by means of good drawing and a proper distribution of light. In this period they first painted a tempera (in which the colors were mixed with the white of an egg), and it was not till afterwards that they began to paint in oil on wood, plaster, and at length on canvas.

Italy

The Roman School

We reckon among the painters of the Roman school those born not only in Rome itself, but also in the Romagna or anywhere in the States of the Church, and this we are in a manner compelled to do as Rome has almost nothing of its own to show in the way of talent for painting; and hence it was much later than in Florence and elsewhere, and not till the reign of Julius II., that art actually flourished there. The Roman school may be said to begin with Oderigi of Gubbio, who died in 1300 and was a good miniature painter: he along with Giotto and Franco Bolognese ornamented books with illuminations for Boniface VIII. He was succeeded by Guido Palmerucci and Pietro Cavallini, who lived about the year 1342, and by whom pictures are still extant in Rome, Assisi, and Florence. A favorite subject with artists at that time was the Annunciation. In these paintings the angels are always represented as youths with long flowing garments reaching to the feet and with a staff in their hand; for the light drapery of angels belongs to a much later date. Almost all the painters of that period added to their pictures legends in Gothic characters. To the 14th century belong Boccardo Fabriano, Allegretti Nutti, Andreas of Velletri, and several painters in Perugia. The series of painters of the 15th century opens with Octavian Martis and Gentile of Fabriano, whose distinguished merits were afterwards acknowledged by Michael Angelo himself. He was the instructor of Giacomo Bellini, whose sons Giovanni and Gentile are regarded as the founders of the great Venetian school. There are still good pictures in Florence by Gentile da Fabriana of the year 1423. His style was noble, and may be compared to that of Giovanni da Fiesole, only the latter excels him in the beauty of his female forms and uses gold less profusely.

A characteristic difierence between the pictures of this and the succeeding time is perceived in the grouping of the figures, the former exhibiting great simplicity in this respect, while the latter observe an almost stiff and rigidly symmetrical arrangement, which extends even to minute details. This was particularly the case in the time of Perugino, and even Raphael could not for a long time free himself from it.

At the close of the 15th century Urbino was not destitute of good painters; among these are distinguished Lorenzo di San Severino and the father of Raphael, by whom there is an Annunciation in the chapel of St. John in St. Sebastian and in Sinigaglia, bearing the superscription “Joh. Samctis Urbin.” The style of this painter is dry, but shows already an approximation to that of Pietro Perugino. The works of Fra Bartolomeo Corradini of Urbino are full of fire and vivacity, and he originated the practice of introducing portraits into historical compositions, which was afterwards adopted by Raphael. Excellent painters flourished at this time in Perugia; and when Sixtus V. set about adorning the Vatican with pictures, he obtained most of his artists from this place. Among them were Benedetto Buonfigli, whose works are highly esteemed, and Pietro Vanucci (born 1446 in Citta della Pieve, died 1521), called Pietro Perugino. Whoever has seen the works of this last artist mnst confess that his merit does not consist solely in having been Raphael’s instructor; but that his pictures exhibit grace, his attitudes are dignified, and his coloring lovely, although he is not yet free from the defects of his age. His best work is preserved in the Sala del Cambio in Perugia; he, however, was not fertile in invention and repeated himself very often. His pupils spread themselves over all Italy; we will mention only Guerino of Pistoja, the brothers Ubertino, Montevarchi, and Zoppo in the Tuscan school, and in the Roman Bernardo Pinturicchio and Sinibaldo of Perugia, which last, however, did not equal their master in excellence, although they were almost his mechanical imitators, for instead of regarding Pietro’s instructions as good foundations on which to build, they made them an easy cushion to recline upon. But all Pietro’s pupils did not adopt this course of stupid imitation; and had not Andrea Luigi of Assisi early lost his sight, he would certainly have become a formidable rival to Raphael. His extraordinary talents gained him the cognomen of l’Ingegno (the Genius), and Sandrart has erroneously ascribed to Raphael several of his works. Domenico Alfani also worked in an independent spirit, greatly resembling Raphael, only weaker in coloring. His reputation has been outshone by that of his son Orazio Alfani, who in after times greatly distingnished himselt, and to whom many of his father’s works are attributed.

Raphael Sanzio (Santi), one of the greatest painters of modem times, was born at Urbino, on Good Friday, the 28th of March, 1483; and even in his boyhood, when his father gave him instruction in the first principles of drawing and painting, he manifested such surprising abilities, that his father took him at once, in 1492, to Pietro Perugino in Perugia. He was soon engaged, along with Pinturicchio, in painting the Library at Siena; after which he went, in 1503, to Florence, where a new light broke in upon him from the works of Masaccio, and caused him to relinquish the somewhat vague manner of his master. During his abode in Florence he is said to have become acquainted with Leonardo da Vinci and Michael Angelo. He next went in 1508 to Rome, where he was commissioned by Pope Julius H. to paint in fresco the Stanza della Segnatura. He lived on terms of the closest intimacy with Count Castiglione, Cardinal Bembo, and several poets and authors, and was a most amiable man. Towards his pupils especially, of which he had a great number, he was courteous, friendly, and ever ready to advise and assist. His constantly increasing fame procured him great commissions. Thus he worked in 1517 for Francis I. of France and painted several pictures for him, as the Archangel Michael, &c., but declined an invitation to the French Court. Baphael was never married, although he had been betrothed since 1514 to Maria niece of Cardinal Bibiena. In the year 1515 he received, after Bramante’s death, the charge of conducting the erection of the church of St. Peter, as also the superintendence of the antiquities in Rome. In 1517 he had drawn the Cartoons for the tapestries in the Vatican, on subjects taken from the Bible, seven of which are still preserved in Hampton Court, and had painted the Christ bearing the Cross (lo Spasimo di Sicilia) now in Madrid. He then accompanied the Pope to Florence, where he painted him along with Giulio de’ Medici and De Rossi (this picture is now in the Pitti Palace in Florence). In consequence of the increasing number of orders which he received, he could only sketch most of his pictures and put the best touches to them, intrusting their execution to his pupils. His restless activity so undermined his health, that he died on Good Friday in the year 1520. He was buried in the Pantheon by the side of his betrothed. His most distinguished pupils were Giulio Romano and Francesco Penni, whom he made his heirs and to whom he left the completion of his works. His last picture is the Transfiguration, for which he received 655 ducats. His principal works, passing over his earlier ones executed under Perugino, were: the Marriage of Mary (lo Sposalizio) in Milan; the Madonna del Granduca (in the Pitti Palace in Florence); the Holy Family, for Canigiani (in Munich); the Entombment of Christ (Borghese Gallery in Rome); the Holy Family and the Madonna among the Flowers (la belle Jardinière) in Paris; the fresco paintings in the loggie of the Vatican, consisting partly of arabesques, of which we have given fragments in pl. 17, figs. 1a and b and 2a and b, and in pl. 16, figs. 3 and 4, and partly of large historical compositions from the Bible (Raphael’s Bible). The arabesques are sketched and painted with a rich fancy and with transcendent beauty, and they form an inexhaustible study for ornamental designers. Of the historical paintings several were executed by Raphael’s pupils. Of the pictures in the halls of the Vatican we copy one, the School of Athens (pl. 15, fig. 1), which is equally celebrated for its composition and execution. In these halls are seen also the Dispute of the Fathers; the Parnassus with poets of ancient and modern times; the Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple, the Mass of Bolsena, Attila’s Retreat from Rome, the Conflagration of the Borgo, &c., pictures in the execution of which Raphael’s pupils also took part. Besides these Raphael painted Galatea and the fable of Psyche, in the Farnesina; the Sybils, in the church of the Madonna della Pace; the Madonna and the Fathers of the Church (pl. 18, fig. 1); the Madonna col Pesce (in the Escurial, Madrid); St. Cecilia (pl. 16, fig. 1) with St. Paul, St. John, St. Augustine, and St. Magdalen (in Bologna); a Madonna and Child (fig. 2), the famous Madonna della Seggiola, Leo X. with his Cardinals, and the Vision of Ezekiel (in the Pitti Palace in Florence); the celebrated Madonna di San Sisto (in Dresden), the Transfiguration (in San Pietro in Montorio), and the above mentioned Cartoons in Hampton Court, the tapestry woven after which cost 70,000 scudi, and is still in Rome. His portrait, painted by himself (pl. 17, fig. 3), is in the Uffizi in Florence. Three successive manners have been pointed out in Raphael’s pictures: one rather stiff and meagre, and dry in its coloring, which he derived from Perugino; another freer and formed on the study of the antique, in which blooming colors, graceful forms, and tastefully arranged draperies predominate; and the last a grandiose style, in which the form prevailed more and more over the “motivo,” and the feeling for ideal beauty became the measure of its characteristics. In the technical part of his art he may be said to have been perfect, especially during the latter part of his career.

The most distinguished among Raphael’s pupils is Giulio Pippi, called Giulio Romano (born 1492, died 1546), to whom he left a third of his estate. Giulio worked constantly under Raphael’s eye, and hence it was not till his master’s death that he assumed a manner of his own. His fiery imagination led him not unfrequently into exaggeration; and thus he formed a style of painting strongly tinctured with mannerism, which found but too many adherents. As a proof of the quaintness and affectation that pervaded Giulio Romano’s works, we copy his picture of Venus and Vulcan arming Cupid (pl. 16, fig. 6). In Rome he painted the grand hall of Constantine, and then entered the service of the Marchesa Gonzaga in Mantua. Here he built the Palazzo del Te, which he also, with the assistance of his pupils, beautifully decorated. Among his paintings his Fall of the Giants is particularly celebrated for its original composition and the boldness displayed in the postures of the naked body. His co-heir and fellow-pupil was Gianfrancesco Penni (called il Fattore, born 1488, died 1528), who had been with Raphael from his boyhood. His style was a mixture of that of Raphael and of Michael Angelo. Giovanni Nanni (da Udine, born 1494, died 1564) distinguished himself by the arabesques painted by him in the loggie of the Vatican after those found in the Baths of Titus. Pietro Buonacorsi (Perino del Vaga, b. 1500, d. 1547) also worked on these arabesques; he likewise painted a great deal after Raphael’s sketches and designs, and his coloring is admirable.

In the death of Leo X. painting at Rome received a severe blow; for Hadrian VI. was an enemy to the fine arts, and immediately put a stop to all the works in the Vatican. This occasioned the dispersion of Raphael’s school; but they were at length employed again to some extent under Clemens VII., on the occasion of decorating the Villa Madama. It was about this time that Michael Angelo, in Florence, who as early as 1503 had developed a style in which he alone could attain perfection, and in which beauty, grace, coloring, and chiaroscuro were sacrificed to anatomy and to the perspective foreshortening of the figures, came to Rome. As long as Raphael lived, this style, which must have excited more astonishment than admiration, found little acceptance in Rome; and even during the life of Clement, it provoked attacks which were extended to the master himself. The work in which Michael Angelo’s peculiarities made themselves most conspicuous, and which gave the most violent blow to correct taste, was the Last Judgment, completed under Paul III.: it produced such a revolution in the Roman school, that all became little more than copyists of Michael Angelo, mannerists who mixed up his style with their own, by some of whom the manner of the great master was degraded to caricature. There were but few who, true to the precepts of Raphael, strove to combine with his grace the seriousness of Michael Angelo; and still fewer was the number of those who steadfastly adhered to the genuine Roman school. One of the best and most celebrated masters of that time was Federico Barozzi (born 1528, died 1612), who had formed his style on that of Titian, and afterwards on that of Raphael. His best pictures are a Descent from the Cross in Perugia, and a Laying in the Tomb in Sinigaglia.

In the first third of the 16th century, the state of painting in Rome was very critical. The corruption of taste gained ground daily, and painters. no longer concerning themselves about thorough preparatory studies, merely strove to acquire an easy dexterity; so that painting became almost a simple mechanical art, and fantastic conceits remained the only means of obtaining a certain repute. The style of Raphael was no longer known, and the highest attempts were confined to different imitations of Michael Angelo. Venice possessed good colorists; but this had no influence on Rome, where everything, even chiaroscuro, was neglected. The only painter of note at this time was Giuseppe Cesari, called il Cavaliere Giuseppino; for then every painter possessed of a little talent and considerable popularity was dubbed chevalier; which induced Salvator Rosa in his pictorial Satire to call this “the chevalier age of painting.” He had a great deal of fire; but his compositions are crowded and unnatural, and his coloring only tolerable. It was reserved for Michael Angelo Amerighi da Caravaggio to combat the monster of mannerism and lead painters back again to the study of nature, although he too went to extremes. To the painters who resigned themselves the most completely to the perverse taste we have spoken of, and who debased their fine talents to the production of wretched caricatures, belongs Peter Laar (il Bamboccio), who created a genre of his own, which unhappily found in Rome both patrons and imitators (Bambocciadi).

Andrew Sacchi was a contemporary of Laar, but an artist of a different stamp inspired with the true spirit of the Roman school. His Vision of St. Romualdo is one of the four finest paintings in Rome; the others are the Transfiguration by Raphael, the Descent from the Cross by Daniel of Volterra, and the Communion of St. Jerome by Domenichino: there still exist in Rome many beautiful paintings by this master. His drawing is remarkable for correctness and breadth, his draperies are artistic and dignified, and everywhere we perceive in him a profound study of nature. Richness of composition was his most prominent characteristic. The most celebrated of his pupils was Carlo Maratti (born 1625), who from his boyhood displayed a remarkable talent for painting. His first work given to the public was a Christ in the Manger (1650). Pope Clement IX. showed him marks of favor, and Innocent IX, made him superintendent of the Vatican chambers. Our best information as to the course of his studies is furnished by a drawing which he made for the Marchese del Carpio and which has been engraved by Dorigny. In this drawing Maratti depicted an academy, in which a number of persons are engaged in the studies pertaining to painting, as geometry, perspective, anatomy, &c. On the part where perspective, anatomy, and geometry are taught, stand the words, “Tanto che basti” (As much as suffices); on the other side we perceive the most beautiful antiques, with the inscription, “Non mai abastanza” (never enough); and in the clouds appear the Graces, with the inscription, “Sensa di noi, ogni fatica è vana” (Without us all labor is in vain). That he himself practised these doctrines is evident from his pictures, of one of which, the Distribution of the Holy Rosaries, we have given a sketch (pl. 16, fig. 5). Eichardson calls Maratti the last painter of the Roman school; he died in 1713.

With the advent of the Bolognese school or school of the Caracci, true taste again obtained a firm footing in Rome; but even these Bolognese and Lombards formed schools differing to a certain extent from each other. Domenichino studied Raphael and the antique; Guido Reni created for himself an original style of apparent facility opposed to that of Caravaggio; Barbieri combined the two; Albano worshipped the Graces chiefly; and Lanfranco formed a mixture of Caracci and Correggio. The most eminent artists of Rome at that time were Canini a pupil of Domenichino, Cerrini, Scaramuccio, Michelini, Sacchi, and Giambattista Salvi (il Sassoferrato), who was born in 1605, studied under Domenichino, Guido, and Albano, and who approximated to the last mentioned especially in the great pains which he bestowed on his execution. He painted only small objects; but his small heads and half figures are equally worthy of esteem for their delicacy of execution and their lovely and noble expression, with the works of Carlo Dolci. We give by way of specimen a sketch of a Praying Madonna by Sassoferrato (pl. 15. fig. 9).

There is a master whom we must mention here although he did not take pattern much by Raphael, the great exemplar of the Roman school, and that is Pietro Berettini, usually called da Cortona. He came to Rome at a very early age, and formed for himself a style still more facile and more calculated to please the multitude than that of Lanfranco. He painted a great deal in Rome and in Florence, especially in the Pitti Palace, from which we have copied the representations of the Muses Polyhymnia and Erato (pl. 16, fig. 9), and Euterpe and Urania (fig. 10), painted by this master. We shall return to him again.

In order to furnish a complete view of the history of art in this age it is necessary to say something of Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, of whom we have already spoken repeatedly under Architecture, and in the section on Sculpture, as he was both a painter, a sculptor, and an architect. In Bernini’s works there is a straining after the effects of chiaroscuro, to which truth and beauty of form are sacrificed; and in consequence of the great marks of favor that were bestowed upon him and the power that he acquired, most of the painters living at that time were obliged to adopt his manner if they wished to be employed at all. Among the chief principles laid down by the followers of Bernini were the following: extensive studies are of no avail; to successfully imitate nature and please the eye is always sufficient; and he who is a master of coloring possesses ninety-nine out of a hundred requisites for a painter. Under such auspices true art could not prosper in Rome, and hence even the masters after Bernini are scarcely worthy of mention. Venesiale and Batoni were the first again to leave the beaten track.

Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (b. 1708, d. 1787) came to Rome when very young and became a pupil of Masucci; but being endowed with extraordinary talents, he soon perceived that Raphael, nature, and the antique were the surest guides in the domain of art; and hence the study of nature makes itself conspicuous in all his pictures. We discern it in his pleasing and varied physiognomies, his movements and attitudes; and even in disposing the folds of his draperies he was able to snatch from nature a certain pleasing grace, of which his Magdalen in the Dresden Gallery furnishes a beautiful example.

The second restorer of art in Rome was Anton Raphael Mengs (b. 1728, d. 1779). He was born in Aussig in Bohemia, and his father, himself a good miniature painter, destined him to painting, so that in his sixth year he was obliged to draw and in his eighth to paint in oil, miniature, and enamel. He was kept to study with almost unheard of strictness: and when his father observed his great progress, he in 1741 took him from Dresden, where he had hitherto studied, to Rome, and there, the lad being now in his thirteenth year, he judiciously made him copy at first after the antique, then after Michael Angelo in the Sixtine chapel, and lastly after Raphael, treating him all the while with the same severity as when a boy.

Mengs spent three years at these studies in Rome; at the expiration of which time his father took him back to Dresden, where king Augustus III. gave him a yearly allowance of 600 thalers. With this Mengs, his father, and two sisters went again to Rome. Here he studied four years longer, giving especial attention to anatomy; and then at length he made his appearance publicly with a Holy Family, which obtained universal applause. About 1749 he returned once more to Dresden, where he became court painter with a salary of 1,000 thalers, and was commissioned to paint the altar-piece for the new Catholic church erected in 1751, a work which he executed in Rome, whither he returned in 1752. As during the Seven Years‘ War his salary was no longer paid, Mengs painted In fresco the ceiling of the church of St. Eusebius in Rome. This was again the first work of the kind in Rome, where fresco painting had not been practised for a long time, and Mengs gained by it great applause. He painted for the villa of Cardinal Albani a ceiling, on which he represented Apollo and the Nine Muses.

In the year 1761 Mengs entered, with a yearly salary of 2,000 doubloons, into the service of the king of Spain; and there he began a ceiling for the king’s chamber representing the Assembly of the Gods: he also executed many other admirable works there, among which a Descent from the Cross is especially celebrated. From this time forward Mengs resided alternately in Rome, Madrid, Florence, and Naples, working very diligently, until consumption, brought on by his incessant labors and the climate of Spain, which did not agree with him, snatched him from the world. No diminution of power is observed in his works to his latest moment.

Were we to institute a comparison between Batoni and Mengs, the two restorers of painting in Rome, we could not do better than adopt the words of Chevalier Boni, who says: “Mengs was made a painter by philosophy, and Batoni by nature. Batoni had a natural taste which led him to the beautiful without effort; Mengs attained the same object by reflection and study. The gifts of the Muses belonged by nature to Batoni, as they formerly had to Apelles; while the highest attainments of art were allotted to Mengs, as in former days to Protogenes. The former perhaps was more of a painter than a thinker, the latter more of a thinker than a painter. The one perhaps was more perfect in his art, but more studied; the other was less profound, but more natural.” It is but justice to add, however, that Mengs’s mannerism and unnatural coloring place him much below the first artists of the present day.

The Florentine School

Cimabue was looked upon by the Florentines as a prodigy when he ventured to lay aside the Byzantine manner and give more movement to his figures. At the time when king Charles, the brother of St. Louis, was crowned king of Sicily, he was shown as a great curiosity the picture on which Cimabue was then engaged, a Madonna and Child accompanied by six angels. This picture is still preserved in the church of Sta. Maria Novella. Among the contemporaries of Cimabue deserving of notice are Ugolino of Siena and Gaddo Gaddi, from whose school proceeded a great number of painters. Here too belongs Griotto, born in Vespignano in the year 1276. A sheep which he had drawn on a flat stone while tending his flock had attracted the attention of Cimabue; the latter took him home to educate him as a painter, and so rapid was his progress that the pupil soon surpassed his master and applied himself with equal success to sculpture and architecture. Art is greatly indebted to Giotto, especially in respect to drapery, expression, grace, and softness, and because he was the first to venture on foreshortenings. Among the most important works of Giotto are the Histories from the life of St. Francis of Assisi and Entombment of the Virgin in Florence. Among the pupils of Giotto we may mention Taddeo Gaddi, Puccio Capanna, and Stefano of Florence, who endeavored to surpass his master, and whose pupil Maso or Tomaso painted a Madonna delta Pietà in Florence and several frescoes in Assisi.

From this time onward art kept constantly ascending to higher flights through the exertions of Memmi, Angelo Gaddi, Barocchio, Giovanni da Fiesole, and others; with Masaccio the last remnants of the ancient stiffness and constraint disappeared, and art soared aloft at length with perfect freedom. Masaccio, whose real name was Tomaso Guidi, was born 1402 in St. Giovanni in the Val d’ Arno, and his chief study was nature, which he portrayed with grace and spirit. He died in 1443, and was succeeded by Filippo Lippi and Andrea del Castagno, who introduced into the Florentine school the art of oil-painting, invented by Johann van Eyck, a Fleming, after he had wormed the secret out of Domenico Veneziano and then murdered him.

Among the pupils of Filippo Lippi those who distinguished themselves were Sandro Boticelli and Luca Signorelli, especially the latter, who, according to Vasari, first paved for artists the way to perfection, by developing the true principles on which the representation of the nude figure depends, and basing it on the study of anatomy. But a more special notice is due to Domenico Ghirlandaio (properly Bigordi), who was born in Florence in the year 1451; for he, of all the painters who then labored in the Sixtine Chapel, is the only one who can compare with Pietro Perugino. He possessed facility and richness of invention, drew diligently and correctly, and was so well acquainted with perspective that he ornamented his backgrounds with buildings properly diminished. His Death of St. Francis, in the church of Sta. Trinita in Florence, is celebrated. Ghirlandaio was the instructor of Michael Angelo.

Leonardo da Vinci (b. 1444, d. 1519) was the son of a notary in Florence, and was placed under the charge of Barocchio, to receive instructions in drawing, but he soon surpassed his master. Even in early life he pursued with distinguished success a number of almost incompatible studies; and in the year 1482, Ludovigo Maria Sforza, duke of Milan, invited him into his service, where he became the founder and superintendent of an academy of design. Among the pictures he was commissioned to paint for the duke the most celebrated is his Last Supper in the refectory of the Dominicans of Sta. Maria delle Grazie in Milan, a picture unfortunately which is now almost completely obliterated, but which can still be studied in good copies by pupils of his, viz. by Bernardino Luino and others, as also in good engravings, the finest of which is by Raphael Morghen. When Leo X. was elevated to the papal throne. Da Vinci accompanied duke Julius of Milan to Rome; but as, on account of the rivalry of Michael Angelo and Paphael, no considerable works were intrusted to him, he went in his old age (in 1515) to France, whither he was invited by Francis I. but where on the whole he wrought but little. As respects the peculiarities of his works, some are distinguished for strong shadows which bring out sharply the contrasted lights, as for instance in Leonardo’s own portrait, while in others free play is given to the half tints, as e. g. in the Madonna in the Albani palace. Leonardo was indefatigable in his studies even to an advanced age, and was never satisfied with his works, on which account but few are known which he finished completely. Among his celebrated productions are Lisa del Giocondo, a picture purchased by Francis I. for 4000 scudi; a Leda, now in Vienna; Christ teaching in the Temple, in the Pamfili palace in Rome; and Herodias with the head of St. John the Baptist. As a specimen of Da Vinci’s beautiful compositions we have given a sketch (pl. 15, fig. 2) representing the Madonna and Child, to whom the archangel Michael is bringing the scales of justice, with St. Elizabeth and the youthful John the Baptist near them. In addition to his pursuits in painting and many other studies, Leonardo also employed his time in literary works, and sixteen volumes of his manuscripts are preserved in the Ambrosian library at Milan. Unfortunately none of these but his treatise on painting have appeared in print; on the other hand there are many drawings and engravings after his works which furnish admirable studies for the draughtsman.

The number of Da Vinci’s pupils was very great; but the most distinguished among them was Baccio della Porta, who was born in 1496 in the neighborhood of Florence. His family name is not known; for the name della Porta was given him from his residence at the gate of San Pietro Gattolino. This artist however is best known by the name of Fra Bartolomeo di San Marco, which he assumed on joining the order of Dominican monks at the advice of the fanatic Savonarola. Fra Bartolomeo became afterwards an intimate friend of Raphael, and each learnt from the other, the latter from the former his lovely blending of colors, and Fra Bartolomeo from Raphael perspective. During his stay in Rome Fra Bartolomeo began two pictures, which were afterwards finished by Raphael and are now in the palace of Monte Cavallo. His pictures are beautiful in composition and execution, and grand in style; his draperies in particular are admirable. He is said to have attained to this excellence in drapery by the invention of the lay figure, which is ascribed to him; at any rate Vasari affirms that he himself had in his possession the first model which Fra Bartolomeo caused to be made. One of his grandest pictures is his St. Mark (pl. 15, fig. 4), now in the Pitti palace, and which certainly is not inferior to Raphael’s Isaiah in the church of the Augustines in Rome. Fra Bartolomeo first sketched his pictures in various shades of grey, and he as well as Raphael first drew his figures without drapery, as appears from many drawings by both artists which are still extant. The finest pictures of this artist belong to the Florentine Museum; among them is that of the Virgin Mary in the temple, of which we have given a sketch (pl. 18, fig. 2). One peculiarity of the pictures of this great master is a sort of haze he had the art of spreading over his figures, and which made them appear as if stepping forth from the canvas. Fra Bartolomeo died in 1517.

Rudolpho Domenico Ghirlandaio distinguished himself among Fra Bartolomeo’s pupils, at least he formed himself closely upon his master’s model, although his pictures evince likewise a profound study of Raphael. Ghirlandaio never left Florence, although Raphael repeatedly urged him to come to Rome. Hence his best works remain in Florence.

One of the artists who united in himself most of the qualities for which the Florentine school is celebrated was Andrea Vannuchi (born in Florence 1488, died 1530), better known by the name of Andrea del Sarto, who, although his first instructor Gianetto Barite knew but little, afterwards formed his taste and style by the study of the cartoons of Leonardo da Vinci and Michael Angelo. Many of his larger paintings are in Florence and are highly celebrated. In the year 1518, Andrea went at the invitation of king Francis I. to Paris, where he was very well received; but he acted ungratefully towards the king and left him after a short time. In order to appease him the artist afterwards painted two exceedingly fine large pictures, one of which was the Sacrifice of Abraham. The king, however, was too much incensed to receive the pictures, which afterwards passed through various hands, and of which the one above mentioned is now in the gallery at Dresden. A picture by Raphael, representing Leo X. and two cardinals, was copied by Andrea with such skill and fidelity, that Giulio Romano, who had himself wrought on the original under Raphael’s superintendence, mistook the copy for the original. One of the finest works of Andrea del Sarto is the Madonna for the church of the Annunciation in Florence. In France there are a Tobit and the Angel, two Holy Families, and a Charity. The last named picture, of which we have given a sketch (pl. 17, fig. 7), was painted on wood; but as the worms had got into it, it was transferred from the wood to canvas, a rather difficult process, but which has frequently been attempted in recent times with good success. Another very fine picture by this master is the Descent from the Cross, or the Entombment of Christ (pl. 16, fig. 8), which was formerly in the Pitti palace, but is likewise now in Paris. His Last Supper, in the refectory of St. Salvi, saved Florence in the year 1529 from destruction by fire; for at the taking of the city, the soldiers, who had already destroyed the church, were only restrained from setting fire to the monastery by the beauty of the picture. Andrea died of the plague in 1530. The most distinguished of his pupils were Francesco Saviati and Giorgio Vasari, although these afterwards worked more after Michael Angelo. We must here mention also Franciabigi and Domenico Puligo, the latter of whom acquired Andrea’s beautiful coloring and dusky tone, but was unable to master his correct drawing and certainty of outline.

Michael Angelo Buonarotti, of whom we must now speak particularly, was born in 1474 in the town of Caprese, and manifested at an early age a strong inclination for the arts of design; he was accordingly placed under the instructions of Domenico Ghirlandaio, after which the Duke Lorenzo de’ Medici took him into the school of design founded by himself, where he enjoyed the instructions of Bertoldo the sculptor. Here he greatly distinguished himself and wrought both as painter and sculptor; in sculpture especially he executed several admirable works in Bologna and in Florence, of which his beautiful statue of David (in 1504) in the latter place deserves particular mention. After Michael Angelo had given considerable proofs of his talent as a painter, he was commissioned along with Leonardo da Vinci to decorate the senate-hall with historical paintings; and the cartoon which he then sketched, representing a scene from the Pisan War, was perhaps his best performance. Unhappily it was destroyed at the taking of Florence along with a number of other treasures of art. Julius II., through the many proofs of favor he bestowed on Michael Angelo, was the cause of much ill will towards the artist. This feeling produced an attempt to withdraw him from sculpture which made him celebrated, and in consequence he received the commission to paint the vaulted ceiling of the Sixtine chapel; he executed the task very unwillingly, completing the painting in the incredibly short space of twenty months, after which he returned to sculpture. Under Pope Clement VII. Michael Angelo began the cartoon for the Last Judgment in the Sixtine chapel; he commenced painting it under Paul III. in the year 1534, and in seven years it was finished. This, the grandest work of art of its time, soon gave offence by the excessive nakedness of its figures, and Paul IV. was inclined to have it entirely effaced from the wall, though he afterwards contented himself with letting Daniel of Volterra paint drapery over the offensive places, a task which procured for the artist the nickname of the “Breeches-maker” (Brachettone). The Last Judgment attracted immense attention, and artists studied it with such zeal that they neglected to observe the medium which Michael Angelo had himself already deserted, so that this painting originated a peculiar but by no means lovely style of art, which was now adopted by many. We cannot here enter into a more particular description of the picture itself, but must merely remark that with all its grandeur and its many beauties, there is in it much that is defective in composition and exaggerated in execution. The last considerable works in painting which Michael Angelo undertook were two large pictures in the Pauline chapel, one representing the Conversion of St. Paul, the other the Crucifixion of St. Peter. Of his achievements as a sculptor we have already spoken; and his architectural performances we have reviewed in another division of this work. He died in the year 1564.

Shortly after the time of Michael Angelo the art declined considerably, partly through an excessive and injudicious imitation of the manner of this master, and partly through the heedlessness of the artists themselves, who preferred doing a great deal to doing it well. The influence which Michael Angelo exerted on the practice of art was not confined to Italy alone, but spread over the whole of the artistic world of that period; for when art was in its most flourishing condition, at the beginning of the 16th century, most foreign artists went for a time to Italy to study both the antique and the works of the great masters, and thus the new manner which had become so popular, of giving an excessive prominence to anatomy, was transplanted to Spain, Portugal, France, and even to Germany.

Immediately after Michael Angelo, the following masters, who were in part, at least indirectly, his pupils, rose to distinction, viz. Rosso di Rossi, by whom there are several very beautiful paintings, in his fiery but clever manner, in the church of Florence, although most of his finest works in France (in Fontainebleau) have totally perished. Daniele Ricciarelli, also called Daniele da Volterra, where he was born in 1509, studied under Baldassare Peruzzi, and then worked for Perino del Vaga, until he gave himself wholly to the study of Michael Angelo. His best picture, which is also reckoned among the four best pictures in Rome (comp. p. 84), is the Descent from the Cross in the church of the Trinita de’ Monti. It is supposed that this picture was planned and drawn by Michael Angelo, who showed great kindness to Daniel of Volterra. Daniel engaged also in sculpture, and made a great many plaster casts of Michael Angelo’s statues.

Giorgio Vasari, born at Arezzo in 1512, was a pupil of Andrea del Sarto and of Michael Angelo. In addition to his merits as a painter, he has acquired fame in the literary world, by his Lives of the Painters, Sculptors, and Architects from Cimabue to his own times, which, besides admirable notices respecting the history of art, contain so many useful precepts for the practice of art in general, that they must form an indispensable study for every young artist. His work has been translated into English by Mrs. Foster, and is published in Bohn’s Standard Library. He executed many large and fine paintings in Florence, Rome, and Arezzo, and founded a school of art of his own. One of his pupils was Francesco di Rossi, also called Salviati, who had previously studied under Andrea del Sarto, and who almost surpassed his master.

About this time a new revolution occurred in the Florentine school. Grace and coloring, and above all that charming harmony which attracts and satisfies the eye, had been kept by Michael Angelo and most of his followers completely subordinate; but at length these more sensual advantages of other schools, especially of that of Lombardy, had the effect of producing a reform in Tuscany also, the glory of which was reserved for Ludovico Cardi and Gregorio Pagani.

Ludovico Cardi, called also Cigoli after his birthplace, was born in 1559 and died in 1603. He was a pupil of Allori, but soon united himself to Gregorio Pagani in common studies, especially of the works of Barozzio and Correggio. Cardi had laid a good foundation in anatomy, and Pagani in coloring. The anatomical figure often met with in the painter’s studio is a production of Cigoli’s, who first made it of colored wax. The most celebrated among his numerous works is the Martyrdom of St Stephen, which he painted in 1587 for the Monastery of Montedomini. An oil-painting in the Paris Museum, an Ecce homo, of which we have given a sketch in pl. 15, fig. 3, is also highly esteemed. There are commonly remarked in the works of Cigoli a vigorous style and a beautiful gradation of coloring; he knew how to give variety to the tints in Correggio’s manner, and showed great industry both in planning and in execution. He likewise applied himself to architecture and perspective, as is proved by his work on the latter subject. In Rome too, although he there experienced much ill will, Cigoli found work in the Vatican, and at last had the Maltese order of knighthood conferred upon him.

The succeeding time produced among the pupils of Cigoli and Pagani many capital painters, who, however, gradually transferred to the Florentine a great deal of the characteristic peculiarity of the Venetian school, as is shown for instance in the works of Passignano, whose figures in their attitudes remind us of Tintoretto, while the draperies reproduce Paul Veronese. Jacob Chimenti (better known by the name of Jacopo di Empoli) took Andrea del Sarto for his model. Comodi, a pupil of Cigoli, copied the pictures of Correggio and other Venetians with such truth and spirit, that many of these copies are preserved as originals of that master in the galleries of Italy. It was at this time that the Salimbeni (Arcangiolo and Ventura) and Raphael and Michael Angelo distinguished themselves. A decided reputation was likewise gained by their contemporary Francesco Bustici, called Rustichino; he was exceedingly skilful in the management of chiaroscuro, and in some pictures which he painted the illumination of wax candles is imitated with surprising fidelity. In the gallery at Florence there is seen a very beautiful Dying Magdalen by him (pl. 17, fig. 5), and in the Borghese Gallery in Rome a St. Sebastian. Christoforo Allori, who was born in Florence in 1577, also took the works of Cigoli and Pagani for his models, and his picture of Judith with the head of Holofernes was highly prized. He here portrayed his mistress Mazza Firra, and the head of Holofernes bore the features of the painter himself; by which he meant to intimate that love had deprived him of his senses. His mistress’s mother also appears in the picture as an attendant. He gained great celebrity by his portraits and his copies after Correggio’s Magdalen, which were frequently taken for originals. Matteo Roselli was preëminently a pupil of Pagani, whose works, when the latter died in 1605, he also completed. His fresco-paintings are famous; and one of them was so beautiful, that when in 1773 the chapel whose vaulted ceiling it adorned was to be rebuilt, the whole vault on the 13th of April was removed by Paoletti the architect to another place without the slightest rent. Francesco Furini, a pupil of Roselli, perfected himself further in Rome and Venice. He afterwards entered the clerical order and became a curate. His profession, however, did not prevent him from zealously studying the female form and portraying it with a grace and truth of coloring worthy of the school of Albano. One of his best pictures is that of Andromeda chained to the rook and awaiting the approach of the sea-monster, in the Florentine Museum, a picture of which we have given a sketch (pl. 18, fig. 4). Yet Furini also painted some altar-pieces and frescoes in the serious style. The works of Carlo Dolce, who likewise belongs to this time and to this school, bear the character indicated by his name. They consist mostly of half figures of Madonnas, and saints of both sexes, which are full of a charming devotion and softness. Their execution is masterly. Carlo Dolce never painted profane subjects and only a few large compositions.

Pietro Berettini, better known by the name of Peter of Cortona, was born in the year 1596, and received his first instructions in art from different masters; by them however he was soon left to his own resources, and he formed himself on the works of Raphael, Michael Angelo, and other great painters. He soon had the good fortune to receive some considerable commissions, in particular one to paint the ceiling of a grand hall in the Palazzo alle quattro Fontane, which Pope Urban VII. had purchased for his family, a task of great importance, which the young artist executed with equal good fortune and ability. The compositions display a wonderful ease, graceful drawing, a light and brilliant coloring, and an admirable distribution of light and shade. In the year 1637, he was summoned to Florence, to paint some chambers in the Pitti palace, for which the ideas were given to him by a scholar, the younger Michael Angelo Buonarotti. Pietro, to express his gratitude for the same, presented Angelo with the whole of the cartoons for these paintings and the portraits of the eight most beautiful young girls of Florence, which he had painted in the palace in medallions containing two each. Two of these medallions, one representing the Muses Polyhymnia and Erato, and the other Euterpe and Urania, are copied pl. 16, figs. 9 and 10. The fifth of the chambers committed to him he did not complete; for having been insulted by a nobleman, he returned to Rome. This chamber and the other works left uncompleted by Pietro were finished by his pupil Ciro Ferri. In Rome Peter of Cortona painted the cupola and the vault of the church of the Padri dell’ Oratorio and the Pamfili gallery, where he portrayed the deeds of Æneas. Pope Alexander VII. knighted him. This artist also distinguished himself as an architect. He died in 1669.

Among the later imitators who adopted the light and graceful manner of Pietro Berettini but few have attained to great celebrity: the most notable of them is Luca Giordano, of whom we shall have occasion to speak further on. Ciro Ferri and Francesco Romanelli were able to imitate their master so closely that even connoisseurs ascribed their productions to Pietro da Cortona.

The Venetian School

In the different states of the Venetian territory we find monuments of painting and mosaic which are undeniably of Grecian origin, but which at the same time go to show that in this part of Italy the arts were never wholly lost. The mosaics in the church of St. Mark were begun in the year 1070, and were solemnly dedicated in 1084; they are the oldest monuments of art in Venice. Abbot Jacob painted in 1180 the figure of the Savior, and about the year 1200 one Theophilus from Constantinople had a school of painting in Venice. All these works and others equally old are wholly in the coarse and spiritless taste which characterizes the Greek works of art of that period. The history of Venetian painting may properly begin with Guariento, who lived about 1360; for he already departed to some extent from the Greek style, as did likewise his contemporary Nicoletto Semitecolo, who lived in 1367, and Sebastian of Murano, pictures by whom are still extant, and who was living at the beginning of the 15th century.

There are in Venice several paintings by Luigi Vivarino of the year 1414:, among them a Christ bearing his Cross and a St. Jerome and the Lion, and, which is remarkable, they are painted on canvas, which did not become usual till the time of Titian. Our next example of artistic talent is a German master, Johannes da Alemannia he calls himself on his pictures, who in 1445 painted in the church of San Giorgio Maggiore a St. Stephen and St. Sebastian. It cannot be a work of Johannes van Eyck, because, although several of his pictures came to Italy, he was dead in 1441. At this time we find in Venice three classes of painters: those who adhered strictly to the ancient traditional practice of the art, those who ventured to depart from the original coldness and stiffness, and the school of Giorgione. At the head of the first class stands Vittorio Carpaccio, who distinguished himself by his knowledge of perspective, which was then sadly neglected. The chief of the second class is Giovanni Bellini (born 1424, died 1514), who made considerable advances in the direction of correct taste, although he simply imitated nature. He devoted his attention principally to coloring and harmony. There are good pictures by this master in various galleries; his elder brother. Gentile Bellini, was likewise a good painter, but did not equal Giovanni. The third class, namely of painters who at once renounced the old stiff manner, begins with Marco Baisati; he painted till 1520, and his finest works are in the different churches of Venice.

The flourishing period of Venetian painting begins with Andrea Mantegna (born 1431, died 1505). He early distinguished himself by his great talents, and painted the altar-piece of the church of St. Sophia in Padua, his native city, when scarcely seventeen years old. His finest picture is the Triumph of Julius Cæsar, for which, in order that it might be worthily displayed, Duke Ludovico Gonzaga caused a separate building to be erected in Mantua. In the year 1630 the picture was lost with several valuable articles, and is now in England, in the royal palace at Hampton Court. Mantegna was rewarded with the rank of knighthood, and then went to Rome, on the invitation of Innocent VIII., where he painted in the Belvedere. He married the sister of Giovanni Bellini, and this near connexion with the latter had a favorable effect on Mantegna’s hitherto rather dry manner.

Giorgio Barbarelli, known by the name of Giorgione of Castelfranco, was born in 147T. He was a pupil of Giovanni Bellini, and distinguished himself so greatly by his talents, that his master, becoming jealous of him, drove him from his school; whereupon he labored to improve himself by independent study, and painted some altar-pieces, but chiefly frescoes on the façades of houses. Giorgione loved the clear and bright in pictures; his figures are full and round, and his drawing is correct. It being urged that sculpture is superior to painting, inasmuch as it allows the object to be viewed from all sides, he painted a celebrated picture for the purpose of showing that painting can do more, since it can enable us to behold its object on several sides from the same point of view. He painted a man with his back to the spectator and his front reflected in a fountain; his right profile was reflected in the shield of a suit of armor placed on one side, and his left profile in a mirror on the other side. Giorgione painted several excellent portraits besides larger pictures, which, however, are rare. He died early (in 1511); nevertheless he was the proper founder of the Venetian school.

Tiziano Vecellio, one of the three great masters of the art of painting, was born at Pieve, in 1477, the same year as Giorgione, and enjoyed in youth the benefit of a classical education; but as his talents for painting soon manifested themselves, he was placed in his tenth year under Giovanni Bellini. With him, however, he did not long continue, but soon proceeded to improve himself by independent study and imitating the works of Giorgione; but he cannot on this account be called his pupil, since he painted along with Giorgione the frescoes on the German Bazar in Venice. In Padua Titian painted in company with Campagnola and others the church of San Antonio; and after his return to Venice, he completed the works he had begun, one of which represented the Emperor Frederick I. at the feet of Pope Alexander III; into this picture he introduced many portraits from nature, a very favorite practice at that time, but which produced many anachronisms in costume. In Ferrara. Titian executed several works for Duke Alfonso I; and to this period of his life belongs the Tribute-Penny, a picture of which innumerable copies have been spread abroad in engravings and lithographs, and which forms one of the greatest treasures of the Dresden gallery. He painted the emperor Charles V. in Venice three several times, in 1530, 1532, and 1537; in 1547 and 1550 he painted him in Augsburg, and the emperor made him a knight and count palatine. After his return to Venice, Titian painted the admirable picture of Peter the Martyr, which was carried off with several of Titian’s paintings to France, but was afterwards restored. Among these pictures was also the Christ crowned with Thorns from Milan (pl. 18, fig. 3), which was taken from the church of Maria delle Grazie and is now in the Florence Museum. Titian bestowed great pains on the execution of the landscapes in which he placed his figures, and indeed it was he who prepared the way for the great landscape painters who came after him. But his greatest eminence was in historical portraits and in characteristic heads generally. Titian studied the antique with great zeal, and we meet in several of his works with reminiscences of the Laocoon and of some ancient reliefs in the church of Maria dei Miracoli, which Rossi has declared to be works of Phidias himself. It is also well known that Titian afterwards became the great exemplar for the portraying of children, and that Poussin, the so-called Flamingo, Algardi, and all who have rendered themselves eminent in this line, have made him their study, in order to master that expression of naive innocence and unassuming truth which constitutes its charm. Titian painted flesh with great skill. The gradation of his tints is so admirable that they can be distinguished only by comparing one with the other with the closest attention. Each one appears as flesh in itself, and the endless variety of all of them is subjected to the unity of one dominant tone. This is most conspicuous in his famous Venus in Florence, which, when the spectator stands close to it, seems to be painted with a single color, so that neither light nor shadow, so to speak, is discerned in it; but the further one recedes towards the proper point of view, the more everything appears rounded and seems to stand out from the level surface. Titian to the last remained like himself and was always great; although in his latest pictures, in place of that diluting and blending of the tints, we find the parts boldly delineated with a firm and masterly pencil. Titian died in the year 1576, of the plague, when 99 years old.

Among the pupils of Titian and Giorgione we will mention first Sebastiano Veneziano, who afterwards received the office of attaching the leaden seals (piombe) to the papal bulls, a very profitable sinecure, from which he received the name of Sebastiano del Piombo. He was born in the year 1584, and was at first a pupil of Bellini; but he soon left the rather dry manner of that master, and took as his models Giorgione and Titian. He painted historical pieces and portraits with great success. In Rome he painted along with Raphael in the Farnesina; and Michael Angelo, who wished to advance him, praised his works beyond measure, and made for him compositions, drawings, and even the cartoons for his pictures, so that after Raphael’s death, Sebastian came to be regarded as the first painter. Giacomo Palma Vecchio (Palma the Elder) was also at first a pupil of Bellini, but afterwards received instruction from Giorgione, and lastly from Titian. In his pictures we find one after another all the peculiarities of these masters repeated: on which account Zanetti said that the beauties of his pictures were the daughters of the beauties of the works of other artists Venice has a profusion of paintings by Palma Vecciiio; and in the German galleries, especially in Venice and Dresden, there is no lack of them, for he was very industrious. Paris Bordone, of a noble family in Trevizi, was born in the year 1500, and died in 1570. At an early age he came to Titian and resided under his roof, where he also studied the works of Giorgione. Paris Bordone painted a great deal and very beautifully; his finest production adorns the Academy of St. Mark. It represents an aged gondolier presenting to the Doge and senate a ring which he had received from St. Mark during the night of a dreadful storm.

Licinio Pordenone was a pupil of Titian and his most zealous rival; he was born in 1484, and died in 1540 most probably of poison. Between the pupil and master there existed great jealousy, which on the part of Pordenone was exhibited in a not very noble form, it being his constant endeavor to paint along with his master and to lower him in public estimation. It may be that occasionally by a happy effect of coloring or bold sweep of the pencil he was able to surpass Titian; but in the art of breathing a soul into his figures and causing the flesh to seem instinct with life he could never equal him. In Titian it is more nature than manner, in Pordenone the contrary is too often the case. His pictures are to be found in Venice, Mantua, and Vicenza, and also in Genoa and Ferrara, where he directed the tapestry manufactory and furnished the cartoons. Various galleries likewise possess pictures by him.

We have some excellent works by Francesa Vecellio the brother, and Marco Vecellio the nephew of Titian, both of whom were his pupils; but the former afterwards applied himself to mercantile pursuits, being urged to do so, it is said, by Titian from feelings of jealousy; Marco accompanied his uncle to Germany. Titian’s son Orazio, to judge by the way in which he began, would have performed admirable things, had not his excesses led him to an early death. Marco’s son, Tizianello, shows in his works a decline of the Titian school; for he lacks both grace in designing and vigor in handling the pencil.

Giacomo Pobusti, called il Tintoretto, because he was the son of a cloth dyer in Venice, was born in 1512, and was placed at a very early age under the instructions of Titian; the latter, however, perceiving the powerful talents of the youth, and having no desire to raise up a rival to himself, soon dismissed him. The young man was not to be discouraged, and he determined to form by his own exertions a style combining the drawing of Michael Angelo with the coloring of Titian. He accordingly procured for himself plaster casts of antique statues and of works of Michael Angelo, and industriously set himself to studying them. He also modelled for himself small figures, which he clothed and studied the effects of light and shade displayed upon them by candle light; and thus he formed his manner, which is so distinguished for the boldness of its chiaroscuros. The fire of his genius urged him on to the greatest rapidity in working, in consequence of which he received the cognomen of il Furioso. But this haste unfortunately was detrimental to correctness, and his vehemence often carried him beyond the bounds of truth. In the beginning of his most flourishing period, Tintoretto painted two enormous pictures in the church of Maria dell’ Orto; in one of which, the Last Judgment, his study of Michael Angelo is perfectly obvious. The composition is very fine; but some of the foreshortenings are too daring, and in many of the figures the centre of gravity is unsupported. The other picture was the Worship of the Golden Calf; and in both pictures, which are 50 feet in height by a comparatively narrow width, the master succeeded in suitably filling out the space. In the same church, in the chapel of St. Agnes, is a picture by Tintoretto which Pietro da Cortona valued so highly that he copied it for his private study. This picture and a St. Mark delivering a Slave from the Rack are regarded as works worthy of a Titian. Another famous picture is that of the Adultress before Christ, of which we have given a sketch (pl. 17, fig. 4), and in which we cannot but admire the graceful grouping of the figures, although here too some bold attitudes are to be found, witness the two figures to the right and left in the foreground. That of the adulteress is rather colossal. The rapidity with which Tintoretto worked is evinced by the following anecdote. The first painters were invited to a trial of skill in furnishing designs for a ceiling-painting, the execution of which was promised to him who produced the best. While other painters were making their sketches and drawings, Tintoretto painted his picture out and out, and on the day of adjudication caused it to be secretly fixed in its destined place; so that when the prize was awarded him, the work was already done. In consequence of his great fertility, almost all good galleries possess pictures from his hand. His son Domenico and his sister Maria have likewise a good reputation in the pictorial art.

Paolo Cagliari, called from his birthplace Paolo Veronese, was born in 1532. His works soon became so distinguished in point of coloring as to be mentioned with applause along with those of Titian, Palma Vecchio, and Tintoretto. Titian honored the young artist highly, and when he was to select the artists to paint St. Mark’s Library, his first choice fell on Paul Veronese. Paul afterwards went for a while to Rome, in order to impress upon his mind the beauties of art collected there. It is difficult to say which of his numerous works is the best; still four great paintings representing “Suppers” doubtless merit the preference. One of these, in the refectory of San Giorgio Maggiore, is about 40 feet long and represents the Marriage at Cana. The picture exhibits as many as 120 beautiful figures, many of which are portraits of contemporaries; these, collected as they are from far and near, are very curiously grouped. A party of musicians are likenesses of painters: Titian is playing the double bass, Paul Veronese the violoncello, Tintoretto the viol di gamba, &c. The other Suppers are the Feast of Simon and the Penitent Magdalen (twice) (Matt. xxvi. 7); and the Feast of Levi (Luke V. 29). Paul painted several other feasts; but he also knew how to handle serious and sacred subjects with equal skill. Great fertility of imagination and great facility of execution joined to a good knowledge of the technics of his art, were the distinguishing qualities of this artist; on which account he often allowed himself in his pictures to be led away into episodes which, together with the introduction of costumes from different ages in one and the same painting, make his works deficient in historical truth. His draperies and architecture are excellent and effective; and his colors, boldly laid on, are fresh and bright, with clear and transparent reflected lights. He died in 1582.

But from this point the Venetian school, which had now reached the pinnacle of its greatness, began to decline. Giacomo Palma the Younger (b. 1544, d. 1628) was the first to enter upon the downward path; for although he took Titian and Tintoretto, Michael Angelo and Caldara for his models, he worked far too hurriedly to attain to any degree of excellence. The number of his productions is excessively great. His example was followed by a long series of artists, none of whose names enjoy much celebrity. The Venetian painters, in the most flourishing period of their school, had created for it a certain national character; and although each of its greatest masters, Titian, Bassano, Tintoretto, and Paul Veronese, had a style peculiar to himself, it was derived in each case from nature, and their combination formed the national style, which was also adhered to by their pupils, although in their hands it underwent a gradual deterioration. The Venetian school, however, notwithstanding the constancy with which it had at first opposed itself to every foreign influence and even to the great inundation of Buonarottists, was at last forced to submit, and, mingling with these, to bow to its utter fall. Of the late masters of the Venetian school the following only are deserving of mention. Giovanni Battista Piazetta (b. 1682, d. 1754) studied diligently the works of the Caracci and of Guercino, and distinguished himself by his admirable handling of chiaroscuro; for by means of models of his figures he placed nature before his eyes and investigated the effects of light and shade: hence too he was able to manage the reflected lights exceedingly well. His coloring is pale and chalky, and his draperies heavy, which last defect doubtless originated in his modelled figures, where the folds of the small garments on account of their want of amplitude could never be made to fall naturally. His best picture is the Beheading of John the Baptist, in the church of St. Anthony in Padua. Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (b. 1693, d. 1769) manifested remarkable talents in his youth and formed his manner on the works of Paul Veronese. He made long journeys even to Germany, where he painted, especially in Würtzburg. We desiderate in his pictures a rather more correct drawing. The Banquet of Antony and Cleopatra, in Dresden, with figures of the size of life, is a splendid picture. Tiepolo also executed various engravings, apparently on tin.

We must here mention one other master, although he does not properly belong to the Venetian school, since all that he was he became through his own exertions, and he preserved his individuality to the last. We allude to Antonio Allegri, called Antonio da Correggio, born 1499. His father was named Pellegrino, and he received his first instructions from his uncle, Lorenzo Allegri; but as Lorenzo was no artist, these instructions were of little account. Hence Correggio was soon reduced to the necessity of depending upon himself, and his genius was lofty enough to enable him to surmount all opposing obstacles. Accordingly we never meet in his works, which were constantly advancing nearer to perfection, with anything borrowed from another hand. Correggio was never in Rome; and hence it is impossible that he should, as many have asserted, have formed himself on the study of Raphael; besides, it would be no difficult matter to show a complete contrast between the manners of these two masters. Raphael was, so to speak, an enemy to foreshortenings, Correggio was very fond of them, as being so favorable to graceful turns; Raphael sacrificed everything to expression, Correggio to harmony; Raphael sought beauty in a certain nobleness of form, Correggio in a luxurious wantonness; Raphael made use of a natural, open light, Correggio always produced it artificially; and this contrast might be extended even to the details of their works. The first pictures of Correggio are to be found in his birth-place; yet the originals have been removed, some of them at the command of the lords of Correggio, and others in some inexplicable manner, so that copies are now found in their stead. One of his earliest productions is the St. Cecilia in the Borghese gallery. This picture reminds us strongly of Mantegna; yet the peculiar illumination which proceeds from an angelic glory and spreads almost imperceptibly over the whole picture, leaves no room to doubt its belonging to Correggio, notwithstanding that certain hardness are to be found in it. A work of Correggio’s of the year 1520 exists in a convent of Parma, but it is so little accessible to visitors, that we had no account of it till quite lately. Seroux d’Agincourt was the first to publish a drawing of it (in his “Painting,” pl. 202). It was about this time that our master began the cupola of St. John’s church, which he finished in the year 1524. It represents the Ascension of the Saviour, together with the apostles, Mary, &c., and was so beautiful that the superintendents of the cathedral as early as 1522 contracted with Correggio, at the price of a thousand sequins, for the painting of a picture for the cupola, which, however, was not begun till 1526. This sum as well as other prices which were paid Correggio for his works, and which for that time were very considerable, furnish the best refutation of the statement of the artist’s poverty; the story of his having expired under the burden when paid a fee of sixty sequins in copper money is likewise fabulous, it having been proved that the fee was paid in gold and that Correggio lived for several years afterwards. The cupola of the cathedral represents the Assumption of the Virgin; and Mengs says with justice that no more beautiful cupola has been painted either before or since. While this work was going on Correggio painted his St. Jerome and his famous Night. For the former he received 400 lire; the King of Portugal afterwards offered 40,000 ducats, and Frederick the Great 25,000 sequins for it. There are many who prefer this picture to the works of Raphael. The Night, i. e. of the Savior’s birth, was ordered by Alberto Pratonieri, and the price of it was 208 lire (47\(\frac{1}{2}\) sequins). The picture was finished in 1530 and set up in the church of St. Prosperus; in 1640 it was removed to the gallery at Modena, whence again it was taken to Dresden, and only a copy on canvas by Nogari remained in Modena. There are many good old copies of this famous picture. Among other things Correggio painted about this time for the Duke of Mantua a Leda and a Venus, to which afterwards was added an Io. These pictures went through many strange adventures, until at length they fell into the hands of Queen Christina of Sweden, who had them made into window-shutters, but afterwards gave them to Bourdon the painter. Thus they came to France, where they remained till Philippe Egalité (father of king Louis Philippe) sold them to England, where from puritanical motives they were cut up and the head of lo burnt. The remaining pieces came into the possession of Charles Coypel, after whose death they were sold at auction and were purchased at a high price by the king of Prussia. The Leda and Venus were restored by Lyen the painter. Both are now in the Prussian gallery. The lo was bought by M. de Calabre, and Collins restored it very beautifully. There are several other fine paintings of Correggio in the Dresden gallery: among them is the picture known by the name of St. George, which was originally painted for the brotherhood of St. Peter in Modena; the St. Sebastian; the picture of Dr. Francesco Grillenzoni; and lastly the famous Magdalen, which was stolen by Wogaz in 1788, but was afterwards recovered. This picture, which was painted by way of exception on a plate of copper, is so beautiful, that it has been many times copied, and among others by Titian himself In Spain too there are several excellent paintings by Correggio; and the great number of his works, all of which we cannot possibly enumerate here, proves how indefatigably industrious this artist must have been, for he lived to be only forty years old, and never, even in his great cupola pieces, made use of an assistant. The principal qualities by which Correggio is distinguished are grace, harmony, and the management of the brush. Correggio was unsurpassed in his knowledge of chiaroscuro, and it is evident that this branch of his art he must constantly have studied from full-rounded figures; in aerial perspective he seems to have taken Leonardo da Vinci for his model; but in everything nature was the chief instructor of this master, who well knew how to profit by her precepts. Correggio’s pupils were not numerous, and none of them attained to any great celebrity.

The Bolognese, Lombard, and Napolitan Schools

Bologna is one of the oldest and most famous cities in Italy; and ever since Bishop Petronius founded its renowned university under Theodosius the Younger in the year 432, the arts and sciences have constantly been cultivated there. The oldest paintings it possesses date from the year 1120 and are marked P. P. F. Guido da Bologna painted at the close of the same century, in 1180; Ventura, in 1217 and 1220; and the painter Ursone flourished in 1240. Pictures by all of them are still preserved in Bologna in the Malvezzi palace. Vitale, a pupil of Giotto, painted about the year 1320, and there are pictures by him and by his fellow pupil Lorenzo da Bologna in several places in the city; but the greater part of them have been whitewashed over or have perished in some other manner. Marco Zeppo was the instructor of Francesco Paibolini, known; by the name of Francesco Francia. He was born in 1450, and may be regarded as the head of the Bolognese school; for at the time when Vanucchi flourished in Rome, Leonardo da Vinci in Florence, and the Bellinis in Venice, he was the first artist in Bologna, and his works in the Chiesa alia Misericordia and the San Giorgio Maggiore place him on a level with those artists. Although his rich compositions are to a certain degree lacking in fire, yet his drawing is correct and his coloring better than that of Perugino. Francia was an intimate friend of Raphael, who sent him his portrait. He formed a considerable school, from which proceeded, among others, Timoteo Vite and Marc Antonio Raimondi, who afterwards became a pupil of Raphael.

Besides the school of Francia, Innocenzo de Imola formed a school of painting. Here Francesco Primaticcio, born in 1490, acquired the principles of his art; although his knowledge was chiefly obtained through Giulio Romano, to whose pupils he belonged. He executed many works in Mantua, in the Palazzo del Te. Francis I. in 1531 invited him to France, where he met with Rosso and remained nine years; the king then sent him to Rome to purchase antiques, and with Vignola’s assistance to take plaster-casts of several ancient statues and reliefs, a mission which he undertook with benefit to himself; and it was not till Rosso’s death in 1541 that he was recalled, to complete that artist’s unfinished works. Under Francis II. he was made superintendent in chief of the royal palaces; and, as he was likewise an architect, he designed the plan of the Castle of Meudon. Primaticcio had a great deal of invention and colored with taste; yet his many and great works left him too little time for the study of nature, and hence we often perceive in him a mannerism. Among his pupils, Nicolo dell’ Abbate and Alberto Fontana rose to eminence. Among the works of Nicolo great praise is bestowed on the gallery in Fontainebleaup, unfortunately pulled down in 1738, in which the exploits of Ulysses were portrayed after the designs of Primaticcio. They have been engraved by Theodore Van Tulden and also by Kilian.

We have already remarked on several occasions, that in the beginning of the 16th century the influence of Michael Angelo’s manner was very perceptible not only in the rest of Italy but also in Bologna, since most of the artists not only sought to make this manner their own, but fancied they could improve upon it by their experiments; and thus gradually arose a mode of painting which not only wanted firmness but was often erroneous in drawing, while it was feeble and wishy-washy in coloring, and without even a semblance of truth to nature. Unhappily this corrupt taste had spread, to the great detriment of true art, throughout Italy, and there were but few artists, and those chiefly of the Bolognese school, who were able to stem the torrent with much success. But at length arose the Caraccis, who earned for themselves the glory of imparting new life and vigor to art.

Ludovico Caracci (b. 1555, d. 1619) was the son of a butcher; and as he manifested a great inclination for painting, he was placed under the instructions of Prospero Fontana. His quiet and contemplative disposition, however, caused him to be misunderstood; and the fiery Fontana as well as Tintoretto pronounced him destitute of talent. Upon this the young man withdrew himself into retirement; he remained a while with Passignano in Florence; then studied the masterpieces of Primaticcio, Andrea del Sarto, Correggio, Giulio Romano, Paolo Veronese, and Titian; and at length, furnished with profound artistic knowledge, he began his glorious career in Bologna. He had two cousins, Agostino (b. 1557, d. 1602) and Annibale (b. 1560, d. 1609), who likewise devoted themselves to painting, the former studying with Fontana, the latter with Ludovico. The two brothers lived in a constant state of alienation, and their mutual interests as artists and as men could not induce them to behave in a friendly manner towards each other. Agostino was noble and talented, and pursued all his scientific studies with much success; but Annibale, whom his father had destined to be a tailor, and who scarcely knew how to read and write, constantly ridiculed his brother’s learning, as the means of dissipating his powers. Agostino in consequence, who saw with what gigantic strides his brother was advanced in the art of painting, determined to renounce it, and applied himself successfully to copperplate engraving. About the same time Annibale exhibited his first works, consisting of two altar-pieces, a Crucifixion and a Baptism of Christ; but as these were simply, nobly, and naturally executed, they were attacked on all sides, so that the painter’s only present reward was the hope of seeing the right ultimately triumph. Ludovico and Annibale pursued with the greatest ardor the path they had struck out, and Agostino likewise again took up painting. About the year 1580 Annibale went to Parma, and then to Venice; and after his return the three Caraccis painted together several friezes in the Fava palace, representing the Exploits of Jason, and Ludovico alone painted in a hall the History of Æneas.

In spite of all opposition the three artists quietly pursued the course which they had decided to be the only correct one, and at length they founded a school of painting in which the study of the nude figure and of the antique was pursued with great zeal, and where Agostino lectured on the theoretical branches, architecture, perspective, anatomy, &c. From this time forward the reputation of the Caraccis kept spreading more and more. Ludovico had already distinguished himself by several large works, Agostino shone as an engraver, and Annibale by his paintings, which excited universal admiration. The Caraccis, after having studied the works of the greatest masters, formed a manner of their own, in which the character of one or the other master served as a pattern, and they always chose with great judgment that which was most suitable. Accordingly when the nature of the subject required it, they produced by their mode of treatment a mixture of the styles of Primaticcio, Tintoretto, Tibaldi, &c.

In the convent of the Carthusians in Bologna Agostino painted his admirable work, the Cmnmunion of St. Jerome, a production which excited universal attention and which is now in Paris. The fame of the skill of the Caraccis now spread more and more, and many commissions were consequently given, not to any one of them but to all of them together. Thus the grand paintings in the Magnani palace are to be regarded as the work of the Caraccis, and chiefly of Ludovico and Agostino. Two ceiling-pieces are here celebrated, one representing Galathea as the symbol of Water, painted by Ludovico, and the other Pluto as the symbol of Fire, a work of Agostino. We have given a sketch of the former in pl. 15, fig. 12, and of the latter in fig. 13, which will afford an idea of the manner of these two masters. About this time Annibale began one of his most celebrated paintings, viz. St. Roque distributing Alms, which is now in Dresden, and also the beautiful picture of Mary, the Magdalen, and St. Francis of Assisi by the body of Christ, of which a sketch is given in fig. 7. Another picture, which adorns the Paris Museum, and is copied in pl. 16, fig. 7, represents the Madonna with the child Jesus asleep and John the Baptist; it is known by the name of “Silence,” and is of somewhat later date than the preceding.

Agostino and Annibale next undertook for Cardinal Odoardo Farnese to decorate with paintings the Farnese gallery in Rome. But artistic rivalry between the two brothers, who otherwise were tenderly attached to each other, soon had the effect of disturbing the progress of the work, and Agostino quitted Rome, relinquishing to his brother the honor of completing this great work. In his native country new works awaited him but also new attacks, in consequence of which he fell into a state of dejection and died in the 43d year of his age.

Annibale was occupied eight years in the work of the Farnese gallery: Ludovico also came for a short time to Rome, and one of the naked figures in the medallion of the fable of the Syrinx is painted by his hand. The contemptible recompense which Annibale received on the completion of the work, only 500 scudi instead of 10,000, made him resolve to paint no more; and although he was persuaded to begin in conjunction with Albani a work in the church of St. James of Spain in Rome, the melancholy which had seized him undermined his health and he expired in Rome in the 49th year of his age.

Ludovico, after his return from Rome, had undertaken along with all his pupils a great work, namely to decorate with paintings the portico of San Michele in Bosco, and the subjects were the history of St. Benedict and the legends of St. Cecilia. Many of the largest and finest pictures are by Ludovico himself, and all of them are characterized by an inexhaustible beauty and sublimity; in all of them too we cannot but admire the accurate study of the greatest masters which they manifest and the skill shown in adopting their several manners for those subjects to which they are best suited. The last work of Ludovico was the great vaulted ceiling in the cathedral of Bologna, where he painted the Annunciation, giving to the figures of Mary and the Angel a colossal size. Unhappily he committed an error in this picture, which proved the cause of his death. The angel in the act of approaching the Madonna wears a light garment through which the movement of the body is seen. But if we follow out the folds of the drapery, we find that the left foot is where the right ought to be, and vice versa. Ludovico did not notice this fault until the scaffolding was taken down and it was too late to correct it; the grief and mortification which he experienced in consequence undermined his health and he died. The error was corrected by Prof. Fancelli in 1830. There were also three other painters of the Caracci family, Paolo, Francesco, and Antonio; but none of them became very celebrated.

The pupils of the Caracci s are innumerable. We find among them the greatest masters of their time, such as Domenichino, Guido, Albano, and Lanfranco, of whom we shall speak directly. Opposed to the school of the Caraccis was that of the so-called naturalists, which was founded by Michael Angelo Merigi, called, after his birth-place, Caravaggio. He was born in 1569, and manifested a talent for painting in early youth; but he confined himself to a close and slavish imitation of nature without making the least distinction between beauty and ugliness. He went to Vienna and studied Giorgione, after which he removed to Rome, where he gradually came into notice. He here hit upon the idea, while seeking to produce peculiar effects, of painting his studio black and letting the light in from above. He consequently saw all objects with sharply defined lights and shadows, and, by reason of the darkness of the place, without reflexion. His manner in consequence acquired a resemblance to that of Rembrandt, although the latter is far more tasteful and transparent: nevertheless he found very many imitators, and his fame increased from day to day. He received commissions for several altar-pieces, which stirred up many enemies against him; and being of a very quarrelsome disposition and always with a sword at hand, he once killed one of his adversaries, upon which he fled to Naples, and from there to Malta, where he executed his best works. To this period belongs the beautiful picture of the Entombment of Christ (pl. 15, fig. 6), which is now in the Paris Museum. But he also got into disputes in Malta; and as he was about to be cast into prison, he made his escape to Sicily: from there he intended to go to Naples and Rome, but was attacked on the road and so badly wounded that he soon after died (in 1609). Caravaggio adhered in all his works so closely to nature that he copied even her faults; his drawing is deficient in dignity and correctness, indeed in all those advantages which result from a scientific education. Content simply to copy his model, he despised every other means of excellence.

After this brief digression, we return again to the school of the Caraccis, the members of which were busily engaged in striving against the disorders introduced into art by the followers of Caravaggio. The first of these to whom we will call the reader’s attention was Giovanni Lanfranco, who was born in Parma in 1580 and received a liberal education; he entered as page into the service of Marchese Scotti, who, perceiving his talent for painting, placed him under the instruction of Agostino Caracci. He here devoted himself chiefly to the study of Correggio’s works, in which Agostino encouraged him. Lanfranco followed his master to Rome, and worked with him in the Farnese gallery. From this time the Marchese Sannesi took him into his service; for him Giovanni painted a great deal, and by him the way to great reputation was opened to the artist, for the Marchese brought him to the notice of cardinal Montalto and pope Sixtus, from whom he received many commissions. Lanfranco gained an enviable reputation by his works. His most beautiful production, which he executed wholly in the manner of Correggio, is the cupola in the church of St. Andrea della Valle in Rome, where Domenichino painted the four corners and the tribune. Lanfranco labored four years on this cupola, and the harmony of the whole is admirable, the distribution of the colors wonderful, and the chiaroscuro and the gradation of the tints are lovely in the extreme. With respect to the celestial glory this cupola is unique in its kind. He did not succeed so well with the cupola of the Jesuits’ church in Naples; but this was owing to its construction, it being provided with ribs and having an excessive quantity of gilding. Lanfranco and his followers applied themselves chiefly to the study of the distribution of masses and of movements, after the example of Correggio; yet what they sought was the appearance without the arduous study of the principles of art. The pictures of Lanfranco are distributed in great number through Italy and some through Spain and France. There are also several of them in Vienna and Dresden; but his fresco-paintings are of more value than his pictures in oil.

Guido Reni, born in Bologna 1575, was to have been a musician; but he preferred the study of painting under Calvaert, who directed his attention to Albert Dürer’s works. Here Albano and Domenichino were his fellow-pupils; but all three went over to the school of the Caraccis. Guido accompanied Annibale Caracci to Rome, where he soon acquired considerable reputation: his first work was a Crucifixion of St. Peter, in the Chiesa delle tre Fontane, a picture in which he endeavored with great success to excel Caravaggio in chiaroscuro. This picture and several others afterwards came to Paris. One of the finest fresco-paintings in Rome is the Aurora which Guido painted for Cardinal Borghese, but which during the recent events in Rome has suffered considerable damage. Guido also decorated with his pencil the chapel on Monte Cavallo and one in Sta. Maria Maggiore. He soon afterwards removed to Bologna, where there were already several of his paintings; but he was summoned back to Rome to complete his unfinished works. He then repaired once more to Bologna and afterwards to Naples. But an attempt being there made upon his life, he soon left that city and returned to Bologna, where he finished the chapel of St. Dominic and painted several pictures for the Chiesa de’ Mendicanti. This is not the place to enumerate the countless works of Guido, who at length acquired such a facility that he seemed to design with the pencil. There exist also many paintings which go by his name, but which are either copies of his pictures or have been produced by his pupils and merely finished by him. Guido’s greatest excellence doubtless consists in the ideal beauty which animates his heads. In his female heads and even in those of youthful males, his study of the ancient group of the Niobids is everywhere visible. The Madonna of the Florence Museum (pl. 15, fig. 10) and the John the Baptist of the Paris Museum (fig. 11) may serve as specimens. The countenances of his old men and apostles he selected from fine natural ones, because among the models of the antique none of religious inspiration have been preserved. For the representation of the other parts of the body he likewise adhered to nature, without ennobling them by means of the antique; so that the bodies are frequently not in harmony with the beautiful heads. An example of this, and also of what we shall have to say respecting his draperies, is furnished in the St. Francis from the Paris Museum (fig. 5). Guido’s flesh color has too great a tendency to yellow, but without being disagreeable; his coloring in general is delicious and without offensive prominence. In the folds of his draperies we observe great beauty of form, and sometimes they remind us of Dürer; yet they often want harmony with the remaining whole and with the nature of the material. Notwithstanding the beauty and correctness of his aerial perspective, his linear perspective is often treated in an erroneous manner. Nevertheless, Guido, whose portrait from the Florence Museum is given pl. 18, fig. 6, is deservedly reckoned among the most distinguished artists. He died in 1642.

Francesco Albano, born in Bologna in 1578, was the third from the school of the Caraccis who labored to uphold it against the exertions of the naturalists. He was a fellow-pupil of Guido; but although they were apparently united by an intimate friendship, a violent jealousy existed between them, which at last broke out into open enmity, so that the one was constantly laboring to eclipse the other. Albano began his public career in Rome, where under Annibale Caracci he executed many of the latter’s cartoons in the church of St. James of Spain; but among his most celebrated works is the Verospi gallery. Very celebrated also are four Elements, which he first painted in the Villa Borghese, and afterwards had to repeat several times, each time introducing new ideas. Although Albano’s great paintings are excellent, his easel-pictures are preferred, and his representations of Venus, Diana, the Nymphs, and the Cupids are so charmingly beautiful, that they gained for him the appellation of “the painter of the Graces.” In his second wife Doralice Fioravanti (the first died at an early age) and his twelve children he had an ever ready supply of the finest models. We find several of them in a picture of the Holy Family (pl. 17, fig. 6), and his little Cupids (the Dresden gallery possesses one of the most beautiful compositions of this kind) are for the most part pictures of his children. Albano also painted very beautiful landscapes, and one of them was the occasion of placing the jealousy between him and Guido in a very clear light. Albano was commissioned by Cardinal Barberini to paint a landscape for the king of England, in which Guido was to insert the figures for the fable of Bacchus and Ariadne. Albano executed his task splendidly, so much so that Guido perceived that his figures must remain secondary matters; upon which, losing patience, he seized a large brush and obliterated the entire landscape, and then designed instead of it a naked rock. Albano’s drawing is always exceedingly correct, and his coloring is charming. In invention he was rather a poet than a painter; his fancy was inexhaustible, and in his female Loves he has remained unequalled. He died in 1660.

Domenico Zampieri, called Domenichino, was born in 1581, and died in 1641. He likewise was a pupil of the Caraccis, and Agostino predicted for him great success. Zampieri was uncommonly industrious, and his acute powers of observation enabled him to note with accuracy the effects of the passions on the human countenance and to depict them to the life. He lived on terms of the most intimate friendship with Albano: and when the latter went to Rome, he soon followed him, and worked there in company with him. Domenichino at first experienced violent opposition, and his bashful nature was looked upon as weakness; but he was all the more esteemed and honored in the end. The number of his works is great; but the most celebrated is his St. John, one of the four Evangelists, which he painted in the church of St. Andrea della Valle in Rome, the cupola of which, as we mentioned above (p. 105), was painted by Lanfranco. There are also some beautiful works of Domenichino in Naples. He ranks indisputably among the most accomplished painters; he made use of the antique with great ability, and in point of expression he stands next to Raphael. His coloring is beautiful, powerful, and natural, and his compositions are for the most part full of grace and spirit.

As painting in Rome, Florence, and Venice, after reaching its most brilliant period, began to decline, so too in Lombardy it now began to approach its fall. The rage for novelty, the numerous rival styles, the eagerness to banish the difficulties of the art and to facilitate its study at the expense of thoroughness, made their appearance here likewise. Although Bologna had become the first school of Italy, still the countless different styles of the pupils of the Caracci combined with the methods of other artists, especially with the followers of Pietro da Cortona, hastened the downfall of art. Among all the pupils of the Caraccis, although they were excellent, but few are distinguished by any peculiar characteristics: they all drew from the same stream, without examining whether its waters were pure or turbid, and but few gave themselves the trouble to ascend to its source. Carlo Cignani, who was born in Bologna in 1628, and died in 1719, was the first to bring about a revolution. He early applied himself to the study of the works of Titian, Correggio, and the Caraccis, and formed for himself an individual manner distinguished by very accurate drawing and great power of coloring. His very first works gained him great reputation and so many commissions, that he was prevented from devoting the requisite attention to his own improvement, by means of which he would otherwise have risen to the highest grade of excellence.

Among the finest works which Cignani has left us are two frescoes, with which he in company with his fellow-pupil Taruffi adorned the Farnese hall in the public palace of Bologna. These two pictures painted by Cignani himself represent, one of them Francis I. of France touching for the king’s evil in Bologna, and the other the entrance of Pope Paul III. (Farnese) into the same city. Cignani painted a great deal in fresco, both in Bologna, in Parma, and in other places: in acknowledgment of his merits he had bestowed on him the title of count and cavalier. Besides the innumerable pictures which he painted for many noble houses of Italy, he worked also for the emperor, the king of France, prince Adam of Lichtenstein, and for the elector of Bavaria and the Palatinate. In the city of Forli, where he resided for many years for the purpose of painting the great cupola of the church of the Madonna del Fuoco, he kept his school of painting as he had done in Bologna; and from it a good many tolerably able artists proceeded. His easel-pictures are found in almost every gallery of importance; one of the best of them is in Dresden: it represents Joseph tearing himself from the arms of Zuleika (Potiphar’s wife) (pl. 15, fig. 8). His last work, which he painted at the close of his life, was an infant Jupiter in the act of suckling; he painted it for the elector of the Palatinate, who rewarded him very generously. The venerable artist died at Forli in the year 1710, and is there buried under the cupola on which he had labored for twenty years, and which he regarded as his masterpiece. In his manner we find a combination of the finest characteristics of Correggio, Titian, Guido, and the Caraccis; yet he followed no master exclusively, but was always original. He possessed a peculiar talent with which nature had also gifted Correggio, that of representing figures in scanty spaces magnified in a wonderful manner. There was a great deal of grace in Cignani’s drawing, and he selected only the finest natural forms for models; his coloring is vigorous without too great masses of shade, and his illumination is clear and intelligible.

A school of artists was also formed in Naples and Sicily, which has produced some celebrated masters. We need only mention here the names of Andrea da Salerno (1480–1545), Francesco Penni (il Fattore), Giovanni Caracciola, Giuseppe Ribera (lo Spagnoletto, 1593–1649), Salvator Rosa (1615–73), Mattia Preti (il Calabrese, 1613–99), Luca Giordano (Fa presto, 1632–1705), and Francesco Solimena (1657–1748), to give an idea of the services rendered to true art by this school.

Spain

Among all the kingdoms of Southern Europe there is perhaps none that has undergone so many revolutions and had such various rulers as Spain. Phœnicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians were enticed thither by its mines of silver and gold, and these expelled the original inhabitants and established their colonies instead. The Romans transplanted thither their manners and civilization, and many beautiful temples still testify to the architectural skill of the Augustan age. Next took place the irruption of the Goths, with whom the Christian religion found entrance, as is shown by the churches now in ruins of the 6th and 7th centuries. The incursion of the Arabs into Spain introduced a new religion, new manners, and new art, until Ferdinand I. (1047–65) delivered a great part of Spain from the domination of the Moors. From that time forth the Christian religion has reigned unrestricted in Spain. Relics of art are still preserved in greater or less numbers belonging to all these periods; and it is to be regretted that the Pyrenees and still more the intolerance of the Spaniards preserve the Peninsula in such a state of isolation that these ruins and remains of art are still but very imperfectly known in the rest of Europe.

The oldest accounts of Spanish painting relate to the 10th century, when the monk Vigila wrote a codex and adorned it with miniatures; the painters were Saracino and Garcia. There is a Bible in two volumes of the 13th century, with paintings by Pedro de Pampeluna; and in 1291 Esteban Rodrigo was court painter to king Sancho IV. Juan Caesillas painted in 1382 for the city of Reus an altar-piece with the twelve Apostles and many embellishments, for which he received 330 florins of Arragon; and there is a painting of the year 1399 in the cathedral of Toledo by Fernando Gonzales, who was also a sculptor.

In the beginning of the 15th century there came to Spain the Florentine artists Gerardo Stamina and Dello, whose works it is true no longer exist, but which are said to have been very fine. About the year 1462 lived the Spanish artists Juan Sanchez de Castro and Pedro Sanchez; works by both of them are still extant, which as respects delicacy of execution and sprightliness of coloring are of distinguished merit. There also lived in Spain about the year 1455 an English artist named Jorge (George), good portraits by whom are still extant. The first Spanish painter who went to Home to perfect himself in his art was Antonio del Rincon (1446–1500), who after his return executed many fine works; all, however, have been destroyed with the exception of an altar-piece of seventeen compartments. It is expressive and very clever. Pablo de Aregio and Francesco Neapoli painted in the spirit of Leonardo da Vinci, as appears from two side wings on the high altar of the cathedral of Valencia of the year 1506. At that time Spain was rich in artists, some of whom were of a high order; yet there were also foreigners among them. Johann Cornelius Vermeyen (Juan de Majo or Barbalonga), from Beverwyck near Haarlem, produced church paintings and beautiful landscapes. Titian also remained here for some time, and the great number of paintings by him which are found in Spain (they are reckoned at 85) attest the high esteem in which he was held by the emperor Charles V. and Philip II. Great reputation was gained by Fernando Varmez, a pupil of Raphael: his best work is the Adoration of the Kings. Rubens too spent a considerable time in Spain, of whom we shall have occasion to speak again in treating of the Netherland school. There are also in Spain 96 pictures and 46 designs for pictures by Hubens; yet strictly speaking he was of little benefit to the Spanish school, as the reputation to which he attained was injurious to that of Italy.

Passing over a great number of artists whose enumeration would have led us too far, and of whom we will particularize only Herrera and Velasquez de Silva, we turn to Bartolome Esteban Murillo (1618–82), who is rightly esteemed one of the greatest painters of Spain and indeed of his time. He was born in Seville and studied the art of designing with Juan de Castillo; but he remained deficient in coloring until he came to rely upon himself and formed his own style. At this period he painted pictures in several churches, which show strong marks of mannerism. Then came Pedro de Moya, a pupil of Vandyck, to Seville; and on Murillo’s thus becoming acquainted with the coloring of Vandyck, he determined to repair to that master for instruction, when he received information of his death. Italy then became the goal of his wishes; but being without the means of defraying his expenses thither, he painted an immense number of little sacred pictures which were sent to India. With the money saved from the proceeds he went to Madrid, where under Velasquez he copied the paintings of Titian, Rubens, Vandyck, Ribera, &c.; by this course he profited so greatly that when in 1645 he returned to Seville, he gained universal applause by his paintings in the convent of St. Francis. They were executed in an entirely new style, in the taste of Vandyck, Spagnoletto, and Velasquez, and gained for him a great number of commissions. His beautiful picture of St. Anthony of Padua in the cathedral, which is regarded as his finest work, was painted by him in the year 1656. His most brilliant period, however, was from 1670 to 1680, when among other things he painted the eight pictures in the church of the hospital of St. George, for which he received 78,115 reals. The pictures of Murillo are valued very highly: for instance the English banker Angerstein paid for two of them 18,000 dollars. Murillo possessed an amiable character: he treated the mistakes of his pupils, of whom he had a great number, with gentleness, and referred them constantly to nature. His pictures are to be met with through all Europe; as he was uncommonly industrious, and his works were always held in high esteem. Many too have been given as presents by the kings of Spain to other rulers or have been sold for high prices; and hence it is that no gallery of consequence is without a picture of Murillo, although many of them no doubt were only executed in his school. The Dresden gallery possesses a few pictures by this master, and among them a very beautiful Madonna and Child (pl. 17, fig. 8), which indisputably belongs to Murillo’s best period. We find in his pictures two characteristic styles: one is vigorous and powerful and the execution true to nature; while the other shows a certain sweetness which Murillo derived from his manifold studies after Italian masters and after Vandyck, but which he discarded in some paintings of this style found in the Soult gallery in Paris. Murillo left many imitators and a respectable school, which, however, soon degenerated. In Spain also art sank by degrees from the high point to which it had been raised by the masters of the 16th and 17th centuries; and although occasionally one master or another cast a ray of light over the domain of art, no serious revival was produced in it until the advent of Mengs.

France

The first traces of painting in France present themselves in the time of bishop Gregory of Tours, who in the 9th century caused many churches to be adorned with paintings; the tomb of Fredegunde was also decorated with mosaic paintings, the execution of which was at that time well understood, the art having been handed down from antiquity. At the time of the Norman invasion (in 865), miniature painting was not unknown in France. There is still extant a manuscript of that period, the four Gospels in the National Library in Paris, which contains several miniatures, among others that of the emperor Lotharius; and there is also a Bible of the time of Charles the Bald containing paintings, among which is one representing the king on his throne surrounded by eleven priests, guards, and magnates of the kingdom. A work has come down to us from the year 1065 which, though not properly a painting, is nearly enough allied to one. We mean the great tapestry of Bayeux, 212 feet in length and over 2 feet in breadth, on which queen Mathilda and her maidens depicted in embroidery the deeds of William of Normandy. To be sure the drawing on this tapestry is truly barbarous; nevertheless it is of great historical importance if only on account of the inscriptions it contains. There are also fresco-paintings of that time, which represent William the Conqueror, his queen Mathilda, and his sons Robert and William, besides other works of the kind in churclies. Miniature painting was brought to great perfection by Foulques, precentor at St. Hubert’s; and considerable progress was likewise made in painting on glass. Of greater importance at that time for the advancement of art in France were the exertions of abbot Suger, a zealous patron and promoter of all the arts. A great deal too was done for the arts under Louis IX.; and his expeditions to the Holy Land, his imprisonment, and his subsequent adventures, afforded to painters and sculptors a rich material for illustration. Thus we find a picture of this king of the year 1226, in the Saints’ Chapel in Paris, which is painted in very good taste and represents the king with a bird sitting on his left hand and holding in his right a sceptre; and in the abbey of St. Denis there are eight beautiful glass windows of the year 1350 with paintings from the life of that saint.

When in the 14th century the French city of Avignon became a possession of the pope and several popes ruled there, a closer union took place between France and Rome, the proper seat of art, and with this event art advanced considerably in France also. Gaddo Gaddi and Giotto both lived for some time in Avignon; and the latter at the command of the pope painted altar-pieces and frescoes for a number of French churches. In the year 1431 Charles IV. had a court painter, Jean de Bruges, perhaps the father of the famous John van Eyck, who is almost always called abroad John of Bruges.

The history of painting in France properly begins with Francis I. It is true, his own attempts in Italy were crowned with more honor than success; nevertheless he succeeded in transplanting if not the art at least the artists from Italy to France. Leonardo da Vinci was the first, in 1515; but he lived only a few years in France, and died in the arms of his sovereign. Andrea del Sarto soon after, in 1518, entered the service of Francis I. but behaved, as we have seen, very ungratefully towards him. It was with Rosso di Rossi, or Maitre Roux as the French call him, who came to France in 1530, that Italian art at length obtained a firm footing in France. Francesco Salviati also remained but a short time in France, and after him the Duke of Mantua sent to Paris Francesco Primaticcio, whom Francis I., after Rosso’s death, raised to the dignity of chief court-painter. These Italian artists, instead of educating Frenchmen to be their assistants, drew other Italians to France; and thus French art remained for a long period in a sort of sleeping partnership with the Italian, and nearly all the important works of art which were executed in France were produced by Italians, and this state of things continued till the time of Louis XIV. The only French artists who distinguished themselves under Francis I. were Francois Clouet and Corneille de Lyon as portrait-painters, Arnoud Demoles as a painter on glass, and Pinaigrier who painted frescoes.

The unquiet reigns of Henry II. and Francis II. witnessed little advancement in the arts; and the massacre of St. Bartholomew’s eve under Charles IX. cost many artists, among others Jean Goujon, their lives. A French school properly so called was at length formed under Henry IV., at the head of which stood Jean Cousin, several very good works by whom (he was living in 1589) are still preserved; he also painted a great deal on glass, e. g. the windows of the parish church of St. Gervais in Paris. He was likewise a sculptor and architect. The artists of those times occupied themselves chiefly in the preparation of cartoons for tapestries, of which Francis I. was very fond; and to this Gilles Gobelin, by the beautiful and durable colors which he succeeded in imparting to the wool, contributed not a little. After the death of Primaticcio, the superintendence of the works at Fontainebleau came into the hands of Ruggieri and the two Frenchmen Du Breuil and Jean Bullant, who there represented the exploits of Hercules in twenty-seven pictures which they painted together. Jacques Bunel and Du Breuil also painted the cupola in the small gallery of the Louvre, which was burnt in 1660; and Freminet, who took Michael Angelo for his model, painted the ceiling of the chapel at Fontainebleau.

Yet notwithstanding all this, in the times of the Caraccis, when art stood in Italy at a high pitch of perfection, French art had hardly attained the first stages of its growth, and the magic creations of the Italian pencil seemed to excite no rivalry in France. The French works remained mean and dry, the drawing was incorrect, the coloring spiritless and without harmony, and there was a lack of the fancy and invention which are indispensable for the production of a genuine work of art. The first great masters proceeded from the school of Simon Vouet; but their successors already manifest a decline in skill. Simon Vouet had acquired his artistic education in Rome and Venice; and we discern in his pictures the effects of his studies after Titian, Tintoretto, Paul Veronese, Raphael, and Michael Angelo. The number of this artist’s productions is very great, as he was very industrious, and his ambition led him to grasp at everything, in consequence of which France lost one of her best artists, Poussin.

From the school of Vouet there issued many other masters, Lebrun, Lesueur, Mignard, Du Fresnoy, Testelin, and Dorigny père. His contemporaries were Noël Jouvenet, Percier, Quintin Varin, &c.

Varin’s school produced Mcolas Poussin (b. 1594, d. 1665), who rose to be one of the greatest painters of France. After visiting the schools of the most celebrated painters of the time, and finding that he could not derive much farther advantage from them, he studied and copied the works of the great Italians, and at last succeeded by dint of severe economy in getting to Rome. Here he studied very diligently and especially the antique. Of all the Italian masters Domenichino became his favorite. His first works of importance were the Martyrdom of St. Eramus for the Vatican basilica and the celebrated Seven Sacraments for the cavalier Cassiano del Pozzo. Several works of Poussin which had come to Paris excited in Cardinal Richelieu a desire to have him in that city; and in consequence he was summoned in 1639 to Paris, where he was overwhelmed with commissions and was appointed court painter and chief superintendent of all artistic undertakings with a salary of 3000 livres. On account of some works in the Louvre he fell into a dispute with Fouquier the landscape painter and Mercier the architect; and these conspired with Vouet to cause Poussin’s overthrow, which at length they effected. Poussin returned to Rome, where he painted a great deal, and where he died in 1665. Poussin had pursued a peculiar course in the cultivation of his talents: after he had well grounded himself in his art by the study of the greatest masters, he perfected his knowledge in Rome by means of an accurate and diligent observation of the antique, whence his strictly accurate costumes and the learning displayed in the accessories of his pictures, which render them of great value to the archæologist. His drawing is perfect, as is also his expression; his compositions seem to be formed upon his studies from the cartoons of Raphael and Domenichino and on the principles of Leonardo da Vinci. In coloring and in pleasing harmony he remained deficient, and his works were sometimes wanting in fire, as he endeavored to finish them too minutely and according to all the rules of art. His landscapes are excellent in composition, but incorrect in the details. Poussin wished to paint only for the soul, to exercise only the understanding, and not to gratify the senses with luxury of coloring; hence many of his pictures are nothing but moral rhapsodies, which under the guise of a poetic picture excite the beholder to reflection, and speak to his heart.

Claude Gelée (Claude le Lorrain, 1600–1682) was a contemporary of Poussin, whom he survived. His birth being of low condition, he was at first apprenticed to a pastry-cook; but he afterwards learnt drawing of his brother in Freiburg, and went with a relative to Italy. Here he was left without protector or guide, until he obtained employment as a color-grinder of Tassi the landscape-painter, a pupil of Paul Bril, and gained some knowledge of painting, which he afterwards completed under Vals in Naples. He was soon enabled in consequence to take his place in the highest rank of landscape painters; and on his return to Rome, where he took up his abode, he received many commissions from the popes and other persons of consequence. The demand for his pictures caused other artists to paint in his manner and to sell their works as his; so that there exist an immense number of so-called pictures by Claude with which he had nothing whatever to do. In order to keep an account of his pictures, he slightly sketched each one of them in a book, which he called the “Book of Truth.” It consists of about 200 leaves: it came finally into the possession of the Duke of Devonshire, and was engraved by Richard Carlom and published by Boy dell in 1777. The works of Claude are found in the best galleries; four of the finest are in Cassel, and two in Dresden. The magic effects of light and shade in his landscapes are unsurpassed and hardly rivalled, but the conformation of the ground and vegetation often lack truth and evince mannerism.

One of the most distinguished painters of the French school was Pierre Mignard (1610–95), who made his studies after Rosso and Primaticcio, then joined the school of Vouet, and lastly went to Rome, where he completed his artistic education. He lived on terms of the most intimate friendship with Alphonse du Fresnoy (1611–65), who was likewise in Vouet’s school. From Rome they both proceeded to Venice: after some time Fresnoy went to Paris, but Mignard returned to Rome, whence he went to Paris in 1658, and rendered himself equally celebrated as a portrait and as an historical painter. At court he was held in high esteem, but had much to endure from the jealousy of Lebrun. At the command of the queen-mother of Louis XIV, he painted the cupola of the church of Val de Grace, which is indisputably the greatest fresco executed in France. It represents the abode of the blessed, in the midst of which queen Anne, conducted by St. Anna and St. Louis, presents to God the model of the newly erected church. The picture contains more than 200 figures, the largest of which are 17 feet high. Mignard then decorated with paintings the saloons of St. Cloud, which he finished in four years. After executing other works in Versailles with great success, Mignard had conferred upon him the title of Chevalier; and on Lebrun’s death in 1690, he received the appointment of first painter to the king. Mignard’s style in some of his works is admirable; his drawing is in the highest degree correct, and his coloring very beautiful. A lack of originality is, however, perceptible in all his works. He had a peculiar talent for imitating to the life the various styles of the masters whom he had studied in Italy; and this he made use of to revenge himself on Lebrun. He painted a St. Magdalen in the manner of Guido, and let it be sold by a picture-dealer for a high price. He then caused a rumor to be spread about that the picture was not genuine; and the matter being referred to Lebrun, the latter pronounced the picture to be one of Guido’s finest productions. Hereupon Mignard came forward and claimed the work as his own; to prove which he efiaced the hair of the Magdalen, when she appeared decked in a red cardinal’s cap! and poor Lebrun became the laughing-stock of the town.

Another pupil of Vouet was Eustache Lesueur (1617–55) who completed his style by the study of the Italian masters. He was soon commissioned. by queen Anne to adorn the little convent of the Carthusians with 22 pictures from the life of the founder of the order, a work which procured him great reputation. He painted a great deal, especially allegorical and mythological subjects, which in his hands became very unpalatable to refined minds. Lesueur was never in Rome; yet his countrymen place him by the side of Raphael! whom he knew only by a few paintings in France and by engravings. Lesueur’s pictures are excellent for his time: what we admire in him is correct drawing, great simplicity, and a coloring which, although not of ravishing perfection, is lovely and free from faults or mannerism. Had Lesueur visited Italy and not died in the flower of his age, he might, it must be admitted, have approached Raphael. His pictures are rare, and it appears that of German galleries Berlin alone can show one of them.

Charles Lebrun (1619–1690) was born in Paris, and received from his father, a sculptor of moderate abilities, his first instructions in drawing and sculpture. He then applied himself to the study of painting in the school of Vouet, but soon saw that the instruction he there received would not suffice; accordingly he repaired to Fontainebleau, to study the works of the Italian masters. Here his progress was such that the king conferred upon him a pension to enable him to go to Rome. He there studied, under Poussin’s direction, chiefly the works of Raphael. Upon his return in 1645, he began two large pictures, the Crucifixion of St. Andrew and the Martyrdom of St. Stephen, whereby he founded his great reputation. These were succeeded by a host of other pictures, of which we can particularize only that celebrated one, painted by him at the king’s command and in his immediate vicinity, in which the artist represents Alexander after the battle of Issus, at the moment when, accompanied only by his friend Hephsestion, he visits the family of Darius. Lebrun was loaded with the highest honors and rewards, and became a sort of monarch of art in France. Innumerable are the designs which Lebrun executed, and which were transferred to tapestry or wrought into pictures by other artists under his supervision. About this time Lebrun completed some pictures which are connected with the one mentioned above; they are Alexander’s Entrance into Babylon, the Battle of Arbela, the Defeat of Porus, and the Passage of the Granicus. Of the last named picture we have given a shaded sketch (pl. 17, fig. 10); which will serve to convey an idea of the rich and animated compositions of this master, and to show how admirably he disposed his masses and managed his illuminations. The costume is everywhere strictly observed; and all is planned in such a manner as to form a living whole, that cannot but delight the connoisseur. As Lebrun’s coloring is not quite perfect, the beautiful engravings of his works by Audran generally please connoisseurs better than the pictures themselves. The last great work to which Lebrun put his hand was the gallery of Versailles, in which he represented in allegorical pictures the exploits of Louis XIV. from the Peace of the Pyrenees to the Peace of Nimeguen; but unfortunately they are wholly unintelligible without a commentary and altogether failures in art.

Before Lebrun, the imitation of the good Italian schools was a predominant feature in all the works of the French. But after his time, the French school received a direction which carried it constantly further and further from the true principles of art, and the artists followed certain talented masters, as Coypel and Jouvenet, who exceeded the limits of the good and beautiful, pushed expression to exaggeration, sought to represent everything in violent action, and would rather satisfy the eyes of the courtiers than the judgment of connoisseurs. Hence we pass over the next succeeding painters; for they only prepared the way for the decline of art in France which Louis XIV. was unable to prevent, in spite of all his exertions and the enormous sums which he expended for the purpose. The feeling for the ideal had vanished, and there was no longer an eye for beauty or an appreciation of truth. The only artists who did not wholly suffer themselves to be borne along by the downward stream were the Vanloos (Jacques, his son Louis, and his grandsons Jean Baptiste and Charles André and their sons), and also Pierre Subleyras (1699–1749), though this last is better known in Italy than in France, as he there executed his chief works. Francois Lemoine (1688–1737) likewise deserves favorable mention.

Jacques Louis David, born in Paris in the year 1748, was the founder of a new French school, which strove to extirpate the old abuses and to promote the growth of true art. He was a pupil of Vien, and applied himself in his youth to the painting of battle-pieces; but when in 1774 he had gained the great prize of the Academy, he went to Rome and perfected himself by the study of Raphael, Michael Angelo, and the Caraccis, without, however, taking their best works only as his models. One of his first pictures, that of St. Roque healing those smitten with the Plague, laid the foundation for his future fame. Afterwards, by way of competing for the prize, he painted his Belisarius; but having been treated with undeserved contempt by the then director Pierre, he withdrew the picture and sold it immediately at a much higher price than the amount of the prize. In the year 1787 he finished in Rome his Horatii receiving their swords from their Father, certainly his most brilliant production, and which spread his reputation most widely; still this picture is by no means free from faults, for, notwithstanding the correctness of the drawing, the composition is so defective, that the whole suggests the idea of an old subaltern officer exercising three recruits, and these, like all David’s Romans, have the appearance of so many Talmas decked out for the stage. The genuine expression of feeling and passion is altogether wanting in the picture; and the fact of its receiving such immense applause shows to what a low ebb the arts had then sunk in France. Another picture of the like stamp is his Brutus condemning his Son; it was painted in 1789, and many prefer it to the Horatii. During the reign of terror, David was the intimate friend of Robespierre and also president of the Convention, in which capacity he voted for the death of Louis XVI. It was thus in conformity with his sentiments that he painted so many revolutionary scenes, although his zeal was likewise excited by other subjects. Thus he painted the Death of Socrates; and his Sabine Women, which he exhibited for some months at an admission of 36 sous, brought him over 60,000 francs. Afterwards, under Napoleon, David was held in high consideration; but on the restoration of Louis XVIII. he was tried as a regicide, and was exiled and went to Brussels, where he died in 1826. While David has the merit of having aroused art from its torpidity, he is to be censured for having led it astray by his exaggeration, affectation, and theatrical scenery.

Among the members of the school of David we distinguish Francois Pascal Gerard, who conferred so much honor upon this so-called Classical school. He was born in Rome in 1770, but returned to France with his father and studied under David. He lived at first in great indigence, and supported himself during the Revolution by working for booksellers. In his eleventh year he composed a picture representing the Plague which excited the applause of amateurs; but it was his Belisarius, now in the Leuchtenberg gallery in Munich (pl. 18, fig. 14), which first made his name celebrated. We behold in this picture the noble and unfortunate Belisarius, bearing on his arm the stripling who served as his guide, and who is now mortally wounded by a snake that still hangs coiled about his foot. The background of the picture is lighted by the rays of the setting sun. Another very beautiful picture by Gérard is his Cupid and Psyche, now in the Palais Luxembourg in Paris; and besides these and a great number of portraits, he painted the Four Ages of Life, and for Napoleon the Battle of Austerlitz. At the time of the Restoration, he painted almost all the sovereigns then in Paris; he afterwards painted the Entrance of Henry IV., the Coronation of Charles X., &c. He died in 1837. He excelled his master in coloring and in truth to nature.

In opposition to this classical school there arose another called the Romantic school, which distinguished itself from the former by its predilection for middle age subjects and forms. To this class of artists belong Abel de Pujol, Richard, Ingres, who make choice chiefly of religious subjects and Raphaelesque forms, Delacroix, Ary Schafer, and Delaroche. The four last, and foremost among them Delaroche, with Horace Vernet, are the coryphæi of the French school of our day, whose performances in historical painting far excel those of the previous French schools and approach the solidity of the newest German art.

One of the most highly esteemed painters of David’s school was Anne Louis de Girodet-Trioson, who was born at Montargis in 1767, and died in 1825. As early as 1790 he made himself a name by his representation of the Story of Joseph and his Brethren; and this gave him courage to paint another picture, the Sleeping Endymion (pl. 18, fig. 13), which attained equal celebrity. Endymion slumbers in a charming posture, while Zephyr thrusts aside the overhanging branches, that Diana, in the shape of the Moon, may more easily let fall her rays upon the lovely sleeper. This chef d’œuvre Girodet painted while in Rome in 1792. He likewise painted a scene from the Deluge, which together with the Endymion is preserved in the Luxembourg palace; this was followed by the Surrender of Venice, the Revolt in Cairo (in the Paris Museum), Pygmalion and Galathea (in the collection of Count Sommariva), and many others. Girodet’s drawing is faultless, his coloring beautiful, and the many portraits which he painted are striking likenesses. Antoine Jean Gros is another painter who reflects honor on the school of David. Of his portraits those of Napoleon on horseback and Napoleon on the bridge of Arcole are the most celebrated; his historical pieces are also excellent.

Another artist of the classical school is Guérin, who as early as 1796 exhibited two pictures, Geta murdered at the command of his brother Caracalla, and Coriolanus’s Delivery from Death, in which was discerned the great master that he afterwards became. His finest picture was exhibited in 1799 in the hall of the Louvre: it represents Sextus on his return home after having escaped the proscription of Sylla, when he finds his wife dead and his daughter weeping at her feet. The picture was purchased by a private individual for 10,000 francs. Guérin also executed some small pictures in a pleasing style, e. g. Two Lovers bound by Cupid, &c. His Orpheus at the Grave of Eurydice is one of his last and finest works; equally praiseworthy is his Phædra and Hyppolite after Racine, and the Offering brought to Æsculapius (fig. 5), the idea of which he took from one of Gesner’s idylls. Noble simplicity, purity of design, and a vigorous and easy sweep of the brush, are the excellences remarked in the works of Guérin. He is, however, not free from the theatrical afiectation belonging to the school of David.

France has also its school of higher genre and historical painting; in which, besides the great historical painter Delaroche, Horace Vernet, Robert, Schnetz, Decamps, and Lessore have obtained a distinction eminently surpassing that of any earlier master.

Germany

The first beginnings of German painting have perished with the buildings that contained them. We have specimens of them, however, in the miniature paintings or illuminations of the old manuscripts; for while the splendid edifices of Charlemagne have long ago fallen into undistinguishable ruins, the books which were written for him and adorned with paintings, are still preserved almost uninjured in Treves, Bamberg, and Munich. One of the oldest genuine German illuminated manuscripts is a missal in the Bamberg library, which dates from the 10th century and contains twenty pictures representing sacred subjects distributed through the 223 leaves of text. These pictures exhibit coarse and uncertain outlines; while their bright and broken colors show that they are the offspring of ancient art. So too an evangelistary of the same period and in the same library exhibits some very interesting and peculiarly disposed symbolical paintings. The pictures, which present a very rude appearance, have violet and brick colored flesh, and are very feeble in design; but the ornaments still manifest an adherence to ancient tradition. Another manuscript in the Bamberg library, once the property of empress Kunigunde, contains sixty-one illustrations of the Revelation of St. John, which are very weak in invention. This MS. is of the 10th century, and exhibits as yet but little Byzantine influence; the execution is artless, and is little more than a mere laying on of colors without light and shade. The flesh parts are pale and brownish; the other colors bright but broken. The illuminations of the Tristan manuscript in the library at Munich, which dates from the first half of the 13th century, have still more the character of mere outlines; they lack that attempt at pictorial effect which is observed in the Belgian and French works of the same period. The miniatures of the 14:th and 15th century begin to exhibit the influence of the Cologne school of painting; and in the 16th century Sebald Beham and Hans Glockendon distinguished themselves as miniature painters.

Next to miniature-painting in importance as illustrating the history of art in the middle ages, is the art of painting on glass. It is a purely German invention; and its first traces appeared in the 10th century, when a certain Count Arnold presented the Bavarian convent of Tegernsee with painted windows, and when Theophilus Presbyter made known rules for painting on glass. Probably then the origin of the art was in Bavaria: an abbot Wernher of Tegernsee, who lived at the close of the 10th or at the beginning of the 11th century, is mentioned as the first glass-painter, and to German masters the rest of Europe is indebted for this art. At first glass-painting was, properly speaking, a kind of mosaic: for the stained glass was colored in the mass and the only color laid on was black, with which the outlines of the features, the folds of the garments, &c., were delineated. Afterwards the glass used was white with a colored coating and the colors laid on were blue, green, and occasionally yellow. Glass-painting, as the handmaid of architecture, preserved always an architectural character, even as late as the 13th century, when all other kinds of painting were practised without any such restriction. Of great importance for the history of this kind of glass-painting are the windows of the high choir in the Cologne cathedral, and those in the church of St. Catharine in Oppenheim dating from the middle of the 14th century, as also the works of about the same period in the nave of the Strasburg minster, most of which were painted by Hans von Kirchheim. From the 15th to the 17th century dates the most flourishing period as well as the decline of this art. Although in technical details it became greatly improved, its chief character was always that of ornament. Coated glass of different kinds came into use at this period, new fluxes were invented, and several colors were annealed on one and the same glass plate; so that a kind of cabinet-painting arose, which represented scenes and figures from the Bible history, coats of arms, &c. Artists came to Germany from abroad to learn this art, e. g. Francesco Livi of Gambari near Volterra, who came to Lubeck; glass-paintings by him of great perfection are still extant in Our Lady’s church in Lubeck. This artist painted in 1436 the windows of the cathedral in Florence. Of German glass-painters of the 15th century we will mention Peter Acker (1460) in Nördlingen; Hans Kramer, who worked in 1480 on the cathedral and town-hall of Ulm; and Hans Wied, who worked at the same period on the Ulm minster. The principal family of glass-painters, the Hirschvogels, worked in Nurnberg, and Veit Hirschvogel painted (in 1527) the “margrave window” in St. Sebald’s church, in which margrave Frederick of Ansbach and Baireuth is portrayed with his wife and ten sons, after the designs of Hans von Kulmbach. This window and one furnished by the emperor Max, besides another by the Pfinzing family, all by the same master, are certainly among the finest works of the kind. Lucas Zeiner painted in 1503 a window for the abbess of the nunnery in Zurich; and here flourished in the middle of the 16th century Josias Maurer, who with his son Christoph (d. 1614) distinguished himself both in composition and drawing. Other painters of the 16th century are Hans and Claus Glaser, Schondorf, Hans and Georg Hebenstreit in Munich, &c. The finest paintings on glass are to be found in the various churches of Cologne; but unfortunately it is not known by whom they were painted. The change in the style of architecture caused glass-paijiting to be dispensed with, and thus the art fell into disuse, although the knowledge of it was not wholly lost; for when in the present century it was desired to have the windows painted in the Eegensburg minster, Sigisnmnd Frank of Nürnberg soon recovered the process, and a school of glass-painting was formed in Munich which produces excellent things. In Prussia, Gersdorf and Mohn applied themselves to this branch of art; and now excellent works are produced chiefly in Bavaria by Hemle, Schwarz, Kirchmayer, Ainsmiiller, Wehrsdorfer, v. Gartner, Hoss, Hammerl, Bertram, &c., whose performances greatly surpass those of earlier times in artistic composition and execution. Painting on glass is also practised in the porcelain manufactory of Sevres, but in a style inferior to that of Munich.

Wall-painting never flourished in Germany to the same extent as in Italy, for the reason that in the German style of building the masses of wall are diminished as much as possible, and cupolas are replaced by cross-vaults. Still there were always places to be found for the application of fresco-painting; but we have only scattered instances of what German art has been able to accomplish in this respect, for not long ago there was such a fondness for white that even painted walls and vaults of churches were whitewashed over. Of great importance here are the newly discovered paintings formerly hid by tapestry in the cathedral of Cologne, representing the legends of the three holy Kings and pope Sylvester. These pictures, which date from the 14th century, show already a very decided effort in an artistic direction. The first German fresco-painters whose names have been handed down to us were Nikolaus Wurmser and his brother Kunzel of Strasburg, who painted in the cathedral in Prague and in the church of the Theatinians on the Karlstein. Along with them worked Theodoric of Prague, who surpassed them in drawing. Master Wilhelm of Cologne painted in St. Severin a large picture, which unfortunately has been a good deal painted over again; he also painted a Crucifixion in a church in Coblentz. Ulrich of Maulbronn executed in the 15th century several wall-paintings in the church of that place; there are also some secular paintings on the walls of the Ehinger Hof in Ulm. Important for this branch of art are the Dances of Death executed in this and the following century, which were often painted on the churchyard walls and sometimes in the churches themselves, and which are replete with satire against the priestcraft of that time. Unhappily the most considerable works of the kind, the Dance of Death in the Klingenthal convent in Kleinbasel, and that of the younger Holbein on the churchyard wall of the former church of the Dominicans in Basel, are no longer in existence. That however in the inner church at Strasburg has been saved, as it lay under a coating of plaster, which has been cautiously removed. There are five pictures with figures above the size of life; the heads are characteristic, and the colors (original or restored?) are tolerably lively. Holbein’s Dance of Death was copied in 1806, shortly before the wall was pulled down, by Rudolf Feierabend; he executed his task better than Emanuel Büchel, a baker, who had copied it in 1773, after executing a colored copy of the Klingenthal Dance of Death in 1768. Both drawings are now in the library of Basle. Fresco-painting has recently been revived with much success in Bavaria and also in Prussia; and the works of Cornelius, Kaulbach, Heydegger, Hess, Zimmerman, and others, show to what a high pitch of perfection it has again been brought.

We have here used the term fresco-painting in the sense in which it is commonly adopted, namely to designate the art of decorating fresh-made walls with paintings, which, becoming dry together with the plastering of the walls, acquire a certain degree of durability. This art is the result of the endeavors to imitate the Egyptian wall-paintings, whose durability amounts almost to perpetuity. The chemical process by which the Egyptians succeeded in handing down their wall-paintings through thousands of years has not yet been discovered (see Architecture). On the other hand, modern art has gained great triumphs over the ancients in the composition and design of these wall-paintings, succeeding, as it has done, in spite of the necessarily hurried execution of fresco-paintings, in imparting to them the same ease of motion and drapery and the same delicate effects of light and shade that characterize the most elaborate easel-painting. It is with regard to this great accomplishment that modern fresco-painting may lay claim to the highest appreciation, being in fact an entirely new art. From the architectonic point of view it is as yet far behind the technical perfection of the Egyptian art, and it is therefore unjustifiable to employ it in the exterior decoration of buildings, as has been freely done in recent times; for, as it cannot resist the influence of the weather for any considerable length of time, it tends, after a short period of splendor, in its decay to destroy the beauty of the edifices which it was intended to enhance.

We now come to the easel-paintings; and in this department the works of the 13th down to the close of the 14th century have already something grandly religious to show. The figures are simple, and the features are typical, ideal, and dignified. The draperies have large round folds simply arranged, and the colors are bright. The general mode of painting is in distemper, with the white of eggs for an agglutinant, on a chalk ground and on panels of wood, which were sometimes covered with canvas. The entire ground was gilded or ornamented with gold, and many parts of the pictures were adorned in like manner. Paintings were also executed on slate; indeed the oldest picture, which bears the date of 1224 and is preserved in the church of St. Ursula at Cologne, is painted on that substance. The first master of eminence is Hans of Cologne, who settled at Chemnitz in 1307; he there adorned the high altar of St. James’s church with a large altar-piece, and in the church of Ehrenfriedersdorf he decorated the altar with the side wings and many gilded figures. We have panel pictures too of the date of 1310 by the above mentioned fresco-painters Wurmser and Theodoric in Prague and on the Karlstein; and here these masters founded a school of their own. There is likewise a Crucifixion by Wurmser in Vienna; but the works of Theodoric are the better of the two. Oil-painting was brought into use at the close of the 14th century by the brothers Van Eyck. Of much more importance than the Prague school was that founded in 1380 by Master Wilhelm at Cologne, the art of which at the opening of the following century had attained a singular state of perfection. Master Wilhelm’s pieces display a mild and gentle character; the forms of the heads are roundish, the draperies full and majestic; the colors are bright, well blended, and light, and are soft and airy in their texture. Of Master Wilhelm’s works the following should be mentioned: the altar of the chapel of St. John in the cathedral of Cologne, the altar in the city museum of Cologne, the Veronica in the Munich Pinakotech, and a couple of panels in Boisserée’s collection. Somewhat younger is Master Stephan of Cologne, the chief painter of the cathedral. From him we have the famous picture of the Adoration of the Kings, which has been brought from the chapel of the city hall into the cathedral. This precious picture is said to have been completed in 1410. The central piece, 8\(\frac{1}{3}\) feet high and 9 feet broad, represents the child Jesus sitting on the lap of the holy virgin, while before him the three wise men of the East are offering gold, frankincense, and myrrh. On the two wing pieces are depicted the patron saints of the city, St. Ursula and St. Gereon with their attendants. The expression of the Virgin’s countenance, as she looks down upon the child, is serious and modest, soft and winning. She is designated by a crown and a halo of glory as queen of heaven. The child, which has an exceedingly intelligent expression of countenance, raises its hand in the attitude of benediction towards the old king who reverently regards it. The second king, who is represented in the prime of life, presents his gifts kneeling with an expression full of reverence and devotion; and the third, who is designated by his swarthier complexion and frizzled hair as a Moorish king, humbly lays his left hand on his breast, and presents his offerings with his right. The men composing the numerous train present a most charming group of faces. On the outer sides of the wings of the painting is depicted the Annunciation. Masters Wilhelm and Stephan left many pupils, and there still exists a considerable number of pictures by them. It is true that these pupils exhibit among their number no very distinguished painters, yet there were always very respectable artists among them who remained true to the national style arid sentiment. A pious and fervent conception mostly of biblical subjects, a rich and juicy coloring, and an attractive unartificial mode of treatment characterize the painters of this school, especially in their smaller pictures.

After Master Stephan there arose a later school of Cologne and also that of Calcar, on which however the influence of the Netherland school is perceptible. Two masters distinguished in this direction are the so-called Master of Calcar, by whom is the panel containing the Death of Mary preserved in the parish church of that place, and the Master of the Passion, a picture consisting of eight panels formerly in the possession of Mr. Lyversberg in Cologne. There are several other pictures by this latter master, whom Boisseree calls Israel of Meckenem, in Lintz, Sintzig, and other places. Besides these we must mention a third master of Cologne, whose pictures are often ascribed to Luke of Leyden. He is the painter of the St. Bartholomew on a panel in Munich, of a Descent from the Cross in Paris, and several other things. His mode of treatment is softer than that of Luke, his heads are mostly ideal, and the coloring and draperies of his pictures are admirable; but his figures, especially his hands, are faulty.

The productions of the Cologne school, which often bear the closest resemblance to those of the Netherlands, are greatly surpassed in interest by the pictures of the Suabian and Westphalian schools, which truly and worthily represent the old German style of art, whose grand aim is the embodiment of ideal loveliness. Here belong Lucas Moser of Wil (1430), who painted the altar-panels in Tief bronn near Pfortzheim; and likewise Martin Schongauer of Kalembach (Martin Schon or der Schone Martin), whose works manifest an artistic tendency similar to that of Pietro Perugino, and of whom Wimpfeling says that it was not possible to paint anything more lovely, charming, and delightful than the pictures of this master. He painted about the middle of the 16th century in Ulm and Neuenburg in Wirtemberg, and afterwards in Colmar, where he died in 1488. His pictures exhibit a high order of beauty in the cast of the human countenance; and he was careful both in the charm of expression and in the representation of the softest and gentlest feelings of devotion, resignation, and peace of mind, to portray the ideal furnished him by the piety of his native region. He was also very successful as an engraver. Besides these South German masters there was in Westphalia the Master of Liesborn, whose labors were directed in his own peculiar way to the same end with those of Schongauer. His greatest work is the altar-piece, painted in 1465, in the convent of Liesborn near Miinster. In his pictures there is reflected the most intelligent sweetness brightened into a loveliness that is absolutely charming, and combined with very delicate coloring and noble forms. A contrast to this painter is furnished by Jarenus of Soest (1450–1500), in whom there was something fancifully passionate, which discloses itself in his long lank forms and overcrowded composition. His masterpiece is the Christ taken Captive, in which are seen also Christ bearing the Cross, together with his crucifixion, burial, and descent into Hell. Another painter of analogous skill and taste was Master Kaphon of Eimbeck, who lived in the 15th and 16th centuries, and who painted the Crucifixion in the cathedral at Halberstadt. The works of this and of the preceding master remind us forcibly of the ISTetherlandish element, which however the masters of Southern Germany in the latter half of the 15th century knew better how to make use of in the way of perfecting their own style.

Another painter who manifests a similar tendency to that of Schongauer in his works is Bartholomew Zeitbloom (1468). His pictures are pervaded by great dignity and good sense, and the expression is homely and honest; but the ideal beauty of Schongauer is wanting. His compositions are simple, his countenances fine and engaging, and his flesh tint delicate, clear, and ruddy. Next to him should be mentioned Hans Schiihlein of Ulm, whose compositions are richer, and whose forms are cast in a more powerful mould. The altar-piece in Tiefenbronn is by him. Hans Holbein the father (of Augsburg) also approximates to the Schongauer school, although a certain fantastic exaggeration is observable in his characters. He worked very unequally, often almost mechanically; yet everywhere the great energy of this master is exhibited in his expression of the passions, and in the strength and richness of his coloring. We have still to mention Frederick Herlin, who studied in the Netherlands and spread the manner of Van Eyck in France; he was likewise a carver. His motivos show plainly the influence of Hans Hemling: the folds of his draperies, the use of costly stuffs, the richness of the colors, and even the architecture and buildings, all remind us forcibly of that master; while the deviations from him are mostly for the worse.

Among the various German schools which originated in the 15th century the Frankish school of painting, the centre of which was Nürnberg, was by far the most considerable. It was formed about the same time with that of Cologne, and is characterized by great vigor and variety of conception and representation, great liveliness of coloring, and careful execution, but all accompanied by hardness of drawing and to some extent a want of taste in character and drapery. The most distinguished master of the first period of this school is Michael Wohlgemuth, in whom the striving after sharply defined characteristics exhibits itself in a very one-sided manner; but who admirably succeeded in giving to figures possessing an ideal significance a character of lofty dignity combined with a certain beauty. To his chief works belong the altar-paintings in St. Mary’s church at Zwickau, a few pictures in the church of St. Sebaldus at Nürnberg, and the panels of the high altar at Schwabach (1507). The second and more brilliant period of the Frankish school opened at the commencement of the 16th century with Albert Dürer, a pupil of Wohlgemuth, who to the rational principles of his master added an uncommonly fine eye for the forms of life and a keen perception of even the slightest changeful manifestations of feeling. To extraordinary fertility he joined cleverness of invention and the endeavor to found drawing and perspective on a scientific basis; besides which he manifested uncommon skill and dexterity in the use of the different technical materials. He is equally great as a painter and as an engraver on wood and copper, and his productions in the last named branches form the most considerable part of his works. He painted almost altogether on wood, but also on canvas: thus his Hercules shooting at the Harpies (now in the Landauer Brüderhaus at Nürnberg) is executed in distemper on fine canvas. At this period the old German art of painting attained its most flourishing condition; and it is a characteristic fact that at the close of the middle ages the German artists quitted more and more the pious region of an extremely one-sided ideality in which they had formerly delighted, for the bright and living domain of reality. The ideal in the heads almost wholly disappears, and a living and natural expression takes its place. The compositions become rich, the heads are often portraits; the figures acquire a correct expression; the draperies appear in small, interrupted, skilfully designed folds; and the use of gold gradually disappears altogether. Only the figures of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Apostles are draped in the ancient manner; all else appear in the costume of the time of the master. The pictures are on wood, mostly linden-wood, with a chalk ground, sometimes laid on canvas glued to the panel; but they are also painted on canvas without any ground.

Contemporary with Durer flourished Nikolaus Manuel of Bern, who bears the surname of “the German,” and is distinguished for correct and sharp drawing, an extremely dexterous management of the brush, and often an elegant arrangement of the figures of his pieces. His invention is rich, and his glowing humor often seizes upon and embodies the fantastically comic elements of the time with magnificent hardihood. In Basel there are several works by him; his chef d’œuvre was a Dance of Death on the churchyard-wall in Bern; but it now exists only in a drawing in that city, the original having been destroyed in 1560. Hans Holbein the younger is a master whose name is of historical importance as relates to art. He came betimes with his father to Basel; but being very industrious, and not finding sufficient employment for him there, he set out upon his travels. He went with recommendations from Erasmus and Sir Thomas More to England, where he ever after continued to reside. He attained to very great eminence, especially in portrait-painting; and, although his treatment is entirely different, he can be placed on a level with Vandyck, while he has often been compared to Leonardo da Vinci with respect to style. With all this he is thoroughly German. His best pupils were Christoph Amberger of Nürnberg and Hans Asper of Zurich, whose portrait of Zwingli is universally celebrated. Two very distinguished church painters of the 16th century were Martin Schaffnier of Ulm and Hans Baldung of Gemünd. The first mentioned drew his forms so fine and full as to remind us of the best Italian masters, and his conceptions are rich in original and spirited motivos. His flesh-tint is clear and inclining to yellow, and indeed his entire coloring appears rather cold. There are pictures by him in Munich and in Nurnberg. Hans Baldung (also called Grien or Griin) painted beautiful, characteristic heads; but his bodies were often stiff and inelegant. The altar-piece in the minster at Freiburg in the Breisgau is from his hand (1516), and represents the Crowning of the Virgin. There is something awkward in the disposition of the picture. The Virgin is the best executed figure: modesty and humility are her characteristics. God the Father looks like a patriarch, nor is the Christ very noble in appearance; his attitude and form too are inelegant. Some of the angels are beautiful and full of expression. Th« coloring is powerful. The remaining works of this master manifest a strong tendency to the Nürnberg manner; he was a friend of Dürer’s.

In Cologne the art at this period exhibited still a character bordering on that of the Netherland school: yet there were then living some distinguished masters, e. g. Hildegard of Cologne, Hans of Melem, and Bartholome de Bruyn, who painted (in 1536) the pictures on the high altar in Xanten. In Westphalia, Ludger zum Eing and his son Hermann zum Eing show evidences of study and imitation of the Italian masters.

The Augsburg school had for one of its principal masters, in the beginning of the 16th century, Hans Burgkmaier, who, although a friend of Dürer’s, retained his own peculiar character. His drawing is not as good as that of Dürer, but in harmony of coloring and aerial perspective he is the latter’s superior; still a certain coldness pervades his works. Burgkmaier was likewise a wood-engraver, and most of the cuts for the “Weisskunig” (Cologne, 1514) are by him. He is one of the most productive masters of the German school, and his pictures are found in several galleries, though the best are in Kurnberg. Matthäus Grunewald of Aschaffenburg, who was a rival of Albert Dürer, formed himself independently of these schools. He wrought a great deal in Mayence, although there are also paintings by him in the cathedral at Aschaffenburg. His conceptions are grand, his drawing correct, his heads characteristic, and his flesh-tint clear. One of his pupils was Hans Grimmer, who was living in 1650, but whose works have mostly perished.

Of Dürer’s pupils but few approached his perfection: the most talented was Albert Altdorfer, a Swiss, born in 1488, whom many call the Rembrandt of the Nürnberg school. One of his finest pictures is the Battle of Alexander in the Pinakothek in Munich. Next to him should be mentioned Heinz of Kulmbach, Hans Schauflin, who in some points almost reached his master; Heinrich Aldegrewer, and the two Behams, who, however, are better known as engravers on wood and copper. Georg Pentz left Dürer’s school for that of Raphael.

The Saxon School was founded by Lucas Kranach, who, born in Franconia and formed in the Prankish school, transplanted the Nürnberg style of painting to Saxony. He enjoyed the greatest consideration next to Dürer among the artists of that time. Portraits were his forte, and his smooth handling, which at the same time is entirely free from a licked or labored appearance, is peculiar to him. In his conceptions he has much in common with Dürer; though in him naiveté and good humor are more predominant. His works are very numerous; we will mention only the altar-piece in the cathedral at Meissen, a picture in the chapel of St. George in the same place, and the altar-pieces in Schneeberg and in Our Lady’s church in Halle; the two last are considered his finest pictures. Among his many pupils none but his son, Lucas Kranach junior, attained to any celebrity. His chief work is in the town-church in Wittenberg.

The new German School dates from the end of the preceding and the beginning of the current century, when the new flight taken by the national mind of Germany soon manifested itself in the arts of design. The characteristic features of this period are the choice of important subjects, significance of conception, and peculiarity of treatment. The choice of subjects was confined almost wholly to classical antiquity, the biblical history, and the Divine Comedy of Dante. But there the mode of treatment usual in the academies would not suffice, nor was any particular charm to be acquired through the usual means of art; accordingly they depended mainly for success on the conception of the subject and the drawing. The beginnings of this school, however, are to be sought not in Germany but in Rome, whither, from the middle of the 16th century, all men of artistic talent repaired, to perfect themselves in the knowledge and practice of art. The principal artists of this class were Carstens, Schick, Wächter, Koch, and Dietrich. This last was born in Weimar and painted at an early age in Dresden; but his pictures of that period were destroyed in the Seven Years’ War. He went to Italy in 1742, and studied the great masters in Venice and Rome. His taste, however, led him to the imitation of Poelenburg, Waterloo, and Rembrandt; and in fact he imitated these masters with such chameleon-like success, that his pictures in the manner of one or the other of them may easily be mistaken for works of the master himself. His fame had spread so on his return, that he received commissions even from France and England. There is found in the Paris Museum an Adoration of the Magi by Dietrich (pl. 18, fig. 12), the composition and execution of which rival the works of the first masters. Besides a number of pictures in the spirit and taste of Rembrandt, we have more than 200 very fine engravings on copper by him. Tischbein, Füger, Grassi, and Von Langer are also of the number of those who distinguished themselves, although in an opposite manner. The German Artists’ Union, founded in Rome in 1811, had the effect of adding heartiness to the prevailing character of the painting of that time; although we observe here and there a somewhat mystical tendency and in the drawing an approximation to or at least a preference for the older school, whose forms of art are but incompletely wrought out. The choice of subject was now confined in a good measure to the New Testament and the cycle of legends. The most celebrated masters of this period and phase of art are Cornelius, Overbeck, W. Schadow, Veit, Jul. Schnorr, and afterwards Wach, Hess, Vogel, the brothers Riepenhausen, Begas, Nacke, and J. Scheffer. The exertions of king Louis I. of Bavaria gave birth to a new era for art in general and painting in particular; at the same time he recalled fresco-painting from its oblivion by the commissions for great wall-paintings which he distributed among the most celebrated masters of the age, viz. Cornelius, Schnorr, Hess, Zimmermann, and Schlotthauer. In this manner was formed the Munich school of painting, from which have proceeded, in addition to a great number of excellent easel-pictures, the frescoes of the Glyptothek, the Royal Palace, All Saints’ Chapel, &c., and by the younger artists, Hermann, Von Schwind, Schorn, Stürmer, and Stilke, the frescoes of the arcades of the court garden, the Odeon, the protestant church, the Isar gate, &c. The opposite of the Munich school, the school of the ideal forms, is found in the Düsseldorf school under W. Schadow, which may properly be termed a school of naturalists, as they combine a faithful imitation of nature in conformation and coloring, with richness of thought and feeling, without attempting any peculiar idealization of forms. The most distinguished masters of this school are Lessing, Bendemann, Hildebrand, Hübner, Sohn, Steinbrück, Köhler, Camphausen, Hasenclever, and Leutze. The last named, at present in America, was born in Germany, and received his artistic education in Düsseldorf, although he lived the greater part of his youth in Pennsylvania. His great talent and true artistic zeal have gained for him a place among the first of his school. In Frankfort on the Maine, Veit formed a school of painting, in which, among others, we find Rethel, Steinla, and Settegast; while the Vienna school adhered more to the manner of Overbeck. To this latter belong Ruppelwieser, Führich, Binder, and many others. In Dresden, Bendemann and Hübner, being invited to take up their abode there, gave that direction to art which has been followed up by Peschel, Richter, Oehme, and others. In Stuttgart, Gegenbauer (frescoes) and Dietrich pursued nearly opposite paths; in Berlin, Begas and Wach took the lead, and were followed by Hensel, Hopfgarten, and others; but at present Kaulbach of Munich, the most eminent of all Genrian painters, exerts his powerful influence on all lines of art in Berlin. In Prague, Ruben, a pupil of the Munich school, labors for the revival of art, which in the middle ages was pursued here with a good deal of success. The number of genre painters at the head of whom stand P. Hess, Hübner, Schrödter, and others, as also that of landscape painters, is considerable. Among the latter Lessing, Aclienbach, Funcke, and many others have distanced the best productions of any previous period.

The Netherlands

Contemporaneously with the schools of painting in Westphalia and Cologne, there was formed in Ghent and Bruges, and throughout the Netherlands, a peculiar school of strict naturalists, rich indeed in fancy and deeply imbued with ecclesiastical and Christian symbolism, but wholly incapable of or indisposed to the production of ideal forms. Their historical and sacred personages are pure portraits from nature, their very costumes being borrowed from the time of the painter. In consequence of the defective models that presented themselves to the painters, their representations are not wanting in defects: the proportions are faulty, the several parts of the body are meagre and often unhandsome, and even the draperies are characterized by hardness, having an angular appearance and being broken up into many little folds. The accessories on the contrary are depicted with a marvellous exactness and truth to nature, so that one often feels tempted to take a microscope and follow the drawing into its minutest details. Through the invention of John Van Eyck, who was the first to use oil for mixing his colors, a totally different enamel, a fire, and a depth of coloring were attained, such as artists until that time had been able to arrive at only with the greatest trouble and labor. Respecting the masters of this school our information is in some respects still very imperfect, so that to this moment the names of the authors of several of its finest productions have not been positively ascertained.

We will begin with the brothers Hubert and John Van Eyck (1366–1426 and 1370–1441), both of whom received instruction in the art of painting from their father. John was the inventor of oil-painting and is altogether the more celebrated of the two. His chef d’œuvre is the altar-piece in the church of St. John in Ghent, a picture on which there are over 330 heads, each with a different expression. This picture became exceedingly celebrated, and Philip I. of Spain had it copied for himself by Coxcie. John was likewise a portrait and landscape painter, and his pictures are found in various galleries. One of Van Eyck’s pupils was Rogier of Bruges, the accounts respecting whom are not free from contradiction, and by whom there are several pictures in Italy. At the same time lived also Hugo Van der Goës and Hans Hemling (not Memmelink, as Van Mander calls him), of whose life little is known, but whose works show him, to have been an excellent painter. Many of his pictures are found scattered about in galleries, and there were some of them in Italy even in the middle ages. Of a somewhat different and more secular character were the works of Quintin Messis (1450–1529), known by the name of “the smith of Antwerp,” as he was a blacksmith in his youth, which are still met with in many churches and private collections; there were also those of Robert Van der Weyde, who sought to introduce into painting a purer and nobler taste; those of Luke of Leyden, whose best pictures are in Vienna, Berlin, and Munich; and many others. At the beginning of the 16th century, when painting in Italy was gaining its highest triumphs, the artists of the Netherlands endeavored to make themselves familiar with the advances which had there been made in their art. The consequence was that the native art lost its peculiar character, and borrowed in its place from that of Italy nothing but external forms, movements, and costumes. The coloring, however, long retained its peculiar stamp. The most eminent masters who pursued this course are the following:

John Schoreel (1495–1590), a pupil of James Cornelius, a celebrated painter whose works unfortunately have perished, perfected himself in the school of John of Mabuse and also received instruction from Dürer; he afterwards visited the Holy Land and Jerusalem, seeking out all the places of historical interest, and taking views of them. In Italy, where Schoreel remained for a considerable time, he studied the works of Raphael and his contemporaries; and in consequence he introduced an entirely new taste into the painting of his native land, on which account his countrymen call him “the torch of the painters art.” One of his best pupils was Martin Heemskerk (1498–1574), who likewise visited Italy. After his return he became highly honored in his native land and painted a great deal; but most of his works, including the best, were destroyed at the taking of Harlem by the Spaniards in 1573. Many of the pictures in galleries which go by his name are most probably the work of Egbert Heemskerk.

John of Mabuse (Maubeuge, properly Johann Gossaert, 1498–1562) was born at Maubeuge in Hainault, and studied in Italy. Notwithstanding his more than dubious manner of life and his love of dissipation, he arrived in painting at a very high degree of perfection. He was the first painter that transferred the Italian art to Flanders, and there ventured to introduce figures completely naked into his pictures. His greatest picture was the altar-piece of the church in Middelburg, which was unfortunately destroyed by fire. His works are seldom met with in galleries; yet Vienna and Munich possess some of them. Bernardin of Orley likewise pursued this course; he was one of Raphael’s favorite pupils, and the latest investigations have established with tolerable certainty that Raphael’s beautiful Christ bearing the Cross, known by the name of the Spasimo di Sicilia, is in great part from the hand of this artist. From this time onward till the beginning of the 16th century, the masters, with the exception of Francis Porbus, gradually diminished in excellence; and Peter Paul Rubens was the first to awaken art to a new life. This artist, one of the greatest geniuses of his time, was born in the year 1577 in Cologne, whither his father, a lawyer of Antwerp), had betaken himself, in order to escape from the troubles of Brabant. Rubens received a classical education; was then a page, and lastly applied himself to painting, in which he received instructions from Adam Van Oort and Otto Venius. His artistic skill, which soon became very extraordinary, and still more his varied acquirements and agreeable deportment, brought him in contact with the most eminent personages of his time, and led him as ambassador to the court of Philip III. of Spain, whither he was sent by the Duke of Mantua, while he was engaged in Italy, expecially in Venice and Mantua, in studying the old masters. After his return to Italy he came back to his own country, where he lived wholly in the study and practice of his art, until Maria de’ Medici invited him to Paris, for the purpose of adorning with paintings two galleries in the Luxembourg palace; but of these only one was executed, in which he represented the principal events of the queen’s life in twenty-four pictures, unhappily in absurd allegories.

Subsequently Rubens again visited Madrid, where he was appointed secretary of state, loaded with high honors, and at length sent to England, to negotiate a peace between England and Spain, a commission which he executed with the greatest discretion. Rubens performed several other diplomatic missions, and afterwards married Helena Forman (1629), who was of such remarkable beauty that he often introduced her into his pictures, sometimes under one form and sometimes under another, now as a shepherdess and again as the queen of heaven, as e. g. in the beautiful Assumption of the Virgin (pl. 18, fig. 7). Rubens also frequently painted his own picture, sometimes as a portrait proper, such as is found in the Florence Museum (fig. 8), and sometimes in action, as e. g. with Helena Forman, as Shepherd and Shepherdess hissing each other, a picture preserved in Munich. As for Rubens’s style, he took for his models Titian and Paul Veronese; but he failed in attaining to either their noble simplicity, correct drawing, or beautiful forms. His coloring is distinguished by great purity, and by the fact that he laid on the shades close to one another and blended them together with the brush; he never painted over a color, excepting merely that now and then he added azure tints to his lights. His pictures are overloaded with reflexes and reflexions. His composition is remarkable and grand, but his draperies are almost too rich both as regards materials and profusion. Nearly 4,000 pictures are ascribed to Rubens; but although he lived to be sixty-three years old and was very industrious, he could not possibly have performed so much. Most of the pictures were painted by his pupils and assistants, and he retouched them; many too are doubtless only painted by them in his manner or are copies after him. His pupils, Van Thulden, Diepenbeck, Von Hock, Cornelius Schut, Vandyck, Jas. Jordaens, and many others, adhered faithfully to his manner. The most eminent of them was clearly Vandyck (1599–1641) of Herzogenbusch. Rubens soon perceived that Vandyck would be able to surpass him, and accordingly he employed every means to confine the young artist to portraits. After Vandyck had painted two altar-pieces in the church of Savelthem, the celebrated St. Martin and a Holy Family, which however are no longer extant, he went to Italy to study the works of Titian, Paul Veronese, &c. Here he painted a good deal, but soon returned to his native land, in consequence of the annoyances he was subjected to by the envy of his countrymen. The most brilliant part of Vandyck’s career was spent in England, where he painted both historical pieces and portraits. Vandyck (his portrait, painted by himself (pl. 17, fig. 9), is preserved in the Florence Museum) is the only painter of portraits that can be compared to Titian, and his portrait of King Charles is a study for the portrait-painters of all times. Yet Vandyck was great also in historical painting; and there are many pictures by him which deserve to be ranked above those of his master, his drawing being certainly more correct and his coloring more delicate than that of Rubens. His contemporaries were Jakob Jordaens, Kasper de Grayer, Franz Snyders, &c.

In later times the Flemish school has been illustrated chiefly by de Kayser, Wappers, Biefve, and Gallait, who form the eminent Belgian school of our day, whose great historical paintings are distinguished for their magnificent coloring. Their subjects are drawn chiefly from the history of their country; and their pictures exhibit elegant drawing as well as the noblest harmony of composition.

Nearly related to the Flemish is the Dutch school: at first it assumed precisely the same direction; it then developed itself in a peculiar, often fantastic, and even tasteless manner, and, leaving wholly historical events, it confined itself to the delineation of common life and of natural phenomena, thus passing even entirely into the department of genre, low life, and landscape painting. There is no lack in the Dutch school of distinguished masters in these branches. Eminent among the portrait painters are Miereveld, Francis Hals, Van der Hoist, and Keyser; and in a wider sense Paul Rembrandt, Govaert Flink, Ferdinand Bol, &c. The number of masters in genre painting is very considerable; among them are Breughel, Vinkenbooms, Ostade, Teniers, Brower, and others. A somewhat higher flight in genre painting was taken by Terburg, Gerhard Dow, Metzu, Wouverman, and others, who selected their subjects chiefly from the middle and higher classes of society. Francis Van Mieris (1635–81), a native of Delft, pursued the same course. After having been kept for some time to his father’s trade, that of a goldsmith, he left it and became a pupil of Gerhard Dow; but he soon left his master and pursued his studies wholly after nature. His genre pictures and portraits of a very small size soon obtained great applause and were sold at high prices (as high as 3,000 florins). He led a pretty loose course of life; and hence some of his pictures have a lascivious character, or at least border closely upon it, as the exceedingly beautiful picture in the Florence Museum of the Youth with the Drinking-cup, of which we have given a sketch in pl. 18, fig. 10. Mieris designed more correctly than his master; his figures have a more noble expression, are full of spirit and freshness, and are more highly finished. There is in Dresden a picture of a man by him, the meshes of whose stockings are so fine that they can be seen only with a magnifying glass. His best works are in Paris, Vienna, and Dresden. His sons, John and William, were likewise good painters. One of Mieris’s contemporaries and fellow-pupils was Kaspar Netscher (1639–84), a native of Heidelberg, but who, although a German by birth, belonged to the Dutch school. He wished, after studying also with Terburg, to visit Italy, but got only as far as Bordeaux, where he took a wife; he settled with her in the Hague and painted cabinet pieces and portraits with universal applause. From him we have mostly half figures and conversation pieces, and in almost all of these, as in the picture of the Guitar-player (pl. 18, fig. 11), in the Florence Museum, there is a lady dressed in white velvet, which, as well as stuffs in general, he painted to perfection. Three of his sons devoted themselves to painting.

Adrian Van der Werff (1659–1727) also belonged to the higher department of the Dutch school. He was born in the neighborhood of Rotterdam and was originally designed for a learned profession; but he manifested such great talents for portrait taking that it caused him to turn his attention to painting, and he placed himself under the instructions of Van der Neer. When only in his 17th year, he worked independently, and with so much applause, that the elector palatine gave him employment and afterwards allowed him an annual stipend; the elector was very generous to him in other respects and conferred upon him the rank of knighthood. Accordingly the gallery of that Prince in Düsseldorf displays the finest productions of Van der Werff, who had but little time to work for others. There are some fine pictures by him in Dresden; but they are not to be compared with the Düsseldorf works. No artist has succeeded in obtaining such good prices for his works as Van der Werff. Thus for his picture of Lot and his Daughters he was paid 4,200 florins; the Adoration of the Shepherds (fig. 9), in the Florence Museum, a picture very remarkable both for composition and execution, brought him 4,000 florins; an English nobleman purchased ten pictures from him for 33,000 florins; and his picture of the Prodigal Son was bought after the artist’s death for 5,500 florins; the Judgment of Paris, which went to England, cost 5,000 florins, &c.

Of the painters of battle-pieces belonging to this school we will mention Palamedes, Jean le Due, and Van der Meulen; of the landscape painters, Cuyp, Hobbema, Wynants, Van der Neer, Ruisdael, Berghem, Everdingen, &c. Marine views were painted by Bakhuysen, Peters, De Vliger, Van der Velde; architectural by Neefs, Steenwijck, De Witte; flowers by Breughel and De Heem; and low life by Adriaenssen, Van Aelst, &c. Dutch artists of recent times distinguish themselves in landscapes, marine views, and animal painting; of these we may mention Koeckoeck, Schelfhout, Schotel, Verboeckhoven, Jansen, and Dreibholz; historical painting on the contrary still remains in a backward state.

The English School

During the middle ages the fine arts in England were almost entirely dedicated to the service of religion, and shared in the general European development until the time of the reformation under Henry VIII., in the middle of the 16th century. By this event the existing relations of England with the south of Europe (the chosen seat of fine art cultivation) were rudely disturbed, and the consequence seems to have been that painting and sculpture, too often identified with the old religion in whose cause they had wrought, were treated with indifference and neglect. For nearly two centuries from this time we seek in vain for any distinguished native artist. The names of Holbein, Zuccaro, Cornelius Jansen, Vandyck, Lely, and Kneller, to whom we owe the portraits of the great men of the Tudor and Stuart Dynasties, show that from a foreign source came the talent which met with a ready employment in perpetuating the fair and the brave of their times, for to portraiture the patronage of the great was almost exclusively confined. Charles I. indeed encouraged painting and liberally rewarded its professors; but the distractions of the latter part of his reign, and the succeeding troubles, prevented his efforts for establishing an English School from meeting with success. In the next century the first name that occurs of any Englishman who had raised himself to eminence as a painter is Sir James Thornhill, and he is less remarkable for himself than as the father-in-law of William Hogarth (1698–1769), that great man with whom the English school of painting may be said to commence. Unversed in academic rules, and to the last not conspicuous for technical skill in his art, Hogarth derived his inspiration from the nature immediately around him. Sometimes regarded as merely a satirist, a larger object was before him; to amend mankind as well as amuse them was his task. “The Harlot’s Progress” “Marriage à la mode,” “The Rake’s Progress,” &c., which have been spread by the graver throughout the world testify to the extent and variety of his powers. These “serious dramas,” as they have sometimes been called rather than paintings, deserve the closest study, as the most minute accessories tend to carry out the purpose of the artist. In the words of Charles Lamb, other painters we look at, but we read Hogarth.

Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792), the great luminary of the English school, was gifted by nature with exquisite taste in his art, which, improved by foreign study and diligent investigation into the true principles of painting, places him at the head of the English school of portraiture. Splendor of coloring and graceful composition are the characteristics of his pictures. He was perhaps most happy in children and female heads; many of them have never been surpassed for truth and purity of effect. The few historical pictures he painted were not calculated to increase his fame. As first President of the Royal Academy established in 1768, Reynolds exerted great influence in the progress of the arts, and his lectures or discourses on painting, delivered before that body, will long perpetuate his name as a classic and enlightened writer on art. Among the first academicians we find the names of West, Wilson, Gainsborough, and Barry, who all deserve separate mention.

Benjamin West (1738–1820) was born in Pennsylvania, and after studying his art in Italy, he settled in London in 1763. He soon attracted the attention of George III., and chiefly through his patronage was enabled to execute the numerous historical works for which he has been celebrated. Posterity has failed to confirm the judgment of his contemporaries. With one single exception, the Death of Wolfe., in which he first ventured to break through the old conventionalities of treatment, his works are viewed with indifference, and their academical correctness is not sufficient to rescue them from the charge of insipidity and feebleness. West succeeded Reynolds and was the second President of the Royal Academy.

In Richard Wilson (1714-1782) the English for the first time had a landscape painter who could be compared with the great old masters. His style was formed by a study of Italian nature, and met with little encouragement from the patrons of his day; his career was an unhappy one, but the pictures which he painted, to provide the mere necessaries of life, are now purchased at enormous prices as the ornaments of the choicest galleries.

Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788) was a truly English painter; he excelled in portraits as well as in picturesque delineations of English landscape; in them his freedom of handling, force, and vigor of touch, have never been excelled.

James Barry (1741–1806), an Irishman of great talent, who scorned the common way to fame and fortune, devoted himself to the higher historical branch of his art. He is well known by his great series of pictures illustrating the Culture and Progress of Human Knowledge, painted for the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, which was declared at the time to be the greatest work north of the Alps.

John Opie (1761–1807), the rough and energetic self-taught portrait painter, George Romney (1734–1802), the temporary rival of Reynolds, and James Northcote (1716–1831), the careful and studious illustrator of Shakspeare and English history, may be mentioned as the chief artists of this generation, though our limits forbid a lengthened notice. With the present century commences the fame of Sir Thomas Lawrence.

Sir Thomas Lawrence (1770–1830), the worthy successor of Reynolds in the Presidency of the Royal Academy, is the head of the English school of portrait painting. Favored by fortune with the patronage of the great, and gifted by nature with a taste and manner of the highest elegance, Lawrence is the model of a court painter; and if he does injustice to his powers in too many instances, a number of his portraits (as that of Pope Pius VII.) will remain to testify to the brilliancy of his coloring, and the refinement of his execution.

Since his time the number of artists has increased so rapidly in England, that we can only briefly allude to the more conspicuous of them. Sir David Wilkie is perhaps the most widely known of any English artist. Inferior to Hogarth in depth of feeling and moral purpose, his unrivalled sense of the humorous, and academic skill in painting, make him world-renowned. Leslie and Mulready are distinguished in the same line of art, the representation of domestic and familiar scenes. In landscape, the peculiar glory of English art, the names of Turner, Callcott, Stanfield, Roberts, and a host of others, are conspicuous, each for his varied and peculiar excellence. In historical painting, Etty, Eastlake, and Maclise are the most distinguished. As a painter of animal life, Edwin Landseer has surpassed all previous artists. As regards drawing, color, and characteristic expression, his finest works are miracles of art. Since the accession of Queen Victoria, efforts have been made on the part of the government for the patronage of high historical art. The decorations of the new palace at Westminster have afforded an ample field for the exercise of talent, and we now see the most rising painters of the English school for the first time creating a school of fresco painting, the effect of which must be most salutary and ennobling to art.

American School of Art

An American School of Art cannot as yet be said to exist, owing to the extreme youth of the country, and the enormous tasks in material improvement that had, and in part still remain to be performed, before an adequate patronage can be extended to the Fine Arts. It is, however, worthy of notice that, in spite of the trifling encouragement American artists as yet could hope to meet with, a number of talented men have devoted themselves to the study of sculpture and painting, and have secured for themselves a good share of the admiration of connoisseurs. Thus the great Thorwaldsen named among the foremost sculptors of the age two Americans, Hiram Powers and George Crawford: the former as rivalling himself in the boldness and purity of his busts; the latter as deserving the greatest credit for the harmony of his groups and the ease of his drapery. Among the painters belonging to America Washington Alston and Thomas Cole deserve to be especially mentioned. Much has been done in late years towards making art popular by the establishment of art-unions in various cities of the United States, whose purpose it is to encourage artists by purchasing their works, and distributing them among their members after exhibiting them for a season. These art-unions may be regarded as creating the germs of a future American school; and when we consider the immense field open for the development of an original school of art, in the bold and picturesque conformation of the country; in the original features of American life, commercial, rural, and political; and in the very progress of improvement in the various pursuits that engross the attention of the people, and whose different stages wait to be recorded by the artist’s pencil or chisel; we consider ourselves justified in expressing the view that one day the American school of art will reach a high point of excellence, and will command the respect of the world as perfectly as American skill and energy have already done in every utilitarian branch upon which they have as yet been concentrated. But that is a high eminence to climb, and it is to be hoped that the contenders for the prize may not be misled by excess of praise to sit down in self-complacency when their work is only half done, or their natural talents only half developed. They should also bear in mind that, while they naturally have to learn a great deal in points of technicalities and accuracy of drawing from European masters, ancient and modern, a servile adoption of the manner of any one master or school, however sublime, will retard their progress instead of speeding it. If their progress equal their beginning in zeal, if they preserve their own freshness and originality of conception while enlarging their aesthetic feelings by a close study of whatever is excellent in foreign schools of art, and if their fellow-citizens extend to them a judicious patronage, thus enabling them to follow the glorious path they are led into by their own inspiration, then may we hope at no distant day to see their efforts result in a respectable and original American School of Art.

Theory of the Art of Drawing

The art of drawing represents the visible form of bodies on a plane. This representation is called the drawing of the bodies.

The materials employed in the art of drawing are: first, any smooth surface, as, for instance, that of paper, parchment, canvas, ivory, stone, &c., called the plane of the picture; secondly, any more or less colored substance, as, for instance, lead-pencil, chalk, Indian ink, common ink, &c.

By means of the latter we make on the former either mere lines, answering to the outlines of the body to be represented, the aggregate of which is called the contour; or we draw also within the contour various degrees of shades, corresponding with the light and shade of the body, which is called the shading. The shading is performed in several manners, from which the work is denominated a drawing in hatching, in graining, in Indian ink, &c.

A more essential difference of the graphic manner arises from the principle which governs it. If the graphic representation of an object is founded upon optical laws, i. e. upon the real perception of an object from one point in space, it is then called a natural drawing of the object; for such a drawing, in being looked at from a proper position and distance, strikes the eye in the same way as the object itself viewed from the same point. Such a natural drawing is also called a perspective drawing or a perspective projection, from the optical laws applied in its construction, in opposition to the geometrical projection of the same object, made on geometrical laws, which are reducible to an imaginary perception from an infinite distance, by means of parallel rays of sight. Natural drawing alone belongs to the Fine Arts. In closely comparing the appearance of an object in a natural drawing with its real configuration, we readily perceive that it essentially differs from a geometrical projection of the same; that the former is but an optical phenomenon representing the image of the object in the same way as it falls, through the pupil, upon the retina of the eye.

It follows from what has just been said that the conditions required for producing a natural drawing are:

1. The exact knowledge of the real shape of the object;
2. The knowledge and application of its optical appearance upon a plane.

The former is taught by Morphology or the doctrine of forms, the latter by the Art of Perspective. The two combined are the basis of the art of drawing; while the doctrine of illumination (of shades and shadows) teaches the distribution of the degrees of light on and around the object.

Morphology, or Doctrine of Forms

The objects of the art of drawing are the visible bodies and phenomena of nature and of social life. It is the duty of the artist to render himself capable of representing them with exactness in a natural drawing. He must, therefore, study those portions of architecture, of botany, zoology, of the theory of clouds and of the movements of water, which treat in general of the forms of their objects. He must, moreover, endeavor to find in nature a certain model for each single object which he is about to draw, with the view of practising its several parts in preparatory essays, and of developing on it the peculiar individual character which he intends representing in his drawing. Such extensive preparatory studies cannot be enjoined upon a mere amateur of the art. Yet even he ought never to draw anything, or even copy any drawing, for which he cannot procure a corresponding object in nature as a model, whose smallest parts he might compare with their representation upon a plane. Drawing from nature is most efficient in forming the eye and hand, and must be first practised, even by a dilettante, from real, sharply defined bodies, beginning with geometrical figures, proceeding through the simplest products of mechanical arts, to plants, animals, &c. It is only after this sort of drawing, by which the student has enabled himself to become, so to speak, penetrated by a double perception of the objects drawn, that the question about art can arise. The designer must have become able to represent to his mind all objects of a drawling as they actually exist, i. e. to see the complex of all lines as if they were projected from the plane of the picture into space while, at the same time, he must be able to see in his mind’s eye every real object as if it were depicted on a plane surface. After this attainment only can the draughtsman be said to be prepared to enter into the sanctuary of art; nay, not till then will he be able to produce a correct copy of a drawing.

In order to obtain a precise knowledge of forms or shapes as they exist in space, the theory of lines, angles, surfaces, volumes, as treated in geometry, must be thoroughly studied. After this only can we attempt to draw the simplest bodies of nature. This elementary knowledge is indispensably necessary for this reason: it stamps on our mind the sense of definiteness of form, whence the perception of all the characteristics of the various configurations of visible objects can be safely developed, since geometrical figures are their absolute constituent parts. The truth of this is evident as regards crystals, the simple products of mechanical arts, of architecture, &c. The objects of nature will be treated of, in this respect, in the sequel of this statement. Meanwhile it will be useful to examine the auxiliary lines in the figures given in explanation of the subject (pl. 19, figs. 7, 8, 13–16; pl. 20, figs. 13, 14, 20; pl. 21, figs. 12–16).

Being obliged to restrict ourselves to mere hints, we propose to give a short outline of universal morphology, of anatomy as part of special morphology; and, after having referred to the essential points of perspective, to treat of the delineation of the human body as a specimen of the application of morphology and perspective combined.

1. Universal Morphology. a. The Straight Line. Of all possible directions in space the most definite and absolutely steady are two: the vertical line (pl. 19, fig. 45 DP) and the horizontal line (fig. 42 cd). They are called the chief directions. The numberless other directions are more or less oblique (fig. 45 mD, nD, tD, rD, &c.), and can be determined only by their respective relations to the two chief directions. The latter indicate either by themselves the position of an object (pl. 19, figs. 13, 14, 16), or they assist in determining it (as the auxiliary lines in figs. 1, 2, 41–45). The vertical line is characteristic of standing and striving upwards, the horizontal of reclining and resting.

b. The Angle. Of all possible angles the right angle is the only definite invariable one, and serves therefore as the standard in the determination of all other, or oblique angles. The latter being either acute or obtuse, i. e. smaller or larger than a right angle, are determined by their respective proportions to the standard(pl. 20, fig. 4 abq right, pgq obtuse angle; fig. 6 abq right, pgq acute angle). The position of a right angle can vary; it is called normal when its sides are in the chief directions, and oblique when its sides are oblique lines; in the latter case its position is determined by auxiliary lines having the chief directions.

c. Rectilinear Figures. Of rectilinear figures the square is the most regular, being formed by four right angles and four sides of equal length (pl. [19], fig. 40 bwxy). Being the most accurately determined figure it serves for the determination of others. Its position, like that of the right angle, can be normal or oblique.

Next to the square in simplicity is the rectangle, differing from the former only in being inclosed by two pairs of parallels of unequal length (pl. 19, the boundaries of figs. 41–45.) The proportion of form, i. e. of the height to the breadth of a rectangle, is most simply determined by the draughtsman by dividing it into squares (pl. 20, figs. 13, 14; pl. 21, figs. 12–15). The normal position of a rectangle is either the reclining (reversed) (pl. 19, figs. 41, 42), or the standing (erect) (figs. 43, 44). All other positions are oblique.

With regard to definiteness of form to the eye, the next figure to be considered is the equilateral triangle, and after it the isosceles in its varieties (steeple, roof, or gable-shape) arising from different proportions between the height and the base. Then follow the regular hexagon, octagon, and other polygons, which, like the irregular ones, are determined either by means of the above enumerated simple figures, or by division or integration (complementing).

d. Curves (or curved lines) are determined as to their form by examining whether they be of equal curvature throughout or not. The circle is the standard of the former. Of the unequally curved lines the rule of their curvature must be determined, and the places of greatest and relatively inferior curvature found. This determines the character of a curve as an ellipse, parabola, cycloid, spiral, &c. It is further to be examined in which part or division there is a concavity or a convexity, and whether either of these is constant or whether concavity alternates with convexity as in wave and serpent-lines, and the outlines of a nose, mouth, &c. In the latter case the points of recurvature, or the points where concave curves pass into convex ones, are to be accurately observed. Curves of a freer sweep, as for instance the profile lines of organic formation, are determined by comparison with those whose curvature is reducible to geometrical laws.

Mathematics teach the precise formation of the geometrical curves. But we may obtain an immediate knowledge of their form as well as of that of the organic curves (of mountains, clouds, plants, animals, &c.) in the following manner. We apply the enumerated rectilinear auxiliary figures either between two points of recurvature or the terminal points of a curve, or at one point on the convex side of a curve. In the former case the determining or auxiliary lines form chords, in the latter tangents, vertical or horizontal ones being most available. We then carefully observe the point of the greatest divergence of the curve from the chord, the proportion of the distance of this point to the length of the chord, and the precise direction of the latter. Or if we employ tangents we measure the various distances on both sides of the point of contact between the curved line and the straight auxiliary. These few indications will suffice to show the ample field of observation and study afforded by the endless variety of curves that occur in the great domain of nature.

e. Curvilinear Figures are either in themselves sufficiently definite for immediate conception by our mind (the simplest being the circle, next the ellipse, and then the oval), or they require the application of auxiliary lines to determine their forms, and are then to be resolved into their various curves, the divergence of each from a straight line being determined as before indicated.

f. Geometrical Bodies. The cube, parallelopipedon, tetrahedron, the prism in its various forms, the pyramid, cone, cylinder, sphere, ellipsoid, the egg, and the various mineral crystallizations, constitute a series of forms from the most definite and easily determinable to the indefinite and difficult, similar to that of lines and plane figures before alluded to. Our limited space forbids a detailed consideration of these forms and of the manner in which those whose forms are definite are used in determining the conformation of the irregular ones. But we urgently recommend a minute study of these forms, inasmuch as they not only exert the greatest influence upon our more or less correct appreciation of the plastic conformations in nature, but afford us constructive auxiliary bodies to facilitate our transferring the bodies produced by nature into a perspective projection or natural drawing.

With a view of promoting the study of forms, we add the following general observations on general outlines, general forms, symmetry, and skeleton of axes.

Most of the forms of natural objects are continuous deviations from such geometrical figures as form their basis, and which, when imagined around or in a natural body, can be called in the drawing its general outline. To find this general outline in any object is the first condition for the determination of its form, and the principal auxiliary in its correct representation. It is found by trying to circumscribe the object as closely as possible with straight lines or geometrical curves, in such a manner that, if need be, we either complete some of its parts by auxiliaries (pl. 19, fig. 20), or cut off some of its protuberances (pl. 20, figs. 3–6, 13–15), or inclose them in suitable auxiliaries (pl. 19, figs. 13, 14; pl. 20, figs. 7, 8). Principal parts of whole figures can be treated in the same manner (the arms, pl. 21, figs. 14, 15; the skull, pl. 20, figs. 4, 5, 7, 8). Even geometrical figures can be thus reduced to their simple fundamental forms; for instance, a regular octagon can be reduced to a square by prolonging its horizontal and vertical sides; a regular hexagon to an equilateral triangle by prolonging three of its sides; a trapezium to a triangle by prolonging its non-parallel sides (pl. 19, fig. 45, cap and base of the pilaster in the building on the left). By circumscription the square is shown to be the basis of the circle (pl. 20, fig. 8, square and circle over the line 1); the rectangle that of the ellipsis and of the oval (pl. 20, fig. 7), the proportion of length and breadth remaining unaltered. In a similar manner the general outline of the human head in the front view is an oval, but in other views an oval-like general form (pl. 20, figs. 1, 2, 7, 8; pl. 21, figs. 6–11). The same proceeding holds good with regard to bodies. Thus, by producing the corners of the capital and of the pedestal of the corner pilaster of the edifice on the left (pl. 19, fig. 45), we obtain pyramids, and by lines connecting the corners of the steps on the obelisk (ibidem, on the right), and producing them until they intersect each other, we complete the general form of a four-sided pyramid. It is also easily perceptible that the cube is the general form of the sphere; the parallelopipedon, of the ellipsoid; the egg, of the human head.

By drawing through the middle of a figure a right line in the direction of its length, we obtain its longitudinal axis; and by doing the same perpendicularly to that axis, through the greatest breadth of the figure, we find its lateral axis. If the figure be divided by either of its axes into two equal but opposite parts, the figure is said to possess symmetry, and those parts are called symmetrical opposite sides. All regular geometrical figures, including the rectangle, the isosceles triangle, and the isosceles parallel-trapezium, are symmetrical; and so also the ellipse, the oval, &c. (pl. 19, figs. 13, 14, 16). A figure with a centre, from which it can be divided into three or more equal opposite parts by as many lines, is said to possess a stellar or central symmetry. Such is the case with all regular geometrical figures, with all cross and star flowers (cruciferæ, asters), &c. The symmetrical opposites in symmetrical bodies are similarly disposed round either a central axis, as in the prism, pyramid, cylinder, cone, and egg (pl. 19, fig. 45, obelisk), or round a centre (as in the sphere, the regular geometrical bodies, and crystal forms), or on both sides of an imaginary plane-axis, as in most animals, the human body, in regular edifices, &c. &c. The inquiry into the symmetry of a figure, and the finding of its axis of symmetry, or plane-axis, is one of the essential means towards the knowledge of its conformation. We must observe that in most organic forms (plants, flowers, &c.), especially in animals, the equal position of the symmetrical opposites is abolished, and the axes of symmetry, which have originally been straight, have become curved lines, and that it is owing precisely to this deviation from exact symmetry that the organic bodies are endowed with the charm of life, and with movement. Constant symmetry as well as the degree of deviation from it, must be assiduously studied, in order that the designer may be able to conceive and to express movement. This is a point of the greatest importance for the artist. Scarcely less important is the fact, that axes or mid-lines may be found also in less strictly symmetrical organic forms and in their parts (thus in plants, animals, especially in the human body), about which axes the mass or matter of the form itself is located in a certain statical equipoise, and around which the most manifold forms are disposed in a harmonious arrangement To observe all this, to feel it out as it were from the laws of nature, is the mission of the artist.

If the natural body consist of several essential parts which issue from the principal form like branches (as the branches and boughs from the stem of a tree, or the limbs from the trunk of an animal), then the axis of the principal form constitutes, in connexion with the axes of the branches or limbs, a system or skeleton of axes. To discover the position and the proportion of this system, to define and to employ them as the foundation of a design, is the first, must be the chief problem of the artist, in order that he may recognise, comprehend, and vividly represent the general as well as the individual form of a natural body.

2. Special Morphology. Anatomy. Since our limits do not permit us to enter upon a detailed elucidation of all the various modes by which the tenets of universal morphology are applied to the representation of different objects, as, for instance, by the painter of buildings to the various styles of architecture, by the painter of landscapes to the manifold diversity of plants and of terrestrial scenery, we shall restrict our considerations to a single but most interesting department of morphology, i. e. to anatomy, which is indispensable to the designer of the human figure.

As the trunk of a tree, with its ramifications, forms the plastic framework for the masses of foliage, blossoms, and fruit, so is the skeleton or the complex of the bones, the frame of the whole human body, the supporter of the mass of flesh that surrounds it. The study of the osseous system, of the proportions of its system of axes, as well as of the form of the several bones, of their symmetrical and statical arrangement into a wonderful machinery of articulated or organic mechanism, constitutes the first part of the anatomical studies of the artist. What has been said on this subject in the division of this work devoted to Anthropology will suffice as a guide for the artist. We will in this place consider the muscular system with a special view to artistical representation.

The thorough understanding of the muscular structure is indispensably necessary to the designer of the human figure, especially of the nude form, which is the complete mirror of spiritual man. Without this knowledge it is impossible to represent in drawing, even from a living model, the play of the muscles that would manifest itself in the peculiar movement and in the individual expression of the figure, as conceived in the idea of the artist. Even a mere copyist of an already drawn or painted human figure, if deficient in such knowledge, would be at a loss to know all that the designer or painter of his original intended to express by his particular clearer or darker touches, by his emerging and again vanishing lines (compare pl. 21, figs. 12–15, 18–21); he would not be able to distinguish the essential single traits from such as might be unessential, or even merely accidental or owing to a faulty impression.

In naming, locating, and explaining those muscles which are situated on the surface of the body under the skin, and which are therefore conspicuous by their play, by their rising or subsiding, in consequence of the various movements of man, and consequently of importance for the artist, we shall refer to pl. 20, figs. 15, 16, representing the anterior and posterior views of man’s body divested of its cutaneous integuments and blood-vessels. In the front view of the figure (fig. 15) we have presented to us the following muscles:

1. Musculus frontalis. It elevates the eyebrows, the inner corners of the eye, and the skin of the nose, and it wrinkles the skin of the forehead.
2. M. temporalis, raises the lower jaw.
3. M. zygomaticus, draws back the corner of the mouth towards the ear and the cheek-bone.
4. Levator labii superioris, raises the upper lip.
5. Buccinator, draws the cheeks and the lips towards the grinders.
6. Masseter, raises the lower jaw.
7. Orbicularis labiorum, draws the lips together.
8. Sterno-cleidomastoideus, springs from the upper part of the breast-bone and collar-bone, and ends in the mastoid process near the ear. It bends the head forwards.
9. Trapezius, springs from the dorsal vertebræ and from the back of the head, and ends in the collarbone. It draws back the head and the shoulder-blades.
10. Sterno-hyoideus, ascends from the breast-bone to the hyoid bone, and draws the hyoid bone downwards.
11. Omo-hyoideus, springs from the upper margin of the shoulder blade, and is inserted into the hyoid bone, which it draws downwards.
12. A small portion of the pectoral muscle (see 15).
13. Deltoideus, springs from the bone of the shoulder, and descends to the middle of the upper arm. It draws the arm outwards and upwards.
14. Latissimus dorsi, springs from the lower dorsal and the lumbar vertebræ, the sacrum, and the coccyx, passes obliquely forwards, and is attached partly to the outer ends of the four lowest ribs, and partly by means of a tendon to the humeral bone. It can draw the arms downwards and the ribs upwards.
15. Pectoralis major. Its greater portion springs from the outer surface of the breast-bone and the cartilages of the six upper ribs. Its smaller portion springs from the sternal end of the collarbone, and ends in the outer side of the upper part of the humerus. It draws the arm strongly forwards against the breast, or, if the arm be made fast, it draws the breast-bone towards the arm.
16. Serratus anticus major, springs from a number of digitations of the ribs, extending from the second to the ninth, then contracts, and is attached behind to the shoulder-blade, which it can draw forwards. When the arm is fastened it helps to enlarge the cavity of the breast.
17. Brachialis, is for the most part covered by No. 18, arises from the outer surface of the middle of the humerus, spreads over the outside of the elbow-joint, and is attached to the upper end of the ulna. It bends the arm.
18. Biceps brachii. One of its heads springs from the capsule of the shoulder-joint, and the other from the coracoid process of the shoulder-blade; it passes down the humerus, and ends at the elbow-joint behind the tubercle of the radius. It helps to bend the fore-arm, and at the same time turns it somewhat outwards.
19. Linea alba, goes from the scyphoid cartilage down to the pubes, and is formed by the union of the tendons of some of the abdominal muscles from both sides.
20. Rectus abdominis, ascends from the pubes to the lower costal cartilages and the scyphoid process. It is interrupted in its course by some small tendinous intersections which cross the muscle. It can bend the body forwards.
22. The navel.
23. Obliquus externus, springs from the lowermost ribs, and from the haunch-bone; it passes in a broad, thin tendon (21) over the preceding muscles, and is attached to the linea alba. With the other abdominal muscles it effects expiration, and can turn the breast to one side.
24. Pronator teres, springs from the inner condyle of the humerus, descends obliquely, and is attached to the middle of the radius. It turns the hand forwards.
25. Flexor carpi radialis, springs from the same place with the preceding muscle, descends along the fore-arm, and is attached to the metacarpal bone of the index finger. It flexes the hand.
26. Supinator longus, descends from the outer condyle of the humerus, and is attached to the lower end of the radius on the outside. It turns the hand outwards.
27. Abductor pollicis longus, springs from the outside of the fore-arm, passes round the lower end of the radius, and is attached to the large multangular bone, and to the metacarpal bone of the thumb. It stretches out the thumb and draws it from the hand.
28. Palmaris longus, arises along with No. 24, and runs along the inside of the arm to the palm, where its thin tendons are lost in the palmar fascia. It contributes to flex the hand.
29. Flexor carpi ulnaris, springs from the inner condyle of the humerus, descends along the ulna, and ends in the pisiform bone of the wrist. It helps to flex the hand. The flexors (30, 31) of the fingers pass underneath a strong band (32), which passes from the unciform bone over the scaphoid bone and the great multangular bone, to the palm, and terminates at the finger-joints.
33. Sartorius, springs from the anterior spinous process of the ilium, and runs obliquely inwards (37) to the upper end of the tibia, where it is inserted. It serves to cross the legs.
34. Pyramidalis, springs from the pubes, and ascends to the linea alba, to which it is attached. It co-operates with the other abdominal muscles.
35. Tensor fasciæ latcæ, springs from the anterior spinous processes of the ilium, and runs below the crural ligament which surrounds the muscles of the thigh. It loses itself in this ligament, and stretches it.
36. Gracilis, springs from the ischium, passes down one side of the thigh, and is attached to the upper part of the tibia. It flexes the thigh and draws it somewhat inwards.
38. Rectus femoris, springs from the front of the ilium, and passes along 41 to the upper end of the tibia. It stretches out the lower part of the leg. 39, 42, 44. Vastus internus, springs from the inside of the thigh, and agrees in its course and effect with 40.
40. Vastus externus, springs from the outside of the femoral bone, and descends, turning somewhat round in front (43) to the tibia. It helps to stretch out the lower part of the leg.
45. Gastro-cnemius, springs with two heads from the lower end of the thigh-bone, and passes into a thick tendon, the tendon of Achilles, which is inserted into the heel-bone. It stretches out the foot.
46. Peronæus longus, springs from the fibula and tibia, and ends in the sole of the foot. It extends the foot and turns it outwards.
47. Tibialis anticus, springs from the outer surface of the tibia, passes downwards, turns inwards about the foot, and ends partly in the great sphenoid bone and partly in the first metatarsal bone. It bends the foot.
48. Extensor digitorum longus, spreads near the preceding, passes downwards, and divides into four tendons, which are attached to the second and third joints of the four smaller toes. It extends the four toes.
49. Soleus, springs under No. 45, from the posterior surface of the fibula, and ends in the tendo Achillis.
50. Flexor digitorurfi longus, springs from the posterior surface of the tibia, descends behind the inner ankle-bone to the sole of the foot, and then divides into four tendons, extending to the four small toes, which it bends.

In the [back] view (pl. 20, fig. 16) we have the following principal muscles.

1. Levator scapulæ, which is partly covered by No. 3, as it springs from the upper cervical vertebra and descends to the upper corner of the shoulder-blade. It serves to elevate the shoulder-blade.
2. Deltoideus (fig. 15, No. 13).
3. Trapezius (fig. 15, No. 9).
4. Infraspinatus, springs from the great fossa of the shoulder-blade, and is attached to the upper end of the humeral bone. It turns the arm upwards.
6. Teres major, arises from the lower angle of the shoulder-blade and is attached to the humerus on the inside. It turns the arm inwards.
7. Latissimus dorsi (fig. 15, No. 14).
9. Triceps brachii. One of its heads springs from the front end of the shoulder-blade and the other two from the humeral bone; it covers the posterior surface of this bone, and is attached to the ulna by a broad tendon. It serves to extend the fore-arm.
10. An offset from No. 7 to the spines of the lumbar vertebræ.
11. Anconæus parvus, springs from the lower end of the humerus and ends in the ulna. It supports the extensor muscles of the fore-arm.
12. Extensor digitorum conimunis, springs from the humerus, passes down the hinder surface of the fore-arm, and is divided into four tendons, which are attached to the second and third joints of the fingers. It extends the fingers.
13. Extensor carpi ulnaris, arises along with the preceding, is attached to the fifth metacarpal bone, and assists to extend the hand.
14. Flexor carpi ulnaris (fig. 15, No. 25).
15. Glutæus medius, springs from the outer surface of the ilium and is attached to the upper end of the thigh-bone. It works along with the following one, by which the greater part of it is covered.
17. Glutæus maximus, springs from the posterior surface of the os ilii, from the sacrum and from the coccyx, and is attached to the posterior surface of the femoral bone. It serves to extend the thigh.
18. Vastus externus (fig. 15, No. 40).
20. Semitendinosus, springs from the ischium and descends to the tibia, to the upper end of which it is attached. It flexes the thigh.
21. Biceps femoris, One of its heads springs from the ischium, and the other from the middle part of the posterior surface of the femur, and it is attached to the head of the fibula. It flexes the lower part of the leg.
22. Adductor inagnus, springs from the ischium and the pubes and terminates in part on the middle of the inside of the thigh-bone, while the rest of it descends to the lower end of that bone. It draws the thigh inwards.
23. Gastro-cnemius (fig. 13, No. 45).
24. Soleus (fig. 15, No. 49).
25. Extensor digitorum longics (fig. 15, No. 48).
26. Flexor digitorum, longus (fig. 15, No. 50).

In closing this enumeration we must not omit to remark that the muscles here named are by no means all that are found in the human body, but that those only have been selected the play of which during the motions of the body is particularly observable from the surface.

It is of great importance to observe that the enumerated muscles stand in manifold relations to one another as regards their conspicuousness on the surface of the human body. Some muscles are always conspicuous; some become manifest and sharply defined only at certain movements of the whole body or of its single parts, thus causing others that are near them to vanish more or less; others, again, are never prominent. On the bodies of children and young persons certain muscles, not being yet fully developed, are less visible than on older people. The same is the case with female forms. In these, as in general in fat or obese human bodies, the interstices between the muscles are more or less filled up with adipose substance, which overlies in some spots the muscles themselves. In consequence of this the muscular frame becomes less conspicuous than in bodies whose muscles are freed from that incumbrance by dint of powerful movement and active exercise, their muscles being immediately under the skin. All these, and similar modifications and relations, can be studied and appreciated only by an immediate and assiduous contemplation of living models or of the best statuary of antiquity, as well as of that of such eminent artists as Thorwaldsen, Rauch, Schwanthaler, &c., or of plaster-casts of such works. In drawing these we again must take heed not to be carried away by the desire of showing our knowledge of anatomy by too strong and explicit an indication of the muscles, or we shall be in danger of representing flayed figures (pl. 20, figs. 16, 15), rather than fine-limbed and powerful ones (pl. 20, figs. 13, 14; pl. 21, figs. 12–15, 18). In the latter the play of muscles, although they are strong, is tempered by thin layers of fat and by the cutaneous integument being stretched over them, so that their prominence and subsidence are mutually compensated, and a pleasing plastic equipoise is thus established.

Pictorial Perspective

After having made himself thoroughly acquainted with the actual forms of objects, the draughtsman has yet to acquire a two-fold knowledge: viz. 1. That of the appearance to the eye at one point of view of the actual form of objects extending in space in three directions, the three dimensions of bodies; and 2. That of the manner of fixing this appearance as a drawing on the plane of a picture, i. e. of reducing the appearance of the three dimensions of bodies to the two dimensions of a plane.

Both these points are taught by Perspective. Its principles have already been developed in the mathematical part of this work, but this is a suitable place to add a few remarks on its application to the art of drawing.

In drawing from nature, a natural drawing originates in the mind of the delineator by his imagining a transparent plane, e. g. a pane of glass placed between his eye (the point of view) and the object to be drawn. This transparent plane represents the plane of projection. By keeping his eye steadily on this plane in one direction the draughtsman will fix upon it, in his mind’s eye, the true copy of the object behind it, by imagining points and lines drawn on the transparent plane in such a manner as to cover precisely the outlines of the real object. This imagined true copy on the transparent plane is the image or the perspective projection. This image has to be transferred by real, visible lines to the plane of the picture in order to obtain a natural outline of the object. Such an outline, filled up with exact imitations of the colors of the object and their delicate shades, and placed in the precise position of the imagined transparent plane, will convey to the eye from the old point of view the impression of seeing the object itself, though it be entirely covered by the picture or taken away.

The pupil in the art of drawing must by practice acquire the faculty of beholding all visible objects before which he assumes a fixed point of view as if they were already drawn on a transparent plane; and conversely, of imagining a natural drawing as a transparent plane behind which the objects of the drawing appear as if existing in reality. Both these accomplishments must be aimed at from the very beginning of instruction in drawing, in order to insure a thorough understanding on the part of the pupil.

When we view various natural objects as if seen through a transparent plane, and fixed upon it as described, we can by mere ocular perception recognise the following laws, which are also susceptible of mathematical demonstration.

1. Lines, angles, and figures of solid bodies (i. e. of objects of threefold extension in space), parallel to the transparent plane, preserve in the image their real position and form; or, more explicitly, such lines retain their real direction; such angles their real size; and such figures their real form and position. All lines, angles, and figures not parallel to the transparent plane exhibit in the image an altered direction and position. This will be more clearly understood after a comparison (pl. 19, figs. 43, 44) of the perspective niches in the backgrounds with those on the sides; and (fig. 45) of the facade in the centre of the background and of its details with the perspective forms of the similar fronts on the left side in the foreground; and finally of the front and side faces of a perspective drawing of a double cross (fig. 40).
2. Lines and figures on a body, or the body itself, appear smaller on the transparent plane in proportion to their increased distance behind the same. This perspective reduction is illustrated (pl. 19, fig. 40) by the different appearance of the projecting and receding lines, squares, and cubes, which in reality are all alike; and is still more prominent (fig. 45) in the perspective forms of the buildings in the background as compared with those of the foreground, whose real dimensions are equal; as well as in the divisions of the floors (figs. 41, 42), which in reality are of the same size.
3. All lines on a body parallel to each other, but not to the transparent plane, from which they recede either at right angles or obliquely, converge in the image to one point, the vanishing point, if sufficiently extended. Thus all the lines converging to the point s (fig. 40) are in reality parallel to each other, receding at right angles from the transparent plane. The same is the case with the lines converging in the point P (fig. 45), whilst those converging in D2, being parallel to each other, recede obliquely from the transparent plane.
4. A line in space drawn from the eye of the draughtsman towards the transparent plane, and parallel to a number of parallel lines on the object, will intersect the transparent plane in the vanishing-point of the image of the parallel lines on the object. Vanishing-points determined by such imaginary lines in space are shown at p and s (fig. 40); at e (figs. 41, 42); and at P and D2 (fig. 45). If such a line in space intersect the transparent plane at right angles, the vanishing-point coincides with the point of sight (figs. 40, s; 41, e; 42, e; 45, P), and the horizontal line passing through this point is the horizon of the image. If the line in space intersect the transparent plane at an angle of 45° or less and at the same time be horizontal, the point of intersection is called the point of distance of the image, and lies in the horizon at a distance (right or left) from the point of sight equal to the distance of the eye from the transparent plane (fig. 41 d). If the line in space intersect the transparent plane at an angle of more than 45°, the vanishing-point which marks the intersection is called the point of incidence (fig. 45 D2).
5. All curved lines, angles, and figures on an object, which lie in a plane whose extension would pass through the eye of the draughtsman, appear in the image as straight lines; the more or less curved appearance of curved lines, or broad appearance of angles and figures in the image, is in direct proportion to the distance at which the extension of their planes would pass over, under, or right or left from the eye of the draughtsman (pl. 20, figs. 8 and 9, the middle lines; figs. 1, 2, and pl. 21, figs. 6–11, the auxiliary lines through the eyes and points of the noses).

The methods of determining these various points and the horizon in the plane of a picture can only be explained practically by elaborate deductions and with the assistance of models, and the instruction in these methods must be obtained from a teacher in a progressive course of lessons. Regarding their theory we offer the following remarks.

The paper of the draughtsman, or the plane of the picture, represents the transparent plane itself, the frame of the former or its circumscription coinciding with the limits of the latter (pl. 19, figs. 41–45, the rectangles circumscribing the drawings). The lines of construction drawn on the plane of the picture are partly those enumerated above, in part such as the draughtsman originally imagined drawn in space from his eye to points of the object or parallel to some of its lines, and which are, as it were, folded or flapped into the plane of the picture. The student of the art of drawing must acquire the faculty of imagining such constructive lines projecting into space before and behind the plane of the picture, in order to understand construction and to apply it. This accomplishment can only be attained by the study of perspective in models and by continued systematic lessons in drawing from nature.

The same course of study is requisite to prepare and qualify the student for a due consideration of some points of particular importance in pictorial perspective, viz. the selection of the precise place for the transparent plane, and of the proper distance of the point of view from, as well as its position (line of sight) with respect to the transparent plane.

Concerning the position of the transparent plane, the general rule, in case a single angular body is to be drawn, is to place the plane vertically before the same in such a manner that it is in contact with one corner or edge of the body, forming with its principal front an angle of less than 45°. If a number of objects are to be drawn in one group, the rule is to place the transparent plane parallel to the front of one of them (pl. 19, figs. 40–45). In drawing inclosed spaces (rooms, churches, &c.), the front wall is usually imagined as removed and replaced by the transparent plane and the eye of the draughtsman on its exterior side. In drawing an open landscape, and this is the most difficult case, two points on the ground have to be selected and retained, through which the transparent plane is imagined to pass vertically; whilst the plane itself must be imagined as bounded on the right and left sides by perpendiculars, and above and below by horizontal lines, these four lines encompassing everything in the landscape that is to be included in the picture, and excluding everything that is not to be drawn. The boundary lines of the fictitious transparent plane must then correspond with the lines circumscribing the paper or the plane of the picture.

The distance of the draughtsman from the transparent plane must at least be great enough to allow the eye to survey its limits without any motion of the head, either sideways, or upwards, or downwards. A common distance is the diagonal or better twice the length of the transparent plane. If the distance be chosen too small (pl. 19, fig. 43) the eye is easily fatigued in the survey, and the objects appear as unusual images, in perspective distortion. Fig. 44 offers a favorable contrast, being taken from the right distance, whilst fig. 43 is taken from a distance not exceeding the breadth of the image. On the other hand, if the distance be chosen too great, the smaller parts of the object lose in clearness, and the picture fails in expressing the depth to which the receding parts extend.

The altitude of the point of view before the transparent plane above the base of the latter, i. e. the height of the point of sight or of the horizon in the drawing, is most natural at the elevation of the eye of a standing man above the ground (pl. 19, figs. 42, 45). If the ground be covered by but few objects, or if it be empty or barren, the altitude of the point of view should be decreased; the ground will then appear less extended in the picture. If the altitude be too limited the appearance of the ground will approach too much that of a straight line, and the objects on it will cover each other too much. If on the other hand it be too great (fig. 42) the ground will appear too extended, the lines on it too steep, and the objects in the depth too much as if they were placed above each other; and if the point of view be higher than the upper surfaces of the objects, the drawing will have the appearance of a horizontal projection: in landscapes that of a topographical map. The proper height of the point of view can only be determined for every special case by a practised judgment, developed by continued drawing from nature.

The lateral position of the point of view with respect to the vertical axis of the transparent plane varies according to the object to be drawn. If this be a single rounded object the draughtsman places himself precisely opposite the axis of the plane, or so that the line of sight intersect it at right angles (pl. 21, figs. 18–21); but if it be an angular object having lateral surfaces (pl. 19, fig. 40) he selects a point at either side of the axis. If a group of several objects is to be drawn, the point of view is taken opposite its vertical axis; especially in historical compositions of human figures and in open landscapes. An exception from this rule is made in the case of avenues and streets, of rooms, churches, and similar bounded spaces in which the objects on the two sides are mostly parallel, their lines receding at right angles from the transparent plane. If in such a case the point of view were taken opposite the vertical axis a perspective symmetry would be the result, making the impression of monotony or stiffness (pl. 19, figs. 43, 44). It is therefore preferable to choose a point of view on either side of the vertical axis, thus avoiding the unpleasant effects of perspective symmetry (pl. 19, fig. 45).

In conclusion, we call attention to the necessity of placing finished natural drawings in a certain position to the eye of the beholder, in order that the images of the objects may appear to him as real objects in space. This one true position of the drawing is that in which its plane has the same angle of intersection with his line of sight, and the same distance from his point of view, which the transparent plane had with the line of sight, and from the point of view of the draughtsman. The drawing must therefore be held before the beholder in such a manner that his eye shall be precisely opposite the point of sight in the drawing, and at a distance precisely equalling the distance in the drawing. Thus the cross of cubes (pl. 19, fig. 40) must be held a certain distance to the left from the eye; the rooms (figs. 43, 44) straight before the eye; and the group of buildings (fig. 45) a little to the right of the eye; in all three cases at such an elevation that the horizon marked in the figures be in the horizontal plane of the eye. If in these drawings the points of sight were not indicated, they would be found by prolonging the receding horizontal lines. In drawings that are destitute of such receding horizontal lines, the determination of the horizon and point of sight requires elaborate constructions, but a practised eye very easily discovers the right point of view for the inspection of a good drawing, without such construction, by means of a well developed sense of beauty.

These remarks about the right position for viewing a drawing are of even greater importance for making a correct copy of a finished drawing. It is therefore of little use, and even absurd, to let pupils draw from finished patterns before they are thoroughly acquainted with the rules of perspective and their application.

In order to show how necessary is a strict attention to general and special morphology, and to the rules of perspective, even in drawing single natural forms, we subjoin an outline of the rules for drawing the human figure.

Drawing of the Human Figure

In the following remarks reference is had throughout to a purely ideal human figure, forming, as it were, a medium between the innumerable individual figures produced by nature, from the normal proportions of which those of individual figures differ more or less. In drawing from nature or from models, the individual deviations from the normal figure must be determined and correctly rendered in the drawing. Thereby only will the individual character of a given person be clearly expressed, since individuality is the deviation from the normal. The proportional numbers given, having reference partly to actual measurements in space on the body or model, in part to measurements of its image on the transparent plane in certain definite positions, must be modified, in drawing from nature, according to the perspective phenomena of each special case.

1. The Head. In examining the various component parts of the human figure, we begin with the head as the most characteristic, the rules for drawing whose details we will briefly lay down.

In order to produce a correct drawing of the nose in front view, we divide its whole length from the root to the tip (pl. 19, figs. 13, 14) into four equal parts, of which one (0,1) will be required for the distance from the root to the point of incidence of the eye-brows, or to the beginning of the nasal bone; two (1,2, and 2,3) for the bridge of the nose, which is often left unmarked by lines; and the fourth part (3,4) for the tip and wings of the nose. The breadth of the nose is divided into six equal parts, of which the first on either side is required for the projection of the wings of the nose; the next on either side for the projection of the nostril; and the two middle ones for the projection of the rounded part of the tip of the nose, which however will appear to project a little below the level of the wings (marked by the line 4,0), since the tip, in passing towards the upper lip, is drawn somewhat down, as seen in the side view of a nose (fig. 15), but the proper tip or end of the nose lies on the line 4,0.

The eye is drawn in front view most easily if we divide its height into four equal parts, the uppermost for the upper eyelid, and the remaining three for the field of vision. The middle one will then form the diameter of the pupil, and the two others the visible parts of the iris or apple of the eye, which is three parts in diameter. The length of the eye not turned to one side (a, b, fig. 1) is equal to twice its height; the line of direction, however, is not perfectly horizontal, but sinks a very little towards the nose; the eye too when seen from the side (fig. 2) is drawn in a little towards the bottom. As soon as the look is turned towards the one side or the other, the appearance of the eye is shortened; and as it is a rounded body, the lines of direction, which in the full front view are projections of curved lines, must receive their proper curve by the help of perspective, as shown in the eyes, figs. 3, 4, 7, and 9. Figs. 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, and 12, exhibit the human eye in various positions of the features of the face, and in various directions of the transparent plane, and more or less closed.

For the mouth, whose regular length is determined by drawing lines from the middle of the forehead touching the wings of the nose and continued to the line of the mouth, we divide the height for a front view, into five equal parts (fig. 16), two of which belong to the upper and three to the lower lip. Figs. 18 and 19 give a side view of the mouth, and show how the lower lip recedes somewhat from the line of the upper lip; hence the dotted perpendicular central line, when the mouth is turned to one side, appears not straight but curved, as shown in fig. 17.

The contour of the ear in a front view is a somewhat obliquely lying oval (fig. 20), whose axes bear to each other the proportion of two to three. The cavity of the ear takes in a third part of its height. The ear itself is one of the most elaborately constructed parts of the human head, and it is necessary to study it in all possible positions and foreshortenings. Figs. 21–27 will serve as guides to the drawing of the ear in very different positions of the head to the transparent plane.

If we now turn our attention to the drawing of the head as a whole, we have first of all to study the form of the skull. A front or straight profile view of the rounded part can be obtained most easily by constructing an oval line in the following manner; from the centre s (pl. 20, fig. 4) describe the circle l v e; and from t, where s t = \(\frac{1}{2}\) s v, describe another circle u k, whose radius is one eighth smaller than s v. Through s draw the perpendicular line l q, which gives the middle line of the ear, whose height equals \(\frac{1}{3}\) of l e. The distance from e to q we make also \(\frac{1}{3}\) of l e; so that l q, the whole height of the head, is four times the length of the nose. The part e q serves to form the mouth and chin, the next third gives the length of the nose, the next the forehead to where the hair begins, and the last the receding part of the front of the head. The lowermost portion e q is subdivided into five parts, of which one fifth gives the upper lip, one fifth the mouth, and three fifths the chin. The line k g, which touches the middle of the forehead and the under lip, varies in its direction according to the different races of man. In the Caucasian race, g stands back from b about half the length of the nose; while in negroes it advances almost two thirds the length of the nose (fig. 7). In old men whose mouths are sunken in owing to the loss of the teeth (fig. 3), this line touches the point of the chin. In children the lower part of whose face is not yet fully developed (fig. 5), it does not amount to the entire length of a nose.

In order to draw the front view of a face, we likewise begin by constructing the oval (fig. 7). This is effected by describing two circles, the upper and larger one with a diameter one and a half times the length of the nose; and the lower one, whose centre lies within the circumference of the larger circle, with a diameter equal to the length of the nose. In children the proportions are different, as represented in fig. 8. When the oval has been drawn, we divide its breadth (pl. 21, figs. 16 and 17) into five parts, and its height into four. The division of the breadth is applied as follows: the middle fifth gives the distance between the eyes; the two next following, the eyes themselves; and the two outer ones, the part of the skull receding towards the temples. The division of the height is the same as described in speaking of the profile head. Yet we must observe here that in the female head the skull is somewhat flatter above, and the eye is placed a fifth of its height lower than in males. The breadth of the neck (pl. 21, fig. 16) is 1\(\frac{3}{4}\) the length of the nose; and its length (fig. 17) to the pit of the neck is 1\(\frac{1}{3}\) the length of the nose.

Thus far we have spoken of the head only as presented to us in profile or en face; and here the lines of division were projections of the curved lines of the form of the head, and appeared as straight. But when the head is turned from either of these positions, these lines exhibit to a greater or less extent their curved form; that is to say, when the front face is simply turned upwards or downwards, the horizontal dividing lines become curves, as in fig. 11; but if the head be turned in two directions, all the dividing-lines become curves. Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, present a complete guide to the drawing of these lines of direction and explain themselves. The lower part of the face is given rather more in detail in figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. On the other hand, pl. 20, figs. 1 and 2, show the manner of sketching heads in profile. Heads copied in detail from the antique are given (pl. 21, figs. 19, 20) in profile; fig. 21 shows a head en face turned to one side; pl. 20, fig. 9, a child’s head in contour; and fig. 10, a similar head half shaded.

2. Hands and Feet. Having given the most necessary directions for drawing the head we now turn our attention to the other parts of the body, and first of all to the hands. In order to learn to draw correctly a hand, open, stretched out, and parallel to the transparent plane, its whole length should be divided into two parts, one of which forms the fingers and the other the palm. The portion that forms the fingers is to be subdivided into 12 parts, of which 7 give the length of the thumb, 10 that of the forefinger, 12 the middle finger, 11 the ring finger, and 9 the little finger. The breadth of the metacarpus is equal to its length; and by dividing the latter into two parts, we determine the point at which the thumb begins. The breadth of the metacarpus divided into four parts gives that of the fingers at their roots; these taper towards their tips, and are each to be divided into three parts, of which the middle is a little larger than the lower part, and this latter than the part ending in the tip. The thumb has only two parts, as the third lies within the circumference of the metacarpus. When the hand is turned sideways and the fingers bent, considerable modifications of the given proportions will arise by perspective; and on account of its many different parts and the very various positions they may assume with respect to each other, the drawing of the hand becomes very difficult, and we often find it out of proportion even in good pictures and by celebrated masters. In pl. 20, figs. 17, 18, 20, we have given hands drawn from the inside; in fig. 21, two hands clasped together; and in fig. 19, an extended hand drawn from the outside. Pl. 19, fig. 36, represents the back of a hand with the fingers bent; fig. 33, a hand turned sideways; and figs. 32, 34–39, represent hands holding various objects, and hence wholly or partially closed. The hands of females are in general distinguished by plumpness, while in those of males the sinews and muscles appear more prominently. Our readers will easily distinguish the male from the female hands in the drawings.

The proportions of the foot may best be represented in the following manner. The foot is thrice as long as it is high; consequently, in order to draw a foot as seen directly from the side, we begin by constructing a rectangle of the above mentioned proportions. Then by describing from the lower front angle, with a radius equal to two thirds the length of the foot, an arc intersecting the upper boundary line of the rectangle, we obtain the point at which the leg joins the foot; and by describing from this same point an arc with a radius equal to the entire length of the foot, we obtain the direction of the heel. The general course of the instep is given by a line drawn from the junction of the foot and leg to the lower angle of the parallelogram in front. This line, together with the heel and the base-line of the rectangle, marks the rectilinear general form of the profile of the foot, within which are the place of the ankle-bone and the curved line of the ends of the toes, whose precise positions must be determined by their appearance on the transparent plane. An upper view of the foot may be drawn in a similar rectangle.

When the foot is turned about in any other position, the phenomena of perspective become more prominent, as well as in the foot’s motions, which are usually performed not on the toes but on the ball of the foot (figs. 30, 31). A man’s feet, standing upright and seen almost directly from the front, are delineated in fig. 29, and a woman’s feet (those of the Venus di Medici), to which the remark applies that we have made above respecting the hands, in fig. 28.

3. The Entire Body. The first thing to be considered in drawing the body is the proportioning of the several parts to each other. The proportions, however, keep constantly varying until the individual has attained his full growth, i. e. before his twenty-first year. The length of the head, or, according to other masters, that of the face, has been taken as a unit, with reference to which the measure of all the other parts has been determined. Now the proportion of the head to the whole length of the body is different in different years. In the new-born child, the head usually comprises one fourth of the entire length; in one three years old it is one fifth of the length; and in an adult it is one eighth. In a child three years old, like those represented in the groups in pl. 20, figs. 11 and 12, the head is a fifth part of the whole length; in one of seven years it amounts to only two thirteenths; while in one of twelve years it is almost one seventh. In a youth of seventeen the head is \(\frac{4}{31}\) of the length; and a full grown man has a length of eight heads or ten faces. In females the proportion is always rather less.

The division of the body into lengths of the head is shown in pl. 21; the front view is given in fig. 14, and the back view in fig. 15. One head-length is taken up by the head, the second dividing-line passes through the nipples, or through the shoulder-blades at one third of their height from the bottom. The third goes through the navel, and the fourth through the share-bone. From there down to the knee are two head-lengths, and the remaining two head-lengths go to the legs. The arms, together with the hands, contain three head-lengths. All these proportions, with the variations they undergo in the different years of growth, must be minutely observed, otherwise, instead of drawing children, we shall merely represent adults on a small scale. The breadths in the above-mentioned figures are given in lengths of the face. Pl. 20, figs. 13 and 14, show the whole somewhat more in detail; and pl. 21, figs. 12 and 13, show the deviations of the proportions in the female figure, where all appears rounder and more delicate; the region of the hips too is quite differently proportioned. Fig. 18 represents a male torso, in which the muscles are brought out more prominently.

In order to be able to draw a figure with correctness and elegance, it is not sufficient to know the proportions of length and breadth as displayed in the finest antiques; we must likewise know the anatomical and statical rules according to which the various parts of the body, in motions and attitudes, preserve their equilibrium. Here, too, the antique affords us the best information. For greater clearness we give an example.

If we wish to draw a figure in the attitude of rest, the body must rest on one leg, say, as in figs. 14 and 15, the left. The left hip will then become thicker, and must stand higher than the right; because the body, when resting upon the left leg, throws itself together on that side over the hip. The shoulders and hips must never stand parallel; while the right leg, thrown as it were out of use, is bent, the thigh being turned forwards and the leg backwards, the right arm must be raised, or in motion, while the left hangs down at ease. Nature itself teaches us this; for in walking and moving about, the left foot. and right arm are advanced together, and vice versa, the hands must also move differently; if we see the inside of one, we must be able to see the back of the other. When a person is walking, the hips swell out little or not at all, but the breast must always be thrown forwards perpendicularly over the advancing leg; when the right leg is thrown forwards the left elbow is thrown back. When a person is at rest the whole weight rests on the advanced foot; the breast is thrown forwards, the head a little back; one foot is raised slightly from the ground. Diligent observation of correct works of art is calculated to afford more information with regard to the method of representing correctly, i. e. naturally, than volumes of theoretical advice on drawing and painting.

Composition

To compose, in the Fine Arts, is to give to an idea which is to be conveyed, the right expression and natural forms in artistical arrangement. The leading rule in all kinds of composition is to aim at beauty. Beauty in composition is identical with unity of idea and form. Every picture ought to have only one prominent idea. Our definition of artistical beauty contains therefore the law for compositions of more than one individual form. This law is: the composition must be a whole, No part of it must be overwrought, none slighted. All component parts must be essential, and must stand in relation to each other; not only in an inward or ideal relation, but also in an outer or visible one, so that every part may bear upon and contribute towards the composition as a whole. Some of the parts, those which give the principal expression to the composition, must predominate; others, those which assist towards and complete the total expression aimed at, must be less prominent; all must be subordinate to a centre in space, which at the same time represents the central point of the idea; a centre which, while it is supported by the other parts, is itself the centre of their attraction and combination in an artistical whole.

Every composition includes three forces, whose perfect equilibrium is essential to beauty. From their equal co-operation arise the life and individuality of the composition, and that unity which quiets, gratifies, and delights. The prevalence of any one leads to deficiency both in correctness and beauty. These three artistical forces (or momenta) are objectivity, subjectivity, and space.

The first force, objectivity, centres in the object of the composition. This object bears in itself the law for its formation and representation. It is the artist’s first duty to form a purely objective conception of his object, which he can only do by setting aside his own individual view of the same, and subordinating himself to the object. He must therefore, above all, make himself thoroughly acquainted with the real appearance of his object, and strive to render it in his composition so completely, that a clear view and room for an untrammelled judgment are afforded the beholder, whether the object be taken from nature or from history. This can often be done only by indicating in subordinate parts the condition of the principal object immediately before or immediately after the time of its actual condition. Such indications must, however, be introduced with judicious economy, as they may very easily disturb the unity of the composition. They ought to explain the object completely. But completeness and prolixity are two very different things; a subject is exhausted as soon as it has been made clear.

The second force, subjectivity, is the artist’s own feeling for his object or his view or judgment of the same. Its seat is the depth of the artist’s soul. He that cannot transfer to the representation of his object part of his best and loftiest feelings, his enthusiasm for humanity, liberty, or other sublime ideas, may fill the plane of his picture with abstract tokens for objects or ideas, but he can never inspire them with the breath of soul. It is true that every object fit for artistical representation contains in itself the law of this representation, and, as it were, presents itself ready for introduction into the composition. But every educated man looks upon every object in his own peculiar subjective manner. This may be compared to a positive law passed by a legislative power which receives different interpretations from those intrusted with its execution. Only he who himself feels can inspire feelings. He that cannot stamp the representation of the object of his picture with that expression which makes it a truthful picture, replete with life (which makes it his own picture), may not aspire to the name of artist; he will never be original; he is a mere copyist, imitating the forms of nature, or painting hieroglyphics for ideas. An excess of subjectivity must, however, be carefully avoided, by which the truth of the objective image would be impaired. For if the artist portrays his own fancy instead of the object, and fills his picture with allegories of dreamy perceptions, or with events foreign to the actions of his object, his picture becomes confused and the beholder is puzzled. The subjective force of the picture should be limited to the enlistment of that sympathy of the beholder for its object, which will induce him to form his own opinion about it, and impress the latter upon him in the shape either of a distinct recollection of, or of an enthusiastic feeling for the object, or both.

The third force of a composition is space: first, that which is occupied by natural forms expressive of the idea the picture is to convey; and, second, that which is filled by the artist according to artistical rules, with graceful forms harmonizing the coloring and grouping of the picture as a whole. The former may be occupied by a single figure or by a group. Every single figure is determined with regard to its general action and expression as soon as it has been chosen as an element of the composition. In endeavoring to give it truth to nature, the artist will at the same time secure its special individuality. In divesting it of all that is wanting in beauty or superfluous in its outward appearance, he imparts to it an ideal expression. The æsthetical law of contrast in space has already been adverted to in the theory of drawing the human figure, and we have there given a few examples showing the different positions required for corresponding limbs in order to produce a pleasant effect. We here add a few rules concerning the requisite contrast in space in compositions. If a part of an arm or leg appear fore-shortened the other part must appear in full. If an arm and its hand be extended, the latter must not have precisely the same direction as the arm, but must assume a different position by a gentle flexion. Fore-shortenings must also be contrasted among themselves; e. g. if the right upper arm be fore-shortened, the left thigh must be so too. It is self-evident that circumstances require occasional deviations from these and similar rules, especially in positions and motions determined by actions. Rules of artistical practice, in general, must be applied with careful judgment and such modifications as are dictated by the nature of the special cases. An inconsiderate adoption and application of such general rules easily lead to stiff theatrical effects. A group is constituted by several single figures only by their approximation in space in such a manner that their limbs are in part intermingled, or that they at least exhibit contrasts of motion within a certain space, which originate in reciprocity of cause and effect. Of artistical general forms of single groups in compositions, the pyramidal has been most frequently employed. The nature of special actions requires, however, often a different form of group. In great compositions several groups are often combined into a larger unit in space. In this case a central figure or a central group is required to which the lateral groups should stand in the relation of contrasts to their unity.

Relative to given spaces (walls of rooms, churches, halls, &c.) we observe that objects represented in them, whether scenes of nature or history, are not products of true art unless they attain the perfection and unity of a real architectural ornament. In the arrangement of such compositions attention must be paid, not only to the general form of the grand group of objects represented, but also to the general form of the remaining part of the space, and definite harmonious proportions must be given to these two divisions of the space. If the composition in itself be intended to be the principal source of effect, extremes of decorations in the space have to be carefully avoided lest the substance of the object be sacrificed, and characters degraded to mere arabesques, in favor of a symmetry or an external harmony flattering the eye.

Illumination

The supply of light by which an object becomes visible is called illumination. It requires a special course of study similar to that of perspective to render its effects on single objects in a drawing. The requisite information is imparted by a special division of the theory of the art of drawing, called projection of light and shade, and it can only be properly practised in drawing from models. Presupposing this study, we offer the following remarks on pictorial illumination in general. In nature, light admits of endless variety; and according as it varies, the object produces a different impression upon the eye. The effects of different kinds of illumination are often so diverse that it is difficult to persuade ourselves that we see the same object. It would be a fruitless undertaking to endeavor to describe completely the effects of the various kinds of illumination; we will only call the artist’s attention to the fact that the knowledge of illumination is an important branch of painting, and even of composition, since the choice made of it co-operates in determining the tone of a picture. Nature is here the best instructor; and the mode of profiting by her teachings is to observe a landscape under a very bright and very cloudy sky, in moderate daylight and strong sunshine, when the sun is high and when he is low in the heavens, and with the light falling upon it in front, on the side, and in the rear. Under each of these altered conditions we behold a different picture. When the painter observes a happy or an ill effect, let him investigate the cause of the same. It is only thus that he can obtain a perfect knowledge of the effects of, illumination, so as to employ it properly in his pictures. It would be of great advantage to a painting-academy if it were furnished with a kind of stage resembling that of a theatre, on which various models and complete grouped pictures could be exposed to every kind of illumination and from every direction, while the back-grounds by means of curtains could be represented in various degrees of brightness.

The Various Kinds of Painting

The products of the art of painting may be classified according to their several principal objects of representation. The designation of the various branches of the art under this classification are. Portrait Painting, Historical Painting, Religious Painting, Painting of Low Life; Landscape Painting including the special branches. Naval Painting, Painting of Animal Life, &c.

If, however, we consider the phases of life represented in art, in nature as well as in history, we find two principal classes of painting, the Painting of Conditions, and the Painting of History in Nature and Life. The latter class would naturally include all historical paintings proper; but it includes also everything that is popularly designated as Genre Painting and, what may be considered still more strange, a part of landscape painting, whilst another part belongs to the painting of conditions. As this classification, though strictly logical in every instance, would involve difficulties arising from the unfamiliarity of the majority of readers with its motives, we propose to group our remarks under the three universally familiar heads of Genre Painting, Historical Painting, and Landscape Painting. We must, however, previously advert to a very common error, namely that of calling a picture either a “genre picture” or a “historical picture” with a view of designating its “triviality” or its “excellence.” Such a designation with such a motive is absurd, because a “genre picture proper” can have the same degree of “classical excellence” as a “historical picture proper” of the same perfection.

1. Genre Painting aims at representing nature, and more especially man in a definite condition of existence. It represents its object at rest or at least not engaged in any action of historical importance or influence on his own fate or that of others. It may portray an individual as the representative of his class, or in his own accidental personality with its restrictions. It may also depict several individuals whose collective representations offer a picture of life, or of domestic, or social, or such conditions as belong to the landscape; not of such conditions which only exist for moments in the historical transition from past to future, but of such as exist for longer periods of life or recur at intervals. It is self-evident that such conditions most frequently have reference to objects of every-day life; but products of poetic invention also, and even historical subjects, as far as they depict local conditions or conditions of kindly humor, afford objects for genre-painting. It has attained to this extent since artists have begun to form a true conception of its real nature; viz. since, not confining themselves to a mechanical imitation of objects in nature or even to their accidental attributes, they have sought rather to represent their condition, and to unite with truth to nature an admissible degree of ideality, by a careful selection and artistical arrangement of their objects. Therefore genre-painting in its higher products passes into historical painting.

2. Historical Painting. The term historical painting in its widest sense is applied to every picture which depicts important historical events, and whose chief contents are either nature herself in her grand evolutions (thunder-storms, gales at sea, &c.), or acting personages whose dispositions and feelings or tragical fate are portrayed. The historical painter is the painter of the historical development of nature and of the human mind. If a historical painting possessed no other excellences but those of art or technical skill, i. e. a perfect disposition of its parts, correct drawing, and good coloring, it would still be a poor one if wanting in the significance we have indicated, and in expression. As a work of art it should not only captivate the eye, but it should also take hold of the feelings and inspire the mind of the beholder with the higher ideas of life. The first care of the artist who desires to produce a historical picture should be a proper choice of his subject; and herein but too many failures are made. Insignificant transactions, if only described in detail in the Bible, in Mythology, or in History, are too often selected as materials, and even by good painters, when no reasonable being would go ten steps to see the thing itself that is represented. The historical painter should choose only events of importance, moments of the development of a higher idea, or of the contest for or against the same. When he has found such a subject, he should think over his representation from figure to figure, and resigning himself to the feelings which the invisible part of the matter awakens in his mind, these he should strive to depict. The painter should reflect, too, that his vocation is different from that of the historiographer. He is not to record events historically, but to represent their spirit, and he that is incapable of doing this should be anything rather than a historical painter. When the painter has found the material and has determined its spirit, let him choose the moment of action, and let him examine whether it be possible so to represent it that it cannot be mistaken for any other. Here Delaroche, for instance, has failed in his Napoleon in Fontainebleau, since he has depicted Napoleon sitting as he might have done after the loss of any battle, and consequently was obliged to add the date on the frame. This shows that the artist himself perceived that his picture was a failure as a historical painting, though one of the best paintings of the age as expressive of condition, so that it would be justly called a genre picture of the first rank if genre painting admitted tragical subjects. The contents of the picture should be manifest at once to a person of education, and he should be conducted precisely to the point at which the action has arrived. Both these requisites are often very difficult; but of the older painters, Raphael, and among living artists, Kaulbach, Lessing, and others, give many examples of their fulfilment. Much, very much can be effected in this respect by a proper management of accessories, as is shown by the modern historical painters in contradistinction to the older ones. In the further extension of the design, the persons are first to be considered. Let the painter choose such as are characteristic and connected with the action, and represent them in the attitude suitable to the moment. Idle personages disturb the effect of a picture as much as of an animated scene in a drama. None but a painter destitute of genius scrapes together as much corporeal material as he can, in order to satisfy the eye; a great painter endeavors to produce the greatest results by means of the smallest number of persons, because he has a great deal to express in a single one. In doing this he must carefully avoid an excess of symbolical indications. It is only after having thus selected his characters and accessories that he can proceed to actual composition. From this it will be perceived how difficult it is to produce a perfect historical picture. The historical painter must not only have a rich imagination, must not only be master of coloring, costume, and history; these qualities, it is true, would enable him to produce natural representations, but to attain to the inward power of a historical picture they could not suffice. The painter should represent nothing common-place; he should produce pictures that represent the past in the enlightened spirit of the present, and which by this spirit (that of liberty and humanity) will operate on the mind and feelings; and therefore, in addition to all the above mentioned accomplishments, he must himself possess a mind capable of understanding the highest aspirations of his own and the ideal aims of future times; and the highest enthusiasm for this historical development of ideas must fill his breast, to enable him to represent them.

3. Landscape Painting. Among the arts of design that of landscape painting holds an important rank. The beholder of a good landscape picture whose mind is capable of penetrating the depths of nature in a scientific spirit, looks upon that picture as a moment of the everlasting life of nature, fixed by the painter. The delight which nearly all men take in the beauties of nature proves the intimate connexion that exists between it and the human mind. Rarely does the faculty of taste receive such perfect gratification from any source as that which it derives from the contemplation of open nature. The endless variety and the intimate harmony of its colors charm the eye almost whithersoever it turns. Whatever can be imagined of delightful, great, or wonderful in form and shape is there met with; and yet in each landscape all the various and endlessly commingled forms constitute a harmonious whole, and all is so combined together that notwithstanding the indescribable multiplicity of images, none contradicts the other, while each breathes a spirit of its own. Painting accordingly is provided in nature with an inexhaustible fund of materials for operating advantageously on the mind of man; and the landscape painter, if acquainted with the higher powers of his art, and if he connects moral and pathetic subjects with the scenes of nature, can in many ways usefully and delightfully entertain the beholder. By means of a well chosen scene of social life, and by a proper combination of living figures, he can give to his landscape a value that places it upon a par with the best historical painting; nay, a landscape becomes itself a historical painting, when it represents grand actions of the forces of nature or their visible results.

To work up a landscape to the highest degree of perfection exhausts all the resources of natural science, of the finest taste, and of the profoundest art. A great landscape painter must unite in himself almost all the talents of every other class of painters. Before all things the painter, when he has found a landscape proper for representation, should remove from it everything foreign and superfluous, but retain to the most minute peculiarity everything typical, in order that its appropriate character may not be disturbed. In order to give unity to the piece, it is necessary that in every landscape there be a single spot to serve as a central point of interest to the whole, while nothing at the edge of the picture must be made so prominent as to divert the attention. Landscapes, such as exist even by good masters, which represent a broad tract of country where everything is beautiful and interesting, so that they might be cut up into several small pieces, each of which would form a pretty landscape, can never produce a grand effect. In a good landscape the light and shade must consist of principal masses which offer no particularly prominent points, but which approach to a roundish appearance when viewed from a distance. A number of the landscapes of Wouvermann, few of the older, but a majority of the works of the best modern landscape painters, Achenbach, Lessing, Turner, and others, can stand this test. If from a distance we see light and dark patches scattered about a picture, it will not produce a powerful effect when viewed near at hand. Here almost everything depends on the light admitted into the picture; for a landscape which is charming by the light of evening may be only tolerable in the morning light. Hence the painter should study the landscape which he chooses for his subject under every kind of light; and the authors of drawing-books should make it a point to represent the same landscape under very different lights, in order to show the pupil the various effects of illumination. All that it would be needful to say on the special points of drawing and coloring could be comprised in a single rule; but to carry out perfectly this single rule the greatest genius requires an entire lifetime. In drawing and coloring all should be so executed that the eye may be completely deceived into the belief that it sees nature itself. How protracted and minute a study of the conformations of earth, water, clouds, and vegetation, of perspective, of coloring, and of all the effects of light and shade, is needed in order to attain this end for the different seasons, and even for the different times of day, it is unnecessary that we should here enlarge upon.

Graphics

The term Graphics denotes the art of drawing in general, including that of writing; but it is likewise taken in a narrower sense, and thus we will use it, to signify all those arts whose object is to put the productions of the draughtsman into a form that will admit of their being multiplied by impression. The oldest of this class of arts is Engraving Stamps, &c.

Engraving Stamps and Gems

The art of gem-engraving was known to the ancients, and works of the kind are still extant which were produced by the oldest nations of which we have any knowledge, as has already been shown in our treatise on Plastics, where we also remarked that the engraved stones of the flourishing period of art in Greece and Rome are still among the finest of that class of works of art. The same is true to a great extent of the coins which were produced by the art of stamp-cutting, a stamp being engraved in hard metal and the coin struck with it in soft metal, as is done at the present day. The process of stamp-cutting is too generally known to make it necessary for us to say anything further concerning it; but we will add a few words respecting the technics of engraving on stones.

Gem-engraving is not executed by hand simply, but by the aid of a contrivance which bears the closest resemblance to a small turning-lathe, the spindle of which is set in motion by a cord-wheel. This spindle in the mandril has at the end a square hole, in which the cutting instruments, technically called hands, are stuck and made fast. These hands are small steel rods, having at the end a small head, disk, point, or knob, by means of which the figures are cut in the stone either raised above the surface (cameos) or depressed below it (intaglios). For cutting glass or the softer stones the instrument is moistened with oil or emery, but oil and diamond-dust are used for the harder stones. Preparatory to the design the stone is first ground dim; and after the design is completed, the outline is cut in with the cutting-hand (pl. 22, fig. 36 to the left). The manner of applying the stone, cemented to a support, to the hand, is shown in fig. 9. With the flat hand (fig. 36 to the right) level, and with the rounded index (fig. 37), rounded depressions are hollowed out; shallow depressions are excavated with the flat pearl (fig. 38 to the left) and deeper ones with the round pearl (fig. 38 to the right), and points are made with the pointed hands. Of every sort of hand and pearl there are many different sizes, to suit the degree of fineness of the drawing. It will of course be understood that the cutting, properly speaking, is effected, not by the instrument, but by the emery or diamond-dust applied to it. When the engraving is finished, the gem is afterwards polished again. This brief notice of the subject will show that the whole art consists in presenting the stone in the proper direction to the cutting tool, which has no other than a simple rotary motion; and that everything depends on the light and certain motion and the delicate feeling of the artist’s hand. This and the want of any contrivance to facilitate the execution, render gem-engraving one of the most difficult of arts.

Wood-Engraving

The art of wood-engraving is likewise of great antiquity; for the Chinese cut their written characters in wood and then printed them, a thousand years before our era; and even the Hindoos had their wood-cuts more than a century before Christ. In Europe wood-cutting was improved, and brought into frequent use by the making of playing-cards, in the beginning of the fourteenth century, when these cards came into fashion; after which it was applied to the representation of sacred personages and scenes in the Biblia pauperum. The oldest cut of the kind is supposed to be the St. Christopher of the year 1423. The legends on these pictures occasioned the invention of the art of printing. A variety of the art of wood-cutting is furnished by the so-called chiaroscuros or camayeux, which were invented in Germany in the time of Dürer, and were improved in Italy by Hugo da Carpi. For each picture he used three or four blocks, the first of which contained the outlines and the deepest shades, and each of the others one of the middle tints up to the lightest of them. This gave to the impressions the appearance of drawings. Raphael, Titian, Rubens, and many others, caused their works to be multiplied in this manner. We have many celebrated masters belonging to the earlier period of wood engraving, e. g. Meidenbuch, Pleydenwurf, Schnitzer, Hans von Kulmbach, Mich. Wolgemuth, Albr. Dürer, Kranach, Holbein, Altorfer, &c. After 1610, wood engraving greatly declined, and at length was applied only to tapestry and calico printing. It was reserved for recent times to restore the wood-cut to its early dignity. The chief impulse was given in England, and especially by the founding of the Penny Magazine. It was to contain a great many illustrations, but was to be published very cheaply and at very short intervals, which rendered it necessary that the pictures should be printed along with the letter-press. This of course could be effected only by the aid of wood-engraving, and great pains were bestowed upon its revival. The first step towards improvement was to cease cutting the blocks with the grain as was practised in the middle ages, and to cut them out of box-wood across the grain. In this manner not only a finer and more even surface was produced, but the laying open of the numerous pores made the block better adapted to receive the printing-ink. The second principal improvement was to exchange the use of the knife formerly employed for the burin of the copper-plate engraver, so that the block was no longer cut but engraved. In Germany there are now but few, though these are the most celebrated artists, who understand the far more difficult art of cutting on the side of the woody fibre; among these are Unzelmann, Kretzschmar, and Gubitz. The third, and perhaps the greatest of the improvements in wood-engraving, is that of varying the height of the block’s surface. When the engraving is executed upon a perfectly even surface, all the lines which are to appear in the printing must stand in relief, while in the places that are to remain white, a portion of the thickness of the wood must be removed; a line, of course, must make throughout its whole length an equally black impression, and the only way of lightening the shade is to make the lines finer, and to increase the breadth of the white spaces between them. But even then the lines cut off suddenly will press their ends sharply into the soft paper, where not unlikely they will make little black spots, such as often disfigure the older wood-cuts. Hence it becomes necessary that the lightly-shaded parts should be treated in some Way to prevent their taking up and giving off too much color. The object was effected by lowering such parts a little below the proper type-level, so that during the impression these sunken lines and shadows but slightly touch the paper, the inking-roller likewise imparting to them less color than to the more elevated portions. This process produces the most admirable results, but it requires very skilful artists; because those parts of the design which have been lowered must be drawn over again. It has been erroneously supposed that the lowering of the face of the block to obtain lighter shades was an invention of Thomas Bewick in 1828. As Bewick was a self-taught artist, the idea may have been original with him; although he practised it long before 1828, which was the year of his death. The same expedient, however, was in use centuries before his time, as may be seen by referring to Jackson’s Treatise on Wood-Engraving, p. 548.

The English acted on the spur of practical utility; to the useful the French added the agreeable, and to them we owe the first editions of classical writers illustrated with wood-engravings. In Germany, also, the utility of the art of wood-engraving soon became apparent. Gubitz, in a manner, created this art anew in Germany, and his productions are still among the best. His pupils are found everywhere. He was followed by Blasius Höfel in Vienna, who also invented chromo-xylography, or a mode of printing in different colors by using a succession of blocks of the same size, each having only those objects engraved on it which are to appear in one particular color, a sort of chiaroscuro or camayeux. Germany is now rich in artists who can compete with the best English and French wood-engravers, and who indeed frequently surpass the latter in thorough technical knowledge of their art. It would lead us too far were we to undertake to enumerate all the artists who have distinguished themselves in xylography in Germany: among them are Unzelmann, Kretzschmar, Vogel, Georgy, Braun, Flegel, Deis, Ehrhardt, Rietschel von Hartenbach, &c. The greatest progress in recent times has been effected by Kretzschmar; for while most of his fellow-artists devote themselves to rapid execution, and the producing of effect in the service of the book trade, Kretzschmar has striven to obtain recognition for the true art that lies in wood engraving, and to prevent xylography from becoming the mere handmaid of typography. His wood engravings for D’Alton’s Anatomy are true works of art; and his splendid xylographic production, the Death of Gustavus Adolphus, after a design by Kirchhof, is probably the largest wood-cut ever executed on one block. In this work the art has probably attained to its highest pitch.

A subordinate branch of wood-cutting is formed by the preparation of the blocks for paper-hangings and calico-printing, in which the principal lines of the pattern carved in relief on pear-tree wood, and little figures, vines, &c., are cut out of brass and driven into the block. Here too there is a sort of camayeux, since for calico from four to eight, and for paper-hangings as many as thirty blocks are used for as many different colors, which certainly produces very beautiful results.

Engraving in Metals

The art of engraving designs in metals in intaglio was known to the most ancient nations: many examples of such engravings are mentioned in the Bible and in the writings of the ancients, and also of the practice of filling up the engravings in one metal with another metal, so that, e. g. silver and steel were inlaid with gold. The so called niello-work was very much admired in the middle ages. The design was engraved in silver, and the sunken lines were filled with a composition of 1 oz. of fine silver, 2 oz. of refined copper, and 3 oz. of lead, to which virgin sulphur and borax were added as a flux. The molten mass was then poured upon the heated plate, which was afterward scraped and polished off till the engravings appeared sharp and black upon the shining ground. In this process originated the art of copper-plate engraving.

1. Copper-plate Engraving. This is the art of transferring a design to a copper-plate, so as to admit of its being multiplied by impression. Tomaso Finiguerra, a skilful goldsmith, wishing to try the effect of a plate engraved for niello, had smoked it and then polished it again; so that the soot only filled the engraved lines, as the niello composition was intended to do afterwards. The idea occurred to him of laying over it a damp sheet of paper and passing over the latter a soft brush, by which means he obtained a reversed impression of the plate. This took place in the year 1452, and the transition from niello-work to copper-plate engraving was easily made. So the matter is related by some, and the story seems not improbable; but Vasari says that the artist, in order to preserve a model of his work, made a mould of it in sand and then took a sulphur cast, after which he blackened the cast and accidentally took an impression of it.

Copper, however, was not employed at first for printing from; the earliest works were engraved on tin, zinc, or iron, and afterwards the idea was adopted of using very fine-grained, homogeneous, and tolerably hard copper. The oldest known German copper-plate is of the year 1465, and is marked T. S. More than 120 plates have come down to us executed by the same master, but of which only ten bear the dates 1465, 1466, and 1467; the remainder are without date, and may very possibly be still older. The art of copper-plate engraving, properly so called, was introduced from Germany into Italy by Sweynheim, who settled there in 1467; at least so he says himself in his preface to Ptolemy’s Geography. With the beginning of the sixteenth century the new art spread over all Europe, and it has been practised with the greatest zeal ever since. Its productions are genuine works of art, which, although destitute of the charm of coloring, often represent nature in the most pleasing manner.

There are as many as eleven different modes of engraving on copper, viz.

1. Copper-plate engraving properly so called, executed with the graver or burin;
2. Engraving with the dry-point;
3. Etching (pl. 22, fig. 2);
4. Etching and finishing with the graver (fig. 3);
5. Stippling (fig. 6 exhibits this manner combined with No. 1);
6. Mezzotinto (fig. 4);
7. The Le Blon process with various colors;
8. The chalk manner;
9. English stippling;
10. Aquatint engraving (fig. 5);
11. The aquarelle manner.

The plate intended for engraving must be hammered cold, or still better rolled very hard; it must then be rubbed with sandstone, next with pumice-stone, and lastly with moistened charcoal; after which it must be polished. For all the kinds of engraving above mentioned, excepting Nos. 6, 7, and 11, the plate is now covered with a priming or ground. For this purpose it is placed over a hot charcoal brazier; and then is rubbed to and fro with the etching-ground tied up in silk (fig. 10), which is composed of wax, asphaltum, colophony, and mastic or Burgundy pitch. The etching-ground, which is liable to come off in some places, is then evenly distributed over the plate by means of Tampon’s dabber, a ball made of cotton wool tied up tightly in silk (fig. 11), so that the ground is made of equal thickness throughout. The design is then copied in outline on the ground. For this purpose the ground is either whitened with washed white-lead and gum, or fastened in a hand-vice (pl. 22, fig. 8a) and blackened by passing it backwards and forwards over a wax taper; and to this ground the drawing is transferred, in the usual manner, with tracing paper or by pressure on the back of the drawing. If the drawing is to be on a smaller scale than the original, the reduction is effected by the aid of a reducing frame (fig. 34).

In the first mode of engraving, the outline drawing is scored through the ground with an etching-needle or dry-point, a sharp-pointed instrument of steel; after which the plate is cleansed and the engraving proper begins. The instrument which the copper-plate engraver makes use of is the graver of hardened steel (figs. 23–26), one end of which is pointed and the other secured in a wooden handle. The gravers are ground off obliquely at the point, and the face is either low, i. e. forms a square (figs. 25a and 25b), or high, i. e. lozenge-shaped (fig. 24b); there are also knife-gravers (figs. 26), whose face forms a very acute-angled triangle. The low-faced graver is used for tracing out the design, the high-faced for deepening the strokes, and the knife-graver for fine, very sharp lines. The beard or burr that forms on the edge of the stroke is removed with the scraper (figs. 14 and 15), which serves also to scrape out slight faults; and any roughness that may be produced in consequence is rubbed down with the burnisher (fig. 16). The graver lies while at work almost flat on the plate; the manner or holding it is shown in figs. 7 and 8. For very broad lines gravers are used with faces formed as in figs. 26a and 26b. During the process of engraving the plate lies either on a sand-bag (engraving-cushion) or on a desk-shaped easel (fig. 7a), and in executing curved lines it is turned round with the left hand. In order to examine portions of his work as they are executed, the artist rubs them over with the oil-rubber (fig. 9), which consists of a ball of felt rolled tightly together, on which there is some lamp-black moistened with oil. If any mistakes are made which are too deep to be effaced by the scraper, they must be knocked up. This is done from the back; the plate is laid on a small anvil (fig. 31), and the knocking up is done either with the hammer (fig. 32) alone, or, if the places are very small, with a punch (figs. 29 and 30), which is placed upon the faulty spot and struck with the hammer. The back of the spot to be effaced is found by means of the callipers (fig. 27) or of the improved compasses (figs. 28a and 28b). Straight lines are drawn with the ruler (fig. 12) and parallels with the parallel ruler (fig. 13); but such surfaces and tints as are formed wholly of parallel lines are now almost always ruled with the machine. The laying down of curved lines is a chief object of care with the artist, who must lay them according to the rules of perspective in order to represent the roundings of the forms. For this purpose the apparatus represented in pl. 22, fig. 35, is of use, where the shadows cast by the threads of the frame upon the bust indicate the correct perspective curve of the strokes to be used in delineating it.

In the second mode of engraving, with the dry-point, the strokes are cut through the ground with steel needles of various shapes, and frequently these strokes run cross-wise over each other. This mode of engraving demands great certainty in the artist, and then it furnishes very fine and delicate work, which, however, will seldom bear more than 200 impressions.

The third mode of engraving, that of etching, is entirely different from the preceding. Here the ground is not removed when the outline is done, but the whole drawing with all its shades, &c., is completed in it. For this purpose variously shaped etching-needles of hardened steel (figs. 20, 21, 22) are employed, which are handled like lead-pencils, excepting that each stroke must pierce through the ground so as to lay the plate bare. When the drawing has been gone over in this manner, the artist proceeds to biting in. The etching-liquor consists of nitric acid diluted with rain-water. For this purpose the plate is surrounded by a border of yellow wax, which is smeared over with a coating-varnish composed of tallow, yellow wax, and sweet oil, or of etching-ground dissolved in oil of lavender. When this is dry, the etching-liquor is poured on, is left about a minute to act, and is then poured off again; the plate is then washed and dried quickly either in the open air or by blowing it with a bellows. Those parts which are to be the highest are then covered or stopped out, as it is called, with coating varnish; and as soon as it is sufficiently dried, the etching-liquor is poured on again, left a minute to act, and again poured off. This process is repeated for each degree of shade, and the deepest is usually attained by allowing the acid to act from seven to nine minutes; accordingly there will be from seven to nine shades in the whole plate. When the biting in is finished, the plate is dried and the etching-ground removed; and if the work has been carefully performed, the strokes will appear as if engraved. The work is accomplished far more expeditiously than with the graver, but not with the same sharpness and purity. Etching on soft ground (fig. 1) is a very easy kind of etching. The ground used in the process is so soft, that the lightest stroke removes it. If we lay upon the plate so grounded a sheet of rough but very thin paper, and draw upon it with a hard lead-pencil, the etching-ground under the lines will adhere to the rough paper and separate from the plate. When the paper is removed, the drawing appears as if sketched with chalk, the plate showing bare through, and can then be etched in the usual manner.

In order to give the etched plate a more elegant finish, it is re-engraved with the graver in the fourth manner of engraving; and by means of this combination of the three first methods of engraving most of our present copper-plates are executed.

In the fifth mode of engraving the goldsmith’s punch is made use of, and by means of it dots are struck in the plate, which in the shaded parts are either placed thicker together or made larger, and sometimes both methods are resorted to. The punch usually has two and often three or more points. It is struck with a small hammer. Work executed in this manner presents great softness in the transitions, and chalk drawings are imitated by means of it; but it is altogether destitute of sharpness and force, on which account it is often employed for the flesh-tints alone, while the remainder is executed with the graver or the needle in the line manner.

The sixth mode of engraving is that of mezzotint. It is the opposite of the former modes, as it proceeds by converting dark into light. The polished plate is first roughened, so that if inked and printed it would present one mass of black. This grounding or roughening is performed by means of the rocking-tool or cradle (pl. 22, fig. 17), a toothed instrument of steel, which is worked accross the plate with a pretty strong pressure in all directions in the manner of the lines drawn in fig. 33; others use the roulette (fig. 18) or the scratcher (fig. 19), which they apply in the same manner as the cradle. According as the teeth of the implement stand closer or wider apart, the grounding will be fine or coarse. The plate is next covered with etching-ground, the design transferred to it, and the outlines bitten in; after which the plate is again thoroughly cleaned. Then with the scraper the grounding is removed according to the various degrees of shade required; so that in the strongest lights the smooth plate again appears, and is even polished again. This method, which is exceedingly tedious, produces a remarkably soft effect when completed, but will hardly furnish 150 perfect impressions.

The seventh mode, that of printing in several colors, differs from the preceding in this respect, that for each color a different plate must be engraved; but lately a method has been discovered of printing several colors from a single plate, which is called “coloring in the plate.” This trifling, however, has been almost wholly confined to France and England.

The eighth mode of engraving, the chalk manner, is only a variety of the stippling process, which is applied to the etching-ground, while instead of the single-pointed needle one of several tolerably blunt points is used, together with the roulette, with which the strokes are dotted. By this method strokes are obtained which look as if made with chalk.

The ninth mode, the English dotted manner, answers precisely to the stippling above mentioned, except that it is applied to the etching-ground, and no roulette is used in it.

The tenth mode, called aquatint engraving, differs from the preceding, and is, properly speaking, etched mezzotinto. Here the outlines are first sketched and bitten in. The plate having been cleansed, there is sifted over it, according to the fineness of the grain desired, some more or less finely powdered colophony, after which it is set over a gentle charcoal fire. The resin will melt on the plate in the form of small grains, between which the plate will be exposed. All that is to remain quite white is covered over with coating-varnish, and the design is bitten in as in etching, the different degrees of shade being stopped out as they are etched dark enough; the plate is then retouched in order to preserve the soft transitions, after which it is ready for printing. Sometimes, too, strokes are laid with the graver in the deepest shades.

The eleventh or aquarelle process is the same with that of Le Blon (the seventh mode), except that the plates are worked in the aquatint instead of in the mezzotint manner; it is however but little used, if at all.

Map-engraving and letter-engraving form special branches of the engraving art. These demand a separate study, the main requisites being great uniformity and freedom of stroke. Hence the artists in these branches seldom engrave other works, and figure and landscape engravers never work on lettering or maps. The letter-engraver should possess a knowledge of the written character of the most diverse nations; and we have given, for his assistance, pls. 23 and 24 a variety of Oriental alphabets, with the names and powers of the letters, together with the alphabets used in Europe already. Letter-engravers are accustomed first to etch the characters and then to go over them with the graver, by which means the work acquires greater freedom. Attempts been very recently been made to form letters by means of machines and to etch them altogether. The artistic department of the house which has issued the plates of this work (F. A. Brockhaus, Leipsic) possesses a letter-engraving machine invented by C. Kretzschmar of Leipsic, which works admirably.

2. Steel-plate Engraving. The art of engraving on steel was invented by the English in the year 1820, and the principal credit of it is due to the copper-plate engraver Charles Heath; but it required British inventive genius and British perseverance to subdue that hard and brittle material to the operations of the graver and etching-needle. This art did not reach the Continent till some time later, and indeed in England itself it remained for a considerable time in the possession of individuals; but now steel-engravings are produced in France, Italy, and Germany equally as good as those of England. One part of the process, namely the etching-liquor, the English attempt still to keep a secret; but German ingenuity has long ago supplied this deficiency, and the entire process is no secret now.

The plates made use of in steel-engraving, or siderography, are of the finest English cast-steel with the stamp of Huntsman or Martial. Acier poule, or blistered steel, is also employed in France and Switzerland. All this is steel of cementation, i. e. it is produced in the cement-furnace by being subjected to a long continued and powerful heat in a mixture of animal and vegetable substances and pounded glass; and it is better, harder, more brittle, more uniform, and more finely grained, and can be more easily and uniformly hardened than the other sorts of steel. The plates, in order to guard against the warping to which they are liable in consequence of their cementation, are made somewhat thicker than copper plates. The cementation renders the plates, at least on the surface, quite soft; if they have become somewhat warped, they are straightened by hammering them with a wooden hammer on an anvil; they are then easily ground and polished.

The ground and polished plate is thoroughly cleaned with spirits of turpentine, and is then coated with etching-ground in the same manner as a copper plate; but it must not be heated as strongly as the copper, for otherwise the ground will be apt to break up and form blisters, and even to evaporate. The etching-ground dissolved in spirits of turpentine may also be laid on with the brush, but always more thickly than on copper. When the outline of the drawing has been properly sketched or transferred, it is etched through precisely as in working on copper; but care must be taken that the needle actually scratches the surface of the plate, while the artist must be cautious not to breathe upon his work, lest it produce rust in the etchings, which will prove an obstacle to the subsequent biting in. The chief requisite now is a suitable menstruum or etching-liquor. Almost every engraver has a mixture of his own, which he naturally considers the best. We will here give only the one invented by Cooke in 1827, and which obtained the gold medal of Isis. When the plate is ready for biting in, mix and gently shake together six parts of acetic and one part of nitric acid, and pour this mixture upon the plate. As it acts very rapidly, it should not be left on the plate more than half a minute, at the expiration of which time the plate should be washed clean and dried with a gentle warmth or by blowing with the bellows. The light parts of the drawing are now done, and, as in copper-engraving, are to be stopped out with varnish. There is then poured upon the plate, in order to wash the oxide out of the strokes, a mixture of six parts of water and one part of nitric acid: this is left to stand two or three minutes, is then poured off, and immediately the menstruum is applied with which the second tint is etched. The same process is gone through for the other tints. If the plates be very soft, the following menstruum may be employed: 3 oz. warm water, 4 grains tartaric acid, 4 drops nitric or sulphuric acid, and 1 drachm corrosive sublimate. Every time a plate is bitten in, it is carefully gone over with a camel’s hair pencil dipped in clean water, and then immediately dried, in order that no oxide may be left in the strokes. Places which are not yet deep enough are rebitten, which is done by dipping a clean rag in greatly diluted nitric acid (so that the water has merely a sharp acid taste) and passing it over the places until they become dull, when the plate is cleaned again.

The stopping out, even of whole surfaces, is never done with the dabber, but always with the pencil, as the dabber is apt to remove the etching-ground. As the chief point in etching is to see that the menstruum acts precisely the proper time, the light tints must be tried each minute after the first biting in; with the deeper shades this is not necessary. The skies are bitten in after Cooke’s method; the plate is inclined a little by means of wedges, the darker part lying foremost, and the acid is applied through a funnel, in the pipe of which a small stick is placed, and kept constantly in a perpendicular position by a string. The acid is let to fall on the darkest places, and to drop more rapidly or slowly according to the depth of the tint; this is managed by means of the stick, a tremulous motion being also communicated to the acid, until it floats over the whole sky. The etching-liquor should never stand more than one sixth of an inch above the plate; for otherwise the design cannot be accurately inspected and judged of. The process of biting in and re-biting must be performed in a temperature of at least 60° F., and if possible must be finished in the same day; because even in a very well cleaned plate an oxide will form in the strokes over night, which will prevent the etching-liquor from working properly the following day.

When the etching is completed, the ground is taken off with the aid of turpentine, any remaining oxide is removed from the plate, and its entire surface is then rubbed over with very fine emery-paper, which is first worn down a little on the back of the plate. By this operation the fine burr which is always found on the edges of the strokes is removed. When the plate is etched, and has been thoroughly cleaned, it is coated for re-engraving with a very thin layer of wax or of mutton-tallow, to prevent any oxide from forming in the strokes. Finally, the finished plate must be hardened again. This is done in hot olive oil, in which the plate neither warps nor cracks. The plate, however, remains in the hot oil only a few minutes, after which it is taken out and immediately plunged into cold water, where it stays till completely cooled. It is still better to substitute mercury for water in the process of hardening, as thereby the grey coating that forms on the steel is avoided, and the surface of the plate remains uninjured.

For the purpose of lightening the labor, the so-called ruling-machines have been invented, which are used for copper and steel engraving, and also in lithography. These machines are so contrived that parallel lines may be ruled with them with the utmost exactness at any desired distance apart, so as to yield two thousand or more lines to the inch; they are furnished with a diamond-pointed needle, which slightly cuts into the plate. These machines are employed for laying what are called the flat tints, and likewise for ruling parallel lines in drawings of architecture and machinery. Besides these there is the relief-machine, by means of which a relief is so minutely transferred by curved lines to a copper-plate as to give an astonishingly perfect imitation of the relief M. Collas invented this machine in 1834, with which beautiful copies of gems and medals have been furnished.

Hyalography

The discovery that fluoric acid corrodes glass has led to a very pleasing description of ornament; it is produced by coating a glass plate with an etching-ground in such manner as to leave clear certain parts forming a design. If such a plate be exposed to the fumes of fluoric acid, produced by pouring sulphuric acid over pulverized fluor, the exposed parts of the surface of the plate will be bitten in; and when the plate has been cleansed from the etching-ground, the drawing will present a dull appearance on the transparent ground of the glass plate. This art has very recently been brought to great perfection, and the neatest drawings have been executed by it. This fact presented to Prof. Botticher, of Frankfort-on-the-Maine, who afterwards invented the gun-cotton, the idea of etching on glass with fluoric acid in the same manner that copper is etched. He coated a thick glass plate ground perfectly even with a peculiar etching-ground, and etched through it in the usual manner a design, which he then bit in with liquid fluoric acid. The process is kept a secret by the inventor, and nothing respecting it has been made public, except that several impressions of such plates have been exhibited. In order to print from the glass plate, it is cemented to a wooden block, and the impressions are taken by a lithographic press.

The impressions produced by this process are of exceeding fineness, and the strokes exhibit great delicacy; yet the deep shades are wanting in force, and the whole lacks a certain warmth possessed by engravings on copper and wood. It almost seems as if the hardness of the material had an influence on the warmth of the engraving, which is very perceptible when we compare a wood-cut, a copper-plate, and a steel and glass engraving together.

Lithography

A very peculiar art is that invented by Sennefelder of printing on stone, called lithography. Instead of copper or steel plates, the artist makes use of finely ground slabs of the calcareous slate of Solenhofen, and the entire process is rather chemical than mechanical.

The invention of lithography was not a result of scientific speculation, but was for the most part an accidental phenomenon, intelligently observed and turned to good account. The real essence of lithography lies in the so-called chemical printing; for in the preparation of the stone there is much that is identical with the process of etching. This chemical printing is based on the repulsion that exists between grease and moisture, and the attraction that grease has for grease. Thus, in order to get a design on the stone, and afterwards to prepare it for printing, the design is drawn with some fatty substance on the nicely ground and polished stone, which must then be submitted to a chemical preparation, and all the places which are not drawn upon must be rendered impervious to grease by saturating them with a solution of gum-arabic, which sinks into the pores of the stone, and by washing them over with water. If now a roller charged with a fatty ink be passed over the dampened stone, all the strokes of the drawing, being greasy, will take ink from the roller; but the moistened parts of the stone, which are also made mucilaginous with the gum, will strongly repel the fatty ink, and thus remain perfectly clean. If, then, we lay upon the inked stone a sheet of damped paper, and pass the two under a press with a pretty sharp pressure, the paper will take the ink from the stone and exhibit an impression of the design. The wet sponge is passed over the stone again, again it is inked, and an impression taken; and thus, by repeating the process, thousands of impressions may be taken from a single drawing.

The design is put on the stone in very different ways; all the modes of drawing which are applied to paper have been made applicable, by the use of more or less precaution, to stone also. We will consider the principal modes more particularly.

1. The Pen-manner. This manner was the first, that invented by Sennefelder. In order to draw in the pen-manner on stone, the artist makes use of extremely elastic and very finely pointed steel pens, by means of which, and with an ink composed of wax, tallow, soap, mastic, and shellac, and colored with some soot, he draws his design completely on the smoothly ground and polished stone in the same manner as on paper. In order to prevent the ink from spreading on the stone, the latter is covered with a very fine coating of spirits of turpentine or soap and water. When the drawing is completed, which must be done with the greatest neatness and circumspection, taking particular care not to touch the stone with the hands or with anything else of a greasy nature excepting the ink, the next thing is to prepare it for printing. Over the stone is poured a very weak dilution of nitric acid (12°), which has the effect of converting those portions of the calcareous slate which have been impregnated with fat by means of the drawing, into oleo-margarate of lime, a fatty substance insoluble in water. When the stone has thus been etched in, it is rubbed over with a solution of gum-arabic in water of about the consistence of syrup. This gum-mucilage penetrates into the pores of the stone wherever there is no ink, and fixes itself so fast that it cannot be washed out again. The stone is now ready for printing. When this operation is to be performed, the stone is laid on the press. The press is a frame-work consisting of two stands, between which turns a wooden or iron cylinder, and on this the press-bed runs to and fro either simply by its friction or by means of a strap. The table is prepared for receiving and holding the stone securely and has attached to it a tympan of leather stretched over an iron frame so as to open and shut by means of a hinge, and which when put down covers the stone without touching it. Above the cylinder are two cast-iron uprights, one at each end, in which the scraper-box works up and down. In this is fastened the scraper, a small strip of yoke-elm or apple-tree wood rounded on its lower edge, which is about two inches high, one inch thick, and of a length equal to the breadth of the drawing on the stone. When the printing is to begin, and the stone has been fixed in its place, the bed of the press is brought out so far that the stone can be uncovered by raising the tympan. The stone is then washed perfectly clean with pure water so as to remove all the gum, and the black strokes of the drawing are gone over with a little spirits of turpentine and water. A wooden roller covered with leather to render it elastic is rolled on the ink-table to supply it with printing-ink, and is then rolled in every direction over the sponged stone. All the places that have been drawn upon will now take ink, but those that have been saturated with the gum will remain completely white. A sheet of damped paper is laid upon the inked stone with some sheets of waste paper upon it as an over-layer, and then the leather tympan is shut down. The press-bed is now brought under the scraper, the latter is pressed down upon the stone with the proper degree of force, and the bed is slowly drawn along under the steady pressure of the scraper, until the scraper has passed over the whole of the design and the impression is finished. The scraper is then raised, the bed run out again, the tympan lifted, the overlay taken off, and the paper cautiously raised from the stone; and if the work has been well, carefully, and neatly performed, a successful copy of the drawing will be found upon it. The stone is again moistened with a soft sponge, the ink-roller pressed over it, •another impression taken, and so on. When the printing is finished and the stone is laid by to be used again, it is first carefully cleaned, and then rolled in with a very greasy ink called preserving-ink, and afterwards coated with gum-solution, which is dried upon it.

If mistakes are made in the drawing, they must be neatly erased with the scraper (pl. 22, figs. 14 and 15), without taking any more from the stone than is absolutely necessary, after which the correction is introduced. If during the printing an alteration is to be made, the place is erased, the correction introduced, and then it is etched in when quite dry with a small pencil dipped in diluted nitric acid; the place is then gummed, and after a short time the printing is again proceeded with.

The pen-manner demands a great deal of labor and pains, if the drawing is to be executed with the requisite fineness and sharpness; because the greasy ink, in spite of all the precautions that may be taken, is sure to spread somewhat, and the ink, if it has the proper degree of greasiness, flows with difficulty from the pen. Hence another mode has been invented called,

2. The Engraving Manner. This is strictly speaking the reverse of the pen-manner. In this method the nicely ground and polished stone is first etched and then coated with a layer of gum: thus prepared, if the roller were pressed over it, it would take no ink at all. When the stone has been washed off, it is next covered by the aid of a brush with an exceedingly fine coating of gum colored with red chalk or lamp-black; and as soon as the stone is dry, the drawing is sketched out. The artist then takes what are called engraving-points of the finest steel, which are ground sharp or blunt at the point; and with these he etches the drawing in the same manner as on copper-plate, taking care, however, not to go too deep into the stone. It is quite enough if he removes the coating of gum under the lines of the drawing, and the stroke appears perfectly white and makes a little dust. Broad spaces must be scraped perfectly level. It must be borne in mind that the light strokes on the dark ground seem broader than they really are, so that in the impression, where they show black on a white ground, they will be smaller. Consequently the artist is to make his strokes rather broader than would seem necessary. In this respect experience alone can serve as a guide. When the etching is completed and its effect ascertained, the entire stone is gone over either with linseed oil or with diluted preserving-ink, which is allowed to stand on it about half a minute. As it has all been prepared excepting the parts that have been laid bare, it follows that these only will take the grease, which the stone absorbs with great avidity. If the stone be now washed off and the inking-roller passed over it, all the greasy places will take ink, the rest remaining white. The stone can now be printed as if drawn with the pen; the impression, however, as well as the overlay er must be somewhat stronger than in the pen-manner. As the engraved drawing lies a little below the general surface of the stone, and hence does not readily take the ink from the roller, it is usual to rub it over well with pieces of felt or with blocks of wood covered with cloth, and to make the ink pretty thin.

3. The Chalk Manner. This method furnishes the best imitation of chalk-drawing on paper: but it requires great care both in the drawing and in the management of the printing; and it is necessary that the printer also should be an artist and understand drawing in the case of large and carefully executed works. For this as for other methods the stone is nicely ground and polished; fine sand is then sifted over the stone; and by grinding in the usual manner, a coarse or fine grain is given to the surface, as the nature of the drawing may require. A drawing made on a coarse grain will furnish not as fine but many more good impressions; while a stone more finely grained will furnish much more delicate impressions, but their number will be considerably less. A finely-grained stone, too, requires in the drawing, and particularly in the printing, very careful management.

The stone having been grained and very carefully cleaned, the drawing is put on it in the same manner as on paper by means of a chemical chalk, whose chief constituents are almost the same, only in different proportions, as in lithographic ink. It is customary to lay on the deepest shades, in order to obtain greater effect, with lithographic ink and the pencil. The design when completed is etched in rather more lightly than a pen-drawing; it is then coated over with gum, and, after standing two or three hours, is printed in the same manner as a pen-drawing, using, however, a great deal more care.

4. Dabbing Method. A peculiar mode of drawing, resembling the chalk manner, is that of dabbing, or the aquatint of lithography. A grain is produced on the stone as for a chalk drawing, and the outline is sketched with a pen or with chalk; all that is to remain white is covered with a solution of gum-arabic, to which is added a little ox-gall and cinnabar. Then the artist takes a pretty hard, flat ball, of fine leather, and with it gives the whole stone a uniform weak tone; this he does by dissolving some lithographic ink in lavender-oil, spreading it out on a glass or stone slab, taking a little on the ball and rubbing it out, and then spreading it over the stone with the proper degree of thickness by means of a gentle dabbing. The first tint is of course very light. As soon as it has been uniformly completed and is dry, all that is to retain this tint is coated with the composition given above; and when the composition is dry, the second tint, and so on, as in aquatint engraving on copper. When all is completed, the composition is softened with spring-water, and is removed by frequently washing off the stone. When it is clean and dry, it is retouched with chalk, and then treated in the same manner as a stone with a chalk drawing.

5. Chromo-lithography. Printing in colors on stone is a process now coming extensively into use, and which has already furnished very perfect results. For this purpose what is called an outline-stone is first drawn with the pen and etched. Then for each color of the design a separate stone must be prepared, on which is placed nothing but what is to have that single color. In order that the parts of the design on all the stones may accurately fit together, as many impressions as there are colors are taken from the outline stone, and then while still damp are pressed one on each stone, by which means the requisite number of similar drawings is obtained. These are now accurately marked out with chemical tints, i. e. all the parts which are to be hatched, as the shadings, are indicated with the pen; but where flat tints are drawn, the whole surface is covered with the pencil. In this manner is produced a red stone, a blue stone, &c. On the outline-stone is usually put all that is to be black. Judgment is required in the arrangement of the stones, as by printing one color over another various shades can often be obtained; thus, e. g. if a violet tint be desired, the parts to be so colored are drawn both on the blue and on the red stone, and the two colors are printed one over the other. So, too, the character of the colors can be altered by various shadings. When, for instance, in the green foliage of a drawing one part of the shadings is executed on the red and the other on the blue stone (the deepest shades come on the black stone), some of the green leaves will exhibit a different tone from the others, although both have the same green ground-color. Here experience must give the necessary knowledge. When all the color-stones are finished, etched, and gummed, first one color is printed, then the other, and so on, till at length the black stone is printed. Gold and silver are laid on by printing yellow or grey underneath, and then dusting upon it with a pencil the proper colored bronze. Prussian blue is printed as a ground for ultramarine, which is then dusted upon it. In order that the color-stones may accurately fit one another, certain marks (points) are applied, according to which the paper is laid on. In the new and improved lithographic presses a pointing apparatus is used, which enables the printer to adjust the sheets with greater accuracy and expedition.

6. Autography. If drawings and especially writings in which no great elegance is required are to be very quickly multiplied, so that the preparation of a stone with the pen or the graver is out of the question, recourse is had to autography. In this process the drawing or writing is made with a very greasy lithographic ink on paper prepared for the purpose and coated with a thin layer of starch paste; and this when dry is pressed upon the smoothly polished stone. The mode of doing it is to damp the drawn or written paper on the back and let it soak in a little; then, the stone having been slightly warmed, the paper is laid upon it, care being taken not to move the paper after it has touched the stone; after which it is passed through the press, as in taking an impression, several times, each time increasing the pressure. The paper, which now cleaves fast to the stone, is wet with a sponge dipped in water acidified with a few drops of nitric acid, until it is loosened from the stone. If the paper then be carefully raised, it will be found that the writing or drawing has separated from the paper and attached itself to the stone. When the stone has become perfectly dry, it is slightly etched and gummed, and then it can be printed from in the same manner as a pen-drawing.

There are many different lithographic processes in addition to those here described, as machine-work, relief-work, pencil-work, brush-work, white ornaments on a black or machine-ruled ground, &c.; but, as it is not our intention to compose a manual of lithography, a fuller description of them would lead us too far.

Music and the Drama

Music

We have already shown, in the general introduction to this department of our work, that music belongs to the domain of art, and in particular to the fine arts; and here we may add that music is the art of expressing conditions and emotions of the soul by means of beautiful tones: its works are not submitted to our contemplation through the sense of sight; its effects are produced directly on the mind, and hence it is a purely mental art, of whose operation the understanding can give no account. In one sense it stands higher than poetry and higher than plastics and painting: on the one hand it expresses feelings and yearnings to which no words can be given, and is a sort of universal speech of the heart; and on the other hand it has the advantage over sculpture and painting, which represent sensible objects alone, and which only by an ingenious treatment and combination of them are able to act upon the mind. We will here give a brief sketch of the history of music.

Ancient Times

Music, the language of the soul, belongs to the most ancient arts; for the Bible affords us circumstantial information respecting it, and names Jubal as the inventor of musical instruments, among which are mentioned the lute and the shepherd’s pipe. In Job we read of timbrels, pipes, and lutes; and Moses mentions silver trumpets: his sister also was a singer, so that vocal music was already artistically practised. David’s harp-playing is celebrated; and under Solomon, when the music of those times reached the summit of its perfection, the trumpet-music was performed by more than 4,000 persons. After Solomon music among the Israelites fell into decline, and during the Babylonian exile it ceased altogether; after the restoration the most zealous exertions of the high priests failed to restore it to its former state. Among the Egyptians too we find the clearest evidences of the cultivation of music as an art, in their representations of various musical instruments and of festivals and processions, which are found in great numbers in the temples and tombs, in the form both of reliefs and of paintings.

From Egypt music was carried to Greece, where it was greatly cultivated and improved; but we know little that is definite respecting it, not even how the choruses in the ancient tragedies were performed and accompanied. Music it is certain played an important part among the Greeks; and their legislators recommended the practice of it, as having a sottening and humanizing effect. It was placed under the protection of two Muses, and was said to have been invented by Epimetheus and Prometheus. Great musicians attained celebrity, and the names of Orpheus and Amphion have been handed down to these distant ages. Among the cultivators and improvers of the art mythology enumerates the gods and goddesses Hermes, Minerva, Bacchus, Cadmus. Pan, Midas, Marsyas, &c. In the sixth century before Christ instrumental was separated from vocal music, and Lasos was the first writer on music in a theoretical point of view. Pythagoras also paid attention to the improvement of the art, and Aristoxenus founded a school of music. Euclid investigated the mathematical principles on which music is based. Music was transplanted from the Greeks to the Romans, who however cultivated it but little, as they considered it to be an enervating art; on this account it was reckoned among the employments of slaves and freedmen. Among the violent political revolutions that convulsed the Roman empire, music sank into the darkness of barbarism. The Gauls and the Germans are known to have had a sort of music; and the Scandinavians had their skalds, who, like the bards and druids, recited and perhaps also sang their sacred songs to the accompaniment of the harp.

It was not till the Christian worship assumed a more refined and elaborate form that music was again awakened from its slumber; it was then applied to the singing of the church, which consisted chiefly of the psalms of David and the hymns preserved in the Old Testament. In the year 340 after Christ, singing at the Lord’s supper was introduced: for this purpose they at first doubtless made use of heathen sacrificial melodies, to which Christian hymns were adapted.

The Middle Ages

As early as the 4th century the Popes, e. g. Damasus, Ephraem Syrus, and Ambrose bishop of Milan (a. d. 396) exerted themselves for the improvement of music; and Pope Gregory the Great founded in the beginning of the 7th century a singing-school, for which the best ancient melodies were collected and arranged as chorals. Guido of Arezzo introduced an entirely new order into music, and was the first who attempted to write it with notes; his notation was improved by Franco of Cologne (1046) and John de Muris. In the year 980 Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, introduced part-singing into use. Thus far music had been the property of the church; but now arose the master-singers, troubadours, and minnesingers, who either recited their poems in a melodramatic manner to the accompaniment of the cither and harp, or sang them to tunes of their own composing. In this manner the foundation of secular music was laid, and it flourished especially in the South of France, where music soon began to be used as an accompaniment to dancing. The troubadours and minnesingers led partly a wandering life, performing at courts and at the castles of knights; while some of them found a fixed abode in the residences of princes and of the highest personages among the knights: the real minnesingers were everywhere held in high esteem, and many a nobleman regarded it as an honor to belong to their order. Among them were Wolfram von Eschenbach, Walter von der Vogelweide, Otto von Bottenloben, and many others.

Modern Times

At the revival of letters and science at the close of the fifteenth century, music also came in for its share of improvement, and particularly the part-music in the churches, which then assumed the character it has since maintained. And in this as in the other fine arts, Italy decidedly took the lead of the rest of Europe. The old church music still preserved in St. Peter’s at Rome, consisting of the productions of Gafor, Patavino, Porta, and Zarlino, testifies to the great knowledge possessed by these masters of the rules of counterpoint, which at length degenerated in the hands of Berardi and Buocini into artificial trifling. But Palæstrina, and after him Anexis, Nanina de Vallerana, Velletri, and Allegri, restored church-music to its former dignity. At the close of the sixteenth century, music began to be applied to the ballad, canzonet, and madrigal, and still later to accompanying the choruses in theatrical representations. Then, too, arose the opera, and Galilsei, Caccini, Peri, and Monte verdo, effected an immense improvement by laying aside the difficult contrapuntal style of the church-music, by venturing on a freer musical phrasing, and by striving to connect the words with the music, and thus creating recitative. The first comic opera was written by Vecclii. From Italy music in its cultivated form was transplanted in the beginning of the sixteenth century to the Netherlands, where the monk Hucbald, of Flanders, who lived as early as 930, was acquainted with four-part singing, and Ockerheim taught music theoretically in 1450. In Germany, England, and France, cultivated music was still a prerogative of the court, and the people were acquainted only with the music of songs and dances. Luther introduced the present practice of church singing in German, which had previously been in Latin. In the year 1628, Henry Schiitz or, as he is sometimes called, Sagittarius, attempted to compose German operas, but with little success.

Recent Times

Even in recent times, Italian music has unfortunately remained the oracle of composers and audiences, and but few German and French masters have been successful in competing with it. The older music of the present period, beginning with the last quarter of the seventeenth century, was distinguished by a very thin instrumentation, excellent melodies, and beautiful harmonies; whereas the newer and very latest music is often characterized by excessively powerful instrumentation, and by the introduction of many bold, unmotived, and striking melodies. If we now turn to Italian music, we find in the earlier part of this period church music predominating in the works of Scarlatti, Durante, Pergolese, Piccini, Jomelli, Paesiello, Traetta, Terradeglia, &c., who however also wrote for the opera, and especially comic pieces. In instrumentation were especially distinguished Corelli, Vivaldini, and Geminiani; and in chamber-music, Scarlatti, Tartini, Nandini, and Pugnani, who still for a while maintained the old strict style. But in the next ensuing period music sank more and more; its true essence, the carryiug out of the theme, the harmony, and the proper choice of instrumental accompaniments, were neglected; all was made to depend on the skill and taste of the performer, and hence arose a rage for bravuras with trills, runs, and other difficulties, in which the real music appeared as a secondary matter. In the latest times this perverse taste also invaded the province of church-music; airs were written to suit the voices of singers, even Durante’s pupils fell into an excess of instrumentation, and the Italian Sarti introduced in St. Petersburgh hunting-horns, and at last the firing of cannon into the accompaniment of his church-pieces, and in particular of a Te Deum. Only the works of Righini, Salieri, Cherubini, Spontini, and Paer, are comparatively free from traces of a national character; though much of it is yet perceptible in Spontini. Of the masters who composed in Italy the best are Carafia, Xicolini, Flora vanti, Cimarosa, Zingarelli, Morlacchi, especially Bellini, and in a less degree Pucitta, Donizetti, Mercadante, and Coppola. Possini appears as the representative of the latest Italian music, and unites in himself all the above-mentioned faults together with surpassing talent. His operas address themselves to and seduce the ear, even though his treatment of the text, numerous repetitions, cadenzas of the same stamp, &c., displease the judgment. Italy is especially rich in musical artists of every kind; among instrumentalists there are such names as Scarlatti, Tartini, Paganini, Baccini, the sisters Milanollo, Clementini; and among vocalists Farinelli, Caffarelli, Caristeni, Crescentini, and Veluti (castrati); besides Liberati, Sandoni, Faustina Bordoni (afterwards Mad. Hasse), Allegrandi Teri, the sisters Sessi, Catalani, Camporesi, Pasta, Garcia-Malibran, Viardot-Garcia, Grisi, and also Bricci, Zezi, Rubini, Tamburini, Lablache, &c.

German music received its earliest cultivation in Austria and Bohemia. In the period immediately succeeding Luther’s efforts in behalf of German psalmody, little was done for church music in general, although much was accomplished for the improvement of the organ and for the theory of music. Sebastian Bach and his sons, Handel, Marpurg, Mattheson, and Sorge were skilful theoreticians; but Handel was the only one that made his talents felt beyond the borders of Germany. Händel and Hasse composed operatic pieces, but only in the Italian style and in the Italian language. Still the study of thorough-bass was zealously pursued, and the names of Kirnberger and Albrechtsberger are everywhere held in high esteem at the present day. At the close of the 18th century Graun, Telemann, and the two Haydns, Fasch, Naumann, and Schicht distinguished themselves by their cantatas, motets, oratorios, and masses; and from this time forth song-writing was cultivated, especially by Zumsteeg, Zelter, and Reichardt. In theatrical music Gluck, Himmel, Benda, and Winter composed a great number of pieces for the opera; the highest degree of excellence in German music in respect to harmony, correct phrasing, and excellent instrumentation, was at that time attained by Joseph Haydn in chamber music, and in opera by Mozart, from whose school in this same department of the art proceeded the grand and comprehensive Beethoven. These have been succeeded by many distinguished names in German music; but future times must determine which of them will endure and which be forgotten. A fondness for music has been exhibited in Germany such as is hardly equalled in any other country; and the musical institutions and unions which have arisen during the present century in every district of Germany contribute exceedingly both to keeping up this fondness and to cultivating the art in all its branches. Among the coryphæi of this period were Beethoven, Spohr, Pies, Fr. Schubert, Lachner, Peissiger, and Lindpaintner; for the opera C. M. von Weber, Marschner, Wolfram, Chelard, Gläser, Kreutzer, Wagner, Meyerbeer, and Herold, although the two last inclined more to the French school, Wenzl Müller, Weigl, Lortzing, &c.; for songs Kücken, Curschmann, Schubert, Proch, &c.; and for dance-music Strauss, Lanner, Labitzky, Gungl, &c. Church music also stands now at a high pitch of excellence, and among those who have rendered themselves illustrious in this line are Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Schneider, Stadler, Ritter von Seyfried, Aloys Schmitt, and others. The number of German musical artists since Quantz, who was the first to gain for himself a reputation abroad, is truly astonishing; and there is no instrument from the organ to the trombone, from the contrabasso to the jewsharp and mouth-harmonica, on which some itinerant German artist has not exhibited his skill both at home and abroad. The same is the case with singing: Mesdames Sonntag, Schröder Devrient, Fischer-Achten, Heinefetter, Comet, Karl, Grunbaum, Schechner, and Messrs. Fischer, Gerstacker, Wild, Haizinger, Bader, Vetter, Martius, Tichatscliek, and others, have rendered German song celebrated not only in their native country, but likewise in the rest of Europe.

French music, with the exception of the popular songs, is altogether an offshoot from that of Italy; and before Louis XIV. there was not a single French composer of reputation. The idea that it was possible to have a French opera had its birth under Mazarin; in 1560 Lambert set to music the libretto of a French opera by Perrin, and Lully first forsook the Italian manner in his compositions in 1677. His successors were Destouches, Monteclair, and Lalande, then Kameau and his successors Rebel, Francœur, Berton, &c. A brief applause was gained by the Italian-sounding pieces of Pergolese and the mongrel style of Rousseau. About 1760 Philidor and Monsigny appeared; and these were followed by Grétry and the German Gluck, who introduced a severer style into music. He was opposed by the Italian Piccini; and thus there were formed in France two widely opposite schools, the Gluckists and Piccinists. But soon by the efforts of the Germans, as Kreuzer, Herold, and others, German music came to be much esteemed, although the Italian always remained a great favorite. French music properly so called was not called into existence till after the establishment of the Conservatory in 1793; but from that time we meet with composers of note, as Méhul, Boildieu, Dalayrac, Le Sueur, Isouard, Paer, and many others. But it is in the 19th century that French music has attained the summit of its excellence; and the names of Auber, Halevy, Meyerbeer, Adam, Monpou, Ruolz, &c., denote the representatives of the French style. The chansons have been especially cultivated by Panzeron, and dance-music by Musard. In chamber and concert music Cherubini, Aimon, and Habeneck have distinguished themselves; and the last-mentioned especially has done much to render Beethoven and German music in general appreciated in France. Church music, however, has never yet met with any great success in that country; the French have but few organs, and accompany their psalmody with brass instruments. Choral singing is unknown; but sacred texts are often sung to opera melodies, and artists frequently seek to shine in the church. France is by no means deficient in performers; but the violin and the piano-forte are the favorite instruments and those most cultivated. We will mention here Baillot, Lafont, Beriot, Vieuxtemps, Chopin; the flutist Drouet; the violoncellist Servays; and among singers Nourrit and Cinti-Damoreau.

The Dramatic Art

The art of representing a dramatic poem to the eye by means of living personages is called the Dramatic or Scenic Art; and it requires a most lifelike impersonation by the aid of costumes, masks, and mimicry, an accurate conception of the character to be represented, a power of penetrating into the thoughts and ideas of the poet, a suitable delivery, and lastly an accurate adaptation of the scenery to time and place.

The scenic art was carried to considerable perfection among the Greeks, especially the Athenians; and Phrynichus was the first who introduced several speakers together upon the stage. At first the actors were chosen from the highest ranks of free citizens, and the poet himself appeared and conducted the whole; so that the performances resembled those at our amateur theatres. But as early as the time of Demosthenes acting had come to form a distinct profession, as the fondness of the Athenians for dramatic representations could not suffer them to be dependent on the good pleasure of chance performers. The place of the poet as conductor was taken by the Protagonist (or impersonator of the chief character), who was at the same time the manager of the company. Such troupes were formed chiefly in Athens, and then traversed the whole of Greece, giving their representations in the chief cities, on which occasions two rival companies would sometimes come in each other’s way. The applause was as immoderate as the blame: and while Aristodemus earned a talent ($8,000) in two days, bad players were hissed and hooted from the stage, pelted with stones, and even condemned to be fined. Still actors in general, though for the most part they led a very loose life, were held in great esteem, and were often invited to the courts of foreign princes; they were even intrusted with important affairs of state, and the orators received instruction from them.

At first tragedy and comedy were mingled together in the Grecian drama; but afterwards, as civilization advanced, the two were separated, although in representations a tragedy was always succeeded by a farce.

Among the Romans national pieces were performed by the sons of Roman citizens; but the common pieces were left to mechanical players, histriones, who down to the time of Cicero belonged to the condition of slaves and were reckoned among the dregs of the people. Under Augustus persons of the higher ranks addicted themselves to acting; on which account an edict was issued prohibiting knights and senators from going on the stage. Although players as a class stood in bad repute, still the best of them, as Roscius and Pylades, were treated with great consideration. The Etruscans also had plays; and among the Jews the first theatre was built under Herod.

Among Christian nations the dramatic art originated in the practice in schools and monasteries of throwing stories from the Bible and legends of saints into the form of dialogues, which were then performed by the scholars. Bishops Apollinarius of Laodicea and Gregory of Nazianzen exerted themselves greatly for the perfection of sacred tragedy, and the last named divine even wrote a tragedy himself entitled “The Sufferings of Christ.” The celebrated nun Hroswitha wrote several Latin pieces for the same purpose. In the middle ages there arose in France, the so-called Mysteries, Miracles, and Morals, and in Italy the Impromptu Comedy (Commedia dell’ arte) from which a more artistic drama was soon developed. In England the drama as early as the 16th century assumed a definite fixed form, and Shakspeare has gained undying fame by his contributions to it. In Spain the chief dramatic writers were Calderon and Lope de Vega; and their pieces as well as those of Shakspeare, with certain modifications to adapt them to the altered taste of the age, are still the ornaments of all stages. The French drama had its origin in the above mentioned Mysteries, and had always at first a mystic and religious tendency; but about the close of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century, Racine, Corneille, and Moliere formed, according to the rules of Aristotle, a sort of canon, to regulate the planning and composition of a drama, and this canon is still to all intents and purposes in full force.

The German drama was cultivated the last. Here too the first beginnings were sacred tragedies and mysteries, which were performed by students; but as early as the 15th century the comedies of Terence were represented at Augsburg, and about a hundred years later the sacred comedies were performed by the pupils of the high schools both in public places and before private companies. The reformation here introduced a change, as in the Protestant high schools these performances ceased, although they were continued down to the 18th century in the Jesuit colleges. Out of the so-called itinerant students who took part in these performances there were now formed regular companies of players, who traversed the country up and down in all directions, staying as long at a place as the people cared to witness and listen to their tragedies, farces, and jests. The first strolling company of the kind who gained for themselves a certain reputation was that of Master Velten or Veltheim, who obtained their license in Saxony at the end of the 17th century: they accordingly styled themselves the “Royal Polish and Elector of Saxony’s privileged Court-comedy,” although they wandered about everywhere and performed in every considerable town of Germany. This company was the first to produce regularly composed dialogue pieces, which were translated by Velten from the Italian and Spanish, and doubtless too from the French; still the impromptu comedy retained its footing a good while longer in Germany. Several other troupes were formed after the pattern of Velten’s; and these had among themselves a body of laws regulating the profession, in which the several classes of parts were as sharply distinguished from each other as at present. There was a king’s agent, a tyrant’s agent, a pantaloon, a merry man (styled courtisan, the former jack-pudding), &c. In the middle of the 18th century, when Germany advanced with giant steps in the cultivation of letters and arts, the drama also partook of the general progress; since men of talents and learning, as Schroder, Eckhof, Iffland, &c., devoted themselves to it, and rendered the actor’s profession respected and honorable. At this time too began the erection of permanent theatres, where the better artists had engagements for life and received pensions for their old age, while youthful talents were cultivated in the newly erected theatrical schools. A distinguished reputation was gained and has been maintained down to the latest times by the Castle-theatre and the theatre at the Carinthian gate in Vienna, and by the theatres in Manheim, Gotha, Weimar, Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, Dresden, Leipsic, &c., which were under the direction of such men as Dalberg, Goethe, Schröder, Eckhof, Iffland, &c. The most flourishing period of the scenic art was at the close of the preceding and the commencement of the present century, when such poets as Iffland, Goethe, Schiller, &c., devoted their muse to the drama, and when more account was made of the proper artistic talents of the performers than now. At present immense sums are expended on elaborate scenery, splendid dresses and decorations, artificial effects by means of machinery, and on the construction and fitting up of the the building; but with the exception of a few very distinguished performers, the salaries given to the actors are not such that we can expect exhibitions of true artistic talent from them. The opera especially, with its costly accessories, has contributed a great deal to depress both the tragic and comic drama.

The Buildings

As early as the times of the Greeks and Romans especial buildings were erected for musical and dramatic performances; and under the head of Architecture we have given descriptions and representations both of the odeons of the Greeks (Div. VII, pl. 17, figs. 1, 2, and 3) and of the amphitheatres of the Romans (Div. VII., pl. 14, figs. 2 and 3). In modern times great sums are expended on the erecting of concert-halls and theatres, and science has employed all its resources to construct them in the most suitable manner, so that they may meet the many requirements both of the public and the poet.

1. Odeons. The first and great requisite of a building destined for musical performance alone, is a large spacious hall constructed in accordance with the rules of acoustics. As such halls are found here and there in other large buildings, it rarely happens that buildings are erected exclusively for the purpose; nevertheless, the Odeon in Munich, the Singing Academy in Berlin, and the building of the Society of the Friends of Music in Vienna, furnish excellent specimens of this class of structures. The hall of performance should have an elevated stage for the musicians, and a space in front of it to afford convenient accommodation to the audiences that may be expected. Sometimes raised galleries are carried round the walls of the hall. As regards the form that should be given to a concert-hall, acousticians are not yet agreed. Some of them are in favor of an almost elliptical or semicircular form, while others prefer a rectangle, and each can adduce plausible reasons in support of his opinion. It seems to us that a very suitable form is an oblong rectangle with rounded corners. The ceiling should be built flat, or but very slightly vaulted. But above all things are required smooth walls, with as few breaks as possible; accordingly they must be kept free from curtains, as all interruptions and all draperies, especially of woollen, swallow up the sound and interfere with the resonance. In addition to the hall proper, an odeon should have apartments for the ticket-office, the ante-rooms, the wardrobe, and the retiring-rooms for the artists who are not constantly engaged in the performance. Separate entrances for the public and for the musicians should by all means be provided.

2. Theatres. The ancient theatres were very different from those in use at the present day; in the first place, because the performances took place in them in the day-time, and not as with us by artificial light in the evening; again, because they were necessarily a good deal larger, the theatre in ancient times being a popular recreation furnished by the state, and the number of visitors consequently very large; and lastly, because the ancient spectacle and tragedy was very different, and much more simple than ours.

The form of the Greek theatres was mostly a semicircle, and they consisted of three parts, the scena, the orchestra, and the theatrum proper. The scena was usually raised eleven or twelve feet above the ground, and had walls at the sides and back, which served to support the decorations. In front of the scena was the stage (proscenium), a large rectangular space on which the performances took place; and the front part of the stage had a small projection (logeion), from which the actors addressed the chorus stationed in the orchestra or delivered their monologues. On both sides of the stage were rooms for the actors (parascenia), and the front part of the stage was adorned with statues which were different for different performances. The proscenium was connected with the orchestra by two flights of steps; one on the right for apparitions and personages coming from the lower world, and one on the left for those coming from the sea. The decorations on the walls of the scena had three doors, the middle, royal, or principal door, and the two side doors; persons from abroad came through that to the right, and those from the city through that to the left. Besides these there were other entrances from the parascenia. The place of our side-scenes or wings was supplied by the periactoi, three-sided scaffoldings, which revolved on their axes, and had different decorations on each side, one of which stood always parallel to the rows of spectators or to the orchestra. Against the rear wall of the scena were placed huge cloths or flats, which were pushed together when the scene was changed. The part of the scena behind the doors usually represented the interior of a house, and was decorated by means of revolving scenes. The scenery was shifted only between the acts, when the curtain, which during the performance was let down and lay behind the orchestra, had been drawn up again. he theatrical machinery consisted of machines for imitating thunder and lightning, and others for aiding the ascent and descent of the gods, and for representing them hovering in the air. The orchestra was the space between the scena and the theatrum, of a circular form, and situated somewhat lower than the scena. Here the chorus was stationed, and in the centre was a decorative part (thymelæa), which represented either an altar, a tomb, or a rostrum, according as one or the other was required. The two entrances into the orchestra stood open. The theatrum, or part assigned to the spectators, consisted of the rows of seats rising one above another in the form of an amphitheatre. The magistrates sat in the first or lowest rows; and then followed several flights or tiers, divided by broad passages or lobbies (diazoma), consisting the first of eleven, the second of twelve, and the third also of twelve rows of seats. Flights of steps, which ran from top to bottom through all the rows of seats, formed a connexion between them, and made each row accessible in from eight to twelve places.

In Rome, Marcus Æmilius Lepidus was the first to cause the erection of a permanent theatre with seats; but Pompey built one of the kind of stone and marble. These theatres, it is true, were copied after those of the Greeks; still, to say nothing of their greater splendor, they presented many deviations. Thus, e. g. the orchestra was smaller; because no choruses appeared in the Roman theatre, and the orchestra was used as a place for seating distinguished persons. It answered to our pit. The stage was not raised as high, being only five feet above the ground, but it was larger than with the Greeks. Before it hung the principal curtain, which was let down at the beginning of the performance, and drawn up again at its close. Between the acts a simple curtain was drawn up. The doors had the same arrangement as with the Greeks; then came the revolving scenes; and then in front of all the above-mentioned large space, with two side walls on each side, also provided with doors, through one of which came persons from the city, and through the other persons from abroad. The seats were divided in the same manner as with the Greeks, except that taking in the orchestra gave them four tiers of seats instead of three (the orchestra, podium or cavea ima, cavea media, and cavea summa). The prætor had an elevated seat in the orchestra, among the senators; in the podium sat the vestals and knights; in the cavea media, persons of distinction; and in the cavea summa, the people. Behind the seats rose a portico to the same height as the scena, and immense awnings (velaria, parapetasmata) were drawn over the whole space allotted to the spectators. These awnings at first were red, but afterwards were made of precious stuffs and embroidered.

The theatres of the middle ages owed their construction chiefly to the exertions of Bruneleschi (d. 1444) and Baldassare Peruzzi (d. 1536), who engaged in the painting of decorations and the construction of theatrical machinery, and who developed the rules of perspective drawing. Fernando Francesco and Antonio Bibiena Galli, in the middle and at the close of the 18th century, did a great deal for theatrical architecture and machinery, as also for the decorations; and many theatres were planned by them in Rome, Verona, and Vienna. Servandoni, a Florentine, also gained celebrity in France through his decorations and machinery.

Our play-houses of the present day contain, besides the stage proper, the orchestra, and the spectatory or space for the audience, many other rooms which are necessary to the economy of the theatre. Among these are the manager’s office, the treasurer’s office, &c., the room for the trial of debutants, the reading-room, rehearsal-room, the library, the wardrobes, the lumber-rooms in which scenery and properties are deposited, the dressing and green rooms, the painting-room, the retiring and refreshment rooms for the audience, and often besides these a large concert-hall, as in the theatre in Berlin, of which we have given the ground-plan in pl. 25, fig. 1. Here A is the stage, B the spectatory, and C the portico, which also forms a vestibule. D is the concert-hall; E the offices and rooms connected with the management, &c., which go through three stories; F is the covered avenue for carriages, and G the entrances for those who come on foot. The painting-room is situated over the spectatory, and is so arranged that the scenes can be drawn up to the rigging-loft, to be suspended without being rolled up. The stage is so high that the decorations can be drawn up out of sight without being turned over. Another theatre, which we give somewhat further in detail, is one built a few years ago in Paris, called the Théâtre historique. Its concealed situation between the masses of houses D (fig. 2) rendered necessary a special entrance from the boulevard; for this purpose the passage C was constructed, which is lighted from above, and the front elevation of which is given in fig. 3. Figs. 4 and 5 are the two caryatides at the entrance, which represent personifications of Tragedy and Comedy. In pl. 26, figs. 44 and 45 show the two upper groups, one (44) containing the Cid and Ximene as representatives of the Drama, and the other (45) Hamlet and Ophelia as representatives of Tragedy. As to the distribution of the interior, A (pl. 25, fig. 2) is the stage; B the parquette with the parterre behind it; E and F are the first tier of boxes; O, the staircases; and H, I, K are the manager’s and other apartments connected with the business of the theatre.

As to the proper form which should be given to the portion of the building allotted to the audience, there has been a great deal of disputation. Some wish to make it a complete semicircle; and this form is certainly the most natural, but it affords comparatively too little room. Others propose an elliptical form; to which, however, there are many objections on the score of sound. A form that contains more than a semicircle is very commonly employed, but is disadvantageous, because in it a great number of the best places in the boxes are so situated that only a small part of the stage can be seen from them. The best form would seem to be that of a rather long round arc drawn from several centres, the sides of which open again somewhat towards the proscenium ( ), and which is so calculated that the first rows of the persons sitting on each side of the first and second tiers of boxes can have a perfect view of both walls of the proscenium. If the boxes, then, have no side-walls, but only columns to support the tiers above them (pl. 25, fig. 9, side view, and fig. 10, front view), and the hinder seats are raised higher than those in front of them, a good view will be obtained from every place. In order to give a clear idea of the entire arrangement of the interior, we present in fig. 6 a longitudinal section of the Théâtre de la Gaieté in Paris.

We will now offer in a few words what we have to say respecting the erection of a stage.

a. Principal Dimensions. Its size depends altogether on the kind of pieces that are to be performed upon it. A stage destined for the representation of the grand operas with all possible splendor must needs be much larger than one which is to be used for tragedy and comedy; because the choruses, ballets, processions, &c., demand a great deal of space. The width of the proscenium is usually taken as the standard of measurement for the whole stage; and at least double this width is taken for that of the whole theatre from wall to wall, in order that the flats and wings may have the requisite breadth and that the workmen and performers may have plenty of room to move about behind them. The height of the stage-opening should be always at least four fifths of its breadth; and the building must be as high again above that, in order that the rigging-loft may be properly disposed and that the decorations may be drawn straight np without being folded together. The depth below the stage must be at least from 36 ft. to 40 ft., and in large theatres 45 ft. Even quite small theatres require at least 12 ft., on account of the traps, &c.; but when the depth is so small, the wings can no longer be set on carriages, but must be pushed to and fro by hand, an inconvenience which exists in the theatres of Turin and Naples. The length or rather depth of the stage cannot be determined by positive rules; but it should be at least twice that of the proscenium-opening. Besides this there is the proscenium itself, i. e. the space between the curtain, a, and the foot-lights, bb (pl. 25, fig. 14). The deepest stages are those of Turin, Naples, and St. Petersburg; yet they have not more than seventeen pairs of wings, or, in technical language, are seventeen grooves deep. When the stage is too deep, the architecture in the back-ground becomes too much reduced by the perspective and gets out of proportion with the figures.

b. The Substructure. The construction of a stage is exceedingly interesting in its details, and next to that of a ship of the line is difficult to represent by drawing. The substructure of a large stage consists of platforms (figs. 7, 8, 11, 13), the framework of which consists of sleepers, a (fig. 11), which rest on stone piers and extend the entire depth of the stage; on these stand the pillars which support the beams for the first story of the space allotted to the machinery. These sleepers lie seven feet apart, but none must lie under the middle of the stage. Above this first platform lies the middle floor (fig. 12), on which stand the wing-carriages. The cross-beams have a groove in the direction of their length, in which is inserted an iron rail with a high rim, thus forming a sort of railway for the wheels, a, of the wing-carriages (fig. 15). From this middle floor the posts are doubled, as between each two of them there stands a wing-carriage, which passes up through the stage. (In fig. 15, d is the stage.) As the tie-beams of the substructure cannot be bound together by cross-pieces running from front to rear, because the spaces between these tie-beams must be open from top to bottom, they are connected at various heights by strong chains furnished with hooks, which can be removed for a while as occasion requires. The posts, too, are not inserted perpendicularly into the sleepers, but their tops incline one eighteenth or one twentieth of their length towards the rear; because if they stood perpendicular, the sloping position of the stage would have the effect of pressing the whole framework out towards the footlights: the inclined position of the posts, however, averts this evil.

c. The Stage. In a large theatre the stage must be so constructed as to open at any place and still possess the greatest solidity. The stage is composed of panels of pine boards, a (pl. 26, fig. 9, lower view, fig. 8, section), each made of three pieces connected together by two battens, b; and between the rows of posts there are small trap-doors, bb (fig. 11), to admit the supporting frames of the shifting pieces or similar objects which are to ascend from below. Thus the entire stage is movable, and only the portion between the line of the curtain and the foot-lights is nailed fast. For the purpose of allowing objects to sink into the ground and to arise out of it, the floor must open at the places required without the spectators hearing or seeing it, and the adjacent parts of the stage must be as firm as before. For this purpose the following contrivance, represented in figs. 6 and 7, is employed. All the panels of one range are slipped into grooves in the tie-beams; but for the last movable panel of each side the grooves slope downwards, so that the panels can be thrust close underneath the fixed part of the flooring, and then pass along horizontally again to the side walls of the theatre. The lever d (figs. 6 and 7) is so contrived, that when in its place at c, it keeps the panel horizontal and even with the rest of the stage; but when it is slipped out, the panel falls to the level of the sloping grooves. Rings are fixed on the under side of the movable panels. If now the stage is to be opened at any spot, a rope is simply run through the ring of the last panel that is to be shifted, and is then carried over the cylinder of the lower windlass, N (fig. 3). If by shifting the lever the first movable panel be let fall down to the sloping grooves, then by turning the windlass the last movable panel to which the rope is attached will shove all the rest along, and as many panels will be thrust under the solid stage as are necessary to make the opening required. When the opening is to be closed again, a rope passed through the ring of the first movable panel and over the opposite windlass, N (fig. 3), draws all the panels into their places again, so that the last one can again be secured by means of the lever. If there is to be a descent through the stage, the panels are shoved back far enough to admit the platform into the stage; as soon as the descent is made, the panels are thrust back into their places and the stage closed over it. When an ascent is to be made, the panels are first thrust back to form the opening, into which the platform is then raised.

The side-walls of the theatre are lined throughout with boarding, H (figs. 1 and 2) in such a manner that an empty space remains, in which the counter-weights, J, of the drop-scenes can play up and down. These counter-weights consist, as is shown in pl. 25, figs. 24, 25, and 26, of disks of metal a a, which, according to the weight required, are stuck on the rod d d; and they are attached by the ring c to the running-ropes of the drop-scenes. These counter-weights must weigh together the same as the scenes, so that in drawing them up and down there is only the friction to be overcome.

d. The Framework of the Roof. If the framework of the roof of a theatre be not made of iron, as is now usually the case, but of wood, care must be taken to obtain, by employing as little wood as possible, a solid hanging and horizontal framework; since the framework of the roof has to support besides its own weight, that of the various flies and the rigging-loft floor as well as of the drop-scenes, hanging-scenes, &c. An example of an iron roof-framing is furnished in pl. 26, fig. 26, which represents the roof of the Théâtre Français. Figs. 27–31 exhibit its details. Another specimen of iron roof-framing is given in that of the Cirque Olympique in Paris (fig. 35, and details in figs. 36–43); figs. 1 and 2 also contain examples of such iron frame-work. The details of a wooden roof-framing are shown in the longitudinal and transverse sections of the stage part of the Dresden Theatre (pl. 25, figs. 7 and 8, and pl. 26, fig. 3).

The framework of the roofs of theatres must be much higher than that of ordinary roofs, and must also be more strongly tied together, because they have also to support the flies F, G, H (fig. 3), which are ten feet apart. Sloping-roofs are here to be avoided, because they greatly contract the space at the back part of the stage, the very place where the greatest machine effects are to be produced. Over the tie-beams is extended the rigging-loft floor (pl. 26, fig. 12), on which stand the windlasses and drums A and B, of which an end view is given in fig. 30. From these tie-beams are suspended the permanent flies G, H, and F (pl. 26, fig. 3) and the temporary ones D, which are put up only for occasional purposes, by means of suspension-joists or tongs as they are called. The rigging-loft floor itself consists of beams seven inches by five in thickness placed on edge at a distance of two feet nine inches apart, and covered over with planks as occasion requires. These beams, however, are not made fast, but fit into grooves; so that when necessary, they can be removed for the purpose of admitting large objects through the rigging-loft floor.

e. The Wings and Wing-carriages. By entrance we understand the opening between two sliding-scenes or wings which bound the scene on each side of the stage. When the theatre is designed to be large and convenient, the entrances must be at least six feet broad; this gives room enough for the carriages, and if the drop-scenes are suspended to the tie-beams of the roof at a distance of twelve feet apart, two changes of scene can easily be prepared one behind the other. The wing-carriages serve both to support the side-scenes or wings and as means for running them out and in. Such a carriage (pl. 25, fig. 15) consists of a sill a, into which are mortised four uprights b b b b, joined together two and two, and long enough to extend down under the stage. Above are the head-rails d, which ran in the grooves of the stage and keep the carriage from being overturned. In order that the carriage may run easily, it has two bronze wheels at the bottom deeply channelled, which run over the high-rimmed iron rail described above, or projecting wheels running in a deep groove. At each end of the sill a is fixed a spring-hook, to which the rope of the windlass is attached by means of a ring, when the carriage is to be run out or in. Besides the regular wing-carriages, there are other carriages which run on the same floor and on which shifting pieces, &c., are placed. These carriages are usually brought under the trap-doors (pl. 26, fig. 11), and objects can be run upon them across the stage.

f. Wing-Ladders. The wings when about to be used are fastened to large wing-ladders (pl. 25, fig. 15); these consist of two uprights f f, which are connected together by rails above and below, and are prolonged at the lower end so as to extend almost half way into the wing-carriage, and below, where they are weakest, are strongly cased with iron. For the purpose of getting easily to the top of the wing, each frame has a light ladder g attached to it. Another sort of light wing-ladder is represented in fig. 16; fig. 17 exhibits a front view as seen from the stage of three wing-ladders, f, fastened in their carriages; fig. 18 gives a bird’s-eye view, and fig. 19 a section on a larger scale.

The frames for the drop-scenes are of like construction, but are much stronger and furnished with braces in every direction. Frames are introduced for practicable doors and connected with the framework of the whole. The stage curtain is also attached to such a frame; but in recent times curtains of tin plate or frames of wire-work have been made; so that in case of fire the stage may be instantly cut off from the spectatory. Pl. 26, fig. 32, represents a curtain of this description in the Théâtre St. Marcel in Paris; and figs. 33 and 34 give the details, from which the construction and mode of joining together the ribs of the curtain frame can be readily understood.

All the drop-curtains have from eight to ten loops fastened to the top-rail of the frame; and to these rings are attached, by means of which the curtains are suspended on the hooks (pl. 25, fig. 23) which are fastened to the tie-beams of the roof. When a drop-scene is to be made use of, the halliards of the scene are fastened by a slip-knot to these loops. The hanging-scenes or borders have no frames, but are nailed on to single rails or battens, which are also provided with loops like the drop-scenes.

Another kind of loops are those used for perforated drops, exhibiting e. g. colonnades, clumps of trees, &c., through which the actors have to pass; and it is often very difficult so to contrive these frames that they may have the necessary firmness, as they must never be visible. So too the frames for those pieces which by means of small trap-doors are to rise as it were out of the ground, are very difficult to construct, as they have no upper rail, and cannot be fastened in any other way at the top. Hence these frames, especially when they extend across the whole head of the stage, are usually very heavy. Fig. 22 shows a combination of wing-carriages which serves to transport those pieces which are carried across the scene through the traps. Fig. 20 is a side-view, and fig. 21 a section of one of the metal wheels in the sill.

g. Machines. In a theatre there are a great many machines, which are situated partly in the space beneath the stage and partly above it in the flies and rigging-loft. To these belong, e. g. the drums, which consist of two large disks connected by a common axis, and to the circumference of which strips of board or laths are nailed extending from one to the other. The uses of these drums are very various, for they are distributed about all parts of the loft and cellar. One application of them is for shifting the scenes. For this purpose there is placed under the middle line of the stage (pl. 25, fig. 11 c c) a large cylinder (pl. 26, fig. 3 M), which begins at the orchestra and extends to above the sixth pair of wings: at the end of this is placed a second, and, when the theatre is large, a third cylinder. Parallel with this there stands on each side one or two other rows of cylinders (pl. 25, fig. 11 b b and d d, and pl. 26, fig. 3 N N). On these cylinders or shafts the drums for the ropes are fastened, and the shaft in the place where these are is left square. At the ends the shafts, as shown in figs. 13, 14, and 15, are cased with iron rings, and iron gudgeons a d are driven deep into the shaft and secured with the wedge c (fig. 15). By these gudgeons the shaft rests on its bearers; although when it is long, it is supported at one or more places in the middle. In order to facilitate its working, metal friction-wheels (pl. 26, fig. 20, bird’s-eye view and fig. 21 end view) are everywhere employed. Between the ends of the drum there are several other disks for the support of the laths or staves which form the mantle of the drum; and strong ends of rope with rings are fastened inside to the shaft and pass out through the mantle, to which the halliards are fastened by means of spring hooks. In the middle floor (pl. 25, fig. 13) the drum-shaft runs along the middle over the other shafts; and these drums serve the purpose of shifting the panels of the stage or of working the tackle for the ascent of objects out of the ground. Several drums are also placed on the rigging-floors, but of different diameters, which serve for raising the drop-scenes and borders, for wafting cars and persons through the air, &c. The diameter of these drums must be accurately adapted to the distance which the drop-scenes, &c., have to go in a certain time and in a certain number of revolutions. The drums which are placed in the rigging-loft, and which mostly serve to control the motions of the counter-weights of the drops, need not be of any great breadth, as the rope of the counter-weight is merely passed once or twice round the drum in order to increase the friction, so that its motion may be quickly checked. But while the shaft below the stage, by means of a rope passed over its cylinder, moves all the drums at once, here each one is moved separately, and consequently each must be provided with a wheel and hand-spikes. Fig. 30 exhibits such a windlass-frame from the side, and fig. 29 from the front; d is the wheel, and g the cylinder round which the rope of the counter-weight is, passed. In fig. 28 the construction of the wheel is shown. Fig. 27 shows the fastening of the frame to the floor of the flies.

We have stated above that loops furnished with rings are attached to the drops, by means of which they are suspended to the hooks of the tie-beams (pl. 26, fig. 11) when not in use. When a drop-scene is to be made use of, lines which are of properly adjusted lengths and furnished with spring-hooks, are made fast to these loops. Each of these lines before it reaches the halliards goes up to the collar-beam and over the roller [c] in the roller-case b (fig. 16), which is fastened to the beam a; so that these lines can never get entangled, although their length equals the entire height of the drop-scenes. Such roller-cases are distributed all along the collar-beams, as shown in fig. 18; similar ones too are required for the borders, although these (fig. 19) may be of a much lighter construction.

In order to cause objects to ascend through the trap-doors, another contrivance must be added to the carriages (pl. 26, fig. 2 K K); for in that case the frames are to be elevated while the carriages remain under the stage. For this purpose the uprights of the carriages have a head-piece attached to them, of which pl. 25, fig. 31, shows a front, fig. 32 a vertical, and pl. 26, fig. 12, a side view. The uprights have in them a deep dovetail-shaped groove, in which a sliding-rail moves up and down, and on this the piece is fastened. In the inside of the groove there are two channels, one on each side of the rail, in which the halliards b b run; these are fastened to the foot of the rail, and pass over the rollers c c in the head of the carriage, from which they go to the windlass. When the halliards b b are drawn tight or slacked up, the rail with the shifting-piece must rise or fall.

h. The Illumination. Until quite recently, and even at present with but few exceptions, the stage has been lighted by means of argand oil-lamps, arranged partly in front of the proscenium along the orchestra, and partly behind the frames of the side-scenes, and above and in front of the drop-scenes. When isolated lights are needed, as e. g. for the moon and such like appearances, they are placed in closed boxes, so as to give no light from the sides.

When the foot-lights consist of oil-lamps, the lamp ladder is a movable trap; when night is to be produced, it is let down below the stage. Changes of light to imitate sunset or moonlight are produced by mediums, which are provided with red or green glass, or similar colored silk stuff; these are usually kept below the stage, and are raised by a separate contrivance to such a height as to shade the light of the lamps. The lamps at the wings are ranged one above the other, and before them is placed a half cylinder (pl. 26, fig. 4), in which the space between every two lamps is divided into four parts. One of these parts is entirely open for imitating daylight; the second is entirely closed for night; the third is shaded with red for sunrise and sunset; and the fourth is shaded with green for moonlight (k and l). This half cylinder works up and down at m on long pintles, and is raised by machinery, which is also connected with the foot-light ladder, to such a height as to bring that part of the cylinder before the flame of the lamp which corresponds to the light of the foot-light medium. In many theatres there are only three divisions in the half cylinder, black, green, and red, and for daylight it is thrown back, a contrivance which is certainly superior to the other.

In the better class of theatres, however, gas is now employed for lighting the whole stage, and is likewise introduced into the great chandelier of the spectatory; this has great advantages over the old mode. In this mode of illumination the gas passes first from the gasometer to the place of the inspector, or of some one charged with the matter, and from there it is conducted through various sets of pipes to the gas-ladders, the lights above the stage, and the great chandelier. The main pipe from which all the other pipes proceed is furnished with a graduated cock; and the director is able, by partially cutting off the gas, to gradually reduce the entire illumination from the greatest brilliancy to almost total darkness, so that for the purpose of imitating night no other contrivance is necessary. Accordingly, as is shown by the section of the gas-ladder (pl. 26, fig. 23), the lamp c with its support b, and the gas ladder a, are fixed to the beam g of the stage, and only the shades for changing the quality of the light, a b c (fig. 22), are raised and lowered as occasion requires. The lighting of the side-scenes occasions rather more difficulty, on account of the wing-carriages being movable. Fig. 4 contains a front view and fig. 5 a section of the contrivance here employed. The supply-pipe hangs above on the right corner of the carriage along with the feeding-pipe, and consists of four shanks, f f g h, which are connected together by perforated air-tight joints. When the carriage is drawn back, as here represented, the shanks lie close together; but when it is pushed forward, they form a right line. A very similar contrivance is applied to the great chandelier, being placed above the ceiling of the spectatory, so that the chandelier can be raised for the purpose of lighting the lamps, and then lowered again. The intensity of its light is constantly the same with that of the stage-lights; for the gas comes to it only as regulated by the superintendent. The lamps employed for lighting the stage overhead are fixed like the foot-lights. Movable lights are inclosed in cases, as shown in fig. 24, which represents the section of such a case. The case is suspended at e, and has at a and d a disk of glass, by means of which the light can also be colored. The lamp b receives its gas through a flexible caoutchouc or gutta percha pipe. The light of the wing-lamps is colored, as represented in fig. 25, by a turning-shade f, which is colored alternately green and red, the proper color being brought before the flame of the lamp by raising the whole shade. Gradations of color are obtained by turning the shade more or less forward.