THE RENAISSANCE: PART I
Dawn of the Renaissance—The Transitional Period—Coffers and Bahuts—
Court of Margaret of Austria—Perréal’s Style—Margaret’s Tomb by
Perréal—Taste of the Regent—Margaret’s Tapestries, Carpets,
Table-covers and Cushions—Her Curios—Flemish Tapestries—Cartoons
by Bernard Van Orley—William de Pannemaker—English Tapestries—Last
Days of the Gothic Style—Guyot de Beaugrant, Lancelot Blondeel and
Peter Pourbus—Stalls in the Groote Kerk, Dordrecht—Carvings in
Haarlem—Invasion of the Renaissance—Walnut, the Favourite Wood for
Furniture and Carving—Versatility of the Artists—the Fleming as
Emigrant—the Renaissance in Burgundy—Hugues Sambin—Sebastian
Serlio—Peter Coeck of Alost—Pupils of Peter Coeck—Lambert Lombard—
Francis Floris, the “Flemish Raphael”—the Craze for Numismatics—
Hubert Goltzius—Cabinets of the Sixteenth Century—Italian
Furniture—Characteristic Features of Renaissance Furniture—
Ornaments: the Arabesque, Pilaster, Cartouche, _Cuirs_, Banderole
and Caryatid—Publications of Decorative Design—Alaert Claes, Lucas
van Leyden, Cornelis Bos and Martin van Heemskerck.
As in all other departments of human taste, thought and activity, there
is no sudden change in Decorative Art, no swift rupture with old
traditions. There is a period of transition, during which one style
supplants another almost imperceptibly. Even when one great genius
arises, he meets with opposition from the members of the old school; and
it takes years for his ideas finally to triumph. Moreover, periods
overlap: in one district the old style will persist half a century after
the new is firmly established in another. Again, even in the same town,
we sometimes find the two streams flowing side by side for some time.
This is true of the Renaissance, as of all other styles. We even find
that a palace within a space of ten years’ time might be begun in the
Gothic and completed in the Renaissance style.
When Charles the Bold received his deathblow on the field of Nancy, a
new era was dawning. The arts that had been fostered by the splendid
Dukes of Burgundy already felt the impetus of a new movement. It was a
period of momentous changes. Printing had already been invented, and
designs for title-pages alone were to have a tremendous effect on
Decorative Art. America was shortly to be discovered, and before long
exotic woods were to end the exclusive sway of walnut and oak. Above
all, Italy was to be practically rediscovered by Western Europe.
Although many courts benefited by the fall of Constantinople, in 1453,
the luxurious Italian states received by far the greater number of
skilled artisans who brought with them the traditions of Classic Art.
The maritime republics were, moreover, no strangers to the art products
of the gorgeous East; and Venice especially then held almost a monopoly
of the Levant trade, and distributed Oriental wares to France, Germany,
England and the Netherlands.
The days of Feudalism had come to an end: Mediaevalism was dead. Wars of
petty piracy and private spite ended almost simultaneously in Western
Europe; wars of national competition in trade and bitter wars of
religion were to succeed. In England, the Wars of the Roses were
extinguished in 1485: the last private battle between the retainers of
feudal lords was fought in 1483. In France, Louis XI, after the death of
Charles the Bold, had reduced his other great vassals to order. In
Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella had expelled the Moors and married their
mad daughter, Joanna, to the heir of the Burgundian dominions, the issue
of this marriage being Charles V, who was born at Ghent in 1500. In
1494, Charles VIII had crossed the Alps; and in Italy the French were as
dazzled by the luxury and magnificence they saw as the Crusaders had
been at Byzantium four centuries before. On their return, the
Renaissance in France and the Netherlands may be said to have begun to
bloom.
Before the opening of the sixteenth century, however, there was a
remarkable activity in all the arts; and a coming change can be felt.
The spirit of the Gothic and of the Classic style—Christian and Pagan—
were already at war. In the Low Countries, this transitional period is
noticeable during the last days of the House of Burgundy.
Simultaneously, architecture and ornament insensibly underwent
modifications, in which we recognize the earliest Renaissance, as it
appeared also in France under the reign of Louis XII. Building and
furniture have already become Classic in form and general aspect: the
antique column becomes a leading feature of decoration, although the
pilaster, which offers a convenient flat surface for the carving of
arabesques, is often preferred. These arabesques are particularly
characteristic of this transitional period. They consist of rather
slender and simple branches, allowing considerable spaces of the
background to appear; and very frequently they are divided into two
symmetrical parts about a strongly accented middle axis. There is little
relief and little projection in the composition. The details of
ornamentation are taken especially from the floral world; and, if human
figures or animals are used, they are attenuated and expressionless, and
play an unimportant rôle. Figures of this description appear in Plate V
that represents a coffer in carved wood in the Flemish style, from the
Cluny Museum, Paris. The panel in the centre represents the
_Annunciation_, rudely carved. Pilasters decorated with leaves separate
it from two niches that contain figures boldly but crudely carved. Above
the _Annunciation_ is a lock of fine workmanship, the flap of which
bears the figure of the crowned Virgin, in high relief.
Another typical coffer, or _huche_, of Flemish workmanship of the
sixteenth century appears on Plate VI. Here we have three panels
separated by caryatides. The subjects of the panels are _Christ on the
Cross_, the _Annunciation_, and the _Adoration of the Infant Jesus_. The
panels are also decorated with the heads of cherubs.
Another _huche_, or _bahut_, of the sixteenth century, of more delicate
workmanship, is shown in Plate VII. The subject of the central panel is
taken from the story of David. Allegorical figures decorate the
pilasters, and Mercury and Cybele fill the niches. This is also from
Cluny and is of French work of the sixteenth century.
[Illustration:
PLATE V.—_Coffer in Flemish Style._
CLUNY MUSEUM, PARIS.
]
The Renaissance was too strong a movement not to carry everything before
it; but it must not be imagined that it met with no opposition. There
were people in high places who clung obstinately to the old order of
things and resented innovations. Gothic art was still supreme under the
short rule of Mary of Burgundy; but her daughter Margaret of Austria,
Regent of the Netherlands, had to face the new ideas, and found it hard
to reconcile herself with them, notwithstanding her encouragement of the
arts as a whole. She kept a brilliant court, and she and her husband,
Philibert of Savoy, warmly encouraged genius and talent. She gathered
around her more than one hundred and fifty painters, sculptors,
architects and decorators in all branches of art.
On the death of her husband she was inconsolable; and planned a splendid
church in which his and her remains should finally rest side by side. In
1505, she intrusted the planning of the work to Jean Perréal. In an
early letter, he writes to her that he is delighted to undertake the
work, and will take advantage of all he has observed regarding convents
in Italy, where the most beautiful in all the world are to be found. In
another letter, in 1509, we read: “_Jy me suis mis après tant pour mon
devoir envers nostre Majesté que pour l’amour que je vous doy, et ay
revyré mes pour-traictures, au moins des choses antiques que j’ay eues
ès parties d’Italie, pour faire de toutes belles fleurs ung trossé
bouquet, dont j’ai monstré le jet au dict Le Maire_.”
The Flemish character of Peréal’s early style had undoubtedly made him
acceptable to the Regent. During her residence in France, from 1483 to
1493, she had then been subjected to no other than Flemish influence in
art. The Italian taste had not yet reached Paris. But Perréal crossed
the Alps with Charles VIII in 1495; Louis XII went into Italy in 1502,
and again in 1509. We are thus on the threshold of the Renaissance.
Perréal, as the above quotation shows, instead of remaining true to the
memories of his Flemish education, wanted to seek adventures in the
domain of Italian art. He had the temerity to offer to Margaret for her
tombs a bunch of his _troussés bouquets_. She was scandalized, and broke
off all relations with the erring artist. She looked around her for an
artist who conformed to the principles of Flemish art, one who would not
be likely to betray national traditions for foreign modes. Her choice
fell upon a master mason named Louis van Beughem to build the great
church of Brou. A member of one of the corporations of St. Luke,
faithful to Gothic art, van Beughem produced a work that shows that
style in its latest development and decadence. He showed so much zeal
and ability that Margaret forced him to take charge of not only the
masonry, but of the woodwork and windows too. With him were associated
John of Brussels for the decorative work, and Conrad Meyt for the
carving. Conrad of Mechlin was Margaret’s favourite “image-maker.” She
paid him the generous salary of five _sous_ a day. She paid her head
cook twenty-six. Conrad carved the choir-stalls and other woodwork that
demanded decorative treatment. He also executed all the great sculptural
work on the tombs, including the life-size figures of Philibert of
Savoy, Margaret’s dead spouse, and herself, represented both alive and
dead, Margaret of Bourbon, ten children, a couching lion and many
armorial devices.
[Illustration:
PLATE VI.—_Flemish Coffer or Huche._
CLUNY MUSEUM, PARIS.
]
This instance is interesting as showing that the greatest abilities in
that age were applied to the smallest matters of art as well as the
greatest. Among the objects for which Conrad was paid in 1518–19, we
find two Hercules in wood, and two portraits of the princess in wood
(for these he received eight _Philippus_ in all), a wooden turret for
the Regent’s cabinet and a carved stag’s head for her library
chimney-piece.
Margaret’s tastes are easily learned from the inventory she drew up with
her own hand of her possessions in Mechlin shortly before her death. She
seems to have cared almost exclusively for paintings, rich embroideries
and curios. She made a complete list of her pictures, many of which were
undoubtedly painted to please her by the artists of her Court. Among her
embroideries were a great number of handsome ecclesiastical vestments
and a few coifs, belts and gorgets for herself embroidered with gold
thread “_à la mode d’Espagne_.” The greater number of her tapestries,
bed-hangings, cases for cushions, table-covers and _serviettes_, etc.,
to adorn the shelves of _dressoirs_ were from Spain. Her tapestries are
worth noting. She had two pieces woven of gold, silver and silk,
representing the history of Alexander the Great, which came from Spain;
four pieces, representing the story of Esther, also of gold, silver and
silk, also from Spain; three pieces of gold and silk depicting the life
of the Cid; two of the Seven Sacraments, another of Alexander; and four
of Saint Helena. In addition to these Spanish tapestries, she had six
pieces called the “_Cité des Dames_,” presented to her by the city of
Tournay when she went there to meet the King of England.
The gift of the _Cité des Dames_ may perhaps have made some atonement
for her vexation at having to attend that splendid meeting of the King
and Emperor. She was very unwilling to go, and wrote to her father
Maximilian, on September 22, 1513, as follows:
“If you think it necessary for me to go and I can be of service to you,
I am ready to do all that it pleases you to order, but otherwise, it is
not the part of a widow woman to _trotter_ and visit armies for
pleasure.”
She also owned seventeen rich Spanish velvet carpets. Among her
chamber-hangings, bed-hangings, and canopies were several articles made
of rich cloth of gold, bordered with crimson and embroidered with the
arms and device of the “late King of Aragon.”
She had a camp (or folding) bed with hangings of cloth of gold richly
embroidered with gold thread and silk, and a canopy for a camp bed
covered with cloth of gold and trimmed with a fringe of black silk and
gold threads; and she also owned four large pieces of cloth of gold,
each differently bordered, to decorate her throne, and also one of green
velvet. She had two curtains of green and grey tafetas, and four of
crimson tafetas, a number of pieces of cloth of gold, four hangings for
a chamber of green velvet and white damask, and two palls, one of white
silk embroidered with gold, and the other gold, green, red and white;
and the furnishing of a camp bed with canopy, counterpane and three
curtains of green tafetas lined with black. Margaret did not despise
leather hangings, for she had several pieces of “tapestry of red
morocco” each 4½ ells long and just as wide, trimmed with bands of green
brightened with gold, and three other pieces of “red morocco” with
gilded bands. These probably came from Spain.
[Illustration:
PLATE VII.—_Huche, or Bahut (Sixteenth Century)._
CLUNY MUSEUM, PARIS.
]
A “pavilion” of grey and yellow silk threads “as a protection against
the flies,” shows how early the mosquito net was known.
We should also note “packs for mules in the Spanish style,” covered with
cloth of gold and silver.
Among her table-covers was one of cloth of gold and white with trimmings
of crimson velvet embroidered and fringed with gold, and one of cloth of
gold with a crimson satin border.
The collection of “_serviettes_” were exquisitely embroidered with gay
coloured silks and gold threads. Some of them were trimmed with silk
borders and some with narrow fringe. One, for instance, was embroidered
with violet, and adorned with a violet fringe; another was embroidered
in silver, blue, flesh-colour, crimson and green and had a little fringe
of red, blue and gold. The two dozen beautiful cushions were of cloth of
gold with gold tassels; of gold and blue lozenges; and embroidered in
variously coloured silks.’
The choice articles in her cabinet included three fine pieces of amber;
a branch of coral in a wooden box; four other branches of coral; a piece
of coral shaped like a horn; a little silver box with two coral images;
a little _parfumador_ of silver for scent-balls; a little Spanish fan,
beautifully made; a little gilded St. George in a black leather case; a
little agate salt-cellar with a gilded foot; three spoons—one of
mother-of-pearl with a silver handle, the others of cornelian with
handles of chalcedony; a picture of St. Mark on canvas; two East India
boxes; a pair of East Indian slippers; a piece of violet silk; a little
_retable_, containing an image of Notre Dame and St. Joseph; another,
with a hawthorn in blossom; a little paradise with all the apostles
represented; a lacquer box garnished with silver; a little silver cage;
two tablets of wood framing pictures; two clocks, the larger one
striking the hours and half hours; a Saint Margaret made in the likeness
of Mlle. de Mon-Lambert; a little crying child painted by a good artist;
the Emperor’s face in black and white; the little Duke of Milan on
canvas; an Annunciation on canvas; a Saint Anthony made by Master
Jacques; a little ivory picture given to Madame by M. de Chièvres; the
face of the Duke Philip; a silver gilt picture of the Annunciation with
two leaves of porcelain, portraits of the late King Philip and Queen
Joanna, his wife; a Notre Dame in amber; a beautiful steel mirror; a
Notre Dame of alabaster; a round piece of alabaster in which a lion is
cut; and several sets of chess, of silver, silver-gilt, ivory, carved
wood, ivory and wood; a set in jasper wrapped in a flag; and a set of
chalcedony and jasper in an old painted box. She also had two
dice-boxes, one gilt and one ivory. She also owned a good deal of
curious needlework; two steel mirrors, one framed in silver gilt; and a
netted purse of green and silver, marked with a unicorn.
Margaret was by no means peculiar in her liking for sumptuous
tapestries. The walls of every palace, castle and mansion of the day
were adorned with rich hangings, and these products of the Flemish looms
were sought by prince and prelate throughout Europe.
Although Flanders continued to produce the most important sets of
tapestry during the sixteenth century, and cartoons were supplied by the
Flemish artists, Bernard van Orley, Michel Coxie and Peter of Campana,
and the French artists, Primaticcio, Matteo del Nassaro, Caron and
Lerambert, by far the greater number of designs came from Italy. Paul
Veronese, Titian, Pordenone, Salviati, A. del Sarto, Bronzino, Giovanni
da Udine, Giulio Romano and Raphael are among the most prolific
designers; and in the tapestries after their cartoons, the grouping and
distribution of the figures as well as the colouring (that requires much
more shading) differ greatly from the works of the past. The borders are
also more varied; instead of being decorated only with fruits and
flowers tied with ribbons, other motives are introduced—birds, nude
children, fishes, crustaceans, vegetables, emblems, quivers, masks,
grotesques, etc., etc.
Most of these fine sets were made in Brussels to order; but many
tapestries were made there and sold in Antwerp. If Brussels was the
workshop of Europe, Antwerp was the mart. In this city, where all kinds
of merchandise abounded, Guicciardini informs us that more than a
thousand foreign merchants had established themselves and exhibited for
sale to the eyes of purchasers the fine tapestries made in Brussels.
There was a special place, “Le Pand, _halle aux tapisseries_, where many
beautiful and marvellous inventions and works were exhibited and sold.”
Regarding the Brussels tapestries, the same old traveller tells us:
“Especially admirable and yielding great profit, is the trade of the
tapestry-makers, who weave, design and warp pieces in high warp in silk,
gold and silver, at great expense, and with an industry that wins
everybody’s admiration and wonder.”
During the sixteenth century, the looms of Flanders enjoyed great vogue
and received orders from all the princes of Europe. When the merchants
of Florence wished to enrich the Church of St. John with tapestry, they
sent to Flanders; when Francis I, who possessed some magnificent pieces
of Flemish tapestry, wanted to make a present to the Pope, he had twelve
scenes from the _Life of Christ_ made at Arras, from cartoons by
Raphael; and from 1518–39 there are many entries in the accounts of the
Treasury of France for sums paid for Flemish tapestries for the King. As
there was no manufactory for high-warp tapestry in France, Francis I
decided to establish one in Fontainebleau in 1539, and gathered there
fifteen skilled Flemish workmen whom he placed under the direction of
Philibert Babou, Sieur de la Bourdaizière, and Sebastian Serlio, the
Italian architect.
Throughout the Renaissance, tapestry was regarded on a level with
painting. The Pope, the Doges of Venice and the wealthy families—the
D’Estes, the Medicis and Sforzas—made superb collections and decorated
their halls with splendid hangings. The greater number of these were
made in Flanders, although a few lords—the D’Estes and Sforzas, for
example—had looms of their own, worked by Flemings.
Subjects from mythology, the Scriptures and martyrology are still
popular, but scenes from the old romances of chivalry are banished.
Valiant princes and prosperous cities make use of the weaver’s art to
commemorate their victories and triumphs, and many gorgeous sets
depicting current events are hung in mansions, villas, and town halls.
Antwerp, for example, orders _The Course of the Scheldt_ for her Town
Hall. Flanders also makes such pieces as _The Hunts of Maximilian_,
_Battle of Pavia_, _Victories of the Duke of Alva_, _Destruction of the
Armada_, _The Deliverance of Leyden in 1574_, _The Defeat of the
Spaniards by the Zealanders_, _Genealogy of the Princes of Nassau_, etc.
Brussels produced the famous set of ten, _The Acts of the Apostles_,
ordered by Leo X in 1515. The cartoons, for which Raphael received 100
ducats each (£200), were sent to Peter van Aelst, the most noted
tapestry-worker in Flanders. The Pope paid him 15,000 gold ducats
(£30,000) for the set. Peter van Aelst was _varlet de chambre_ and
weaver to Philippe le Beau, in 1504, and later to his son, Charles V.
Bernard van Orley, a pupil of Raphael, was associated with him in the
production of _The Acts of the Apostles_, which were hung in the Sistine
Chapel, December 26, 1519. In 1549, Vasari wrote of them: “One is
astonished at the sight of this series; its execution is marvellous. One
can hardly imagine how it was possible, with simple threads, to produce
such delicacy in the hair and beards, and to express the suppleness of
flesh. It is a work more Godlike than human; the waters, the animals and
the habitations are so perfectly represented that they appear painted
with a brush and not woven.”
Another beautiful set, _The Loves of Vertumnus and Pomona_, now in
Madrid, was also made by Flemish weavers from Italian cartoons; and were
bought by Charles V in Antwerp, before 1546.
Bernard van Orley designed _The Grand Hunts of Guise, or of Maximilian_,
formerly attributed to Dürer. In these realistic pictures of costume,
landscape and national types, there is a return to the Flemish disregard
for perspective and grouping.
Mention should be made of the famous _Lucas Months_, long believed to be
the work of Lucas van Leyden, but certainly by a Flemish artist. These
were frequently copied at the Gobelins. In the month “January” a superb
sideboard is represented.
A very celebrated tapestry-worker, William de Pannemaker, was
commissioned by Charles V to weave _The Conquest of Tunis_, the cartoons
for which were made by Jan Vermay, or Vermeyen, of Beverwyck, near
Haarlem. Although eighty-four workers were employed, it took five years
to complete it.
Pannemaker also made _The Victories of the Duke of Alva_.
What the principal centres of tapestry were, we learn from an edict of
Charles V, in 1544, that says: “It is forbidden to manufacture
tapestries outside of Brussels, Louvain, Antwerp, Bruges, Oudenarde,
Alost, Enghien, Binche, Ath, Lille, Tournay and other free towns, where
the craft is organized and regulated by ordinances.”
Holland also produced tapestry in this century. Looms were set up in
Middelburg in 1562; and later in Delft, where Franz Spierinck worked.
A little tapestry was produced in Italy, but even there the greater
number of weavers were Flemings. Two Flemish tapestry-workers, Nicholas
and John Karcher, were employed by the Duke d’Este, at his court in
Ferrara; and Cosmo I employed Nicholas Karcher and John Rost of Brussels
at his establishment, the “_Arazzeria Medicea_,” in Florence.
The store-rooms of royalty and nobles in England were filled with superb
sets that were brought out for decoration on occasions. Most of these
were imported from the Continent; but towards the end of Henry VIII’s
reign, William Sheldon orders one Robert Hicks to make maps of Oxford,
Worcester, Gloucester and Warwick counties at his manor in Warwickshire,
and calls Hicks “the only auteur and beginner of tapestry and arras
within this realm.”
Returning now to the consideration of furniture as an architectural
accessory, we find that Margaret of Austria’s tastes were shared by many
of her contemporaries. The Gothic style lingered here and there far into
the sixteenth century, and even those whose sympathies were frankly in
favour of the Renaissance did not entirely cast away Gothic traditions.
(_See_ Plate X.)
For example, let the student examine the beautiful choir of St. Gertrude
in Louvain. The stalls are adorned with statuettes and twenty-eight
reliefs of scenes from the lives of Our Lord, of St. Augustine, and of
the patron saint, Gertrude. The ornamentation recalls the last days of
the Gothic style. The work ranks among the finest examples of
wood-carving in Belgium. It was executed by Mathias de Waydere, of
Brussels in 1550.
Mechlin was the capital of the Netherlands while Margaret was Regent.
Her palace, now the _Palais de Justice_, shows both the old and new
styles. The older parts date from 1507, and were built in the late
Gothic style by Rombout Keldermans. Before the palace was finished, in
1517, a French architect, Guyot de Beaugrant, was associated with
Rombout in the work. This part of the palace is the oldest Renaissance
building in Belgium.
It is somewhat puzzling to reconcile Margaret’s preference for Gothic
art with the fact that her own palace shows a halting between two
opinions. It may be that she merely drew the line between civil and
ecclesiastical edifices, and would welcome in a palace, or town hall,
decorations that she would exclude from a church.
Oudenarde, the birthplace of Margaret’s grandniece, who was also to be
Regent of the Netherlands, contains work that marks this transitional
period. The doorway of the Council Chamber in the Town Hall is a
splendid piece of Renaissance wood-carving, executed by Paul van
Schelden in 1531; and a fine chimney-piece carved in the Flamboyant
style only two years earlier. Another late Gothic chimney-piece, by his
brother Peter, is in the _Salle des Pas Perdus_.
Guyot de Beaugrant was the architect who executed the most famous and
important monument of this period. This is the chimney-piece of the
_Palais de Justice_ at Bruges. Of all the productions of this kind that
the sixteenth century has bequeathed to us, and they are numerous, none
is more remarkable, either for its dimensions or the beauty of the work.
Its general effect is imposing, and its masses are distributed with that
feeling for effect that reveals the man of genius.
The lower part is of black marble with four reliefs in white marble on
the frieze, representing the story of Susanna and the Elders. The
painter, Lancelot Blondeel of Bruges, supplied the designs for the upper
part, which is of carved oak. The statues represent Charles V as Count
of Flanders, Mary of Burgundy and her spouse, Maximilian, Ferdinand of
Aragon and Isabella of Castile, all ancestors of Charles. Busts of his
parents, Philip and Joanna, adorn the throne; and on two small
medallions are Margaret herself and Launoy the commander at Pavia.
As for the details, pilaster, figurines, bas-reliefs, shields,
medallions, trophies of arms, etc., everything is of incomparable
finish, and the art of wood-carving has never been so boldly pushed to
its uttermost expression. This occupies nearly the entire side of the
Court Room and was made in memory of the Battle of Pavia and the Peace
of Cambrai, by which the independence of Flanders was recognized. This
masterpiece was begun in 1529; it was completed in 1530, the year of
Margaret’s death.
Lancelot Blondeel, of Poperinghe, was essentially a painter of the
transition period. He was a man of most extraordinary gifts, being at
the same time a painter, sculptor, mason and engineer. Besides painting,
he designed several masterpieces of sculpture in addition to this
celebrated _Cheminée du Franc_. He was also a wood-engraver, and made
drawings for the glass painters and tapestry-workers. In 1546, moreover,
he submitted plans to the magistracy of Bruges for a canal to connect
that city with the sea. He gave his daughter in marriage to Peter
Pourbus, the last of the great painters of the school of Bruges. Pourbus
was as versatile as his father-in-law, and was intrusted by the city
with the organization of public festivals and rejoicings. He dabbled a
little in architecture, engineering and cartography.
Works of the early Renaissance are rarer in Holland than in Flanders;
but Holland possesses one of the most remarkable carvings of the
sixteenth century, the stalls of the Groote Kerk in Dordrecht done by
Jan Terween Aertsz, of Antwerp, in 1538–42. Four years only were
required to carve this great allegory. These stalls, of magnificent
proportions, are divided into two sections: one, at the side of the
altar, consists of thirty stalls in two tiers. This is the most richly
treated, being intended for the clergy. The sides on the passageways are
most elaborately carved. The second section is much simpler and has no
separate seats. It is intended for the choristers. No work in the Low
Countries surpasses this. The spectator is first attracted by the superb
construction and handsome outlines, but it is only when the details are
examined that the work is fully appreciated. The dazzled eye notes such
a profusion of ornamental figures and motives that it would be hard to
find their equal. The only carvings in the Netherlands that can be
compared with them are the choir-stalls in the cathedral at Ypres, made
in 1598, but these have not quite the same distinction in execution. The
first carvings one notes are the friezes in relief above the seats and
under the graceful little columns that adorn the back. The subjects of
these bas-reliefs are the _Triumph of Christ_; the _Triumph of the
Eucharist_; _Scenes from the Old and New Testament_; the _Triumphal
Procession of Mutius Scaevola_; and the _Triumphal Entry of Charles V in
Dordrecht_, on July 21, 1540. The cycle of the Triumph of Christ opens
with two archangels with trumpets, announcing the King of Kings; then
follow Adam and Eve, Noah with the Ark, Moses with the Tables of the
Law, Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac, David with his harp, Jonah,
Samson with the lion, Elias and John the Baptist—all prototypes of
Christ. Then come the twelve apostles with palm branches, and Christ in
a triumphal car, decorated with dragons’ heads and richly ornamented
with the symbols of the Cross and dove, and drawn by symbols
personifying the four Evangelists. Chained to Christ’s car is Death,
accompanied by the monster Sin, swallowed by the colossal open jaws of
Hell, in which the Devil is seen riding. Lastly, come Mary and the four
saints, Catherine, Barbara, Lawrence and Christopher.
The _Triumph of the Eucharist_ opens with choristers and other children
singing, followed by Franciscan monks, nuns, canons, deacons, deans, the
Fathers of the Church—Augustine, Jerome, Ambrose and Gregory, then the
Church in a triumphal chariot with the Holy Sacrament, then the Pope,
cardinals and bishops. The procession of Mutius Scaevola is, of course,
Roman in character, and consists, likewise, of eight panels. The
_Triumph of Charles V_ resembles in some respects the Triumph of
Maximilian by Dürer (Dürer visited the Low Countries in 1520). Two
cavaliers with trumpets open the march and are followed by three others;
then comes a grandee of Spain with the orb of the Empire, his horse led
by pages. Other grandees follow, then the imperial train, guided by
allegorical virgins, and the Emperor, seated under a baldaquin in a
richly-decorated chariot, with the palm of peace in his left, and the
sceptre in his right hand. The sword and orb of state lie at his feet.
Some of the terminal figures on the ends of the stalls are very fine,
particularly Matthew, Luke, David, Solomon and Daniel in the lions’ den.
The heads and busts that are developed out of the foliage are of
exceptional interest. The _miséricordes_ (seats) are decorated with
humorous and Biblical scenes. The luxuriant foliage that forms no little
part of the ornamentation is in the style of the first Italian
Renaissance and in many places is mingled with musical instruments,
heads, fruits, figurines, children and coats-of-arms.
Terween is supposed to have been born in Dordrecht, in 1511. He died in
1598. For other Gothic carved work during the early Renaissance the
student may go to the Groote Kerk of Haarlem. This is also especially
interesting on account of its transitional features; for while the
magnificent choir-stalls and rood-screen still retain the Gothic
character (the screen was erected in 1540 by Diderik Sybrandszoon, of
Mechlin, and bears several municipal coats-of-arms), the side railings
of the inner choir are in the style of the early Renaissance. A
remarkable example of Mediaeval carved oak, called the “_H. Geest
Stoel_,” is also preserved in this church.
The church of St. Nicolas, at Dixmuiden, also contains a splendid
rood-loft carved in the richest Flamboyant style, dating from about
1520.
The Gothic period, therefore, practically ended at the close of the
fifteenth century. The Renaissance restored Greek and Latin taste. In
furniture, it followed the forms and ornaments of architecture, as the
Gothic had done; so that now, instead of pointed arches with trefoils,
quatrefoils, or flamboyant tracery, we have pediments and various Orders
with their columns, capitals, arcades and superpositions of colonnades.
After the transitional period, during which the Decorative Arts freed
themselves from the domination of ecclesiastical influence and acquired
individuality of form, we find a rapid development during the sixteenth
century. The Renaissance quickly passed through its stages of growth in
the styles of Louis XII and François I, and burst into full bloom in the
Henri II style.
Before the invasion of the new school, Gothic tracery quickly
disappears; and with all the wealth of decoration, cartouches, mascarons
of gods, heroes, nymphs, etc., in order to produce the proper effect and
the correct massing of details, it becomes necessary to submit furniture
to the rules of Classic architecture; and furniture, therefore, breaks
with all traditions of the past and becomes a special art. New tools,
new methods, and a new technique are invented. Walnut becomes the
fashionable wood, and to follow the taste of the day the Flemings
forsake their much-loved oak. Nearly all the great pieces of the
Burgundian school of this period are carved in this wood.
After slight hesitation, Flanders welcomed the Renaissance with open
arms. Like the Venetian, the Fleming was artistic and commercial at the
same time, and thoroughly understood how to turn his talents into
profit. He scented a new fashion as soon as it made its appearance,
assimilated it and added a touch or two of his own. The Renaissance
found in Flanders, moreover, as we have seen, a ground already prepared
by the princes of the House of Burgundy. Skilful engravers provided the
studios with models and designs, wood-carvers multiplied to embellish
the palace and church, town-halls and guild-houses, castle of the lord
and home of the burgher and merchant.
The great artists of the period were extraordinarily versatile: they
were architects, sculptors, painters, glass-painters, goldsmiths,
designers for furniture and triumphal arches, machinists, historians,
engravers, numismatologists, and sometimes geographers and poets all at
once; and a talent for art always seemed to run through all the members
of one family through several generations, including both men and women.
[Illustration:
PLATE VIII.—_Cabinet (Sixteenth Century)._
]
They had great intellects that were equal to every conception, and their
skilful hands were capable of the most minute as well as the most
important work. If the Renaissance produced so many original works, the
cause must be sought in the complete education of the masters of this
remarkable period. The artists of the Low Countries knew how to
assimilate in the most complete fashion the artistic principles of other
schools; but although drawing inspiration from foreign sources they knew
how to imprint on their creations a particular cachet, which
distinguishes Flemish work. They used to great advantage the colour of
the material, the exigences of the climate and produced picturesque
combinations.
The Fleming was the traveller _par excellence_ of the Renaissance—
sculptor, cabinet-maker, painter, architect, potter, weaver, goldsmith—
we find him everywhere. He even reaches Hungary, Russia and Turkey.
Spain he finds a congenial soil, and also England.
Although Burgundy resisted the Italian invasion for a time, the
Renaissance was destined to reach, perhaps, its most brilliant
development, after Italy, in this very province. It is generally
conceded that the Burgundian style owes its character to Hughes Sambin,
an architect and master carpenter, born about the beginning of the
sixteenth century. In 1535, he finished the porch of St. Michel’s in
Dijon, and in 1572, published in Lyons, after a period of study in
Michael Angelo’s studio, a book filled with wood engravings, and
entitled _Oeuvres de la diversité des termes dont on se sert en
architecture, réduit en ordre par Maistre Hughes Sambin, architecteur en
la ville de Dijon_.
Sambin’s most important work is the _Palais de Justice_ in Dijon, where
there is a very beautiful wooden door carved by him, or under his
direction, and the _Salle des Procurateurs_, built under Henri II, the
ceiling of which is carved wood. Sambin’s book shows that he was an
adept in the Renaissance style, and devoted to the study of antique
monuments. Regarding him, Champeaux says:
“In truth, it is the taste for caryatides and grotesque figures
surrounded by garlands, and supporting broken pediments that predominate
in all his compositions. The result is a certain character of heaviness
and _bizarrerie_ that is more conspicuous in the buildings contributed
by him than in his furniture, for the material of the latter, less cold
than stone, allows more scope to the original fantasy of the artist. The
furniture inspired by Sambin’s designs does not exhibit the ponderous
grace of the _armoires_ and _buffets_ made in Paris; the lines are not
traced with the same tasteful harmony; but it must be recognized that no
school equals the vigour and the dramatic expression of the Burgundian
artists of this period. The figures of the caryatides and chimerical
animals that support the various parts of their furniture and conceal
the uprights, are animated with a brutal energy that only skilful
chisels can create. Moreover, the walnut wood of which they are carved
has been clothed with a warm tone that sometimes equals that of
Florentine bronzes.”
[Illustration:
PLATE IX.—_Armoire, Burgundian School._
]
A fine example of the Burgundian school appears on Plate IX. This is an
_armoire_ showing fine and bold carving with Renaissance motives. The
panels of the lower drawers are carved with grotesque figures, flanked
by pilasters bearing caryatides. The drawers above them are furnished
with keyholes. The upper section has a large central panel with a
terminal figure in the centre, the head of which forms a fine ornament
between the broken pediment. On either side are terminal figures. This
beautiful _armoire_ resembles in form the “court cupboard” that was so
extensively used in England at this period.
Many of the great artists of the day went to Italy to study on the spot,
but it would seem that the works of Sebastian Serlio were in high
repute, and were closely studied in the Low Countries. Guicciardini, who
wrote in 1588, tells us that “Peter Coucq of Alost was great in cartoons
or designs for tapestry; and has the peculiar praise of first bringing
from Italy the canon of architecture, and translated into Flemish the
work of Sebastian Serlio of Bologna, to the great advantage of the
Netherlands.”
Peter Coeck was born in Alost in 1502, and died in Brussels in 1550. He
was a devoted follower of Serlio. He translated his works into French
and Flemish, and engraved all the plates for this publication himself.
These were issued in Antwerp: parts I-III in 1516, part IV in 1539, and
part V was published by his widow in 1553.
Coeck was painter to Charles V, and to his sister, Mary of Austria,
Queen of Hungary (born in Brussels in 1503), to whom Charles V gave the
government of the Low Countries. In her the arts and sciences found as
enthusiastic a patron as they had in her aunt Margaret of Austria. Just
as the latter had had her favourite painters in van Orley and Jean
Mostaert, so she chose Peter Coeck for hers.
Coeck achieved great fame in the remarkable triumphal arches which he
designed for the joyous entrance of Philip II into Antwerp. In 1527, he
was made master of the Guild of St. Luke. Thierry de Moelenere intrusted
him with the decoration of his rich house in Antwerp, in which he
displayed his knowledge as architect, painter and sculptor. Some of the
caryatides from this house are now preserved in the Steen Museum. A
superb mantelpiece with three tiers of subjects carved by his hand is in
the Town Hall of Antwerp.
Coeck also executed a window for the Church of Notre Dame in Antwerp.
Among his pupils were the painters, Pierre Clays, Gilles de la Hee,
Nicholas van Nieucasteel, surnamed Nicholas Lucidel, and Pierre Breugel
the Elder (who married his daughter).
Lambert Lombard (1506–66), went to Italy in 1537. He returned to Liège
in 1539. He was a painter, and more particularly an architect. He set up
a school of painting and engraving, the first of its kind there. Three
of his pupils brought great honour to his school: these were Francis
Floris, called the “Flemish Raphael,” William Key and Hubert Goltzius.
He worked very little himself beyond designs for engravers, and more
often for paintings on glass. He was rich enough to indulge his taste
for objects of antiquity. It was at this date that the study of
numismatics came into existence in Belgium, and learned men took delight
in setting up a cabinet of medals and coins: among the wealthy it became
even a mania that was carried to extremes. Lombard’s collection, the
beauty of which was praised by all his contemporaries, was composed of
medals, coins, carvings, and other objects of high antiquity.
Hubert (or Hugo) Goltius (or Goltz), was a painter, engraver,
numismatologist and historian. He was born at Venlo in 1526 and died in
1583. He studied under Lambert Lombard and was also influenced by
Erasmus’ friend, van Watervliet, who guided him in his classic studies,
Greek and Roman antiquities, etc.
Goltius visited all the great towns in Belgium, Holland, Germany, France
and Italy, in order to examine the cabinets of collectors for material
for his book on coins. His itinerary reveals an astonishing number of
collectors of coins and medals.
Goltius made the decorations in Antwerp for the fêtes of the Golden
Fleece. He was also appointed historian to Philip II.
A marriage coffer of leather, designed by him, represented the King of
Spain and Margaret of Austria standing beside the Fountain of Love.
The craze for medals, coins and curios during the sixteenth century was
widespread. We have seen that the Regent had a coffer full of corals and
various trifles. To meet the demand for housing curios, the cabinet was
developed. This was usually a double chest, the upper one smaller than
the other. Both closed with doors and contained drawers and shelves.
Like almost all the pieces of furniture called “cabinets” of the
sixteenth and seventeenth century, the one reproduced on Plate VIII is
in two parts, the upper being smaller than, and standing back on the top
of, the lower. It is carved in walnut wood, enriched with sculptures,
and here and there plaques of marble are set in order to relieve the
monotony resulting from the sole use of wood. Stone of various colours
was largely used at this period, as an inlay for furniture in the
Netherlands and France, and more especially in Germany.
The principal fault with which the Flemish artists of the period are
reproached is that of “painting the lily.” They frequently are lacking
in restraint, and overcharge their surfaces with riot of ill-combined
mouldings and carvings; but in this specimen we have fine restraint. Its
structure and general disposition are strong and well-contrived; the
mouldings have a good profile; the sculpture is in the right place, and,
at the same time, is subordinated to the lines whose mission is to
contain and quiet it. This piece belongs to the best school of the
Renaissance, and will hold its own in almost any surroundings.
In the lower part of this cabinet, the two panels that form the doors
are carved with the figures of Diana and Juno with their attributes. The
drawers above are decorated also: the central one has a lion’s head, to
which a ring is suspended, and the two others have a simple knob. In the
panels of the upper doors, Paris is presenting the golden apple to
Venus, whose beauty has outshone that of her rivals. A garland of fruits
with a mascaron in the centre is above this, and the whole is topped by
a broken pediment framing an armed Pallas.
If we cast a glance at Italian furniture, we shall see that the French
and Flemish artists at first frankly copied what they had seen when they
accompanied the three expeditions to Naples.
In the sixteenth, as in the preceding century, the Italians were
particularly fond of the Roman triumphal arch and sarcophagus, as forms
for furniture. The Classic Orders were in great vogue, and the arabesque
and candelabra-shaped pilasters, introduced so long ago into decoration,
were renewed and made popular by Raphael. To the ancient style of
marquetry, composed of little geometrically-cut cubes of natural wood,
there succeeded a marquetry of coloured woods arranged to form actual
pictures with perspective. Some of the furniture was carved, and then
painted, or gilded; but other furniture shows large surfaces that are
decorated with beautiful oil paintings.
The Italian furniture was particularly _da pompa_, made for the
adornment of long galleries, enriched with paintings, gildings,
tapestries, velvets, damasks, brocades, cushions, curtains, mirrors, and
sumptuous _cassoni_. Beds, chairs, tables, cabinets, mirror and picture
frames, standing candelabra, bellows, coffers, chests, seats and buffets
(_credenza_), are of the most luxurious nature; and the latter display
magnificent gold and silver work (Cellini is busy at this period), and
marvellous examples of faïence; for, be it remembered, it is also the
period of Luca della Robbia and his school.
The Italians cared little or nothing for the large chimney-pieces, so
dear to the northern races in their colder climate; and the great seats
by the fireside have also no attractions. The Italian has no oak, nor
half-timbered houses with pointed gables without and heavy beams within:
his woods are walnut, pine and chestnut for ordinary furniture, and
ebony, cedar and cypress for his luxurious articles. His materials, like
his taste, are more decorative than practical.
Such was the taste that invaded the Low Countries during the
Renaissance; much of it brought home by the Flemish artists who visited
Italy; and some of it coming into the country by way of France, where
Serlio was the guiding spirit, Cellini had settled, and the school of
Fontainebleau was in full blast.
The characteristic feature of Renaissance furniture consists in the
monumental façade that is like a Roman temple, and various orders of
Classic architecture are superimposed: it is Doric at the base; Doric in
the centre; and Corinthian at the top. The whole is surmounted by a
pediment, the triangle of which is broken in the centre to receive a
bust, vase or statuette. (_See_ Plate VIII.)
The projections stand out boldly and form sharp cornices. In the panels,
in the supports and between the columns, niches are cut out and framed
in an architectural motive of some kind. In them are figures of heroes
or classic deities. Sometimes also there are round medallions in the
form of dormer windows from which curious heads with outstretched necks
peer forth.
[Illustration:
PLATE X.—_Bedroom, by De Vries “Cubiculum.”_
]
Ornate pieces of furniture exhibit a whole world of real or imaginary
beings, mingled with garlands of fruits, or flowers, and ribbons. Often
the figures are fantastically developed out of the leaves and floral
branches. The favourite decorative motives are antique columns,
pediments, broken pediments, terms, garlands, pagan deities, classical
heroes, caryatides, grotesque figures, initial letters smothered in
branches of foliage, cartouches, pilasters and arabesques. Gothic
perforations are also used, although they are more geometrical than
during the preceding period. (_See_ Plate X.) The favourite linen-fold
pattern dies very hard. Strips of leather called “_cuirs_,” variously
folded and plaited, enjoy a great vogue. (_See_ panel on Plates XXI and
XX). The _encoinçon_ (_see_ Figs. 17 and 18) is also popular; and the
“_compartiment_” appears in hundreds of designs. The compartment ceiling
is a favourite room decoration, and is often ornamented with roses,
brackets, floral designs and monograms. A compartment ceiling of
intricate design appears in Plate XXIV.
The arabesque, which so often forms a central motive, is usually in the
form of a flower stem, a knot of ribbon or a candelabra, symmetrically
arranged with branches to right and left, and charged with trophies,
vases, fantastic beings, animals, etc., at the caprice of the artist.
These delicate ornaments flourish in the panels, mingling with the horn
of plenty, bold sirens, and medallions of antique heroes in high relief.
The arabesque was beautifully treated by many artists, but the most
successful were Marc Gerard, a celebrated painter, sculptor and
architect of Bruges, and Lucas van Leyden whose style of treating
arabesques follows Albrecht Dürer. Examples of Lucas van Leyden appear
in Figs. 10, 11 and 12.
The pilaster is a decorative necessity of the upright, marking the
division of the façades, or accenting the uprights of the chests,
chairs, _dressoirs_, etc.
The cartouche (Italian _cartoccio_) scrolled paper, is generally
composed of a frame made of mouldings, or scrolls, enclosing a plain,
convex, or concave space, of regular or irregular form intended for an
inscription, coat of arms, cypher, etc. Vredemann de Vries and Theodore
de Bry decorate their cartouches with swags of fruits, which were copied
by Gerrit Hessels, a Dutch engraver whose compositions mark the
transition between those artists and Crispin de Passe, Francouart and
the school of Rubens. One of the peculiar features of the cartouche of
the sixteenth century is the use of motives composed of strips of
leather twisted, and variously decorated. Vredemann de Vries calls these
“Compartments” in his well-known _Multarum variarumque protractionum
(compartimenta vulgus pictorum vocat) libellus utilissimus, jam recens
delineatus per Johannem Vreedemanum, Frisium Gerardus Judaeus
exculpebat_ (Antwerp MDLV).
This peculiar style of leather ornamentation known as _cuirs_, and
consisting of strips interlaced in so many forms, is a much loved
decoration of the Flemish school. A notable collection of _cuirs_ was
published by Jerome Cock, the printer-engraver, in Antwerp, his native
town.
Among the favourite decorations is the banderole, the floating ribbon or
streamer which had been much used during the Middle Ages. It was used in
great variety by many artists during the Renaissance.
The peculiar form of caryatid called _gaîne_ or _terme_, a species of
support, is also extremely popular. It is used by Peter Coeck of Alost,
in most of his compositions; and by his pupil Vredemann de Vries, who
composed a special collection of _Caryatides ou termes_.
[Illustration:
PLATE XI.—_Flemish Bedstead_ (1580).
Figs. 10–12: Designs by LUCAS VAN LEYDEN; Figs. 13–16: Designs by A.
CLACES; Figs. 17–18: ÉCOINÇON, by DE VRIES.
]
In studying the furniture of the early Renaissance, the works of the
masters of design are most important aids. Before 1500, as we have seen,
publications of purely decorative design, and even of architecture as a
whole, are exceedingly scarce. From the opening of the sixteenth
century, however, such publications rapidly multiply. Interior
decorators who used the chisel in panel and pillar, and the contemporary
joiners and cabinet-makers decorated their surfaces with details and
motives taken from the Italians, and from the designs of native
goldsmiths, engravers, painters and architects. As we have seen, it was
no uncommon thing for one individual to be an adept in all these
branches.
Therefore, the decorations of the designers of the early Renaissance
have a special interest for us when we want to see what motives
supplanted Gothic tracery, Biblical scenes and angels on carved chests,
_credences_, _armoires_, beds and seats.
The first decorative designers who adopted the style of the Renaissance
were Alaert Claas, Lucas van Leyden and Cornelis Bos. Claas (painter and
engraver) worked in Utrecht from 1520 to 1555. Lucas van Leyden (painter
and engraver), whose family name was Damesz, was born in Leyden in 1494
and died in 1533. Cornelis Bos (glass painter, architect and engraver),
was born in Bois-le-Duc about 1510. He worked in Rome and was famous
from 1530 to 1560. Another artist and engraver who belonged to the same
school of decorative art was Martin van Heemskerck (1494–1574). He
worked and died in Haarlem.
A mascaron with typical floral scroll-work dated 1523, the work of Lucas
van Leyden, appears in Fig. 10. Another decorative composition with
grotesque sirens and floral scrolls in Fig. 11, also by the same master,
is dated 1528. A third and very graceful design of the same date by
Lucas van Leyden is shown in Fig. 12. Decorations for panels, or other
flat surfaces in wood, stone or goldsmith’s work are represented in
Figs. 13 and 14 and Figs. 15 and 16; these are by Alaert Claas (or
Claasen).