[1] Milman, Hist. of Christianity, iii. 540.
[2] Venice; SS. Giovanni e Paolo.
[3] Siena; San Domenico.
[4] Rome; Vatican.
[5] Dresden Gal.
[6] The Saints who do not appear in these volumes will be found in the
‘Legends of the Monastic Orders.’
[7] ‘Avant le 5me siècle le nimbe chrétien ne se voit pas sur les
monuments _authentiques_.’ (Didron, Iconographie, p. 101.)
[8] A metal circle, like a round plate, was fastened on the head of
those statues placed in the open air, to defend them from the rain or
dust. Some of the ancient glories are very like those plates, but I do
not think they are derived from them.
[9] I believe these coloured glories to be symbolical, but am not
sure of the application of the colours. Among the miniatures of the
_Hortus Deliciarum_, painted in 1180, is a representation of the
celestial paradise, in which the virgins, the apostles, the martyrs,
and confessors wear the golden nimbus; the prophets and the patriarchs,
the white or silver nimbus; the saints who strove with temptation, the
red nimbus; those who were married have the nimbus green, while the
beatified penitents have theirs of a yellowish white, somewhat shaded.
(Didron, Iconographie Chrétienne, p. 168.)
[10] In the example of St. Jerome, a lion may have originally typified
any hinderance in the way of study or of duty; in allusion to the text,
‘The slothful man saith, There is a lion by the way.’ Prov. xxvi. 13.
[11] _Vide_ ‘Legends of the Madonna.’
[12] In the Spanish schools the colour of our Saviour’s mantle is
generally a deep rich violet.
[13] Bologna Gal.
[14] 2 Sam. xiv. 17.
[15] Gen. xxxii. 1, 2; Ps. ciii. 21; 1 Kings xxii. 19; Job i. 6.
[16] Gen. xxii. 11; Exod. xiv. 19; Num. xx. 16; Gen. xxi. 17; Judg.
xiii. 3; 2 Kings i. 3; Ps. xxxiv. 7; Judith xiii. 20.
[17] 2 Sam. xxiv. 16; 2 Kings xix. 35; Gen: xviii. 8; Num. xxii. 31; 1
Chron. xxi. 16; Gen. xix. 13.
[18] Calmet.
[19] Matt. xxvi. 53; Heb. xii. 22; Matt. xxii. 30; Luke xx. 36; Matt.
xix. 24; Luke i. 11; Acts v. 19, _et passim_; Luke xv. 10; 1 Peter i.
12; Luke xvi. 22; Heb. i. 14; 1 Cor. xi. 10; Matt. i. 20, xvi. 27, xxv.
31.
[20] Rom. viii. 38; Col. i. 16; Ephes. i. 21.
[21] I know not whether it be necessary to observe here, that in
early Art the souls of the blessed are not represented as angels, nor
regarded as belonging to this order of spiritual beings, though I
believe it is a very common notion that we are to rise from the dead
with the angelic attributes as well as the angelic nature. For this
belief there is no warrant in Scripture, unless Mark xii. 25 be so
interpreted.
[22] Now in the Collection of Prince Wallerstein at Kensington Palace.
[23] Vasari, p. 648. Fl. edit.
[24] I saw in the palace of the Bishop of Norwich an elegant little
bas-relief in alabaster, exhibiting the nine choirs, each represented
by a single angel. The first (the Seraphim) hold the sacramental cup;
the Cherubim, a book; the Thrones, a throne; the Principalities, a
bunch of lilies; the Archangels are armed. The other attributes are not
clearly made out.
The figures have been ornamented with painting and gilding, now
partially worn off, and the style is of the early part of the fifteenth
century. It appeared to me to have formed one of the compartments of an
altar-piece.
[25] As in the picture in our National Gallery, No. 10.
[26] Vatican: Raphael’s fresco.
[27] _v._ Purg. c. viii.; Par. c. xxxi.; Purg. c. xxiv.
[28] The Cherubim in the upper lights of the painted windows at
St. Michael’s, Coventry, and at Cirencester, are represented each
standing on a white wheel with eight spokes. They have six wings, of
peacocks’ feathers, of a rich yellow colour. A white cross surmounts
the forehead, and both arms and legs are covered with short plumage.
The extremities are human and bare. At Cirencester the Cherubim hold a
book; at Coventry a scroll.
[29] In the sacristy of the Vatican.
[30] In the Louvre.
[31] In the Cathedral at Orvieto.
[32] In the _Frari_ at Venice.
[33] Gen. xviii., xlviii. 16.
[34] Purg. c. viii.
[35] 1 Kings vi. 23.
[36] MS. 10th century. Paris, Bibl. Nationale.
[37] MS. 13th century, Breviaire de St. Louis.
[38] Paris. Bibl. Nat., No. 510. G. MS.
[39] As in the legend of Prometheus. (Plato, Protag. p. 320.)
[40] Sutherland Gallery.
[41] As in Raphael’s fresco in the Vatican.
[42] As in the picture by Allston, painted for Lord Egremont, and now
at Petworth.
[43] As in a picture by F. Bol.
[44] See ‘Legends of the Madonna,’ p. 180.
[45] For several curious and interesting particulars relative to these
subjects, see the ‘Legends of the Madonna,’ pp. 247, 256.
[46] The picture is, I suspect, not by Poussin, but by Stella. There is
another, similar, by Guido; Louvre, 1057.
[47] Ciampini, p. 131, A.D. 394.
[48] Greek MS. A.D. 867.
[49] Paris, Bib. Nat., No. 510.
[50] In the Academy at Florence: they must have formed the side wings
to an enthroned Madonna and Child.
[51] Gallery of the Vatican.
[52] S. Maria del Popolo, Rome.
[53] The mosaics in the dome of the Chigi chapel are so ill lighted
that it is difficult to observe them in detail, but they have lately
been rendered cheaply accessible in the fine set of engravings by
Gruner, an artist who in our day has revived the pure and correct
design and elegant execution of Marc Antonio.
[54] As in the fresco in the Vatican.
[55] See the engraving under this title by Marc Antonio; it is properly
St. Cecilia, and not St. Félicité.
[56] It is now in the Lanti chapel in the church of the Lateran.
[57] Mr. Ruskin remarks very truly, that in early Christian art there
is a certain confidence, in the way in which angels trust to their
wings, very characteristic of a period of bold and simple conception.
Modern science has taught us that a wing cannot be anatomically joined
to a shoulder; and in proportion as painters approach more and more to
the scientific as distinguished from the contemplative state of mind,
they put the wings of their angels on more timidly, and dwell with
greater emphasis on the human form with less upon the wings, until
these last become a species of decorative appendage, a mere _sign_ of
an angel. But in Giotto’s time an angel was a complete creature, as
much believed in as a bird, and the way in which it would or might
cast itself into the air and lean hither and thither on its plumes,
was as naturally apprehended as the manner of flight of a chough or a
starling. Hence Dante’s simple and most exquisite synonym for angel,
“Bird of God;” and hence also a variety and picturesqueness in the
expression of the movements of the heavenly hierarchies by the earlier
painters, ill replaced by the powers of foreshortening and throwing
naked limbs into fantastic positions, which appear in the cherubic
groups of later times.’ The angels from the Campo Santo at Pisa,
numbered 12, 21, and 32, are instances of this bird-like form. They are
_Uccelli di Dio_. Those numbered 27, 28, and 37 are examples of the
later treatment.
[58] A.D. 1352. Florence, S. Maria Novella.
[59] Greek mosaic, A.D. 1174.
[60] MS. of the Book of Revelation, fourteenth century. Trinity
College, Dublin.
[61] Coll. of the Duke of Sutherland.
[62] Hôtel de Cluny, 399.
[63] _v._ Il perfetto Legendario. 1659.
[64] The Gnostics taught that the universe was created by the Seven
Great Angels, who ranked next to the _Eons_, or direct emanations from
God: ‘and when a distribution was afterwards made of things, the chief
of the creating angels had the people of the Jews particularly to his
share; a doctrine which in the main was received by many ancients.’—See
Lardner’s ‘History of the Early Heresies.’ I have alluded to the angel
pictured as the agent in creation (p. 39), but the Seven creating
Angels I have not met with in art. This was one of the Gnostic fancies
condemned by the early Church.
[65] Le Livre des Angeles de Dieu, MS. Paris Bibl. Nat.
[66] Dr. Arnold has some characteristic remarks on the half-human
effigies of Satan; he objects to the Miltonic representation:—‘By
giving a human likeness, and representing him as a bad man, you
necessarily get some image of what is good, as well as of what is bad,
for no man is entirely evil.’—‘The hoofs, the horns, the tail, were
all useful in this way, as giving you an image of something altogether
disgusting; and so Mephistophiles, and the utterly contemptible and
hateful character of the Little Master in Sintram, are far more true
than the Paradise Lost.’—_Life_, vol. ii.
[67] Vatican MSS., No. 1613, A.D. 989.
[68] A.D. 1365. Eremitani. Padua.
[69] Greek Apocalypse MS. Paris Bibl. Nat.
[70] Siena Acad.
[71] By Marco di Ravenna. Bartsch, xiv. 106.
[72] Brescia. S. Maria delle Grazie.
[73] Milan, Brera.
[74] Boisserée Gallery.
[75] A.D. 1400. Engraved in Lusinio’s ‘Early Florentine Masters.’
[76] Milan. Brera.
[77] Psalter of St. Louis. Bib. de l’Arsenal, Paris.
[78] See ante, p. 111, for the figure of St. Michael.
[79] St. Ephrem, Bib. Orient. tom. i. p. 78. De Beausobre, vol. ii. p.
17.
[80] Didron, Manuel grec., p. 101.
[81] Judges vi. 11.
[82] 2 Sam. xxiv. 16.
[83] Calmet.
[84] De Oratione, cap. xii.
[85] Bottari, Tab. xxii. On the early Christian sarcophagi, as I have
already observed, there are no winged angels. In the oft-repeated
subject of the ‘Three Children in the burning fiery furnace,’ the
fourth figure, when introduced, may represent _a_ son of God,—i.e. an
angel; or _the_ Son of God, i.e. Christ, as it has been interpreted in
both senses.
[86] Bel and the Dragon, 26.
[87] Bottari, 15, 49, 84.
[88] See ‘Legends of the Madonna.’
[89] ‘The stone on which stood the angel Gabriel when he announced to
the most Blessed Virgin the great mystery of the Incarnation,’ is among
the relies enumerated as existing in the church of the Santa Croce at
Rome.
[90] In Paradise he sings for ever the famous salutation:—
Cantando _Ave Maria gratia plena_
Dinanzi a lei le sue ali distese.
DANTE, _Par._ 32.
[91] See the Ursuline Manual. ‘When an angel anciently appeared to
the patriarchs or prophets, he was received with due honour as being
exalted above them, both by nature and grace; but when an archangel
visited Mary, he was struck with her superior dignity and pre-eminence,
and, approaching, saluted her with admiration and respect. Though
accustomed to the lustre of the highest heavenly spirits, yet he was
dazzled and amazed at the dignity and spiritual glory of her whom he
came to salute Mother of God, while the attention of the whole heavenly
court was with rapture fixed upon her.’
[92] The Annunciation and the Death of the Virgin, and the office and
character of the announcing angel in both subjects, are fully treated
and illustrated in the ‘Legends of the Madonna,’ pp. 179, 334.
[93] As in a very curious print by ‘Le Graveur de 1466;’ and there are
other instances.
[94] Chants Royaux. Paris Bibl. Nat. MS. No. 6,989.
[95] Mr. Stirling entitles this picture ‘An Angel appearing to a Bishop
at his prayers.’
[96] In the church of S. Marziale, Venice.
[97] Passavant’s Rafael, vol. ii. pp. 6, 150.
[98] Madrid Gallery.
[99] Louvre, No. 358.
[100] In our National Gallery.
[101] Rupertus, Commentar. in Apocal. c. 4. Mark xvi. 16.
[102] Fl. Acad.
[103] There is a small and beautiful picture by Giulio Romano in the
Belvedere at Vienna, representing the emblems of the Four Evangelists
grouped in a picturesque manner, which was probably suggested by
Raphael’s celebrated picture, which is in the Pitti palace at Florence.
[104] Grosvenor Gallery.
[105] Dresden Gallery. No. 828.
[106] Paris, Bib. du Roi, No. 510.
[107] A.D. 1377. Eng. in Rossini, pl. 24.
[108] Designed by Titian, and executed by F. Zuccati.
[109] It is so like Giorgione in sentiment and colour that it has
been attributed to him. For this expressive votive group, see the
frontispiece to vol. ii., and the legends of the four patron saints
above mentioned.
[110] Beneath the monument of Nicolò Orsini, in the SS.
Giovanni-e-Paolo at Venice. A very remarkable and beautiful picture
of this class is in the Berlin Gallery (No. 316). St. Mark, enthroned
and holding his gospel open on his knees, is instructing three of the
_Procuradori di San Marco_, who kneel before him in their rich crimson
dresses, and listen reverently.
[111] Venice Ducal Palace.
[112] Fl. Gal.
[113] Venice Acad.
[114] Brera, Milan.
[115] Brera, Milan.
[116] A.D. 1500. Scuola di S. Marco, Venice.
[117] Fl. Gal.
[118] The _Procuradori_ had the charge of the church and the treasury
of St. Mark.
[119] Sanuto, Vite de’ Duci Veneti.
[120] Acad. Venice.
[121] Acad. Venice.
[122] Ibid.
[123] Venice, Ducal Palace.
[124] The little black Virgin of the Monte della Guardia, near Bologna,
I saw carried in grand procession through the streets of that city,
in May 1847. The following inscription is engraved on a tablet in
the church of San Domenico and San Sisto at Rome: ‘Here at the high
altar is preserved that image of the most blessed Mary, which, being
delineated by St. Luke the Evangelist, received its colours and
form divinely. This is that image with which St. Gregory the Great
(according to St. Antonine), as a suppliant, purified Rome; and
the pestilence being dispelled, the angel messenger of peace, from
the summit of the castle of Adrian, commanding the Queen of Heaven
to rejoice, restored health to the city.’ A Virgin in the Ara Cœli
pretends to the same honour: both these are black and ugly, while that
in the S. Maria in Cosmedino is of uncommon dignity and beauty. See
‘Legends of the Madonna,’ Introduction, p. xli.
[125] MS. A.D. 1500. Paris, Bib. Imp.
[126] F. Rizi. A.D. 1660.
[127] As in the Missal of Henry VIII. Bodleian, Oxford.
[128] Both among the fine lithographs of the Boisserée Gallery. (_v._
Nos. 5, 15, 25.)
[129] Acad. Bologna.
[130] Musée, Marseilles.
[131] Leigh Court, Gal. of Mr. Miles.
[132] Petersburg, Gal. of Prince Narishken. Eng. by Müller.
[133] Munich Gal.
[134] Westmin. Abbey.
[135] Rome, S. Maria-sopra-Minerva.
[136] _v._ ‘Legends of the Madonna.’
[137] Brera, Milan.
[138] We find among the relics exhibited on great occasions in the
church of the S. Croce at Rome ‘the cup in which St. John, the apostle
and evangelist, by command of Domitian the emperor, drank poison
without receiving any injury; which afterwards being tasted by his
attendants, on the instant they fell dead.’
[139] Vatican MSS., tenth century.
[140] MSS., ninth century. Paris Nat. Library.
[141] Vatican, Christian Museum.
[142] Johannis Brompton Cronicon, 955.
[143] Dart’s Hist. of Westminster.
[144] _v._ Legend of St. Edward the Confessor in the ‘Legends of the
Monastic Orders,’ p. 99.
[145] Rome. S. M. in Trastevere. S. Prassede. S. Clemente. S. Cecilia.
[146] Bottari, Tab. xxviii.
[147] The churches in the eastern provinces of France, particularly in
Champagne, exhibit marked traces of the influence of Greek Art in the
eleventh and twelfth centuries.
[148] A.D. 451. Ciampini, Vet. Mon. p. 1, c. iv.
[149] Matt. xix. 28; and Luke xxii. 30.
[150] I must refer the reader to Mr. Cockerell’s illustrations and
restorations of the rich and multifarious and significant sculpture of
Wells Cathedral.
[151] Luke xxii. 30.
[152] Venice Acad., fourteenth century.
[153] Rosini, vol. iii. p. 75.
[154] Convent of Chilandari, Mount Athos.
[155] Vatican, Sala del Pozzo.
[156] Vatican.
[157] Greek MS., ninth century. Paris, Bibl. du Roi, No. 510.
[158] A set of martyrdoms is in the Frankfort Museum; another is
mentioned in Bartsch, viii. 22.
[159] Eusebius says that _all_ the Apostles suffered martyrdom; but
this is not borne out by any ancient testimony.—_Lardner’s Cred. of
Gospel Hist._ vol. viii. p. 81.
[160] They were fortunately engraved for D’Agincourt’s _Histoire de
l’Art_, before they were destroyed by fire.
[161] St. Guthlac’s Book. Ethelwold’s Benedictional.
[162] As in the mosaic on the tomb of Otho II. (Lateran Mus.).
[163] Bottari, Tab. xxv.
[164] One of the finest I have ever seen is the ‘Saint Pierre au
Donateur,’ by Gaudenzio Ferrari; holding his keys (both of gold), he
presents a kneeling votary, a man of middle age, who probably bore
his name. The head of St. Peter is very characteristic, and has an
energetic pleading expression, almost _demanding_ what he requires for
his votary. The whole picture is extremely fine. (_Turin Gallery_, No.
19.)
[165] Milan, Brera (No. 189).
[166] What St. Clement says is to this purpose: that St. Peter’s
hearers at Rome were desirous of having his sermons writ down for their
use; that they made their request to Mark to leave them a written
memorial of the doctrine they had received by word of mouth; that they
did not desist from their entreaties till they had prevailed upon him;
and St. Peter confirmed that writing by his authority, that it might be
read in the churches.’—LARDNER, _Cred._, vol. i. p. 250.
[167] Fl. Gal.
[168] Brera, Milan.
[169] Gian Bellini: Venice. S. M. de’ Frari.
[170] Vienna Gal.
[171] Bartsch, vi. 92.
[172] ‘Le Christ à la Colonne.’ _Louvre_, No. 550.
[173] Tab. xxi.
[174] Hampton Court.
[175] Madrid Gal., No. 114.
[176] Bridgewater Gal.
[177] Cathedral at Malines.
[178] Gal. of the Hague.
[179] This picture, formerly in the Brera, is now in England, in the
gallery of Lord Ward. It is the finest and most characteristic specimen
of the master I have ever seen.
[180] It is signed MẼDULAÉ, and attributed to Giulio della Mendula; a
painter (except through this picture) unknown to me.
[181] Brancacci Chapel, Florence.
[182] Berlin Gal., No. 313.
[183] Louvre, No. 685.
[184] As in the Greek mosaics in the Cathedral of Monreale, near
Palermo.
[185] Several such pictures are in the royal collections at Windsor and
Hampton Court.
[186] Moore makes a characteristic remark on this fresco; he is
_amazed_ at the self-denial of the painter who could cross this fine
group with the black iron bars which represent the prison.
[187] Some Protestant writers have set aside St. Peter’s ministry at
Rome, as altogether apocryphal; but Gieseler, an author by no means
credulous, considers that the historical evidence is in favour of the
tradition (_v._ Text-book of Eccles. Hist. p. 53). This is the more
satisfactory because, even to Protestants, it is not agreeable to be at
Rome and to be obliged to reject certain associations which add to the
poetical, as well as to the religious, interest of the place.
[188] He represented her as a resuscitation of the famous Helen of
Troy, which is said to have suggested to Goethe the resuscitation of
Helena in the second part of ‘Faust.’
[189] MS., Vatican, No. 6409. 10th century.
[190] In the sacristy of the Vatican.
[191] In the Brancacci Chapel at Florence.
[192] In the Gallery of the Vatican.
[193] Vatican. Capella Paolina.
[194] _v._ Il perfetto Legendario.
[195] There was an oratory in the church of the Franciscans at
Varallo, in which they celebrated a yearly festival in honour of St.
Petronilla. While Gaudenzio Ferrari was painting there the series
of frescoes in the chapel of the crucifixion on the Sacro Monte, he
promised to paint for the festival an effigy of the saint. The eve of
the day arrived, and still it was not begun: the people murmured, and
reproached him, which he affected to treat jestingly; but he arose in
the night, and with no other light than the beams of the full moon,
executed a charming figure of St. Petronilla, which still exists. She
stands holding a book, a white veil over her head, and a yellow mantle
falling in rich folds: she has no distinctive emblem. ‘Gaudenzio, che
in una bella notte d’estate dipinse fra ruvide muraglie una Santa
tutta grazia e pudore mentre un pallido raggio di luna sbucato dalla
frondosa chioma d’albero dolcemente gl’irradia la fronte calva e la
barba rossiccia, presenta un non so che di ideale e di romanzesco che
veramente rapisce.’—Opere di Gaudenzio Ferrari, No. 21. (Maggi, Turin.
It is to be regretted that in this valuable work neither the pages nor
the plates are numbered.)
[196] Second or third century. Bosio, p. 519.
[197] _v._ Münter’s Sinnbilder, p. 35.
[198] _v._ Zani. Enc. delle Belle Arti.
[199] In the gallery of Mr. Miles, at Leigh Court.
[200] Those who consult the engravings by Santi Bartoli and Landon
must bear in mind that almost all the references are erroneous. See
Passavant’s ‘Rafael,’ ii. 245.
[201] The clergy who permitted Sir James Thornhill to paint the cupola
of St. Paul’s with Scripture scenes, refused to admit any other
paintings into the church. Perhaps they were justified; but not by the
plea of Bishop Terrick—the fear of idolatry.
[202] This series, the most important work of the painter, Hans
Schaufelein, is not mentioned in Kugler’s Handbook. It is engraved in
outline in the ‘New Florence Gallery,’ published in 1837.
[203] ‘St. Paul prevents his jailor from killing himself’ (Acts xvi.)
has been lately painted by Claude Hallé, and is now in the Louvre.
(École française, No. 283.)
[204] In the Dresden Gal., No. 821.
[205] Bartsch, vii. 79.
[206] Théologie des Peintres.
[207] In several ancient pictures and bas-reliefs the cross has the
usual form, but he is not nailed—always bound with cords, as in the
ancient bas-relief over the portal of his church at Vercelli.
[208] Gallery of the Vatican.
[209] Munich, 363.
[210] In the collection of Mr. Miles at Leigh Court.
[211] Hermogenes was the name of a famous Gnostic teacher and
philosopher; thence, I suppose, adopted into this legend.
[212] _v._ Southey, ‘Pilgrim of Compostella.’
[213] Passavant’s Rafael, I. 508.
[214] Duomo, Siena.
[215] Belvedere, Vienna.
[216] Venice Acad.
[217] Rome, S. Maria-in-Trastevere. A.D. 1397.
[218] Stirling’s ‘Artists of Spain,’ ii. p. 753.
[219] Legenda Aurea.
[220] Gallery of Antwerp.
[221] Passavant’s Rafael, II. 116.
[222] Eng. by Audran.
[223] Gal. Vatican.
[224] Fl. Acad.
[225] Fl. Gal.
[226] Florence, Casa Ruccellai.
[227] The romantic Legend of the _sacratissima cintola_, ‘the most
sacred girdle of the Virgin,’ is given at length in the ‘Legends of the
Madonna,’ p. 344.
[228] ‘Very soon after the Lord was risen, he went to James, and showed
himself to him. For James had solemnly sworn that he would eat no bread
from the time that he had drunk the cup of the Lord till he should see
him risen from among them that sleep. “Bring,” saith the Lord, “a table
and bread.” He took bread, and blessed and brake it, and then gave it
to James the Just, and said to him, “My brother, eat thy bread; for the
Son of man is risen from among them that sleep.”’—St. Jerome, as quoted
in Lardner, _Lives of the Apostles_, chap. xvi.
[229] Matt. xiii. 55; Mark xv. 40.
[230] Fl. Gal.
[231] Fl. Acad.
[232] See Ford’s ‘Handbook of Spain;’ also Goethe’s ‘Theory of
Colours,’ translated by Sir C. Eastlake. ‘When a yellow colour is
communicated to dull and coarse surfaces, such as common cloth,
felt, or the like, on which it does not appear with full energy, the
disagreeable effect alluded to is apparent. By a slight and scarcely
perceptible change, the beautiful impression of fire and gold is
transformed into one not undeserving the epithet foul, and the colour
of honour and joy reversed to that of ignominy and aversion. To this
impression, the yellow hats of bankrupts, and the yellow circles on the
mantles of Jews, may have owed their origin.’ (P. 308.)
[233] Fl. Gal.
[234] Manfrini P., Venice.
[235] Fl. Acad.
[236] In the gallery of Lord Charlemont, Dublin.
[237] MS., No. 7206. Bib. du Roi.
[238] Florence, S. Maria Novella. It is clear that the extravagant
legends which refer to Judas Iscariot were the inventions of the
middle ages, and are as little countenanced by the writings of the
early fathers as by the Gospels. Eusebius says, that ‘Christ gave like
gifts to Judas with the other apostles; that once our Saviour had good
hopes of him on account of the power of the free will, for Judas was
not of such a nature as rendered his salvation impossible; like the
other apostles, he might have been instructed by the Son of God, and
might have been a sincere and good disciple.’ (Quoted in Lardner, vol.
viii. p. 77.) The Mahometans believe that Christ did not die, that
he ascended alive into heaven, and that Judas was crucified in his
likeness. (Curzon, p. 185.)
[239] The Greek expression, ‘leaning on his bosom, or on his lap,’
is not, I believe, to be taken literally, being used to signify an
intimate and affectionate intercourse.
[240] Florence Acad.
[241] In the series of compositions from the life of Christ, now in the
Academy at Florence; beautifully and faithfully engraved by P. Nocchi.
[242] This is also observable in the Last Supper by Nicolò Petri in the
San Francesco at Pisa.
[243] For a signal example, see Stirling’s ‘Artists of Spain,’ p. 493.
[244] For some remarks on the subject of the Pentecost, _v._ ‘Legends
of the Madonna,’ p. 325.
[245] Acad. Venice. Giovanni ed Antonio da Murano. 1440.
[246] As I have frequent occasion to refer to pictures painted for
the _Scuole_ of Venice, it may be as well to observe that the word
_scuola_, which we translate _school_, is not a place of education, but
a confraternity for charitable purposes,—visiting the sick, providing
hospitals, adopting orphans, redeeming prisoners and captives, &c.
In the days of the republic these schools were richly supported and
endowed, and the halls, churches, and chapels attached to them were
often galleries of art: such were the schools of St. Mark, St. Ursula,
St. Roch, the Carità and others. Unhappily, they exist no longer; the
French seized on their funds, and Austria does not like confraternities
of any kind. The Scuola della Carità is now the Academy of Arts.
[247] Acad. Venice. Gio. da Udine.
[248] Frankfort Museum.
[249] We missed the opportunity, now never more to be recalled, of
obtaining this admirable picture when it was sold out of the Fesch
collection.
[250] I believe the figure called St. Bonaventura, to represent St.
Jerome, because, in accordance with the usual scheme of ecclesiastical
decoration, the greatest of the four Latin Fathers would take the first
place, and the cardinal’s hat and the long flowing beard are his proper
attribute; whereas there is no example of a St. Bonaventura with a
beard, or wearing the monastic habit without the Franciscan cord. The
Arundel Society have engraved this fine figure under the name of St.
Bonaventura.
[251] Dresden Gal.
[252] Imp. Gal., St. Petersburg.
[253] Vienna Gal.
[254] In the catalogue, St. Cunegunda is styled _St. Elizabeth Queen of
Hungary_, and St. Elizabeth of Hungary is styled _St. Elizabeth Queen
of Portugal_.
[255] Irish Bishop of Würtzburg, and Patron, A.D. 689.
[256] ‘In this picture we recognise the master to whom Albert Dürer was
indebted for his education; indeed, Wohlgemuth here surpasses his great
scholar in the expression of gentleness and simplicity, particularly in
the heads of some of the female saints.’—_Handbook of Painting: German,
Flemish, and Dutch Schools_, p. 111.
[257] Florence, Ogni Santi.
[258] Bologna, S. Maria Maggiore.
[259] The picture, originally at Naples, was purchased or appropriated
by Philip IV. for the Church of the Escurial, which belonged to the
Jeronymites.
[260] Milan, Brera.
[261] Collection of Lord Ward.
[262] Louvre, Sp. Gal.
[263] P. Pitti, Florence.
[264] Lichtenstein Gal.
[265] Kugler pronounces this to be a Flemish picture (_v._ ‘Handbook,’
p. 190).
[266] The three frescoes by Carpaccio are in the Church of San Giorgio
de’ Schiavoni at Venice.
[267] It was in the Standish Gal. in the Louvre.
[268] Engraved by Loli.
[269] Wolvinus, A.D. 832. ‘His name seems to indicate that he was of
Teutonic race—a circumstance which has excited much controversy amongst
the modern Italian antiquaries.’—_Murray’s Handbook._
[270] Belvedere Gal., Vienna.
[271] Paris, Invalides.
[272] SS. Giovan e Paolo, Venice.
[273] Brera, Milan.
[274] Fl. Gal.
[275] Pitti Pal. This fine picture was painted for the Agostini.
[276] Brera, Milan.
[277] Berlin Gal.
[278] Acad., Venice.
[279] Vatican, Christian Museum.
[280] Cremona.
[281] Belvedere, Vienna.
[282] _v._ ‘Legends of the Monastic Orders,’ p. 191.
[283] I believe this picture was afterwards in the possession of Mr.
Dennistoun, of Dennistoun. Mr. Stirling mentions it as a fine specimen
of Murillo’s second style.
[284] Once in Lord Methuen’s Gallery at Corsham.
[285] It was in the possession of Her Majesty the Ex-Queen of the
French, who paid for it 25,000f.
[286] There is a duplicate in the Bridgewater Gallery.
[287] Sutherland Gal.
[288] Vicenza. S. Maria del Monte.
[289] Bartsch, _Le Peintre Graveur_, vii. 264.
[290] For an account of St. Nilus, and the foundation of Grotta
Ferrata, see the ‘Legends of the Monastic Orders.’
[291] According to Sansovino, begun by Giorgione and finished by
Sebastian.
[292] Dante, _Inf._ c. xi.
[293] The Greek word _Papa_, here translated _der Papst_ (the Pope),
betrays the Eastern origin of the story. It is the general title of the
Greek priesthood, and means simply a priest, elevated in the German
legend into ‘the Pope.’
[294] Koburgher, ‘Legendensammlung,’ 1488, p. 325. Heller’s ‘Leben und
Werke Albrecht Dürer’s,’ p. 440.
[295] Sutherland Gal.
[296] ‘_La Messe de saint Basile._’ Louvre, École française, No. 508.
[297] ‘Pour vous ramener à des idées plus favorables à la Madeleine,
vous transportant au temps et aux circonstances où vécut cette célèbre
Israélite, je pourrais vous dire, MESSIEURS, que l’antiquité, ne
jugeant pas équitable d’exiger plus de vertu du sexe réputé pour
le plus faible, ne croyait pas les femmes déshonorées de ce qui ne
déshonorait pas les hommes à ses yeux; qu’elle a d’ailleurs toujours
été bien moins sévère à des sentiments qui, naissant avec nous, lui
paraissaient une partie de nous-mêmes, et qu’elle n’attacha jamais
aucune idée flétrissante aux suites d’une passion qu’elle trouvait
presque aussi pardonnable que naturelle. Les grâces de la beauté
étaient alors regardées comme les autres talents; et l’art de plaire,
aussi autorisé que les autres arts, loin d’inspirer de l’éloignement,’
&c.
After describing, in glowing terms, her splendid position in the world,
her illustrious rank, her understanding, ‘_droit, solide, et délicat_,’
her ‘_grâce_,’ her ‘_esprit_,’ her wondrous beauty, particularly
her superb hair, ‘_cultivé avec tant de soin, arrangé avec tant
d’art_;’—and lamenting that a creature thus nobly gifted should have
been cast away upon the same rock which had shipwrecked the greatest,
the most illustrious, of her _compatriotes, ‘le fort Samson, le preux
David, le sage Salomon_;’ he goes on to describe, with real eloquence,
and in a less offensive strain of panegyric, her devotion at the foot
of the cross, her pious visit to the tomb by break of day, braving the
fury of the guards, the cruelty of the Jews, and taking the place of
the apostles, who were dispersed or fled. And thus he winds up with a
moral, most extraordinary when we recollect that it was preached from a
pulpit by a grave doctor in theology:—
‘Jeunes personnes qui vivez encore dans l’innocence! apprenez donc
de la Madeleine combien grands sont les périls de la jeunesse, de la
beauté, de tous les dons purement naturels; souvenez-vous que le désir
excessif de plaire est toujours dangereux, rarement innocent, et qu’il
est bien difficile de donner beaucoup de sentiments, sans en prendre
soi-même. A la vue des faiblesses de la jeune Israélite, comprenez de
quelle importance est, pour vous, la garde de votre cœur; et à quels
désordres il vous expose, si vous ne vous accoutumez à le contrarier
sans cesse, en tous ses penchants.
‘Femmes mondaines, et peut-être voluptueuses! apprenez de la
Madeleine à revenir de vos écarts; ils ont été, dans vous, le fruit
de la faiblesse humaine; que votre retour soit le fruit de votre
correspondance à la grâce. Et pourriez-vous ou vous proposer un modèle
plus digne d’être suivi que celui que vous présente Madeleine, ou
trouver ailleurs un motif plus puissant de le suivre?
‘Et vous qui, fières d’une réserve que vous ne devez peut-être qu’à
votre insensibilité, vous en faites un rempart, à l’abri duquel vous
croyez pouvoir mépriser toute la terre, et dont la mondanité de
Madeleine elle-même a peut-être scandalisé la précieuse vertu! femmes
plus vaines que sages! apprenez de notre Sainte, qu’il n’y a que la
grâce de Dieu et une attention continuelle sur nous-mêmes qui puissent
nous aider constamment contre la pente qui nous précipite vers le
mal; et craignez qu’on ne puisse vous dire, à son sujet, ce quo Saint
Augustin disait à une dévote de votre caractère, pleine d’elle-même et
médisante: “Plût à Dieu que vous eussiez donné dans les mêmes excès
dont vous croyez si volontiers les autres capables! vous seriez moins
éloignée du royaume de Dieu; du moins vous auriez de l’humanité!”’
Le Brun’s Magdalene is just the Magdalene described by this preacher:
both one and the other are as like the Magdalene of Scripture as Leo X.
was like St. Peter.
[298] The original Latin distich runs thus:—
Ne desperetis vos qui peccare soletis,
Exemploque meo vos reparate Deo.
[299] It was in the Standish Gallery belonging to Louis-Philippe, and
now dispersed.
[300] There is a beautiful half-length female figure, attributed to
Correggio, and engraved under the title of ‘Gismunda’ weeping over
the heart of her lover, in the collection of the Duke of Newcastle.
The duplicate in the Belvedere Gallery at Vienna is there styled a
Magdalene, and attributed correctly to Francesco Furini.
[301] Lichtenstein Gal.
[302] These two pictures were sold out of the Louvre with King
Louis-Philippe’s pictures.
[303] Turin Gallery.
[304] Munich Gallery, No. 266. There is an inferior repetition in the
Royal Gallery at Turin.
[305] The great picture formerly in the Durazzo Palace is now in the
Royal Gallery at Turin. It is wonderful for life and colour, and
dramatic feeling—a masterpiece of the painter in his characteristic
style.
[306] Bottari, Tab. xxx.
[307] Santa Croce, Florence.
[308] This beautiful and valuable picture has been bequeathed by the
poet to the National Gallery.
[309] The print by Edelinck is considered as the masterpiece of that
celebrated engraver.
[310] Dresden Gal.
[311] See p. 379, _note_.
[312] There are about 150 churches in England dedicated in honour of
Mary Magdalene.
[313] There is a fine series of frescoes from the life of Mary
Magdalene by Gaudenzio Ferrari, in the church of St. Cristoforo at
Vercelli. 1. Mary and Martha are seated, with a crowd of others,
listening to Christ, who is preaching in a pulpit. Martha is veiled and
thoughtful: Mary, richly dressed, looks up eagerly.—Half destroyed. 2.
Mary anoints the feet of the Saviour: she lays her head down on his
foot with a tender humiliation: in the background the Maries at the
sepulchre and the _Noli me tangere_.—This also in great part ruined.
3. The legend of the Prince of Provence and his wife, who are kneeling
before Lazarus and Mary. Martha is to the left, and Marcella behind. In
the background are the various scenes of the legend:—the embarkation;
the scene on the island; the arrival at Jerusalem; the return to
Marseilles with the child. This is one of the best preserved, and the
heads are remarkably fine. 4. Mary Magdalene sustained by angels,
her feet resting between the wings of one of them, is borne upwards.
All the upper part of the figure is destroyed. In the background are
the last communion and burial of the Magdalene. I saw these frescoes
in October 1855. They suffered greatly from the siege in 1638, when
several bombs shattered this part of the wall, and will soon cease to
exist. They are engraved in their present state in Pianazzi’s ‘Opere di
Gaudenzio Ferrari,’ No. 19.
[314] Bayle, Dict. Hist.; Molanus, lib. iv., de Hist. Sacrar. S. Mag.,
cap. xx. p. 428; Thomasium, prefat. 78. The authority usually cited is
Abdius, a writer who pretended to have lived in the first century, and
whom Bayle styles ‘the most impudent of legendary impostors.’
[315] Paris, Bibliothèque du Roi, MS. 7013, fourteenth century.
[316] Il Perfetto Legendario.
[317] Queen’s Gal.
[318] Bodleian MSS., Oxford.
[319] It is perhaps in reference to this tradition that St. Martha
has become the patroness of an order of charitable women, who serve
in the hospitals, particularly the military hospitals, in France and
elsewhere,—her brother Lazarus having been a soldier.
[320] Fl. Gal.
[321] B. Museum.
[322] It was in the Sp. Gal. in the Louvre, now dispersed.
[323] Santa Maria Penitente.
[324] ‘Leben und Werke Von Albrecht Dürer,’ No. 2067.