The screen of S. Mark has been so often depicted, that it has not been
thought necessary to give a plate for its illustration; but it is a very
fine example of an early Italian screen. Some writers have commonly
described it as Byzantine, but it differs entirely from Greek screens,
which are invariably solid, and entered by three doors; whereas that of
S. Mark is open above the subase, and has only one pair of doors in the
centre. It is a very remarkable work of the period, and decorated with
several marble images above the entablature, executed by early Pisan
sculptors. The images are of a much more recent date than the screen
itself, which is one of the most ancient and best preserved examples of
screens now remaining in Italy.
The church of Frairi, or Santa Maria Gloriosa, contains a very
remarkable choir screen, which I have figured among the plates. It is
composed of marble, and quite solid; the front is divided into
compartments representing the prophets, boldly designed, and carved in
bas-relief; at each end are the ambones for the Epistle and Gospel, with
an angel for the book-bearer.
Beneath the corbels which support these ambones are the four Evangelists
represented seated and writing the Gospels. The corbels themselves are
beautifully wrought with cherubims and angels. The choir stalls within
this screen are of elaborate Gothic-work, and ornamented with skilful
inlay. Altogether, this church is another most striking example, out of
multitudes of others, of the extreme fallacy and absurdity of the modern
notion that Pointed architecture is unsuited to Italy and the south; and
yet we hear this continually put forth in the most positive manner; and
instead of men importing the grand ideas and spirit of those Italian
artists who flourished in the mediæval era, we are inundated with the
wild eccentricities of Bernini, or the more insipid productions of an
even later school.
Not having visited Spain, I am not able to give any account of the
church fittings from personal observation, but I have had an opportunity
of inspecting several accurate drawings made on the spot, and from them
it appears that huge screens of ornamental iron-work, reaching to a vast
height, and elaborate in detail, are by no means uncommon. I have
figured one on a small scale from the cathedral of Toledo, and I have
little doubt that they greatly resemble the choir screens of St. Sernin
at Toulouse, which I have given to a larger scale. This city partakes
most strongly of a Spanish character, which strengthens my supposition
regarding the similarity of the screen-work.
[7] Ciampini, de Sacris Ædificiis, p. xvi. Fontana, Templum Vaticanum,
p. 89. Pistolezi, Il Vaticano Descritto, vol. 7, p. 57. From Professor
Willis's History of Canterbury Cathedral:—"Screen of old St. Peter's, at
Rome.—In front of the steps were placed twelve columns of Parian marble,
arranged in two rows; these were of a spiral form, and decorated with
sculpture of vine leaves: the bases were connected by lattice-work of
metal, or by walls of marble breast high. The entrance was between the
central pillars, where the cancelli, or lattices, were formed into
doors, which gave access to the presbytery as well as the confessionary.
Above these columns were laid beams, or entablatures, upon which were
placed images, candelabra, and other decorations; and, indeed, the
successive Popes seem to have lavished every species of decoration in
gold, silver, and marble-work upon this enclosure and the crypt below.
The entire height, measured to the top of the entablature, was about
thirty feet; the columns, with the connecting lattices and entablatures,
formed, in fact, _the screen of the chancel_."
[8] Anastasius, in his Lives of the Popes, mentions Sergius I., Gregory
III., Adrian I., Leo III., Pascal I., Gregory IV., Sergius II., Leo IV.,
and Nicholas I., as munificent donors of costly veils for the altars of
various churches in Rome, as may be seen at length in Thiers's Traité
des Autels, chap. xiv.
[9] There are five illustrations of this church in an interesting
Italian work, entitled Monumenti della Religione Cristiana.
[10] These pictures are all engraved in a work entitled Raccolta delle
più celebri Pitture di Sienna.
[Plate II:
_Elevation of Screen of Old Sᵗ Peters Church at Rome._
_REFERENCES_
A. _Ciborium of the High Altar._
B. _The Holy Gates._
CCC. _Metal lattices._
EE. _Marble Basement._
GG. _Rods for Suspending Lamps & offerings in honour of Sᵗ Peter._
HH. _Standing Candlesticks for great feasts._
Gates; Plan.]
[Plate III:
_Marble Screen in the Basilica of SS Nerei and Achille, at Rome._
_Iron Screen from an ancient Painting at Sienna representing the life
of Pius the second, by Pinturicchio._]
[Plate IV:
_Marble Screen in the Church of the Frairi, Venice._
_Detached Altar of Sᵗ Michele, Florence, with its Brass Screen._]