Fontainebleau; in addition he instituted, in compliance with the request
of the guardians of the Hôpital de la Trinité, a manufactory of tapestry
in Paris, in which the children belonging to the hospital were employed
in dyeing wool and silk, and in weaving them in the loom with a high and
low warp.
The new manufactory, whether on account of the excellence of its
productions, or from influential patronage, obtained so many privileges
that the public peace was on several occasions seriously disturbed by
the jealousy of the guild of tapestry-workers; an ancient and numerous
corporation still possessing great authority and influence.
The manufactory of the Hôpital de la Trinité continued to flourish
during the reign of Henry III.; and Sauval, in his “Histoire des
Antiquités de
PLAN OF PARIS IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY,
WITH THIS LEGEND:
_Mil cinq cents ans quarante et neuf passez_
_Du déluge: Paris le noble roy_
_Dix-huitième: fonda en grand arroy_
_Ville et cité de Paris belle assez_
_Devant que Rome eust des gens amassez_
_Six cent cinquante et huit ans comme croy._
TRANSLATION.
One thousand five hundred and forty-nine years after the Deluge,
the noble King Paris, the eighteenth of his name, founded with
great pomp the fine town and city of Paris, anterior to the
foundation of Rome, which took place, as I think, 658 (?) years
before Jesus Christ.
[Illustration: PLAN OF PARIS IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.
Beauvais Tapestry (Communicated by M. Achille Jubinal.)]
Paris,” informs us that in the following reign it reached its highest
point of prosperity. In 1594, Dubourg made in these workshops, from the
designs of Lerembert, the beautiful tapestries which, to a date very
near our own, decorated the Church of Saint-Merry. Henry IV., says
Sauval, hearing this work much spoken of, desired to see it, and was so
pleased therewith that he resolved to restore the manufactories in
Paris, “which the disorder of preceding reigns had abolished.” He
therefore established Laurent, a celebrated tapestry-worker, in the
_maison professe_ of the Jesuits, which had remained closed since the
trial of Jean Chastel. He allowed one crown a day, and one hundred
francs a year, as wages to this skilful artist; his apprentices
receiving ten sous a day, and his fellow-workmen twenty-five, thirty,
and even forty sous, according to their skill. At a later period Dubourg
and Laurent, who had entered into partnership, were both installed in
the galleries of the Louvre. Henry IV., following the example of Francis
I., brought from Italy skilled workers in gold and in silk. These he
lodged in the Hôtel de la Maque, Rue de la Tisseranderie: the special
works they made were hangings in fine cloth of gold and silver
(_frisé_).
[Illustration: Fig. 32.--Banner of the Tapestry Workers of Lyons.]
Subsequently to the sixteenth century, the tapestries fabricated at the
manufactories of the Savonnerie, the Gobelins, and at Beauvais, &c.,
although more perfect as regards the weaving, and therefore presenting
greater regularity of design and a better comprehension of colour and
perspective, unfortunately lost the original simplicity which
characterized them in olden times. Approaching the reign of Louis XIV.,
under the influence of the school of Le Brun,[3] they affected an
imitation of Greek and Roman forms, which seem out of place in France.
Handsome countenances are the result, out accompanied by meaningless
figures; the frankness of truth gives place to staid coldness, the ideal
usurps the place of nature, conventionality that of spontaneity. We find
them ingenious, pretty, and even beautiful productions, but wanting
character, the real soul of works of art.
CERAMIC ART.
Pottery Workshops in the Gallo-Romano Period.--Ceramic Art
disappears for several Centuries in Gaul: is again found in the
Tenth and Eleventh Centuries.--Probable Influence of Arabian Art in
Spain.--Origin of Majolica.--Luca della Robbia and his
Successors.--Enamelled Tiles in France, dating from the Twelfth
Century.--The Italian Manufactories of Faenza, Rimini, Pesaro,
&c.--Beauvais Pottery.--Invention and Works of Bernard Palissy; his
History; his _Chefs-d’œuvre_.--The _Faïence_ of Thouars, called
“Henri II.”
We can assuredly say, with M. Jacquemart, that “the history of the
ceramic art of the Middle Ages is shrouded by a veil which probably will
always remain impenetrable. Notwithstanding the constant investigations
of local societies, and the numerous documents that have been brought to
light, nothing has transpired to remove the doubts of the archæologist
regarding the places where the manufacture of pottery had its birth
among us.”
Nevertheless, it is certain that at the Gallo-Romano period--that is to
say, when the Romans, having made themselves masters of that country,
had introduced their customs and their industry--Gaul possessed numerous
and considerable pottery workshops, which produced vessels and vases of
all kinds. Maintaining the ancient forms and processes of manufacture,
these factories continued to furnish, till about the sixth century,
amphoræ, basins, cups on stems, dishes, plates, and bottles. They were
made, with the aid of the potter’s wheel, of grey, yellow, or brown
clay. Some of the finest quality were covered with a brilliant varnish,
resembling red sealing-wax both in colour and appearance; and these
articles were often ornamented with much care and delicacy. We find
vases surrounded with garlands of leaves, cups embellished with figures
of men and animals; these are so many proofs that this was a manufacture
to which the influence of art was by no means unknown.
Yet it is also evident that this industry--one of a sufficiently
elevated kind--nearly disappeared about the period of the invasions and
wars amidst the tumult of which French monarchy had its birth; and
there remained but the simple art that provided for ordinary
requirements an assemblage of articles rude and devoid of character.
It must be remembered, however, that the ceramic art which had
flourished in the West merely migrated, instead of becoming extinct; and
it found, like so many other arts, a new country in that Byzantium
destined to be the sanctuary of ancient magnificence. Whatever may be
the reason, ceramic art disappeared from the soil of France during a
long period; and it is still a question what was the real origin of its
revival. Did it revive of itself, or was it under the influence of
example? Did it owe its resuscitation to any immigration of artisans, or
to the importation of some process of manufacture? These questions still
remain unanswered.
[Illustration: Fig. 33.--Vases of ancient shape, represented in the
decorative sculpture of the Church of St. Benoît, Paris. (Twelfth
Century.)]
The ceramic art, which perhaps we somewhat wrongly style modern, is
characterized by the use of enamel, or overlaying articles with a glaze
having a metallic basis; this the fire of the oven vitrifies; it is a
process of which the ancients were entirely ignorant.
But, in searching the tombs that belonged to the ancient abbey of
Jumièges (in Normandy), and which date from the year 1120, there have
been found fragments of pottery of a fine but porous clay, covered with
a glazing somewhat similar to that now used.
Moreover, we read in a chronicle of the ancient province of Alsace, that
in the year 1283 “died a potter of Schelestadt, who was the first to
cover earthen vessels with glass.”
But we also know that at the time when these isolated attempts were
being carried out in France, the Persians and Armenians had long before
discovered the art of making magnificent enamelled ware for covering the
exterior of their monuments; and that the Arabs settled in Spain
produced wonderful examples of painted and enamelled earthenware, with
which they decorated and furnished those palaces whose grand ruins are
still to us like the fairy visions of a dream or of enchantment. The
vases of the Alhambra, types of an art as original as it was singularly
ingenious, claim, and doubtless will always claim, the admiration of
minds that can appreciate the beautiful in whatever form it may present
itself.
[Illustration: Fig. 34.--Vases of ancient form, represented in the
decorative sculptures of the Church of St. Benoît, Paris. (Twelfth
Century.)]
And now, are we to suppose that the intercourse between nations and the
transactions of commerce must necessarily have made western Europe
acquainted with the enamelled dishes of Asia, or the _chefs-d’œuvre_ of
the African race in Spain? Or, on the other hand, shall we say that it
was by a spontaneous effort of invention that our forefathers opened up
the road to a new domain of art? In the one case we have the opinion,
deservedly respected, of Scaliger, who affirms the fact, apparently very
significant, that during the Middle Ages there existed in the Balearic
Islands manufactories of pottery of Arab origin; our learned author even
adds, that in accordance with the most probable etymology, the name of
_Majolica_, which was first given to Italian ware (the earliest in the
European revival of the ceramic art), was derived from _Majorca_, the
largest, as we know, of the Balearic Islands, in which locality the
principal manufactory of these pottery wares was situated. But, on the
other hand, a comparative examination of Arab and Italian wares excludes
all idea not only of affiliation, but even of imitation or reminiscence
between them.
In the face of such contradictory coincidence, if we may say so, it
would be as difficult as it would be rash to pronounce an opinion; we
consider it better, while disregarding problematical indications, to
boldly face a train of facts now determined by historical proof.
“At the commencement of the fifteenth century”--we cannot do better than
borrow from M. Jacquemart a passage which he himself took from the
Italian work by Passeri, on Majolica (Pesaro, 1838, in 8vo.)--“Luca
della Robbia, the son of Simone di Marro, apprenticed himself to a
Florentine goldsmith, Leonardo, the son of Giovanni; but disliking the
confinement of a laboratory, he soon became a pupil of the sculptor
Lorenzo Ghiberti, who made the gates of the Baptistry at Florence. His
rapid progress under so able a master placed him in a position, when he
could not have been more than fifteen years old, to undertake the task
of ornamenting a chapel for Sigismond Malatesta, at Rimini. Two years
later, Pietro di Medici, who was having an organ erected in Santa-Maria
dei Fiori, at Florence, directed Luca to execute some marble sculptures
in that church. The fame which he gained by these works drew everybody’s
attention to the young sculptor. Orders reached him in such numbers that
he clearly saw the impossibility of executing them in marble or in
bronze; added to this, he bore with impatience the restraint imposed by
working with such rigid materials, of which the laborious handling
trammelled the flights of his imagination. Soft and plastic clay was a
material far better suited to his readiness of conception. At the same
time, Luca dreamt of the future, and of glory; and thus having in view
the object of executing works which, though less perishable, might be
rapidly executed, he devoted all his efforts to discover a coating which
would give to clay the polish and the hardness of marble. After many
trials, a varnish made of tin (_étain_), which was white, opaque, and of
a resisting nature, furnished him with the result he hoped for. The art
of producing fine earthenware was discovered, which first received the
name of vitrified clay (_terra invetriata_).
“Luca’s enamel was a most perfect white; he first used it alone for
figures, in semi-relief, which were raised on a blue background. At a
later period he ventured to colour his figures, and Pietro di Medici
was one of the first who encouraged this kind of work for the decoration
of palaces. The fame of this novel art spread with rapidity; all the
churches were anxious to possess some specimen of the master, so that
Luca was soon compelled to associate with himself his two brothers
Ottaviano and Agostino, in order to keep pace with the requirements of
the public. He endeavoured, nevertheless, to extend the application of
his discovery by painting flowers and groups of figures on a smooth
surface; but in the year 1430 death cut short his remarkable career, and
stayed, in the hands of the inventor, the progress of _enamelled
pottery_ (Fig. 35).
[Illustration: Fig. 35.--Enamelled Terra-cotta, by Luca della Robbia.]
“The family of Luca, however, made public the secret of his discovery.
His two nephews, Luca and Andrea, produced some figures and designs of
singular merit in terra-cotta. Luca ornamented the floor of the Loggia
of Raphael. Girolumo, a relative of Luca, come to France, where he
decorated the château of Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Paris. Two
females, Lisabetta and Speranza, added to the renown of the family Della
Robbia.”
Such is the history of the revival, or rather of the creation, of
ceramic art in Italy, as briefly recorded by a man thoroughly acquainted
with the subject. An ancient author, and, moreover, a competent writer,
instances some monuments of an earlier date; among others a tomb at
Bologna, in which were tiles covered with a green and yellow varnish,
and vessels (_écuelles_) of the same kind inserted in the façades or
porticoes of the churches of Pesaro and the abbey of Pomposa. But to the
honour of Luca della Robbia it may be remarked, that these specimens of
an earlier industry differed essentially from his productions; because
the glazing that covered them, the basis of which was lead, was so
transparent, that through it could be seen either the clay or the
colours underneath; whereas the enamel discovered by Luca, the basis of
which was tin, had, on the contrary, for its essential character, an
opacity which may be termed intense. Let us observe, moreover, that in
order to embellish his productions with paintings, Luca was accustomed
to apply colours to the first and general coating, which became fixed by
a subsequent process of baking.
It is by recognising the distinction we have just laid down between
these two processes, that the productions of Italian ceramic art are
ordinarily classified: the _demi-majolica_, with transparent glaze,
somewhat like the Spanish-Arabian pottery, and also, perhaps, like
Asiatic tiles; then the _majolica_, by which we understand fine
earthenware, where the clay is covered with a coating of opaque varnish,
distinguishing the invention due to Luca della Robbia.
Having given priority of invention to Luca della Robbia, it is as well,
nevertheless, here to state, that from the eleventh and twelfth
centuries there existed in France a kind of ceramic art employed
especially in the manufacture of varnished pottery-tiles. Many, of baked
clay, have been found with drawings and designs in black or brown on a
white or yellow ground (Plate IV.). At a later period these tiles, of
which we see such brilliant specimens in the small pictures in
manuscripts, especially in those
[Illustration: PAVING TILES OF THE FOURTEENTH AND FIFTEENTH
CENTURIES.]
of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, were embellished with
designs, emblems, armorial bearings, and scrolls. As already stated, in
the passage from the author whom we have taken as our guide, the impulse
which Luca della Robbia gave to ceramic art extended itself with
rapidity in every direction; and if any other reason were wanting,
beyond the intrinsic value of this art, to account for its development,
we should say that the circumstances in the midst of which Luca made his
discovery were eminently favourable to its advancement.
Luxurious display was, at that time, prominent among the classes who
aspired to ostentation. When writing of furniture, we saw to what a
pitch of splendid profusion kings, princes, and nobles carried the mania
for displaying their wealth. We particularly pointed out sideboards in
the dining-rooms, covered with plate and all kinds of objects, which
were only placed there to dazzle the eyes. The custom of these displays
having been introduced, it could nevertheless be only indulged in by
those in possession of considerable fortunes, and therefore it will be
readily understood how quickly fashion affected the productions of
ceramic art; which, in addition to being recognised as works of art,
were singularly well suited, both in character and by their comparative
cheapness, to the spirit of ostentation which had taken possession of
people of inferior rank. It was sufficient that some piece of majolica
should have found a place on the sideboard of a prince amidst the gold
and the silver which hitherto had alone enjoyed this privilege, for the
lower ranks of the _bourgeoisie_ and the _tiers-état_ to adopt the
fashion, in their dining-rooms, of decorating them either with majolica
alone, or associated with plate.
And admitting this fact, that the productions of ceramic art were thus
allowed to find admittance, and, as it were, in some measure an equally
distinguished position, amidst plate and objects of precious metals, it
resulted that this new industry, supported by the best artists, soon
became remarkable for works which were at the same time most beautiful
and original.
As something new in history, we find simple pieces of pottery--to give
them their generic name--passing as valuable offerings among the great,
and employed on very many occasions to denote ardent admiration in the
world of courtly gallantry. It is thus we have handed down to us,
principally on cups by renowned masters, portraits of the beauties who
in those times adorned the ranks of the nobility: the Dianas, the
Francescas, the Lucias, the Proserpines, whom their admirers caused to
be portrayed in order to offer them their own likenesses.
It was at Florence, about the year 1410, that Luca della Robbia first
introduced his invention; but as soon as the process became known, the
greater part of the towns of Italy, especially those of Tuscany,
established manufactories, among which a remarkable rivalry soon arose:
Pesaro, Gubbio, Urbino, Faenza, Rimini, Bologna, Ravenna, Ferrara, Citta
Castellana, Bassano, Venice, emulated each other, and almost all
succeeded in giving, as it were, an individual character to their
productions.
Pesaro--the place were the earliest workshops of ornamental pottery in
Italy were seated, and the processes of which (derived from Luca della
Robbia) seem to have blended with the ancient Spanish, or
_Majorquaises_--presents to us a design of a rather harsh and stiff
character. “The outlines of figures,” adds M. Jacquemart, “are drawn in
manganese black, the flesh is the colour of the enamel, and the drapery
alone is of uniform tint.”
It was at Pesaro that the celebrated Lanfranco flourished. The ceramic
museum of Sèvres has two of his pieces: it was he who invented the
method of applying gold to earthenware, at a time when the early
processes of ornamenting this manufacture had ceased to be employed, and
had given place to delicate paintings, which, although no longer
executed by the most renowned artists of Italy, were nevertheless the
work of intelligent pupils who had received the benefit of their
teaching and example.
The manufactory at Gubbio had for its founder Giorgio Andreoli, who,
both as a sculptor and an artist in majolica, executed works as
remarkable in form as in effect. “The palette of mineral colours adopted
by Andreoli was the most perfect of the period; and coppery yellows,
ruby reds, are frequently used in his works.” There are still extant
some works signed by this _master_ (a title officially conferred on him
by a patent of nobility); one is a slab in the Sèvres collection, and
another a tablet representing the Holy Family.
Urbino--of which the dukes, especially Guidobaldo II., signalized
themselves as the most zealous patrons of ceramic art--became famous
through the works of Francesco Xanto, who executed historical subjects
on enamelled clay. Xanto had as a successor Orazio Fontana, who has been
named “the Raphael of Majolica,” and who produced, among other
magnificent objects, some vases which, when subsequently seen by
Christina of Sweden, so impressed her by their beauty that she offered
to exchange for them silver vases of equal size.
It was at the manufactory of Deruta that imaginative subjects on
majolica were first introduced; Bassano was famous for its landscapes
with ruins; Venice became celebrated for delicate ware with _repoussé_
reliefs; Faenza is still proud of her Guido Salvaggio; Florence of her
Flaminio Fontana, &c.
Majolica attained to its highest point of brilliancy under the Duke of
Urbino whom we have already named, Guidobaldo II., who was ever ready to
make any sacrifice in order that this art might be introduced into the
manufactories under his patronage. He even obtained from Raphael and
Giulio Romano some original drawings to serve as examples; and this
feeling having once been inculcated, we soon find artists of renown,
such as Batista Franco and Raphael del Colle, tendering their services
for the ornamentation of majolica. Thus the productions of this period
are distinguishable among all others for harmony of composition and
accurate drawing, qualities which render them specially noteworthy (Fig.
36). Then, almost immediately, followed the decline of this art. While
flourishing more and more until the middle of the sixteenth century, the
art of making majolica had fallen, at the termination of that epoch,
into a kind of degenerate industry, swayed by the caprice of fashion,
and thereby reduced to mannerism.
Nearly at the commencement of the renovation of ceramic art, Italian
artisans had established themselves in various places, which then became
so many artistic centres. Eastern Europe had for its earliest
instructors three brothers, Giovanni, Tiseo, and Lazio, who settled at
Corfu. Flanders was indebted for the knowledge of these processes to
Guido of Savino, who took up his abode at Antwerp. And about the year
1520 we find a manufactory at Nuremberg, of which the ware, though
materially differing in character from Italian majolica, may still very
probably have been derived from Italy.
We may add that letters of the King of France mention that from 1456
there were certain revenues derivable from the “Beauvais Potteries;” and
in the twenty-seventh chapter of the first book of “Pantagruel,”
published in 1535, Rabelais places among the various articles composing
the trophy of Panurge, “a saucer, a salt-cellar of clay, and a Beauvais
goblet;” which proves, as M. de Sommerard remarks, “that as early as
this date, there were manufactured in this city vessels of clay
sufficiently good in quality to be placed on the table with silver and
pewter utensils;” but it does not naturally follow that France had not
long to wait for the man of genius who would soon leave her nothing to
covet from Italy.
[Illustration: Fig. 36.--Cup, Italian Ware. In the Collection of Baron
Alph. Rothschild. Taken from MM. Carle Delange and C. Borneman’s work.]