Читать книгу The Palace and Park - Edward Winslow Forbes - Страница 15

Man had wrought for centuries patiently and laboriously at Gothic architecture, and had advanced, by regular stages, to the perfection of that style, which, after reaching its zenith in the 14th century, as regularly and decidedly declined in excellence, until the indispensable principles of true art—simplicity and good taste—were, towards the close of the 15th century, overwhelmed by excess of ornament. Whilst this downward road was followed by most European artists, various causes led to the revival of the Antique in Italy, and at the commencement of the 15th century, the celebrated Brunelleschi produced a work founded on the Antique Roman style, of the highest merit, viz., the Dome of Florence Cathedral. In the year 1420, Ghiberti executed his wonderful bronze doors; and from thenceforward the new style of the revived art, or the Renaissance, as it is now usually called, advanced rapidly, first throughout Italy, and, in the succeeding century, throughout Europe. Amongst the causes which led to this revival may be included the decline of the feudal system, the growing freedom of thought, the recent discoveries of the New World, and of the art of Printing. With the rise of the spirit of personal independence was created a thirst for ancient literature and art; and a search for the hidden fountains of antiquity was enthusiastically persevered in, until in the end it proved eminently successful.

[16] See “Handbook to the Renaissance Court,” by M. Digby Wyatt and J. B. Waring.

Monastic libraries, in obedience to the demands of the public voice, yielded up their treasures of ancient literature, whilst the soil of Italy was made to disgorge its mutilated fragments of antique art. The effects of these sudden, unexpected, and precious acquisitions may readily be imagined; they created a complete revolution in literature and art throughout Italy, which spread thence into other countries. The two beautiful arts of Painting and Sculpture saw with emulative shame their present inferiority in the ranks of Art; and in their noble aspirations towards the perfection newly placed before them, they assumed their position as distinct and legitimate creations. But if the Gothic system was now dying out, it had left at least one valuable legacy to the future, in its appreciation and adoption of natural models. The Italian artists of the 15th century received the gift joyfully, and, combining it with what treasures antiquity afforded them, produced a style which, in sculpture especially, has all the freshness of nature and the refinement of the antique, as both were capable of being united by the gifted men whose names have come down in glory to our own day, and will command the admiration of the latest posterity.

Entrance to Renaissance Court.

On no branch of art did the revival of the antique more strongly act than on the art of architecture; the Gothic style, which had never taken deep root in the soil of classic Italy, speedily fell altogether in that country before the recent discovery and imitation of the Roman antiquities. No powerful body of Freemasons was there, as in England, France, and Germany, to oppose the progress of the new style; and the individual energy of such men as Brunelleschi, Bramante, and the great architects of the northern states, soon established it on an indestructible basis. And, however much a partisan spirit may decry this or that particular style, the productions influenced by the revival of the antique, throughout the 15th century, especially in architecture and sculpture, will never fail to excite our astonishment and emulation.

Arcade of Hôtel Bourgtheroulde at Rouen.

The façade before us is a restored copy of a portion of the Hôtel Bourgtheroulde, at Rouen. It was built at the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th centuries. The bas-relief before us represents the Field of the Cloth of Gold, and the memorable meeting (in 1520) of Francis I. of France and our own Henry VIII. The frieze above, by members of the “della Robbia” family, is from the Hospital of the Poor, at Pistoia, in Tuscany, and shows monks or priests relieving the poor; the original is in coloured porcelain. Entering the court, we find in the lunettes under the ceiling of the small loggia, or gallery, portraits of twelve of the most celebrated patrons of art in the Renaissance period of Italy, Spain, France, and Germany, containing in the central compartment Francis I. of France and Catherine de’ Medici, in the compartment to the right, Lorenzo de’ Medici and Lucrezia Borgia, and in that to the left, Mary of Burgundy and Maximilian of Germany. In the centre of the court we find a fountain of the Renaissance period, from the Château de Gaillon, in France; and on either side of the fountain are two bronze wells, from the Ducal Palace at Venice, the one to the right surmounted by a statue from the goose-market, Nuremberg, that to the left by the figure of a Cupid, with a dolphin, from Florence. Both these wells have been arranged as fountain basins. Directing our steps to the right, we may first examine the decorations on the lower part of the interior of the façade, the bas-relief of which is taken from the high altar at Granada Cathedral, in Spain. The statue in the centre is that of the wife of Louis de Poncher, the original of which is now in the Louvre; its date may be assigned to the early portion of the 16th century. The altar on which the statue is placed is from the Certosa, near Pavia, in Northern Italy. The first object on the side wall is a door, by Jean Goujon (a French sculptor who executed many works at the Louvre), from the Church of Saint Maclou, at Rouen; then a doorway from the Doria Palace at Genoa, a fine specimen of the cinque-cento; above this are five bas-reliefs from the museum at Florence, representing Faith, Prayer, Wisdom, Justice, and Charity; and beyond it, one of the most beautiful objects in the Palace, a copy of the far-famed gates from the Baptistery at Florence, executed by Lorenzo Ghiberti, who was occupied upon his work for the space of twenty-one years. One glance is sufficient to assure the spectator that sculpture had indeed advanced to an extraordinary degree of excellence at the period which we have now reached. The visitor having sufficiently admired these “Gates of Paradise,” as Michael Angelo termed them, will proceed on his way, passing another doorway, which, like that on the other side, already seen, is from Genoa. Close to it is a door by Goujon, corresponding to the door in the opposite corner.

Plan of the Renaissance Court.

On the back wall we first notice a composition made up from various examples of cinque-cento work from the Certosa at Pavia. Adjoining it is a portion of an altar also from the same Certosa—a beautiful specimen of sculptural art of the time. Next to this is another piece of cinque-cento composition, from specimens obtained from this prolific source, Milan, &c. The sculptured figures of angels, and other figures in high and low relief in this composition, are worthy of a careful study. In the centre, two colossal figures (Caryatides), from the Louvre, by Jean Goujon, support a large cast of the Nymph of Fontainebleau, executed for Francis I., by the celebrated Benvenuto Cellini. Next to the Caryatides we see an exquisite specimen of a portion of the interior of the principal entrance to the Certosa most elaborately carved, and the panels filled in with bas-reliefs; the doorway by its side is from the Hôtel de Ville, of Oudenarde, in Belgium. Above is a composition of French Renaissance art. It stands out from the wall, and looks very like an antique cabinet or screen. Another architectural example from the Certosa follows, being a sort of military monument erected to the memory of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan; the date of its execution is the end of the 15th century. Within it are bas-reliefs by Luca della Robbia and Donatello. On the side next the French Mediæval Court is first another oak door from Saint Maclou, by Jean Goujon, and then a doorway from Genoa; and, above it, the frieze of “The Singers,” by Luca della Robbia, the original of which is at Florence, a most charming work, fall of life and animation. In the centre of this—the northern—side of the court, is a cast from one of the windows of the façade of the Certosa, a remarkably fine example of cinque-cento; next to it, another doorway, from the Doria Palace at Genoa; and in the corner a fourth door from Saint Maclou, by Goujon, the central bas-relief of which represents the Baptism of Christ. The lower part of the interior of the façade is devoted to examples of Italian sculpture of the 15th century, including a head of St. John by Donatello.

Ground Plan of Elizabethan Court.

The monument placed against the wall is that of Ilaria di Caretto, from Lucca Cathedral, executed by Jacopo della Quercia, of Sienna, early in the 15th century: it is a very fine example of the cinque-cento style.

Two statues by Donatello cannot fail to be noticed—his Saint John in marble, and David in bronze, both of which display great power and study of nature.

We now pass out through the doorway under the Nymph of Fontainebleau, and enter a vestibule in the Renaissance style. Here, on the ceiling, is a copy of a painting from the Sala del Cambio (Exchange) at Perugia, in Italy, by Perugino, the master of Raffaelle, who assisted Perugino in the work. The painting represents the Seven Planets, with Apollo in the centre, as the personification of the Sun. The wall of the Renaissance Court to the left of the entrance is decorated with arches, and a frieze from the terra-cotta originals in the Certosa; the singing boys in the frieze are of great merit. The bronze monument in the centre of this wall is that of Lewis of Bavaria, a very interesting example of late German Gothic, remarkable for the finish of its details. In the centre of the gallery are placed Germain Pilon’s “Graces,” a charming example of the French school of sculpture. The four angles under the Perugia ceiling are occupied by four statues, also by Pilon; these statues are all now in the Louvre, and the very remarkable bronze monumental effigy in the centre, against the garden, is from the Museum at Florence; it is ascribed to Vecchietta of Sienna. On either side of the doorway are parts of Goujon’s doors from St. Maclou, at Rouen.

On the back wall, to the right of the doorway, are richly ornamented arches, from the large cloisters in terra-cotta of the Certosa, and also bas-reliefs and specimens of the Renaissance style from various parts of Italy. The central monument of Bernard von Gablenz is an exceedingly fine example of the style as practised in Germany, at the close of the 16th century. After examining these objects, we turn into the narrow court adjoining the Renaissance Court, and find ourselves in