Handbook of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts Part 6

From left to right: Amphora, white ware painted in black and red, X-V centuries B. C.; jug, red slip ware, XX-XV centuries B. C.; amphora, white ware painted in black and red, X-V centuries B. C.; jug, base ring ware, XV-XII centuries B. C.; oinochoe, white ware painted in black and brown, X-V centuries B. C. The earliest of the fabrics ill.u.s.trated, i.e., the red slip ware, though usually not polished, is made evidently in imitation of the still earlier red polished ware. Base-ring ware is so called from the distinct standing base found on most specimens. With the white painted ware of the Early Iron Age, we come to a wheel-made pottery, usually having painted geometrical decoration.

[Babylonian Tablet From Jokha, ca. 2350 B. C.]

Babylonian Tablet From Jokha, ca. 2350 B. C.

This is one of a small collection of Babylonian tablets. It was made during the reign of Dungi, King of Ur. The inscription records an offering to the temple. The tablet is sealed to prevent the alteration of the record by the priests or attendants; the seal impression bears the figure of Sin, the Moon G.o.d, who was the deity of Ur of the Chaldees, and before the deity stand two priests in the act of worship. These inscribed clay tablets were used by the ancient Babylonians in place of papyrus or parchment.

GOTHIC ART

Since the Goths, a rude and barbarous ancient people, were in no wise concerned with the splendid art of that period intervening between Romanesque and Renaissance, which misguided later generations called Gothic because, forsooth, it was not cla.s.sical, it is unfortunate that this inappropriate designation should be perpetuated by custom. But the misnomer is now used so generally-needless to say, without any sense of disparagement-that we must perforce accept it.

[A Pope, Statuette in Oak. Flemish, about 1500]

A Pope, Statuette in Oak. Flemish, about 1500

It is impossible to date any period of art with absolute accuracy; for art is always in the process of change, and the flourishing of any period of art is long antic.i.p.ated by preliminary manifestations. In a general way, however, it may be said that the Gothic period extends from the second half of the XII century through the XV century. Italy presents an exception. The tentative Gothic art of the XIII century in Italy gave place to the new movement, founded upon enthusiasm for antiquity, as well as for nature, which we call the Renaissance. The cla.s.sical element in Renaissance art is the feature which princ.i.p.ally distinguishes it from Gothic. In the latter part of the XV century, the Renaissance spread from Italy into the northern countries, and, in the XVI century, accomplished a triumphant ascendancy over the late Gothic style.

The crowning achievement of Gothic art was the cathedral, where architect, sculptor and painter combined to create monuments which rank with the greatest works of human genius. Never has sculpture more perfectly adorned architecture; never has architecture more beautifully expressed the hopes and aspirations of a people. In this age the plastic arts were truly "the language of faith."

From France, Gothic art spread to other lands, to Germany, Flanders, Spain, and England, and even to Italy. During the XIII and XIV centuries, the highest development of Gothic art took place in France, but, in the XV century, Burgundy and the merchant cities of Flanders gained pre-eminence.

France required many years after the battle of Agincourt, in 1415, to recover from the exhaustion brought about by internal conflict and foreign wars. In the meantime, the rich cities of Flanders and the powerful Dukes of Burgundy offered the artist generous patronage.

If the artist in this late period lost something of the spirituality and n.o.ble simplicity of earlier times, he was more skillful technically and more realistic. Not that the earlier artist had not observed nature! On the contrary, he was eminently successful in discerning significant truths, but he subordinated objective representation to the requirements of a monumental style.

Save for a distinguished list of painters, headed by the great Flemish masters, the Van Eycks (?-1426, 1381-1440), Rogier van der Weyden (1400-1464), and Hans Memling (1425-1495), Gothic art is largely anonymous. In the minor arts, such as gla.s.s painting, the illumination of ma.n.u.scripts, metal work and enameling, furniture, and textiles, woven and embroidered, the Gothic Age excelled, and the rare surviving examples of these beautiful crafts are treasured among the most precious relics of this great period of the world's art.

[Head of the Virgin, Stone. French, late XIV Century]

Head of the Virgin, Stone. French, late XIV Century

[A View of the Gothic Room]

A View of the Gothic Room

The large well-head of Istrian stone in the foreground comes from the Palazzo Zorzi in Venice, and is a fine example of Venetian stone-carving in the XV century. The well-head, with its acanthus leaves at the four corners, reminds one of the Corinthian capital of cla.s.sical times, and, as a matter of fact, ancient capitals were sometimes used in later periods for well-heads. On one side is an angel holding a shield supported by two lions pa.s.sant. Doubtless, this shield was originally painted the owner's coat of arms.

[Hunting Party with Falcons. Burgundian Tapestry, about 1450]

Hunting Party with Falcons. Burgundian Tapestry, about 1450

The two XV century Gothic tapestries in the Charles Jairus Martin Memorial Collection are masterpieces of the weaver's art. They rank among the most beautiful and characteristic examples of the Golden Age of tapestries.

The earlier of the two, The Falconers, was woven, presumably in the ateliers of Arras, about 1450. It is similar in style to the famous Hardwicke Hall hunting tapestries, owned by the Duke of Devonshire. These tapestries have been justly called "the finest of the XV century in England." They formerly ornamented the walls of a great room in Hardwicke Hall, Devonshire, but were removed from there in the XVI century and cut to adapt them to walls pierced with windows in a new location. Taking into consideration the similarity in size, subject, costume, and style of representation, it is not at all impossible that The Falconers may have belonged originally to this celebrated set. Our tapestry, which comes from the Cathedral of Gerona in Spain, was evidently part of a still larger tapestry (tapestries at this time were often woven of great length), and may have been separated from the other pieces of the set at the time of their removal from Hardwicke Hall.

[Detail: Falcons Attacking a Heron; Hunter with Lure]

Detail: Falcons Attacking a Heron; Hunter with Lure

In the XV century, hunting and hawking-the latter also called falconry-played a significant part in the social life of the n.o.bility.

These sports and the ability to pursue them in a generous and polite fashion set the n.o.bility apart from the commoners, and formed the chief topic of conversation, when war did not call from the slaughter of animals to the slaughter of men. One of the most necessary implements in falconry is the lure, used to recall the falcon. In the upper right-hand corner of the tapestry a man is shown waving a lure in his right hand. The lure is a pair of wings attached to a cord, to which the falcon is trained to return because accustomed to find food there. The mode of carrying the falcon on the gloved hand is ill.u.s.trated by several of the personages in the tapestry. Several of the falcons are still on leash; one has just been released and thrown up into the air; another is having the hood removed from his head. The rich costumes ill.u.s.trate the extravagant fashions which prevailed in the middle of the XV century, when there was great compet.i.tion in dress between the wealthy commoners and the n.o.bility.

Great beauty of color distinguishes this tapestry. The greens and browns of the foliage form an agreeable contrast with the rich crimson and blue of the costumes, relieved by pa.s.sages of green and violet. The Gothic artist was not afraid to use strong colors, but he knew how to keep them in harmonious relationship. The simplicity of the design, the purposeful abstention from realistic effects, which we note in this tapestry, are virtues in the art of mural decoration that can not be too highly commended.

[Two Scenes from the Story of Esther. Flemish Tapestry, late XV Century]

Two Scenes from the Story of Esther. Flemish Tapestry, late XV Century

About fifty years later than The Falconers, this beautiful tapestry with scenes from the Story of Esther, in the Charles Jairus Martin Memorial Collection, represents the tendency toward a more ornate and sumptuous art that characterized the late XV century. In the lower right-hand corner of the tapestry, just above the scroll, may be noted a small fleuron, which is probably the mark of an atelier, but tapestries before 1528 can rarely be a.s.signed to any definite atelier or weaver. We must be content to designate our tapestry as Flemish, woven at the close of the XV century.

The story of Esther was popular among the Flemish weavers at this time.

Our tapestry, which formed part of a set, may be compared with three hangings of the same subject belonging to the Cathedral of Saragossa.

The reproduction can give but an unsatisfactory idea at best of the original. Not only do we lose the mellow harmonies of color, but in reducing the design of so large a tapestry to a few square inches many of the most beautiful details are necessarily lost. In the left-hand compartment, Queen Esther, kneeling before the King, kisses the golden scepter which Ahasuerus extends to her. Having won favor in the King's eyes, Esther asks as a boon that the King and Haman, the King's favorite, whose plot for the persecution of the Jews Esther intends to circ.u.mvent, shall attend a feast which she has prepared for them. In the upper left-hand corner are two little scenes; Esther kneeling in prayer, and Esther receiving instructions from Mordecai. In the compartment at the right is pictured Esther's banquet, the second feast, related in Chap. VII of the Book of Esther, which brought about the fall of Haman.

Particularly interesting in this scene is the representation of table furnishings, the damask cloth, the enameled ewer in the shape of a boat, the knives with their handles of ivory and ebony, the hanap, the cup of Venetian gla.s.s, and the various pieces of plate. We have in this composition a remarkable doc.u.ment ill.u.s.trating the luxury that characterized the life of the great n.o.bles at the close of the XV century.

In the scrolls at the bottom of the tapestry are Latin mottoes referring to the scenes above. Our tapestry was formerly in the J. Pierpont Morgan Collection.

In such tapestries as this and The Falconers, we may note the perfect relationship which exists between the nature of the design and the purpose to which the tapestry was put. Gothic tapestries of the XV century ill.u.s.trate the true principle of mural decoration. Designers deliberately avoided realistic imitation of nature with spatial effects and tricks of illusion. They strove to achieve a decorative flatness of design which would emphasize rather than destroy the architectonic quality of the wall the tapestry was to cover.

A tapestry is woven, not embroidered, and forms a single fabric. Only two elements are employed in the making of it, the warp and the woof (or weft). These are the upright and the horizontal threads. The weaving is done upon a loom or frame. The bobbin, or shuttle, filled with thread of the weft, is pa.s.sed from right to left behind the odd warp threads, and in pa.s.sing leaves a bit of the weft thread in front of the even warp threads.

On the backward trip, from left to right, the shuttle reverses its course and leaves the weft in front of the odd warp threads. Thus, all the warp threads are covered with the weft. A comb is used to press down the threads, so that they form an almost even line. Wool is generally used for the weft, linen or hemp for the warp. The texture was sometimes enriched with pa.s.sages of gold and silver thread or perhaps a bit of silk.

[The Virgin and St. John. Flemish, about 1500]

The Virgin and St. John. Flemish, about 1500

Part of a large tapestry representing the Crucifixion. Its vigorous design and harmonious color make one regret all the more the loss of the other part of this splendid tapestry.

[Virgin and Child, Stone. French, XIV Century]

Virgin and Child, Stone. French, XIV Century

This life-size statue, which still retains traces of the painting and gilding with which Gothic sculptures were almost invariably enriched, is an important example of French Gothic sculpture. The monumental character of this great art is shown in the conventional rendering of the hair, and in the simplification of the modeling; its grace and naturalness in the pose of the Divine Mother. The beautiful, rhythmic lines of the drapery should be particularly noted. Representations of the Virgin in French XIV century art have neither the austerity of earlier periods nor the worldliness of later. They are characterized by charming sensibility and tenderness.

[A Saint, Lindenwood. German, School of Ulm, about 1500]

A Saint, Lindenwood. German, School of Ulm, about 1500