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THE 
 
 RENAISSANCE COURT 
 
 IN THE 
 
 CRYSTAL PALACE. 
 
 DESCRIBED BY 
 
 M. DIGBY WYATT and J. B. WABING. 
 
 CRYSTAL PALACE LIBRARY; 
 
 AND 
 
 BRADBURY & EVANS, 11, BOUVERIE STREET, LONDON. 
 1854. 
 
BRADBURY AND EVANS, 
 
 PRINTERS TO THE CRYSTAL PALACE COMPANY, 
 WHITE FRIARS. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 GENERAL REMARKS . 7 
 
 HISTORY OP THE RENAISSANCE STYLES . . . . . . 15 
 
 PRANCE 19 
 
 SPAIN.21 
 
 GERMANY .......... 22 
 
 ENGLAND . .......... 24 
 
 SECTIONAL—STYLES.25 
 
 POLYCHROMATIC DECORATION.28 
 
 EXTERIOR OP THE COURTS FACING THE NAVE . . . .33 
 
 ENTRANCE LOGGIA 41 
 
 INTERIOR OP THE COURT . . . . . . . .43 
 
 SIDE NEAREST THE CENTRAL TRANSEPT . . . . . 71 
 
 GARDEN-GALLERY.88 
 
 ELIZABETHAN COURT.97 
 
 RENAISSANCE MONUMENTS IN THE COURT OP CHRISTIAN ART . .103 
 

 
 
 
 
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 ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTICE. 
 
 The Eenaissance Courts have been designed and arranged 
 by Mr. M. Digby Wyatt; principal superintendent, Mr. 
 Charles Fowler, Junr.; principal draughtsman, Mr. Eobert 
 Dudley. 
 
 The entire Bourgtheroulde Arcade has been executed by 
 M. Desachy of Paris, by whom and by Signor Pierotti of 
 Milan, the principal casts have been supplied. 
 
 The Fountains in Terra Cotta are by Mr. Elashfield of 
 London. 
 
 The Pavement of the Loggia is by the London Marble 
 Working Company. 
 
 The Painting has been designed by Mr. Wyatt; the 
 Upper Frieze being executed by Mr. Beensen ; and the Arcade 
 by Mr. Pantaenius of London. The Bronzing has been done 
 by M. Loget of Paris, in the employ of M. Desachy. The 
 Boys in the Ceiling of the Loggia are by Mr. Gow of London; 
 the Portraits in the Lunettes by Mr. F. Smallfield of London, 
 by whom also is the beautiful Painted Ceiling of the Gallery, 
 
6 
 
 NOTICE. 
 
 from an elaborate drawing from the original at Perugia, by 
 Mr. Wyatt. 
 
 The construction of the Elizabethan Court was intrusted 
 to Mr. Cundy, by whom also are the Monuments; and the 
 whole of its painted decorations have been executed with 
 great care and ability by Mr. Coulton of London. 
 
 Superintendent for Mr. Wyatt in this Court—Mr. Thomas 
 Ilayes. 
 
THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 GENERAL REMARKS. 
 
 During the fifteenth century, a period remarkable for Origin of the 
 its great discoveries and names, there arose in Italy a style ‘ 
 style of art containing new and important elements, prac¬ 
 tised by artists of uncommon genius, who formed a 
 school, holding a distinct and proud position, between 
 the decay of Gothic, and the complete adoption of 
 Antique art. 
 
 To this school of art the name of (i Renaissance,” or its name. 
 Revival, has been given, in allusion to its adaptation of 
 the antique ; and with some justice, since an admiration 
 of and return to the examples of old Roman art, charac- its leading 
 terises in a greater or less degree, almost all works both 
 in literature and art during the fifteenth century. Rut —and 
 another sentiment reigned in the minds of the great 
 artists of those days, and is especially seen in the works 
 of the sculptors, viz., an earnest and discriminating love 
 of nature, and we venture to assert that at no epoch in Nature, 
 the history of art is a finer or fresher perception of its 
 most available features evinced. 
 
 The love of nature, with the first great Renaissance The last the 
 artists, became a passion, and was the basis of their style. JJJJJ 
 It is this which gives such a wonderful charm to the 
 works of that illustrious triad, Ghiberti, Donatello, and 
 Luca della Robbia, who, imbued with the true spirit of 
 the antique and an unusual sense of the beautiful, 
 ennobled all, even the commonest subjects, which came 
 
8 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 as pointed 
 out by 
 Vasari. 
 
 Condition of 
 Italy when 
 the reform 
 took place. 
 
 Influence of 
 tbe noble 
 families. 
 
 Contrast be¬ 
 tween their 
 turbulence 
 and the 
 artists’ tran¬ 
 quillity. 
 
 from their hands. We are the more desirous that this 
 should he well understood, since it is a fact too often 
 lost sight of, and the “ Renaissance” implies not the 
 revival of antique art only, but the return to that great 
 school which nature keeps ever open to us. Yasari, in 
 his introduction to the second part of his biographies, 
 ably points out this fact; and we think that the 
 more closely the earlier works of this period, are 
 studied, the more will the truth of his criticism be 
 admitted. 
 
 Italy, the country where this 4 ‘reform” took place, 
 would seem, judging from its history, to have been in 
 a state little favourable to the arts of peace. During the 
 whole of the fifteenth century, it was devastated by civil 
 and foreign wars, in which treason and deceit did every¬ 
 thing and valour but little ; yet, in spite of these troubles, 
 commerce was extended and luxury increased. The 
 sciences commenced a course full of promise for the 
 future : public libraries were founded, theatres opened, 
 and the newly-discovered arts of printing and engraving 
 diffused more widely the best works of ancient and 
 modern times. We should not be doing justice to the 
 Italians, however, if we omitted to mention the influence 
 on this advance, which was exercised by the princely 
 families of Italy. At Florence, science, literature, and 
 art received noble and constant encouragement from 
 Cosmo de’ Medici (pater patriae) and his son Lorenzo 
 the Magnificent. The same praise is due to the 
 Malatestas, Lords of Rimini; Alfonso of Aragon, at 
 Naples ; the Gonzagas, at Mantua ; the Montefeltros, 
 at Urbino ; the Sforzas, at Milan ; the Estes, at Fer¬ 
 rara, and many other noble families, whose patronage 
 and love of the arts is the one great redeeming feature 
 of a history otherwise but little honourable. 
 
 Under the protection of these powerful families 
 flourished the greatest artists of the period, and nothing 
 affords a more striking contrast than the intrigues, 
 violence, paltry ambition, and restless excitement, which 
 we find in the history of the former, when compared 
 with the quiet lives of the latter, characterised by 
 an extraordinary abstraction from the busy world, a 
 thorough devotion to art, and a homely sociability. 
 
GENERAL REMARKS. 9 
 
 full of good feeling, and enlivened by the simplest 
 pleasures. 
 
 We have no hesitation in giving the sculptors of the The period 
 fifteenth century the place of honour. It was essentially Sculpture 
 a sculpturesque period, just as the triumph of painting triumphed, 
 characterises the sixteenth century as the pictorial period. 
 
 The art of sculpture we now find entirely freed from now and 
 the timidity of inexperience, and Donatello is as incom¬ 
 parable for his success in low relief, as Ghiberti is for his 
 subjects in high relief. Count Cicognara says in his 
 well-known “ Storia della Scultura,” “ that this period 
 is distinguished by a better knowledge of the human 
 form, a more general imitation of antique models, a 
 wider range of observation on the capabilities of imita¬ 
 tion, and the expressions of the passions, a knowledge 
 of anatomy which gave motion to the limbs, and a 
 knowledge of perspective which gave reality to the build¬ 
 ings represented.” 
 
 The artist held his place modestly, working for the Why. 
 sake of art and the love of truth ; whilst in his produc¬ 
 tions he sought, not to astonish by his skill or science, 
 but to infuse into others that love of nature and the 
 antique which inspired himself. 
 
 Yet even in the fifteenth century we may distinguish Two epochs 
 two epochs, the earliest being characterised by a more fifteenth 
 distinct imitation of nature than had been previously century at 
 practised, and the latter, which dates from the end of 
 the century, by a more decided adoption of antique forms 
 and ornament. Thus it is possible to trace, step by 
 step, the gradations which led from the early Renaissance Florence, 
 style to that adopted by the Italian artists of the six- aild Padua - 
 teenth century; a change in which the influence of 
 Squarcione as a teacher, and of Mantegna, the great 
 Paduan artist, has, we think, never been sufficiently 
 considered. 
 
 Although it was through the Renaissance artists of the illustrations 
 fifteenth century alone that these two principles—of Niooia h 
 the direct imitation of nature, and of the revival of the Pisano, 
 antique—became of universal application in Italy ; it 
 would be unjust to pass over the merits of those artists 
 by whom, at a much earlier period, and in exceptional 
 cases, the propriety of their adoption had been vindi- 
 
10 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 cated, both by precept and example. The chief of these 
 Premonitory mas ^ ers was ^ ie g rea ^ Nicola Pisano, whose study of the 
 symptoms of valuable remains of antiquity, first collected in the 
 nient m °in e " ^ am P° Santo at Pisa, gave an extraordinary impetus to 
 Italy. the arts of design at the commencement of the thirteenth 
 
 century. We consider it of great importance to a right 
 apprehension of Penaissance Art to recognise clearly 
 what was effected by Nicola Pisano, and we have, there¬ 
 fore, collected several illustrations bearing on the point. 
 
GENERAL REMARKS. 
 
 11 
 
 Our first is a representation of Silenus with a Faun, 
 taken from the Baptistery at Pisa. 
 
 In it we recognise the closest possible adherence to 
 
 the antique, which, for the sake of comparison, we have 
 also engraved. 
 
 In the Pisan sculptor’s complicated draperies, hiding Direct imi- 
 the natural action of the figure, and avoidance of the tatlon 
 
12 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 nude, which when partially exhibited in the hands and 
 feet, is drawn with good sentiment, but in bad propor¬ 
 tion, we trace the imperfect knowledge of the imitator, 
 when contrasted with the masterly arrangement of his 
 original. Led on, however, no doubt by a sense of his 
 own deficiencies, we soon find Pisano studying at that 
 of the an- same source of light, by the rays reflected from which 
 tique the antique had been originally illumined, 
 
 faulty. From nature and the every day life of Italy, we see 
 
 Acolytes, from the tomb of St. Domenic at Bologna, by Nicola Pisano. 
 
 that our two next illustrations have been derived ; and 
 we cannot but admire in them an ease, grace, and 
 Imitation correctness of proportion, altogether wanting in his direct 
 much better, imitation of the antique. 
 
GENERAL REMARKS. 
 
 13 
 
 His most remarkable manner, however, and the one upon Combination 
 which the Renaissance style of Donatello and Mantegna of the tW0, 
 was subsequently formed, is that in which his imitation 
 of the antique is freely interwoven with his own studies 
 from nature. This we find agreeably shown in his 
 
 The Visitation.—Part of a bas-relief in the pulpit of the 
 Cathedral at Sienna, by Nicola Pisano. 
 
 celebrated bas-relief of the Worship of the Magi, from 
 the pulpit at Pisa, in which the graceful and “naif” 
 action of the child, and foremost king, are curiously con¬ 
 trasted with the conventional horses, and the cold 
 antique heads of the Virgin and St. Joseph. In an 
 extraordinary number of works, for the production of a 
 single artist, we find the great principles of the Renais¬ 
 sance dominant ; and over the minds of his great son, f 
 
 Giovanni, and descendants Andrea and Nino, Nicola Nicola— 
 e xercised a powerful influence ; yet not, however, of untiHheX!- 
 suflicient strength to counteract the Gothic sentimental 
 element, which, made fashionable by the French and century. 
 
14 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 Germans, retarded for many years the development of 
 the revived antique style in Italy. 
 o^Taient^in ^ remar -kable feature in the Renaissance artists was 
 Renaissance their combination of the talents of sculptor and architect, 
 artists. executant and designer; from which cause, figures, foliage, 
 and conventional ornament were so happily blended with 
 mouldings and other structural forms, as to convey the 
 
 idea that the whole sprang to life in one perfect form, in 
 the mind of the artist. 
 
 The Renais- The Renaissance style has of late years been the sub- 
 vindicated 16 j ec ^ violent abuse amongst a large section of writers 
 on art; since its conditions as regards the reproduction of 
 ancient forms fail to satisfy the classical purist; and in the 
 from its enthusiasm excited by the revival of the Romanesque and 
 opponents. Medieval styles, the Renaissance of the antique has been 
 branded among the more prejudiced admirers of the 
 two former, as something “pestilent.” With such one¬ 
 sided appreciations of art we have no sympathy, nor can we 
 do otherwise than regret the intemperate advocacy of such 
 partial perceptions. In all art there is some beauty, 
 and that particular development of it which engaged the 
 
GENERAL REMARKS. 
 
 15 
 
 wliole souls of such immortal men as Ghiberti, Donatello, 
 Brunelleschi, and their celebrated contemporaries, is likely 
 to exhibit a more than ordinary share of beauty, and to 
 present no slight claims upon our respect. Instead of 
 opposing one style against another, and of indulging our 
 pugnacity in its defence, we would rather desire the 
 peculiar merit of each to be studied and appreciated, 
 being satisfied that the power of the artist has in all 
 ages extended with the range of his sympathies, and the 
 largeness of his perceptions. 
 
 Until the opening of the Crystal Palace, the Renaissance 
 styles of the Continent could have been known but to 
 few, since their monuments were accessible to the traveller 
 only, and, in this country at least, had been very poorly 
 illustrated, whilst that style which prevailed in England 
 from the decline of Gothic to the adoption of Italian 
 architecture, bears but a remote resemblance to them. 
 It was easy then to decry what was generally unknown, 
 but now the best possible refutation is to be found in 
 the monuments and sculpture of this Court, which we are 
 satisfied will repay minute study ; and few will examine 
 the subjects it contains without a deep and increasing 
 admiration at the grace of their design, the extreme 
 delicacy of their execution, and the chastened fancy, and 
 lively perception of the beautiful which they display. 
 
 Adhering to the precedent we have laid down for 
 ourselves in describing other courts of the building, we 
 shall preface our remarks on monuments in detail, by 
 a few brief notices of the history of the styles in general, 
 and their leading artistic features. We commence there¬ 
 fore with the 
 
 HISTORY OF THE RENAISSANCE STYLES. 
 
 About the latter part of the fourteenth century, the 
 Gothic style of sculpture, which had penetrated widely 
 into Italy, diverting attention from the scope of the 
 original movement of Nicola Pisano, and had found favour 
 in the eyes of Giotto, Orcagna, Andrea Pisano, and 
 other artists, disappeared almost entirely before the more 
 direct imitation of nature and the antique, mainly intro- 
 
 Opportunity 
 now for the 
 first time 
 afforded for 
 its study in 
 this country. 
 
 Importance 
 of its 
 history. 
 
 Origin of 
 Renaissance 
 Sculpture in 
 Italy in 
 the fifteenth 
 century. 
 
16 
 
 THE BENAXSSANCE COUKT. 
 
 Great 
 masters of 
 the Tuscan 
 School. 
 
 duced by Jacopo della Quercia (1374-1424), whose career 
 may be regarded as a turning-point in the history of 
 Italian art, since he was, if not the first, at least one of 
 the first sculptors whose works confer so great a lustre 
 on the fifteenth century. This distinguished artist was, 
 however, surpassed by one of his immediate followers, 
 Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455), whose works are charac¬ 
 terised by a judicious imitation of nature, and a wonderful 
 sense of the beautiful. At the same time, Donatello 
 (1383-1466) imparted new life and vigour to art, qualities 
 which, in spite of all their beauty, were not unfrequently 
 wanting in the compositions of Ghiberti ; and the best 
 points of both these artists were happily united in the 
 person of Luca della Bobbia, who, during his long life, 
 (1400-1480) executed an infinity of works, the ornamental 
 details of which were carried out in a style of the freest 
 and most graceful analogy with the antique. Filippo 
 Brunelleschi (1375-1444), the great reviver of antique 
 architecture, combined the talents of the sculptor and 
 architect; the former being evinced by his trial piece 
 for the bronze gates, gained by Ghiberti, and his crucifix 
 in the Duomo at Florence,—the latter by his magnificent 
 work at the same Cathedral. At the close of the century, 
 ornamental sculpture had attained to great perfection in 
 Tuscany, and the names of Mino da Fiesole (d. 1486), 
 the greatest of the school of the Fiesolani, Benedetto 
 da Maiano (1444-1498), and Bernardo Bossellini (d. 
 1490), bring to mind the exquisite monuments which 
 abound in the churches of Florence, and other towns of 
 the Grand Duchy. These artists excelled alike in wood, 
 in stone, and in marble, their productions being only 
 surpassed by those of Andrea Contucci, or Andrea del 
 Monte Sansovino (1460-1529), whose works in orna¬ 
 mental sculpture at Orvieto, and in the church of Sta. 
 Maria del Popolo at Borne, leave nothing to be imagined 
 more perfect. 
 
 We engrave a charming specimen of a Virgin and 
 child by Benedetto da Maiano, from the Strozzi Chapel, 
 in the church of Santa Maria Novella at Florence, in 
 which that peculiar sweetness characteristic of these 
 early masters of that city, and of Fiesole, is carried to the 
 very verge of affectation, and yet hovers so tenderly upon 
 
lr 
 
 HISTORY OF STYLES. 
 
 the boundary, that it is impossible not to be captivated 
 by its graces. 
 
 Virgin and Child, by Benedetto da Maiano. 
 
 Other notable sculptors of this Tuscan school were 
 Andrea Verrocchio (1432-1488); Desiderio da Settignano 
 (1453) ; Nanni d’Antonio di Banco, (d. 1430) ; and 
 Matteo Civitali, of Lucca, (1435-1501). 
 
 In northern Italy, Renaissance art appeared a little later, 
 and not without an impulse from the Tuscan school. The 
 first great names which call for notice are those of the 
 Lombardi, and Alex. Leopardi, who adorned Venice with 
 some of its chief monuments, between the years 1450-1510. 
 
 They were followed by Riccio, Bernardo, and Domenico 
 di Mantua, and other lesser sculptors, whose glories were 
 all eclipsed by the great Jacopo Sansovino, who belongs, 
 however, rather to the Italian school of the sixteenth 
 century. 
 
 At Milan, the important works of the Duomo, and the Western 
 Certosa, near Pavia, created a truly remarkable school of Lombard ^ 
 
18 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 art, among the most celebrated artists of which may be 
 noted, Fusina (1490), Solari, Amadeo, and Sacchi. The 
 sculptor’s talent had long been traditional in that vicinity, 
 and these artists were worthy descendants and representa¬ 
 tives of the cc Maestri Comaschi,” or Freemasons of Como, 
 by whom were raised some of the finest works of the 
 middle ages. Of all the Lombard cinquecento artists, 
 however, onr admiration must be reserved for Agostino 
 Busti, better known as Bambaja, whose exquisite works 
 in arabesque, at the Certosa, must ever remain marvels of 
 execution. 
 
 Rome, and At Rome the opulence of the princes, and the great 
 works undertaken by the successive Pontiffs, attracted to 
 that city the highest procurable ability from Florence 
 and other parts of Italy ; while it was at the same time 
 regarded, on account of the treasures of ancient art it 
 yet possessed, as the great school in which correct archi¬ 
 tectural principles could alone be acquired. It can, how¬ 
 ever, hardly be said that any Roman school of Renaissance 
 sculpture existed. 
 
 Naples. At Naples are to be found various works by Andrea 
 
 Ciccione (1414), and Antonio Bamboccio. Guglielmo 
 Monaco also ornamented the city with some remarkable 
 works ; but the greatest name is that of Angelo Aniello 
 Fiore, who died about the year 1500, and who executed 
 several beautiful monuments in the church of San Dome¬ 
 nico Maggiore. 
 
 The Tuscan It will be observed that the greatest names in celebrity 
 greatest the anc ^ number are those of the Tuscan school, and we may 
 consider Florence to have been the principal seat of the 
 early Renaissance style, from whence it extended through¬ 
 out Italy, and was in general use there nearly a century 
 before its adoption by other countries. 
 
 Renaissance Although the sculpture of the Renaissance period pre- 
 Architecture eminently attracts our notice, yet a change fraught with 
 even more important results was proceeding in Architec¬ 
 ture, and when Gothic was still flourishing in England; 
 before the chapels of St. George, at Windsor, or of King’s 
 College, Cambridge, were even commenced, the great 
 Filippo Brunelleschi had executed the magnificent dome of 
 in Tuscany, the Cathedral of Florence (1420), perhaps the noblest in 
 the world, and had built the churches of San Lorenzo 
 
HISTORY OF STYLES. 
 
 19 
 
 and Santo Spirito at Florence, in a style, the simplicity 
 and purity of which evince his deep study and sound 
 appreciation of that antique art which he had so enthu¬ 
 siastically admired at Home. Nor were pupils worthy of 
 the master wanting, Michelozzo Michelozzi (d. 1470) 
 designed several noble palaces at Florence and Milan, 
 and the Strozzi palace, commenced by Antonio Pollaiuolo 
 (surnamed Cronaca, on account of the marvellous stories 
 he was wont to relate of the magnificence of the ancient 
 Romans, whose monuments he carefully studied on 
 the spot in the year 1489), is a fine example of the 
 palatial architecture of Florence. Leon Batista Alberti 
 (1398-1472) besides his very perfect designs executed at 
 Florence, Rimini, and Mantua, wrote a work i( De Re 
 -ZEdificatoria,” which still continues to be a text-book. 
 
 In Lombardy, at a somewhat later period, architecture Lomtardy, 
 received a fresh impulse, and the numerous works of 
 the Lombardi (1457-1485), Scarpagnino, Bartollomeo 
 Buono, and others, at Yenice, the Certosa at Pavia 
 by Ambrogio Fossone, and the Sala del Consiglio at 
 Yerona by Fra Giocondo (1490), exhibit other phases of 
 architecture founded on antique models; 
 
 The little duchy of Urbino produced the last great and the 
 architect of this century, and the name of Donato Lazzari, urbim>.° f 
 better known as Bramante (1444-1514), is immortalised 
 as the first architect employed on the great dome of 
 St. Peter’s, and as the founder of the great Roman 
 school. 
 
 FRANCE. 
 
 The wars undertaken by Charles YIll (1483-1498), T]ie Rena] > 
 and Louis XII. (1495-1515) in Italy, afforded those of France de- 
 monarchs an opportunity of admiring the advance of j 1 ^ 
 Renaissance art in that land, and by them it seems to a.d. 1500 , 
 have been introduced into France; its established 
 adoption being completed under the encouragement of 
 Francis I. (1515-1547); 
 
 Somewhat before any of these dates, its influence may existed 
 be traced in the illuminated miniatures, but its introduc- an^eal-iier* 
 tion into architecture is only visible at the close of the date * 
 fifteenth and commencement of the sixteenth century, 
 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 Earliest ex¬ 
 amples (as 
 applied to 
 secular pur¬ 
 poses) ; 
 
 subsequent 
 specimens; 
 
 and latest 
 monuments. 
 
 and. even then in combination with many Gothic features, 
 and contemporaneously with the use of the Gothic style, 
 as it was then practised. 
 
 One of the first and most important examples of the 
 Renaissance was the Chateau de Gaillon, built for Cardinal 
 d’Amboise by Fra Giocondo, the Veronese architect 
 (1500-1510), the remains of which are preserved in the 
 court of the Palais des Beaux Arts at Paris. Other ex¬ 
 amples, of a slightly earlier date perhaps, in which the 
 Gothic and Renaissance are combined, may be cited in 
 the town-halls of Arras and St. Quentin, and the Hotel 
 de la Tremouille (now pulled down, but fragments pre¬ 
 served) at Paris. By Giocondo was built also the bridge 
 of Notre Dame at Paris (1499-1507). 
 
 Other beautiful examples of the Renaissance style in 
 France are the Palais de Justice at Dijon, begun in 1510 ; 
 the Manoir d’Ango at Varengeville, near Dieppe, com¬ 
 menced in 1525, and the Chateau of the Counts of 
 Dunois at Chateaudun, in both of which Gothic features 
 are freely retained ; the gallery of the Chateau Bourg- 
 theroulde at Rouen (after 1520) ; the Ducal Palace 
 at Nancy ; the house of Agnes Sorel at Orleans ; the 
 picturesque Chateau de Chenonceaux ; the entrance to 
 the Chateau of Nantouillet (after 1527) ; the splendid 
 Chateau de Chambord (after 1523); the great staircase of 
 the Chateau of Blois; the old portions of the Chateau de 
 Fontainebleau ; the Chateau d’Ecouen, by Jean Bullant 
 (after 1540) ; the western facade of the court of the 
 Louvre, by Pierre Lescot, a noble work begun in the 
 year 1541 ; the Chateau de Madrid, built by the same 
 architect for Francis I.; and a great number of other 
 palatial or civic buildings in the same style, usually 
 known as that of “ Francois premier” scattered through¬ 
 out the country. 
 
 The Chateau d’Anet, built by Philibert Delorme for 
 Diana of Poitiers, is the last of this class, the transition 
 of which into a somewhat larger style of Italian archi¬ 
 tecture, is marked by the portion of the Tuileries com¬ 
 menced in 1564. The beautiful Hotel de Ville at Paris 
 commenced in the year 1549, from the designs of 
 Domenico Boccardo, or di Cortona, an Italian, is never¬ 
 theless quite in the style of the best French renaissance. 
 
HISTORY OF STYLES. 
 
 21 
 
 For clmrcli architecture the Gothic style was still very 
 generally used, and its application to that purpose not 
 speedily given up ;—the Cathedral of Brou, in Burgundy , 
 having been built between the years 1511-1531, and 
 that of Orleans commenced so late as the year 1601. 
 One of the earliest and best examples of such a change 
 is to be seen in the well-known Church of St. Eustache, 
 at Paris, commenced in 1532. Among other examples 
 may be noticed the fine facade of St. Michael at Dijon, 
 S. Clotilde in Andelys, beautiful portions of the cathedral 
 at Tours, and the churches of Gisors and Argentan. 
 
 Works of ornamental architecture are numerous : among 
 the best are the elegant fountain Delille, in Clermont 
 (1511); the tomb of Louis XII. (after 1520); those of 
 Cardinal d’Amboise and the Duke de Breze, at Rouen ; 
 of Rene, Duke of Lorraine, at Nancy, of Francis I. 
 (1550), &c. 
 
 Still more in France than in Italy did sculpture and 
 architecture precede the art of painting. The greatest 
 sculptors were Jean Juste, of Tours, Pierre Bontemps, 
 Jean Goujon, Jean Cousin, Germain Pilon, and Barthelemy 
 Prieur. Paul Pontius Trebatti was a Florentine. Leonard 
 Limousin and Jean Courtois were celebrated as enamellers 
 and glass painters, in which latter branch of art the name 
 of Cousin stands pre-eminent ; and Bernard de Palissy, 
 the celebrated worker in porcelain, was of unrivalled ex¬ 
 cellence, whilst the names of Pierre de Valence, Jean 
 Bullant, Pierre Lescot, and Philibert Delorme worthily 
 represent the architectural ability of the day. Nor 
 should we forget to mention the names of Janet and the 
 Clouets, whose portraits are distinguished by great fidelity 
 and delicacy of execution. 
 
 SPAIN. 
 
 In Spain, the Renaissance style was even more speedily 
 adopted and more richly carried out than in France, being 
 introduced during the reign of Isabella the Catholic 
 (1474-1504), and established under Charles V. (1517- 
 1558). Want of space prevents our enumerating more 
 than a few of the chief monuments which that country 
 possesses. 
 
 Its ecclesi¬ 
 astical appli¬ 
 cation, 
 
 and orna¬ 
 mental. 
 
 Names of the 
 principal 
 artists in all 
 departments. 
 
 The Re¬ 
 naissance 
 style in 
 Spain intro¬ 
 duced under 
 Ferdinand 
 and Isabella; 
 
22 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 principal 
 
 monuments, 
 
 and artists. 
 
 The Hospital of the Santa-Cruz, at Toledo (1504-1514) 
 shows it in full possession of the field. Other fine 
 examples of its progress are, the “ Cimborio,” or Dome 
 of Burgos Cathedral, finished in 1567", but in an early 
 style ; San Juan de la Penitencia, Toledo (1511) ; the 
 Alcazar, Toledo (fagade 1548) ; the Town Hall and Casa 
 Zaporta, Zaragossa (1551 and 1560) ; the beautiful Town 
 Hall of Seville (1559) ; and the Palace of Charles V., 
 at Granada, which, built during the last half of the 
 sixteenth century, forms a transition-point between the 
 Renaissance and the severe style of Herrera (close of the 
 sixteenth century). 
 
 An inconceivable number of minor monuments, such 
 as sepulchral tombs, doorways, staircases, &c., are to be 
 found throughout the country, executed by the best artists 
 of the tune, among whom are to be noted, Pedro Gumiel 
 (1492) ; Enrique Egas (1494) ; the celebrated Alonzo 
 Berruguete (1500) ; Alonzo Covarubbias (1512) ; Felipe 
 Vigarny or Borgogna, Diego Siloe (1525) ; and Juan de 
 Herrera (1570-1590), by whom the modern Italian 
 style was introduced. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 The Renais- j n Germany and the Netherlands the Renaissance style 
 of n Germany penetrated at a somewhat late period. 
 theriands^ 6 " the first-named country the earliest and best 
 
 Principal examples are the Belvidere on the Hradschin, at Prague, 
 of°Germany. built by Ferdinand I. (1558-1564), and the east side 
 of the court of Heidelberg Castle (Otto Heinrichsbau, 
 1556-1559). Another portion of the castle (Friedrichsbau, 
 1601-1607); the curious building called the Martins- 
 burg, at Mayence ; the portico of the Town Hall, Cologne 
 (1569-1571) ; the Town Hall of Augsburg (1615-1618) ; 
 and the contemporary Town Hall of Nuremberg, 
 influence of It was mainly through the influence exerted by the rich 
 and 6 Augs- burghers of the two last-named cities that the Renais- 
 burg, sance style became naturalised in Germany. The successful 
 imitations of Milanese armour which began to be pro¬ 
 duced at Augsburg during the latter portion of the 
 fifteenth century, no doubt assisted in giving a taste for 
 forms of ornament based on the Antique. The influence 
 
HISTORY OP STYLES. 
 
 23 
 
 of Italy on the German painters, through Hemling, and 
 Roger of Bruges, had already made itself perceptible ; 
 and the way was admirably paved for the advent of 
 those great masters Albert Durer and Peter Vischer, in 
 whose productions we can never fail to recognise the 
 struggle between the crinkled conventionalities of German 
 Gothic, and that free and child-like imitation of nature 
 which gave such bloom and freshness to the early works 
 of the Renaissance period. 
 
 The fashion, once set, spread with extraordinary rapidity, 
 affecting, not buildings only, but the design of every 
 object of furniture or decoration. In metal-work, stove 
 plates, wood and ivory carving, book illustration, &c., a shown not in 
 rapid and highly interesting change of form took place ; oniy^but in 
 and the designs of the Italian masters were very success- ^^ str 7 as 
 fully imitated for trading purposes at the great manufac¬ 
 turing centres of Germany, and, ultimately, of Flanders. 
 
 A race of artists of great talent arose, whose energies were 
 concentrated upon the production of models of design for 
 such objects : and through the spirited burins of such 
 men as Heinrich Aldegraver, Albrecht Altdorfer, Georg 
 Pens, Yirgilius Solis, Hans Sebald Beham, Jean Collaert 
 and Theodor de Bry, a race known as the 6 i petits 
 maitres,” Germany was furnished with a series of en¬ 
 gravings which formed the text of all artist workmen, 
 from the period of the death of Albert Durer, until the 
 Renaissance style became frittered away into the man¬ 
 nerism of Zieterlin, or the Frenchified graces of Sans- 
 souci. 
 
 The Netherlands afford few examples of the proper C j lief monu _ 
 Renaissance style. At the Church of St. Jaques, Liege, ments of the 
 and the Chapel of the Holy Blood, at Bruges—both Kethcrlands * 
 late Gothic buildings—are to be seen indications of its 
 presence. A very noble example of civic architecture is 
 the Town Hall of Antwerp, by Cornelius Yan Yriendt 
 (1564), and particularly interesting, as showing the state 
 of Renaissance architecture in the Netherlands, at a 
 period when a great number of Flemish architects and 
 artists set the fashion in this country. 
 
24 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 The Renais¬ 
 sance style 
 in England 
 introduced 
 hy Torri¬ 
 giano, 1518. 
 
 Names of 
 
 principal 
 
 artists. 
 
 Dates of 
 
 principal 
 
 monuments. 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 Tlie earliest examples in England of the Renaissance 
 style, were the monuments of Henry VII., <fcc. (1518), 
 executed by Torrigiano. These were not without their 
 effect at a later period, as evidenced by the monument 
 of Sir Thomas Pope, at Oxford (1558) ; it was, however, 
 rather in architecture than in sculpture that any great 
 impression was made by them ; since although innu¬ 
 merable tombs of this period in which figures form a 
 leading element, are scattered about the country, we fail 
 in any of them to meet with indications of power, or 
 beauty, at all analogous with those qualities as evinced 
 by Torrigiano. It was scarcely until after Bernini had 
 given his great impulse to the arts of design, in the 
 middle of the seventeenth century, that any attention 
 was drawn to the subject of sculpture in this country. 
 To return therefore to the subject of architecture, we find 
 that another foreign artist, Holbein, visited England in 
 1526, and spread widely the growing taste for the new 
 style. An Italian architect, John of Padua, is mentioned 
 in 1544 as “devizor of his Majesty’s buildings and 
 another Italian, Girolamo da Trevigi, appears to have 
 built in the new style. Somewhat later, in 1570, John 
 Thorpe is mentioned as the architect of Kirby House, 
 Bethnal Green, the first of a long and important series 
 of buildings designed by him, amongst which are the 
 noble mansions of Wollaton, Longford Castle, Audley 
 Inn, and Kensington (Lord Holland’s). Other architects, 
 about the same period, were Thomas Holte, Robert Adams, 
 Bernard Adams, Laurence Bradshaw, Gerard Christmas, 
 Bernard Jansen, and the Smithsons. 
 
 The dates of some of the chief palaces are here given : 
 Knowle (1570), Burleigh (1577), Longleat (1579), 
 Westwood (Worcester, 1590), Holland House (1607), 
 Longford Castle (1612), and Audley Inn (1616) ; all 
 of which are still in a pretty perfect state. The style 
 general in these works is sufficiently exemplified in the 
 
HISTORY OF STYLES. 
 
 25 
 
 specimen liere given from Holland House, erected very 
 shortly after the date of Audley Inn (1616). Between 
 the years 1619-1621, Inigo Jones, the great restorer of 
 architecture in England, designed the Banqueting-house 
 at Whitehall, which equals the works of the best Italian 
 masters, and from that period the style we are in the 
 habit of designating as “ Elizabethan,” lost ground 
 throughout the country. 
 
 SECTIONAL—STYLES. 
 
 The Renaissance style of Italy stands by itself, other The Renais- 
 countries having been imitators of its later growth only. itT^ci^rac- 
 
 In sculpture, it is characterised by a deep feeling for teijisticS g in 
 nature ; a dramatic method of description combined with Italy, 
 great simplicity of treatment ; a pictorial feeling, which 
 led to the representation of trees and clouds, a variety of 
 grouping, and the use of perspective; with a certain 
 knowledge of, and inclination to, antique art, the whole 
 being strongly impressed with the individual character 
 of the artist. The same description applies to Renais¬ 
 sance paintings, whilst architecture, in its larger parts, andinArehi- 
 such as the entablatures, columns, Ac., was more deter- 111 
 
 minedly founded on the antique, its ornament being 
 taken freely from nature, and very pleasingly combined 
 with antique and conventional adjuncts. As the study 
 of ancient art advanced, men’s minds became absorbed 
 by it, and we can gradually perceive that change from a 
 subjective to an objective feeling, which ended in the 
 loss of the artist’s individuality, and his imprisonment 
 in the trammels of a rigid classicism. In Tuscany, 
 the style is characterised generally by superior delicacy 
 of drawing and expression ; a tendency to natural forms, 
 and a refined purity of ornament, its architecture being 
 generally massive and plain. In Venice, with the same 
 ground-work, we remark a more fantastic and con¬ 
 ventional system of design, possibly indicating that those 
 who gave commissions paid more money, and yet cared 
 less, for the monuments they required, than the patrons of 
 arts in the former state. In Lombardy, the same 
 character is found accompanied by somewhat less refine- 
 
26 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 in both in 
 France, 
 
 in Spain, 
 
 in Germany, 
 and the Ne¬ 
 therlands, 
 
 and in Eng¬ 
 land. 
 
 ment. Home and Naples were chiefly recipients of the 
 Florentine, Lombard, and Umbrian schools. In Italian 
 the general name applied to this style is that of “ Cinque 
 Cento.” 
 
 In France, the Renaissance style, although nearly 
 allied to that of Lombardy, bears a completely national 
 impress, and presents the same love of elongated pro¬ 
 portions which distinguishes the French pointed style, 
 many of the features of which, such as pinnacles, gurgoyles, 
 &c., were retained and transformed. A change, however, 
 soon occurred, and we see, in the works of Goujon and 
 Lescot, a boldness of treatment, and a free imitation 
 of the antique, possessing points of the highest merit. 
 The French expression for this style—“ Renaissance” 
 —has been very generally adopted in England. 
 
 In Spain, the Renaissance monuments exhibit an extra¬ 
 ordinary degree of variety in their ornaments, which are 
 of the most fantastic nature ; an exuberant fancy would 
 seem to have sought a vent, especially in the sculptured 
 ornament of this style, which, though at times crowded, 
 over-laden, and we must add, disfigured by the most 
 grotesque ideas, is very striking for its originality and 
 excellent workmanship. Its masses are frequently rather 
 plain, but particular features, such as doors, windows, 
 (fee., are extravagantly ornamented ; whilst, as in France, 
 pinnacles, gurgoyles, pierced parapets, and other Gothic 
 features are freely retained. The name by which it is 
 known in Spain is “El Plateresco.” 
 
 In Germany and the Netherlands, owing to its later 
 development, the Renaissance evinces a nearer approach 
 to the Italian style, or that which succeeded the early 
 Renaissance, characterised in its architecture by larger 
 and plainer masses, and a more heavy style of orna¬ 
 ment. Heidelberg Castle (Otto Heinrichsbau) is founded 
 somewhat on Lombard Renaissance models, whilst the 
 Netherlands’ buildings show an evident influence from 
 French models. 
 
 In England, the style which prevailed from the decline 
 of Gothic architecture (circa 1550) to the rise of Italian 
 architecture, under Inigo Jones (circa 1620), is charac¬ 
 terised by a somewhat grotesque application of the 
 ancient orders and ornaments, by large and pictu- 
 
HISTORY OF STYLES. 
 
 27 
 
 resquely-formed masses, spacious staircases, broad ter¬ 
 races, galleries of great length (at times 100 feet long), 
 orders placed on orders, pyramidal gables formed of 
 scroll-work, often pierced, large windows divided by 
 mullions, &c., bay windows, pierced parapets, angle 
 turrets, and a love of arcades. The two principal fea¬ 
 tures in the ornament being pierced scroll-work, strap- 
 work, and prismatic rustication, combined with boldly- 
 carved foliage (usually conventional) and roughly-formed 
 figures. From the fact of Queen Elizabeth having 
 reigned during the greater part of the period when this 
 style was in vogue (1558-1603), it has been generally, 
 and not inaptly, termed the <c Elizabethan,” although it 
 is to be remarked, that she herself was but an indifferent 
 patroness of the fine arts. 
 
28 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 POLYCHROMATIC DECORATION. 
 
 Revival of 
 antique tra¬ 
 ditions in 
 painting, 
 
 in Tuscany. 
 
 Nature of 
 the change 
 effected 
 
 in ihemiddle 
 of the fif¬ 
 teenth cen¬ 
 tury. 
 
 In no department of art was a greater change effected 
 by the current of popular favour running strongly in the 
 direction of a revival of the antique, than was wrought 
 in the whole scheme of mural embellishment, during the 
 latter half of the fifteenth century. The movement may 
 be said to have in a great degree originated with Paolo 
 Uccello of Florence (1397-1479?), who with many per¬ 
 sonal sacrifices and much laborious study, founded that 
 art of linear perspective, which is so important a feature 
 in the Renaissance school. Masaccio (1402-1443) painted 
 those celebrated frescos in the church of the Carmine 
 at Florence from which Michael-Angelo studied, and 
 from which Raphael did not disdain to borrow. Fillippo 
 Lippi (1412-1469) and Sandro Botticelli (1437-1515) 
 in many respects equalled their great predecessor, whilst 
 Benozzo Gozzoli, Domenico Ghirlandajo and Luca 
 Signorelli were in their respective manners the worthy 
 precursors of the later school. 
 
 Under the hands of these artists, the pictures painted 
 by them upon walls and ceilings were certainly of a more 
 imposing character, both in composition and drawing, 
 than any which had been previously executed ; but the 
 art of combining coloured enrichments of an architectural 
 nature, so as to produce general effects as grand as 
 those which had been attained in Byzantine and Gothic 
 times, was sadly neglected ; and it was not until the 
 exhumation of wonderful remains of antique decoration 
 of a monumental character at Rome, had drawn the 
 attention of artists to the necessity of giving more atten¬ 
 tion to general effect, that any really agreeable poly- 
 chromy was produced in Italy. 
 
 It was about the middle of the fifteenth century that 
 the grotesque style # was introduced, and before its clas- 
 
 * So called from the “grotte” or domed apartments of the 
 
COLOURED DECORATIONS. 
 
 29 
 
 sical detail, the old mosaic and interlacing bands, the 
 conventional acanthus borders, together with the broad 
 gold grounds, and blue ceilings with gilded stars, vanished 
 as if by enchantment—the gilded ground remaining popu¬ 
 lar only in a modified form through the masters of the 
 Umbrian school. Although Rome was the great source 
 of inspiration, the movement may be said to have 
 actually commenced in the North. 
 
 In Lombardy Francesco Squarcione (1394-1474) and Movement 
 his great scholar Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506) were 
 founders of a very remarkable school, whose enthusiastic 
 and excellent adoption of the antique produced a most 
 important result, not only in Lombardy, but on art gene- inLomb , u . dv 
 rally throughout Italy; a result which was greatly aided 
 by the diffusion of their works through the medium of 
 engraving, which, if Andrea did not invent, he was at 
 least one of the first to put in practice. The noble 
 cartoons by the latter master, preserved at Hampton 
 Court, attest at once his power as a draughtsman, and his 
 deep study of Roman antiquities. 
 
 Venice at this period produced a series of artists 
 whose sense of the beauty of colour was early evinced 
 and has perhaps never been surpassed, the earliest of 
 whom were Carlo Crivelli, Luigi Vivarini and Antonello at y en i ce 
 da Messina, followed by a large number of excellent 
 painters, among whom may be cited the brothers Bellini 
 and Marco Basaiti, and in the last half of the fifteenth 
 century Cima da Conegliano and Vittore Carpaccio. 
 
 To no series of artists, however, was Italy more and in the 
 indebted for her successful revival of polychromatic deco- xii-blno. °* 
 ration, than to those masters who are known as the 
 Umbrian school, and no monument is more interesting 
 as a specimen of this revival than the ceiling which has 
 been reproduced at the back of the Renaissance Court. 
 
 The original was executed by Perugino in the later influence of 
 years of his life, at the “ Sala di Cambio” at Perugia. g^ 10 Pem " 
 It is peculiarly valuable, since it was after he had been 
 called to Rome, and had executed some works there, 
 that he returned to his birth-place, and executed this 
 
 ancients, which having been for the most part covered up by the 
 accumulation of soil, had, upon their being uncovered, truly the 
 effect of painted grottoes. 
 
and Iris 
 pupils. 
 
 The new 
 system 
 
 carried out 
 by Raffaelle 
 and Pintu- 
 riccliio, 
 
 Lionardo da 
 "Vinci, 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 ceiling ; evidencing Row deeply Re Rad been engaged in 
 studying tRe antique at tRe fountain-Read. A rare tribute 
 to tRe value of Perugino as a master in arabesque orna¬ 
 ment, was paid by Ris pupil Paffaelle, wRen Re was 
 requested by tire Pope to destroy a ceiling painted by 
 Perugino in one of tRe Stanze of tRe Vatican, to make 
 way for a picture wRicli tlie Pope desired Rim to paint ; 
 Re refused to carry out Ris employer’s wish, tRus vindica¬ 
 ting tRe title of Ris old master to tRe RigRest merit as an 
 arabesque painter. 
 
 It is a curious circumstance, tRat Paffaelle and Pintu- 
 riccRio were botR pupils at tRe same time under Perugino, 
 tliougR PinturiccRio was mucR older than Paffaelle. In 
 addition to tRem tliere was BaccRiaeca, wRom Vasari 
 mentions as celebrated for Ris little figures, animals, 
 and ornaments. 
 
 We observe on inspection Row mucR tRe old system of 
 colouring is altered in tRese works. In tlie early frescoes, 
 tlie artists Rad in tReir mind pure colours—reds, blues, 
 yellows, bright greens, &c.—but in these, the browns 
 and grays, and other tertiary colours come into play ; and 
 instead of making up a sort of mosaic, by a number 
 of little pieces of different tints, and so inducing an 
 appearance of flatness, they took a ground, and upon 
 that they painted. TRat was the principle of the antique, 
 which was the school in which Perugino Rad studied. 
 
 PinturiccRio and Paffaelle worked together under 
 Perugino on the ceiling of the “ Sala di Cambio,” and 
 the former was called, in consequence, to Sienna, to 
 execute decorations for the library. Findnig a difficulty 
 in making designs for the more historic portion of tlie 
 work, he called in the aid of Paffaelle, and while Paffaelle 
 prepared the cartoons for the subjects (the life of AEneas 
 Silvius), Pinturicchio designed the decorations. It is in 
 these, and some of Ris other works (as in the churches 
 of Pome—Santa Maria del Popolo, Santa Maria sopra 
 Minerva, and Santa Croce in Gerusalemme), that Pintu¬ 
 ricchio seems to Rave very much revived, in his style 
 of colour, the practice of Fra Beato and Gentile da 
 Fabriano. 
 
 One great name we Rave left unmentioned : it is that 
 of Lionardo da Vinci, the Florentine (1452-1519), who 
 
COLOURED DECORATIONS. 
 
 31 
 
 is usually classed with the sixteenth century artists, but 
 who claims equally a place, and a most important one, 
 among those of the fifteenth century. In him were com¬ 
 bined the characteristics of each period, modified by an 
 individual power of the most remarkable kind. 
 
 It was however through his follower Bernardino Luini, and Luini. 
 rather than by himself, that mural decoration of the 
 Renaissance period was chiefly affected, and in the Certosa 
 at Pavia, the Church of San Maurizio Maggiore, and the 
 Casa Tavema, at Milan, the genius of that great artist 
 shines forth as a consummate master, not only of figure 
 drawing and composition, but of the arrangement of 
 architectural colour as well. 
 
 Mural decoration of the Renaissance style in France Mural deco¬ 
 takes two distinct forms—the one descended from the prance -Tts 
 Gothic, and affected indirectly only by the antique, and ^cient; 
 the other completely Italian in character. The first of 1 
 these is, as may readily be supposed, the earliest. In 
 it the whole system of colour is derived from the rich 
 hangings, the tapestries, and embroideries, with which the 
 walls of the old chateaux were usually hung. The 
 subjects of the pictures long remained analogous to those, 
 taken from the romances of chivalry, which the ladies of 
 the period delighted to work with their own fair hands, 
 and which have been immortalised in the great publica¬ 
 tion of M. Jubinal. The diapers and powderings, sten¬ 
 cilled and painted upon the walls, consist, with scarcely 
 any exception, of the same kind of patterns which may 
 be seen upon the stuffs worn by the noble personages 
 pourtrayed in the Illuminated Manuscripts. The names 
 of but few artists who wrought in this style in France 
 have been preserved to us, and beyond the painters 
 Bourdichon, Perreal, and Pion, we know of but few* 
 
 The shining light however of the period as an artist was 
 the celebrated Rene' d’Anjou, Duke of Lorraine (father 
 of Margaret of Anjou), whose name must ever be 
 regarded with respect not only as a munificent patron of 
 art, but as intimately associated with the change from 
 tempera to oil painting. 
 
 The Italian school was created in France by Pri- and that 
 maticcio, del Rosso, and other masters imported by “ 1 ^?, ntairl; ' 
 Francis I. : it soon became indigenous through the 
 
32 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 Fainting in 
 England and 
 Germany in 
 Elizabethan 
 times. 
 
 activity of men such as Jean Cousin, Clouet, Janet, 
 Limousin, Courtois, Etienne de Laulne, &c .—; the rapid 
 dissemination through the country of Raffaelle’s designs, 
 by the engravings of Marc Antonio, helping to prepare 
 the public and aristocratic mind for that complete change 
 which was effected in polychromy, at Fontainebleau, 
 Madrid, Chenonceau, and many other of the Royal 
 Chateaux, ending with the apartments of Marie de Medicis 
 in the Palace of the Luxembourg. 
 
 In England, and Germany, painting in Elizabethan 
 times principally rejoiced in panel pictures, and we have 
 reason to believe that mural decoration never reached 
 any very high pitch of perfection. It is true that Falstaff 
 tells the hostess how “a pretty slight drollery, or the 
 story of the prodigal, or the German hunting in water 
 work, is worth a thousand of these bed-hangings, and these 
 fly-bitten tapestries,” but as the lady appears by no means 
 inclined to agree with him, we may be justified in doubt¬ 
 ing whether any of the substitutes for the much loved 
 (i arras” were to be compared even to those hangings, 
 which have so long formed the popular embellishment of 
 Wolsey’s Hall at Hampton Court. 
 
 We shall now proceed to our description of the 
 Renaissance Courts, commencing with the various works 
 of art which surround its facade to the Have. 
 
EXTERIOR OF THE RENAISSANCE COURTS 
 PACING THE NAYE. 
 
 The statue nearest the nave, on the right of the Renaissance 
 spectator looking towards the fagade of the Court, as well the 1P Nave— 
 as the corresponding one, in a line with it, is from the 
 tomb of Maximilian of Austria, in the Hof Kirche at 
 Inspruch, Tyrol. We would draw particular attention to figures from 
 these statues, as being amongst the most remarkable and Maximilian; 
 artistic works in the building. They are very skilfully 
 executed, and the elaborate workmanship of their armour 
 and dresses gives them an additional interest as types of 
 the costume of the sixteenth century. 
 
 They are generally said to have been cast in bronze H whom 
 by the Tyrolese sculptors Loffler, between the years 1513 exLCUted ‘ 
 and 1533. The Lofflers were a family of Inspruch 
 artists, the eldest of whom was Peter, who flourished at 
 the close of the fiteenth century. His successors were 
 Elias and Hans Loffler. Christopher flourished about 
 the year 1580. Gregory died a.d. 1560, and another 
 Christopher, the last of the Lofflers died in 1623. 
 
 Nagler, in his c Kunstler’s Lexicon/ we know not Doubts upon 
 on wdiat authority, states that these statues were cast the sutj P cc * 
 by Melchior Godl, a Tyrolese artist, in 1529, and 
 subsequently Kugler, speaking of them says, they were 
 chiefly executed in the first and second half of the 
 sixteenth century by Stephen and Melchior Godl, about 
 the year 1529, and Hans Lendenstrauch (1570), whilst 
 of Gregory Loffler, to whom they are usually ascribed, no 
 record remains. 
 
 On the right is placed the fine bronze statue of statue of 
 Albert, Archduke of Bavaria, from the monument of Bavaria/ 
 Louis of Bavaria, erected by the Emperor Maximilian, 
 a.d. 1622, in the cathedral at Munich. A remarkably 
 fine piece of sculpture, ascribed to Hans Kreutzer. The 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 costume of the period in which the Archduke lived is 
 faithfully rendered, and is of the richest character ; his 
 loose coat or mantle is puffed and slashed, turned up 
 with fur, probably sable, and is furnished with sleeves 
 which hang down at the elbow, leaving the arms free ; 
 the wrists have small ruffs or frills ; he holds his richly- 
 worked gloves in his right and his sword in his left hand ; 
 his doublet and mantle are both covered with excellent 
 ornament in the Renaissance style. 
 
 As iiiustra- In the sixteenth century, costume underwent a great 
 tuim^of the" c I ian S e 5 110 ^ arising, however, as might have been ima- 
 sixteenth gined, from the revived influence of the antique, but 
 century. f r0 m the fact that the manufacture of linen, velvet, 
 and silk made great progress at this period. Cloth 
 consequently became less considered, and was used 
 almost solely for the close-fitting hose, the shoes or 
 buskins being of velvet or satin ; it may be remarked, 
 however, that silk hose were introduced during this 
 century ; the rest of the costume, which is admirably 
 exemplified by the present statue, was composed of 
 velvet and satin, and gold or silver-stuffs embroidered 
 with gold, Ac., the different portions being fastened 
 together by silk tags ; the mantle was especially rich, 
 being lined internally with sable or miniver, as costly as 
 the outside ; the sleeves of this mantle were not in one 
 piece but usually attached by tags or “ aiguillettes ; ,J 
 the jerkin, doublet, Ac., were slashed, to allow the 
 fine linen beneath to be seen. The colours were of the 
 richest description, the cap being generally of black 
 velvet and jewelled. Francois Rabelais gives minute 
 descriptions of the dresses of this period, and satirises 
 the custom now first introduced of going about armed, 
 every one he tells us carrying <f la belle epee au cote, la 
 poignee doree, le fourreau de velours de la couleur des 
 chausses, le bout d’or et d’orfevrerie, le poignard de 
 meme.” 
 
 statue of St. The statue on the left is the celebrated St. George, by 
 Donatello 7 Hciiatello. It occupies one of the external niches of the 
 church of Or San Michele, at Florence, to which it was 
 presented by the guild of sword-makers and armourers. 
 The munificence and taste of these guilds of tradesmen 
 we shall again have occasion to mention with praise in the 
 
EXTERIOR FACING THE NAYE. 
 
 35 
 
 case of Ghiberti’s Gate. It is an excellent representation 
 of the Christian warrior, firm and ready to front danger, 
 yet tranquil. “The character of the saint,” writes Yasari, 
 “ is indeed expressed most wonderfully, and life seems 
 to move in that stone. It is certain that in no modern 
 figure has there yet been seen so much animation, nor so 
 life-like a spirit in marble, as nature and art have combined 
 to produce by the hand of Donato in this statue.” The 
 armour, though of modern form, bears nevertheless an 
 antique impress. The head and hands are very fine and 
 closely founded on nature, and the entire design is not 
 unworthy of Vasari’s ungrudging praise. Mrs. Jameson, 
 in her very valuable work on “ Legendary Art,” observes 
 that, “the noble, tranquil, serious dignity of the figure, 
 admirably expresses the Christian warrior ; it is so exactly 
 the conception of Spenser, that it immediately suggests 
 his lines :— 
 
 11 * Upon his shield the bloody cross was scored, 
 
 For sovereign help, which in his need he had— 
 
 Right faithful, true he was, in deed and word ; 
 
 But of his cheere did seem too solemn sad : 
 
 Yet nothing did he dread, but ever was ydrad.’ ” 
 
 The companion figure to the St. George, by Donatello, 
 at the Chapel of Or San Michele, is the celebrated statue 
 of St. Matthew, by Ghiberti, in which the character of 
 the Christian Orator and Teacher is no less admirably 
 expressed, than is that of the Christian Warrior in St. 
 George. Both works are in an eminent degree at once 
 artistic and philosophical. 
 
 Further on are the busts of Henry IY. of France, and a 
 Florentine Lady, by Antonio Bosellini, from the collection 
 of M. Piat of Paris (on the right facing the nave). (See 
 Portrait Gallery , No. 305.) 
 
 Antonio Rossellini, of Florence, was one of the many 
 excellent sculptors who flourished in the second half of the 
 fifteenth century ; his chefs-d’oeuvre are the elegant 
 sepulchral monument of Cardinal Jacob of Portugal, in 
 San Miniato, near Florence (1456, one of the earliest 
 designs of the kind), a relief of the Madonna and Child 
 in the Museum at Florence, and an excellent bust of 
 Matteo Pamieri (1468) in the same collection ; a relief 
 
 Busts of 
 Henry IY. 
 of France, 
 and of a 
 Florentine 
 Lady by 
 Rossellini. 
 Life of Ros¬ 
 sellini. 
 
36 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 Busts of Ne- 
 r >ni, Sully, 
 & Francis I, 
 
 of tlie Birtli of Christ and the sepulchral monument of 
 Maria of Arragon, Ac., in the church of Monte Oliveto 
 
 at Naples. Antonio was brother of an equally excellent 
 sculptor, Bernardo Rossellini, who died a.d. 1490. 
 
 Beyond these are busts of Diotisalvi Neroni (a noble 
 specimen of Florentine sculpture also from the collection 
 of M. Fiat), Sully, and Francis I. (See Portrait Gallery, 
 Nos. 263, 299.) ” 
 
 The busts on the left, as we face the nave, are those of 
 
EXTERIOR FACING THE NAYE. 
 
 37 
 
 Sliakspeare (from his monument in Stratford church) and Busts of 
 Machiavelli (from the cabinet of national sculpture, in the and k Machia- 
 Gallery of the Uffizii, Florence). (See Portrait Gallery , vein. 
 
 NTos. 407, 183.) 
 
 Beyond these are the busts of Ben Jonson, Cosmo de Busts of Ben 
 Medici, and Lord Bacon. . modeMedi- 8 " 
 
 The remaining statues are from the fountain of the ci > and Lord 
 
 Tartarughe, at Borne, described in the Handbook to the statue’s from 
 
 Italian Court. Tartarughe 
 
 fountain at 
 
 The entire facade of the entrance from the nave, with Rome, 
 the exception of the upper frieze, is from the Hotel ofth^Oourt 
 Bourgtherouide at Bouen. The greater portion of the Ja^en from 
 original edifice was commenced towards the close of the Bourgtlie- 
 fifteenth century by William Leroux, who was living in 
 1486, and was completed by his son, the Abbe d’Aumale. 
 
 The arcade, which is here reproduced, forms a spacious 
 gallery on the north side of the palace, and exhibits a 
 complete adoption of the Benaissance style, being evidently 
 of later date than other portions of the building, and 
 probably subsequent to the year 1520. 
 
 The pilasters are ornamented with delicately executed its style, 
 arabesques ; their caps are gracefully designed, and the 
 decoration of the upper portion equally deserves praise. 
 
 The arches are of the form called c£ Burgundian,” from 
 their great frequency in Late Gothic buildings in Burgundy. 
 
 The candelabra-like columns of the sides are characteristic 
 of the style ; and we would particularly draw attention to 
 the boys and satyrs which ornament them. The open- 
 worked ornament of the second moulding exhibits the 
 influence of late Gothic art, as not yet quite extinct. 
 
 The entire design affords an excellent idea of the Its restora- 
 Benaissance style, prevalent in France during the reign of tlon * 
 Francis I. (1515-1547), known in France as that of 
 “ Francois Premier.” It is much to be regretted that 
 the present condition of the Hotel Bourgtherouide is 
 anything but satisfactory, the surface of the stone in 
 which the carvings are executed having been completely 
 destroyed by the weather. So soon as it was determined 
 to adopt a restoration of this monument as a leading 
 illustration of the Benaissance style, casts of the principal 
 portions were taken by M. Pellegrini of Bouen, with the 
 kind permission of the proprietor. These casts were then 
 
A PORTION OF THE SIDE COLUMN’S. IloTEL BOUEGTHEEOULDE. 
 
EXTERIOR FACING THE NAVE. 
 
 39 
 
 placed in the hands of M. Desachy, by whose artist-work¬ 
 men elaborate restorations of every part have been made. 
 
 The sculpture on the plinth represents the meeting of The scuip- 
 Francis I. and Henry VIII., at the Field of the Cloth of 
 Gold, between Guisnes and Ardres, near Calais, in the 
 year 1520, of which a very interesting representation is 
 to be seen at Hampton Court, in a painting which has 
 been erroneously ascribed to Holbein. These are the only 
 contemporary illustrations of that well-known event, we 
 believe, now extant. 
 
 Commencing with the farthest panel on the left hand First 
 of the spectator, the English cavalcade is seen issuing 
 from the gates of the town, the walls of which are lined 
 with spectators. The horsemen are followed by serving 
 men on foot, the plumed bonnet of each of whom 
 hangs by a band over his back. Further on we observe 
 a numerous group of spectators. 
 
 The most conspicuous figure of the second compart- Second 
 ment is an ecclesiastic bareheaded, mounted on a richly- pane1 ’ 
 caparisoned horse, and bearing a crucifix: he is preceded 
 by two horsemen, who carry the insignia of office. 
 
 In the next compartment, Henry VIII., surrounded Third panel, 
 by a guard of foot soldiers, is seen mounted on a noble 
 charger, and with raised cap, salutes Francis I., similarly 
 mounted, and surrounded by a guard of nobles and 
 military. The caparisons of both their horses are remark¬ 
 ably rich, and are decorated with their respective armorial 
 badges. This compartment has been repeated, so as to Fourth, 
 complete the subject, on each side of the entrance to the g/xthp^els 
 Court. The remaining two panels illustrate the French 
 procession. The farthest of them on the right hand 
 differs somewhat from its pendant ; and a cavalier is 
 shown mounting on his horse, which is curiously put into 
 perspective. The costumes of both countries appear to 
 be very similar, and are faithfully rendered ; the whole 
 subject being treated with the delicacy of finish and 
 minuteness of ornament peculiar to the early Renaissance 
 sculptors. 
 
 It would appear that the greatest punctilio at first The actual 
 prevailed at this meeting. The Kings left their quarters ¥ t ™ cal 
 at the same time, which was notified by the firing of stances, 
 a culverin; passed each other in the middle point 
 
40 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 The Pistoia 
 frieze, 
 
 executed by 
 the nephews 
 of Luca della 
 Robbia. 
 
 The first 
 panel, 
 
 second, 
 
 third, 
 
 fourth, 
 
 fifth, 
 
 sixth, 
 
 and seventh. 
 
 The colour 
 of the origi¬ 
 nal, 
 
 between the towns, and the moment Henry entered 
 Ardres, Francis placed himself in English hands at 
 Guisnes. But the French monarch resolved to terminate 
 this endless ceremonial, and, accompanied only by three 
 attendants, rode gallantly into Guisnes, one day, crying 
 to the astonished guard, “You are all my prisoners, 
 carry me to your master.” Henry, charmed with his 
 frankness, cordially embraced him, and, unclasping a 
 pearl collar from his throat, presented it to Francis, who 
 returned it by a bracelet of great beauty and value. In 
 after years, Henry espoused the cause of Charles Y. 
 against Francis. 
 
 The large frieze running not only above the H6tel 
 Bourgtheroulde Arcade, but above that adjoining it, from 
 Holland House, is from the Hospital of the Poor 
 (Ospedale dei Poveri), at Pistoia in Tuscany. 
 
 The original is executed in coloured porcelain, a 
 process invented and brought to great perfection by 
 Luca della Robbia, the great Tuscan sculptor, and is 
 sometimes quoted as one of his works. It is, however, 
 more justly ascribed to his nephews, Giovanni, Luca, 
 and Girolamo della Robbia, and was executed about 
 the year 1528. 
 
 The first panel to the left represents the distribution 
 of money and clothing to the aged poor and sick. 
 
 In the second, food is given to the hungry and starving. 
 
 In the third, the sick and diseased are being 
 attended to. 
 
 In the fourth, the sick couch is visited, and the con¬ 
 solations of religion are brought to the dying. 
 
 In the fifth, pilgrims and poor travellers are relieved. 
 
 In the sixth, prisoners are visited. 
 
 In the last group, near the centre, is a figure, whose 
 head is encircled with a nimbus, and over whose shoulders 
 depend the strings of a cardinal’s hat. 
 
 The ecclesiastics who performed all these good offices 
 wore white dresses, with black scapularies. In the original 
 the whole is strongly coloured, and has a glazed polish, 
 which, while it preserves the terra cotta from the action 
 of the weather, takes away considerably from its charm 
 as a work of art. In the reproduction of this frieze, 
 therefore, the blue ground which forms an agreeable 
 
EXTERIOR FACING THE NAVE. 
 
 41 
 
 feature in tlie original, has been retained, but the objec¬ 
 tionable colour and varnish have been omitted. 
 
 In this great work the drawing is excellent, the anditsar¬ 
 grouping good, the expressions varied and powerful, J|“^ cquah ‘ 
 and the general truth to nature is very admirable. 
 
 The secret of the preparation invented and used by LucadeUa 
 Luca della Robbia and his family in this particular style Robbiaware * 
 of glazed terra cotta was lost shortly after the death of 
 his nephews. A similar process has, however, been 
 successfully practised by Messrs. Minton, of Stoke-upon- 
 Trent, favourable examples of which are to be seen at the 
 Museum of Practical Geology, in Jermyn Street, and the 
 booking-office of the Great Western Railway Station, 
 Paddington. 
 
 In the arrangement of the gilding and colouring of this Gilding and 
 facade, which have been executed by M. Pantaenius, an the°fa«?ade°of 
 attempt has been made to illustrate the delicate mode of the Court, 
 treatment so frequently and happily introduced by the 
 artists of the Renaissance period in connection with 
 marble and alabaster monuments, in which little more 
 was done than relieving the ornaments by gilding the 
 grounds. 
 
 THE ENTRANCE LOGGIA. 
 
 Entering the Court in the centre of the facade, the The Loggia, 
 visitor passes through a loggia, the floor of which has been 
 executed hi imitation of the ordinary Italian inlaid pave- its P ave " 
 ments, by the London Marble-Working Company. # The ceiling, 
 vault is painted with a series of boys holding scrolls, on 
 which are written the names of the artists especially 
 connected with the portraits beneath. A somewhat 
 similar arrangement occurs in the entrance loggia to the 
 monastery of the Certosa at Pavia. The boys have been 
 ably painted by Mr. Gow, of London. 
 
 In the lunettes beneath the ceiling are the following and lunettes 
 portraits, taken from the most authentic sources, and beIleatb - 
 painted by Mr. Frederic Smallfield, of London. 
 
 * By this company two very beautiful carved marble benches 
 were presented to the Crystal Palace Company. They are placed in 
 the Pompeian Court. 
 
42 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 Series of por- In the central compartment, Francis I., taken from 
 
 ofgreat portrait by Titian ; Henry II., from his likeness 
 
 patrons of by Janet ; Diana of Poitiers, from a carving by 
 Renaissance j ean Goujon, and contemporary enamels ; Catharine de 
 Medicis, from her monument at St. Denis. In the 
 compartment to the right, Leo X., Lorenzo de’ Medici 
 (see Portrait Gallery), Lucrezia Borgia, from a contem¬ 
 porary medal, and Elizabetta Gonzaga, from a rare medal; 
 and in the left compartment, Maximilian of Germany, 
 from a picture by Lucas van Leyden ; Charles Y. of 
 Spain, from Titian’s portrait in the Gallery at Madrid ; 
 Isabella the Catholic, from her coins, and from one of 
 the very interesting bas-reliefs in the cathedral at 
 Grenada ; and Mary of Burgundy, from Burgmaier’s 
 engraving in the u Memoirs of Maximilian, der Weiss 
 Kunig.” (See Portrait Gallery.) 
 
 This series of personages has been selected as exhibiting 
 the great patrons of Renaissance art, male and female, in 
 Italy, France, Germany, and Spain. As no just appre¬ 
 hension can be formed of the conditions under which the 
 great artists of the Renaissance period worked, throughout 
 Europe, without taking into account the historical and 
 personal circumstances connected with those individuals, 
 we shall proceed to give an epitome of the lives of the 
 two chief patrons of Art at this period. 
 
 Leo X. Leo X. Giovanni de’ Medici, better known as Leo X., 
 
 son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, was born at Florence 
 in the year 1475. He was educated by the most learned 
 men of his time, and nominated a cardinal at the age 
 of thirteen. At seventeen he took orders. At this time 
 his family were proscribed, and he sought vainly to 
 regain his position in Florence. He was elected Pope in 
 1513, and his reign commenced under the happiest 
 auspices. Xor were the great promises he made unful¬ 
 filled. As a statesman, as a churchman, and as a patron 
 of the arts and letters, he was equally active and zealous. 
 Of the great political events which marked his reign, he 
 was the prime mover. As a priest his zeal and ambition 
 led him to grant those numerous indulgences which found 
 an opponent in Luther ; and no history can be more 
 interesting than that which recounts the obstinate and 
 successful resistance of the great Reformer. His muni- 
 
THE ENTRANCE LOGGIA. 
 
 43 
 
 licence to artists and learned men was unbounded. 
 
 Greeks and Orientals were obtained by him to teach their 
 respective languages in the great university he intended 
 to found; Plato, Homer, Sophocles, Aristotle, and 
 Tacitus were printed under his direct patronage ; and 
 his love for the antique spread itself among all classes. 
 
 Of the numerous great artists he gathered round him, 
 the names of Michael Angelo and RafFaelle are sufficient 
 to guarantee his discernment. He died in the year 
 1521. His portrait is taken from Paffaelle’s celebrated 
 picture in the Tribune at Florence. 
 
 Lorenzo de’ Medici, known as “ the Magnificent,” was Lorenzo de 
 born in 1448. In the year 1469 he became Chief Medicu 
 of the Florentine republic, and in spite of the troubles 
 and wars of his own and neighbouring states, attracted 
 to Florence all that was great in literature and art. His 
 sagacious counsel was sought by all parties, and as no 
 one was more generally esteemed, so no one more 
 deserved it, for his numerous and remarkable qualities. 
 
 His tastes leaned towards the study of ancient times, its 
 literature and art, and he formed academies, after the 
 model of Plato’s, in which were educated the most 
 eminent men of the succeeding generation, amongst whom 
 the name of Michael Angelo is prominent. Lorenzo died 
 at his palace of Careggi near Florence, in the arms of 
 Politian, the author, and the all accomplished Pico di 
 Mirandola, in the year 1492, His portrait has been 
 taken from a picture by Yasari. 
 
 THE INTERIOR OF THE COURT. 
 
 Passing out of the vestibule to the left, the plinth is 
 ornamented with examples of Italian sculpture in the 
 fifteenth century. 
 
 The small head of St. John, is from the Museum Head of st. 
 (Uffizii) at Florence, by Donatello. It is evidently studied ^^telfo • 
 from nature, and is remarkable for its relief at the lower 
 part of the face. It is carved in that style of “ bassissimo 
 relievo,” or very low relief, for which Donatello was cele¬ 
 brated. The antique medals were much admired, and 
 sometimes closely copied by him, and from this fact may 
 
'-<V' 
 
 44 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 have arisen his affection for this particular manner of 
 sculpture, the legitimate conditions and conventions of 
 which have never been better understood than by him. 
 There is no better or more beautiful instance of this. 
 
 than the beautiful subject we engrave. A bronze patera 
 by Donatello in the Casa Martelli at Florence, in which 
 the Antique is certainly closely imitated, but with a fire, 
 and energy, which make the imitation even better than 
 the original. 
 
 Donato di Betto Bardi, better known as Donatello, 
 was born at Florence a.d. 1383. He is considered 
 
INTERIOR OF THE COURT. 
 
 45 
 
 to be the chief sculptor of the fifteenth century, and 
 
 his works are exceedingly numerous. Some of his his works, 
 
 most celebrated productions are the statues of St. 
 
 Peter, St. Mark, and St. George, at Or San Michele, 
 
 Florence; the well-known “ Zuccone,”or “ bald-pated ” 
 
 St. Mark, at the Campanile of that city ; bronze 
 reliefs for the high altar of St. Antonio, Padua ; a 
 bronze statue of Judith, in the Loggia dei Lanzi, 
 
 Florence ; and Erasmo da Harni, better known as 
 “ Gattamelata,” an equestrian bronze statue, at Padua. 
 
 He died at Florence, a.d., 1466, after a long life of 
 unusual activity, and indefatigable attention to his art, 
 on which he exercised a great and lasting influence ; he and in- 
 had numerous pupils, amongst the best of whom were fluence - 
 Michelozzo, Desiderio da Settignano, Antonio Filarete, 
 and Andrea del Yerocchio. 
 
 The centre subject is a Madonna and Child from the Madonna 
 Berlin Museum, attributed to Luca della Pobbia, a ^Lucadel 
 graceful composition in lower relief than is usual with la Robbia; 
 that great sculptor, who, with Donatello and Ghiberti, 
 formed the celebrated triad of early Florentine sculptors, 
 and whose works are generally characterised by a more 
 effective style of execution. 
 
 Luca della Robbia was born at Florence in 1400. his life, 
 
 He was early apprenticed to a goldsmith, but soon 
 abandoned it for sculpture, to pursue which he under¬ 
 went great privations. His first patron was Sigismondo 
 Malatesta, Lord of Rimini, which town he visited. On 
 his return to Florence, he was commissioned to work on works, 
 the celebrated Campanile, or tower of the cathedral, 
 and on the organ screen (1438), in which he introduced 
 his famous singing boys, in rivalry with Donatello, by 
 whom a similar screen had been erected on the opposite 
 side of the cathedral. In this he gave so much satisfac¬ 
 tion, that he was given the bronze door of the sacristy to 
 execute, on which he was engaged from 1446 to 1464. 
 
 In the arch above this door was placed his first work in 
 terra cotta. Desirous of giving durability to this material, 
 he invented a peculiar glaze or polish to be applied to it ; 
 this originally was simply a white glaze vitrified. After 
 numerous experiments however, he succeeded in applying 
 colour to it, and having been employed by Cosmo de’ 
 
46 
 
 and in¬ 
 fluence. 
 
 Head of 
 female saint, 
 byDonatello. 
 
 Tomb of 
 Ilaria di 
 Caretto, 
 
 by Jacopo 
 
 della 
 
 Quercia. 
 
 Circumstan¬ 
 ces con¬ 
 nected with 
 the monu¬ 
 ment. 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 Medici to ornament a room with that style of work, he 
 was so successful, that orders came in to him from every 
 quarter, and some of his most celebrated works are 
 in that style. He is mentioned in public documents 
 as still living in 1480, but the exact period of his 
 death is unknown. Other artists of the same name 
 followed in his steps, including Andrea, his brother, and 
 Andrea’s sons, Giovanni, Luca, and Girolamo. It is 
 uncertain whether Ottaviano, and Agostino della Robbia, # 
 by whom the celebrated facade of the Church of San 
 Bernardino at Perugia was executed, were at all related 
 to him. 
 
 The next subject is the head of a female saint, in 
 very low relief, by Donatello, from the original in the 
 Museum at Florence ; a beautiful profile, inspired with 
 that simplicity of sentiment which characterises the works 
 of the early Renaissance sculptors. 
 
 The altar-tomb attached to the plinth is that of Ilaria 
 di Caretto, wife of Paolo Guinigi, Lord of Lucca. She 
 was the daughter of Carlo, Marquis di Caretto, and was 
 buried in December 1405 ; the present monument, how¬ 
 ever, was not executed till the year 1413. 
 
 It is the work of Jacopo della Quercia, the Sienese 
 sculptor, and is preserved in the cathedral of Lucca. 
 The costume of the countess is that of the period in 
 which she lived. The boys holding garlands are remark¬ 
 able as showing that close study of nature (visible in the 
 handiness of their legs), of which Jacopo was one of the 
 earliest advocates. The corresponding side of the base¬ 
 ment, with boys and garlands, is now preserved in the 
 Museum at Florence. 
 
 Yasari, in his life of Jacopo, says that he was invited 
 from Siena to Lucca, “ where he constructed a mausoleum 
 for the wife of Paolo Guinigi, who was then lord of that 
 city, and who had died some short time pre viously. * * * 
 On the basement are figures of boys in marble supporting 
 a garland ; these are so finely executed, that they seem 
 
 * The “di,” or “della,” in Italian, occurring between a Chris¬ 
 tian and surname does not always imply that the latter is a patro¬ 
 nymic, since it serves frequently to indicate either the place of 
 birth, or the adoption, or apprenticeship, of a pupil, as in the case 
 of the younger Sansovino. 
 
INTERIOR OF THE COURT. 
 
 47 
 
 rather to be of flesh than of stone. On the sarcophagus 
 is the figure of the lady buried within, also finished with 
 infinite care, and at her feet on the same stone, is a dog 
 in full relief, as an emblem of her fidelity to her 
 husband. When Paolo Guinigi left, or rather was driven 
 out of Lucca in 1429, and the city remained free, this 
 sepulchre was removed from its place (San Martino), and 
 such was the hatred borne to the Guinigi by the Lucchese, 
 that it was almost totally destroyed; but their admiration 
 of the beautiful figure and rich ornaments restraining 
 them to a certain extent, they some time afterwards 
 caused the sarcophagus with the statue to be carefully 
 placed near the door leading into the sacristy of the 
 cathedral. 55 
 
 Jacopo della Quercia, who was born during the last Life and 
 half of the fourteenth century, near Siena, in Tuscany, ^Quercia?*" 
 may be termed the Father of the early Renaissance school. 
 
 Eds earliest works are at Siena and Lucca ; at Bologna he 
 was employed for twelve years on the great doorway of 
 the cathedral, but his finest production is the fountain or 
 conduit in the great square at Siena, for which he received 
 2200 golden ducats, and obtained merited distinction. 
 
 After this time he is usually known as Jacopo della Fonte 
 (of the Fountain) ; he was appointed warden of the 
 Cathedral of Siena as a reward, and died in that city in 
 the year 1424. 
 
 Jacopo was one of the unsuccessful competitors for the Hiscompeti- 
 bronze doors of the baptistery at Florence, and it was Florence* 16 
 Subsequent to this disappointment, embittered by the door, 
 success of so young a rival as Ghiberti, that he visited . 
 
 Bologna, at which city he made so lengthened a stay. 
 
 Yasari commences his lives of the Renaissance artists Called by 
 with that of Jacopo della Quercia, selecting him as the ^ther^f* 16 
 man, “who devoting himself to sculpture with a more Renaissance 
 earnest study, began to show that a near approach might sculpture * 
 be made to nature herself; and it was from him that H . g .^ fl n 
 other artists first took courage to hope that it was possible ence. 
 in a certain measure to equal her works. 55 # 
 
 He had many followers, among whom were Nicolo dell 5 
 
 * The quotations from Yasari are from the translation by 
 Mrs. Jonathan Foster, Edit. Bohn. 
 
4S 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 Three panels 
 with angels 
 from San 
 Protasio, 
 Venice; 
 
 their pecu¬ 
 liarities, 
 
 technical, 
 
 and artistic. 
 
 Pilasters 
 from the 
 tomb of 
 Louis XII. 
 of France; 
 
 by whom 
 executed. 
 
 Area, at Bologna, Matteo Civitale of Lucca, and Lorenzo 
 di Pietro, called Vecchietta, of Siena. 
 
 The three next panels beyond the sarcophagus are 
 from bas-reliefs, on an altar in the church of San Protasio, 
 at Venicfe. The subject is a concert of angels ; those in 
 the centre are remarkable for their sweetness of expres¬ 
 sion ; they sustain the sponge, the ladder, Ac., emblems 
 of the Crucifixion. 
 
 A singularity which we have already remarked in the 
 head of St. John, is seen here more fully developed ; it 
 consists in the marked character produced by the deep 
 under-cutting of certain portions of the contours, a diffi¬ 
 cult process with such delicate outlines, but executed 
 without the slightest coarseness, and producing a remark¬ 
 able effect. This peculiarity is not uncommon in the 
 works of the early Renaissance artists, but it soon dis¬ 
 appeared, and examples of its application are now rare. 
 Speaking of these figures, Cicognara says that the sculp¬ 
 tors of the second half of the fifteenth century were 
 divided into two schools, one of which followed the 
 Florentine style, and the other the impulses of its own 
 genius ; he adjudges these bas-reliefs to an intermediate 
 position, the sculptor having evidently been inspired by 
 the works of the Paduan painters (Squarcione, Mantegna, 
 Ac.), whilst the execution speaks of the influence 
 exercised by Donatello. In the ceiling, over the heads 
 of the central group, we remark also that attempt at 
 the representation of perspective, which became tuch a 
 distinguishing feature in the works of succeeding sculptors. 
 
 The pilasters which separate the various panels of the 
 plinth are from the tomb of Louis XII., now at St. Denis, 
 near Paris, and one of the most elaborate examples of 
 the French Renaissance school (sixteenth century). The 
 execution of this monument has been generally ascribed 
 to Paul Pontius Trebatti, a Florentine sculptor who 
 settled in France in 1536, but an entry in the Royal 
 records, dated 1531, gives directions from Francis I. to 
 the Cardinal Duprat that payment shall be made to Jean 
 Juste, of Tours, for the marble sepulchre of the “ feux 
 roy Loys et Royne Anne.” The ornament of the 
 pilasters is gracefully composed, and based on that study 
 of nature commonly found in work of the early Italian 
 
INTERIOR OF THE COURT. 
 
 49 
 
 Renaissance school, very different to the running curves 
 of a later period, and quite in the early Renaissance 
 style. (See Portrait Gallery, No. 298.) 
 
 The first subject on the wall next adjoining the above First of the 
 series of monuments is one of the doors of the Church st^Maciou 
 of St. Maclou, at Rouen. Rouen, 
 
 This fine example of French wood carving was executed by Jean 
 by Jean Goujon, one of the earliest and best sculptors of Goujoli ’ 
 the French Renaissance school. The date of his residence 
 at Rouen is found by extracts of accounts cited by Deville 
 in his work on Rouen. It was during the years 1540, 
 
 41, and 42, that he was employed in decorating the 
 cathedral and the church of St. Maclou, which are 
 among his earliest authentic works. From Rouen he 
 went to Ecouen, where Cousin, Jean Bullant and Bernard 
 Palissy were at work on the chateau in course of erection 
 for the great Constable de Montmorency. 
 
 Jean Goujon, usually considered the restorer of his life, 
 sculpture in France, was born early in the sixteenth 
 century. His best works are the Fontaine des Innocents 
 at Paris (1550), the Caryatides of the Louvre, and the 
 Diana of Poitiers. He was shot, it is supposed, by 
 accident, whilst at work on a scaffold at the Louvre, 
 in 1572, during the massacre of St. Bartholomew. 
 
 Goujon, Pilon, and other artists of the same period, are 
 sometimes called of the Fontainebleau school, from the 
 influence exercised, on French art in the sixteenth century 
 by Primaticcio, Nicolo dell’ Abbate, &c., who were 
 employed by Francis I. in decorating his palace at 
 Fontainebleau. 
 
 The figures in niches on the left side are Justice, 
 
 Moses, and Mary Magdalen ; and on the right, Faith, 
 
 Elias, and the old law (lex vetus). The Creator is 
 enthroned at the top, surrounded by the heavenly host. 
 
 In the panel immediately beneath is represented the 
 Baptism of Jesus by St. John. The Holy Spirit, in the 
 form of a dove, is seen descending on the Saviour’s 
 head. The supporting figures beneath are those of the 
 four Evangelists. 
 
 The ornament of the lower panel, and the festoons of lts artistic 
 the sides, are good examples of the breadth and boldness 
 of the artist’s peculiar style, while the exquisite finish 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 THE BENAISSANCE COUBT. 
 
 Bas-relief 
 above of 
 Faith, by 
 Luca di 
 Luca, 
 
 a nephew of 
 Luca della 
 Robbia. 
 
 Shields irx 
 low relief 
 from the 
 church of 
 San Giovan¬ 
 ni e Paolo at 
 Venice. 
 
 First of the 
 Doria door¬ 
 ways. 
 
 Bas-relief 
 above, from 
 Genoa, with 
 the initials 
 I.H.S. 
 
 of tlie architectural members, covered with ornament in 
 very low relief, attests his refinement, and at the same 
 time convey the valuable lesson, that the true artist 
 overlooks no point of detail; neither adding labour 
 where no increased expression can be obtained, nor 
 withholding it in any position in which it can be made 
 to enhance the general effect of his work. 
 
 The centre bas-relief above this door is an allegorical 
 figure of Faith, adoring the mystery of the sacred host. 
 She sits with hands joined before the chalice containing 
 the wine, and surmounted by the holy wafer, the cup 
 being supported by a cherub’s head. The original is in 
 the Florence Museum, and is attributed to Luca di Luca, 
 probably the nephew of Luca della Robbia, whom we 
 have already had occasion to notice as engaged on the 
 frieze from Pistoia. 
 
 Luca the younger was chiefly occupied on glazed terra 
 cotta work ; but his brother Girolamo extended his 
 practice to marble and bronze, and was much employed 
 by Francis I. at Paris, to which place he invited Luca, 
 who unhappily died soon after his arrival there. 
 
 The ornamented shields on each side are of the form 
 and decoration common to such works in the Venetian 
 Cinque Cento school of sculpture, and are cast from speci¬ 
 mens in the Church of St. John and St. Paul at Venice. 
 
 The next doorway is from one of the Doria palaces 
 at Genoa, and is a good example of the style of early 
 Renaissance work peculiar to that city at the close of the 
 fifteenth or commencement of the sixteenth century. 
 The frieze of the door is ornamented with sculpture 
 representing the triumphal procession of princes of the 
 Doria family, in which the arms and costumes of the 
 time are intermixed with objects, such as the car, the 
 vase, Ac., in the antique taste. The princes them¬ 
 selves hold standards with the inscription “Noli me 
 tangere.” It was not until after the period illustrated 
 by this piece of architecture that Genoa became so cele¬ 
 brated for its numerous and lordly palaces, the first of 
 which was commenced in the year 1552. The piece of 
 ornament immediately above this door is also from Genoa, 
 and of the same style. In the central wreath are the 
 letters I. TI. S., the initials of the Saviour; and the 
 
INTERIOR OF THE COURT. 
 
 51 
 
 •other two wreaths inclose shields with the eagle of the 
 Doria family, and another armorial charge of plain bands. 
 
 The initials I.H.S. (Jesus hominum salvator) are said to 
 have been invented by St. Bernardine, of Siena, and 
 to have been suggested by him to a poor card-maker, 
 ns a subject for ornamental cards, shortly after the 
 plague of Siena, in 1437 ; consequently, their presence 
 on a building in Italy would indicate a date subsequent 
 to that year. The letters, however, in their Greek 
 signification, were no doubt made use of as a sacred 
 monogram at a much earlier period. 
 
 The large window in the centre of the wall is from The great 
 the fa 9 ade of the Certosa, or Carthusian monastery, near the CeTtosa, 
 Pavia, founded by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan, at Pavia, 
 in 1396, but not commenced, so far as regards the present 
 facade, until 1473, from the designs of Ambrogio Fossano. 
 
 The building itself is remarkable for the quantity and 
 
 Figure from the Large Window, by Busti. 
 
 excellence of its sculpture and other ornament, and 
 contains examples of almost every phase of art in Italy. 
 
 e 2 
 
52 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 ascribed to 
 
 Agostino 
 
 Busti. 
 
 Names of 
 other artists 
 by whom it 
 may have 
 been exe¬ 
 cuted ; 
 
 four such 
 windows in 
 the facade. 
 
 The subjects 
 of the panels 
 on the left- 
 hand side, 
 
 and on the 
 right; 
 
 The very rich and noble window here reproduced is 
 supposed to be the work of Agostino Busti or Bambaja, 
 as he is also called, the best and one of the earliest 
 sculptors of the Lombard school. The date of his birth 
 is not ascertained, but he does not appear to have lived 
 beyond the middle of the sixteenth century. 
 
 His style exhibits a very beautiful intermediate position 
 between the Paduan and the Florentine schools, with the 
 crisp and multiplied lines of the hair and draperies of the 
 former, he combined a naivete , and sweetness altogether 
 Florentine. This union is charmingly displayed in the 
 little figure we engrave from the Capella della Presentazione, 
 in the Duomo, at Milan. 
 
 That the window is Busti’s work is only a surmise, 
 arising from the great delicacy and merit of its sculpture. 
 A large number of artists were employed at the Certosa 
 at the close of the fifteenth century, among whom were 
 Busti, G. A. Amadeo, Antonio di Locate, Batista and 
 Stefano da Sesto, Marco Agrate, Andrea Fusina, C. 
 Solari, Giacomo della Porta, Crist. Romano, Ac., 
 and we have unfortunately no means of ascertaining 
 the particular works of respective artists save in a 
 few cases. 
 
 Four of these magnificent windows ennoble the front 
 of the building, two on each side of the central doorway. 
 In the one under consideration, the sides of the opening 
 are sculptured with medallions of martyred saints, 
 beneath each of whom is introduced the manner or 
 emblem of their torture. 
 
 On the left hand commencing near the ground is—1. A 
 head of St. George. 2. St. Sebastian, beneath whom are 
 a bow and arrows, showing the manner of his death. 
 3. St. George, with the wheel beneath broken, at his 
 prayer. 4. St. Lawrence, beneath the gridiron on which 
 he was burnt. 5. Probably St. Stephen, the Proto¬ 
 martyr ; on the back of his head appears to be a stone, 
 above this is an angel’s head, in which grief is beautifully 
 expressed, enclosed above and beneath by a gracefully 
 arranged piece of natural foliage and fruit (apple). 
 
 On the right hand commencing at the ground is 
 medallion 1. Head, unknown. 2. St. Lucy, with her 
 eyes torn out, sculptured on the ornament beneath her. 
 
INTERIOR OF THE COURT. 
 
 53 
 
 3. St. Apollonia, beneath whom are pincers holding a 
 tooth, her teeth having been drawn prior to her final 
 martyrdom. 4. St. Agatha, a piece of ornament sculp¬ 
 tured with her breasts, which were cut off. 5. St. 
 
 Catharine, beneath whom is the wheel on which she 
 would have suffered, but for divine interposition, above 
 her is an angel’s head of a peculiarly sweet but sorrowful 
 expression, enclosed with natural foliage of figs and 
 cherries, well composed and executed. On the shields 
 above is written “gra,” a contraction of gratia. This 
 abbreviation in connection with the band of saints and 
 martyrs is probably introduced to remind the faithful of 
 the store of “ grace ” gained for the Church by their 
 works of supererogation. 
 
 The upper architrave is ornamented with heads of the archi- 
 ecclesiastics. The frieze is remarkable for its bold and features, 
 deep cutting, and the cornice is purely antique. The 
 reveals, or inner sides of the window, have figures of 
 bishops or fathers of the church, in high relief. The 
 central and side columns resemble antique candelabra, 
 and are richly ornamented with foliage, figures of sup¬ 
 porting angels, and heads of monks. 
 
 The Carthusian order was originally instituted by The Carthu- 
 St. Bruno (1084), and besides its religious observances sian order ’ 
 gave all its attention to the possession and cultivation of 
 the ground, thus all the Carthusian monasteries were 
 rich in lands and the monks masters of the art of 
 agriculture. The rules of the order were of the most 
 severe nature, yet their number was at one time very 
 great, and their conventual churches, &c., were of the 
 most sumptuous character. 
 
 The columns at the side of the window are from the columns 
 Hotel Tremouille at Paris, now destroyed as a building, ^te/at 
 but fragments of which are preserved at the Ecole des Paris, 
 Beaux Arts at Paris. 
 
 The origin of the chateau was of ancient date, but the 
 most important parts of it were built by the Sire Louis de built by 
 
 Tremouille, who in 1485 married Gabiielle de Bourbon ^ 0U1S d ® 
 
 7 Tremouille} 
 
 Montpensier, and in 1499 gave a magnificent fete at 
 
 the chateau, on the marriage of Louis XII. and Anne of 
 Bretagne ; he accompanied Louis to the war in Italy, and 
 was killed at the battle of Pavia in 1524. 
 
u 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 their artistic 
 features. 
 
 The second 
 Genoa door¬ 
 way. 
 
 Difficulty of 
 identifying 
 Genoese lo¬ 
 calities. 
 
 The second 
 door from 
 St. Maclou, 
 at Rouen; 
 
 subjects of 
 the upper 
 portion: 
 
 These columns are twisted in the Gothic style ; having 
 Renaissance ornament carved up the shaft, and sur¬ 
 mounted with capitals almost entirely in the latter style. 
 The two are, however, very equally balanced in these 
 interesting examples, which seem to belong to the close of 
 the fifteenth century. 
 
 The doorway beyond is, like its pendant, from Genoa, 
 and belongs equally to one of the Doria palaces ; the 
 wreaths at the side contain portraits of the Roman, 
 emperors, the centre wreath having the holy initials, 
 I.H.S., ingeniously forming a cross, and surmounted by 
 a crown. The frieze, as in the corresponding door, 
 represents a triumphal procession of the Doria, with the 
 detail, however, of a more marked antique character. 
 The shield is charged with the crowned eagle, their family 
 emblem. In both cases the car is drawn by centaurs ; the 
 roll moulding of the angle and the corner brackets are 
 characteristic of early Genoese Renaissance work. 
 
 Owing to the changes which have occurred, and do so- 
 still, in the way of alterations and the change of names, 
 it is difficult to trace the connexion of the houses from 
 whence these doors are taken with the Doria family,, 
 though the armorial bearings plainly indicate the fact ; 
 the one under notice may be found in what is now called 
 the Salita Garibaldi. 
 
 The next subject is another of the wooden doors of 
 St. Maclou, at Rouen, by Jean Goujon. There is no 
 account of these doors farther than the fact already 
 mentioned of their being executed in 1540-42 ; the 
 subjects of the sculpture are consequently left to be 
 made out; and in some cases they are very problematical. 
 
 The figures in niches, on the left hand, represent 
 high priests of the Jewish church ; those on the right, 
 Moses, with a sword and tablet, emblematic of his- 
 double mission as warrior and lawgiver, and above him 
 apparently one of the prophets. At the highest central 
 point the hand of God, surrounded by angels’ heads, 
 issues out of flames, and points to the circular panel, 
 beneath, where the sheep of his fold appear to be 
 claimed by Christianity, in the person of the Pope, who 
 advances with his clergy to take the charge of them from 
 the hand of their Jewish guardians ; one of whom falls. 
 
INTERIOR OF THE COURT. 
 
 55 
 
 or is precipitated by invisible power, over the wattles 
 of the penfold. The whole panel is supported by four 
 figures ; those on the extreme left and right being St. 
 John the Baptist, and apparently David, the two great 
 prophets of the New and Old Testament, the two centre 
 figures seem to emblematise the new and the old law. 
 The figures in the interspaces are doubtless allegorical. 
 
 In the lower panel Christ is represented sitting on 
 clouds ; beneath him, in a small oval, are represented 
 two Cupids, or genii of love ; the bow of the smaller 
 one is burning in flames to the left ; whether intended 
 as a Christian allegory, or as Hymen loosing Cupid, is 
 very doubtful, owing to the strange amalgamation by the 
 Renaissance artists of Christianity and antique mythology 
 in their subjects. The general idea, however, of the 
 sculpture seems to be the superiority of the new to the 
 old revelation ; the two being combined, but the latter 
 holding an inferior position. 
 
 The whole of this carving is of rather a rougher descrip¬ 
 tion than that of the first door, but both show that vigour 
 of execution and feeling for effect which characterise all 
 Goujon’s works ; in which as he advanced, that predilec¬ 
 tion for the antique which, without detracting from their 
 force, gave them more dignity, became more strikingly 
 developed. 
 
 The frieze which surmounts these subjects is that of 
 the Singers, by Luca della Robbia, from the organ-loft 
 in Florence cathedral. This celebrated and truly noble 
 specimen of the early Renaissance school of sculpture, 
 was originally placed in the cathedral, at a great height 
 from the ground, but has since been removed, and is 
 preserved in the Royal Gallery at Florence. 
 
 Luca was already working on the Campanile, when the 
 authorities incited by his admirable productions and the 
 recommendations of Yieri de’Medici, commissioned him 
 to execute these ornaments in marble for the new organ 
 in course of erection, as it would appear, about the year 
 1445. 44 In the prosecution of this work,” writes Yasari, 
 
 “ Luca executed certain stories for the basement, which 
 represent the choristers who are singing ; to the execution 
 of these he gave such earnest attention, and succeeded so 
 well, that although the figures are sixteen braccia (about 
 
 of the lower. 
 
 Artistic 
 
 features. 
 
 The Singers, 
 an alto-re¬ 
 lievo by Luca 
 della Robbia. 
 
 The commis¬ 
 sion given in 
 1445. 
 
56 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 Cicnpnara’s 
 comments 
 upon it. 
 
 Its artistic 
 features; 
 
 it procured 
 him a com¬ 
 mission for 
 the bronze 
 door of the 
 Cathedral at 
 Florence. 
 
 Della Rob¬ 
 bia’s ulti¬ 
 mate career. 
 
 fifty feet) from the ground the spectator can nevertheless 
 distinguish the inflation of throat in the singers, and the 
 action of the leader as he beats the measure with his 
 hands, with all the varied modes of playing on different 
 instruments, the choral songs, the dances and other 
 pleasures connected with music.” 
 
 Cicognara, in his “ Storia della Scultura,” judiciously 
 praises this work, for the manner in which a difficult 
 subject has been rendered ;—such speaking and varied 
 character being given to the choristers, that you can 
 almost point out the nature of their different voices, 
 and this without any of that contortion, which generally 
 deforms the face of the singer. 
 
 The naivete of the children too is admirably expressed, 
 one boy putting back with his hand the long locks which 
 fall over his eyes, and another beating time with his 
 foot. We hardly know what to particularise, where all is 
 so excellent. We believe that in no other existing work is 
 the mirth and mischief, and, at the same time, the inno¬ 
 cence and simplicity of youth, so charmingly appreciated 
 and expressed as in this, which though evidently founded 
 on a close and continued study of nature, in her everyday 
 guise, is still ennobled by a due admixture of the simple 
 dignity of antique art. and a perception of those finer 
 touches which redeem the commonest occupations from 
 vulgarity. As a work of art, its well-arranged groups, 
 expression, action, drawing and shadows, place it among 
 the chef-d’oeuvres of Luca, and pronounce him at the 
 same time one of the greatest artists that Italy has 
 produced. 
 
 On the completion of this work, such was the satis¬ 
 faction of the superintendants, that they gave him a 
 commission for the bronze door of the sacristy. 
 
 It was at the conclusion of these works that Luca, 
 perceiving that his labour had been excessive, and the 
 time they had occupied long, whilst his gains were but 
 small, resolved, says Yasari, to leave marble and bronze, 
 and perceiving the expeditious manner of moulding in 
 clay, did, after much study, invent and practice that 
 peculiar terra cotta work, which has since been known by 
 his name. 
 
 The next subject, proceeding along the wall, facing 
 
INTERIOR OF THE COURT. 
 
 57 
 
 the entrance from the nave, is a portion of the monument The monu- 
 raised to the memory of Giovanni (Gian) Galeazzo Galeazzo ia 
 Visconti, Duke of Milan, at the Certosa of Pavia. It at 
 
 was designed by Galeazzo Pellegrino in 1490, but was 
 not completed until the middle of the sixteenth century. 
 
 The greater part of it is from the chisel of Giov. 
 
 Cristoforo Romano ; but others worked on it, among 
 whom Vasari mentions Giacomo della Porta. # 
 
 This elaborately carved cenotaph is truly a military its orna- 
 monument. The ornament of the pilasters is ingeniously Cha ~ 
 formed by a number of objects which were in general 
 use during the wars of the fifteenth and sixteenth 
 centuries. On the return angle of the right hand pilaster 
 is everything relating to the keep and menage of the 
 horse, comb, sponge, shears, corn-bag, spurs, harness, 
 bit, and saddle. On the front of the same pilaster we 
 observe helmets, &c., gracefully combined with foliage 
 and figures. 
 
 On the front of the left pilaster are arranged the Arms and 
 various parts of a knight’s armour, whilst on the return shown on the 
 side are equally represented the arms used by the pilasters ’ 
 infantry ; halberts, arrows, arbalasts, and a shirt of chain 
 armour. 
 
 The firearms shown are very interesting, as giving a a ^ s fire " 
 good idea of their condition at the time in Italy, which 
 country was foremost in the invention and manufacture 
 of them. Pistols, of which the species called the dag 
 is shown on the pilaster, derive their name from Pistoia 
 in Tuscany, where they were first manufactured, and 
 Siena was celebrated for its foundries. 
 
 The Italians were famed for the manufacture of armour . carl F 
 
 i . ... Italian ma- 
 
 and firearms. Milan being the prmcipal seat of the first, nufacture. 
 
 and Tuscany of the second. Shortly after the invention 
 of cannon in the fourteenth century, the Italians 
 bethought themselves of fixing a portable one to a stick 
 or pole. The touch-hole at first was at the top ; but as 
 the wind blew the priming off, it was changed to the 
 side, with a pan to hold powder, and a cover for the 
 pan, which turned on and off by a pivot : this species of 
 
 * This artist is not to be eonfounded with the able imitator of 
 Michael Angelo—Gulielmo della Porta. 
 
58 
 
 THE. RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 hand cannon was known in England in 1446. Some 
 were furnished with a battle-axe at the handle. An 
 apparatus was afterwards invented with a hold for the 
 match, suggested by the crossbow, and thence called 
 “ arc h bouche,” or arquebus. When Henry "VII. 
 formed his guard of yeomen, half were archers, and the 
 other half arquebusiers. Up to this time the match 
 was held in the hand. Hans Burgmayer’s plates of 
 the Emperor Maximilian’s triumph show their equipment 
 at the beginning of the sixteenth century. In the time 
 of Henry VIII., the hacquebut became a common 
 weapon, and the Italians made fresh inventions, as the 
 firelock, the wheel-lock, the pistol, the dag, &c. Muskets 
 were first used at the battle of Pavia, and served greatly 
 to give Charles V. the victory. Some years later, in 
 1562, carabineers were employed at the battle of 
 Dreux, during the French civil wars ; and the use of 
 firearms from henceforward became general. 
 
 The Visconti The arms on the frieze are those of Visconti’s 
 “ Biscia. relatives or partisans. The well-known Visconti ee Biscia,” 
 or serpent with a human head in its mouth, quartered 
 with an eagle, is seen on the banners of the trumpeters, 
 in the piece of sculpture above, which represents the 
 defeat of the Emperor Robert of Bavaria’s Germans and 
 their Florentine allies near Brescia in 1401 ; in the 
 original there are six of these panels, commemorating 
 the chief events of Visconti’s life. 
 
 The foremost figure, as indicated by the armorial 
 bearings, is one of the Visconti, who with his cavaliers 
 charges and puts to flight a body of knights, among 
 near Brescia w ^ose em ^l ems "the Florentine lily, and the Austrian 
 ’ eagle are conspicuous. The composition is full of spirit 
 and movement, and affords an excellent idea of the 
 nature of the battles common at the time, in which 
 the heavy cavalry were of the greatest use, the minor 
 importance of the infantry being expressed by a small 
 body of foot soldiers, who appear to be engaged, but in 
 a very quiet manner, in the distance. 
 
 The inscrip-. The Latin inscription beneath the battle is “ Imperio 
 auspicio que suo hostiles exercitus debellat.” The one on 
 the architrave above the arch is so defaced as to be 
 illegible. 
 
INTERIOR OF THE COURT. 
 
 59 
 
 As this bas-relief, from its extraordinary undercut¬ 
 tings and detached figures, presented greater difficulties 
 to the moulder than any other object of which a cast 
 has been taken for the Crystal Palace, it may not be 
 out of place here to pay a tribute of admiration to the 
 great skill of the Milanese moulder, Signor Pierotti, by 
 whom, not this only, but every other cast from the monu¬ 
 ments of the Certosa, have been made for the Company. 
 
 Within the arch of this cenotaph are placed a circular 
 composition of the Virgin adoring the infant Jesus, a 
 specimen of Cinque Cento carving from the Museum at 
 Berlin, and a Virgin and Child beneath, by Donatello, 
 characterised by the usual sweetness and unaffectedness 
 of that great master. 
 
 Next to Visconti’s monument is the inclosure of a door 
 from the Hotel de Ville, at Oudenarde, in Belgium. 
 
 This piece of ornamental architecture leads into the 
 council chamber of the town hall : the central panelled 
 portion forms the door itself, each panel being filled in 
 with bold and well-arranged ornament. The sunk 
 mouldings of the panels, and the projecting brackets 
 (supporting the arms), bear evidence to the retention of 
 late Gothic features. In other respects the detail is 
 purely antique in character. These large wooden door¬ 
 ways, forming an architectural composition of themselves, 
 and projecting into the space occupied by the chamber, 
 are peculiar to the Renaissance style in Flanders and 
 Holland, and were introduced from thence into England, 
 where they are frequently to be found in our old man¬ 
 sions. 
 
 The Town Hall of Oudenarde is one of the finest in 
 Belgium ; it is in the late Gothic style, and was not 
 completed until about the year 1520. The noble door¬ 
 way here reproduced, was constructed in the year 1530, 
 by Paul Van der Schelden, and forms a worthy entrance 
 to the great civic hall of those opulent traders, who in 
 the sixteenth century well deserved the title of merchant 
 princes. These town halls or palaces were used as the 
 residence of the chief magistrate, for the meeting of 
 the guilds, municipal councils, and sometimes as courts 
 of justice. 
 
 Above the Oudenarde door an arrangement has been 
 
 Great diffi¬ 
 culties of 
 making a 
 cast of this 
 alto-relievo. 
 
 Virgin and 
 Child from 
 Berlin, and 
 hyDonatello. 
 
 Door inclo- 
 sure from 
 Oudenarde. 
 
 Town Hall. 
 
 Pilasters 
 
60 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 from the made for the purpose of exhibiting a series of beautiful 
 Louis XII pilasters from the tomb of Louis XII., in the cathedral 
 
 Pilaster Cap and Sculpture, from the Great Portal of the Certosa. 
 
 of St. Denis. To this tomb we have already alluded, 
 and may therefore refrain from further observations with 
 respect to these pilasters; but the attention of the visitor 
 must be specially invited to the exquisite bas-relief by 
 Luca della Robbia, which is fixed in the centre between 
 the pilasters. This charming specimen, in which the 
 student scarcely knows whether most to admire the 
 
INTERIOR OF THE COURT. 
 
 61 
 
 gentle beauty and sweetness of the heavenly mother, or virgin ani 
 the grace and naivete of the Divine child, is from a terra ^ ]a 
 cotta in the possession of M. Piat of Paris. In the Robb-a, and 
 spaces on each side of this centre subject are placed fhe^tomb 0 "! 
 statuettes of singular style and garb, taken from the Cardinal^ 
 tomb of Cardinal d’Amboise in Rouen cathedral. Rouen. ’ 
 
 The next subject is from the return sides (interior) 
 of the principal entrance to the Certosa, at Pavia, being 
 on the left-hand side as the visitor enters the church. 
 
 The portal itself, the great windows, and entire facade 
 are worked in white marble and elaborately sculptured, 
 the design being made by Ambrogio Fossano, or Borgog- 
 none, in 1473. 
 
 The pilasters of this particular portion are ornamented Aito-reiuvos 
 with continuous wreaths intertwined with vine branches, °rance 8 door- 
 in the foliage of which are perched various kinds of birds. £' a y of the 
 The subject of the lowest panel on the left, is the meet- pavia. ’ 
 ing of Mary and Elizabeth. In the next, St. John bap- f^iefthand 
 tises Jesus, by whose side are attendant angels. In the pilaster- 
 third, St. John preaches in the wilderness. In the fourth Testa- 
 is represented the decapitation of St. John. In the ment ; 
 fifth, the daughter of Herodias presents John’s head on 
 a platter to her father. In the sixth, the headless body 
 is being buried by the Apostles. 
 
 On the right hand pilaster are represented passages in and of the 
 the life of St. Ambrose, of Milan. right hand ~ 
 
 Commencing at the base is St. Ambrose in his child’s from the Life 
 bed or cradle, when, according to tradition, a swarm of yfrose Am 
 bees settled on him while asleep, and walked in and out 
 of his open mouth without stinging him ; his relatives 
 stand around astonished at this miracle. 
 
 In the second panel he is being consecrated bishop. It 
 is related that in his case, 4 4 Nolo episcopari” was no 
 mere form, since he fled thrice from Milan to escape 
 that honour, and was only constrained by force to 
 accept it. He was consecrated in the year 374, being 
 then thirty-four years of age. 
 
 In the third panel he is represented preaching before 
 a royal personage, probably the Emperor Gratian, for 
 whom in 377, he wrote a treatise against Arianism. 
 
 In the fourth, the same prince apparently receives 
 benediction at his hands. 
 
62 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 Subjects of 
 the central 
 panels. 
 
 Represent¬ 
 ing incidents 
 connected 
 with the 
 building of 
 the Certosa. 
 
 In the fifth he stands at the door of the Temple, and 
 refuses admittance to the Emperor Theodosius, whom he 
 had previously rebuked and openly anathematised in 
 Council, in the year 390. Theodosius after this caused 
 a massacre of Christians at Thessalonica, and when at 
 Milan, went to the Cathedral ; but Ambrose met him in 
 the porch and boldly reprimanded him, nor would he 
 hear of reconciliation until the Emperor had undergone a 
 degrading penance. The attitude of Ambrose, with the 
 arms slightly extended and the palms of his hands facing 
 the Emperor, is precisely the action of disapproval and 
 anger still common in Italy. 
 
 In the sixth panel he is mounted on a charger and 
 armed with a scourge, whilst the temporal power, symbol¬ 
 ised by an armed man, crouches beneath his horse’s feet. 
 Theodosius agreed to do penance, and the triumph of the 
 spiritual over the temporal power was signal. The 
 Emperor died in the arms of Ambrose in the year 395 ; 
 and Ambrose himself died in 39 7. He was in every way 
 a remarkable and fine character, his peculiar religious 
 opinions were the result of the times in which he lived. 
 As an orator, a writer, a statesman, and a successful 
 advocate of the subjection of lawless force to religious 
 principles, he was equally admirable ; and Milan still 
 retains his name in distinguished honour. 
 
 The subjects of the central panels, commencing at the 
 base, are the laying of the first stone of the Certosa, by 
 Gian Galeazzo himself, in September 1396. He is sur¬ 
 rounded by his attendants, and on the right hand the 
 Archbishop of Milan sprinkles the stone with holy water. 
 
 In the next panel, the model of the Certosa, carried on 
 the shoulders of labourers and escorted by a cavalcade, is 
 being carried to the chosen site ; a figure, probably the 
 architect himself, with an iron bar in his hand, points to 
 the spot where it is to be deposited. In the distance are 
 seen the numerous towers which characterised Pavia in 
 the fifteenth century, but which have since been 
 destroyed. 
 
 The subject of the third compartment is very obscure. 
 Cicognara remarks that in the sculptures of the Certosa, 
 not only are national characteristics distinctly marked, but 
 that local differences are also exhibited, and the varieties 
 
INTERIOR OF THE COURT. 
 
 6*3 
 
 of Neapolitan, Tuscan, <fec., are easily discernible. Bearing 
 this in mind, we are inclined to think that the extreme 
 slenderness of the first figure to the left is meant as a 
 type of France. The one next him is thoroughly Italian 
 in character. The one between them has an English look, 
 whilst the figures to the side are clearly meant for 
 Germans. Among the groups to the right are also many 
 varieties of character, some are in turbans, evidently 
 meant for Orientals, and one has a perfectly negro head. 
 
 The meaning of the eagle pursuing the dog is obscure, but 
 we imagine the subject of the composition to be a con¬ 
 gregation of all nations, come to admire the Certosa, 
 which is represented in the background. 
 
 The highest panel represents the Pope with the triple 
 crown, seated beneath a canopy, and presenting the rules 
 and institutions of the monastery to the first abbot. 
 
 The style of the design and workmanship is that of The scuip- 
 the early Lombard Renaissance school, before the love of eariyRenais- 
 the antique had overpowered the natural tendencies of sance schooI > 
 the artist, exhibiting that pictorial treatment of sculpture 
 which characterised the period. 
 
 The name or names of the artists are unknown. They probably by 
 have been attributed to Cristoforo Solari, the Gobbo or 0 an ’ 
 Hunchback, a celebrated Milanese sculptor. The date of 
 their execution is evidently previous to the year 1500, 
 and as the fagade was commenced in 1473, they belong, 
 doubtless, to the intervening period. 
 
 Under the great central arch, above the entrance to the The colossal 
 gallery, is the colossal bronze statue of the Nymph of Fontain- f 
 Fontainebleau, executed by Cellini, during his sojourn in 
 France, for the chateau of Fontainebleau, then in course 
 of erection by Francis I. 
 
 The Duchess d’Estampes, who was at that time the Circumstan- 
 reigning favourite of the King, disliking Cellini, it was cution. tS eXe ' 
 not placed in its intended position, but was finally used 
 by Diana of Poitiers, mistress of Henry II., at her 
 chateau d’Anet. On the destruction of that building it 
 was removed to the Louvre, at Paris, where it is now 
 fixed, as it is in the Crystal Palace, in juxtaposition 
 with the caryatides of Jean Goujon. 
 
 Cellini, in his autobiography, describing his composition Cellini’s own 
 for the Fontainebleau chateau, says : account of it 
 
64 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 its style. 
 
 Cellini’s 
 character as 
 a man, 
 
 and as an 
 artist; 
 
 his anoma¬ 
 lous position 
 between the 
 French 
 Renaissance 
 and late 
 Italian 
 styles. 
 
 “ In the same circle I represented a female figure, in a 
 reclining attitude, with her left arm upon the neck of a 
 hart, which was a device of the King’s. On one side of 
 her I designed, in half relief, little goats, boars and other 
 wild beasts ; and on the other, in stronger relief, grey¬ 
 hounds and other dogs of different sorts, such as are to be 
 seen in the delightful wood where the fountain rises.” 
 
 The style of this work of art is founded on the Italian 
 school, strongly marked with the somewhat elongated 
 proportions which characterise that branch of it known as 
 the school of Fontainebleau, which, although formed by 
 Italians, Primaticcio, &c., has a completely French 
 character. Its execution shows that cleverness in casting 
 and chasing which distinguished Cellini. 
 
 This extraordinary character, and clever artist, whose 
 history is a perfect romance, was bom at Florence, in 
 1500. Whilst yet a youth he commenced those series of 
 adventures which, strange as they appear, would yet seem 
 to be in a great measure true ; he resided alternately at 
 Florence, Siena, Pome, Mantua, and Paris, everywhere 
 rendered unquiet by a proud and violent disposition, and 
 involved in an interminable series of mortal quarrels,— 
 the virulence of which, however, did not prevent his dying 
 a natural death in 1570. 
 
 His ability as an artist was unrivalled, especially in 
 works of ornamental art, of which the Neptune gold salt¬ 
 cellar at Vienna, some of the mounted precious stones of 
 the Grand Ducal Cabinet at Florence, and the British 
 Museum cup, are among the finest specimens ; he was also 
 an excellent and prolific medallist in gold and bronze, 
 whilst his productions of a higher style, such as the 
 Nymph of Fontainebleau, the celebrated bronze Perseus 
 at Florence, and a bronze bust of Cosmo de Medici, in the 
 same city, place him in the class of the greatest 
 Penaissance artists, or, more correctly speaking, of the 
 early Italian artists. Between these two sections in the 
 history of Art his position is certainly somewhat anomalous; 
 since while the influence exercised by the works carried 
 out by him in France, over the minds of the artists of that 
 country, designate him strictly as a Penaissance artist, 
 the control which the genius of Michael Angelo exercised 
 over his own, led to the production of works, such as the 
 
INTERIOR OE THE COURT. 
 
 65 
 
 Perseus, which it would be an injustice to remove from 
 classification with the noblest productions of the great 
 Florentine. We have marked our sense of this anomalous 
 position of Cellini, by retaining the principal work he 
 executed in France, the Nymph, in the Renaissance Court, 
 while we have classified his other great works with the 
 Italian school of Michael Angelo. 
 
 The spandrels of the arch are from the Lavatory at the 
 Certosa of Pavia. On one side is the Announcing Angel, 
 in the traditional attitude, found during all epochs of 
 Italian art, and copied as late as the seventeenth century, 
 by Le Sueur. 
 
 On the other side is the "Virgin, her attitude and 
 expression beautifully representing the words “ Behold 
 the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to 
 thy word.” (Luke, i. 38.) 
 
 The pilasters are filled in with various pieces of 
 ornament. 
 
 The centre pieces, remarkable for their truth to nature 
 and boldness of treatment, are from Oudenarde. 
 
 The lower pieces are from the tomb of the Due de 
 Br^ze, in Rouen cathedral. At the base of the right hand 
 is a clever carving of a strolling showman, with a drum, 
 monkeys, <fec. ; and on the right corresponding to it an 
 armed and mounted knight, apparently St. George and the 
 Dragon. 
 
 The large caryatides are celebrated works of Jean 
 Goujon ; four of them support the gallery of the ancient 
 Halle des Cent Suisses, at the Louvre, now the Salle des 
 Caryatides, a noble hall which occupies the whole ground- 
 floor of the southern side of the Yieux Louvre. 
 
 They are reckoned among the masterpieces of this great 
 sculptor, to whom, rather than to Jean Cousin, may be 
 ascribed the leadership of the French school of sculpture, 
 since his name frequently occurs in the account books of 
 the royal household, and his works are numerous, whilst 
 Cousin’s name is only found twice, and his works, though 
 noble, are very few. 
 
 The majestic style of female figure shown in these 
 Caryatides was especially affected by the French Renais¬ 
 sance artists, who had derived it from the engravings of 
 the large limbed Italian women, who enter into all of 
 
 F 
 
 The arch 
 spandrels 
 from the 
 lavatory of 
 the Certosa. 
 
 The enrich¬ 
 ments of the 
 Pilasters. 
 
 The colossal 
 caryatides 
 by Jean 
 Goujon. 
 
 Masterpieces 
 of French 
 sculpture. 
 
66 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 Baflaelle’s compositions. By degrees, however, this type 
 was departed from, and we observed the long legged 
 dames of Primaticcio and Parmegiano, heightened with a 
 little French coquetry and flutter, especially in the 
 draperies. The specimen we engrave from one of Jean 
 
 Goujon’s bas-reliefs on the exterior of the Louvre, 
 admirably illustrates this stage of transition, which we see 
 
INTERIOR OF THE COURT. 
 
 67 
 
 arrived at its acme in the Graces and Virtues of Germain 
 Pilon. 
 
 The base of the next composition consists of a centre The lower 
 bas-relief, the Virgin and Child, by Donatello, preserved nextmonu- 
 in the gallery of the Uffizii, at Florence ; it exhibits the ment is com- 
 usual characteristics in expression and execution peculiar virgin and 
 to that great master. Donatello • 
 
 In the left spandrel of the arch is the Announcing two span-’ 
 
 Angel, and in the other Mary, in a religious habit, holds thf Annun- 
 
 a species of ciborium ; these are from marble corbels in ciation from 
 /n i i • i • tv • tho Certosa. 
 
 Certosa cloisters, at Pavia. 
 
 The remarkable bas-reliefs on each side of the Donatello Angels by 
 bas-relief are from the Brera Museum, at Milan, and are ® l }^> from 
 ascribed to Agostino Busti. We observe in them that 
 peculiar under-cutting already noticed in the Venetian 
 sculptures from San Protasio. 
 
 The small pilasters are from the tomb of Cardinal and pilasters 
 d’Amboise, at Rouen. 0 fCar- 
 
 This -worthy patron of the arts, and excellent states- jjinai d’Am¬ 
 man, died in 1510, but his monument was not com¬ 
 menced until the year 1516, when Roullant le Roux, 
 tc maitre ma^on” of Rouen Cathedral, was commissioned 
 to proceed with it. It was completed in 1525. In the 
 accounts of the d’Amboise family, eighteen men are men¬ 
 tioned as working on it, and from the same source we 
 find that two painters were employed to paint and 
 gild it, and that in 1541-2, Jean Goujon was doing 
 some statuary work for it. Thus corroborating the 
 date of the wooden doors of St. Maclou, in the same 
 town. 
 
 The whole of the composed part of this monument has 
 been arranged as a substitute for the Altar, which in the 
 original occupies several feet in height, above which is The upper 
 fixed the predella and great bas-relief of the Altar of the ]^ e ^onu- 
 first Chapter House of the Certosa, at Pavia. From the ment is en- 
 level of the entablature, over the corbels, the whole shows the 
 monument is entire, and of a singularly severe and noble g^thas^ 
 style. The sculpture of the base represents the Annun- relief of the 
 ciation, and the large panel of the Deposition from the firsTchapter 
 Cross is executed in a very peculiar manner, the contours House of 
 being characterised by much flatness, and the drapery by a ‘ 
 an extraordinary number of flat creases; while the 
 
 f 2 
 
68 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 The Piscina 
 and “trofeo” 
 from the 
 high altar 
 of the 
 Certosa, 
 
 Subjects of 
 the lower 
 part of the 
 piscina— 
 
 Christ dis¬ 
 coursing in 
 the Temple; 
 
 and the 
 miracle of 
 turning 
 ■water into 
 wine. 
 
 expression is more tragic and intense than is usually the 
 case in the Lombard school. 
 
 The next monument is from the side of the high altar 
 at the Certosa, and presents fine examples of the peculiar 
 features of the style of northern Italy. 
 
 Of this monument the lower portion forms the piscina, 
 or sink, in which the officiating priest washed the sacred 
 chalice, after the celebration of mass, while the upper 
 portion has formed the crowning ornament or “ trofeo” 
 of a similar piscina with less interesting sculptures upon 
 the opposite side of the high altar. The portions 
 exhibited were selected as exhibiting the most extra¬ 
 ordinary manipulation. 
 
 The lowest central compartment of the lower part or 
 piscina relates entirely to the youth of Christ, when he 
 visited the Temple and was found discoursing with the 
 learned. 
 
 On the left, Joseph and Mary, having missed Jesus on 
 their journey home, return, and are seen making inquiries 
 as to what has become of him. A little farther on they 
 are proceeding towards the Temple. In the centre, 
 Jesus is <c sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hear¬ 
 ing them and asking them questions,” Mary and Joseph 
 are just entering. 
 
 On the right they are seen leading Jesus from the 
 Temple. Mary appears gently to reprove him. Farther 
 on, he is seen among his relatives, who appear to receive 
 him kindly in spite of the anxiety he had caused. 
 
 The manner in which the story is narrated shows the 
 dramatic treatment adopted by the early sculptors, and 
 is characterised by a charming simplicity ; the artist in 
 dividing each subject by a door, yet interferes in no way 
 with the propriety of the description. 
 
 The subject above this represents the miracle of turn¬ 
 ing water into wine. 
 
 On the left hand, seated at table, is Jesus; to whom 
 his mother, bending over, appears to say, <e they have 
 no wine.” The Saviour, with extended finger, seems 
 to be giving the direction 4 4 fill the water-pots with 
 water.” (John, ii. 7.) In the corresponding panel to 
 the right, a servant is seen pouring out the water into 
 the jars. In the next a hand-maiden is about to enter 
 
INTERIOR OF THE COURT. 
 
 69 
 
 the room with a flask of the fresh water. In the 
 centre she has filled a cup and given it to the ruler of the 
 feast, who is evidently pleased and somewhat perplexed. 
 
 On the right and left are glorifying angels, whose 
 receding arrangement is remarkably clever. 
 
 Above this, the ‘ ( trophy” commences with the Last The“trofeo” 
 Supper, by the sculptor Biagio Yairone, a close if not an ^^“heTub- 
 exact copy of the celebrated fresco by Lionardo da Vinci, ject of the 
 at Milan. It is beautifully rendered, no trouble being Laht Supper ' 
 spared towards its complete finish, thus we remark that 
 the drapery and feet beneath the table are as carefully 
 worked as the most prominent portions. We have before 
 noticed the pictorial treatment of stone by the early 
 Renaissance sculptors, and we see here a remarkable ex¬ 
 ample of an attempt to render a picture in stone. It was 
 this inclination towards the principles of the less severe 
 art of painting which led to a style of sculpture (now out 
 of fashion) in which there are more or less receding 
 groups, perspective views, foliage, and even clouds were 
 represented in bronze and marble. 
 
 The side figures of this compartment possess equal The side 
 merit in their grouping with those beneath. The older figures ' 
 women are attributed to Biagio Vairone, and the younger 
 ones are believed to be by Stefano da Sesto. Above 
 these is seated the Virgin and Child, surrounded 
 by a choir of angels, the sides being occupied by the 
 Apostles, among whom St. Peter to the right, and St. 
 
 Paul to the left, are conspicuous. 
 
 The two inner pilasters are ornamented with the The two 
 emblems of the crucifixion ; on the left one, are the te£, erpilaS ~ 
 spear, the sponge, the sudarium, the scourge, <fec., and 
 on the right hand one, the dice, mantle, crown of 
 thorns, &c. 
 
 The arch is ornamented with a curtain which is drawn and the arch, 
 aside by angels, and exhibits Christ rising from the grave, 
 and being borne by angels to heaven. The sitting figures 
 in the side recesses are particularly noble. Above this 
 portion angels trumpet forth the glad tidings, and others 
 of remarkable beauty await on each side his near advent. 
 
 The whole is an epitome of the Saviour’s life, and shows 
 how truly art, in an age when books were scarce and 
 dear, served as a means for education. 
 
70 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 The next 
 monument is 
 a composi¬ 
 tion consist¬ 
 ing of pilas¬ 
 ters from the 
 cenotaph 
 of Gian 
 Galeazzo; 
 
 the Adora¬ 
 tion of the 
 Magi from 
 the high 
 altar of 
 the second 
 chapter- 
 house of the 
 Certosa; 
 
 four small 
 panels from 
 the altar of 
 the first 
 chapter- 
 house ; 
 
 Grouped 
 children 
 from Berlin; 
 
 The two side pilasters of the next composition are 
 from the monument of G. G. Visconti, at the Certosa, 
 Pavia. The one on the left is ornamented with arms, 
 among which cannon of various sizes and calibre are pro¬ 
 minent features. In the centre are long light ones on 
 carriages ; at the top is seen a short, heavy one, placed 
 beneath a wooden cover to protect it from the rain. 
 Certainly the Renaissance artists allowed nothing to 
 daunt them in their application of actual objects as orna¬ 
 ment ; we have already remarked the implements of the 
 stable, even to the pitchfork, worked into pleasing orna¬ 
 ment, whilst here we have things as large and cumbrous 
 as cannon introduced, and successfully. The military 
 objects on the remaining pilasters are rather imitations of 
 old Roman work. 
 
 The largest centre panel is from the high altar of the 
 second chapter-house at the Certosa, and represents the 
 offering of the wise men or kings. 
 
 The application of perspective to sculpture is very 
 fearlessly attempted in this subject. Many separate 
 planes are made, and there is a regular gradation from 
 the foreground to the distance. The cavalcade proceeding 
 from the city gate is very curious ; the traditional camel 
 and man with a monkey being foremost. In the highest 
 point, above the head of the infant Saviour, shines the 
 guiding-star. We detect here in the folds of the drapery, 
 and peculiar squareness and flatness of contours, the 
 same hand as in the Deposition, already noticed. 
 
 Above and beneath are four small panels of great 
 merit from the altar piece of the first chapter-house. 
 The subjects commencing with the top ones to the left 
 are, the Birth of Christ, and the Flight into Egypt ; and 
 beneath, the Annunciation, with conventional attitudes, 
 but of original treatment in other respects, and the 
 Meeting of Mary and Elizabeth, when the latter, in¬ 
 spired by the Holy Ghost, says, “ Blessed art thou 
 among women.” (Luke, i. 42.) 
 
 The whole subject of the Nativity as represented by 
 the artists of the early Renaissance school is well exem¬ 
 plified in these works. 
 
 The grouped children above are fine specimens of 
 Cinque Cento sculpture from the Berlin Royal Museum; 
 
INTERIOR OP THE COURT. 
 
 71 
 
 they hold the emblems of the crucifixion, the ladder, 
 the nails, the cross, and the crown of thorns. 
 
 The interspaces are decorated with arabesques from 
 the tomb of the Due de Br^ze in Rouen cathedral. 
 
 The entire upper portion, except the central subject, j^external 
 is from the external base of the Certosa, and exhibits a base of the 
 graceful arrangement of Renaissance ornament, marked Certosa; 
 by a combination of antique and conventional detail with 
 natural objects. 
 
 In this central subject, the Nativity is here again and a bas- 
 represented, and the same general arrangement is Nativity 1116 
 observed as is found in the one below r ; the perspective from the 
 and drapery also are marked by the same peculiarities. same church. 
 
 The heads in the frieze are founded on antique models. 
 
 SIDE NEAREST THE CENTRAL TRANSEPT. 
 
 The doorway by Jean Goujon, from St. Maclou, at The third 
 Rouen, corresponds to the one on the left of the Certosa Maciou >m St 
 window. Rouen; 
 
 The figures in niches on the left hand side are Charity; lts sub -j ects ’ 
 at the base, Enoch and the Grecian Law ; on the right 
 Peace, and two whose inscriptions are illegible ; at top, 
 in the centre, sits the Deity enthroned, supported by 
 angels, and surrounded by a heavenly host. The subject 
 of the circular panel is the Circumcision. The supporting 
 figures represent the four Evangelists, with their emblems: 
 
 St. John with the eagle, St. Matthew with an angel, St. 
 
 Mark with the lion, and St Luke with the ox. 
 
 This door is a fine example of Goujon’s art, and is 
 remarkable for the bold treatment of the projecting por- and style, 
 tions ; whilst those in low relief, such as the double 
 guilloche and adjacent ornaments of the lower panel, are 
 of great softness and delicacy, affording to each other 
 a pleasing and judicious contrast. The general design 
 is similar to its pendant. 
 
 The marble doorway next to it is from the Doria The third 
 
 palace at Genoa. Genoa door- 
 
 * # # way; 
 
 The present Doria Pamfili palace originally belonged 
 
 to the Fregoso family, and was presented to the great 
 Andrea Doria by the senate of Genoa, as an acknow¬ 
 ledgment of his services to the state ; by h im it was 
 
72 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 its design by 
 Peri no del 
 Yaga; 
 
 its presenta¬ 
 tion to An¬ 
 drea Doria. 
 
 The Doria 
 family. 
 
 altered and much improved -under the direction of Fra 
 Montorsoli, and with the aid of Perino del Vaga, by 
 whom this doorway is believed to have been designed. 
 
 The ornament of the pilasters is exceedingly varied, 
 and boldly executed. The capitals of the same, with 
 their angle cornucopias, show much originality. The two 
 heads of the frieze above them are portraits of Roman 
 emperors. The central shield is charged with an eagle, 
 the family shield of the Dorias. The Latin inscription 
 above states that this was a public gift from the senate 
 to Andrea Doria, the liberator of his country. 
 
 The Doria family ranks among those who seem born to 
 be the defenders of their country ; and their name is 
 famous from the earliest times of the Republic. 
 
 Andrea Doria was bom in 1468. At the age of 
 nineteen he entered the service of his uncle, Innocent 
 VIII. At this time Genoa was sold by the Fregosi and 
 Adorni (who monopolised all power), into the hands of 
 France and Milan. Andrea subsequently carried arms 
 under the kings of Naples, and became distinguished for 
 his defence of Rocca Guilelma against Gonsalvo de 
 Cordova, the great captain of the age. At the age of 
 twenty-four he entered the sea service, and with his 
 cousin Philip Doria fitted out some galleys against the 
 Turks, whose terror he became. He afterwards served 
 Francis I., beat the fleet of Charles V. in the Gulf 
 of Lyons, and raised the siege of Marseilles. Not being 
 satisfied with the conduct of Francis towards him, he 
 engaged to serve Charles V. on condition that Genoa 
 should be first freed from its oppressors. On the 12th 
 September, 1528, his fleet, fitted out chiefly at his 
 own expense, appeared before Genoa, and the French 
 galleys retreated without fighting. Trivulzio, the great 
 Milanese general, was shut up in the citadel, and Doria’s 
 galleys entered the port amidst the acclamations of his 
 countrymen. He refused the dogeship, reformed the 
 government, and banished the Adorni and Fregosi, 
 whose intrigues had caused the republic so much disaster. 
 The senate gave him the title of Pater and Liberator 
 Patriae, and he is equally well known as “II Principe,” 
 from his royal nature. After this period he and Barba- 
 rossa, the celebrated pirate, held the Mediterranean in 
 
SIDE NEXT THE CENTRAL TRANSEPT. 
 
 73 
 
 their power. The successes and honours of Doria, and 
 the insolence of his nephew Giannetino excited the 
 Fiesco conspiracy in 1547 ; this was unsuccessful, and 
 his death did not occur until 1560, after a long and 
 glorious career. 
 
 Perino del Yaga, to whom the design of the door is Perino del 
 attributed, was engaged with Raffaelle in the decoration Vaga ‘ 
 of the Vatican. After the capture and sack of Pome 
 by the French in 1527, he was in great distress, and 
 visiting Genoa in search of work, was employed and 
 kindly treated by Andrea Doria, for whom he painted 
 the fine frescoe which still partly exist in the Doria 
 palace. He was one of the best painters who assisted 
 Paffaelle, and was considered the best Florentine 
 draughtsman, next to Michael Angelo. At Genoa he 
 formed a number of scholars, but returned eventually to 
 Rome, where he died in the year 1547. 
 
 The four first subjects in the upper range of sculpture Four panels 
 are from the tomb of Henry II. at St. Denis, near Paris, ° v e e J o ^ h ® oor . 
 by Germain Pilon. The first on the right represents way, from 
 Hope, who holds out a mirror, in which men see all they Henryn?* 
 wish. In the second Faith sustains the mystery of the stDenis, 
 host, before which all men bow ; in the third, Charity ’ 
 gives suck to a child, and presents bread to the hungry; 
 and in the fourth a reclining figure and attendant angels 
 present a holy house to kneeling devotees. In Lenoir’s 
 “ Mus^e des Monuments Fran§ais” this is called “ Good 
 Works.” They are placed in the original, one on each 
 of the four sides of the tomb. The design and treat¬ 
 ment of these groups possess a grand character. The j ec ts, 
 female figures are graceful and fine ; whilst in the men is 
 shown a knowledge of anatomy, and a vigorous Michael 
 Angelesque sentiment deserving the highest praise. 
 
 The monument itself was designed by Philibert de and design. 
 l’Orme, but the execution of it was confided principally 
 to Pilon, about the year 1557. In the “ Comptes des 
 Batiments” his name continually occurs in connection 
 with work for the monument down to the year 1570. 
 
 He was in constant employment on other important 
 commissions, and was emphatically the court sculptor. 
 
 No works of his are known so late as 1590, in which 
 year, or shortly after, he died. 
 
74 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 Four bronze 
 reliefs from 
 Nuremberg; 
 their sub¬ 
 jects. 
 
 The great 
 door of the 
 Baptistery, 
 Florence, by 
 Ghiberti. 
 
 The compe¬ 
 tition for the 
 first door, 
 won by Ghi¬ 
 berti, 
 led to his 
 having the 
 second 
 placed in his 
 hands unre¬ 
 servedly. 
 
 The four small bronze reliefs beneath are from the 
 church of St. Sebaldus, Nuremberg, and illustrate the 
 history of that saint. In the first to the left he puts 
 his staff into the ground, and it buds. In the next he 
 warms his feet at a fire. In the third an ecclesiastic 
 gives him and his companions food. And in the fourth 
 he appears to pray over the figure of a monk, who is 
 half in the earth and appears possessed by a daemon.* 
 They are the work of the great Nuremberg sculptor, 
 Peter Yischer. 
 
 The large central doorway forms one of the three 
 bronze entrances to the Baptistery of the Cathedral at 
 Florence. 
 
 This unrivalled work of art was designed and executed 
 by the celebrated Florentine artist, Lorenzo Ghiberti, 
 between the years 1420 and 1450. 
 
 In the year 1401 Florence under an essentially demo¬ 
 cratic form of government had risen to be one of the most 
 flourishing cities of Europe. The civic trades were formed 
 into guilds called “Arti,” represented by deputies called 
 “ Consoli.” These patriotic men resolved to open a com¬ 
 petition for a bronze gate to be erected at the Baptistery, 
 that should surpass the old one by Andrea Pisano : the 
 greatest artists of Italy to the number of seven entered 
 the lists, but the prize was awarded to Ghiberti, even 
 by the competitors themselves ; he at that time being 
 only twenty-two years of age. This great work occupied 
 him just twenty-three years, and at its completion so 
 great was the admiration it excited that the consuls of 
 the guild of merchants commissioned him to execute 
 another corresponding door, which is the one here seen. 
 
 According to Ghiberti’s own account the plan and 
 execution of it were placed unreservedly in his own hands, 
 “they gave h im full permission,” writes Yasari, “to 
 proceed with the work as he should think best, and to do 
 whatever might most effectually secure that this third 
 door should be the richest, most highly adorned, most 
 beautiful and most perfect that he could possibly contrive, 
 
 * St. Sebald puts an icicle into the fire, and it burns like a 
 coal. He is presented with a stone, and on blessing it, it becomes 
 bread. He saves a man, whom the earth was about to swallow up, 
 for doubting the saint’s power. 
 
SIDE NEXT THE CENTRAL TRANSEPT. 
 
 75 
 
 or that could be imagined,” only the subjects of the 
 panels were selected from the Old Testament by Lionardo 
 Aretino, a worthy scholar and poet. According to Vasari, 
 
 Lorenzo was assisted in completing and polishing this 
 work by numerous great artists, but it seems certain 
 that Paolo Uccello was his only assistant. He received a 
 large sum, more than 13,000 florins, for his labour, and 
 gained great distinction and honour. 
 
 The door should be read like the page of a book, from The subjects 
 left to right, commencing at the top. The panels are ^^® s ten 
 ten in number and represent, in regular order, the 
 principal events of the Old Testament, from the Creation 
 to the building of the Temple by Solomon. 
 
 1. The subject of the creation here is beautifully Adam and 
 composed. To the left Adam rises from the earth Eve ‘ 
 assisted by the hand of his Creator. In the centre Eve 
 
 at His command springs forth from the side of sleeping 
 Adam, in all the loveliness of original perfection and 
 supported by angels, a choir of whom attend both 
 incidents; but soon occurs the fatal disobedience, and 
 Ere in a beautifully conceived attitude of longing grief, 
 followed by the more terrified Adam, is expelled by an 
 angel from the gate of Paradise, under the direction of 
 the Deity, who high in the heavens points with his finger 
 the way they are to go. 
 
 The whole conception of this is eminently original and 
 beautiful. 
 
 2. In the left distance a hut is seen, on one side of Cain and 
 which sits Eve spinning, and on the other Adam AbeL 
 instructing his child. Lower down Abel tends his 
 sheep, whilst in the foreground Cain tills the ground 
 
 with oxen. On the right hand, commencing at the top, 
 they each offer sacrifice to the Lord, “And the Lord 
 had respect unto Abel and to his offering, but unto Cain 
 and to his offering, he had not respect.” (Gen. iv. 
 
 3 and 4.) A little lower down Cain enraged at his 
 brother’s success slays him, whilst from behind is seen 
 God emerging from the clouds. In the foreground, Cain, 
 staff in hand, commences his wanderings. 
 
 3. In the highest distance the ark rests on Mount Noah. 
 Ararat, and Noah with its inmates is issuing from the 
 door. The ark here is represented as a Pyramid. To 
 
76 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 the left Noah lies drunken with wine beneath a shed. 
 Ham looks towards him, but Shem and Japheth are shown 
 walking with averted faces, in which grief is strongly 
 marked. To the right Noah surrounded by his children 
 sacrifices to the Lord, who appears in glory above the 
 altar. 
 
 Abraham. 4- Contains passages in the history of Abraham. On 
 the left are the three angels, “ And he lift up his eyes 
 and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him.” (Gen. 
 xviii. 2.) Abraham requests the holy strangers to be his 
 guests, and somewhat farther back Sarah invites them 
 to rest themselves on a long bench. Higher up on the 
 right side an angel stays the intended sacrifice of Isaac 
 by his father Abraham. On the right foreground are 
 the two servants, awaiting their return by the side of a 
 fountain shaded by a rock. 
 
 Esau. 6. Contains the history of Esau who sold his birth¬ 
 
 right for a mess of pottage. The story is represented 
 in the usual dramatic manner of the early Renaissance 
 artists. On the house-top is seen Rebekah, the wife of 
 Isaac, in commune with the Deity : “And the children 
 struggled within her and she said, If it be so, why am 
 I thus ? and she went to inquire of the Lord. And the 
 Lord said unto her, two nations are in thy womb,” &c. 
 (Genesis, xxv. 21, 22, 23.) In the centre distance Esau 
 enters the house and receives the mess of pottage for 
 which he sold his birthright to Jacob. In the farthest 
 distance to the right Jacob following Rebekah’s instruc¬ 
 tions brings a kid from the flock to make savoury meat 
 for Isaac : “ And thou shalt bring it to thy father that 
 he may eat and that he may bless thee before his death.” 
 (Gen. xxvii. 10.) In the distance on the opposite side 
 she forms the skin into a garment for Jacob, on the right 
 hand foreground she stands by, whilst the false brother 
 with the animal’s skin over his shoulders receives Isaac’s 
 blessing on his knees. The two principal figures of the 
 foreground show Isaac comforting the defrauded Esau, 
 who with his hounds has just returned from hunting. 
 (Gen. xxvii. 30-41.) The groups of extremely graceful 
 figures to the left represent probably Esau’s wives “ who 
 were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah,” they 
 appear to discuss the whole affair. 
 
SIDE NEXT THE CENTRAL TRANSEPT. 
 
 77 
 
 6. Contains the story of Joseph. Joseph. 
 
 In the upper distance to the right, his brethren, afraid 
 
 to slay him, yet bearing a mortal hatred to him, sell the 
 boy to a company of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, 
 
 “ with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, 
 going to carry it down to Egypt.” (Gen. xxxvii. 25.) 
 
 The right foreground and centre represents all nations 
 coming to Egypt for corn ; the circular building is one 
 of the storehouses opened by Joseph, in which men are 
 seen hurrying to and fro with burdens. 
 
 In the foreground are Joseph’s brethren preparing to 
 return for Benjamin. In the left foreground, the silver 
 cup, which Joseph had secretly caused to be placed in 
 Benjamin’s sack is discovered there by the Egyptian 
 messenger : “ Then they rent their clothes and laded 
 every man his ass, and returned to the city.” (Gen. 
 xliv. 13.) Farther back above, he accuses Benjamin 
 of the act, and demands him as a servant, when “Judah 
 came near unto him, and said, Oh, my lord, let thy 
 servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord’s ears.” 
 
 (Gen. xliv. 18.) This part, however, may equally 
 apply to his discovery of himself to his brethren ; 
 and Yasari gives it as such, but his explanation of 
 these panels, though exceedingly well told, is full of 
 errors. 
 
 7. Moses on Mount Sinai receiving the tablets with Moses on 
 
 ® . Mount Sinai. 
 
 the Ten Commandments from God. Aaron is seen some 
 little distance beneath reverently covering himself before 
 the Divine presence; at the foot of the mountain are 
 groups, among which are figures of great beauty, terrified 
 at the strangeness of the event. 
 
 8. Represents the passage of the Jews across the Joshua, 
 divided waters of Jordan : “And the priests that 
 
 bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, stood 
 firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all 
 the Israelites passed over on dry ground.” (Joshua, 
 
 iii. 17.) 
 
 Some are carrying stones, as Joshua commanded them, 
 to be set up, as commemorative of the miracle. 
 
 In the distance above, the priests bear the ark of the 
 covenant, accompanied with the men of war, Ac., and 
 march round the walls of beleagured Jericho: “And 
 
78 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 David and 
 Goliath. 
 
 Solomon. 
 
 it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast 
 with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the 
 trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout, 
 and the wall of the city shall fall down flat.” (Josh, 
 vi. 5.) 
 
 This is being done, and one of the towers is toppling 
 from its base. 
 
 9. A battle between the Hebrews and the Philistines, 
 in which the combat between David and Goliath forms 
 the chief episode. 
 
 10. In the tenth panel is shown the meeting of 
 Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, surrounded by a 
 numerous retinue of attendants. We remark here, as a 
 curious instance of the artist’s attention to all his acces¬ 
 sories, that some variety is obtained by the introduction 
 of the pointed arch in the temple, a gothic vaulted roof, 
 and an apsis in the same style. 
 
 A Head from the Bronze Gates, by Ghiberti. 
 
 The borders are beautifully composed and executed 
 with natural and conventional foliage ; twenty-four 
 heads in full relief, and four reclining figures. The 
 return of the jambs is ornamented with a running ivy 
 pattern in very low relief of the greatest delicacy; 
 and the external border is formed by a wonderful 
 composition of foliage and natural objects, which stands 
 
SIDE NEXT THE CENTRAL TRANSEPT. 
 
 79 
 
 forth as the most completely beautiful and finely Beauty of 
 executed design of modern or ancient times. the design 
 
 Figure in a niche, from the Bronze Gates, by Ghiberti. 
 
 It was not without justice, that Michael Angelo, admiration 
 speaking of these gates, declared that they were worthy ^ f n M ^ ael 
 of being the doors of Paradise. In the interesting 
 manuscript left by Lorenzo himself, he says, “ I have 
 done my best in all respects to imitate nature so far as 
 was in my power.” Such a work, we believe no artist 
 of modern times has shown himself capable of approach¬ 
 ing, and when we consider the period (prior to 1450) 
 
80 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 The fourth 
 Genoa door¬ 
 way. 
 
 The Vene¬ 
 tian orna¬ 
 ments with¬ 
 in it, 
 
 by the Lom¬ 
 bardi. 
 
 The fourth 
 door from 
 St. Maclou, 
 Rouen; 
 
 over it, five 
 bas-reliefs 
 by Pierino 
 da Vinci, 
 
 when it was executed, a degree of astonishment blends 
 itself with our admiration, which makes its designer and 
 workman appear of superhuman genius. 
 
 The death of its gifted author occurred at Florence in 
 the year 1455. 
 
 The door beyond this is from the Doria palace, at 
 Genoa, near the church of St. Matthew. The shield in 
 the centre of the frieze is charged with the coronetted 
 eagle of the Doria family. Doors similar to this are 
 frequent in the older streets of Genoa. 
 
 The finely designed ornament in the door head, 
 between the pilaster caps, is from the church of St. John 
 and St. Paul, at Venice. 
 
 The side ornaments, joining the pilasters, are favour¬ 
 able examples of the Lombardi school of decoration, 
 from the small church of S. M. dei Miracoli, at Venice, 
 in which we remark that combination of conventional 
 and natural forms, which characterises the early Renais¬ 
 sance artists, exceedingly well carried out. 
 
 The Lombardi family were, in a great measure, the 
 types and founders of the Venetian Renaissance style. 
 Pietro Lombardo, the eldest of them, designed the 
 beautiful little church of S. M. dei Miracoli, in 1480. 
 His sons, Tullio and Antonio, became celebrated as 
 sculptors ; and Martin Lombardo, his nephew, is well 
 known as the architect of various noble works at Venice, 
 such as the school of San Rocco, the Vendramin Calerghi 
 Palace, the church of S. Zachariah, <fcc. Corresponding 
 pieces of ornament to these are to be seen also in 
 the principal Doria doorway, to the left of Ghiberti’s 
 gate. 
 
 The door to the right is the back of one of the 
 wooden ones by Jean Goujon, from Rouen, though a 
 diff erence in the ornament appears to indicate a less 
 able hand. It was usual for artists in those days to 
 have many assistants, and probably in this valve there 
 is somewhat less of Goujon’s own workmanship. 
 
 Above this are ranged five bas-reliefs with their accom¬ 
 panying pilasters ; they are preserved at the museum at 
 Florence, and are ascribed to Pierino da Vinci. They 
 represent the Christian virtues of Faith with the chalice ; 
 Prayer with clasped hands ; Charity with children ; 
 
SIDE NEXT THE CENTRAL TRANSEPT. 
 
 81 
 
 Wisdom with a serpent, “Be ye wise as serpents,’’(Matt, 
 x. 16) ; and Justice with a sword. 
 
 The four Cardinal Virtues, known to the ancients* and of the Car- 
 arranged by Archytas, were Prudence or Wisdom, Justice, Vir ' 
 Courage, and Temperance. On these the Christian 
 fathers grafted Faith, Hope, and Charity. Some have 
 divided the virtues into two classes : theological or 
 divine, and cardinal or moral virtues ; the latter being 
 capable of great extension, the former consisting of Faith, 
 
 Hope, and Charity. 
 
 Bas-relief of Wisdom, by Perino. 
 
 The sculptor of these bas-reliefs, nephew of the cele¬ 
 brated Lionardo da Vinci, was a pupil of Tribolo. He 
 
 o 
 
82 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 Panel from 
 Oudenarde. 
 
 The Granada 
 bas-reliefs in 
 the plinth of 
 arcade. 
 
 Subjects— 
 
 the triumphs 
 of the Ca¬ 
 tholic sove¬ 
 reigns ; 
 
 the originals 
 painted; 
 
 their sculp¬ 
 tor. 
 
 gave promise of much, ability, but unhappily died at the 
 age of twenty-three. 
 
 The style exhibited in these carvings, although very 
 graceful, is somewhat affected in manner. This affectation 
 Perino doubtless caught from. his master, who was one of 
 the first who worked in the exaggerated manner adopted 
 by Michael Angelo. In da Vinci’s work, however, we 
 miss the dignity of Tribolo’s style, which was singularly 
 divided between that of Donatello, and of Michael Angelo. 
 Witness his admirable design for an aged Sybil. 
 
 The piece of ornament between this and Ghiberti’s 
 door, is from the Hotel de Ville, at Oudenarde, in 
 Belgium. The centre medallion contains a spirited combat 
 with nude figures. 
 
 The bas-reliefs of the plinth proceeding towards the 
 vestibule, are from the high altar of Granada Cathedral, 
 in Spain, and are attributed to Felipe Vigarny, an able 
 sculptor of the sixteenth century. They are illustrations 
 of the capture of Granada by the Spaniards in 1492, 
 and the final subjugation of the Moors. 
 
 The first one represents a conversion of Moorish men 
 and women. These conversions were enforced with the 
 greatest cruelty, and led to numerous disturbances. 
 “ Observe,” writes Mr. Ford, in his excellent work on 
 Spain, “the mufflers and leg wrappers of the women. 
 The Roman 6 fascise ’ are precisely those still worn at 
 Tetuan by their descendants ; who thus, as Orientals, do 
 not change stockings or fashions.” 
 
 The other panel shows the entry of Isabella into the 
 conquered city, accompanied by Ferdinand on her left 
 hand, and the great Cardinal Mendoza on her right, 
 followed by a large retinue. One of the figures on the 
 right side is that of the Moorish king, “El rey Chico,” 
 as Abu-Abdillah, or Boabdil, was called by the Spaniards. 
 He is seen tendering the keys of the city, whilst the 
 Moorish captives are issuing from the gates. 
 
 The originals at Granada are coloured, a custom which 
 was mugh in vogue with Spaniards, and of which extra¬ 
 ordinarily clever examples of life-size figures by Hernandez 
 and Juan de Juni, are still preserved in the museum at 
 Valladolid. 
 
 The sculptor Vigarny was engaged on the wood-work 
 
SIDE NEXT THE CENTRAL TRANSEPT. 
 
 83 
 
 of Toledo Cathedral, and died in that city in the year 
 1543. The whole power and policy of Ferdinand and 
 Isabella were directed towards the subjugation and con¬ 
 version of the Moors, and they succeeded. The ruin of 
 Granada dates from the day in which the Spanish flag 
 waved from the fortress of the Alhambra. 
 
 The small coupled pilasters on each side are from the Pilasters 
 tomb of Louis XII., on which military weapons are th o ® 
 ingeniously combined with natural foliage and fruits. Louis xil. f 
 The fleur-de-lys occurs on the shields, and on the base 
 of the farthest to the right is the date mdxvii, (1517) ; one with 
 so that although the monument was not raised before date - 
 the year 1531, it must have been commenced shortly 
 after the king’s death in 1515. 
 
 The recumbent statue in the centre is that of Roberte Recumbent 
 Legendre, wife of Louis de Poncher, now preserved in j^ert^ 
 the Louvre. The richly worked monument from which Legendre, 
 it was taken no longer exists; but we find that Louis de 
 Poncher died in 1521, and his monument is attributed 
 by Lenoir to Jean Juste, of Tours, the same who 
 executed the tomb of Henry II. The original statue 
 is executed in a rough sandstone ; it is remarkable for 
 the breadth and well arranged folds of the drapery, and 
 in the face and hands for great truth to nature. 
 
 It rests upon an altar frontal from the Certosa, at The altar 
 Pavia. In the central niche is a statue of Christ ; the neath* be " 
 two extreme figures are St. John the Baptist and Mary 
 Magdalen ; the remaining two represent St. Peter and 
 St. Paul. The proportions and execution of this compo¬ 
 sition are very good, and its style reminds one of some of 
 the earlier Florentine masters. 
 
 The bas-reliefs over the projecting vestibule are from Bas-reliefs 
 the tomb of Cardinal Duprat, now in the Louvre, at "^^ar- 
 Paris. cade, from 
 
 They represent passages in the life of that statesman, cai-di'nai ° f 
 who was born in 1463, he entered the law at an early Duprat; 
 age. In 1490, he was given a government appointment; 
 and in 1495, was made Advocate General of the pro¬ 
 vincial parliament of Toulouse. Francis I., on ascending 
 the throne, made him Chancellor of France, and he 
 accompanied Francis into Italy. On the death of his 
 wife he embraced the ecclesiastical profession. In 1527, 
 
 g 2 
 
84 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 liis life , 
 
 their 
 
 subjects. 
 
 The Ma¬ 
 donna and 
 statues over 
 loggia. 
 
 Centre form-., 
 tain from the 
 Chateau 
 Gaillon. 
 
 he was made Cardinal by the Pope, and in 1530 Legate 
 a latere ; he died in 1535, shortly after which period the 
 monument appears to have been executed. His life was 
 one of intrigue with his superiors, and oppression to his 
 inferiors, whilst acting as the minister of Francis, and his 
 name was odious to the nation, by whom he was 
 denounced even from the pulpit, but he remained in 
 royal favour to the day of his death. 
 
 The subject to the left appears to represent his trium¬ 
 phal return to France as Cardinal. The two centre ones 
 relate probably to Councils convoked by him, in which 
 he promulgated his cruel decrees against the Reformers; 
 a cardinal’s hat is worked on the cloth of each table. 
 On the right, he is preceded by a large body of priests, 
 probably a procession as Legate a latere. 
 
 The Madonna in the centre is from the Certosa, at 
 Pavia, from the cloisters of which monastery are the fine 
 statues of saints and monks, which surmount the coping. 
 The originals are in terra-cotta, the artist’s name is 
 unknown. 
 
 In the centre of the court is the fountain of the 
 Chateau de Gaillon, very beautifully worked, and of a 
 well-studied outline, quite in the antique taste. 
 
 The chateau (now destroyed) to which this fountain 
 belonged, was one of the earliest examples of Italian 
 Renaissance executed in France. It was designed 
 between the years 1500 and 1510, by Fra Giocondo, a 
 native of Verona, who visited France in the year 1496, 
 for the good Cardinal George d’Amboise. The fountain 
 itself, and a very fine portion of the fa 9 ade, were saved 
 by the exertions of M. Albert Lenoir from neglect, and 
 were placed by him in the court-yard of the Ecole des 
 Beaux Arts, at Paris; it appears to have formed only a 
 part of the original design, which was continued up to 
 a much greater height, as represented by Ducerceau in 
 his prints of the chateau. Giocondo was one of the 
 most learned of the Renaissance artists, he published the 
 first good edition of Vitruvius, and was an able engraver. 
 He was at Rome during the Pontificate of Leo X., 
 assisting Sangallo and Raffaelle in the works at St. 
 Peter’s; of his later life nothing is known. His earliest 
 and best works are the bridge of Xotre Dame, at Paris; 
 
SIDE NEXT THE CENTRAL TRANSEPT. 
 
 85 
 
 the Casa del Consiglio, at Verona; and the Fondaco dei 
 Tedeschi, at Venice. 
 
 Of d’Amboise we have already had occasion to speak; 
 he was prime minister of Louis XII., and so beloved by 
 the nation that he was known as the “ Pe're du Peuple 
 he died in the year 1510. 
 
 This fountain has been admirably burnt in terra-cotta 
 by Mr. J. M. Blashfield. The little bronze figure sur¬ 
 mounting the fountain has been taken from the Stanza 
 dei bronzi in the gallery of the Uffizii at Florence. 
 
 The two large bronze statues which stand near the foun- Two bronze 
 tain, have been taken from the series which surround the imspruck? 1 
 tomb of the Emperor Maximilian at Innspruck. Having 
 already given some particulars respecting the tomb, in 
 describing the two knights belonging to this set, which 
 stand in front of the fa§ade of the Court, we need now 
 do little more than direct attention to the extraordinary 
 elaboration of the costume, and the perfect finish of the 
 bronze chasing. 
 
 The two remaining statues are St. John and David, 
 by Donatello, and may be ranked among the best works 
 of that artist. 
 
 David rests with one foot on the head of Goliath, statue of 
 whose sword he holds in one hand, and in the other a DonateUo 
 stone. The coverings or buskins commencing at the 
 knee, and ingeniously terminating in sandals, are very 
 original and are delicately ornamented. The head, with 
 its picturesque cap, wreath of leaves, and flowing locks, is 
 exceedingly well managed ; and few who have noticed 
 the picturesque manner in which the Italian peasant boys 
 will, with a few flowers, make their “ capelloni” the very 
 double of what Donatello has given to David, will be at 
 a loss in discovering the source from which the artist 
 has derived his “ motive.” Nature here has evidently 
 been closely studied. The whole is enclosed with a 
 wreath of victory as a base. The armed head of Goliath 
 is a study by itself. Vasari tells us that this statue, 
 whose softness, animation, and truth to nature, he greatly 
 admires, originally stood in the court of the Medici palace 
 at Florence. It is now preserved in the Florentine gallery. 
 
 The statue of John the Baptist is a beautiful tran¬ 
 script from nature, remarkable for the youthful innocence statue of 
 
86 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 John the 
 Baptist, hy 
 Donatello. 
 
 The Venice 
 wells ; 
 
 the larger 
 
 and sweetness of its expression ; lie holds a scroll in his 
 hand, the drapery is finely managed, and the hair affords 
 
 a good example of the great attention Donatello paid to 
 that portion of his works, in which he has never been 
 excelled by any artist. The influence of the revived 
 antique taste, is seen in the sandals, with the exception 
 of which, the whole sentiment is one of simple nature. 
 
 The two beautiful bronze wells at each extremity of 
 the court are from the court-yard of the Ducal palace at 
 Venice. Although somewhat different in style, they are 
 both of nearly the same date, and are excellent examples 
 of the perfection at which bronze-casting had arrived in 
 the sixteenth century at Venice, and the style of orna¬ 
 mental art then prevalent in that city. 
 
 The larger one is the work, says Cicognara, of a certain 
 “ Nicholas, conflator tormentorum,” or military engine 
 maker to the illustrious Republic, and has a Latin motto 
 of “ Franco Veniero dux xxx. in princi. anno ii. 1556.” 
 In the upper small ovals are portraits of the Doges and 
 emblems of St. Mark. The large central panels contain 
 subjects from the Holy Scriptures. In the small ovals 
 beneath, are river gods, &c. 
 
SIDE NEXT THE CENTRAL TRANSEPT. 
 
 87 
 
 The smaller one is the work of Alfonso Alberghetti of 
 Ferrara, and was cast in the year 1559. It is crowned 
 by the singular little figure of the “ gans-mannchen ” from 
 Nuremberg, representing a countryman carrying two 
 
 The Gans-mannchen, from the Goose Market, Nuremberg. 
 
 geese under his arms. This strange caprice was executed 
 by a clever artist of the name of Labenwolf, by whom 
 was also produced the bronze fountain in the Town Hall 
 in the same city. 
 
 The larger well, which has also been arranged as a 
 
 and smaller 
 one. 
 
 The goose- 
 man. 
 
88 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 The Cupid 
 and Dolphin, 
 by Veroc- 
 ehio; 
 
 his pupils. 
 
 Venetian 
 public spirit. 
 
 The ceiling 
 of the Sala 
 di Cambio at 
 Perugia; 
 
 its subjects; 
 
 fountain basin, is surmounted by tbe statue of a bronze 
 Cupid with a dolphin taken from the court-yard of the 
 Palazzo Vecchio, at Florence. It was executed by 
 Andrea del Yerocchio, the celebrated Florentine artist, 
 for a fountain at the Palazzo Careggi, near Florence, but 
 was afterwards removed by one of the Medici to the 
 Palazzo Yecchio. It is a work of great merit, and not 
 unworthily represents the ability of Andrea. He was a 
 pupil of Donatello, and on the death of that great master, 
 and of Ghiberti, was considered the best sculptor and 
 bronze worker in Florence (circa 1466) ; his most cele¬ 
 brated production is the equestrian bronze statue of 
 Bartolomeo Colleone, at Yenice, working at which he 
 caught a fever and died in the year 1488. 
 
 Among his pupils were the great artists Lionardo da 
 Yinci, Pietro Perugino, and Francesco di Simone. 
 
 One of the great disadvantages of Yenice, was the 
 dearth of good water. To remedy this, the senate 
 caused two wells to be sunk, in the court of the Ducal 
 palace, for public use. And in this, as in all their other 
 public works, they proceeded with that noble spirit of 
 jealousy for the glory of their name, which rendered 
 Yenice the queen of Italy. 
 
 THE GARDEN GALLERY. 
 
 Passing through the central door, beneath the bronze 
 Nymph, into the garden gallery, we find the beautiful 
 ceiling by Perugino, from the Sala di Cambio, at Perugia. 
 
 Apollo in his chariot occupies the central lunette. 
 
 The three lunettes on the side of the large transept 
 contain Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn ; those of the other 
 compartment are Mercury, the Moon, and Yenus. We 
 observe that this symbolises the planetary system, as far 
 as it was known in Perugino’s time ; Apollo, as the sun, 
 being in the centre, and the six planets revolving round 
 him. These allegorical representations were much in 
 vogue with the early artists, who commenced that fashion 
 which afterwards was carried to an extravagant extent. 
 Each of the planets is accompanied by its appropriate 
 zodiacal signs. Apollo has the lion ; Mercury, the virgin 
 
THE GARDEN GALLERY. 
 
 Perugino; 
 
 and the ge m ini ; Luna, the crab ; Yenus, the balance and 
 bull; Mars, the ram and scorpion ; Jupiter, the fishes 
 and centaur ; Saturn, the water-carrier and sea-horse. 
 
 The Sala di Cambio, or Exchange of Perugia, in the painted by 
 Papal States, is profusely decorated with frescoes by 
 Pietro Perugino, in which he was assisted by his pupil 
 Paffaelle. Among them may be especially remarked the 
 composition of the Transfiguration which was afterwards 
 adopted, with but slight modification, for the upper part 
 of the great master-piece of the latter. Pietro was bom 
 of poor parents, but in a land of artists, so he fearlessly 
 entered the course, and at the age of twenty-five went his life, 
 to Florence, at that time distinguished for its professors. 
 
 After studying under Andrea Yerocchio, and from 
 Masaccio, he obtained much employment in that city. 
 
 Ten years after his arrival there, or about the year 
 1480, he was invited to Rome to assist in the decora¬ 
 tions of the Sistine Chapel ; after this he settled at 
 Perugia. His best works were done between the years 
 1490 and 1502. At this time he was very popular, and 
 was in constant employ, especially at Perugia. He died 
 in 1505. Although not occupying a high place, as one 
 of the greatest draughtsmen, his works are nevertheless 
 characterised by an extraordinary power of expression 
 and style—though Michael Angelo called him u a mere s t y i e> 
 bungler ; ” he certainly evinced a deep religious senti¬ 
 ment, such as is but rarely to be met with in the works of 
 the great Florentine himself. His mural paintings and 
 decorations are especially good, and indeed he has few 
 rivals in the style of Decorative art, of which (as we 
 have already remarked in our observations on Poly- 
 chromy) the roof of the Sala del Cambio is an excellent 
 example, and to which he gave that tone which renders 
 works of a similar nature, in the early half of the 
 sixteenth century, so exceedingly valuable. His name 
 will also be always held in remembrance as the master 
 of Raffaelle, between whose early works and those of 
 Pietro there is a close resemblance. 
 
 This very successful reproduction has been executed Copy made 
 by Mr. Frederick Smallfield from elaborate studies made gmaiifield 
 on the spot by the architect under whose superintendence 
 the work has been carried out. The decorations of the 
 
 and school. 
 
90 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 adjoining beams, <fcc., have been taken from the ceiling 
 of the library at Sienna, and in the panels are inscribed 
 the names of those arabesque painters, whose genius 
 developed under the fostering care of Perugino, most 
 contributed to elevate the character of Italian Renaissance 
 mural decoration. 
 
 Left wall, on The wall to the left, on entering the gallery, is 
 entering. ornamented with the arches and entablature from the 
 small cloister of the Certosa, near Pavia. They are 
 finely executed in terra-cotta. The heads of the circular 
 panels are characterised by great picturesqueness and 
 force, and the singing boys in the frieze are highly 
 Arches from praised by the judicious Cicognara in his “ Storia della 
 cloister X of Scultura.” Unfortunately the name of the artist of these 
 the Certosa. beautiful cloisters is not ascertained. The pilasters, from 
 the monuments of Gian Galeazzo Yisconti, are sculptured 
 with a clever and bold arrangement of armours and 
 weapons, in which antique forms predominate. 
 
 Large end The first pilaster to the right, on the wall opposite the 
 ?rIti!.t rfrom g ar( lens, is from the top of the Giants’ Staircase, at the 
 Ducal palace, Yenice. The side of the palace from 
 which it is taken was commenced by Antonio Bregno in 
 1486, and finished by Scarpagnino in 1550 ; the present 
 example belongs apparently to the work of the first- 
 named master. 
 
 The centre panel of the monument next to it (which 
 is from the Church of San Teodoro at Genoa) represents 
 a recumbent figure of the Infant Christ, with an angel at 
 his head, behind whom is a kneeling ecclesiastic. In 
 front kneels Mary in adoration, and behind her is a 
 monk ; in the sky are glorifying angels. Four female 
 saints, or emblematic figures occupy the side niches ; at 
 the extreme angles beneath are two saints, the one bound 
 is St. Sebastian. Beneath are six angels, supporting the 
 inscription “ Yerbum caro factum,” the Word made Flesh. 
 In the highest angle is represented the Adoration of the 
 Magi. This monument is in a good early Renaissance 
 style, and its design is entirely in honour of the Infant 
 Christ. 
 
 Next to this is the very magnificent Transition monu- 
 
 arch space is ment of the Emperor Lewis of Bavaria. At top the 
 the bronze . ., , , ., , , 
 
 monument of emperor is seen enthroned beneath a draped canopy, 
 
 Monument 
 next it from 
 Genoa. 
 
 In middle 
 
THE GARDEN GALLERY. 
 
 91 
 
 drawn aside by two angels ; beneath his feet are shields Lewis of 
 charged with the double-headed eagle, a coronetted lion, Bavana - 
 and a shield “ barry bendy.” In the lower compartment 
 are two young men, one in the dress of a civilian, wear¬ 
 ing a cap richly wreathed with feathers, and furnished 
 with a centre brooch of an angel with a scroll; the other 
 is in complete armour of the sixteenth century, channelled 
 and swoln, with long pointed shoes, long rowelled spurs, 
 and elbow pieces finishing in long spikes. Between the 
 two is an attendant lion. The ornamental tile pavement 
 on which they stand is represented in perspective, and 
 some of the squares are ornamented with shields charged 
 with monograms. 
 
 The armour, tapestry, costume, and details of this 
 monument are executed with a minute delicacy and 
 fidelity, which render it peculiarly valuable and interest¬ 
 ing. The whole design affording a fine example of the 
 state of sculpture in Germany during the late Gothic 
 period, at a time when some of the most celebrated 
 Renaissance works were being executed in Italy, and 
 Germany was just rousing herself to reformation in art. 
 
 Above this is a beautiful semicircular composition of the Above it 
 Virgin and Child, with adoring angels on each side— lunette fro 
 a graceful specimen of Italian Renaissance sculpture, er in ‘ 
 preserved in the Royal Museum, Berlin. 
 
 The next monument is from the Church of San Monument 
 Teodoro, Genoa. Gracefully designed winged genii rest doorfaiso 16 
 mournfully on each side of the central panel, which, from from Genoa, 
 the smoothness of its surface, appears never to have had 
 an inscription. The pilasters are ornamented with the 
 chalice, book, cross, and other articles of church service, 
 seeming to indicate that a priest was honoured with 
 this memorial. The lowest sculptured panel represents 
 the Resurrection. The Marys approach the sepulchre, 
 on which sits the angel who announces that event. 
 
 The upper panel shows Christ Rising from the 
 Tomb, some of the guards being asleep and others 
 terrified. The style is Lombard Renaissance, of the 
 close of the fifteenth or commencement of the sixteenth 
 century. 
 
 Between the pilasters of the doorway are portions of On each side 
 Jean Goujon’s doors at Rouen (1542). The ornament way^nto°the 
 
92 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 Court, are shows a tendency to that abruptly carved scroll-work which, 
 the^oor of f P reva il e d so generally in the sixteenth and seventeenth 
 St. Maclou, centuries. The Alpha and Omega in the small circles are 
 be°neattT ingeniously combined with the monogram of Christ, 
 subjects aU surmouir ked hy a cross and a pastoral staff; the heads 
 from Berlin, in the diamond-shaped panels are those of Jesus and 
 from P the SterS Mary. Beneath (on the right) are three early pieces of 
 tomb of Italian Renaissance sculpture from the Royal Museum, 
 ofFrance.* Berlin. The two profiles are evidently portraits ; in the 
 centre is a Madonna and Child ; they are all executed 
 in a style which bears the impress of Donatello’s influence. 
 The pilasters between are from the tomb of Louis XII. 
 of France, ascribed to Jean Juste of Tours (1531), but 
 quite in the style of the best Venetian Renaissance 
 epoch. The combination of armour, musical instruments, 
 &c., with fruit and foliage, is very cleverly managed. 
 The boldly carved frieze above Goujon’s door is from 
 Genoa. 
 
 Over the Over the central doorway is a semicircular composition 
 nette^from 1 " a seated saint, a nimbus encircles his head, and a large 
 Berlin. bird is perched on his chair ; on each side of him are 
 kneeling figures. The original is preserved in the Royal 
 Museum, Berlin. It appears to be an example of Italian 
 sculpture in the fourteenth century: 
 
 On each side On each side of it are two excellently designed figures 
 from th| UieS f rom the cloisters of the Certosa, Pavia ; the brackets on 
 Certosa. which they stand are from the tomb of Cardinal d’Amboise 
 at Rouen (1525). 
 
 The frieze above is from Genoa. 
 
 other Berlin On the other side, beneath Goujon’s door, are very 
 subjects. beautiful compositions of the Holy Family, from the 
 Berlin Museum ; that to the left is attributed to Perino 
 da Vinci, nephew of the great Lionardo, a notice of whose 
 life we have already given. The treatment of both this 
 one and its pendant is very pictorial; the latter especially, 
 reminds us of the works of the great sixteenth century 
 painters. The folds of the drapery are excellently 
 arranged. 
 
 Beneath these arches is placed the tomb of Bemward 
 von Gablenz, from the Cathedral of Mayence. 
 
 An admirable work in which, with the exception of 
 the statues, the influence of the antique is predominant. 
 
THE GARDEN GALLERY. 
 
 93 
 
 The figures are peculiarly fine. Sebastian von der Gablenz The tomb of 
 is seen in the centre, arrayed in full military costume, of Gablenz 
 the last half of the sixteenth century. On one side of ^yence™ 111 
 him his wife Barbara, and on the other Bemward von Cathedral. 
 Gablenz. The faces are evidently portraits, and the 
 costumes are exceedingly interesting as examples of 
 the period. At the back are five kneeling figures ; the 
 young men in complete armour, like that of Sebastian, 
 almost entirely plate armour, and the females in very 
 simple costume, with large ruffs. The general character 
 of the monument puts us in mind of some of our 
 Elizabethan ones. The frieze is ornamented with shields 
 charged with family armorial bearings. 
 
 The German inscription on the tomb is “ Anno Domini The German 
 1573, den 16 Januar ist in Got Christlich und sellich inscnptlon; 
 entschlaffen der edel und erenvest Sebastian von der 
 Gablenz zur Windischreiben. Und zuvor anno domini 
 1570 den 13 Juny ist in Got Christlich und sellich 
 verscheden die edel und tugnthafte frau Barbara von der 
 Gablenz gebome von Binau dem beydem ehelfeidln Got 
 genedig seyn wole. Amen.” 
 
 The Latin inscription is, “Anno domini 1592 die 2 the Latin 
 Febr. pie in Christo obdormivit (?) et nobilis dominus D. ° n ’ 
 Johannes Bemardus a Gablentz metropolitans© Moguntinae 
 archipresbyter et d’Albani necnon in gradibus B. Marise 
 virg. ecclesise canon capitul. aetatis suae anno 55, cui 
 anima Deo viva. 
 
 “ Johannes Bemardus obiit nunc extra felix secula de 
 Gablenz insigni stirpe capes gens.” 
 
 On each side, supporting the arches of the arcade above, Marble can- 
 are richly ornamented candelabra, executed in marble, delabra > 
 from the Palazzo Rayper in Jessatello, Genoa ; their 
 style indicates the first half of the sixteenth century. 
 
 The terra-cotta arches above are from the large cloisters supporting 
 of the Certosa, Pavia. The arrangement of the angels the h iarge° m 
 round the archivolt is particularly graceful, the outer cloisters of 
 wreath surrounding them is bound with a band, on 
 every turn of which are inscribed the letters YE, GRA 
 (Ave, gratia). The figures are exceedingly bold and 
 artistic. The central medallion represents St. Lawrence, 
 with his emblem, the gridiron on which he suffered 
 martyrdom. The style is very early Renaissance, with 
 
94 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 The Genoa 
 frieze. 
 
 Germain 
 
 Pilon’s 
 
 Graces, 
 
 supported 
 the hearts of 
 Henry II. 
 and Cathe¬ 
 rine de 
 Medici; 
 
 cost 200 
 livres; 
 
 the pedestal 
 by Jean 
 Picart. 
 
 The inscrip¬ 
 tions. 
 
 much Gothic feeling—the artist’s name is unknown ; 
 hut they are evidently of earlier date than the small 
 cloisters, and bear, in their detail, a striking resemblance 
 to the ornament of the basement story of the hospital at 
 Milan, also in terra-cotta, which is ascertained to have 
 been the work of Antonio Filarete, in 1456, to about 
 which period, or somewhat earlier, the cloisters may be 
 ascribed. 
 
 The frieze is filled in with various pieces of ornament 
 from Genoa. 
 
 In the centre, beneath Perugino’s ceiling, are the three 
 Graces—Aglaia, Thalia, and Euphrosyne, by Germain 
 Pilon. 
 
 This beautiful group is cut out of one block of marble, 
 and was intended to serve as the support of an urn, 
 containing the hearts of Henry II. and Catherine de 
 Medici. It is now preserved in the Louvre, Paris. 
 
 The account book of the royal household informs us of 
 the precise date when these were executed. Primaticcio, 
 Abbot of St. Martin—an odd but substantial honour 
 conferred on that artist—acts as paymaster, and is ordered 
 to pay Germain Pilon 200 livres, in the year 1560, for 
 the sculpture of three figures, for the sepulchre of the 
 royal hearts. 
 
 In the same year Jean Picart receives 100 livres for 
 a clay model of the “ pied d’estal,” and vase for the 
 hearts, and for a crown as an ornament to the image of 
 the heart of the late King. 
 
 On the three sides of the pedestal are the following 
 Latin inscriptions :— 
 
 “ Cor junctum amborum, longum testatur amorem ante 
 homines. Junctus spiritus ante Deum.” 
 
 “ Hie cor deposuit Pegis Catharinse mariti, id cupiens 
 condere posse sinu.” (A very pretty compliment.) 
 
 4 4 Cor quondam charitum sedem, cor summa secutum, 
 tres Charites summo vertice jure ferunt.” * 
 
 * “The conjoined hearts of both attest a long love before men. 
 The united Spirit before God.” 
 
 “Here she deposited the heart of the King, Catherine’s consort, 
 wishing, if it were possible, to bury it in her bosom.” 
 
 “Three Graces justly bear on their head a heart, once the seat of 
 the Graces, and which aspired after the highest aims.” 
 
THE GARDEN GALLERY. 
 
 95 
 
 This very beautiful specimen of the French school of 
 sculpture is the masterpiece of Pilon, and worthily sustains 
 his great reputation. 
 
 The four wooden statues at the angles are also by Four wooden 
 Germain Pilon, and are preserved in the Louvre. They Germain 7 
 are more pictorial and less graceful than those of Henry’s Pilon, 
 monument ; showing also more of that peculiar character 
 which was adopted by the French sculptors of the 
 seventeenth century. 
 
 It is not ascertained from whence they came, but we from the 
 find that the tomb of Diana of Poitiers, at the Chateau ^nade 
 d’Anet, had four female figures at the angles, sculptured Poictiers. 
 in wood by Germain Pilon in 1570 ; with one arm they 
 sustained the cornice of the sarcophagus, with the other 
 raised above their heads they held torches ; and those 
 here seen completely answer to the drawings of Diana’s 
 supporters, as shown in Lenoir’s work. The chasse or 
 treasure-box of the chapel of St. Genevieve, at Paris, is 
 supported by four female figures which are their counter¬ 
 parts in miniature. Diana of Poitiers died in 1566. 
 
 Opposite the entrance from the Renaissance Court Bronze effigy 
 into the gallery, beyond the Graces by Pilon, is soccfno^ 0 da 
 placed the very remarkable bronze effigy of Marino da 
 Soccino by Yecchietta of Siena, a pupil of the celebrated 
 Jacopo della Quercia ; the original is preserved in the 
 Museum at Florence. 
 
 The face, hands, and feet of this effigy are deserving of admirable, 
 the artist’s closest study and attention for their very 
 minute treatment; and though the subject is painful, it 
 is impossible to refrain from admiration at this, which is 
 undoubtedly one of the finest bronzes in existence. 
 
 The effigies lower down the gallery are from the Monument of 
 monument of the Countess of Hertford, in Salisbury ofHert U forcf S 
 Cathedral. The countess died in 1563, but her husband, 
 
 Edward, Earl of Hertford, not till the year 1621, at 
 which period, Nicholas Stone was the fashionable sculptor. 
 
 The monument was probably not raised till after the earl’s 
 death, but we have no means of ascertaining by whom. 
 
 The countess reclines in full costume, very similar to interesting 
 that of Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots as seen on for armour > 
 their monuments. The armour and costume of her two 
 sons are interesting as a memorial of the times, and 
 
THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 and costume. 
 
 The Coun¬ 
 tess was 
 Lady Jane 
 Grey’s sis¬ 
 ter. 
 
 The Dijon 
 pedestal. 
 
 The Tre- 
 mouille 
 twisted 
 shaft. 
 
 appear to be studiously correct, they indicate the close 
 of the sixteenth, or early part of the seventeenth century. 
 
 The boots of the men are not unlike those in use at 
 a much later period, and their heels are very small. The 
 folds at the foot of Lady Hertford’s dress resemble those 
 of Mary, and we remark the same curiously small shoes 
 and heels. 
 
 The family were royally connected, the earl being uncle 
 to Edward VI., and regent during the prince’s minority, 
 whilst his countess was sister of Lady Jane Grey. 
 
 The subject near them (to the right, on the garden 
 side) is from the very remarkable Renaissance church of 
 St. Michael at Dijon, built about the middle of the six¬ 
 teenth century ; it forms a pedestal for the Virgin over 
 the chief entrance. The base is completely Gothic ; the 
 panels of the circular portion above, which is in the 
 Renaissance style, are divided by antique candelabra, 
 and are supported by cherubs’ heads. The two first 
 contain women in antique costume—one setting fire to 
 implements of war. 3. Orpheus, or Apollo, with the lyre. 
 4. Venus and Cupid. 5. A rough copy of the Apollo 
 Belvidere. 6. Judith with the head of Holofemes. 
 7. The Judgment of Solomon. 8. St. James the Greater. 
 9. Christ and Mary Magdalene. The remaining figures 
 and ornaments are founded on antique models. 
 
 To the left is a column from the Hotel Tremouille, 
 Paris, which building we have already had occasion to 
 notice. As in the case of the columns (near the Certosa 
 window in the court), the Gothic and Renaissance are 
 here seen equally poised. 
 
it 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 Hi !l@i 
 
 I® hi 
 
 
 l.Xami) of the Comres.N 
 
 of KudunoncL. 
 
 Z .Torah of §aeeoJ&zabeO;.. 
 
 3 „ Maiy'Qaeea of 
 Scots. 
 
 4 Tomb of Sir John Cheney 
 
 5 Ladylua-iford. 
 and Iter two sons. 
 
 6. S’: Geor|efy Daaatejio 
 
 ; p: 
 
 II 
 
THE ELIZABETHAN COTJET. 
 
 The facades and arcades of this Court are taken from 
 the exterior of Holland House, Kensington. This noble 
 mansion was built by John Thorpe, in the year 1607, for 
 Sir Walter Coapes. 
 
 Little of the interior remains in its original state, 
 but the exterior is still much as it was when originally 
 constructed. 
 
 Of the architect himself little is known ; and his name 
 was lost in oblivion until the time of Walpole (1780), 
 who discovered in the possession of the Earl of Warwick, 
 a folio MS. of Thorpe’s now in the Soane Museum, 
 Lincoln’s Inn Fields. By this it is found that he was 
 the designer of the finest Elizabethan mansions in 
 England, such as Longford Castle, Audley End, 
 Kensington, Wollaton, and a number of others. 
 
 Of his life nothing is known. He appears, however, 
 to have been to Paris, as he had a work in hand there. 
 
 H 
 
 Elizabethan 
 Court de¬ 
 rived from 
 Holland 
 House, de¬ 
 signed by 
 John 
 Tliorpe; 
 
 what is 
 known of his 
 life. 
 
98 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 The succes¬ 
 sive occu¬ 
 pants of 
 Holland 
 House. 
 
 First monu¬ 
 ment on 
 entering 
 from the 
 gallery is 
 that of Sir 
 John 
 Cheney; 
 
 his life, 
 
 and effigy in 
 alabaster. 
 
 Among the plans in the MS., is one formed by an I 
 and a T, with the following triplet under it— 
 
 “ Thes 2 letters I and T, 
 
 Joyned together as you see, 
 
 Is meant for a dwelling house for mee.” 
 
 The daughter of Sir Walter Coapes, or Coape, was 
 married to Henry Rich, Earl of Holland, who, on Sir 
 Walter’s death, succeeded to the mansion. 
 
 His character was violent, sullen, and changeable, and 
 his conduct in the civil wars vacillating. In 1647 he 
 permitted a meeting of Parliamentarians to take place 
 at Holland House, but was finally taken in arms for the 
 king, and suffered death on the scaffold. In 1649, 
 Lambert, the Parliamentarian general, fixed his head¬ 
 quarters here, and the place was often visited by 
 Cromwell. 
 
 Addison died at Holland House in 1719. 
 
 About the year 1762 it come into the possession of 
 the present family, being purchased by the Right Hon. 
 Henry Fox (father of the celebrated Charles James), who 
 was shortly afterwards created Lord Holland. 
 
 The first monument, on entering from the gallery, is 
 that of Sir John Cheney, from Salisbury Cathedral. 
 
 An altar tomb (a repetition of that of the Countess 
 of Richmond) supports the noble effigy of the knight 
 in alabaster. Sir John was noted in the wars of the 
 Red and White Roses for his great prowess and gigantic 
 stature. At the battle of Bosworth Field he was one of 
 the chosen band appointed to guard the person of 
 Richmond, afterwards Henry VII. In the excitement 
 of the battle Richard charged them in person, slew 
 Sir William Brandon, and unhorsed Sir John Cheney. 
 In the same year (1485) he was made a baron and 
 standard-bearer to the King Henry VII., an office he 
 held till his death, which occurred early in the reign of 
 Henry VIII. The statue is of alabaster, his hair long 
 and flowing ; he is clad in complete armour, with an 
 undercoat of chain mail, and is decorated with the 
 Lancastrian collar and the order of the Garter: his 
 fingers are covered with rings. 
 
 The use of alabaster for statues was very general at 
 
THE ELIZABETHAN COURT. 
 
 99 
 
 this period, and its superiority to marble both from its 
 transparency and colour is incontestable. It is not 
 generally known that large quantities of it are to be 
 found in Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, &c., of 
 various rich tints. The working of it is not difficult, 
 but it requires more care in finishing than any other 
 material. Mr. Richardson, the sculptor, has lately 
 employed it with much success in monumental effigies, 
 and we trust that its use will speedily become more 
 common. 
 
 The next effigy is that of Mary Queen of Scotland, Effigy of ^ 
 from her monument, which was erected by her son James I. 0 f Scots? 
 in Westminster Abbey, shortly after his accession to 
 the English throne (1602). The recumbent statue of the 
 queen is in white marble, and in the well-known costume 
 of the Elizabethan era. The face is a portrait, the hands 
 are remarkably delicate, with long tapering fingers. The 
 
 Head of Mary Queen of Scots, from her monument in Westminster Abbey. 
 
 folds at the foot of her dress are curiously arranged, and 
 the shoes and heels are represented as exceedingly small. 
 
 (See Portrait Gallery, No. 490.) 
 
 In the tombs of Henry VII., and the Countess of Change of 
 Richmond, are seen representatives of a small class of tombs In 
 monuments in the Renaissance style, which under Elizabeth’s 
 Torrigiano’s influence followed those of the late Gothic reiga * 
 period. In the time of Elizabeth a total change occurred. 
 
 An open arcade surmounted by a richly worked enta- Introduction 
 
 h 2 
 
100 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 of colour and 
 inlay, 
 
 imitated in 
 the court by 
 Mr. Colton. 
 
 Effigy of 
 Queen Eli¬ 
 zabeth. 
 
 Her monu¬ 
 ment, 
 
 her dress, 
 
 her “ lim- 
 nours,” 
 
 her person, 
 as described 
 byHentzner. 
 
 blature and an arched canopy, supported by columns of 
 various coloured marbles, covered the altar tomb, which 
 was also inlaid with coloured marble and emblazoned 
 with armorial bearings,—on this rested the recumbent 
 figure of the deceased,—the whole being painted and 
 gilt in a sumptuous manner. 
 
 It is this peculiar style of rich colour and inlay which 
 has been imitated in the painted decorations of this 
 Court, which have been very carefully executed by Mr. 
 Colton. 
 
 The third effigy is that of Queen Elizabeth from her 
 monument, which was constructed about the year 1606, 
 in Westminster Abbey. Walpole states that the whole 
 cost was 965 1., ££ besides the stone.” 
 
 Columns with black marble shafts, white marble bases, 
 and gilt capitals, support a grand entablature and centre 
 canopy, ornamented, with the royal arms. 
 
 The figure itself is of white marble, and the counten¬ 
 ance agrees with the best portraits of her when aged. 
 Her feet rest on lions, which were originally gilt, she is 
 in complete costume, with the stiff boddice, stuffed 
 fardingale, and immense frill then fashionable ; over all 
 is shown the royal mantle lined with ermine, in one hand 
 is the sceptre, in the other the globe. The cushion and 
 tassels are richly ornamented, in a style rather Italian 
 or French, than English. 
 
 It is said in Walpole (edit. Bohn) that the tombs of 
 Mary and Elizabeth are by the same artist, but he is 
 not named. The effigies were often made from full- 
 length portraits, which was the case most probably with 
 Elizabeth’s, of whom numerous engravings exist. At one 
 time, however, she issued a proclamation (1563), for¬ 
 bidding any but ££ a special cunninge paynter” to pour- 
 tray her august features. 
 
 Hentzner, who saw her in her 65th year (1598), 
 describes her in a manner which will give life to this 
 statue : ££ Next came the Queen, very majestic, her face 
 oblong, fair, but wrinkled, her eyes small yet black and 
 pleasant, her nose a little hooked, her lips thin and her 
 teeth black. She had in her ears two pearls with very 
 rich drops, she wore false hair and that red, upon her 
 head she had a small crown .... her hands 
 
THE ELIZABETHAN COURT. 101 
 
 were small, her fingers long, and her stature neither tall 
 nor low.” 
 
 The head of Queen Elizabeth, from her monument. 
 
 The general style of ladies’ costume at the close of the Cotempo- 
 sixteenth century is seen in this statue. The body is cos ~ 
 imprisoned in a whalebone boddice, with an extrava¬ 
 gantly long waist. The partelet which covered the neck 
 to the chin is removed, and the bosom left partly 
 uncovered; an immense ruff rises round the neck and 
 shoulders nearly on a level to the top of the head, this 
 with the equally extravagant wristbands, were rendered 
 stiff with “ a liquid matter which they call starch, 
 wherein the devil hath learned them to wash and dive 
 their ruffs, which being dry will then stand stiff and 
 inflexible about their necks.” (Stubbs’ Anatomy of 
 Abuses.) Many of these ruffs were laid in advancing 
 length one over the other, finishing with “the master 
 devil ruff.” From the hips sprung out the stuffed 
 “ vardingale,” descending to the feet. Silk stockings 
 were first introduced in this reign, and the shoes with 
 their small heels of Chinese-like character, were of 
 leather, velvet, and very generally of cork. 
 
 Their faces were often covered when walking by a 
 black domino over the upper portion, so that, says the censured by 
 justly indignant Stubbs, “ If a man knew not their guise, 11 b " 
 he would think that he met a monster or a devil.” The 
 hair was “ curled, frizzled, crisped,” and intertwined 
 with pearls, wreaths, and “ such gewgaws.” The head 
 being covered with a great variety of “French hoods, 
 hattes, cappes, kirchers, and such like,” some of velvet, 
 some open worked, some forked, “ every mean gentle- 
 
102 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 Tomb of the 
 Countess of 
 Richmond, 
 by Torri- 
 giano; 
 
 her dress; 
 
 her life. 
 
 woman” indulging in these strange fashions, to the great 
 and excusable wrath of honest Stubbs. 
 
 The next effigy is that of Margaret, Countess of 
 Richmond and Derby, from Westminster Abbey. Her 
 tomb is similar in style to that of Henry VII. and is 
 the work of the same sculptor, Torrigiano of Florence. 
 The figure is entirely of copper and was originally richly 
 gilt; round the verge of the sarcophagus was placed 
 an inscription composed by Erasmus, for which, accord¬ 
 ing to an old account-book of St. John’s College, 
 Cambridge, he received the sum of 20s. 
 
 She is apparelled in a perfectly plain mourning habit, 
 and her feet rest on the Lancastrian emblem of an 
 antelope collared. The whole is simply and well com¬ 
 posed, and the hands and face are studiously natural, 
 while as a specimen of technical skill, both in casting 
 and chasing up, it leaves nothing to be desired. 
 
 This lady was mother of Henry VII. and grand¬ 
 daughter of John of Gaunt. She founded the two 
 colleges of Christ and St. John at Cambridge, and was 
 noted for her encouragement to the art of printing, her 
 love of letters, and her charity. She left a sum of 
 money to be distributed in alms to the poor of West¬ 
 minster annually, which was still done when Neale wrote 
 his description of the Abbey in 1823. She died at an 
 advanced age, in 1509. 
 
BENAISSANCE MONUMENTS 
 
 IN THE COURT OF CHRISTIAN ART, ADJOINING THE GREAT 
 CENTRAL TRANSEPT. 
 
 The most prominent object in all this Court is the Equestrian 
 fine equestrian statue of Erasmo da Nami, which was Gattameiata 
 executed by Donatello for the Signoria of Venice, about by Donatello; 
 the middle of the fifteenth century, and was the first 
 large bronze equestrian statue of modern times. It was 
 erected in the square area enclosed at the western end 
 of the Church of Sant’ Antonio, at Padua. 
 
 The warrior is represented with bare head and hands, bis dress, 
 but otherwise in armour of the time, combined with bits 
 here and there in the antique taste. His spurs are 
 remarkably long, and every toe is shown, but sheathed 
 in metal; over his breast is a large winged head ; the 
 nipples are shown very large, a peculiarity afterwards 
 still further exaggerated by Michael Angelo. In order 
 to show his knowledge of anatomy the sculptor has 
 represented the curves of the muscles beneath the armour, 
 especially in the calf of the leg and on the back. The 
 horse is perfectly unarmed, being furnished only "with a 
 highly ornamented saddle and its accompanying girth. 
 
 The celebrated bronze horse of Marcus Aurelius, now ArUsHc^ ^ 
 on the Capitol at Home, was evidently the model on the statue, 
 which Donatello worked. It is impossible however to do 
 otherwise than to recognise the freedom of the adapta¬ 
 tion ; and the fact, that in this his master-piece, 
 
 Donatello has displayed a consummate knowledge of the 
 resource of his art, especially shown in his peculiar 
 method of working the under-cuttings, in order to en¬ 
 hance the vigour of expression of'■certain parts, such 
 as the horse’s eyes, ears, and nostrils, and the face and 
 hands of the rider. 
 
 The actual armour of Gattameiata, both for man and 
 horse—of fine Milan workmanship—is still preserved in 
 the arsenal at Venice, and a comparison of it with that 
 of the statue would show with perfect accuracy the 
 
104 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 Gattamelata 
 leader of 
 
 Condo ttieri, 
 or “free 
 lances.” 
 
 extent to which Donatello has idealised. The head bears 
 all the impress of its having been a faithful portrait. 
 
 Erasmo da Narni, better known by the “ soubriquet” 
 of Gattamelata, was a leader of mercenary troops, or 
 condottieri , in the service of the Venetian republic, and 
 was actively employed in the various wars of his time. 
 (See Portrait Gallery, No. 189.) 
 
 The condottieri, or hired troops, employed by the various 
 Italian governments, were noted for their want of good 
 faith and their avarice. Any side was indifferently upheld 
 by them, according to the pay and plunder. On the eve 
 of battle they Avere frequently bribed from action ; and 
 when they encountered each other, were governed by a 
 sort of fellow feeling, which materially lessened the 
 horrors of war. They consisted entirely of heavy 
 cavalry, and their engagements were often more like 
 jousts than mortal encounter. Machiavelli, in his 
 “Florentine History” (lib. v.), says, that in one case, 
 
 Bronze bas-relief, by Donatello, from the choir of San Antonio at Padua. 
 
 after four hours’ close fighting only one man was killed, 
 and he fell from his horse and was trodden to death. 
 Sismondi also bears Avitness to the comparative blood- 
 
COURT OF CHRISTIAN ART. 
 
 105 
 
 lessness of their battles. Sir Walter Scott has left us 
 an excellent, though somewhat flattered, picture of the 
 condottieri of the seventeenth century, in the well-known 
 character of Dugald Dalgetty. 
 
 Contracts were made at Padua with the same moulder 
 by whom the Gattamelata has been cast, for the execution 
 of reproductions of Donatello’s exquisite series of bronzes 
 in the Church of St. Antony, but unfortunately after con¬ 
 siderable influence had been brought to bear upon the 
 ecclesiastical authorities, mainly through the kindness of 
 Cardinal Wiseman, permission was refused, and as we 
 
 Bronze bas-relief, by Donatello, from the choir of San Antonio at Padua. 
 
 have been for the present unable to procure casts of the 
 originals, we must content ourselves with giving the 
 
 i 
 
106' 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 Tomb of 
 Cardinal 
 Zeno; 
 
 its date, and 
 
 inscription; 
 
 its artistic 
 value; 
 
 done by the 
 Lombardi 
 and Leo¬ 
 pardi. 
 
 public, through the medium of engravings, some idea 
 of the quality of what they have lost. 
 
 The principal specimen of Renaissance work of a 
 monumental character selected to be placed in this 
 series, is that of Cardinal Zeno, cast in bronze by Antonio 
 Lombardo and Alessandro Leopardi, assisted by Pietro 
 Lombardo the elder, from the Zeno Chapel, at St. Mark’s, 
 Venice. 
 
 A splendid example of the Venetian Renaissance style 
 between the years 1505—1515. The statues on each 
 side are finely composed, and the ornament of the panels 
 is founded on the antique. At one end are the Zeno 
 arms, supported by angels, and surmounted with the 
 Cardinal’s official cap. On the other side is the following 
 Latin inscription : “ Joanni Baptistae Zeno, Pauli Secundi 
 ex sorore nepote SS. Romanse ecclesise cardinali meritis- 
 simo senatus Venetus cum propter eximiam ejus sapientiam 
 turn singulare pietatem ac munificentiam in patriam quam 
 amplissimo legato moriens prosecutus est m. p. p. c. aetatis 
 ann. 57, obiit 1501, Die 8 Maii, hora 12.”* 
 
 The face of the recumbent prelate is remarkably fine, 
 and evidently a portrait. The robes are beautifully 
 ornamented with a Damascene pattern, and the borders, 
 with niches of very low relief, in which are represented 
 various of the saints and fathers of the early Church. 
 
 We have already given a brief account of the Lombardi 
 family. Alessandro Leopardi, their coadjutor in this 
 work, was one of the most celebrated of the Venetian 
 artists in bronze at the commencement of the sixteenth 
 century; by him were executed the plinths of the 
 standards before St. Mark’s Church, great part of the 
 beautiful monument to Andrea Vendramin, in the 
 Church of St. John and St. Paul, and the casting and 
 finishing of Colleone’s statue in the square of the same 
 name at Venice. He died in the early part of the 
 sixteenth century. 
 
 * The Venetian senate caused to he raised this public monument to 
 J. B. Zeno, a most worthy cardinal of the holy Roman church, son 
 of Paul II. ’s sister ; as well on account of his excellent wisdom, as 
 for his singular piety and munificence to his country, shown at his 
 death by an ample legacy : he died 1501, 8th May, at the hour of 
 12, aged 57. 
 
COURT OF CHRISTIAN ART. 
 
 107 
 
 The Zeno family was among the most distinguished of 
 Venice, and is immortalised by the actions of Carlo 
 Zeno, the greatest warrior the republic ever produced. 
 
 The next Renaissance monument is that of Henry VII. The tomb of 
 and his consort Elizabeth. tfy Tm-ri- 11 ’ 
 
 This tomb was executed by Torrigiano, the Florentine, s ian °; 
 between the years 1512-1518, by order of Henry VIII., 
 and cost about 2500?. current coin. It is in the Italian ltscost » 
 Renaissance style, of which it is the first, and by far the 
 best example in England. The sides of the tomb are 
 divided into panels by bronze pilasters, ornamented with 
 the rose and portcullis, the king’s emblems. At each end 
 are armorial bearings, with the quarterings of France, 
 
 England, Ulster, and Mortimer. 
 
 The subjects on the wreaths of the Transept side are : lts sub J ects: 
 the Virgin and Child ; Michael the archangel in armour, 
 trampling on Satan, in his hands holding the judicial 
 scales, which the Daemon seeks with one foot to turn in 
 his own favour ; St. John the Baptist and St. John the 
 Evangelist in the centre ; and St. George of England and 
 St. Anthony of Padua, with his symbolic pig peering out 
 from beneath his dress. In the last wreath on the other 
 side are Mary Magdalen and St. Barbara, who holds 
 her emblem of a church or tower ; Anne, mother of 
 the Virgin and St. Christopher, or Christ-bearer, in the 
 centre ; and in the last wreath Edward the Confessor 
 and St. Vincent : these were the king’s most favourite 
 patron saints or “ avoures.” The effigies themselves 
 are in robes of the plainest description ; the faces are 
 portraits, and the arrangement of the drapery simple and 
 good. In the scrolls of the ledge is the following inscrip¬ 
 tion : “ Hie jacet Henricus ejus nominis Septimus Anglise 
 quondam, rex Edmundii Richmundi comitis filius, qui die 
 22 Augusti rex creatus statim post apud Westmonaste- 
 rium die 30 Octobris coronatur deinde 21 die Aprilis 
 anno setatis 53 regnavit annos 21 menses octo minus 
 uno die.” # 
 
 * Here lies Henry the seventh of that name, formerly King of 
 England, son of Edmund Earl of Richmond, who, created king on the 
 22nd of August, was crowned immediately afterwards at West¬ 
 minster on the 30th October, then died on the 21st of April, in 
 his 53rd year; he reigned 23 years 8 months, less one day. 
 
108 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE COURT. 
 
 its inscrip¬ 
 tions. 
 
 Life of Tor¬ 
 rigiano. 
 
 The large Latin inscription round the ledge is only an 
 eulogy of Henry and his consort, containing no information, 
 
 Torrigiano was born at Florence in 1470, and was by 
 turns sculptor and soldier of fortune. Of a proud and 
 violent disposition even as a boy, he ill could brook the 
 similar nature of Michael Angelo, with whom he studied, 
 and whose nose he disfigured by a blow, which obliged 
 Torrigiano to quit Florence. At the age of thirty-five 
 we find him in England, where he gained much 
 employment, but was led, either by restlessness or dislike 
 of the climate, to visit Spain. Having taken offence at 
 the conduct of the Duke d’Arcos, for whom he was 
 executing a Madonna, he broke the statue in pieces, 
 and was imprisoned on that account by the Inquisition, 
 in whose dungeons he died at Seville in the year 1522. 
 
 The indenture between the king and Torrigiano for 
 the construction of this tomb, is still in existence, and 
 contains long and interesting details as to the manner of 
 its execution. 
 
 BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITE! RIARS. 
 

 
 
 
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Candelabrum, hyrbntana 
 AjoLlo by Saasavino 
 "War do. 
 
 Candelabrum Lit Fontana 
 David by Sansovino 
 Jonah ly Raffadle 
 l&gin iy Michael Amjelo. 
 
 Cates from the iitg$a of the Campanile 
 S.Marks.Venire. 
 
 Tomb ofloteKiO di Medici. 
 
 Do. Gtnliano di Medici 
 Genoa. Doorway and Door by Sansovino 
 Rata by Michael Apt>elo from S. Peter's DomS' 
 Fiela iiv Bemim. 
 
 Crucefis from the Qeitosa near Patna 
 Slave by Michael Angelo 
 Chnst do 
 
 Candelabrum from the Certosanear Dura 
 Christ JtVirgni by {JichaehAngelGftumPav": 
 Fountain of the Xartarugne • Rome 
 Head of CbnsUVora the Berlin Museun) 
 
 | Portions ci'tlie Venice Standard 
 
 $ L Jerome by Torrieiano 
 Hofy Family from Florence,by Miohae; An^eio 
 Do. llnyaf Academy. Lo ador 
 
 by Michael Angelo 
 
 Urn.of the Passion from Milan by FusiD ,