Part 5

[Footnote 51: 2 Timothy, chapter iv., verse 8; St. James, chapter i., verse 12; 1 Peter, chapter v., verse 4. The symbolism of the crown is explained in Mrs. Jameson's _Sacred and Legendary Art_, page 28.]

[Footnote 52: In _Vite di Uomini Illustri del Secolo XV_.]

[Footnote 53: As Bishop Salutati, whose tomb is mentioned in Chapter IV.]

[Footnote 54: By C. C. Perkins in _Tuscan Sculptors_.]

XIV

EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF GATTAMELATA

BY DONATELLO

In the fifteenth century Italy was divided into numerous independent states, among which there was more or less rivalry. The two great powers of the north were Venice and Milan, both striving for the possession of Lombardy. To the Venetian republic already belonged an extensive territory on the mainland, and she was determined on conquest at any cost. To this end condottieri were employed to carry on the several campaigns.

These condottieri were military leaders who made war a business. It mattered nothing to them on what side they fought or against what enemy, so long as they were well paid for their services. As a rule they were men of unscrupulous character, many of whom betrayed the cause entrusted to them. To this rule a notable exception was Gattamelata,[55] the subject of the equestrian statue in our illustration.

The man's real name was Erasmo da Narni. It was as first lieutenant in the Venetian army that he came into notice, serving under Gonzaga. When later this Gonzaga went over to the cause of the Milanese enemy, the lieutenant was promoted to the command. He threw into the work before him, says the historian, "an honest heart and splendid faculties."

The Milanese army was much larger than the Venetian, and was commanded by the famous strategist Niccolo Piccinino. Gattamelata could make little headway against such odds, but all that was possible to do he accomplished "with equal courage, fidelity, and zeal." At length, in attempting to bring relief to the besieged city of Brescia, he found himself shut in between the Lake of Garda and the Alps.

It was in the month of September, 1438. Snow already lay on the mountains, and the rivers were swollen with the autumn rains. The roads were out of repair, bridges were washed away, and even the fords were impassable. To make matters worse, the army was short of provisions. Such conditions would have forced any other general to lay down his arms, but not Gattamelata. With admirable coolness, he led his men in a retreat across the mountains and around the lake. Three thousand horsemen and two thousand infantry made up their number, and all were devoted to their leader. Torrents were bridged, old roads repaired, new ones opened, and at the end of a month the army emerged upon the Lombard plain.

Thus were the Venetian arms saved, and at the same time the Milanese were baffled in a design to come between Venice and her army. Gattamelata's retreat was a victory of peace, less showy, perhaps, than a victory of war, but requiring the finest qualities of generalship. In recognition of his services the Venetian Signory conferred the title of nobility upon him, with a palace and a pension.

In the following year, the Venetian cause was strengthened by alliance with Florence, and Gattamelata yielded the first place in command to Sforza, the general of the Florentine forces. In 1440 the united armies succeeded in relieving Brescia, but in the same year a calamity befell Gattamelata. Exposure to cold brought on paralysis, and after a lingering illness of two years he died. The honor of a great funeral was accorded him at the public expense, and he was buried in the church of S. Antonio at Padua. The next year the sculptor, Donatello, was commissioned to make an equestrian statue of the great condottiere to be set up in the square in front of the church.[56]

With quiet dignity Gattamelata rides forward on his horse as if reviewing his army. There is nothing pompous in his attitude or manner. He seems a plain man intent upon his task, with no thought of display. He has the strong face of one born for leadership, and we can believe the stories of his troops' devotion to him. With his right hand he lifts his wand in a gesture of command, letting it rest across the horse's neck.

He is dressed in the picturesque war costume of the period, and wears metal plates upon his arms. A long sword swings at his side, and spurs are attached to his heels. Yet apparently he is not actually equipped for the battle, for his head is uncovered. He has a high receding forehead and thick curls. The peculiar shape of the head, looking almost conical from some points of view, indicates a forcible character. It is evident that this is a man of action rather than of words. His appearance fits admirably the facts of his life as one whose energy and courage could overcome any obstacle. Gattamelata was not a patriot, as we understand patriotism, being but a mercenary captain. But he showed a rare loyalty to the cause he espoused. It is not as a fighting man that we admire him to-day, but as a man of remarkable resources.

Obedient to the master's hand, the horse ambles at a moderate pace. Except the bridle, he has no trappings, and we thus see to the best advantage the fine proportions of his figure. Before undertaking this work Donatello had had no experience in modelling the horse, and his success is the more remarkable. It is, however, the man rather than the horse which shows the full power of the sculptor's art. The subject was one exactly suited to his taste, which preferred vigorous masculine qualities to all others.

In ancient sculpture equestrian subjects were very important. On the Parthenon at Athens a frieze of bas-relief contained rows of horsemen riding in the Panathenaic procession.[57] In a public square in Rome was a famous statue of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius on horseback. Donatello was the first sculptor of the Christian era to revive this noble form of art. The statue of Gattamelata is therefore the parent of the long line of modern equestrian statues.

[Footnote 55: The literal meaning of this sobriquet is _Honeyed cat_.]

[Footnote 56: W. C. Hazlitt's _Venetian Republic_ furnishes the quotations and information for this account of Gattamelata. Other sources of material on the subject are Fabretti, _Biog. dei Capitani dell' Umbria_, Hoefer's _Biog. universelle_, and Michaud's _Biog. generale_. Symonds gives a general account of the condottieri in the _Age of Despots_.]

[Footnote 57: See Chapter III. of the volume on _Greek Sculpture_, in the Riverside Art Series.]

XV

SHRINE

BY MINO DA FIESOLE

We have seen from the examples in our collection that the art of sculpture may be applied in many forms to the decoration of churches, without and within. Statues like those in the niches on the church of Or San Michele, sculptured altars like that by Donatello in the church at Padua, organ galleries like that by Luca della Robbia in the Florence cathedral, monumental tombs like those of Ilaria del Carretto and the Cardinal of Portugal, medallions and lunettes on walls and ceilings, are among the treasures enriching the churches of Italy.

Sculpture may also be used to ornament almost every article of church furnishing: pulpits, fonts, and basins for holy water, wardrobes and cabinets, chests and chairs, as well as a multitude of those smaller objects wrought in metal which belong to the goldsmith's art. Upon all such things as these the Italian artists of the fifteenth century spent much careful and loving labor.

Our illustration shows a kind of church furniture common in this period. It is a sculptured cabinet to contain articles used in the altar services, such as the sacramental wafers or the holy oil. A receptacle for objects so sacred is called a shrine. The architectural framework is in the form styled a tabernacle, such as we have seen in the niches on the outside of Or San Michele.[58]

The artist was Mino da Fiesole, whose decorative works were very popular, both for the delicacy of their finish and the quality of sentiment they expressed. His idea here was to make the design suggest a sacred story, the story of Christ's resurrection. The opening into the cabinet is the entrance of the tomb, and without, the angels await the coming of the risen Lord.

Our thoughts turn to the Sunday morning in the garden of Joseph of Arimathea, when the faithful women came to the rock-hewn tomb. The stone had been rolled away, and angels greeted them with the glad tidings, "He is risen."[59] The angels of our picture press forward eagerly to peer into the shadowy depths of the interior. There are two who are close to the door, while two more, with long torches, stand on the step below. Above the door hovers a dove, the emblem of the Holy Spirit.

Various features of the tabernacle illustrate characteristic qualities of the Italian art of this period. The arched top is to be noticed as much more common in Italy than the Gothic or pointed roof. The winged cherub heads were a favorite decorative design. We have seen one example of their use in the frame of the medallion on the Portuguese cardinal's tomb. The decorated side pillars with Ionic capitals we have seen in the altarpiece of the Annunciation by Andrea della Robbia.

The shrine of our illustration was originally made for the nuns of the convent of the Murate. It is mentioned by Vasari as a work which the artist "conducted to perfection with all the diligence of which he was capable." That its first purpose was to hold the sacramental wafers we may be sure from the Latin inscription, "This is the living bread which came down from heaven." The words are those used by our Lord himself in one of the discourses recorded by St. John.[60]

In 1815 the shrine was removed to its present place in the church of S. Croce, Florence, where it is in the chapel of the Medici, also called the chapel of the Novitiate.

[Footnote 58: Chapter II.]

[Footnote 59: St. Mark, chapter xvi., verses 4-6.]

[Footnote 60: St. John, chapter vi., verse 51.]

XVI

IL MARZOCCO (THE HERALDIC LION OF FLORENCE)

BY DONATELLO

In the history of the several cities of Italy every town has chosen some design to be inscribed upon a shield as a coat of arms. Florence has the lily, as a reminder of the far-away days when the valley of the Arno was filled with the red blossoms of the amaryllis. It was for this that the name _Firenze_ was given to the city, the "City of Flowers." The lily is drawn in three petals somewhat like those of the fleur-de-lis of France; but the Florentine flower is broader than its French counterpart, and has besides two slender flower-stalks separating the larger petals. When represented in color it is always red.

The tutelary genius of Florence is the lion. He stands for the noble and heroic qualities in the Florentine citizen. Courage and patriotism have many a time been magnificently illustrated in the history of the city's struggles against tyranny. Like the king of beasts, the loyal Florentine prefers death to the loss of liberty.

The choice of the lion as a civic emblem explains the fact that a preserve of lions was once kept in Florence at the public expense. This was given up centuries ago, but the Via de' Leoni, or street of the lions, remains to remind us of the old custom. There was still another way in which Florence kept the emblem continually before the minds of her people. This was in the stone lion called the _Marzocco_, set up in the piazza, or square, of the Signoria.

For many years the civic life of Florence centred in the Piazza della Signoria, where stands the old gray stone palace called the Palazzo Vecchio. Of some of the important events which took place here in the fifteenth century we may read in George Eliot's "Romola." It was here the Florentines gathered on all occasions of public interest, whether connected with the political or the religious affairs of their city.

In front of the Palazzo Vecchio is a stone platform called the _ringhiera_, and it was on this that the Marzocco was set up as a stimulus to patriotism. The lion sits on his haunches in an attitude of grave dignity. In this position he is much more alert than a crouching lion, and less aggressive than the rampant lion. His duty is to guard the honor of the city, and his pose is much like that of the watchdog. With his right paw he supports a shield on which the Florentine lily is engraved. We are reminded of our own national eagle holding the shield of the stars and stripes.

In such a figure we do not look for a close resemblance to nature. The subjects of heraldic art are treated in a decorative way with a certain stiffness of form. The device of the lily is not an actual picture of the flower, but a kind of floral diagram, or what we call a conventionalized form. So, too, the lion is of a formal or emblematic type. Yet there is a certain expressiveness in the face of the old fellow which makes us like him. Like the winged lion of St. Mark's in Venice, he has made many friends.

Il Marzocco is carved out of soft gray stone which the Italians call _pietra serena_. It is believed to have been made by Donatello, and it stands on a beautiful carved pedestal. Like the same sculptor's statue of St. George it was deemed too precious to leave exposed in the open air, and was therefore removed to a museum. A bronze copy now stands in its place on the platform of the old palace.

PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY OF PROPER NAMES AND FOREIGN WORDS

The Diacritical Marks given are those found in the latest edition of Webster's International Dictionary.

EXPLANATION OF DIACRITICAL MARKS.

A Dash ([=]) above the vowel denotes the long sound, as in f[=a]te, [=e]ve, t[=i]me, n[=o]te, [=u]se. A Dash and a Dot ([.=]) above the vowel denote the same sound, less prolonged. A Curve ([)]) above the vowel denotes the short sound, as in [)a]dd, [)e]nd, [)i]ll, [)o]dd, [)u]p. A Dot ([.]) above the vowel a denotes the obscure sound of a in p[.a]st, [.a]b[=a]te, Am[)e]ric[.a]. A Double Dot ([:])above the vowel a denotes the broad sound of a in faether, aelms. A Double Dot ([:]) below the vowel a denotes the sound of a in b[a:]ll. A Wave ([~]) above the vowel e denotes the sound of e in h[~e]r. A Circumflex Accent ([^]) above the vowel o denotes the sound of o in born. A dot (.) below the vowel u denotes the sound of u in the French language. =N= indicates that the preceding vowel has the French nasal tone. =G= and =K= denote the guttural sound of ch in the German language. _th_ denotes the sound of th in the, this. c sounds like s. [-c] sounds like k. _[s+]_ sounds like _z_. _[=g]_ is hard as in [=g]et. _[.g]_ is soft as in [.g]em.

Alger ([)a]l'j[~e]r). Ambrosi, Marietta (mae-r[=e]-[)e]t'tae aem-br[=o]'z[=e]). Andrea (aen-dr[=a]'ae). Angelico, Fra (frae aen-j[)e]l'[=e]-k[=o]). Annunziata (aen-n[=oo]n-ts[=e]-ae'tae). Antonio (aen-t[=o]'n[=e]-[=o]). Apollo ([.a]-p[)o]l'l[=o]). Arezzo (ae-r[)e]t's[=o]). Arimathea ([)a]r-[)i]-m[.a]-th[=e]'[.a]). Aristotle ([)a]r'[)i]s-t[)o]tl). Arras (aer-raes').

Baldovinetti (bael-d[=o]-v[=e]-n[)e]t't[=e]). Bambino (baem-b[=e]'n[=o]). Bartolommeo (baer-t[=o]-l[)o]m-m[=a]'[=o]). B[)e]th'[.a]ny. B[)e]th'l[=e]h[)e]m. Bethsaida (b[)e]th-s[=a]'[)i]-d[.a]). Bisticci, Vespasiano (v[)e]s-pae-z[=e]-ae'n[=o] b[=e]s-t[=e]t' ch[=e]). Bologna (b[=o]-l[=o]n'y[.a]). Borghini, Vicenzo (v[=e]-ch[)e]nd's[=o] bor-g[=e]'n[=e]). Botticelli (b[)o]t-t[=e]-ch[)e]l'l[=e]). Brescia (br[=a]'sh[=e]-ae). Brunelleschi (br[=oo]-n[)e]l-l[)e]s'k[=e]). Buonarroti (b[=oo]-[=o]-naer-r[=o]'t[=e]).

Cammina (kaem'm[=e]-nae). _cantoria_ (kaen-t[=o]-r[=e]'ae). Cappadocia (k[)a]p-[.a]-d[=o]'sh[)i]-ae). Carderara (kaer-d[=a]-rae'rae). Carrara (kaer-rae'rae). Carretto (kaer-r[)e]t't[=o]). Cavalucci (kae-vae-l[=oo]t'ch[=e]). Cleodolinda (kl[=e]-[)o]d-[=o]-l[)i]n'd[.a]). Colvin, Sidney (s[)i]d'n[)i] k[)o]l'v[)i]n). Correggio (kor-r[)e]d'j[=o]). _Cortile_ (k[=o]r-t[=e]'l[.=a]). Croce (kr[=o]'ch[=a]).

Della Robbia (d[)e]l'lae r[)o]b'b[=e]-ae). Didron (d[=e]-droN'). Diocletian (d[=i]-[=o]-kl[=e]'sh[)i]-[.a]n). D[=o]m[)i]n'[)i]c[.a]n. D[)o]m'[)i]n[)i]ck. D[=o]naet[)e]l'l[=o]. D[=o]nae't[=o].

Ecce ancilla Domini fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum ([)e]k'k[)e] aenk[=e]l'lae d[=o]'m[=e]-n[=e] f[=e]'aet m[.=e]'h[.=e] s[=a]k[=oo]n'd[=oo]m w[=a]r'b[=oo]m t[=oo]'[=oo]m). Ecco il Giovannino ([)e]k'k[=o] [=e]l j[=o]-vaen-n[=e]'n[=o]). Ego sum Lux Mundi ([)e]g'[=o] s[)oo]m l[=oo]x m[=oo]n'd[=e]). Elias ([=e]-l[=i]'[.a]s). Elisabeth ([=e]-l[)i]z'[.a]-b[)e]th). Eloi ([=a]-lwae'). _episcopus_ ([=a]-p[=e]'sk[=o]-p[)oo]s). Erasmo da Narni ([=a]-raes'm[=o] dae naer'n[=e]).

Fabretti (fae-br[)e]t't[=e]). Firenze (f[=e]-r[)e]nd's[.=a]). Florentine (flor'[)e]n-t[=e]n). Franciscan (fr[)a]n-s[)i]s'k[.a]n). Frati Minori (frae't[=e] m[=e]-n[=o]'r[=e]). Frati Predicatori (frae't[=e] pr[=a]-d[=e]-kae-t[=o]'r[=e]).

Galilee (g[)a]l'[)i]-l[=e]). Garda (gaer'dae). Gattamelata (gaet-tae-m[=a]-lae'tae). _genre_ (zhaeNr). Gonzaga (g[)o]nd-sae'gae). Gr[)e]g'[=o]r[)y]. Guinigi, Paolo (pae'[=o]-l[=o] gw[=e]-n[=e]'g[=e]).

H[)a]z'l[)i]tt. H[~e]r'm[=e][s+]. H[)e]r'[)o]d. Hewlett, Maurice (m[a:]'r[)i]s h[=u]'l[)e]t). Hieropolis (h[=i]-[=e]-r[)o]p'[=o]-l[)i]s). Hoefer (h[~e]'f[~e]r). Iconografia Espanola ([=e]-k[=o]-n[=o]-grae-f[=e]'ae [)e]s-paen-y[=o]'lae). Iconography ([=i]-k[=o]-n[)o]g'r[.a]-f[)i]). Ilaria ([=e]-lae'r[=e]-ae).

Jacopo della Quercia (yae'k[=o]-p[=o] d[)e]l'lae kw[)e]r'chae). Jor'd[.a]n. Jourdain (zh[=oo]r-d[)a]N'). Judaea (j[=u]-d[=e]'[.a]).

L[)e]g'horn. L[)i]b'[)y][.a]. Lisbon (l[)i]z'b[)u]n). Loggia (l[)o]d'jae). L[)o]m'b[.a]rd[)y]. Luca della Robbia (l[)oo]'kae d[)e]l'lae r[)o]b'b[=e]-ae). Lucca (l[=oo]k'kae).

Magnificat (m[)a]g-n[)i]f'[)i]-k[)a]t). _Mandorla_ (maen'dor-lae). Manetti, Antonio (aen-t[=o]'n[=e]-[=o] mae-n[)e]t't[=e]). Marcel-Reymond (maer-s[)e]l' r[=a]-moN'). Marzocco, Il ([=e]l maerd-s[)o]k'k[=o]). Medici (m[=a]'d[=e]-ch[=e]). Michaud (m[=e]-sh[=o]'). Michelangelo (m[=e]-k[)e]l-aen'j[.=a]-l[=o]). Milan (m[)i]l'[.a]n or m[)i]-l[)a]n'). Mino da Fiesole (m[=e]'n[=o] dae f[=e]-[=a]'s[=o]-l[.=a]). Molinier (m[=o]-l[=e]-n[=e]-[=a]'). Murate (m[=oo]-rae't[.=a]). Murillo (m[=oo]-r[=e]l'y[=o]).

Nanni di Banco (naen'n[=e] d[=e] baen'k[=o]). N[=a]th[)a]n'[.=a][)e]l. N[)a]z'[.a]r[)e]th. Niccolo (n[=e]-k[=o]-l[=o]').

Or San Michele (or saen m[=e]-k[)a]'l[.=a]).

P[)a]d'[=u][.a]. Palazzo Vecchio (pae-laet's[=o] v[)e]k'k[=e]-[=o]). P[=a]'t[~e]r. Petronio (p[=a]-tr[=o]'n[=e]-[=o]). Phrygia (fr[)i]j'[)i][.a]).

Piazza (p[=e]-aet'sae). Piccinino, Niccolo (n[=e]-k[=o]-l[=o]' p[=e]t-ch[=e]-n[=e]'n[=o]). _pietra serena_ (p[=e]-[=a]'trae s[=a]-r[=a]'nae). Pisa (p[=e]'zae). Pistoja (p[=e]s-t[=o]'yae). Planche (plaeN-sh[=a]'). Pollaiuolo (p[=o]l-lae-y[=oo]-[=o]'l[=o]). Portogallo, Jacopo di (yae'k[=o]-p[=o] d[=e] p[=o]r-t[=o]-gael'l[=o]). P[=o]rt'[=u]g[.a]l. Pr[)a]x'[)e]d. Pre-Raphaelite (pr[=e]-rae'f[=a]-[)e]l-[=i]t).

Raphael (rae'f[=a]-[)e]l). Rea (r[=a]). Rembrandt (r[)e]m'br[)a]nt). Renaissance (r[~e]-n[=a]s-saeNs'). _ringhiera_ (r[=e]n-g[=e]-[=a]'rae). Romola (r[)o]m'[=o]-l[.a]). Rossellino (r[)o]s-s[)e]l-l[=e]'n[=o]). Rossetti (r[)o]s-s[)e]t't[=e]).

Sabatier (sae-bae-t[=e]-[=a]'). Salutati, Leonardo (l[=a]-[=o]-naer'd[=o] sae-l[=oo]-tae't[=e]). San Miniato (saen m[=e]-n[=e]-ae't[=o]). Scythia (s[)i]th'[)i]-[.a]). Sforza (sf[=o]rd'sae). Siena (s[=e]-[=a]'nae). Signor (s[=e]n'y[=o]r). Signory (s[=e]n'y[=o]-r[)i]). S[=i]l[=e]'n[=e]. Spedale degli Innocenti (sp[)a]-dae'l[=a] d[=a]'ly[=e] [=e]n-n[=o]-ch[=a]n't[=e]). St[)i]g'm[.a]tae. Symonds (s[)i]m'[)u]ndz). Syndics (s[)i]n'd[)i]x).

T[)i]l'l[)i]ng-h[)a]st. Titian (t[)i]sh'[.a]n). T[)u]s'c[.a]n[)y].

Vasari (vae-sae'r[=e]). Via de' Leoni (v[=e]'ae d[=a] l[=a]-[=o]'n[=e]).

Zacharias (z[)a]k-[.a]-r[=i]'[.a]s). Zuccone (ds[=oo]k-k[=o]'n).