The century of ColumbusWalsh, James J. (James Joseph)
History
The century of Columbus
Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)
Renaissance
The tombs of Mary of Burgundy and of Charles the Bold in the Church of
Notre Dame, Bruges, still further emphasize the sculptural capacity of
these generations, though, from the rarity of large masterpieces,
there were apparently but few opportunities to display it on a
monumental scale. These monuments, especially the older one, are
supremely great works of art. A comparison of them is very
illuminating for the history of sculpture in our period. Though
constructed scarcely half a century apart, they are executed under the
influence of the two typical but very different art impulses of this
century. The tomb of Mary, made by Peter Beckere of Brussels in 1502,
is mediaeval and Gothic in spirit. That of Charles, made by order of
Philip II just before 1560, is a distinctly Renaissance work. The
later is much more modern and obvious in the meaning of all its
symbolism, but one need not be an artist to see how much more
genuinely artistic is the earlier tomb. At first glance one seems
almost a replica of the other, except, of course, for the figure of
the deceased and the subjects of the decorations of the sarcophaguses,
but it takes but little study to discover what a descent there is in
the art quality of the Renaissance work. Nowhere can one see the {99}
value of the old and the new nor compare Gothic and Renaissance so
easily as here.
[Illustration: PULPIT, LEYDEN]
Sculpture developed very wonderfully in Germany during the first half
of Columbus' Century. The commercial prosperity of the time, the
development of industries and the increase of trade caused an inflow
of wealth into many of the cities of Southern Germany particularly,
and not a little of this wealth found its way through the generosity
of donors into the decoration of their churches. The people's faith
was deep and full. Reform had not yet come to disturb it. Germany
devoted itself especially to sculptured decoration in wood. An immense
number of carved altars, pulpits, choir screens, stalls, tabernacles
and other church fittings of very great elaborateness and usually fine
artistic quality were produced. One of the first of the great German
wood-carvers was Jörg Syrlin, who executed the famous choir stalls of
Ulm cathedral, so richly decorated and ornamented with statuettes and
canopies. His son of the same name did the great pulpit in the same
cathedral and was given the commission for the elaborate stalls in
Blaubeuren church. These were finished within a year of the discovery
of America. At Nuremberg wood-carving also reached a high degree of
excellence, and Veit Stoss of Nuremberg, though notorious for his
escapades, was looked upon as the most skilful of artists for church
woodwork. He was invited to Cracow to do the high altar, the
tabernacle and the stalls of the Frauenkirchen. His masterpiece is the
great wooden panel nearly six feet square, carved toward the end of
the fifteenth century, with an immense number of scenes from Bible
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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