The Grotesque in Church ArtWildridge, T. Tindall (Thomas Tindall)
History
The Grotesque in Church Art
Wildridge, T. Tindall (Thomas Tindall)
Christian art and symbolism; Church decoration and ornament; Grotesque
A fine example is in North Stoke Church, Oxfordshire, which has two
Scriptural subjects, a series of angelic figures, and several other
figures, etc., only fragmentally visible. They were all found accidentally
under thick coats of whitewash. It may be doubted whether they were ever
finished. The two Biblical subjects are "Christ betrayed in the Garden,"
and "Christ before Pilate." Christ is a small apparently blind-folded
figure, of which only the head and one shoulder remains. Pilot is the
Saxon lord, posing as the seated figure of legal authority, poising a
hiltless sword in his right hand. The figure addressing Pilate is
apparently a Roman (Saxon) official; his hand is very large, but there is
a simple force about his drawing. The fourth figure in a mitre is
doubtless meant for a Jewish priest, and he has a nasty, clamorous look.
Pilate, unfortunately, has no pupils to his eyes, but his general
appearance is as though he was expostulating with the priest.
There is a carol, printed in 1820, which has a woodcut of the subject not
less rude and not less of an anachronism than this: but what is curious,
as illustrating the main theory of the present volume--the tenacity with
which form is adhered to in unconscious art--is that the disposition of
the figures is exactly the same in both pictures. Where the Saxon lord is
seated, imagine a bearded magistrate, at a sort of Georgian
quarter-sessions bench, with panelled front. For the simple Saxon, with
vandyked shirt, suppose a Roman half-soldier, half-village-policeman. Then
comes the figure of Christ, with the head much lower than those of the
others because he is nearer. Lastly, there is an incomplete figure behind.
In this case the perfect correspondence may be mere coincidence; it is
difficult to explain otherwise. The design, however, is the same, only the
Anglo-Norman filled in his detail from his observation of a manorial
court, the Moorfield engraver from his knowledge of Bow Street
police-court.
To conclude, although these paintings are ludicrous in the extreme, the
artists, who had no easy task, were absolutely serious, and their works,
divested of the comic aspect conferred by haste and manipulative
incompetence, are marked by bold impressiveness.
The initial to this chapter is from one of a series of similar ornaments
on the parapet of the south side of the nave of Beverley Minster; it
illustrates the toilsome nature of the later portion of Adam's life.
Masks and Faces.
[Illustration: FOLIATE MASK, THE CHOIR, BEVERLEY MINSTER.]
The merriest, oddest, most ill-assorted company in the world meet together
in the masks and faces of Gothic ornament. Space could always be found for
a head, and skill to execute it. Yet though the variety is immense, the
faces of Gothic art will be found to classify themselves very definitely.
[Illustration: FOLIATE MASK, DORCHESTER, OXON.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account