Legends of the Madonna as Represented in the Fine Arts Part 6

8. The Death of the Virgin. Fourteen figures, among which are four females lamenting, and St. John bearing the palm. The att.i.tude and expression of Mary, composed in death, are very fine; and Christ, instead of standing, as usual, by the couch, with her parting soul in his arms, comes rus.h.i.+ng down from above with arms outspread to receive it.

9. The a.s.sumption. Mary, attired all in white, rises majestically.

The tomb is seen beneath, out of which grow two tall lilies amid white roses; the Apostles surround it, and St. Thomas receives the girdle.

This is one of the finest works of Razzi, and one of the purest in point of sentiment.

10. The Coronation, covering the whole wall which faces the altar, is by Razzi; it is very peculiar and characteristic. The Virgin, all in white, and extremely fine, bending gracefully, receives her crown; the other figures have that vulgarity of expression which belonged to the artist, and is often so oddly mingled with the sentiment and grandeur of his school and time. On the right of the princ.i.p.al group stands St. John B.; on the left, Adam and Eve; and behind the Virgin, her mother, St. Anna, which is quite peculiar, and the only instance I can remember.

It appears therefore that the Life of the Virgin Mary, whether treated as a devotional or historical series, forms a kind of pictured drama in successive scenes; sometimes comprising only six or eight of the princ.i.p.al events of her individual life, as her birth, dedication, marriage, death, and a.s.sumption: sometimes extending to forty or fifty subjects, and combining her history with that of her divine Son. I may now direct the attention of the reader to a few other instances remarkable for their beauty and celebrity.

Giotto, 1320. In the chapel at Padua styled _la Capella dell' Arena_.

One of the finest and most complete examples extant, combining the Life of the Virgin with that of her Son. This series is of the highest value, a number of scenes and situations suggested by the Scriptures being here either expressed for the first time, or in a form unknown in the Greek school.[1]

[Footnote 1: _Vide_ Kugler's Handbook, p. 129. He observes, that "the introduction of the maid-servant spinning, in the story of St. Anna, oversteps the limits of the higher ecclesiastical style." For an explanation I must refer to the story as I have given it at p 249.

See, for the distribution of the subjects in this chapel, Lord Lindsay's "Christian Art," vol. ii. A set of the subjects has since been published by the Arundel Society.]

Angiolo Gaddi, 1380. The series in the cathedral at Prato. These comprise the history of the Holy Girdle.

Andrea Orcagna, 1373. The beautiful series of bas-reliefs on the shrine in Or-San-Michele, at Florence.

Nicol da Modena, 1450. Perhaps the earliest engraved example: very remarkable for the elegance of the _motifs_ and the imperfect execution, engraving on copper being then a new art.

Albert Durer. The beautiful and well-known set of twenty-five wood-cuts, published in 1510. A perfect example of the German treatment.

Bernardino Luini, 1515. A series of frescoes of the highest beauty, painted for the monastery Della Pace. Unhappily we have only the fragments which are preserved in the Brera.

The series of bas-reliefs on the outer shrine of the Casa di Loretto, by Sansovino, and others of the greatest sculptors of the beginning of the sixteenth century.

The series of bas-reliefs round the choir at Milan: seventeen subjects.

We often find the Seven Joys and the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin treated as a series.

The Seven Joys are, the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi, the Presentation in the Temple, Christ found by his Mother, the a.s.sumption and Coronation.

The Seven Sorrows are, the Prophecy of Simeon, the Flight into Egypt, Christ lost by his Mother, the Betrayal of Christ, the Crucifixion (with St. John and the Virgin only present), the Deposition from the Cross, the Ascension when the Virgin is left on earth.

The Seven Joys and Sorrows are frequently found in altar-pieces and religions prints, arranged in separate compartments, round the Madonna in the centre. Or they are combined in various groups into one large composition, as in a famous picture by Hans Hemling, wonderful for the poetry, expression, and finished execution.[1]

[Footnote 1: Altogether, on a careful consideration of this picture, I do not consider the t.i.tle by which it is generally known as appropriate. It contains man groups which would not enter into the mystic joys or sorrows; for instance, the Ma.s.sacre of the Innocents, Christ at Emmaus, the _Noli me tangere_, and others.]

Another cycle of subjects consists of the fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary.

The five Joyful Mysteries, are the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Purification, and Christ found in the Temple.

The five Dolorous or Sorrowful Mysteries are, our Lord in the Garden of Olives, the Flagellation, Christ crowned with Thorns, the Procession to Calvary, the Crucifixion.

The five Glorious Mysteries are, the Resurrection, the Ascension, the Descent of the Holy Ghost, the a.s.sumption, the Coronation.

A series of subjects thus arranged cannot be called strictly historical, but partakes of the mystical and devotional character.

The purpose being to excite devout meditation, requires a particular sentiment, frequently distinguished from the merely dramatic and historical treatment in being accompanied by saints, votaries, and circ.u.mstances purely ideal; as where the Wise Men bring their offerings, while St. Luke sits in a corner painting the portrait of the Virgin, and St. Dominick kneels in adoration of the Mystery (Mabuse, Munich Gal.);--and in a hundred other examples.

IV. t.i.tLES OF THE VIRGIN MARY.

Of the various t.i.tles given to the Virgin Mary, and thence to certain effigies and pictures of her, some appear to me very touching, as expressive of the wants, the aspirations, the infirmities and sorrows, which are common to poor suffering humanity, or of those divine attributes from which they hoped to find aid and consolation. Thus we have--

Santa Maria "del buon Consilio." Our Lady of good Counsel.

S.M. "del Soccorso." Our Lady of Succour. Our Lady of the Forsaken.

S.M. "del buon Core." Our Lady of good Heart.

S.M. "della Grazia." Our Lady of Grace.

S.M. "di Misericordia." Our Lady of Mercy.

S.M. "Auxilium Afflictorum." Help of the Afflicted.

S.M. "Refugium Peccatorum." Refuge of Sinners.

S.M. "del Pianto," "del Dolore." Our Lady of Lamentation, or Sorrow.

S.M. "Consolatrice," "della Consolazione," or "del Conforte." Our Lady of Consolation.

S.M. "della Speranza." Our Lady of Hope.

Under these and similar t.i.tles she is invoked by the afflicted, and often represented with her ample robe outspread and upheld by angels, with votaries and suppliants congregated beneath its folds. In Spain, _Nuestra Senora de la Merced_ is the patroness of the Order of Mercy; and in this character she often holds in her hand small tablets bearing the badge of the Order. (Legends of the Monastic Orders, 2d edit.)

S.M. "della Liberta," or "Liberatrice," Our Lady of Liberty; and S.M.

"della Catena," Our Lady of Fetters. In this character she is invoked by prisoners and captives.

S.M. "del Parto," Our Lady of Good Delivery, invoked by women in travail.[1]

[Footnote 1: Dante alludes to her in this character:--

"E per ventura udi 'Dolce Maria!'

Dinanzi a noi chiamar cosi nel pianto Come fa donna che 'n partorir sia."--_Purg._ c. 20.]

S.M. "del Popolo." Our Lady of the People.

S.M. "della Vittoria." Our Lady of Victory.