206 REVIEWS AND PAMPHLETS ON ART

these designs being asserted by our author to be “thoroughly Giottesque.” But, not to dwell on Lord Lindsay’s inconsistency, in the ultimate decision his discrimination seems to us utterly at fault. Giotto has, we conceive, suffered quite enough in the abduction of the work in the Campo Santo, which was worthy of him, without being made answerable for these designs of Andrea. That he gave a rough draft of many of them, is conceivable; but if even he did this, Andrea has added cadenzas of drapery, and other scholarly commonplace, as a bad singer puts ornament into an air. It was not of such teaching that came the “Jabal” of Giotto.¹ Sitting at his tent door, he withdraws its rude drapery with one hand: three sheep only are feeding before him, the watchdog sitting beside him; but he looks forth like a Destiny, beholding the ruined cities of the earth become places, like the valley of Achor, for herds to lie down in.²

38. We have not space to follow our author through his very interesting investigation of the comparatively unknown schools of Teutonic sculpture. With one beautiful anecdote, breathing the whole spirit of the time-the mingling of deep piety with the modest, manly pride of art-our readers must be indulged:-

“The Florentine Ghiberti gives a most interesting account of a sculptor of Cologne in the employment of Charles of Anjou, King of Naples, whose skill he parallels with that of the statuaries of ancient Greece; his heads, he says, and his design of the naked, were ‘maravigliosamente bene,’ his style full of grace, his sole defect the somewhat curtailed stature of his figures. He was no less excellent in minuter works as a goldsmith, and in that capacity had worked for his parton a ‘tavola d’oro,’ a tablet or screen (apparently) of gold, with his utmost care and skill; it was a work of exceeding beauty-but in some political exigency his patron wanted money, and it was broken up before his eyes. Seeing his labour vain and the pride of his heart rebuked, he threw himself on the ground, and uplifting his eyes and hands to heaven, prayed in contrition, ‘Lord God Almighty, Governor and disposer of heaven and earth! Thou hast opened mine eyes that I follow from henceforth none other than Thee-Have mercy

¹ [One of the sculptures of Giotto’s Tower at Florence: see Mornings in Florence, §§ 125, 132, where it is described in detail.]

² [Isaiah Ixv. 10.]

[Version 0.04: March 2008]