Ki CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE FINE ARTS DATE DUE Cornell University Library N "l^r-7H| \<^ 7445.N88 Bernini and other studies in ttie history 4891- 3 1924 020 704 122 'gi-^^^a Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924020704122 BERNINI AND OTHER STUDIES THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK • BOSTON - CHICAGO • DALLAS ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., Limited LONDON • BOMBAY CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. TORONTO V' ,/<? «^ !A8i Plate I. BERNINI AND OTHER STUDIES IN THE HISTORY OF ART BY RICHARD NORTON MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON THE MACMILLAN COMPANY LONDON: MACMILLAN AND COMPANY 1914 All rights reserved s H Hit rf4 -a^ COPTBIGHT, 1914, By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published October, 1914. Norinodli ^teiss J, S. Onshing Go. — Berwick & Smith Go. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. PREFACE The essays presented in the following pages are the prod- uct of no hasty thought. I am grateful to the kind friends who have encouraged their publication, and to the publishers for giving them so attractive a form. The choice of illustrations has been difficult. It has seemed best, however, to reproduce in full the little-known sketches of Bernini showing the development, in his mind, of the design for the Piazza of St. Peter's, and the sculptor's models wrought by his own hands. For the rest I have thought that it would be more serviceable for the reader to have a few typical examples illustrating the main points of the text rather than a larger, and perhaps more confusing, selection of subjects from the almost inexhaustible wealth of available material. I am under deep obligation for the gen- erous permission to include among the illustrations material in the Brandegee Collection (at Faulkner Farm, Brookline, Massachusetts) hitherto unpublished. The heliotype plates were prepared and printed under the direction of Mr. William C. Ramsay, of Boston. RICHARD NORTON. London, July, 1914. CONTENTS BERNINI I. An Estimate of Bernini 3 II. A Collection of Sculptob's Models by Bernini . 44 III. Bernini's Designs for the Piazza of St. Peter's . 50 ASPECTS OF THE ART OF SCULPTURE I. The Art of Portraiture, particularly in Sculpture . 57 II. Pheidias and Michael Angelo 93 III. A Head of Athena found at Cyrene .... 135 GIORGIONE I. Paintings attributed to Giorgione 155 II. The True Giorgione 172 INDEX 215 PLATES PLATES I AND II. PORTRAITS OF BERNINI HITHBEB I, Bernini. Pencil Drawing, by himself (p. 12) ; Brandegee Collection Frontispiece FACING FXQE II. Portrait, formeriy thought to be of Velasquez, probably of Bernini (p. 12, footnote 3) ; Capitoline Gallery, Rome . 4 PLATES III-X. WORKS OF BERNINI III. ^neas and Anchises (p. 16) ; Borghese Collection, Eome . 8 IV. David (p. 17) ; Borghese Collection 12 V. Proserpina and Pluto (p. 17) ; Borghese Collection . 16 VI. Apollo and Daphne (p. 17) ; Borghese Collection . 18 VII. Angel with the Crown of Thorns (p. 25) ; Church of S. Andrea delle Pratte, Rome 22 VIII. Angel with a Scroll (p. 25) ; Church of S. Andrea delle Pratte, Rome 24 IX. Saint Theresa (p. 30) ; Church of S. Maria della Vittoria, Rome 30 X. Louis XIV (p. 39) ; Versailles 38 PLATES XI-XXVII. SCULPTOR'S MODELS BY BERNINI; BRANDEGEE COLLECTION XI. Female figure in relief, with helmet (p. 46, No. 1) . .44 XII. Figure of Longinus, for St. Peter's (p. 46, No. 2) . .44 Xin. Putti, for the decoration of the piers in St. Peter's (p. 47, Nos. 3 and 4) 44 XIV. Two saints, for the Ciborlo in the Cappella del Sacramento in St. Peter's (p. 47, Nos. 5, 7) 46 XV. Two saints, for the Ciborio in the Cappella del Sacramento in St. Peter's (p. 47, Nos. 6, 8) 46 XVI. Bas-relief with half-figures (p. 47, No. 9) .... 46 iz PLATES FAOINa PA.OB XVII. Half figure of a Triton holding a woman on his shoul- ders (p. 47, No. 10) 46 XVIII. Study for the head of the St. Jerome in the Duomo of Siena (p. 47, No. 11) . 46 XIX-XXIV. Models of Angels (pp. 47, 48, Nos. 12-21) . 48 XXV. Standing male figure in high relief (p. 49, No. 22) . 48 XXVI. Oval bas-relief of the Virgin (p. 49, No. 23) . 48 XXVII. Standing female figure, and standing Angel (p. 49, Nos. 24, 25) 48 PLATES XXVni-XL. BERNINI'S DESIGNS FOR THE PIAZZA OF ST. PETER'S; BRANDEGEE COLLECTION XXVIII. Orb, surmoimted by a cross f outline of a crucified figure (p. 51, Nos. 1, 2) 50 XXIX. Outline plan of St. Peter's church correlated with a figure on a cross above lines suggesting the col- oimades (p. 52, Nos. 3, 4) 50 XXX. More complete correlation of the crucified figure with St. Peter's church (p. 52, Nos. 5, 6) . .50 XXXI. Outline elevation of north half of the fagade of St. Peter's, with the colonnade (p. 52, No. 7) . .52 XXXII. Sketches of the north colonnade (p. 53, No. 8) . .52 XXXIII. More elaborate sketch of the north colonnade (p. 53, No. 9) 52 XXXIV. Outline sketch of the outer end of the north arm of the colonnade, treated as if in two stories (p. 53, No. 10) 52 XXXV. Interior of inner end of north arm of colonnade (p. 53, No. 11) 52 XXXVI. Plan and elevation of the Cortile di S. Damaso (p. 53, No. 12) 54 XXXVII. Fagade of St. Peter's, with both colonnades treated as if in two stories (p. 53, No. 13) . 54 XXXVTII. View looking east from the front of St. Peter's (p. 54, No. 14) 54 XXXIX. The Borgo, looking toward St. Peter's (p. 54, No. 15) 54 XL. Correlation of the Piazza with the Orb (p. 54, No. 16) 54 PLATES XLI-LI. PORTRAITS XLI. Sheik-el-Beled, statue of wood. Fourth Dynasty (p. 57) ; Boulak Museum, Cairo .... 58 PLATES xi HUMBJtB FACINQ PAOB XLII. Sheik-el-Beled, head of statue shown in plate XLI . 60 XLIII. Portrait, so-called Seipio type, now identified as priest of Isis (p. 57) ; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston . 64 XLIV. Pericles (p. 78) ; British Museum 66 XLV. So-called Menander (p. 82) ; Brandegee Collection . 72 XLVI. Periander (p. 82) ; Vatican Museum .... 74 XLVII. Unknown Roman, terra-cotta (p. 85) ; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 78 XLVIII. Unknown old man, Roman (p. 85) ; Brandegee Collection 84 XLIX. Antoninus Pius (p. 88) ; Brandegee Collection . 86 L. Roman girl (p. 90) ; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston . 88 LI. Sabina ? (p. 90) ; Brandegee Collection .... 90 PLATES LII-LIX. PHEIDIAS AND MICHAEL ANGELO LII. Caryatid from the Erechtheum, Athens (p. 101) ; British Museum 96 LIII. Madonna and Child, by Michael Angelo (p. 116) ; Bruges 100 LIV. The Victor, by Michael Angelo (p. 116) ; National Mu- seum, Florence 106 LV. Bacchus with Satyr, by Michael Angelo (p. 116) ; Na- tional Museum, Florence 112 LVI. Eros, by Michael Angelo (p. 118) ; South Kensington Museum 118 LVII. Ares and other Divinities (p. 118)-, Frieze of the Parthe- non, Athens 124 LVIII. So-called Athena Medici (p. 119) ; Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris 126 LIX. Madonna and Child, by Michael Angelo, unfinished (p. 131) ; Church of S. Lorenzo, Florence . 130 PLATES LX, LXI. CYRENE ATHENA LX. Profile view of head (p. 135) ; Cyrene .... 136 LXI. Front view of head 144 PLATES LXII-LXIX. PAINTINGS BY GIORGIONE LXIL The Judgment of Solomon (p. 172) ; Kingston Lacy, England 162 LXIII. Adoration of the Magi, or Epiphany (p. 175) ; National Gallery, London . .168 BERNINI a I. AN ESTIMATE OF BERNINI During the last hundred years there has come a great change in the feeling of naost people towards the art of the different epochs of the Renaissance. Whereas our grand- fathers and our great-grandfathers held Carracci and Guido and others of the same time in high esteem, we are now .taught that these later men are of little value or interest in comparison with the artists of the fifteenth century, and even the most halting and stuttering " Primitive " is held of more worth than the more able masters of the seventeenth century. This change is natural enough, but betokens a lack of true understanding of the purpose and powers of the fine arts. The altered mental attitude in religious matters which ren- ders most people incapable of feeling the appeal of the mystical fervour of the seventeenth century explains in a measiire why the earlier work is preferred ; and added to this is the effect of the development of archaeological training which has given rise to an interest in the mere search for origins — search that has done infinite harm in blinding the eyes of students to the fact that, for the world at large, it is far more important to see whither life is carrying us than from what slow, groping, and inexplicable protoplasm and haphazard chance it sprung. The teachers of our universities go on in their dull round, like Dervishes, repeating that the Par- 3 ; 4 STUDIES thenon was the most perfect expression of Greek art, and there are those who cannot see the beauty of the silver vases from Boscoreale because they choose to call them Roman. With- out doubt there are many sound reasons for the purely ar- chaeological study of classic art, and recently a small but per- ceptive band of scholars has raised Roman art from the ignorant neglect into which it had fallen and given it the proper position due to any such able expression of great ideas this justifies the hope that the worth of the later Italian schools will become once more manifest, not again to be for- gotten.