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Article THE SPIRIT OF GOTHIC ART. ← Page 2 of 5 →
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The Spirit Of Gothic Art.
would represent the forms and shadows of that antiquity whose spirit and life are gone , for the deep philosophy of Paganism , as well as of Jewism , had ceased to pulsate ere the founder of Christianity appeared . True art was becoming effete , and required some new directions for its impulses : this it found in Christianity , and its influence upon art has been the surest and most
successful ; therefore it is , that in Christian or Gothic art symbolism attained a luxuriance and pliability never before acquired . Symbolism was not an after-thought of the artists , but it appears to have arisen synchronously with the art itself in the minds of the artists , as will appear from the " Apostolical Constitutions : "" When thou callest an assembly of the church , as
one that is tho commander of a great ship , appoint the assemblies to bo made with all possible skill ; charging the deacons as mariners , to prepare places for the brethren as for passengers , with all care and decency . Aud first , let the church be long , like a ship , looking -towards the east , with its vestries on either side , at the east end . In the centre , let the bishop be placed and
let the presbyters be seated on each side of him , and let the deacons stand near at hand , in close and small . garments , for they are like tho mariners aud managers ¦ of a ship . " I am aft-aid these "Apostolical Constitutions " smell rather fusty , nevertheless there is a very beautiful figure omyloyed , for the reference is to Noah ' s Ark , in which a remnant of the old world was saved .
We may find symbolical allusions in many other patrisfcric writings . St . Ambrose tells us why baptisteries should be octagonal , and Clement of Alexandria gives rules by which the selection of sacred emblems
should be guided . Eusobius informs us that Constantine surrounded tho apses of the church of St . Cross with twelve pillars symbolical of the twelve founders of the Christian religion ; and Hermas , in his visions , represents the building of tho spiritual temple under figures wholly taken from the material fabric . Thus the symbolism of art is not , as some have termed it , a
newfangled idea , borrowed from the papacy . Now , suppose were so , is that a good reason for rejecting any good idea because , forsooth , it comes from the papacy ? If a thing be of itself good , it certainly can be none the worse for enamating from that sanctum . Mi * . Poole says " that ecclesiastical are is a language ; that it has alwaysso long as it has deserved the name
, , aimed at expression , and not at mere accommodation without splendour , or even at splendour without a spirit and a meaning ; that from the first it was rational ; that it had a soul and a sense which it laboured to embody and convey to the beholder ; that its language was not only expressive , but appropriate ; that it aimed not only at accommodating a congregation , but at elevating their
¦ devotions and informing their minds . " It is a fact beyond dispute , that the greater mysteries of our religion are not only capable of , but are in very deed symbolised in the fundamental design of the structure ; and not only these , but other Christian verities are sot forth in the minor arrangements and in the ornamental details . Thuswe may safely conclude that
, from the first there has been a sufficient degree of uniformity in Christian temples to indicate a unity of design which could not be accidental . A Gothic temple , in its perfection , is an exposition of the distinctive doctrines of Christianity clothed upon in a material form . It is , as Coleridge happily expresses it , —
" A petrifaction of our religion . " _ We have already shown that all allegory is an instinctive portion of our being , and that symbolism was not invented by the Gothic artists , but that it has in the matter of religious art existed in all time among men ; and that it is also found strongly exhibited in the history of creation . In the old world nieu were very fond of expressing not onlv great ideas , but also lesser ideas , by means of
symbols , and these symbols had a universal meaning , known and read by all men : it would then have been strange indeed if these had been ignored in proportion as the Hebraic ideas of the Infinite shone forth . How often are truths or ideas spoken of in holy wz * it under the forms of the lion , the bull , the eagle , and man . Tefc these figures are very common on the Assyrian marbles ,
and were used by the Assyrians as symbols , and signified the same ideas , —omnipotence , creative power , omniscience , and wisdom . Iu Gothic art we find the same symbols employed , not only with the same signification , but with a wide scope -. thus St . Mark is typified by the lion , because his Gospel begins with the roaring of a lion in the desertStMatthewby the angel or winged
; . , man , because ho begins his Gospel with the genealogy of Christ ; St . Luke , by the ox or bull , because such , was one of the victims in the Jewish sacrifices , and he begins his Gospel with an account of the priest Zecharias ; St . John , by the eagle , because he took a bolder flight than the other Evangelists . In the catacombs of Rome there areas we all know
, , numerous symbolic representations , which the poor prisoners in the early days of Christianity carved upon the walls , before Gothic art , or what we denominate the Papacy , had any existence , —in the halcyon days of the early and pure Christiamtj T . Wo have already referred to some of these , as gotten from Pagan mysteries ; but great numbers of them are
gotten from the Bible . How natural is it , then , that the same symbols should be found in Gothic art , obtained from the same source , and certainly not from the catacombs ? Christ is often represented by the first two letters of the word in Greek , XP , or by the first aud last letters of the Greek alphabet , —alpha and omega , A . a . The palm
is very common , being significant of the martyr's victory . The dove carrying the olive-branch—the emblem of salvation . The palm and the dove and olive-branch were common amongst the Pagans , and signified almost the same , — -Victory and Peace . The fish , too , is very common , being emblematic of the Christian , from Christ's words to Peter and Andrew , — " I will make you fishers
of men , " and for other reasons . The anchor , too , is often used , and is a very significant ; symbol , being emblematic of Hope and of Christ . The vine is also a very common symbol , for what reason , and of what emblematic , must be evident to all . Very singularly the Pagans took no offence at this emblem , because it was common among themselves , and fancied
they saw in it the worship of Bacchus . The lamb became also the symbol of Christ , taken from the words , " He was led like a lamb to the slaughter . " The earliest human figure employed in Christian art is very appropriate , being that of a shepherd , typical also of Christ . Sometimes in Gothic art , he is represented as carrying a lamb on his shoulders .
It was not until the eighth century that the greater mysteries , — -The Passion and Death of Christ , —began to be represented . One of the earliest of these is very beautiful in idea : it shows a cross , at the foot of which , are seated two Roman soldiers ; one asleep , leaning on . his shield ; the other watching , with eyes raised towards the cross , in devout emotion . The monogram XP , the
symbol of Christ , is placed above the cross , surmounted with a crown of laurel-leaves , at which a dove is pecking . Anything more beautiful than this , as a Christian allegory , it would , I think , be impossible to imagine . It does not appear that any attempt was made to depict the Deity in a work of art , under a human form , for the first eiht or nine centuries the honour of that
g ; wretched idea belongs to more modern times than the carvings in the catacombs . The earliest symbol of the Deity dates about the sixth or seventh century , and then the symbol was nothing more than a hand issuing from a cloud .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Spirit Of Gothic Art.
would represent the forms and shadows of that antiquity whose spirit and life are gone , for the deep philosophy of Paganism , as well as of Jewism , had ceased to pulsate ere the founder of Christianity appeared . True art was becoming effete , and required some new directions for its impulses : this it found in Christianity , and its influence upon art has been the surest and most
successful ; therefore it is , that in Christian or Gothic art symbolism attained a luxuriance and pliability never before acquired . Symbolism was not an after-thought of the artists , but it appears to have arisen synchronously with the art itself in the minds of the artists , as will appear from the " Apostolical Constitutions : "" When thou callest an assembly of the church , as
one that is tho commander of a great ship , appoint the assemblies to bo made with all possible skill ; charging the deacons as mariners , to prepare places for the brethren as for passengers , with all care and decency . Aud first , let the church be long , like a ship , looking -towards the east , with its vestries on either side , at the east end . In the centre , let the bishop be placed and
let the presbyters be seated on each side of him , and let the deacons stand near at hand , in close and small . garments , for they are like tho mariners aud managers ¦ of a ship . " I am aft-aid these "Apostolical Constitutions " smell rather fusty , nevertheless there is a very beautiful figure omyloyed , for the reference is to Noah ' s Ark , in which a remnant of the old world was saved .
We may find symbolical allusions in many other patrisfcric writings . St . Ambrose tells us why baptisteries should be octagonal , and Clement of Alexandria gives rules by which the selection of sacred emblems
should be guided . Eusobius informs us that Constantine surrounded tho apses of the church of St . Cross with twelve pillars symbolical of the twelve founders of the Christian religion ; and Hermas , in his visions , represents the building of tho spiritual temple under figures wholly taken from the material fabric . Thus the symbolism of art is not , as some have termed it , a
newfangled idea , borrowed from the papacy . Now , suppose were so , is that a good reason for rejecting any good idea because , forsooth , it comes from the papacy ? If a thing be of itself good , it certainly can be none the worse for enamating from that sanctum . Mi * . Poole says " that ecclesiastical are is a language ; that it has alwaysso long as it has deserved the name
, , aimed at expression , and not at mere accommodation without splendour , or even at splendour without a spirit and a meaning ; that from the first it was rational ; that it had a soul and a sense which it laboured to embody and convey to the beholder ; that its language was not only expressive , but appropriate ; that it aimed not only at accommodating a congregation , but at elevating their
¦ devotions and informing their minds . " It is a fact beyond dispute , that the greater mysteries of our religion are not only capable of , but are in very deed symbolised in the fundamental design of the structure ; and not only these , but other Christian verities are sot forth in the minor arrangements and in the ornamental details . Thuswe may safely conclude that
, from the first there has been a sufficient degree of uniformity in Christian temples to indicate a unity of design which could not be accidental . A Gothic temple , in its perfection , is an exposition of the distinctive doctrines of Christianity clothed upon in a material form . It is , as Coleridge happily expresses it , —
" A petrifaction of our religion . " _ We have already shown that all allegory is an instinctive portion of our being , and that symbolism was not invented by the Gothic artists , but that it has in the matter of religious art existed in all time among men ; and that it is also found strongly exhibited in the history of creation . In the old world nieu were very fond of expressing not onlv great ideas , but also lesser ideas , by means of
symbols , and these symbols had a universal meaning , known and read by all men : it would then have been strange indeed if these had been ignored in proportion as the Hebraic ideas of the Infinite shone forth . How often are truths or ideas spoken of in holy wz * it under the forms of the lion , the bull , the eagle , and man . Tefc these figures are very common on the Assyrian marbles ,
and were used by the Assyrians as symbols , and signified the same ideas , —omnipotence , creative power , omniscience , and wisdom . Iu Gothic art we find the same symbols employed , not only with the same signification , but with a wide scope -. thus St . Mark is typified by the lion , because his Gospel begins with the roaring of a lion in the desertStMatthewby the angel or winged
; . , man , because ho begins his Gospel with the genealogy of Christ ; St . Luke , by the ox or bull , because such , was one of the victims in the Jewish sacrifices , and he begins his Gospel with an account of the priest Zecharias ; St . John , by the eagle , because he took a bolder flight than the other Evangelists . In the catacombs of Rome there areas we all know
, , numerous symbolic representations , which the poor prisoners in the early days of Christianity carved upon the walls , before Gothic art , or what we denominate the Papacy , had any existence , —in the halcyon days of the early and pure Christiamtj T . Wo have already referred to some of these , as gotten from Pagan mysteries ; but great numbers of them are
gotten from the Bible . How natural is it , then , that the same symbols should be found in Gothic art , obtained from the same source , and certainly not from the catacombs ? Christ is often represented by the first two letters of the word in Greek , XP , or by the first aud last letters of the Greek alphabet , —alpha and omega , A . a . The palm
is very common , being significant of the martyr's victory . The dove carrying the olive-branch—the emblem of salvation . The palm and the dove and olive-branch were common amongst the Pagans , and signified almost the same , — -Victory and Peace . The fish , too , is very common , being emblematic of the Christian , from Christ's words to Peter and Andrew , — " I will make you fishers
of men , " and for other reasons . The anchor , too , is often used , and is a very significant ; symbol , being emblematic of Hope and of Christ . The vine is also a very common symbol , for what reason , and of what emblematic , must be evident to all . Very singularly the Pagans took no offence at this emblem , because it was common among themselves , and fancied
they saw in it the worship of Bacchus . The lamb became also the symbol of Christ , taken from the words , " He was led like a lamb to the slaughter . " The earliest human figure employed in Christian art is very appropriate , being that of a shepherd , typical also of Christ . Sometimes in Gothic art , he is represented as carrying a lamb on his shoulders .
It was not until the eighth century that the greater mysteries , — -The Passion and Death of Christ , —began to be represented . One of the earliest of these is very beautiful in idea : it shows a cross , at the foot of which , are seated two Roman soldiers ; one asleep , leaning on . his shield ; the other watching , with eyes raised towards the cross , in devout emotion . The monogram XP , the
symbol of Christ , is placed above the cross , surmounted with a crown of laurel-leaves , at which a dove is pecking . Anything more beautiful than this , as a Christian allegory , it would , I think , be impossible to imagine . It does not appear that any attempt was made to depict the Deity in a work of art , under a human form , for the first eiht or nine centuries the honour of that
g ; wretched idea belongs to more modern times than the carvings in the catacombs . The earliest symbol of the Deity dates about the sixth or seventh century , and then the symbol was nothing more than a hand issuing from a cloud .