St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-08-26
Miss Starts Lecture.

| The lecture by Miss Eliza Allen Starr, of
| Chicago, at ST. Joseph's Academy, Nelson
Avenue, yesterday afternoon was attended
by an audience of ladies that filled the pretty
chapel of the institution. A few gentlemen
were present, among them the Rev. L. Cor
nelius, of Mendoza, Rev. P. Danpney, of the
Cathedral, Rev. j. j. Keane, st. Mary's, Rev.
J. w. Nealis, st. Joseph's, Rev. James
McGolrick, Minneapolis. Vases of fragrant
flowers stood here and there about the audi
ence room, and the soft sunlight of cheer
full August afternoon lent Its charm to the
occasion.
Shortly after o'clock Miss Starr began
her lecture which continued for an hour and
half. She is very graceful lady and eY
hibited an ease of elocutionary art that in
vited each listener to catch every word
spoken. The theme of the lecture was the
revival of the art, as illustrated in the Domin-
lean and Franciscan periods in the twelfth
century, the school OF Siena, and the three
periods of Giotto, at Florence and Assist, at
Rome and Naples and at Florence where he
died in 1887. interviewer with the descrip-
tion of art was narrative of the founding of
the order Of Franciscans (Gray Friars) by st.
Francis of Assist, in 1909, clearly and hap
PLY presented, forming most interesting
and instructive portion of the lecture.
The largest interest to both speaker and
audience centered in the periods of Giotto,
whom the painter Cimbue discovered, a
peasant, a shepherd boy, watching his focks
by lying prone upon the turf drawing upon
the smooth surface Of piece Of rude slate
the figure Of sheep. The painter took the lad
to his own house at Florence, being so struck
with his genius, and educated him in the
| schools and in his art. The speaker traced
his career as the regenerator of italian art.
| Cimabue and the Duccio di Siena had at
tempted to improve on existing models, to
| free themselves from the trammels of the By
zantine style, the symbolic representative of
| a subject according to conventional
rules, which had hitherto been the highest
aim of the artist Giotto rejected these, and
was the first child OF genius to give life to
art by making his productions truly reflect
| nature. His works were briefly noted; par
| ticularly his famous mosaic of the Navicella,
designed at the summons Of Pope Boniface
VIII, representing the disciples at sea and
Christ raising Peter from the waves; at
Padua where he executed in the chapel of the
Madonna dell Arena his forty-two paintings
representing the life of the Virgin; his asso-
citation with Dante, to whose influence the
allegorical tendency OF many of his subse-
/ quent works is ascribed notably the majes-
tic figures of Poverty, Chastity and Obedi
ence, representing the three vows
of the order Of st. Francis; Giotto excelled in
sculpture and architecture, and the famed
| Giotto's Tower was minutely described and
the great gifts of his genius illustrated with
autotypes that lent a vivid charm to the
graphic deliniation of Miss Starr who con-
Guided her lecture by rendering Longfellow' g
tribute to the great artist, the poet having
been inspired in his European rambles by
| standing beneath