The herald., 1894-11-13
FLORENTINE ART.
POLITICS AND ART OF ITALY IN
THE MIDDLE AGES.
MRS. Caswell in Her Art Talk Saturday
Treated OF the Makers of Flor
ence and the Work They
Accomplished.

The interest in the art talks at the
Marlborough school still continues un-
ebated, and good audience assembled
Saturday to hear the fifth, on Florence
and Florentine souiptors.
Mrs. Caswell first spoke OF the warning
Guelph and Ghibelline factions, which
kept the Florentines in such turmoil
Turing the 200 years from Dante to Saw
onarola. But there was always another
life there, the life of art; and although
Lorenzo di Medici ruled with an iron
hand, he was not only the possessor OF
unboundsd wealth, but was lover and
patron of art and literature as well, and
deserves praise as we'll as blame. 1t
was due to him that the Pitt gallery was
begun.
Giro,anio Savonarola was then spoken
OF, his rebellion against the political
doctrine of republication and his
long struggle. his refusal, while prior OF
St. Marks, to absolve Lorenzo di Medici,
and who, after Lorenzo's death, held
Florence in the palm OF his hand until
his accommodation in 1897, when,
after undergoing horrible tortures, he
was put to q violent death in the follow
ing year.
Florence at this time was an art cen
ter the goldsmith's craft, an important
one at the beginning of the fourteenth
century, had become by the middle OF
the fifteenth a fine art. but its limita-
tions were such that cutting in marble
and bronze gradually took its place.
Lorenzo Ghiberti was the first to "tell
stories in bronze," and he commenced q
new era in sculpture by resuscitation
of the classical style of art. The many
obstacles he had to contend with were
spoken of; q competition which he en-
tered with hundreds of others. to make
designs for bronze doors. in which
Ghiberti's and Brunelleschi's were the
best, of the latter's withdrawal from
the contest after seeing Ghiberti's
models of the 81 years he was given for
the work, in which time ne did much
other work. some being in gold; and OF
his assistance to Brunelleschi in the
erection of the Duomo at Florence; of
his masterpiece, the second set OF doors
made for the Bsptistery Of st. Johns,
often called the "Gates to Paradise" Z"
which we're made of 10 panels and cons
tanned 100 figures; the character and
subjects of the reliefs were described |;
the honor shown him in his later life.
Mrs. Caswell then referred to the
friendship between Donattello and
Bremelleschi; the work Donettello &C.
complisned in Rome his David ON the
Campanile was spoken OF as rough and
coarse; his St. Louis as stupid, and his
breaking bust he had made because o
merchant objected to its price.
DAlla Robbia was spoken of as belong
ing to the same band also q goldsmith,
who tried experiments in marble and
bronze. and who, realizing that clay was
easily destroyed, invented q glaze that
was almost indestructible, and the terra
Gotta work that was covered with it
was called Della Robbia ware +; the secret
OF the glaze died with his family; he
was not great, but surprising, attractive,
and his work, while common, was yet
beautiful.
Mrs. Caswell closed her talk with a
brief description of Michael Angelo as an
architect and sculptor, beginning with
his birth in 1475; che spoke of his
psyentsge and childhood; his life with
the Medici his angel with the candele-
brum at Bologna, and his David at Flor
ence his departure for Rome at the in
vitation of Pope Julius H., who ordered
from him a monumedt; his design for
final rebuilding OF St. Peters, the world
famous cathedral church; his MASTER
piece in sculpture was the Moses in the
Church of st. Pietro, and his death,
after SO years of wonderful accom- plish-
ment, occurred in 1864. The subject
next Saturday will be Canova. Thorwald.
sen and fin de steele sculpture.