The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-03-05

the tradition, when the Jews after the
resurrection committed Mary Magda-
lene, Joseph of Arlmathea, and opher
Christian witnesses or the crucifiXion
to the sea in boat without sails or
oars, the boat in it's miraculous voy-
age first touched at the head of the
Adriatic and there stopped long
enough to enable Joseph to found
Venice. His eventual arrival in the
Bristol Channel on the English coast
and his finally settling at Glaston-
bury, are well known facts connected
with early English ecclesiastical his
tory. Next to Joseph Is Mary Magda-
lene, and then ST. John. To the Vir-
gins left are the two Marys and Nico-
demus.
A nearer view shows the central
group and brings out more strongly
| the human quality of the grief de-
picted. The individual heads are such
| intensely real productions that they
are worthy Of study. In the three
| Marys 1t is supposed that the artist in
| tended to show three stages Of grief
| the commencement, the full expression
and the exhaustion. In the standing
| the commencement of grief. She is
| Just beginning to comprehend the ex-
| tent of the awfulness of the tragedy.
| The tears have commenced to flow
from her eyes Her mouth Is begin
| ming to open, but as yet she utters no
! cry. Her body is bent forward as If as
yet she hardly understood the tragedy,
but was yielding herself to it's compre-
| hension.
| Distract thought moment from the
scene, that it may not be too painful,
and notice the singular head-dress.
1t seems to be combination Of cap
ard sleeves; for cap and sleeves are Of
a piece. I wanted to get behind the
figure for further investigation OF this
singular garment, but the pious
sacristan would not permit such
secular examination of one Of the
sacred figures. The good people of
Ferrara still regard these pictures
with holy awe and sacred terror.
In the face Of Mary Magdalene the
full and emphatic expression of grief
| is carried beyond the reach of Anglo
| Saxon sympathy and approval. But,
as already stated, you have only to en-
| ter the house of mourning Of any Ital-
ian peasant to-day to find its exact
counterpart In fact, II you stay long
enough, you will find the EXTREMIST
demonstrations Of grief carried to the
| point of exhaustion, which the artist
Is supposed to have intended to show
| In the face Of the Mary on the Virgins
| left. Her features have lost express
| ion; they are exhausted; can express
| no longer.
All the heads of this group are wor-
| thy of study and should be seen over
1 and over again. One more must stop
| this brief survey. The head of st.
| John is perhaps the finest of them all.
| The keen and tender, love, sympathy
/ and grief. give this rough peasants
| face dignity, a pathos, and a charac-
| ter which should bring 1t out from its
hidden corner and place 1t among the
| realistic trimphs Of the 18th CEN
fury
Mazzoni became famous. He was
| invited to Naples and there executed
| for King Ferdinand a pieta In whcih
he introduced a new arrangement,
| placing the figures abot the tomb Of
the Saviour in a circle. 1t Is not sue
cessful; the group lacks unity; atten-
4 ton is distracted When Charles VIII.
| of France drove the Spaniards out of
| Naples he attached Mazzoni to his
person and took him back to France
with him. Mazzonis last work was
! Charles's tomb at st. Denis, which
was so completely destroyed at the
revolution that poor sketches are all
| that are left ITO recall 1t. After the
4 death and burial Of his royal patron,
Mazzoni returned to Modena and lived
the rest of his life in ease and comfort,
esteemed of all men, honored and re-
spected by his towns-people
We have had this evening but a
glimpse of a forgotten city and Of
one church of another city, There are
hundreds of such places all over italy,
filled with neglected treasures await
ing the inspection Of lovers OF art and
the Investigations Of students of his
tory. 1t is a mistake to keep the eyes
constantly fixed upon the top-most
peaks OF art or history. The minor
elevations which lead up to them,
support, constitute and make them
possible, should be regarded, and their
contributions to the harmony of the
view appreciated and acknowledged.
Raphael was but little sperior to the
\ hundreds of painters about him who
strove hard for the highest reward and
but just missed 1t. Without their
competition Raphael would have had
incentive. A high level had to be
made that he might reach to a higher
| one.
Ferrara and Modena were two of the
4 many centers which contributed to the
making of Florence and Rome. To I'M
derstand the greater, you must study
and understand the less. Besides,
Ferrara and her sitter cities have been
so long neglected that visit nova
days is not without a measure of the
pride and pleasure of discovery. So
be sure to visit Ferrara the next time
you reach Italy, and do not forget
i Mazzoni and his Pieta. And do not
forget and the arts, apart from their
intrinsic value, serve history and lit
erature, and that without the contem-
poraneous aid the arts offer, history
and literature cannot tell their stories
fully accurately.
A HANDSOME MONUMENT.
Erected in Memory of J. M. Bailey ir
4