The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1899-12-08


his pictures that dealt with pagan
subjects, the artist thereafter DEVOTED
himself to religious work which he
produced without money and without
price, brought himself to poverty and
but for the aid of the reigning Medicci
would have died in want and neglect.
The elements of realism and indi-
viduality, as time progressed, were
often allied to the methods of the
goldsmith and the sculptor. Rugged
power 10 execution, ana extreme
delicacy of detail aud finish were ex.
hiblted by many artists of minor yet
characteristic attainment, and the
perfect flower of the time unfolded its
precious splendor in Leonardo da
Ninci and Michael Angelo, the lesser
Yet kindred Del Sarto, aud the in
spirational Raphael
Browning m kes the passionate.
betrayed and disappointed Del Sarto
say:
"Gn heaven, perhaps. new chances, one more
chance
Four great walls in the New Jerusalem
For Leonardo, Raphael Angelo and me to
cover"
But however this may be the work
they did has glorifled many wide and
lovely spaces for the men and women
who have followed them.
1t has also been said of the three
nobler painters that Leonardo had
the greatest genius, Angelo the
noblest spirit and Raphael the
greatest happiness and thus Rap
hazel, aside from his artistic status has
place apart.
Reading the lives of Leonardo and
Angelo together they are full of
striking contrasts while they show
related results of their environment.
Leonardo was man of the world
and the natural urbanitv of his
nature was enhanced by the most
winning and courtly manners. He
had the most prodigious knowledge
in every department of learning. II
kind of artistic counterpart of Para.
celsius and Bacon. He was also a
most original investigator, ana he
was never content to leave thing
until he had found the heart of 1t
or had given it the most perfect pos.
sible form.
Angelo, too, was interchangeable in
points of execution. He threw him
self upon his work with kind of
Titanic power and never rested un-
til IL was done. But he was filled
with austeritIes and uncertain tenn
pers, and spent his days in a gloomy
isolated grandeur that was broken
only once, and that in later life by
the sympathy and tenderness for
which he secretly yearned. He was
the master during his long life of the
four great arts, sculpture and paint
ing, sonnet poetry and architecture,
but while he preferred sculpture and
it was his first great medium 1t IL 10y
the painting in the Sistine Chapel
misgiving, that he Is lifted TO his
greatest height.i
Tue storm and strain i'm the ma1
coupled with his marvellous technical
power had given him almost ter
rible mastery over every variety ot
passionate action and every PIN So
of human energy and sublimity. 20
in these wonderful frescOes the force
and pTOdigality of the design and It's
strenuous, harmonious, beautiful exc
cution Is matter too vast fIr the
most learned ana sympathe ic Oh
server. His ascendency over the
younger artists was natura ly we'll
nigh supreme and all his work was
toned over and over again to the
everlasting and fundamental key note
of Power. He knew the light as we'll,
as those other lamps that Ruskln has
defined, but this one thing had the
leading place, and thus 1t is that we
stand away from him in wonder and
would not presume so far, even In
our dreams, rs to draw very near.
But Leonardo is all attraction. We
do not care 80 much for the list of his
attachments, his tirmness of line, his
mastery of light and shade, his un-
rivalled depletion of character ana
action, his magic with nature that
makes him 1.-The first complete painter
of the Renaissance. All these
things inspire US with his greatness
but when we look at mis- pictures we
are not held aloof but we are drawn
to the master as to a tender and abid-
ing friend. This is especially true
in regard to 1.-The Last Supper" the
head of Christ against the back
ground of the beautiful landscape be.
yond the open window, the intense
natural grouping olthe disciples at