The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-04-02
Pictures for EaSter-T'ld6.
Bv Pauline King.

In talking and writing about the world
of art, there is no opinion more generally
accepted than that the time for painting
pictures of sacred persons or incidents
has gone by. 1t is commonly repeated
that the old masters were men of the
deepest religious feeling, painting with
brushes that were guided by intense spir-
itual fervor, and that, aside from the
veneration in which the arts were held
by the common people, who ignorantly
worshipped the pictures in the churches,
the painters themselves looked upon
their craft with superstitious awe, and
considered their masterpieces the re-
suit of divine inspiration, and sometimes
the actual handiwork of heavenly an
gels.
"The old masters lived in an age of
faith" it is said: ''they believe and out
of the fullness of their belief their pic
lures breathe the true spirit of religion.
Our artists work in an age of doubt, and
seeking inspiration from the Bible must
paint by the feeble light of agnosticism.
The result is as great a failure as, when
turning to mythology. the classical school
draws nymphs and goddesses who are en-
Hellenic Marbles While this theory
sounds reasonable and plausible, it takes
no account of individual temperament
and the artistic temperament is, above
all things, the highest development of in
dividuality. 1t holds, moreover, noble
aspirations cannot live in the nineteenth
as we'll as in the fifteenth century, and
therefore falls grievously short of truth
Any one who has studied the history of
the, Renaissance of the arts in Europe,
and has read the lives and letters of the
artists of that time, must realize that
such spirituality as inspired Fra Angell-
co.'s lovely frescoes was rare indeed.
The open corruption of the Church, and
the enthusiasm for the recently discov-
cred remains Of Greek art and litera-
ture, made the upper classes of society,
among whom the artists We're received
as equals. frankly pagan, and often in
fidel bodies. That the powers of the old
masters were brought out by the enor-
nous demand for pictures to decorate
affairs in the cathedrals, churches and
private chapels which were rising all
over Europe, and that they had an ap-
preciative public to work for, goes with
out saying; but that the spirituality OF
mind necessary for portraying success
fully the lofty subjects of sacred his
tory was confined to a few centuries is
absurd, when one is familiar with the
life of the drunken, registering Fra Lhppo
Lippi, or recalls the answer made by the
grave and serious Michael Angelo when
he was questioned as to what constitut-
ed a religious picture, "a fish taken out
of the market-place and painted with a
devout and attentive mind" remark
which would be considered advanced
from the lips of one of the most ardent
admirers of 'art for arts sake" in our
day.
Through the entire history of religious
painting, the artist who works above al
else for the glory of God, and in his in
tense devotion makes his art the out
come of personal exaltation-ofA which
type Fra Angelica is the most perfect ex
ample-is rarely to be found. Andrea
del Sarto, Rubens, Raphael-the list car
be indefinitely lengthened-were worldly
men, absorbed in mundane affairs and
the ordinary interests and pleasures OF
mankind, and their time was spent IN
working for their own advantage-fol
money and promotion. Yet this does
not alter the fact that they painted some
Of the finest pictures of the Christian
era, and that the beauty of Raphael
Madonnas and cherubs has been accept
ed for so many generations that it has
passed into proverb. This seeming
anomaly is by no means dGing to arrant
hypocrisy on the part of the artistic tenn
permanent, which, in the hig est genius
SO completely absorbs the subject il
contemplation. that it perfectly con
ceived, and the artist Is able to create
and place on canvas images Of purir7
holiness. and love, which in beauty ant
exalted feeling seem the very realization
of all that is highest and most ideal.
This artistic temperament is only reg
ulated by the degree of genius, only
limited because genius is rare. and tc
its power we owe not only many paint
ings by the old masters, but also some
If those which are the best in modern re
ligious art. Without it we should moi
have had Dante Gabriel Rossetti's AN.