Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-12-26
ORIGIN or THE HALO.
Partisan Painter Says Il Is Result Of
Misinterpretation.

| lHefe is pFoDaDiy not one man IN
ten thousand Of those who admire the
paintings Of sacred subjects who
knows the origin OF the halo" said a
well-known American painter. just re-
turned from abroad. Since earliest
| childhood we have seen it--that circle
OF golden light. the emblem Of holiness,
cleaning above the head of apostle or
saint and so used have we become to
it as sign of these qualities that 1t
never occurs even to the painter, him.
| self who daily makes use Of 1t to In
auire how it ever got there, and how.
getting there. it acquired its symbolic
intent.
1T was from an ancient mariner sort
OF painter in Paris that got my in
formation. This was the explanation
as he gave it to me:
The first subjects to . feel the
renaissance were architecture and
sculpture, and this several generations
before the days of Cimabue and Giot.
to. the earliest OF. the painters OF
these subjects architecture came first,
as is still evidenced lin the magni6-
cent ruins Of cathedrals scattered over
Europe. l say cathedrals, because
everything was saturated with the re-
llgious spirit in those days. and the
architect expressed his genius In his
convention of the house Of God.
Later came the sculptor. He gave
expression to his art in the images OF
the saints and other holy characters.
The commonest form of this express
sion was life,sized images Of, the
saints. which were set in solemn row
about the outside Of the churches and
eathedrals Immediately under The
caves Of the building.
Now. the earliest sculptors soon
saw that In a very short time the
heads and faces of. these fisures were
soiled and disfgured by action of the
driving elements in time of storms:
even the hot sun contributed it's share
in cracking the skulls and faces OF
the sacred images. Accordingly. to
protect them. they placed upon their
heads fiat wooden disk that extended
out far enough to act as umbrella, or
sunshade. as either was necessary.
Now, it was several generations
before any painter OF note arose.
fhese, of the Cimabue- Giotto tyre,
were ignorant, even for that day OF ig-
noranee. OF course, following the
spirit OF the age, they must needs
make their subjects holy ones. and the
statues standing so invitinxiy to their
hands offered themselves as their first
models. =, -,"r
Thinking. in their wealth of ieros.
ance mentioned. that the wooden disk
mad something to do with the sanity
character OF their models, these peas-.
ants faithfully copied IT. into their
paintings. In nearly all Of the pafnt-,
ings of Cimabue ana many Of those Of
Glotto. especially his earlier ones. sthe
nat disk is represented, merely as such
without any attempt at liberalization
Later, however. the painters eTnpha
sized the rim and painted the body OF
the disk color that barely distin-
. sulshed it from the surrounding h,,es.
Later still, they mereiy painted .the
circle of the disk and omitted INV
coloring whatsoever Of tho body, Then
in the bright morning. OF that period
the painters idealized it by painting
the circle the eoiDY Of golden light
ana there you have your halo. True /?
l nave no reason to doubt: the old man.
certain it is that in none of the crude
attempts at painting. sacred figures
made before that time. TO- there any
vestige of a halo shown."--N. Y.
Times.