Evening star., 1928-05-06
The Story of Civilization
BY WILL DURANT, Phi. D.,
Author of
The Story of Philosophy"

the three leading cities of Europe and
her ships sailed every coast and inland
sea- Two hundred thousand inhabit-
ants made her streets and waetrs as
busy as today. She We'd with Genoa
for the reputation Of being the greatest
slave market IN Italy: but she opened
her markets to the Moors and welcomed
the Jews, finding In their alert enter
prise one source Of her long prosperity.
A hundred types OF merchants and ad-
Venturers walked the Rialto, bringing
goods. ideas and varied customs from
every quarter Of East and West, and In
the friction of these differences thought
emerged and grew Wealth mounted
leisure increased, education brought an
cient heritages to form new minds; at
last Venice was ashamed OF being mere
ly rich and art and letters came.
When painting arose IT. took on all
the warmth and color Of the city. We
nctian artists made canvases and fres-
Goes as bright-hued AS st. Marks; they
did not care To be pious like Raphael.
or subtle like Leonardo. or sublime like
Michelangeio; they thought In images
and feelings. not In ideas they had no
intellect, but they had eyes and fingers
all a-tingle with the texture of the
world, the delicacy of rich garments;
never was art so sensual, and never was
sensuality so innocent and profound.
Giorgione and Correggio, Titan and
Tintoretto and Paul Veronese seldom
thought of going beneath woman's
beauty to her soul. as did Da Vinci, or
expressing theology and an ethic, as
| Michelangelo did. they were content
with the visible splendor and pageantry
of life and sought no ultimate signifi-
canoes: they distrusted metaphysics and
suspected truth.
Contrast the busy and pugnacious
Florentincs They thought as we'll as
felt and therefore took TO line as well
as color seeing structure behind FORM.
Michelangelo made drawing the basis
of all art. and Vasari reproached Tit.Sn
for painting Immediately from nature
and not making preparatory design,
imagining that the only and best way
10 obtain a good design is TO use color
at once without previously studying
contours with pencil on paper" Col
or az once'--that is the motto of the
Venetisns: color, heat. feeling; it is the
romantic style, as different from the
schools Of Florence as the passionate
drama of the Elizabethans differs from
the calm and classic designs of Sopho-
oies or Racine. II vas not for nothinI
thar Venice had traded with the East
here art turns its back upon the Apen-
mines and faces toward the sun.
The Rellini.
II is symbolical that one Of the ear
liest Venetian painters lived for time
at the court Of the sultan in ConStan-
tinople. Gentle Bellini was appointed
10 meet tho request of the sultan for a
man who could teach the Turks the pic
torial art. He went and prospered and
was happy, for a while But one dav
as the ruler and artist we're discussing
I the accuracy of Gentile's John the
Baptist (which showed the severed
headl. the sultan had a slave decapi-
tated there and then 10 settle the point
ot issue Gentle did not stay long in
Constantinopls
The Bellini we're almost a school Of
painting for Venice. Jaeopo. the father
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