OF THE FINE ARTS. 



XXVH 



unfinished to inspire any one. Bits of Roman 

 statues, fragments of bas-reliefs, and heads of 

 figures, have been dug up, and placed in the 

 antiquarian sanctuary ; they are one and all 

 unworthy of being classed as works of art, and 

 countenance the surmise that they were the 

 labours of the soldiers rather than of Roman 

 artists. Some of their mosaics, indeed, are of a 

 purer design ; they have however been imitated 

 from Greek statues : they generally represent 

 Bacchus or Orpheus playing on the lyre, such as 

 may be seen on old cameos and ancient sarco- 

 phagi. The sculpture which succeeded was of 

 another kind and character. 



It would be unsafe to pronounce our early 

 sculpture excellent on the authority of Speed. 

 "King Cadvvollo," says the historian, " being 

 buried in St Martin's church, near Ludgate, his 

 image, great and terrible, triumphantly riding on 

 horseback, artificially cast in brass, was placed 

 at the western gate of the city, to the further fear 

 and terror of the Saxons." An image so barbarous 

 as to scare barbarians must have resembled the 

 Gog and Magog ogres at present in Guildhall, 

 which excite our disgust as well as wonder. 

 " If the statue was terrible," observes Flaxman, 

 " as well as great, that characteristic was the 

 consequence of its barbarous workmanship ; for 

 in the year 677, when Cadwollo died, the Goths, 

 Franks, and Lombards, and other uncivilized 

 nations, had nearly exterminated the liberal arts 

 in Europe." In truth, little dependence can be 

 placed on such testimony ; all ideas concerning 

 the excellence of art are relative. Evelyn, one 

 of the most accomplished men of his time, speaks 

 of the matchless paintings of Verrio, at Windsor ; 

 he failed to perceive that they were all grouping, 

 and form, and colour, without feeling, or senti- 

 ment, or originality. It is otherwise with the 

 earliest sculptures of British growth which time 

 has spared to us ; they are essentially Gothic ; 

 they represent passages of Scripture, both of the 

 Old and New Testament ; their form, their group- 

 ing, their character, have nothing of Greece or 

 of Rome ; nor can it be perceived, as surmised, 

 that something of the presence of Arabian or 

 Saracenic art may be detected. 



The cathedral of Wells was built' by bishop 

 Joceline, who died in the year 1242. " The 

 west front of this church," says Flaxman, who 

 wrote from personal observation as well as 

 genius, " equally testifies the piety and compre- 

 hension of the bishop's mind. The sculpture 

 presents the noblest, most useful, and interesting- 

 subjects possible to be chosen. On the south 

 side, above the west door, are alto-relievos of 

 the Creation, in its different parts, together with 



the Deluge, and important acts of the patriarchs. 

 Companions to these, on the north side, are alto- 

 relievos of the principal circumstances in the 

 life of our Saviour. Above these are two rows 

 of statues, larger than nature, in niches, of 

 kings, queens, and nobles, patrons of the church, 

 saints, bishops, and other religious persons, 

 from its first foundation to the reign of Henry 

 the Third. Near the pediment is our Saviour 

 come to judgment, attended by angels, and the 

 twelve apostles. The upper arches on each 

 side, along the whole of the west front, and 

 continued in the north and south ends, are 

 occupied by figures rising from their graves, 

 strongly expressing the hope, fear, astonishment, 

 stupefaction, or despair, inspired by the presence 

 of the Lord and Judge of the world in that awful 

 moment." 



The execution of this work is inferior to the 

 conception ; nor is it at all equal to the work- 

 manship of our own times, though few of our 

 sculptors would venture on a subject so bold and 

 poetic. There were then, it has been surmised, 

 no schools of drawing, no teachers of anatomy, 

 and no lecturers on the fine arts ; a few learned 

 monks only were acquainted with geometry and 

 mechanics ; and the application of science to the 

 figure and motions of man was a matter unknown. 

 In consequence the sculpture on Wells cathedral 

 is ill drawn, and defective in true principle, and 

 carved too in a style rude and severe ; yet there 

 is a beautiful simplicity, an irresistible sentiment, 

 and sometimes a grace excelling more modern 

 productions. Nor should it be forgotten that 

 these works were finished even before the birth 

 of Cimabue, and were in progress during the 

 lifetime of Pisano, the restorer of sculpture in 

 Italy ; even in the conception priority may be 

 claimed ; there are compositions by Giotti, and 

 later artists, representing the creation of Eve, 

 but that sculptured in the cathedral of Wells is 

 not only the oldest, but is not inferior to the 

 others, though one of them bears the name of 

 Michael Angelo. The name of the artist is 

 unknown ; but it has been observed by one who 

 was seldom mistaken, that there is some reason 

 for claiming him as an Englishman, since his 

 work is wholly different in character from the 

 tombs of Edward the Confessor, and Henry the 

 Third, which were by Italian sculptors. 



The long reign of Henry the Third was 

 favourable to art : the castles of our nobles were 

 only remarkable for their heavy grandeur and 

 their massive strength, and for being the residence 

 of turbulent and illiterate owners ; it was other- 

 wise with our abbey-steads and cathedrals ; the 

 owners were wedded to heaven, or rather to their 



