Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 10.djvu/693

Rh emss r.u.'Ti:~:G.] Verdun in 1475. It is not known under whom he studied glass painting, but for protection from the consequences of smne escapade he entered the Dominican order. Claude, an eminent French glass-painter, being sum- moned to Rome by Julius II. to decorate the Vatican with painted windows, induced Marsillat to accompany him. Of the numerous windows which they nmst have painted only two remain in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, so complete has been the destruction of painted wimlows in the Eternal City. Marsillat executed a number of magniﬁcent windows in his manner for the cathedral of Arezzo. The following is a form of contract made with him :—“ The board of works of the cathedral have commissioned three windows of painted glass for the cathedral from Master Villia1n, son of Peter, Frenchman, that is, one window above the chapel of St Francis, one window above the chapel of Matthew, one window above the chapel of St Nicholas, for the price of ﬁfteen livres the square braccio,”—nearly 2 square feet,—“ to be burnt in the ﬁre a11d not painted in oil, and they are to be ﬁnished by the end of June 1520.” Marsill-at, who painted well in oil a11d fresco, was the designer of his own windows. He was so impressed by the works of Michelangelo that he imitated his manner, and one of his windows at Arezzo, representing the Raising of Lazarus, is almost a transcript of the picture of the same subject designed by Michelangelo, and painted by Sebastian del Piombo, which is now in the National Gallery, London. The design of the Frenchman is rather more crowded, but is characterized by more life and action. He introduced into glass painting the magniﬁcent architectural back- grounds, with ﬁgures on balconies and terraces, made familiar by the works of Paul Veronese ; he drew the human ﬁgure admirably, and was very successful in the repre- sentation of motion, and his arrangement of colour was perfect in harmony. It is not to be wondered at that his works produced so great a11 effect upon the minds of his contemporaries. They also show upon his part a consum- mate knowledge of technical conditions, and his windows are so perfectly executed that except where injured by vio- lence or carelessness they are in admirable condition at the present time. Marsill-at also executed some ﬁne glass paintings at Cortona, which have been removed and are now in Florence. Without entering upon the description of a consider- able number of interesting works of glass painting i11 various parts of Italy, and of detailed notices of the artists, enough has been done to illustrate the history and pro- gress of the art from the 13th century to nearly the ﬁrst .half of_ the lGth;- Later much less coloured glass came to be used, and a considerable change in taste took place in this art as in architecture; it is shadowed forth even as early as 1501 iii the following record :—“Quod in dicto loco semper et pro omnia tempore in dicto loco et ecclesia snnt media die tenebre et ut vulgo dicitur buio et habeto colloquio cum consolibus Sancter Johannes de vietro faciat sumptibus opere unam ﬁnestram ex vitri cum ochi biacchi fregio d’all-ato et cum arme popoli.” The desire for windows admitting more light led to the invention and adoption of a beautiful variety containing much white glass varied with yellow stain, and the introduction of a small quantity of coloured glass. These windows were painted with graceful arabesques executed in enamels and burnt in, and they never have been surpassed at any time for excel. lence of drawing and skill of execution. Such are the windows in the Laurentian library at Florence, attributed to Giovanni da Udine, but erected after his death. Other examples might be referred to, and they are now of great value as showing the best description of ornamental window suitable for buildings of the developed Renaissance style, GLASS G71 adorned with works of painting and sculpture. They have enough of colour to harmonize them with painted decora- tions, and enough of white glass not to destroy the Chiaro- scuro of sculpture. It should be remembered that the 13th century produced beautiful windows possessing similar advantageous qualities suitable for mediaeval buildings con- taining modern sculpture, such as the famous ﬁve sisters of York cathedral, or the white windows of the same period at Chartres. The technical execution of the glass paintings still exist- ing in Italy resembles that prevalent elsewhere, and the method of the old masters is clearly described by Theo- philus. The glass used was either pot metal or coated; that is, the colour either pervades the whole body of the metal or is applied as a ﬁlm over white glass, invariably the case with ruby, which would seem black but for this contrivance. The artist employed to design a window prepared a full size working drawing, which, according to Theophilus, was exe- cuted on a whitewashed board in his time ; but later these were made on paper, as is proved by the following contract from the archives of the cathedral of Florence (1 437):—“ To Lorenzo di B-artoluccio (Ghiberti), sculptor, seven florins, being the half of the price of his skill and labour for draw- ing four ﬁgures on paper of bombagia (coarse cotton) for a window to be executed by Bernardo di Francesco, glass- painter, at three livres per ﬁgure.” Guided by the ﬁrmly marked outlines, the glazier cut his mosaic of glass of the 1'equisite colours by the aid of a hot iron, the diamond not being used for this purpose till the 17th century. The pieces of glass were futher reduced to the shapes and sizes needed by the aid of the grosing iron, still a familiar instrument ; thus prepared they were ready for the painter, and at the present time are attached to a transparent easel formed of a large sheet of glass. Theophilus thus describes the enamel colour prepared for pai11ting with :—“ Take copper beaten small, burn it in a little pipkin until it is entirely pulverized, then take pieces of green glass and sapphire” (a blue paste used i11 mosaic work), “a11d pound them separately between two porphyry stones; mix these ingredients together in the proportions of one-third powder, one-third green glass, and one-third sapphire. Grind them 011 the same stone with wine or urine, put them into an iron or leaden vessel, and paint the glass with the utmost care. For with the three colours ” (that is, shades of one colour), “ if you are diligent in the work, you can make the lights and shadows of the draperies in the same manner as in coloured painting. When you have laid on the ﬁrst touches in the drapery with the aforesaid colour, spread it in such a manner that the glass may be pure” (that is, untouched) “in that part which you are accustomed to make light in a picture, and let the touches be dark in one place and light in another ” (that is, graduated), “ and again yet lighter and distinguished with much care, that it may appear as if three shades of colour had been applied. This order you should observe below the eyebrows, and round the eyes, and nostrils, and chin, round the naked feet and hands, and other portions of the naked body; and thus let the glass painting have the appearance of a painting composed of many colours.” It must be obvious from this description of the most ancient method of glass painting, in important respects the same as that still followed, that the art is re- gulated by certain necessary conventions distinguishing it from painting upon opaque surfaces. The features and accessories are drawn with sharp black lines making them out clearly to be seen at a distance, and in a very diﬂferent wayfrom the representation of such details in apicture. The highest lights are the local colour, that is. the pure colour of the glass; the deepest shadows are solid black produced by laying on the enamel thickly; all this is precisely the reverse of the system pursued at the same early period in