Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 16.djvu/457

Rh MINIATURE 439 the drawing of the Florentine school with a lighter colour ing which may have been suggested by the Lombardic. Of native Spanish miniature art little can be said. In the Visigothic MSS. of the early Middle Ages there is no ornament beyond roughly coloured initial letters and some barbaric figure drawing. A little later, however, we get some indication of national peculiarities in the MSS. of the 10th, llth, and 12th centuries. Here there appear miniatures, stiff and rude in their drawing, but exhibiting the unmistakable Spanish predilection for sombre colours, dusky reds and yellows and even black entering largely into the compositions. The materials at our disposal of the 10th, llth, and 12th centuries show the gradual development in France and western Germany of a fine free-hand drawing which was encouraged by the proportionately increasing size of books. Both in outline and colour the fully de veloped miniatures of the 12th century are on a grand scale ; and initial letters formed of scrolls and interlacings assume the same proportions. The figure drawing of this time is frequently of great excellence, the limbs being well- proportioned ; care is also bestowed upon the arrangement of the drapery, which is made to follow the shape and, as it were, to cling to the body. But the great revulsion from the broad effects and bold grandeur of the 1 2th century to the exact details and careful finish of the 13th century is nowhere more striking than in miniature painting in MSS. With the opening of the new period we enter on a new world of ideas. Large books generally disappear to give place to smaller ones ; minute writing supersedes the large hand ; and miniatures appear in circumscribed spaces in the interior of initial letters. The combination of the miniature with the initial brings it into close connexion with the ornamental border, which develops part passu with the growth of the minia ture and by degrees assumes the same national and distinctive characteristics. Burnished gold was now also freely used, tending to give the miniature a more decorative character than formerly. In England, northern France, and the Netherlands the style of miniature painting of this period was much the same in character ; and it is often difficult to decide from which of these countries a MS. is derived. English work, however, may be often distinguished by its lighter colouring, while deeper and more brilliant hues and a peculiar reddish or copper tinge in the gold marks French origin. The drawing of the Flemish artists was scarcely so good, the outlines being frequently heavy and the colours rather dull. Of the Rhenish or Cologne school examples are more scarce ; but they generally show greater contrasts in the colours, which, though brilliant, are not so pleasing. As the century advanced, and particularly at its close, national distinctions became more defined. English artists paid more attention to graceful drawing and depended less upon colour. In some of their best productions they are satisfied with slightly tinting the figures, finding room in the backgrounds for display of brilliant colours and gilding. In France the drawing, though exact, is hardly so graceful, and colour plays a more important part. From the 13th to the middle of the 15th century great decorative effect is obtained by the introduction of diapered or other highly ornamented backgrounds. Of landscape, properly so called, there is but little, a conventional hill or tree being often taken as sufficient indication. Borders begin in the 13th century in the form of simple pendants from the initial letters, terminating in simple buds or cusps. But once arrived fairly in the 14th century, a rapid development in all parts of the decoration of MSS. takes place. There is greater freedom in the drawing ; the borders begin to throw out branches and the bud expands into leaf. This is the best period of English miniature painting, many of the fine MSS. of this century which are preserved in the public libraries bearing witness to the skill and delicate touch of native artists. In France the decoration of MSS. received a great impetus from the patronage of King John and Charles V., of whose famous libraries many handsome volumes are still to be seen ; and later in the century the duke of Berri carried on the same good work. With regard to miniature art in Germany there are so few examples to guide us that little can be said. Most of them are rough in both drawing and colouring ; and in the few remaining specimens of really good work foreign influence is distinctly seen. In the west the art of France and Flanders, and in the south that of Italy, are pre dominant. Perhaps the finest MS. of this southern style to be seen in England is a Psalter belonging to Lord Ashburnham, which was probably executed in the 14th century at Prague, and is full of miniatures which in drawing and colouring follow the Italian school. When we enter the 15th century we find great changes in both the great English and French schools. In England the graceful drawing of the previous century has disappeared. At first, however, some beautiful examples of purely native work were produced, and still remain to excite our admiration. Probably the most perfect of these MSS. are the Sherborne Missal belonging to the duke of North umberland, and a very beautiful volume, a Book of Hours, in the library of Lord Ashburnham. The care bestowed upon the modelling of the features is particularly noticeable in English work of this period. In decoration the border of the 14th century had by this time grown to a solid frame surrounding the page ; but now another form of most effec tive ornament was also used, consisting of twisted feather- like scrolls brightly coloured and gilt. As the century advanced native English work died out, and French and then Flemish influence stepped in. In France immense activity was shown all through the 15th century in the illumination and illustration of books of all kinds, sacred and profane ; and it is in the MSS. of that country, and, a little later, in those of the Low Countries, that we can most exactly watch the transition from mediaeval to modern painting. Early in the century there were executed in France some of the most famous MSS. which have descended to us. In these the colouring is most brilliant, the figure drawing fairly exact ; and the landscape begins to develop. The border has grown from the branching pendant to a framework of golden sprays or of conventional and realistic leafage and flowers. Towards the middle of the century the diaper disappears for ever, and the landscape is a recognized part of the miniature ; but perspective is still at fault, and the mystery of the horizon is not solved until the century is well advanced. And now Flemish art, which had long lain dormant, sprang into rivalry with its French sister, under the stimulus given to it by the Van Eycks, and the struggle was carried on, but unequally, through the rest of the century. French art gradually deteriorates ; the miniatures become flat and hard ; nor are these defects compensated for by the meretricious practice of heightening the colours by pro fusely touching them with gold. The Flemish artists, on the other hand, went on improving in depth and softness of colouring, and brought miniature painting to rare perfec tion. The borders also which they introduced gave scope for the study of natural objects. Flowers, insects, birds, and jewels were painted in detached groups on a solid framework of colour surrounding the page. But if, as the 15th century drew to its close, the Flemings had outstripped their French rivals, they had now more powerful antagonists to contend with. The Italians had been advancing with rapid strides towards the glories of