Page:History of the German people at the close of the Middle Ages vol1.djvu/174

 162 HISTORY OF THE GERMAN PEOPLE in the days of strong faith and true courage, when meD find greater joy in high ideals than in the merely prac- tical things of life. The Church enlisted art in the service of God, making use of it as a valuable supplement to the written and oral instruction which she gave the people. Artists thus became her allies in the task of ' setting forth the beauties of the Gospel to the poor and un- learned.' All the great artists grasped with fidelity this idea of the mission of art, and turned their talents into a means for the service of God and man. Their aim was not to exalt beauty for its own sake, making an altar and an idol of it ; but rather, according to Peter Fischer's inscription on the base of St. Sebald's shrine, ' For the setting forth of God's will.' They strove by the greatness and elevation of their works to kindle admiration for the beautiful, and this not only for the sake of culture, but with a view to the moral training of the people ; not for the luxurious gratification of the great and the wealthy, but for the glory of the Church and the elevation of national life. All branches of art thus formed one great whole. Architects, sculptors, painters, musicians, worked in unison together, all actuated by the same religious and patriotic intention. And it was this unity that was at the bottom of their greatness. Owing to the close relationship thus existing between artists of six different branches it was no uncommon occurrence for a great artist to work in different lines — Albert Diirer, for in- stance, was painter, sculptor, woodcutter, and engraver all in one. He was distinguished, moreover, for his knowledge of perspective and architecture, and was not unskilled as a writer. So long as German art preserved