Page:History of the German people at the close of the Middle Ages vol1.djvu/192

 180 HISTORY OF THE GERMAN PEOPLE walls, were like illustrated chronicles, which told more of the habits of the people than many books written on the subject. Distinguished artists used to practise their hands at these mural frescoes, and in some cases pro- duced better results than in their other works, thus exhibiting their masterpieces on the homely burgher dwelling's of the streets. Large sums were often ex- pended upon the decoration of streets. In Nuremberg, for instance, the gilding of the fountain (1447) cost the city five hundred florins, and the regilding of the same in 1491 four hundred. All the masterworks of the period are of a decidedly national character. Although art is the common property of mankind, and has its roots in the universal life of humanity, it is at the same time the particular expression of the mind under its special racial conditions. Like language and customs, it has its first origin in the religious feelings of the people. Art expresses the inner life of a nation, its highest thoughts and aspirations, by pictures and statues, as language does by words, or as culture does by the manners of social intercourse. The German artists of the fifteenth century threw all their intense patriotism into their works. One can almost discover all the specialities of the different German tribes by examining the works of the different artists. As every large German city had its own dialect, so, too, it had its peculiarities in art characteristics. All those admirable artists who produced such a variety and multitude of beautiful works were plain, humble citizens or labourers belonging to the city corporations. Anyone wishing to devote himself to art went to the studio of a master, learned how to prepare the necessary materials, worked at the ordinary tasks