Page:History of the German people at the close of the Middle Ages vol1.djvu/193

 SCULPTURE AND PAINTING 181 of his trade, ascended step by step in his apprenticeship, studied the works and style of his master, and then set out on his ' Wanderjahre.' When he had succeeded in producing something of real merit he ceased to be an apprentice ; but until then he continued to work with the master and to help in executing the orders which the latter received. The masters themselves worked as painters, sculptors, carvers, glass-workers, braziers, bell- casters, goldsmiths, bronzers, with their apprentices. They all ate at the same table, slept under the same roof, maintaining meanwhile the strictest discipline. Among the large number of those whose lives are a record of the development of artistic life in Germany, and who show now how closely art was bound up with everyday existence and how thoroughly it was in touch with the real needs of the age, we will take as an example the life of Jacob Heller, draper and alderman, of Frankfort-on-the-Main. This man was highly re- spected by his fellow-citizens for his known excellence and his knowledge of business. He had seen a good deal of the world, had been at Eome in 1500, and on several occasions he had represented the city in the Imperial Parliament and abroad. His numerous foun- dations and legacies are a witness of his benevolence and fellow-feeling for the poor and the afflicted, of his loving forethought for his own dependents, and the perfect kindliness of his relations with his faithful domestic servants. Out of patriotism and love of learning he gave a large sum to build a library for the general use of the city, and, desiring to have a part even after death in the beautifying and improving of Frankfort, he bequeathed large sums for the erection of public buildings, churches, &c. Deep, earnest piety