Page:Suggestions on the Arrangement and Characteristics of Parish Churches.djvu/46

46 approved of by the bishop of the diocessdiocese [sic], “before the artist lays his hand to the work,” has been in force since the year 1839. Last year a translation of Mr. Pugin's “True Principles of Christian Architecture,” by M. Lebrocquy, edited by Mr. T. H. King, was published at Bruges; and an English gentleman, Mr. Philip, has been very successful in reviving the manufacture of Church plate, vestments, and ecclesiastical ornaments in Leige. Italy has likewise contributed a great deal to the literature of Christian art, especially respecting fresco and mosaic work, those departments for which the Italians have been always celebrated. Father Marchese's learned and brilliant work, “The Lives and Works of the great Christian Artists, of the Order of St. Dominick,” has thrown a new light upon the rise and progress of Christian art, and the lives of many of its successful cultivators. The rapid progress towards completion of the Cathedral of Cologne, and the number of societies for the distribution of religious pictures in Germany, are, perhaps, the best indications of the progress of Christian art in that country. But in no country has ecclesiastical architecture, and the arts in connection with it—such as glass painting, gold and silver smiths' works, and the manufacture of textile fabrics for Church purposes—made such progress as in England. When we reflect on what a fallen state all ecclesiastical art was in twenty years ago, in that country, and observe the change that has been wrought by the genius and energy of one man (Mr. Pugin), often struggling against the most adverse circumstances, we cannot but feel convinced that, long after he shall have passed away, he will be regarded as the most remarkable man of his era, and a great benefactor to the English Catholic Church. Certainly no artist of his day has united in himself so many varied and