Legends of the Madonna | Page 9

religious art, though
this effect was not fully evolved till a century later. More particularly
did this returning wave of Oriental influences modify the
representations of the Virgin. Fragments of the apocryphal gospels and
legends of Palestine and Egypt were now introduced, worked up into
ballads, stories, and dramas, and gradually incorporated with the
teaching of the Church. A great variety of subjects derived from the
Greek artists, and from particular localities and traditions of the East,
became naturalized in Western Europe, Among these were the legends
of Joachim and Anna; and the death, the assumption, and the
coronation of the Virgin.
Then came the thirteenth century, an era notable in the history of mind,
more especially notable in the history of art. The seed scattered hither
and thither, during the stormy and warlike period of the crusades, now
sprung up and flourished, bearing diverse fruit. A more contemplative
enthusiasm, a superstition tinged with a morbid melancholy, fermented
into life and form. In that general "fit of compunction," which we are
told seized all Italy at this time, the passionate devotion for the benign
Madonna mingled the poetry of pity with that of pain; and assuredly

this state of feeling, with its mental and moral requirements, must have
assisted in emancipating art from the rigid formalism of the degenerate
Greek school. Men's hearts, throbbing with a more feeling, more
pensive life, demanded something more like life,--and produced it. It is
curious to trace in the Madonnas of contemporary, but far distant and
unconnected schools of painting, the simultaneous dawning of a
sympathetic sentiment--for the first time something in the faces of the
divine beings responsive to the feeling of the worshippers. It was this,
perhaps, which caused the enthusiasm excited by Cimabue's great
Madonna, and made the people shout and dance for joy when it was
uncovered before them. Compared with the spectral rigidity, the hard
monotony, of the conventional Byzantines, the more animated eyes, the
little touch of sweetness in the still, mild face, must have been like a
smile out of heaven. As we trace the same softer influence in the
earliest Siena and Cologne pictures of about the same period, we may
fairly regard it as an impress of the spirit of the time, rather than that of
an individual mind.
In the succeeding century these elements of poetic art, expanded and
animated by an awakened observation of nature, and a sympathy with
her external manifestations, were most especially directed by the
increasing influence of the worship of the Virgin, a worship at once
religious and chivalrous. The title of "Our Lady"[1] came first into
general use in the days of chivalry, for she was the lady "of all hearts,"
whose colours all were proud to wear. Never had her votaries so
abounded. Hundreds upon hundreds had enrolled themselves in
brotherhoods, vowed to her especial service;[2] or devoted to acts of
charity, to be performed in her name.[3] Already the great religious
communities, which at this time comprehended all the enthusiasm,
learning, and influence of the Church, had placed themselves solemnly
and especially under her protection. The Cistercians wore white in
honour of her purity; the Servi wore black in respect to her sorrows; the
Franciscans had enrolled themselves as champions of the Immaculate
Conception; and the Dominicans introduced the rosary. All these richly
endowed communities vied with each other in multiplying churches,
chapels, and pictures, in honour of their patroness, and expressive of
her several attributes. The devout painter, kneeling before his easel,
addressed himself to the task of portraying those heavenly lineaments

which had visited him perhaps in dreams. Many of the professed monks
and friars became themselves accomplished artists.[4]
[Footnote 1: _Fr._ Notre Dame. _Ital._ La Madonna. _Ger._ Unser
liebe Frau.]
[Footnote 2: As the Serviti, who were called in France, les esclaves de
Marie.]
[Footnote 3: As the order of "Our Lady of Mercy," for the deliverance
of captives.--Vide Legends of the Monastic Orders.]
[Footnote 4: A very curious and startling example of the theological
character of the Virgin in the thirteenth century is figured in Miss
Twining's work, "_The Symbols of early Christian Art_;" certainly the
most complete and useful book of the kind which I know of. Here the
Madonna and Child are seated side by side with the Trinity; the Holy
Spirit resting on her crowned head.]
At this time, Jacopo di Voragine compiled the "Golden Legend," a
collection of sacred stories, some already current, some new, or in a
new form. This famous book added many themes to those already
admitted, and became the authority and storehouse for the early
painters in their groups and dramatic compositions. The increasing
enthusiasm for the Virgin naturally caused an increasing demand for
the subjects taken from her personal history, and led, consequently, to a