LONIIIARD AND CARLOVINGIAN SCULPTURE.
For Europe the period between the sixth and the eleventh century is often termed the " Dark Ages," and this was truly the case for sculp ture, however incorrect the term may be in some other respects. The lamp of culture became very dim; literature was kept alive only in a few monasteries, and the process of civilizing the barbarous tribes of the North was but slow. Little did the noble attempt of Charlemagne avail; even that made a century and a half later by the Othos of Germany was limited in extent. During all these four hundred years the art of sculpture was almost dead; the iconoclastic mania not only put an end to monumental sculpture throughout the East, but strongly influenced the West, and Charlemagne himself could hardly be persuaded by Pope Hadrian to allow the carving of images, for fear that the absurd accusation of wor shipping idols should be made against the Franks.
Church Scuipur•s.—In Italy the Lombards built churches in a style somewhat different from that of either the Latin basilicas or the I3yzan tine churches, and the sculptures with which they adorned their facades and interiors were without any trace of classic or of Eastern influence. They were rude and barbarous in style and weird in conception; it was Northern fancy running riot in stone and creating extraordinary animals and fantastic monsters which the eve of man had never seen (for example, the facade of S. Michele, Pavia). There were exceptions to this, and the most extraordinary of all these is the silver canopy supported on four col umns which overshadows the high altar of S. Ambrogio, at Milan—a work by the sculptor Wolyinus. The figures in high relief are of good propor tion, and in au excellent taste that seems quite foreign to the usual Lom bard work.
Small of Italy, however, carving still flourished to a limited extent, but only in the lesser arts, which were continually revived by taking as models works imported from the East executed by Byzantine artists, who still kept unbroken the traditions handed down from the Roman period. These small objects, being easily transportable, were procured by the less skilled artists of the West. But this imitation did not exclude at times a considerable amount of originality, which is especially shown in the ivory book-covers of the Carlovingian period.
The style of these carvings is very striking. The figures are so high in relief that often they are almost detached from their background; they are slender and usually full of action and vivacity, differing in the latter par ticular from contemporary Byzantine work. A late but rather good example of this style is given in Figure 5 (AL 1 7). This is an ivory book-cover carved by the monk nail°, who died in 9i5. Tutilo belonged to the monastery of St. Gall, in Switzerland, which was for several cen turies a centre of art in all its forms, as well as of learning. From it artist monks went forth to spread the fine arts far and wide over Germany and France. • Difitych of versatile Tutilo was one of the monastery's most gifted artists. On the tablet here illustrated (p. r7,A,-. 5) he has wrought, in the centre, Christ, in an oval glory or aureole, enthroned in the heavenly Jerusalem, whose towers and gates are to be seen on either side. The letters .1 and P—" the beginning and the cud "—are placed on either side of the cruciform nimbus that encircles his head; in his right hand he holds a book, and his left is raised, showing the wound in the palm. Encircling the glory are the four living creatures —the eagle, the angel, the lion, and the bull—which were considered the symbols of the Evangelists. On each side stands a seraph with six wings, and in the four corners are the figures of the Evangelists themselves, writing on tablets or rolls. At the summit are allegorical figures of the Sun and the Moon, holding torches, while, below, Ocean rests on a marine monster and is pouring out water from a vase, and fertile Earth holds a horn of plenty and gives stick to a child. These alle gories are in themselves sufficient to show how dependent Tutilo was on Byzantine models, and at the same time the Evangelists, though full of suppressed motion, remind one of ancient philosophers; still, this classic tradition must have come to the Carlovingian artist not directly, but through Byzantium. Nevertheless, there are qualities of execution and of composition that give a real merit to this work, which is but one of many that prove the individuality of this Carlovingian school. It is unfortunate that it never attempted larger and more important works which might have left us something of uncommon interest.