LATE BYZANTINE. The three centuries before the twelfth were most prolific and successful in Byzantine miniature painting. The 3Inee (Ionian dynasty saw a return to more classic models, to in place of the decora tive work of the Iconoclastie age. The famous Purix has of antique grace showing a eopying, of very early models; but even works of purely contemporary art like the Paris mon, of Gregory of Nazianzus show an under of form and drapery denied to Western art. The brilliant gold grounds. the rich solid coloring!. the simplieity of composition and orna ment belong to a severer style. One of the most extensive series of pictures is contained in the unologi um of Emperor Basil II. in the Vatican, which heralds a decadence iu tine art. 'Flit' deeline is evident in the Paris sui ti .1,)1, Chry.yestom illuminated for phortis l l (107X•81). and culminated in the tt irks for the IraIssDlDgi, when figure.: ha ye hoeoine nerdy devoralvtl puppets, and when the artists in despair turn to decorative work and initials.
GoTifie. While Byzantine illumination was dying. the golden age of• the art in Europe beginning, at the close of the twelfth cen tury. First Germany. and then France take the lead. The Porlits lipiuritat of Berra(' of Landsperg, a sort of eyelop:edia in design, was a forerunner of Gothie design, whose first steps are shown hy Ilertnatin's Psalter. It was under Saint Loubt, ( 121211.70) in France. however, that the Gothic style of illumination really originated and developed. The influence of Byzantine art is shown in the clear outline., the solid strong coloring, the small-sized figures, the simplicity of accessories. and the good taste shown in every particular. Of course the orna ments and other details were adapted from the Gothic style of architecture, with growing realism in the use of plants and flowers. A Psalter of Saint Louis is the earliest masterpiece of the type so familiar to the strong style of stained glass windows. In the course of the fourteenth century a lighter scheme was introduced, with delicate shading instead of flat tints, with more detail and expression. This French Gothic school was extremely systematic in its use of in this as in the larger arts—and it originated the type of the Bible Historiee, corresponding to the German BibHa Pauper:ilia, with its great wealth of illustrations. The other main class of religious illuminated manuscripts was the Book of Hours or prayer-book. Such works, executed for the use of royal and feudal personages, were the most exquisite products of the school. But the field of subjects was immeasurably enlarged beyond the religious sphere, which had hitherto reigned alone. Works of poetry and legend, of history and literature of every kind, were deco rated as a matter of course with illuminations.
Other countries followed timidly and awkward ly in the wake of France, adopting her Gothic style in this as in other branches of art. Still, though England, Germany, and the Netherlands had flourishing schools, there was a lack of orig inality and far less perfection of design and color.
In France itself the latter part of the four teenth century saw a further approach to the methods of naturalistic painting. Exquisite bor ders of elaborate floral patterns commonly in closed the entire page, often enlivened by little birds, animals, and figures. Contemporary cos tume, furniture, and other accessories are repro duced with minute fidelity. Brush work is evi dent in the modeling. and faces are exquisitely treated. Work in monochrome, in the light yrisuilie. and in eanwieu became popular. The libraries of King Charles V. and of the dukes of Berry, Anjou, and Burgundy were enriched with many illuminated manuscripts, often by Court illuminators—missals, gospels, Psalters, brevi aries, books of hours, romances, poems, treatises on falconry, jousting, astronomy, physics. The number of illuminations in some of these works can he judged by the fact that a Bible done for the Duke of Burgundy contained over 2500 pic tures. The great public and private collections testify to the enormous productivity of the French schools during the latter part of the thirteenth and the whole of the fourteenth cen tury.
It was at. this time that two influences are noticeable: that of Italy and that of Flanders. The Italian Giottesque revival extended to illu mination, and Giotto's contemporary, the Sienese master Simone Memmi, executed illustrations to Vergil and to Pet rareh in a simple broad style, im ported from wall-painting.which henceforth char acterized Italian illuminating. The manuscript statutes of the Order of the Holy Ghost illustrate the development of this school. When the popes established themselves at Avignon the Italian miniaturists with them began to influence the French artists. On the other hand, the powerful school of Flanders began to dominate French art on the northern side, in this as in other branches, with tendency to heaviness. realism, and portrait ure, especially remarkable in the following cen tury.
The fifteenth century still belongs to the golden age in the West. In France, except for a few exceptional men who adopted the Renaissance style, led by Fouquet, the Gothic manner still ruled supreme. Here it was the feudal nobles and the royal family, and not the churches or monasteries, for whom nearly all the master pieces were executed: the Books of Hours or prayer-books were especially beautiful. Those of Philip the Good of Burgundy, at The Hague, and those of Charles the Bold and _Mary of Bur gundy, at Vienna, are typical of Flemish art, which was taking the lead in powerful natural ism. The Breviary of the Duke of Bedford (c. 1430) shows Franco-Flemish art. in the service of England. The Hours executed for Chevalier and the Jewish Antiquities of Josephus are among the masterpieces of Fouquet, even more great as a painter than miniaturist, who combined the pure Italian Renaissance with North French realism. In Bohemia also the art was royally patronized by Emperor Charles IV. and his son Weneeslas, while King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary helped develop the genius of some of the greatest Italian miniaturists.