**i»
57S2B1
7RSF.
s.
bZ733.B752B7
*
Lf
5*
a
__a
A
Mew Handbook
oflhe
^oston Riblicjl
and its
M\iraJ Decorations
1916
Association Publications
])oston
m
THE
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
/fSioei
HANDBOOK
of the
BOSTON PUBLIC
LIBRARY
t
BOSTON
ASSOCIATION PUBLICATIONS
1916
*
COPYRIGHT 1916
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY EMPLOYEES
BENEFIT ASSOCIATION.
Copyright notice: In addition to the general copyright which covers
the text and illustrations, the engravings of the Sargent paintings on pages
59 to 87 are from Association Prints, copyright 191 6, by the Boston
Public Library Employees Benefit Association, the Prints being made from
the original paintings, Copyright, 19 16, by the Trustees of the Boston Pub-
lic Library.
<
—
U
E
D
c
H
O
E-i
THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.
THE BUILDING.
The Library building, elevated upon a granite plat-
form to command Copley square, is constructed of gray
Milford (Massachusetts) granite. It is 225 feet long,
227 feet wide, and 70 feet high. It was occupied in
1895 and has cost about $2,750,000, exclusive of the
land which was given in part by the State.
The architects of the building, which is designed
in the Classic Renaissance style, were McKim, Mead
and White.
A heavy lower story supports an upper story, lightened
by high arched windows. The red tiled roof is topped
by a copper cresting which softens the sky line. In the
spandrels of the window arches are the marks or trade
devices of early printers and book-sellers, carved in
the granite, the work of Domingo Mora. Beneath the
windows are tablets giving the names of the world's
foremost men in all lines of activity.
Above the doorway, the seals, sculptured by Augustus
St. Gaudens, from designs by Kenyan Cox, are, from
left to right : those of the State of Massachusetts, of the
Library, and of the City of Boston. Over the central
door is seen a head of Minerva by St. Gaudens. The
statues of Art and Science in front of the building are
the work of Bela L. Pratt.
THE VESTIBULE.
The vestibule is of unpolished Tennessee marble, and
contains a bronze, heroic size statue of Sir Harry Vane,
Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1636,
which is the work of Frederick MacMonnies. The
[7]
bronze doors, by Daniel C. French, representing Music,
Poetry, Knowledge, Wisdom, Truth, and Romance,
open into the
ENTRANCE HALL.
This hall is Roman in design. The vaulted ceiling
with its arches is supported by heavy pillars of Iowa
sandstone. The ceiling is of mosaic with trellises on
the vault, while in the penetrations and pendentives of
the domes, which are on either side, are inscribed the
names of eminent Bostonians. The floor, of Georgia
marble, is inlaid in brass with the signs of the Zodiac,
and the names of benefactors of the Library.
GROUND FLOOR.
To the Left of the Staircase are the Coat Room;
Elevator; and Entrance to the Courtyard and the Cata-
logue and Ordering Departments.
To the Right are the Public Stenographer's Room,
the Newspaper and the Periodical Rooms and the
Entrance to the Courtyard. Across the Courtyard are
the Public Toilet Rooms, Bound Newspaper and Patent
Rooms, and the Statistical Department.
The Newspaper Room is supported in part by the
William C. Todd fund of $50,000, and contains three
hundred and ten current newspapers from all parts of the
world.
The Periodical Room contains about fourteen hundred
current periodicals and also bound files of periodicals.
The Courtyard, open to the sky, with a basin and
fountain set in a grass plot, is surrounded by granite and
grayish yellow brick walls. On three sides is a vaulted
arcade suggestive of the Palazzo Cancellaria in Rome.
[8]
Music. Poetry.
Bronze doors by Daniel C. French,
Entrance Hall.
The floor is of brick, bordered with Georgia and Tucka-
hoe, New York, marble." Two memorials here are a
bust of General Francis A. Walker, once a Trustee of
the Library, by ^Richard E. Brooks, and a medallion
portrait by St. Gaudens of Robert Charles Billings, who
gave the largest single gift in money ever received by the
Library.
THE GRAND STAIRCASE.
This staircase has walls of rich Siena marble, with
steps of French Echaillan marble. The floor of the
first landing is inlaid with Numidian marble, while the
pedestals at this point support two marble lions, sculp-
tured by Louis St. Gaudens. These memorials are gifts
of the Second and Twenty-second Regiments Massachu-
setts Volunteer Tnfantrv.
The panels in the staircase walls and those of the
corridor on the
SECOND FLOOR
contain the mural decoration,
THE SPIRIT OF KNOWLEDGE
by
Puvis de Chavannes.
W A Description of his composition
By the Artist.
L"J
L'ESPRIT HUMAIN.
L'honneur m'ayant ete confie de decorer l'escalier de
la Bibliotheque de Boston, j'ai cherche a representee sous
une forme emblematique, l'ensemble des richesses in-
tellectuelles reunies dans ce beau monument. Cet en-
semble me parait resume dans la composition ayant pour
titre
LES MUSES INSPIRATRICES
ACCLAMENT LE GENIE, MESSAGER
DE LUMIERE.
Les autres compositions, qui sont le developpement
de celle-ci, correspondent aux quatre grandes manifes-
tations de l'esprit humain :
POESIE, PHILOSOPHIE, HISTOIRE, SCIENCE.
Sur le mur de droite en entrant dans l'escalier, ap-
paraissent en trois panneaux :
i. La Poesie des Champs. Virgile.
2. La Poesie Dramatique. Eschyle et les Oceanides
3. La Poesie Epique. Homere couronne par l'lliade
et l'Odyssee.
Sur le mur de gauche:
1. L'Histoire accompagnee d'un Genie portant un
flambeau evoque le Passe.
2. L'Astronomie. Les Bergers Chaldeens observent
les astres et decouvrent la loi des nombres.
3. La Philosophie. Platon resumant dans une parole
celebre l'eternel antagonisme entre TEsprit et la Ma-
tiere:
"L'Homme est une plante du ciel non de la terre."
[12]
o
U
The Main Staircase.
THE SPIRIT OF KNOWLEDGE.
Having been intrusted with the honour of decorat-
ing the staircase of the Boston Library, I have sought
to represent under a symbolic form and in a single view
the intellectual treasures collected in this beautiful build-
ing. The whole seems to me summed up in the com-
position entitled
THE MUSES OF INSPIRATION
HAIL THE SPIRIT, THE HARBINGER
OF LIGHT.
Out of this composition others have developed which
answer to the four great expressions of the human
mind:
POETRY, PHILOSOPHY, HISTORY, SCIENCE.
On the righthand wall of the staircase as you enter
appear in three panels :
1. Pastoral Poetry. Virgil.
2. Dramatic Poetry. ^Eschylus and the Oceanides.
3. Epic Poetry. Homer crowned by the Iliad and
Odyssey.
On the lefthand wall :
1. History attended by a Spirit bearing a torch calls
up the Past.
2. Astronomy. The Chaldean Shepherds observe the
stars and discover the law of numbers.
3. Philosophy. Plato sums up in an immortal phrase
the eternal conflict between Spirit and Matter.
"Man is a plant of heavenly not ()t earthly growth."
[15]
Sur le mur du fond, a droite et a gauche des fene-
tres :
A gauche: La Chimie (minerale, organique, vegetale) :
Une mysterieuse transformation s'elabore sous la bagu-
ette magique parmi des genies attentifs.
A droite: La Physique: Agent merveilleux de l'Elec-
tricite, le Verbe sillonne l'espace, portant avec la
rapidite de l'eclair la bonne et la mauvaise nouvelle.
P. PUVIS DE CHAVANNES.
On the end wall to the right and left of the win-
dows :
To the left: Chemistry (mineral, organic, vegetable):
A process of mysterious change evolves itself under the
magic wand of a fairy surrounded by watching spirits.
To the right: Physics: By the wondrous agency of Elec-
tricity, Speech flashes through Space and swift as
lightning bears tidings of good and evil.
P. PUVIS DE CHAVANNES.
[16]
' flr
4\4
J|
' H.yfl^.
■
Muses.
Portion of the decoration by Puvis de Cha: amies.
THE SECOND FLOOR.
The corridor is tiled with Istrian and Verona marble.
The door in the centre of the corridor is the entrance to
BATES HALL.
In the passageway, on either side are beautiful Ven-
etian iron gates. Bates Hall, the main reading-room of
the Library, named in honor of its first great benefactor,
is finished in Amherst, Ohio, sandstone, and is 218 feet
long, 42 feet wide and 50 feet high. The ceiling, vaulted
and panelled, semi-domed at the ends, is painted in deli-
cate tones of ivory and blue. The busts around the sides
are those of prominent Americans, and cut in the
frieze between the arches on a level with the cornices
are the names of some of the world's greatest men.
The oak bookcases on the walls and the screens that
divide the main hall from the apses contain 8,000 books
of reference. Over the centre door, the richly carved
balcony of Indiana limestone is suggestive of that in
the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The doorways at
either end have green, serpentine Corinthian , columns,
with bronze caps and entablatures of Belgian black
marble. The Central Desk is a department of infor-
mation, supervision of the delivery of books in this
hall, and the charging of books for home use, if desired
by readers.
The Public Catalogue is in the apse at the right-hand
end of the hall. Here on cards, in drawers, arranged
by author, and subject, in one alphabet, are listed all
books in the Library, except works on music and fiction.
From these cards is obtained the call number of a book
desired, which, placed on the slips provided on the
[19]
tables and handed in at the proper desk, secures the
book desired.
Returning to the corridor and turning to the left, an
alcove is reached, which contains a drinking fountain.
The Pompeian wall decorations are by Elmer E. Garn-
sey. The doorway leads to the
DELIVERY ROOM
Here books are loaned for home use and returned by
borrowers. This room is finished in oak, with a richly
ornamented beamed ceiling, and a high wainscoting, of
large panels, divided by fluted pilasters. The floor is
tiled with Istrian and Verona marble. The doorways
have columns of red and green Levanfo, with bases of
rouge antique and entablatures of both these marbles.
The mantel is also of highly polished rouge antique.
The frieze is that of
THE QUEST AND ACHIEVEMENT OF THE HOLY GRAIL
By Edwin Austin Abbey, R. A.
An outline of this Version of the Legend,
By Henry James.
[20]
Statrcase Corridor, {Second Floor).
<
•si
s
^q
THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAIL.
The Holy ( irail was fabled to be the sacred vessel
from which our Lord had eaten at the Last Supper,
and into which (having purchased it from Pontius
Pilate), Joseph of Arimathea had gathered the divine
blood of His wounds. Its existence, its preservation,
its miraculous virtues and properties were a cherished
popular belief in the early ages of European Christian-
ity ; and in the folk-lore from which the twelfth-century
narrators, Walter Mapes in England, Chretien de Troyes
in France, and Wolfram von Eschenbach in Germany,
drew their material, it was represented as guarded for
ages in the Castle of the Grail by the descendants of
the "rich man," to whom the body of Jesus had been
surrendered, where it awaited the coming of the perfect
knight, who alone should be worthy to have knowledge
of it. This perfect knight is introduced to us in the
romances of the Arthurian cycle, so largely devoted to
the adventures of the various candidates for this most
exalted of rewards. Incomparable were the properties
of the Grail, the enjoyment of a revelation of which con-
veyed, among many privileges, the ability to live, and to
cause others to live, indefinitely without food, as well
as the achievement of universal knowledge, and of in-
vulnerability in battle.
This revelation was the proof and recompense of the
highest knightly purity, the perfection constituting its
possessor the type of the knightly character ; so that the
highest conceivable emprise for the Companions of the
Round Table was to attain to such a consecration — to
[23]
Cause the transcendent vessel to be made manifest to
them. The incarnation of the ideal knighthood in the
group here exhibited is that stainless Sir Galahad, with
whom — on different lines — Tennyson has touched Hie
imagination of all readers.
No. i.
The child Galahad, the descendant, by his mother, of
Joseph of Arimathea, is visited, among the nuns who
bring him up, by a dove bearing a golden censer and an
angel carrying the Grail, the presence of which operates
as sustenance to the infant. From the hands of the holy
women the predestined boy passes into those of the subtle
Gurnemanz, who instructs him in the knowledge of the
things of the world, and in the duties and functions of
the ideal knight. But before leaving the nuns he has
performed his nightly vigil — has watched alone, till
dawn, in the church.
No. 2.
This ordeal of the vigil terminates in his departure.
Clothed in red, he is girt for going forth, while the nuns
bring to him Sir Lancelot, who fastens on one of his
spurs, and Sir Bors, who attaches the other.
No. 3.
The Arthurian Round Table and the curious fable of
the Seat Perilous are here dealt with : the Seat Perilous
— "perilous for good and ill" — in which no man has
yet sat with safety, not even the fashioner himself, but
into which, standing vacant while it awaits only a blame-
less occupant, the young Sir Galahad, knighted by Arthur,
has sworn a vow to be worthy to take his place. The
[24]
\
I
1
[fffJafil
^Bfe-/' yi •?
|=5
■
/ ;
1
! i
» "TF 75
1
jpMwiiiiit-- • ■■■'^sa^-';:"- ::«PP
* I
" ^ '^ ' T ' r ' ■
..... mJ
!a3"
a ..■■!
, -^st-
c
o
05
c
K
c
U
OS
Q
&
03
u
o
c
o
O
O
P4
«
w
Q
&3
Companions of the Order are seated in Arthur's hall,
and every chair, save one, is filled. Sudden1)- the doors
and windows close of themselves, the place becomes suf-
fused with light, and Sir Galahad, robed in red (the
color emblematic of purity), is led in by an old man
clothed in white, Joseph of Arimathea, who, according to
one of the most artless features of the romance, has
subsisted for centuries by the possession of the supreme
relic. The young knight is thus installed in safety in the
Seat Perilous, above which becomes visible the legend,
"This is the seat of Galahad."
No. 4.
The knights are about to go forth on their search
for the Holy Grail, now formally instituted by King
Arthur. They have heard Mass and are receiving the
episcopal benediction, Sir Galahad always in red.
Throughout this series he is the "bright boy-knight"
of Tennyson, though not, as that poet represents him,
"white-armored."
No. 5.
Amfortas, the Fisher King, King of the Grail, as
the legend has it, having been wounded several centuries
before for taking up arms in the cause of unlawful love,
lies under a spell, with all the inmates of the Castle of the
Grail, into which the artist here introduces us. They are
spiritually dead, and although the Grail often appears
in their very midst, they cannot see it. From this strange
perpetuation of ineffectual life they can none of them,
women or men, priests, or soldiers, or courtiers, be lib-
erated by death until the most blameless knight shall at
[27}
last arrive. It will not be sufficient, however, that he
simply penetrate into the castle: to the operation of the
remedy is attached that condition which recurs so often
in primitive romance, the asking of a question on which
everything depends. Sir Galahad has reached his goal,
but at the very goal his single slight taint of imperfec-
tion, begotten of the too worldly teaching of Gurne-
manz, defeats his beneficent action. Before him passes
the procession of the Grail, moving between the great
fires and the trance-smitten king, and gazing at it he
tries to arrive, in his mind, at an interpretation of what
it means. He sees the bearer of the Grail, the damsel
with the Golden Dish (the prototype of whom was
Herodias bearing the head of John the Baptist on a
charger), the two knights with the Seven-branched
Candle-stick, the knight holding aloft the Bleeding Spear.
The duty resting upon him is to ask what these things
denote, but, with the presumption of one who supposes
himself to have imbibed all knowledge, he forbears, con-
sidering that he is competent to guess. But he pays
for his silence, inasmuch as it forfeits for him the glory
of redeeming from this paralysis of centuries the old
monarch and his hollow-eyed Court, forever dying and
never dead, whom he leaves folded in their dreadful
doom. On his second visit, many years later, he is bet-
ter inspired.
No. 6.
It is the morning after his visit to the Castle of the
Grail. Awakening in the chamber to which he had been
lea the previous night, Sir Galahad finds the castle de-
serted. Issuing forth, he sees his horse saddled and the
drawbridge down. Thinking to find in the forest the
[28]
inmates of the castle, he rides forth, but the drawbridge
closes suddenly behind him ; a wail of despair follows
him, and voices mock him for having failed to ask the
effectual Question.
He fares forward and presently meets three damsels ;
the first, the Loathly Damsel, is riding upon a pale mule
with a golden bridle. This lady, once beautiful in form
and features, is now noble still in form, but hideous in
feature, and she wears a red cloak, and a hood about
her head, for she is bald ; and in her arms is the head of
a dead king, encircled with a gold crown. The second
lady is riding in the manner of an esquire. The third
is on her feet, dressed as a stripling, and in her hand
is a scourge with which she drives the two riders. These
damsels are under the spell of the Castle of the Grail.
Against her will, a magic power is used by the Loathly
Damsel to tempt and destroy knights and kings. She,
with her two companions, must continue to wander, do-
ing deeds of wickedness, until the sinless Virgin Knight
shall come to the castle and ask concerning the wonders
he sees there. They now assail Sir Galahad with re-
proaches, cursing him for having failed on the previous
day to ask the Question, which not only would have
delivered them and the inmates of the castle, but would
have restored peace and plenty to the land. The earth
now must remain barren, and Sir Galahad, wandering
forth again, is followed by the curses of the peasantry,
while war rages throughout the land. He must encounter
many adventures, suffer many sorrows, and many years
must pass before he returns once more to the Castle of
the Grail, where, having through all ordeals remained
sinless, he will finally ask the Question which shall re-
deem the sin-stricken land.
[29]
No. 7.
Sir Galahad is here seen arriving at the gate of the
Castle of the Maidens, where the seven Knights of
Darkness, the seven Deadly Sins, have imprisoned a great
company of maidens, the Virtues, in order to keep them
from all contact with man. It is Sir Galahad's mission
to overcome Sin and redeem the world by setting free
the Virtues, and he accordingly fights the seven knights
till he overcomes them.
No. 8.
Having passed the outer gate of the castle, Sir Gala-
had encounters a monk who blesses him and delivers up
to him the keys of the castle.
No. 9.
Sir Galahad's entry into the castle is here shown.
The imprisoned maidens have long been expecting him,
for it had been prophesied that the perfect knight would
come to deliver them. They welcome him with shy de-
light, putting out their hands to be kissed. Having ac-
complished this mission, Sir Galahad passes on to other
deeds.
No. 10.
Sir Galahad has become wedded to Blancheneur, but,
sacrificing his earthly love, he leaves her that he may
continue the Quest. The wounded and sin-stricken Am-
fortas can be healed only by a Virgin Knight, and only
a Virgin Knight may achieve the Quest. A new-born
knowledge has unsealed Sir Galahad's eyes, but with
[30]
this knowledge is begotten the strength to overcome,
and, renouncing finally every human desire, he resumes
the Quest.
No. ii.
Having passed through many adventures, Sir Gala-
had has here returned to the Castle of the Grail. The
procession of the Grail has once more passed before him,
and this time, grown wise by knowledge and suffering,
he asks the Question, and thereby heals Amfortas,
cleanses him from sin, and allows the old king to die.
The Angel bears away the Grail from the castle, and
it is not seen again until the day when Sir Galahad
achieves it at Sarras. Having now accomplished his
great task, he is guided by the spirit of the Grail toward
the goal which shall crown his labors — the achievement
of the Grail. He is directed toward the sea, to Solomon's
Ship, which will bear him to Sarras, where he will be
crowned king, and where the Grail itself will finally
appear to him.
No. 12.
Sir Galahad, borne upon a white charger, and followed
by the blessings of the people, is seen passing from the
land, where peace and plenty once more reign.
No. 13.
Sir Galahad is here in Solomon's Ship, which he found
waiting to carry him across the seas to Sarras. The
Grail, borne by an angel, guides the ship. Sir Bors and
Sir Percival follow him. Having sinned once, they can
never see the Grail themselves, yet, having persevered
[31]
faithfully in the Quest, they have acquired the right to
accompany Sir Galahad and witness his achievement.
Resting upon a cushion in the stern of the ship are three
spindles made from the "Tree of Life" — one snow-white,
one green, one blood-red. When Eve was driven from
the Garden of Eden, she carried with her the branch
which she had plucked from the "Tree of Life." The
branch, when planted, grew to be a tree, with branches
and leaves white, in token that Eve was a virgin when
she planted it. When Cain was begotten, the tree turned
green ; and afterward, when Cain slew Abel, the tree
turned red.
No. 14.
The City of Sarras.
No. 15.
Sir Galahad is now King of Sarras, and upon a hill
he makes a Sacred Place and builds a Golden Tree.
Morning and evening he repairs thither, and from day to
day he beautifies the tree, and, finally, when it is com-
plete, Joseph of Arimathea (with a company of angels)
appears with the Grail. As Sir Galahad gazes upon it,
crown, sceptre, and robe fall from him. He no longer
needs them. He thanks God for having let him see that
which tongue may not describe, nor heart think. Hav-
ing now beheld that which is the source of all life and
knowledge and power, his spirit can no longer remain
in the narrow confines of his body. The Grail itself is
borne heavenward, and is never again seen on earth.
[32]
The Tube Room opens in the west wall, and the
desks at either side are for the delivery and return of
home-use books. Call slips are sent from this room by
pneumatic tubes to the Book Stacks, from which books
are forwarded by small cars.
The Book Stacks are back of this room and occupy
six floors. They are not open to the public.
The entrance at the further end of the room leads to
the Registration Department where borrowers' cards
are issued.
The Librarian's Room is also reached by this entrance.
The Trustees' Room occupies the mezzanine story
above the Registration Department and Tube Room.
Returning to the corridor and crossing to the other side,
there will be found a lobby decorated by Joseph Lindon
Smith. The decoration depicts Venice at the height of
her glory.
The staircase on one side of the lobby leads to the
Special Libraries and Fine Arts Department. The
doorway from this Lobby leads to the Children's Room.
Here books suitable for children are arranged on open
shelves, and they may select a book and read it here
or have it charged for home use.
The Teachers' Reference Room leads from this room.
( )n the upper shelves reposes the Library of President
John Adams. The ceiling decoration is
THE TRIUMPH OF TIME.
A Ceiling Decoration in the Children's Reference Library
By
John Elliott.
AN EXPLANATION.
[33]
The painting contains thirteen winged figures. The
twelve female figures represent the Hours, and the one
male figure, Time. The Christian Centuries are typi-
fied by twenty horses arranged in five rows, of four
each. In each row the two centre horses are side by
side, and between these and the outer horses are two
winged female figures representing Hours. On either
side of the car in which is the figure of Time are the
Hours of Life and Death. Seen from before the door
of the Children's Room the design begins in the neigh-
borhood of the nearer left hand corner, and describes
a semi-circle, with a downward sweep over an effect of
clouds, back to the left again, to a point about two-thirds
across the canvas, and culminates in a disk, the sun,
before which are the leading horse and the figure typi-
fying the Twentieth Century. In the nearer right hand
corner is a crescent moon with a full disk faintly show-
ing. The decoration is divided in the centre by a beam,
but notwithstanding this division, the composition is
consecutive.
To< the rear of this room is an entrance to the Lecture
Hall, public access to which is from Boylston street
only. A series of public lectures is given here yearly.
Returning again to the corridor and ascending the
staircase, at the left the first landing opens on to the
balcony over the centre door of Bates Hall. At the
head of this staircase is Sargent Hall. The wainscotting
is of Amherst sandstone and the floor is of Yorkshire
sandstone, similar to the walls and treads of the stair-
case leading to it. The decorations on the walls and
ceiling are
[3+]
s*
w
'-^
-
fl
-
<
o
+->
O
ffl
cfl
..
r_]
>.
—
£
Z.
£
«
<
8
K
H;
U
h.
w
.Q
Q
t5
0)
/.
J>
fcO
•r>
*—
-
I-.
— i
c
©
o
H
/.
&
©
U
©
O
<—
«
s
<
%-'
LT.
JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY
A Sequence of Mural Decorations
By
JOHN SINGER SARGENT, R. A.
AN INTERPRETATION
By Sylvester Baxter.
Note by the author: In the following interpretation the
second and third parts were written originally for periodical
publications, and were later selected by the Library manage-
ment for the information of visitors. To bring the work down
to the present moment the first, fourth and fifth parts have
been written especially for this handbook by request of the
Association issuing it.
Boston, November, 1916.
[37]
THE SCHEME OF DECORATION.
The decoration of the upper staircase hall of the
Special Libraries floor, now stands all but complete ;
the intention and magnitude of the task are made clear.
As the scheme has taken final shape under the gradual
clelevopment of the controlling motive, it has involved
material departures from what was originally proposed.
The shape of the hall — long, lofty and rather nar-
row— suggests one of those superbly decorated chapels
not uncommonly a feature in some Old World cathe-
dral, convent or palace. To realize this semblance at its
best Mr. Sargent has somewhat modified the room in
its architectural elements. The richness of the two
highly decorated end-divisions had given the entirely
undecorated space between them an effect of bareness.
This space has now been adequately treated after de-
velopments designed to emphasize the architectural
units by carrying the lines of the pilasters up through
the barrel-arched ceiling— the ribs thus formed accentu-
ating the existing bays, and with the added ornament
correspondingly accenting the penetrations and the
lunettes. This change was made necessary by an im-
portant change in the scheme of decoration. The inten-
tion had been to unite the end sections decoratively by
a treatment of the long east wall only. But further study
of the problem led to the conclusion that the decoration
of the ceiling was of greater importance. These six
lunettes in the ceiling have furnished the mural ground
for the additional decorations. With the abounding
employment of gilded relief-ornament in the ceiling we
[38]
now have an effect of magnificence, a large splendor of
unified design ; the sense of unity which comes with a
vast composition made up of manifold and complex
elements whose every detail is the work of one master-
hand. In thus carrying out his scheme in every part,
Mr. Sargent has recognized the importance of architec-
tural detail as an essential of monumental decoration
and has consequently designed and modelled all the
ornament.
His enthusiasm for this part of the work, so largely
plastic in nature, — in the doing of which he found the
fresh delight that comes with a change in lines of re-
search— is manifest in the infinite care bestowed upon
the designing and modelling of every detail, whether
free or conventionalized. The gold ornament thus de-
signed, in contrast with the soft cool grays that bespeak
the fundamental quality of the walls and ceiling, sets
off the mural paintings with a richly harmonious setting.
The motives of these six lunettes — of which three are
Hebrew and three Christian — together with those of
the east-wall decorations yet to come, adequately tie
together the themes of the great compositions at the ends,
respectively representing the Jewish and the Christian
faiths. These new lunette-paintings depict certain be-
liefs of Judaism and of Christianity. Yet to come are
the paintings to occupy the three vacant spaces on the
east wall, above the staircase. The scheme for this part
of the great composition has materially modified the
original proposition for it. The early arrangement for
the decoration of this room contemplated only the paint-
ings at the two ends. But the first part was received
with such enthusiasm that friends of the Library raised
by subscription an additional amount for the decora-
f39]
tion of the east wall. The idea then was a panoramic
composition, extending through the three panels and de-
voted to a sublime phase of the New Testament, perhaps
"The Sermon on the Mount." In developing his theme,
however, Mr. Sargent reached the conclusion that the
hall was too narrow to allow a painting of such length
to show to advantage. Each panel of the three will
therefore be separately treated. The middle panel will
be a large composition; the two side subjects will com-
bine a mural and an architectural treatment. It may
be noted that, while the traditional, the symbolistic,
treatment has necessarily controlled the development of
the whole decorative scheme up to this point, in this
painting, in all likelihood, we shall witness a gracious
flowering of it all in a less rigid development.
The two adjacent decorations will represent respec-
tively the Jewish synagogue and the Christian church.
The personification of the synagogue and the church will
be enshrined in the architecturally treated panels at the
ends, already a feature.
While the scheme still lacks these completing elements
on the long wall, the general effect, as with any organism
that has readied the threshold of maturity, is now one of
unity, of wholeness. For the first time the visitor sees
the work as one coherent entity filling the entire space,
in place of the expanse of bare walls and ceiling that
had separated the decorated ends, which until now had
made an unavoidably fragmentary impression. Though
still incomplete, the present effect is one of completion.
One now appreciates in what abundant measure the
artist has here given of himself to what has been purely
a labor of love ; indeed, we have here a unique posses-
Uo]
sion for the Boston public, and even for the entire
American people.
The impression of unity made by these decorations
is enhanced by the pains taken to maintain the
balance that belongs with a continuous architectural
scheme. The two shrine-like frames on the east wall,
for instance, are complemented on the opposite side
by the large book-cases that impart to the room the
distinctive library note; these have now been made
less conspicuous by setting them back into the wall.
The middle panel on the east wall, to be occupied by
* the central feature of the whole scheme, is balanced
by the entrance to the Allen A. Brown Music Library.
For the time-being the vacant shrine-like frames
above the staircase are filled with drapery that over-
comes the unfinished look which otherwise would
appear. These frames bring down to the lower wall
the note of dark blue which occurs in the decorations
above and in the ceiling ornament. This blue is an
instance of how much a color depends upon relation-
ship to other colors ; by itself it seems rather leaden than
blue, but association with gold ornament brings out
the blue quality most impressively, imparting to the
mural decorations a spaciousness of infinite depth
and latent luminosity.
The prevailing tones in the color-scheme of the
hall are the soft cool grays of masonry, deepening* to
this blue tranquility; and again, as in the Puvis de
Chavannes paintings of the staircase below, empha-
sized in the mural quality of the figures — but with
this marked difference : while in the Puvis de
Chavannes decorations the effect is characteristically
obtained in silhoutte, thus masterfully indicating
both the flatness and the mural texture of the surface,
here on the other hand, in quite another way and
with equal felicity, Mr. Sargent achieves the mural
impression through a plastic rendering. This differ-
ence in method is quite as it should be in this con-
nection, being the more adapted to the basic con-
ditions - - the architectural elements possessing a
distinctive salience, as in the arches at the recessed
ends, and in the rich relief of the ornament. Hence
a plastic development seems specifically called for
here and Mr. Sargent has fittingly made his task that
of both architect and sculptor, as well as painter.
A dominantly plastic character, therefore, pervades
the whole scheme. Beginning with the figure of
Moses in polychrome relief, complemented in the
great Crucifix opposite, and from these initial notes
running through the entire work - - varying from the
simulation of plastic effects in the painting Of flat
surfaces to actual modelling in low relief — the
plastic, and the chromatic associate and blend so con-
summately that the beholder finds it impossible to
distinguish between them. Particularly notable is
this in the six lunettes of the side walls.
Together with the prevailing tones aforementioned,
masses of reds and greens enter into the dominant
chords ; gold is lavishly used for accent, as well as
in the conventional ornamentation of architecture
and in the frames of the panels. Again in the figures
the mural ground of soft cool grays often blends into
warmer tones deepening in the shadows to a golden
luminosity.
[42]
II.
THE JUDAIC DEVELOPMENT.
(At the North End of the Hall.)
(Copyright 1895 by Harper & Bros.)
The first impression received is that of a decorative
composition of extraordinary magnificence. One is clear-
ly impressed at a glance by the main idea, and is also
made to feel the underlying immensity, the vast mystery
behind it which slowly unfolds its meanings, its com-
ponent elements revealing themselves as in a gradual dis-
solution of veil after veil beneath the calm gaze and the
contemplative mind. While Mr. Sargent in this work
has duly respected the traditions of his craft, he has
utilized with masterly strength all the resources which
it has placed at his command and which he could make
available, and he has not hesitated to play the inno-
vator. This, however, with no seeking for novel effects,
no striving to produce strange sensations, but with the
sincere purpose of finding the best possible expression
of his ideas. In this we have the stamp of genius; the
daring to be original, with the spontaneous manifesta-
tion that follows an impulse guided by secure control
of inherent strength, and not the seeking for originality.
This work furnishes the first example on a great scale
of a truly modern interpretation of such a theme ; the
artistic employment of all the means which scientific in-
vestigations have placed at the disposal of the worker
in the wonderful fruits of archaeological and historical
research. It is notable even as a scholarly achievement,
[43]
and one receives a profound impression of the intellec-
tual quality of the artist, who, for the painting of this
series, is said to have accumulated a remarkable library
of religious and archaeological lore. Yet the impression
is not that which such efforts are so apt to make — that
of literary or scientific thought learnedly elaborated and
illy disguised under a pictorial integument. It is pri-
marily artistic; the natural expression of ideas in form
and color, as the musical composer expresses himself in
tone. This work, indeed, appeals to the vision in a way
strikingly like that in which a grand symphonic work
appeals to the ear.
The present decorations have for their theme the con-
fusion which fell upon the children of Israel whenever
they turned from the worship of Jehovah to that of the
false gods of heathen nations. The story is concisely
embodied in the passages from the 106th Psalm, in-
scribed upon the gold ground of the rib that separates
the lunette from the ceiling, beginning, "They forgat God
their saviour." The composition in the lunette repre-
sents the children of Israel beneath the yoke of their op-
pressors, into whose hands the Lord had delivered them.
On the left stands the Egyptian Pharaoh, on the right
the Assyrian king, both monarchs with arms uplifted
to strike with scourge and sword. The Israelites, naked
in their slavery, bow in despairing submission, their
central figure lifts his arms in appealing prayer for de-
liverance, and behind the yoke a multitude of supplicating
hands are raised in agonized imploration to the Lord, to
whom his repentant people are making burnt-offering
upon the altar. He has heard their prayer ; flaming sera-
phim fly before the face of the Lord, and supply a superb
decorative motive with the crimson of their wings which
[44]
alone symbolize their presence. His face is invisible,
but His mighty arms reach down from the cloud and
stay the hands of the oppressors.
There is a feeling of tremendous, of irresistible power
in these arms of Jehovah, themselves cloudlike, vague,
and mysterious. But the upraised arm of the Assyrian
king is clutched with a tremendous viselike grasp, while
the hand of the Lord is simply laid upon that of Pharaoh.
The differentiation of the Egyptian from the Assyrian
oppression is notable; the Assyrian type, which repre-
sents the Philistines, is brutal, muscular, gnarled, and
knotty in development, as if symbolizing the tyranny of
sheer force; the Egyptian is graceful, lithe, supple, and
clean-cut — consciously and malignantly cruel. Behind
th^ Assyrian king stands a protecting genius — a figure
such as is found upon Assyrian reliefs, with the body of
a man and the head of a vulture, holding in one hand
a bow, and in the other two arrows. Beside this figure
is the Assyrian lion, with two ravens attacking a pros-
trate corpse. These things graphically symbolize the As-
syrian cultus. Among the deities attending the Egyptian
monarch is one with a lion's head and wings of black
and gold. The Egyptian side is more conventionalized
in drawing, while the modelling of the Assyrians is
realistic in expression. Prostrate victims beneath the
feet of both Assyrians and Egyptians represent the
other nations that were oppressed by them. The As-
syrian ravens are balanced on the Egyptian side by vul-
tures preying upon the dead.
In the ceiling are represented the pagan deities, the
strange gods whom the children of Israel went after
when they turned from Jehovah. This is a cosmic
conception of wonderful grandeur. Underlying all the
[45]
figures that populate the ceiling is the gigantic, dark, and
shadowy form of the great goddess Neith, the mother of
the universe, the goddess whose temple at Sais, in Lower
Egypt, was once the centre of wisdom for Greece, whose
foremost men in the early days before learning was
established in that land came hither for their training,
and upon whose veiled image was the inscription: "I
am all that was, that is, and that is to be, and my veil
has been lifted by no man." The feet of Neith touch
the cornice on one side, her uplifted hands that of the
other, and her over-arching figure constitutes the firma-
ment, whose stars are seen through the ring of the zodiac,
which forms a collar for the goddess. The face of Neith
is sublimely calm, majestic, and inscrutable. The serpent
or dragon of the old Oriental sun myth serves as a neck-
lace for the goddess. Here, with beautiful symbolism, is
depicted the eternal conflict between summer and winter
in the figure from which was developed the idea of Ad-
onis— the archer who for one half the year slays the
dragon and for the other half is slain by the dragon.
The bright and beautiful figure of the archer, loosely
wrapped in the red mantle that represents warmth and
life, stands releasing from his bow the golden arrows
that penetrate the serpent's folds, obscuring in the con-
flict the six winter months of the zodiac. Then again
the archer is seen lying limp and lifeless in the folds of
the serpent, his red mantle fallen from his nude form,
his bow lying unstrung and useless across his breast.
The zodiac is Egyptian in character, and slender con-
ventional figures separate the signs of the months.
In the zodiac the sun stands above the head of Moloch,
whose figure is the central feature on the left of the
ceiling arch, as is that of Astarte on the right. The
[46]
sun belongs to Moloch, and its rays, penetrating to the
depths of the darkness below, form one of the most
striking elements in the decorative effect of Mr. Sargent's
work. At the end of each ray is a hand, the Egyptian
symbol representing the bestowing and blessing qualities
of the sun's rays as they reach down to the earth.
Moloch is the god of riches and of material things.
The hideous monster, tawny and lurid in hue, with the
head of a horned beast, is seated — soulless, insensitive,
implacable, unyielding. He has four arms ; two are
uplifted, with a dagger in one and a ball-like object in
the other, as if to symbolize brute force and evil to man.
His other arms hold writhing human victims. He is
attended by five raging lions, the sun's rays passing
through the lower ones.
Below Moloch are three dusky Egyptian deities, Isis,
Osiris, and Horus. At their feet lies a conventionalized
mummy, with a hawk as a symbol of the soul.
Gold and lust, greed and sensuality, Moloch and As-
tarte — these represent the two great powers of evil.
The figure of Astarte, the Phoenician goddess, is an ex-
quisitely beautiful conception. The idea of the figure
was suggested by a polychromatic statue recently exca-
vated at Athens, but classic materials gave no hint for
the expression which Mr. Sargent has embodied with
such remarkable success. Like Moloch, she is also soul-
less, but not insensitive. She is the quintessence of the
senses ; her delicate ethereal beauty, fraught with evil,
though unconscious of it and careless of it, seems re-
sponsive to every appeal from her worshippers. She
is draped in a vaporous veil of delicious blue ; as the
moon goddess she stands upon the crescent, and a python
writhes at her feet. Within this veil, which may be re-
[\7l
garded as symbolizing the illusion of the senses, are
seen at the feet of the goddess two of her victims — one
with a vulture tearing at his heart, and the other writh-
ing in the grasp of a chimera. At the head of Astarte,
on either side groups of three graceful female figures
wave their arms in enticingly voluptuous rhythm in hom-
age to the goddess.
The third great division of the work is the frieze of
the Prophets. This symbolizes the foundation of the re-
ligion of Israel upon the structure of the law. Moses is
the central figure, and in his priestly robes and. symbols
is treated conventionally to typify the authority upon
which the faith is based. Moses, with the tablets of the
Commandments, is modelled in strong relief ; the other
Prophets are painted on a plane surface, but in their
grouping and modelling have a noble plastic feeling.
The Prophets, in their order from left to right, are
Zephaniah, Joel, Obadiah, Hosea, Amos, Nahum,
Ezekiel, Daniel, Elijah, Moses, Joshua, Jeremiah, Jonah,
Isaiah, Habakkuk, Micah, Haggai, Malachi, Zechariah.
This frieze has a character much like that of a Greek
chorus interpreting and supporting the movement of a
great drama. On the left from the spectator are the
prophets of despair, predicting woe to Israel and the
fall of the Temple; on the right are the prophets of
hope, looking for the coming of the Messiah. There
is a beautiful significance in the fact that in the group
of the despairing there is a hopeful figure, and in the
group of the hopeful a grieving figure. It will be in-
teresting to learn that the artist's favorite figure in this
frieze is Hosea, the young Prophet in white who stands
fourth from the left.
We have seen that in the figure of Moses, Mr. Sar-
[48]
■f.
'-
H
^
Si
k<
V
53
w
^
w
_n
"
to
-•
rT
rr^
•~—
•-d!
o
y
i
k—
—
H
?*»
CQ
s
_
£
o
J
o
en
o
C5
o •
0\
o
u
CO
w
<
W
K
H
fa
O
w
N
W
i— i
-O
gent has combined the art of the sculptor with that of
the painter. This, moreover, characterizes the entire
work, which is full of parts modelled in low relief, with
a remarkable enhancement of effect. Mr. Abbey, in
whose studio, at Fairfield, Mr. Sargent has painted these
decorations beside the Holy Grail frieze of the former,
tells how Mr. Sargent first tried the effect of modelling
on the helmet of Pharaoh, and met with such success
that he continued it until he had treated the zodiac, the
sun's rays, the serpent, the lions of Moloch, and various
other parts in the same way. From the same source we
also learn that the entire wonderful conception of Astarte
was painted and finished at one sitting.
The work has a thoroughly mural quality. This is
largely conferred by its pervading plastic character, and
in the values of stone suggested by the background of
the frieze and by the tawny earthen hue of the figures of
the Israelites.
From Harper's Weekly, June I, 1895.
III.
THE DOGMA OF THE REDEMPTION.
(At the South End of the Hall.)
The subject of the portion before us is 'The Dogma
of the Redemption." Related to this the theme of 'The
Madonna" completes this section.
While the new part offers so strong a contrast to the
old, it is evident at a glance that the design has been
most carefully studied with reference to its pendant,
balancing it completely and decoratively, as well as sub-
[51]
jectively bringing itself into unity therewith. Against
the frieze of the Prophets we have the frieze of the
Angels constructively supporting, and perhaps, like the
former, subjectively completing, the great theme of
which it is an integral part. The effect is one of ex-
ceeding simplicity, of majestic solemnity pervaded by
lofty harmonies of undertone and aspects of beauty
graciously pure in their melodic serenity. In character
the work is markedly Byzantine — as in its combination
of broad, flat surfaces with low-relief treatment of form
and ornament, in its lavish use of gold, in the simplicity
of special relations, in the juxtaposition of large and
small figures in the same field, in the rigid formalism, and
in the style of ornamentation and symbolic character.
The selection of the Byzantine form is appropriate as
representing the earliest development of Christianity in
art. There is little to be studied out by the spectator.
The elements of Christian dogma and its symbolism, are
familiar and are here set forth with such lucidity that
the significance of the work plainly declares itself.
The artist has subjected himself to limitations com-
paratively narrow, in contrast to the ample freedom with
which he treated the first portion of his work; a free-
dom which his theme naturally allowed, and even in-
vited, in its exposition of the development of the re-
ligion of the Chosen People as the substructure of Chris-
tianity, from its matrix in a chaos of conflicting and
primordial beliefs. By nature of the case, the limita-
tions are as circumscribed here as there the freedom
was practically unbounded. In confining himself within
conventional limitations the artist expresses his gifts in
a manner quite other than the ways we have known
as his. Like the procedure of the musical com-
[52]
poser when he works in set forms, as in the
fugue, there the painter's individuality asserts itself
distinctly, though within bounds definitely set by a host
of predecessors, just as in wider and relatively un-
trammeled ways it finds expression in the tone-picture.
The artistic solution of a technical problem has a great
fascination. So it is interesting to observe how the
painter has here given himself distinctive utterance.
In color quality 'The Redemption" is correspondingly
subdued ; restrained in its range of simple dominant
chords of dull blues, dull reds and mellow gold — rich
and delicately soft as ancient tapestry — all quite other
than the gleamings, the flashings, the coruscations of the
opposite wall where the gamut runs from ethereal azure
down to tempestuous darkness. The efYect is that of the
ancient chorals, in splendid solemnity elaborated from a
few simple notes.
The theme of the Redemption, as a Christian dogma,
is here developed in a way that at first glance might
seem the art of a master as early as the style. There
is, however, inevitably a profound difference. Sargent
has saturated himself thoroughly with the art of Byzan-
tium ; his work here is that of one who has brought him-
self closely into sympathy with, and comprehension of,
its most intrinsic qualities. One therefore receives much
the same impression as when standing in the presence
of one of the ancient works — before the high altar, and
under the mosaic vaulting of St. Mark's in Venice, for
instance. But no living painter can put away his mo-
dernity. Though he may assimilate the feeling of the
ancient art he cannot approach his subject in the spirit
of the masters of by-gone centuries — their simple faith,
their sublime confidence in its reality, their direct and
[S3]
perhaps naive interpretations. It is not desirable that
he should. He has his own task to work out in his own
way, and the spirit of his own century must in some fash-
ion infuse itself therein if it is to be vital creation and
not an echo of the past.
Just as the figure of Moses and the Law, as the
central fact in the religion of the Jews, forms the focal
point in the first decoration, so here the Crucifix, as
the central fact in Christian dogma and symbolism, per-
forms a like office. It balances the Moses, also, as a
part of the composition. It will be noted how the Cruci-
fix likewise is placed partly in the lunette and partly in
the frieze. It is also the portion that is executed most
saliently in relief, and like the Moses it gives emphasis
to the mural quality of the design by the grayish tone
of stone, in the figures of the dead Christ and of Adam
and Eve. In the faces of the Persons of the Trinity the
same tone of stone appears. These three faces are also
in relief. The Cross is of Byzantine design, richly gilded
and ornamented. On it is the dead Christ, with the fig-
ures of Adam and Eve kneeling on either side. This
idea, the association of Adam and Eve with the Crucifix,
is something original with Sargent, although in design
so completely in the antique manner as to look as if
adapted from medieval art. It is the body of Christ that
is represented, rather than the spirit. Adam and Eve
typify Humanity to be redeemed. They are bound close-
ly to the body of Christ, in significance of the fact that
all are of one flesh, both Redeemer and subjects for re-
demption, as potentially they are one in spirit. Adam
and Eve each hold up a chalice .and receive for their
redemption the blood that flows from the wounds of the
Saviour. Adam has a most unprepossessing countenance
[54l
and was intentionally so depicted, to indicate that Hu-
manity, degraded from its high estate of primal inno-
cence, stood much in need of redemption. On the other
hand the beauty of Eve may likewise tell how Hu-
manity is worthy of redemption and bears in its nature
the possibilities of higher things. A pervading quality
of the work is the impassiveness that marks alike
the faces of the Saviour, of Adam and Eve, and
of the Persons of the Trinity. While this is a mark
of the style of the decoration — meanings in the period
of symbolic art being conveyed by forms and symbols
rather than by individual expression — this impassive-
ness may perhaps also be regarded as significant, in the
case of the primal pair, of unconsciousness of the great
change impending in the state of Humanity ; in Christ,
of the passage through death as precedent to redemption ;
and in the Persons of the Trinity, as the superconscious-
ness that transcends earthly things. Above the arms of
the Cross is the inscription : "Remissa Sunt Peccata
Mundi" (The sins of the world have been remitted).
Above, seated on a splendidly decorated throne, are
three colossal figures, the Persons of the Trinity. That
the Three are one and the same is made manifest by the
exact similarity of Their faces — the low reliefs having
been cast in one mold — and also by the fact that one
vast garment envelops and unites Them just as Adam
and Eve are bound with the body of Christ in a trinity
of the flesh. This enveloping mantle is a cloak of red
with a hem of gold which runs through the picture like
a ribbon and winds about each Person of the Trinity,
and is inscribed with the word "Sanctus" continually
repeated, meaning "Holy, Holy, Holy." The heads of
the Trinity are crowned, each with a different form of
[55]
crown, significant of the three different attributes of
divinity. Each figure of the Trinity raises the right
hand in benediction, making the sign of the Cross as
in the Greek Church. Radiating around the Crucifix
and on the outer limits of the composition are the Seven
Gifts of the Holy Spirit, represented according to tra-
dition by doves with the cruciform nimbus.
At the foot of the Cross, and forming in golden or-
namentation an integral part of its design, is a special
symbol of the Church, in the shape of the Pelican feed-
ing its young. This symbol is based upon an ancient er-
ror in natural history. The fact that the Pelican has
a crimson spot at the end of its long bill caused the early
naturalists to believe that it fed its young with its own
blood ; what they really observed was this bird in the
act o<f preening its feathers. It therefore became the act
of loving sacrifice.
Another symbol that is here joined with the Crucifix
is the Serpent. It lies at the foot of the Cross and the
feet of Adam are entangled in its folds ; man dragged
down by the weight of evil — the evil of man that brought
suffering to the Saviour. Both Adam and Eve are in
constrained postures, in a rigidity that belongs to Byzan-
tine art. The figure of Christ is similarly treated, rather
than with the plastic flexibility, expressive of both death
and suffering that, in later art, characterizes the figure
of the Cross.
In the frieze of the Angels we have the bearers of
the Instruments of the Passion. These eight Angels
flank the Crucifix. They individually have no special
significance, the impersonal aspect of Byzantine art being
maintained here as elsewhere in the scheme. But col-
lectively they form a group of exquisite beauty. In
[56]
these charming faces there appears a quality reminiscent
of the tenderness of Botticelli, blended with something
of the English type, and finally impressed with a gra-
ciousness that is all the artist's own — a graciousness that
in contrasting fashion, as soulless there as here it is soul-
ful, found embodiment in the marvellous Astarte of the
first decoration. The Instruments of the Passion are the
spear, the pincers, the hammer, the nails, the pillar, the
scourge, the reed, the sponge, and the crown of thorns.
The two Angels upholding the Cross also bear, wrought
in their garments, the symbols of the Sacrament — the
wheat and the vine that, representing the bread and
wine, stand for the Body and the Blood of Christ. The
number of the Angels, eight, symbolizes Regeneration.
An explanation by an old writer tells us that the whole
creation having been completed in seven periods, the
number next following may well signify the new crea-
tion. Redemption is contingent upon the suffering rep-
resented by the Instruments of the Passion. The Angels
themselves may be regarded as representing the Court of
Heaven and are clad in costumes similar to those worn
by angels in Byzantine art. In this frieze we find very
palpably the breath of modernity, the living spirit, that
the artist has given to his work — the vital spark of the
creative impulse that animates form, color, conventional
design and traditional symbol and in the terms of an age
long past speaks with sympathetic understanding to us
of to-day.
Decoratively this frieze of the Angels completes the
design as it fulfills the idea that inspires it. Its beauty
finds culmination here, in the strong perpendicular lines
of the figures that strengthen the composition at the
base and support the central element out of which the
[57]
whole is developed. While retaining the same Byzantine
character that consistently inheres in every part, the rig-
idity that elsewhere with full intent inclines to stiffness
is here modulated with the delicate beauty that reveals
divinity in human shape, while it lifts mankind to the
divine. Portions of the two Angels nearest the Crucifix
are modelled in relief, notably the hands and arms, and
parts of the drapery and ornament. Much of this work
in relief is hardly in evidence as such, when seen from
below, but it enhances the effect of the design, which,
as a decoration, is to be regarded as both painting and
sculpture.
On the cornice that separates the frieze from the
lunette are inscribed the words : "Factus Homo, Factor
Hominis, Factique Redemptor. Corporeus Redimo Cor-
pora Corda Deus."
This inscription is taken from the inscription accom-
panying the colossal mosaic figure of the Saviour in
Benediction that decorates the semidome of the apse in
the famous Cathedral of Cefalu in Sicily. The artist,
however, made a change of one word with reference to
its present purpose, by substituting for "judico" in the
original the term "redimo" as more fitting to his own
work. The Cathedral of Cefalu, specially studied by
Sargent with reference to this decoration, is one of the
most interesting and beautiful in Sicily. It was founded
in 1 131 by King Roger, who, in danger of shipwreck
while returning to Sicily from Calabria, vowed to erect
a church wherever he was permitted to land. In its de-
tails it is a mixture of Greek, Roman, Byzantine and
Norman.
From The Boston Herald, Feb. 17, 1903.
[58]
Ancilla Domini or Madoxxa and Child.
By Jo Jin S. Sargent.
IV
THE THEME OF THE MADONNA.
(In the Niches and the Connecting Strip of Ceiling at
the South End)
The two side-niches and the strip of ceiling enclos-
ing the Christian end are devoted to a series of paint-
ings representing the theme of the Madonna. Beside
the important representations of the Virgin in the
niches — the "Ancilla Domini" and the "Mater Dolo-
rosa"— are the fifteen related subjects imposed by tra-
dition setting forth what are known as the Mysteries
of the Rosary. This portion of the work makes a
more sympathetic appeal than that allowed by the
severely rigid formalism of the Byzantine character of
the adjacent composition; the influences here govern-
ing the treatment are those of Medieval and Renais-
sance periods, as appropriate to the circumstance that
these dogmas are of rather later origin than that rep-
resented in the preceding work. The impression of
unity, however, made by the agreement in design and
in the general color-scheme, is so masterful that the
effect is more that of progressive development than of
contrast, the whole new part making a rich framework
for the older composition at the end of the hall. The
three groups respectively devoted to the three mys-
teries logically derive themselves from the two dis-
tinctive phases in the life of the Holy Virgin ; divine
maternity, as figured in the "Ancilla Domini," the
[61]
Madonna and Child ; and the exaltation of soul
through suffering that come from the greatest of all
losses, as borne by the "Mater Dolorosa," the Madon-
na of Sorrows.
The use of the Rosary as an aid to meditation in
worship became universal among Roman Catholics
not long after its first employment by St. Dominic de
Guzman in the thirteenth century. To use beads for
assisting concentration of thought while in prayer is
indeed an ancient practice, far antedating the Christian
religion. For instance, this was an ancient Jewish
custom. The first known employment of beads, strung
together, in Christian worship is held to have orig-
inated with St. Bridget of Ireland, who, for the con-
venience of her nuns, strung together as many beads
as there wrere Pater-nosters to be recited. From the
British Isles the custom spread throughout Europe.
The beads of the Rosary, however, are quite different ;
according to tradition the practice was revealed in a
vision to St. Dominic by the Holy Virgin herself. It
is related that in the Rosary St. Dominic found his
most powerful aid in his seven years' labors for the
conversion of the Albigenses of southern France, a
dissenting- sect that by some centuries antedated the
rise of modern Protestantism under Martin Luther.
The Albigenses were of kindred derivation with va-
rious sects in Bulgaria, Italy, Germany, and France in
the twelfth century — all originating in doctrines that
early found root in branches of the Eastern Church.
Three groups of paintings represent the mysteries
of the Rosary ; the five Joyful Mysteries, the five Sor-
rowful Mysteries, and the five Glorious Mysteries.
Figures of Ancilla Domini, the Madonna and Child,
[62]
and Mater Dolorosa, the Madonna of Sorrows, oc-
cupy the two niches in the side of the arch. Relating
themselves to these paintings, on either side, are six
panels, large and small, all connected in richly mod-
elled and heavily gilded frames, representing respec-
tively the Joyful Mysteries and the Sorrowful Mysteries.
These serve to join the two conceptions of the Madonna
below with the magnificent plastic group of the low-
relief gold medallion in the center of the ceiling which
depicts the five Glorious Mysteries, culminating in the
Coronation of the Virgin.
In all this may be traced a profound symbolism : the
two aspects of mortal life, the joy and the sorrow of
existence — here perfectly balanced and each supremely
manifest in earthly expression — rising to blend them-
selves in the sublime ecstacy of a divine apotheosis :
the fruition of joy and sorrow in determining the
growth of the soul.
Beside these panels and reliefs the space in the arch
of the ceiling in the interval between the two groups
of panels, and subordinated to them in treatment, is
filled with various figures and symbolic designs, to-
gether with looped scrolls inscribed with Latin texts.
Now that the great subject embraced in the two
compositions — the Christian Dogma and the Theme
of the Virgin — stands complete, it reveals itself as a
work of overpowering splendor : comparable to some
superb choral, resonant with a superb blending of
color — symphonic in its emotional appeal, and beneath
it all a vast serenity. The essential soul of music, it
would seem, here attains chromatic utterance.
The two Madonnas will certainly take their place
with Mr. Sargent's greatest creations : ideal types of
[63]
woman, feminine graciousness here achieves its spiri-
tual quintessence both in bliss and in sorrow. These
conceptions of womanhood stand at the othe.' extreme
of the scale from the purely sensuous type of the mag-
ical Astarte at the opposite end of the hall — a being
soulless, earth-bound, and illusory as a phantom of
vanishing mist. Both Madonnas are full-length fig-
ures. On the east wall is the Ancilla Domini (or
Madonna and Child) ; on the west, the Madonna of
Sorrows (Mater Dolorosa, Sorrowing Mother). From
the former are derived the five Joyful Mysteries ; frum
the latter, the five Sorrowful Mysteries.
This representation of the Madonna and Child,
remarkable and unusual though it is, has its precedents.
The peculiar, but very beautiful, way in which the
Virgin Mother is holding her divine child seems to
have been suggested by the celebrated statue in
Padua, the Donatello Madonna, and this in turn might
have been derived from the Byzantine treatment of
the subject, as indicated in the "Mother of God," to
be seen in the space just above, to the right.
The representation is transcendantly spiritual : the
divine child's first gesture is that of blessing the
world; the Virgin's face indicates a state beyond mor-
tal consciousness ; the Holy Mother is fulfilling the
divine mandate and has made herself the passive in-
strument of the great miracle. The Virgin seems to
be both presenting and receiving the Godhead, a my-
stical conception that accords with the apellations on
the scrolls surrounding her : " Vas spirituale — vas
electionis — hortus inclusus — turris davidica — turris
eburnea." (Vessel of the spirit — vessel of election-
closed garden — tower of David — tower of ivory. )
[64]
Mater Dolorosa or Madonna of Sorrows.
By John S, Sargent,
These scrolls proceed from the two angels above,
bearing a splendid crown, modeled in relief. Within
the crown is a dove, signifying the Holy Spirit.
The Madonna of Sorrows opposite is a noble
example of the Spanish manner. The figure stands
behind a screen of lighted candles and is borne upon
the crescent moon. Here the Virgin Mother has suf-
fered the greatest of woes in the loss of her Divine Son.
Vet she is now the Queen of Heaven, crowned, and
with eyes all-seeing, keenly conscious of her grief in
all its intensity, yet bearing it with fortitude so abso-
lute as to make its pangs as desirable to the soul as
joy. The seven swords, thrust into her heart, repre-
sent the Seven Sorrows. It is a statuesque figure,
majestic in its marble pallor. The strong perpendicu-
lar lines of the candles, waxen white, the metallic
gleam of the swords, modeled in relief, the silvery
sheen of the halo that amplifies the glory of the crown,
the queenly robes so richly wrought, combine to make
this an impressively decorative effect.
Above the Madonna and Child the panels devoted
to the five Joyful Mysteries, beginning with the large
central painting- of the Annunciation, make the prin-
cipal features of the east side of the vault.
The first in the group, "The Annunciation," occupies
the large rectangular panel, about which are the four
others in smaller panels. In 'The Annunciation" the
Archangel Gabriel appears to the Virgin who, kneel-
ing before God's messenger, receives in submissive
humility the marvellous tidings. Upon a decorative
scroll entwined about the palm-branch that the angel
holds are the words: "Ave gratia plena, dominus te-
cum, benedicta tn in mulieribus. Ecce ancilla domini ;
[67]
fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum." (Hail, thou that
art highly favored, the Lord is with thee : blessed art
thou among women. Behold the handmaid of the
Lord ; be it unto me according to thy word.) As us-
ual in old pictures of this subject the Virgin appears
to have been reading at the moment from the open
book laid upon a lectern just behind her the prophecy
contained in these words : "Ecce virgo concipiet et
pariet filium et nomen ejus vocabitur Emmanuel."
(Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring
forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel.)
In the oblong panel on the left we have the second
Joyful Mystery, 'The Visitation.''' Tnis depicts
Mary saluting Elizabeth, her cousin, wife of Zachary,
living in a hill-country city of Judea. It is the mo-
ment when Elizabeth, hearing the salutation of Mary,
and the infant leaping in her womb, was filled with
the Holy Ghost and cried out with a loud voice, say-
ing: 'Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is
the fruit of thy womb."
The panel below depicts the third Joyful Mystery,
'The Nativity." Here the Holy Virgin is the center
of a group of four, all adoring the new-born Infant
Saviour : Mary, St. John the Baptist and the two
angels holding the crown of thorns and the nails.
The fourth Joyful Mystery, in the small panel
above depicts "The Presentation," showing how, after
the days of Mary's purification according to the law of
Moses, she carried the Infant Jesus to Jerusalem to
present Him to the Lord. Here the Virgin Mother is
handing her divine child to Simeon in the Temple, and
his words, "Now let Thy servant depart in peace,"
are indicated by the "Nunc dimittis" on the scroll.
[68]
The Five Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary
By John S. Sargent,
In the panel on the right is represented the fifth
Joyful Mystery. "The Finding of Our Lord in the
Temple," as narrated in the second chapter of St.
Luke. When the boy Jesus was twelve years old, his
parents took Him up to Jerusalem according to the
custom of the feast, and, unknown to them, the Child
remained behind. And after three days they found
Him in the temple discussing with the doctors. The
moment here shown is that when the grieved mother
asks: "Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us?
Behold, thy father and I have sought Thee, sorrowing.
And He said unto them, How is it that ye sought me.
Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's busi-
ness?"
Opposite, on the west side of the arch, the Five
Sorrowful Mysteries occupy the corresponding panels,
deriving themselves from the Madonna of Sorrows.
The serial arrangement of this group varies from that
opposite in order to meet the relative importance of
the subjects, the large central panel being occupied by
the last, instead of the first, of the sorrowful myster-
ies.
In the small panel at the top is the first of the series,
'The Agony of Our Lord in the Garden." Weary
and overcome with grief, the human side of His being
is here ascendant. The Saviour, a solitary figure,
foresees the great trial at hand. Alive to the weak-
ness of His followers and the treachery of one of them,
He throws Himself despondently down and for the
moment the human side of His being gives itself up
to His woe. The agonizing moment finds expression
in the tensely clasped hands as strongly as in the
[71]
bowed head, pillowed on the hard stone where He has
cast Himself down.
The second Mystery, 'The Scourging," is pictured
in the panel on the right, in which we behold the
Christ bound to a pillar.
The corresponding panel on the left shows the third
Mystery, "The Crowning with Thorns." Robed in
purple and jeeringly derided as King of the Jews, the
Saviour meekly, but with the calm of innate majesty,
submits to the rude mockery of the Roman soldiery.
"And they struck His head with a reed; and they did
spit on Him. And bending their knees they adored
Him."
The fourth Sorrowful Mystery, 'The Carrying of
the Cross," occupies, the small panel below. "And
bearing His own cross He went forth to that place
which is called Calvary, but in Hebrew Golgotha."
In these four depictions each panel has but a single
figure, in contrast with the rich composition that rep-
resents the last of the group : 'The Crucifixion and
Death of our Lord." In the twelve figures that fill the
large panel we have the impression of a vast multitude
of beholders beyond the visible scene. The Saviour
is nailed to the cross ; at his feet a sorrowing group :
the four Marys and St. John the Evangelist. In the
center foreground is Mary Magdalen, overcome with
grief, her bared back turned towards the spectator,
her hair streaming and golden. Above, the Saviour is
surrounded by adoring angels ; one holds the chalice to
receive the blood streaming from the wound in His side.
Integrally these aspects of the Rosary are joined to
the large golden medallion with its surrounding reliefs
that fills the apex of the arch — a work that repre-
ss]
The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary.
By John S. Sargent.
sents the last of the three groups : the five Glorious
Mysteries. . Here, both in culmination of the whole
scheme of decoration at this end of the hall, and as a
medium most fitting the wonder and glory of the sub-
ject, Mr. Sargent has completely entered the domain
of the plastic. The treatment is medieval and gothic.
The first of the five Glorious Mysteries is "The
Resurrection." Of this moment St. Mark writes :
"He is risen; He is not here!" In the relief to the
left of the medallion, constituting a quarter of the
encircling border, we have the figure of the Christ,
His face alight with the wonder and the glory of His
awakening; in His right hand a staff, His left arm
extended as if groping His way out of the tomb.
In the opposite relief we have the Second Glorious
Mystery : "The Ascension of our Lord into Heaven."
Here we see the Christ our Lord in the moment of
ascending — His head lifted high and thrown back
as He floats upward. At His feet are the heads of
four cherubs.
The relief on the further side, the south side, depicts
the third Glorious Mystery : 'The Descent of the
Holv Ghost." Here the Dove, symbolizing the Holy
Spirit, descends from Lleaven and brings inspiration
to the Disciples of Christ, who go forth into the world
preaching" the Word, as tongues of fire have descended
upon them.
The fourth and the fifth reliefs deal with the Virgin.
The fourth depicting "The Assumption," is the one near-
est the beholder as he stands out in the hall.
The relief representing the fifth Glorious Mystery.
"The Coronation of the Virgin," fills the great circle of
the medallion. The Virgin kneels before the Holy
[75]
Trinity, the figures of which place the crown upon her
head. This representation is known as "the Italian
Trinity." It resembles in general character that of the
Byzantine Godhead in "The Dogma of the Redemption.''
the scheme of which here finds culminating expression.
There is this marked exception, however ; While the
two outer figures are again practically identical — the Son
having come to stand in parity with the Father — the
Holy Ghost is here symbolized by the Dove, which, with
the ends of his wings, touches the lips of the two other
persons of the Trinity. The words in the medallion
are "Ave regina coeli. veni electa mea et ponam te in
thronum meum." (Hail, Queen of Heaven. Come, my
chosen one, and I will set thee on my throne.)
There remain to be mentioned the figures and designs
in the spaces outside the panels. These are quite sub-
ordinate to the panel paintings. In the upper corners
are the emblems of the four evangelists : Saints Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John. Above the "Ancilla Domini."
on the left, is the figure of Eve, on the right, the already
noted Byzantine representation of 'The Mother of God."
Over the latter are the ( ireek letters common in connec-
tion with the Byzantine representation of the subject,
being the initials of the Greek equivalent for the title.
In like relations to the Madonna of Sorrows, opposite,
are the figures of Adam and of "The Good Shepherd."
The Eve, shown in the moment of Temptation, may be
taken to represent woman unregenerate ; the "Mother
of God," the perfection of womanhood. A noteworthy
detail of the Temptation is the serpent, the sketch for
which was made from a sculptured prehistoric serpent
from Central America, in the British Museum. The
Adam painfully toiling in contrast with "The Good
[76]
Shepherd," may be regarded as holding corresponding
relations to manhood; the unregenerate state, and that of
spiritual perfection.
V.
THE LUNETTES.
The subjects of the paintings in the three lunetteb
on the east side of the hall deal with Judaism; the three
opposite, with Christianity. The three Jewish subjects
are : in the center, "The Law" ; flanked on the left by
"Gog and Magog" ; on the right, by "The Messianic
Era". The three on the west wall, devoted to Christian-
ity, are, in the center, 'The Judgment" ; flanked on the
right by "Hell" and on the left by "The Passing of Souls
into Heaven."
In their turbulent, terrible and chaotic qualities, both
the "Hell" and the "Gog and Magog" agree in spirit
with the work in the adjacent Old Testament end deal-
ing with fear-grounded primitive faiths ; in fidelity to
their subjects they are quite properly discordant and in-
coherent in motive; a veritable anarchy of elements. In
fearfulness the "Hell" exceeds. But, after all, its grew-
some quality — depicting what for most of us today is in
its literal significance, an outworn belief, though in
former centuries a horrible reality — touches us but re-
motely, in what might be termed an academic interest.
On the other hand the "Gog and Magog" comes very
close to us just now, with its awesome symbolism, so sug-
gestive of the unspeakable horrors of Europe in these
tragic years.
[77]
In the four other paintings beauty and concord domin-
ate. The two remaining Jewish subjects, in particular,
have qualities that make them supremely appealing, and
one of them has a surpassing loveliness, a graciousness.
an intimacy of charm. The central painting "The Law:"
endows a striking simplicity of motive with the loftiest
sublimity. Of all the subjects, this is the most plastic in
treatment. Indeed, it frankly simulates a sculptured
group, and this is wrought into a noble unity. Israel,
under the mantle of Jehovah, is fulfilling the mission of
his race in yielding himself to the exclusive study of the
Law : the Divine Law as laid down for the guidance and
conduct of the Chosen People, an aim to be followed
with a singleness of purpose as were it the sole calling
of the race through the ages. Surrounding these two
figures a body-guard of cherubims with swords drawn
maintains the absolute isolation of Israel while devoted
to his task.
In connection with the scroll held by two of the
cherubim attention should first be directed to the Hebrew
inscription above, following the line of the arch. The
words are those which the Jewish ritual requires shall
be spoken before the recitation of the Ten command-
ments : "Praised be the Lord forever. Praised art Thou,
O Lord, our God, Ruler of the Universe, who hast
chosen the children of Isreal from amongst all peoples,
and hast given us the Law. Praised art thou, O Lord,
Giver of the Law !" Thereupon the scroll, held in the
reader's hands, is lifted and the side inscribed with the
Ten Commandments is turned towards the congregation,
the reader beginning with the recitation of the words
which here appear written upon the back of the scroll :
"This is the law which Moses set before the children
[78]
§
o
^
o
53i
u
r^
<
<3
Q
Co
<
o
CQ
Q
w
o
H ^
«
PS
W
u
<
i— i
en
^3
cq
of Israel at the command of the Lord." He then turns
the scroll back and reads the Commandments, the first
words of which may be seen on the upper part of the
scroll across the left arm of Jehovah, His right hand
holding- the last part, still rolled : "I am the Lord
thy God. Thou shalt have none other gods before me."
Here, at the very beginning of Israel's instruction, we
have the monotheistic declaration upon which Judaism is
founded.
The use of the common Arab mantle for draping the
gigantic figure of Jehovah is singularly effective. The
mantle, although open as it shrouds the head of
the Supreme Being, yet veils the face impenetrably with
its mystical shadow. The Lord God has given His com-
mandments unto man, but man may never look upon
the face of the Lord. "You will enter the Light, but
you will never touch the Flame,'' is the thought that
comes in this presence.
The conception here is of the sublimest : the face
actually neither veiled nor hidden, yet the nature of God
passeth all understanding ; man must know, must know
absolutely, that God is, His presence manifest in all his
works. Yet the mystery of divinity, omnipotent and
omnipresent, is beyond penetration. With all its awe-
some sublimity, one gains from this figure of the Al-
mighty a confident sense of its paternal relationship :
tender in its loving protection.
Israel, depicted as receiving divine instruction, is
wholly absorbed in his task; in a strikingly oriental
posture, yet of a grace as pure and lovely as anything
classic can be, he is conscious only of the lesson be-
fore him — the action of the hands that of counting,
[81]
something that comes instinctively with concentra-
tion.
"Gog and Magog," the subject of the lunette on the
left, pictures the final conflict which according to the
Jewish legend, accompanies the universal cataclysm
when all things earthly perish and the universe comes
to an end. In ominous portance a comet blazing
down from above, also a dead planet, tell that all
things material are involved in the general doom.
Broken temples tumble into the abyss ; from some al-
tar falls a smoking tripod, its inversion signifying the
end of mortal life as mankind perishes in the battle,
indicated by the two young warriors struggling in
mortal combat, the dagger of one thrust into the heart
of the other. After them fall steeds and chariots ;
against the comet's flame a vulture swoops down.
Nations are destroying each other.
In idyllic contrast with this scene of universal dis-
aster is the loveliness of its pendant at the other end
of the wall, "The Messianic Era," which here we see
in its dawning. The race, purified and perfected of
soul in its awakening after the world's destruction,
enters into a new Eden where a pristine simplicity
achieves its consummation in the beauty, harmony
and lasting joy of a Golden Age. The scheme is again
dominantly sculpturesque. Here, in a glorious com-
position made up of three plastic groups, we have the
Messianic idea : the Hebrew Messiah, as prophesied,
leading his people to the new paradise. The Messiah
is here a lad at the beginning of adolescence : the Son
of Man. At the threshold of the new Eden he like-
wise stands also at the threshold of perfected man-
hood; his face informed and illuminate with the con-
[82]
sciousness, that very moment awakened, of the won-
der, the glory and the infinite splendor of the new life
opening before him.
"When all mankind is perfected,
Equal in full-blown powers — then, not till then,
I say, begins man's general infancy.
* * * *
But when full roused, each giant limb awake,
Each sinew strung, the great heart pulsing fast,
He shall start up and stand on his own earth,
Then shall his being date, — thus wholly roused,
What he achieves shall be set down to him.
When all the race is perfected alike
As man, that is ; all tended to mankind,
And man produced, all has its end thus far:
But in completed man begins anew
A tendency towards God."
BROWNING, "Paracelsus."
The figure of the Messiah in its slender nudity is the
perfection of boyish beauty. I lis face is ecstatic with
the moment of awakening into the new life ; filled with
delighted amazement at the wonder and the glory of
what he beholds. He is leading his people by the
hand ; they cling to him for guidance ; their advance
is dream-like; though clinging to their inspired boy-
embodiment of the prophet race that leads humanity
into the light — they have not yet entered upon the
threshold. But, the moment at hand, their eyes are
just unclosing. Have trustful affection and confidence
in guidance, the elder following the younger, ever
[83]
been more beautifully expressed than by the way in
which the clasping hands of the father and mother
cling to the boy who has become their leader?
Above the central group, looping through the leaf-
age, a golden scroll bears in Hebrew the prophecy
of Isaiah predicting the coming of the Messiah :
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given :
and the government shall be upon his shoulder : and
his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The
Mighty God, the everlasting Father, The Prince of
Peace." Other prophecies of Isaiah are indicated in
this painting by the wolf and the lamb, and the child
and the lion.
Flanking this central group are two groups com-
prising four nude angels that are opening the gates
of gold — the long-closed gates of the new paradise.
At last has come the great moment that they have
been awaiting through the ages. Their figures are
ideals of manhood ; a superb graciousness alike bodily
and spiritual.
The decorative richness of this lunette gives it
distinction as an uncommon blending of a pictorial
with a plastic motive — the former contributing a
splendor of adornment, as of golden jewels gleaming
with multi-colored gems. A luxuriance of foliage is
laden with ripe fruit; pomegranates, symbol of hu-
man fertility, grapes and gourds, figs, oranges and
apples. The composition is developed from seven ma-
jor figures — that of the little child being subordinate
and accessory, alike in rank with the animal figures
in the foreground.
The lunettes on the west wall, devoted to three
Christian subjects, represent "The Judgment," "Hell,"
[84]
and "The Passing of Souls into Heaven." As already
noted, it should be borne in mind that the develop-
ment of these themes follows traditional lines accord-
ing to tenets held through the centuries, and without
regard to modern conceptions.
The central lunette represents "The Judgment" in a
composition which, like the picture opposite, is essen-
tially plastic in quality. As in "The Law," the
plastic intent is emphasized by the depiction of a
sculpturesque group, integral, in its major elements,
with a base of rock. The elements here are more
complex, and the plastic quality that expresses the
mural derives itself from a suggestion ot metal as
well as of stone — the figures of Evil, in hues of bale-
ful green, as well as the metallic accessories, having
that effect. In the adjacent lunette, depicting Hell,
the same tone of baleful green recurs in the monstrous
Satanic figure, forming an element of unity in the two
related subjects.
In the middle lunette the Angel of Judgment holds
before him the great scales in which are weighed the
resurrected mortals re-embodied from the remains
cast up from opening graves — the dead awakened by
the sound of the trumpets blown by three angels in
the group fill the extreme foreground.
"Such the dire terror, when the great Archangel
Shakes the creation ;
Tears the strong pillars of the vault of Heaven,
Breaks up old marble, the repose of princes,
Sees the graves open, and the bones arising,
Flames all around them."
* * * *
[85]
"Hopeless immortals ! How they scream and shiver,
While devils push them to the pit wide-yawning,
Hideous and gloomy, to receive them headlong
Down to the centre '
ISAAC WATTS, "The Day of Judgment."
Below the Angel of Judgment, in the center, a
demon lifts out of the cadaverous mass a doomed
mortal, just resuming bodily shape, but still sleeping
the long sleep of the dead. Out of the scales on
the right another demon drags the body of a con-
demned man to be thrust down by a companion dem-
on, with the point of his fork, into the hell-hre that
flames up beyond and below. On the left are two
angels of divine love ; one receiving out of the scales
the nude form of a youth just weighed, the other
holding in waiting the halo of spiritual weal about to
be placed above his head.
Unlike the Judaic subjects the two companion lun-
ettes are in continuity with the central picture, thus
forming in effect one panoramic composition. In the
two extremes the difference is that between discord
and harmony. The representation of Hell, though
holding fast to medieval concepts, is distinctive and
individually characteristic — as already noted in re-
gard to other portions of the series — for its modifica-
tion through modern resources and technique. No
one of these three subjects could have been conceived
and expressed in this shape in the days when the
conceptions arose.
The "Hell", although filling the same decorative pur-
pose as the opposite lunette in bringing out into the
room the sensuous and emotional effect of the composi-
[86]
so
O
tion at the end, has a coherence lacking in the "Gog
and Magog." With the grewsomeness, the terrific
horror, of a medieval depiction, it also combines a quality
that seems derived from the Far East — a grotesqueness,
a quality in rendering, akin to the Chinese and Japan-
ese— as in the Satanic monster swimming in a sea
blended of flame and an endless mass of the eternally
damned; a multitude of lost souls, writhing in torment;
types innumerable of evil doers, seized by the armful
and devoured with insatiable greed. Then, too, the con-
ventionalizing of the hell-flames to make a splendid
golden background — just as the Japanese or Chinese
conventionalize fire or water — here dispels the reproach
of literalness that might characterize a merely medieval
development; a reproach here also averted by the main-
tainance of the mural quality in the essentially plastic
rendering of the sea of doomed souls, whose unceasing
tides flow forever on, impelled by a fate as unrelenting
as that which animates the action of Greek tragedy. So
here we see an extraordinary fusing of medieval, oriental
and classic concepts. The masterly handling of this vast
plastic mass conveys a sense of interminability, tempes-
tuous with evil, jammed, huddled — a unity of discor-
dance— each individual part distinctly characterized,
integrated, having its definite place in the scheme. Though
animate with action, it is not the vividness of agitated
motion, but that sense of movement conveyed by the
treatment which we know as sculpturesque : something
that comes with perceiving a complexity of movements,
each action individually suspended for its own given
moment in a way that unifies each and all to an expres-
sion of totality in action developed out of that which at
the same time is manifestly immobile. With all its re-
[89]
pugnance of subject this amazing decoration will amply
repay study in its details purely for its extraordinary
expression of the plastic, manifest in the superbly ade-
quate modelling of every individual part, an intricately
accurate foreshortening fitting it definitely into its place.
In contrast with the foregoing, the third part of this
one of the two trilogies is ineffably tranquilizing. The
''Passing of Souls to Heaven" expresses the divine
harmony that attends the entrance of the Blessed into
the Kingdom. Of all the decorations this is the most
distinctively rythmic in motive. Here the plastic quality
is conveyed by an effect comparable with that of a
marble frieze peopled with figures in gracious contin-
uity, as of some unceasing and ever varying melody.
One might here be looking upon such a frieze through
a great arched opening in the wall — or as upon a vision
out into limitless space.
The movement begun in the central lunette with the
resurrection of the righteous is here continued. Again
an endless progression out of the grave: One feels that
this stream of the spirits of just beings made perfect
flows on forever and ever. The decorative development
is beautifully simple ; the distinctively vertical elements
formed by the celestial choir of three groups of singing
angels with their harps. Weaving itself in and out
around each pair of singing angels is this endless chain
of human souls, blissfully dreamful of awaiting joys
but not yet fully awakened to the consciousness that is
to come upon entrance into the Kingdom. Ideally beau-
tiful are these figures of the redeemed, physical perfec-
tion manifesting spiritual attainment ; hand joined to
hand, or figures clasped in loving embrace, the beauty
of movement, the charm of curving line, the graciousness
[90]
of action, the unity of all elements significant of the
fundamental Christian concept of the Oneness with God
which is the end and aim of striving in the faith, — all
this finds here consummate expression.
In the formal ornament there is a great diversity of
pattern. The conventionalized dolphin, originally
adopted for the seal of the Library by its architects as
appropriate to a monumental feature of a maritime city,
has here been introduced in the bronze brackets for
electric lamps designed by Mr. Sargent, and also in the
running ornament of one of the bays in the ceiling.
The architectural enrichment through the use of var-
ious symbolic insignia is notable. On the Hebrew side,
above the middle lunette are the Ark of the Convenant,
and the Ox's head as the Burnt Offering. In the medal-
lion above the "Gog and Magog" are the Sacrificial Goat,
and the Seven-Branched Candle-stick. Above 'The
Messianic Era" again appears the Seven-Branched
Candle-Stick (but here of different design and occupy-
ing the medallion) and above that a group of musical
instruments.
On the Christian side, in the medallion above 'The
Judgment'' are the Triple Crown and the crossed Keys
of St. Peter ; above that, the Crown and Palms of
Martyrdom. In corresponding positions above the
"Passing into Heaven" are respectively the Byzantine
design of two peacocks drinking from a vase, symbol-
izing the change from life to immortality, and the
Tabernacle of the Eucharist with the Wafer. Above
the "Hell," the medallion is occupied by the familiar
[91]
design containing in a glory the sacred letters, "I.H.S."
Above this is the Chalice of the Eucharist.
Those who may remember the long expanse of rather
blank and featureless vaulting overhead will now see all
its structural possibilities brought out and accentuated by
enrichment, in a way that might go far to solve the
problem of uniting the two ends of the hall even without
the help of the six lunettes.
Few, who first know the work as completed, can
fully appreciate the infinite pains taken by Mr. Sargent
in bringing the architectural ornamentation of the room
to an effectiveness that would provide a dignified setting
of the paintings. All the individual motives were
modelled by his own hands, and for the work of con-
tinuous pattern he has made careful selection. Mr.
Sargent brought over a large architectural model which
he himself made in England showing complete the
scheme of ornamentation. This work has been admira-
bly carried out to scale by local artisans under the con-
stant and experienced supervision of Mr. Thomas A.
Fox, the architect, whose firm, Fox & Gale, has here in
Boston been connected from the start with the building
of the Library. Mr. Fox's advice and assistance have
proved fairly invaluable in countless ways and has been
correspondingly appreciated by Mr. Sargent.
Mr. Sargent himself modelled the medallions and the
decorative motives at the intersections of the penetra-
tions. All this elaboration of excellence might be thought
to be lost upon the spectator. But, as in perfect orches-
tration in which every nicety of shading and tone con-
tributes to a complete enjoyment of the result, so would
[92]
it be in this case were the ornamental features, though
in detail seemingly not in evidence, carelessly installed.
A sense of something imperfect or wanting would be
conveyed were such care not taken.
THE FINE ARTS DEPARTMENT.
The Fine Arts Department is reached by the entrance
at the south end of the hall. The first room is an ex-
hibition room, which connects with the department proper.
Besides the large collection of books on the Fine and
Useful Arts, this department has facilities for copying
and photographing. There is an extensive collection of
photographs of architecture, sculpture and painting;
lantern slides ; etc. Special assistance is offered to
classes for study and work.
THE BROWN MUSIC ROOM.
The Brown Music Room is situated off the centre of
the hall, reached by a low flight of steps. This collec-
tion of musical works is a gift from Allen A. Brown.
THE SPECIAL LIBRARIES.
The Special Libraries are at the north end of the hall
and contain gift collections restricted to use in a special
reading room. Among the collections are the Barton
(Shakespeariana) ; Ticknor (Spanish and Portuguese) ;
Prince (Early Americana) ; Brown (Dramatic books) ;
Bowditch (Mathematical) ; and the Galatea (Books
about women).
[93]
HISTORY AND WORKING OF THE LIBRARY*
Founded in 1852, the Library is a pioneer of public
libraries, supported by general taxation, and the largest
of its class in the world. Opened on Mason street in
1854, it occupied a new building on Boylston Street in
1858 and removed to the present building in 1895.
The Library system consists of the Central Library in
Copley Square, 14 Principal Branch Libraries and 10
reading rooms. There are 332 employees. The Library
operates its own Binding and Printing Departments.
Between the Library and its branches (principal and
minor), there is a daily exchange of books and cards
which obviates the necessity of borrowers coming to
the Central Library.
Books are deposited or delivered in 155 public ami
parochial schools, 138 institutions and 62 fire companies.
Cards allowing use of books for two weeks are issued
to residents of Boston. For reading and reference the
Library is open to all without formality.
The Central Library contains over 850,000 volumes,
the total number of volumes in the whole system being
1,135,779. The Library Department is governed by an
unpaid Board of Trustees, rive in number, appointed by
the Mayor.
*For further reading consult The Boston Public Library: a history, by
Horace G. Wadlin, and the Workings of the Boston Public Library, by
Josiah H. Benton.
[94]
Abbey's Holy Grail
and other Library decorations reproduced in
Masterpieces of American Art, reproduced in
rich sepia tone, some in color. For twenty-one
years a hall-mark of good taste in pictures.
THE OATH OF KNIGHTHOOD From Abbey's Holy Grail
The Holy Grail and other Library decorations
are on exhibition and sale at the studio of the pub-
lishers, Curtis & Cameron, opposite the Library.
The Grail is fully illustrated in the Copley
Print Illustrated Catalogue ( practically a Hand-
book of American Art.) 8ent upon receipt of 25
cents: stamps preferred.
Above picture copyright by K. A. Abbey ■ from a Copley Print Copyright 6y
CURTIS & CAMERON, Pierce Building, opp. Public Library, BOSTON
[95]
E. L. Grimes Co., c^sH@i& Printers, Boston.
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11