Arthurian Legends in Medieval Art by R. S. Loomis; L. H. LoomisReview by: Trude Krautheimer-HessThe Art Bulletin, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Mar., 1942), pp. 102-104Published by: College Art AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3046805 .

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102 THE ART BULLETIN

century; cf., in particular, the diptychs of Areo- bindus, 506, and Anastasius, 517)34 It also leads him to dismiss Delbrueck's convincing association of the Barberini diptych with the emperor Anastasius, and date of ca. 500,35 with the unsupported state- ment: "Das Barberini-Diptychon dagegen kann nicht linger im Verbande der Werke des endenden 5. und beginnenden 6 Jahrhunderts bleiben" (p. 98). In addition, he fails to note a detail pointed out by Cecchelli:36 that the monogram on the front of the Chair is in more shallow relief than the surrounding frieze and shows adjustment thereto on its right side. This strongly indicates that Maximianus' monogram represents a later addition to an already completed -Cathedra and makes it unnecessary to date the latter after 546. That it was imported to Ravenna from some Greek city, such as Alexandria, is further indicated by the assembly-marks which are all in Greek, as Gerola pointed out,3" and not in both "lateinische und griechische" as Morath (p. 13) er- roneously states.

Morath's argument in this and the subsequent sec- tions, in which style and composition are used to reenforce his conclusions, rests upon the unsound supposition that Early Christian style and iconog- raphy are all of a piece and evolved in a consistent, unified fashion. This ignores most of the careful scholarship of the past twenty-five years which has proved the fallacy of such a view.8 This point of view, and the author's prejudice against style and iconography, are particularly noticeable in the slight importance attached to the many Egyptian paral- lels which permeate the whole analysis of the scenes on the Chair. An instance in point is the dismissal of the validity of the St. Menas pyxis in London as a key to provenance, with the statement (p. 82) "denn die iHgyptische Herkunft der Pyxis ist sehr fraglich," thus ignoring the Nilotic subject-matter and the close resemblance between the scene of St. Menas as orant between recumbent camels on the pyxis and the same episode displayed on the pilgrim flasks actually found at the shrine of this popular Egyptian saint in the "Menas-stadt" near Alex- andria.39 Even more extraordinary is the statement (p. 105), "Die Pyxis wurde in der Nahe von S. Paolo fuori-le-Mura in Rom gefunden," although Nesbitt merely says that he purchased the box in Rome.40 It might be noted that the "Scythian" dress seen by the author in the accessory figures of

the Joseph scenes on the Chair is identical with the garment worn by the executioner of the Menas pyxis and is believed by Smith (who cites parallels on Egyptian frescoes) to be distinctively Egyptian.41 No mention is made of the pyxis in Wiesbaden, whose style so closely parallels that of the Menas pyxis and whose Nilotic scenes-Father Nile and a personifica- tion of Egypt on one side, an "Isis" feast on the other42-lead to the strong presumption that it, too, is of Egyptian origin.

The group of ivories discussed in the Appendix, such as the "sacred" diptych in Berlin and the apostle panels at Tongres, Brussels, Cambridge, and Paris, which continue the style of the Cathedra, are all dated too late in the opinion of this reviewer. It is difficult to see how the miracle scenes of the Cam- bridge panels, for instance, can be disassociated from the consular diptychs of the early sixth cen- tury.43 No mention is made of the peculiarly Coptic character of the scallop-shell niche with its ball hinge,44 characterizing several of the apostle panels.

A few minor errors might be noted. The Werden pyxis is called a casket (p. 42), the Baptism plaque in the British Museum is labeled as a pyxis (p. 46), and the casket from Werden in the Victoria and Albert Museum is referred to as a bookcover (p. 37).

Although Morath has performed a real service in calling attention to the many problems presented by the Ravenna Cathedra, and in emphasizing its signal importance in the development of Early Christian art, he does not succeed in offering a convincing solu- tion of these problems. No solution which fails to take into account the overwhelming evidence of style, ornament, and iconography which seems defi- nitely to point to the Delta, can be considered satis- factory. When one considers the prominence given to John the Baptist and Joseph, both exceedingly popular in Egypt, that eight of the twelve extant scenes from the New Testament find their closest parallels in monuments found along the Nile valley, and that the youthful Savior with his distinctive sceptre-cross, and the standing evangelist with his book both seem peculiar to monuments associated with Egypt, the conclusion seems obvious. Either the Cathedra of Maximianus was executed in Alex- andria, or it is the product of an Alexandrian atelier situated in some other city of the empire.

EDWARD CAPPS, JR. Oberlin College

34. Delbrueck, Die Consular-Diptychen, Berlin & Leipzig, 1929, nos. 9-15 and I8-21; cf. Capps, ART BULLETIN, X, 1927, 61 ff.

35. Op. cit., no. 48, pp. 188 ff. 36. Op. cit., p. 72. 37. "La ricomposizione della cathedra di Massimiano a

Ravenna," Archivio storico per la Sicilia orientale, xvi, xvn, 1919--20, 410 ff.; cf. Morey, A.7A, XLV, 1941, 144.

38. Cf. C. R. Morey, "The Sources of Mediaeval Style," ART BULLETIN, VII, 1924, I ff., and Early Christian Art (in press), passim, who analyzes the diverse elements which formed the basis of medieval style, and shows how differently Early Christian art evolved in the various provinces of the Greek East, on the one hand, and in the Latin West on the other.

39. Cf. K. M. Kaufmann, Zur Ikonographie der Menas- Ampullen, Cairo, 1910.

40. Archaeologia, XLIV, I880, 321 ff.; cf. Morey (AJA, XLV, 1941, 144), who suggests how this serious error might have origi- nated.

41. "The Alexandrian Origin of the Chair of Maximianus," A7A, xxI, 1917, 22 if.

42. Strzygowski, Hellenistische und koptische Kunst in Alex- andria, Vienna, 1902, p. 47, note I; Volbach, Elfenbeinarbeiten der spatantike und des frihen Mittelalters (Katalog des Rdm.-Ger- manischen Zentralmuseums), Mainz, 1916, no. 43, pl. III, c.

43. Cf. Capps, ART BULLETIN, IX, 1927, 337 if. 44. Idem, ART BULLETIN, X, 1927, 85 if.

R. S. LOOMIS, Arthurian Legends in Medieval Art (Part ii in collaboration with L. H. Loomis), London and New York, 1938. Pp. 155; 420 figs. This splendid volume by Mr. and Mrs. Loomis

opens a field within the realm of secular iconography which has been too long neglected by students of art history. Here is presented a complete survey and

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BOOK REVIEWS 103

critical analysis of all works of art up to 1500oo which either illustrate one of the Arthurian legends in suc- cessive scenes, or depict isolated episodes or figures related to this cycle. Omitting everything which has been connected only hypothetically with the legends, the authors have succeeded in assembling a tre- mendous amount of material; this they have de- scribed thoroughly, illustrated splendidly, and pro- vided for the whole a careful index.

A short introduction gives a survey of the study of Arthurian iconography and a concise review of the development of the Arthurian legend, from its Irish-Welsh origin to its different poetic and prose reflections during the twelfth and thirteenth cen- turies. The book proper is divided into two distinct parts. Part I, by Mr. Loomis, is arranged according to subject matter, and is confined to the "decorative arts," with the exception of illumination. Each chapter treats one legend of the cycle, and the works of art illustrating it follow each other chronologically. Part ii, written in collaboration with Laura Hibbard Loomis, deals with the illuminated manuscripts. Here the abundance of material made possible an arrangement according to schools and enabled the authors to stress artistic development. Subject matter is not emphasized, since it is frequently ob- vious.

Part I opens with a survey of lost depictions of Arthurian legends, such as the numerous tapestries and vessels recorded in the inventories of Louis d'Anjou, Charles V and his successors, and with a discussion of works of art, whether actual or ficti- tious, in literature. The next chapters, which deal with King Arthur and Tristram (the latter in both the verse and prose romances), demonstrate the variety of subjects covered and of materials used. From the twelfth century (aside from a somewhat doubtful relief at Perros in Brittany) only the scenes on the archivolt of the Porta della Pescheria at Modena and the strange representation of King Arthur in the mosaic of Otranto Cathedral have survived. And even from the thirteenth century the material preserved is extremely scarce, limited as it is to two ivory caskets done in Cologne about I200, and the Chertsey tiles of ca. 1270. On the other hand, the material of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries is abundant. King Arthur appears among the Nine Worthies in a statuary cycle (Cologne), on tapestries of French origin (Metropolitan Museum, New York) and in murals (La Manta, Piedmont). Episodes from Tristram, the favorite tale of the cycle, appear in murals (Castel Runkelstein, Tyrol), in embroideries of Northern Germany, on French ivories, in Sicilian ceiling paintings (Palazzo Chiara- monte, Palermo), and English wood carvings (Chester Cathedral). The last two chapters of Part I deal with the representations of Lancelot, Gawain, Perceval, Galahad and others, and again lead us to France, Germany, the Tyrol, and England, in the period between 1324 and 14oo. From this summary of the material (which only hints at all that has been assembled by Mr. Loomis), it is clear that during the period extending roughly from 13oo to 1490, repre- sentations of Arthurian legends are numerous in most parts of central and southern Europe.

Part II, aside from its importance as a study in iconography, is extremely valuable as a contribution to the history of illumination. An increasing natural- ism and changes in the representation of space are the criteria employed for the measurement of stylistic development. Most of the manuscripts under con- sideration are French and of first-rate quality. Among the most impressive, to mention only a few, are the Estoire Merlin of ca. 1290 (Paris, Bibl. Nat., Fr. 95), the Lancelot of 1300-1320 (now MS 8o05- 806 in The Pierpont Morgan Library), and the Tris-

tan of ca. 14o2 (Paris, Bibl. Nat., Fr. ioo/ioi). Most are dated, and the authors use these, together with dated non-Arthurian manuscripts, as fixed points from which to classify their undated material. Meas- ured against these superior French manuscripts, those of Italian and Dutch origin are of slightly in- ferior quality, while the German and English ones are of rather poor workmanship.

Part II ends with the appearance of Arthurian sub- jects in woodcuts and incunabula, which introduced the legends to a wider public. The first Tristram book was printed in Augsburg in 1484. It is obvious, and the authors stress this point, that until this time the interested public had been found among the nobility. Despite the abundant productions of French Arthurian poets in the twelfth century, illus- trated versions of their work must have been rare, or non-existent, and no twelfth-century illuminated manuscript is preserved. In the thirteenth century, however, lay scribes established themselves in this field and a flourishing trade developed. Production of these manuscripts reached its highest point be- tween 1270 and 1340. Its center was in northeastern France, whose wealthy nobility "seems to have had a special enthusiasm for Arthurian legend." These manuscripts were so profusely illustrated (some con- tain hundreds of pictures) that they were available, of course, only to a wealthy and, therefore, small clientele. After a lull caused by the first period of the Hundred Years War, illumination began to flour- ish again after 1370. Thereafter, the manuscripts were even more luxuriously decorated and were made for even fewer patrons, principally Charles V, Charles VI, and the duc de Berri. In Italy, likewise, during the second part of the fourteenth century, this art was largely monopolized by a few outstanding courts, such as that of the Anjou at Naples, and the Sforzas, the Viscontis, and the Gonzagas in Lombardy.

While Part II thus gives not only the artistic de- velopment of the Arthurian illustrations but also their sociological background, Part I is limited to establishing what particular version of the legend had been drawn upon and to dating and localizing the works of art. The scarcity of the material seemed to Mr. Loomis to make any general conclusions un- justifiable. There is one question, however, which might be asked. The sculptures, murals, quilts, and ivories discussed in Part I would seem to have been produced for the same wealthy circles which spon- sored the illuminations. This clientele may have been for the most part aristocratic, but it is a strange phenomenon that among the larger Arthurian cycles, from 1325 on, a certain number was definitely not

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104 THE ART BULLETIN

commissioned by the nobility. The Cologne statues of Arthur among the Worthies, ca. 1325 (Mr. Loomis' date seems to this reviewer far more convincing than Hamann's and Dehio's of 1360), decorate the Hansa- saal of the town hall of one of the leading merchant cities of Europe; the Perceval murals of ca. 1330 at Liibeck, likewise a great Hansa town, were probably executed for a certain Johannes Saffran; the mural decoration of about 14o00 at Runkelstein was made for Nicolaus Vintler, a great Tyrolese banker; and the beautiful corbel in Bourges decorated the palace of the merchant prince, Jacques Coeur. These few instances prompt one to ask whether an interest in the Arthurian legends, at least from 1330 on, was no longer restricted to the nobility but rather had been extended to the upper bourgeoisie. Possibly one may see in the latter's choice of these subjects for illus- tration, in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, an attempt toward self-ennoblement, and at the same time a romantic longing for a fabulous chivalric age. At any rate, it seems that the interest in the Arthu- rian legends was slowly seeping down from the nobil- ity to the princely merchants-until with the printed book it reached the middle class proper.

While the peak as well as the end of this Arthurian movement in art thus becomes quite obvious, its beginnings, as Mr. Loomis points out, can hardly be brought under one single heading. That much be- comes clear from his masterly discussion of the sculp- tural decoration of the archivolt of the Porta della Pescheria at Modena Cathedral, which precedes by at least half a century the "classic" codifications of Arthurian romance. The scenes represented are not from any of the well-known romances but present a "composite tale" of the abduction and attempted rescue of Arthur's queen. Their elements are later found in both the thirteenth-century Vulgata Lance- lot and Durmart, and the Modena sculptures are an "early but already complicated version of the theme of which Chretien's Charette is the classic form" (p. 34), probably inspired by the tales of "conteurs" of Breton origin. The date of these sculptures, IOO1100, 1150, or the second half of the twelfth century, has been debated with great fury. This reviewer previ- ously held them to be executed about the middle of the twelfth century but has long since changed her opinion.' Mr. Loomis and Mr. Arthur Kingsley Porter from the very outset have maintained the Porta della Pescheria to be, if not by Willigelmus, the author of the fagade sculptures, then at least by a contemporary pupil and therefore shortly after 1100. Indeed a date between iioo and 1120 seems to this reviewer convincing enough: the style of the Pescheria master, while lacking the force and plas- ticity of Willigelmus, has, on the other hand, so many similarities in the costumes, the features, and the treatment of curls and draperies that it is im- possible to separate it chronologically from his work. Thus the question centers on the dating of Wil-

ligelmus' decoration of the fagade. It appears certain that he started work as early as lo99 (instead of after 1117, as this reviewer held previously); this would place his work, as well as that of the master of the Porta della Pescheria, within the first decades of the twelfth century. Considering the fact that large sculptural programs were executed over a period of years it seems advisable to assume such a margin. Indeed, the Porta della Pescheria itself would seem to prove that work at the cathedral went on at least throughout the first half of the century. While the archivolt is related to the early Willigelmus style-as are also, evidently, the repre- sentations of the months on the door jambs-a later style of sculpture appears in the animal fable rep- resentations of the architrave, a difference in style noted also by Mr. Loomis. Through its stylistic similarities with the slabs at the eaves-line of the diaphragm arches and with some capitals on the south side of the cathedral, this architrave can be approximately dated 1140-50. Indeed, architec- turally speaking, the architrave and the archivolt of the Porta della Pescheria do not correspond to each other, since the length of the architrave consider- ably exceeds the span of the archivolt-an arrange- ment contrary to that on all other portals at Modena. What happened evidently was that a portal whose archivolt and (possibly) jambs had been executed between iioo and 1120 was enlarged about 1140-50; the jambs were moved outward and a longer archi- trave was inserted whose ends did not coincide any longer with that of the narrow older archivolt. Still, the archivolt with its Arthurian tales was of the be- binning of the twelfth century and thus would seem to be the earliest of the many records of this romance in either word or picture, here so splendidly collected and discussed by Mr. and Mrs. Loomis.

TRUDE KRAUTHEIMER-HESS

x. T. Krautheimer-Hess, "Die figurale Plastik der Ostlom- bardei von i0oo bis 1178," Marburger 7ahrbuch fiir Kunstwissen- schaft, IV, 1928, 231 ff-. I was already convinced of the earlier date in 1929, as expressed in a letter of that year to Mr. Meyer Schapiro, quoted by Mr. Loomis in "The Arthurian Legend be- fore x 1139," The Romanic Review, 1941, p. 23.

ERNEST T. DE WALD, The Illustrations in the Manu- scripts of the Septuagint; Volume III: Psalms and Odes, Part I: Vaticanus Graecus 1927. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1941. Pp. 56; 73 pls. (145 ills.) in collotype. $12.oo. This beautifully designed and printed book repre-

sents the first part of a series of six volumes to be devoted to the illustrations of the Septuagint by De Wald, Friend, and Weitzmann. The book is itself only one of several parts of Volume iii which will be published by De Wald on the various Greek Psalters. Following the scheme familiar to us in his previous publications on illustrated Psalters, the author an- alyzes the structure of the manuscript and describes the contents of its miniatures by reference to, and quotation of, the proper text sources. In most cases each psalm and ode of the Vatican Psalter is illus- trated by one or more miniatures within which ap- pear the figures and objects evoked by the text. Twenty-eight psalms, however, do not have illustra- tions. In seven such cases there is no evidence that any ever existed, since there is neither an interrup- tion of the text nor any substitutions. In the other twenty-one instances, however, the existence of miniatures in the original state of the codex is in- ferred by the substitution of new folios in place of

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