Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 9.djvu/444

348 OX THE BRONZE DOORS OF THE CATHEDRAL OF GNESEN, the remains of ancient art himself, but carried young men in his suite, for the express purpose of enabhng them to acquire a knowledge of the arts of that country ; thus la^ang the foundation of a German Italian school of art. When, later in life, established at Hildesheim, he (in the 3^ear 1015) adorned his cathedral with the doors covered with bas-reliefs, and the bronze column, which still remain there. On the latter, scenes from the life of our Saviour are represented, arranged in a spiral running round the shaft from bottom to top — an arrangement obviously suggested by the remains of classical art which he had seen in Italy. That the casting of large works in metal was frequently and successfully practised in Germany during the eleventh and twelfth centuries is proved both by the testimony of many writers, and by numerous existing monuments ; and, as ex- amples of such, in addition to the very remarkable works at Hildesheim above referred to, may be mentioned the doors in the cathedral of Mentz (975-1011) ; those in the cathedral of Augsburg (1088) ; the effigy of the Emperor Rudolph, the Swabian (killed in 1080) in the Cathedral of Merseburg; the hon at Brunswick (1166) ; the doors of the Cathedral of Novogorod (on which are the effigies and names ^ of the artists) ; the candelabra in the cathedrals of Brunswick and Erfurt ; and, as a curious instance of the application of bronze to architectural purposes, the tracery^ of the circular west window of the Church of Gadebusch, in Mecklenburg. When the style of art shown in these and other works of sculpture of the same period is compared with that of the Gnesen doors, it is obvious that the latter is of a later and more advanced character ; instead of the stiffness of attitude, and want of expression, or even of correct modelhng in the heads, we find, as has been before remarked, considerable animation and life in the gestures, and both expression and natural form in the countenances of the figures. Still the draperies show much of the minute and feeble treatment of the earlier style. It is therefore clear that in these sculp- tures we have an instance of transition from the earlier style to that which in Germany appeared towards the end of the ^ Riquin (i.e. Richwin, or Richwein), " Traditionally said to have been made Waismuth and Abraham. The two first are from the crown of the god Radegast, certainly German, (see F. Adtlmig, Die whose temple stood on the spot. Korsbuuiichen Thliren).