This arrangement is probably due in some measure to the rules of Byzantine art, but here the resemblance ends; nothing can be more original, owing less to tradition, than the composition of the various pictures in this series. They are not so much an improvement upon Byzantine art, as a wholly new departure; the difference is something like that between the gallop of a horse, and the fierce rush of a locomotive, not only a greater pace, but a changed mode of progression. It is difficult to see how the one could have ever developed into the other, and there is no clue left, save such as may be found in that lonely shepherd life led by the young artist, amidst the olive groves and grey hills of Vespignano. I subjoin a table of the subjects of these series in the order in which they here occur; but I do not propose to weary my readers with a description of the composition of each picture; it will be sufficient if I indicate the main features of a few of the most important.[60]
The order of the drawings in the Arena Chapel is as follows:—
- 1. Joachim's Offering rejected by the High Priest.
- 2. Joachim retires to the Sheepfold.
- 3. The Angel appears to Anna.
- 4. The Sacrifice of Joachim.
- 5. The Angel appears to Joachim.
- 6. The Meeting of Joachim and Anna.
- 7. The Birth of the Virgin Mary.
- 8. The Presentation of the Virgin.
- 9. The Rods are brought to the High Priest.
- 10. The Watching of the Rods at the Altar.
- 11. The Espousal of the Virgin Mary.
- 12. The Virgin Mary returns to her Home.
- 13. The Annunciation—the Angel Gabriel.
- 14. The Annunciation—the Virgin Mary.
- 15. The Marriage of the Virgin.
- 16. The Salutation.
- 17. The Nativity.
- 18. The Wise Men's Offering.
- 19. The Presentation in the Temple.
- 20. The Flight into Egypt.
- 21. The Massacre of the Innocents.
- 22. The Young Christ in the Temple.
- 23. The Baptism of Christ.
- 24. The Marriage in Cana.
- 25. The Raising of Lazarus.
- 26. The Entry into Jerusalem.
- 27. The Expulsion from the Temple.
- 28. The Hiring of Judas.
- 29. The Last Supper.
- 30. The Washing of the Feet.
- 31. The Kiss of Judas.
- 32. Christ before Caiaphas.
- 33. The Scourging of Christ.
- 34. Christ bearing His Cross.
- 35. The Crucifixion.
- 36. The Entombment.
- 37. The Resurrection.
- 38. The Ascension.
- 39. The Descent of the Holy Spirit.
The first of this series which deserves especial attention is that numbered two in the above table, the representation of Joachim's retirement to the sheepfold, after his offering has been rejected by the high priest. This is especially remarkable as being the first of his series of the Arena frescoes in which Giotto's early training shows itself. Nothing can be more marked than the evident delight of the painter in depicting any form of this shepherd life. Throughout his works every opportunity of introducing animal nature, especially sheep nature, is eagerly seized and made the most of, and, as in this fresco, the animals have invariably a character of their own, and are by no means walking gentlemen in the scene represented. Look, for instance, at the varied action of the sheep in this composition, and the eager welcome that Joachim's dog is giving to his master. In the third and fourth pictures, too, of the Sacrifice of Joachim, and the subsequent appearance of the angel, is the delight of the painter in animal idiosyncrasies apparent, as in the two rams butting at one another, and the air of quiet watchfulness in which the dog lies down, with a sense of responsibility strong upon him.
JOACHIM RETIRES TO THE SHEEPFOLD. BY GIOTTO.
In the Cappella dell' Arena, Padua.
The Meeting of Joachim and Anna, chiefly remarkable for the grace and beauty of the two leading figures; it is somewhat curious to notice how the position of Anna's head suggests that of a famous modern picture, perhaps the most celebrated ever painted in England, the Huguenots, by Mr. J. E. Millais, R.A. A propos of this fresco, Mr. Ruskin remarks, that the artist has heightened the effect of the leading figures by wilfully coarsening the features of the subordinate characters, and that the horizontal lines of the architecture enhance by contrast the beauty of the curved draperies. I am, however, inclined to think that the first of these contrasts is accidental, as the type of face of the servants in this composition, is found throughout the minor characters in Giotto's pictures; indeed, it may be noticed that, whether from his own uncomeliness, or some other more recondite reason, the painter had a curious difficulty in depicting beautiful faces, that belongs to him alone of contemporary masters. This does not apply to beauty of gesture or line, to which he was excessively sensitive.
8. The Presentation of the Virgin—the Virgin represented not as a child, but, as Lord Lindsay remarks, a dwarf woman. The figure of Anna in this picture is one of the least graceful in Giotto's works.