Devotional pictures of St. Ambrose alone as patron saint do not often occur. In general he wears the episcopal pallium with the mitre and crosier as bishop: the bee-hive is sometimes placed at his feet; but a more frequent attribute is the knotted scourge with three thongs. The scourge is a received emblem of the castigation of sin: in the hand of St. Ambrose it may signify the penance inflicted on the Emperor Theodosius; or, as others interpret it, the expulsion of the Arians from Italy, and the triumph of the Trinitarians. It has always this meaning, we may presume, when the scourge has three knots, or three thongs. I have seen figures of St. Ambrose holding two human bones in his hand. When this attribute occurs (as in a picture by Vivarini, Venice Acad.), it alludes to the discovery of the relics of Gervasius and Protasius.
Among the few representations of St. Ambrose as patron saint, the finest beyond all comparison is that which adorns his chapel in the Frari at Venice, painted conjointly by B. Vivarini and Basaiti (A.D. 1498). He is seated on a throne, raised on several steps, attired in his episcopal robes and mitre, and bearing the triple scourge in his hand. He has a short grey beard, and looks straight out of the picture with an expression of stern power;—nothing here of the benignity and humility of the Christian teacher! Around his throne stands a glorious company of saints: on the right, St. George in complete armour; St. John the Baptist; a young saint, bearing a sword and palm, with long hair, and the most beautiful expression of mild serene faith, whom I suppose to be St. Theodore; St. Sebastian; and another figure behind, part of the head only seen. On the left, St. Maurice, armed; the three Doctors, St. Gregory, St. Augustine, St. Jerome, and two other saints partly seen behind, whose personality is doubtful. All these wait round St. Ambrose, as guards and counsellors round a sovereign; two lovely little angels sit on the lower step of the throne hymning his praise. The whole picture is wonderful for colour, depth, and expression, and shows to what a pitch of excellence the Vivarini family had attained in these characteristics of the Venetian school, long before it had become a school.
Most of the single figures of St. Ambrose represent him in his most popular character, that of the stern adversary of the Arians. I remember (in the Frari at Venice) a picture in which St. Ambrose in his episcopal robes is mounted on a white charger, and flourishing on high his triple scourge. The Arians are trampled under his feet, or fly before him. I have seen an old print, in which he is represented with a short grey beard, stern countenance, and wearing the bishop’s mitre: underneath is the inscription ‘Antiquis ejus imaginibus Mediolani olim depictis ad vivum expressa;’ but it seems certain that no authentic portrait of him exists.
His church at Milan, the Basilica of Sant’ Ambrogio Maggiore, one of the oldest and most interesting churches in Christendom, was founded by him in 387, and dedicated to all the Saints. Though rebuilt in the ninth century and restored in the seventeenth, it still retains the form of the primitive Christian churches (like some of those at Rome and Ravenna), and the doors of cypress wood are traditionally regarded as the very doors which St. Ambrose closed against the Emperor Theodosius, brought hither from the ancient cathedral. Within this venerable and solemn old church may be seen one of the most extraordinary and best-preserved specimens of Mediæval Art: it is the golden shrine or covering of the high altar, much older than the famous pala d’ oro at Venice; and the work, or at least the design, of one man:[269] whereas the pala is the work of several different artists at different periods. On the front of the altar, which is all of plates of gold, enamelled and set with precious stones, are represented in relief scenes from the life of our Saviour: on the sides, which are of silver-gilt, angels, archangels, and medallions of Milanese saints. On the back, also of silver-gilt, we have the whole life of St. Ambrose, in a series of small compartments, most curious and important as a record of costume and manners, as well as an example of the state of Art at that time. I have never seen any engraving of this monument, but I examined it carefully. In the centre stand the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, in the Byzantine style; and below them, St. Ambrose blesses the donor, Bishop Angelbertus, and the goldsmith Wolvinus. Around, in twelve compartments, we have the principal incidents of the life of St. Ambrose, the figures being, as nearly as I can recollect, about six inches high.
1. Bees swarm round his head as he lies in his cradle. 2. He is appointed prefect of the Ligurian provinces. 3. He is elected Bishop of Milan in 375. 4. He is baptized. 5. He is ordained. 6. and 7. He sleeps, and beholds in a vision the obsequies of St. Martin of Tours. 8. He preaches in the cathedral, inspired by angels. 9. He heals the sick and lame. 10. He is visited by Christ. 11. An angel wakes the bishop of Vercelli, and sends him to St. Ambrose. 12. Ambrose dies, and angels bear away his soul to heaven.
I was surprised not to find in his church what we consider as the principal event of his life—his magnanimous resistance to the Emperor Theodosius. In fact, the grand scene between Ambrose and Theodosius has never been so popular as it deserves to be: considered merely as a subject of painting, it is full of splendid picturesque capabilities; for grouping, colour, contrast, background, all that could be desired. In the great picture by Rubens,[270] the scene is the porch of the church. On the left the emperor, surrounded by his guards, stands irresolute, and in a supplicatory attitude, on the steps; on the right and above, St. Ambrose is seen, attended by the ministering priests, and stretches out his hand to repel the intruder. There is a print, after Andrea del Sarto, representing Theodosius on his knees before the relenting prelate. In the Louvre is a small picture, by Subleyras, of the reconciliation of Ambrose and Theodosius. In our National Gallery is a small and beautiful copy, by Vandyck, of the great picture by Rubens.
As joint patrons of Milan, St. Ambrose and St. Carlo Borromeo are sometimes represented together, but only in late pictures.
There is a statue of St. Ambrose, by Falconet,[271] in the act of repelling Theodosius, which is mentioned by Diderot, with a commentary so characteristic of the French anti-religious feeling of that time,—a feeling as narrow and one-sided in its way as the most bigoted puritanism,—that I am tempted to extract it; only premising, that if, after the slaughter at Ismaël, Catherine of Russia had been placed under the ban of Christendom, the world would not have been the worse for such an exertion of the priestly power.
C’est ce fougneux évêque qui osa fermer les portes de l’église a Théodose, et à qui un certain souverain de par le monde [Frederic of Prussia] qui dans la guerre passée avoit une si bonne envie de faire un tour dans la rue des prêtres, et une certaine souveraine [Catherine of Russia] qui vient de débarrasser son clergé de toute cette richesse inutile qui l’empêchoit d’être respectable, auroient fait couper la barbe et les oreilles, en lui disant: ‘Apprenez, monsieur l’abbé, que le temple de votre Dieu est sur mon domain, et que si mon prédécesseur vous a accordé par grâce les trois arpens de terrain qu’il occupe, je puis les reprendre et vous envoyer porter vos autels et votre fanatisme ailleurs. Ce lieu-ci est la maison du Père commun des hommes, bons ou méchans, et je veux entrer quand il me plaira. Je ne m’accuse point à vous; quand je daignerois vous consulter, vous n’en savez pas assez pour me conseiller sur ma conduite, et de quel front vous immiscez-veus d’en juger?’ Mais le plat empereur ne parla pas ainsi, et l’évêque savoit bien à qui il avoit à faire. Le statuaire nous l’a montré dans le moment de son insolent apostrophe.’