The Story of Assisi Part 13

"As he lay prostrate before a crucifix he was filled with great spiritual consolation, and gazing with tearful eyes upon the holy cross of the Lord, he heard with his bodily ears a voice from the crucifix, which said thrice to him: 'Francis, go and build up My house, which as thou seest, is falling into ruin.'"

Unfortunately this fresco is much faded and in parts peeled off; this, combined with the representation of a ruined church, gives a curious effect of total destruction, as if an earthquake had pa.s.sed over the land. The figure of the saint, just visible, and his att.i.tude of earnest prayer is very charming.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ST. FRANCIS RENOUNCES THE WORLD (D. ANDERSON--_photo_)]

5. _St. Francis renounces the world._

"And now his father, ... brought this son, ... before the Bishop of a.s.sisi to compel him to renounce in his hands all his inheritance.... As soon, therefore, as he came into the Bishop's presence, without a moment's delay, neither waiting for his father's demand nor uttering a word himself, he laid aside all his clothes, and gave them back to his father.... With marvellous fervour he then turned to his father, and spoke thus to him in the presence of all: 'Until this hour I have called thee my father on earth; from henceforth, I may say confidently, my Father Who art in heaven.'"

This, perhaps the most interesting of Giotto's frescoes, can be compared with the one in Sta. Croce at Florence on the same subject, painted when time and labour had given greater strength to his genius. The a.s.sisan scene is treated with more simplicity, and, if less perfect as a decorative scheme, possesses quite as much dramatic interest and vitality. A little block of pink houses on either side reminds us that we are outside the Bishop's palace in the Piazza S. Maria Maggiore, where the scene is said to have occurred. Of course all the a.s.sisans have turned out to see how the quarrel between Bernardone and his son will end. They stand behind the irate father like a Greek chorus, while one, evidently a citizen of distinction from his ermine lined cloak and tippet, restrains Messer Pietro, who is throwing back his arm with the evident intention of striking his son. Francis' pa.s.sion for repairing a.s.sisan churches and ministering to the wants of the poor had proved a costly business to the thrifty merchant, who loved his money and had little sympathy with a.s.sisan beggars (sojourners in a.s.sisi may agree with him). Delightful are the two tiny children who with one hand clutch up their garments, full of stones to throw at St.

Francis. The bishop is the calmest person there, turning to his priests he seems to say: "All is well, there is G.o.d the Father's hand in the sky (with a little patience it can be distinguished in the fresco), and we are sure to gain the day, spite of Pietro's angry words." And so he quietly folds his episcopal mantle around St. Francis, who from this moment becomes indeed the Child of heaven. It may seem strange, as Mr Ruskin truly observes, that St.

Francis, one of whose virtues was obedience, should begin life by disobeying his father, but Giotto means to show that the young saint was casting off all worldly restraint in order to obey the Supreme Power, and the scene is a counterpart to Dante's lines referring to his marriage with the Lady Poverty.

"A dame, to whom none openeth pleasure's gate More than to death, was, 'gainst his father's will, His stripling choice: and he did make her his, Before the spiritual court, by nuptial bonds, And in his father's sight: from day to day, Then loved her more devoutly."[98]

6. _The dream of Innocent III._

"He saw in a dream the Lateran Basilica, now falling into ruin, supported by the shoulders of a poor, despised, and feeble man.

'Truly,' said he, 'this is he who by his works and his teaching shall sustain the Church of Christ.'"

In the representations of this vision painted for Dominican churches, the Lateran is always supported by the two great founders, Francis and Dominic, who, in their different ways, helped Innocent in his difficult task of reforming the Church. Giotto shows his power and the advance art is making under his hand, in the figure of St. Francis, who with body slightly bent back and one hand on his hip, seems to support the great weight, while his feet are so firmly planted that there is no uncomfortable feeling of strain and only a sense of strength and security. Two men are seated by the bedside of the Pope, one is asleep while the other keeps watch, and in his slightly wearied att.i.tude and the reposeful figure of the sleeper, Giotto's keen observation of the ordinary incidents of every day life is very apparent.

7. _Innocent III, sanctions the Rule of St. Francis._

"He was filled with a great and special devotion and love for the servant of G.o.d. He granted all his pet.i.tions, and promised to grant him still greater things. He approved the Rule, gave him a mission to preach penance, and granted to all the lay brothers in the company of the servant of G.o.d to wear a tonsure smaller than that worn by priests, and freely to preach the Word of G.o.d."

Giotto, in his fresco, has to represent the most important event in the life of the saint--his arrival at the papal court when he comes face to face with one of the greatest of the Roman Pontiffs; and by the simplest possible means the scene is brought before us. Here are no crimson-robed cardinals, no gilded papal throne; the bishops grouped behind Innocent are hardly noticed, or even the brethren who, with hands clasped as though in prayer, press closely to their leader like a flock of sheep round their shepherd. The eye is so fixed upon the two central figures, that all else fades away. Giotto has seized the supreme moment when the Pope, having overcome his fear lest St.

Francis should falter in a life of poverty and prove to be only another heretical leader of which Italy had already too many, is, with kingly gesture, giving the Umbrian penitent authority to preach throughout the land. St. Francis, holding out his hand to receive his simple Rule, now bearing the papal seals, looks up with steady gaze; he is the most humble among men kneeling at the feet of Rome's sovereign, but strong in love, in faith and in knowledge of the righteousness of his mission. M. Paul Sabatier has beautifully ill.u.s.trated the meaning of Giotto when he writes: "On pourrait croire que le peintre avait trempe ses levres dans la coupe du Voyant Calabrais [Joachim de Flore] et qu'il a voulu symboliser dans l'att.i.tude de ces deux hommes la rencontre des representants de deux ages de l'humanite, celui de la Loi et celui de l'Amour."

8. _Vision of the Friars at Rivo-Torto._

"Now while the brethren abode in the place aforesaid, the holy man went on a certain Sat.u.r.day into the city of a.s.sisi, for he was to preach on the Sunday morning in the Cathedral Church. And being thus absent in body from his children, and engaged in devout prayer to G.o.d (as was his custom throughout the night), in a certain hut in the canon's garden, about midnight, whilst some of the brethren were asleep and others watching in prayer, a chariot of fire, of marvellous splendour, was seen to enter the door, and thrice to pa.s.s. .h.i.ther and thither through the house; ..."

Giotto's was not a nature to find much enjoyment in the portrayal of such events as saints being carried aloft in fiery chariots, and in dealing with this miracle he dedicated all his power to representing the astonishment of the brethren who witness the vision at Rivo-Torto.

Two talk together and point to St. Francis being borne across the heavens by crimson horses, one hastens to awaken his companions who are huddled together in their hut like tired dogs asleep, and another starts from his slumbers to hear the wondrous news.

9. _Vision of Brother Pacifico._

"This friar being in company with the holy man, entered with him into a certain deserted church, and there, as he was praying fervently he fell into an ecstacy, and amid many thrones in heaven he saw one more glorious than all the rest, adorned with precious stones of most glorious brightness. And marvelling at the surpa.s.sing brightness of that throne, he began anxiously to consider within himself who should be found worthy to fill it.

Then he heard a voice saying to him: 'This was the throne of one of the fallen angels, and now it is reserved for the humble Francis.'"

With what devotion St. Francis, his hands crossed upon his breast, prays upon the steps of the altar, while the friar behind is intent on asking questions about the marvellous thrones he sees poised above his head. Nothing can exceed the grace of the wide-winged angel floating down to earth to record the humility of Francis, his garments slightly spread by his movement through the air.

10. _St. Francis chases the Devils away from Arezzo._

"In order to disperse these seditious powers of the air, he sent as his herald Brother Sylvester, a man simple as a dove, saying to him: 'Go to the gates of the city, and there in the Name of Almighty G.o.d command the demons by virtue of holy obedience, that without delay they depart from that place....'"

The main facts of the legend are followed closely in this fresco, but St. Bonaventure does not tell us how the miracle was performed, while Giotto, understanding the soul of Francis, paints him kneeling outside the gates of Arezzo praying with intense fervour for the salvation of the city. His faith is so strong that he does not even look up like Brother Sylvester, to see the demons flee away; some springing from off the chimneys, others circling above the towers, their bat-like wings outspread. The figure of Brother Sylvester is very fine, and the way he is lifting his tunic and stepping forward, as he stretches out one arm with a gesture of command towards the demons, could not be rendered with more ease and truth.

11. _St. Francis and Brother Illuminatus before the Sultan of Egypt._

"When they had gone a little further, they met with a band of Saracens, who, quickly falling upon them, like wolves upon a flock of sheep, cruelly seized and bound the servants of G.o.d ...

having in many ways afflicted and oppressed them, they were ...

according to the holy man's desire, brought into the presence of the Sultan. And being questioned by that prince whence and for what purpose they had come ... the servant of Christ, being enlightened from on high, answered him thus: 'If thou and thy people will be converted to Christ I will willingly abide with thee. But if thou art doubtful whether or not to forsake the law of Mohamed for the faith of Christ, command a great fire to be lighted, and I will go into it with thy priests, that it may be known which faith should be held to be the most certain and the most holy.' To whom the Sultan made answer: 'I do not believe that any of my priests would be willing to expose himself to the fire or to endure any manner of torment in defence of his faith.'

Then said the holy man: 'If thou wilt promise me for thyself and thy people that thou wilt embrace the wors.h.i.+p of Christ if I come forth unharmed, I will enter the fire alone.' ... But the Sultan answered that he dared not accept this challenge, because he feared a sedition of the people."

This subject, from its dramatic interest, appealed to Giotto, giving full scope to his powers, both as a story-teller, and as a painter with such genius for portraying dignity and n.o.bility of character. The princ.i.p.al persons, the Sultan and St. Francis, are here clearly placed before us as Giotto wished us to conceive them, and how correctly he realised their characters we learn from the chronicles of the time.

"We saw," writes Jacques de Vitry in one of his letters, "Brother Francis arrive, who is the founder of the Minorite Order; he was a simple man, without letters, but very lovable and dear to G.o.d as well as to men. He came while the army of the Crusaders was under Damietta, and was much respected by all." This is indeed the man depicted by Giotto in the slight figure of the preacher standing at the foot of the marble throne, so humble, yet full of that secret power which won even the Sultan's admiration. But though the story centres in St. Francis, the person Giotto wishes all to notice is the Sultan, who, far from being an ignorant heathen to be converted, conveys the idea of a most n.o.ble and kingly person, Malek Camel in short, known throughout the East as the "Perfect Prince." His mollahs had wished to kill St. Francis and his companion, and the fine answer he made was worthy of his high character. "Seigneurs," he said, addressing his visitors, "they have commanded me by Mahomet and by the law to have your heads cut off. For thus the law commands; but I will go against the order, or else I should render you bad guerdon for having risked death to save my soul."

Giotto has chosen the most dramatic moment when St. Francis offers to go through the ordeal by fire with the mahommedan priests, to prove the power of the Christian G.o.d. With one look back upon the fire the mollahs gather their robes around them and hurriedly leave the Sultan's presence; St. Francis points towards the flames as though he were a.s.suring the Sultan that they will not hurt him, while the friar behind gazes contemptuously after the retreating figures of the mollahs.

Dante and Milton in their different ways were able to give us a vivid idea of fire, flame and heat, and so would Giotto have done had he expressed his ideas by words instead of in painting; but he was wise enough not to attempt it in his fresco, and so in lieu of a blaze of crimson flames we have only what looks like a stunted red cypress, realistic enough to make us understand the story without drawing our attention away from the main interest of the scene. In this fresco we are again reminded of the simple methods, grand and impressive by their very straightforwardness, by which he brings before us so strange a scene and accentuates the importance of an event in his own individual way.

12. _Ecstasy of St. Francis._

This legend is not recounted by St. Bonaventure, Celano, or in _The Three Companions_, but there is a tradition of how St. Francis one day in divine communion with G.o.d, was wrapt in ecstasy and his companions saw him raised from the ground in a cloud. All that is human in the scene Giotto has done as well as possible, but he evidently found it hard to realise how St. Francis would have looked rising up in a cloud, so he has devoted himself to rendering truthfully the astonishment of the disciples who witness the miracle.

13. _The Inst.i.tution of the Feast at Greccio._

"... in order to excite the inhabitants of Greccio to commemorate the nativity of the Infant Jesus with great devotion, he determined to keep it with all possible solemnity; and lest he should be accused of lightness or novelty, he asked and obtained the permission of the sovereign Pontiff. Then he prepared a manger, and brought hay, an ox and an a.s.s to the place appointed.

The brethren were summoned, the people ran together, the forest resounded with their voices, and that venerable night was made glorious by many brilliant lights and sonorous psalms of praise.

The man of G.o.d stood before the manger, full of devotion and piety, bathed in tears and radiant with joy; many ma.s.ses were said before it, and the Holy Gospel was chanted by Francis, the Levite of Christ.... A certain valiant and veracious soldier, Master John of Greccio, who, for the love of Christ, had left the warfare of this world, and become a dear friend of the holy man, affirmed that he beheld an Infant marvellously beautiful sleeping in that manger, whom the blessed Father Francis embraced with both his arms, as if he would awake him from sleep."

Besides the wonderful way in which Giotto has succeeded, to use the words of Mr Roger Fry, "in making visible, as it were, the sudden thrill which penetrates an a.s.sembly at a moment of supreme significance," there is the further interest of knowing that the scene of the Nativity arranged by St. Francis at Greccio, was the first of the mystery plays represented in Italy which were the beginning of the Italian drama. Giotto makes not only Master John of Greccio see the miracle of the Holy Child lying in the saint's arms and smiling up into his face, but also those who accompany him and some of the friars, while the other brethren, singing with mouths wide open like young birds awaiting their food, are much too occupied to notice what pa.s.ses around them. A group of women, their heads swathed in white veils, are entering at the door, and the whole scene is one of animation and festivity. The marble canopy, with tall marble columns and gabled towers, over the altar is one of Giotto's most exquisite and graceful designs. But Giotto the shepherd has not succeeded so happily in depicting an ox which lies at the saint's feet like a purring cat.

14. _The Miracle of the Water._

"Another time, when the man of G.o.d wished to go to a certain desert place, that he might give himself the more freely to contemplation, being very weak, he rode upon an a.s.s belonging to a poor man. It being a hot summer's day, the poor man, as he followed the servant of Christ, became weary with the long way and the steep ascent, and beginning to faint with fatigue and burning thirst, he called after the saint: 'Behold,' he said, 'I shall die of thirst unless I can find a little water at once to refresh me.' Then without delay the man of G.o.d got off the a.s.s, and kneeling down with his hands stretched out to heaven, he ceased not to pray till he knew he was heard."

Giotto has here rendered the aridity of the summit of La Vernia, its pinnacles of rocks with stunted trees. Two friars, by now quite accustomed to miracles, converse together as they lead the donkey from which St. Francis has dismounted to pray that the thirsty man's wishes may be gratified. The grouping of the figures repeat the pointed lines of the landscape, and the whole is harmonious and of great charm of composition. It was justly admired by Vasari, who thought the peasant drinking was worthy of "perpetual praise." Florentine writers were continually harping on what they considered to be Giotto's claim to immortality, his genius for portraying nature so that his copy seemed as real as life, an opinion shared by Vasari when he gives his reason for admiring this particular fresco. "The eager desire," he says, "with which the man bends down to the water is portrayed with such marvellous effect, that one could almost believe him to be a living man actually drinking."

Over the door is a medallion of the Madonna and Child which once was by Giotto, but now, alas, the eyes of faith must see his handiwork through several layers of paint with which restorers have been allowed to cover it. A slightly sardonic smile has been added to the Madonna, and to appreciate what is left of her charm it is necessary to look at her from the other end of the church, where the beauty of line and composition can still be discerned notwithstanding the barbarous treatment she has undergone.

15. _St. Francis Preaching to the Birds at Bevagna._

"When he drew near to Bevagna, he came to a place where a great mult.i.tude of birds of different kinds were a.s.sembled together, which, when they saw the holy man, came swiftly to the place, and saluted him as if they had the use of reason. They all turned towards him and welcomed him; those which were on the trees bowed their heads in an unaccustomed manner, and all looked earnestly at him, until he went to them and seriously admonished them to listen to the Word of the Lord.... While he spoke these and other such words to them, the birds rejoiced in a marvellous manner, swelling their throats, spreading their wings, opening their beaks, and looking at him with great attention."

This theme has been treated by another artist in the Lower Church, with little success as we have seen; it is also sometimes introduced in the predellas of big pictures of the school of Cimabue; but it remained for Giotto to give us a picture as beautiful in colour as those left by the early chroniclers in words. He never painted it again on a large scale, and the small representation in the predella of the picture in the Louvre follows the a.s.sisan fresco in every detail. Two friars whose brown habits are tinted with mauve, one tree, a blue, uncertain landscape and some dozen birds, are all he thought necessary to explain the story, and yet the whole poetry of St.

Francis' life is here, the keynote of his character, which has made him the most beloved among saints, and the man who though poor, unlettered and often reviled, was to herald the coming of a new age in religion, art and literature. With what love he bends towards his little feathered brethren as he beckons them to him, and they gather fearlessly round him while he points to the skies and tells them in simple words their duties towards their Creator.

Another Florentine, Benozzo Gozzoli, painted this subject; there across the a.s.sisan valley at Montefalco we can see it. His birds are certainly better drawn, there are more of them too, and we can even amuse ourselves by distinguis.h.i.+ng among them golden orioles, blackbirds, doves and wood pigeons, but no one would hesitate to say that real charm and poetry are missing. Giotto's fresco, painted 600 years ago, is somewhat faded and many of the birds are partly effaced, but we do not feel it matters much what they are--we only love the fact that St. Francis called the Umbrian birds around him and preached them a sermon with the same care as if he had been in the presence of a pope, and that Giotto believed the legend and took pains with his work, intending that we also should believe and understand something of the sweetness of this Umbrian scene.

16. _Death of the Knight of Celano._

"When the holy man came into the soldier's house all the family rejoiced greatly to receive this poor one of the Lord. And before he began to eat, according to his custom, the holy man offered his usual prayers and praises to G.o.d, with his eyes raised to heaven. When he had finished his prayer, he familiarly called his kind host aside, and said to him: 'Behold, my host and brother, in compliance with thy prayers I have come to eat in thy house.

But now attend to that which I say to thee, for thou shalt eat no more here, but elsewhere. Therefore, confess thy sins with truly penitent contrition; let nothing remain in thee unrevealed by true confession, for the Lord will requite thee to-day for the kindness with which thou hast received His poor servant.' The good man believed these holy words, and disclosing all his sins in confession to the companion of St. Francis, he set all his house in order, making himself ready for death, and preparing himself for it to the best of his power. They then sat down to table, and the others began to eat, but the spirit of the host immediately departed, according to the words of the man of G.o.d, which foretold his sudden death."

This is one of the most characteristic of Giotto's works, showing his power, unique at that time, of touching upon human sorrow with simplicity, truth and restraint. Here is no exaggerated gesture of grief, no feigned expression of surprise or false note to make us doubt the truth of the tragedy that has befallen the house of Celano.

But the movement of the crowd of sorrowing people, the men gazing down on the dead knight, the women weeping, their fair hair falling about their shoulders, tell better than any restless movement the awful grief which fills their hearts. It has happened so suddenly that the friar still sits at table with his fork in his hand, while St.