Thomas Frognall Dibdin - A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany, Volume Three

T >> Thomas Frognall Dibdin >> A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany, Volume Three

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What think you of undoubted proofs of STEREOTYPE PRINTING in the middle of
the sixteenth century? It is even so. What adds to the whimsical puzzle is,
that these pieces of metal, of which the surface is composed of types,
fixed and immoveable, are sometimes inserted in wooden blocks, and
introduced as titles, mottoes, or descriptions of the subjects cut upon the
blocks. Professor May begged my acceptance of a specimen or two of the
types, thus fixed upon plates of the same metal. They rarely exceeded the
height of four or five lines of text, by about four or five inches in
length. I carried away, with his permission, two proofs (not long ago
pulled) of the same block containing this intermixture of stereotype and
block-wood printing.

I believe I have now told you all that appears worthy of being told, (as
far as my own opportunities of observation have led me) of the CITY OF
AUGSBOURG. I shall leave it (to-morrow) with regret; since a longer
residence would, I am persuaded, have introduced me to very pleasant
society, and made me acquainted with antiquities, of all kinds, well
deserving of _some_ record, however trivial. As it is, I must be content
with what the shortness of my time, and the more immediately pressing
nature of my pursuits, have brought me in contact. A sight of the
_Crucifixion by Hans Burgmair_, and the possession of the most genuine copy
of the _editio princeps of Horace_, have richly repaid all the toil and
expense of the journey from Stuttgart. The Horace, and the Protestant
Polish Bible of 1563, will be my travelling companions--at least as far as
_Munich_--from whence my next despatch will be dated.[39] I hope, indeed,
to dine at that renowned city ere "the set of to-morrow's sun." In the mean
while, adieu.

[31] His account of the PRINTED BOOKS in the XVth century, in the monastery
above mentioned, was published in 1786, in 2 vols. 4to. That of the
MANUSCRIPTS, in the same monastic library, was published in 1791, in 2
vols. or rather perhaps, six parts, 4to.

[32] Among the books in this monastery was an uncut copy of the famous
edition of the _Meditationes J. de Turrecremata_, of the date of
1467, which is now in the Library of Earl Spencer. In Hartmann
Schedel's _Chronicon Norimbergense_, 1493, fol. CLXII, are
portraits of the Founders of the Town and Monastery of Eichstadt, or
EISTETT; together with a large wood-cut view of the town. This
monastery appears to have been situated on a commanding eminence.

[33] [This Abbey was questionless one of the most celebrated and wealthy in
Europe. The antiquarian reader will be pleased with the OPPOSITE
PLATE--presenting a bird's eye view of it, in the year 1619--(when it
stood in its pristine splendour) from the _Monasteriologia_,
attached to the _Imagines Sanctorum_.]

[34] In the BAVARIA SANCTA of RADERUS, 1615-27, 3 vols. folio, will be
found a succession of martyrological details--adorned by a series of
beautiful engravings by _Ralph Sadeler_. The text is in Latin,
and the author has apparently availed himself of all the accessible
authorities, in manuscript and print, which were likely to give
interest and weight to his narrative. But it seems to have been
composed rather for the sake of the ENGRAVINGS--which are generally
most admirably executed. Great delicacy and truth of drawing, as well
as elegance of grouping, are frequently discernible in them; and
throughout the whole of the compositions there is much of the air of
_Parmegiano's_ pencil; especially in the females. Sadeler makes
his monks and abbots quite _gentlemen_ in their figures and
deportment; and some of his miracles are described with great
singularity and force of effect.

[35] Such is ZAPF'S work, entitled _Annales Typographiae Augustanae_,
1778; 4to. republished with copious additions in 1786, two volumes,
4to. The text of the latter is (unfortunately, for the unlearned)
printed in the German language.

[36] [This Latin Bible came from the Eichstadt Monastery.]

[37] _Bibliographical Decameron_, vol. iii. p. 115.

[38] See the _Bibliographical Decameron_, vol. ii. p. 170. &c.

[39] [The first Horace, the Cicero Epist. ad Familiares, 1469, the Latin
Bible by Frisner and Sensenschmidt, 1475 and the Polish Bible of 1563,
(all so warmly and so justly eulogised in the above pages) have been
reposing these last ten years in the library of Earl Spencer: and
magnificent and matchless as is that library, it contains no FINER
volumes than the four preceding. I conclude this detail by subjoining
the Autographs of the two BIBLIOGRAPHICAL WORTHIES who have cut such a
conspicuous figure in the scene above described. The latter is now NO
MORE.]

[Autographs]

LETTER V.

MUNICH. CHURCHES. ROYAL PALACE. PICTURE GALLERY. PUBLIC LIBRARY.

_Munich; Hotel of the Black Eagle; Aug. 16, 1818._

MY DEAR FRIEND;

Behold me, now, in the capital of Bavaria: in a city remarkable for its
bustle, compared with the other German cities which I have visited, and
distinguished rather for the general creditable appearance of the houses
and public buildings, than for any peculiar and commanding remains of
antiquity. But ere I speak of the city, let me detain you for a few seconds
only with an account of my journey thither; and of some few particulars
which preceded my departure from Augsbourg.

It turned out as I predicted. "Ere the set of sun," ensuing my last
despatch, I drove to the principal front of this large, comfortless, and
dirty inn; and partook of a dinner, in the caffe, interrupted by the
incessant vociferations of merchants and traders who had attended the
market (it being market day when I arrived), and annoyed beyond measure by
the countless swarms of flies, which chose to share my cutlet with me.

On taking a farewell look of Augsbourg, my eyes seemed to leave unwillingly
those objects upon which I gazed. The Paintings, the Town Hall, the old
monastery of Saints Ulric and Afra, all--as I turned round to catch a
parting glance--seemed to have stronger claims than ever upon my attention,
and to reproach me for the shortness of my visit. However, my fate was
fixed--and I now only looked steadily forward to Munich; my imagination
being warmed (you will say "inflamed") with the thoughts of the countless
folios, in manuscript and in print--including _block-books_, unheard and
undreamt of--which had been described to me as reposing upon the shelves of
the Royal or PUBLIC LIBRARY. In consequence, Hans Burgmair, Albert Durer,
and the Elder Holbein were perfectly forgotten--after we had reached the
first stage, and changed horses at _Merching_. From Augsbourg to Munich is
but a pleasant and easy drive of about forty-five English miles. The last
stage, from _Fuerstenfelbruck_ to this place, is chiefly interesting; while
the two tall brick towers of the cathedral church of Notre Dame keep
constantly in view for the last seven or eight miles. A chaussee, bordered
on each side by willows, poplars, and limes, brings you--in a tediously
straight line of four or five miles--up to the very gates of MUNICH.

At first view, Munich looks like a modern city. The streets are tolerably
spacious, the houses are architectural, and the different little squares,
_or places_, are pleasant and commodious. It is a city of business and
bustle. Externally, there is not much grandeur of appearance, even in the
palaces or public buildings, but the interiors of many of these edifices
are rich in the productions of ancient art;--whether of sculpture, of
painting, of sainted relics, or of mechanical wonders. Every body just now
is from home; and I learn that the bronzes of the Prince Royal--which are
considered to be the finest in Europe--are both out of order and out of
view. This gallant Prince loves also pictures and books: and, of the
latter, those more especially which were printed by the _Family of Aldus_.

Upon the whole, there is something very anglicised in the appearance both
of this city and of its inhabitants. Of the latter, I have reason to speak
in a manner the most favourable:--as you shall hear by and by. But let me
now discourse (which I must do very briefly) of inanimate objects--or works
of art--before I come to touch upon human beings ... here in constant
motion: and, as it should seem--alternately animated by hope and influenced
by curiosity. The population of Munich is estimated at about 50,000. Of
course, as before, I paid my first visit to the CATHEDRAL, or mother church
of NOTRE DAME, upon the towers of which I had fixed my eyes for a whole
hour on the approach to the city. Both the nave and towers, which are of
red brick, are frightful in the extreme; without ornament: without general
design: without either meaning or expression of any kind. The towers cannot
be less than 350 feet in height: but the tops are mere pepper-boxes. No
part of this church, or cathedral, either within or without, can be older
than the middle of the fifteenth century.[40]

The interior has really nothing deserving of particular description. But I
check myself in an instant: It _has_ something--eminently worthy of
distinct notice and the most unqualified praise. It has a monument of the
EMPEROR Louis IV. which was erected by his great-grandson Maximilian I.
Duke of Bavaria, in 1603-12. The designer of this superb mausoleum was
_Candit_: the figures are in black marble, the ornaments are in bronze; the
latter executed by the famous _Krummper_, of Weilheim. I am ignorant of the
name of the sculptor. This monument stands in the centre of the choir, of
which it occupies a great portion. It is of a square form, having, at each
corner, a soldier, of the size of life, bending on one knee and weeping:
supporting, at the same time, a small flag between his body and arm. These
soldiers are supposed to guard the ashes of the dead. Between them are
three figures, of which two stand back to back. Between these two, somewhat
more elevated, is raised the figure of the Emperor Louis IV.--dressed in
his full imperial costume. But the two figures, just mentioned, are
absolutely incomparable. One of them is _Albert V._ in armour, in his ducal
attire:[41] the other is _William V._ habited in the order of the golden
fleece. This habit consists of a simple broad heavy garment, up to the
neck. The wearer holds a drawn sword in his right hand, which is turned a
little to the right. This figure may be full six feet and a half high. The
head is uncovered; and the breadth of the drapery, together with the erect
position of the figure, and the extension of the sword, gives it one of the
most commanding, and even appalling, airs imaginable. I stood before it,
till I almost felt inclined to kneel and make obeisance. The entire
monument is a noble and consummate specimen of art: and can hardly have any
superior, of its kind, throughout Europe.

Perhaps I should add that the interior of this Church contains twenty-four
large octagonal pillars, dividing the nave from the side aisles: and that
around these latter and the choir, there are not fewer than twenty-four
chapels, ornamented with the tombs of ancient families of distinction. This
interior is about 350 English feet in length, by about 145 in width.

Of the other Churches, that of St. MICHAEL, attached to the _late College
of the Jesuits_,--now forming the Public Academy or University, and
containing the Public Library--is probably the most beautiful for its
simplicity of ornament and breadth of parts. Indeed at this moment I can
recollect nothing to be put in competition with it, as a comparatively
modern edifice. This interior is, as to _Roman_ architecture, what that of
St. Ouen is as to _Gothic_: although the latter be of considerably greater
extent. It is indeed the very charm of interior architecture: where all the
parts, rendered visible by an equal distribution of light, meet the eye at
the same time, and tell their own tale. The vaulted roof, full 300 English
feet in length, has not a single column to support it. Pilasters of the
Corinthian order run along each side of the interior, beneath slightly
projecting galleries; which latter are again surmounted by rows of
pilasters of the Doric order, terminating beneath the spring of the arched
roof. The windows are below the galleries. Statues of prophets, apostles,
and evangelists, grace the upper part of the choir--executed from the
characteristic designs of Candit. The pulpit and the seats are beautifully
carved. Opposite the former, are oratories sustained by columns of red
marble; and the approach to the royal oratory is rendered more impressive
by a flight of ten marble steps. The founder of this church was William V.,
who lies buried in a square vault below: near which is an altar, where they
shew, on All Saints Day, the brass coffins containing the ashes of the
Princes of Bavaria. The period of the completion of this church is quite at
the end of the sixteenth century.[42] But ere I quit it, I must not fail to
direct your attention to a bronze crucifix in the interior--which is in
truth a masterpiece of art. My eye ran over the whole of this interior with
increased delight at every survey; and while the ceremony of high mass was
performing--and the censers emitted their clouds of frankincense--and the
vocal and instrumental sounds of a large congregation pervaded every
portion of the edifice--it was with reluctance (but from necessity) that I
sought the outward door, to close it upon such a combination of
attractions!

Of the nine or ten remaining churches, it will not be necessary to notice
any other than that of St. CAETAN, built by the Electress Adelaide, and
finished about the year 1670. It was built in the accomplishment of a vow.
The pious and liberal Adelaide endowed it with all the relics of art, and
all the treasures of wealth which she could accumulate. It is doubtless one
of the most beautiful churches in Bavaria:--quite of the Italian school of
art, and seems to be a St. Peter's at Rome in miniature. The architect was
Agostino Barella, of Bologna. This church is in the form of a cross. In the
centre is a cupola, sustained by pillars of the Corinthian order. The light
comes down from the windows of this cupola in a very mellow manner; but
there was, when I saw it, rather a want of light. The nave is vaulted: and
the principal altar is beneath the dome, separating the nave from the
choir. The facade, or west front, is a building of yesterday, as it were:
namely, of 1767; but it is beautiful and striking. This church is
considered to be the richest in Munich for its collection of pictures; but
nothing that I saw there made me forget, for one moment, the Crucifixion by
Hans Burgmair.[43] I should say that the interior of this church is equally
distinguished for the justness of its proportions, the propriety of its
ornaments, and the neatness of its condition. It is an honour to the city
of Munich.

There were, some half century ago, about a dozen more churches;--but they
have been since either destroyed or _desecrated_. From the Churches, I must
conduct you, but in a very rapid manner, to some of the public buildings;
reserving, as usual, my last and more leisurely description for the PUBLIC
LIBRARY. Of these buildings, the _Hotel de Ville_, _Theatres_, and _Royal
Residence_, are necessarily the most imposing in size, and most attractive
from their objects of public utility or amusement. The Royal Palace was
built by Maximilian I.--a name as great in the annals of Bavaria, as the
same name was in those of Austria about a century before. This palace is of
about two centuries standing: and its eastern facade measures 550 English
feet in length. It abounds, within and without, with specimens of bronze
ornaments: and two bronze lions (the work of Krummper, after the designs of
Candit) which support the shields of the Electoral houses of Bavaria and
Lorraine, have been considered superior to the Lion in the Place of. St.
Mark at Venice. This immense pile of building contains three courts. In
that of "the Fountain," to the left, under an arch, is a huge black pebble
stone, weighing nearly 400 Bavarian pounds. An old German inscription, of
the date of 1489, tells you that a certain Bavarian Duke, called
_Christopher the Leaper_, threw this same pebble stone to a considerable
distance. Near it, you observe three large nails driven into the wall. The
highest of them may be about twelve feet from the ground:--the mark which
Christopher the Leaper reached in one of his frolicksome jumps. I find they
are lovers of marvellous attainments, in Bavaria:--witness, the supposed
feat of the great Emperor Maximilian upon the parapet wall at the top of
the cathedral of Ulm.[44]

To describe the fountains and bronze figures, in these three courts, would
be endless; but they strike you with a powerful degree of admiration--and a
survey of every thing about you, is a convincing proof that you have
entered a country where they shrink not from solidity and vastness in their
architectural achievements: while the lighter, or ornamental parts, are not
less distinguished by the grace of their design and the vigour of their
execution. Will you believe it--I have not visited, nor shall I have an
opportunity of visiting, the _Interior_? An interior, in which I am told
that there are such gems, jewels, and varieties--such miracles of nature
and of art, as equally baffle description and set competition at defiance.
As thus:--a chapel, of which the pavement is mosaic work, composed of
amethysts, jaspers, and lapis lazuli: of which the interior of its cupola
is composed of lapis lazuli, adorned with gilt bronze: wherein is to be
seen a statue of the Virgin, in a drapery of solid gold, with a crown upon
her head, composed of diamonds:--a massive golden crucifix, adorned with
precious stones--and upon which there is an inscription cut upon an emerald
an inch square: again, small altars, supported by columns of transparent
amethyst, &c.

I will say nothing of two little caskets, studded with cameos and
turquoises, in this chapel of fairy land--(built by Maximilian I.) of which
one contains two precious pictures by Jean d'Aix la Chapelle--and the other
(of massive gold, weighing twenty-four pounds) a painting of the
resurrection and of paradise, in enamel. Even the very organ is constructed
of gold, silver, ebony, turquois and lapis lazuli ornaments; of pearls and
of coral. As to the huge altar of massive silver--adorned with cariatides,
candelabra, statues, vases, and bouquets of the same metal--and especially
the _pix_, lined with diamonds, rubies, and pearls--what shall I say of
these--ALL the fruit of the munificent spirit of MAXIMILIAN? Truly, I
would pass over the whole with an indifferent eye, to gaze upon a simple
altar of pure gold--the sole ornament of the prison of the unfortunate Mary
Queen of Scots; which Pope Leo XI. gave to William V. Elector of
Bavaria--and which bears the following inscription:

EXILII COMES ET CARCERIS IMAGO
HAEC MARIAE STUARDAE, SCOT. REG.
FUIT, FUISSET ET CAEDIS, SI VIXISSET.

Not less marvellous things are told of the _Jewellery_ in this palace of
wonders:--among which the BLUE DIAMOND ... attached to the order of the
Golden Fleece--which is set open, and which, opposed to the sun, emits rays
of the most dazzling lustre,--is said to be the nonpareil of coloured
precious stones. It weighs 36 carats and 144 grains. Of the _Pearls_, that
called the PALATINAT, half white and half black, is considered the greatest
curiosity; but in a cabinet is preserved the choicest of all choice
specimens of precious art and precious metals. It is a statue of _St.
George and the Dragon_, of the height of about a foot and a half, in pure
and solid gold: the horse is agate: the shield is of enamelled gold: the
dragon is jasper: the whole being thickly studded with diamonds, rubies,
emeralds, and pearls--to the number of at least two thousand! Another
cabinet contains the crowns of emperors, dukes and.... But you are already
dazzled and bewildered; and I must break off the description of this
ENCHANTED PALACE.

What is of easy access is rarely visited. I asked several of my
acquaintance here, whether this spectacle were worth seeing?--and they as
frequently replied in the negative as in the affirmative. But the PICTURE
GALLERY I _have_ seen, and seen with attention;--although I am not likely
to pay it a second visit. I noted down what I saw: and paid particular
attention to the progress of art in the early German school of painting. I
knew that this collection had long enjoyed a great celebrity: that it had
been the unceasing object of several of the old Dukes of Bavaria to enrich
it; and that the famous Theodore, equally the admirer of books and of
pictures, had united to it the gallery of paintings collected by him at
Manheim. It moreover contained the united collections of Deux-Ponts and
Dusseldorf. This magnificent collection is arranged in seven large rooms on
the same floor. Every facility of access is afforded; and you observe,
although not so frequently as at Paris, artists at work in copying the
treasures before them. In the entrance-hall, where there is a good
collection of books upon the fine arts, are specimens by _Masaccio_,
_Garofalo_, _Ghirlandaio_, _Perugino_, _Lucas de Leyden_, _Amberger_,
_Wohlgemuth_, _Baldonetti, Aldegrave_, _Quinten Matsys_--with several
others, by masters of the same period, clearly denoting the order of time
in which they are supposed to have been executed. I was well pleased, in
this division of the old school, to recognise specimens of my old friends
Hans Burgmair and the Elder Holbein; and wished for no individual at my
elbow so much as our excellent friend W.Y. Ottley:--a profound critic in
works of ancient art, but more particularly in the early Italian and German
Schools.

To conduct you through all these apartments, or seven rooms, with the
methodical precision of an experienced guide, is equally beyond my
inclination and ability. Much as I may admire one or two _Titians_, one or
two of the _Caracci_ school, the same number of _Veroneses_ and
_Schidones_, and a partial sprinkling of indifferent _Raffaelles_, I should
say that the boast of this collection are the pictures by _Rubens and
Vandyke_. Of the former there are some excellent portraits; but his two
easel pictures--the one, the _Fall of the Damned_, and the other the
_Beatitude of the Good_--are marvellous specimens of art. The figures,
extending from heaven to earth, in either picture, are linked, or grouped
together, in that peculiarly bold and characteristic manner which
distinguishes the pencil of the master.[45] The colouring throughout is
fresh, but mellow and harmonious. Among the larger pictures by this
renowned artist, are _Susanna and the Elders_, and _the Death of Seneca_;
the latter considered as a distinguished production. But some of the whole
length portraits, by the same hand, pleased me better. The pictures of
Rubens occupy more particularly the fourth room. Vandyke shines in the
second, sixth, and seventh rooms: in which are some charming whole length
portraits--combining, almost, the dignity of Titian with the colouring of
Rembrandt:--and yet, more natural in expression, more elegant in attitude,
and more beautiful in drawing, than you will find in the productions of
either of these latter artists.

If the art, whether of sculpture or of painting, take not deep root, and
send forth lusty branches laden with goodly fruit, at Munich--the fault can
never be in the _soil_, but in the waywardness of the _plant_. There is
encouragement from every quarter; as far as the contemplation of art, in
all its varieties, and all its magnificence, can be said to be a stimulus
to exertion. When the re-action of a few dozen years of peace shall have
nearly obliterated the ravages and the remembrance of war--when commerce
and civil competition shall have entirely succeeded to exaction and tyranny
from a foreign force--(which it now holds forth so auspicious a promise of
accomplishing)--and when literature shall revert within its former fruitful
channels of enlightening the ignorant, gratifying the learned, and
illustrating what is obscure among the treasures of former times--then I
think Munich will be a proud and a flourishing city indeed.[46] But more of
this subject on a future occasion.

Let us take a walk abroad--in the fields, or in the immediate vicinity of
the town--for methinks we have both had sufficient in-door occupation of
late. One of the principal places of resort, in the immediate vicinity of
Munich, is a garden--laid out after the English fashion--and of which the
late Count Rumford had the principal direction. It is really a very
pleasing, and to my taste, successful effort of art--or rather adaptation
of nature. A rapid river, or rivulet (a branch of the _Iser_) of which the
colour is a hazy or misty blue, very peculiar--runs under a small bridge
which you pass. The bed of the river has a considerable descent, and the
water runs so rapidly, as to give you the idea that it would empty itself
in a few hours. Yet--"Labitur et labetur in omne volubilis aevum." I
strolled frequently in the shady walks, and across the verdant lawns, of
this pleasant garden; wherein are also arbour-covered benches, and
embowered retreats--haunts of meditation--where

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