Release date : February 1, [eBook ] Most recently updated: October 28, The Queen of Sheba before Solomon. Fac-simile of a miniature from the Breviary of the Cardinal Grimani, attributed to Memling.
Marc, Venice. From a copy in the possession of M. Ambroise Firmin-Didot. The King inclines his sceptre towards the Queen indicating his appreciation of her person and her gifts; five ladies attend the Queen and five of the King's courtiers stand on his right hand.
The object of that work was to introduce the reader to a branch of learning to which access had hitherto appeared only permitted to the scientific. That attempt, which was a bold one, succeeded too well not to induce us to push our researches further. In fact, art alone cannot acquaint us entirely with an epoch. They tell us its tastes, its ideas, and its character.
Art must be the faithful expression of a society, since it represents it by its works as it has created them--undeniable witnesses of its spirit and manners for future generations. But it must be acknowledged that art is only the consequence of the ideas which it expresses; it is the fruit of civilisation, not its origin. To understand the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, it is necessary to go back to the source of its art, and to know the life of our fathers; these are two inseparable things, which entwine one another, and become complete one by the other.
(mh=dxAjNSAI0BROpwL1)1.jpg "Prostitutes in Mérignac")
The Manners and Customs of the Middle Agesthis subject is of the greatest interest, not only to the man of science, but to the man of the world also. In it, too, "we retrace not only one single period, but two periods quite distinct one from the other. We find barbarian, Roman, and Christian customs and character in presence of each other, mixed up in the same society, and very often in the same individuals.
