command to strike; the ferocious executioner; the figure of the gentle and beautiful victim, kneeling with an expression of placid faith; the angels hovering with garlands of roses above, and the various attitudes of the spectators; —are all admirably painted in the dramatic, or rather scenic, style proper to the school.1 Carlo Dolce. St. Dorothea kneeling, with hands bound, and by her side the angel with his basket of celestial fruit and flowers: one of his best pictures; the sweetness and elegance of his manner suited the subject, and he is here less tame than usual.2 Rubens. St. Dorothea standing, with roses and palm. Vandyck. St. Dorothea standing, with her palm, roses, and apples from Paradise.3 4 The legend of Dorothea is the subject of Massinger's tragedy of "The Virgin Martyr;" he was assisted by Decker, to whom the critics attribute much that is coarse, offensive, and profane in the dialogue. It contains, however, scenes and passages of great beauty; and these are given without the alloy in Murray's " Family Library." One critic observes that of the character of the heroine "it is impossible to speak too highly; her genuine and dignified piety, her unshaken constancy, her lofty pity for her persecutors, her calm contempt of torture, and her heroic death, exalt the mind in no ordinary degree." The religious action is varied and rendered more romantic by making Antoninus, the brave and amiable son of the cruel Sapritius, in love with Dorothea: for her sake he refuses the daughter of Diocletian, and Dorothea's last prayer is for him: "Grant that the love of this young man for me, In which he languishes to death, may be Her prayer is granted; Antoninus is converted, and dies of grief on witnessing her cruel martyrdom. The last scene between Theophilus and the Emperor Diocletian is ascribed wholly to Massinger. It contains the fine passage in which the Christian saint is exalted above the classical heroines of antiquity: 'Brescia, PP. Conventuali, Both pictures are engraved by Galle. 2 Darmstadt Gal. Dramatic Series, vol. i. "Dorothea but hereafter named You will rise up with reverence, and no more, Which lying Greece so boasts of. Your own matrons, As holy relics, in her history Will find a second urn: Gracchus' Cornelia, Her husband Seneca, nor Brutus' Portia, "They, out of desperation, Or for vainglory of an after-name, Parted with life: this had not mutinous sons This lost no husband in whose overthrow The motion of the spheres; she, uncompell'd, ST. CYPRIAN AND ST. JUSTINA OF ANTIOCH. Ital. San Cipriano il Mago e Santa Giustina. Fr. St. Cyprien le Magicien et Sainte Justine. Sept. 26. A.D. 304. Ir is surprising that this very beautiful and antique legend has not oftener been treated as a subject of Art. It is full of picturesque capabilities of every kind. Calderon founded on it one of his finest autos, the "Magico Prodigioso;" part of which the scene in which the maiden is tempted by demons-Shelley has beautifully translated. Though I have never met with the story in Western Art, except in one or two miniatures, others may have been more fortunate; for which reason, and because of its singular beauty, I give it at length. "In the city of Antioch dwelt a virgin wonderfully fair, and good, and wise; her name was Justina. She was the daughter of a priest of the idols; but having listened to the teaching of the Gospel, she not only became a Christian herself, but converted her parents to the true faith. Many looked upon this beautiful maiden with eyes of love; among them a noble youth of the city of Antioch, whose name was Aglaides; and he wooed her with soft words and gifts, but all in vain, for Justina had devoted herself to the service of God and a life of chastity and good works, and she refused to listen to him; and he was well nigh in desperation. "Now in the same city of Antioch dwelt Cyprian the magician, a man deeply versed in all the learning of the pagan philosophers, and moreover addicted from his youth to the study of astrology and necromancy. When he had exhausted all the learning of his own country, he travelled into the East, into the land of the Chaldees, and into Egypt; and to Argos, and to Athens; and he had made himself familiar with all terrible and forbidden arts. He had subjected to his might the spirits of darkness and the elements; he could command the powers of hell; he could raise storms and tempests, and transform men and women into beasts of burthen. It was said that he offered the blood of children to his demons, and many other crimes were imputed to him, too dreadful to be here related. 66 Aglaides being, as I have said, in despair and confusion of mind because of the coldness of Justina, repaired to Cyprian; for he said, 'Surely this great magician, who can command the demons and the elements, can command the will of a weak maiden:' then he explained the matter to him, and required his help. But no sooner had Cyprian beheld the beautiful and virtuous maiden, than he became himself so deeply enamoured, that all rest departed from him, and he resolved to possess her. As yet, nothing had been able to resist his power, and, full of confidence, he summoned his demons to his aid. He commanded them to fill the mind of the chaste Justina with images of earthly beauty, and to inflame and pollute her fancy with visions of voluptuous delight. She was oppressed, she was alarmed, she felt that these were promptings of the evil one, and she resisted with all her might, being well assured that as long as her will remained unconquered, Christ and the Virgin would help her;-and it was so; for when she invoked them against her enemy, he left her in peace, and fled. When Cyprian found that his demon was foiled, he called up another, and then another, and at length the prince of darkness himself came to his aid: but it was all in vain. Justina was fearfully troubled, her pure and innocent mind became the prey of tumultuous thoughts; demons beset her couch, haunted her sleep, poisoned the very atmosphere she breathed; but she said to her almost failing heart, I will not be discouraged, I will strive with the evil which besets me; thought is not in our power, but action is; my spirit may be weak, but my will is firm; what I do not will, can have no power over me.' Thus, although grievously tempted and tormented, she stood fast, trusting in the God whom she worshipped, and conquered at last, not by contending, but by never owning herself subdued, and strong in her humility only by not consenting to ill. So the baffled demon returned to his master and said, 'I can do nothing against this woman; for, being pure and sinless in will, she is protected by a power greater than thine or mine!' "Then Cyprian was astonished, and his heart was melted; and he said to the demon, Since it is so, I contemn thee and thy power; and I will henceforth serve the God of Justina.' He went therefore, full of repentance and sorrow, and, falling at her feet, acknowledged the might of her purity and innocence, and confessed himself vanquished; upon which she forgave him freely, and rejoiced over him; and in her great joy she cut off her beautiful hair, and made an offering of it before the altar of the Virgin, and gave much alms to the poor. "Soon afterwards Cyprian was baptized and became a fervent Christian; all his goods he distributed to the poor, and became as remarkable for his piety, abstinence, and profound knowledge of the Scriptures, as he had formerly been for his diabolical arts, his wickedness, his luxury, and his pride. Such was his humility that he undertook the meanest offices for the service of the faithful, and he and Justina mutually strengthened and edified each other by their virtues and by their holy conversation. "At this time broke forth the last and most terrible persecution against the Christians; and when the governor of Antioch found that no menaces could shake the faith of Cyprian and Justina, he ordered them to be thrown together into a caldron of boiling pitch; but by a miracle they escaped unharmed. The governor then, fearing the people, who venerated Cyprian and Justina, sent them with an escort to the Emperor Diocletian, who was then at Nicomedia languishing in sickness; and the emperor, hearing that they were Christians, without any form of trial ordered them to be instantly beheaded; which was done. Thus they received together the crown of martyrdom, and in name and in fame have become inseparable. When St. Cyprian and St. Justina are represented together, he is arrayed in the habit of a Greek bishop, without a mitre, bearing the palm and sword, and trampling his magical books under his feet: she holds the palm; and a unicorn, the emblem of chastity, crouches at her feet. In that Greek MS. of the works of Gregory Nazianzen to which I have so often referred, as containing the earliest known examples of the treatment of legendary subjects, I found the story of Cyprian and Justina in four miniatures.1 1. Justina seeks refuge at the feet of Christ, from the demon who pursues her. 2. Cyprian engaged in his magical incantations, burning incense, &c., and a demon rises behind him. 3. He is kneeling as a penitent at the feet of Justina. 4. They suffer martyrdom together. The figures, ruined as they are, most freely and nobly designed. Everyone who has been at Vienna will probably remember the St. Justina of the Belvedere, so long attributed to Pordenone, but now known to be the production of a much greater man, Bonvicino of Brescia (Il Moretto). She stands in a landscape; one hand sustains her drapery, the other holds her palm; she looks down, with an air of saintly dignity blended with the most benign sweetness, on a kneeling votary. This sketch (145) will give an idea of the composition; but nothing no copy, no description - could convey the expression of the countenance, which has the character of Venetian beauty, elevated by such a serious and refined grace, that the effect of the combination is quite inconceivable. There is a tradition relative to this picture which Paris Bib, Nat. MSS. Grecques, A.D. 867. |