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| TOMB OF THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES VIII - Three
times in the history of the French monarchy the king has died without
male issue, and his two brothers have followed him on the throne,
also dying without similar heirs. The cast of the tomb here
portrayed was in the Trocadero collection, in alcove 92 of the east
court of the Art Palace at Jackson Park.
It commemorated the death of the two children of Charles VIII, son of
the celebrated Louis XI., of France. The tomb was finished in 1506,
by Jean Juste, and was placed in the Church of St. Martin, at Tours,
but now stands in the cathedral of that city. It is in marble, a
little over four feet high. The figures lying in state on the
sarcophagus are two in number, and the robes in which they are
invested are embroidered with fleur-de-lis and dolphins. Supporting
the cushions at the head are cherubims, and other cherubims hold
shields at the feet. The main decoration of the tomb is a shield
bearing the arms of the dauphins or crown princes of France, between
cherubims, and all the work except the figure-drawing is tastefully
and successfully done, the figures only showing the effect of
conventional rule on a mind and eye naturally controlled by artistic
effect. Nor is the cover of the sarcophagus less elegantly carved.
Here the conflict of Hercules with the hydra, the struggle of
Hercules and Alcestes, and Samson bearing the pillar of Gaza, are
dwarfed into humble comparison with the royal infants below. |
