Tomb

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A memorial for the dead at the place of burial, customary, especially for distinguishedpersons, among nearly all peoples. It is of much importance in the history of art because the development of plastic art can be traced almost in its entirety by means of tombs, for the tombs, having, as a rule, been erected in churches, are better preserved. Apart from the sepulchral slabs in theCatacombs, sarcophagi ornamented with portraits, and scattered examples of mausolea, tombs may be divided into four special classes.

The first class consists of tombs with recumbent tombstones; among such are the stone or metal plates inserted in the flooring of churches. These are the oldestChristian monuments. Originally, at least inGermany, they were ornamented with a cross having a long shaft; from the eleventh century they also bore the figure of the deceased. The monumental metal plate of the tomb of King Rudolph of Swabia (d. 1081), in thecathedral of Merseburg, is of this era. During the Gothic period an engraved brass plate was the favourite sepulchral monument, while theRenaissance returned to the plate cast in relief, such as the plates by Peter Vischer ofNuremberg.

The second class consists of detached altar-tombs, that is, a raised tomb containing the body of the deceased. One variety rises like a table above the place of burial. Romanesque art generally left the side walls of the altar-tomb without ornament, while Gothic art adorned them with numerous small figures, as those of relatives, mourners,praying figures, and allegorical forms. On the lid the deceased was represented at full length. Numerous examples are to be found in all themedievalcathedrals and monastic churches. EvenEngland, where there are but scanty plastic remains, has a rich treasure of such monuments. Probably no altar-tomb is more celebrated than that of Emperor Maximilian atInnsbruck. Another worthy of mention is Charles the Bold's tomb atDijon by Claus Sluter. More elaborate monuments have frequently an additional structure above and around them, as a baldachin, e.g. the tomb of the Della Scala atVerona; chiefly that of Cansignorio (d. 1375). During theRenaissance the baldachin assumed an entirely monumental form, almost that of a triumphal arch; fine examples are the monuments of Galleazzo Visconti in the Certosa at Pavia and ofFrancis I atSaint-Denis.

The third class may be called mural tombs, that is, altar-tombs set originally in a niche against a wall, and later raised upon pillars, caryatides, or a solid under-structure. They were decorated on all sides with rich plastic ornamentation. They were customary as early as the Gothic period and attained their highest development inItaly, where the inordinate craving for fame and the longing to be remembered by posterity led to the production of those magnificent sepulchral monuments for physicians, lawyers, professors, statesmen, and, by no means last,prelates, which fill the churches fromVenice toNaples. During the period of the earlyRenaissance it was a favourite custom to place a recumbentstatue of the deceased upon a state bed or a sarcophagus and to set this at a moderate height; this structure is surrounded by standing or kneelingangels who draw back a curtain of the niche in which the Madonna is often visible. A fine example is the tomb of Leonardo Bruni (d. 1444) in Santa Croce at Florence. During the lateRenaissance undue consideration was paid to architecture, as in the sepulchral monument of GiovanniPesaro in the Frari church atVenice. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the art ofsculpture obtained again a greater opportunity in the treatment of tombs, but unfortunately only in the monotonous Baroque style. Hardly more than the figure of the deceased was brought into prominence. It was placed within an altar of similar style or upon a broadpodium and was surrounded by all kinds of symbolical figures in the most daring positions. In a material sense these tombs are often very fine but they frequently lack the desired spiritual earnestness and repose.

The fourth class consists of hanging sepulchral monuments (memorial tablets). These occur as early as Gothic art in the form of funeral escutcheons and coats of arms made of wood or leather; and are especially prominent in the period of theRococo and Baroque styles. Besides the altar-shaped table often constructed in several stories, the cartouche containing a portrait of the deceased was very popular in sepulchral monuments of this class.

Since the modern era put an end nearly everywhere to the burial of the dead within the church building, a new form of sepulchral art has gradually developed; it has produced works of the greatest beauty in all countries, but has also shown great perversions of the artistic sense, especially inItaly where the tendency is more to an excess of technic than to the conception of the eternal. The finest sepulchral monument of modern times is perhaps the one designed by A. Bartholome and erected at Pere Lachaise.

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