46 
ART EDV CAT ION. 
Gothic style lost almost the whole of the fielcl of secular art, from 
the time wlien modern art, principally throngh the example of the 
Renaissance, returnedto nature, and when the spirit of poetry again 
recognized in nature the purest sources of its inspiration. The 
Gothic style therefore turned its attention more especially to eccle- 
siastical art, in which it had, indeed, brought forth its grandest 
creations in the past, and in this department alone will it still be 
able to thrive, in architecture, as well as in art-industry. Under 
the pressure of the times the Nuremberg Art-School, which used 
to cultivate the Gothic style by preference, has also taken up the 
German, and even the Italian Renaissance, by degrees. The 
graceful forms of the South alongside of the severe, strongly- 
marked forms of the North! The various elements touch each 
other, but they do not unite in renewed fructification. However 
respectable the achievements of the school in its various directions 
may be, they nevertheless show that its greatest attainment is to 
be found in the imitation of traditional forms. The pulsating 
elements are wanting, which stimulate to the production of new 
and vital forms ; and the compositions will always be defieient in 
öriginality as long as existing motives are only combined. When 
the attempt is made to treat the Nuremberg and Augsburg exam- 
ples with more freedom, the ornament loses its proper nucleus, and 
becomes insipid in its continually unrolling strips of leather, which 
are any thing but graceful, although they will admit of an animated 
play of forms. 
The Gothic style must continue its development in the ecclesi- 
astical field, if a development can be spoken of at all, while 
secular art must Start from nature in its ornamental motives, and 
must speak the dialect of the Renaissance in its forms and for its 
purposes, if an open road is to be constructed for progress. In 
this respect the Nuremberg Art-School is still incomplete. Grace 
and life must be sought in nature, while the technical must be 
studied in the productions of art. A praiseworthy beginning in 
this direction has already been made with the figure, especially 
under the influential management of Kreling ; the study of nature 
in this department, in drawing as well as in modelling, being 
carried on most assiduously. Unfortunately, however, the numer- 
ous busts and academical figures showed that this translation of