History of mediæval art . han the debased conventionalism of the former hieraticstyle. The rigid dignity of the earlier works is entirely lost, butthis is outweighed by the straightforward and good-natured sim-plicity. That this rudeness was not merely intended to engage the atten-tion of the common people in country churches is proved by the GERMANY. 679 contemporaiy representations of secular and poetical subjects, whichwere as much in vogue in the castles of Germany as in those ofEngland. The most interesting of such scenes from the poetswould be those in the Castle of Runkelstein, near Bot
History of mediæval art . han the debased conventionalism of the former hieraticstyle. The rigid dignity of the earlier works is entirely lost, butthis is outweighed by the straightforward and good-natured sim-plicity. That this rudeness was not merely intended to engage the atten-tion of the common people in country churches is proved by the GERMANY. 679 contemporaiy representations of secular and poetical subjects, whichwere as much in vogue in the castles of Germany as in those ofEngland. The most interesting of such scenes from the poetswould be those in the Castle of Runkelstein, near Botzen in theTyrol, were it not for their bad state of preservation. This seriesis of the greatest variety, not only in the groups of classic, Jewish,and Christian heroes and lovers, but in the romantic scenes fromTristan, Garel, etc. Similar paintings are also to be seen in theEhinger Hof of Ulm. In view of such works as these, it is not strange that the culti-vated Emperor Charles IV.,—who had been educated at the French. Fig. 411.—The Adoration of the Magi. Wall Painting in the Choir of the Church ofSt. Afra, Schelklingen, Wurtemberg. court, and had married the sister of King Philip VI., Blanche of Val-ois,—could not be altogether satisfied with an art so unskilled. Itis characteristic of his cultured taste, and of the circumstances ofthe time, that for the monumental paintings of his buildings, erectedby French architects, he called artists from Italy rather than fromFrance. The large mosaic of the portal of the southern transept ofthe Cathedral at Prague, referable to the year 1371, seems to be ofVenetian workmanship. Tommaso da Mutina was doubtless alsointrusted with monumental tasks, although the only authenticatedworks by his hand are panel paintings {Fig. 409). His influence isrecognizable in the Giottesque mural decorations of the Chapel of 68o PAINTING OF THE GOTHIC EPOCH. St. Catherine at Karlstein, and in those of the Cloister of IV., however, see
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