The floral symbolism of the great masters - The Knowledge Den

20 FLORAL SYMBOLISM
among the early poets. They were plain tales
of love and war that Chaucer told in * EngHsh
undefyled.' But the Church in England pro-
duced some beautiful mystical hymns, notably
the one to the Virgin, written, perhaps, about
1350. which begins:
' Of a rose, a lovely rose.
Of a rose is al m5m song.'
Religious pictures are of two types: the
historical, which aims at depicting a sacred
scene exactly as it did occur; and the devotional,
which presents a divine or holy figure in the
attitude and with the surroundings best calcu-
lated to inflame the devotion of the worshipper.
To the first category belongs Rubens'
' Descent from the Cross.' ' The dead Figure,
the sustained effort of the men who detach it
from the Cross, the grief-stricken women, are
all depicted with perfect realism and strict
attention to historical detail. It merely de-
picts the scene as it might have occurred, and
no attempt is made to guide or suggest the
emotions of the beholder.
' Antwerp Cathedral.