[Illustration: FIG. 76.--FROM THE WEST FAÇADE, STRASBURG CATHEDRAL.]
There is reason to believe that the relief of the Death of the Virgin, at Strasburg, was the work of Sabina von Steinbach, a daughter of the architect of the west façade of the cathedral. The grouping is fine, and the transparent drapery, which reminds us of the same effects in antique sculpture, is beautifully executed.
In the Cathedral of Freiburg, the nave of which was completed in 1270, there are some very fine sculptures, which are like the Rheims works in spirit and execution; a figure of the Madonna is one of the best statues of the time in any country. There is much to admire in the whole of this cathedral. Here and there in Germany there are some tomb-sculptures of the thirteenth century, which are simple, noble, and individual; but the progress of art here was much less rapid than in France.
Another marked event in the art history of the thirteenth century was the introduction of sculpture into England. The few pieces of plastic art which existed in that country before this date were not sufficient in number or excellence to merit the name of English sculpture.
[Illustration: FIG. 77.--DUKE ROBERT OF NORMANDY.]
The first important step was made about the end of the twelfth century, when Guillaume de Sens, a French architect, was employed to build a new choir to Canterbury Cathedral. Not long after this the Temple Church was erected; then Westminster Abbey followed, and at length, under Henry III., all the arts were rapidly advanced in his kingdom. This king summoned artists and skilled workmen from different countries, and portrait-sculpture received especial attention in the England of that day. By comparing English tomb-sculpture with that of other countries, it is seen that the aim of the artists was to make the statues resemble those whose memories they honored, far more than other nations had done. The illustration given here, with its air of life--almost of motion--is a good example of what I mean (Fig. 77).
The sculptures upon the English exteriors, and, indeed, upon the interiors of edifices, were far less lavish than on the Continent; but in Wells Cathedral, completed before 1250, there is a wealth of sculpture for an English church of this date, and from this time forward the plastic arts were of great importance in Great Britain.