y used on them do not seem out of
place, and it appears to be quite natural that wood-carvers should often
have been painters also.

The Swabian school, the principal seat of which was Ulm, was the
earliest to adopt the new, realistic style. There are works by Swabian
artists which show this tendency as early as 1431. JOeRG SYRLIN, who
flourished during the last half of the fifteenth century, was an eminent
wood-carver, and as he did not color his works he can be better judged
as a sculptor than he could be if the effect of the whole depended
partly upon painting. The choir-stalls in the Cathedral of Ulm and the
fountain in the market-place, called "Fischkasten," are his most
important works; but a singing-desk, now in the museum, and other lesser
pieces are also excellent examples of his style. The choir-stalls have
an immense number of figures and a mass of ornament, which made them far
richer than any such work of an earlier date, and none that have since
been made have equalled them. It is almost incredible that they were
completed in four years, and yet there are no marks of haste upon the
work. The figures are dignified and graceful, the faces delicate and
expressive, the hands well formed, and a beauty of design and execution
marks the whole. The lower figures, which come nearest the eye, are
finer than those which are higher up, so that a unity of effect is
preserved throughout the whole. He sometimes took occasion to give
touches of humor in his works, and in these stalls he introduced his own
portrait and that of his wife.

The "Fischkasten" is sculptured in stone, and has three knights upon it
which appear to be boldly advancing, as if about to step off and walk
away. Other works by this master are less important, and it is doubtful
if all that are called by his name are really his own. Joerg Syrlin, the
younger, trained by his father, adopted his style, and became an
excellent artist.

We have not space to speak of the Swabian sculptures in detail. Fine
works exist in Tiefenbronn, Rothenburg, Blaubeuren, Herrenberg, Gmuend,
Ravensburg, and many other places.

The influence of the Swabian school was very wide; it can be traced in
many parts of Germany, in Hungary and Transylvania, and even in
Switzerland, Austria, and Bavaria. Swabian artists were often summoned
to adjacent provinces, and thus did much work away from their homes. The
reliefs upon the door of the Cathedral of Constance were executed by
Si