VENETIAN SCHOO

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VE
ENET
TIAN
SCH
HOOL
L OF PAIN
NTING
G

Giorgione.
MADONN
NA WITH S. LIBERA
ALE AND S.
S FRANCIS.
Castelfran
nco.
(P
Photo, Andeerson.)

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The Venetian
Schoool of Painting
P
g
BY

EVE
ELYN MARCH
M
H PHIL
LLIPPS
S

WIT
TH ILLUSTR
RATIONS

B
BOOKS
FO
OR LIBR
RARIES PRESS
FREE
EPORT, NE
EW YORK

INTERN
NATIONAL STANDA
ARD BOOK
K NUMBER
R:
0-8369-6745-3
LIBRARY
Y OF CONG
GRESS CAT
TALOG CA
ARD NUMB
BER:
70-3790
07
PRINTE
ED IN THE
E UNITED STATES
S
OF
F AMERIC
CA
BY
NEW WO
ORLD BOO
OK MANU
UFACTURIN
NG CO., IN
NC.
HALLAN
NDALE, FL
LORIDA 33009

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P
PREFA
ACE
Many visits
v
to Vennice have brought
b
hom
me the fact that there exists,
e
in Ennglish at leeast, no worrk
which deals
d
as a whole
w
with the Venetiaan School and
a its masters. Biograaphical cataalogues therre
are in plenty,
p
but these, thouugh useful for referen
nce, say litttle to readeers who aree not alreaddy
acquainnted with thhe painters whose
w
careeer and worrks are brieffly recordedd. Lives of
o individuaal
masterss abound, but
b howeverr excellent and essentiial these maay be to ann advanced study of thhe
school, the volumees containinng them maake too larg
ge a libraryy to be easiily carried about, and a
great deeal of readinng and assim
milation is required to set each paainter in hiss place in th
he long storyy.
Crowe and Cavalccaselles Hisstory of Paiinting in No
orth Italy sttill remains our sheet anchor;
a
but it
is lengtthy, over fuull of detail of minor painters,
p
and
d lacks the interestingg criticism which
w
of latte
years has
h collecteed round eaach master. There seeems room for
f a portabble volumee, making an
a
attemptt to consideer the Venetian painterrs, in relatio
on to one another,
a
andd to help th
he visitor noot
only too trace the evolution of
o the schoool from itss dawn, thrrough its fuull splendou
ur and to its
declininng rays, butt to realise what
w
the Venetian Sch
hool was, annd what waas the philosophy of liffe
which it representeed.
Such a book does not pretendd to vie with, much leess to superrsede, the m
masterly treatises on thhe
subject which havee from timee to time apppeared, or to take the place of exxhaustive hiistories, succh
as that of
o Professorr Leonello Venturi
V
on the Italian primitives.
p
It should buut serve to pave
p
the waay
to deeper and moree detailed reading. It does
d
not asp
pire to give a completee and comprrehensive list
of the painters;
p
som
me of the minor
m
ones may
m not even be mentiooned. The m
mere inclusion of namees,
dates, and
a facts woould add unnduly to thee size of thee book, andd, when withhout real beearing on thhe
course of Venetiann art, would have littlle significan
nce. What the book ddoes aim at is to enablle
those who
w care forr art, but may
m not havve mastered
d its history, to rear a framework on which to
t
found their
t
own observation
o
ns and apprreciations; to
t supply that
t
coherennt knowled
dge which is
beneficial even too a passing acquaintannce with beeautiful thinngs, and too place thee unscientifi
fic
observeer in a position to takke greater advantage
a
of
o opportunnities, and to achieve a wide annd
interesting outlookk on that cyycle of artisstic appreheension whicch the Veneetian Schoo
ol comprisees,
and whiich marks itt as the outccome and thhe symbol of
o a great hisstoric age.
The woorks cited haave been priincipally thoose with wh
hich the orddinary travelller is likely
y to come
into conntact in the chief Europpean galleriees, and, abo
ove all, in Venice
V
itselff. The lists do
d not
proposee to be exhaaustive, but merely indiicate the priincipal workks of the arttists. Those in private
galleriees, unless eaasy of access or of first--rate importtance, are usually
u
elimiinated. It haas not been
thoughtt necessary to use profuuse illustratiions, as the book is inteended primarily for usee when
visitingg the originaal works.

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C
CONTE
NTS
PART I
CHAPTE
ER I
VENICE AND HER ART

CHAPTER
R II
PRIMITIVE ART IN VENIC
CE

CHAPTER
R III
INFLUENCES OF UMBRIA AND VERON
NA

CHAPTER
R IV
THE SCHOOL
L OF MURANO
O

CHAPTER V
THE PADUAN
N INFLUENCE
E

CHAPTER
R VI
JACOPO BELL
LINI

CHAPTER
R VII
CARLO CRIV
VELLI

CHAPTER
R VIII
GENTILE BEL
LLINI AND ANTONELLO
N
DA
D MESSINA

CHAPTER
R IX
ALVISE VIVA
ARINI

CHAPTER X

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CARPACCIO

CHAPTER
R XI
GIOVANNI BELLINI
E

CHAPTER
R XII
GIOVANNI BELLINI
E
(conttinued)

R XIII
CHAPTER
CIMA DA CON
NEGLIANO AND
A
OTHER FOLLOWERS OF
O BELLINI

PART II
I
CHAPTER
R XIV
GIORGIONE

CHAPTER
R XV
GIORGIONE (continued)
(

CHAPTER
R XVI
THE GIORGIO
ONESQUE

CHAPTER XVII
TITIAN

XVIII
C
CHAPTER
TITIAN (conttinued)

CHAPTER
R XIX
TITIAN (conttinued)

CHAPTER
R XX

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PALMA VECC
CHIO AND LORENZO
O
LOT
TTO

CHAPTER
R XXI
SEBASTIAN DEL
D PIOMBO

CHAPTER XXII
BONIFAZIO AND
A
PARIS BORDONE

XXIII
C
CHAPTER
PAINTERS OFF THE VENET
TIAN PROVINCES

C
CHAPTER
XXIV
PAOLO VERO
ONESE

CHAPTER XXV
TINTORETTO
O

XXVI
C
CHAPTER
TINTORETTO
O (continued))

C
CHAPTER
XXVII
X
BASSANO

PART III
I
C
CHAPTER
XXVIII
X
THE INTERIM
M

XXIX
C
CHAPTER
TIEPOLO

CHAPTER XXX

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PIETRO LONG
GHI

C
CHAPTER
XXXI
CANALE

C
CHAPTER
XXXII
X
FRANCESCO GUARDI

B
BIBLIOGRA
APHY

ILLU
USTRA
ATIONS
S
BY
1. Madonnna with S.
Liberalle and S. Fraancis Giorgione
Anton
nio da
Muran
no

Berlin

3. Agony in Garden

Jacopo
o Bellini

British Musseum

Gentille Bellini

Venice

Alvisee Vivarini

Venice

Carpaaccio

Venice

H
Processsion of the Holy
Cross

5. Altarpiiece of 1480
6.

Castelfrancco

2. Adorattion of the Magi

M

4.

AT

Arrivall of the
Ambasssadors

7. Piet

Giovaanni Bellini Brera

8. An Allegory

Giovaanni Bellini Uffizi

9. Fte Chhamptre

Giorgione

Louvre

10. Portraitt of Ariosto

Titian
n

National Gaallery

11. Diana and

a Actaeonn

Titian
n

Earl Brownnlow

12. Holy Family

F

Palmaa Vecchio

Colonna
Gallery, Roome

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13.

Portraitt of Laura dii

Pola

nzo Lotto
Loren

Brera

14. Marriage in Cana

Paolo Veronese

Louvre

15. S. Maryy of Egypt

Tintorretto

Scuola di S
San
Rocco

16. Bacchuus and Ariadnne

Tintorretto

Ducal Palacce

17. Baptism
m of S. Lucillla

Jacopo
o da Ponte

Bassano

18. Antonyy and Cleopaatra

Tiepolo

Palazzo Labbia,
Venice

o Longhi
Pietro

National Gaallery

Franceesco
Guard
di

National Gaallery

19.

Visit too the FortuneeTeller

20. S. Maria della Saluute

LIST OF PA
AINTER
RS
Paolo da
d Venezia, fl.
f 1333-1358.
Niccoloo di Pietro, fl.
f 1394-14004.
Niccoloo Semitocollo, fl. 1364.
Stefanoo di Veneziaa, fl. 1353.
Lorenzoo Venezianoo, fl. 1357-11379.
Chatarinus, fl. 13722.
Jacobelllo del Fioree, fl. 1415-1439.
Gentile da Fabrianno, 1360-14228.
Vittore Pisano (Pissanello), cirrca 1385-14455.
Michelee Giambonoo, fl. 1470.
Giovannni Alemanuus, fl. 1440-1447.
Antonioo da Muranoo, circa 14330-1470.
Bartoloommeo Vivaarini, fl. 14220-1499.
Alvise Vivarini,
V
fl. 1461-15033.
Antonello da Messsina, circa 1444-1493.
1
Jacopo Bellini, fl. 1430-1466.
1
Jacopo dei Barbarii, circa 14500-1516.
Andrea Mantegna, 1431-15066.
Carlo Crivelli,
C
14330-1493.
Bartoloommeo Monntagna, 14500-1523.
Francessco Buonsiggnori, 1453--1519.
Gentile Bellini, cirrca 1427-15507.

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Giovannni Bellini, 1426-1516.

1
Lazzaroo Bastiani, fl.
f 1470-15008.
Vittore Carpaccio, fl. 1478-15522.
Girolam
mo da Santaa Croce.
Mansueeti, fl. 1474--1510.
Giovannni Battista da
d Conegliaano (Cima), 1460-1517
7.
Vincenzzo Catena, fl.
f 1495-15331.
Bissoloo, 1464-15288.
Marco Basaiti,
B
circca 1470-15227.
Andrea Previtali, fl.
fl 1502-15225.
Bartoloommeo Veneto, fl. 15055-1555.
N. Ronddinelli, fl. 1480-1500.
Girolam
mo Savoldo,, 1480-15488.
Giorgioo Barbarelli (Giorgionee), 1478-15111.
Giovannni Busi (Caariani), circaa 1480-15444.
Tizianoo Vecellio (T
Titian), 14777-1576.
Palma Vecchio,
V
14480-1528.
Lorenzoo Lotto, 14880-1556.
Martinoo da Udine (Pellegrino
(
di San Danniele).
Morto da
d Feltre, ciirca 1474-1522.
Romaniino, 1485-1566.
Sebastiaan Luciani (del
( Piomboo), 1485-15547.
Giovannni Antoninoo Licinio (P
Pordenone), 1483-1540.
Bernarddino Licinioo, fl. 1520-1544.
Alessanndro Bonviccino (Morettto), circa 14498-1554.
Bonifazzio de Pitatiis (Veronesee), fl. 1510--1540.
Paris Boordone, 15110-1570.
Jacopo da Ponte (B
Bassano), 15510-1592.
1
Jacopo Robusti (Tiintoretto), 1518-1592.
Paolo Caliari
C
(Veroonese), 1528-1588.
Domenico Robustii, 1562-16377.
G
1544-1628.
Palma Giovine,
Alessanndro Varotaari (Il Padovvanino), 15990-1650.
Gianbatttista Fumiaani, 1643-17710.
Sebastiaano Ricci, 1662-1734.
1
Gregoriio Lazzarinii, 1657-1735.
Rosalbaa Carriera, 1675-1757.
1
G. B. Piazetta, 16882-1754.
Gianbatttista Tiepolo, 1696-17770.
Antonioo Canale (C
Canaletto), 1697-1768.
1
Belotto, 1720-17800.
Francessco Guardi, 1712-1793.

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PART
TI

C
CHAPTE
ER I
VENIICE AND HER
H
ART
Venetiaan painting in its primee differs altoogether in character
c
froom that of eevery other part of Italyy.
The Veenetian is thhe most marrked and reccognisable of
o all the scchools; its ssingularity is
i such that a
novice in art can easily, in a miscellaneeous collecction, sort out
o the worrks belongin
ng to it, annd
added to
t this uniqque characteer is the poosition it occcupies in thhe domain of art. Ven
nice alone of
o
Italian States
S
can boast
b
an epooch of art coomparable in
i originalitty and splenndour to thatt of her greaat
Florentiine rival; ann epoch whhich is to bee classed am
mong the greeat art manifestations of
o the worldd,
which has
h exertedd, and contiinues to exxert, incalcu
ulable poweer over painnting, and which is thhe
inspirattion as well as the desppair of thosee who try to master its secret.
s
The othher schools of Italy, with
w all theirr superficiall varieties of
o treatmennt and feelin
ng, dependeed
for theiir very life upon the extent
e
to which
w
they were
w
able too imbibe thhe Florentin
ne influence.
Siena rejected
r
thaat strength and perisheed; Venice bided her time and ssuddenly sttruck out on
o
indepenndent lines, achieving a magnificennt victory.
Art in Florence
F
m
made
a stricttly logical progress.
p
As
A civilisation awoke iin the old Latin
L
race, it
went baack in every domain of
o learning to the rich subsoil whhich still unnderlay the ruin and thhe
alien sttructures lefft by the long barbaricc dominion,, for the Itaalian in his darkest hou
ur had neveer
been a barbarian; and as thee mind wass once morre roused too consciouss life, Floreence entereed
readily upon that great
g
intellectual movem
ment which
h she was deestined to leead. Her caast of thoughht
was, froom the firstt, realistic and
a scientiffic. Its wholle endeavouur was to kn
know the tru
uth, to weiggh
evidencces, to elaboorate experiiments, to see
s things as
a they reallly were; annd when shee reached thhe
point att which art was
w ready to
t speak, wee find that the
t governinng motive oof her langu
uage was this
same prredilection for reality, and it was with this meaning
m
thaat her typical artists fo
ound a voice.
No artisst ever sougght for truthh, both physsical and sp
piritual, morre resolutely than Giottto, and nonne
ever spooke more diistinctly thee mind of hiis age and country; andd as one genneration folllows anotheer,
art in Tuscany
T
beccomes more and more closely
c
allieed to the inttellectual m
movement. The
T scientifi
fic
predilecction for foorm, for thee of things as they reaally are, chharacterises not Florenttine paintinng
alone, but
b the whoole of Floreentine art. Itt is an art of
o contributtions and diiscoveries, marked, it is
needlesss to say, att every stepp by dominaating person
nalities, positively as well as relaatively greaat,
but witth each meember consciously abssorbed in going

one better thaan his pred

decessors, in
i
solving problems and
a in masttering methhods. Floren
ntine art is the outcom
me of Floren
ntine life annd
thoughtt. It is partt of the definite clearr-cut view of
o thought and reasonn, of that exactitude
e
o
of
appreheension towaards which the whole Florentine mind was bent, and tthe lesser trributaries, as
a
they floowed towarrds her, form
med themseelves on her pattern annd worked uupon the saame lines, so
s
that theey have a certain geeneral resem
mblance, an
nd their exxcellence is in propo
ortion to thhe
thorougghness with which theyy have learnned their lessson.

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The diffference whhich separattes Venetiann from the rest of Italian paintingg is a fundaamental one.
Venice attains to an equallyy distinguisshed place, but the way
w in whicch she doees it and thhe
characteer of her coontribution are
a both so absolutely
a
distinct
d
thatt her art seem
ms to be thee outcome of
o
anotherr race, with alien tempeerament andd standards. Venice hadd, indeed, a history and
d a life of heer
own. Her
H entire isoolation, from
m her founddation, gavee her an inddependent ggovernment and custom
ms
peculiarr to herselff, but at thee same timee her peoplle, even in their earlieest and mosst precariouus
strugglees, were noo barbarianss who had slowly to acquire thee arts of civvilised life.. Among thhe
refugeees were perssons of highh birth and great traditions, and they
t
broughht with them
m to the firrst
crazy seettlement onn the lagoons some poolitical train
ning and som
me idea of hhow to reco
onstruct theeir
shattereed social fabbric. The Venetian
V
Reepublic rosee rapidly to a position of influencce in Europe.
Small and
a circum
mscribed as its area was,
w
every feature
f
andd sentimentt was concentrated annd
intensiffied. But onne element above
a
all permeates it and sets it apart from
m other Euro
opean Statees.
The Orriental elem
ment in Veenice must never be lost sight of if we w
wish to und
derstand heer
philosopphy of art.
There are
a some grrounds, seriiously acceppted by thee most recennt historianns, for believ
ving that thhe
first Venetian colonists werre the descendants of
o emigrantts who in prehistoricc times haad
urned from thence to Northern Italy.
I
Thesse
establisshed themseelves in Assia and whho had retu
colonistts, says Haazlitt, weree called Tyrrrhenians, and
a from thheir settlemeents round the
t mouth of
o
the Po the
t Venetiaan stock waas ultimatelyy derived. If the tradition has any truth, we think with a
deeper interest of that instincct for comm
merce which
h seems to have
h
been iin the very blood of thhe
early Venetians.
V
D it, indeeed, come doown to them
Did
m from the merchants of Tyre an
nd Carthagee?
From thhat wonderfful trading race
r
which stretched
s
ou
ut its arms all
a over Euroope and pen
netrated eveen
to our own
o
island?? From the first, Venicce cut hersellf adrift, as far as posssible, from Western
W
tiees,
but shee turned to Eastern peoople and too intercourse with the East with a natural afffinity whicch
savourss of racial innstinct. Alll her greatness was derrived from her Asiaticc trade, and her bazaarrs,
heaped with Easteern riches, must havee assumed a deeply Oriental
O
asppect. Her customs
c
lonng
retainedd many dettails peculiiar to the East.
E
The people
p
obseerved a cuustom for choosing
c
annd
dowerinng brides, which
w
was of Asia. The nationall treatment of women was akin to
t that of an
a
Orientaal State; Venetian wom
men lived inn a retiremeent which recalled
r
the life of the harem, onlly
appearinng on greatt occasions to display their
t
brocad
des and jeweels. Girls w
were closely veiled wheen
they paassed throuugh the streeets. The attachment
a
of men to women haad no intelllectual biaas,
scarcelyy any sentim
ment, but went

straigght to the mark:

m
the ennjoyment off physical beauty.
b
Thhe
positionn of womenn in Venicee was a great contrast to that attaained by thee Florentinee lady of thhe
Renaisssance, who was highlyy educated, deeply verrsed in menn and in afffairs, the fine flower of
o
culture,, and the quueen of a brrilliant sociiety. The lo
ove for coloour and gorggeous pageeantry was of
o
Semiticc intensity and
a seemed insatiable, and the graatification of
o the sensees was a delliberate Statte
policy. But passioonate as waas the spiritt of patriotism, enthussiastic the llove and lo
oyalty of thhe
people, the civic sppirit was abbsent. The masses
m
weree contented to live undeer a despotiic rule and to
t
be littlee despots inn their own houses. Inn the twelfth
h century thhe people ssaw power pass
p
into thhe
hands of
o the aristocracy, and as
a long as the
t despotism was a beenevolent onne, the even
nt aroused no
n
opposition. Like Orientals,
O
thee Venetianss had wild outbursts,
o
annd like them
m they quietted down annd
nothingg came of them.
t
As Mr.
M Hazlitt remarks,
r
ttheir occasional resistaance to tyraanny, thouggh
markedd by deeds of horrid and dark cruelty, lefft no deepp or enduriing traces behind
b
it. It
establisshed no prinnciple. It taaught no lessson. Veniice was a Republic
R
onnly in namee. The wholle
aspect of
o her goveernment is Eastern. Itss system off espionagee, its secret tribunals, its swift annd
silent blows,thesse are all Oriental
O
traitts, and the East
E enterinng into her w
whole life from
f
withouut
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found a natural hom

me awaitingg it. We shoould be mistaken, howeever, in thinnking that th
he Venetianns
in their great days were enervvated and laapped in thee sensuality which we aare apt to asssociate witth
Easternn ideals. Sennsuality didd in the end drain the life out of her.
h It is thhe disease which
w
attackks
sensuouusness, but it is not the same thhing. The Venetians were by nature men with a deeep
capacityy for feelingg, and it is this
t deep feeeling which
h has so largge a share inn Venetian art.
a
The paainters of Venice
V
weree of the peeople and had
h no widde intellectuual outlook
k at its most
splendidd moment, such as was
w possesseed by thosee men whoo in Florencce were draawn into thhe
companny of the Medici
M
and thheir court of
o scholars, and who alll their livess were in th
he midst off a
society of large aim
ms and a freee public sppirit, in whiich men toook their sharre of the ressponsibilitiees
and honnours of a citizens liife. The merchant-patrrons of Veenice are quuite uninterrested in thhe
solving of problem
ms. They payy a price, and
a they want a good shhow of coloour and gild
ding for theeir
money. Presently they buy from
fr
outside, and a haalf-hearted imitation oof foreignerrs is the best
ambitioon of Venetiian artists. Art,
A it has been
b
said, does
d
not decclare itself w
with true sp
pontaneity tiill
it feels behind it thhe weight annd unanimitty of the wh
hole body off the peoplee. That true outburst waas
long in coming, buut its seeds were fructiffying deep in a congennial soil. Thhey were fostered by thhe
warmthh and colourr of Orientaal intercoursse, and at laast the raciaal instinct sppeaks with no uncertaiin
accent in
i the greatt domain off art, and sppeaks in a new and unnexpected w
way; as spleendid as, yeet
utterly unlike,
u
the grand
g
intellectual declaaration of Florence.
Let us bear
b in mind, then, thaat Venice in all her histtory, in all her
h characteer, is Easterrn rather thaan
Westernn. Hers is the
t kingdom
m of feelingg rather thaan that of thought,
t
of emotion ass opposed to
t
intellectt. Her wholle story tellss of a profouundly emottional and seensuous appprehension of the naturre
of thinggs; and till the
t time com
mes when her
h artists arre inspired to express tthat, their crreations maay
be interresting enouugh, but theey fail to reeveal the tru
ue workingss of her mind. When they
t
do, theey
find a new
n
medium
m and use it in a new way. Veneetian colourr, when it ccomes into its kingdom
m,
speaks for a wholee people, sennsuous and of deep feeling, able foor the first ttime to utterr itself in arrt.
We havve to divide the history of the Veneetian Schoo
ol into three parts. The ffirst extend
ds from the
primitivves to the ennd of Giovaanni Bellinis life. He forms
fo
a link between thhe first and second
s
periods. The seconnd begins wiith Giorgionne and endss with Tintooretto and B
Bassano, and
d is the
Venetiaan School prroper. Thirddly, we have the eighteeenth-centurry revival, inn which Tieepolo is the
most coonspicuous figure,
f
and which is in an equal deegree the exxpression off the life of its time.

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CHAPTE
ER II
PRIMIT
TIVE ART
T IN VENIC
CE
The schhool of Byzantium, so widespread
w
d in its influeence, was particularly
p
strong in Venice,
V
wherre
mosaicss adorned the
t cathedrral of Torccello from the ninth century
c
andd St. Marks became a
splendidd storehousse of Byzaantine art. The earliesst mosaic on
o the faaade of St. Marks waas
executeed about thee year 12500, those in the
t Baptisteery date duuring the reiign of Andrrea Dandoloo,
who waas Doge from
m 1342 to 1354.
1
Yet thhough the liife of Giotto lies betweeen these tw
wo dates, annd
his frescoes at Paddua were witthin a few hours
h
journ
ney, there iss no sign thaat the great revolution in
i
paintingg, which waas making itself felt inn every prin
ncipal centrre of Italy, had toucheed the richest
and most peaceful of all her States.
n outcome of Byzantin
nism. It rosse as that off the mosaiccists fell, buut
Yet local art in Veenice was no
its rise differs
d
from
m that of Floorence and Siena
S
in beiing for longg almost impperceptible. Artists werre
looked upon merelly as artisanns in all thee cities of Italy,
I
but inn Venice before any otther city theey
mong the craftsmen.
c
T statute of the Guilld of Siena was not fo
The
ormulated tiill
had beeen placed am
1355; thhat of Venicce is the earrliest of whiich we havee any recordd, and bearss the date off 1272. Therre
is scarccely a word to indicate that picturees in the mo
odern sensee of the term
m existed. Painters
P
werre
employyed on the adornment of
o arms and of househo
old furnituree. Leather hhelmets and shields werre
painted, and such banners as we see in Paolo Ucceellos battleepieces. Painnted chests and cassonni
t surface of the tablle itself werre
were allready in deemand, dishhes and plaates for the table and the
treated in a similarr way. Special regulatioons dealt wiith all thesee, and it is oonly at the end
e of the list
that anncon are mentioned.. The ancoona was a gilded fraamework, hhaving a compartmen
c
nt
containing a picturre of the Madonna
M
andd Child, and others wiith single fiigures of th
he saints, annd
these were
w
the onlyy pictures proper
p
produuced at thiss date. The demand forr ancon was,
w howeveer,
large, and
a they weere very earrly placed, not only in
n the churchhes, but in tthe houses of patricianns
and buurghers. Coonstant dispputes arose between the painterrs and the gilders. Pictures werre
habitually painted upon a golld ground, but the pain
nters were forbidden tto gild the backgroundds
themsellves. Gildding is thee business of the gillder, paintiing that off the paintter, says a
contempporary recoord. Now the
t gilder contends
c
th
hat if a fram
me has to bbe gilt and then
t
toucheed
with coolour, he iss entitled too perform both
b
operattions, but thhe painter disputes th
his right, annd
maintaiins that the gilder shouuld return it to him wheen the addittion of painnting is desiired. It waas,
howeveer, finally deecided by laaw that eachh should ex
xercise both professionss, when onee or the otheer
played a subordinaate part in thhe finished work. Thou
ugh the art of
o mosaic w
was falling into
i
decay as
a
mercial man
nufactory off Byzantinee Madonnass, which haad
paintingg began to emerge, yeet the comm
been esstablished as
a early as 600,
6
went on,
o on the Rialto,
R
without any varriation of th
he traditional
forms.
Florencce very earlyy discarded the temptattion to cling
g to materiaal splendourr, but as we pass into thhe
Hall off the Primitiives in the Venetian Academy,
A
we
w see at onnce that Veenetian art, in its earlieer
stages, has more to do withh the gildeer than thee painter. The
T Holy Personagess are merelly
accessoories to the gorgeous framework,
fr
the embosssed ornamennts, the reaal jewels, which
w
were in
i
favour with the riich and maagnificent patrons.
p
Theere is no siign of any feeling forr painting as
a
paintingg, no cravinng after thee study of form as thee outcome of intellecttual activity
y, no zest of
o
discoveery, such ass made the painters
p
liffe in Floren
nce an excittement in w
which the pu
ublic sharedd.

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What liittle Venicee imbibes of these thinngs is from outside inffluence, after due lapsse of time. A
prosperrous, luxuriious city of merchantts and stateesmen, she was too m
much boun
nd up in thhe
transacttions and seensations off actual life to
t develop any
a abstract and thoughtful ideals.
Perhapss the first paainting we can
c discoveer which sho
ows any signn of independent effortt is the seriees
which Paolo
P
da Veenezia painnted on the back
b
of thee Pala d Orro, over thee high altar of St. Markk,
when itt was restorred in the foourteenth ceentury. Thiss reveals ann artist withh some picto
orial aptitudde
and onee alive to thhe subjects that
t
surrounnd him. It tells the storry of St. Maarks corpsee transporteed
to Veniice. The firrst panel coontains a group
g
of caardinals of varying typpes and exp
pressions; in
i
anotherr the disciplle listening to St. Markks teaching
g, and croucching with hhis elbows on
o his kneees,
has a trrue, naturall touch. Thee dramatic feeling here and theree is consideerable. The scene of thhe
guards watching
w
thhe imprisoned Saint thrrough the window
w
and seeing the sshadow of two
t heads, as
a
the Savviour visits him, impaarts a distinnct emotion
n; and therre is force as well ass feeling foor
decorative compossition in thee panel in which
w
the Saaints body lies at the ffeet of the sailors,
s
whille
his visioon appears shining upoon the sails.
Except for the exaaggerated innsistence onn the gilded
d elaborationns of the eaarly ancona, there is noot
much to differentiiate the earrly art of Venice
V
from
m that of otther centress; but we notice
n
that it
m
art
a of the craftsman.
c
T
Tuscan taste made littlle
perseveered longer in the material and mechanical
impresssion, and many years elapsed
e
befoore work ak
kin to that off Giotto attrracted atten
ntion and waas
admiredd and imitaated. A maan like Anttonio Veneziano met with the fa
fate of the innovator in
i
Venice.. He had tooo much of the
t simpliciity of the Tu
uscan and was
w compellled to carry
y his work to
t
Pisa, where
w
his naaf and humorous narraatives still delight
d
us inn the Camppo Santo. It was in 13884
that he was emplloyed to finnish the frrescoes of the life off S. Ranierii, which had been leeft
uncomppleted at Anndrea da Firrenzes deaath, and the fondness foor architectuure and surrroundings in
i
the Florrentine tastee, which seccured him a welcome, may, as Vaasari says, bbe derived from
f
Agnollo
Gaddi, who
w had alrready visiteed Padua andd Venice.
In the last years off the fourteeenth centuryy tributary streams beggin to feed tthe feeble main
m
currennt.
In 13655 Guariento, a Paduan, was emplooyed by the State to paint a huge ffresco of Paaradise in thhe
Hall off the Gran Consiglio of the Duccal Palace. This, whicch lay hid for centuriees under thhe
paintingg by Tintoreetto, was unncovered inn 1909 and found to bee in fairly ggood preserv
vation. It caan
now bee seen in a side room.. It tells uss that Guariiento had too some exttent been in
nfluenced by
b
Giotto. The thronees have lonng Gothic pendatives,
p
the faces have
h
more tthe Giottesque than thhe
Byzantiine cast andd show that the old tradditions were crumbling..
When painting
p
in Venice
V
firstt begins to live
l
a life off its own, Jaacobello deel Fiore stan
nds out as thhe
most coonspicuous of the inddigenous Veenetians. His father haad been preesident of the
t Painters
Guild. Jacopo
J
himsself was preesident from
m 1415 to 14
436. He waas a rich andd popular member
m
of thhe
State annd a man off high charaacter. His works,
w
to ju
udge by the specimens left, hardly
y attained thhe
dignity of art, thoough in the banner of
o Justice, in the Academy,
A
thhe space iss filled in a
monum
mental fashioon and the figure
f
of Stt. Gabriel with
w the lily has somethhing grand and
a gracefuul.
We tracce the samee treatment of flying baanners and draperies annd rippling hair in the fantastic buut
picturessque S. Grissogono in thhe left transsept of San Trovaso. Jaacobellos w
will, executeed in 1439 in
i
favour of
o his wife Lucia and his
h son, Erccole, with prrovision forr a possible posthumou
us son, show
ws
him to have
h
been a man of coonsiderable possessions. He owneed a slave annd had otheer servants, a
house, money,
m
andd books. Am
mong his feellow-workeers who are representedd in Venicee are Niccollo
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Semitoccolo, Niccolo di Pietro, and Lorennzo Veneziaano. The impportant altaarpiece by th

he last, in thhe
Academ
my, has eviddently been reconstructted; two Eteernal Fatherrs hover oveer the Annunciation, annd
the Sainnts have beeen restoredd to the fram
mework in such
s
wise that
t
the backs of many
y of them arre
turned on
o the mom
mentous cenntral event. In the Maarriage of St.
S Catherinne, in the same
s
galleryy,
Lorenzoo gets morre natural. The
T Child, in a light green dresss with golld buttons, has a livelly
expresssion, and loooks round at
a His Mother as if play
ying a gamee. The chapeel of San Taarasio in Saan
Zaccariia contains an
a ancona of
o which thee central paanel was onlly inserted iin 1839, and is identicaal
with Loorenzos otther work. One of thee finest and
d most elabborate of all the ancon
n is in Saan
Giovannni in Bragora, and is allso the workk of Lorenzzo. In this, as
a well as inn that of San
n Tarasio, thhe
Mother offers the Child the apple,
a
signiffying the fru
uit of the Tree
T
of Jesse and symb
bolical of thhe
Incarnaation. This inncident, whhich is foundd thus early
y in art, wass evidently ffelt to raise the group of
o
the Motther and Chhild from a representati
r
ion of a merely earthlyy relationshiip to a spiriitual scene of
o
the deeppest meaninng and the highest
h
dignnity.
Niccoloo di Pietro has
h several early workss of the lastt decade of the fourteennth century, from whicch
we gathher that he began
b
as a Byzantine,
B
but that he imitated Guuariento and was tentaatively draw
wn
to the Giottesque
G
m
movement,
but not, we may remeember, befoore Giotto hhad been deead for som
me
sixty yeears. Niccollo di Pietro has been coonfounded with
w Niccoloo Semitocolo, but it is now realiseed
that theey were twoo distinct masters.
m
Thee most impo
ortant workk of Michelle Giambon
no which haas
come down
d
to us is the signned anconaa with five saints, now
w in the V
Venetian Accademy. It is
unusuall to find a saint
s
in the central pannel instead of
o the Madoonna. The ssaint is on a larger scalle
than hiis companions, and has
h hithertoo passed ass the Redeeemer, but Professor Venturi haas
identifieed him as St.
S James thhe Great. Hee has the go
old scallop--shell and pilgrims staaff. It is cleaar
from hiis size and position
p
thaat the anconna has been painted forr an altar sppecially dediicated to thhis
Apostlee.
The saints on the right
r
are S. Michael annd S. Louis of Toulousse. Betweenn S. John th
he Evangelist
dently channged placess with S. Jo
ohn at som
me
and S. James is a monastic figure which has evid
momennt of restoraation. If thee two figures are transsposed, their attitudes become in
ntelligible. S.
S
John is inculcatingg a message inscribed inn his open book,
b
whilee the monk iis displaying his humblle
answer on his ownn page. The use in it off the term servus
s
suggeests that he is a Servitee, though thhe
want off the nimbuus precludess the idea thhat he is on
ne of the foounders. It iis probable that he is S.
S
Filipo Benizzi,
B
whho, though considered
c
as a saint from
f
the tim
me of his deeath, was not
n canoniseed
for seveeral centuriees.
The Mond Collecction includdes a glowiing picture by Giambbono; a seaated figure clad in ricch
vestmennts and holdding an orbb, probably representing
g a Thronee, one of tthe angelic orders of thhe
celestiaal Hierarchyy.[1]
Works are still in existence which
w
may be
b ascribed
d to one or other
o
of theese masters,, or of whicch
no attribbution can be made, but
b we know
w nothing positive
p
of any
a other aartists of thee time whicch
precedeed the influuence of Geentile da Faabriano. No
othing leadds us to supppose that the
t Venetiaan
School in its originn had any prretension too be a schoo
ol of colour, or that it coould claim anything
a
likke
real exccellence at a time whenn the Repubblic first became alive to the movvement whicch was goinng
on in otther parts off Italy, and decided to call
c in foreign talent.

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PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W

Paolo da Veneziia.
Venicee.

St. Marks: Thhe Pala d Oro.

Vicenzza.

D
Death
of the Virgin.
V

Lorennzo da Veneezia.
Venicee.

A
Academy:
Alttarpiece.
C
Correr
Museuum: Saviour giving
g
Keys to St. Peter.
S. Giovanni inn Bragora: Ancona.
A

Berlin..

T Saints.
Two

Nicoletto Semitoocolo.
Venicee.

A
Academy:
Alttarpiece.

Padua.

B
Biblioteca
Archivescovo: Altarpiece.

Stefaano da Veneezia.
Venicee.

Academy: Coronation off Virgin, withh false signatture of

A
S
Semitocolo.

Jacobello del Fiiore.

Venicee.

A
Academy:
Jusstice.
S. Trovaso: S. Grisogono.

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Niccoolo di Pietrro.
Venicee.

S. Maria dei Miracoli:

M
Alttarpiece.

Michhele Giamboono.
Venicee.

A
Academy:
St. James the Great
G
and othher Saints.

Londonn.

M
Mond
Collecttion: A Thro
one.

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CH
HAPTE
ER III
INFL
LUENCES OF UMBR
RIA AND VERONA
V
Gentile da Fabrianno, the Um
mbrian mastter, when he
h reached Venice in the early years of thhe
fifteenthh century, was
w already a man of note.
n
He had
d received his
h art educaation in Florrence, and he
h
broughtt with him fresh and delicate deevices for th
he enrichm
ment of painnting with gold, whichh,
derivedd as it was from
f
the Sieenese assim
milation of Byzantine
B
m
methods,
waas very supeerior in fanccy
and reffinement too anything that Venicce had to show. He was a maan of a geentle, mystiic
temperaament, but he
h was accuustomed to courts,
c
and a finished master
m
whose techniqu
ue and artistiic
value was
w far beyond anythinng that the local paintters were caapable of. H
He spent so
ome years in
i
Venice,, adorning the
t great haall with epissodes from the legend of Barbarosssa; one of these, whicch
is speciially cited, was
w of the battle
b
betweeen the Emp
peror and thhe Venetianns. Gentile was
w workinng
till abouut 1414, annd the walls, finished by Pisanello, were coovered by 11416. After this Gentille
remaineed some tim
me in Bergaamo and Brrescia, and settled
s
in Florence aboout 1422. The year afteer
reaching Florencee, he painteed the fam
mous Adorration of thhe Magi, now in th
he Florentinne
Academ
my. Even affter leaving Venice hiss fame surv
vived; picturres went froom his worrkshop in thhe
Popolo S. Trinit, and
a he sent back two portraits
p
afteer he had retturned to hiis native Fab
briano.
We havve no positivve record off Gentile annd Vittore Pisano,
P
comm
monly calleed Pisanello
o, having meet
in Veniice, but therre is every evidence
e
inn their work
k that they did
d so, and that one ov
verlapped thhe
other inn the paintinngs for the Ducal
D
Palace.
The School of Veerona alreaddy had an honourable
h
record, annd its Guildd dates from
m 1303. Thhe
r
the doocument off which is still
s preservved, while tthat of Ven
nice has beeen
followinng are its rules,
lost:
RULES OF
O THE VER
RONESE GUIL
LD (abridge
ed)
1. No one to becom
me a membeer who had not practiseed art for tw
welve years.
2. Twellve artists too be electedd members.
3. The reception
r
off a new mem
mber depends on his beeing a senioor.
4. The members
m
arre obliged inn the winterr season to take
t
upon thhemselves thhe instruction of all thee
pupils in turn.
5. A meember is liabble to be exxpelled for theft.
t
6. Eachh member is bound to extend to anoother fratern
nal assistannce in necessity.
7. To maintain
m
genneral agreem
ment in any controversiies.
8. To exxtend hospitality to straange artists..

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9. To offfer to one another

a
reciiprocal com
mfort.
10. To follow
f
the funerals
f
of members
m
with torches.
11. Thee President is
i to exercisse referencee authority.
12. Thee member who
w has the longest
l
mem
mbership to
o be Presidennt.
There were
w
also byy-laws, whiich providedd that no master
m
shoulld accept a ppupil for leess than threee
years, and
a this accceptance haad to be deefinitely reg
gistered by the public notary, a son, brotheer,
grandsoon, or nephhew being the
t only exxceptions. No
N master might receeive an app
prentice whho
should have left annother master before his
h time waas out, unleess with thaat masters free
f
consennt.
There were
w penaltiies for enticing away a pupil, and others
o
to bee enforced aagainst pupils who brokke
the agreeement. Sevvere restricttions existedd with regarrd to the salle of picturees, no one but
b a membeer
of the Guild
G
beingg allowed too sell them.. No one might
m
bring a work from
m any foreiign place foor
purposees of sale. It
I might nott even be brought to th
he town witthout the sppecial perm
mission of thhe
Gastalddiones, or trrustees of thhe Guild, annd those tru
ustees were permitted
p
too search forr and destrooy
forged pictures. Evvery painteer, thereforee, had to su
ubordinate his
h interestss and inclin
nations to thhe
local scchool. It hellps us to unnderstand why
w the indiividual charracter of thee different masters
m
is so
s
perceptible, and onne of the priimary causees of this mu
ust have been the carefful training of the pupils
in the masters
m
worrkshop.
The freesco left by Altichiero,, Pisanellos first mastter, in the Church
C
of S
S. Anastasia in Verona,
shows how
h worthilly a Veroneese painter was
w at this early
e
time following
f
inn the footsteeps of Giottoo.
Three knights
k
of the
t Cavalli family aree presented by their patron
p
saints to the Madonna.
M
Thhe
compossition has a large simpplicity, a brreadth of feeeling whichh is carriedd into each gesture. Thhe
knights with their raised helm
mets, in the pattern of horses
h
headds, are full of reality, the
t Madonnna
d stately. The
T picture has a delig
ghtful suavitty
is sweeet and digniified, and thhe saints arre grand and
and easse, and the colouring
c
haas evidentlyy been lovelly. The setting is in goood proportiion and morre
satisfacctory than thhat of the Giottesques
G
. From the series of frescoes
fr
in S
S. Antonio,, Verona, we
w
gather that
t
while Venice
V
wass still limiteed to stiff ancon,
a
the Veronese masters weere managinng
crowds of figures and renderring distancces successffully. Altichhiero puts iin homely touches
t
from
m
ws he has not
n yet masstered the principles off selection or
o
everydaay life with a freedom which show
the dignnified fitnesss which guided the greeat masters; as, for insttance, in thee case of thee old womann,
among the spectatoors of the Crucifixion, who
w shows her grief byy blowing hher nose. Hee lets himseelf
be draw
wn off by alll manner of
o trivial dettail and of gay costum
me; but again in such frescoes
fr
as S.
S
Lucia, or
o the Behheading of St.
S George, in the Pad
duan chapell of the Sannto, he prov
ves how weell
he undeerstands thee force of solid,
s
simplyy-draped fig
gures, direcct in gesturee and expreession, whille
the deccorative usee he makess of lancess against th
he backgrouund was loong afterwaards perhapps
imitatedd, but hardlyy surpassedd, by Tintoreetto.
Pisanelllo, who folllowed quicckly upon Altichiero and his asssistant, Avaanzi, exhib
bits the sam
me
chivalreesque and courtly
c
incllinations whhich comm
mended Genntile da Fabbriano to th
he splendouurloving Venetians.
V
Verona, unnder the peaaceful but gallant
g
goveernment off the Scaligeeri, had lonng
been thhe home of all knightlyy lore, and the
t artists had
h been em
mployed to ddecorate ch
hapels for thhe
familiess of the greeat nobles. Among
A
thesse, Pisanello had attainned a high pplace. Thou
ugh very few
w
of his paintings
p
rem
main, they all show thhese influen
nces, and his subtly moodelled med
dals establissh
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him as a master of
o the mostt finished tyype. A mucch destroyeed fresco inn S. Anastaasia, Verona,
portrayss the historyy of St. George and thhe Dragon. In
I the St. George
G
we pprobably seee the portraait
of the great
g
personnage in whoose honour the fresco was
w paintedd. He is mouunting his horse,
h
whichh,
seen from behind, reminds us
u of the fore-shorten
f
ned chargerrs of Paoloo Uccello. The rescueed
princesss, also a porrtrait, wearss a magnificcent dress and
a an elaboorate headggear in the fashion
fa
of thhe
day. Otther horses, fiery and spirited, are grouped arround, and in
i the band of cavalierss, beyond St.
S
George, every headd is individuualised; onee is beautifu
ul, another brutal,
b
and sso on throug
gh the sevenn.
A greyhhound and spaniel
s
in thhe foregrouund are supeerbly painteed, the background is excellent, annd
a realisttic touch is given by thhe corpses which
w
dang
gle unheedeed from the trees outsid
de the castleegate. A ruined, buut fortunatelly not restoored, Annu
unciation in
i S. Fermoo, has a sim
mple, slendeer
figure of
o the Virgiin sitting byy her whitee bed, and the angel, with
w great sw
weeping, ru
ushing winggs
and boowed, childd-like head with fair hair, is a most sweeet and keeen figure, thrilling
t
annd
convinccing, in conntrast to all the
t dead, ovver-worked frescoes roound the chuurch. All theese paintinggs
are too small to bee the least effective at the
t height at
a which theey are placeed, and can only be seeen
with a good
g
glass. Pisanellos art is not well
w adapted
d to wide, frrescoed wallls, and he seeems to havve
enjoyedd painting miniature
m
paanels, such as the two we possess. In these he is full of
o originalityy,
and shoows his love for the knnightly life,, the life off courts, in the armed cap--pied figure of St.
S
George, whose pooint-device armour is crowned
c
by
y a wide Tuuscan hat aand feather.. The artists
knowledge and lovve of animaals and wildd nature com
mes out in thhem, and his interest in
n beauty annd
chivalryy as opposed to the outtworn conveentionalitiess of ecclesiaastic demannds.
We shaall be able too trace the influence
i
off both the Umbrian
U
andd the Veronnese painterr on men likke
Antonioo di Muranoo and Jacoppo Bellini, and
a it is im
mportant to note
n
the likkeness of th
he two to onne
anotherr. In Gentilees Adoratiion we havve on the one hand thee Holy Fam
mily and the gay pageannt
of the kings,
k
of whhich we coulld find the prototype
p
in
n many an Umbrian
U
pannel. On the other we seee
those coontrasting elements
e
whhich were sttruggling in
n Pisanello; the delight in flowers and animalls,
in gailyy apparelledd figures, inn dogs and horses. Thee two have no lasting effect, but though theey
created no actual school, theey gave a stimulus
s
to Venetian art, and staarted it on a new tackk,
enabling it to openn its channels to fresh ideas.
i
Durin
ng the time they were iin Venice, Jacobello
J
deel
S
Fiore shows somee signs of adapting thhe new fashion to hiss early stylle, and the horse of S.
Adoration, or like Pisanos horsses. Michelle
Grisogoono is veryy like that of Gentilee in the A
Giamboono is actually found in collaborration, in th
he chapel of
o the Madonna da Mascoli
M
in St.
S
Marks,, with suchh a virile painter
p
as the
t Florentine, Andrea del Castaagno, who is evidentlly
responssible for Good the Fatheer and two of
o the Aposstles; but Caastagno musst have been
n thoroughlly
antipathhetic to the Venetians, and thoughh he may have
h
taught them the w
way to draw
w, he has noot
left anyy traces of a following.
Facio, writing
w
in 1455,
1
speakks of Gentiles work in
n the Ducal Palace as aalready deccaying, whille
Pisanelllos was paiinted out byy Alvise Vivvarini and Bellini.
B

PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W

Genttile da Fabrriano.
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Florencce.

A
Academy:
Addoration of th
he Magi.

Milan.

B
Brera:
Altarpiiece.

Altichiero.
Padua.

C
Capella
S. Fellice, S. Antonio: Frescoees.
C
Capella
S. Gioorgio, S. Anaastasia: The Cavalli Fam
mily.

Pisannello.
Padua.

S. Anastasia: St. George and

a the Dragoon.

Veronaa.

S. Fermo: Annnunciation.

Londonn.

S. George andd S. Jerome; S. Eustace and

a the Stag.

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CH
HAPTE
ER IV
THE SC
CHOOL OF
F MURAN
NO
The impportant little town of Murano,
M
a satellite of Venice,
V
lies upon an islland, some ten minutes
row froom the mothher State, diistinct from
m which it prreserved separate interrests and reg
gulations. Its
glass manufacture
m
was safeguuarded by thhe most striingent decreees, which fforbade meembers of thhe
Guild too leave the islet under pain of deaath. Its mossaics, stone work, and architecturee speak of an
a
early arrtistic existeence, and we
w recognise the justice of the claaim of Muranese paintters to be thhe
first to strike
s
out innto a more emancipated
e
d type than that of the primitives.
p
The painterr Giovanni of
o
Muranoo, called Gioovanni Alem
manus or d Alemagnaa, names beetween whicch Venetian
n jealousy foor
a time drew
d
an imaginary disttinction, haad certainly received hiis early eduucation in Germany,
G
annd
betrays it by his heavier
h
ornaamentation and
a more Gothic
G
stylee; but he waas a fellow--worker witth
Antonioo of Muranno, the founnder of the great
g
Vivarrini family, and the Accademy con
ntains severaal
large alltarpieces inn which theey collaboraated. Chrisst and the Virgin
V
in G
Glory was painted
p
for a
church in Venice in 1440, and
a has an inscription
n with bothh names onn a bandero
ol across thhe
foregrouund. The Eternal Fatheer, with Hiss hands on the
t shouldeers of the M
Mother and Son,
S
makes a
group of
o which we
w find the origin in Gentile
G
da Fabrianos altarpiece in the Breera, and it is
probablle that one if not bothh masters had
h been sttudying witth the Umbbrian and absorbing
a
thhe
principlles he had brought
b
to Venice. It is easy to trace
t
the influence of Giovanni d
d Alemagna,
though not always easy to picck out whicch part of a picture bellongs to him
m and which
h to Antoniio
workingg under hiss influencee. In S. Panntaleone is a Coronaation of thee Virgin, with Gothiic
ornameents such as are not fouund in purelly Italian artt at this perriod, but thee example in
n which botth
masterss can be most
m
closelyy followedd is the greeat picture in the Accademy, thee Madonnna
enthronned, where she sits unnder a baldaaquin surrou
unded by saaints. Here tthe Gothic surrounding
s
gs
becomee very floridd, and havee a gingerbbread-cake effect,
e
whicch Italian taste would hardly havve
tolerateed. Many feaatures are characteristicc of the Gerrman; the huuge crown w
worn by thee Mother, thhe
floriatedd ornament of the quaddrangle, thee almost barroque appeaarance of thhe throne. Th
hrough it alll,
heavily repainted as
a it is, shinnes the daw
wn of the ten
nder expresssion whichh came into Venetian art
a
with Geentile.

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An
ntonio da Murano.
M

A
ADORATIO
ON OF THE
E MAGI.
(P
Photo, Hanffstngl.)

Berlin.

Giovannni d Alem
magna and Antonio
A
da Murano weere no doubbt widely em
mployed, and
a when thhe
former died Antonnio founded and carriedd on a real school
s
in Venice.
V
In 14446 he was living in thhe
parish of
o S. Maria Formosa with
w his wifee, who was the daughteer of a fruit merchant, and the wills
of bothh are still preserved inn the parishh archives. Gentile da Fabriano hhad set the example foor
gorgeouus processioons with gaay dresses annd strange animals;
a
wiinding pathss in the bacckground annd
foreshoortened limbbs prove thaat attention had
h been drrawn to Paoolo Uccellos studies in
n perspective,
while many
m
figurees and horsses recall Piisanello. A striking prroof of the sojourn off Gentile annd
Pisanelllo in Venicce is found in
i an Adoration of Magi,
M
now ascribed to Antonio daa Murano, in
i
which the
t central group, the oldest kingg kissing th
he Childs foot, is verry like that in Gentiles
Adorattion, but the
t foreshortened horsses and the attendants argue the painters knowledge
k
o
of
Pisanelllos work. A comparrison of thee architectu
ure in the backgroundd with thatt in the S
St.
George in S. Anaastasia show
ws the same derivation,, and the daainty cavalieer, who holds a flag annd
is in atttendance onn the younggest king, is reminiscen
nt of St. George and Stt. Eustace in
n Pisanellos
paintinggs in the National Gallery, so thaat in this on
ne picture thhe influencees of the tw
wo artists arre
combinned.
Antonioo took his younger
y
broother, Bartollommeo, in
nto partnershhip, and thee title of da Murano waas
presentlly droppedd for the more
m
moderrn designatiion of Vivvarini. Bothh brothers are
a fine annd
delicatee in work, but
b from thee outset of thheir collabo
oration the younger
y
maan is more advanced
a
annd
more fuull of the spirit
s
of thee innovatorr. In his alttarpiece in the first haall of the Academy
A
thhe
Nativityy has alreaddy a new reealism; Joseeph leans hiis head upoon his hand,, crushing up
u his cheekk.
The saiints are partticularly vivvid in expreession, espeecially the old
o hermit holding thee bell, whosse
face is brimming
b
w ardent feeling.
with
f

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PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W

Giovvanni d Alemanus and Antonio daa Murano.

Venicee.

C
Christ
and thee Virgin in Glory;
G
Virgin enthroned, w
with Saints.

Antonnio da Murrano.
Berlin..

A
Adoration
of Magi.
M

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CHAPTE
ER V
THE PA
ADUAN IN
NFLUENC
CE
And noow into thiis dawning school, em
mployed ch
hiefly in the service oof the Churrch, with its
tentativve and languuid essays to understaand Florentiine composition, resultting in whaat is scarcelly
more thhan a mindlless imitatioon, and witth its ratherr more intellligent percception of th
he Humanist
qualitiees of Pisaneellos work, there enterrs a new factor; or rathher a new aagency mak
kes a slightlly
more suuccessful atttempt than Gentile andd Castagno had done to
t help the Venetians to
t realise thhe
supreme importancce of the huuman figure, its power in relation to
t other objects to deteermine space,
its moddelling and the
t significaance of its attitude
a
in conveying
c
m
movement.
Giotto had been able to
t
present all these quualities in the
t human form,
f
but he
h had done so by the llight of gen
nius, and haad
never formulated
f
any sufficient rules for
fo his follo
owers guiddance. In G
Ghibertis scchool, at thhe
beginniing of the fiifteenth cenntury, the faascination of
o the antiquue in art waas making ittself felt, buut
Donatelllo had escaaped from the
t artificiaal trammels it threateneed to exerccise, and had carried thhe
Florentiine school with
w him inn his profouund research
hes into thee human forrm itself. Donatello
D
haad
been woorking in Paadua for tenn years befoore Pisanello
os death, annd in an inddirect way th
he Venetianns
were exxperiencingg some after-results off the system
matising andd formulating of the new
n
pictoriaal
elementts. Though the intelleectual life had
h met wiith little enncouragemeent among the positive,
practicaal inhabitannts of Venicce, in Paduaa, which haad been subbject to her since 1405
5, speculativve
thoughtt and ideal studies
s
weree in full swiing. There was
w no re-bbirth in Veniice, whose tradition
t
waas
unbrokeen and wheere men weere too genuuinely pagaan to care abbout the echo of a pag
ganism in thhe
remote past. St. Mark was the deity of
o Venice, and the other
o
twelvve Apostless were onlly
obscureely connecteed with herr religious life, which was strongg and orthoodox, but un
ntroubled by
b
metaphyysical enthuusiasms andd inconveniient heresiees. Padua, on
o the otherr hand, wass absorbed in
i
questionns of learniing and reliigion. A uniiversity had
d been estabblished heree for two ceenturies. Thhe
abstractt study of thhe antique was
w carriedd on with feervour, and the memoryy of Livy th
hrew a lustrre
over thhe city whicch had never quite dieed out. It seemed
s
perffectly rightt and respecctable to thhe
Venetiaans that the savants, lying safely removed
r
fro
om the busyy stream of commerciaal life, shoulld
cultivatte inquiries into theologgy and the classics,
c
wh
hich would only
o
have bbeen a hindrrance to theeir
own praactical busiiness; but suuch, as it was
w well known, were of absorbinng interest in
i the circlees
which gathered
g
rouund the Medici in Florrence. The school
s
of arrt, which waas now arisiing in Padua,
was fedd from such sources as these. The love
l
of the antique wass becomingg a fashion and
a a guidinng
principlle, and influuenced the art of paintting more fo
ormally thaan it could ssucceed in doing
d
amonng
the indeependent annd original Florentines.
F
Francessco Squarcione, thoughh, as Vasarii says, he may
m not havee been the bbest of pain
nters, has leeft
work (nnow at Berllin) which is
i accepted as genuinee and whichh shows thaat he was more
m
than thhe
mere orrganiser he is sometim
mes called. He
H had trav
velled in Grreece, and w
was apparen
ntly a dealeer,
supplying the dem
mand for classic fragmeents, which was becom
ming widesppread. When
n he foundeed
l
spirrit and a pow
werful artisttic influencee. His pupills,
his schoool in Paduaa he evidenttly was its leading
even thhe greatest, were
w
long in
i breaking away from
m his convenntion, and ffew of them
m threw it off
entirelyy, even in affter life. Thhat conventiion was carrried with unndeviating tthoroughness into everry
detail. Draperies
D
a arranged in statuesque folds, designed to
are
t display every turn of the form
m
beneathh; the figurres are mouulded with all the preecision and limitationss of statuarry. The verry
landscaape becomees sculptureesque, and rocks of a volcanic character
c
arre constructed with thhe

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regulariity of masoonry. The colour

c
and technique are
a equally uncomprom
mising, and
d the surfacce
becomees a beautifuul enamel, unyielding,
u
definite in its lines, laacquer-like iin its firmness of finishh,
while thhe Gothic forms, which had hithherto been so prevalennt, were repplaced by more
m
or lesss
pedantic adaptatioons from Roman
R
bass-reliefs. This
T
system
m of desiggn was praactised most
determiinedly in Paadua itself, but
b it soon spread
s
to Venice. Squaarcione himsself was em
mployed therre
after 14440, and thhough Antoonio da Muurano clung
g to the oldd archaic sttyle he saw
w the Paduaan
mannerr invading his
h kingdom
m, and his ow
wn brother became
b
stroongly Squarrcionesque.
The twoo brothers of
o Murano come
c
most closely
c
togeether in an altarpiece
a
inn the gallery
y of Bologna,
where the
t framework is moree simple thaan Alemanu
uss Germaan taste wouuld have peermitted, annd
the Maadonna and Child have some nattural ease, and the deelicacy of ffeeling of primitive
p
arrt.
Bartoloommeo, wheen he breakks away andd sets out to paint by hiimself, is crrude and strrong, but fuull
of vital force. In hiis altarpiecee of 1464, inn the Acadeemy, he givves his saintts reality by
y taking them
m
off theirr pedestals and makingg them standd upon the ground,
g
andd though theey are still isolated
i
from
m
one anoother in thee partitions of an ancoona, their sparkling
s
eyyes, individdual featurees, and curlly
beards give them a look of liife. The draaperies, thin
n and clingiing, with litttle rucked folds, whicch
display the forms, and the drrawing of thhe bony strructure, exaaggerated inn the arms and
a legs, arre
T rocks annd stones, too,
t
show th
he Paduan convention. In severall of his otheer
Squarciionesque. The
altarpieeces, Bartolommeo intrroduces ricch ornamentts and swaggs of fruit, such as Donatello
D
haad
first broought to Paddua, or whiich Paduan artists delig
ghted to coppy from classsic column
ns. Antonios
mannerr to the endd is the local Venetiann manner, infused
i
as it
i was withh the soft an
nd charminng
influencce of Genttile da Fabrriano and Pisanello,
P
but
b Bartoloommeo adoopts the new
w and morre
ambitioous style. Though not a very goood painter, and
a inclinedd to be pufffy and shaapeless in his
h
flesh foorms, he waas the head of a crowdd of artists, and works of his school, signed Opus
O
factum
m,
went all over Italy, and are foound as far south
s
as Baari. Works of
o his pupilss are numerrous; the S
St.
Mark ennthroned in the Frari is as good if
i not betterr than the masters
m
ownn work, and
d the triptycch
in the Correr
C
Museeum is a freee imitation.
Round this early school gatthered suchh painters as
a Antonioo da Negrooponte and Quirizio da
d
oponte has left an entthroned Maadonna in S.
S
Muranoo, who werre both woorking in 14450. Negro
Francessco della Viigna, whichh is one of the
t most beeautiful exam
mples of coolour and off the fancifuul
charm of
o the Renaaissance thaat the earlyy art of Ven
nice has to show. Thee Mother an
nd Child arre
placed in
i a marble shrine, adoorned with antique
a
relieefs, rich wreaths of fruuit swag abo
ove her headd,
a little Gothic
G
logggia is full of flowers annd fruit, and birds are perched onn cornucopiaas. On eitheer
side, foour badly drawn littlle angels, with ugly faces and awkwardlyy foreshorttened form
ms,
foreshadow the beautiful, music-making angels whiich became such a featture of Nortth Italian arrt.
The Diivine Motheer, adoring the Child lying acrosss her kneees, has an eexquisite, pensive
p
face,
conceivved with alll the delicaccy and sim
mplicity of early
e
art. It seems quitte possible, as Professoor
Leonelllo Venturi suggests,
s
thhat we havee here the early
e
masterr of Crivellli, in whom
m we find thhe
love of fruit garlannds, of chainns of beads and rich brrocades carrried to its faarthest limitts, who takees
keen pleasure in inntroducing the
t ugly butt lively little angels, annd who givees the samee pensive annd
almost mincing
m
exppression to his Madonnnas.

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PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W

Antonnio da Murrano and Ba

artolommeo Vivarini.
Bolognna.

A
Altarpiece.

Bartoolommeo Vivarini.
Vi
Venicee.

A
Academy:
Alttarpiece, 146
64; Two Sainnts.
Frari: Madonnna and four Saints.
S
M
andd two Saints.
S. Giovanni inn Bragora: Madonna
S. Maria Form
mosa: Triptycch.

Londonn.

M
Madonna
andd Saints.

Viennaa.

S. Ambrose annd Saints.

Antonnio da Negrroponte.
Venicee.

S. Francesco della
d
Vigna: Altarpiece.

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CH
HAPTE
ER VI
JA
ACOPO BE
ELLINI
While Venice
V
was assimilatinng the spirit of the scho
ool of Squarrcione, whicch in the neext few yearrs
was to be rendereed famous by Manteggna, anotheer influencee was asserting itself,
f, which waas
sufficieent to counteeract the harrd formalism
m of Paduan
n methods.
When Gentile
G
da Fabriano
F
lefft Venice, he
h carried with
w him, and presently established
d with him in
i
Florencce, a young man, Jacoppo Bellini, who had already
a
beenn working w
with him an
nd Pisanelloo,
and who was an arrdent disciple of the neew naturalistic and hum
manist moveement. Both
h Gentile annd
his appprentice werre subjectedd to annoyaance from the time thhey arrived in Florence, where thhe
strict reegulations which
w
goverrned the Guuilds made it very diffficult for anny newcomeer to practisse
his art. The records of a police case reporrt that on th
he 11th of June 1423 soome young men, amonng
them, one,
o
Bernabbo di San Siilvestri, the son of a no
otary, were observed tthrowing sto
ones into thhe
painters room. His assistant, Jacopo Belllini, came out
o and droove the assaailants away
y with blow
ws,
but Berrnabo, accussing Jacopoo of assault, the latter was
w committted to prisonn in defaultt of paymennt.
After siix months imprisonme
i
ent, a compromise of th
he fine and a penitential declaratio
on set him at
a
liberty. The accounnts declare that
t Gentilee took no steeps to be off service to hhis followerr; but Jacoppo
soon affter married a girl from
m Pesaro, annd his first son
s was chrristened afteer his old master,
m
whicch
does noot look as thhough they were
w on unffriendly term
ms. Jacopo travelled inn the Romag
gna, and waas
much esteemed
e
byy the Estes of Ferrara, but he wass back in Venice
V
in 14430. He hass left us onlly
three siigned workss, and one or two morre have lateely been atttributed to hhim, but th
hey give verry
little ideea of what an
a importannt master hee was.

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Jacopo Bellini.
B
A
AGONY
IN
N GARDEN
NDRAWIING.
(P
Photo, Andeerson.)

Brittish Museum
m.

His Maadonna in the

t Academ
my has a roound, simple type of face,
f
and inn the Louvrre Madonna,
which is
i attributedd but not siggned, it is eaasy to recog
gnise the saame arched eyebrows and
a half-shuut,
curved eyelids. In this picturee, where thee Madonna blesses the kneeling L
Leonello d Este, we seee
how Pisanello acteed on Jacoppo and, throough him, on Venetiann art. The cconnection between thhe
two maasters has been
b
establlished in a very interresting wayy by Professor Anton
nio Venturis
discoveery of a soonnet, writtten in 1441, which recounts
r
hoow they paainted rival portraits of
o
Leonelllo, and how
w Bellini made
m
so liveely a likeneess that he was adjudgged the firsst place. Thhe
landscaape in the Louvre
L
pictuure is advannced in treaatment, andd with its giilded moun
ntain-tops, its
stag and its town upon the hill-side, is full
f of remiiniscences of
o Pisanelloo, especially
y of the S
St.
George in S. Anaastasia. We come uponn such tracees, too, in Jacopos
J
drrawings, and
d it is by his
h
two skeetch-books that
t
we cann best judgee of his greaatness. One of these is in the Britiish Museum
m;
the otheer, in the Loouvre, was discovered
d
n many years ago in the granaryy of a castle in Guyenne.
not
These drawings
d
revveal Jacopoo as one of the greatestt masters off his day. H
He is larger, simpler, annd

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more naatural than Pisanello, and

a he appaarently carees less for thhe human ffigure than for elaboratte
backgroounds and surrounding
s
gs. Many of
o his design
ns we shalll refer to aagain when we come to
t
fresco at Castiglione
speak of
o his two sons. His S
Supper of Herod
H
remiinds us of Masolinos
M
C
d
d
Olona. He sketchees designs foor numbers of religiou
us scenes, trreated in an original an
nd interestinng
mannerr. A Cruciffixion has bands of sooldiers rang
ged on eitheer side, an Adoration of
o the Magii
has a sttring of cam
mels comingg down the hill,
h the executioners inn a Scourging wear Eastern
E
headddresses. In a sketchh for a Bapptism of Chhrist tall an
ngels hold thhe garmentts in the early traditionaal
way; onn one side two
t
play thee lute and thhe violin, while
w
the tw
wo on the otther side haave a trumpeet
and an organ. He has
h sketchees for the Ascension,
A
Resurrection
R
n, Circumciision, and Entombmen
E
nt,
repeatedd over andd over againn with variiations, and
d one of S. Bernardinno preachin
ng in Venicce
(where he was in 1427). Jacoopo delightss even morre in fancifuul and mythhological th
han in sacreed
subjectss. A tournaament withh spectatorss, a Faun riding
r
a lioon, a Trium
mph of Baacchus witth
pantherrs, are amonng such essays. The faauns pipe, th
he wine-godd bears a vase of fruit. His love of
o
animalss is equal too that of Pisaanello, and S. Hubert and
a the stag with the crrucifix betw
ween its hornns
is direcctly reminiscent of thhe Veronesse. His horrses, of whhich there are immen
nse numberrs,
sometim
mes look as if copied from
f
anciennt bas-reliefss. His treatm
ment of singgle nude fig
gures is ofteen
poor annd weak ennough, and his
h rocks have
h
the flaat-topped, geological fo
formation off the Paduaan
School,, but no onee who so draank in everyy description
n of lively scene
s
aboutt him could have been in
i
any dannger of beccoming a mere
m
archeollogical typee, and it waas from thiss pitfall thaat he rescueed
Manteggna. To judgge by his drrawings, Jaacopo did no
ot overlookk any sourcee of art opeen to him; he
h
delightss in the richh research of
o the Paduaans as much
h as in the varieties off wild naturre and all thhe
incidentts of conteemporary liife first annnexed by Pisanello. He
H is oftenn very likee Gentile da
d
Fabrianno, he makes raids into Uccellos domains
d
of perspectivee, he is frannkly mundan
ne and draw
ws
a revel of satyrs and
a centaurrs with a real
r
interpreetation of the
t lyrical aand pagan spirit of thhe
Greeks,, and he hass an idealissm of the sooul, which found
f
its fuull expressioon in his so
on, Giovannni.
We cannnot call Jaccopo Bellinii the foundeer of the Venetian Schoool, for its m
makings exiisted alreadyy,
but it was
w his inflluence on his
h sons whhich, above all, was acccountable for the dev
velopment of
o
early exxcellence. His long, flowing
f
linnes have a sweep andd a fancifull grace wh
hich form an
a
absolutee antidote to
t the definnite, geomettrical Paduaan conventioon. In Jacopo we see the
t thorouggh
assimilaation of those foreign elements
e
whhich were in
n sympathy with the Veenetian atm
mosphere, annd
while up
u to now Venice
V
had only
o
imbibeed influencees, she was soon
s
to creaate for herseelf an artistiic
milieu and
a to becom
me the leadder of the moovement off painting inn the north oof Italy.

PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W

Jacoppo Bellini.
Bresciaa.

A
Annunciation
and Predellee.

Veronaa.

C
Christ
on Cross.

Venicee.

A
Academy:
Maadonna.
M
Museo
Correrr: Crucifixion
n.

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Londonn.

B
British
Museuum: Sketch-b
book.

Paris.

M
Madonna
andd Leonello d Este: Sketchh-book.

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CH
HAPTE
ER VII
CA
ARLO CRIIVELLI
We muust turn asiide from thhe main strream when we come to speak oof Carlo Crivelli,
C
whoo,
importaant master as
a he was, occupies
o
a place
p
by him
mself. A puupil of the V
Vivarini and
d perhaps, as
a
we havee noted, of Antonio Neegroponte, Crivelli waas profoundlly influenceed by the Paaduans, from
m
whom he
h learned that metalliic, finished quality of paint whichh he carriedd to perfecttion. Crivellli
shows intellect,
i
inddividuality, even geniuus, in the way
w in whichh he grapplees with his medium annd
producees his own reading, annd the circuumstances of
o his life were
w
such aas to throw him in upoon
himselff and to preeserve his originality. His
H little eaarly Madonnna and Child at Vero
ona is linkeed
with thaat of Negrooponte by thhe elaboratee festoons, strings
s
of beads,
b
and large-pattern
ned brocadees
used in the surrounndings, andd has those ugly,
u
foresh
hortened litttle putti, holding the in
nstruments of
o
the Passsion, of the type elaborrated by Sqquarcione an
nd Marco Zooppo, and w
which, in th
heir improveed
state, we
w are accustomed to thhink of as Mantegnesqu
M
ue.
When Crivelli
C
wass thirty-eighht years old, he was con
ndemned to six monthss imprisonm
ment and to a
fine of two hundreed lire for an
a outrage on
o a neighb
bours wife.. Perhaps itt was to esccape from an
a
unenviaable reputattion that he left Venicee soon after and set up painting inn the March
hes, where he
h
lived frrom 1468 too 1473. He then went on
o to Cameerino in Um
mbria, wheree his great triptych,
t
now
w
in the Brera,
B
was painted, annd a few years
y
later he
h was in Ascoli,
A
witth a commiission for an
a
Annuncciation in thhe Cathedrral. This is the picturee now in thhe Nationall Gallery, in
i which thhe
Bishop holds a moodel of the Duomo.
D
Affter 1490 hee worked inn little towns in the Maarches, and is
not menntioned afteer 1493. He does not seeem ever to have come back to Vennice.
Shut upp in the Marrches, where there wass little strong local talennt, and wheere he could
d not keep up
u
with thee progress that was taaking place in Venice, he was oblliged himseelf to supply the artistiic
movem
ment. He keppt the Squarrcionesque traditions to the end, but
b mouldedd them by his
h own lovve
of rich and exuberaant decoratiion. Moreovver, he was of a very inntense religgious bias, and
a this findds
ve of gildeed
a deeplly touchingg and mystiical expresssion, more especially in his Pietts. The lov
patternss and fanciiful detail was
w deep-seeated in alll the Umbrrian countryy. His altarrpieces werre
intended as sumpttuous additiions to richh churches, and were consequentl
c
ly arranged
d, with manny
divisionns, in the olld Muranesse manner. His
H great an
ncona, in thhe Nationall Gallery, iss a marvel of
o
elaboratte ornamennt and enam
mel-like paiinting. The Madonna is delicate, almost afffected in heer
refinem
ment. Her loong fingers hold the Childs garm
ment with thhe extreme of dainty precision,
p
thhe
crozierss and rings of the saintts and bishoops are emb
bossed withh gold and rreal jewels. The flowerrs
in the panel
p
of T
The Immacuulate Conceeption, whiich hangs beside
b
it, arre twisted into
i
heads of
o
mytholoogical beastts and groteesques or cherubs;
c
butt Crivelli haas plenty off strength, and
a his malle
saints have
h
vigoroous, bony liimbs and fiierce fanaticcal eyes. It is, howeveer, in his co
olour that he
h
charms us most, and
a though he does noot touch thee real fount,, he is of aall the earlieer school thhe
fo subtle tender tones and lovely harmonies of olive-greeens and faded rose annd
most reemarkable for
cream embossed
e
w gold.
with
Crivellii continued executing one
o great anncona after another, lim
miting his prrogress to perfecting
p
h
his
techniquue, and hiss influence was most deeply
d
felt by such Um
mbrian painnters as Lorrenzo di Saan
Severinno and Niccola Alunno. The honouurs paid him
m testify to the reputatiion he acqu
uired. He waas

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created a knight annd presentedd with a gollden laurel wreath. Butt though he never, thatt we can heaar
of, reviisited his native
n
State,, he alwayss adds Veneetus to the signature oon his pain
ntings, a facct
which tells
t
us thatt far from Venice
V
and in provincial districts, her prestigge was felt and gave his
h
work ann enhanced commerciaal value. Hee had no after-influencee upon the V
Venetian Scchool, and in
i
this resppect is interresting as ann example of
o the tenaccity exerciseed by the Sqquarcionesq
que methodds,
when, unchecked
u
b any counnter-attractiion, they caame to act upon
by
u
a veryy different teemperamennt;
for in his
h love of grace and beauty
b
and of rich effe
fects, and esspecially inn his intensiity of mystiic
feeling,, Crivelli is a true Veneetian and haas no naturaal affinity wiith the classsic spirit of the Paduanns.

PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W

Venicee.

SS. Jerome annd Augustinee.

Ascoli.

D
Duomo:
Altarrpiece and Piiet.

Berlin..

M
Madonna
andd six Saints.

Londonn.

Piet; The Bleessed Ferrettti; Madonna and Saints; A

Annunciation
n;
Ancona in thirteen com
mpartments; The
T Immacullate
Conceptionn.
M Benson: Madonna.
Mr.
M
Sir Francis Coook: Madonn
na enthronedd.
M
Mond
Collecttion: SS. Peteer and Paul.
Lord Northbroook: Madonn
L
na; Resurrection; Saints; Crucifixion;;
Madonna; Madonna
M
an
nd Saints.

Milan.

Brera: SS. Jam

B
mes, Bernard
dino, and Pelllegrino; SS. Anthony
Abbot, Jeroome, and An
ndrew.
Poldi-Pezzoli: S. Francis in
i Adorationn.

Rome.

V
Vatican:
Piet.

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CH
HAPTER
R VIII
GENTILE
E BELLINII AND ANT
TONELLO
O DA MESS
SINA
What, then,
t
is thee position which
w
art haas achieved
d in Venicee a decade after the middle
m
of thhe
fourteennth centuryy, and how does
d
she coompare with
h the Florenntine Schoool? The Flo
orentines, Frra
Angelicco, Andrea del Castaggno, and Peesellino werre lately deead. Antonioo Pollaiuolo was in his
h
prime, Fra Lippo was fifty-foour, Paolo Uccello waas sixty-threee. But though the pro
ogress in thhe
north haad been slower, art botth in Padua and Venicee was now in
i vigorous progress. Bartolomme
B
eo
Vivarinni was still painting
p
andd gathering round him a numerouss band of foollowers; Mantegna
M
waas
thirty, had
h just com
mpleted thee frescoes in
i the Erem
mitani Chappel and the famous altaarpiece in S.
S
Zeno; and
a Gentile and Giovannni Bellini were
w two an
nd four yearrs his seniorrs.
Francessco Negro, writing
w
in thhe early yeaars of the siixteenth cenntury, speakks of Gentilee as the eldeer
son of Jacopo
J
Bellini. Giovannni is thougght to havee been an illegitimate sson, as Jaco
opos widow
w
only meentions Genntile and another son, Niccolo,
N
in her will. Thhere is everyy reason to believe thaat,
as was natural,
n
the two brotheers were thee pupils and
d assistants of
o their fathher. A Mad
donna in thhe
Mond Collection,
C
the earliestt known of Gentiles works,
w
show
ws him imittating his fathers
fa
stylee;
but whhen his sister, Niccoloosia, marrieed Mantegn
na in 1453, it is not surprising to find him
m
followinng Mantegnnas methodds for a timee, and a fressco of St. Mark
M
in the S
Scuola di Saan Marco, an
a
importaant commisssion whichh he receivved in 1466
6, is taken direct from
m Mantegnaas fresco at
Padua.
As the Bellini mattured, they abandoned
a
the Squarciionesque traadition and evolved a style of theeir
own; Gentile
G
as much
m
as his even
e
more famous bro
other. Gentille is the firsst chronicleer of the meen
and mannners of hiss time. In 14460 he settlled in Venicce, and was appointed to paint thee organ doorrs
in St. Marks.
M
Thesse large sainnts, especiaally the St. Mark,
M
still recall
r
the Paaduan period
d. They havve
festoons of grapess and applees hung from the arch
hitectural orrnaments, aand the castt of draperyy,
showingg the form
m beneath, reminds
r
us of Manteg
gnas figurees. But Geentile soon becomes an
a
illustrattor and porttrait painterr. Much of his work was
w done in the Scuolaa of St. Marrk, where his
h
father had
h painted,, and this was destroyed by fire in 1485. Earlyy, too, is the fine austeere portrait of
o
Lorenzoo Giustinianni, in the Academy.
A
Inn 1479 an emissary
e
froom the Sulttan Mehem
met arrived in
i
Venice and requessted the Siggnoria to reecommend a good painnter and a man cleverr at portraitts.
Gentile was chosenn, and depaarted in Sepptember for Constantinoople. He paainted many
y subjects foor
w as the famous
f
porttrait now inn the possesssion of Laddy
the privvate apartmeents of the Sultan, as well
Layard.. It would be
b difficult for
f a historic portrait to
o show morre insight innto characterr. The face is
cold, weary,
w
and seensual, withh all the oveer-refined look of an old
o race andd a long civiilisation, annd
has a melancholy
m
n
note
in its distant
d
and satiated gaze. The Sulltan showedd Gentile ev
very mark of
o
favour, loaded him
m with pressents, and bestowed
b
on him the title of Beyy. He return
ned home in
i
1493, bringing
b
witth him manyy sketches of
o Eastern personages
p
a the pictture, now in
and
n the Louvre,
represennting the reeception of a Venetiann Embassy by the Graand Vizier. Some five years beforre
Gentiles commisssion to Connstantinoplee Antonello
o da Messinna had arrivved in Ven
nice, and thhe
spread and populaarisation of oil-paintingg had hasteened the caasting off off outworn ecclesiastica
e
al
methodds and brougght the painnters nearerr to the truth
h of life. Antonello
A
didd not actually introducce
oils to the
t notice of
o Venetian painters, foor Bartolomm
meo Vivariini was alreaady using th
hem in 14733,
but he was
w well knnown by reeputation beefore he arrrived, and having
h
probbably come into contacct

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with Fllemish painnters in Naaples, he had

h had beetter opporttunities of seizing up
pon the new
w
techniquue, and wass able to esttablish it booth in Milan
n and in Veenice. A largge number of Venetianns
were att this time resident
r
in Messina: thhe families of Lombarrdo, Gradennigo, Contaarini, Bemboo,
Morosinni, and Fosscarini weree among thoose who haad memberss settled theere. Many of
o these werre
patrons of art, andd probably paved the way to Anttonellos reeception in Venice. Att first all thhe
traits off Antonelloos early woork are Flem
mish: the fu
ull mantles,, white lineen caps and
d tuckers, thhe
straightt sharp foldds and long wings of thhe angels have
h
much of Van Eycck, but wheen he gets to
t
Venice in 1475, itts colour annd life fasciinate him, and
a a great change com
mes over his
h work. His
portraits show thatt he graspedd a new intensity of liffe, and let us
u into the character of the men he
h
vre, declarees the artissts recogniition of thaat
saw aroound him. His Conddottiere, inn the Louv
truculennt and form
midable beinng, full of aristocratic
a
disdain,
d
thee product off a daring, unscrupulou
u
us
life. Thhe Portrait of a Humannist, in thee Castello in
n Milan, is classic in iits deepest sense;
s
and in
i
the Trivulzio College at Miilan an oldder man loo
oks at us out of sly,, expressivee eyes, witth
characteeristic eyebbrows and kindly,
k
half--cynical mo
outh. It was not wondeerful that these portraitts,
combinned with the new mediuum, worked upon Gentiiles imaginnation and ddetermined his
h bent.
The firsst exampless of great canvases,
c
illlustrating an
nd celebratiing their ow
wn pageants, must havve
mightilyy pleased thhe Venetianns. Scenes in
i the style of the receeption of thee Venetian ambassadorrs
were caalled for onn all hands, and when the excelleence of Genntiles portrraits was reecognised, he
h
becamee the model for all Vennice. When his own an
nd his fatherrs and brotthers paintiings perisheed
by fire in
i 1485, he offered to replace
r
them
m quicker than was huumanly posssible and at
a a very low
w
price. Giovanni,
G
w had beeen engagedd on the extternal decorrations, wass ill at the time,
who
t
but thhe
Signoria was so pleased with the offer thhat it was deecided to lett no one touuch the worrk till the tw
wo
brotherss were able to finish itt. Gentile stiill painted religious
r
alttarpieces wiith the Virg
gin and Chilld
enthronned with saiints, but moost of his time was dev
voted to thee production of his greeat canvasees.
Some of
o these havve disappearred, but the Processio
on and Miiracle of thee Cross, co
ommissioneed
by the school
s
of S.. Giovanni Evangelista
E
a, are now in
n the Acadeemy, and the third canv
vas, executeed
for the same schoool, St. Marrk preachingg at Alexan
ndria, whicch was unfinnished at th
he time of his
h
a was com
mpleted by his
h brother, is in the Brrera.
death, and

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Gentiile Bellini. PROCES

SSION OF THE HOL
LY CROSS.
(P
Photo, Andeerson.)

Venice.

These great
g
compoositions of crowds brinng back forr us the Veenice of Genntiles day as no verbaal
descripttion can doo. There is no
n especiall richness of
o colour; thhe light is tthat of broaad day in thhe
Piazza and among the luminoous waterwaays of the city.
c
We cann see the sccene any daay now in thhe
wide sqquare, makiing allowannce for the difference of costumee. The grouups are set about in thhe
ample space,
s
with the wonderrful cathedraal as a back
kground. St. Marks hass been pain
nted hundredds
of timess, but no onne has ever given
g
such a good ideaa of it as Geentileof itts statelinesss and beautyy,
of its wealth
w
of deetail; and hee does so without
w
detraacting from
m the generaal effect, forr St. Marks,
though the keynotte of the whole
w
composition, is kept
k
subserrvient, and is part of the stage on
o
t scene is
i enacted. The processsion passees along, caarrying the relics, atteended by thhe
which the
waxlighhts and the banners.
b
Beehind the reeliquary kneeels the merrchant, Jacoopo Sal, peetitioning foor
the recoovery of hiis woundedd son. Thenn come the musicians; the spectaators crowd
d round, theey
strain forward
fo
to see
s the chieef part of thhe cortge, as a crowdd naturally does. Somee watch witth
reverennce, others smile
s
or havve a negligeent air. The faces of thee candle-bearers are veery like thosse
we mayy see to-dayy in a great Church proocession: some absorbeed in their taask, or uplifted by inneer
thoughtts; others loooking curiiously and sceptically at the crow
wd. Gentilee tries in his crowds to
t
bring toogether all the types of
o life in Venice,
V
all the
t officials and the eecclesiasticaal world, thhe
young and
a old. Wiith a few strrokes he creeates the ind
dividual andd also the tyype;the caareless roveer;
the respponsible maagistrate; thee shrewd, prractical man
n of businesss; the younng men, full of their ow
wn
plans, but
b pausing to look on at
a one of thee great relig
gious sights of their cityy. In the F
Finding of thhe
Cross he producees the effectt of the whole city en fte.
f
It wass a sight whhich often met
m his eyees.
The Dooge made noo fewer thann thirty-six processions annually to
t various cchurches of the city, annd
on fourrteen of these occasionns he was accompanie
a
d by the whole of the nobles dreessed in theeir
State roobes. Every event of im
mportance was
w seized on
o by the Veenetian ladiies as an op
pportunity foor
arrayingg themselvees in the ricchest attire, cloth of go
old and velvvet, plumes and jewels. Gentile haas
massed the ladies of Queen Catherine
C
C
Cornaros
Court aroundd their Queen upon thee left side of
o
the canaal. The lighht from abovve streams upon
u
the keeeper of the School, whho holds thee sacred reliic
on highh. All round are the oldd, irregular Venetian
V
ho
ouses, and inn the crowdd he paints the
t variety of
o
men hee saw arounnd him everry day in Veenice. Yet even
e
in thiss animated scene he reetains his olld

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quattroccento calm.. The groupps are decoorously assisting: only here and thhere he is drawn
d
off to
t
some sm
mall detail of reality, such
s
as an oarsman
o
deexterously tuurning his bboat, or the maid lettinng
the neggro servant pass out too take a heaader into thee canal. Thhe spectatorrs look on coolly
c
at onne
more of
o the oft-sseen, miracculous evennts. The co
ommittee, kneeling
k
at the side, is a row of
o
unforgeettable portrraits, grave, benign, soour, and au
ustere, with bald head or flowing hair. In thhis
compossition he triiumphs over all difficuulties of perrspective; our
o eye follows the can
nals, and thhe
boats paass away unnder the briddge in atmoospheric ligh
ht. All the joy of Venicce is in that play of lighht
on broaad brick surrfaces, lightt which is cast
c up from
m the waterr and dancees and shim
mmers on thhe
marble faades.
w in 15022, as well ass others in 1505
1
and 15506. He leftt word that he was to be
b
Gentile made his will
buried in
i SS. Giovvanni e Paollo, and beggged his brotther Giovannni to finishh the work in
n the Scuola,
in returrn for whichh he is to receive
r
theiir fathers sketch-book
s
k. The unfinnished piecce is the S
St.
Mark prreaching at Alexandriaa, and it shows Gentilee still developing his caapacity as a painter. It is
pale in colour but brilliant
b
in sunlight.
s
Thhe mass of white
w
givenn by the headd-dresses of the Turkissh
women is cleverly subdued soo as not to detract
d
from
m the effect of
o the sunligght. The thrronged effecct
of the great squarre is studieed with moore than hiss usual carre, and the faces havee all the olld
individuuality. The foremost figures in the crowd have a colour and riichness wh
hich we maay
attributee to Giovannnis hand.
Gentile was alwayys fully empployed, and the detailed
d paintings of functionns became very
v
populaar;
but he was a far less
l
modernn painter thhan his brotther, and, in
i fact, theyy represent two distincct
artistic generationns, though Gentiles work was so much the most elaborate and, as thhe
us.
quattroccento wouldd have thouught, the moost ambitiou
Gentile is essentiaally the histtoric painterr, yet his iss a grave, sincere
s
art, and he hass an unerrinng
instinct for the righht incidentss to include.. He cuts ou
ut all unseem
mly trivialitties, his actors are sternn,
powerfuul men, the treatment is
i historic and
a contemp
porary, but not
n gossipyy. We realise the look of
o
the Vennice of his day,
d in all itts tide of huuman naturee, but we allso feel thatt he never forgot
f
that he
h
was chrronicling thhe doings of
o a city of strong men
n, and that he must paaint them, even
e
in theeir
hours of relaxationn and emotioon, so as to convey thee real dignityy and poweer which und
derlay all thhe
events of
o the Repuublic.
We gathher from hiis will and that
t
of his wife
w that th
hey had no children, w
which perhap
ps makes thhe
more naatural the affectionate terms uponn which he remained all through hhis life with
h his brotheer.
Their artistic
a
symppathies muust have difffered widely. Gentiles love for historical research, foor
costumee and for paageants, fouund no echoo in the deep
per idealism
m of Giovannniindeed
d, his offer of
o
the fam
mous sketch--book, as ann inducemeent to the lattter to finishh his last grreat work, seems
s
to hinnt
that it was
w an exerccise out of his
h brothers line; but he
h knew thaat Giovanni was a greatt painter, annd
did not trust it, as we might have
h
expecteed, to his asssistants, Giovanni Maansueti and Girolamo da
d
Santacrroce.

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PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W

Genttile Bellini.
Londonn.

S. Peter Martyyr; Portrait.

Milan.

B
Brera:
Preachhing of St. Mark.

Venicee.

Doge Lorenzoo Giustinianii; Miracle off True Cross; Procession of

D
o
True Crosss; Healing by
y True Cross..
L
Lady
Layard. Portrait of Sultan.
S

Antonnello da Meessina.
Antwerp.

C
Crucifixion,
1
1475.

Berlin..

T
Three
Portraitts.

Londonn.

T Saviour, 1465; Portraait; Crucifixioon, 1477.

The

Messinna.

M
Madonna
andd Saints, 1473
3.

Paris.

C
Condottiere.

Milan.

Portrait of a Humanist.
H

Venicee.

A
Academy:
Ecce Homo.

Vicenzza.

C
Christ
at the Column.
C

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CH
HAPTE
ER IX
AL
LVISE VIV
VARINI
Contem
mporary with Giovannii Bellini weere artists still
s firmly attached
a
to the past, who
w were far
fa
from suuspecting thhat he was too outstrip thhem.
One off Antonio de
d Muranos sons, Luuigi or Alv
vise Vivarinni, grew upp to follow his fathers
professiion, and was
w enrolledd in the scchool of hiis uncle, Bartolomme
B
eo. The lattter being an
a
enthusiaastic follow
wer of Squuarcione, Allvise was at
a first traiined in Padduan princiiples. Jacoppo
Bellinis efforts haad done som
mething to counteract the hard, sttatuesque P
Paduan man
nner, and haad
rendereed Mantegnnas art more
m
humaan and leess stony, but Jacoppo could not prevennt
Squarciionesque paainters from
m importinng into Venice the sttyle which he dislikeed so muchh.
Bartoloommeo threw in his loot with the Paduans, and his schoool, especiaally when reinforced
r
b
by
Alvise, maintainedd its reputatiion as long as it only had
h to comppete with loccal talent. The
T Vivarinnis
had now
w been firm
mly establisshed in Vennice for tw
wo generatioons, and weere the bestt-known annd
most poopular of heer painters. Albert Drrer, on his first
f
visit, addmired them
m more than
n the Bellinni.
When, however, Gentile
G
and his brotherr set up in Venice,
V
a hot
h rivalry aarose betweeen them annd
the old Muranese School.
S
Thee Bellini hadd come with
h their fatheer from Paddua, with all its new annd
scientiffic fashions.. They had all the presstige of relaationship with
w Manteggna, and theey shared thhe
patronaage of his poowerful empployers. Thhe striking historical
h
coompositions of Gentile were at oncce
in dem
mand by thee great connfraternities. Bartolom
mmeo had never
n
been very succeessful in his
h
dealing with oil-paainting, thouugh he had dabbled in it for some years beforre Antonello
o da Messinna
came hiis way, but the perception with which
w
the Bellini at oncce grasped the new tecchnique gavve
them thhe victory. We have only
o
to com
mpare the formless coontours of much of Bartolomme
B
eo
Vivarinnis work, thhe bladder-llike flesh-paainting of th
he Holy Chhild, with thhe clear lum
minous colouur
and firm
m delicate toouch of Genntile, to see that the onee man is leaagues aheadd of the otheer.
Alvise Vivarini
V
had more natuural affinityy with his faather than with
w his unclle. He neverr becomes so
s
exaggerrated in his forms as Bartolomme
B
eo. The exp
pression of his
h faces is much deep
per and morre
inward,, and he hass somethingg of the devotional sweeetness of eaarly art. Hiss first know
wn work is an
a
ancona of 1475 at
a Montefioorentino, inn a lonely Franciscann monasterry on the spurs
s
of thhe
Apenninnes. In the centre
c
of thhe five panels the Mado
onna sits wiith her handds pressed palm
p
to palm
m,
in adoration of thee Child asleeep across her knees. The painteer here folloows the traadition of his
father and
a uncle, especially
e
inn the Bologgna altarpieece, in whicch they colllaborated in
n 1450. Fouur
saints stand
s
on eitther side, framed
fr
in Gothic
G
paneels; it is all in the old way, and it
i is only by
b
degreess that we seee there is more
m
sweetnness in the expression,
e
b
better
modeelling in thee figures, annd
a slenderer, more graceful ouutline than the earlier ancon caan show. Onnly five yeaars after thhis
ancona at Montefiiorentino, with
w its stifff rows of isolated
i
saiints, we havve the altarrpiece in thhe
Academ
my of 14880, which was painteed for a ch
hurch in Treeviso, and here a greeat change is
immediiately apparrent. The anntiquated diivision into panels has disappeareed, nothing is left of thhe
artificiaal, Squarcioonesque deccorations, thhe attitudes are simple, and the sceene is a uniited one. Thhe
Madonnnas outstreetched hand, the suggesstion of Eccce Agnus Dei,
D
makess an appeal which draw
ws
the attenntion of all the saints to one pointt, and it is made
m
plain thhat the one idea pervad
des the entirre
assembly. The curttain, which symbolisess the sanctuary, still haangs behind the throne,, but the golld
backgroound is abanndoned. Alvvise has nott indeed, as yet, imaginned any landdscape or co
onstructed an
a

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interior, but he ligghtens the effect

e
by tw
wo arched windows
w
which let in the sky. Th
he forms arre
characteeristic of hiis idea of drawing
d
the human figure; they have the lonng thighs wiith the kneees
low dow
wn, which we
w are accuustomed to find,
f
and hee constructss a very finee and sharply contrasteed
schemee of light annd shade. There
T
is no trace of th
he statuesquue Paduan draperies. The
T Virgins
brocadeed mantle iss simply draaped, and thhe robes of the
t saints haang in long straight folds. No doubbt
Alvise, though nom
minally thee rival of thhe Bellini, has
h more afffinity with them, particularly witth
Giovannni, than witth the Paduaan artists, and
a as time goes on it is
i evident thhat he paintts with manny
glancess at what thhey were dooing. In thee altarpiecee in Berlin he construucts an elab
borate cupolla
above thhe Virgin, such
s
as Belllini was alreeady using. His saints are
a full of m
movement. In
I the end he
h
begins to attitudinnise and to display
d
those artificiall graces whhich were presently acccentuated by
b
Lotto.

Alvise Vivarini.
V
ALTARPIE
A
ECE OF 14480.
(P
Photo, Andeerson.)

Venicce.

B
had for
f some tim
me been em
mployed in the
t Sala dell Gran Con
nsiglio by thhe
In 14888 the two Bellini
Councill of Ten. Allvise, with his
h busy schhool, had ho
oped, but hittherto in vaain, to be inv
vited to enteer
into com
mpetition with
w them. At
A length he wrote the following
f
leetter:

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TO THE MOST SEREENE THE PRIINCE AND TH

HE MOST EXCELLENT
X
SIGNORIA
I am Alvisee of Muranoo,
a faithfu
ful servant of
o your Serenity and of
o this most illustrious State. I havve long beeen anxious to
t
exercisee my skill before
b
yourr Sublimityy and provee that continnued study and labourr on my paart
have not been usseless. Therrefore offerr, as a hum
mble subjeect, in honour and prraise of thaat
celebratted city, to devote mysself, withouut return of payment
p
orr reward, to the duty off producing a
canvas in the Sala del Gran Consiio, accoording to th
he method att present in use by the two brotherrs
Belliniii, and I ask no more foor the said canvas
c
than
n that I shouuld be allow
wed the exp
penses of thhe
cloth annd colours as
a well as thhe wages of the journeeymen, in thhe manner tthat has beeen granted to
t
the saidd Bellinii. When
W
I havee done I shall leave to your
y
Serenitty of his gooodness to give me in his
h
wisdom
m the price which shalll be adjudgged to be ju
ust, honest, and approopriate, in return for thhe
labour, which I shaall be enablled, I trust, to continuee to the univversal satisffaction of your
y
Serenitty
a the excelllent Governnment, to thhe grace of which
w
I moost heartily ccommend myself.
m
and of all
The m
method at prresent in usee was pressumably thee oil-paintinng establishhed by Anto
onello, whicch
was now
w being maade use of to replace the decorattions in fressco and tem
mpera whicch Guarientoo,
Pisanelllo, and Geentile da Fabriano haad executed
d, and whicch were coonstantly decaying
d
annd
sufferinng from the sea air andd the dampnness of the climate. Thhe Council accepted Alvises
A
offeer
with litttle delay, and
a he wass told to paint a pictu
ure for a space hitherrto occupieed by one of
o
Pisanelllos, and was
w given a salary of sixty ducatts a year, something
s
lless than th
hat drawn by
b
Giovannni Bellini. Unfortunate
U
ely his workk, scenes frrom the histtory of Barrbarossa, peerished in thhe
great firre of 1577.

Venice is rich in works whicch show uss what sort of painter was at thee head of th
he Muranesse
School at the time when it rivvalled that of
o the Bellin
ni. Alvise haas two readding saints on
o either sidde
of the altarpiece
a
off 1480, and of these thee Baptist is one of his best
b figuress, admirablly expressivve
of tensiion and of brooding
b
thoought. It iss large and free
f in strokke, and partticularly adv
vanced in thhe
treatmeent of the foliage.
f
Cloose by hanggs a characcter-study of
o St. Clare; type of a strenuouus,
fanaticaal old womaan, one which belongss not only to
t the period, but will be recognissed by everry
student of human nature.
n
Form
midable andd even crueel is her unfflinching gaaze; she is such
s
a figurre
ks as little likely
l
to shhow mercy to an errinng
as mighht have stood for Scottts Prioress, and look
memberr of her ordder. In conttrast, there is
i the exquiisite little Madonna

aand Child with the tw

wo
baby anngels, still shown
s
as a Bellini in thhe sacristy of the Churrch of the R
Redentore. It
I is the most
absoluteely simple and direct picture
p
of thhe kind paiinted in Vennice. The bbaby life is more perfecct
than annything that Gian. Belliini produced, and if much
m
less inttellectual thhan his Mad
donnas, therre
is all thhe tender chharm of thee primitives, combined
d with a freedom of drrapery and a softness of
o
form whhich could not
n be surpassed. The two little an
ngels are more
m
mundanne in spirit than
t
those of
o
the schhool of Bellini; they have
h
nothinng of the mystical
m
quuality, thouggh we are reminded of
o
Bellini, and the paainting is ann exercise in
i his mann
ner. In the sacristy of San Giobbe is an earlly
Annuncciation, whiich is now definitely
d
asssigned to Alvise.
A
It haas the old teender sentim
ment, and thhe
carnatioons of its drraperies aree of a lovelly tint. The priests of S.
S Giovannni in Bragorra were greaat
patrons of the schhool of the Vivarini, foor here, bessides severaal works byy Bartolom
mmeo and his
h
assistannts, is a litttle Madonnna in a sidee chapel, which
w
may be comparred with th
he Redentorre
picture.. The Mothher sits insidde a room, with the Child lying across
a
her kknees in thee same pose.
The twoo arched oppenings in thhe backgrouund of the 1480 altarpieece have become windo
ows, througgh
which we look out on a chharming lanndscape off lake and mountain. In the sam
me church a
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Resurrrection is not
n to be ovverlooked. Itt was execu
uted in 14988, and some of the gracce and beautty
of the sixteenth cenntury has crrept into it. Against thee pink flushh of dawn sttands the sw
waying figurre
of the risen
r
Christ, and beloow appear the
t heads of
o the two guards, loooking up, surprised annd
joyful. It is perhapps the very earliest exaample of that soft and sensuous ffeeling, thatt rhapsody of
o
sensatioon which was presentlyy to sweep like
l a flood over the arrt of Venicee. What a tiime must thhe
dawn of
o the sixteeenth centuryy have beenn when a man
m of sevennty, and nott the most vigorous
v
annd
advanceed of his agge, had the freshness
f
annd youthfull courage too greet it; naay, actually
y to depict its
magic and
a glamouur as Alvise does in the
t Resurrrection! Giiorgione is here anticiipated in thhe
roundneess and softtness of thee figures, annd in the efffect of lightt. Titians A
Assunta is fo
oreshadoweed
in the fervour
fe
of thhe guards expressions.
e
. Alvise, iff he never thhoroughly m
mastered thee structure of
o
the nudde, and if hiis forms keeep throughoout some to
ouch of the archaic, soome awkwarrdness in thhe
thickness of the figures,
fi
withh their rounnd heads, long thighs,, and uncerrtain proporrtions, is yeet
extraorddinarily reffined and teender in senntiment, hiss line has a natural floow and beaauty, and thhe
heads of
o his Madonnnas and saaints cannot be surpasseed in lovelinness.
His deaath came whhen the nobble altarpiecce to St. Am
mbrogio in thhe Frari waas still unfin
nished, and it
was com
mpleted by his assistaant, Marco Basaiti.
B
Thee executionn is heavy aand probablly of Basaitti,
but the venerable doctor
d
is a grand figurre, and the two young soldier sainnts on his right
r
and leeft
hand arre striking examples of the beaauty we claaim for him
m. The arcchitectural plan
p
is verry
elaboratte, but altoogether succcessful. Thhe group iss set beneaath an archhed vault supported
s
b
by
columnns and corniices. Overhhead, behindd a balustraade, is placeed a coronaation of thee Virgin. Thhe
many figures
fi
are grouped
g
so as not to innterfere with
h each otherr, and the ssword of St.. George, thhe
crozier of St. Greggory, and thhe crook off St. Ambro
ose break up
u the compposition and
d give lengtth
and linee. The facess of the sainnts are extreemely beau
utiful, and thhe two angeels making music below
w
comparre well withh those of the Bellinesquue School.
The poortraits Alviise has left
ft add to hiis reputatio
on, and rem
mind us of those of Antonello
A
d
da
Messinaa, particulaarly in the vital expression of th
he eyes, thoough they aare withoutt Antonellos
intense force. The Bernardo di Salla and
a the Maan feeding a Hawk, tthough som
me critics stiill
ke their attrribution to Alvise alm
most certainlly
ascribe them to Saavoldo, havve features which mak
correct.. Indeed, thee resemblannce of Bernaardo to the Madonna inn the 1480 aaltarpiece cannot escappe
the mosst unscientiffic observerr. There is thhe same infflated nostriil, the peculliarly curved
d mouth, annd
vivaciouus eyes.
Amongg the follow
wers of Alviise, Marco Basaiti, Bartolommeo Montagna,, and Loren
nzo Lotto arre
the mosst distinguisshed. Otherrs less direcct are Giovaanni Buoncoonsiglio andd Francesco
o Bonsignorri,
while Cima
C
da Connegliano waas for a shorrt time his greatest
g
puppil. We shalll return to th
hese later.
PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W

42

Berlin..

M
Madonna
enthhroned, with six Saints.

Londonn.

Portrait of Yoouth.

Milan.

da Collection
B
Bonomi-Cere
n: Portrait off a Man.

Napless.

M
Madonna
withh SS. Franciss and Bernarrdino.

Paris.

Portrait of Bernardo di Salla.

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Venicee.

Academy: Sevven panels of single Sainnts; Madonnaa and six

A
Saints, 14880.
Frari: S. Ambbrose enthron
ned.
M
adooring Child; R
Resurrection
S. Giovanni inn Bragora: Madonna
and Predellle.
R
Redentore:
Saacristy: Mado
onna and Chhild, with Anggels.

Viennaa.

M
Madonna.

Windsoor.

M feeding a Hawk.
Man

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CHAPTE
ER X
CARPACCIO
Vittore Carpaccio was Gentiile Belliniss most faith
hful pupil. He and hiss master sttand apart in
i
having, before the arrival of the Venetiann School prroper, captuured an aspeect and a ch
harm inspireed
by the natural beauty of thee City of the
t Sea. Gentile,
G
as we
w have seeen, paints her historiic
appearaance, and Carpaccio
C
g
gives
us som
mething of the delightt we feel too-day in heer translucennt
waters and her am
mple, sea-waashed spacees flooded with
w limpid light. Whille others were absorbeed
in assim
milating exttraneous inffluences, hee goes on his
h own wayy, painting, indeed, thee scenes thaat
were assked for, butt painting thhem in his own
o mannerr and with his
h own enjooyment.
Pageantt-pictures had been thee demand off the Venetiian State froom very earrly days. Th
he first use of
o
paintingg had beenn that madee by the Church to glorify religgion, and veery soon th
he State haad
followeed, using it to enhancee the love which
w
Veneetians bore to
t their cityy, and to brring home to
t
them thhe conscioussness of its greatness and
a glory. Pageants
P
and processioons were an integral paart
of Veneetian life. The
T people looked on att them, ofteen as they occurred, wiith more priide and sensse
of proprietorship thhan a Londdoner does at
a a coronation processsion or at thhe King goin
ng in state to
t
open Parliament. The Venetiian loved splendour
s
and
a beauty and the sttory of the citys greaat
achieveements, andd nothing prrovided so welcome
w
a subject forr the decoraation of the great publiic
halls ass portrayals of the eveents which had
h made Venice
V
famous. Artistss had been employed to
t
producee these as early
e
as thee end of thee fourteenth
h century, and
a those off the Bellin
ni and Alvisse
Vivarinni (which peerished in thhe great firee) were a reendering on modern linnes of the saame subjectts,
satisfyinng the moree advanced feeling for truth
t
and beeauty.
Besidess the Churchh and the puublic Goverrnment, we have alreaddy seen the Schools, as they werre
called, becoming important
i
em
mployers. These
T
schoo
ols were thee great orgaanised conffraternities in
i
the cause of charitty and mutuual help, whhich sprang up in Veniice in the fiifteenth cen
ntury. That of
o
St. Marrk was natuurally the fooremost, butt others were banded each
e
under their patron
n saint. Eacch
attracted numbers of rich patrons, for it was the faashion to beelong to thee confratern
nities. Richees
m
and
d for transaccting busineess were bu
uilt, and werre
and enddowments roolled in, and halls for meeting
adornedd with picttures settingg forth the legends of their patrron saints. We have already seeen
Gentile Bellini em
mployed in thhe schools of San Marrco and Sann Giovanni, and now th
he schools of
o
St. Ursuula and St. George gavve commissiions to Carp
paccio, or perhaps
p
it w
would be mo
ore correct to
t
say thatt Gentile, having
h
becoome pre-em
minent in thiis art, proviided employyment for his
h pupil annd
assistannt, and that by
b degrees Carpaccio became
b
a maestro on his
h own accoount.
A host of second-rrate painterss were plyinng side by side, discipples first of one masterr, then draw
wn
off to become
b
folloowers of a second; asssimilating th
he influencee first of onne workshop
p and then of
o
anotherr. Carpaccioo has been lately
l
identiified as a pu
upil of Lazzaro Bastiaani, who had
d a school in
i
Venice,, and the recent
r
attribbution to thhis painter of the Doge before the Mado
onna, in thhe
Nationaal Gallery, gives some countenaance to the contentionn that he w
was held to be of greaat
excellennce in his tiime.
Thoughh some histoorians advannce the sugggestion thatt Carpaccio was a nativve of Capo dIstria,
d
therre
is little proof that he
h was not, like his fatther Pietro, born a Vennetian. He seems to hav
ve worked in
i

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Venice all his lifee, his first work

w
being dated 1490
0 and his laast 1520. Inn 1527 his wife, Laura,
declaredd herself a widow.
w
The narrrative art needed
n
by thhe confrateernities was supplied inn perfectionn by Carpacccio, and onne
of his earliest
e
indeependent coommissionss was the im
mportant onne of decorrating the School
S
of St.
S
Ursula. Devotion to
t St. Ursulla was a moonopoly of the school. No one elsse had a rig
ght to collecct
offeringgs in her name
n
or to put up an image to her.
h The leegend afforrded an opp
portunity foor
paintingg varied andd dramatic scenes,
s
of which
w
Carpaaccio takes full advantaage, and thee cycle is onne
of the freshest
f
andd most charracteristic things
t
that has come down
d
to uss from the quattrocento
q
o.
Problem
ms are not conspicuous
c
s. The meddiocre masteers who havve educatedd the painteer have madde
little im
mpression onn him. He is
i entirely occupied
o
in delight in his subject and in telliing his storyy.
The story of St. Urrsula, told briefly,
b
is thaat she was the
t daughter of the Kinng of Brittan
ny. The Kinng
of Englland sends his ambasssadors to beg
b her haand for his son, Hereoo. Ursula discusses
d
thhe
proposaal with her father,
f
and makes
m
the conditions
c
th
hat Hereo, who
w is a heathen, shalll be baptizedd,
and thaat the betrotthed couplee must befoore marriagee visit the Pope
P
and thhe sacred shrines. Afteer
taking leave
l
of theeir parents, the Prince and Princeess depart on
o their exppedition, bu
ut Ursula haas
had a vision in herr sleep in whhich an anggel has anno
ounced her martyrdom.
m
. She is acco
ompanied on
o
he Pope theen
her jourrney by 11,,000 virginss, and they are receiveed by Pope Cyriacus inn Rome. Th
makes the
t return journey
j
witth them as far as Colo
ogne, wheree, however,, they are assaulted
a
annd
massacrred by the Huns,
H
after which Ursuula is accorrded a splenndid funerall, and is can
nonised. Thhe
thirteenn scenes in which the story
s
is toldd are arrang
ged on ninee canvases, and the paainter has noot
executeed them in the chronollogical ordeer, some off the latest events beinng the least complete in
i
artistic skill. Professsor Leonelllo Venturi assigns
a
the following dates
d
to the list:
1. The ambassador
a
rs of the Kinng of England meet tho
ose of the King
K
of Britttany to ask for
f the handd
of Ursuula. Probablyy painted frrom 1496-988.
2. (On same
s
canvaas) Ursula diiscusses thee proposal with
w her fathher. 1496-988.
3. The King
K
of Britttany dismisses the am
mbassadors. 1496-98.
4. The ambassador
a
rs return to the
t King off England. 1496-98.
5. An anngel appearrs to Ursula in her sleepp. 1492.
6, 7, 8. The betrothhed couple take
t
leave of
o their respective parennts, and the Prince meeets Ursula.
1495.
9. The betrothed
b
coouple and thhe 11,000 virgins
v
meett the Pope. 1492.
1
10. Theey arrive at Cologne.
C
14490.
11, 12. The massaccre by the Huns.
H
The Funeral. 1495.
13. Thee saint appeaars in glory, with the palm of marttyrdom, vennerated by thhe 11,000 virgins
v
and
receivedd in heavenn by the Eterrnal Father. 1491.

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No. 10 is a small canvas, succh as mightt naturally have been chosen for a first expeeriment. Thhe
heads are
a large wiith coarse feeatures, andd the proporrtions of thhe figures arre poor. Th
he face of thhe
saint inn glory (No. 13), plumpp and withoout much ex
xpression, iss of the type of Bastian
nis saints. It
may be assumed thhat such a great
g
schemee of decorattion would not have beeen entrusteed to any onne
who waas not alreaady well knnown as an independen
nt master, but
b perhapss Carpaccio, who woulld
have beeen about thirty whenn the workk was begu
un, was stiill principaally engrosssed with thhe
conventtional, eccleesiastical suubject. The heads of the virgins prressing rounnd the saint appear to be
b
portraits, and weere very poossibly thoose of the wives andd daughterrs of mem
mbers of thhe
confrateernity.
The impprovement that takes place
p
is so rapid
r
that we
w can guesss how conggenial the painter
p
founnd
the taskk and how quickly he adapted his already trrained talennt. In No. 5 he takes delight
d
in thhe
opportuunity for paiinting a littlle domestic scene,thee bedroom of a young Venetian giirl, perhaps a
sister of
o his own.. The comffortable bedd, the dain
nty furniture, are careefully drawn
n. The cleaar
morningg light streaams into thee room. Thee saint lies peacefully
p
a
asleep,
her hhand under her
h head, heer
long eyyelashes resting upon her
h cheek: the
t whole is an idyll, full
f of insigght into girllish life. Thhe
tiny slipppers made, no doubt, one of the details that caught his eye. The crrown lying on the ledgge
of the bed
b is an arbbitrary introoduction, ass naf as thee angel. In thhe funeral sscene the lu
uminous lighht
is diffused over all, the youngg saint lies upon her bier
b and is followed
f
byy priest and
d deacon, thhe
crowd is
i composedd with truth to nature, the
t draperiees and garm
ments are broought into harmony
h
witth
the sky and background, and in all thosee that follow
w we find this
t quality of light. Th
he landscappe
behind the massaccre has gainned in natuural charactter, the cityy is at som
me distance,, houses annd
churchees are half buried
b
in wooods; the setting is mucch more nattural than arre the quain
nt and elegannt
pages who
w occupyy it, and who
w are drrawing theirr crossbow
ws and attaccking the martyrs
m
witth
leisurely nonchalannce. The paanel in whicch the betro
othed couple meet show
ws a great advance,
a
annd
this andd the succeeeding ones of the ambbassadors, which
w
weree painted between 149
95 and 14988,
must haave crowneed Carpaccios reputatiion. He paiints Venice in its mostt fascinating
g aspect; thhe
enamellled beauty of its marbbles, its skyy and sea, itts palaces and
a ships, tthe rich and
d picturesquue
dresses men wore in the streets, the bargge glowing with
w rich veelvets. He eevinces a faiiry-tale spirrit
w may com
mpare with the work of
o Pintoriccchio. His Prrince, kneelling in a wh
hite and golld
which we
dress, with
w long faair curls, is a real fairyy prince; Urrsula, in herr red dress and puffed
d sleeves, heer
ripplingg, flaxen haair and strinngs of pearrls, is a prin
ncess of stoory. Carpacccios art iss simple annd
garrulouus in feelinng, his conception is ass unpassionate as the fancies
f
of a child, but he
h has a truue
love forr these gay crowds; Veenice going upon her gaallant way
her solid, worthy citiizens, men of
o
substannce, shrewdd and valuaable, taking their pleassure serioussly with a sense of reesponsibilityy.
They thhrong the strreets and crross over thee bridges, every
e
figure is full of frreedom and vitality. Thhe
arrival and dismisssal of the am
mbassadorss are the best of all thee scenes. Inn the middlee of the greaat
stage King
K
Mauruss of Brittanyy sits upon a Venetian terrace. In the
t colonnade to the lefft is gathereed
a groupp of Venetiaan personagges, memberrs of the Lo
oredano fam
mily, which was a speccial patron of
o
St. Ursuulas Guildd, and gave this panel. The types are all viviidly realisedd and differrentiated: thhe
courtierr looking critically
c
at the arrivalls; the fran
nkly curiouss bourgeoissie; the man
n of fashioon
passingg with his nose
n
in the air, disdainning to staree too closelly; the fop with his do
ogs and theeir
dwarf keeper.
k
Far beyond streetch the laggoons; the sea
s and air of Venice cclear and frresh. What is
noticeabble even noow in an Itaalian crowdd, the absen
nce of wom
men, was theen most tru
ue to life, foor
except on special occasions they
t
were not
n seen in the streets, but were kept in alm
most Orientaal
seclusioon. The dism
missal of thhe ambassaddors affordss the opporrtunity for ddrawing an interior witth
the street visible thhrough a dooorway. A group
g
at the side, of a man
m dictatinng a letter and
a the scribbe
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taking down
d
his words,
w
writinng laborioussly, with hiss shoulders hunched annd his head on one side,
is excelllent in its quiet realityy. The sam
me life-like vivacity is displayed iin Ursulas consultatioon
with heer father. Thhe old nursee crouched upon
u
the steeps is introdduced to breeak the line and to throw
w
back thhe main grooup. Carpacccio has alreeady used such
s
a figuure in the fuuneral scenee, and Titiaan
himselff adopts his suggestion..

Caarpaccio. ARRIVAL
L OF THE AMBASSA
ADORS.
(P
Photo, Andeerson.)

Venice.

Carpacccio is not a very greatt painter, but a charm

ming one. His treatmennt of light and
a water, of
o
distant hills
h and treees, shows a sense of peace
p
and po
oetry, and thhough he is influenced by Gentiles
splendidd realistic heads,
h
the tyype which appeals
a
to him
h is gentler and moree idealised. His fancy is
caught by Orientall details, too which Gentile would
d naturally have
h
directted his atten
ntion, and of
o
which there
t
was noo lack in Veenice at thiss time. All his
h episodes are very cllearly illustrrated, and his
h
popularr brush was kept busilyy employed. He took a share with other assisttants in the series whicch
Gentile was paintting in S. Giovanni
G
E
Evangelista.
. In 1502 the
t Dalmattians inhabiting Venicce
n founded fifty
f
years eearlier, for the relief of
o
resolvedd to decoraate their schhool, whichh had been
destitute Dalmatiaan seamen in
i Venice. The subjeccts were to be selectedd from the lives of thhe
Saviourr and the paatron saints of Dalmatiaa and Alban
nia, St. Jeroome, St. Geoorge of the Sclavonianns,
and St. Tryphonius. The ninee panels andd an altarpiece which Carpaccio ddelivered between 15002
and 15008 still adoorn the smaall but dignified Hall of
o the school. His Jerrome in hiss Study haas
nothingg ascetic, buut shows a prosperous
p
Venetian ecclesiastic seated
s
in hiis well-furn
nished librarry
among his books and writinggs. He is leess successful in his scenes
s
from
m the life of
o Christ; thhe
Gethsem
mane is an obvious im
mitation of Mantegna;
M
but when he
h leaves hiis own stylee he is weaak
and pooor, and imagginary scenes are quitee beyond him
m. In the deeath and intterment of St.
S Jerome he
h
gives a delightful impression of the peacce of the olld convent garden,
g
andd in the scen
ne where thhe
t
mo
onks he letss a sense off humour haave free playy.
lion intrroduced by the saint sccatters the terrified
The monks in thheir long garments,
g
e
escaping
in
n all directtions, are rreally com
mical, and in
i
conjuncction with thhe ingratiatiing smile of the lion, th
he scene paasses into thhe region off broad farce.
We divvine the sam
me sense off the comicc in the sceene in St. Ursulas
U
hisstory, wheree the 11,0000
virgins are hurryinng in single file along a winding ro
oad which disappears
d
oout of the picture. In thhe
o again achiieves a massterpiece. The
T force annd
principaal scene in the life of St. George,, Carpaccio
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vivacityy of the saaint in armour charginng the drag

gon, lingerss long in tthe memory
y. The longg,
decorative lines off lance and war-horse and dragon
n throw backk the wholee landscapee. The details
show an
a almost childish
c
dellight in thee realisation
n of ghoulish horrorss. He ratherr injures his
h
Triumpph of St. George
G
by his anxietyy to bring in the Tem
mple of Soloomon at Jeerusalem; thhe
flying flags
f
distracct the eye, and the whhole scene is one of confusion,
c
bbroken up into
i
differennt
parts, while
w
the draagon is reduuced to verry unterrifyiing insignifficance. His series for the
t school of
o
the Albbanians deallt with the life of the Virgin, wh
ho was theirr special paatron. Its reemains are at
a
Bergam
mo, Milan, and
a in the Academy. The single figures in the Preseentation, th
he priest annd
maiden, are excelllent. A chilld at the siide of the steps,
s
leadinng a unicorrn, emblem
m of chastityy,
shows once
o
more what
w a holdd this use off a figure haad taken of him. In the Visitation
n the figurees
are too much scattered, and thhe fantastic buildings attract
a
moree attention thhan the wom
men. He stiill
produceed altarpieces, and the Presentatioon of the Inffant Christ in
i the Tempple, which he
h was calleed
upon too paint for San
S Giobbee, where onne of Bellinis most fam
mous altarppieces stood
d, challengeed
him to put forth all
a his strenngth. He neever producced anythingg more sim
mple and no
oble or morre
worthy of the cinnque-cento than this altarpiece
a
(n
now in the Academy)). It surpasses Bellinis
arrangeement in thee way in whhich the perrsonages aree raised upoon a step, w
while the dom
me overheaad
and the angel musiicians below
w give them
m height and
d dignity. The
T contrastt between th
he infant annd
the youuthful womaan and the old
o men is purposely
p
marked.
m
Suchh a contrastt between youth and agge
is a verry favourite one. Bellinni, in the saame church,, draws it between SS. Sebastian and Job, annd
Alvise Vivarini, inn his last paainting, balaances a verry youthful Sebastian w
with St. Jerrome. This is
the mosst grandiose, the leastt of a genree picture off all Carpaccios creattions, altho
ough he doees
make Simeon into a pontiff with
w attendannt cardinalss bearing his train. Onee of his last works is thhe
S. Vitalle over the high
h
altar of
o the churchh of that naame, where we forgive the wooden
n appearancce
of the horse
h
whichh the saint riides for the sake of thee simple diggnity of the rider and th
he airy effecct
given by
b the balcoony overheaad. Nor muust we forget that studdy of the T
Two Courteesans in thhe
Museo Civico, fulll of the sarccasm of a deeep realism
m. It conveyss to us the m
matter-of-faact monotonny
l
hot daays, and the women and
a the anim
mals with which
w
they are beguiliing their idlle
of the long,
hours are
a painted with the greatest
g
inteelligence. Itt carries uss back to aanother phaase of life in
i
Carpacccios Venicce, seen thrrough his observant,
o
humorous
h
eyyes, and iff there is no
othing in his
h
colour distinctive
d
o the impeending Veneetian richneess, it is still arresting iin its brilliaant limpidityy;
of
it seemss drawn straaight from the
t transparent canals and
a radiant lagoons.
l
We appprehend thee differencee at once inn Bastiani and
a in Mannsueti, who essay the same sort of
o
compossitions. Theey studied grouping
g
caarefully, an
nd it must have
h
seemeed easy eno
ough to painnt
their caareful archittecture and to place citizens in cosstume with appropriatee action in a Miracle of
o
the Crooss, or the Preachingg of St. Marrk; but these pictures are dry andd crowded, they give no
n
illusionn of truth, thhere is nonee of the careeless realism
m of Carpacccios crowds,of incidents takinng
place which
w
are noot essential to the storyy, and, as in
n life, are onnly half seeen, but whicch have theeir
share inn producinng a full annd varied illusion.
i
Th
he scenes want
w
the aair and dep
pth in whicch
Carpacccios picturres are enveeloped. We are not stim
mulated andd charmed, taken into the outer air
a
and reffreshed by these heavvy personagges, standin
ng in rows, painted iin hot, dry colour, annd
carryingg no convicction in theirr glance andd action.

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PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W

Berlin..

M
Madonna
andd Saints; Con
nsecration of Stephen.

Ferraraa.

D
Death
of Virggin.

Milan.

Presentation of
o Virgin; Marriage of Viirgin; St. Steephen
disputing.

Paris.

St. Stephen prreaching.

Stuttgaart.

M
Martyrdom
off St. Stephen
n.

Venicee.

Academy: Thhe History off St. Ursula annd the 11,0000 Virgins;
A
Presentatioon in the Tem
mple.
M
Museo
Correrr: Visitation; Two Courteesans.
S. Giorgio deggli Schiavon
ne: History off SS. Georgee and
Tryphoniuss; Agony in the
t Garden; Christ
C
in the House of th
he
Pharisee; History
H
of St.. Jerome.
S. Vitale: Altaarpiece to S. Vitale.
Lady Layard. Death of thee Virgin; St. Ursula takinng leave of heer
L
Father.

Viennaa.

C
Christ
adored by Angels.

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CH
HAPTE
ER XI
GIO
OVANNI BELLINI
B
The diffference beetween Giann. Bellini and
a his acccomplished brother, thhat which makes
m
us so
s
conscioous that the first was thhe greater of the two an
nd which seets him in a later artistiic generatioon
than Geentile, is a difference
d
off mind. Succh pageant-p
pictures as we
w hear thatt Giovanni was engageed
upon have
h
all been destroyeed. We maay suspect that their compositioon was nott particularlly
congeniial to him, and
a that the strictly reliigious pictu
ures and the small alleggorical studiies, by whicch
we musst judge him
m, were moore after hiis heart. It is
i his poetiic and ideall feeling wh
hich adds so
s
stronglyy to his claiim to be a great
g
artist; it
i was this which
w
drew all men to him and en
nabled him so
s
powerfuully to influuence the artt of his day in Venice.
Jacopos wife, Anna, in a will of 1429, leaves everrything to her
h two sonns, Gentile and
a Niccoloo.
Giovannni was eviddently not her
h son, but Vasari speaaks of him as the elderr of the two
o, so that it is
very poossible that he
h was an illlegitimate child, broug
ght up, afterr the fashionn that so oft
ften obtainedd,
in the full
f privilegges of his fathers
f
houuse. Docum
ments show that Jacoppo Bellini was
w living in
i
Venice in 1437, firrst near the Piazza, andd afterwardss in the parissh of San L
Lio. He was a member of
o
S. Giovvanni Evanggelista, and probably one
o of the leeading artissts of the city. His two
o sons helpeed
him in his great decorative works, andd also wen
nt with him
m to Padua,, where he painted thhe
Gattamalata Chapeel. Their reelative posittion is sugg
gested by a document of 1457, which
w
recordds
d
on clotth, put in th
he Great Haall
that thee father receeived twentyy-one ducatts for threee figures, done
of the Patriarch,
P
o
only
two off which werre to go to the
t son. In 1459 Gian. Bellinis signature firrst
appearss on a document, and at
a about thiis time we may
m supposse that he aand his brotther began to
t
executee small com
mmissions onn their own account. On
O these visiits to Paduaa the intimaccy must havve
sprung up, which led to Manntegnas marriage in 1453 with Jacopos daaughter. Att Padua, tooo,
nspiration leeft there byy Donatello,, the greatest
Bellini, in companny with Manntegna, drannk in the in
master that either of them enncountered. It was the humanisticc and naturaalistic side of Donatelllo
t
Gioovanni Belliini, more thhan all his classic
c
lore. It chimed iin, too, with
h his fathers
which touched
gracefuul and fanciiful quality,, and there is no doub
bt that the Venetian
V
paainters soon
n exercised a
markedd influence on Manteegna. They fought for
fo him witth Squarcioone, and even in thhe
Eremitaani frescoees he beginns to losee his purelly statuesquue type annd to beco
ome franklly
Renaisssance. In thhe later scennes of the series a perrgola with grapes, a V
Venetian caampanile annd
doorwaay replace his
h classic towers and arches of trriumph. In the Martyyrdom of Stt. James thhe
couple walking byy and payingg no attentiion whateveer to the traagic event, aare very lik
ke the peoplle
whom Gentile
G
introoduces in his backgrouunds.
There are
a few docuuments morre interestinng in the histtory of art than
t
the twoo pictures off the Agonny
in the Garden,
G
exxecuted by the brotheers-in-law, about
a
14555, from a ddesign by Jaacopo in thhe
British Museum skketch-book. Jacopo draaws the mou
und-like hilll, Christ knneeling befo
ore the visioon
C
the figures wraapt in slumbber, and the distant tow
wn. In few pictures up to
t this time is
of the Chalice,
the landdscape concceived in suuch sympathhy with the figures.
f
As we look at this sketch and examinne
the twoo finished composition
c
ns, which itt is so fortu
unate to finnd in juxtapposition in the Nationaal
Galleryy, we surmise that the two artists agreed to carry out thhe same ideea and each
h to give his
h
version of Jacopos suggestionn, and very curious it iss to see the rendering eeach has pro
oduced.

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Manteggna has madde use of thee most form

mal and Squ
uarcionesquee contours iin his surrou
undings. Thhe
rocks arre of an unnnatural, geoological struucture. Thee towers of Jerusalem are defined
d in elaboratte
perspecctive, and a band of classic
c
figurres fills thee middle diistance. Thee sleeping forms
f
of thhe
disciplees are laid about
a
like soo many drapped statues taken from
m their pedestals. The choir
c
of chilld
angels is solid annd leaves nothing
n
to the
t imaginaation, and if it were not for thee beautifullly
conceivved Christ, the whole composition
c
n would leaave us quitee unmoved. On the oth
her hand, we
w
can nevver look att Bellinis version wiithout a freesh thrill. He, like M
Mantegna, has
h followeed
Jacopos scheme of
o winding roads
r
and thhe city set on a hill, and has draawn the adv
vancing bannd
of soldiiers; but, inndependent of all detaails, he gives us the vision
v
of a poet. The still dawn is
breakinng over the broadly paainted landsscape, the rosy
r
shafts of light aree colouring the sky annd
casting their magiic over eveery commoon object, and,
a
lonely and absorbbed, the Saacred Figurre
kneels, wrapt into the Heavenly Vision,, which is hardly
h
moree definite thhan a stron
nger beam of
o
light uppon the radiiance. One of
o the disciiples, at leasst, is a succcessful and natural stud
dy of a tireddout mann, whose heead has falllen back annd whose ev
very limb has
h relaxed in sleep. Bellini
B
is lesss
assuredd, less accom
mplished thhan Manteggna, but hee is able to touch us w
with the paathos of botth
natural and spirituaal feeling.
t picture,, critics placce the Cru
ucifixion annd Transfiiguration of
o the Museeo
Even eaarlier than this
Correr and
a our ow
wn Salvatorr Mundi. In 1443, wh
hen Giovannni was a young man off four or fivve
and tweenty, San Bernardino
B
had held a great reviival at Paddua, and thee whole off Venice haad
throngeed to hear him.
h
It is very possible, as Mr. Roger
R
Fry suggests
s
in his Life off Bellini, thaat
Giovannnis emotioonal temperament had been workeed upon byy the preachhers eloqueence, and thhe
very pooignant feeelings of loove and piity which his early art
a expresses were th
he deliberatte
consequuence of hiss sympathy with the deeep religiouss mysteries expoundedd.
In the tw
wo picturess in the Corrrer, Bellini is
i still going
g with the Paduan
P
currrent. In both
h we have thhe
windingg roads so characterisstic of his father, but the rocks in the Traansfiguratio
on have thhe
jointed,, arbitrary character of Mantegnas and the drraperies are plastered too the forms beneath; yeet
the figuures here haave a beautty and a diggnity which
h no reprodduction seem
ms able to convey. Thhe
feeling is already more
m
impossing than thee execution
n. Christ andd the two prrophets tow
wer up againnst
the beltt of clouds, the centraal figure coonveying a sense of pathetic
p
isollation; whille below, St.
S
Johns attitude bettrays a statte of tensioon, the feet being draw
wn up and contorted. This picturre
preparees us for the overwhelm
ming emotioon we find in
n the Redeeemer and the group of
o Piets. Thhe
treatmeent of the Christ
C
was a development of the early
e
motif of angels fflying forwaard on eitheer
side off the Cross,, but here the
t sacred blood pourring into thhe chalice iis also sacrramental annd
connectted with thee intensifiedd religious fervour
f
which had led to the founddation of th
he Franciscaan
and Dominican ordders, illustraations of whhich are meet with in thhe miniaturees and wood
d-engravinggs
of fifteenth-centurry books off devotion. The accesssories, the antique relliefs, the lo
ow wall, thhe
distant buildings, have
h
an alleegorical meaning underrlying eachh one, and common to trecento
t
andd,
in a lesss degree, to
t quattroceento art. Parradise regained is signnified by thhe paved co
ourt with thhe
open dooor, in conntradistinction to the Hortus
H
Clau
usus, or ennclosed couurt; the type of the olld
covenannt. In one of
o the bas-reeliefs Muciuus Scaevolaa thrusts his hand into tthe fire, the ancient typpe
of heroic readinesss to suffer. The other represents
r
a pagan saccrifice, foreeshadowing the sacrificce
upon thhe Cross. Figures
F
in thhe backgroound are leaaving a ruinned templee and makin
ng their waay
towardss the new Christian
C
cityy, fortified and crowneed with a chhurch towerr, and in thee midst of all
a
this sym
mbolism, Chhrist and thee attendant angel are pllaced, vibraating with neervous feeliing.

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During the next few

w years, Beellini devoteed himself to
o two subjeects of the highest devo
otional orderr.
These are
a the Madonna and Child,
C
the greeat exercisee in every agge for painters, and thee Piet,
which he
h has madee peculiarly his own.

T. Breraa, Milan.
Gioovanni Belllini. PIET
(Photo, Brrogi.)
Close by,
b at Paduaa, Giotto hadd left a renddering of the last subject, so full oof passionatee sorrow that
it is haardly possibble that it should nott, if only half
h
conscioously, havee stimulated
d the artistiic
sensibillities of the most sensiitive of painnters; but Bellinis
B
patthos shrinkss from all exaggeration
e
n.
He connceives grief with the tenderest
t
innsight. His interest in the subjectt was so inttense that he
h
never leeft the execcution to otthers, and though
t
not a single onne bears hiis signature, yet each is
entirelyy by his ownn hand. Besides the Pieet at Milan, which is perhaps
p
the bbest known
n, there is onne
in the Correr
C
Museeum, anotheer in the Dooges Palace, and yet others
o
at Riimini and att Berlin. Thhe
version he adopts,, which plaaces the Body of Chrisst within thhe sarcophaagus, was a favourite in
i
I
Donaatello uses it in a bass-relief (now
w in the Victoria
V
andd Albert Museum),
M
buut
North Italy.
whetherr he broughht or foundd the suggeestion in Paadua nothinng exists too show. Jaccopo has leeft
sketchees in whichh the wholle group iss within th
he tomb, annd this renndering is followed by
b
Carpacccio, Crivelli, Marco Zoppo, and others.
o
It iss never founnd in trecennto art, and
d is probablly
traceablle to the Padduan impulse to make use of classsic remains.
Giovannni Bellinis Piets fall into two grroups. In on
ne, the Chrisst is placed between th
he Virgin annd
St. Johnn, who are embodimennts of the aggony of berreavement. In the otherr, the dead Redeemer is
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supportted by angells, who exppress the am

mazement an
nd grief of immortal beeings who seee their Lorrd
sufferinng an indignnity from whhich they arre immune.

Mary annd St. Johnn inside the sarcophaguus shows th

hat they are conceived mystically; Mary as thhe
Church, and St. Joohn as the personificaation of Christian Phillosophya significancce frequentlly
attachedd to these fiigures. Suchh a picture was
w designeed to hang over
o
the altaar, at which
h the mysticaal
sacrifice of the Maass was perppetually offeered.
In his trreatment off the Brera example Beellini has sh
haken off thhe Paduan ttradition, an
nd is forminng
his ownn style and giving
g
free play to his own feelin
ng. The windding roads and evening
g sky, barreed
with cloouds, are thhe accessoriies he used in the Ago
ony in the Garden,
G
buut the figurees are treateed
much more
m
boldly; the draperry falls in broad
b
massees, and scarccely a tracee is left of sculpturesqu
s
ue
treatmeent. Careful as is the stuudy of the nude,
n
everytthing is subbordinated too the emotio
on expresseed
by the three
t
figures: the helpleess, indifferrent calm off the dead, the
t tender ssolicitude off the Motheer,
the wanndering, dazzed look off the despairring friend. Here theree is nothing of beautifu
ul or pathetiic
symbol; the group is intense with
w the com
mmon sorro
ow of all thee world. Maary presses the corpse to
t
her as if
i to impartt her own liife, and gazzes with ang
guished yeaarning on thhe beloved face. Bellinni
seems to
t have passed to a moore complexx age in hiss analysis of
o suffering,, yet here iss none of thhe
extravagance whicch the primiitive masterrs share witth the Caraccci: his resttraint is as admirable as
a
his intennsity.

In the Rimini
R
versiion the tendder concernn and questio
oning surprrise of the aattendant an
ngels contraast
with thee inert weigght of the beautiful
b
deead body they support. Their childdish limbs and
a butterfl
fly
wings make
m
a sinuuous patternn against thee lacquered black of thhe ground-w
work, and Mr.
M Roger Frry
makes the interestting suggesstion that the
t effect, reminiscent
r
t of Greek vase-paintting, and thhe
likenesss of the Heead of Chrisst to an oldd bronze, may,
m
in a coomposition painted forr Sigismonddo
Malatessta, be no mere
m accidennt, but a conncession to the
t patronss enthusiasm
m for classicc art.
In 14700 Bellini reeceived his first comm
mission in the Scuola di San M
Marco. Gentiile had beeen
employyed there sinnce 1466 on
o the history of the Issraelites in the desert. Bellini agrreed to painnt
The Deluge
D
and the
t Ark of Noah
N
with all its atten
ndant circum
mstances, but of these, except from
m
Vasaris descriptioons, we cann form no iddea. These great pageaant-picturess had becom
me identifieed
a
their following,
f
w
while
the production
p
of altarpieeces was peeculiarly thhe
with thhe Bellini and
provincce of the Vivarini.
V
Heere Bellini effected a change, foor sacred ssubjects besst suited thhe
restrainned and sim
mple perfectiion of his style,
s
and afforded
a
thee most symppathetic opeening for his
h
idealistiic spirit. Foor the next twenty years or moree, however, he was unnavoidably absorbed in
i
public work,
w
for we
w hear of his
h being givven the direection of thhat which G
Gentile left unfinished
u
i
in
the Duucal Palace when he went to thhe East in 1479. In 1492,
1
Giovvanni being
g ill, Gentille
superinttended the work for him,
h
and inn that year he was apppointed to ppaint in thee Hall of thhe
Grand Council,
C
at an annual salary of sixty
s
ducatss. Other commissions were turneed out of thhe
bottegaa he had set up with hiss brother in 1471, and between thaat year and 1480 he weent to Pesarro
to paintt the importtant altarpieece that stilll holds its place
p
there. It is in som
me ways the greatest annd
most poowerful thinng that Bellini ever acccomplished
d. The centrral figures and the atteendant sainnts
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have a large graviity and careefully studieed individu

uality. St. Jeerome, absoorbed in his theologicaal
books, an ascetic recluse, is admirably contrasted with the syympathetic,, cultured St.
S Paul. Thhe
landscaape, set in a marble frrame, is a gem of beaauty, and proves
p
whaat an appeall nature waas
makingg to the paiinter. The predella,
p
illlustrating th
he principal scenes inn the lives of the sainnts
around the altar, iss full of Oriental costum
mes. The ho
orses are sm
mall Easternn horses, veery unlike thhe
ponderoous Italian war-horse, and the whhole is evid
dently inspired by the sketches which
w
Gentille
broughtt back on hiis return froom Constanttinople in 14
481.
Lookingg from onee to anotherr of the cyccle of Mado
onna picturres which B
Bellini prod
duced, and of
o
which so
s many hanng side by side
s
in the Academy,
A
we
w are able to note how
w his conceeption variedd.
In one of the earliiest the Chiild lies acrooss its Moth
hers knee, in the attittude borrow
wed from his
h
father and
a the Vivvarini, from whom, tooo, he takes the upliftedd hands, plaaced palm to
t palm. Thhe
earlier pictures
p
aree of the genntle and addoring type,, but his latter Madonnnas are stateely Venetiaan
ladies. He gives us
u a queenlyy woman, with
w full th
hroat and sttately poisee, in the Maadonna deggli
Alberi, in which the
t two littlle trees aree symbols of
o the Old and
a New T
Testament; or,
o again, he
h
f
with chiselled
c
an
nd refined features, aand sad darrk eyes, annd
paints a lovely inntellectual face
contrastts it dramaatically withh the blufff St. Georg
ge in armouur; and there is anoth
her Madonnna
betweenn St. Franciis and St. Caatherine, a picture
p
whicch has a currious effect of artificiall light.

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CH
HAPTE
ER XII
GIOVAN
NNI BELLIINI (continuued)
In 14977 the Maggiior Consiglio of the Venetian
V
Rep
public appoointed Bellinni superinteendent of thhe
Great Hall,
H
and conferred on him the honnourable tittle of State Painter.
P
In tthis capacitty he was thhe
overseeer of all pubblic works of paintingg, and was expected to devote a part of hiss time to thhe
decoration of the Hall. Sansoovino enum
merates ninee of his hisstorical painntings, whiich had beeen
painted before thee State appoointment, all
a having reference
r
too the visit oof Pope Alexander; buut
though he must haave been much
m
engrossed, he seeems to havee suspendedd the work from time to
t
time, foor between 1485 and 1488 he painnted the large altarpiecce in the Fraari, that at San
S Pietro in
i
Muranoo, and the one
o in the Academy,
A
w
which
was paainted for San
S Giobbe.. Of these th
hree, the laast
shows the
t greatestt advance and
a is fullesst of experiiment. The Madonna iis a grand ecclesiastica
e
al
figure. It has been said with truth
t
that it is a picturee which muust have affforded greatt support annd
dignity to the Churrch. The Innfant has ann expression
n of omnisciience, and tthe Mother gazes out of
o
the pictture, extendding invitatiion and enccouragemen
nt to the advvancing worshippers. The
T religiouus
feeling is less proffound; the artist
a
has beeen more ab
bsorbed in the contrast between the
t beautifuul,
youthfuul body of St. Sebastian and thaat of St. Giobbe, olderr but not eemaciated, and
a with thhe
exquisitte surface that
t
his now
w completee mastery of
o oil-paintting enabledd him to prroduce. Thhis
techniquue has eviddently beenn a great deelight, and is here carrried to perrfection; thee skin of St.
S
Sebastiaan gleams with a glooss like thhe coat of a horse inn high conndition. Eveerything thaat
architeccture, sculpture, and riich materiall can supply
y is borrow
wed to enhaance the graandeur of thhe
group; but the linee of sight is still closee to the botttom of the picture, annd if it weree not for thhe
exquisitte grace witth which thee angels aree placed, thee Madonna would havee a broad, cllumsy effecct.
The Maadonna of the
t Frari is the most spplendid in colour
c
of all
a his workks. As he paaints the ricch
light off a golden innterior and the
t fused annd splendid
d colours, hee seems to ppass out of his
h own tim
me
i to follow
w. The Murrano altarpiiece is quitte a differennt
and givves a foretaaste of the glory that is
concepttion; insteadd of the secclusion of thhe sanctuarry, it is a sm
miling, pleinn air scenee: the Motheer
benign, the Child soft
s and plaayful, the olld Doge Baarbarigo andd the patronn saints kneeeling amonng
bright birds,
b
and a garden andd medival townlet filling up the background
b
d, for which, by the wayy,
he usess the same sketch as in the Pesarro picture. It says mucch for his vversatility that
t
he coulld
within a short timee produce thhree such different verssions.
Amongg Bellinis most
m
fascinaating achievvements in the last years of the ffifteenth cen
ntury are his
h
allegoriical paintinggs, known to
t us by thee Plerinag
ge de lmee in the Ufffizi and the little seriees
in the Academy.
A
T meaninng of the firrst has been
The
n unravelledd by Dr. Luudwig from
m a medivaal
poem by
b Guillaum
me de Guilleeville, a Cisstercian mon
nk who wroote about 13335, and it is interestinng
to see thhe hold it has
h taken onn Bellinis mystic
m
spiriit. The paveed space, seet within thee marble raiil,
signifiees, as in the Salvator Mundi,
M
thee Paradise where
w
soulss await the Resurrectio
on. The new
wborn souls cluster round
r
the Tree
T of Life and shake its
i boughs. The
T poem ssays:
Thhere is no piilgrim who is not someetimes sad
Whho has not those
t
who wound
w
his heart,
h
Annd to whom
m it is not oft
ften necessarry
Too play and be
b solaced
Annd be sootheed like a child

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With somethinng comfortiing.

Knnow that thoose playing
Thhere in orderr to allay thheir sorrow
Haave found beneath that tree
Ann apple that great comffort gives
Too those that play with itt.[2]

Giovan
nni Bellini. AN ALL
LEGORY.
Photo, Andeerson.)
(P

Florencee.

s
l comfort. St.
S Peter annd St. Paul guard the door, besidde
This may be an allusion to sacramental
which the
t Madonnna and a saint
s
sit in holy conveersation. A very beautiful figure on the lefft,
wrapped in a blackk shawl, requires explanation, and it has beeen suggesteed that it is the donor, a
woman who may have
h
lost huusband and children,
c
an
nd who, stilll in life, is inntroduced, watching thhe
happineess of the soouls in Paraadise. SS. Giobbe
G
and Sebastian, who
w might have stepped out of thhe
San Gioobbe altarppiece, are obviously thhe patron saaints of thee family, annd St. Cath
herine, at thhe
Virgins side, mayy be the donnors own saint.
s
This picture,
p
witth its delicioous landscaape bathed in
i
atmosphheric lightt, is a foorerunner of
o those Giorgionesq
G
que compoositions off pure annd
unquesttioning deliight in the sensuous charm
c
of raare and beauutiful thinggs in which
h the artistiic
nature is
i even more engrosseed than withh the intellectual concception, andd within its small spacce
Bellini seems to haave enshrinned all his artistic
a
creed
d. The alleggories in thee Academy are also fuull
of meanning. They are decorattive works, and were probably
p
paiinted for soome small cabinet.
c
Theey
seem tooo small forr a cassone.. They are ruined
r
by over-paintin
o
ng, but still full of gracce and fancyy.
The figgure in the classic
c
charriot, bearingg fruit, in th
he encounteer between Luxury and
d Industry, is
drawn from
f
Jacopoos triumphant Bacchus. Fortune floats
f
in herr barque, hoolding the globe, and thhe

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souls who
w gather roound her arre some full of triumphant success, others clinnging to herr for comforrt,
while several
s
are sinking, ovverwhelmedd in the darrk waters. Prudence,

the only example

e
of a
female nude in Beellinis worrks, holds a looking-g
glass. Hypoccrisy or Caalumny is torn
t
writhinng
from hiis refuge. The
T Summ
ma Virtus iss an ugly representati
r
ion of all tthe virtues; a waddlinng
deformiity with eyees bound hoolds the scalles of justicce; the pitchher in its hannd means prudence, annd
the gold upon its feet symbolises charrity. The laandscape, both of this and of the Fortune,
resemblles that whhich he wass painting inn his largerr works at the
t end of the century
y. Soon afteer
1501 Bellini
B
enteered into relations with
w
Isabella dEste, Marchioneess of Gonzaga. Thaat
distinguuished colleector and coonnoisseur writes
w
through her agennt to get the promise off a picture, a

story orr fable of antiquity,

a
to be placeed in position with thhe allegoriees which Mantegna
M
haad
contribuuted to her Paradiso. Bellini aggreed to sup
pply this, and
a receivedd twenty-fiv
ve ducats on
o
accountt. He seemss, however, to have felt that he would
w
be at a disadvanntage in com
mpeting witth
Manteggna on his own grouund, and assks to be allowed
a
to choose hiis subject. Isabela waas
unwillinngly obliged to contennt herself wiith a sacred picture, annd a Nativiity was sellected. She is
at once full of sugggestions, deesiring to addd a St. John
n Baptist, whom
w
Bellinni demurs at introducinng
except as a child, but in Apriil 1504 the commissio
on is still unnaccomplishhed, and Isaabela angrilly
demandds the returrn of her money.
m
Thiis brings a letter of humble
h
apoology from Bellini, annd
presentlly the pictuure is forw
warded. Loreenzo of Pavia writes that it is qquite beautiful, and thaat
thoughh Giovanni has behavedd as badly as
a possible, yet the badd must be takken with the good. Thhe
joy of itts acquisitioon appeasedd Isabela, who
w at once began to laay plans to gget a furtherr work out of
o
Bellini, and in 15005 Bembo wrote
w
to her that he would take a fresh
f
comm
mission alwaays providinng
m the cataloogue of herr Mantovan pictures wee gather thaat the picturre
he mighht fix the suubject. From
sul assse (on panel) repreesented thee B.V., ill Putto, S. Giovanni Battista, S. Giovannni
Evangeelista, S. Girrolamo, andd Santa Cateerina.
The greeat altarpiecces which remain strikke us less by
y their reseaarch, their ppreoccupatiion with new
w
problem
ms of paint or groupinng, than by their inten
nse delight in
i beauty. B
Bellini wass now nearlly
eighty years
y
old, and
a in 15044 the youngg Giorgionee had procllaimed a revolution in
n art with his
h
Castelfrranco Madoonna. In com
mposition and
a detail th
he Madonnaa of San Zacccaria is in some degreee
a protesst against thhe Arcadiann, innovatinng fashion of
o approachhing a religious scene, of which thhe
Church had long since decideed on the treeatment, yett Bellini cannnot escapee the indirecct suggestioon
of the new
n
mannerr. The samee leaven waas at work in him whiich was trannsforming the
t men of a
youngerr generationn. In this alltarpiece, inn the Baptissm at Vicennza, in otherrs, perhaps,, which havve
perishedd, and abovve all in the hermit sainnt in S. Giov
vanni Crisostomo he iss linked in feeling
f
and in
i
treatmeent with the later Venettian School.
The new
w device, which
w
he addopts quite naturally, of
o raising thhe line of ssight, sets th
he figures in
i
increaseed depth. For the first time he givves height and
a majestyy to the youung Motherr by carryinng
the drapperies downn over the steps.
s
He reealises to th
he full the contrast
c
betw
ween the young, fragille
heads of
o his girl-saaints and thee dark, veneerable coun
ntenances off the old meen. The head
d of S. Lucyy,
detachinng itself likke a flower upon
u
its stem
m, reminds us of the tyype which w
we saw in hiis Watcher in
i
the sacrred allegoryy of the Uffizi.
U
The arched,
a
dom
me-like nicche opens oon a distancce bathed in
i
golden light. Belllini keeps the
t traditioons of the old hieratic art, but he has graasped a new
w
perfectiion of feeling and attmosphere. Who the saints are matters litttle; it is th
he collectivve
enjoym
ment of a coompany off congenial people thaat pleases us
u so muchh. The Bap
ptism in S.
S
Corona, at Vicenzaa, painted sixteen yearrs later than Cimas in S. Giovannni in Bragorra, is in frannk
imitatioon of the yoounger man. Christ andd the Baptisst, traditionaal figures, aare drawn without
w
mucch
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zest, in a weak, connventional way,

w but thhe artists tru
ue interest comes
c
out inn the beauty
y of face annd
gesture of the grouup of womeen holding the garmen
nts, and aboove all in thhe sombre gloom
g
of thhe
distancee, which reeplaces Cim
mas charmiing landscaape, and whhich keys thhe whole picture
p
to thhe
significcance of a poortent. In thhe enthronem
ment of the old hermit, S. Chrysosstom himseelf, painted in
i
1513, Bellini
B
keepps his love for
f the goldden dome, but
b he lets us look through its arcch, at rollinng
mountaain solitudess, with missts rising between theeir folds. Thhe geranium
m robe of the saint, an
a
exquisitte, vivid bitt of colourinng, is caughht by the go
olden sunseet rays, the fine asceticc head standds
out against the eveening sky, and
a in the faaces of the two
t saints who
w stand onn either side of the ageed
visionarry Bellini has
h gone baack to all his
h old inten
nsity of relligious feeliing, a feeling which he
h
seemedd for a time to
t have exchanged for a more pag
gan tone.
at his brotthers dyingg request, to
In 15077, at Gentilles death, Giovanni undertook,
u
t finish thhe
Preachhing of St. Mark,
M
receeiving as a recompense
r
that coveteed sketch-boook of his fathers,
f
from
m
which he
h had adoopted so many
m
suggesstions, and which, thoough he waas the eldest, had beeen
inheriteed by the leggitimate sonn.
In the preceding year
y
Albertt Drer haad visited Venice
V
for the secondd time, and
d Bellini haad
receivedd him with great cordiality. Drerr writes, Bellini is verry old, but is still the beest painter in
i
Venice; and addss, The thinngs I admireed on my laast visit, I now
n
do nott value at alll. Implyinng
that he was able now to seee how supeerior Bellin
ni was to thhe hitherto more high
hly esteemeed
Vivarinni.
At the very
v
end off Bellinis life,
l
in 15144, the Dukee of Ferraraa paid him eighty-five ducats for a
paintingg of Baccchanals, now at Alnnwick Castlle; which may
m be loooked upon as an opeen
confesssion by onee who had always coonsidered hiimself as a painter off distinctively religiouus
works, that such a gay scenee of feastinng afforded opportunitties which he could not
n resist, foor
beauty of attitude and colour; but the goods, sitting at their bannquet in a ssunny gladee, are almost
fully drraped, and there
t
is littlle of the abbandon which was affeected by latter painters.. The picturre
was left
ft unfinishedd, and was later given to Titian to
o complete.. In his capaacity as Staate Painter to
t
the Reppublic, it waas Bellinis duty to execute the official portrraits of the Doges. Durring his lonng
life he saw eleven reigns, andd during fouur he held the
t State apppointment. Besides the official, he
h
D
Loredaano, in the N
National Gaallery, is onne
painted private porrtraits of thee Doges, annd that of Doge
of the most
m
perfecct presentm
ments of thee quattrocen
nto. This poortrait, painnted by onee old man of
o
anotherr, shows no weakeningg in touch or
o characterrisation. It is
i as brilliaant and vigo
orous as it is
direct and
a simple. The face iss quiet and unexaggera
u
ated; there is no unnatuural fire and
d feeling, buut
an air of accustom
med dignityy and thouught, while the techniique has alll the perfeection of thhe
painters prime.
In 15166 Giovanni was buried in the Churrch of SS. Giovanni
G
annd Paolo, byy the side of
o his brotheer
Gentile. To the laast he was popular annd famous, overwhelm
med with atttentions fro
om the most
distinguuished persoonages of thhe city. Thoough he had
d begun lifee when art sshowed succh a differennt
aspect, he was by nature so imbued
i
witth that temp
perament, which
w
at thee time of his
h death waas
beginniing to assertt itself in thhe younger school,
s
thatt he was ablle to assimiilate a really
y astonishinng
share of
o the new manner. He
H is guidedd by feeling more thaan by intelllect. All th
he time he is
workingg out probleems, he is dominated
d
b the emotion of his subject, but his emotion
by
n, his pathoos,
are invaariably tem
mpered and restrained by
b the calm
m moderatioon of the quuattrocento.. The goldeen

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mean sttill has com

mmand of Beellini, and never
n
allowss his feelinggs, howeverr poignant, to
t degeneratte
into senntimentalityy or violencee.

PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W

Bergam
mo.

L
Lochis:
Madoonna (E.).
M
Morelli:
Two Madonnas.

Berlin..

Piet (L.); Dead Christ.

Florencce.

U
Uffizi:
Allegoory; The Sou
uls in Paradise (L.).

Londonn.

Portrait of Dooge (L.); Mad

donna (L.); Agony
A
in Garrden (E.);
Salvator Mundi
M
(E.).

Milan.

B
Brera:
Piet (E
E.); Madonn
na; Madonna,, 1510.

Mond
Collecttion.

D
Dead
Christ; Madonna
M
(E.).

Muranno.

S. Pietro: Maddonna with Saints

S
and Dooge Barbariggo, 1488.

Napless.

Sala Grande: Transfigurattion.

Pesaro.

S. Francesco: Altarpiece.

Riminii.

D
Dead
Christ (E
E.).

Venicee.

Academy: Thhree Madonnaas; Five smaall allegoricall paintings

A
(L.); Madonna with SS. Catherine and
a Magdaleene; Madonnaa
Saints.
with SS. Paaul and Georrge; Madonnna with five S
Museo Correrr: Crucifixion
M
n (E.); Transsfiguration (E
E.); Dead
Christ; Deaad Christ witth Angels.
Palazzo Ducaale, Sala di Trre: Piet (E.)).
Frari: Triptychh; Madonna and Saints, 1488.
S. Giovanni Crisostomo:
C
S.
S Chrysostoom with SS. JJerome and
Augustine, 1513.
S. Maria dell Orto: Mado
onna (E.).
S. Zaccaria: Madonna
M
and
d Saints, 1505.

Vicenzza.

S. Corona: Baaptism, 1510.

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CH
HAPTER
R XIII
CIMA DA
D CONE
EGLIANO AND
A
OTH
HER FOLLO
OWERS O
OF BELLIN
NI
The risiing tide of feeling,
f
the growing sennse of the jo
oy of life annd the appreehension off pure beautyy,
which was
w strengthhening in thhe people annd leading up
u to the grreat period oof Venetian
n art, floodeed
round Bellini
B
andd recognisedd its expreession in hiim. He waas more poppular and had
h a largeer
followinng among thhe artists off his day thaan either Geentile or Carrpaccio withh their frank
kly mundanne
talent. Whatever
W
G
Giovannis
State workks may hav
ve been, hiis religious paintings are the onees
which are
a copied and
a adaptedd and studiedd by the younger bandd of artists, aand this beccause of theeir
beauty and notwithstanding their convventional su
ubjects. Gentiles paggeant-picturees have stiill
a
whhile Giovannnis religiou
us altarpiecees
somethiing cold and colourless, with a touuch of the archaic,
evince a new freeddom of handdling, a modern concep
ption of beaautiful wom
men, a use of
o that colouur
which was
w soon too reign trium
mphant. As far as it weent indeed, its
i triumph was already
y assured; as
a
Giovannni advancedd towards old
o age, it was
w no longeer of any usse for the yooung masteers of the daay
to paintt in any wayy save the one
o he had made
m
popullar, and onee artist after another wh
ho had beguun
in the scchool of Alvise Vivarinni ended as the disciplee of Giovannni Bellini.
It was the
t habit off Bellini to trust muchh to his assiistants, and as everythiing that weent out of his
h
workshop was signned by his name,
n
evenn if it only represented
r
the use of one of his designs, or a
few woords of adviice, and was passed by the masster, it is noo wonder thhat European collectionns
were flooded withh works, am
mong whichh only latelly the namees of Catenna, Previtalii, Pennacchhi,
Marco Belli,
B
Bissoolo, Basaiti, Rondinelli,, and otherss begin to bee disentanglled.
Only onne of his folllowers stannds out as a strong and original maaster, not quuite of the first
fi class, buut
developping his ow
wn individuaality while he
h draws in
n much of what
w
both A
Alvise and Bellini
B
had to
t
give. Cima
C
da Conegliano,
C
whose reaal name was
w Giovannni Battista,, always siigns himseelf
Conegliianensis: thhe title of Cima, the Rock,
R
by which
w
he is now
n
so widdely known, having firrst
been mentioned
m
inn the sevennteenth centtury by Bosschini, and perhaps giiven him by
y that writeer
himselff. He was a son of thee mountainss, who, thou
ugh he cam
me early to Venice, and
d lived therre
most off his life, neever loses soomething of
o their wild
d freshness, and to the end delightts in bringinng
them innto his backkgrounds. He
H lived with his motther at Connegliano, the beautiful town of thhe
Trevisaan marches, until 1484, when he was
w twenty--five, and thhen came ddown to Viccenza, wherre
he fell under
u
the tuuition of Baartolommeoo Montagnaa, a Vicentine painter, who had been studyinng
both with
w
Alvise and Bellinni. Cimas Madonna

with Saints, paintedd for the Church of St.

S
Bartoloommeo, Viccenza, in 14489, shows him still using the oldd method oof tempera, in a carefuul,
cold, paainstaking style, yet already
a
show
wing his ow
wn taste. The
T compossition has something
s
o
of
Alvise, yet that som
mething hass been learnned through
h the agencyy of Montaggna, for the figures havve
the latteers severityy and austerre characterr and the collour is clearrer and morre crude than
n Alvises. It
is no ligght resembllance, and he
h must havve been lon
ng with Monntagna. In tthe type of the Christ in
i
Montaggnas Piet at
a Monte Beerico, in thee fondness for
f airy porrticoes, in thhe architectu
ure and maiin
featuress of his M
Madonna ennthroned inn the Museeo Civico at
a Vicenza,, we see ch
haracteristiccs
which Cima
C
follow
wed, thoughh he interpreeted them in
n his own way.
w He turnns the heav
vy arches annd
domes that
t
Alvise loved, into airy pergollas, decked with vines. He gives inncreasing im
mportance to
t
high skies and to atmospheric
a
c distances. When he go
ot to Venicee in 1492, hhe began to paint in oills,
and unddertook the panel of S. John Baptist with atten
ndant saintss, still in thee Church off S. Madonnna

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dell Orrto. The woork of this iss rather angular and ten
ntative, but true and freesh, and he comes to his
best sooon after, in the
t Baptism
m in S. Giovanni in Bragora,
B
which Bellini, sixteen yeaars later, paiid
him thee complimennt of copyinng. It was quite
q
unusuaal to choosee such a subbject for thee High Altaar,
and couuld only be justified
j
byy devotion too the Baptisst, who wass Cimas ow
wn name-saiint as well as
a
that of the
t Church. Cima is here at his very highest; the compoosition is noot derived from
f
any onne
else, buut is all thee conceptionn of an inggenuous sou
ul, full of inntuition andd insight. The
T Christ is
particullarly fine annd simple, unexaggera
u
ated in posee and type; the arm off the Baptistt is too longg,
but the very fault serves
s
to give him a reefined, tentaative look, which
w
makees a sympatthetic appeaal.
The atteendant angeels look on with an airr of sweet in
nterest. Thee distant moountains, th
he undulatinng
countryy, the little town of Conegliano, identified by
b the casttle on its grreat rock, or
o Cima, arre
Arcadiaan in their sunny
s
beautty. The clouuds, as a crittic has poinnted out, aree full of sun
n, not of rainn.
The lanndscape hass not the sombre mysteery of Titiaans, but is bright
b
withh the joyouss delight of a
lover off outdoor liife. As Cim
ma masters the
t new meedium he beecomes largger and sim
mpler, and his
h
forms lose much of
o their earlly angularitty. A confraternity of his native town ordered the grannd
altarpieece which iss still in thee Cathedral there, and in this he shows
s
his cconnection with
w Venice;
the archhitecture is partly takeen from St. Marks, th
he lovely Madonna
M
heaad recalls Bellini,
B
and a
group of
o Bellinesqque angels play
p
instrum
ments at thee foot of thhe throne. C
Cima is, how
wever, neveer
mergedd in Bellini. He keeps his
h own cleearly defined
d, angular type;
t
his peeculiar, twissted curls arre
not the curls of Beellinis saintts, his treatm
ment of surfface is refinned, enamel-like, perfecctly finishedd,
but it has
h nothing of the richh, broken treatment
t
which
w
Bellinnis natural feeling forr colour waas
beginniing to dictatte. Cimas pale
p goldenn figures hav
ve an almosst metallic ssharpness an
nd precisionn,
and thoough they arre full of chharm and reffinement, th
hey may be thought laccking in spo
ontaneity annd
passionn. To 1501 belongs
b
thee Incredulity of St. Th
homas, now
w in the Accademy, bu
ut painted foor
the Guild of Masonns. It is a piicture full of expression
n and dignitty, broad in treatment if
i a little colld
in its seelf-restraintt. Cima seem
ms to havee not quite enough
e
inteellect, and nnot quite en
nough stronng
feeling.. However, the little alttarpiece of the
t Nativity
y, in the Church of the Carmine in
n Venice, haas
a richerr, fuller touuch, and thiis foreshadoows the wo
ork he did when
w
he weent to Parm
ma, where his
transparrent shadow
ws grow brroader and stronger, an
nd his figuures gain inn ease and freedom. He
H
never looses the deelicate radiaance of his lights, and
d his types and his arrchitecture alike
a
conveey
somethiing of a pecculiarly refinned, brilliannt elegance.
Like alll these menn of great ennergy and prolific
p
genius, Cima produced
p
ann astonishin
ng number of
o
panels and altarpieeces, and no
n doubt haad pupils on
n his own account,
a
forr a goodly list could be
b
made of pictures inn his style, but not by his
h own han
nd, which have
h
been carried by co
ollectors intto
e
suurface and finish
f
and his
h marked originality make him a
widely--scattered places. His exquisite
difficultt master to imitate wiith any succcess. His laatest work is
i dated 15508, but Rid
dolfi says he
h
lived tilll 1517, andd it seems probable
p
thaat he returneed to his beeloved Coneegliano and there passeed
his last years.
If Cimaa possessed originality,, Vincenzo of Treviso,, called Catena, gainedd an immense reputatioon
by his industry
i
andd his powerr of imitatinng and adop
pting the manner
m
of Beellinis Sch
hool. In thosse
days meen did not trouble
t
them
mselves muuch as to wh
hether they were originnal or not. They
T
workeed
away on
o traditionnal compossitions, frannkly introd
ducing figurres from thheir masterrs cartoonns,
modifyiing a type here,
h
makingg some littlee experimen
nt or arranggement theree, and, as a French critiic
puts it, leaving theeir own perrsonality too hatch outt in due tiime, if it exxisted, and when it waas
sufficieently ripeneed by real mastery off their art. It is here that Catena fails; beg
ginning as a
journeyyman in the Sala del Gran Consigllio, at a salaary of threee ducats a m
month, he fo
or long faileed
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to acquuire the absolute masteery of draw

wing which was possessed by thee better disciples of thhe
schoolss. But he is
i painstakiing, determ
mined to get on, andd eager to satisfy thee continuallly
increasiing demandd for work. His draperries are con
nfused and unmeaningg, his faces round, witth
small feeatures, ineexpressive button
b
moutths, and weeak chins, and
a his fleshh tints havee little of thhe
glow which
w
is lateer the preroggative of evvery second
d-rate painteer. Yet Cateena succeed
ds, like manny
anotherr careful mediocre maan, in securring patronaage, and ass the sixteeenth century
y opened he
h
gained the
t distinctiion from Dooge Loredanno of a com
mmission to paint the alltarpiece for the Pregaddi
Chapel of the Salaa di Tre, inn the Ducal Palace. Hee adapts hiss group from
m that of Bellini
B
in thhe
Cathedrral of Muraano, bringinng in a profi
file portrait of the kneeeling Doge, of which he
h afterwardds
made numerous
n
copies, one of which was
w for lon
ng assignedd to Gentile and one to Giovannni
Bellini.
That Caatena is not without charm,
c
we discern
d
in such
s
a com
mposition as his Marty
yrdom of St.
S
Cristinaa, in S. Maaria Mater Domini,
D
in which the saint, a soliid, Bellinessque figure, kneels upoon
the water, in whichh she met her
h death, annd is surrou
unded by litttle angels, hholding up the
t millstonne
tied rouund her neckk, and ladenn with otherr instrumentts of her maartyrdom. C
Catena borro
ows right annd
left, andd tries to foollow everyy new indicaation of con
ntemporary taste. For iinstance, hee remarks thhe
growingg admiration for colourr, and hopees by paintin
ng gay, flat tints, in briight contrasst, to producce
the desiired effect.
It is evvident that he
h made many
m
friendss among th
he rich connnoisseurs off the time, and that his
h
importaance was ouut of proporrtion to his real merit.. Marcantonnio Michelee, writing an
a account of
o
Raphaeels last dayss to a friendd in Venice, and touchiing on Michhelangelos illness, beg
gs him to seee
that Caatena takes care of him
mself, as thhe times aree unfavouraable to greaat painters. Catena haad
acquired and inherrited considderable weallth; he cam
me of a family of merchhants, and resided
r
in his
h
own hoouse in Sann Bartolomm
meo del Riialto. He liv
ved in unm
married relaations with Dona Mariia
Fustanaa, the daughhter of a furrrier, to whom he bequeeaths in his will
w 300 duucats and alll his personaal
effects. As a careful portrait-painter, with
w a talentt for catchiing a likeneess, he wass in constannt
demandd, and in soome of hiss headsthhat of a can
non dressedd in blue aand red, at Vienna, annd
especially in one of
o a membeer of the Fuggger family
y, now at Dresdenhe
D
e attains reaal distinctionn.
And inn his last phase he dooes at lengtth prove th
he power thhat lies behhind long industry
i
annd
perseveerance. Sudddenly the Giorgionesq
G
que influencce strikes hiim, and turnning to imb
bibe this new
w
elementt, he prodduces that masterpiecce which throws a glamour oover all his
h mediocrre
perform
mances; his Warrior addoring the Infant
I
Chrisst, in the National
N
Gallery, is a picture
p
full of
o
charm, rich and rom
mantic in toone and spirrit. The Virg
gin and the Child uponn her knee are
a of his duull
round-eeyed type, the
t form annd colours of
o her drapeeries are stiill unsatisfaactory, but the
t knight in
i
armour with his Eastern tuurban, the romantic young pagge, holdingg his horsse, are purre
Giorgioonesque figuures. Beauttiful in them
mselves, set in a beauutiful landsccape glowin
ng with lighht
and air,, the whole picture exeemplifies what
w
surprissing excelleence could bbe suddenly
y attained by
b
even veery inferior artists, who were connstantly asso
ociating witth greater m
men, at a moment
m
wheen
the whoole air was, as it were, vibrating
v
w genius.
with
Catena was very much
m
addictted to making his will,, and at least five testaaments or codicils exisst,
one of them devissing a sum of money for
f the ben
nefit of the School of Painters in Venice, annd
anotherr leaving to his executoor, Prior Ignnatius, the piicture of a St.
Jerome in his Cell, which maay
be the one
o in our national
n
colllection, whhich remained in Venicce till 1862.. It is painteed in his gaay

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tones, imitating
i
Basaiti and Lotto,
L
and brings
b
in th
he partridgee of which he made a sort of siggn
manual.
Cardinaal Bembo writes
w
in 15225 to Pietro Lippomano
o, to announnce that, at hhis request, he is
continuuing his patrronage of Catena:
Thoughh I had doone all thatt lay in myy power fo
or Vincenzzo Catena bbefore I reeceived youur
Lordshiips warm recommenda
r
ation in his favour, I diid not hesitaate, on receeipt of your letter, to addd
somethiing to the first
f
piece I had from him, and I did so becaause of myy love and reverence
r
foor
you, annd I trust thhat he will return apprropriate thaanks to youu for havingg remembeered that yoou
could coommand me.
m
Marco Basaiti was alternatelly a journeyyman in diifferent worrkshops andd a master on his ow
wn
accountt. For long the
t assistannt and follow
wer of Alvisse Vivarini,, we may juudge that he was also his
h
most truusted confiidant, for too him was left the task of complleting the splendid altaarpiece to S.
S
Ambroggio, in the Frari.
F
His heeavy hand is
i apparent in the execuution, and tthe two sain
nts, Sebastiaan
and Jerrome, in thhe foregrouund, have probably
p
beeen added by him, foor they hav
ve the air of
o
interloppers, and doo not come up
u to the resst of the com
mpany in foorm and connception. Th
he Sebastiann,
with hiss hands behhind his bacck and his looin cloth sm
martly tied, is quite suffficiently reeminiscent of
o
Bellinis figure of 1473 to maake us belieeve that Bassaiti was att once transferring his allegiance to
t
that reiggning masteer. In his eaarlier phase he has the round
r
headss and the drry precise manner
m
of thhe
Muraneese. In his laarge picturee in the Acaademy, the Calling

of the Sons off Zebedee, he producees

a large, important set
s piece, coold and lifeless, withou
ut one figurre which arrrests us, or lingers
l
in thhe
memoryy. The Chrrist on the Mount
M
is more
m
intereesting as haaving been ppainted for San Giobbe,
where Bellinis
B
greeat altarpiecce was already hanging, and com
ming into com
mpetition with
w Bellinis
early reendering of the same scene.
s
Paintted some th
hirty years later,
l
it is innteresting to
o see what it
has gainned in moddernness. The landscaape and treees are well drawn and in good colour, and thhe
saints, standing onn either sidde of a higgh portico, have dignnity. In the Dead Ch
hrist, in thhe
Academ
my, he is foollowing Beellini very closely
c
in th
he flesh-tintts and the pputti. The putti,
p
lookinng
thoughttfully at thee dead, is a motif beloved of Beellini, but Basaiti
B
cannnot give th
hem Bellinis
pathos and
a significcance; they are merely childish and
d seem to be amused.
In 15155 Basaiti hass entered uppon a new phase.
p
He has felt Giorrgiones inflluence, and is beginninng
to try what
w he can do, while sttill keeping close to Beellini, to devvelop a fulleer touch, mo
ore animateed
figures,, and a brillliant effect of landsccape. He ru
uns a film of vaporouus colour over his harrd
outliness and makes his figurees bright annd misty, an
nd though underneath
u
tthey are still empty annd
monotoonous, it is not surprissing that many of his works for a time passed as thosse of Bellinni.
Thoughh he is a cleever imitatoor, his figures are desiigned with less masteryy, his draw
wing is a littlle
less corrrect, his drapery
d
lesss adapted too the under form. Ligght and shaade are nott so cleverlly
balanceed, colours have
h
the briightness, buut not the tru
ue contrast required. Inn landscapee he proceedds
from a bleak
b
ariditty to extrem
me gaiety; hee does not dwell
d
on dettail, but his masses hav
ve neither thhe
sober tiint nor the mysteriouss richness conspicuous
c
s in his teaccher ... he iis a clever instrument.
Both Prrevitali and Rondinelli were workkers with Baasaiti in Belllinis studioo. Previtali occasionallly
signed himself Anndrea Cordeeliaghi or Cordella,
C
and has left many
m
unsigned picturees. He copiees
Catena and Lotto,, Palma annd Montagnna; but for a time hiss work weent forth fro
om Bellinis
workshop signed with
w Bellinis name. Inn 1515, in a great altarppiece in Sann Spirito at Bergamo, he
h
first takkes the titlee of Previtaali, compilinng it in the cartello with
w the monnogram alreeady used as
a
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Cordeliiaghi. Theree are tracess of many other

o
minorr artists at this periodd, all essayiing the sam
me
mannerr, copying one
o or otherr of the massters, taking
g hints from
m each otheer. The Ven
netian love of
o
splendoour was turnning to the collection of
o works off art, and thhe work of second-classs artists waas
evidently much inn demand annd obtainedd its meed of admiratiion. Bissoloo was a fellow-laboureer
with Caatena in the Hall of the Ducal Palaace in 1492; he is soft and
a nervelesss, but he co
opies Bellinni,
and hass imbibed soomething off his tendernness of spiriit.
It will be
b seen from
m this list hoow difficultt it is to unravel the talee of the falsse Bellinis. The
T masters
own woorks speak for
f themsellves with noo uncertain voice, but away
a
from these it is very
v
difficuult
to pronnounce as too whether he
h had giveen a design
n, or a few touches, orr advice, an
nd still morre
difficultt to decide whether these were beestowed on Basaiti in his
h later maanner, or on
n Previtali or
o
Bissoloo, or if the teaching
t
waas handed on
o by them in a still more
m
dilutedd form to th
he lesser meen
who cluustered rounnd, much off whose woork has surv
vived and haas been massquerading for centuriees
under more
m
distinnguished naames. It is sometimes affirmed that
t
the losss of origin
nality in thhe
endeavoour to paintt like greateer men has been
b
a symp
ptom of deccay in everyy school in the
t past. It is
interesting to notiice, therefore, that in every greaat age of painting
p
theere has alw
ways been an
a
undercuurrent of im
mitation, whiich has helpped to form
m a stream of
o tradition, and which,, as far as we
w
can see, has done no
n harm to the
t strongerr spirits of th
he time.

PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W

Cimaa.
Berlin..

M
Madonna
withh four Saintss; Two Madoonnas.

Coneglliano.

D
Duomo:
Madoonna and Saiints, 1493.

Dresdeen.

T Saviour; Presentation
The
n of Virgin.

Londonn.

T Madonnas; Increduliity of S. Thom

Two
mas; S. Jerom
me.

Milan.

B
Brera:
Six picctures of Sain
nts; Madonnaa.

Parma..

M
Madonna
withh Saints; Ano
other; Endym
mion; Apolloo and Marsyaas.

Paris.

M
Madonna
withh Saints.

Venicee.

Academy: Maadonna with SS. John andd Paul; Piet; Madonna

A
with six Saaints; Incredu
ulity of S. Thhomas; Tobiaas and the
Angel.
C
Carmine:
Adooration of thee Shepherds.
S. Giovanni inn Bragora: Baptism,
B
14944; SS. Helenn and
Constantine; Three Predelle; Findinng of True Crross.
C
o the Virgin..
of
SS. Giovanni and Paolo: Coronation
S. Maria dell Orto: S. Joh
hn Baptist annd SS. Paul, JJerome, Marrk,
and Peter.

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Lady Layard. Madonna with

L
w SS. Franccis and Paul;; Madonna
with SS. Nicholas of Baari and John Baptist.
Vicenzza.

M
Madonna
withh SS. Jeromee and John, 1489.
1

Vinceenzo Catenaa.
Bergam
mo.

C
Carrara:
Chrisst at Emmaus.

Berlin..

Portrait of Fuggger; Madon

nna, Saints, and
a Donor (E
E.).

Dresdeen.

H
Holy
Family (L.).
(

Londonn.

Warrior adoring Infant Ch

W
hrist (L.); S. Jerome
J
in his Study (L.);;
o Magi (L.).
Adoration of
M Benson: Holy
Mr.
H
Family.
L
Lord
Brownloow: Nativity..
M
Mond
Collecttion: Madonn
na, Saints, annd Donors (E
E.).

Paris.

V
Venetian
Ambbassadors at Cairo.

Venicee.

D
Ducal
Palace: Madonna, Saints,
S
and Doge
D
Loredann (E.).
G
Giovanelli
Paalace: Madon
nna and Saintts.
S. Maria Mateer Domini: S.
S Cristina.
S. Trovaso: Madonna.
M

Viennaa.

Portrait of a Canon.
C

Marcco Basaiti.
Bergam
mo.

T Saviour, 1517; Two Portraits.

The
P

Berlin..

Piet; Altarpieece; S. Sebasstian; Madonnna (E.).

Londonn.

S. Jerome; Maadonna.

Milan.

A
Ambrosiana:
R
Risen
Christt.

Munichh.

M
Madonna,
Saiints, and Don
nor (E.).

Muranno.

S. Pietro: Assumption.

Padua.

Portrait, 1521; Madonna with

w SS. Libeerale and Petter.

Venicee.

Academy: Saiints; Dead Christ; Christ in the Gardeen, 1510;

A
Calling of Children
C
of Zebedee,
Z
15110.
M
Museo
Correrr: Madonna and
a Donor; Christ
C
and Anngels.
Salute: S. Sebbastian.

Viennaa.

65

C
Calling
of Children of Zeb
bedee, 1515.

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Andrrea Previtalli.
Bergam
mo.

Carrara: Penteecost; Marriaage of S. Cattherine; Altarrpiece;

C
Madonna, 1514; Madon
nna with Saints and Donoors.
L
Lochis:
Madoonna and Sain
nt.
C
Count
Moronii: Madonna and
a Saints; Family
F
Groupp.
S. Alessandroo in Croce: Crucifixion,
C
1
1524.
S. Spirito: S. John
J
Baptist and Saints, 1515; Madonnna and fourr
Female Saiints, 1525.

Berlin..

M
Madonna
andd Saints; Marrriage of S. Catherine.
C

Dresdeen.

M
Madonna
andd Saints.

Londonn.

M
Madonna
andd Donor (E.).

Milan.

B
Brera:
Christ in Garden, 1512.

Oxfordd.

C
Christchurch
L
Library:
Mad
donna.

Venicee.

D
Ducal
Palace: Christ in Liimbo; Crossing of the Reed Sea.
R
Redentore:
Naativity; Cruccifixion.

Veronaa.

Stoning of Steephen; Immaaculate Concception.

N. Roondinelli.
Berlin..

M
Madonna.

Florencce.

U
Uffizi:
Madonnna and Sain
nts.

Milan.

B
Brera:
Madonnna with fourr Saints and three
t
Angelss.

Paris.

M
Madonna
andd Saints.

Ravennna.

T Madonnas with Saintts.

Two
S. Domenico: Organ Shutters; Madonnna and Saints.

Venicee.

M
Museo
Correrr: Madonna; Madonna wiith Saints and Donors.
G
Giovanelli
Paalace: Two Madonnas.
M

Bissoolo.
Londonn.

M Benson: Madonna
Mr.
M
and
d Saints.
M
Mond
Collecttion: Madonn
na and Saintss.

Venicee.

66

A
Academy:
Deead Christ; Madonna
M
and Saints; Presentation in

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Temple.
S. Giovanni inn Bragora: Triptych.
T
R
Redentore:
M
Madonna
and Saints.
S. Maria Mateer Domini: Transfiguratio
T
on.
L
Lady
Layard: Madonna an
nd Saints.

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PART
T II

CH
HAPTER
R XIV
GIORGIO
ONE
When we
w enter a gallery
g
of Florentine paaintings, wee find our admiration
a
aand criticism
m expressinng
themsellves naturallly in certain terms; wee are struck
k by grace of
o line, by sstrenuous sttudy of form
m,
by the evidence
e
off knowledge, by the diisplay of th
hought and intellectual feeling. Th
he Florentinne
gesturess and attituddes are exprressive, nervous, ferven
nt, or, as in Michelanggelo and Sig
gnorelli, alivve
with suuperhuman energy.
e
Butt when lookking at pictu
ures of the Venetian
V
Scchool we un
nconsciouslly
use quitte another sort
s of languuage; epitheets like daark and ricch come m
most freely to
t our lips; a
golden glow, a sluumberous velvety
v
deptth, seem to engulf andd absorb all details. We
W are carrieed
into thee land of rom
mance, and are fascinaated and soo
othed, ratherr than stimuulated and aroused.
a
So it
is with portraits; before the M
Mona Lisa our intellig
gence is all awake, butt the men an
nd women of
o
Venetiaan canvasess have a grave,
g
indollent serenitty, which accords
a
well with thee slumber of
o
thoughtt.
Up to the beginnning of the sixteenth century the painters of Venice had not differed
d
verry
materiaally from thoose of otherr schools; thhey had grad
dually workked out or leearned the technicalitie
t
es
of draw
wing, perspeective and anatomy.
a
T
They
had beeen paintingg in oils forr twenty-fiv
ve years, annd
they beetrayed a greater
g
fonddness for pageant-pict
p
tures than was felt inn other Staates of Italyy.
Florencce appoints Michelangeelo and Leoonardo to deecorate her public palaace, but no great
g
store is
set by their
t
splenddid achievem
ments; theirr work is no
ot even com
mpleted. Thhe students fall
f upon thhe
cartoonns, which aree allowed too perish, insstead of beiing treasured by the nattion. Gentille Bellini annd
Carpacccio and thee band of State
S
painteers are apprreciated andd well rewaarded. Thesse men havve
reproduuced somethhing of thee lucent traansparency, the naturall colour off Venice, bu
ut it is as if
unconscciously; theey are not fully aiminng at any special effe
fect. Year aafter year the
t Venetiaan
masterss assimilate more or leess languiddly the influ
uences whicch reach thhem from th
he mainlandd.
They welcome
w
Guuariento andd Gentile daa Fabriano, they
t
set theemselves to learn from Veronese or
o
Florentiine, the Paaduans conntribute theeir chiselleed drawing, their learrned persp
pective, theeir
archeological curioosity. Yet evven early inn the day the Venetianss escape froom that hard
d and learneed
e
volupptuous temp
perament. Jaacopo Bellinni cannot conform to it,
i
art whicch is so alieen to their easy,
and his greatest son is ready to
t follow feeling and em
motion, andd in his old age is quick
k to discoveer
the firstt flavour off the new wiine. If Veneetian art had
d gone on upon
u
the lines we have been tracinng
up to now, there would
w
have been nothinng very disstinctive aboout it, for, hhowever intteresting annd
ni may be, it is not of tthem we think when we
w
charminng Alvise annd Carpaccio, Cima annd the Bellin
speak of
o the Venettian School and when we
w rank it beside
b
that of
o Florence,, while Giov
vanni Bellinni
alone, in his later works,
w
is noot strong enoough to beaar the burdenn.
The chaange which now comess over paintting is not so much a teechnical onee as a chang
ge of tempeer,
a new tendency
t
inn human thhought, and we link it with Giorggione becauuse he was the channeel
throughh which the deep impullse first burrst into the light.
l
We have
h
tried too trace the growth
g
of thhe

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early Venetian
V
Schhool, but it does
d
not develop logically like thaat of Florennce; it is nott the result of
o
long enndeavour, addding one acquisition
a
a discoveery to anothher. Venetiaan art was peculiarly
and
p
thhe
outcom
me of personnalities, and it did not know
k
its ow
wn mind tilll the sixteennth century. Then, like a
hidden spring, it bubbles irressistibly to thhe surface, and the spoot where it does so is called
c
by thhe
name off a man.
There are
a beings in
i most great creative epochs who, with pecculiar facilitty, seem to embody thhe
purposee of their agge and to yiield themsellves as read
dy instrumennts to its deesign. When
n time is rippe
they apppear, and are able, with
w
perfectt ease, to carry
c
out and
a give vooice to the desires annd
tendenccies which have been straining for expresssion. Thesee desires m
may owe their origin to
t
national life and teemperamennt; it may haave taken generations
g
to bring thhem to fruitiion, but theey
becomee audible thrrough the aggency of ann individual genius. A genius
g
is inevitably mo
oulded by his
h
age. Roome, in the seventeenthh century, drew
d
to herr in Bernini a man whoo could witth real poweer
e,
illustratte her determ
mination to be grandiose and osten
ntatious, annd, at the heeight of the Renaissanc
R
Venice draws intoo her servicce a man whose
w
senssuous feelinng was instilled, acceentuated, annd
welcom
med by everyy element around
a
him.
More conclusively
c
y than ever,, at this tim
me, Venice, the worlds great seaa-power, waas in her fuull
glory as
a the centrre of the worlds
w
com
mmerce an
nd its art and
a
culture. Vasco daa Gama haad
discoveered the sea route to India in 1498, but the stu
upendous efffect which this was to
o exert on thhe
whole current
c
of power
p
did noot become apparent
a
alll at once. Venice
V
was sstill the greeat emporium
m
of the East,
E
linked to it by a thhousand tiess, Oriental in
n her love of
o Eastern riichness.
It woulld be exagggerating to say
s that thee Venetianss of the sixtteenth centuury could not
n draw. As
A
there were
w
Tuscanns who undeerstood beauutiful harm
monies of coolour, so theere were Veenetians whho
knew a good deal about form
m; but the other
o
Italian
ns looked upon
u
colour as a charm
ming adjuncct,
almost, one mightt say, as ann amiable weakness:
w
they
t
never would have allowed that
t
it mighht
legitimaately becom
me the end and
a aim in painting,
p
an
nd in the sam
me way form
m, though respected
r
annd
consideered, was neever the priincipal objeect of the Venetians.
V
U to this tiime Venicee had fed heer
Up
emotionnal instinctts by pageaants and goold and veelvets and brocades,
b
bbut with Giorgione shhe
discoveered that thhere was a deeper emootional veh
hicle than thhese superfficial gloriees,glowinng
depths of
o colour ennveloped inn the mysterrious richneess of chiarooscuro whicch obliterated form, annd
hid andd suggested more
m
than it
i revealed.
Giorgioone no longer describedd in drawings learned tongue; he carried aall before him by givinng
his direect impression in colouur. He conceeives in collour. The Fllorentines ccared little if
i their finelly
drawn draperies
d
w
were
blue orr red, but Giorgione im
mages purplee clouds, thheir dark veelvet glowinng
towardss a rose andd orange hoorizon. He hardly
h
know
ws what attiitudes his ccharacters taake, but theeir
chestnuut hair, theirr deep-huedd draperies, their amberr flesh, makke a movingg harmony in which thhe
importaance of exaact modellinng is lost sight of. His scenes arre not compposed meth
hodically annd
accordinng to the olld rules, buut are the dirrect impress of the paiinters joy in life. It waas a new annd
audacioous style inn painting, and its keeynote, and
d absolutelyy inevitablee consequeence, was to
t
substituute for form
m and for gaay, simple tiints laid upon it, the quuality of chhiaroscuro. We
W all know
w
how the shades of evening are
a able to transform the most commonpla
c
ce scene; the
t dull roaad
becomees a mysteriious avenuee, the colouurless foliag
ge develops luscious deepths, the drab
d
and ariid
plain gllows with mellow
m
lighht, purple shhadows clotthe and softten every haarsh and ug
gly object, all
a
detail dies,
d
and ouur apprehennsion of it dies also. Our
O mood changes;
c
innstead of ob
bserving annd
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criticisiing, we becoome sootheed, contempplative, dreaamy. It is thhe carrying of this proffound feelinng
into a colour-schem
c
me by meanns of chiarooscuro, so th
hat it is no longer
l
learnned and exp
planatory, buut
deeply sensuous annd emotionnal, that is thhe gift to arrt which fouund full voice with Giiorgione, annd
which in one mom
ment was recognised and welco
omed to thhe exclusionn of the ollder manneer,
becausee it touched the chord which
w
vibrated through
h the whole Venetian teemperamentt.
And thee immediatee result wass the picturee of no subjject. Giorgiione createss for us idle figures witth
radiant flesh, or roobed in rich costumes, surrounded
d by lovely country, annd we do no
ot ask or carre
why theey are gathered togethher. We havve all had dreams
d
of Elysian
E
fieldds, where falls not anny
rain, noor ever winnd blows louudly, where all is resst and freeddom, wheree music bleends with thhe
plash of fountains,, and fruits ripen, and lovers dreaam away thee days, andd no one ask
ks what wennt
before or
o what folllows after. The Goldeen Age, thee haunt of fauns
f
and nnymphs: theere never haas
been suuch a day, orr such a lannd: it is a moood, a visio
on: it has dannced beforee the eyes of poets, from
m
David to
t Keats annd Tennysonn: it has roocked the tirred hearts of
o men in aall ages: thee vision of a
resting--place whicch makes noo demands and wheree the dwelleers are exem
mpt from th
he cares annd
weakneess of mortaality. Needlless to say, it is an ideal born of the
t East; it is the Easteern dream of
o
Paradise, and it sppeaks to thaat strain in the
t temperaament whichh recognisees that life cannot
c
be all
a
n
feelinng and emottion. And fo
or the first time in all the world th
he painter of
o
thoughtt, but also needs
Castelfrranco sets that
t
vague dream
d
beforre mens ey
yes. The woorld, with itts wistful yearnings annd
questionnings, suchh as Leonarddo or Botticcelli embod
died, said litttle to his aaudience. Heere was theeir
natural atmospheree, though thhey had neveer known it before. Theese deep, soolemn toness, these fuseed
and gollden lights are
a what Giiorgione graasps from th
he material world, andd as he steep
ps his sensees
in them
m the subjectt counts butt little in thee deep enjo
oyment theyy communiccate. We, wh
ho have seeen
his mannner repeateed and deveeloped through thousan
nds of pictuures, find itt difficult to
o realise that
there haad been notthing like itt before, thaat it was a unique
u
depaarture, that when Bellin
ni and Titiaan
looked at his first creations they
t
must have
h
experieenced a shoock of reveelation. Thee old definitte
style must
m
have seeemed sudddenly hard and
a meagree, and everyy time they looked on the gloriouus
world, the
t deep gllow of sunsset, the myssterious shaades of falliing night, thhey must have
h
felt theey
were enndowed witth a sense too which theey had hitherto been sttrangers, buut which, itt was at oncce
apparennt, was theirr true heritaage. They had
h found th
hemselves, and in them
m Venice fo
ound her reaal
expresssion, and wiith Giorgionne and thosee who felt his
h impetus began
b
the trrue Venetiaan School, seet
apart froom all otherr forms of art
a by its waay of using and
a diffusinng and intennsifying colour.
When Giorgione,
G
t son of a member of
the
o the housee of Barbareelli and a peeasant girl of
o Vedelagoo,
came down
d
to Vennice, we gaather that he had nothiing of the provincial.
p
V
Vasari, who
o must ofteen
have heard
h
of him from Titian,
T
describes him
m as handssome, engaaging, of distinguishe
d
ed
appearaance, beloveed by his friends,
f
a faavourite with women, fond of drress and am
musement, an
a
admirabble musiciann, and a weelcome guesst in the hou
uses of the great.
g
He was evidently
y no peasanntbred laad, but proobably, thouugh there is no recorrd of the fact, was bbrought up
p, like manny
illegitim
mate childreen, in the paternal mannsion. His home
h
was not
n far from
m the lagoon
ns, in one of
o
the mosst beautiful places it iss possible too imagine, on
o a lovely and fertile plain runniing up to thhe
Asoleann hills and with the Juulian Alps lyying behind
d. We guess that he reeceived his education in
i
the schoool of Belliini, for wheen that mastter sold his allegory off the Souls in Paradisse to one of
o
the Meedici, to adoorn the sum
mmer villa of Poggio Imperiale, there wentt with it th
he two smaall
canvasees now in the
t Uffizi, the
t Ordeall of Moses and the Judgment

oof Solomon
n, delightfu
ful
little paaintings in Giorgiones rich andd distinctivee style, butt less accom
mplished th
han Bellinis
picture,, and with im
mperfectionns in the drawing of drrapery and figures whiich suggest that they arre
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the worrk of a verry young man.

m
The love of the Venetians
V
f decorating the exteerior of theeir
for
palaces with frescco led to Giorgione
G
beeing largely
y employedd on work w
which was unhappily a
grievouus waste of time and taalent, as farr as posteritty is concerrned. We hhave a recorrd of faadees
coveredd with spiritted composiitions and heraldic
h
dev
vices, of frieezes with Baacchus and Mars, Venuus
and Mercury. Zaanetti, in his
h seventeeenth-centurry prints, has
h preservved a noblle figure of
o
Fortituude graspinng an axe, but beyondd a few fraagments notthing has suurvived. Beefore he waas
thirty Giorgione
G
w entrusteed with thee importantt commissioon of decoorating the Fondaco deei
was
Tedeschhi. This buiilding, whicch we hear of so often
n in connecttion with thhe artists of Venice, waas
the tradding-house for Germaan, Hungarrian, and Polish
P
mercchants. The Venetian Governmennt
surrounnded these merchants with the most jealo
ous restrictiions. Everyy assistant and servannt
connectted with theem was by law a Veneetian, and, in
i fact, a sppy of the Reepublic. Alll transactionns
of buyinng and selliing were caarried out byy Venetian brokers,
b
of whom som
me thirty werre appointedd.
As timee went on, some
s
of theese brokershhips must have
h
resolveed themselvves into sineecure officees,
for we find Bellinii holding onne, and certtainly witho
out dischargging any off the originaal duties, annd
they seem to havee become soome sort off State retainerships. In
I 1505 thee old Fondaaco had beeen
burnt too the groundd, and the present
p
building was rising when Giorgione
G
aand Titian were
w
boys. A
decree went
w
forth that
t
no marrble, carvingg, or gilding
g were to be
b used, so tthat painting
g the outsidde
was thee only alterrnative. Thee roof was on in 1507, and from
m that date Giorgione, Titian, annd
Morto da
d Feltre were
w
employyed in the adornment
a
of the faaade. Vasari is very mu
uch exerciseed
over Giiorgiones share
s
in theese decoratioons. One does
d
not finnd one subject carefullly arranged,
he com
mplains, or which folloows correcttly the histo
ory or actioons of ancieents or mod
derns. As foor
me, I haave never been
b
able to understandd the meanin
ng of these compositioons, or have met any onne
able to explain them
m to me. Here one seess a man witth a lions head,
h
beside a woman. Close
C
by onne
comes upon
u
an anngel or a Loove: it is alll an inexpllicable meddley. Yet hhe is deligh
hted with thhe
brillianccy of the colour
c
and the splendiid execution
n, and addss, Colour gives moree pleasure in
i
Venice than anywhhere else.
Amongg other earlyy work was the little A
Adoration of
o the Magii, in the N
National Galllery, and thhe
so-calleed Philosophers at Vienna.
V
Acccording to the
t latest reeading, thiss last illustrrates Virgils
legend that
t when thhe Trojan neas

arriveed in Italy, Evander poointed out thhe future sitee of Rome to

t
the anciient seer annd his son. Giorgione,
G
i painting the scene, is
in
i absorbed in the beau
uty of nature.
It is hiss first greatt landscape,, and all acccessories have
h
been sacrificed
s
too intensity of
o effect. He
H
revels in
i the gloryy of the seetting sun, the broad tranquil
t
maasses of folliage, the long
l
eveninng
shadow
ws, and the effect
e
of darrk forms silhhouetted ag
gainst the raddiant light.

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CH
HAPTE
ER XV
GIOR
RGIONE (continued)
When Giorgione
G
w twenty--six he wennt back to Castelfranco
was
C
o, and paintted an altarp
piece for thhe
Church of San Libberale. In thhe sixteenthh century Tuzio
T
Costannza, a welll-known cap
ptain of Freee
h had beenn attached to Catherinne
Compannions, who had made his fortunee in the waars, where he
Cornaroo, followed the dethronned queen from
f
Cypru
us, and wheen she retireed to Asolo, settled neaar
her at Castelfranco
C
o. His son, Matteo,
M
enttered the serrvice of thee Venetian R
Republic, and
a became a
leader of
o fifty lances; but Mattteo was killled at the baattle of Ravenna in 15004, and Costtanza had his
h
sons boody embalm
med and burried in the family
fa
chapeel.
Nothingg is knownn of the deetails of thiis commission, but wee are not sstraining th
he bounds of
o
probabiility by assuuming that in
i a little toown like Castelfranco, hardly
h
moree than a village, the tw
wo
youths must
m have been
b
well known
k
to eaach other, an
nd that this acquaintancce and the familiarity
f
o
of
the onee with the appearance
a
of the other may hav
ve been thee determininng cause which
w
led thhe
bereaveed father to give the coommission to
t the young painter, while
w
the traagic circum
mstances werre
such ass would apppeal to an ardent,
a
enthhusiastic naature. A treasure of ouur National Gallery is a
study made
m
by Gioorgione for the figure of
o San Libeerale, who is
i representeed as a you
ung man witth
bare head and crispp, golden loocks, dresseed in silver armour, coppied from tthe suit in which
w
Matteeo
Costanzza is dressedd in the stonne effigy which
w
is stilll preserved in the cemeetery at Casstelfranco. At
A
the sidee of the stonne figure lies a helmet, resembling that on the head of thee saint in thee altarpiece.
In Giorrgiones grooup the Mother
M
and Child are enthroned
e
o high, w
on
with St. Fraancis and St.
S
Liberalee on either hand. The Childs glannce is turneed upon thee soldier-saiint, a gallan
nt figure witth
his lancce at rest, his
h dagger on
o his hip, his
h gloves in
n his hand, young, higgh-bred, witth features of
o
almost feminine beauty.
b
Thee picture is conceived in a new spirit of sim
mplicity off design, annd
shows a new feelinng for restrraint in mattters of detaail. It is thee work of a man who has
h observeed
that earrly morningg, like latee evening, has a marv
vellous pow
wer of elim
minating alll unessential
accessoories and off envelopinng every obj
bject in a deelicious schheme of ligght. Repaintted, cleanedd,
restoredd as the cannvas is, it is still full of
o an atmossphere of calm serenitty. It is not the ecstatic,
devotioonal reverie of Peruginoos saints. The
T painter of Castelfraanco has not steeped hiis whole souul
in religgious imaginnation, likee the painterr of Umbriia; he is an exemplar of the lyricc feeling; his
h
work is a poem in praise of yoouth and beaauty, and drreams in airr and sunshiine. He usess atmospherre
to enhaance the moood, but Giiorgione caarries his un
nison of lanndscape witth human feeling
f
mucch
further than Peruggino; he obsserves the delicate
d
efffects of lighht, and limppid air circculates in his
distancee. The sun rising over the sea throws a glam
mour and puurity of earlly morning over a scenne
meant to
t glorify thhe memory of
o a young life. The paainter showss his connecction with his
h master by
b
using thhe figure of
o the St. Francis
F
in Bellinis
B
Saan Giobbe altarpiece. What Belllini owed to
t
Giorgioone is still a matter foor speculation. The Saan Zaccariaa altarpiece was, as we have seenn,
painted in the yearr following that of Casstelfranco. Something
S
has incited the old paiinter to fressh
efforts; out of his own evoluttion, or stim
mulated by his pupils splendid exxperiments, he is draw
wn
into thee golden atm
mosphere off the Venetiaan cinque-ccento.
The Veenetian painnters were distinguishe
d
ed by their love for thhe kindred aart of musiic. Giorgionne
himselff was an addmirable muusician, andd linked witth all that is akin to m
music in his work, is his
h

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love forr painting groups of people knit toogether by th

his bond. He
H uses it as a pastime to
t bring them
m
into company, andd the rich chords of colour seem
m permeateed with thee chords off sound. Noot
always,, however, does he need even this
t
excuse;; his convversation-pieces are often
o
merelly
compossed of persoons placed with indescribable graace in exquuisite surrouundings, go
overned by a
mood which
w
comm
municates itsself to the beholder.
b
With thhe Florentiines, the cartoon
c
wass carefully drawn uppon the waall and flaat tints werre
superim
mposed. Theey knew befforehand whhat the effeect was to be; but the V
Venetians frrom this tim
me
graduallly worked up the piccture, imbeedding tintss, intensifyiing effects,, one touch
h suggestinng
anotherr, till the whhole rich haarmony wass gradually evoked. With the Florrentines, too
o, the figurees
supply the main interest;
i
thee backgrouund is an arrbitrary adddition, placced behind them at thhe
painters leisure, but
b Giorgionnes and Tittians ftes champtress and concerrts could no
ot be at all in
i
any othher environm
ment. The amber
a
fleshh-tints and the
t glowingg garments are so blen
nded with thhe
deep tonnes of the laandscape, thhat one wouuld not instiil the mood the artist ddesires witho
out the otheer.
Piero di
d Cosimo and
a Pintoriicchio can place delig
ghtful nympphs and fairy princessses in idylliic
scenes, and they sttir no emotion in us beeyond an ob
bservant pleeasure, a deetached amu
usement; buut
Giorgioones gloom
my blues, his
h figures shining thrrough the warm
w
dusk of a summ
mer eveningg,
waken we
w hardly know
k
what of
o vague yearning and brooding memory.
m
In the Fte

Cham
mptre of thhe Louvre he
h acquires a frankly sensuous
s
chharm. He beecomes ripeer,
richer in
i feeling, and
a displayys great exuuberance off style. Thee woman fiilling her pitcher
p
at thhe
fountainn is exquisiite in line and
a curve annd amber colour.
c
She seems to liisten lazily to the liquiid
fall of the water mingling with
w
the haalf-heard mu
usic of thee pipes. Thee beautiful idyll in thhe
w uprightts; pillars arre formed by
b
Giovanelli Palace is full of arrt of compoosition. It iss built up with
the groups of treees and figurres, cut bolldly across by the horrizontal linee of the briidge, but thhe
figures themselvess are put in without
w
anyy attention to
o subject, thhough an unnconscious humorist haas
discoveered in them
m the domesstic circle of the painteer. The mann in Venetiaan dress is th
here to assist
the left--hand colum
mnar group,, placed at the
t edge of the picture after the m
manner of Leeonardo. Thhe
woman and child lighten
l
the mass
m
of foliage on the right and make
m
a beauutiful patterrn. The whitte
t
sky, the wiinds blusterr through th
he space, thhe
town off Castelfrannco sings aggainst the threatening
trees shhiver with thhe coming storm. Heree and there leafy boughhs are strucck in with a slight, crissp
touch, in
i which wee can follow
w readily thee painters quick
q
impreession.
The K
Knight of Malta
M
is a grand magiisterial figu
ure, majestic, yet full of ardent warmth
w
lyinng
behind the grave, indifferentt nobility. The face is
i bisected with shaddow, in thee way whicch
Michelaangelo and Andrea dell Sarto affeccted, and th
he cone-shaaped head w
with parted hair
h is of thhe
type whhich seems particularlyy to have plleased the painter.
p
To Giorgione,
G
too, belong
gs the honouur
of havinng created a Venus as pure as thee Aphroditee of Cnidoss and as beaautiful as a courtesan of
o
Titian.

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Giorrgione. F
TE CHAM
MPTRE. Louvre.
(
(Photo,
Alin
nari.)
The deaath of Giorggione from plague in 1511 is reg
gistered by all
a the oldeest authorities. His boddy
was connveyed to Castelfranco
C
o by membbers of the Barbarelli
B
f
family
and bburied in th
he Church of
o
San Libberale. In 16638 an epitaaph was placced over hiss tomb by Matteo
M
and E
Ercole Barb
barelli.
Allowinng that he was
w hardly more than twenty
t
wheen his new manner beggan to gain a followingg,
he had only
o
some twelve
t
yearrs in which to
t establish his deep annd lasting innfluence. We
W divine thaat
he was a man of sttrong personnality, suchh a one as warms
w
and sttimulates hiis companio
ons. Even his
h
nicknam
me tells us something,Great George,
G
the Chief, the George off Georges,
it seems to
t
expresss him as a leeader. And we have noo lack of pro
oof that he was admireed and lookeed up to. His
style beecame the only one that found favoour in Venice, and the painters off the day did
d their best to
t
conform
m to it. Few
w authentic examples are
a left from
m his own hand,
h
but oout of his co
onscious annd
devotedd and more or less succcessful imitaators, there grew up a school,
s
outt of all thosse fascinatinng
works, rightly or wrongly
w
atttributed to him;
h
out off many coppies from, oor variationss on him, by
b
unknow
wn or uncerttain workm
men, whose drawings
d
an
nd designs were,
w
for vaarious reaso
ons, prized as
a
his; out of the im
mmediate im
mpression he made upon
u
his coontemporariies and with which he
h
continuued in mens minds; ouut of many traditions of
o subject and
a treatmennt which reeally descennd
from him to our ow
wn time, andd by retracinng which we
w fill out thhe original im
mage.

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Summinng up all thhese influennces, he has left us the Giorgionessque; the artt of choosin
ng a momennt
in whicch the subjecct and the elements
e
of colour and design are so perfectlyy fused and blended that
we havee no need too ask for anny more articculate story
y; a momentt into whichh all the sign
nificance, thhe
fulness of existencce has conddensed itsellf, so that we
w are conscious of thhe very esssence of liffe.
Those idylls
i
of beiings wrappeed into an ideal
i
dream
mland by muusic and thee sound of water
w
and thhe
beauty of wood annd mountainn and velvett sward, neeed all our coonscious appprehension
n of life if we
w
are to drink
d
in theeir full fasciination. Thee dream of the Lotos-eeaters can oonly come with
w force to
t
those who
w can coontrast it addequately with
w the exp
perience, thhe complicaation, and the
t thousannd
distractions of an over-civiliised world.. Rest and relaxationn, the poweer of the deeply
d
tinteed
eventide, or of the fresh mornning light, and
a the calm
m that drinkks in the sennsations theey are able to
t
afford, are among the preciouus things off life. The instinct
i
upoon which Giorgiones work
w
rests is
the satissfying of thhe feeling ass well as thee thinking faculty,
fa
the life
l of the hheart, as com
mpared to thhe
life of the intellecct, the soluution of lifees problem
ms by love instead of by thoughtt. It was thhe
Easternn ideal, and its positive expression is conveyed by meanss of colour, deep, restfu
ul, satisfyingg,
fused annd controlleed by chiarooscuro ratheer than by fo
orm.

PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W

Berlin..

Portrait of a Man.
M

Buda-P
Pesth.

Portrait of a Man.
M

Castelffranco.

D
Duomo:
Madoonna with SS
S. Francis annd Liberale.

Dresdeen.

Sleeping Venuus.

Florencce.

Uffizi: Trial of
U
o Moses (E.)); Judgment of Solomon (E.); Knightt of
Malta.

Hamptton Court. A Shepherd.

Madridd.

M
Madonna
withh SS. Roch and
a Anthony of Padua.

Paris.

Fte Champttre.

Rome.

V
Villa
Borghesse: Portrait of a Lady.

Venicee.

Seminario: Appollo and Daaphne.

Palazzo Giovaanelli: Gipsy
y and Soldierr.
San Rocco: Christ
C
bearing
g Cross.

Bostonn.

M Gardner: Christ bearing Cross.

Mrs.

Londonn.

Sketch of a Knight;
K
Adoraation of Sheppherds.
V
Viscount
Alleendale: Adoration of Sheppherds.

Viennaa.

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CH
HAPTER
R XVI
THE GIORGIO
ONESQUE
Giorgioone had givven the imppulse, and all
a the pain
nters round him felt hiis power. The
T Venetiaan
painterss that is, forr it is remarrkable, at a time when the men off one city obbserved and
d studied annd
took hinnts from thoose of everry other, how
w faint are the signs thhat this parrticular man
nner attracteed
any greeat attentionn in other art
a centres. Leonardo da
d Vinci was a masterr of chiarosscuro, but he
h
used it only to exppress his form
ms, and nevver sacrificees to it the delicacy
d
andd fineness of
o his designn.
It is the one quallity Raphaeel never asssimilates, except for a brief instaant at the period
p
wheen
Sebastiaan del Piom
mbo had arriived in Rom
me from Veenice. It takees hold mosst strongly upon
u
Andreea
del Sartto, who seem
ms, significcantly enouggh, to have had no verry pronouncced intellecttual capacityy,
but in Venice
V
itsellf it now beecame the only way. The
T old Beellini finds in it his lasst and fullest
ideal; Catena,
C
Basaiti, Carianni do their best
b to acqu
uire it, and so successffully was it acquired, so
s
congeniial was it too Venetian art, that evven second- and third-rrate Venetiaan painters have usuallly
somethiing attractivve which trriumphs ovver superficcial and douubtful draw
wing and grrouping. It is
easy to see how much
m
to theiir taste wass this fused and goldenn manner, thhis disregarrd of defineed
form, annd this new
w play of chhiaroscuro. The
T Venetiaan room in the Nationaal Gallery iss full of succh
examples: the Nym
mphs and Amoretti
A
off No. 1695,, charming figures agaainst meltin
ng vines annd
olives; Venus annd Adonis, in whichh a bewitch
hing Cupidd chases a butterfly; Lovers in a
mmer twilighht; scenes in
n which neiither personn nor scenerry is a pretexxt
landscaape, roamingg in the sum
for the other,
o
but each has its full
f share inn arousing the desired emotion.
e
Suuch picturess are ascribeed
to, or taaken from Giorgione
G
b succeediing critics, but have alll laid hold of his charrm, and havve
by
some shhare in his inspiration.
One off the ablest of his folloowers, a maan whose work
w
is stilll confoundeed with thee masters, is
masque, whho at differeent times in
n his life alsso successfu
fully imitateed Palma annd
Cariani, the Bergam
I his Giorggionesque manner
m
Carriani often creates
c
charming figurres and stro
ong portraitts,
Lotto. In
though he pushess his colourr to a coaarse, excesssive tone. His
H family group in the Roncallli
Collectiion at Bergamo is veryy close to Giorgione.
G
Seven
S
persons, three woomen and four
f
men, arre
groupedd together upon
u
a terraace, and behhind them sttretches a calm landscaape, half co
oncealed by a
brocadeed hanging. The effect of the whoole is restfull, though it lacks Giorggiones con
ncentration of
o
sensatioon. Then, aggain, Carianni flies off too the gayer,, more anim
mated style oof Lotto. Laater on, wheen
he triess to reprodduce Giorgiiones pastooral reveriees, his sheppherds and nymphs become
b
merre
peasantts, herdsmeen, and couuntry wenchhes, who have
h
nothinng of the iddyllic distin
nction whicch
Giorgioone never faailed to infuuse. The Adulteress beefore Christt at Glasgoow still bearrs the greateer
name, but
b its short, vulgar figuures and fauulty compossition disclaaim his authhorship, wh
hile Cariani is
fully caapable of such failings, and the exaaggerated, red-brown
r
toone is quitee characterisstic of him.
These painters
p
are more than merely
m
imittative; they are also typpical. Giorgiiones new manner hadd
appealeed to some quality
q
inheerent and herreditary in their
t
nature, and the essential traits they singlle
out andd dwell uponn are the traaits which apppeal equally to the insstincts of booth. It is thiss which
makes their
t
effortss more symppathetic thann those of other
o
secondd-rate painteers. Colour,, or rather
the pecuuliar way inn which Gioorgione usedd colour, maade a naturaal appeal to them, and it
i is a
medium
m which doees make an immediate appeal and covers a muultitude of sshortcoming
gs.

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But Gioorgione wass not to leavve his messaage to the mercy

m
of meere discipless and imitators, howeveer
apt. Groowing up around
a
him were men to
t whom th
hat messagee was an insspiration an
nd a trumpeetcall, meen who werre to develoop and deeppen it, endo
owing it wiith their ow
wn strength,, recognisinng
that thee way whichh the young pioneer of Castelfrancco had pointted out was the one into which theey
could unhesitating
u
ly pour theiir whole incclination. The
T instinct for colour w
was in theirr very bloodd.
They tuurned to it with
w the heaart-whole deelight with which a birrd seeks thee air or a fish the wateer,
and foreemost amonng them, to create and to
t consolidaate, was thee mighty Tittian.

PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W

Cariaani.
Bergam
mo.

C
Carrara:
Madoonna and Saiints.
L
Lochis:
Wom
man and Shepherd; Portraiits; Saints.
M
Morelli:
Madoonna (L.).
R
Roncalli
Colleection: Famiily Group.

Hamptton Court. Adoration

A
of Shepherds (L
L.); Venus (L
L.).
Londonn.

D
Death
of S. Peeter Martyr (L.);
(
Madonnna and Saintss (L.).

Milan.

B
Brera:
Madonnna and Saintts (L.); Madoonna (L.).
A
Ambrosiana:
W to Golg
Way
gotha.

Paris.

M
Madonna,
Saiints, and Don
nor (E.); Holly Family andd Saints.

Rome.

V
Villa
Borghesse: Sleeping Venus;
V
Madonna and S. Peter.

Venicee.

H
Holy
Family; Portraits.

Viennaa.

C
Christ
bearingg Cross; The Bravo.

School of Giorggione.
Londonn.

Unknown subbject; Adoration of Shephherds; Venuss and Adonis;

U
Landscape,, with Nymp
phs and Cupidds; The Gardden of Love.
M Benson. Lovers
Mr.
L
and Pilgrim.
P

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CH
HAPTER
R XVII
TITIAN
N
The moountains of Cadore are not always visible from
m Venice, but
b there thhey lie, behind the mistts,
and in the
t clear shiining after rain,
r
in the golden even
ntide of auttumn, and oon steel-cold
d winter dayys
they staand out, lappis-lazuli bllue or deep purple, or, like Shelleeys enchannted peaks, in sharp-cuut,
beautifuul shapes rising above billowy sloopes. Cadorre is a land of rich cheestnut wood
ds, of leapinng
streamss, of gleamss and gloom
ms, sudden storms and
d bursts of sunshine. Itt is an ordeer of scenerry
which enters
e
deepp into the affections
a
o its sons, and we caan form som
of
me idea off the hold its
minglinng of wild poetry
p
and sensuous
s
softness obtaiined over thhe mind of T
Titian from
m the fact thaat
in after years, whille he never exerts himsself to paint the city in which he liived and in which all his
greatestt triumphs were
w gainedd, he is unifo
formly consttant to his mountain
m
hoome, enters into its spirrit
and inteerprets its chharm with warm
w
and penetrating insight.
i
The disstrict formedd part of thhe dependenncies of the great repubblic, and rellied upon Venice
V
for its
safety, its distinctiion, and in great meassure for its employmennt. The smaall craftsmeen and artists
from all the countrry round loooked forwarrd to going down to seeek their forrtune at her hands. Theey
tacked the
t name off their nativve town to their
t
own naame, and were
w
drawn iinto the magnificent liffe
of the city
c of the sea, and caame back frrom time to
o time withh stories of her art, herr power, annd
beauty.
The Veecelli had foor generatioons held hoonourable po
osts in Caddore. The faather and grrandfather of
o
the youung Tizianoo were influential menn, and with
h his brothher and sisters he musst have beeen
broughtt up in com
mfort. Theree are even trraditions off noble birthh, and it is evident thaat Titian waas
always a gentlemaan, though this
t did not prevent hiss being eduucated as a ccraftsman, and when he
h
was onlly ten years old he was sent down to Venice to
t be apprennticed to a m
mosaicist.
It was a changingg Venice too which Tittian came as
a a boy; changing
c
inn its life, itts social annd
a was faithhfully registtering its asspirations aand tastes. More
M
than at
politicaal conditions, and its art
any preevious timee, it was caalculated too impress a youth to whom
w
it haad been held up as thhe
embodiiment of spplendid soveereignty, annd the diffeerence betw
ween the litttle hill-tow
wn set in thhe
midst of
o its wildd solitudes and the brilliant city
y of the seea must haave been dazzling
d
annd
bewildeering. A new
w sense of intellectual
i
luxury had awakened in
i the great commerciaal centre. Thhe
Venetiaan love of splendour
s
w displayiing itself by
was
y the encouuragement aand collectio
on of objects
of art, and
a both anncient and modern
m
works were in
n increasingg request. O
On Gentile Bellinis
B
annd
Carpacccios canvaases we seee the sort of
o people th
he Venetianns were, shhrewd, quiett, splendouurloving, but busineess-like, thee young meen fashionab
bly dressedd, fastidiouss connoisseu
urs, splendiid
patrons of art and of religion. Buyers weere beginnin
ng to find out
o what a ddelightful deecoration thhe
small picture
p
madde, and that it was as much in pllace in theiir own halls as over th
he altar of a
chapel. The portraait, too, wass gaining inn importancee, and the idea
i
of makking it a pleeasure-givinng
Procession of the Relicc
picture,, even moree than a faithhful transcrript, was gaathering grouund. The P
was stilll in Gentilles studio, but the Fraari Madon
nna and Chiild was just installed in its place.
Carpacccio was begginning his long series of St. Ursu
ula, and thee Bellini andd Vivarini were
w
in keeen
rivalshiip.

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Titian is said to havve passed from

fr
the botttega of Gen
ntile to that of Giovannni Bellini, but
b nothing in
i
his stylle reminds us of thee former, and
a
even his
h early work
w
has veery little th
hat is reallly
Bellinessque, wherreas from the very first
f
he refflects the new
n
spirit which em
manated from
m
Giorgioone. Titian was
w a year the
t elder, annd we can divine
d
the syympathy thaat arose betw
ween the tw
wo
when thhey came toogether in Bellinis
B
School. As so
oon as theirr apprenticeship was att an end theey
becamee partners. Fond
F
of pleaasure and gaiety, lovin
ng splendourr, dress, andd amusemen
nt, they werre
naturallly congeniaal companioons, and werre drawn yeet more clossely togetheer by their love
l
for theeir
art and by the aptittude with which
w
Titian grasped Giiorgiones principles.
p
And if we ask ourselves why we take foor granted th
hat of two young
y
men so closely allied in agge
der and the creator of the new sttyle, we maay
and circcumstance we accept Giorgione as the lead
answer that Titian was a moree complex character. He was intelllectual, and carried his intellect intto
his art, but this waas no new feeature. The intellect haad had and was
w having a large shaare in art. Buut
in that part which was new, and which was launch
hing art upoon an untried course, Giorgione is
more inntense, moree one-ideadd than Titiaan. What he does he does with a feervour and a spontaneitty
that maarks him as one
o who poours out the language off the heart.
The parrtnership beetween the two
t was proobably arran
nged a few years
y
beforee the end off the centuryy,
for we have seen that young painters ussually starteed on their own accouunt at aboutt nineteen or
o
twenty. For some years Titiann, like Giorrgione, was engrossed by the decoorations of the Fondacco
dei Teddeschi. The groups of figures described by Zanetti
Z
in 1771 show uus that while Giorgionne
made some attemppt at follow
wing classicc figures, Titian
T
brokee entirely w
with Greek art and onlly
thoughtt of picturessque nature and contem
mporary costtume.
Vasari complains
c
t he neveer knew whaat Titians Judith
that

waas meant to rrepresent, unless

it waas
Germannia, but Zaanetti, who had the bennefit of Seb
bastiano Ricccis taste, declares thaat from whaat
he saw,, both Giorgione and Titian
T
gave proofs of remarkable
r
skill. Whhile Giorgione showed a
fervid and
a originall spirit and opened up a new path, over whicch he shed a light that was to guidde
posteritty, Titian was
w of a grander
g
andd more equ
uable geniuus, leaning at first, in
ndeed, upoon
Giorgioones exampple, but expanding withh such forcee and rapiditty as to placce him in ad
dvance of his
h
compannion, on an eminence to
t which noo later craft
ftsman was able to clim
mb.... He moderated
m
thhe
fire of Giorgione,
G
w
whose
strenngth lay in fanciful mo
ovement andd a mysterioous artifice in disposinng
shadow
ws, contrasteed darkly with
w warm lights, blendeed, strengthhened, blurrred, so as to
o produce thhe
semblannce of exubberant life. Certain woorks remain
n to link thee two painteers; even no
ow critics arre
dividedd as to whhich of thee two to attribute th
he Concerrt in the Pitti. The figures arre
Giorgioonesque, buut the technnique establishes it ass an early Titian,
T
and it is doub
btful whetheer
Giorgioone would be capable of the intellectual efffort which produced the dreamy
y, passionatte
expresssion of the young
y
monk, borne farr out of him
mself by hiss own meloody, and hallf recalled to
t
life by the touch on
o his shouulder. Titiann, like Giorg
gione, was a musiciann, and the fascination
fa
o
of
music is felt by many masterss of the Itallian schoolss. In one piccture the pllayer feels vaguely
v
afteer
the mellody, in anoother we aree asked to anticipate
a
th
he song thaat is just about to begin
n, or the laast
chords of that just finished vibrate upon the ear, butt nowhere else
e in all arrt has any one
o so seizeed
the mellody of an instant and kept
k
its fulnness and its passion souunding in oour ears as this
t musiciaan
does.
Thoughh we cannott say that Tiitian was thhe pupil of any
a one masster, the fiftteen years, more
m
or lesss,
that he spent with Giorgione
G
left an indellible impression upon him.
h
We havve only to lo
ook at such a
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picture as the Maadonna andd Child withh SS. John Baptist andd Antony A
Abate, in th
he Uffizi, an
a
early work,
w
to recoollect that in
i 1503 Gioorgione at Castelfranco
C
o had takenn the Madon
nna from heer
niche inn the sanctuuary and haad enthroneed her on high
h
in a brright and suunny landscape with S.
S
Liberalee standing sentinel
s
at her
h feet, likee a knight gu
uarding his liege lady.
Titian in this earlyy group casts every connvention asiide; a beautiiful womann and lovely
y children arre
placed in surrounddings whosee charm is devoid of hieratic andd religious significancce. The sam
me
easy unnfettered trreatment apppears in the
t
Madon
nna with the
t
Cherriees at Vien
nna, and thhe
Madonnna with Stt. Bridget and
a S. Ulfuus at Mad
drid, and whhile it has been surmised that thhe
example of the preecise Albert Drer, whoo paid his fiirst visit to Venice
V
in 1506, was no
ot without its
effect inn preservingg Titian from falling innto laxity off treatment and in incitting him to fine finish, it
is interresting to find
f
that Tiitian was, in fact, disscarding thee use of thhe carefully
y traced annd
transferrred cartoonn, and was sketching
s
hiis design freeely on pannel or canvas with a bru
ush dipped in
i
brown pigment,
p
annd altering and
a modifyiing it as he went
w on.
The lasst years of Titians firrst period in
i Venice must
m
have been anxioous ones. The
T Emperoor
Maximiilian was atttacking thee Venetian possessions
p
on the mainnland, in annger at a reffusal to grannt
his trooops a free paassage on thheir way too uphold Geerman supreemacy in Ceentral Italy.. Cadore waas
the firstt point of his invasion,, and from 1507 Titian
ns uncle annd great-unccle were in the Councils
of the State,
S
his faather held an
a importannt command
d, and his brrother Franncesco, who
o had alreaddy
made soome progreess as an arttist, threw down
d
his brrush and beecame a solddier. Titian was not onne
of thosee who took up arms, but
b his thougghts must have
h
been full
fu of the atttack and defence in his
mountaain fastnessees, and he must
m
have anxiously
a
awaited
a
new
ws of his faathers troop
ps and of thhe
squadroons of Masso of Ferrarra, under whose
w
colou
urs Francessco was ridding. Franceesco made a
reputatiion as a distinguishedd soldier, annd was sev
verely wounnded, and w
when peacee was made,
Titian, who

lovedd him tenderrly, persuaaded him to return to thhe pursuit off art.
The rattification off the Leaguue of Cambbray, in wh
hich Julius II., Maxim
milian, and Ferdinand
F
o
of
Naples combined against the power of Venice,
V
waas disastrouus for a time to the citty and to thhe
w dependded upon heer prosperityy. Craftsmen of all kinds first fledd to her for shelter, thenn,
artists who
as profiits and ordeers fell off, they
t
left to look elsew
where for com
mmissions. An outbreaak of plague,
in whicch Giorgionne perished, went further to make Venice an undesirablee home, and
d at this tim
me
Sebastiaan del Piom
mbo left for Rome, Lottto for the Ro
omagna, annd Titian forr Padua.
We mayy believe thhat Titian never
n
felt peerfectly satisfied with fresco-paint
f
ting as a craaft, for wheen
he was given a coommission to fresco thhe halls off the Santo, the confraaternity of St.
S Anthonyy,
patron-ssaint of Paddua, he threew off beauutifully com
mposed andd spirited drrawings, bu
ut he left thhe
executioon of them chiefly to assistants,
a
a
among
whom
m the feeblee Domenicoo Campagno
ola, a painteer
whom he
h probablyy picked up at Padua, iss conspicuous. Even whhere the lanndscape is best,
b
as in S
S.
Anthonny restoring a Youth, the
t drawingg and comp
position onlyy make us ffeel how en
nchanting thhe
scene would
w
have been in oils on one of
o Titians melting
m
cannvases. In tthose fresco
oes which he
h
executeed himself while
w
his intterest was still
s fresh, th
he Miraclee which grannts Speech to an Infantt
is the most
m Giorgioonesque. Upp to this tim
me he had prreserved thee straight-cuut corsage and
a the actuaal
dress off his contem
mporaries, after
a
the pracctice of Gio
orgione; he keeps,
k
too, to his comp
panions plaan
of desiggn, placing the most im
mportant figgures upon one
o plane, close
c
to the frame and behind
b
a low
w
wall or ledge whicch forms a sort
s of innerr frame and with a distaant horizonn. In the Pad
duan frescoees
he makes use of thhis plan, andd the straighht clouds, th
he spindly trrees, and thee youths in gay doublets
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are all reminiscent

r
t of his earlyy comrade, but the gro
oup of women to the left in the M
Miracle of thhe
Child shows that Titian is beeginning moore decidedlly to enunciate his ownn type. The introductioon
of porttraits provees that he was tendinng to rely largely upoon nature, in contrad
distinction to
t
Giorgioones lyricallly improvissed figures. He fuses th
he influencee of Giorgioone and thee influence of
o
Antonello da Messsina and thee Bellini in a deeper kn
nowledge of
o life and nnature, and he
h is passinng
beyond Giorgione in grasp annd completenness. When
n he was ablle to return to Venice, which
w
he diid
in 15122, a tempoorary peacce having been concluded withh Maximilian, he abaandoned thhe
uncongenial mediuum of fresco for goood, and dev
voted himseelf to that which adm
mitted of thhe
afterthooughts, the enrichments
e
s, the graduual attainmeent of an exquisite surfface, and at this time his
works are
a remarkabble for theirr brilliant glloss and fin
nish.
During the next tw
welve yearss we may group
g
a num
mber of painntings whicch, taken in
n conjunctioon
with thoose of Giorgione, show
w the true Venetian
V
Sch
hool at its most
m intensee, idyllic moment.
m
Theey
are the works of a man in the pride of youth
y
and strength,
s
saane and heaalthy, an example of thhe
confideent, sanguinne, joyous teemper of hiis age, capaable of embbodying its ddominant teendencies, of
o
expresssing its enjooyment of liife, its worlldly-minded
dness, its loove of pleasure, as welll as its noblle
feeling and its gravve and magnnificent purrpose.
For abssolute delighht in colourr let us turnn to a pictu
ure like the Noli me ttangere of the Nationaal
Galleryy. The goldeen light, thee blues andd olives of the
t landscappe, the crim
mson of thee Magdalens
raimentt, combine in a feast of
o emotionaal beauty, emphasising
e
g the feelingg of the wo
oman, whosse
soul is breathed out
o in the word Masster. The colour unittes with thhe light and
d shadow, is
embeddded in it; annd we can see
s Titians delight in the ductile medium w
which had su
uch power to
t
give maaterial sensaation. In theese liquid crrimsons, theese deep greeens and shooaling bluess, the velvetty
fulness and plenittudes of thhe brush beecome visib
ble; we caan look intoo their dep
pths and seee
somethiing quite unnlike the sm
mooth, opaquue washes of
o the Florenntines.
In such a masterpieece as Saccred and Proofane Love,, painted during
d
these years for th
he Borghese,
there arre summed up
u all thosee artistic aim
ms towards which the Venetian
V
paainters had been
b
tendingg.
The piccture is stilll Giorgioneesque in moood. It may
y represent, as Dr. Wiickhoff suggests, Venuus
exhortinng Medea to
t listen to the
t love-suiit of Jason; but the subbject is not forced upon
n us, and we
w
are morre occupiedd with the contrast beetween the two beautiiful personaalities, so harmoniousl
h
ly
related to each othher, yet so opposed inn type. The gracious, self-absorbe
s
ed lady, wiith her softlly
o the goddesss
dressedd hair, her looose glove, her silvery satin dress, is a contraast in look aand spirit to
whose free, simpple attitude and outw
ward gaze embody
e
thee nobler iddeal. The sinuous annd
enchantting line off Venuss figure
f
againnst the crim
mson cloak has, I thinkk, been thee outcome of
o
admirattion for Gioorgiones S
Sleeping Venus, and has the sam
me soft, unnhurried currves. Titians
two figgures are perfectly
p
sppaced in a setting which
w
breathhes the very aroma of the earlly
Renaisssance. A baas-relief on the
t marble fountain rep
presents nyymphs whippping a sleep
ping Love to
t
life, whhile a cupidd teases the chaste uniccorn. A deliicious babyy Love splasshes in the water, falleen
rose-leaaves strew the
t mellow
w marble rim
m, around and
a away stretches a ssunny coun
ntry scene, in
i
which people
p
are placidly
p
purrsuing a lifee of ease an
nd pleasure. What a revvelation to Venice
V
thesse
picturess were whicch began with Giorgiones converrsaziones! How
H
little ooccupied thee women arre
with thee story. Vennus does noot argue, or check off reeasons on her
h fingers, llike S. Ursu
ula. Medea is
listening to her ow
wn thoughtts, but the whole
w
scen
ne is bathedd in the sugggestion off the joy annd
happineess of love. The little censer
c
burniing away in
n the blue annd breathless air might be a philtrre
diffusinng sensuouss dreams, annd when thee rays of the evening sun
s strike thhe picture, where
w
it now
w
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hangs, and
a bring out
o each touuch of its gllowing radiiance, it seeems to palpiitate with th
he joy of liffe
and to thrill
t
with thhe magic off summer inn the days when
w
the worrld was youung.
With thhe influencee still lingerring of Giorrgiones K
Knight of Malta,
M
Titiaan produced
d some of his
h
finest portraits
p
in the decade that led to the middlee of his lifee. The Dr.. Parma att Vienna, thhe
noble Man

in Blaack and M
Man with a Glove off the Louvre, the Youung English
hman of thhe
Pitti, with
w his keeen blue eyees, the portrrait at Tem
mple Newsaam, which, with somee critics, stiill
passes as
a a Giorgioone, are all examples inn which he keeps the half-length,
h
invented by
y Bellini annd
followeed by Giorgiione.
After thhe visit to Padua he shows less preferencee for costum
me, and his women are
a generallly
clothed in a loose white
w
chemise, rather thhan the squ
uare-cut boddice.
We do not wonderr that all thee leading peersonages of
o Italy wishhed to be paainted by Tiitian. His arre
the porttraits of a man
m of intelllect. They show the su
ubject at hiss best; gravve, cultivateed, stately, as
a
he appeeared and wished to appear; noot taken offf his guardd in any way. What can
c be morre
sympathhetic as a personality than
t
the Ariiosto of the National Gallery?
G
Wee can enter into
i
his minnd
and maake a friend of him, annd yet all thhe time he has
h himselff in hand; hee allows uss to divine as
a
much as
a he chooses, and draaws a thin veil
v over alll that he dooes not inteend us to discover.
d
Thhe
painter himself is impersonal
i
and not oveer-sensitive;; he does noot paint in hhis own fanccies about his
h
sitter
probably he had none; he saw what
w
he was meant to see.
s There w
was what Mr.
M Berensoon
calls aa certain happpy insensibbility abouut him, whicch prevented him from
m taking fanttastic flightts,
or from
m looking tooo deep beloow the surfaace.

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Titian. ARIOSTO
O. Londoon.
(Phooto, Manselll and Co.)

CHA
APTER
R XVIIII
TIITIAN (con
ntinued)
With thhe Assumpption, finished in 1518 for the Church of the Frari, Titian rosee to the verry
highest among Rennaissance painters. Thee Glorious S. Mary was
w his them
me, and he concentrateed
all his efforts
e
on thhe realisation of that onne idea. Thee central figuure is, as it were, a colllective ratheer
than an individual type. Well proportione
p
ed and elastic as it is, itt has the abuundance of motherhoodd.
Harmonnious and serene, it coombines draamatic forcee and profouund feelingg. Exultant Humanity,
H
i
in

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its hourr of triumphh, rises withh her, borne up lightly by

b that throbbing comppany of chilld angels annd
followeed by full reecognition and
a awestruuck satisfacction in the adoring gaaze of the th
hrong below
w,
yet Titiian has conttrived to keeep some toouch of the loving wom
man hurryinng to meet her son. Thhe
flood off colour, the golden vaault above, the garmen
nt of glowinng blues andd crimsons, have a morre
than coommon sharre in that sppirit of conffident joy and
a poured--out life whhich envelop
ps the wholle
canvas. In the worrthy represeentation of a great even
nt, the visibble assumpttion of Hum
manity to thhe
Throne of God, Tiitian puts foorth all his powers
p
and steeps us inn that tempper of sangu
uine emotionn,
of belieef in life annd confidennce in the capacity
c
of man, whichh was so characteristic of the rippe
Renaisssance. In loooking at this splendid canvas,
c
we must
m call too mind the pposition for which Titiaan
painted it. Hung inn the duskyy recesses of
o the apse, it was tem
mpered by annd merged in its statelly
surrounndings. The band of Appostles almoost formed a part of thee whisperinng crowd beelow, and thhe
gloriouss Mother was
w beheld soaring
s
upw
wards to thee golden ligght and the m
mysterious vistas of thhe
vaulted arches above.
The pattronage of courts
c
had by
b this timee altered thee tenor of Titians
T
life.. In 1516 Duke
D
Alfonsso
dEste had invitedd him to Feerrara, wheere he had finished Beellinis Baacchanals. It bears thhe
marks of
o Titians hand, and he has intrroduced a well-known
w
n point of vview at Cad
dore into thhe
backgroound. In 15518 Alfonsso writes too propose another paiinting, andd Titians acceptance
a
is
contained in a veryy courtier-liike letter, inn which wee divine a toouch of ironny. The mo
ore I thoughht
of it, he
h ends, thee more I became conviinced that th
he greatnesss of art amoong the anciients was duue
to the assistance
a
thhey receiveed from greeat princes, who were content to leave to the painter thhe
credit and renow
wn derived from theiir own ing
genuity in bespeaking pictures.. Alfonsos
requirem
ments for his
h new castle were fraankly pagan
n. Mythologgical scenes were alreeady populaar.
Manteggna had adoorned Isabella dEstes Paradiso with revels of the goods, Botticellli had giveen
his conception of classic
c
mytth in the Meedici villa, already Bellini had esssayed a Baacchanal, annd
Titian was
w to makee designs foor similar sccenes to com
mplete the decorations
d
of the halls of Este. Thhe
same exxuberant feeling he shhows in the Assumption finds utterance
u
in the Gardeen of Lovess
and thee Bacchanaals, both painted
p
for Alfonso off Ferrara. The
T childrenn in the forrmer may be
b
comparred with thee angels in the Assum
mption. Th
heir blue wings match the heaven
nly blue skyy,
and theyy are painteed with the most
m delicaate finish.
We cann imagine thhe beauty off the great hall
h at Ferraara when huung with thiis brilliant series,
s
whicch
was coompleted inn 1523 by the Bacchhus and Arriadne of the Nationnal Gallery.. The wholle
companny of bacchhanals is givven up to wanton
w
merrrymaking. Above them
m broods th
he deep bluue
sky andd great whitte clouds of a summerr day. The deep greens of the folliage throw the creamyywhite and
a burningg colour of the draperiees and the fair forms of
o the nymp
mphs into glo
owing relieef,
while by
b a convenntion the sattyrs are of a deep, tawn
ny complexxion. On a rroll of musiic is stampeed
the rolllicking device, Chi boit
b et ne reboit,
r
ne seais
s
que boir soit. The purplee fruit hanggs
ripenedd from the vines,
v
its crim
mson juice shines like a jewel in crystal
c
gobllets and drip
ps in stream
ms
over rossy limbs. Thhe influence of such piictures as th
hese was abbsorbed by R
Rubens, butt though theey
hardly surpass him
m in colourr, they are more idyllic and less coarse. T
The perfect taste of thhe
m
victoriiously than here, wheree indulgencee ceases to be repulsive,
Renaisssance is nevver shown more
and thee actors are real flesh and blood, yet more Arcadian
A
thhan revoltinng. In the B
Bacchus annd
Ariadnee, Titian gives
g
trium
mphant exprression to a mood of wild rejoiccing, so gaay, so gooddtempereed, so simpple, that we must smilee in sympatthy. The coonqueror fliinging himsself from his
golden chariot draw
wn by panthhers, his deep red man
ntle flutterinng on high, iis so full off reckless liffe
that ourr spirit bouunds with him.
h
His riooting band,, marching with song and laughtter, seems to
t
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people that goldenn country-siide with fitt inhabitantts. The careeless satyrss and little merry, goaatlegged fauns shockk us no morre than a herrd of forest ponies, tossing their m
manes and dashing
d
alonng
for lovee of life annd movemeent.[3] Yet almost beffore this seeries was pput in placee Titian waas
showingg the diverssity of his genius
g
by thhe Depositiion, now inn the Louvrre, which was
w painted at
a
the insttance of the Gonzaga, Marquis
M
of Mantua and
d nephew of
o Alfonso ddEste. Heree he makes a
great step in the usse of chiaroscuro. Whille it is satisfying in ballance and sw
weeping rhy
ythm, and by
b
the wayy in which every
e
line foollows and intensifies the
t helplesss, slackenedd lines of thee dead Bodyy,
it escappes Raphaells academiic treatmentt of the sam
me subject. Its splendidd colours arre not noisyy;
they meerge into a scene
s
of solemn pathos and traged
dy. The sceene has a sim
mplicity an
nd unity in its
passionn, and what above all gives
g
it its intense pow
wer is the way
w in whicch the flam
ming hues arre
absorbeed into the twilight
t
shaadows. The dark headss stand out against
a
the dying sunset, the palloor
of the dead
d
is halff veiled by the
t falling night.
n
It is a picture which
w
has the emotional beauty off a
scene inn nature, annd makes a profound im
mpression by
b its depth and mysterry. This sam
me solemnitty
and graavity temperr the brilliaant colourinng of the greeat altarpiecce painted ffor the Pesaaro family in
i
the Frarri. Columnss rise like great
g
tree-truunks, light and air playy through tthe clouds seen
s
betweeen
them. The
T groupinng is a new
w experimennt, but the way in whhich the Moother and Child,
C
thouggh
placed quite at one side of thhe picture, are
a focussed as the ceentre of inteerest, by thee converginng
lines, diagonal
d
on the one hannd and straiight on the other, crow
wns it with success. Th
he scheme of
o
colour brings
b
the two
t
figuress into high relief, while St. Franccis and the family of th
he donor arre
subordiinated to ricch, deep tinnts. Titian has abando
oned, more completelyy than everr before, anny
attemptt to invest thhe Child wiith supernatuural majesty
y. He is a delightful,
d
sppoiled baby
y, fully awarre
of his sovereignty
s
over his mother,
m
prettending to take
t
no nottice of the kkneeling su
uppliants, buut
occupyiing himselff in making a tent over his head ou
ut of her veiil. The Maadonna in Glory
G
with siix
Saints of the Vattican is another exampple of the riich and sm
mouldering colour in which
w
Titiaan
was now creating his great altarpieces,
a
kneading his
h pigmentts into a quuality, a sollidity, whicch
gives reeality withoout heavinesss, and finisshing with th
hat fine-graained texture which maakes his flessh
look likke marble enndowed witth life.

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Titian.

DIANA AND
A
ACTA
AEON. Eaarl Brownloow.
(The Medici Socciety, Ltd.)

Venusees, altarpiecees, and porttraits all telll us how bo

oldly his ow
wn style wass established
d. His sacreed
personss are not diifferent from
m his pagaans and god
ddesses. Yeet though hhe has gonee far, he stiill
remindss us of Giorgione. He has been constant
c
to the
t earliest influences which surrrounded him
m,
and to that temperrament whiich made hiim accept those
t
influeences so insstantaneousslyand thhis
constanncy and unitty give him
m the untrouubled ascen
ndancy overr art which is such a feature
f
of his
positionn.
With Leonardo annd with Titiaan, painterss had sprun
ng to a recognised statuus in the grreat world of
o
the Rennaissance. They
T
were no longer the
t patronissed craftsm
men. They hhad becomee the courteed
guests, the social equals.
e
Titiaan, passing from
f
the courts of Ferrrara to thosee of Mantuaa and Urbinoo,
attendedd by a bandd of assistannts, was a magnificent
m
t personage, whose preesence was looked upoon
as a favvour, and whho undertoook a commission as onee who confeerred a coveeted boon. Among
A
thosse
who cluustered clossest round the
t popular favourite, no
n one did more to ennhance his position
p
thaan
Aretinoo, the brilliaant unscrupuulous debauuchee, wit, bully,
b
blackkmailer, but a man who
o, with all his
h
faults, had
h evidenttly his ownn power of fascination
n, and, the friend of pprinces, musst have beeen
himselff the prince of good com
mpany. Areetino, as farr as he couldd be said too be attached
d to any one,

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was connsistent in his

h attachmeent to Titiann from the time
t
they firrst met at thhe court of the
t Gonzaga.
He playyed the partt of a chorus, calling atttention to the
t great paainters merits, jogging
g the memorry
of his employers
e
a to paymeents, and neever ceasing
as
g to flatter, amuse, andd please him
m. Titian, foor
his partt, shows him
mself equallly devoted to Aretinos interests,, and has leeft various characteristi
c
ic
portraits of him, haandsome annd showy in his prime, sensual andd depraved aas age overttook him.
In the spring of 1528 the conffraternity off St. Peter Martyr
M
invited artists too send in sk
ketches for an
a
altarpieece to their patron-saint
p
t, in SS. Giiovanni and
d Paolo, to replace
r
an oold one by Jacobello
J
deel
Fiore. Palma
P
Veccchio and Poordenone alsso competed
d, but Titiann carried offf the prize. The picturre
was dellivered in 1530, and during
d
the autumn off 1529 Sebaastian del P
Piombo had
d returned to
t
Venice from Romee, and Michhelangelo had
h sought refuge
r
theree from Floreence and haad stayed foor
some months.
m
A quarrel
q
withh the monkks over the price had delayed
d
thee picture, so
o that it maay
quite prrobably havve only beenn begun aftter intercourrse with thee Roman viisitors had given
g
a fressh
turn to Titians ideeas; for thouugh he neveer ceases to be himselff, it certainlyy seems as if the geniuus
of Michhelangelo had
h had som
me effect. From
F
what we
w know off the altarpiiece, which
h perished by
b
fire in 1867,
1
but of which a good
g
copy by
b Cigoli reemains, Titiian embarkeed suddenly
y upon form
ms
of Hercculean strenngth in violeent action, but
b there hiis likeness to
t the Floreentine ended
d; the figurees
were, inndeed, draw
wn with a deep, thouugh not alto
ogether succcessful, atttention to anatomy
a
annd
foreshoortening, butt the picture obtained its effect an
nd derived its impressiiveness from
m the settinng
in whicch the figurees were placcedthe grreat trees, beending and straining, thhe hurrying
g clouds, as if
nature were
w
in porrtentous harrmony with the sinisterr deed, and overhead tthe enchanting gleam of
o
light whhich shot doownward annd irradiated the face of
o the martyyr and the tw
wo lovely winged
w
boyys,
bathed in a flood of
o blue theer, who heldd aloft the palm
p
of victtory. Many copies of itt remain, annd
ot preservedd among theem.
we onlyy regret thatt one which Rubens executed is no
When we
w look at the
t deliciouus Madonnna del Conig
glio in the Louvre andd our own Marriage

o
of
S. Cathherine, the first of whiich certainlly, and the second
s
probbably, was painted abo
out this time,
we cannnot doubt that
t
the chaarm of the idea
i
of mottherhood haad particulaarly arrested
d the painteer.
About 1525
1
his firrst son, Pom
mponio, wass born, and was follow
wed by anotther son and
d a daughteer.
In the S.
S Catherinee he paints thhat passion of mother-love with ann intensity aand reality that
t can onlly
be draw
wn from lifee, and on thee wheel at her
h feet he has
h inscribedd his name, Ticianus, F.
F His feelinng
for landdscape is inncreasing, and
a the landdscape in th
hese picturees equals thhe figures in
n importancce
and hass engrossed the painterr quite as much.
m
Every
y year Titiann paid a vissit to Cadorre, and in thhe
rich wooodlands, the distant villlages, the great
g
white villa on the hill-side, aand, above all,
a in the faaroff bluee mountains and the glooms
g
andd gleams off storm and sunshine, the sudden dart of rayys
throughh the summeer clouds, which
w
he haas painted here,
h
we seee how consttant was hiss study of his
native country,
c
andd how profo
foundly he felt
f its poettry and its charm.
c
He hhad married
d Cecilia, thhe
daughteer of a barbber belonginng to Perarolo, a little town near Cadore. Inn 1530 she died, and he
h
mourneed her deepply. He wennt on workiing and planning for his
h childrenns future, and
a his sisteer
came frrom Cadoree to take chaarge of the motherless
m
household; but his frieends letterss speak of his
h
being illl from melaancholy, annd he could not go on living
l
in thee old housee at San Sam
muele, whicch
had beeen his homee for sixteeen years. Hee took a neew house onn the northh side of thee city, in thhe
parish of
o San Cancciano. The Casa Grandde, as it waas called, waas a buildinng of imporrtance, whicch
the painnter first hirred and finaally bought,, letting offf such apartm
ments as hee did not neeed. The firrst
floor haad a terracee, and was entered by a flight of steps from the gardenn, which ov
verlooked thhe
lagoonss, and had a view of thhe Cadore mountains.
m
It
I has been swept awayy by the bu
uilding of thhe
Fondam
menta Nuovve, but the documents of the leaases are preeserved, andd the exactt site is weell
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establisshed. Here his

h children grew up, annd he work
ked for them
m unceasinglly. Pompon
nio, his eldest
son, waas idle and extravagannt, a constannt source off trouble, and
a Aretino writes him
m reproachfuul
letters, which he trreats with much
m
imperrtinence. Orrazio took to
t his fatheers professiion, and waas
his consstant compaanion, and often
o
drew his cartoons; and his beautiful
b
dauughter, Lav
vinia, was his
h
greatestt joy and prride. In thiss house Titiian showed
d constant hospitality,
h
aand there arre records of
o
the prinncely fashiion in which he enteertained hiss friends and
a
distinguuished foreeign visitorrs.
Prisciannese, a welll-known Huumanist andd savant of the
t day, desscribes a Baacchanalian
n feast on thhe
1st of August,
A
in a pleasant gaarden belonging to Messser Tizianoo Vecellio. A
Aretino, Saansovino, annd
Jacopo Nardi weree present. Tiill the sun set
s they stay
yed indoors, admiring tthe artists pictures.
p
A
As
soon ass it went doown, the tabbles were sppread, lookiing on the lagoons,
l
whhich soon sw
warmed witth
gondolaas full of beeautiful wom
men, and reesounded wiith music off voices andd instrumen
nts, which tiill
midnighht, accompaanied our delightful
d
suupper. Titiaan gave the most delicate viands and preciouus
wines, and
a the suppper ended gaily.
g
In the year
y 1532 Titian
T
for thee first time sought otheer than Italian patronagge. Charles V., who waas
then at the height of
o his powerr, with all Ittaly at his feet,
fe passed through Maantua, and among
a
all thhe
treasurees that he saw
s
was most
m
struck by Titians portrait of
o Federigoo Gonzaga. After mucch
writing to and fro, it was arraanged that Titian
T
should
d meet the Emperor att Bologna, where
w
he haad
just beeen crowned.. He made his
h first skettch of him, from whichh he afterwaards produced a finisheed
full lenggth. It was the
t first of many
m
portraaits, and Vaasari declarees that from
m that time forth
f
Charlees
would never
n
sit too any otherr master. He
H received a knighthoood, and m
many comm
missions from
m
memberrs of the Em
mperors coourt. It was for
f one of his
h nobles, da
d Valos, M
Marquis of Vasto,
V
that he
h
painted the allegorical piece in the Louuvre, in wh
hich Mary of
o Arragon, the lovely
y wife of da
d
Valos, is
i parting with
w her hussband, who is bound on one of the desperatee expedition
ns against thhe
terrible Turks. Da Valos is drressed in arrmour, and the couple are encirclled by Hym
men, Victoryy,
and thee God of Loove. The coomposition was repeatted more thhan once, bbut never with
w quite thhe
same suuccess. We again susppect the inffluence of Michelange
M
elo in the alltarpiece paainted beforre
Titian next
n left Vennice, of St. John the Allmsgiver, fo
or the Churcch of that nname, of wh
hich the Dogge
was pattron. The fiigures are liife-size, thee types stern
n and ruggeed, daringlyy foreshorteened, and thhe
colours, though goorgeous, arre softened and brokeen by broadd effects off light and shade. It is
mn mood, a contrast too that in which
w
about this time hhe produced
d a series of
o
painted in a solem
beautifuul female poortraits, nudde or semi-nnude, chieflly, it would appear, at tthe instancee of the Dukke
of Urbiino. The Duke at this time was the Generaal-in-Chief of the Vennetian forces, a positioon
which took
t
him offten to Veniice, and Tittians relatio
ons with him
m lasted till the painteers death. At
A
least tw
wenty-five of
o his workss must havee adorned th
he castles of Urbino annd Pesaro. Among
A
thesse
were thhe Venus of the Uffizi, La Bella di
d Tiziano, in her gorggeous schem
me of blue and
a amethysst,
the Giirl in a Fur Cloak, beesides portraaits of the Duke
D
and Duchess.
D
It would be im
mpossible to
t
enumerrate here thee numbers of
o portraits which Titian was now
w supplyingg. The reputtation he haad
acquired, not onlyy in Italy, but in Spainn, France, an
nd Germanny, was greaater than haad ever beeen
attainedd by any paiinter, while his social position
p
wass established among the highest in
n every courrt.
He had rivals in Venice, says Vasari,, but nonee that he did not crushh by his ex
xcellence annd
knowledge of the world in coonverse withh gentlemen
n. There iss not a writter of the day
d who doees
not accclaim his geenius. Titiann was undooubtedly veery fond off money, annd had amaassed a goood
fortune. He was constantly
c
asking for favours, an
nd had pennsions and allowancess from royaal
patrons. Lavinia, when
w
she married, brouught her hussband a dow
wry of 14000 ducats. Hee had painteed
the porttraits of thee Doges witth tolerable regularity, but all throough his lifee complaintts were hearrd
of his neglect
n
of thhe work of the
t Hall of Grand Cou
uncil. Occuppied as he w
was with thee work of his
h
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foreign patrons, hee had systeematically neglected

n
th
he conditionns enjoinedd by his posssession of a
Brokers patent, annd the Signnoria suddennly called on
o him to reefund the saalary amoun
nting to oveer
100 duccats a yearr, for the tw
wenty yearss during wh
hich he hadd drawn it without performing his
promisee, while theey preparedd to instal Pordenone,
P
who
w had lattely appearred as his bitter rival, in
i
his steaad. Though Titian must have beenn making laarge sums of
o money att this time, his expensees
were heeavy, and hee could not calmly facee the obligaation to repaay such a suum as 2000 ducats at thhe
same time that he lost the annnual salary, nor was itt pleasant too be oustedd by a secon
nd-rate rivaal.
His eassy remedy was,
w howevver, in his own hands; he set to work and ssoon completed a greaat
canvas of the Batttle of Cadoore, which, though it is only know
wn to us froom a contem
mporary prinnt
and a drawing
d
by Rubens,
R
eviidently deseerved Vasarris verdict of being thhe finest batttlepiece eveer
placed in the hall. The movem
ment and sttir he contriives to givee with a sm
mall number of figures is
astonishhing. The foortress burnns upon the hill-side, a regiment advancing
a
w
with lances and pennonns
producees the illusion that it iss the vanguuard of a greeat army, thhe desperatee conflict by
y the narrow
w
bridge realises
r
all the
t terrors of
o war. It was
w an atoneement for hiis long periood of neglect, but it waas
not till 1439 that, Pordenone
P
having sudddenly died, the Signorria relented and reinstaated Titian in
i
his Brokers patennt. One of hiis later painntings for th
he State stilll keeps its place, Thee Triumph of
o
D
Grimanni, a splendid, steel-claad form withh flowing m
mantle, kneeels before thhe
Faith, in which Doge
w holds a cross, wh
hich angelss and cheruubs help herr to supporrt.
angelic apparition of Faith, who
Beneathh the cloudds are seen the Venetiian fleet, th
he Ducal Paalace, and tthe Campan
nile. It is an
a
allegoryy of Grimannis life; his defeat and captivity are symbollised by thee cross and chalice, annd
the maggnificent figure of St. Mark withh the lion is
i introduceed to show that the Doge believees
himselff to owe his freedom to the sainnts intercession. The prophet
p
andd standard-b
bearer at thhe
sides were
w added by
b Marco Vecellio.
Thoughh the battleppiece perishhed in the fire of 157
77, another masterpiecce of this tiime marks a
climax in Titians brilliantly coloured
c
annd highly fin
nished stylee. The Presentation off the Virginn
was paiinted for thee refectory of the Conffraternity off the Carit, which wass housed in
n the buildinng
now useed as the Academy,
A
soo that the piccture remains in the pllace for whiich it was ex
xecuted. It is
one of the most vivid and liffe-like of alll his works. The com
mposition is the traditio
onal one; thhe
P
of thhe old dispeensation weelcoming thhe
fifteen steps of thhe Gospel of Mary, the High Priest
childishh representaative of the new. Below is a greaat crowd, buut it is this little figuree which firrst
attracts the eye. Thhe contrast between thhe mass of architecture
a
e and the free and glow
wing countrry
beyond is not witthout meanning, and a broken Roman
R
torsoo, lying neglected on the groundd,
symbolises the dow
wnfall of thhe Pagan Empire.
E
Thee flight of steps,
s
with the figure sitting
s
below
w
b
frrom Carpaccio, and peerhaps takenn by him fr
from the skeetch-book of
o
them, iss an idea borrowed
Jacopo Bellini. Thhe men on the left aree portraits of
o memberss and patroons of the confraternity
c
y.
T
men in rich dresses
d
at thhe foot of tthe steps. In
n this statelly
Most Titianesque
are the beaautiful wom
compossition we seee what is often
o
noticeeable in Titiians sceness; he bringss in the bysstanders afteer
the mannner of a Greek
G
choruss. They all, with one accord,
a
exprress the sam
me sentimen
nt. There is a
certain acceptationn of the obvvious in Titiian, a vein of
o simplicitty flows thrrough his naature. He haas
a subtle search after the motivees of humannity which w
we find in Tintoretto or
o
not the sensitive and
Lotto. He
H has greaat intellectuual power, but
b not greeat imaginattion. It is a temper wh
hich helps to
t
keep thhe unity, thee monumenntal quality of his scenees undisturbbed and addds to their effect.
e
In thhe
Ecce Homo
H
Chrrist is show
wn to the populace
p
by
y Pilate, who
w with duubious com
mpliment is a
portrait of Aretinoo, and the coontrast of thhe lonely, broken-dow
b
wn man withh the crowd
d which, witth
all its lower
l
instinncts let loosse, thunderrs back the cry of Crrucify Him,, is the more dramatiic

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becausee of the unaanimous spirit which possesses

p
th
he raging multitude.
m
O
Other artistss would havve
given more
m
incidenntal byplay, and drawn off our atteention from the main isssue.

CH
HAPTER
R XIX
TIITIAN (con
ntinued)
While Titian
T
was executing
e
p
portraits
of the
t Doges, of Aretino and of Isabbella of Porrtugal, and of
o
himselff and his dauughter Laviinia, he wass also strikin
ng out a new
w line in thee ceiling picctures for thhe
Church of San Spirito, which have since been transfferred to thee Salute. Thhough painteed before his
h
journeyy to Rome, it may be suspected
s
thhat he had Michelange
M
elos work iin the Sixtin
ne Chapel in
i
mind, and
a that he was
w setting himself thee task of bold foreshorttening and ttechnical prroblems. Thhe
daring of
o the concception is grreat, yet wee feel sure that
t
this is not
n Titianss element; his
h figures in
i
violent movement give a vivvid idea of strength an
nd muscularr force, butt fail both in grace annd
drawingg, and thouggh the colouur and lightt and shade distract ourr attention ffrom defects of form, he
h
does noot possess thhat mastery over the floowing silhou
uette whichh Tintoretto attained.
It was in
i 1543 thaat his relations with thhe Farnese, whose youung cardinaal he had beeen paintingg,
drew hiim at last too Rome. Leoo X. had triied to attracct him theree without suuccess, but now
n
at sixtyyeight hee found him
mself as farr on the rooad as Urbin
no. His sonn Orazio w
was with him
m, and Dukke
Guidobbaldo was hiimself his escort,
e
and sent
s
him on
n with a bannd of men-aat-arms from
m Pesaro. He
H
was recceived in Roome by Carrdinal Bembbo; Paul IIII. gave him a cordial w
welcome and
d Vasari waas
appointted his ciceerone. It is interesting to inquire what impreession Rom
me, with its treasures of
o
antique statuary annd contempoorary paintiing, made upon
u
Titian. He is filleed with won
nder and glaad
that he came, wriites Bemboo. In a letterr to Aretino
o he regretss that he haad not com
me before. He
H
stayed eight
e
monthhs in Rome,, and was made
m
a Rom
man citizen. He visits thhe Stanze of
o Raphael in
i
companny with Sebbastian del Piombo,
P
andd Michelan
ngelo comess to see him
m at his lodg
gings, and he
h
receivess a long leetter from Aretino
A
advvising him to comparee Michelanggelo with Raphael,
R
annd
Sansoviino and Braamante withh the sculptoors and arch
hitects of anntiquity. Titiian was welll establisheed
in his own
o
style, and
a was received as the
t creator of acknowlledged massterpieces, and
a he neveer
painted a more maagnificent portrait-piec
p
ce than that of Paul IIII., the peeviish old Pop
pe, ailing annd
humoroous, suspicioous of the two
t
nephew
ws who are painted wiith him, andd who he guessed
g
to be
b
conspiring againstt him. The characteristic attitude of the oldd man of eiighty, bent down in his
h
chair, his
h quick, irritable
i
glaance, the stteady, deterrmined gazze of the cardinal, thee obsequiouus
attitudee and weak, wily face of Ottavio Farnese aree all immorrtalised in a broader, more
m
carelesss
techniquue than Titiian has hithherto used. Though
T
he does
d
not seeem to have bbeen directlly influenceed
by all he
h saw in Rome,
R
we undoubtedly
u
y find a chaange comingg over his w
work betweeen 1540 annd
1550, which
w
may be
b in part ascribed
a
to a widening of his artisstic horizon and a conssciousness of
o
what otthers were doing,
d
both around him
m and abroaad. In its whhole handlinng and charracter his latte
st
is differrent from his
h early maanner. It begins at this time to takke on a bluurred, soft, impressioni
i
characteer. His deliight in rich colouring seems
s
to wane, and hee aims at inntensifying the
t power of
o
light. He
H reaches thhat point inn the Venetiaan School of
o painting which
w
we m
may regard as
a its climaxx,
when thhere is littlee strong local colour, but
b the canv
vas seems illlumined froom within. There are no
n
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clear-cuut lines, butt the shapes are suggeested by som

mbre envelloping shaddes in which
h the radiannt
brightneess is embeedded. His landscapes
l
a
alter
too; th
hey are no longer
l
blue and smiling
g, filled witth
loving detail,
d
but grander,
g
moore mysterious. In the St. Jerom
me in Paris the old Saaint kneels in
i
wild annd lonely suurroundingss, and the moon,
m
slowlly rising beehind the daark trees, seends a sharpp,
silver raay across thhe crucifix. The Suppper at Emm
maus has thhe grandiosee effect thaat is given by
b
avoidannce of detaill and simpliification of method.
Titian painted
p
seveeral portraitts of himsellf, and we know
k
what sort
s of stateely figure was
w presenteed
by the old man off seventy who,
w
at Chrristmas in 1547,
1
set foorth to ridee across thee Alps in thhe
depths of
o winter too obey Charrles V.s calll to Augsbu
urg. The exxcitement off the publicc was great at
a
his departure, and Aretino describes how
w his house was besiegged for the ssketches an
nd designs he
h
left behhind him. For nearly foorty years Titian
T
was employed
e
b the Housse of Hapsb
by
burg. He haad
been woorking for Charles
C
sincce 1530, andd when the Emperor abbdicated, hiis employm
ment by Philiip
II. lasteed till his death.
d
The palace
p
invenntory of 16
686 containeed seventy--six Titians, and thouggh
probablly not all were
w
genuinee, yet an im
mmense num
mber were really by him
m, and the gallery,
g
eveen
now, is richer in hiis works thaan any otherr.
The greeat hall of the Pardo must have been a wo
onderful sigght, with Tiitians finesst portrait of
o
himselff in the middst, and thee magnificeent portraitss and sacreed and alleggorical piecces which he
h
continuued from thhis time forrward to coontribute to
o it. In thiss year, whiich was thee last beforre
Charlesss abdicatioon, and duuring this visit
v
to Soutth Germanyy, he paintted the greaat equestriaan
portrait of the Empperor on the field of Mhlberg,
M
and
a two yeaars later cam
me the first of his manny
portraits of Philip II. The facee, in the firrst sketch, iss laid in wiith a sort off fury of im
mpressionism
m,
t parade portrait
p
the sitter
s
is reallised as a man
m of great distinction.. Ugly and sensual
s
as he
h
and in the
is, we never
n
tire of
o looking at
a Titians conception
c
a full lenggth of distinnguished mien
m
rendereed
attractivve by magnnificent coloour. Everythhing in it liv
ves, and thee slender, aaristocratic hands
h
are, as
a
Morellii says, a whoole biography in themsselves.
The spllendid seriess of allegoriical subjects which Titian contribuuted to the P
Pardo, whilee he was stiill
supplying sacred pictures
p
and altarpiecess to Venice and
a the neigghbouring m
mainland, arre among his
most mature
m
and im
mportant works.
w
Neveer has his gaamut of tonnes been fulller and stro
onger than in
i
the Juupiter and Antiope,
A
or the Vennus of the Pardo
P
as it
i is sometimes called. The Venuus
herself has the attittude of Giorgiones dreeaming god
ddess, with her
h arm flunng up abovee her head. It
ving anythinng ideal to oone of his Venuses.
V
Thhe
is, perhhaps, the onlly time thatt Titian succceeds in giv
famous nudes of thhe Uffizi annd the Louvre are splen
ndid courtessans, far rem
moved from
m Giorgiones
idyllic vision; but Antiope, slumbering
s
on her cou
uch of skinss, and her w
woodland lover,
l
gazinng
with addoring eyes on her beauutiful face, have
h
a whole world off sweet and jjoyful fancy
y. The wholle
scene iss full of a joie
j
de vivrre, which carries
c
us baack to the Bacchanals
B
painted so
o many yearrs
before, and in thesse Titian giives King Philip
P
his most
m perfect work, everry touch of which is his
h
own. Thhis picture, now in thee Louvre, was
w given to
o Charles I. by the Kinng of Spain
n, and boughht
for Carddinal Mazarrin in 1650. Dana, Venus and
d Adonis, Europa

annd the Bull, and a Laast

Supper followed in quick suuccession, but
b Titian was
w now em
mploying maany assistan
nts, and great
parts off the canvasses issuing from
f
his woorkshop sho
ow weak, im
mitative hannds, while replicas
r
werre
made off other workks.
His lateer feeling for
f the reliigious in arrt is expresssed in the now bedim
mmed pain
ntings in Saan
Salvatoore in Venicce. Vasari describes
d
theese in 1566. Painted when
w
Titian was nearly ninety yearrs
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old, thhe Transfiiguration is remarkaable for forcible,

fo
majestic moovement, while
w
in thhe
Annunnciation hee invents quuite a new trreatment. Mary
M
turns round
r
and raaises her veeil, while shhe
grasps the
t book ass if she depeended on it for stay an
nd support. The four anngels are fu
ull of life annd
gaiety, and the whhole has muuch grace and
a colour, though it is dashed iin, in the painters lateer
style, inn broad annd sweepinng planes without
w
patience of detail. The old man has
h signed it
Titianuus, fecit, feccit, a conteemptuous reeply to som
me critics whho complainned of its want
w of finishh.
He knew
w well whaat it was in compositioon and execcution, and that all thaat he had ev
ver known or
o
done layy within thee careless sttrength of his
h last mann
ner.
A letterr written to the King of Spains seecretary in 1574 gives a list in paart of fourrteen picturees
sent to Madrid
M
during the last twenty-fivee years, wiith many othhers which I do not rem
member. On
O
every hand
h
we heaar of lost picctures from the masters brush, andd the numbeer produced
d even durinng
the lastt ten years of his lifee must havee been eno
ormous, for till the ennd he was full of greaat
undertaakings and achievemen
a
nts. Very latte in life hee painted a Shepherd and Nymp
ph (Viennaa),
which in its idyllicc feeling, itss slumberouus delight, itts mingling of clothed aand nude fig
gures, recalls
the earlly days withh Giorgionee, yet the bllurred and smouldering
s
g richness, tthe absolutee negation of
o
all sharrp lines andd lights is inn his very latest style,, and he haas gone pastt Giorgionee on his ow
wn
ground.. Then in sttrange contrrast is the Christ

Crow
wned with Thorns, att Vienna, a tragic figurre
stupefieed with sufffering. Hiss last great work was the Piet in the Accademy, wh
hich, thouggh
unfinishhed, is noblly designed and very im
mpressive. He
H places thhe Virgin suupporting th
he Body in a
great doome-shapedd niche, whiich gives ellevation. It is
i flanked by
b two calm
m, antique, stone
s
figurees,
whose impassive
i
a contrasts with the wild pain and
air
d grief below
w. The Maggdalen stepss out towardds
the speectator withh the wailinng cry of a Greek trragedy. It perhaps
p
harrdly movess us like thhe
concenttrated feeliing of Belllinis Maddonna, or the
t
hurriedd, tremblingg grief of Tintorettos
Magdallen, but it iss monumenttal in the sw
weeping graace of its linne, and full of nobility of feeling. It
is sadlyy rubbed andd darkened and has losst much of Titians
T
colour, but is sstill beautifu
ful in its deeep
greys mingled
m
withh a sombre golden gloow, as of haalf-extinguisshed fires. T
These late paintings
p
arre
of the true
t
impresssionist order; looked at closely they
t
presennt a mass oof scumbled
d touches, of
o
incoherrent dashes, but if we
w step fartther away, to the rigght focus, llight and dark
d
arrangge
themsellves, order shines throough the whhole, and we
w see whatt the great m
master meaant us to see.
Titians later creaations, sayys Vasari, aare struck off
o rapidly, so that wheen close yo
ou cannot seee
them, but
b afar theyy look perfeect, and thiss is the stylee which so many tried to imitate, to show thaat
they weere practisedd hands, butt only produuced absurd
dities. Titiaan was prepparing the picture for thhe
Frari, inn payment for
f the grantt of a tomb for himselff, when in August
A
15766 the plaguee broke out in
i
Venice,, and on thee 27th the great painteer died of it
i in his ow
wn house. T
The stringen
nt regulationns
concernning infectioon were relaaxed to do honour to one
o of the greatest
g
sonss of Venicee, and he waas
laid to rest in the Frari, bornne there in solemn
s
proccession, thrrough a cityy stricken by
b terror annd
panic, and
a buried in
i the Chapeel of the Cruucified Sav
viour, for whhich his lastt work was ordered. Thhe
Assum
mption of his
h prime loooked downn upon him, and close at
a hand wass the Mado
onna of Cassa
Pesaro. His son Orazio
O
caughht the plaguue and died immediately
i
y after, andd the painterrs house waas
sacked by thieves and
a many precious
p
thinngs stolen.
hich of all others
o
estabblished and consolidateed
The greeat personallity of Titiaan stands ouut as that wh
the school of Vennice. He is its central figure. Thee century of life, of w
which eighty
y years werre
passed in ceaseless industry of
o productioon, left its deep impreession on thhe art of ev
very civiliseed
countryy of Europee. Every great man off the day who
w was a lover
l
of artt and culturre fell undeer
Titianss spell. His influence on
o his conteemporaries was
w enormoous, and he had everyth
hing: geniuus,
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industryy, personal distinction,, character, social charrm. He is, perhaps,

p
of ttoo intellecttual a cast of
o
mind too be quite tyypical of the Venetian spirit, in th
he way that Tintoretto is; it is con
nceivable thaat
in anothher environm
ment Titiann might havee developed
d on rather different
d
linnes, but this temper gavve
him greeater dominnation. He was
w free from
m the eccen
ntricities whhich beset ggenius. He possessed
p
thhe
saving salt of pracctical comm
mon sense, so
s that the golden
g
meann of sanity and healthfful joy in his
h
works commended
c
d them to alll men, and they are no
ot difficult to understannd. Yet whille all can seee
the beaauty of his poetic
p
instinnct for coloour, his inteeresting andd original teechnique, his
h grasp annd
scope, his
h masteryy and certainnty have gaained for him the title of the painnters paintter. There is
no one from whom
m men feell that they can
c so safeely learn so much, andd the grand breadth annd
power of
o eliminatiion of his laater years iss justified by
b the way in
i which inn his earlier work he haas
carried exquisite fiinish and ricch impasto to
t perfectio
on.

PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W
Anconna.

C
Crucifixion
(L
L.).
S. Domenico: Madonna with
w Saints annd Donor, 15520.

Antwerp.

Pope Alexandder VI. presenting Jacopoo Pesaro.

Berlin..

Innfant Daughtter of Strozzii, 1542; Portrait of Himseelf (L.);

Lavinia beaaring Chargees.

Bresciaa.

SS. Nazaro e Celso: Altarp

piece, 1522.

Dresdeen.

Madonna withh Saints (E.); Tribute Mooney (E.); Laavinia as Brid

M
de,
1555; Lavinia as Matro
on (L.); Portrrait, 1561; Laady with Vasse
(L.); Lady in Red Dresss.

Florencce.

Pitti: La Bellaa; Aretino, 15

545; Magdallen; The Youung
Englishmann; The Concert (E.); Phillip II.; Ippoliito de Medicii,
1533; Tom
maso Mosti.
Uffizi: Eleanoora Gonzaga,, Duchess off Urbino, 15337; Francesco
U
o
della Roverre, Duke of Urbino,
U
15377; Flora; Vennus, the head
da
portrait of Lavinia;
L
Ven
nus, the headd a portrait off Eleanora
Gonzaga; Madonna
M
witth S. Anthonny Abbot.

Londonn.

Holy Family and

H
a Shepherd; Bacchus and
a Ariadne (E.); Noli me
tangere (E.); Madonna with SS. Johhn and Catheerine.
Bridgewater House:
B
H
Holy Family (E.);; Venus of thhe Shell; Thrree
Ages of Maan; Diana an
nd Actaeon, 1559;
1
Callistto, 1559.
E Brownlow
Earl
w: Diana and
d Actaeon (L
L.).
Sir F. Cook: Portrait
P
of Laaura de Diantti.

Madridd.

93

Madonna withh SS. Ulfus and

M
a Bridget (E.);
(
Bacchannal; The
Garden of Loves;
L
Danaa, 1554; Vennus and Youuth playing
Organ (L.);; Salome (po
ortrait of Lavvinia); Trinityy, 1554;
Entombment, 1559; Pro
ometheus; Religion succooured by Spaain

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(L.); Sisyphhus (L.); Alffonso of Ferrrara; Charles V. at the

Battle of Mhlberg,
M
154
48; Charles V.
V and his Dog, 1533;
Philip II., 1550;
1
Philip II.; The Infannt; Don Fernnando and
Victory; Poortrait; Portraait of Himsellf; Duke of A
Alva; Venus
and Adoniss; Fall of Maan; Empress Isabella.
I
Medolee.

(nnear Brescia)) Christ appeearing to His Mother.

Munichh.

Vanitas; Portrrait of Charlees V., 1548; Madonna annd Saints; Maan

V
with Batonn.

Napless.

Paul III. and Cardinals,

C
15
545; Dana.

Padua.

Scuola del Santo: Frescoes; S. Anthonny granting S

Speech to an
L The Jeallous Husband,
Infant; Thee Youth who cut off his Leg;
1511.

Paris.

Madonna withh Saints (E.); La Vierge au

M
a Lapin; Maadonna with S.
Agnes; Chrrist at Emmaaus (L.); Crow
wning with T
Thorns (L.);
Entombment; S. Jeromee (L.); Jupiteer and Antioppe (L.); Fran
ncis
I.; Allegoryy; Marquis da
d Valos and Mary of Arrragon; Alfon
nso
of Ferrara and
a Laura Dianti; LHom
mme au Gantt (E.); Portraiits.

Rome.

Villa Borghesse: Sacred an

V
nd Profane Loove (E.); St. Dominio (L.);
Education of
o Cupid (L.).
C
Capitol:
Baptiism (E.).
D
Doria:
Daughhter of Herod
dias.
V
Vatican:
Maddonna in Glorry and six Saaints, 1523.

Trevisoo.

D
Duomo:
Annuunciation.

Urbinoo.

R
Resurrection
(
(L.);
Last Su
upper (L.).

Venicee.

Academy: Preesentation off Virgin, 1540; S. John inn the Desert;

A
Assumptionn, 1518; Piett, 1573.
Palazzo Ducaale Staircase: S. Christophher, 1523.
Sala di Quattrro Porte: Dog
ge Giovanni before Faithh, 1555.
Frari: Pesaro Madonna,
M
15
526.
S. Giovanni Elemosinario
: S. John thee Almsgiver, 1523.
E
Scuola di Sann Rocco: Ann
nunciation (E
E.).
Salute Sacristty: Descent of
o the Holy Spirit;
S
St. Maark enthroned
d
with Saintss; David and Goliath; Saccrifice of Isaaac; Cain and
d
Abel.
S. Salvatore: Annunciation
A
n (L.); Transsfiguration (L
L.).

94

Veronaa.

D
Duomo:
Assuumption.

Viennaa.

Gipsy Madonnna (E.); Mad

G
donna of the Cherries (E.); Ecce Hom
mo,
1543; Isabeela dEste, 15
534; The Tam
mbourine Plaayer; Girl in
Fur Cloak; Dr. Parma (E.); Shepherrd and Nympph (L.);
D
Andreaa Gritti; Jacoppo Strada; Diana and
Portraits; Doge

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Callisto; Madonna
M
and Saints.
Wallacce
Collecttion.

Perseus and Andromeda.

A
(In
( collaboraation with hiss nephew,
Francesco Vecellio.)
V

Louvree.

M
Madonna
andd Saints. (Thee same by Frrancesco alonne.)

Glasgoow.

M
Madonna
andd Saints.

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CH
HAPTE
ER XX
PALM
MA VECCHIO AND LORENZO
O LOTTO
Amongg the many who
w clusterred round Titians
T
long
g career, Paalma attaineed to a place beside him
m
and Gioorgione which his taleent, which was
w not of the highestt order, scarrcely warraanted. But he
h
was claassed with the
t greatestt, and influuenced conttemporary art
a because his work chimed
c
in so
s
well wiith the Veneetian spirit. A Bergamaasque by birrth, he came of Venetian parentag
ge, and learnnt
the firstt elements of
o his art in Venice. Hee never reallly masteredd the inner nniceties of an
natomy in its
finest seense, and thhe broad genneralisationn of his form
ms may be meant
m
to connceal uncerttain drawingg,
but his large-bosom
med, matroonly womenn and plump
p children, his round, soft contou
urs, his cleaan
brillianccy, and the clear goldeen polish in which his pictures
p
are steeped, maade a great appeal to thhe
public. His inventiion is the laarge Santa Conversazio
C
one, as com
mpared withh those in half-length
h
o
of
the earllier masterss. The Virggin and sainnts and kneeeling or bennding donoors are placed under thhe
spreadinng trees off a rich andd picturesquue landscapee. It is Palm
mas versioon of the Giorgionesquue
ideal, which
w
he had
h his sharre in establlishing and
d developing. The heaavy tree-tru
unk and darrk
foliage,, silhouettedd almost bllack againstt the backg
ground, are characteristtic of his compositionns.
As his life
l goes onn, though hee still clings to his full, ripe figuress and to the same smoo
oth fleshinesss
in his women,
w
the features beecome deliccate and chiiselled, andd the more rrefined typee and subtleer
feeling of his midddle stage may
m be due to his com
mpanionship with Lottoo, with who
om he was in
i
mo when theey were both about tw
wenty-five. He touchess his highesst, and at th
he same tim
me
Bergam
keeps very
v
near Giorgione, in the spplendid St. Barbara, painted forr the comp
pany of thhe
Bombaddieri or artillerists. Theeir cannon guard
g
the peedestal on which
w
she sttands; it waas at her altaar
that theey came to commend themselvess on going forth to war,
w and whhere they knelt
k
to offe
fer
thanksggiving for a safe returnn; and she is a truly noble
n
figuree, regal in cconception and fine annd
firm in execution, attired in suumptuous robes
r
of gollden brown and green, with splendid saints on
o
h
Palmaa was often approachedd by his paatrons who wanted
w
mytthological scenes,
s
godds,
either hand.
and godddesses; butt though hee produced a Venus, a handsome, full-blown model, he never excels
in the nude,
n
and his
h tendencyy is to seizee upon the homely.
h
Hiis scenes haave a domestic, familiaar
flavour. With all his
h golden and
a ivory beauty
b
he laacks fire, annd his persoonages have a sluggishh,
plethoriic note. In his latest sttage he hiddes all sharp
pness in a sort
s of scum
mble or hazze. It wouldd,
howeveer, be unfaiir to say hee is not finne, and his portraits esspecially coome very near
n
the besst.
Vienna is rich in examples in
i half-lenggths of one beautiful woman
w
afteer another robed in thhe
ample and
a gorgeoous garmentts in whichh he is alwaays interestted. Amongg them is his
h handsom
me
daughteer, Violantee, with a viiolet in her bosom, an
nd wearing the large ssleeves he admires.
a
Thhe
Tasso of the Nattional Galleery has beenn taken from
m him and given
g
first tto Giorgionee and then to
t
Titian, but
b there noow seems some
s
inclinaation to retu
urn it to its first authorr. It has a more
m
dreamyy,
intellecttual countenance than we are acccustomed to
o associate with
w Palmaa; but he uses elsewherre
the decoorative backkground of olive brancches, and thee waxen com
mplexion, tawny colou
uring, and thhe
pronounnced goldenn haze are Palmesque
P
in the higheest degree. The colourring is in strrong contraast
to the pale
p ivory gllow of the Ariosto
A
of Titian,
T
which
h hangs neaar it.

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Paalma Vecch
hio. HOL
LY FAMILY
Y. Colonn
na Gallery, Rome.
(P
Photo, Andeerson.)
No one could be more
m
unlike Palma thann his contem
mporary, Lorrenzo Lottoo, who has for
f long beeen
classed with the Beergamasquees, but who is proved by
b recently discovered
d
documents to have beeen
born in Venice. It was for lonng an acceppted fact thaat Lotto wass a pupil off Bellini, and his earliest
C
at Treviso,
T
beaars traces of
o Bellinis manner. A Piet abo
ove has chilld
altarpieece, to S. Cristina
angels examining the wounds with the grief and concern
c
which Bellini made so peculiarly
p
h
his
t branch of
o fig-leaves silhouetteed against thhe light rem
mind us of thhe
own, annd the St. Jeerome and the
altarpieece in S. Crisostomo. Lotto
L
seemss to have clung to quatttrocento faashions. Thee ancona haad
long beeen rejectedd by most of
o his contem
mporaries, but he painnted one of the last forr a church in
i
Recanatti, in carvedd and gilt compartmen
c
nts, and he painted preedellas longg after they had becom
me
generally obsolete. We ask ourselves
o
hoow it was that
t
Lotto, who
w had soo susceptiblle and easilly
swayedd a nature, escaped
e
the influence of
o Giorgion
ne, the mostt powerful of any in th
he Venice of
o
his youuthan infl
fluence which acted onn Bellini in
n his old agge, which T
Titian practically neveer
shook off,
o and whiich dominatted Palma too the exclussion of any earlier
e
mastter.
It woulld take too long to surrvey the traain of argum
ment by whhich Mr. Berenson hass establisheed
Alvise Vivarini as the master of Lottoo. Notwithsstanding thhat Belliniss great sup
periority waas
becominng clear too the more cultured Veenetians, Alvise,
A
whenn Lotto was a youth, was still thhe
painter par excelleence for thee mass of thhe public. In
n the S. Criistina altarppiece the Ch
hild standinng
on its Mothers
M
knnee is in thee same attittude as the Child in Alvises
A
altaarpiece of 1480, and thhe
Mothers hand holds it in thhe same waay. Other deetails whichh supply innternal evid
dence are thhe

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shape of
o hands andd feet, the round
r
headss and the way
w the Chilld is often rrepresented lying acrosss
the Motthers kneess. Lotto carrries into oldd age the usse of fruit annd flowers aand beads as
a decorationn,
a Squarrcionesque feature
f
belooved of the Vivarini,
V
bu
ut which waas never adoopted by Beellini.
About 1512 Lottoo comes intto contact with
w Palma,, and for a short timee the two were
w
in closse
touch. A Santa Conversazion
C
ne, of which a good copy
c
exists in Villa Boorghese, Ro
ome, and onne
at Dresdden, with thhe Holy Fam
mily groupeed under sp
preading treees, is saturaated with Paalmas spiriit,
but it soon
s
passess away, andd except foor an occasiional touchh, disappearrs entirely from
f
Lottos
work.
Lotto may
m have haad relations in Bergamoo, for when
n in 1515 a competition
c
n between artists was seet
on foot by Alessanndro Martinoo, a descenddant of Gen
neral Colleoone, for an aaltarpiece fo
or S. Stefanoo,
he com
mpeted and carried offf the prize. This was the
t first off the series of the great works foor
Bergam
mo, which enrich
e
the little
l
city, where
w
at th
his period he
h can bestt be studied. The greaat
altarpieece (now rem
moved to Saan Bartolom
mmeo) is a most
m interessting humann document, a revelatioon
of the painters
p
peersonality. He does noot break aw
way from hieratic
h
connventions, like the rivaal
school; his Madonnna is still pllaced in thee apse of thee church witth saints groouped round
d her, a form
m
from which
w
the Vivarini
V
nevver departedd, but the whole
w
is fulll of intense movemen
nt, of a lyriic
grace and
a
ecstasyy, a desiree to expreess fervent and raptuurous devottion. The architecturaal
backgroound is not in happy prroportion inn relation to the figures, but the efffect of vistaa and space is
more reemarkable thhan in any North
N
Italiaan master. The
T vivid treatment of light and sh
hade, and thhe
gaiety and
a delicacy of the flyying angels, who hold the canopyy, and of thhe putti, wh
ho spread thhe
carpet below,
b
the shapes
s
of thhrone and canopy and the
t decoratiions have leed to the id
dea that Lottto
drew hiis inspiratioon from Corrreggio, whom he certaainly resemb
mbles in som
me ways; bu
ut at this tim
me
Corregggio was onlly twenty, and
a had nott given any
y examples of the stylee we are acccustomed to
t
call Corrreggiesquee. We must look back too a common
n origin forr those decoorative detaiils, which arre
so consspicuous in Crivelli and Bartolom
mmeo Vivariini, which came
c
to Lottto through the Vivarinni
and to Correggio through Feerrarese painnters, and of
o which thhe fountainn-head for both
b
was thhe
school of Squarcioone. For thhe much moore striking
g resemblannces of com
mposition an
nd spirit, thhe
explanaation seems to be that Lotto on one
o side of his nature was
w akin too Correggio
o; he had thhe
same lyyrical feelinng, the same inclinatioon to exuberrance and buoyancy.
b
T
To both, paainting was a
vehicle for the exppression of feeling,
f
but Lotto had also commoon sense annd a goodly share of thaat
humourr that is allieed to pathoss.
Till thee year 1526 Lotto was much in Bergamo,
B
wh
here the first altarpiecee gained hiim orders foor
others. The reputattion of a member
m
of thhe school of
o Venice was
w a sure ppassport to employmen
e
nt.
We tracce Alvises tradition veery plainly in the altarp
piece in Sann Bernardinno, where th
he gesture of
o
the Madonnas hand as she expounds
e
too the listening saints recalls
r
Alviises of 148
80. The littlle
m
use of
o to the en
nd of his liffe, lie scatteered on the step; angells,
gathered roses, whhich Lotto makes
daringlyy foreshorteened, sweepp aside the curtain of the
t sanctuarry. The coloour is in Lo
ottos scarleet,
light bluues, and vioolet. He sooon shows him
mself fond of genre incidents, andd in Christt taking leavve
of His Mother
M
givves a view into
i
a bedrooom and a cat
c running across the floor. The donor kneels
with heer hair fashioonably dresssed and weearing a peaarl necklacee. In the M
Marriage of S.
S Catherinee
at Bergamo the saiint is evidenntly a portraait, with hair pearl-wreeathed. She kneels very
y simply annd
naturallly before thhe Child, annd the exquiisitely lovelly and elaboorately gow
wned young woman whho
represennts the Maddonna, lookks out towaards the speectator with a mundanee and curio
ously moderrn
air. It was
w probablyy the recognnition of Loottos successs with porttraits that leed to their being so ofteen
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introducced into hiss sacred pieeces. In the one we hav

ve just noticced, the donnor, Niccolaas Bonghi, is
broughtt in, and is on rather a larger scaale than thee rest, but Lotto
L
has eevidently no
ot found him
m
interesting. The poortraits of thhe brothers della Torree, and that of
o the Prothhonotary Giiuliano in thhe
Nationaal Gallery, inaugurate that wondderful seriess of characcterisations which are his greatest
distinction. A seriees of frescoees in villagee churches round
r
Bergaamo must aalso be noticced. They arre
remarkaable for spoontaneous annd original decoration, and may coompare withh the cerem
monial groupps
of Genttile Bellini and
a Carpaccio. Lottoss personages, as they chhatter in thee market-pllaces, are fuull
of naturral animatioon and gaietty, and we realise
r
whatt a step had been made in the paintting of actuaal
life.
o the rest off Italy, the years
y
from 1530 to 15440, which Lotto
L
spent in
i
Owing to the unsetttled state of
Venice,, found thaat city the gathering-g
g
ground of many
m
of thee most disttinguished scholars annd
deepestt thinkers of
o the day. Men of alll shades of religious thought w
were engageed in learneed
discussiion, and Loottos ardennt and inquirring temperrament musst have beenn stimulated
d by such an
a
environnment. Duriing these years,
y
too, he becamee intimate with Titiann, and expeerimented in
i
Titianss style, withh the result that his paainting gets thicker andd richer, moore fused an
nd solid, annd
his figuures are bettter put toggether. He imitates
i
Tittians colouur, too, butt it makes him
h paint in
i
deeper, fiercer tintts, and he soon
s
finds it
i does not suit him, annd returns tto his own scheme. His
colour is
i still ratheer too dazzling, but thee distances are
a transluccent and atm
mospheric. He
H continuees
to introoduce portraaits. In his altarpiece in
i SS. Giov
vanni and Paolo
P
the deeacons giviing alms annd
receivinng petitions curiously resemble
r
in type and ex
xpression thhe ecclesiasttics we see to-day.
Lotto was
w now an accepted member
m
of Titians
T
set, and Aretinoo, in a letterr dated 1548
8, writes thaat
Titian values
v
his taste
t
and juudgment as that of no other; but Aretino,
A
wiith his usuaal mixture of
o
connoissseurship annd clever sppite, goes on
o to insinu
uate accidenntally, as itt were, whaat he himseelf
knew perfectly
p
weell, that Lottto was nott considered
d on a par with the m
masters of th
he first rankk.
Envy is
i not in youur breast, he
h says, raather do you
u delight to see in other artists cerrtain qualitiees
which you
y do not find in youur own bruush, ... hold
ding the seccond place iin the art of
o painting is
nothingg compared to holding the
t first place in the du
uties of religgion.
An inteeresting coddex or comm
mentary tells us that Lotto
L
never received hiigh prices for
f his workk,
and wee hear of hiim hawkingg pictures about
a
in arrtistic circlees, putting tthem up in
n raffles, annd
leaving a number with
w Jacopoo Sansovino in the hopee that he might hear of buyers. Hiss work endeed
missions at Recanati, A
Ancona, and
d Loreto, annd
as it hadd begun, in the Marchees. He undeertook comm
in Septeember 15544 he concludded a contraact with the Holy Housse at Loretoo, by which, in return foor
rooms and
a food, he
h made oveer himself and
a all his belongings
b
t the care of the frateernity, beinng
to
tired off wandering, and wishinng to end hiis days in th
hat holy plaace. He speent the last four years of
o
his life at Loreto as a votary of
o the Virginn, painting a series of pictures
p
whhich are distinguished by
b
the sam
me sort of apparent
a
loooseness andd carelessneess which we
w noticed in Titians late style; a
techniquue which, as
a in Titians case, concceals a profo
found knowlledge of plaastic modellling.
Thoughh Lotto executed an im
mmense num
mber of im
mportant andd very beauutiful sacred works, his
h
portraits stand apaart, and are so interestinng to the modern
m
mindd that one iss tempted to
o linger oveer
O
painteers give us finer
f
picturees; in none do we feel so anxious to know wh
ho the sitterrs
them. Other
were annd what wass their storyy. Lotto has nothing of the Pagan quality
q
whicch marks Giorgione
G
annd
Titian; he
h is a bornn psychologgist, and as such
s
he witn
nesses to ann attitude off mind in th
he Italy of his
h
day whhich is of peeculiar interrest to our own.
o
Lottos bystandeers, even in his sacred scenes, havve
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nothingg in common with Titiaans choruus; they haave the charracterisationn of distinctt individualls,
and whhen he is conncerned witth actual poortraits he iss intensely receptive
r
annd sensitivee to the spirrit
of his sitters. He may
m be said to give thhem away, and to takee an almostt unfair advaantage of his
h
perception. The sicck man in the
t Doria Gallery
G
look
ks like one stricken wiith a death sentence. He
H
a the painter has syymbolised thhe situation
n in the littlle
knows at least thaat it is touchh and go, and
winged genius ballancing him
mself in a paair of scaless. In the Boorghese Gallery is the portrait of a
young, magnificenntly dressedd man, with a countenaance markedd by mentaal agitation, who pressees
one hannd to his heeart, while the
t other reests on a pille of rose-ppetals in whhich a tiny skull is halfhidden. The Old Man in thhe Brera haas the hard, narrow, buut intenselyy sad face of
o one whosse
natural dispositionn has been embitteredd by the ciircumstancees of his liife, just as that of ouur
Prothonnotary speaaks of a larrge and genntle nature, mellowedd by naturaal affectionss and happpy
pursuitss. We smilee, as Lotto does, with kindly misschief at M
Marsilio andd his Bride; the broadd,
placid countenance
c
e of the mann is so signiificantly contrasted witth the cleveer mouth an
nd eyes of thhe
bride thhat it does not
n need the malicious glance
g
of th
he cupid, whho is fitting on the yoke, to dot thhe
is and cross the ts of their future. Agaain, the porttrait of Lauura di Pola, in the Brera, introducees
us to onne of those women whho are charm
ming in everry age, not actually beaautiful, but harmoniouus,
thoughttful, perfecttly dressed,, sensible, and
a self-possessed, and the Fam
mily Group in our ow
wn
gallery holds a histtory of a coouple of antaagonistic teemperamentts united byy life in com
mmon and thhe
claspingg hands of children.
c
Lootto does noot keep the personal exxpression ouut of even such a canvaas
as his Triumph

off Chastity in the Rosppigliosi Galllery. His deelightful Venus, one off the loveliest
nudes inn painting, flies from thhe attackingg termagantt, whose virrtue is procllaimed by th
he ermine on
o
her breaast, and sw
weeps her litttle cupid with
w her witth a well-brred, surpriseed air, sugg
gestive of thhe
mannerrs of mundaane society.

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Loorenzo Lottto.

PORT
TRAIT OF LAURA DI
D POLA.
(P
Photo, Andeerson.)

Brera.

The paiinter who was

w thus ablee to unveil personality had evidenntly a mind that was aw
ware of itsellf,
that loooked forward to a widerr civilisationn and a morre earnest and
a intimatee religion. His
H life seem
ms
to have been one of
o some sadnness, and crrowned with
h only moderate successs. He speak
ks of himseelf
k
and off a troubledd mind. Hiis will show
ws
as advvanced in yeears, withouut loving caare of any kind,
that his worldly poossessions were
w few annd poor, and
d that he hadd no heir clloser than a nephew; buut
he leavees some of his cartoons as a dowrry to two girls
g
of quiet nature, heealthy in min
nd and bodyy,
and likeely to makke thrifty hoousekeeperss, on theirr marriage to
t two weell-recommeended younng
men, about
a
to beccome painteers. His senssitive and in
ntrospectivee temperameent led him to prefer thhe
retiremeent and thee quiet beauuty of Loretto to the brrilliant sociiety of whicch he was made
m
free in
i
Venice.. His spiritt, says Mrr. Berenson,, is more like
l
our own than is peerhaps that of any otheer
Italian painter,
p
andd it has all thhe appeal annd fascinatio
on of a kinddred soul inn another age.

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PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W

Palm
ma Vecchio.
Bergam
mo.

L
Lochis:
Madoonna and Sain
nts (L.).

Cambrridge.

Fitzwilliam Museum:
M
Ven
nus (L.).

Dresdeen.

Madonna; SS. John, Catheerine; Three Sisters; Holyy Family;

M
R
(L.).
Meeting off Jacob and Rachel

Londonn.

H
Hampton
Couurt: Santa Co
onversazione; Portrait of a Poet.

Milan.

Brera: SS. Heelen, Constan

B
ntine, Roch, and
a Sebastiaan; Adoration
n
of Magi (L
L.), finished by
b Cariani.

Napless.

Santa Conversazione with

h Donors.

Paris.

A
Adoration
of Shepherds.

Rome.

V
Villa
Borghesse: Lucrece (L.); Madonnna with Saintts and Donorr.
C
Capitol:
Chrisst and Womaan taken in Adultery.
A
Palazzo Colonnna: Madonn
na, S. Peter, and
a Donor.

Venicee.

A
Academy:
St. Peter enthro
oned and six Saints; Assuumption.
G
Giovanelli:
Spposalizio (L.).
S. Maria Form
mosa: Altarpiiece.

Viennaa.

Santa Conversazione; Vio

olante (L.); Five Portraits of Women.

Lorennzo Lotto.
Anconna.

A
Assumption,
1550; Madon
nna with Sainnts (L.).

Asolo.

M
Madonna
in Glory,
G
1506.

Bergam
mo.

C
Carrara:
Marrriage of S. Caatherine; Preedelle.
L
Lochis:
Holy Family and S. Catherine; Predelle; Portrait.
S. Bartolomm
meo: Altarpiece, 1516.
S. Alessandroo in Colonna:: Piet.
S. Bernardinoo: Altarpiece..
S. Spirito: Alttarpiece.

102

Berlin..

C
Christ
taking leave of His Mother; Porrtraits.

Bresciaa.

N
Nativity.

Cingolli.

S. Domenico: Madonna an
nd Saints andd fifteen Smaall Scenes.

Florencce.

U
Uffizi:
Holy Family.
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Londonn.

Hampton Couurt: Portrait of

H
o Andrea Oddoni, 1527; P
Portrait (E.);
Portraits off Agostino an
nd Niccolo della
d
Torre, 11515; Family
y
Group; Porrtrait of Proth
honotary Giuuliano.
B
Bridgewater
H
House:
Mado
onna and Saiints (E.).

Loreto.

Palazzo Apostolico: Saints; Nativity; S.

S Michael annd Lucifer
(L.); Presenntation (L.); Baptism (L.)); Adoration of Magi (L.).

Recanaati.

M
Municipio:
Alltarpiece, 1508; Transfigguration (E.).
S. Maria Soprra Mercanti: Annunciatioon.

Rome.

V
Villa
Borghesse: Madonna with S. Onoofrio and a Bishop, 1508.
R
Rospigliosi:
L
Love
and Chaastity.

Venicee.

C
Carmine:
S. Nicholas
N
in Glory,
G
1529.
S. Giacomo dall
d
Orio: Madonna with Saints, 15466.
SS. Giovanni e Paolo: S. Antonino
A
besstowing Alm
ms, 1542.

Viennaa.

Santa Conversazione, etc.

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CH
HAPTER
R XXI
SEBAS
STIAN DEL
L PIOMBO
O
It was very
v
naturall that Romee should wiish for work
ks of the maasters of the new Veneetian Schoool,
but the first-rate men
m were fullly employeed at home. All the effoorts made too secure Tittian failed tiill
t end of his
h career. On
O the otherr hand, Ven
nice was fulll of less fam
mous masteers followinng
nearly the
in Giorggiones stepps. When Sebastian Luuciani was a young maan, Giorgionne was paraamount there,
and no one could have
h
foretolld that his liife would bee of such shhort durationn. It was to be expectedd,
thereforre, that a painter
p
whoo consulted his own in
nterests shoould leave the city where
w
he waas
overshaadowed by a great geniius and go farther
f
afielld. The influuence of thee Guilds waas withdraw
wn
in the sixteenth
s
ceentury, so thhat it was a simpler matter
m
for paainters to trransfer theirr talents, annd
paintingg was beginning to apppeal stronngly to the dilettanti, who rivalleed one ano
other in theeir
offers.
Only onne work off Sebastians is knownn belonging
g to this eaarlier time iin Venice. It is the S
S.
Chrysosstom enthrooned, in S. Giovanni Crisostomo
C
, and its maajesty and rich colourin
ng, and morre
especially the spleendid groupp of womenn on the left
ft, so proud and soft inn their Veneetian beautyy,
make us
u wonder if
i Sebastiann might not have risen
n to greater heights if he had rem
mained in his
h
natural environmennt. He respponded to thhe call to Rome
R
of Aggostino Chiggi, the greaat painter, art
a
collectoor, and patrron, the friend of Leoo X. Chigi had just coompleted thhe Farnesin
na Villa, annd
Sebastiaan was em
mployed till 1512 on itts decoratio
on, and at once
o
came under the influence of
o
Michelaangelo. Thee Piet at Viterbo shoows that inffluence veryy strongly; in fact, Vassari says that
Michelaangelo him
mself drew the
t cartoonn for the figure of Chhrist, whichh would acccount for its
extraorddinary beauuty. Sebastiian embarkeed on a clo
ose intimacyy with the Florentine painter, andd,
accordinng to Vasaari, the greaat canvas off the Raisiing of Lazaarus, in thee National Gallery, waas
executeed under thee orders andd in part froom the desiigns of Micchelangelo. This colosssal work waas
looked on as one of the mosst importantt creations of the sixteeenth centuury, but therre is little to
t
u wish to change
c
it foor the altarppiece of S. Crisostomo
C
o. The desirre for scienttific drawinng
make us
and the search afteer composition have prroduced a laaboured effe
fect; the fem
male figures are cast in a
masculiine mould, and it lackks both the severe beaauty of the Tuscan School and th
he emotionaal
charm of
o Sebastiaans native style. We cannot, how
wever, avoiid conjectuuring if in the
t figure of
o
Lazaruss himself we have not a conceptionn of the greeat Florentinne. It is so eeasy in posee, so splendiid
in its, perhaps
p
excessive, lenggth of limb,, that our th
houghts turnn involuntaarily to the Ignudi
I
in thhe
Sixtine Chapel. Thhe picture haas been dullled and inju
ured by repaainting, but the distancee still has thhe
h seeks forr form and compositionn,
sombre depth of thhe Venetians. All throuugh Sebastiaans career he
but, greeat painter as he undoubtedly is, he is greatt because hee possessess that inborn
n feeling foor
harmonny of colouur. This is what
w
we vaalue in him
m, and he excels
e
in soo far as hee follows his
h
Venetiaan instincts.
The deaath of Raphhael improvved Sebastiaans position in Rome,, and thoughh Leo X. never liked or
o
employyed him, hee did not laack commiissions. Thee Fornarinna in the Uffizi, with
h the laureelwreatheed head andd leopard-skkin mantle, still
s reveals him as the Venetian, aand it is currious that anny
critic shhould ever have
h
assigned its rich, voluptuous
v
tone and its coarse typpe to Raphaael. Sebastiaan
obtained commissiions for deecorating S. Maria del Popolo in oils and S
S. Pietro in Montorio in
i
fresco, but
b in the laatter medium
m, though he
h is ambitious of acquuiring the foorce of Mich
helangelo, he
h

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lacks thhe Tuscan ease of handd. Colour, foor which hee possessed so true an aaptitude, thee deep, fuseed
colour of
o Giorgionne, is set aside by him; his tints beccome strongg and crudee, his surfaces grow harrd
and pollished, and he thinks, above all, of
o bold actiion, of draw
wing and m
modelling. The
T Venetiaan
genius for portraituure remainss, and he has
h left such
h fine exam
mples as thee Andrea Doria
D
of thhe
Vaticann, or the Poortrait of a Man in the Pitti, a maasterly pictuure both in drawing an
nd executionn,
with grrand draperries, a fur pelisse,
p
andd damask doublet withh crimson ssleeves. In the Nationaal
Galleryy we possess his own portrait
p
by himself,
h
in company with
w Cardinaal de Medicci. The facees
are well contrastedd, and we juudge from Sebastians
S
that
t his bioggrapher describes him justly,
j
as faat,
indolennt, and givenn to self-inddulgence, buut genial and
d fond of goood companny.
After ann absence of
o twenty yeears he returrned to Ven
nice. There he came inn contact witth Titian annd
Pordenoone, and strruck up a frriendship with
w Aretino
o, who became his greaat ally and admirer.
a
Thhe
sack off Rome had driven him
m forth, but in
i 1529, wh
hen the cityy was beginnning partiallly to recoveer
from thhat time of horror,
h
he reeturned, andd was cordiially welcom
med by Clem
ment VII., and
a admitteed
into thee innermostt ecclesiastiical circles.. The Piom
mbo, a well--paid, sineccure office of the Papaal
court, was
w bestoweed on him, and
a his rem
maining yearrs were spennt in Rome. He was verry anxious to
t
collaborrate with Michelangel
M
lo, and the great paintter seems to
t have beeen quite incclined to thhe
arrangeement. The Last Judgm
ment, in thhe Sixtine Chapel,
C
wass suggestedd, and Sebasstian had thhe
melanchholy task off taking dow
wn Peruginoos masterp
pieces; but he
h wished too reset the walls
w
for oills,
and Miichelangelo stipulated for fresco,, saying thaat oils werre only fit for women
n, so that no
n
agreement was arriived at.
Sebastiaans mode of work was
w slow, and
a he emp
ployed no assistants.
a
H
He seems to
t have beeen
inordinaately lazy, fond of leisure and goood living, and his chharacter shoows in his work,
w
whichh,
with a few
f exceptions, has som
mething heaavy and com
mmon abouut it, a want of keenness and fire, an
a
absencee of refinem
ment and selection.

PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W
Florencce.

U
Uffizi:
Fornarrina, 1512; Death
D
of Adoonis.
Pitti: Martyrddom of S. Agatha, 1520; Portrait
P
(L.).

Londonn.

R
Resurrection
o Lazarus, 1519;
of
1
Portraiits.

Napless.

H
Holy
Family; Portraits.

Paris.

V
Visitation,
1521.

Rome.

Portrait of Anndrea Doria (L.).

(
Farnesina: Freescoes, 1511.
S. Pietro in Montorio.
M
Frescoes.

Trevisoo.

S. Niccolo: Inncredulity of S. Thomas (E.).

(

Venicee.

A
Academy:
Vissitation (E.).
S. Giovanni Chrisostomo:
C
S. Chrysosttom enthroneed (E.).

Viterboo.

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Piet (L.).

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CH
HAPTER
R XXII
B
BONIFAZIO
O AND PA
ARIS BORD
DONE
Some uncertainty
u
has existeed as to thhe identity of the diff
fferent mem
mbers of th
he family of
o
Bonifazzio. All thee early historians agrree in givin
ng the nam
me to one master onlly. Boschinni,
howeveer, in 1777 discovered the register of the deaath of a seccond, and a third beariing the nam
me
was woorking twennty years laater. Upon this Dr. Morelli
M
cam
me to the coonclusion th
hat we muust
recogniise three, iff not four, masters beearing the name of Bonifazio,
B
bbut documeents recentlly
discoveered by Proofessor Luddwig have in
i great meeasure destrroyed Moreellis conjecctures. Therre
may havve been obsscure painteers bearing the
t name, but
b they werre mere imiitators, and it is doubtfuul
if any were
w relatedd to the famiily of de Pittatis.
Bonifazzio Veronesse is really the
t only onne who coun
nts. As Ridoolfi says, hee was born in Verona in
i
the mosst beautiful moment off painting. He
H came to
o Venice at the age of eighteen, and
a became a
pupil off Palma Vecchio, withh whom his work has sometimes been
b
confussed. After Palmas deatth
Bonifazzio continued in friendly relationns with hiss old masteers family, and his niece marrieed
Palmass nephew. Bonifazio
B
h
himself
marrried the dau
ughter of a basket-makker, and app
pears to havve
had no children, foor he and hiis wife by thheir wills beestowed theeir whole foortune on th
heir nephew
ws.
Antonioo Palma, who
w marriedd Bonifazioos niece, was
w a painteer whose pictures hav
ve sometimees
been atttributed to the
t legendarry third Bonnifazio. Bon
nifazios liffe was passeed peacefully in Venice.
He receeived manyy important commissioons from th
he Republicc, and decoorated the Palace
P
of thhe
Treasurrers. His character andd standing were
w
high, and
a he was appointed, in company
y with Titiaan
and Lottto, to admiinister a leggacy which Vincenzo Catena
C
hadd left to provvide a yearrly dower foor
five maaidens. Afteer a long liffe spent in steady worrk, Bonifaziio withdrew
w to a little farm amiddst
orcharddsfifteen acres
a
of lannd in allaat San Zeno
one, near Asolo;
A
but he still kept his house in
i
San Maarcuola, wheere he died. He was buuried in S. Alvise
A
in Venice.
A son of the plainns and of Venetian
V
stock, his wo
ork is alwaays gracefull and attracctive, thouggh
inclinedd to be hot in colour. It has a veryy pronounceed aristocraatic characteer, and bearrs no trace of
o
the rouggh, provinccial strain of such menn as Carianii or Pordenoone. It is veery fine and
d glowing in
i
colour, but lacks vigour
v
and energy
e
in deesign. Nowhere do we get more w
worldly mag
gnificence or
o
such fraank worshipp of wealthh as on Bonnifazios joy
yous canvaases. He reppresents Ch
hristian sainnts
and Easstern kings alike, as geentlemen off princely raank. There is
i a note of purely secu
ular art abouut
his Adoorations andd Holy Fam
milies. In thee Adoration
n of the Maagi, in the A
Academy, the
t Madonnna
is a hanndsome, proosperous laady of Bonifazios acqu
uaintance. The
T Child, so far from
m raising His
hand inn benedictionn, holds it out
o for the proffered
p
cu
up. He does not, as usuaal, distinguiish the eldest
king, buut singles out
o the cupp held by thhe second, who, in a puffed velvvet dress, is
i an evidennt
portrait, probably that of thhe donor off the picture, who is in this w
way paid a courtier-likke
complim
ment. The thhird king iss such a Mooor as Boniffazio must often
o
have sseen embark
king from his
Easternn galley on the
t Riva deei Schiavoni. A servant in a peakeed hood peeers round th
he column to
t
catch siight of whatt is going onn. The grouups of animaals in the baackground aare well ren
ndered. In thhe
Rich Mans
M
Feasst, where Lazarus
L
liess upon the step, we have
h
anotheer scene of wealthy annd

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sumptuous Venetiaan society, an orgy of colour. And

d, again, in the Findinng of Mosess (Brera) he
h
paints nobles
n
playiing the lutee, making loove and feaasting, and lovely fair--haired wom
men listeninng
complacently. We are reminded of the way
w in which
h they livedd: their one ppreoccupatiion the toileet,
the deliight of apppearing in public
p
in the latest an
nd most magnificent
m
fashions. And
A in thesse
paintinggs Bonifaziio depicts the
t elaboraate striped and brocadded gowns in which the
t beautifu
ful
Venetiaans arrayed themselvess, made in the
t very fasshions of thhe year, andd their thick
k, fair hair is
twisted and coiledd in the preecise mode of the mom
ment. The deep-red
d
veelvet he inttroduces intto
nearly all
a his pictuures is of a hue
h peculiaar to himself. As Catenna often brinngs in a litttle white lappdog, so Bonifazio constantly
c
h as an acccessory a liiver-and-whhite spaniel.
has
s
of Paris Bordonne as the arttist who most successfuully imitatedd Titian. Hee was the soon
Vasari speaks
of well--to-do tradeespeople in Treviso, annd received a good eduucation in m
music and leetters, beforre
being sent off to Venice
V
and placed in Titians
T
stu
udio. Bordonne does nott seem to have
h
been on
o
very friiendly termss with Titiann. He was dissatisfied
d
with his teaaching, and Titian play
yed him an ill
i
turn in wresting frrom him a commission
c
n to paint an
a altarpiecee which hadd been entrrusted to him
m
when he was only eighteen. He
H was, abovve all, in lov
ve with the manner of the dead Giiorgione, annd
it was upon
u
this master
m
that he
h aspired to
t form his style. His masterpiecee, in the Accademy, waas
painted for the Confraternity of St. Markk, and madee his reputaation. The legend it rep
presents maay
be givenn in a few words:
w
In the days
d
of Dogge Gradeniggo, one Febbruary, therre arose a fearful
fe
storm
m in Venicee. During thhe
height of
o the tempeest, three men
m accostedd a poor old
d fishermann, who was llying in hiss decayed olld
boat byy the Piazzaa, and begged that he would
w
row them to S. Niccolo deel Lido, wh
here they haad
urgent business. After
A
some demur theey persuadeed him to take
t
the oaars, and in spite of thhe
hurricanne, the voyyage was acccomplishedd. On reach
hing the shoore they poiinted out to
o him a greaat
ship, thhe crew of which
w
he perceived
p
too consist off a band of demons, w
who were stirring up thhe
waves and
a makingg a great huubbub. The three passeengers laid their
t
comm
mands on them to desisst,
when im
mmediatelyy they sailedd away and there was a calm. The passengerss then made the oarsmaan
row theem, one to S.
S Niccolo, one to S. Giorgio,
G
and
d the third was
w rowed back to thee Piazza. Thhe
fisherm
man timidly asked
a
for hiis fare, and the third paassenger dessired him too go to the Doge
D
and assk
for paym
ment, tellinng him that by that nighhts work a great disasster had beeen averted from
f
the cityy.
The fishherman repllied that he should nott be believed
d, but woulld be imprissoned as a liar. Then thhe
passengger drew a ring
r
from hiis finger. S
Show him th
his for a siggn, he saidd, and know
w that one of
o
those you
y have thhis night row
wed is S. Niccolas,
N
th
he other is S. George, and I am S. Mark thhe
Evangeelist, Protecttor of the Venetian
V
Reppublic. He then disapppeared. Thee next day th
he fishermaan
presenteed the ring, and was asssigned a provision for life from thhe Senate.
There has,
h
perhapps, never been a richeer and morre beautifull subject-piicture paintted than thhis
glowingg canvas, or
o one whicch brings more
m
vividly
y before us the magnificence of the pageannts
which made
m
such a part of Venetian
V
liife in the golden
g
age of paintingg. It is all strength annd
splendoour, and escapes the hectic
h
coloour and weaker type which
w
appeear in Bord
dones Laast
Supper and somee of his othher works. In 1538 hee went to France
F
andd entered th
he service of
o
Francis II., painting for him many
m
portraiits of ladiess, besides works for thee Cardinals of Guise annd
of Lorraaine. The King
K
of Polaand sent to him
h for a Ju
upiter and Antiope.
A
A
At Augsburg
g he was paiid
3000 crrowns for work
w
done foor the great Fugger fam
mily.

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No one gives us soo closely ass Bordone the

t type of woman
w
whoo at this tim
me was mosst admired in
i
Venice.. The Venettian ideal was
w golden haired, with
h full lips, fair,
f
rosy chheeks, largee limbed annd
ample, with abunndant flankss and snow
w-white breaast. A typee glowing w
with health
h and instincct
with liffe, but, to say
s the truthh, rather duull, without deep passions, and w
with no look
k that reveaals
profounnd emotionss or the struuggle of a sooul. From what
w
we seee of Bordonnes female portraits annd
from soome of the mythologiccal compossitions he has
h left, he might havee been amo
ong the most
sensually minded of men. His beautifull courtesan,, in the Naational Galllery, is an almost
a
overrealisticc presentmeent of a wooman who has just paarted from her lover. His women
n, with theeir
carnatioon cheeks and expressiionless faces, are like beautiful
b
animals; but, as a matter of fact, theeir
painter was sober and
a temperaate in his life, very ind
dustrious, annd devoted to his wido
owed motheer.
About 1536
1
he maarried the daaughter of a Venetian citizen,
c
andd had a son, who becam
me one of thhe
many innsignificantt painters of
o the end of
o the sixteeenth centurry. Most off his days were
w
divideed
betweenn his little Villa
V
of Lovadina in thhe district of
o Belluno, and his moodest home in the Cortte
dell Caavallo near the Misericcordia. He lives comfo
ortably in his
h quiet houuse, writes Vasari, whho
certainlly knew Boordone in Venice, w
working onlly at the request
r
of pprinces, or his friendds,
avoidinng all rivalryy and those vain ambitions which do but distuurb the repoose of man,, and seekinng
to avertt any ruffliing of the serene
s
tranqquillity of his life, whhich he is aaccustomed
d to preservve
simple and
a uprightt.
Many of
o his picturres show ann intense loove of coun
ntry solitudees. His poeetic backgro
ounds, lonelly
mountaains, leafy woods,
w
and sparkling water
w
are in
n curious coontrast to thhe sumptuo
ous groups in
i
the foreeground.
His Thhree Heads,, in the Breera, is a supperb piece of
o painting and an inteeresting charracterisationn.
The wooman is ripee, sensual, and calculaating, feelin
ng with her fingers forr the gold chain,
c
a merre
golden--fleshed, roose-flushed hireling, soolid and prrosaic. The go-betweeen is dimly
y seen in thhe
backgroound, but thhe face of the
t suitor is a strange, ironic stuudy: past yoouth, worn, joyless, annd
bitter, taking
t
his pleasure
p
meechanically and with cynical detachment. Thhe Storm calmed
c
by S.
S
Mark (Academy)
(
was, in Mrr. Berensons opinion, begun
b
by Giorgione.
G
Rich, brrilliant, andd essentiallyy Venetian as
a is the worrk of these two
t painterss, it does no
ot reach the
highest level. It fallls short of grandeur,
g
annd has that worldly
w
tonne that bordeers on vulgaarity. As wee
study itt we feel thaat it marks the
it
t point to which Veneetian art might have atttained, the flood-mark
f
might have
h
touchedd, if it had lacked
l
the advent
a
of the three or foour great sppirits, who, appearing
a
about thhe same tim
me, bore it upp to sublimeer heights and
a developed a more ddistinguisheed range of
qualitiees. Bonifazioo and Bordoone lack thee grandeur and
a sweetneess of Titiann, the brilliaant touch annd
imaginaative geniuss of Tintorettto, the matchless feelin
ng for colouur, design, aand decoration of
Veronese, but theyy continue Venetian
V
paiinting on logical lines, and they foorm a superb
b foundationn
for the highest.
h
PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W
Boniffazio Veronnese.

108

Dresdeen.

Finding of Mooses.

Florencce.

Pitti: Madonnna; S. Elizabeth and Donnor (E.); Resst in Flight in

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Egypt; Findding of Mosees.

Hamptton Court. Santa Conversazione.
Londonn.

Santa Conversazione (E.)..

Milan.

B
Brera:
Findingg of Moses.

Paris.

Santa Conversazione.

Rome.

Villa Borghese: Mother of Zebedees Children; Return of the

V
Prodigal Soon.
C
Colonna:
Holyy Family witth Saints.

Venicee.

Academy: Ricch Mans Feast; Massacrre of Innocennts; Judgmen

A
nt
of Solomonn, 1533; Ado
oration of Kinngs.
G
Giovanelli:
Saanta Converssazione.

Viennaa.

Santa Conversazione; Triu

umph of Lovve; Triumph of Chastity;
Salome.

Pariss Bordone.
Bergam
mo.

Lochis: Vinttage Scenes.

Berlin..

Portrait of Man
M in Black
k; Chess Playyers; Madonnna and four
Saints.

Dresdeen.

Apollo and Marsyas;

M
Diaana; Holy Faamily.

Florencce.

Pitti: Portraiit of Woman.

Genoa.

Brignole Salle: Portraits of

o Men; Santa Conversazzione.

Hamptton Court.

Madonna annd Donors.

Londonn.

Daphnis andd Chloe; Porttrait of Lady.

Bridgewaterr House: Holly Family.

Milan.

Brera: Desceent of Holy Spirit;

S
Baptissm; S. Domiinio presented
to the Savviour by Virg
gin; Madonnna and Saintss; Venal Lovee.
S. Maria pr. Celso: Madonna and S. Jerome.

Munichh.

Portrait; Maan counting Jewels.

J

Paris.

Portraits.

Rome.

Colonna: Hooly Family and Saints.

Trevisoo.

Madonna annd Saints.

Duomo: Adooration of Sh
hepherds; Maadonna and S
Saints.

Venicee.

Academy: Fisherman
F
an
nd Doge; Paradise; Storm
m calmed by S.
S
Mark.
Palazzo Duccale Chapel: Dead Christt.
Giovanelli: Madonna
M
an
nd Saints.

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S. Giovanni inn Bragora; Last

L Supper.
Viennaa.

A
Allegorical
Piictures; Lady
y at Toilet; Young
Y
Womaan.

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CHA
APTER
R XXIIII
PAINT
TERS OF THE
T
VENE
ETIAN PR
ROVINCES
S
It has become
b
usuaal to includde in the Veenetian Scho
ool those arrtists from tthe subject provinces
p
o
on
the maiinland, who came downn to try theiir luck at th
he fountain-hhead and too receive itss hallmark on
o
their tallent. The Friulan
F
citiees, Udine, Serravalle,
S
and
a small neighbourin
n
ng towns, haad their ow
wn
primitivve schools and their sccores of huumble craftssmen. Theirr art waverred for som
me time in its
expresssion between the Germ
man taste, which
w
came so close too their gatess, and the Ittalian, whicch
was moore truly theeir element.
Up to 1499
1
Friuli was invadded seven tiimes in thirrty years byy the Turkss. They pou
ured in largge
numberrs over the Bosnian boorders, crossed the Iso
onzo and thee Tagliameenta, and massacred annd
carried off the inhhabitants. These
T
terribble periods are markedd by the ceessation of work in thhe
provincces, but hoppe always reevived againn. The break caused byy such a vissitation can be distinctlly
traced in
i the Churcch of S. Anntonino, at thhe little tow
wn of San Daniele.
D
Maartino da Ud
dine obtaineed
the epitthet of Pelleegrino da San Daniele in 1494 wh
hen he returrned from aan early vissit to Venice,
where he
h had beenn apprenticced to Cimaa. He was appointed
a
t decorate S. Antonin
to
no. His earlly
work thhere is hard and coarse,, ill-drawn, the figures unwieldy and
a shapelesss, and the colour
c
duskky
and uniiform; but owing
o
to the Turkish raid,
r
he had
d to take fligght, and it w
was many a year beforre
the monnks gained sufficient courage
c
andd saved eno
ough moneyy to continuue the embeellishment of
o
their chhurch. In thhe meantim
me, Pellegrinnos years had been spent
s
partlyy in Venicee and partlyy,
perhapss, in Ferraraa, for the reeason Raphael gave fo
or refusing to
t paint a Bacchus for
f the Duke,
was thaat the subjeect had alreeady been painted
p
by Pellegrino da San Daaniele. Wheen Pellegrinno
resumedd his work, it demonsttrated that he
h had studiied the moddern Venetiaans and had
d come undeer
a finerr, deeper influence.
i
A St. Geoorge in arrmour sugggests Giorggiones S. Liberale at
a
Castelfrranco; he sppecially shoows an affinnity with Pordenone, who
w was hiis pupil and
d who was to
t
becomee a better paainter than his
h old masster. As Pelllegrino goees on he impproves conssistently, annd
adopts the methodd, so peculiiarly Venetiian, of sacrrificing form
m to a scheeme of chiaaroscuro. He
H
even, too some exteent, succeedds in his diffficult task of
o applyingg to wall paiinting the system whicch
the Vennetians usedd almost excclusively foor easel pictu
ures. He waas an ambitiious, daring
g painter, annd
some of his churchh standards were for loong attributed to Giorggione. The cchurch of San
S Antoninno
remainss his chief monumentt; but for all
a his traveels Pellegriino remainss provinciaal in type, is
unluckyy in his seleection, caress little for prrecision of form,
f
and trrusts to coloour for effecct.
The sam
me transitioon in art waas taking pllace in otheer provincess. Morto daa Feltre, Pennacchi, annd
Girolam
mo da Treviiso have all left work of
o a Giorgio
onesque typpe, and som
me painters who
w went faar
onwardd, began theeir career unnder such minor
m
masteers. Giovannni Antonioo Licinio, who
w takes his
h
name frrom his natiive town off Pordenonee, in Friuli, was one off these. All the early paart of his liffe
was speent in paintiing frescoess in the smaall towns off the Friulann provinces.. At first theey bear signns
of the tuition
t
of Pellegrino,
P
b it soon becomes evident
but
e
thatt Pordenonee has learneed to imitatte
Giorgioone and Palm
ma. Quite early,
e
howevver, one of his
h chief faiilings appeaars, and onee which is all
a
his ownn, the disparrity in size between his various figures. The secondary ppersonages,, the Magi in
i
a Nativity, the Sainnts standingg round an altar,
a
are larrger and moore athletic in build and often morre
animateed in action than the princippal actors in the sccene. Whatt pleased Pordenones
contempporaries waas his darinng perspectiive and his instinctive feeling forr movementt. He carrieed

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out greaat schemes in the hill--towns, till at length hiis reputationn, which haad long beeen ripe in his
h
native province,
p
reeached Veniice. In 15199 he was inv
vited to Trevviso to frescco the faad
de of a housse
for one of the Raviguino famiily. The paiinter, as pay
yment, askeed fifty scuddi, and Titiaan was calleed
in to addjudicate, buut he admirred the worrk so much that he hinnted to Raviiguino that he would be
b
wise noot to press him
h for a valluation. As a direct con
nsequence of
o this piecee of business, Pordenonne
was em
mployed on the chapel at Treviso, in conjuncction with Titian.
T
At thhis time the Assumptioon
and the Madonna of
o Casa Pesaaro were just finished, and it is proobable that Pordenone paid his firrst
visit to Venice, haard by, and saw his greeat contemp
porarys woork. With his characterristic distastte
for fresco, Titian undertook
u
thhe altarpiecee and painteed the beauttiful Annunnciation whiich still holdds
its placce, and Pordenone covvered the dome
d
with a foreshorteened figuree of the Eteernal Fatheer,
surrounnded by anggels. Amongg the remainning frescoees in the Chhapel, an Addoration of the
t Magi annd
a S. Libberale are frrom his brussh. Fired byy his success at Trevisoo, Pordenonne offered hiis services to
t
Mantuaa and Crem
mona, but thhe Mantovans, accusttomed to thhe stately aand restrain
ned grace of
o
Manteggna, would have
h
nothinng to say to what Crow
we and Cavaalcaselle call his large and colossaal
fable-paainting. He
H pursued his way too Cremona, and that he
h studied M
Mantegna as
a he passeed
throughh Mantua is evident froom the first figures he painted
p
in thhe cathedrall. In Cremona every onne
admiredd him, and all the arttists set to work to im
mitate his energetic
e
fooreshortenin
ng, vehemennt
movem
ment and hugge proportioons.
Pordenoone, with his
h love for fresco, wass all his lifee an itinerant painter. In 1521 he was back at
Udine and
a wandereed from plaace to place,, painting a vast distem
mper for the organ doorrs at S. Mariia
at Spiliimbergo, thhe faade off the Churcch of Valerriano, an im
mposing serries at Trav
vesio, and in
i
1525, the
t Story of
o the Truee Cross att Casara. At
A the last place
p
he thhrew aside much of his
h
exaggerration, and, ruined andd restored as the fresco
oes are, theyy remain am
mong his most
m dignifieed
achieveements. He may be sttudied best of all at Piacenza,
P
in the Churrch of the Madonna di
d
Campaggna, where he dividess his subjeccts between
n sacred annd pagan, sso that we turn from a
Flight into Egyptt or a Marriage of S. Catherin
ne, to the Rape of E
Europa or Venus annd
Adonis. At Piacennza he show
ws himself the
t great paiinter he unddoubtedly iss, having acchieved som
me
masteryy over form
m, while hiss colour hass the true Venetian
V
quuality and aalmost equaals oils in its
lusciouss tones and vivid hues, which he lowers and enriches byy such enveeloping shad
dows as onlly
one whose spirit was
w in touchh with the art
a of Giorgiione would have underrstood how to use. Verry
complette records remain of Pordenonees life, full details off a quarrell with his brother
b
oveer
propertyy left by his
h father in 1533, and
a
accountts of the painters
p
neegotiations to obtain a
knighthhood, whichh he fanciedd would placce him morre on a par with
w Titian when he went
w
to live in
i
Venice.. The coveted honour was
w securedd, but from this time he
h seems to have been very jealouus
of Titiaan and to have
h
aimed continuallyy at rivallin
ng him. Porrdenone waas a punctu
ual and rapiid
decorator, and on being givenn the ceilinng of the Saala di San Finio
F
to deccorate in the summer of
o
1536, he
h finished the
t whole by
b March 1538.
1
We have seen hoow Titian aannoyed thee Signoria by
b
his delaays, how annxious they were to traansfer his commission
c
n to Pordenoone, and wh
hat a narrow
w
escape the Venetiaan had of losing
l
his Brokers
B
paatent. Pordenone was eengaged by
y the nuns of
o
Muranoo to paint ann Annunciattion, after thhey had rejeected one byy Titian on account of its price, annd
though it seems haardly possibble that any one could have compaared the twoo men, yet no doubt thhe
pleasuree of gettingg an altarpiece quickly and
a punctuaally and forr a moderatee sum, often
n outweigheed
the honnour of the possible
p
painnting by thee great Titiaan.
No onee has left soo few easel-paintings as Pordeno
one; fresco was so muuch better suited to his
h
particullar style. Thhe canvas of
o the Maadonna of Mercy
M
in the
t Venice Academy, was painteed
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about 1525 for a member

m
of the
t house off Ottobono,, and introdduces seven members of
o the familyy.
It is verry free from
m his colossal, exaggeraated manneer; the attenddant saints are studied from nature,
and in his
h journals the painterr mentions that
t the St. Roch is a portrait
p
of hiimself. The S. Lorenzzo
enthronned, in the same gallerry, shows both his virtu
ues and faillings. The saaints have his
h enormouus
proportions. The Baptist is twisting roound, to display
d
the foreshortening which
h Pordenonne
particullarly affectss. The gestuures are em
mpty and inexpressive, but the colour is broaad and fluidd;
there iss a large sennse of decooration in thhe composittion, and soomething siimple and austere
a
abouut
the figuure of S. Lorrenzo. As iss so often thhe case with
h Pordenonee, the princiipal actor off the scene is
smaller and more sincerely imagined
i
thhan the atteendant persoonages, whho are crow
wded into thhe
foregrouund, where they are ussed to displaay the masteers skill.
Pordenoone died suuddenly at Ferrara,
F
wheere he had been
b
summ
moned by itss Duke to un
ndertake onne
of his great
g
schemees of decoraation. He was
w said to have
h
been poisoned,
p
buut though hee had jealouus
rivals thhere seems no proof of the truth of
o the asserrtion, whichh was one vvery commo
only made in
i
those days.
d
He is interestingg as being the
t only diistinguishedd member oof the Venetian Schoool
whose frescoes haave come down
d
to us in any num
mber, and as
a being thhe only onee of the lateer
masterss with whom
m it was the chosen medium.
His kinnsman, Bernnardino Liccinio, is reppresented in
n the Natioonal Galleryy by a halff-length of a
young man
m in blaack, and at Hampton Court
C
by a large famiily group aand by anotther of threee
personss gathered round
r
a spiinet. His masterpiece
m
is a Madonnna and Saiints in the Frari, whicch
shows the
t influencce of Palmaa. His fleshh tints, striv
ving to be rich, have a hot, red look,
l
but his
h
works have
h
been constantly coonfounded with
w those of
o Giorgionne and Paris Bordone.
A long list might be given of minor artists who were industriiously turniing out worrk on similaar
lines to one or otheer of these masters:
m
Callderari, who
o imitates Paris Bordonne as well as Pordenonee;
Pomponnio Amalteoo, Pordenonnes son-in-law, a spiritted painter in fresco; F
Florigerio, who
w practiseed
at Udinne and Paddua, and off whom an altarpiece remains inn the Acadeemy; Giovaanni Battistta
Grassi, who helpedd Vasari to compile hiis notices off Friulan arrt, and manyy others on
nly known by
b
name.
At the close
c
of thee fifteenth century
c
the revulsion against
a
Paduuan art exteended as faar as Brescia,
and Girrolamo Romanino waas one of the
t first to acquire thhe trick of Venetian painting.
p
H
He
probablly studied foor a time unnder Friulann painters. Pellegrino
P
iss thought to have been at Brescia or
o
Bergam
mo during the
t Friulan disturbancces of 1506
6-12, and about
a
1510 Romanino
o emerges, a
skilled artist in Pelllegrinos Palmesque
P
m
manner.
Hiss works at this
t time aree dark and glowing,
g
fuull
of warm
m light andd deep shaddow; the sccene is ofteen laid undeer arches, aafter the manner
m
of thhe
Vivarinni and Cimaa; a gorgeouus scheme off accessory is framed inn noble archhitecture.
Bresciaa was an opulent
o
cityy, second only
o
to Millan among the towns of northerrn Italy, annd
Romaniino obtainedd plenty of patronage; but in 1511
1 the city feell a prey to the horrorss of war, waas
taken annd lost by Venice,
V
andd in 1512 was
w sacked by
b the Frencch. Romanino fled to Padua,
P
wherre
he founnd a home among
a
the Benedictine
B
es of S. Giu
ustina. Here he was sooon well emp
ployed on an
a
altarpieece with lifee-size figurees for the high altar, an
nd a Last Supper
S
forr the refecto
ory. It is alsso
surmiseed that he helped in thee series for the Scuola del Santo, for
f several of which Titian in 15111
had siggned a receipt, and thee Death of
o St. Antho
ony is poiinted out ass showing the Bresciaan
characteeristics of fine
fi colour, but
b poor drawing.
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Romaniino returnedd to Bresciaa when the Venetians

V
reecovered it in 1516, buut before doiing so he
went to Cremona and
a painted four subjeccts, which arre among hiis most effeective, in thee choir of
the Duoomo.
He is not
n so darinng a painterr as Pordenone, from whom
w
he soometimes bborrows ideeas, but he is
quite a convert to the modernn style of the
t day, settting his grooups in largge spaces and
a using thhe
slashed doublets, the
t long hosse, and plum
med headgeear which Giorgione
G
haad found so picturesque.
Romaniino is often very poor and
a empty, and fails most
m in selecttion and exppression at the momennts
when he most needds to be great, but he iss successfull in the goldden style he adopted affter his closeer
contact with the Venetians,
V
annd his drapeeries and fleesh tints aree extremelyy brilliant. He
H is, indeedd,
a even thhe fine Naativity in the Nationaal
inclinedd to be gauudy and caareless in execution, and
Galleryy gives the im
mpression that
t size is more
m
regard
ded than thoought and feeeling.
Morettoo is perhapss the only painter
p
from
m the mainlaand who, cooming withiin the charm
med circle of
o
Venetiaan art and betraying
b
thhe study off Palma and
d Titian andd the influeence of Porrdenone, stiill
keeps his
h own gam
mut of colouur, and as hee goes on, gets
g consisteently coolerr and more silvery in his
h
tones. He
H can onlyy be fully stuudied in Breescia itself, where literaally dozens of altarpiecces and walllpaintinggs show him
m in everyy phase. Hiss first conn
nection wass probably with Romaanino, but he
h
remindss us at one time of Tittian by his serious
s
reallism, and finnished, careeful paintin
ng, at anotheer
of Raphhael, by the grace and sentiment
s
o his heads,, and as tim
of
me goes on hhe foreshado
ows the stylle
of Veroonese. In thee Feast in the House of Simon in the organn-loft of thee Church off the Piet in
i
Venice,, the very name
n
preparres us for thhe airy, colo
onnaded buuilding, withh vistas of blue
b
sky annd
landscaape, and thee costly raim
ment and plenishing wh
hich might have been seen at any
y Venetian or
o
Bresciaan banquet. In his porrtraits Moreetto sometim
mes rivals Lotto. His personagess are alwayys
dignifieed and exprressive, witth pale, higgh-bred facees, and excceedingly picturesque in dress annd
general arrangemeent. He lovved to paintt a great geentleman, like the Sciiarra Martin
nengo in thhe
Nationaal Gallery, and
a to endow
w him withh an air of ro
omantic inteerest.
One of those who entered so closely intoo the spirit of the Veneetian Schoool that he may almost be
b
wo
included within it, is Savoldo.. His picturees are rare, and no gallery can shoow more thaan one or tw
p
by him
h of Gaston de Foixx, long thouught to be by
b Giorgione.
examples. The Louuvre has a portrait
c only shhow one alttarpiece, an
n Adoratioon of Shephherds, low
w in tone buut
His nattive town can
intense in dusky shhadow with fringes of light.
l
He is grey and slaaty in his shhadows, and
d often rouggh
v
beautifful, rich, evvening harm
monies; and a
and starrtling in efffect, but at his best he produces very
letter frrom Aretinoo bears witnness to the estimation in
n which he was
w held.
It is noot easy to saay if Bresciia or Vicennza has mosst claim to Bartolomm
meo Montag
gna, the earlly
master of Cima. Born
B
of Bresscian parennts, he settleed early in Vicenza,
V
annd he is by far the most
distinguuished of thhose Vicenttine painterrs who dran
nk at the Venetian
V
fouunt. He musst have gonne
early too Venice and worked with
w the Vivvarini, for in
n his altarpiiece in the B
Brera he haas the vaulteed
porticoees in whichh Bartolomm
meo and Alvvise Vivarin
ni delightedd. His Maddonna enthrroned in thhe
gallery at Vicenza has many points
p
of coontact with that of Alvvise at Berliin. Among these are thhe
four saiints, the cuppola, and thhe raised thrrone, and hee is specially attracted by the grou
ups of musiccmakingg angels; butt Montagnaa has more moral
m
greatn
ness than Alvise, and hhis lines are stronger annd
more siinewy. He keeps
k
faithfu
ful to the Allvisian feeling for calm
m and sweetnness, but hiis personagees
have grreater weighht and graviity. He essayys, too, a P
Piet with saints, at M
Monte Berico
o, and show
ws
both paathos and veehemence. He
H has eviddently seen Bellinis reendering, annd attempts,, if only witth
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partial success,
s
to contrast in the same way
w the indifference off death withh the contem
mplation annd
anguishh of the bereaved. Hardd and angullar as Monttagnas sainnts often aree, they show
w power annd
austerity. His colouur is brilliannt and enam
mel-like; hee does not arrive
a
at the Venetian depth,
d
yet his
h
altarpieeces are verry grand, annd once moore we are struck
s
by thhe greatnesss of even th
he secondarry
painterss who drew their inspirration from Padua and Venice.
V
Giovanni Speranza
Amongg the other Vicentines,
V
S
an
nd Giovanni Buonconssiglio were imbued witth
characteeristics of Mantegna.
M
S
Speranza,
inn one of hiss few remaiining workss, almost reproduces thhe
beautifuul Assumpption by Pizzolo,
P
M
Mantegnas
young felloow-student,, in the Ch
hapel of thhe
Eremitaani. He em
mploys Buonnconsiglio as an assisstant, and they
t
imitatee Montagnaa to such an
a
extent that it is difficult
d
to distinguishh between their workks. Buonconnsiglios P
Piet in thhe
Vicenzaa gallery, iss reminiscennt of Montaagnas at Monte
M
Bericoo. The typess are lean and
a bony, thhe
featuress are almostt as rugged as Drers, the flesh eaarthy and grreenish. About 1497 Bu
uonconsigliio
was stuudying oils with
w Antonnello da Messsina; he beegins to resiide in Venice, and a ch
hange comees
over hiss manner. His
H colours show a briilliancy and
d depth acquuired by stuudying Titiaan; and thenn,
again, his
h bright tiints remind us of Lottoo. His namee was on the register oof the Venettian Guild as
a
late as 1530.
1
After Pisanellos achievement
a
t and his marked effect on early Venetian
V
artt, Veronese painting feell
for a tim
me to a verry low ebb; but Manteggnas influeence was sttrongly felt here, and art
a revived in
i
Liberalee da Veronaa, Falconettto, Casoto, the
t Moronee and Girolaamo dai Libbri, painters delightful in
i
themsellves, but having
h
littlee connectioon with th
he school of
o Venice. Francesco Bonsignorri,
howeveer, shook hiimself free from the narrow
n
circcle of Veronnese art, w
where he haad for a tim
me
followeed Liberale,, and grow
ws more likke the Viceentines, Moontagna andd Buonconssiglio. He is
careful about his drawing,
d
buut his figurres, like tho
ose of manny of these provincial painters, arre
short, bony
b
and vuulgar, very unlike
u
the slender, disttinguished tyype of the ggreat Paduaan. Under thhe
name of Francescoo da Veronaa, Bonsignoori works in
n the new palace of thee Gonzagas, and several
a now scaattered in different collections. At Verona he has left fouur
picturess painted foor Mantua are
fine altaarpieces. He
H went earlly to Venicce, where hee became thhe pupil off the Vivarin
ni. His facees
grow sooft and ovall, and the veery careful outlines
o
sug
ggest the inffluence of B
Bellini.
Girolam
mo Mocettoo was journeeyman to Giovanni
G
Beellini; in facct, Vasari saays that a D
Dead Christt
in S. Frrancesco della Vigna, signed
s
with Bellinis naame, is from
m Mocettos hand. Hiss short, broaad
figures have sometthing of Barrtolommeo Vivarinis character.
c
Francessco Torbidoo went to Veenice to stuudy with Gio
orgione, andd we can traace his massters manneer
of turniing half toones into deeep shades;; but he do
oes not reaally understtand the Giorgionesquue
treatmeent, in whichh shade wass always ricch and deep,, but never dark,
d
dirty aand impenetrable, nor in
i
the lighhts can he produce
p
thee clear glow
w of Giorgio
one. Anothher Veronese, Cavazzola, has left a
masterppiece upon which
w
any painter
p
migght be happy
y to rest hiss reputationn; the Gattemalata witth
an Esquuire in the Uffizi, a piicture noblee in feeling and in execcution, and one which owes a greaat
deal to Venetian poortrait-paintters.

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PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W

Porddenone.
Casaraa.

O Church: Frescoes,
Old
F
152
25.

Colattoo.

S. Salvatore: Frescoes
F
(E.)).

Cremoona.

Duomo: Fresccoes; Christ before

D
b
Pilatee; Way to Goolgotha;
Nailing to Cross;
C
Cruciifixion, 1521; Madonna eenthroned wiith
Saints and Donor, 1522
2.

Muranno.

S. Maria d. Anngeli: Annun

nciation (L.).

Piacenza.

M
Madonna
in Campagna:
C
Frescoes
F
and Altarpiece, 11529-31.

Pordennone.

Duomo: Madoonna of Mercy, 1515; S. Mark enthrooned with

D
Saints, 15335.
M
Municipio:
SS
S. Gothard, Roch,
R
and Seebastian, 15225.

Spilim
mbergo.

D
Duomo:
Assuumption; Con
nversion of S.
S Paul.

Sensigana.

M
Madonna
andd Saints.

Torre.

M
Madonna
andd Saints.

Trevisoo.

D
Duomo:
Adorration of Mag
gi; Frescoes,, 1520.

Venicee.

Academy: Porrtraits; Mado

A
onna, Saints, and the Ottoobono Family;
Saints.
: Saints.
S. Giovanni Elemosinario
E
S. Rocco: Sainnts, 1528.

Pelleegrino.
San Daaniele.

Frescoes in S.. Antonio.

Cividaale.

S. Maria: Maddonna with six

s Saints.

Venicee.

A
Academy:
Annnunciation.

Romaanino.

116

Bergam
mo.

S. Alessandroo in Colonna:: Assumptionn.

Berlin..

M
Madonna
andd Saints; Piet.

Bresciaa.

Galleria Martiinengo: Portrait; Christ bearing

G
b
Crosss; Nativity;
Coronationn.

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D
Duomo:
Sacriisty: Birth off Virgin; Visiitation.
S. Francesco: Madonna an
nd Saints; Spposalizio.
Cremoona.

D
Duomo:
Fresccoes.

Londonn.

Polyptych; Poortrait.

Padua.

L Supper; Madonna
Last
M
and Saints.

L
di
Sato, Lago
Garda.

D
Duomo:
Sainnts and Dono
or.

Trent.

C
Castello:
Fresscoes.

Veronaa.

St. Jerome. S.. Giorgio in Braida:

B
Orgaan shutters.

Moreetto.
Bergam
mo.

L
Lochis:
Holy Family; Chrrist bearing Cross;
C
Donorr.

Bresciaa.

Galleria Martiinengo: Natiivity and Sainnts; Madonnna appearing to

G
S. Francis; Saints; Mad
donna in Glorry with Saintts; Christ at
A
n.
Emmaus; Annunciation
S. Clemente: High
H
Altar and
a four otheer Altarpiecess.
S. Francesco: Altarpiece.
S. Giovanni Evangelista:
E
High
H
Altar; Third
T
Altar.
S. Maria in Caalchera: Deaad Christ andd Saints; Maggdalen washiing
Feet of Chrrist.
S. Maria dellee Grazie: Hig
gh Altar.
SS. Nazaro annd Celso: Tw
wo Altarpiecees; Sacristy: Nativity.
Seminario di S. Angelo: High
H
Altar.

Londonn.

Portrait; Maadonna and

Portrait of Coount Sciarra Martinengo;
M
Saints; Twoo Angels.

Milan.

B
Brera:
Madonnna and Saintts; Assumptiion.
C
Castello:
Tripptych; Saints..

Rome.

V
Vatican:
Maddonna enthron
ned with Sainnts.

Venicee.

S. Maria dellaa Piet: Chrisst in the Houuse of Levi.

Veronaa.

S. Giorgio in Braida: Mad

donna and Saaints.

Bartoolommeo Montagna.
M

117

Bergam
mo.

L
Lochis:
Madoonna and Sain
nt, 1487.

Berlin..

M
Madonna,
Saiints, and Don
nors, 1500.

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Milan.

B
Brera:
Madonnna, Saints, and
a Angels.

Padua.

Scuola del Santo: Fresco; Opening of S. Antonys Tomb.

Pavia.

C
Certosa:
Madonna, Saints, and Angelss.

Venicee.

A
Academy:
Maadonna and Saints;
S
Christt with Saintss.

Veronaa.

SS. Nazaro e Celso: Saints; Piet; Fresscoes, 1491-93.

Vicenzza.

Holy Family; Madonna en

H
nthroned; Tw
wo Madonnass with Saintss;
Three Maddonnas.
D
Duomo:
Altarrpiece; Fresccoes.
S. Corona: Madonna and Saints.
S
M
Monte
Bericoo: Piet, 1500
0; Fresco.

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CHA
APTER
R XXIV
V
PA
AOLO VER
RONESE
Paolo Veronese,
V
t
though
perhhaps he is not to be placed on the very hhighest pin
nnacle of thhe
Venetiaan School, must
m be classsed amongg those few great paintters who rosse far abovee the level of
o
most off his contem
mporaries annd who brouught in a special note and
a flavour of his own. His art is an
a
indepenndent art, annd he borroows little frrom predeceessors or coontemporariies. His freee and joyouus
temperaament gave relief at a moment whhen the Ven
netian schem
me of colouur threateneed to becom
me
too som
mbre, and when
w
Sebastiian del Piom
mbo, Porden
none, Titiann himself, aand above all
a Tintorettoo,
were puushing chiarroscuro to extremes.
e
V
Veronese
disscards the deepest
d
bronnzes and mu
ulberries annd
crimsonns and oranges, and finds his range
r
amon
ng cream and rose aand grey-grreens. Titiaan
concenttrated his colours
c
and intensifiedd his lights,, Tintoretto sacrifices colour to vivid
v
play of
o
light annd dark, butt Veronese avoids the dark; the generous light plays alll through hiis scenes. He
H
has no wish
w to secuure strong effects
e
but delights
d
in soft,
s
faded tints;
t
old roose and turq
quoise mortte.
In his colour
c
and his
h subjects he is a perrsonification
n of the robbust, proud, joy-loving Republic, in
i
which, as M. Yriarrte says, a man
m produceed his work
ks as a tree produces
p
itss fruit. We get
g very neaar
him in those
t
vast palaces
p
and churches annd villas, where
w
his herroic figures expand in the
t azure aiir,
against the white clouds,
c
and yet he is onne of the arttists of the Renaissance
R
e about who
om we know
w
least. Here
H and theere, in conteemporary biography, we
w come acrooss a mention of him and
a learn that
he was sociable annd lively, quuick at takinng offence, fond of hiss family andd anxious to do his best
by them
m. He was, too,
t
very geenerous withh his work
a great conntrast in thiis respect to
o Titianannd
contractts with convvents and coonfraternitiees show thaat he often only
o
stipulatted for paym
ment for barre
time. Yet
Y he was fond
f
of perssonal luxuryy, loved rich
h stuffs, horses and hoounds, and, says Ridolffi,
alwayss wore velvvet breeches.
His firsst masters, according
a
too Mr. Berennson, were Badile
B
and Brusasorci,, masters off Verona, buut
before he
h was tweenty, he waas away worrking on hiis own accoount. His first patron was
w Cardinaal
Gonzagga, who brouught severaal painters frrom Veronaa to Mantuaa; but Mantuua was no lo
onger what it
had beeen in the dayys of Isabela dEste, annd Paolo Caaliari soon returned
r
to hhis own tow
wn. Before he
h
was tw
wenty-three he had deccorated Villla Porti, neear Vicenzaa, in collabboration wiith Zelotti, a
Veronese, portrayying feastinng gods annd goddessees, framed in light aarchitecturall designs in
i
monochhrome. The two painteers went onn to other viillas, mixinng mortal annd mythicall figures in a
happy, light-hearteed medley.
Zelotti having
h
receeived a com
mmission at Vicenza,
V
Paaolo decidedd to seek hiss fortune in
n Venice. Thhe
Prior off the Conveent of San Sebastiano,
S
on the Zattere, was a Veronese,
V
aand Caliari wrote
w
to him
m
before arriving
a
in Venice
V
in 1555. Thankks to the goo
od Prior, whho played a considerab
ble part in his
h
destiny,, he obtaineed a commisssion for a Coronation

n of the Virrgin and fouur other Sain

nts. He firrst
painted the sacristyy, but his suuccess was instantaneo
ous, and maany orders ffollowed. The
T ceiling of
o
o Esther. The
T whole of
o these paiintings are marvellousl
m
ly
the chuurch was deevoted to thhe history of
well prreserved, annd, inset inn the carvedd and gilt framework,
f
, make a cooup dil of
o surprisinng
beauty. They had an immense effect. Evvery one was able to appreciate
a
tthese joyou
us pictures of
o
Venice,, the lovelinness of her skies, the pomp of heer ceremoniies, the richh Eastern sttuffs and thhe
gloriouss architectuure of her palaces.
p
It was an ausspicious mooment for a painter off Veroneses
temper;; the so-callled Repubblic, now, more
m
than ever, an olligarchy, w
was at the height
h
of its

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fortuness, redecoraating was going forw

ward everyw
where, the merchant--nobility was
w rich annd
spendinng magnificcently, the Eastern traade was flo
ourishing, Venice
V
wass in all herr glory. Thhe
patrons Caliari cam
me to work for, preferrred the cereemonial to the
t imaginaative treatmeent of sacreed
themes,, and he doees not chooose the trageedies of the Bible for illustration. He paints the
t history of
o
Esther, with its royal audiennces, banquuets, and marriage-fea
m
asts. His C
Christs and Maries annd
Martyrss are compoosed, courtlly personages, who maaintain a diggnified calm
m under missfortune, annd
have veery little vioolent feelingg to show.
At the time
t
of his arrival
a
in Venice,
V
Palm
ma Vecchio was just deead, Tintoreetto was abssorbed by thhe
Scuola di San Rocco, Paris Boordone wass with Franccis I. As rivals, Caliari had Salviatti, Bonifazioo,
mage to Tittian who waas eighty yeears old, bu
ut still in fuull
Schiavoone, and Zeelotti, all renndering hom
vigour. Titians oppinions in matters
m
of arrt were dictaates, his juddgment wass a law. He immediatelly
recogniised Veroneeses geniuss, which wass of a kind to
t appeal too him, and toogether with
h Sansovinoo,
who at this time was
w Directorr of Buildinngs to the Siignoria, he received thhe young paainter with an
a
approvaal which ennsured him a good starrt. Five yeaars after Verroneses arrrival he waas retained to
t
decorate the Villa Barbaro att Maser, whhich is a typ
pe of those patrician ccountry-hou
uses to whicch
the Vennetians were becomingg more attacched every year. Daniele Barbaroo, Patriarch of Aquileia,
whose magnificennt portrait by
b Veronesee is in the Pitti, was himself
h
an artist and designed thhe
ceiling of the Halll of the Council
C
of Ten.
T
Pallad
dio, Alessanndro Vittorria, and Veeronese werre
associatted to buildd him a dwelling worthhy of a Prin
nce of the Church.
C
In style the viilla is a totaal
contrastt to the gorgeous Veneetian palacees; it is sobeer and simpple, and welll adapted to
o leisure annd
retiremeent. Its whitte stucco walls
w
and deccorations arre devoid off gilding annd colour, an
nd the room
ms
adornedd by Veroneeses brush show him in
i quite a new
n light. His
H visit to R
Rome did not
n take placce
till fourr years laterr, but he haas been influuenced heree by the feeeling for thee antique, and
a he thinkks
much of line and sttyle. He leaaves on one side the gorrgeous broccades and glleaming sattins, in whicch
he usuaally delights, and his nymphs
n
aree only cloth
hed in theirr own beauuty. And heere Veronesse
shows his
h admirabble taste andd discretion;; his patronss, the Barbaaro family, are his frien
nds, men annd
women of the woorld, who put
p no resttraint on hiis fancy, annd are not prone to censure,
c
annd
Veronese, with thee bridle on his
h neck, soo to speak, uses
u
his oppportunities fully, yet never exceedds
ual like Ruubens, but pproud, gravee and sweeet,
the limits of goodd taste. He is not gross and sensu
s
figurres whereveer he can finnd
seductivve, but neveer suggestivve or vulgarr. After having placed single
a nook, he assembles all the gods
g
of Olyympia at a su
upper in thee cupola. Im
mmortality is
i a beautifu
ful
young woman
w
seatted on a clouud. Mercuryy gazes at her,
h caduceuus in hand; D
Diana caressses her greaat
hound; Saturn, an old man, reests his headd on his han
nd; Mars, Apollo,
A
Venuus, and a litttle cupid arre
mpyrean, annd Jupiter presides
p
oveer the partyy. Below, a balcony raiil runs rounnd
scattereed in the Em
the cupola, and loooking over it, an old laady, dressed
d in the lateest fashion, points out the
t companny
t a young man in a do
oublet who holds a houund in a leaash. They arre
to a beaautiful younng one and to
evidently family portraits, takken from those who looked on at the artist, aand on the other
o
side he
h
has intrroduced meembers of his
h own fam
mily who were
w
helpinng him. Thhese decoraations have a
gaiety, an absencee of pedanttry, a soundd and sane sympathy with the sppirit of the Renaissancce
t of a happpy momentt when art was
w at its heeight and inn touch withh its environ
nment. From
m
which tell
about 1563 we mayy begin to date
d his greaat supper pictures. The Marriage oof Cana (Louvre), one of
o
his mosst famous works,
w
was painted forr the refecto
ory in Samm
michele, thee old part of
o S. Giorgiio
Maggioore. The treeaty for it iss still in exxistence, datted June 15562. The arrtist asks fo
or a year; thhe
Prior iss to furnishh canvas annd colours,, the painteers board, and a caskk of wine. The furtheer
paymennt of 972 duucats illustrrates the prrices receiv
ved by the greatest
g
artiists at the height
h
of thhe
Renaisssance: 280 for work which
w
occuppied quite eiight monthss.
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Veronese must havve delightedd in paintingg this work. Needless too say, it is nnot in the leeast religiouus.
He has united in it all the mosst varied perrsonages wh
ho struck hiis imagination. So we see
s a Spanissh
grandeee, Francis I.., Suleiman the Sultan, Charles V.., Vittoria Colonna,
C
annd Eleanor of
o Austria. In
I
the forreground, grouped
g
rouund a table, are Verronese him
mself, playinng the vio
ol, Tintorettto
accomppanying him
m, Jacopo da Ponte seaated by them
m, and Paollos brotherr, the archittect, with his
h
hand onn his hip, toossing off a full glass; and in the governor of the feast, opulent and
d gorgeouslly
attired, we recogniise Aretino. Under the marble colu
umns of a Grimani
G
or a Pesaro, hee brings in all
a
the illusstrious actoors of his ow
wn time andd leaves us an odd andd informingg document.. We can buut
accept the scene and
a admire the originaality of its design andd the freedoom of its execution,
e
its
boldnesss and fancyy, the way inn which thee varied inciidents are brought into harmony, and
a the gracce
of the colonnade,
c
p
peopled
withh spectatorss, standing out
o against the depth off distant sky
y.
The cellebrated supppers, of whhich this is the first ex
xample, are dispersed inn different galleries annd
some haave disappeeared, but frrom this tim
me Veronesee loved to paint
p
these ggreat displaays, repeatinng
some off them, but always introducing varriety.

Paolo Veronese.
Ve
M
MARRIAG
GE IN CAN
NA.
(Phooto, Manselll and Co.)

Louvrre.

In 15644 he accom
mpanied Girolamo
G
Grrimani, pro
ocurator off St. Marks, who waas appointeed
ambassador to the Holy See, and for thee first time saw the woorks of Rapphael and Michelangel
M
lo
and the treasures of
o antiquity.. For a timee, the sight of
o the antiqque had som
me effect up
pon his workk;
in his faamous ceiling in the Loouvre, Juppiter destroy
ying the Vicces, the inffluence of Michelangel
M
lo
is apparrent and itss large gesttures are innspired by sculpture.
s
R
Ridolfi
sayss that Veron
nese broughht
home casts
c
from Rome, andd statues off Amazons and the Laaocoon seem
m to have inspired thhe
Jupiter. He did nott go on longg in this paath; he doess not really care for thee nudeit is
i too simplle
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for him
m. He preferrs that his saints
s
and divinities
d
sh
hould appeaar in the goorgeous costumes of thhe
day, annd that his Venus andd Diana annd the nym
mphs shouldd trail in rrich brocad
des. But few
w
documeents are left concerningg his work for
f the Ducaal Palace upp to 1576; m
much of it was
w destroyeed
in the great fire, but the Siggnoria thenn gave him
m a number of fresh ccommission
ns. The most
importaant was the immense oval
o
of the Triumph of Venice, or, as it is sometimees called, thhe
Thankksgiving forr Lepanto;; the Repubblic crowneed by victoory and surrrounded by
y allegoricaal
figures,, Glory, Peace, Happinness, Ceress, Juno and the rest. The
T compossition show
ws the utmost
freedom
m: the fair Queen
Q
leanns back, surrrounded by
y laughing patricians,
p
w
who look up
u from theeir
balconies, as if thhey were attending
a
a regatta on
n the Grannd Canal. T
The horses of the Freee
Compannions, the soldiers
s
whoo go afar too carry out the
t will of the
t Republiic, prance in
n a crowd of
o
personaages, each of whom represents
r
a town or colony of her domaiin. Like alll Veroneses
creationns, this will always be pre-eminen
p
ntly a picturee of the sixtteenth centuury, dated by
b a thousannd
details of costumee, architectuure, and arm
mour. Venicce, the Vennice of Lepanto and th
he Venier, of
o
Titian, Aretino,
A
and Veronese himself, makes
m
a deep
p impressionn upon us, aand the artisst reflects his
h
age withh sympatheetic spontaneeity.
Hardly a hall of thee Ducal Pallace but cann show a can
nvas of Verronese or thee assistants by whom he
h
t
to tim
me he resum
med the deccorations off S. Sebastiiano, and his
h
was now surroundded. From time
o fatigue or
o languor. The martyyrdom of th
he saint is a
incessannt production betrays no trace of
triumphh of the beaauty of the silhouette against
a
a rad
diant sky. He
H goes bacck to Veron
na and painnts
the Maartyrdom off St. Georgee. He pourss light into it.
i The saintts open a shhining path, down whicch
a floweer-crowned Love fluttters with the
t
diadem
m and palm
m of victorry. The wh
hole air annd
expresssion of St. George
G
is full
fu of strenngth and thaat look of goodness
g
annd serenity which is thhe
painters nearest approach
a
too religious feeling.
f
Veronese wass created a Chevalier of St. Markk;
every one was askiing for his services,
s
buut he was a stay-at-hom
s
me by naturee and fond of
o living witth
his fam
mily. Philip II.
I longed too get him too cover his great walls in the Escuurial, but hee very civillly
declinedd all his invvitations andd sent Federrigo Zuccheero in his steead.
It was on accountt of the Feeast in the House of Levi
L
that in
i 1573 hee was hauleed before thhe
ment concern
ning this waas only disccovered a feew years agoo.
tribunall of the Inquuisition, andd the docum
The Siggnoria had never allow
wed any trribunal to chastise
c
woorks of literrature; on the
t contraryy,
Venice,, though com
mparativelyy poor herseelf in geniu
uses of the mind,
m
was thhe refuge of
o freedom of
o
thoughtt, and, in facct, had madde a sort of compact
c
wiith Niccolass V., which allowed heer to set asidde
or suspend the deccisions of thhe Holy Offfice, from which
w
she could
c
not quuite emanciipate hersellf.
grieved persson, to whhom his way of treatinng
Veronese, howeveer, was denoounced by some agg
sacred subjects
s
seeemed an ouutrage on reeligion. The members of
o the tribunnal demand
ded who thhe
boy waas with the bleeding noose? and why

were halberdierss admitted? Veronesee replied thaat

they weere the sortt of servantts a rich and magnificeent host woould have aabout him. He was theen
asked why
w he hadd introducedd the buffooon with a parrot
p
on his
h hand. H
He replied th
hat he reallly
thoughtt only Chrisst and His Apostles
A
w
were
presentt, but that when
w
he hadd a little sp
pace over, he
h
adornedd it with im
maginary figuures. This defence
d
of th
he vast andd crowded canvas did not
n commennd
itself, and
a he was asked
a
if he really thougght that at the
t Last Suppper of our Saviour it was
w fitting to
t
bring inn dwarfs, buffoons,
b
d
drunken
Gerrmans, and
d other absuurdities. Diid he not know
k
that in
i
Germanny and otheer places innfested withh heresy, th
hey were inn the habit oof turning the
t things of
o
Holy Chhurch into ridicule,
r
witth intent to teach false doctrine to the ignorannt? Paolo fo
or his defencce
cited thhe Last Juddgment, whhere Micheelangelo had
d painted every
e
figurre in the nu
ude, but thhe
Inquisittor replied crushingly,
c
that these were disem
mbodied spirits, who coould not bee expected to
t
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wear cllothing. Couuld Veronesse uphold his

h picture as
a decent? The
T painterr was probaably not verry
much alarmed.
a
Hee was a peerson of grreat importance in Veenice, and the proceedings of thhe
Inquisittion were always
a
jeallously watcched by meembers of the Senate, who wou
uld not havve
permitteed any unfaair interfereence with thhe liberties of
o those undder the prottection of th
he State. Thhe
real offfence was thhe introducction of the German so
oldiers, whoo were pecuuliarly obno
oxious to thhe
Venetiaans; but Verronese did not
n care whhat the subjeect was as long
l
as it gaave him an excuse for a
great sppectacle. Brrought to bay,
b
he gavee the true answer:
a
M
My Lords, I have not co
onsidered all
a
this. I was
w far from
m wishing too picture annything diso
orderly. I paainted the ppicture as it seemed best
to me and
a as my inntellect couuld conceivee of it. It meant
m
that Veronese
V
paainted in thee way that he
h
consideered most arrtistic, withhout even reemembering
g questions of religion,, and in thiss he summeed
up his whole
w
stheetic creed. He
H was set at liberty on
o conditionn that he toook out one or
o two of thhe
most offfending figgures. The Feast in thhe House of
o Levi (ass he named it after thee trial) is thhe
finest of
o all his grreat scenic effects.
e
Thee air circulaates freely through
t
thee white arch
hitecture, we
w
breathe more deeplly as we loook out into the
t wide blu
ue sky, and such is the sensation of
o expansionn,
that it is
i hardly poossible to beelieve we are
a gazing at
a a flat wall. Titians background
ds are a bluue
horizonn, a burningg twilight. Veronese builds
b
marb
ble palacess, with rosyy shadows, or columnns
blancheed in the liqquid light. His
H personaages show little violennt action. H
He places th
hem in noblle
poses inn which theey can best show
s
off thheir magnificent clothess, and he enndows his patricians,
p
h
his
goddessses, his sacrred persons,, with a unifform air of majestic inddolence.
After his trial, Veronese
V
prroceeded moore triumph
hantly than ever. Everyy prince wished to havve
somethiing from his brush; thee Emperor Rudolph,
R
at Prague, shoowed with ppride the caanvases takeen
later byy Gustavus Adolphus. The Duke of Modenaa, carrying on
o the tradiitions of Feerrara, addeed
Veroneses works to the treasuures of the house of Esste. The lastt ten years oof his life were
w given up
u
us to possesss
to visitiing churchees on the maainland and on the littlee islands rouund Venice, all covetou
somethiing by the brilliant
b
Verronese, whoose name was in every mouth. Torrcello, Muraano, Trevisoo,
Castelfrranco, everyy convent and
a monasteery loaded him
h with coommissionss, and it is significant
s
o
of
the spirrit of the tim
me, that in spite of thhe disapprov
val of the Holy
H
See, hhis most ard
dent patronns,
those who
w delighted most in his robust, uncompro
omising woorldliness, w
were to be found in thhe
religiouus houses. Then,
T
when he went to rest in the summer heeats in somee villa on th
he Brenta, he
h
left deliightful souvvenirs here and there. It
I was on su
uch an occaasion, for the Pisani, that he painteed
the Faamily of Darrius, whichh was sold to England by a membber of the hhouse in 185
57. The royal
captivess, who are throwing
t
thhemselves at
a the feet of
o the conquueror, are, w
with Paoloss usual frannk
navet and disregaard of anachhronisms, dressed
d
in fu
ull Venetiann costume
all the chieef personagees
mily. The freedom
fr
and
d rapidity of
o executionn, the comp
pleteness annd
are porttraits of thee Pisani fam
finish, the
t charm of
o colour, the beauty of
o the figurres (especially the prinncely ones of
o Alexandeer
and Hepphaestion), and its exttraordinary energy, maake this onee of the fineest of all hiss works. Thhe
critic, Charles
C
Blannc, says of it,
i It is absuurd and dazzzling.
In the Rape

of Europa,
E
he recurred aggain to onee of those leegends of ffabled being
gs who havve
outlasteed dynastiess and are sttill fresh annd living. Veronese
V
waas surroundded by men like Aretinno
and Bem
mbo, well versed
v
in mythology,
m
and with his
h usual zesst he makess the tale an
a excuse foor
paintingg lovely, blooming
b
w
women,
richh toilets, an
nd a delighhtful landsccape. The wild
w
flowerrs
spring, and the litttle Loves fly to and froo against a cloud-fleckked sky of tthe wonderfful Veronesse
turquoisse. It is the work of a man
m who iss a true poett of colour and for whoom colour represents
r
a
all
the emootions of joyy and pleasuure.

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Veronese died com

mparatively young, of chill and feever, and alll his familyy survived him. He liees
buried in San Sebbastiano. From
F
contem
mporary memoirs
m
we know thatt he lived and dresseed
splendiddly. He keppt immensee stores off gorgeous stuffs to paaint from iin his studiio, and drew
w
everythhing from liife,the neegroes covered with jewels, the bright-eyed ppages, the models
m
whoo,
robed inn velvets, brocades
b
annd satins, became queeens or courrtesans or saints. The pearls
p
whicch
bedeckeed them weere from hiss own caskeets. Though
h we know little
l
of his private lifee, his work is
so alivee that he seeems personnified in it. He is saveed from whhat might haave been a prosaic or a
sordid style
s
by the delicious, ever-changi
e
ing colour in
i which hee revels; his silks and satins are lesss
modelleed by shaddows than tinted by broken reeflections, his
h embroidered and striped annd
arabesqqued tissuess are so harmoniousl
h
ly combineed that the eye rests,, wherever it falls, on
o
somethiing exquisitte and subtlle in tint. Thhis is wheree his geniuss lies, the decoration does not addd
to the innterest of thhe drama; itt replaces itt; in short, it is the drrama itself, for his typees show littlle
selectioon, and his ideal of fem
male beautyy is not a very sympatthetic one. H
His personaages are colld
and devvoid of exprression, their gestures are rather meaningless
m
s, but by meeans of ligh
ht and air annd
exquisitte colour hee gives the poetical
p
touch which alll great art demands.
d
On accoount of theiir size few examples
e
o Veroneses work aree to be founnd in privatee collectionns,
of
but the galleries of
o the differrent Europeean capitals are rich inn them. Num
mbers of paaintings, tooo,
which are
a by his assistants
a
arre dignified by his nam
me, and direectly after hhis death spu
urious workks
were freeely manufaactured andd sold as gennuine.

PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W
Dresdeen.

Madonna withh Cuccina Faamily; Adoraation of Maggi; Marriage of

M
o
Cana.

Florencce.

Pitti: Portrait of Daniele Barbaro.

B
U
Uffizi:
Martyrrdom of S. Giustina;
G
Holly Family (E.).

Londonn.

Consecration of S. Niccolas; The Fam

C
mily of Dariuss before
o the Magi.
Alexander;; Adoration of

Maser..

V
Villa
Barbaro: Frescoes.

Padua.

S. Giustina: Martyrdom
M
off S. Giustinaa.

Paris.

C
Christ
at Emm
maus; Marriaage of Cana.

Venicee.

Academy: Baattle of Lepan

A
nto; Feast in the House off Levi;
Madonna with
w Saints.
Ducal Palace: Triumph off Venice; Rappe of Europaa; Venice
D
enthroned.
S. Barnab: Holy
H
Family.
d
Vigna: Holy Familyy.
S. Francesco della
S. Sebastiano: Madonna and
a Saints; Crucifixion;
C
M
Madonna in
n and other Saints;
S
otherss in part;
Glory with S. Sebastian
S
and Figure of Faithh; Sibyls.
Frescoes; Saints

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Veronaa.

Portrait of Passio Guadientti, 1556.

M
off S. George.
S. Giorgio: Martyrdom

Vicenzza.

M
Monte
Bericoo: Feast of St. Gregory, 15572.

Viennaa.

C
Christ
at the House
H
of Jairrus.

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CH
HAPTER
R XXV
TINTORE
ETTO
It does not seem liikely that many
m
new discoveries
d
will
w be madde about Tinntorettos liife. It was an
a
open annd above-booard one, annd there is practically
p
no
n time durring its spann that we arre not able to
t
accountt for, and to
t say wherre he was living
l
and how he waas occupiedd. The son of a dyer, a
memberr of one off the powerrful guilds of Venice, the little dyer, il teentoretto, ap
ppears as an
a
enthusiaastic boy, keen
k
to learnn his chosenn art. He waas apprenticed to Titiann and, immeediately afteer,
summarrily ejectedd from thaat masterss workshop
p, on accoount, it seeems probaable, of thhe
indepenndence and innovationn of his stylle, which was
w of the very
v
kind m
most likely to
t shock annd
puzzle Titians couurtly, settleed genius. After
A
this hee painted when
w
and whhere he cou
uld, pursuinng
his artisstic studies with the heeadlong arddour which through lifee characteriised his attittude towardds
art. Mr.. Berenson thinks
t
he may
m have woorked in Bo
onifazios sttudio. He foormed a close friendshiip
with Anndrea Schiaavone,[4] hee imported casts of Miichelangelos statues, hhe studied the
t works of
o
Titian and
a Palma. Over his dooor was written the co
olour of Titiian and the form of Miichelangelo.
All his energies were
w
for lonng devoted to the effo
ort to masteer that form
m. Colour came
c
to him
m
naturallly, but good drawing meant morre to him th
han it had ever done to any Ven
netian. Lonng
afterwaards, to repeeated inquirries as to how
h
excellen
nce could be
b best ensuured, he wo
ould give no
n
other advice
a
than the reiteraated, studyy drawing. He practised till thee human fo
orm in everry
attitudee held no diifficulties foor him. He suspended little modeels by stringgs, and drew
w every lim
mb
and torsso he couldd get hold of
o over and over again.. He was foound in every place wh
here paintinng
was waanted, gettinng the buildeers to let hiim experimeent upon the house-froonts. To masster light annd
shade he
h constructed little carrdboard houuses, in whicch, by meanns of slidingg shutters, laamplight annd
skylight effects couuld be arrannged. It is particularly interesting
i
t hear of thhis part of his
to
h educationn,
w was the most
m victorioous of all hiis inspiratio
ons.
as in thee end the loove of shine and shadow
The chiief events in
i Tintoretttos life aree art-eventss. For somee years he frescoed th
he outside of
o
houses at a nominnal price, or
o merely for
f his expeenses. He decorated
d
hhousehold furniture
f
annd
everythhing he coulld lay handss on. Then came
c
a few small comm
missions, ann altarpiecee here, organndoors thhere, for unimportant churches.
c
No one in Veenice talkedd of any onee save Palm
ma, Bonifazioo,
and, aboove all, Titiian, and it was
w difficultt enough fo
or an outsideer, who wass not one off their clique,
to get employmentt. But by thee time Tintooretto was tw
wenty-six his
h talent waas becoming
g recognisedd;
ora and Foortunato, annd the offerr he made to
t
he had painted thee two altarppieces for SS. Ermago
decorate the vast church
c
of his parish broought him conspicuous
c
sly into notiice. In the fiirst ardour of
o
h completeed the Lastt Judgment for the ch
hoir. From tiime to timee, during fou
urteen yearrs,
youth he
he redeeemed his early
e
promiises and exxecuted the Golden Calf
C
and thhe Presenttation of thhe
Virgin. Within tw
wo years off his offer too the Prior, came his first
f
great oopportunity of achievinng
distinction. This was
w a comm
mission from
m the Confraaternity of St.
S Mark, aand with thee Miracle of
o
the Slavve he spranng at once to the highesst place.
The piccture was universally
u
admired, annd was folllowed by thhree more ddealing witth the patroon
saint. At
A forty he married
m
happpily a beauttiful young girl, Faustinna dei Vesccovi, or Episcopi, as it is
indifferrently givenn, the daughhter of a nobble family of
o the mainnland. Tradiition has alw
ways pointeed
to the girl
g in blue in the Goolden Calf as her porrtrait, whilee it is easy to recognise Tintorettto
himselff in the blaack-beardedd giant, whho helps to carry the idol. His hhouse at th
his time waas

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somewhhere in the Parrocchia dell Orto, and there, during the next fourteeen years, eight childreen
were boorn, of whoom the two eldest, Dom
menico and Marietta, attained
a
disttinction in their
t
fathers
professiion. Anotheer great eveent, which profoundly
p
influencedd his life, w
was the begiinning of his
h
connecttion in 15600 with the Scuola di San
S Rocco, the great confraternity
c
y which waas devoted to
t
combating the ravages of thee plague andd to succou
uring the fam
milies of itts victims. His
H work foor
this lastted to the ennd of his life
fe and is his most distin
nguished meemorial.
The paalace to whhich the Robusti
R
fam
mily moved in 1574, and whichh was inhab
bited by his
h
descenddants so latee as 1830, can
c still be identified in
n the Calle della
d
Sensa. It is broken
n up into tw
wo
parts, but
b it is eviddent that it was a dweelling of som
me importaance, a goodd specimen
n of Venetiaan
Gothic. It still beaars marks off considerabble decoratiion; the wallls are sheaathed in marrble plaquees,
and the first floor has rows off Gothic wiindows in delicately
d
caarved framees and little balconies of
o
fretted marble. Zaanetti, in 17771, gives an
a etching of a magniificent bronnze frieze cast
c
from thhe
masters design, which
w
ran rouund the Graand Sala. Th
he family must
m have occcupied the piano nobille
and let off the floors they did not require..
Descripptions of thhe life led by
b the painnter and his family aree given by Vasari, wh
ho knew him
m
personaally, and byy Ridolfi, whose
w
book was publisshed in 16446, and whoo must hav
ve known his
h
childrenn, several of
o whom weere still alivve and prou
ud of their fathers
f
fam
me. We heaar of pleasannt
eveninggs spent in the little paalace, of thhe enthusiasstic love off music, Tinntoretto him
mself and his
h
daughteer being higghly gifted. Among thhe habituss were Zarllino, for tw
wenty-five years
y
chapeelmaster of St. Markks, one of thhe fathers of
o modern music;
m
Bassaano; and Veeronese, wh
ho, in spite of
o
his lovee for magnifficent enterttainments, was
w often to
o be found in
i Tintorettos pleasant home. Pooor
Andrea Schiavone was alwayys welcome, and as tim
me went on the house bbecame thee haunt of all
a
the culttured gentlemen and littterati of Veenice.
It is noot difficult from
f
the maaterials avaailable to fo
orm a sufficciently livelly idea of this
t
Venetiaan
citizen of the sixteeenth centuury, as fatheer and husb
band, host and
a painter. Ridolfi haas collected a
numberr of anecdootes, which space forbiids me to use,
u but whhich are all very characteristic. We
W
gather that
t
he was a man of strong
s
charaacter, generrous, sincerre and simple, decided in his wayys,
caring little
l
for thee great worlld, but openn-handed an
nd hospitablle under hiss own roof, observant of
o
men and manners, and sometiimes rather brusque in dealing witth bores andd offensive persons.
p
Fuull
of dry quiet
q
humoour and of good-nature
g
ed banter off his wifess little weakknesses. A man, too, of
o
upright conduct annd free, as faar as it can be ascertain
ned, from anny of those laxities and
d infidelitiees,
so freelly quoted off celebratedd men and so
s easily co
ondoned by his age. Arrt was Tinto
orettos maiin
preoccuupation; butt he seems to
t have been a man off strong religgious bias, m
making a cllose study of
o
the Bibble, and turnning naturallly in his laast days to those
t
truthss with whicch his art haad made him
m
familiarr, truths whhich he had representedd with that touch
t
of myystic feelingg which was the deepest
part of his
h nature.
His relaations with the
t State coommenced in
i 1574, wh
hen his offerr to present a superb paainting of thhe
Victoryy of Lepantoo was madee to and acccepted by th
he Council of
o Ten. Tinttoretto was rewarded by
b
a Brokeers patent, and between this andd the Parad
diso, the work
w
of his old age, he executed a
numberr of picturess for the Siggnoria. Thee only recorrd of any trravels are coonfined to two
t
journeyys
paid to Mantua, whhere he wennt in the sixxties and ag
gain in 15799 to see to tthe hanging
g of paintinggs
done foor the Gonzzaga, and of
o which thhe documen
nts have beeen kept, thhough the pictures
p
havve
vanisheed. Tintoretttos last yeears were saaddened by
y the death of his belooved daughtter, who haad
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always been his coonstant com

mpanion. He died in 1579 after a fortnightss illness and left a willl,
which, together
t
wiith that of hiis son, throw
ws a good deal
d of lightt upon the faamily historry.
It is nott easy to sellect from the vast quanntity of work
k left by Tinntoretto. Hee is one of th
hose painterrs
whose whole
w
life was
w passed in
i his nativee city and who
w can onlyy be adequaately studied
d in that cityy.
Perhapss the first place in whiich to seek him, is the great churcch which w
was the mon
nument of his
h
early prime. The Last Judggment wass probably inspired byy that of M
Michelangello, of whicch
descripttions and skketches muust have reaached the yo
ounger masster, over w
whom the Fllorentine haad
exerciseed so strongg a fascinatiion. Tintoreettos versio
on impressess one as thaat of a mind
d boiling witth
thoughtts and visioons which he
h pours outt upon the huge
h
space.. It depicts a terrible catastrophe, a
scene of
o rushing destruction,
d
of forms swept
s
into oblivion, of others strruggling to the light, of
o
many beautiful
b
figgures and of
o a flood of
o air and light behindd the rushinng water,
water whicch
makes us
u almost giddy
g
as wee watch it. The
T Goldeen Calf is a maturer pproduction and includees
some off the lovelieest women Tintoretto ever
e
painted
d. We see too
t plainly tthe planning, the devicce
of conccentrating innterest on the
t idol by turning figu
ures and poointing finggers, but no
othing can be
b
imagineed more suppple and queeenly than the
t woman in blue, andd the way thhe light fallss on her heaad
and peerfectly forreshortened arm show
ws to whaat excellennce Tintoreetto had atttained. Thhe
Presenntation is a riper workk. The draw
wing of thee flight of steps
s
and off the group
ps upon them
m
could not
n be betteered. The litttle figure of
o the Virg
gin, prototyppe of the neew dispensation, as shhe
advancees to meet the represeentative of the old, th
hrills with mystic
m
feeliing, yet thee painter haas
contriveed to retain the sturdy simplicity of
o a child. The
T St. Aggnes, with its contrastt of light annd
shade, of
o strength made perfeect in weaknness, is of later date annd was the ccommission
n of Cardinal
Contariini.
It is intteresting to realise how
w Tintorettto, especiallly in the P
Presentationn, has conttrived, whille
using thhe traditionnal episodess, to infuse so strong an
a imaginattive sense. T
The contrasst of age annd
youth, the
t joy of the Gentiless, the starlikke figure off the child surrounded
s
by shadow
ws, convey an
a
emotionnal feeling, in harmonyy with the nature of thee scene.
Next leet us group together thhe miracless in the histtory of St. Mark. Onee of the quaalities whicch
strikes us most inn the Miraacle of the Slave is its
i strong local
l
colourr. It tells of
o Titian annd
Bonifazzio and is unnlike Tintorrettos laterr style. The colours aree glowing annd gem-likee; carnationns,
orange--yellows, deeep scarlet, and turquoiise-blue. Th
he crimson velvet
v
of thhe judges dress
d
is finelly
relievedd against a blue-greenn sky, and Tintoretto
T
has
h kept thhat instinctivve fire and
d dash whicch
culminaates at oncee and withoout effort inn perfect acction, as a bird flies,, or a horsee gallops. It
startled the quiet members
m
off the Guild,, and at the first momeent they hesitated to accept
a
it. Thhe
Rescuee of the Saaracen andd the Trannsportation of the Boddy are morre in the golden-brow
g
wn
mannerr to which he
h was moviing, but it is in the Fin
nding of thee Body (B
Brera) that he
h rises to thhe
highest emotional pitch. Thee colossal form
f
of thee saint, expanding withh life and power as he
h
towers in the spiritt above his own lifelesss clay, draw
ws all eyes to him and seems to fiill the barreelroofed hall
h with eaase and enerrgy. Every part of the vault is floooded by hiss life-giving
g energy, annd
here Tinntoretto deaals with lighht and shadee with full mastery.
m
As we follow
f
Tintorettos carreer, it is boorne in upon
n us how litttle positivee colour it taakes to makke
a great colourist. The
T whole Venetian
V
Scchool, indeeed, does noot deal withh what we understand
u
a
as
bright colour.
c
Viviid tints are much
m
more characteristtic of the Fllemish and the Florentiine, or, let us
u
say, of the painterss of to-day. Strong, cruude colours are to be seen
s
on all ssides in the Salon or thhe
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Royal Academy,
A
b they aree absent froom the scheeme of sombbre splendoour which has
but
h given thhe
Venetiaans their titlle to fame. This is esppecially truee of Tintoreetto, and it becomes more
m
so as he
h
advancees. His gam
mut becomess more goldden-brown and
a mellow
w; the greys and brown
ns and ivoriees
combinne in a lustroous symphoony more im
mpressive th
han gay tintts, flooded w
with envelo
oping shadow
w
and illuumined by flashes
fl
of iriidescent lighht. Anotherr noticeable feature is thhe way in which
w
he puuts
on his oil-colour,
o
s that it beears the direect impressiion of the painters
so
p
hannd. The Flo
orentines haad
used flaat tints, opaque and with
w every brush-mark
k smoothedd away; butt as the lateer Venetianns
coveredd large spacces with oil--colour, theey no longerr sought to dissimulatee the traces of the brushh,
and lighht, distancee, movemennt, were all conveyed by
b the turnss and twistss and swirlss with whicch
the thinn oil-colourr was laid on.
o Look att the powerr of touch in
i such a ppicture as th
he Death of
o
Abel; we see thiss spontaneitty of executtion actually
y forming part
p of the eemotion wiith which thhe
picture is charged. The conceentrated hatee of the onee figure, thee desperate appeal of the
t other, thhe
lurid noote of the laandscape, gain
g
their em
motion as much
m
from the impetuoous brush-w
work as from
m
the morre studied design.
d
We come closeest to the paainters minnd in the Sccuola di Saan Rocco. He
H
had alreeady been employed
e
inn the churcch, and therre remains, darkened aand ruined by
b damp, thhe
series illustrative of
o the careeer of S. Rooch, patron saint of suffferers from
m the plagu
ue. When thhe
H
of Asssembly werre to be deecorated in 1560, the confraterniity asked a conclave of
o
great Halls
painterss, among whom weere Veroneese and Andrea Schiiavone, to prepare sketches
s
foor
competition. Whenn they assem
mbled to dissplay their designs,
d
Tinntoretto sweept aside a cartoon
c
from
m
the ceilling of the refectory
r
annd discovereed a finisheed picture, the
t S. Rocch in Glory,, which stiill
holds itts place theere. Neitherr the other artists nor the brethreen seem too have apprroved of thhis
unconventional prooceeding, but
b he hopped they wo
ould not be offended; it was the only way he
h
knew. Partly from
m the disppleased withhdrawal off some of the
t rest, buut partly allso from thhe
excellennce of the work, the commissionn fell to Tintoretto,
T
a after tw
and
wo years work
w
he waas
receivedd into the order,
o
and was
w assignedd an annuall provision of 100 ducaats (50) a year for liffe,
being bound everyy year to furnnish three pictures.
p

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CHA
APTER
R XXVII
TINTORETTO (continued))
The firsst portion of
o the vast building
b
thaat was finisshed was thhe Refectoryy, but in ex
xamining thhe
schemee, it is perhaaps more coonvenient too leave it to
o its proper place, whicch is the cliimax. Beforre
beginniing, Tintoreetto must haave had thee whole thin
ng planned,, and we caannot doubtt that he waas
influencced by the Sixtine Chhapel and recalled
r
itss plan and significance; the old dispensatioon
typifyinng the new, the Old Teestament hiistory vivifiied by the acts
a of Chriist. The maain feature of
o
the harm
mony whichh it is only reasonable
r
t suppose governs
to
g
thee whole buillding, is its dedication to
t
S. Rochh, the special patron of
o mercy. The
T princip
pal paintinggs of the U
Upper Hall are
a thereforre
concernned with acts of divinee mercy andd deliverancce, and eveen the monoochromes bear
b
upon thhe
central idea. On thhe roof are the three most
m importaant miracless of mercy performed on behalf of
o
the Choosen Peoplee. The paintiings on roof and walls are linked together. The Fall of Man at onne
end of the
t Hall, thee disobediennt eating, coorresponds with the obbedient eatinng of the Paassover at thhe
other, and
a is interddependent with
w the Maanna in the Wildernesss, the Last S
Supper, and
d the Miraclle
of the Loaves.
L
Thhe Miracless of satisfieed thirst aree representeed by Mooses striking
g the Rock,
Samsonn drinking from
fr
the jaw
wbone and thhe waters of
o Meribah. The Baptism
m and otherr signs of thhe
Advent of Christ and the Divvine preparration, balance events in the earlly life of Moses.
M
In thhe
Refectoory which opens
o
from the Great Hall,
H
we co
ome to the Crucifixio

on, the crow

wning act of
o
mercy, surroundedd by the events which im
mmediately
y succeededd it, and typiified immed
diately abovve
in the Central Haall, by the lifting upp of the Brrazen Serpent. The m
miracles incclude six of
o
refreshm
ment and suuccour, twoo of miracuulous restorration to heealth, and tw
wo of deliv
verance from
m
danger. The wholee scheme has been workked out in detail
d
in my book on T
Tintoretto.
In the working
w
out of his greaat scheme, Tintoretto
T
is impatient of
o hackneyeed and traditional form
ms;
he mustt have a reaading of his own, and one
o which appeals
a
to hiis imaginatiion. We seee that passioon
for movvement whiich distinguuishes his eaarly work. Moses

striiking the R
Rock is a fiigure instincct
with puurpose and energy. Thee water bouunds forth, living, life--giving, thee people straain wildly to
t
reach itt. His figurees are someetimes founnd fault witth, as extravvagant in ggesture, but the attitudees
were inntended to be
b seen andd to arrest attention
a
fro
om far below
w, and we m
must not fo
orget that thhe
painters models were
w
drawnn from a Southern
S
raace, to whoom emphassis of action is naturaal.
Tintorettto, it may be concedeed, is on ceertain occassions, generrally when dealing wiith accessorry
figures,, inclined too excess off gesture; it
i is the defect of his temperameent, but wh
hen he has a
subject that carriess him away he is sinceere and neveer violent inn spirit. Tittian is cold compared to
t
fective, is caalculated, whereas
w
Tinntorettos seeems to perrmeate everry
him; his colour, however effe
object and
a to soak the whole composition
c
n. To quote a recent criitic: He choose to begin
n, if possible,
with a subject
s
charrged with emotion.
e
Hee then proceeeded to treeat it accordding to its nature,
n
that is
to say, he toned down and obbscured thee outlines of form and mapped ouut the subjeect instead in
i
pale orr sombre masses
m
of light
l
and shade.
s
Und
der the conntrol of thiis powerfull scheme of
o
chiarosccuro, the colouring off the compoosition wass placed, buut its own character, its
i degree of
o
richnesss and sobriiety, was deetermined by
b the kind of emotionn belongingg to the sub
bject. To usse
colour in
i this way,, not only with
w emotionnal force, but with emootional truthh, is to use it to perform
m
one of the
t greatest functions of
o art.[5]

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So in thhe Crucifixion it is not so much the aspect of the groups, the pathos of the facess or gesturees,
that tellls, but it is the
t mystery and gloom in which th
he whole scene is mufffled, the atm
mosphere intto
which we
w are absoorbed, the seense of lividd terror con
nveyed by the broodingg light and shadow, that
makes us
u feel how
w different thhe renderingg is from an
ny other. In the Christt before Pilaate the heaad
and figuure of Chrisst are not paarticularly impressive
i
in themselvves, but the brilliant lig
ght falling on
o
the whiite robes annd coursing down the steps suppliees dignity and
a poetry; the slender white figurre
stands out
o like a shaft of lighht against thhe lurid and
d troubled background.
b
. Again, in the Way to
t
Golgothha the falliing evening gleam, the wild sky, th
he deep shaadow of the ravine, thro
ow into relieef
the quieet form, dettached in loook and feeeling, as of one upbornne by the sppirit far above the brutaal
throng. Nowhere does
d
that sppiritual emootion find deeeper expreession than in the Visitation. Thhe
passionn of thanksggiving, the poignancy
p
o mother-lo
of
ove, throb through
t
thee two womeen, who havve
been traavelling tow
wards one another,
a
witth a great secret
s
betweeen them, aand who at length reacch
the havven of each others lovve and knowledge. Heere, too, thee dying lighht, the wav
ving tree, thhe
obliteraation of form
m, and the feeling
f
of mystery
m
mak
ke a deep apppeal to the sensuous apprehension
a
n.
We findd it again and
a again; the great trrees sway and
a whispeer in the gaathering darrkness as thhe
Virgin rides
r
througgh the fallinng evening shadows, clasping
c
herr Babe, and in that most moving of
o
all Tinttorettos creeations, the S. Mary of
o Egypt, th
he emotionaal mood of Natures seelf is broughht
home too us. The treees that dom
minate the landscape arre painted with
w a few strokes likee sabre cuts;
the landdscape, givven with appparent careelessness, yeet conveyinng an indesscribable sense of spacce
and sollemnity, unnfolds itselff under thee dying daay; and in solitary meeditation, th
hrilling witth
ecstasy,, sits that little
l
figure,, whose heeart has trav
velled far away
a
to com
mmune witth the Spiriit,
whosee dwelling iss the light of
o setting sunns.
It is nott possible inn a short sppace to toucch, even in passing,
p
on all the manny scenes in
n these halls:
the Annnunciation, with its marvellous
m
flight of cherubs, remiinding us off the flight of
o pigeons in
i
the Piazzza, and how
w often thee old painterr must havee watched thhem; the T
Temptation, contrastinng
the throobbing evil,, the flesh that
t
must bee fed, with the calm off absolute ppurity; the Massacre

o
of
the Innoocents, forr which the horrors of sacked tow
wns could have supplieed many a parallel,w
p
we
have noot time to dwell
d
on theese, but we may noticee how the arrtist has overcome the difficulty of
o
seeing clearly in the dark halls, by chhoosing stro
ong and vaaried effectss of light for
f the most
wed spaces, and we cann picture whhat the halls must havee been like when they first gloweed
shadow
from hiis hand, adoorned with gilded
g
fretw
work and mo
oulding, andd hung withh opulent drraperies, witth
the rosee-red and puurple of bishhops and caardinals ro
obes reflecteed in the gleeaming paveement.

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Tintorettto. Scuola di
d San Roccco.
S. MARY
M
OF EGYPT.
(P
Photo, Andeerson.)
Leonarddo, by one supreme
s
exaample, Tinttoretto, by many
m
renderrings, have made the L
Last Supperr
peculiarrly their ow
wn in the doomain of artt. It shows how
h
stronglly the mystiic strain enttered into thhe
mans character,
c
thhat often ass Tintoretto treated thee subject, it never lost its interest for him, annd
he neveer failed to find
f
a fresh point of vieew. In that in
i S. Polo, Christ
C
offerrs the sacred
d food with a
gesture of vehemeent generosiity. Placed as the pictu
ure is, to apppeal to all comers to the Mass, to
t
t
a welcome as they pass to the High Altar,
A
it tellss of the Breead of Lifee given to all
a
afford them
mankinnd. Tintorettto himself, painted in the charactter of S. Paaul, stands aat one side,, absorbed in
i
meditattion. We neeed not insisst again on the emotion
nal value of the deep ccolours, thee rich cream
ms
and crim
msons and the chiarosccuro. In hiss latest rend
dering, in S.. Giorgio M
Maggiore, hee touches his
h
highest point in sym
mbolical treeatment. Soome people are only ablle to see a ttheatrical, arrtificial spirrit
in this picture,
p
butt at least, when
w
we connsider whatt deep meditation Tinttoretto had bestowed on
o
his subjjects, we may
m believee that he him
mself was sincere andd that he leet himself go
g over whaat

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commennded itselff as an entiirely new rendering.

r
The

Lightt shined in the Darkn

ness, and thhe
Darkness comprehhended it noot. The suppernatural iss entering on every sidde, but the feast
fe goes onn;
the servving men annd maids busy
b
themseelves with the
t dishes; the
t disciplees are inquiiring, but noot
agitatedd; none see that throng of heavenlly visitants, pouring in through thee blue moon
nlight, calleed
to theirr Masters side by the supreme significancce of His words.
w
Thee painter haas taken fuull
advantaage of the opportunityy of combining the light of the cresset lam
mp, pouring
g out smokky
clouds, with the sttruggling moonlight
m
annd the unearrthly radiannce, in diverrs, yet ming
gling stream
ms
which fight
f
againsst the surrouunding glooom. In the scene
s
in the Scuola di S. Rocco th
he betrayal is
the dom
minating inccident, and in
i San Stefaano all is peeace, and thhe Saviour iis alone with
h the faithfuul
disciplees.

Tinttoretto. BA
ACCHUS AND
A
ARIA
ADNE. Du
ucal Palacee, Venice.
(P
Photo, Andeerson.)
Thoughh several off the large compositioons ascribed
d to Tintorretto in the Ducal Palace are onlly
partly by
b him, or entirely
e
by followers and
a imitatorrs, its halls are
a still a sttorehouse of
o his geniuus.
There is
i much thaat is fine abbout the greeat state pieces. In thee Marriagee of St. Caatherine, thhe
saint, inn silken goown and lonng transpareent veil, is an exquisiite figure. T
Tintoretto bathes
b
all his
h
pageanttry in goldeen light and air, and yett we feel thaat these hugge official suubjects, witth the prosaiic
old Dogges introducced in inconngruous com
mpany, neith
her stimulatted his imaggination norr satisfied his
h

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taste. Itt is on the smaller caanvases thatt he finds inspiration. He never painted an
nything morre
lovely, more perfecct in designn, or more gay and tend
der in idea, than
t
the cyccle in the An
nte-Collegioo.
The gloowing light and exquissitely gradeed shadows upon ivoryy limbs havve a sensuou
us perfectioon
and a refined, unselfconsciouus joy such as is felt in
n hardly anny other woork, except the painters
own M
Milky Way in the Naational Galllery. In all these four pictures thhe feeling for
f design, a
branch of art in whhich Tintoreetto was paast master, is fully dispplayed. In thhe Bacchus and Ariadnne
all the principal
p
linnes, the eyees and gestuures, converrge upon thhe tiny ring which is th
he symbol of
o
union between
b
the goddess annd her loverr, between the queenlyy city and thhe Adriatic sea. Or takke
Pallas driving away Mars: see
s how thee mass into which
w
the figures
f
are ggathered on the left addds
strengthh to the thrrust of the goddesss arm,
a
and what
w
steadinness is giveen by that short
s
straighht
lance of
o hers, com
ming in amoong all the yielding cu
urves. The whole fourr are linked
d together in
i
meaning: the call to Venice too reign over the seas, heer triumphaant peace, w
with Wisdom
m guiding heer
council, and her warriors
w
forgging arms inn case of neeed. In conjuunction witth these picttures are tw
wo
small ones
o
in the chapel, harrdly less beeautifulStt. George with
w St. Marrgaret, and SS. Andrew
w
and Jerome. It is difficult
d
to say
s whetherr the exultaant St. Georrge, the diggnified youn
ng bishop, or
o
the twoo older saintts are the more
m
sympaathetic creattions, or thee more adm
mirable, both
h in drawinng
and collour. The seense of spacce in both settings
s
is an
a added chharm, and evvery scrap of detail, thhe
leafy booughs, the cross
c
and crozier, is impportant to th
he composittion.
There are
a many other
o
strikinng examplees, ranging all throughh Tintorettoos life, off his untirinng
imaginaation. In thee Salute is that Marrriage of Can
na, in whiich all the aactors seem
m to swim in
i
golden light. The sharp
s
silhouuettes bringg out an efffect of radiaant sunshinee with whicch the hall is
floodedd, and all the
t architecctural lines lead our eyes
e
towardds the centtral figure, placed at a
distancee. On that long
l
canvass in the Acaademy, kneeel the threee treasurers, pouring out
o their golld
and bennding in hoomage beforre the Madoonna and Child,
C
who sit
s enthroneed upon a broad
b
piazza,
throughh the marblle pillars of
o which a blue and distant lanndscape shiines. Gravee senators in
i
mulberrry velvet annd ermine kneel
k
beforee the Child, or hold coounsel on P
Paduan affairs under thhe
patronaage of S. Giiustina. Thee Crucifixiion (in S. Cassiano) is
i another ttriumph of the painters
imaginaative concepption. The bold
b
lines of
o the crossees, the ladder, and the figures detaach against a
gloriouss sky, and the
t presencee of the mooving, murm
muring thronng, of whicch, by the placing
p
of thhe
line of sight,
s
the sppectator is made
m
to forrm a part, iss conveyed by the swayying and crossing of thhe
lances borne
b
by thhe armed meen who keep the groun
nd. There iss a series, tooo, which deals
d
with thhe
Magdallen. She moourns her dead
d
in that solemn, reestrained E
Entombmennt, where the
t enfoldinng
shadow
ws frame thee cross agaiinst the sadd dawn, which adorns the mortuaary chapel of
o S. Giorgiio
Maggioore; and thee Piet in thhe Brera, the
t long lin
nes of which add to thhe impression of tendeer
repose, has its peaace broken by the passsionate cry of the wom
man who looved much. Tintorettos
p
the sam
me scene in
n a dozen diifferent wayys, and, in fact,
f
the boook
ideas arre exhaustleess; he can paint
of sketcches lately acquired byy the British Museum shows as many
m
as thiirty trials daashed off foor
one subbject, and after
a
all he uses
u
one coomposed fo
or somethingg quite diffferent. It is this habit of
o
throwinng off red-hhot essays, fresh from
m his brain,, that has led to the ccommon bu
ut superficiaal
judgmeent that Tinttoretto was merely
m
a grreat improviisatore, whoose successes came mo
ore or less by
b
good luuck. He couuld, indeed, paint picttures at a pace
p
at whicch many grreat masters could onlly
sketch, but he hadd already deesigned andd considered
d and rejectted, doing w
with oil, in
nk, and papeer
what many
m
of his contemporar
c
ries did menntally. Such
h achievemeents as the A
Ante-Colleg
gio cycle, thhe
Housee of Martha and Mary, the Marrriage of Can
na, the Teemptation oof S. Anthon
ny, to nam
me
only a few,
f
show a finish andd perfection and a balan
nce of desiggn which prreclude the idea of theeir
being lightly painnted pictures. When hee was actu
ually engageed, Tintoretto let him
mself go witth
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impetuoous ardour, but we mayy feel assurred he left nothing

n
to chance,
c
thouugh he had his own waay
of makiing sure of the
t result.
It is strrange to heaar people, as
a one doess now and then,
t
talking of the P
Paradiso ass a splendiid
failure. It may be granted thaat the subjecct is an imp
possible onee for humann art to realiise, yet wheen
all allow
wance has been
b
made for a lamenntable amou
unt of dryinng and blacckening, it is
i difficult to
t
agree thhat Ruskinn was all wrong
w
in hiis admiratio
on of that thronging multitude, ordered annd
disciplined by the tides of ligght and shaddow, which
h roll in andd out of the masses, ressolving them
m
into grooups and sinngle figuress of almost matchless beauty
b
and melting aw
way into a sea
s of radiannt
ether, which
w
tells us
u of the bouundless space which su
urrounds thee serried rannks of the Blessed.
B
Tintorettto was sevventy-eight when it waas allotted to
t him, andd it was thee last great effort of his
h
mind annd hand. Stuudies for it are preserveed both at th
he Louvre and
a at Madrrid, and it iss evident thaat
the painnter has fraamed it upoon the thougght of Danttes mystic rose. The ccircles and many of thhe
figures can be tracced in the poem, and thhe idea of th
he Eternal Light
L
stream
ming throug
gh the leavees
of the rose
r
dominnates the coomposition. It is appro
opriate that it should hhave been his
h last greaat
work, as
a it was alsso the greatest attemptt at compossition ever made by a master of the
t Venetiaan
School..
There is no room here to stuudy Tintorettto as a paiinter of batttlepieces, thhough from
m the time he
h
painted the Battlee of Lepantto, for the Council off Ten, he often returneed to such subjects. His
two serries for the Gonzaga inncluded sevveral, and th
he Ducal Paalace still ppossesses ex
xamples. Thhe
impetuoosity of hiss style stoood him in good
g
stead, and he neever fails too bring in graceful annd
strikingg figures.
His porrtraits are hardly
h
equaal to Titians intellectu
ual grasp orr fine-grainned colour, but they arre
extraorddinarily chharacteristic. He prefeers to paintt men rathher than w
women, and
d he painteed
hundreddsall the great personns of his tim
me who liveed in and visited Venicce. The Ven
netian portraait
by this time was exxpected to be
b more thann a likenesss and more than
t
a probllem. It was to please thhe
taste as a picture, to
t interest and
a to satisffy criticism. Tintoretto,, like Lotto,, gets behin
nd the scenees,
and we see some mood,
m
somee aspect of the
t sitter thaat he hardlyy expected tto show. His penetratioon
is not equal
e
to Lotttos, but hee deals withh his sitters with an obbservation w
which pierces below thhe
surface.
In critiicising Tinntoretto, meen seem often
o
unablle to discrriminate beetween thee turgid annd
melodraamatic, andd the spontaaneous and temperameental. The first
f
all muust abhor, bu
ut the last is
sincere and deservves to be reespected. It is by his best that we must judgee a man, an
nd taking his
h
best andd undoubteddly authentiic work, noo one has left a larger amount
a
whiich will stan
nd the test of
o
criticism
m. As an exponent of
o lofty andd elevated central ideeas, which unify all parts of his
h
compossition, Tintooretto standds with the greatest im
maginative minds.
m
The intellectual side of liffe
was exeemplified inn Florentinee art, but thee Renaissan
nce would have
h
been a one-sided developmennt
if theree had not arrisen a boddy of men to whom em
motion and the gift off sensuous apprehensio
a
on
seemedd of supremee value, andd at the veryy last there arose
a
with him
h one who, to their philosophy
p
o
of
feeling and the mastery of thheir chosenn medium, added
a
the crowning
c
gglory of thee imaginativve
idea.

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PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W
Augsbuurg.

Christ in thee House of Martha

M
and Mary.
M

Berlin..

Portraits; Madonna and Saints; Lunaa and the Houurs; Procurattor

before S. Mark.

Dresdeen.

Lady in Blacck; The Resccue; Portraitss.

Florencce.

Pitti: Portraiits of Men; Luigi

L
Cornaroo; Vincenzo Zeno.
Uffizi: Portrrait of Himseelf; Admiral Venier; Porttrait of Old
Man; Jacoopo Sansovin
no; Portrait.

Hamptton Court.

Esther beforre Ahasueruss; Nine Musees; Portrait of Dominican

n;
Knight off Malta.

Londonn.

S. George annd the Drago

on; Christ waashing Feet oof Disciples;
Origin off Milky Way.
Bridgewaterr House: Entombment; Poortrait.

Madridd.

Battle on Laand and Sea; Solomon annd the Queenn of Sheba;

Susanna and
a the Elderrs; Finding of
o Moses; Essther before
Ahasueruus; Judith and
d Holoferness.

Milan.

Brera: S. Heelena, Saints and Donors;; Finding of tthe Body of S.

Mark (E.)).

Paris.

Susanna andd the Elders; Sketch for Paradise;

P
Porrtrait of
Himself.

Rome.

Capitol: Bapptism; Ecce Homo;

H
The Flagellation.
F
Colonna: Addoration of th
he Holy Spirrit; Old Man playing
Spinet; Poortraits.

Turin.

The Trinity.

Venicee.

Academy: S.
S Giustina an
nd Three Sennators; Madoonna with
Saints andd Treasurers, 1566; Portrraits of Senattors;
Depositioon; Jacopo So
oranzo, 15644 (still attribuuted to Titian
n);
Andrea Capello
C
(E.); Death of Abbel; Miracle oof S. Mark,
1548; Addam and Eve;; Resurrectedd Christ blesssing Three
Senators; Madonna an
nd Portraits; Crucifixion;; Resurrectio
on;
Presentatiion in Templle.
Palazzo Duccale: Doge Mocenigo
M
com
mmended to Christ by S.
Mark; Dooge da Ponte before the Virgin;
V
Marriiage of S.
Catherinee; Doge Grittti before the Virgin.
Ante-Colleggio: Mercury and Three Graces;
G
Vulcans Forge;
Bacchus and
a Ariadne; Pallas resissting Mars, abbt. 1578.
Ante-room of
o Chapel: SS. George, Margaret,
M
andd Louis; SS.
Andrew and
a Jerome.
Senato: S. Mark
M
presentiing Doge Looredano to the Virgin.

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Sala Quattroo Porte: Ceiliing. Ante-rooom: Portraitss; Ceiling,

Doge Priuuli with Justiice. Passage to Council oof Ten:
Portraits; Nobles illum
mined by Hooly Spirit.
Sala del Graan Consiglio:: Paradise, 15590.
Sala dello Scrutino: Batttle of Zara.
Palazzo Reaale: Transporrtation of Body of S. Marrk; S. Mark
rescues a Shipwrecked Saracen; Philosophers.
P
.
P
Battleepiece; Portrraits.
Giovanelli Palace:
S. Cassiano:: Crucifixion
n; Christ in Limbo;
L
Resurrrection.
S. Giorgio Maggiore:
M
Laast Supper; Gathering
G
of Manna;
Entombm
ment (in Morttuary Chapell).
S. Maria Maater Domini: Finding of True
T
Cross.
S. Maria delll Orto: Lastt Judgment (E.); Golden Calf (E.);
Presentatiion of Virgin
n (E.); Martyyrdom of S. A
Agnes.
S. Polo: Lasst Supper; Asssumption off Virgin.
S. Rocco: Annunciation;
A
; Pool of Betthesda; S. Rooch and the
Beasts; S. Roch healin
ng the Sick; S. Roch in C
Campo d
Armata; S.
S Roch conssoled by an Angel.
A
Scuola di S. Rocco: Low
wer Hall, all the
t paintingss on wall.
U
Hall: all the paintiings on wallss
Staircase:: Visitation. Upper
and ceilinng. Refectory
y: Crucifixion, 1565; Chrrist before
Pilate; Eccce Homo; Way
W to Golgootha; Ceiling, 1560.
Salute: Marrriage of Canaa, 1561; Marrtyrdom of S
S. Stephen.
S. Silvestro:: Baptism.
S. Stefano: Last
L Supper; Washing off Feet; Agonyy in Garden.
S. Trovaso: Temptation of S. Anthonny.
Viennaa.

V
Portraaits of
Susanna andd the Elders; Sebastian Venier;
Procuratoors, Senators, and Men (ffifteen in all); Old Man an
nd
Boy; Porttrait of Lady.

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CHA
APTER
R XXVIII
BASSAN
NO
We woonder how many of thhose sightseeers who pass
p
through the Antee-Collegio in
i the Ducaal
Palace, and stare for
f a few moments
m
at Tintorettos famous quartet
q
and at Veronesees Rape of
o
g
even suuch fleetingg attention to the longg, dark canvvas which hangs
h
besidde
Europa,, turn to give
them, Jacobs Jouurney into Canaan,
C
by Jacopo da Ponte,
P
calleed Bassano.
m the positiion in whichh it is placed the visitorr might gueess that it is considered
d to be a gem
m,
Yet from
and it gains
g
someething in innterest whenn we learn from Zaneetti that it w
was ordered by Jacoppo
Contariini at the same time as the R
Rape of Eu
uropa, as if the greaat connoissseur enjoyeed
contrastting Veroneeses light, gay
g style wiith the vigorous brush of
o da Pontee.
If attenttion is arressted by the beauty of thhe painting,, and the visitor shouldd be inspired to seek thhe
painter in his nativve city, he will
w be welll repaid. Baassano oncee held an im
mportant po
osition on thhe
main rooad betweenn Italy and Germany, but
b since th
he railroad was
w made aacross the Brenner
B
Passs,
few peoople ever seee the little town which lies cradlled on the spurs
s
of the Italian Alp
ps, where thhe
gorge of
o Valsuganna opens. It
I is surrouunded by ch
hestnut wooods, whichh sweep up
p to the bluue
mountaains, the widde Brenta floows throughh the town, and the houuses clusterr high on eitther side, annd
have gaardens and balconies
b
ovverhanging the water. The
T faadess of many of the housess are covereed
with fading frescooes, relics of
o da Pontes school of fresco-paiinters, whicch, though they are faast
perishinng, still givee a wonderfful effect off warmth and colour.
Jacopo da Ponte was
w the son and
a pupil off his father, Francesco, who in his day had beeen a pupil of
o
the Vicentine, Barttolommeo Montagna.
M
F
Francesco
da
d Pontes best
b work is to be found
d at Bassanoo,
in the cathedral
c
annd the churcch of San Giovanni,
G
an
nd has manyy of the chaaracteristicss, such as thhe
raised pedestal
p
andd vaulted cuupola, whicch we have noticed thaat Montagnna owed to the Vivarinni.
Francesscos son went when veery young to
t Venice, and
a was therre thrown aat once among the artists
of the lagoons, andd attached himself
h
in particular
p
to
o Bonifazio. In Jacopos earliest work,
w
now in
i
the Museum at Baassano, a F
Flight into Egypt,
E
Bon
nifazios tuiition is marrkedly disceernible in thhe
build off the figures and, abovve all, in thee form of th
he heads. A comparisoon of the very peculiarlly
shaped head of thhe Virgin inn this pictuure with thaat of the Venetian
V
laddy in Boniffazios Ricch
Mans Feast,
F
in thhe Venetiann Academy, leaves us in
n no doubt on this scorre. Jacoposs Adulteresss
before Christ
C
andd the Threee in the Fieery Furnace have Bonnifazios maanner in thee architecturre
and the staging of the
t figures. Only five examples
e
arre known off this early w
work of da Ponte, and it
is all in Bonifazios lighter styyle, not unliike his Holly Family in
i the Natioonal Gallery
y.
ned to his native
n
townn, still stand
ds in the littlle
The houuse in whicch the painteer lived whhen he return
Piazza Monte Veccchio, and its whole faade
f
retaiins the fresscoes, moulldy and deecaying, witth
which he
h decorated it. The deesign is in four
f
horizon
ntal bands. First comees a frieze of
o children in
i
every attitude
a
of fun
f and frollic. Then foollows a lon
ng range off animals
horses, oxeen, and deeer.
Musical instrumennts and flow
wers make a border, with
w allegoriical represeentations off the arts annd
crafts filling
f
the spaces
s
betw
ween the wiindows. The principal band is deecorated wiith Scripturaal
subjectss, most of which are now hardlyy discerniblle, but whiich represennt Samson
n slaying thhe
Philistinnes, The Drunkenness of Noah,, Cain and
d Abel, L
Lot and his D
Daughters, and Juditth

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with thee Head of Holofernes.

H
Between the
t two lastt there form
merly appearred a drawiing of a deaad
child, with
w the mootto, Morss omnia aequat, whicch was rem
moved to thhe Museum
m in 1883, in
i
comparratively goood preservatiion.
Jacopo da Ponte liived a busy life at Basssano, wheree, with the help
h
of his four sons, who
w were all
a
painterss, he pouredd out an ineexhaustible stream of works,
w
whicch, it is saidd, were put up
u to auctioon
at the neighbouring
n
g fairs, if no
n other marrket was forrthcoming. From time to time he and his sonns
went doown to Vennice, and with
w the hellp of the elldest, Franccesco, Basssano (as he is generallly
known)) painted the Siege off Padua annd five other works in the Ducal P
Palace. His mature stylle
was fouunded mainlly upon thaat of Titian, and it is to this secondd manner that he owes his fame. He
H
makes use
u of feweer colours, and
a enhancees his lightss by deepenning and connsolidating his shadow
ws,
so that they comee into stronng contrastt, and his technique
t
g
gains
a richer impasto. He has a
marvelllous facultyy for keeping his coloour pure, and
a his greeens shine llike a beetlles wing. A
nature-llover in thee highest deegree, his painting
p
of animals annd plants evvinces a mind which is
steepedd in the maggic of outdooor life. A subject of which
w
he was
w particulaarly fond, and
a which he
h
seems to
t have unddertaken forr half the collectors
c
of Europe, was
w the Foour Seasonss. Here waas
found united
u
everyything that Bassano
B
moost loved to paint: beasts of the farrmyard and countryside,
agricultturists with their impleements, sceenes of harv
vest-time annd vintage, rough peassants leadinng
the plouugh, cuttingg the grasss, harvestingg the grain
n, young girrls making hay, drivin
ng home thhe
cattle, taking
t
dinnner to the reeapers. Whhen he was obliged to paint for cchurches hee chose succh
subjectss as the Adooration of thhe Shepherdds, the Sacrrifice of Noaah, the Expuulsion from
m the Temple,
into whhich he coulld introducee animals, painting
p
theem with succh vigour aand such forrcible colouur
that Tittian himsellf is said too have hadd a copy hanging
h
in his studio. He loved to paint his
h
daughteers engagedd in household tasks, and
a perhapss placed hiss figures wiith rather to
oo obvious a
referencce to light and
a shade, and
a to the suun striking full on sunbburnt cheekks and buxo
om shoulderrs.
A friendd, not a rivaal, of Veronnese and Tiintoretto, Giianbattista Volpado,
V
reecords that when
w
he waas
one dayy discussingg contempoorary painteers with thee latter, Tinntoretto exclaimed, A
Ah, Jacopo, if
you hadd my draw
wing and I had your colour
c
I wo
ould defy thhe devil hiimself to en
nable Titiann,
Raphaeel, and the reest to make any show beside
b
us.
Bassanoo was inviteed to take up
u his resideence at the Court
C
of thee Emperor R
Rudolph, bu
ut he refuseed
to leavee his mounttain city, where
w
he dieed in 1592.. His funeraal was attennded by a crowd
c
of thhe
poorest inhabitantss, for whom
m his charityy had been boundless.
b
The Joourney of Jacob,
J
to which
w
we haave already
y alluded, iss among his most beau
utiful workks.
The briilliant arrayy of figuress is subordinated to th
he charm off the landsccape. The evening
e
dussk
draws all
a objects innto its embrrace. The loong, low, deeep-blue disstance standds out against a gleam of
o
sunset sky.
s
The treee-trunks annd light playy of leafy branches,
b
w
which
break up the com
mposition, arre
from daa Pontes ow
wn country round Basssano. The pony
p
upon which
w
the boy scramblees, the cow
ws,
the dogg among thee quiet sheepp, are givenn with all th
he loving truuth of the bborn animal--painter. It is
no wonnder that Teeniers borroowed ideas from him,, and has more
m
than oonce imitateed his wholle
design.
The Baptism of St.
S Lucilla (in
( the Musseum at Bassano) is onee of his mosst Titianesq
que creationns.
The perrsonages in it are groupped upon a flight of steeps, in frontt of a long R
Renaissancee palace witth
cypressses against a sky of eveening-red barred
b
with purple clouuds. The draawing and modelling
m
o
of
the figuures are alm
most faultlesss, and the colour
c
is daazzling. Thee bending fiigure of S. Lucilla, witth
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the lighht falling onn her silveryy satin dresss, as she kneels before the young bbishop, St. Valentine, is
one of the
t most graaceful thinggs in art, and Titian him
mself need not
n have dissowned the little angells,
bearingg palm brancches and froolicking in the
t stream of
o radiance overhead.
o
Bassanoo has a Concert, whhich is inteeresting as a family piiece. It wass painted in
n the year in
i
which his
h son Leaandros marrriage took place, and is probablyy a bridal ppainting to celebrate thhe
(Vicenza) again
event. The
T Magisstrates in Adoration
A
a
givess a brilliantt effect of light,
l
and its
stately ceremonial
c
is founded on Tintoretttos numero
ous picturess of kneelinng doges and
d procuratorrs
in fur-trrimmed velvvet robes.

J
Jacopo
da Ponte.
P
BA
APTISM OF
F S. LUCIL
LLA.
(
(Photo,
Alin
nari.)

Basssano.

Madonnnas and sainnts are usuaally built innto close-paacked pyram

mids, but in the Reposse in Egypt,
now inn the Ambrrosiana, Miilan, his arrrangement comes veryy close to Palma and
d Lotto. Thhe
beautifuul Mother and
a Child, the
t attendannts, above all
a the St. Jooseph, restinng, head on
n hand, at thhe

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Virgins feet and gazing

g
in rappt adorationn on the Chiild, are exam
mples of the true Veneetian manneer,
while the
t exquisitte landscappe behind thhem, and the
t vigorouusly drawn tree underr which theey
recline, show Bassano true to his passionn for nature.
Hamptoon Court is rich in his pictures.
p
T
The Adoration of the Shepherds, in which th
he pillars risse
behind the sacred group,
g
is ann exercise inn the manneer of Titians Frari altaarpiece. His portraits arre
fine andd sympathettic, but harddly any of them
t
are sig
gned or cann be dated. H
His own is in
i the Uffizzi,
and there is a splenndid Old Man
M
at Budda-Pesth. Ariosto
A
and Tasso,
T
Sebaastian Venieer, and manny
other diistinguishedd men were among his sitters; mosst of them are
a in half-leength with three-quarteer
heads. The
T Nationaal Gallery possesses
p
a singularly attractive
a
onne of a younng man with
h a sensitive,
acute coountenance, robed in dignified,
d
piicturesque black,
b
relievved by an em
mbroidered
d linen collaar.
He stannds by the sort
s of squarre window,, opening on
n a distant landscape,
l
of which Tintoretto annd
Lotto soo often madde use, in front
f
of whiich a golden
n vase, holdding a brannch of olivee, catches thhe
rays of light.
Bassanoo has no great power of
o design, and
a his know
wledge of thhe nude seeems to havee been smalll,
but his brushwork is facile, and
a his coloour leaps ou
ut with a viivid beauty which obliiterates otheer
shortcomings.

PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W
Augsbuurg.

M
Madonna
andd Saints.

Bassanno.

Suusanna and Elders

E
(E.); Christ
C
and Adulteress
A
(E..); The Threee
Holy Childdren (E.); Maadonna, Saintts, and Donoor (E.); Fligh
ht
into Egypt (E.); Paradisse; Baptism of
o S. Lucilla; Adoration of
o
a the Begggar; St. Roch
Shepherds;; St. Martin and
recommendding Donor to
t Virgin; St.. John the Evvangelist
adored by a Warrior; Descent
D
of Hooly Spirit; M
Madonna in
Glory, withh Saints (L.)..
Duomo: S. Luucia in Glory
D
y; Martyrdom
m of S. Stephhen (L.);
Nativity.
S. Giovanni: Madonna
M
and
d Saints.

Bergam
mo.

C
Carrara:
Portrrait.
L
Lochis:
Portraaits.

Cittadeella.

D
Duomo:
Chrisst at Emmaus.

Dresdeen.

Issraelites in Desert;
D
Mosess striking Roock; Converssion of S. Pau
ul.

Hamptton Court. Portraits; Jacoobs Journey; Boaz and Ruth;

R
Shepheerds (E.); Chrrist
in House of Pharisee; Assumption
A
o Virgin; Men fighting
of
Bears; Tribbute Money.
Londonn.

141

Portrait of Maan; Christ and the Moneyy-Changers; G

Good
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Milan.

Ambrosiana: Adoration
A
A
off Shepherds (E.); Annuncciation to
Shepherds (L.).

Munichh.

Portraits; S. Jeerome; Depo

osition.

Padua.

S. Maria in Vanzo: Entom

mbment.

Paris.

C
Christ
bearingg Cross; Vinttage (L.).

Rome.

V
Villa
Borghesse: Last Supp
per; The Trinnity.

Venicee.

Academy: Chhrist in Gardeen; A Venetiaan Noble; S. Elenterino

A
blessing thee Faithful.
D
Ducal
Palace, Ante-Colleg
gio: Jacobs Journey.
S. Giacomo dell
d
Orio: Madonna and Saints.
S

Vicenzza.

M
Madonna
andd Saints; Mad
donna; St. Mark and Senaators.

Viennaa.

The Good Sam

T
maritan; Tho
omas led to thhe Stake; Addoration of
Magi; Richh Man and Laazarus; The Lord
L
shows A
Abraham thee
Promised Land;
L
The So
ower; A Hunnt; Way to Goolgotha; Noaah
entering thee Ark; Christ and the Mooney-Changeers; After thee
Flood; Sainnts; Adoratio
on of Magi; Portraits;
P
Chrrist bearing
Cross.
A
Academy:
Deeposition; Portrait.

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PART III

CHA
APTER XXVIIII
T
THE
INTE
ERIM
Many of
o the churches and pallaces of Vennice and thee adjoining mainland, aand almost every publiic
and priivate gallerry throughoout Europe, contain pictures
p
purrporting to be painted
d by Titiann,
Tintorettto, Veronese, and otheers of that famous
f
com
mpany. Harddly a great E
English hou
use but boasts
of a rouund dozen at
a least of suuch specimeens, acquireed in the dayys when ricch Englishm
men made thhe
grand tour and substantiated
s
d a reputation for tastee and culturre by collectting works of art. Thesse
picturess resemble the
t genuinee article in a specious yet
y half-heaarted way. T
Their ownerrs themselvees
are not very tenaciious as to thheir authentticity, and the
t visit of an expert, oor the ordeaal of a publiic
exhibitiion tears thheir pretensiions to tatteers. In the Academia itself the B
Bonifazio an
nd Tintorettto
rooms are crowdeed with imiitations. Thhe Ducal Palace
P
has ceilings annd panels on
o which arre
reproduuced the kinnd of compoositions initiated by thee great artists, which m
make an effo
ort to capturre
their gaamut of coolour and too master thheir schemee of chiarooscuro, copyying them, in short, in
i
everythhing except in their inim
mitable touuch and fire and spirit. It would haave been im
mpossible foor
any meen, howeverr industriouus and prolific, to havee carried ouut all the work which passes
p
undeer
their naames, to sayy nothing of
o that whicch has perished; but our
o surprisee and curiossity diminissh
when we
w come to inquire syystematicallyy into the methods
m
off that host oof copyists which, eveen
before the
t masters death, hadd begun to ply
p its lucrattive trade.
We muust bear in mind that every greaat man was surroundedd by busy and attentiive satellitees,
helpingg him to finiish and, inddeed, often painting
p
a laarge part off important commission
ns, witnessees
of the high
h
prices received, annd alive to all the gosssip as to thee relative poopularity off the painterrs
and the requests annd orders which
w
reacheed them from
m all quarteers. The paiinters own sons were in
i
many innstances thoose who firsst traded uppon their fathers fame. From Ridoolfi, Zanetti, or Boschinni
we learrn of the many
m
paintinngs executeed by Carlo
otto Caliari and the vaast numberrs painted by
b
Domenico Robustii in the style of their respective
r
fathers.
f
Domenico seeems to havee particularlly
G
and the Dragon
n, and thee picture at Dresden, which
w
passees
affectedd the subjecct of St. George
under Tintorettos
T
name, is peerhaps by his
h hand. Off Bassanos four sons, Francesco imitated his
h
father perfectly,
p
conserving his warmtth of tint, his relief and
a breadthh. Zanetti enumerates
e
a
surprisiing numberr of Franceescos workks, seven of
o them beiing paintedd for the Ducal
D
Palace.
Leandroo followed more partiicularly his fathers fiirst mannerr, was a goood portrait--painter, annd
possesssed lightnesss and fanccy. Girolam
mo copied and recopiied the oldd Bassano till he eveen
deceiveed connoisseurs, how
w much morre, says Zaanetti, writiing in 17711, those off the presennt
day, whho behold thhem harmonnised and accredited
a
by time. Noo school in Venice wass so belovedd,
or lent itself
i
so well to the effo
forts of the imitators,
i
ass that of Paoolo Veronesse. Even at an early datte
it was impossible
i
n to confo
not
found the master
m
with the
t disciples; the weakker of the orriginals werre
held to be of imitaators, the beest imitationns were asssigned to thhe master hiimself. Oh
h how easy it
is, excclaims Zaneetti again, to
make mistakes
m
ab
bout Veroneeses picturres, but I can point ouut
sundry infallible characteristiccs to those who wish for light uppon this douubtful path; the finenesss

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and lighhtness of the brushworrk, the sublime intelligeence and grrace, shown particularly
y in the form
m
of the heads,
h
whichh is never foound in anyy of his imitaators.
Few Veenetians, hoowever, folloowed the sttyle of only one man; thhe output w
was probably
y determineed
and varried by the demand. Tooo many atttractive maanners existted to dazzlle them, and
d when oncce
they beegan to imittate, they were
w
tempteed on all haands. It muust also be remembereed that everry
master left behindd him stackss of cartoonns, sketches and suggestions, andd half-finish
hed picturees,
which were eageerly seized upon, bouught or sto
olen, and utilised to produce masterpiecees
masqueerading undeer his namee.
As the seventeenthh century addvanced thee character of art and manners
m
unnderwent a change.
c
Meen
sought the beautifful in the novel
n
and bizarre, and the compplex was ppreferred to
o the simple.
Venetiaan art, in alll its branchhes, had passsed from the
t stately and
a restrainned to the pompous
p
annd
artificiaal. Yet the barocco
b
stylle was used by Venice in a way off its own; whimsical, co
ontorted, annd
overloaaded with orrnament as it is, it yett compels admiration by
b its vigorrous life and
d movemennt.
The art of the sei-ccento in Venice was exxtravagant, but it was alive.
a
It escaaped the mo
ost deadly of
o
all faultts, a cold and
a academ
mic mannerissmand th
his at a timee when the rest of Itally was giveen
over to the inflatedd followers of
o Michelanngelo and th
he calculateed elaboratioons of the eclectics.
Many of
o the thingss we most loove in Veniice, such ass the Salute,, the Clock--Tower, the Dogana, thhe
Bridge of Sighs, thhe Rezzonicco and Pesaaro Palaces, are additioons of the seeventeenth century. Thhe
baroccoo intemperaance in scullpture was carried
c
on by
b discipless of Bernini; and as th
he immediatte
influencce of the great masters declineed, painting
g acquired the same sort of ch
haracter. Thhe
carelesssness and raapidity of Tintoretto,
T
w
which,
in hiis case, procceeded from
m the lightn
ning speed of
o
his imagination annd the unerriing sureness of his bru
ush, becamee a mechaniical trick in the hands of
o
superficcial studentts. True art had migratted elsewheereto the homes of V
Velasquez, Rubens, annd
Rembraandt. As artt grew morre pompouss it becamee less emotiional. Paintters like Paalma Giovinne
spoilt thheir ready, lively
l
fancyy by the vicee of hurry. The
T nicknam
me of Fa P
Presto wass deserved by
b
others besides
b
Lucca Giordanno, and Vennice was ov
verrun by a swarm off painters whose
w
prim
me
standardd of excellence was thhe ability to
t make hasste. Grandeeur of conception was forgotten; a
grave, ample
a
mannner was no longer understood; sup
perficial senntiment andd bombasticc size carrieed
the dayy. Yet a few
w painters, though
t
theirr forms had
d become reedundant annd exaggeraated, retaineed
somethiing of whatt had been the
t Venetiann gloryth
he deep and moist colouur of old. Itt still gloweed
with traaces of its old
o lustre on
o the canvvases of Gio
ovanni Conntarini, or T
Tiberio Tineelli, or Pietrro
Liberi; and thoughh there was a perfect fury
f
of prod
duction, witthout orderr and withou
ut law, therre
can stilll be perceivved the survvival of thatt sense of th
he decorativve which keept the threaad of art. We
W
discoveer it in the ceiling
c
of thhe Church of
o San Pantaleone, wheere Gianbatttista Fumiaani paints thhe
glorification of thhe martyredd patron, and
a
which, fantastic and
a
extravaagant as it is, with its
hrong, is noot
stupenddous, archittectural settting, and itts acutely, almost absuurdly foreshortened th
withoutt a certain grandiose
g
g
geniality,
am
mple and picturesque,
p
like the buuildings of that date. In
I
Alessanndro Varotaari (il Padovvanino), whhose Nozzee di Cana in the Acaddemia is a finely
f
spaceed
scene, in
i which a charming use
u is madee of cypresses, we seeem to recoggnise the laast ray of thhe
Titianessque. The painting
p
of the
t seventeeenth century
y passed onn towards thhe eighteentth, and, from
m
ceilingss and panelss, rosy nym
mphs and Veenuses smilee at us, attittudinising aand contorteed upon theeir
cloudy backgrounnds. Lackaddaisical Maagdalens drrop sentimeental tears, and the Angel
A
of thhe
Annuncciation capeers above the
t head of an affectted Virgin, while viollent colourss, intensifieed
chiarosccuro, and black greasyy impasto beetray the neeighbourhoood of the tenebrosi. When,
W
towardds
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the endd of the seveenteenth ceentury, Greggorio Lazzaarini set him

mself to shaake off these influencees,
he wennt to the oppposite extrreme. Althoough a beautiful desiggner, he beecomes cold
d and flat in
i
colour, with a coldness and insipidity, indeed,
i
thatt take us by surprise, appearing in a countrry
where the
t taste forr luminous and brilliannt tints wass so stronglly rooted. T
The studentt of Venetiaan
paintingg, who wishhes to fill up
u the hiatuus which liees between the Goldenn Age and th
he revival of
o
the eighhteenth cenntury, cannoot do betterr than comp
pare Fumiaanis vault in San Pan
ntaleone witth
Lazzariinis sober and
a earnestt fresco, Thhe Charity of San Lorrenzo Giustiiniani, in San
S Pietro in
i
Castelloo, and with Pietro Libeeris Battlee of the Darrdanelles in
i the Ducaal Palace. In
n all three we
w
have exxamples of the varied and accom
mplished yett soulless art
a of this pperiod. Not many of thhe
scenes painted
p
for the palacess of patriciaans in the seeventeenth century havve survived. They are to
t
be founnd here and there by thhe curious who
w wanderr into old chhurches andd palaces wiith a seconddhand coopy of Boscchini in theiir hands; buut in the reaaction from
m the florid which took
k place in thhe
Empire period, maany of them
m gave place to whitew
wash and sttucco. In the Ducal Paalace, side by
b
side wiith the massterpieces of
o the Renaaissance, arre to be fouund the ovvercrowded canvases of
o
Vicentino, Giovanni Contarinni, Pietro Liberi, Celestti, and otherrs like them
m. Some of the poor annd
meretriccious mosaaics in St. Marks aree from designs by Paalma Giovinne and Fum
miani. Carllo
Ridolfi,, who was a painter hiimself, as well
w as the painters
p
chhronicler, haas an Ado
oration of thhe
Magi in S. Giovaanni Elemoosinario, poor enough in inventioon and execcution. Two
o pictures by
b
obscuree artists dissfigure a coorner of thee Scuola dii San Roccco. The Muuseo Civico
o has a largge
canvas by Vicentinno, a Coroonation of a Dogaressaa, which once
o
adorneed Palazzo Grimani.
G
W
We
hear off a school oppened by Antonio
A
Baleestra, who was
w the master of Rosaalba Carrierra and Pietrro
t be quotedd.
Longhi,, and the naames of othhers have coome down to us in nuumbers too nnumerous to
Towardds the end of
o the sevennteenth centuury more light and novvelty sparklles in the paainting of thhe
Belluneese, Battistaa Ricci, andd assures us
u that he was
w no meere copyist; and, as th
he eighteentth
centuryy opens, we become aw
ware of the strong and daring brussh of Gianbbattista Piazetta. Piazettta
studied the works of the Carrracci for soome time in
n Bologna, and especiially those of Guercinoo,
s
abovve all as hiis model. He
H
whose style, with its bold coontrasts of light and shade, has served
v
darkly,, and his figgures often blend with
h and disapppear into thhe profound
d tones of his
h
paints very
backgroounds. Charrles Blanc calls him a
Venetian
n Caravagggio; and hee has someething of thhe
strengthh and even the
t brutalityy of the Bollognese. A fine
f decorattive and imaaginative ex
xample of his
h
work is the Madoonna appeariing to S. Phhilip Neri in
i the Churcch of S. Favva. The erecct form of thhe
Madonnna is relievved in strikiing chiarosccuro againsst the mantlle, upheld bby putti. Raadiant cloudds
light upp the backgrround and illlumine the form of thee old saint, a refined annd spirited figure,
fi
gazinng
at the vision
v
in an ecstasy of devotion.
d
Piiazetta is a bold
b
realist,, and many of his smalll pictures arre
strong and forciblle. Sebastianno Ricci, Battistas
B
so
on, is descrribed as aa fine intelligence, annd
f
speccial links wiith Englandd. Hamptonn Court posssesses a lonng
attracts our notice as having forged
array off his paintinngs. In the chapel
c
of Chelsea
C
Hospital the plaaster semi-ddome is paiinted by him
m,
in oils, with very good
g
effectt. He is saidd to have worked
w
in Thhornhills studio, and his
h influencce
may be suspected in
i the Blenhheim frescoes, and even
n in touchess in Hogarthhs work.
p
with her old noobility of sooul, and enj
njoyment haad
By the eighteenth century Veenice had parted
becomee the only aim
a of life. Yet Venicee, among th
he States off Italy, alonne retained her
h freedom
m.
The Dooge reigned supreme ass in the pastt. Beneath the
t ceiling of
o Veronesee the dreadeed Three stiill
sat in seecret counccil. Venice was
w still thee city of su
ubtle poisonns and dangeerous mysteeries, but thhe
days were gone when
w
she haad held the balance in
n European affairs, andd she had become,
b
in a
superlattive degree,, the city off pleasure. Nowhere
N
waas life moree varied andd entertainin
ng, more fuull
of gracee and enchaantment.
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A long period of peace

p
had rocked the Venetian
V
peeople into calm
c
securitty. There was,
w indeed, a
little sppasmodic fighting in Corf,
C
Dalm
matia, and Algiers,
A
butt no real shhare was rettained in thhe
strugglees of Europpe. The whhole policy of the city
ys life wass one of seelf-indulgen
nce. Holidayymakers filled her streets;
s
the whole popuulation lived
d in piazzaa, laughingg, gossiping
g, seeing annd
being seen. The veery churchees had becoome a rendeezvous for fashionable
f
e intrigues; the convennts
boastedd their salonns, where nuuns in low dresses,
d
witth pearls in their hair, rreceived thee advances of
o
nobles and gallantt abbs. Peeople camee to Venicee to waste time; triviaalities, the last scandaal,
sensatioonal stories, were the only subjeccts worth diiscussing. In
I an age off parodies and
a practicaal
jokes, the
t more abbsurd any one
o could be, the moree silly or witty
w
stories he could teell, the morre
assuredd was his suuccess in thhe joyous, frivolous circle,
c
full of
o fun and laughter. The
T Carnivaal
lasted for
f six moonths of thee year, andd was the occasion for
fo masquess and licen
nce of everry
descripttion. In the hot weatheer, the gay descendants
d
s of the Conntarini, the L
Loredan, th
he Pisani, annd
other grand old hoouses, migrrated to villlas along th
he Brenta, where by dday and nig
ght the sam
me
recklesss, irresponssible life went
w
gaily on.
o The po
ower of succh courtesaans as Titiaan and Parris
Bordonne had painnted was waaning. Theiir place waas adequately suppliedd by the eaasy dames of
o
society,, no longerr secluded, proud andd tranquil, but
b stirredd by the wiild blood of
o youth annd
stooping to the froolic. Theyy are but faaces and sm
miles, teasingg and trumppery, says one of theeir
critics, yet they arre declared to be wideeawake, nattural and chharming, m
making the most
m
of theeir
smattering of letteers. Love was the great game; eveery woman had loverss, every marrried womaan
openly flaunted her cicisbeo or
o cavaliere servente.
The oldder portion of
o the middlle class wass still moderrate and tem
mperate, conntented to liive in the olld
fashion, eschewingg all interest in politicss, with whicch it was daangerous forr the ordinary individuaal
to medddle; but thhe new leaven was crreeping thrrough everyy level of society. Th
he sons annd
daughteers of the bourgeoisie
b
tried to risse in the so
ocial scale by
b aping thhe pleasant vices of thhe
aristocrracy. They deserted thhe shop and the coun
nting-house to play caards and strrut upon thhe
piazza. They mimiicked the fine
fi gentlem
man and thee gentildonnna, and madde fashionaable love annd
carried on intriguees. The spirrit of the whole
w
peoplle had lost its elevatioon; there were
w
no morre
proud patricians,
p
fu of noblee ambitions and devoted
full
d zeal of puublic servicee; it was hardly possiblle
to get a sufficient number of persons to carry on pu
ublic busineess. It is a ccontemptiblle indictmennt
enough; yet amongg all this deegenerate life, we com
me upon som
mething morre real as we
w turn to thhe
artists. They
T
were very
v
much alive. In muusic, in literrature, and in
i painting, new and grraceful form
ms
of art were
w
emergiing. Paintinng was not the
t grand art of other days; it migght be smalll and triviaal,
but therre grew up a real littlee Renaissannce of the eighteenth
e
c
century,
fulll of originaality and fire,
and shoowing a reacction from the
t pompouus and banalle style of thhe imitatorss.
The inffluence of the lady was becooming incrreasingly felt
fe by sociiety. Confiidential littlle
boudoirrs, small annd cosy aparrtments werre the modee, and needeed decoratinng as well as
a vast salaas.
The daiinty luxuryy of gilt furrniture, dessigned by Andrea
A
Brustolon and upholstered
d in delicatte
silks, was
w matchedd by small, attractive works
w
of art. Venice haad lost her E
Eastern trad
de, and as thhe
East fadded out of her schem
me of life, thhe West, to
o which she now turnned, was brringing her a
differennt form of art.
a The greaat receptionn rooms werre still suited by the graandiose com
mpositions of
o
Ricci, Piazetta,
P
annd Pittoni, but
b another genre of charming
c
crreations sm
miled from the
t brocadeed
alcovess and more intimate
i
suiites of room
ms.
It is im
mpossible to name more than a fraaction of th
hese artists of
o the eightteenth centu
ury. There is
Amigonni, admirablle as a portrrait-painter; Pittoni, on
ne of the abllest figure-ppainters of th
he day; Lucca
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Carlevaaris, the foreerunner of Canale; Pelllegrini, wh

hose decorattions in thiss country arre mentioneed
by Horaace Walpole and of whhich the moost importan
nt are preserved in the cupola and
d spandrils of
o
the Graand Hall at Castle How
ward. Theirr work is stiill to be fouund in manny a Venetian church or
o
North Italian
I
gallery. Some of it is almost
a
fine,, though tooo often viitiated by the
t affectedd,
exaggerrated spirit of their daay. When orriginality assserts itselff more deciddedly, Rosaalba Carrierra
stands out
o as an arrtist who accquired greaat popularitty. In 1700,, when she was a youn
ng woman of
o
twenty--four, she was
w already a great favoourite with the
t public. She began llife as a lacce-maker, buut
when trrade was bad, Jean Sttve, a Frennchman, tau
ught her too paint minniatures. Shee imparted a
wonderrfully delicaate feeling to her art, and, passin
ng on to pastel, she brrought to th
his branch of
o
portraituure a brilliiancy and freshness which
w
it had not knoown beforee. Rosalba has perhapps
preserved for us better
b
than any
a one else, those wo
omen of Veenice who ffloated so liightly on thhe
dancingg waves of that sparkling stream. There they
y are: La Cornaro;
C
Laa Maria Lab
bia, who waas
surrounnded by French lovers, very courrteous and very
v
beautifful; La Zennobio and La
L Pisani; La
L
Foscari, with her black
b
plumees; La Moceenigo, the lady with thhe pearls. She has pin
nned them all
a
to the canvas;
c
loveely, frail, liight-heartedd butterfliess, with velvvet neck-ribbbons round
d their snow
wy
throats and coquetttish patchess on their deelicate skin and bouquuets of floweers in their high-dresseed
u with arch eyes andd smile withh melting mouths,
m
morre
hair andd sheeny boodices. Theey look at us
frivolouus than deprraved; sweeet, ephemerral, irrespon
nsible in every relationn of life. Ollder men annd
women there are, too, whenn those artifficial yearss have prodduced a succcession off rather dulll,
sodden personagess, kindly, inooffensive, but
b stupid, and
a still triflling heavilyy with the world.
w
Of Rosaalba we havve another picture
p
to coompare witth those of her
h sitters. S
She and thee other artists
of her circle
c
lived the merry, busy
b
life off the workerr, and foundd in their arrt the antido
ote to the evvil
living and
a the dissiipation of thhe gay worlld which prrovided sitteers and patrrons. Rosalb
bas milieu is
a type of
o others off its class. She lives witth her moth
her and sisteers, an honeest, cheerfull, industriouus
existencce. They aree fond of olld friends annd old book
ks, and induulge in music and simp
ple pleasurees.
Her sistters help Roosalba by prreparing thee groundwork of her paaintings. Shhe pays visitts, and writees
rhymes, and plays on the harrpsichord. She
S receivess great menn without m
much cerem
mony, and thhe
Elector Palatine, thhe Duke of Mecklenbuurg, Fredericck, King off Norway, aand Maximilian, King of
o
r
beeauties. Theen she goess off to Parris
Bavariaa, come to her to ordeer miniaturees of their reigning
where she
s has plennty of comm
missions, and
a the freq
quently occuurring namees of Englissh patrons in
i
her fraggmentary diiaries, tell how
h
much her
h work waas admired by
b English travellers. She
S did morre
than anyybody else to promote the fashionn for pastelss, and her delightful
d
artt may be seeen at its best
in the pastel
p
room of the Dresden Galleryy.
Henriettta, Countesss of Pomfreet, has left us
u a charmiing description of a parrty of English travellerrs,
which included
i
Hoorace Walppole, arrivinng in Venicee in 1741, strolling abbout in mask and bautaa,
and vissiting the famous
f
pasttellist in heer studio. It
I is in succh guise that Rosalba has painteed
Walpole, and has left one of thhe most inteeresting exaamples of heer art.
SO
OME EXAM
MPLES
Franncesco da Poonte.
Venicee.

147

Ducal Palace: Sala del Maaggior Consiglio. Four piictures on

D
he four corners of the salaa). On left as
ceiling (seccond from th

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you face thhe Paradiso: 1.

1 Pope Alexxander III. giiving the
Stocco, or Sword, to the Doge as hee enters a Gaalley to
command the
t Army agaainst Ferraraa; 2. Victory against the
Milanese; 3.
3 Victory ag
gainst Imperiial Troops att Cadore; 4.
Victory undder Carmagn
nola, over Viisconti. Thesse four are alll
very rich inn colour.
C
Chiesetta:
Cirrcumcision; Way
W to Calvary.
Sala dell Scruutino: Paduaa taken by Niight from thee Carraresi.

Leanndro da Ponnte.
Venicee.

Sala del Magggior Consigliio: The Patriarch giving a Blessed

Candle to the
t Doge.
M
of Allexander III. and Doge
Sala of Counccil of Ten: Meeting
Ziani. A finne decorativee picture, runnning the whhole of one siide
of the sala.
useum: Virginn in Glory, w
with the
Sala of Archeeological Mu
Avogadori Family.

Palm
ma Giovine.
Dresdeen.

Presentation of
o the Virgin
n.

Florencce.

U
Uffizi:
S. Marrgaret.

Munichh.

D
Deposition;
N
Nativity;
Eccee Homo; Flagellation.

Venicee.

A
Academy:
Sceenes from th
he Apocalypsse; S. Franciss.
D
Ducal
Palace: The Last Ju
udgment.

Viennaa.

Cain and Abeel; Daughter of

C
o Herodias; Piet; Immaaculate
Conceptionn.

Il Paadovanino.

148

Florencce.

U
Uffizi:
Lucrettia.

Londonn.

C
Cornelia
and her
h Children
n.

Paris.

V
Venus
and Cuupid.

Rome.

V
Villa
Borghesse: Toilet of Minerva.
M

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Venicee.

Academy: Thhe Marriage of

A
o Cana; Maddonna in Gloory; Vanity,
Orpheus, annd Eurydice; Rape of Prooserpine; Virrgin in Glory
y.

Veronaa.

M and Wom
Man
man playing Chess; Trium
mph of Baccchus.

Viennaa.

W
Woman
takenn in Adultery
y; Holy Family.

Pietrro Liberi.
Venicee.

D
Ducal
Palace: Battle of thee Dardanellees.

Andrrea Vicentinno.
Venicee.

M
Museo
Civicoo: The Marriaage of a Doggaressa.

G. A.. Fumiani.
Venicee.

San Pantaleonne: Ceiling.

C
Church
of thee Carit: Chriist disputing with the Doctors.

A. Baalestra.
Veronaa.

S. Tomaso: Annunciation.
A
.

G. Laazzarini.
Venicee.

S. Pietro in Caastello.
T Charity of
The
o S. Lorenzo
o Giustiniani.

Sebastiano Riccci.
Venicee.

S. Rocco: Thee Glorificatio

on of the Crooss.
G
Gesuati:
Popee Pius V. and
d Saints.

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Londonn.

R
Royal
Hospitaal, Chelsea: Half-dome.
H

G. B.. Pittoni.
Vicenzza.

T Bath of Diana.
The
D

G. B.. Piazetta.
Venicee.

C
Chiesa
della Fava:
F
Madon
nna and S. Phhilip Neri.
A
Academy:
Cruucifixion; Th
he Fortune-T
Teller.

Rosaalba Carrierra.
Venicee.

A
Academy:
passtels.

Dresdeen.

Pastels.

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CHA
APTER
R XXIX
X
TIEPOL
LO
We havve already noted
n
that to establish the significcance of anny period inn art, it is neecessary thaat
the tenddencies shoould unite and
a combinne in some culminatingg spirits whho rise triumphant oveer
their coontemporariies and soarr above thee age in whiich they livve. Such a ggenius stand
ds out abovve
the eighhteenth centtury crowd,, and is nott only of hiss century, but
b of everyy time. For two hundreed
years Tiepolo
T
has been stigm
matised as extravagant
e
t, manneredd, as just eqqual to pain
nting cupidds,
nymphss, and parrooquets. In the
t last cenntury he exp
perienced thhe effect off the profou
und discreddit
into whhich the whole
w
of eigghteenth-cenntury art had
h fallen. In France, David had
d obliterateed
Watteauu; and the reputation
r
o Pompeo Battoni, a sort of Italiian David, eeffaced Tieepolo and his
of
h
contempporaries. When
W
the delegates
d
of the Fren
nch Republiic inspectedd Italian churches
c
annd
palaces, and decidded what works
w
of art
a should be
b sent to the Louvree, they sing
gled out thhe
Bolognese, the Guercinos
G
a
and
Guidos, the Carraacci, even Pompeo B
Battoni and
d other succh
forgotteen masters,, a Gatti, a Nevelonne, a Badaalocchio; buut to the lasting reg
gret of theeir
descenddants, they disdained to annex a single one
o of the great painntings of th
he Venetiann,
Gianbatttista Tiepolo.
Eastlakke only vouuchsafes hiim one linee as an artist
a
of fanntastic imagination. Most of thhe
nineteennth-centuryy critics do not even mention
m
him
m. Burckharrdt dismissees him with
h a grudginng
line of praise,
p
Blannc is equallyy disparaginng, and for Taine
T
he is a mere mannnerist, yet his influencce
has beeen felt far beeyond his lifetime; onlyy now is hee coming intto his own, and it is reccognised thaat
the pleiin-air artist,, the luminaarist, the im
mpressionist,, owe no sm
mall share of their know
wledge to his
h
inspirattion.
The naame of Tieppolo bringss before uss a whole string of illustrious
i
ppersonages
doges annd
senatorss, magnificeent procuraators and greeat captainssbut we have
h
nothingg to prove that
t
the artist
belongeed to a decaayed branch of the famoous patriciaan house. Boorn in Casteello, the peo
oples quarteer
of Veniice, he studdied in earlyy youth witth that good
d draughtsm
man, Lazzarrini. At tweenty-three he
h
marriedd the sister of
o Francescco Guardi; Guardi,
G
who
o comes bettween Longghi and Can
nale and whho
is a bettter painter than either.. Tiepolo apppeared at a fortunate moment. T
The demand
d for a facile,
joyous genius was at its heighht. The life of the aristo
ocracy on thhe lagoons w
was every year
y growinng
more gaay, more abbandoned too capriciouss inclination
n, to light loves and abbsurd amusements. Annd
the art which
w
reflected this liffe was calleed upon to give
g
gaiety rather
r
than thought, co
ostume ratheer
than chharacter. Yett if the Vennetian art haad lost all connection
c
w the graave magnifi
with
ficence of thhe
past, it had kept alloof from thhe academiic coldness which was in fashion beyond thee lagoons, so
s
that thoough theatriical, it was with a certain natural absurdity. The
T age haad become romantic;
r
thhe
Arcadiaan conventiion was inn full forcee, Nature herself
h
was pressed innto the serv
vice of idle,
sentimeental men and
a womenn. The counntry was piictured as a place of delight, wh
here the suun
always shone andd the peasaants passedd their time singing madrigals and indulg
ging in ruraal
pleasurees. The pubblic, howevver, had beggun to look
k for beautyy; the tradittions which
h had formeed
round the
t decorative schoolss were giviing way to
o the apprecciation of ooriginal wo
ork. Tiepoloo,
sincere and spontaaneous eveen when hee is sacrificcing truth to
t caprice, struck the taste of thhe
Venetiaans, and without
w
emaancipating himself
h
fro
om the tenddencies of the time, contrives to
t
introducce a fresh accent.
a
All round
r
him was a weak
k and self-inndulgent world, but within himseelf

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he possessed a fund of buoyannt and inexhhaustible en

nergy. He evvokes a throong of perso
onages on thhe
ceilingss of the chuurches and palaces
p
conffided to his fancy. His creations raange from mythology
m
t
to
religionn, from the sublime to the grotesqque. All Ollympia appeears upon hhis ample and
a luminouus
spaces. It is not too the cold, austere Lazzzarini, or to
t the clashhing chiarosscuro of Piaazetta, or thhe
imaginaative spirit of
o Battista Ricci,
R
thouggh he was to
ouched by each
e
of them
m, that we must
m turn foor
Tiepoloos derivatioon. Long beefore his tim
me, the kind
d of decorattion of ceilinngs which we
w are apt to
t
call Tieepolesque; the
t foreshortened archhitecture, th
he columns and cornicees, the figu
ures peoplinng
the ediffices, or reclining uponn clouds, hadd been used
d by an increasing thronng of painteers. The stylle
arose, indeed, in thhe quattrocento; Manteegna, the Umbrians,
U
annd even Miichelangelo
o had used it,
i
though in a far moore sober waay than lateer generation
ns. Corregggio and the V
Venetians had
h perfecteed
the idea, which the artists of
o the seveenteenth ceentury seizeed upon annd carried to the most
intempeerate excess. But Tieppolo rose above
a
them
m all; he abbandoned tthe heavy, exaggeratedd,
contorteed designs, which by thhis time deffied all law
ws of equilibbrium, and w
we must go back furtheer
than hiss immediatee predecesssors for his origins. Hiis claim to stand with Tintoretto or Veronesse
may be contested, but he is neearest to theese, and no doubt
d
Veronnese is the aartist he stud
died with thhe
greatestt fervour. Without
W
copyying, he seeems to havee a natural affinity
a
of sspirit with Veronese
V
annd
assimilaates the am
mple arrangeement of hiss groups, th
he grace of his
h architeccture, and his
h decorativve
feeling for colour. Zanetti, who was onee of Tiepolo
os dearest friends, wrrites: No painter
p
of ouur
time coould so welll recall thee bright andd happy creeations of Veronese.
V
T
The differeence betweeen
them iss more one of period thhan of tempperament. Paolo
P
Veronnese represented the opulence
o
of a
rich, strrong societyy, full of noble
n
life, while
w
Tiepo
olos lot waas cast amoong effemin
nate men annd
frivolouus women, and full of the modeern spirit hiimself, he adapts his genius to his
h time annd
devotess himself to satisfy the theatrical, sentimental vein of thhe Venice of the decad
dence. Full of
o
enthusiaasm for his work, he was
w ready too respond to
o any call. He
H went to and fro betw
ween Venicce
and thee villas alonng the mainland and too the neighb
bouring tow
wns. Then coveting wid
der fields, he
h
travelleed to Milan and Genoaa, where his frescoes still
s gleam in the palacces of the Dugnani,
D
thhe
Archintto, and the Clerici.
C
At Wrzburg
W
inn Bavaria he
h achieved a magnificeent series of decorationns
for the palace of the Princee-Archbishoop. Then co
oming backk to Italy, he painted
d altarpiecees,
f his friennds, and a frresh multitu
ude of allegorical and m
mythologicaal frescoes in
i
portraits, pictures for
palaces and villas. His charmiing villa at Zianigo
Z
is frescoed
f
froom top to boottom by him
mself and his
h
sons, annd has amussing examplles of conteemporary drress and mannners.
When thhe Academ
my was instittuted in 17555, Tiepolo was appoinnted its firstt director, but the sort of
o
employyment it proovided was not suited to
t his impettuous spiritt, and in 17662 he threw
w up the post
and wennt off to Sppain with hiis two sonss. There he received a splendid w
welcome and
d was loadeed
with coommissions,, the only dissentient
d
v
voice
being that of Rapphael Menggs, who, obssessed by thhe
taste foor the classic and the antique, was
w fiercely opposed too the Veneetians art. Tiepolo
T
dieed
suddenlly in Madrid in 1770, pencil
p
in haand. Though
h he was paast seventy, the frescoees he has leeft
there shhow that hiss hand was as
a firm and his eye as sure
s
as everr.
His fresscoes have, as we havee said, that frankly
f
theattrical flavouur which coorresponds exactly
e
to thhe
taste off the time. Such
S
works as the Traansportation
n of the Holly House off Loretto in
n the Churcch
S
in Veenice, or thee Triumph of Faith in
n that of the Piet, the Triumph of Herculess
of the Scalzi
in Palazzzo Canossaa in Veronaa, or the deccorations in the magnifficent villa oof the Pisan
ni at Str, arre
extravagant and faantastic, yett have the impressive
i
quality of genius.
g
Theese last, wh
hich have foor
subject the glorifiication of the
t Pisani, are full off portraits. The patriciian sons an
nd daughterrs
appear, surroundedd by Abunddance, Warr, and Wisd
dom. A woman holdinng a sceptree symbolisees
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Europe. All roundd are groupeed flags andd dragons, nations

graappling in tthe airy blu

ue, bands of
o
Red Inddians in theiir war-paintt and happyy couples maaking love. The idea off the history
y, the wealthh,
the suppreme digniity of the House
H
is paaramount, and
a over alll appears F
Fame, bearin
ng the noblle
name innto immortaality. In Palazzo Clericci at Milan a rich and prodigal
p
com
mmittee gav
ve the painteer
a free hand,
h
and on
o the ceiliing of a vast hall the Sun in a chariot, withh four horses harnesseed
abreast,, rises to thee meridian, flooding thhe world with light. Veenus and Saaturn attend him, and his
advent is heraldedd by Mercuury. A sym
mbolical fig
gure of thee earth joyss at his coming, and a
concourrse of naiadds, nymphs,, and dolphiins wait upon his footssteps. In thee school of the Carminne
in Veniice Tiepolo has left onee of his granndest displaays. The hauughty Queeen of Heaveen, who is his
h
ideal off the Virginn, bears the Child lighttly on her arm,
a
and, sttanding enthhroned upo
on the rollinng
clouds, hardly deiggns to acknnowledge thhe homage of the prosstrate saint, on whom an attendannt
angel iss bestowingg her scapuulary. The most
m
charm
ming amoretti are dispporting in all
a directionns,
flingingg themselvees from on high in deelicious aba
andon, alteernating witth lovely groups of thhe
cardinal virtues. At
A Villa Vallmarana neaar Vicenza, after revellling amongg the gods, he comes to
t
earth annd delights in paintingg lovely laddies with alm
mond eyes and carnatiion cheeks,, attended by
b
their caavaliers, seaated in balcoonies, lookiing on at a play, or danncing minuuets, and carrnival scenees
with masques and dominoes and ftes champtres,
c
, which givve us a pictture of the fashions annd
mannerrs of the dayy. He brings in groups of Chinesee in orientall dress, and then he con
ndescends to
t
paint coountry girls and their ruustic swainss, in the stylle of Phylliss and Coryddon.
Sometim
mes he beccomes graveer and moree solid. He abandons the
t airy fanncies scatterred in clouddland. Thhe story of Esther in Palazzo
P
Duggnano afforrds an opporrtunity for iintroducing
g magnificennt
architeccture, warriors in armoour, and stattely dames in satin andd brocades.. He touchees his highest
in the decorationss of Palazzzo Labia, where
w
Anto
ony and Cleopatra,
C
seeated at th
heir banqueet,
mp and reveelry, regard one anotheer silently, with
w looks oof sombre passion.
p
Fouur
surrounnded by pom
exquisitte panels haave lately been acquireed by the Brrera Galleryy, representiing the lovees of Rinalddo
and Arrmida, and are a feastt of gay, delicate
d
colour, with fascinating
f
background
ds of Italiaan
gardenss. The thronne-room off the palace at Madrid has the sam
me order off compositiionsneaas
conductted by Venuus from Tim
me to Immorrtality, and other deificcations of Sppanish royaalty.

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Tiepolo.

ANT
TONY AND
D CLEOPA
ATRA.

Paalazzo Labiaa, Venice.

Now annd then Tiepolo is posssessed by a tragic mood. In the Church

C
of S
San Alvise he has left a
Way to Calvary, a Flagelllation, andd a Crowniing of Thorrns, whichh are intenseely dramatic,
and whhich show strong feelling. Particuularly strik
king is the contrast beetween the refined annd
sensitivve type of his Christt and the realistic
r
an
nd even bruutal study of the two
o despairinng
malefacctorsone a common ruffian,
r
the other an ag
ged offenderr of a higheer class. His altarpiece at
a
Este, reepresenting S. Tecla staying
s
the plague, is painted wiith a real innsight into disaster annd
agony, and S. Teclla is a patheetic and beaautiful figurre. Sometim
mes in his eaasel-picturees he paints a
ut he always returns beefore long to the amplle
Head of Christ, a S. Anthonyy, or a Cruccifixion, bu
spaces and
a fantastiic subjects which
w
his sooul loved.
Tiepoloo is a singuular contraddiction. His art suggestts a strong being, heldd captive by
y butterfliees.
Sometim
mes he is jooyous and limpid,
l
som
metimes turb
bulent and strong,
s
but hhe has alwaays sincerityy,
force, and
a life. A great
g
space serves to exhilarate
e
hiim, and he asks nothinng better thaan to cover it
with anngels and gooddesses, white
w
limbs among
a
the clouds,
c
sea--horses riddden by Trito
ons, patriciaan

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warriors in Romann armour, balustrades

b
and colum
mns and am
moretti. He does not even
e
need to
t
pounce his design, but puts inn all sorts off improvised
d modificatiions with a sure hand. The vastnesss
of his frescoes, thhe daring poses
p
of his countlesss figures, and
a the freeedom of hiis line speaak
eloquenntly of the mastery
m
to which
w
his haand had attaained. He revels, above all, in effeccts of light

all the light of thee sky, and all

a the light of the sea; all
a the lightt of Venice ... in which
h he swims as
a
in a batth. He paintts not ideas,, scarcely evven forms, but light. His
H ceilings are radiant,, like the skky
of birdss; his poem
ms seem to be
b written in
i the cloud
ds. Light is fairer thann all things, and Tiepollo
knows all
a the tricks and triump
mphs of lightt.[6]
Nearly all his com
mpositions have
h
a sereene and lim
mpid horizoon, with thee figures ap
pproaching it
w
the foorms below
w are more muscular,
m
thhe
painted in clear, silvery hues, airy and diiaphanous, while
flesh tinnts are deepper, and thee whole of the foregro
ound is ofteen envelopeed in shado
ow. Veronesse
had lit up the shaddows, whichh, under hiss contempo
oraries, weree growing ggloomy. Tieepolo carriees
his art further
f
on thhe same linees. He makees his figurees more graaceful, his drraperies mo
ore vaporouus,
and illuumines his clouds withh radiance. His faded
d blue and rose,
r
his goolden-greyss, and pearlly
whites and pastel tints are not
n so muchh solid colo
ours as capprices of ligght. We haave remarkeed
already that with Veronese
V
thhe accessoriies of gleam
ming satins and rich brocades serv
ve to obscurre
i a flutter of drapery,, subject annd
the perssons. In maany of Tieppolos scenees the figurees are lost in
action melt
m away, and we are only consccious of sofft harmoniess of deliciouus colour, as
a ethereal as
a
the huees of sprinng flowers in woodlaand ways and
a
joyous meadows. With thesse deliciouus,
audacioous fancies, put on withh a nervouss hand, we forget
f
the age
a of profoound and ard
dent passionn,
we escaape from thhat of pomppous solemnnity and stu
udied grace,, and we brreathe an attmosphere of
o
irresponnsible and capricious
c
p
pleasure.
In this last wo
ord of her grreat masterss Venice keeeps what heer
temperaament loveedsensuouus colour and
a
emotio
onal chiaroscuro, usedd to accen
ntuate an art
a
adaptedd to a city off pleasure.
The exccellence of the old massters drawiings is a peerpetual reveelation. Eveen second-cclass men arre
almost invariably fine draughhtsmen, prooving that drawing
d
waas looked uupon as som
mething oveer
which it was neccessary for even the meanest to
o have enttire masterry. Tiepolos drawinggs,
preserved in Veniice and in various muuseums, arre as beautiiful as cann be wished
d; perfect in
i
o
executioon and viviid in feelingg. In Venicce are twentty or thirty sheets in rred carbon, of flights of
angels, and of drapperies studieed in every variety
v
of fold.
fo
C
in thhe
Poor woork of his scchool is oftten ascribedd to his sonss, but the suuperb Statioons of the Cross,
Frari, which
w
were etched by Domenico,
D
a publish
and
hed as his ow
wn in his liffetime, are almost equaal
to the fathers
f
woork. Tiepoloo had manyy immediatee followerss and imitattors. The colossal roofpaintingg of Fabio Canal
C
in thee Church off SS. Aposto
oli, Venice,, may be poointed out ass an examplle
of one of
o these. Buut he is full of the tenddencies of modern
m
art. Mr.
M Berenson, writing of him, sayys
he som
metimes seem
ms more thhe first thann the last off a line, andd notices hoow he influ
uenced manny
French artists of recent
r
timees, though none
n
seem quite to have caughtt the secret of his lighht
intensity and his exxquisite capprice.

PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W

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Aranjuuez.

R
Royal
Palace: Frescoes; Altarpiece.
A
O
Orangery:
Freescoes.

Bergam
mo.

C
Cappella
Collleoni: Sceness from the Liife of the Bapptist.

Berlin..

M
Martyrdom
off S. Agatha; S. Dominia and
a the Rosaary.

Londonn.

Sketches; Depposition.

Madridd.

E
Escurial;
Ceilings.

Milan.

Palazzi Clericci, Archinto, and Dugnanno: Frescoes.

B
Brera:
Loves of Rinaldo and
a Armida.

Paris.

C
Christ
at Emm
maus.

Str.

V
Villa
Pisani: Ceiling.
C

Venicee.

Academy: S. Joseph,
A
J
the Child,
C
and Saaints; S. Heleena finding the
t
Cross.
Palazzo Ducaale: Sala di Quattro
Q
Porte:: Neptune annd Venice.
Palazzo Labiaa: Frescoes; Antony
A
and Cleopatra.
C
Palazzo Rezzoonico: Two Ceilings.
C
S. Alvise: Flaagellation; Way
W to Golgottha.
SS. Apostoli: Communion
n of S. Lucy.
S. Fava: The Virgin
V
and her
h Parents.
G
Gesuati:
Ceiliing; Altarpiece.
S. Maria dellaa Piet: Trium
mph of Faithh.
S. Paolo: Statiions of the Cross.
C
Scalzi: Transpportation of the
t Holy Houuse of Lorettto.
Scuola del Caarmine: Ceiling.

Veronaa.

Palazzo Canossa: Triumph

h of Hercules.

Vicenzza.

M
Museo
Entrannce Hall: Imm
maculate Connception.
Villa Valmaraana: Frescoess; Subjects from
V
fr
Homer, Virgil,
Ariosto, annd Tasso; Maasks and Orieental Scenes..

Wrzbburg.

Palace of the Archbishop:

A
Ceilings; Ftes Galantess; Assumptio
on;
Fall of Rebbel Angels.

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CH
HAPTER
R XXX
PIIETRO LO
ONGHI
We havve here a master
m
who is
i peculiarlyy the Venettian of the eighteenth
e
ccentury, a genre-painte
g
er
whose charm
c
it is not easy too surpass, yet
y one who
o did not at
a the outsett find his trrue vocationn.
Longhis first undeertakings, sppecimens of which exiist in certainn palaces inn Venice, were elaboratte
frescoess, showing the banefull influence of the Bolo
ognese Schoool, in whicch he studieed for a tim
me
under Giuseppe
G
Crrispi. He atttempts to place the deitties of Olym
mpus on his ceilings in emulation of
o
Tiepoloo, but his Juno is heavvy and com
mmon, and the Titans at her feett appear as a swarm of
o
sprawling, ill-draw
wn nudities.. He shows no faculty
y for this kiind of workk, but he was thirty-tw
wo
before he
h began too paint those small eaasel-picturess which in his own daainty style illustrate thhe
Vanityy Fair of hiis period, annd in whichh the eighteeenth centuryy lives for uus again.
His earlliest traininng was in thhe goldsmithhs art, and
d he has leftt many draw
wings of plaate, exquisitte
in their sense of grraceful curvve and theirr unerring precision
p
off line. It waas a momen
nt when succh
a
a flawless purity
p
of ouutline, and Longhi reccognised thheir beauty with all thhe
things acquired
sensitivve perceptioon of the artiist and the practised
p
wo
orkman. His studies off draperies, gestures,
g
annd
hands are
a also extrraordinarily careful, and he seems besides to have
h
an intiimate acquaaintance witth
all the elegant
e
disssipation andd languid exxcesses of a dying ordeer. We feel tthat he has himself beeen
at homee in the masquerade, has
h accompaanied the laady to the fortune-telle
fo
er, and, lean
ning over heer
gracefuul shoulder, has listeneed to the soothsayers
s
s murmurs. He has atttended ballls and routts,
danced minuets, annd gossipedd over tiny cups
c
of Chin
na tea. He iss the last chhronicler of the Venetiaan
feasts, and with him
h
ends that
t
long series
s
that began withh Giorgionnes concertt and whicch
developped and paassed througgh suppers at Cana and
a banqueets at the hhouses of Levi
L
and thhe
Pharisee. We are no longer confrontedd with the sumptuosity
s
y of Bonifaazio and Veronese;
V
thhe
d in splendiid
immensse tables coovered withh gold and silver platee, the long lines of guuests robed
brocadees, the streaam of servannts bearing huge salverrs, or the baands of musicians, nor are there anny
more allfresco concerts, with nymphs annd bacchanttes. Instead there are m
masques, th
he life of thhe
Ridottoo or gaming-house, rouuts and intriggues in dain
nty boudoirrs, and surreeptitious lov
ve-making in
i
that cityy of eternal carnival whhere the bauuta was alm
most a nationnal costumee. Longhi ho
olds that post
which in
i French art
a is filled by Watteauu, Fragonard
d, and Lanccret, the paainters of ftes galantees,
and thoough he cannnot be placced on an equal footing
g with thosse masters, hhe is repressentative annd
significcant enoughh. On his caanvases are preserved for us the mysteries
m
oof the toilet, over whicch
ladies and
a young men of fasshion dawddled throug
gh the mornning, the drrinking of chocolate in
i
nglig, the momeentous instannts spent inn choosing headgear
h
annd fixing pattches, the to
owers of haair
built byy the modish coiffeur
children trrooping in, in hoops annd uniform
ms, to kiss th
heir mothers
hand, thhe fine genttleman chooosing a waistcoat and ogling
o
the pretty
p
embrooideress, th
he pert younng
maidserrvant slippiing a billet--doux into a beautys hand underr her husbannds nose, the old beaau
toying with
w a fan, or the discrreet abb taaking snuff over the moorning gazeette. The graand ladies of
o
Longhis day pay visits in hooop and fartthingale, the beaux maake a leg, and the laacqueys hannd
chocolaate. The beaautiful Veneetians and their
t
gallan
nts swim thrrough the ggavotte or gamble
g
in thhe
Ridottoo, or they haasten to asssignations, disguised
d
in
n wide bautti and carryying prepostterous mufffs.
The Coorrer Museuum containss a number of his pain
ntings and also
a
his boook of origin
nal sketchees.
One of the most enntertaining of
o his canvaases represeents a visit of
o patricianss to a nuns parlour. Thhe
nuns annd their puppils lend an attentive eaar to the wh
hispers of thhe world. Thheir dresses are trimmeed

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with pooint de Vennise, and a little theatrre is visible in the baackground. This and th
he Sala deel
Ridottoo which hanngs near, arre marked by
b a free, bo
old handlingg, a richnesss of colourin
ng, and morre
animatiion than is usual in his
h genre-piictures. He has not prreserved thhe lovely, in
ndeterminatte
colour or the imprressionist toouch whichh was the naatural inherritance of W
Watteau or Tiepolo. His
backgroounds are dark
d
and heaavy, and hee makes too
o free a use of body coolour; but his
h attitude is
one of close
c
observvationhe enjoys deppicting the liife around him,
h
and wee suspect th
hat he sees in
i
it the most
m perfect form of social intercourse imagin
nable. Longghi is somettimes called
d the Goldonni
of paintting, and hee certainly more
m
nearlyy resembles the genial, humorous pplaywright than he doees
Hogarthh, to whom
m he has alsso been com
mpared. Yet his execuution and technique aree a little likke
Hogarthhs, and it iss possible thhat he was influenced by the eldeer and strongger master, who entereed
on his triumphant
t
career as a satirical paainter of socciety about 1734. This was just th
he time wheen
Longhi abandonedd his unluckky decorativve style, and
d it is quite possible
p
thaat he may haave met witth
engraviings of the Marriage la mode, and was stimulated
s
b them to tthe study of eighteenthhby
centuryy manners, though
t
his own tempeerament is far removedd from Hoggarths morral force annd
grim saatire. His serrene, painsttaking obserrvation is neever distraccted by grosssness and violence.
v
Thhe
Venetiaans of his day
d may haave beenuundoubtedly
y wereefffeminate, liicentious, and decadennt,
but theyy were kinnd and gracious, of reffined mann
ners, well-bred, genial and intelliigent, and so
s
Longhi has transccribed them
m. In the tim
me which followed,
f
ceilings werre covered by Boucheer,
pastels by Latour were in deemand, the scholars of
o David paainted classsical sceness, and Pietrro
Longhi was forgottten. Antonnio Francescco Correr bought
b
five hundred off his drawin
ngs from his
h
son, Allessandro, but
b his worrks were ignored and dispersed. The classicc and roman
ntic fashionns
passed, but it was only
o
in 1850 that the brrothers de Goncourt,
G
w
writing
on arrt, revived consideratio
c
on
for the painter of a bygone geeneration. Many
M
of his works are in private ccollections, especially in
i
Englandd, but few are
a in publiic galleries.. The Natio
onal Galleryy is fortunate in possesssing severaal
excellennt exampless.

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Pietrro Longhi.

VISIT TO THE FO
ORTUNE-T
TELLER.
(P
Photo, Hanffstngl.)

London.

PR
RINCIPAL WORKS
W
Bergam
mo.

L
Lochis:
At thee Gaming Taable; Taking Coffee.
B
Baglioni:
Thee Festival of the
t Padrona.

Dresdeen.

Portrait of a Lady.
L

Hamptton Court. Three

T
genre-ppictures.
Londonn.

V to a Circcus; Visit to a Fortune-Teeller; Portraitt.

Visit
M
Mond
Collecttion: Card paarty; Portrait..

Venicee.

159

A
Academy:
Sixx genre-painttings.

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Correr Museuum: Eleven paintings

C
p
of Venetian
V
life; Portrait of
Goldoni.
Palazzo Grasssi: Frescoes; Scenes of faashionable liffe.
Q
Quirini-Stamp
palia: Eight paintings;
p
Poortraits.

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CHA
APTER
R XXXII
CANAL
LE
While Piazetta annd Tiepolo were provving themsselves the inheritors oof the greaat school of
o
decorators, Venicee herself waas finding her
h chronicleers, and a school of lanndscape aro
ose, of whicch
mber. Giovannni Antonio
o Canale waas born in V
Venice in 16
697, the sam
me
Canale was the forremost mem
year as Tiepolo. Hiis father earrned his liviing at the prrofession, luucrative enoough just th
hen, of sceneeh brush, working
w
at his
h side. In 11719 he wen
nt off to seeek
paintingg, and Antoonio learnedd to handle his
his forttune in Rom
me, and though he wass obliged to
o help out his
h resourcees by his eaarly trade, he
h
was moost concerneed in the stuudy of archiitecture, anccient and modern.
m
Rom
me spoke to him througgh
the eye, by the piccturesque masses
m
of stonework, th
he warm haarmonious ttones of claassic remainns
and thee effects of light uponn them. He painted alm
most entirelly out-of-dooors, and has left manny
examples drawn frrom the ruinns. His succcess in Rom
me was not remarkable
r
, and he waas still a verry
young man
m when he
h retraced his steps. On
O regaining
g his nativee town, he reealised for the
t first tim
me
the beauuty of its caanals and paalaces, and he
h never again waveredd in his allegiance.
Two rivvals were allready in thee field, Lucca Carlevaris, whose woorks were ffreely bough
ht by the ricch
Venetiaans, and Maarco Ricci, the figures in whose views
v
of Veenice were often touch
hed in by his
h
uncle, Sebastiano;
S
but Canalees growingg fame soon
n dethronedd them, i ccacciati del nido, as he
h
said, using
u
Dantees expresssion. In a generation
n full of caprice,
c
deelighting in
n sensational
developpments, Cannale was methodical
m
t a fault, and
to
a workedd steadily, ccalmly prod
ducing everry
detail of
o Venetiann landscape with untiriing applicaation and allmost monootonous tran
nquillity. He
H
lived inn the midst of a band of painters who adoreed travel. Seebastiano R
Ricci was allways on thhe
move; Tiepolo
T
spent much of his time in other citiess and countrries, and passsed the last years of his
h
life in Spain;
S
Pietro Rotari waas attached to the Courrt of St. Peteersburg; Beelotto, Canaales nephew
w,
settled in
i Bohemiaa; but Canale remained at home, an
nd, except for
f two shorrt visits paid
d to Englandd,
contented himself with
w trips too Padua andd Verona.
Early inn life Canaale entered into relatioons with Jo
oseph Smithh, the Britissh Consul in Venice, a
connoissseur who had
h not onlyy formed a fine collecttion of pictuures, but haad a gallery
y from whicch
he was very ready to sell to trravellers. He
H bought of
o the youngg Venetian at a very lo
ow price, annd
contriveed, unfairlyy enough, to acquire thee right to alll his work for
fo a certain period of tiime, with thhe
object of
o sending it,
i at a goodd profit, to London.
L
Forr a time Cannales luminnous views were boughht
by the English
E
undder these auspices, but the artist, presently disscovering thhat he was making
m
a baad
bargainn, came oveer to England, wheree he met with
w
an enccouraging rreception, especially
e
a
at
Windsoor Castle annd from the Duke of Riichmond. Canale
C
spentt two years in England
d and painteed
on the Thames andd at Cambrridge, but he
h could not stand the English cliimate and fled
f
from thhe
damp annd fogs to his
h own lagooons.
To desccribe his paiintings is too describe Venice
V
at eveery hour of the day andd nightVeenice with its
long arrray of noble palaces, with its Grand
G
Canall and its naarrow, pictuuresque waaterways. He
H
reproduuces the Vennice we knoow, and we see how litttle it has chhanged. Thee gondolas cluster
c
rounnd
the landding-stages of the Piazzzetta, the crrowds hurry
y in and out of the arcaddes of the Ducal
D
Palace,
or he paints the feestivals that still retaineed their splendour: thee Great Buccentaur leav
ving the Rivva
dei Schhiavoni on the
t Feast off the Ascenssion, or San
n Geremia and
a the entrrance to thee Cannaregiio

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decked in flags forr a feast-dayy. From onee end to ano

other of thee Grand Cannal, that m
most beautifu
ful
street inn the worldd, as des Commines
C
c
called
it in 1495, we can
c trace evvery aspectt of Canales
time, when
w
the cityy had as yett lost nothinng of its spleendour or itts animationn. At the enttrance standds
S. Mariia della Sallute, that saanctuary deaar to Venettian hearts, built as a vvotive offerring after thhe
visitatioon of the plague in 16631. Its flam
mboyant do
ome, with its
i volutes, its populattion of stonne
saints, its
i green brronze door catching the light, pleaased Canalee, as it pleaased Sargen
nt in our ow
wn
day, andd he paintedd it over and over againn. The annu
ual fte of thhe Confrateernity of thee Carit takees
place att the Scuolaa di San Roocco, and Canale
C
paintts the old Renaissance
R
building which
w
shelterrs
so muchh of Tintoreettos finestt work, decoorated with ropes of grreenery and gay with fllags,[7] whille
Tiepoloo has put inn the red-robbed, periwigged counccillors and the
t gazing ppopulace. Near
N
it in thhe
Nationaal Gallery hangs a R
Regatta with
w
its arraay of boatss, its shouting gondolliers, and its
shadow
ws lying acrross the rannge of palaaces, and teelling the exact
e
hour of the day
y that it waas
sketcheed in; or, aggain, the paiinter has takken peculiarr pleasure in
i expressinng quiet day
ys, with calm
m
green waters
w
and wide
w
emptyy piazzas, divided
d
by sun
s and shaadow, with a few citizeens ploddinng
about thheir business in the hoot midday, or a quiet little abb crossing thhe piazza on
n his way to
t
Mass. Canale
C
has made a special study of the ligh
ht on wall and
a faade,, and of thee transparennt
waters of
o the canalls and the azzure skies inn which floaat great snoowy fleeces..
His second visit to England was
w paid in 1751.
1
He waas received with open aarms by thee great worldd,
and invvited to the houses
h
of thhe nobility in
i town and
d country. The
T English were deligh
hted with his
h
taste annd with the mastery wiith which he
h painted architectural
a
l scenes, annd in spite of
o advancinng
years he
h producedd a numberr of compoositions, wh
hich commaanded high prices. Th
he Garden of
o
Vauxhaall, the Rotuunda at Rannelagh, Whiitehall, Nortthumberlannd House, E
Eton Collegee, were som
me
of the subjects
s
whhich attracteed him, andd the treatm
ment of whicch was signnalised by his
h calm annd
perfect balance. Hee made use of the cam
mera ottica, which
w
is in principal iddentical with
h the camerra
oscura. Lanzi says he amendeed its defectts and taugh
ht its properr use, but itt must be co
onfessed thaat
in the careful persppective of soome of his scenes,
s
its traces
t
seem to haunt uss and to con
nvey a certaiin
cold regularity. Canale was a marvelloous engraveer. Mantegnna, Bellini, and Titian
n had placeed
engraviing on a verry high levvel in the Venetian
V
Sch
hool, and thhough at a llater date itt became tooo
elaboratte, Tiepolo and his soon brought it back to simplicity. Canale aidded them, and his eauxxfortes, of
o which hee has left abbout thirty, are filled with
w light and
a breadthh of treatmeent, and he is
particullarly happy in his brilliiant, transpaarent water.
The higgh prices Caanale obtainned for his pictures
p
in his
h lifetime led to the uusual imitations. He waas
surrounnded by paiinters whose whole am
mbition wass limited too copying hhim. Among
g these werre
Mariescchi, Visentinni, Colombini, besidess others now
w forgotten. More than fifty of his finest workks
were boought by Sm
mith for Geeorge III. annd fill a room at Windssor. He wass made a member of thhe
Academ
my at Dresdden, and Bruuhl, the Prim
me Ministerr of the Elecctor, obtaineed from him
m twenty-onne
works which
w
now adorn the gallery theree. Canale dieed in Venicce, where hee had lived nearly
n
all his
h
life, andd where hiss gondola-sttudio was a familiar ob
bject in the Piazzetta, aat the Lido,, or anchoreed
in the loong canals.
His nepphew, Bernnardo Belottto, is often also called
d Canaletto,, and it seeems that both uncle annd
nephew
w were equaally known by the dim
minutive. Beelotto, too, went to Roome early in
i his careeer,
where he attachedd himself to
t Panini, a painter of
o classic ruins, peoppled with warriors
w
annd
shepherrds. He wass, by all acccounts, full of vanity an
nd self-impportance, annd on a visitt to Germanny
manageed to acquirre the title of
o Count, which
w
he adh
hered to witth great com
mplacency. He travelleed
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all overr Italy looking for patrronage, andd was very eager to finnd the road to success and fortune.
About the same time as his uncle, he paid a visiit to Londoon and wass patronised
d by Horacce
Walpole, but in the
t full tidde of succeess he was summonedd to Dresdden, where the Electoor,
disappoointed at noot having seecured the services off the uncle, was fain tto console himself
h
witth
those of the nepheew. The extrravagant annd profligate Augustus II., whose one idea was
w to extracct
money by every poossible meaans from hiss subjects, in
i order to adorn
a
his palaces, wass consistentlly
devotedd to Belottoo, who was in his elem
ment as a Co
ourt painter.. He paints all his unclles subjectts,
and it is
i not alwayys easy to distinguish between th
he two; butt his paintinngs are dulll and stiff as
a
comparred with thoose of Canalle, though he
h is sometiimes fine inn colour, andd many of his
h views arre
admirabbly drawn.

SOME WORKS OF
O CANALE
It is imposssible to draw
w up any exxhaustive lisst, so many being in priivate collections.
Dresdeen.

The Grand Caanal; Campo S. Giacomoo; Piazza S. M

T
Marco; Churcch
and Piazza of SS. Giovanni and Paoolo.

Florencce.

T Piazzetta.
The

Hamptton Court. The

T Colosseuum.
Londonn.

Scuola di Sann Rocco; Inteerior of the Rotunda

R
at Raanelagh; S.
Pietro in Castello, Veniice.

Paris.

L
Louvre:
Church of S. Marria della Saluute.

Venicee.

H
Heading;
Couurtyard of a Palace.
P

Viennaa.

Liechtenstein Gallery: Church and Piaazza of S. Maark, Venice;

L
Canal of thhe Giudecca, Venice; Vieew on Grand Canal; The
Piazzetta.

Windsoor.

A
About
fifty paaintings.

Wallacce
Collecttion.

The Giudeccaa; Piazza San

T
n Marco; Chuurch of San S
Simione; S.
Maria dellaa Salute; A Fte
F on the Grand
G
Canal; Ducal Palace;
Dogana froom the Molo; Palazzo Coorner; A Water-fte; The
Rialto; S. Maria
M
della Salute;
S
A Cannal in Venicee.

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CHA
APTER
R XXXIII
FRA
ANCESCO GUARDI
An entrry in Gradeenigos diarry of 1764, preserved
d in the Muuseo Correrr, speaks off Francescco
Guardi,, painter of the quarterr of SS. Apoostoli, along
g the Fondaamenta Nuoove, a good
d pupil of thhe
famous Canaletto, having by the
t aid of thhe camera ottica,
o
mostt successfully painted two
t
canvasees
(not sm
mall) by thee order of a stranger (an
( English
hman), withh views of the Piazza San Marcoo,
towardss the Churcch and the Clock
C
Toweer, and of th
he Bridge of
o the Rialtoo and build
dings towardds
the Cannnaregio, annd have to-dday examinned them un
nder the colonnades off the Procurazie and meet
with unniversal appllause.
Francessco Guardi was a son of
o the Austrrian Tyrol, and his moountain anceestry may account,
a
as in
i
the casee of Titian, for the fresshness and vigour of his
h art. Bothh his father,, who settleed in Venice,
and his brother weere painters. His son beecame one in
i due time,, and the profession beeing followeed
by four members of
o the familyy accounts for
f the indiffferent workks often attrributed to Guardi.
G
wledged, andd perhaps iit is true th
hat he neveer
His inddebtedness to Canale is universally acknow
attains to the monnumental quality,
q
the traditional dignity whhich marks Canale ou
ut as a great
master, but he difffers from Canale
C
in tem
mperament,, style, and technique. Canale is a much morre
exact annd serious student of architecturaal detail; Guardi,
G
withh greater visible vigou
ur, obliteratees
detail, and has noo hesitationn in drawing in buildings which do not reaally appear.. In his ovaal
paintingg of the Duucal Palace (Wallace Collection)
C
he makes it much lofftier and more
m
spaciouus
than it really
r
is. In his Piazzeetta he putss in a corneer of the Logggia where it would no
ot actually be
b
seen. Inn the Fair in
i Piazza S.. Marco the arch from
m under whiich the Fair appears is gigantic,
g
annd
he foresshortens thee wing of thhe royal paalace. He cu
urtails the leength of thee columns in
i the piazzza
and so avoids
a
monnotony of efffect, and hee often alters the heightt of the cam
mpaniles he uses,
u
makinng
them taall and slendder or shortt and broadd, as his piccture requires. At one time he pro
oduced som
me
colossal pictures, in several of
o which Mr.
M Simonso
on, who haas written aan admirablle life of thhe
ot his natural
painter,, believes thhat the handd of Canale is perceptible in collaaboration; but it was no
elementt, and he offten becamee heavy in colour
c
and handling.
h
Inn 1782 he uundertook a commissioon
from Piietro Edwarrds, who waas a noted connoisseur
c
r and inspecctor of Statee pictures, and
a had beeen
appointted superintendent in 17778 of an official studiio for the restoration off old masterrs.
Edwardds had impoortant dealinngs with Guuardi, who was
w directeed to paint ffour leading
g incidents in
i
the rejooicings in hoonour of thee visit of Piius IV. to Venice.
V
The Venetians themselves had becom
me
indifferrent patronss of art, butt Venice atttracted greaat numbers of foreign visitors, an
nd before thhe
second half of the eighteenth century the export of old
o masters had alreadyy become an
n establisheed
trade. There
T
is noo sign, how
wever, that Joseph Sm
mith, who retained hiis consulsh
hip till 17600,
extendeed any patroonage to Guuardi, thouggh he enrich
hed Georgee III.s colleection with works of thhe
chief coontemporaryy artists of Venice. It is probablee that Guarddi had been warned ag
gainst him by
b
Canale and profitedd by the lattters experience.
We cann divide hiis work into three cattegories. 1. Views of Venice. 2.. Public ceeremonies. 3.
3
Landscaapes. Gradeenigo menttions casuallly that he used the camera
c
otticca, but thou
ugh we maay
consideer it probabble, we cannnot trace the
t use of it in his works.
w
He iss not only a painter of
o

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architeccture, but pays

p
great attention to
t light and
d atmospheere, and aim
ms at subttle effects; a
transparrent haze floats
fl
over the
t lagoonss, or the sun
n pierces thhough the m
morning miists. His fouur
large peendants in the Wallace Collection show his happiest
h
effoorts; light glances off the
t water annd
is reflected on thee shadowedd walls. Hiss views rou
und the Sallute bring vvividly beffore us thosse
deliciouus morning hours in Veenice when the green tide
t has justt raced up thhe Grand Canal,
C
when a
fresh wind
w
is liftingg and curlinng all the looose sails an
nd flutteringg pennons, aand when th
he gondolierrs
are straining at the oars, as theeir light craft is caught and blown from side tto side upon
n the ripplinng
water. The
T sky occcupies mucch of his sppace, he maakes searching studies of it, and his favouritte
effect iss a flash of light shooting across a piled-up mass
m
of clouuds. The linne of the ho
orizon is low
w,
and he exhibits greeat masteryy in paintingg the wide lagoons, buut he also ppaints rough
h seas, and is
one of the
t few maasters of his dayperhhaps the onlly onewhho succeeds in represen
nting a storm
m
at sea.
Often as
a he paintss the same subjects he never beccomes mecchanical or photograph
hic. We maay
sometim
mes tire off the monottony of Canales unerrring perspeective and accurate bu
uildings, buut
Guardi always findds some neew renderingg, some freesh point off interest. Sometimes he
h gives us a
summerr day, whenn Venice sttands out inn light, herr white palaaces reflected in the sun-illumineed
water; sometimes
s
he is arrestted by old churches
c
baathed in shaadow and fuusing into th
he rich, darrk
tones off twilight. His
H boats annd figures arre introduceed with greaat spirit andd brio, and are
a alive witth
that hanndling which a French critic has deescribed as his griffe enndiable.

Fr
Francesco
G
Guardi.
S. MARIA DELLA
D
SAL
LUTE. London.
(Phooto, Manselll and Co.)

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His maasterly and spirited paiinting of crrowds enab

bles him to reproduce for us all those publiic
ceremonnies which Venice retaained as lonng as the Reepublic lasted: yearly ppilgrimagess of the Dogge
to Veneetian churchhes, to the Salute
S
to coommemoratte the cessattion of the plague, to San
S Zaccariia
on Eastter Day, thee solemn procession
p
o Corpus Christi Dayy, receptionns of ambasssadors, andd,
on
most goorgeous of all, the Feaast of the Wedding
W
off the Adriatic. He has faithfully preserved
p
thhe
ancient ceremoniall which acccompanied State
S
festivities. In thee Fte du JJeudi Gras (Louvre) he
h
illustrattes the acroobatic feats which werre performed before Doge Mocennigo. A hug
ge Temple of
o
Victoryy is erected on the Piaazzetta, and gondolierss are seen climbing
c
onn each otherrs shoulderrs
and danncing upon ropes. His motley
m
crow
wds show th
hat the whoole populatioon, patriciaans as well as
a
people, took part in
i the feastss. He has allso left man
ny striking interiors:
i
am
mong otherrs, that of thhe
Sala deel Gran Connsiglio, wheere sometim
mes as man
ny as a thouusand persoons were assembled, thhe
Recepttion of the Doge
D
and Senate
S
by Piius IV. (wh
hich formedd one of the series ordered by Pietrro
Edwardds), or the fine Interiior of a Thheatre, exh
hibited at the
t Burlinggton Fine Arts
A in 1911,
belongiing to a series of whichh another is at Munich.
In his laandscapes Guardi
G
doess not pay veery faithful attention too nature. Thhe landscap
pe painters of
o
the eighhteenth cenntury, as Mr.
M Simonsoon points out,
o were not
n animatedd by any very
v
genuinne
impulsee to study nature
n
minuutely. It waas the pictu
uresque elem
ment whichh appealed to
t them, annd
they weere chiefly concerned to
t reproducce romantic features, grouped
g
according to fancy.
fa
Guarddi
composses half fanntastic scennes, introduucing classiic remains,, triumphall arches, aiiry Palladiaan
monum
ments. His capricci
c
include compoositions in which Rom
man ruins, oovergrown with
w foliage,
occupy the foregroound of a paainting of Venetian
V
paalaces, but inn which thee combinatiion is carrieed
out withh so much sparkle
s
and nervous liffe and such charm of sttyle, that it is attractivee and piquannt
rather thhan grotesqque.
Englandd is richest in Guardis, of any couuntry, but Frrance in onee respect is better off, in
i possessinng
no less than elevenn fine paintiings of public ceremon
nials. Guarddi may be considered th
he originatoor
ded about thhe
of smalll sketches, and perhapps the precurrsor of thosse glib littlee views which are hand
Piazza at the pressent day. His
H drawingss are fairly
y numerous, and are rremarkably delicate annd
t his son is
i now in thhe Museo Correr.
C
In his
h
incisivee in touch. A large colllection whiich he left to
later yeears he was reduced
r
to poverty
p
andd used to ex
xhibit sketchhes in the Piiazza, partin
ng with them
m
for a few ducats, and
a in this way
w floodinng Venice with
w small laandscapes. T
The exact sp
pot occupieed
by his bottega
b
is said
s
to be at
a the corneer of the Paalazzo Realle, oppositee the Clock
k Tower. Thhe
house in
i which hee died still exists in the
t Campieello della Madonna,
M
N
No. 5433, Parrocchia
P
S
S.
Canzianno, and hass a shrine dedicated
d
too the Mado
onna attachhed to it. W
When quite an old mann,
Guardi paid a visitt to the hom
me of his anncestors, at Mastellano in the Ausstrian Tyrol, and made a
drawingg of Castelllo Corvello on the routte. To this day
d his nam
me is remem
mbered with
h pride in his
h
Tyroleaan valley.

SOME WORKS OF
O GUARD
DI

166

Bergam
mo.

L
Lochis:
Landsscapes.

Berlin..

G
Grand
Canal; Lagoon; Cem
metery Islannd.

Londonn.

V
Views
in Vennice.

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Milan.

M
Museo
Civicoo: Landscapees.
Poldi-Pezzoli: Piazzetta; Dogana;
D
Lanndscapes.

Oxfordd.

T
Taylorian
Muuseum: Views in Venice.

Padua.

V
Views
in Vennice.

Paris.

Procession off the Doge to S. Zaccaria;; Embarkmennt in

S
Jeuddi Gras in V
Venice; Corpu
us
Bucentaur; Festival at Salute;
o; Coronatioon of Doge.
Christi; Salla di Collegio

Turin.

C
Cottage;
Stairrcase; Bridgee over Canal..

Venicee.

M
Museo
Correrr: The Ridottto; Parlour off Convent.

Veronaa.

L
Landscapes.

Wallacce
Collecttion.

The Rialto; Saan Giorgio Maggiore

T
M
(tw
wo); S. Mariaa della Salutee;
Archway inn Venice; Vaaulted Arcaddes; The Doggana.

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BIBLIOGR
RAPHY
Y
It is an advantage to the studeent of Italiaan art to be able to reaad French, G
German, an
nd Italian, foor
though translationss appear off the most important
i
works,
w
theree are many interesting
g articles annd
monogrraphs of minnor artists which
w
are ottherwise inaaccessible.
Vasari, not alwayss trustworthhy, either inn dates, faccts, or opiniions, yet deelightfully human
h
in his
historiees, is indisppensable, annd new edditions and translationss are consttantly issueed. Sansonis
edition (Florence),, with Milannesis notess, is the mo
ost authoritaative; and ffor translatio
ons, those of
o
Mrs. Fooster (Messrs. Blashfieeld and Hoppkins), and a new editiion in the T
Temple classics (Dent, 8
vols., 2s. each vol.).
Ridolfi,, the princippal contempporary authhority on Venetian
V
artiists, who puublished his Maraviglie
dell arrte nine yeaars after Doomenico Tinntorettos death,
d
is onlly to be reaad in Italian
n, though thhe
anecdottes with whhich his workk abounds are
a made usse of by eveery writer.
Crowe and Cavalcaselles Paiinting in Noorth Italy (M
Murray) is a storehousee of painstak
king, minute,
n and soundd opinion. IIt supplies a foundationn,
and, onn the whole,, marvellouusly correct information
fills gapps, and suppplements inndividual biiographies as
a no otherr book does. For the eaarly painterrs,
down too the time of the Belllini, I Origiini dei pitto
ori venezianni, by Profe
fessor Leonello Venturri,
Venice,, 1907, is a large bookk, written with
w masterry and insigght, and weell illustrateed; La Storiia
della piittura venezziana is anoother carefuul work, wh
hich deals very
v
minutelly with the early schoool
of mosaaics.
In studyying the Beellini, the latte Mr. S. A.
A Strong haas The Brothhers Bellinii (Bells Greeat Masterss),
and thee reader should not faail to read Mr. Rogerr Frys Belllini (Artists Library),, a scholarlly
monogrraph, short but reliablee, and full of
o suggestio
on and apprreciation, thhough writtten in a coool,
critical spirit. Dr. Hills
H has deaalt ably withh Pisanello (Duckwortth).
Vi
Carpaaccio, transslated by Mr. R. H. Cuust
Molmennti and Luddwig in their monumenntal work Vittore
translated by
(Murrayy, 1907), annd Paul Kriisteller in thhe equally important Mantegna,
M
b Mr. S. A.
A
Strong (Longmanss, 1901), seeem to have exhausted
d all that thhere is to bbe said for the momennt
concernning these tw
wo painters.
It is allmost superrfluous to mention
m
M Berenson
Mr.
ns two weell-known vvolumes, The
T Venetiaan
Painterrs of the Rennaissance, and
a the North Italian Painters
P
of thhe Renaissaance (Putnaam). They arre
brilliantt essays whhich suppleement everyy other wo
ork, overfloowing with suggestivee and criticaal
matter, supplying original thooughts, and summing up
u in a few
w pregnant w
words the main
m
featurees
and the tendencies of the succceeding stagges.
In studyying Giorgiione, we cannnot dispennse with Patters essay, included inn The Rena
aissance. Thhe
author is
i not alwayys well infoormed as to factshe wrote
w
in thee early dayss of criticism
mbut he is
rich in idea and feeeling. Mr. Herbert
H
Coooks Life off Giorgionee (Bells Grreat Masters) is full annd
interesting. Some authorities question his
h attributions as beinng too num
merous, but whether we
w
regard them
t
as auuthentic worrks of the master
m
or ass belongingg to his schhool, the illu
ustrations he
h
gives addd materiallly to our knnowledge off the Giorgio
onesque.

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When we
w come to Titian we are
a well offf. Crowe and
d Cavalcaseelles Life of Titian (M
Murray, out of
o
print), in
i two largge volumes, is well wrritten and full
f of goodd material, from which
h subsequennt
criticism, bby Mr. C. Ricketts,
writers have borroowed. An exxcellent Liffe, full of penetrating
p
R
waas
lately brought
b
outt by Methuuen (Classiccs of Art), complete with
w
illustrations, and
d including a
minute analysis off Titians teechnique. Sir Claude Phillipss
P
M
Monograph
oon Titian will
w appeal to
t
every thhoughtful loover of the painters genius,
g
and Dr. Gronauu has writteen a good and
a scholarlly
Life (Duckworth).
Mr. Beerensons Lorenzo
L
Lottto must bee read for its interestt and learniing, given with all thhe
authorss charm andd lucidity. Itt includes an
a essay on Alvise
A
Vivaarini.
My ownn Tintorettoo (Methuenn, Classics of
o Art) givees a full acccount of the man and his
h work, annd
especially deals exxhaustively with the sccheme and details of thhe Scuola ddi San Roccco. Professoor
Thode has
h written a detailed and profuseely illustrated Life of Tintoretto
T
iin the Knacckfuss Seriees,
and the Paradiso haas been treaated at lengtth and illusttrated in greeat detail in a very scho
olarly ditioon
de luxe by Mr. F. O.
O Osmastoon. It is the fashion to discard
d
Russkin, but thoough we maay allow thaat
his judggments are exaggeratedd, that he reeads more into
i
a picturre than the artist intend
ded, and thaat
he is tooo fond of preaching
p
seermons, theere are few critics whoo have so m
many ideas to
t give us, or
o
who aree so inform
med with a deep
d
love off art, and bo
oth Modernn Painters aand the Ston
nes of Venicce
should be
b read.
It
M. Chaarles Yriartee has writtenn a Life of Paolo
P
Veron
nese, whichh is full of ccharm and knowledge.
k
is interresting to take a copyy of Boschhinis Della
a pittura veeneziana, 1797, when visiting thhe
galleriees, the palacces, and the churches of
o Venice. His
H lists of the
t pictures, as they weere known in
i
his dayy, often opeen our eyess to doubtfu
ful attributio
ons. Secondd-hand copiies of Boscchini are noot
difficultt to pick upp. When the later-centurry artists are reached, a good sketcch of the Veenice of theeir
period is
i supplied by Philippee Monnierss delightful Venice in the
t Eighteennth Centuryy (Chatto annd
Winduss), which allso has a goood chapter on the lesser Venetiann masters. T
The best Liffe of Tiepollo
is in Itaalian, by Proofessor Pom
mpeo Molm
menti. The smaller masters have too be hunted
d for in manny
scattereed essays; a knowledgge of Goldoni adds point to Lonnghis pictuures. Canalletto and his
h
nephew
w, Belotto, have
h
been treated
t
by M.
M Uzanne,, Les Deux Canaletto; and Mr. Simonson haas
written an importaant and charrming volum
me on Fran
ncesco Guarrdi (Methueen, 1904), with
w beautifu
ful
reproduuctions of hiis works. Among
A
otherr books which give speecial inform
mation are Morellis
M
tw
wo
volumees, Italian Painters inn Borghesee and Dorria Pamphiili, and In Dresden and Municch
Galleriees, translated by Misss Jocelyn ffoulkes
f
(M
Murray); annd Dr. J. P. Richters magnificennt
cataloguue of the Mond
M
Collecctionwhicch, though published
p
att fifteen guiineas, can be
b seen in thhe
great arrt libraries
has some valuable
v
chaapters on th
he Venetian masters.

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F
FOOTNO
TES:
[1] Thesse interestinng particularss are given by Mr. G. MN. Rushfforth in the Burlington Magazine for
fo
Octoberr 1911.
i by Miss Caameron Tayllor.
[2] This translation is
[3] It is this qualityy of unarrested movemennt, so conspicuous above all in the figure of Baacchus, whicch
attracts us
u irresistiblly in the Hunntress, in Loord Brownlow
ws Diana and
a Actaeonn. The consttruction of thhe
form of the goddess in this beauttiful but littlee-known pictture is admirrable. Worn as the colourr is, appearinng
almost as
a a monochhrome, the laandscape is full
f of atmosspheric sugggestion. It is in Titians latest
l
manneer,
and its ample
a
lines and
a free unim
mpeded motioon can be du
ue to no inferrior brush.
[4] Anddrea Meldolaa, the Sclavoonian, a natiive of Dalm
matia, landingg in Venice,, had a greaat struggle for
fo
existencce. He drew from
f
Parmeggianino, and studied Giorrgione and Titian.
T
He waas probably an
a assistant of
o
Titian, and
a helped him,
h
as in thhe Venus annd Adonis of the Natioonal Gallery, which owes much to his
h
hand. He fails consppicuously in form, his shaadows are bllack, and his figures often vulgar, butt he has a finne
sense off colour, andd a free, crispp touch. He was
w one of the
t young masters
m
who fflooded Venice with lighht,
sketchy wares.
[5] Vennice and the Renaissancee, Edinburghh Review, 19
909.
[6] Philiippe Monnier, Venice in the
t Eighteennth Century.
[7] It is thought
t
that it may have been paintedd from his stu
udio.

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