OCTOBER, 1908 MORETTO PRICE, 20 CENTS 83-B 8950 Jlil^ueiiillpntlita MORETTO PART 106 VOLUME 9 MASTERS IN ART A SERIES OF ILLUSTRATED MONOGRAPHS: ISSUED MONTHLY PART 106 OCTOBER VOLUME 9 mor^tto CONTENTS Plate I. Plate II. Plate III. Plate IV. Plate V. Plate VI. Plate VII. Plate VIII Plate IX. Plate X. The Life of Moretto The Art of Moretto Imperial Gallery, Vienna Martinengo Gallery, Brescia Martinengo Gallery, Brescia Martinengo Gallery, Brescia Church of S. Maria in Calchera, Brescia Hermitage Gallery, St. Petersburg Royal Gallery, Munich St. Justina Madonna in Glory, with Saints Madonna and Child [Detail] Supper at Emmaus Magdalene at the Feet of the Saviour Faith Portrait of an Ecclesiastic A Botanist St. Nicholas Bari presenting Infants to the Madonna Martinengo Gallery, Brescia Portrait of an Unknown Man Gallery of Sir H. Layard, Venice Page 23 Page 30 Criticisms by Berenson, Crowe & Cavalcaselle, Lanzi & Sealey The Works of Moretto : Descriptions of the Plates and a List of Paintings Page 37 Moretto Bibliography Page 42 Pboto-tngravings by Suffolk Engraving and Elictrotjrfing Co.: Boston. Press-wori by th* Evtrttt Prta : Boston. A compltt* indtx for frtvious numbtrs will ht found in the Readtr's Guidi to Piriodical Literaturt^ which may h* consulted in any library. PUBLISHERS' ANNOUNCEMENTS SUBSCRIPTIONS: Yearly subscription, commencing with any number of the current calendar year, $2.00, payable in advance, postpaid to any address in the United States. To Canada, $2.25 ; to foreign countries in the Pos- tal Union, $2.50. As each yearly volume of the magazine commences with the January number, and as indexes and bindings are prepared for complete volumes, intending subscribers are advised to date their subscriptions from Jan- uary. Single numbers of the current year, 20 cents each. 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Copyright^ IQoSi by Bates &f Guild Company, Boston MASTERS IN ART mor^tto BRESCIAN SCHO \ MASTERS IN AET PLATE I PHOTOGRAPH BY BRAUN, CLEMENT & CIE [ 388 ] MOEETTO ST. JUSTINA IMPEKIAL, GAIiliEHX, VIENNA r MASTEHS IN ART PLATE II PHOTOGRAPH BY ALINARI [ 38r, ] MORETTO MADONNA IN GLORY WITH SAINTS MAKTINENGO GAIiLERT, RRESCIA MASTEHS ISr ART PLATE HI PHOTOGRAPH BY ALINARl [387] MOHETTO MADONNA AND CHILD [oETAIIi] MAKTINENGO GALIiEHT, BRESCIA m i H ^. W H " ^ W Eh |3 K oi ;^, S g O ft ^ MASTERS IN AET PLATE V PHOTOGRAPH BY ALINARI [391] MOEETTO MAGDALENE AT THE EEET OF THE SAVIOUE CHUBCH OF S. MAHIA IN CALCHEEA, BEESCIA L i MASTEHS JN ABT PLATE VI PHOTOGRAPH BY HANFSTAENGL [393] MOEETTO FAITH HERMITAGE GALIiEKY, ST. PETEHSBUKG i MASTEES IN AHT PLATE VII PHOTOGRAPH BY HANFSTAENGL [ 395 ] MOEETTO POETEAIT OF AN ECCLESIASTIC BOXAL GALLEET, MUNICH il. i MASTERS IN ART PI>ATE VIII PHOTOGRAPH BY ALINARI [397] MORETTO . BOTAKIST ^ MASTEBS IN AET PLATE IX PHOTOGRAPH BY ALINARI [399] MOHETTO ST. ]!fICHOLAS BAHI PRESENTING INFANTS TO THE MADONNA MAKTINENGO GAXiLEKY, BKESCIA f L MASTERS ISr AHT PLATE X PHOTOGRAPH BY ALINARI [40il MOKETTO POETHAIT OF AN UNKNOWK" MAN" GALLEKY OF SIR H. LA YARD, VENICE r MASTERS IN ART Plot ^ tto BORN 149 8: DIED 1555 (?) BRE SCI AN SCHOOL ALLESSANDRO BON\aCINO, more commonly called Moretto, was -/^. born at Rovato, near Brescia, about 1498. The family came originally from Ardino. He first studied with Ferramola, a Brescian painter of no great importance. The date of his death is lacking. He painted so late as 1554, and died probably in 1555. He was buried in the Church of San Clemente, in Brescia. Brescia is a little hill town built on a spur of the Rhoaetian Alps, and near it towers that fine old castle the *' Falcon of Lombardy." Its streets are of a picturesqueness much like other Italian towns, only, strange to say, they are rather cleaner. The town has a fine old cathedral, of the circular type, and a new cathedral not so fine and of no particular type at all. There are Roman baths, or the ruins of them, to be seen, and there is a fine collection of manu- scripts to delight the earnest student. But to the artist the great interest of Brescia is that it is the birthplace and the living-place of Allessandro Bonvi- cino, more commonly called Moretto. II Moretto means, it may be said in passing, ''The Moor," or *'The Blackamoor," and the term was probably merely a playful allusion to Moretto's dark complexion — dark, that is, among the blond Lombards of Northern Italy. This, however, is merely speculation; the name is not definitely accounted for. There is little to be said about Moretto's life. He was one of those men who did their work well but quietly, so that little has been told about him. If he had lived in Venice, where Ridolfi says he studied, he would doubtless have become one of the most famous painters. As it is, shut up in his little Brescia, he produced charming works, hardly to be excelled anywhere, but works which, unfortunately, have been but too little known. It was hard to get to Brescia; the ordinary traveler did not go there. So the histories of art got themselves written w^ith no particular allusion to Moretto. Ridolfi and Vasari, it is true, speak of him, but at no great length. His is a reputation which must increase with the years, for his work not only had a soundness quite uncom- mon in Northern Italy, but a noble, serious charm as well. The Venice of his day must have been a most stimulating place for a young man. Titian was the supreme young master. Giorgione had just died. John [403] 24 MASTERSINART Bellini, an old man, was still alive. The whole town was full of young and eager craftsmen, intent on learning their trade in the greatest school of the world. Moretto may have known Tintoretto and Palma Vecchio. He may have brushed elbows against El Greco, another student in the school of Titian. He may have seen Albert Durer, when the latter made his visit to Venice. The curious thing about Moretto, however, is that with all these induce- ments to paint in a style nearly approaching the Venetian, he chose to go back to his Brescia in the hills and to paint quite in his own manner — in cool, silvery tones quite different from the hot gold of Venice. Yet in this Venetian school he must have played a good part in his day, before he went back to his native town. One or two of his pictures still remain in Venice; notably his * Feast in the House of Simon,' which is a very fine production. At the same time, it is not absolutely known that Moretto studied in Venice. The excellent Ridolfi says he did, but Ridolfi is not wholly reliable. At all events, to begin with he studied with Floriano (or Fioravente Ferramola). This painter is accounted of the Venetian school, although his work shows rather the influence of Foppa, Costa, and of Francia. A pleasant little story concerning him relates that when Gaston de Foix captured and sacked Brescia Fioravente was so absorbed in his painting that he worked on regardless of the assault *' until he was surprised by the plunderers at his easel. Gaston compensated him for his losses, and ordered a portrait of himself." Fioravente was apparently of no great importance himself, but seems to have been able to hand on the secret of those cool, silvery tones which Vincenzo Foppa had taught him. Romanino, also, is said to have somewhat influenced the style of Moretto. Girolamo Romanino was another Brescian born some ten years before Moretto. His family came from Romano, and thus he got his name. W hether he really influenced Bonvicino, or whether the latter influenced him, is a matter open to discussion; for Romanino, having left Brescia when Moretto was about fourteen years old, returned five years later to find the latter fully established as a painter. However, it seems likely that the youth of nineteen might well have learned a good deal from the older Romanino. The two joined in a contract to decorate the chapel of the Corpus Christi in San Giovanni. Romanino, doubtless, painted some beautiful things. His style was softer and less incisive than that of Bonvicino. Sometimes the quality of Bonifacio and others of the weaker Venetians is suggested in it, although his color is hardly so lovely. In drawing, his figures are heavier than Moretto's and, while his design is adequate, it hardly shows the originality that charms us in the other man. Something of the influence of Giorgione clung to him always; not that he himself was a student of that master, but he seems to have been more open to the all-pervading Giorgionesque influence than was Moretto. Another man who may or may not have influenced Moretto was Savoldo. Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo was another Brescian (surely Brescia was the home of pictores ignoti) in 1480, possibly so late as 1485, fifteen or twenty years before Moretto. He lived long in Venice, acquired much of the Venetian [404] MORETTO 25 manner, without losing his own marked originality, and painted various de- lightful pictures, among others 'The Venetian,' *St. Mary Magdalen ap- proaching the Sepulcher,' and 'Adoration of the Shepherds.' He, too, had that "silvery manner" which seems to have been the birthright of Brescians from Vincenzo Foppa down to Moroni, the pupil of Moretto. Just what his relations with Moretto were does not appear, but it may very well be that he too had his influence on an impressionable young painter. Again, it is said that Moretto tried to introduce something of the style of Raphael into his works. This may possibly be so, but seems a rather far- fetched idea. While both men were great space-fillers, their method of attack was quite different. Moretto's seems now more original because less well known. Again, Raphael's effort would seem to have been to make his figures typical. Moretto's have each one a quite distinct personality. Moretto's point of view, in short, was more modern in this: that, in his best work, he treated his subjects in a more realistic and personal manner. This is not to say that his method was the better; one simply notes how it diff'ers from Raphael. It should not be forgotten that Raphael derived largely from Da Vinci, as did also most of the north of Italy men — Moretto among the rest, however indirectly. It seems likely, then, that what Vasari called Raphael- esque when he saw Moretto's work was rather the latter's version of the in- vincible Da Vinci tradition. In order to begin to understand the influences that may have aff"ected Mo- retto's work, we must go back to a certain Vincenzo Foppa. He was the mas- ter of Ferramola, who, in his turn, was the master of Moretto. What makes Foppa significant is that in his work first appears those "silvery, almost shim- mering eff'ects" which in somewhat diflPerent guise we so admire in Moretto. And again he was one of the first masters to begin the study of edges, to make his contours melt into the background. In a word, he was one of the first to really see. He too was a Brescian, which in its little way seems to have been a home for the beginnings of modern art. But after all, though this discussion of the various forces which influenced Moretto has its interest, the really important thing is to realize that he was a particularly original man, not much influenced by any one. The first impres- sion which his work makes on one is that it is diff'erent from the rest. It is only afterwards that one begins to find certain suggestions of influence by other men. And even here, these signs are mostly found in his early and im- mature work; for in some of his finest things, like the 'St. Nicholas Bari pre- senting Infants to the Madonna ' (Plate ix) or the ' St. Justina ' (Plate i), there is no particular suggestion of influence by any one. On the other hand, partic- ularly from the 'St. Justina,' one gets a sense of marked originality. The first thing that strikes the casual observer in regard to Moretto is that his color is so diflPerent from the other Venetians (for Moretto, though a Bres- cian, may be called half a Venetian, as he was strongly affected by the Vene- tian school). Where most of the Venetians h^ve more or less that famous "golden glow" which one reads about in books, Moretto's works, on the other hand, have a wonderful cool note which the older writers, for want of a better [405] 26 MASTERS IN ART word, call ** silvery." And this silvery note is nearer what the moderns have come to feel is the modest truth of nature. That is the feeling that one has in looking at his works: that, while fine in design, very decorative in effect, they also look, especially for a painter of those days, singularly true. The figures look much as one fancies they must have looked in nature. And this truth is not a matter of meticulous observation (for Moretto renders in the ** grand style " as well as any man), but rather of justness of the tones and colors. This same silvery tone comes about in an interesting way. From what one reads or observes about most of the great Venetians, — Titian, Palma Vecchio, and others, — it is apparent that they started their pictures by"underpainting" all the forms in a warm gray body color, probably tempera. When this was well dried various glazes (which to the uninitiate may be called thin rubbings of transparent oil-color) were put on, and the final effect of the picture obtained. Now it seems evident that Moretto underpainted with a cool gray rather than a warm gray; that is, his gray, instead of being made from black, Vene- tian red, yellow ocher, and white, was apparently made of black and white. This gave the black, when mixed at all with white, a "cold" or slightly bluish efFe'ct. It follows that when he glazed over this underpainting (for in other matters his method was apparently very like the ordinary Venetian way) a subtle ''silvery" tonality still persisted throughout his whole picture. Curiously enough, Moretto reminds one, in this technical way, of a very different painter; to wit, the prodigious Vermeer of Delft, of whom one has heard so much of late. For Vermeer, too, had a way of underpainting — not with black, but with blue; so much so, indeed, that certain of his pictures, notably the 'Woman at a Spinnet' in the National Gallery, are seriously in- jured by the fading out, or cleaning off, of what one guesses to have been some sort of yellow lake, which permits the blue to show through too much, so that the whole picture has a slightly greenish cast. It is also as a designer that Moretto makes a very strong appeal. He has wonderful power of filling spaces in a handsome way; indeed, one is inclined to rank him near Titian in this respect. A picture of his which one thinks of in this respect is the magnificent 'St. Nicholas presenting Infants to the Ma- donna' (Plate ix). Here the sense of line, the intelligence with which flowing lines are broken at just the right point, the skilful balance, so different from the old, pyramidal scheme of things, are quite admirable. In the 'St. Justina' (Plate i), too, the arrangement is wholly novel, unexpected, and yet most sat- isfying. It is this quality of novelty, by the way, which is one of Moretto's most charming characteristics to the strong in spirit. At the same time, it is prob- ably one of the things which has prevented his receiving that recognition and acceptance which were his due. What could be more different from the ordi- nary picture than this same 'St. Justina' ? In some ways it is one of the most original pictures ever painted. Moretto is one of the noble army of artistic martyrs, only in his case there was not that lack of technical ability which so often explains a man's failure to please. When one has said that Moretto was a great designer, it follows almost of [406] MORETTO 27 necessity that he was a great decorator; akhough some great designers, Hke Vermeer of Delft, have never made decorations at all. At all events, a great decorator Moretto certainly was. And, although in some ways one feels he lacked recognition, at least he had this joy, that so many good men have longed for in vain — the chance to cover great surfaces with beautiful im- aginings. The good Brescians, at least, seem to have known a man, and Brescian churches are full of his noble adornments. It would seem, then, that his grasp on character must have been strong; and so, indeed, it is. It is not only in his portraits, but in all his work, that his sense of character makes itself evident. Indeed, with all his splendid skill in design and charm of color, one feels Moretto, compared with the Venetians, to have been a portrait-painter making decorations. He did not seem to feel it necessary, as so many decorators have done, to reduce his heads and fig- ures to types. On the other hand, he was able to make each head very per- sonal and yet preserve the large, decorative aspect of his ensemble. It is not that the heads are overcharacterized, and, indeed, in some of his virgins and angels one wishes that he had made them more characteristic. But in his large compositions, as in the 'Feast at the Pharisee's House,' he loves to introduce secondary figures full of character and interest. So, indeed, did many Venetians — Paul Veronese, for instance, to name no lesser man. But Veronese's men, though sufficiently characterized, are evidently primarily decorative in intention, while it is evident enough that Moretto enjoyed searching the character while always awake to his decorative effect. Some- times, as in the buffoon of this same Pharisee's feast, the figures are a little gro- tesque; yet, for a man who packed his compositions so full and so loved de- tail, Moretto is singularly successful in avoiding the grotesque. To say that a man gets character is, after all, only one way of saying that he draws very well. And Moretto, in certain respects, drew better than any of the Venetians. His love for truth sometimes led him to draw an ungainly shape as he saw it. He had not, apparently he did not care to have, the large Venetian manner of indicating and massing figures, but his heads are better constructed and the forms are better made. At times, his drawing of a hand or arm is as precise as if done by Ingres. Even if at times one feels that Moretto's canvases are too crowded — and certainly one sometimes does so feel them to be — there are always some splen- did bits which make it many times worth while to have studied the picture. For instance, in the *Fall of Manna,' Church of St. John the Evangelist, Brescia, which surely is rather too crowded a composition, one finds admi- rable pieces of detail, like the children in foreground and a noble woman's head at the right. Moretto, like many painters of distinction, had a peculiar feminine type which he was evidently fond of painting. It is not that he did not have a firm grip on character, for he varied his types more than did most painters of his day. Yet still one notes this type persisting through his work, usually in some angel or spirit rather than in the central Madonna of the composition. Indeed, truth to tell, his Madonnas themselves are apt to be a little tame and [407] 28 MASTERS IN ART fade. It seems to be hard to paint a woman so that at the same time she will look good and beautiful and strong. Our master had an almost Crivellian love for splendid stuffs, especially for the stiff, glittering surface of gold-shot brocades, although he does not intro- duce it so liberally as did Crivelli. In his 'Herodius' there is fur and velvet, tapestry and gleaming hair and pearls. And with this goes a love of still life which Moretto introduces into his large canvases with all the gusto of a Ve- netian. He is fond, too, of entwining in the hair of his favorite female types garlands of leaves arranged in a fantastic way. His love of gorgeous draperies, and especially his skill in painting them, in rendering and differentiating rich textures, is commented on by almost every writer who describes his work. All the Venetians loved landscape, and Moretto loved it too, and makes it very well for his day and generation, but quite in his own way. Or let us say, his landscape tells of his surroundings just as that of Titian or of Giorgione told of theirs. His is the landscape of a hill town with handsome castles cutting the sky-line here and there. And his realism nowhere shows more than in his landscape work; for, where with the other Venetians the trunk of a tree looks like a good enough tree-trunk, but in no sense a particular, individual trunk, with Moretto it is quite characterized, just as his heads are, as that particular tree and no other. One even sees where the bark has come off in great rolls; and yet, strange to say, this does not at all injure the decorative effect, but rather enhances it. For Moretto apparently understood perfectly well, or felt instinctively, that in decoration one does not need to present a focus — indeed, it is unde- sirable — and that, therefore, it is well to make each part of the composition interesting and, if possible, beautiful. He makes each part of his picture in- teresting; there are no tiresome spots in it. He has not, perhaps, Titian's re- markable power of making each piece interesting, yet in his own way he achieves delightful detail. Besides all these things, Moretto was a very great portrait-painter. Indeed, he was the master of Moroni, and, while certain portraits by the latter, notably the famous 'Tailor' of the National Gallery, are probably more remarkable as portraits than anything that Moretto accomplished, still his portraits would hold their own with Moroni's anywhere, and in studying portraits by the two men it is not hard to see where the younger man learned his trade. Moretto also made frescos, and, although the art writers tell us that these were inferior to his oil-paintings, they have, nevertheless, excellent qualities. The cool note of the fresco quite suited our painter's liking for silvery tones. Moretto's technique was based on that of the Venetians. That it grew different was due in some respect, as we have already pointed out, to the fact of his living by himself in his little hill town, and painting perforce, rather than by choice, by himself. Indeed, one might say of him that he was one of the first individualists. He does not seem in any way to have been a proud or quarrelsome spirit like Goya or like Salvator Rosa, who scorned others and tried to paint differently. On the other hand, his child-like piety is spoken of. [408] MORETTO 29 Apparently he worked in a sad sincerity. His works were individual simply from the unconscious power and originality of the man. Moretto was, as has been said, a man of great piety, and it is told of him that he was accustomed, when he had a highly important subject, as for in- stance the * Virgin Mother,' to prepare himself for the painting by prayer and fasting. At all events, all Moretto's pictures have a fine, large, tranquil feel- ing, as if their maker were at peace in mind. The gesture of Moretto's figures is always adequate; perhaps it was not very poignant. For the most part, painters of that day strove to make their figures take large, ample poses, without worrying too much as to whether these gestures were poignant or intense. Of course, there are exceptions to this. Yet certainly, of all the Venetian school, it is hard to think of many who paid great attention to gesture as gesture. Tintoretto, perhaps, did more than the rest. In Tintoretto's 'Miracle of the Slave' there is the beautiful gesture of the mother holding her child; but even Tintoretto, when he came to make the principal figures of his tableaux, was apt to treat them in a rather common- place way when it came to gesture. It may be that there was a feeling that the gesture of the principal figures must not be too intense, that such a treat- ment would not be dignified. No doubt hierarchic influence had something to do with it. In a religious composition ordered by churchmen it was impossi- ble to have the chief figures act with the freedom of the others. Even Paul Veronese, who had no hesitation about putting dogs and cats in his religious pictures, eating up the remains of the feast; who put courtiers in gorgeous Venetian dresses and brought them to gesticulate at the * Supper at Cana' — even he was very careful to have the gesture of his principal sacred figures very slight and dignified. Apart from his admirable technical qualities, the trait that charms one in Moretto is a noble gravity; a noble realism, too. This quality is not merely in the expression of the heads and in the action of the figures, but pervades everything — the color, the chiaroscuro, and the design. Moretto's charm — and he is one of the charmers — does not lie in the same sort of thing that made the charm of Giorgione or Watteau. In short, there is no Pagan joy in him or his work. Rather, they are informed with a noble, serene gravity, which brings with it a singular power to soothe the spirit. Moretto is one of those rare painters who are chiefly known and appreci- ated by the rafin'e^ and who do not have the recognition from the general pub- lic that they deserve. As has been hinted, his fame is injured from the fact that so many of his pictures are in Brescia, where, till recently, it has been rather hard to get at them. Certain pictures of his, like the *St Justina,' have become very famous because they are in great public galleries; but others equally fine are hardly known at all, because they decorate dim old churches in Brescia, which the generality of people do not see at all. [409 30 MASTERS IN ART Ci)e art of i^ontto BERN HARD BERENSON « NORTH ITALIAN PAINTERS OF THE RENAISSANCE* MORETTO, the follow-pupil of Romanino, is the nearest approach to a great artist among his exact contemporaries in Northern Italy outside Venice; and even if we include Venice he is more than able to hold his own with men like Paris Bordone and Bonifacio. He has left, it is true, no such record of the all but realized Renaissance dream of life's splendor and joy as they have done with their 'Fisherman and Doge' and 'Rich Man's Feast.* His color is not so gay, and at his worst he sinks perhaps even lower than they; but he is much more of a draftsman and of a poet, and consequently more of a designer. Thanks to these gifts, when Moretto is at his best his figures stand and grasp, their limbs have weight, their torsos substance; and even when these merits are less conspicuous we can forgive him many a short- coming for the sake of the shimmer, the poetic gravity, of his color, shot through as it is with light and shade. He had, besides, unusual gifts of expression, and a real sense of the spiritually significant. It is, therefore, not surprising to find that, although he has left no such irresistible works as Bordone's and Bonifacio's two masterpieces, he has produced more truly admirable designs, more genuine portraits, and finer single heads. His *St. Justina,' now at Vienna, is one of the heroic creations of Italy, with something almost of an- tique grandeur and directness. Only less remarkable in its simplicity of ex- pression and largeness of design is the picture, in the pilgrimage church of Paitone, representing the apparition of the Madonna to a peasant boy; and worthy of a place beside it is the fresco at Brescia wherein we see an ancient hermit beholding the Queen of Heaven rising out of a burning bush. Wonder- ful as illustration is his so-called 'Elijah Waked by an Angel' (in San Gio- vanni Evangelista), which is really a highly poetical landscape, in the fore- ground of which we see two grand figures that we might easily mistake for the sleeping Centaur Chiron mounted by Victory. In quite another phase he takes a more purely "mundane complexion, and in a work like the 'Christ at the Pharisee's,' in S. Maria della Pieta at Venice, he anticipates, as no other, the handling of similar themes by Paul Veronese. As for Moretto's portraits, I will mention but one, the 'Ecclesiastic' at Munich, but that one not easily outmatched: as character penetratingly perceived and frankly presented, as design simplicity itself, and as color a perfect harmony in dark, soft, twilight grays. J. A. CROWE AND G. B. CAVALCASE LLE *A HISTORY OF PAINTING IN NORTHERN ITALY* THE Raphaelesque feeling which struck the attentive eye of Vasari breaks out in the beautiful altarpiece at San Giovanni which represents the 'Massacre of the Innocents.' In a lodge on the battlements of Jerusalem, Herod gives the signal for the slaughter; and the soldiers in the court below proceed to their task with ruthless ardor. A cloud overhanging the scene en- [410] MORETTO 31 circles and supports a naked boy bearing the cross, whose veil flutters in the wind. Thin make and chastened action distinguish the mothers struggHng for the rescue of their babes; Hfe and energetic motion are displayed in the persons of the soldiers, firmness and elasticity in the frame and limb of the boy in the clouds; and there is so much Umbrian sentiment in the setting of the groups, in the tasteful choice of dress and headgear, that Moretto may be suspected of having seen some of Raphael's prints and sketches. But in the care with which the drawing is finished and detailed, in the run of the con- tours, and in the studied cast of drapery thrown into copious folds we are as clearly reminded of the youth of the artist as in the smooth enamel and blending of the dim-colored flesh. The graceful, gentle spirit which distinguishes form, and especially female form, in the 'Massacre of the Innocents' recurs more expanded in the noble 'Coronation of the Virgin' at San Nazzaro e Celso at Brescia, where the Virgin, kneeling to the Saviour, who crowns her, is enwreathed in a halo of clouds and a glory of angels. On the foreground below, St. Michael treads on the dragon transfixed by his lance, whilst St. Joseph looks up, St. Francis prays, and St. Nicholas attends in thought. In slenderness of proportions, in sym- pathizing grace of attitude and pleasant, characteristic faces, this altarpiece is the very best of its kind — cold perhaps in silver-gray surface, but full of bright harmony and color. Almost equally eff^ective in arrangement, expression, treatment, and tone is the' Virgin and Child in Heaven' in the Tosi Collection, an altarpiece composed for the Church of Sant' Eufemia, in which the young Baptist takes his place in the clouds; and two bishops — Benedict and Pate- rius — kneel on the foreground, protected by St. Agnes and St. Euphemia. There is a deadened peachy bloom in the flesh of these figures which absorbs light and produces a neutral soberness contrasting strongly with the vivid brightness of the drapery hues. The surfaces of flesh and draperies are pulpy and soft; when carelessly wrought, they are spongy; when flayed, they have a hardness of stone. Smaller pieces rivalling these in elegant and elevated gentleness are the 'Virgin and Child,' — an echo of that of San Nazzaro, — a sybil, and a Mag- dalen in the Fenaroli Collection at Brescia. Akin to these, again, in the tranquil grace and pure feeling of many of its parts is the altarpiece of the high altar at San Clemente, the parish church and burial-place of Moretto, at Brescia, where the Virgin and Child under arches, adorned with garlands of leaves and fruit amidst which cherubs play, look down from a throne resting on a semicircular entablature. Within the curve of this novel sort of niche St. Clement in state gives the benediction, in presence of St. Dominic, St. Florian, St. Catherine, and St. Mary Magdalen. A fault in this otherwise well-distributed and harmonizing composition is the strained posture of St. Florian, whose conventional action as he shows the banner and palm recalls Caroto's impersonations; but in other respects the figures are models of stately dignity. A fine general eflTect of cold and silver duskiness combined with sprightly action in numerous figures is the 'Assumption' ordered in 1524 and finished [411] 32 MASTERS IN ART in November, 1526, for the old cathedral of Brescia, contemporary as to date with the celebrated fresco of the * Miracle of the Blood' on the Porta Brucci- ata, which perished in the sixteenth century. In other compositions of these and subsequent years we note the impress of Romanino's and Savoldo's styles clinging to Moretto's handling, — remi- niscent of the former, the lively composition of an organ screen representing incidents from the legend of St. Peter at San Pietro in 01iveto,*The Virgin ap- pearing to Moses' (!), and medallions of prophets which are fragments re- moved from the Martinengo palace "al Novarino" in the Tosi Collection; reminiscent of the latter, *The Magdalen anointing Christ's Feet in the House of Simon,' a dim and damaged altarpiece in Santa Maria Calchera, and a somber nativity at Santa Maria delle Grazie, suggesting memories of Velasquez. It was in 1530 that Moretto displayed in its fullest development that form of his art which had been modeled on Palma and Pordenone by producing the grand and broadly treated 'Majesty of St. Margaret,' with St. Jerome and St. Francis, in San Francesco at Brescia. In the graceful afFectedness of swelling shapes, in the comprehensive delineation of frame and limb, or in the broad cast of ample draperies Pordenone is as clearly reproduced as Ro- manino in the bend and foreshortening of the heads, whilst powerful, dim color is modeled in blended gradations in the low key which, with all its soft- ness, sadly veils so many of the master's creations. Of equal grandeur in its fulness and studied contour, but clearer and brighter in hue, is the allegory of * Faith,' a picture of this period in the Hermi- tage of St. Petersburg, a symbolic ideal in the shape of a beautiful female holding the cross, the wafer, and the cup. More elevated still, and of greater dignity in its combination of the Raphael- esque and Palmesque, is the kneeling knight at the Belvedere of Vienna, pro- tected by a richly dressed damsel with the unicorn at her side as emblem of chastity. Majestic beauty dwells in her face, and melody of silver colors com- bines with soft and highly blended modeling to produce an impression of great freshness and brilliancy. A most winning example of simple incident is the votive altarpiece of 1539 executed for GalleazzoRovelli,in Santa Maria de'Miracoli at Brescia. A pleas- ant naturalism attracts us in the Virgin, who looks down from the pedestal of aside altar on which she holds her state. She supports the infant Christ astride of her knee, chirping at possession of an apple, and points to a boy on the foreground under the protection of St. Nicholas of Bari, who brings an offer- ing of the fruit. Nearer the spectator is another boy, holding the bishop's miter, and two others in the rear in tender attitudes of devotion. In its variety of tinted stuffs of wool, of silk, of brocade — for distinguishing which Moretto was famous — there is no more harmonious picture of the master. The treatment is facile, and the form is rendered in a generous and fleshy mould; and there are few compositions in which we more honestly commend judicious setting, applied perspective, or realistic action united to Titianesque gravity. That Moretto at this period was ambitious of rivaling Titian in breadth [412] MORETTO 33 of touch, in splendor of colof, and in stateliness of demeanor is apparent in many of his works, and in none more than in the majesty of St. Anthony of Padua between St. Nicholas of Tolentino and St. Anthony the abbot, at Santa Maria delle Grazie, at Brescia. There is a serious and severe distinction in this piece and a combined excellence of contour, drapery, chiaroscuro, and color which, added to bold freedom of handling, mark it as an exceptionally valuable specimen of Moretto's skill. In another and perhaps more nearly perfect example — 'The Supper at Emmaus' in the Tosi Collection — we find a very successful approach to the highest performances of the Venetian school, with the master's individuality fully preserved. The picture is of a deep, warm tone and rich, substantial handling, with types in which form is less striking for selection than earnest- ness. A very decided realistic feeling prevails in the outspoken nature of the movements and expression, which have the strong and straightforward blunt- ness of middle or poor class life. Christ, behind the table, in a gray hat, the falling brim of which overshadows his brow, is breaking the bread, whilst an apostle to the right, thrusting himself forward on his seat, leaning his cheek on his hand and his elbow on the table, gazes with intentness, as if desirous of imprinting every feature of the Redeemer's lineaments on his mind. The sec- ond apostle sits and seems to await the result of this examination. To the left, the host descends a flight of steps; and a girl to the right, in fanciful cap and bodice, carries a dish. Moretto strives to give the Saviour, whose face is really not above the common, a calm and settled air. He follows Titian in the effort to obtain effect by color, by massive chiaroscuro and picturesque costume. The drawing is studied and comparatively clean; the proportions are good, the drapery ample and well cast, with adumbrations, but distinctly recall Palma and Titian. The modeling is soft, sweeping, and peachy, and balances equal proportions of red light and dusky shade in blended transitions. Titian composes with more elevation of thought and dwells altogether in a higher sphere. His drawing is finer and his color more purely harmonious, but Moretto comes exceptionally near him by vigorous realism and a happy introduction of varied incident and motive thought. . . . During his journeys at this time he probably became acquainted with some of the men who formed the circle of Titian, and conceived the idea of extend- ing his practice by cultivating their'friendship. He was well aware of the in- fluence wielded by Aretino and sought to obtain his interest by judicious flattery. It was Aretino's habit to put artists of name under contribution, and especially to induce them to paint his likeness. With this in his hand he visited the palaces of Italian princes and greater potentates, from whom he levied considerable sums of money. In communicating with princes he puffed the artists who painted the portraits, and in his letters to artists he puffed the princes whose amiable qualities or political virtues he extolled. At the close of every year, or oftener, if it served his purposes, he published the cor- respondence. Moretto's portrait of Aretino reached Venice in the autumn of 1544, and came to its destination through Sansovino's hands. About the same time Vasari had done Aretino some service, in return for which he asked [413] 34 MASTERS IN ART for Aietino's protection in obtaining an appointment. Moretto's picture was forwarded to the Duke of Urbino with a j udicious eulogy of the painter's talent and a prayer in favor of Vasari's cousin, and Vasari was made acquainted with the transaction in a note flattering to himself, Moretto, and the Duke. We may believe that Moretto derived no advantage from this appeal to one of the most venal publicists of any age. It is certainly curious to observe that he chose a time for making it when his talent had reached its culmination and required no artificial forcing. The date of his present to Aretino is also that of his celebrated canvas in Santa Maria della Pieta at Venice, represent- ing * Christ in the House of Simon' — a canvas which may be considered the most important that Moretto ever produced. It was not commissioned, as we might suppose, for a Venetian church, having been ordered for the convent of Monsclice; but it was not less calculated in every respect to enhance his value in the eyes of lovers of the arts. We very soon remark in contemplating this piece how closely the Brescian is related to the Veronese school: a common source apparently yielding the snake-toned harmonies of Girolamo dai Libri Francesco Morone, and Morando, the gay contrasts of Moretto and Savoldo, the picturesque warmth of Bonifacio, and the glowing scale of Ro- manino. Moretto foreshadows the Veronese style of his picture at Venice in the * Glory of St. Anthony, ' at the Grazie of Brescia. The * Feast in the House of Simon' is a model of the luxurious monumental style which found so grand an exponent in Paolo Veronese. If in earlier works we mark a combination of blunt expressiveness and gesture with gorgeous color and massive chiaros- curo, we now observe the same qualities allied to palatial architecture and splendid dress. The house of the Pharisee is a residence with lofty halls and colonnades, and openings showing vistas of sky and landscape. Christ sits at a table in the middle of a vaulted space, pointing to the Magdalen prostrate at His feet. Behind the board, and resting both hands on the cloth, a bare- armed servant in attitude and expression of surprise gazes at the incident, whilst another servant, equally astonished and more curious, peeps over Christ's shoulder. Simon, to the left, with his head in a turban and his frame in a fur pelisse, looks on with Titianesque senatorial calm. Clinging to a col- umn on the foreground is the dwarf buflFoon, with an ape on his shoulder, and near him a servant with cup and flask; to the right, two females communing on the event. The mere description of th^ scene suggests the name of Caliari; but we are still more reminded of him by the gray architecture on which the figures are relieved, the fine perspective of the pillars and friezes, the positive solidity of flesh-tints broken with minium and red earth in light and verdegris in darks, the bright vigor of costly raiment-painting, the sweeping, facile touch. Paolo Veronese was prolific to such an extent in turning out pictures cov- ering yards of canvas that it is diflRcult to realize or remember their number. Moretto's examples of the same kind are extremely rare; and there is but one worthy to be placed by the side of Simon's feast; and that is the * Marriage of Cana,' in San Ferno at Lonigo. Here again Moretto is the precursor of Veronese in the colossal subject which now!fills the wall at the Louvre; but his version of the miracle has not the comprehensive size or splendor of Paolo's, [414] MORETTO 35 and is unfortunately injured. There are some traces of the same grand prin- ciples of treatment in the noble Virgin with theChild and saints at the National Gallery, an altarpiece which seems to have been completed for a Veronese church. THE ABBATE-LUIGI LANZI I anteed. Successful students everywhere. Illustrated Year Book free. SCHOOI« OF AFPIilED ART, T 195 Fine Arts Bldg., Battle Creek, ]liich..U.aA.; art SlcaDemy oC Cincinnati ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIPS COMPLETE TRAINING IN ART Drawing, Painting, Modeling, Composition, Anatomy, Wood-carving, Decorative Design applied to Porcelain, Enamels, etc. Frank Duveneck C. J. Barnhorn Henrietta Wilson V. Nowottny Wm. H. Fry Kate R. Miller L. H. Mealun Anna Riis W. E. Bryan Fortutb Ytar : S*pt. 2J, iq07^ to May ZJy iqoS. $2S J. H. GEST, Director, Cincinnati, Ohio SLIGHTLY DAMAGED COPIES OF MASTERS IN ART 10 cents each, postpaid Our stock of copies advertised in previous issues is now reduced to a few copies of each of the following numbers: BENOZZO GOZZOLI LUINI JAN STEEN CHARDIN CRIVELLI PALMA VECCHIO LOTTO DONATELLO LE BRUN LANDSEER FRA BARTOLOMMEO COPLEY MANTEGNA MEMLINC VERMEER PINTORICCHIO DUCCIO NICOLAAS MAES Masters in Art for 1909 The subjects selected for the 1909 volume promise to make it one of the most interesting of the entire' series. Num- bers will be devoted to the following artists: FORTUNY ZURBARAN RIBERA JORDAENS ALFRED STEVENS CHASSERIAN FRANCESCO BRONZING MOROT CLOUET COURBET LEIBL Subscription, ^2.00 in advance. Postage to Canada 25 cents extra; to foreign countries, 50 cents extra Bates & Guild Company, Boston, Mass. In answering advertisements, please mention Masters in Art THE MADONNA By Philip L. Hale A CRITIC AL analysis of the way the master painters have pictured the Madonna, together with a short historical sketch of the devel- opment of this great religious art subject. The author, Mr. Philip L. Hale, himself a painter, is one of the ablest writers on art in this country. The text is illustrated by twenty full-page plates, a list of which is given below. These plates are of the highest quaUty, and in point of depth and richness of color and clearness of detail are not surpassed by any reproductions of the same size. The page measures 8 x 11 inches. No pains have been spared to make this a desirable acquisition to every art lover's library ; as a gift-book it is especially appropriate. LIST OF PLATES The SismfE Madonna Raphael Madonna with the Cherries .... TrriAir Boyal Gallery, Dresden Imperial Gallery, Vienna Madonna of the Chair Raphael Madonna of the Pesaro Family . . . Titxan PUti Palace, Florence Church of the Frari, Venice Madonna op the House of Alba . 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