_Carlo Crivelli_ (Venetian: painted 1468-1493). _See 602._
Full of the dainty detail which characterises the Venetian pictures
of this time. Notice the fruit placed everywhere about the Virgin's
throne; and above, the vases of flowers and the swallow--hence the name
of the picture, "Madonna della Rondine." Notice also the beautiful
dress patterns and the rich hanging brocades. The Virgin's dress is
a lovely silk brocade, of a design which might well be copied for
muslins and curtains. In this picture, however, "Crivelli's gift
of characterisation has been overpowered by his interest in the
accessories. St. Jerome, indeed, is a noble and dignified figure, but
who could believe in the St. Sebastian? As a study of costume the
figure is interesting, reproducing every detail with minute fidelity,
and bringing before us the model of a well-dressed young man of
Crivelli's time. But the features are of an ignoble type, and the
attitude is suggestive only of self-conscious vanity. Instead of a
devout attendant at the throne, we seem to get a dandy posing for the
admiration of the spectator." The scenes of the predella, on the other
hand, are full of animation, of feeling, and of force (Rushforth's
_Crivelli_, p. 72). The picture is signed by Carolus Crivellus _Miles_,
so that it is one of his later works. In the centre of the step is the
escutcheon of the Odoni family, for whose chapel in the church of the
Franciscans at Matelica the picture was painted.