439. _Titian._ Madonna with St. Stephen, St. Ambrose, and St. Maurice
the soldier. Observe the divergence from the older method of painting
the accompanying saints. Originally grouped on either side the Madonna,
they are here transformed into the natural group called in Italian, a
“santa conversazione.” Look at the stages of this process in the Salle
des Primitifs and this Long Gallery.
442. _Titian._ Another Holy Family. Interesting from the free mode of
its treatment, in contrast with Bellini and earlier artists.
=**=455. _Titian._ Magnificent portrait.
Above these are several excellent Bassanos, worthy of study. Compare
together all these Venetian works (Bonifazio etc.), lordly products of a
great aristocratic mercantile community; and with them, the Veroneses of
the Salon Carré, where the type attains a characteristic development.
Now return to the door by the Salon Carré and examine the =R Wall=.
Poor _Pinturicchio_, and two inferior _Peruginos_.
403. _Lo Spagna._ Nativity. Characteristic example of this scholar of
Perugino and fellow-pupil of Raphael. Notice its Peruginesque treatment.
Examine in detail and compare with the two other painters. As a
Nativity, it is full of the conventional elements.
189. _Raffaellino del Garbo._ Coronation of the Virgin, beheld from
below by four attendant saints of, or connected with, the Vallombrosan
order—St. Benedict, Saint Salvi, San Giovanni Gualberto, and San
Bernardo degli Uberti. These were the patrons of Vallombrosa; and the
picture comes from the Church of St. Salvi, at Florence.
246. _Manni._ Baptism in Jordan. Observe, as usual, the attendant
angels, though the simplicity of early treatment has wholly disappeared.
The head-dresses are characteristic of the School of Perugino. Compare
with Lo Spagna’s Nativity.
Above it (496) Florentine Madonna, with St. Augustine, St. John Baptist,
St. Antony and St. Francis. Observe their symbols. I do not always now
call attention to these; but the more you observe them, the better you
will understand each picture as you come to it.
390. _Luca Signorelli._ Adoration of the Magi. A fine example of the
mode of treatment of this excellent anatomical painter, the forerunner
of Michael Angelo. It needs long looking into.
289. _Piero di Cosimo._ Coronation of the Virgin, with St. Jerome, St.
Francis, St. Louis of Toulouse and St. Bonaventura. Compare with
Raffaelino del Garbo, close by, for the double scene, on earth and in
heaven. Notice the crown which Louis refused, in order to embrace the
monastic profession. This is a Franciscan picture; you will find it
casts much light on assemblages of saints if you know for what order
each picture was painted. The grouping _always_ means _something_.
16. _Albertinelli._ Madonna on a pedestal, with St. Jerome and St.
Zenobius. Scenes from their legends in the background. A characteristic
example of the Florentine Renaissance. The grouping is in the style then
fast becoming fashionable. Compare with Lorenzo di Credi in the Salle
des Primitifs.
144. _Pontormo._ Visitation. Showing the older Renaissance tendencies.
Compare with the Ghirlandajo, and note persistence of the arch in the
background.
=*=57. _Fra Bartolommeo._ Marriage of St. Catherine of Siena. This is a
variant on the legend of the other St. Catherine—of Alexandria. The
infant Christ is placing a ring on the holy nun’s finger. Around are
attendant saints—Peter, Vincent, Stephen, etc. The composition is
highly characteristic of the painter and his school.
380. _Andrea del Sarto._ Holy Family. Exquisitely soft in outline and
colour.
372. Doubtful. Attributed to _Raphael_. Charming portrait of a young
man.
Beyond it,=*= two most delicate little pictures of St. George (a man)
and St. Michael (an angel, winged) of _Raphael’s_ very early period.
Note the princess in the St. George; you will come upon her again.
Simple and charming. Trace Raphael’s progress in this gallery, by means
of Kugler.
Beyond them, again, two portraits by _Raphael_, of which 373 is of
doubtful authenticity.
=*=366. _Raphael._ The Young St. John: a noble figure.
=**=367. _Raphael._ St. Margaret: issuing triumphant from the dragon
which has swallowed her. A figure full of feeling and movement, and
instinct with his later science. It was painted for François I^{er}, out
of compliment to his sister, Queen Margaret of Navarre.
All these Raphaels should be carefully studied. The great painter began
with a certain Peruginesque stiffness, through which nevertheless his
own native grace makes itself felt at once; he progressed rapidly in
knowledge and skill at Florence and Rome, but showed a tendency in his
last works towards the incipient faults of the later Renaissance. By
following him here, in conjunction with Florence and Rome, you can gain
an idea of the course of his development.
The =Second Compartment= of the Long Gallery, which we now enter, though
containing several works by Titian and other masters of the best period,
is mainly devoted to painters of the later 16th and 17th century, when
the decline in taste was rapid and progressive. Notice throughout the
substitution of rhetorical gesture and affected composition for the
simplicity of the early masters, or the dignity and truth of the High
Renaissance. Begin again on the L wall, containing finer pictures than
that opposite.
441. _Titian._ Another Holy Family, with St. Catherine. Both women here
are Venetian ladies of high rank and of his own period. Observe,
however, the persistence of the Madonna’s white head-covering. Also, the
playfulness introduced in the treatment of St. Catherine’s palm of
martyrdom, and the childish St. John with his lamb. These attributes
would have been treated by earlier painters with reverence and
solemnity. Titian transfers them into mere pretty accessories.
Characteristic landscape background. (The female saint in this work is
usually described as St. Agnes, because of the lamb: I think
erroneously. The lamb is St. John’s, and the St. Catherine merely plays
with it.)