Alvise or Luigi Vivarini (fl. 1461-1503), the nephew of Bartolommeo,
was the last and most distinguished painter in the Murano school. He
carried on the old traditions of Early Venetian art until the day when
the rival school of the Bellini had become supreme in Venice, and so
had begun to prepare the way for the triumphs of the Giorgionesque
period—the golden age of Venetian painting. The _Portrait of a Man_
(No. 1519), catalogued under the name of Savoldo (1480?-1548?) is by
Alvise. This magnificent bust-length picture represents Bernardo di
Salla, who holds in his gloved right hand a paper inscribed “_Dono
Bnardo di Salla_.” It vividly recalls the _Portrait of a Man with a
Hawk_ at Windsor, which, although it traditionally but erroneously
bears the name of Leonardo da Vinci and has been ascribed to Savoldo,
is in all probability another of the rare portraits by Alvise.
From the Vivarini group issues Carlo Crivelli (1430?-1493?). His
morosely ascetic compositions, with their elaborate draperies,
jewelled ornamentation, and at times grotesque anatomy, distinguish
his polyptychs, all of which are painted in tempera, from those of any
other painter in the whole range of art. His large panel picture of
_St. Bernardino of Siena_ (No. 1268) is inscribed