The _Madonna and Child, with St. Catherine (? St. Agnes), and St. John
the Baptist as a Child_ (No. 1579), which has been enlarged by the
addition of a strip of canvas down the left side, contains a glimpse of
the country near Pieve di Cadore, the native place of Titian. Fourteen
of the twenty pictures here officially credited to him are to be
regarded as authentic. Polidoro Lanzani (1515?-1565), an imitator of
Titian, however, painted the _Holy Family with St. John the Baptist_
(No. 1580), and the _Holy Family and Saints_ (No. 1596) in the La Caze
Room; while Andrea Meldolla (Schiavone), who was a pupil of Titian,
no doubt executed the _Ecce Homo_ (No. 1582) credited to the great
Venetian artist, as well as the _St. John the Baptist_ (No. 1524) which
is rightly assigned to him.
The German painter Johan Stephan von Calcar, who to Italian biographers
is known as Giovanni Calcar (1499-1546), was a pupil of Titian. He
painted the imposing _Portrait of a Man_ (No. 1185). He is seen at
half length standing, and holding a letter in his right hand; his left
hand to his waist. On a column in the background is painted the coat
of arms, reputed to be that of the Buono family of Venice, which is
repeated on the bezel of the ring on the forefinger of his left hand.
Below his right hand is the inscription:
ANNO 1540
ÆTATIS 26.
Paris Bordone (1500-1570), who “painted women with more of an eye on
the fashion-plate than on the expression of their features,” is not
the author of a _Portrait of a Lady_ (No. 1180A), nor of the _Portrait
of a Man and a Child_ (No. 1180), which seems to be a Flemish rather
than a Venetian picture. His _Vertumnus and Pomona_ (No. 1178) is less
representative than his _Portrait_ (so called) _of Jeronimo Croft_ (No.
1179). It takes its title from the inscription, “_Spss. Domino Jeronimo
Crofft ... Magior suo semper obsero ... Augusta_,” which is written on
the letter held in the right hand.
The last dying echo of the “fire” and poetry of Giorgione is seen in
some of the works of Bonifazio Veronese (1487-1553), who was also a
pupil of Palma. Bonifazio is now regarded as a single individual,
although formerly the varying differences in his style of painting
led certain critics to regard him as three different members of the
same family. The varied grouping seen in the large canvas entitled
_Holy Family, with St. Francis, St. Anthony, St. Mary Magdalene, St.
Elizabeth, and St. John the Baptist_ (No. 1171), and the colouring
of this canvas, seem to prove its authenticity. The smaller picture
of a _Holy Family_ (No. 1172), with a similar pedigree and a Greek
inscription, which includes the same saints, is a mediocre work. The
_Madonna and Child, with St. Joseph, St. John the Baptist, St. Paul,
and St. Ursula_ (No. 1674D) is a poor picture.
From the studio of Bonifazio issued Jacopo Bassano (1510?-1592), whose
_Vintage_ (No. 1428) shows his predilection for introducing animals and
kneeling peasants into genre pictures, the treatment of which is apt
to be rugged. This did not prevent his at times painting striking and
vigorous portraits. The Louvre contains a good example of this branch
of his art in the _Portrait of Giovanni da Bologna_ (No. 1429), which
is at present not exhibited. _The Animals entering the Ark_ (No. 1423),
_Moses striking the Rock_ (No. 1424), _Cana of Galilee_ (No. 1425),
_Christ bearing His Cross_ (No. 1426), and the _Descent from the Cross_
(No. 1427) are also credited to him in the Catalogue.
Leandro Bassano (1558-1623), his son, is represented in the La Caze
collection by an _Adoration of the Magi_ (No. 1430) and a _Rustic
Labour_ (No. 1431).
The vigorous, ambitious and late Venetian painter Tintoretto
(1518-1594), who painted portrait-groups, religious subjects,
and mythological compositions on a large scale, and brought his
achievements to completion with extraordinary rapidity, is not
adequately represented in this Gallery, in which, however, no fewer
than eleven works pass under his name. His _Susanna and the Elders_
(No. 1464) testifies to the increasing frequency with which painters
or their patrons at that period preferred the representation of
sensational incidents from the Apocrypha. The subject is unattractive,
but the picture, which is in a very dirty state, is wonderfully painted.
The _Paradise_ (No. 1465) is but a preliminary sketch for the colossal
painting, measuring 84 ft. × 34 ft.,—the largest oil-painting by an
old master in existence,—which Tintoretto painted for the end wall of
the Sala del Maggior Consiglio in the Doge’s Palace at Venice. The
_Portrait of a Man holding a Handkerchief in his Hand_ (No. 1467)
reveals his great power as a portrait painter.
The _Portrait of Pietro Mocenigo_ (No. 1470), signed PETRUS MOCENIO
SENATOR, and the _Portrait of a Venetian Senator_ (No. 1471), inscribed
ANNO ÆTATIS LVII MVII IACOMO TENTORETO . F, are among the pictures of
the La Caze collection.
In Room XV., which is given up to self-portraits by artists, hangs
a picture which passes as an authentic _Portrait of Tintoretto_
(No. 1466) by himself. It is inscribed JACOBVS TENTORETVS PICT^{OR}
VENET^{IVS} and IPSIVS. F.