,illustration3 ,art ,repro ,co4 ,madonna ,child with two ,saints4 ,from the painting by ,giorgione at ,castelfranco4 ,,giorgione ,,by ,,herbert ,,cook1 ,m4,a41 ,f4,s4,a4 ,,barrister-,,at-,,law #aijd ,born half-way between the mountains and the sea--that young ,george of ,castelfranco--of the ,brave ,castle3 ,stout ,george they called him1 ,george of ,georges1 so goodly a boy he was--,giorgione4 7,,ruskin3 ,modern ,painters1 vol4 ,v4 pt4 ,,ix4 ch4 ,,ix47 ,first ,published1 ,november #aijj ,second ,edition1 revised1 with new ,appendix1 ,february #aijd4 ,,preface ,unlike most famous artists of the past1 ,giorgione has not yet found a modern biographer4 ,the whole trend of recent criticism has1 in his case1 been to destroy not to fulfil4 ,yet signs are not wanting that the disintegrating process is at an end1 and that we have reached the point where reconstruction may be attempted4 ,the discovery of documents and the recovery of lost pictures in the last few years have increased the available material for a more comprehensive study of the artist1 and the time has come when the divergent results arrived at by independent modern inquirers may be systematically arranged1 and a reconciliation of apparently conflicting views attempted on a psychological basis4 ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle were the first to examine the subject critically4 ,they separated--so far as was then possible 7#ahga7--the real from the traditional ,giorgione1 and their account of his life and works must still rank as the nearest equivalent to a modern biography4 ,morelli1 who followed in #ahgg1 was in singular sympathy with his task1 and has written of his favourite master enthusiastically1 yet with consummate judgment4 ,among living authorities1 ,dr4 ,gronau1 ,herr ,wickhoff1 ,signor ,venturi1 and ,mr4 ,bernhard ,berenson have contributed effectively to the elucidation of obscure or disputed points1 and the latter writer has probably come nearer than anyone to recognise the scope of ,giorgione's art1 and grasp the man behind his work4 ,the monograph by ,signor ,conti and the chapter in ,pater's ,renaissance may be read for their delicate appreciations of the ,giorgionesque2 other contributions on the subject will be found in the ,bibliography4 ,it is absolutely necessary for those whose judgment depends upon a study of the actual pictures to be constantly registering and adjusting their impressions4 ,i have personally seen and studied all the pictures ,i believe to be by ,giorgione1 with the exception of those at ,st4 ,petersburg2 and many galleries and churches where they hang have been visited repeatedly1 and at considerable intervals of time4 ,if in the course of years my individual impressions 7where they deviate from hitherto recognised views7 fail to stand the test of time1 ,i shall be the first to admit their inadequacy4 ,if1 on the other hand1 they prove sound1 some of the mists which at present envelop the figure of ,giorgione will have been dispersed4 ,h4,c4 ,november #aijj ,,note ,,to ,,the ,,second ,,edition ,to this ,edition an ,appendix has been added1 containing--7#a7 an article by the ,author on the age of ,titian1 which was published in the ,nineteenth ,century of ,january #aijb2 7#b7 the translation of a reply by ,dr4 ,georg ,gronau1 published in the ,repertorium fr ,kunstwissenschaft2 7#c7 a further reply by the ,author1 published in the same ,german periodical4 ,the writer wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to the ,editors of the ,nineteenth ,century and of the ,repertorium for permission to reprint these articles4 ,a better photograph of the ,portrait of an ,unknown ,man at ,temple ,newsam has now been taken 7p4 #hg71 and sundry footnotes have been added to bring the text up to date4 ,h4 ,c4 ,,esher1 ,january #aijd4 ,,contents ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,,bibliography ,chapter ,i4 ,,giorgione',s ,,life ,,ii4 ,,giorgione',s ,,generally ,,accepted ,,works ,,iii4 ,,intermediate ,,summary ,,iv4 ,,additional ,,pictures--,,portraits ,v4 ,,additional ,,pictures--,,other ,,subjects ,,vi4 ,,giorgione',s ,,art1 ,,and ,,place ,,in ,,history ,,appendix ,i--,,documents ,,appendix ,,ii--,,the ,,age ,,of ,,titian ,,catalogue ,,of ,,works ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,madonna1 with ,,ss4 ,francis and ,liberale4 ,castelfranco4 ,adrastus and ,hypsipyle4 ,palazzo ,giovanelli1 ,venice ,aeneas1 ,evander1 and ,pallas4 ,vienna ,gallery ,the ,judgment of ,solomon4 ,uffizi ,gallery ,the ,trial of ,moses4 ,uffizi ,gallery ,christ bearing the ,cross4 ,collection of ,mrs4 ,gardner1 ,boston1 ,u4,s4,a4 ,knight of ,malta4 ,uffizi ,gallery ,the ,adoration of the ,shepherds4 ,vienna ,gallery ,the ,judgment of ,solomon4 ,collection of ,mrs4 ,ralph ,bankes1 ,kingston ,lacy ,portrait of a ,young ,man4 ,berlin ,gallery ,portrait of a ,man4 ,buda-,pesth ,gallery ,portrait of a ,lady4 ,borghese ,gallery1 ,rome ,apollo and ,daphne4 ,seminario1 ,venice ,venus4 ,dresden ,gallery ,judith4 ,hermitage ,gallery1 ,st4 ,petersburg ,pastoral ,symphony4 ,louvre1 ,paris ,the ,three ,ages4 ,pitti ,gallery ,nymph and ,satyr4 ,pitti ,gallery ,madonna1 with ,,ss4 ,roch and ,francis4 ,prado1 ,madrid ,the ,birth of ,paris--,copy of a portion4 ,buda-,pesth ,gallery ,shepherd ,boy4 ,hampton ,court ,portrait of a ,man4 7,by ,torbido7 ,padua ,gallery ,the ,concert4 ,pitti ,gallery ,the ,adoration of the ,magi 7or ,epiphany74 ,national ,gallery ,christ bearing the ,cross4 ,collection of ,duke of ,devonshire1 ,chatsworth4 7,sketch by ,vandyck1 after the original by ,giorgione in ,s4 ,rocco1 ,venice7 ,mythological ,scenes4 ,two ,cassone pieces ,padua ,gallery ,portrait of ,ariosto4 ,collection of the ,earl of ,darnley1 ,cobham ,hall ,portrait of ,caterina ,cornaro4 ,collection of ,signor ,crespi1 ,milan ,bust of ,caterina ,cornaro4 ,pourtals ,collection1 ,berlin ,portrait of ,a ,poet4 ,national ,gallery ,portrait of a ,man4 ,querini-,stampalia ,gallery1 ,venice ,portrait of a ,man4 ,collection of the ,hon4 ,mrs4 ,meynell-,ingram1 ,temple ,newsam4 ,portrait of ,parma1 the ,physician4 ,vienna ,gallery ,orpheus and ,eurydice4 ,bergamo ,gallery ,the ,golden ,age 7874 ,national ,gallery ,venus and ,adonis4 ,national ,gallery ,holy ,family4 ,collection of ,mr4 ,robert ,benson1 ,london ,the ,gipsy ,madonna4 ,vienna ,gallery ,madonna4 ,collection of ,mr4 ,robert ,benson1 ,london ,the ,adulteress before ,christ4 ,glasgow ,gallery ,madonna and ,saints4 ,louvre1 ,paris ,,bibliography ,,anonimo4 ,notizia d'opere di disegno4 ,ed4 ,frizzoni4 ,bologna1 #ahhd4 ,passim4 ,archivio ,storico dell' ,arte 7now ,l',arte71 #ahhh1 p4 #dg4 7,see also sub ,venturi47 ,art ,journal4 #ahie4 p4 #ij4 7,dr4 ,richter47 ,,berenson1 ,b4 ,venetian ,painting at the ,new ,gallery4 #ahie4 7,privately printed47 ,venetian ,painters of the ,renaissance4 ,third edition1 #ahig4 ,putnam1 ,london4 ,gazette des ,beaux ,arts1 #ahig1 p4 #bgi4 ,,burckhardt4 ,cicerone4 ,sixth edition1 #ahic4 7,dr4 ,bode47 ,,conti1 ,a4 ,giorgione1 ,studio4 ,florence1 #ahid4 ,,crowe ,,and ,,cavalcaselle4 ,history of ,painting in ,north ,italy1 vol4 ii4 ,london1 #ahga4 ,life of ,titian4 ,two vols4 ,,fry1 ,,roger4 ,giovanni ,bellini4 ,london1 #ahii4 ,,gronau1 ,,dr4 ,g4 ,gazette des ,beaux ,arts1 #ahid1 p4 #ccb4 ,repertorium fr ,kunstwissenschaft1 xviii4 #d1 p4 #bhd4 ,zorzon da ,castelfranco4 ,la sua origine1 la sua morte1 e tomba4 ,venice1 #ahid4 ,tizian4 ,berlin1 #aijj4 ,,lafenestre1 ,g4 ,la vie et l'oeuvre de ,titien4 ,paris1 #ahhf4 ,,logan1 ,,mary4 ,guide to the ,italian ,pictures at ,hampton ,court4 ,london1 #ahid4 ,magazine of ,art1 #ahij1 pp4 #ia and #ach4 7,sir ,w4 ,armstrong47 #ahic4 ,april4 7,mr4 ,w4,f4 ,dickes47 ,,morelli1 ,,giovanni4 ,italian ,painters4 ,translated by ,c4,j4 ,ffoulkes4 ,london1 #ahib4 ,vols4 i4 and ii4 passim4 ,m,,ntz1 ,e4 ,la fin de la ,renaissance4 ,paris4 ,new ,gallery ,catalogue of ,exhibition of ,venetian ,art1 #ahie4 ,,pater1 ,w4 ,the ,renaissance4 ,chapter on the ,school of ,giorgione4 ,london1 #ahic4 ,,phillips1 ,,claude4 ,gazette des ,beaux ,arts1 #ahhd1 p4 #bhf4 ,magazine of ,art1 ,july #ahie4 ,the ,picture ,gallery of ,charles ,i4 7,portfolio1 ,january #ahif74 ,the ,earlier ,work of ,titian 7,portfolio1 ,october #ahig74 ,north ,american ,review1 ,october #ahii4 ,repertorium fr ,kunstwissenschaft4 ,bd4 xiv4 p4 #caf4 7,herr von ,seidlitz47 ,bd4 xix4 ,hft4 #f4 7,dr4 ,harck47 ,,ridolfi1 ,c4 ,le ,maraviglie dell' arte della pittura4 ,venice1 #afdh4 ,royal ,academy4 ,catalogues of the ,exhibitions of ,old ,masters4 ,,vasari4 ,le ,vite4 ,ed4 ,sansoni4 ,florence1 #ahgi4 ,translation edited by ,blashfield and ,hopkins1 with ,notes4 ,london1 #ahig4 ,,venturi1 ,,adolfo4 ,archivio ,storico dell' ,arte1 vi4 #dji1 #dab4 ,l',arte1 #aijj1 p4 #bd1 etc4 ,la ,galleria ,crespi in ,milano1 #aijj4 ,,wickhoff1 ,f4 ,gazette des ,beaux ,arts1 #ahic1 p4 #ace4 ,jahrbuch der ,preussischen ,kunstsammlungen1 #ahie4 ,heft i4 ,,zanetti1 ,a4 ,varie ,pitture1 etc41 with engravings of some fragments from the ,fondaco de' ,tedeschi frescoes1 #agfj4 ,,giorgione ,,chapter ,i ,,giorgione',s ,,life ,apart from tradition1 very few ascertained facts are known to us as to ,giorgione's life4 ,the date of his birth is conjectural1 there being but ,vasari's unsupported testimony that he died in his thirty-fourth year4 ,now we know from unimpeachable sources that his death happened in ,october-,november #aeaj1a so that1 assuming ,vasari's statement to be correct1 ,giorgione will have been born in #adgg4b ,the question of his birthplace and origin has been in great dispute4 ,without going into the evidence at length1 we may accept with some degree of certainty the results at which recent ,german research has arrived4#c ,dr4 ,gronau's conclusion is that ,giorgione was the son 7or grandson7 of a certain ,giovanni1 called ,giorgione of ,castelfranco1 who came originally from the village of ,vedelago in the march of ,treviso4 ,this ,giovanni was living at ,castelfranco1 of which he was a citizen1 in #adfj1 and there1 probably1 ,giorgione his son 7or grandson7 was born some seventeen years later4 ,the tradition that the artist was a natural son of one of the great ,barbarella family1 and that in consequence he was called ,barbarelli1 is now shown to be false4 ,this cognomen is first found in #afdh1 in ,ridolfi's book1 to which1 in #afig1 the picturesque addition was made that his mother was a peasant girl of ,vedelago4#d ,none of the earlier writers or contemporary documents ever allude to such an origin1 or speak of ,barbarelli1 but always of ,zorzon de ,castelfrancho1 ,zorzi da ,castelfranco1 and the like1#e ,we may take it as certain that ,giorgione spent the whole of his short life in ,venice and the neighbourhood4 ,unlike ,titian1 whose busy career was marked by constant journeyings and ever fresh incidents1 the young ,castelfrancan passed a singularly calm and uneventful life4 ,untroubled1 apparently1 by the storm and stress of the political world about him1 he devoted himself with a whole-hearted simplicity to the advancement of his art4 ,like ,leonardo1 he early won fame for his skill in music1 and ,vasari tells us the gifted young lute-player was a welcome guest in distinguished circles4 ,although of humble origin1 he must have possessed a singular charm of manner1 and a comeliness of person calculated to find favour1 particularly with the fair sex4 ,he early found a quasi-royal friend and patroness in ,caterina ,cornaro1 ex-,queen of ,cyprus1 whose portrait he painted1 and whose recommendation1 as ,i believe1 secured for him important commissions in the like field4 ,but we may leave ,giorgione's art for fuller discussion in the following chapters1 and only note here two outside events which were not without importance in the young artist's career4 ,the one was the visit paid by ,leonardo to ,venice in the year #aejj4 ,vasari tells us ,giorgione had seen certain works from the hand of ,leonardo1 which were painted with extraordinary softness1 and thrown into powerful relief1 as is said1 by extreme darkness of the shadows1 a manner which pleased him so much that he ever after continued to imitate it1 and in oil painting approached very closely to the excellence of his model4#f ,this statement has been combated by ,morelli1 but although historical evidence is wanting that the two men ever actually met1 there is nothing improbable in ,vasari's account4 ,leonardo certainly came to ,venice for a short time in #aejj1 and it would be perfectly natural to find the young ,venetian1 then in his twenty-fourth year1 visiting the great ,florentine1 long a master of repute1 and from him1 or from certain works of his1 taking hints for his own practice4#g ,the second event of moment to which allusion may here be made was the great conflagration in the year #aejd1 when the ,exchange of the ,german ,merchants was burnt4 ,this building1 known as the ,fondaco de' ,tedeschi1 occupying one of the finest sites on the ,grand ,canal1 was rebuilt by order of the ,signoria1 and ,giorgione received the commission to decorate the faade with frescoes4 ,the work was completed by #aejh1 and became the most celebrated of all the artist's creations4 ,the ,fondaco still stands to-day1 but1 alas6 a crimson stain high up on the wall is all that remains to us of these great frescoes1 which were already in decay when ,vasari visited ,venice in #aeda4 ,other work of the kind--all long since perished--,giorgione undertook with success4 ,the ,soranzo ,palace1 the ,palace of ,andrea ,loredano1 the ,casa ,flangini1 and elsewhere1 were frescoed with various devices1 or ornamented with monochrome friezes4 ,we know nothing of ,giorgione's home life2 he does not appear to have married1 or to have left descendants4 ,vasari speaks of his many friends whom he delighted by his admirable performance in music1 and his death caused extreme grief to his many friends to whom he was endeared by his excellent qualities4 ,he enjoyed prosperity and good health1 and was called ,giorgione as well from the character of his person as for the exaltation of his mind4#h ,he died of plague in the early winter of #aeaj1 and was probably buried with other victims on the island of ,poveglia1 off ,venice1 where the lazar-house was situated4#i ,the tradition that his bones were removed in #afch and buried at ,castelfranco in the family vault of the ,barbarelli is devoid of foundation1 and was invented to round off the story of his supposed connection with the family4#aj ,,notes3 #a ,see ,appendix1 where the documents are quoted in full4 #b ,vasari gives #adgh 7#adgg in his first edition7 and #aeaa as the years of his birth and death4 ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 and ,dr4 ,bode prefer to say before #adgg1 a supposition which would make his precocity less phenomenal1 and help to explain some chronological difficulties 7see p4 #ff74 #c ,zorzon da ,castelfranco4 ,la sua origine1 la sua morte e tomba1 by ,dr4 ,georg ,gronau4 ,venice1 #ahid4 #d ,vide ,repertorium fr ,kunstwissenschaft1 xix4 #b1 p4 #aff4 ,dr4 ,gronau4 #e ,it would seem1 therefore1 desirable to efface the name of ,barbarelli from the catalogues4 ,the ,national ,gallery1 for example1 registers ,giorgione's work under this name4 #f ,the translation given is that of ,blashfield and ,hopkins's edition4 ,bell1 #ahig4 #g ,m4 ,mntz adduces strong arguments in favour of this view 7,la fin de la ,renaissance1 p4 #fjj74 #h ,the name ,giorgione signifies ,big ,george4 ,but it seems to have been also his father's name4 #i ,this visitation claimed no less than #bj1jjj victims4 #aj ,see ,gronau1 op4 cit4 ,tradition has been exceptionally busy over ,giorgione's affairs4 ,the story goes that he died of grief at being betrayed by his friend and pupil1 ,morto da ,feltre1 who had robbed him of his mistress4 ,this is now proved false by the document quoted in the ,appendix4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,generally ,,accepted ,,works ,such1 then1 very briefly1 are the facts of ,giorgione's life recorded by the older biographers1 or known by contemporary documents4 ,now let us turn to his artistic remains1 the disjecta membra1 out of which we may reconstruct something of the man himself2 for1 to those who can interpret it aright1 a man's work is his best autobiography4 ,this is especially true in the case of an artist of ,giorgione's temperament1 for his expression is so peculiarly personal1 so highly charged with individuality1 that every product of mental activity becomes a revelation of the man himself4 ,people like ,giorgione must express themselves in certain ways1 and these ways are therefore characteristic4 ,some people regard a work of art as something external2 a great artist1 they say1 can vary his productions at will1 he can paint in any style he chooses4 ,but the exact contrary is the truth4 ,the greater the artist1 the less he can divest himself of his own personality2 his work may vary in degree of excellence1 but not in kind4 ,the real reason1 therefore1 why it is impossible for certain pictures to be by ,giorgione is1 not that they are not good enough for him1 but that they are not characteristic4 ,i insist on this point1 because in the matter of genuineness the touchstone of authenticity is so often to be looked for in an answer to the question3 ,is this or that characteristic8 ,the personal equation is the all-important factor to be recognised2 it is the connecting link which often unites apparently diverse phenomena1 and explains what would otherwise appear to be irreconcilable4 ,there is an intimate relation then between the artist and his work1 and1 rightly interpreted1 the latter can tell us much about the former4 ,let us turn to ,giorgione's work4 ,here we are brought face to face with an initial difficulty1 the great difficulty1 in fact1 which has stood so much in the way of a more comprehensive understanding of the master1 ,i mean1 that scarcely anything of his work is authenticated4 ,three pictures alone have never been called in question by contending critics2 outside this inner ring is more or less debatable ground1 and on this wider arena the battle has raged until scarcely a shred of the painter's work has emerged unscathed4 ,the result has been to reduce the figure of ,giorgione to a shadowy myth1 whose very existence1 at the present rate at which negative criticism progresses1 will assuredly be called in question4 ,if ,bacon wrote ,shakespeare1 then ,giorgione can be divided up between a dozen ,venetian artists1 who painted ,giorgione4 ,fortunately three pictures survive which refuse to be fitted in anywhere else except under ,giorgione4 ,this is the irreducible minimum1 ,greek3 o anankaiotatos ,giorgione1 with which we must start4 99 99 99 99 99 ,of the three universally accepted pictures1 first and foremost comes the ,castelfranco altar-piece1 according to ,mr4 ,ruskin one of the two most perfect pictures in existence2 alone in the world as an imaginative representation of ,christianity1 with a monk and a soldier on either side 444 #aa ,this great picture was painted before #aejd1 when the artist was only twenty-seven years of age1#ab a fact which clearly proves that his genius must have developed early4 ,for not even a ,giorgione can produce such a masterpiece without a long antecedent course of training and accomplishment4 ,this is not the place to inquire into the nature and character of the works which lead up to this altar-piece1 for a chronological survey ought to follow1 not precede1 an examination of all available material2 it is important1 nevertheless1 to bear in mind that quite ten years had been passed in active work ere ,giorgione produced this masterpiece4 ,if no other evidence were forthcoming as to the sort of man the painter was1 this one production of his would for ever stamp him as a person of exquisite feeling4 ,there is a reserve1 almost a reticence1 in the way the subject is presented1 which indicates a refined mind4 ,an atmosphere of serenity pervades the scene1 which conveys a sense of personal tranquillity and calm4 ,the figures are absorbed in their own thoughts2 they stand isolated apart1 as though the painter wishes to intensify the mood of dreamy abstraction4 ,nothing disquieting disturbs the scene1 which is one of profound reverie4 ,all this points to ,giorgione being a man of moods1 as we say2 a lyric poet1 whose expression is highly charged with personal feeling1 who appeals to the imagination rather than to the intellect4 ,and so1 as we might expect1 landscape plays an important part in the composition2 it heightens the pictorial effect1 not merely by providing a picturesque background1 but by enhancing the mood of serenity and solemn calm4 ,giorgione uses it as an instrument of expression1 blending nature and human nature into happy unison4 ,the effect of the early morning sun rising over the distant sea is of indescribable charm1 and invests the scene with a poetic glamour which1 as ,morelli truly remarks1 awakens devotional feelings4 ,what must have been the effect when it was first painted6 for even five modern restorations1 under which the original work has been buried1 have not succeeded in destroying the hallowing charm4 ,to enjoy similar effects we must turn to the central ,italian painters1 to ,perugino and ,raphael2 certainly in ,venetian art of pre-,giorgionesque times the like cannot be found1 and herein ,giorgione is an innovator4 ,bellini1 indeed1 before him had studied nature and introduced landscape backgrounds into his pictures1 but more for picturesqueness of setting than as an integral part of the whole2 they are far less suggestive of the mood appropriate to the moment1 less calculated to stir the imagination than to please the eye4 ,nowhere1 in short1 in ,venetian art up to this date is a lyrical treatment of the conventional altar-piece so fully realised as in the ,castelfranco ,madonna4 ,technically1 ,giorgione proclaims himself no less an innovator4 ,the composition is on the lines of a perfect equilateral triangle1 a scheme which ,bellini and the older ,venetian artists never adopted4#ac ,so simple a scheme required naturally large and spacious treatment2 flat surfaces would be in place1 and the draperies cast in ample folds4 ,dignity of bearing1 and majestic sweep of dress are appropriately introduced2 the colour is rich and harmonious1 the preponderance of various shades of green having a soothing effect on the eye4 ,the golden glow which doubtless once suffused the whole1 has1 alas6 disappeared under cruel restorations1 and flatness of tone has inevitably resulted1 but we may still admire the play of light on horizontal surfaces1 and the chiaroscuro giving solidity and relief to the figures4 ,an interesting link with ,bellini is seen in the ,s4 ,francis1 for the figure is borrowed from that master's altar-piece of ,s4 ,giobbe 7now in the ,venice ,academy74 ,bellini's ,s4 ,francis had been painted seventeen or eighteen years before1 and now we find ,giorgione having recourse to the older master for a pictorial motive4 ,but1 as though to assert his independence1 he has created in the ,s4 ,liberale a type of youthful beauty and manliness which in turn became the prototype of subsequent knightly figures4 ,palma ,vecchio1 ,mareschalco1 and ,pennacchi all borrowed it for their own use1 a proof that ,giorgione's altar-piece acquired an early celebrity4#ad ,illustration3 ,anderson photo4 ,giovanelli ,palace1 ,venice ,,adrastus ,,and ,,hypsipyle ,exquisite feeling is equally conspicuous in the other two works universally ascribed to ,giorgione4 ,these are the ,adrastus and ,hypsipyle1 in the collection of ,prince ,giovanelli1 in ,venice1 and the ,aeneas1 ,evander1 and ,pallas1 in the gallery at ,vienna4#ae ,the ,giovanelli ,figures1 or ,the ,stormy ,landscape1 with the ,soldier and the ,gipsy1 as the picture has been commonly called since the days of the ,anonimo1 who so described it in #aecj1 is totally unlike anything that ,venetian art of the pre-,giorgionesque era has to show4 ,the painted myth is a new departure1 the creation of ,giorgione's own brain1 and as such1 is treated in a wholly unconventional manner4 ,his peculiarly poetical nature here finds full scope for display1 his delicacy1 his refinement1 his sensitiveness to the beauties of the outside world1 find fitting channels through which to express themselves4 ,with what a spirit of romance ,giorgione has invested his picture6 ,so exquisitely personal is the mood1 that the subject itself has taken his biographers nearly four centuries to decipher6 ,for the artist1 it must be noted1 does not attempt to illustrate a passage of an ancient writer2 very probably1 nay1 almost certainly1 he had never read the ,thebaid of ,statius1 whence comes the story of ,adrastus and ,hypsipyle2 the subject would have been suggested to him by some friend1 a student of the ,classics1 and ,giorgione thereupon dressed the old ,greek myth in ,venetian garb1 just as ,statius had done in the ,latin4#af ,the story is known to us only at second hand1 and we are at liberty to choose ,giorgione's version in preference to that of the ,roman poet2 each is an independent translation of a common original1 and certainly ,giorgione's is not the less poetical4 ,he has created a painted lyric which is not an illustration of1 but a parallel presentation to the written poem of ,statius4 ,technically1 the workmanship points to an earlier period than the ,castelfranco ,madonna1 and there is an exuberance of fancy which points to a youthful origin4 ,the figures are of slight and graceful build1 the composition easy and unstudied1 with a tendency to adopt a triangular arrangement in the grouping1 the apex being formed by the storm scene1 to which the eye thus naturally reverts4 ,the figures and the landscape are brought into close relation by this subtle scheme1 and the picture becomes1 not figures with landscape background1 but landscape with figures4 ,the reproduction unduly exaggerates the contrasts of light and shade1 and conveys little of the mellowness and richness of atmospheric effect which characterise the original4 ,unlike the brilliance of colouring in the ,castelfranco picture1 dark reds1 browns1 and greens here give a sombre tone which is accentuated by the dullness of surface due to old varnishes4 ,illustration3 ,hanfstngl photo4 ,vienna ,gallery ,,aeneas1 ,,evander1 ,,and ,,pallas ,the ,three ,philosophers1 or ,the ,chaldean ,sages1 as the picture at ,vienna has long been strangely named1 shows the artist again treating a classical story in his own fantastic way4 ,virgil has enshrined in verse the legend of the arrival of the ,trojan ,aeneas in ,italy1#ag and ,giorgione depicts the moment when ,evander1 the aged seer-king1 and his son ,pallas point out to the wanderer the site of the future ,capitol4 ,again we find the same poetical presentation1 not representation1 of a legendary subject1 again the same feeling for the beauties of nature4 ,how ,giorgione has revelled in the glories of the setting sun1 the long shadows of the evening twilight1 the tall-stemmed trees1 the moss-grown rock6 ,the figures are but a pretext1 we feel1 for an idyllic scene1 where the story is subordinated to the expression of sensuous charm4 ,this work was seen by the ,anonimo in #aebe1 in the house of ,taddeo ,contarini at ,venice4 ,it was then believed to have been completed by ,sebastiano del ,piombo1 ,giorgione's pupil4 ,if so1--and there is no valid reason to doubt the statement1--,giorgione left unfinished a picture on which he was at work some years before his death1 for the style clearly indicates that the artist had not yet reached the maturity of his later period4 ,the figures still recall those of ,bellini1 the modelling is close and careful1 the forms compact1 and reminiscent of the quattrocento4 ,it is noticeable that the type of the ,pallas is identical with that of ,s4 ,john ,baptist in ,sebastiano's early altar-piece in ,s4 ,giovanni ,crisostomo at ,venice1 but it would be unwise to dramatise on the share 7if any7 which the pupil had in completing the work of his master4 ,the credit of invention must indubitably rest with ,giorgione1 but the damage which the picture has sustained through neglect and repainting in years gone by1 renders certainty of discrimination between the two hands a matter of impossibility4 ,the colouring is rich and varied2 the orange horizon1 the distant blue hill1 and the pale1 clear evening light1 with violet-tinted clouds1 give a wonderful depth behind the dark tree-trunks4 ,the effect of the delicate leaves and feathery trees at the edge of the rock1 relieved against the pale sky1 is superb4 ,a spirit of solemnity broods over the scene1 fit feeling at so eventful a moment in the history of the past4 ,the composition1 which looks so unstudied1 is really arranged on the usual triangular basis4 ,the group of figures on the right is balanced on the left by the great rock--the future ,capitol--7which is thus brought prominently into notice71 and the landscape background again forms the apex4 ,the added depth and feeling for space shows how ,giorgione had learnt to compose in three dimensions1 the technical advance over the ,adrastus and ,hypsipyle indicating a period subsequent to that picture1 though probably anterior to the ,castelfranco altar-piece4 99 99 99 99 99 ,we have now taken the three universally accepted ,giorgiones2 how are we to proceed in our investigations8 ,the simplest course will be to take the pictures acknowledged by those modern writers who have devoted most study to the question1 and examine them in the light of the results to which we have attained4 ,those writers are ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 who published their account of ,giorgione in #ahga1 and ,morelli1 who wrote in #ahgg4 ,now it is notorious that the results at which these critics arrived are often widely divergent1 but a great deal too much has been made of the differences and not enough of the points of agreement4 ,as a matter of fact1 ,morelli only questions three of the thirteen ,giorgiones accepted definitely by ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle4 ,leaving these three aside for the moment1 we may take the remaining ten 7three of which we have already examined71 and after deducting three others in ,english collections to which ,morelli does not specifically refer1 we are left with four more pictures on which these rival authorities are agreed4 ,illustration3 ,alinari photo4 ,uffizi ,gallery1 ,florence ,,the ,,judgment ,,of ,,solomon ,these are the two small works in the ,uffizi1 representing the ,judgment of ,solomon and the ,trial of ,moses1 the ,knight of ,malta1 also in the ,uffizi1 and the ,christ bearing the ,cross1 till lately in the ,casa ,loschi at ,vicenza1 and now belonging to ,mrs4 ,gardner of ,boston1 ,u4,s4,a4 ,the two small companion pictures in the ,uffizi1 ,the ,judgment of ,solomon and the ,trial of ,moses1 or ,ordeal by ,fire1 as it is also called1 connect in style closely with the ,adrastus and ,hypsipyle4 ,they are conceived in the same romantic strain1 and carried out with scarcely less brilliance and charm4 ,the story1 as in the previous pictures1 is not insisted upon2 the biblical episode and the rabbinical legend are treated in the same fantastic way as the classic myth4 ,giovanni ,bellini had first introduced this lyric conception in his treatment of the mediaeval allegory1 as we see it in his picture1 also in the ,uffizi1 hanging near the ,giorgiones2 all three works were originally together in the ,medici residence of ,poggio ,imperiale1 and there can be little doubt are intimately related in origin to one another4 ,bellini's latest biographer1 ,mr4 ,roger ,fry1 places this ,allegory about the years #adhf-h1 a date which points to a very early origin for the other two4#ah ,for it is extremely likely that the young ,giorgione was inspired by his master's example1 and that he may have produced his companion pieces as early as #adic4 ,with this deduction ,morelli is in accord3 ,in character they belong to the fifteenth century1 and may have been painted by ,giorgione in his sixteenth or eighteenth year4#ai ,here1 then1 is a clue to the young artist's earliest predilections4 ,he fastens eagerly upon that phase of ,bellini's art to which his own poetic temperament most readily responds4 ,but he goes a step further than his master4 ,he takes his subjects not from mediaeval romances1 but from the ,bible or rabbinical writings1 and actually interprets them also in this new and unorthodox way4 ,so bold a departure from traditional usage proves the independence and originality of the young painter4 ,these two little pictures thus become historically the first-fruits of the neo-pagan spirit which was gradually supplanting the older ecclesiastical thought1 and ,giorgione1 once having cast conventionalism aside1 readily turns to classical mythology to find subjects for the free play of fancy4 ,the ,adrastus and ,hypsipyle thus follows naturally upon ,the ,judgment of ,solomon and ,trial of ,moses1 and the pages of ,virgil1 ,ovid1 ,statius1 and ,valerius ,flaccus--all treasure-houses of golden legend--yield subjects suggestive of romance4 ,the titles of some of these poesie1 as they were called1 are preserved in the pages of ,ridolfi4#bj ,illustration3 ,alinari photo4 ,uffizi ,gallery1 ,florence ,,the ,,trial ,,of ,,moses ,the tall and slender figures1 the attitudes1 and the general mise-en-scne vividly recall the earlier style of ,carpaccio1 who was at this very time composing his delightful fairy tales of the ,legend of ,s4 ,ursula4#ba ,common to both painters is a gaiety and love of beauty and colour4 ,there is also in both a freedom and ease1 even a homeliness of conception1 which distinguishes their work from the pageant pictures of ,gentile ,bellini1 whose ,corpus ,christi ,procession was produced two or three years later1 in #adif4ba ,but ,giorgione's art is instinct with a lyrical fancy all his own1 the story is subordinated to the mood of the moment1 and he is much more concerned with the beauty of the scene than with its dramatic import4 ,the repainted condition of ,the ,judgment of ,solomon has led some good judges to pronounce it a copy4 ,it certainly lacks the delicacy that distinguishes its companion piece1 but may we not--with ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle and ,morelli--register it rather as a much defaced original8 ,so far as we have at present examined ,giorgione's pictures1 the trend of thought they display has been mostly in the direction of secular subjects4 ,the two early examples just described show that even where the subject is quasi-religious1 the revolutionary spirit made itself felt2 but it would be perfectly natural to find the young artist also following his master ,giambellini in the painting of strictly sacred subjects4 ,no better example could be found than the ,christ bearing the ,cross1 the small work which has recently left ,italy for ,america4 ,we are told by the ,anonimo that there was in his day 7#aebe7 a picture by ,bellini of this subject1 and it is remarkable that four separate versions exist to-day which1 without being copies of one another1 are so closely related that the existence of a common original is a legitimate inference4 ,that this was by ,bellini is more than probable1 for the different versions are clearly by different painters of his school4 ,by far the finest is the example which ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle and ,morelli unhesitatingly ascribe to the young ,giorgione2 this version is1 however1 considered by ,signor ,venturi inferior to the one now belonging to ,count ,lanskeronski in ,vienna4#bb ,others who1 like the writer1 have seen both works1 agree with the older view1 and regard the latter version1 like the others at ,berlin and ,rovigo1 as a contemporary repetition of ,bellini's lost original4#bc ,illustration3 ,anderson photo4 ,collection of ,mrs4 ,gardner1 ,boston1 ,u4,s4,a4 ,,christ ,,bearing ,,the ,,cross ,characteristic of ,giorgione is the abstract thought1 the dreaminess of look1 the almost furtive glance4 ,the minuteness of finish reminds us of ,antonello1 and the turn of the head suggests several of the latter's portraits4 ,the delicacy with which the features are modelled1 the high forehead1 and the lighting of the face are points to be noted1 as we shall find the same characteristics elsewhere4 ,illustration3 ,alinari photo ,uffizi ,gallery1 ,florence ,,the ,,knight ,,of ,,malta ,the ,knight of ,malta1 in the ,uffizi1 is a more mature work1 and reveals ,giorgione to us as a portrait painter of remarkable power4 ,the conception is dignified1 the expression resolute1 yet tempered by that look of abstract thought which the painter reads into the faces of his sitters4 ,the hair parted in the middle1 and brought down low at the sides of the forehead1 was peculiarly affected by the ,venetian gentlemen of the day1 and this style seems to have particularly pleased ,giorgione1 who introduces it in many other pictures besides portraits4 ,the oval of the face1 which is strongly lighted1 is also characteristic4 ,this work shows no direct connection with ,bellini's portraiture1 but far more with that which we are accustomed to associate with the names of ,titian and ,palma4 ,it dates probably from the early part of the sixteenth century1 at a time when ,giorgione was breaking with the older tradition which had strictly limited portraiture to the representation of the head only1 or at most to the bust4 ,the hand is here introduced1 though ,giorgione feels still compelled to account for its presence by introducing a rosary of large beads4 ,in later years1 as we shall see1 the expressiveness of the human hand per se will be recognised2 but ,giorgione already feels its significance in portraiture1 and there is not one of his portraits which does not show this4#bd ,the list of ,giorgione's works now numbers seven2 the next three to be discussed are those that ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle added on their own account1 but about which ,morelli expressed no opinion4 ,two are in ,english private collections1 the third in the ,national ,gallery4 ,this is the small ,knight in ,armour1 said to be a study for the figure of ,s4 ,liberale in the ,castelfranco altar-piece4 ,the main difference is that in the latter the warrior wears his helmet1 whilst in the ,national ,gallery example he is bareheaded4 ,by some this little figure is believed to be a copy1 or repetition with variations1 of ,giorgione's original1 but it must honestly be confessed that absolutely no proof is forthcoming in support of this view4 ,the quality of this fragment is unquestionable1 and its very divergence from the ,castelfranco figure is in its favour4 ,it would perhaps be unsafe to dogmatise in a case where the material is so slight1 but until its genuineness can be disproved by indisputable evidence1 the claim to authenticity put forward in the ,national ,gallery catalogue1 following ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle's view1 must be allowed4 ,illustration3 ,hanfstngl photo4 ,vienna ,gallery ,,the ,,adoration ,,of ,,the ,,shepherds ,the two remaining pictures definitely placed by ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle among the authentic productions of ,giorgione are the ,adoration of the ,shepherds1 belonging to ,mr4 ,wentworth ,beaumont1 and the ,judgment of ,solomon1 in the possession of ,mr4 ,ralph ,bankes at ,kingston ,lacy1 ,dorsetshire4 ,the former 7of which an inferior replica with differences of landscape exists in the ,vienna ,gallery7 is one of the most poetically conceived representations of this familiar subject which exists4 ,the actual group of figures forms but an episode in a landscape of the most entrancing beauty1 lighted by the rising sun1 and wrapped in a soft atmospheric haze4 ,the landscapes in the two little ,uffizi pictures are immediately suggested1 yet the quality of painting is here far superior1 and is much closer in its rendering of atmospheric effects to the ,adrastus and ,hypsipyle4 ,the figures1 on the other hand1 are weak1 very unequal in size1 and feebly expressed1 except the ,madonna1 who has charm4 ,the lights and shadows are treated in a masterly way1 and contrasts of gloom and sunlight enhance the solemnity of the scene4 ,the general tone is rich and full of subdued colour4 ,now if the name of ,giorgione be denied this ,nativity1 to which of the followers of ,bellini are we to assign it8--for the work is clearly of ,bellinesque stamp4 ,the name of ,catena has been proposed1 but is now no longer seriously supported4#be ,if for no other reason1 the colour scheme is sufficient to exclude this able artist1 and1 versatile as he undoubtedly was1 it may be questioned whether he ever could have attained to the mellowness and glow which suffuse this picture4 ,the latest view enunciated#bf is that we are in the presence of a painter as yet anonymous1 whom in ,german fashion we might provisionally name ',the ,master of the ,beaumont ,adoration4' ,now this system of labelling certain groups of paintings showing common characteristics is all very well in cases where the art history of a particular school or period is wrapt in obscurity1 and where few1 if any1 names have come down to us1 but in the present instance it is singularly inappropriate4 ,to begin with1 this anonymous painter is the author1 so it is believed1 of only three works1 this ,adoration1 the ,epiphany1 in the ,national ,gallery1 ,no4 #aafj1 and a small ,holy ,family1 belonging to ,mr4 ,robert ,benson in ,london1 for all three works are universally admitted to be by the same hand4 ,next1 this anonymous painter must have been a singularly refined and poetical artist1 a master of brilliant colour1 and an accomplished chiaroscurist4 ,truly a deus ex machina6 ,next you have to find a vacancy for such a phenomenon in the already crowded lists of ,bellini's pupils and followers1 as if there were not more names than enough already to fully account for every ,bellinesque production4#bg ,no1 this is no question of compromise1 of the dragging to light some hitherto unknown genius whose identity has long been merged in that of bigger men1 but it is the recognition of the fact that the greater comprises the less4 ,admitting1 as we may1 that these three pictures are inferior in depth1 significance1 cohesion1 and poetry 767 to the ,castelfranco ,madonna1 there is nothing to show that they are not characteristic of ,giorgione1 that they do not form part of a consistent whole4 ,as a matter of fact1 this ,adoration of the ,shepherds connects very well with the early posie already discussed4 ,there is some opposition between the sacred theme and ,giorgione's natural dislike to tell a mere story2 but he has had to conform to traditional methods of representation1 and the feeling of restraint is felt in the awkward drawing of the figures1 and their uneven execution4 ,that he felt dissatisfied with this portion of the work1 the drawing at ,windsor plainly shows1 for the figures appear here in a different position1 as if he had tried to recast his scheme4 ,some may object that the drawing of the shepherd is atrocious1 and that the figures are of disproportionate sizes4 ,such failings1 they say1 cannot be laid to a great master's charge4 ,this is an appeal to the old argument that it is not good enough1 whereas the true test lies in the question1 ,is it characteristic8 ,of ,giorgione it certainly is a characteristic to treat each figure in a composition more or less by itself2 he isolates them1 and this conception is often emphasised by an outward disparity of size4 ,the relative disproportion of the figures in the ,castelfranco altar-piece1 and of those of ,aeneas and ,evander in the ,vienna picture can hardly be denied1 yet no one has ever pleaded this as a bar to their authenticity4 ,instances of this want of cohesion1 both in conception and execution1 between the various figures in a scene could be multiplied in ,giorgione's work1 no more striking instance being found than in the great undertaking he left unfinished--the large ,judgment of ,solomon1 next to be discussed4 ,moreover1 eccentricities of drawing are not uncommon in his work1 as a reference to the ,adrastus and ,hypsipyle1 and later works1 like the ,fte ,champtre 7of the ,louvre71 will show4 ,i have no hesitation1 therefore1 in recognising this ,adoration of the ,shepherds as a genuine work of ,giorgione1 and1 moreover1 it appears to be the masterpiece of that early period when ,bellini's influence was still strong upon him4 ,the ,vienna replica1 ,i believe1 was also executed by ,giorgione himself4 ,until recent times1 when an all too rigorous criticism condemned it to be merely a piece of the ,venezianische ,schule um #aejj 7which is correct as far as it goes71#bh it bore ,giorgione's name1 and is so recorded in an inventory of the year #afei4 ,it differs from the ,beaumont version chiefly in its colouring1 which is silvery and of delicate tones4 ,it lacks the rich glow1 and has little of that mysterious glamour which is so subtly attractive in the former4 ,the landscape is also different4 ,we must be on our guard1 therefore1 against the view that it is merely a copy2 differences of detail1 especially in the landscape1 show that it is a parallel work1 or a replica4 ,now ,i believe that these two versions of the ,nativity are the two pictures of ,la ,notte1 by ,giorgione1 to which we have allusion in a contemporary document4#bi ,the description1 ,una ,notte1 obviously means what we term ,a ,nativity 7,correggio's ,heilige ,nacht at ,dresden is a familiar instance of the same usage71 and the difference in quality between the two versions is significantly mentioned4 ,it seems that ,isabella d',este1 the celebrated ,marchioness of ,mantua1 had commissioned one of her agents in ,venice to procure for her gallery a picture by ,giorgione4 ,the agent writes to his royal mistress and tells her 7,october #aeaj7 that the artist is just dead1 and that no such picture as she describes--viz4 ,una ,nocte,a--is to be found among his effects4 ,however1 he goes on1 ,giorgione did paint two such pictures1 but these were not for sale1 as they belonged to two private owners who would not part with them4 ,one of these pictures was of better design and more highly finished than the other1 the latter being1 in his opinion1 not perfect enough for the royal collection4 ,he regrets accordingly that he is unable to obtain the picture which the ,marchioness requires4 ,if my conjecture be right1 we have in the ,beaumont and ,vienna ,nativities the only two pictures of ,giorgione to which allusion is made in an absolutely contemporary document1 and they thus become authenticated material with which to start a study of the master4 ,the next picture1 which ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle accept without question1 is the large ,judgment of ,solomon1 belonging to ,mr4 ,bankes at ,kingston ,lacy4 ,the scene is a remarkable one1 conceived in an absolutely unique way2 ,solomon is here posed as a ,roman ,praetor giving judgment in the ,atrium1 supported on each side by onlookers attired in fanciful costume of the ,venetian period1 or suggestive of classical models4 ,it is the strangest possible medley of the ,bellinesque and the antique1 knit together by harmonious colouring and a clever grouping of figures in a triangular design4 ,as an interpretation of a dramatic scene it is singularly ineffective1 partly because it is unfinished1 some of the elements of the tragedy being entirely wanting1 partly because of an obvious stageyness in the action of the figures taking part in the scene4 ,there is a want of dramatic unity in the whole2 the figures are introduced in an accidental way1 and their relative proportion is not accurately preserved2 the executioner1 for example1 is head and shoulders larger than anyone else1 whilst the two figures standing on the steps of ,solomon's throne are in marked contrast4 ,the one with the shield1 on the left1 is as monumental as one of ,bramante's creations1 the old gentleman with the beard1 on the right1 is mincing and has no shoulders4 ,solomon himself appears as a young man of dark complexion1 in an attitude of self-contained determination2 the way his hands rest on the sides of the throne is very expressive4 ,his drapery is cast in curious folds of a zig-zag character1 following the lines of the composition1 whilst the dresses of the other personages fall in broad masses to the ground4 ,the light and shade are cleverly handled1 and the spaciousness of the scene is enhanced by the rows of columns and the apse of mosaics behind ,solomon's head4 ,the painter was clearly versed in the laws of perspective1 and indicates depth inwards by placing the figures behind one another on a tesselated pavement or on the receding steps of the throne1 giving at the same time a sense of atmospheric space between one figure and another4 ,the colour scheme is delightful1 full-toned orange and red alternating with pale blues1 olive green1 and delicate pink1 the contrasts so subdued by a clever balance of light and shade as to harmonise the whole in a delicate silvery key4 ,illustration3 ,dixon photo4 ,collection of ,mr4 ,ralph ,bankes1 ,kingston-,lacey1 ,england ,,the ,,judgment ,,of ,,solomon 7,unfinished7 ,the unfinished figure of the executioner evidently caused the artist much trouble1 for pentimenti are frequent1 and other outlines can be distinctly traced through the nude body4 ,the effect of this clumsy figure is far from satisfactory2 the limbs are not articulated distinctly2 moreover1 the balance of the whole composition is seriously threatened by the tragedy being enacted at the side instead of in the middle4 ,the artist appears to have felt this difficulty so much that he stopped short at this point2 at any rate1 the living child remains unrepresented1 nor is there any second child such as is required to illustrate the story4 ,it looks as though the scheme was not carefully worked out before commencing1 and that the artist found himself in difficulties at the last1 when he had to introduce the dramatic motive1 which apparently was not to his taste4 ,now1 all this fits in exactly with what we know of ,giorgione's temperament2 lyrical by nature1 he would shrink from handling a great dramatic scene1 and if such a task were imposed upon him he would naturally treat three-fourths of the subject in his own fantastic way1 and do his best to illustrate the action required in the remaining part4 ,the result would be 7what might be expected7 forced or stagey1 and the action rhetorical1 and that is exactly what has happened in this ,judgment of ,solomon4 ,it is a natural inference that1 supposing ,giorgione to be the painter1 he would never have selected such a subject of his own free will to be treated1 as this is1 on so large a scale4 ,there may be1 therefore1 something in the suggestion which ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle make that this may be the large canvas ordered of ,giorgione for the audience chamber of the ,council1 for which purpose1 they add1 the advances made to him in the summer of #aejg and in ,january #aejh show that the work he had undertaken was of the highest consequence4#cj ,be this as it may1 the picture was in ,venice1 in the ,casa ,grimani di ,santo ,ermagora1#ca in ,ridolfi's day 7#afdf71 and that writer specially mentions the unfinished executioner4 ,it passed later into the ,marescalchi ,gallery at ,bologna1 where it was seen by ,lord ,byron 7#ahbj71 and purchased at his suggestion by his friend ,mr4 ,bankes1 in whose family it still remains4#cb ,it will be gathered from what ,i have written that ,giorgione and no other is1 in my opinion1 the author of this remarkable work4 ,certain of the figures are reminiscent of those by him elsewhere--e4g4 the old man with the beard is like the ,evander in the ,vienna picture1 the young man next the executioner resembles the ,adrastus in the ,giovanelli figures1 and the young man stooping forward next to ,solomon recurs in the ,three ,ages1 in the ,pitti1 which ,morelli considered to be by ,giorgione4 ,the most obvious resemblances1 however1 are to be found in the ,glasgow ,adulteress before ,christ1 a work which several modern critics assign to ,cariani1 although ,dr4 ,bode1 ,sir ,walter ,armstrong1 and others1 maintain it to be a real ,giorgione4 ,consistently enough1 those who believe in ,cariani's authorship in the one case1 assert it in the other1#cc and as consistently ,i hold that both are by ,giorgione4 ,it is conceivable that ,cariani may have copied ,giorgione's types and attitudes1 but it is inconceivable to me that he can have so entirely assimilated ,giorgione's temperament to which this ,judgment of ,solomon so eloquently witnesses4 ,moreover1 let no one say that ,cariani executed what ,giorgione designed1 for1 in spite of its imperfect condition1 the technique reveals a painter groping his way as he works1 altering contours1 and making corrections with his brush2 in fact1 it has all the spontaneity which characterises an original creation4 ,the date of its execution may well have been #aejg-h1 perhaps even earlier2 at any rate1 we must not argue from its unfinished state that the painter's death prevented completion1 for the style is not that of ,giorgione's last works4 ,rather must we conclude that1 like the ,aeneas and ,evander1 and several other pictures yet to be mentioned1 ,giorgione stopped short at his work1 unwilling to labour at an uncongenial task 7as1 perhaps1 in the present case71 or from some feeling of dissatisfaction at the result1 nay1 even despair of ever realising his poetical conceptions4 ,to this important trait in ,giorgione's character further reference will be made when all the available material has been examined2 suffice it for the moment that this ,judgment of ,solomon is to me a most typical example of the great artist's work1 a revelation alike of his weaknesses as of his powers4 ,following our method of investigation we will next consider the pictures which ,morelli accredits to ,giorgione over and above the seven already discussed1 wherein he concurs with ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle4 ,these are twelve in number1 and include some of the master's finest works1 some of them unknown to the older authorities1 or1 at any rate1 unrecorded by them4 ,here1 therefore1 the opinions of ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle are not of so much weight1 so it will be necessary to see how far ,morelli's views have been confirmed by later writers during the last twenty years4 ,three portraits figure in ,morelli's list--one at ,berlin1 one at ,buda-,pesth1 and one in the ,borghese ,gallery at ,rome4 ,illustration3 ,hanfstngl photo4 ,berlin ,gallery ,,portrait ,,of ,a ,,young ,,man ,first1 as to the ,berlin ,portrait of a ,young ,man1 which1 when ,morelli wrote1 belonged to ,dr4 ,richter1 and was afterwards acquired for the ,berlin ,gallery4 ,in it we have one of those rare portraits such as only ,giorgione1 and occasionally ,titian1 were capable of producing1 highly suggestive1 and exercising over the spectator an irresistible fascination4#cd ,such are the great critic's enthusiastic words1 and no one surely to-day would be found to gainsay them4 ,we may note the characteristic treatment of the hair1 the thoughtful look in the eyes1 and the strong light on the face in contrast to the dark frame of hair1 points which this portrait shares in common with the ,knight of ,malta in the ,uffizi4 ,particularly to be noticed1 however1 is the parapet on which the fingers of one hand are visible1 and the mysterious letters ,,vv4#ce ,allusion has already been made to the growing practice in ,venetian art of introducing the hand as a significant feature in portrait painting1 and here we get the earliest indications of this tendency in ,giorgione2 for this portrait certainly ante-dates the ,knight of ,malta4 ,it would seem to have been painted quite early in the last decade of the fifteenth century1 when ,bellini's art would still be the predominant influence over the young artist4 ,it is but a step onward to the next portrait1 that of a young man1 in the ,gallery at ,buda-,pesth1 but the supreme distinction which marks this wonderful head stamps it as a masterpiece of portraiture4 ,venetian art has nothing finer to show1 whether for its interpretative qualities1 or for the subtlety of its execution4 ,truly ,giorgione has here foreshadowed ,velasquez1 whose silveriness of tone is curiously anticipated2 yet the true ,giorgionesque quality of magic is felt in a way that the impersonal ,spaniard never realised4 ,only those who have seen the original can know of the wonderful atmospheric background1 with sky1 clouds1 and hill-tops just visible4 ,the reproduction1 alas6 gives no hint of all this4 ,nor can one appreciate the superb painting of the black quilted dress1 with its gold braid1 or of the shining black hair1 confined in a brown net4 ,the artist must have been in keen sympathy with this melancholy figure1 for the expression is so intense that1 as ,morelli says1 he seems about to confide to us the secret of his life4#cf ,several points claim our attention4 ,first1 the parapet has an almost illegible inscription1 ,,antonivs4 ,,brokardvs4 ,m,,ari,i4,f1 presumably the young man's name4 ,further1 we may notice the recurrence of the letter ,v on a black device1 and there is a second curious black tablet1 which1 however1 has nothing on it4 ,between the two is a circle with a device of three heads in one surrounded by a garland of flowers4 ,no satisfactory explanation of these symbols can be offered1 but if the second black tablet had originally another ,v1 we might conclude that these letters were in some mysterious way connected with ,giorgione1 as they appear also on the ,berlin portrait4 ,i shall be able to show that another instance of this double ,v exists on yet another portrait by ,giorgione4#cg ,finally1 the expressiveness of the human hand is here fully realised4 ,this feature alone points to a later date than the ,knight of ,malta1 and considerably after the still earlier ,berlin portrait4 ,the consummate mastery of technique1 moreover1 indicates that ,giorgione has here reached full maturity1 so that it would be safe to place this portrait about the year #aejh4 ,illustration3 ,buda-,pesth ,gallery ,,portrait ,,of ,a ,,man ,signor ,venturi 7,la ,galleria ,crespi7 ascribes this portrait to ,licinio4 ,this is one of those inexplicable perversions of judgment to which even the best critics are at times liable4 ,in ,l',arte1 #aijj1 p4 #bd1 the same writer mentions that a certain ,antonio ,broccardo1 son of ,marino1 made his will in #aebg1 and that the same name occurs among those who frequented the ,university of ,bologna in #aebe4 ,there is nothing to prevent ,giorgione having painted this man's portrait when younger4 ,illustration3 ,anderson photo4 ,borghese ,gallery1 ,rome ,,portrait ,,of ,a ,,lady ,the third portrait in ,morelli's list has not had the same friendly reception at the hands of later critics as the preceding two have had4 ,this is the ,portrait of a ,lady in the ,borghese ,gallery at ,rome1 whose discovery by ,morelli is so graphically described in a well-known passage4#ch ,and in truth it must be confessed that the authorship of this portrait is not at first sight quite so evident as in the other cases2 nevertheless ,i am firmly convinced that ,morelli saw further than his critics1 and that his intuitive judgment was in this instance perfectly correct4#ci ,the simplicity of conception1 the intensity of expression1 the pose of the figure alike proclaim the master1 whose characteristic touch is to be seen in the stone ledge1 the fancy head-dress1 the arrangement of hair1 and the modelling of the features4 ,the presence of the hands is characteristically explained by the handkerchief stretched tight between them1 the action being expressive of suppressed excitement3 ,she stands at a window 444 gazing out with a dreamy1 yearning expression1 as if seeking to descry one whom she awaits4 ,licinio1 whose name has been proposed as the painter1 did indeed follow out this particular vein of ,giorgione's portraiture1 so that ,style of ,licinio is not an altogether inapt attribution2 but there is just that difference of quality between the one man's work and the other1 which distinguishes any great man from his followers1 whether in literature or in art4 ,how near 7and yet how far67 ,licinio came to his great prototype is best seen in ,lady ,ashburton's ,portrait of a ,young ,man1#dj but that he could have produced the ,borghese ,lady presupposes qualities he never possessed4 ,to ,giorgione alone was it given to produce portraits of such astonishing simplicity1 yet so deeply significant1 and capable1 by their mystic charm1 of appealing to our imagination in the highest degree4#da ,the actual condition of this portrait is highly unsatisfactory1 and is adduced by some as a reason for condemning it4 ,yet the spirit of the master seems still to breathe through the ruin1 and to justify ,morelli's ascription1 if not the enthusiastic language in which he writes4 ,illustration3 ,anderson photo4 ,seminario1 ,venice ,,apollo ,,and ,,daphne ,with the fourth addition on ,morelli's list we pass into a totally different sphere of art--the decoration of cassoni1 and other pieces of furniture4 ,we have seen ,giorgione at work on legendary stories or classic myths1 creating out of these materials pages of beauty and romance in the form of easel paintings1 and now we have the same thing as applied art--that is1 art used for purely decorative purposes4 ,the ,apollo and ,daphne in the ,seminario at ,venice was probably a panel of a cassone2 but although intended for so humble a place1 it is instinct with rare poetic feeling and beauty4 ,unfortunately it is in such a bad state that little remains of the original work1 and ,giorgione's touch is scarcely to be recognised in the damaged parts4 ,nevertheless1 his spirit breathes amidst the ruin1 and modern critics have recognised the justice of ,morelli's view1 rather than that of ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 who suggested ,schiavone as the author4#db ,and1 indeed1 a comparison with the ,adrastus and ,hypsipyle is enough to show a common origin1 although1 as we might expect1 the same consummate skill is scarcely to be found in the cassone panel as in the easel picture4 ,there is a rare daintiness1 however1 in these graceful figures1 so essentially ,giorgionesque in their fanciful presentation1 the young ,apollo1 a lovely1 fair-haired boy1 pursuing a maiden with flowing tresses1 whose identity with ,daphne is only to be recognised by the laurel springing from her fingers4 ,the story is but an episode in a sylvan scene1 where other figures1 in quaint costumes1 seem to be leading an idyllic existence1 untroubled by the cares of life1 and utterly unconcerned at the strange event passing before their eyes4 ,from the ,apollo and ,daphne it is an easy transition to the ,venus1 that great discovery which we owe to ,morelli1 and now universally recognised by modern critics4 ,the one point on which ,morelli did not1 perhaps1 lay sufficient stress1 is the co-operation in this work of ,titian with ,giorgione1 for here we have an additional proof that the latter left some of his work unfinished4 ,it is a fair inference that ,titian completed the ,cupid 7now removed71 and that he had a hand in finishing the landscape2 the ,anonimo1 indeed1 states as much1 and ,ridolfi confirms it1 and this view is officially adopted in the latest edition of the ,dresden ,catalogue4 ,the style points to ,giorgione's maturity1 though scarcely to the last years of his life2 for1 in spite of the freedom and breadth of treatment in the landscape1 there is a restraint in the figure1 and a delicacy of form which points to a period preceding1 rather than contemporary with1 the ,louvre ,concert and kindred works1 where the forms become fuller and rounder1 and the feeling more exuberant4 ,it would be mere repetition1 after all that has been written on the ,dresden ,venus1 to enlarge on the qualities of refinement and grace which characterise the fair form of the sleeping goddess4 ,one need but compare it with ,titian's representations of the same subject1 and still more with ,palma's versions at ,dresden and ,cambridge1 or with ,cariani's ,venus at ,hampton ,court1 to see the classic purity of form1 the ideal loveliness of ,giorgione's goddess4#dc ,it is no mere accident that she alone is sleeping1 whilst they solicit attention4 ,giorgione's conception is characteristic in that he endeavours to avoid any touch of realism abhorrent to his nature1 which was far more sensitive than that of ,palma1 ,cariani1 or even ,titian4 ,illustration3 ,hanfstngl photo4 ,dresden ,gallery ,,venus ,the extraordinary beauty and subtlety of the master's line is admirably shown4 ,he has deliberately forgone anatomical precision in order to accentuate artistic effect4 ,the splendour of curve1 the beauty of unbroken contour1 the rhythm and balance of composition is attained at a cost of academic correctness2 but the long-drawn horizontal lines heighten the sense of repose1 and the eye is soothed by the sinuous undulations of landscape and figure4 ,the artistic effect is further enhanced by the relief of exquisite flesh tones against the rich crimson drapery1 and although the atmospheric glow has been sadly destroyed by abrasion and repainting1 we may still feel something of the magic charm which ,giorgione knew so well how to impart4 ,this ,venus is the prototype of all other ,venetian versions2 it is in painting what the ,aphrodite of ,praxiteles was in sculpture1 a perfect creation of a master mind4 ,scarcely less wonderful than the ,venus1 and even surpassing it in solemn grandeur of conception1 is the ,judith at ,st4 ,petersburg4 ,morelli himself had never seen the original1 and includes it in his list with the reservation that it might be an old copy after ,giorgione1 and not the original4 ,it would be presumptuous for anyone not familiar with the picture to decide the point1 but ,i have no hesitation in following the judgment of two competent modern critics1 both of whom have recently visited ,st4 ,petersburg1 and both of whom have decided unhesitatingly in favour of its being an original by ,giorgione4 ,dr4 ,harck has written enthusiastically of its beauty4 ,once seen1 he says1 it can never be forgotten2 the same mystic charm1 so characteristic of the other great works of ,giorgione1 pervades it2 444 it bears on the face of it the stamp of a great master4#dd ,even more decisive is the verdict of ,mr4 ,claude ,phillips4#de ,all doubts1 he says1 vanish like sun-drawn mist in the presence of the work itself2 the first glance carries with it conviction1 swift and permanent4 ,in no extant ,giorgione is the golden glow so well preserved1 in none does the mysterious glamour from which the world has never shaken itself free1 assert itself in more irresistible fashion4444 ,the colouring is not so much ,giorgionesque as ,giorgione's own--a widely different thing4444 ,wonderful touches which the imitative ,giorgionesque painter would not have thought of are the girdle1 a mauve-purple now1 with a sharply emphasised golden fringe1 and the sapphire-blue jewel in the brooch4 ,triumphs of execution1 too1 but not in the broad style of ,venetian art in its fullest expansion1 are the gleaming sword held in so dainty and feminine a fashion1 and the flowers which enamel the ground at the feet of the ,jewish heroine4 ,this ,judith1 after passing for many years under the names of ,raphael and ,moretto1#df is now officially recognised as ,giorgione's work1 an identification first made by the late ,herr ,penther1 the keeper of the ,vienna ,academy1 whom ,morelli quotes4 ,the conception is wholly ,giorgionesque1 the mood one of calm contemplation1 as this lovely figure stands lost in reverie1 with eyes cast down1 gazing on the head on which her foot is lightly laid4 ,the head and sword proclaim her story1 they are symbols of her mission1 else she had been taken for an embodiment of feminine modesty and gentle submissiveness4#dg ,illustration3 ,braun photo4 ,hermitage ,gallery1 ,st4 ,petersburg ,,judith ,characteristic of the master is the introduction of the great tree-trunk1 conveying a sense of grandeur and solemn mystery to the scene2 characteristic1 too1 is the distant landscape1 the splendid glow of which evokes special praise from the writers just mentioned4 ,again we find the parapet1 or ledge1 with its flat surface on which the play of light can be caught1 and again the same curious folds1 broken and crumpled1 such as are seen on ,solomon's robe in the ,kingston ,lacy picture1 and somewhat less emphatically in the ,castelfranco ,madonna4 ,consistent1 moreover1 with that weakness we have already noticed elsewhere1 is the design of the leg and foot1 the drawing of which is far from impeccable4 ,that the execution in this respect is not equal to the supreme conception of the whole1 is no valid reason for the belief that this ,judith is only a copy of a lost original1 a belief that could apparently only be held by those who have never stood before the picture itself4#dh ,but even in the reproduction this ,judith stands confessed as the most impressive of all ,giorgione's single figures1 and it may well rank as the masterpiece of the earlier period immediately preceding the ,castelfranco picture of about #aejd1 to which in style it closely approximates4 ,the next picture on ,morelli's list is the ,fte ,champtre of the ,louvre1 or1 as it is often called1 the ,concert4 ,this lovely ,pastoral ,symphony 7which appears to me a more suitable ,english title7 is by no means universally regarded as a creation of ,giorgione's hand and brain1 and several modern critics have been at pains to show that ,campagnola1 or some other ,venetian imitator of the great master1 really produced it4#di ,in this endeavour ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle led the way by suggesting the author was probably an imitator of ,sebastiano del ,piombo4 ,but all this must surely seem to be heresy when we stand before the picture itself1 thrilled by the gorgeousness of its colour1 by the richness of the paradise in which the air is balmy1 and the landscape ever green2 where life is a pastime1 and music the only labour2 where groves are interspersed with meadows and fountains2 where nymphs sit playfully on the grass1 or drink at cool springs4#ej ,was ever such a gorgeous idyll8 ,in the whole range of painted poetry can the like be found8 ,illustration3 ,braun photo4 ,louvre1 ,paris ,a ,,pastoral ,,symphony ,yet let us be more precise in our analysis4 ,granted that the scene is one eminently adapted to ,giorgione's poetic temperament1 is the execution analogous to that which we have found in the preceding examples8 ,no one will deny1 ,i suppose1 that there is a difference between the intensely refined forms of the ,venus1 or the earlier ,hypsipyle1 or the ,daphne1 and the coarser nudes in the ,louvre picture4 ,no one will deny a certain carelessness marks the delineation of form1 no one will gainsay a frankly sensuous charm pervades the scene1 a feeling which seems at first sight inconsistent with that reticence and modesty so conspicuous elsewhere4 ,yet ,i think all this is perfectly explicable on the basis of natural evolution4 ,exuberance of feeling is the logical outcome of a lifetime spent in an atmosphere of lyrical thought1 and certainly ,giorgione was not the sort of man to control those natural impulses1 which grew stronger with advancing years4 ,both traditions of his death point in this direction2 and1 unless ,i am mistaken1 the quality of his art1 as well as its character1 reflects this tendency4 ,in his later years1 #aejh-aj1 he attains indeed a magnificence and splendour which dazzles the eye1 but it is at the cost of that feeling of restraint which gives the earlier work such exquisite charm4 ,in such a work as the ,louvre ,concert1 ,giorgio has become ,giorgione2 he is riper in experience and richer in feeling1 and his art assumes a corresponding exuberance of style1 his forms become larger1 his execution grows freer4 ,nay1 more1 that strain of carelessness is not wanting which so commonly accompanies such evolutions of character4 ,and so this ,pastoral ,symphony becomes a characteristic production--that is1 one which a man of ,giorgione's temperament would naturally produce in the course of his developing4 ,peculiar1 however1 to an artist of genius is the subtlety of composition1 which is held together by invisible threads1 for nowhere else1 perhaps1 has ,giorgione shown a greater mastery of line4 ,the diagonal line running from behind the nude figure on the left down to the foot so cunningly extended of the seated youth1 is beautifully balanced by the line which is formed by the seated figure of the woman4 ,the artist has deliberately emphasised this line by the curious posture of the legs4 ,the figure1 indeed1 does not sit at all1 but the balance of the composition is the better assured4 ,what exquisite curves the standing woman presents6 how cleverly the drapery continues the beautiful line1 which ,giorgione takes care not to break by placing the left leg and foot out of sight4 ,how marvellously expressive1 nay1 how inevitable is the hand of the youth who is playing4 ,surely neither ,campagnola nor any other second-rate artist was capable of such things6 ,illustration3 ,alinari photo4 ,pitti ,gallery1 ,florence ,,the ,,three ,,ages ,,of ,,man ,the eighth picture cited by ,morelli as1 in his opinion1 a genuine ,giorgione1 is the so-called ,three ,ages of ,man1 in the ,pitti at ,florence--a damaged picture1 but parts of which1 as he says1 are still so splendid and so thoroughly ,giorgionesque that ,i venture to ascribe it without hesitation to ,giorgione4#ea ,the three figures are grouped naturally1 and are probably portraits from life4 ,the youth in the centre we have already met in the ,kingston ,lacy ,judgment of ,solomon2 the man on the right recurs in the ,family ,concert at ,hampton ,court1 and is strangely like the ,s4 ,maurice in the signed altar-piece at ,berlin by ,luzzi da ,feltre4#eb ,but like though they be in type1 in quality the heads in the ,three ,ages are immensely superior to those in the ,berlin picture4 ,the same models may well have served ,giorgione and his friend and pupil ,luzzi1 or1 as he is generally called1 ,morto da ,feltre4 ,a recent study of the few authenticated works by this feeble artist still at ,feltre1 his native place1 forces me to dissent from the opinion that the ,pitti ,three ,ages is the work of his hand4#ec ,still less do ,i hold with the view that ,lotto is the author4#ed ,here1 again1 ,i believe ,morelli saw further than other critics1 and that his attribution is the right one4 ,the simplicity1 the apparently unstudied grouping1 the refinement of type1 the powerful expression1 are worthy of the master2 the play of light on the faces1 especially on that of the youth1 is most characteristic1 and the peculiar chord of colour reveals a sense of originality such as no imitator would command4 ,unless ,i am mistaken1 the man on the right is none other than the ,aeneas in the ,vienna picture1 and his hand with the pointing forefinger is such as we see two or three times over in the ,judgment of ,solomon and elsewhere4 ,certainly here it is awkwardly introduced1 obviously to bring the figure into direct relation with the others2 but ,giorgione is by no means always supreme master of natural expression1 as the hands in the ,adrastus and ,hypsipyle and ,vienna pictures clearly show4 ,here1 for the first time1 we meet ,giorgione in those studies of human nature which are commonly called conversation pieces1 or concerts--natural groups of generally three people knit together by some common bond1 which is usually music in one form or another4 ,it is not the idyll of the ,pastoral ,symphony1 but akin to it as an expression of some exquisite moment of thought or feeling1 an ideal instant in which1 arrested thus1 we seem to be spectators of all the fulness of existence1 and which is like some consummate extract or quintessence of life4#ee ,no one before ,giorgione's time had painted such ideas1 such poems without articulated story2 and to have reached this stage of development presupposes a familiarity with set subjects such as a classic myth or mediaeval romance would offer for treatment4 ,and so this ,three ,ages dates from his later years4 ,illustration3 ,anderson photo4 ,pitti ,gallery1 ,florence ,,nymph ,,and ,,satyr ,another picture in the ,pitti was also recognised by ,morelli as ,giorgione's work--,the ,nymph pursued by a ,satyr4 ,modern criticism seems undecided on the justice of this view1 some writers inclining to the belief that this is a ,giorgionesque production of ,dosso ,dossi1 others preserving a discreet silence1 or making frank avowal of their inability to decide4 ,nevertheless1 ,i venture to agree with ,morelli that we have all the characteristics of an early 787 work of ,giorgione--the type of the nymph with the low forehead1 the charming arrangement of the hair upon the temples1 the eyes placed near together1 and the hand with tapering fingers4#ef ,the oval of the face recalls the ,knight of ,malta1 the high cranium and treatment of the hair such as we find in the ,dresden ,venus and elsewhere4 ,the delicacy of modelling1 the beauty of the features are far beyond ,dosso's powers1 who1 brilliant artist as he sometimes was1 was of much coarser fibre than the painter of these figures4 ,the difference of calibre between the two is well illustrated by comparing ,giorgione's ,satyr with ,dosso's frankly vulgar ,buffone in the ,modena ,gallery1 or with those uncouth productions1 also in the ,pitti1 the ,s4 ,john ,baptist and the ,bambocciate4#eg ,were the repaints removed1 ,i think all doubts as to the authorship would be set at rest1 and the ,nymph and ,satyr would take its place among the slighter and more summary productions of ,giorgione's brush4 ,illustration3 ,laurent photo4 ,prado ,gallery1 ,madrid ,,madonna ,,and ,,saints ,only one sacred subject figures in the additions made by ,morelli to the list of genuine ,giorgiones4 ,this is the small altar-piece at ,madrid1 with ,madonna seated between ,s4 ,francis and ,s4 ,roch4 ,traditionally accredited to ,pordenone1 it has now received official recognition as a masterpiece of ,giorgione1 an attribution that1 so far as ,i am aware1 no one has seriously contested4#eh ,and1 indeed1 it is hard to conceive wherein any objection could possibly lie1 for it is a typical creation of the master1 usque ad unguem4 ,not only in types1 colour1 light and shade1 and particularly in feeling1 is the picture characteristic1 but it again shows the artist leaving work unfinished1 and again reveals the fact that the work grew in conception as it was actually being painted4 ,i mean that the whole figure of ,s4 ,roch has been painted in over the rest1 and that the ,s4 ,francis has also probably been introduced afterwards4 ,i have little doubt that originally ,giorgione intended to paint a simple ,madonna and ,child1 and afterwards extended the scheme4 ,the composition of three figures1 practically in a row1 is moreover most unusual1 and contrary to that triangular scheme particularly favoured by the master1 whereas the lovely sweep of ,madonna's dress by itself creates a perfect design on a triangular basis4 ,a great artist is here revealed1 one whose feeling for line is so intense that he wilfully casts the drapery in unnatural folds in order to secure an artistic triumph4 ,the working out of the dress within this line has yet to be done1 the folds being merely suggested1 and this task has been left whilst forwarding other parts4 ,the freedom of touch and thinness of paint indicates how rapidly the artist worked4 ,there is little deliberation apparent3 indeed1 the effect is that of hasty improvisation4 ,velasquez could not have painted the stone on which ,s4 ,roch rests his foot with greater precision or more consummate mastery2 the delicacy of flesh tints is amazing4 ,the bit of landscape behind ,s4 ,roch 7invisible in the reproduction71 with its stately tree trunk rising solitary beside the hanging curtain1 strikes a note of romance1 fit accompaniment to the bizarre figure of the saint in his orange jerkin and blue leggings4 ,how mysterious1 too1 is ,s4 ,francis6--rapt in his own thoughts1 yet strangely human4 ,illustration3 ,buda-,pesth ,gallery ,,copy ,,of ,a ,,portion ,,of ,,giorgione',s ,,birth ,,of ,,paris ,we have now examined ten of the twelve pictures added1 on ,morelli's initiative1 to the list of genuine works1 and we have found very little1 if any1 serious opposition on the part of later writers to his views4 ,not so1 however1 with regard to the remaining two pictures4 ,the first of these is a fragment in the gallery of ,buda-,pesth1 representing two figures in a landscape4 ,all modern critics are agreed that ,morelli has here mistaken an old copy after ,giorgione for an original1 a mistake we may readily pardon in consideration of the successful identification he has made of these figures with the ,shepherds1 in the composition seen and described by the ,anonimo in #aebe as the ,birth of ,paris1 by ,giorgione4 ,this identification is fully confirmed by the engraving made by ,th4 von ,kessel for the ,theatrum ,pictorium1 which shows how these two figures are placed in the composition4 ,where1 as in the present case1 the original is missing1 even a partial copy is of great value1 for in it we can see the mind1 if not the hand1 of the great master4 ,the ,anonimo tells us this ,birth of ,paris was one of ,giorgione's early works1 a statement worthy of credence from the still ,bellinesque stamp and general likeness of one of the ,shepherds to the ,adrastus in the ,giovanelli picture4 ,in pose1 type1 arrangement of hair1 and in landscape this fragment is thoroughly ,giorgionesque1 and we have1 moreover1 those most characteristic traits1 the pointing forefinger1 and the unbroken curve of outline4 ,the execution is1 however1 raw and crude1 and entirely wanting in the magic quality of the master's own touch4#ei ,illustration3 ,dixon photo4 ,hampton ,court ,palace ,gallery ,,the ,,shepherd ,,boy4 ,finally1 on ,morelli's list figures the ,shepherd at ,hampton ,court1 for the genuineness of which the critic would not absolutely vouch1 as he had only seen it in a bad light4 ,perhaps no picture has been so strongly championed by an enthusiastic writer as has been this ,shepherd by ,mr4 ,berenson1 who strenuously advocates its title to genuineness4#fj ,nevertheless1 several modern authorities remain unconvinced in presence of the work itself4 ,the conception is unquestionably ,giorgione's own1 as we may see from a picture now in the ,vienna ,gallery1 where this head is repeated in a representation of the young ,david holding the head of ,goliath4 ,the ,vienna picture is1 however1 but a copy of a lost original by ,giorgione1 the existence of which is independently attested by ,vasari4#fa ,now1 the question naturally arises1 ,what relation does the ,hampton ,court ,shepherd bear to this ,david1 ,giorgione's lost original8 ,it is possible1 of course1 that the master repeated himself1 merely transforming the ,david into a ,shepherd1 or vice vers1 and it is equally possible that some other and later artist adapted ,giorgione's ,david to his own end1 utilising the conception that is1 and carrying it out in his own way4 ,arguing purely a priori1 the latter possibility is the more likely1 inasmuch as we know ,giorgione hardly ever repeats a figure or a composition1 whereas ,titian1 ,cariani1 and other later ,venetian artists freely adopted ,giorgione's ideas1 his types1 and his compositions for their own purposes4 ,internal evidence appears to me1 moreover1 to confirm this view1 for the general style of painting seems to indicate a later period than #aeaj1 the year of ,giorgione's death4 ,the flimsy folds1 in particular1 are not readily recognisable as the master's own4 ,a comparison with a portrait in the ,gallery of ,padua reveals1 particularly in this respect1 striking resemblances4 ,this fine portrait was identified by both ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle and by ,morelli as the work of ,torbido1 and ,i venture to place the reproduction of it beside that of the ,shepherd for comparison4 ,it is not easy to pronounce on the technical qualities of either work1 for both have suffered from re-touching and discolouring varnish1 and the hand of the ,shepherd is certainly damaged4 ,yet1 whilst admitting that the evidence is inconclusive1 ,i cannot refrain from suggesting ,torbido's name as possible author of the ,shepherd1 the more so as we know he carefully studied and formed his style upon ,giorgione's work4#fb ,it is at least conceivable that he took ,giorgione's ,david with the ,head of ,goliath1 and by a simple1 and in this case peculiarly appropriate1 transformation1 changed him into a shepherd boy holding a flute4 ,we have now taken all the pictures which either ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle or ,morelli1 or both1 assign to ,giorgione himself4 ,there still remain1 however1 three or four works to be mentioned where these authorities hold opposite views which require some examination4 ,first and foremost comes the ,concert in the ,pitti ,gallery1 a work which was regarded by ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle not only as a genuine example of ,giorgione's art1 but as not having its equal in any period of ,giorgione's practice4 ,it gives1 they go on1 a just measure of his skill1 and explains his celebrity4#fc ,morelli1 on the contrary1 holds3 ,it has unfortunately been so much damaged by a restorer that little enough remains of the original1 yet from the form of the hands and of the ear1 and from the gestures of the figures1 we are led to infer that it is not a work of ,giorgione1 but belongs to a somewhat later period4 ,if the repaint covering the surface were removed we should1 ,i think1 find that it is an early work by ,titian4#fd ,where ,morelli hesitated his followers have decided1 and accordingly1 in ,mr4 ,berenson's list1 in ,mr4 ,claude ,phillips' ,life of ,titian1 and in the latest biography on that master1 published by ,dr4 ,gronau1 we find the ,concert put down to ,titian4 ,on the other hand1 ,dr4 ,bode1 ,signor ,conti in his monograph on ,giorgione1 ,m4 ,mntz1 and the authorities in ,florence support the traditional view that the ,concert is a masterpiece of ,giorgione4 ,illustration3 ,alinari photo4 ,pitti ,gallery1 ,florence ,,the ,,concert ,which view is the right one8 ,to many this may appear an academic discussion of little value1 for1 ipso facto1 the quality of the work is admitted by all4 ,the picture is a fine thing1 in spite of its imperfect condition1 and what matter whether ,titian or ,giorgione be the author8 ,but to this sort of argument it may be said that until we do know what is ,giorgione's work and what is not1 it is impossible to gauge accurately the nature and scope of his art1 or to reach through that channel the character of the artist behind his work4 ,in the case of ,giorgione and ,titian1 the task of drawing the dividing line is one of unusual difficulty1 and a long and careful study of the question has convinced me that this will have to be done in a way that modern criticism has not yet attempted4 ,from the very earliest days the two have been so inextricably confused that it will require a very exhaustive re-examination of all the evidence in the light of modern discoveries1 documentary and pictorial1 coupled1 ,i am afraid1 with the recognition of the fact that much modern criticism on this point has been curiously at fault4 ,this is neither the time nor the place to discuss the question of ,titian's early work1 but ,i feel sure that this chapter of art history has yet to be correctly written4#fe ,one of the determining factors in the discussion will be the authorship of the ,pitti ,concert1 for our estimate of ,giorgione or ,titian must be coloured appreciably by the recognition of such an epoch-making picture as the work of one or the other4 ,it is1 therefore1 peculiarly unfortunate that the two side figures in this wonderful group are so rubbed and repainted as almost to defy certainty of judgment4 ,in conception and spirit they are typically ,giorgionesque1 and ,morelli1 ,i imagine1 would scarcely have made the bold suggestion of ,titian's authorship but for the central figure of the young monk playing the harpsichord4 ,this head stands out in grand relief1 being in a far purer state of preservation than the rest1 and we are able to appreciate to some extent the extraordinarily subtle modelling of the features1 the clear-cut contours1 the intensity of expression4 ,the fine portrait in the ,louvre1 known as ,l'homme au gant1 an undoubted early work of ,titian1 is singularly close in character and style1 as was first pointed out by ,mr4 ,claude ,phillips1#ff and it was this general reminiscence1 more than points of detail in an admittedly imperfect work that seemingly induced ,morelli to suggest ,titian's name as possible author of the ,concert4 ,nevertheless1 ,i cannot allow this plausible comparison to outweigh other and more vital considerations4 ,the subtlety of the composition1 the bold sweep of diagonal lines1 the way the figure of the young monk is built up on a triangular design1 the contrasts of black and white1 are essentially ,giorgione's own4 ,so1 too1 is the spirit of the scene1 so telling in its movement1 gesture1 and expression4 ,surely it is needless to translate all that is most characteristic of ,giorgione in his most personal expression into a ,giorgionesque mood of ,titian4 ,no1 let us admit that ,titian owed much to his friend and master 7more perhaps than we yet know71 but let us not needlessly deprive ,giorgione of what is1 in my opinion at least1 the great creation of his maturer years1 the ,pitti ,concert4 ,i am inclined to place it about #aejf-g1 and to regard it as the earliest and finest expression in ,venetian art of that kind of genre painting of which we have already studied another1 though later example1 ,the ,three ,ages 7in the ,pitti74 ,the second work where ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle hold a different view from ,morelli is a ,portrait of a ,man in the ,gallery of ,rovigo 7,no4 #aa74 ,the former writers declare that it1 perhaps more than any other1 approximates to the true style of ,giorgione4#fg ,with such praise sounding in one's ears it is somewhat of a shock to discover that this grave and powerfully wrought creation is a miniature #g by #f inches in size4 ,such an insignificant fragment requires no serious consideration2 at most it would seem only to be a reduced copy after some lost original4 ,morelli alludes to it as a copy after ,palma1 but one may well doubt whether he is not referring to another portrait in the same gallery 7,no4 #abc74 ,be that as it may1 this ,giorgione miniature is sadly out of place among genuine pieces of the master4#fh ,illustration3 ,hanfstngl photo4 ,national ,gallery1 ,london ,,the ,,adoration ,,of ,,the ,,magi ,one other picture1 of special interest to ,english people1 is in dispute4 ,by ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle ,the ,adoration of the ,magi1 now in the ,national ,gallery 7,no4 #aafj71 is attributed to the master himself2 by ,morelli it was assigned to ,catena4#fi ,this brilliant little panel is admittedly by the same hand that painted the ,beaumont ,adoration of the ,shepherds1 and yet another picture presently to be mentioned4 ,we have already agreed to the propriety of attribution in the former case2 it follows1 therefore1 that here also ,giorgione's name is the correct one1 and his name1 we are glad to see1 has recently been placed on the label by the ,director of the ,gallery4 ,this beautiful little panel1 which came from the ,leigh ,court ,collection1 under ,bellini's name1 has much of the depth1 richness1 and glow which characterises the ,beaumont picture1 although the latter is naturally more attractive1 owing to the wonderful landscape and the more elaborate chiaroscuro4 ,the figures are ,bellinesque1 yet with that added touch of delicacy and refinement which ,giorgione always knows how to impart4 ,the richness of colouring1 the depth of tone1 the glamour of the whole is far superior to anything that we can point to with certainty as ,catena's work2 and no finer example of his ,giorgionesque phase is to be found than the sumptuous ,warrior adoring the ,infant ,christ1 which hangs close by1 whilst his delicate little ,s4 ,jerome in his ,study1 also in the same room1 challenges comparison4 ,catena's work seems cold and studied beside the warmth and spontaneity of ,giorgione's little panel1 which is1 indeed1 as ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle assert1 of the most picturesque beauty in distribution1 colour1 and costume4#gj ,it must date from before #aejj1 probably just before the ,beaumont ,nativity1 and proves how1 even at that early time1 ,giorgione's art was rapidly maturing into full splendour4 ,the total list of genuine works so far amounts to but twenty-three4 ,let us see if we can accept a few others which later writers incline to attribute to the master4 ,i propose to limit the survey strictly to those pictures which have found recognised champions among modern critics of repute1 for to challenge every ,giorgione in public and private collections would be a ,herculean task1 well calculated to provoke an incredulous smile6 ,illustration3 ,dixon photo4 ,duke of ,devonshire's ,collection1 ,chatsworth ,,page ,,of ,,vandyck',s ,,sketch-,,book1 ,,with ,,giorgione',s ,,christ ,,bearing ,,the ,,cross1 ,,in ,,the ,,church ,,of ,s4 ,,rocco1 ,,venice ,mr4 ,berenson1 in his ,venetian ,painters1 includes two other pictures in an extremely exclusive list of seventeen genuine ,giorgiones4 ,these are both in ,venice1 ,the ,christ bearing the ,cross 7in ,s4 ,rocco71 and ,the ,storm calmed by ,s4 ,mark 7in the ,academy74 ,the question whether or no we are to accept the former of these pictures has its origin in a curious contradiction of ,vasari1 who1 in the first edition of his ,lives 7#aeej71 names ,giorgione as the painter1 whilst in the second 7#aefe71 he assigns the authorship to ,titian4 ,later writers follow the latter statement1 and to this day the local guides adhere to this tradition4 ,that the attribution to ,giorgione1 however1 was still alive in #afbj-e1 is proved by the sketch of the picture made by the young ,van ,dyck during his visit to ,italy1 for he has affixed ,giorgione's name to it1 and not that of ,titian4#ga ,i am satisfied that this tradition is correct4 ,giorgione1 and not ,titian1 painted the still lovely head of ,christ1 and ,giorgione1 not ,titian1 drew the arm and hand of the ,jew who is dragging at the rope4 ,characteristic touches are to be seen in the turn of the head1 the sloping axis of the eyes1 and especially the fine oval of the face1 and bushy hair4 ,this is the type of ,giorgione's ,christ2 ,the ,tribute ,money 7at ,dresden7 shows ,titian's4 ,unfortunately the panel has lost all its tone1 all its glow1 and most of its original colour1 and we can scarcely any longer admire the picture which1 in ,vasari's graphic language1 is held in the highest veneration by many of the faithful1 and even performs miracles1 as is frequently seen2 and again 7in his ,life of ,titian71 it has received more crowns as offerings than have been earned by ,titian and ,giorgione both1 through the whole course of their lives4 ,the other picture included by ,mr4 ,berenson in his list is the large canvas in the ,venice ,academy1 with ,the ,storm calmed by ,s4 ,mark4 ,according to this critic it is a late work1 finished1 in small part1 by ,paris ,bordone4 ,in my opinion1 it would be far wiser to withhold definite judgment in a case where a picture has been so entirely repainted4 ,certainly1 in its present state1 it is impossible to recognise ,giorgione's touch1 whilst the glaring red tones of the flesh and the general smeariness of the whole render all enjoyment out of question4 ,i am willing to admit that the conception may have been ,giorgione's1 although even then it would stand alone as evidence of an imagination almost ,michelangelesque in its terribilit4 ,zanetti 7#agfj7 was the first to connect ,giorgione's name with this canvas1 ,vasari bestowing inordinate praise upon it as the work of ,palma ,vecchio6 ,it only remains to add that this is the companion piece to the well-known ,fisherman presenting the ,ring to the ,doge1 by ,paris ,bordone1 which also hangs in the ,venice ,academy4 ,both illustrate the same legend1 and both originally hung in the ,scuola di ,s4 ,marco4 ,illustration3 ,anderson photo4 ,padua ,gallery ,,fronts ,,of ,,two ,,cassones1 ,,with ,,mythological ,,scenes ,finally1 two cassone panels in the gallery at ,padua have been acclaimed by ,signor ,venturi as the master's own1#gb and with that view ,i am entirely agreed4 ,the stories represented are not easily determinable 7as is so often the case with ,giorgione71 but probably refer to the legends of ,adonis4#gc ,the splendour of colour1 the lurid light1 the richness of effect1 are in the highest degree impressive4 ,what artist but ,giorgione would have so revelled in the glories of the evening sunset1 the orange horizon1 the distant blue hills8 ,the same gallery affords several instances of similar decorative pieces by other ,venetian artists which serve admirably to show the great gulf fixed in quality between ,giorgione's work and that of the ,schiavones1 the ,capriolis1 and others who imitated him4#gd ,,notes3 #aa ,oxford ,lecture1 reported in the ,pall ,mall ,gazette1 ,nov4 #aj1 #ahhd4 #ab ,see postea1 p4 #fc4 #ac ,bellini adopted it later in his ,s4 ,giov4 ,crisostomo altar-piece of #aeac4 #ad ,all the more surprising is it that it receives no mention from ,vasari1 who merely states that the master worked at ,castelfranco4 #ae ,i unhesitatingly adopt the titles recently given to these pictures by ,herr ,franz ,wickhoff 7,jahrbuch der ,preussischen ,kunstsammlungen1 ,heft4 i4 #ahie71 who has at last succeeded in satisfactorily explaining what has puzzled all the writers since the days of the ,anonimo4 #af ,statius3 ,theb4 iv4 #gcj ff4 ,see p4 #ace4 #ag ,aen4 viii4 #cjf-cdh4 #ah ,fry3 ,giovanni ,bellini1 p4 #ci4 #ai ii4 #bad4 #bj ,ridolfi mentions the following as having been painted by ,giorgione3--,the ,age of ,gold1 ,deucalion and ,pyrrha1 ,jove hurling ,thunderbolts at the ,giants1 ,the ,python1 ,apollo and ,daphne1 ,io changed into a ,cow1 ,phaeton1 ,diana1 and ,calisto1 ,mercury stealing ,apollo's ,arms1 ,jupiter and ,pasiphae1 ,cadmus sowing the ,dragon's ,teeth1 ,dejanira raped by ,nessus1 and various episodes in the life of ,adonis4 #ba ,in the ,venice ,academy4 #bb ,archivio1 ,anno ,,vi41 where reproductions of the two are given side by side1 fasc4 vi4 p4 #dab4 #bc ,the ,berlin example 7by the ,pseudo-,basaiti7 is reproduced in the ,illustrated ,catalogue of the recent exhibition of ,renaissance ,art at ,berlin2 the ,rovigo version 7under ,leonardo's name67 is possibly by ,bissolo4 ,two other repetitions exist1 one at ,stuttgart1 the other in the collection of ,sir ,william ,farrer4 7,venetian ,exhibition1 ,new ,gallery1 #ahid1 ,no4 #gf47 #bd ,gentile ,bellini's three portraits in the ,national ,gallery 7,nos4 #hjh1 #abac1 #addj7 illustrate this growing tendency in ,venetian art2 all three probably date from the first years of the sixteenth century4 ,gentile died in #aejg4 #be ,berenson3 ,venetian ,painters1 #crd edition4 #bf ,daily ,telegraph1 ,december #bith1 #ahii4 #bg ,even the so-called ,pseudo-,basaiti has been separated and successfully diagnosed4 #bh #ahie ,catalogue4 #bi ,see ,appendix1 where the letters are printed in full4 #cj ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 ii4 #adb1 and note4 #ca ,giorgione painted in fresco in the portico of this palace4 ,zanetti has preserved the record of a figure said to be ,diligence1 in his print published in #agfj4 #cb ,see ,byron's ,life and ,letters1 by ,thomas ,moore1 p4 #gje4 #cc ,see ,berenson's ,venetian ,painters1 illustrated edition4 #cd ,morelli1 ii4 #bai4 #ce ,see p4 #cb for a possible explanation of these letters4 #cf ii4 #bah #cg ,it has been suggested to me by ,dr4 ,williamson that the letters may possibly be intended for ,,zz 7,zorzon74 ,in old ,,mss4 the capital ,z is sometimes made thus closed ,v or ,v4 #ch i4 #bdh4 #ci ,the methods by which he arrived at his conclusion are strangely at variance with those he so strenuously advocates1 and to which the name of ,morellian has come to be attached4 #dj ,reproduced in ,venetian ,art at the ,new ,gallery1 under ,giorgione's name1 but unanimously recognised as a work of ,licinio4 #da i4 #bdi4 #db ,dr4 ,bode and ,signor ,venturi both recognise it as ,giorgione's work4 #dc ,to what depths of vulgarity the ,venetian ,school could sink in later times1 ,palma ,giovane's ,venus at ,cassel testifies4 #dd ,repertorium fr ,kunstwissenschaft4 #ahif4 xix4 ,band4 #f ,heft4 #de ,north ,american ,review1 ,october #ahii4 #df ,it was photographed by ,braun with this attribution4 #dg ,catena has adopted this ,giorgionesque conception in his ,judith in the ,querini-,stampalia ,gallery in ,venice4 #dh ,see ,gazette des ,beaux ,arts1 #ahig1 tom1 xviii4 p4 #bgi4 #di ,see ,gazette des ,beaux ,arts1 #ahic1 tom4 ix4 p4 #ace 7,prof4 ,wickhoff72 #ahid1 tom4 xii4 p4 #ccb 7,dr4 ,gronau72 and ,repertorium fr ,kunstwissenschaft1 tom4 xiv4 p4 #caf 7,herr von ,seidlitz74 #ej ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 ii4 #adg4 #ea ii4 #bag4 #eb ,dr4 ,gronau points this out in ,rep4 xviii4 #d1 p4 #bhd4 #ec ,see ,guide to the ,italian ,pictures at ,hampton ,court1 by ,mary ,logan1 #ahid4 #ed ,official ,catalogue1 and ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 ii4 #ejb4 #ee ,pater3 ,the ,renaissance1 p4 #aeh4 #ef ii4 #bai4 #eg ,the execution of this grotesque picture is probably due to ,girolamo da ,carpi1 or some other assistant of ,dosso4 #eh ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 ii4 #bib1 unaccountably suggested ,francesco ,vecellio 767 as the author4 #ei ,the subject is derived from a passage in the ,de ,divinitate of ,cicero1 as ,herr ,wickhoff has pointed out4 #fj ,see ,venetian ,painting at the ,new ,gallery4 #ahie4 #fa ,unless we are to suppose that ,vasari mistook a copy for an original4 #fb ,francesco ,torbido1 called il ,moro1 born about #adij1 and still living in #aede4 ,vasari states that he actually worked under ,giorgione4 ,signed portraits by him are in the ,brera1 at ,munich1 and ,naples4 ,palma ,vecchio also deserves serious consideration as possible author of the ,shepherd ,boy4 #fc ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 ii4 #add4 #fd ,morelli1 ii4 #bab4 #fe ,see ,appendix1 p4 #abc4 #ff ,quoted by ,morelli1 ii4 #bab1 note4 #fg ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 ii4 #aee4 #fh ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle also cite a portrait in the ,casa ,ajata at ,crespano2 as ,i have never seen this piece ,i cannot discuss it4 ,it was apparently unknown to ,morelli1 nor is it mentioned by other critics4 #fi ,morelli1 ii4 #bje4 #gj ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 ii4 #abh4 ,mr4 ,claude ,phillips1 in the ,gazette des ,beaux ,arts1 #ahhd1 p4 #bhf1 rightly admits ,giorgione's authorship4 #ga ,this sketch is to be found in ,van ,dyck's note-book1 now in possession of the ,duke of ,devonshire at ,chatsworth4 ,it is here reproduced1 failing an illustration of the original picture1 which the authorities in ,venice decline to have made4 7,a good reproduction has now 7#aijc7 been made by ,anderson of ,rome47 #gb ,archivio ,storico1 vi4 #dji4 #gc ,ridolfi tells us ,giorgione painted1 among a long list of decorative pieces1 ,the ,birth of ,adonis1 ,venus and ,adonis embracing1 and ,adonis killed by the ,boar4 ,it is possible he was alluding to these very cassone panels4 #gd ,the other important additions made by ,signor ,venturi in his recent volume1 ,la ,galleria ,crespi1 are alluded to in loco1 further on4 ,i am delighted to find some of my own views anticipated in a wholly independent fashion4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,intermediate ,,summary ,it is necessary for anyone who seeks to recover the missing or unidentified works of an artist like ,giorgione1 first to define his conception of the artist based upon a study of acknowledged materials4 ,the preceding chapter has been devoted to a survey of the best authenticated pictures1 the evidence for the genuineness of which is1 as we have seen1 largely a matter of personal opinion4 ,nevertheless there is1 on the whole1 a unanimity of judgment sufficient to warrant our drawing several inferences as to the general character of ,giorgione's work1 and to attempt a chronological arrangement of the twenty-six pictures here accepted as genuine4 ,the first and most obvious fact then to be noted is the amazing variety of subjects handled by the master4 ,religious paintings1 whether altar-pieces or easel pictures of a devotional character1 are interspersed with mediaeval allegories1 genre subjects1 decorative cassone panels1 portraiture1 and purely lyrical ,fantasiestcke1 corresponding somewhat with the modern ,landscape with ,figures4 ,truly an astonishing range6 ,giorgione1 as we have seen1 could not have been more than eighteen years in active practice1 yet in that short time he gained successes in all these various fields4 ,his many-sidedness shows him to have been a man of wide sympathies1 whilst the astonishing rapidity of his development testifies to the precocity of his talent4 ,his versatility and his precocity are1 in fact1 the two most prominent characteristics to be borne in mind in judging his art1 for much that appears at first sight incongruous1 if not utterly irreconcilable1 can be explained on this basis4 ,for versatility and precocity in an artist are qualities invariably attended by unevenness of workmanship1 as we see in the cases of ,keats and ,schubert1 who were gifted with the lyrical temperament and powers of expression in poetry and music in corresponding measure to ,giorgione in painting4 ,it would show want of critical acumen to expect from ,keats the consistency of ,milton1 or that ,schubert should keep the unvarying high level of ,beethoven1 and it is equally unreasonable to exact from ,giorgione the uniform excellence which characterises ,titian4 ,i do not propose at this point to work out the comparison between the painter1 the musician1 and the poet2 this must be reserved until the final summing-up of ,giorgione as artist1 when we have examined all his work4 ,but this point ,i do insist on1 that from the very nature of things ,giorgione's art is1 and must be1 uneven1 that whilst at times it reaches sublime heights1 at other times it attains to a level of only average excellence4 ,and so the criticism which condemns a picture claiming to be ,giorgione's because it is not good enough for him1 does not recognise the truth that for all that it may be characteristic1 and1 consequently1 perfectly authentic4 ,modern criticism has been apt to condemn because it has expected too much2 let us not blind our eyes to the weaknesses1 even to the failures of great men1 who1 if they lose somewhat of the hero in our eyes1 win our sympathy and our love the more for being human4 ,i have spoken of ,giorgione's versatility1 his precocity1 and the natural inequality of his work4 ,there is another characteristic which commonly exists when these qualities are found united1 and that is ,productiveness4 ,giorgione1 according to all analogy1 must have produced a mass of work4 ,it is idle to assert1 as some modern writers have done1 that at the utmost his easel pictures could have been but few1 because most of his short life was devoted to painting frescoes1 which have perished4 ,it is true that ,giorgione spent time and energy over fresco painting1 and from the very publicity of such work as the frescoes on the ,fondaco de' ,tedeschi1 he came to be widely known in this direction1 but it is infinitely probable that his output in other branches was enormous4 ,the twenty-six pictures we have already accepted1 plus the lost frescoes1 cannot possibly represent the sum-total of his artistic activities1 and to say that everything else has disappeared is1 as ,i shall try to show1 not correct4 ,we know1 moreover1 from the ,anonimo 7who was almost ,giorgione's contemporary7 that many pictures existed in his day which cannot now be traced1#ge and if we add these and some of the others cited by ,vasari and ,ridolfi 7without assuming that every one was a genuine example71 it goes to prove that ,giorgione did paint a good number of easel pictures4 ,but the evidence of the twenty-six themselves is conclusive4 ,they illustrate so many different phases1 they stand sometimes so widely apart1 that intermediate links are necessarily implied4 ,moreover1 as ,giorgione's influence on succeeding artists is allowed by all writers1 a considerable number of his easel pictures must have been in circulation1 from which these imitators drew inspiration1 for he certainly never kept1 as ,bellini did1 a body of assistants and pupils to hand on his teaching1 and disseminate his style4 ,productiveness must then have been a feature of his art1 and as so few pictures have as yet come to be accepted as genuine1 the majority must have perished or been lost to sight for the time4 ,that much yet remains hidden away in private possession ,i am fully persuaded1 especially in ,england and in ,italy1 and one day we may yet find the originals of the several old copies after ,giorgione which ,i enumerate elsewhere4#gf ,in some cases ,i believe ,i have been fortunate enough to detect actually missing originals1 and occasionally restore to ,giorgione pieces that parade under ,titian's name4 ,much1 however1 yet remains to be done1 and the research work now being systematically conducted in the ,venetian archives by ,dr4 ,gustav ,ludwig and ,signor ,pietro ,paoletti may yield rich results in the discovery of documents relating to the master himself1 which may help us to identify his productions1 and possibly confirm some of the conjectures ,i venture to make in the following chapters4#gg ,but before proceeding to examine other pictures which ,i am persuaded really emanate from ,giorgione himself1 let us attempt to place in approximate chronological order the twenty-six works already accepted as genuine1 for1 once their sequence is established1 we shall the more readily detect the lacunae in the artist's evolution1 and so the more easily recognise any missing transitional pieces which may yet exist4 ,the earliest stage in ,giorgione's career is naturally marked by adherence to the teaching and example of his immediate predecessors4 ,however precocious he may have been1 however free from academic training1 however independent of the tradition of the schools1 he nevertheless clearly betrays an artistic dependence1 above all1 on ,giovanni ,bellini4 ,the ,christ bearing the ,cross and the two little pictures in the ,uffizi are direct evidence of this1 and these1 therefore1 must be placed quite early in his career4 ,we should not be far wrong in dating them #adic-e4 ,carpaccio's influence is also apparent1 as we have already noticed1 and through this channel ,giorgione's art connects with the more archaic style of ,gentile ,bellini1 ,giovanni's elder brother4 ,thus in him are united the quattrocentist tradition and the fresher ideals of the cinquecento1 which found earliest expression in ,giambellini's ,allegories of about #adhf-ij4 ,the poetic element in these works strongly appealed to ,giorgione's sensitive nature1 and we find him developing this side of his art in the ,beaumont ,adoration1 and the ,national ,gallery ,epiphany1 both of which are clearly early productions4 ,but there is a gap of a few years between the ,uffizi pictures and the ,london ones1 for the latter are maturer in every way1 and it is clear that the interval must have been spent in constant practice4 ,yet we cannot point with certainty to any of the other pictures in our list as standing midway in development1 and here it is that a lacuna exists in the artist's career4 ,two or three years1 possibly more1 remain unaccounted for1 just at a period1 too1 when the young artist would be most impressionable4 ,i am inclined to think that he may have painted the ,birth of ,paris during these years1 but we have only the copy of a part of the composition to go by1 and the statement of the ,anonimo that the picture was one of ,giorgione's early works4 ,the ,adrastus and ,hypsipyle must also be a youthful production prior to #aejj1 and in the direction of portraiture we have the ,berlin ,young ,man1 which1 for reasons already given1 must be placed quite early4 ,it is not possible to assign exact dates to any of these works1 all that can be said with any certainty is that they fall within the last decade of the fifteenth century1 and illustrate the rapid development of ,giorgione's art up to his twenty-fourth year4 ,a further stage in his evolution is reached in the ,castelfranco ,madonna1 the first important undertaking of which we have some record4 ,tradition connects the painting of this altar-piece with an event of the year #aejd1 the death of the young ,matteo ,costanzo1 whose family1 so it is said1 commissioned ,giorgione to paint a memorial altar-piece1 and decorate the family chapel at ,castelfranco with frescoes4 ,certain it is that the arms of the ,costanzi appear in the picture1 but the evidence which connects the commission with the death of ,matteo seems to rest mainly on his alleged likeness to the ,s4 ,liberale in the picture1 a theory1 we may remark1 which is quite consistent with ,matteo being still alive4 ,considering the extraordinary rapidity of the artist's development1 it would be more natural to place the execution of this work a year or two earlier than #aejd1 but1 in any case1 we may accept it as typical of ,giorgione's style in the first years of the century4 ,the ,judith 7at ,st4 ,petersburg71 as we have already seen1 probably immediately precedes it1 so that we get two masterpieces approximately dated4 ,in the field of portraiture ,giorgione must have made rapid strides from the very first4 ,vasari states that he painted the portraits of the great ,consalvo ,ferrante1 and of one of his captains1 on the occasion of their visit to the ,doge ,agostino ,barberigo4 ,now this event presumably took place in #aejj1gh so that1 at that early date1 he seems already to have been a portrait painter of repute4 ,confirmatory evidence of this is furnished by the statement of ,ridolfi1 that ,giorgione took the portrait of ,agostino ,barberigo himself4#gi ,now the ,doge died in #aejj1 so that if ,giorgione really painted him1 he could not have been more than twenty-three years of age at the time1 an extraordinarily early age to have been honoured with so important a commission2 this fact certainly presupposes successes with other patrons1 whose portraits ,giorgione must have taken during the years #adie-aejj4 ,i hope to be able to identify two or three of these1 but for the moment we may note that by #aejj ,giorgione was a recognised master of portraiture4 ,the only picture on our list likely to date from the period #aejj-aejd is the ,knight of ,malta1 the ,young ,man 7at ,buda-,pesth7 being later in execution4#hj ,from #aejd on1 the rapid rate of progress is more than fully maintained4 ,only six years remain of the artist's short life1 yet in that time he rose to full power1 and anticipated the splendid achievements of ,titian's maturity some forty years later4 ,first in order1 probably1 come the ,venus 7,dresden7 and the ,concert 7,pitti71 both showing originality of conception and mastery of handling4 ,the date of the frescoes on the ,fondaco de' ,tedeschi is known to be #aejg-h1ha but1 as nothing remains but a few patches of colour in one spot high up over the ,grand ,canal1 we have no visible clue to guide us in our estimate of their artistic worth4 ,vasari's description1 and ,zanetti's engraving of a few fragments 7done in #agfj1 when the frescoes were already in decay71 go to prove that ,giorgione at this period studied the antique1 commingling statuesque classicism and the flesh and blood of real life4#hb ,at this period it is most probable we must place the ,judgment of ,solomon 7at ,kingston ,lacy71 possibly1 as ,i have already pointed out1 the very work commissioned by the ,state for the audience chamber of the ,council1 on which1 as we know from documents1 ,giorgione was engaged in #aejg and #aejh4 ,it was never finished1 and the altogether exceptional character of the work places it outside the regular course of the artist's development4 ,it was an ambitious venture in an unwonted direction1 and is naturally marked and marred by unsatisfactory features4 ,giorgione's real powers are shown by the ,pastoral ,symphony 7in the ,louvre71 and the ,portrait of the ,young ,man 7at ,buda-,pesth71 productions dating from the later years #aejh-aj4 ,the ,three ,ages 7in the ,pitti7 may also be included1 and if ,giorgione conceived and even partly executed the ,storm calmed by ,s4 ,mark 7,venice ,academy71 this also must be numbered among his last works4 ,morelli states3 ,it was only in the last six years of his short life 7from about #aeje-aa7 that ,giorgione's power and greatness became fully developed4#hc ,i think this is true in the sense that ,giorgione was ever steadily advancing towards a fuller and riper understanding of the world1 that his art was expanding into a magnificence which found expression in larger forms and richer colour1 that he was acquiring greater freedom of touch1 and more perfect command of the technical resources of his art4 ,but sufficient stress is not laid1 ,i think1 upon the masterly achievement of the earlier times2 the tendency is to refer too much to later years1 and not recognise sufficiently the prodigious precocity before #aejj4 ,one is tempted at times to question the accuracy of ,vasari's statement that ,giorgione died in his thirty-fourth year1 which throws his birth back only to #adgg4 ,some modern writers disregard this statement altogether1 and place his birth before #adgg4hd ,be this as it may1 it does not alter the fact that by #aejj ,giorgione had already attained in portraiture to the highest honours1 and in this sphere1 ,i believe1 he won his earliest successes4 ,my object in the following chapter will be to endeavour to point out some of the very portraits1 as yet unidentified1 which ,i am persuaded were produced by ,giorgione chiefly in these earlier years1 and thus partly to fill some of the lacunae we have found in tracing his artistic evolution4 ,,notes3 #ge ,a list of these is given at p4 #ach4 #gf ,vide ,list of ,works1 pp4 #abd-acg4 #gg ,the results of these archivistic researches are being published in the ,repertorium fr ,kunstwissenschaft4 #gh ,for the evidence1 see ,magazine of ,art1 ,april #ahic4 #gi ,meravig1 i4 #abf4 #hj ,vasari saw ,giorgione's portrait of the succeeding ,doge ,leonardo ,loredano 7#aeja-aeba74 #ha ,see ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 ii4 #ada4 #hb ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 ibid4 #hc ii4 #bac4 ,we now know that he died in #aeaj4 #hd ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 ii4 #aai4 ,bode3 ,cicerone4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,additional ,,pictures--,,portraits ,vasari1 in his ,life of ,titian1 in the course of a somewhat confused account of the artist's earliest years1 tells us how ,titian1 having seen the manner of ,giorgione1 early resolved to abandon that of ,gian ,bellino1 although well grounded therein4 ,he now1 therefore1 devoted himself to this purpose1 and in a short time so closely imitated ,giorgione that his pictures were sometimes taken for those of that master1 as will be related below4 ,and he goes on3 ,at the time when ,titian began to adopt the manner of ,giorgione1 being then not more than eighteen1 he took the portrait of a gentleman of the ,barberigo family who was his friend1 and this was considered very beautiful1 the colouring being true and natural1 and the hair so distinctly painted that each one could be counted1 as might also the stitches#he in a satin doublet1 painted in the same work2 in a word1 it was so well and carefully done1 that it would have been taken for a picture by ,giorgione1 if ,titian had not written his name on the dark ground4 ,now the statement that ,titian began to imitate ,giorgione at the age of eighteen is inconsistent with ,vasari's own words of a few paragraphs previously3 ,about the year #aejg1 ,giorgione da ,castel ,franco1 not being satisfied with that mode of proceeding 7i4e4 'the dry1 hard1 laboured manner of ,gian ,bellino1 which ,titian also acquired'71 began to give to his works an unwonted softness and relief1 painting them in a very beautiful manner4444 ,having seen the manner of ,giorgione1 ,titian now devoted himself to this purpose1 etc4 ,in #aejg ,titian was thirty years old1#hf not eighteen1 so that both statements cannot be correct4 ,now it is highly improbable that ,titian had already discarded the manner of ,bellini as early as #adie1 at the age of eighteen1 and had so identified himself with ,giorgione that their work was indistinguishable4 ,everything1 on the contrary1 points to ,titian's evolution being anything but rapid2 in fact1 so far as records go1 there is no mention of his name until he painted the faade of the ,fondaco de' ,tedeschi in company with ,giorgione in #aejg4 ,it is infinitely more probable that ,vasari's first statement is the more reliable--viz4 that ,titian began to adopt ,giorgione's manner about the year #aejg1 and it follows1 therefore1 that the portrait of the gentleman of the ,barberigo family1 if by ,titian1 dates from this time1 and not #adie4 ,illustration3 ,dixon photo4 ,collection of the ,earl of ,darnley1 ,cobham ,hall ,,portrait ,,of ,a ,,gentleman ,now there is a picture in the ,earl of ,darnley's ,collection at ,cobham ,hall which answers pretty closely to ,vasari's description4 ,it is a supposed portrait of ,ariosto by ,titian1 but it is as much unlike the court poet of ,ferrara as the portrait in the ,national ,gallery 7,no4 #fcf7 which1 with equal absurdity1 long passed for that of ,ariosto1 a name now wisely removed from the label4 ,this magnificent portrait at ,cobham was last exhibited at the ,old ,masters in #ahie1 and the suggestion was then made that it might be the very picture mentioned by ,vasari in the passage quoted above4#hg ,i believe this ingenious suggestion is correct1 and that we have in the ,cobham ,ariosto the portrait of one of the ,barberigo family said to have been painted by ,titian in the manner of ,giorgione4 ,thoroughly ,giorgionesque1 says ,mr4 ,claude ,phillips1 in his ,life of ,titian1 is the soberly tinted yet sumptuous picture in its general arrangement1 as in its general tone1 and in this respect it is the fitting companion and the descendant of ,giorgione's ',antonio ,broccardo' at ,buda-,pesth1 of his ',knight of ,malta' at the ,uffizi4 ,its resemblance1 moreover1 is1 as regards the general lines of the composition1 a very striking one to the celebrated ,sciarra ',violin-,player1' by ,sebastiano del ,piombo4444 ,the handsome1 manly head has lost both subtlety and character through some too severe process of cleaning1 but ,venetian art has hardly anything more magnificent to show than the costume1 with the quilted sleeve of steely1 blue-grey satin1 which occupies so prominent a place in the picture4 ,its ,giorgionesque character is therefore recognised by this writer1 as also by ,dr4 ,georg ,gronau1 in his recent ,life of ,titian 7p4 #ba71 who significantly remarks1 ,its relation to the ',portrait of a ,young ,man' by ,giorgione1 at ,berlin1 is obvious4 ,it is a pity that both these discerning writers of the modern school have not gone a little further and seen that the picture before them is not only ,giorgionesque1 but by ,giorgione himself4 ,the mistake of confusing ,titian and ,giorgione is as old as ,vasari1 who1 misled by the signature1 navely remarks1 ,it would have been taken for a picture by ,giorgione if ,titian had not written his name on the dark ground 7in ombra74 ,hinc illae lacrimae6 ,let us look into this question of signatures1 the ultimate and irrevocable proof in the minds of the innocent that a picture must be genuine4 ,titian's methods of signing his well-authenticated works varied at different stages of his career4 ,the earliest signature is always ,ticianus1 and this is found on works dating down to #aebb 7the ,s4 ,sebastian at ,brescia74 ,the usual signature of the later time is ,titianus1 probably the earliest picture with it being the ,ancona altar-piece of #aebj4 ,tician is found only twice4 ,now1 without necessarily condemning every signature which does not accord with this practice1 we must explain any apparent irregularity1 such1 for instance1 as the ,titianus ,f4 on the ,cobham ,hall picture4 ,this form of signature points to the period after #aebj1 a date manifestly inconsistent with the style of painting4 ,but there is more than this to arouse suspicion4 ,the signature has been painted over another1 or rather1 the ,f4 7 fecit7#hh is placed over an older ,v1 which can still be traced4 ,a second ,v appears further to the right4 ,it looks as if originally the balustrade only bore the double ,v1 and that ,titianus ,f4 were added later4 ,but it was there in ,vasari's day 7#aedd71 so that we arrive at the interesting conclusion that ,titian's signature must have been added between #aebj and #aedd--that is1 in his own lifetime4 ,this singular fact opens up a new chapter in the history of ,titian's relationship to ,giorgione1 and points to practices well calculated to confuse historians of a later time1 and enhance the pupil's reputation at the expense of the deceased master4 ,not that ,titian necessarily appropriated ,giorgione's work1 and passed it off as his own1 but we know that on the latter's death ,titian completed several of his unfinished pictures1 and in one instance1 we are told1 added a ,cupid to ,giorgione's ,venus4 ,it may be that this was the case with the ,ariosto1 and that ,titian felt justified in adding his signature on the plea of something he did to it in after years2 but1 explain this as we may1 the important point to recognise is that in all essential particulars the ,ariosto is the creation not of ,titian1 but of ,giorgione4 ,how is this to be proved8 ,it will be remembered that when discussing whether ,giorgione or ,titian painted the ,pitti ,concert1 the ,giorgionesque qualities of the work were so obvious that it seemed going out of the way to introduce ,titian's name1 as ,morelli did1 and ascribe the picture to him in a ,giorgionesque phase4 ,it is just the same here4 ,the conception is typically ,giorgione's own1 the thoughtful1 dreamy look1 the turn of the head1 the refinement and distinction of this wonderful figure alike proclaim him2 whilst in the workmanship the quilted satin is exactly paralleled by the painting of the dress in the ,berlin and ,buda-,pesth portraits4 ,characteristic of ,giorgione but not of ,titian1 is the oval of the face1 the construction of the head1 the arrangement of the hair4 ,titian1 so far as ,i am aware1 never introduces a parapet or ledge into his portraits1 ,giorgione nearly always does so2 and finally we have the mysterious ,,vv which is found on the ,berlin portrait1 and 7half-obliterated7 on the ,buda-,pesth ,young ,man4 ,in short1 no one would naturally think of ,titian were it not for the misleading signature1 and ,i venture to hope competent judges will agree with me that the proofs positive of ,giorgione's authorship are of greater weight than a signature which--for reasons given--is not above suspicion4#hi ,before ,i leave this wonderful portrait of a gentleman of the ,barberigo family 7so says ,vasari71 a word as to its date is necessary4 ,the historian tells us it was painted by ,titian at the age of eighteen4 ,clearly some tradition existed which told of the youthfulness of the painter1 but may we assume that ,giorgione was only eighteen at the time8 ,that would throw the date back to #adie4 ,is it possible he can have painted this splendid head so early in his career8 ,the freedom of handling1 and the mastery of technique certainly suggests a rather later stage1 but ,i am inclined to believe ,giorgione was capable of this accomplishment before #aejj4 ,the portrait follows the ,berlin ,young ,man1 and may well take its place among the portraits which1 as we have seen1 ,giorgione must have painted during the last decade of the century prior to receiving his commission to paint the ,doge4 ,and in this connection it is of special interest to find the ,doge was himself a ,barberigo4 ,may we not conclude that the success of this very portrait was one of the immediate causes which led to ,giorgione obtaining so flattering a commission from the head of the ,state8 ,i mentioned incidentally that four repetitions of the ,ariosto exist1 all derived presumably from the ,cobham original4 ,we have a further striking proof of the popularity of this style of portraiture in a picture belonging to ,mr4 ,benson1 exhibited at the ,venetian ,exhibition1 ,new ,gallery1 #ahid-e1 where the painter1 whoever he may be1 has apparently been inspired by ,giorgione's original4 ,the conception is wholly ,giorgionesque1 but the hardness of contour and the comparative lack of quality in the touch betrays another and an inferior hand4 ,nevertheless the portrait is of great interest1 for could we but imagine it as fine in execution as in conception we should have an original ,giorgione portrait before us4 ,the features are curiously like those of the ,barberigo gentleman4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in his recently published ,life of ,titian1 ,dr4 ,gronau passes from the consideration of the ,cobham ,hall picture immediately to that of the ,portrait of a ,lady1 known as ,la ,schiavona1 in the collection of ,signor ,crespi in ,milan4 ,in his opinion these two works are intimately related to one another1 and of them he significantly writes thus3 ,the influence of ,giorgione upon ,titian 7to whom he ascribes both portraits7 is evident4 ,the connection can be traced even in the details of the treatment and technique4 ,the separate touches of light on the gold-striped head-dress which fastens back the lady's beautiful dark hair1 the variegated scarf thrown lightly round her waist1 the folds of the sleeves1 the hand with the finger-tips laid on the parapet3 all these details might indicate the one master as well as the other4#ij ,the transition from the ,cobham ,hall portrait to the ,lady in the ,crespi ,collection is1 to my mind1 also a natural and proper one4 ,the painter of the one is the painter of the other4 ,tradition is herein also perfectly consistent1 and tradition has in each case a plausible signature to support it4 ,the ,,titianvs ,f4 of the former portrait is paralleled by the ,t4,v4--i4e4 ,titianus ,vecellio1 or ,titianus ,veneziano of the latter4#ia ,i have already dealt at some length with the question of the former signature1 which appears to have been added actually during ,titian's lifetime2 in the present instance the letters appear almost1 if not quite1 coeval with the rest of the painting1 and were undoubtedly intended for ,titian's signature4 ,the cases1 therefore1 are so far parallel1 and the question naturally arises1 ,did ,titian really have any hand in the painting of this portrait8 ,signor ,venturi#ib strongly denies it2 to him the ,t4,v4 matters nothing1 and he boldly proclaims ,licinio the author4 ,i confess the matter is not thus lightly to be disposed of2 there is no valid reason to doubt the antiquity of the inscription1 which1 on the analogy of the ,cobham ,hall picture1 may well have been added in ,titian's own lifetime1 and for the same reason that ,i there suggested--viz4 that ,titian had in some way or other a hand in the completion1 or may be the alteration1 of his deceased master's work4#ic ,for it is my certain conviction that the painter of the ,crespi ,lady is none other than ,giorgione himself4 ,before1 however1 discussing the question of authorship1 it is a matter of some moment to be able to identify the lady represented4 ,an old tradition has it that this is ,caterina ,cornaro1 and1 in my judgment1 this is perfectly correct4#id ,fortunately1 we possess several well-authenticated likenesses of this celebrated daughter of the ,republic4 ,she had been married to the ,king of ,cyprus1 and after his death had relinquished her quasi-sovereign rights in favour of ,venice4 ,she then returned home 7in #adhi7 and retired to ,asolo1 near ,castelfranco1 where she passed a quiet country life1 enjoying the society of the poets and artists of the day1 and reputed for her kindliness and geniality4 ,her likeness is to be seen in three contemporary paintings3-- #a4 ,at ,buda-,pesth1 by ,gentile ,bellini1 with inscription4 #b4 ,in the ,venice ,academy1 also by ,gentile ,bellini1 who introduces her and her attendant ladies kneeling in the foreground1 to the left1 in his well-known ,miracle of the ,true ,cross1 dated #aejj4 #c4 ,in the ,berlin ,gallery1 by ,jacopo de' ,barbari1 where she appears kneeling in a composition of the ,madonna and ,child and ,saints4 ,illustration3 ,from a print4 ,pourtals ,collection1 ,berlin ,,marble ,,bust ,,of ,,caterina ,,cornaro ,finally we see ,caterina ,cornaro in a bust in the ,pourtals ,collection at ,berlin1 here reproduced1#ie seen full face1 as in the ,crespi portrait4 ,i know not on what outside authority the identification rests in the case of the bust1 but it certainly appears to represent the same lady as in the above-mentioned pictures1 and is rightly accepted as such by modern ,german critics4#if ,illustration3 ,anderson photo4 ,crespi ,collection1 ,milan ,,portrait ,,of ,,caterina ,,cornaro ,to my eyes1 we have the same lady in the ,crespi portrait4 ,mr4 ,berenson1 unaware of the identity1 thus describes her3#ig ,une grande dame italienne est devant nous1 clatante de sant et de magnificence1 nergique1 dbordante1 pleine d'une chaude sympathie1 source de vie et de joie pour tous ceux qui l'entourent1 et cependant rflchie1 pntrante1 un peu ironique bien qu'indulgente4 ,could a better description be given to fit the character of ,caterina ,cornaro1 as she is known to us in history8 ,how little likely1 moreover1 that tradition should have dubbed this homely person the ex-,queen of ,cyprus had it not been the truth6 ,now1 if my contention is correct1 chronology determines a further point4 ,caterina died in #aeaj1 so that this likeness of her 7which is clearly taken from life7 must have been done in or before the first decade of the sixteenth century4#ih ,this excludes ,licinio and ,schiavone 7both of whom have been suggested as the artist71 for the latter was not even born1 and the former--whose earliest known picture is dated #aebj--must have been far too young in #aeaj to have already achieved so splendid a result4 ,palma is likewise excluded1 so that we are driven to choose between ,titian and ,giorgione1 the only two ,venetian artists capable of such a masterpiece before #aeaj4 ,as to which of these two artists it is1 opinions--so far as any have been published--are divided4 ,yet ,dr4 ,gronau1 who claims it for ,titian1 admits in the same breath that the hand is the same as that which painted the ,cobham ,hall picture and the ,pitti ,concert1 a judgment in which ,i fully concur4 ,dr4 ,bode#ii labels it ,art des ,giorgione4 ,finally1 ,mr4 ,berenson1 with rare insight proclaimed the conception and the spirit of the picture to be ,giorgione's4#ajj ,but he asserts that the execution is not fine enough to be the master's own1 and would rank it--with the ,judith at ,st4 ,petersburg--in the category of contemporary copies after lost originals4 ,this view is apparently based on the dangerous maxim that where the execution of a picture is inferior to the conception1 the work is presumably a copy4 ,but two points must be borne in mind1 the actual condition of the picture1 and the character of the artist who painted it4 ,mr4 ,berenson has himself pointed out elsewhere#aja that ,giorgione1 while always supreme in his conceptions1 did not live long enough to acquire a perfection of draughtsmanship and chiaroscuro equally supreme1 and that1 consequently1 there is not a single universally accepted work of his which is absolutely free from the reproaches of the academic pedant4 ,secondly1 the surface of this portrait has lost its original glow through cleaning1 and has suffered other damage1 which actually debarred ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle 7who saw the picture in #ahgg7 from pronouncing definitely upon the authorship4 ,the eyes and flesh1 they say1#ajb were daubed over1 the hair was new1 the colour modern4 ,a good deal of this restoration has since been removed1 but the present appearance of the panel bears witness to the harsh treatment suffered years ago4 ,nevertheless1 the original work is before us1 and not a copy of a lost original1 and ,mr4 ,berenson's enthusiastic praise ought to be lavished on the actual picture as it must have appeared in all its freshness and purity4 ,je n'hsiterais pas1 he declares1#ajc le proclamer le plus important des portraits du matre1 un chef-d'oeuvre ne le cdant aucun portrait d'aucun pays ou d'aucun temps4 ,and certainly ,giorgione has created a masterpiece4 ,the opulence of ,rubens and the dignity of ,titian are most happily combined with a delicacy and refinement such as ,giorgione alone can impart4 ,the intense grasp of character here displayed1 the exquisite intimit1 places this wonderful creation of his on the highest level of portraiture4 ,there is far less of that moody abstraction which awakens our interest in most of his portraits1 but much greater objective truth1 arising from that perfect sympathy between artist and sitter1 which is of the first importance in portrait-painting4 ,history tells us of the friendly encouragement the young ,castelfrancan received at the hands of this gracious lady1 and he doubtless painted this likeness of her in her country home at ,asolo1 near to ,castelfranco1 and we may well imagine with what eagerness he acquitted himself of so flattering a commission4 ,vasari tells us that he saw a portrait of ,caterina1 ,queen of ,cyprus1 painted by ,giorgione from the life1 in the possession of ,messer ,giovanni ,cornaro4 ,i believe that picture to be the very one we are now discussing4#ajd ,the documents quoted by ,signor ,venturi#aje do not go back beyond #afdj1 so that it is1 of course1 impossible to prove the identity1 but the expression from the life 7as opposed to ,titian's posthumous portrait of her7 applies admirably to our likeness4 ,what a contrast to the formal presentation of the queenly lady1 crown and jewels and all1 that ,gentile ,bellini has left us in his portrait of her now at ,buda-,pesth6--and in that other picture of his where she is seen kneeling in royal robes1 with her train of court ladies1 as though attending a state function6 ,how ,giorgione has penetrated through all outward show1 and revealed the charm of manner1 the delightful bonhomie of his royal patroness6 ,we are enabled1 by a simple calculation of dates1 to fix approximately the period when this portrait was painted4 ,gentile ,bellini's picture of ,the ,miracle of the ,true ,cross is dated #aejj--that is1 when ,caterina ,cornaro was forty-six years old 7she was born in #aded74 ,in ,signor ,crespi's picture she appears1 if anything1 younger in appearance1 so that1 at latest1 ,giorgione painted her portrait in #aejj4 ,thus1 again1 we arrive at the same conclusion1 that the master distinguished himself very early in his career in the field of portraiture1 and the similarity in style between this portrait and the ,cobham ,hall one is accounted for on chronological grounds4 ,all things considered1 it is very probable that this portrait was his earliest real success1 and proved a passport to the favourable notice of the fashionable society of ,venice1 leading to the commission to paint the ,doge1 and the ,gran ,signori1 who visited the capital in the year #aejj4 ,that ,giorgione was capable of such an achievement before his twenty-fourth year constitutes1 we may surely admit1 his strongest right to the title of ,genius4#ajf ,the ,barberigo gentleman and the ,caterina ,cornaro are comparatively unfamiliar1 owing to their seclusion in private galleries4 ,not so the third portrait1 which hangs in the ,national ,gallery1 and which1 in my opinion1 should be included among ,giorgione's authentic productions4 ,this is ,no4 #fcf1 ,portrait of a ,poet1 attributed to ,palma ,vecchio2 and the catalogue continues3 ,this portrait of an unknown personage was formerly ascribed to ,titian1 and supposed to represent ,ariosto2 it has long since been recognised as a fine work by ,palma4 ,i certainly do not know by whom this portrait was first recognised as such1 but as the transformation was suddenly effected one day under the late ,sir ,frederic ,burton's regime1 it is natural to suppose he initiated it4 ,no one to-day would be found1 ,i suppose1 to support the older view1 and the rechristening certainly received the approval of ,morelli2#ajg modern critics apparently acquiesce without demur1 so that it requires no little courage to dissent from so unanimous an opinion4 ,i confess1 therefore1 it was no small satisfaction to me to find the question had been raised by an independent inquirer1 ,mr4 ,dickes1 who published in the ,magazine of ,art1 #ahic1 the results of his investigations1 the conclusion at which he arrived being that this is the portrait of ,prospero ,colonna1 ,liberator of ,italy1 painted by ,giorgione in the year #aejj4 ,briefly stated1 the argument is as follows3-- ,i4 7#a7 ,the person represented closely resembles ,prospero ,colonna 7#adfd-aebc71 whose authentic likeness is to be seen-- 7a7 ,in an engraving in ,pompilio ,totti's ,ritratti et ,elogie di ,capitani illustri4 ,rome1 #afce4 7b7 ,in a bust in the ,colonna ,gallery1 ,rome4 7c7 ,in an engraving in the ,columnensium ,procerum of the ,abbas ,domenicus de ,santis4 ,rome1 #afge4 7,all three are reproduced in the article in question47 ,illustration3 ,hanfstngl photo4 ,national ,gallery1 ,london4 ,,portrait ,,of ,a ,,man 7#b7 ,the description of ,prospero ,colonna1 given by ,pompilio ,totti 7in the above book7 tallies with our portrait4 7#c7 ,the accessories in the picture confirm the identity--e4g4 the ,st ,andrew's ,cross1 or saltire1 is on the ,colonna family banner2 the bay1 emblem of victory1 is naturally associated with a great captain2 the rosary may refer to the fact of ,prospero's residence as lay brother in the monastery of the ,olivetani1 near ,fondi1 which was rebuilt by him in #aejj4 ,,ii4 ,admitting the identity of person1 chronology determines the probable date of the execution of this portrait1 for ,prospero visited ,venice presumably in the train of ,consalvo ,ferrante in #aejj4 ,he was then thirty-six years of age4 ,,iii4 ,assuming this date to be correct1 no other ,venetian artist but ,giorgione was capable of producing so fine and admittedly ,giorgionesque a portrait at so early a date4 ,,iv4 ,internal evidence points to ,giorgione's authorship4 ,it will be seen that the logic employed is identical with that by which ,i have tried to establish the identity of ,signor ,crespi's picture4 ,in the present case1 ,i should like to insist on the fourth consideration rather than on the other points1 iconographical or chronological1 and see how far our portrait bears on its face the impress of ,giorgione's own spirit4 ,the conception1 to begin with1 is characteristic of him--the pensive charm1 the feeling of reserve1 the touch of fanciful imagination in the decorative accessories1 but1 above all1 the extreme refinement4 ,all this very naturally fits the portrait of a poet1 and at a time when it was customary to label every portrait with a celebrated name1 what more appropriate than ,ariosto1 the court poet of ,ferrara8 ,but this dreamy reserve1 this intensity of suppressed feeling is characteristic of all ,giorgione's male portraits1 and is nowhere more splendidly expressed than in this lovely figure4 ,where can the like be found in ,palma1 or even ,titian8 ,titian is more virile in his conception1 less lyrical1 less fanciful1 ,palma infinitely less subtle in characterisation4 ,both are below the level of ,giorgione in refinement2 neither ever made of a portrait such a thing of sheer beauty as this4 ,if this be ,palma's work1 it stands alone1 not only far surpassing his usual productions in quality1 but revealing him in a wholly new phase2 it is a difference not of degree1 but of kind4 ,illustration3 ,anderson photo4 ,querini-,stampalia ,collection1 ,venice ,,portrait ,,of ,a ,,man 7,unfinished7 ,positive proofs of ,giorgione's hand are found in the way the hair is rendered--that lovely dark auburn hair so often seen in his work1--in the radiant oval of the face1 contrasting so finely with the shadows1 which are treated exactly as in the ,cobham picture1 only that here the chiaroscuro is more masterly1 in the delicate modelling of the features1 the pose of the head1 and in the superb colour of the whole4 ,in short1 there is not a stroke that does not reveal the great master1 and no other1 and it is incredible that modern criticism has not long ago united in recognising ,giorgione's handiwork4#aj #h ,the date suggested--#aejj--;is also consistent with our own deductions as to ,giorgione's rapid development1 and the distinguished character of his sitter--if it be ,prospero ,colonna--is quite in keeping with the vogue the artist was then enjoying1 for it was in this very year1 it will be remembered1 that he painted the ,doge ,agostino ,barberigo4 ,i therefore consider that ,mr4 ,dickes' brilliant conjectures have much to support them1 and1 so far as the authorship is concerned1 ,i unhesitatingly accept the view1 which he was the first to express1 that ,giorgione1 and no other1 is the painter4 ,our ,national ,collection therefore boasts1 in my opinion1 a masterpiece of his portraiture4 ,if it were not that ,morelli1 ,mr4 ,berenson and others have recognised in the ,portrait of a ,gentleman1 in the ,querini-,stampalia ,gallery in ,venice1 the same hand as in the ,national ,gallery picture1 one might well hesitate to claim it for ,giorgione1 so repainted is its present condition4 ,i make bold1 however1 to include it in my list1 and the more readily as ,signor ,venturi definitely assigns it to ,giorgione himself1 whose name1 moreover1 it has always borne4 ,this unfinished portrait is1 despite its repaint1 extraordinarily attractive1 the rich browns and reds forming a colour-scheme of great beauty4 ,it cannot compare1 however1 in quality with our ,national ,gallery highly-finished example1 to which it is also inferior in beauty of conception4 ,these two portraits illustrate the variableness of the painter2 both were probably done about the same time--the one seemingly con amore1 the other left unfinished1 as though the artist or his sitter were dissatisfied4 ,certainly the cause could not have been ,giorgione's death1 for the style is obviously early1 probably prior to #aejj4 ,the view expressed by ,morelli#aji that this may be a portrait of one of the ,querini family1 who were ,palma's patrons1 has nothing tangible to support it1 once ,palma's authorship is contested4 ,but the unimaginative ,palma was surely incapable of such things as this and the ,national ,gallery portrait6 ,illustration3 ,collection of the ,honourable ,mrs4 ,meynell-,ingram1 ,temple ,newsam1 ,leeds ,,portrait ,,of ,a ,,man ,england boasts1 ,i believe1 yet another magnificent original ,giorgione portrait1 and one that is probably totally unfamiliar to connoisseurs4 ,this is the ,portrait of an ,unknown ,man1 in the possession of the ,hon4 ,mrs ,meynell-,ingram at ,temple ,newsam in ,yorkshire4 ,a small and ill-executed print of it was published in the ,magazine of ,art1 ,april #ahic1 where it was attributed to ,titian4 ,its ,giorgionesque character is apparent at first glance1 and ,i venture to hope that all those who may be fortunate enough to study the original1 as ,i have done1 will recognise the touch of the great master himself4 ,its intense expression1 its pathos1 the distant look tinged with melancholy1 remind us at once of the ,buda-,pesth1 the ,borghese1 and the 7late7 ,casa ,loschi pictures2 its modelling vividly recalls the central figure of the ,pitti ,concert1 the painting of sleeve and gloves is like that in the ,national ,gallery and ,querini-,stampalia portraits just discussed4 ,the general pose is most like that of the ,borghese ,lady4 ,the parapet1 the wavy hair1 the high cranium are all so many outward and visible signs of ,giorgione's spirit1 whilst none but he could have created such magnificent contrasts of colour1 such effects of light and shade4 ,this is indeed ,giorgione1 the great master1 the magician who holds us all fascinated by his wondrous spell4 ,illustration3 ,hanfstngl photo4 ,vienna ,gallery ,,portrait ,,of ,a ,,man ,last on the list of portraits which ,i am claiming as ,giorgione's1 and probably latest in date of execution1 comes the splendid so-called ,physician ,parma1 in the ,vienna ,gallery4 ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle thus describe it3 ,this masterly portrait is one of the noblest creations of its kind1 finished with a delicacy quite surprising1 and modelled with the finest insight into the modulations of the human flesh4444 ,notwithstanding1 the touch and the treatment are utterly unlike ,titian's1 having none of his well-known freedom and none of his technical peculiarities4 ,yet if asked to name the artist capable of painting such a likeness1 one is still at a loss4 ,it is considered to be identical with the portrait mentioned by ,ridolfi as that of ',parma' in the collection of ,b4 della ,nave 7,merav41 i4 #bbj72 but this is not proved1 nor is there any direct testimony to show that it is by ,titian at all4#aaj ,herr ,wickhoff#aaa goes a step further4 ,he says3 ,un autre portrait qui porte le nom de ,titien est galement l'une des oeuvres les plus remarquables du ,muse4 ,on prtend qu'il reprsente le ',mdecin du ,titien1 ,parma'2 mais c'est l une pure invention1 imagine par un ancien directeur du ,muse1 ,m4 ,rosa1 et admise de confiance par ses successeurs4 ,m4 ,rosa avait t amen la concevoir par la lecture d'un passage de ,ridolfi4 ,le costume suffirait lui seul1 pourtant1 pour la dmentir3 c'est le costume officiel d'un snateur vnitien1 et qui par suite ne saurait avoir t port par un mdecin4 ,le tableau est incontestablement de la mme main que les deux ',concerts' du ,palais ,pitti et du ,louvre1 qui portent tous deux le nom de ,giorgione4 ,si l'on attribue ces deux tableaux au ,giorgione1 c'est lui aussi qu'il faut attribuer le portrait de ,vienne2 si1 comme feu ,morelli1 on attribue le tableau du ,palais ,pitti au ,titien1 il faut approuver l'attribution actuelle de notre portrait au mme matre4 ,i am glad that ,herr ,wickhoff recognises the same hand in all three works4 ,i am sorry that in his opinion this should be ,domenico ,campagnola's4 ,i have already referred to this opinion when discussing the ,louvre ,concert1 and must again emphatically dissent from this view4 ,campagnola1 as ,i know him in his pictures and frescoes at ,padua1--the only authenticated examples by which to judge him1#aab--was utterly inadequate to such tasks4 ,the grandeur and dignity of the ,vienna portrait is worthy of ,titian1 whose virility ,giorgione more nearly approaches here than anywhere else4 ,but ,i agree with the verdict of ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle that his is not the hand that painted it1 and believe that the author of the ,temple ,newsam ,man also produced this portrait1 probably a few years later1 at the close of his career4 ,,notes3 #he ,or points 7punte74 ,the translation is that used by ,blashfield and ,hopkins1 vol4 iv4 #bfj4 #hf ,assuming he was born in #adgg1 which is by no means certain4 #hg ,dr4 ,richter in the ,art ,journal1 #ahie1 p4 #ij4 ,mr4 ,claude ,phillips1 in his ,earlier ,work of ,titian1 p4 #eh1 note1 objects that ,vasari's giubone di raso inargentato is not the superbly luminous steel-grey sleeve of this ,ariosto1 but surely a vest of satin embroidered with silver4 ,i think we need not examine ,vasari's casual descriptions quite so closely2 a doublet of silvered satin wherein the stitches could be counted is fairly accurate4 ,quilted sleeves would no doubt be the tailor's term4 #hh ,it is not quite clear whether the single letter is ,f or ,t4 #hi ,a curious fact1 which corroborates my view1 is that the four old copies which exist are all ascribed to ,giorgione 7at ,vicenza1 ,brescia1 and two lately in ,english collections74 ,see ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 p4 #bja4 #ij ,gronau3 ,tizian1 p4 #ba4 #ia ,see1 however1 note on p4 #acc4 #ib ,la ,galleria ,crespi4 #ic ,the documents quoted by ,signor ,venturi show the signature was there in #afdj4 #id ,when in the ,martinengo ,gallery at ,brescia 7#afdj7 it bore this name4 ,see ,venturi1 op4 cit41 and ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 ,titian1 ii4 #eh4 #ie ,from ,das ,museum1 ,no4 #gi4 ,unbekannter ,meister um #aejj4 ,bildnis der ,caterina ,cornaro4 ,i am informed the original is now in the possession of the ,german ,ambassador at ,the ,hague1 and that a plaster cast is at ,berlin4 #if ,dr4 ,bode 7,jahrbuch1 #ahhc1 p4 #add7 says that ,count ,pourtals acquired this bust at ,asolo4 #ig ,gazette des ,beaux ,arts1 #ahig1 pp4 #bgh-i4 ,since 7#aija7 republished in his ,study and ,criticism of ,italian ,art1 vol4 i4 p4 #he4 #ih ,titian's posthumous portrait of ,caterina is lost4 ,the best known copy is in the ,uffizi4 ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle long ago pointed out the absurdity of regarding this fancy portrait as a true likeness of the long deceased queen4 ,it bears no resemblance whatever to the ,buda-,pesth portrait1 which is the latest of the group4 #ii ,cicerone1 sixth edition4 #ajj ,gazette des ,beaux ,arts1 #ahig1 pp4 #bgh-i4 #aja ,venetian ,painting at the ,new ,gallery1 #ahie1 p4 #da4 #ajb ,titian1 ii4 #eh4 #ajc ,gazette des ,beaux ,arts1 loc cit4 #ajd ,life of ,giorgione4 ,the letters ,t4,v4 either were added after #aedd1 or ,vasari did not interpret them as ,titian's signature4 #aje ,la ,galleria ,crespi1 op4 cit4 #ajf ,the importance of this portrait in the history of the ,renaissance is discussed1 postea1 p4 #aac4 #ajg ii4 #ai4 #ajh ,this picture was transferred in #aheg from panel to canvas1 but is otherwise in fine condition4 #aji ,morelli1 ii4 #ai1 note4 #aaj ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle3 ,titian1 p4 #dbe4 #aaa ,gazette des ,beaux ,arts1 #ahic1 p4 #ace4 #aab ,it is customary to cite the ,prague picture of #aebe as his work4 ,the clumsy signature ,,cam was probably intended for ,campi1 the real author1 and its genuineness is not above suspicion4 ,it is a curious quid pro quo4 ,,chapter ,v ,,additional ,,pictures ,,other ,,than ,,portraits ,i have now pointed out six portraits which1 in my opinion1 should be included in the roll of genuine ,giorgiones4 ,no doubt others will1 in time1 be identified1 but ,i leave this fascinating quest to pass to the consideration of other paintings illustrating a different phase of the master's art4#aac ,we know that the romantic vein in ,giorgione was particularly strong1 that he naturally delighted in producing fanciful pictures where his poetic imagination could find full play2 we have seen how the classic myth and the mediaeval romance afforded opportunities for him to indulge his fancy1 and we have found him adapting themes derived from these sources to the decoration of cassoni1 or marriage chests4 ,another typical example of this practice is afforded by his ,orpheus and ,eurydice1 in the gallery at ,bergamo1 a splendid little panel1 probably1 like the ,apollo and ,daphne in the ,seminario at ,venice1 intended as a decorative piece of applied art4 ,although bearing ,giorgione's name by tradition1 modern critics have passed it by presumably on the ground that it is not good enough1--that fatal argument which has thrown dust in the eyes of the learned4 ,as if the artist would naturally expend as much care on a trifle of this kind as on the ,castelfranco altar-piece1 or the ,dresden ,venus6 ,yet what greater beauty of conception1 what more poetic fancy is there in the ,apollo and ,daphne 7which is generally accepted as genuine7 than in this little ,orpheus and ,eurydice8 ,nay1 the execution1 which is the point contested1 appears to me every whit as brilliant1 and in preservation the latter piece has the advantage4 ,not a touch but what can be paralleled in a dozen other works--the feathery trees against the luminous sky1 the glow of the horizon1 the splendid effects of light and shadow1 the impressive grandeur of the wild scenery1 the small figures in mid-distance1 even the cast of drapery and shape of limbs are repeated elsewhere4 ,let anyone contrast the delicacy and the glow of this little panel with several similar productions of the ,venetian school hanging in the same gallery1 and the gulf that separates ,giorgione from his imitators will1 ,i think1 be apparent4 ,illustration3 ,taramelli photo4 ,bergamo ,gallery ,,orpheus ,,and ,,eurydice ,in the same category must be ranked two very small panels in the ,gallery at ,padua 7,nos4 #db and #dc71 attributed with a query to ,giorgione4 ,these are apparently fragments of some decorative series1 of which the other parts are missing4 ,the one represents ,leda and the ,swan1 the other a mythological subject1 where a woman is seated holding a child1 and a man1 also seated1 holds flowers4 ,the latter recalls one of the figures in the ,national ,gallery ,epiphany4 ,the charm of these fragments lies in the exquisite landscapes1 which1 in minuteness of finish and loving care1 ,giorgione has nowhere surpassed4 ,the gallery at ,padua is thus1 in my opinion1 the possessor of four genuine examples of ,giorgione's skill as a decorator1 for we have already mentioned the larger cassone pieces#aad 7,nos4 #daf and #dag74 ,of greater importance is the ,unknown ,subject1 in the ,national ,gallery 7,no4 #aagc71 a picture which1 like so many others1 has recently been taken from ,giorgione1 its author1 and vaguely put down to his ,school4 ,but it is time to protest against such needless depreciation6 ,in spite of abrasion1 in spite of the loss of glow1 in spite of much that disfigures1 nay disguises1 the master's own touch1 ,i feel confident that ,giorgione and no other produced this beautiful picture4#aae ,surely if this be only school work1 we are vainly seeking a mythical master1 an ideal who never could have existed4 ,what more dainty figures1 what more delicate hues1 what more exquisite feeling could one look for than is here to be found8 ,true1 the landscape has been renovated1 true1 the ,giorgionesque depth and richness is gone1 the mellow glow of the ,epiphany1 which hangs just below1 is sadly wanting1 but who can deny the charm of the picturesque scenery1 which vividly recalls the landscape backgrounds elsewhere in the master's own work1 who can fail to admire the natural and unstudied grouping of the figures1 the artlessness of the whole1 the loving simplicity with which the painter has done his work8 ,all is spontaneous2 the spirit is not that of a laborious imitator1 painfully seeking effects from another's inspiration2 sincerity and navet are too apparent for this to be the work of any but a quite young artist1 and one whose style is so thoroughly ,giorgionesque as to be none other than the young ,giorgione himself4 ,in my opinion this is one of his earliest essays into the region of romance1 painted probably before his twenty-first year1 betraying1 like the little legendary pictures in the ,uffizi1 a strong affinity with ,carpaccio4#aaf ,illustration3 ,hanfstngl photo4 ,na4 nal ,gallery1 ,london 8 ,,the ,,golden ,,age ,as to the subject many conjectures have been made3 ,aristotle surrounded by emblems illustrating the objects with which his philosophy was concerned1 an initiation into some mystic rite1 the poet musing in sadness on the mysteries of life1 the philosopher imparting wisdom to the young1 etc4 etc4 ,i believe ,giorgione is simply giving us a poetical rendering of ,the ,golden ,age1 where1 like ,plato's philosopher-king1 the seer all-wise and all-powerful holds sway1 before whom the arts and sciences do homage2 in this earthly paradise even strange animals live in happy harmony1 and all is peace4 ,such a theme would well have suited ,giorgione's temperament1 and ,ridolfi actually tells us that this very subject was taken by ,giorgione from the pages of ,ovid1 and adapted by him to his own ends4#aag ,but whether this represents ,the ,golden ,age1 or some other allegory or classic story1 the picture is completely characteristic of all that is most individual in ,giorgione1 and ,i earnestly hope the slur now cast upon its character by the misleading label will be speedily removed4#aah ,for the public believes more in the labels it reads1 than the pictures it sees4 ,finally1 in the ,venus disarming ,cupid1 of the ,wallace collection1 we have1 in my opinion1 the wreck of a once splendid ,giorgione4 ,in the recent re-arrangement of the ,gallery1 this picture1 which used to hang in an upstairs room1 and was practically unknown1 has been hung prominently on the line1 so that its beauties1 and1 alas6 its defects1 can be plainly seen4 ,the outlines are often distorted and blurred1 the ,cupid has become monstrous1 the delicacy of the whole effaced by ill-usage and neglect4 ,yet the splendour of colour1 the cast of drapery1 the flow of line1 proclaims the great master himself4 ,there is no room1 moreover1 for such a mythical compromise as that which is proposed by the catalogue1 ,it stands midway in style between ,giorgione and ,titian in his ,giorgionesque phase4 ,no better instance could be adduced of the fallacy of perfection implied in the minds of most critics at the mention of ,giorgione's name2 yet if we accept the ,louvre ,concert1 if we accept the ,hermitage ,judith1 why dispute ,giorgione's claim on the ground of weakness of construction8 ,this ,venus and ,cupid is vastly inferior in quality to the ,dresden ,venus1--let us frankly admit it1--but it is none the less characteristic of the artist1 who must not be judged by the standard of his exceptional creations1 but by that of his normal productions4#aai ,illustration3 ,hanfstngl photo4 ,national ,gallery1 ,london ,,venus ,,and ,,adonis ,just such another instance of average merit is afforded by the ,venus and ,adonis of the ,national ,gallery 7,no4 #aabc71 from which1 had not an artificial standard of excellence been falsely raised1 ,giorgione's name would never have been removed4 ,i am happily not the first to call attention to the propriety of the old attribution1 for ,sir ,edward ,poynter claims that the same hand that produced the ,louvre ,concert is also responsible for the ,venus and ,adonis4#abj ,i fully share this opinion4 ,the figures1 with their compactly built and rounded limbs1 are such as ,giorgione loved to model1 the sweep of draperies and the splendid line indicate a consummate master1 the idyllic landscape framing episodes from the life of ,adonis is just such as we see in the ,louvre picture and elsewhere1 the glow and splendour of the whole reveal a master of tone and colouring4 ,some good judges would give the work to the young ,titian1 but it appears too intimately ,giorgionesque to be his1 although ,i admit the extreme difficulty in drawing the line of division4 ,passages in the ,sacred and ,profane ,love of the ,borghese ,gallery are curiously recalled1 but the ,national ,gallery picture is clearly the work of a mature and experienced hand1 and not of any young artist4 ,in my opinion it dates from about #aejh1 and illustrates the later phase of ,giorgione's art as admirably as do the ,epiphany 7,no4 #aafj7 and the ,golden ,age 7,no4 #aagc7 his earliest style4 ,between these extremes fall the ,portrait 7,no4 #fcf71 and the ,s4 ,liberale 7,no4 #bfi71 the ,national ,gallery thus affording unrivalled opportunity for studying the varying phases of the great ,venetian master at different stages of his career4 99 99 99 99 99 ,we may now pass from the realm of fancy subjects to that of sacred art--that is1 to the consideration of the ,madonnas1 ,holy ,families1 and ,santa ,conversazione pictures1 other than those already described4 ,the ,beaumont ,adoration of the ,shepherds1 with its variant at ,vienna1 the ,national ,gallery ,epiphany1 the ,madrid ,madonna with ,s4 ,anthony and ,s4 ,roch1 and the ,castelfranco altar-piece are the only instances so far of ,giorgione's sacred art1 yet ,vasari tells us that the master in his youth painted very many beautiful pictures of the ,virgin4 ,this statement is on the face of it likely enough1 for although the young ,castelfrancan early showed his independence of tradition and his preference for the more modern phases of ,bellini's art1 it is extremely probable he was also called upon to paint some smaller devotional pieces1 such1 for instance1 as ,the ,christ bearing the ,cross1 lately in the ,casa ,loschi at ,vicenza4#aba ,it is noteworthy1 all the same1 that scarcely any ,madonna picture exists to which his name still attaches1 and only one ,holy ,family1 so far as ,i am aware1 is credibly reputed to be his work4 ,this is ,mr4 ,benson's little picture1 in all respects a worthy companion to the ,beaumont and ,national ,gallery examples4 ,there is even a purer ring about this lovely little ,holy ,family1 a child-like sincerity and a simplicity which is very touching1 while for sheer beauty of colour it is more enjoyable than either of the others4 ,it may not have the depth of tone and mastery of chiaroscuro which make the ,beaumont ,adoration so subtly attractive1 but in tenderness of feeling and daintiness of treatment it is not surpassed by any other of ,giorgione's works4 ,in its obvious defects1 too1 it is as thoroughly characteristic2 it is needless to repeat here what ,i said when discussing the ,beaumont and ,vienna ,adoration2 the reader who compares the reproductions will readily see the same features in both works4 ,mr4 ,benson's little picture has this additional interest1 that more than either of its companion pieces it points forward to the ,castelfranco ,madonna in the bold sweep of the draperies1 the play of light on horizontal surfaces1 and the exquisite gaiety of its colour4 ,illustration3 ,hanfstngl photo4 ,vienna ,gallery ,,the ,,gipsy ,,madonna ,in claiming this picture for ,giorgione ,i am claiming nothing new1 for his name1 in spite of modern critics1 has here persistently survived4 ,not so with a group of three ,madonnas1 one of which has for at least two centuries borne ,titian's name1 another which passes also for a work of the same painter1 whilst the third was claimed by ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle again for ,titian1 partly on the analogy of the first-mentioned one4#abb ,the first is the so-called ,gipsy ,madonna in the ,vienna ,gallery1 the second is a ,madonna in the ,bergamo ,gallery1 and the third is a ,madonna again in ,mr4 ,benson's collection4 ,i am happily not the first to identify the ,gipsy ,madonna as ,giorgione's work1 for it requires no little courage to tilt at what has been unquestioningly accepted as the earliest known ,madonna of ,titian4 ,i am indebted1 therefore1 to ,signor ,venturi for the lead1#abc although ,i have the satisfaction of feeling that independent study of my own had already brought me to the same conclusion4 ,of course1 all modern writers have recognised the ,giorgionesque elements in this supposed ,titian4 ,in the depth1 strength1 and richness of the colour-chord1 in the atmospheric spaciousness and charm of the landscape background1 in the breadth of the draperies1 it is already1 says ,mr4 ,claude ,phillips1#abd ,giorgionesque4 ,yet1 he goes on1 the ,child is unlike ,giorgione's type in the ,castelfranco and ,madrid pictures1 and the ,virgin has a less spiritualised nature than ,giorgione's ,madonnas in the same two pictures4 ,on the other hand1 ,dr4 ,gronau1 ,titian's latest biographer1 declares#abe that the thoughtful expression 7der tief empfundene ,ausdruck7 of the ,madonna is essentially ,giorgionesque4 ,morelli1 with peculiar insight1 protested against its being considered a very early work of ,titian1 basing his protest on the advanced nature of the landscape1 which1 he says1#abf must have been painted six or eight years later than the end of the fifteenth century4 ,but even he fell into line with ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle in ascribing the picture to ,titian1 failing to see that all difficulties of chronology and discrepancies of judgment between himself and the older historians could be reconciled on the hypothesis of ,giorgione's authorship4 ,for ,giorgione1 as ,morelli rightly saw1 developed far more rapidly than ,titian1 so that a ,titian landscape of1 say1 #aejf-h 7if any such exist67 would correspond with one by ,giorgione of1 say1 #aejj4 ,i agree with ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle and those writers who date back the ,gipsy ,madonna to the end of the fifteenth century1 but ,i must emphatically support ,signor ,venturi in his claim that ,giorgione is the author4 ,before1 however1 looking at internal evidence to prove this contention1 we may note that another example of the same composition exists in the ,gallery of ,rovigo1 identical save for a cartellino on which is inscribed ,,titianvs4 ,to ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle this was evidence to confirm ,titian's claim to be the painter of what they considered the original work--viz4 the ,vienna picture1 of which the ,rovigo example was1 in their opinion1 a later copy4 ,a careful examination1 however1 of the latter picture has convinced me that they were curiously right and curiously wrong4 ,that the ,rovigo work is posterior to the ,vienna one is1 ,i think1 patent to anyone conversant with ,venetian painting1 but why should the one bear ,titian's name on an apparently authentic cartellino1 and not the other8 ,the simple and straightforward explanation appears the best--viz4 that the ,rovigo picture is actually by ,titian1 who has taken the ,vienna picture 7which ,i attribute to ,giorgione7 as his model and directly repeated it4 ,the qualities of the work are admirable1 and worthy of ,titian1 and ,i venture to think this ,madonna would long ago have taken its rightful place among the pictures of the master had it not hung in a remote provincial gallery little visited by travellers1 and in such a dark corner as to escape detection4 ,the form ,,titianvs points to a period after #aebj1abg when ,giorgione had been some years dead1 so that it was not unnatural that in after times the credit of invention rested with the author of the signed picture1 and that his name came gradually to be attached also to the earlier example4 ,the engraving of ,meyssen 7circa #afdj7 thus bears ,titian's name1 and both engraving and the repetition at ,rovigo are now adduced as evidence of ,titian's authorship of the ,vienna ,gipsy ,madonna4 ,but is there any proof that ,titian ever copied or repeated any other work of ,giorgione8 ,there is1 fortunately1 one great and acknowledged precedent1 the ,venus in the ,tribune of the ,uffizi1 which is directly taken from ,giorgione's ,dresden ,venus1 ,the accessories1 it is true1 are different1 but the nude figures are line for line identical4#abh ,other painters1 ,palma1 ,cariarli1 and ,titian1 elsewhere1 derived inspiration from ,giorgione's prototype1 but ,titian actually repeats the very figure in this ,venus2 so that there is nothing improbable in my contention that ,titian also repeated ,giorgione's ,gipsy ,madonna1 adding his signature thereto1 to the confusion and confounding of later generations4 ,illustration3 ,dixon photo4 ,collection of ,mr4 ,r4,h4 ,benson1 ,london ,,madonna ,,and ,,child ,it is worthy of note that not a single ,madonna and ,child by ,titian exists1 except the little picture in ,mr4 ,mond's collection1 painted quite in the artist's old age4 ,titian invariably paints ,madonna and ,saints1 or a ,holy ,family1 so that the three ,madonna pictures ,i am claiming for ,giorgione are marked off by this peculiarity from the bulk of ,titian's work4 ,this in itself is not enough to disqualify ,titian1 but it is a factor in that cumulative proof by which ,i hope ,giorgione's claim may be sustained4 ,the marble parapet again is a feature in ,giorgione's work1 but not in ,titian's4 ,but the most convincing evidence to those who know the master lies in the composition1 which forms an almost equilateral triangle1 revealing ,giorgione's supreme sense of beauty in line4 ,the splendid curves made by the drapery1 the pose of the ,child1 so as to obtain the same unbroken sweep of line1 reveals the painter of the ,dresden ,venus4 ,the painting of the ,child's hand over the ,madonna's is precisely as in the ,madrid picture1 where1 moreover1 the pose of the ,child is singularly alike4 ,the folds of drapery on the sleeve recur in the same picture1 the landscape with the small figure seated beneath the tree is such as can be found in any ,giorgione background4 ,the oval of the face and the delicacy of the features are thoroughly characteristic1 as is the spirit of calm reverie and tender simplicity which ,giorgione has breathed into his figures4 ,the second and third ,madonna pictures--viz4 the one at ,bergamo1 and its counterpart in ,mr4 ,benson's collection--appear to be somewhat later in date of execution1 but reveal many points in common with the ,gipsy ,madonna4 ,the beauty of line is here equally conspicuous2 the way the drapery is carried out beyond the elbow so as to form one long unbroken curve1 the triangular composition1 the marble parapet1 are so many proofs of ,giorgione's hand4 ,moreover1 we find in ,mr4 ,benson's picture the characteristic tree-trunks1 so suggestive of solemn grandeur1#abi and the striped scarf1#acj so cunningly disposed to give more flowing line and break the stiffness of contour4 ,the ,bergamo picture closely resembles ,mr4 ,benson's ,madonna1 from which1 indeed1 it varies chiefly in the pose of the ,child 7whose left leg here sticks straight out71 whilst the landscape is seen on the left side1 and there are no tree-trunks4 ,i cannot find that any writer has made allusion to this little gem1 which hangs high up on the end wall of the ,lochis section of the gallery 7,no4 #bcb72 ,i hope others will examine this new-found work at a less inconvenient height1 as ,i have done1 and that their opinion will coincide with mine that the same hand painted the ,benson ,madonna1 and that that hand is ,giorgione's4 ,before quitting the subject of the ,madonna and ,child1 another example may be alluded to1 about which it would be unwise to express any decided opinion founded only on a study of the photograph4 ,this is a picture at ,st4 ,petersburg1 to which ,mr4 ,claude ,phillips first directed attention1#aca stating his then belief that it might be a genuine ,giorgione4 ,after a recent visit to ,st4 ,petersburg1 however1 he has seen fit to register it as a probable copy after a lost original by the master1 on the ground that it is not fine enough in execution4#acb ,this1 as ,i have often pointed out1 is a dangerous test to apply in ,giorgione's case1 and so the authenticity of this ,madonna may still be left an open question4 ,finally1 in the category of ,sacred ,art come two well-known pictures1 both in public galleries1 and both accredited to ,giorgione4 ,the first is the ,christ and the ,adulteress of the ,glasgow ,gallery1 the second the ,madonna and ,saints of the ,louvre4 ,many diverse opinions are held about the ,glasgow picture2 some ascribe it to ,cariani1 others to ,campagnola4 ,it is asserted by some that the same hand painted the ,kingston ,lacy ,judgment of ,solomon1 but that it is not the hand of ,giorgione1 and finally--to come to the view which ,i believe is the correct one--,dr4 ,bode and ,sir ,walter ,armstrong#acc both believe that ,giorgione is the painter4 ,illustration3 ,hanfstngl photo4 ,glasgow ,gallery ,,the ,,adulteress ,,before ,,christ ,the whole difficulty1 as it seems to me1 arises from the deep-rooted misapprehension in the minds of most critics of the character of ,giorgione's art4 ,in their eyes1 he is something so perfect as to be incapable of producing anything short of the ideal4 ,he could never have drawn so badly1 he never could have composed so awkwardly1 he never could have been so inexpressive6--such is the usual criticism4 ,i have elsewhere insisted upon the unevenness which invariably characterises the productions of men who are gifted with a strong artistic temperament1 and in ,giorgione's case1 as ,i believe1 this is particularly true4 ,the ,glasgow picture is but one instance of many where1 if correctness of drawing1 perfection of composition1 and inevitableness of expression are taken as final tests1 the verdict must go against the painter4 ,he either failed in these cases to come up to the standard reached elsewhere1 or he is not the painter4 ,modern negative criticism generally adopts the latter solution1 with the result that not a score of pictures pass muster1 and the virtues of these chosen few are so extolled as to make it all but impossible to see the reverse of the medal4 ,but those who accept the ,judith at ,st4 ,petersburg1 the ,louvre ,concert1 the ,beaumont ,adoration of the ,shepherds 7to name only three examples where the drawing is strange71 cannot consistently object to admit the ,glasgow ,christ and the ,adulteress into the fold4 ,nay1 if gorgeousness of colour1 splendour of glow1 mastery of chiaroscuro1 and brilliancy of technique are qualities which go to make up great painting1 then the ,glasgow picture must take high rank1 even in a school where such qualities found their grandest expression4 ,illustration3 ,the ,louvre1 ,paris ,,madonna ,,and ,,saints ,comparisons of detail may be noted1 such as the resemblance in posture and type of the ,accuser with the ,s4 ,roch of the ,madrid picture1 the figure of the ,adulteress with that of the ,false ,mother in the ,kingston ,lacy picture1 the pointing forefingers1 the typical landscape1 the cast of the draperies1 details which the reader can find often repeated elsewhere4 ,but it is in the treatment of the subject that the most characteristic features are revealed4 ,the artist was required--we know not why--to paint this dramatic scene2 he had to produce a set piece1 where action and graphic representation was urgently needed4 ,how little to his taste6 ,how uncongenial the task6 ,the case is exactly paralleled by the ,judgment of ,solomon1 the only other dramatic episode ,giorgione appears to have attempted1 and the result in each case is the same--no real dramatic unity1 but an accidental arrangement of the figures1 with rhetorical action4 ,the want of repose in the ,christ offends1 the stageyness of the whole repels4 ,how different when ,giorgione worked con amore6 ,for it seems this composition gave him much trouble4 ,of this we have a most interesting proof in an almost contemporary ,venetian version of the same subject1 where the scheme has been recast4 ,this picture belongs to ,sir ,charles ,turner1 in ,london1 and1 so far as intelligibleness of composition goes1 may be said to be an improvement on the ,glasgow version4 ,it is highly probable that this painting derives from some alternative drawing for the original picture4 ,that the ,glasgow version acquired some celebrity we have further proof in an almost exact copy 7with one more figure added on the right71 which hangs in the ,bergamo ,gallery under ,cariani's name1 a painting which1 in all respects1 is utterly inferior to the original4#acd ,the ,christ and the ,adulteress1 then1 becomes for us a revelation of the painter's nature1 of his methods and aims2 but1 with all its technical excellences1 shall we not also frankly recognise the limitations of his art8#ace ,the ,madonna and ,saints of the ,louvre1 which persistently bears ,giorgione's name1 in spite of modern negative criticism1 is marked by a lurid splendour of colour and a certain rough grandeur of expression1 well calculated to jar with any preconceived notion of ,giorgionesque sobriety or reserve4 ,yet here1 if anywhere1 we get that fuoco ,giorgionesco of which ,vasari speaks1 that intensity of feeling1 rendered with a vivacity and power to which the artist could only have attained in his latest days4 ,in this splendid group there is a masculine energy1 a fulness of life1 and a grandeur of representation which carries le grand style to its furthest limits1 and if ,giorgione actually completed the picture before his death1 he anticipated the full splendour of the riper ,renaissance4 ,to him is certainly due the general composition1 with its superb lines1 its beautiful curves1 its majestic and dignified postures1 its charming sunset background1 to him is certainly due the splendid chiaroscuro and magic colour-chord2 but it becomes a question whether some of the detail was not actually finished by ,giorgione's pupil1 ,sebastiano del ,piombo4#acf ,the drawing1 for instance1 of the hands vividly suggests his help1 the type of ,s4 ,joseph in the background reminds us of the figure of ,s4 ,chrysostom in ,sebastiano's ,venice altar-piece1 while the ,s4 ,catherine recalls the ,angel in ,sebastiano's ,holy ,family at ,naples4 ,if this be the case1 we here have another instance of the pupil finishing his master's work1 and this time probably after his death1 for1 as already pointed out1 the ,evander and ,aeneas 7at ,vienna7 must have been left by ,giorgione well-nigh complete at an earlier stage than the year of his death4 ,that ,sebastiano stood in close relation to his master1 ,giorgione1 is evidenced not only by ,vasari's statement1 but by the obvious dependence of the ,s4 ,giovanni ,crisostomo altar-piece at ,venice on ,giorgionesque models4 ,moreover1 the ,violin ,player1 formerly in the ,sciarra ,palace1 at once reminds us of the ,barberigo portrait at ,cobham1 while the ,herodias with the ,head of ,john ,baptist1 dated #aeaj1 now in the collection of ,mr4 ,george ,salting1 shows conclusively how closely related were the two painters in the last year of ,giorgione's life4 ,sebastiano was twenty-five years of age in #aeaj1 and appears to have worked under ,giorgione for some time before removing to ,rome1 which he did on1 or shortly before1 his master's death4 ,his departure left ,titian1 his associate under ,giorgione1 master of the field2 he1 too1 had a hand in finishing some of the work left incomplete in the atelier1 and his privilege it became to continue the ,giorgionesque tradition1 and to realise in utmost perfection in after years the aspirations and ideals so brilliantly anticipated by the young genius of ,castelfranco4#acg ,,notes3 #aac ,the ,doges ,agostino ,barberigo1 and ,leonardo ,loredano1 ,consalvo of ,cordova1 ,giovanni ,borgherini and his tutor1 ,luigi ,crasso1 and others1 are mentioned as having sat to ,giorgione for their portraits4 ,modern criticism has recently distributed several ,giorgionesque portraits in ,english collections among ,licinio1 ,lotto1 and even ,polidoro6 ,but this disintegrating process may be1 and has been1 carried too far4 #aad ,two more small works may be mentioned which may tentatively be ascribed to ,giorgione4 ,the ,two ,musicians1 in the ,glasgow ,gallery 7recently transferred to ,campagnola71 and a ,sta4 ,justina 7known to me only from a photograph71 which has passed lately into the collection of ,herr von ,kauffmann at ,berlin4 ,signor ,venturi 7,l',arte1 #aijj7 has just acquired for the ,national ,gallery in ,rome a ,st4 ,george slaying the ,dragon4 ,judging only from the photograph1 ,i should say he is correct in his identification of this as ,giorgione's work4 ,it seems to be akin to the ,apollo and ,daphne1 and ,orpheus and ,eurydice4 #aae ,i am pleased to find ,signor ,venturi has anticipated my own conclusion in his recently published ,la ,galleria ,crespi4 #aaf ,mr4 ,cosmo ,monkhouse 7,in the ,national ,gallery1 p4 #bbc7 has already rightly recognised the same hand in this picture and in the ,epiphany hanging just below4 #aag ,meravig1 i4 #abd4 #aah ,by a happy accident the new ,giorgione label1 intended for the ,epiphany1 ,no4 #aafj1 was for some time affixed to ,no4 #aagc4 #aai ,when in the ,orleans ,gallery the picture was engraved under ,giorgione's name by de ,longueil and ,halbon4 #abj ,new illustrated edition of the ,national ,gallery ,catalogue1 #aijj4 #aba ,now in ,america1 in ,mrs4 ,gardner's ,collection4 #abb ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle3 ,titian1 i4 p4 ,,iii4 ,this picture was then at ,burleigh ,house4 #abc ,see ,la ,galleria ,crespi1 #aijj4 #abd ,the ,earlier ,work of ,titian p4 #bd4 ,portfolio1 ,october #ahig4 #abe ,tizian1 p4 #af4 #abf ,morelli1 ii4 #eg1 note4 #abg ,see antea1 p4 #ga4 #abh ,with the exception of the right arm1 which ,titian has let fall1 instead placing it behind the head of the sleeping goddess4 ,the effect of the beautiful curve is thereby lost1 and ,titian shows himself ,giorgione's inferior in quality of line4 #abi ,as in the ,aeneas and ,evander 7,vienna71 the ,judith 7,st4 ,petersburg71 the ,madrid ,madonna and ,saints1 etc4 #acj ,as in the ,caterina ,cornare of the ,crespi collection at ,milan4 #aca ,magazine of ,art4 ,july #ahie4 #acb ,north ,american ,review4 ,october #ahii4 #acc ,magazine of ,art1 #ahij1 pp4 #ia and #ach4 #acd ,the small divergencies of detail in the dress of the ,adulteress1 etc41 are just such as an imitator might have ventured to make4 ,the hand and arm of the ,christ have1 however1 been altered for the better4 #ace ,this is the first time in ,venetian art that the subject appears4 ,it is frequently found later4 #acf ,cariani is by some made responsible for the whole picture4 ,a comparison with an authentic example hanging 7in the new arrangement of the ,long ,gallery71 close by1 ought surely to convince the advocates of ,cariani of their mistake4 #acg ,morto da ,feltre is mentioned by ,vasari as having assisted ,giorgione in the decoration of the ,fondaco de' ,tedeschi4 ,this was in #aejh4 ,otherwise1 we know of no pupils or assistants employed by the master1 a fact which goes to show that his influence was felt1 not so much through any personal teaching1 as through his work4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,giorgione',s ,,art1 ,,and ,,place ,,in ,,history ,the examination in detail of all those pictures best entitled1 on internal evidence1 to rank as genuine productions of ,giorgione has incidentally revealed to us much that is characteristic of the man himself4 ,we started with the axiom that a man's work is his best autobiography1 and where1 as in ,giorgione's case1 so little historical or documentary record exists1 such indications of character as may be gleaned from a study of his life's work become of the utmost value4 ,le style c'est l'homme is a saying eminently applicable in cases where1 as with ,giorgione1 the personal element is strongly marked4 ,the subject1 as we have seen over and over again1 is so highly charged with the artist's mood1 with his individual feelings and emotions1 that it becomes unrecognisable as mere illustration1 and the work passes by virtue of sheer inspiration into the higher realms of creative art4 ,such fusion of personality and subject is the characteristic of lyrical art1 and in this domain ,giorgione is a supreme master4 ,his genius1 as ,morelli rightly pointed out1 is essentially lyrical in contradistinction to ,titian's1 which is essentially dramatic4 ,take the epithets that we have constantly applied to his pictures in the course of our survey1 and see how they bear out this statement--epithets such as romantic1 fantastic1 picturesque1 gay1 or again1 delicate1 refined1 sensitive1 serene1 and the like2 these bear witness to qualities of mind where the keynote is invariably exquisite feeling4 ,giorgione was1 in fact1 what is commonly called a poet-painter1 gifted with the artistic temperament to an extraordinary degree1 essentially impulsive1 a man of moods4 ,it is inevitable that such a man produces work of varying merit2 inequality must be a characteristic feature of his art4 ,in less fortunate circumstances than those in which ,giorgione was placed1 such temperaments as his become peevish1 morose1 morbid2 but his lines were cast in pleasant places1 and his moods were healthy1 joyous1 and serene4 ,he does not concern himself with the tragedy of life1 with its pathos or its disappointments4 ,in his two renderings of ,christ bearing the ,cross#ach--the only instances we have of his portrayal of the ,man of ,sorrows--he appeals more to our sense of the dignity of humanity1 and to the nobility of the ,christ1 than to our tenderer sympathies4 ,how different from the pathetic ,piets of his master1 ,giambellini6 ,this shrinking from pain and sorrow1 this dislike to the representation of suffering is1 however1 as much due to the natural gaiety and elasticity of youth as to the happy accident of his surroundings4 ,we must never forget that ,giorgione's whole achievement was over at an age when some men's life-work has hardly begun4 ,the eighteen years of his activity were what we sometimes call the years of promise1 and he must not be judged as we judge a ,titian or a ,michel ,angelo4 ,he is the wonderful youth1 full of joyous aspirations1 gilding all he touches with the radiance of his spirit4 ,his pictures1 suffused with a golden glow1 are the reflection of his sunny life2 the vividness and intensity of his passion are expressed in the gorgeousness of his colours4 ,i have elsewhere dwelt upon the precocity of ,giorgione's talent1 with its accompanying qualities of versatility1 inequality1 and productiveness1 and ,i have pointed out the analogous phenomena in music and poetry4 ,giorgione1 ,schubert1 and ,keats are alike in temperament and quality of expression4 ,they are curiously alike in the shortness of their lives1#aci and the fever-heat of their production4 ,but they are strangely distinct in the manner of their lives4 ,the disparity of outward circumstances accounts for the healthy tone of ,giorgione's art1 when contrasted with the morbid utterances of ,keats4 ,schubert suffered privations and poverty1 and his song was wrung from him alike at moments of inspiration and of necessity4 ,but ,giorgione is all aglow with natural energy2 he suffered no restraints1 nor is his art forced or morbid4 ,confine his spirit1 check the play of his fancy1 set him a task prescribed by convention or hampered by conditions1 and you get proof of the fretfulness1 the impatience of restraint which the artist felt4 ,the ,judgment of ,solomon and ,the ,adulteress before ,christ1 the only two set pieces he ever attempted1 eloquently show how he fell short when struggling athwart his genius4 ,for to register a fact was utterly foreign to his nature2 he records an impression1 frankly surrendering his spirit to the sense of joy and beauty4 ,he is not seldom incoherent1 and may even grow careless1 but in power of imagination and exuberance of fancy he is always supreme4 ,in one respect1 however1 ,giorgione shows himself a greater than ,schubert or ,keats4 ,he has a profounder insight into human nature in its varying aspects than either the musician or the poet4 ,he is less a visionary1 because his experience of men and things is greater than theirs2 his outlook is wider1 he is less self-centred4 ,this power of grasping objective truth naturally shows itself most readily in the portraits he painted1 and it was due to the force of circumstances1 as ,i believe1 that this faculty was trained and developed4 ,had ,giorgione lived aloof from the world1 had not his natural reticence and sensitiveness been dominated by outside influences1 he might have remained all his life dreaming dreams1 and seeing visions1 a lyric poet indeed1 but not a great and living1 influence in his generation4 ,yet such undoubtedly he was1 for he effected nothing short of a revolution in the contemporary art of ,venice4 ,can the same be said of ,schubert or ,keats8 ,the truth is that ,giorgione had opportunities of studying human nature such as the others never enjoyed2 fortune smiled upon him in his earliest years1 and he found himself thrust into the society of the great1 who were eager to sit to him for their portraits4 ,how the young ,castelfrancan first achieved such distinction is not told us by the historians1 but ,i have ventured to connect his start in life with the presence of the ex-,queen of ,cyprus1 ,caterina ,cornaro1 at ,asolo1 near ,castelfranco2 ,i think it more than probable that her patronage and recommendation launched the young painter on his successful career in ,venice4 ,certain it is that he painted her portrait in his earlier days1 and if1 as ,i have sought to prove1 ,signor ,crespi's picture is the long-lost portrait of the great lady1 we may well understand the instant success such an achievement won4 ,here1 if anywhere1 we get ,giorgione's great interpretative qualities1 his penetration into human nature1 his reading of character4 ,it is an astonishing thing for one so young to have done1 explicable psychologically on the existence of a lively sympathy between the great lady and the poet-painter4 ,had we other portraits of the fair sex by ,giorgione1 ,i venture to think we should find in them his reading of the human soul even more plainly evidenced than in the male portraits we actually possess4#adj ,for it is clear that the artist was impressionable1 and he would have given us more sympathetic interpretations of the fair sex than those which ,titian has left us4 ,the so-called ,portrait of the ,physician ,parma 7at ,vienna7 is another instance of ,giorgione's grasp of character1 the virility and suppressed energy being admirably seized1 the conception approaching more nearly to ,titian's in its essential dignity than is usually the case with ,giorgione's portraits4 ,it is a matter of more regret1 therefore1 that the likenesses of the ,doges ,agostino ,barberigo and ,leonardo ,loredano are missing1 for in them we might have had specimens of work comparable to the ,caterina ,cornaro1 which1 in my opinion at all events1 is ,giorgione's masterpiece of portraiture4 ,i have given reasons elsewhere for dating this portrait at latest #aejj4 ,it is probably anterior by a few years to the close of the century4 ,this deduction1 if correct1 has far-reaching consequences3 it becomes actually the first modern portrait ever painted1 for it is the earliest instance of a portrait instinct with the newer life of the ,renaissance4 ,and this brings us to the question3 ,what was ,giorgione's relation to that great awakening of the human spirit which we call the ,renaissance8 ,mr4 ,berenson answers the question thus3 ,his pictures are the perfect reflex of the ,renaissance at its height4#ada ,if this be taken to mean that ,giorgione anticipated the aspirations and ideals of the riper ,renaissance1 ,i think we may acquiesce in the phrase2 but that the onward movement of this great revival coincided only with the artist's years1 and culminated at his death1 is not historically correct4 ,the wave had not reached its highest point by the year #aeaj1 and ,titian was yet to rise to a fuller and grander expression of the human soul4 ,but ,giorgione may rightly be called the ,herald of the ,renaissance1 not only by virtue of the position he holds in ,venetian painting1 but by priority of appearance on the wider horizon of ,italian ,art4 ,let us take the four great representative exponents of ,italian ,art at its best1 ,raphael1 ,correggio1 ,leonardo1 and ,michel ,angelo4 ,chronologically1 ,giorgione precedes ,raphael and ,correggio1 though ,leonardo and ,michel ,angelo were born before him4#adb ,but had either of the latter proclaimed a new order of things as early as #adie8 ,michel ,angelo was just twenty years old1 and he had not yet carved his ,piet for ,s4 ,peter's4 ,leonardo1 a man of forty-three1 had not completed his ,cenacolo1 and the ,mona ,lisa would not be created for another five or six years4 ,giorgione's ,caterina ,cornaro1 therefore1 becomes the first masterpiece of the earlier ,renaissance1 and proclaims a revolution in the history of portraiture4 ,in ,venice itself we have only to look at the contemporary portraits by ,alvise ,vivarini and ,gentile ,bellini1 and at the slightly earlier busts by ,antonello da ,messina1 to see what a world of difference in feeling and interpretation there is between them and ,giorgione's portraits4 ,what a splendid array of artistic triumphs must have sprung up around this masterpiece6 ,the ,cobham portrait and the ,national ,gallery ,poet are alone left us in much of their pristine splendour1 but what of the lost portraits of the great ,consalvo and of the ,doge ,agostino ,barberigo1 both of which must date from the year #aejj8 ,giorgione is then the ,herald of the ,renaissance1 and never did genius arise in more fitting season4 ,it was the right psychological moment for such a man1 and ,giorgione painted pictures so perfectly in touch with the ripened spirit of the ,renaissance that they met with the success which those things only find that at the same moment wake us to the full sense of a need and satisfy it4#adc ,this is the secret of his overwhelming influence on succeeding painters in ,venice1--not1 indeed1 on his direct pupil ,sebastiano del ,piombo1 and on his friend and associate ,titian 7who may fairly be called his pupil71 but on such different natures as ,lotto1 ,palma1 ,bonifazio1 ,bordone1 ,pordenone1 ,cariani1 ,romanino1 ,dosso ,dossi1 and a host of smaller men4 ,the ,school of ,giorgione numbers far more adherents than even the ,school of ,leonardo1 or the ,school of ,raphael1 not because of any direct teaching of the master1 but because the ,giorgionesque spirit was abroad1 and the taste of the day required paintings like ,giorgione's to satisfy it4 ,but as no revolution can be effected without a struggle1 and as there are invariably people opposed to any reform1 whether in art or in anything else1 we need not be surprised to find the academic faction1 represented by the aged ,giambellini and his pupils1 resisting the progress of the ,newer ,art4 ,in ,giorgione's own lifetime1 the exact measure of the opposition is not easy to gauge1 but it bore fruit a few years later in the machinations of the official ,bellinesque party to keep ,titian out of the ,ducal ,palace when he was seeking ,state recognition1#add ,nevertheless1 ,giambellini1 even at his age1 found it advisable to modulate into the newer key1 as may be seen in his ,s4 ,giovanni ,crisostomo enthroned1 where not only is the conception lyrical and the treatment romantic1 but the actual composition is on the lines of the essentially ,giorgionesque equilateral triangle4 ,this great altar-piece was painted three years after ,giorgione's death1 and no more splendid testimonial to the young painter's genius could be found than in the forced homage thus paid to his memory by the octogenarian ,giambellini4#ade ,we have already1 in the course of our survey of ,giorgione's pictures1 noted the points wherein he was an initiator4 ,genre subjects1 and ,landscape with figures1 as we should say nowadays1 found in him their earliest exponent4 ,before him artists had1 indeed1 painted figures with a landscape background1 but the perfect blend of ,nature and human nature was his achievement4 ,this was accomplished by artistic means of the simplest1 yet irresistibly subtle in their appeal4 ,the quality of line and the sensuousness of colour nowhere cast their spells over us more strangely than in ,giorgione's pictures1 and by these means he wrought effects such as no artist has surpassed4 ,in these purely pictorial qualities he is supreme1 and claims place with the few quintessential artists of the world2 to him may be applied by analogy the phrase that ,liszt applied to ,schubert1 ,le musicien le plus pote que jamais4 ,as an instrument of expression1 then1 colour is used by ,giorgione more naturally and effectively than it is by any of the ,venetian painters4 ,it appeals directly to our senses1 like rare old stained glass1 and seems to be of the very essence of the object itself4 ,an engraving or photograph after such a picture as the ,louvre ,pastoral ,symphony fails utterly to convey the sense of exhilaration one feels in presence of the actual painting1 simply because the tonic effect of the colour is wholly wanting4 ,the golden shimmer of light1 the vibration of the air1 the saturation of atmosphere with pure colour are not only ingredients in1 but are of the very essence of the creation4 ,it has been well said that almost literally the chief colour on ,giorgione's palette was sunlight4#adf ,his masterly treatment of light and shadow1 in which he was scarcely ,leonardo's inferior1 enabled him to make use of rich and full-bodied colours1 which are never gaudy1 as sometimes with ,bonifazio1 or pretty1 as with ,catena and lesser artists4 ,nor is he decorative in the way that ,veronese excels1 or lurid like ,tintoretto4 ,compared with ,titian it is as though his colour-chord sounded in seven sharps1 whilst the former strikes the key of ,c natural4 ,a full rich green frequently occurs1 as in the ,castelfranco ,madonna and the ,louvre picture1 and a deep crimson1 contrasting with pure white drapery1 or with golden flesh-tints1 is also characteristic4 ,in the painting of the nude he gives us real flesh and blood2 his ,venus has not the supernatural radiance that ,correggio can give his ethereal beings 7,giorgione1 by the way1 never painted an angel1 so far as we know71 but she glows with actual life1 the blood is pulsing through the veins1 she is very real4 ,and in this connection we may notice the extraordinary skill with which ,giorgione conveys a sense of texture2 his painting of rich brocades1 and more especially quilted stuffs and satiny folds1 cannot be surpassed even by a ,terburg4 ,the quality of line in his work makes itself felt in many ways4 ,beauty of contour and unbroken continuity of curve is obtained sometimes by sacrificing literal accuracy2 a structurally impossible position--as the seated nude figure in the ,louvre picture--is deliberately adopted to heighten the effect of line or the balance of composition4 ,the ,dresden ,venus1 if she arose1 would appear of strange proportions2 but expressiveness is enhanced by the long flowing contours of the body1 so suggestive of repose4 ,we may notice also the emphasis obtained by parallelism2 for example1 the line of the left arm of the ,venus follows the curve of the body1 a trick which may be often seen in folds of drapery4 ,this picture also illustrates a device to retain continuity of line2 the right foot is hidden away so as not to interfere with the contour4 ,exactly the same thing may be seen in the standing figure in the ,louvre ,pastoral ,symphony4 ,the trick of making a grand sweep from the top of the head downwards is usually found in the ,madonna pictures1 where a cunningly placed veil carries the line usually to the sloping shoulders1 or else outwards to the point of the elbow1 thus introducing the triangular scheme to which ,giorgione was particularly partial4 ,but the question remains1 ,what is ,giorgione's position among the world's great men8 ,is he intellectually to be ranked with the ,great ,thinkers of all time8 ,can he aspire to the position which ,titian occupies8 ,i fear not ,beethoven is infinitely greater than ,schubert1 ,shakespeare than ,keats1 and so1 though in lesser degree1 is ,titian than ,giorgione4 ,i say in lesser degree1 because the young poet-painter had something of that profound insight into human nature1 something of that wide outlook on life1 something of that universal sympathy1 and something of that vast influence which distinguishes the greatest intellects of all1 and this it is which lessens the distance between him and ,titian4 ,yet ,titian is the greater man1 for he is the highest and completest expression of his own age4#adg ,nevertheless1 in that narrower sphere of the great painters1 who proclaimed the glad tidings of ,liberty when the ,spirit of ,man awoke from ,mediaevalism1 may we not add yet a fifth voice to the four-part harmony of ,raphael1 ,correggio1 ,leonardo1 and ,michel ,angelo1 the voice of ,giorgione1 the wondrous youth1 the ,george of ,georges1 who heralded the ,renaissance of which we are the heirs8 ,,notes3 #ach ,in the ,church of ,san ,rocco1 ,venice1 and in ,mrs4 ,gardner's ,collection in ,america4 #aci ,keats died at the age of twenty-five2 ,schubert was thirty-one2 ,giorgione thirty-three4 #adj ,the ruined condition of the ,borghese ,lady prevents any just appreciation of the interpretative qualities4 #ada ,venetian ,painters1 p4 #cj4 #adb ,leonardo1 #adeb-aeai2 ,michel ,angelo1 #adge-aefd2 ,giorgione1 #adgg-aeaj2 ,raphael1 #adhc-aebj2 ,correggio1 #adid-aecd4 ,correggio1 ,raphael1 and ,giorgione died at the ages of forty1 thirty-seven1 and thirty-three years respectively4 ,those whom the gods love die young6 #adc ,berenson3 ,venetian ,painters1 p4 #bi4 ,i should prefer to substitute ripening for ripened4 #add ,fry3 ,giovanni ,bellini1 p4 #dd4 #ade ,in ,s4 ,giovanni ,crisostomo1 ,venice4 ,it dates from #aeac4 #adf ,mary ,logan3 ,guide to the ,italian ,pictures at ,hampton ,court1 p4 #ac4 #adg ,berenson3 ,venetian ,painters1 p4 #dh4 ,,appendix ,i ,,documents ,the following correspondence between ,isabella d',este1 ,marchioness of ,mantua1 and her agent ,albano in ,venice1 is reprinted from the ,archivio ,storico dell' ,arte1 #ahhh1 p4 #dg 7article by ,sig4 ,alessandro ,luzio73-- ,sp4 ,amice noster charissime2 ,intendemo che in le cose et heredit de ,zorzo da ,castelfrancho pictore se ritrova una pictura de una nocte1 molto bella et singulare2 quando coss fusse1 desideraressimo haverla1 per vi pregamo che voliati essere cum ,lorenzo da ,pavia et qualche altro che habbi judicio et designo1 et vedere se l' cosa excellente1 et trovando de s operiati il megio del m'co m4 ,carlo ,valerio1 nostro compatre charissimo1 et de chi altro vi parer per apostar questa pictura per noi1 intendendo il precio et dandone aviso4 ,et quando vi paresse de concludere il mercato1 essendo cosa bona1 per dubio non fusse levata da altri1 fati quel che ve parer3 ch ne rendemo certe fareti cum ogni avantagio e fede et cum bona consulta4 ,ofteremone a vostri piaceri ecc4 ,mantua xxv4 oct ,,mdx4 ,the agent replies a few days later-- ,ill'ma et ,exc'ma ,m'a mia obser'ma ,ho inteso quanto mi scrive la ,ex4 ,v4 per una sua de xxv4 del passatto1 facendome intender haver inteso ritrovarsi in le cosse et eredit del q4 ,zorzo de ,castelfrancho una pictura de una notte1 molto bella et singulare2 che essendo coss si deba veder de haverla4 ,a che rispondo a ,v4 ,ex4 che ditto ,zorzo mor pi d fanno da peste1 et per voler servir quella ho parlato cum alcuni mei amizi1 che havevano grandissime praticha cum lui1 quali me affirmano non esser in ditta heredit tal pictura4 ,ben vero che ditto ,zorzo ne feze una a m4 ,thadeo ,contarini1 qual per la informatione ho autta non molto perfecta sichondo vorebe quela4 ,un'altra pictura de la nocte feze ditto ,zorzo a uno ,victorio ,becharo1 qual per quanto intendo de meglior desegnio et meglio finitta che non quella del ,contarini4 ,ma esso ,becharo1 al presente non si atrova in questa terra1 et sichondo m' stato afirmatto n l'una n l'altra non sono da vendere per pretio nesuno2 per che li hanno fatte fare per volerle godere per loro2 sich mi doglio non poter satisfar al dexiderio de quella ecc4 ,venetijs viii ,novembris #aeaj4 ,servitor ,,thadeus ,,albanus4 ,from this letter we learn definitely 7#a7 that ,giorgione died in ,october-,november #aeaj2 7#b7 that he died of the plague4 ,i have pointed out in the text that the above description of the two pictures de una notte corresponds with the actual ,beaumont and ,vienna ,nativities1 or ,adoration of the ,shepherds1 in which ,i recognise the hand of ,giorgione4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the following is the only existing document in ,giorgione's own handwriting4 ,it was published by ,molmenti in the ,bollettino delle ,arti1 anno ii4 ,no4 #b1 and reprinted by ,conti1 p4 #ej3-- ,el se dichiara per el presente come el clarissimo ,messer ,aluixe di ,sesti die a fare a mi ,zorzon de ,castelfrancho quatro quadri in quadrato con le geste di ,daniele in bona pictura su telle1 et li telleri sarano soministrati per dito m4 ,aluixe1 il quale doveva stabilir la spexa di detti quadri quando serano compidi et di sua satisfatione entro il presente anno #aejh4 ,io ,zorzon de ,castelfrancho di mia man scrissi la presente in ,venetia li #ac febrar #aejh4 ,whether or no ,giorgione ever completed these four square canvases with the story of ,daniel is unknown4 ,there is no trace of any such pictures in modern times4 ,,appendix ,,ii ,,did ,,titian ,,live ,,to ,,be ,,ninety-,,nine ,,years ,,old8 ,reprinted from the ,nineteenth ,century ,jan4 #aijb ,there is something fascinating in the popular belief that ,titian1 the greatest of all ,venetian painters1 reached the patriarchal age of ninety-nine years1 and was actively at work up to the day of his death4 ,the text-books love to tell us the story of the great unfinished ,piet with its pathetic inscription3 ,quod ,titianus inchoatum reliquit ,palma reverenter absolvit ,deoq4 dicavit opus2 and traveller1 guide-book in hand1 and moralist1 philosophy in head1 alike muse upon a phenomenon so startlingly at variance with common experience4#adh ,but1 sentiment aside1 is there any historical evidence that ,titian ever worked at his art in his hundredth year8 that he even attained such a venerable age8 ,the answer is of wider consequence than the mere question implies1 for on the correct determination of ,titian's own chronology depends the history of the development of the entire ,venetian school of painting in the early years of the sixteenth century4 ,i say early1 because it is the date of ,titian's birth1 and not that of his death1 which ,i shall endeavour to fix2 the latter event is known beyond possibility of doubt to have occurred in ,august #aegf4 ,the question1 therefore1 to consider is1 what justification1 if any1 is there for the universal belief that ,titian was born in #adgf-g1 just a hundred years previously8 ,anyone1 ,i think1 who has ever looked into the history of ,titian's career must have been struck by the fact that for the first thirty-five years of his life 7according to the usual chronology7 there is absolutely no documentary record relating to him1 whether in the ,venetian archives or elsewhere4 ,not a single letter1 not a single contract1 not a single mention of his name occurs from which we can so much as affirm his existence before the year #aeaa4 ,on the #bnd of ,december in that year ,io tician di ,cador ,dptore gives a receipt for money paid him on completion of some frescoes at ,padua1 and from this date on there are frequent letters and documents in existence right down to #aegf1 the year of his death4 ,is it not somewhat strange that the first thirty-five years of his life 7as is commonly believed7 should be a total blank so far as records go8 ,the fact becomes the more inexplicable when we find that during these early years some of his finest work is alleged to have been executed1 and he must--if we accept the chronology of his biographers--have been well known to and highly esteemed by his contemporaries4#adi ,moreover1 it is not for want of diligent search amongst the archives that nothing has been found1 for ,italian and ,german students have alike sought1 but in vain1 to discover any documentary evidence relating to his career before #aeaa4 ,the absence of any such trustworthy record has had its natural result4 ,conjecture has run riot1 and no two writers are agreed on the subject of the nature and development of ,titian's earlier art4 ,this is the second disquieting fact which any careful student has to face4 ,messrs4 ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 ,titian's most exhaustive biographers1#aej have filled up the first thirty-five years of his career in their own way1 but their chronology has found no favour with later writers1 such as ,mr4 ,claude ,phillips in ,england#aea or ,dr4 ,georg ,gronau in ,germany1#aeb both of whom have arrived at independent conclusions4 ,morelli again had his theories on the subject1 and ,m4 ,lafenestre#aec has his1 and the ordinary gallery catalogue is usually content to state inaccurate facts without further ado4 ,now1 if all these conscientious writers arrive at results so widely divergent1 either their logic or their data must be wrong6 ,one and all assume that ,titian lived into his hundredth year1 and1 therefore1 was born in #adgf-g2 and starting with this theory as a fact1 they have tried to fit in ,vasari's account as best they can1 and each has found a different solution of the problem4 ,there is only one way out of this chaos of conjectures--we must see what is the evidence for the centenarian tradition1 and if it can be shown that ,titian was really born later than #adgf-g1 then the silence of all records about him during an alleged period of thirty-five years will become at once more intelligible1 and we may be able to explain some of the other anomalies which at present confront ,titian's biographers4 ,i propose to take the evidence in strictly chronological order4 ,the oldest contemporary account of ,titian's career is furnished by ,lodovico ,dolce in his ,l',aretino1 o dialogo della pittura1 which was published at ,venice in #aeeg4 ,dolce knew ,titian personally1 and wrote his treatise just at the time when the painter was at the zenith of his fame4 ,he is our sole authority for certain incidents of ,titian's early career3 it will be well1 therefore1 to quote in full the opening paragraphs of his narrative3 ,being born at ,cadore of honourable parents1 he was sent when a child of nine years old by his father to ,venice to the house of his father's brother 444 in order that he might be put under some proper master to study painting2 his father having perceived in him even at that tender age strong marks of genius towards the art4444 ,his uncle directly carried the child to the house of ,sebastiano1 father of the gentilissmo ,valerio and of ,francesco ,zuccati 7distinguished masters of the art of mosaic1 by them brought to that perfection in which we now see the best pictures7 to learn the principles of the art4 ,from them he was removed to ,gentile ,bellini1 brother of ,giovanni1 but much inferior to him1 who at that time was at work with his brother in the ,grand ,council-,chamber4 ,but ,titian1 impelled by ,nature to greater excellence and perfection in his art1 could not endure following the dry and laboured manner of ,gentile1 but designed with boldness and expedition4 ,whereupon ,gentile told him he would make no progress in painting1 because he diverged so much from the old style4 ,thereupon ,titian left the stupid 7goffo7 ,gentile1 and found means to attach himself to ,giovanni ,bellini2 but not perfectly pleased with his manner1 he chose ,giorgio da ,castel ,franco4 ,titian then drawing and painting with ,giorgione1 as he was called1 became in a short time so accomplished in art1 that when ,giorgione was painting the faade of the ,fondaco de' ,tedeschi1 or ,exchange of the ,german ,merchants1 which looks towards the ,grand ,canal1 ,titian was allotted the other side which faces the market-place1 being at the time scarcely twenty years old4 ,here he represented a ,judith of wonderful design and colour1 so remarkable1 indeed1 that when the work came to be uncovered1 it was commonly thought to be the work of ,giorgione1 and all the latter's friends congratulated him as being by far the best thing he had produced4 ,whereupon ,giorgione1 in great displeasure1 replied that the work was from the hand of his pupil1 who showed already how he could surpass his master1 and1 what was more1 ,giorgione shut himself up for some days at home1 as if in despair1 seeing that a young man knew more that he did4 ,fortunately1 the exact date can be fixed when the frescoes on the ,fondaco de' ,tedeschi were painted1 for we have original records preserved from which we learn the work was begun in #aejg and completed towards the close of #aejh4aed ,if ,titian1 then1 was scarcely twenty years old in #aejg-h1 he must have been born in #adhh-i4 ,dolce particularly emphasises his youthfulness at the time1 calling him un giovanetto1 a phrase he twice applies to him in the next paragraph1 when he is describing the famous altar-piece of the ',assunta1' the commission for which1 as we know from other sources1 was given in #aeaf4 ,not long afterwards he was commissioned to paint a large picture for the ,high ,altar of the ,church of the ,frati ,minori1 where ,titian1 quite a young man 7pur giovanetto71 painted in oil the ,virgin ascending to ,heaven4444 ,this was the first public work which he painted in oil1 and he did it in a very short time1 and while still a young man 7e giovanetto74 ,this phrase could hardly be applied to a man over thirty1 so that ,titian's birth cannot reasonably be dated before #adhf or so1 and is much more likely to fall later4 ,the previous deduction that it was #adhh-i is thus further strengthened4 ,the evidence1 then1 of ,dolce1 writing in #aeeg1 is clear and consistent3 ,titian was born in #adhh-i4 ,now let us see what is stated by ,vasari1 who is the next oldest authority4 ,the first edition of the ,lives appeared in #aeej--that is1 just prior to ,dolce's ,dialogue--but a revised and enlarged edition appeared in #aefh1 in which important evidence occurs as to ,titian's age4 ,after enumerating certain pictures by the great ,venetian1 ,vasari adds3 7a7 ,all these works1 with many others which ,i omit1 to avoid prolixity1 have been executed up to the present age of our artist1 which is above seventy-six years4444 ,in the year #aeff1 when ,vasari1 the writer of the present history1 was at ,venice1 he went to visit ,titian1 as one who was his friend1 and found him1 although then very old1 still with the pencil in his hand1 and painting busily4#aee ,according to ,vasari1 then1 ,titian was above seventy-six years when the second edition of the ,lives was written1 and as from the explicit nature of the evidence this must have been between #aeff1 when he visited ,venice1 and ,january #aefh1 when his book was published1 it follows that ,titian was above seventy-six years in #aeff-g--;in other words1 that he was born #adhi-ij4 ,still confining ourselves to ,vasari1 we find two other passages bearing on the question3 7b7 ,titian was born in the year #adhj at ,cadore4#aef 7c7 ,about the year #aejg ,giorgione da ,castel ,franco began to give to his works unwonted softness and relief1 painting them in a very beautiful manner4444 ,having seen the manner of ,giorgione1 ,titian early resolved to abandon that of ,gian ,bellino1 although well grounded therein4 ,he now1 therefore1 devoted himself to this purpose1 and in a short time so closely imitated ,giorgione that his pictures were sometimes taken for those of that master4444 ,at the time when ,titian began to adopt the manner of ,giorgione1 being then not more than eighteen1 he took the portrait1 etc4#aeg ,this passage 7c7 makes ,titian not more than eighteen about the year #aejg1 and fixes the date of his birth as #adhi-ij1 therein agreeing with the previous deduction at which we arrived when examining the passage in ,vasari's second edition4 ,thus in two places out of three ,vasari is consistent in fixing #adhi-ij as the date4 ,how1 then1 explain 7b71 which explicitly gives #adhj8 ,anyone conversant with ,vasari's inaccuracies will hardly be surprised to find that this statement is dismissed by all ,titian's biographers as manifestly a mistake4 ,moreover1 it is inconsistent with the two passages just quoted1 and either they are wrong or #adhj is a misprint for #adhi4 ,now1 from the nature of the evidence recorded by ,vasari1 it cannot be a matter for any doubt which is the more trustworthy statement4 ,on the one hand1 he speaks as an eye-witness of ,titian's old age1 and is careful to record the exact year he visited ,venice and the age of the painter2 on the other hand1 he makes a bald statement which he certainly cannot have verified1 and which is inconsistent with his own experience6 ,in any case1 in ,vasari's text the evidence is two to one in favour of #adhi-ij as the right date1 and thus we come to the agreeable conclusion that our two oldest authorities1 ,dolce and ,vasari1 are at one in fixing ,titian's birth between #adhh and #adij--;in other words1 about #adhi4 ,so far1 then1 all is clear1 and as we know from later and indisputable evidence that ,titian died in #aegf1 it follows that he only attained the age of eighty-seven and not ninety-nine4 ,whence1 then1 comes the story of the ninety-nine years8 ,from none other than ,titian himself1 and to this piece of evidence we must next turn1 following out a strict chronological order4 ,in #aega--that is1 three years after ,vasari's second edition was published--,titian addresses a letter to ,philip the ,second of ,spain in these terms3#aeh ,most potent and invincible ,king1--,i think your ,majesty will have received by this the picture of ',lucretia and ,tarquin' which was to have been presented by the ,venetian ,ambassador4 ,i now come with these lines to ask your ,majesty to deign to command that ,i should be informed as to what pleasure it has given4 ,the calamities of the present times1 in which every one is suffering from the continuance of war1 force me to this step1 and oblige me at the same time to ask to be favoured with some kind proof of your ,majesty's grace1 as well as with some assistance from ,spain or elsewhere1 since ,i have not been able for years past to obtain any payment either from the ,naples grant1 or from my ordinary pension4 ,the state of my affairs is indeed such that ,i do not know how to live in this my old age1 devoted as it entirely is to the service of your ,catholic ,majesty1 and to no other4 ,not having for eighteen years past received a quattrino for the paintings which ,i delivered from time to time1 and of which ,i forward a list by this opportunity to the secretary ,perez1 ,i feel assured that your ,majesty's infinite clemency will cause a careful consideration to be made of the services of an old servant of the age of ninety-five1 by extending to him some evidence of munificence and liberality4 ,sending two prints of the design of the ,beato ,lorenzo1 and most humbly recommending myself1 ,i am ,your ,catholic ,majesty's most devoted1 humble servant1 ,,titiano ,,vecellio4 ,from ,venice1 the #ast of ,august1 #aega4 ,here1 then1 is ,titian himself1 in the year #aega1 declaring that he is ninety-five years of age--in other words1 dating his birth back to #adgf--that is1 some thirteen years earlier than ,dolce and ,vasari imply was the case4 ,a flagrant discrepancy of evidence6 ,in similar strain he thus addresses the king again five years later3#aei ,your ,catholic and ,royal ,majesty1--,the infinite benignity with which your ,catholic ,majesty--by natural habit--is accustomed to gratify all such as have served and still serve your ,majesty faithfully1 enboldens me to appear with the present 7letter7 to recall myself to your royal memory1 in which ,i believe that my old and devoted service will have kept me unaltered4 ,my prayer is this3 twenty years have elapsed and ,i have never had any recompense for the many pictures sent on divers occasions to your ,majesty2 but having received intelligence from the ,secretary ,antonio ,perez of your ,majesty's wish to gratify me1 and having reached a great old age not without privations1 ,i now humbly beg that your ,majesty will deign1 with accustomed benevolence1 to give such directions to ministers as will relieve my want4 ,the glorious memory of ,charles the ,fifth1 your ,majesty's father1 having numbered me amongst his familiar1 nay1 most faithful servants1 by honouring me beyond my deserts with the title of cavaliere1 ,i wish to be able1 with the favour and protection of your ,majesty--true portrait of that immortal emperor--to support as it deserves the name of a cavaliere1 which is so honoured and esteemed in the world2 and that it may be known that the services done by me during many years to the most serene house of ,austria have met with grateful return1 to spend what remains of my days in the service of your ,majesty4 ,for this ,i should feel the more obliged1 as ,i should thus be consoled in my old age1 whilst praying to ,god to concede to your ,majesty a long and happy life with increase of his divine grace and exaltation of your ,majesty's ,kingdom4 ,in the meanwhile ,i expect from the royal benevolence of your ,majesty the fruits of the favour ,i desire1 with due reverence and humility1 and kissing your sacred hands1 ,i am ,your ,catholic ,majesty's most humble and devoted servant1 ,,titiano ,,vecellio4 ,from ,venice1 the #bgth of ,february1 #aegf4 ,this is the last letter we have of ,titian1 who died in ,august of this year1 according to his own showing1 in his hundredth year4 ,now what reliance can be placed on this statement8 ,on the one hand1 we have the evidence of two independent writers1 ,dolce and ,vasari1 both personally acquainted with ,titian1 and both agreeing by inference that the date of his birth was about #adhi4 ,both had ample opportunity to get at the truth1 and ,vasari is particularly explicit in recording the exact date when he visited ,titian in ,venice and the age the painter had then reached4 ,yet five years later ,titian is found stating that he is ninety-five1 and not eighty-two as we should expect6 ,perhaps the best comment is made by ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 who significantly remark immediately after the last letter3 ,titian's appeal to the benevolence of the ,king of ,spain looks like that of a garrulous old gentleman proud of his longevity1 but hoping still to live for many years4#afj ,exactly6 ,the occasion could well be improved by a little timely exaggeration well calculated to appeal to the sympathies and infinite benignity of the monarch1 and if1 when the writer had actually reached the respectable age of eighty-two1 he wrote himself down as ninety-five1 who would gainsay him8 ,it added point to his appeal--that was the chief thing--and as to accuracy1 well1 ,titian was not the man to be over-scrupulous when his own interests were involved4 ,but even though the statement were not deliberately made to heighten the effect of an appeal1 we must in any case make allowances for the natural proneness to exaggerate their age which usually characterises men of advanced years1 so that any ex parte statement of this kind must be received with due caution4 ,where1 moreover1 as in the present case1 we have evidence of a directly contradictory kind furnished by independent witnesses1 whose declarations in this respect are presumably disinterested1 such ex parte statements are on the face of them unreliable4 ,the balance of evidence in this case appears to rest on the side of the older historians1 ,dolce and ,vasari1 whose statements1 as ,i hold1 are in the circumstances more reliable than the picturesque exaggeration of a man of advanced years4 ,i claim1 therefore1 that any account of ,titian's life based solely on such flimsy evidence as to his age as is found in this letter to ,philip the ,second is1 to say the least1 open to grave doubt4 ,the whole superstructure raised by modern writers on this uncertain foundation is full of flaws and incongruities1 and ,i am fully persuaded the future historian will have to begin de novo in any attempt at a chronological reconstruction of ,titian's career4 ,the gap of thirty-five years down to #aeaa may prove after all less by twelve or thirteen years than people think1 so that the young ,titian naturally enough first emerges into view at the age of twenty-two and not thirty-five4 ,but we must not anticipate results1 for there is still the evidence of the later writers of the seventeenth century to consider4 ,two of these declare that ,titian was born in #adgg4 ,the first of these1 ,tizianello1 a collateral descendant of the great painter1 published his little ,compendio in #afbb1 wherein he gives a sketchy and imperfect biography2 the other1 ,ridolfi1 repeats the date in his ,meraviglie dell' ,arte1 published in #afdh4 ,the latter writer is notoriously unreliable in other respects1 and it is quite likely this is merely an instance of copying from ,tizianello1 whose unsupported statement is chiefly of value as showing that the centenarian theory had started within fifty years of ,titian's death4 ,but again we ask3 ,why should the evidence of a seventeenth-century writer be preferred to the personal testimony of those who actually knew ,titian himself1 especially when ,vasari gives us precise information with which ,dolce's independent account is in perfect agreement8 ,no doubt the great age to which ,titian certainly attained was exaggerated in the next generation after his death1 but it is a remarkable fact that the contemporary eulogies1 mostly in poetic form1 which appeared on the occasion of his decease1 do not allude to any such phenomenal longevity4#afa ,nevertheless1 ,ridolfi's statement that ,titian was born in #adgg is commonly quoted as if there were no better and earlier evidence in existence1 and1 indeed1 it is a matter of surprise that conscientious modern biographers have not looked more carefully at the original authorities instead of being content to follow tradition1 and ,i must earnestly plead for a reconsideration of the question of ,titian's age by the future historians of ,venetian painting4#afb ,if1 as ,i believe1 ,titian was born in or about #adhi instead of #adgf-g1 it follows that he must have been ,giorgione's junior by at least twelve years--a most important deduction--and it also follows that he cannot have produced any work of consequence before1 say1 #aeje1 at the age of sixteen1 and he will have died at eighty-seven and not in his hundredth year4 ,the alteration in date would help to explain the silence of all records about him before #aeaa1 when he would have been only twenty-two and not thirty-five years old2 it would fully account for his name not being mentioned by ,drer in his famous letter of #aejf1 wherein he refers to the painters of ,venice1 and it would equally account for the absence of his name from the commission to paint the ,fondaco frescoes in #aejg-h1 for he would have been employed simply as ,giorgione's young assistant4 ,the fact that in #aeaa he signs himself simply ,io tician di ,cador ,dptore and not ,maestro would be more intelligible in a young man of twenty-two than in an accomplished master of thirty-five1 and the character of his letter addressed to the ,senate in #aeac would be more natural to an ambitious aspirant of twenty-four than to a man in his maturity of thirty-seven4#afc ,such are some of the obvious results of a change of date1 but the larger question as to the development of ,titian's art must be left to the future historian1 for the importance of fixing a date lies in the application thereof4#afd ,,herbert ,,cook4 ,,the ,,date ,,of ,,titian',s ,,birth ,reply by ,dr4 ,georg ,gronau4 ,translated from the ,repertorium fr ,kunstwissenschaft1 vol4 xxiv41 #fth part ,in the ,january number of the ,nineteenth ,century appears an article by ,herbert ,cook under the title1 ,did ,titian live to be ,ninety-,nine ,years ,old8 ,the interrogation already suggests that the author comes to a negative conclusion4 ,it is1 perhaps1 not without interest to set forth the reasons advanced by the ,english connoisseur and to submit them to adverse criticism4 7,here follows an abstract of the article47 ,the reasoning1 as will have been seen1 is not altogether free from doubt4 ,it has been usual hitherto in historical investigations to call in question the assertions of a man about his own life only when thoroughly weighty reasons justified such a course4 ,is the evidence of a ,dolce and of a ,vasari so free from all objection that it outweighs ,titian's personal statement8 ,before answering this question it should be pointed out that we possess two further statements of contemporary writers on the subject of ,titian's age1 statements which have escaped the notice of ,mr4 ,cook4 ,one is to be found in a letter from the ,spanish ,consul in ,venice1 ,thomas de ,cornoga1 to ,philip ,,ii41 dated #hth ,december #aefg 7published in the very important work by ,zarco del ,valle#afe74 ,after informing the king of ,titian's usual requests on the subject of his pension1 and so on1 he continues3 y con los #he annos de su edad servira ,v4,m4 hasta la muerte4 ,somewhere1 then1 in the very year in which ,titian1 according to ,vasari1 was above seventy-six years of age1 he seems to have been eighty-five1 according to the report of another and quite independent witness1 and if so1 he would have been born about #adhb4 ,we have then three definite statements3 ,vasari 7#aeff or #aefg7 says over #gf ,the ,consul 7#aefg7 #he ,titian himself 7#aega7 #ie ,this new information1 instead of helping us1 only serves to make still greater confusion4 ,the other piece of evidence not mentioned by ,mr4 ,cook was written only a few years after ,titian's death4 ,borghini says in his ,riposo1 #aehd3 ,mori ultimamente di vecchiezza 76not1 then1 of the plague871 essendo d'et d'anni #ih o #ii1 l'anno #aegf4 444 ,this is the first time that the traditional statement as to the master's age appears in literature4 ,in this state of things it is worth while to look closer into the evidence of ,dolce and ,vasari to see if they are not after all the most trustworthy witnesses4 ,it is always held to be a mistake to take rather vague statements quite literally1 as ,mr4 ,cook has done1 and to build thereon further conclusions4 ,when ,dolce says that ,titian painted with ,giorgione at the ,fondaco1 non avendo egli allora appena venti anni1 he is only trying to make out that his hero1 here as everywhere1 was a most unusual person 7the whole dialogue is a glorification of the master74 ,for the same reason he makes the following remark1 which we can absolutely prove to be false3--the ,assumption 7he says7 fu la prima opera pubblica1 che a olio facesse4 ,now at least one work of ,titian's was1 then1 already to be seen in a public place--viz4 the ,st4 ,mark ,enthroned1 with ,four ,saints1 in ,santo ,spirito1 afterwards removed to the sacristy of the ,salute4 ,in other points1 too1 ,dolce can be convicted of small errors and misrepresentations1 partly on literary grounds1 partly due to his desire to enhance the praise of ,titian4 ,vasari1 again1 should only be cited as witness when he speaks of works of art which he has actually seen4 ,in such a case1 apart from slips1 he is always a trustworthy guide4 ,directly1 however1 he goes into biographical details or questions of chronology accuracy becomes nearly always a secondary matter4 ,titian's biography offers an excellent and most instructive example of this4 ,vasari mentions first the birth and upbringing of the boy1 then he speaks of ,giorgione and the ,fondaco frescoes1 and goes on3 dopo la quale opera fece un quadro grande che oggi nella salla di messer ,andrea ,loredano4444 ,dopo in casa di messer ,giovanni ,d',anna 444 fece il suo ritratto 4442 ed un quadro di ,ecce ,homo1 444 and he goes on1 ,l'anno poi #aejg4444 ,if it had not been that one of these pictures1 once in the possession of ,giovanni ,d',anna1 had been preserved 7now in the ,vienna ,gallery71 and that it bears in a conspicuous place the date #aedc1 it would be recorded in all biographies of ,titian that he painted in #aejg an ,ecce ,homo for this ,giovanni ,d',anna4 ,if one goes further into ,vasari's account we read that ,titian published his ,triumph of ,faith in #aejh4 ,dopo condottosi ,tiziano a ,vicenza1 dipinse a fresco sotto la loggetta 444 il giudizio di ,salamone4 ,appresso tomato a ,venezia1 dipinse la facciata de' ,grimani2 e in ,padoa nella chiesa di ,sant' ,antonio alcune storie 444 de fatti di quel santo3 e in quella di ,santo ,spirito fece 444 un ,san ,marco a sedere in mezzo a certi ,santi4 ,we now know on documentary evidence that the ,vicenza fresco 7which was destroyed later7 dated from #aeba1 and similarly that the frescoes at ,padua were painted in #aeaa1 whilst the date of the ,s4 ,mark picture may be fixed with probability at #aejd4 ,these examples prove how inexact ,vasari is here once more4 ,but it may be objected1 supposing that he is inaccurate in statements which refer back1 can he not be in the right in a case where he comes back1 so to speak1 straight from visiting ,titian and writes down his observation about the master's actual age8 ,to be sure2 but when we find that so many other similar notices of ,vasari are wrong1 even those that refer to people whom he personally knew1 we lose faith altogether4 ,in turning over the leaves of the sixth volume of the ,sansoni edition of ,vasari1 in which only his contemporaries1 some of them closely connected1 too1 with him1 are spoken of1 we find the following incorrect statements3-- ,p4 #ii4 ,tribolo was #fe years old 7in reality only #ej74 ,p4 #bji4 ,bugiardini died at #ge 7really #gi74 ,p4 #bhh4 ,pontormo at #fe 7he died actually in his #fcrd year74 ,p4 #efd4 ,giovanni da ,udine at #gj 7really #gg74 ,a still more glaring instance is to be found when ,vasari not only makes misstatements about his own life but is actually out by several years in giving his own age4 ,one and the same event--viz4 his journey with ,cardinal ,passerini to ,florence--is given in his own autobiography to the year #aebd1 in the ,life of ,salviati1 to the year #aebc1 and in the ,life of ,michael ,angelo to #aebe4 ,when he speaks of himself in the same passage in the ,life of ,salviati as the putto1 che allora non aveva pi di nove anni1 he is making a mistake of at least three years in his own age4 ,and not less delightful is it to read in the ,life of ,giovanni da ,udine3 ,giorgio ,vasari1 giovinetto di diciotto anni1 quando serviva il duca ,alessandro de' ,medici suo primo signore l'anno #aece4 ,we are obviously not dealing with ,messer ,giorgio's strongest point1 for1 as a matter of fact1 he was at that time twenty-four years of age6 ,the same false statement of age is found again in his own biography 7vii4 p4 #fef1 with the variation1 poco pi di diciotto anni74 ,but ,i think these instances suffice to prove how little one dare build on such assertions of ,vasari4 ,who dare say if ,titian was really only seventy-six in #aeff when the ,aretine visited him8 ,and now a few remarks on the other points raised by ,mr4 ,cook4 ,as a fact1 it is an astonishing thing that we have no documentary evidence about ,titian before #aeaa2 but does he not share this fate with very many of his great countrymen1 with ,bellini1 ,giorgione1 ,sebastiano1 and others8 ,an unfriendly chance has left us entirely in the dark as to the early years of nearly all the great ,venetian painters4 ,that ,drer makes no mention of ,titian's name in his letters gives no cause for surprise1 for even the most celebrated of the younger artists1 ,giorgione1 is not alluded to1 and of all those with ,bellini1 whose fame outshone even then that of all others1 only ,barbari is mentioned4 ,that ,titian's name does not occur in the documents about the ,fondaco frescoes may be due to the fact that ,giorgione alone was commissioned to undertake the frescoes for the magistrates1 and that the latter painter in his turn brought his associate ,titian into the work4 ,mr4 ,cook says that ,titian still signed himself in #aeaa ,dipintore instead of ,maestro4 ,i am not aware whether in this respect definite regulations or customs were usual in ,venice4#aff ,at any rate1 the painter is still described in official documents as late as #aeah as ser ,tizian depentor 7,lorenzi1 ,monumenti1 ,no4 #cff71 when1 even according to ,mr4 ,cook's theory1 he must have been thirty years old2 and he is actually so called in #aebh 7ibid4 ,no4 #djc71 after appearing in several intermediate documents as maestro 7,nos4 #cgc1 #cgg74 ,if this argument1 however1 proves unsound1 the last point--viz4 that the well-known petition to the senate in #aeac reads more like that of a man of twenty-four than one of thirty-seven--must be left to the hypothesis of individual conjecture4 ,must we really close these very long inquiries by confessing they are beyond our ken8 ,it almost seems so4 ,for1 with regard to the testimony afforded by family documents1 ,dr4 ,jacobi 7whose labours were utilised by ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle7 so conscientiously examined all that is left1 that a discovery in this direction is not to be looked for4 ,is the statement of ,tizianello that ,titian's year of birth was #adgg to be rejected without further question when we remember that1 as a relative of the painter1 he could have had in #afbb access to documents possibly since lost8 ,under these circumstances the only thing left to do is to question the works of ,titian4 ,of these1 two can be dated1 not indeed with certainty1 but with some degree of probability3 the dedicatory painting of the ,bishop of ,pesaro with the portrait of ,alexander ,,vi4 of #aejb-jc1 and the picture of ,st4 ,mark1 already mentioned1 of the year #aejd4 ,both are1 to judge by the style1 clearly early works1 and both can be connected with definite historical events of the years just mentioned4 ,that these paintings1 however1 could be the work of a fourteen- to fifteen-year-old artist ,mr4 ,cook will also admit to be impossible4 ,much1 far too much1 in the story of ,venetian painting must1 for want of definite information1 be left to conjecture2 and however unsatisfactory it is1 we must make the confession that we know as little about the date of the birth of the greatest of the ,venetians as we know of ,giorgione's1 ,sebastiano's1 ,palma's1 and the rest4 ,but supposing all of a sudden information turned up giving us the exact date of ,titian's birth1 would the picture of the development of ,venetian painting be any the different for it8 ,in no wise4 ,the relation to one another of the individual artists of the younger generation is so clearly to be read in each man's work1 that no external particulars1 however interesting they might be on other grounds1 could make the smallest difference4 ,titian's relations with ,giorgione especially could not be otherwise represented than has been long determined1 and that whether ,titian was born in #adgf1 #adgg1 #adhj1 or even two or three years later4#afg ,,georg ,,gronau4 ,,when ,,was ,,titian ,,born8 ,reply to ,dr4 ,gronau4 ,reprinted from ,repertorium fr ,kunstwissenschaft1 vol4 xxv41 parts #a and #b ,i must thank ,dr4 ,georg ,gronau for his very fair reply1 published in these pages#afh 7to my article in the ,nineteenth ,century on the subject of ,titian's age#afi74 ,he has also most kindly pointed out two pieces of contemporary evidence which had escaped my notice1 and although neither of these passages is conclusive proof one way or the other1 they deserve to be reckoned with in arriving at a decision4 ,dr4 ,gronau formulates the evidence shortly thus3 ,vasari in #aeff or #aefg says ,titian is over #gf ,the ,spanish ,consul in #aefg #he ,titian himself in #aega he is #ie and he adds that this new piece of evidence--viz4 the letter of the ,spanish ,consul to ,king ,philip--instead of helping us1 only makes the confusion worse4 ,what then are we to think when yet another--a fourth--contemporary statement turns up1 differing from any of the three just quoted8 ,yet such a letter exists1 and ,i am happy in my turn to point out this fresh piece of evidence1 in the hope that instead of making the confusion worse1 it will help us to arrive at some decision4 ,on ,october the #aeth1 #aefd1 ,garcia ,hernandez1 ,envoy in ,venice from ,king ,philip ,,ii41 writes to the ,king his master that ,titian begged that ,his ,majesty would condescend to order that he should be paid what was due to him from the court and from ,milan4444 ,for the rest the painter was in fine condition1 and quite capable of work1 and this was the time1 if ever1 to get other things from him1 as according to some people who knew him1 ,titian was about ninety years old1 though he did not show it1 and for money everything was to be had of him4#agj ,in #aefd then the ,spanish ,envoy writes that ,titian was said to be about ninety4 ,let us then enlarge ,dr4 ,gronau's table by this additional statement1 and further complete it by including the earliest piece of evidence1 the statement of ,dolce in #aeeg that ,titian was scarcely twenty when he worked at the ,fondaco de' ,tedeschi frescoes 7#aejg-h74 ,the year of ,titian's birth thus works out3 ,writing in #aeeg1 ,dolce makes out ,titian was born about #adhi #aeff-g1 ,vasari #adhi #aefd1 ,spanish ,envoy #adgd #aefg1 ,spanish ,consul #adhb #aega1 ,titian himself #adgf ,now it is curious to notice that the last three statements are all made in letters to ,king ,philip1 either by ,titian himself1 or at his request by the ,spanish agents4 ,it is curious to notice these statements as to ,titian's great age occur in begging letters4#aga ,it is curious to notice they are mutually contradictory4 ,what are we to conclude8 ,surely that the ,spanish ,envoy1 the ,spanish ,consul1 and ,titian himself1 out of their own mouths stand convicted of inconsistency of statement1 and further that they betray an identical motive underlying each representation--viz4 an appeal ad misericordiam4 ,before1 however1 contrasting the value of the evidence as found in these ,spanish letters with the evidence as found in ,dolce and ,vasari1 let us note two points in these letters4 ,garcia ,hernandez1 the ,spanish ,envoy1 writes3 ,according to some people who knew him1 ,titian was about ninety years old1 though he did not show it4 ,now1 if ,titian was really about ninety in the year #aefd1 he will have lived to the age of one hundred and two1 a feat of longevity of which no one has ever accused him6 ,apart1 therefore1 from the healthy scepticism which ,hernandez betrays in this letter1 we may certainly conclude that some people who knew him were exaggerating ,titian's age4 ,secondly1 ,titian's letter of #aega says he is ninety-five years old4 ,titian's similar letter of #aegf1 the year of his death1 omits to say he is one hundred4 ,surely a strange omission1 considering that he refers to his old age three times in this one letter4#agb ,does not the second letter correct the inexactness of the first8 and so ,titian's statement goes for nothing8 ,the collective evidence1 then1 of these ,spanish letters amounts to this1 that1 in the words of the ,envoy1 for money everything was to be had of ,titian1 and accordingly any statement as to his great age when thus made for effect must be treated with the greatest suspicion4 ,but is the evidence of ,dolce and ,vasari any more trustworthy8 ,dr4 ,gronau is at pains to show that both these writers often made mistakes in their dates1 a fact which no one can dispute4 ,their very incorrectness is the more reason however for trusting them in this instance1 for they happen to agree about the date of ,titian's birth2 and1 although neither of them expressly gives the year #adhi1 they indicate separate and independent events in his life1 the one1 ,dolce1 at the beginning1 the other1 ,vasari1 at the end1 which when looked into give the same result4 ,moreover1 be ,dolce ever so anxious to cry up his hero ,titian1 and make him out to have been precocious1 and be ,vasari ever so inexact in his chronology1 we must remember that1 when both of them wrote1 the presumption of unusual longevity had not arisen1 and that their evidence therefore is less likely to be prejudiced in this respect than the evidence given in obituary notices1 such as occurs in ,borghini's ,riposo of #aehd1 and in the later writers like ,tizianello and ,ridolfi4 ,that ,borghini therefore says ,titian was ninety-eight or ninety-nine when he died1 and that ,tizianello and ,ridolfi1 thirty-eight and sixty-four years later respectively1 put him down at ninety-nine1 is by no means proof that such was the case4 ,it would seem that there had been some speculation before and after ,titian's death as to his exact age2 that no one quite knew for certain2 and that ,titian with the credulousness of old age had come to regard himself as well-nigh a centenarian4 ,be this as it may1 ,i still hold that the evidence of ,dolce and ,vasari that ,titian's birth occurred in #adhi is more trustworthy than either the evidence found in the three ,spanish letters1 or the evidence as given in the obituary notices of ,borghini and others4 ,one word more4 ,if ,titian was born in #adhi1 instead of #adgf-g1 it does make a great difference in the story of his own career2 and1 what is more1 the history of ,venetian art in the early sixteenth century1 as it centres round ,giorgione1 ,palma1 and ,titian1 will have to be carefully reconsidered4 ,,herbert ,,cook4 ,,notes3 #adh ,the picture now hangs in the ,academia at ,venice4 #adi e4g4 the ,sacred and ,profane ,love 7so-called7 in the ,borghese ,gallery2 the ,s4 ,mark of the ,salute2 the ,concert in the ,pitti2 the ,tribute ,money at ,dresden2 the ,madonna of the ,cherries at ,vienna1 etc41 which one or other of his biographers assign to the years #aejj-aeaj4 #aej ,the ,life and ,times of ,titian1 #b vols41 #ahha4 #aea ,the ,earlier and ,later ,work of ,titian4 ,portfolio1 ,october #ahig and ,july #ahih4 #aeb ,tizian4 ,berlin1 #aija4 #aec ,la ,vie et l',oeuvre de ,titien3 ,paris1 #ahhf4 #aed ,see ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle3 ,titian1 i4 #he4 ,the fact that ,titian's name does not occur in these records is curious and suggestive4 #aee ,ed4 ,sansoni1 p4 #dei4 ,the translation is that of ,blashfield and ,hopkins4 ,bell1 #ahig4 #aef ,ibid4 p4 #dbe4 #aeg ,ibid4 p4 #dbh4 #aeh ,the translation is that of ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle4 ,titian1 ii4 #cia4 ,the original is given by them at p4 #ech4 #aei ,quoted from ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle4 #afj ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle4 ,titian1 ii4 #dji4 #afa ,there is a collection of these in a volume in the ,british ,museum4 #afb ,before the discovery of the letter to ,philip1 ,messrs4 ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle were quite prepared to admit that ,titian was born after #adhj 7vide ,n4 ,italian ,painting1 ii4 #aai1 #abj74 ,unfortunately1 they took the evidence of the letter as final1 but finding themselves chronologically in difficulties1 they shrewdly remark in their ,titian1 i4 #ch1 note3 ,the writers of these lines thought1 and still think1 ,titian younger than either ,giorgione or ,palma4 ,they were1 however1 inclined to transpose ,titian's birthday to a later date than #adgg1 rather than put back those of ,palma and ,giorgione to an earlier period1 and in this they made a mistake4 ,perhaps they were not so far wrong after all6 #afc ,for this most amusing letter see ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle4 ,titian1 i4 p4 #aec4 #afd ,the evidence afforded by ,titian's own portraits of himself 7at ,berlin and in the ,uffizi7 is inconclusive1 as we do not know the exact years they were painted4 ,the portrait at ,madrid1 painted #aefb1 might represent a man of seventy-three or eighty-six1 it is hard to say which4 ,but there is a woodcut of #aeej 7vide ,gronau1 p4 #afd7 which surely shows ,titian at the age of sixty-one rather than seventy-four2 and1 finally1 ,paul ,veronese's great ,marriage at ,cana 7in the ,louvre71 which was painted between ,june #aefb and ,september #aefc1 distinctly points to ,titian being then a man of seventy-four and not eighty-seven4 ,he is represented1 as is well known1 seated in the group of musicians in the centre1 and playing the contrabasso4 #afe ,jahrbuch der ,sammlungen des ,a4,h4 ,kaiserhauses1 vii4 p4 #bba ff #ahhh4 #aff ,dr4 ,ludwig had the kindness to write to me on this subject3 ,among the thousands of signatures of painters which ,i have seen ,i have never come across the signature ,maestro4 ,of course1 someone else can describe a painter as ,master2 he himself always subscribes himself pittor1 pictor1 or depentor4 #afg ,dr4 ,gronau further points out 7in a letter recently sent to the writer7 that ,titian1 writing to the emperor in #aede1 says3 ,i should have liked to take them 7i4e4 the paintings7 to your ,majesty in person1 but that my age and the length of the journey forbade such a course 7,c4 and ,c4 ii4 #ajc74 ,writing also in #aedh to ,granvella he refers to his vechia vita4 ,would not such expressions 7asks ,dr4 ,gronau7 be more applicable to a man of sixty-eight and seventy-one respectively than to one of only fifty-six and fifty-nine8 #afh ,,xxiv4 ,band4 #f ,heft1 p4 #deg4 #afi ,january #aijb1 pp4 #abc-acj4 #agj ,quoted from ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle4 ,,ii4 #cdd4 ,the ,spanish original is given at p4 #ece4 #aga ,i have quoted ,titian's letter in full in the ,nineteenth ,century4 ,that of the ,spanish ,consul is given in the ,jahrbuch der ,sammlungen des ,a4,h4 ,kaiserhauses1 vii4 p4 #bba1 from which ,i extract the passage3 ,el dicho ,ticiano besa pies y manos de ,v4,m41 y suplica umilmente a ,v4,m4 mande le sea pagado lo que le ha corrido de las pensiones de que ,v4,m4 le tiene echo merced en ,milan y en esa corte1 y la trata de ,napoles1 y con los #he aos de su edad servira a ,v4,m4 hasta la muerte4 #agb ,i have quoted this letter also in full in the ,nineteenth ,century4 ,i am indebted to ,m4 ,salomon ,reinach for making this point 7,chronique des ,arts1 ,feb4 #ae1 #aijb1 p4 #ec1 where he expresses himself a convert to my views74 ,,catalogue ,,of ,,the ,,works ,,of ,,giorgione ,,arranged ,,according ,,to ,,the ,,galleries ,,in ,,which ,,they ,,are ,,contained ,,austria-,,hungary ,,buda-,,pesth ,,gallery4 ,,portrait ,,of ,a ,,young ,,man4 ,no4 #id4 ,esterhazy ,collection4 7,see p4 #ca47 ,,two ,,figures ,,standing4 ,no4 #ie4 ,copy of a portion of ,giorgione's lost picture of the ,birth of ,paris4 ,these are the two shepherds4 7,see p4 #df47 ,the whole composition was engraved by ,th4 von ,kessel for the ,theatrum pictorium under ,giorgione's name4 ,the original picture was seen and described by the ,anonimo in #aebe4 ,,vienna ,,gallery4 ,,evander ,,and ,,his ,,son ,,pallas ,,showing ,,to ,,aeneas ,,the ,,future ,,site ,,of ,,rome4 ,canvas1 #d ft4 x #d ft4 #h in4 ,no4 #af4 ,seen by the ,anonimo in #aebe1 in ,venice1 and said by him to have been finished by ,sebastiano del ,piombo4 7,see p4 #ab47 ,collection of the ,archduke ,leopold ,william1 and registered in the inventory of #afei4 ,,adoration ,,of ,,the ,,shepherds1 or ,,nativity4 ,wood1 #c ft4 x #c ft4 #aj in4 ,no4 #bc4 ,inferior replica by ,giorgione of the ,beaumont picture in ,london4 ,i have sought to identify this piece with the picture da una ,nocte1 painted by ,giorgione for ,taddeo ,contarini4 7,see p4 #bd and ,appendix1 where the original document is quoted47 ,from the ,collection of the ,archduke ,leopold ,william1 and registered in the inventory of #afei as a ,giorgione4 ,,virgin ,,and ,,child4 ,wood1 #b ft4 #b in4 x #b ft4 #i in4 ,no4 #agf4 ,known as the ,gipsy ,madonna1 and ascribed to ,titian4 ,collection of the ,archduke ,leopold ,william4 7,see p4 #ig47 ,,portrait ,,of ,a ,,man4 ,canvas1 #c ft4 #e in4 x #b ft4 #i in4 ,no4 #afg4 ,commonly1 though erroneously1 called ,the ,physician ,parma1 and ascribed to ,titian4 ,collection of the ,archduke ,leopold ,william4 7,see p4 #hg47 ,,david ,,with ,,the ,,head ,,of ,,goliath4 ,wood1 #b ft4 #b in4 x #b ft4 #f in4 ,no4 #ba4 ,copy after a lost original1 which is thus described by ,vasari3 ,a ,david 7which1 according to common report1 is a portrait of the master himself7 with long locks1 reaching to the shoulders1 as was the custom of that time1 and the colouring is so fresh and animating that the face appears to be rather real than painted2 the breast is covered with armour1 as is the arm with which he holds the head of ,goliath4 ,this picture was at that day in the house of the ,patriarch of ,aquileia2 the copy can be traced back to the ,collection of the ,archduke ,leopold ,william at ,brussels4 7,see p4 #dh47 ,herr ,wickhoff1 however1 seems to think that1 were the repaints removed1 the ,vienna picture might prove to be ,giorgione's original painting4 ,see ,berenson's ,study and ,criticism of ,italian ,art1 vol4 i4 p4 #gd1 note4 ,,british ,,isles ,,london1 ,,national ,,gallery4 ,,adoration ,,of ,,the ,,magi1 or ,,the ,,epiphany4 ,panel4 #ab in4 x #b ft4 #h in4 ,no4 #aafj4 ,from the ,leigh ,court sale1 #ahhd4 7,see p4 #ec47 ,,unknown ,,subject1 possibly ,,the ,,golden ,,age4 ,panel4 #a ft4 #aa in4 x #a ft4 #g in4 ,no4 #aagc4 ,now catalogued as ,school of ,barbarelli4 7,see p4 #ia47 ,purchased in #ahhe at the sale of the ,bohn ,collection as a ,giorgione4 ,formerly in the ,aldobrandini ,palace1 ,rome1 where it was bought by ,mr4 ,day for the ,marquis of ,bristol1 but afterwards sold at ,christie's to ,mr4 ,white1 and by him for #gc4ajs4 to ,bohn4 ,,portrait ,,of ,a ,,man1 possibly ,,prospero ,,colonna4 ,transposed in #aheg from wood to canvas1 #b ft4 #h in4 x #b ft4 ,no4 #fcf4 ,catalogued as ,portrait of a ,poet1 by ,palma ,vecchio4 ,formerly in possession of ,mr4 ,tomline1 and purchased in #ahfj from ,m4 ,edmond ,beaucousin at ,paris4 ,it was then called the portrait of ,ariosto by ,titian4 7,see p4 #ha47 ,a ,,knight ,,in ,,armour1 probably ,s4 ,,liberale4 ,wood1 #a ft4 #c in4 x #aj in4 ,no4 #bfi4 ,formerly in the ,collection of ,benjamin ,west1 ,p4,r4,a41 and bequeathed to the ,national ,gallery by ,mr4 ,samuel ,rogers in #ahee4 7,see p4 #bj47 ,,venus ,,and ,,adonis4 ,canvas1 #b ft4 #f in4 x #d ft4 #d in4 ,no4 #aabc4 ,catalogued as ,venetian ,school1 and more recently as ,school of ,giorgione4 ,purchased in #ahhb as a ,giorgione at the ,hamilton ,palace sale4 7,see p4 #id47 ,,glasgow ,,gallery4 ,,the ,,adulteress ,,before ,,christ4 ,canvas1 #d ft4 #f in4 x #e ft4 #aa in4 ,no4 #adb4 ,ex ,m',lellan ,collection4 7,see p4 #ajb47 ,,two ,,musicians4 ,panel4 #a ft4 #i in4 x #a ft4 #d in4 ,no4 #adc4 ,recently attributed to ,campagnola4 ,said to be ,titian and ,giorgione1 playing violin and violoncello4 ,the former attribution to ,giorgione is probably correct4 ,graham-,gilbert ,collection4 ,new ,gallery1 ,venetian ,exhibition1 #ahie4 ,no4 #ii4 ,,hampton ,,court4 ,,shepherd ,,boy4 ,canvas1 #a ft4 #aa in4 x #a ft4 #h in4 ,no4 #aja4 ,from ,charles ,i4 ,collection1 where it was called a ,giorgione4 7,see p4 #di for a suggestion as to its possible authorship47 ,,buckingham ,,palace4 ,,three ,,figures4 ,half-length2 two men1 and a woman fainting4 ,canvas1 #b ft4 #e in4 x #b ft4 #a in4 ,ascribed to ,titian1 but probably derived from a ,giorgione original4 ,other versions are said 7,c4 and ,c4 ii4 #adi7 to have been at the ,hague and in the ,buonarroti ,collection at ,florence4 ,the ,london picture is so damaged and repainted1 although still of splendid colouring1 as to preclude all certainty of judgment4 ,formerly in ,charles ,i4 ,collection4 ,,mr4 ,,wentworth ,,beaumont',s ,,collection4 ,,adoration ,,of ,,the ,,shepherds1 or ,,nativity4 ,wood1 #c ft4 #f in4 x #b ft4 7about74 ,from the ,gallery of ,cardinal ,fesch1 and presumably the same as the picture in the ,collection of ,james ,,ii4 ,i have sought to identify this piece with the picture da una ,nocte1 painted by ,giorgione for ,vittorio ,beccare 7,see p4 #bj1 and ,appendix quoting the original document47 ,,mr4 ,r4,h4 ,,benson',s ,,collection4 ,,holy ,,family4 ,wood1 #ad in4 x #ag in4 ,new ,gallery1 #ahie4 ,no4 #adh4 7,see p4 #if47 ,,madonna ,,and ,,child4 ,wood1 #a ft4 #f in4 x #a ft4 #aj in4 ,new ,gallery1 #ahie4 ,no4 #a1 under ,titian's name4 7,see p4 #aja47 ,from the ,burghley ,house ,collection4 ,,portrait ,,of ,a ,,man4 ,canvas1 #ch in4 x #cb in4 ,copy of a lost original4 ,three-quarter length2 life-size2 standing towards right2 head facing2 hands resting on a column1 glove in left2 black dress1 cut square at throat4 ,new ,gallery1 #ahie4 ,no4 #eb1 as ,unknown4 7,see p4 #gd47 ,,cobham ,,hall1 ,,the ,,earl ,,of ,,darnley',s ,,collection4 ,,portrait ,,of ,a ,,man4 ,canvas1 #b ft4 #a in4 x #b ft4 #i in4 ,erroneously called ,ariosto1 and ascribed to ,titian4 ,i have sought to identify this with the ,portrait of a ,gentleman of the ,barberigo family1 said by ,vasari to have been painted by ,titian at the age of eighteen4 7,see p4 #fi47 ,,heron ,,court1 ,,the ,,earl ,,of ,,malmesbury4 ,,the ,,judgment ,,of ,,paris4 ,canvas1 #bb in4 x #bh in4 ,copy of an unidentified original1 of which other versions are to be found at ,dresden1 ,venice 7,pal4 ,albuzio71 and ,christiania4 ,this one is probably a ,bolognese repetition of the seventeenth century4 ,ridolfi mentions this subject in his list of ,giorgione's works4 ,new ,gallery1 #ahie4 ,no4 #bi4 ,,hertford ,,house1 ,,wallace ,,collection4 ,,venus ,,disarming ,,cupid4 #c ft4 #g in4 x #c ft4 ,no4 #ai4 ,the picture was engraved as a ,giorgione when in the ,orleans ,gallery4 7,see p4 #ic47 ,,kent ,,house1 ,,the ,,late ,,louisa ,,lady ,,ashburton4 ,,two ,,figures ,,in ,a ,,landscape4 ,panel4 #ah in4 x #ag in4 ,the damaged state precludes any certainty of judgment4 ,the composition is that of the ,adrastus and ,hypsipyle picture2 the colouring recalls the ,national ,gallery ,golden ,age7874 ,if an original1 it is quite an early work4 ,new ,gallery1 #ahie4 ,no4 #adg4 ,,two ,,figures 7half-lengths71 ,a ,,woman ,,and ,a ,,man4 ,copy after a missing original1 and in the style of the figures at ,oldenburg4 7,see ,venturi1 ,la ,gall4 ,crespi47 ,this or the original was engraved as a ,giorgione in #aggc by ,dom4 ,cunego ex tabula ,romae in aedibus ,burghesianis asservata4 ,,kingston ,,lacy1 ,,collection ,,of ,,mr4 ,,ralph ,,bankes4 ,,the ,,judgment ,,of ,,solomon4 ,canvas1 #f ft4 #aj in4 x #aj ft4 #e in4 ,mentioned by ,dr4 ,waagen1 ,suppl4 ,ridolfi 7#afdf7 mentions3 ,in casa ,grimani da ,santo ,ermagora la ,sentenza di ,salomone1 di bella macchia1 colla figura del ministro non finita4 ,afterwards in the ,marescalchi ,gallery at ,bologna1 where 7#ahbj7 it was seen by ,lord ,byron1 who especially praised it 7vide ,life and ,letters1 ed4 by ,moore1 p4 #gje71 and at whose suggestion it was purchased by his friend ,mr4 ,bankes4 7,see p4 #be47 ,exhibited ,royal ,academy1 #ahfi4 ,a ,,painted ,,ceiling4 ,with four putti climbing over a circular balcony1 seen in steep perspective1 and covered with beautiful vine leaves and flowers4 ,this is said to have been painted by ,giorgione in the last year of his life 7#aeaj7 for the ,palace of ,grimani1 ,patriarch of ,aquileia4 ,admirably preserved1 and most likely a genuine work4 ,,temple ,,newsam1 ,,collection ,,of ,,the ,,hon4 ,,mrs ,,meynell-,,ingram4 ,,portrait ,,of ,a ,,man4 ,traditionally ascribed to ,titian4 ,just under life-size2 he holds a black hat4 ,blue-black silk dress with sleeve of pinky red and golden brown gloves4 ,dark auburn hair4 ,dark grey marble wall behind4 ,in excellent preservation4 7,see p4 #hf47 ,,collection ,,of ,,sir ,,charles ,,turner4 ,,the ,,adulteress ,,before ,,christ4 ,a free ,venetian repetition1 perhaps based on an alternative design for the ,glasgow picture4 7,see p4 #ajd47 ,,france4 ,,louvre4 ,f,,te ,,champ,,tre1 or ,,pastoral ,,symphony4 ,canvas1 #c ft4 #h in4 x #d ft4 #i in4 ,said to have been in ,charles ,i4 ,collection1 and sold to ,louis ,,xiv4 by ,jabuch4 7,see p4 #ci47 ,,holy ,,family ,,and ,,saints ,,catherine ,,and ,,sebastian1 ,,with ,,donor4 ,wood1 #c ft4 #d in4 x #d ft4 #f in4 ,perhaps left incomplete by ,giorgione at his death1 and finished by ,sebastiano del ,piombo4 7,see p4 #aje47 ,from ,charles ,i4 ,collection4 ,,germany4 ,,berlin ,,gallery4 ,,portrait ,,of ,a ,,young ,,man4 ,acquired from ,dr4 ,richten 7,see p4 #cj47 ,,berlin1 ,,collection ,,of ,,herr ,,von ,,kauffmann4 ,,sta4 ,,giustina4 ,a small seated figure with the unicorn4 ,recently acquired at ,cologne1 and known to the writer only by photograph and description1 but tentatively accepted as genuine4 ,,dresden ,,gallery4 ,,venus4 ,canvas1 #c ft4 #g in4 x #e ft4 #aj in4 ,no4 #ahe4 ,formerly catalogued as a copy by ,sassoferrato after ,titian4 ,restored by ,morelli to ,giorgione1 and universally accepted as such4 ,mentioned by the ,anonimo and ,ridolfi1 and said to have been completed by ,titian4 7,see p4 #ce47 ,,the ,,horoscope4 ,canvas1 #d ft4 #e in4 x #f ft4 #b in4 ,copy after a lost original4 ,c4 and ,c4 suggest ,girolamo ,pennacchi as possible author4 ,it bears the ,este arms4 ,from the ,manfrini and ,barker ,collections4 7,see ,gazette des ,beaux ,arts1 #ahhd1 tom4 xxx4 p4 #bbc47 ,,judgment ,,of ,,paris4 ,canvas1 #a ft4 #i in4 x #b ft4 #c in4 ,one of several copies of a lost original4 ,see under ,british ,isles--,heron ,court4 ,,italy ,,bergamo1 ,,gallery4 ,,orpheus ,,and ,,eurydice4 ,wood1 #a ft4 #c in1 x #a ft4 #i in4 ,no4 #agi1 ,lochis section4 7,see p4 #hi47 ,,madonna ,,and ,,child4 ,wood1 #a ft4 #c in4 x #a ft4 #f in4 ,no4 #bcb1 ,lochis section1 as ,titian4 ,the composition is very similar to ,mr4 ,benson's ,madonna and ,child 7q4v474 7,see p4 #aja47 ,,the ,,adulteress ,,before ,,christ4 #d ft4 #aa in4 x #g ft4 #c in4 ,no4 #bf1 ,carrara section4 ,later copy1 with slight variations1 of the ,glasgow picture1 ,ascribed to ,cariani1 and in a dirty state4 7,see p4 #ajd47 ,,castelfranco1 ,,duomo4 ,,madonna ,,and ,,child ,,enthroned1 ,,ss4 ,,liberale ,,and ,,francis ,,below4 ,wood1 #g ft4 #f in4 x #d ft4 #aj in4 7,see p4 #g47 ,,florence1 ,,pitti ,,gallery4 ,,the ,,concert4 ,canvas1 #c ft4 #aj in4 x #g ft4 #d in4 ,no4 #ahe4 ,described by ,ridolfi and ,boschini4 ,an old copy is at ,hyde ,park ,house1 another in the ,palazzo ,doria1 ,rome4 7,see p4 #di47 ,,the ,,three ,,ages4 ,wood1 #c ft4 #h in4 x #e ft4 #d in4 ,no4 #aeg4 ,by ,c4 and ,c4 ascribed to ,lotto1 by ,morelli to ,giorgione4 7,see p4 #db47 ,,nymph ,,and ,,satyr4 ,canvas4 ,no4 #adg4 7,see p4 #dd47 ,,florence1 ,,uffizi ,,gallery4 ,,trial ,,of ,,moses1 or ,,ordeal ,,by ,,fire4 ,canvas4 ,figures one-eighth life-size4 ,no4 #fba4 ,from ,poggio ,imperiale47,see p4 #ae47 ,,judgment ,,of ,,solomon4 ,companion piece to last4 ,wood4 ,no4 #fcj4 7,see p4 #ae47 ,,knight ,,of ,,malta4 ,canvas4 ,bust1 life-size4 ,no4 #fbb4 ,the letters ,,xxxv probably refer to the man's age4 ,mr4 ,dickes 7,magazine of ,art1 ,april #ahic7 thinks he is ,stefano ,colonna1 who died #aedh4 7,see p4 #ai47 ,,milan1 ,,crespi ,,collection4 ,,portrait ,,of ,,caterina ,,cornaro4 ,canvas1 #c ft4 #aa in4 x #c ft4 #b in4 ,from the ,alessandro ,martinengo ,gallery1 ,brescia 7#afdj71 thence to ,collection ,francesco ,riccardi1 ,bergamo1 where ,c4 and ,c4 saw it in #ahgg4 ,they state it was engraved in the line series of ,sala4 ,it has been known traditionally both as ,caterina ,cornaro and ,la ,schiavona4 7,see p4 #gd47 ,in the signature ,t4,v4 it is clear that the ,v represents the last letter but one in ,,titianvs4 ,the first three letters can just be made out4 ,there are many pentimenti on the marble parapet1 which seems to have been painted over the dress4 ,,padua1 ,,gallery4 ,two cassone panels with mythological scenes4 ,wood1 about #d ft4 x #a ft4 each4 ,nos4 #daf1 #dag4 7,see p4 #ef47 ,two very small panels with mythological scenes1 one representing ,,leda ,,and ,,the ,,swan4 ,wood1 about #e in4 x #c in4 each4 ,nos4 #db1 #dc4 7,see p4 #ij47 ,,rome1 ,,borghese ,,gallery4 ,,portrait ,,of ,a ,,lady4 ,canvas1 #c ft4 #b in4 x #b ft4 #f in4 7,see p4 #cc47 ,,national ,,gallery1 ,,pal4 ,,corsini4 ,s4 ,,george ,,and ,,the ,,dragon4 ,recently acquired4 7,tentatively accepted from the photograph4 ,see p4 #ia47 ,,rovigo1 ,,gallery4 ,,madonna ,,and ,,child4 ,,no4 #b4 ,repetition by ,titian of ,giorgione's original at ,vienna 7,see p4 #ih47 ,a ,,small ,,seated ,,figure4 ,,danae8 ,no4 #aef4 ,copy of a missing original4 ,,venice1 ,,academy4 ,,storm ,,at ,,sea ,,calmed ,,by ,s4 ,,mark4 ,wood1 #aa ft4 #h in4 x #ac ft4 #f in4 ,no4 #eaf4 ,from the ,scuola di ,s4 ,marco1 where it was companion piece to ,paris ,bordone's ,fisherman and ,doge4 ,ascribed by ,vasari to ,palma ,vecchio1 by ,zanetti to ,giorgione4 ,too damaged to admit of definite judgment4 7,see p4 #ee47 ,,three ,,figures4 ,half-lengths2 a woman fainting1 supported by a man2 another behind4 ,modern copy by ,fabris of apparently a missing original4 ,can this be the picture mentioned by ,c4 and ,c4 as in the possession of the ,king of ,holland8 7,c4 and ,c4 ii4 #adi1 note47 ,cf4 also1 ,notes to ,sansoni's ,vasari1 iv4 p4 #ajd4 ,another version is at ,buckingham ,palace 7q4v471 but it differs in detail from this copy4 ,,seminario4 ,,apollo ,,and ,,daphne4 ,cassone panel4 ,wood4 ,small figures1 much defaced4 7,see p4 #cd47 ,,church ,,of ,,san ,,rocco4 ,,christ ,,bearing ,,the ,,cross4 ,panel4 ,busts large as life4 ,about #c ft4 x #b ft4 ,christ clad in pale grey1 head turned three-quarters looking out of the picture1 auburn hair and beard1 bears cross4 ,he is dragged forward by an elderly man nude to waist4 ,another man in profile to left4 ,an old man with white beard just visible behind ,christ4 7,see p4 #ed47 ,,pal4 ,,albuzio4 ,,judgment ,,of ,,paris4 ,another version of this subject1 of which copies exist at ,christiania1 ,lord ,malmesbury's1 and ,dresden4 ,,pal4 ,,giovanelli4 ,,adrastus ,,and ,,hypsipyle4 ,canvas1 #b ft4 #i in4 x #b ft4 #e in4 ,described by the ,anonimo in the house of ,gabriel ,vendramin 7#aecj74 7,see p4 #aa47 ,statius 7lib4 iv4 #gcj ff47 describes how ,king ,adrastus1 wandering through the woods in search of a spring to quench the thirst of his troops1 encounters by chance ,queen ,hypsipyle1 who had been driven out of ,lemnos by the wicked women1 who had resolved to slay their husbands1 and she had taken refuge in the service of the ,king of ,nemea1 in capacity of nurse4 ,ex ,manfrini ,palace4 ,,pal4 ,,querini-,,stampalia4 ,,portrait ,,of ,a ,,man4 ,unfinished4 ,wood1 #b ft4 #f in4 square4 7,see p4 #he47 ,,norway4 ,,christiania4 ,,judgment ,,of ,,paris4 ,another version of this subject1 of which copies exist at ,lord ,malmesbury's1 ,dresden1 and ,venice4 ,,russia4 ,,st4 ,,petersburg1 ,,hermitage ,,gallery4 ,,judith4 #d ft4 #i in4 x #b ft4 #b in4 ,no4 #aab4 ,once ascribed to ,raphael1 and engraved as such 7in #afbj71 by ,h4,h4 ,quitter1 and afterwards by several other artists4 ,dr4 ,waagen pronounced it to be ,moretto's work1 and accordingly the name was changed2 as such ,braun has photographed it4 ,it is now officially recognised rightly as a ,giorgione 7vide ,catalogue of #ahia74 ,brought from ,italy to ,france1 and eventually in ,crozat's possession4 7,see p4 #cg47 ,,virgin ,,and ,,child4 #b ft4 #aj in4 x #b ft4 #f4 ,no4 #ic4 ,acquired at ,paris in #ahai by ,prince ,troubetzkoy as a ,titian1 under which name it is still registered4 7,see p4 #ajb1 where ,mr4 ,claude ,phillips's suggestion that it may be a ,giorgione is discussed47 ,,spain4 ,,madrid1 ,,prado ,,gallery4 ,,madonna ,,and ,,child ,,and ,,saints ,,francis ,,and ,,roch4 ,canvas1 #c ft4 x #d ft4 #e in4 ,no4 #cda4 ,from the ,escurial2 restored to ,giorgione by ,morelli1 and now officially recognised as his work4 7,see p4 #de47 ,,united ,,states4 ,,boston1 ,,collection ,,of ,,mrs4 ,,gardner4 ,,christ ,,bearing ,,the ,,cross4 ,wood1 #a ft4 #h in4 x #a ft4 #d in4 ,several variations and repetitions exist4 7,see p4 #ah47 ,till lately in the ,casa ,loschi at ,vicenza4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a few drawings by ,giorgione meet with general recognition1 but1 like his paintings1 they appear to have been unnecessarily restricted by an over-anxiety on the part of critics to leave him only the best4 ,e4g4 the drawing at ,windsor for a part of an ,adoration of the ,shepherds1 is1 no doubt1 a preliminary design for the ,beaumont or ,vienna pictures4 ,the limits of the present book will not allow a discussion on the subject1 but we may remark that1 like all ,venetian artists1 ,giorgione made few preliminary sketches1 concerning himself less with design and composition than with harmony of colour1 light and shade1 and effect4 ,the engraving by ,marcantonio commonly called ,the ,dream of ,raphael1 is now known to be derived from ,giorgione1 to whom the subject was suggested by a passage in ,servius' ,commentary on ,virgil 7lib4 iii4 v4 #ab74 7,see ,wickhoff1 loc4 cit47 ,,list ,,of ,,giorgione',s ,,pictures ,,cited ,,by ,,the ,,anonimo1 ,,as ,,being ,,in ,,his ,,day 7#aebe-ge7 ,,in ,,private ,,possession ,,at ,,venice4#agc ,,casa ,,taddeo ,,contarini 7#aebe74 7i7 ,the ,three ,philosophers 7since identified as ,aeneas1 ,evander1 and ,pallas1 in the ,vienna ,gallery71 7ii7 ,aeneas and ,anchises in ,hades4 7in7 ,the ,birth of ,paris4 7,since identified by the engraving of ,th4 von ,kessel4 ,a copy of the part representing the two shepherds is at ,buda-,pesth47 ,,casa ,,jeronimo ,,marcello 7#aebe74 7i7 ,portrait of ,m4 ,jeronimo armed1 showing his back and turning his head4 7ii7 ,a nude ,venus in a landscape with ,cupid4 ,finished by ,titian4 7,since identified as the ,dresden ,venus47 7in7 ,s4 ,jerome reading4 ,,casa ,m4 ,,anton4 ,,venier 7#aebh74 ,a soldier armed to the waist4 ,,casa ,g4 ,,vendramin 7#aecj74 7i7 ,landscape with soldier and gipsy4 7,since identified as the ,adrastus and ,hypsipyle of the ,pal4 ,giovanelli1 ,venice47 7ii7 ,the dead ,christ on the ,tomb1 supported by one ,angel4 ,retouched by ,titian4 7,this can hardly be the celebrated ,piet in the ,monte di ,piet at ,treviso1 as there are here three angels4 ,m4 ,lafenestre1 in his ,life of ,titian1 reproduces an engraving answering to the above description1 but it is hard to believe this mannered composition is to be traced back to ,giorgione47 ,,casa ,,zuane ,,ram 7#aeca74 7i7 ,a youth1 half-length1 holding an arrow4 7ii7 ,head of a shepherd boy1 who holds a fruit4 ,,casa ,a4 ,,pasqualino4 7i7 ,copy of ,no4 7i7 just mentioned4 7ii7 ,head of ,s4 ,james1 with pilgrim staff 7or1 may be1 a copy74 ,,casa ,,andrea ,,odoni 7#aecb74 ,s4 ,jerome1 nude1 seated in a desert by moonlight4 ,copy after ,giorgione4 ,,casa ,,michiel ,,contarini 7#aedc74 ,a pen drawing of a nude figure in a landscape4 ,the painting of the same subject belonged to the ,anonimo4 ,,casa ,,piero ,,servio 7#aege74 ,portrait of his father4 ,it is noteworthy that two of the above pieces are cited as copies1 from which we may infer that ,giorgione's productions were already1 at this early date1 enjoying such a vogue as to call for their multiplication at the hands of others1 and we can readily understand how1 in course of time1 the fabrication of ,giorgiones became a profitable business4 ,,notes3 #agc ,notizie d'opere di disegno4 ,ed4 ,frizzoni4 ,bologna1 #ahhd4