file which includes the original illustrations4 ,see #bggei-;h4htm or #bggei-;h4zip3 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/dirs_/#b_/ g_/g_/e_/bggei_/bggei-;h_/#bggei-;h4htm7 or 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/dirs_/#b_/ g_/g_/e_/bggei_/bggei-;h4zip7 ,transcriber's note3 ,letters enclosed in a square bracket with tilde denote that there is an overscore or tilde above the letter2 for example ,n is denoted by ,n4 ,c denotes a reversed ,c4 ,the ,great ,masters in ,painting and ,sculpture ,edited by ,g4 ,c4 ,williamson ,,luca ,,signorelli 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,great ,,masters ,,in ,,painting ,,and ,,sculpture4 ,the following ,volumes have been issued ,,bernardino ,,luini4 ,by ,,george ,c4 ,,williamson1 ,litt4,d41 ,editor of the ,series4 ,,velasquez4 ,by ,r4 ,a4 ,m4 ,,stevenson4 ,,andrea ,,del ,,sarto4 ,by ,h4 ,,guinness4 ,,luca ,,signorelli4 ,by ,,maud ,,cruttwell4 ,december #a4 ,,raphael4 ,by ,h4 ,,strachey4 ,january #a4 ,in preparation4 ,,carlo ,,crivelli4 ,by ,g4 ,m',,neil ,,rushforth1 ,m4,a41 ,lecturer in ,classics1 ,oriel ,college1 ,oxford4 ,,correggio4 ,by ,,selwyn ,,brinton1 ,m4,a41 ,author of ,the ,renaissance in ,italian ,art4 ,,fra ,,angelico4 ,by ,,langton ,,douglas1 ,m4,a4 ,,the ,,brothers ,,bellini4 ,by ,s4 ,,arthur ,,strong1 ,m4,a41 ,librarian to the ,house of ,lords4 ,,michael ,,angelo4 ,by ,,charles ,,holroyd1 ,keeper of the ,national ,gallery of ,british ,art4 ,,turner4 ,by ,,charles ,,francis ,,bell1 ,m4,a41 ,deputy ,keeper of the ,ashmolean ,museum4 ,,perugino4 ,by ,g4 ,c4 ,,williamson1 ,litt4,d41 ,editor of the ,series4 ,,memlinc4 ,by ,w4 ,h4 ,,james ,,weale1 late ,keeper of the ,national ,art ,library4 ,,murillo4 ,by ,,manuel ,b4 ,,cossio1 ,litt4,d41 ,ph4 ,d41 ,director of the ,musee ,pedagogique1 ,madrid4 ,,rembrandt4 ,by ,,malcolm ,,bell4 ,others to follow4 ,,london3 ,,george ,,bell ,,sons 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 ,portrait of an unknown man ,,luca ,,signorelli by ,,maud ,,cruttwell ,illustration ,london ,george ,bell ,sons #ahii ,pianga ,cortona omai1 vestasi oscura1 ,che estinti son del ,signorello i lumi2 ,et1 tu1 ,pittura1 fa de gli occhi fuimi1 ,che resti senza lui debile e scura4 ,epitaph composed at the time of his death ,il ,cortonese ,luca d'ingegno ,e spirito pellegrino4 ,,rime ,,di ,,giovanni ,,santi ,,prefatory ,,notice4 ,the references to ,vasari1 and ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 are invariably to the latest editions1 both in ,italian3 ,opere di ,giorgio ,vasari 7,firenze1 ,g4 ,c4 ,sansoni1 #ahgi72 ,cavalcaselle e ,crowe 7,le ,monnier1 #ahih74 ,the author desires to express her gratitude to ,mr ,bernhard ,berensen1 author of ,lorenzo ,lotto1 etc41 for much help in her work4 ,,florence1 ,october #ahii4 ,,contents ,,page ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ix ,,bibliography xiii ,,genealogical ,,tree xv ,chapter ,i4 ,,his ,,life #a ,,ii4 ,,development ,,and ,,characteristics ,,of ,,his ,,genius #ag ,,iii4 ,,earliest ,,works #cb ,,iv4 ,,middle ,,period #di ,v4 ,,orvieto #fc ,,vi4 ,,later ,,paintings #hg ,,vii4 ,,last ,,works #ih ,,viii4 ,,drawings #ajg ,,ix4 ,,pupils ,,and ,,general ,,influence #aaa ,,chronological ,,table #aba ,,catalogue ,,of ,,works #aca ,,index #ada ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,,page ,portrait of a ,man ,gallery1 ,berlin ,frontispiece ,portrait of ,signorelli ,museo del ,duomo1 ,orvieto #h ,the ,deposition ,cathedral1 ,cortona #aj ,the ,flagellation ,brera ,gallery1 ,milan #cb ,apostles ,santa ,casa1 ,loreto #cd ,the ,incredulity of ,s4 ,thomas ,santa ,casa1 ,loreto #cf ,the ,conversion of ,saul ,santa ,casa1 ,loreto #cf ,madonna and ,saints ,cathedral1 ,perugia #ch ,the ,circumcision ,national ,gallery1 ,london #dj ,pan ,gallery1 ,berlin #db ,madonna ,uffizi1 ,florence #dd ,madonna and ,saints ,pitti1 ,florence #df ,holy ,family ,rospigliosi ,gallery1 ,rome #df ,holy ,family ,uffizi1 ,florence #dh ,the ,annunciation ,cathedral1 ,volterra #ej ,the ,annunciation ,uffizi1 ,florence #eb ,the ,crucifixion ,santo ,spirito1 ,urbino #ed ,miracle of ,s4 ,benedict ,monte ,oliveto #ef ,miracle of ,s4 ,benedict ,monte ,oliveto #eh ,saints ,gallery1 ,berlin #fj ,holy ,family ,gallery1 ,berlin #fj ,the ,crucifixion ,municipio1 ,borgo ,san ,sepolero #fb ,portraits of ,signorelli and ,fra ,angelico ,cathedral1 ,orvieto #fd ,patriarchs ,cathedral1 ,orvieto #fh ,the ,preaching and ,fall of ,antichrist ,cathedral1 ,orvieto #gj ,the ,crowning of the ,elect ,cathedral1 ,orvieto #gb ,subjects from ,dante ,cathedral1 ,orvieto #gd ,heaven ,cathedral1 ,orvieto #gf ,hell ,cathedral1 ,orvieto #gf ,the ,damnation ,cathedral1 ,orvieto #gh ,the ,resurrection ,cathedral1 ,orvieto #hj ,signs of ,destruction ,cathedral1 ,orvieto #hb ,madonna and ,saints ,brera1 ,milan #ij ,dead ,christ upheld by ,angels ,s4 ,niccolo1 ,cortona #ib ,the ,adoration of the ,magi ,jarvis ,collection1 ,new ,haven1 ,u4,s4,a4 #id ,madonna and ,saints ,mancini ,collection1 ,citta di ,castello #ih ,the ,deposition ,santa ,croce1 ,umbertide #ajj ,madonna1 ,saints1 and ,prophets ,gallery1 ,arezzo #ajb ,study of ,nude ,figure ,louvre1 ,paris #ajh ,magdalen at the ,foot of the ,cross ,academy1 ,florence #aaa ,tiberius ,gracchus ,gallery1 ,buda-,pesth #aaf ,,erratum ,page #f line #a1 for ,pius ,,ii4 read ,sixtus ,,iv4 ,the ,frontispiece and the illustrations facing pp4 #dj1 #db1 and #fj 7#b7 are from photographs by ,hanfstaengl 7,munich71 those facing pp4 #df 7,no4 #b7 and #fh by ,anderson 7,rome71 that facing page #ajh by ,a4 ,braun ,co4 7,dornach and ,paris71 those facing pp4 #id and #aaf from private photographs1 and the remainder by ,alinari 7,florence74 ,,bibliography4 ,,luca ,,signorelli4 ,vasari1 con annotazione di ,gaetano ,milanesi4 7,firenze1 ,g4 ,c4 ,sansoni1 #ahgi47 ,vol4 iii4 ,,luca ,,signorelli ,,und ,,die ,,italienische ,,renaissance4 ,robert ,vischer4 7,leipzig1 #ahgi47 ,,luca ,,signorelli4 ,cavalcaselle e ,crowe4 7,le ,monnier1 #ahih47 ,vol4 viii4 ,,ueber ,,leben1 ,,wirken ,,und ,,werke ,,der ,,maler ,,andrea ,,mantegna ,,und ,,luca ,,signorelli4 ,g4 ,f4 ,waagen4 7,historisches ,taschenbuch von ,raumer47 ,,luca ,,signorelli4 ,manni4 7,racolta ,milanese di vari opuscoli1 #agef47 ,vol4 i4 ,,storia ,,del ,,duomo ,,di ,,orvieto4 ,padre della ,valle1 #agia4 ,,il ,,duomo ,,di ,,orvieto4 ,ludovico ,luzi1 #ahff4 ,,memorie ,,ecclesiastiche ,e ,,civili ,,di ,,citta ,,di ,,castello4 ,muzi1 #ahdd4 ,,istruzione ,,storico4 ,giacomo ,mancini1 #ahcb4 ,,notizie 444 ,,sopra ,,luca ,,signorelli4 ,girolamo ,mancini1 #ahfg4 ,,guida ,,dei ,,monumenti 444 ,,nella ,,provincia ,,dell',,umbria1 ,,guardabassi4 #ahgb4 ,,family ,,tree ,,of ,,the ,,signorelli ,,family4 ,,ventura ,,di ,,signorelli4 ,,luca4 ,,egidio ,a sister of ,,lazzaro ,,dei ,,taldi 7great-grandfather of ,,giorgio ,,vasari1 the biographer74 --------------------------- ,,ventura4 ,,luca ,,galizia ,,carnesecca4 ---------------------------------------- ----------- ,,polidoro ,,antonio ,,pier ,,tommaso ,,gabriella ,,felicia 7,painter and #a4 ,,nannina ,,margherita ,,mariotto ,,luca ,,della ,builder74 ,,di ,,paolo ,,di ,,vagnozzi4 ,,del ,,mazza4 ,,bioscia4 ,,di ,,forzore4 #b4 ,,mattea ,,di ,,bernardina4 ,,domenico ,,di ,,simone4 ------------- ------------ ,,lucrezia ,,francesco ,,rosata ,,giulio4 ,,filiziano4 ,,domenico 7,painter74 ,,mariotto ,,di ,,gilio ,,felice ,,di ,,felice 7,banker47 ,,carrari4 ,,passerini4 ,,luca ,,signorelli ,,chapter ,i ,,his ,,life 7,,born #adda3 ,,died #aebc7 ,it is a curious fact that1 considering the number of documents which exist relating to ,signorelli1 and the paintings time has spared1 so little should be known beyond the merest outline of his life4 ,the very dates of his birth and death are indirectly acquired2 the documents leave his youth and early manhood an absolute blank1 and there are only two of his numerous works which can with certainty be placed before his thirty-third year4#a ,we are1 therefore1 forced to fall back upon traditionary record1 and by the aid of his biographer ,vasari1 and the evidence of youthful studies which his paintings contain1 to patch together a probable account of his life1 up to the time when the documents begin4 ,on ,vasari1 in this case1 we can depend with a certain amount of confidence1 since ,signorelli was his kinsman1 and they had been in such personal communication as was possible between an old man and a child4 ,from ,vasari1 then1 we learn that ,luca was born in ,cortona1 of ,egidio ,signorelli1 and a sister of ,lazzaro de ,taldi4#b ,this ,lazzaro1 great grandfather of the biographer1 deserves special mention1 since it was through his means1 and under his guardianship1 that ,luca was placed as a child to study painting with ,pier dei ,franceschi1 at ,arezzo4#c ,vasari tells us that ,lazzaro was a famous painter of his time1 not only in his own country1 but throughout ,tuscany1 with a style of painting hardly to be distinguished from that of his great friend1 ,pietro della ,francesca4#d ,this1 however1 is an assertion that has never been supported1 and was probably based on the author's pride in his own family1 for in the ,cortona tax-receipts for the year #adbg1 he is described merely as a harness-maker 7,sellajo di ,cavalli47#e ,there is1 besides1 no record of him among the painters of ,arezzo1 and no fragment remains of the many works enumerated by his great-grandson4 ,but it is of little consequence whether he was a painter of pictures or a decorator of saddles2 what is to our purpose is the fact1 that by his means ,luca was placed under the tutelage of the painter most capable of developing the noblest qualities of his genius4 ,luca was born about #adda1 as we gather from ,vasari1 and if #adeb is the correct date of his uncle ,lazzaro's death1 his apprenticeship to ,pier dei ,franceschi must have begun before his eleventh year4 ,it is probable that1 with his fellow-pupil ,melozzo da ,forli1 his senior by three years1 ,signorelli assisted the master with the frescoes in ,s4 ,francesco1 although there is no trace of any work that might be from his hand4 ,vasari tells us that as a youth he laboured to imitate the style of his master1 with such success1 that 7as he remarked of ,lazzaro7 their work was hardly to be distinguished apart4#f ,the nearest approach to the style of ,piero that remains to us is ,the ,flagellation1 of the ,brera1 ,milan1 which1 however1 already shows signs of a more deeply impressed technical influence1 but it was probably under ,piero's training that ,signorelli developed his broad methods of work1 and the grand manner which makes his painting so impressive4 ,the later influence visible in the above-mentioned ,flagellation1 as throughout all his work1 is that of ,antonio ,pollaiuolo4 ,to him and to ,donatello are due the most important features in his artistic development1 and in technique he follows much more readily than the ,umbrian1 the ,florentine methods1 with which his painting has nearly everything in common4 ,of the influence of ,donatello it may justly be said that every painter and sculptor of the fifteenth century submitted to it1 but few were so completely touched by his spirit as ,signorelli4 ,not only1 as we shall see later1 did he transfer attitudes and features from ,donatello's statues into his earlier paintings1 but he caught1 and even exaggerated1 the confident and somewhat arrogant spirit of his work1 and exploited it with the same uncompromising realism4 ,the influence of ,antonio ,pollaiuolo was still more important1 and is so evident in the whole mass of his painting1 that with no other warrant we may feel certain that he spent a considerable time either as pupil or assistant to the ,florentine master4 ,the passion of ,pollaiuolo was to discover the science of movement in the human frame4 ,he understood the nude in a more modern way than the masters before him1 says ,vasari1 and he removed the skin from many corpses to see the anatomy beneath4#g ,he was1 in fact1 the great anatomical student among the ,quattrocento artists2 and1 having the same tastes1 it was natural that to his workshop ,signorelli should turn1 in order to satisfy his own craving for knowledge of the structure of bones and muscles4 ,the internal evidence of his paintings warrants this supposition1 but there is no record of any residence in ,florence1 beyond the announcement of ,vasari1 that he went there after his visit to ,siena1 not at all as a student1 but as a fully-fledged painter1 making gifts of his pictures to his friend and patron1 ,lorenzo dei ,medici4 ,his work1 however1 proves so incontestably the training of ,pollaiuolo1 and shows so close an acquaintance with ,florentine works of art1 that we may safely presume the greater part of his youth1 after leaving the studio of ,pier dei ,franceschi1 to have been passed in ,florence as pupil or assistant of ,antonio4 ,it is a wide leap from these days of study to the beginning of his citizen's life in ,cortona1 when1 a man of thirty-eight1 he first settled down as a burgher discharging important duties there1 but it would be idle to attempt to fill the gap1 and only one document exists to help in any way to bridge it over4 ,this is a commission from the ,commune of ,citta di ,castello1 dated #adgd1h requiring ,signorelli to paint1 over some older frescoes in their ,tower1 a large ,madonna and ,saints1 but1 unfortunately the work itself no longer exists1 for what time and neglect had spared1 the earthquake of #aghi completely destroyed4 ,we may presume that before #adgi he painted the important frescoes for the ,church of the ,holy ,house at ,loreto1 since in that year he was first appointed to the municipal offices in ,cortona1 which necessitated an almost constant residence there for the next three years1 as the documents of election show4#i ,these numerous papers 7for the most part discovered through the efforts of ,signor ,girolamo ,mancini1 and published in his ,notizie71 are preserved in the archives of ,cortona1 and form the chief evidence of the painter's whereabouts up to the end of his long life4 ,they record1 first1 his appointment in the autumn of #adgi to the ,council of ,,xviii41 and to the ,conservatori degli ,ordinamente1#aj in the following spring to the ,priori1 and in the summer to the ,general ,council1 and they continue with few interruptions up to the very day of his death4 ,they decide for us the social status he enjoyed1 for both ,priori and ,councillors were chosen from the richest and most influential families1 although not necessarily noble4#aa ,his official life began in a time of tumult and bloodshed4 ,it was the year after the failure of the ,pazzi ,conspiracy1 and all around ,cortona were pitched the camps of the rival troops of ,sixtus ,,iv4 and the excommunicated ,florentines4 ,cortona itself1 as a frontier town of the ,medici1 was in the very centre of the fray2 and besides these more important quarrels1 there were the incessant internal bickerings between the nobles and the populace1 which at that time divided every ,italian city against itself4 ,altogether1 the position of ,magistrate in such a town1 at such a time1 could have been no sinecure1 and it is difficult to understand how the hard-working painter could have found time or inclination to accept the citizen's duties1 which were so weighty an occupation in themselves4 ,much time has been spent in the vain search for documents relating to ,signorelli's supposed visit1 in #adhd1 to ,rome1 where1 it is said1 he was summoned to paint1 with ,perugino1 ,pintorricchio1 ,botticelli1 and ,cosimo ,rosselli1 the walls of the ,sistine ,chapel4 ,later criticism has perhaps accounted for the absence of such a record4 ,of the two frescoes there1 formerly attributed to him1 it is now no longer doubted that one--,the ,journey of ,moses and ,zipporah--is by ,pintorricchio1 and the opinion is gradually gaining ground that the other--,the ,death of ,moses--although much nearer to ,signorelli's style1 is not sufficiently so as to permit us to accept it as his work4#ab ,the notices of the next few years contain little of interest beyond the facts1 that in #adhd ,signorelli painted the altar-piece in the ,perugia ,cathedral1 the first dated picture remaining1 and that in #adhh he received the much-coveted honour of citizenship from ,citta di ,castello1 for the great ability with which he painted a standard for the brotherhood of the ,blessed ,virgin1#ac a work which no longer exists4 ,soon after follows a document dated #adia1 which bears witness that ,luca had been invited by the authorities of ,santa ,maria dei ,fiori in ,florence to assist in judging the models and designs for the projected facade of that church4#ad ,this is important as a proof of the high esteem in which he was held in ,florence1 implying also that he must have understood something of architecture4 ,he declined the invitation1 perhaps for the same reason for which he had excused himself the month before from serving as ,priore in his native town1 being absent at a distance of over forty miles1#ae probably at ,volterra4 ,he painted there in this year three pictures1 all of which are still in the city2 the ,annunciation and the ,madonna and ,saints1 dated #adia1 and the fresco of ,s4 ,jerome on the walls of the ,municipio4 ,the next notice of importance is of the year #adig1 when he received the commission from the monks of ,s4 ,benedict to fresco the walls of their cloister at ,monte ,oliveto4#af ,here he painted eight episodes from the life of the patron saint1 leaving the rest of the work to be completed by ,sodoma4 ,notwithstanding this task he found time1 for four months of this very year1 to serve among the ,priori in ,cortona1 and accepted1 besides1 a fresh appointment as one of the ,revisori degli ,argenti4 ,in the following year he was in ,siena1 where he painted the altar-piece for the ,bicchi family1 the wings of which are now in ,berlin4 ,illustration3 ,museo del ,duomo1 ,orvieto ,,portrait ,,of ,,signorelli ,we have now reached the most important time in ,signorelli's life1 the year in which he received the commission for the decoration of the ,cappella ,nuova in the ,cathedral of ,orvieto4 ,fifty years before1 the roof had been begun by ,fra ,angelico1 and ever since he went away1 leaving it unfinished1 the authorities had been undecided to whom to give the important work4 ,benozzo ,gozzoli had begged for it2 ,perugino1 it is said1 had refused it2 and now1 in #adii1 perhaps influenced to the choice by the success of the ,monte ,oliveto frescoes1 they entrusted the work to ,signorelli4 ,wishing first1 however1 to test his powers1 they limited the commission to the completion of the vaulting1 and it was not till the following year that they handed over to him the rest of the chapel1 to be painted with the story of the ,last ,judgment4 ,with this dramatic subject1 and in these great spaces of the walls he had for the first time a free field for the wide sweep of his brush1 and the force of his vivid imagination4 ,the conceptions of ,dante inspired1 but did not trammel him1 and he had sufficient strength to make the great drama his own1 and to compel it to serve his ends in the display of the human frame in its most vigorous aspects4 ,the portrait he has painted of himself in the first of the frescoes1 as well as that in the ,opera del ,duomo1 show us a man in the very prime of life1 full of energy and determination4 ,four years at least1 ,signorelli laboured at these frescoes1 although not consecutively1 as we shall presently see4 ,he had with him as assistant his son ,polidoro1#ag and perhaps ,girolamo ,genga1 and other pupils4 ,he was apparently on friendly terms with the authorities1 of one of whom1 the treasurer ,niccolo ,francesco1 he painted a portrait1 side by side with his own above mentioned4 ,it is on a brick or tile1 on the back of which is a flattering inscription1 evidently composed by ,niccolo himself1 in which he speaks of ,signorelli as worthy of comparison with ,apelles4#ah ,yet1 notwithstanding this friendship with the treasurer1 he could not get the money due to him1 and it required the intervention of no less a person than ,guidobaldo of ,urbino1 in #aejf1 to obtain it for him4 ,a letter from the ,prince is preserved in the ,orvieto archives1#ai in which he writes3 ,loving ,maestro ,luca di ,cortona as ,i do1 in no common measure1 for his ability and rare talents1 ,i can refuse him no possible favour in all that he may require of me1 and goes on to beg the authorities for their love to him1 to pay their debt to the painter1 which assuredly will be to me the greatest favour4 ,illustration3 ,cathedral1 ,cortona ,,the ,,deposition ,even in fulfilling so arduous an undertaking as these great frescoes ,luca did not abandon his magistrate's work in his own city1 and during the time1 was serving both on the ,general ,council and as one of the ,priori4 ,in #aejb1 moreover1 he found time to paint for his ,cathedral at ,cortona the beautiful ,deposition1 in which is a repetition of the ,pieta of the ,capella ,nuova4 ,the realism and pathos of this dead ,christ are so convincing as to have given rise to the legend that it was painted from the body of his son1 who died1 or was killed1 in this year4 ,vasari thus relates the incident3 ,luca had a son1 beautiful in face and person1 whom he loved most dearly1 killed in ,cortona1 whereupon1 overwhelmed with grief as he was1 he had the body stripped1 and with the greatest fortitude of soul1 without tears or lamentation1 he made a drawing of it1 in order to have always before his eyes 444 what ,nature had given him1 and cruel ,fate had snatched away4#bj ,this son1 ,antonio1 probably a painter also1 must have been a man of mature years at the time of his death1 for he was already married to a second wife4 ,the story has taken hold of the fancy of ,signorelli's biographers1 in the dearth of personal matter1 and is the best known incident in his life1 but it is more than probable that ,antonio was carried off by the plague which1 following close on the heels of the war of #aejb1 attacked ,cortona1 in which case it becomes a mere legend4 ,we learn from a document1 dated ,june #bcrd1 that the painter's house was not spared1 for he excused himself from serving as ,priore in that month1 because the peste bubbonica had broken out in his family4 ,four years later1 ,polidoro1 his eldest son1 and his assistant at ,orvieto1 died also4 ,this happened while ,signorelli was on a visit to ,siena1 for it was there he bought the mourning cloth4 ,the object of this visit was to design one of the subjects for the famous pavement of the ,cathedral1 but whether he ever did it we do not know2 certainly it was never executed in marble4 ,in the next year we have the usual records of official appointments1 and as a proof of his artistic activity1 the two pictures still remaining in the little town of ,arcevia1 dated #aejg and #aejh1 one of them1 the splendid ,ancona1 being among his finest works4 ,now a man of nearly seventy1 ,signorelli's energies seemed to grow greater with increasing age1 for in #aejh we find him1 besides being elected to his usual offices1 deputed as ambassador to ,florence1 to demand there permission to reform the offices and ordinances of ,cortona1 and in the same year he was at ,rome1 together with ,perugino1 ,pintorricchio1 and ,sodoma1 working at the decoration of the ,vatican ,chambers1 already begun by ,pier dei ,franceschi4 ,giambattista ,caporali gives a glimpse into their social life in ,rome1 telling of a supper given in their honour by ,bramante#ba--;,bramante1 to whose introduction to the ,pope of the young ,raffaelle it is due that none of their work1 with the exception of ,perugino's ceiling1 remains to us4 ,how much ,signorelli painted we do not know4 ,vasari says1 ,he had successfully completed one wall1#bb but so enchanted was ,julius ,,ii4 with the facile and modern style of ,raffaelle1 that after he had finished the ,stanza della ,segnatura1 he forced him to destroy the paintings of the older masters and delivered the entire work to him and his assistants3 a caprice which points a very significant turn in the history of painting--the triumph of the late ,renaissance over the giants of the past4 ,signorelli seemed destined to find nothing but disappointment in ,rome4 ,five years later1 an old man of seventy-two1 he again went there1 this time on the accession of ,giovanni dei ,medici1 in #aeac1 to the ,papal chair4 ,knowing the luxurious nature of the new ,pope1 and remembering the intense passion of his father ,lorenzo for art and letters1 to ,rome flocked poets and painters1 sculptors and architects1 from every part of ,italy1 in the hope of work or of reward1 and among them came ,signorelli1 with reasonable expectation of employment1 and notice from the son of his old patron and friend4#bc ,like his predecessor1 however1 ,leo ,x4 preferred the more modern school of ,raffaelle and his pupils1 and ,luca had to return disappointed to ,cortona4 ,in connection with the visit exists a curious document1 which has smirched too long the honour of the painter4 ,it is the famous letter of ,michelangelo1 preserved among the ,buonarotti archives1 in which he makes a complaint to the ,capitano of ,cortona1 that ,signorelli1 sick with the ingratitude of the ,medici for the love of whom he would have had his head cut off1 had borrowed of him eighty juli with which to return to ,cortona2 that on application for the money1 ,luca declared it to have been already repaid1 so that now he--,michelangelo--sees no other way of obtaining his own but by application to the ,capitano for justice4#bd ,this is the gist of the letter2 we have to use our own knowledge of the character of the two men to decipher the mystery1 since no other document confirms or denies the accusation4 ,the reasonable explanation seems to be that some delay1 probably on the road1 in the transmission of the money1 irritated the notoriously impatient temper of ,michelangelo4 ,signorelli's character1 from all we know of it1 seems to have been most upright and generous4 ,such was the goodness of his nature1 that he never lent himself to things that were not just and righteous1 says ,vasari1#be and that he should have been guilty of so petty a crime towards a friend1 is not for a moment to be believed4 ,moreover1 his will1 re-made in the following year1 proves him to have been in prosperous circumstances1 while the fact that he continued to hold his appointments1 and to receive fresh and even more honourable ones1 testifies to the respect in which he was held by his fellow-citizens4 ,in pleasant contrast with ,michelangelo's accusation are the glimpses we have of his stately old age1 through ,vasari4 ,and at last1 he writes1 having completed works for nearly all the princes of ,italy1 and being now old1 he returned to ,cortona1 where1 in his last years1 he worked more for pleasure than any other reason1 as one who1 accustomed to labour1 knew not how to be idle4#bf ,of these later paintings the ,deposition of ,umbertide proves that the old man of seventy-five had lost little of his power4 ,it is one of his most beautiful and tender renderings of a scene he has so often painted4 ,the ,madonna1 now in the ,arezzo ,gallery1 painted three years later 7#aeai71 shows1 perhaps1 a slight falling off in technical power1 while retaining to the full his characteristic grandeur of conception4 ,it was this picture which1 ,vasari tells us1 was borne on the shoulders of the brothers1 for whose order it was painted1 from ,cortona to ,arezzo1 and ,luca1 old as he was1 insisted on accompanying them1 partly to place it in position1 as was customary1 and partly to revisit his friends and relations4 ,the biographer gives a characteristic incident in connection with this visit1 told so charmingly1 that ,i can do no better than transcribe it3-- ,and he1 being lodged in the house of the ,vasari1 where ,i was a little child of eight years1 ,i remember how that good old man1 who was always gracious and courteous1 having learnt from the master who first taught me my letters1 that ,i cared for nothing else at school but drawing pictures2 ,i remember1 ,i say1 he turned to ,antonio1 my father1 and said to him3 ',antonio1 since ,giorgio takes after his family1 let him by all means be taught how to draw1 because1 even if he cares for literature1 to know how to draw cannot but be a source of honour and enjoyment1 if not of utility1 to him1 as to every honourable man4' ,then he turned to me1 who stood up straight before him1 and said1 ',learn1 little kinsman4' ,and ,vasari adds1 how1 hearing that he suffered much from bleeding at the nose1 which sometimes left him half dead1 ,signorelli hung a jasper charm about his neck1 with infinite tenderness4 ,which memory of ,luca1 he concludes1 will remain eternally fixed in my soul4#bg--,one of those delightful human touches of which the writings of ,vasari are so full4 ,this visit to ,arezzo took place only four years before his death4 ,he must have died in #aebc1 at the age of eighty-two1 but there is no special record of the event1 the date being gathered only from a document1 which tells of the election on the #hth of ,december of another ,inspector of ,santa ,margherita1 to fill the place of the dead painter4#bh ,on the #acth of ,october of the same year1 he had made his last will1 leaving1 with many minor bequests1 the bulk of his property to his son1 ,pier ,tommaso1 and his grandson1 ,giulio1 and expressing his desire to be buried in the tomb of his family in the ,church of ,s4 ,francesco4#bi ,in his first edition1 ,vasari tells us that1 after his death1 his memory was honoured by many epitaphs1 among which he quotes the following3-- ,pianga ,cortona omai1 vestasi oscura1 ,che estinti son' del ,signorello i lumi2 ,et tu1 ,pittura1 fa de gli occhi fiumi1 ,che resti senza lui debili e scura4#cj ,apparently ,signorelli retained his health and energy up to the end of his long life1 for only the year before his death he had accepted fresh appointments in ,cortona1 and1 in addition to his old offices1 was filling those of ,priore of the ,fraternity of ,s4 ,mark1 ,sindaco del ,capitans1 and several others1 religious and secular4 ,he was1 moreover1 still actively painting1 and in the very year of his death he completed the altar-piece for the ,church at ,foiano1 a work as noble and majestic in conception as it is vigorous in execution1 besides accepting a commission from the ,priori to paint them an altar-piece for the chapel of their palace4 ,i can do no better than conclude this scanty history with the character of the man1 as it is told us by ,vasari3 ,luca was a person of excellent habits1 sincere and affectionate with his friends1 sweet and agreeable in his converse with everyone1 specially courteous to those who had need of his help1 and kindly in his instructions to his pupils4 ,he lived most splendidly1 and delighted in dressing well4 ,for the which good qualities he was always1 in his own country and elsewhere1 held in the highest veneration4#ca ,,footnotes3 #a ,the ,madonna 7,no4 #bha71 and ,the ,flagellation 7,no4 #bfb71 ,brera1 ,milan4 #b ,it was the fame of ,lazzaro's son ,giorgio as an imitator of antique vases that won for the family the name ,vasari4 #c ,vasari1 ii4 #eec4 #d ,vasari1 ii4 #eed4 #e ,vasari1 ii4 #eec4 ,editor's ,notes4 #f ,vasari1 iii4 #fhc and #fhd4 #g ,vasari1 iii4 #bie4 #h ,muzi1 ,memorie1 p4 #dh2 and ,giacomo ,mancini1 ,istruzioni1 ii4 #ff and #fg4 #i ,for the dates of these various appointments1 see the ,chronological ,table1 p4 #aba4 #aj ,i have thought it best only to translate those titles which have a corresponding meaning in our own country4 #aa ,vischer1 p4 #g4 #ab ,it is with the utmost diffidence ,i venture to hold a different opinion from a critic of such weight as ,morelli 7see ,italian ,painters1 i4 #ib71 but a careful comparison has forced me to subscribe to the later judgments4 ,crowe ,cavalcaselle 7see ,cavalcaselle e ,crowe1 viii4 #dec7 and ,vischer 7,signorelli1 p4 #caa7 have both maintained that a great part of the execution reveals the hand of ,bartolommeo della ,gatta4 ,one of the latest critics1 ,mr ,b4 ,berensen1 presumes that the whole fresco is by him4 ,i know too little of this painter's style to be able to form an opinion1 feeling certain only that it is not by ,signorelli4 #ac ,see ,chronological ,table1 p4 #abb4 #ad ,arch4 dell opera del ,duomo di ,firenze4 ,deliberazioni dall'anno #adhf all'anno #adia4 ,a ,carte #gg4 ,the document merely mentions his name among those who were unable to attend4 #ae ,see ,chronological ,table1 p4 #abb4 #af ,see ,guida all'arcicenobio di ,monte ,oliveto 7,siena1 #ahdd71 p4 #bj4 #ag ,proved by a document in the ,orvieto ,archives1 containing a list of materials handed over by the ,treasurer of the ,works to ,polidoro4 ,see ,vischer1 p4 #ajb4 #ah ,now in the ,opera del ,duomo1 ,orvieto4 ,the portrait of ,signorelli in the frontispiece is the half of this painting4 #ai ,the letter is transcribed in ,vischer1 p4 #cef4 #bj ,vasari1 iii4 #fia4 #ba ,in the reprint of ,cesariano's ,comments on ,vitruvius1 by ,g4 ,b4 ,caporali4 7,perugia1 #aecf74 ,the passage is quoted in ,vermiglioli's ,memorie di ,pintorricchio 7#ahcg71 pp4 #e and #f4 #bb ,vasari1 iv4 #cbi4 #bc ,the biographers of ,signorelli1 following the lead of ,vasari1 have dwelt much on his friendship with contemporary princes--the ,baglioni1 ,vitelli1 etc42 till we have grown to think of him rather as a silk-clad courtier than a hard-working burgher and painter4 ,it may well be that1 like ,leonardo1 he combined work with luxury1 but the evidence is of too slight a nature to allow us to consider that side of his life1 if it really existed4 ,of his friendship with ,lorenzo dei ,medici1 however1 there is more proof1 since he painted for him1 and was evidently influenced by his classic tastes1 as several of his pictures show4 #bd ,the letter is transcribed in ,vischer1 p4 #cei4 #be ,vasari1 iii4 #fhc4 #bf ,vasari1 iii4 #fib4 #bg ,vasari1 iii4 #fic4 #bh ,mancini1 ,notizie1 #id4 #bi ,arch4 ,gen4 di ,contratti di ,firenze4 ,rogiti di ,ser ,baldelli4 ,filza dal #aejg al #aebd4 #cj ,let ,cortona weep henceforth1 and clothe herself in black1 ,for the light of ,signorello is extinguished2 ,and thou1 ,painting1 make rivers of thine eyes ,for without him thou remainest weak and obscure4 #ca ,vasari1 iii4 #fie4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,development ,,and ,,characteristics ,,of ,,his ,,genius ,the foregoing chapter contains only a bare record of certain facts in the life of ,luca ,signorelli4 ,fortunately time has spared many of his paintings1 and in the study of these we get a fuller insight into his nature and his aims4 ,a man's work is1 after all1 the most satisfactory and reliable document for those who take the pains to decipher it--the autobiography which every man of genius bequeaths to posterity4 ,we have seen how by good fortune he was placed as a child to study painting under ,pier dei ,franceschi1 who was of all men most able to bring out in his pupils the finer instincts and nobler qualities of their genius4 ,by his guidance and example1 no doubt1 ,signorelli cultivated his natural breadth of conception and of treatment1 which give grandeur and impressive solemnity to all his works1 besides acquiring the technical excellences of good drawing1 solid modelling1 and the broad massing of the shadows1 which are so characteristic of ,piero's own painting4 ,the spirit of master and pupil was fundamentally alike1 the chief points of dissimilarity in their work arising from minor divergences of temperament4 ,both were men of robust mind1 with a message of resolute purpose to deliver4 ,both chose to express themselves through the medium of the human form in its most vigorous aspects1 and were1 therefore1 pre-occupied with mastering its structure4 ,but while ,piero1 with a serene nature1 chose to represent unemotional figures like the sculptures of the ancient ,egyptians1 the restless and impetuous spirit of ,signorelli preferred scenes of violent action1 and energetic movement4 ,it was1 perhaps1 the entire affinity of their temperament1 as well as his passion for anatomical study1 which led him to choose his second master in a man whose taste for realism1 and interest in the action of muscle and movement of limb was as keen as his own4 ,on ,antonio ,pollaiuolo1 even more than on ,pier dei ,franceschi1 had fallen the mantle of ,paolo ,uccello's investigating spirit4 ,as the latter gave all his attention to applying the laws of perspective to landscape and figures1 so the efforts of ,pollaiuolo were concentrated on giving freedom to the limbs4 ,great anatomist though he was1 ,piero was not so ardent a lover of the ,nude for its own sake as the ,florentine1 and the problems of movement have little interest for him1 whereas in the most characteristic work of ,pollaiuolo it is evident that the scenes are chosen to display the muscles in tense prominence1 and the limbs in violent action or unusual posture4#cb ,with precisely the same interests in the human structure and its movements1 it is no wonder that ,signorelli caught so much of his style and mannerisms4 ,the influence of ,antonio ,pollaiuolo was stronger than any other in the development of his actual work1 and is visible in all his paintings up to the last in greater or less degree1 but only less important is that of ,donatello1 to whom ,antonio himself owed so much4 ,forty years before the birth of ,signorelli1 ,donatello had been able to carve the human form with absolute perfection of anatomy1 and not only that1 but to endow it with freedom of limb and overflowing life4 ,it is easy to suppose the impression his statues must have made on the youth1 whose spirit was so much akin to his own in exuberant energy1 and who had the same uncompromising love of realism4 ,the two artists had much in common in their confident self-reliance1 and almost arrogant buoyancy of nature1 which was the true ,renaissance expression1 and the outward sign of its immense strength4 ,signorelli caught and revived the very essence of ,donatello's spirit--the love of bodily life in its most hopeful and vigorous manifestations4 ,it is significant that the swaggering posture which became such a special feature of his painting1 should have originated with ,donatello4 ,donatello was1 before all things1 a realist1 and it was probably the habitual attitude of the cavalry soldier of the day1 accustomed to straddle over the broad back of his war-horse1 but there is little doubt that it was adopted by ,signorelli from the ,s4 ,george of ,or ,san ,michele1 and perhaps half-unconsciously signified to him--what that statue so well embodies--the confident spirit of youth and strength4 ,in his portrait of ,pippo ,spana1 now in ,s4 ,apollonia1 ,florence1 ,andrea di ,castagno also imitated and emphasised it1 as also did ,botticelli in his carved background of the ,calumny1 and ,perugino in many of his paintings4 ,but ,botticelli's painted statue and ,perugino's ,s4 ,michael and ,warriors of the ,cambio seem to spread their legs because they are too puny to bear the weight of the body in any other manner1 while with ,signorelli1 the attitude became the keynote of his resolute indomitable nature1 and so much a part of his work1 that one is apt to forget it did not originate with him4 ,although the character and aims of the two men are so entirely different1 yet to ,perugino1 ,signorelli owed much in his methods of producing the feeling of free space1 and the life and movement of the atmosphere4 ,perugino's greatest gift to ,art was this power of rendering the magic of the sun-warmed air and the sense of illimitable distance4 ,he gave to his landscapes space and depth1 the gentle stir of wind1 and the golden shimmer of sunshine4 ,signorelli also learnt this power of presenting the life of hill and tree and sky1 and some of his effects of distance have the space and grandeur almost of ,nature herself4 ,he also1 like ,perugino1 could detach his figures from the background1 and send the line of hills receding back to the horizon4 ,signorelli owes to him1 besides1 certain superficial characteristics1 such as the fluttering scarfs and ribbon-like draperies1 and the upturned face with ecstatic eyes which belongs to the ,umbrian painter as much as the drooping head belongs to ,botticelli4 ,from these four great artists ,signorelli learnt what each had best to give1 and assimilated and made it his own1 with unerring instinct for its virtue in aiding his own specific qualities4 ,not that he was in any sense an eclectic1 but he had the unconscious tendency of the healthy soul to seize upon the food that best ministers to its nourishment4 ,thus the fine genius and inspiration of ,pier dei ,franceschi and the grace of ,perugino saved him from becoming too rigorously realistic under the influence of the scientific ,florentines1 ,donatello and ,pollaiuolo1 working upon his own uncompromising nature4 ,the most important writers on ,signorelli--,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1#cc ,rumohr1#cd and1 above all1 ,vischer1#ce mention several other masters1 who1 they claim1 exercised an influence upon his work1 and it is obvious that to the ,sienese school generally he was indebted for many decorative methods1 particularly in the use of gold and gilded gesso4 ,there are also in some of his paintings reminiscences of ,verrocchio and ,fiorenzo di ,lorenzo2 but an impression of sufficient depth to be considered1 must touch the spirit1 and here there appears to me to be little besides superficial resemblances4 ,it must be remembered1 moreover1 in the case of ,verrocchio1 how much he himself owed to ,donatello1 while with respect to the asserted influence of ,pintorricchio1 it is more probable that what likeness there is in their style should testify to the impression of the stronger upon the weaker nature4 ,with ,andrea di ,castagno his work1 both in outward form and in spirit1 has something in common2 and no doubt ,signorelli was impressed by paintings which themselves show so much the influence of ,donatello4 ,as we have seen1 ,luca's chief interest1 like that of ,pollaiuolo1 lay in the effort to render movement of limb with facility1 and therefore his attention was concentrated on the muscles and their action4 ,we do not know how long he studied anatomy from the dead and living model in the ,florentine workshop1 nor have we any example of his gradual development1 for when he first appears before us in his earliest remaining work1 ,the ,flagellation1 of the ,brera1 he is already the master who has conquered all the difficulties of muscular movement1 and surpassed even ,antonio ,pollaiuolo in freedom of gesture and correct anatomy4 ,it is not till later1 however1 that the most important advance he made on previous painting first begins to show itself--the power1 namely1 of rendering combined action1 of working the limbs of a crowd into a single movement4 ,this is ,signorelli's special achievement1 on the merits of which he takes rank with the most important masters of the ,quattrocento as a pioneer and teacher4 ,great as was ,pollaiuolo's command over gesture and action1 it was limited to the combination of two figures only1#cf while with ,signorelli the action of the single figure is held subordinate to that of the multitude4 ,he gives the stately march of an army1 as in the ,umbertide predella and the ,monte ,oliveto fresco2 the writhings of innumerable figures1 like heaps of coiled serpents1 as in the ,damnation of ,orvieto2 the rush of a violent mob stirred by a common impulse1 as in the ,florence and ,cortona ,betrayals4 ,this command over united movement was new in painting1 though1 like all other difficulties1 it had been already mastered by ,donatello1 as we see in his romping children of the ,prato pulpit1 and the ,florence ,cantoria1 to name only two examples4 ,botticelli1 who1 with so different a nature1 had yet1 in common with the robust ,signorelli1 this passion for swift movement1 achieved later1 it is true1 almost as great triumphs#cg2 but to ,luca belongs the merit of having endowed painting with the same freedom of combined movement which ,donatello had given to sculpture4 ,unlike ,botticelli1 he is consistently a lover of energy all through his life1 and as the source of energy1 of strength1 and vigorous health4 ,his grand conception of the body is one of the chief characteristics of his work4 ,strong and stately1 it is a fit receptacle for the spirit of resolution and self-confidence with which he animates it4 ,his ,virgins are like goddesses1 and seem to typify for him the strength of womanhood4 ,nowhere do we see nobler beauty than in his angels and archangels4 ,in these divine birds#ch he seems to have recognised the ideal of all he strove for1 and their wings are symbols to him of swift movement and superhuman strength4 ,it was always strength that attracted him1 and strength conscious of its own force1 finding its expression in exuberant animation4 ,thus he loves to paint the swaggering soldiers1 whose attitudes express their audacious self-reliance4 ,he gives the luxuriant life of ,nature as no one else gave it1 and his trees and plants are as robust and unyielding as his firmly-planted figures4 ,his angels' wings are not merely decorative1 but have real power of muscle under the plumes to lift the body and bear it aloft without fatigue4 ,he was a lover of beauty1 but it was not for beauty he strove1 or we should not so often find bits of realistic ugliness to risk the harmony of his noblest paintings4 ,grace and charm seemed to come to him unsought1 as natural adjuncts of a vigorous and healthy nature2 but his deliberate choice of types of face and form1 were those which1 by their strength1 promised satisfaction to his love of energetic action4 ,from the first this tendency is noticeable1 for example1 in the above-mentioned ,flagellation1 and the ,loreto ,conversion of ,saul1 and goes on increasing until it reaches a climax in the frescoes of ,orvieto4 ,once one has grasped the main motive of ,signorelli's work1 his preoccupation with movement1 and consequently with the muscles1 his frequent defects and inequalities in other respects become1 as faults of inattention1 less incomprehensible4 ,for example1 his values of distance are often faulty1 and give the unpleasant sensation that one figure is standing on the top of another1#ci a defect of carelessness1 for no one is a better master of aerial perspective when he chooses4 ,again1 his hands and feet are often incorrectly drawn and badly modelled1 but it is only when they are not essential to the action2 for although the drawing of hands and feet is always perhaps his weakest point1 yet even in his early painting of the ,flagellation he has already mastered some of their greatest difficulties of foreshortening4 ,the recognition of the intention in a man's work enables one to dispense with much adverse criticism in detail4 ,it would be wearisome to reiterate the faults of drawing in each picture when we come to deal with them separately1 and it is better to recognise in the outset that1 in pursuit of a certain definite end1 ,signorelli is careless of what seems to him unessential at the moment4 ,thus in dealing with him as a colourist#dj we have to bear in mind that it was by line and modelling chiefly that his effects of movement were obtained4 ,to be over-critical of the shortcomings of his colour1 therefore1 would be as foolish as to miss the charm of ,bonifazio's splendid harmonies in abuse of some defect of drawing4 ,sometimes1 in fact1 ,signorelli gains his end by the very crudeness and heaviness for which he is generally condemned1 the sharp contrasts giving a rugged strength to his painting1 and the copper colour of the flesh adding robustness to the figures4 ,it would1 however1 be most unjust to speak as if his colour were always1 or even usually1 crude and harsh4 ,on the contrary1 in landscape it is invariably beautiful2 and he uses certain golden and moss-greens in foliage and grass1 and a limpid greenish-blue in water1 which are most harmonious4 ,sometimes it is gorgeous1 and in nearly all his early paintings there is a beauty of red and soft green1 and a warmth of golden glow of great depth and tenderness4 ,he had1 perhaps1 a tendency to the use of too heavy colour1 especially in the flesh2 and he himself seems aware of it1 for1 in middle life1 for a brief time1 he changed his tone to an almost silvery lightness1 with very pale flesh-tints1 as in the ,uffizi ,holy ,family1 ,no4 #abia1 and again1 after working at ,orvieto1 in the ,dead ,christ supported by ,angels1 of ,s4 ,niccolo1 ,cortona1 whose general colour is almost like honey2 but he relapses always into his characteristic dark tones1 especially in the works of his old age1 which are for the most part heavy and rather harsh1 with flesh-tints of the reddish-brown of terra-cotta4 ,it is1 as ,i have said1 by form rather than colour that ,signorelli obtains his best effects4 ,he is a superb linealist1 as the often-quoted ,flagellation shows1 and one is inclined to wish he had oftener used outline1 as here1 in the manner of ,pier dei ,franceschi4 ,his line is firm and clear1 simple and structural1 of unerring sweep and accuracy1 as we see in his numerous predella paintings2 but even more remarkable is the wonderful plastic quality of his modelling4 ,by this he makes us realise better than any one before him the tenseness of sinew1 the resistance of hard muscle1 and the supple elasticity of flesh1 giving a solidity and weight to his forms that make them impressive as grand sculptures4 ,as an illustrator ,signorelli is most unequal2 brilliant and dramatic when the subject appealed to his taste1 as in the ,orvieto frescoes1 often weak1 as in his treatment of sacred themes4 ,he was essentially a religious painter1 but in the widest meaning of the word1 and he does not seem to have felt the dignity and significance of many of the scenes in the life of ,christ4 ,when he has to paint ,him bound to the pillar or nailed to the ,cross1 submissive to scourging and insult1 his interest seems to wander from what should be the central figure1 and fixes itself on some two or three of the minor actors1 to whom he gives the importance he should have concentrated on the ,christ4 ,the painter con amore of arrogant strength1 he seems to have little in common with meekness and humility that bows the head to scourging and martyrdom4 ,thus in nearly all his ,crucifixions the central figure is ignoble in type and expression1 and in the ,flagellations of the ,brera and of ,morra1 is entirely without dignity1 even ignominious4 ,this is curious when we consider that even more than of arrogant strength ,signorelli was the painter of stately and noble beauty4 ,again it seems as if he cared only to represent figures of powerful maturity1 for there is a complete lack of sympathy in his painting of children4 ,with one or two exceptions1 his child ,christs are half-animal little beings1 more like tiny satyrs than human children1 although not without a certain pathos in their very ugliness4 ,in a picture of as great beauty and tender feeling as the ,holy ,family1 of the ,rospigliosi ,collection1 for example1 the child is more animal than human4 ,unlike ,donatello1 who delights in childhood1 and sees in it the bubbling source of future strength1 ,signorelli gives his babies the overweighted1 unelastic sadness of old age4 ,in composing his ,holy ,families1 therefore1 his attention is centred on the ,virgin1 the strong woman he loved to paint1 but the child he seems to feel as an accessory to be executed because the ,church has ordered it1 and so he puts it in without thought of all it meant and typified4 ,but although he sometimes falls short as an interpreter of the ,church's intention1 the impressive grandeur of his work is in itself intensely religious1 and he makes us feel most solemnly the dignity of ,nature1 and especially of the human form4 ,once he was stirred into something of the ,pagan spirit1 probably under the influence of the court of ,lorenzo1 and he touched the real note of ,pantheism in the ,pan1 of the ,berlin ,gallery1 and the noble figures in the background of the ,uffizi and ,munich ,madonnas4 ,in these the spiritual mood dominates and is sustained throughout1 and there is no sign of the scientific absorption which sometimes in his treatment of the nude makes us too aware of the student and the realist4 ,one is at times conscious that1 painting straight from the life1 ,signorelli's interest lay chiefly in a faithful reproduction of the body before him4 ,his dead ,christs for example1 were obviously copied exactly as the corpses lay or hung in his studio4 ,the ,s4 ,onofrio of the ,perugia altar-piece1 stood just so1 a half-starved street-beggar1 with baggy skin over rheumatic joints4 ,the angel in the same picture1 chosen perhaps for its grace of face1 must be reproduced exactly as the child sat1 with weak legs and ungainly body4 ,each figure is a truthful study from life1 and it was that which interested the painter1 and not that he was representing saints and angels whose noble beauty was supposed to elevate the mind to a state of worship4 ,yet with all his realistic treatment1 he was intensely alive to the graces of decoration1 both in general lines and in detail4 ,in the frescoes of ,loreto1 and more particularly of ,orvieto1 the mere scheme of decoration is superb1 and adds beauty and distinction to every subtle line of the architecture4 ,he pays attention1 also1 to the minor details of decorative effect1 and takes pains with the ornaments and embroideries2 while his use of gold1 and embossing with gesso1 add much to the aesthetic charm of his work1 and proves that he could1 when necessary1 subordinate his love of realism to his sense of beauty4 ,before summing up the chief qualities of ,signorelli's work1 ,i must not omit one characteristic which points to the strength of his personality--the way he repeats his own types 7and not types only1 but precisely the same forms7 time after time1 and often after the lapse of many years4 ,the child ,christs he paints over and over again1 the same figure1 sometimes exactly in the same attitude1 as in the ,madonnas1 of the ,florence ,academy and of the ,brera4 ,the seated burly ,bishop of the ,loreto vaulting 7one of his earliest works7 occurs again in the ,volterra ,madonna1 and again 7painted many years later7 in the ,madonna1 of the ,florence ,academy4 ,line for line he reproduces the figure of ,echo1 out of the early ,pan1 into the fresco of ,the ,crowning of the ,elect1 at ,orvieto4 ,in one or two cases he boldly repeats the same figure in the same picture1 feature for feature1 as in the ,virgin and ,s4 ,john of the ,rospigliosi ,holy ,family1 limb for limb as in the flying soldiers of the ,loreto ,conversion of ,saul4 ,he was also most faithful to his own type of limb or feature1 especially those in which ,morelli has taught us always to look for similarity4 ,the fleshy ear1 with its slightly pointed top1 is nearly invariable1 as also is the broad hand with its little outlined nails and thick wrists4 ,in glancing rapidly over the whole of ,signorelli's work1 consistency to an absorbing interest is the note struck again and again4 ,he has set himself from the first a task--the mastery of the human structure and its movements2 and with the resolution and perseverance of a strong nature1 he never swerves from his purpose4 ,this is the conscious aim and intention of the artist4 ,what he was able to give to the world1 of nobility and dignity--a wider and healthier conception of ,nature and her power and beauty--was the ,message of his ,genius1 of which he was himself unconscious1 but which spoke all the more forcibly for the learning acquired by hard application and earnest effort4 ,in a detailed study of his painting1 it may be that the student of anatomy and the realist often assert themselves1 but as grand figure after grand figure has passed before the mind1 the general impression is solemn and ennobling4 ,to no other contemporary painter1 says ,morelli1 was it given to endow the human frame with the like degree of passion1 vehemence and strength4#da ,to this we may add that no other painter has ever conceived ,humanity with the same stately grandeur and in the same broad spirit4 ,the confident strength of youth1 the stern austerity of middle life1 the resolute solemnity of old age--these are his themes4 ,signorelli is1 before all1 the painter of the dignity of human life4 ,,footnotes3 #cb ,it is sufficient to cite the double picture of ,hercules1 of the ,uffizi1 the ,s4 ,sebastian1 of the ,national ,gallery1 and the engraving called ,the ,battle of the ,nudes4 #cc ,cavalcaselle e ,crowe1 viii4 #dbd1 etc4 #cd ,ital4 ,forsch4 ii4 #ccc4 #ce ,vischer1 #gg1 etc4 ,vischer considers the likeness to ,fiorenzo due to their mutual relation to ,verrocchio4 #cf ,even the splendid decorative engraving called ,the ,battle of the ,nudes1 is only a series of duels4 ,a comparison of these figures with the two nude executioners in the ,brera ,flagellation will justify the assertion of ,signorelli's superiority as a master of anatomy and movement4 #cg ,specially in ,the ,death of ,virginia1 of the ,morelli ,collection1 ,bergamo1 and the sketched figures in the repainted ,adoration of the ,magi1 lately exposed in the ,uffizi4 #ch ,purgatorio1 ii4 #ch4 #ci ,for example1 in the ,madonna1 of the ,mancini ,collection1 and ,the ,crowning of the ,elect1 at ,orvieto4 #dj ,signorelli's pictures1 when not frescoed1 are invariably painted with oil4 #da ,italian ,painters1 i4 #ib4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,earliest ,,works ,one of the most remarkable things in the history of ,signorelli's work1 considering what a number of his paintings remain1 is that only two of them can be placed with any degree of certainty as having been executed before his fortieth year4 ,these two are the ,madonna 7,no4 #bha71 and ,the ,flagellation 7,no4 #bfb71 in the ,brera ,gallery1 ,milan4 ,this last1 however--,the ,flagellation--indicates in what manner much of his earlier time had been employed1 for although betraying in parts a certain youthful immaturity1 yet the skilful drawing and thorough comprehension of anatomy shown in the nudes1 especially in the backs of the two executioners1 reveals already the practised hand of a master of his craft4 ,illustration3 ,brera1 ,milan ,,the ,,flagellation ,the best studies of the nude remaining to us by earlier painters1 are the figures in ,the ,death of ,adam1 by ,pier dei ,franceschi1 in his frescoes at ,arezzo1 the ,hercules overcoming ,antaeus1 and ,the ,battle of the ,nudes1 by ,antonio ,pollaiuolo1 in the ,uffizi ,gallery4 ,it is sufficient to compare with these the freer rendering of gesture1 and the greater accuracy of the anatomy in ,signorelli's executioners1 to see what an advance he had already made upon any previous painting4 7,i limit1 of course1 this assertion to painting only1 for in sculpture ,donatello had years before given free gesture and perfect anatomy to his statues47 ,it would be impossible to overrate the excellence and beauty of drawing in the splendid swing of the bodies1 the flexibility of the limbs1 the sinewy elasticity of the leg muscles1 and above all1 the subtle suggestion of muscular movement under the loose skin of the backs4 ,there is here1 even more than in his later painting1 an appreciation of the relative values of the muscles1 and a consequent breadth of modelling1 which he lost somewhat1 by over-accentuation1 in his subsequent treatment of the nude4 ,the inequalities of the picture betray wherein lay the painter's chief interest1 for to this skilful mastery of the difficulties of anatomy are opposed the rather childish conception of the ,pilate and the stiff action of all the clothed figures4 ,his apprenticeship to ,pier dei ,franceschi is here sufficiently proved1 not so much by any likeness of colour or of composition to ,the ,flagellations1 of that master1 in ,urbino and ,borgo ,san ,sepolero1 as in the firm1 clear outlining of the nude figures1 their solid modelling1 and in the broad massing of the shadows4 ,even more apparent is the influence of ,antonio ,pollaiuolo1 in the great realism with which the subject is treated1 and in such superficial resemblances as the type of head of the executioner who binds the hands of ,christ1 and the characteristic striped loin-cloths4 ,the ,christ is one of ,signorelli's most ignoble presentations of the ,saviour1 and yet it seems as though he had tried to give graces which should harmonise with a certain conception of the character--the hair1 for example1 is the beautiful rippling hair of a woman1 the bent head and downcast eyes represent the gentleness of resignation1 and the attitude of the legs is intended to be graceful4 ,but the effort to curb his own natural instinct for pride and strength makes him strike a false note1 and his attempt to give the beauty of meekness has resulted only in producing a mask of hypocritical inertia4 ,the picture was painted for the ,church of ,santa ,maria del ,mercato in ,fabriano1 and this1 as well as the fact of its being precisely the same size1 and with the same curved top1 seems to argue that it formed originally one picture with the ,madonna1 ,no4 #bha of the same gallery1 whose provenance is also from that church4 ,here the ,virgin sits1#db clad in a gold garment and blue green-lined mantle1 with the ,child on her knee1 and floating round her dark-green cherubs' heads4 ,she is the powerful type of woman1 from which in his ,virgins ,signorelli never departed1 but in this case with a rather cow-like expression1 which gave place later to a tender or noble dignity4 ,the face of the ,child has lost its original character through repainting1 but the cherubs' heads surrounding the throne1 have the overweighted1 half-animal expression of which ,i have already spoken as characteristic of his children4 ,next in order1 as far as can be judged by the internal evidence of the painting1 come the frescoes in the sacristy of the church of the ,santa ,casa at ,loreto4 ,they were finished some time before #adhd1 and bear very marked traces of ,florentine impressions4 ,of these ,vasari writes3 ,in ,santa ,maria di ,loreto1 he painted in the sacristy in fresco1 the four ,evangelists1 the four ,doctors1 and other ,saints1 which are very beautiful2 and for this work he was liberally rewarded by ,pope ,sixtus4#dc ,this is a mistake1 for the patron of the church was ,cardinal ,girolamo ,basso della ,rovere1 and the presence of his coat-of-arms in the centre of the cupola is evidence that the work was executed at his expense4 ,in each of the eight compartments of this roof is painted a standing angel1 playing or tuning musical instruments--most graceful and beautiful figures4 ,below are seated the four ,evangelists and four ,fathers of the ,church1 against a gold background1 who seem1 in their impressive grandeur to be prototypes of the prophets and sybils of ,michelangelo's ,sistine frescoes4 ,i do not agree with ,vischer in seeing the hand of ,bartolommeo della ,gatta in the angels4 ,they show much of the influence of ,pollaiuolo1 and seem to me to be ,signorelli's unassisted work4 ,the face and gesture of one of them especially--the angel in the flowered robe playing a lute--is almost a duplicate of the child on the gradino of the throne in the ,perugia altar-piece4 ,the bishop in the compartment next this angel is repeated in the ,volterra ,madonna and ,saints1 and in that of the ,florence ,academy4 ,illustration3 ,santa ,casa1 ,loreto ,,apostles ,in the divisions of the walls under the roof are painted the twelve ,apostles1 grand and stately figures1 standing two in each compartment1 divided by imitation pilasters1 and forming a magnificent frieze round the walls4 ,the draperies are exceedingly broadly painted and this breadth of treatment and the boldness of the design gives importance to the figures4 ,there being seven compartments to be filled1 in two of them ,signorelli has introduced the figure of ,christ1 treated this time with dignity1 perhaps because here ,he is represented as the ,master1 and not the ,man of ,sorrows4 ,in one ,he reproves ,s4 ,peter 7871 who turns away with conscience-stricken humility very nobly rendered2 in the other ,he shows the marks of the ,passion to the incredulous ,thomas4 ,these two are perhaps the finest of the series1 and are1 besides1 dramatic in gesture and expression4 ,the composition of the last is1 with evident intention1 borrowed from ,verrocchio's group on the walls of ,or ,san ,michele1 ,florence1 but the likeness ends with the general lines of composition4 ,vischer makes a strong point of this1 as a proof of ,verrocchio's influence on ,signorelli1#dd but to me it seems that feeling1 types of face1 and especially the broad and simple treatment of the draperies are entirely different4 ,illustration3 ,santa ,casa1 ,loreto ,,the ,,incredulity ,,of ,s4 ,,thomas ,the most important of these frescoes1 however1 as best illustrating ,signorelli's own peculiar tendencies1 is ,the ,conversion of ,saul1 in the compartment over the door4 ,he has realised the scene with emotion1 and rendered it with a most convincing dramatic power1 giving the suddenness of the fall of the principal figure1 and the excitement and panic-stricken terror of the soldiers1 with wonderful truth and animation4 ,it is interesting to note the almost exact repetition of the same figure in the two soldiers who hurry away to the left1 but it is not at all mechanical1 and in no way detracts from the excellence of the composition4 ,very ,pollaiuolesque is the figure with raised shield in the foreground to the right1 and one feels the influence of ,perugino in the spacious empty distance of the background1 from which the figures are so well detached4 ,illustration3 ,santa ,casa1 ,loreto ,,the ,,conversion ,,of ,,saul ,as decoration these frescoes are exceedingly fine1 the grand row of figures1 besides the stately strength of each separate group1 being most impressive in general effect4 ,they have been much damaged4 ,for many years used as a sacristy1 the greasy smoke of the incense had so blackened the walls that the frescoes were nearly invisible4 ,the skilful cleaning of ,signor ,guiseppe ,missaghi1 at the instigation of ,signor ,cavalcaselle1 has restored to them much of their original beauty1 although the colour still remains somewhat obscured4 ,on the roof of the nave1 in the church itself1 are painted a series of frescoes in grisaille1 twenty-six ,prophets and ,fathers of the ,church1 somewhat over life size1 seated one in each medallion4 ,they are solemn and impressive figures like those in the sacristy1 and painted on the same broad lines1 and remind one strongly of the two medallions1 also in grisaille1 in the ,madonna1 of the ,uffizi ,corridor4 ,all of them have severely suffered from repainting4 ,the ,adoration of the ,magi1 formerly in the ,campana ,gallery1 ,rome1 now ,no4 #chi of the ,louvre1 seems to have been painted in #adhb4 ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle#de rightly consider its execution to be the work of assistants1 by reason of the rawness of colour and general coarseness of the painting2 yet in composition1 and in many of the figures1 there is so much of the master's impressive dignity1 that ,i feel compelled to regard the drawing1 in parts at least1 as his own4 ,the stately ,madonna1 and the noble figure of the ,king on her right1 whose draperies have the same sweeping breadth as those in the ,national ,gallery1 ,circumcision1 as well as the solid1 well-seated figures of the mounted attendants1 seem to be ,signorelli's own composing4 ,the ,child is also characteristic1 and resembles that in the ,tondo of the ,pitti ,gallery4 ,the badly-drawn horses1 again1 seem his1 for it will be noticed all through his work that he has never cared to thoroughly master their form1 and paints them always with curious mannerisms of too closely-placed nostrils1 and human eyebrows1 which show how little attention he had given to their anatomy4 ,the first dated picture remaining is the altar-piece of the ,perugia ,cathedral1 painted in #adhd1 of which ,vasari writes3 ,also in ,perugia he painted many works2 and among others in the ,cathedral1 for ,messer ,jacopo ,vannucci of ,cortona1 ,bishop of the city1 a picture in which is ,our ,lady1 ,sant ,onofrio1 ,sant ,ercolano1 ,s4 ,john ,baptist1 ,s4 ,stephen1#df and an angel1 most beautiful1 who tunes a lute4#dg ,the inscription with the date 7given in the catalogue7 are unfortunately hidden by the frame4 ,this is one of ,signorelli's finest altar-pieces1 the colour being especially rich and harmonious1 and it shows1 even more than the ,loreto frescoes1 the strength of ,florentine influences4 ,for example1 very close to ,pollaiuolo is the figure of the angel tuning the lute1 with its striped scarf1 and so also is the powerful head of ,s4 ,ercolano4 ,the ,s4 ,stephen is almost a reproduction of the bust of ,s4 ,lorenzo by ,donatello in the sacristy of the church of that saint in ,florence1 the aged ,s4 ,onofrio again recalls his wooden statue of ,s4 ,jerome in ,faenza1 and finally the motive of the cut flowers in glasses is borrowed from the triptych of ,hugo van der ,goes in the ,gallery of ,santa ,maria ,nuova1 ,florence4 ,the ornamental accessories are singularly fine and careful in finish1 and it would seem as though ,signorelli had been inspired in this1 not only by the great tryptych1 but also by the followers of the ,paduan ,squarcione4 ,in the last chapter ,i have pointed out the extreme realism with which the figures are treated1 but this does not spoil the impressive grandeur of the painting1 gained by the broad style and the stately simplicity of the composition4 ,the ,virgin sits firmly1 with the mantle resting in heavy folds across her knees2 the ,s4 ,stephen is overflowing with the vigorous life of youth2 the splendidly-draped bishop is a powerful and majestic figure2 and there is real tenderness and grace in the face of the angel1 notwithstanding the want of symmetry in the body and legs4 ,the painting has suffered from restoration1 but on the whole is fairly well preserved1 and may be seen to advantage in the quiet of this well-lighted winter-chapel4 ,illustration3 ,cathedral1 ,perugia ,,madonna ,,and ,,saints ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle place ,the ,circumcision1 of the ,national ,gallery1 formerly in ,volterra1 as about the same date as the foregoing2#dh ,vischer1 presuming that it was painted at the same time with the dated pictures of #adia still remaining in ,volterra1 groups it with them2 but the similarity of colour and treatment lead me to accept the former theory4 ,the distance from ,cortona to ,volterra is not very great1 and the fact that he was painting there in #adia does not preclude the possibility of his having painted there six or seven years before1 even if it was executed on the spot1 which was not by any means always the case4 ,at all events the picture has much in common with the ,perugia altar-piece1 both in warmth of colour1 simplicity of composition and splendid breadth of execution4 ,the painting of this ,circumcision is bold and resolute1 the draperies sweep in broad folds round the figures4 ,the attitude of the standing woman to the right is grand1 and the earnest concentration of the faces on the ceremony1 and the absence of any connecting link between them and us1 give dramatic reality to the scene4 ,vasari writes of it3 ,at ,volterra he painted in fresco--7a mistake--it is his usual oil medium7--in the church of ,s4 ,francesco1 above the altar of the brotherhood1 the ,circumcision of our ,lord1 which is considered marvellously beautiful2 although the ,child1 having suffered from the damp1 was repainted by ,sodoma much less beautiful than it was before4#di ,this unfortunate repainting1 which has also evidently included part of the ,virgin's face1 was more probably due to the monks' dislike of ,signorelli's type of child than to any damage by weather1 for it would be strange that a picture1 otherwise so well preserved1 should be injured by damp nowhere but in the part most protected by reason of its central position4 ,to support this theory1 under the painting by ,sodoma may be clearly seen 7in the painting--not in the photograph7 the original legs of the ,child of ,signorelli1 in a totally different position1 showing that ,sodoma had made no attempt to keep to the drawing4 ,the monks1 no doubt1 preferred the more commonplace infant of ,sodoma1 but we1 while acknowledging that the children of ,signorelli are far from what they should be1 may regret the loss1 as did ,vasari1 who adds this comment3 ,it would be better to retain the work of excellent men1 even though half spoiled1 than to have it repainted by one who knows less4 ,illustration3 ,national ,gallery1 ,london ,,the ,,circumcision ,a very important group of paintings apparently of about this date1 bear the impress of the classic tastes of the ,court of ,lorenzo dei ,medici1 for whom they seem to have been painted4 ,it comprises the great picture of ,pan1 in the ,berlin ,gallery1 the ,madonna1 of the ,uffizi ,corridor1 and the ,munich ,tondo4 ,i have been tempted to give them a much earlier place1 in the gap before the ,perugia altar-piece1 because they show so much of the idealism and idyllic spirit1 which seem properly to belong to youth1 but a careful comparison of them with that picture and the ,loreto frescoes1 reveals a greater maturity of technique which makes so early a placing not very probable4 ,in all these three paintings there is an appreciation of beauty for its own sake1 and a true touch of the ,pantheistic spirit1 combined with a melancholy grandeur1 which is most impressive4 ,the finest of the three1 the great canvas of ,pan1 now in the ,berlin ,gallery1 is the picture of which ,vasari wrote3 ,he painted for ,lorenzo dei ,medici1 on canvas1 some nude gods1 which were much praised 444 and presented to the said ,lorenzo4#ej ,sometimes called the ,school of ,pan1 it is more poetically described in the ,german catalogue ,pan1 as ,god of ,natural ,life1 and ,master of ,music1 with his ,attendants4 ,it is full of poetry1 and of idyllic charm with all its stately solemnity4 ,the sad beauty of the god as he listens to the music of the pipes1 the golden sunlight on the moss-green grass1 the quiet peace of the scene1 have an entrancing effect1 and we are transported in spirit to the same melodious plot of beechen green and shadows numberless where ,pan holds his court4 ,illustration3 ,gallery1 ,berlin ,,pan ,the bronze-coloured body of the god is magnificently modelled1 with a solidity unequalled even in the ,orvieto frescoes4 ,the style of ,pollaiuolo is noticeable1 in the attitude of the youth lying at his feet1 particularly in the treatment of the legs4 ,the figure of ,echo is repeated later in ,the ,crowning of the ,elect1 in ,orvieto1 though there it has lost much of the idyllic charm of this wood-nymph4 ,the grouping of the figures is perhaps less happy than usual1 but this time the bad values of distance are no doubt due to the rough treatment the painting has undergone4 ,it has indeed had an eventful history4 ,about thirty years ago it was found by the late ,signor ,tricca1 a noted restorer of pictures1 in the attics of the ,palazzo ,corsi1 ,florence4 ,he hesitated at first to recognise it certainly as the work of ,signorelli1 for all the figures were covered from head to foot with draperies of obviously eighteenth-century painting4 ,on trial1 however1 he found that these were easily removed1 and as the nude figures were revealed1 he at once identified it as the picture of the nude gods1 mentioned by ,vasari4 ,it seems that it had passed into the possession of the ,rinuccini family as part of the dowry of one of the ,medici1 and on the marriage of one of the ladies of the ,rinuccini with a ,marchese ,corsi again formed part of the bride's portion4 ,soon after its discovery and restoration the ,marchese ,corsi died1 and his brother ,cardinal ,corsi inherited the property4 ,objecting to the picture on account of the nude figures1 he desired ,signor ,tricca to sell it1 and it was then bought by ,mr ,h4 ,j4 ,ross1 who offered it to the ,english ,national ,gallery4 ,on the refusal of the authorities to purchase it1 it was acquired in #ahgc by ,dr ,bode for the ,berlin ,gallery1 of which it is one of the greatest treasures4#ea ,it has naturally suffered much from the process of cleaning away the later draperies1 and much of the under-painting is exposed1 but enough remains of its original beauty to rank it as the best of ,signorelli's easel pictures4 ,undoubtedly of the same date is the ,madonna1 ,no4 #gd of the ,uffizi ,gallery4 ,this picture was1 also1 according to ,vasari1 painted as a present for ,lorenzo dei ,medici1 and was for many years in the villa of ,duke ,cosimo at ,castello4 ,it has the same idyllic beauty in the background as the ,pan1 and is painted in the same half-pagan spirit4 ,the ,virgin1 it is true1 sits awkwardly1 and with a rather ungainly gesture of hands and arms1 there are faults of drawing in the feet1 and the ,child is ugly and insignificant4 ,but these are faults easy to overlook in considering the grandeur of the landscape1 the beauty of the colour1 and1 above all1 the magnificent modelling of the nude figures in the background4 ,the ,virgin gains in importance by the nobility of these athletes behind her1 but it is clear that ,signorelli's interest lay less in the melancholy ,mother and ,child1 than in these superb ,titans1 in whom he seems to have personified the forces of ,nature4 ,how great was the influence of this picture upon ,michelangelo we need only take a few steps into the ,tribuna to see1 in his ,tondo of the ,holy ,family1 ,no4 #aaci4 ,the painting is set in a kind of frame in grisaille1 surmounted by a head of ,s4 ,john the ,baptist1 and two seated ,prophets in medallions4 ,illustration3 ,uffizi1 ,florence ,,madonna ,somewhat inferior in execution1 but painted in exactly the same spirit1 is the ,madonna1 of the ,munich ,gallery1 formerly in the ,palazzo ,ginori1 ,florence4#eb ,here1 as in the last1 the ,virgin sits1 filling the foreground space1 a stately figure1 with fingers pressed together1 as if in prayer to the ,child at her feet4 ,the background is a classic landscape1 through which runs a stream of the beautiful limpid green with which ,signorelli always paints water1 and by its side sits another of the noble nude figures1 untying his sandal4 ,it may be intended for ,s4 ,john the ,baptist1 as the critics say1 but ,i do not think that either here or in the ,uffizi painting1 ,signorelli had any intention of adhering to traditional illustration4 ,it seems rather as though the pictures were symbolic--expressive of some comparison in his mind between ,christianity1 as he perhaps conceived it for the moment1 melancholy and dejected1 and the ,greek ,pantheism1 vigorous and strong1 and radiant with the joy of life4 ,another picture belonging to this beautiful group is the ,portrait of a ,man1 in the ,berlin ,gallery1 formerly in the ,torrigiani ,collection1 ,florence4 ,in the days before it was photographed it was considered to be a portrait of ,signorelli himself1 and1 as it represents a man with grey hair1 was naturally reckoned among his later works2 but comparison with the two portraits at ,orvieto show that there is no real resemblance of feature1 while the technique and spirit of the painting claim a place for it among this early series4 ,here again occur the classic figures1 but this time with less of the idyllic feeling4 ,on one side are hurrying ,apollo and ,daphne7871 on the other1 one athlete has overthrown another1 and stands menacingly over his prey1 who tries with ineffectual gestures to beat him off--a very ,pollaiuolesque scene of violence4 ,the colouring1 with its clear reds of the biretta and the robe1 is very successful4 ,with this powerful portrait closes this beautiful and interesting group of paintings1 the provenance of all four of which1 it will be observed1 is from ,florence4 ,the two ,tondos1 of the ,pitti and ,corsini ,galleries1 ,florence1 must have been painted at a date not far distant from those1 for they have much in common in certain forms1 and particularly in the rich and glowing scheme of colour4 ,the ,holy ,family1 of the ,pitti ,gallery1 has been restored1 and suffers much from thick varnish and repainting1 but nothing has spoilt the harmony of the colours1 nor the tender beauty of the ,virgin1 whose features and expression are a repetition of those of ,echo in the ,pan4 ,the ,saint1 who writes at the dictation of the ,child1 is painted with earnestness1 and the whole scene is treated with the utmost religious feeling4 ,the ,madonna and ,saints1 of the ,corsini ,gallery1 has the same warm glow of colour1 and was probably painted about the same time4 ,the ,virgin sits with the ,child on her left knee1 clad in a red robe1 round the neck of which little ,loves are embroidered in gold4 ,over it she wears a dark-green mantle shot with gold--a form of decoration very usual with ,signorelli1 especially about this time4 ,she has the beautiful1 pale1 honey-coloured hair which occurs so often in his works1 almost the same colour which was characteristic of ,palma's ,venetian ladies later4 ,to the left kneels ,s4 ,jerome1 gazing up at her1 and on the right is ,s4 ,bernard holding a pen and book4 ,the painting is in a good state of preservation4 ,illustration3 ,pitti1 ,florence ,,madonna ,,and ,,saints ,the rather insignificant type of head of ,s4 ,joseph occurs again in another ,holy ,family1 which belongs approximately to the same period1--that of the ,rospigliosi ,gallery in ,rome4 ,as far as beauty and tender grace go1 this is the most successful of all his ,madonnas4 ,the daring repetition of the same features with darker colouring in the ,s4 ,john behind her1 ,i have already drawn attention to4 ,the draperies are painted with great freedom1 and a fine sweep of broad fold4 ,they are shot1 as in the ,corsini ,tondo1 with gold in the high lights4 ,insignificant as is the ,child in all these ,holy ,families1 there is at the same time something pathetic and winning in the earnest1 careworn little face4 ,illustration3 ,rospigliosi ,gallery1 ,rome ,,holy ,,family ,very different is the type ,signorelli has adopted for the ,christ in the ,uffizi ,holy ,family1 ,no4 #abia1 which must be placed somewhere about this time1 or a very little later4 ,here ,he is represented with a certain nobility of feature and gesture1 although self-conscious and unchildlike4 ,the ,greek profile of the ,virgin is almost identical with that of the above-mentioned ,rospigliosi picture1 while the powerful head of ,s4 ,joseph carries us back to the figures in the ,circumcision4 ,the ,virgin sits uneasily1 ill-balanced1 and with badly-modelled feet1 but the beauty of the face makes amends for these defects4 ,it is a picture full of noble qualities1 both of feeling and technique1 and it has besides a special importance by reason of the difference of colour1 so much less heavy than usual4 ,the flesh tints are very pale1 and the shadows a silvery grey1 and the whole tone is much lighter than in any of the preceding pictures4 ,the composition is specially fine1 the attention being concentrated without effort on the central figure of the ,child1 to which the other two serve as a kind of frame4 ,illustration3 ,uffizi1 ,florence ,,holy ,,family ,i cannot leave this series of early works1 which includes so many ,tondos1 without drawing attention to the excellence of ,signorelli's composition in this difficult form4 ,the figures fill the space naturally and without any artificial bending of the heads to fit the shape2 there is a sense of space1 and ease of grouping1 and the large sweeping lines of the draperies follow most harmoniously the curves of the panel4 ,with the exception of the ,perugia altar-piece1 none of the above-mentioned paintings are dated4 ,inferentially we arrive at the time when the ,loreto frescoes were completed1 but there is little to help in grouping the rest beyond the internal evidence they afford4 ,i have endeavoured to place them in the order they seem most naturally to take1 with reference to colour1 form1 and the early influences to be observed in them1 but the arrangement must necessarily be somewhat arbitrary4 ,fortunately this difficulty grows less and less in dealing with the later works1 and the most important of them are generally dated4 ,,footnotes3 #db ,i shall1 as far as space permits1 describe those pictures of which illustrations cannot be inserted4 ,where the illustration is given1 it becomes unnecessary4 #dc ,vasari1 iii4 #fia4 #dd ,vischer1 p4 #gi4 #de ,cavalcaselle e ,crowe1 viii4 #ejg4 ,note #a4 #df ,i have thought it best only to translate those names that are familiar to us in ,english4 #dg ,vasari1 iii4 #fhe4 #dh ,cavalcaselle e ,crowe1 viii4 #dee4 #di ,vasari1 iii4 #fhe4 #ej ,vasari1 iii4 #fhi4 #ea ,i am indebted for the above facts to ,mr ,h4 ,j4 ,ross of ,poggio ,gherardo1 ,florence1 the original purchaser of the picture4 #eb ,the photograph gives so little idea of the beauty of the original that ,i have not reproduced it4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,middle ,,period ,we have now arrived at the paintings belonging to the year #adia1 part of which ,signorelli spent in ,volterra1 three works still remaining in that city to testify to the visit--,the ,annunciation1 of the ,cathedral2 the ,madonna and ,saints1 now in the ,gallery1 both dated2 and a much-injured fresco in grisaille1 representing ,s4 ,jerome1 on the walls of the same building--the ,palazzo ,communale4 ,the ,madonna enthroned with ,saints was painted for the altar of ,maffei ,chapel in ,san ,francesco1 and was unfortunately removed not many years ago to the ,gallery of the ,palazzo ,communale1 suffering the greatest damage in the transit4 ,two large cracks run through the figures of the ,child and the seated ,father2 large pieces of the paint have dropped away1 and in the repainting the ,child has lost all characteristics of ,signorelli's work4 ,in the less ruined parts1 however1 enough remains to testify to the original excellence of the painting1 which is finely composed1 and broadly and vigorously treated1 especially in the draperies4 ,the ,virgin sits enthroned between four saints1 with a very ,peruginesque angel on either side1 and seated below1 at the foot of her throne1 are two ,fathers of the ,church1 in one of whom we have repeated the burly bishop with wide-spread knees and fine sweeping drapery of the ,loreto cupola1 and which occurs later in the ,florence ,academy altar-piece4 ,the influence of ,pollaiuolo can be observed in the sculptures on the gradino of the throne1 little nude figures in violent action4 ,in better preservation is the ,annunciation1 in the ,cathedral1 signed1 and with the same date as the foregoing4 ,the architecture1 with its excellent perspective1 again reminds us that ,signorelli was the pupil of ,pier dei ,franceschi1 the painter of the wonderful loggia in the ,annunciation1 of ,perugia4 ,the ,virgin is painted with great feeling1 and in the solemn beauty of the ,archangel we get the first of those splendid creatures whose sublimity ,signorelli felt in the same spirit as ,dante1 who bent his knees and folded his hands at the sight of the ,uccel divino1 trattando l'aere con l'eterne penne4#ec ,illustration3 ,cathedral1 ,volterra ,,the ,,annunciation ,the resemblance is so great between this painting and the ,annunciation1 of the ,uffizi predella 7,no4 #abih7 that we are justified in placing the latter somewhere about the same date4 ,as is so often the case in predella pictures1 especially with ,signorelli's1 the spontaneity and freedom of execution1 and even of conception1 is much greater here than in the more carefully thought-out and finished works4 ,small as this panel is1 the rush of the great ,archangel1 the solemn beauty of the landscape1 and the splendid attitudes of the young courtiers in the last division1 make it one of the master's most important and characteristic paintings4 ,the colour in the first panel of the ,annunciation is especially beautiful1 and there is a noble simplicity in the composition1 as well as a breadth and certainty of touch that give the picture great grandeur4 ,the predella is divided by painted pilasters into three parts4 ,in the first the ,archangel hastens through a rocky pass to announce the message1 to which the ,virgin bows with awed acceptance of its solemn meaning4 ,in the second1 the shepherds kneel to offer homage to the new-born ,child1 who lies at the ,virgin's feet1 while the third represents the visit of the ,magi4 ,the same freedom of brushwork characterises another ,annunciation1 of probably the same time1 and treated in much the same manner1 although less stately than that of the ,uffizi4 ,this is one part of a predella formerly belonging to the ,mancini ,collection of ,citta di ,castello4#ed ,the ,archangel1 with great wings half folded1 and blown drapery1 is just alighting at the feet of the ,virgin1 who has dropped her book1 and drawn back with startled gesture at the impetuous rush of the messenger4 ,connected with these by the same qualities of breadth of treatment1 and almost modern impressionism in the conception of the scene1 are two compartments of a predella1 belonging to ,mr ,benson in ,london1 representing ,the ,dispute by the ,way1 and ,the ,supper at ,emmaus4 ,in the former especially1 the dramatic realism with which the ,apostles are depicted1 as they argue with animated gestures1 is extraordinarily vivid4 ,yet another predella picture--,the ,feast in the ,house of ,simon1 now in the ,dublin ,gallery--belongs approximately to this period4 ,it is a most beautiful representation of the scene1 and is treated somewhat in the gay manner of ,bonifazio or ,paolo ,veronese4 ,at a long table1 crowded with guests1 ,christ sits1 with ,his ,mother on ,his right hand1 the master of the feast being conspicuous in the middle4 ,over ,christ's head1 the ,magdalen1 a charming and graceful figure1 pours the ointment1 and on the left of the table ,judas1 with expressive gesture1 calls attention to the waste4 ,notwithstanding the small size of the panel1 and the number of the figures1 the effect is exceedingly spacious and free4 ,it is a well-composed scene1 full of animation1 and broad in treatment1 and is fortunately in a good state of preservation4 ,the altar-pieces to which all this series of predelle belong are unknown4 ,we will now consider the fine ,standard1 painted in #adid for the church of ,santo ,spirito in ,urbino4#ee ,on one side was represented the ,crucifixion1 and on the other ,the ,descent of the ,holy ,ghost at ,pentecost1 but the canvases have now been divided4 ,in the former1 at the foot of the ,cross is grouped the first of those characteristic scenes of the fainting ,virgin which was1 probably from its dramatic element1 so favourite a subject with ,signorelli4 ,sincerely and naturally felt1 it in no way trenches on the melodramatic1 as one or two of the later groups tend to do1 and the solitary figure of ,christ1 raised high above the sorrowing women1 is for once1 among his ,crucifixions1 of dignity and real pathos4 ,the solemnity of the mood given1 is enhanced by the fine idea of the soldier on the left1 who1 impressively standing out against the sky1 shades his eyes1 with bewildered gesture1 as though blinded by a sudden comprehension of the sacrifice4 ,the grief of the women who tend the unconscious ,virgin1 is sympathetically realised1 and without exaggeration of outward sorrow4 ,the composition is specially beautiful1 the sides are well-balanced1 while the two mounted soldiers on either side 7notwithstanding their characteristically badly-drawn horses7 give the scene a ceremonious stateliness1 which is very impressive4 ,illustration3 ,uffizi1 ,florence ,,the ,,annunciation ,in the ,pentecost we have another most masterly bit of perspective and fine spacious effect4 ,at the end of a long room1 between two rows of the ,apostles1 is seated the ,virgin4 ,above is ,god the ,father1 attended by two angels1 and below1 the tongues of flame1 the gift of the hovering ,dove1 have alighted on the heads of all the company4 ,apart from the sense of space and the well-composed grouping1 the technical execution does not appear so satisfactory as in the ,crucifixion1 but this may be accounted for by the fact that the painting has suffered more from restoration4 ,very closely allied to this ,standard in composition is the fine ,s4 ,sebastian of ,citta di ,castello1 painted in #adif for the church of ,s4 ,domenico1 now in the ,gallery1 which1 in spite of its bad condition is a picture of great importance and beauty4 ,the least satisfactory part is the ,saint himself1 who stands bound high up upon the tree1 his sentimental face with upturned eyes and open mouth recalling the ,s4 ,john of several of the ,crucifixions4 ,above him leans ,god the ,father1 and below five soldiers string their bows or shoot1 with superb gestures4 ,three of them are in the tight-fitting clothes in which ,signorelli loved to display the fine proportions and splendidly-developed muscles of his figures1 and the other two are draped only with the ,pollaiuolesque striped loin-cloth4 ,in the middle distance1 burgesses and sad-faced women look on at the martyrdom1 and in the background a distant street1 filled with soldiers1 leads steeply up to a ruined classic building1 not unlike the ,colosseum4 ,the great damage which the picture has suffered makes it difficult on a superficial view to give it the place it really deserves among the master's works4 ,the colouring is somewhat crude1 especially the flesh-tints1 which are red and heavy1 but it must nevertheless be ranked high on account of the composition1 and the fine drawing and modelling of the foreground figures4 ,illustration3 ,santo ,spirito1 ,urbino ,,the ,,crucifixion ,to the following year1 #adhg1 belong the series of eight frescoes painted by ,signorelli in the cloister of the ,benedictine ,monastery of ,monte ,oliveto4 ,vasari writes3 ,at ,chiusuri1 near ,siena1 the principal habitation of the monks of ,monte ,oliveto1 he painted on one side of the cloister eleven scenes of the life and work of ,s4 ,benedict4#ef ,vasari has mistaken the number of the paintings1 for there were never more than nine1 even supposing the last1 of which only a slight fragment remains1 to have been by him4 ,to me it seems doubtful1 but the fragments are in so ruined a state1 the fresco having been almost entirely cut away in the enlarging of the doorway1 that certainty one way or the other is hardly possible4 ,the remaining eight are for the most part in a deplorable condition1 both from the damage of time and neglect1 and also from repainting1 the lower part of the foreground in all of them being completely lost1 and smeared over with a surface of thick green4 ,the paintings are very unequal1 some being comparatively poor1 while the two last are exceedingly fine4 ,the story begins in the middle of the ,saint's life4 ,the first scene shows ,how ,god punished ,florenzo1 a wicked rival abbot1 who had tried to poison ,s4 ,benedict1 and to lead his monks astray4 ,in the background four grotesque devils are tearing down the walls of his convent1 with extraordinary energy of action1 and three others bear away the soul of the monk1 whose body may be seen crushed beneath the ruins4 ,in the foreground the ,saint listens to the tale1 told by a kneeling brother4 ,the scene is conceived in a spirit somewhat trivial for ,signorelli1 and has but little of his usual stately strength4 ,the composition is too much crowded on one side1 and1 as far as can be judged from the state of the fresco1 the draperies of the monks are mechanically treated4 ,the parts most worthy of praise seem to be the vivacity of the devils1 and the effect of spacious distance1 but it is in so damaged a condition that it would be unfair to be over-critical4 ,the next is in an even worse condition4 ,it illustrates ,how ,s4 ,benedict converted the inhabitants of ,monte ,cassino1 to whom1 supported by two monks1 he preaches in the foreground4 ,in the middle distance others pull down from its pillar the statue of ,apollo1 worshipped by these people4 ,this is a very much finer painting4 ,the composition is again overcrowded on one side1 but there is much noble dignity in the figures of the three monks1 and the beautiful architecture and perspective of the ,temple1 are admirable4 ,the foreground has been entirely destroyed1 the draperies are nearly effaced1 and a little town in the background is so smeared over with green paint1 that the effects of distance are lost4 ,no4 ,,iii4 is in better condition1 though very much injured in the foreground4 ,it shows ,how ,s4 ,benedict exorcised the ,devil upon the stone1 who guarded the place where the statue of ,apollo was buried1 which brought a curse on the convent4 ,in the background is seen the disinterment of the statue1 and to the right1 the vengeance of the ,devil1 who sets fire to their building4 ,flames burst through the windows1 and the monks hasten with excited gestures to quench them4 ,these remind one in their naivete of ,carpaccio's scurrying friars1 in ,s4 ,giorgio degli ,schiavone1 ,venice4 ,there are some very fine bits in this fresco2 the attitude of the monk to the left who is heaving up the stone is exceedingly good and true to nature1 and the landscape is spacious and distant4 ,no4 ,,iv4 shows ,how ,s4 ,benedict resuscitated the monk upon whom the wall fell1 the scene of the death taking place in the background1 the ,devil having precipitated him from the scaffolding on which he was at work4 ,in the middle distance three brothers bear the dead body1 and in the foreground the ,saint stands and raises him again to life4 ,this fresco is very fine both in general composition and detail4 ,the little scene of the death is full of action and animation1 the group of monks who bear the corpse is dignified1 and very noble is the kneeling figure of the resuscitated friar4 ,the paintings get gradually better1 as though ,signorelli had warmed to his task4 ,the next is very charming and one of the most successful in composition4 ,it illustrates ,how ,s4 ,benedict reveals to two monks where and when they had eaten out of the ,convent4 ,the two disobedient brothers sit in the foreground of a long room 7of most excellent perspective71 and are served with meats and drinks4 ,at the end of the room1 at the open doorway stands the graceful figure of a youth4 ,the section of the wall is given1 showing in the distance the penitent brothers on their knees before the ,saint1 who has reproved their disobedience4 ,there is something almost ,german in the domestic simplicity with which ,signorelli has conceived the scene4 ,the woman who waits on the right is ,peruginesque in type and attitude1 although with the robust physique that belongs to ,signorelli4 ,the fresco is much repainted especially in the roof4 ,illustration3 ,monti ,oliveto1 ,maggiore ,,miracle ,,of ,s4 ,,benedict ,the next shows ,how ,s4 ,benedict reproves the brother of the monk ,valerian for his violated fast1 and reveals to him that it was the ,devil who had tempted him in the disguise of a traveller1 the different scenes1 as usual1 going on in the background4 ,in front the youth kneels before the monks1 and to the right the ,devil1 his horns showing through his cap1 tempts him4 ,in the distance they can be seen feasting under a rock4 ,the fresco is much injured and repainted1 but the figure of the ,devil with the bundle over his shoulder is very fine and well drawn4 ,the two last of the series are the best4 ,signorelli has in them given the rein to his love of martial scenes1 and painted them with great animation and verve4 ,in ,no4 ,,vii4 we have the scene ,how ,s4 ,benedict discovers the deceit of ,totila1 and unmasks the shield-bearer1 who1 disguised as the ,king of the ,goths1 comes to prove the knowledge of the saint4 ,in the background1 a plain covered with camps and soldiers1 ,totila sends forth his servant1 and in the foreground the ,saint1 surrounded by four monks1 proclaims to him his identity4 ,statesmen1 arrogant pages1 and warriors1 stand behind the exposed shield-bearer4 ,it is interesting to observe how ,signorelli's attention has wandered from the empty faces and mechanically executed draperies of the monks1 and concentrated itself on this group4 ,the figures1 in their tight clothes1 are superbly posed and modelled1 especially the three who stand next to the shield-bearer4 ,the last of the frescoes is almost as fine a study of magnificent attitude4 ,it shows ,how ,s4 ,benedict recognises and welcomes ,totila1 the real ,king of the ,goths1 who kneels before him1 surrounded by his army on horse and foot4 ,in the background1 troops are marching with great animation1 7one of those fine effects of combined movement so characteristic of the master74 ,some of the foreground figures are again splendidly drawn and modelled1 and the mounted soldiers sit their horses exceedingly well4 ,illustration3 ,monte ,oliveto1 ,maggiore ,,the ,,miracle ,,of ,s4 ,,benedict ,in these two last paintings we get a hint of the great work that was to come three years later--at ,orvieto4 ,signorelli has put forth all his strength in these groups of swaggering youths in every posture of conscious power and pride1 and never perhaps been more successful in individual figures4 ,some of the faces in the last fresco appear to be portraits1 and if it be true1 as ,vasari says1 that he painted the ,vitelli and ,baglioni1 it is here probably that we should find them rather than among the audience of ,antichrist4 ,in running the eye down the whole series of frescoes1 the scheme of colour1 as far as can be judged in their present condition1 does not strike one as pleasant4 ,crude blues1 emerald greens1 brownish purples1 heavy earthen browns--these are the predominating tints4 ,the flesh tones are uniformly red and heavy4 ,neither is the decorative effect of the compositions specially good1 as at ,loreto1 and more particularly at ,orvieto4 ,perhaps even1 on a superficial view1 the space-filling by ,sodoma is happier1 and has a more imposing effect4 ,it is chiefly in detail that the great qualities of ,signorelli show themselves4 ,the rest of the walls of the large cloister are painted with twenty-seven subjects by ,sodoma1 showing the youth and hermit-life of the saint1 and continuing1 after the series by ,signorelli1 with his miracles and his old age4 ,although the subjects chosen by ,luca illustrate the later years1 yet they were painted first1 and it is probable that the place of each scene was arranged before any of the work was entered upon4 ,the year following the execution of these frescoes ,signorelli was in ,siena1 painting the two wings for the altar-piece of the ,bicchi family1 formerly in the church of ,s4 ,agostino1 now in the ,berlin ,gallery1 ,no4 #gi4 ,a ,,ms4 of the ,abbate ,galgano ,bicchi1 which gives the date1 speaks of it as an ,ancona1 the centre of which was a statue of ,s4 ,christopher by ,jacopo della ,quercia1 and with a predella1 which the ,abbate minutely describes4#eg ,nothing now remains of the altar-piece but these two beautiful wings1 one of which contains figures of the ,magdalen1 ,santa ,chiara1 and ,s4 ,jerome1 the other1 of ,s4 ,augustine1 ,s4 ,antonio and ,s4 ,catherine of ,siena4 ,vasari writes of it3 ,at ,siena he painted in ,sant',agostino1 a picture for the chapel of ,s4 ,cristofano1 in which are some ,saints surrounding a ,s4 ,christopher in relief4#eh ,both panels are of very rich and harmonious colour1 especially the one containing the noble figure of the ,magdalen1 in her green robe shot with gold and deep red mantle1 and her ropes of honey-coloured hair4 ,illustration3 ,gallery1 ,berlin ,,saints ,perhaps about the same date1 perhaps somewhat earlier1 we may place the fine ,tondo 7,no4 #gi;,b7 hanging in the same gallery1 formerly in the ,patrizi collection1 ,rome4 ,i have not given it its usual name of a ,visitation1 because that scene1 conventionally treated1 took place before the birth of the children who here play so important a part4 ,signorelli has1 according to his habit1 conceived the subject without any reference to traditional custom4 ,i have already spoken of the ease with which he composes in the ,tondo form1 and this is perhaps the best example of his skill4 ,the natural grouping of the figures1 the sweeping curves of the draperies1 which1 especially that of ,s4 ,joseph accentuated with gold1 carry out the lines of the circle1 give a sense of rest and harmony to the eye4 ,the scene is treated with a simplicity and noble dignity which deserve special praise4 ,it is in some ways the most sympathetic of all his ,holy ,families1 and he seems to have felt the charm of every-day simple life1 and for once has given the ,christ the life and beauty of childhood4 ,the tender foreboding sadness in the face of the ,virgin1 the reverential sympathy of the aged ,elizabeth1 and the kindly care with which the powerful ,zacharias holds the ,child1 are touches full of poetry4 ,morelli places this ,tondo as a late work1#ei but the soft and harmonious colour1 as well as the poetic feeling1 seem to belong to this period1 before the painting of the ,orvieto frescoes1 if not even earlier4 ,illustration3 ,gallery1 ,berlin ,,holy ,,family 7,,called ,,visitation7 ,lastly1 in this group must be placed the ,standard of ,borgo ,san ,sepolcro1 painted for the ,confraternity ,s4 ,antonio ,abbate1 now in the ,municipio4 ,it is interesting to note1 as its position in the ,gallery allows us to do1 how completely ,signorelli has now detached himself from the influence of his first master--outwardly at least4 ,no greater contrast could well be1 than the unrestful dramatic realism of the ,crucifixion on this ,standard1 and the inspired serenity of the ,resurrection of ,pier dei ,franceschi close by2 than the coarsely-conceived figure of the crucified ,christ1 with its heavy features and uncouth limbs1 and the spiritual beauty of the risen ,saviour4 ,this ,crucifixion is the least successful of all ,signorelli's renderings of this subject 7with the exception1 perhaps1 of the ,morra fresco71 both from its technical defects of extreme hardness and heavy colour1 as well as from the lack of any real feeling in the painter for his subject4 ,the unfortunate introduction of the patron saint1 posing as ,joseph of ,arimathoea1 disturbs the harmony of the mood1 while his exaggerated gesture contrasts disagreeably with the apathetic coldness of the other figures1 over-dramatic as their action is4 ,the ,christ is treated deliberately as a study of muscle1 and is among the most ignominious of his types1 and the fantastic landscape1 with its shadowy rocks and solid clouds1 is badly composed and without existence4 ,although there is no trace of the influence of ,piero remaining1 yet there is much of ,antonio ,pollaiuolo1 especially in the muscular figure and bent legs of the ,christ4 ,illustration3 ,municipio1 ,borgo ,san ,sepolcro ,,the ,,crucifixion ,the two large ,saints on the reverse of the ,standard are1 on the other hand1 imposing and noble figures1 splendidly painted in ,signorelli's grandest and most sweeping manner4 ,s4 ,antonio1 in the black habit of the order for which the banner was executed1 stands reading in a book1 and by his side is ,s4 ,eligio1 the smith-saint1 in red mantle and dark-green robe1 holding in one hand the farrier's tool1 and in the other the cut-off horse's hoof of the legend4 ,below kneel small figures of four brothers of the ,confraternity4 ,we have now come to the end of the series of works1 executed1 as nearly as can be judged1 between #adij and #adii1 and with the latter date have arrived at the time of the painting of the ,orvieto frescoes1 which were to be the crowning point in the life's work of the master4 ,,footnotes3 #ec ,purg4 ii4 #cg and #ce4 #ed ,when last heard of by the author it was for sale in ,england4 #ee ,the contract1 dated ,june #adid1 is transcribed in ,pungileoni's ,elogio ,stor4 di ,giov4 ,santi41 p4 #gg4 #ef ,vasari1 iii4 #fhi4 #eg ,the ,,ms4 is in the possession of ,conte ,scipione ,bicchi-,borghese1 ,siena4 #eh ,vasari1 iii4 #fhh4 #ei ,die ,galerie zu ,berlin1 p4 #df4 ,,chapter ,v ,,orvieto ,there seems to be a moment in the life of every great man in which he touches the height of his possibilities1 and reaches the limits of his powers of expression4 ,to ,signorelli it came late1 at an age when most men begin to feel at least their physical powers on the wane4 ,the two last frescoes of the ,monte ,oliveto series indicate that an immense force lay in reserve1 waiting an opportunity for some wider and freer field of action1 than had hitherto presented itself4 ,that opportunity now came1 when1 at the age of fifty-nine1 he was called upon to undertake the vast work of these ,orvieto frescoes4 ,with the exception of the ,sistine ,chapel1 no such task has been achieved at so sustained a pitch of imaginative power and technical excellence4 ,whether the subject stirred his dramatic spirit1 or whether the great spaces to be filled gave an expanded sense of liberty to his genius1 or whether his powers1 intellectual and physical1 really were at the zenith of their strength2 whatever was the cause1 he succeeded in executing a work which ranks among the greatest monuments of the ,renaissance1 perhaps should even rank as the very greatest4 ,morelli writes3 ,these masterpieces appear to me unequalled in the art of the fifteenth century2 for to no other contemporary painter was it given to endow the human frame with a like degree of passion1 vehemence1 and strength4#fj ,and beside the dignity with which he has in these frescoes elevated the body to an almost superhuman grandeur1 his conception of supernatural things is proportionately solemn and impressive4 ,it is impossible to look at the scenes without emotion1 and the mood evoked is due in a great measure to the earnest conviction with which they are conceived4 ,signorelli1 always a religious painter1 in the wider meaning of the word1 seems here to assume an almost prophetic attitude of warning1 embodied1 one might almost think1 in the portrait of himself1 stern and menacing1 standing sentinel-like over the work4 ,vasari thus speaks of the frescoes3 ,in the principal church of ,orvieto--that of the ,madonna--he completed with his own hand the chapel which had been begun there by ,fra ,giovane da ,fiesole2 in which he painted all the history of the end of the world1 with strange fantastic invention3 ,angels1 demons1 ruins1 earthquakes1 fires1 miracles of ,antichrist1 and many other of the like things2 besides which1 nudes1 foreshortened figures1 and many beautiful designs2 having pictured to himself the terror which will be in that latest tremendous day4 ,by means of this he roused the spirit of all those who came after him in such a way that since1 they have found the difficulty of that manner easy4 ,wherefore it does not surprise me that the works of ,luca should have always been most highly praised by ,michelagnolo1 nor that certain things of his divine ,judgement which he painted in the chapel were in part courteously taken from the invention of ,luca2 as are the ,angels1 ,demons1 the heavenly orders1 and other things in which ,michelagnolo imitated the style of ,luca1 as everyone may see4 ,luca portrayed in the above-mentioned work himself and many of his friends2 ,niccolo1 ,paulo and ,vitellozzo ,vitelli2 ,giovan1 ,paulo and ,orazio ,baglioni1 and others whose names are unknown4#fa ,illustration3 ,cathedral1 ,orvieto ,,portraits ,,of ,,signorelli ,,and ,,fra ,,angelico 7,,detail ,,from ,,antichrist7 ,fifty-two years before1 in #addg1 ,fra ,angelico had spent three months and a half in this ,cathedral of ,orvieto1 painting the spandrels in the roof of the ,cappella ,nuova1 as it was then called4#fb ,he had time to complete only two frescoes1 being either recalled to ,rome by ,nicholas ,v41 or to the convent of ,s4 ,domenico1 near ,fiesole 7of which1 in #adej1 he was made ,prior74 ,these two works are among the best and strongest of his paintings4 ,in the principal space1 that over the altar1 he painted ,christ in glory1 surrounded by a mandorla1 with angels on either side2 and in the spandrel on the right1 a group of sixteen prophets1 seated pyramidally against a blaze of gold background4 ,it is probable that he had thought out the general scheme of the frescoes1 and that ,signorelli only carried out his intention in working the paintings into one great whole--,christ in ,heaven1 surrounded by ,angels1 ,apostles1 ,martyrs1 ,virgins1 ,patriarchs and ,fathers of the ,church1 witnessing from on high the execution of divine justice below4 ,however that may be1 it is certain that ,signorelli1 in his painting of the roof1 kept most scrupulously to the older master's arrangement1 and in one of the spandrels actually seems to have worked over his design4 ,after the withdrawal of ,fra ,angelico1 the chapel remained untouched for more than fifty years4 ,in #addi his pupil1 ,benozzo ,gozzoli1 who had probably been his assistant in the painting1 demanded permission to continue the work2 but the authorities were not content to grant it1 and it was only in #adii1 after some futile negotiations with ,perugino1 who appears to have refused the commission1 that they finally resolved to place the decoration in the hands of ,signorelli4 ,perhaps decided to this step by the success of the ,monte ,oliveto frescoes1 they were yet so cautious and so determined to have only the very best work in their chapel1 that at first they only entrusted to him the painting of the vaulting1 already begun4 ,they were wise to be careful in their choice1 for they were probably conscious of the extreme beauty of their cathedral1 and1 in particular1 of the exquisite architecture of this chapel4 ,orvieto ,cathedral is one of the finest and most impressive of the ,italian churches1 and from its foundation in #abij1 the authorities had been notoriously lavish in their expenditure for its building1 and fastidious in their choice of architects1 sculptors1 and painters4#fc ,from the point of view merely of decoration1 they could have given the work to no better artist than ,signorelli1 and the first impression1 on passing into the chapel from the austere and spacious nave1 is of the harmonious plan1 both of colour and design1 with which the original beauty of the architecture has been enhanced1 and its graceful characteristics accentuated4 ,the roof is of very perfect shape1 and the spaces well adapted for painting4 ,it is divided in the middle by an arch1 thus having two complete vaultings1 each with four spandrels4 ,the walls are high and spacious1 also divided in two parts1 in each of which1 on either side1 is a large fresco4 ,signorelli has separated the lower part of the wall by a painted frieze of delicate gold and ivory1 and in the lower half executed a series of portraits1 each surrounded by medallions in grisaille1 containing small subject-pictures1 the rest of the space being filled with an intricate pattern of grotesques4 ,the south wall1 in which are three small windows1 has been unfortunately disfigured by a baroque seventeenth-century altar1 whose projections hide a part of the frescoes4 ,opposite is the entrance1 a magnificently-proportioned portal1 with a rounded arch1 most delicately decorated in colour4 ,every inch of the walls is covered1 and for the most part by the work of ,signorelli himself1 the above-mentioned grotesques1 the merely ornamental painting1 and a few of the medallions alone being by his assistants4 ,in describing the frescoes ,i intend to begin with those of the vaulting1 and then to work gradually round the walls from the left of the entrance1 where the first of the series of larger paintings begins with ,the ,preaching and ,fall of ,antichrist4 ,in the spandrel opposite the ,christ of ,fra ,angelico1 ,signorelli has painted eight angels holding the symbols of the ,passion1 while two others1 not unlike the great ,archangels of the ,resurrection1 blow trumpets to announce the impending ,judgment4 ,left of the altar1 opposite ,fra ,angelico's ,prophets1 and arranged in exactly the same pyramidal form1 is a magnificent group1 representing the ,apostles1 the ,virgin being seated on the lowest tier with ,s4 ,peter and ,s4 ,paul4 ,very noble1 impressive figures1 powerfully and solidly painted1 with broadly-draped1 heavy-folded robes1 they sit like rocks upon clouds as solid as hills4 ,these1 with the two frescoes of ,fra ,angelico1 complete the paintings of the first vaulting4 ,those on the other side of the arch are executed entirely by ,signorelli1 and1 with the exception of one1 from his own designs4 ,this one is the weakest of his roof-paintings in execution1 and the composition and actual drawing of the central figures1 are the work of ,fra ,angelico4 ,it represents the ,choir of ,martyrs1 a group of seven figures4 ,in the centre are seated three ,deacons in full canonicals1 with ,bishops on either side1 and below two ,saints in plain robes4 ,these last have all ,signorelli's characteristics of drawing1 and sit with wide-spread knees and broadly-painted draperies1 a striking contrast to the weak attitudes and niggling robes of the central group4 ,signorelli has indeed hardly altered the childish chubby features of the ,deacon in the middle1 nor the benevolent vacuity of the two ,bishops1 so different to his own austere types4 ,opposite to this1 over the portal1 is a group of eight ,virgins1 broadly and vigorously treated1 in ,signorelli's boldest manner4 ,to the right is another of the pyramidal groups1 fifteen ,doctors of the ,church1 some of whom are represented disputing and discussing points of theology4 ,the last of the roof-paintings is a powerful group of ,patriarchs1 ranking1 with that of the ,apostles1 among the most impressive of the frescoes4 ,here appear many of his well-known types of face2 the melancholy features of ,pan are repeated in the turbaned youth in the top row1 intended perhaps to be ,solomon2 the ,christ of the ,uffizi ,holy ,family is in the second tier to the left2 the powerful ,zacharias from the ,berlin ,tondo in the lowest4 ,luzi1 in his minute description of the paintings1#fd has bestowed names on all these figures1 without much advantage1 since they are for the most part doubtful4 ,few of them bear symbols1 but the different groups are sufficiently described in large letters1 by the painters themselves--,,gloriosvs ,,apostolorvm ,,choir--,,martirvm ,,candidatvs ,,exercitvs--etc4 etc4 ,the figures1 with the exception of those by ,fra ,angelico1 and the design for the ,martyrs1 are entirely the work of ,signorelli himself4 ,the decorations between the spaces seem to be in part by the assistant of ,fra ,angelico--perhaps ,benozzo ,gozzoli4 ,in the first border heads are painted1 in lozenges1 at regular intervals1 a few of which are in the older master's style1 while many show the manner of ,signorelli4 ,the rounded projecting rib is painted with foliage of cypress-green1 with here and there rich red and golden flowers gleaming out1 and on either side a border of conventionalised water-lilies4 ,it is difficult to say which of the masters designed this exceedingly beautiful decoration1 but it is most effective1 and well-calculated to accentuate the life of the fine curves in the vaulting4 ,illustration3 ,cathedral1 ,orvieto ,,patriarchs ,these groups of ,signorelli's are noble and impressive paintings1 in technique strong and vigorous4 ,the draperies are treated with simplicity and breadth of fold1 and the gold background gives richness and beauty to the colour4 ,no wonder that the authorities1 jealous though they were at the beauty of their chapel1 should have hesitated no longer to hand over the great spaces of the walls to the brush of the painter who had so well executed their first commission4 ,in the ,april of the following year1 #aejj1 the new task was given4 ,the payment for the roof was to have been #bje ducats2 for the walls they offered #ege4 ,besides this1 the painter was to be furnished with ultramarine1 a certain quantity of food and wine1 and a free lodging1 with two beds1 as the lengthy documents of commission minutely tell4#fe ,the paintings begin with ,the ,preaching and ,fall of ,antichrist4 ,here the foreground is filled with groups of the followers of the false prophet1 who1 with the features of ,christ1 stands on a little raised dais1 listening with an evil expression1 as the ,devil behind him1 unseen by the crowd1 whispers into his ear what he shall say4 ,before the dais are scattered gold vessels1 bars and coins1 with which he tempts the audience4 ,farther back to the right1 different groups represent the false teaching and miracles of ,antichrist1 and in the background is his ,temple1 with armed men going in and out of its open portico4 ,the left of the frescoes is devoted to the fall of the false prophet1 and the destruction of his followers4 ,above we see him precipitated head-downwards from heaven by an angel surrounded by fiery rays1 which strike death to the army beneath4 ,illustration3 ,cathedral1 ,orvieto ,,the ,,preaching ,,and ,,fall ,,of ,,antichrist ,in sombre black1 and standing outside the scene1 ,signorelli has painted the portrait of himself1 with fingers interlaced and firmly-planted feet1 and behind1 the milder1 but still gloomy figure of ,fra ,angelico4 ,there is something sinister in the saturnine melancholy on the faces of the crowd1 unrelieved by any lightness1 and culminating in the evil expression of ,antichrist himself4 ,the peace of the gold-flecked landscape only accentuates the horror of the scene of the downfall in the background4 ,the picture is a fit prologue to the terrible ,judgment to come4 ,in composition the fresco is very fine1 the values of distance are well kept1 and the meaning of the scene is obvious and significant1 and dramatically rendered4 ,the foreground group is very strongly painted1 natural in attitude and gesture1 and the figure of a man in striped hose is magnificently modelled4 ,i do not care to touch on so hypothetical a thing as the supposed portraiture in this group1 but it is interesting to note1 in the old man right of ,antichrist1 the features familiar to us in the drawings of ,leonardo1 possibly painted from a study of the same model4 ,behind is a profile head1 obviously intended for ,dante4 ,the terrible force of the angel1 with its hawk-like swoop1 the unresisting heavy fall of the body through the air1 are rendered with extraordinary power4 ,the foreshortening is admirable1 and so is the fine perspective of the beautiful architecture of the ,temple4 ,the figures of the soldiers on the steps recall ,perugino in the manner of treatment--dark against light1 and well detached from the background4 ,the capitals of the pillars1 the buttons on the clothes1 and the rays of the angel are embossed with gilded gesso1 as also are the distant hills4 ,this form of ornamentation1 so much used by ,signorelli in these frescoes1 adds greatly to their decorative beauty4 ,under this painting is a square-shaped portrait1 half cut away by a recess1 in which stands a modern altar4 ,it is supposed by ,luzi to represent ,homer1 and is the first of a series which run all round the walls1 much repainted1 but all of them the work of the master himself4 ,they are surrounded by four medallions1 painted in grisaille1 also for the most part by ,signorelli1 but in this case only two1 and a fragment of the third1 remain1 the enlarging of the recess having almost entirely cut that and the fourth away4 ,in the top medallion are five nude figures1 a powerful female and four males1 all wildly hastening as if from some impending destruction4 ,in that on the left a man stands on a dais1 surrounded by soldiers who hold a prisoner bound before him4 ,in the lower fragment1 only one figure remains4 ,these all represent1 according to ,luzi1 scenes from ,homer4 ,the groups are well composed and full of vigorous energy1 the nudes are splendidly modelled in broad1 bold strokes1 so sharply drawn on the wet plaster that the outlines are deeply incised4 ,where1 as here1 these grisaille pictures are the work of ,signorelli himself1 they are worthy of more attention than is usually given to them1 being as fine as any of his best work4 ,to realise fully their vigour and excellence1 one need only compare these powerful nudes with those painted in the pilasters close by1 the work of assistants4 ,the medallions in every case are surrounded by a broadly painted coloured pattern of grotesques1 also by assistants1 but probably to a large extent designed by ,signorelli1 for they are extremely characteristic of his preoccupation with the human form and with movement4 ,arabesques have but little attraction for him1 and it will be noticed that in all his ornamental work where it is possible1 he paints figures4 ,these decorations are almost entirely composed of fantastic creatures1 fauns1 tiny satyrs1 horses1 birds1 etc41 who blending their shapes and borrowing each other's limbs1 frisk all over the walls1 and by their gambols and contortions form a pattern of curves and lines1 which is a maze of animated life1 retaining at the same time the broad and harmonious effect of an arabesque4 ,illustration3 ,cathedral1 ,orvieto ,,the ,,crowning ,,of ,,the ,,elect ,the next large painting represents ,the ,crowning of the ,elect4 ,a crowd of men and women1 many draped round the loins1 some quite naked1 gaze upwards ecstatically1 or kneel reverently to receive the gold crowns which angels are placing on their heads4 ,above1 seated on clouds1 are nine other angels1 draped in many-folded robes1 who play musical instruments4 ,to the right two figures 7in one of whom the ,echo of the ,pan is repeated7 seem to walk out of the scene1 thus connecting this fresco with the next1 in which the elect and crowned souls prepare to ascend to ,heaven4 ,the background is entirely of gold1 thickly studded with bosses of gilded gesso4 ,the figures are finely modelled and posed4 ,the flesh-painting1 as in all the frescoes1 is perhaps somewhat heavy in colour1 but the whole effect is rich and harmonious4 ,the chief defects in the work are the overcrowding of the composition1 and the bad values of distance1 caused in a great measure by the gold background4 ,signorelli's treatment is too realistic1 his figures are too solid and too true to life1 to bear the decorative background so suitable to the flat1 half-symbolic painting of the ,sienese school4 ,they need space and air behind them1 and lacking that1 one feels a disagreeable sensation of oppression and overcrowding4 ,keeping the eye upon the ground1 which is treated naturally1 this feeling goes2 the long shadows distinctly marked1 send the figures to their different planes1 and the confused composition becomes clear4 ,underneath are the usual decorations1 two square portraits surrounded each by four medallions4 ,we do not need the help of ,luzi to recognise ,dante in the first1 injured though it is1 and much repainted1 especially about the mouth1 which gives the face a somewhat grotesque expression4 ,illustration3 ,cathedral1 ,orvieto ,,subjects ,,from ,,dante ,the grisaille paintings represent stories from the ,purgatorio1 but although fine in design1 are not executed by ,signorelli himself4 ,they have none of the breadth and grandeur of the first series1 and the effect is meagre and niggling1 equal importance being given to the rocks and to the figures4 ,the other portrait is probably intended for ,virgil1 who1 with upturned face and melodramatic expression1 seems to seek for inspiration4 ,this expression is exaggerated1 but the painting is vigorous and strong4 ,around1 the medallions again represent subjects from the ,purgatorio1 and are apparently by the same hand as the last1 with the exception of the lower one1 which seems to have some of ,signorelli's own work in the nude figures4 ,the south wall is pierced by three lancet windows1 the central one over the altar1 dividing the two principal frescoes of ,heaven and ,hell4 ,the former is1 as ,i have said1 a continuation of the last scene1 and represents angels preceding the elect souls1 and showing them the way to ,heaven4 ,in the sky1 heavily embossed with gold like the last1 float angels with musical instruments1 one of whom1 with face downward1 blowing a pipe1 is not so successfully foreshortened as is usual with ,signorelli4 ,illustration3 ,cathedral1 ,orvieto ,,heaven ,in the thickness of the small window which cuts into this fresco1 are painted two coloured medallions1 one of an angel vanquishing a devil1 the other of ,s4 ,michael1 with the balances1 weighing souls--both by the master himself4 ,below are two series of small pictures in grisaille1 with scenes from the ,purgatorio4 ,the lowest is unfortunately hidden by the altar4 ,all of them are by ,signorelli himself1 exceedingly good1 and worthy of careful study1 one being especially beautiful--the top picture of the first series1 in which ,dante and ,virgil stand before the ,angel1 with the gold-plumed ,eagle in the foreground--a most nobly conceived illustration to the ninth canto of the ,purgatorio4 ,illustration3 ,cathedral1 ,orvieto ,,hell ,on the opposite side of the altar is the ,judgment of ,minos1 and the driving of the lost souls to ,hell under the superintendence of the two ,archangels1 who stand in the sky with drawn swords1 sorrowfully watching the fulfilment of divine justice4 ,signorelli here has followed very closely the text of the ,inferno4 ,in the foreground ,minos standeth horribly and gnasheth1 condemning the miserable souls before him each to his different circle1 his tail wound twice about his middle4 ,farther back1 the ,pistoiese1 ,vanno ,fucci1 with blasphemous gesture1 yells out his challenge to ,god2 ,charon plies his boat2 and in the background despairing souls follow a mocking demon who runs before them with a banner4 ,the two medallions on the sides of the window contain1 one the ,archangel ,gabriel with the lily of the ,annunciation1 the other a very beautiful group of ,raphael and ,tobias1 both by ,signorelli himself4 ,below1 the decorations correspond to those on the opposite side1 the grisaille pictures1 representing1 according to ,luzi1 scenes from the ,metamorphoses of ,ovid1 all1 with the exception1 perhaps1 of the medallion just below the window1 being also the work of the master1 and very powerfully painted4 ,leaving the window wall1 we now come to the finest of all the frescoes1 the magnificent scene of the ,damnation4 ,so vivid is the realisation1 so life-like the movements and gestures1 that the writhing mass appears really alive1 and one can almost hear the horrible clamour of the devils1 and the despairing yells of the victims4 ,the general effect is of one simultaneous convulsed movement1 one seething turmoil4 ,in detail1 the horror is most dramatically rendered4 ,the malignancy of the devils1 their brutal fury as they claw their prey1 tear at their throats1 and wrench back their heads2 the utter horror and anguish of the victims1 the confusion1 the uproar1 are given with a convincing realistic force1 which makes the scene ghastly and terrible4 ,in most representations of ,hell1 and especially of ,devils1 human imagination fails in conveying any sense of real horror1 even the earnest ,duerer and ,botticelli treating them with a grotesqueness which shows how far they were from any conviction of their reality4 ,signorelli is the only painter of the ,renaissance ,i can recall who has succeeded in giving a savage sternness1 a formidable brutishness to his fiends1 which is very far from grotesque1 but is really appalling4 ,these ferocious creatures are of all colours1 slate-blue1 crude purple1 heavy green1 livid mauve--sometimes of all these poisonous-looking colours fading one into the other4 ,strong and malevolent1 they triumph in their work of torture1 with a gloomy malignancy very different from the trifling malice of the fiends he painted at ,monte ,oliveto4 ,above stand the three ,archangels1 in armour1 with half-drawn swords1 menacing those who try to fly upward instead of toward the flames of ,hell4 ,two1 in their hurry to escape chastisement1 let fall their prey2 another1 with great bat-wings which cut the air like scythes1 swoops down again into the chaos below4 ,illustration3 ,cathedral1 ,orvieto ,,the ,,damnation ,i suppose a mass of convulsed limbs has never been rendered in so masterly a manner4 ,the effect is so natural that one is inclined to forget the difficulties ,signorelli has so superbly overcome4 ,but if one considers in detail the different attitudes1 the violent action of the arms and legs1 the contorted positions of the bodies--every muscle either on the stretch or relaxed into a flaccid limpness1--the foreshortened limbs twisted into every kind of unnatural posture1 and the complicated interweaving of the whole1 one realises that it is indeed his masterpiece1 not only for the mood of terror and awe it induces by its imaginative power1 but for its marvellous rendering of tumultuous movement1 and the ease with which enormous technical difficulties have been surmounted4 ,the portraits below are1 according to ,luzi1 of ,ovid and ,horace1 the four medallions round the former seeming1 in their energy and furious life1 to carry out the tumult of the great fresco above4 ,they represent scenes from ,the ,metamorphoses1 and deal chiefly with ,hades and the infernal ,deities4 ,above stand four female figures with fluttering draperies1 among whom we can distinguish ,diana with the bow1 and ,pallas with the lance and shield4 ,below1 ,pluto stands in a chariot drawn by dragons4 ,this painting is very much injured1 as is much of this lower part of the wall1 especially the grotesques4 ,on the right ,pluto bears away ,persephone in his arms in a chariot drawn by two fantastic horses1 which an attendant urges furiously forward with a caduceus4 ,on the left ,ceres1 with wildly-floating hair1 leaps into a tearing chariot drawn by two winged serpents1 which ,cupid goads onward with a flaming torch4 ,these are all by ,signorelli himself1 and1 for the rendering of violent movement1 worthy of their position under the great painting4 ,round the other portrait are subjects also connected with the infernal regions4 ,over it1 ,a,eneas stands before the ,cumoean ,sybil1 a very injured painting4 ,below1 ,orpheus in ,hades plays before ,pluto and ,persephone to win back ,eurydice1 who lies bound before them4 ,on the right ,hercules rescues ,theseus from ,hades1 and slays ,cerberus1 and on the left1 ,eurydice1 following ,orpheus1 looks back1 and is re-seized by the demons4 ,these are all exceedingly good and dramatic paintings1 and are by ,signorelli himself4 ,the next large space1 after the fresco of ,the ,damnation1 is filled with ,the ,resurrection4 ,above1 the two mighty ,archangels sound their trumpets1 and the dead wake1 and break through the crust of the grey earth below4 ,they stand about embracing each other1 or helping each other to rise1 or gazing with rapture up at the ,archangels1 who1 with fluttering draperies and ribbons1 and great spread wings of purple and peacock-green1 stand1 surrounded by little shadowy cherubs1 in the gold-embossed sky4 ,most of the figures are of ,signorelli's usual powerful build1 one1 however1 is an emaciated youth with little on his bones but skin1 many are skeletons4 ,to these last he has given a pathetic look of ecstasy1 which is wonderfully expressive1 considering it is obtained only by means of eyeless sockets and grinning jaw-bones4 ,illustration3 ,cathedral1 ,orvieto ,,the ,,resurrection ,the fresco has suffered much1 particularly from the painting1 in later times1 of draperies round the loins1 some of which have been worn or rubbed half off4 ,almost in the centre is a large stain1 outlining the shape of a window1 which ,signorelli caused to be filled up1 and which can still be seen on the outside of the ,cathedral4 ,the damp1 oozing through the new plaster round the framework1 partly destroyed the painting1 but the centre is remarkably well preserved4 ,it is interesting to note in studying this fresco1 that1 student of anatomy though he was1 the skeleton seems to have had little attraction for ,signorelli4 ,the placing of the bones is1 of course1 correct1 but the delicacy of their curves1 their relative proportions and thicknesses1 their beauty of detail1 are not given at all4 ,for example1 in the skeleton in the foreground1 the pelvis has scarcely the shape1 and none of the variety of line1 of the bone itself1 but is merely a coarsely-drawn girdle4 ,compared to the extreme delicacy with which he models flesh1 and his minute appreciation of every gradation of curve in the muscles1 this carelessness in the treatment of the skeleton is noteworthy4 ,under this1 the last of the larger frescoes1 is a recess1 in which was formerly the sarcophagus containing the bones of ,pietro ,parens1 the patron saint of ,orvieto4 ,in this recess1 under the brackets on which the sarcophagus stood1 ,signorelli has painted one of his most beautiful ,pietas4 ,unfortunately1 half hidden by a marble group1 sculptured in #aegd by ,ippolito ,scalza1 it is difficult to see1 and impossible to photograph1 and is therefore not so well known and appreciated as it deserves to be4 ,the ,christ is an exact repetition of the figure in the ,deposition1 of the ,cortona ,cathedral1 and was probably painted about the same time--#aejb4 ,the position only is reversed4 ,the other two figures are also repeated from that altar-piece1 with only very slight variations4 ,behind is painted the ,tomb1 on which is a relief in grisaille of four naked figures bearing the dead body of the ,saviour4 ,this formed the lower part of the now removed sarcophagus1 the three stone supports of which still project from the wall4 ,on the right of the ,pieta1 is painted the martyr ,pietro ,parens himself4 ,the saint gazes down with tender reverence at the scene at his feet1 standing in fur-trimmed robes and cap1 one hand on his breast1 the other holding the palm of martyrdom4 ,over his head is the hammer1 the instrument of his death4 ,the face is of extreme beauty1 with gentle expression1 the robes are finely draped1 the attitude most natural1 and the whole figure is one of the noblest and most sympathetic of all ,signorelli's works1 and deserves to be better known4 ,on the other side1 and also as supporter of the ,pieta1 stands ,faustinus1 another patron saint of the city1 also a very beautiful figure1 with features which recall the type generally used by ,signorelli for ,s4 ,john4 ,at his feet lies the millstone with which he was drowned4 ,on either side1 in the thickness of the wall1 is a medallion in grisaille1 containing the scenes of their deaths1 very powerfully painted4 ,this recess occupies more than one half of the space below ,the ,resurrection1 allowing room for only one portrait and two medallions4 ,the former ,luzi has decided to be ,lucan1 and represents a beautiful youth1 with a mass of loose curling hair crowned with oak-leaves and acorns4 ,the scenes of the medallions are supposed to be from ,the ,phaisalia4 ,in that above three nude men fight with fists1 one binds his prostrate foe1 and another bears off a slain body4 ,in that on the right four men fight with clubs and swords4 ,all are powerful figures1 painted by ,signorelli in his most characteristic manner4 ,below the portrait of the poet is an inscription of #affg1 honouring the memory of ,signorelli1 and of ,ippolito ,scalza1 the sculptor of the marble ,pieta4 ,the frescoes round the beautifully-proportioned entrance portal1 being on an inside wall1 are in a state of better preservation than the rest1 and the colours brighter4 ,they represent ,the ,signs of the ,destruction of the ,world4 ,for imaginative power they can be compared only with the woodcuts of ,albrecht ,duerer's ,apocalypse4 ,to our right on entering1 the ,rain of ,fire shoots in heavy lines from the hands and bodies of demons with outspread wings4 ,the distraction of the people on whom it falls is well rendered4 ,in the foreground armed men on horse and foot seek wildly to escape the shafts1 which have already precipitated some to the ground4 ,in the middle distance the flames pursue a flying mob of terrified women clutching their infants1 and men trying to protect them2 while in the foreground old men1 youths1 and children1 are struck down in heaps1 stopping their ears1 and gazing up in panic at the unearthly apparition4 ,on the opposite side the sun and moon are eclipsed1 and a dark rain of blood falls from the gloomy sky4 ,an earthquake has shaken the city1 and its buildings totter and fall in fragments on the people4 ,in the foreground is a group1 perhaps intended for the ,prophets of the ,destruction1 who gaze up1 less terrified1 but with fear and solemn awe4 ,illustration3 ,cathedral1 ,orvieto ,,signs ,,of ,,destruction ,next to ,the ,damnation1 these are perhaps the finest of the series1 and show most imagination and dramatic feeling4 ,the foreshortening of some of the figures is admirable1 the composition in the restricted space is good1 and there is superb drawing and modelling in the foreground figure among the ,prophets in the last fresco4 ,in the centre1 over the arch1 ,signorelli has painted a group of winged children1 who hold a tablet by a bunch of ribbons1 in one of whom are repeated the features of the ,christ-child of the ,uffizi ,holy ,family4 ,in the space under ,the ,rain of ,fire has been painted a portrait1 but not a fragment of the face remains1 an obelisk-shaped monument having in later times been placed against the wall1 completely destroying it4 ,cavalcaselle1 for what reason is not clear to me1 supposes that it represented ,niccolo ,franceschi1 the treasurer of the works4 ,on the opposite side of the doorway is a coloured medallion1 representing a man with a turban1 who1 leaning his back over the frame as though it were a window1 seems to be gazing up at the painting above4 ,this1 ,cavalcaselle suggests1 is a portrait of the painter himself2 ,luzi1 however1 considers it to be ,empedocles4 ,over it in the decorations are two small tablets bearing the master's initials1 ,l4 and ,s4 ,we began by considering the general impression of the frescoes upon the mind1 their great imaginative qualities1 and the solemn mood they induce4 ,we will conclude by summing up the technical excellences1 which distinguish them from all his previous work by extra power and ability4 ,the beauty of the compositions1 the filling of the spaces and the effectiveness of the scheme of decoration are as much above the work of three years before--the ,mount ,oliveto series--as is the freedom and dramatic power with which the scenes are rendered4 ,what chiefly strikes one is the homogeneousness of the whole design1 each part of the work keeping its due place in the great scheme4 ,we are never unconscious1 even while carried away by the emotions of each separate scene1 of the solemn presence of the ,judges above1 who preside over the final justice4 ,considered as subject-pictures1 the intense dramatic feeling makes them extremely powerful in their different effects1 so that it is impossible to look at them unmoved4 ,finally1 the facility and freedom with which his anatomical knowledge has allowed ,signorelli to render all the possibilities of movement and gesture1 is as much in advance of his age1 as is his modern and natural visualisation1 and the impressionistic breadth of his brushwork4 ,in that respect1 indeed1 it is impossible to go farther4 ,later painters have erred as much in exaggerating violent action and over-developing muscles1 as the earlier master fell short in dry and laborious stiffness4 ,signorelli1 while retaining the earnest sincerity and thoughtfulness of the earlier workers1 has been able at the same time to render with modern facility every movement of the human frame1 and the result is an achievement which no later skill has surpassed1 which is perhaps the last word in the treatment of the nude in action4 ,before closing these remarks1 ,i must not omit to record the gratitude due to the two ,german painters1 ,bothe and ,pfannenschmidt of ,wuertemburg1 who1 in #ahde1 at their own cost1 cleaned and carefully restored the frescoes1 a work done on the whole with great discretion4 ,two other paintings of the master1 now in the ,opera del ,duomo1 are so closely connected with the chapel1 that the description would be incomplete without mention of them here--the altar-piece of the ,magdalen1 and the portraits of himself and the treasurer of the ,cathedral1 ,niccolo ,franceschi4 ,the former1 painted originally for the ,cathedral1 is a life-sized1 very broadly painted figure1 somewhat coarse in execution1 but exceedingly powerful4 ,she wears a gorgeous gold garment1 elaborately embroidered1 and over it a brownish-red mantle lined with green4 ,there is a stately dignity in the picture itself which the photograph unfortunately does not reproduce4 ,it is dated #aejd1 and on the old frame is the following ,inscription3 ,,ceccarellevs 4 ,,de 4 ,,apvidvtis--,,et 4 ,,rvfinvs 4 ,,antonii 4 -- ,,conservat 4 ,,pa 4 ,,pacis 4 ,,conservatrici 4 ,,ex 4 ,,se 4 ,,consvlto 4 ,m4,d4,,iiii4 ,the double portrait1 painted in #aejc1ff is a work of the greatest importance1 both by reason of the interest attached to the portraiture1 and also that it remains to us absolutely untouched1 every stroke being in the original state as the master left it4 ,the heads are full of character and life1 powerfully and rapidly painted in black and red1 on a brick or tile1 thickly overlaid with gesso4 ,the brush-strokes are bold and firm1 and the outline slightly incised in the plaster4 ,under each head ,signorelli has painted the names ,,lvca and ,,nicolavs1 and on the back is a most interesting inscription1 apparently painted by himself1 although the words are most probably the composition of the ,treasurer4 ,the following is a translation3 ,luca ,signorelli1 an ,italian by race1 citizen of ,cortona1 renowned for his skill as a painter1 comparable to ,apelles for attainment1 has1 under the rule and in the pay of ,niccolo ,franceschi1 of the same race1 but a citizen of ,orvieto1 ,treasurer of the vestry of its ,cathedral1 painted with clear meaning this chapel1 dedicated to the ,virgin1 with figures of the ,last ,judgment2 and1 eager for immortal fame1 on the back of this inscription1 has painted the effigy of both1 life-like1 and with wonderful art4 ,in the reign of ,pope ,alexander ,,vi4 and of the ,emperor ,maximilian ,,iv4 in the year of grace ,m4,,ccccc4 in the third ,kalends of ,january4 ,,footnotes3 #fj ,italian ,painters1 i4 #ib4 #fa ,vasari1 iii4 #fij4 #fb ,it was not till the seventeenth century that the chapel was dedicated to the ,madonna di ,san ,brizio1 on account of a ,byzantine miraculous picture of the ,virgin1 still on the altar4 #fc ,for an account of the ,cathedral1 see the ,padre della ,valle's ,storia del ,duomo di ,orvieto4 #fd ,il ,duomo di ,orvieto4 ,ludovico ,luzi4 ,firenze4 ,le ,monnier1 #ahff4 #fe ,preserved among the ,archives of the ,cathedral4 ,transcribed by ,vischer1 p4 #cdi1 etc4 #ff ,the head of ,luca is reproduced1 divided from the other1 as the frontispiece4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,later ,,paintings ,we have seen that during the four years and a half in which ,signorelli was engaged on the great work of the ,orvieto frescoes1 he yet spent some part of the time in his native city1 and there1 in #aejb1 he painted the signed and dated ,deposition with its predelle for the church of ,santa ,margherita1 now removed to the ,cathedral4 ,vasari thus speaks of it3 ,in ,santa ,margherita of ,cortona1 his native town1 belonging to the ,frati del ,zoccolo1 he painted a dead ,christ2 one of his most excellent works4#fg ,this dead ,christ is the figure which by its realism and pathos gave rise to the legend1 already quoted1#fh that it was painted from the body of his own son4 ,it is an exact counterpart of the ,pieta in the ,orvieto frescoes1 except that it is here reversed4 ,it is a work of great beauty and feeling1 painted with sincere emotion1 and has none of the academic dryness with which he treated the same subject in ,borgo ,san ,sepolcro4 ,the fine grouping1 the restraint with which the sorrow is rendered1 the real pathos of the scene1 give the picture dignity and solemnity1 and the glow of colour1 obtained by the lavish use of gold in the embroideries1 add to its richness and decorative beauty4 ,the ,virgin is nearly the same figure as in the ,orvieto fresco1 and in feature recalls the ,san ,sepolcro ,crucifixion1 and the ,magdalen is almost identical with the altar-piece of the ,opera del ,duomo1 just considered1 although here painted with more refinement and grace4 ,in the background is one of those vivid scenes of crowded movement1 which occur so often at this period of the master's development--a group of excited soldiers pressing round the ,cross1 with fluttering pennons and prancing steeds4 ,the predella hung just below1 contains four subjects--,christ in ,gethsemane1 ,the ,last ,supper1 ,the ,betrayal1 and ,the ,flagellation4 ,unfortunately1 both pictures are so badly lighted that it is almost impossible except on a very bright day to appreciate the colour4 ,the scenes in this predella are nearly the same as in that of the ,florence ,academy1 which hangs as part of the altar-piece1 ,no4 #afd1 although it does not seem really to have belonged to it4 ,the two predelle must certainly have been painted within a very short time of one another4 ,in both the composition of ,the ,last ,supper is precisely the same1 as well as ,the ,flagellation4 ,in the ,betrayal there is the same violent crowd with spears and pennons1 surging round the ,christ4 ,in the ,florence picture1 however1 there are only three divisions1 ,the ,betrayal and ,the ,way to ,calvary forming the background to ,the ,agony in the ,garden1 where ,christ kneels before a little brook1 with the ,apostles sleeping in rows behind ,him4 ,the broad impressionistic manner in which they are painted is the same2 and1 coarse as is the brushwork1 dark and heavy as is the colour1 especially in the flesh tints1 they are yet exceedingly fine examples of ,signorelli's bold style and quick resolute workmanship1 and well illustrate his power of rendering violent combined movement1 in the crowds which throng round the betrayed ,christ1 and march tumultuously on the way to ,calvary4 ,the ,madonna and ,saints above this last predella 7,no4 #afd7 although according to ,signor ,milanesi1 not its altar-piece1#fi must certainly have been painted somewhere about the same time1 for the broad style1 tending rather to coarseness1 of the work of this period is very noticeable4 ,it was executed for the church of ,santa ,trinita in ,cortona1 and ,milanesi suggests that it might be the altar-piece ordered in #aeba by the authorities of that church1#gj but the description given by the document of commission is very different1 and the picture itself seems to bear evidence of an earlier date4 ,like so many of the works in this ,gallery1 the painting has been so thickly daubed over by modern restorers1 that it is next to impossible to form a just idea of the original colour2 in its present state it is disagreeably crude and heavy1 and in any case the overcrowding of the composition would prevent its being considered a successful example of the master's work1 although it has his usual stately dignity and impressive qualities in the individual figures4 ,the ,virgin sits with the ,child on her knee1 clad in red robes1 over which is a garment1 now smeared over with black paint1 but which formerly was covered with gold embroideries4 ,over her head is a ,trinity1 in a mandorla surrounded by cherubs4 ,on the left stands the ,archangel ,michael1 in ,roman armour1 holding the balances1 in which are little nude figures representing the souls of the dead2 on the right stands ,gabriel with the lily and scroll containing the ,message of the ,annunciation4 ,below1 seated at the foot of the throne1 are ,saint ,augustine and ,saint ,anastasio1 the latter the same burly ,bishop with wide-spread knees of the ,loreto ,cupola1 and the ,volterra altar-piece4 ,these two ,saints are fine1 stately figures1 painted with broad sweeping lines4 ,the green robe of ,s4 ,anastasio was originally covered with a gorgeous pattern1 probably of yellow or gold1 but this has been effaced by the thick smear of repaint4 ,the gentle humility in the face of the ,virgin recalls the ,madonna1 of the ,brera ,gallery1 ,milan 7,no4 #aig bis7 with which the picture has1 besides1 much in common1 the ,child1 as well as the hands of the ,virgin1 being exactly the same1 although in a reversed position4 ,we shall not probably be far wrong in placing the ,florence altar-piece about the same time as this ,madonna1 of the ,brera1 which is dated #aejh1 and was painted for the church of ,s4 ,francesco in ,arcevia 7a town famous for its possession of one of ,signorelli's most important works1 which we shall presently consider74 ,very much repainted1 the ,madonna still retains great charm and beauty1 but the composition is geometrical1 and the figures of the ,saints uninteresting and empty4 ,in these1 especially the standing figure on the left1 ,i feel the hand of an assistant4 ,with all ,signorelli's mannerisms1 it lacks his resolute touch and powerful presentation4 ,it is probable that the great inequalities in many of his paintings1 especially at this later time1 are due to his leaving much of the execution to assistants4 ,whatever faults are in the work of the master himself1 he is never1 up to the last1 guilty of any feebleness or insipidity1 such1 for instance1 as in the painting of this unsolid figure4 ,illustration3 ,brera1 ,milan ,,madonna ,,and ,,saints ,i have been led from one picture to another by reason of similarities of form1 and have omitted to speak of a beautiful and important painting1 evidently executed soon after the ,orvieto frescoes1 with which it has much in common4 ,this is the altar-piece in the church of ,s4 ,niccolo1 ,cortona1 on one side of which is a ,madonna and ,saints1 on the other a ,dead ,christ upheld by ,angels4 ,it is as far as ,i know1 original in idea--this dead ,christ supported by the ,archangel1 while others show the symbols of the ,passion to the group of kneeling ,saints4 ,the four ,angels are very noble figures1 and resemble those of the ,hell and ,resurrection1 of ,orvieto4 ,the ,s4 ,jerome is sincerely painted1 and without any of the senile sentimentality with which ,signorelli occasionally represents this ,saint4 ,the one false note in the work is the stunted figure of the dead ,christ1 which seems all the more insignificant by contrast with the grand ,archangel who supports it4 ,this poetic figure with its great wings and its tender beauty is perhaps the greatest of all the master's renderings of the ,divine ,birds4 ,the colour scheme is much lighter than usual1 the flesh-tints being especially fair1 and the painting is another instance of those seeming efforts to adopt a less heavy palette1 to which ,i have drawn attention in speaking of the ,uffizi ,tondo4 ,illustration3 ,s4 ,niccolo1 ,cortona ,,dead ,,christ ,,upheld ,,by ,,angels ,vischer considers the ,madonna and ,saints on the reverse of the panel to have been painted at a different date4#ga ,it is an exceedingly fine picture1 with all the great qualities of majestic beauty4 ,the ,virgin sits enthroned between ,,ss4 ,peter and ,paul1 robed in red1 and wearing a blue mantle lined with green4 ,the ,child1 half lying on her knee1 has his hand raised in act to bless4 ,it is well modelled1 and of a more pleasing type than usual4 ,in #aejg was painted another very important work--the altar-piece in the church of ,s4 ,medardo in ,arcevia1 a splendid ,ancona1 still in its original ,gothic frame4 ,the ,virgin is of the same tender type as in the ,brera and ,florence ,academy pictures1 but with an added stateliness and gravity4 ,in the centre panel she sits enthroned1 with the ,child on her knee1 clad in an embroidered robe1 on the breast of which are two naked cherubs4 ,on the left stand ,s4 ,medardo and ,s4 ,sebastian1 on the right ,s4 ,andrew and ,s4 ,rock1 each figure separated1 as in the old polyptychs1 by the pilasters of the frame4 ,above is ,god the ,father1 with two ,saints on either side1 left ,s4 ,paul and ,s4 ,john the ,baptist1 right ,s4 ,peter and ,s4 ,james of ,camerino4 ,each of the side pilasters of the frame is divided into seven small spaces1 each containing the half figure of a saint1 the work of assistants4 ,the effect of the whole painting is of great splendour1 the colours are of glowing depth1 and the richness enhanced by the low relief in gilded gesso of some of the brocades4 ,but with all its state and dignity1 perhaps the most important part of the altar-piece is the predella with its five beautiful pictures1 flanked on either side by the arms of ,arcevia4 ,as colour these are remarkably fine and are treated with more care and less rapidity than ,signorelli usually gave to predella work1 while retaining the same breadth and freedom of general effect4 ,the ,annunciation1 with its beautiful perspective1 is one of his best compositions of this subject1 in which he is always so successful4 ,the ,nativity recalls that of the ,uffizi predella2 ,the ,adoration of the ,magi is a fine rendering of the scene1 but the two last are the most interesting as well as being the best in workmanship4 ,in ,the ,flight into ,egypt the painter has evidently been influenced by the engravings of ,albrecht ,duerer1 and has painted the little fortified town of the background very much in his manner4 ,the ,murder of the ,innocents contains two figures in splendid action1 the executioners1 one with his dagger raised in act to strike1 the other holding the child up by the leg--both magnificent studies of the nude1 and worthy of the painter of the ,orvieto frescoes4 ,illustration3 ,in possession of ,mr ,jarvis1 ,new ,haven1 ,u4,s4,a4 ,,the ,,adoration ,,of ,,the ,,magi ,very inferior is the altar-piece of ,the ,baptism1 in the same church of ,s4 ,medardo4 ,the existence of the contract of commission1 dated ,june #e1 #aejh1gb shows that ,signorelli bound himself to paint the figures of ,christ1 of the ,baptist1 and of ,god the ,father1 with his own hand1 leaving the rest of the work to his best pupils4 ,these figures are1 however1 so different from any of the master's own work1 that it is difficult to believe that they are entirely by him4 ,the picture had evidently to be finished in great haste1 since the receipt for payment in ,luca's hand is dated the #bdth of the same month of ,june1 thus leaving only nineteen days between commission and completion1 a very short time for so large a work4 ,the ,baptist stands in a rich red mantle pouring the water on the head of the ,herculean ,christ1 who wears the ,pollaiuolesque striped loin-cloth4 ,the coarseness and exaggeration of the muscular development have not the characteristics of ,signorelli's own errors in over-realism1 but bear the same relation to his style that the work of ,bandinelli bears to that of ,michelangelo4 ,above is a feeble figure of ,god the ,father1 and in the middle distance a man pulls off his shirt1 reminding one1 both in form and treatment1 of the figures in ,pier dei ,franceschi's ,baptism1 of the ,national ,gallery4 ,another sits by the river putting on a sandal1 not unlike1 although very inferior to1 the athlete of the ,munich ,tondo4 ,the composition is grand1 and in the importance given by it to the two principal figures we certainly see the work of ,signorelli4 ,the picture is an example of one of those mysterious conflicts of documentary and internal evidence1 which the study of ,art occasionally furnishes4 ,it still remains in its beautiful original frame1 in the gables of which is painted an ,annunciation1 and below1 on each side1 three half figures of ,saints by some assistant1 who was not even a pupil of ,signorelli1 but obviously a follower of ,niccolo da ,foligno4 ,the predella contains five scenes4 ,the ,birth of the ,baptist1 ,the ,preaching in the ,desert1 ,the ,denouncing of ,herod and ,herodias 7a ,tondo71 ,the ,feast of ,herod1 and--rather out of its due course1 since the head is offered in the charger in the fourth scene--,the ,decapitation in ,prison4 ,there is a very beautiful fragment of an unknown predella in the possession of ,mr ,jarvis of ,new ,haven1 ,u4,s4,a41 which belongs approximately to this period4 ,it has all the impressive dignity and breadth of treatment of ,signorelli's best work4 ,the subject is conceived with special feeling for its stateliness1 ,joseph standing by the side of the ,virgin to receive the gifts1 as a ,chamberlain might stand beside the throne1 while the earnest reverence of the kneeling ,king1 who has cast his crown at the feet of the ,child1 is most nobly rendered4 ,the gold in the brocaded robes is here slightly in relief4 ,the face of the kneeling ,king recalls that of the aged ,apostle in ,the ,institution of the ,eucharist1 ,cortona1 a painting dated #aeab2 a beautiful picture1 executed for the high altar of the ,gesu1 but which has now been removed to the ,cathedral4 ,like the other works in this choir it is very badly lighted1 and the photograph is also indistinct4 ,vasari writes of it3 ,in the ,compagnia del ,gesu1 in the same city 7,cortona71 he painted three pictures1 of which the one over the high altar is marvellous1 where ,christ communicates the ,apostles1 and ,judas puts the wafer in his satchel4#gc ,at the end of a shallow hall1 in the usual good perspective1 ,his head accentuated against the sky1 as in ,leonardo's ,last ,supper1 ,christ stands1 and puts the sacred wafer in the mouth of a kneeling ,apostle4 ,in the foreground ,judas1 with a crafty look1 opens his satchel4 ,the composition is exceedingly fine1 the twelve ,apostles making a stately frame for the central figure of ,christ4 ,the attitudes and gestures are natural and dramatic1 and the faces have individual character4 ,the two other pictures of which ,vasari speaks as having also been painted for the ,gesu1 now the ,baptistery1 are--,the ,nativity 7a coarse and badly-painted school picture1 having affinities with that of the ,national ,gallery1 ,london1 ,no4 #aacc71 and a ,madonna and ,saints1 which still remains in the ,baptistery4 ,here the ,virgin sits1 with a ,bishop on either side1 and two monks below4 ,dry and precise in composition1 like that of the ,brera1 and apparently painted with the assistance of pupils1 the ,madonna herself is still very characteristic of the master1 and not unlike those of the ,brera and the ,florence ,academy4 ,the picture is in an exceedingly ruined state1 and the gabled top in which is painted ,god the ,father1 though not without merit1 does not belong to the original painting1 but is of a later date4 ,lastly1 we may place in this group1 the broadly-painted predella1 which hangs now1 badly lighted1 in the sacristy of the ,arezzo ,cathedral4 ,it is unknown to what altar-piece it belonged1 and the pictures are now divided and separately framed4 ,the first represents ,the ,birth of the ,virgin1 the second ,the ,presentation1 and the last ,the ,marriage4 ,the ,presentation is the finest in composition and general effect1 and contains very stately figures of ,joachim and ,anna1 with splendidly draped robes1 and behind them a fine austere landscape4 ,all three pictures are broadly painted and swept in in the usual impressionistic manner4 ,,footnotes3 #fg ,vasari1 iii4 #fhf4 #fh ,see p4 #aj4 #fi ,vasari1 iii4 #gj4 ,commentario4 #gj ,see ,chronological ,table1 p4 #abg4 #ga ,vischer1 p4 #bei4 #gb ,for these notices see ,anselmi's monograph1 ,a proposito della classificazione dei monumenti nazionali nella provincia d',ancona4 7,foligno1 #ahhh71 p4 #ce4 ,also quoted by ,cavalcaselle e ,crowe1 viii4 p4 #dhj4 #gc ,vasari1 iii1 #fhf4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,last ,,works ,we have now considered in detail most of the important works of ,signorelli's early manhood and maturity1 and up to his seventy-fourth year have found him1 both in conception and execution1 still maintaining a high standard of excellence1 and at an age when the life's work is supposed to be over showing but little sign of failing powers4 ,on the contrary1 he seems to have gained ground in certain things most characteristic of his technical ability--in a rugged strength of modelling1 in facility of drawing and freedom of brushwork1 and particularly in that mastery of united movement1 which it seemed his special desire to attain4 ,even in this last group of paintings which we have now to consider the mind works as powerfully1 and the subjects are conceived with the same impressive grandeur1 as before1 and only in one or two instances can it be noticed that the hand does not always respond so readily to the purpose4 ,in the ,madonna and ,saints1 of the ,mancini collection1 ,citta di ,castello1 a slight technical falling off is apparent1 although it is possible that this may be due to the assistance of pupils4 ,its history would seem1 however1 to point to its being the unaided work of ,signorelli2 but1 as we have already seen1 documentary evidence is by no means infallible4 ,in the archives of ,montone1 a little town near ,umbertide1 a deed1 dated ,september #aj1 #aeae1 was discovered1 which speaks of an altar-piece presented by the master as a free gift to a certain ,french physician1 ,luigi de ,rutanis1 in gratitude for services rendered1 and for those which he hoped to receive in future4#gd ,illustration3 ,mancini ,coll41 ,citta di ,castello ,,madonna ,,and ,,saints ,the ,virgin stands heavily on the heads of cherubs1 with ,s4 ,sebastian on one side1 and ,santa ,cristina1 with a terribly realistic millstone hung round her neck1 on the other4 ,two angels hold the crown over her head1 and below stand ,s4 ,jerome and ,s4 ,nicholas of ,bari1 both intently reading4 ,the background stretches away into a charming distant landscape1 in which is a lake1 not unlike ,trasimeno1 and sloping hills1 on which scenes of pastoral life are taking place4 ,this landscape1 taken by itself1 is the best part of the painting2 of the rest1 the composition is too mechanically precise1 the values of distance are bad1 the figures being all on the same plane1 and even the landscape does not keep its proper place in the picture4 ,this last fault may1 however1 be due to repainting1 which is so thick that it is useless to speak of the present colour4 ,the altar-piece was discovered by ,signor ,giacomo ,mancini in a cellar in ,montone1 almost destroyed by damp and neglect1 and since its restoration it is perhaps hardly fair to discuss more than the general lines2 yet these1 in the awkwardness of arrangement1 and the comparative triviality of the figures1 both in attitude and gesture1 betray a weakness we have not hitherto met with4 ,another picture of the same date--#aeae--;is ,the ,madonna and ,saints1 in the church of ,san ,domenico1 ,cortona1 also in very bad condition4 ,the restoration of the seventeenth century added a piece of canvas all round1 in order to enlarge it4 ,it was painted for ,serninio1 ,bishop of ,cortona1 whose portrait is to be seen in the corner1 full of expression and exceedingly well modelled4 ,the ,virgin1 in red robe and green mantle1 sits with her feet resting on the heads of cherubs1 with an angel on either side1 and below ,s4 ,peter ,martyr1 and ,s4 ,domenico4 ,it is an important work1 and among the most successful of the later paintings1 and it is curious that it should not have been photographed by either of the larger firms4 ,the next year1 #aeaf1 ,signorelli painted ,the ,deposition1 of ,umbertide1 in which he shows all the technical power of his maturity--7or was it1 perhaps1 that he left less of the execution to assistants874 ,it was executed for the little dark church of ,santa ,croce1 in this village1 till recently called ,la ,fratta1 and still stands over the high altar--not1 however1 in its original frame1 which was removed in the seventeenth century4 ,it seems that there was a lunette over the top1 containing a ,pieta4#ge ,terribly defaced by bad restoration1 and the cracking of the later paint1 it is still a very beautiful work1 and its predella has all the qualities of boldness and freedom characteristic of the master's best times4 ,some of the figures are perhaps too obviously life-studies1 especially the ,mary1 standing in the foreground left1 which he evidently painted straight from some contadina1 whose stolid features he reproduced without reference to the subject4 ,the body of the ,christ is successful1 and has all the weight and helpless inertia of a corpse2 the composition is admirable1 and there is sincerity of emotion in the painting of much of the scene4 ,it is1 however1 in the three pictures of the predella that we shall find most proof of the vigour of mind and hand4 ,it is interesting to compare ,signorelli's treatment of the same subject with that of ,pier dei ,franceschi in ,arezzo1 at the painting of which he probably assisted1 more than forty years before--,the ,march of ,constantine1 ,the ,discovery of the ,cross1 and ,the ,entry of ,heraclius into ,jerusalem4 ,the first of the three is the best1 both for the special quality of animated movement1 and for the excellence of its composition and its effect of spacious movement4 ,how much larger a tiny panel like this appears than some of the crowded altar-pieces of his later years6 ,dashed in with a few broad touches1 as a modern impressionist might paint1 the scene of the camp is most natural1 with its groups of soldiers and marching troops with raised lances and fluttering pennons4 ,illustration3 ,santa ,croce1 ,umbertide ,,the ,,deposition ,in the second1 three scenes are run into one1 without much reference to any sequence of the story4 ,on the right the ,queen of ,sheba kneels before the bridge which she has recognised as the sacred wood2 on the left the ,empress ,helena finds the three crosses2 and in the centre takes place the testing of the true one in the resuscitation of the dead youth4 ,in the third--,the ,entry of ,heraclius into ,jerusalem--we have again a splendid effect of a moving body of men4 ,the ,emperor has descended from his horse1 which is led behind him1 and barefooted1 in his shirt1 he carries the ,cross within the gates4 ,the next dated work--,the ,madonna and ,saints1 of the ,arezzo ,gallery1 was painted three years after this1 in #aeai4 ,he executed1 says ,vasari1 in his old age1 a picture for the ,compagnia of ,s4 ,girolamo1 part of which was paid for by ,messer ,niccolo ,gamurrini1 ,doctor of ,law1 ,master of the ,rolls1 whom he portrayed from life in that picture1 on his knees before the ,madonna1 to whom he is presented by a ,s4 ,nicholas1 also in the said picture2 there are besides1 ,s4 ,donato and ,s4 ,stephen1 and below a nude ,s4 ,jerome1 and a ,david who sings on a ,psaltery2 there are also two ,prophets1 who appear1 by the scrolls in their hands1 to be discussing the ,conception4#gf ,illustration3 ,gallery1 ,arezzo ,,madonna1 ,,saints1 ,,and ,,prophets ,the commission was given to ,luca by the ,compagnia of ,s4 ,girolamo1 on ,september #ai1 #aeai1 and the price was to be one hundred broad gold florins1 to be shared by ,messer ,gamurrini and the ,confraternity4 ,in this picture it is in the intention rather than the execution that we shall find the vigour and strength which ended only with the painter's life4 ,much still remains grand and impressive1 but though it shows considerable power1 the actual work is not so good4 ,the colour is exceedingly dark1 and full of harsh contrasts2 the composition is overcrowded1 as in many of his later paintings2 and the figure of ,david1 although nobly conceived1 is awkward and ill-balanced4 ,on the other hand1 the ,virgin is as powerfully executed as ever1 and so is the earnest1 white-haired ,prophet at her feet4 ,it seems to me that the master has given his own features in this upturned face1 with its firmly-cut lips and square jaw1 certainly much more real a person than the apathetic kneeling ,donor4 ,after its removal from its original place over the altar of the ,confraternity1 the picture was for several years in ,santa ,croce1 and1 after the suppression of that convent in #ahdi1 removed to ,santo ,spirito1 and from thence to the ,gallery4 ,very close to it in style1 and probably painted at no distant date1 is the predella owned by ,mr ,ludwig ,mond4 ,it has three stories--,i4 ,ahasuerus and ,esther1 ,,ii4 and ,,iii4 7with no legendary connection of which ,i am aware7 ,scenes in the ,life of ,s4 ,augustine4 ,the first is the finest4 ,ahasuerus1 surrounded by his councillors1 bends forward1 and touches with his sceptre the head of the kneeling ,esther4 ,his figure is very like that of the ,david in the foregoing picture4 ,on the right is a fine back view of one of the characteristic swaggering soldiers in tight striped clothes4 ,the treatment is broad1 but the drawing in parts is somewhat careless4 ,in the other two scenes1 the composition is jerky and insignificant1 but the individual figures are characteristic1 especially the nude ecorche-like old saint4 ,they represent visions which appear in the air to ,s4 ,augustine1 who sits below under a loggia4 ,again1 very close to the ,arezzo altar-piece is ,the ,conception of the ,virgin1 painted for the church of the ,gesu1 ,cortona1 now in the ,cathedral4 ,the ,virgin stands1 on the usual cherub heads1 in red and blue robes1 while ,god the ,father bends over her1 and two angels scatter flowers through the air4 ,below are six prophets1 among them ,david1 with his ,psaltery1 and ,solomon1 in crown and royal robe4 ,under the ,virgin1 apparently supporting the cherubs1 is the ,tree of ,life1 with two very fine nude figures of ,adam and ,eve receiving the fruit from the serpent4 ,it is the lower part only we have to consider1 the whole of the upper painting1 with the weak1 badly-draped ,virgin and the theatrical angels being certainly the work of assistants1 as also1 it seems to me1 is the drapery of the half-kneeling ,prophet to the right4 ,the ,david is exactly the same figure as in the ,arezzo altar-piece1 to which1 besides1 there is a great resemblance in all the faces1 and in the hard coarse manner in which the draperies are treated4 ,the picture1 however1 lacks the rugged strength which makes the ,arezzo picture1 with all its shortcomings1 so impressive1 and only in the nude figures is the old power unimpaired4 ,these1 however1 are very good1 the ,adam especially being as fine a study of the human form as any of the earlier work4 ,at ,morra1 a little village not far from ,citta di ,castello1 in the church of ,san ,crescenziano1 are two very important frescoes1 a ,crucifixion and a ,flagellation1 evidently very late work of the master4 ,in the latter the composition is very little altered from the early picture of the ,brera4 ,christ is in the centre1 bound to the pillar1 and on the right stands the ,roman soldier4 ,the executioner near him is almost a repetition of the magnificent drawing in the ,louvre 7see reproduction71 except that the legs are wide apart4 ,all ,signorelli's energies have again gone into the figures of the executioners1 but1 fine as they are1 they are not treated with the same breadth as in the earlier picture1 albeit the painting is free almost to roughness4 ,the background1 instead of the carved wall1 now opens out of the court into a spacious landscape4 ,in the ,crucifixion1 the group at the foot of the ,cross is arranged much like those of the ,san ,sepolcro1 ,urbino1 and ,cortona pictures1 but it is half lost in the confusion of a crowd of mounted soldiers4 ,the impressive silence and solemnity of these earlier ,pietas is changed here to a scene of noisy turmoil1 and the painter's interest is obviously centred on the movement of this hustling crowd4 ,the horses are badly drawn and ill-balanced1 as in the ,louvre ,adoration1 and the ,magdalen is very coarsely painted4 ,the animation and action are well rendered1 but something of the grandeur of his earlier work is sacrificed4 ,this grandeur was1 however1 fully regained in the last work of the master1 painted in #aebc1 the very year of his death--,the ,coronation of the ,virgin1 in the ,collegiata of ,foiano1 a small town near ,sinalunga4 ,the ,virgin1 in red robes and greenish-blue mantle1 with fair hair1 kneels before ,christ1 who places the crown on her head4 ,on either side two angels play musical instruments1 and on the right and left stand ,s4 ,joseph and the ,archangel ,michael4 ,in the foreground kneels ,s4 ,martin1 to whom the altar-piece was dedicated1 in a magnificent gold cope1 having on his left ,s4 ,jerome with a grey loin-cloth4 ,farther back are three monks1 and behind ,s4 ,martin stands the ,magdalen1 while on the other side an old saint introduces the donor1 ,angelo ,massarelli4 ,the general tone of colour is not nearly so heavy as in the ,arezzo painting1 the reds are of a pale rose-colour1 and only the flesh-tints of ,s4 ,jerome are very dark4 ,this figure and the ,s4 ,martin are nobly and powerfully conceived4 ,the donor recalls the portrait of the ,gamurrini of ,arezzo4 ,the painting does not seem to be the unassisted work of ,signorelli1 the ,s4 ,michael being too insignificant a figure1 and the ,magdalen too weakly executed to be by his own hand4 ,the predella bears evidence that he had an assistant1 for1 of the four stories of ,s4 ,martin1 which they illustrate1 only two are by the master4 ,these two are very fine and bold1 in composition and brushwork4 ,in the first the ,saint1 clad in armour1 is seated on the characteristic white horse1 with a man-at-arms behind him1 and divides his cloak with the nude beggar4 ,the background is a broadly-painted landscape4 ,the other represents the ,saint kneeling before a ,bishop and two acolytes1 clothed in a green tabard1 a romantic and beautiful figure4 ,the two remaining divisions are larger in size1 and obviously the work of assistants1 one illustrating ,s4 ,martin exorcising a mad bull1 the other his funeral and the miraculous healing of the sick by the dead body4 ,it is satisfactory to have to conclude the list of works with one so strong1 and which combines so many of the qualities which we have learnt to look for in ,signorelli's painting4 ,rugged energy1 dignity1 decorative grace1 and even romantic beauty are all to be found in this altar-piece1 which is a fit ending to the life's work of the master4#gg ,,footnotes3 #gd ,transcribed in ,vischer1 p4 #cfj4 #ge ,cavalcaselle e ,crowe1 viii4 #dic4 #gf ,vasari1 iii4 #fib4 #gg ,these detailed studies do not include all the works of ,signorelli1 but a complete list of all that are known to the author is to be found in the catalogue at the end4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,drawings ,the study of ,signorelli's drawings is unsatisfactory1 both by reason of their scarcity1 and the enormous difference of merit1 even among those few which can be considered as genuine4 ,morelli writes3 ,his drawings are found in all the most important collections of ,europe1#gh but he mentions only thirteen1 and although many certainly in all the galleries bear his name1 and the impress of his influence1 later study appears to accept only six as by his own hand2 and of these six two are so much inferior to the rest that ,i cannot bring myself to feel any degree of certainty as to their genuineness4 ,this difficulty of acceptance arises from a comparison with the very high standard of excellence in the two magnificent studies of the nude in the ,louvre collection1 which correspond1 in breadth of feeling1 in grandeur of pose1 and in boldness and accuracy of touch1 to his best brushwork4 ,no4 #cde1 formerly in the ,baldinucci collection1 represents two nude male figures of superb proportions1 one standing with his hands on his hips1 the other1 in the characteristic attitude with wide-spread1 firmly-planted feet1 having his hand on the shoulder of the first4 ,it is in black chalk1 dashed in swiftly1 with bold sweeping strokes1 apparently direct from the life4 ,it is one of the finest studies of the nude in existence1 both for the splendid anatomy of the figures and the freedom and energy of touch4 ,no4 #cdc1 also from the ,baldinucci collection1 which is here reproduced1 is hardly inferior to it in the same qualities of boldness and freedom4 ,it seems to be the study from which ,signorelli painted the executioner in grisaille near the ,pieta1 in ,orvieto1 and later the scourging figure of the ,morra ,flagellation1 although in both there are slight differences of position4 ,the action is exceedingly fine1 the poise of the figure on the well-drawn feet being especially good1 while all the force of the strong body is thrown into the arms stretched high up over the head4 ,in ,dresden is a sheet of studies1 which1 while less fine than these two1 are yet very characteristic1 and undoubtedly genuine4 ,they are also in black chalk1 but very much rubbed1 and consequently rather indistinct ,they represent four nude figures in different postures1 which ,morelli considers to be studies for part of the ,orvieto frescoes1 although ,i have failed to discover there anything which corresponds to them4 ,illustration3 ,louvre1 ,paris ,,study ,,of ,,nude ,,figure ,in the ,uffizi ,gallery1 ,florence1 is another black chalk study of two men being chained by devils1 which1 again1 seems as though it must have been intended for some of the figures in the ,damnation1 but which ,i cannot find there4 ,this drawing is also very characteristic1 and although falling far below the merit of the ,louvre studies1 has all ,signorelli's qualities of dramatic energy and strength of touch4 ,the heavy1 coarse study for a ,death of ,lucretia1 also in the ,uffizi1 ,i find extremely hard1 in comparison with any of the foregoing1 to accept as an undoubted work of the master1 although ,i am not prepared to absolutely deny it4 ,there is a want of proportion in the figures1 and an indecision in the strokes1 hard to reconcile with all we know of his work4 ,in the collection at ,windsor is another chalk drawing--,hercules overcoming ,antaeus--of little merit either of anatomy or of technique1 but which may possibly be from his hand4 ,there is something of the influence of ,antonio ,pollaiuolo visible in this treatment of his favourite subject1 and it is just conceivable that it may be an early study by ,signorelli done in his workshop4 ,the list of all the drawings which are attributed to him in different collections would take too long for the slight purpose it would serve2 but for the benefit of those who desire to compare for themselves those which ,morelli and ,vischer decide to be genuine1 ,i have added a list of their attributions1 transcribed without addition or correction4 ,,drawings ,,mentioned ,,by ,,morelli ,,dresden 7,gallery74--,study of four nude figures4 ,,florence 7,uffizi74--,case #dei4 ,no4 #abdf4 ,,london 7,brit4 ,mus474--,three drawings1 in vol4 #cb4 ,,paris 7,louvre74--,nos4 #cdj1 #cda1 #cdb1 #cdc1 #cdd1 #cde1 #cdf4 ,,windsor 7,library74--,a drawing1 attributed to ,masaccio4 ,besides these1 a design for ,marcantonio's engraving of ,mars1 ,venus1 and ,cupid 7,bartsch1 #cde71 attributed to ,mantegna4 ,,drawings ,,from ,,vischer',s ,,list ,,of ,,signorelli',s ,,works ,,berlin 7,gallery74--,man's head with cap 7exposed in frame74 ,,chatsworth4--,four ,saints 7,waagen's attribution74 ,,dresden 7,gallery7 ,case ,i4 #aj4--;,head of a ,woman4 7,exposed in room ,,ii474--,battlefield 787 ,this so-called ,battlefield is the study of four nudes1 mentioned among the genuine drawings4--,author's ,note4 ,,florence 7,uffizi74--,figure of ,youth4 ,two ,damned bound by ,devils4 ,nude ,figure bearing ,corpse4 ,madonna and ,child 7doubtful74 ,death of ,lucretia 7874 ,bacchanal4 ,,paris 7,louvre7 #cdj4--;,four nude figures2 black chalk4 #cda4 ,two ,saints2 coloured chalk4 #cdb4 ,a ,saint2 coloured chalk4 #cdc4 ,nude figure scourging2 black chalk4 #cdd4 ,a ,saint2 black chalk4 #cde4 ,two nude figures4 #cdf4 ,pieta4 #cdg4 ,nude figure bearing corpse2 water-colour 7more finished repetition of the ,uffizi study74 ,,siena 7,collection of ,mr ,c4 ,fairfax ,murray74--,seated ,saints 7study for grisaille ,prophets in the nave of the church of ,loreto74 ,,windsor 7,collection of ,h4,m4 the ,queen74--,devil seizing man2 black chalk 7study for ,orvieto frescoes74 ,male figure in three positions2 ,indian ink 7attributed to ,raffael74 ,illustration3 ,academy1 ,florence ,,magdalen ,,at ,,the ,,foot ,,of ,,the ,,cross ,,footnotes3 #gh ,italian ,painters1 i4 #ic4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,pupils ,,and ,,general ,,influence ,it would not be possible1 in the space at my disposal1 to go with any thoroughness into the work of ,signorelli's imitators1 even of those who fell directly under his influence4 ,the painters who stand foremost among them1 ,don ,bartolommeo della ,gatta and ,girolamo ,genga1 are both too important to be dealt with in a short notice1 while it would be a thankless as well as an arduous task1 to try to distinguish the different painters of what is generically classed as school-work1 being1 as it nearly always is1 without either individuality or merit4 ,i shall do little more1 therefore1 than make a brief mention of the names and principal works of the known imitators1 and try instead to indicate the influence of ,signorelli's style upon painting in general4 ,morelli says much of his uncompromising guidance1 and of the degeneration of those who fell under his crushing influence4#gi ,something of the sort has been said of ,michelangelo1 and might be said of every strong man whose personality is powerful enough to stamp its mark on his contemporaries1 but since no one who is content to be merely a copyist could produce valuable work1 the world has probably lost little by the submission4 ,it is1 however1 true that1 as the powerful muscles of ,michelangelo's statues become meaningless lumps in the works of ,bandinelli and ,vasari1 so the mannerisms of ,signorelli1 which were the outward sign of his strong and energetic temperament1 lost all significance1 and were merely coarse exaggerations in the work of his imitators4 ,the swaggering attitude1 the freedom of gesture1 and the dramatic expression1 shorn of the strength and earnest emotion from which they sprang1 became disagreeably incongruous in the pictures of the feeble painters who imitated them4 ,but one1 at least1 of ,signorelli's disciples was neither slavish nor feeble4 ,bartolommeo della ,gatta1 otherwise ,piero di ,antonio ,dei1 the most important of those who came under his influence1 was a painter of great charm and ability4 ,if it be true1 as a recent criticism has pronounced1 that the beautiful ,madonna1 of the ,christ ,church collection1 ,oxford1 there attributed to ,pier dei ,franceschi1 is from his brush1#hj we have to deal with a man who started work under the same ennobling influence as ,signorelli himself4 ,be that as it may1 and as future research will decide1 the fresco of ,the ,death of ,moses1 in the ,sistine ,chapel1 which later study has presumed to be almost entirely his work1 proves him to be a painter of great beauty and importance4 ,signor ,gaetano ,milanesi has thrown doubt upon his existence as a painter of anything except miniatures1#ha but the happy discovery of a document1 referring to his altar-piece of ,s4 ,francis receiving the stigmata1 in the ,church of that ,saint in ,castiglione ,fiorentino1 has placed the fact beyond dispute4#hb ,the student who desires to know more of this painter is referred to the last ,italian edition of ,cavalcaselle e ,crowe1 vol4 viii41 and to the ,life by ,vasari1 whose reliability in this case the researches of the critics so well confirm4 ,born probably in #adjh1 he was already a man of mature age when ,signorelli himself was a child1 but his simple1 pliable nature fitted him to be a follower rather than a leader1 and we find him now influenced by ,pier dei ,franceschi1 now by ,signorelli1 and again later by ,fiorenzo di ,lorenzo4 ,if it be true that the really splendid painting of the ,sistine ,chapel is due to him entirely1 it is1 of course1 his masterpiece1 and reaches1 indeed1 a level not very inferior to that of ,signorelli himself4 ,his most important undisputed works are the above-mentioned painting in the church of ,s4 ,francesco1 ,castiglione ,fiorentino1 the altar-piece in the ,collegiata of the same town1 a ,s4 ,rock in the ,gallery1 and a fresco of ,s4 ,jerome1 in the ,bishop's ,palace1 ,arezzo1 etc4 ,another imitator of importance1 ,girolamo ,genga1 impressionable as his nature was1 yet has much individual excellence to distinguish him from the rest of ,signorelli's assistants4 ,born at ,urbino in #adgf1 he was placed1 at the age of fifteen1 in the studio of ,signorelli1 with whom1 according to ,vasari1 he remained for twenty years1 becoming one of the best pupils that he had4#hc ,after assisting the master in the painting of the ,cappella ,nuova1 ,orvieto1 ,genga 7always according to the same authority7 placed himself to study perspective with ,perugino1 at the time that ,raffaelle was also under the influence of that painter4 ,this1 as well as the fact that he was a native of ,urbino1 and had probably also felt the impression of ,timoteo ,viti1 would account for the enormous influence ,raffaelle's painting had upon his later work4 ,he seems to have had an extraordinary facility for changing his style2 for1 while under the influence of ,signorelli1 as in the ,petrucci ,palace frescoes 7,nos4 #cge and #cgf in the ,gallery of ,siena71 his work bears so much resemblance to that of the master1 that so observant a critic as ,morelli declared the composition of both to be most certainly by ,luca himself4#hd ,genga seems to have caught1 not the superficial forms only1 but also the spirit of ,signorelli in these frescoes1 for in one--,the ,flight of ,a,eneas from ,troy--there is an exaggeration of the characteristic energy and movement1 which1 almost hysterical though it be1 is yet successful and full of real life2 while in the swaggering strength of the nude figures in ,the ,rescue of ,prisoners there is something of ,luca's own dignity and impressiveness4 ,in his later work1 although he never departs from certain likenesses to his first master1 yet he gives himself up to the influence of ,raffaelle unreservedly1 as may be best seen in the ,cesena altar-piece1 now in the ,brera1 ,milan4 ,morelli writes of him3 ,this eclectic painter1 who1 though working in a baroque style1 is not without talent1 is confounded with the most diverse masters1 both in drawings and paintings2#he and the fact that besides the above-mentioned variations of style1 his work is also pardonably attributed to ,girolamo del ,pacchia#hf and to ,sodoma1#hg fully justifies the epithet and the assertion4 ,of the other and less important followers1 ,tommaso ,bernabei1 called ,papacello1 seems to have been first assistant of ,giulio ,romano1 and then of ,giambattista ,caporali1 with whom he is said to have painted the frescoes in the ,villa ,passerini1 near ,cortona4 ,his first original work is of the year #aebd--;a ,conception of the ,virgin1 in the church of ,santa ,maria del ,calcinaio1 near ,cortona1 in which the manner of ,signorelli is very apparent4 ,in the same church are two other paintings by him1 dated #aebg1 an ,adoration of the ,magi1 and an ,annunciation1 which are sufficient to indicate the small amount of artistic ability of the painter4 ,the date of his birth is unknown2 he died in #aeei4hh ,we have1 besides1 four members of ,signorelli's own family4 ,first1 his son ,polidoro1 whom we know to have been his assistant at ,orvieto2 for1 in a document of #aeja1 he is mentioned as having received certain payments there for salary1 as well as for materials for the work4#hi ,his manner of painting is unknown to us1 so that it is impossible to distinguish his share in the frescoes4 ,two other sons1 ,antonio and ,pier ,tommaso1 were1 it seems1 also assistants of their father1 the former being the painter of a dated altar-piece in the church of ,santa ,maria del ,calcinaio1 near ,cortona4#ij ,lastly1 his nephew ,francesco1 the most important of the assistants bearing his own name1 from whose hand there are several paintings very close to the master in style4 ,to him1 at least1 are attributed the standard of ,the ,baptism1 in the ,gallery of ,citta di ,castello1 and a ,tondo of a ,madonna and ,saints1 in the ,palazzo ,pubblico1 ,cortona4 ,there is one signed altar-piece by him1 ,the ,conception of the ,virgin1 in the choir of ,s4 ,francesco1 ,gubbio4 ,turpino ,zaccagna is another pupil1 of whom ,manni writes that he was a noble youth of ,cortona1 who took to painting1 and imitated ,signorelli's style4#ia ,of his work remains an altar-piece in the church of ,s4 ,agata di ,cantalena1 near ,cortona1 signed and dated #aecg4 ,with him the list of known pupils closes4 ,but more really important than either of these minor scholars is the unknown imitator who painted the beautiful ,magdalen1 of the ,florence ,academy4 ,executed on linen1 and evidently intended for a church standard1 this is the most successful of all the works in ,signorelli's manner1 which yet cannot be accepted as genuine4 ,the design of the principal figures in the foreground and middle distance ,i believe to be by ,signorelli himself1 and the intensity of emotion in the ,magdalen1 who has cast herself at the foot of the ,cross1 and the impressive grandeur of the three figures to the right1 have lost none of the original spirit of the master4 ,the colour is entirely different1 and would alone preclude the acceptance of the painting as ,signorelli's work1 but1 moreover1 the general effect has so little of his sweeping breadth1 and the details of the shadowy landscape are so poorly composed1 that it is probable even the whole of the drawing is not by him4 ,illustration3 ,gallery1 ,buda-,pesth ,,tiberius ,,gracchus ,an interesting picture in the ,gallery of ,buda-,pesth1 there attributed to ,luca himself1 connects the charming and mysterious ,griselda series 7,nos4 #iab1 #iac1 and #iad71 of the ,national ,gallery1#ib with some follower of ,signorelli1 for it is sufficient to glance at the background of this ,tiberius ,gracchus to be convinced that its painter is the same unknown master4 ,in the ,griselda pictures there is more evidence than here of the influence of ,pintorricchio1 to whom they are1 not unnaturally1 attributed2 while in the ,tiberius1 in the drapery of the figure1 and the type of the children who support the tablet1 especially1 there is much of the real spirit of ,signorelli1 as well as a good deal of his breadth and solidity of drawing4 ,the painter must1 for the present1 remain as an unknown ,umbrian1 almost equally influenced by ,pintorricchio and ,luca1 and with peculiar qualities of simple grace and romance1 which give his work an extremely individual character4 ,very different is the imitation of ,signorelli's mannerisms in such works as ,the ,nativity1 of the ,national ,gallery1 ,the ,madonna and ,saints1 of the ,gallery of ,citta di ,castello1 and ,the ,abbondanza1 of the ,uffizi4 ,in these the imitation is mechanical1 and without any comprehension of the master's spirit4 ,it would be useless to mention more of the school-work1 in which superficial excellences and defects are copied with equal zeal4 ,on the other hand1 the spiritual qualities which these mechanical imitators missed1 were felt intensely by men who never adopted his mannerisms1 and it is in the work of these that the real effect of ,signorelli's influence is to be found4 ,the frescoes of ,orvieto never became1 like ,masaccio's in the ,carmine1 a school to which the younger painters thronged1 purposely to learn the methods of the master1 but their impressive grandeur and solemnity1 and the breadth of brushwork and solid modelling by which these qualities were in a great measure obtained1 worked1 nevertheless1 a very important change in the ,art of the time1 and a wave of strong fresh blood was sent through its veins4 ,without them1 perhaps1 we should never have had the same appeal to the imagination and the nobler instincts in the ,sistine paintings1 although there is not in the whole of the work one single mannerism from ,signorelli's style4#ic ,but what is called the ,terribilita of the older master was entirely free from the sombre melancholy which strikes so gloomy a note in the work of ,michelangelo4 ,signorelli's greatest gift to us is his conception of humanity1 not only of its robust strength1 but of its mental vigour4 ,his figures are solemn1 but it is a solemnity untainted with sadness1 conscious only of the dignity of the human race1 its significance and responsibilities4 ,by his power over his materials1 won by hard study1 he added much to ,art1 and presented things1 not as conventional symbols1 but as they are actually reflected on the eye4 ,his people stand on solid ground by the help of firm muscle1 substantial realities that we feel could be touched and walked round4 ,his atmosphere gives the sense of real space and air4 ,his trees seem to have roots1 and their branches to be full of sap4 ,by this truth and power of presenting things as they are he was able to endow his paintings with his own conception of ,nature1 grander and wider than our own1 and to make us see mankind with his eyes1 built on broader1 stronger lines4 ,nothing trivial or insignificant enters into his perception of life4 ,he takes his place with ,mantegna1 with ,duerer1 and with ,cossa1 the austere painters1 who felt the dignity of life to lie in rugged strength1 iron resolution1 and unflinching self-reliance4 ,,footnotes3 #gi ,italian ,painters1 i4 #if4 #hj ,an attribution of ,mr ,b4 ,berensen4 #ha ,see ,commentary on the ,life of ,bart4 della ,gatta4 ,vasari1 iii4 #bbg4 #hb ,cavalcaselle e ,crowe4 ,transcript of the ,document1 viii4 #ecg4 #hc ,vasari1 vi4 #cae4 #hd ,italian ,painters1 i4 #id4 #he ,italian ,painters1 ii4 #bhe4 #hf ,madonna4 ,siena ,gallery1 ,no4 #cdj4 #hg ,portrait of ,man4 ,pitti ,gallery1 ,florence1 ,no4 #chb4 #hh ,see ,cavalcaselle e ,crowe1 viii4 #eba4 #hi ,vischer1 #ajb4 #ij ,vischer1 #cbj4 #ia ,inserted at the end of ,vischer's ,signorelli1 #chc4 #ib ,unfortunately recently hung so high that any just appreciation of their great merit and beauty is impossible4 #ic ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle maintain that ,raffaelle also studied carefully the works of ,signorelli4 ,see ,cavalcaselle e ,crowe1 viii4 #dbe1 and i4 #da1 etc4 etc4 ,,chronological ,,table ,,of ,,the ,,life ,,and ,,works ,,of ,,luca ,,signorelli ,the following table is compiled from that of ,cavalcaselle e ,crowe4 7,le ,monnier1 #ahih7 as being more complete than that in ,milanesi's ,vasari1 and more condensed than that of ,vischer4 ,dates1 however1 which are not supported by documentary evidence have been omitted4 #adda 7circa74 ,luca was born of ,egidio1 son of ,luca1 son of ,ventura ,signorelli4 #adgd4 7,november7 ,completed the fresco in the ,tower of the ,commune1 ,citta di ,castello1 with the ,virgin enthroned between ,,ss4 ,jerome and ,paul1 first spoiled by exposure1 and completely destroyed by the earthquake of #aghi4 #adgi4 7,sep4 #f7 ,elected to the ,consiglio dei ,,xviii41 ,cortona4 #adgi4 7,nov4 #bh7 ,elected to the ,conservatori degli ,ordinamente del ,comune4 #adhj4 ,elected to the ,priori for the months of ,march and ,april4 #adhj4 7,aug4 #bf7 ,elected to the ,consiglio ,generale4 #adha4 7,aug4 #be7 ,elected to the ,consiglio ,generale4 #adhd4 ,painted the altar-piece in the ,cathedral of ,perugia4 #adhd4 ,is sent to ,gubbio1 to negotiate with ,francesco di ,giorgio1 ,sienese architect1 for a design for the church of ,calcinaio1 near ,cortona4 #adhe4 7,jan4 #aj7 ,undertook the painting of a chapel in ,sant' ,agata1 ,spoleto2 a work which1 it seems1 was never executed4 #adhe4 7,feb4 #bb7 ,elected to the ,consiglio dei ,,xviii4 #adhe4 7,aug4 #bb7 ,elected to the ,consiglio ,generale4 #adhf4 ,elected to the ,priori for the months of ,january and ,february4 #adhh4 7,july #f7 ,for the great ability with which he painted the ,banner of the ,blessed ,virgin1 is made citizen of ,citta di ,castello1 as was his great desire4 #adhh4 ,reseated in the ,chief ,magistracy of ,cortona for the months of ,september and ,october4 #adhi4 ,elected to the ,consiglio ,generale4 #adij4 7,dec4 #be7 ,elected to the ,priori for the months of ,january and ,february4 #adij4 7,dec4 #bg7 ,his son ,antonio announces to the ,priori that ,luca cannot serve1 being absent from the city at a distance of over forty miles4 #adia4 7,jan4 #e7 ,is among those invited to judge the designs and models presented for the competition for the facade of ,santa ,maria del ,fiore1 ,florence4 ,did not assist4 #adia4 7,aug4 #bc7 ,elected to the ,consiglio ,generale4 #adia4 ,painted the altar-piece of the ,annunciation1 in the ,cathedral1 ,volterra4 #adia4 ,painted the altar-piece of ,san ,francesco1 ,volterra4 #adic4 ,painted the altar-piece of the ,adoration of the ,magi1 for the church of ,sant',agostino1 ,citta di ,castello4 #adic4 ,elected to the ,consiglio ,generale4 #adic4 7,sept4 #bd7 ,sold for #abb gold florins to ,domenico di ,tommaso della ,barba of ,cortona1 some acres of ground situated in the territory of ,montalla1 called ,la ,mucchia1 and the ,via di ,montalla1 and others in the territory of ,orsaia1 called the ,bocca del ,prato and the ,via da ,loghino4 #adid4 ,commission for the ,banner for the church of ,santo ,spirito1 ,urbino4 #adie4 ,elected to the ,priori for the months of ,november and ,december4 #adif4 ,painted the altar-piece of the ,nativity1 for the church of ,san ,francesco1 ,citta di ,castello4 #adig4 ,elected to the ,priori for the months of ,may and ,june4 #adig4 7,march #aj7 ,elected one of the ,revisori degli ,argenti4 #adig4 ,elected to the ,priori for the months of ,november and ,december4 #adig4 ,painted in the cloister of ,monte ,oliveto1 near ,chiusuri1 ,stories in the ,life of ,s4 ,benedict4 #adih4 ,painted the altar-piece for the chapel of the ,bicchi family in ,s4 ,agostino1 ,siena4 #adih4 7,feb4 #bb7 ,elected to the ,consiglio ,generale4 #adii4 7,april #e7 ,commission for the frescoes in the roof of the ,cappella ,nuova1 in the ,cathedral1 ,orvieto4 #aejj4 7,april #bg7 ,commission for the painting of the walls in the above-mentioned chapel4 #aejj4 7,feb4 #ba7 ,elected to the ,consiglio ,generale4 #aeja4 7,may #a7 ,becomes surety to a citizen who undertakes the office of ,priore of the ,commune4 #aeja4 ,certain payments are made to ,polidoro1 son of ,maestro ,luca1 for colours and plaster1 the removing of the scaffolding of the chapel1 and for a part of his salary4 #aeja4 7,june #e7 ,sold to ,ventura1 his brother1 the half of a house1 which belonged to him1 together with the said ,ventura1 situated in ,cortona1 in the quarter of ,san ,marco1 bounded by the ,hospital of ,san ,niccolo1 by ,pietro1 surnamed ,scrolla1 by ,jacopo di ,francesco1 and by the ,via del ,comune4 #aejb4 ,painted the ,deposition1 for the church of ,santa ,margherita1 ,cortona1 now in the ,cathedral4 #aejb4 ,payment made to ,maestro ,luca ,signorelli for the painting of the ,cappella ,nuova1 ,orvieto4 #aejb4 7,feb4 #ba7 ,elected to the ,consiglio ,generale4 #aejb4 7,june #bc7 ,elected to the ,priori for the months of ,july and ,august1 but cannot serve because his family is attacked by the plague4 #aejb4 7,july #bc7 ,presents to ,paolo di ,forzore and to his daughter ,francesca two acres of ground at ,rio di ,loreto1 belonging to him as heir of his son ,antonio1 who had received it as the dowry of his first wife ,nannina1 daughter of ,paolo4 #aejb4 ,elected to the ,priori for the months of ,november and ,december4 ,being absent1 his name was removed from the list4 #aejd4 7,feb4 #bc7 ,elected to the ,council of ,,xviii4 #aejd4 ,elected to the ,priori for the months of ,may and ,june4 #aejd4 ,painted the altar-piece of ,s4 ,mary ,magdalen for the ,cathedral of ,orvieto4 #aejd4 7,dec4 #e7 ,payment for the paintings of the ,cappella ,nuova4 #aeje4 7,feb4 #ba7 ,elected to the ,consiglio ,generale4 #aeje4 7,sept4 #a7 ,is surety for one of the ,priori4 #aejf4 ,is in ,siena1 and receives the commission for the cartoon of the ,judgment of ,solomon1 for the marble pavement of the ,cathedral4 #aejf4 7,oct4 #bg7 ,is surety for one of the ,priori4 #aejg4 7,feb4 #bj7 ,elected to the ,consiglio ,generale4 #aejg4 ,elected to the ,priori for the months of ,july and ,august4 #aejg4 7,dec4 #ag7 ,elected to the ,council of the ,casa di ,misericordia4 #aejg4 ,painted the altar-piece in the church of ,s4 ,medardo1 ,arcevia4 #aejh4 7,feb4 #bc7 ,elected to the ,consiglio dei ,,xviii4 #aejh4 ,elected to the ,priori for the months of ,july and ,august4 #aejh4 7,july #e7 ,is sent on an embassy to ,florence to demand permission to reform the offices and ordinances of the ,commune4 #aejh4 7,aug4 #be7 ,elected to the ,consiglio ,generale4 #aejh4 ,is in ,rome1 painting for ,julius ,,ii41 together with ,perugino1 ,pintorricchio1 and ,sodoma4 #aeji4 7,feb4 #ba7 ,elected one of the ,inspectors of ,santa ,margherita4 #aeji4 7,march #a7 ,becomes surety for a priest4 #aeji4 7,march #aa7 ,binds himself to paint1 for #gj gold florins1 a picture for the high altar of the ,convent ,church of ,santuccie1 ,cortona4 #aeji4 7,aug4 #be7 ,elected to the ,consiglio dei ,,xviii4 #aeji4 ,elected to the ,priori for the months of ,january and ,february4 #aeaj4 7,aug4 #ah7 ,appointed one of the ,inspectors of ,relics of the ,cathedral4 #aeaj4 ,payment for the ,cappella ,nuova1 ,orvieto4 #aeaa4 7,aug4 #bh7 ,elected to the ,consiglio ,generale4 #aeaa4 ,elected to the ,priori for the months of ,november and ,december4 #aeab4 ,painted ,the ,institution of the ,eucharist1 in the ,cathedral1 ,cortona4 #aeab4 7,sept4 #bg7 ,is sent as ambassador to ,florence1 together with ,messer ,silvio ,passerini1 ,messer ,gilio and ,jacopo ,vagnucci1 to congratulate the ,medici on their return to ,florence4 ,departed ,sept4 #bh and returned ,oct4 #ab4 #aeac4 ,is in ,rome1 and appears to have borrowed money from ,michelangelo4 #aead4 7,july #ah7 ,elected to the ,riformatori e ,imborsatori degli ,uffici4 #aead4 7,aug4 #be7 ,elected to the ,sindaco del ,capitano4 #aead4 7,march #ah7 ,makes a will1 annulling the donation made to his daughter ,gabriella1 to his son-in-law ,mariotto ,passerini1 and to his grandaughter ,bernardina1 and pronouncing as his sole heir his son ,pier ,tommaso1 and his grandson ,giulio1 son of the above4 #aeae4 7,feb4 #ah7 ,elected to the ,conservatori degli ,ordinamente4 #aeae4 ,painted the ,madonna1 now in the ,mancini collection1 ,citta di ,castello4 #aeae4 7,aug4 #be7 ,elected to the ,consiglio ,generale4 #aeae4 7,sept4 #bc7 ,is commissioned by the ,priori of ,cortona to paint1 for #af gold florins1 the arms of ,silvio ,passerini1 ,chancellor of ,leo ,x41 on the walls of the atrium of the ,palazzo ,pubblico4 #aeae-af4 ,painted the ,deposition1 in the church at ,la ,fratta 7now ,umbertide74 #aeaf4 7,feb4 #ba7 ,elected to the ,collegi4 #aeaf4 7,feb4 #bf7 ,luca1 from the rostrum1 speaks publicly in the ,council on a matter in deliberation4 #aeaf4 7,may #ba7 ,elected to the ,consiglio ,generale2 but is absent4 #aeaf4 ,elected to the ,priori for the months of ,november and ,december4 #aeag4 7,feb4 #bb7 ,among the ,stimatori del danno4 #aeag4 7,april #bc7 ,among the ,inspectors of the ,property of ,santa ,margherita4 #aeag4 7,july #bd7 ,is elected as ambassador to ,rome to present to ,cardinal ,passerini a gift from the ,commune4 #aeag4 7,aug4 #bf7 ,elected to the ,consiglio ,generale4 #aeag4 7,nov4 #i7 ,is excused from the above-mentioned embassy to ,rome4 #aeah4 ,elected to the ,collegi4 #aeah4 ,painted the altar-piece for the ,confraternity of ,san ,girolamo of ,arezzo4 #aebj4 7,feb4 #bc7 ,elected to the ,consiglio dei ,,xviii4 #aebj4 ,elected to the ,priori for the months of ,may and ,june4 #aebj4 7,june #g7 ,gave the design of a wooden candelabra with copper sconces for the altar of the ,great ,hall of ,council1 ,cortona4 #aebj4 7,aug4 #be7 ,elected to the ,consiglio dei ,,xviii4 #aeba4 7,april #bc7 ,elected ,prior of the ,confraternity of ,sant' ,antonio4 #aeba4 7,april #bg7 ,commissioned to paint a picture for the ,hospital of the ,misericordia1 ,cortona4 #aeba4 7,may #bb7 ,the ,priori writes to ,cardinal ,passerini1 legate to ,perugia1 that he should not send ,maestro ,pietro ,perugino or other painters to whom ,luca may have spoken1 to value the picture painted by ,luca in the ,church of ,santa ,maria del ,pieve4 #aeba4 7,july #g7 ,commission for the picture for the ,convent of ,s4 ,trinita in ,cortona4 #aeba4 7,aug4 #ae7 ,elected to take part in the ,commission to examine the new bridge over the ,chiana4 #aeba4 7,sept4 #f7 ,elected to the ,pacieri4 #aebb4 7,feb4 #ah7 ,elected to the ,collegi4 #aebb4 7,april #bc7 ,prior of the ,confraternity of ,san ,marco4 #aebb4 7,aug4 #be7 ,elected one of the ,conservatori degli ,ordinamente del ,comune1 and the ,provveditori de' luoghi pii4 #aebb4 ,elected to the ,priori for the months of ,january and ,february4 #aebc4 ,painted the altar-piece of the ,collegiata1 ,foiano4 #aebc4 7,feb4 #ba7 ,elected to the ,sindaci del ,capitano4 #aebc4 7,april #bd7 ,elected one of the ,inspectors of the ,chapel of ,santa ,margherita4 #aebc4 7,june #ad7 ,received payment for the picture of ,foiano4 #aebc4 7,june #bc7 ,the ,priori commission him to paint1 for the chapel of the great hall of the ,palazzo ,pubblico1 a picture with ,christ disputing in the ,temple1 for the price of #ce gold florins4 #aebc4 7,july #af7 ,elected one of the ,riformatori degli ,uffici4 #aebc4 7,oct4 #ac7 ,his last will4 ,desires to be buried in the church of ,s4 ,francesco1 in the tomb of his family4 #aebc4 7,oct4 #ae7 ,adds a codicil to his will with a few alterations of bequests4 #aebc4 ,died between the last days of ,november and the #ast ,december4 ,the #hth ,december another citizen is nominated to the ,inspectorship of the ,chapel of ,santa ,margherita1 as substitute for ,maestro ,luca1 being dead4 ,,catalogue ,,of ,,the ,,works ,,of ,,luca ,,signorelli ,,arranged ,,according ,,to ,,the ,,galleries ,,in ,,which ,,they ,,are ,,contained4 ,,catalogue ,,of ,,works4 ,,british ,,isles4 ,,dublin1 ,,gallery4 ,,feast ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,simon4#id ,this must be the panel mentioned by ,cavalcaselle as in the possession of ,capt4 ,stirling1 ,glentyan1 ,scotland 7874 ,,liverpool1 ,,royal ,,institution4 ,,madonna4 ,oil4 #a ft4 #i in4 x #a ft4 #d in4 ,no4 #bf4 ,,london1 ,,national ,,gallery4 ,,the ,,circumcision4 ,oil4 #h ft4 #f in4 x #e ft4 #aa in4 ,no4 #aabh4 ,originally in the church of ,s4 ,francesco1 ,volterra4 ,later in the ,duke of ,hamilton's ,collection1 near ,glasgow4 ,purchased in #ahhb4 ,inscribed3 ,,lvcas ,,cortonensis ,,pinxit4 ,,london1 ,,mr ,,benson',s ,,collection4 ,,madonna4 ,,two ,,parts ,,of ,,predella3 #a4 ,dispute on the way to ,emmaus4 #b4 ,christ at ,emmaus4 ,,london1 ,,lord ,,crawford',s ,,collection4 ,,two ,,parts ,,of ,,predella3 #a4 ,meeting of ,joachim and ,anna4 #b4 ,birth of the ,virgin4 ,,london1 ,,mr ,,ludwig ,,mond',s ,,collection4 ,,predella3 #a4 ,ahasuerus and ,esther4 #b and #c4 ,scenes in the ,life of ,s4 ,augustine4 ,,london1 ,,mr ,,muir ,,mackenzie',s ,,collection4 ,,madonna4 ,tondo4 ,,on ,,sale ,,in ,,london4 ,,annunciation4 ,part of ,predella formerly in the ,mancini ,collection1 ,citta di ,castello4 ,for sale since #ahih4 ,,richmond1 ,,collection ,,of ,,sir ,,francis ,,cook4 ,,two ,,fragments ,,of ,a ,,baptism4 ,,profile ,,portrait ,,of ,,man4 ,,scotland 7,,collection ,,of ,,sir ,,john ,,stirling ,,maxwell1 ,,pollock ,,house74 ,,pieta4 ,,france4 ,,paris1 ,,louvre4 ,,part ,,of ,,predella4 #aebe4 ,oil4 #a ft4 #a in4 x #b ft4 #d in4 ,from the ,collection of ,louis ,,xviii4 ,,adoration ,,of ,,the ,,magi4 ,oil4 #aj ft4 #aj in4 x #h ft4 #a in4 ,drawing only4 ,from the ,collection of ,napoleon ,,iii4 ,,seven ,,half-,,figures ,,in ,,various ,,costumes 7874 #aebg4 ,fragment4 ,bought from ,campana ,collection1 ,rome1 by ,napoleon ,,iii4 ,,germany4 ,,altenburg1 ,,saxony1 ,,museum4 ,,nine ,,fragments ,,of ,,polyptych4 ,oil4 ,from the ,collection of the late ,herr von ,lindenau4 ,four small panels with a ,saint in each1 and five parts of a ,predella3 #a4 ,christ on the ,mount of ,olives4 #b4 ,flagellation4 #c4 ,crucifixion4 #d4 ,deposition4 #e4 ,resurrection4 ,,berlin1 ,,gallery4 ,,two ,,wings ,,of ,,altar-,,piece4 #adih4 ,oil4 #d ft4 #h in4 x #b ft4 #e-a_/b in4 ,no4 #gi4 ,painted for the church of ,s4 ,agostino1 ,siena1 which was burnt down in #afee4 ,bought from the ,solly ,collection4 ,,pan ,,as ,,god ,,of ,,natural ,,life ,,and ,,master ,,of ,,music4 ,oil on canvas4 #f ft4 #e in4 x #h ft4 #f-a_/b in4 ,no4 #gi;,a4 ,probably painted for ,lorenzo dei ,medici4 ,discovered in #ahfe in the ,palazzo ,corsi1 ,florence4 ,bought by the ,berlin ,gallery #ahgc4 ,inscribed3 ,,lvca ,,cortonen4 ,,holy ,,family4 ,oil4 #aj in4 x #aj in4 ,tondo4 ,no4 #gi;,b4 ,from the ,patrizi ,collection1 ,rome4 ,bought #ahge4 ,inscribed3 ,,lvchas ,,signorellvs ,,de ,,cortona4 ,,portrait ,,of ,,man4 ,oil4 #a ft4 #g in4 x #a ft4 ,from the ,torrigiani ,collection1 ,florence4 ,,meiningen1 ,,ducal ,,palace4 ,,part ,,of ,,predella4 ,,munich1 ,,gallery4 ,,madonna ,,and ,,child4 ,oil4 ,tondo4 ,from the ,palazzo ,ginori1 ,florence4 ,,italy4 ,,arcevia1 ,s4 ,,medardo 7between ,fabriano and ,sinigalia74 ,,polyptych4 ,,madonna ,,and ,,saints4 #aejg4 ,oil4 #h ft4 #h in4 x #h ft4 #h in4 ,in the original ,gothic frame4 ,inscribed3 ,,lvcas ,,signorellvs ,,pingebat4 ,m4,d4,,vii4 ,,predella3 #a4 ,the ,annunciation4 #b4 ,the ,nativity4 #c4 ,the ,adoration of the ,magi4 #d4 ,the ,flight into ,egypt4 #e4 ,the ,murder of the ,innocents4 ,,arcevia1 ,s4 ,,medardo1 ,,cappella ,,del ,,sacramento4 ,,baptism4 #aejh4 ,oil4 #d ft4 #d in4 x #d ft4 #d in4 ,in the original ,gothic frame4 ,partly by assistants4 ,,predella3 #a4 ,the ,birth of the ,baptist4 #b4 ,the ,preaching in the ,desert4 #c4 ,the ,denouncing of ,herod and ,herodias4 #d4 ,the ,feast of ,herod4 #e4 ,the ,decapitation in ,prison4 ,,arezzo1 ,,gallery4 ,,madonna1 ,,saints1 ,,and ,,prophets4 #aeai4 ,oil4 #aa ft4 #g-a_/b in4 x #g ft4 #i in4 ,no4 #ca4 ,painted for the ,campagnia of ,san ,girolamo4 ,for many years in ,s4 ,croce2 on the suppression of that convent in #ahdi removed to ,s4 ,spirito2 from thence to the ,gallery4 ,,arezzo1 ,,duomo1 ,,sacristy4 ,,three ,,parts ,,of ,,predella4 ,oil4 #a4 ,birth of the ,virgin4 #b4 ,presentation4 #c4 ,marriage of the ,virgin4 ,,bergamo1 ,,morelli ,,collection4 ,s4 ,,rock4 ,oil4 ,no4 #ai4 ,,madonna4 ,oil4 ,no4 #bj4 ,s4 ,,sebastian4 ,no4 #bd4 ,,borgo ,,san ,,sepolcro1 ,,municipio4 ,,church ,,standard4 ,oil on canvas4 #f ft4 #d in4 x #d ft4 #f in4 ,on one side a ,crucifixion2 on the other1 ,,ss4 ,antonio and ,eligio4 ,from the ,confraternity of ,s4 ,antonio ,abbate4 ,,castiglione ,,fiorentino ,,collegiata1 ,,cappella ,,del ,,sacramento4 ,,deposition4 ,fresco4 #h ft4 #aj in4 x #h ft4 #aj in4 ,,citta ,,di ,,castello1 ,,gallery4 ,,martyrdom ,,of ,s4 ,,sebastian4 #adif4 ,oil1 #i ft4 #d in4 x #e ft4 #i-a_/b in4 ,no4 #ai4 ,from the church of ,s4 ,domenico4 ,,citta ,,di ,,castello1 ,,palazzo ,,mancini4 ,,madonna ,,and ,,saints4 #aeae4 ,oil4 ,painted for the church of ,s4 ,francesco in ,montone1 near ,umbertide4 ,discovered in a cellar in ,montone4 ,inscribed3 ,,egregivm ,,qvod ,,cernis ,,opvs ,,magister ,,aloysius ,,ex ,,gallia1 ,,et ,,tomasina ,,ejvs ,,vxor ,,ex ,,devotione ,,svis ,,svmptibvs ,,poni ,,cvravervnt4 ,,lvca ,,signorello ,,de ,,cortona ,,pictore ,,insigni ,,formas ,,indvcente4 ,,anno ,d4 ,,mdxv4 ,,cortona1 ,,duomo4 ,,deposition4 #aejb4 ,oil4 #h ft4 #aj in4 x #h ft #aj in4 ,from the church of ,santa ,margherita4 ,inscribed 7under frame73 ,,lvcas ,,aegidi ,,signorelli4 ,,cortonensis4 ,,mdii4 ,,predella ,,to ,,the ,,above3 #a4 ,christ in ,gethsemane4 #b4 ,the ,last ,supper4 #c4 ,the ,betrayal4 #d4 ,the ,flagellation4 ,,the ,,institution ,,of ,,the ,,eucharist4 #aeab4 ,oil4 #h ft4 #b in4 x #h ft4 #b in4 ,from the high altar of the ,gesu4 ,inscribed3 ,,lvcas ,,signorellivs ,,corthoniensis ,,pingebat4 ,,mdxii4 ,,conception ,,of ,,the ,,virgin4 ,oil4 ,the upper part the work of assistants4 ,,cortona1 ,s4 ,,domenico 7#crd altar1 ,r474 ,,madonna ,,and ,,saints4 #aeae4 ,oil4 ,painted for the ,bishop of ,cortona4 ,inscribed3 ,,io ,,serninivs ,e,p,s ,,cortone,n,s ,,iconam ,,et ,,ornatum ,p4 ,p4 ,,facieri ,a4,d4 ,,ci,c,i,c,,xv4 ,,haeredes ,,vero ,d4 ,,astrvbalis ,,ejvs ,,ex ,f,v,e ,,ab ,,nepotis ,p4 ,s4 ,,instavran4 ,,cvravervnt4 ,a4,d4 ,,ci,c4 ,i,c4 ,,cxix4 ,,cortona1 ,,gesu4 ,,madonna ,,and ,,saints4 ,,cortona1 ,s4 ,,niccolo4 ,,dead ,,christ ,,upheld ,,by ,,angels4 ,oil4 #e ft4 -#a_/b in4 x #e ft4 #h-a_/b in4 ,on the ,reverse-- ,,madonna ,,enthroned ,,between ,,ss4 ,,peter ,,and ,,paul4 ,,cortona1 ,s4 ,,niccolo 7on the wall1 l4 of entrance74 ,,madonna ,,and ,,saints4 ,fresco4 #i ft4 #d in4 x #i ft4 #h in4 ,discovered in #ahdg by ,don ,agramante ,lorini4 ,,florence1 ,,academy4 ,,crucifixion4 ,oil1 on canvas4 ,no4 #f4 7,part of the design only47 ,,madonna ,,and ,,saints4 ,oil4 ,no4 #ed4 ,from the church of ,s4 ,trinita1 ,cortona4 ,,predella4 ,no4 #ed4 #a4 ,the ,last ,supper4 #b4 ,christ in ,gethsemane4 #c4 ,the ,flagellation4 ,,florence1 ,,corsini ,,gallery4 ,,madonna ,,and ,,saints4 ,tondo4 ,,florence1 ,,pitti4 ,,holy ,,family4 ,oil4 #b ft4 #aa in4 x #b ft #aa in4 ,tondo4 ,no4 #cee4 ,,florence1 ,,uffizi4 ,,madonna ,,and ,,child 7#ast ,corridor74 ,no4 #gd4 ,probably painted for ,lorenzo dei ,medici4 ,later in the ,villa of ,duke ,cosimo at ,castello4 ,removed to the ,gallery #aggi4 ,,holy ,,family4 ,tondo4 ,no4 #abia4 ,originally in the ,audienza dei ,capitani1 later in the ,stanza del ,provveditore4 ,,predella4 ,no4 #abih4 #a4 ,the ,annunciation4 #b4 ,the ,nativity4 #c4 ,the ,adoration of the ,magi4 ,from the church of ,santa ,lucia1 ,montepulciano4 ,,foiano 7near ,sinalunga71 ,,collegiata4 ,,coronation ,,of ,,the ,,virgin4 #aebc4 ,oil4 #f ft4 #aa in4 x #e ft4 #g in4 ,,predella4 7,two scenes only by ,signorelli47 ,,loreto1 ,,church ,,of ,,the ,,santa ,,casa4 ,,frescoes4 ,probably finished before #adhd4 7,left ,sacristy7 ,della ,cura4 7,in the cupola7 ,angels1 ,evangelists1 and ,fathers of the ,church4 7,walls7 ,apostles1 ,incredulity of ,s4 ,thomas4 7,over door7 ,conversion of ,saul4 7,nave7 ,medallions in grisaille of ,prophets and ,fathers of the ,church4 ,,milan1 ,,brera4 ,,madonna ,,and ,,saints4 #aejh4 ,oil4 #h ft4 #b in4 x #f ft4 #b-a_/b in4 ,no4 #aig;bis4 ,from the church of ,s4 ,francesco1 ,arcevia4 ,first brought to the ,gallery #ahaa4 ,in #ahae removed to the church at ,figino1 near ,milan4 ,replaced in the ,gallery #ahib4 ,inscribed3 ,,lvcas ,,signorelli ,p4 ,,cortona 7on the back of the throne71 ,,iacobi ,,simonis ,,philippinis ,,aere ,,deo ,,et ,,divae ,,mariae ,,dicatvm ,,fr3 ,,bernardino ,,vignato ,,gvardiano ,,procvrante4 ,,mdviii4 ,,the ,,flagellation4 ,no4 #bfb4 ,probably one panel originally4 ,,madonna ,,and ,,child4 ,no4 #bha4 #b ft4 #h-a_/b in4 x #b ft4 ,from the church of ,santa ,maria del ,mercato1 ,fabriano4 ,the ,flagellation inscribed3 ,,opvs ,,lvce ,,cortonensis4 ,,monte ,,oliveto 7near ,asciano71 ,,cloisters4 ,,frescoes4 #adig4 ,eight scenes from the life of ,s4 ,benedict4 ,,morra 7near ,citta di ,castello71 ,s4 ,,crescenziano4 ,,crucifixion4 ,fresco4 ,,flagellation4 ,fresco4 ,,orvieto1 ,,cathedral1 ,,chapel ,,of ,,the ,,madonna ,,di ,s4 ,,brizio1 ,,formerly ,,cappella ,,nuova4 ,,frescoes4 #adii-aejd4 7,six compartments in ,vaulting73 #a4 ,apostles2 #b4 ,signs of the ,passion2 #c4 ,martyrs 7design of ,fra ,angelico72 #d4 ,virgins2 #e4 ,patriarchs2 #f4 ,fathers of the ,church4 7,four large frescoes73 #a4 ,antichrist2 #b4 ,crowning of the ,elect2 #c4 ,damnation2 #d4 ,resurrection4 7,window ,wall73 ,r4 ,hell2 ,l4 ,heaven4 7,round the ,portal73 ,signs of ,destruction4 7,lower ,walls73 ,pieta2 ,portraits of ,poets2 ,medallions in grisaille4 ,,orvieto1 ,,opera ,,del ,,duomo4 ,s4 ,,maria ,,maddalena4 #aejd4 ,oil4 #e ft4 #aa in4 x #c ft4 #aa in4 ,originally painted for the ,cathedral4 ,inscribed on the upper part of the frame3 ,,ceccarellevs4 ,,de4 ,,apvidvtis--,,et ,,rvfinvs ,,antonii4-- ,on the lower3 ,,conservat4 ,,pa4 ,,pacis4 ,,conservatrici4 ,,ex4 ,,se ,,consvlto4 ,m4,d4,,iiii4 ,,portraits ,,of ,,signorelli ,,and ,,niccolo ,,franceschi4 ,no4 #aejd4 ,tempera on brick4 #a ft4 x #a ft4 #c-a_/b in4 ,inscribed on the draperies3 ,,lvca and ,,nicolavs4 ,on the back1 probably by ,signorelli at the request of ,niccolo ,franceschi1 the ,treasurer of the ,works3 ,,lvcas ,,signorellvs4 ,,natione ,,ytalys4 ,,patria ,,corton,e,,sis4 ,,arte ,,pictvre ,,eximivs4 ,,merito ,,apelli ,,conpar,a,,dvs4 ,,svb ,,regimine ,,et ,,stipendio ,,nicolai ,,fr,a,,ch4 ,,eivsd,e ,,nationis ,,patrie ,,vrbevetane4 ,,camerarii ,,fabrice4 ,,hvivs ,,basylice ,,sacell,v ,,hoc ,,virgini ,,dicat,v ,,ivdicii ,,finalis ,,ordine ,,figvrad,v ,,pspicve ,,pinsit ,,cvpidvsq ,i,,mortalitatis ,,vtrivsq ,,effigi,e ,,atfrgo ,,litterar,v ,,har,v ,,natvraliter ,,mira ,,eff,i,,sit ,,arte4 ,,alexandro 4 ,,vi 4 ,,pon 4 ,,max 4 ,,sedente 4 ,,et ,,maximiano4 ,,iiii 4 ,,inperiante ,a,n,o ,,salvtis ,,mccccc4 ,,te,r,,io ,,kalendas ,,janvarias4 ,,perugia1 ,,duomo1 ,,winter ,,chapel4 ,,madonna ,,and ,,saints4 #adhd4 ,oil4 #f ft4 #h in4 x #f ft4 #a-a_/b in4 ,inscribed 7hidden by the frame73 ,,jacobvs ,,vannvtivs ,,nobilis ,,cortonensis ,,olim ,,episcopvs ,,pervsinvs ,,hoc ,,deo ,,max4 ,,et ,,divo ,,honophrio ,,sacellvm ,,dedicavit3 ,,cvi ,,in ,,archiepiscopvm ,,nicaenvm ,,assvmpto ,,nepos ,,dionisivs ,,svccessit1 ,,et ,,qvanta ,,vides ,,impensa ,,ornavit ,,aeqva ,,pietas4 ,m4 ,,cccc4 ,,lxxxiv4 ,,rome1 ,,rospigliosi ,,collection4 ,,holy ,,family4 ,oil4 #b ft4 #h in4 x #b ft4 ,sala ,,ii41 ,no4 #c4 ,,umbertide1 ,,santa ,,croce4 ,,deposition4 ,oil4 #f ft4 #f in4 x #d ft4 #aj in4 ,,predella3 #a4 ,march of ,constantine4 #b4 ,discovery of the ,cross4 #c4 ,entry of ,heraclius into ,jerusalem4 ,,urbino1 ,,santa ,,spirito4 ,,church ,,standard4 7,now divided47 ,oil on canvas4 #e ft4 x #c ft4 7,on one side1 ,,crucifixion2 on the other1 ,,descent ,,of ,,the ,,holy ,,ghost ,,at ,,pentecost47 ,,volterra1 ,,duomo1 ,,sacristy4 ,,annunciation4 #adia4 ,oil4 ,inscribed3 ,,lvcas ,,cortonen ,,pinxit ,,mxdi4 ,a later inscription records its restoration in #agca4 ,,volterra1 ,,municipio4 ,,madonna ,,and ,,saints4 #adia4 ,oil4 ,from the church of ,s4 ,francesco4 ,inscribed3 ,,maria4 ,,vergini4 ,,petrvs4 ,,belladomna4 ,,hvjvs4 ,,religionis ,,professor ,,pos4 ,,lvcas ,,cortone,n ,,pinxit4 ,m ,,cccc ,,lxxxxi4 ,,volterra 7first landing of stairs71 ,,municipio4 ,s4 ,,girolamo4 ,fresco4 ,,united ,,states ,,of ,,america4 ,,new ,,haven4 ,,collection ,,of ,,mr ,,jarvis4 ,,part ,,of ,,predella4 ,,adoration ,,of ,,the ,,magi4 ,oil4 ,,footnotes3 #id ,the paintings1 except when otherwise indicated1 are on wood4 ,,index ,adoration of the ,magi1 ,the 7,louvre71 #cg2 7,arcevia71 #ic2 7,new ,haven71 #ie ,agony in the ,garden1 ,the1 #hh ,ahasuerus and ,esther1 #ajc ,annunciation1 ,the 7,volterra71 #g1 #di1 #ej2 7,uffizi71 #ej2 7formerly ,mancini collection71 #ea2 7,arcevia71 #ic1 #id ,arcevia1 ,altar-piece at1 #aa1 #ib ,baptism1 ,the 7,arcevia71 #ic ,berensen1 ,b41 #f1 #aab ,bernabei1 ,tommaso1 #aae ,betrayal1 ,the 7,florence71 #bc1 #hh2 7,cortona71 #bc1 #hh ,bicchi ,family1 ,altar-piece for1 #h1 #ei ,birth of the ,baptist1 ,the 7,arcevia71 #ie ,birth of the ,virgin1 ,the 7,arezzo71 #if ,bode1 ,dr1 #dc ,botticelli1 #f2 his ,calumny1 #ai2 passion for swift movement1 #bc ,bramante1 #aa ,caporali1 ,giambattista1 #aa ,castagno1 ,andrea di1 #ai2 influence of on ,signorelli1 #ba ,christ in ,gethsemane1 #hh ,circumcision1 ,the1 #ch1 #ci1 #dg ,citta di ,castello1 ,frescoes at1 #d1 #e1 #ec2 citizenship of presented to ,signorelli1 #g ,conception of the ,virgin1 ,the1 #ajc ,conversion of ,saul1 ,the1 #bd1 #cj1 #cf ,coronation of the ,virgin1 ,the1 #aje ,cortona1 ,signorelli born at1 #b2 municipal appointments at1 #e1 #f1 #h1 #aj2 the ,deposition in the ,cathedral of1 #aj1 #hg ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 #f1 #ba1 #cg1 #ci1 #hc1 #aac1 #aah ,crowning of the ,elect1 ,the1 #bd1 #bi1 #db1 #gc ,crucifixion1 ,the 7,urbino71 #eb2 7,borgo ,san ,sepolcro71 #fa1 #hh2 7,morra71 #fa1 #ajd ,damnation1 ,the1 #h1 #bb1 #gf ,dante1 ,portraits of1 by ,signorelli1 at ,orvieto1 #ga1 #gd2 scenes from the ,divina ,commedia1 #gd1 #ge ,dead ,christ supported by ,angels1 #bf1 #ia ,death of ,lucretia1 ,study for a1 #aji ,death of ,moses1 ,the1 #f1 #aab ,decapitation in ,prison1 ,the1 #ie ,denouncing of ,herod and ,herodias1 #ie ,deposition1 ,the 7,cortona71 #aj1 #hg2 7,umbertide71 #ad1 #bb1 #ajj ,descent of the ,holy ,ghost1 ,the1 #eb1 #ec ,discovery of the ,cross1 ,the1 #aja ,dispute by the ,way1 ,the1 #ea ,donatello1 his influence on ,signorelli1 #c1 #ai2 mastery of combined movement1 #bc ,entry of ,heraclius into ,jerusalem1 ,the1 #aja ,feast of ,herod1 ,the1 #ie ,feast in the ,house of ,simon1 ,the1 #eb ,flagellation1 ,the 7,brera71 #a1 #c1 #bb1 #bd1 #be1 #bf1 #bg1 #cb2 7,cortona71 #hh2 7,florence71 #hh2 7,morra71 #bg1 #ajd ,flight into ,egypt1 ,the1 #ic ,foiano1 ,altar-piece at1 #af1 #aje ,foligno1 ,niccolo da1 #ie ,forli1 ,melozzo da1 #c ,fra ,angelico1 frescoes at ,orvieto1 #h1 #fd1 #fe1 #fi ,franceschi1 ,pier dei1 ,signorelli the pupil of1 #b1 #c1 #aa1 #ag1 #ej2 and ,signorelli compared1 #ag1 #ah2 his ,death of ,adam1 #cb2 his ,resurrection1 #fa2 his ,baptism1 #id ,francesco1 ,niccolo1 ,portrait of1 by ,signorelli1 #i1 #hc1 #he ,gatta1 ,bartolommeo della1 #f1 #ce2 an imitator of ,signorelli1 #aaa1 #aab1 #aac ,genga1 ,girolamo1 #i2 an imitator of ,signorelli1 #aaa1 #aac ,gozzoli1 ,benozzo1 #h1 #ff1 #fi ,guidobaldo1 of ,urbino1 #i ,hercules overcoming ,antaeus 7chalk drawing71 #aji ,holy ,family 7,rospigliosi ,collection71 #bg1 #cj1 #df2 7,pitti71 #ch1 #de2 7,uffizi71 #bf1 #dg ,homer1 ,scenes from1 at ,orvieto1 #gb ,institution of the ,eucharist1 ,the1 #ie ,journey of ,moses and ,zipporah1 ,the1 fresco by ,pintorricchio1 #f ,last ,judgment1 ,the1 #h1 #bb1 #gf ,last ,supper1 ,the 7,cortona71 #hh2 7,florence71 #hh ,lazzaro de' ,taldi1 ,signorelli's uncle1 #b ,lorenzo1 ,fiorenzo di1 ,reminiscences of1 in ,signorelli's work1 #ba ,loreto1 ,frescoes at1 #e1 #bd1 #bi1 #cd ,lucan1 ,scenes from1 at ,orvieto1 #ha1 #hb ,luzi1 ,ludovico1 il ,duomo di ,orvieto1 #fi1 #gb1 #gd1 #gh1 #ha1 #hc ,madonna and ,saints 7,brera71 #a1 #bi1 #cb1 #ii2 7,volterra71 #g1 #bi1 #ce1 #di2 7,arezzo71 #ad2 7,uffizi71 #bh1 #cg1 #da1 #dc2 7,munich71 #bh1 #da1 #dd2 7,florence ,academy71 #bi1 #ce1 #hi2 7,corsini ,gallery71 #df2 7,citta di ,castello71 #bd1 #ih2 7,s4 ,niccolo1 ,cortona71 #ia1 #ib2 7,s4 ,domenico1 ,cortona71 #ajj ,magdalen1 ,the1 altar-piece 7,orvieto71 #he1 #hh ,mancini1 ,giacomo1 #e1 #ii ,mancini1 ,girolamo1 #e ,march of ,constantine1 ,the1 #aja ,marriage of the ,virgin1 ,the1 #if ,medici1 ,giovanni dei 7,pope ,leo ,x471 #ab ,medici1 ,lorenzo dei1 #d2 friendship with ,signorelli1 #ab1 #da1 #dc ,michelangelo1 ,story of his dealings with ,signorelli1 #ac ,milanesi1 ,signor1 #hi1 #aab ,missaghi1 ,guiseppe1 #cg ,monte ,oliveto1 ,frescoes in the ,benedictine ,cloister at1 #g1 #bb1 #ed1 #fc ,morelli1 on the frescoes in the ,sistine ,chapel1 #f2 on ,signorelli1 #cj1 #fa1 #fc2 on his drawing1 #ajg1 #aji2 on his influence1 #aaa2 on ,girolamo ,genga1 #aad ,murder of the ,innocents1 ,the1 #ic ,nativity1 ,the 7,arcevia71 #ic2 7,cortona71 #if ,nude1 ,early treatment of the1 #cb ,orvieto1 ,frescoes in the ,cathedral of1 #h1 #i1 #bi1 #db1 #eh1 #fc et seq4 ,ovid1 ,scenes from1 at ,orvieto1 #gh ,pan1 #bh1 #da1 #db ,parens1 ,pietro1 #hj1 #ha ,perugia1 ,altar-piece in the ,cathedral of1 #g1 #bh1 #ch ,perugino1 #f1 #h1 #aa1 #bj1 #ff2 his influence on ,signorelli1 #bj1 #cg1 #gb ,pieta 7,orvieto71 #hj ,pintorricchio1 #f1 #aa2 frescoes in the ,sistine ,chapel by1 #f2 asserted influence of1 on ,signorelli1 #ba ,pollaiuolo1 ,antonio1 his influence on ,signorelli1 #c1 #d1 #ah1 #bb1 #cg1 #db1 #ej1 #fb1 #id1 #aji2 his ,s4 ,sebastian1 #ah2 his ,battle of the ,nudes1 #ah1 #bb1 #cb2 ,hercules1 #ah1 #cb ,portrait of a ,man 7,berlin71 #de ,preaching and ,fall of ,antichrist1 ,the1 #gj ,preaching in the ,desert1 ,the1 #ie ,presentation1 ,the1 #if ,quercia1 ,jacopo della1 #fj ,raffaelle1 #aa1 #ab1 #aad ,rain of ,fire1 ,the1 #hb ,resurrection1 ,the1 #gi ,rome1 ,frescoes in the ,sistine ,chapel1 #f2 decoration of the ,vatican chambers1 #aa ,rosselli1 ,cosimo1 #f ,rumohr1 on ,signorelli1 #ba ,s4 ,augustine1 ,scenes from the ,life of1 #ajc ,s4 ,benedict1 ,scenes from the ,life of1 #ed ,s4 ,jerome1 #g1 #di ,s4 ,martin1 ,scenes from the ,life of1 #ajf ,s4 ,sebastian1 ,the ,martyrdom of1 #ec ,scalza1 ,ippolito1 #hj1 #hb ,signorelli1 ,antonio1 #aj1 #aae ,signorelli1 ,francesco1 #aae ,signorelli1 ,luca1 little known of his life1 #a2 ,vasari on1 #a2 birth1 #b2 studied painting under ,pier dei ,franceschi1 #b2 influence of ,antonio ,pollaiuolo and ,donatello1 #c1 #d2 gap in his biography1 #d2 early frescoes1 #e2 municipal appointments at ,cortona1 #e1 #f1 #h1 #aj1 #af2 his social status1 #e2 supposed visit to ,rome1 #f2 frescoes in the ,sistine ,chapel ascribed to1 #f2 painted the altar-piece in ,perugia ,cathedral1 #g2 received the honour of citizenship from ,citta di ,castello1 #g2 pictures at ,volterra1 #g2 frescoes in the cloister at ,monte ,oliveto1 #g2 altar-piece at ,siena1 #h2 frescoes in the ,cathedral of ,orvieto1 #h1 #i2 portraits of himself1 #h1 #i1 #ga1 #he2 the ,deposition at ,cortona1 #aj2 death of his son ,antonio1 #aj2 and of ,polidoro1 #aj2 pictures at ,arcevia1 #aa2 decoration of the ,vatican chambers1 #aa2 disappointments at ,rome1 #ab2 alleged transaction with ,michelangelo1 #ac2 visit to ,arezzo1 #ad1 #ae2 death1 #ae2 ,vasari's character of1 #af2 artists who influenced1 #ag1 #bj2 origin of the swaggering posture so characteristic of his paintings1 #ai1 #bj2 use of gold and gesso1 #ba1 #bi2 his great achievement1 the rendering of combined action1 #bb2 his defects1 #bd1 #be2 his colour1 #be2 his line and modelling1 #bf2 an unequal illustrator1 #bf1 #bg2 his painting of children1 #bg2 realism1 #bh2 repetitions1 #bi2 chief qualities of his work1 #bi2 earliest works1 #cb2 frescoes at ,loreto1 #cd2 altar-piece at ,perugia1 #ch2 qualities of his ,tondos1 #dg2 works at ,volterra1 #di2 frescoes at ,monte ,oliveto1 #ed2 the ,orvieto frescoes1 #fc1 #hf2 later works1 #hg2 altar-piece at ,arcevia1 #ib2 last works1 #ih1 #ajf2 drawings1 #ajg1 #aaj2 his imitators and influence1 #aaa1 #aai ,signorelli1 ,pier ,tommaso1 #ae1 #aae ,signorelli1 ,polidoro1 #i1 #aae2 his death1 #aj ,signs of the ,destruction of the ,world1 #hb ,sodoma1 #h1 #aa1 #dj1 #ei ,standards painted by ,signorelli1 #g1 #eb1 #fa ,supper at ,emmaus1 ,the1 #ea ,uccello1 ,paolo1 #ah ,van der ,goes1 ,hugo1 #ci ,vasari1 on ,signorelli1 #a1 #c1 #aa1 #ac1 #ad1 #ae1 #af1 #ce1 #ch1 #dj1 #ed1 #ei1 #fj1 #fd1 #hg1 #ie1 #if1 #ajb1 #aac ,verrocchio1 ,reminiscences of1 in ,signorelli's work1 #ba1 #cf ,vischer1 on the frescoes in the ,sistine ,chapel1 #f2 on ,signorelli1 #ba1 #ce1 #cf1 #ci1 #ib2 list of ,signorelli's drawings1 #aaj ,visitation1 ,the1 #fj ,way to ,calvary1 ,the1 #hh ,zaccagna1 ,turpino1 #aaf ,w4 ,h4 ,,white ,,and ,,co4 ,,ltd41 ,,riverside ,,press1 ,,edinburgh ,,notice ,photographs of most of the works mentioned in this volume are to be obtained in various sizes from ,w4 ,a4 ,,mansell ,co4 ,art ,photograph ,publishers and ,dealers1 #dje1 ,,oxford ,,street1 ,,london1 ,w4 #af1 ,,pall ,,mall ,,east1 ,s4,w4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,permanent ,,carbon ,,points1 ,,permanent ,,prints1 ,,photogravures1 ,,from ,,most ,,of ,,the ,,pictures ,,in ,,the ,galleries ,,at ,,london4 ,,national ,,gallery4 ,,dulwich ,,gallery4 ,,tate ,,gallery4 ,,edinburgh4 ,,glasgow4 ,,brussels4 ,,milan4 ,,venice4 ,,munich4 ,,berlin4 ,,dresden4 ,,vienna4 ,,liechtenstein4 ,,belvedere4 ,,czernin4 ,,amsterdam4 ,hague1 ,haarlem4 ,,cassel4 ,,etc41 ,,etc4 ,royal ,collections ,,at ,,buckingham ,,palace4 ,,windsor ,,castle4 ,private ,collections ,,of ,,the ,,duke ,,of ,,devonshire4 ,,the ,,earl ,,spencer4 ,,the ,,earl ,,of ,,northbrook4 ,,art ,,books--,,art ,,albums--,,artistic ,,framing4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,franz ,,hanfstaengl #af1 ,,pall ,,mall ,,east1 ,s4,w4 ,lists and ,prospectuses ,free4 ,catalogues1 ,one ,shilling4 ,,fine ,,art ,,engravers ,,and ,,printers4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,swan ,,electric ,,engraving ,,company1 #aaf1 ,,charing ,,cross ,,road1 ,,london1 ,w4,c4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,engravers ,,and ,,printers ,,of ,,photogravure ,,plates4 ,,of ,,swantype ,,blocks4 ,,of ,,fine ,,line-,,work4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,leading ,,firm ,,in ,,great ,,britain ,,for ,,all ,,high-,,class ,,reproduction ,,work1 ,,including ,,the ,,orthochromatic ,,photography ,,of ,,pictures ,,and ,,works ,,of ,,art4 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's note3 ,general3 ,corrections to punctuation have not been individually noted4 ,page xii3 ,erratum applied to text4 ,page xiii3 ,,guida corrected to ,,guida4 ,,rella corrected to ,,nella4 ,page #fd3 ,by the which he roused amended to ,by means of this he roused4 ,page #gb3 ,duplicate a removed from ,in that on the left a a man4 ,page #id3 ninteen corrected to nineteen4 ,page #ajb3 ,campagnia standardised to ,compagnia4 ,page #ajh3 ,pieta corrected to ,pieta4 ,page #ach3 ,,pspicve without tilde as in original1 probably intended as an abbreviation for ,,perspicue4 ,,figvrad,v as in original1 perhaps a misspelling of ,,figurandum4 ,,atfrgo as in original perhaps intended ,a ,,tergo4 ,,cvpidvsq 7,cupidusque87 and ,,vtrivsq 7,utriusque87 as in original without overlining4