,,illustrated ,,biographies ,,of ,,the ,,great ,,artists4 ,,andrea ,,mantegna4 ,,francesco ,,raibolini1 ,,called ,,francia4 ,,illustrated ,,biographies ,,of ,,the ,,great ,,artists4 ,the following volumes1 each illustrated with from #ad to #bj ,engravings1 are now ready1 price #cs4 #f;d43-- ,,italian1 c4 ,,giotto4 ,by ,,harry ,,quilter1 ,m4,a41 ,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge4 ,,fra ,,angelico4 ,by ,,catherine ,,mary ,,phillimore4 ,,fra ,,bartolommeo4 ,by ,,leader ,,scott4 ,,mantegna ,,and ,,francia4 ,by ,,julia ,,cartwright4 ,,leonardo ,,da ,,vinci4 ,by ,dr4 ,j4 ,,paul ,,richter4 ,,michelangelo4 ,by ,,charles ,,clement4 ,,raphael4 ,from ,j4 ,d4 ,,passavant4 ,by ,n4 ,d',,anvers4 ,,titian4 ,by ,,richard ,,ford ,,heath1 ,m4,a41 ,oxford4 ,,tintoretto4 ,by ,w4 ,,roscoe ,,osler4 ,from researches at ,venice4 ,,velazquez4 ,by ,,edwin ,,stowe1 ,b4,a41 ,oxford4 ,,vernet ,,and ,,delaroche4 ,by ,j4 ,,runtz ,,rees4 ,,teutonic4 ,,albrecht ,d,,rer4 ,by ,,richard ,,ford ,,heath1 ,m4,a41 ,oxford4 ,,holbein4 ,from ,dr4 ,a4 ,,woltmann4 ,by ,,joseph ,,cundall4 ,,the ,,little ,,masters ,,of ,,germany499 ,by ,w4 ,b4 ,,scott4 ,,rembrandt4 ,from ,,charles ,,vosmaer4 ,by ,j4 ,w4 ,,mollett1 ,b4,a4 ,,rubens4 ,by ,c4 ,w4 ,,kett1 ,m4,a41 ,oxford4 ,,van ,,dyck ,,and ,,hals4 ,by ,,percy ,r4 ,,head1 ,lincoln ,college1 ,oxford4 ,,figure ,,painters ,,of ,,holland4 ,by ,,lord ,,ronald ,,gower1 ,f4,s4,a4 ,,english4 ,,hogarth4 ,by ,,austin ,,dobson4 ,,reynolds4 ,by ,f4 ,s4 ,,pulling1 ,m4,a41 ,oxford4 ,,gainsborough4 ,by ,g4 ,m4 ,,brock-,,arnold1 ,m4,a41 ,oxford4 ,,turner4 ,by ,w4 ,,cosmo ,,monkhouse4 ,,wilkie4 ,by ,j4 ,w4 ,,mollett1 ,b4,a41 ,brasenose ,college1 ,oxford4 ,,landseer4 ,by ,,frederic ,g4 ,,stephens4 ,the following volumes are in preparation3-- ,,correggio4 ,by ,m4 ,,compton ,,heaton4 ,,cornelius ,,and ,,overbeck4 ,by ,j4 ,,beavington ,,atkinson4 99 ,an ,edition de luxe1 containing #ad extra plates from rare engravings in the ,british ,museum1 and bound in ,roxburgh style1 may be had1 price #ajs4 #f;d4 ,illustration3 ,,andrea ,,mantegna4 ,from the bronze bust1 attributed to ,sperandio1 in ,sant' ,andrea1 ,mantua4 8,the whole world without ,art would be one great wilderness40 ,,mantegna ,,and ,,francia ,,by ,,julia ,,cartwright ,,author ,,of 8,,varallo ,,and ,,her ,,painter10 ,,etc4 ,illustration ,,new ,,york ,,scribner ,,and ,,welford ,,london3 ,,sampson ,,low1 ,,marston1 ,,searle1 ,,rivington #ahha 7,all rights reserved47 ,,preface4 ,although no separate biography of ,mantegna has been published in ,england1 his life and works have been the subject of much study in other countries during recent years4 ,the thanks of the writer are especially due to ,dr4 ,woltmann1 the author of the biography of the painter in ,dr4 ,robert ,dohme's 8,kunst und ,knstler10 to ,m4 ,armand ,baschet1 ,canonico ,willelmo ,braghirolli1 and ,dr4 ,karl ,brun4 ,it is to be hoped that before long the last-named of these scholars will give the result of his researches to the public in a complete work on this remarkable man1 who was both one of the greatest artists and one of the most striking personalities of the ,renaissance4 ,with regard to ,francia1 materials for the history of his life are far less plentiful1 and are to be found almost exclusively in the works of ,bolognese writers1 of whom ,malvasia and ,calvi are the fullest and most trustworthy4 ,in offering this little work as a guide for the use of those who have not the opportunity of studying the master's works for themselves the author has only to add that the pictures mentioned have been carefully examined1 and their descriptions written on the spot4 ,j4 ,m4 ,c4 ,illustration ,,contents4 ,,page ,,mantegna4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,early ,,years ,,and ,,work ,,at ,,padua4 ,a4,d4 #adca-adeg #a ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,work ,,at ,,verona ,,and ,,mantua4 ,a4,d4 #adeg-adgj #ab ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,camera ,,degli ,,sposi4 ,a4,d4 #adgj-adgd #ba ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,work ,,at ,,mantua ,,and ,,rome4 ,,engravings1 ,a4,d4 #adgd-adij #bi ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,triumphs ,,of ,,julius ,c,,sar4 ,,drawings1 ,a4,d4 #adij-aejj #ch ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,last ,,works ,,and ,,death--,,his ,,influence ,,on ,,art4 ,a4,d4 #aejj-aejf #ej ,,francia4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,early ,,art ,,in ,,bologna4 ,a4,d4 #acjj-adej #fe ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,early ,,life ,,and ,,works4 ,a4,d4 #adej-aejj #ge ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,friendship ,,and ,,influence ,,of ,,raphael4 ,a4,d4 #aejj-aejf #hf ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the ,,frescoes ,,of ,,st4 ,,cecilia',s ,,chapel4 ,a4,d4 #aejf-aeji #id ,,chapter ,v4 ,,last ,,works ,,and ,,death4 ,a4,d4 #aeji-aeag #ajb ,,the ,,principal ,,works ,,of ,,mantegna #aji ,,the ,,principal ,,works ,,of ,,francia #aad ,,chronology #aai ,,bibliography #aba ,,index #abb ,illustration ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations4 ,,page ,,mantegna4 ,,bust ,,portrait ,,of ,,mantegna ,frontispiece ,,meeting ,,of ,,lodovico ,,gonzaga ,,and ,,his ,,son1 ,,the ,,cardinal ,,francesco #bf ,,the ,,entombment 7engraving7 #ce ,,judith ,,with ,,the ,,head ,,of ,,holofernes 7drawing7 #cg ,,part ,,of ,,the ,,triumphs ,,of ,,julius ,c,,sar #db ,,the ,,madonna ,,della ,,vittoria #df ,,virgin ,,and ,,child ,,with ,,st4 ,,john ,,and ,,the ,,magdalen #dh ,,the ,,crucifixion #eh ,,francia4 ,,portrait ,,of ,,francia ,frontispiece ,,the ,,virgin ,,enthroned ,,with ,,saints #hj ,,madonna ,,and ,,child ,,with ,,the ,,bird #he ,,deposition ,,from ,,the ,,cross #hi ,a ,,piet #ia ,,the ,,madonna ,,of ,,the ,,rose-,,garden #aja ,illustration ,,andrea ,,mantegna4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,early ,,years ,,and ,,work ,,at ,,padua1 ,a4,d4 #adca-adeg4 ,among the different schools of painting which flourished on the mainland of ,north ,italy during the fifteenth century1 that of ,padua was the only one which attained more than a merely local importance4 ,independent of ,byzantine traditions and strikingly peculiar in its characteristics1 it rivalled for a time and even surpassed the ,venetian school in the vigour and individuality of its art4 ,a ,paduan by birth1 ,andrea ,mantegna became the greatest master of his day1 and left the stamp of his powerful genius not only on the schools of neighbouring cities1 but on the whole artistic world4 ,by his own achievements1 and still more by the greatness of his aims1 he stands foremost among the men of his generation who carried on the work of the ,renaissance and prepared the way for the splendid age that was to follow4 ,this development was the more remarkable1 because until the fifteenth century we do not hear of a single ,paduan artist of note4 ,giotto had left the frescoes of the ,arena ,chapel within the walls of the 8learned city10 and ,umbrian influences had later reached her students through ,gentile da ,fabriano1 but these seeds were slow in bearing fruit4 ,the men who painted in the famous basilica of ,sant' ,antonio were mostly foreigners4 ,jacopo d',avanzo and ,altichieri of ,verona1 ,giusto of ,florence1 belonged to other ,italian cities1 and although a ,paduan guild existed and increased steadily in numbers the results were poor1 and the few works which its members produced were feeble imitations of ,giottesque or ,umbrian originals4 ,the first to raise ,paduan art out of obscurity was ,francesco ,squarcione1 who1 although 8not the best of artists himself10 undoubtedly gave a new direction to painting in his native city1 and in a measure earned the title of founder of the school1 which has been liberally bestowed upon him4 ,born in #acid1 and by profession a tailor and embroiderer1 ,squarcione early devoted himself to art1 and having inherited some fortune from his father1 spent his youth in travelling both in ,italy and ,greece4#a ,during his travels he collected a considerable number of pictures1 and made drawings and took casts of ancient marbles1 which on his return to ,padua he exhibited for the teaching of young artists4 ,by these means he soon obtained great reputation as a master1 and as many as a hundred and thirty-seven pupils1 he himself tells us1 were trained in his school4 ,a man of excellent judgment in art1 but of slender powers of execution1 who knew how to attract talented pupils to his studio1 and who employed them in the production of works which bore his name1 is the universal verdict passed upon ,squarcione by early writers4 ,the truth of this testimony is tolerably well proved by the curious difference of style visible in the only two authentic works of his that remain1 an altar-piece in the gallery of ,padua1 and a ,madonna painted for the ,lazzara family4 ,the former is a coarse and unpleasant work1 with the hardness of line and heavy colouring that mark ,zoppo and the inferior ,squarcionesques1 while the latter in the dignity of its pose and careful modelling bears evident traces of ,mantegna's hand4 ,squarcione no doubt possessed a quick eye for discerning talent1 and it is his lasting claim on the gratitude of posterity that he at once saw and appreciated the rising genius of the young ,mantegna4 99 99 99 99 99 ,andrea ,mantegna1 the greatest of ,lombard masters1 was born in the neighbourhood of ,padua in the year #adca4 ,his father1 ,biagio1 is supposed to have been a small farmer1 and ,vasari tells us that in his childhood ,andrea herded cattle until ,squarcione1 struck by the boy's talent for drawing1 adopted him as his own son4 ,in ,november1 #adda1 ,mantegna's name is entered on the registers of the ,paduan guild as ,squarcione's foster-child1 and seven years later he painted an altar-piece for the ancient church of ,santa ,sofia4 ,of this youthful work contemporaries speak with high praise as bearing marks of a practised hand1 but it had already disappeared in the seventeenth century1 and the earliest painting of ,mantegna that now exists is the fresco above the portal of ,sant' ,antonio4 ,in this lunette1 which bears the date of #adeb1 the two saints ,anthony and ,bernardino are represented supporting the sacred monogram2 but the figures are too much damaged to be a fair test of the young artist's style1 and the work is chiefly interesting as a proof of the high reputation in which he was already held by his fellow-citizens4 ,it is to the frescoes of ,st4 ,cristoforo's chapel in the church of the ,eremitani friars that we must turn in order to form a correct idea of ,mantegna's powers during this time4 ,here we see him carrying the principles which he had learnt in ,squarcione's workshop to their furthest limits1 and with the boldness of genius venturing on new and untried paths4 ,here too we find him painting side by side with the best of ,squarcione's other pupils1 and we have an opportunity of comparing his work with that of artists who had been formed on the same models4 ,this chapel1 which stands to the right of the high altar1 at the east end of the great ,eremitani ,church1 belonged to the ,ovetari family1 whose last representative1 dying in #addc1 had left a sum of seven hundred gold ducats to be spent in decorating its walls with frescoes illustrating the history of ,st4 ,james and ,st4 ,christopher4 ,squarcione received the commission from the dead man's heir1 and between the years #addh and #adeh1 the walls1 apse1 and ceiling were covered with frescoes by his different pupils4 ,thus1 only a few steps from the garden which encloses ,giotto's ,chapel1 another great series was painted1 to become for the schools of ,north ,italy what the ,brancacci ,chapel had been for ,florence4 ,less fortunate than the celebrated frescoes of the ,carmine1 these paintings have suffered much from the damp of the walls1 and a great part of the subjects in the apse1 as well as several figures in the martyrdom and burial of ,st4 ,christopher1 are completely destroyed4 ,other portions are still in good preservation1 and afford excellent examples of the peculiarities of the ,paduan school and the studies which laid the foundation of ,mantegna's subsequent greatness4 ,the leading feature which marks the work of all ,squarcione's scholars1 and was to attain its highest artistic development in ,mantegna's later conceptions1 is the sculptural treatment of form1 which was a direct result of an exclusive study of ancient statues4 ,painting in their hands becomes more plastic than pictorial1 the forms are sharply defined1 the drapery falls in the small folds of ancient bas-relief1 while the severity of the whole is relieved by rich decorations in the shape of festoons of fruit and foliage1 which1 when unskilfully managed1 give a heavy and over-loaded effect4 ,this plastic tendency sprang from the discovery1 then first dawning upon the men of the ,renaissance1 that the principles of the highest art are to be found in the antique1 and was so far as it went true and laudable in its aim4 ,but in the case of the ,squarcionesques this study of classic statuary was not combined with sufficient knowledge of nature1 and1 therefore1 frequently degenerated into a lifeless rigidity and absence of expression1 if not into positive ugliness and coarseness of form4 ,this stiffness and want of vitality strike us at once in the four ,evangelists on the ceiling of the chapel1 wrongly ascribed by ,vasari to ,mantegna1 and in the upper frescoes of ,st4 ,christopher's life1 attributed to three different artists--,marco ,zoppo1 ,bono of ,ferrara1 and ,ansuino of ,forli4 ,these last-named subjects are not without a considerable degree of skill in perspective and composition1 but are alike marked by the same rigidity of form and metallic coldness of colouring4 ,the feeblest of the three is ,bono's representation of ,st4 ,christopher bearing the child through the river1 a work which1 in awkwardness1 incorrect drawing and truly painful ugliness1 seems to exaggerate the worst faults of the ,paduan school4 ,on the other hand there is a decided advance in the frescoes of ,niccolo ,pizzolo1 the only one of the ,squarcionesques who approached ,mantegna's style1 and whose improved colouring and greater nobleness of type are best explained by the discovery that he had worked with the ,florentines1 ,donatello and ,filippo ,lippi1 during their residence in ,padua4 ,to him ,vasari ascribes the figure of the ,eternal between ,st4 ,peter and ,st4 ,paul on the dome of the tribune1 and later critics have recognised his hand in the 8,call of ,st4 ,james and ,st4 ,john0 and 8,st4 ,james exorcising ,devils0 on the upper part of the left wall4 ,but the finest of all his works here is 8,the ,assumption10 in the apse1 a fresco which in joyous life and freedom of movement so far surpasses the ordinary manner of the ,paduans that one of the best critics1 ,dr4 ,woltmann1 pronounces it to be by ,mantegna's hand4 ,against this we have the testimony of the anonymous traveller of the sixteenth century1 who says decidedly that ,andrea painted the lower part of the right and the whole of the left wall1 but that 8,the ,assumption0 and cupola are by ,pizzolo4 ,vasari is silent on this point1 but remarks that ,pizzolo's works in this chapel yielded nothing in excellence to those of ,andrea1 and probably the best solution of the question is to accept both 8,the ,assumption0 and the upper frescoes of ,st4 ,james's life as the joint composition of the two artists1 or at least to allow that they were partly designed by ,mantegna4 ,in the midst of ,pizzolo's labours in the ,eremitani ,chapel his promising career was cut short by a violent end4 ,he had1 it appears1 an unlucky habit of taking part in street brawls and riots1 and one evening as he was returning home from his work he was attacked and slain by some unknown persons whose enmity he had excited4 ,mantegna was now left alone to complete the unfinished work1 and whatever uncertainty rests on his share in the earlier frescoes there is no doubt that the six remaining subjects are entirely by his hand4 ,in each of these we see some clearer revelation of unfolding powers4 ,step by step some fresh difficulty is overcome1 some new knowledge gained1 until by slow degrees the battle is won1 and the mastery over human form is complete4 ,in the fresco of 8,st4 ,james baptizing ,converts0 the statuesque air of ,squarcione's school is still strongly felt in the principal figures4 ,the action is stiff1 and the faces are mostly wanting in expression4 ,but the spectators of the ceremony are1 on the contrary1 full of life and animation4 ,nothing can be more natural than the two children who look on with wondering eyes--the taller of the two holding a water-melon in his hand1 while the smaller one presses close to his side--or the youth under the colonnade in the act of turning round to speak to a figure whose face is concealed by a pillar4 ,if from these we turn to the decorative part of the fresco1 the winged angels in the upper corners at once remind us of the charming groups of children on ,donatello's bronzes in ,sant' ,antonio1 and prove how attentively ,mantegna must have studied these recently finished works of the ,florentine master4 ,the beneficial influence of the great sculptor had already appeared in the earlier frescoes of the ,eremitani1 and from his example ,andrea now learnt how to combine the study of nature with sculptural treatment1 and to adopt a more elevated type of human form4 ,the next subject1 8,st4 ,james before ,herod10 reveals a new feature1 afterwards to become prominent in his career1 in the accurate knowledge of ,roman costumes and classical architecture which is here displayed4 ,one of the finest figures is that of a soldier leaning on his lance in the left-hand corner of the picture1 an ancient ,roman1 in whom we recognise immediately the painter's own portrait1 from the close resemblance which his strongly marked features and massive brow bear to the bust on ,andrea's tomb at ,mantua4 ,both of these frescoes show considerable skill in perspective1 but in the next1 8,st4 ,james blessing a kneeling ,disciple on his way to ,execution10 ,mantegna boldly ventures on an experiment that is altogether new4 ,for no apparent reason1 but purely as a trial of skill1 he suddenly alters the point of sight to a low level1 and while the feet of the foremost figures appear to stand on the edge of the picture the lower extremities of those in the background vanish altogether4 ,the difficulties thus created are on the whole correctly solved4 ,each figure is carefully foreshortened1 and the ,roman arch under which the procession passes is drawn in admirable perspective1 but freedom of action is impaired1 and the whole suffers from an unpleasant sense of effort and unnatural constraint4 ,perspective was in those days a favourite branch of learning in the ,university of ,padua1 and ,mantegna1 whose vigorous genius took pleasure in the driest studies1 seems to have derived this strange passion for applying its laws to the human form from ,paolo ,uccelli1 a ,florentine who had lately visited ,padua4 ,in his ardour to accomplish his self-imposed task he failed to see the mistake of subjecting living figures to the rules of architecture1 and of treating them as existing solely in order to demonstrate a scientific problem4 ,but at the time the young painter's exhibition of skill excited the utmost admiration1 and both ,daniele ,barbaro and ,lomazzo praise him as the first artist who opened men's eyes to the true principles of perspective4 ,if we are to believe ,vasari1 ,squarcione1 who till now had been as proud of his pupil's growing fame as if it were his own1 suddenly altered his tone and openly blamed ,mantegna for the stony rigidity of his figures1 declaring that they were mere copies of marble statues1 altogether devoid of life and expression4 ,the reproach1 although not wholly undeserved1 was a curious one in ,squarcione's lips1 but the real cause of the breach which took place between the master and scholar was ,andrea's connection with the rival workshop of ,jacopo ,bellini4 ,the ,venetian painter1 with his two sons1 ,gentile and ,giovanni1 had lately taken up his abode at ,padua1 and a strong friendship had sprung up between ,mantegna and the members of his family which before long led to the marriage of the young ,paduan with ,jacopo's daughter ,niccolosia4 ,their union took place while ,mantegna was actually engaged on the ,eremitani frescoes--probably about #aded or #adee1 since in #adeh he had already two or three children--and becomes an important fact in art history as strengthening the ties between these distinguished artists4 ,the influence each was to exercise on the other was destined to prove great and lasting4 ,jacopo ,bellini1 who had spent some time in ,florence1 was probably instrumental in leading ,mantegna to follow ,donatello and ,uccelli's models1 while from ,giovanni1 ,andrea would learn the softer colouring and delicate feeling that impart so pure a charm to those well-known ,madonnas which fill the churches of ,venice4 ,mantegna1 on his part1 gave back at least as much as he took1 and no one can doubt that ,gian ,bellini owed to his brother-in-law in a great measure his knowledge of classical architecture and perspective1 as well as the sculptural cast of drapery1 that distinguish his pictures from those of earlier ,venetian masters4 ,in all probability this new influence1 rather than ,squarcione's jealous reproaches1 was the cause of the marked improvement visible in the later frescoes4 ,the principal figures in the 8,execution of ,st4 ,james0 are more life-like2 there is less hardness in the modelling and laying on of shadows1 while the background1 with its winding road and rocky terraces crowned with olive-trees1 is an exact copy of a ,lombard hill-side4 ,nothing1 indeed1 is more striking in these frescoes than the close attention to natural objects1 which shows how strongly realistic was the bent of our painter's genius1 in spite of his ,squarcionesque training and love of antique statuary4 ,he not only fills his backgrounds with faithful reproductions of ,italian landscape and streets1 with red roofs1 arched loggias1 or vine-trellised arbours1 but recalls every detail and renders the furrows and wrinkles of old age1 the ragged coat or torn shoe1 with an accuracy that is almost painful4 ,the eagerness with which he sought difficulties and his courage in grappling with them meet us again in the foreshortened rider who looks on at the ,saint's martyrdom1 and is still more triumphant in the bold action of the men who drag away the dead body of the giant ,christopher1 in itself a masterpiece of perspective which served as a model for ,titian and other ,venetians in dealing with similar subjects in future years4 ,unfortunately these two last frescoes1 8,the ,martyrdom0 and 8,burial of ,st4 ,christopher10 are much injured1 and some of the chief figures are completely obliterated4 ,the portions that remain justify the praises of former critics who pronounced these to be the finest of the whole series4 ,here at least ,squarcione's reproach is refuted1 the stony look of the faces has given place to warm flesh-tones and softer modelling1 and the band of archers assembled under the vine-trellis in the scene where the saint is to meet his doom are remarkable for their energetic action and expressive faces4 ,according to ,yasari1 in this last subject1 ,mantegna represented ,squarcione himself in the character of a fat archer1 as a proof that he knew how to draw from living models1 and the same writer mentions several other contemporary personages whose portraits are also introduced4 ,especially interesting in our eyes is the group1 in the right-hand corner of 8,the ,martyrdom10 of an elderly man standing between two younger figures1 one of whom wears a red cap4 ,the ,venetian costume of these three spectators1 and a certain resemblance of one of the youthful heads to a medal bearing the likeness of ,gentile ,bellini1 go far to confirm the truth of ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle's supposition that here we have portraits of ,mantegna's father and brothers-in-law1 who were all in ,padua at the time1 and whom he would very naturally introduce among his other friends4 ,with these frescoes ,andrea's labours in the church of the ,eremitani end1 and the decoration of the chapel1 with which ,squarcione's pupils had been intrusted some ten years before1 was finally completed4 ,if from details of execution we pass to consider the work as a whole1 it must be owned that the general impression left upon the spectator's mind is one of coldness and severity4 ,these stern and vigorous figures which look down upon us from the walls awe us by the power and reality of their presence2 they impress us by the accurate science and years of assiduous labour which they reveal1 but they fail to touch the heart or delight the eye2 they are wanting in that sense of beauty which1 is so conspicuous a feature in ,mantegna's later work4 ,if he had painted nothing else he would have left behind him the reputation of a master of strong realistic tendency1 who solved difficult problems and attained a remarkable degree of proficiency in drawing and anatomy1 but lacked the qualities necessary for the highest class of art4 ,fortunately for us ,mantegna's activity does not end here4 ,the frescoes of the ,eremitani were only the first stage in a great career1 and as we contemplate them we can always reflect with satisfaction that these powerful works1 in their grimness and austere dignity1 in their curious display of scientific knowledge and minute attention to detail1 were the preliminary studies1 by means of which he reached the perfection of after years1 and achieved the ultimate successes that were to make his name celebrated4 ,illustration ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,work ,,at ,,verona ,,and ,,mantua1 ,a4,d4 #adeg-adgj4 ,the exact date of the completion of the ,eremitani frescoes is uncertain1 but they were probably finished by #adeh1 perhaps earlier4 ,mantegna was still a young man1 not more than six or seven-and-twenty1 but in actual power as well as in reputation second to no living painter in ,north ,italy4 ,we have already noticed the chief influences brought to bear on his early training4 ,one by one we have watched him discover and assimilate1 with the same clearness of intellect and indefatigable energy1 the peculiar virtue of each successive artist with whom he was brought into contact4 ,we have seen him add ,florentine principles to ,squarcione's teaching1 learn from ,donatello how to combine the study of nature with the laws of sculpture1 gain from ,uccelli that knowledge of perspective which had for him so subtle a fascination1 and last of all temper this fiery genius under the gentler spell of ,gian ,bellini's more genial art4 ,another and a very important element in his development was the constant intercourse which he maintained with the most learned ,paduan scholars1 and the keen pleasure with which he joined in their antiquarian researches in the neighbourhood4 ,he accompanied ,felice ,feliciano1 a famous collector of inscriptions1 on several excursions in the environs of ,verona and the ,lago di ,garda for the express purpose of examining classical remains1 and in #adfc this same ,feliciano dedicated his work on ancient epigrams to the painter1 whose learning he extols in the highest terms4 ,one result of these explorations in the classic ground of ,sermione appears in the fragments of ,latin inscriptions which are repeatedly introduced1 in the ,eremitani frescoes1 and on one ,roman portico the name of ,vitruvius ,cerdo1 a ,verona architect of ancient days1 is still distinctly legible4 ,this practice was a common one with many of the artists of ,squarcione and ,mantegna's school1 who1 in their genuine enthusiasm for classical art1 copied antique monuments and inscriptions with the minutest accuracy1 and afterwards used them as accessory portions of their own compositions4 ,we have a notable example of this habit in the drawing of a pagan altar bearing an inscription to the effect that it was found in a vault of the ,baths of ,caracalla1 then known as the ,antonine palace at ,rome4 ,the drawing1 evidently by the hand of some ,paduan artist1 is now preserved at ,christ ,church1 ,oxford4 ,besides ,feliciano1 ,andrea numbered among his intimate friends several eminent scholars then studying at the ,university of ,padua1 such as ,matteo ,bossi1 afterwards ,abbot of ,fiesole1 and the ,hungarian bishop ,giovanni ,pannonio1 who celebrated the artist's genius in ,latin verse as early as #adeh1 and whose portrait ,mantegna painted in the same year4 ,this rare degree of culture which made him the friend of scholars1 this genuine delight in classical studies and antique art1 was destined to supply our master with some of his highest inspirations1 and ultimately render him the foremost representative among painters of that enthusiasm for antiquity which was the ruling passion of ,italy in the fifteenth century4 ,during the years that ,andrea was employed on the ,eremitani frescoes we hear little else of his private life excepting that he married ,niccolosia ,bellini1 and became estranged from his old master ,squarcione1 while two panel pictures1 the ,brera ,altar-piece which he painted in #aded for ,santa ,giustina1 and the 8,st4 ,euphemia0 now at ,naples1 are the only other works that are left us of this period4 ,in the former1 a vigorous but not very pleasing work1 ,st4 ,luke is represented writing at a table between four single figures of saints1 while above we have a ,piet with the ,virgin1 ,st4 ,john1 and four other saints4 ,far more graceful in conception is the ,st4 ,euphemia standing in her garlanded niche with the lily in her hand and the lion beside her4 ,this admirably drawn figure in attitude and form closely resembles an antique statue1 and will bear comparison1 with the best of the later frescoes4 ,so far1 ,andrea's works had been confined to ,padua1 but his fame had spread far beyond his native city1 and before he had finished his labours in the ,eremitani1 pressing invitations to move to ,mantua had reached him from ,lodovico ,gonzaga1 ,marquis of that principality4 ,this prince1 a generous patron of letters as well as a brave soldier and wise ruler1 was anxious to make his court a centre of art and learning2 and1 having failed in his efforts to attract the aged ,donatello1 spared no pains to secure the services of the ,paduan artist1 whose rising genius was already eclipsing that of all others4 ,as early as #adef we find ,lodovico entering into communication with ,andrea1 first by letter and then through the sculptor ,luca ,fancelli1 a confidential agent of the ,marquis4 ,his offers were liberal2 fifteen ducats a month1 lodging1 firewood1 and sufficient wheat to feed the members of his family1 who are reckoned as six in number2 besides1 he proposed to assist him on his journey to ,mantua by sending a boat to meet him4 ,mantegna lent a willing ear to these proposals1 but his hands were full1 and flattering as were ,lodovico's entreaties and assurances of good-will1 he was slow to comply with the request4 ,in his letters he assigns first one reason1 then another1 for delaying his departure4 ,first1 he asks for time to execute an order given him by ,gregorio ,corraro1 ,abbot of ,san ,zeno of ,verona1 and protonotary to the ,apostolic ,see4 ,then he begs for six months more to complete the work1 then for another respite in order to do a little piece for the ,podest of ,padua4 ,the ,marquis bore all these delays with unalterable patience and courtesy1 while he never for a moment relaxed his efforts to bring the artist to ,mantua1 and redoubled his assurance of favour4 ,if ,andrea will only come1 he says again and again1 and himself prove the truth of the promises made to him1 he will every day of his life find greater cause to rejoice that he has entered the service of the ,gonzagas4 ,when the summer of #adei came and the protonotary's altar-piece was still unfinished1 ,lodovico suggested as a last resource that the panels should be brought to ,mantua and completed there4 ,to this proposal the abbot was too wise a man to consent1 and he would not even allow ,mantegna to visit ,mantua for a day until the picture had been safely delivered into his hands4 ,this altar-piece1 of which we hear so much in ,lodovico's correspondence with our master1 was the 8,madonna and ,saints0 in ,san ,zeno1 of ,verona1 taken to ,paris in #agig1 but now restored 7without its predella7 to its place1 and one of the finest religious compositions that ,andrea ever painted4 ,all the chief characteristics of ,andrea's ,paduan time are here brought together in a more elevated form1 and for the first time we realise fully how great was the progress he had made since the days when he began to paint in the ,eremitani ,chapel4 ,nothing can exceed the simple dignity and grace of the youthful virgin1 who sits erect under a portico decorated with a frieze of children bearing festoons of fruit1 through which we see a thick growth of trees1 and open space of blue sky beyond4 ,on the pillars of the portico are medallions in which ,andrea has after his usual habit introduced reliefs of classical subjects1 one of which is a horse-tamer1 evidently copied from the famous 8,twins10 of ,monte ,cavallo1 and curious as adopted by a painter who had not yet visited ,rome4 ,the saints who stand in the groups on either side of the ,madonna's throne are still too much treated as isolated figures1 but each statue-like form has a grandeur of its own1 and the graceful heads of the young ,st4 ,john and ,st4 ,lawrence contrast finely with those of the aged apostles and fathers of the ,church1 while in the boy-angels who play on the steps of the throne1 or sing with wide-parted lips1 we have the first of those child-faces whose laughing eyes look down from many of ,mantegna's pictures and seem to give us a foretaste of ,raphael's sweetness4 ,unfortunately1 the different parts of the predella that belonged to this beautiful altar-piece are scattered in different galleries1 the 8,gethsemane0 and 8,ascension0 are at ,tours1 the 8,crucifixion10 in the dramatic action of its varied group by far the finest of the three1 is in the ,louvre4 ,according to ,vasari1 ,mantegna painted several other pictures in ,verona1 but the only other traces of his work now remaining in that city are some equestrian figures and chiaroscuro decorations on the faade of a house near ,san ,fermo ,maggiore1 and we have no proof of his ever having resided there4 ,the 8little piece0 which ,andrea executed for ,giacomo ,marcello1 ,podest of ,padua1 has been identified in the 8,christ on the ,mount of ,olives0 of the ,baring collection1 a work in which we feel the same union of plastic tendency of form and strong realism that strikes us in the frescoes4 ,in the background1 a wild and savage landscape1 the desolate aspect of which is heightened by the presence of cranes and birds of prey1 we recognise the city of ,padua with the ,eremitani ,church4 ,if we compare this picture with the well-known rendering of the same subject by ,giovanni ,bellini in the ,national ,gallery1 we shall see how much of the original conception and drawing the ,venetian artist borrowed from his brother-in-law1 and at the same time how well he knew how to modify ,andrea's severer style by his own more delicate grace and feeling for colour4 ,these altar-pieces were ,mantegna's last works in his native city4 ,the patience of the ,marquis was at length rewarded1 and towards the close of the year #adei1 ,andrea moved to ,mantua with his family4 ,soon afterwards ,jacopo ,bellini died1 his sons moved to ,venice1 and the ,paduan school of painting1 left in the hands of inferior followers of ,squarcione1 came to a practical end4 ,but ,paduan art lived on in the work of her greatest son1 and the new influences and surroundings of ,mantegna's adopted city gave fresh impulse to his creative energy4 ,that he settled at ,mantua before the end of #adei is proved by a letter of his written to the ,marquis in ,may1 #adgh1 in which he speaks of having been almost nineteen years in ,lodovico's service1 but it is not till the spring of #adfc that we hear of him as engaged in painting at ,goto1 one of the summer villas belonging to the ,gonzagas4 ,both this palace and the neighbouring ,castle of ,cavriana1 where he also painted1 have been destroyed1 and a few panel pictures now dispersed throughout ,europe are the only productions that remain of his first ten years' residence at the ,court of ,mantua4 ,chief among these is the ,uffizi triptych1 which originally belonged to a chapel of the ,gonzagas1 and may be the very picture to which ,andrea alludes in a letter of #adfd as destined for the little chapel1 and which ,vasari tells us contained many small but most beautiful figures4 ,the 8,adoration of the ,magi0 forms the subject of the central panel1 while the 8,ascension0 and the 8,presentation in the ,temple0 are represented on the wings4 ,all three are marked by the miniature-like finish which reveals the thoroughly practised hand and loving zeal of one who took delight in carrying his work to the highest possible perfection4 ,in the seated ,virgin1 of the strong type of womanhood which ,andrea seems to prefer1 with the flight of cherubs encircling her head1 and the patches of rough herbage starting out of the rocks behind her1 we recognise the original of his own unfinished engraving1 the 8,virgin of the ,grotto40 ,the red cherub-heads1 which remind us of the similar wreath with which ,giovanni ,bellini surrounds one of his ,madonnas in the ,academy of ,venice1 are again introduced in 8,the ,ascension40 ,here the group of apostles1 who gaze upwards1 have more of the slender form used by ,pizzolo in the ,eremitani frescoes1 and the panel is inferior as a whole to 8,the ,presentation40 ,this is in ,mantegna's best manner1 the principal figures full of grace and dignity1 the heads excellent in expression1 especially that of the child sucking his finger as he leans against his mother1 while ,andrea's historic feeling appears in the typical reliefs of 8,moses breaking the ,tables0 and 8,abraham sacrificing ,isaac10 which adorn the altar4 ,another fine rendering of this subject by ,mantegna is now in the ,berlin ,gallery1 which also possesses two other works belonging to this period1 a half-length 8,madonna holding the ,child on a ,parapet10 and a portrait of an old ecclesiastic4 ,probably this ,madonna was the very one of which ,vasari speaks as painted by ,mantegna1 for his old friend1 the famous orator1 ,matteo ,bossi1 ,abbot of ,fiesole1 since the frame decorated with angels and instruments of the ,passion exactly corresponds with his description1 and the strikingly-truthful portrait may well be that of the ,abbot himself1 whose friendship for the painter neither time nor distance seems to have impaired4 ,a 8,death of the ,virgin10 with a view of ,mantua and its lake seen through a colonnade1 now at ,madrid1 and chiaroscuro figures known as 8,summer0 and 8,autumn10 now at ,hamilton ,palace1 may be mentioned as painted about #adgj1 when ,andrea was engaged in works at the ,castle of ,mantua4 ,more interesting in the eyes of most of us are the two small pictures of the ,saints ,sebastian and ,george1 two youthful figures intended to show the contrast of suffering and repose4 ,in the 8,st4 ,sebastian0 now at ,vienna1 ,mantegna has deliberately set himself the task of representing the human form wrung by physical agony1 and the divine strength of a will that can conquer pain by the power of its endurance4 ,his success was complete1 and among the countless representations of martyrdom that exist1 there is scarcely a finer example than this ,st4 ,sebastian bound to the ruined column and pierced with arrows1 lifting his eyes heavenwards in his mortal agony4 ,at his feet lie broken statues and marbles1 shattered fragments of the old world that was crumbling to ruins around1 and which by the delicate grace of their shapes and mouldings help to associate ideas of beauty with this scene of suffering and death4 ,the opposite of this picture meets us in the armed 8,st4 ,george0 of the ,venice ,academy1 who stands under an archway garlanded with flowers1 leaning on his lance in satisfied repose of victory1 with the dragon dead at his feet4 ,his classical head is not unlike the youthful saints of the ,verona altar-piece1 while the highly finished character of the execution approaches the style of the ,uffizi triptych1 evidently painted about the same time4 ,to these we may add the wonderful 8,dead ,christ0 of the ,brera1 a work almost terrible in its realism1 and exaggerated foreshortening1 but which reveals in a surprising degree ,mantegna's mastery both in drawing and management of light and shade4 ,this ,cristo in ,scurto was one of those daring trials of skill which he loved to attempt1 not to please the eye or gratify the taste of his employers1 but simply in order to overcome some difficulty or solve some problem from which a less powerful mind would have shrunk4 ,the satisfaction which he felt in the success of this experiment is proved by his unwillingness to part with this work1 which never left his studio until his death1 when it is mentioned by his son in the list of paintings that were sold to pay his debts4 ,in the same style as this 8,piet10 but with more attempt at decorative effect1 is the picture exhibited by ,sir ,william ,abdy1 in the last winter exhibition at ,burlington ,house 7#ahhj-ha74 ,here the dead ,christ lies on a carved throne of coloured marbles1 the back of which is formed by the broken tables of the law4 ,on either side are two grandly defined forms of ,isaiah and ,jerome1 as representatives of the old and new dispensations1 between whom ,christ stands4 ,the background is more elaborate than usual4 ,on one side is a wild tract of mountainous country1 on the other a river and fertile valley1 along the slopes of which we see rows of smiling villages1 church-towers1 and fields enclosed with hedges4 ,in the foreground skulls and bones are scattered at the feet of the prophets1 and beasts and birds of gay plumage enliven the scene4 ,a stag and panther and a red parrot are prominent figures1 but all these minor details are subdued to the leading idea in the painter's mind4 ,doubts have been entertained as to the authorship of the picture1 but both its general style and colouring and the presence of that weird grandeur of imagination peculiar to ,mantegna are strong proofs of its genuineness4 ,illustration ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,camera ,,degli ,,sposi1 ,a4,d4 #adgj-adgd4 ,recent research has brought to light a series of valuable letters between the ,gonzagas and ,mantegna1 which tell us little indeed about his existing works1 but much that is of the deepest interest concerning his private life1 and especially his relations with ,lodovico and his family4 ,the ,marquis had kept his word and proved himself a true friend and generous patron to the ,paduan artist4 ,carissm noster1 dilecte noster1 are the terms in which he always addresses him1 and the thoughtful consideration and patience with which he treated ,andrea in what must frequently have been very trying circumstances1 are beyond all praise4 ,the first letter of the series is a complaint which the painter1 writing from ,goto1 addresses to ,lodovico1 saying that his stipend is irregularly paid1 a wrong which the ,marquis promptly redressed4 ,three years later we find him in the same liberal spirit advancing one hundred ducats which ,mantegna begged in order to decorate and improve his house in ,mantua4 ,there our painter spent the winter with his wife and three children--tutto la mia brigatela he calls them in a letter to the ,marquis--and each year1 when the summer heats returned1 he moved to a country-house at ,buscoldo1 where he afterwards received a grant of land from his patron4 ,in #adff he paid a visit to ,florence1 where he had at least one friend in the learned ,abbot of ,fiesole1 and a letter from ,giovanni ,aldobrandini1 an agent of ,lodovico1 describes the great respect with which he was received1 and the admiration excited by his varied accomplishments4 8,not only in painting but in other ways he showed remarkable knowledge and most excellent understanding0 is ,aldobrandini's testimony1 and we learn from other sources that he took much pleasure in poetry1 and even wrote verses himself4 ,a sonnet of his composition addressed to a lady whose name is unknown1 and written in the fashionable ,platonic style of the day1 has been discovered in the ,mantuan archives and is given by ,moschini4 ,as a collector of antiquities he had acquired considerable reputation1 and in #adgb we find the young ,cardinal ,francesco ,gonzaga1 then at ,bologna1 begging his father that ,mantegna may be sent to him that he may have the pleasure of showing him his cameos1 bronzes1 and other antiques4 ,unfortunately the culture and refined taste which made ,mantegna so agreeable a companion were accompanied by an irritable temper1 and a readiness to take offence1 which rendered him the reverse of a pleasant neighbour4 ,the most trifling contradictions were sufficient to excite furious outbursts of anger on his part1 and his letters to ,lodovico are full of the pettiest grievances4 ,the ,marquis1 it must be said1 treated him with the utmost forbearance1 and spared no pains to inquire into the grounds of his complaints1 however small4 ,on one occasion he implores ,lodovico to punish a tailor who has spoilt a piece of his cloth1 on another he has quarrelled with a gardener and his wife who live in the same street1 and complains that neither he nor his wife can leave the house without being attacked by insulting words4 ,more serious was the lawsuit in which he found himself involved with the engraver1 ,zoan ,andrea1 whom he suspected of purloining his plates1 and to whom he administered a sound thrashing4 ,upon this ,zoan ,andrea had recourse to legal measures1 in which ,mantegna seems to have fared badly1 since he was again compelled to seek the help of his powerful patron4 ,but of all ,andrea's quarrels1 that which excited his greatest wrath was his breach with his ,buscoldo neighbour1 ,francesco ,aliprandi1 whom he publicly accused of stealing five hundred quinces from a tree which grew in his garden4 ,there is a singular combination of the pathetic and ludicrous in ,mantegna's description of the beauty of his fruit tree1 with its branches so heavily laden that they touched the ground4 ,each day he looked upon it with fresh delight1 until one ,september morning he found all the quinces gone1 and the tree stripped and bare4 ,his anger knew no bounds1 and he did not hesitate to charge his nearest neighbours1 the ,aliprandi1 who he was convinced bore him secret ill-will with the theft4 ,upon this ,francesco ,aliprandi1 who seems to have been a citizen of good birth1 denied the charge indignantly1 saying that during the two hundred years his family had lived in ,mantua1 they had never been insulted by so vile an epithet as that of thief1 and complaining of ,mantegna's disagreeable character as the real cause of all this disturbance4 8,no one10 ,aliprandi continues1 8can live near him in peace1 and at the present moment he is engaged in lawsuits with no less than five of his neighbours40 ,even the ,marquis was forced to admit this time that ,andrea was in the wrong1 and1 after carefully investigating the case1 arrived at the conclusion that the quinces had been stolen by some unknown thief4 ,this ruggedness of disposition and exaggerated susceptibility which1 by attaching excessive importance to the trifling cares of daily life1 proved a constant torment to ,mantegna and those around him1 remind us curiously of ,michelangelo1 whom in more ways than one our master resembled4 ,like the great ,florentine in this also1 he never stooped to flattery or servile expressions in addressing his patron4 ,on the contrary1 there is from the first an independent spirit and proud consciousness of his own merit which never deserts him1 and he tells the ,marquis repeatedly that his coming to ,mantua was a great favour on his part1 and that no other prince in ,italy has so industrious an artist in his service4 ,the boast may not have sounded well in ,mantegna's lips1 but it was a true one4 ,his activity was indefatigable1 and whether he painted in chapels and palaces1 or made studies for tapestry or designs from the turkey-cocks and hens which strutted in the court poultry-yard1 his time and powers were unreservedly placed at ,lodovico's disposal4 ,what we have to regret is that so little of all his splendid work is left1 although when we consider the subsequent history of ,mantua1 it is rather to be wondered that anything has been saved from the general wreck4 ,in #afcj1 little more than a hundred years after ,mantegna's time1 the city was besieged during three months by the ,imperialists1 and ultimately taken and sacked for three whole days4 ,in #agig it was again twice besieged and bombarded by the ,french and ,austrians1 and during the wars of the present century the ducal palace has been alternately occupied by ,french and ,german soldiers4 ,this once sumptuous pile is now the dreariest and most desolate of palaces4 ,the little life that still lingers in the old town clusters round the market-place on the ,piazza delle ,erbe1 and grass grows on the deserted square which was once the centre of 8,mantova la ,gloriosa40 ,illustration3 ,,meeting ,,of ,,lodovico ,,gonzaga ,,and ,,his ,,son1 ,,the ,,cardinal ,,francesco4 ,,by ,,mantegna4 ,in the ,camera degli ,sposi1 at ,mantua4 ,we pass through endless suites of spacious halls paved with marble and adorned with decaying frescoes and other remnants of faded splendour1 till we reach the older part of the palace known in the days of the ,gonzagas as the ,castello di ,corte4 ,from its windows we look down on the sleepy waters of the vast lagoon1 which seems to divide ,mantua from the outer world1 and over miles of swampy marshes1 through which 8smooth-sliding ,mincius0 winds its way4 ,here the ,gonzagas hold their splendid court1 here the banqueting-halls where they feasted1 the ball-rooms--the scenes of their revels and masquerades--the suite of tiny apartments expressly built for the use of the dwarfs1 the courtyards where the dogs were kept1 are still shown4 ,here ,mantegna painted1 and here the walls of a room1 now used to contain the archives1 were entirely covered with frescoes by himself4 ,this was the famous ,camera degli ,sposi1 on which ,andrea was engaged between #adgj and #adgd1 and where he represented ,lodovico ,gonzaga and his wife1 ,barbara of ,brandenburg1 surrounded by the different members of their family4 ,all the frescoes have been much damaged1 and those on two of the walls completely obliterated2 but the groups which remain and the decorations of the ceiling are of the highest interest1 and1 if we except the ,hampton ,court ,triumphs1 form the most important series that we have from ,mantegna's hand4 ,on the east wall above the mantel-piece is the central group4 ,lodovico and his wife1 clad in rich brocaded robes1 are seated in a garden surrounded by their children1 and dwarfs in the act of receiving a messenger1 who hands the ,marquis a letter4 ,neither ,lodovico nor any of his family seem to have been remarkable for personal beauty1 and ,mantegna has not made any attempt to embellish them4 ,he paints them exactly as they were1 in the stiff costumes of the day4 ,barbara wears the same veiled horn-shaped head-dress as in ,andrea's portrait-engraving in the ,british ,museum2 the children and courtiers are in short jackets and tight-fitting caps4 ,nothing is omitted that could complete the picture1 which is like a page torn out of the court life of those times2 a favourite greyhound lies asleep under ,lodovico's chair1 and several dwarfs positively repulsive in their ugliness are introduced4 ,they formed1 we know1 an important part of the household1 since the ,marquis kept a particular race1 bred at ,mantua1 and reserved a whole wing of his palace1 with staircases1 halls1 and bedrooms adapted to their stature1 for their exclusive use4 ,beyond the fine figure of the courtier on the right1 evidently the painter's own portrait1 we have another compartment where the ,marquis stands at the head of the stairs welcoming his guests1 or1 as ,selvatico suggests1 opening his arms to his son ,federico1 who had been in disgrace for refusing to consent to a marriage which ,lodovico had arranged for him4 ,this subject is much damaged1 but on the entrance-wall is another group1 the best preserved of the three1 in which the ,marquis meets his younger son1 the boy-cardinal ,francesco1 on his return from ,rome4 ,the composition is stiff and the dresses awkward1 but nothing can surpass the life-like character of the heads1 whether we fix our eyes on the baby-faces and demure air of the children who advance to welcome their brother1 or on the vigorous profiles of ,lodovico and his courtiers4 ,a tame lion crouches at the feet of the ,marquis1 and a view of hills and classical temples1 intended to represent ,rome1 fills in the background4 ,on the opposite side of the doorway the servants and pages in attendance are introduced holding their master's horse1 and several dogs in leash1 all admirably drawn2 while above the door itself a charming group of seven winged boys1 in every possible attitude1 support a tablet with the following inscription3-- ,ill ,lodovico ,,ii4 ,m4,m4 ,principi optimo ac ,fide invictissimo ,et ,ill ,barbar eius ,conjugi ,mulierum ,glor ,incomparabili ,suus ,andreas ,mantinia ,patavus opus hoc tenue ,ad eorum ,decus absolvit4 ,ann4 ,,mcccclxxiiii4 ,the grace and freshness of these boy-angels form a striking contrast to the stiff figures on the walls1 and both here and in the decorations of the ceiling our painter1 released from the obligations of portraiture1 allowed his fancy free play4 ,medallions of the ,csars wreathed in laurel1 grisaille scenes from the myths of ,hercules and ,antus1 ,orpheus1 ,apollo1 and the ,tritons1 occupy the vaulting of the ceiling2 while in the centre a circular opening is painted to represent a blue sky1 across which white clouds are floating by1 as we see in actual reality in the ,pantheon of ,rome4 ,round this open space runs a balustrade1 upon which a peacock is perched and a basket of fruit rests4 ,two women1 a girl with a jewelled head-dress and a negress1 look down from above with laughing faces1 while a band of winged boys play on the edge of the stone-work4 ,these are the famous figures1 che scortano di sotto in s1 which ,vasari says excited general admiration when ,mantegna first painted them in the ,castle of ,mantua4 ,instead of treating the ceiling in the usual fashion1 as another flat surface on a level with the spectator's eye1 he endeavoured to represent the figures he painted there as seen from below1 and in reality looking down over the balustrade4 ,the optical illusion is effected in a masterly way1 and the playful boys1 who push their heads through the open stone-work of the parapet or balance themselves on its edge1 are admirably foreshortened4 ,curiously enough1 this new principle of ceiling decoration1 which in ,corregio's days was to become universal1 and which ,mantegna here attempted for the first time1 was employed at almost the same moment by another painter1 ,melozzo da ,forli1 in his fresco of the 8,glory of ,heaven0 in the tribune of the ,church of the ,,ss4 ,apostoli at ,rome4 ,whether the two masters had ever been brought into personal contact we do not learn1 but we know that ,giovanni ,santi1 the father of ,raphael1 in his rhyming chronicle1 gives ,mantegna's perspective the highest praise1 and we may infer from this that the great ,lombard's influence had penetrated far enough south to reach the ,umbrian artists4 ,the frescoes of the ,camera degli ,sposi were finished in #adgd1 and ten years later it is recorded that ,mantegna painted in another part of the palace1 known as the ,scalcheria2 but a ruined ceiling1 with the same circular opening and sportive ,loves1 is all that is left of his work there4 ,traces of his hand are also visible in another hall in some of the groups of a large1 much-injured fresco1 where the first ,gonzaga is represented taking the oath as ,capitano del popolo1 and more especially in the children holding a tablet which once bore a now-effaced inscription4 ,all else has perished4 ,the lapse of time and the more cruel ravages of man have swept away whatever other paintings once adorned these walls1 and the precious fragments of the ,camera degli ,sposi are absolutely the only works of ,mantegna that are still to be seen in this his adopted city1 where he spent well-nigh fifty years of his life4 ,illustration ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,work ,,at ,,mantua ,,and ,,rome3 ,,engravings1 ,a4,d4 #adgd-adij4 ,the painting of the ,camera degli ,sposi gave the ,marquis an opportunity for the bestowal of new favours on his chosen artist1 8suus ,andreas10 as ,mantegna proudly terms himself on the tablet where he has recorded the completion of the work4 ,lodovico now granted him a piece of land near the ,church of ,st4 ,sebastian1 in ,mantua1 where ,andrea built a house with the help of the architect ,giovanni di ,padova1 and decorated it with frescoes which were the admiration of his contemporaries1 but which perished in the sack of ,mantua4 ,unfortunately his love of splendid undertakings led him into extravagance2 he had already incurred heavy debts by purchasing a property at ,buscoldo1 and the expenses of his new house involved him in further difficulties4 ,according to his usual habit he had recourse to the ,marquis1 and addressed him on the #acth of ,may1 #adgh1 in a querulous letter1 complaining that he is growing old1 and has several sons and one daughter of a marriageable age1 and yet that while others think he is basking in the sunshine of his ,excellency's favour he is in reality poorer than when he first came to ,mantua4 ,he ended by asking him to pay the eight hundred ducats required to satisfy his ,buscoldo creditors1 and to give him six hundred more in order to defray the cost of his new house4 ,lodovico was at that time in great difficulties himself1 for he had been defeated by his enemies1 and even compelled to pawn his jewels4 ,none the less his reply was frank and generous4 ,he fully recognised his obligations1 and assured him that all his last pledges should be redeemed1 but reminded him that of late fortune had been unfavourable to his arms1 and that it was impossible for him to give what he did not possess4 ,this letter1 written in the same kindly spirit which we have often before had occasion to notice1 was the last which ,andrea ever received from his noble patron4 ,before another month had elapsed the good ,marquis was dead1 and had been succeeded by his son ,federico4 ,the young ,gonzaga had known ,mantegna from his boyhood1 and proved as kind and liberal a friend as his father to the wayward artist4 ,he not only paid his debts1 but exempted the estates which he possessed both at ,goto and at ,mantua from the land-tax4 ,all his dealings with ,andrea are marked by the same generous feeling4 ,his letters express much concern on hearing of an attack of illness which had interrupted the painter's work2 and on another occasion1 when one of ,andrea's sons was ill1 he sent his own doctor from ,venice to attend him4 ,during the six years of this prince's brief reign ,mantegna was chiefly employed in painting halls at the villas of ,marmirolo and ,gonzaga1 which have long since shared the common ruin of the summer palaces round ,mantua4 ,his fame was now at its height4 8,the virtue of ,andrea10 wrote the ,marquis ,federico1 8is known to the whole world20 and in #adhc ,lorenzo de' ,medici stopped at ,mantua to visit our painter's house and renowned collection of antiquities4 ,other sovereigns sent him pressing invitations1 and all were desirous of having a work by ,mantegna's hand2 but the great man was capricious1 and refused most of these solicitations4 ,federico himself had to make his painter's excuses in an elaborate epistle to the ,duchess of ,milan1 whose portrait ,andrea flatly refused to undertake4 ,there was no help for it1 and the disappointed lady had to rest satisfied with ,federico's explanation1 that since these excellent masters were so full of fancies we must be content with what they choose to give us4 ,but when ,federico's early death in #adhd left the rule of his principality to a mere child1 ,andrea1 filled with anxiety for the future1 and still heavily burdened with debt1 began to look around him for another patron4 ,his thoughts naturally turned to the illustrious patron of the fine arts who had recently visited his studio1 and he appealed to ,lorenzo de' ,medici in a pathetic letter1 bewailing the losses he had sustained in the successive deaths of two generous masters1 and begging to be employed1 if perchance he should have any talent likely to please so magnificent a prince4 ,what answer ,lorenzo returned to this entreaty we do not learn1 but he probably gave him a commission before long1 since we know that it was for him ,andrea painted the beautiful little ,virgin of the ,uffizi1 which1 with the master's habitual slowness1 he did not finish until the close of his visit to ,rome4 ,this little gem remains a precious memorial of the intercourse between two of the most interesting personalities of the ,renaissance1 and few of ,andrea's conceptions are sweeter than the blue-draped ,mother gazing with drooping eyelids on the ,child whom she rocks to sleep in her arms1 while the peasants are seen at work in the field beyond and a band of herdsmen drive their flocks up the steep hill-side path4 ,after all1 however1 the state of affairs at ,mantua was more hopeful than ,andrea had imagined in his first grief for the loss of ,federico2 and before long the contemplated marriage of the boy ,marquis ,francesco with ,isabella of ,este renewed his connection with the house of ,ferrara1 whose members had been among his earliest patrons4 ,he now painted a ,madonna for the ,duchess ,eleanor1 which ,francesco himself took to ,ferrara1 where his mother-in-law was impatiently awaiting its arrival4 ,most critics agree in identifying this picture with the noble ,virgin1 formerly in the possession of ,sir ,c4 ,eastlake and now in the ,dresden ,gallery1 a work in which the thoughtfulness of the child and tender maternal feeling of ,mary are peculiarly impressive4 ,very soon afterwards1 in the year #adhe1 ,mantegna began the greatest work of his whole life1 the 8,triumphs of ,julius ,csar10 now at ,hampton ,court4 ,they were originally destined for the palace of ,st4 ,sebastian1 at ,mantua1 which the young ,marquis was then building2 and a letter of the #beth of ,august1 #adhe1 describes how ,prince ,ercole of ,ferrara saw ,mantegna employed on them in his studio4 ,while engaged on this engrossing work he was interrupted in the summer of #adhh by an invitation from ,pope ,innocent ,,viii41 who begged ,francesco that the great ,lombard artist might be allowed to decorate his newly erected chapel in the ,vatican4 ,political reasons induced the ,marquis to consent2 he knighted ,andrea and sent him to ,rome with the most flattering recommendations4 ,during two years ,mantegna painted in the chapel of the ,vatican1 and it is a subject of the deepest regret that a series of frescoes executed in his best period should have been ruthlessly destroyed by ,pius ,,vi4 when he enlarged the ,vatican ,museum4 ,on the entrance wall the ,madonna sat enthroned1 above the altar was the 8,baptism10 on the side walls the 8,birth of ,christ0 and the 8,adoration of the ,magi20 while ,old ,testament subjects and the ,virtues were represented in grisaille on the ceiling1 all painted1 says ,vasari1 with the same miniature-like finish4 ,but ,andrea did not find the ,pope a liberal patron or ,rome a pleasant residence4 ,he complains bitterly in his letters to ,francesco of the irregular payment which he receives1 and the difference which he finds between the habits of the ,vatican and those of the ,courts4 ,whether he was not treated with the deference to which he was accustomed1 or whether failing health oppressed his spirits1 his tone becomes more and more melancholy4 ,a longing for home had seized him1 and he implores the ,marquis to send him a few lines of comfort1 since he is now1 as he always has been1 the child of the ,house of ,gonzaga1 and will serve no other prince4 ,anxiety for his unfinished 8,triumphs0 is added to the solicitude which he feels for his absent family1 and he entreats ,francesco in the same breath to find his son ,lodovico employment1 and to take care that his 8,triumphs0 are not injured by rain coming in at the windows1 since he considers them the best and most perfect of all his works4 ,francesco replied in the most friendly manner1 promising to attend to his requests1 and begging ,andrea to be careful of his health1 and to return as speedily as possible to complete the 8,triumphs10 which he counts the greatest glory of ,mantua and his own house4 ,but the frescoes of the ,belvedere ,chapel were no small task1 and ,andrea had1 as he complains1 no assistant to help him in his labours4 ,he found means1 however1 to express his dissatisfaction to the ,pope one day by adding another ,virtue to the figures which he had designed4 ,the ,pope1 who frequently visited him when at work1 asked him who the last ,virtue might be4 8,that is ,discretion10 said the painter2 upon which the ,pope1 not to be outdone1 returned promptly1 8,put her in good company then1 and add ,patience40 ,another version of the story1 given by ,ridolf1 is that he added the figure of ,ingratitude as an eighth to the seven deadly sins1 saying that this was the blackest of all crimes4 ,in the following ,june he writes more cheerfully1 describing a singular visitor he has had in the person of ,zizim1 brother of the ,sultan ,bajazet1 then a captive in the ,vatican1 and sending his portrait for ,francesco's amusement4 ,another six months passed1 and the ,marquis wrote again1 this time in a very urgent strain1 both to the ,pope and ,mantegna1 saying that his marriage with ,isabella of ,este was to take place in ,january1 and that ,andrea's presence was indispensable4 ,the courier who brought the letter found the painter ill in bed and unable to move2 so the wedding festivities had to be celebrated without him1 and his return was delayed until the following summer1 when the ,pope at length dismissed him with a complimentary letter of thanks to the ,marquis4 ,besides the small 8,virgin0 of the ,uffizi1 only one other work of ,andrea's ,roman time is known to exist1 a 8,man of ,sorrows1 supported by ,angels10 now in the ,museum of ,copenhagen1 and1 like the ,brera ,piet1 remarkable for the skill and knowledge displayed both in the drawing and distribution of light and shade4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it has often been said that during his visit to ,rome1 ,mantegna first learnt the new art of engraving1 in the practice of which he spent so large a portion of his time and powers4 ,but if we consider1 on the one hand1 the variety both in style and subject of his plates1 and on the other the great undertakings on which he was engaged during his last years1 we shall see that this is impossible4 ,it is true that no fixed date in his earlier career can be assigned with certainty1 but an attentive study of his engravings will1 we think1 result in the conclusion that his first efforts in this new branch of art belong to his ,paduan days1 and that he pursued it at intervals all through his career1 but with increased activity during the latter part of his life4 ,two plates especially1 the unfinished 8,scourging0 and the 8,descent of ,christ into ,limbo10 bear a strong resemblance to the ,eremitani frescoes1 while others remind us in a similar manner of the ,san ,zeno altar-piece and the earlier ,mantuan paintings4 ,at first his method was imperfect1 but we trace a gradual improvement in the plates1 in proportion as he acquired greater technical knowledge in the new art and became acquainted with ,maso di ,finiguerra1 and it may be with ,schongauer's engravings4 ,all are marked by the same firmness of outline1 by the same closely-marked shading drawn in slanting lines from right to left1 and1 above all1 by the constant endeavour to give the print something of the charm of chiaroscuro and colour4 ,since1 however1 a whole school of engravers formed themselves on ,mantegna's style1 and ,zoan ,andrea1 ,mocetto1 ,campagnola and others1 all adopted his method and confined themselves almost exclusively to the reproduction of his works--the task of distinguishing ,mantegna's original plates is by no means easy4 ,of late years they have been subjected to a severe criticism1 and many formerly attributed to him are now rejected4 ,but1 whether we accept twenty-four or twenty with ,m4 ,duplessis and ,bartsch1 or limit the number to thirteen with ,m4 ,wallis1 we shall equally acknowledge how wonderfully every aspect of his genius is represented in these engravings1 and how inexhaustible was that wealth of thought and imagery which1 unable to find its full expression in painting1 sought another channel in the sister art4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,entombment4 ,from the engraving by ,mantegna4 ,small as is the cycle of genuine prints1 they embrace a wide range of subject2 pagan myths1 ,roman and ,christian themes1 are all treated in turn with the same seriousness of purpose and marvellous variety of invention4 ,sometimes he reproduces his own pictures--the 8,virgin of the ,grotto0 from the ,uffizi triptych1 in later years we have the 8,triumphs0 and the 8,dancing ,muses of the ,parnassus40 ,the ,bacchanalia1 and still more the 8,battle of the ,sea-gods10 remain to show us how deeply the spirit of classic bas-relief had sunk into his soul4 ,certain subjects there are in which he takes especial delight1 which he treats with as great freshness and originality as if he had never before approached them4 ,such are the 8,hercules and ,antus10 already represented in grisaille on the ceiling of the ,camera degli ,sposi1 and the 8,st4 ,sebastian10 which hardly yields in beauty to the sublime painting of the ,belvedere4 ,at other times he reveals some altogether new conception1 as in the noble 8,descent from the ,cross10 which supplied the motives whence ,albrecht ,drer1 ,luca ,signorelli1 ,daniele da ,volterra1 and ,rubens in turn took their inspirations4 ,in dramatic power and intensity of feeling this plate is only equalled by the well-known 8,entombment10 where all the horrors of death1 all the depths of the wildest despair1 seem gathered up and concentrated in that one figure of ,st4 ,john wringing his hands aloft and uttering the great and bitter cry which cannot be restrained4 ,the same strong feeling shows itself under another form in the seated ,madonna1 whose whole figure is swayed with the foreboding of coming anguish that mingles with her love1 as she bends forward to press the ,child closer to her face4 ,but although these figures1 animated with rage and despair1 with a great hatred or a still greater love1 are the subjects on which ,andrea seemed to dwell with preference in his engravings1 he returns at times to the serene repose of ancient statuary1 and designs for us a group of perfect majesty in the three grand figures of 8,st4 ,andrew1 ,st4 ,longinus1 and the ,risen ,christ10 who stands between them1 calm and strong1 with the awe of that death which he had conquered still upon his brow4 ,again1 in vivid contrast with reeling satyrs and angry ,tritons battling on the rough sea-waves1 we have the quiet portrait heads of ,lodovico ,gonzaga and his wife1 ,barbara1#b whose homely faces and earnest eyes look out of the same quaint costumes as on their palace walls at ,mantua1 and on whose brocaded robes infinite pains have been bestowed4 ,this is not the place to enter into further details1 or a whole volume might with profit be devoted to the consideration of ,mantegna's engravings1 but enough has been said to show how important a part of his works they form1 and how extraordinary was the genius of the man who could1 in his leisure moments during the brief intervals which elapsed between his greater tasks1 give to the world so rich a treasure of profound and varied thought4 ,illustration3 ,,judith ,,with ,,the ,,head ,,of ,,holofernes4 ,from the drawing by ,mantegna in the ,uffizi4 ,illustration ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,triumphs ,,of ,,julius ,c,,sar3 ,,drawings1 #adij-aejj4 ,mantegna1 as we have already mentioned1 returned to ,mantua in the summer of #adij1 and during the rest of that year and the whole of the following one he devoted himself without interruption to his 8,triumphs10 which he finally completed in ,february1 #adib4 ,this famous series consists of nine pieces of fine twilled linen1 upon which ,andrea painted in tempera the triumphal procession of ,julius ,csar on his way to the ,capitol1 after the ,conquest of ,gaul4 ,the whole formed a frieze eighty feet long1 and the separate compartments1 each nine feet high1 were originally divided by pilasters adorned with warlike ornaments4 ,in the first piece1 the trumpeters marching at the head of the procession open the pageant with a burst of warlike music1 closely followed by standard-bearers carrying pictures of ,csar's victories1 smoking censers1 and a large bust of ,roma ,victrix4 ,in the second1 the gods of the captive cities are borne in chariots1 a colossal ,jupiter and ,juno foremost1 then a fine ,cybele1 and after these come trophies of armour1 battering-rams1 and other warlike implements1 lifted high on men's shoulders4 ,the costlier part of the spoil follows in the third and fourth compartments1 where strong men bend under the weight of vases filled with gold and treasures1 and white heifers garlanded with flowers ready for sacrifice1 are led by veiled priests and beautiful fair-haired youths in their white tunics and red girdles4 ,in the fifth picture another band of trumpeters heralds the next division1 and four large elephants1 hung with gold chains and draperies1 bear on their backs baskets of flowers and young children1 who fan the flames of lighted candelabra4 ,more trophies follow in the sixth compartment2 the armour of captive princes is borne aloft on poles1 and so great is its weight that one old soldier1 exhausted by the load he bears1 sits down to recover breath4 ,in the next picture we reach the most interesting part of the procession--a train of captives who advance with slow and sorrowful steps1 but not without an air of noble fortitude on their faces as they meet the jeers of the populace4 ,men and women of all ages are among them1 proud chiefs1 matrons of royal blood1 sweet-faced maidens1 a young bride with the myrtle wreath on her fair brow and a coral necklace round her throat4 ,close to her we see a mother bearing her youngest born in her arms and leading a boy by the hand1 who cries to be taken up1 while the old grandmother bends down to soothe him with caresses4 ,in the eighth picture1 immediately following this touching group1 come the jesters and hideous buffoons1 who mock the prisoners with their laughter and ape-like grimaces1 and a troop of musicians singing and dancing to the sound of timbrels4 ,after these we have another company of signiferi1 this time bearing the eagles of the victorious legions and the she-wolf of ,rome4 ,their faces are turned backwards1 and their eager1 expectant gaze prepare us for the coming of the conqueror1 who appears in the last picture seated on a richly sculptured biga with sceptre and palm in his hand1 and a laurel crown1 which a winged ,victory is in the act of placing on his brow4 ,at his feet children shout for joy1 and wave laurel boughs in his path2 the multitude press round his chariot wheels and a gaily-clad youth1 with eager enthusiasm in his upturned gaze1 lifts aloft a banner bearing ,csar's well-known motto1 ,veni1 vidi1 vici1 to meet the victor's eyes4 ,this subject now forms the last of the series but ,mantegna's original scheme included a tenth picture which he afterwards abandoned1 probably because the hall for which the 8,triumphs0 were intended was not large enough to contain more than nine4 ,an engraving1 however1 remains in which a body of ,roman citizens1 followed by the first ranks of the advancing legions1 are represented marching in the conqueror's progress2 and the great procession1 after reaching its culminating point1 is thus brought to a tranquil close4 ,goethe1 who knew the 8,triumphs10 not indeed in the original1 but from ,andreani's engravings1 and who wrote a masterly criticism on the series1 was the first to feel the need of a final scene to satisfy the eye1 and to point out that this must have been the artist's original design4 ,such1 then1 are the principal parts of this magnificent work1 in which the love of antiquity1 which was the ruling power of ,mantegna's genius1 found its highest expression4 ,it was a sentiment common to many artists in this age of revived learning1 but while other men1 like ,botticelli or ,piero della ,francesca1 saw pagan themes through the colouring of their own medieval fancies1 he alone entered thoroughly into the true spirit of ancient art4 ,a glance at the 8,triumphs0 is sufficient to show us how profoundly ,mantegna had studied classical authors and how much freedom he had acquired in dealing with his subject4 ,illustration3 ,,part ,,of ,,the ,,triumphs ,,of ,,julius ,c,,sar4 ,,by ,,mantegna4 ,at ,hampton ,court4 ,those ancient ,romans are no strangers to him2 he has lived among them and mingled with them as freely as with men of his own day1 the folds of their draperies1 their very gait and countenance are all familiar to him4 ,the same intimate knowledge of ,roman times reveals itself in a hundred details2 in the temples and viaducts of the background1 in the mythological reliefs which adorn chariots1 shields and breast-plates1 in tablets bearing ,latin inscriptions1 in the triumphal arch under which ,csar passes as he goes on his way4 ,and here we may notice that ,andrea1 in one of the reliefs of this arch1 has again introduced the 8,twins0 of ,monte ,cavallo1 which during his visit to ,rome he had doubtless seen with his own eyes in their time-honoured place on the ,quirinal hill4 ,in the execution of the 8,triumphs0 we observe the same high degree of finish1 as in all his later work2 the drapery hangs in the small folds of ,greek sculpture1 but without stiffness or formality2 while the light and transparent colouring is admirably adapted in its softly-shaded tints to the general character of the subject4 ,evidently in this it was ,mantegna's intention to imitate as closely as possible the style of ancient painting4 ,unfortunately most of the pictures have suffered from repainting1 and at the present day it needs a very minute examination to appreciate the delicacy of the fragments that have been left untouched4 ,both in the plastic tendency of form and in the principles of perspective which ,mantegna has here successfully applied1 we see the result of his earlier studies1 modified and restrained by the experience of the thirty years which had passed since the days when he painted the ,eremitani frescoes4 ,nothing can surpass the manner in which the whole of the splendid pageantry of the 8,triumphs0 is subdued and governed by the laws of composition1 till every figure moves in perfect rhythm and harmony of line4 ,we have only to look at the episode of the 8,triumphs0 by ,rubens 7in the ,national ,gallery7 to see how the subject1 released from the severe restraint of ,mantegna's art1 could degenerate into a ,bacchanalian feast of wild beasts1 revellers1 and dancing women4 ,but for all its sculptured tendencies and likenesses to a classic frieze1 this great series is no procession of marble statues1 cold and rigid in their antique beauty4 ,the forms which pass before us in the long array are animated with life and warmth1 their faces glow with the fire of human passion in all its endless varieties4 ,tender and youthful1 or worn by age and care1 exultant with the joy of victory1 or bowed down to earth by a cruel fate1 they are men and women like ourselves1 and appeal to us by the instincts of a common humanity4 ,in the well-known words of ,goethe1 8,the study of the antique supplies form1 nature gives movement and the last touch of life40 ,for more than a century the 8,triumphs0 of ,mantegna remained in the hall of the palace for which they had been intended1 and were seen there both by ,vasari and the historian ,mario ,equicola4 ,on festive occasions they were sometimes moved to the ,castello di ,corte1 and in ,andrea's lifetime they were used as stage decorations when the comedies of ,plautus and ,terence were performed at the ,court of ,mantua4 ,several separate episodes of the 8,triumphs0 were engraved by ,mantegna himself1 and the complete series became generally known by the publication of the large wood-cuts by ,andrea ,andreani at the close of the sixteenth century4 ,in #afbh1 a short time before the sack of ,mantua1 the pictures themselves were sold to ,charles ,i41 with several other masterpieces of the ,gonzaga collection4 ,after that monarch's death on the scaffold they were again sold by the ,parliament1 but ,cromwell bought them for #a1jjj4c ,charles ,,ii4 placed them in the palace at ,hampton ,court4 ,there this precious series still remains1 irreparably injured by frequent removal and repainting1 but still in beauty and completeness both of design and execution one of the most remarkable works of the ,italian ,renaissance4 ,the exact date of the completion of the 8,triumphs0 is fixed by a fresh grant of land which ,francesco bestowed upon ,mantegna in ,february1 #adib1 with an express mention of the great work which he had at length brought to a happy termination4 8,if the ,marquis had loved him before1 he loved him still more now10 says ,vasari1 and in reality ,andrea seemed to have attained the highest pitch of honour and good fortune4 ,for once his affairs were prosperous4 ,in #adib he sold his small property at ,padua1 and two years later furnished his own beautiful house in the quarter of ,st4 ,sebastian4 ,at the same time he came to a final settlement with his ,buscoldo creditors and exchanged land with his old enemy ,aliprandi4 ,his son1 ,lodovico1 obtained a good appointment as overseer and agent to the ,marquis at ,cavriana1 while ,francesco1 who was the least satisfactory of the two and frequently caused ,andrea anxiety1 embraced the artist's profession and became his father's assistant4 ,lastly1 his only daughter1 ,taddea1 was married1 on the #dth of ,july1 #adii1 with two hundred and sixty ducats as her dowry1 to ,viano ,vianesi1 whom he styles 8uomo prudente0 in his letters4 ,besides these children by marriage ,andrea had one other son1 ,gian' ,andrea by name1 born in his old age after the death of his wife ,niccolosia1 and whom in his will of #aejd he mentions as being still a child4 ,his improved circumstances seem to have softened his temper1 and the only complaint we find in his letters to the ,marquis at this time is that the stones which he had prepared for building in his yard are stolen in broad daylight1 one of the thieves whom his son had caught in the act of carrying away his spoil under his mantle being an officer of ,francesco's household4 ,we hear occasionally of his suffering from attacks of illness1 but as a painter his powers were at their best1 and many of his finest works belong to the period between his return from ,rome and the close of the fifteenth century4 ,among classical subjects are the two beautiful pictures now in the ,louvre1 originally executed for the ,marchioness ,isabella's 8studio of the grotto10 a room which ,andrea1 ,perugino1 and ,costa were all employed to decorate1 and which became a complete museum of both antique and ,renaissance art4 ,andrea painted several panels for this apartment at ,isabella's command1 some we are told in imitation of bronze-reliefs1 and one in which the prophet ,jonah1 is represented in the act of being cast into the sea2 but the 8,wisdom ,victorious over the ,vices0 and the 8,parnassus10 both in the ,louvre1 are the only works of the series which have come down to posterity4 ,both closely resemble the 8,triumphs0 in style of modelling and in delicacy of finish4 ,one is an allegorical composition1 such as ,botticelli might have painted1 in which ,minerva and ,diana1 led by ,wisdom bearing a torch1 are driving out a tribe of ,vices under the forms of centaurs and satyrs1 while ,justice1 ,force1 and ,temperance hover in the air1 about to return to earth4 ,the form of the avenging goddesses is essentially classic in type1 and the trees of the background show that loving care in each leaf which entitles ,mantegna to a foremost place among the foliage painters of the age4 ,the other1 perhaps the most poetic of all ,andrea's conceptions1 brings before us a pleasant landscape where the ,muses dance hand in hand to the music of ,apollo's lyre1 while ,mercury leans on the neck of ,pegasus hard by1 and ,mars and ,venus pause from their embraces to listen to the enchanted sound4 ,brighter tints than ,andrea generally employs enliven the scene1 and in the light fluttering drapery and measured stop of the dancing nine there is a grace and charm of movement which no contemporary painter ever surpassed4 ,these groups of dancing nymphs became a favourite motive with ,mantegna1 and form the subject of one of his engravings as well as of a finished drawing1 exceedingly graceful and charming in design1 now at ,munich4 ,classical subjects at this time occupied a great part of his thoughts1 and some of his finest engravings1 the 8,battle of the ,sea-,gods10 8,hercules and ,antus10 and the 8,bacchanalia10 belong to this period4 ,closely related to these are the beautiful drawings of the ,british ,museum to which ,mr4 ,comyns ,carr recently called attention1 the 8,mars1 ,diana and ,venus10 which in ideal beauty of form yields to none of ,andrea's designs1 and the long frieze-shaped composition of 8,calumny10 after the pattern of ,apelles's last picture1 which these artists of the early ,renaissance delighted to recall4 ,several other precious drawings by ,mantegna belong the ,christ ,church collection1 ,oxford4 ,chief among them is the original composition for his celebrated engraving of the 8,entombment10 and a fine example of another of his favourite subjects1 8,hercules killing the ,lion10 inscribed ,divo ,herculi invicto4 ,many more are in the hands of private collectors1 and a whole volume containing twenty-six sheets of mythological subjects was exhibited in the ,grosvenor ,gallery in #ahgh1 by ,miss ,hannah de ,rothschild 7now ,lady ,rosebery74 ,among the other drawings of remarkable merit now scattered over ,europe1 we will only mention the 8,judgment of ,solomon0 in the ,louvre1 the 8,sagrifizio10 which forms the chief ornament of the ,verona ,museum1 and the well-known 8,judith0 of the ,uffizi 7see page #cg71 which once belonged to ,vasari1 and bears the date of ,february1 #adia4 ,it was not in the nature of ,mantegna's art to cast off a hasty sketch1 or to leave to the world faces of rare loveliness drawn in a few pencil strokes as it were at random on the paper4 ,whether he was engaged on the cartoon of an altar-piece1 or on a simple pattern of a cup or fountain1 all he achieved was marked by the same patient1 untiring labour1 the same minute care1 above all by the same feeling for beauty in every detail4 ,many of us remember that exquisite design for a chalice which attracted general attention in one of our last winter exhibitions4 ,it is true the perspective of the ,cup was faulty1 but this defect was scarcely noticed in the beauty of the work1 with which every part of the chalice was covered4 ,scenes from the life of ,christ1 cherub heads and elaborate scroll work adorned the border of the ,cup4 ,apostles and prophets were figured on its base1 while the stem was studded with rows of lovely babies and angel heads1 executed with a grace and delicacy which rendered the whole a perfect marvel of decorative art4 ,and so it is with his larger drawings1 whether classical or religious in subject4 ,each hair in the head of his 8,judith0 is distinctly drawn1 there is the same attention to form in the folds of her falling drapery1 or1 to take another instance--the fair faces of the youth and maiden in the procession of the ,sagrifizio4 ,both are designs in the best spirit of classical art1 and remind us of the finest ,greek sculpture4 ,we have said that pagan themes occupied much of ,mantegna's imagination during the years immediately following the conclusion of the 8,triumphs10 but the three large altar-pieces which also belong to this period must not be passed over4 ,in the first place we have the 8,madonna della ,vittoria10 now in the ,louvre1 perhaps the noblest of all his religious pictures4 ,this altar-piece was painted by order of the ,marquis ,francesco to commemorate his pretended victory at ,fornovo1 where he had encountered the ,french1 but1 far from being victorious1 had lost the greater part of his army1 and narrowly escaped with his life4 ,a curious circumstance characteristic of the manners of the times is connected with this painting4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,madonna ,,della ,,vittoria4 ,,by ,,mantegna4 ,in the ,louvre1 ,paris4 ,a ,jew of ,villafranca1 ,daniele ,norsa by name1 in the year #adie bought a house in ,mantua which had a ,madonna painted over the door1 and fearing any accidental misfortune to the picture might excite popular displeasure1 prudently obtained leave from the bishop to remove the sacred image4 ,even this step was turned to his prejudice1 and on ,ascension ,day his house was attacked by the mob and narrowly escaped destruction4 ,the ,jew appealed to the ,marquis for protection1 and ultimately his case was brought before a tribunal1 which condemned him1 by way of reparation for the supposed insult to the ,virgin1 to place a new picture painted by ,mantegna in one of the ,mantuan churches4 ,in the meantime the battle of ,fornovo took place1 and ,francesco1 who in the hour of danger had vowed to erect a church in ,mantua to the ,virgin1 resolved to gratify popular feeling and give greater effect to the fulfilment of his vow by placing the building on the spot where the ,madonna's honour had been slighted4 ,accordingly he bought ,norsa's house1 and on the anniversary of the battle1 ,july #fth1 #adif1 the votive ,madonna painted by ,mantegna for the occasion was placed above the high altar of the newly erected church with great popular rejoicing4 ,three hundred years afterwards the ,french carried off this picture1 which was originally intended to celebrate the victory over their nation1 in triumph to ,paris1 where it still remains4 ,few perhaps of ,andrea's larger works are as generally and deservedly popular4 ,the mild ,virgin1 in blue hood and mantle1 sitting under her leafy bower hung with fruit and coral and gay with twittering birds1 is familiar to all visitors to the ,louvre4 ,both mother and child stretch out their hands in blessing towards the kneeling ,marquis1 whose life-like portrait excited the universal admiration of contemporaries4 ,opposite him1 the venerable form of ,st4 ,elizabeth is seen kneeling at the side of the young ,st4 ,john1 who stands on the carved pedestal of the ,virgin's throne1 and in the background are the patron saints of ,mantua1 ,andrew and ,longinus4 ,more beautiful than either of these are the two warrior saints1 ,michael and ,george1 who stand in full armour on either side1 holding the hem of the ,virgin's mantle1 and who1 with their noble features1 manly forms1 and flowing masses of fair locks1 are perfect types of ,christian chivalry--in other words1 of that union of strength and tenderness which is held to constitute the heroic character4 ,the 8,virgin0 of the ,national ,gallery1 long in the possession of different ,milanese families1 bears a close resemblance1 both in style and execution1 to the 8,madonna della ,vittoria10 and was probably painted about the same time4 ,here the ,virgin is seated under a red baldacchino between ,st4 ,mary ,magdalen and the ,baptist1 who stand erect against a background of dark green orange-trees and silver-clouded sky4 ,the face of the ,magdalen is lighted with the glad enthusiasm of her love1 and in the foliage we notice the same careful finish as in the bowers of the 8,parnassus0 and in the leaf-painting of all ,mantegna's works4 ,to the same period and class of picture belongs the 8,glorified ,madonna0 which ,andrea painted for the monks of ,santa ,maria in ,organo of ,verona1 now in the ,casa ,trivulzi at ,milan4 ,here the ,madonna is enthroned on the clouds1 with four life-sized saints2 a landscape of tall lemon-trees is behind her4 ,a troop of singing boy-angels hover in the air1 after the fashion of the ,camera degli ,sposi frescoes1 and one bears a scroll with the inscription3-- 8,a ,mantinia p4 an4 gracie #adig1 #ae ,augusti40 ,illustration3 ,,virgin ,,and ,,child1 ,,with ,,st4 ,,john ,,and ,,the ,,magdalen4 ,,by ,,mantegna4 ,in the ,national ,gallery1 ,london4 ,the small blue-mantled 8,madonna0 of ,bergamo1 and a good portrait of a ,gonzaga in the same collection1 may have been painted towards the close of the century1 to which period the engravings of the 8,triumphs0 and several other subjects are assigned4 ,finally1 among the labours which occupied the last months of #adii1 was the commission to design a monument of ,virgil for the chief square of ,mantua4 ,the plan originated with the ,marchioness ,isabella1 who consulted the learned ,latinists1 ,pontanus and ,vergerius1 at ,naples1 as to the best mode of carrying her scheme into effect4 ,they suggested ,mantegna as the natural person to furnish a design for the monument1 and he entered warmly into a project so well suited to the spirit of the age4 ,we can hardly imagine a commission more congenial to a painter so imbued with ,latin traditions as ,mantegna1 and the statue which he designed was worthy of the occasion1 as the drawing recently discovered in the collection of ,m4 ,his de la ,salle abundantly proves4 ,virgil is represented crowned with laurel and holding the neid in his hands1 while winged boys on the pedestal at his feet support a tablet with the words3-- 8,p4 ,vergilii ,maronis a tern sui memori imago40 ,unfortunately1 ,andrea never had the satisfaction of seeing this design executed in bronze or marble4 ,whether ,francesco's treasures were expended in wars1 or whether ,isabella's intention was only a caprice of the moment1 the scheme was abandoned1 and ,mantua remained without a monument of her greatest son4 ,illustration ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,last ,,works ,,and ,,death3 ,,his ,,influence ,,on ,,art1 #aejj-aejf4 ,during more than forty years ,andrea had now lived at ,mantua in the service of the ,gonzagas4 ,both at their court and throughout ,italy he was held in the highest honour1 and enjoyed a degree of favour and consideration which1 but few artists have known in their lifetime4 ,his children were1 with the one exception of ,gian' ,andrea1 grown up and well provided for2 he had lands and possessions of his own both in town and country and what he valued even more--a collection of precious antiquities4 ,behind him lay a whole lifetime of great works1 and although now in his seventieth year his powers as yet showed no trace of weakness or failing4 ,we have seen how rich in works of every branch of art was this last decade of the fifteenth century2 how untiring was his activity1 and how fresh and inexhaustible the treasures of his imagination4 ,everything seemed to foretell an old age of honour and prosperity1 in which the great master should still charm men by the creations of his brain and hand1 and yet as his bodily powers grew weaker should enjoy more of the repose to which he was so well entitled4 ,but this was not to be1 and the last few years of ,mantegna's lifetime are a weary record of sorrows and misfortune4 ,again we find him involved in pecuniary difficulties1 brought on by his own extravagance1 and very probably by that of his son1 ,francesco2 in order to meet his liabilities he was compelled to part with the beautiful house which he had decorated with his own hand1 and to live in lodgings1 which he disliked extremely4 ,yet1 with the strange recklessness that formed part of his character1 we find him entering into new and imprudent engagements4 ,in ,march1 #aejd1 he made a will1 leaving a sum of money to his son ,francesco and the chief part of his fortune to ,lodovico1 together with the charge of bringing up the child ,gian' ,andrea1 in whose favour he afterwards altered certain provisions4 ,at the same time he left two hundred ducats for the endowment of the chapel of ,san ,giovanni1 in ,alberti's large church of ,sant' ,andrea1 as a burial-place for himself and his family4 ,special mention is made of his wife1 ,niccolosia1 who had died some years before2 and masses are ordered to be said for the repose of her soul4 ,in ,august of the same year 7#aejd7 he obtained possession of this chapel by a contract with ,sigismondo ,gonzaga1 ,bishop of ,mantua1 and the canons of the church4 ,its decoration now became his favourite scheme1 and it was his intention to paint the walls in fresco and to erect a family monument there4 ,he bought a piece of ground outside to prevent the windows from being blocked up by building1 and announced his intention of turning it into a garden1 where he could spend his time in summer1 and build a small room1 where he might keep himself warm in winter1 8in order10 he adds touchingly1 8that ,i may take a little rest in my old age40 ,but all this expenditure became the cause of fresh difficulties1 and added to the burdens under which ,andrea already groaned4 ,other trials came to sadden his old age4 ,his son ,francesco incurred the displeasure of the ,marquis by some grave misconduct1 and neither ,andrea's tears nor the intercession of ,isabella could prevent his banishment from ,mantua in #aeje4 ,this disgrace was a heavy blow to ,andrea1 who owned that his son had offended grievously1 but thought that his fault might have been overlooked in consideration of his own services4 8,messer ,andrea10 wrote ,isabella to her husband1 8has just now been to see me1 so full of tears and so altered in countenance that he seemed to me more dead than alive40 ,but his activity was undiminished1 and1 heavy as his heart might be1 brain and hand were still the same as ever4 ,we find him returning to a favourite subject of earlier days in the 8,st4 ,sebastian10 originally ordered by the ,bishop of ,mantua1 but now in possession of the ,scarpa family at ,la ,motta1 in ,friuli4 ,the life-sized figure1 lean in proportions and suffering in expression1 has a grandeur of its own4 ,at the feet of the saint is a lighted candle1 which sends a thin blue smoke upwards1 and makes us wonder at its meaning1 until we read the words on the scroll which hangs to the coral string above--,nil nisi divinum stabile est1 ctera fumus4 ,this1 then1 was the conclusion to which he had come at the end of that long life full of works and honour2 this the conviction that old age and gathering troubles were forcing upon the mind of the great painter1 who had seen so clearly and felt so keenly the beauty and the joy of life4 ,in that same sad year of his son's banishment he commenced another of the classic friezes which he loved to paint4 ,this was the splendid composition known as the 8,triumph of ,scipio10 now in the ,national ,gallery1 which a wealthy ,venetian named ,francesco ,cornaro ordered and paid for in part in #aeje1 but which1 to his great indignation1 was still in ,andrea's studio at the time of his death1 when it was seized upon by creditors nearer at hand4 ,the real subject of this work1 executed in chiaroscuro on a background painted to imitate red marble1 is the reception of ,cybele among the deities of ,rome4 ,a colossal bust of the ,phrygian goddess is borne in state into the presence of ,scipio1 who receives the messenger in consular array2 while ,claudia ,quinta1 a ,roman lady1 kneeling at his feet1 welcomes the image with outstretched arms4 ,every gradation of movement is represented here1 from the swift tread of the bearers on whose shoulders the goddess advances1 to the motionless forms of the ,roman soldiers who stand grouped around ,scipio2 and nothing is more striking than the skill with which the artist brings this rapid action by degrees to a complete pause4 ,the general character of the piece1 its costumes1 figures1 and draperies1 all recall the 8,triumphs40 ,it is1 as it were1 a last echo of the great composition whose harmonies still lingered on in ,mantegna's ears4 ,before the end of the year ,andrea1 tired of a wandering life1 had again bought a house1 this time in the ,contrada ,unicorno1 and settled himself there for the winter1 promising to pay the owner three hundred and forty ducats in three instalments4 ,it was an unwise venture1 as the issue too soon proved4 ,a plague drove the wealthier ,mantuans from the city1 provisions became scarce1 and his own health began to give way4 ,still he remained in ,mantua and painted on manfully1 endeavouring to finish a mythological picture of ,comus1 which ,isabella had ordered4 ,but it was in vain4 ,he could not work fast enough to satisfy his creditors1 and when pressed to pay the stipulated sum for his house he was compelled to apply to the ,marchioness for help4 ,isabella was then at a villa near ,cavriana1 and ,andrea wrote to her in pathetic terms1 telling her of his distress1 and offering to her for sale the one of all his antiques which he most valued1 8la mia cara ,faustina40 ,often in brighter days great masters and connoisseurs had wished to buy this bust1 but he had refused all their offers1 and now since part from it he must1 the ,marchioness is the only person to whom he can bear to give it up4 ,strange as it seems1 ,isabella did not answer this letter1 and with a meanness unworthy of her wrote to her servant1 ,jacopo ,calandra1 telling him to bargain with ,andrea and obtain the ,faustina at the lowest price possible4 ,this unkindness cut ,mantegna to the heart1 and when ,calandra communicated ,isabella's answer to him1 he refused angrily to part with the bust for less than the hundred ducats which had been offered him in former days4 ,isabella1 however1 was determined to have it1 and on the #ast of ,august ,calandra was able to write3--8,your ,excellency will be glad to hear that ,i have at last obtained possession of ,andrea ,mantegna's ,faustina4 ,he gave the bust into my hands with great reluctance1 recommending it to my care with much solicitude1 and with such demonstrations of jealous affection that if he were not to see it again for six days ,i feel convinced he would die40 ,the words were to come true sooner than ,isabella or ,calandra had expected4 ,andrea could bear to part with houses and lands1 but the marble was dear to him as his own flesh and blood1 and the parting with it broke his heart4 ,he was already ill at the time1 and six weeks later he died1 on ,sunday1 the #acth of ,september1 #aejf4 ,to the last the old spirit of loyalty to the ,gonzagas did not leave him1 and his son ,francesco1 writing to inform the ,marquis of the sad event1 describes how a few minutes before his death he asked for his master1 and grieved much to think that he should never see him again4 ,francesco was at that time at ,perugia1 whither he had gone to meet ,pope ,julius ,,ii41 and had little time or thought for the great painter who had just passed away4 ,isabella scarcely troubled herself more1 and in a letter full of joyous congratulations to her husband on his entry into ,perugia1 merely alludes to ,mantegna's death3--8,you know ,messer ,andrea died suddenly a few days after your departure40 ,there were others who felt more deeply and judged more rightly of the loss which the world had sustained in ,mantegna's death4 ,albrecht ,durer was at that time in ,venice1 on his way to visit the great ,lombard artist whose engravings had filled him with admiration1 and from whom he had learnt perhaps more than from any other master4 ,his purpose was frustrated by the news of ,andrea's sudden death1 and in later years he was often heard to say that he looked upon this as the saddest event of his whole life4 ,another graceful tribute to ,mantegna's memory was paid by a certain ,lorenzo di ,pavia1 a collector of antiquities and objects of art1 who had known ,mantegna at the court of ,mantua1 and who1 on hearing of his unexpected death1 wrote to ,isabella in these terms3--8,i grieve deeply over the loss of our ,messer ,andrea ,mantegna1 for in truth a most excellent painter1 another ,apelles1 ,i may say1 is gone from us4 ,but ,i believe that ,god will employ him elsewhere on some great and beautiful work4 ,for my part1 ,i know that ,i shall never see again so fine an artist and designer4 ,farewell40 ,the melancholy history of ,mantegna's difficulties did not end with his death1 and his sons had a hard task to satisfy his creditors4 ,one hundred ducats were still owing to the bishop and canons for the mortuary chapel1 and ,cardinal ,gonzaga1 ,bishop of ,mantua1 laid an embargo on the contents of his studio4 ,francesco ,mantegna had to obtain the permission of the ,marquis to sell the pictures that still remained there1 among which he names the 8,triumph of ,scipio10 which ,cornaro had never received1 the 8,st4 ,sebastian10 now at ,la ,motta in ,friuli1 and the famous ,cristo in scurto4 ,by this means his debts were paid1 and a settlement of his affairs concluded4 ,francesco ,gonzaga seems to have behaved kindly1 and both ,andrea's sons continued in his service1 ,lodovico as agent1 while ,francesco succeeded to his father's place1 and painted by turns in the palaces of ,mantua1 ,gonzaga1 and ,marmirolo4 ,the remains of the great master were buried in his own chapel of ,sant' ,andrea1 where half a century later his grandson placed a bronze bust1 supposed to have been the work of the medallist ,sperandio1 and which1 after being taken to ,paris in #agig1 has been restored to its place on ,mantegna's tomb4 ,the chapel itself is bare and dingy1 its walls are whitewashed1 rubbish heaps are allowed to litter the floor1 and the general aspect is of the most cheerless description4 ,but the gloomy surroundings only serve to heighten the imposing grandeur of the bust4 ,the sculptor has caught the spirit which animated the great master1 and has represented ,mantegna1 after the manner of an old ,roman1 wearing a laurel wreath on the thick clusters of hair that shade the deeply furrowed brows and massive features with which more than one portrait in his own frescoes has made us familiar4 ,we seem to feel the fiery flashes of that piercing eye bent upon us1 and to realise the iron strength and unbending force of the genius which no difficulty could dismay1 and no labour exhaust4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sperandio's bust is almost the only thing in ,mantua which still speaks of ,andrea4 ,the perishing frescoes are still to be seen in the deserted palace1 and the walls of the house in which he once lived are standing2 but in this city1 where he painted for nearly fifty years1 his name is forgotten1 and while every child in the streets will talk to you of ,giulio ,romano and the ,hall of the ,giants1 scarcely a creature in the place has ever heard ,mantegna's name4 ,his ,faustina is preserved among other antiques in the public museum1 where visitors can see for themselves the classic outline of the features which he loved so well2 but the custodian1 who unlocks the hall1 and has much to say of the many statues1 passes by this one in silence1 or wonders why it is we linger before this bust1 unmindful of the tragic story which has invested the marble with so deep an interest4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,crucifixion4 ,,by ,,mantegna4 ,in the ,louvre1 ,paris4 ,the name of ,mantegna1 however1 is not one that depends on local fame1 and there can be no difference of opinion as to the important place which he holds in the history of the ,renaissance4 ,we have only to consider how great and widespread was the influence which his works exercised on contemporary art both in ,italy and ,germany4 ,if we examine the different schools of ,north ,italy we shall find that there is scarcely one which did not receive some new impulse from his powerful genius4 ,his son ,francesco followed in his father's steps1 and worked in the same lines without ever rising above the level of mediocrity4 ,the few scholars and assistants he had in ,mantua imitated his example1 and whatever remnants of art were still to be found in ,padua bore the stamp of ,andrea's earliest style4 ,in ,venice we recognise his vigour and precision of outline1 and the classical tendency of his types1 not only in the works of his brothers-in-law1 the ,bellini1 but in those also of the rival ,murano painter1 ,luigi ,vivarini4 ,montagna and ,buonconsiglio at ,vicenza1 ,ercole ,grandi and ,cosimo ,tura at ,ferrara1 alike formed their style upon his1 while the best ,veronese masters were all either his followers or imitators4 ,we know that ,caroto and ,bonsignori assisted him in the execution of his later works1 while his influence is even more apparent in the works of ,liberale1 ,girolamo dai ,libri1 and ,francesco ,morone4 ,the masterpiece of the last-named artist1 the frescoes on the walls and ceiling of the sacristy of ,santa ,maria in ,organo1 at ,verona1 are indeed exact imitations of the style of decoration adopted by ,mantegna in the ,camera degli ,sposi4 ,we trace the same all-prevailing ,mantegnesque in the works of ,lorenzo ,costa1 who spent some years of his life in ,mantua1 and if we are to believe ,vasari it is to the stimulus of ,mantegna's example that we owe the inspiration which made a painter of ,francia4 ,the link which binds ,mantegna to the ,umbrians is as yet uncertain1 but even if ,melozzo da ,forli in his ,roman frescoes derived no help or suggestion from ,andrea1 ,giovanni ,santi's stanzas remain to show us how intimate was his acquaintance with the ,paduan master's works4 ,if from contemporary art we pass to the culminating period of the ,renaissance1 we find ,raphael taking him as his model in more than one instance4 ,the likeness of the boy-angels of the ,camera degli ,sposi to the famous cherubs of the 8,madonna di ,san ,sisto0 has been frequently remarked1 and in the bearers of the dead ,christ1 who walk backwards in the ,borghese 8,entombment10 we find a distinct reminiscence of ,andrea's great engraving4 ,again1 in the treatment of antique themes1 ,raphael often approaches ,mantegna1 and we have little doubt that both he and ,leonardo had closely studied the works of their illustrious predecessor4 ,perhaps the actual connection between ,mantegna and ,michelangelo is less capable of demonstration1 but the strength and energy of expression which were so remarkable features in the genius of both men1 as well as a certain resemblance in their characters1 form a link which binds them together4 ,a very different artist1 ,correggio1 who married a ,mantuan wife1 owes his knowledge of the laws of perspective and composition in a large measure to the study of ,mantegna's works1 and1 whether or not he visited ,mantua himself1 probably derived the first idea of the dome-painting for which he became famous from the ceiling of the ,camera degli ,sposi4 ,but this is not all4 ,the engravings of ,mantegna spread his influence beyond the limits of ,italy into countries north of the ,alps4 ,there was a robustness1 vigour1 and grave earnestness of purpose1 as well as a fantastic element in his art1 which attracted the ,teutonic mind1 and it is perhaps not too much to say that he influenced ,german art more than any other ,italian painter4 ,we have already alluded to ,albrecht ,drer's admiration for his works and anxiety to become personally acquainted with him4 ,a further proof of the fascination which drew him to ,mantegna appears in the highly-finished copies of the 8,bacchanalia0 and 8,battle of the ,sea ,gods10 which ,drer executed with his own hand1 and in the ,st4 ,john of 8,the ,entombment0 which1 unable to forget1 he introduced in his own 8,crucifixion0 of #aejh4 ,professor ,colvin has pointed out how much he learnt from the ,italian master in the delineation of passionate movement1 and how close is the affinity between the avenging angels of ,drer's 8,apocalypse0 and the angry ,tritons of ,mantegna's engraving4 ,nor is ,drer alone among northern painters in his adoption of ,mantegnesque motives4 ,holbein repeatedly availed himself of those episodes of the 8,triumphs0 which he knew from ,andrea's own engravings in his works at ,busle and ,lucerne2 and a portfolio of ,mantegna's works was numbered among the treasures of art in ,rembrandt's possession4 ,more singular is the admiration which ,rubens conceived for an artist with whom he can have had few points in common1 yet we find him visiting ,mantua in order to study ,andrea's works1 and reproducing a scene from the 8,triumphs0 after his own fashion4 ,we have already seen the great honour in which ,andrea was held during his lifetime4 ,that he was equally esteemed by the succeeding generation we learn from the verses of ,ariosto1 who places him next to ,leonardo in his 8,orlando40 ,high as the praise is1 we cannot think it excessive1 for ,mantegna stands half-way between those men who first brought art to life again1 and those who carried it to the highest degree of perfection1 and he occupies the foremost place among the artists of the mid-,renaissance1 who saw how much was wanting before farther progress could be attained1 and allowed no difficulties to stop them in their endeavour to acquire knowledge4 ,with this end in view no research was dull1 no toil wearisome4 ,he embraced the driest studios with the passionate ardour of his nature1 and gave life to the scientific problems which he attempted to solve by the very force of his great zeal4 ,at the same time he brought to the task a degree of culture rare among the men of his class1 and both his friendship with scholars and antiquarians and his own classical studies were productive of the most important results for ,italian painting4 ,he is the chief representative in art of that revival of learning which was the leading intellectual impulse of the age2 and1 by bringing this influence to bear upon painting1 he won a great step in the ,history of its development4 ,first among the artists of the ,renaissance1 he saw with unerring instinct the path by which art would attain her final triumphs4 ,early in his career the conviction had forced itself upon his soul that the most perfect models of beauty are to be sought in antique art1 but that this very perfection can only be reached by a minute and faithful study of nature4 ,to reconcile anew these two principles1 to combine in his work classic grace and human action1 became the aim of his life1 the task which he most nearly achieved in the 8,triumphs0--although even there he is not always successful4 8,we are conscious10 wrote ,goethe1 8of a sense of conflict1 but this conflict is surely the highest in which ever artist was engaged40 ,the perfect union of the two principles was to be effected by artists of the next generation1 and where ,mantegna had sown ,raphael and ,leonardo were to reap4 ,it is this sense of conflicting elements1 this occasional antagonism between the ideal form after which he strove and the actual fact present before his eyes1 which has given rise to so much mistaken criticism of ,mantegna's work4 ,by some critics of the very first rank he is called a mere realist1 while on the other hand the old reproach that he neglected the study of real life to copy statues has been repeated till it has grown wearisome4 ,although it is easy to trace their origin1 both charges are equally unjust4 ,no man had ever a more thorough knowledge of nature1 or was more keenly alive to the minutest details of everyday life around him4 ,but something he felt was needed to lift this changeful scene1 with its seething throng of human thought and action1 into the atmosphere of perfect art4 ,it is just that touch of grace1 that power to ennoble and refine which the ,greeks understood so well1 that ,mantegna felt and sought after in days of long and arduous toil4 ,if at times a certain rigidity of form1 a carelessness of desire to please1 is visible in his work1 it is because in his anxiety to obtain his end he occasionally omitted these minor matters4 ,but to say that ,mantegna was alike destitute of feeling for beauty and of spiritual perception appears to us simple blindness4 ,in knowledge and mastery of the human form1 in skill and finish of workmanship1 in wealth of imagery and creative thought1 few have ever surpassed him4 ,in dramatic energy and intensity of expression he stands unrivalled by any but ,michelangelo4 ,every variety of emotion1 every passion that can swell the breast of man is included within the range of his experience4 ,he knew where to seek the purest springs of joy1 and in darker hours his strong soul had fathomed the lowest depths of the most unutterable anguish4 ,the sportive dances of laughing cherubs and nymphs1 the pleasures and pains of such mythical creatures as ,tritons and ,nereids1 satyrs and sea-monsters1 the sublime and rapt devotion of a ,magdalen1 the heroism of a ,sebastian1 were all familiar to him4 ,he enters in the fullest manner into the exultant joy of the victors returning with their long array of spoils and captives from the fight1 and yet in the midst of the mighty triumphal procession he pauses to show us the innocent child stretching out its little arms to its mother4 ,but more than all he loved to paint the rage of violent passion1 the wild gestures of uncontrollable grief4 ,there are certain figures into which he seems to have concentrated either the tempest of the most ungovernable fury or the agony of the bitterest despair4 ,once seen1 these creations of his brain refuse to loose their hold on our imaginations1 and remain to haunt us with their terrible forms1 just as the wailing ,st4 ,john of 8,the ,entombment0 was ever present to ,albrecht ,drer's mind4 ,the very greatness of ,mantegna's genius1 its immense strength and power1 may in itself be the cause that he is not strictly speaking a popular artist4 ,his works have never been1 perhaps they will never become1 the enthusiastic object of general worship4 ,but within the last few years the number of his admirers has increased steadily1 and his high merit has received the fullest recognition from some of our most cultured writers4 ,that this circle will widen year by year1 as a larger number of students are drawn to examine for themselves those works of ,mantegna which are fortunately within the reach of us all1 we feel confident4 ,it is scarcely necessary to add the expression of our conviction that to those who attentively consider them1 no works yield a more genuine and lasting pleasure1 while assuredly there are none that better repay the devotion of a life-long study4 ,,francesco ,,raibolini ,,called ,,francia ,illustration ,illustration ,,francia4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,early ,,art ,,in ,,bologna1 ,a4,d4 #acjj-adej4 ,from the earliest days of the revival of ,italian painting the city of ,bologna was distinguished for the cultivation of art1 and could boast a regular succession of native painters4 ,the names of several of these men have been preserved by old writers1 and we hear of a ,guido1 a ,ventura1 and ,ursone1 who flourished in the thirteenth century4 ,but the honour of having been the real founder of the school is ascribed by the historian ,malvasia to a miniaturist known by the name of ,franco ,bolognese1 who lived in the time of ,dante and ,giotto4 ,since1 however1 none of his works have come down to the present day1 we have no opportunity of studying his style1 and all that we know is that he was a pupil of the miniaturist ,oderisio da ,gubbio1 and is said by ,dante to have eclipsed his master in the same way that ,giotto surpassed ,cimabue4 ,illustration3 ,,francesco ,,raibolini4 ,when ,virgil and ,dante meet ,oderisio expiating the sin of pride in purgatory1 he tells them mournfully that the pictures which ,franco now paints are fairer than his own1 and that the honour once his now belongs to his scholar4 ,so it has been in ,dante's own city of ,florence1 where once ,cimabue held undisputed possession of the field1 and now the fame is all ,giotto's4 ,for what after all is the voice of earthly fame8 ,nothing but an idle breath of wind that blows first from one quarter1 then from another1 ever fitful and inconstant4 ,but if ,franco ,bolognese's only hope of immortality rests on ,dante's noble lines1 the works of his pupils are still to be seen in ,bologna1 and afford us some idea of native art in these early times4 ,chief among them was ,vitale1 who painted in the first half of the fourteenth century1 and whose few remaining pictures are marked by a softness and delicacy of workmanship which reveal the ,umbrian origin of the school of ,gubbio4 ,a 8,madonna and ,angels10 painted by him in the year #acbj for the ancient church of the ,madonna del ,monte1 and now preserved in the ,gallery of ,bologna1 has a sweetness and humility of expression which approaches contemporary ,sienese art1 and the faces of his virgins are not unworthy precursors of ,francia's ,madonna4 ,the same manner was further developed in the paintings of his best scholar1 ,lippo ,dalmasii1 whose virgins acquired so wide a reputation as to win for him the surname of 8,lippo delle ,madonne40 ,this artist1 who lived at the close of the fourteenth century1 and painted between #acgf and #adaj1 was held in universal respect for the holiness of his life and character4 ,his devout habits are recorded by ,malvasia1 who tells us that1 before commencing a picture of the ,virgin1 he invariably spent the night in prayer and fasting1 and received communion on the morning of the day itself4 ,in his lifetime he was the most popular artist of ,bologna1 and his pictures were so much in request that he could scarcely paint fast enough to supply the demand4 8,no family was considered rich in ,bologna10 says ,malvasia1 8which did not possess one of his ,madonnas40 ,after ,lippo's death his ,madonnas were revered as sacred images1 and were only uncovered on festivals dedicated to the ,virgin4 ,several are still to be seen in the ancient churches of ,bologna1 and a lunetto of the 8,virgin between ,st4 ,sixtus and ,st4 ,benedict0 over the portal of ,san ,procolo1 is pointed out as the very picture which excited the admiration of ,pope ,clement ,,viii4 ,on returning from the conquest of ,ferrara1 he is said to have paused before ,lippo's 8,virgin10 and1 saluting it with the utmost devotion1 to have exclaimed that no other images ever touched him as deeply as those painted by the old ,bologna master4 ,in later days1 ,guido professed an extraordinary veneration for ,lippo's ,madonnas1 and often declared that some supernatural influence must have guided the artist's pencil1 since no modern painter could ever succeed in designing a figure of so much purity and holiness4 ,in spite of these enthusiastic expressions it is impossible to give ,lippo a high place among his contemporaries1 and this ,fra ,angelico of ,bologna is as far below the friar of ,st4 ,marco as the school of his native city is inferior to that of ,florence4 ,one of ,lippo's pictures1 originally in the ,ercolani ,palace at ,bologna1 is now in the ,national ,gallery1 and may be taken as a fair specimen of his style4 ,the ,virgin1 embracing her child1 appears in mid-air surrounded by a circular glory1 angels hover above1 and a flowery meadow lies below4 ,there is a good deal of religious feeling and maternal tenderness in the ,madonna's face1 and some attempt at rendering natural movement1 without either beauty of type or skill of workmanship4 ,side by side with the mystic traditions of the ,madonna painter we trace a more vigorous vein in the early school of ,bologna1 and see decided proofs of the ,giottesque influences which had already reached its artists4 ,this ,florentine tendency is prominent in the works of both ,simone dai ,crocifissi and ,jacopo degli ,avanzi1 the only two other ,bolognese painters of this period who deserve mention4 ,according to ,malvasia1 ,simone executed nothing but crucifixes1 and although other paintings at ,bologna are attributed to him1 this was no doubt the chief branch of art in which he was engaged4 ,the best of his crucifixes are those in ,san ,giacomo ,maggiore1 and in the fourth of the seven churches belonging to the ancient pile of ,san ,stefano1 in both of which he to a great extent follows ,giotto's example1 but retains much of the bad taste of ,byzantine art in the emaciation of the figure and the grimace of the attendant saints4 ,much of the same ugliness of type1 accompanied by greater truth and character1 is visible in the curious 8,crucifixion0 on gold ground1 ascribed to ,jacopo degli ,avanzi1 in the ,colonna ,gallery at ,rome1 and in the other altar-pieces which bear his name at ,bologna4 ,the personality of this artist has been a cause of endless controversy1 but at least it has been shown that ,vasari is clearly wrong in confusing him with d',avanzo of ,verona1 who assisted ,altichieri in painting the chapel of ,st4 ,george at ,padua4 ,whether ,avanzi of ,bologna is identical with the ,jacobus ,pauli who painted the 8,coronation of the ,virgin0 in ,san ,giacomo ,maggiore1 is a matter of small importance2 but what we know for certain is1 that a ,bolognese painter by name ,jacopo1 whom ,vasari probably rightly calls ,avanzo1 was the best of all the different artists who painted in that most interesting of all ,bologna churches1 the ,madonna della ,mezzaratta4 ,this small chapel1 called by ,lanzi the ,campo-,santo of ,bologna1 was built in the twelfth century outside the ,porta ,san ,mammolo1 and decorated with frescoes in the fourteenth by a succession of native painters4 ,vasari alludes to it more than once in his 8,lives0 as the ,casa di ,mezzo1 and speaks of the series painted there by ,jacopo d',avanzo1 ,cristofano1 ,simone1 and at a later period by ,galassi of ,ferrara4 ,the frescoes of the ,mezzaratta were no doubt the most important works of art achieved by early ,bolognese painters1 and--although their execution is too rude1 and their present condition too imperfect to allow of comparison with the productions of ,giotto and his scholars at ,padua and ,assisi--the scanty fragments that remain are still of the deepest interest to the student4 ,the most celebrated artists of later ages who had the advantage of seeing these frescoes in a comparatively good state of preservation are said to have held them in the highest esteem4 ,michelangelo himself visited the chapel and praised its paintings in the warmest terms1 while the ,carracci exerted themselves strenuously to save them from destruction4 ,unfortunately1 later generations have been less mindful of their condition4 ,the roof of the church was taken off some years ago and the upper part used as a granary1 while most of the frescoes were whitewashed and many entirely obliterated4 ,at the present moment the chapel of ,mezzaratta is attached to a villa1 which was for many years the property of the ,italian ,minister1 ,cavaliere ,minghetti4 ,this accomplished statesman took every possible means to save these relics of early art from further destruction1 and by his care several frescoes were recovered from the coat of whitewash which concealed them4 ,the site of the chapel itself is so picturesque1 and the views from the hill of ,mezzaratta are so full of beauty1 that no traveller should leave ,bologna without making a pilgrimage to this shrine4 ,a steep ascent along a path lined with acacias leads from the gate of ,san ,mammolo to the garden of ,villa ,minghetti1 and on a summer's day1 when nightingales are singing in the acacia thicket and the air is sweet with myrtle and orange-blossom1 there is not a pleasanter spot in all ,bologna4 ,below1 the domes and spires of the ancient city rise above its arcaded streets1 and the eye is at once arrested by the quaint forms of the twin leaning towers1 ,garisenda and ,asinelli1 which were already old in ,dante's lifetime4 ,all around the plains stretch their vast expanse1 softly shadowed by passing clouds1 far away towards ,ferrara and ,modena1 excepting where some rocky spur descends from the ,apennines1 and looking up an opening valley we catch a glimpse of a jagged peak crowned with snow4 ,mezzaratta itself has an additional claim on our interest from having been the favourite resort of the ,franciscan monk1 ,bernardino da ,siena1 whose religious revival at ,bologna was one of the most important events in the early part of the fourteenth century1 and who frequently preached in this humble sanctuary1 which could scarcely hold the crowds that flocked to hear him4 ,bernardino's preaching and his affection for the spot may have been one cause of the celebrity which the church of ,mezzaratta acquired in those days1 but the oldest painting on the walls takes us back a whole century before his time4 ,it is a large 8,nativity0 painted over the door by ,vitale and signed with his name4 ,the composition chiefly adheres to the ,byzantine type1 with a few variations1 as in the action of ,joseph1 who is represented pouring water into the bowl for the washing of the ,child4 ,its execution is feeble1 as is the case with most early ,bolognese paintings1 but in the graceful type of the ,virgin's head and in the kneeling angels we recognise ,vitale's striving after a more ideal form4 ,on the southern wall an artist named ,cristofano1 whose style as far as it is possible to judge more resembles that of the ,ferrara school1 painted scenes from the book of ,genesis4 ,below these we have a series of subjects from the history of ,joseph1 ,moses1 and the ,life of ,christ1 all painted by the same hand1 and bearing in one corner the name of ,jacobus1 and the date #adjd4 ,of these the two most striking are the 8,miracle of the ,pool of ,bethesda0 and the 8,healing of the ,paralytic40 ,in the former1 a sick man stands in the middle of the pool lifting his hands in prayer1 and the cripple who sits up in bed by the side of the healing waters looks towards ,christ with an air of helpless entreaty4 ,in the latter1 the roof of the house in which the ,saviour is teaching his disciples is uncovered1 and the sick of the palsy is being let down by cords4 ,to the right he is seen1 walking away healed1 bearing a mattress on his shoulders4 ,in both of these scenes--indeed all through the series--the head of ,christ is strikingly noble and dignified1 while not even the artist's ignorance of the simplest elements of drawing and colouring can detract from the originality and life of the representations4 ,each head is individual in expression and character1 and the whole composition is marked by the pleasing navet of very early art1 and an evident anxiety to shake off the fetters of conventional types4 ,simone is said by ,vasari to have painted the later scenes of the ,passion below ,jacopo's frescoes1 and may have been the artist of the 8,last ,supper10 which is still visible1 but most of his work has perished1 and whatever else has escaped destruction belongs to the middle of the fifteenth century1 and owes its existence to ,galasso ,galassi1 or other ,ferrarese painters4 ,the most remarkable point in the frescoes of ,mezzaratta1 and the real cause of their value1 is that1 in spite of all the injury they have sustained1 they are decidedly superior in merit to the contemporary panel-pictures in the ,gallery and churches of ,bologna1 and thus enable us to form a better judgment of early ,bolognese art4 ,here we see it inferior1 it is true1 in every respect to the schools then flourishing at ,florence and ,siena1 but still possessing a force and individual character which inspires interest and promises well for the future4 ,during the greater part of the fourteenth century no native painter of any genius arose1 and the pictures of this date in the ,bologna ,gallery are principally by unknown followers of ,lippo ,dalmasii4 ,the only names preserved there are those of ,pietro ,lianori and ,michele di ,matteo ,lambertini1 who painted between #adej and #adgj1 and in whose work we trace some likeness to the contemporary ,siena school1 as well as a marked difference from ,avanzi's manner4 ,the same may be said of the picture of 8,st4 ,ursula and her ,companions10 a weak but not unpleasing work1 painted by ,santa ,caterina ,vigri1 a ,bolognese nun1 chiefly remarkable as the only woman-artist who over attained the honours of canonization4 ,towards the middle of the fifteenth century a new element was introduced into ,bolognese art by the ,ferrarese masters1 whom the patronage of the ,bentivoglio family attracted from the neighbouring city4 ,the court of the ,este princes was already one of the most brilliant in ,italy1 and had become a favourite centre for artists1 who were employed to decorate the different palaces of the ducal house in the same way that ,mantegna was engaged on the castles of the ,gonzagas at ,mantua4 ,piero della ,francesca had himself painted in ,duke ,borso's ,schifanoia 7,sans-,souci7 palace1 and both his presence and the all-pervading influence of ,mantegna1 who had known several of the best ,ferrarese artists1 had contributed in a large measure to mould the school of native artists4 ,these different elements were now imported to ,bologna by the ,ferrara painters who migrated there4 ,one of the first was ,galasso ,galassi1 who painted the later scenes from the ,passion in the church of ,mezzaratta about the year #adej1 and who may have been the painter of the graceful 8,sposalizio10 which is one of the best-preserved frescoes still to be seen there4 ,about the same time an artist of greater merit1 ,francesco ,cossa1 was commanded by ,giovanni ,bentivoglio to restore an ancient picture of ,lippo known as the 8,madonna del ,baraccano10 and ,ercole ,grandi was employed on the frescoes of the ,garganelli chapel in the church of ,san ,pietro4 ,with these ,ferrara masters came a ,paduan artist1 also one of the painters of the ,schifanoia1 who had been trained in the school of ,squarcione and had worked with ,mantegna in the ,eremitani4 ,this was ,marco ,zoppo1 who moved to ,bologna in #adga1 and remained there twenty years1 during which period he painted many of his principal works1 and probably became acquainted with the goldsmith1 ,francia1 whose first master he is said1 by some1 to have been4#d ,but the most important of all the painters who came to ,bologna from ,ferrara was ,lorenzo ,costa1 whose friendship with ,francia was productive of rich results1 and with whom he lived for many years in a constant interchange of artistic ideas4 ,born at ,ferrara in #adfj1 ,costa came as a young man to ,bologna and entered the service of ,giovanni ,bentivoglio ,,ii41 who employed him to decorate his palace with scenes from the ,iliad4 ,during the next twenty years ,costa was actively engaged in ,bologna4 ,in #adhh he finished an altar-piece for the chapel of the ,bentivogli in the church of ,san ,giacomo ,maggiore1 and a few years later painted the allegorical compositions representing 8,the ,triumph of ,life and ,death10 and various other works in the great ,basilica of ,san ,petronio4 ,in many of those we already see signs of new and higher qualities which were the direct fruit of ,francia's influence1 although in technical acquirements the ,bologna master was at that time still inferior to ,costa4 99 99 99 99 99 ,we have so far traced the rise of early ,bolognese art throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries1 and watched the gradual development of a school of painters who remained far behind their contemporaries in ,florence and ,siena1 and at the best never rose above mediocrity4 ,but in ,francia1 ,bologna was for the first time to have an artist of the highest order1 and who would take his place among the best ,florentines of the day1 rivalling even ,perugino's genius1 and winning the praise of ,raphael2 an artist not indeed of great inventive faculty or wide range of powers1 but who1 in pure and tender feeling1 in elevation of aim and thought1 in the expression of the deepest religious emotion1 was to find few equals in the history of art4 ,illustration ,illustration ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,early ,,life ,,and ,,works1 ,a4,d4 #adej-aejj4 ,francesco di ,marco ,raibolini1 commonly called ,il ,francia1 was born at ,bologna in the year #adej4 ,his father was a carpenter1 but although belonging to the artisan class his family was highly respected and owned lands in the neighbourhood4 ,after the practice of many ,florentine painters1 ,francia began life in the goldsmith's shop1 but unlike ,botticelli and ,pollaiuolo1 did not turn his attention to art until he had reached middle age and had acquired considerable reputation in his own trade4 ,several writers have asserted that he took his surname from the goldsmith under whom he served his apprenticeship1 but it seems more probable that ,francia was merely the popular abbreviation of ,francesco1 and the supposition is confirmed by documents recently found in the archives of ,bologna4 ,his talents soon attracted attention and before long he became skilled in cutting dies1 designing medals1 working in niello and every department of the goldsmith's art4 ,at the same time the charms of his person and character won general favour and greatly contributed to the success of his career4 ,contemporary writers describe him as strikingly handsome in appearance1 and gifted with a sweetness of disposition and rare eloquence which could not fail to captivate his hearers4 ,the wit and liveliness of his conversation had the power to drive away the saddest moods and brighten the darkest hours4 ,in this manner he became a general favourite1 and he numbered members of the noblest families of ,bologna among his intimate friends4 ,at the time ,francia grew up the power of the ,bentivogli family was supreme in ,bologna4 ,this proud house claimed descent from ,king ,enzio1 the unfortunate son of the ,emperor ,frederico ,,ii41 whose long captivity1 vain attempts at escape1 and loves with the fair ,lucia di ,viadogolo have thrown a romantic charm over the grim walls of the ,palazzo del ,podest4 ,nothing less than the attainment of sovereign power could content the ,bentivogli in the fifteenth century1 and after a long struggle with the ,popes1 who claimed the supremacy of ,bologna1 they finally succeeded in accomplishing their object4 ,the reigning prince was now ,giovanni ,bentivoglio ,,ii41 who had assumed the reins of government in #adfc1 and was undisputed master of the city4 ,although his tyranny became hateful to the people1 and ultimately proved the cause of his ruin1 he was a liberal and munificent patron of ,francia1 and rivalled the princes of the house of ,este by the encouragement which he gave to the fine arts4 ,he soon discovered the rising genius of the young goldsmith1 and appointed him ,master of the ,mint1 an office which1 in spite of many vicissitudes in public affairs1 ,francia retained to the end of his life4 ,other distinctions fell to his share4 ,in #adhc1 and again in the year #adhi1 he was elected steward of the goldsmiths' guild1 a further proof of the esteem and honour with which his countrymen regarded him4 ,by this time he was already married1 since his sons ,giacomo and ,giulio were born1 the former before1 and the latter in1 #adhg2 but we hear no further particulars and know nothing of his wife excepting that her name was ,caterina4 ,besides coining money and designing medals for ,giovanni ,bentivoglio1 ,francia showed his fine taste and artistic powers in many works both in gold and silver enamels1 and especially in niello1 8often introducing as many as twenty figures of excellent proportion and graceful design into a space scarcely two fingers high40 ,most of these precious works of art perished in the destruction of the ,bentivogli's palace at the time of their expulsion1 and the famous silver pax1 which ,francia executed at immense cost for the wedding of ,giovanni ,sforza and ,lucrezia ,borgia1 has disappeared1 but two smaller ones are still preserved in the ,gallery of ,bologna1 and are interesting specimens of their kind4 ,one bearing a representation of the ,resurrection1 surrounded by a wreath of delicate foliage1 was executed on the occasion of the marriage of ,bartolommeo ,felicini and ,dorotea ,ringhieri1 as we learn by the arms of these families which are engraved upon the work4 ,the other is engraved with the ,sforza and ,bentivogli arms and the letters ,m4 ,z41 ,messer ,zoane1 and was probably a wedding gift from ,giovanni ,bentivoglio to his bride ,ginevra ,sforza4 ,the ,crucifixion is worked in niello on this pax1 and both in the sorrowing angels hovering round the cross and in the saints below we recognise the type of head which ,francia's ,madonnas have rendered familiar1 while the landscape in the background shows the pictorial bent of the goldsmith's mind4 ,andrea ,mantegna's visit to ,bologna in #adgb is said to have first inspired ,francia with the wish to become a painter1 but ,vasari tells us in the same breath that our master's first painting was not executed until #adij1 when he was forty years old4 ,the actual honour of having first given ,francia instruction in oil painting has been assigned to different artists1 principally to ,marco ,zoppo and ,lorenzo ,costa1 both of whom1 we have seen1 were living at ,bologna about #adhj4 ,little affinity exists between the ,squarcionesque master's style and that of ,francia1 but it is very possible that he may have been acquainted with the goldsmith and have given him his first lessons4 ,francia's connection with ,lorenzo ,costa was of a much closer kind1 and ,ferrarese models had a large share in his future development4 ,but his first essays in painting are so purely original in character and so free from foreign influences that we need not seek for any cause to explain the reason of their existence1 or ask what master had a share in their production4 ,he probably acquired the rudiments of tempera and oil painting from either ,zoppo or another of the humbler men who frequented his workshop1 and immediately tried his hand on small panels before venturing on the larger pictures in which his adoption of ,costa's method is apparent4 ,these early works are very rare1 but one excellent instance is to be seen in the 8,st4 ,stephen0 of the ,borghese ,gallery1 ,rome4 ,this interesting little piece was evidently one of his first efforts executed at a time when he was unskilled in the rules of composition and technical knowledge4 ,the hand of the worker in metal is plainly seen in the sharp outline and polished surface of the panel1 in the cold1 hard brightness of the deacon's red dalmatic which ,st4 ,stephen wears1 and in the elaborate ornament of its embroideries4 ,there is no attempt at rendering physical agony in the form of the kneeling martyr quietly raising his clasped hands as the stones fall heavily to the ground beside him4 ,even ,st4 ,stephen's countenance is marked by a certain absence of expression1 and is without the rapt devotion of ,perugino's faces1 or the yearning gentleness of ,francia's own ,madonnas4 ,yet there is a calm devoutness in the martyr's bowed head1 which seems to reflect the earnestness of the prayer which the parted lips have just breathed1 and which in its very simplicity is full of touching beauty4 ,already we feel the presence of that strong religious sentiment which had first animated the creations of earlier masters1 and of which ,francia was to be almost the last exponent in the art of ,italy4 ,another work belonging to this early period is the portrait of ,bartolommeo ,bianchini1 formerly in the ,northwick collection1 under the name of ,raphael4 ,this personage was a ,bolognese senator of considerable culture1 whose poetry earned some reputation in his days1 and who wrote flattering verses in praise of ,francia's genius4 ,we have a further proof of the friendship that existed between them in the small 8,holy ,family0 at ,berlin1 inscribed with the words1 ,bartholomei sum7ptu7 ,bianchini maxima matrom hic vivit manibus ,francia picta tuis4 8,here--painted by thy hands1 ,o ,francia1 at the cost of ,bartolommeo ,bianchini--lives the greatest of mothers40 ,the ,madonna holds the child erect on a parapet1 while ,st4 ,joseph stands behind1 much in the same style of composition as countless ,holy ,families1 by ,giovanni ,bellini1 a painter with whom ,francia had more than one feature in common4 ,here again we notice the same sharpness of outline1 high polish1 and want of shadow that recall the goldsmith's art1 but the general method of laying on colour and the red glow of the flesh-tints which marks all ,ferrarese work1 point unmistakably to the influence of ,lorenzo ,costa's example4 ,during the next twenty years these two men worked side by side in ,bologna1 and profited by a mutual exchange of ideas which has few counterparts in art history4 ,while ,costa gave ,francia the benefit of his wider experience and greater knowledge1 he received more than he could impart from the nobler aims and more refined feeling of the ,bologna artist4 ,before long the pupil was to surpass the master1 but we never hear of the intimacy between the two being marred by any jealousy or ill-feeling1 and the unbroken harmony in which they lived reflects credit on both4 ,a great advance on the early works to which we have alluded is visible in the large altar-piece of the 8,madonna and ,saints0 which ,francia painted in #adij4 ,the commission was given him by a wealthy ,bolognese citizen1 ,bartolommeo ,felicini1 who destined the picture for a chapel in the church of the ,misericordia1 a confraternity of nobles for the assistance of hospitals and other works of mercy4 ,in this work1 which ,vasari calls his first1 ,francia represented the ,virgin seated on a marble throne with six saints in the foreground1 and a child-angel in a light blue robe playing the violin at her feet4 ,the architectural background and general style of colouring are plainly the results of ,costa's teaching1 but side by side with these ,ferrarese features we find another influence which is altogether new4 ,this is the ,umbrian tendency1 which appears here in so marked a manner as to make us ask what was the link which brought ,perugino into connection with the great master of ,bologna4 ,unfortunately no historical evidence exists to satisfy our curiosity1 and there is no authority for the probable supposition that ,francia visited ,florence1 and thus became acquainted with the ,umbrian painter4 ,but there is every reason to believe that works by ,perugino had by this time found their way to ,bologna1 and among them probably the beautiful altar-piece which he painted for the church of ,san ,giovanni in ,monte1 and which now hangs in the ,pinacoteca1 almost side by side with ,francia's ,madonna of the ,misericordia4 ,it is worthy of mention that the same ,umbrian character appears in a small ,madonna#e at ,berlin1 the sole remaining work of ,antonio ,crevalcore1 a ,bolognese artist chiefly known as a fruit and flower painter1 between #adhj and #aejj1 and whose name is preserved in an epitaph by ,francia's friend1 ,girolamo ,casio4 ,evidently ,perugino's influence had in some form or other reached ,bologna1 and had touched a responsive chord in ,francia's breast4 ,for nowhere is this ,peruginesque vein more strongly present than in the fine head of the ,st4 ,sebastian1 in the ,misericordia altar-piece1 who is lifting his eyes to heaven with an intensity of expression to which ,perugino himself has rarely attained4 ,henceforth this feature is constantly recurring in all ,francia's panels1 animating his less ideal types1 his fresher and more vigorous conceptions with a tender devotional feeling1 and appealing to us in the peculiar half-timid1 half-reproachful gaze of those ,madonnas which we know so well4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,virgin ,,enthroned1 ,,with ,,saints4 ,,by ,,francia4 ,in the ,pinacoteca1 ,bologna4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the revelation of ,francia's powers as a painter was the cause of much enthusiasm among his fellow-countrymen1 who were never slow to applaud the efforts of native artists1 and ,giovanni ,bentivoglio immediately commissioned him to paint an altar-piece for his family chapel in ,san ,giacomo ,maggiore4 ,all the religious communities of ,bologna now pressed ,francia to decorate their altars1 and ,vasari says that by the end of a few years there was scarcely a church in the city that could not boast the possession of one of his paintings4 ,the 8,annunciation0 of the ,brera1 the 8,madonna and ,angels10 at ,munich1 the ,piet1 still at ,bologna1 in the ,pinacoteca1 followed each other in close succession4 ,for his goldsmith friend1 ,jacopo ,gambaro1 who is recorded to have stood godfather with him to the child of a mutual friend1 he painted the small 8,holy ,family10 at ,dudley ,house1 and for the church of ,san ,giobbe1 in ,bologna1 the 8,crucifixion0 of the ,louvre4 ,in this singular composition the patriarch ,job is represented wearing a crown and lying at the foot of the cross1 pointing upwards to a scroll on which we read the words3 ,maiora sustinuit ipse4 ,this fine and original conception is marred by a hardness of drawing and colouring1 which is a sufficient proof that it was executed at an early period2 its surface has suffered considerable injuries which increase this unpleasant effect4 ,a great step in advance is marked by the ,bentivoglio altar-piece completed in #adii1 and still occupying its original place in a chapel of ,san ,giacomo ,maggiore4 ,here the metallic harshness of the tints has given place to more harmonious tones and softer shadows1 and the rich1 glowing colours show that the artist had by this time acquired complete mastery of the means at his disposal4 ,the saints are more vigorous and manly in type1 and the heads are distinguished by more actual beauty than in any other of ,francia's pictures4 ,st4 ,sebastian is again a prominent figure1 and was used as a model a century later by the ,carracci1 who declared it to be one of the finest studies of human form in ,renaissance painting4 ,the two angels crowned with roses and standing on the steps of the ,virgin's throne are said to be portraits of children of the ,bentivogli family4 ,others hover about the ,virgin1 and one1 the loveliest of all1 leans his head thoughtfully against a pillar and stretches out his little arms in wistful yearning to the child-,christ4 ,in the same year ,francia painted another ,enthroned ,madonna1#f very similar to this one in style and grouping1 by desire of a lady of the ,manzuoli family1 for the church of the ,misericordia4 ,here the attendant saints are ,st4 ,george and the ,baptist1 who point upwards to the child1 whilst ,st4 ,stephen gazes mournfully at the stones of his martyrdom1 which1 rest on a book that he holds before him1 and another of ,francia's sweet child-angels clasps a tall white lily between its folded hands1 8with so much grace that it seems to belong to ,paradise40 ,vasari4 ,for the same church of the ,misericordia1 ,giovanni ,bentivoglio's son1 ,archdeacon of ,bologna and papal protonotary1 ordered the 8,nativity10 now removed to the ,gallery1#g where most of ,francia's masterpieces are collected4 ,in this picture the 8,nativity0 is treated not as an historical event but as a ,christian mystery1 that is to say1 the ,virgin and attendant saints are represented in the act of adoring the new-born child1 and celebrating his advent on earth4 ,this class of composition1 always a favourite with religious painters1 and much used both by ,perugino and ,lorenzo di ,credi1 was especially adapted to ,francia's genius4 ,he never possessed the faculty of describing a scene in a vivid and dramatic manner1 or of rendering in quick succession all the varied emotions of the human breast1 but no one has excelled him in these groups of rapt saints1 without a thought beyond the object of their silent adoration4 ,and so we find him constantly moulding his subjects into this form4 ,the ,annunciation1 ,piet1 ,assumption1 and ,coronation of the ,virgin by turns took this shape in his hands4 ,he conceived 8these supreme events as mysteries at which the successive ages were spectators1 and in relation to which the great souls of all periods became as it were contemporaries40 ,george ,eliot4 ,in this instance ,francia has introduced several portraits among the worshippers4 ,his masterly profile of ,bartolommeo felicini in the first ,misericordia altar-piece had already proved his skill as a portrait painter1 and he now represented ,antonio ,galeazzo ,bentivoglio1 who had lately returned from a pilgrimage to the ,holy ,land1 in the mantle of a knight of the ,red ,cross kneeling under a ruined arch to adore the infant ,christ4 ,the youthful shepherd who stands opposite1 wearing a laurel wreath on his flowing locks1 is a portrait of ,francia's intimate friend1 the poet jeweller1 ,girolamo di ,casio1 on whom the laurel crown was bestowed by ,clement ,,viii4 ,this accomplished man had the greatest admiration for ,francia1 whose epitaph he lived to compose1 and whom he addressed during his lifetime in a sonnet beginning3-- 8,felice ,italia che in se chiude1 ,si sublime ingegno e si bella effigie ,che fanno al cielo e a natura guerra40 8,happy ,italy1 which contains a genius so lofty and forms so fair that they challenge heaven and nature40 ,lastly1 in the regular features of the ,st4 ,francis in the background1 we have ,francia's own likeness 7which he has here introduced in the form of his patron saint71 whose expressive face and refined air correspond exactly with contemporary descriptions4 ,two angels kneel in lowly adoration on either side of the child1 who lifts his head and raises his tiny hand in benediction1 while a bullfinch perched on a twig at his feet looks reverently towards him and almost seems to join in the act of worship4 ,as a rule ,francia's landscapes are simple in character1 generally consisting of a rocky foreground and broad valley opening beyond1 such as we often see in the ,apennines near ,bologna2 sometimes in his later works they are more distinctly ,umbrian1 but the background of this 8,nativity0 is remarkable for an unusual degree of beauty and variety4 ,the rocky steep with its solitary pine-tree is still on our right1 but in the centre of the picture1 above the heads of the kneeling saints1 a lovely expanse of park-like scenery unfolds itself before us4 ,there we see a broad sunny river winding its way between grassy glades and forest avenues1 cattle are feeding1 and human life is stirring on its banks1 a church tower and cottage roofs peep out from among the trees1 and far away in the distance a line of blue hills rises in soft undulating lines4 ,the whole of this pastoral scene is charmingly conceived and painted1 and forms a poetic background to one of ,francia's most graceful compositions4 ,it was for this picture that ,costa painted his predella of the 8,adoration of the ,magi10 now in the ,brera1 one of the many tokens of the friendship which continued to exist between the two artists4 ,illustration3 ,,madonna ,,and ,,child ,,with ,a ,,bird4 ,,by ,,francia4 ,in the ,dresden ,gallery4 ,besides these works for the ,misericordia1 ,francia executed several altar-pieces for other churches in ,bologna--about #aejj4 ,the 8,madonna and ,saints10 now at ,st4 ,petersburg1 was originally painted for ,san ,lorenzo1 and a similar subject resembling the ,bentivoglio altar-piece is still to be seen in ,san ,martino of ,bologna4 ,with these larger subjects we may mention the charming group of boy-angels playing on musical instruments round an old picture of the ,madonna in ,san ,vitale1 although their ,raphaelesque grace would seem to indicate a later date of production4 ,the ,franciscan church of the ,annunziata1 outside the gate of ,san ,mammolo1 also possessed two pictures1 a 8,madonna0 and 8,annunciation10 which have been removed to the ,gallery since that sanctuary has been used as a barrack by the ,italian ,government4 ,both have been much damaged1 but the 8,annunciation10 in spite of its bad state of preservation and unpleasant rawness of colour1 is singularly interesting4 ,all three persons of the ,trinity assist at the celebration of the great mystery3 the ,father looks down from heaven1 the dove is seen descending to rest on the brows of her who was blessed among women1 and a vision of the ,child appears above in glory4 ,the ,angel of the ,annunciation hovers in mid-air1 and on earth the lowly ,virgin kneels with clasped hands and bent head1 her whole soul going forth in unutterable love and yearning as she listens to his message4 ,on either side1 a little below this central figure1 stands a noble group of saints reverently pondering over the mystery before our eyes2 and foremost among them we recognise ,bernardino1 the favourite saint of ,bologna1 whose memory was still fresh in the hearts of the people1 holding an open book1 on the pages of which1 the sacred monogram and his motto1 ,in ,nomine ,gesu1 are inscribed4 ,the birds sing in the branches beside him1 and a lizard crawls along the ground bearing a scroll1 on which are the arms of the ,franciscans1 a skull and cross-bones1 the date ,,mccccc41 and ,francia ,aurifex pinxit1 a form of signature which the goldsmith painter retained to the end of his life4 ,illustration ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,friendship ,,and ,,influence ,,of ,,raphael1 #aejj-aejf4 ,ten or twelve years had now elapsed since ,francia had devoted himself to painting1 and in this comparatively short space of time he had produced many important works and obtained a wide reputation4 ,more than this1 his pictures during this period bear signs of a steady progress both in technical skill and power of expression2 the old hardness and want of harmony had in a great measure disappeared1 and his colouring had gained that force and richness which give him so high a place among oil-painters4 ,but in the first years of the sixteenth century we see him develop a new style1 and paint in a manner altogether freer and grander than ever before4 ,this marked improvement is especially visible in the composition of his pictures which1 instead of depending on the expression of single heads1 now acquire a grace of line and completeness that bring them near to the best ,florentine works of the period4 ,the cause of this advance can only be ascribed to one influence--the friendship which ,francia had formed with ,raphael4 ,it is evident from many of our master's works at this time that he had studied ,raphael's pictures2 but beyond this1 both the presence of this new element and certain expressions which ,raphael uses in his letter of ,september1 #aejh1 seem to imply the existence of a personal acquaintance between the two masters4 ,he had formed1 we know1 the highest opinion of ,francia's merit1 and gives expression in emphatic terms to his conviction that no ,madonnas are so beautiful or so well calculated to inspire devotion as the creations of the ,bolognese master4 ,and on receiving ,francia's portrait he declares it to be so life-like that as he stands before it he feels himself in his friend's presence and seems to hear his voice4 ,everything points to more than a mere intercourse by letter1 and there can be no reason to doubt the generally assumed fact that ,raphael paid a visit to ,bologna on his way from ,florence to ,urbino in #aejf4 ,but long before this they had a mutual object of interest in ,timoteo ,viti1 a young painter of ,urbino1 who became one of ,francia's favourite pupils and was the first link between him and ,raphael4 ,in ,july1 #adij1 ,timoteo came to ,bologna to perfect himself in the goldsmith's art in ,francia's workshop4 ,the date is recorded in a register kept by ,francia1 where we read the following entry3-- 8,timoteo ,viti da ,urbino was taken into our shop4 ,he will receive no salary during the first year1 and sixty-six florins for three months in the second40 ,in #adia another entry records the settlement of accounts with ,timoteo1 and mentions that as he is desirous to become a painter he will now pass into the hall where the other artists work4 ,four years later we find one more entry1 which is as follows3-- 8,on the #dth day of ,april1 #adie1 my beloved ,timoteo left us4 ,god grant that all blessing and good fortune may be with him40 ,timoteo returned to ,urbino1 where he became ,raphael's assistant1 and carried with him the fame of the master who remembered him so kindly4 ,soon ,francia received commissions from the ,duke of ,urbino1 for whom he painted a ,lucrezia in the act of plunging the dagger into her breast1 and a marvellous set of horse trappings decorated with gaily-coloured birds and foliage4 ,from ,timoteo's lips ,raphael also heard of ,francia's paintings1 and was perhaps first introduced by him to those ,madonnas which inspired so unfeigned an admiration in his breast4 ,afterwards we hear of an exchange of pictures which passed between the two great masters1 and at ,francia's recommendation ,giovanni ,bentivoglio employed ,raphael to paint a 8,nativity10 which has unfortunately perished4 ,the ,bolognese master was of too generous and loyal a nature to entertain the least feeling of envy towards the young painter1 who had already surpassed all his contemporaries1 and showed his warm appreciation of ,raphael's genius in the following sonnet1 which he addressed to him in an outburst of enthusiasm3-- 8,non son ,zeusi n ,apelle1 e non son tale1 ,che di tanti tal nome a me convegna2 ,n mio talento1 n vertudo degna ,haver da un ,raffael lodo immortale4 ,tu sol1 cui fece il ciel dono fatale1 ,che ogn' altro excede1 e sora ogn' altro regna1 ,l'excellente artificio noi insegna ,con cui sei reso ad ogn' antico uguale4 ,fortunato garxon1 che nei primi anni ,tant' oltre passi2 e che sar poi quando ,in pi provecta etade opre migliori8 ,vinta sar natura2 e1 da' tuoi inganni ,resa eloquente1 dir1 te lodando1 ,che tu solo il pictor sei de' pictori40 8,i am not ,zeuxis nor ,apelles1 neither do ,i deserve that fame so great shall be mine1 nor is my talent worthy to receive immortal praise from a ,raffael4 8,thou alone1 on whom heaven has bestowed the fatal gift that thou shouldest excel all others and reign over all1 teachest us the admirable art by which thou art become equal to the ancients4 8,fortunate boy1 who in thy earliest years hast already advanced so far1 what wilt thou not be when in maturer age thou shalt achieve yet greater things8 ,then nature shall own herself conquered1 and rendered eloquent by thy charms1 shall exclaim in thy praise1 that thou alone art the painter of painters40 ,illustration3 ,,deposition ,,from ,,the ,,cross4 ,,by ,,francia4 ,in the ,accademia1 ,parma4 ,the original manuscript of this sonnet was first published by the historian ,malvasia1 who discovered it among the papers of a member of the ,lambertini family1 and gave the accompanying inscription1 which proves ,francia to have been its author4 ,all'excellente pictore ,raffaello ,sanxio1 ,zeusi del nostro secolo4 ,di me ,francesco ,raibolini decto il ,francia4 ,even without these convincing proofs of ,raphael's friendship with ,francia1 it would have been difficult not to assume the existence of some similar connection from the strong marks of the great painter's influence that meet us in ,francia's later works4 ,in the 8,deposition10 painted soon after #aejj for the ,benedictines of ,parma1 his style is already powerfully affected by this contact with ,raphael1 which can alone account for a vigorous action and dramatic character here displayed4 ,a deep emotion is visible on the faces of the ,st4 ,john1 who supports the head1 the ,magdalen1 who embraces the feet1 and the ,virgin1 who gazes at the dead face of her son with the grief-stricken look which the 8,piet0 of the ,national ,gallery has stamped upon our minds4 ,salome1 who stands behind1 flings aloft her arms in an energy of despair unlike anything else that ,francia ever conceived1 while in the background the cross lifts its gaunt form against the glowing tints of an evening sky and a soft distance of cypress-grown rocks and far-away hills4 ,not many years afterwards ,francia was asked by a noble of ,lucca to supply an altar-piece for the church of ,san ,frediano in that city1 and after painting a 8,madonna and ,saints0 as the principal subject1 took the ,piet as the motive of the lunette below4 ,this time he returned partly to his former conception1 and represented the ,dead ,christ laid in his mother's arms in the same attitude as in the larger ,deposition at ,parma1 but with two angels instead of attendant saints at the head and feet4 ,in later years the altar-piece passed into the ,duke of ,lucca's hands1 and coming to ,england in #ahdj with the rest of the collection1 became one of the chief ornaments of the ,national ,gallery4 ,it is difficult to approach this ,piet in a critical spirit4 ,we have known it all our lives1 every form1 almost every line of the well-known group is familiar4 ,to many of us it is associated with memories of days long ago when it formed a part of our earliest religious ideas2 and when much of the faith of childhood has undergone change1 it still recalls all that was purest and best in those first impressions4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,virgin ,,and ,,two ,,angels ,,weeping ,,over ,,the ,,dead ,,body ,,of ,,christ4 ,a ,,piet4 ,,by ,,francia4 ,in the ,national ,gallery4 ,what is it1 we ask1 which touches us in this 8,piet10 that has appealed to thousands in a way which no other picture has ever done8 ,surely1 not only the grace of its composition1 the tender brightness of its colouring1 but more than all of these the deep human pathos which we find there blended with a real and living hope4 ,it is the contrast between the mother mourning over her dead son with a grief that cannot be comforted and the angels who fold their hands in lowly adoration1 and by their presence transform the saddest of all scenes into a divine mystery full of hope and love4 ,mary1 in the bitterness of her sorrow1 is unconscious of these heavenly attendants1 her eyes1 fixed on the dead face of her son1 are closed to that vision of angels1 but we see them and realise what ,francia meant us to feel1 all the promise of that horizon which was opening beyond1 all the great future that was to grow out of the suffering and death which she mourned4 8,the wave ,of love which set so deep and strong ,by ,christ's yet open grave40 ,matthew ,arnold4 ,unlike ,mantegna and ,gian ,bellini1 ,francia has not attempted to give any impression of the physical agony which has passed over the corpse1 but has concentrated all his force in the endeavour to give the deep repose and peace of death without sacrificing anything of majesty of form4 ,there are other points in the drawing which might be criticised1 and a degree of stiffness in the position of the right arm has been often observed1 but no minor defects can prevent ,francia's ,piet from being1 in refinement of conception and tenderness of feeling1 the highest ideal representation of the subject in the whole range of art4 ,the other portion of this altar-piece1 a ,virgin enthroned with the ,child1 ,st4 ,anna at her side between two arches1 and the ,saints ,sebastian1 ,paul1 ,lawrence and ,romualdo below1 hangs next to ,perugino's ,certosa altar-piece in the ,national ,gallery4 ,an excellent opportunity is thus afforded of comparing the styles of the two painters1 and ,francia's work does not show to disadvantage even by the side of ,perugino's masterpiece4 ,in depth and richness of colour he is at least his equal1 and although his types are less ideal they are fresher and more natural1 and there is less affectation in the attitude of his figures4 ,for the same church of ,san ,frediano at ,lucca1 ,francia painted another large altar-piece the 8,coronation of the ,virgin10 which is still to be seen there4 ,here again he gives the subject a mystical character and introduces the patriarchal ancestors of ,mary and the chief advocates of the dogma of the ,immaculate ,conception among the figures who stand below in devout contemplation4 ,each bears a scroll in his hand3 ,david points to a verse of ,psalm xxvii1 8,in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me20 ,solomon1 a noble1 kingly profile1 gazes earnestly upwards1 showing us a text from his song1 8,thou art all fair1 my love20 while ,anselm and ,augustine bear scrolls on which we read passages from their own writings relating to the ,virgin1 and ,antony of ,padua kneels at the empty tomb where lilies and roses have blossomed4 ,this altar-piece1 although less known than ,francia's other masterpieces1 yields to none of his works in grandeur and finish4 ,the kneeling ,madonna who1 robed in purple and gold1 receives her crown from the hands of the ,eternal1 retains the same expression of sweet humility touched with sadness which marks all his ,virgins1 and the scenes from the ,history of the ,augustinian order on the predella are painted with exquisite taste and delicacy4 ,another large ,coronation1 commonly called the altar-piece of ,all the ,saints from the multitude of figures grouped below1 is still in the ,duomo of ,ferrara2 while ,cesena retains the 8,presentation0 mentioned by ,vasari1 although the beauty of colouring to which he alludes has lost much of its freshness4 ,a 8,nativity10 painted for his intimate friend ,paolo ,zambeccaro at ,bologna1 is now in the ,picture ,gallery of ,forli1 but the frescoes with which he adorned ,zambeccaro's villa have all perished4 ,the same fate has been shared by the other frescoes which he painted in different palaces of ,bologna1 and what is most of all to be regretted1 the 8,judith0 and 8,dispute of ,philosophers0 which he executed for ,giovanni ,bentivoglio were destroyed in the sack of the tyrant's palace by the mob1 on his expulsion in #aejg4 ,vasari1 speaking from the testimony of eyewitnesses1 declares the ,judith to have been the finest work which ,francia ever painted1 and describes minutely the splendour of the surroundings introduced1 the horses1 banners1 and armed guards brought on the scene as belonging to the camp of ,holofernes4 ,the fame of this fresco had also reached the ears of ,raphael1 who begged for a sketch of the work1 but unfortunately not even a drawing remains to give us an idea of the manner in which ,francia treated a theme so unlike his usual objects4 ,a 8,lucrezia0 by his hand1 perhaps the very panel which he painted for ,guido ,baldo1 ,duke of ,urbino1 is now in ,england1#h but has nothing classical in character4 ,the ,roman matron raising her eyes to heaven as she plunges the dagger into her breast is in feature and expression the exact counterpart of ,francia's saints1 and but for the uplifted hand might be a ,st4 ,catharine or ,st4 ,agnes with perfect propriety4 ,on the other hand drawings in the style of ancient bas-reliefs by ,francia1 which in type and character admit no doubt as to their genuineness1 meet us occasionally both in foreign galleries and ,london exhibitions1 and show a much truer appreciation of classical art4 ,such are the 8,judgment of ,paris0 in the ,albertina collection1 ,vienna1 and that beautiful group of ,greek youths before an altar exhibited by ,mr4 ,j4 ,o4 ,robinson in the ,grosvenor ,gallery of #ahgi1 in which1 the grace of antique art is delicately blended with the yearning expression of ,christian devotion4 ,these and others that resemble them were designs for engravings probably intended for the use of ,marc ,antonio ,raimondi1 who served his first apprenticeship in ,francia's workshop1 and engraved several of his master's pictures before he left for ,venice in #aeji4 ,more than one of this celebrated artist's engravings bear marks of this early training in the school of ,francia1 an influence soon to be effaced by the very different associations and examples of the ,roman world1 in the midst of which his later years were spent4 ,illustration ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the ,,frescoes ,,of ,,st4 ,,cecilia',s ,,chapel1 #aejf-aeji4 ,the only series of frescoes painted by ,francia in ,bologna of which some traces still remain1 are those in the ,oratory of ,st4 ,cecilia1 attached to the church of ,san ,giacomo ,maggiore4 ,this chapel1 founded by ,giovanni ,bentivoglio and erected by the architect ,gasparo ,nadi in #adha1 was decorated entirely by the hands of ,francia and his scholars in the early part of the sixteenth century4 ,costa's fresco1 which alone bears a date1 was executed in #aejf1 and the whole series was probably completed before the exile of the ,bentivogli in #aejg4 ,unfortunately this chapel1 which is for the ,bolognese school what the chapels of the ,carmine and ,eremitani are for ,florentine and ,paduan art1 has been frequently turned to other uses1 and during its occupation by ,french soldiers the frescoes suffered great injury4 ,all are much damaged1 and some mutilated in such a manner that the principal figures are scarcely visible4 ,but even in their present melancholy condition ,francia's frescoes are full of interest1 and it is easy to see how superior they are in merit to any other works of the school4 ,of the four remaining artists employed in the chapel--,lorenzo ,costa1 ,giovanni ,chiodarolo1 ,amico ,aspertini1 and ,giacomo ,raibolini 7or ,tamaroccio7--the ,ferrarese master is the only one who approaches him in the excellence of his style1 and even ,costa's heads cannot compare with those of ,francia for beauty and expression4 ,the subjects of the ten frescoes are all taken from the history of ,st4 ,cecilia4 ,on the right of the altar3-- #a4 ,marriage of ,cecilia and ,valerian4 ,francia4 #b4 ,valerian instructed in the ,christian faith by ,pope ,urban4 ,costa4 #c4 ,baptism of ,valerian4 ,cesare ,tamaroccio4#i #d4 ,valerian and ,cecilia crowned with roses by an ,angel4 ,chiodarolo4 #e4 ,martyrdom of ,valerian and his brother ,tiburtius4 ,aspertini4 ,on the left of the altar3-- #f4 ,the ,burial of the ,brothers4 ,aspertini4 #g4 ,cecilia before the ,prefect4 ,aspertini4 #h4 ,cecilia condemned to the boiling bath4 ,cesare ,tamaroccio4#i #i4 ,cecilia distributing her riches to the poor4 ,costa4 #aj4 ,burial of ,cecilia4 ,francia4 ,the two frescoes by ,francia are placed nearest to the altar1 exactly opposite each other1 and are on the whole the best-preserved of the series4 ,here ,raphael's influence is more apparent than in any of ,francia's works1 and it is highly probable that he visited ,bologna while the chapel was being painted4 ,the fresco of the ,marriage at once recalls ,raphael's 8,sposalizio0 in the grouping of the figures1 and is remarkable for its grace of composition4 ,the officiating priest stands between the bride and bride-groom under the portal of a chapel which opens on to a wooded valley4 ,the bride shrinks timidly back and turns her face away as one of her maidens holds her hand on which ,valerian places the ring4 ,on either side are groups of youths and maidens who1 by their intent gaze and animated gesture1 show their interest in the marriage that is being celebrated4 ,the action is simple1 the heads noble and refined2 those of the maidens are especially remarkable for their beauty1 while the grace of line that marks the grouping is happily continued in the landscape beyond1 which harmonizes well with the scene before us4 ,evidently the subject was exactly suited to ,francia's genius1 and he has succeeded admirably4 ,the same praise can scarcely be given as fully to the 8,burial of ,st4 ,cecilia10 wonderful as is the power of its simple pathos4 ,there is a want of dramatic action in the spectators1 and at the same time a formality in the arrangement of the groups on either side of the picture1 which gives the whole an air of stiffness and renders it inferior in point of composition to the ,marriage4 ,but these defects are atoned for by the beauty of the central portion1 where four young men hold the lifeless form of the martyred saint suspended in a winding-sheet above the opening of the vault4 ,a wreath of white roses crowns her gentle brows1 and the bystanders press forward to take a last look at the sleeping face that is still so fair in death4 ,as in the ,christ of the ,piet all trace of suffering has passed away1 the hands are folded with exquisite tenderness1 and the sweet maiden seems to lie there wrapt once more in the deep unconscious sleep of childhood4 ,for a moment we wonder if this happy slumber can be death1 but--if we look a little further1 beyond the pale light just breaking into the valley1 above the tall cliffs and the topmost branches of the waving palm-trees--we shall see the dim form of an angel who wings his flight upwards1 bearing the soul of the martyr back to ,god4 ,the frescoes of ,st4 ,cecilia were the last works which ,francia painted for his patron ,giovanni ,bentivoglio4 ,in #aejg1 perhaps even before the chapel was completed1 the ,bentivogli were driven out of ,bologna by a popular rising and forced to flee for their lives4 ,not only did ,francia lose their patronage and friendship1 but he had the grief of seeing some of his best works destroyed by an infuriated mob in the sack of their palace in the ,strada ,donato4 ,the universal respect in which he was held by his countrymen saved him from sharing in the ruin of his patrons1 and he retained his office at the head of the ,mint under ,pope ,julius ,,ii4 ,in this capacity he was required to coin the money which the ,pope threw to the populace on his triumphal entry and which bore the inscription3--8,bononia per ,julium a tyranno liberata40 ,but although he was forced to lend his talents1 as ,michelangelo did on another occasion1 to the service of the victor1 he could not conceal the bitterness of his grief1 and for a whole year after the flight of the ,bentivogli still lamented the loss he had suffered4 ,it was then that ,raphael addressed his well-known letter to ,francia1 begging him to take heart1 and assuring him of his sympathy4 ,the two painters had1 it appears1 agreed to exchange portraits1 and in this letter ,raphael thanks ,francia for having sent him his likeness painted by his own hand4 ,we give a translation of this interesting document1 which was first discovered with ,francia's sonnet in the papers of the ,lambertini family1 and brought to light by ,malvasia3-- 8,my dear ,messor ,francesco1-- 8,i have this moment received your portrait1 which ,bazotto brought me safely1 without injury of any kind1 and for which ,i thank you exceedingly4 ,it is very beautiful1 and so life-like that at times it deceives me4 ,i seem to be with you and to hear your voice4 ,i pray you1 pardon my delays1 which arise from the tasks in which ,i am incessantly engaged1 and which have been the cause why ,i have not yet painted the portrait with my own hand1 according to our agreement4 ,nor would ,i allow it to be painted by one of my pupils and retouched by myself1 since this would not have been seemly1 although ,i have no hope of ever equalling your work4 ,have compassion on me1 ,i say1 since you know by experience what it is to be deprived of liberty and bound to patrons4 ,i am sending you by this same messenger1 who returns in six days1 another drawing1 that of #8,the ,nativity1' somewhat different from the original1 which you were good enough to praise so highly1 with the same kindness with which you speak of my other works in a manner that causes me to blush4 ,i hope that you will accept this trifle1 more as a token of love and obedience than for any other reason1 and if in exchange ,i may receive a drawing of your #8,history of ,judith' ,i will place it among my dearest and most precious treasures4 ,monsignore il ,datario awaits his #8,madonella' with much impatience1 and ,cardinal ,riario his large one1 all of which you will hear more particularly from the said ,bazotto4 ,i1 for my part1 shall behold them with the same delight and satisfaction with which ,i see and praise all your other works1 never having seen any images that are fairer or more devout and well painted4 ,in the meantime take courage1 summon up all your habitual wisdom1 and be sure that ,i feel your afflictions as keenly as if they were my own4 ,continue to love me as ,i love you1 with my whole heart4 8,ever your most obliged and devoted1 8,,rafaelle ,,sanzio4 8,roma1 the fifth day of ,september1 #aejh40 ,few documents in art history are more interesting than this letter1 which breathes all the sunny gladness of ,raphael's nature1 and proves how sincerely he admired ,francia as an artist and felt for him as a friend4 ,it is uncertain whether the portrait which he praises so warmly still exists1 but at the end of last century a half-length figure of ,francia holding a diamond ring1 by his own hand1 was in the ,boschi collection at ,bologna1 and a few years ago a similar work belonged to a private gallery at ,turin4#aj ,as a portrait-painter ,francia ranks high1 and all the works of this class by him which remain are marked by the same exquisite finish and life-like fidelity4 ,the ,tribune of the ,uffizi has a fine specimen in the head of ,evangelista ,scappi1 whose pleasant open face and bushy locks modern copyists have rendered familiar4 ,the ,umbrian character of the landscape and general style of the work resemble ,perugino's heads1 while other of ,francia's portraits are painted more in his ,raphaelesque manner4 ,such is the noble portrait of the ,liechtenstein ,gallery at ,vienna long ascribed to ,raphael1 but rightfully restored to ,francia by ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 and probably the likeness of some ,bolognese noble1 since it originally belonged to an old family of that city4 ,the poet ,girolamo di ,casio also alludes in one of his sonnets to two female portraits by ,francia remarkable for their beauty1 but these have perished1 it is to be feared1 since no portraits of women by his hand are known to exist4 ,the expulsion of the ,bentivogli1 although a severe shock to ,francia1 does not appear to have diminished his powers of activity1 and many of his best works belong to the years immediately following this event1 which he deplored so deeply4 ,in #aeji he painted the 8,baptism of ,christ10 now at ,dresden1 which still retains its rich glow of colour in spite of injuries received from the splinters of a shell during the bombardment of that city in #agfj4 ,christ is represented standing on the waters of ,jordan while the ,baptist bends forward from one of the banks1 and two angels with wistful faces wait on the other4 ,a good replica of the subject1 with the same hilly landscape but some variations1 is at ,hampton ,court1 and originally belonged to the ,mantuan collection purchased by ,charles ,i4 ,the ,dresden ,gallery possesses two other fine works of ,francia1 an 8,adoration of the ,magi10 with a lake and mountain background1 which bears strong marks of ,raphael's influence1 and a 8,madonna0 from the ,quandt collection4 ,this last is one of the half-length figures of the ,virgin with the child1 and one or more attendant saints1 which became so popular a subject in ,francia's school1 and of which so many repetitions are to be seen4 ,the example in the ,national ,gallery1 acquired from the ,beaucousin collection1 has unfortunately lost much of its original clearness1 owing to the wash of burnt sienna which has been laid on the surface4 ,another finely conceived work1 which has been ruined by repainting1 is the 8,madonna and ,saints0 of the ,belvedere at ,vienna1 while the same fate has attended the ,berlin altar-piece1 originally painted for the ,friars of the ,osservanza at ,modena4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,madonna ,,of ,,the ,,rose-,,garden4 ,,by ,,francia4 ,in the ,pinakothek1 ,munich4 ,two other panels1 which1 in type and execution1 bear a marked resemblance to the frescoes of ,st4 ,cecilia's chapel1 and were evidently painted soon afterwards1 are in a better state of preservation4 ,the first1 an 8,annunciation10 with ,st4 ,jerome and the ,baptist1 in the ,bologna ,gallery1 is a picture of the same class as the earlier ,annunziata altar-piece1 and is distinguished by the refinement and gentleness of the ,virgin's face4 ,the other is the beautiful 8,madonna of the ,rose ,garden10 originally painted for the ,gonzagas1 into whose service ,francia's old friend1 ,lorenzo ,costa1 had passed after the exile of the ,bentivogli4 ,it remained in the ,mantua collection till #aghf1 and after experiencing many changes of hands1 became the property of the ,empress ,josephine1 until in #ahae it passed from ,malmaison into the ,pinakothek of ,munich4 ,the child lies on a bed of flowery grass1 stretching out its little arms with a smile of delight to its mother1 who is in the act of sinking upon her knees in a rapture of loving adoration4 ,a trellis of tall roses1 which might have been painted by a ,botticelli or ,filippino1 fences the garden round1 and1 in the pleasant meadows beyond1 horses are feeding on the banks of a winding stream1 and church-towers rise in the distance4 ,nowhere is the transparent delicacy of ,francia's colouring more pleasing than in the silver-grey tones of the ,virgin's robe1 while her countenance wears the same gentle air of tender melancholy which haunts his conceptions in the same way as the smile on ,leonardo's faces1 and the deeper sadness of ,botticelli's ,madonnas4 ,illustration ,illustration ,,chapter ,v4 ,,last ,,works ,,and ,,death1 ,a4,d4 #aeji-aeag4 ,we have few details of the last years of ,francia's life1 but the dates that mark some of his pictures show us that his powers were not impaired1 nor his activity diminished with advancing age4 ,it would be interesting to know how he was affected by the return of his friends1 the ,bentivogli1 who in #aeaa entered ,bologna again1 on the retreat of the ,papal troops before the ,french army under ,gaston de ,foix4 ,the fickle ,bolognese were as glad to be rid of the ,pope as they had ever been to expel their former tyrant1 and destroyed the statue which ,julius ,,ii4 had erected of himself on the principal square4 ,but the ,bentivogli only enjoyed their return to power during a very brief space4 ,in a few months the conquering advance of the ,french army was checked by the death of ,gaston de ,foix in the battle of ,ravenna2 the ,pope's troops again entered ,bologna1 the ,bentivogli fled once more1 and the city was heavily fined and deprived of many of its former privileges4 ,all we hear of ,francia in these stormy times is that in #aeaa he was elected one of the sixteen ,gonfalioneri of the people1 which proves that he still retained the popular favour1 and that his changeable fellow-countrymen had not wavered in their affection and regard for him4 ,in #aeab he was once more elected master of the ,goldsmiths' ,guild1 and in #aead he attained the dignity of ,master of the four arts4 8,he was reverenced as a god in ,bologna10 says ,vasari1 8and not even his friendship for ,raphael1 and his desire to see the larger works of the great painter1 could tear him away from his native city40 ,the fame of his works had spread over all ,italy and had attracted a large number of scholars1 as many1 it is said1 as two hundred4 ,several of the best of these passed into the school of ,raphael1 as ,timoteo ,viti had already done1 and adopted a style which has little in common with that of ,francia4 ,such were ,innocenza da ,imola and ,bartolommeo ,ramenghi1 of ,bagnacavallo1 whose influence became prominent in the ,bolognese school after ,francia's death1 and who have left many of their works in the churches and ,gallery of ,bologna4 ,others followed more closely in ,francia's steps1 and contented themselves for the most part with weak and conventional repetitions of those ,saints and ,madonnas which his genius had rendered popular4 ,chief among these was ,francia's own son1 ,giacomo ,raibolini1 an active and careful artist who never aspired to originality1 and whose conceptions are generally wanting in life and freedom4 ,three of his best panels are in the ,berlin ,museum1 and we often find them in other collections under his father's name4 ,there is a fine portrait of him in the ,pitti ,palace1 ,florence1 and as an engraver he rose to the first rank1 some of his prints being equal in delicacy and finish to those of ,marc ,antonio himself4 ,francia's second son1 ,giulio by name1 also became a painter1 and was associated with ,giacomo in the execution of several panels1 which are distinguished by the signature ,j4 ,j4 ,francia4 ,giacomo died in #aeeg2 ,giulio at some time after #aedc4 ,another of ,francia's assistants whom he employed1 as he did ,giacomo1 in the frescoes of ,cecilia1 was ,amico ,aspertini1 a wayward and eccentric artist1 who travelled in many parts of ,italy1 and received the surname 8dai due pennelle10 from his habit of working with both hands1 holding one brush for dark1 and the other for pale tints4 ,his numerous paintings in ,bologna have mostly perished1 and the best works by him which remain are the frescoes of the ,volto ,santo in ,san ,frediano at ,lucca1 painted by him about the same time that ,francia executed his two altar-pieces for that church4 ,besides these1 ,francia's influence left its mark on several of the ,ferrarese1 especially on ,costa's pupil1 ,ercole ,grandi ,,ii41 and on the ,ravenna artists1 one of whom1 ,girolamo ,marchesi da ,cotignola1 painted several works at ,bologna1 and was summoned to take the portrait of ,gaston de ,foix as he lay dead on the battle-field4 ,thus the latter part of ,francia's life was partly spent in directing the efforts of this large number of scholars1 all engaged in the production of the numerous works in his style1 and often bearing his name1 which are scattered throughout ,europe4 ,a few genuine panels of his last years are still1 however1 to be seen4 ,a ,madonna dated #aeaa is in ,casa ,pertusati at ,milan1 and a small ,god the ,father in the ,ercolani collection at ,bologna bears ,francia's signature and the date #aead4 ,two larger and more important works belong to the following year1 #aeae4 ,one of these is the 8,madonna and ,saints0 in the ,gallery of ,parma1 formerly in the possession of the ,sanvitale family1 and resembling his earlier creations in most points2 it is remarkable for the fine profile of ,st4 ,justina1 who kneels on the pedestal of the ,virgin's throne1 looking upward with ardent devotion4 ,the other is the ,piet of the ,turin ,gallery1 a work which has lost the richness of its colouring from subsequent restoration1 but still retains much of its former excellence4 ,the leading features are the same as those of the larger ,parma 8,deposition40 ,the dead ,christ lies in the ,virgin's arms supported by the ,magdalen and ,st4 ,john4 ,behind them ,nicodemus raises his hands with a sorrowing gesture1 and a monk stands with a lily in his hand1 while tall palm-trees in the background spread their fan-like branches against the western skies4 ,there is the same majesty of repose in the dead ,christ1 the same expression of piteous sorrow on the ,virgin's face1 which we expect in a ,piet by ,francia4 ,it was the old conception of earlier days1 which had lost none of its force in declining years1 but was still present as vividly as ever to his mind4 ,the following year is rendered memorable by a last communication which took place between ,raphael and ,francia4 ,the great painter had finished his famous altar-piece of ,st4 ,cecilia for the chapel1 which a noble ,bolognese lady1 the ,beata ,elena ,duglioli1 had erected in the church of ,san ,giovanni del ,monte1 and wrote to ,francia1 begging him as a friend whom he trusted implicitly1 to repair any accident the picture might have suffered on the journey1 and to make any correction which might appear to him advisable4 ,the picture reached ,bologna safely early in the year #aeaf4 ,francia1 in accordance with his friend's directions1 placed it above the altar in the chapel for which it was destined4 ,the ,bolognese hailed the appearance of ,raphael's masterpiece with enthusiastic acclamations1 and we may well believe that ,francia shared in their delight with the same generous appreciation which he had always shown for his friend's genius4 ,on the strength of these simple facts1 the voice of slander founded the ridiculous story1 which ,vasari repeats1 of ,francia having died from the transport of jealous rage with which he was filled at the sight of ,raphael's masterpiece4 ,the absurdity of the fabrication is evident when we remember the pictures which had been exchanged and the letters which had passed between the two masters1 and is contrary to all we know of ,francia's character and natural disposition4 ,vasari himself seems to have felt some misgivings as to the truth of the story1 for he proceeds to qualify his statement with the words 8come alcuni credono0 7as some believe71 and adds that others say ,francia died of poison4 ,malvasia1 in his zeal to vindicate the memory of ,francia1 endeavours to prove that the ,bolognese master lived till #aebb1 but the real date of his death has been finally proved by the discovery of three separate notices in contemporary chronicles1 which all record the fact that ,francesco ,francia1 that most excellent goldsmith and painter1 died on the #eth of ,january1 #aeag 7new style #aeah74 ,the illness which ended his life1 and the grave where he lies1 are both unknown1 but it seems probable that he was buried in the cloister of the large church of ,san ,francesco1 a favourite place of sepulchre in his days1 and which contains the tomb of his son ,giacomo4 99 99 99 99 99 ,during the next thirty years his pupils continued to paint in ,bologna1 and maintained in some measure the honour of his name1 but before the end of the century a new school1 utterly different in aim and style1 sprang up1 and--in the sudden blaze of fame which encircled the names of the ,carracci1 ,domenichino1 and ,guido--the works of the older masters were forgotten4 ,travellers who visited ,bologna in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were attracted solely by the creations of the ,eclectic school1 and returned home without being even aware of ,francia's existence4 ,m4 ,rio points out a striking proof of the neglect into which his works had fallen1 in the curious fact that among all the pictures which the ,french invaders carried back to ,paris not a single piece was by ,francia4 ,with the revival of a better taste the great master of the old school of ,bologna soon received just recognition1 and his purity and gentleness will always appeal to a large class of sympathetic natures who are attracted by the charm of an art which is apparent to all4 ,if we consider the place which he holds in contemporary art we shall see how little he had in common with the spirit of his age1 and how much of his aspirations and sympathies belonged to the old world of the earlier religious painters4 ,living as he did in the days of ,raphael1 at a moment when the ,renaissance was fast hastening to its culminating point1 ,francia took no share in the great movement that was swaying forward at every point1 but stood apart in a sphere of his own4 ,in an age when revived ,paganism had penetrated into every part of society1 and the love of the antique was the ruling impulse of intellectual thought1 he scarcely shows a trace of this influence1 and derives his inspiration exclusively from ,christian sources4 ,he paints ,lucrezia dying with the ecstatic smile of a martyred saint on her lips1 and designs classical figures only to give them the yearning expression of religious emotion4 ,but in this realm of mystic art it must be owned that he takes the highest place4 ,that fine saying of ,raphael1 when he declared that no other ,madonnas were as beautiful or as religious as those which ,francia painted1 was no empty compliment4 ,since those days many have felt the truth of his words1 and have confirmed his judgment4 ,for to the earnestness and purity of ,fra ,angelico's conceptions ,francia brought a mastery of resources which had been lacking to those older painters4 ,his creations are animated with a warmer humanity and a more vigorous life1 they have all the charm of glowing colours and strongly contrasted light and shadow1 while secular influences are allowed a larger part in the rich ornament and noble architecture which surround them4 ,thus ,francia shares with ,perugino the praise of having combined the technical perfection of a later age with the ,christian motives which had so largely influenced the first efforts of ,italian art4 ,but1 unlike ,perugino1 the religious feeling which formed the secret of ,francia's inspiration remained fresh and strong within his breast to the end of his life1 and was with him still a real and living power1 when it had sunk into conventionalism and affectation in the later works of the ,umbrian master1 and was rapidly yielding to the growing influences of a worldly age in the creations of ,raphael4 ,slowly but surely men's thoughts and their ideals of life had undergone a complete change1 and the art of ,italy was entering on a new phase in which there was no longer room for the rapture of ,fra ,angelico's faces1 or the sweet gentleness of the ,madonnas who haunted ,francia's dreams4 8,the old order changeth1 yielding place to new1 ,and ,god fulfils himself in many ways40 ,illustration ,illustration ,,the ,,principal ,,works ,,of ,,mantegna4 ,,bergamo4 ,lochis-,carrara ,gallery4 ,madonna and ,child4 ,portrait of man in red dress 7,francesco ,gonzaga874 ,,berlin4 ,museum4 ,portrait of an ,ecclesiastic4 7,matteo ,bossi1 ,abbot of ,fiesole47 ,madonna and ,child4 7,painted about #adfd47 ,presentation in the ,temple4 7,painted about #adfd47 ,,copenhagen4 ,museum4 ,man of ,sorrow supported by ,angels4 7,,andreas ,,mantinea4 ,painted about #adhi47 ,,dresden4 ,gallery4 ,holy ,family 7formerly in the possession of ,sir ,charles ,eastlake74 ,,florence4 ,uffizi4 ,madonna and ,child1 in a rocky landscape4 7,painted in #adhh-ij47 ,adoration of the ,magi2 ,presentation2 and ,ascension4 7,a triptych1 painted about #adfd47 ,,frankfort4 ,stdel4 ,st4 ,mark 7doubtful47 ,,glasgow4 ,hamilton ,collection4 ,woman carrying a basin4 7,painted about #adgj47 ,woman drinking4 7,painted about #adgj47 ,,hampton ,,court4 ,the ,triumphs of ,julius ,csar1 #adib4 7,nine cartoons47 ,,la ,,motta4 ,scarpa ,collection4 ,st4 ,sebastian4 ,,london4 ,national ,gallery4 ,the ,virgin and ,child enthroned2 ,st4 ,john the ,baptist and the ,magdalen4 ,with the annexed signature 7,c4,p4,f4 ,civis ,patavinus fecit47 ,illustration3 ,andreas ,mantinia ,c4,p4,f4 ,the ,triumph of ,scipio 7in monochrome3 painted in #aeje74 ,,madrid4 ,museum4 ,death of the ,virgin 7formerly in the collection of ,charles ,i42 painted about #adgj74 ,,mantua4 ,castello frescoes in the ,camera degli ,sposi1 #adgj-gd4 ,lodovico ,gonzaga and ,barbara of ,brandenburg surrounded by their family and ,court 7on the walls74 ,lodovico meeting his son1 ,cardinal ,francesco1 on his return from ,rome 7on the walls74 ,scenes from the fables of ,hercules1 ,orpheus1 ,apollo1 c42 ,medallions of ,csars1 ,cupids1 and other figures 7in monochrome1 on the ceiling74 ,,milan4 ,brera4 ,st4 ,luke and other saints 7altar-piece in twelve parts3 painted for ,santa ,giustina1 ,padua1 in #aded74 ,the dead ,christ bewailed by the ,maries4 ,casa ,trivulzi4 ,virgin and ,child in glory1 with ,,ss4 ,john the ,baptist1 ,romualdo1 and ,jerome1 a bishop and three angels4 ,a ,,mantinia ,p4 ,,an4 ,,gracie1 #adig1 #ae ,,augusti4 ,,munich4 ,pinakothek4 ,madonna enthroned with ,saints4 ,,naples4 ,museum4 ,st4 ,euphemia1 ,,opus ,,andre ,,mantegn1 ,,mccccliii4 ,,padua4 ,church of the ,eremitani4 ,st4 ,james baptizing ,hermogenes4 ,st4 ,james before ,herod4 ,st4 ,james blessing a convert on his way to execution4 ,martyrdom of ,st4 ,james4 ,martyrdom of ,st4 ,christopher4 ,burial of ,st4 ,christopher4 ,six frescoes1 #adec-adei4 ,basilica of ,sant' ,antonio4 ,st4 ,bernardino and ,st4 ,anthony1 #adeb 7fresco in a lunette over the portal74 ,,paris4 ,louvre4 ,the ,crucifixion 7part of the predella of the altar-piece of ,san ,zeno in ,verona74 ,madonna della ,vittoria 7painted in #adie-if for ,santa ,maria della ,vittoria1 ,mantua74 ,parnassus4 ,wisdom victorious over the ,vices 7from ,isabella ,gonzaga's 8,grotto074 ,,parma4 ,pinacoteca4 ,copies in oil of the frescoes in the church of the ,eremitani at ,padua 7doubtful74 ,,tours4 ,museum4 ,christ on the ,mount of ,olives 7part of the predella of the altar-piece of ,san ,zeno in ,verona74 ,the ,ascension 7part of the predella of the altar-piece of ,san ,zeno in ,verona74 ,,turin4 ,gallery4 ,madonna and five saints4 ,,venice4 ,academy4 ,st4 ,george4 7,painted about #adfd74 ,,verona4 ,san ,zeno4 ,madonna and eight ,saints4 7,painted about #adei2 altar-piece3 the predella1 a copy of which is in ,san ,zeno1 is part in the ,louvre and part in the ,tours ,museum47 ,,vienna4 ,belvedere4 ,st4 ,sebastian4 7,painted about #adfd47 ,studies for the ,triumphs of ,julius ,csar 7doubtful74 ,,paintings ,,by ,,mantegna ,,in ,,private ,,collections ,,in ,,england ,,exhibited ,,at ,,various ,,times4#aa ,,at ,,the ,,british ,,institution 7#ahaf-aheb74 ,date4 ,subject4 ,owner4 #ahce4 ,triumph of ,scipio ,george ,vivian1 ,esq4 #ahfa4 ,the ,children of ,medea rescued by the ,nurse ,j4 ,c4 ,robinson1 ,esq4 ,,at ,,the ,,manchester ,,art ,,treasures ,,exhibition1 #aheg4 ,cat4 ,no4 ,subject4 ,owner4 #ia4 ,piet1 with the ,crucifixion in the ,distance ,liverpool ,royal ,institution4 #if4 ,judith ,earl of ,pembroke4 #ig4 ,christ bearing the ,cross ,christ ,church1 ,oxford4 #ih4 ,christ on the ,mount of ,olives ,thomas ,baring1 ,esq4 #ajb4 ,the ,triumph of ,scipio ,george ,vivian1 ,esq4 ,,at ,,the ,,leeds ,,art ,,treasures ,,exhibition1 #ahfh4 ,cat4 ,no4 ,subject4 ,owner4 #ed4 ,saint ,colonel ,markham4 #ee4 ,a ,triumphal ,procession ,h4 ,d4 ,owen1 ,esq4 #eg4 ,judith with the ,head of ,holofernes ,colonel ,markham4 #ei4 ,virgin and ,child1 surrounded by scenes in the ,life of the ,virgin ,j4 ,w4 ,faulkner1 ,esq4 ,,at ,,the 8,,exhibition ,,of ,,the ,,works ,,of ,,the ,,old ,,masters40 ,date4 ,subject4 ,owner4 #ahgj4 ,virgin and ,child and ,st4 ,john with ,,ss4 ,joachim and ,anna ,lady ,eastlake4 ,christ on the ,mount of ,olives ,thomas ,baring1 ,esq41 ,m4,p4 ,angel at the ,tomb ,lady ,taunton #ahga4 ,the ,triumph of ,scipio ,george ,vivian1 ,esq4 ,the ,wise ,men's ,offerings ,louisa1 ,lady ,ashburton4 ,subjects 7four7 from the ,life of ,christ ,earl of ,dudley4 #ahgb4 ,two ,figures2 a ,study ,duke of ,buccleuch4 #ahge4 ,the ,flight into ,egypt ,w4 ,graham1 ,esq4 #ahgf4 ,judith with the ,head of ,holofernes ,colonel ,markham4 ,dido 0 #ahgh4 ,a ,triumphal ,procession ,hugh ,owen1 ,esq4 #ahhj4 ,the ,virgin and ,child ,charles ,butler1 ,esq4 #ahha4 ,a ,piet ,sir ,william ,n4 ,abdy1 ,bart4 ,illustration ,illustration ,,the ,,principal ,,works ,,of ,,francia4 ,,berlin4 ,museum4 ,madonna and ,child1 with ,,ss4 ,geminiano1 ,bernard1 ,dorothea1 ,catharine1 ,jerome1 and ,louis of ,france4 ,,francia ,,aurifaber ,,bonon1 #aejb 7painted for ,santa ,cecilia1 ,modena74 ,holy ,family 7early work7 ,,bartholemei ,,sum7,,ptu7 ,,bianchini ,,maxima ,,matrom ,,hic ,,vivit ,,manibus ,,francia ,,picta ,,tuis4 ,,bologna4 ,pinacoteca4 #gh4 ,madonna and ,child1 with ,,ss4 ,john the ,baptist1 ,monica1 ,augustin1 ,francis1 ,proculus and ,sebastian and an ,angel 7with portrait of ,bartolommeo ,felicini1 for whom it was painted1 ,,opus ,,franci ,,aurificis1 ,,mcccclxxxx 7,,iv8747 #hj4 ,madonna and ,child1 with ,,ss4 ,john the ,baptist1 ,augustin1 ,jerome1 and ,stephen1 and an angel 7painted for the ,manzuoli74 #ha4 ,the ,infant ,christ adored by the ,virgin1 ,,ss4 ,joseph1 ,augustin1 and ,francis1 the donor and two angels4 7,painted for ,antonio ,galeazzo ,bentivoglio in #adii47 #hb4 ,birth2 ,infancy2 ,death of ,christ4 7,a predella47 #hc4 ,piet4 ,these five were formerly in ,santa ,maria della ,misericordia1 ,bologna4 #cga4 ,annunciation1 with ,,ss4 ,george1 ,bernardino of ,siena1 ,francis of ,assisi1 and ,john the ,evangelist4 ,,francia ,,aurifex ,,pinxit1 ,,mccccc4 #cgb4 ,madonna and ,child1 with ,,ss4 ,john the ,baptist1 ,paul1 and ,francis of ,assisi4 #cgc4 ,crucifixion1 with the ,madonna1 the ,magdalen1 ,st4 ,jerome1 and ,st4 ,john the ,evangelist4 ,,opus ,,franci ,,aurif4 ,these three were formerly in the ,,ss4 ,annunziata1 ,bologna4 #gi4 ,annunciation1 with ,,ss4 ,john the ,baptist and ,jerome4 ,formerly in the ,oratorio of ,san ,girolamo di ,miramonte ,bologna4 ,san ,giacomo ,maggiore4 ,madonna1 with ,saints and ,angels4 ,,johanni ,,bentivoglio ,,ii4 ,,francia ,,aurifex ,,pinxit4 7in #adii74 ,in the ,bentivoglio ,chapel4 ,marriage2 and ,burial of ,st4 ,cecilia1 fresco #aeji4 ,in the ,oratory of ,santa ,cecilia4 ,san ,martino ,maggiore4 ,madonna and ,child1 with ,,ss4 ,roch1 ,sebastian1 ,bernardino1 and ,anthony of ,padua4 ,,francia ,,aurifex ,p4 ,,ss4 ,vitale ed ,agricola4 ,angels playing musical instruments 7round an older picture of the ,madonna74 ,casa ,ercolani4 ,god the ,father1 #aead4 ,,cesena4 ,pinacoteca4 ,presentation4 ,,francia ,,aurifex4 ,,dresden4 ,gallery4 ,adoration of the ,kings 7a predella74 ,madonna and ,child1 with the bird1 and ,st4 ,john the ,baptist4 ,baptism of ,christ4 ,,francia ,,aurifex ,,bon4 ,f4 ,m4 ,v4 ,,viiii4 7#aeji74 ,,ferrara4 ,cathedral4 ,coronation of the ,virgin1 with ,,ss4 ,george1 ,stephen1 ,bartholomew1 ,john the ,baptist1 ,peter1 ,augustin and ,paul1 ,catherine1 and another female ,saint4 7,the altar-piece 8of all the ,saints407 ,,florence4 ,uffizi4 ,portrait of ,evangelista ,scappi4 ,,so4 ,,vangelista ,,scarpi4 ,,forli4 ,pinacoteca4 ,adoration of the ,child 7from the ,palazzo ,zambeccari1 ,bologna74 ,,frankfort4 ,stdel4 ,portrait of a young man4 ,,hampton ,,court4 ,baptism of ,christ4 ,,francia ,,aurifex ,,bon4 7replica of the ,dresden ,gallery picture74 ,,london4 ,national ,gallery4 ,the ,virgin with the ,infant ,christ and ,st4 ,anne1 enthroned1 surrounded by ,,ss4 ,john the ,baptist1 ,sebastian1 ,paul1 ,lawrence and ,romualdo 7with the annexed signature74 ,illustration3 ,,francia ,,avrifex ,,bononie,s,,is ,p4 ,the ,virgin and two angels weeping over the dead body of ,christ 7lunette of the above74 ,these two pictures1 formerly an altar-piece1 were originally in the ,buonvisi ,chapel in ,san ,frediano1 at ,lucca4 ,the ,virgin and ,child with two ,saints4 ,dudley ,house4 ,virgin and ,child with ,st4 ,joseph4 ,,jacobus ,,cambarus ,,bonon4 ,,per ,,franciam ,,aurifabrum ,,hoc ,,opus ,,fieri ,,curavit1 #adie4 ,virgin and ,child4 ,,lucca4 ,san ,frediano4 ,the ,virgin in glory blessed by ,christ1 with ,,ss4 ,anselm1 ,augustin1 ,anthony1 and ,david and ,solomon4 ,scenes from the ,history of the ,augustine order 7predella74 ,galleria ,mansi da ,san ,pellegrino4 ,madonna and ,child4 ,,madrid4 ,duke of ,fernan ,nunez4 ,st4 ,sebastian4 ,,milan4 ,brera4 ,annunciation4 ,casa ,pertusati4 ,madonna and ,saints4 #aeaa4 ,,munich4 ,pinakothek4 ,madonna of the ,rose-garden4 ,,francia ,,aurifex ,,bono4 7,a copy is in the ,berlin ,museum1 and another in the ,pinacoteca1 ,bologna47 ,madonna and ,child 7who holds a bird71 with two angels4 ,,paris4 ,louvre4 ,the ,nativity4 ,christ on the ,cross1 with ,job1 the ,virgin1 and ,st4 ,john4 ,,francia ,,aurifaber 7formerly in ,san ,giobbe1 ,bologna74 ,,parma4 ,accademia4 ,deposition4 ,,francia ,,aurifex ,,bonon4 ,f4 ,madonna and ,child1 ,st4 ,john the ,baptist1 and ,,ss4 ,joseph1 ,benedict1 ,scolastica1 and ,placida4 ,,francia ,,aurifex ,,bononiensis1 ,f4 ,,mdxv4 ,madonna with the little ,st4 ,john4 ,,rome4 ,palazzo ,borghese4 ,st4 ,stephen4 ,,vincentii ,,desiderii ,,votum ,,fra,,ci ,,expressum ,,manu 7early work74 ,madonna and ,child4 ,,st4 ,,petersburg4 ,hermitage4 ,madonna and ,child 7in the background the 8,resurrection0 and 8,transfiguration074 ,f4 ,,francia4 ,madonna and ,child1 with ,st4 ,jerome1 ,st4 ,lawrence1 and two angels4 ,d4,s4 ,,ludovicus ,,de ,,calcina4 ,,decretoru ,,doctor ,,canonicus4 ,s4,p ,,bon ,,redificator ,,auctorq4 ,,domus ,,et ,,restaurator ,,huius ,,eclesi ,,fecit ,,fieri4 ,p4 ,,me ,,franciam ,,aurifice ,,bonon4 ,,ano4 ,,mccccc4 ,,turin4 ,museum4 ,piet1 with the ,virgin1 the ,magdalen1 the ,evangelist1 and a ,saint4 ,f4 ,,francia ,,aurifex ,,bononiensis ,f4 ,,mdxv4 ,,vienna4 ,belvedere4 ,madonna and ,child1 with ,,ss4 ,john the ,baptist1 ,francis1 and ,catherine 7repainted74 ,academy4 ,madonna and ,child1 with ,saints 7repainted1 and doubtful74 ,liechtenstein ,gallery4 ,portrait of a ,bolognese nobleman 7formerly ascribed to ,raphael74 ,,paintings ,,by ,,francia ,,in ,,private ,,collections ,,in ,,england ,,exhibited ,,at ,,various ,,times4 ,,at ,,the ,,british ,,institution 7#ahaf-aheb74 ,date4 ,subject4 ,owner4 #ahdc4 ,madonna and ,child1 with ,st4 ,jerome and ,st4 ,francis ,hon4 ,t4 ,frankland ,lewis4 #aheb4 ,baptism of our ,saviour ,right ,hon4 ,h4 ,labouchere1 ,m4,p4 #ahec4 ,a ,man's ,head ,john ,freeborn1 ,esq4 #ahfa4 ,virgin and ,child with ,angels ,w4 ,f4 ,maitland1 ,esq4 #ahfc4 ,portrait of a ,young ,man ,j4 ,c4 ,robinson1 ,esq4 ,,at ,,the ,,manchester ,,art ,,treasures ,,exhibition1 #aheg4 ,cat4 ,no4 ,subject4 ,owner4 #ha4 ,the ,baptism of ,christ ,right ,hon4 ,h4 ,labouchere4 #ajh4 ,the ,madonna and ,child1 with ,st4 ,joseph ,lord ,ward4 #abd4 ,madonna and ,child ,daniel ,lee1 ,esq4 #abg4 ,virgin and ,child ,lord ,northwick4 #acb4 ,the ,baptism ,the ,queen 7,hampton ,court74 #adf4 ,st4 ,roch ,sir ,w4 ,r4 ,farquhar1 ,bart4 ,,at ,,the ,,leeds ,,art ,,treasures ,,exhibition1 #ahfh4 ,cat4 ,no4 ,subject4 ,owner4 #fj4 ,virgin and ,child4 ,triptych ,j4 ,w4 ,faulkner1 ,esq4 #hj4 ,head of a ,saint ,alexander ,barker1 ,esq4 #hc4 ,virgin and ,child1 with ,saints ,sixtus and ,laurence ,wolsey ,moreau1 ,esq4 #hf4 ,saint ,alexander ,barker1 ,esq4 #bdh4 ,holy ,family ,the ,right ,hon4 the ,speaker4 ,,at ,,the 8,,exhibition ,,of ,,the ,,works ,,of ,,the ,,old ,,masters40 ,date4 ,subject4 ,owner4 #ahga4 ,the ,virgin and ,child ,earl of ,dudley4 #ahgc4 ,the ,virgin and ,child ,j4 ,f4 ,jesse1 ,esq4 #ahgf4 ,the ,virgin and ,child--rocky landscape in distance ,thomas ,sheffield1 ,esq4 #ahgi4 ,st4 ,francis ,william ,graham1 ,esq4 #ahha4 ,portrait of the ,painter ,sir ,william ,n4 ,abdy1 ,bart4 ,portrait of ,giovanni ,bentivoglio1 of ,bologna 0 0 ,,chronology ,,of ,,mantegna4 #adca4 ,born in the neighbourhood of ,padua4 7,page #c47 #adda4 ,entered on the register of ,paduan painters as the adopted son of his master ,squarcione4 7,p4 #c47 #addh4 ,painted the altar-piece for ,santa ,sofia of ,padua4 7,p4 #c47 #adeb4 ,painted the fresco over the portal of ,sant' ,antonio4 7,p4 #c47 #adeb-eh4 ,painted the frescoes of the ,eremitani ,church1 and married ,niccolosia ,bellini4 7,pp4 #c-aa47 #aded4 ,painted the altar-piece for ,santa ,giustina1 ,padua4 7,p4 #ad47 #adef4 ,entered into correspondence with ,lodovico ,gonzaga4 7,p4 #ad47 #adeg-ei4 ,painted the altar-piece of ,san ,zeno at ,verona4 7,p4 #ae47 #adei4 ,settled at ,mantua with his family4 7,p4 #ag47 #adff4 ,visited ,florence4 7,p4 #bb47 #adgb4 ,visited ,cardinal ,francesco ,gonzaga at ,bologna4 7,p4 #bb47 0 ,received a grant of land at ,buscoldo4 7,p4 #bb47 #adgj-adgd4 ,painted the frescoes of the ,camera degli ,sposi4 7,pp4 #be-bh47 #adgc4 ,received a grant of land in ,mantua upon which he built his house4 7,p4 #bi47 #adha4 ,painted at ,marmirolo4 7,p4 #cj47 #adhc4 ,received a visit from ,lorenzo de' ,medici4 7,p4 #cj47 #adhe4 ,painted a ,madonna for the ,duchess of ,ferrara4 7,p4 #cb47 #adhe-adhh4 ,painted the first pieces of the 8,triumphs40 7,p4 #cb47 #adhh-adij4 ,painted the frescoes of the ,belvedere ,chapel of the ,vatican for ,innocent ,,viii4 7,p4 #cb47 0 ,painted the ,madonna and ,child of the ,uffizi for ,lorenzo de' ,medici4 7,p4 #cd47 #adij4 ,left ,rome and returned to ,mantua1 ,sept4 #f4 7,p4 #cd47 #adij-ib4 ,worked at the 8,triumphs of ,julius ,csar0 and completed the series4 7,p4 #ci47 #adib4 ,received a fresh grant of land from ,francesco ,gonzaga1 ,feb4 #d4 7,p4 #dc47 #adid4 ,furnished his house in the parish of ,s4 ,sebastian4 7,p4 #dc47 #adie-if4 ,painted the ,madonna della ,vittoria4 7,p4 #dg47 #adif-ig4 ,painted an altar-piece for ,santa ,maria in ,organo at ,verona1 now in ,casa ,trivulzi1 ,milan4 7,p4 #dh47 #adii4 ,designed a monument to ,virgil4 7,p4 #di47 #adii4 ,marriage of his daughter ,taddea to ,viano ,vianesi4 7,p4 #dc47 #aejd4 ,made his first will1 ,march #a4 7,p4 #ea47 0 ,entered into a contract with the ,canons of ,sant' ,andrea by which he obtained possession of a chapel in that church1 ,aug4 #aa4 7,p4 #ea47 0 ,sold his house in ,mantua4 7,p4 #ea47 #aeje4 ,disgrace and banishment of his son ,francesco4 7,p4 #ea47 0 ,painted the ,st4 ,sebastian of the ,scarpa gallery1 and the ,triumph of ,scipio for ,francesco ,cornaro4 7,p4 #eb47 0 ,bought a house in the ,contrada ,unicorno4 7,p4 #ec47 #aejf4 ,altered his will in favour of ,gian' ,andrea1 his illegitimate son1 ,jan4 #bd4 7,p4 #ea47 0 ,painted the ,masque of ,comus for ,isabella ,gonzaga4 7,p4 #ec47 0 ,sold his bust of ,faustina to ,isabella's agent1 ,aug4 #a4 7,p4 #ed47 0 ,died at ,mantua1 ,sept4 #ac4 7,p4 #ed47 ,,of ,,francia4 #adej4 ,born at ,bologna4 7,p4 #ge47 #adhb4 ,entered the ,goldsmiths' ,guild4 7,p4 #gf47 #adhc4 ,elected steward of the ,guild4 7,p4 #gj47 #adhe4 ,birth of his son ,giacomo4 7,p4 #gf47 #adhg4 ,birth of his son ,giulio4 7,p4 #gf47 #adhi4 ,elected steward of the ,goldsmiths' ,guild a second time4 7,p4 #gf47 #adij4 ,painted his first altar-piece for ,bartolommeo ,felicini4 7,p4 #gi47 #adie4 ,painted a ,madonna and ,child for ,jacopo ,gambaro4 7,p4 #ha47 #adii4 ,painted altar-pieces for the ,bentivoglio ,chapel and ,church of the ,misericordia4 7,p4 #ha47 #aejj4 ,painted altar-pieces for the ,church of the ,annunziata1 and for ,san ,lorenzo4 7,pp4 #hd1 #he47 #aejb4 ,painted ,madonna and ,saints for the ,friars dell' ,osservanza at ,modena4 7,p4 #ajj47 #aeje-aejf4 ,painted frescoes of the ,chapel of ,st4 ,cecilia4 7,p4 #id47 #aejg4 ,expulsion of the ,bentivogli4 7,p4 #ig47 #aejh4 ,coined money for ,pope ,julius ,,ii4 7,p4 #ig47 0 ,sent his portrait to ,raphael in ,rome1 ,sept4 7,p4 #ig47 #aeji4 ,painted the ,baptism of ,christ 7now in the ,dresden ,gallery74 7,p4 #ii47 #aeaa4 ,elected one of the six ,gonfalonieri of the ,people4 7,p4 #ajb47 #aeab4 ,elected steward of the ,guild4 7,p4 #ajc47 #aead4 ,elected steward of the four ,guilds4 7,p4 #ajc47 #aeae4 ,painted ,sanvitale altar-piece at ,parma1 and ,piet at ,turin4 7,p4 #ajd47 #aeaf4 ,raphael sent his ,st4 ,cecilia to ,bologna4 7,p4 #aje47 #aeag4 7,new style1 #aeah74 ,died1 ,jan4 #e4 7,p4 #ajf47 ,,footnotes #a ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle doubt that he went to ,greece4 #b ,we have ,professor ,colvin's authority for assigning this print to ,mantegna1 as well as the strong inference drawn from the likeness of the engravings to the frescoes of the ,castello di ,corte4 7,portfolio1 vol4 #h47 #c ,the ,raphael ,cartoons only realised #cjj4 #d ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle doubt that ,francia studied under ,zoppo4 #e ,see ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle4 8,a ,history of ,painting in ,north ,italy10 ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #bid4 ,crevalcore's name1 however1 does not occur in the ,berlin official catalogue4 #f ,no4 #hj1 in the ,pinacoteoa1 ,bologna4 #g ,no4 #ha4 #h ,at ,tew ,park1 ,oxfordshire4 #i ,these two frescoes are usually ascribed to ,giacomo ,raibolini2 but ,frizzoni and ,milanese after him attribute them to ,tamaroccio1 who assisted his master ,francia in the chapel4 #aj ,the picture exhibited by ,sir ,william ,abdy at ,burlington ,house last winter 7#ahha7 as the painter's own likeness has too little in common with ,francia's style to be accepted as genuine with any certainty1 although a print of it1 bearing the date #agfc and the name of the goldsmith painter1 is said to exist4 #aa ,in the lists of ,mantegna's and ,francia's works exhibited at the ,british ,institution1 ,manchester1 ,leeds1 and the 8,old ,masters0 at ,burlington ,house1 the official catalogues have been strictly adhered to2 it must not be supposed that every picture classed as the work of ,mantegna or of ,francia is recognised as genuine by the critics2 for example1 the ,royal ,academy merely catalogues the works 8under the names given to them by the contributors10 and 8can accept no responsibility as to their authenticity40 ,,bibliography4 ,,crowe ,,and ,,cavalcaselle4 ,a history of painting in ,north ,italy4 ,london1 #ahga4 ,,milanesi1 ,,gaetano4 ,le opere di ,giorgio ,vasari2 con nuove annotazioni e ,commenti di ,milanesi4 ,firenze1 #ahgi4 ,,mantegna4 ,,goethe1 ,j4 ,w4 ,,von4 ,triumphzug von ,mantegna4 ,werke1 ,,xxxix4 ,,arco1 ,,carlo ,d'4 ,delle ,arti e degli ,artifici di ,mantova1 notizie raccolte ed illustrate con disegni e con documenti4 ,mantova1 #ahei4 ,,baschet1 ,,armand4 ,documents sur ,mantegna4 ,in the 8,gazette des ,beaux ,arts40 ,paris1 #ahff4 ,,braghirolli1 ,,willelmo4 ,alcuni documenti inedite relative ad ,andrea ,mantegna3 in the 8,giornale d',erudizione ,artistica40 ,perugia1 #ahgb4 ,,brun1 ,,karl4 ,neue ,documente ber ,andrea ,mantegna3 in the 8,zeitschrift fr ,bildende ,kunst10 vol4 xi4 ,leipzig1 #ahge-f4 ,,woltmann1 ,,dr4 ,,alfred4 ,biography of ,,andrea ,,mantegna in the 8,kunst und ,knstler des ,mittelalters und der ,neuzeit40 ,edited by ,,dr4 ,,robert ,,dohme4 ,leipzig1 #ahgf4 ,,francia4 ,,calvi1 ,,jacopo ,,alessandro4 ,memorie della vita ed opere di ,francesco ,raibolini4 ,bologna1 #ahab4 ,,malvasia1 ,,carlo ,,cesare4 ,felsina ,pittrice4 ,vite de ,pittori ,bolognesi4 ,bologna1 #ahda4 ,,giordani1 ,,gaetano4 ,catalogo dei ,quadri della ,pinacoteca4 ,bologna1 #ahda4 ,,amorini1 ,,antonio ,,bolognini1 ,marchese1 ,vite dei ,pittori ed ,artefici ,bolognesi4 ,bologna1 #ahda-dc4 ,,frizzoni1 ,,gustavo4 ,gli ,affreschi di ,santa ,cecilia in ,bologna4 ,bologna1 #ahgf4 ,,index4 ,,to ,,mantegna4 ,aldobrandini1 #bb ,aliprandi1 quarrel with1 #bc exchanged land with1 #dc ,altichieri of ,verona1 #b ,andrea1 ,zoan1 #bc1 #ce ,ansuino of ,forli1 #e ,ariosto1 #ei ,avanzo1 ,jacopo d'1 #b ,barbaro1 ,daniele1 #h ,bellini1 the1 #h1 #i1 #aj1 #ab1 #ag ,bono of ,ferrara1 #e ,bossi1 ,matteo1 #ac1 #ah ,bust of ,mantegna1 #g ,calandra1 #ed ,camera degli ,sposi1 #be-bh ,campagnola1 #ce ,caracalla1 ,baths of1 #ac ,cerdo1 ,vitruvius1 #ac ,donatello1 #i1 #ab1 #ad ,drawings-- ,calumny of ,apelles1 #de ,chalice1 ,design for1 #df ,entombment1 #de ,hercules killing the ,lion1 #de ,judgment of ,solomon1 #de ,judith1 #de1 #df ,mars1 ,diana and ,venus1 #de ,sagrifizio1 #de1 #df ,drer1 #cf1 #ee ,dwarfs at ,mantua1 #bf ,engravings-- ,battle of the ,sea-,gods1 #ce1 #de1 #ei ,dancing ,muses of the ,parnassus1 #ce ,descent from the ,cross1 #cf ,entombment1 #cf1 #ei1 #fb ,hercules and ,antus1 #cf1 #de ,portraits of ,lodovico and ,barbara ,gonzaga1 #cf ,st4 ,andrew1 ,st4 ,longinus and the ,risen ,christ1 #cf ,st4 ,sebastian1 #cf ,scourging of ,christ1 #d ,triumphs1 #ce1 #dj ,virgin of the ,grotto1 #ah1 #ce ,eremitani ,frescoes1 #d-aa ,este1 ,isabella d'1 #ca1 #cd ,fancelli1 #ad ,faustina1 ,mantegna's1 #ec1 #ed1 #ef ,feliciano1 #ac ,finiguerra1 #ce ,gian' ,andrea1 #dc1 #ej1 #ea ,giotto1 #a ,giusto of ,florence1 #b ,gonzaga1 ,federico1 #cj1 #ca ,gonzaga1 ,francesco1 #bb ,gonzaga1 ,francesco ,,ii41 #cb1 #cc1 #dc ,gonzaga1 ,lodovico1 #ad1 #ae1 #ag1 #ba1 #be1 #bf1 #bi1 #cj ,gonzaga1 ,sigismondo1 #ea ,influence of ,mantegna on-- ,bellini1 the1 #eg ,bonsignori1 #eg ,buonconsiglio1 #eg ,caroto1 #eg ,correggio1 #eh ,costa1 #eg ,drer1 #ei ,forli1 ,melozzo da1 #eh ,francia1 #eh ,holbein1 #ei ,libri1 ,girolamo dai1 #eg ,grandi1 ,ercole1 #eg ,leonardo1 #eh1 #fj ,liberale1 #eg ,michelangelo1 #eh1 #fa ,montagna1 #eg ,morone1 #eg ,raphael1 #eh1 #fj ,rubens1 #ei ,tura1 ,cosimo1 #eg ,vivarini1 ,luigi1 #eg ,innocent ,,viii41 #cb1 #cc ,julius ,,ii41 #ed ,lomazzo1 #h ,lorenzo di ,pavia1 #ee ,mantegna1 ,andrea 7,see ,chronology p4 #aai7 ,mantegna1 ,francesco1 #ea1 #eg ,mantegna1 ,lodovico1 #cb1 #dc1 #ea ,mantegna1 ,niccolosia1 #dc1 #ea ,mantegna1 ,taddea1 #dc ,mantua1 sack of1 #bd ,medici1 ,lorenzo de'1 visits ,mantegna1 #cj ,melozzo da ,forli1 #bh ,mocetto1 #ce ,niccolosia1 #dc1 #ea ,norsa1 #dg ,paintings-- ,adoration of the ,magi1 of the ,uffizi1 #ah of the ,vatican1 #cb ,autumn1 #ai ,baptism of ,christ1 #cb ,birth of ,christ1 #cb ,burial of ,st4 ,christopher1 #aj ,christ on the ,mount of ,olives1 #af ,cristo in ,scurto1 #ee ,comus1 #ec ,dead ,christ1 #ai ,death of the ,virgin1 #ai ,descent of ,christ into ,limbo1 #cd ,execution of ,st4 ,james1 #i ,glorified ,madonna1 of ,milan1 #dh ,history of ,st4 ,james and ,st4 ,christopher1 #d-aa ,lodovico ,gonzaga and his son1 ,francesco1 #bf ,lodovico ,gonzaga and his wife1 #be ,madonna1 of ,bergamo1 #di holding the child on a parapet1 #ah ,madonna1 of the ,dresden ,gallery1 #cb of ,san ,zeno1 #ae1 #af ,madonna della ,vittoria1 #df1 #dg1 #dh ,man of ,sorrows1 #cd ,martyrdom of ,st4 ,christopher1 #aj ,parnassus1 #dd1 #dh ,piet1 #bj ,portrait of an ,ecclesiastic1 #ah ,rubens's copy of the ,triumphs1 #da ,,ss4 ,anthony and ,bernardino1 #c ,st4 ,euphemia1 #ad ,st4 ,george1 #ai ,st4 ,james baptizing ,converts1 #f before ,herod1 #g blessing a kneeling disciple1 #g ,st4 ,luke1 #ad ,st4 ,sebastian1 #ai of ,la ,motta1 #eb1 #ee ,summer1 #ai ,triumphs of ,julius ,csar1 #cb1 #cc1 #ch1 #dc1 #df1 #fj ,triumph of ,scipio1 #eb1 #ee ,virgin1 of the ,national ,gallery1 #dh of the ,uffizi1 #ca1 #cd ,wisdom ,victorious over the ,vices1 #dd ,pannonio1 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