The Great Masters in Painting and Sculpture Edited by G. C. Williamson BERNARDINO LUINI THE GREAT MASTERS IN PAINTING AND SCULPTURE. The following Volumes are arranged for : BERNARDINO LUINI. By GEORGE C. WILLIAMSON, Litt.D., Editor of the Series. VELASQUEZ. By R. A. M. STEVENSON. ANDREA DEL SARTO. By H. GUINNESS. LUCA SIGNORELLI. By MAUD CRUTTWELL. RAPHAEL. By H. STRACHEY. CARLO CRIVELLI. By G. MCNEIL RUSHFORTH, M.A., Lecturer in Classics, Oriel College, Oxford. CORREGGIO. By SELWYN BRINTON, M.A., Author of "The Renais- sance in Italian Art." In Preparation. DONATELLO. By HOPE REA. MICHAEL ANGELO. By CHARLES HOLROYD, R.E., Keeper of the National Gallery of British Art. THE BROTHERS BELLINI. By S. ARTHUR STRONG, M.A., Librarian to the House of Lords. TURNER. By CHARLES FRANCIS BELL, M.A., Deputy Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum. MEMLINC. By W. H. JAMES WEALE, late Keeper of the National Art Library. EL GRECO. By MANUEL B. Cossio, Litt.D., Ph.D., Director of the Mus6e Pedagogique, Madrid. PERUGINO. By G. C. WILLIAMSON, Litt.D., Editor of the Series. REMBRANDT. By MALCOLM BELL. FRA ANGELICO. By LANGTON DOUGLAS, M. A. FRANZ HALS. By the REV. G. S. DAVIES, M.A. Others to follow. LONDON : GEORGE BELL AND SONS. BERNARDINO LUINI BY G. C. WILLIAMSON, LITT. D. AUTHOR OF "JOHN RUSSELL, R.A.," "RICHARD COSWAY, R.A., AND HIS WIFE AND PUPILS," "PORTRAIT MINIATURES," ETC. LONDON GEORGE BELL AND SONS 1900 First Published, August, 1899. Reprinted, February, 1900. AUTHOR'S PREFACE. BUT few words of preface are needed to introduce this book to the reader. It is necessarily a very imperfect sketch of the life and works of the painter, but it embraces, I believe, all that is at present known regarding him. Every effort has been made, by diligent search of records and works, to clear up some of the mysteries that surround Luini's life, but in only a very few cases has the effort been successful. Much still remains to be done in delineating this interesting life, and in settling many of its dates, and I can only hope that this little volume may serve as an inducement to others to still more diligent inquiry. With respect to the pictures, I have endeavoured to avoid such criticism as is purely destructive. It is the easiest to make, and the most difficult to substantiate. I attach considerable importance to tradition, and hesitate to disturb it unless able to give well-defined reasons for so doing. At the same time I have been critical, and, I hope, discriminative ; but in many cases have preferred to leave a question open, rather than to dogmatize upon insufficient evidence. Almost every picture has been carefully examined by me and, by means of a large collection of photographs, I have compared picture with picture, and included in my scrutiny those few works which it has been impossible for me to examine. The 2047344 vi AUTHOR'S PREFACE record at the end of this volume is the result of this labour, and by it I am content to be judged. I believe such a comparison as I have adopted has never before been so systematically carried out, and, in fact, it has only quite recently been possible, inasmuch as many pictures were photographed for the first time for my use. The learned researches of such workers as Burckhardt, Crowe and Cavalcaselle, Eastlake, Jameson, Kugler, Layard, Morelli, Nagler, Rumohr, Rosini, Volckmann, Mr. Herbert Cook, Signer Beltrami, and others, have been laid under heavy contribution, and my thanks are most heartily due to the authors and publishers of these works. I would also express my gratitude to Baron Edmond Rothschild, Prince Esterhazy, Miss Cohen, Mr. Benson, and the Director of the Hermitage Gallery, for the courtesy which enabled me to reproduce the pictures in their collections, and also to the various firms which have kindly permitted the use of their excellent photographs. G. C. W. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix BIBLIOGRAPHY xi I. BIOGRAPHICAL i II. His MASTERS 13 III. FRESCO WORK 26 IV. His FINEST WORK 42 V. PANEL PICTURES 60 VI. WORK AT LUGANO AND MILAN 71 VII. SPECIAL PICTURES AND PORTRAITS 87 CATALOGUE OF THE WORKS OF BERNARDINO LUINI . . 97 Austria-Hungary 99 British Isles 100 Denmark 109 France no Germany 113 Italy 114 Russia 135 Spain 138 Switzerland 138 INDEX 141 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE St. Catharine and Two Angels . . St. Petersburg Frontispiece Pieta Sta. Maria delta Passione, Milan 14 Hebrew Women Giving their Jewels Milan 18 Vulcan Forging Arms for Achilles Milan 20 Three Girls Playing at Forfeits Milan 22 The Burial of St. Catharine Milan 24 The Selection of St. Joseph Milan 26 The Madonna and Child Blessing a Nun .... Milan 28 The Madonna and Child with St. Antony and St. Barbara Milan 28 The Christ Louvre 30 The Madonna and Child and St. Anna Milan 32 The Adoration of the Magi Paris 32 The Nativity Paris 32 The Crowning of Christ Milan 34 Head of Christ Milan 38 Christ in Argument with the Pharisees London 40 Study for the same picture Brighton 40 Family of Tobit with the Angel Milan 40 The Marriage of the Blessed Virgin Saronno 44 Head of Luini from Christ Disputing with the Doctors Saronno 46 The Presentation in the Temple Saronno 48 The Adoration of the Magi Saronno 48 St. Catharine Saronno 50 The Adoration of the Divine Child Saronno 52 The Interior Decoration of the Church of San Maurizio Milan 54 St. Apollonia and St. Lucia, from the same Church .... 54 Ippolita Sforza and Attendant Saints, from the same Church . 56 The Madonna of the Rose Hedge Milan 60 x LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGB The Madonna and Child Venice 62 Susanna and the Elder Milan 62 The Holy Family Buda-Pesth 62 The Madonna and Child with Two Saints . . Buda-Pesth 62 Sketch for Three Children Milan 64 The Daughter of Herodias Florence 66 The Marriage of St. Catharine Milan 68 The Passion Fresco Lugano 74 Head of St. Catharine Besozzi Chapel, Milan 78 The Madonna with Our Lord and St. John .... Lugano 84 Martha and Mary Paris 88 La Columbina St. Petersburg go BIBLIOGRAPHY. ARCHIVIA STORICO DELLA LOMBARDIA. Milan. ATTWELL. The Italian Masters. Low, London, 1888. BAEDEKER, K. Guide to Italy. London, 1895. BELTRAMI, LUCA. L'arte negli arredi sacri della Lombardia. Milan, 1897 ,, Certosa di Pavia. ,, 1895 BIANCONI, C. Nuova Guida di Milano. 1787. BLANC. Histoire des Peintres. London, 1852. Histoire de la renaissance en Italic. Paris, 1889. BRINTON, S. Renaissance in Italian Art. Simpkin, London, 1897-8. BRUN, KARL. Luini, in Dohme's Kunst und Kunstler. BRYAN. Dictionary of Painters. Bell, London, 1893. BURCKHARDT. Art Guide to Painting in Italy. London, 1879. BURLINGTON FINE ARTS CLUB. Catalogue of Exhibition of Lombard Pictures- 1898. CANTU, CESARE. Grande Illustrazione. Milan, 1858. CENNINO CENNINI. Trattato della Pittura. Italian i5th cent. CROWE AND CAVALCASELLE. Renaissance in Italy. London, 1877. EASTLAKE, C. Notes on the Brera Gallery. Longman, London, 1882. Notes on the Louvre. ,, 1883. GRUNER, L. Plates of Lo Scaffale. London, 1859. Italian Fresco Painting. 1854. xii BIBLIOGRAPHY HARE, A. Cities of Northern and Central Italy. Allen, London, 1876. HEATON, MRS. History of Painting. London, 1873. HEWLETT. Italian Masters in National Gallery. Hibberd, London, 1896. HOEFER. Biographical Dictionary. Paris, 1860. ITALY. Guide to. Murray, London, 1891. JAMESON, MRS. Sacred and Legendary Art. Murray, London, 1872. Legends of the Madonna. ,, Legends of the Monastic Orders. ,, ,, History of Our Lord. ,, ,, Memoirs of. London, 1859. KUGLER. Handbook of Painting. Murray, London, 1855. LANZI, L. History of Painting in Italy. LOMAZZO. Idea della Pittura. Rome, 1844. Trattato dell' arte della Pittura. Milan, 1584. ,, English translation of part. Oxford, 1598. LUEBKE, W. History of Art. London, 1868 MICHAUD. Biographic Universelle. Paris, 1843. MILAN. Guide to. Milan, 1868. MONKHOUSE, C. In the National Gallery. Innes, London, 1895 MORELLI. Italian Painters. Murray, London, 1892-3 Della Pittura Italiana. Milan, 1897. La Galleria in Bergamo. Bergamo, 1892 Italian Painters in German Galleries. Bell London, 1892 BIBLIOGRAPHY xiii ORLANDI, P. A. Abecedario. Venice, 1753. OTTLEY, W. YOUNG. Italian School of Design. London, 1823. PASSAVANT. Tour of a German Artist. London, 1836. PORTFOLIO FOR 1881 AND 1886. Seeley, London. POYNTER, E. Classical and Italian Painting. RESTA, S. Galleria Portabile. London, 1739. Concise Introduction. 1778. ,, Lives of Painters. 1694. Rio, A. F. De 1'Art Chretien. Paris, 1874. ROSINI, G. Storia della Pitture Italiana. Pisa, 1847. RUSKIN, JOHN. Queen of the Air. G. Allen, London, 1898. SCOTT LEADER. Renaissance of Art in Italy. Chapman, London, 1888. STREET. Brick and Marble in Italy. Murray, London, 1874. SYMONDS. Renaissance in Italy. London, 1877. VASARI, G. Le Vite dei Pittori Italiani. Firenze, 1550. VIARDOT. Les Merveilles de la Peinture. Paris, 1870. VINCI, LEONARDO DA. Treatise on Painting. Trans., Bohn, London, 1892, " 1 04. Of all facts concerning art, this is the one most necessary to be known, that while manufacture is the work of hands only, art is the work of the whole spirit of man ; and as that spirit is, so is the deed of it : and by whatever power of vice or virtue any art is produced, the same vice or virtue it reproduces and teaches. That which is born of evil begets evil ; and that which is born of valour and honour teaches valour and honour. All art is either infec- tion or education. It must be one or other of these." RUSKIN, " The Queen of the Air," 1898. BERNARDINO LUINI CHAPTER I BIOGRAPHICAL IT is to the fascinating pages of Vasari that the writer of a book on an old Italian artist naturally turns for biographical and historical information. Inaccurate as Vasari often is, he is the main authority for such details ; but with regard to Bernardino Luini he is mysteriously silent. The astonishment of all writers on Luini at Vasari's omission has been well expressed by Rio in his work entitled " De 1' Art Chretien." l " De toutes les lacunes," he says, "qu'on a signalees dans 1'ouvrage incomplet de Vasari, celle-ci est a la fois la plus impardonnable et la plus incomprehensible." Abounding in references as Vasari is to artists of small importance incomparably inferior to Luini, Rio complains bitterly that " il accorde a peine une mention courte et ddaigneuse a un peintre comme Luini, dont les ceuvres fraichement ^closes s'^taient pour ainsi dire imposees a son admiration ou du moins a son appreciation." It is this significant silence on the part of the old gossip that renders the task of delineating the life of this artist one almost of impossibility. 1 Vol. iii. 193. B 2 BERNARDINO LUINI No one has been able either to explain this omission or to remedy it. True it is that there are two references to Luini in Vasari, but so inaccurate are they, that the artist's own name is misspelt and his identity confused with that of another man. In volume iii. (p. 156) Vasari writes thus : " Bernardino del Lupino [sic], who was also a Milanese ; this artist was an exceedingly delicate and pleasing painter, as may be seen by many works from his hand which are still in this city. At Sarone also, a place about twelve miles from Milan, there is a Marriage of Our Lady, by this master, which is admirably executed, as are also certain of his pictures in the church of Sta. Maria, which are most perfectly painted in fresco [fatte in fresco perfettissimamente]. Bernardino worked extremely well in oil also \lavorb anco in olio molto pulitamente], he was a most obliging person, friendly and liberal in all his actions. To him therefore is deservedly due all the praise which,belongs by right to those artists who do themselves no less honour by the courtesy of their manners and the excellence of their lives, than by the distinction to which they attain in their art." This is the only general notice of the artist. In the fourth volume (page 5 47) there occurs this further passage : " Bernardino di Lupino, of whom we have already made some mention elsewhere, depicted various works for the house of the Signor Gianfranceso Rabbia, which is situate near San Sepolcro, in the city of Milan, the front of the house, that is to say, with the Loggie, halls, and other apartments. The subjects of these pictures were taken from Ovid's 'Metamorphoses' and other fables. The figures are good and beautiful, and the work is carefully BIOGRAPHICAL 3 executed and very delicately finished [belle e buone figure e lavorate dilicatamente]. In the Monastero Maggiore Bernardino produced certain works, having decorated the entire front of the high altar with stories of different subjects, and painted a picture of Our Saviour Christ scourged at the column, with many other productions, all of which are of very fair merit \e molte altre opere che tutte sone ragionevolt]" These two passages complete Vasari's allusions to Luini ; and in them he gives not one single biographical fact, and his praise is either withheld or bestowed with a grudging hand, in terms very inadequate to the merits of the master's poorest work. There must be some reason for this curious circumstance, and many writers of modern time have endeavoured to fathom the mystery without success. The unfortunate result of Vasari's silence is that the details of Luini's life are shrouded in mystery. He was born at Luino, on the shores of the Lago Maggiore, perhaps between 1465 and 1475. "Morelli puts his birth at 1475. He lived, it is known, till 1533, and he is believed to have died at Lugano; but at present nothing definite as to his birth, death, or burial, has been discovered. There was, in the early part of the fifteenth century, another eminent man who derived his name from Luino, one Bartolommeo of Luino, an architect, largely em- ployed by the Sforza family. There had also been one Beato Giacomo of Luino, who had founded a church and a monastery in his native place, and who died in 1477, and whose nephew was called Bernardino. Whether this nephew became the 4 BERNARDINO LUINI master of whom we write is a matter of complete un- certainty. Two other traditions exist as to Luini : one, that he was a pupil of Stefano Scotto (whom Orlandi calls Andrea Scotto), who also is said to have taught Gaudenzio Ferrari ; and the other, that he was the son of one Giovanni Lutero of Luino, and went to Milan in 1500. He is said to have had two brothers, Ambrogio and Evangelista, and one son, Aurelio, who lived between 1530 and 1584; while another writer, Brun, gives him three sons, Pietro, Aurelio, and Evangelista. This series of conjectures represents all that can be said as to Luini's early life. Of his later years a few facts will be given in a succeeding chapter. Lomazzo, an early critic (born 1538), in his "Trattato dell' Arte della Pittura," adds but little information in 1584 to our small stock of knowledge. He certainly speaks of Luini in a more sympathetic manner when he writes of him as " this excellent painter." He says he was already distinguished in 1500, and implies that he was a well-known and finished artist ere he reached Milan. In another place he quotes a saying of Luini's that "a Painter without a knowledge of Perspective is like a Doctor without a knowledge of Grammar." l He also speaks of Luini as a poet, and refers to his poems in terms of praise ; but although careful search has been made in the Ambrosian Library, and in other likely places, nothing that can be attributed to our artist has yet been discovered. Lomazzo refers to several pictures by Luini that cannot 1 Lomazzo, Preface, vol. i. 16. BIOGRAPHICAL 5 now be traced, but in his allusions he never connects the artist with Leonardo, or refers to him as his pupil. The historian Morigia says that Luini wrote a treatise on painting, and Argellati 1 includes Luini in his list of Milanese writers, but here again we have nothing to substantiate the statement. Not a line that can be attributed to the artist has at present resulted from the diligent search that has been made. Father Sebastian Resta, the younger of two writers of that name who apparently stood in the relationship of grandfather and grandson, mentions most definitely in his " Galleria Portabile," in which he seems to quote from the information of the elder Resta, that Luini was a pupil of Scotto, and he also states that Luini came to Milan in 1500. In the eighteenth century we come to the Abbate Luigi Lanzi, and he but quotes from Vasari, Resta, and Lomazzo, and repeats their statements with slight cor- rections. He alludes to the generally accepted portrait of Luini at Saronno, painted, it is known, in 1525, and from the aged appearance given by the artist to his own portrait in that picture, argues that Luini probably reached Milan before 1 500, and was one of Leonardo da Vinci's own pupils. Lanzi * upbraids Vasari for his want of sympathy with the work of Luini, and he gives to the master's pictures a far more accurate and discriminating criticism. He refers to Evangelista and Aurelio Luini, also named by Lomazzo, and to their works, but in biographical information he has nothing new to state. 1 Argellati, " Script. Mediol." ii. 816. 2 Roscoe's translation, vol. ii. 494. 6 BERNARDINO LUINI From Lanzi's time to that of Ruskin but little atten- tion was given to Luini either by writers or travellers, or by the custodians of galleries. The error made by Lanzi when he calls Luini the " most distinguished imitator of Leonardo " l was accepted as a matter of fact. Pictures now known to be Bernardino's work were in all the great European galleries either attributed to Leonardo, or else pronounced to be copies of his works or ideas taken from them and executed by his "pupil," and in this way the importance of Luini's own original work was overshadowed. Other circumstances combined with this ignorance, with the result that Luini was practically forgotten. His best fresco pictures were at places that the eighteenth- century traveller in Italy seldom visited. Saronno and Legnano, Como and Lugano, Ponte and Monza lay out of the way. They were small places, of but slight im- portance, and comparatively inaccessible ; and buried in the churches of these towns were Luini's finest works. The galleries of Milan and Munich, London, Paris, Rome, Florence, and Vienna all contrived to ignore the artist and to attribute his works to the great Florentine, the glamour of whose name overshadowed all the artists of his school. So the fame of Luini died. It was left for a later period and for the genius of Ruskin and the critical investigations of Kugler, Crowe and Cavalcaselle, and of Morelli to brush away the dust and error of past times, and allow Luini once more to have the credit of his own works. It was too late, 1 Roscoe's translation, vol. ii. 492. BIOGRAPHICAL 7 however, for biographical details, and we can now only await the investigations of students working in the Ambrosiana and other libraries of Italy to reveal manu- scripts or letters that may give definite facts regarding Luini. Ruskin's l eloquent works speak of Luini thus : " Child of the Alps and of their divinest lake, he is taught with- out doubt or dismay a lofty religious creed and a sufficient law of life and of its mechanical arts. " Whether lessoned by Leonardo himself, or merely one of many disciplined in the system of the Milanese schools, he learns unerringly to draw, unerringly and enduringly to paint. " His tasks are set him without question day by day by men who are justly satisfied with his work, and who accept it without any harmful praise or senseless blame. Place, scale, and subject are determined for him on the cloister wall or the church dome ; as he is required, and for sufficient daily bread, and little more, he paints what he has been taught to design wisely, and has passion to realize gloriously. Every touch he lays is eternal ; every thought he conceives is beautiful and pure, his hand moves always in radiance of blessing ; from day to day his life enlarges in power and in peace ; it passes away cloud- lessly, the starry twilight remaining arched far against the night." Kugler, writing in 1847, accepts the traditional story that Luini was a pupil of Leonardo, and goes on to say that "he rarely rises to the greatness and freedom of Leonardo, but hehas a never-failing tenderness and purity, 1 "Queen of the Air," iii. 157 8 BERNARDINO LUINI a cheerfulness and sincerity, a grace and feeling which give an elevated pleasure to the student of his works." Morelli was the first among the critics to recognize that it was erroneous to consider Luini solely as a pupil of Leonardo. By dint of careful examination he revealed the special characteristics of Luini's work. He speaks of him as "not gifted with any great power of imagination, and as a creative genius far below Sodoma, but an ex- tremely conscientious painter, and full of charm." In another passage Morelli draws attention to the peculiarities of Luini's drawing. " His forms," says he, " are round and somewhat heavy, the feet usually too long and the hands toobroad and large, eyes long and narrow, and lips protruding " ; and then he distinctly makes the statement that he was a pupil of Borgognone, although at one time in his career an imitator of Leonardo. As already mentioned, Luini is said to have come to Milan in 1500. Leonardo da Vinci had left it in the previous year. The great Florentine had written to Ludovico Sforza, surnamed // Moro, who was governing Milan during the minority of his nephew, Giovanni Galeazzo, and who was gathering to his court all the great and clever men of the day, offering his services to the duke. Lorenzo's mag- nificent court had attracted the luxurious, comfort-loving artist, and Lorenzo was on his part only too glad to attach to his court the foremost worker of the day. It is not quite clear when Leonardo arrived in Milan, but probably it was previous to the year 1487, and he remained there during the prosperity of his patron. He was in comfortable circumstances, with an easy patron, and able to devote himself without anxiety to BIOGRAPHICAL 9 the pursuits which he loved and in which he so greatly excelled. The Padre Luca Paciolo informs us that it was in ac- cordance with the special desire of II Moro that Leonardo founded an academy. The prince had long desired, he says, to form a union of learned men and skilful artists who might reciprocally communicate their knowledge and forward the progress of literature and the arts. Such an academy, the first ever known in Milan, was founded about 1485 or 1486 by Leonardo, and to it he gave his name. Vasari vouches for this fact, while the manuscripts still remaining in the Ambrosian Library, and the engravings inscribed " Accademia Leonardi Vinci," preserved in the same library, make the matter doubly certain. Amongst the scholars who shared the advantages of this Academy are said to have been Boltraffio, Melzi, Lomazzo, and Cesare da Sesto. Leonardo took considerable interest in this Academy, and watched over it during his sojourn in the city: but in 1499 an entire change took place in the government of Milan. The duke, who had steadily befriended the artist, had to fly for his life. The machinations of his enemies had resulted in a revolution, and the city of Milan was taken by Louis the Twelfth of France. The duke, // Moro, was imprisoned in the castle of Loches, and died there after ten years of confinement Leonardo does not appear to have left Milan immedi- ately, hoping for the return of// Moro and for the success of his army of Swiss mercenaries, who after all basely sold the duke to the French. Later on, however. Leonardo left io BERNARDINO LUINI Milan, retiring to his villa at Vaprio, thence to Florence. It is, therefore, quite possible that Luini and Leonardo met in Milan, and even possible that Luini received in- struction from the great Florentine master. Resta, however, affirms the exact contrary to be the case, and says that Luini did not reach Milan till after Leonardo had left, and that Scotto was his master, and Gaudenzio Ferrari his fellow-pupil. Lafenestre states that on his way to Milan, Luini stopped at Vercelli, and there met Sodoma ; but he gives no authority whatever for this interesting statement, which, if really true, is most important. Be all this as it may, it is quite clear that the Leonard- esque influence, so strong and so prevailing in Milan, affected Luini to a very considerable and definite extent. This fact will be brought out more clearly when we come to consider the second period of Luini's work, his Leonardesque period, full of the influence of that master, but yet possessing certain unmistakable marks of original thought. There is so little left to the world of Leonardo da Vinci's own work that comparison is difficult. The great Cenacolo at Milan, the famous portrait of Mono, Lisa at the Louvre, and the Annunciation, the St. Anne, and the Madonna of the Rocks in the same great gallery, the much-debated Madonna of the Rocks in the National Gallery, the St. Jerome of the Vatican, the Adoration in Florence, and the wonderful cartoon at the Royal Academy, are about all the pictures that can with any sort of accuracy be attributed to da Vinci. Even in these the possibilities of definite study are but few. The Cenacolo is a wreck, the Battle of Anghiari BIOGRAPHICAL n was never painted in oils, the Adoration in the Uffizi is little more than a cartoon, the St. Anne unfinished, the Mona Lisa weird and mysterious, and our own Academy treasure a cartoon that bears many marks of damage and partial destruction. Yet in all, especially in the ruined Cenacolo and in the wonderful cartoon, there is sufficient left to enable the student to understand Leonardo's fine drawing, exalted imagination, and profound technical skill. A well-known writer thus speaks of him : " He was unquiet and curi- ous, with the restlessness of his times, and the surface of his deep soul was too much troubled and ruffled by countless influences to reflect the pure blue of heaven as Luini's did. He split up the river of his genius into too many currents, and we can hardly wonder that Michael Angelo and Leo X. regarded him more as a man of large promises than of true fulfilment." Ruskin, in his emphatic manner, contrasts the two men and their works to the praise of Luini and disparage- ment of Leonardo. " Luini," he says, " is ten times greater than Leonardo, a mighty colorist, while Leonardo was only a fine draughtsman in black, staining the chiaroscuro drawing like a coloured print. Luini perceived and rendered the delicatest types of human beauty that have been painted since the days of the Greeks, while Leonardo depraved his finer instincts by caricature and remained to the end of his days the slave of an archaic smile ; and he is a de- signer as frank, instructive and exhaustless as Tintoret, while Leonardo's design is only an agony of science, admired chiefly because it is painful and capable of analysis in its best accomplishment." 12 BERNARDINO LUINI These are strong words, stronger than the occasion demanded, and less discriminative than in Ruskin's usual mode. If the exquisite cartoon in the possession of the Royal Academy be taken as representing the best work of Leonardo, then Ruskin's criticism is far too strong and condemnatory; but the words are valuable, and will serve to emphasize the statement that this monograph will over and over again contain, to the effect that Luini was no imitator of Leonardo, not even his pupil, and that only at one period of his life did he fall under the influence of the Leonardesque mannerism and feeling. The two men were always contrasts, Leonardo objective, Luini subjective : Leonardo the genius, the epicurean, dwelling at courts, living a luxurious life, the favourite of three monarchs, the man of science and the man of many and diversified talents; Luini a man of limited talent, hardworking and industrious, having a large family and household cares, and therefore obliged to work hard ; Leonardo a man of power, Luini of sympathy; Leonardo's friends amongst the great and rich,Luini's amongst "those who wept and those who prayed " ; Leonardo doing few works with an extreme perfection of detail, Luini many, with his heart and his soul ; Leonardo above all a draughts- man, Luini a sympathetic poet, a sorrowful man, and yet able to comfort others. We have in these pages to deal with an original genius; but as he, in common with all other artists, owed much to his teachers and companions, it will be well to proceed with more detail to examine the sources of his inspiration. CHAPTER II HIS MASTERS IN dividing the work of Luini into periods, it becomes apparent that early in his artistic career the influences of Foppa, Borgognone, and Bramantino are those which characterize his productions. Foppa was the only man of the Lombard School who remained entirely outside the Leonardo influence. He is looked upon as the father of the Lombard School, and it is not needful in this chapter to go back to any earlier period than his, or to consider his connection with Padua or Squarcione. His best works are to be found at Savona, Brescia, and the Certosa of Pavia, and his leading characteristic is his vigorous study of form. His figures are strong and well set, generally solid and robust, and his colouring is dark and somewhat heavy, and marked by the presence of a considerable amount of red. His flesh colours are gray or ash-coloured. Without going into any elaborate details as to the two chief of his successors, it may suffice for the purpose of this work to sum up their special characteristics briefly. Borgognone is distinguished from his contemporaries by one rigidly defined line. All his pictures deal with sacred subjects. He treats them in a calm, quiet manner ; the colouring of the flesh is extraordinarily pale and gray, the backgrounds are strictly architectural ; there is i 4 BERNARDINO LUINI a marked use, in the earlier pictures especially, of gold ornaments, but with all the cold stiffness of the com- position there is generally interwoven a pathos and sweetness that is characteristic. There is far more detail in his work than in Luini's, and draperies and robes, mitres, jewelry, and architectural ornamentation receive more care and more minute treatment than Luini ever condescends to supply. Bramantino has other features that distinguish his work. His flesh is far more flesh-like and far less pallid than is Borgognone's, his colouring is very varied, and his palette a rich and diversified one. There is greater originality and vigour in his composition than Luini ever showed, and there are certain curious mannerisms that are noteworthy. The strange turban around the head of the Madonna is an almost invariable characteristic, and the round- bodied, puffy children an equally noteworthy mark. The face of the Madonna is generally lacking in ex- pression, and is merely melancholy and sentimental, and the attendant male saints possess somewhat effeminate expressions and weak faces. One important feature in Bramantino's work is carefully pointed out by Crowe and Cavalcaselle : " A cross light," they say, " reflected from below breaks each body into well-defined portions, the greater breadth of space being in half-tone, whilst the light and shade are reduced to streaks." Both of these artists appear to have had considerable influence upon Luini in the earlier part of his career, before he came under the Leonardo sway. To each of them and to Foppa he is indebted, and we are disposed Milan, Sta. Maria delta Passiotie. (Anderson photo.) PI ETA. HIS MASTERS 15 to think that he owes even more to them than to Leonardo. Tradition has hitherto stated that the earliest known work of Luini is the Pieta in the apse of Sta. Maria della Passione, in Milan. The church was erected in 1485, added to in 1530, and in 1692 still further increased by a west front. It is certain that Borgognone worked in this church, and there are in the sacristy several of his paintings of saints and prelates upon the ceiling. 1 The Pieta is in a dark position, and it is most difficult to get a good view of it Until 1898 it had never been photographed, but, in connection with the recent exhibition of Milanese works at the Burlington Fine Arts Club, it was felt to be most important that a photograph should be taken, 2 and the result completely disposed of the current tradition. The picture is an important and well-arranged com- position but has not any of Luini's individuality. It is clearly not an early work from the pencil of any artist. It shows distinct signs of maturity, is well grouped, and well-arranged, unusual in its composition, and quite dis- tinctive in its faces. Only two faces are reminiscent of Luini, and the chief one is that of the Mary who stands by the cross and holds up her hands in astonishment. Her features especially recall a face that Luini adopts for the daughter of Herodias (vide the picture at Vienna), but the likeness is not a very obvious one. In all other respects there is nothing resembling Luini in it. The 1 Vide Murray's Handbook, p. 142. 2 By Messrs. Anderson of Rome, the arrangements having been made for the Club by Mr. Herbert Cook, at whose advice the picture was photographed. 16 BERNARDINO LUINI background recalls Borgognone ; the attendant apostles, bishops, and saints, Gaudenzio Ferrari ; the composition, Solario ; and a Mary with folded hands, Bramantino. It is no early work at all, and whoever may have painted it, most certainly Luini did not do so. The question then arises, which are the earliest works of the artist ? Bearing in mind the very definite statements of Resta and Lomazzo that in 150x3 he was already a distinguished painter, and comparing these statements with the gener- ally accepted portraits of the artist at Saronno and Lugano, we have a period to account for which extended for fifteen years, or even longer, ere the artist came to Milan. His birthplace, as already stated, is said to have been at Luino, and "an old house in a lorn open space, reached from the lake by a steep, tortuous way," is pointed out as the young Bernardino's dwelling. The townsfolk claim him as their child in a most definite manner. His name and place of birth are marked upon the Piazza in conspicuous letters, and the adjacent Via and Vicolo bear his name. " Within a stone's throw," said the late J. B. Atkinson, " of the parental dwelling is a jeweller and watchmaker's shop kept by two brothers who claim descent from the painter and still bear his name. They are fine, intelligent fellows, shrewd tradesmen, free from suspicion of art sensibilities. A sister gives lessons in the Italian lan- guage, and next door lives a cousin who boasts of the higher calling of an advocate." In the church of San Pietro near by, which stands on an eminence overlooking the small town, are some frescoes ascribed to the artist. The main one is eleven feet long, and represents the Adoration of the Magi. It is in terribly bad condition, but its general effect can HJS MASTERS 17 be seen. The Madonna, in red and blue, holds the Divine Child, who is in the act of blessing one old king who kneels before him. Anna and Joseph are behind the kneeling king, the other two kings are approaching, and near by, cut off from the rest of the picture, are the suites and followers. A representation of Lago Maggiore is in the back- ground. Above is an angel at a desk and four other angels. The figures, and especially their heads, are clumsily painted, and it is quite clear that very much of the fresco has been repainted. The kneeling king and the figures of St. Joseph and St. Anna, however, dis- tinctly remind the student of Luini, and recall the figures in the similar scene depicted in fresco in the Casa Litta, and now to be seen at the Louvre. There is a general sense of immaturity in the fresco ; it exemplifies Luini's great fault in composition, a want of coherence in the diversified scenes, a separation of scene from scene, and a general deficiency in the " pulling to- gether" that another master would have given to the picture. From Luino it will be well to travel to Milan. The church of St. Giorgio at Palazzo should be first examined, and in the third chapel on the right is a Pieta, above it a Crowning with Thorns ; at the sides, the scene of the Scourging and Ecce Homo, and in the dome a Crucifixion scene. One feature about the Pieta, which is by far the most important of this series, is that a group of five figures appears in it which is exactly repeated in the great Lugano crucifixion ; and also that the representation of Mary Magdalen, a most eloquent figure, at Lugano, is almost C 1 8 BERNARDINO LUINI equally powerful in this fresco. There is in other respects, however, evidence of immaturity in these works, slackness in drawing and poverty in conception, and we consider them to be quite early works, and include with them the Luino frescoes. More close attention must, however, be given to the fresco paintings which were originally in the Casa Felucca near Monza, and which now, unfortunately for critical examination, are in several separate galleries. Some of the frescoes are in the Brera, some in the Palazzo Reale in Milan, and others in the Louvre, while the remaining ones are in two private collections in Paris and in Milan. There is great variety in these frescoes, and they are taken from two distinct classes of literature. The sacred subjects include : The Death of the First- born ; The Departure from Egypt ; The Passage of the Red Sea; The Thanksgiving after the Destruction of Pharaohs Host; The Feast of the Hebrews ; The Building of the Tabernacle; The Gathering of the Manna ; Mount Sinai and the Prayer of Moses ; and The Bringing of Water from the Rock. The mythological scenes represent : The Birth of Adonis ; The Metamorphosis of Daphne ; The Sacrifice to Pan; Vulcan Forging Arms for Achilles ; and another Vulcan in the Louvre, in which the Venus is a model of grace and seduction called Making a new Wing for Cupid; and The Bathing of the Nymphs. Beside these are certain domestic scenes, such as three girls playing at a game of forfeits (guancialino aoro) and a child riding swiftly on a white horse. There is an interesting love story told of Luini in connection with these Pelucca frescoes, and although we Milan, Palazzo Realt. (Montabonf photo.) THE HEBREW WOMEN OFFERING THEIR JEWELS FOR THE CON- STRUCTION OF THE TABERNACLE. HIS MASTERS 19 cannot support it by direct evidence, and must unfortun- ately discredit one of its chief episodes, it may be well to give the story in these pages. It is said that when Luini was working in the church of San Giorgio in Palazzo at Milan, the fresco work that he was executing greatly interested the parish priest of the church. He stepped upon the platform used by the artist, and retreating to its extreme edge in order to judge of the work at a distance, missed his footing, fell over, and was killed on the spot. There ensued a great storm of excitement and indignation, the church was polluted by reason of the death, and Luini was seriously blamed for carelessness. The popular cry was for Luini's death in retribution, and the artist fled to Monza and took refuge in the family seat of the chief landowner of the district, the then head of the Felucca family. Here Luini is said to have remained for two years and to have been employed in decorating the house with a wonderful series of frescoes. He fell in love, however, with the daughter of the house, Laura by name, a girl of surpassing beauty, at whose feet had been laid the affection of all the eligible men of the district. There were two other suitors, men in her own circle of acquaintance, one of whom, Federigo Rabbia, was a great friend of Luini's and son of the Rabbia whose house he had decorated and whom Vasari mentions, and the other Amarotto de' Gavanti. These two men engaged in a tournament in order to decide who should have the fair Laura's affections, and the fortune of war was with Rabbia ; but ere he could approach the lady he and his friend Luini were set upon at night by Gavanti, and Rabbia was killed, while Luini escaped almost by a miracle. 20 BERNARDINO LUINI The lady, however, would have nothing to do with the murderer and still favoured the artist; but her parents intervened and she was shut up in a convent, and years afterwards it is said Luini discovered her at Lugano when he went there to execute his famous frescoes. In proof of the truth of the story the people of Monza point to two places named Torneamento and Criminale, which they say derive their names from the Tournament and the Crime respectively. They also point to works by Luini in the Duomo and in the churches of San Gerardo and San Martino at Monza. There is certainly a fine fresco by Luini in the church of San Gerardo representing the patron saint, and others in Monza may possibly have been his work ; and whether the love story is true or not, Luini was certainly for a long time at Casa Felucca, and did there a long series of works. It is exceedingly doubtful whether a fall in the church of San Giorgio at Palazzo would have killed the parish priest, as Luini's works in that church are not at a great height,but are easily accessible ; and it is also strange that the painter should have been blamed for an occurrence in which he had so little fault. The story is, however, given as a popular tradition, to be taken for what it is worth. The present house of La Felucca near Monza is only an extensive farm-house with a large entrance courtyard and various rooms around it. The frescoes were removed from it in 1817 by Signer Stefano Barezzi, for fear that they might be irretrievably damaged, and in order that the local governing body might use the house as a farm- house and stables. Barezzi removed them by a plan which he claimed to Milan, Palazzo Reale. (Montabone photo.) VULCAN AND VENUS FORGING THE ARMS OF ACHILLES. HIS MASTERS 21 have invented, that of attaching a canvas to the fresco and when quite dry peeling off the decoration together with the layer of intonaco upon which they were painted, and transferring them afterwards to boards. The process, which at the time was considered of mar- vellous importance, was not wholly successful. Some of the frescoes were much damaged, others reversed in appearance ; but the most serious mistake was that no account was kept of the position of the frescoes in the separate rooms, and that consequently it is impossible now to reconstitute, even by a plan, this unique example of interior decoration by Luini. There is only one fragment of work remaining at Casa Felucca, and that is in the vaulting of what was probably the chapel, and was overlooked. There is also a slab of marble let into one of the mantelpieces, which was at one time underneath the two frescoes depicting Vulcan and Venus that adorned these two fireplaces. The slab of marble, iS'vj.' x 6", bears the family arms upon it, and the following inscription : VVLCANO ET CONIVGI IGNIS DEI DONO SACRVM QVOD EST NOMEN. OCCVLTIVS QVANTO VRIT ACRIOR TANDEM. ERVMPIT AVRVM VT EXCOQVENS NITORI ADDIT Nl PABVLVM ET DESIT FVTVRVS AETERNVS. All these Felucca frescoes are exceedingly simple in their conception, pleasing, and calm ; there is variety about the figures, and there is a certain definiteness and security in the technique ; but there is no passion, no emotion, and Luini never rises in them to anything above a certain level of good work, with an equally definite level 22 BERNARDINO LUINI of poor composition and unemotional expression. A peculiar characteristic of Luini's style at this time is to be seen in the hair of many of the girls represented in these frescoes. Parted in the middle and tied at the back, it falls away on either side smoothly, but on the neck and shoulders straggles loosely into curly locks. The girls playing at forfeits, Venus in the Vulcan picture, the nymphs, and some of the Israelitish women, all have this arrangement of hair. Another feature evidently- borrowed from Bramantino is to be seen in certain head- dresses. The Hebrew women in several pictures wear the curious turban headdress which is so characteristic of Bramantino. Foppa's influence is to be seen in the sturdiness of the figures, and their habit of standing squarely on their very large feet. The architectural backgrounds are from Borgognone and Bramantino ; the occasional use of gilded ornaments in these early works from Borgognone, and the pale flesh work from the same artist. The Leonardo influence is not yet ; the faces of the women are uninteresting and expressionless, ordinary Lombard peasant girls, muscular and strong rather than dainty and refined, and bearing no evidence of the sweet and lovely development that was to follow. Bramantino's influence is, in some pictures, so strongly marked as to render it difficult to separate the work of the two men. The message of the angel to St. Anna is one of these difficult pictures. The headdress, the background, land- scape, the trees, all bespeak Bramantino. The prie-dieu, however, at which St. Anna kneels exactly resembles one in the fresco in St. Pietro at Luino ; the flying angels are Milan, Brera. {Montaibone photo.) IL GUANCIALINO D'ORO (FORFEITS). HIS MASTERS 23 characteristic of Luini, and their faces can be seen over and over again in the La Felucca frescoes. If this picture is by Luini, it is a very early one, when he still retained strongly the Bramantino influence. Another picture that must be attributed to this period is The Holy Family in the Uffizi. It is not an inter- esting picture, and has been much repainted. The Madonna is poor and expressionless in features, almost to the point of folly or imbecility ; the architectural back- ground is stiff and from Bramantino ; the draperies are hard and angular, and the feet are too large. We know that Bramantino worked as well in Casa Felucca, and possibly some of the frescoes were done by the two artists jointly, or at least in collaboration, while some of those generally ascribed to Luini are much more likely to be entirely Bramantino's work. The head of a man in profile and the fat boys under the vine we ascribe accordingly to the former artist rather than to Luini. Here and there, however, the artist strives to rise to a higher level, and the Angels in Adoration are figures that are marked by much thought. A sense of reverence is strongly developed in them, and there is the attempt to grasp higher meaning, although hampered by inadequate knowledge. In the greatest picture of the series, which must surely have been the very last, The Burial of St. Catharine, Luini is entering upon a new phase of his work. The subject demanded no special power of composition. It was simple and pleasing. There are only four figures, three angels bearing the dead body of the Saint, but there is, for the first time, a tenderness and sweetness 24 BERNARDINO LUINI more noticeable than the calm and peace of the entire conception. The angels are still Lombard peasant girls ; their hair falls in the same way, although a fillet serves to retain the upper part ; their limbs are strong and mus- cular : but the charm of Luini has begun to appear, and his secret, that which differentiates him from Leonardo, is visible in this picture. The secret to which we refer is the evident simplicity of his religious feeling. One writer, commenting on this matter, doubts whether anyone can say that he has felt the better for gazing on any picture of Leonardo's. He probably excepts the Cenacolo from this state- ment, although even in that it is the face of the Christ, or the little that remains of it, that conduces to peace or religious feeling. But Luini, once the first trial period passed, charms more and more. His pictures soothe and purify, and as Rio * truly says, " Le sentiment chretien domine le sentiment de 1'art." This will be more evident as we proceed to examine later works. The fresco to which we are now alluding will have to be noticed again, inasmuch as it forms a part of the series of pictures painted by Luini, in which St. Catharine of Alexandria forms the most prominent figure. In the whole series, however, we doubt whether Luini ever exceeded in mystic beauty this particular repre- sentation of the Saint. It was the beginning of the finer work of the master ; but it was an inspiration, and the glowing words of Rio, in which he speaks of this picture, may well conclude our sketch of the master's first period. Rio says of this fresco, 1 Rio, "De 1'Art Chretien," 1874, p. 194. HIS MASTERS 25 a fragment only of a whole series, that it is " le fruit d'une inspiration vraiment celeste, peut se comparer avec les plus parfaites productions de 1'art mystique en Toscane et en Ombrie, et je doute que le peintre de Fiesole a travers le prisme de ses visions beatifiques ait jamais entrevu une figure plus ravissante que celle de Sainte Catherine portee par des anges sur le mont SinaY." Mantz, in his " Chefs- d'CEuvre," speaks of the " tender care " with which the angels " carry their sweet burden toward its mysterious tomb on the mountain, where God spake to Moses." CHAPTER III FRESCO WORK WE have now to consider a vast quantity of fresco work and many panel pictures, the fruit of Luini's prolific pencil during his second period, or, as Morelli terms it, his " maniera grigia." It is not at all necessary to imagine Luini in this period as an actual pupil of Leonardo da Vinci. If Resta and Lomazzo are to be accepted, he could not have been taught by Leonardo. It is quite possible that he was not even at Leonardo's Academy, but the influence of the great Florentine is marked most surely. Milan, when Luini reached it, was full of Leonardo's fame. The skill of the great artist was everywhere praised, and other artists from all parts of Lombardy and Umbria were working in Milan, eagerly copying Leonardo's productions, adopting his ideas in colouring, composition and expression, and following his lead with determination and with skill. To paint in Milan during the period that followed 1498 was to paint in Leonardo's method. It was practically impossible for a Milanese painter to emancipate his ideas from the Leonardo influence, or to escape from the Leonardo style of face and expression, which dominated all his work and forced itself upon his attention. We now bid farewell, to all intents and purposes, to Milan, lin-ra. { A linari f>hoto. ) ST. JOSEPH CHOSEN AS THE SPOUSE OF THE MADONNA. FRESCO WORK 27 the use of gold ornaments, to extraordinary headdress, covering expressionless faces, to formal dressing of the hair, to stiff architectural backgrounds, and to eccen- tricities of light. The churches of Milan claimed a great deal of Luini's attention, although his most important piece of fresco painting in Milan, that in the church of San Maurizio, must be considered later on. The Brera is full of fragments of church decoration, and from the convent of the Observants, known as Santa Maria della Pace, closed in 1805, there are many im- portant frescoes. The Madonna is the subject of the whole series. There are representations of the meeting of St. Anna with St. Joachim, the birth of the Madonna, the educa- tion of Mary, her presentation to the High Priest, the selection of St Joseph as her husband, the return of the Madonna and St. Joseph after their espousals, the dream of St. Joseph, the presentation of Our Lady in the Temple, the visit to St. Elizabeth, and the enthronement of the Madonna with the Divine Child, St. John, and St. Martha. Beside this series there are some thirty fragments from the roof with representations of angels, some of whom are playing on instruments, and others in adora- tion, as well as saints, men, and jesters. It must not be supposed that in these pictures all the characteristics of the former period have suddenly dis- appeared ; it would be absurd to expect that they should do so : but certain changes begin to make themselves marked. The Leonardo face, sweetened with Luini's own instinct, makes its appearance. 28 BERNARDINO LUINI In some of the earlier frescoes of the Pace series there are odd features in headdress and in hair, but the dull faces have given place to faces full of expression. The thanksgiving of St. Anna when the Madonna was born, the tenderness of the nurse bathing the infant, the care and solicitude of the three attendants, all mark a great change in the master's method, and bespeak careful study from an actual domestic scene. In the Election of St. Joseph the faces are wonderfully fine and varied. The strength and power of the elders, the bewilderment of St. Joseph, the sorrow and surprise of the other suitors, and yet their full acquiescence in the wisdom of the choice, and the exquisite reverence of the espoused pair kneeling in the window above, all bespeak a new power in the artist. Even more markedly is this seen in the final fresco (E 13), the Divine Child in His mother's arms in the act of blessing a nun. The faces are all perfectly lovely, the mother calm, sweet, and placid : but her face is full of deep thought and solemn tenderness ; the attendant saints are watchful and reverent, the nun waiting in calm per- suasion for the inestimable and holy gift ; and the Divine Child alert, active, childlike, but already conscious of a more than human power. The nun's name was probably Giovana, as upon her shoulder rests the hand of St. John the Baptist, and, as Mr. Grant Allen has pointed out, this action often typifies the name of the person kneeling near the saint. Besides Santa Maria della Pace other churches, closed or demolished, have yielded up their spoil of fresco to the Brera. From the Old Monastery came the figures of St. Ursula^ Milan, Brera. (.Brogi photo.) THE VIRGIN ON A THRONE WITH SAINTS. FRESCO WORK 29 St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Anthony the Archbishop, bestowing alms ; also a Risen Christ, surrounded by four angels, and a fresco representing the vision of the prophet Habakkuk when he was awakened by the angel. There is, beside these, an angel who bears an incense boat, and other Angels in Adoration. A wonderful fresco (63) comes from a suppressed Carthusian house. It represents the Madonna and Child, and St. John the Baptist, and was brought from the Certosa of San Michele alia Chiusa. The vivacity of the Divine Child and of St. John, both of whom are embracing a lamb, is wonderful ; the tender solicitude of the Madonna as she holds the Child, and fears lest He should fall from her arms, is very marked in her beautiful face ; and the landscape in the background is quite different from Luini's earlier work. The necks of the figures are, as Eastlake points out, somewhat constrained in pose, and the fresco is in very bad condition. From the church of Santa Maria di Brera have come several fine pictures, including one of his dated pictures. It is a fresco, and represents the Madonna enthroned with the Child, and attended by St. Anthony and St. Barbara, and is signed "BERNARDINVS LOVINVS, 1521." It is an exceedingly dignified composition. The Virgin and Child are in the midst, on the throne, at the foot of which is a child angel playing upon a guitar; St. Anthony stands by holding a crozier and a clasped book, and opposite is St. Barbara with a chalice and a palm. All the figures are admirably drawn and modelled, and are full of sweetness and dignity. A curious feature in this picture is the presence at the feet of St. Anthony of the pig, emblem of unclean desire, and symbolizing the temp- 3 o BERNARDINO LUINI tation to uncleanness that the saint had presented to him. Above this picture was originally hung the won- derful triangular fresco of God the Eternal Father that now hangs near by. A feature of Luini's work, noteworthy in this picture, should not be overlooked. He gave up, as already stated, the use of gold in his ornaments, but he intro- duced a most skilful effect of gold instead. In the nimbus of radiating rays that adorns the heads of the Madonna and Child, and in the similar glory seen in other frescoes of this period, notably in the Resurrec- tion one (A 24), the yellow colours are, to use Eastlake's admirable phrase, " so cleverly painted as to have abso- lutely the effect and glitter of gold, though no gold is actually used." In all these frescoes Luini's colouring is of a very low tone : there is much gray in his colours, pale pinks, and salmon and orange hues, yellow often shaded with crimson, very pale green, and a curious puce, which is a favourite colour on the artist's palette. A delightful harmony of blues and greens was also very much used, and his colours are always very transparent, and lights thinly glazed. As a rule the treatment is flat, there is but little cast shadow, high lights on features and draperies are seldom seen, and the shadows are generally represented by hatched lines. To this general rule there are, of course, exceptions, and these are especially marked in four frescoes from the Augustinian church of Sta. Marta. They repre- sent St. Marcella, St. Martha, St. Lazarus, and St. Mary Magdalen. It is possible that these figures are not by Luini at all. They have been attributed to him mainly Louvre. (Nenrdein Freres photo.) THE CHRIST. FRESCO WORK 31 owing to the statement of Latuada, the historian ; but his meaning is not very clear, and some critics attribute them rather to Lanini. We are, however, disposed to follow the attribution of the Brera, and give them to Luini, especially as they do not stand alone in their accentuation of chiaroscuro. The figures appear to stand in curved niches, and are well rounded and solidly painted, the effect aimed at, according to Eastlake, being "carried to the verge of deception." The Sf. Thomas Aquinas, already mentioned, is painted in somewhat the same way, with deep, richshadows in the folds of the monk- ish habit. Another picture from this same Augustinian church is of The Redeemer (A 17) in the Brera. Very probably the panel picture of St. Martha and St. Mary Magdalen, now in Paris, and mentioned later on, was painted as an altar-piece for this church. Its subject would render it most suitable for such a posi- tion. From the church of Sta. Maria di Brera came the panel picture, which was in the sacristy, representing Our Lady enthroned. This picture is dated 1515, but it is a school picture; and although part of it was evidently Luini's work, very much of it is evidently not from his hand. The donor of the picture, who commissioned the work, was one Antonio Busti, who is represented kneeling in the picture with another man and two women. The monogram of the donor, with a cross, appears on the throne, and below are the words ANTONIUS BUSTIUS DIVIS JACOPO ET PHILIPPO SACRAVIT ANNO MDXV. 32 BERNARDINO LUINI One more fresco in the Brera must be mentioned, The Virgin and Child and St. Anna, a charming com- position of three figures, the Child in the midst, bright, vivacious, and childlike. It is not stated where this fresco came from, but it is an early one, and may be com- pared in treatment with the St. Catharine from La Felucca. To this same period must be attributed the frescoes from the Casa Litta now in the Louvre, The Nativity, An- nunciation, Adoration of the Magi, and the Head of Christ. Vulcan's Forge (No. 233), which hangs near them, has already been mentioned, as it came from La Felucca and is an earlier work. These frescoes are important for another reason, inas- much as they reveal to the student that by this time Luini's work had so much increased that he was forced, in his larger compositions, to receive assistance. Whether this assistance came from his three sons Pietro, Aurelio, and Evangelista, or from a school over which he presided, or from pupils in his own studio, cannot, of course, be determined ; but it is quite clear to anyone who carefully studies these frescoes, especially the ones of the Adoration of the Magi and The Nativity, that the backgrounds are not the master's work. There are inequalities in execution and differences in colour scheme in these Litta frescoes only to be explained by their being in part the work of pupils, and in the Adoration of the Magi all the background is of far inferior merit ; in other respects these frescoes are good, typical, second period work. The use of yellow glittering as gold is marked ; the face of the Madonna has not yet acquired the Luini perfect beauty ; the outline is hard and con- Milan, Brera. (Brogi photo.} MADONNA WITH THE DIVINE CHILD AND ST. ANNA. Louvre. (Neiirdein Fri'res photo.) THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI. /. ouvre. (Nenniein Frcres photo. ) THE NATIVITY. FRESCO WORK 33 strained, the postures stiff and formal ; and although the children, Christ and St. John, are bright and vivacious, yet it is not with the sweetness and tenderness of the results at Saronno and Lugano. One feature which Brun, in his treatise on Luini, specially marks must be alluded to. The Nativity was a favourite subject with Luini. There is, besides the one at the Louvre now being considered, a fresco of the same subject in the cloister at Saronno, another at Como, and yet others in the Lochis Gallery at Bergamo, at Berlin, and in a private collection in Milan, even if the last two are regarded as school pictures only. In each one the Divine Child is represented touching his lips with his fingers, with the evident symbolic idea that from those lips shall proceed the revelation, the gospel story that is to culminate in the tragedy at Calvary. The danger, in the hands of an artist of less ability than Luini possessed, of representing so simple an action in a symbolic manner will be at once perceived. The limit line that divides pathos from bathos, the sublime from the grotesque, is a very slight one. In Luini's pictures we are not tempted to smile, and the lesson intended to be taught is at once conveyed, and the great skill of the artist in representing so beautifully this simple action is at once acknowledged. The life-sized half-length Christ (1361) in the Louvre is a very wonderful piece of fresco work which came also from the Litta Gallery. The use of the glittering yellow in the rays at the back of the Divine Head, the slightly curly, straggling hair on the shoulders, and the very large hands mark it as a work of this period ; but it should be carefully remembered in further consideration of D 34 BERNARDINO LUINI the master. The face is of the same type as we shall see re- presented in later pictures. It is an acceptance, in the grace of its solemn, serious countenance, of a traditional like- ness that had been handed down through countless ages, but it is tinged by Luini with his own special sweetness. The garb, with its embroidered ornament at the neck and sleeves, also will be remembered when examination of other pictures is made, and the gracious bearing of this marvellous figure raising one hand in benediction over the world, and in the other bearing lightly the crystal globe of kingdom, is full of majestic character. Like other of Luini's pictures, it bears an inscription underneath it : POSCE NE DUBITA QVOD QVODCV PATRI IN NOMINE ME PETIERIS FIET TIBI. There are other churches in Milan that contain the work of Luini. In the church of St. Ambrose will be found another Ecce Homo, a beautiful fresco of the Legend of St. George, and an altar-piece of Madonna and Saints. Another Madonna is in the church of Sta. Maria della Carmine, with St. Roch and St. Sebastian ; and yet another is on the organ in Sta. Maria della Grazie, but it is out of reach and cannot be examined. In the church of San Simpliciano, on an arch in the choir, are numerous figures of children attributed to Luini ; but these also are out of reach, and it is not very clear, even with a glass, whether more than one of them is from Luini's hand. He is said to have furnished the designs for some i 5 11 FRESCO WORK 35 beautiful arabesques painted upon the presses (Lo Scaffale) in the sacristy of Sta. Maria della Grazie, as to which we refer later on. The greatest fresco, however, which Luini wrought at this period was the one painted for the Confraternity of the Holy Crown (Santa Corona}, and which is still in situ in the hall which was the meeting-place of the Confraternity, and now forms part of the Ambrosian Library. The object of this charitable society was, according to Murray, " to relieve the sick poor at their homes" ; and Luini, who is believed to have been intimately connected with the society, was commissioned to paint this great fresco to decorate its chief meeting- place, and to keep always within recollection the symbol of the Order, and the humility, patience, and suffering of the Holy Redeemer. Lady Eastlake says that " the grandest form in which this subject was ever represented is in this fresco." It is a magnificent devotional picture, and the central figure, placed on a regal height, is indescribably fine. The picture is characterized by Luini's charm, and by Luini's faults. It is not a coherent composition, but scattered, and therefore lacking in the effect that a more resolute, finished grouping would have given. There is, however, no failure of skill in the several groups. The fresco is divided into three parts, which are separated by crown-wreathed pillars, supporting the roof under which the dread tragedy is being enacted. In the centre is the majestic figure of the Redeemer, seated on a throne raised above three steps. His hands are bound, He is crowned with the terrible Crown of Thorns, and His face is that of a patient, dignified sufferer content 36 BERNARDINO LUINI to suffer the pain and cruelty that He may open the door of the kingdom. Mrs. Jameson speaks in her description of the " wondrous sweetness and dignity, knit together by patience," to be perceived in His compassionate face. Around Him is a crowd of violent and merciless exe- cutioners, who are striking Him, jeering at Him, and insulting Him in every way. Above are wondering angels, overwhelmed with sorrow, and unable to under- stand the meaning of this most mysterious scene of suffering. The other two compartments of the picture, beyond the dividing columns, have each in the foreground six kneeling figures of men, probably important office- bearers in the Confraternity at the time, or donors of the picture. Their faces are full of dignity and power, it is quite evident they are all portraits, and they are masterly in conception, in beauty, and in strength. These twelve figures are really so grand, that they take away the atten- tion from the central figure. Rio draws attention to this when he says, " Le seul deTaut de cette superbe composition c'est que les portraits agenouille"s, surtout ceux du premier plan, sont tellement grandioses et tellement imposant que le spectateur en est d'abord plus frappe" qu'il ne Test du sujet principal." Above these kneeling figures are other groups : St John the Divine pointing out the scene to Our Lady, and, on the left, a soldier in armour and a man "in civil costume " making the same gesture to lead the attention of a venerable man, who stands near, to the central and tragic scene. Above each group hangs the Crown of Thorns, behind is a hilly landscape, and at the very back is a cavern, in which St. Peter is depicted kneeling. The venerable bearded personage on the right is FRESCO WORK 37 traditionally said to represent Luini himself, and corre- sponds closely with a similar figure at Saronno which bears the same attribution ; also with a portrait in the pic- ture of Susanna, and with the face of the kneeling king in the Adoration, We are on much firmer ground with regard to this fresco than is often the case with other works of the artist. It is definitely known when it was painted, and how short a time it took to complete, and what meagre emolument the artist received. It is also in- teresting to note that the painter was assisted by one pupil only, and the lad who ground the colours. The original document concerning it still exists, and is as follows : " Messer l Bernardino da Luvino pictore s'e accordato a pingere il Cristo con li dodici compagni in lo oratorio et comenzo a lavorare il di 12 octobre : e 1'opera fu finita a di 22 marzo 1522. E vero che lui Iavor6 solo opere 38 et uno suo giovene opera n et oltra le dicte opere 1 1 li teneva missa, ala molla (gli rimeschiava la calcina) al bisogno, ed anche sempre aveva uno garzone che li serviva. Li fu dato per sua mercede computati tutti i colori lire 115 soldi 9." Above the fresco is a cartouche with these words : CAPVT REGIS GLORIA SPINIS CORONATVR Thirty years before this Giovanni Omodeo had com- menced the wonderful west front of the Certosa di Pavia, and since then all the great artists and sculptors of Italy had been engaged in lavishing their finest work upon this magnificent building. 1 "Cesare Cantu Grande Illustrazione del Lombardo Veneto." Milan, 1858, i. 515. 38 BERNARDINO LUINI Luini's work in the Certosa was not of a very important character. He was probably too busy elsewhere to have much time left for Pavia ; but there is one beautiful picture by him in the Lavacro which is very representative of this period. In the vestibule leading from the gateway to the large inner court are frescoes of St. Sebastian and St. Chris- topher, attributed to the master's hand. They are very much damaged by exposure to the weather, and it is consequently not easy to determine whether or not the attribution is correct. There is no other fresco or representation of St. Christopher attributed to Luini, although there are very many of St. Sebastian undoubtedly genuine. The combination of these two saints is not even a usual one in contemporary art, and there are faults in the draw- ing of the St Christopher which are unusual in Luini's work. The Sebastian is very probably his work, and the other the work of a pupil. The fresco in the Lavacro is, how- ever, undoubtedly genuine. It is of Our Lady and the Divine Child. It is a beautiful fresco, albeit somewhat hard in its painting, and the sweet face of the Madonna has not yet in the artist's hands attained to the celestial loveliness that was eventually reached in the picture of the Madonna and Rose-bush, which was originally in the same Certosa, but is now in the Brera. Two more pictures need attention. In the Ambrosiana is a famous head of the Saviour, showing one hand raised in benediction, and in England is the celebrated picture of Christ in Argument ivith the Milan, Ambrosian Library. (A nderson photo.) CHRIST IN THE ATTITUDE OF BENEDICTION. FRESCO WORK 39 Pharisees. These two are very closely allied, and are at the very borderland which separates Luini's second period from the later time when he revealed himself in all the splendour of his creative sweetness and power. It is quite clear in both these pictures how much Luini owes to Leonardo. It is equally clear how he spiritualizes the Leonardo face. Leonardo had set a special and notable face. Luini always gives reminiscences of this face, and in his composition he follows the ideas laid down by Leonardo, and the master's method of grouping. It cannot, however, be too emphatically pointed out that no single picture by Luini is an imitation of one of Leonardo's, nor is that the case even in any individual figure, or group of figures. In the instance in which he came nearest to Leonardo, the picture in the Ambrosiana, which is so like to the great cartoon of Leonardo belonging to the Royal Academy, there is distinct change, and one more figure is introduced by Luini than Leonardo had in his cartoon. He was not even so ardent a copyist as Salaino and Marco d'Oggione ; and while he cannot be compared with such a man as Sodoma for originality, yet in all his pictures there is, with the justifiable reminiscence of Leonardo, a modest striving after originality. To Borgognone, his colleague at this time at the Certosa, he owes the pallor of much of the second period flesh work in fresco ; to Leonardo he most evidently owes the graciousness of the face : but to no one save to himself and his religious enthusiasm does he owe the spirituality that distinguishes his work, and which marks it out so strongly from that of Leonardo. The Christ in Argument with the Pharisees in our 40 BERNARDINO LUINI own National Gallery was for many years attributed to Leonardo, so typical is it of his special expression and features. It is a life-size group, and is frequently called Christ Disputing with the Doctors. We prefer the former title, as the youthful Saviour in the picture is certainly not that of a boy in his teens, but of a very young man. It may be said quite justly that he is equally too young for the famous dispute with the Pharisees ; but we believe, by comparison with the picture at Saronno of the Christ amongst the Doctors, that it is not that event which Luini depicts in this group. The costume of our Lord will at once recall that in the Louvre picture, and closely resembles the garb de- picted in the Christ in Benediction in the Ambrosiana. The resemblance does not end here, for the faces in the pictures bear a striking relation one to the other, that in the Ambrosiana being the younger of the two ; while the hands, with their long, fine, feminine fingers, and small delicate wrists, are equally allied. Our Lord is evidently emphasizing some point in the argument by the use of a notable gesture with his hands ; or it is possible He is checking off point after point of the controversy, as they are answered, upon his fingers. Around Him are four men of mature age, grandly drawn and most powerfully expressed ; and here again the hands are deftly painted and full of expression. The feminine features of our Lord in each picture are, as already said, strongly Leonardesque, but each picture is marked by a spirituality and devotional feeling that is very noteworthy. Originally the picture in the National Gallery was at Rome, in the Borghese Gallery, and was be- queathed to the nation in 1831 by the Rev. Holwell Carr. Brighton. (ff. Dixoti & Sons photo.) HEAD OF CHRIST. FRESCO WORK 41 A panel picture, said to be the original sketch for the head of Our Lord in this picture, and which we accept as undoubtedly the work of Luini, and probably part of his study for this picture, belonged for generations to the Strozzi family at Ferrara, and is now at Brighton in the possession of the Misses Cohen. The Ambrosian Library has yet two other treasures revealing more and more the growth of Luini's character. One is the exquisite fragment of fresco representing St. John with the lamb. The baby face shines out from the dimness and mystery of the faded fresco with a wonder- ful glory of its own. The child is exquisitely childlike. He is clasping the lamb and laying his own little curly head upon the lamb's head and looking up with an arch and piquant expression. It is but a broken fragment, but full of genius, and might well be a part of the latest work of the master, so happily is it conceived. In the chiaroscuro drawing called the Family of Tobit with the Angel we see one of the best arranged composi- tions Luini ever executed. There is a certain sentiment- ality about the face of Tobit, a somewhat constrained pose and a want of good drawing in the hand ; but the angel is splendid, and the other faces well conceived and executed. The finished picture from the drawing is in the Poldi Pozzoli Museum (84) ; but at the risk of being considered hypercritical we must decline either to consider it as fine as the original drawing, or to attribute it to Luini's hand. The drawing is clearly Luini's in every detail, the picture has probably his work in the figure of the angel ; but much of the rest we attribute to his pupils. CHAPTER IV HIS FINEST WORK WE have now reached the period of Luini's finest pictures, and see the artist exultant in the full strength of his ability, and prolific in work. It is not to be imagined that the Leonardo influence has vanished. That influence continued as long as his life lasted: but it was chastened, spiritualized, permeated with Luini's deep religious fervour ; and there were side by side with it the growth of the artist's own ideas and the ability to represent them. The fame of Luini was spreading, and his work lay not only in the city of Milan, but around it. From 1522 to 1533, eleven short years, we have Luini's best works in a series of masterpieces, both in fresco and on panel, in Legnano, Ponte, Saronno, Como, Milan, and Lugano. He had attained such eminence in his profession that in many directions came the call to labour, and the years must have been very crowded years, and his pencil very seldom idle. His chronology is much easier to under- stand in these later years of his life. We know that he was at Legnano in 1523, for the con- tract for the work still exists, and that he was at Saronno in 1525, for the date is on one of his frescoes. Records prove that he was working in Milan at St. Maurizio between 1526 and 1529, and again in 1530. We also HIS FINEST WORK 43 know he was at Lugano in 1529 and in 1530, inasmuch as these dates appear on his frescoes in that town, and we have records to prove his presence in the same city in 1533- , From that point all record ceases. He suddenly dis- appears in apparently the full force of his strength, when his best work is being done, leaving as his finest and most lovely group the lunette at Lugano, which appears to be his latest work, and, as Ruskin said in his beautiful language, " Luini passed away cloudlessly, the starry twilight remaining arched far against the night." l The San fa Corona fresco in the Ambrosiana was finished, as we have seen, in 1522 ; and in the following year Luini was at Legnano, where he painted a great altar-piece of Madonna and Saints in fifteen compart- ments. This was pronounced by Morelli to be the artist's masterpiece, and similar praise has been given to it by Dr. Gustavo Frizzoni and other eminent Italian critics. Eastlake, many years ago, tried hard to purchase it for the National Gallery, but without success ; and it still hangs in the position for which it was painted, and owing to the darkness of the church can only be seen with difficulty. A strong effort was made to have it photographed for this volume, but resulted in complete failure. The contract for painting it, drawn up by the notary 1'Isolano, and signed in the archbishop's palace at Milan, is still in existence, and a copy of it is preserved in the church at Legnano. In 1523 Luini was at Saronno, a small town near to Milan, on the way to Como, which contains a large 1 "Queen of the Air," iii. 157. 44 BERNARDINO LUINI pilgrimage church, II Santuario della Vergine, which had been commenced in 1498 from the designs of Vincenzo dell' Orto " in a pompous baroque style." It is not necessary to attach any importance to the popular story that Luini fled from Milan on account either of crime or political intrigue, and took refuge at Saronno, and while there was forced by the monks to paint the frescoes in return for the sanctuary and hos- pitality that they afforded him. This story, which is still repeated at the church, is quite refuted by the records that remain stating the emolument which the artist received for some of the work, and also by the freedom and entire want of restraint shown in the whole series of frescoes. Other artists were employed at Saronno, and worked at about the same time. There are subjects by Lanini, Abbiati, and Gaudenzio Ferrari close to Luini's work, and above it, in the cupola, a wonderful fresco by Gaudenzio Ferrari, executed at a later date, in 1535. Luini's work consists of two large frescoes in the passage connecting the nave and choir, and representing the Marriage of Joseph and Mary and Christ Disputing with the Doctors ; two more close to the high altar, The Pre- sentation in the Temple, and opposite to it, The Adoration of the Magi ; two more of Saint Apollonia and Saint Catharine in an apse built out from the choir ; some Sibyls, Evangelists, and Fathers in the panels and lunettes, and a lovely Nativity in the cloister leading to the priest's house. The Marriage of Our Lady is a picture which at once proves that Luini, even at his best, had not learned from Leonardo how to compose and group a picture. The separate figures are lovely, the fresco itself is lovely ; but > li 6 - 1 r. O HIS FINEST WORK 45 when it is carefully examined its faults in construction are clear. All the heads are on one plane ; there is no atmo- sphere and no perspective in the picture. Serious critic- ism ends, however, when the faults of composition are recognized. The details of the faces are beautiful, and let it here be noted that there are no ugly faces in Luini's work. Cruelty, scorn, and evil passion appear occasion- ally in his compositions, especially when those persons are represented who surround our Blessed Lord in the hour of His torture and crucifixion ; but they are very few in number, and always overpowered by the subtle and yet unstudied beauty of the chief personages in the scene. Luini must have been a man who loved beauty and hated evil and sin. A man without these characteristics could not have produced his work. He shrank from re- presenting suffering and cruelty. He never even painted the flagellation, but when the subject was given to him, represented instead the moment after the scourging was over, when the Christ was unbound from the column, and in connection with the suffering illumined the face with the radiance of patience and hope. In this particular fresco every face bears consideration. The modest simplicity of the Madonna ; the reverent thoughtfulness of St. Joseph ; the tenderness of the High Priest ; the solemn faces, full of dignity, of the attendant priests ; the affection, mingled with regret, of the Virgin ; the regret, combined with full satisfaction in the justice of the decision, on the part of the rejected suitors ; the maternal anxiety of St. Anna. All these characteristics are easily noted, and at the same time the honesty, the 46 BERNARDINO LUINI truth and human life of the whole scene is noteworthy. Luini's men and women are always human, not ethereal creatures, neither angels nor spirits, but represent true human beings, with all their affections and delights de- picted in their countenances. For women he appears to have had a special tenderness ; and it should be remarked that so far as Mrs. Jameson knew, and her knowledge was remarkably complete, no other Italian artist had painted the two scenes in the life of the Madonna thatLuini most beautifully depicted at La Felucca. The first of these two scenes is the presentation to the High Priest when Mary, in her fourteenth year, is told that she should marry, and after replying to the High Priest that she has been dedicated to the service of God, modestly accepts his commands, which he has received in a vision from God, and consents to espouse the selected suitor. The other scene is the vision of St. Joseph, where the saint, doubting whether he should marry Mary, and attach any truth to the reports that have been brought to him about her, receives the vision from an angel revealing the truth to him, and pointing out the Madonna, who is engaged in domestic work in another part of the picture. St. Joseph, after this vision, entreated forgiveness of Mary for having wronged her even in thought. These two scenes, depicted only by this Master, reveal the special tenderness of his thought toward the Queen of Heaven and all womankind. The scenes are represented in the mosaics of St. Mark's ; but Mrs. Jameson's opinion evid- ently relates to paintings only, and is borne out by our own experience. The Disputatio fresco at Saronno is distinctly superior Saronno. ( A nderson photo.) HEAD OF LUINI. HIS FINEST WORK 47 in composition to the one last described. Our Lord is standing in front of a raised chair of dignity made of marble. On the left is the Blessed Virgin, having evid- ently just entered, and in the act of expostulation with her Divine Son ; behind her stands St. Joseph with his staff in his hand, and near by are two elders and four other men looking with evident interest and curiosity upon the scene. Close at hand is a venerable figure with a long white beard, who is seated in the extreme corner, and is hold- ing a clasped book. He has turned his wrinkled, serious face toward the spectator, and tradition points him out as the representation of the painter himself. His benig- nant, solemn countenance may well make us accept the tradition, especially as this same personage occurs in others of Luini's pictures equally removed in position from the central figure. 1 On the right are the doctors, a vivacious, gesticulating, argumentative group. Their chief, to whom the others appeal, and who has the open Scriptures on his knees, wears an important phylactery, and is looking up in a state of bewilderment at the wisdom of the Christ, while evidently he is convinced of the accuracy of His statement or reference. The Christ, clad in the accepted loose garment, circular at the neck, and bordered at both neck and sleeves with embroidery, and having a light outer robe thrown across his figure from one shoulder, is with one hand pointing upward, and with His voice and the gesture of an out- stretched hand reminding His Holy Mother of His mis- sion to the world. There are several books in the foreground adding 1 See p. 37. 48 BERNARDINO LUINI point to the story, and the whole is depicted in what Woltman and Woerman call " his charming idyllic manner of telling a story." It is poetic, but it is true, and every expression and gesture is full of spontaneous grace. Rio's criticism on this fresco is worth quoting for its eloquent eulogium upon the artist : " L'artiste a repr6sent6 Jesus-Christ enfant au milieu des Docteurs : la pose, le geste, le regard, le mouvement de la figure principale, font presque deviner les paroles qui sortaient de cette bouche divine et peuvent servir de commentaire au texte de Sainte Luc, Stupebant autein omnes qui eum audiebant" These two frescoes are long and narrow, the next two are upright and inclosed by arches, and they mark a still greater skill on the part of the artist. In the Presentation, the Madonna is the central figure, the Prophetess Anna stands close by, and the Divine Child is in the arms of the High Priest, near whom stands a lad bearing the mitre. Behind the Madonna are other women, with their children, and a lad bearing a lamb. On the extreme right is a group of lovely figures, St. Joseph and the holy women eagerly engaged in congratulatory conversation while St. Joseph points out the Madonna to them. The scene is represented in a church with circular arches, and in the distance can be seen the Santuario della Beate Vergine, in which these frescoes appear, and a represen- tation on a minute scale of the flight into Egypt. On a panel, depicted as being high up inside the church, is the old covenant, Moses with the law, and the great leader is represented looking down upon this fulfilment of law and prophecy. Sardinia. ( A Una ri J>ht>to. ) THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE. Saronno. {A linari />hoto.) THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI. HIS FINEST WORK 49 High up above in a gallery are angels watching the scene, while attached to one of the pilasters of the temple appears a paper label bearing the interesting signature, in plain square capital letters, BERNARDINVS LOVINVS PINXIT MLXXV. The fourth fresco is that of the Adoration of the Magi. This subject was a very popular one in Milan because of the tradition that the Archbishop St. Eustorgius (A.D. 320) deposited in Milan the bodies of the three kings pre- sented to him by the Emperor Constantine. San Eus- torgio is one of the oldest churches in Milan, and in it, in a huge sarcophagus, were laid the relics. To quote Murray's handbook, we find that "at the approach of Frederick Barbarossa, the citizens removed the relics from the church, which then stood without the city walls, but upon the fall of the city they became the trophies of the victor, and Archbishop Rinaldus of Cologne carried them off to his own city," where they are at the present day. Although the relics were lost, the church which once possessed them, and retains still their resting-place, was considered of high distinction, and was the favourite church of the ruling family, whether Visconti or Sforza. Luini took up the popular subject and treated it over and over again in admirable manner. It appears at the Louvre in a fresco from a Milanese church, which was once in the Litta collection. It is to be seen at Como, at Luino, and now we find it at Saronno. In grouping, the picture resembles the preceding one, but the scene is out of doors, although the picture is en- framed by a large marble archway. The Madonna is seated, and the Divine Child is on her 50 BERNARDINO LUINI knee. He is partially clothed in a light garment and is supported by His mother's hands. He is full of brightness and vivacity, is thoroughly a child, and is represented in the act of stretching out one hand toward the king who kneels before Him, while with the other he endeavours to draw His mother's attention to the sight that interests Him. Before the Child kneels one venerable king clad in ermine. He has laid his gift at the feet of the Madonna, and now kneels in veneration. Behind him is his attendant, bearing his sword and crown, and a little farther back stands a second king, who is in the act of receiving his gift of a golden vessel from his servant. These two kings, Balthazar and Melchior, are already familiar to us. In the fresco in the Louvre, already men- tioned, they appear clad in very similar garb to the representations at Saronno, but when the two frescoes are compared a great change can be seen. The third king, Caspar, is a very different person from the very ordinary king in the Louvre fresco, and the standing figure of St. Joseph should be carefully studied. All the faces in this striking fresco are far more spiritualized than in the one in the Louvre, and Caspar especially is revealed as a man of wonderful thoughtful beauty. He kneels on the right of the Madonna in a timid, half shrinking manner, nervously holding his turban or crown. Even more than the others he is conscious of the solemnity of the moment. His own un worthiness, his sin, his trouble, are all crowding in upon his recollection. He is in the presence of the long-looked-for Messiah, and hardly dares to approach. Saronno. {Alhuiri photo.) ST. CATHARINE. HIS FINEST WORK 51 In the Louvre fresco there are doubt and fear mingled in his countenance, but at Saronno these have given place to knowledge, and that knowledge has but increased his trembling. The other faces all show the marked pro- gress Luini has made. The kneeling king is full of reverence, and his attendant has a thoughtful but puzzled expression. A remarkable characteristic in the various representa- tions of the Adoration was, we believe, first pointed out by Mr. Grant Allen. After the very earliest or Byzantine representations of the scene, a traditional arrangement of the three figures was introduced which can be traced, more or less, in all Italian pictures. Luini follows this tra- ditional and conventional arrangement very closely. The king who typifies Europe, Balthazar, is always kneeling, and has already removed his crown and presented his gift, Europe having already embraced Christianity ; Caspar is in the act of removing his crown and presenting his gift, or else has his crown still on and is coming in with his gift, Asia being in a transitional state as to Christianity ; but the third king, Melchior, is at a distance, on his way, certainly, but still some distance off, his crown still on his head, and his gift either not yet unpacked, or in the act of being unpacked ; inasmuch as Africa, typified by this third king, was almost wholly in dark- ness in Renaissance times. The face of the kneeling European king closely resembles that which tradition has assumed to be the artist's own features, and it is well to compare it with the traditional likeness at Saronno, the face of the elder in the picture of Susanna, and the face of the man on horseback in the Lugano Passion fresco St. Joseph, a grand figure, at length understands the 52 BERNARDINO LUINI mystery and raises his hand to God in thanksgiving. Behind our Lady are the cattle, lowing in their open stable. In the background, on a gradually diminishing scale, is the long, winding train of attendants, with camels, horses, and a giraffe ; while above, differing in this respect altogether from the Louvre fresco, is a band of singing angels. These delightful cherubs, five in number, resting on the clouds, are grouped together in a charming way, and are open-mouthed, singing with exultation the "Gloria in Excelsis" from a parchment scroll which they hold in their hands. The star seen in the east rests in mid-air by the stable roof. The fresco is a very striking one, and will well repay careful study. In it we see the proof of Luini's development, and this is especially the case in the face of the Madonna. At last there is more than a merely human peasant face ; there is a sweetness that fails expression in words, a tender com- passion, an enduring love, and the pathos of approaching sorrow. We shall have occasion later on to recall this first appearance of the matured face that Luini loved to paint. An entirely different countenance and expression is seen on the two female saints in the apse opening from the choir. The two figures stand in niches, the per- spective and the shadows are cleverly arranged, and there is a not unpleasant effect of relief. St. Catharine holds a clasped book in one hand, and the other, holding a palm, rests upon her wheel of martyr- dom. St. Apollonia also bears a palm, and in her right hand the traditional pincers holding her tooth. Both figures are well drawn, the draperies easy and soft, the colouring rich but subdued. HIS FINEST WORK 53 Still, Luini's work is not completed in the church ; St. Christopher, St. Anthony, St. Sebastian, and St. Roch, are below the drum of the dome ; life-sized, majestic figures, each attended by an angel who comes to present the palm of martyrdom and to assure the saint of an everlasting reward. Then there are numerous other figures, the four Evan- gelists, the doctors, St. Ambrose, St. Gregory, St. Jerome, and St. Augustine, the sibyls and angels, of which the finest are the angels. Amongst them is one bearing what is called by the Italian guides and many authors an incense boat. It is a sort of dish containing two jugs, and appears to us much more like the wine and water cruets for the Mass, especially as in the other hand the angel bears an amice or towel. Finally, on the cloister wall, on the way to the priest's house, is the well-known lunette of the Nativity. This was, it is said, painted by Luini freely, as a gift to the monks expressive of his pleasure at the treatment he received at their hands. He received 18 lire each for the large single figures, to- gether with lodging, food, and wine, and is said to have been paid for the picture frescoes at the rate of 30 soldi per day. The precious Nativity, so carefully covered with glass on the cloister wall, represents the Madonna and St. Joseph kneeling in adoration before the Infant Christ. The babe is on a pillow in a basket, and the symbolic way in which He points to His lips has already been mentioned. The scene is a stable, the cattle are behind Him, and from the doorway can be seen the shepherds tending 54 BERNARDINO LUINI their flocks, and the angel announcing the Divine message to them. Below, and nearer to the stable, is another piece of symbolic teaching, the Shepherd returning, bearing on His shoulders the sheep that had been lost. The reverent air of St. Joseph, the tender love of the Virgin are expressed in a most subtle manner, the com- position is perfect, and the lunette one of the loveliest works that Luini ever did, rivalling the more celebrated lunette at Lugano. If Luini gave it to the monks as the story tells us, he certainly gave to them ungrudgingly and of his very best. Luini now, in all probability, returned to Milan (circa 1524-1526) and commenced his most elaborate and im- portant scheme of interior decoration. The little church of San Maurizio attached to the large monastery of nuns, is intimately connected with the refugee monarchs of Bologna and their family, and its decoration forms a shrine to their memory. In its vaults lay the remains of Giovanni Bentivoglio, who became master of the state of Bologna in 1462 and ruled with a stern sway for nearly half a century. He was a great patron of the Fine Arts, and adorned his city with sumptuous buildings, and decorated them with the finest works of the Bolognese artists. In 1 506 Pope Julius II. made war against him, in continuation of his masterful idea to rid himself of the various powers under which the temporal power of the Papacy was almost overwhelmed. Events favoured the Pope. He conquered first Perugia and then Bologna, drove Bentivoglio from the throne which he had usurped, and a few years after united the state of Bologna to the papal dominions. Giovanni Bentivoglio fled to Milan, but sent his son Milan. ( A linari photo. ) HIGH ALTAR OF ST. MAURIZIO. Milan, St. Maurizio (Brogi photo.) SS. APOLLONIA AND LUCIA. HIS FINEST WORK 55 Alessandro to France to plead with Louis XII. for his aid against the Pope. The league of Cambrai had, how- ever, been arranged, and the friendship of the ambitious Pope was of too great importance to the King of France and the Emperor for either of them to be induced to help Bentivoglio. He died at Milan at the age of seventy, whilst his son was absent pleading for help for a lost cause. Alessandro continued to reside in Milan until his death in 1532, and he and his wife were, like the father, buried in the church of St. Maurice. Alessandro married Ippolita Sforza in 1492, and they had one daughter, Alessandra, who took the veil in the same church, and entered the monastery with which it was connected. Luini was selected by Bentivoglio and his wife to carry out a famous series of frescoes in the church which con- tained their buried hopes, and which they eagerly thought would serve to perpetuate their memory. The Sforzas were at the time in power, and the commission from Bentivoglio and his wife, Ippolita Sforza, was a notable one, and well did Luini carry it out. His frescoes cover the screen or eastern wall of the church. The altar-piece is not his work, but it extends on either side and above it right up to the baldacchino and rood crucifix. On the right is a lunette representing Alessandro (who was at that time about fifty-four) kneeling and holding a book of devotions in his hand, while around him are grouped St. Benedict, St. John the Baptist with his lamb, and St. John the Divine. Below this lunette, and divided from it by some delightful borders of decoration, are the life-sized figures of two saints standing on either side of the tabernacle. One is St. Justina of Padua, with her palm 56 BERNARDINO LUIN1 and book, and denoted by the sword which pierces her breast. The other is either St. Ursula or St. Dorothea ; she also bears a palm and a book, and her general ap- pearance seems to denote her as St. Dorothea. Below the tabernacle and between the saints is a cherub, bearing two symbolic torches. On the opposite side is a similar arrangement In the lunette is Ippolita Sforza, also kneeling and holding a book of devotions, and around her are three female saints, St. Scholastica, St. Agnes, and St. Catharine. The balance with the other lunette is accentuated by the fact that in this one there is also a lamb, denoting the presence of St. Agnes. A fresco of the Holy Redeemer takes the place of the tabernacle in the corresponding fresco, and below this is the same child cherub mourning because the lights he was bearing so joyously in the other fresco have now gone out for ever. On either side this time appear St. Apollonia with her palm and book, and also the pincers and tooth, and St. Lucia with her corresponding emblems. High up above the lunettes is a third tier of de- coration. In the centre is the Assumption of the Virgin, and numerous saints grouped around her empty tomb, watching Our Lady as she rises up Queen of Heaven. On the right is a scene representing the attack upon St. Maurice, and the martyrdom of the saint, who kneels in the foreground and is being beheaded by a huge executioner. On the left is a similar fresco representing in the fore- ground King Sigismond presenting the church to St. Maurice, who in this picture stands aloft on a pedestal. In the background King Sigismond himself suffers martyrdom by the sword. 57 These three pictorial frescoes are full of movement and vivacity, the figures are well drawn, and the faces admirably painted, but all reveal the lack of power in composition, the lack of coherence in grouping that distinguished Luini even at his best. The lunettes below them, and the standing figures are far finer than the pictorial work. There is a majestic dignity about all these saints that is very impressive and delightful. The colour scheme is most harmonious, and all the frescoes are in very fair preservation. The selection of the saints is instructive. The house was a Benedictine one for women, hence St. Benedict and St. Scholastica are represented. Luini's commission did not, however, end with this series. By a door left of the altar the nun's choir is reached, and here, on the back of the screen, is a further series of frescoes, for the most part in very bad condition. Many of them are almost invisible, and doors have been cut through two of them to their very serious injury. One of the most beautiful, representing the marriage at Cana in Galilee, which in Mrs. Jameson's time was only just visible, has now nearly gone. It is not an ordinary representation of the miracle, but a mystical one, and evidently symbolized to the nuns the Divine union of Christ with the consecrated religious, The bride is a nun and the bridegroom St. Maurice, and what remains of the fresco reveals it a graceful and well grouped work. Amongst other scenes on this side of the church are The Betrayal, The Mocking of Christ, The Crucifixion, The Deposition, The Scene in the Garden of Gethsemane, The 5 8 BERNARDINO LUINI Resurrection, the Noli me tangere, nine frescoes in all, with 140 figures in them, but every one seriously damaged. Below them is another series of life-sized erect figures including his favourite saints, St. Apollonia, St. Catharine, St. Roch, and St. Sebastian, as well as St. Agnes and St. Lucia. Even yet the finest work of Luini in this building has not been described, but as it belongs to a somewhat later period than all the other frescoes it must be mentioned in its proper chronological place. Rio discusses at some length the question why the Bentivogli selected Luini to decorate San Maurizio, and suggests that it was the resemblance of his work to that of Francia that accounts for the choice. The theory is an ingenious one, for the two artists had much in com- mon, and the Madonna with the Rose Hedge may be taken as typical of the resemblance of Luini's to Francia's work. There is the same rich chromatic harmony, sim- plicity of direction and religious enthusiasm in each artist. In 1526 Luini was at Como, and three frescoes remain to us of his work in that city, all of which are in the Cathedral. His old favourite subjects, The Adoration of t/ie Shepherds and The Adoration of the Magi, appear as altar-pieces for the chapels of St. Abbondio, third Bishop of Como, and St. Joseph and a Madonna is over the altar of St. Jerome These frescoes are finer than those at San Maurizio, and the fullest development of tender, artless grace in the face of the Madonna is to be seen. There is a ro- bustness about the master's work at this period, and the heads of St. Joseph, the attendant shepherds, and the Magi, are all strong, definite and full of character. HIS FINEST WORK 59 The frescoes are luminous and rich, and the scheme of colouring darker and more powerful than has been hitherto the case. Some remarkable work in Milan at the church of Santa Maria di Grazie, done at about this time, is attributed to Luini. It is painted decoration upon the vestment presses (Lo Scaffale] in the church, and consists of three panel pictures surrounded by very florid and beautiful arabesque decoration in imitation of intarsia work. An Italian writer, Felleschi, and a German, Ludwig Gruner, in 1859, refer it to Luini's first period work, and if the panels were the Master's work at all, they would have been early work, but in no respect do they resemble Luini's known work. There are many representations of animals in them, and Luini very seldom painted animals, and then as a rule only lambs, except in the processions following the Magi. There are trees entirely different from Luini's trees, and the figures neither possess his characteristic feet or faces, nor are they painted in the scale of colouring which Luini used. The arabesque decoration, which is very beautiful and freely drawn, and full of decorative effect, certainly resembles that at San Maurizio and is very different from the panels which it surrounds. It more closely resembles the work of Carlo Crivelli, although of course it had nothing to do with that artist, but no other work of Luini's is really like it. The San Maurizio decoration is freer and bolder, and has far less detail. The Lo Scaffale work is minute and full of detail, and much more flowery than is Luini's decoration, beside being entirely different in colouring. The Lo Scaffale work must not, we consider, be attributed to Luini, nor any part of it CHAPTER V PANEL PICTURES IT may be well in this chapter to give some attention to the series of panel pictures and detached frescoes by Luini that belong to his best period, and especially to his representations of the Holy Family, of the daughter of Herodias, and of St. Catharine of Alexandria. One representation of the Holy Family has already been mentioned as the work of Luini that most nearly resembles that of Leonardo. The Holy Family at the Ambrosiana is evidently taken from Leonardo's great cartoon now preserved in London at the Royal Academy. There is the addition, however, of a grand figure of St Joseph leaning upon his staff, and the figures of Our Lady and St Anna are clothed in the customary garb, and veiled in the manner that Luini specially adopted. The various groups depicting the Holy Family, may be divided under three heads. ist. Those in which Our Lady's face is partially veiled, the light white veil covering the forehead and coming nearly down to the eyes. In all these the eyes are looking downwards, and consequently the lids are partially closed. 2nd. Those in which the whole face is revealed, the Afilan, Brera. (Hrogi photo.) THE MADONNA AND CHILD AND THE ROSE-HEDGE. PANEL PICTURES 61 thin veil not being present, but the eyes cast down as in Group i. 3rd. Those in which the eyes are fully open, and either looking directly forward or else raised to look above. The thin veil is absent in all the pictures of Group 3. The second group is the largest, the first includes several of the best-known pictures, and the third consists of only one or two pictures. In those with the veil are included The Holy Family after Leonardo, just mentioned ; the beautiful Madonna and Child at Naples ; the Madonna and Child at Berlin ; one of the two at St. Petersburg, the delightful Madonna and Child and St. John at Langton, belonging to the Honourable Mrs. Baillie Hamilton, and the very much retouched group similar to it that was in the Doetsch collection, as well as others. This veil also appears in the frescoes of the Adoration and Presentation^ at Saronno, and is only to be found in Luini's third period work. It may be called the Saronno type. Later on Luini reverted to his earlier idea, which we include in Group 2. The faces in Group 2 have the same downcast eyes as those in Group I, but the thin veil that hung loosely over the forehead does not appear. In many ways this is Luini's favourite type. The face is clearly seen, and the hair also, which is smoothly parted in the middle. There is a hood over the back of the head and the eyes are invariably cast down. The details of this face are characteristic of the whole of Luini's work from the very beginning to the close at Lugano, but a marked change and improvement can be 62 BERNARDINO LUIN1 seen in the expression, which became, as the painter grew older, more and more serene, more etherealized and spiritualized and marked at last by an exceedingly touch- ing sweetness. The Casa Felucca frescoes are not to be compared for beauty with the Madonna of the Rose Hedge, but the treatment of the faces attaches them each to this group. Of third period work in Group 2 we have this beautiful Madonna of the Rose Hedge, both the pictures at Buda- Pesth Madonna and Child and Holy Family the Morelli one at Bergamo, the fresco at Madrid, one of the St. Petersburg pictures and the Madonna and Child that so closely resembles it in the Czernin Gallery at Vienna, the Madonna in the Poldi Pezzoli Gallery and the very similar group belonging to Colonel Cornwall Legh at Legh House. The third group in which the eyes are fully opened, includes two very similar pictures, one being the Madonna and Child in the Layard collection at Ca Capello, in which the Divine Child, clothed in a shirt, stands erect by the side of His mother, who is gazing at Him with sweet content not unmixed with wonder ; and the other a picture in the Louvre of very similar pose, save that the head of the Madonna is not turned so much toward the Divine Child and that the Child is wholly nude. In each picture the Madonna holds a book ; the Child in the Venice picture is holding an apple, and the one in the Louvre a piece of drapery. In the latter picture St. Joseph appears in the background, but he does not appear in the former, which was painted for a convent of nuns. These are almost the only representations of Our Lady where the eyes are fully seen. Venice, Lnyard Gall. {,-/ linari photo.) MADONNA AND CHILD. Milan, Alitseo Borroinco. (Marcozzi />lito. ) THE CHASTE SUSANNA. Kuda-Pesth. (Ad. Brann &* Co. photo) HOLY FAMILY. Buda-Pesth. (At/. Braim &> Co. photo.} MADONNA AND CHILD, ST. BARBARA, AND ST. CATHARINE. PANEL PICTURES 63 Rio's comment on Luini's work, which is to the effect that he seemed to have chiefly as his patrons " ceux qui pleurent et ceux qui prient," is especially true when attention is given to his Madonna pictures. Sadness and devotion are the characteristic features which are given to the face of Our Lady, and inasmuch as Symonds specially states that the works of this master are " like melodies and create a mood," so we discover that Luini strove by his pictures to soothe, to comfort and to encourage those for whom he executed them. It is undoubtedly in this capability that is seen the marked divergence between Luini and Leonardo. The extreme perfection of Leonardo, the mystery, the subtle, fascinating beauty of his pictures, is different altogether from the artless and unstudied poetry or the deep, tender chords of pathos that mark Luini's works. They do undoubtedly exert an influence and " create a mood," and while the spectator cannot fail to wonder at the works of Leonardo, he is comforted and strengthened by those of Luini and his devotion is deepened. The master appears to have earnestly striven to place in the face of Our Lady that knowledge of coming trouble, that presentiment of approaching torment that was un- doubtedly within her breast. At the same time the anxious desire to shelter her Divine Son from all this trouble and to guard Him against it is clearly revealed. Two pictures, both in the Museo Borromeo are typical of this. The Divine Son is closely clasped in His mother's arms and with sad, tearful eyes she gazes upon Him. The wonderful fresco in the Louvre in which our Lord is fast asleep upon His mother's breast has the same characteristic. 64. BERNARDINO LUINI The Virgin, with downcast, sorrowful eyes, gathers the sleeping Infant in her arms, while St. John hastens to cover Him with some drapery while He sleeps. The somnolence is perfectly rendered, the light sleep has just crept over the Child and the limbs fall away loosely from their position, while gradually the whole frame comes under the influence of the slumber. That she might ever keep Him so protected is the desire that flashes through the mind of the Madonna and that she could ward off the trouble that stands before that tender life. The Divine Child has invariably curly hair in all these groups, and this feature continues right down to the Lugano lunette. The only two representations of the Madonna and Child that are really alike are the one in the Czernin Gallery, Vienna, and one of the two at St. Petersburg. Photographs show that both the St. Peters- burg pictures, which but few critics have seen, are very much repainted, and it is probable that the one in Vienna is the genuine one and that the picture at St. Petersburg is only a school picture. It is much harder and coarser than the one at Vienna. The Buda-Pesth pictures are remarkably beautiful, the face of the Madonna belongs to Group 2, and is the spiritualized face that culminated in the Lugano lunette. The Divine Child in one and the Child and St. John in the other are full of vivacious movement and childish glee, so much so as to astonish the Madonna and Saints who stand near by, and who are bewildered by the movements and activity of the Child. In several of these pictures Luini's favourite flower, the jasmine, occurs, sometimes grasped by the Child and sometimes growing near by, as in the mysterious fresco PANEL PICTURES 65 at Madrid. It also adorns the head of St. Catharine in more than one picture. The Madonna of the Rose Hedge, one of the most lovely of all Luini's pictures, is the only one in which roses are presented, and in it the curly-headed Boy is full of won- derful beauty, and has those expressive and far-seeing eyes which lead to a comparison with the Child in the Madonna di San Sisto, and give rise to the phrase ap- plied to Luini as the Raphael of Lombardy. The picture in Naples is almost equally lovely, and that, with the one at Ca Capello and the two at Buda- Pesth, are perhaps the finest of Luini's representations of the Madonna and Child. The large fresco at Madrid gleams out from a very dark background, and contains a dignified figure of St. Joseph in the rear. It is noteworthy however for the importance of the two children embracing one another at the foot of the picture. This beautiful scene exists also, separately, at Madrid, with slightly different position, and is the same motif, differently drawn in each case, which is to be seen in the Morelli group at Bergamo, in one of the two Buda-Pesth pictures, in the picture at Langton, and in its fullest perfection in the lunette at Lugano. A drawing in Indian ink of three children, preserved at the Ambrosiana, is almost certainly one of the studies made for this oft- repeated group. The daughter of Herodias bearing the head of St. John Baptist was a popular subject, especially in Lom- bardy, and Luini was commissioned to paint it many times. He always characteristically tried to avoid the horror of the scene, exerting his utmost ability to present the F 66 BERNARDINO LUINI moment of the drama with truth and reality, but yet to avoid a painful impression. There are special representations of this event at Florence, Milan, Vienna and Paris, and they all have cer- tain general characteristics. In three, those of Florence, Milan and Paris, the executioner's hand is holding its dread burden, and in the act of placing it in the dish. The executioner himself is only to be seen in the Uffizi picture, his hand alone in the other two. In the Vienna picture, the executioner is in the background, but the head already rests in the dish. In each case it is the same head, a beautiful, calm, peaceful face, adorned with long dark curling locks, parted in the centre. Hardly any sign of blood is to be seen, there is more in the Paris picture than in the other three, but this material element is kept out of sight as much as possible. The dish is in three cases the same, but in the Uffizi picture it has a magnificent foot, and partakes much more of the form of a chalice. Salome differs in features in each picture, but her style of dress, her full bosom, only partially hidden by the undergarment, her long, rich, waving hair confined by a fillet, and her large fleshy hands, with long pointed fingers, are similar in each pic- ture. She is a beautiful, sensuous and voluptuous woman, devoid of sympathy or tenderness, self-satisfied and indif- ferent to the sufferings of others, and these characteristics are marked not only in her face, but in her form and her hands. The executioner is a hard, rough, hideous man, strong in physical power, and wanting entirely in tender- ness, and he stands out of the background in brutal con- trast to the lascivious and careless woman who bears the dish, and who is so proud of her own beauty and skill. PANEL PICTURES 67 The picture at Florence is a masterpiece of work, but Rio rates it somewhat too highly, when he terms it " le plus admirable chef-d'oeuvre qui soit sorti de son pinceau." He is quite right, however, when he goes on to praise "une e"nergie d'expression qui ne lui est pas ordinaire, une finesse de travail qui d6fie la plus minutieuse critique, et il est parvenu a r6pandre un charme inexprimable sur une composition qui semblerait ne devoir inspirer que de 1'horreur." The face of Salome is lovely in all the pictures, but perhaps in the Uffizi, the Louvre and the Museo Bor- romeo pictures more expressive than in the one at Vienna. There is a picture painted at this same period which cannot well be grouped with any other. It represents the only scene from the deutero-canonical books which Luini appears to have painted, and is called The Chaste Susanna. The fresco is in the Museo Borromeo at Milan, and represents a beautiful woman, almost nude, standing by a tree trunk, her hair falling on to her neck, and her hand resting on her breast. In the distance is the head of one of the elders. Susanna has a sweet, engaging countenance, full of thoughtfulness and peace, and her features possess none of the horror which a less timid painter would have depicted upon them. The main interest however of the fresco lies in the fact that if the figure that tradition points out as Luini him- self in the fresco at Saronno of the Disputatio be correct, then the master has again introduced his own face as that of the elder in this picture. It was the habit of the Italian artists to introduce their 68 BERNARDINO LUINI own likenesses into their pictures, generally depicting themselves amongst the spectators of the scene. Doubt- less Luini adopted the conventional arrangement and cer- tainly this remarkable face with its long white beard appears in several of his frescoes. The face may very possibly be that of the artist, but it would not be well to state the case in any stronger terms than those of possibility. There was an hereditary affection on the part of all the Lombard school of artists for St. Catharine of Alexandria, and Luini not only fell under its influence but seems to have possessed on his own part a strong regard for the memory of this great saint. We have already noticed in the earlier part of his career the lovely fresco of the body of St. Catharine borne to its tomb on Mount Sinai by three angels. We have seen the figure of St. Catharine with Ippolita Sforza in the church of St. Maurice, and also repeated inside the nuns' choir as one of the six great saints there represented. In the Buda-Pesth Holy Family St. Catharine, typified by her wheel worn as a buckle fastening her robe, is one of the two saints who stand near the Madonna, and in Florence, Munich and Copenhagen are representations of the same saint attributed to Luini. The standing figure is the usual representation, but the mystic marriage of St. Catharine is also well represented. The two most notable examples of this scene closely resemble one another. One is in the Poldi Pezzoli Museum at Milan, and the other, at Legh House, belongs to Colonel Cornwall Legh. In the Poldi Pezzoli one the Divine Child is seated on a pillow and placing the ring upon the Virgin's finger ; the Madonna stands behind, Milan, Poldi Pezzoli Gall. < Montabonc photo.) THE MARRIAGE OF ST. CATHARINE. PANEL PICTURES 69 supporting the Child, and from a window near by can be seen a charming landscape with water, mountains and a house. The wheel of St. Catharine can just be seen down by her side. In the picture at Legh House the Divine Child is standing and St. Catharine is holding her wheel as though she was offering it to Him in exchange for the ring. An open book of devotion is on a table between our Lord and His virgin Spouse. In each picture St. Catharine is richly garbed in a patterned silk brocade beautifully painted, but only in the Legh House picture is she wearing the crown of martyrdom. Another very beautiful representation of this saint is in England. It is the St. Catharine belonging to Mr. Ludwig Mond. In this picture the emblems of the saint, palm and wheel, are held by two child angels one of whom is on either side of the virgin. St. Catharine is, as usual, richly attired in velvet and silk and has a light gauzy drapery falling over her shoulders. She stands facing the spectator, looking down upon an open volume in her hand. She wears a wreath of jasmine, and the expression of her face is particularly sweet and lovely. A very similar composition to this one is in the Hermitage Gallery where it inaccurately bears the name of Leonardo da Vinci, but we believe the original composition is the one in England. In both these pictures, as well as in most of the Madonna and Salome pictures named in this chapter, the draperies should be noticed. In Luini's third period they are masterly, and fall in easy grace and soft richness. 7 o BERNARDINO LUINI Nothing more clearly marks the progress of the master than the draperies, which in his early period were hard and rigid, with either an entire absence of shadows, and therefore a flat effect, or else with definite outlined shadows which but increased their wooden effect and the want of grace that distinguished them. In his later work all these faults have disappeared. The greatest of Luini's representations has not yet been mentioned, but it belongs to a succeeding chapter which will have reference to the last frescoes executed by the master. CHAPTER VI WORK AT LUGANO AND MILAN IN 1529 Luini left Milan for Lugano. It has been suggested that political reasons necessitated his re- moval, but although at this period Milan was in a turmoil, it is not necessary to attribute Luini's absence to any other reason than that of important artistic work. In the Franciscan church and convent of St. Mary and the Angels at Lugano, he had three commissions. One, the most important, was to decorate the screen of the church, and others were to paint a Cenacolo for the refectory and a lunette for the cloisters. The Passion on the screen is dated 1529, the lunette 1530, but the Cenacolo is not dated, and hence there is a division of opinion as to its chronological position with regard to the other two. We do not hear of Luini going to Lugano before 1529, we find him there in 1533, and between these two dates this fresco was probably painted. It very much resembles the fresco in Sta. Maria della Grazie, the greatest work of Leonardo, but it has many important divergences from it. The subject was a favourite one for refectories, and the series of these pictures in Florence affords an unrivalled opportunity of comparing the different treatment given 72 BERNARDINO LUINI to the same subject by various artists. Ghirlandajo's work can be seen at San Marco and at the Ognissanti ; Giottesque work at Santa Croce ; Peruginesque ideas at Sant' Onofrio ; Andrea del Castagno's treatment at Sant' Apollonia ; and Andrea del Sarto's work at San Salvi. Not one of them is so wonderful as that which remains at Sta. Maria della Grazie in wrecked condition, and the scene painted by Luini comes very close to it in beauty and in devotion. Two columns divide the long table into three parts, at each of the side divisions are three apostles. Our Lord and the remaining six are all in the centre portion. Judas who is grasping the bag, and at whose feet rests a huge sleek cat, is seated outside the table, close against one of the columns, and another apostle occupies a similar position with regard to the other column. This method of placing Judas outside the table is in accordance with the plan adopted by Giotto at Santa Croce, but the attitude of Judas in the Luini picture is more like the attitude in the other Giotto Cenacolo in the. Accademia in Florence, where Judas is seen looking up alarmed and rising in order to escape. In this same picture St. Philip is pointing to him, and it is probable that it is St. Philip whom Luini places vis-a-vis to Judas in his pictures. Ghirlandajo, like Luini, gives to Judas the bag, or common treasury of the little band, which is clasped tightly in his hand, and he also represents the ill-omened cat, which is probably intended to typify Satan. St. John, overcome with amazement, appears, both in Luini's and Ghirlandajo's pictures, to have swooned away WORK AT LUGANO AND MILAN 73 on the breast of the Saviour. Raphael in his Cenacolo in the Vatican and the unknown Raphaelesque artist of Sant' Onofrio also place Judas away from Our Lord, on the opposite side of the table, but Andrea del Sarto follows the Leonardo method. It is quite easy, when the picture by Luini is examined, to see how entirely different it is from the one by Leonardo. Leonardo put all the Apostles on the one side of the table. Judas he put quite close to our Lord, so as to intensify the surprise of the other Apostles that one so intimate should be the traitor. St. John in Leonardo's picture has just been addressed by St. Peter, and is leaning his clasped hands on the table, but in Luini's he has swooned away in amazement. In Leonardo's picture many of the Apostles have risen from the table in their horror and surprise, but in Luini's only one is on his feet, and is in the act of rising up, and is at the end of the table. The others are all seated, one points to Judas, the other two gaze at him with amazement ; one clasps his hands and is stolid, petrified with horror, one near to Our Lord doubts whether he has heard aright, and St. Thomas ventures to rebuke the Saviour for His statement, as it appears to him to be manifestly inaccurate. All these details differ entirely from Leonardo's com- position, and more resemble that of Giotto, save that the line of heads to be seen in Giotto's work is cleverly broken up in the picture by Luini. It is worth while dwelling upon these divergences, inasmuch as there is a general notion that Luini's Cenacolo may be dismissed as an imitation of the celebrated one by Leonardo. It is nothing of the kind, but it is an original work of high merit, influenced strongly, of course, by the great 74 BERNARDINO LUINI Florentine, but full of Luini's own spirit. There is much tenderness about this picture; several of the Apostles are evidently thinking more of their own faults and self accusations than of the traitor, others point to Our Lord, and tremble to think of the effect of this knowledge upon His serene composure, and of those who look on Judas the countenances are more expressive of pity for him than of contempt for his crime. The picture is worth careful study, and more attentive consideration than it generally receives. It was probably the earliest of the three Lugano pictures, but as a rule it is neglected by visitors to the church by reason of the great Passion fresco near by, which demands such over- whelming attention. This enormous work covers the whole of the wall, separating the nave from the choir, and extends right up to the ceiling. Its base line is one drawn along the tops of the three circular headed archways in the wall that give access to the choir, but the heads of these archways, the spaces in between each arch and the corners to each archway are also filled with decoration. There are two giant figures of St. Sebastian and St. Roch, situate on either side of the central archway, that appear to hold up the huge Passion scene above them. In the corners of the archways are figures of six prophets, Ezekiel, Simeon, Hosea, Jeremiah, David and Zechariah, being those who specially foretold the death of Christ. Around the arches are inscriptions, and above rises the great Passion fresco. It is a very crowded composition, including several hun- dred figures, which are arranged more or less in two lines. In the centre is a gigantic cross, bearing upon it the THE CRUCIFIXION AND PASSION FRESCO. WORK AT LUGANO AND MILAN 75 body of Christ, and on either side are smaller crosses with the two thieves. At the extreme top of the pediment that encloses the fresco is a representation of the Eternal Father ; below that, is the Holy Spirit, and on either side of the two members of the Holy Trinity, and just above the great cross on which the Son is dying are large angels, two of whom are leaning upon the arms of the cross and gazing with pitying eyes upon the Sufferer. Around them again is a throng of smaller cherubs who surround the figure of Christ. On the summit of the other two crosses appear two strange symbolic pairs of figures. A beautiful angel above the penitent thief is receiving his soul to carry it away to Paradise, the soul being represented as a lovely white miniature man, while opposite a black and repulsive figure of Satan claims the soul of the other thief, whom Luini has painted in similar form, but wholly black. The stem of the central cross reaches right down through the picture, and rests on a little eminence at its very base, near to which are placed the skull and cross bones, and close beside the cross is seated a charming figure of a young man robed in blue, who looks out toward the spectator, and with one hand pointing up- wards arrests attention and directs the spectator to the Divine Sufferer. Close around the foot of the cross, in a long line are crowded the dramatis persona of the tragedy. One figure is of surpassing beauty. Mary Magdalene, richly attired, is kneeling upon the ground in a profound emotion of sorrow. Her head is raised to the cross, upon which her eyes are fixed ; her magnificent golden hair falls in a glowing stream down her back, her arms are 76 BERNARDINO LUINI stretched out at full length downwards, and the hands extended, and in this one figure, of which the back and profile only are seen by the spectator, Luini touches a chord of dramatic power that nowhere else in his pictures does he even approach. Close by this kneeling figure is a very pathetic group. The Madonna is seen swooning away in an agony of sorrow, and supported by the holy women. On the other side a noteworthy figure is that of the centurion, who is depicted riding on a great white horse and gazing on the scene with astonishment and wonder. A figure near him, called Joseph of Arimathaea, is bearing a vessel of vinegar, into which a sponge has been dipped, which is at the moment being elevated to the cross. In the foreground are three Roman soldiers, violently contending for the vesture of Christ, and striv- ing to tear into two pieces the coveted garment. The whole space is full of men, women, children, soldiers and horses. Some of the faces are of remark- able beauty ; one mother with a child by her side and another in her arms, at the extreme right of the fresco, is as finely conceived as any work ever done by the master, and almost every face, whether upturned to the Sufferer or engaged in looking on its own concerns, bears signs of careful thought and attention, and of suitability to the picture. On the left, amongst the figures on horseback, is one venerable man with a long white beard, who is appar- ently the same person as the one already alluded to at Saronno, representing the master himself. Some have said that the centurion's face is Luini's, but if that is the case then the Saronno portrait and the tradition that WORK AT LUGANO AND MILAN 77 supports it must be rejected, as the face is that of a much younger man than was depicted at Saronno. Above this crowd, on a raised plateau of ground, is another line of figures, equally crowded, but broken up somewhat into detached groups. The figures are all much smaller in size and depict in succession, from right to left, the scenes in our Lord's history that preceded the Crucifixion. There is first the crowning with thorns, which is more or less a copy of the much larger scene painted in the Sala di Santa Corona in the Ambrosiana ; that is followed by the pro- cession to Calvary, in which our Lord is bearing His cross ; then comes the embalming and entombment of His body, and lastly the scene of St. Thomas's unbelief when the risen Saviour stands in the midst. Still further in the background is a landscape with mountains and hills, including a view of Lugano and of the church in which this decoration appears, a similar idea to that carried out by Luini at Saronno in his Pre- sentation fresco. Upon two of the hills to the extreme right and left of the picture there are yet two more scenes from the life of Christ. On the right is the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane, where an angel appears bearing the cup of sorrow for the Christ in an agony of prayer, and close at hand are the disciples lying fast asleep. In the opposite corner is represented the Ascension. Our Lord is in the clouds surrounded by angels, and below is the angel of the Holy Spirit coming to comfort the throng of kneeling Apostles and companions. Pillars and arches of the temple appear to frame in these last two scenes. 78 BERNARDINO LUINI The entire composition is of course far too crowded. It is lacking in distinctness, in definition, and in suitable composition. The crosses by reason of the two lines of figures are far too high, and could not be reached by the soldiers, even with the gigantic spear that one of them holds. The very tops of the two standards that wave in the breeze, and which are on enormous poles, do not reach the arms of the central cross. Even the air is so full of winged spirits that the dignity of the Crucified One is impaired, and the cross with its Divine Burden loses the prominence that should attach to it. The wondrous beauty however of many of the separate faces, the charm of the distinct groups, each with a certain grace in composition of its own, the perfect drawing of the important figures in the foreground, and the verve and movement of the whole picture, set in a deep vibrat- ing chord of rich colouring, cannot fail to attract. Above all, the entire composition is charged with an intense de- votional spirit, and the artist was most evidently striving to render as well as he possibly could, and with all the religious enthusiasm of which he was capable, the events of the world's tragedy. The very effort frustrated the success of the scheme, and destroyed the spontaneity it should have had, but the fresco is very wonderful, full of spirit and effort, and in every way a remarkable work. It is dated at the foot, close to the figure of St. Roch, MDXXVIIII, and is one of the largest uninterrupted frescoes that was ever painted by any artist. In the same year Luini was back in Milan working again in the church of San Maurizio. This time his commission was to decorate one chapel, Milan, Besozzi Chapel, (Brogi photo.) ST. CATHARINE. WORK AT LUGANO AND MILAN 79 and the donor of the work and founder of the chapel was one Francesco Besozzi. The work was completed, we know, by the i$th of August, 1530, but Besozzi died in 1529, and therefore did not live to see the wonderful frescoes executed in his chapel. In the altar-piece we have a marked example of Luini's earnest desire to avoid the creation of any feelings of horror or repulsion in the minds of those who worshipped at the altar. The subject which was selected by Besozzi was that of the flagellation, but Luini did not attempt to represent it in customary form. He characteristically chose to depict the unbinding of Our Lord from the column after the dread scourging had taken place. To use Mrs. Jameson's expressive phrase, " Christ is strengthless and fainting" from the torture. The bar- barous soldiers are loosening the ropes that bound the victim to the column, and Our Lord, in the very act of falling to the ground, is being roughly supported by one of the men. The bodily weakness, almost triumphing for a moment over the intense mental courage, is finely expressed, and to those who served or knelt at the altar the picture would always be an enkindling of deep sympathy, of profound pity and compassion, and of wonder at the sorrowful sight. Close at hand stands St. Lawrence, robed in a deacon's tunicle and wearing the stole across his breast. With one hand he carries a clasped book and a palm, the other hand he stretches out, pointing to the Divine Sufferer, and with a piteous expression of grief directs attention to the central scene. 8o BERNARDINO LUINI On the other side is a majestic figure of St. Catharine leaning upon her wheel. She lays her hand tenderly upon Francesco Besozzi, who, in the garb of a lawyer, and holding his rosary between his clasped hands, kneels humbly by her side, gazing in great reverence at the figure of Christ. Behind the saints are tall, armed warriors, and near by are the clothes of the executioners and the vesture of Christ, while on the floor are the scourges. High up above this representation are two smaller scenes, divided by the column which passes right through the picture. These two smaller pictures, each containing only two figures, appear to refer to the Easter Resurrec- tion. In one St. Peter is approached by Mary Magdalene, who points to the open tomb and the Roman soldier, and in the other Our Lord appears to Mary in the garden in His risen form, and forbids her to touch Him. The sides of this chapel are occupied by two frescoes depicting the legend of St. Catharine. In one fresco is seen in the distance the destruction of the four wheels by the angel of God, and the slaying of the executioners and three thousand people by the fragments that flew around. In the foreground is St. Catharine kneeling in prayer, asking that she may be strengthened for the terrible death that at that moment was before her. In the other fresco is seen the decapitation and burial of St Catharine. Meekly kneeling in the foreground is the saint, while above her towers a gigantic executioner, brandishing the sword with which her martyrdom is to take place. Near at hand are Roman guards. In the distance is Mount Sinai transfigured in burning light, and in the midst of the light angels are placing the body of St Catharine into the marble tomb prepared for it. WORK AT LUGANO AND MILAN 81 The curious feature about these two frescoes is that, according to Matteo Bandello, the face of St. Catharine is that of one of the most celebrated and most wicked of women of the time. Bianca Maria was the beautiful daughter of one Giacomo Scappardone by a Greek wife. She married first one of the Visconti family, but he died and she retired to Casale. A little later on she became the wife of the Count of Cellant, but after a few months of married life they had a serious quarrel, and the Countess fled to Pavia, where, according to Bandello, she lived a life " over free, and little honest." One of her lovers was Ardizzino, Count of Mavino who, was violently in love with her, but she gave him up and attracted to herself Sanseverino, Count of Gaiazzo. Having won his affection and obtained his promise to gratify all her wishes, she tried to persuade him to kill Ardizzino, whom now she thoroughly hated. He pre- tended to assent, but did not intend to carry out her desire, and left her in horror. She then returned to the desire for Ardizzino, and, in order to be revenged upon Sanseverino, used her utmost power to attract back again her previous lover, and then having won him to her side again, proposed to him to kill Sanseverino. She succeeded no better with him, as he was likewise horrified at her cruelty and fled from her, and meeting Sanseverino afterwards, they revealed to one another the manner in which each had been cajoled to kill the other. Still the revenge of this terrible woman was hot and burning. A foolish youth, a Sicilian, one Pietro di Car- dona, fell within her toils, and she worked her wicked G 82 BERNARDINO LUINI will upon him. A long and untrue story of the previous cruelty of Ardizzino inflamed his anger, and to win her enduring affection he undertook to execute her wishes. With a band of twenty-five men he met Ardizzino, Count of Mavino, and his brother Carlo, and set upon them and murdered them both. The Duke of Bourbon, who was at that time the titular ruler of Milan, had Pietro arrested and thrown into prison. Then San- severino came forward and told the whole story, and the city rang with the intelligence of the crimes of this famous beauty. Pietro by some connivance was allowed to escape from prison, as it was evident that he was only a tool in the hands of his mistress, and a man of very weak intelli- gence, but the Countess of Cellant was beheaded as the penalty of her crime. This was the story that was in every one's mouth at the time Luini was working at the Besozzi Chapel, and he made use of the beauty of the wicked Countess, and painted her fascinating features in his representations of St. Catharine, and so perpetuated her memory and the story of her crime. In the roof of the chapel appear the two sibyls, Agrippa and Erithrea, and angels bearing the emblems of the Passion, the crown, the nails, the spear, the sponge, and other emblems, and these mighty spiritual beings are gazing down upon the scene of Christ unbound from the column, and their faces are expressive of great pity and of comfort. The whole motif of the decoration of this chapel, dis- missing the mere accident of the use of the Countess of Cellant as a model, seems to be that of suffering without WORK AT LUGANO AND MILAN 83 fault, and of heavenly comfort given to the sufferer. The sufferings of our Lord, of St. Catharine, of St. Law- rence, of the Apostles at the empty tomb, of Mary Magdalene in the Garden, were all meritorious sufferings, not the result of the sin of the sufferer, but for the purification of the soul. All these sufferings were blessed from heaven, all the sufferers received heavenly comfort and eventually the reward of martyrdom, and this scheme of thought seems to be the idea upon which the selection both of the frescoes and of the standing figures is based. If, as some writers state, the figure to the left of Our Lord is that of St. Stephen the martyr rather than St. Lawrence, the motif is not in any way altered, for each saint suffered martyrdom for his faith, was com- forted by angels, and received into glory. This great work completed, Luini returned to Lugano, and in 1530 executed the last work that we can identify. He was evidently in the full vigour of his power, and it may fairly be said that the lunette from the cloister that has now to be described, is the culminating point of his genius. He never painted anything more exquisite and refined in its beauty, more lovely in expression, more tender in sympathy, and the grace of composition, so often lacking from his more ambitious works, came to his aid in the conception and carrying out of this fresco. A fresco painter he was to the last ; all his greatest works were done in that medium, and although there is peculiar beauty in his oil and tempera painting, yet it loses by contrast with the fresco, and it is by his frescoes that he will ever be remembered. The very rapidity of fresco work, and its simplicity, and want of elaborate detail, were all factors in Luini's 84 BERNARDINO LUINI favour. His own quick, active brain needed rapid work to satisfy it. His desire for simple spontaneous beauty led him to attach the greatest importance to expression, and to neglect not only composition, but accessories and draperies. He was less happy with more pretentious treatment, and it may also be fairly argued that, being a deeply religious man, his happiest work was done in a church rather than in preparing an easel picture for a palace. His time of work was so short, and his labours so abundant, that the careful elaboration that painting in oil demanded was beyond his reach for sheer lack of time. Only once did he produce a really complete and elaborate panel picture, and beautiful though iheMadonna of the Rose Hedge is, yet it lacks, by reason of its very fine detail work, the minuteness of its execution, and its high surface, the charm of beauty that belongs to his fresco work. Exaggerated shadows, too smooth and solid quality, and a general studio light and atmosphere mark the work of the master in oil and tempera. All this is absent in fresco, which is much more spontaneous and open air in its effect. The 1530 lunette represents the Madonna with the Divine Child and St. John Baptist. Our Lady is in the midst, and with extended arms embraces both of the children, one of whom is on either side of her. The Divine Child, who is nude, is holding a lamb, and has one arm around its neck. He is endeavouring to mount upon its back, and is full of childish playfulness. On the opposite side is St. John, wearing a rough skin garment, and holding his long cross of wood. He is kneeling on one knee, and is bubbling over with amuse- WORK AT LUGANO AND MILAN 85 ment while he looks round to the spectator, and points with one hand to the Christ child. Our Lady sweetly smiles on them, and draws each child toward her. Her tender glance specially rests upon Christ, but her arms are all-embracing, and the downcast eyes and thoughtful meditative countenance is full of deep love and world-wide sympathy. Tradition states that the face of the Madorfna was taken from that of Luini's own sister. It is an ideal face, with pensive eyes, sensitive lips, not without sadness, but ready to sweeten into a smile, and an ample expanse of forehead, serene and calm. Although there are but the three figures and the lamb, yet there is no stiffness of outline. The Virgin is in the midst, the Child is standing and St. John kneeling, and the whole is contained within the easy curves of an arch. Above is the signature BERNARDINO LUINO ANNO MDXXX. Between 1530 and 1533 we know nothing of Luini or his work. In 1533 he was again at Lugano, receiving the completion of the small payment for his labour. The entry in the books of the convent can still be seen. It reads as follows : " De anno 1529 de mense Julii D Baptista de Somazzo numeravit M. Bernardino de Luyno pictori pro mercede sua passionis dipictae in praefata ecclesia Lire 15. " Item de mense Decembri datae sunt Lire 25. Die 18 Junii 1530 De Helias Brochi numeravit M. Bernardino de Luyno pictori Lire 84.4. Die 19 Junii 1530 datae M. Bernardino de Luyno pictori pro drapo alto Lire 704 86 BERNARDINO LUINI Item de anno 1533 a Domenico Andrea Pochobello numeratae M B de L pictori pro completa solutione opus (sic!} passionis Lire 50. Totale Lire 244 8 S im- periali." l The payment which, therefore, came to so meagre a sum, was spread over many years and handed out by the head of the monastery to the hard-working painter in small sums. From 1533 all is silence. Luini suddenly vanishes from our sight, and is gone. True, Salvatore, a Capuchin monk, stated that on a wall of the Capuchin convent of Vittore all' Olino, near Milan, was a picture, dated 1547, begun by Bernardino and finished by his son, Aurelio, but we know nothing of the picture, and have no definite tradition to support the statement. All our knowledge of Luini closes at present with the year 1533, although Orlandi, in his " Abecedario," says he survived till 1540. 1 "Iconografia Italiana degli uonimi e delle donne celebri Milan o," 1836, vol. i. CHAPTER VII SPECIAL PICTURES AND PORTRAITS IN this survey of Luini's work certain special pictures have been omitted, from the fact that they do not accord in some characteristic with any of the regular groups into which his works have been divided. The most noteworthy of these pictures is the great altar-piece which was originally in the church of St. Sisinnius at La Torre, in Mendrisio. The Prior Torriani, a descendant of the family who presented the picture to the church, states that the painting was at one time con- sidered in danger of getting spoiled, and, with the con- sent of various parishioners and the Bishop of Como, was sold by auction on January 29th, 1796, to M. Giulio Sacchi, of Varese, for 2,750 lire. Thence it passed into the possession of the Passelacqua family, who, later on, again sold it. It is evident, therefore, that down to 1796 this altar- piece was complete and in its original position. Its portions are now scattered. The centre part belongs to the Duke Scotti and to his son, the Prince de Molfetta, and is at the Palazzo Scotti, in Milan. The predella, which is in three compartments, belongs to Mr. R. H. Benson, and is at his house in London ; and the four side panels, representing four saints, were at one time in the possession of the late Mr. Ruston, and sold at his 88 BERNARDINO LUINI sale at Christie's, in May, 1898, to four different pur- chasers. The special interest of this altar-piece is in the predella, which represents a series of scenes of which no other pictorial representation is known. It is the history of three saints, Sisinnius, Martyrius, and Alexander. To these saints was dedicated the church of La Torre, and Luini was probably instructed to commemorate their story by his patrons, the Torriani di Mendrisio family, who commissioned the altar-piece. To the learning of Mr. G. McNeil Rushforth, of Oriel College, we owe the elucidation of the story of the saints. By dint of considerable research he found out from Latin records all the details as to the martyrdom of these three friends in the fourth century. They were sent out by Vigilius, Bishop of Trent, in 397, in order to found a Christian mission amongst some pagan tribes in the valley of the Arauni, now known as the Val di Non. Christianity was, in the fourth century, the religion of the monarch and of the government, but it had not ex- tended into many rural districts and had still to combat a vast amount of hostility on the part of the pagan tribes. Sisinnius, a deacon, and two friends, Martyrius and Alexander, who were in minor orders, were placed amongst a people devoted to a Celtic deity whose cult resembled that of Saturn. The people had a great festival of their local god, and endeavoured to persuade one of the new Christian converts to join the sacrifice. Sisinnius and his companions, who were present, " con- firmed the neophyte in his refusal." This started the attack upon the three missionaries, and Sisinnius, their SPECIAL PICTURES AND PORTRAITS 89 leader, was seriously wounded. The following day the rage of the people had increased in vehemence. " Sisinnius was killed, Martyrius, who tried to conceal himself, shared the same fate, and Alexander was tied to the two bodies and dragged to the temple of Saturn, where all three were consumed on a pile made of the timbers of their ruined sanctuary." These are the scenes represented in Mr. Benson's predella, as explained by Mr. Rushforth, and there is but little doubt that it is the same two saints, Sisinnius and Martyrius, who are represented in the Scotti centre-piece and in the surrounding panels. The lessons in the local breviaries for the 2Qth of May record the story of the martyrdom, and they were doubtless carefully studied by Luini. As Mr. Rushforth points out, the panels of the predella bear out all the facts of the story. The foreign origin of the three friends is indicated by their being represented as pilgrims, and Sisinnius, vested after the fashion of the Ambrosian rite, has the stole fastened outside the dal- matic. The dedication to San Sisinnio is not an unfrequent one in the region between the Po and the Alps, the festival on May 29th is common to the Milanese pro- vince, but this representation of the entire story by Luini is, as far as can at present be ascertained, quite unique. A very famous picture is the one styled Vanity and Modesty, which was for many years in the Sciarra Colonna Palace, at Rome, and was attributed to Leonardo. It is now the property of Baron Edmond de Rothschild, and is attributed by most European critics to Luini. Mrs. Jameson was the first to point out its true significance. It 9 o BERNARDINO LUINI clearly represents Mary Magdalene rebuked by her sister Martha for her vanity and luxury, and in every way bears out the details of the popular legend. " The attitude of the veiled figure," said Mrs. Jameson, " is distinctly that of remonstrance and rebuke, the other, decked and smiling, looks out of the picture, holding flowers in her hand, as yet unconvinced by her sister's arguments, and uncon- verted ; the vase of ointment stands near her." To quote again the same author. " Martha was always the model of virtue and propriety, a little too addicted, perhaps, to worldly cares ; Mary, on the contrary, abandoned herself to luxurious pleasures, and was notorious for her dissolute life." Martha frequently rebuked her, and at last was successful and brought her to the feet of Christ. The scene is vividly presented, and very typical of Luini. The large hands, the oval Leonardo faces, the loose hair, the embroidery on the robes, and, above all, the eyes, when carefully compared with Luini's types, present the most definite assurance that this superb picture is from the master's hand, and belongs to his Leonardo period, or possibly a little later, and is very characteristic of his pencil. We now come to the very few portraits that Luini painted. After the Casa Felucca days he never seems to have painted mythological or purely domestic scenes. His work was confined to sacred subjects, but it is evident that on two or three occasions he did, to a certain extent, vary his practice. At least three portraits by Luini are in existence. In each there is the same greyhound style of soft eyes, the same large fleshy hands, with long fingers, and some general characteristics as to dress, but they are clearly portraits, and individual in many respects. St. Petersburg. (From a private photo.) LA COLUMBIXA. SPECIAL PICTURES AND PORTRAITS 91 One belongs to Mr. R. H. Benson, and is at his gallery in London. It is a half-length life-size figure, facing the spectator ; the dress is dark gray, with white embroidered chemisette and yellow coif; in the lady's right hand is a pet marten, and with her left she is touching a necklet from which is suspended a jewelled cross. A green curtain is behind. Whom the portrait represents is quite unknown, but the pet marten is so curious a feature in it that its presence ought to afford the clue by which the fair original could be identified. The other picture is the well-known La Columbina, and is much more like Luini's usual work. The finest example of the picture is at the Hermitage, at St Petersburg, but another, almost equally good, is at Dor- chester House, and copies are at Stratton, Stafford House, and Rossie Priory. It has been suggested by Mr. Cook that all are derived from some original drawing of Leonardo, but none of the pictures can be assigned to Leonardo himself. The two at St. Petersburg and Dorchester House we distinctly assign to Luini. The face is thoroughly his, and resembles his Madonna faces, especially about the eyes. The posture of the hand holding so daintily the columbine is very characteristic, and Luini loved to express feeling, as is done in this case, by pose and gesture. The hands themselves and their wrists are very Luinesque, the part- ing of the hair, the dress, the falling of the draperies and the gathered-up flowers in the lap all bespeak the same hand, but the flowers and fern in the background appear to have been added by another man. One more portrait exists, but it is only a drawing very slightly tinted, and is in the Albertina at Vienna. It is not a sketch for either 92 BERNARDINO LUINI of the other pictures, although the necklet and the hand with a fan recall at once Mr. Benson's picture. There is the same Madonna-like calm, the same greyhound eyes, the same even arrangement of the hair, and the identical hands. It is unknown whom either of these portraits represent. Two ascriptions of portraits must yet be mentioned. It has been suggested that the figure of St. Scholastica in San Maurizio is that of Alessandra Bentivoglio, who had just taken the veil in the Church. Such use of the face of a young nun would be contrary to all monastic and artistic tradition, and, besides, the face Luini gives to St. Scholastica is not that of a young girl at all. Another writer states that Luini saw his old love from Casa Felucca when he was at Lugano. She is said to have become a nun, and that he painted her portrait in the Lugano crucifixion scene, and then retired to a religious house and died there. There is, however, no evidence whatever to support either of these statements, which are merely conjecture. In conclusion four drawings must not be overlooked. The studies of children in the Ambrosiana have already been mentioned. The drawing in black chalk at Venice of the Expulsion from Paradise is magnificent in its strength and ease. It is Leonardesque in period as the faces clearly reveal, and the hardness of its draperies proclaim its early date. The conception, however, is fine, and the grouping, although too even and straight, is very characteristic, as are also the very large feet. A delightful head of Biagi Arcimboldi is in the Malcolm collection, and a lovely St. Catharine reading in the Ambrosiana. The latter is also of the second period work. SPECIAL PICTURES AND PORTRAITS 93 Finally, what have we to say of Luini to sum up his work? He was a master of fresco work. It was the suitable medium in which to express his thoughts, the vision of his mind could easily and rapidly be placed upon the wall, and the very rapidity of the work and its sketch-like character were all in his favour. He was a shrewd and dexterous colourist, his frescoes are luminous and brilliant but never gaudy, his easel pictures rich, deep, and harmonious. In fresco work his scale of colouring is a low one, and his colours grey in their tone ; such tints as salmon, orange, pale brown, puce, and cold blue being his favourite ones. In his easel pictures a different idea prevailed, and his tints are velvety red, delicate roses and greens, and intense purples and browns ; but the result is always harmonious. In idea he had " an original and exquisite feeling," as Symonds says, " for loveliness of form, a poetic sentiment, and a love of the vivacity and joy of life, combined with a deep sense of its profounder side, its pathos, its sorrow and its suffering." His knowledge of landscape was but slight ; buildings are well drawn, mountains are well suggested, but trees are beyond him, and the sky, which curiously enough is never really blue in his pictures, with its clouds, baffles him altogether. He was neither so subtle nor so profound as Leonardo. He was not so archaic as are Borgognone and Foppa, nor so architectural as Bramantino, nor so luscious and voluptuous in style and colouring as Gaudenzio Ferrari. His composition is not nearly so original as is Sodoma's, nor so well balanced as is Bramantino's. He was persevering, hardworking, and simple in his 94 BERNARDINO LUINI efforts, and has left behind him a vast quantity of work, very much of which is of the first order of merit. He was not dramatic in his expression, but rather lyric, not inductive but deductive, not objective but subjective. His visions were within his breast, they inspired his art, and his pencil reflected his own inner consciousness. He was not one of the greatest masters, he was weak in composition, his frescoes are often too crowded. There is a poverty in his early efforts, a monotony and a same- ness of feature, the domestic element is uppermost, the heroic or epic almost absent, the idyllic in the greatest demand. Later on, with the same general characteristic, comes the deep and intense religious devotion, and it is that which is the keynote of his life. Symonds recog- nized his wonderful power to " create a mood." His pic- tures, like a note of music, draw a corresponding chord from the heart, and this chord is, at the will of the painter, bright with joy or tremulant with sorrow and grief. His friends were as Rio expressed it, those who prayed and those who wept, and it is to them that he still appeals so forcibly. The man's intense faith, his deep devotion, the truth of his religion, and his intimate knowledge of the mys- teries alike of joy and of bitter sorrow, are revealed by his pictures. His own tenderness of nature, the sweetness of his affection, his chivalry, thoughtfulness, serious disposition, and calm serene faith, all these are elements of his life taught by his pictures. Let Ruskin's strong words 1 conclude this attempt to portray the artist : 1 "Queen of the Air," 157. SPECIAL PICTURES AND PORTRAITS 95 " He laboured in constant and successful simplicity. He entirely united the religious temper, which was the spirit life of art, with the physical power which was its body life. He joins the purity and passion of Angelico to the strength of Veronese : the two elements, poised in perfect balance, are so calmed and restrained, that most of us lose the sense of both. The artist does not see the strength by reason of the chastened spirit in which it is used ; and the religious visionary does not recognize the passion by reason of the frank human truth with which it is rendered. He has left nothing behind him that is not lovely, and is perhaps the best central type of the highly trained Italian painter, hard-working, industrious, who laboured with his whole heart and soul." CATALOGUE OF THE WORKS OF BERNARDINO LUINI AND OF CERTAIN WORKS ATTRIBUTED TO THE ARTIST, ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THE GALLERIES IN WHICH THEY ARE CONTAINED. NOTE. Where numbers are given, thus [No. 6.], they are the numbers of the catalogue of the gallery. These cannot of course be guaran- teed^ as alterations are not unfrequently made in the arrangement of the pictures. All pictures attributed to the artist have been included, but those are denoted which the author cannot accept or has been unable to inspect. The thanks of the author are due to Mr. Murray and to Messrs. Longman for the kind permission to make extracts from their works. CATALOGUE OF WORKS A USTRIA-HUNGAR Y. BUDA-PESTH. HOLY FAMILY. Our Lady, seated, is holding the Divine Child on her knees. Near by stands St. Elizabeth, with St. John Baptist by her side. The Infant Saviour and St. John are stretching forward to one another. MADONNA AND CHILD. The Madonna is the centre one of three standing full-faced figures. On her right is St. Catharine bearing a palm, and with the emblem of her martyrdom, a wheel, embroidered in the borderof herrobeatthe bosom. On the left is St. Barbara bear- ing a book and having a tower embroidered in the border of robe similar to the wheel upon St. Catharine's robe. In her front, supported by His mother, is the Divine Child, clad only in a light drapery, reaching toward an open book, the pages of which he is touching. Upon the robe of the Madonna a later hand has painted VIRGINIS MATER, but the figure is clearly that of Our Lady, and is not St. Anna. THE ALBERTINA, VIENNA. A DRAWING OF CHRIST WITH THE DOCTORS, IN BLACK CHALK. [No. 75.] A DRAWING IN PENCIL AND COLOUR OF AN UNKNOWN LADY WITH A FAN. [No. 352.] There is also a drawing of a nude youth seated (4856), which the authorities of the gallery give to Luini, but it does not appear to me to possess any of his marked characteristics. ioo CATALOGUE OF WORKS CZERNIN GALLERY, VIENNA. A MADONNA AND CHILD. The original of the much re- painted one at St. Petersburg. The Infant Christ is standing on a pedestal, an open book being at His feet. He is clad in a light piece of drapery, and is supported by the Madonna, who is by His side. She holds out to Him a flower, which He turns to take. NATIONAL MUSEUM, VIENNA. ST. JEROME. A grey-headed man with one hand on a book he is holding, and the other on a rock. At the left is a crucifix and a skull bedecked with a cardinal's hat, and at the back is a landscape. At one time it belonged to the Crivelli family in Milan, and was bought, in 1846, from the Kaufmann Gallery in the same city. [No. 87.] This is attributed to Luini. THE DAUGHTER OF HERODIAS. A young, fair woman, bearing the head of the Baptist in a silver dish. The head of the executioner is to the left. In the collection of the Grand Duke William, and then ascribed to Leonardo. Morelli attributed this to Solario, but we consider it is the work of Luini. (Seepages 66-67.) BRITISH ISLES, THE NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON. CHRIST DISPUTING WITH THE DOCTORS, OR CHRIST AR- GUING WITH THE PHARISEES. On wood, 2 ft. 4 in. x 2 ft. 10 in. [No. 1 8.] Formerly in the Aldobrandini apartments in the Borghese Palace at Rome. It was imported into this country by Mr. Day in 1780, and was bequeathed to the National AUSTRIA-HUNGARYBRITISH ISLES roi Gallery by the Rev. W. Holwell Carr in 1831. There are several old copies of it, and it has been engraved by D. Cunego and W. Radcliffe. Our Lord (a very young man) stands in the midst, and is evidently drawing attention to some notable points in the argument by touching in succession the first and second fingers of His left hand by the first finger of the right hand. He is clothed in a loose robe, bordered at the neck with a band of jewelled embroidery. His face is oval, of very sweet expression, the hair long and curly. On either side are two male figures, four in all, of thoughtful but argumentative expression. All the figures are half-length, rather less than the natural size. SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM. Three frescoes sold in London by Messrs. Foster, at 54, Pall Mall, on June 8th, 1898, alleged to have formed part of the decoration of the oratory of St. Ambrose Church, Milan ; removed from Italy many years ago, and transferred to canvas on the demolition of the walls upon which they were painted. SAINTS. Two pieces : (i) 3 ft. x 8 ft. 7 in. j (2) 2 ft. n in. x 5 ft. 6 in. A number of half-length figures, probably witnessing the Ascension, each face deeply impressed with devotional senti- ment. THE ASCENSION. A lunette. 8 ft. 6 in. x 13 ft. 6 in. Whole figure of Christ, with His right hand elevated, and surrounded by a halo, with cherubs' heads. Angels with trumpets, and others in devotion, are on either side. CHRIST CHURCH, OXFORD. Richter says that there is in this collection a black and gypsum drawing attributed to Leonardo da Vinci that Morelli stated definitely was by Luini. 102 CATALOGUE OF WORKS DR. ABERCROMBIE, 23, UPPER WIMPOLE STREET. Five frescoes from the series sold at Foster's. See South Kensington Museum, p. 101. THE LAST SUPPER. 5 ft. 4 in. x 7 ft. 4 in. The Saviour and the Twelve Apostles are grouped around a circular table covered with a white cloth, on which are the paschal lamb, bread, glasses with wine, etc. THE VIRGIN ENTHRONED. A lunette. 8 ft. 4 in. x 12 ft. 4 in. The Virgin is seated on a throne in a temple. The Saviour and saints are adoring. THE HALL OF CAIAPHAS AND CHRIST MOCKED. A lunette in two panels, divided by a Corinthian column. THE CEILING. The centre : the Lamb surrounded by eight cherubs' heads, on gold background, a circle 6 ft. in diameter. Two sides, each with two angels and cherubs, 6 ft. 3 in. high. Two ends, with winged beasts and an angel, 7 ft. high. ROMAN SOLDIERS. A fragment, 3 ft. 5 in. x 4 ft. 6 in. R. H. BENSON, ESQ., 16, SOUTH STREET, PARK LANE. THE HISTORY OF THREE MARTYRS : SS. SISINNIUS, MARTYRIUS, AND ALEXANDER, in five scenes upon three panels. No. i, panel, 12 in. x 18 in. The three friends setting forth as pilgrims ; in the back- ground they are seen crossing the river in a ferry-boat ; distant view of the gates of a city. No. 2, panel, iz\ in. x 38^ in. This picture is divided into three compartments. On the BRITISH ISLES 103 left the friends are receiving their investiture before the bishop, Vigilius, in the presence of a lady and others, Sisinnius as deacon, the other two,minor orders,afterwhich they wentforth to preach the Gospel in the Val di Non, near Trent. In the centre they are rebuking a sacrifice to the local deity, whose cult resembled that of Saturn ; priests and soldiers murmur- ing. On the right the two monks are being stabbed by soldiers in a wood, the lady in the background. No. 3, panel, 12 in. x 18 in. The last scene represents the three wounded bodies being dragged with ropes by soldiers, two being dead, the deacon still praying ; their church in the background, with the wood of which Sisinnius was afterwards burned. Exhibited at the New Gallery, 1894. [No. 188.] The predella portions of the Torriani da Mendrisio altar-piece, of which the central portion belongs to Duke Scotti, of Milan (q. v.), and the four small figures completing it were sold at Christie's, May 2ist, 1898. (Vide Ruston Collection.) Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1898. [Nos. 31-33 and illustrations.] PORTRAIT OF A LADY. Panel, 2 ft. 5 in. x i ft. 9 in. Exhibited at New Gallery, 1894. [No. 202.] Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1898. [No. 34.] Half-length life-size figure, facing ; dark grey dress, em- broidered chemisette and yellow coif; in right hand a pet marten, the left touching a necklet, to which is suspended a jewelled cross ; green curtain behind. THE NATIVITY. Panel, 5 ft. 9 in. x 3 ft. 1 1 in. Exhibited at New Gallery, 1894. [No. 212.] The Infant Child lies in a manger in a stable, between the Virgin and St. Joseph. On the left stands a shepherd with a lamb in his arms. Through a window above is seen an angel appearing to the shepherds. 104 CATALOGUE OF WORKS THE EARL BROWNLOW, ASHRIDGE. VIRGIN AND CHILD WITH ST. JOSEPH AND ST. JOHN BAP- TIST, AND A KNEELING DONOR. All life-size figures. Fresco transferred to canvas, and said to be inscribed : AD MXXVX (?) 7 MAG FRANC DE QUADR NEPOTIS SOSPITAE DEO D. This picture we have not seen. SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL, GARSCUBE, N.B. NATIVITY. This picture we have not seen. THE COUNTESS OF CARYSFORT, ELTON HALL, PETERBOROUGH. A BOY WITH A TOY. Panel, i ft. 3 in. x i ft. i in. From the Arundel Collection. Was inherited by Lady Betty Germaine, and left in her will to Sir William Hamilton. Purchased by Mr. Beckford, of Fonthill. Purchased by Mr. Farquhar, and re-purchased by Mr. Beckford. Came into the Hamilton Palace Collection, and sold in 1882. Purchased by Lady Carysfort, 1889. Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1898. [No. 25 and illustration.] Half-length nude figure, less than life-size, of a boy turned to the left, looking full face at the spectator. He holds in both hands two tablets of wood loosely held together by red straps, under which is (apparently) a straw. A very lovely picture. MISSES LOUISA AND LUCY COHEN, 14, ADELAIDE CRESCENT, BRIGHTON. HEAD OF CHRIST. Panel, 2 ft. 7 in. x i ft. 10 in. At- tributed by the owners to Luini. New Gallery, 1894. [No. 170.] Half-length figure of Christ facing, the first finger of the BRITISH ISLES 105 right hand touching the second finger of the left ; pink dress, with jewelled collar ; crossed stole over His shoulders. This picture belonged for generations to the Strozzi family at Ferrara, and is undoubtedly the work of Luini. We believe it is a study for the picture in the National Gallery. SIR FRANCIS COOK, DOUGHTY HOUSE, RICHMOND. MADONNA WITH ST. GEORGE. A fine original picture. W. E. S. ERLE DRAX, ESQ. ST. MARY MAGDALENE. Panel, 2 ft. 2 in. x i ft. 8 in. At- tributed by the owner to Luini. New Gallery, 1894. [No. 179.] From the Northwich Collection. Half-length life-size figure to the left, head facing ; holding cup of ointment. SIR WILLIAM FARRER, 18, UPPER BROOK STREET, W. THREE ANGELS. Panel, i ft. 1 1 in. x 2 ft. 5 in. On the back of the panel is branded " Ducale Pinacoteca Litta Visconti Arese in Milano." Exhibited at the New Gallery, 1893. [No. 192.] Exhibited at the Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1898. [No. 26.] A fine picture. Small full-length figures, facing, of three child angels standing on clouds, looking downwards in attitudes of adora- tion. Probably originally the lunette of a larger picture. W. H. GRENFELL, ESQ., TAPLOW COURT, MAIDENHEAD. HOLY FAMILY. Painted on silk, having been used as a banner, now mounted on a panel, 2 ft. 2 in. x 2 ft. Ex- hibited at Burlington House, 1878. [No. 215.] The Virgin seated, with the Divine Child standing on her lap. St. John is standing by, in the act of adoration. On either side are St. Joseph and St. Elizabeth. 106 CATALOGUE OF WORKS HON. MRS. BAILLIE HAMILTON, LANGTON, DUNSE. THE ANNUNCIATION. Panel, each 3 ft. 2 in. x 2 ft. 6 in. Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1898. [No. 70.] In the left panel is seen the Virgin, full face, to the knees, her right hand on her breast, her left raised ; on the right a reading desk and open book, on the left other books and a curtain. In the right panel is seen the Archangel Gabriel in profile, right hand extended, left hand holding a crown, below lilies. Both nearly life-size figures. CAPTAIN HOLFORD, DORCHESTER HOUSE, W. LA COLUMBINA. Panel, 2 ft. 4 in. x 2 ft. After the picture in the Hermitage at St. Petersburg. Other examples are at Stratton, at Stafford House, and at Rossie Priory, N.B. Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1898. [No. 71.] Half figure of a girl in a figured loose white dress, fastened in front with a brooch, and blue cloak over the left shoulder, which is bare. She holds some jasmine blossom in her right hand on her lap, and some columbine in her left. Dark foliage background. COLONEL A. CORNWALL LEGH, HIGH LEGH HALL, KNUTSFORD. THE MARRIAGE OF ST. CATHARINE. Panel, i ft. 1 1 in. x i ft. 8 in. Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1898. [No. 30.] The Virgin stands facing the spectator, and holds the Infant Saviour, who is standing upon a parapet in the act of placing the ring upon St. Catharine's finger. The saint is standing on the left in profile, her left hand resting on the wheel. An open book lies before her. Green curtains on either side, and a dark background. SIR H. NAYLOR-LEYLAND, M.P., THE LATE, HYDE PARK HOUSE, W. MADONNA AND CHILD AND SAINTS. Dated 1526. A very fine original picture. BRITISH ISLES 107 THE MARQUIS OF LANSDOWNE, K.G., LANSDOWNE HOUSE, W. PORTRAIT OF A LADY HOLDING A VASE. Panel, i ft. 10 in. x i ft. 6 in. Exhibited at Burlington House, 1876. Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1898. [No. 35.] This was attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, but is evidently the work of Luini. The same face appears in No. 1355 in the Louvre, in the picture of Salome receiving the head of St. John the Baptist. KENNETH MUIR MACKENZIE, ESQ., Q.C., 20, QUEEN ANNE'S GATE, S.W. VIRGIN AND CHILD. Panel, i ft. n in. x i ft. 8 in. Ex- hibited at Burlington House, 1884. [No. 265.] A three-quarter length figure of the Virgin, bending over the Divine Child Who is seated on her lap. Background of rock scenery with flowers. We are not disposed to accept this as Luini's work. LUDWIG MOND, ESQ., AVENUE ROAD, REGENT'S PARK. VIRGIN AND CHILD AND ST. JOHN. Panel, 2 ft. 10 in. x 2 ft. 2 in. Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1898. [No. 27.] The Virgin is seated, with her right arm round the Infant Saviour, who stands at her knee blessing the little St. John, who is kneeling in an attitude of adoration. Landscape in right-hand top corner, with distant blue hills, trees, a river, and a bridge. The type of the Virgin comes from Borgognone. ST. CATHARINE OF ALEXANDRIA AND ANGELS. Panel, 2 ft. 3 in. x 2 ft. i in. Closely resembling the picture in the Hermitage Gallery, at St. Petersburg, formerly con- sidered to be by Leonardo da Vinci. Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1898. [No. 29.] Half-length figure of the saint, facing the spectator, looking down at a book which she holds in her hands. An angel is on either side of her, one bearing a palm and the other resting its hand on her wheel ; dark background. io8 CATALOGUE OF WORKS LUDWIG MOND, ESQ., AVENUE ROAD, REGENT'S PARK. A RECUMBENT VENUS. This picture, originally in Lord Dudley's collection, Morelli says, is by Luini. THE EARL OF NORTHBROOK, STRATTON PARK, HANTS. MADONNA. This picture we have not seen. RUSTON COLLECTION. (Sold in 1898, see below.) ST. ANNE. Panel, 2 ft. i in. x i ft. i in. Small full-length figure of the saint, facing, looking to the right, holding a book in her left hand, her right hand raised. Sold at Christie's, May 2ist, 1898, to S. T. Gooden, 57, Pall Mall. ST. SISINNIUS. Panel, 2 ft. i in. x i ft. i in. Small full-length figure of the saint, standing facing head to the right, in red and green deacon's dress, holding palm in right hand and book in left. Sold at Christie's, May 2ist, 1898, to C. F. Murray, 17, Shaftesbury Road, Hammersmith. ST. ALEXANDER. Panel, 2 ft. i in. x i ft. i in. Small full-length figure of the saint, standing facing in green dress and red cloak, banner with red cross in right hand, and palm in left. Sold at Christie's, May 2ist, 1898, to Colnaghi, 13, Pall Mall East. ST. CATHARINE OF ALEXANDRIA. Panel, 2 ft. i in. x i ft. i in. Small full-length figure of the saint, facing, looking to the left, in green dress and red cloak, palm branch and book in right hand, her left resting on wheel. Sold at Christie's, May 2ist, 1898, to Agnews. All four of these pictures were executed by order of the Torriani de Mendrisio family for an altar-piece, and came from the Collection of Count Passalacqua of Milan. They were exhibited at the Italian Exhibition in 1893, but the one of St. Alexander was inaccurately styled St. George. BRITISH ISLES DENMARK 109 AN UNKNOWN PURCHASER. The final one of the series of frescoes sold at Fosters. See p. 101. THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN. A lunette. 7 ft. 2 in. x ii ft. 10 in. Christ kneeling is about to receive the cup from an angel descending from heaven ; in the distance soldiers led by Judas are approaching. THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. VIRGIN AND CHILD. Panel, 2 ft. 4 in. x i ft. 7 in. At- tributed by the owner to Luini. New Gallery, 1894. [No. 178.] Half-length figure of the Virgin to the left, holding the Infant Child, who stands on a parapet ; they hold together, in their right hands, a flower. HENRY WILLETT, ESQ., ARNOLD HOUSE, BRIGHTON. LARGE CRAYON DRAWING of a half-length figure, cross behind. 2 ft. i in. x i ft. 6 in. Exhibited at the New Gallery, 1893. [No. 1545-] LORD WINDSOR, ST. FAGAN'S CASTLE, CARDIFF. THE NATIVITY. Panel, 4 ft. 2 in. x 3 ft. 6 in. Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1898. [No. 28.] The Virgin kneels on the right, St. Joseph on the left. Behind, on the right, the stable ; on the left, a landscape, with the vision of the shepherds, two of whom are seen approaching. Figures under life-size. A very fine picture. DENMARK. COPENHAGEN. ST. CATHARINE. [No. 199.] Attributed to Luini. no CATALOGUE OF WORKS FRANCE. THE LOUVRE, PARIS. THE HOLY FAMILY. Panel, half life-size, i ft. 8 in. x i ft. 6 in. [No. 1353.] The Divine Child is standing, and has His arm around the neck of the Virgin. The Madonna is holding a book, and behind her, to the right, is St. Joseph. THE INFANT JESUS SLEEPING. Panel, life-size. 3 ft. i in. X 2 ft. 5 in. [No. 1354-] Obtained by Louis XIV. The Madonna holds in her arms the sleeping Infant. On the left St. John is placing a drapery over the limbs of the Divine Child. In the back- ground are two angels. SALOME RECEIVING THE HEAD OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. 2 ft. x i ft. 9 in. [No. 1355.] Purchased by Louis XIV. Salome is turning away from the charger over which the saint's head is held by the hand of a person unseen, but the expression of her mouth and eyes do not convey any sense of horror or of sorrow. VULCAN'S FORGE. Fresco, 5 ft. 9 in. x 6 ft. 6 in. [No. 1356.] from La Pelucca, near Monza. Obtained by Napoleon III. Vulcan is forging a wing for Cupid, whom Venus bears in her arms. Near by stands Mars, at the entrance to the cave, with his back to the light. THE NATIVITY. Fresco, 7 ft. 4 in. x 5 ft. 6 in., life-size. [No. 1359.] The Madonna and St. Joseph are kneeling before the Infant Christ, Who is on the ground in a stable attended by two angels. Two other angels are seen above. In the distance are shepherds. Obtained by Napoleon III. from the Collection in Milan of the Duke Antonio Litta Visconti Arese. FRANCE in THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI. Litta Collection (see No. 234). Fresco, 7 ft. 4 in. x 5 ft. 6 in. [No. 1360.] The Madonna is seated at the entrance to the stable, and holds the Infant Christ on her knees. Behind her stands St. Joseph. On the left are the three kings whose servants are seen in the distance. The kings are offering their gifts, some of which are already laid at the feet of the Madonna. THE ANNUNCIATION. Litta Collection (see No. 234). Fresco, life-size, 5 ft. 8 in. x 5 ft. 4 in. [No. 1363.] The Virgin and the angel who bears the message stand opposite each other, and between them is a vase with lilies. Probably a school picture. HEAD OF A YOUNG GIRL. Fresco obtained in 1878. 10 in. X 8 in. [No. 1362.] " A charming little fragment from a fresco. The forefinger placed on her lips would seem to justify the impression that she is intended to personify Silence." EASTLAKE. THE CHRIST. Litta Collection (see No. 234). Fresco, life- size, 4 ft. 8 in. x 3 ft. 8 in. [No. 1361.] Our Lord is standing clothed in a robe with a band of embroidery around the neck, and similar work on the sleeves ; over His left shoulder is thrown a cloak which also has a band of embroidery upon it. His right hand is raised in benediction ; in His left He holds a large crystal orb. There is a cross of rays behind His head ; His hair is long and dark, and flows on to His shoulders. Beneath are the words POSCE NE DUBITA QUOD. QUODCtf PATRI IN NOMINE M PETIERIS FIET TIBI. A CHILD SEATED, WITH HEAD TO THE RIGHT. Fresco, arch shaped, life-size, i ft. 7 in. x 2 ft. 3 in. [No. 1357.] From La Felucca. A CHILD KNEELING. Fresco, arch shaped, life-size, i ft. 8 in. x 2 ft. [No. 1358.] From La Felucca. ii2 CATALOGUE OF WORKS BARON EDMOND DE ROTHSCHILD, 41, FAUBOURG ST. HONORED PARIS. MARTHA AND MARY MAGDALENE. Two female figures, Martha being garbed in a religious habit, and beckoning with one hand to her companion, upon whose arm she rests her other hand, drawing her towards her. Mary is very richly dressed in silk and fine muslin with bands of costly embroidery on her robes. Her hair is cleverly arranged, and has pearl and gold ornaments upon it. She holds a sprig of jasmine, and turns toward the spectator, loth to relinquish her pleasures, but thoughtful as to their ultimate success. A pot of ointment stands by her side. This picture was originally in the Sciarra Colonna Palace in Rome, where it was seen by Morelli, and pronounced by him to be Luini's work rather than that of Leonardo. He put it to Luini's "second manner (maniera grigia], when, under the influence of Leonardo, he was striving after more plastic modelling, especially in his treatment of heads." MORELLI, i. 169, 170. BARON ALPHONSE DE ROTHSCHILD, PARIS. MADONNA AND DIVINE CHILD. The Madonna holds the Infant Who bends forward to embrace the little St. John, behind whom is St. Elizabeth. This picture was originally in the Sciarra Colonna Palace in Rome, and was at one time in the collection of Cardinal Fesch. It was bought by Baron James de Rothschild, and from him descended to Baron Alphonse. Morelli speaks of this picture as finely conceived. It has, he says, however, been repainted in parts. MONSIEUR DE REIZEL, PARIS. AN INFANT CHRIST. Described by Mrs. Jameson, and not seen by us. The Child is seated alone in a cave, having an apple under his foot, from which a piece has been bitten. A dead serpent is by His side, and with one hand He is pointing to the cross of wood that stands near. FRANCE GERMAN Y 1 1 3 SIGNOR E. CERNUSCHI, AVENUE VELASQUEZ, PARIS. Several fragments of fresco from Casa Felucca, near Monza, completing the series of which the remaining pieces are in the Louvre, the Brera, Milan, and at Palazzo Reale, Milan. DIANA ON HER KNEES WITH HER Bow AT HER FEET; AROUND HER OTHER WOMEN WITH BOWS. FIGURE OF A MAN WALKING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT. FIGURE OF A MAN WHO is DIGGING A DITCH NEAR A TREE ; AROUND HIM ARE WOMEN REMOVING THE EARTH. FIGURE OF A MAN HOLDING A ROPE AND WALKING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT. FIGURE OF A WHITE UNICORN KNEELING ON ITS FORE- LEGS. FIGURE OF A WOMAN WITH HER ARMS EXTENDED. REPRESENTATION OF A WOLF HUNT. A LANDSCAPE : CATTLE ATTACKED BY WOLVES, AND WOMEN RUNNING TO HELP DRIVE AWAY THE WlLD BEASTS. GERMANY, NATIONAL MUSEUM, BERLIN. MADONNA AND CHILD. [No. 217.] The Madonna holds the Divine Child, clad only in a very thin drapery, on her knees, supporting Him with one hand. He is offering to her a large apple. In her left hand she has an open book. Her face is partially veiled. OLD PINAKOTHEK, MUNICH. ST. CATHARINE. In a robe of brown, with a jewelled border and green sleeves, with a palm branch in her right hand, pointing upwards with the forefinger of the left. On the right, below, the wheel of martyrdom. Background, a I ii 4 CATALOGUE OF WORKS OLD PINAKOTHEK, MUNICH. landscape. Acquired by King Maximilian I. from the collection of Giovanni Felice Inghirami in Volterra. (Hall viii.) Panel, half-figure, full face. 2 ft. 2 in. x i ft. 8 in. [No. 1045.] This picture, doubtfully assigned to Luini in Dr. Marggraff's catalogue, but definitely attributed in the present catalogue, is said by Morelli to be certainly by Andrea Solario, and in this attribution he agrees with Messrs. Crowe and Caval- caselle. Morelli especially notes the red and violet tones of the mantle and robe as characteristic of Solario, and also the landscape and the hand, he says, is quite unlike that distinctive of Luini. Morelli (Ffoulkes' translation), ii. 90. We agree with Morelli, and cannot accept the picture as Luini's work. ITALY. BAVENO. Mrs. Charles Henfrey, Chalet des Rosiers, possesses a Holy Family (Our Lord, the Madonna, and St. John), attri- buted to Luini, but we have not been able to inspect it. MORELLI COLLECTION, BERGAMO. MADONNA AND CHILD WITH ST. JOHN BAPTIST. [No. 7.] The Madonna, holding the Divine Child, is also stretching her arm around St. John Baptist, who is embracing the Child. The two children are reaching out toward one another. In the background is a small cottage and two figures, and in the extreme distance a mountain, castle crowned. LOCHIS COLLECTION, BERGAMO. THE NATIVITY. [No. 130.] A richly coloured well-composed picture. GERMANY ITALY 115 CERTOSA DI PAVIA. (!N THE LAVACRO.) MADONNA AND CHILD. Fresco. The Madonna is seated in the centre of the picture beneath a wall covered with foliage. The Divine Child is seated on her knee and supported by one arm, and is stretching forward toward a plant at His side, from which He is endeavouring to pluck a flower. The Madonna in her left hand is holding a clasped volume, which rests against her knee. In the back- ground is a rivulet, and also a hill bearing upon its summit a castle or tower. ST. SEBASTIAN AND ST. CHRISTOPHER. In the vestibule. Much damaged. Fresco. THE CATHEDRAL, COMO. THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI. Altar of St. Abbondio, third Bishop of Como. THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS AND ANGELS. Altar of St. Joseph. Our Lady bears the Divine Child in her arms. On the right is St. Joseph keeping back the cattle. Behind the Virgin stands St. Anna, and near her are three shepherds, one of whom is bearing a lamb. In the distance is depicted the appearance of the angels to the shepherds with their sheep, and two more angels on their way to the stable. Above is a choir of angels and cherubs singing from a long scroll which they bear in their hands. MADONNA WITH SAINTS AND ANGELS AND A PREDELLA, IN THE CENTRE OF WHICH is A BEAUTIFUL FIGURE OF ST. JOHN BAPTIST. Altar of St. Jerome. There are also pictures of ST. SEBASTIAN and ST. CHRIST- OPHER on the right of the church, near to the tomb of Bishop Gallio. n6 CATALOGUE OF WORKS THE UFFIZI PALACE, FLORENCE. BEHEADING OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. [No. 1135.] Tribuna. HEAD OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST ON A DISH. [No. 1132.] Tribuna. Kugler attributed this picture to Luini ; previously, for many years, it was labelled Leonardo da Vinci. Of this picture Grant Allen says: "The princess's face is fine and characteristic, but the work as a whole does not adequately represent Luini at his best. It is cold and laboured." Morelli says it is much restored. The princess is turning aside toward an old woman at her side, while the executioner holds the head over a splendid gold chalice-like cup. Her expression is a very sweet one, but quite out of keeping with any idea either of sorrow, sympathy, or fear. HOLY FAMILY. On panel. [No. 204.] Room XIII. The Madonna is seated in the centre with the Divine Child on her knee. On one side is St. Anna, and on the other another Saint ; above are two angels bearing a crown, and in the background is a castellated building and a staircase and windows. (See Chapter II.) THE PITTI PALACE, FLORENCE. MAGDALENE. On panel. [No. 97.] Sala di Giove. ST. CATHARINE. On panel. [No. 381.] Sala di Prometo. PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN. On panel. [No. 351.] Sala di Prometo. There is also a drawing washed with water-colour. De- partment of Engravings, No. 1940. ITALY 117 LEGNANO. A very large altar-piece in seven divisions, pronounced by Morelli to be Luini's finest work. It was impossible to see what were the subjects of each division when we inspected it, on account of the absence of light ; and permission to photograph has been absolutely refused to our agent, Luigi Dubray, of Milan. We hope in a later edition of this book to give an illustration and description of this altar-piece. CHURCH OF ST. PETER, LUINO. On a wall some eleven feet long, on the right of the choir, is a fresco, THE WORSHIP OF THE MAGI. (See Chapter I.) Behind the altar, ST. PETER WITH THE KEYS. BRERA GALLERY, MILAN. Two JESTERS, which originally formed part of the Fresco No. 5. Fresco. [No. 2.] From Sta. Maria della Pace, Milan. THE VIRGIN WITH THE CHILD SEATED ON HER KNEES, TURNING TOWARD ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, WHO IS BRINGING A LAMB. Fresco, 5 ft. 6 in. x 3 ft. 9 in. [No. 3.] From the Certosa of San Michele alia Chiusa, Milan. THE MADONNA AND ST. JOSEPH RETURNING FROM THEIR ESPOUSALS. Fresco, 4 ft. 10 in. x i ft. 7 in. [No. 5.] From Sta. Maria della Pace, Milan. " Joseph and Mary are hand in hand ; he just touches her fingers with an air of tender veneration ; she looks down, serenely modest, as they go on their way to their humble home." MRS. JAMESON. A YOUNG FAIR-HAIRED CHILD CROWNED WITH LAUREL, AND DRESSED IN A PUCE-COLOURED TUNIC, SEATED ON A WHITE HORSE, WHICH is CANTERING ALONG A GARDEN AT FULL SPEED. Fresco, 5 ft. 5 in. x 4 ft. 4 in. [No. 10.] From La Pelucca, Monza. u8 CATALOGUE OF WORKS BRERA GALLERY, MILAN. THREE GIRLS PLAYING AT THE OLD ITALIAN GAME OF " IL GUANCIALINO D'ORO " (OR FORFEITS). Fresco, 4 ft. 6 in. X 3 ft. 2 in. [No. 1 1.] From La Felucca, Monza. Colours in draperies are subdued crimson, orange, yellow, and puce. The white undergarments are shaded with blue. STUDY OF A YOUNG WOMAN STANDING AT A DOOR. Fresco, 3 ft. 7 in. x 2 ft. 6 in. [No. 13.] From the Convent of the Observants, called Delia Pace, Milan. A FLYING ANGEL WITH FAIR HAIR AND ROSE-COLOURED WINGS, CLOTHED IN YELLOW DRAPERY SHADED WITH CRIMSON. Fragment of fresco, i ft. 5 in. x i ft. 4 in. [No. 14.] From Sta. Maria della Pace, Milan. Eastlake first noticed the shadow of the angel's hand on the architrave of the door as an exception to the usual flat- ness of treatment in all these frescoes. THE REDEEMER, A HALF-LENGTH FIGURE WITH AUBURN HAIR, AND IN A PUCE-COLOURED ROBE. Somewhat coarse in features. Fresco, 3 ft. i in. x 2 ft. 2 in. [No. 17.] From the Augustine Church of Sta. Marta, Milan. HEAD OF A YOUNG WOMAN TO THE RIGHT. Fragment of fresco, i ft. 5 in. x i ft. 2 in. [No. 18.] From La Felucca, Monza. ST. JOSEPH CHOSEN AS THE SPOUSE OF THE VIRGIN MARY. Fresco, 10 ft. 8 in. x 5 ft. 9 in. [No. 19.] From Sta. Maria della Face, Milan. This is a very pleasing picture. There is religious feeling in it, good drawing, and charming colour. St. Joseph is kneeling, and a rejected suitor near him breaks his rod over his knee. Above, under an arched gallery, are represented St. Joseph and the Virgin kneeling. The picture is some- what crowded, but well composed and arranged nevertheless. ST. URSULA. Half-length figure. Fresco, 2 ft. 8 in. x 3 ft. 2 in. [No. 21.] From the Old Monastery, Milan. ITALY 119 THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD. Fresco, 5 ft. 4 in. x 5 ft. 8 in. [No. 24.] From the Old Monastery ', Milan. Eastlake specially remarked that the figure of Christ robed in white and raising His hand as in the act of benediction is relieved against a vesica shaped glory of a yellow colour, covered with radiating lines of a warmer tint, so cleverly painted as to have absolutely the effect and glitter of gold, though no gold is actually used. This treatment is a marked characteristic of Luini's first period. Two ANGELS PLAYING THE TIMBREL. Fresco, i ft. 8 in. x 5 ft. 8 in. [No. 26.] From Sta. Maria della Pace, Milan. THE METAMORPHOSIS OF DAPHNE. Fresco, 5 ft. 5 in. x 5 ft. [No. 39.] From La Felucca, Monza. Daphne is seen to the left, nude, her lower limbs rapidly becoming part of a laurel tree. Near by the river god stands in the water. Apollo, represented as a fair youth, sits on a bank looking at Daphne. The landscape has trees and rocks cleverly suggested. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS IN MONASTIC HABIT. Fresco, 3 ft. 4 in. x i ft. 10 in. [No. 40.] From the Old Monastery, Milan. THE ANGEL ANNOUNCING TO ST. ANNA HER CONCEP- TION. Fresco, 5 ft. 6 in. X4 ft. [No. 41.] From the Old Monastery, Milan. The saint is kneeling at a fald stool, and wears a red robe. The angel above is in orange, shaded with red. St. Joachim is also seen receiving his message from another angel on a distant hill. I doubt very much whether this is from Luini's hand at all. THE MADONNA VISITING ST. ELIZABETH. Fresco, 2 ft. 4 in. x 3 ft. 8 in. [No. 42.] From Sta. Maria della Pace, Milan. A beautiful fragment. Notice especially one angel behind St. Elizabeth, and also the clever treatment of the draperies. 120 CATALOGUE OF WORKS BRERA GALLERY, MILAN. THE PRESENTATION OF THE VIRGIN IN THE TEMPLE. Fresco, 5 ft. i in. x 3 ft. 7 in. [No. 43.] From Sta. Maria delta Pace, Milan. This picture has been badly restored. HABAKKUK AWAKENED BY AN ANGEL. Fresco, 3 ft. 8 in. x 4 ft. ii in. [No. 44.] From the Old Monastery, Milan. A LITTLE ANGEL IN ADORATION. Fresco, i ft. 6 in. x i ft. [No. 45.] From the Old Monastery, Milan. HEAD OF A MAN SEEN IN PROFILE. Fresco, circular, i ft. diameter. [No. 46.] THE VIRGIN ON A THRONE WITH SAINTS. Fresco, 8 ft. 6 in. x 5 ft. 9 in. [No. 47.] From Sta. Maria di Brera, Milan. This remarkable picture bears the name of the painter and the date upon it : s BERNARDINVS LOVINV. P. MDXXI. This is a dignified composition. The Virgin is on a throne, and has the Christ on her knees. On one side is St. Anthony holding a crosier, on the other St. Barbara with a chalice. St. Anthony has also a clasped book in his hand, and St. Barbara bears a palm. At the foot of the throne is a child angel playing upon a guitar. The Virgin and Saints have circular radiating halos, and a cross of rays is behind the head of the Child. GOD THE FATHER. Half-length figure. Fresco, triangular form, i ft. 9 in. x 5 ft. i in. [No. 48.] From Sta. Maria di Brera, Milan. A LITTLE ANGEL IN ADORATION. Fresco, i ft. 6 in. x i ft. [No. 49.] HEAD OF A MAN SEEN IN PROFILE. Companion to No. 46. Fresco, circular, i ft. diameter. [No. 50.] ITALY 121 THE BIRTH OF THE MADONNA. Fresco, 3 ft. 10 in. x 3 ft. 8 in. [No. 51.] From Sta. Maria della Pace, Milan. The mother of the Virgin is in bed, but sitting up, her hands clasped in prayer. An attendant is bringing in water and pouring it from a ewer into a dish. Near by, a black servant is coming into the room with a tray of food. In the foreground are two women bathing the Child. THE BODY OF SAINT CATHARINE BORNE ACROSS THE RED SEA TO ITS SEPULCHRE ON MOUNT SINAI BY THREE FLYING ANGELS. Fresco, 4 ft. x 7 ft. 6 in. [No. 52.] from La Felucca, Monza. This is perhaps the best known of all Luini's works, and one of the most beautiful. On the sepulchre are the letters C. V. S. X. (Catarina Virgo Sponsa Christi). The central angel has fair hair, the others auburn, bound in each case with golden fillets. Gold is also introduced in the nimbuses and robe borders. Above this fresco was originally the one of God the Eternal Father, now preserved in the Palazzo Reale. MEETING OF ST. ANNA WITH ST. JOACHIM. Fresco, 5 ft. 6 in. x 3 ft. 10 in. [No. 53.] From Sta. Maria della Pace, Milan. The features of St. Anna are life-like, but utterly devoid of sentiment, while the head of St. Joachim, whose white locks are painted with a cold conventional touch, is wholly un- interesting. AN ANGEL WITH AN INCENSE BOAT. Fresco, 4 ft. 3 in. x i ft. 7 in. [No. 54.] From the Old Monastery, Milan. SAINT MARCELLA. Fresco, 7 ft. 6 in. x i ft. 7 in. [No. 55.] From the Augustine Church of Sta. Marta, Milan. This fresco is one of four numbered 55, 58, 62 and 65. The figures are painted to imitate marble statues, and stand in niches of coloured marble. A SACRIFICE TO THE GOD PAN. Fresco, 5 ft. 1 1 in. x 4 ft. 10 in. [No. 57.] From La Pelucca, Monza. "A male and female faun stand on each side of a pagan 122 CATALOGUE OF WORKS BRERA GALLERY, MILAN. altar offering portions of a goat on a wood fire to the god whose figure is seen on a tall column behind." This is a companion picture to the one of Vulcan at his forge in the Palazzo Reale. SAINT LAZARUS (see No. 55). Fresco, 7 ft. 6 in. x i ft. 7 in. [No. 58.] From Sta. Maria di Brera, Milan. SAINT MARY MAGDALENE (see No. 55). Fresco, 6 ft. 6 in. x 3 ft. [No. 62.] From the Augustine Church of Sta. Marta, Milan. THE EDUCATION OF THE MADONNA. Fresco, 3 ft. ^ in. x 2 ft. 2 in. [No. 63.] From Sta. Maria della Pace, Milan. SAINT MARTHA (see No. 55). Fresco, 6 ft. 3 in. x 2 ft. n in. [No. 65.] From the Augustine Church of Sta. Marta, Milan. AN ANGEL WITH A CENSER. Fresco, 4 ft. 3 in. x i ft. 7 in. [No. 68.] From the Old Monastery, Milan. Very sketchy in treatment. THE MADONNA PRESENTED TO THE HIGH PRIEST. Fresco, 5 ft. 4 in. x 3 ft. 10 in. [No. 69.] From Sta. Maria della Pace, Milan. Eastlake with much skill contrasts this picture with No. 43. " The solemn dignity of this figure," he says, " and the maiden diffidence of the other, present a remarkable contrast, which is all the more interesting, because the action in each case is perfectly natural and free from any approach to pictorial affectation." THE ISRAELITES PREPARING FOR THEIR DEPARTURE FROM EGYPT. Fresco, 7 ft. x 5 ft. 7 in. [No. 70.] From La Pelucca, Monza. The picture is curiously crowded. The distant crowd of persons is cleverly suggested : the colouring is subdued. ITALY 123 THE BIRTH OF ADONIS. Fresco, 6 ft. 10 in. x 6 ft. 2 in. [No. 72.] From La Felucca, Monza. Adonis is being drawn from a hole in the tree. The figures are very graceful, and the trees and foliage carefully drawn. THE DREAM OF ST. JOSEPH. Fresco, 5 ft. 2 in. x 3 ft. loin. [No. 73.] From Sta. Maria delta Pace, Milan. Much damaged. The painting of the distant trees is notable. " St. Joseph is slumbering, leaning his head on his hand. In his dream the angel points to Mary, who is busy with needlework near at hand. Afterward Joseph entreated for- giveness of Mary for having wronged her even in thought." MRS. JAMESON. THE ARCHBISHOP ST. ANTONY IN THE ACT OF GIVING AWAY ALMS. Fresco, 4 ft. 3 in. x i ft. 9 in. [No. 74.] From the Old Monastery, Milan. THE MADONNA SEATED WITH THE DIVINE CHILD IN THE ACT OF BLESSING A NUN, ST. JOHN AND ST. MARTHA BY HER SIDE. Fragment of fresco. [E 13.] From Sta. Maria della Pace, Milan. FRAGMENTS OF FRESCO DECORATION TAKEN AWAY FROM THE CHAPEL OF ST. JOSEPH. [E 23 to E 50.] From Sta. Maria della Pace, Milan. MADONNA AND CHILD. On a panel. [No. 24.] MADONNA WITH THE DIVINE SON AND ST. ANNA. Fresco. [No. 27.] The Madonna and St. Anna are seated ; the Divine Son, nude, is between them, resting one foot on the hand of the Madonna and the other on the knee of St. Anna. Each of the seated figures is supporting the Child by one hand. i2 4 CATALOGUE OF WORKS BRERA GALLERY, MILAN. NOAH DERIDED BY HAM. On a panel, 4 ft. x 4 ft. 7 in. [No. 82.] From the Sacristy of St. Barnabas, Milan. This is an oil painting, one of the only three in the Brera Gallery. For a note about it see Eastlake's opinion in his catalogue of the Brera. Mrs. Jameson says that this is the only endurable treatment of this subject in Italian art. THE VIRGIN AND CHILD WITH SAINTS. [No. 98.] The attribution of this picture in the recent catalogue is "in the manner of Bernardino Luini," and it is quite an open question whether it is the Master's handiwork. Some part of it is in all probability his work, and the rest by pupils. It was brought from the sacristy of the Church of Sta. Maria di Brera in Milan, and is on a panel 6 ft. 5 in. x 4 ft. 8 in. It represents Our Lady on a throne with the Divine Child, at the side are the Apostles St. James and St. Philip, two devout men and one devout woman, all kneeling. On the base of the throne is ANTONIVS BVSTIVS DIVIS JACOBO ET PHILIPPO SACRAVIT ANNO MDXV. THE VIRGIN WITH THE DIVINE SON, WITH AN ESPALIER OF ROSE TREES. It is on a panel, 2 ft. 4 in. x 2 ft. i in. [No. 265.] This is a most beautiful picture with a lovely background of trellis-work and roses. It was originally in the Certosa, near Pavia, and afterwards belonged to Signor G. Bianchi, from whom it was acquired in 1825 for the Brera. MUSEO BORROMEO, MILAN. THE CHASTE SUSANNA. [No. 68.] Half-length life-size figure of Susanna, nude to below the breasts save for a drapery resting on one shoulder. Her hand is resting on her breast. A tree trunk forms the back- ground, and by its side is one of the elders with a large, full, white beard. Susanna's hair is bound with a fillet. ITALY 125 MADONNA. [No. 34.] The Madonna is pressing the Divine Child closely to her side, and gazing sadly at the Christ. MADONNA AND SAINTS. [No. 44.] The Madonna holds in her hand a closed book, and fixes her eyes on her Divine Son with an expression of intense sadness. SALOME BEARING THE HEAD OF ST. JOHN BAPTIST. [No. 47-] Salome bears the dish in her hands, the executioner, whose arm only is presented, is holding the head by the hair, and in the act of dropping it into the dish. Salome is turning aside her head, but is quite composed and placid in her countenance. AMBROSIAN LIBRARY, MILAN. The Sala della Santa Corona has a wonderful fresco on one of its side walls representing the Crowning with Thorns. "This hall," Murray states, "which was formerly the place of meeting of the suppressed charitable corporation of the Holy Crown, whose object was to relieve the sick poor at their homes, was given to the Ambrosiana, and now contains printed books." The fresco represents Our Lord, bound, seated on a throne in the centre of an open building, whose roof is supported by thorn-entwined pillars. He is being crowned, and insulted, and struck by the executioners who stand near, and who are jeering at Him. On either side are groups of six men, members of the confraternity who are represented bare- headed, and kneeling one behind the other. Above them are two other groups on the right. Our Lady is standing between two other persons, and gazing on the scene in deep sorrow, and on the left is the painter himself, a full-bearded man standing between a man in armour, and a man in or- dinary costume. On the roof above are two pitying angels, and on either side are suspended large crowns of thorns, and 126 CATALOGUE OF WORKS AMBROSIAN LIBRARY, MILAN. in the centre is a label with the words CAPVT REGIS GLORIA SPINIS CORONATVR. In the Picture Gallery are the following : A HOLY FAMILY, after Leonardo's cartoon, now at the Royal Academy, London. [No. 281.] It has the addition of the figure of St. Joseph with his staff. YOUTHFUL CHRIST IN THE ATTITUDE OF BENEDICTION. [No. 283.] Our Lord is clad in a white close-fitting robe, and an over robe with a border at the neck. His hair is long and curly, and falls on His shoulders. ST. JOHN BAPTIST PLAYING WITH A LAMB. [No. 284.] This is an exceedingly sweet picture, but very much damaged. The child's head is leaning against the lamb, and one foot of the lamb is resting on the parapet in front. There is also the original drawing in this gallery for the picture of Tobit and his father and the angel, which is in the Poldi Pezzoli Museum, No. 84. The drawing is in Indian ink, heightened with white (Braun, 179). DRAWING OF MADONNA, in red chalk. THREE STUDIES OF CHILDREN, in Indian ink (Braun, 175). PALAZZO REALE, MILAN. FRESCOES originally brought from La Felucca, near Monza (see under Brera for others of the same series, Nos. 10, ii, i 8 . 39. 5 2 , 57, 7, 72). THE GATHERING OF THE MANNA. 6 ft. 7 in. x 5 ft. The ground is white with manna as with snow, and the Hebrews are gathering it up into pots of various sizes. There are mountains in the background. ITALY 127 VULCAN AND VENUS FORGING THE ARMS OF ACHILLES. 8 ft. x 5 ft. 4 in. This fresco is in the shape of a truncated cone. Below are Venus, Cupid, with Vulcan, who is hard at work with hammers upon the metal on the anvil, and above is a crowd of divinities, amidst the clouds of Olympus, gazing upon the scene. The companion picture to this is the " Sacrifice to Pan" in the Brera, No. 57. Vulcan in this picture is too much arms and legs. THE BATH OF A NYMPH. 5 ft. i in. x 8 ft. 7 in. Some of the nymphs are in the water, others stepping in, and others removing their clothes, ready for the bath. The background is a landscape. THE PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA. (In two portions.) Each portion 5 ft. 10 in. x 5 ft. 6 in. THE FEAST OF THE HEBREWS WHEN THEY HAD CROSSED THE RED SEA. 3 ft. 6 in. x 5 ft. 8 in. GOD THE ETERNAL FATHER. 2 ft. x 4 ft. 8 in. The Father is represented as an aged, white-bearded patriarch, with hands extended as in benediction. Around are four angel cherubs. This fresco was originally above the one in the Brera, No. 52, representing the burial of St. Catharine. THE DEATH OF THE FIRST-BORN IN EGYPT. THE HEBREWS RETURNING THANKS TO GOD AFTER THE PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA. 8 ft. x 4 ft. 10 in. Two FRAGMENTS OF A FIGURE. Each i ft. n in. x i ft. ii in. MOSES PRAYING ON MOUNT SINAI. 27 in. x 19 in. ii8 CATALOGUE OF WORKS PALAZZO REALE, MILAN. AN ANGEL IN ADORATION. 6 ft. 6 in. x 2 ft. 4 in. The angel is kneeling, and holds a long taper with both hands. THE HEBREW WOMEN OFFERING THEIR JEWELS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TABERNACLE. 4 ft. n in. x 3 ft. 10 in. A scattered composition, two women and a man are in the foreground, two more and a man in the middle distance, and at the back is a house and a woman looking out of the window. MOSES BRINGING WATER FROM THE ROCKS. 4 ft. x 5 ft. Sin. The great leader is in the act of striking the rock, and water is gushing out. Close by is Aaron with uplifted hand. Hebrews bearing pots for the water stand close to Moses. THE THANKSGIVING OF THE HEBREWS AFTER THE PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA. 8 ft. x 4 ft. 10 in. In the midst is Miriam, with a timbrel in her hand, sing- ing, and by her side is a man with a long scroll of music. Other figures stand near. In the background is the sea and mountains. THE DEATH OF THE FIRST-BORN. 17 ft. x 5 ft. 6 in. Other small fragments representing children playing under the tendrils and leaves of a vine, probably not by Luini himself. SIGNOR GUZZI, VIA LE PRINCIPE UMBERTO 8, MILAN. The companion fragment from Casa Felucca to the one in the Palazzo Reale representing an angel kneeling in adoration, and bearing a torch. ITALY 129 CHURCH OF SAN MAURIZIO, OR THE MONASTERO MAGGIORE, MILAN. THE SCREEN is entirely painted in fresco by Luini. " In the two lower compartments on each side of the high altar are female saints with angels bearing torches between ; above in lunettes are kneeling portraits of the founders with their patron saints, and higher up two scenes relative to the martyrdom of St. Maurice." Between the latter is the As- sumption of the Virgin. The saints on the left are SS. Apollonia and Lucia ; those on the right SS. Ursula and Justina of Padua. Above, on the left, is Ippolita Sforza, wife of Bentivoglio, with SS. Scholastica, Agnes and Catharine, and correspondingly on the right is Alessandro Bentivoglio, the donor, with SS. Benedict, John Baptist, and John the Divine. Above this is the martyrdom of St. Maurice, and on the left King Sigis- mond presents the church to St. Maurice. The third Chapel is entirely painted by Luini. The scene represented is that of Christ being unbound, " strengthless and fainting," from the column. On one side of the central figure is St. Laurence drawing attention to the sad spectacle ; on the other is St. Catharine standing by a kneeling figure of the donor, who is adoring the sacred mystery. On the side walls are represented scenes from the martyrdom of St. Catharine, and on the vaults angels bearing the emblems of the Passion, notably the crown, column, and scourges. Passing through a door in the screen the nuns' choir is entered, and here are more works by the master. " The Betrayal," "The Mocking of Christ," "The Crucifixion," "The Deposition," "Our Lord in the Garden with the Sleeping Apostles," and " The Resurrection," nine frescoes in all, while below are life-sized figures of SS. Apollonia, Lucia, Catharine, Agnes, Sebastian, and Roche. K 1 30 CATALOGUE OF WORKS OTHER BUILDINGS IN MILAN. STA. MARIA BELLA GRAZIE. On the right of the choir, above on the organ, is a fresco of a Madonna with saints and a donor. The presses in the Sacristy (Lo Scaffale) are said to be painted by Luini, or from his designs, with arabesques in imitation of inlaid wood (vide book by Gruner and re- marks in Chapter IV). STA. MARIA DELL CARMINE. A MADONNA in fresco with SS. Roch and Sebastian in the second chapel to the left, attributed to Luini. SAN SIMPLICIANO. The triumphal arch in the apse adorned with " putti " attri- buted to Luini. SAN AMBROGIO. First chapel on the left : ECCE HOMO, with angels. Fresco. Second chapel on the right : LEGEND OF ST. GEORGE. Fresco. Chapel to the right of the choir : MADONNA AND SAINTS. Altar-piece. These are all attributed to Luini. SAN GIORGIO AL PALAZZO. Third chapel on the right, above the altar: ENTOMBMENT and CROWNING WITH THORNS. At the sides : SCOURGING and ECCE HOMO. In the dome : CRUCIFIXION. ITALY I3 i STA. MARIA BELLA PASSIONE. A Pieta behind the high altar with a predella representing scenes from the life of Constantine and Helena, called the earliest known work of the Master. (See Chapter II.) There is also a CHRIST AMONG THE DOCTORS in the sixth chapel to the right attributed to the Master. PALAZZO SCOTTI. The central portion of the Torriani de Mendrisio altar-piece, of which the predella portions belong to R. H. Benson, Esq. (q.v.), and the four small side figures were sold at Christie's, May 2ist, 1898 (vide Ruston Collection). 7 ft. 2 in. x 3 ft. 9 in. It represents the Madonna between St. Martin of Tours and St. Sisinnius. POLDI PEZZOLI MUSEUM. THE MARRIAGE OF ST. CATHARINE. On panel, i ft. 1 1 in. x i ft. 9 in. [No. 1 6.] from the Gallery of the Duke Antonio Litta. The Divine Child is seated on a cushion, and is supported by the Madonna. St. Catharine is putting out her finger to receive the ring which the Child places upon it. TOBIT CONDUCTED BY THE ANGEL RAPHAEL TO HIS FAMILY. On panel, i ft. 3 in. x i ft. 6 in. [No. 84.] The design from which this picture was painted is in the Ambrosian Library in Milan. (See Chapter III.) ST. JEROME, landscape background. On panel, 3ft. x 2ft. 2 in [No. 85.] A youthful work. OUR LADY ADORING THE CHRIST, WHO BEARS A CROSS. On panel, 2 ft. x i ft. 3 in. [No. 125.] This is in two panels, separated by pilasters one from the other. In one panel the head of the Christ and one arm and 132 CATALOGUE OF WORKS POLDI PEZZOLI MUSEUM. shoulder only are seen ; a heavy cord is around His neck, His head is crowned with thorns, and He bears the cross. In the other panel is the head of Our Lady ; her arms are crossed. In the background appears the head of one of the Maries. MONZA. On the left of the high altar in the cathedral is a very beau- tiful figure of St. Gerard. MORIMONDO. There is said to be a fresco by Luini over the door of a Cistercian Convent in this place, representing the Virgin with St. Bernard and St. Benedict. Luini has not represented St. Bernard in any of his pictures ; but we have not seen this fresco, and cannot, therefore, give an opinion upon it. NATIONAL MUSEUM, NAPLES. MADONNA AND CHILD. [No. 23.] "This picture," Morelli says, "is characteristic but un- attractive." The Madonna is seated. The Divine Child, entirely nude, stands on her knee, and the Virgin is sup- porting Him with one hand, while the other rests in the drapery of her bosom. The Madonna has a transparent veil over her forehead. In the background is a tall lily. ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. [No. n.] PONTE IN THE VALTELLINA. A very beautiful fresco over the church door, representing St. Mary and St. Martin. THE COLONNA GALLERY, ROME. VIRGIN AND CHILD WITH ST. ELIZABETH. We are very doubtful whether this is by Luini. ITALY 133 SANTUARIO BELLA VERGINE, SARONNO. THE MARRIAGE OF JOSEPH AND MARY. The scene is in a room richly decorated with marble, which adorns floor, ceiling, and walls, and the entrance door and dividing archway. St. Joseph is represented placing the ring upon the finger of the Madonna. Two of the dis- appointed suitors on the right are breaking their rods. Four others and a Rabbi are behind them. A crowd of com- panions surround Our Lady, and behind the High Priest are two more Rabbis. CHRIST DISPUTING WITH THE DOCTORS. Our Lord is standing on a kind of throne replying to Our Lady, who, with a very appealing expression on her face, is speaking to Him. With one hand He points to heaven, and the other He opens and stretches out toward His mother. At his feet are various books. On the right are fifteen doc- tors arguing and gesticulating ; the chief amongst them, with Hebrew characters upon his head-dress, is referring to a volume upon his knee. On the left, beside Our Lady, are St. Joseph with his staff and six other persons, while in the corner, seated, is Luini himself, holding a clasped book, look- ing round from the picture. He is a white-bearded man, with a benignant expression. THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE. The High Priest has the Infant Child in his arms; an attendant carrying the mitre stands by the side. St. Anna is speaking to the Madonna. Behind are two more women and a man with a lamb, and on the right is St. Joseph with three women. Our Lady is standing with clasped hands in the centre of the picture. In the background is depicted the Flight into Egypt, and above is Moses with the tables of stone. THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI. The Virgin is seated in the centre bearing the Divine Child, Who is stretching forth to the Magi. A wise man kneels on either side, and the third, a man of colour, is advancing with his gift, receiving it from the hands of a servant. Behind 134 CATALOGUE OF WORKS SANTUARIO DELLA VERGINE, SARONNO. each king is his attendant, one of whom bears a crown. St. Joseph with his staff stands near to Our Lady. The retinue and servants, which include a giraffe and camel, are seen approaching in the distance, winding round a rocky path. There are cattle behind the Virgin, and above her is the wonderful star. In the heavens is a choir of five angels, singing from a scroll that they bear in their hands. THE NATIVITY. In the cloisters leading to the Priest's house. A lunette. The Divine Child lies in its cradle of basket-work. On either side are the Madonna and St. Joseph, with hands clasped or crossed, and kneeling in adoration. Behind are the cattle, and on the right, in the distance, is the appearance of the angels to the shepherds with their sheep. ST. APOLLONIA (right) AND ST. CATHARINE (left). These are in the apse built out from the choir. St. Catharine bears a clasped book and a palm in her hands. Her left hand rests on her wheel. St. Apollonia holds a palm and a pair of pincers, in which is one of her teeth the symbol of her martyrdom. ST. ROCH AND ST. SEBASTIAN. Below the drum of the dome. St. Roch is seated, and holds his staff and banner in one hand, and in the other a stone. By his side is his dog, and behind him an angel, who leans over him and bears a palm towards him. St. Sebastian is seated, and is fastened by his arm to the tree ; his body is pierced with arrows, and others are in a quiver at his feet. Behind him is an angel, who points with one hand to heaven, and with the other offers him a palm. THE ACADEMY, VENICE. EXPULSION FROM PARADISE. A black chalk drawing. An angel with raised sword is driving our first parents out of the garden. Both Adam and Eve are nude, save for gar- lands of fig leaves round their waists. The angel is clad in long flowing drapery. ITALY RUSSIA 135 THE LAYARD COLLECTION, VENICE. MADONNA AND CHILD. The Divine Child is standing on a parapet, and is clothed in a shirt ornamented with embroidery, and tied at the waist with a girdle of drapery ; behind His head is a star of rays. The Madonna stands behind Him, and has her face turned toward Him ; her right arm is around Him, and in her left hand she holds a book. This picture was evidently painted for a convent of nuns. RUSSIA. IMPERIAL HERMITAGE GALLERY, ST. PETERS- BURG. MADONNA AND CHILD. Much repainted. Bought in 1811 by the Emperor Alexander I. from M. Italinsky, Minister from Russia in Rome, and at that time, and for a long time afterwards, attributed to Leonardo. Transferred from panel to canvas, i ft. 3 in. x n in. [No. 71.] It is extremely doubtful whether this picture is by Luini. Our Lady holds the Divine Child in her arms, gathering Him to her breast with one hand. He is nude, and hangs one arm at full length over His mother's hand. MADONNA AND CHILD. 2ft. 6 in. x 2 ft. [No. 75.] The Divine Child stands on a parapet by His mother's side. She has placed one arm around Him, and extends the hand, and with the other hand clasps his little arm. He is looking downwards at a feather (or flower) that the Virgin holds in the hand by His side. A tall lily is by the side of the Divine Child. This must not be considered as the work of Luini. It has been much repainted. ST. CATHARINE. On panel, 2 ft. 2 in. X i ft. 10 in. [No. 72.] The saint is in a red robe or tunic, with a loose drapery over it. She is wreathed with jasmine, and is holding a book 136 CATALOGUE OF WORKS IMPERIAL HERMITAGE GALLERY. in her hand and looking down upon it. On either side of her is a child angel, one bearing the wheel and the other the palm. This picture originally belonged to the Due de Medina, then to the kings of France, and was at one time at Mal- maison in the possession of the Empress Josephine, and attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. It was purchased in 1815 by the Imperial Hermitage, together with thirty-seven other pictures, for a total sum of 940,000 francs. A study for the head of the Saint, painted in oils, is in the Ambrosiana. Another representation of this same scene belongs to Mr. Ludwig Mond, and is in London, but the two are not copies of one another, but differ in several details, and both appear to be by Luini's hand. The finer of the two is the one in London, and probably was the original work, and the other, more or less, a replica. ST. SEBASTIAN. [No. 73.] A man of about thirty-five years of age is represented, life- size and wholly nude, save for a white and coloured drapery across the hips. He is standing at the foot of a lemon tree, to which his arms are fastened. With his right hand he points to two arrows which have pierced his breast, whilst with his left, raised above his head, he points to a card sus- pended from the branch of a tree, and inscribed : Quam libens Ob tui amorem Dulces jaculos Patiar memento. Other arrows are at his feet. It is supposed that the artist, under the guise of St. Sebas- tian (patron of the town of Milan), has in this picture repre- sented Maximilian Sforza, son of Ludovico Moro, duke of Milan, 1512-1515, who died in Paris in 1530. At the time of the first Empire it was purchased in Turin by M. Dubois, a dealer, and sold by him to an Italian prince RUSSIA 137 for 100,000 francs as a work by Leonardo da Vinci. The prince died young, and the contents of his gallery went to the hammer, and the " Sebastian " went to M. Bistoli of Rome, who raised money upon it. At his death it was sold again in Paris, and bought for the Imperial Hermitage in 1860 for 60,000 francs. Monsieur Brun and Monsieur Waagen at St. Petersburg pronounced the picture to be by Luini, although very different from his usual work. See an article on this picture by Charles Blanc in " La Gazette des Beaux Arts," vol. ix., 1861. This picture is so different from Luini's usual work that we gravely hesitate to accept it as from his pencil. LA COLUMBINA. [No. 74.] A young woman, seated, dressed in a white robe with yellow ornaments, and with a blue mantle over her shoulder. She is holding white jasmine in her lap and right hand, and with her left is holding up a spray of columbine, at which she is gazing with a pleasant and smiling expression. In the background on the right, above, is some ivy-leafed toad-flax (Linaria cymbalaria), on the left some asplenium adiantum nigrum, and below some edelweiss. For the names of these plants we are indebted to Mr. Grant Allen. This is probably the original of the well-known painting called "La Columbina," or "Flora," or "Vanity." In 1649 it was in the collection of Marie de Medici, and afterwards belonged to the Due d'Orleans. It came then into the pos- session of the Brussels bankers Walkier, and was passed over to William II., King of the Netherlands, who sold it to the Imperial Hermitage in 1850 for 40,000 florins. An ancient copy of the same picture, different in some of its details, is at Stratton, and belongs to Lord Northbrook. It is said to have come from the collection of Charles I. Another pic- ture, probably the work of Solario, is at Stafford House, and another at Rossie Priory. The one at Dorchester House we attribute to Luini's own hand, and it is probably a later replica of the Hermitage picture, differing from it in one or two minor details. 138 CATALOGUE OF WORKS SPAIN. ROYAL PICTURE GALLERY (PRADO), MADRID. THE HOLY FAMILY. Panel fresco, 3 ft. 4 in. x 2 ft. 9 in. [No. 290.] From the Escurial Collection of Philip IV. The Divine Child and the Infant St. John are seated on a parapet, embracing one another. Behind them stands the Madonna, extending her hands over them, slightly touching St. John, and enfolding them both within the ample folds of her mantle. By her side is a tall lily in flower, and in the background is St. Joseph, heavily leaning upon a stout staff. St. John's cross lies at his feet. Morelli says it is "fine." This is a replica in almost every respect of the two children in No. 290. It is a fragment of fresco. Panel, i ft. x i ft. 2 in. [No. 289.] The features are not quite alike, the face of the Divine Child being less sweet and composed and merrier than in the larger picture, and the hand resting on St. John's shoulder is not in the same position, nor are the fingers similarly ex- tended. THE DAUGHTER OF HERODIAS. Panel, 2 ft. x 2 ft. 7 in. [No. 291.] Collection of Carlos III Morelli says this picture is " genuine, but repainted." Similar in many respects to a picture in the Louvre, by Solario. SWITZERLAND. STA. MARIA DEGLI ANGIOLI, LUGANO. On the wall of the screen, THE PASSION OF CHRIST, a picture containing several hundred figures, arranged in two rows. In the centre is Christ extended upon a very high cross, the top of which penetrates the clouds, which are crowded with angels. On either side are the two thieves crucified, also upon crosses of unusual height. The entire composition SPAIN SWITZERLAND 139 is crowded with figures, notable groups in the lower tier being those of Our Lady with the holy women and the executioners struggling for the garments of Christ, and casting lots for their disposal. In the second tier is a similar crowd of figures, and many scenes from the life of Our Lord are represented on a diminished scale. Amongst other scenes are Christ on the Mount of Olives, the Mocking, the Bearing of the Cross, the Entombment, the Unbelief of St. Thomas, and the Ascension. Above, to use Mrs. Jameson's expressive phrase, "the air is alive with little winged bodiless angel heads, like moths." The Magdalene is to be seen in the extreme front, and to quote Mrs. Jameson again, " is represented kneeling apart, dressed in gorgeous drapery, her glorious hair falling in a torrent down her back." It should be noticed that the thieves have each one foot nailed to the cross and one foot free. Below the Passion Picture, and supporting it, on the arches between, are frescoes of St. Sebastian and St. Roch, and between are angel figures. Kugler, who by missing out a few lines attributes all the Lugano pictures to the Church of St. Maurizio in Milan, says that this picture contains 140 figures, and in respect to one especial figure, that of St. John, he says, " the painter has attained the highest perfection in his figure of St. John, whose action and expression are full of the loftiest inspiration and faith." To the left of the screen is a Last Supper, in three sections. It is on panel. In the first chapel on the right is the far-famed MADONNA WITH OUR LORD AND ST. JOHN. A lunette. On panel. Our Lady is in the centre, and wears over her robe a large open cape. She is extending her arms and embracing within HO CATALOGUE OF WORKS them both the children. Our Lord, on the right, a curly- haired nude figure, is in the act of seating himself upon the back of a lamb, which is prone beside him. St. John Baptist, on the left, is kneeling upon one knee. He is clad in a skin dress tied in with a girdle, and bears over his shoulder his rough wooden cross, which he clasps with one hand, while stretching out the other hand he points with the forefinger to his playmate. The lunette is signed BERNARDINO LUINO ANNO MDXXX. ADDENDUM. Accidentally omitted in the First Edition. MADAME ARGON ATI-VISCONTI, 16, RUE BARBY DE JONG, PARIS. MADONNA AND CHILD. The Madonna has her hand on a growing iris, and a small cherub supports the Divine Child, who is clinging to His mother. There is a landscape background. 36 x 24 inches. INDEX. Adoration of the Magi, Luini's picture, 16, 17, 32, 44, 49, 50, 58. Adoration of the Shepherds, Luini's picture, 58. Agnes, St., 56. Alessandro kneeling, 55. Altar-piece at St. Sisinnius, Luini's, 87-89. Annunciation, The, Luini's picture, 32. Apollonia, St., 56. Ardizzino, Count of Ma vino, 81, 82. Assumption of the Virgin, 56. Barezzi, Stefano, 20. Bathing of the Nymphs, Luini's fresco, 1 8. Benedict, St., 55. Bentivoglio, Giovanni, 54, 55. Besozzi, Francesco, 79. Betrayal, The, Luini's picture, 57. Birth of Adonis, Luini's fresco, 18. Borgognone, his influence on Luini, 13-15 ; his work, 13, 14. Bramantino, his influence on Luini, 13-15, 22; his work, 14; Crowe and Cavalcaselle on, 14. Bringing Water from the Rock, Luini's fresco, 18. Building of the Tabernacle, Luini's fresco, 1 8. Burial of St. Catharine, Luini's picture, 23-25. Cambrai, The League of, 55. Cardona, Pietro di, 81, 82. Catharine, St., 56. Cenacolo,&i Lugano, Luini's, 71-74. Chaste Susanna, The, Luini's picture, 67. Christ among the Doctors, Luini's picture, 40, 44, 46-48. Christ in Argument with the Phari- sees, Luini's picture, 38-40. Christ in Benediction, Luini's pic- ture, 40. Colouring, Luini's, 30. Columbina, La, Luini's picture, 91. Como, some of Luini's best frescoes at, 6. Confraternity of the Holy Crown, Luini's great painting for the, 35, 36. Criticism of Luini, 92-95. Crowe and Cavalcaselle on Braman- tino, 14. Crowning with Thorns, Luini's picture, 17. Crucifixion, The, Luini's picture, 17, 57- Death of the First-born, Luini's fresco, 1 8. 142 INDEX Departure from Egypt, Luini's fresco, 1 8. Deposition, The, Luini's painting, 57- Dorothea, St., 56. Ecce Homo, Luini's picture, 17, 34. Election of St. Joseph, Luini's pic- ture, 28. Expulsion from Paradise, Luini's drawing, 92. Family of Tobit with the Angels, Luini's drawing, 40. Feast of the Hebrews, Luini's fresco, 1 8. Ferrari, Gaudenzio, 4; his work at Saronno, 44. Foppa, his influence on Luini, 13-15, 22 ; his work, 13. Gathering of the Manna, Luini's fresco, 1 8. Head of Christ, Luini's picture, 32, 34- Holy Family, The, Luini's picture, 23, 60, 61. John the Baptist, St., 55. John the Divine, St., 55. Justina of Padua, St., 56. Kugler, on Luini, 7, 8. La Felucca, Luini's frescoes at, 20. Lanzi, on Luini, 5. Legend of St. George, Luini's paint- ing, 34- Legnano, some of Luini's best frescoes at, 6. Leonardo da Vinci, at court of Ludovico Sforza, 8 ; founds an academy, 9 ; some of his pictures, 10 ; portrait of Mona Lisa, 10, 1 1 ; Dean Farrer on, 1 1 ; Ruskin's comparison of Luini and, 1 1 ; his cartoon at the Royal Academy, 10-12; and Luini compared, 12, 63 ; his influence on Luini, 26, 39- Lomazzo, on Luini, 4. Lucia, St., 56. Lugano, some of Luini's best frescoes at, 6, 71-78. Luini, Vasari omits him in his Lives, I ; Rio on, I ; Vasari's references to, 2, 3 ; born at Luino, 3 ; date of birth, 3 ; pupil of Stefano Scotto, 4, 10 ; his father, 4 ; his brothers, 4 ; Lomazzo on, 4 ; Morigia on, 5 Sebastian Resta on, 5 ; his portrait at Saronno, 5 ; probable pupil of Leonardo, 5 ; Lanzi on, 5 ; an imitator of Leonardo, 6, 10; his best frescoes at Saronno, Legnano, Como, Ponte, Monza, 6 ; neglect of, 6 ; Ruskin on, 7, n ; Kugler on, 7, 8 ; Morelli on, 8 ; pupil of Bor- gognone, 8 ; and Leonardo com- pared, 12, 63 ; artists who in- fluenced, 14, 15 ; his birth-place, 1 6 ; his pictures at St. Giorgio, 17 ; his frescoes, 18, 28, 29; love story of, 19 ; his frescoes at La Felucca, 20 ; his colouring, 30 ; his pictures in the Louvre, 32 ; his pictures in the church of St. Ambrose, 34 ; his great painting for the Confraternity of the Holy Crown, 35, 36 ; his work at II Santuario della Vergine, Saronno, 44 ; his frescoes at Como, 58 ; INDEX his work at Lugano, 71-78 ; his work at Milan, 79-83 ; as a fresco painter, 83, 84 ; his altar-piece at St. Sisinnius, 87-89 ; portraits by, 90-92 ; criticism of, 92-95. Luino, Luini born at, 3 ; Barto- lommeo of, 3 ; Beato Giacomo of, 3- Lutero, Giovanni, Luini's father, 4. Madonna and Child, Luini's various pictures of, 61, 62, 84, 85. Madonna and Rose-Bush, Luini's picture, 38, 62, 65, 84. Madonna and Saints, Luini's paint- ings of, 34, 43. Making a New Wing for Cupid, Luini's fresco, 1 8. Maria, Bianca, 81, 82. Marriage of Joseph and Mary, Luini's picture, 44. Maurice, St., 56. Metamorphosis of Daphne, Luini's fresco, 1 8. Milan, Leonardo's academy at, 9 ; Luini's paintings at, 27-29, 34 ; Luini at, 79'83- Mocking of Christ, Luini's picture, 57- Monza, some of Luini's best frescoes at, 6. Morelli, on Luini, 8. Morigia, on Luini, 5. Mount Sinai and the Prayer of Moses, Luini's fresco, 1 8. Museo Borommeo, Luini's pictures in the, 63. Nativity, The, Luini's various pic- tures on, 32. 33, 51-53. Noli me tangere, Luini's painting, 57 Our Lady and the Divine Child, Luini's picture, 38. Passage of the Red Sea, Luini's fresco, 1 8. Passion Picture at Lugano, Luini's, 74-78. Pieta, Luini's picture, 15-17. Ponte, some of Luini's best frescoes at, 6. Portraits of Luini, 90-92. Presentation in the Temple, Luini's picture, 44, 61. Resta, Father Sebastian, on Luini, 5. Resurrection, The, Luini's paint- ing, 57- Rio, on Vasari's omission of Luini, I ; on Luini's picture Christ among the Doctors, 48. Ruskin, on Luini, 7 ; compares Leonardo and Luini, u. Sacrifice to Pan, Luini's fresco, 18. St. Thomas Aquinas, Luini's pic- ture, 31. Sanseverino, Count of Gaiazzo, 81, 82. Saronno, some of Luini's best frescoes at, 6, 44. Scaffale, Lo, attributed to Luini, 59. Scene in the Garden of Gethsemane, Luini's painting, 57. Scholastica, St., 56. Scotto, Stefano, Luini's master, 4, 10; taught Gaudenzio Ferrari, 4. Scourging, The, Luini's picture, 17, 79, 80. Sforza, Ippolita, 55, 56. Sforza, Ludovico, Leonardo at the court of, 8, 9. Sigismond, King, 56. 144 INDEX Thanksgiving after the Destruction of Pharaoh's Host, Luini's fresco, 18. Ursula St. , 56. Vanity and Modesty i Luini's picture, 89, 90. Vasari, omission of Luini in his Lives, I ; references to Luini, 2, 3- Virgin and Child and St. Anna, Luini's picture, 32. Vulcan forging Arms for Achilles, Luini's fresco, 18, 32. CMISWICIC PRESS : CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND co, TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON. NOTICE. P iHOTOGRAPHS of most of the works mentioned in this volume are to be obtained in various sizes from W.A.MANSELL&Co Hrt photograph Publishers ano Dealers, 405, OXFORD STREET, LONDON, W. Imperial Svo. 2 voh. Buckram, $ 3^. BRYAN'S DICTIONARY OF PAINTERS AND ENGRAVERS. EDITED BY SIR WALTER ARMSTRONG, B.A. OXON, OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY, DUBLIN, AND ROBERT EDMUND GRAVES, B.A. LOND. OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. " A book which no collector and no public library can possibly do without." Times. " One of the most trustworthy and useful books of reference." 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