A History of Art for Beginners and Students: Painting, Sculpture, ArchitectureWaters, Clara Erskine Clement
History
A History of Art for Beginners and Students: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture
Waters, Clara Erskine Clement
Art -- History
Raphael left two hundred and eighty-seven pictures and five hundred and
seventy-six studies and drawings, and all done in so short a life. In
considering him and the story of his life, we find that it was not any one
trait or talent that made his greatness; but it was the rare union of
gifts of genius with a personal charm that won all hearts to him. His
famous picture of "St. Cecilia," with its sweetness of expression and
lovely color--its union of earthly beauty with spiritual feeling, is a
symbol of the harmonious and varied qualities of this prince of painters
(Fig. 44).
GIULIO ROMANO (1492-1556) was the favorite pupil of Raphael, and the heir
of a part of his estate; but his remaining works would not repay us for a
study of them.
Of course, the influence of so great a master as Raphael was felt outside
of his own school, and, in a sense, all Italian art of his time was
modified by him. His effect was very noticeable upon a Sienese painter,
BAZZI, or RAZZI, called IL SODOMA (1477-1549), who went to Rome and was
under the immediate influence of Raphael's works. He was almost unrivalled
in his power to represent beautiful female heads.
His important works were frescoes, many of which are in the churches of
Siena. Doubtless Bazzi was lost in the shadow of the great Raphael, and
had he existed at a time a little more distant from that great man, he
would have been more famous in his life.
During the sixteenth century the Venetian school reached its highest
excellence. The great difference between it and the school of Florence
was, that the latter made beauty of form the one object of its art, while
the Venetian painters combined with grace and ease the added charm of
rich, brilliant color.
GIORGIO BARBARELLI, called GIORGIONE (1477-1511), was the first great
artist of Venice who cast off the rigid manner of the Bellini school, and
used his brush and colors freely, guided only by his own ideas, and
inspired by his own genius.
He was born at Castelfranco, and was early distinguished for his personal
beauty. Giorgione means George the Great, and this title was given him on
account of his noble figure. He was fond of music, played the lute well,
and composed many of the songs he sang; he had also an intense love of
beauty--in short, his whole nature was full of sentiment and harmony, and
with all these gifts he was a man of pure life. Mrs. Jameson says of him:
"If Raphael be the Shakspeare, then Giorgione may be styled the Byron of
painting."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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