Florence and Northern Tuscany with Genoa: With Sixteen Illustrations in Colour by William Parkinson and Sixteen Other Illustrations, Second EditionHutton, Edward
History
Florence and Northern Tuscany with Genoa: With Sixteen Illustrations in Colour by William Parkinson and Sixteen Other Illustrations, Second Edition
Hutton, Edward
Art -- Italy -- Florence; Genoa (Italy) -- History; Tuscany (Italy) -- Description and travel
Pietro Vanucci, called Il Perugino, was born about 1446 at Castel della
Pieve, some twenty-six miles from Perugia. The greatest master of the
Umbrian School, for we are content to call Raphael a Roman painter, his
work, so sweet and lovely at its best, is at its worst little better
than a repetition of his own mannerisms. Here, in the Uffizi, however,
we have four of his best works--the three great portraits, Francesco
delle Opere (287), Alessandro Braccesi (1217), and the Portrait of a
Lady (1120), long given to Raphael, but which Mr. Berenson assures us is
Perugino's; and the Madonna and Child of the Tribuna, painted in 1493.
The Francesco delle Opere was perhaps his first portrait, full of
virility beyond anything else in his work, save his own portrait at
Perugia. For many years this picture, owing, it might seem, to a mistake
of the Chevalier Montalvo, was supposed to represent Perugino himself,
so that the picture was hung in the Gallery of the Portraits of
Painters. At last an inscription was discovered on the back of the
picture, which reads as follows: _1494, D'Luglio Pietro Perugino Pinse
Franco Delopa_.
Francesco delle Opere was a Florentine painter, the brother of Giovanni
delle Corniole. He died at Venice, and it may well be that it was at
Venice that Perugino first met him. Perugino's picture shows us
Francesco, a clean-shaven and young person, holding a scroll on which is
written, "Trineta Deum;" the portrait is a half-length, and the hands
are visible. In the background is a characteristic country of hill and
valley under the deep serene sky, the light and clear golden air that we
see in so much of his work. The Portrait of a Lady (1120), long given to
Raphael, comes to the Uffizi from the Grand Ducal Villa of Poggio a
Caiano; it was supposed to be the portrait of Maddalena Strozzi, wife of
Angela Doni. The portrait shows us a young woman, in a Florentine dress
of the period, while around her neck is a gold chain, from which hangs a
little cross. The Portrait of a Young Man (1217) is painted on wood, and
is life size.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account