If from details of execution we pass to consider the work as a whole, it must be owned that the general impression left upon the spectator’s mind is one of coldness and severity. These stern and vigorous figures which look down upon us from the walls awe us by the power and reality of their presence; they impress us by the accurate science and years of assiduous labour which they reveal, but they fail to touch the heart or delight the eye; they are wanting in that sense of beauty which, is so conspicuous a feature in Mantegna’s later work. If he had painted nothing else he would have left behind him the reputation of a master of strong realistic tendency, who solved difficult problems and attained a remarkable degree of proficiency in drawing and anatomy, but lacked the qualities necessary for the highest class of art. Fortunately for us Mantegna’s activity does not end here. The frescoes of the Eremitani were only the first stage in a great career, and as we contemplate them we can always reflect with satisfaction that these powerful works, in their grimness and austere dignity, in their curious display of scientific knowledge and minute attention to detail, were the preliminary studies, by means of which he reached the perfection of after years, and achieved the ultimate successes that were to make his name celebrated. [Illustration] CHAPTER II. WORK AT VERONA AND MANTUA, A.D. 1457-1470. The exact date of the completion of the Eremitani frescoes is uncertain, but they were probably finished by 1458, perhaps earlier. Mantegna was still a young man, not more than six or seven-and-twenty, but in actual power as well as in reputation second to no living painter in North Italy. We have already noticed the chief influences brought to bear on his early training. One by one we have watched him discover and assimilate, with the same clearness of intellect and indefatigable energy, the peculiar virtue of each successive artist with whom he was brought into contact. We have seen him add Florentine principles to Squarcione’s teaching, learn from Donatello how to combine the study of nature with the laws of sculpture, gain from Uccelli that knowledge of perspective which had for him so subtle a fascination, and last of all temper this fiery genius under the gentler spell of Gian Bellini’s more genial art.