Old Continental TownsGallichan, Walter M. (Walter Matthew)
History
Old Continental Towns
Gallichan, Walter M. (Walter Matthew)
Cities and towns -- Europe; Europe -- Description and travel
Tintoretto and Palma were the artists who executed the paintings in the
Hall of the Senators. The adjoining chapel is decorated with another of
Tintoretto's pictures. Pass to the Hall of the Council of Ten, where the
rulers of the city sat, and note the gorgeous ceiling by Paolo Veronese.
A staircase leads to the Hall of the Great Council below. From the
window there is an inspiriting view. The walls are hung with portraits,
but the glory of this hall is Tintoretto's "Paradise," an immense
painting.
Before leaving the Palace of the Doges, I will devote a few lines to the
Schools of Venice of the sixteenth century. Unfortunately most of the
works of Giorgione, the most characteristic painter of Venice, have
disappeared. He was the founder of a tradition, and the teacher of many
painters, including Palma, while his work influenced a number of his
contemporaries. Titian, born in 1477, was one of Giorgione's admirers,
and his early work shows his influence. The pictures of the great
Venetian master are one of the glories of the city. Some of his
paintings are in the Academy, in the Church of Santa Maria dei
Friari--where there is a monument to the artist--in the Church of Santa
Maria della Salute, and in the private galleries of the city.
In the Academy collection, in a large building in the square of St
Mark's, are Titian's much-restored "Presentation" and the "Pieta," among
the finest specimens of the Venetian School of painters. The celebrated
"Assumption" has been also restored.
"There are many princes; there is but one Titian," said Charles V. of
Spain, who declared that through the magic of the Venetian painter's
pencil, he "thrice received immortality." Forty-three examples of the
art of Titian are in the Prado Gallery of Madrid. Sanchez Coello, Court
artist to Philip II. was one of the students of the Italian master;
indeed several of the great painters of Spain were influenced by Titian,
and none of them revered him more than Velazquez.
Tintoretto's "Miracle of St Mark" and "Adam and Eve" are two instances
of his genius for colour, in the Academy, calling for special study,
and another of his works is to be seen in Santa Maria della Salute. We
have just looked at a number of this painter's pictures in the Doge's
Palace.
It has been said that Tintoretto inspired El Greco, whose pictures we
shall see in Toledo. Tintoretto was a pupil of Titian, basing his
drawing on the work of Michael Angelo, and finding inspiration for his
colour in the painting of Titian. He was a most industrious and prolific
artist.
Paolo Veronese, though not a native of Venice, was one of the school of
that city. He surpassed even Tintoretto in the use of colour, and
adorned many ceilings and altars, besides painting canvases. The "Rape
of Europa" and others of Paolo's mythical subjects display his gift of
colour and richness of imagination.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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