"Rhetoric" holds a sword to show the power with which she is able to
pierce hearts, and a globe, perhaps to suggest the far-reaching extent
of that power. These emblems are repeated in the hands of the _putti_ on
either side of the steps. On the right of the throne a priest, perhaps a
portrait, though not a highly individual one, holds a purse; an old
philosopher reading on the left may be meant for Cicero, who would not
be left out of such a composition, while grey-bearded teachers argue
with richly-dressed young disciples. On the steps is the name
"PENTORICCHIO," but except the principal figure, the work was probably
divided among scholars. In Rhetoric herself, and in the old man on the
left, in the folds of the mantles, and in the attendant _putti_ there is
some likeness to Perugino, but this master was fully employed at the end
of 1492 by Giuliano della Rovere, and would have been most unlikely to
take service with Giuliano's hated rival, even if he would have
consented to work in a subordinate character. Pintoricchio's
sketch-books must have been full of studies from him, and in beginning a
new essay he would probably have had recourse to these, trusting more as
he went on to his own initiative.
[Illustration:
_Anderson photo_] [_Borgia Apartments, Vatican, Rome_
THE MADONNA AND CHILD, WITH ANGELS]
"Geometry" holds her square and compasses, and the inventor, the
bald-headed Euclid, sits at her feet, engaged in drawing a diagram. On
the left, in the corner, is a youth who has evidently painted his own
portrait in a looking-glass. The cloak of "Geometry" and the red dress
of Euclid show the hand of a pupil of Fiorenzo, but none of the
attendant figures nor the landscape have much trace of Pintoricchio's
own work, though Schmarsow allots to him besides the figure of
"Geometry," the turbaned man on her right, the youth standing by him,
and the one at the edge of the group. None of the seven sisters is so
beautiful as "Arithmetic." Here Pintoricchio trusts in his own
inspiration, and we have a finely-drawn head with all his freshness of
pose and expression. This dreamy face, with its transparent veil half
covering the flowing hair, the gold embossed robe, over-sleeves, mantle
hanging in very softly accentuated folds, and the beautifully
proportioned figures standing by, have a larger share than almost any
other of the lunettes of the master's hand, and here, more than in any,
we have the many coloured garments, rich pinks, harmonious greens, that
Pintoricchio loved. The light and shade in this and the preceding group
is massed with an eye to effect which is quite absent from the rest.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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