Fra Bartolommeo | Page 2

private collections. It is in Italy,
of course, that one must study their originals, although the great

collections usually include one or two. Most interesting from the
viewpoint of the study of art is the evolution of the work of the
artist-monk as he came under the influence of the more dramatic
modern and frankly sensational work of Raphael, of the Venetians and
of Michelangelo. In this case (many will say in that of the art of the
world) this tendency detracted rather than helped the work. The
draperies, the dramatic poses, the artistic sensation arrests the mind at
the surface of the picture. It is indeed strange that this devout
churchman should have succumbed to the temptation, and there are
moments when one suspects that his somewhat spectacular pietism
disguised the spirit of one whose mind had little to do with the
mysticism of the mediaeval church. Or perhaps it was that the strange
friendship between him and Albertinelli, the man of the cloister and the
man of the world, effected some alchemy in the mind of each. The
story of that lifelong friendship, strong enough to overcome the
difficulties of a definite partnership between the strict life of the
monastery and the busy life of the _bottega_, is one of the most
fascinating in art history.
Mr. Leader Scott has in all three lives the opportunity for fascinating
studies, and his book presents them to us with much of the flavour of
the period in which they lived. Perhaps to-day we should incline to
modify his acceptance of the Vasari attitude to Lucrezia, especially
since he himself tends to withdraw the charges against her, but leaves
her as the villainess of the piece upon very little evidence. The
inclusion of a chapter upon Ghirlandajo, treated merely as a follower of
Fra Bartolommeo, scarcely does justice in modern eyes to this fine
artist, whose own day and generation did him such honour and paid
him so well. But the author's general conclusions as to the place in art
and the significance of the lives of the three painters with whom he is
chiefly concerned remains unchallenged, and we have in the volume a
necessary study to place alongside those of Leonardo, of Michelangelo
and of Raphael for an understanding of the culmination of the
Renaissance in Italy.
HORACE SHIPP.

CONTENTS.
FRA BARTOLOMMEO.

CHAPTER
I. THOUGHTS ON THE RENAISSANCE II. THE "BOTTEGA" OF
COSIMO ROSELLI. A.D. 1475-1486 III. THE GARDEN AND THE
CLOISTER. A.D. 1487-1495 IV. SAN MARCO. A.D. 1496-1500 V.
FRA BARTOLOMMEO IN THE CONVENT. A.D. 1504-1509 VI.
ALBERTINELLI IN THE WORLD. A.D. 1501-1510 VII. CONVENT
PARTNERSHIP. A.D. 1510-1513 VIII. CLOSE OF LIFE. A.D.
1514-1517 IX. PART I.--SCHOLARS OF FRA BARTOLOMMEO
PART II.--SCHOLARS OF MARIOTTO ALBERTINELLI X.
RIDOLFO GHIRLANDAJO
ANDREA DEL SARTO.
CHAPTER I
. YOUTH AND EARLY WORKS. A.D. 1487-1511 II. THE SERVITE
CLOISTER. A.D. 1511-1512 III. SOCIAL LIFE AND MARRIAGE.
A.D. 1511-1516 IV. WORKS IN FLORENCE. A.D. 1511-1515 V.
GOING TO FRANCE. A.D. 1518-1519 VI. ANDREA AND
OTTAVIANO DE' MEDICI. A.D. 1521-1523 VII. THE PLAGUE
AND THE SIEGE. A.D. 1525-1531 VIII. SCHOLARS OF ANDREA
DEL SARTO
BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
ADORATION. By BARTOLOMMEO PROCESSION TO CALVARY.
By GHIRLANDAIO A SCULPTOR. By ANDREA DEL SARTO
MADONNA AND CHILD WITH SS. JOHN AND ELIZABETH. By
ANDREA DEL SARTO THE HOLY FAMILY. By
BARTOLOMMEO THE SAVIOUR. By ALBERTINELLI VIRGIN
AND CHILD. By ANDREA DEL SARTO ECCE HOMO. By
BARTOLOMMEO

FRA BARTOLOMMEO.

CHAPTER I
.

THOUGHTS ON THE RENAISSANCE.
It seems to be a law of nature that progress, as well as time, should be
marked by periods of alternate light and darkness--day and night.
This law is nowhere more apparent than in the history of Art. Three
times has the world been illuminated by the full brilliance of Art, and
three times has a corresponding period of darkness ensued.
The first day dawned in Egypt and Assyria, and its works lie buried in
the tombs of prehistoric Pharaohs and Ninevite kings. The second day
the sun rose on the shores of many-isled Greece, and shed its rays over
Etruria and Rome, and ere it set, temples and palaces were flooded with
beauty. The gods had taken human form, and were come to dwell with
men.
The third day arising in Italy, lit up the whole western world with the
glow of colour and fervour, and its fading rays light us yet.
The first period was that of mythic art; the world like a child wondering
at all around tried to express in myths the truths it could not
comprehend.
The second was pagan art which satisfies itself that in expressing the
perfection of humanity, it unfolds divinity. The third era of Christian
art, conscious that the divine lies beyond the human, fails in aspiring to
express infinitude.
Tracing one of