Giorgione | Page 8

this
was by Bellini is more than probable, for the different versions are
clearly by different painters of his school. By far the finest is the
example which Crowe and Cavalcaselle and Morelli unhesitatingly
ascribe to the young Giorgione; this version is, however, considered by
Signor Venturi inferior to the one now belonging to Count
Lanskeronski in Vienna.[22] Others who, like the writer, have seen
both works, agree with the older view, and regard the latter version,
like the others at Berlin and Rovigo, as a contemporary repetition of
Bellini's lost original.[23]
[Illustration: _Anderson photo. Collection of Mrs. Gardner, Boston,
U.S.A._
CHRIST BEARING THE CROSS]
Characteristic of Giorgione is the abstract thought, the dreaminess of
look, the almost furtive glance. The minuteness of finish reminds us of
Antonello, and the turn of the head suggests several of the latter's
portraits. The delicacy with which the features are modelled, the high
forehead, and the lighting of the face are points to be noted, as we shall
find the same characteristics elsewhere.
[Illustration: Alinari photo] [Uffizi Gallery, Florence
THE KNIGHT OF MALTA]
The "Knight of Malta," in the Uffizi, is a more mature work, and
reveals Giorgione to us as a portrait painter of remarkable power. The

conception is dignified, the expression resolute, yet tempered by that
look of abstract thought which the painter reads into the faces of his
sitters. The hair parted in the middle, and brought down low at the sides
of the forehead, was peculiarly affected by the Venetian gentlemen of
the day, and this style seems to have particularly pleased Giorgione,
who introduces it in many other pictures besides portraits. The oval of
the face, which is strongly lighted, is also characteristic. This work
shows no direct connection with Bellini's portraiture, but far more with
that which we are accustomed to associate with the names of Titian and
Palma. It dates probably from the early part of the sixteenth century, at
a time when Giorgione was breaking with the older tradition which had
strictly limited portraiture to the representation of the head only, or at
most to the bust. The hand is here introduced, though Giorgione feels
still compelled to account for its presence by introducing a rosary of
large beads. In later years, as we shall see, the expressiveness of the
human hand per se will be recognised; but Giorgione already feels its
significance in portraiture, and there is not one of his portraits which
does not show this.[24]
The list of Giorgione's works now numbers seven; the next three to be
discussed are those that Crowe and Cavalcaselle added on their own
account, but about which Morelli expressed no opinion. Two are in
English private collections, the third in the National Gallery. This is the
small "Knight in Armour," said to be a study for the figure of S.
Liberale in the Castelfranco altar-piece. The main difference is that in
the latter the warrior wears his helmet, whilst in the National Gallery
example he is bareheaded. By some this little figure is believed to be a
copy, or repetition with variations, of Giorgione's original, but it must
honestly be confessed that absolutely no proof is forthcoming in
support of this view. The quality of this fragment is unquestionable,
and its very divergence from the Castelfranco figure is in its favour. It
would perhaps be unsafe to dogmatise in a case where the material is so
slight, but until its genuineness can be disproved by indisputable
evidence, the claim to authenticity put forward in the National Gallery
catalogue, following Crowe and Cavalcaselle's view, must be allowed.
[Illustration: Hanfstängl photo. Vienna Gallery

THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS]
The two remaining pictures definitely placed by Crowe and
Cavalcaselle among the authentic productions of Giorgione are the
"Adoration of the Shepherds," belonging to Mr. Wentworth Beaumont,
and the "Judgment of Solomon," in the possession of Mr. Ralph Bankes
at Kingston Lacy, Dorsetshire. The former (of which an inferior replica
with differences of landscape exists in the Vienna Gallery) is one of the
most poetically conceived representations of this familiar subject which
exists. The actual group of figures forms but an episode in a landscape
of the most entrancing beauty, lighted by the rising sun, and wrapped in
a soft atmospheric haze. The landscapes in the two little Uffizi pictures
are immediately suggested, yet the quality of painting is here far
superior, and is much closer in its rendering of atmospheric effects to
the "Adrastus and Hypsipyle." The figures, on the other hand, are weak,
very unequal in size, and feebly expressed, except the Madonna, who
has charm. The lights and shadows are treated in a masterly way, and
contrasts of gloom and sunlight enhance the solemnity of the scene.
The general tone is rich and full of subdued colour.
Now if