There is a truthfulness of
appearance--an out-of-doors feeling--about his work that is quite
captivating. In addition, the spirit of his art was earnestness,
honesty, and sincerity, and even the awkward bits of drawing which
occasionally appeared in his work served to add to the general naive
effect of the whole.
[Illustration: FIG. 37.--ANTONELLO DA MESSINA. UNKNOWN MAN. LOUVRE.]
Cima da Conegliano (1460?-1517?) was probably a pupil of Giovanni
Bellini, with some Carpaccio influence about him. He was the best of
the immediate followers, none of whom came up to the master. They were
trammelled somewhat by being educated in distemper work, and then
midway in their careers changing to the oil medium, that medium
having been introduced into Venice by Antonello da Messina in 1473.
Cima's subjects were largely half-length madonnas, given with strong
qualities of light-and-shade and color. He was not a great originator,
though a man of ability. Catena (?-1531) had a wide reputation in his
day, but it came more from a smooth finish and pretty accessories than
from creative power.
Pages:
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139