The sun., 1907-12-10
RENAISSANCE PAINTERS.


Inc NorCn Atallan PAINTERS Ok the HenalB-
sance' and is the fourth Of the series devoted
to that glorious epoch Of passion and beauty
and power. In the earlier volumes the
critic dealt with the Venetian. the Flor
entine and the central Italian Renaissance
painters; with the prcsent.volume. all nota-
BILE contributions TO sound and courageous
art criticism. Early in his career Berenson
hitched his star TO the wagon of Signor
Moreli. who was as great an iconOclast
In pictorial criticism as Is Richard Strauss
in the art of musical composition. But
the young American has eyes of his own.
and while admitting in his accustomed frank
and whole hearted manner his indebted
ness to the method of Morelli he formu-
lated in no uncertain manner an sesthetic
code for himself In each Of his four
volumes no enunciates his artistic credo.
and at the close of North Italian Painters"
he emphasizes his conviction in capitalized
letters thus: "In figure painting. the tyne
OF all painting. i have endeavored to set
forth that the principal II not sole sources
of life enhancement are Tactile Values.
Movement and Space Composition, by
which mean ideated sensations Of con-
tact. OF texture. Of weight. of support. OF
energy and of union with ones surround
ingS.' Color. too. he adds. though not so
vital to figure painting. cannot be neglected
AZ a powerful and enhancing emotional
element. When he wrote his Venetian
Painters" over fifteen years ago Mr. Beren-
son did not handle the theme OF color 50
broadly as he would probably handle IL
to-day. And it is enjoyable to see how
his various books lit. though rather loosely.
in a scheme like the above. Florence
Giotto. Pollauoh (Antoniol for tactile
values and movement; Venice for color
Giorgiones Titan, Tintoretto; central Italy
for the great space composers and illus
traitors. PerIgino and Raphael. not for
getting Duccio. Mr.. Berenson does not
adhere 10 this rigid grouping We merely
suggest that each Of his erudite and charm
ing books illustrates. without forcing the
note, a phase Of his principles. We need
not stop here 10 wonder at the changes in
the spelling of proper names IL was once
Pinturicchio; il is now Pintoricchio. And.
as may he seen. Pollsiuoli il no longer
Pollajuolio.
Mr.. Berenson keeps perspective we'll in
view. After the youth of the Renaissance
had fed its art stalled, aged rapidly and
begat a mOnstrous crew OF imitators. who
poisoned the well springs OF other ma
tions, notably the original art Of France
North Italian Painters" bulks larger
than it's predecessors. yet the author dis
claims the inclusion of all Of that scattered
school. lie writes about pictures he has
seen. and his index is full OF interrogation
marks. To Pi-anello. delightful artist, is
accorded full justice; but perhaps the most
remarkable essay is the chapter devoted
10 Andrea Mantegna. 1t will hardly please
the admirers of this rare painter. Foppa,
VerOnese. Ambrogio da Predis. Sodoma.
Beltraffio, Borgogone. Luini, Bramante.
Bramantino. Correggio. Cossa, Dosso Dossi.
Lorenzo Costa, Defendente Ferrari, Ercole
Roherti, Francia, Gaudenzio. Leonardo and
his school. Moretto. Morone. Carlo Crivelh,
both Domenico and francesca Parmigia-
nino, Andrea Solario. Francesca Torbido,
Cosimo Tura, Carpaccio. down to Marco
Loppo. IL not all written about at great
length. are carefully indexed az 10 place
and works. The study of Leonardo Is
worth the reading. though we think Mr..
Berenson too severe in his judgments of
Da Vinci's pupils and Luini. Bernardino
Luini was a painter of inherent dignity
and subtle sweetness. In the Berensonian
schematOlogy he primarily stands for tactile
values. therefore he is fiouted.
II is interesting 20 contrast the Correggio
Of Mr.. Berenson with the Correggio of Mr..
T. Surge Moore. The former is no such
special ploader as the Englishman, and we
think that he takes a broader view of the
Parmesan painters position in the hierarchy
Of art. Because of the nature of the ter
ritory traversed these North Italian men
do not furnish such aesthetic material 70.
discussion as their contemporaries lower
down on the map. 1T had its share, says
the critic, -in the successes and failures of
medieval Italian art. IL was lit up by the
Byzantine glow radiating from Duccio and
quickened, as in the rest of the peninsula,
by the genius Of Giotto." Altochiero Alti-
chieri of Verona was really the first imposing
artistic personality that appeared in the
region in the second half of the fourteenth
century His compositions have not that
happy emptiness" before which you
breathe freely, as in the works Of Orcagna,
Giotto or SimOne Martini. This physical
sensation Mr.. Berenson often dwells upon
when praisinG the paintings of Raphael and
the other great illustrators" and space
composers. He does not see much per-
sonality in Raphael's line nor il his color
so luscious As the Venetians. But the
sense Of balance, of harmonious masses.
of room for the eye to rove and-by a singi,-
lar physical transposition-for the lungs
to breathe. cause an exhilarating feeling.
feeling. for example, that may be noticed
in the presence of Claudes landscapes but
not experienced when gazing upon the
landscapes Of Monet or Cezanne.
MIR. BerensOn is catholic in his sympathies
he does not deride modern art; he says wise.
even warm words about Whistler and Degas
above all. Degas. whose sense Of tactile
values is superb; yet one can detect that
the color. the sensuous element in modern
art, il for him largely negligible. Shorn of
color, art would lose its least intellec-
tual element, ne believes. Berenson is
an ascetic thus far. The line. the en-
closing, vital. circumscrihfng line, repre-
sents for him the highest there is in
art-not the bounding wiry" and eccentric
line Of William Blake. but the line that was
born in Florence. We confess to enjoying
without stint that too brief volume devoted
to the FIorentines. The Giotto study is the
swiftest and most comprehensive notation
L Nh.s.N IL. \