New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-10-20
MATTERS Of ART
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cal Society rooms, hoping to interest IN
fluential people In his plan. but the time
was unfavorable, the interest ana eheT-
gies of the public being engaged Tar
otherwise In 1863 he vainly offered one
hundred and thirty-two OF his pictures
to the New York Historical Society ior
$4,000. He found no one TO second ms
design, and even after the Civil w var IIls
success was no better. He was forced
to deposit the greater number or ms
pictures with the trustees OF Yale COL
lege as a pledge for loan Wnlch -tle
college made him. Being unable TO meet
his obligations, the pictures became INC
property of the college.
Among the pictures offered to the HIS
'torical Society in 1863, the only one which
can be definitely connected with those
row owned by Mrs. Holden. was the
Madonna and Child attributed to Leo
nardo. Number SO in the Holden catalogue
and Number II In this exhibition. The
boston exhibition in l8S3-lSA was maze
up of works which for some reason We're
not deposited at Yale, and others, when
II may be presumed were acquired later.
This was the collection bought by MI
Holden in 1884
Let it be said at once that 1t is not
a great collection. The twenty-seVen
paintings shown at the Museum may
be best characterized, in a nutshell rs
interesting rather than important. But
their interest goes deep, carrying ds
back into close contact with some OF
the most engaging elements in the his
tory of Italian art. The subjects, III
course are mostly religious, treated
with the naive simplicity of the ear
lier Renaissance, and the traits that
lie on the surface everywhere are the
sweet sentiment. the gentle naturalism'
and the refined manner which belong
peculiarly to the Florentine school. De-
velopments typical Of other regions are
paintings. but the prevailing atmOs-
phere is that Of the Tuscan primitives.
It is q very delicate atmosphere and
In one respect it has Jared a little
hard at the hands Of time, so far as
this particular collection is concerned,
Repeatedly, in the too sleek character
Of a surface or in the notation Of some
detail, we suspect the Intervention OF
an old hand more jealous than discreet.
Take. for example, the first picture en-
countered on entering the gallery AMI
turning to the left, the Madonna and
Child" attributed to a painter Of the
school of Luini. Touches Of repaint-
ing rather than the original work
would seem to account for a quality in
the tone unduly heavy and nerveless
for even a minor craftsman in THAT
debOnair Milanese circle, and IL is fair
to surmise also that in its pristine state
the types in the composition had ten
derer suavity than they possess to-
day. It would be interesting TO know
just what has happened to these pict-
ures, whether they have remained quite
untouched since 1884, and if it is,
therefore, to the period Of Jarves' own
ership that we must ascribe whatever
cleaning or retouching they have
undergone. There are instances OF
what looks like restoration even earli-
er than any which Jarves could have
known about. In the background "
the Virgin and Child" by Lorenzo di
Crcdi there is an architectural motive
hardly suggesting the hand which drew
the figure Of the Madonna.
But this painting, by the way. is Il
perfect example Of what constitutes
the charm of the collection. 1t may not
be a full-rounded masterpiece, but 1t is,
in its way, exquisite. There is a great
linear distinction about the head of the
Madonna. and not only in the face but
in the hair and wimple the color is OF
pure loneliness all compact The paint
ing here is as blond as honey, almost,
and as delightfully."- transparent. This
is one Of the major things in the col
lection. and with it we would place the
Madonna and Child" by Francesca
ROtticini, in which the rosy bodice OF
the Madonna seems fairly to glow,
suffusing the whole picture with
soft radiance The student will note
in this the cul ious power Of the early
Florentines TO endue their religious fig
ures with a grave dignity while por-
traying them in almost artlessly init