Norwich bulletin., 1914-04-07
ITALIAN POTRAlTURE
Miss Edith Abbott, Former Member
 Speaks Before Art Students As

A delightful talk upon Some Phases of Italian Portraiture was given at Slater hall on Monday ev- ening by Miss Edith Abbott of Welles- ley. Mass. under the auspices of the Art Students association. In the absence of the Association president, Miss Alice w. Cogswef introduced the speaker.
 Miss Abbott, she said, was one of the charter members of the associa- those who remembered the happy days in the art school at that time. At present she Is associate professor of art at Wellesley college. Miss Ab- bolt congratulated the association up- on the work they are doing and com pared them with the Copley society of Boston, which they resembled on smaller scale of opportunity.
 In introducing her subject, she said that we usually think of the art Of the 14th and 18th centuries as being wholly religious. But other subjects were also used in the 18th century and artists began to be interested in con- temporary history and in portraiture This period shows the gradual em- phasis of the secular spirit. These conflicting ideals of the renaissance came together in the subjects ordered by religious patrons and the artists own interest in the life of their day.
 
 scious freedom of the individual.
 The first pictures shown were ex- amples of medieval art-13th century paintings which emphasized the aloofness and lack of personality. The next one was from Fra F'ilippi Lip pi. 15e years later. and showed a trend toward individualism and the secular spirit This reached its cul- imitation in Venice. An example shown was the picture celebrating great naval victory where Christ is con scious of the worship of the adoring admirals. The formal symmetry of the early works gives way to looser form of composition and a division in to groups.
 The first portraits were merely a veracious study of exterior form. They showed any peculiar or individ- in profile against a background of sky and showed only the head and shoulders, which gave them solemn air. Pemqino's masterpiece indeed shows a poetic quality, finely model ed delicately and sympatheticaly studied, but still in low relief.
 The Mona Lisa shows great stride toward the psychological. Here we find for the first time a glimpse of the inner springs of life, There is both a technical change and change of attitude. The hands are made a
 
 brought in so that the pulsating life is felt. Leonardo, too. was the first to use light and shade for usbtile modelling.
 Another phase introduced by Ti- tian was the expression of mood. This portrayal of mood and temper ment brings one into companionship with the picture, as in The Concert. Miss Abbott then spoke of the F'lorentine School. the portrait of Dante and the det the Florentines owed to the Medice family in the line of art. The pictures showed how their portraits were introduced into all the famous paintings of this time, At 1 first only deceased members were painted with the Holy Family. Sew eral examples of Ghilandajes beauti- fui frescoes gave portraits of emin- ent F1orentines of his day and show ed how the desire for the patrous portrait often made the artist change 1 the compisition of his picture. Ra- phaels work ccincides with the literary work of the greatest courier of the l age and his picture of the latter i reaches the highest ideals in art and l literature of that culture which was l the fundamental of the renaissance l Michelangelo. the last noted, was 1 more of a seer and and an individual l iSt
 1 Dr. w T. Browne assisted in show l ing the pictures at the lecture.