The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-12-06

artist rather perhaps than merely a
great painter"
Ghirlandaio. G449-1494) was another
painter of this period, who Mr.. Foulke
stressed as being great not only him
self but because he was one of the
instructors of Michael Angelo His
work is often belittled and he is ae-
cused of lack of religious feeling, and
in his pictures he introduces much
worldly splendor. Florence" Mr..
Foulke continued, "was then a city
of great wealth and luxury which ap-
pears in his paintings. The Birth OF
the Virgin and of John the Baptist
are shown amid surroundings of quite
incredible splendor His faces were
largely portraits. He could combine
great numbers of persons in his pic
lures without confusion and each face
and each animal has an interest"
Come to Venice.
Now we come 10 one of the great
est names in history; to Leonardo de
Vinci, who began his career in Flor
ence and continued it in Milan. The
spirit of the Renaissance was most
intense and eager curiosity and am
bition in regard to everything that
could be known or done in science,
literature and the arts. Leonardo was
a special illustration of this. he was
a sculDtor, a painter and he considered
himself most of~all a scientist, espe-
cially in engineering, in mechanics,
and natural history The paintings
which remain, though few in number,
are all masterpieces. He was per
! l., g. - Al
His backgrounds are faulty but in his
figures he is distinguished above all
others in his gradations of light and
shade, and the rounding of the human
form. He is moreover above all
others the portrayer of certain subtle
! characteristics which give a remark
able hidden meaning to his portraits
! The most extraordinary is the Mona
| Lisa, He worked for years slowly
and laboriously upon this portrait. He
had musicians play to charm the lad
while he was depicting her features
and it is justly Considered one of the
| greatest works of art in existence
! His painting of the Last Supper in
| the chancel of one of the Milan
churches has become the standard
conception of that event.
Faultless Painter
"One of the most faultless of paint
| ers was Andrea del Sarto, He had not
the originality of Botticelli or Leon
| ardo but his pictures are more perfect
/ " finished than theirs. He is an ad
mirable painter and only because he
| lived in the supreme era OF art, does
he fail to rank as the foremost artist
! of his time.
| For the crown of FIorentine ar
/ came with Michaelangelo. who was {
/ Florentine. though his finest work wa;
! done in Rome. He, like Leonardo, wa:
an illustration of the univ ersal genius
| of the Renaissance. He was a poet o
no mean rank; some If his sonnetE
are classics in Italian literature. HI
| was possibly the supreme architecr o
modern times. Though not permitted
! to design St Peters, his aid had TO b.
asked il the construction of the dome
! aud in this he created perhaps tht
| most perfect model of modern times
| He was prominently d sculptor; HI
| designated himself as such and th'
/ great statuary from his Chisel, the
| David, the Pieta, the Moses, TRANSCEND
/ anything seen in Europe since 1ht
/ days of ancient Greece. Much agains
/ his will to him was assigned the tasl
| of painting the freScOes upon the Sis