Evening star., 1928-04-22
RAPHAEL AND THE RENAISSANCE
OF PAINTING,


w YE have said that Italy is en-
erev. but also Italy is color;
AN from Como'S blue waters,
purple hills and rusSet skies
to Taormina's lavender
mountains rising from golden sea, and
Strombolis black mouth spilling liquid
yellow in the night--here the rainbow
of Natures palette tintS every scene and
catches the eye with endless combina-
tions. How could these men refrain from
naintinp how could they help make
Italy the picture gallery of the world.
richer in beauty than the north III
wealth?
Painting is the distinctive art of
modern times or was TIL photography
stole fits livelihood from 1t. and music
made itself mistress of the arts In the
nineteenth century. The Greeks had
nainted but their work had long since
been destroyed: this is the tragedy Of
color. that 1t fades, while the arts of
line can shape themselves in stone and
challenge time No wonder Leonardo
spent many hours in seeking colorS that
would not die. And so Italy had to be-
Gin again. Greek teachers of the art
cama to Florence from ConStantinople
in the DAYS of Dante's youth and trans
mitted what remained Of ancient and
BYZANTINE skill; but for the most part
1t was experiment that found the way
Al first the italian painters used the
ancient tempera~-colors mixed with
water wax. or gunl---or they made
frescos: that is. they laid their colofS
roughly upon the fresh 1T frescol wet
plaster of church or monastery walls
Andrea del CaStagna discovered better
r,cthods of mixing colors with olh ano |
tho characteristic medium OF Renais-
sance art was ready for the masters
nand-.
WHY painting should so dominate
the period, as sculpture had domlnateu
Greece and architecture medieval Eu~
rope 1t is not easy to say, Symonos
thinks it was due to the discovery OF
the soul, to the introspection that Ihad !
come with Christianity, and that shame
of the body which theology nad m
sfilled. ''the emotions written on the
face hocsme Of more Importance than
the modelling of the limbs But
Gothic sculpture had carved emotions
an the face, and Renaissance painting
world soon rejoice in showing the
modelling of the limbs: 1t Is only OF the
northern painting that we may speak
of pr1Iderv limiting the artist 10 tne
head and even there. not till RnbenS
was d~ad! We cannot saw we Know
nnlv that color was on the hills and
In the sky. that color rioted IN gar
monts and decorations as wealth
brought the Orient to the west; the
church was now rich enough to IN
dnlee itself in the fiaeting glow 81
nictures. and merchants now rich
enough to paw for portre;ts that might
give thnm second life The conditions
were ready and painting came.
At first. of course. 1t was religious
oaintfrr. To SEQ its beginning We must
20 to the Ufizi Gallery. In Florence. ana
stand patiently before the "St. Cecelia
AT Giovanni Cenni. called Cimabue. II
Il much obs~ured by time, which has
no great use for man II is now almost |
TOO years since Cimabue playing truant
from school. watched the Greek maestri !
who taught painting at Florence In the !
Via de- Pittori. or the Painters Way /
and in this fresco something OF the
Byzantine stiffness and lifelessneSs re- I
mains. But cross over. On the sale /
wings Of imagination to the National :