THE MIRACLE OF ST. MARK

Academy, Venice

XXXIV.THE MIRACLE OF ST. MARK. BY TINTORETTO

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MORONI

Let us compare this master's famous " Tailor " with his " Lawyer " and " Ecclesiastic." In " The Tailor " the grey black of the under-painting asserts itself overmuch, and is an illustration of the difficulty a painter experiences in evading the influence of his underlying colours. Perhaps in this case the glazes have vanished. When oil and not varnish is used in glazing the carnations, they may evaporate as in this picture. It is, in fact, never wise to trust to one glazing to which a partial scumbling is not added.

There is an account in Mrs. Merrifield's work of the removal of a glass from a picture by Titian, which, until the glass was taken from it, appeared to be fully coloured. It was found, however, that the glazes had flown from the canvas and had adhered to the glass. In a like manner, owing to evaporation or the ignorance of restorers, many of Sir Joshua Reynolds's portraits are now colourless. For all that, the faded flesh of Moroni's " Tailor " and Sir Joshua's monochromes, notwithstanding the loss of their warm transparent hues, are finer pictures than many the colours of which are still in good condition ; for a well-wrought grisaille is in itself a beautiful thing.

In spite of this very noticeable grey ground of the " Tailor's" head, there are some who assert that Moroni painted in colour direct. Rarely is direct [154] colour painting without an underlying preparation to be found in the earlier works, except with Frans Hals and a few others of less importance, and with Velazquez only in his latest stage, and then not often, as we understand direct painting to-day.

Walk round the galleries on Students' Days and compare the opacity of the copies done in direct colour with the translucent quality of the originals, and a good lesson in methods can he taken to heart. Doubtless the other portraits of Moroni were prepared in the same way as the " Tailor," hut with more solid pigment added in the final stage.

The warmly toned face of the " Lawyer " is well contrasted with the solid white of the ruff. Such a tonality in the flesh is more frequent with the Italians than with the Flemish painters, the fairness of whose sitters often induced them to lower the white around the neck that the face might lose less of its brightness by the contrast. And as a rule there is more clear light, though not necessarily a greater luminosity, in the flesh of the Rubens school.

MORONI

THE PORTRAIT OF A TAILOR

National Gallery

In this picture the use of a monochrome is evident.

XXXV. THE PORTRAIT OF A TAILOR. BY MORONI

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CHAPTER IV

THE ITALIAN SCHOOL

PARIS BORDONE

"THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY" has in it no white linen to dull the dazzling neck and bosom, or the scintillating crimson satin. When we consider that it was done about three and a half centuries ago, we may well wonder at the perfection of the craft in its execution.

There are few finer colourists than Bordone at his best. In this picture you will readily recognise the clear white ground with the rich madder glazes in the dress, and that oneness in the painting of the skin so characteristic of the best Italian work.