picture of milanese madonna purchased

8/14/2019 PICTURE OF MILANESE MADONNA PURCHASED

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PICTURE OF MILANESE MADONNA PURCHASEDAuthor(s): R. P.Source: Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts of the City of Detroit, Vol. 3, No. 8 (MAY,1922), pp. 78-79

Published by: Detroit Institute of ArtsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41500195.

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MADONNANDCHILD, ILANESEVCENTURY.

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78 BULLETINOF THE DETROIT NSTITUTEOF ARTS.PICTURE OF MILANESE MADONNA PURCHASEDAlmostfrom bscurityMilan andthe Lombard region came intoprominence rtistically nly at theend ofthe fifteenthentury. UnlikeFlorenceand Siena withtheirgreattraditions,Milan had been hamp-eredbyeclecticismwhichprevented

originality nd individuality. Inthe fourteenthcentury Milanesepaintingwas Giottesque. Later onPisanello was humbly followed.The country tselfseemed to lackartistic leaders, althoughwith nodearthofartists. The peoplewerewealthy, loving splendorand thedisplay of luxury. And so thatwhichwas pretty eemed to please,rather hanthat whichwas beauti-ful, he material npreferenceo thespiritual.At the end of the sixteenth en-tury,however,artistswere begin-ningto settleabout Milan, havingcome fromBrescia and Vincenza.VincenzoFoppa drew the attentionof the artisticworldto Milan. Atfirst following n line with thePisanello tradition,he later devel-oped his own style. The work ofothers whom he inspired, uch asLeonardo, may well be comparedwith the greatest ftheFlorentine,Venetian and Sinese.Foppa paintedthe MadonnaandChild here reproduced,which isnow in the permanent ollection fthe Detroit Institute of Arts. Itshows he oveof heornate, erhapsan inspiration romPisanello. Theample and beautiful iguresnd the

parapet, recall the work of Gio-vanni Bellini. Similarnicheswereoften used by Mantegna. Theseearliermen, ikeBramante,were ahelp to Foppa, the latter n detailsof architecture. He showed hisgreatness, owever,by taking onlythegood, assimilatingt, and usingwhat he had foundmerely s a solidfoundation orhis original reative-ness.The artist was born in Bresciasometimebetween1425 and 1430.The Anonimocalls him VincenzoVecchio,because ofthegreat ge towhichhe lived. The date of hisdeath is now ordinarilygiven asbetweenMay, 1515, and October,1516. He has also beencalled Vin-cenzo di Zoppa. The firstrecordwhichwe definitelyave is 1456, nwhichhe is mentioned s a citizenofBrescia. The sameyearhe seemsto have gone to Pavia with hisfamily,wherehe remained t inter-vals until1468. In 1459-60he wasemployedby Francesco Sforza fordecoration n Milan. In 1461 hewas at Genoa working n frescoeswhich he nevercompleted, eturn-ing to Pavia, where once was thesigned and dated picture in theChurch of the Carmine,now lost.There svery ittle fhis work boutMilan,buta number fexamples nPavia, inthedepartmentfLuguria,and inGenoa,wherehe was decora-ting a chapel from 1469 to 1471.It was formerlyhoughtthat hedied about 1492 following ommis-



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BULLETINOF THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS 79sionsin Pavia, after he year 1474.Bernard Berenson, in his cata-logue of Foppa's work, mentionsthirtyxamples, goodlynumber fwhich are madonnas. His bestwork is of Saint Sebastian in theBrera,Milan, and six panels ofthealtarpieceat Santa Maria de Cas-tello at Savona, painted n 1489.He has been ratedas secondonlyto GiovanniBellini and Mantegnain Northerntaly. The latterwasthe giantwho brought o Venice anew life, nitiating he GoldenAgeofherRenaissance. Naturalism ndstrong oloring re characteristicfboth men. He is also reminiscentofBellini n hisreds,gold,unctuousblack and Frenchgray. His workis not so clearlyVenetian in thetypesthemselves s in theirpoiseand relationship to each other.They are gracefuland beautiful,but monumental.The architraves re a cool gray,the walls and Virgin'shalo pome-granate red with linear designsingold. The Virgin's loak and head-dress are black. Christ's rayed

The fleshs slightlywarm vory, utwithoutthe life of the figuresbyBellini. The cloak may have beena deep blue, of which traces seemstill evident.The upper part of the picture sin gold,with the following nscrip-tion, n part nowdestroyed: Totapulcraes, amicamea,etmaculanonest in te ( Thou art ali beautiful,wellbeloved,and there s no sin inthee. ) About thehalo oftheVirginis inscribed, Maria Mater dei me-mentome Maria ( Mary MotherofGod, rememberme,Mary ). Onherpale, lightred dress at theneckis written,Mater. It was in thefifteenthenturythat the cult oftheVirginwasagaingaining trengthas in the earlyByzantinePeriod.This madonnahas therobustness,the concentrationnd unityofonewho has thought,who has givensignificance nd is emphasizingamessage. Like primitivework ithas a sincerity nd frankness hatis more wholesome han the pretti-ness and affectation f later daypainters.nimbus is a linear design in gold. R. P.

PUBLISHEDMONTHLY, CTOBER OMAY.NCLUSIVE,AT THE DETROITINSTITUTEOF ARTS OF THE CITY OF DETROIT. ENTEREDAS SECONDCLASS MATTERAT THE POST OFFICE AT DETROIT,MICHIGAN, NDERTHE ACTOF OCTOBER ,1917.


picture of milanese madonna purchased

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