carried on the sella gestatoria. The groap containing
the pope and his cortege, and that of the prostrate



ROMAN SCHOOL. 173

fleliodorus, whose armor could not protect him
against a simple sign made by the divine messenger
are the finest parts of this magnificent composition,
which, in movement and vivacity, is equalled by no
other of Raphael's works. Raphael, however,, who
drew the whole of it, only painted the principal
group. That which contains several women was
doue by a pupil of Correggio, Pietro di Cremona, and
the remainder are by Giulio Romano.

Julius II. no doubt intended to fill the whole of
this sta?isa. It is thought that Raphael painted the
Deliverance of jS£. Peter on this panel, because Giu-
liano della Rovere, before becoming pope, was the
Cardinal'of San Pietro in vincoli, an hereditary dignity
in his family. Others, however, believe that this
fresco wa3 painted by Raphael on the accession of
Leo X., who, when Cardinal Giovanni de Medici, had
been made prisoner at Ravenna, and had escaped
through a chance little short of miraculous. This
would be to find a flattering resemblance in the new
pope to the prince of the Apostles.

This fresco is divided into three compartments.
In that on the right, are the soldiers who guard the
entrance to the prison ; in the centre compartment,
St. Peter awakened by the angel ; and in that on the
left, the angel leading the apostle down a winding
staircase. The principal effect of the picture arises
from the contrast between the source of light in these
divisions. The soldiers, in deep shadow, sleep under
the dim light of a lamp, whilst the angel, luminous



174 WONDERS OF ITALIAN ART.

as a star, diffuses a brilliant light in the prison. In
producing such an effect, which any one would have
thought conceived by the Flemish Gherardo delle
Notti (Gherard Honthorst), Raphael has proved that
he had a complete mastery over all the difficulties of
his art, even those of color. Critics, who are so in-
genious as to discover in the work of the painter
thoughts which he had not conceived — which is often
done by literary commentators — have believed that
they recognized in the face of the Apostle a mixture
of the features of the old Julius and the young Raph-
ael. They say that he must have done as Apelles
did, who, when painting a god for the temple of
Ephesus, found means to combine in the masculine
face of Jupiter, the effeminate features of Alexander.
Yisitors may be amused in discovering how far this
supposition is consistent with truth.

Julius II. is also represented, in spite of the
anachronism, as presiding in pontifical costume at
the Miracle of Bolsena, one of the frescoes in the
same room. This name of " Miracle," or " Mass of
Bolsena," refers, I believe, to the tradition recording
the supernatural conversion of a priest, who having
doubted the real presence of our Lord in the Euchar-
ist, suddenly saw, at the moment of consecration,
drops of blood flow from the wafer.* In this very
animated and effective fresco, which is arranged with
so much skill in a space above a window, apparent-

* The linen cloth, said to bear the stains of this miracle, constitutei
the greatest treasure of the beautiful cathedral of Orvieto.



ROMAN SCHOOL. 175

ly too limited to be almost useless, the coloring is so
strong and bright that it might be attributed to the
Venetians.

St. Leo stopping Attila at the gates of Rome, is a
subject which would certainly suit better the history
of Julius II. than that of Leo X., who was a learned
but timid pope, and loved peace as much as his
terrible predecessor had loved war, and who placed
the now well-known papal umbrella in the hands of
his peaceful halberdiers. However, it was certainly
in honor of Leo that Raphael painted this fresco,
which was somewhat later in date than the three
others in the same hall. Leo X. is represented as St.
Leo, and behind him Raphael has placed himself
bearing a cross, again accompanied by his old master
Perugino. The greatest merit of this picture, or, at
all events, that which first attracts attention, is the
striking contrast between the Christian group of the
pope in the midst of his attendants, displaying the
calm majesty of faith and resignation, and the dis-
orderly army of the Huns, in which are seen the fury
and terror of superstitious barbarians.

The fourth room, " Stanza di Constantino," had
been merely sketched by Raphael when death over-
took him, in 1520. He had only finished the two
allegorical figures of Justice and Mercy, both admir-
able from their beauty, their expression, and from the
coloring, which is wonderfully bright. But he had
attempted an important innovation, that of oil-paint-
ing on the wall. In fact, his sketch of the victory of



176 WONDERS OF ITALIAN ART.

Constantine oyer Maxentius at the Ponte Molle, had
been covered by his order with a coating of oil, on
which he intended to paint this large composition
Giulio Romano, commisioned bj the pope to finish
it, did not dare to continue the experiment, and re-
turned to fresco. This battle, in which the drawing
of the master has been religiously respected by the
disciple, is, I believe, the largest historical painting
known. In the arrangement, the genius of Raphael
appears powerful enough to grasp all the details of
such a combat, and self-contained enough to reduce
these confused details to order. As for the execution,
which does great honor to Giulio Eomano, it might
have been reproached with being too crude, hard, and
dark ; but Poussin remarked that in such a subject
these — perhaps voluntary faults — might be taken as
excellences.

Raphael had also sketched the Baptism of Con-
stantine, in the composition of which his powerful
hand may be easily recognized. The painting itself,
feebly executed, is by his pupil Gian Francesco Penni,
called il Fattore, or il Fattorino, because he was
charged with, the household affairs, with which Ra-
phael did not much concern himself. Raphael left him
half of his wealth. As for the Appearance of the
Cross — In hoc signo vinces — which makes a pendant
to the Baptism of Constantine, it is believed that the
whole work, sketch and painting, belongs to Giulio
Romano, the other heir of Raphael. It is one of the
works in which he has shown the greatest boldness



ROMAN SCHOOL. 177

and vigor. In the background of this picture he
has introduced some of the buildings of the Rome of
his time, an authorised anachronism. But it has not
been explained through what artist's fancy he has
placed in an angle that hideous dwarf endeavoring to
place a magnificent helmet on his deformed head —
Thersites putting on the armor of Achilles. And
yet this figure is celebrated even through its ugliness.
It is, perhaps, the first example of the grotesque being
mixed with the beautiful, an easy and dangerous
expedient to produce an effect by contrast, and one
which lias been greatly abused.

It would be unjust not to mention the grisailles
of the basement in this room and the preceding one,
which are well executed by that Polidoro da Cara-
vaggio, who, from being at first a mason's laborer,
made himself a painter, by studying the frescoes of
Giovanni da Udine, and was worthy to receive lessons
from Raphael. His works complete the decoration
of these famous camere. I hope to be pardoned for
having dwelt longer here than on any other collection
of paintings, because of their importance and the
name of their author. We may say of them what
Montesquieu profoundly, if boldly, has said of the
works o':' antiquity: "To believe that they may be
surpassed will always be only to prove our ignorance
of them."

Besides his frescoes, unhappily immortal rather by
their merit than by the durability of their materials,
Raphael has left in the palace of the popes three
12



178 WONDERS OF ITALIAN ART.

pictures which have been less injured by time. They
are now in the museum of the Yatican.

The first of the three, in order, is the wonderful
Madonna di Foligno (also called the Vierge au Don-
alaire). We have already mentioned it as among the
most celebrated of the enthroned Madonnas surround-
ed by saints. This picture was ordered of Raphael
by Sigismondo Conti, an officer of the household of
Julius II. The painter has introduced him into the
picture kneeling in the group on the left, opposite
St. John the Baptist. It is a fine portrait of an old
man, the striking reality of whose figure forms a
happy contrast with the celestial character given to
the Virgin and her son. From this portrait arose the
name of Vierge au Donataire.

This masterpiece, the only equal of which in its
particular kind is the Madonna del Pesoe at Madrid,
was painted before the Coronation of the Virgin^ a
large picture which Raphael several times began and
then left for other work, and which at his death was
still little more than a sketch. It was finished partly
by Giulio Romano and partly by il Fattore, and their
work is too visible for it to be attributed to tLeir
master. The sketch only is by Raphael.

To see Raphael in all his grandeur, his genius
fully developed by labor and experience, we must
contemplate his last work, The Transfiguration,
which was placed over his head when he lay in state,
and which was carried in the procession at his mag-
nificent funeral obsequies like a sacred relic. Whilst



ROMAN SCHOOL. 179

deploring the early death of Raphael when thirty-
seven years old to a day,* profoundly lamented not
only by his scholars, but by a sorrowing people, many
have inquired if it were not a fortunate occurrence
for his fame; if having already attained perfection,
he would not have run the risk of surviving his genius.
I cannot admit such a source of consolation. I be-
lieve that however perfect and great Raphael might
be, he would have improved, and that after having
surpassed all his rivals, lie would have surpassed him-
self. Michael Angelo, who at fifteen years of age had
sculptured the mask of a Faun, painted the Last
Judgment at sixty-seven. Titian, who also began to
paint when quite young, worked gloriously until the
close of his life, prolonged to nearly a century. Pous-
sin was seventy -one when he painted the Deluge, the
last and best of his works. And Murillo, to conclude
my examples, taking only the most notable, painted
his most celebrated pictures between the ages of fifty
and sixty -four, the close of his life. Had these four
great men died at the same age as Raphael, they
would have been far from taking the place they now
occupy in the annals of art— that eminent rank to
which universal admiration has raised them. But
why seek proofs elsewhere than in the history of
Raphael himself? Had he once gone back? Was
he not always advancing, and was not this famous
Transfiguration, the greatest height his genius reach-

• Fc iris hum mi Good Fridir. 119?. jn«l dVd on Onod Friday,
1520



180 WONDERS OF ITALIAN ART.

ed, the last of his works ? Had he died sooner we
should not have known what he could have done ;
had be lived longer, can we not believe that he might
have done even greater % In the history of the arts
there is another man who resembles Raphael in genius
as in fate ; Mozart also possessed a soul full of deep
feeling, an exquisite taste, a sublime, varied, and
fertile genius, both in its commencement and close.
A composer at six years of age and dead at thirty-
six, he crowned the list of his works by the " Re-
quiem," and said when dying, " It is too soon ; I had
overcome every obstacle, and was going to write from
the dictation of my own heart." It was too soon also
for Raphael, and his unhappy death must ever leave
a feeling of regret in the hearts of lovers of painting.
" Oli most happy and thrice blessed spirit," says
Yasari, " of whom all are proud to speak, whose
actions are celebrated with praise by all men, and
the least of whose works left behind thee is admired
and prized ! When Raphael died, well might Faint-
ing have departed also, for when he closed his eyes,
she too was left as it were blind."

The picture of the Transfiguration, ordered by
Cardinal Griulio de Medici, was intended for a small
town in the south of France, Narbonne, of which he
was archbishop. Rome however retained this great-
est work of her painter. I am not aware that any
adverse criticism has been passed on this picture,
except that the action, being double, causes a want of
unity. But we can refer those, who venture on this



ROMAN SCHOOL. 181

criticism to Matt. xvii. for the scene here delineated.
We there find not only Christ between Moses and
Elias, and his three disciples, Peter, James, and John,
dazzled by the brightness of the apparition and pros-
trate through terror; but also at the foot of the
mountain, the people waiting for their Messiah, to
bring to Him the child possessed by the devil to be
cured. Yasari says of it, "In this work the master
has of a truth produced figures and heads of such
extraordinary beauty, so new, so varied, and at all
points so admirable, that among the many works
executed by his hand, this, by common consent of all
artists, is declared to be the most worthily renowned,
the most excellent, the most divine. But as if that
sublime genius had gathered all the force of his
powers into one eifort, as one who had finished the
great work which he had to accomplish, he touched
the pencil no more."

Raphael had at first imitated Perugino. After-
wards he studied Leonardo da Yinci, and formed his
style on that of the painter of the Last Supper • then
from the Frate (Fra Bartolommeo) he learned per-
spective as well as some processes of drawing and
coloring ; then he studied Michael Angelo and anat-
omy, in order to paint the nude, foreshortening, and
the articulation of limbs; he afterwards studied back-
grounds, landscapes, animals, vestments, skies and
effects of sunlight, shadow, night, and artificial light,
and adding to all these acquirements his own genius,
his feeling and passion for the beautiful, he attained
the highest summit of perfection.



182 WONDERS OF TTALIAN ART.

" The graceful Raphael Sanzio of Urbino," says
Vasari, at the commencement of his biography, " offers
one of the most striking proofs of the munificence of
Heaven, who is sometimes pleased to accumulate on
one head gifts and graces which are more commonly
distributed among a number of individuals. Such
men are not men, but mortal gods." "If Raphae'
is to be compared with other masters," add the an-
notators of Vasari, " he will ever be found the great-
est, because he alone has almost given speech to his
mute art. The others make an impression and arouse
thoughts by what they exhibit ; but Raphael speaks
— and we seem to hear the most harmonious and per-
suasive language. He is not deep and impenetrable,
like Leonardo da Yinci ; lie does not overwhelm the
spectator like Michael Angelo ; he does not intox-
icate like Correggio ; he does not possess the magic of
Titian, the pomp of Paolo Veronese or Tintoretto,
the brilliancy of Rubens or Murillo. He fights like
the ancient Apollo, without showing either anger or
effort."

Before leaving Rome we must also glance at the
four magnificent Sibyls of Santa Maria della Pace,
and the Isaiah in San Agostino ; and, in the Bor-
ghese palace, at the portrait of Csesar Borgia, on
whose calm handsome face we cannot yet read every
crime — a Nero at twenty years of age. We must
also notice in the Sciarra palace the portrait of a
young man who is unknown, called the Suonatore di
Violino, because he holds in his hand, together with



M






I



? ri



>




THE



Nem






ROMAN SCHOOL.



185



Borne flowers, the bow of a violin. I do not think any
one will contradict me, when I say that this is the
most admirable portrait that can be imagined ; it is,




THE VIOLIN-PLATER.

By Raphail. In tht Sciarra Gallery, Rome.

indeed, beyond a portrait. In this noble and touch-
ing face, in the studied attitude, in the graceful
arrangement of li«jrlit and shade, we feel that the
painter wished to unite his own thought to the work



186 WONDERS OF ITALIAN ART.

of nature ; we feel that be composed this picture
Painted in 1518, in the charming style of the Madon-
na della Sedia, the Suonatore di Violino is also one
of those incomparable works which can only be
understood by careful, respectful, and loving con-
templation, and which leave an indelible remembrance
on the mind.

The works of Raphael are by no means confined
to Italy. We will now seek them through the rest
of Europe, and first in Spain, where we shall find the
greatest number. It is not surprising that the mon-
archy of the powerful Charles V., and of such an
ardent collector as Philip IV., should possess more
than any other. The Museo del Rey, at Madrid,
contains two portraits and seven pictures by this
master. Rome alone possesses a larger number.

The painter of the Transfiguration, of the Spas-
imo, and of thirty Holy Families or Madonnas, ren-
dered himself so famous as an historical painter, espe-
cially of sacred history, that there is scarcely any
room to praise him as a portrait painter. However
we meet everywhere with some specimen of his won-
derful talent in this style, and we cannot fail to
recognize that the superiority of Raphael is as great
in a simple portrait as in sacred subjects, and that in
this branch also he ranks before Titian, Yandyck,
Velasquez, and Rembrandt.

At Madrid, his three portraits, all of them men's
heads, preserve him this pre-eminence ; they are per-
fect, and worthy of Raphael. The name of one



ROMAN SCHOOL. 187

original only of these portraits is known ; this is the
famous lawyer Bartoli de Sassoferrato. But Raphael
in painting him had only to refresh and brighten an
older portrait, as Bartoli died at Perugia in 1359.
One of the two others, that of a gentleman with a
black beard, and with a large flat cap, may be an-
other portrait of Balthazar Castiglione, the poet,
nobleman, and friend of Raphael, who in that case
must have painted him when younger than the pic-
ture in the Louvre represents him. In the third of
these portraits — a cardinal with a red cap and robe —
I thought I recognized, by the long aquiline nose and
thin face, and by a likeness to Pascal and Conde,
that cardinal Giulio de Medici for whom the Trans-
figuration was painted when he was archbishop of
Narbonne, and whom Raphael has painted in full
length near Leo X. in the portrait group in the Pitti
gallery.

Of the seven pictures of which I have still to speak,
the first brought to Spain was a Holy Family, which
has received no particular designation as far as I can
discover, but which might be called the Madonna
among Ruins, for Raphael placed the group in the
midst of ruins, so many of which were to be seen in
Rome. Shafts of broken columns strew the ground,
and the ruined walls of a heathen temple terminate
the view. The idea conveyed in it is the triumph of
Christianity symbolically expressed, and it contains a
happy combiration of effects. The Virgin placed in
Mie centre of the picture, with ineffable grace rests



188 WONDERS OF ITALIAN ART.

her left arm on an ancient altar, which also serves as
a support to St. Joseph, who is standing rather furthei
back ; with her right hand she holds the Holy Child,
who whilst bending down to embrace His young
companion, turns his Head towards Mary, as if to
call her attention and her caresses to His precursor.
The infant Baptist himself, timid and reverent, is
opening a scroll on which are inscribed the words he
afterwards used in welcoming the Messiah ; Ecce
Agnus Dei, qui tollit peccata mundi. It is easy, by
many indications, to recognize this picture as one of
the last works of Raphael. It is not only acknowl-
edged to belong to his third manner, but to have been
done at the same time as the Holy Family in the
Louvre, which bears the date 1518. To prove this
date is to prove the excellence of the work. I think
that Raphael must have painted at the same time two
works alike in subject and perfection for the two great
rivals who were then beginning to dispute the pre-
eminence in Italy and in Europe generally : the Ma-
donna of Francis I. has remained in France, the
Spaniards have preserved that of Charles V.

Four other Holy Families — for the Museum of
Madrid now possesses five — have been sent there from
the Escurial, together with the Visitation of St. Eliza-
beth. This last subject was probably neither conceived
nor chosen by Raphael; it was painted by order.
Whilst his signature may be read on the left, Raphael
Urhinas, the following inscription is conspicuous n
gold letters in the centre of the picture: Marinus



ROMAN SCHOOL. 189

Branconius FF. (fecit facer e, or fieri fecit). This
picture adds to the value it possesses as a good work
of Raphael's, by being in excellent preservation
Time has respected it, and no accident has required
the assistance, always so dangerous, of cleaners and
restorers of pictures.

On the other hand, we can only admire small
fragments of the exquisite work of a small miniature
in the Flemish style, whose delicacy has caused it to
suffer more than a lar^e canvas from the ravages of
time. It is a Holy Family of such small dimensions,
that although the group is completed by Joseph and
St. John the Baptist, yet it is not larger than the
Madone a V Enfant mutin, that exquisite gem of the
Delessert gallery at Paris.

If the Madonna with the Rose were the only work
of Raphael in a gallery or cabinet, it would certainly
receive all the attention and honors which the very
name of Raphael always commands. But at Madrid
I allow that it is eclipsed by so many others of the
master's works, that there it cannot pretend to take
the first rank. We can, indeed, recognize in the
arrangement of the groups, in the outlines, the expres-
sion, the drawing, and the forms, the inimitable hand
of the master; but a rosy tint like that of the flower
in the Virgin's hand pervades the whole painting,
and gives it a certain insipidity unknown in the works
of Perugino's pupil. I have failed to discover at what
time Raphael painted this Madonna — if it were indeed
he who painted it, if a pupil's pencil did not finish



190 WONDERS OF ITALIAN ART.

what be commenced — but it certainly was not done
in tbe later years of bis life, wben his force was fully
developed ; and if, when studying, he tried this effem-
inate manner, he did not continue it, but resumed
his noble severity.

Between this Madonna with the Rose, injured by
a little affectation, and tbe Madonna del Pesce, the
highest expression of nobility and majesty, is placed
tbe Madonna of the Pearl. This picture is preferred
to all the other Madonnas of Raphael by those who
delight especially in grace and attractive charms, and
who consider the works of Correggio the highest type
of art. I do not know whence comes its name.
Some say that at the sight of this picture, which he
had just bought for the sum of 3000?., of the widow
of Charles I. of England, who had it from the dukes
of Mantua, Philip IV. exclaimed : " That is my
pearl ! " Others have discovered on the ground, and
among the playthings of tbe Holy Child, a shell which
might, by a stretch of imagination, be taken for a
pearl oyster-shell. But let us leave the word and
come to the thing. Although the shadows of the
picture are dark, a soft violet tint pervades the whole,
conveying an effect of sweetness without insipidity.
The whole composition, even to tbe slightest details
of vestments and ground, is finished with that minute
care which we admire in the works of Leonardo da
Vinci. In the midst of the usual group, to which
Raphael, though he often painted the same subject,
always succeeded in imparting novelty, the Virgin



ROMAN SCnOOL. 191

is distinguished for her exquisite, but somewhat
worldly beauty. Like the Madonna delta Sedia, she
lifts her eyes to meet the glance of others, and by
the irresistible power of her look extends the empire
of her beauty even over the senses. In short, the
Madonna of the Pearl is prettier and more delicate
than the Madonna del Pesce, but she has less strength
and holiness, and in consequence possesses less real
heauty.

I was right just now in calling this Madonna del
Pence the highest expression of nobility and majesty.
Never has Raphael, or any of his successors, drawn
do much grandeur from so much simplicity. Never
did his pencil show more firmness, vigor, and bril-
liancy. Those who regret, with a somewhat blind