by the occasion is brought forward as the chief idea, in a new and masterly way. Some female portraits also belong to this time, one of which Vasari characterises as 66 divine," being that of Mona Lisa, wife of Giocondo, a friend of Leonardo's. This is in the Louvre-a picture of extraordinary loveliness and of exquisite finish. The painter worked at it for four years, and pronounced it still unfinished. Even in its present utterly ruined condition there is something in this wonderful head of the ripest southern beauty, with its airy background of a rocky landscape, which exercises a peculiar fascination over the mind. The hands of the lady are of the purest form and grace. There are several copies of it in galleriesone, for instance, is at Munich. To this period is also assigned a portrait of a celebrated old warrior in the Dresden Gallery, Giangiacomo Trivulzi, field-marshal of Louis XII. of France; but according to some authorities this is from the hand of the younger Holbein, and is supposed to represent a goldsmith of the name of Morett. We shall dwell further on this strange appearance of Holbein on the scene, which is not the only occasion on which we shall find him. The portrait of a beautiful woman with a child, in the Pommersfelden Gallery, belongs also to this period. After Leonardo had for a series of years exercised his talents in Upper Italy, principally as an engineer, he proceeded, in 1513, to Rome, where, however, he did not long remain. To this time a Madonna, painted on the wall of the upper corridor of the convent of S. Onofrio, is said to belong. It is on a gold ground: the action of the Madonna is beautiful, displaying the noblest form, and the expression of the countenance is peculiarly sweet; but the Child, notwithstanding its graceful action, is somewhat hard and heavy, so as almost to warrant the conclusion that this picture belongs to an earlier period, which would suppose a previous visit to Rome. One of Leonardo's most beautiful pictures is in Rome, in the Sciarra Palace-two female half-figures of Modesty and Vanity. The former, with a veil over her head, is a particularly pleasing, noble profile, with a clear, open expression; she beckons to her sister, who stands fronting the spectator, beautifully arrayed, and with a sweet seducing smile. This picture is remarkably powerful in colouring and wonderfully finished, but, unfortunately, has become rather dark in the shadows. Another half-figure of Vanity, with uncovered' bosom and flowers in her hand, an extremely finished picture, formerly in the collection of the Prince of Orange at Brussels, now probably at the Hague.2 Another and very beautiful composition of Leonardo's, executed probably by Luini, representing Christ with the Doctors (also half-length figures), has migrated from the Palazzo Aldobrandini in Rome to the National Gallery in London. Christ is here represented as a youth of great beauty, serenity, and depth of expression; the heads of the Doctors also are full of life and character. Many copies of this picture exist; one of the finest is in the Spada palace at Rome. In 1516 Leonardo was invited to the court of Francis I. It is uncertain whether the following pictures, now in Paris, belong to this or to an earlier period:-for example, the charming portrait called La belle Ferronière, the reputed mistress of Francis I., but which, according to another opinion, is that of Lucrezia Crivelli:-the beautiful Holy Family, known by the name of La Vierge aux Rochers; in this the Virgin kneels in a romantic rocky scene; the infant Christ is before her, held by an angel; the little St. John, whom she embraces, is adoring: this picture is of a simple, graceful character, but is unhappily much injured. The somewhat weak and hard composition is sufficient, however, to show that this is not the original picture. Another Holy Family, in which the Archangel Michael is extending the scales to the infant Saviour (la Vierge aux Balances), was probably executed by Marco d'Oggione. The so-called portrait of Charles VIII. is probably by Antonio Beltraffio, and a sitting Bacchus in a landscape (originally, perhaps, St. John the Baptist) by 1 Fumagalli (Scuola di Lionardo) ascribes this picture to Luini. According to Rumohr, it was painted by Salai, in conjunction with his master.—Drei Reisen, p. 316. 2 Passavant, Kunstreise, p. 393. 3 [Probably painted by some scholar from a design by Leonardo. Several repetitions exist. See Dr. Waagen, Kunstwerke in Paris, p. 426.—ED.] some other scholar. Finally, a small Madonna with both the children can in no way be attributed to Leonardo, but is probably entirely by Perino del Vaga. A youthful Christ in the act of benediction, of the sweetest expression, is in the Borghese palace at Rome: it is a good Milanese school specimen. Leonardo died in the year 1519—according to a story not well authenticated-in the arms of the King, who had come to visit the beloved artist in his last illness.1 Before we proceed to speak of the scholars formed by Leonardo in the Milanese Academy, we must notice some artists who belong properly to a former period, but on whose later education he exercised a decided influence. One of these, Piero di Cosimo, a scholar of Cosimo Rosselli, was a rival of Leonardo in his early Florentine time. In Piero's pictures there is an evident desire to measure himself with his great contemporary he is occasionally successful in chiaroscuro, but is totally deficient in the nobleness of feeling so striking in Leonardo. His principal works are in Florence. An altar-picture, done for the church Agli Innocenti, is now in the small gallery of that institution; another is in the gallery of the Uffizj. A Coronation of the Virgin also is in the Louvre. The artist is described as a man given up to gloomy fancies, and this character is impressed upon his works, especially in those small pictures in the Uffizj which represent the history of Perseus. His landscape backgrounds are generally very excellent. There is a good picture of his in the Berlin Museum, a recumbent Venus playing with Love, a sleeping Mars in the background. The same fantastic character is here visible, but united with a soft and occasionally beautiful execution. 1 [This story having been repeated since it was shown to be unfounded, it may be as well once more to give the grounds on which it has been doubted. Leonardo died at Cloux, near Amboise, May 2, 1519. According to the journal of Francis I., preserved in the Royal Library at Paris, the Court was on that day at St. Germain en Laye. Francesco Melzi, in a letter written to Leonardo's relations immediately after his death, makes no mention of the circumstance in question. Lastly, Lomazzo, who communicated so much respecting the life of the great artist, distinctly says that the king first learned the death of Leonardo from Melzi. See Amoretti, Memorie, etc., Milan, 1804, and the notes to the last Florentine edition (1838) of Vasari.-ED.] P |