DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.62360#0071
EARLY WORK IN PADUA 45
Ancona now in the Brera. (Plate 6.) This was executed
for the altar of S. Luke in the church of Santa Giustina,
and was finished in 1454, when he was in his twenty-
fourth year.1 Although here, following the traditions of
the Gothic ancona, the figures are isolated and motion-
less, and thus no problems of movement or composition
have been attempted, within its limits the painting is
beyond praise both in nobility of feeling and in
technical excellence, an astounding achievement for so
young a painter. It is divided into two courses. In
the middle of the' lower, S. Luke, larger than the
surrounding saints, is seated against a gold back-
ground. Right are SS. Benedict and Eufemia; left,
SS. Prosdocimo and Scolastica. Above is a Pieta,
with a bishop and S. George on one side, a deacon
and S. Jerome on the other. All stand solid and
firmly balanced within their niches, solemn and im-
pressive as grand statues. The draperies are skilfully
yet simply arranged to show the forms beneath, with
none of the sharp and corrugated folds peculiar to the
Squarcionesques. The faces are noble and inspired,
the attitudes superbly majestic and untrammelled.
The colours are clean and beautiful in themselves,
and harmoniously combined, as the good preservation
of the panels allows us to appreciate. Again we
observe that skilful adaptation of the perspective to
the view of the beholder which we have already noticed
in the lunette. Even among the many splendid
masterpieces by which it is surrounded, we find our
attention rivetted by the grandeur of this wonderful
1 The contract was signed in 1453 and the last payment made in 1454.
The price was 50 gold ducats. (Moschini, “ Pittura in Padova”, p. 34.
Ancona now in the Brera. (Plate 6.) This was executed
for the altar of S. Luke in the church of Santa Giustina,
and was finished in 1454, when he was in his twenty-
fourth year.1 Although here, following the traditions of
the Gothic ancona, the figures are isolated and motion-
less, and thus no problems of movement or composition
have been attempted, within its limits the painting is
beyond praise both in nobility of feeling and in
technical excellence, an astounding achievement for so
young a painter. It is divided into two courses. In
the middle of the' lower, S. Luke, larger than the
surrounding saints, is seated against a gold back-
ground. Right are SS. Benedict and Eufemia; left,
SS. Prosdocimo and Scolastica. Above is a Pieta,
with a bishop and S. George on one side, a deacon
and S. Jerome on the other. All stand solid and
firmly balanced within their niches, solemn and im-
pressive as grand statues. The draperies are skilfully
yet simply arranged to show the forms beneath, with
none of the sharp and corrugated folds peculiar to the
Squarcionesques. The faces are noble and inspired,
the attitudes superbly majestic and untrammelled.
The colours are clean and beautiful in themselves,
and harmoniously combined, as the good preservation
of the panels allows us to appreciate. Again we
observe that skilful adaptation of the perspective to
the view of the beholder which we have already noticed
in the lunette. Even among the many splendid
masterpieces by which it is surrounded, we find our
attention rivetted by the grandeur of this wonderful
1 The contract was signed in 1453 and the last payment made in 1454.
The price was 50 gold ducats. (Moschini, “ Pittura in Padova”, p. 34.