90

ANDREA MANTEGNA

Poldi-Pezzoli painting. The face is the same, only a
little fine hair has grown on the round head, and two
tiny teeth have pushed their way through.
Perhaps about this time, or even a little earlier, may
be placed the panel of The Presentation, in the Querini-
Stampalia Collection, Venice. (Plate 30.) This is
undoubtedly a finer and more important painting than
that of the same subject in Berlin, No. 29 (Plate 31),
as its great superiority of composition alone evidences.
Here we have one of Mantegna’s most characteristic
works, with the classic influence strongly accentuated.
What, for instance, are the two youth’s heads, one with
his draperies arranged bust-fashion across the shoulders,
but busts of grave Romans, and the sculpturally-
mantled S. Elizabeth but some Roman matron ?
Morelli considered the Berlin canvas to be merely a
copy, arguing that so blameless a draughtsman as
Mantegna could never have drawn thus weakly.1
But the picture ruined as it is by repaint, yet retains
the gravity, the concentration of force, which are the
never-failing tests of Mantegna’s own work. The
most important figures are entirely repainted, while
in details which have escaped, owing to their com-
parative unimportance (the hands and arms of the
Virgin and High Priest, the hair of Joseph and the
small bit ot his ear which is visible, the head-
drapery of the Virgin—parts in which no mere copier
would be at his best), we find work which has all the
characteristics of Mantegna’s own hand. What, how-
ever, we may criticise, and find greatly inferior
to the Venice panel, is the sacrifice of the noble
1 Morelli. “ Die Galerie zu Berlin,” p. 98.