DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61670#0187
S. MINIATO
99
have assisted him for many years in subordinate parts, being at
this time a man of twenty-six. It was, I believe, Dr. Bode
who first drew attention to the different character of the
Temperance, and attributed the execution to the hand of
Andrea. Certainly there is little of the austere gravity of
the other three in this bright childish face, which has the
mildness and suavity peculiar to Andrea, and recalls at once
his most typical Madonnas. Compare the animated gesture
and vivacious expression with -the tranquillity of the rest. The
draperies are less broadly composed, the folds less sweeping,
and the flutter of the hair, as though caught upward by a high
wind, shows a restlessness foreign to Luca’s style. The treat-
ment of the relief, moreover, is rounder than the rest, or than
is usual with Luca, who invariably flattens the surface in true
classic fashion. The actual design of the figure is doubtless
by Luca, for it follows the general scheme of decoration
minutely, but it is equally certain that the execution is by
Andrea, who, while adhering closely to his master’s style, has
unconsciously revealed his own peculiarities and tendencies.
To Andrea also must be attributed much of the subordinate
work in the Fortitude, whose somewhat weakly modelled body
and stiff gesture it is difficult to reconcile with Luca’s fine
feeling for anatomy, while the insignificant ornament of the
armour is neither conceived in his broad manner, nor executed
with the care he bestows upon such detail as he permits him-
self. The Prudence and Justice, on the other hand, have every
characteristic of Luca’s work, gravity, dignity, finely modelled
form, freedom of action, sweeping line. There is here no trace
of Andrea’s participation, and the contrast they afford to the
Temperance makes the suggestion of his lighter style all the
more striking. Of special beauty is the splendid curve of
the serpent held by the Prudence, a line followed closely
in the sweep of the draperies, undulating wave-like over
the shoulder, and curling up beneath the elbow with that
rhythmic continuity we have so often occasion to remark in
99
have assisted him for many years in subordinate parts, being at
this time a man of twenty-six. It was, I believe, Dr. Bode
who first drew attention to the different character of the
Temperance, and attributed the execution to the hand of
Andrea. Certainly there is little of the austere gravity of
the other three in this bright childish face, which has the
mildness and suavity peculiar to Andrea, and recalls at once
his most typical Madonnas. Compare the animated gesture
and vivacious expression with -the tranquillity of the rest. The
draperies are less broadly composed, the folds less sweeping,
and the flutter of the hair, as though caught upward by a high
wind, shows a restlessness foreign to Luca’s style. The treat-
ment of the relief, moreover, is rounder than the rest, or than
is usual with Luca, who invariably flattens the surface in true
classic fashion. The actual design of the figure is doubtless
by Luca, for it follows the general scheme of decoration
minutely, but it is equally certain that the execution is by
Andrea, who, while adhering closely to his master’s style, has
unconsciously revealed his own peculiarities and tendencies.
To Andrea also must be attributed much of the subordinate
work in the Fortitude, whose somewhat weakly modelled body
and stiff gesture it is difficult to reconcile with Luca’s fine
feeling for anatomy, while the insignificant ornament of the
armour is neither conceived in his broad manner, nor executed
with the care he bestows upon such detail as he permits him-
self. The Prudence and Justice, on the other hand, have every
characteristic of Luca’s work, gravity, dignity, finely modelled
form, freedom of action, sweeping line. There is here no trace
of Andrea’s participation, and the contrast they afford to the
Temperance makes the suggestion of his lighter style all the
more striking. Of special beauty is the splendid curve of
the serpent held by the Prudence, a line followed closely
in the sweep of the draperies, undulating wave-like over
the shoulder, and curling up beneath the elbow with that
rhythmic continuity we have so often occasion to remark in