DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.51585#0204
200
EAKLY ITALIAN PAINTERS.
indefatigably, and at the age of fourteen he pro-
duced a picture of the Baptism of Christ, wonderful
for a boy of his age, exhibiting even thus early
much of that easy grace which he is supposed to
have learned from Correggio ; but Correggio had
not then visited Parma. When he arrived there
four years afterwards, for the purpose of painting
the Cupola of San Giovanni, Francesco, then only
eighteen, was selected as one of his assistants, and
he took this opportunity of imbuing his mind with
a style which certainly had much analogy with his
own taste and character : Parmigiano however had
too much genius, too much ambition, to follow in
the footsteps of another, however great. Though
not great enough himself to be first in that age of
greatness, yet had his rivals and contemporaries
been less than giants, he must have overtopped
them all; as it was, feeling the impossibility of
rising above such men as Michael Angelo, Ra-
phael, Correggio, yet feeling also the consciousness
of his own power, he endeavoured to be original
by combining what has not yet been harmonised in
nature, therefore could hardly succeed in art-—the
grand drawing of Michael Angelo, the antique
grace of Raphael, and the melting tones and sweet-
ness of Correggio. Perhaps, had he been satisfied
to look at nature through his own soul and eyes,
he would have done better ; had he trusted himself
more, he would have escaped some of those faults
EAKLY ITALIAN PAINTERS.
indefatigably, and at the age of fourteen he pro-
duced a picture of the Baptism of Christ, wonderful
for a boy of his age, exhibiting even thus early
much of that easy grace which he is supposed to
have learned from Correggio ; but Correggio had
not then visited Parma. When he arrived there
four years afterwards, for the purpose of painting
the Cupola of San Giovanni, Francesco, then only
eighteen, was selected as one of his assistants, and
he took this opportunity of imbuing his mind with
a style which certainly had much analogy with his
own taste and character : Parmigiano however had
too much genius, too much ambition, to follow in
the footsteps of another, however great. Though
not great enough himself to be first in that age of
greatness, yet had his rivals and contemporaries
been less than giants, he must have overtopped
them all; as it was, feeling the impossibility of
rising above such men as Michael Angelo, Ra-
phael, Correggio, yet feeling also the consciousness
of his own power, he endeavoured to be original
by combining what has not yet been harmonised in
nature, therefore could hardly succeed in art-—the
grand drawing of Michael Angelo, the antique
grace of Raphael, and the melting tones and sweet-
ness of Correggio. Perhaps, had he been satisfied
to look at nature through his own soul and eyes,
he would have done better ; had he trusted himself
more, he would have escaped some of those faults