DOI Artikel:
The editor's room
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.17190#0241
THE EDITOR'S ROOM
NEW PUBLICATIONS ''le monoSraPh before us has chosen the last
course, with what results we shall see.
Sandro Botticelli. By Hermann Ulmann. Dr. Ulmann begins his work by devoting a
4to. 153 pp. (Munich: Verlagsanstalt fiir whole tenth of it to a study of Fra Diamante, a
Kunst and Wissenschaft. 1894.) — There are painter who is a mere name, since there is not a
few great painters of whom we know so little single authentic work by him in existence. It is
as of Sandro Botticelli. Contemporary docu- probable that he assisted Fra Filippo at Prato, and
ments yield but four or five notices, and these Vasari affirms that he helped the Frate in his last
concern the mere existence of the man, bearing works at Spoleto. On the warrant of this, the
scarcely at all upon the artist. In ordinary cases writer proceeds to extract Fra Diamante from the
his works themselves furnish the best data for the frescoes at Prato and Spoleto. His method is
knowledge of a painter, but there must be no simplicity itself: whatever, on his own confession,
doubt about the authenticity of the pictures thus he finds too much ruined and repainted to yield
taken as points of departure. In the case of data for a judgment, all that to him seems too poor
jBotticelli, however, the perfectly undisputed pic- for Fra Filippo, he pronounces to reveal the " un-
tures are a bare score, and mistakable types and touch" of Fra Diamante.
^S^SSh. rwo hundred, at the very As Dr. Ulmann acknowledges that there is no such
ifflT^fs least, are attributed to him. thing as an authentic example of this painter's
i^l^^^M^rak A critic who would treat of work, it is fair to ask him where he acquired that
il*' , Botticelli has therefore three intimate acquaintance with the style of Fra
courses open to him: he can Diamante which enables him to recognise his
Mixnfni confine himself to the undis- "unmistakable types and touch." He asserts also
S s» \ puted works, and with this that Fra Filippo died while finishing at Spoleto the
scanty material reconstruct fresco of the Burial of the Virgin. There is no
the artist, giving a portrait documentary proof of this, and the author does
of him that may be incom- not so much as attempt to give a sufficient reason
plete, but cannot be false ; for his hypothesis.
or he can embrace most of Coming to Botticelli himself, Dr. Ulmann, fol-
the pictures ascribed to Bot- lowing the tradition that designates Fra Filippo as
ticelli, and give an account Sandra's first master, feels obliged to find a great
of the Botticellian, without resemblance to Filippo in his pupil's earliest works,
attempting to be too nice in As he can see no such resemblance in any of the
distinguishing between pos- paintings presumably early among those already
sibly authentic works and ascribed to Botticelli, he concludes that none of
good imitations; or, finally, these are early enough, that there must be earlier
he can attempt to distinguish works—in fact, that a Madonna in the Innocenti
between Botticelli and the at Florence is the missing link. " This Madonna"
Botticellian. The first of he says, " ascribed to Filippo, and really very close
these methods requires great to him, is not by Filippo himself, and not by Fra
and subtle powers of inter- Diamante. It must therefore be by Botticelli"; as
pretation, and has therefore if a painter of such renown as Fra Filippo did not
attracted Mr. Pater; the last have other assistants and imitators, such as we
can be followed only by a know him to have had in Francesco Pesellino,
connoisseur pos- Giusto d'Andrea, Jacopo dell' Sellaio, and a host of
sessed of the pe- others still,
culiar genius of The proof by exclusion, even when logical, can
the late Gio- serve to clench an argument only when other
vanni Morelli. evidence is very strong, and in this instance Dr.
terminal lethaby's " lead-work ' The author of Ulmann scarcely attempts to give other corrobora-
xxxi
NEW PUBLICATIONS ''le monoSraPh before us has chosen the last
course, with what results we shall see.
Sandro Botticelli. By Hermann Ulmann. Dr. Ulmann begins his work by devoting a
4to. 153 pp. (Munich: Verlagsanstalt fiir whole tenth of it to a study of Fra Diamante, a
Kunst and Wissenschaft. 1894.) — There are painter who is a mere name, since there is not a
few great painters of whom we know so little single authentic work by him in existence. It is
as of Sandro Botticelli. Contemporary docu- probable that he assisted Fra Filippo at Prato, and
ments yield but four or five notices, and these Vasari affirms that he helped the Frate in his last
concern the mere existence of the man, bearing works at Spoleto. On the warrant of this, the
scarcely at all upon the artist. In ordinary cases writer proceeds to extract Fra Diamante from the
his works themselves furnish the best data for the frescoes at Prato and Spoleto. His method is
knowledge of a painter, but there must be no simplicity itself: whatever, on his own confession,
doubt about the authenticity of the pictures thus he finds too much ruined and repainted to yield
taken as points of departure. In the case of data for a judgment, all that to him seems too poor
jBotticelli, however, the perfectly undisputed pic- for Fra Filippo, he pronounces to reveal the " un-
tures are a bare score, and mistakable types and touch" of Fra Diamante.
^S^SSh. rwo hundred, at the very As Dr. Ulmann acknowledges that there is no such
ifflT^fs least, are attributed to him. thing as an authentic example of this painter's
i^l^^^M^rak A critic who would treat of work, it is fair to ask him where he acquired that
il*' , Botticelli has therefore three intimate acquaintance with the style of Fra
courses open to him: he can Diamante which enables him to recognise his
Mixnfni confine himself to the undis- "unmistakable types and touch." He asserts also
S s» \ puted works, and with this that Fra Filippo died while finishing at Spoleto the
scanty material reconstruct fresco of the Burial of the Virgin. There is no
the artist, giving a portrait documentary proof of this, and the author does
of him that may be incom- not so much as attempt to give a sufficient reason
plete, but cannot be false ; for his hypothesis.
or he can embrace most of Coming to Botticelli himself, Dr. Ulmann, fol-
the pictures ascribed to Bot- lowing the tradition that designates Fra Filippo as
ticelli, and give an account Sandra's first master, feels obliged to find a great
of the Botticellian, without resemblance to Filippo in his pupil's earliest works,
attempting to be too nice in As he can see no such resemblance in any of the
distinguishing between pos- paintings presumably early among those already
sibly authentic works and ascribed to Botticelli, he concludes that none of
good imitations; or, finally, these are early enough, that there must be earlier
he can attempt to distinguish works—in fact, that a Madonna in the Innocenti
between Botticelli and the at Florence is the missing link. " This Madonna"
Botticellian. The first of he says, " ascribed to Filippo, and really very close
these methods requires great to him, is not by Filippo himself, and not by Fra
and subtle powers of inter- Diamante. It must therefore be by Botticelli"; as
pretation, and has therefore if a painter of such renown as Fra Filippo did not
attracted Mr. Pater; the last have other assistants and imitators, such as we
can be followed only by a know him to have had in Francesco Pesellino,
connoisseur pos- Giusto d'Andrea, Jacopo dell' Sellaio, and a host of
sessed of the pe- others still,
culiar genius of The proof by exclusion, even when logical, can
the late Gio- serve to clench an argument only when other
vanni Morelli. evidence is very strong, and in this instance Dr.
terminal lethaby's " lead-work ' The author of Ulmann scarcely attempts to give other corrobora-
xxxi