DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67375#0305
NEAPOLITAN ART AND LETTERS.
247
truly great artists, his weakness and want of originality
are at once apparent. His works are numerous in the
churches of Naples, and Domenici and other Neapolitan
writers on art are proud of him and loud in his praises.
That Girolamo Santa Croce (1502 ?-1537) was superior
to Da Nola may be seen in his chef d’oeuvre, already men-
tioned, the Arcadian bas-relief on the tomb of the poet
Sannazzaro. Benedetto Menzini thus praises it: —
“ On the marble scrolled
Foliage and fruits intwine in graceful fold:
And central, as a goddess, Naples awes.
On one side nets extended on the sand,
And in the distance a small bark, appear:
Flutes on the other, and a sylvan band.”
Whether Santa Croce executed other parts of the tomb
or not is a matter of dispute, but this bas-relief is clearly
his. It displays an unusual study of the antique; the in-
fluence of Michael Angelo is also detected in the muscles
and hands, while the details are finished with care and
taste. No other Neapolitan sculptors are so important as
to demand any part of our limited space, as we do not pro-
pose speaking of those of the present day.
Authoritative writers on art are so far from agreeing in
their estimates of the earliest painters of Naples — some of
them even considering artists who have been written and
talked of as absolute myths — that it is best to leave this
misty dawn of Neapolitan art out of our consideration. In
the fifteenth century, the time of Jan van Eyck, there
were artists in Naples who, however we may esteem their
pictures, were ambitious to gain a knowledge of all new
methods and discoveries that could improve their work.
While seeking a knowledge of vehicles from Van Eyck, they
imbibed some of his artistic qualities as well; and their
Italian sentiment for grace and beauty, when modified by
Flemish realism, produced the attractive manner of Lo
247
truly great artists, his weakness and want of originality
are at once apparent. His works are numerous in the
churches of Naples, and Domenici and other Neapolitan
writers on art are proud of him and loud in his praises.
That Girolamo Santa Croce (1502 ?-1537) was superior
to Da Nola may be seen in his chef d’oeuvre, already men-
tioned, the Arcadian bas-relief on the tomb of the poet
Sannazzaro. Benedetto Menzini thus praises it: —
“ On the marble scrolled
Foliage and fruits intwine in graceful fold:
And central, as a goddess, Naples awes.
On one side nets extended on the sand,
And in the distance a small bark, appear:
Flutes on the other, and a sylvan band.”
Whether Santa Croce executed other parts of the tomb
or not is a matter of dispute, but this bas-relief is clearly
his. It displays an unusual study of the antique; the in-
fluence of Michael Angelo is also detected in the muscles
and hands, while the details are finished with care and
taste. No other Neapolitan sculptors are so important as
to demand any part of our limited space, as we do not pro-
pose speaking of those of the present day.
Authoritative writers on art are so far from agreeing in
their estimates of the earliest painters of Naples — some of
them even considering artists who have been written and
talked of as absolute myths — that it is best to leave this
misty dawn of Neapolitan art out of our consideration. In
the fifteenth century, the time of Jan van Eyck, there
were artists in Naples who, however we may esteem their
pictures, were ambitious to gain a knowledge of all new
methods and discoveries that could improve their work.
While seeking a knowledge of vehicles from Van Eyck, they
imbibed some of his artistic qualities as well; and their
Italian sentiment for grace and beauty, when modified by
Flemish realism, produced the attractive manner of Lo