Vincenzo Foppa of Brescia, founder of the Lombard school, his life ...

;
Chap. III. MADONNA, DAVIS COLL., RHODE ISLAND 89
and Child have waistbands of dark green, a colour repeated in the Virgin's
robe and in the braces which pass over the shoulders of the Child. Rose
bushes grow up on either side, and the background, as in the Castello
picture, is blue, though shading down to white. Mrs. Berenson, who is
acquainted with the picture, kindly informs us that in execution it is soft
and in colour golden and fused, the paint being "much more flowing and
easy than in
the earlier works," qualities which would point to the late period
of the master's career to which she ascribes the picture.
The exquisite purity of feeling dominating every part of the composition
and the intimate bond of sympathy uniting the two figures, appear to us
to link this late work with the mystical ideals of an earlier period of art
while, on the other hand, the profound significance of the expression connect
it with none so closely as with the Bellini,^ more especially with Giovanni,
with some of whose compositions this Madonna appears to be in closest
relation. It is certainly one of the most perfect examples of the Mother and
Child, as the Castello picture is one of the most striking of that other class
to which we have referred, and from this point of view we have included
it in this group, though chronologically it is considered, by those who have
seen the picture, to belong to the close of the master's life. The Madonna
has all the characteristics which tend to make the art of Foppa, at its best, so
impressive. Infinite tenderness is depicted on her countenance and a strain of
profound sadness, yet withal an undercurrent of strength is manifest in every
line and a dignity of bearing which is
altogether admirable; in contrast to this
calm strength and sadness born of foreknowledge, we have the great vitality
of the Infant Saviour with his spontaneous and child-like gesture of endearment
and his expression of unclouded happiness. Like all the other works
just mentioned, this picture has no pedigree ; all that is known is that it was
formerly in the Graham Collection, where it was ascribed to Zenale. On the
sale of these pictures on April 9, 1886, it passed to America, where it was
purchased by its present owner in 1904. That these six Madonnas, produced
at
varying periods of time, are connected with one another by the closest ties
there can be no question after placing them side by side, and we think the
attribution to Foppa by the respective owners of the pictures is in every case
fully justified.
To these years, between 1460 and 1470, should perhaps be assigned the
Pieta in the collection of Sir Martin Conway at Addlington Castle, near
Maidstone. It represents a half-length figure of Christ standing in the tomb
surrounded by a halo of golden rays ;
two scourges are suspended from the
' For the pose of the hands compare also the drawing by Jacopo Bellini already
referred to (Gir., No. 745).