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

124 VINCENZO FOPPA
outline in the drawing of some of the figures, or may note occasional defects
and blemishes in the delineation of the features, but on the whole the simplicity
and directness of all these figures carry conviction at once, for each one
is deeply imbued with the master's spirit and vivified by his touch. The
St. Alexander, on the other hand, seems on a somewhat lower plane ; the
features are comparatively insignificant and empty in expression, and the
drawing of the figure is poor. This is certainly surprising, for, as the patron
saint of Bergamo, it might have been supposed that the painter would have
devoted special care and attention to the treatment of this particular panel.
The mode of representation may, however, be partially responsible for the unsatisfactory
nature of the composition, and the unstable pose of the warrior
saint and the weakness of the form may be due, in part, to the rigid nature of
the armour by which the figure is encased ; we find the same defects in
another example of a figure in armour treated by Foppa, the St. George in
the processional banner at Orzinuovi, a work of much later date.
The drapery throughout is eminently characteristic of Vincenzo and his
school, clinging to the limbs after the manner of sculpture in some of the
figures, as in the angels in the central panel, or falling in ample folds about
the feet in others, as in the Madonna and the St. Jerome, the master's system
being at times curiously exaggerated, as, for instance, in the drapery of the
saints in the upper tier, which was perhaps the work of assistants.
The robe and mantle of the Virgin, as we have already stated, are
bordered with letters, and fragments of three verses of the hymn "Ave Maris
Stella" and the antiphon *' Diffusa est gratia in labiis tuis " are decipherable,
as well as other sentences all having reference to the Madonna ; but we have
failed to find any letters which could be taken to refer to the painter, as is the
case in a picture by Foppa at Berlin. In the panels with the saints, embossed
ornament is frequently used as a decorative border on the draperies; gesso overlaid
with gold and colour is also employed for the glories, for the pastoral
staff of the Bishop, for the disk of St. Bernardino, for the crown which the
angels place on the head of the Madonna,' and for other details of a like
nature throughout the altarpiece.
The colour for the most part is bright and strong ; red predominates, with
warm olive and brownish yellow, but in the drapery of the angel on the right
in the foreground of the central panel we have a delicate shade of willow
green which is very attractive
;
peculiarly typical of Foppa are the bands
of brilliant scarlet edged with pearls with which he borders the draperies
^ This crown is an integral part of the original altarpiece and not, as in the case of
the crowns in the Savona polyptych, an addition of later date. In design it is closely
connected with the crowns of the Magi in the National Gallery altarpiece.