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

Chap. VII. ALTARPIECE OF OLD CATHEDRAL, SAVONA 173
containing no allusion to any donors except the one whose portrait is introduced.
That the authorities at Savona should have appealed to the Duke of
Milan to compel Foppa to return and finish the ancona proves not that they
had any part in the work as donors, but that they were keenly anxious that the
munificent intentions of Giuliano della Rovere should not be frustrated, nor
the cathedral of their city be deprived of a work of art of conspicuous merit.
This altarpiece is often cited as Foppa's masterpiece, and in its imposinosize
and grandeur of design and conception it is certainly the most important
existing work by him ;' yet in many particulars the earlier and far simpler
altarpiece in the Brera gives us a more adequate and truer insight into the
artistic character of the master. The work must from the very beginning
have laboured under the same disadvantages as those complained of by
Madonna Zaccarina in the case of the work for S. Giacomo at Pavia, namely,
that it was executed by too many different hands.'' Its immense size (5 m.
50 h. and 3 m. 50 w.) precluded the possibility of its being produced by one
master, and the circumstances of Foppa's life at this time make it clear that
he would have been unable to
supervise the work personally for any consecutive
period, and that his own share must have been subjected to frequent
interruptions ;
hence an altarpiece which in accordance with his own plan
and design should have been an impressive and monumental work, suffered at
the very outset from disturbing elements and from the collaboration of
assistants. This applies also to the work executed by the carvers. A great
number of carved figures in niches adorn the tabernacle which rises above
the central panel and the pilasters of the outer framework ;
half-length figures
are set in the arched openings of the frieze which separates the middle tier from
the large panels of the lower course ; while the whole is crowned by pinnacles
surmounted by five full-length statuettes in wood. But the figures are mostly
poor in quality, and the decorative work is often ungainly and heavy in design
and coarse in execution, contrasting unfavourably with the exquisite taste and
workmanship of many earlier Italian altarpieces. Either the Genoese craftsmen
were not so skilled as those in other parts of Italy, or Foppa was not so
particular in selecting the most competent masters as was Gadio in choosing
the wood carvers for the ancona at Pavia, and circumstances moreover rendered
it impossible for Vincenzo to control and supervise the difl^erent
artificers. In addition to these disadvantages, the whole work is now in a
terribly injured and decayed condition, and in need of careful and judicious
restoration. The carved figures, which were originally gilt, have been
smeared over with colour ; the painting of the principal panels has darkened
'
For a detailed account of this altarpiece, see Dr. Giulio Carotti's important article,
Lm Gran Pala del Foppa, etc., excerpt, Archivio Storico deir Arte, 1896.
* See chap. iv.