File:The art of the Pitti Palace - with a short history of the building of the palace, and its owners, and an appreciation of its treasures (1903) (14778567591).jpg

Identifier: artofpittipalace1903addi (find matches)
Title: The art of the Pitti Palace : with a short history of the building of the palace, and its owners, and an appreciation of its treasures
Year: 1903 (1900s)
Authors: Addison, Julia de Wolf Gibbs, 1866-
Subjects: Palazzo Pitti Painting
Publisher: Boston : L.C. Page
Contributing Library: Harold B. Lee Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Brigham Young University

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is buttoned upclosely in the middle. CHAPTER VI. THE HALL OF JUPITER In the Hall of Jupiter, Veronese, the third of thegreat Venetian masters, is revealed to us. It isunfortunate that in the Pitti Palace, complete asis the collection in many types of pictures, we haveno example of the truly characteristic work of Vero-nese; namely, the pageant. He excelled in largecanvases filled with gorgeous men and women,dressed out in silks, satins, and brocades and ar-mour, bearing banners, fruit, jewels, and all thescenic properties of a great painter of high life inthe richest and most voluptuous centre of costlyliving, — Venice in the Renaissance. In some of his work, particularly in representingmen, he resembles Rubens; he portrays animal forcein brawny and lusty bodies; his women have oftentoo little of the intellectual element in their beauty,and are simply pleasing pieces of anatomy to ex-hibit the fair garments with which this skilful painter loved to clothe them. All the people are 130
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I—I •-» o < X ttbe Iball of Jupitet 131 large, with monumental decorative proportions; butit is the spectacular rather than the thoughtful orpoetic in which he indulges. He was exactly thesort of painter to please a nation of rich merchants.His religious pictures are usually set in essentiallyVenetian scenes; he is more at home when he hasto show forth a group of worldly women trickedout in their best finery than he is when trying tointerpret Scriptural stories. He showed good judg-ment in seldom choosing tragic or emotional scenes,for he had not the necessary quality in his art todo justice to them. There is a love of display, andwithal, an air of stately good society about his work.The great culmination of his power is in his pictureof the Marriage of Cana at the Louvre; just asthe focus of Titians genius is in the Assumptionin Venice, and that of Tintoret in the Paradiseand the Crucifixion in that same doubly doweredcity. Although Veronese seldom chose the greatest andmost

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