Ruskin's Standard & Reference series (1872)
Exemplary works of art. In the catalogue of the Reference series, items marked 'M' are drawings "by my own Hand" (by Ruskin), P are photographs, E engravings and A by Ruskin's Assistant, Arthur Burgess.
-
101
The Crowning of the Virgin.
(Filippo Lippi: the picture is in
the
Academia of Florence
)
P
-
102 Adoration of Magi. (Bernardino Luini)
from
fresco in Louvre
P
-
103 La Belle Jardinière. (Raphael)
E
-
104 Modern German derivative art
E
- 105 Madonna with five Saints (Titian), engraved by Le Febre from the picture in the Vatican E
-
106 Madonna with Pesaro family
(Titian).
The
picture
is in
the Church of the Frari,
Venice
E
You may learn more of Titian’s true powers from Le Febre’s engravings than from any finer ones. These are masterly as far as they are carried, and show perfect intelligence of the qualities of Titian which are expressible by engraving. His sturdiness, his homely dignity, incapable of any morbid tremor, falsehood, or self-consciousness; his entirely human, yet majestic ideal; his utter, easy, unreproveable masterhood of his business, (everything being done so rightly that you can hardly feel that it is done strongly); and his rich breadth of masses, obtained by multitudinous divisions perfectly composed. The balanced arrangement in the first example (105) is palpable enough; in the second it is more subtle, being oblique; the figures are arranged in a pyramid, with curved sides, of which the apex is the head of the Madonna. The St. Peter balances the St. Francis, and the line of the axis of the group is given by one of his keys lying aslope on the steps.
