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 . course theremay be a deposit of serious teaching in this act, —the seed of the pomegranate may have been used,in a half-pagan way, to symbolize the shadow ofdeath. The Virgin is one of the loveliest typesof Florentine art. Fra Filippo Lippi has painted-many beautiful Madonnas, but a more exquisiteone than this was never delineated by him. Theexpression on her face is evidently intended to besubdued; the eyebrows are raised and the lidsdrooping; certain conven
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 . course theremay be a deposit of serious teaching in this act, —the seed of the pomegranate may have been used,in a half-pagan way, to symbolize the shadow ofdeath. The Virgin is one of the loveliest typesof Florentine art. Fra Filippo Lippi has painted-many beautiful Madonnas, but a more exquisiteone than this was never delineated by him. Theexpression on her face is evidently intended to besubdued; the eyebrows are raised and the lidsdrooping; certain conventional methods of express-ing sadness have been observed; and yet a touchin the corners of the eye and mouth would producea most witching and arch expression. Browning has delightfully summed up the charmand feeling of Fra Lippos work. Lippo is tellinghow the monks criticize his work because of hisventuring to paint nature as he sees it: How, whats here ?Quite from the mark of painting, bless us all!Faces, arms, legs, and bodies, like the trueAs much as pea and pea ! tis devils game !Your business is not to catch men with show,. MADONNA AND CHILDBy Fra Filippo Lippi; in the Stanza of Prometheus Ube Stan3a of ptometbeus 255 With homage to the perishable clay — But lift them over it, — ignore it all! Make them forget theres such a thing as flesh. Give us no more of body than holds soul, • ••••••••• Paint the soul, never mind the legs and arms! ** Lippos soliloquy follows this tirade: * A fine way to paint soul, by painting bodySo ill the eye cant stop there, — must go farther —And cant fare worse! . .Why cant a painter lift each foot in turn,Make his flesh liker, and his soul more like ?Both in their order ? Take the prettiest face,The Priors niece— Patron Saint. It is so prettyYou cant discover if it means hope, fear,Sorrow or joy. Wont beauty go with these ?Suppose Ive made her eyes all right and I take breath and try to add lifes flash
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectpainting, bookyear190
