ere he carried it. There was
wavering all along the line. Some from lack of genius could not equal
him, others took up nature with indecision, and others clung fondly
to the gold-embossed ornaments and gilded halos of the past. Paolo
Uccello (1397?-1475), Andrea Castagno (1390-1457), Benozzo Gozzoli
(1420?-1497?), Baldovinetti (1427-1499), Antonio del Pollajuolo
(1426-1498), Cosimo Rosselli (1439-1507), can hardly be looked upon as
improvements upon the young leader. The first real successor of
Masaccio was his contemporary, and possibly his pupil, the monk Fra
Filippo Lippi (1406-1469). He was a master of color and
light-and-shade for his time, though in composition and command of
line he did not reach up to Masaccio. He was among the first of the
painters to take the individual faces of those about him as models for
his sacred characters, and clothe them in contemporary costume. Piety
is not very pronounced in any of his works, though he is not without
imagination and feeling, and there is in his women a charm of
sweetness. His tendency was to materialize the sacred characters.

With Filippino (1457?-1504), Botticelli (1446-1510), and Ghirlandajo
(1449-1494) we find a degree of imagination, culture, and independence
not surpassed by any of the Early Florentines. Filippino modelled his
art upon that of his father, Fra Filippo, and was influenced by
Botticelli. He was the weakest of the trio, without being by any means
a weak man. On the contrary, he was an artist of fine ability, much
charm and tenderness, and considerable style, but not a great deal of
original force, though occasionally doing forceful things. Purity in
his type and graceful sentiment in pose and feature seem more
characteristic of his work. Botticelli, even, was not so remarkable
for his strength as for his culture, and an individual way of looking
at things. He was a pupil of Fra Filippo, a man imbued with the
religious feeling of Dante and Savonarola, a learned student of the
antique and one of the first to take subjects from it, a severe nature
student, and a painter of much technical skill. Religion, classicism,
and nature all met in his work, but the mingling was not perfect.
Religious feeling and melancholy warped it. His willowy figures,
delicate and refined in drawing, are more passionate than powerful,
more individual than comprehensive, but they are nevertheless very
attractive in their tenderness and grace.

Without being so original or