s superficial in the subject, representing him as we may
suppose he hardly hoped to see himself. Without the subtle distinction
of Titian's art, or the marvellous power of characterisation and
expression that he possessed with the earlier men, Tintoretto's work is
noble, and almost lyrical in its confidence and beauty. In his day
Venice seems to have been the capital of the world, peopled by a race of
men splendid and strong, beside whom the men of our time, even the best
of them, seem a little vulgar, a little wanting in dignity and life.

Two pictures by Paolo Veronese, the early Martyrdom of S. Giustina
(589), and the Holy Family and St. Catherine (1136), bring the period
to a close. It is a different school of painting altogether that we see
in the Piazzetta of Canaletto (1064), perhaps the last picture painted
by a Venetian in the gallery.

THE NORTHERN SCHOOLS

Andrea Mantegna was born, not at Padua, where his greatest work is to be
found--three frescoes in the Eremitani--but at Vicenza. Here in the
Uffizi, however, we have two works of his middle period, certainly among
the best, if not the most beautiful, of his easel pictures. In one we
see Madonna and Child in a rocky landscape, where there are trees and
flowers (1025); the other is a triptych (1111), one of the many
priceless things to be found here. In the midst you may see the Three
Kings at the feet of Jesus Parvulus in his Mother's arms, while on one
side Mantegna has painted the Presentation in the Temple, and on the
other the Resurrection. Long ago this marvellous miniature, that even
to-day seems to shine like a precious stone, was in the possession of
the Gonzagas of Mantua, from whom it is supposed the Medici bought it.

Five male portraits by the Bergamesque master Moroni are to be found
here. One (360) is said to be a portrait of himself, though it certainly
bears no resemblance to the portrait at Bergamo. I cannot forbear from
mentioning the Portrait of a Scholar, which seems to me one of his best
works. Moroni was born at Bondo, not far from Albino, in 1525. It is
probable that Moretto, who, as Morelli suggests, was a Brescian by
birth, though his parents originally came from the same valley as
Moroni, Valle del Serio, was his master. Moretto is, I think, a greater
painter than Moroni, though perhaps we are only beginning to appreciate
the latter.

Three pictures here are from the hand of Correggio: the early small
panel of Madonna and Child