08. It was never finished, and the altogether exceptional
character of the work places it outside the regular course of the
artist's development. It was an ambitious venture in an unwonted
direction, and is naturally marked and marred by unsatisfactory
features. Giorgione's real powers are shown by the "Pastoral Symphony"
(in the Louvre), and the "Portrait of the Young Man" (at Buda-Pesth),
productions dating from the later years 1508-10. The "Three Ages" (in
the Pitti) may also be included, and if Giorgione conceived and even
partly executed the "Storm calmed by S. Mark" (Venice Academy), this
also must be numbered among his last works.

Morelli states: "It was only in the last six years of his short life
(from about 1505-11) that Giorgione's power and greatness became fully
developed."[83] I think this is true in the sense that Giorgione was
ever steadily advancing towards a fuller and riper understanding of the
world, that his art was expanding into a magnificence which found
expression in larger forms and richer colour, that he was acquiring
greater freedom of touch, and more perfect command of the technical
resources of his art. But sufficient stress is not laid, I think, upon
the masterly achievement of the earlier times; the tendency is to refer
too much to later years, and not recognise sufficiently the prodigious
precocity before 1500. One is tempted at times to question the accuracy
of Vasari's statement that Giorgione died in his thirty-fourth year,
which throws his birth back only to 1477. Some modern writers disregard
this statement altogether, and place his birth "before 1477."[84] Be
this as it may, it does not alter the fact that by 1500 Giorgione had
already attained in portraiture to the highest honours, and in this
sphere, I believe, he won his earliest successes. My object in the
following chapter will be to endeavour to point out some of the very
portraits, as yet unidentified, which I am persuaded were produced by
Giorgione chiefly in these earlier years, and thus partly to fill some
of the lacunae we have found in tracing his artistic evolution.

NOTES:

[75] A list of these is given at p. 138.

[76] _Vide_ List of Works, pp. 124-137.

[77] The results of these archivistic researches are being published in
the _Repertorium fuer Kunstwissenschaft_.

[78] For the evidence, see _Magazine of Art_, April 1893.

[79] Meravig, i. 126.

[80] Vasari saw Giorgione's portrait of the succeeding Doge