Nevertheless, I venture to agree with Morelli that "we have
all the characteristics of an early (?) work of Giorgione--the type of
the nymph with the low forehead, the charming arrangement of the hair
upon the temples, the eyes placed near together, and the hand with
tapering fingers."[56] The oval of the face recalls the "Knight of
Malta," the high cranium and treatment of the hair such as we find in
the Dresden "Venus" and elsewhere. The delicacy of modelling, the beauty
of the features are far beyond Dosso's powers, who, brilliant artist as
he sometimes was, was of much coarser fibre than the painter of these
figures. The difference of calibre between the two is well illustrated
by comparing Giorgione's "Satyr" with Dosso's frankly vulgar "Buffone"
in the Modena Gallery, or with those uncouth productions, also in the
Pitti, the "S. John Baptist" and the "Bambocciate."[57] Were the
repaints removed, I think all doubts as to the authorship would be set
at rest, and the "Nymph and Satyr" would take its place among the
slighter and more summary productions of Giorgione's brush.
[Illustration: _Laurent_ photo. Prado Gallery, Madrid
MADONNA AND SAINTS]
Only one sacred subject figures in the additions made by Morelli to the
list of genuine Giorgiones. This is the small altar-piece at Madrid,
with Madonna seated between S. Francis and S. Roch. Traditionally
accredited to Pordenone, it has now received official recognition as a
masterpiece of Giorgione, an attribution that, so far as I am aware, no
one has seriously contested.
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