"[67] With such
praise sounding in one's ears it is somewhat of a shock to discover that
this "grave and powerfully wrought creation" is a miniature 7 by 6
inches in size. Such an insignificant fragment requires no serious
consideration; at most it would seem only to be a reduced copy after
some lost original. Morelli alludes to it as a copy after Palma, but one
may well doubt whether he is not referring to another portrait in the
same gallery (No. 123). Be that as it may, this "Giorgione" miniature
is sadly out of place among genuine pieces of the master.[68]
[Illustration: _Hanfstaengl photo. National Gallery, London_
THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI]
One other picture, of special interest to English people, is in dispute.
By Crowe and Cavalcaselle "The Adoration of the Magi," now in the
National Gallery (No. 1160), is attributed to the master himself; by
Morelli it was assigned to Catena.[69] This brilliant little panel is
admittedly by the same hand that painted the Beaumont "Adoration of the
Shepherds," and yet another picture presently to be mentioned. We have
already agreed to the propriety of attribution in the former case; it
follows, therefore, that here also Giorgione's name is the correct one,
and his name, we are glad to see, has recently been placed on the label
by the Director of the Gallery.
This beautiful little panel, which came from the Leigh Court Collection,
under Bellini's name, has much of the depth, richness, and glow which
characterises the Beaumont picture, although the latter is naturally
more attractive, owing to the wonderful landscape and the more elaborate
chiaroscuro.
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