The portraits Alvise has left add to his reputation, and remind us of those of Antonello da Messina, particularly in the vital expression of the eyes, though they are without Antonello’s intense force. The “Bernardo di Salla” and the “Man feeding a Hawk,” though some critics still ascribe them to Savoldo, have features which make their attribution to Alvise almost certainly correct. Indeed, the resemblance of Bernardo to the Madonna in the 1480 altarpiece cannot escape the most unscientific observer. There is the same inflated nostril, the peculiarly curved mouth, and vivacious eyes.
Among the followers of Alvise, Marco Basaiti, Bartolommeo Montagna, and Lorenzo Lotto are the most distinguished. Others less direct are Giovanni Buonconsiglio and Francesco Bonsignori, while Cima da Conegliano was for a short time his greatest pupil. We shall return to these later.
PRINCIPAL WORKS
| Berlin. | Madonna enthroned, with six Saints. |
| London. | Portrait of Youth. |
| Milan. | Bonomi-Cereda Collection: Portrait of a Man. |
| Naples. | Madonna with SS. Francis and Bernardino. |
| Paris. | Portrait of Bernardo di Salla. |
| Venice. | Academy: Seven panels of single Saints; Madonna and six Saints, 1480. |
| Frari: S. Ambrose enthroned. | |
| S. Giovanni in Bragora: Madonna adoring Child; Resurrection and Predelle. | |
| Redentore: Sacristy: Madonna and Child, with Angels. | |
| Vienna. | Madonna. |
| Windsor. | Man feeding a Hawk. |
CHAPTER X
CARPACCIO
Vittore Carpaccio was Gentile Bellini’s most faithful pupil. He and his master stand apart in having, before the arrival of the Venetian School proper, captured an aspect and a charm inspired by the natural beauty of the City of the Sea. Gentile, as we have seen, paints her historic appearance, and Carpaccio gives us something of the delight we feel to-day in her translucent waters and her ample, sea-washed spaces flooded with limpid light. While others were absorbed in assimilating extraneous influences, he goes on his own way, painting, indeed, the scenes that were asked for, but painting them in his own manner and with his own enjoyment.