Photo. Alinari.
Plate 14.—Meeting of SS. Joachim and Anna at the Golden Gate
Giotto, Cloisters of Sta. Maria Novella, Florence
Giotto. Joachim is clothed in red drapery, the folds of which are very naturally arranged, and the technique of the painting of this garment reveals the swift and sure touch of the master. There is no hesitation in the execution of the brush-drawn folds, the colour is laid on thinly and transparently, so that the effect of the light ground is still apparent through the superimposed tints. Giotto painted his frescos, as far as one can make out, very thinly, and so aimed in getting a luminous and almost transparent effect, so we may safely come to the conclusion that when certain parts of his frescos look heavy and solid we may be sure that those parts have been repainted by some one else. St. Anna has blue drapery, and the figure next, on the left, has an orange cloak. The delightful little angel, repainted however, is of a yellow golden colour, and the sky has been repainted in a rather too dark blue colour; it is quite likely that the latter has been originally much lighter, and the angel deeper and warmer in tone. The architecture of the Golden Gate and the adjacent buildings, behind the figures, is painted in creamy white and pinkish tints. The two figures of the passing men with game are coloured in greys and pale reds, and afford good examples of the early Italian costume. The landscape of the background is very much faded to a neutral grey; it may have been clothed with flowers by Giotto, but the little tufts of vegetation which are now sprinkled over the hillside are evidently recent additions.
If we wish to see some of the best works in fresco that have been executed by Beato Fra Angelico (1387-1455), we must visit his old monastery of St. Mark’s, now the Museum of St. Mark’s, in Florence, and the best of all are the series of the small frescos painted by him between 1436 and 1445, walls of the cells, formerly occupied by the monks of this old monastery. In fourteen of the cells will be found the small frescos, one in each cell, each measuring about six feet in height, by about four in width. The remaining cells contain frescos painted by Fra Angelico’s brother, Fra Benedetto, and the others by his pupils or assistants. The latter are very inferior in design and workmanship to those of the first-mentioned series.
In the first cell on the left is painted the scene at the Sepulchre, where “Christ appears to the Magdalen,” the design and colour of which are extremely good. The robe on the figure of Christ is of a linen-white tone, with umberish shades; that of the Magdalen is of a yellowish pink colour; the hurdle fence which runs across the background of the picture is of a golden straw colour; trees, flowers and foliage are chiefly in tints of broken greens, and the rock work and entrance doorway to the tomb are in cool greys. In the fresco of the second cell, the “Deposition of Christ in the Sepulchre,” the composing lines of the draperies and of the rocks flow harmoniously into, and also out of each other, the figures are so arranged as to form a decorative