Altar piece ascribed to Zenale with portraits of Lodovico Sforza and Beatrice d'Este (Brera)
D. Anderson.[ToList]
Maximilian, on his part, was satisfied with Lodovico's excuses, and owned that the duke was right to make peace without delay. As for Lodovico, it was with a deep sense of relief that he saw the departure of the last French troops. He invited the Duke of Ferrara, the Marquis of Mantua, and the Venetian Provveditori to Vigevano, and entertained them all magnificently. When, on his return from Venice, Commines in his turn visited Vigevano, the duke rode out to meet him with charming courtesy, and bade the French ambassador welcome to his beautiful country home. But when they came to business, it was another matter. Commines heard from Genoa that the two ships, which the Duke of Milan was to send to Naples with the French fleet, had received orders not to sail, and when he asked for an explanation, Lodovico told him that he could put no trust or confidence in his master the king. At the end of three days the ambassador took his leave, and just as he was starting on his journey, to his surprise the duke came up to him very civilly, and said that, after all, he wished to keep on friendly terms with his Most Christian Majesty, and had determined to send Messer Galeaz with the ships to Naples, and that before Commines reached Lyons he should receive a letter to this effect. So Commines crossed the Alps with a light heart, and all the way to Lyons he kept looking back, he tells us, in constant expectation of hearing the sound of horse's hoofs behind him. But the duke's messenger did not overtake him, and the ships never sailed from Genoa.
That year the festival of Christmas was celebrated with great joy and splendour at the court of Milan. After the troubled times of the last twelve months, after the dangers which had threatened the very existence of the State, and brought the noise of war to the gates of Vigevano, peace and tranquillity were once more restored, and another era of unclouded prosperity seemed about to dawn. Now that poor Giangaleazzo was dead, and Louis of Orleans had once more crossed the Alps, there was no one to dispute Lodovico's title or to prevent his son from eventually succeeding him on the throne. Once more he and Beatrice were free to devote themselves to the encouragement of learning and poetry, of painting and architecture; to watch Bramante and Leonardo at work, or read Dante and Petrarch together.
That winter the altar-piece of the Brera, containing the portraits of the duke and his family, was painted by Zenale or some other Lombard master, for the church of S. Ambrogio in Nemo. Here the Madonna and Child are enthroned in the centre of the picture; the four Fathers of the Church, Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, and Gregory, stand on either side; and in the foreground, kneeling at the foot of the throne, are the Duke and Duchess of Milan, with their two children. The Christ-child turns towards Lodovico, and St. Ambrose, the protector and patron saint of Milan, lays his hand on the shoulder of the duke, as, clad in rich brocades and wearing a massive gold chain round his neck, he clasps his hands in prayer. And the gentle Madonna stretches out her hand lovingly towards Beatrice, who kneels at her feet, with the long coil of twisted hair, and the pearls on her head and neck, and her favourite knots of ribbons fluttering from her shoulders or falling over the velvet stripes of her yellow satin robe. Close at her side is the infant prince, Francesco Sforza, with his baby face and swaddled clothes; while opposite, kneeling at his father's side, is the handsome little Count of Pavia. Here, at least, there is no doubt that we have authentic portraits of both Lodovico Sforza and Beatrice d'Este, the reigning Duke and Duchess of Milan, towards the close of the year 1495. There is no mistaking the long black hair, the refined features, and long nose of the Moro, while in Beatrice's features we recognize the same youthful and child-like charm that mark her countenance in Cristoforo Romano's bust or Solari's effigy in the Certosa of Pavia.
FOOTNOTES:
[61] Luzio-Renier, op. cit., p. 627.
[62] Luzio-Renier, op. cit., p. 630.