School of Fra Angelico (Florentine: 1387-1455). See 663.
"Through an arched opening behind the Virgin we see a sort of cloister garth. There are daisies on the sward, and in a pot stands a tall lily. A similar opening behind the Archangel reveals another part of the garth, enclosed on all sides by a rose trellis. Beyond the trellis are visible a hill and a convent resembling that of San Miniato, rows of cypresses, and more distinct peaks in fuller light. The embroideries, the angel's plumage, and both the nimbi, are represented in real gold, while the last are incised in radial lines, so that, like the wings, their brilliance is distinct, and they shimmer in the light. On the capitals of two of the columns of the cloister the red annulets upon a silver shield of the Albizzi family are seen" (Athenæum). The composition of this not very attractive picture recalls the Annunciations by Fra Angelico, at Cortona and in the Madrid Gallery respectively.
1409. THE MARRIAGE OF ST. CATHERINE.
Andrea Cordelle Agii (Venetian: School of Bellini).
This picture is a repetition of one by Andrea Previtali in the sacristy of the Church of San Giobbe at Venice, and the painter has been supposed to be the same as Previtali. This, however, is probably not the case. The present picture is signed (on a cartellino) "1504: Andreas Cordelli Agy dissipulus Jovannis Bellini pinxit." He similarly describes himself as a pupil of John Bellini on a picture in the Poldi Pezzoli Gallery at Milan. Judging from his name, "twists and needles," he or his father was probably a pedlar (Layard's edition of "Kugler," i. 334).
"The conjecture that Andrea Previtali is identical with Andrea Cordelle Agii seems to me," says Morelli, "untenable. Both were fellow-scholars in the workshop of Giovanni Bellini, and it is undeniable that in some of their works they closely resemble each other; but this may be explained by the fact that the one probably copied the cartoons or even the pictures of the other. The few signed works which I have met with by Cordelle Agii appear to me, however, to be more refined and lifelike in expression, and his landscapes are warmer and less vividly green in tone, than those of Previtali" (Roman Galleries, p. 237 n.). As a picture by Previtali hangs close by (No. 695), the reader is in a position to consider the justness of the critic's remarks for himself.
1410. VIRGIN AND CHILD
Borgognone (Lombard: about 1455-1523). See 298.
The nimbus which surrounds the Virgin's head is inscribed in gold with the words AVE. MARIA. GRATIA. PLENA. DOM. The background is interesting. On the right is no doubt a faithful view of part of the old façade of the Certosa of Pavia before it was completed. On the left are other buildings which appear to be part of a convent, with Carthusian friars walking in front. This picture is earlier in date than Borgognone's "Two St. Catherines" (298); it is "more rigid in style and a capital example of the painter's less ambitious work" (Catalogue of the Burlington Fine Arts Club's Exhibition, 1898, p. xxxvii.).