ance are the following: (1st) as a general survey of Botticelli's art, the admirable "Life" by Signor Supino, although in several important instances I have not been able to accept this writer's chronology of the pictures; (2nd) as "literary" criticism, the charming essay by Walter Pater, who, notwithstanding all the opposition his interpretations have called forth, has, I think, penetrated more deeply than any other critic into the spirit of Botticelli's art, especially in its relation to religious subjects; (3rd) as "artistic" criticism, the invaluable and all too brief pages which Mr. Berenson has devoted to Botticelli. To these must be added Herr Steinmann's scholarly studies of the Sistine frescoes, and many important critical hints derived from the writings of Dr. Richter, Dr. Julius Meyer, Count Plunkett, Mr. Horne, and some others. The chief material, however, from which the following pages have been compiled, has been supplied by the pictures themselves. With very few exceptions I have visited every picture described; and a long residence in Italy has given me the opportunity of becoming intimately acquainted with Botticelli's works in Italian galleries. The opinions here expressed, whether they be in agreement or in disagreement with the views of other critics, have, in almost every case, been formed by me in the presence of the pictures themselves; and I advance them as the result of careful and independent study. A. STREETER. |