Friday May 1 [1 May 1896] Rainy and fresher. Went to the Brera - fine
overpowering place. I feel to have made friends with Borgonone by
whom there were several good things (one also at the Ambrosian and
2 in Morelli's collection) a lovely Rondinelli, very Bellinesque, 2
charming Palmezzanos Melozzo's favourite pupil, a quite magnificent
Crivelli Virgin and Child, a splendid Ercole Grandi the Virgin raised
upon a high throne with saints below. In the same room the great
Gentils Bellini St Mark, very interesting but not so fine in colour as the
Venice [Venezia] pictures. Also a fine Montagna and a fine
Speranza. In the Venetian room 3 Tintorets - St Helena, a Pieta and
the curious miracle picture with some saint's body, very magnificent.
Then in the Rafael room the Carpaccio St Stephen, an exquisite
Bellini Madonna, the 2 Mantegnas, the Luini, and the Luca Signorelli
St Sebastian (Alosano[?]) Luca Virgin with saints in another room - a
striking picture. An interesting little Luigi Vivarini Pieta in the passage;
then the Giovanni Bellini Pieta, quite magnificent, and a very lovely
Virgin and Child in a landscape looking later than the dear Virgin and
Child in the Rafael room; further on the 3 Lotto portraits and a Palma,
rather stumpy figures. Lots of Paris Bordones in the Venetian room -
rather splendid. Drove to Santa Maria delle Grazie to pay our
respects to Leonardo - it's wonderful what a lot of respects one still
has to pay to that noble ruin - and so home to lunch. After lunch to the
Ambrosian Library where we saw the Cartoon for the School of
Athens, extremely lovely; a beautiful Borgognone Virgin and saints,
the 2 portraits Morelli talks of which he gives to da Predis but the
gallery to Leonardo, no one really knows who they are, but very
delightful; 2 Boltraffio heads, very nice and many drawings, among
which a female head given to Leonardo, a little boy's head which
Morelli says is de Conti and in that case is the drawing for a little boy
in the foreground of the big picture of the Brera, and two studies of a
man's head with a long beard blown back given to da Cesto. There
is also a Gian Petrino which I didn't care for - there are 2 by him in the
Brera, an unfinished Virgin and Child with a lamb, and a deadly dull
little saint in the Rafael room. Then to the Poldi - 2 exquisite Luinis, a
portrait of a man which M. gives to de Credis, a lovely Piero della
Francesca portrait, 2 Botticellis, a Pinturricchio Virgin and Child, lots of
Solari's amongst which 2 beautiful panels of saints, a little portrait of a
man by Cordeliaghi, a most interesting Virgin and Child, she in a
curious Michelangelesque headdress by de Conti, a quite lovely
Cosimo Tura with dancing children and 2 Vivarinis, Luigi and Antonio,
very lovely, the Carpaccio Sampson, a lovely enthroned Virgin
School of Carpaccio and another, Bocatis, a curious Moretto in a big
landscape and a Bellini Pieta with the single figure of Christ. Had tea
and did some shopping; went into the Cathedral which is a splendid
place inside - all except the capitals of the pillars. Saw the very ugly
silver tomb of Carlo Borromeo and so home to dinner and early to
bed.