Professor Van Dyke's Lecture.

Professor Van Dyke gave last night the second of his lectures on "Early Renaissance," including-The Umbrians, Bolognese, and Paduans.

He said that modern crities are altogether too apt to overlook the difficulties which the early painters had to encounter when they first started the Renaissance movement. People find fault with their pictures because they differ from modern paintings, but they do these old masters injustice to compare them with modern artists. Even if they are not understood now-a-days the Italians were skilful painters for the times in which they lived; in fact, one of the chief causes for this lack of appreciation is that the old masters worked under the inspiration of religion, while nature was a comparatively new field for them.

This early work has the appearance of youth, it seems undeveloped, unfinished in style, but it brings with these qualities the fire, earnestness and frankness of youthful enthusiasm. The constant aim of these independent workers was to paint what they saw as they saw it. Art in this early period of the Renaissance is comparable to a great uncut diamond which appears in the sixteenth century cut and ready for polish, but it is not until the seventeenth century that we see the jewel in its perfection. After the seventeenth century the diamond degenerates into a mere imitation of its past splendor.

We first see the Umbrians in this rough, unpolished state, clinging to their provincial ideas of sentiment, but influenced more and more by the superior learning and technical skill of Florence. Piero Fanasca was a representative of this period. By his powerful use of outline in the human figure, for he was more of a draughts man than a painter, he helped in the formation of Raphael's style. Perigino, however, was the real forerunner of Raphael. His subjects are said to have bodies belonging to the Renaissance, but souls of the middle ages. His paintings are known for their grace of pose and the fervor of faith which they express. But even as early as Perigino the relgious inspiration was passing away, he painted faces just as he saw them in life, not as religious fervor would imagine them.

At Padua the antique first appeared in unmistakable form. Donatello is a representative of this style of art, and had great influence over Mantegina who is noted for the statuesque appearance of his works. He was a faithful student of nature, especially of the human figure, but in spite of this he never seems to be able to give the warmth of life to his work. Although in this respect he fails to procure absolute truth, his figures show great force and originality, they are nobly powerful, beautiful in their stern, silent repose and in the candid straightforward convictions which they express.