NEW PAINTING IN FOGG

During the Christmas vacation a large fresco painting by Nicholas Lockoff, a Russian artist, has been placed in the Lecture Room of the Fogg Art Museum. The fresco is a remarkable copy of a section of the larger work, painted in 1459 by Bonzzo Gozzoli of the Florentine School, on the walls of the chapel in the Medici Palace, now known as the Riccardi Palace, in Florence. It represents "Lorenzo the Magnificent," mounted on a richly caparisoned white horse at the head of "The Procesion of the Magi." He wears a yellow and gold tunic with red sleeves, red silk tights, and, on his flowing curls; a jeweled cap surmounted by a crown. Knights on horseback and on foot form his escort.

Lockoff a Skilled Copyist

A varied landscape forms the background. The country is hilly, like that in the environs of Florence; bare rocks alternate with wooded knolls; villas, castles and hamlets nestle in the valleys, and at intervals, cedars, cypresses, palms and orange trees stand out with glossy trunks and no branches but a tuft of leaves crowning their summits. Among the crags of the central hill, topped by a stately castle, a hunting scene is depicted, while greyhounds, falcons and other beasts and winged creatures add to the interest of the composition.

With a conviction that the great frescos of the world, which are principally in Italy, should be copied before they disintegrate entirely from the effects of time, Lockoff sought and obtained a commission from the Moscow Museum to accomplish this work. The war interrupted his labors and since the Bolshevists have controlled the government he has become greatly in need of financial aid. The Fogg Art Museum lately succeeded in raising the sum necessary to purchase one of his completed frescos, which was shipped to this country in two large sections. Its position in the museum allows a far better inspection of it than is possible of the original as the light in the chapel is very bad.