aside, readily turns to classical mythology to find subjects for the
free play of fancy. The "Adrastus and Hypsipyle" thus follows naturally
upon "The Judgment of Solomon" and "Trial of Moses," and the pages of
Virgil, Ovid, Statius, and Valerius Flaccus--all treasure-houses of
golden legend--yield subjects suggestive of romance. The titles of some
of these _poesie_, as they were called, are preserved in the pages of
Ridolfi.[20]

[Illustration: _Alinari photo. Uffizi Gallery, Florence_

THE TRIAL OF MOSES]

The tall and slender figures, the attitudes, and the general
_mise-en-scène_ vividly recall the earlier style of Carpaccio, who was
at this very time composing his delightful fairy tales of the "Legend of
S. Ursula."[21] Common to both painters is a gaiety and love of beauty
and colour. There is also in both a freedom and ease, even a homeliness
of conception, which distinguishes their work from the pageant pictures
of Gentile Bellini, whose "Corpus Christi Procession" was produced two
or three years later, in 1496.[21] But Giorgione's art is instinct with
a lyrical fancy all his own, the story is subordinated to the mood of
the moment, and he is much more concerned with the beauty of the scene
than with its dramatic import.

The repainted condition of "The Judgment of Solomon" has led some good
judges to pronounce it a copy. It certainly lacks the delicacy that
distinguishes its companion piece, but may we not--with Crowe and
Cavalcaselle and Morelli--register it rather as a much defaced original?

So far as we have at present examined Giorgione's pictures, the trend of