Madonna and Child Enthroned between St Francis and St Liberalis (detail)
by GIORGIONE, Oil on wood, 200 x 152 cm
Giorgione’s minute and delicate treatment of the figures, especially in their heads and the proportions between head and body, is in contrast to the more robust conception of a Mantegna or a Raphael. Giorgione’s poetics are further softened by the implied presence of a dense, palpable atmosphere which serves to de-specify the images. One is hard pressed to locate actual lines or silhouettes in his representations, in contrast to his Florentine contemporaries, who are more dependent upon drawing.