Madonna and Child Enthroned between St Francis and St Liberalis (detail)

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.