Nor
did he expose himself to that most cruel of all degradations which the
ethereal genius of Correggio has suffered from incompetent imitators.
To daub a tawdry and superficial reproduction of those Parmese
frescoes, to fill the cupolas of Italy with veritable _guazzetti
di rane_, was comparatively easy; and between our intelligence
and what remains of that stupendous masterpiece of boldness, crowd a
thousand memories of such ineptitude. On the other hand, nothing but
solid work and conscientious inspiration could enable any workman,
however able, to follow Ferrari in the path struck out by him at
Saronno. His cupola has had no imitator; and its only rival is the
noble pendant painted at Varallo by his own hand, of angels in adoring
anguish round the Cross.

In the ante-choir of the sanctuary are Luini's priceless frescoes of
the 'Marriage of the Virgin,' and the 'Dispute with the Doctors.'[11]
Their execution is flawless, and they are perfectly preserved. If
criticism before such admirable examples of so excellent a master
be permissible, it may be questioned whether the figures are not too
crowded, whether the groups are sufficiently varied and connected by
rhythmic lines. Yet the concords of yellow and orange with blue in
the 'Sposalizio,' and the blendings of dull violet and red in the
'Disputa,' make up for much of stiffness. Here, as in the Chapel of
S. Catherine at Milan, we feel that Luini was the greatest colourist
among _frescanti._ In the 'Sposalizio' the female heads are singularly
noble and idyllically graceful. Some of the young men too have Luini's
special grace and abundance of golden hair. In the 'Disputa' the
gravity and dignity of old men are above all things striking.

Passing into the choir, we find on either hand the 'Adoration
of the Magi' and the 'Purification of the Virgin,' two of Luini's
divinest frescoes. Above them in lunettes are four Evangelists and
four Latin Fathers, with four Sibyls. Time and neglect have done no
damage here: and here, again, perforce we notice perfect mastery of
colour in fresco. The blues detach themselves too much, perhaps, from
the rest of the colouring; and that is all a devil's advocate could
say. It is possible that the absence of blue makes the S. Catherine
frescoes in the Monastero Maggiore at Milan surpass all other works of
Luini. But nowhere else has he shown more beauty and variety in detail
than here. The group of women led by Joseph, the shepherd carr