od, Bordighera was the capital of a small
republic of the villages of the neighbouring valleys.

BORDONE, PARIS (1495-1570), Venetian painter, was born at Treviso, and
entered the _bottega_ of Titian in 1509. Vasari, to whom we are indebted
for nearly all the facts of Bordone's life--later research has not added
much to our knowledge--holds that he did not spend many years with
Titian and set himself to imitate the manner of Giorgione to the utmost
of his power. As a matter of fact, the Giorgionesque traits in Bordone's
earlier works are derived entirely from Titian, whom he imitated so
closely that to this day some of his paintings pass under Titian's name.
Crowe and Cavalcaselle and Dr Bode ascribe to Bordone the "Baptism of
Christ" in the Capitoline gallery, but Morelli sees in it an early work
of Titian. Paris Bordone subsequently executed many important mural
paintings in Venice, Treviso and Vicenza, all of which have perished. In
1538 he was invited to France by Francis I., at whose court he painted
many portraits, though no trace of them is to be found in French
collections, the two portraits at the Louvre being later acquisitions.
On his return journey he undertook works of great importance for the
Fugger palace at Augsburg, which again have been lost sight of.
Bordone's pictures are of very unequal merit. They have a certain
nobility of style, and that golden harmony of colour which he derived
from Titian, together with the realistic conception of the human figure
and the dignified character of his portraiture. On the other hand, his
nudes are a little coarse in form, and the action of his figures is
frequently unnatural and affected. A true child of the Renaissance, he
also painted a number of religious pictures, numerous mythological
scenes, allegories, nymphs, cupids and subjects from Ovid's fables, but
he excelled as a portraitist. His principal surviving work is the
"Fisherman and Doge" at the Venice Academy. The National Gallery,
London, has a "Daphnis and Chloe" and a portrait of a lady, whilst a
"Holy Family" from his brush is at Bridgwater House. Other important
works of his are the "Madonna" in the Tadini collection at Lovere, the
paintings in the Duomo of Treviso, two mythological pictures at the
Villa Borghese and the Doria palace in Rome, the "Chess Players" in
Berlin, a very little-known portrait of superb quality in the possession
of the landgrave of Hesse at Kronberg, and a "Baptism of Chri