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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Lives of the Most Eminent Painters
+Sculptors and Architects, by Giorgio Vasari
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects
+       Volume 1, Cimabue to Agnolo Gaddi
+
+Author: Giorgio Vasari
+
+Translator: Gaston du C. de Vere
+
+Release Date: May 5, 2008 [EBook #25326]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIVES OF MOST EMINENT PAINTERS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Mark C. Orton and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+     LIVES OF THE MOST EMINENT
+     PAINTERS SCULPTORS AND
+     ARCHITECTS BY GIORGIO VASARI
+     VOLUME I. CIMABUE TO AGNOLO
+     GADDI                  1912
+
+
+
+
+LIVES OF THE MOST EMINENT PAINTERS SCULPTORS & ARCHITECTS
+
+BY GIORGIO VASARI:
+
+NEWLY TRANSLATED BY GASTON Du C. DE VERE. WITH FIVE HUNDRED
+ILLUSTRATIONS: IN TEN VOLUMES
+
+[Illustration: 1511-1574]
+
+LONDON: MACMILLAN AND CO. LD. & THE MEDICI SOCIETY, LD. 1912-14
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS OF VOLUME I
+
+                                                                PAGE
+
+ TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE TO THIS EDITION                             xi
+
+ DEDICATIONS TO COSIMO DE' MEDICI
+ EDITION OF 1550                                                xiii
+ EDITION OF 1568                                                xvii
+
+ IMPRIMATUR OF POPE PIUS V                                       xxi
+
+ THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO THE WHOLE WORK                        xxiii
+
+ THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO THE LIVES                            xxxvii
+
+ GIOVANNI CIMABUE                                                  1
+
+ ARNOLFO DI LAPO                                                  11
+
+ NICCOLA AND GIOVANNI OF PISA [NICCOLA PISANO: GIOVANNI
+ PISANO]                                                          27
+
+ ANDREA TAFI                                                      45
+
+ GADDO GADDI                                                      53
+
+ MARGARITONE                                                      61
+
+ GIOTTO                                                           69
+
+ AGOSTINO AND AGNOLO OF SIENA                                     95
+
+ STEFANO AND UGOLINO SANESE [UGOLINO DA SIENA]                   107
+
+ PIETRO LAURATI [PIETRO LORENZETTI]                              115
+
+ ANDREA PISANO                                                   121
+
+ BUONAMICO BUFFALMACCO                                           133
+
+ AMBROGIO LORENZETTI                                             153
+
+ PIETRO CAVALLINI                                                159
+
+ SIMONE SANESE [SIMONE MEMMI _OR_ MARTINI]                       165
+
+ TADDEO GADDI                                                    175
+
+ ANDREA DI CIONE ORCAGNA                                         187
+
+ TOMMASO, CALLED GIOTTINO                                        201
+
+ GIOVANNI DAL PONTE                                              209
+
+ AGNOLO GADDI                                                    215
+
+
+ INDEX OF NAMES                                                  225
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOLUME I
+
+
+PLATES IN COLOUR
+
+                                                                FACING PAGE
+
+ CIMABUE          Madonna and Child    Florence: Accademia,         102  10
+
+ GIOTTO           Madonna and Child    Florence: Accademia,         103  82
+
+ PIETRO LAURATI   Madonna and Child,   Assisi: Lower Church             118
+                  with SS. Francis
+                           and John
+
+ AMBROGIO         Madonna and Child,   Siena: Pinacoteca,           77  156
+    LORENZETTI    with SS. Mary
+                  Magdalen and Dorothy
+
+ SIMONE SANESE    The Knighting of     Assisi: Lower Church,
+                  S. Martin            Chapel of S. Martin              168
+
+ LIPPO MEMMI      Madonna and Child    Berlin: Kaiser
+                                       Friedrich Museum, 1081A          172
+
+ TADDEO GADDI     The Presentation     Florence: Accademia,         107 182
+                  in the Temple
+
+ ANDREA DI CIONE  Christ Enthroned     Florence: S. Maria
+   ORCAGNA                             Novella, Strozzi Chapel          192
+
+ GIOTTINO         The Descent from     Florence: Uffizi,            27  206
+                  the Cross
+
+
+PLATES IN MONOCHROME
+
+ CIMABUE          Madonna, Child,     Paris: Louvre, 1260                 2
+                  and Angels
+
+ ROMAN SCHOOL     Isaac's Blessing    Assisi: Upper Church                6
+
+ ROMAN SCHOOL     The Deposition      Assisi: Upper Church                6
+                  from the Cross
+
+ CIMABUE          The Crucifixion     Assisi: Upper Church                8
+
+ ARNOLFO DI LAPO  Reclining Female    Florence:
+   (SCHOOL OF)    Figure from a Tomb  Collection Bardini                 18
+
+ ARNOLFO DI LAPO  Tomb of Adrian V    Viterbo: S. Francesco              24
+   (SCHOOL OF)
+
+ NICCOLA PISANO   Pulpit              Pisa: The Baptistery               30
+
+ NICCOLA PISANO   Detail: The         Pisa: Relief from the
+                  Adoration of        Pulpit of the Baptistery           32
+                  the Magi
+
+ NICCOLA PISANO   Detail: The         Siena: Relief from
+                  Visitation and      the Pulpit
+                  The Nativity        of the Baptistery                  34
+
+
+ GIOVANNI PISANO  Detail: A Sibyl     Siena: Duomo (facade)              38
+
+ GIOVANNI PISANO  Detail: The Massacre Pistoia: Relief from the
+                   of the Innocents    Pulpit, S. Andrea                 40
+
+ GIOVANNI PISANO  Madonna and Child    Padua: Arena Chapel               42
+
+ MARGARITONE       The Virgin and Child,  London: N.G., 5040              64
+                  with Scenes from
+                  the Lives of the Saints
+
+ GIOTTO           The Death of S. Francis   Florence: S. Croce           70
+
+ ROMAN SCHOOL     S. Francis Preaching      Assisi: Upper Church         72
+                  before Pope Honorius III
+
+ ROMAN SCHOOL     The Body of S. Francis    Assisi: Upper Church         74
+                  before the Church of
+                  S. Damiano
+
+ GIOTTO AND HIS   The Raising of Lazarus    Assisi: Lower Church         78
+     PUPILS
+
+ GIOTTO           The Flight into Egypt     Padua: Arena Chapel          88
+
+ GIOTTO           The Crucifixion           Assisi: Lower Church         90
+   (SCHOOL OF)
+
+ UGOLINO SANESE   SS. Paul, Peter,          Berlin: Kaiser Friedrich
+                  and John the Baptist      Museum, 1635                112
+
+ PIETRO LAURATI   The Madonna Enthroned     Arezzo: S. Maria della
+                                            Pieve                       116
+
+ PIETRO LAURATI   The Deposition from the   Assisi: Lower Church        120
+                  Cross
+
+ ANDREA PISANO    Details: Salome and The   Florence: Gates of the
+                  Beheading of S. John the  Baptistery                  126
+                  Baptist
+
+ ANDREA PISANO    The Creation of Man       Florence: Relief on the
+                                            Campanile                   128
+
+ NINO PISANO      Madonna and Child         Orvieto: Museo dell'Opera   130
+
+ AMBROGIO         Madonna and Child         Milan: Cagnola Collection   154
+     LORENZETTI
+
+ AMBROGIO         Central Panel of          Massa Marittima: Municipio
+     LORENZETTI   Polyptych: Madonna                                    158
+                  and Child
+
+ PIETRO           Detail from The Last      Rome: Convent of S. Cecilia
+     CAVALLINI    Judgment: Head of an                                  162
+                  Apostle
+
+ PIETRO           Detail from The Last      Rome: Convent of S. Cecilia
+     CAVALLINI    Judgment: Head of the                                 164
+                  Christ in Glory
+
+ SIMONE SANESE    Altar-piece: S. Louis     Naples: S. Lorenzo          166
+                  crowning King Robert
+                  of Naples
+
+ SIMONE SANESE    The Annunciation          Antwerp: Royal
+                                            Museum,              257-8  170
+
+ LIPPO MEMMI      Madonna and Child         Altenburg: Lindenau
+                                            Museum,                 43  174
+
+ TADDEO GADDI     The Last Supper           Florence: S. Croce, the
+                                            Refectory  178
+
+ BERNARDO DI CIONE  Detail from The         Florence: S. Maria Novella  190
+     ORCAGNA        Paradise: Christ
+                    with the Virgin
+                    Enthroned
+
+ ANDREA DI CIONE   The Death and Assumption Florence: Relief on the
+     ORCAGNA       of the Virgin            Tabernacle, Or San Michele  194
+
+ FRANCESCO TRAINI  S. Thomas Aquinas        Pisa: S. Caterina           198
+
+ GIOVANNI DAL      S. Peter Enthroned       Florence: Uffizi, 1292      212
+     PONTE
+
+ AGNOLO GADDI     The Marriage of S.        Philadelphia: J. G. Johnson 218
+                  Catharine                 Collection
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
++-------------------------------------------------+
+|Transcriber's note:                              |
+|                                                 |
+|The CORRIGENDA have been corrected in this etext.|
++-------------------------------------------------+
+
+CORRIGENDA
+
+Page 49, lines 1, 27, _for_ "Apollonius" _read_ "Apollonio."
+
+Page 120, line 10, _for_ "which tabernacle is quite round" _read_ "which
+tabernacle is in the round."
+
+Page 127, lines 11, 12, _for_ "oval spaces" _read_ "mandorle."
+
+Page 196, line 18, _for_ "an oval space" _read_ "a mandorla."
+
+
+
+
+TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE TO THIS EDITION
+
+
+Vasari introduces himself sufficiently in his own prefaces and
+introduction; a translator need concern himself only with the system by
+which the Italian text can best be rendered in English. The style of
+that text is sometimes laboured and pompous; it is often ungrammatical.
+But the narrative is generally lively, full of neat phrases, and
+abounding in quaint expressions--many of them still recognizable in the
+modern Florentine vernacular--while, in such Lives as those of Giotto,
+Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelagnolo, Vasari shows how well he can rise
+to a fine subject. His criticism is generally sound, solid, and direct;
+and he employs few technical terms, except in connection with
+architecture, where we find passages full of technicalities, often so
+loosely used that it is difficult to be sure of their exact meaning. In
+such cases I have invariably adopted the rendering which seemed most in
+accordance with Vasari's actual words, so far as these could be
+explained by professional advice and local knowledge; and I have
+included brief notes where they appeared to be indispensable.
+
+In Mrs. Foster's familiar English paraphrase--for a paraphrase it is
+rather than a translation--all Vasari's liveliness evaporates, even
+where his meaning is not blurred or misunderstood. Perhaps I have gone
+too far towards the other extreme in relying upon the Anglo-Saxon side
+of the English language rather than upon the Latin, and in taking no
+liberties whatever with the text of 1568. My intention, indeed, has been
+to render my original word for word, and to err, if at all, in favour of
+literalness. The very structure of Vasari's sentences has usually been
+retained, though some freedom was necessary in the matter of the
+punctuation, which is generally bewildering. As Mr. Horne's only too
+rare translation of the Life of Leonardo da Vinci has proved, it is by
+some such method that we can best keep Vasari's sense and Vasari's
+spirit--the one as important to the student of Italian art as is the
+other to the general reader. Such an attempt, however, places an English
+translator of the first volume at a conspicuous disadvantage. Throughout
+the earlier Lives Vasari seems to be feeling his way. He is not sure of
+himself, and his style is often awkward. The more faithful the attempted
+rendering, the more plainly must that awkwardness be reproduced.
+
+Vasari's Introduction on Technique has not been included, because it has
+no immediate connection with the Lives. In any case, there already
+exists an adequate translation by Miss Maclehose. All Vasari's other
+prefaces and introductions are given in the order in which they are
+found in the edition of 1568.
+
+With this much explanation, I may pass to personal matters, and record
+my thanks to many Florentine friends for help in technical and
+grammatical questions; to Professor Baldwin Brown for the notes on
+technical matters printed with Miss Maclehose's translation of "Vasari
+on Technique"; and to Mr. C. J. Holmes, of the National Portrait
+Gallery, for encouragement in a task which has proved no less pleasant
+than difficult.
+
+     G. DU C. DE V.
+
+     LONDON,
+     _March 1912_.
+
+
+
+
+TO THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS AND MOST EXCELLENT SIGNOR COSIMO DE' MEDICI,
+DUKE OF FLORENCE
+
+
+MY MOST HONOURED LORD,
+
+Seeing that your Excellency, following in this the footsteps of your
+most Illustrious ancestors, and incited and urged by your own natural
+magnanimity, ceases not to favour and to exalt every kind of talent,
+wheresoever it may be found, and shows particular favour to the arts of
+design, fondness for their craftsmen,[1] and understanding and delight
+in their beautiful and rare works; I think that you cannot but take
+pleasure in this labour which I have undertaken, of writing down the
+lives, the works, the manners, and the circumstances of all those who,
+finding the arts already dead, first revived them, then step by step
+nourished and adorned them, and finally brought them to that height of
+beauty and majesty whereon they stand at the present day. And because
+these masters have been almost all Tuscans, and most of these
+Florentines, of whom many have been incited and aided by your most
+Illustrious ancestors with every kind of reward and honour to put
+themselves to work, it may be said that in your state, nay, in your most
+blessed house the arts were born anew, and that through the generosity
+of your ancestors the world has recovered these most beautiful arts,
+through which it has been ennobled and embellished.
+
+Wherefore, through the debt which this age, these arts, and these
+craftsmen owe to your ancestors, and to you as the heir of their virtue
+and of their patronage of these professions, and through that debt which
+I, above all, owe them, seeing that I was taught by them, that I was
+their subject and their devoted servant, that I was brought up under
+Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici, and under Alessandro, your predecessor,
+and that, finally, I am infinitely attached to the blessed memory of the
+Magnificent Ottaviano de' Medici, by whom I was supported, loved and
+protected while he lived; for all these reasons, I say, and because from
+the greatness of your worth and of your fortunes there will come much
+favour for this work, and from your understanding of its subject there
+will come a better appreciation than from any other for its usefulness
+and for the labour and the diligence that I have given to its execution,
+it has seemed to me that to your Excellency alone could it be fittingly
+dedicated, and it is under your most honoured name that I have wished it
+to come to the hands of men.
+
+Deign, then, Excellency, to accept it, to favour it, and, if this may be
+granted to it by your exalted thoughts, sometimes to read it; having
+regard to the nature of the matter therein dealt with and to my pure
+intention, which has been, not to gain for myself praise as a writer,
+but as craftsman to praise the industry and to revive the memory of
+those who, having given life and adornment to these professions, do not
+deserve to have their names and their works wholly left, even as they
+were, the prey of death and of oblivion. Besides, at the same time,
+through the example of so many able men and through so many observations
+on so many works that I have gathered together in this book, I have
+thought to help not a little the masters of these exercises and to
+please all those who therein have taste and pleasure. This I have
+striven to do with that accuracy and with that good faith which are
+essential for the truth of history and of things written. But if my
+writing, being unpolished and as artless as my speech, be unworthy of
+your Excellency's ear and of the merits of so many most illustrious
+intellects; as for them, pardon me that the pen of a draughtsman, such
+as they too were, has no greater power to give them outline and shadow;
+and as for yourself, let it suffice me that your Excellency should deign
+to approve my simple labour, remembering that the necessity of gaining
+for myself the wherewithal to live has left me no time to exercise
+myself with any instrument but the brush. Nor even with that have I
+reached that goal to which I think to be able to attain, now that
+Fortune promises me so much favour, that, with greater ease and greater
+credit for myself and with greater satisfaction to others, I may
+perchance be able, as well with the pen as with the brush, to unfold my
+ideas to the world, whatsoever they may be. For besides the help and
+protection for which I must hope from your Excellency, as my liege lord
+and as the protector of poor followers of the arts, it has pleased the
+goodness of God to elect as His Vicar on earth the most holy and most
+blessed Julius III, Supreme Pontiff and a friend and patron of every
+kind of excellence and of these most excellent and most difficult arts
+in particular, from whose exalted liberality I expect recompense for
+many years spent and many labours expended, and up to now without fruit.
+And not only I, who have dedicated myself to the perpetual service of
+His Holiness, but all the gifted craftsmen of this age, must expect from
+him such honour and reward and opportunities for practising the arts so
+greatly, that already I rejoice to see these arts arriving in his time
+at the greatest height of their perfection, and Rome adorned by
+craftsmen so many and so noble that, counting them with those of
+Florence, whom your Excellency is calling every day into activity, I
+hope that someone after our time will have to write a fourth part to my
+book, enriching it with other masters and other masterpieces than those
+described by me; in which company I am striving with every effort not to
+be among the last.
+
+Meanwhile, I am content if your Excellency has good hope of me and a
+better opinion than that which, by no fault of mine, you have perchance
+conceived of me; beseeching you not to let me be undone in your
+estimation by the malignant tales of other men, until at last my life
+and my works shall prove the contrary to what they say.
+
+Now with that intent to which I hold, always to honour and to serve
+your Excellency, dedicating to you this my rough labour, as I have
+dedicated to you every other thing of mine and my own self, I implore
+you not to disdain to grant it your protection, or at least to
+appreciate the devotion of him who offers it to you; and recommending
+myself to your gracious goodness, most humbly do I kiss your hand.
+
+     Your Excellency's most humble Servant,
+     GIORGIO VASARI,
+     _Painter of Arezzo_.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 1: The word "artist" has become impossible as a translation of
+"artefice." Such words as "artificer," "art-worker," or "artisan," seem
+even worse. "Craftsman" loses the alliterative connection with "art,"
+but it comes nearest to expressing Vasari's idea of the "artefice" as a
+practical workman (_cf._ his remark about Ambrogio Lorenzetti: "The ways
+of Ambrogio were rather those of a 'gentiluomo' than of an
+'artefice'").]
+
+
+
+
+TO THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS AND MOST EXCELLENT SIGNOR COSIMO DE' MEDICI,
+DUKE OF FLORENCE AND SIENA
+
+
+MY MOST HONOURED LORD,
+
+Behold, seventeen years since I first presented to your most Illustrious
+Excellency the Lives, sketched so to speak, of the most famous painters,
+sculptors and architects, they come before you again, not indeed wholly
+finished, but so much changed from what they were and in such wise
+adorned and enriched with innumerable works, whereof up to that time I
+had been able to gain no further knowledge, that from my endeavour and
+in so far as in me lies nothing more can be looked for in them.
+
+Behold, I say, once again they come before you, most Illustrious and
+truly most Excellent Lord Duke, with the addition of other noble and
+right famous craftsmen, who from that time up to our own day have passed
+from the miseries of this life to a better, and of others who, although
+they are still living in our midst, have laboured in these professions
+to such purpose that they are most worthy of eternal memory. And in
+truth it has been no small good-fortune for many that I, by the goodness
+of Him in whom all things have their being, have lived so long that I
+have almost rewritten this book; seeing that, even as I have removed
+many things which had been included I know not how, in my absence and
+without my consent, and have changed others, so too I have added many,
+both useful and necessary, that were lacking. And as for the likenesses
+and portraits of so many men of worth which I have placed in this work,
+whereof a great part have been furnished by the help and co-operation of
+your Excellency, if they are sometimes not very true to life, and if
+they all have not that character and resemblance which the vivacity of
+colours is wont to give them, that is not because the drawing and the
+lineaments have not been taken from the life and are not characteristic
+and natural; not to mention that a great part of them have been sent me
+by the friends that I have in various places, and they have not all been
+drawn by a good hand. Moreover, I have suffered no small inconvenience
+in this from the distance of those who have engraved these heads,
+because, if the engravers had been near me, it might perchance have been
+possible to use in this matter more diligence than has been shown. But
+however this may be, our lovers of art and our craftsmen, for the
+convenience and benefit of whom I have put myself to so great pains,
+must be wholly indebted to your most Illustrious Excellency for whatever
+they may find in it of the good, the useful, and the helpful, seeing
+that while engaged in your service I have had the opportunity, through
+the leisure which it has pleased you to give me and through the
+management of your many, nay, innumerable treasures, to put together and
+to give to the world everything which appeared to be necessary for the
+perfect completion of this work; and would it not be almost impiety, not
+to say ingratitude, were I to dedicate these Lives to another, or were
+the craftsmen to attribute to any other than yourself whatever they may
+find in them to give them help or pleasure? For not only was it with
+your help and favour that they first came to the light, as now they do
+again, but you are, in imitation of your ancestors, sole father, sole
+lord, and sole protector of these our arts. Wherefore it is very right
+and reasonable that by these there should be made, in your service and
+to your eternal and perpetual memory, so many most noble pictures and
+statues and so many marvellous buildings in every manner.
+
+But if we are all, as indeed we are beyond calculation, most deeply
+obliged to you for these and for other reasons, how much more do I not
+owe to you, who have always had (would that my brain and my hand had
+been equal to my desire and right good will) so many valuable
+opportunities to display my little knowledge, which, whatsoever it may
+be, fails by a very great measure to counterbalance the greatness and
+the truly royal magnificence of your mind? But how may I tell? It is in
+truth better that I should stay as I am than that I should set myself to
+attempt what would be to the most lofty and noble brain, and much more
+so to my insignificance, wholly impossible.
+
+Accept then, most Illustrious Excellency, this my book, or rather indeed
+your book, of the Lives of the craftsmen of design; and like the
+Almighty God, looking rather at my soul and at my good intentions than
+at my work, take from me with right good will not what I would wish and
+ought to give, but what I can.
+
+     Your most Illustrious Excellency's most indebted servant,
+     GIORGIO VASARI.
+
+     FLORENCE,
+     _January 9, 1568_.
+
+
+
+
+PIUS PAPA QUINTUS
+
+
+Motu proprio (et cet.). Cum, sicut accepimus, dilectus filius Philippus
+Junta, typographus Florentinus, ad communem studiosorum utilitatem, sua
+impensa, Vitas Illustrium Pictorum et Sculptorum Georgii Vasarii demum
+auctas et suis imaginibus exornatas, Statuta Equitum Melitensium in
+Italicam linguam translata, Receptariumque Novum pro Aromatariis,
+aliaque opera tum Latina, tum Italica, saneque utilia et necessaria,
+imprimi facere intendat, dubitetque ne hujusmodi opera postmodum ab
+aliis sine ejus licentia et in ejus grave praejudicium imprimantur; nos
+propterea, illius indemnitati consulere volentes, motu simili et ex
+certa scientia, eidem Philippo concedimus et indulgemus ne praedicta
+opera, dummodo prius ab Inquisitore visa et approbata fuerint, per ipsum
+imprimenda, infra decennium a quoquo sine ipsius licentia imprimi aut
+vendi vel in apothecis teneri possint; inhibentes omnibus et singulis
+Christi fidelibus tam in Italia quam extra Italiam existentibus, sub
+excommunicationis lata sententia, in terris vero S.R.E. mediate vel
+immediate subjectis, etiam ducentorum ducatorum auri Camerae Apostolicae
+applicandorum et amissionis librorum p[oe]nis, totiens ipso facto et
+absque alia declaratione incurrendis quotiens contraventum fuerit, ne
+intra decennium praefatum dicta opera sine ejusdem Philippi expressa
+licentia imprimere, seu ab ipsis aut aliis impressa vendere, vel venalia
+habere; mandantes universis veneralibus fratribus nostris
+Archiepiscopis, Episcopis, eorumque Vicariis in spiritualibus
+generalibus, et in Statu S.R.E. etiam Legatis, Vicelegatis, Praesidibus
+et Gubernatoribus, ut quoties pro ipsius Philippi parte fuerint
+requisiti, vel eorum aliquis fuerit requisitus, eidem, efficacis
+defensionis praesidio assistentes, praemissa contra inobedientes et
+rebelles, per censuras ecclesiasticas, etiam saepius aggravando, et per
+alia juris remedia, auctoritate Apostolica exequantur; invocato etiam ad
+hoc, si opus fuerit, auxilio brachii saecularis. Volumus autem quod
+praesentis motus proprii nostri sola signatura sufficiat, et ubique fidem
+faciat in judicio et extra, regula contraria non obstante et officii
+sanctissimae Inquisitionis Florentinae.
+
+     Placet motu proprio M.
+
+     Datum Romae apud Sanctum Petrum, quintodecimo Cal. Maij,
+     anno secundo.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE TO THE WHOLE WORK
+
+
+It was the wont of the finest spirits in all their actions, through a
+burning desire for glory, to spare no labour, however grievous, in order
+to bring their works to that perfection which might render them
+impressive and marvellous to the whole world; nor could the humble
+fortunes of many prevent their energies from attaining to the highest
+rank, whether in order to live in honour or to leave in the ages to come
+eternal fame for all their rare excellence. And although, for zeal and
+desire so worthy of praise, they were, while living, highly rewarded by
+the liberality of Princes and by the splendid ambition of States, and
+even after death kept alive in the eyes of the world by the testimony of
+statues, tombs, medals, and other memorials of that kind; none the less,
+it is clearly seen that the ravening maw of time has not only diminished
+by a great amount their own works and the honourable testimonies of
+others, but has also blotted out and destroyed the names of all those
+who have been kept alive by any other means than by the right vivacious
+and pious pens of writers.
+
+Pondering over this matter many a time in my own mind, and recognizing,
+from the example not only of the ancients but of the moderns as well,
+that the names of very many architects, sculptors, and painters, both
+old and modern, together with innumerable most beautiful works wrought
+by them, are going on being forgotten and destroyed little by little,
+and in such wise, in truth, that nothing can be foretold for them but a
+certain and wellnigh immediate death; and wishing to defend them as much
+as in me lies from this second death, and to preserve them as long as
+may be possible in the memory of the living; and having spent much time
+in seeking them out and used the greatest diligence in discovering the
+native city, the origin, and the actions of the craftsmen, and having
+with great labour drawn them from the tales of old men and from various
+records and writings, left by their heirs a prey to dust and food for
+worms; and finally, having received from this both profit and pleasure,
+I have judged it expedient, nay rather, my duty, to make for them
+whatsoever memorial my weak talents and my small judgment may be able to
+make. In honour, then, of those who are already dead, and for the
+benefit, for the most part, of all the followers of these three most
+excellent arts, Architecture, Sculpture, and Painting, I will write the
+Lives of the craftsmen of each according to the times wherein they
+lived, step by step from Cimabue down to our own time; not touching on
+the ancients save in so far as it may concern our subject, seeing that
+no more can be said of them than those so many writers have said who
+have come down to our own age. I will treat thoroughly of many things
+that appertain to the science of one or other of the said arts; but
+before I come to the secrets of these, or to the history of the
+craftsmen, it seems to me right to touch a little on a dispute, born and
+bred between many without reason, as to the sovereignty and nobility,
+not of architecture, which they have left on one side, but of sculpture
+and painting; there being advanced, on one side and on the other, many
+arguments whereof many, if not all, are worthy to be heard and discussed
+by their craftsmen.
+
+I say, then, that the sculptors, as being endowed, perchance by nature
+and by the exercise of their art, with a better habit of body, with more
+blood, and with more energy, and being thereby more hardy and more fiery
+than the painters, in seeking to give the highest rank to their art,
+argue and prove the nobility of sculpture primarily from its antiquity,
+for the reason that God Almighty made man, who was the first statue; and
+they say that sculpture embraces many more arts as kindred, and has many
+more of them subordinate to itself than has painting, such as
+low-relief, working in clay, wax, plaster, wood, and ivory, casting in
+metals, every kind of chasing, engraving and carving in relief on fine
+stones and steel, and many others which both in number and in difficulty
+surpass those of painting. And alleging, further, that those things
+which stand longest and best against time and can be preserved longest
+for the use of men, for whose benefit and service they are made, are
+without doubt more useful and more worthy to be held in love and honour
+than are the others, they maintain that sculpture is by so much more
+noble than painting as it is more easy to preserve, both itself and the
+names of all who are honoured by it both in marble and in bronze,
+against all the ravages of time and air, than is painting, which, by its
+very nature, not to say by external accidents, perishes in the most
+sheltered and most secure places that architects have been able to
+provide. Nay more, they insist that the small number not merely of their
+excellent but even of their ordinary craftsmen, in contrast to the
+infinite number of the painters, proves their greater nobility; saying
+that sculpture calls for a certain better disposition, both of mind and
+of body, that are rarely found together, whereas painting contents
+itself with any feeble temperament, so long as it has a hand, if not
+bold, at least sure; and that this their contention is proved by the
+greater prices cited in particular by Pliny, by the loves caused by the
+marvellous beauty of certain statues, and by the judgment of him who
+made the statue of sculpture of gold and that of painting of silver, and
+placed the first on the right and the second on the left. Nor do they
+even refrain from quoting the difficulties experienced before the
+materials, such as the marbles and the metals, can be got into
+subjection, and their value, in contrast to the ease of obtaining the
+panels, the canvases, and the colours, for the smallest prices and in
+every place; and further, the extreme and grievous labour of handling
+the marbles and the bronzes, through their weight, and of working them,
+through the weight of the tools, in contrast to the lightness of the
+brushes, of the styles, and of the pens, chalk-holders, and charcoals;
+besides this, that they exhaust their minds together with all the parts
+of their bodies, which is something very serious compared with the quiet
+and light work of the painter, using only his mind and hand. Moreover,
+they lay very great stress on the fact that things are more noble and
+more perfect in proportion as they approach more nearly to the truth,
+and they say that sculpture imitates the true form and shows its works
+on every side and from every point of view, whereas painting, being
+laid on flat with most simple strokes of the brush and having but one
+light, shows but one aspect; and many of them do not scruple to say that
+sculpture is as much superior to painting as is truth to falsehood. But
+as their last and strongest argument, they allege that for the sculptor
+there is necessary a perfection of judgment not only ordinary, as for
+the painter, but absolute and immediate, in a manner that it may see
+within the marble the exact whole of that figure which they intend to
+carve from it, and may be able to make many parts perfect without any
+other model before it combines and unites them together, as Michelagnolo
+has done divinely well; although, for lack of this happiness of
+judgment, they make easily and often some of those blunders which have
+no remedy, and which, when made, bear witness for ever to the slips of
+the chisel or to the small judgment of the sculptor. This never happens
+to painters, for the reason that at every slip of the brush or error of
+judgment that might befall them they have time, recognizing it
+themselves or being told by others, to cover and patch it up with the
+very brush that made it; which brush, in their hands, has this advantage
+over the sculptor's chisels, that it not only heals, as did the iron of
+the spear of Achilles, but leaves its wounds without a scar.
+
+To these things the painters, answering not without disdain, say, in the
+first place, that if the sculptors wish to discuss the matter on the
+ground of the Scriptures the chief nobility is their own, and that the
+sculptors deceive themselves very grievously in claiming as their work
+the statue of our first father, which was made of earth; for the art of
+this performance, both in its putting on and in its taking off, belongs
+no less to the painters than to others, and was called "plastice" by the
+Greeks and "fictoria" by the Latins, and was judged by Praxiteles to be
+the mother of sculpture, of casting, and of chasing, a fact which makes
+sculpture, in truth, the niece of painting, seeing that "plastice" and
+painting are born at one and the same moment from design. And they say
+that if we consider it apart from the Scriptures, the opinions of the
+ages are so many and so varied that it is difficult to believe one more
+than the other; and that finally, considering this nobility as they
+wish it, in one place they lose and in the other they do not win, as may
+be seen more clearly in the Preface to the Lives.
+
+After this, in comparison with the arts related and subordinate to
+sculpture, they say that they have many more than the sculptors, because
+painting embraces the invention of history, the most difficult art of
+foreshortening, all the branches of architecture needful for the making
+of buildings, perspective, colouring in distemper, and the art of
+working in fresco, an art different and distinct from all the others;
+likewise working in oils on wood, on stone, and on canvas; illumination,
+too, an art different from all the others; the staining of glass,
+mosaics in glass, the art of inlaying and making pictures with coloured
+woods, which is painting; making sgraffito[2] work on houses with iron
+tools; niello[3] work and printing from copper, both members of
+painting; goldsmith's enamelling, and the inlaying of gold for
+damascening; the painting of glazed figures, and the making on
+earthenware vessels of scenes and figures to resist the action of water;
+weaving brocades with figures and flowers, and that most beautiful
+invention, woven tapestries, that are both convenient and magnificent,
+being able to carry painting into every place, whether savage or
+civilized; not to mention that in every department of art that has to be
+practised, design, which is our design, is used by all; so that the
+members of painting are more numerous and more useful than those of
+sculpture. They do not deny the eternity, for so the others call it, of
+sculpture, but they say that this is no privilege that should make the
+art more noble than it is by nature, seeing that it comes simply from
+the material, and that if length of life were to give nobility to souls,
+the pine, among the plants, and the stag, among the animals, would have
+a soul more noble beyond compare than that of men; although they could
+claim a similar immortality and nobility in their mosaics, seeing that
+there may be seen some as ancient as the most ancient sculptures that
+are in Rome, and that they used to be made of jewels and fine stones.
+And as for their small or smaller number, they declare that this is not
+because the art calls for a better habit of body and greater judgment,
+but that it depends wholly on the poverty of their resources and on the
+little favour, or avarice, as we would rather call it, of rich men, who
+give them no supply of marble and no opportunity to work; in contrast
+with what may be believed, nay, seen to have happened in ancient times,
+when sculpture rose to its greatest height. Indeed, it is manifest that
+he who cannot use and waste a small quantity of marble and hard stone,
+which are very costly, cannot have that practice in the art that is
+essential; he who does not practise does not learn it; and he who does
+not learn it can do no good. Wherefore they should rather excuse with
+these arguments the imperfection and the small number of their masters,
+than seek to deduce nobility from them under false colours. As for the
+higher prices of sculptures, they answer that, although theirs might be
+much less, they have not to share them, being content with a boy who
+grinds their colours and hands them their brushes or their cheap stools,
+whereas the sculptors, besides the great cost of their material, require
+many aids and spend more time on one single figure than they themselves
+do on very many; wherefore their prices appear to come from the quality
+and the durability of the material itself, from the aids that it
+requires for its completion, and from the time that is taken in working
+it, rather than from the excellence of the art itself. And although that
+does not suffice and no greater price is found, as would be easily seen
+by anyone who were willing to consider it diligently, let them find a
+greater price than the marvellous, beautiful, and living gift that
+Alexander the Great made in return for the most splendid and excellent
+work of Apelles, bestowing on him, not vast treasures or high estate,
+but his own beloved and most beautiful Campaspe; let them observe, in
+addition, that Alexander was young, enamoured of her, and naturally
+subject to the passions of love, and also both a King and a Greek; and
+then, from this, let them draw what conclusion they please. As for the
+loves of Pygmalion and of those other rascals no more worthy to be men,
+cited as proof of the nobility of the art, they know not what to answer,
+if, from a very great blindness of intellect and from a licentiousness
+unbridled beyond all natural bounds, there can be made a proof of
+nobility. As for the man, whosoever he was, alleged by the sculptors to
+have made sculpture of gold and painting of silver, they are agreed that
+if he had given as much sign of judgment as of wealth, there would be no
+disputing it; and finally, they conclude that the ancient Golden Fleece,
+however celebrated it may be, none the less covered nothing but an
+unintelligent ram; wherefore neither the testimony of riches nor that of
+dishonest desires, but those of letters, of practice, of excellence, and
+of judgment are those to which we must pay attention. Nor do they make
+any answer to the difficulty of obtaining the marbles and the metals,
+save this, that it springs from their own poverty and from the little
+favour of the powerful, as has been said, and not from any degree of
+greater nobility. To the extreme fatigues of the body and to the dangers
+peculiar to them and to their works, laughing and without any ado they
+answer that if greater fatigues and dangers prove greater nobility, the
+art of quarrying the marbles from the bowels of mountains by means of
+wedges, levers, and hammers must be more noble than sculpture, that of
+the blacksmith must surpass the goldsmith's, and that of masonry must be
+superior to architecture.
+
+They say, next, that the true difficulties lie rather in the mind than
+in the body, wherefore those things that from their nature call for more
+study and knowledge are more noble and excellent than those that avail
+themselves rather of strength of body; and they declare that since the
+painters rely more on the worth of the mind than the others, this
+highest honour belongs to painting. For the sculptors the compasses and
+squares suffice to discover and apply all the proportions and
+measurements whereof they have need; for the painters there is
+necessary, besides the knowledge how to make good use of the aforesaid
+instruments, an accurate understanding of perspective, for the reason
+that they have to provide a thousand other things beyond landscapes and
+buildings, not to mention that they must have greater judgment by reason
+of the quantity of the figures in one scene, wherein more errors can
+come than in a single statue. For the sculptor it is enough to be
+acquainted with the true forms and features of solid and tangible
+bodies, subordinate on every side to the touch, and moreover of those
+only that have something to support them. For the painter it is
+necessary to know the forms not only of all the bodies supported and not
+supported, but also of all those transparent and intangible; and besides
+this they must know the colours that are suitable for the said bodies,
+whereof the multitude and the variety, so absolute and admitting of such
+infinite extension, are demonstrated better by the flowers, the fruits,
+and the minerals than by anything else; and this knowledge is supremely
+difficult to acquire and to maintain, by reason of their infinite
+variety. They say, moreover, that whereas sculpture, through the
+stubbornness and the imperfection of the material, does not represent
+the emotions of the soul save with motion, which does not, however, find
+much scope therein, and with the mere shape of the limbs and not even of
+all these; the painters demonstrate them with all the forms of motion,
+which are infinite, with the shape of the limbs, however subtle they may
+be, and even with breath itself and the spiritual essence of sight; and
+that, for greater perfection in demonstrating not only the passions and
+emotions of the soul but also the events of the future, as living men
+do, they must have, besides long practice in the art, a complete
+understanding of physiognomy, whereof that part suffices for the
+sculptor which deals with the quantity and the quality of the members,
+without troubling about the quality of colours, as to the knowledge of
+which anyone who judges by the eye knows how useful and necessary it is
+for the true imitation of nature, whereunto the closer a man approaches
+the more perfect he is.
+
+After this they add that whereas sculpture, taking away bit by bit, at
+one and the same time gives depth to and acquires relief for those
+things that have solidity by their own nature, and makes use of touch
+and sight, the painters, in two distinct actions, give relief and depth
+to a flat surface with the help of one single sense; and this, when it
+has been done by a person intelligent in the art, has caused many great
+men, not to speak of animals, to stand fast in the most pleasing
+illusion, which has never been seen to be done by sculpture, for the
+reason that it does not imitate nature in a manner that may be called
+as perfect as their own. And finally, in answer to that complete and
+absolute perfection of judgment which is required for sculpture, by
+reason of its having no means to add where it takes away; declaring,
+first, that such mistakes are irreparable, as the others say, and not to
+be remedied save by patches, which, even as in garments they are signs
+of poverty of wardrobe, so too both in sculpture and in pictures are
+signs of poverty of intellect and judgment; and saying, further, that
+patience, at its own leisure, by means of models, protractors, squares,
+compasses, and a thousand other devices and instruments for enlarging,
+not only preserves them from mistakes but enables them to bring their
+whole work to its perfection; they conclude, then, that this difficulty
+which they put down as the greater is nothing or little when compared to
+those which the painters have when working in fresco, and that the said
+perfection of judgment is in no way more necessary for sculptors than
+for painters, it being sufficient for the former to execute good models
+in wax, clay, or something else, even as the latter make their drawings
+on corresponding materials or on cartoons; and that finally, the quality
+that little by little transfers their models to the marble is rather
+patience than aught else.
+
+But let us consider about judgment, as the sculptors wish, and see
+whether it is not more necessary to one who works in fresco than to one
+who chisels in marble. For here not only is there no place for patience
+or for time, which are most mortal enemies to the union of the plaster
+and the colours, but the eye does not see the true colours until the
+plaster is well dry, nor can the hand judge of anything but of the soft
+or the dry, in a manner that anyone who were to call it working in the
+dark, or with spectacles of colours different from the truth, would not
+in my belief be very far wrong. Nay, I do not doubt at all that such a
+name is more suitable for it than for intaglio, for which wax serves as
+spectacles both true and good. They say, too, that for this work it is
+necessary to have a resolute judgment, to foresee the end in the fresh
+plaster and how the work will turn out on the dry; besides that the work
+cannot be abandoned so long as the plaster is still fresh, and that it
+is necessary to do resolutely in one day what sculpture does in a month.
+And if a man has not this judgment and this excellence, there are seen,
+on the completion of his work or in time, patches, blotches,
+corrections, and colours superimposed or retouched on the dry, which is
+something of the vilest, because afterwards mould appears and reveals
+the insufficiency and the small knowledge of the craftsmen, even as the
+pieces added in sculpture lead to ugliness; not to mention that when it
+comes about that the figures in fresco are washed, as is often done
+after some time to restore them, what has been worked on the fresh
+plaster remains, and what has been retouched on the dry is carried away
+by the wet sponge.
+
+They add, moreover, that whereas the sculptors make two figures
+together, or at the most three, from one block of marble, they make many
+of them on one single panel, with all those so many and so varied
+aspects which the sculptors claim for one single statue, compensating
+with the variety of their postures, foreshortenings, and attitudes, for
+the fact that the work of the sculptors can be seen from every side;
+even as Giorgione da Castelfranco did once in one of his pictures,
+wherein a figure with its back turned, having a mirror on either side,
+and a pool of water at its feet, shows its back in the painting, its
+front in the pool, and its sides in the mirrors, which is something that
+sculpture has never been able to do. In addition to this, they maintain
+that painting leaves not one of the elements unadorned and not abounding
+with all the excellent things that nature has bestowed on them, giving
+its own light and its own darkness to the air, with all its varieties of
+feeling, and filling it with all the kinds of birds together; to water,
+its clearness, the fishes, the mosses, the foam, the undulations of the
+waves, the ships, and all its various moods; and to the earth, the
+mountains, the plains, the plants, the fruits, the flowers, the animals,
+and the buildings; with so great a multitude of things and so great a
+variety of their forms and of their true colours, that nature herself
+many a time stands in a marvel thereat; and finally, giving to fire so
+much of its heat and light that it is clearly seen burning things, and,
+almost quivering with its flames, rendering luminous in part the
+thickest darkness of the night. Wherefore it appears to them that they
+can justly conclude and declare that contrasting the difficulties of the
+sculptors with their own, the labours of the body with those of the
+mind, the imitation of the mere form with the imitation of the
+impression, both of quantity and of quality, that strikes the eye, the
+small number of the subjects wherein sculpture can and does demonstrate
+its excellence with the infinite number of those which painting presents
+to us (not to mention the perfect preservation of them for the intellect
+and the distribution of them in those places wherein nature herself has
+not done so); and finally, weighing the whole content of the one with
+that of the other, the nobility of sculpture, as shown by the intellect,
+the invention, and the judgment of its craftsmen, does not correspond by
+a great measure to that which painting enjoys and deserves. And this is
+all that on the one side and on the other has come to my ears that is
+worthy of consideration.
+
+But because it appears to me that the sculptors have spoken with too
+much heat and the painters with too much disdain, and seeing that I have
+long enough studied the works of sculpture and have ever exercised
+myself in painting, however small, perhaps, may be the fruit that is to
+be seen of it; none the less, by reason of that which it is worth, and
+by reason of the undertaking of these writings, judging it my duty to
+demonstrate the judgment that I have ever made of it in my own mind (and
+may my authority avail the most that it can), I will declare my opinion
+surely and briefly over such a dispute, being convinced that I will not
+incur any charge of presumption or of ignorance, seeing that I will not
+treat of the arts of others, as many have done before to the end that
+they might appear to the crowd intelligent in all things by means of
+letters, and as happened, among others, to Phormio the Peripatetic of
+Ephesus, who, in order to display his eloquence, lecturing and making
+disputation about the virtues and parts of the excellent captain, made
+Hannibal laugh not less at his presumption than at his ignorance.
+
+I say, then, that sculpture and painting are in truth sisters, born from
+one father, that is, design, at one and the same birth, and have no
+precedence one over the other, save insomuch as the worth and the
+strength of those who maintain them make one craftsman surpass another,
+and not by reason of any difference or degree of nobility that is in
+truth to be found between them. And although by reason of the diversity
+of their essence they have many different advantages, these are neither
+so great nor of such a kind that they do not come exactly into balance
+together and that we do not perceive the infatuation or the obstinacy,
+rather than the judgment, of those who wish one to surpass the other.
+Wherefore it may be said with reason that one and the same soul rules
+the bodies of both, and by reason of this I conclude that those do evil
+who strive to disunite and to separate the one from the other. Heaven,
+wishing to undeceive us in this matter and to show us the kinship and
+union of these two most noble arts, has raised up in our midst at
+various times many sculptors who have painted and many painters who have
+worked in sculpture, as will be seen in the Life of Antonio del
+Pollaiuolo, of Leonardo da Vinci, and of many others long since passed
+away. But in our own age the Divine Goodness has created for us
+Michelagnolo Buonarroti, in whom both these arts shine forth so perfect
+and appear so similar and so closely united, that the painters marvel at
+his pictures and the sculptors feel for the sculptures wrought by him
+supreme admiration and reverence. On him, to the end that he might not
+perchance need to seek from some other master some convenient
+resting-place for the figures that he wrought, nature has bestowed so
+generously the science of architecture, that without having need of
+others he has strength and power within himself to give to this or the
+other image made by himself an honourable and suitable resting-place, in
+a manner that he rightly deserves to be called the king of sculptors,
+the prince of painters, and the most excellent of architects, nay
+rather, of architecture the true master. And indeed we can affirm with
+certainty that those do in no way err who call him divine, seeing that
+he has within his own self embraced the three arts most worthy of praise
+and most ingenious that are to be found among mortal men, and that with
+these, after the manner of a God, he can give us infinite delight. And
+let this suffice for the dispute raised between the factions, and for
+our own opinion.
+
+Now, returning to my first intention, I say that, wishing in so far as
+it lies within the reach of my powers to drag from the ravening maw of
+time, the names of the sculptors, painters, and architects, who, from
+Cimabue to the present day, have been of some notable excellence in
+Italy, and desiring that this my labour may be no less useful than it
+has been pleasant to me in the undertaking, it appears to me necessary,
+before we come to the history, to make as briefly as may be an
+introduction to these three arts, wherein those were valiant of whom I
+am to write the Lives, to the end that every gracious spirit may first
+learn the most notable things in their professions, and afterwards may
+be able with greater pleasure and benefit to see clearly in what they
+were different among themselves, and how great adornment and convenience
+they give to their countries and to all who wish to avail themselves of
+their industry and knowledge.
+
+I will begin, then, with architecture, as the most universal and the
+most necessary and useful to men, and as that for the service and
+adornment of which the two others exist; and I will expound briefly the
+varieties of stone, the manners or methods of construction, with their
+proportions, and how one may recognize buildings that are good and
+well-conceived. Afterwards, discoursing of sculpture, I will tell how
+statues are wrought, the form and the proportion that are looked for in
+them, and of what kind are good sculptures, with all the most secret and
+most necessary precepts. Finally, treating of painting, I will speak of
+draughtsmanship, of the methods of colouring, of the perfect execution
+of any work, of the quality of the pictures themselves, and of
+whatsoever thing appertains to painting; of every kind of mosaic, of
+niello, of enamelling, of damascening, and then, lastly, of the printing
+of pictures. And in this way I am convinced that these my labours will
+delight those who are not engaged in these pursuits, and will both
+delight and help those who have made them a profession. For not to
+mention that in the Introduction they will review the methods of
+working, and that in the Lives of the craftsmen themselves they will
+learn where their works are, and how to recognize easily their
+perfection or imperfection and to discriminate between one manner and
+another, they will also be able to perceive how much praise and honour
+that man deserves who adds upright ways and goodness of life to the
+excellencies of arts so noble. Kindled by the praise that those so
+constituted have obtained, they too will aspire to true glory. Nor will
+little fruit be gathered from the history, true guide and mistress of
+our actions, in reading of the infinite variety of innumerable accidents
+that befell the craftsmen, sometimes by their own fault and very often
+by chance.
+
+It remains for me to make excuse for having on occasion used some words
+of indifferent Tuscan, whereof I do not wish to speak, having ever taken
+thought to use rather the words and names particular and proper to our
+arts than the delicate or choice words of precious writers. Let me be
+allowed, then, to use in their proper speech the words proper to our
+craftsmen, and let all content themselves with my good will, which has
+bestirred itself to produce this result not in order to teach to others
+what I do not know myself, but through a desire to preserve this memory
+at least of the most celebrated craftsmen, seeing that in so many
+decades I have not yet been able to see one who has made much record of
+them. For I have wished with these my rough labours, adumbrating their
+noble deeds, to repay to them in some measure the debt that I owe to
+their works, which have been to me as masters for the learning of
+whatsoever I know, rather than, living in sloth, to be a malignant
+critic of the works of others, blaming and decrying them as men are
+often wont to do. But it is now time to come to our business.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 2: The process of sgraffito work is described in Professor
+Baldwin Brown's notes to "Vasari on Technique" as follows: "A wall is
+covered with a layer of tinted plaster, and on this is superimposed a
+thin coating of white plaster. This outer coating is scratched through
+(with an iron tool), and the colour behind is revealed. Then all the
+surface outside the design is cut away, and a cameo-like effect is given
+to the design."]
+
+[Footnote 3: The process of niello is as follows: A design is engraved
+on silver or bronze, and the lines of the design are filled with a
+composition of silver and lead. On the application of fire to the whole,
+this composition turns black, leaving the design strongly outlined.]
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE TO THE LIVES
+
+
+I have no manner of doubt that it is with almost all writers a common
+and deeply-fixed opinion that sculpture and painting together were first
+discovered, by the light of nature, by the people of Egypt, and that
+there are certain others who attribute to the Chaldaeans the first rough
+sketches in marble and the first reliefs in statuary, even as they also
+give to the Greeks the invention of the brush and of colouring. But I
+will surely say that of both one and the other of these arts the design,
+which is their foundation, nay rather, the very soul that conceives and
+nourishes within itself all the parts of man's intellect, was already
+most perfect before the creation of all other things, when the Almighty
+God, having made the great body of the world and having adorned the
+heavens with their exceeding bright lights, descended lower with His
+intellect into the clearness of the air and the solidity of the earth,
+and, shaping man, discovered, together with the lovely creation of all
+things, the first form of sculpture; from which man afterwards, step by
+step (and this may not be denied), as from a true pattern, there were
+taken statues, sculptures, and the science of pose and of outline; and
+for the first pictures (whatsoever they were), softness, harmony, and
+the concord in discord that comes from light and shade. Thus, then, the
+first model whence there issued the first image of man was a lump of
+clay, and not without reason, seeing that the Divine Architect of time
+and of nature, being Himself most perfect, wished to show in the
+imperfection of the material the way to add and to take away; in the
+same manner wherein the good sculptors and painters are wont to work,
+who, adding and taking away in their models, bring their imperfect
+sketches to that final perfection which they desire. He gave to man that
+most vivid colour of flesh, whence afterwards there were drawn for
+painting, from the mines of the earth, the colours themselves for the
+counterfeiting of all those things that are required for pictures. It is
+true, indeed, that it cannot be affirmed for certain what was made by
+the men before the Flood in these arts in imitation of so beautiful a
+work, although it is reasonable to believe that they too carved and
+painted in every manner; seeing that Belus, son of the proud Nimrod,
+about 200 years after the Flood, caused to be made that statue wherefrom
+there was afterwards born idolatry, and his son's wife, the very famous
+Semiramis, Queen of Babylon, in the building of that city, placed among
+its adornments not only diverse varied kinds of animals, portrayed and
+coloured from nature, but also the image of herself and of Ninus, her
+husband, and, moreover, statues in bronze of her husband's father, of
+her husband's mother, and of the mother of the latter, as Diodorus
+relates, calling them by the Greek names (that did not yet exist), Jove,
+Juno, and Ops. From these statues, perchance, the Chaldaeans learnt to
+make the images of their gods, seeing that 150 years later Rachel, in
+flying from Mesopotamia together with Jacob her husband, stole the idols
+of Laban her father, as is clearly related in Genesis. Nor, indeed, were
+the Chaldaeans alone in making sculptures and pictures, but the Egyptians
+made them also, exercising themselves in these arts with that so great
+zeal which is shown in the marvellous tomb of the most ancient King
+Osimandyas, copiously described by Diodorus, and proved by the stern
+commandment made by Moses in the Exodus from Egypt, namely, that under
+pain of death there should be made to God no image whatsoever. He, on
+descending from the mountain, having found the golden calf wrought and
+adored solemnly by his people, and being greatly perturbed to see Divine
+honours paid to the image of a beast, not only broke it and reduced it
+to powder, but for punishment of so great a sin caused many thousands of
+the wicked sons of Israel to be slain by the Levites. But because not
+the making of statues but their adoration was a deadly sin, we read in
+Exodus that the art of design and of statuary, not only in marble but in
+every kind of metal, was bestowed by the mouth of God on Bezaleel, of
+the tribe of Judah, and on Aholiab, of the tribe of Dan, who were those
+that made the two cherubim of gold, the candlesticks, the veil, the
+borders of the priestly vestments, and so many other most beautiful
+castings for the Tabernacle, for no other reason than to bring the
+people to contemplate and to adore them.
+
+From the things seen before the Flood, then, the pride of men found the
+way to make the statues of those for whom they wished that they should
+remain famous and immortal in the world. And the Greeks, who think
+differently about this origin, say that the Ethiopians invented the
+first statues, as Diodorus tells; that the Egyptians took them from the
+Ethiopians, and, from them, the Greeks; for by Homer's time sculpture
+and painting are seen to have been perfected, as it is proved, in
+discoursing of the shield of Achilles, by that divine poet, who shows it
+to us carved and painted, rather than described, with every form of art.
+Lactantius Firmianus, by way of fable, attributes it to Prometheus, who,
+in the manner of Almighty God, shaped man's image out of mud; and from
+him, he declares, the art of statuary came. But according to what Pliny
+writes, this came to Egypt from Gyges the Lydian, who, being by the fire
+and gazing at his own shadow, suddenly, with some charcoal in his hand,
+drew his own outline on the wall. And from that age, for a time,
+outlines only were wont to be used, with no body of colour, as the same
+Pliny confirms; which method was rediscovered with more labour by
+Philocles the Egyptian, and likewise by Cleanthes and Ardices of Corinth
+and by Telephanes of Sicyon.
+
+Cleophantes of Corinth was the first among the Greeks who used colours,
+and Apollodorus the first who discovered the brush. There followed
+Polygnotus of Thasos, Zeuxis, and Timagoras of Chalcis, with Pythias and
+Aglaophon, all most celebrated; and after these the most famous Apelles,
+so much esteemed and honoured by Alexander the Great for his talent, and
+the most ingenious investigator of slander and false favour, as Lucian
+shows us; even as almost all the excellent painters and sculptors were
+endowed by Heaven, in nearly every case, not only with the adornment of
+poetry, as may be read of Pacuvius, but with philosophy besides, as may
+be seen in Metrodorus, who, being as well versed in philosophy as in
+painting, was sent by the Athenians to Paulus Emilius to adorn his
+triumph, and remained with him to read philosophy to his sons.
+
+The art of sculpture, then, was greatly exercised in Greece, and there
+appeared many excellent craftsmen, and, among others, Pheidias, an
+Athenian, with Praxiteles and Polycletus, all very great masters, while
+Lysippus and Pyrgoteles were excellent in sunk reliefs, and Pygmalion in
+reliefs in ivory, of whom there is a fable that by his prayers he
+obtained breath and spirit for the figure of a virgin that he made.
+Painting, likewise, was honoured and rewarded by the ancient Greeks and
+Romans, seeing that to those who made it appear marvellous they showed
+favour by bestowing on them citizenship and the highest dignities. So
+greatly did this art flourish in Rome that Fabius gave renown to his
+house by writing his name under the things so beautifully painted by him
+in the temple of Salus, and calling himself Fabius Pictor. It was
+forbidden by public decree that slaves should exercise this art
+throughout the cities, and so much honour did the nations pay without
+ceasing to the art and to the craftsmen that the rarest works were sent
+among the triumphal spoils, as marvellous things, to Rome, and the
+finest craftsmen were freed from slavery and recompensed with honours
+and rewards by the commonwealths.
+
+The Romans themselves bore so great reverence for these arts that
+besides the respect that Marcellus, in sacking the city of Syracuse,
+commanded to be paid to a craftsman famous in them, in planning the
+assault of the aforesaid city they took care not to set fire to that
+quarter wherein there was a most beautiful painted panel, which was
+afterwards carried to Rome in the triumph, with much pomp. Thither,
+having, so to speak, despoiled the world, in course of time they
+assembled the craftsmen themselves as well as their finest works,
+wherewith afterwards Rome became so beautiful, for the reason that she
+gained so great adornment from the statues from abroad more than from
+her own native ones; it being known that in Rhodes, the city of an
+island in no way large, there were more than 30,000 statues counted,
+either in bronze or in marble, nor did the Athenians have less, while
+those at Olympia and at Delphi were many more and those in Corinth
+numberless, and all were most beautiful and of the greatest value. Is
+it not known that Nicomedes, King of Lycia, in his eagerness for a Venus
+that was by the hand of Praxiteles, spent on it almost all the wealth of
+his people? Did not Attalus the same, who, in order to possess the
+picture of Bacchus painted by Aristides, did not scruple to spend on it
+more than 6,000 sesterces? Which picture was placed by Lucius Mummius in
+the temple of Ceres with the greatest pomp, in order to adorn Rome.
+
+But for all that the nobility of these arts was so highly valued, it is
+none the less not yet known for certain who gave them their first
+beginning. For, as has been already said above, it appears most ancient
+among the Chaldaeans, some give it to the Ethiopians, and the Greeks
+attribute it to themselves; and it may be thought, not without reason,
+that it is perchance even more ancient among the Etruscans, as our Leon
+Batista Alberti testifies, whereof we have clear enough proof in the
+marvellous tomb of Porsena at Chiusi, where, no long time since, there
+were discovered underground, between the walls of the Labyrinth, some
+terracotta tiles with figures on them in half-relief, so excellent and
+in so beautiful a manner that it can be easily recognized that the art
+was not begun precisely at that time, nay rather, by reason of the
+perfection of these works, that it was much nearer its height than its
+beginning. To this, moreover, witness is likewise borne by our seeing
+every day many pieces of those red and black vases of Arezzo, made, as
+may be judged from the manner, about those times, with the most delicate
+carvings and small figures and scenes in low-relief, and many small
+round masks wrought with great subtlety by masters of that age, men most
+experienced, as is shown by the effect, and most excellent in that art.
+It may be seen, moreover, by reason of the statues found at Viterbo at
+the beginning of the pontificate of Alexander VI, that sculpture was in
+great esteem and in no small perfection among the Etruscans; and
+although it is not known precisely at what time they were made, it may
+be reasonably conjectured, both from the manner of the figures and from
+the style of the tombs and of the buildings, no less than from the
+inscriptions in those Etruscan letters, that they are most ancient and
+were made at a time when the affairs of this country were in a good and
+prosperous state. But what clearer proof of this can be sought? seeing
+that in our own day--that is, in the year 1554--there has been found a
+bronze figure of the Chimaera of Bellerophon, in making the ditches,
+fortifications, and walls of Arezzo, from which figure it is recognized
+that the perfection of that art existed in ancient times among the
+Etruscans, as may be seen from the Etruscan manner and still more from
+the letters carved on a paw, about which--since they are but few and
+there is no one now who understands the Etruscan tongue--it is
+conjectured that they may represent the name of the master as well as
+that of the figure itself, and perchance also the date, according to the
+use of those times. This figure, by reason of its beauty and antiquity,
+has been placed in our day by the Lord Duke Cosimo in the hall of the
+new rooms in his Palace, wherein there have been painted by me the acts
+of Pope Leo X. And besides this there were found in the same place many
+small figures in bronze after the same manner, which are in the hands of
+the said Lord Duke.
+
+But since the dates of the works of the Greeks, the Ethiopians, and the
+Chaldaeans are as doubtful as our own, and perhaps more, and by reason of
+the greater need of founding our judgment about these works on
+conjectures, which, however, are not so feeble that they are in every
+way wide of the mark, I believe that I strayed not at all from the truth
+(and I think that everyone who will consent to consider this question
+discreetly will judge as I did), when I said above that the origin of
+these arts was nature herself, and the example or model, the most
+beautiful fabric of the world, and the master, that divine light infused
+by special grace into us, which has not only made us superior to the
+other animals, but, if it be not sin to say it, like to God. And if in
+our own times it has been seen (as I trust to be able to demonstrate a
+little later by many examples) that simple children roughly reared in
+the woods, with their only model in the beautiful pictures and
+sculptures of nature, and by the vivacity of their wit, have begun by
+themselves to make designs, how much more may we, nay, must we
+confidently believe that these primitive men, who, in proportion as they
+were less distant from their origin and divine creation, were thereby
+the more perfect and of better intelligence, that they, by themselves,
+having for guide nature, for master purest intellect, and for example
+the so lovely model of the world, gave birth to these most noble arts,
+and from a small beginning, little by little bettering them, brought
+them at last to perfection? I do not, indeed, wish to deny that there
+was one among them who was the first to begin, seeing that I know very
+well that it must needs be that at some time and from some one man there
+came the beginning; nor, also, will I deny that it may have been
+possible that one helped another and taught and opened the way to
+design, to colour, and relief, because I know that our art is all
+imitation, of nature for the most part and then, because a man cannot by
+himself rise so high, of those works that are executed by those whom he
+judges to be better masters than himself. But I say surely that the
+wishing to affirm dogmatically who this man or these men were is a thing
+very perilous to judge, and perchance little necessary to know, provided
+that we see the true root and origin wherefrom art was born. For since,
+of the works that are the life and the glory of the craftsmen, the first
+and step by step the second and the third were lost by reason of time,
+that consumes all things, and since, for lack of writers at that time,
+they could not, at least in that way, become known to posterity, their
+craftsmen as well came to be forgotten. But when once the writers began
+to make record of things that were before their day, they could not
+speak of those whereof they had not been able to have information, in a
+manner that there came to be first with them those of whom the memory
+had been the last to be lost. Even as the first of the poets, by common
+consent, is said to be Homer, not because there were none before him,
+for there were, although not so excellent, which is seen clearly from
+his own works, but because of these early poets, whatever manner of men
+they were, all knowledge had been lost quite 2,000 years before.
+However, leaving behind us this part, as too uncertain by reason of its
+antiquity, let us come to the clearer matters of their perfection, ruin,
+and restoration, or rather resurrection, whereof we will be able to
+discourse on much better grounds.
+
+I say, then, it being true indeed, that they began late in Rome, if the
+first figure was, as is said, the image of Ceres made of metal from the
+treasure of Spurius Cassius, who, for conspiring to make himself King,
+was put to death by his own father without any scruple; and that
+although the arts of sculpture and of painting continued up to the end
+of the twelve Caesars, they did not, however, continue in that perfection
+and excellence which they had enjoyed before, for it may be seen from
+the edifices that the Emperors built in succession one after the other
+that these arts, decaying from one day to another, were coming little by
+little to lose their whole perfection of design. And to this clear
+testimony is borne by the works of sculpture and of architecture that
+were wrought in the time of Constantine in Rome, and in particular the
+triumphal arch raised for him by the Roman people near the Colosseum,
+wherein it is seen that in default of good masters they not only made
+use of marble groups made at the time of Trajan, but also of the spoils
+brought from various places to Rome. And whosoever knows that the votive
+offerings in the medallions, that is, the sculptures in half-relief, and
+likewise the prisoners, and the large groups, and the columns, and the
+mouldings, and the other ornaments, whether made before or from spoils,
+are excellently wrought, knows also that the works which were made to
+fill up by the sculptors of that time are of the rudest, as also are
+certain small groups with little figures in marble below the medallions,
+and the lowest base wherein there are certain victories, and certain
+rivers between the arches at the sides, which are very rude and so made
+that it can be believed most surely that by that time the art of
+sculpture had begun to lose something of the good. And there had not yet
+come the Goths and the other barbarous and outlandish peoples who
+destroyed, together with Italy, all the finer arts. It is true, indeed,
+that in the said times architecture had suffered less harm than the
+other arts of design had suffered, for in the bath that Constantine
+erected on the Lateran, in the entrance of the principal porch it may be
+seen, to say nothing of the porphyry columns, the capitals wrought in
+marble, and the double bases taken from some other place and very well
+carved, that the whole composition of the building is very well
+conceived; whereas, on the contrary, the stucco, the mosaics, and
+certain incrustations on the walls made by masters of that time are not
+equal to those that he caused to be placed in the same bath, which were
+taken for the most part from the temples of the heathen gods.
+Constantine, so it is said, did the same in the garden of AEquitius, in
+making the temple which he afterwards endowed and gave to the Christian
+priests. In like manner, the magnificent Church of S. Giovanni Laterano,
+erected by the same Emperor, can bear witness to the same--namely, that
+in his day sculpture had already greatly declined; for the image of the
+Saviour and the twelve Apostles in silver that he caused to be made were
+very debased sculptures, wrought without art and with very little
+design. Besides this, whosoever examines with diligence the medals of
+Constantine and his image and other statues made by the sculptors of
+that time, which are at the present day in the Campidoglio, may see
+clearly that they are very far removed from the perfection of the medals
+and statues of the other Emperors; and all this shows that long before
+the coming of the Goths into Italy sculpture had greatly declined.
+
+Architecture, as has been said, continued to maintain itself, if not so
+perfect, in a better state; nor is there reason to marvel at this,
+seeing that, as the great edifices were made almost wholly of spoils, it
+was easy for the architects, in making the new, to imitate in great
+measure the old, which they had ever before their eyes, and that much
+more easily than the sculptors could imitate the good figures of the
+ancients, their art having wholly vanished. And that this is true is
+manifest, because the Church of the Prince of the Apostles on the
+Vatican was not rich save in columns, bases, capitals, architraves,
+mouldings, doors, and other incrustations and ornaments, which were all
+taken from various places and from the edifices built most magnificently
+in earlier times. The same could be said of S. Croce in Gierusalemme,
+which Constantine erected at the entreaty of his mother Helena, of S.
+Lorenzo without the walls of Rome, and of S. Agnesa, built by him at the
+request of Constantia, his daughter. And who does not know that the font
+which served for the baptism of both her and her sister was all adorned
+with works wrought long before, and in particular with the porphyry
+basin carved with most beautiful figures, with certain marble
+candlesticks excellently carved with foliage, and with some boys in
+low-relief that are truly most beautiful? In short, for these and many
+other reasons it is clear how much, in the time of Constantine,
+sculpture had already declined, and together with it the other finer
+arts. And if anything was wanting to complete this ruin, it was supplied
+to them amply by the departure of Constantine from Rome, on his going to
+establish the seat of the Empire at Byzantium; for the reason that he
+took with him not only all the best sculptors and other craftsmen of
+that age, whatsoever manner of men they were, but also an infinite
+number of statues and other works of sculpture, all most beautiful.
+
+After the departure of Constantine, the Caesars whom he left in Italy,
+building continually both in Rome and elsewhere, exerted themselves to
+make their works as fine as they could; but, as may be seen, sculpture,
+as well as painting and architecture, went ever from bad to worse, and
+this perchance came to pass because, when human affairs begin to
+decline, they never cease to go ever lower and lower until such time as
+they can grow no worse. So, too, it may be seen that although at the
+time of Pope Liberius the architects of that day strove to do something
+great in constructing the Church of S. Maria Maggiore, they were yet not
+happy in the success of the whole, for the reason that although that
+building, which is likewise composed for the greater part of spoils, was
+made with good enough proportions, it cannot be denied any the less, not
+to speak of certain other parts, that the frieze made right round above
+the columns with ornaments in stucco and in painting is wholly wanting
+in design, and that many other things which are seen in that great
+church demonstrate the imperfection of the arts.
+
+Many years after, when the Christians were persecuted under Julian the
+Apostate, there was erected on the C[oe]lian Mount a church to S. John
+and S. Paul, the martyrs, in a manner so much worse than those named
+above, that it is seen clearly that the art was at that time little less
+than wholly lost. The buildings, too, that were erected at the same time
+in Tuscany, bear most ample testimony to this; and not to speak of many
+others, the church that was built outside the walls of Arezzo to S.
+Donatus, Bishop of that city (who, together with the monk Hilarian,
+suffered martyrdom under the said Julian the Apostate), was in no way
+better in architecture than those named above. Nor can it be believed
+that this came from anything else but the absence of better architects
+in that age, seeing that the said church (as it has been possible to see
+in our own day), which is octagonal and constructed from the spoils of
+the Theatre, the Colosseum and other edifices that had been standing in
+Arezzo before it was converted to the faith of Christ, was built without
+thought of economy and at the greatest cost, and adorned with columns of
+granite, of porphyry, and of many-coloured marbles, which had belonged
+to the said buildings. And for myself I do not doubt, from the expense
+which was clearly bestowed on that church, that if the Aretines had had
+better architects they would have built something marvellous; for it may
+be seen from what they did that they spared nothing if only they might
+make that work as rich and as well designed as they possibly could, and
+since, as has been already said so many times, architecture had lost
+less of its perfection than the other arts, there was to be seen therein
+some little of the good. At this time, likewise, was enlarged the Church
+of S. Maria in Grado, in honour of the said Hilarian, for the reason
+that he had been for a long time living in it when he went, with
+Donatus, to the crown of martyrdom.
+
+But because Fortune, when she has brought men to the height of her
+wheel, is wont, either in jest or in repentance, to throw them down
+again, it came about after these things that there rose up in various
+parts of the world all the barbarous peoples against Rome; whence there
+ensued after no long time not only the humiliation of so great an Empire
+but the ruin of the whole, and above all of Rome herself, and with her
+were likewise utterly ruined the most excellent craftsmen, sculptors,
+painters, and architects, leaving the arts and their own selves buried
+and submerged among the miserable massacres and ruins of that most
+famous city. And the first to fall into decay were painting and
+sculpture, as being arts that served more for pleasure than for use,
+while the other--namely, architecture--as being necessary and useful for
+bodily weal, continued to exist, but no longer in its perfection and
+excellence. And if it had not been that the sculptures and pictures
+presented, to the eyes of those who were born from day to day, those who
+had been thereby honoured to the end that they might have eternal life,
+there would soon have been lost the memory of both; whereas some of
+them survived in the images and in the inscriptions placed in private
+houses, as well as in public buildings, namely, in the amphitheatres,
+the theatres, the baths, the aqueducts, the temples, the obelisks, the
+colossi, the pyramids, the arches, the reservoirs, the public
+treasuries, and finally, in the very tombs, whereof a great part was
+destroyed by a barbarous and savage race who had nothing in them of man
+but the shape and the name. These, among others, were the Visigoths,
+who, having created Alaric their King, assailed Italy and Rome and
+sacked the city twice without respect for anything whatsoever. The same,
+too, did the Vandals, having come from Africa with Genseric, their King,
+who, not content with his booty and prey and all the cruelties that he
+wrought there, carried away her people into slavery, to their exceeding
+great misery, and among them Eudoxia, once the wife of the Emperor
+Valentinian, who had been slaughtered no long time before by his own
+soldiers. For these, having fallen away in very great measure from the
+ancient Roman valour, for the reason that all the best had gone a long
+time before to Byzantium with the Emperor Constantine, had no longer any
+good customs or ways of life. Nay more, there had been lost at one and
+the same time all true men and every sort of virtue, and laws, habits,
+names, and tongues had been changed; and all these things together and
+each by itself had caused every lovely mind and lofty intellect to
+become most brutish and most base.
+
+But what brought infinite harm and damage on the said professions, even
+more than all the aforesaid causes, was the burning zeal of the new
+Christian religion, which, after a long and bloody combat, with its
+wealth of miracles and with the sincerity of its works, had finally cast
+down and swept away the old faith of the heathens, and, devoting itself
+most ardently with all diligence to driving out and extirpating root and
+branch every least occasion whence error could arise, not only defaced
+or threw to the ground all the marvellous statues, sculptures, pictures,
+mosaics, and ornaments of the false gods of the heathens, but even the
+memorials and the honours of numberless men of mark, to whom, for their
+excellent merits, the noble spirit of the ancients had set up statues
+and other memorials in public places. Nay more, it not only destroyed,
+in order to build the churches for the Christian use, the most honoured
+temples of the idols, but in order to ennoble and adorn S. Pietro (to
+say nothing of the ornaments which had been there from the beginning) it
+also robbed of its stone columns the Mausoleum of Hadrian, now called
+the Castello di S. Angelo, and many other buildings that to-day we see
+in ruins. And although the Christian religion did not do this by reason
+of hatred that it bore to the arts, but only in order to humiliate and
+cast down the gods of the heathens, it was none the less true that from
+this most ardent zeal there came so great ruin on these honoured
+professions that their very form was wholly lost. And as if aught were
+wanting to this grievous misfortune, there arose against Rome the wrath
+of Totila, who, besides razing her walls and destroying with fire and
+sword all her most wonderful and noble buildings, burnt the whole city
+from end to end, and, having robbed her of every living body, left her a
+prey to flames and fire, so that there was not found in her in eighteen
+successive days a single living soul; and he cast down and destroyed so
+completely the marvellous statues, pictures, mosaics, and works in
+stucco, that there was lost, I do not say only their majesty, but their
+very form and essence. Wherefore, it being the lower rooms chiefly of
+the palaces and other buildings that were wrought with stucco, with
+painting, and with statuary, there was buried by the ruins from above
+all that good work that has been discovered in our own day, and those
+who came after, judging the whole to be in ruins, planted vines thereon,
+in a manner that, since the said lower rooms remained under the ground,
+the moderns have called them grottoes, and "grotesque" the pictures that
+are therein seen at the present day.
+
+After the end of the Ostrogoths, who were destroyed by Narses, men were
+living among the ruins of Rome in some fashion, poorly indeed, when
+there came, after 100 years, Constantine II, Emperor of Constantinople,
+who, although received lovingly by the Romans, laid waste, robbed, and
+carried away all that had remained, more by chance than by the good will
+of those who had destroyed her, in the miserable city of Rome. It is
+true, indeed, that he was not able to enjoy this booty, because, being
+carried by a sea-tempest to Sicily and being justly slain by his own
+men, he left his spoils, his kingdom, and his life a prey to Fortune.
+But she, not yet content with the woes of Rome, to the end that the
+things stolen might never return, brought thither for the ruin of the
+island a host of Saracens, who carried off both the wealth of the
+Sicilians and the spoils of Rome to Alexandria, to the very great shame
+and loss of Italy and of Christendom. And so all that the Pontiffs had
+not destroyed (and above all S. Gregory, who is said to have decreed
+banishment against all the remainder of the statues and of the spoils of
+the buildings) came finally, at the hands of that most rascally Greek,
+to an evil end; in a manner that, there being no trace or sign to be
+found of anything that was in any way good, the men who came after,
+although rude and boorish, and in particular in their pictures and
+sculptures, yet, incited by nature and refined by the air, set
+themselves to work, not according to the rules of the aforesaid arts,
+which they did not know, but according to the quality of their own
+intelligence.
+
+The arts of design, then, having been brought to these limits both
+before and during the lordship of the Lombards over Italy and also
+afterwards, continued gradually to grow worse, although some little work
+was done, insomuch that nothing could have been more rudely wrought or
+with less design than what was done, as bear witness, besides many other
+works, certain figures that are in the portico of S. Pietro in Rome,
+above the doors, wrought in the Greek manner in memory of certain holy
+fathers who had made disputation for Holy Church in certain councils. To
+this, likewise, bear witness many works in the same manner that are to
+be seen in the city and in the whole Exarchate of Ravenna, and in
+particular some that are in S. Maria Rotonda without that city, made a
+little time after the Lombards had been driven out of Italy. In this
+church, as I will not forbear to say, there may be seen a thing most
+notable and marvellous, namely, the vault, or rather cupola, that covers
+it, which, although it is ten braccia wide and serves for roof and
+covering to that building, is nevertheless of one single piece, so great
+and ponderous that it seems almost impossible that such a stone,
+weighing more than 200,000 libbre,[4] could have been set into place so
+high. But to return to our subject; there issued from the hands of the
+masters of these times those puppet-like and uncouth figures that are
+still to be seen in the works of old. The same thing happened to
+architecture, seeing that, since it was necessary to build, and since
+form and the good method were completely lost by reason of the death of
+the craftsmen and the destruction and ruin of their works, those who
+applied themselves to this exercise built nothing that either in
+ordering or in proportion showed any grace, or design, or reason
+whatsoever. Wherefore there came to arise new architects, who brought
+from their barbarous races the method of that manner of buildings that
+are called by us to-day German; and they made some that are rather a
+source of laughter for us moderns than creditable to them, until better
+craftsmen afterwards found a better style, in some measure similar to
+the good style of the ancients, even as that manner may be seen
+throughout all Italy in the old churches (but not the ancient), which
+were built by them, such as a palace of Theodoric, King of Italy, in
+Ravenna, and one in Pavia, and another in Modena; all in a barbarous
+manner, and rather rich and vast than well-conceived or of good
+architecture. The same may be affirmed of S. Stefano in Rimini, of S.
+Martino in Ravenna, and of the Church of S. Giovanni Evangelista,
+erected in the same city by Galla Placidia about the year of our
+salvation 438; of S. Vitale, which was erected in the year 547, of the
+Abbey of Classi di Fuori, and in short of many other monasteries and
+churches erected after the Lombard rule. All these buildings, as has
+been said, are both large and magnificent, but of the rudest
+architecture, and among them are many abbeys in France erected to S.
+Benedict, the Church and Monastery of Monte Casino, and the Church of S.
+Giovanni Battista at Monza, built by that Theodelinda, Queen of the
+Goths, to whom S. Gregory the Pope wrote his Dialogues; in which place
+that Queen caused to be painted the story of the Lombards, wherein it
+was seen that they shaved the back of their heads, and in front they had
+long locks, and they dyed themselves as far as the chin. Their garments
+were of ample linen, as was the use of the Angles and Saxons, and below
+a mantle of diverse colours; their shoes open as far as the toes and
+tied above with certain straps of leather. Similar to the aforesaid
+churches were the Church of S. Giovanni in Pavia, erected by Gondiberta,
+daughter of the aforesaid Theodelinda, and in the same city the Church
+of S. Salvadore, built by the brother of the said Queen, Aribert, who
+succeeded to the throne of Rodoald, husband of Gondiberta; and the
+Church of S. Ambrogio in Pavia, erected by Grimoald, King of the
+Lombards, who drove Bertrid, son of Aribert, from his throne. This
+Bertrid, being restored to his throne after the death of Grimoald,
+erected, also in Pavia, a monastery for nuns called the Monasterio
+Nuovo, in honour of Our Lady and of S. Agatha; and the Queen erected one
+without the walls, dedicated to the "Virgin Mary in Pertica." Cunibert,
+likewise, son of that Bertrid, erected a monastery and church after the
+same manner to S. Giorgio, called di Coronate, on the spot where he had
+gained a great victory over Alahi. Not unlike to these, too, was the
+church that the King of the Lombards, Luitprand (who lived in the time
+of King Pepin, father of Charlemagne), built in Pavia, which is called
+S. Pietro in Cieldauro; nor that one, likewise, that Desiderius built,
+who reigned after Astolf--namely, S. Pietro Clivate, in the diocese of
+Milan; nor the Monastery of S. Vincenzo in Milan, nor that of S. Giulia
+in Brescia, seeing that they were all built at the greatest cost, but in
+the most ugly and haphazard manner.
+
+Later, in Florence, architecture made some little progress, and the
+Church of S. Apostolo, that was erected by Charlemagne, although small,
+was most beautiful in manner; for not to mention that the shafts of the
+columns, although they are of separate pieces, show much grace and are
+made with beautiful proportion, the capitals, also, and the arches
+turned to make the little vaulted roofs of the two small aisles, show
+that in Tuscany there had survived or in truth arisen some good
+craftsman. In short, the architecture of this church is such that
+Filippo di Ser Brunellesco did not disdain to avail himself of it as a
+model in building the Church of S. Spirito and that of S. Lorenzo in the
+same city. The same may be seen in the Church of S. Marco in Venice,
+which (to say nothing of S. Giorgio Maggiore, erected by Giovanni
+Morosini in the year 978) was begun under the Doge Giustiniano and
+Giovanni Particiaco, close by S. Teodosio, when the body of that
+Evangelist was sent from Alexandria to Venice; and after many fires,
+which greatly damaged the Doge's palace and the church, it was finally
+rebuilt on the same foundations in the Greek manner and in that style
+wherein it is seen to-day, at very great cost and under the direction of
+many architects, in the year of Christ 973, at the time of Doge Domenico
+Selvo, who had the columns brought from wheresoever he could find them.
+And so it continued to go on up to the year 1140, when the Doge was
+Messer Piero Polani, and, as has been said, with the design of many
+masters, all Greeks. In the same Greek manner and about the same time
+were the seven abbeys that Count Ugo, Marquis of Brandenburg, caused to
+be built in Tuscany, as can be seen in the Badia of Florence, in that of
+Settimo, and in the others; which buildings, with the remains of those
+that are no longer standing, bear testimony that architecture was still
+in a measure holding its ground, although greatly corrupted and far
+removed from the good manner of the ancients. To this can also bear
+witness many old palaces built in Florence after the ruin of Fiesole, in
+Tuscan workmanship, but with barbaric ordering in the proportions of
+those doors and windows of immense length, in the curves of the pointed
+quarter-segments, and in the turning of the arches, after the wont of
+the foreign architects of those times.
+
+The year afterwards, 1013, it is clear that the art had regained some of
+its vigour from the rebuilding of that most beautiful church, S. Miniato
+in Sul Monte, in the time of Messer Alibrando, citizen and Bishop of
+Florence; for the reason that, besides the marble ornaments that are
+seen therein both within and without, it may be seen from the facade
+that the Tuscan architects strove as much as they could in the doors,
+the windows, the columns, the arches, and the mouldings, to imitate the
+good order of the ancients, having in part recovered it from the most
+ancient temple of S. Giovanni in their city. At the same time painting,
+which was little less than wholly spent, may be seen to have begun to
+win back something, as the mosaic shows that was made in the principal
+chapel[5] of the said Church of S. Miniato.
+
+From such beginnings, then, these arts commenced to grow better in
+design throughout Tuscany, as is seen in the year 1016, from the
+commencement made by the people of Pisa for the building of their Duomo,
+seeing that in those times it was a great thing for men to put their
+hands to the construction of a church made, as this was, with five
+naves, and almost wholly of marble both within and without. This church,
+which was built under the direction and design of Buschetto, a Greek of
+Dulichium, an architect of rarest worth for those times, was erected and
+adorned by the people of Pisa with innumerable spoils brought by sea
+(for they were at the height of their greatness) from diverse most
+distant places, as is well shown by the columns, bases, capitals,
+cornices, and all the other kinds of stonework that are therein seen.
+And seeing that these things were some of them small, some large, and
+some of a middle size, great was the judgment and the talent of
+Buschetto in accommodating them and in making the distribution of all
+this building, which is very well arranged both within and without; and
+besides other work, he contrived the frontal slope of the facade very
+ingeniously with a great number of columns, adorning it besides with
+columns carved in diverse and varied ways, and with ancient statues,
+even as he also made the principal doors in the same facade, between
+which--that is, beside that of the Carroccio--there was afterwards given
+an honourable burial-place to Buschetto himself, with three epitaphs,
+whereof this is one, in Latin verses in no way dissimilar to others of
+those times:
+
+      QUOD VIX MILLE BOUM POSSENT JUGA JUNCTA MOVERE,
+      ET QUOD VIX POTUIT PER MARE FERRE RATIS, BUSCHETTI NISU,
+      QUOD ERAT MIRABILE VISU,
+      DENA PUELLARUM TURBA LEVAVIT ONUS.
+
+And seeing that there has been made mention above of the Church of S.
+Apostolo in Florence, I will not forbear to say that on a marble slab
+therein, on one side of the high-altar, there may be seen these words:
+
+      VIII. V. DIE VI. APRILIS IN RESURRECTIONE DOMINI, KAROLUS
+     FRANCORUM REX A ROMA REVERTENS, INGRESSUS FLORENTIAM, CUM MAGNO
+     GAUDIO ET TRIPUDIO SUSCEPTUS, CIVIUM COPIAM TORQUEIS AUREIS
+     DECORAVIT ... ECCLESIA SANCTORUM APOSTOLORUM ... IN ALTARI INCLUSA
+     EST LAMINA PLUMBEA, IN QUA DESCRIPTA APPARET PRAEFATA FUNDATIO ET
+     CONSECRATIO FACTA PER ARCHIEPISCOPUM TURPINUM, TESTIBUS ROLANDO ET
+     ULIVERIO.
+
+The aforesaid edifice of the Duomo in Pisa, awaking the minds of many to
+fair enterprises throughout all Italy, and above all in Tuscany, was the
+cause that in the city of Pistoia, in the year 1032, a beginning was
+made for the Church of S. Paolo, in the presence of the Blessed Atto,
+Bishop of that city, as may be read in a contract made at that time,
+and, in short, for many other buildings whereof it would take too long
+to make mention at present. I cannot forbear to say, however, following
+the course of time, that afterwards, in the year 1060, there was erected
+in Pisa the round church of S. Giovanni, opposite the Duomo and in the
+same square. And something marvellous and almost wholly incredible is to
+be found recorded in an old book of the Works of the said Duomo, namely,
+that the columns of the said S. Giovanni, the pillars, and the vaulting
+were raised and completed in fifteen days and no more. In the same book,
+which anyone can see who has the wish, it may be read that for the
+building of this church there was imposed a tax of one danaio for each
+fire, but it is not said therein whether of gold or of small coin; and
+at that time there were in Pisa, as may be seen in the same book, 34,000
+fires. Truly this work was vast, of great cost, and difficult to
+execute, and above all the vaulting of the tribune, made in the shape of
+a pear and covered without with lead. The outer side is full of columns,
+carvings, and groups, and on the frieze of the central door is a Jesus
+Christ with the twelve Apostles in half-relief, after the Greek manner.
+
+The people of Lucca, about the same time--that is, in the year 1061--as
+rivals of the people of Pisa, began the Church of S. Martino in Lucca
+from the design of certain disciples of Buschetto, there being then no
+other architects in Tuscany. Attached to the facade of this church there
+may be seen a marble portico with many ornaments and carvings made in
+memory of Pope Alexander II, who had been, a short time before he was
+elected to the Pontificate, Bishop of that city. Of this construction
+and of Alexander himself everything is fully told in nine Latin verses,
+and the same may be seen in certain other ancient letters engraved on
+the marble under the portico, between the doors. On the said facade are
+certain figures, and under the portico many scenes in marble from the
+life of S. Martin, in half-relief, and in the Greek manner. But the
+best, which are over one of the doors, were made 170 years after by
+Niccola Pisano and finished in 1233, as will be told in the proper
+place; the Wardens, when these were begun, being Abellenato and
+Aliprando, as it may be clearly seen from certain letters carved in
+marble in the same place. These figures by the hand of Niccola Pisano
+show how much improvement there came from him to the art of sculpture.
+Similar to these were most, nay, all of the buildings that were erected
+in Italy from the times aforesaid up to the year 1250, seeing that
+little or no acquisition or improvement can be seen to have been made in
+the space of so many years by architecture, which stayed within the same
+limits and went on ever in that rude manner, whereof many examples are
+still to be seen, of which I will at present make no mention, for the
+reason that they will be spoken of below according to the occasions that
+may come before me.
+
+In like manner the good sculptures and pictures which had been buried
+under the ruins of Italy remained up to the same time hidden from or not
+known to the men boorishly reared in the rudeness of the modern use of
+that age, wherein no other sculptures or pictures existed than those
+which a remnant of old Greeks were making either in images of clay or
+stone, or painting monstrous figures and covering only the bare
+lineaments with colour. These craftsmen, as the best, being the only
+ones in these professions, were summoned to Italy, whither they brought
+sculpture and painting, together with mosaic, in that style wherein
+they knew them; and even so they taught them rudely and roughly to the
+Italians, who afterwards made use of them, as has been told and will be
+told further, up to a certain time. And the men of those times, not
+being used to see other excellence or greater perfection in any work
+than that which they themselves saw, marvelled and took these for the
+best, for all that they were vile, until the spirits of the generation
+then arising, helped in some places by the subtlety of the air, became
+so greatly purged that about 1250, Heaven, moved to pity for the lovely
+minds that the Tuscan soil was producing every day, restored them to
+their first condition. And although those before them had seen remains
+of arches, of colossi, of statues, of urns, and of storied columns in
+the ages that came after the sackings, the destructions, and the
+burnings of Rome, and never knew how to make use of them or draw from
+them any benefit, up to the time mentioned above, the minds that came
+after, discerning well enough the good from the bad and abandoning the
+old manners, turned to imitating the ancient with all their industry and
+wit.
+
+But in order that it may be understood more clearly what I call "old"
+and what "ancient," the "ancient" were the works made before Constantine
+in Corinth, in Athens, in Rome, and in other very famous cities, until
+the time of Nero, the Vespasians, Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus;
+whereas those others are called "old" that were executed from S.
+Silvester's day up to that time by a certain remnant of Greeks, who knew
+rather how to dye than how to paint. For since the excellent early
+craftsmen had been killed in these wars, as has been said, to the
+remainder of these Greeks, old but not ancient, there had been left
+nothing but elementary outlines on a ground of colour; and to this at
+the present day witness is borne by an infinity of mosaics, which,
+wrought throughout all Italy by these Greeks, are to be seen in every
+old church in any city whatsoever of Italy, and above all in the Duomo
+of Pisa, in S. Marco at Venice, and in other places as well; and so,
+too, they kept making many pictures in that manner, with eyes staring,
+hands outstretched, and standing on tiptoe, as may still be seen in S.
+Miniato without Florence, between the door that leads into the sacristy
+and that which leads into the convent; and in S. Spirito in the said
+city, the whole side of the cloister opposite the church; and in like
+manner at Arezzo, in S. Giuliano and S. Bartolommeo and in other
+churches; and in Rome, in the old Church of S. Pietro, scenes right
+round between the windows--works that have more of the monstrous in
+their lineaments than of likeness to whatsoever they represent. Of
+sculptures, likewise, they made an infinity, as may still be seen in
+low-relief over the door of S. Michele in the Piazza Padella of
+Florence, and in Ognissanti; and tombs and adornments in many places for
+the doors of churches, wherein they have certain figures for corbels to
+support the roof, so rude and vile, so misshapen, and of such a
+grossness of manner, that it appears impossible that worse could be
+imagined.
+
+Thus far have I thought fit to discourse from the beginning of sculpture
+and of painting, and peradventure at greater length than was necessary
+in this place, which I have done, indeed, not so much carried away by my
+affection for art as urged by the common benefit and advantage of our
+craftsmen. For having seen in what way she, from a small beginning,
+climbed to the greatest height, and how from a state so noble she fell
+into utter ruin, and that, in consequence, the nature of this art is
+similar to that of the others, which, like human bodies, have their
+birth, their growth, their growing old, and their death; they will now
+be able to recognize more easily the progress of her second birth and of
+that very perfection whereto she has risen again in our times. And I
+hope, moreover, that if ever (which God forbid) it should happen at any
+time, through the negligence of men, or through the malice of time, or,
+finally, through the decree of Heaven, which appears to be unwilling
+that the things of this earth should exist for long in one form, that
+she falls again into the same chaos of ruin; that these my labours,
+whatsoever they may be worth (if indeed they may be worthy of a happier
+fortune), both through what has been already said and through what
+remains to say, may be able to keep her alive or at least to encourage
+the most exalted minds to provide them with better assistance; so much
+so that, what with my good will and the works of these masters, she may
+abound in those aids and adornments wherein, if I may freely speak the
+truth, she has been wanting up to the present day.
+
+But it is now time to come to the Life of Giovanni Cimabue, and even as
+he gave the first beginning to the new method of drawing and painting,
+so it is just and expedient that he should give it to the Lives, in
+which I will do my utmost to observe, the most that I can, the order of
+their manners rather than that of time. And in describing the forms and
+features of the craftsmen I will be brief, seeing that their portraits,
+which have been collected by me with no less cost and fatigue than
+diligence, will show better what sort of men the craftsmen themselves
+were in appearance than describing them could ever do; and if the
+portrait of any one of them should be wanting, that is not through my
+fault but by reason of its being nowhere found. And if the said
+portraits were not peradventure to appear to someone to be absolutely
+like to others that might be found, I wish it to be remembered that the
+portrait made of a man when he was eighteen or twenty years old will
+never be like to the portrait that may have been made fifteen or twenty
+years later. To this it must be added that portraits in drawing are
+never so like as are those in colours, not to mention that the
+engravers, who have no draughtsmanship, always rob the faces (being
+unable or not knowing how to make exactly those minutenesses that make
+them good and true to life) of that perfection which is rarely or never
+found in portraits cut in wood. In short, how great have been therein my
+labour, expense, and diligence, will be evident to those who, in
+reading, will see whence I have to the best of my ability unearthed
+them.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 4: The libbra is twelve ounces of our ordinary pound
+(avoirdupois).]
+
+[Footnote 5: It is difficult to find a rendering of "cappella maggiore"
+that is absolutely satisfactory. There may be a chapel in some churches
+that is actually larger than the "principal chapel." The principal
+chapel generally contains the choir, but not always, and when Vasari
+wants to say "choir" he uses the word "coro." The rendering "principal
+chapel" has therefore been adopted as the least misleading.]
+
+
+
+
+CONCERNING THE LIVES OF THE PAINTERS, SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS, WHO
+HAVE LIVED FROM CIMABUE TO THE PRESENT DAY. WRITTEN BY MESSER GIORGIO
+VASARI, PAINTER OF AREZZO
+
+
+
+
+GIOVANNI CIMABUE
+
+[Illustration: _Alinari_
+
+MADONNA, CHILD AND ANGELS
+
+(_After the painting by_ Cimabue. _Paris: Louvre, 1260_)]
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF GIOVANNI CIMABUE,
+
+PAINTER OF FLORENCE
+
+
+By the infinite flood of evils which had laid prostrate and submerged
+poor Italy there had not only been ruined everything that could truly
+claim the name of building, but there had been blotted out (and this was
+of graver import) the whole body of the craftsmen, when, by the will of
+God, in the city of Florence, in the year 1240, there was born, to give
+the first light to the art of painting, Giovanni, surnamed Cimabue, of
+the family, noble in those times, of Cimabue. He, while growing up,
+being judged by his father and by others to have a beautiful and acute
+intelligence, was sent, to the end that he might exercise himself in
+letters, to a master in S. Maria Novella, his relative, who was then
+teaching grammar to the novices of that convent; but Cimabue, in place
+of attending to his letters, would spend the whole day, as one who felt
+himself led thereto by nature, in drawing, on books and other papers,
+men, horses, houses, and diverse other things of fancy; to which natural
+inclination fortune was favourable, for certain Greek painters had been
+summoned to Florence by those who then governed the city, for nothing
+else but to restore to Florence the art of painting, which was rather
+out of mind than out of fashion, and they began, among the other works
+undertaken in the city, the Chapel of the Gondi, whereof to-day the
+vaulting and the walls are little less than eaten away by time, as may
+be seen in S. Maria Novella beside the principal chapel, where it
+stands. Wherefore Cimabue, having begun to take his first steps in this
+art which pleased him, playing truant often from school, would stand the
+livelong day watching these masters at work, in a manner that, being
+judged by his father and by these painters to be in such wise fitted
+for painting that there could be hoped for him, applying himself to this
+profession, an honourable success, to his own no small satisfaction he
+was apprenticed by the said father to these men; whereupon, exercising
+himself without ceasing, in a short time nature assisted him so greatly
+that he surpassed by a long way, both in drawing and in colouring, the
+manner of the masters who were teaching him. For they, giving no thought
+to making any advance, had made those works in that fashion wherein they
+are seen to-day--that is, not in the good ancient manner of the Greeks
+but in that rude modern manner of those times; and because, although he
+imitated these Greeks, he added much perfection to the art, relieving it
+of a great part of their rude manner, he gave honour to his country with
+his name and with the works that he made, to which witness is borne in
+Florence by the pictures that he wrought, such as the front of the altar
+in S. Cecilia, and in S. Croce a panel with a Madonna, which was and
+still is placed against a pilaster on the right within the choir. After
+this, he made a S. Francis on a small panel on a gold ground, and
+portrayed him from nature (which was something new in those times) as
+best he knew, and round him all the stories of his life, in twenty small
+pictures full of little figures on a gold ground.
+
+Having next undertaken to make a large panel for the monks of
+Vallombrosa, in the Abbey of S. Trinita in Florence, he showed in that
+work (using therein great diligence, so as to rise equal to the esteem
+which had already been conceived of him) better inventions and a
+beautiful method in the attitude of a Madonna, whom he made with the
+Child in her arms and with many angels round her in adoration, on a gold
+ground; which panel, being finished, was placed by these monks over the
+high-altar of the said church, and being afterwards removed, in order to
+give that place to the panel by Alesso Baldovinetti which is there
+to-day, it was placed in a smaller chapel in the left-hand aisle of the
+said church.
+
+Working next in fresco on the Hospital of the Porcellana, at the corner
+of the Via Nuova which goes into the Borg' Ognissanti, on the facade
+which has in the middle the principal door, and making on one side the
+Annunciation of the Virgin by the Angel, and on the other Jesus Christ
+with Cleophas and Luke, figures as large as life, he swept away that
+ancient manner, making the draperies, the vestments, and everything else
+in this work, a little more lively and more natural and softer than the
+manner of these Greeks, all full of lines and profiles both in mosaic
+and in painting; which manner, rough, rude, and vulgar, the painters of
+those times, not by means of study, but by a certain convention, had
+taught one to the other for many and many a year, without ever thinking
+of bettering their draughtsmanship, of beauty of colouring, or of any
+invention that might be good.
+
+Cimabue, being summoned again after this work by the same Prior who had
+caused him to make the works in S. Croce, made him a large Crucifix on
+wood, which is still seen to-day in the church; which work was the
+reason, it appearing to the Prior that he had been well served, that he
+took him to S. Francesco in Pisa, their convent, in order to make a S.
+Francis on a panel, which was held by these people to be a most rare
+work, there being seen therein a certain greater quality of excellence,
+both in the air of the heads and in the folds of the draperies, than had
+been shown in the Greek manner up to that time by anyone who had wrought
+anything, not only in Pisa, but in all Italy. Cimabue having next made
+for the same church on a large panel the image of Our Lady, with the
+Child in her arms and with many angels round her, also on a ground of
+gold, it was after no long time removed from where it had been set up
+the first time, in order to make there the marble altar that is there at
+present, and was placed within the church beside the door on the left
+hand; and for this work he was much praised and rewarded by the people
+of Pisa. In the same city of Pisa, at the request of the then Abbot of
+S. Paolo in Ripa d'Arno, he made a S. Agnes on a little panel, and round
+her, with little figures, all the stories of her life; which little
+panel is to-day over the altar of the Virgins in the said church.
+
+By reason of these works, then, the name of Cimabue being very famous
+everywhere, he was brought to Assisi, a city of Umbria, where, in
+company with certain Greek masters, in the lower Church of S.
+Francesco, he painted part of the vaulting, and on the walls the life of
+Jesus Christ and that of S. Francis. In these pictures he surpassed by a
+long way those Greek painters; wherefore, growing in courage, he began
+by his own self to paint the upper church in fresco, and in the chief
+apse, over the choir, on four sides, he made certain stories of Our
+Lady--namely, her death; when her soul is borne by Christ to Heaven upon
+a throne of clouds; and when, in the midst of a choir of angels, He
+crowns her, with a great number of saints below, both male and female,
+now eaten away by time and by dust. Next, in the sections of the
+vaulting of the said church, which are five, he painted in like manner
+many scenes. In the first, over the choir, he made the four Evangelists,
+larger than life, and so well that to-day there is still recognized in
+them much that is good, and the freshness of the colours in the flesh
+shows that painting began to make great progress in fresco work through
+the labours of Cimabue. The second section he made full of golden stars
+on a ground of ultramarine. In the third he made in certain medallions
+Jesus Christ, the Virgin His mother, S. John the Baptist, and S.
+Francis--namely, in every medallion one of these figures, and in every
+quarter segment of the vaulting a medallion. And between this and the
+fifth section he painted the fourth with golden stars, as above, on a
+ground of ultramarine. In the fifth he painted the four Doctors of the
+Church, and beside each one of these one of the four chief Religious
+Orders--a work truly laborious and executed with infinite diligence. The
+vaulting finished, he wrought, also in fresco, the upper walls of the
+whole left-hand side of the church, making towards the high-altar,
+between the windows and right up to the vaulting, eight scenes from the
+Old Testament, commencing from the beginning of Genesis and following
+the most notable events. And in the space that is round the windows, up
+to the point where they end in the gallery that encircles the interior
+of the wall of the church, he painted the remainder of the Old Testament
+in eight other scenes. And opposite this work, in sixteen other scenes
+corresponding to these, he painted the acts of Our Lady and of Jesus
+Christ. And on the end wall over the principal door, and round the rose
+window of the church, he made her Ascension into Heaven and the Holy
+Spirit descending on the Apostles. This work, truly very great and
+rich and most excellently executed, must have, in my judgment, amazed
+the world in those times, seeing, above all, that painting had lain so
+long in such great darkness; and to me, who saw it again in the year
+1563, it appeared very beautiful, thinking how in so great darkness
+Cimabue could see so great light. But of all these pictures (and to this
+we should give consideration), those on the roof, as being less injured
+by dust and by other accidents, have been preserved much better than the
+others. These works finished, Giovanni put his hand to painting the
+lower walls--namely, those that are from the windows downwards--and made
+certain works upon them, but being called to Florence on some business
+of his own, he did not carry this work further; but it was finished, as
+will be told in the proper place, by Giotto, many years afterwards.
+
+[Illustration: _Anderson_
+
+"ISAAC'S BLESSING"
+
+(_After the fresco of the_ Roman School. _Assisi: Upper Church of S.
+Francesco_)]
+
+[Illustration: _Anderson_
+
+THE DEPOSITION FROM THE CROSS
+
+(_After the fresco by_ Pietro Laurati [Lorenzetti]. _Assisi: Lower
+Church of S. Francesco_)]
+
+Having returned, then, to Florence, Cimabue painted in the cloister of
+S. Spirito (wherein there is painted in the Greek manner, by other
+masters, the whole side facing the church) three small arches by his own
+hand, from the life of Christ, and truly with much design. And at the
+same time he sent certain works wrought by himself in Florence to
+Empoli, which works are still held to-day in great veneration in the
+Pieve of that township. Next, he made for the Church of S. Maria Novella
+the panel of Our Lady that is set on high between the Chapel of the
+Rucellai and that of the Bardi da Vernia; which work was of greater size
+than any figure that had been made up to that time. And certain angels
+that are round it show that, although he still had the Greek manner, he
+was going on approaching in part to the line and method of the modern.
+Wherefore this work caused so great marvel to the people of that age, by
+reason of there not having been seen up to then anything better, that it
+was borne in most solemn procession from the house of Cimabue to the
+church, with much rejoicing and with trumpets, and he was thereby much
+rewarded and honoured. It is said, and it may be read in certain records
+of old painters, that while Cimabue was painting the said panel in
+certain gardens close to the Porta S. Pietro, there passed through
+Florence King Charles the Elder of Anjou, and that, among the many signs
+of welcome made to him by the men of this city, they brought him to see
+Cimabue's panel; whereupon, for the reason that it had not yet been seen
+by anyone, in the showing it to the King there flocked together to it
+all the men and all the women of Florence, with the utmost rejoicing and
+in the greatest crowd in the world. Wherefore, by reason of the joy that
+the neighbours had thereby, they called that place the Borgo Allegri;
+which place, although enclosed in time within the walls, has ever after
+retained the same name.
+
+In S. Francesco in Pisa, where he wrought, as has been said above,
+certain other works, there is in the cloister, beside the door that
+leads into the church, in a corner, a small panel in distemper by the
+hand of Cimabue, wherein is a Christ on the Cross, with certain angels
+round Him, who, weeping, are taking with their hands certain words that
+are written round the head of Christ and are presenting them to the ears
+of a Madonna who stands weeping on the right, and on the other side to
+S. John the Evangelist, who is on the left, all grieving. And the words
+to the Virgin are: MULIER, ECCE FILIUS TUUS; and those to S. John: ECCE
+MATER TUA; and those that an angel standing apart holds in his hand,
+say: EX ILLA HORA ACCEPIT EAM DISCIPULUS IN SUAM. Wherein it is to be
+observed that Cimabue began to give light and to open the way to
+invention, assisting art with words in order to express his conception;
+which was certainly something whimsical and new.
+
+Now because, by means of these works, Cimabue had acquired a very great
+name, together with much profit, he was appointed as architect, in
+company with Arnolfo Lapi, a man then excellent in architecture, for the
+building of S. Maria del Fiore in Florence. But at length, having lived
+sixty years, he passed to the other life in the year 1300, having little
+less than resurrected painting. He left many disciples, and among others
+Giotto, who was afterwards an excellent painter; which Giotto dwelt,
+after Cimabue, in his master's own house in the Via del Cocomero.
+Cimabue was buried in S. Maria del Fiore, with that epitaph made for him
+by one of the Nini:
+
+     CREDIDIT UT CIMABOS PICTURAE CASTRA TENERE,
+     SIC TENUIT, VIVENS: NUNC TENET ASTRA POLI.
+
+[Illustration: _Anderson_
+
+THE CRUCIFIXION
+
+(_After the fresco by_ Cimabue. _Assisi: Upper Church of S.
+Francesco_)]
+
+I will not refrain from saying that if to the glory of Cimabue there had
+not been contrasted the greatness of Giotto, his disciple, his fame
+would have been greater, as Dante demonstrates in his _Commedia_,
+wherein, alluding in the eleventh canto of the _Purgatorio_ to this very
+inscription on the tomb, he said:
+
+     Credette Cimabue nella pittura
+     Tener lo campo, ed hora ha Giotto il grido,
+     Si che la fama di colui s' oscura.
+
+In explanation of these verses, a commentator of Dante, who wrote at the
+time when Giotto was alive and ten or twelve years after the death of
+Dante himself--that is, about the year of Christ 1334--says, speaking of
+Cimabue, precisely these words: "Cimabue was a painter of Florence in
+the time of the author, very noble beyond the knowledge of man, and
+withal so arrogant and so disdainful that if there were found by anyone
+any failing or defect in his work, or if he himself had seen one (even
+as it comes to pass many times that the craftsman errs, through a defect
+in the material whereon he works, or through some lack in the instrument
+wherewith he labours), incontinently he would destroy that work, however
+costly it might be. Giotto was and is the most exalted among the
+painters of the same city of Florence, and his works bear testimony for
+him in Rome, in Naples, in Avignon, in Florence, in Padua, and in many
+parts of the world." This commentary is now in the hands of the Very
+Reverend Don Vincenzio Borghini, Prior of the Innocenti, a man not only
+most famous for his nobility, goodness, and learning, but also endowed
+with such love and understanding for all the finer arts that he has
+deserved to be elected by the Lord Duke Cosimo, most properly, as his
+Lieutenant in our Academy of Design.
+
+But to return to Cimabue: Giotto, truly, obscured his fame not otherwise
+than as a great light does the splendour of one much less, for the
+reason that although Cimabue was, as it were, the first cause of the
+renovation of the art of painting, yet Giotto, his pupil, moved by
+laudable ambition and assisted by Heaven and by nature, was he who,
+rising higher with his thought, opened the gate of truth to those who
+have brought her to that perfection and majesty wherein we see her in
+her own century, which, being used to see every day the marvels, the
+miracles, nay, the impossibilities wrought by the craftsmen in that art,
+is now brought to such a pitch that nothing that men do, be it even more
+Divine than human, causes it in any way to marvel. Well is it with those
+whose labours deserve all praise, if, in place of being praised and
+admired, they do not thereby incur blame and many times even disgrace.
+
+The portrait of Cimabue, by the hand of Simone Sanese, is to be seen in
+the Chapter-house of S. Maria Novella, made in profile in the story of
+the Faith, in a figure that has the face thin, the beard small, reddish,
+and pointed, with a cap according to the use of those times--that is,
+wound round and round and under the throat in lovely fashion. He who is
+beside him is Simone himself, the author of that work, who portrayed
+himself with two mirrors in order to make his head in profile, placing
+the one opposite to the other. And that soldier clad in armour who is
+between them is said to be Count Guido Novello, then Lord of Poppi.
+There remains for me to say of Cimabue that in the beginning of our
+book, where I have put together drawings from the own hand of all those
+who have made drawings from his time to ours, there are to be seen
+certain small things made by his hand in the way of miniature, wherein,
+although to-day perchance they appear rather rude than otherwise, it is
+seen how much excellence was given by his work to draughtsmanship.
+
+[Illustration: CIMABUE: MADONNA AND CHILD
+
+(_Florence: Accademia 102 Panel_)]
+
+
+
+
+ARNOLFO DI LAPO
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF ARNOLFO DI LAPO,
+
+ARCHITECT OF FLORENCE
+
+
+     [NOTICE TO READERS IN THE LIFE OF ARNOLFO.--The said Arnolfo began,
+     in S. Maria Maggiore in Rome, the tomb of Pope Honorius III, of the
+     house of Savelli; which tomb he left imperfect, with the portrait
+     of the said Pope, which was afterwards placed with his design in
+     the principal chapel of mosaic of S. Paolo in Rome, with the
+     portrait of Giovanni Gaetano, Abbot of that monastery. And the
+     marble chapel, wherein is the Manger of Jesus Christ, was one of
+     the last pieces of sculpture in marble that Arnolfo ever made; and
+     he made it at the instance of Pandolfo Ippotecorvo, in the year
+     twelve (?), as an epitaph bears witness that is on the wall beside
+     the chapel; and likewise the chapel and tomb of Pope Boniface VIII,
+     in S. Pietro in Rome, whereon is carved the same name of Arnolfo,
+     who wrought it.]
+
+Having discoursed, in the Preface to the Lives, of certain buildings in
+a manner old but not ancient, and having been silent, for the reason
+that I did not know them, about the names of the architects who had
+charge of their construction, I will make mention, in the Preface to
+this Life of Arnolfo, of certain other edifices built in his time or a
+little before, whereof in like manner it is not known who were the
+masters; and then of those that were built in the same times, whereof it
+is known who were the architects, either because the manner of the
+edifices themselves is recognized very well, or because we have had
+information about them by means of the writings and memorials left by
+them in the works that they made. Nor will this be outside our subject,
+seeing that, although they are neither in a beautiful nor in a good
+manner but only vast and magnificent, they are worthy none the less of
+some consideration.
+
+There were built, then, in the time of Lapo and of Arnolfo his son, many
+edifices of importance both in Italy and abroad, whereof I have not been
+able to find the architects, such as the Abbey of Monreale in Sicily,
+the Piscopio of Naples, the Certosa of Pavia, the Duomo of Milan, S.
+Pietro and S. Petronio in Bologna, and many others which are seen
+throughout all Italy, built at incredible cost. Having seen all these
+buildings for myself and studied them, and likewise many sculptures of
+those times, particularly in Ravenna, and not having ever found, I do
+not say any memorials of the masters, but even many times the date when
+they were built, I cannot but marvel at the rudeness and little desire
+for glory of the men of that age. But returning to our subject; after
+the buildings named above, there began at last to arise men of a more
+exalted spirit, who, if they did not find, sought at least to find
+something of the good. The first was Buono, of whom I know neither the
+country nor the surname, for the reason that in making record of himself
+in some of his works he put nothing but simply his name. He, being both
+sculptor and architect, first made many palaces and churches and some
+sculptures in Ravenna, in the year of our salvation 1152; and having
+become known by reason of these works, he was called to Naples, where he
+founded (although they were finished by others, as will be told) the
+Castel Capoano and the Castel dell' Uovo; and afterwards, in the time of
+Domenico Morosini, Doge of Venice, he founded the Campanile of S. Marco
+with much consideration and judgment, having caused the foundation of
+that tower to be so well fixed with piles that it has never moved a
+hair's-breadth, as many buildings constructed in that city before his
+day have been seen and still are seen to have done. And from him,
+perchance, the Venetians learnt to found, in the manner in which they do
+it to-day, the very beautiful and very rich edifices that every day are
+being built so magnificently in that most noble city. It is true,
+indeed, that this tower has nothing else good in it, neither manner, nor
+ornament, nor, in short, anything that might be worthy of much praise.
+It was finished under Anastasius IV and Adrian IV, Pontiffs, in the year
+1154. In architecture, likewise, Buono made the Church of S. Andrea in
+Pistoia, and in sculpture he made an architrave of marble that is over
+the door, full of figures made in the manner of the Goths, on which
+architrave his name is carved, with the date when this work was made by
+him, which was the year 1166. Next, being summoned to Florence, he gave
+the design for enlarging, as was done, the Church of S. Maria Maggiore,
+which was then without the city, and held in great veneration for the
+reason that Pope Pelagius had consecrated it many years before, and
+because, as to size and manner, it was a very fair body of a church.
+
+Being then summoned by the Aretines to their city, Buono built the old
+habitation of the Lords of Arezzo, namely, a palace in the manner of the
+Goths, and beside it a bell-tower. This edifice, which for that manner
+was good enough, was thrown to the ground, because it was opposite and
+very near to the fortress of that city, in the year 1533. Afterwards,
+the art making some little improvement through the works of one
+Guglielmo, German (I believe) in origin, there were built certain
+edifices of the greatest cost and in a slightly better manner; for this
+Guglielmo, so it is said, in the year 1174, together with Bonanno, a
+sculptor, founded in Pisa the Campanile of the Duomo, where there are
+certain words carved that say: A.D. MCLXXIV, CAMPANILE HOC FUIT
+FUNDATUM, MENSE AUG. But these two architects not having much practice
+of founding in Pisa and therefore not supporting the platform with
+piles, as they ought, before they had gone halfway with that building it
+inclined to one side and bent over to the weakest part, in a manner that
+the said campanile leans six and a half braccia[6] out of the straight,
+according as the foundation sank on this side; and although in the lower
+part this is not much, up above it shows clear enough to make men stand
+fast in a marvel how it can be that it has not fallen down and has not
+thrown out cracks. The reason is that this edifice is round both without
+and within and built in the shape of a hollow well, and bound together
+with the stones in a manner that it is well-nigh impossible that it
+should fall; and it is assisted, above all, by the foundations, which
+have an outwork three braccia wide outside the tower, made, as it is
+seen, after the sinking of the campanile, in order to support it. I am
+convinced that if it had been square it would not have been standing
+to-day, for the reason that the corner-stones of the square sides, as is
+often seen to happen, would have forced them out in a manner that it
+would have fallen down. And if the Garisenda, a tower in Bologna,
+although square, leans and does not fall, that comes to pass because it
+is slender and does not lean so much, not being burdened by so great a
+weight, by a great measure, as is this campanile, which is praised, not
+because it has in it any design or beautiful manner, but simply for its
+extravagance, it appearing impossible to anyone who sees it that it can
+in any wise keep standing. And the same Bonanno, while the said
+campanile was building, made, in the year 1180, the royal door of bronze
+for the said Duomo of Pisa, wherein are seen these letters:
+
+     EGO BONANNUS PIS. MEA ARTE HANC PORTAM UNO ANNO PERFECI,
+                     TEMPORE BENEDICTI OPERARII.
+
+Next, from the walls that were made from ancient spoils at S. Giovanni
+Laterano in Rome, under Lucius III and Urban III, Pontiffs, when the
+Emperor Frederick was crowned by this Urban, it is seen that the art was
+going on continually improving, because certain little temples and
+chapels, built, as has been said, of spoils, have passing good design
+and certain things in them worthy of consideration, and among others
+this, that in order not to overburden the walls of these buildings the
+vaulting was made of small tubes and with partitions of stucco,
+praiseworthy enough for these times. And from the mouldings and other
+parts it is seen that the craftsmen were going on striving in order to
+find the good way.
+
+Innocent III afterwards caused two palaces to be built on the Vatican
+Hill, which were passing good, in so far as it has been possible to
+discover; but since they were destroyed by other Popes, and in
+particular by Nicholas V, who pulled down and rebuilt the greater part
+of one palace, there will be nothing said of them but this, that a part
+of them is to be seen in the great Round Tower and part in the old
+sacristy of S. Pietro. This Innocent III, who ruled for nineteen years
+and took much delight in building, made many edifices in Rome; and in
+particular, with the design of Marchionne Aretino, both architect and
+sculptor, the Conti Tower, so called from his own surname, seeing that
+he was of that family. The same Marchionne, in the year when Innocent
+III died, finished the building of the Pieve of Arezzo and likewise the
+campanile, making in sculpture, for the facade of the said church, three
+rows of columns one above the other, with great variety not only in the
+fashion of the capitals and the bases but also in the shafts of the
+columns, some among them being thick, some slender, some joined together
+two by two, and others four by four. In like manner there are some
+twined in the manner of vines, and some made in the shape of figures
+acting as supports, with diverse carvings. He also made therein many
+animals of diverse sorts that support on the middle of their backs the
+weights of those columns, and all with the most strange and extravagant
+inventions that can possibly be imagined, and not only wide of the good
+order of the ancients but almost wide of all just and reasonable
+proportion. But with all this, whosoever sets out well to consider the
+whole sees that he went on striving to do well, and thought peradventure
+to have found it in that method of working and in that whimsical
+variety. The same man made in sculpture, on the arch that is over the
+door of the said church, in barbaric manner, a God the Father with
+certain angels, in half-relief and rather large; and in the arch he
+carved the twelve months, placing his own name underneath in round
+letters, as was the custom, and the date--namely, the year 1216. It is
+said that Marchionne built in the Borgo Vecchio in Rome, for the same
+Pope Innocent III, the ancient edifice of the Hospital and Church of S.
+Spirito in Sassia, where there is still seen something of the old; and
+the ancient church was still standing in our own day, when it was
+rebuilt in modern fashion, with greater ornament and design, by Pope
+Paul III of the house of Farnese.
+
+And in S. Maria Maggiore, also in Rome, he built the marble chapel where
+there is the Manger of Jesus Christ; here he portrayed from the life
+Pope Honorius III, whose tomb, also, he made, with ornaments some little
+better than and different enough from the manner that was then in
+universal use throughout all Italy. About the same time Marchionne also
+made the side door of S. Pietro in Bologna, which was truly for those
+times a work of the greatest mastery, by reason of the many carvings
+that are seen therein, such as lions in the round that sustain columns,
+and men in the use of porters, and other animals that support weights;
+and in the arch above he made the twelve months in full relief, with
+various fancies, and for each month its celestial sign; which work must
+have been held marvellous in those times.
+
+[Illustration: RECLINING FEMALE FIGURE FROM A TOMB
+
+(_After the_ School of Arnolfo di Lapo. _Florence: Collection Bardini_)]
+
+About the same time there was founded the Order of the Friars Minor of
+S. Francis, which was confirmed by the said Innocent III, Pontiff, in
+the year 1206; and there came such growth, not only in Italy but in all
+the other parts of the world, both to the devoutness and to the number
+of the Friars, that there was scarce a city of account that did not
+erect for them churches and convents of the greatest cost, each
+according to its power. Wherefore, Frate Elia having erected, two years
+before the death of S. Francis (while the Saint himself, as General, was
+abroad preaching, and he, Prior in Assisi), a church with the title of
+Our Lady, and S. Francis having died, and all Christendom flocking
+together to visit the body of the Saint, who, in life and in death, had
+been known as so much the friend of God, and every man making offering
+to the holy place according to his power, it was ordained that the said
+church begun by Frate Elia should be built much greater and more
+magnificent. But there being a dearth of good architects, and the work
+which was to be done having need of an excellent one, seeing that it had
+to be built upon a very high hill at the foot of which there runs a
+torrent called Tescio, there was brought to Assisi, after much
+consideration, as the best of all that were then to be found, one
+Maestro Jacopo Tedesco. He, having considered the site and grasped the
+wishes of the fathers, who held thereunto a general Chapter in Assisi,
+designed a very beautiful body of a church and convent, making in the
+model three tiers, one to be made underground and the others for two
+churches, one of which, on the lower level, should serve as a court,
+with a fairly large portico round it, and the other for a church;
+planning that from the first one should climb to the second by a most
+convenient flight of steps, which should wind round the principal
+chapel, opening out into two parts in order to lead more easily into the
+second church, to which he gave the form of a [Symbol: T], making it
+five times as long as it is broad and dividing one bay from another with
+great piers of stone, on which he afterwards threw very bold arches,
+with groined vaulting between one and another. From a model so made,
+then, was built this truly very great edifice, and it was followed in
+every part, save in the buttresses above that had to surround the apse
+and the principal chapel, and in making the vaulting groined, because
+they did not make it as has been said, but barrel-shaped, in order that
+it might be stronger. Next, in front of the principal chapel of the
+lower church, they placed the altar, and under that, when it was
+finished, they laid, with most solemn translation, the body of S.
+Francis. And because the true sepulchre which holds the body of the
+glorious Saint is in the first--that is, in the lowest church--where no
+one ever goes, and the doors are walled up, round the said altar there
+are very large gratings of iron, with rich ornaments in marble and
+mosaic, that look down therein. This building is flanked on one of the
+sides by two sacristies, and by a very high campanile, namely, five
+times as high as it is broad. It had on top a very high octagonal spire,
+but this was removed because it threatened to fall. This whole work was
+brought to a finish in the space of four years, and no more, by the
+genius of Maestro Jacopo Tedesco and by the solicitude of Frate Elia,
+after whose death, to the end that such a pile might never through any
+lapse of time fall into ruin, there were built round the lower church
+twelve very stout towers, and in each of these a spiral staircase that
+climbs from the ground up to the summit. And in time, afterwards, there
+were made therein many chapels and other very rich ornaments, whereof
+there is no need to discourse further, since this is enough on this
+subject for the present, and above all because everyone can see how much
+of the useful, the ornamental, and the beautiful has been added to this
+beginning of Maestro Jacopo's by many supreme Pontiffs, Cardinals,
+Princes, and other people of importance throughout all Europe.
+
+Now, to return to Maestro Jacopo; by means of this work he acquired so
+great fame throughout all Italy that he was summoned by those who then
+governed the city of Florence, and afterwards received with the greatest
+possible friendliness; although, according to the use that the
+Florentines have, and had still more in ancient times, of abbreviating
+names, he was called not Jacopo but Lapo throughout all the course of
+his life; for he dwelt ever with his whole family in that city. And
+although he went at diverse times to erect many buildings throughout
+Tuscany, such as the Palace of Poppi in the Casentino, for that Count
+who had had for wife the beautiful Gualdrada, and for her dower, the
+Casentino; and for the Aretines, the Vescovado,[7] and the Palazzo
+Vecchio of the Lords of Pietramala; none the less his home was always in
+Florence, where, having founded in the year 1218 the piers of the Ponte
+alla Carraja, which was then called the Ponte Nuovo, he delivered them
+finished in two years; and a little time afterwards the rest was
+finished of wood, as was then the custom. And in the year 1221 he gave
+the design for the Church of S. Salvadore del Vescovado, which was begun
+under his direction, and that of S. Michele in Piazza Padella, where
+there are certain sculptures in the manner of those times. Next, having
+given the design for draining the waters of the city, having caused the
+Piazza di S. Giovanni to be raised, having built, in the time of Messer
+Rubaconte da Mandella, a Milanese, the bridge that retains the same
+man's name, and having discovered that most useful method of paving
+streets, which before were covered with bricks, he made the model of the
+Palace, to-day of the Podesta, which was then built for the Anziani. And
+finally, having sent the model of a tomb to Sicily, to the Abbey of
+Monreale, for the Emperor Frederick and by order of Manfred, he died,
+leaving Arnolfo, his son, heir no less to the talent than to the wealth
+of his father.
+
+This Arnolfo, from whose talent architecture gained no less betterment
+than painting had gained from that of Cimabue, being born in the year
+1232, was thirty years of age when his father died, and was held in very
+great esteem, for the reason that, having not only learnt from his
+father all that he knew, but having also given attention under Cimabue
+to design in order to make use of it in sculpture, he was held by so
+much the best architect in Tuscany, that not only did the Florentines
+found the last circle of the walls of their city under his direction, in
+the year 1284, and make after his design the Loggia and the piers of Or
+San Michele, where the grain was sold, building them of bricks and with
+a simple roof above, but by his counsel, in the same year when the
+Poggio de' Magnuoli collapsed, on the brow of S. Giorgio above S. Lucia
+in the Via de' Bardi, they determined by means of a public decree that
+there should be no more building on the said spot, nor should any
+edifice be ever made, seeing that by the sinking of the stones, which
+have water trickling under them, there would be always danger in
+whatsoever edifice might be made there. That this is true has been seen
+in our own day from the ruin of many buildings and magnificent houses of
+noblemen. In the next year, 1285, he founded the Loggia and Piazza de'
+Priori, and built the principal chapel of the Badia of Florence, and the
+two that are on either side of it, renovating the church and the choir,
+which at first had been made much smaller by Count Ugo, founder of that
+abbey; and for Cardinal Giovanni degli Orsini, Legate of the Pope in
+Tuscany, he built the campanile of the said church, which, according to
+the works of those times, was much praised, although it did not have its
+completion of grey-stone until afterwards, in the year 1330.
+
+After this there was founded with his design, in the year 1294, the
+Church of S. Croce, where the Friars Minor have their seat. What with
+the middle nave and the two lesser ones Arnolfo constructed this so
+wide, that, being unable to make the vaulting below the roof by reason
+of the too great space, he, with much judgment, caused arches to be made
+from pier to pier, and upon these he placed the roofs on a slope,
+building stone gutters over the said arches in order to carry away the
+rain-water, and giving them so much fall as to make the roofs secure, as
+they are, from the danger of rotting; which device was not only new and
+ingenious then, but is equally useful and worthy of being considered
+to-day. He then gave the design for the first cloisters of the old
+convent of that church, and a little time after he caused to be removed
+from round the Church of S. Giovanni, on the outer side, all the arches
+and tombs of marble and grey-stone that were there, and had part of them
+placed behind the campanile on the facade of the Canon's house, beside
+the Company of S. Zanobi; and then he incrusted with black marble from
+Prato all the eight outer walls of the said S. Giovanni, removing the
+grey-stone that there had been before between these ancient marbles. The
+Florentines, in the meanwhile, wishing to build walls in the Valdarno di
+Sopra round Castello di San Giovanni and Castel Franco, for the
+convenience of the city and of their victualling by means of the
+markets, Arnolfo made the design for them in the year 1295, and
+satisfied them in such a manner, as well in this as he had done in the
+other works, that he was made citizen of Florence.
+
+After these works, the Florentines determined, as Giovanni Villani
+relates in his History, to build a principal church in their city, and
+to build it such that in point of greatness and magnificence there could
+be desired none larger or more beautiful from the industry and knowledge
+of men; and Arnolfo made the design and the model of the never to be
+sufficiently praised Church of S. Maria del Fiore, ordering that it
+should be all incrusted, without, with polished marbles and with the so
+many cornices, pilasters, columns, carved foliage, figures, and other
+ornaments, with which to-day it is seen brought, if not to the whole, to
+a great part at least of its perfection. And what was marvellous therein
+above everything else was this, that incorporating, besides S. Reparata,
+other small churches and houses that were round it, in making the site,
+which is most beautiful, he showed so great diligence and judgment in
+causing the foundations of so great a fabric to be made broad and deep,
+filling them with good material--namely, with gravel and lime and with
+great stones below--wherefore the square is still called "Lungo i
+Fondamenti," that they have been very well able, as is to be seen
+to-day, to support the weight of the great mass of the cupola which
+Filippo di Ser Brunellesco raised over them. The laying of such
+foundations for so great a church was celebrated with much solemnity,
+for on the day of the Nativity of Our Lady, in 1298, the first stone was
+laid by the Cardinal Legate of the Pope, in the presence not only of
+many Bishops and of all the clergy, but of the Podesta as well, the
+Captains, Priors, and other magistrates of the city, nay, of the whole
+people of Florence, calling it S. Maria del Fiore. And because it was
+estimated that the expenses of this fabric must be very great, as they
+afterwards were, there was imposed a tax at the Chamber of the Commune
+of four danari in the lira on everything that was put out at interest,
+and two soldi per head per annum; not to mention that the Pope and the
+Legate granted very great indulgences to those who should make them
+offerings thereunto. I will not forbear to say, moreover, that besides
+the foundations, very broad and fifteen braccia deep, much consideration
+was shown in making those buttresses of masonry at every angle of the
+eight sides, seeing that it was these afterwards that emboldened the
+mind of Brunellesco to superimpose a much greater weight than that which
+Arnolfo, perchance, had thought to impose thereon. It is said that while
+the two first side-doors of S. Maria del Fiore were being begun in
+marble Arnolfo caused some fig-leaves to be carved on a frieze, these
+being the arms of himself and of Maestro Lapo, his father, and that
+therefore it may be believed that from him the family of the Lapi had
+its origin, to-day a noble family in Florence. Others say, likewise,
+that from the descendants of Arnolfo there descended Filippo di Ser
+Brunellesco. But leaving this, seeing that others believe that the Lapi
+came from Ficaruolo, a township on the mouth of the Po, and returning to
+our Arnolfo, I say that by reason of the greatness of this work he
+deserves infinite praise and an eternal name, above all because he
+caused it to be all incrusted, without, with marbles of many colours,
+and within, with hard stone, and made even the smallest corners of that
+same stone. But in order that everyone may know the exact size of this
+marvellous fabric, I say that from the door up to the end of the Chapel
+of S. Zanobi the length is 260 braccia, and the breadth across the
+transepts 166; across the three naves it is 66 braccia. The middle nave
+alone is 72 braccia in height; and the other two lesser naves, 48
+braccia. The external circuit of the whole church is 1,280 braccia. The
+cupola, from the ground up to the base of the lantern, is 154 braccia;
+the lantern, without the ball, is 36 braccia in height; the ball, 4
+braccia in height; the cross, 8 braccia in height. The whole cupola,
+from the ground up to the summit of the cross, is 202 braccia.
+
+[Illustration: _Alinari_
+
+TOMB OF ADRIAN V
+
+(_After the_ School of Arnolfo di Lapo. _Viterbo: Church of S.
+Francesco_)]
+
+But returning to Arnolfo, I say that being held, as he was, excellent,
+he had acquired so great trust that nothing of importance was determined
+without his counsel; wherefore, in the same year, the Commune of
+Florence having finished the foundation of the last circle of the walls
+of the city, even as it was said above that they were formerly begun,
+and so too the towers of the gates, and all being in great part well
+advanced, he made a beginning for the Palace of the Signori, designing
+it in resemblance to that which his father Lapo had built in the
+Casentino for the Counts of Poppi. But yet, however magnificent and
+great he designed it, he could not give it that perfection which his art
+and his judgment required, for the following reason: the houses of the
+Uberti, Ghibellines and rebels against the people of Florence, had been
+pulled down and thrown to the ground, and a square had been made on the
+site, and the stupid obstinacy of certain men prevailed so greatly that
+Arnolfo could not bring it about, through whatsoever arguments he might
+urge thereunto, that it should be granted to him to put the Palace on a
+square base, because the governors had refused that the Palace should
+have its foundations in any way whatsoever on the ground of the rebel
+Uberti. And they brought it about that the northern aisle of S. Pietro
+Scheraggio should be thrown to the ground, rather than let him work in
+the middle of the square with his own measurements; not to mention that
+they insisted, moreover, that there should be united and incorporated
+with the Palace the Tower of the Foraboschi, called the "Torre della
+Vacca," in height fifty braccia, for the use of the great bell, and
+together with it some houses bought by the Commune for this edifice. For
+which reasons no one must marvel if the foundation of the Palace is awry
+and out of the square, it having been necessary, in order to incorporate
+the tower in the middle and to render it stronger, to bind it round with
+the walls of the Palace; which walls, having been laid open in the year
+1561 by Giorgio Vasari, painter and architect, were found excellent.
+Arnolfo, then, having filled up the said tower with good material, it
+was afterwards easy for other masters to make thereon the very high
+campanile that is to be seen there to-day; for within the limits of two
+years he finished only the Palace, which has subsequently received from
+time to time those improvements which give it to-day that greatness and
+majesty that are to be seen.
+
+After all these works and many more that Arnolfo made, no less
+convenient and useful than beautiful, he died at the age of seventy, in
+1300, at the very time when Giovanni Villani began to write the
+Universal History of his times. And because he not only left S. Maria
+del Fiore founded, but its three principal tribunes, which are under the
+cupola, vaulted, to his own great glory, he well deserved that there
+should be made a memorial of him on the corner of the church opposite
+the Campanile, with these verses carved in marble in round letters:
+
+     ANNIS . MILLENIS . CENTUM . BIS . OCTO . NOGENIS .
+     VENIT . LEGATUS . ROMA . BONITATE . DOTATUS .
+     QUI . LAPIDEM . FIXIT . FUNDO . SIMUL . ET . BENEDIXIT .
+     PRAESULE . FRANCISCO . GESTANTE . PONTIFICATUM .
+     ISTUD . AB . ARNOLFO . TEMPLUM . FUIT . AEDIFICATUM .
+     HOC . OPUS . INSIGNE . DECORANS . FLORENTIA . DIGNE .
+     REGINAE . C[OE]LI . CONSTRUXIT . MENTE . FIDELI .
+     QUAM . TU . VIRGO . PIA . SEMPER . DEFENDE . MARIA .
+
+Of this Arnolfo we have written the Life, with the greatest brevity that
+has been possible, for the reason that, although his works do not
+approach by a great measure the perfection of the things of to-day, he
+deserves, none the less, to be celebrated with loving memory, having
+shown amid so great darkness, to those who lived after him, the way to
+walk to perfection. The portrait of Arnolfo, by the hand of Giotto, is
+to be seen in S. Croce, beside the principal chapel, at the beginning of
+the story, where the friars are weeping for the death of S. Francis, in
+one of two men that are talking together. And the picture of the Church
+of S. Maria del Fiore--namely, of the outer side with the cupola--by the
+hand of Simone Sanese, is to be seen in the Chapter-house of S. Maria
+Novella, copied from the original in wood that Arnolfo made; wherein it
+is noticeable that he had thought to raise the dome immediately over the
+walls, at the edge of the first cornice, whereas Filippo di Ser
+Brunellesco, in order to relieve them of weight and to make it more
+graceful, added thereto, before he began to raise it, all that height
+wherein to-day are the round windows; which circumstance would be even
+clearer than it is, if the little care and diligence of those who have
+directed the Works of S. Maria del Fiore in the years past had not left
+the very model that Arnolfo made to go to ruin, and afterwards those of
+Brunellesco and of the others.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 6: The braccio is a very variable standard of measurement. As
+used by Vasari, it may be taken to denote about 23 inches.]
+
+[Footnote 7: Vescovado includes both the Cathedral and the Episcopal
+buildings of Arezzo. Vasari generally uses it to denote the Cathedral.]
+
+
+
+
+NICCOLA AND GIOVANNI OF PISA
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF NICCOLA AND GIOVANNI OF PISA,
+
+[_NICCOLA PISANO AND GIOVANNI PISANO_],
+
+SCULPTORS AND ARCHITECTS
+
+
+Having discoursed of design and of painting in the Life of Cimabue and
+of architecture in that of Arnolfo di Lapo, in this one concerning
+Niccola and Giovanni of Pisa we will treat of sculpture, and also of the
+most important buildings that they made, for the reason that their works
+in sculpture and in architecture truly deserve to be celebrated, not
+only as being large and magnificent but also well enough conceived,
+since both in working marble and in building they swept away in great
+part that old Greek manner, rude and void of proportion, showing better
+invention in their stories and giving better attitudes to their figures.
+
+Niccola Pisano, then, chancing to be under certain Greek sculptors who
+were working the figures and other carved ornaments of the Duomo of Pisa
+and of the Church of S. Giovanni, and there being, among many marble
+spoils brought by the fleet of the Pisans, certain ancient sarcophagi
+that are to-day in the Campo Santo of that city, there was one of them,
+most beautiful among them all, whereon there was carved the Chase of
+Meleager after the Calydonian Boar, in very beautiful manner, seeing
+that both the nude figures and the draped were wrought with much mastery
+and with most perfect design. This sarcophagus was placed by the Pisans,
+by reason of its beauty, in the side of the Duomo opposite S. Rocco,
+beside the principal side-door, and it served for the body of the mother
+of Countess Matilda, if indeed these words are true that are to be read
+carved in the marble:
+
+      A.D. MCXVI. IX KAL. AUG. OBIIT D. MATILDA FELICIS MEMORIAE
+     COMITISSA, QUAE PRO ANIMA GENETRICIS SUAE DOMINAE BEATRICIS COMITISSAE
+     VENERABILIS, IN HAC TUMBA HONORABILI QUIESCENTIS, IN MULTIS
+     PARTIBUS MIRIFICE HANC DOTAVIT ECCLESIAM; QUARUM ANIMAE REQUIESCANT
+     IN PACE
+
+And then:
+
+      A.D. MCCCIII. SUB DIGNISSIMO OPERARIO D. BURGUNDIO TADI, OCCASIONE
+     GRADUUM FIENDORUM PER IPSUM CIRCA ECCLESIAM, SUPRADICTA TUMBA
+     SUPERIUS NOTATA BIS TRANSLATA FUIT, TUNC DE SEDIBUS PRIMIS IN
+     ECCLESIAM, NUNC DE ECCLESIA IN HUNC LOCUM, UT CERNITIS,
+     EXCELLENTEM.
+
+[Illustration: _Alinari_
+
+THE PULPIT OF THE BAPTISTERY OF PISA
+
+(_After_ Niccola Pisano. _Pisa_)]
+
+Niccola, pondering over the beauty of this work and being greatly
+pleased therewith, put so much study and diligence into imitating this
+manner and some other good sculptures that were in these other ancient
+sarcophagi, that he was judged, after no long time, the best sculptor of
+his day; there being in Tuscany in those times, after Arnolfo, no other
+sculptor of repute save Fuccio, an architect and sculptor of Florence,
+who made S. Maria sopra Arno in Florence, in the year 1229, placing his
+name there, over a door, and in the Church of S. Francesco in Assisi he
+made the marble tomb of the Queen of Cyprus, with many figures, and in
+particular a portrait of her sitting on a lion, in order to show the
+strength of her soul; which Queen, after her death, left a great sum of
+money to the end that this fabric might be finished. Niccola, then,
+having made himself known as a much better master than was Fuccio, was
+summoned to Bologna in the year 1225, after the death of S. Domenico
+Calagora, first founder of the Order of Preaching Friars, in order to
+make a marble tomb for the said Saint; wherefore, after agreement with
+those who had the charge of it, he made it full of figures in that
+manner wherein it is to be seen to-day, and delivered it finished in the
+year 1231 with much credit to himself, for it was held something
+remarkable, and the best of all the works that had been wrought in
+sculpture up to that time. He made, likewise, the model of that church
+and of a great part of the convent. Afterwards Niccola, returning to
+Tuscany, found that Fuccio had departed from Florence and had gone to
+Rome in those days when the Emperor Frederick was crowned by Honorius,
+and from Rome with Frederick to Naples, where he finished the Castel di
+Capoana, to-day called the Vicaria, wherein are all the tribunals of
+that kingdom, and likewise the Castel dell' Uovo; and where he likewise
+founded the towers he also made the gates over the River Volturno for
+the city of Capua, and a park girt with walls, for fowling, near
+Gravina, and another for sport in winter at Melfi; besides many other
+things that are not related, for the sake of brevity. Niccola,
+meanwhile, busying himself in Florence, was going on exercising himself
+not only in sculpture but in architecture as well, by means of the
+buildings that were going on being made with some little goodness of
+design throughout all Italy, and in particular in Tuscany; wherefore he
+occupied himself not a little with the building of the Abbey of Settimo,
+which had not been finished by the executors of Count Ugo of
+Brandenburg, like the other six, as was said above. And although it is
+read in a marble epitaph on the campanile of the said abbey, GUGLIELM.
+ME FECIT, it is known, nevertheless, by the manner, that it was directed
+with the counsel of Niccola. About the same time he made the Palazzo
+Vecchio of the Anziani in Pisa, pulled down in our day by Duke Cosimo,
+in order to make the magnificent Palace and Convent of the Knights of S.
+Stephen on the same spot, using some part of the old, from the design
+and model of Giorgio Vasari, painter and architect of Arezzo, who has
+accommodated himself to those old walls as well as he has been able in
+fitting them into the new. Niccola made, likewise in Pisa, many other
+palaces and churches, and he was the first, since the loss of the good
+method of building, who made it the custom to found edifices in Pisa on
+piers, and on these to raise arches, piles having first been sunk under
+the said piers; because, with any other method, the solid base of the
+foundation cracked and the walls always collapsed, whereas the sinking
+of piles renders the edifice absolutely safe, even as experience shows.
+With his design, also, was made the Church of S. Michele in Borgo for
+the Monks of Camaldoli. But the most beautiful, the most ingenious, and
+the most whimsical work of architecture that Niccola ever made was the
+Campanile of S. Niccola in Pisa, where is the seat of the Friars of S.
+Augustine, for the reason that it is octagonal on the outer side and
+round within, with stairs that wind in a spiral and lead to the summit,
+leaving the hollow space in the middle free, in the shape of a well, and
+on every fourth step are columns that have the arches above them on a
+slant and wind round and round; wherefore, the spring of the vaulting
+resting on the said arches, one goes climbing to the summit in a manner
+that he who is on the ground always sees all those who are climbing,
+those who are climbing see those who are on the ground, and those who
+are halfway up see both the first and the second--that is, those who are
+above and those who are below. This fanciful invention, with better
+method and more just proportions, and with more adornment, was
+afterwards put into execution by the architect Bramante in the Belvedere
+in Rome, for Pope Julius II, and by Antonio da San Gallo in the well
+that is at Orvieto, by order of Pope Clement VII, as will be told when
+the time comes.
+
+But returning to Niccola, who was no less excellent as sculptor than as
+architect; in the facade of the Church of S. Martino in Lucca, under the
+portico that is above the lesser door, on the left as one enters into
+the church, where there is seen a Christ Deposed from the Cross, he made
+a marble scene in half-relief, all full of figures wrought with much
+diligence, having hollowed out the marble and finished the whole in a
+manner that gave hope to those who were previously working at the art
+with very great difficulty, that there soon should come one who, with
+more facility, would give them better assistance. The same Niccola, in
+the year 1240, gave the design for the Church of S. Jacopo in Pistoia,
+and put to work there in mosaic certain Tuscan masters who made the
+vaulting of the choir-niche, which, although in those times it was held
+as something difficult and of great cost, moves us to-day rather to
+laughter and to compassion than to marvel, and all the more because such
+confusion, which comes from lack of design, existed not only in Tuscany
+but throughout all Italy, where many buildings and other works, that
+were being wrought without method and without design, give us to know no
+less the poverty of their talents than the unmeasured riches wasted by
+the men of those times, by reason of their having had no masters who
+might execute in a good manner any work that they might do.
+
+Niccola, then, by means of the works that he was making in sculpture and
+in architecture, was going on ever acquiring a greater name than the
+sculptors and architects who were then working in Romagna, as can be
+seen in S. Ippolito and S. Giovanni of Faenza, in the Duomo of Ravenna,
+in S. Francesco, in the houses of the Traversari, and in the Church
+of Porto; and at Rimini, in the fabric of the public buildings, in the
+houses of the Malatesti, and in other buildings, which are all much
+worse than the old edifices made about the same time in Tuscany. And
+what has been said of Romagna can be also said with truth of a part of
+Lombardy. A glance at the Duomo of Ferrara, and at the other buildings
+made by the Marquis Azzo, will give us to know that this is the truth
+and how different they are from the Santo of Padua, made with the model
+of Niccola, and from the Church of the Friars Minor in Venice, both
+magnificent and honoured buildings. Many, in the time of Niccola, moved
+by laudable envy, applied themselves with more zeal to sculpture than
+they had done before, and particularly in Milan, whither there assembled
+for the building of the Duomo many Lombards and Germans, who afterwards
+scattered throughout Italy by reason of the discords that arose between
+the Milanese and the Emperor Frederick. And so these craftsmen,
+beginning to compete among themselves both in marble and in building,
+found some little of the good. The same came to pass in Florence after
+the works of Arnolfo and Niccola had been seen; and the latter, while
+the little Church of the Misericordia was being erected from his design
+in the Piazza di S. Giovanni, made therein in marble, with his own hand,
+a Madonna with S. Dominic and another Saint, one on either side of her,
+which may still be seen on the outer facade of the said church.
+
+[Illustration: _Alinari_
+
+THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI
+
+(_Detail, after_ Niccola Pisano, _from the Pulpit of the Baptistery,
+Pisa_)]
+
+The Florentines had begun, in the time of Niccola, to throw to the
+ground many towers made formerly in barbaric manner throughout the whole
+city, in order that the people might be less hurt by reason of these in
+the brawls that were often taking place between the Guelphs and the
+Ghibellines, or in order that there might be greater security for the
+State, and it appeared to them that it would be very difficult to pull
+down the Tower of Guardamorto, which was in the Piazza di S. Giovanni,
+because the walls had been made so stoutly that they could not be pulled
+to pieces with pickaxes, and all the more because it was very high.
+Wherefore, Niccola causing the foot of the tower to be cut away on one
+side and supporting it with wooden props a braccio and a half in length,
+and then setting fire to them, as soon as the props were burnt away it
+fell and was almost entirely shattered; which was held something so
+ingenious and useful for such affairs that later it passed into use,
+insomuch that, when there is need, any building is destroyed in very
+little time with this most easy method. Niccola was present at the first
+foundation of the Duomo of Siena, and designed the Church of S. Giovanni
+in the same city; then, having returned to Florence in the same year
+that the Guelphs returned, he designed the Church of S. Trinita, and the
+Convent of the Nuns of Faenza, destroyed in our day in order to make the
+citadel. Being next summoned to Naples, in order not to desert the work
+in Tuscany he sent thither Maglione, his pupil, a sculptor and
+architect, who afterwards made, in the time of Conradin, the Church of
+S. Lorenzo in Naples, finished part of the Piscopio, and made there
+certain tombs, wherein he imitated closely the manner of Niccola, his
+master.
+
+Niccola, meanwhile, being summoned by the people of Volterra, in the
+year 1254 (when they came under the power of the Florentines), in order
+that their Duomo, which was small, might be enlarged, he brought it to
+better form, although it was very irregular, and made it more
+magnificent than it was before. Then, having returned finally to Pisa,
+he made the pulpit of S. Giovanni, in marble, putting therein all
+diligence in order to leave a memorial of himself to his country; and
+among other things, carving in it the Universal Judgment, he made
+therein many figures, if not with perfect design, at least with infinite
+patience and diligence, as can be seen. And because it appeared to him,
+as was true, that he had done a work worthy of praise, he carved at the
+foot of it these verses:
+
+     ANNO MILLENO BIS CENTUM BISQUE TRIDENO
+     HOC OPUS INSIGNE SCULPSIT NICOLA PISANUS.
+
+The people of Siena, moved by the fame of this work, which greatly
+pleased not only the Pisans but everyone who saw it, gave to Niccola the
+making of the pulpit of their Duomo, in which there is sung the Gospel;
+Guglielmo Mariscotti being Praetor. In this Niccola made many stories of
+Jesus Christ, with much credit to himself, by reason of the figures that
+are there wrought and with great difficulty almost wholly detached
+from the marble. Niccola likewise made the design of the Church and
+Convent of S. Domenico in Arezzo for the Lords of Pietramala, who
+erected it. And at the entreaty of Bishop Ubertini he restored the Pieve
+of Cortona, and founded the Church of S. Margherita for the Friars of S.
+Francis, on the highest point of that city.
+
+[Illustration: _Alinari_
+
+THE VISITATION AND THE NATIVITY
+
+(_Detail, after_ Niccola Pisano, _from the Pulpit of the Baptistery,
+Siena_)]
+
+Wherefore, the fame of Niccola ever growing greater by reason of so
+great works, he was summoned in the year 1267, by Pope Clement IV, to
+Viterbo, where, besides many other works, he restored the Church and
+Convent of the Preaching Friars. From Viterbo he went to Naples to King
+Charles I, who, having routed and slain Conradin on the plain of
+Tagliacozzo, caused to be made on that spot a very rich church and
+abbey, burying therein the infinite number of bodies slain on that day,
+and ordaining afterwards that there should be prayers offered by many
+monks, day and night, for their souls; in which building King Charles
+was so well pleased with the work of Niccola that he honoured and
+rewarded him very greatly. Returning from Naples to Tuscany, Niccola
+stayed in Orvieto for the building of S. Maria, and working there in
+company with some Germans, he made in marble, for the facade of that
+church, certain figures in the round, and in particular two scenes of
+the Universal Judgment containing Paradise and Hell; and even as he
+strove, in the Paradise, to give the greatest beauty that he knew to the
+souls of the blessed, restored to their bodies, so too in the Hell he
+made the strangest forms of devils that can possibly be seen, most
+intent on tormenting the souls of the damned; and in this work he
+surpassed not merely the Germans who were working there but even his own
+self, to his own great credit. And for the reason that he made therein a
+great number of figures and endured much fatigue, it has been nothing
+but praised up to our own times by those who have had no more judgment
+than this much in sculpture.
+
+Niccola had, among others, a son called Giovanni, who, because he ever
+followed his father and applied himself under his teaching to sculpture
+and to architecture, in a few years became not only equal to his father
+but in some ways superior; wherefore Niccola, being now old, retired to
+Pisa, and living there quietly left the management of everything to his
+son. Pope Urban IV having died at that time in Perugia, a summons was
+sent to Giovanni, who, having gone there, made a tomb of marble for that
+Pontiff, which, together with that of Pope Martin IV, was afterwards
+thrown to the ground when the people of Perugia enlarged their
+Vescovado, in a manner that there are seen only a few relics of it
+scattered throughout the church. And the people of Perugia, at the same
+time, having brought a very great body of water through leaden pipes
+from the hill of Pacciano, two miles distant from the city, by means of
+the genius and industry of a friar of the Silvestrines, it was given to
+Giovanni Pisano to make all the ornaments of the fountain, both in
+bronze and in marble; wherefore he put his hand thereto and made three
+tiers of basins, two of marble and one of bronze. The first is placed
+above twelve rows of steps, each with twelve sides; the other on some
+columns that stand on the lowest level of the first basin--that is, in
+the middle; and the third, which is of bronze, rests on three figures,
+and has in the middle certain griffins, also of bronze, that pour water
+on every side; and because it appeared to Giovanni that he had done very
+well in this work, he put on it his name. About the year 1560, the
+arches and the conduits of this fountain (which cost 160,000 ducats of
+gold) having become in great part spoilt and ruined, Vincenzio Danti, a
+sculptor of Perugia, without rebuilding the arches, which would have
+been a thing of the greatest cost, very ingeniously reconducted the
+water to the fountain in the way that it was before, with no small
+credit to himself.
+
+This work finished, Giovanni, desiring to see again his old and ailing
+father, departed from Perugia in order to return to Pisa; but, passing
+through Florence, he was forced to stay, to the end that he might apply
+himself, together with others, to the work of the Mills on the Arno,
+which were being made at S. Gregorio near the Piazza de' Mozzi. But
+finally, having had news that his father Niccola was dead, he went to
+Pisa, where, by reason of his worth, he was received by the whole city
+with great honour, every man rejoicing that after the loss of Niccola
+there still remained Giovanni, as heir both of his talents and of his
+wealth. And the occasion having come of making proof of him, their
+opinion was in no way disappointed, because, there being certain things
+to do in the small but most ornate Church of S. Maria della Spina, they
+were given to Giovanni to do, and he, putting his hand thereunto, with
+the help of some of his boys brought many ornaments in that oratory to
+that perfection that is seen to-day; which work, in so far as we can
+judge, must have been held miraculous in those times, and all the more
+that he made in one figure the portrait of Niccola from nature, as best
+he knew.
+
+Seeing this, the Pisans, who long before had had the idea and the wish
+to make a place of burial for all the inhabitants of the city, both
+noble and plebeian, either in order not to fill the Duomo with graves or
+for some other reason, caused Giovanni to make the edifice of the Campo
+Santo, which is on the Piazza del Duomo, towards the walls; wherefore
+he, with good design and with much judgment, made it in that manner and
+with those ornaments of marble and of that size which are to be seen;
+and because there was no consideration of expense, the roof was made of
+lead. And outside the principal door there are seen these words carved
+in marble:
+
+      A.D. MCCLXXVIII. TEMPORE DOMINI FREDERIGI ARCHIEPISCOPI PISANI, ET
+      DOMINI TARLATI POTESTATIS, OPERARIO ORLANDO SARDELLA, JOHANNE
+      MAGISTRO AEDIFICANTE.
+
+This work finished, in the same year, 1283, Giovanni went to Naples,
+where, for King Charles, he made the Castel Nuovo of Naples; and in
+order to have room and to make it stronger, he was forced to pull down
+many houses and churches, and in particular a convent of Friars of S.
+Francis, which was afterwards rebuilt no little larger and more
+magnificent than it was before, far from the castle and under the title
+of S. Maria della Nuova. These buildings being begun and considerably
+advanced, Giovanni departed from Naples, in order to return to Tuscany;
+but arriving at Siena, without being allowed to go on farther he was
+caused to make the model of the facade of the Duomo of that city, and
+afterwards the said facade was made very rich and magnificent from this
+model. Next, in the year 1286, when the Vescovado of Arezzo was
+building with the design of Margaritone, architect of Arezzo, Giovanni
+was brought from Siena to Arezzo by Guglielmino Ubertini, Bishop of that
+city, where he made in marble the panel of the high-altar, all filled
+with carvings of figures, of foliage, and other ornaments, distributing
+throughout the whole work certain things in delicate mosaic, and enamels
+laid on plates of silver, let into the marble with much diligence. In
+the middle is a Madonna with the Child in her arms, and on one side S.
+Gregory the Pope, whose face is the portrait from life of Pope Honorius
+IV; and on the other side is S. Donatus, Bishop and Protector of that
+city, whose body, with those of S. Antilla and of other Saints, is laid
+under that same altar. And because the said altar stands out by itself,
+round it and on the sides there are small scenes in low-relief from the
+life of S. Donatus, and the crown of the whole work are certain
+tabernacles full of marble figures in the round, wrought with much
+subtlety. On the breast of the said Madonna is a bezel-shaped setting of
+gold, wherein, so it is said, were jewels of much value, which have been
+carried away in the wars, so it is thought, by soldiers, who have no
+respect, very often, even for the most holy Sacrament, together with
+some little figures in the round that were on the top of and around that
+work; on which the Aretines spent altogether, according to what is found
+in certain records, 30,000 florins of gold. Nor does this seem anything
+great, seeing that at that time it was something as precious and rare as
+it could well be; wherefore Frederick Barbarossa, returning from Rome,
+where he had been crowned, and passing through Arezzo, many years after
+it had been made, praised it, nay, admired it infinitely; and in truth
+with great reason, seeing that, besides everything else, the joinings of
+this work, made of innumerable pieces, are cemented and put together so
+well that the whole work is easily judged, by anyone who has not much
+practice in the matters of the art, to be all of one piece. In the same
+church Giovanni made the Chapel of the Ubertini, a most noble family,
+and lords of castles, as they still are to-day and were formerly even
+more; with many ornaments of marble, which to-day have been covered over
+with other ornaments of grey-stone, many and fine, which were set up in
+that place with the design of Giorgio Vasari in the year 1535, for
+the supporting of an organ of extraordinary excellence and beauty that
+stands thereon.
+
+[Illustration: _Lombardi_
+
+A SYBIL
+
+(_Detail, after_ Giovanni Pisano, _from the facade of the Duomo,
+Siena_)]
+
+Giovanni Pisano likewise made the design of the Church of S. Maria de'
+Servi, which to-day has been destroyed, together with many palaces of
+the most noble families of the city, for the reasons mentioned above. I
+will not forbear to say that Giovanni made use, in working on the said
+marble altar, of certain Germans who had apprenticed themselves to him
+rather for learning than for gain; and under his teaching they became
+such that, having gone after this work to Rome, they served Boniface
+VIII in many works of sculpture for S. Pietro, and in architecture when
+he made Civita Castellana. Besides this, they were sent by the same man
+to S. Maria in Orvieto, where, for its facade, they made many figures in
+marble which were passing good for those times. But among others who
+assisted Giovanni in the work of the Vescovado in Arezzo, Agostino and
+Agnolo, sculptors and architects of Siena, surpassed in time all the
+others, as will be told in the proper place. But returning to Giovanni;
+having departed from Orvieto, he came to Florence, in order to see the
+fabric of S. Maria del Fiore that Arnolfo was making, and likewise to
+see Giotto, of whom he had heard great things spoken abroad; and no
+sooner had he arrived in Florence than he was charged by the Wardens of
+the said fabric of S. Maria del Fiore to make the Madonna which is over
+that door of the church that leads to the Canon's house, between two
+little angels; which work was then much praised. Next, he made the
+little baptismal font of S. Giovanni, wherein are certain scenes in
+half-relief from the life of that Saint. Having then gone to Bologna, he
+directed the building of the principal chapel of the Church of S.
+Domenico, wherein he was charged by Bishop Teodorigo Borgognoni of
+Lucca, a friar of that Order, to make an altar of marble; and in the
+same place he afterwards made, in the year 1298, the marble panel
+wherein are the Madonna and eight other figures, reasonably good.
+
+In the year 1300, Niccola da Prato, Cardinal Legate of the Pope, being
+in Florence in order to accommodate the dissensions of the Florentines,
+caused him to make a convent for nuns in Prato, which is called S.
+Niccola from his name, and to restore in the same territory the Convent
+of S. Domenico, and so too that of Pistoia; in both the one and the
+other of which there are still seen the arms of the said Cardinal. And
+because the people of Pistoia held in veneration the name of Niccola,
+father of Giovanni, by reason of that which he had wrought in that city
+with his talent, they caused Giovanni himself to make a pulpit of marble
+for the Church of S. Andrea, like to the one which he had made in the
+Duomo of Siena; and this he did in order to compete with one which had
+been made a little before in the Church of S. Giovanni Evangelista by a
+German, who was therefore much praised. Giovanni, then, delivered his
+finished in four years, having divided this work into five scenes from
+the life of Jesus Christ, and having made therein, besides this, a
+Universal Judgment, with the greatest diligence that he knew, in order
+to equal or perchance to surpass the one of Orvieto, then so greatly
+renowned. And round the said pulpit, on the architrave, over some
+columns that support it, thinking (as was the truth, according to the
+knowledge of that age) that he had done a great and beautiful work, he
+carved these verses:
+
+     HOC OPUS SCULPSIT JOANNES, QUI RES NON EGIT INANES,
+     NICOLI NATUS ...... MELIORA BEATUS,
+     QUEM GENUIT PISA, DOCTUM SUPER OMNIA VISA.
+
+At the same time Giovanni made the holy-water font, in marble, of the
+Church of S. Giovanni Evangelista in the same city, with three figures
+that support it--Temperance, Prudence, and Justice; which work, by
+reason of its having then been held very beautiful, was placed in the
+centre of that church as something remarkable. And before he departed
+from Pistoia, although the work had not up to then been begun, he made
+the model of the Campanile of S. Jacopo, the principal church of that
+city; on which campanile, which is on the square of the said S. Jacopo
+and beside the church, there is this date: A.D. 1301.
+
+[Illustration: _Alinari_
+
+THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS
+
+(_Detail, after_ Giovanni Pisano, _from the Pulpit of the Church of S.
+Andrea, Pistoia_)]
+
+Afterwards, Pope Benedict IX having died in Perugia, a summons was sent
+to Giovanni, who, having gone to Perugia, made a tomb of marble for that
+Pontiff in the old Church of S. Domenico, belonging to the Preaching
+Friars; the Pope, portrayed from nature and robed in his pontifical
+habits, is lying at full length on the bier, with two angels, one on
+either side, that are holding up a curtain, and above there is a Madonna
+with two saints in relief, one on either side of her; and many other
+ornaments are carved round that tomb. In like manner, in the new church
+of the said Preaching Friars he made the tomb of Messer Niccolo
+Guidalotti of Perugia, Bishop of Recanati, who was founder of the
+Sapienza Nuova of Perugia. In this new church, which had been founded
+before this by others, he executed the central nave, which was founded
+by him with much better method than the remainder of the church had
+been; for on one side it leans and threatens to fall down, by reason of
+having been badly founded. And in truth, he who puts his hand to
+building and to doing anything of importance should ever take counsel,
+not from him who knows little but from the best, in order not to have to
+repent after the act, with loss and shame, that where he most needed
+good counsel he took the bad.
+
+Giovanni, having dispatched his business in Perugia, wished to go to
+Rome, in order to learn from those few ancient things that were to be
+seen there, even as his father had done; but being hindered by good
+reasons, this his desire did not take effect, and the rather as he heard
+that the Court had just gone to Avignon. Returning, then, to Pisa, Nello
+di Giovanni Falconi, Warden, caused him to make the great pulpit of the
+Duomo, which is on the right hand going towards the high-altar, attached
+to the choir; and having made a beginning with this and with many
+figures in the round, three braccia high, that were to serve for it,
+little by little he brought them to that form that is seen to-day,
+placing the pulpit partly on the said figures and partly on some columns
+sustained by lions; and on the sides he made some scenes from the life
+of Christ. It is a pity, truly, that so great cost, so great diligence,
+and so great labour should not have been accompanied by good design and
+should be wanting in perfection and in excellence of invention, grace,
+and manner, such as any work of our own times would show, even if made
+with much less cost and labour. None the less, it must have caused no
+small marvel to the men of those times, used to seeing only the rudest
+works. This work was finished in the year 1320, as appears in certain
+verses that are round the said pulpit, which run thus:
+
+     LAUDO DEUM VERUM, PER QUEM SUNT OPTIMA RERUM,
+     QUI DEDIT HAS PURAS HOMINEM FORMARE FIGURAS;
+     HOC OPUS HIS ANNIS DOMINI SCULPSERE JOHANNIS
+     ARTE MANUS SOLE QUONDAM, NATIQUE NICOLE,
+     CURSIS VENTENIS TERCENTUM MILLEQUE PLENIS;
+
+with other thirteen verses, which are not written, in order not to weary
+the reader, and because these are enough not only to bear witness that
+the said pulpit is by the hand of Giovanni, but also that the men of
+these times were in all things made thus. A Madonna of marble, also,
+that is seen between S. John the Baptist and another Saint, over the
+principal door of the Duomo, is by the hand of Giovanni; and he who is
+at the feet of the Madonna, on his knees, is said to be Piero
+Gambacorti, Warden of Works. However this may be, on the base whereon
+stands the image of Our Lady there are carved these words:
+
+     SUB PETRI CURA HAEC PIA FUIT SCULPTA FIGURA,
+       NICOLI NATO SCULPTORE JOHANNE VOCATO.
+
+In like manner, over the side door that is opposite the campanile, there
+is a Madonna of marble by the hand of Giovanni, having on one side a
+woman kneeling with two babies, representing Pisa, and on the other the
+Emperor Henry. On the base whereon stands the Madonna are these words:
+
+     AVE GRATIA PLENA, DOMINUS TECUM;
+
+and beside them:
+
+     NOBILIS ARTE MANUS SCULPSIT JOHANNES PISANUS
+       SCULPSIT SUB BURGUNDIO TADI BENIGNO....
+
+And round the base of Pisa:
+
+     VIRGINIS ANCILLA SUM PISA QUIETA SUB ILLA.
+
+And round the base of Henry:
+
+     IMPERAT HENRICUS QUI CHRISTO FERTUR AMICUS.
+
+[Illustration: _Alinari_
+
+MADONNA AND CHILD
+
+(_After_ Giovanni Pisano. _Padua: Arena Chapel_)]
+
+In the old Pieve of the territory of Prato, under the altar of the
+principal chapel, there had been kept for many years the Girdle of Our
+Lady, which Michele da Prato, returning from the Holy Land, had brought
+to his country in the year 1141 and consigned to Uberto, Provost of that
+church, who placed it where it has been said, and where it had been ever
+held in great veneration; and in the year 1312 an attempt was made to
+steal it by a man of Prato, a fellow of the basest sort, and as it were,
+another Ser Ciappelletto; but having been discovered, he was put to
+death for sacrilege by the hand of justice. Moved by this, the people of
+Prato determined to make a strong and suitable resting-place, in order
+to hold the said Girdle more securely; wherefore, having summoned
+Giovanni, who was now old, they made with his counsel, in the greater
+church, the chapel wherein there is now preserved the said Girdle of Our
+Lady. And next, with the same man's design, they made the said church
+much larger than it was before, and encrusted it without with white and
+black marbles, and likewise the campanile, as may be seen. Finally,
+being now very old, Giovanni died in the year 1320, after having made,
+besides those that have been mentioned, many other works in sculpture
+and in architecture. And in truth there is much owed to him and to his
+father Niccola, seeing that, in times void of all goodness of design,
+they gave in so great darkness no small light to the matters of these
+arts, wherein they were, for that age, truly excellent. Giovanni was
+buried in the Campo Santo, with great honour, in the same grave wherein
+had been laid Niccola, his father. There were as disciples of Giovanni
+many who flourished after him, but in particular Lino, sculptor and
+architect of Siena, who made in the Duomo of Pisa the chapel all adorned
+with marble wherein is the body of S. Ranieri, and likewise the
+baptismal font that is in the said Duomo, with his name.
+
+Nor let anyone marvel that Niccola and Giovanni did so many works,
+because, not to mention that they lived very long, being the first
+masters that were in Europe at that time, there was nothing done of any
+importance in which they did not have a hand, as can be seen in many
+inscriptions besides those that have been mentioned. And seeing that,
+while touching on these two sculptors and architects, there has been
+something said of matters in Pisa, I will not forbear to say that on the
+top of the steps in front of the new hospital, round the base that
+supports a lion and the vase that rests on the porphyry column, are
+these words:
+
+      THIS IS THE MEASURE WHICH THE EMPEROR CAESAR GAVE TO PISA,
+     WHEREWITH THERE WAS MEASURED THE TRIBUTE THAT WAS PAID TO HIM;
+     WHICH HAS BEEN SET UP OVER THIS COLUMN AND LION, IN THE TIME OF
+     GIOVANNI ROSSO, WARDEN OF THE WORKS OF S. MARIA MAGGIORE IN PISA,
+     A.D. MCCCXIII., IN THE SECOND INDICTION, IN MARCH.
+
+
+
+
+ANDREA TAFI
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF ANDREA TAFI,
+
+PAINTER OF FLORENCE
+
+
+Even as the works of Cimabue awakened no small marvel (he having given
+better design and form to the art of painting) in the men of those
+times, used to seeing nothing save works done after the Greek manner,
+even so the works in mosaic of Andrea Tafi, who lived in the same times,
+were admired, and he thereby held excellent, nay, divine; these people
+not thinking, being unused to see anything else, that better work could
+be done in such an art. But not being in truth the most able man in the
+world, and having considered that mosaic, by reason of its long life,
+was held in estimation more than all the other forms of painting, he
+went from Florence to Venice, where some Greek painters were working in
+S. Marco in mosaic; and becoming intimate with them, with entreaties,
+with money, and with promises he contrived in such a manner that he
+brought to Florence Maestro Apollonio, a Greek painter, who taught him
+to fuse the glass for mosaic and to make the cement for putting it
+together; and in his company he wrought the upper part of the tribune of
+S. Giovanni, where there are the Powers, the Thrones, and the Dominions;
+in which place Andrea, when more practised, afterwards made, as will be
+said below, the Christ that is over the side of the principal chapel.
+But having made mention of S. Giovanni, I will not pass by in silence
+that this ancient temple is all wrought, both without and within, with
+marbles of the Corinthian Order, and that it is not only designed and
+executed perfectly in all its parts and with all its proportions, but
+also very well adorned with doors and with windows, and enriched with
+two columns of granite on each wall-face, each eleven braccia high, in
+order to make the three spaces over which are the architraves, that rest
+on the said columns in order to support the whole mass of the double
+vaulted roof, which has been praised by modern architects as something
+remarkable, and deservedly, for the reason that it showed the good which
+that art already had in itself to Filippo di Ser Brunellesco, to
+Donatello, and to the other masters of those times, who learnt the art
+by means of this work and of the Church of S. Apostolo in Florence, a
+work so good in manner that it casts back to the true ancient goodness,
+having all the columns in sections, as it has been said above, measured
+and put together with so great diligence that much can be learnt by
+studying it in all its parts. But to be silent about many things that
+could be said about the good architecture of this church, I will say
+only that there was a great departure from this example and from this
+good method of working when the facade of S. Miniato sul Monte without
+Florence was rebuilt in marble, in honour of the conversion of the
+Blessed S. Giovanni Gualberto, citizen of Florence and founder of the
+Order of the Monks of Vallombrosa; because that and many other works
+that were made later were in no way similar in beauty to those
+mentioned. The same, in like manner, came to pass in the works of
+sculpture, for all those that were made in Italy by the masters of that
+age, as has been said in the Preface to the Lives, were very rude, as
+can be seen in many places, and in particular in S. Bartolommeo at
+Pistoia, a church of the Canons Regular, where, in a pulpit very rudely
+made by Guido da Como, there is the beginning of the life of Jesus
+Christ, with these words carved thereon by the craftsman himself in the
+year 1199:
+
+     SCULPTOR LAUDATUR, QUOD DOCTUS IN ARTE PROBATUR,
+          GUIDO DE COMO ME CUNCTIS CARMINE PROMO.
+
+But to return to the Church of S. Giovanni; forbearing to relate its
+origin, by reason of its having been described by Giovanni Villani and
+by other writers, and having already said that from this church there
+came the good architecture that is to-day in use, I will add that the
+tribune was made later, so far as it is known, and that at the time when
+Alesso Baldovinetti, succeeding Lippo, a painter of Florence, restored
+those mosaics, it was seen that it had been in the past painted with
+designs in red, and all worked on stucco.
+
+Andrea Tafi and Apollonio the Greek, then, in order to cover this
+tribune with mosaics, made therein a number of compartments, which,
+narrow at the top beside the lantern, went on widening as far as the
+level of the cornice below; and they divided the upper part into circles
+of various scenes. In the first are all the ministers and executors of
+the Divine Will, namely, the Angels, the Archangels, the Cherubim, the
+Seraphim, the Powers, the Thrones, and the Dominions. In the second row,
+also in mosaic, and after the Greek manner, are the principal works done
+by God, from the creation of light down to the Flood. In the circle that
+is below these, which goes on widening with the eight sides of that
+tribune, are all the acts of Joseph and of his twelve brethren. Below
+these, then, there follow as many other spaces of the same size that
+circle in like manner onward, wherein there is the life of Jesus Christ,
+also in mosaic, from the time when He was conceived in Mary's womb up to
+the Ascension into Heaven. Then, resuming the same order, under the
+three friezes there is the life of S. John the Baptist, beginning with
+the appearing of the Angel to Zacharias the priest, up to his beheading
+and to the burial that his disciples gave him. All these works, being
+rude, without design and without art, I do not absolutely praise; but of
+a truth, having regard to the method of working of that age and to the
+imperfection that the art of painting then showed, not to mention that
+the work is solid and that the pieces of the mosaic are very well put
+together, the end of this work is much better--or to speak more exactly,
+less bad--than is the beginning, although the whole, with respect to the
+work of to-day, moves us rather to laughter than to pleasure or marvel.
+Finally, over the side of the principal chapel in the said tribune,
+Andrea made by himself and without the help of Apollonio, to his own
+great credit, the Christ that is still seen there to-day, seven braccia
+high. Becoming famous for these works throughout all Italy, and being
+reputed in his own country as excellent, he well deserved to be largely
+honoured and rewarded. It was truly very great good-fortune, that of
+Andrea, to be born at a time when, all work being rudely done, there was
+great esteem even for that which deserved to be esteemed very little, or
+rather not at all. This same thing befell Fra Jacopo da Turrita, of the
+Order of S. Francis, seeing that, having made the works in mosaic that
+are in the recess behind the altar of the said S. Giovanni,
+notwithstanding that they were little worthy of praise he was
+remunerated for them with extraordinary rewards, and afterwards, as an
+excellent master, summoned to Rome, where he wrought certain things in
+the chapel of the high-altar of S. Giovanni Laterano, and in that of S.
+Maria Maggiore. Next, being summoned to Pisa, he made the Evangelists in
+the principal apse of the Duomo, with other works that are there,
+assisted by Andrea Tafi and by Gaddo Gaddi, and using the same manner
+wherein he had done his other works; but he left them little less than
+wholly imperfect, and they were afterwards finished by Vicino.
+
+The works of these men, then, were prized for some time; but when the
+works of Giotto, as will be said in its own place, were set in
+comparison with those of Andrea, of Cimabue, and of the others, people
+recognized in part the perfection of the art, seeing the difference that
+there was between the early manner of Cimabue and that of Giotto, in the
+figures of the one and of the other and in those that their disciples
+and imitators made. From this beginning the others sought step by step
+to follow in the path of the best masters, surpassing one another
+happily from one day to another, so that from such depths these arts
+have been raised, as is seen, to the height of their perfection.
+
+Andrea lived eighty-one years, and died before Cimabue, in 1294. And by
+reason of the reputation and the honour that he gained with his mosaic,
+seeing that he, before any other man, introduced and taught it in better
+manner to the men of Tuscany, he was the cause that Gaddo Gaddi, Giotto,
+and the others afterwards made the most excellent works of that craft
+which have acquired for them fame and an eternal name. After the death
+of Andrea there was not wanting one to magnify him with this
+inscription:
+
+      QUI GIACE ANDREA, CH' OPRE LEGGIADRE E BELLE
+      FECE IN TUTTA TOSCANA, ED ORA E ITO
+      A FAR VAGO LO REGNO DELLE STELLE.
+
+A disciple of Andrea was Buonamico Buffalmacco, who, being very young,
+played him many tricks, and had from him the portrait of Pope Celestine
+IV, a Milanese, and that of Innocent IV, both one and the other of whom
+he portrayed afterwards in the pictures that he made in S. Paolo a Ripa
+d' Arno in Pisa. A disciple and perhaps a son of the same man was
+Antonio d'Andrea Tafi, who was a passing good painter; but I have not
+been able to find any work by his hand. There is only mention made of
+him in the old book of the Company of the Men of Design.
+
+Deservedly, then, did Andrea Tafi gain much praise among the early
+masters, for the reason that, although he learnt the principles of
+mosaic from those whom he brought from Venice to Florence, he added
+nevertheless so much of the good to the art, putting the pieces together
+with much diligence and executing the work smooth as a table, which is
+of the greatest importance in mosaic, that he opened the way to good
+work to Giotto, among others, as will be told in his Life; and not only
+to Giotto, but to all those who have exercised themselves in this sort
+of painting from his day up to our own times. Wherefore it can be truly
+affirmed that those marvellous works which are being made to-day in S.
+Marco at Venice, and in other places, had their first beginning from
+Andrea Tafi.
+
+
+
+
+GADDO GADDI
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF GADDO GADDI,
+
+PAINTER OF FLORENCE
+
+
+Gaddo, painter of Florence, displayed at this same time more design in
+his works, wrought after the Greek manner, than did Andrea Tafi and the
+other painters that were before him, and this perchance arose from the
+intimate friendship and intercourse that he held with Cimabue, seeing
+that, by reason either of their conformity of blood or of the goodness
+of their minds, finding themselves united one to the other by a strait
+affection, from the frequent converse that they had together and from
+their discoursing lovingly very often about the difficulties of the arts
+there were born in their minds conceptions very beautiful and grand; and
+this came to pass for them the more easily inasmuch as they were
+assisted by the subtlety of the air of Florence, which is wont to
+produce spirits both ingenious and subtle, removing continually from
+round them that little of rust and grossness that most times nature is
+not able to remove, together with the emulation and with the precepts
+that the good craftsmen provide in every age. And it is seen clearly
+that works concerted between those who, in their friendship, are not
+veiled with the mask of duplicity (although few so made are to be
+found), arrive at much perfection; and the same men, conferring on the
+difficulties of the sciences that they are learning, purge them and
+render them so clear and easy that the greatest praise comes therefrom.
+Whereas some, on the contrary, diabolically working with profession of
+friendship, and using the cloak of truth and of lovingness to conceal
+their envy and malice, rob them of their conceptions, in a manner that
+the arts do not so soon attain to that excellence which they would if
+love embraced the minds of the gracious spirits; as it truly bound
+together Gaddo and Cimabue, and in like manner Andrea Tafi and Gaddo,
+who was taken by Andrea into company with himself in order to finish the
+mosaics of S. Giovanni, where that Gaddo learnt so much that afterwards
+he made by himself the Prophets that are seen round that church in the
+square spaces beneath the windows; and having wrought these by his own
+self and with much better manner, they brought him very great fame.
+Wherefore, growing in courage and being disposed to work by himself, he
+applied himself continually to studying the Greek manner together with
+that of Cimabue. Whence, after no long time, having become excellent in
+the art, there was allotted to him by the Wardens of Works of S. Maria
+del Fiore the lunette over the principal door within the church, wherein
+he wrought in mosaic the Coronation of Our Lady; which work, when
+finished, was judged by all the masters, both foreign and native, the
+most beautiful that had yet been seen in all Italy in that craft, there
+being recognized therein more design, more judgment, and more
+diligence than in all the rest of the works in mosaic that were then
+to be found in Italy.
+
+Wherefore, the fame of this work spreading, Gaddo was called to Rome in
+the year 1308 (which was the year after the fire that burnt down the
+Church and the Palaces of the Lateran) by Clement V, for whom he
+finished certain works in mosaic left imperfect by Fra Jacopo da
+Turrita. He then wrought certain works, also in mosaic, in the Church of
+S. Pietro, both in the principal chapel and throughout the church, and
+in particular a large God the Father, with many other figures, on the
+facade; and helping to finish some scenes in mosaic that are in the
+facade of S. Maria Maggiore, he somewhat improved the manner, and
+departed also a little from that manner of the Greeks, which had in it
+nothing whatever of the good.
+
+Next, having returned to Tuscany, he wrought in the Duomo Vecchio
+without the city of Arezzo, for the Tarlati, Lords of Pietramala,
+certain works in mosaic on a vault that was all made of sponge-stone and
+served for roof to the middle part of that church, which, being too much
+burdened by the ancient vault of stone, fell down in the time of Bishop
+Gentile of Urbino, who had it afterwards all rebuilt with bricks.
+Departing from Arezzo, Gaddo went to Pisa, where, in the niche over the
+Chapel of the Incoronata in the Duomo, he made a Madonna who is
+ascending into Heaven, and, above, a Jesus Christ who is awaiting her
+and has a rich chair prepared as a seat for her; which work, for those
+times, was wrought so well and with so great diligence that it has been
+very well preserved, even to our own day. After this Gaddo returned to
+Florence, in mind to rest; wherefore, undertaking to make little panels
+in mosaic, he executed some with egg-shells, with incredible diligence
+and patience, as can be seen, among others, in some that are still
+to-day in the Church of S. Giovanni in Florence. It is read, also, that
+he made two of them for King Robert, but nothing more is known of these.
+And let this be enough to have said of Gaddo Gaddi with regard to work
+in mosaic.
+
+In painting he made many panels, and among others that which is in S.
+Maria Novella, in the tramezzo[8] of the church, in the Chapel of the
+Minerbetti, and many others that were sent into diverse parts of
+Tuscany. And working thus, now in mosaic and now in painting, he made
+both in the one and in the other exercise many passing good works, which
+maintained him ever in good credit and reputation. I could here enlarge
+further in discoursing of Gaddo, but seeing that the manners of the
+painters of those times cannot, for the most part, render great
+assistance to the craftsmen, I will pass this over in silence, reserving
+myself to be longer in the Lives of those who, having improved the arts,
+can give some measure of assistance.
+
+Gaddo lived seventy-three years, and died in 1312, and was given
+honourable burial in S. Croce by his son Taddeo. And although he had
+other sons, Taddeo alone, who was held at the baptismal font by Giotto,
+applied himself to painting, learning at first the principles from his
+father and then the rest from Giotto. A disciple of Gaddo, besides
+Taddeo his son, was Vicino, painter of Pisa, who wrought very well
+certain works in mosaic in the principal apse of the Duomo of Pisa, as
+these words demonstrate, that are still seen in that apse:
+
+      TEMPORE DOMINI JOANNIS ROSSI, OPERARII ISTIUS ECCLESIAE, VICINUS
+      PICTOR INCEPIT ET PERFECIT HANC IMAGINEM BEATAE MARIAE; SED
+      MAJESTATIS, ET EVANGELISTAE, PER ALIOS INCEPTAE, IPSE COMPLEVIT ET
+      PERFECIT, A.D. 1321, DE MENSE SEPTEMBRIS. BENEDICTUM SIT NOMEN
+      DOMINI DEI NOSTRI JESU CHRISTI. AMEN.
+
+In the Chapel of the Baroncelli, in the same Church of S. Croce, there
+is a portrait of Gaddo by the hand of his son Taddeo, in a Marriage of
+Our Lady, and beside him is Andrea Tafi. And in our aforesaid book there
+is a drawing by the hand of Gaddo, made in miniature, like that of
+Cimabue, wherein it is seen how strong he was in draughtsmanship.
+
+Now, seeing that in an old book, from which I have drawn these few facts
+that have been related about Gaddo Gaddi, there is also an account of
+the building of S. Maria Novella, the Church of the Preaching Friars in
+Florence, a building truly magnificent and highly honoured, I will not
+pass by in silence by whom and at what time it was built. I say, then,
+that the Blessed Dominic being in Bologna, and there being conceded to
+him the property of Ripoli without Florence, he sent thither twelve
+friars under the care of the Blessed Giovanni da Salerno; and not many
+years afterwards these friars came to Florence to occupy the church and
+precincts of S. Pancrazio, and they were settled there, when Dominic
+himself came to Florence, whereupon they left that place and went to
+settle in the Church of S. Paolo, according to his pleasure. Later,
+there being conceded to the said Blessed Giovanni the precincts of S.
+Maria Novella, with all its wealth, by the Legate of the Pope and by the
+Bishop of the city, they were put in possession and began to occupy the
+said precincts on the last day of October, 1221. And because the said
+church was passing small and faced westward, with its entrance on the
+Piazza Vecchia, the friars, being now grown to a good number and having
+great repute in the city, began to think of increasing the said church
+and convent. Wherefore, having got together a very great sum of money,
+and having many in the city who were promising every assistance, they
+began the building of the new church on St. Luke's Day, in 1278; the
+first stone of the foundations being most solemnly laid by Cardinal
+Latino degli Orsini, Legate of Pope Nicholas III to the Florentines. The
+architects of the said church were Fra Giovanni, a Florentine, and Fra
+Ristoro da Campi, lay-brothers of the same Order, who rebuilt the Ponte
+alla Carraja and that of S. Trinita, destroyed by the flood of 1264 on
+October 1. The greater part of the site of the said church and convent
+was presented to the friars by the heirs of Messer Jacopo, Cavaliere de'
+Tornaquinci. The cost, as has been said, was met partly by alms and
+partly by the money of diverse persons who assisted gallantly, and in
+particular with the assistance of Frate Aldobrandino Cavalcanti, who was
+afterwards Bishop of Arezzo and is buried over the door of the Virgin.
+Some say that, besides everything else, he got together by his own
+industry all the labour and material that went into the said church,
+which was finished when the Prior of this convent was Fra Jacopo
+Passavanti, who was therefore deemed worthy of a marble tomb in front of
+the principal chapel, on the left hand. This church was consecrated in
+the year 1420, by Pope Martin V, as is seen in an inscription on marble
+on the righthand pillar of the principal chapel, which runs thus:
+
+      A.D. 1420. DIE SEPTIMA SEPTEMBRIS, DOMINUS MARTINUS DIVINA
+      PROVIDENTIA PAPA V. PERSONALITER HANC ECCLESIAM CONSECRAVIT, ET
+      MAGNAS INDULGENTIAS CONTULIT VISITANTIBUS EANDEM.
+
+Of all these things and of many others there is an account in a
+chronicle of the building of the said church, which is in the hands of
+the fathers of S. Maria Novella, and in the History of Giovanni Villani
+likewise; and I have not wished to withhold these few facts regarding
+this church and convent, both because it is one of the most important
+and most beautiful churches in Florence, and also because they have
+therein, as will be said below, many excellent works made by the most
+famous craftsmen that have lived in the years past.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 8: The literal meaning of tramezzo is "something that acts as
+a partition between one thing and another." There are cases where it
+might be translated "rood-screen"; but in general it may be taken to
+mean transept, which may be said to divide a church into two parts. In
+all cases where the word occurs, reference will be made to this note.]
+
+
+
+
+MARGARITONE
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF MARGARITONE,
+
+PAINTER, SCULPTOR, AND ARCHITECT, OF AREZZO
+
+
+Among the old painters who were much alarmed by the praises rightly
+given by men to Cimabue and to his disciple Giotto, whose good work in
+painting was making their glory shine throughout all Italy, was one
+Margaritone, painter of Arezzo, who, with the others who in that unhappy
+century were holding the highest rank in painting, recognized that their
+works were little less than wholly obscuring his own fame. Margaritone,
+then, being held excellent among the other painters of these times who
+were working after the Greek manner, wrought many panels in distemper at
+Arezzo, and he painted in fresco--in even more pictures, but in a long
+time and with much fatigue--almost the whole Church of S. Clemente,
+Abbey of the Order of Camaldoli, which is to-day all in ruins and thrown
+down, together with many other buildings and a strong fortress called S.
+Chimenti, for the reason that Duke Cosimo de' Medici, not only on that
+spot but right round that city, pulled down many buildings and the old
+walls (which were restored by Guido Pietramalesco, formerly Bishop and
+Patron of that city); in order to rebuild the latter with connecting
+wings and bastions, much stronger and smaller than they were, and in
+consequence more easy to guard and with few men. There were, in the said
+pictures, many figures both small and great, and although they were
+wrought after the Greek manner, it was recognized, none the less, that
+they had been made with good judgment and lovingly; to which witness is
+borne by works by the same man's hand which have survived in that city,
+and above all a panel that is now in S. Francesco, in the Chapel of the
+Conception, with a modern frame, wherein is a Madonna held by these
+friars in great veneration. He made in the same church, also after the
+Greek manner, a great Crucifix which is now placed in that chapel where
+there is the Office of the Wardens of Works; this is wrought on the
+planking, with the Cross outlined, and of this sort he made many in that
+city. For the Nuns of S. Margherita he wrought a work that is to-day set
+up against the tramezzo[9] of the church--namely, a canvas fixed on a
+panel, wherein are scenes with small figures from the life of Our Lady
+and of S. John the Baptist, in considerably better manner than the
+large, and executed with more diligence and grace. This work is notable,
+not only because the said small figures are so well made that they look
+like miniatures, but also because it is a marvel to see that a work on
+canvas has been preserved for three hundred years. He made throughout
+the whole city an infinity of pictures, and at Sargiano, a convent of
+the Frati de' Zoccoli, a S. Francis portrayed from nature on a panel,
+whereon he placed his name, as on a work, in his judgment, wrought
+better than was his wont. Next, having made a large Crucifix on wood,
+painted after the Greek manner, he sent it to Florence to Messer
+Farinata degli Uberti, a most famous citizen, for the reason that he
+had, among other noble deeds, freed his country from imminent ruin and
+peril. This Crucifix is to-day in S. Croce, between the Chapel of the
+Peruzzi and that of the Giugni. In S. Domenico in Arezzo, a church and
+convent built by the Lords of Pietramala in the year 1275, as their arms
+still prove, he wrought many works, and then returned to Rome (where he
+had already been held very dear by Pope Urban IV), to the end that he
+might do certain works in fresco at his commission in the portico of S.
+Pietro; these were in the Greek manner, and passing good for those
+times.
+
+[Illustration: _Mansell_
+
+THE VIRGIN AND CHILD, WITH SCENES FROM THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS
+
+(_After the painting by_ Margaritone. _London: National Gallery, 5040_)]
+
+Next, having made a S. Francis on a panel at Ganghereto, a place above
+Terra Nuova in Valdarno, his spirit grew exalted and he gave himself to
+sculpture, and that with so much zeal that he succeeded much better than
+he had done in painting, because, although his first sculptures were in
+Greek manner, as four wooden figures show that are in a Deposition from
+the Cross in the Prieve, and some other figures in the round placed in
+the Chapel of S. Francesco over the baptismal font, none the less he
+adopted a better manner after he had seen in Florence the works of
+Arnolfo and of the other then most famous sculptors. Wherefore, having
+returned to Arezzo in the year 1275, in the wake of the Court of Pope
+Gregory, who passed through Florence on his return from Avignon to Rome,
+there came to him opportunity to make himself more known, for the reason
+that this Pope died in Arezzo, after having presented thirty thousand
+crowns to the Commune to the end that there might be finished the
+building of the Vescovado, formerly begun by Maestro Lapo and little
+advanced, and the Aretines, besides making the Chapel of S. Gregorio
+(where Margaritone afterwards made a panel) in the Vescovado, in memory
+of the said Pontiff, also ordained that a tomb of marble should be made
+for him by the same man in the said Vescovado. Putting his hand to the
+work, he brought it to completion, including therein the portrait of the
+Pope from nature, done both in marble and in painting, in a manner that
+it was held the best work that he had ever yet made. Next, work being
+resumed on the building of the Vescovado, Margaritone carried it very
+far on, following the design of Lapo; but he did not, however, deliver
+it finished, because a few years later, in the year 1289, the wars
+between the Florentines and the Aretines were renewed, by the fault of
+Guglielmino Ubertini, Bishop and Lord of Arezzo, assisted by the Tarlati
+da Pietramala and by the Pazzi di Valdarno, although evil came to them
+thereby, for they were routed and slain at Campaldino; and there was
+spent in that war all the money left by the Pope for the building of the
+Vescovado. And therefore the Aretines ordained that in place of this
+there should serve the impost paid by the district (thus do they call a
+tax), as a particular revenue for that work; which impost has lasted up
+to our own day, and continues to last.
+
+Now returning to Margaritone: from what is seen in his works, as regards
+painting, he was the first who considered what a man must do when he
+works on panels of wood, to the end that they may stay firm in the
+joinings, and that they may not show fissures and cracks opening out
+after they have been painted; for he was used to put over the whole
+surface of the panels a canvas of linen cloth, attached with a strong
+glue made from shreds of parchment and boiled over a fire; and then
+over the said canvas he spread gesso, as is seen in many panels by him
+and by others. He wrought, besides, on gesso mingled with the same glue,
+friezes and diadems in relief and other ornaments in the round; and he
+was the inventor of the method of applying Armenian bole, and of
+spreading gold-leaf thereon and burnishing it. All these things, never
+seen before, are seen in many of his works, and in particular in the
+Pieve of Arezzo, in an altar-front wherein are stories of S. Donatus,
+and in S. Agnesa and S. Niccolo in the same city.
+
+Finally, he wrought many works in his own country, which went abroad;
+some of which are at Rome, in S. Giovanni and in S. Pietro, and some at
+Pisa, in S. Caterina, where, in the tramezzo[10] of the church, there is
+set up over an altar a panel with S. Catherine on it, and many scenes
+from her life with little figures, and a S. Francis with many scenes on
+a panel, on a ground of gold. And in the upper Church of S. Francesco
+d'Assisi there is a Crucifix by his hand, painted in the Greek manner,
+on a beam that crosses the church. All which works were in great esteem
+among the people of that age, although to-day by us they are not
+esteemed save as old things, good when art was not, as it is to-day, at
+its height. And seeing that Margaritone applied himself also to
+architecture, although I have not made mention of any buildings made
+with his design, because they are not of importance, I will yet not
+forbear to say that he, according to what I find, made the design and
+model of the Palazzo de' Governatori in the city of Ancona, after the
+Greek manner, in the year 1270; and what is more, he made in sculpture,
+on the principal front, eight windows, whereof each one has, in the
+space in the middle, two columns that support in the middle two arches,
+over which each window has a scene in half-relief that reaches from the
+said small arches up to the top of the window; a scene, I say, from the
+Old Testament, carved in a kind of stone that is found in that district.
+Under the said windows, on the facade, there are certain words that are
+understood rather at discretion than because they are either in good
+form or rightly written, wherein there is read the date and in whose
+time this work was made. By the hand of the same man, also, was the
+design of the Church of S. Ciriaco in Ancona. Margaritone died at the
+age of seventy-seven, disgusted, so it is said, to have lived so long,
+seeing the age changed and the honours with the new craftsmen. He was
+buried in the Duomo Vecchio without Arezzo, in a tomb of travertine, now
+gone to ruin in the destruction of that church; and there was made for
+him this epitaph:
+
+     HIC JACET ILLE BONUS PICTURA MARGARITONUS,
+     CUI REQUIEM DOMINUS TRADAT UBIQUE PIUS.
+
+The portrait of Margaritone, by the hand of Spinello, is in the Story of
+the Magi, in the said Duomo, and was copied by me before that church was
+pulled down.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 9: See note on p. 57.]
+
+[Footnote 10: See note on p. 57.]
+
+
+
+
+GIOTTO
+
+[Illustration: _Anderson_
+
+THE DEATH OF S. FRANCIS
+
+(_After the fresco by_ Giotto. _Florence: S. Croce_)]
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF GIOTTO,
+
+PAINTER, SCULPTOR, AND ARCHITECT, OF FLORENCE
+
+
+That very obligation which the craftsmen of painting owe to nature, who
+serves continually as model to those who are ever wresting the good from
+her best and most beautiful features and striving to counterfeit and to
+imitate her, should be owed, in my belief, to Giotto, painter of
+Florence, for the reason that, after the methods of good paintings and
+their outlines had lain buried for so many years under the ruins of the
+wars, he alone, although born among inept craftsmen, by the gift of God
+revived that art, which had come to a grievous pass, and brought it to
+such a form as could be called good. And truly it was a very great
+miracle that that age, gross and inept, should have had strength to work
+in Giotto in a fashion so masterly, that design, whereof the men of
+those times had little or no knowledge, was restored completely to life
+by means of him. And yet this great man was born at the village of
+Vespignano, in the district of Florence, fourteen miles distant from
+that city, in the year 1276, from a father named Bondone, a tiller of
+the soil and a simple fellow. He, having had this son, to whom he gave
+the name Giotto, reared him conformably to his condition; and when he
+had come to the age of ten, he showed in all his actions, although
+childish still, a vivacity and readiness of intelligence much out of the
+ordinary, which rendered him dear not only to his father but to all
+those also who knew him, both in the village and beyond. Now Bondone
+gave some sheep into his charge, and he, going about the holding, now in
+one part and now in another, to graze them, and impelled by a natural
+inclination to the art of design, was for ever drawing, on stones, on
+the ground, or on sand, something from nature, or in truth anything
+that came into his fancy. Wherefore Cimabue, going one day on some
+business of his own from Florence to Vespignano, found Giotto, while his
+sheep were browsing, portraying a sheep from nature on a flat and
+polished slab, with a stone slightly pointed, without having learnt any
+method of doing this from others, but only from nature; whence Cimabue,
+standing fast all in a marvel, asked him if he wished to go to live with
+him. The child answered that, his father consenting, he would go
+willingly. Cimabue then asking this from Bondone, the latter lovingly
+granted it to him, and was content that he should take the boy with him
+to Florence; whither having come, in a short time, assisted by nature
+and taught by Cimabue, the child not only equalled the manner of his
+master, but became so good an imitator of nature that he banished
+completely that rude Greek manner and revived the modern and good art of
+painting, introducing the portraying well from nature of living people,
+which had not been used for more than two hundred years. If, indeed,
+anyone had tried it, as has been said above, he had not succeeded very
+happily, nor as well by a great measure as Giotto, who portrayed among
+others, as is still seen to-day in the Chapel of the Palace of the
+Podesta at Florence, Dante Alighieri, a contemporary and his very great
+friend, and no less famous as poet than was in the same times Giotto as
+painter, so much praised by Messer Giovanni Boccaccio in the preface to
+the story of Messer Forese da Rabatta and of Giotto the painter himself.
+In the same chapel are the portraits, likewise by the same man's hand,
+of Ser Brunetto Latini, master of Dante, and of Messer Corso Donati, a
+great citizen of those times.
+
+[Illustration: _Anderson_
+
+S. FRANCIS PREACHING BEFORE POPE HONORIUS III
+
+(_After the fresco of the_ Roman School. _Assisi: Upper Church of S.
+Francesco_)]
+
+The first pictures of Giotto were in the chapel of the high-altar in the
+Badia of Florence, wherein he made many works held beautiful, but in
+particular a Madonna receiving the Annunciation, for the reason that in
+her he expressed vividly the fear and the terror that the salutation of
+Gabriel inspired in Mary the Virgin, who appears, all full of the
+greatest alarm, to be wishing almost to turn to flight. By the hand of
+Giotto, likewise, is the panel on the high-altar of the said chapel,
+which has been preserved there to our own day, and is still preserved
+there, more because of a certain reverence that is felt for the work of
+so great a man than for any other reason. And in S. Croce there are
+four chapels by the same man's hand: three between the sacristy and the
+great chapel, and one on the other side. In the first of the three,
+which is that of Messer Ridolfo de' Bardi, and is that wherein are the
+bell-ropes, is the life of S. Francis, in the death of whom a good
+number of friars show very naturally the expression of weeping. In the
+next, which is that of the family of Peruzzi, are two stories of the
+life of S. John the Baptist, to whom the chapel is dedicated; wherein
+great vivacity is seen in the dancing and leaping of Herodias, and in
+the promptness of some servants bustling at the service of the table. In
+the same are two marvellous stories of S. John the Evangelist--namely,
+when he brings Drusiana back to life, and when he is carried off into
+Heaven. In the third, which is that of the Giugni, dedicated to the
+Apostles, there are painted by the hand of Giotto the stories of the
+martyrdom of many of them. In the fourth, which is on the other side of
+the church, towards the north, and belongs to the Tosinghi and to the
+Spinelli, and is dedicated to the Assumption of Our Lady, Giotto painted
+her Birth, her Marriage, her Annunciation, the Adoration of the Magi,
+and when she presents Christ as a little Child to Simeon, which is
+something very beautiful, seeing that, besides a great affection that is
+seen in that old man as he receives Christ, the action of the child,
+stretching out its arms in fear of him and turning in terror towards its
+mother, could not be more touching or more beautiful. Next, in the death
+of the Madonna herself, there are the Apostles, and a good number of
+angels with torches in their hands, all very beautiful. In the Chapel of
+the Baroncelli, in the said church, is a panel in distemper by the hand
+of Giotto, wherein is executed with much diligence the Coronation of Our
+Lady, with a very great number of little figures and a choir of angels
+and saints, very diligently wrought. And because in that work there are
+written his name and the date in letters of gold, craftsmen who will
+consider at what time Giotto, with no glimmer of the good manner, gave a
+beginning to the good method of drawing and of colouring, will be forced
+to hold him in the highest veneration. In the same Church of S. Croce,
+over the marble tomb of Carlo Marsuppini of Arezzo, there is a Crucifix,
+with the Madonna, S. John, and Magdalene at the foot of the Cross; and
+on the other side of the church, exactly opposite this, over the
+burial-place of Lionardo Aretino, facing the high-altar, there is an
+Annunciation, which has been recoloured by modern painters, with small
+judgment on the part of him who has had this done. In the refectory, on
+a Tree of the Cross, are stories of S. Louis and a Last Supper by the
+same man's hand; and on the wardrobes in the sacristy are scenes with
+little figures from the life of Christ and of S. Francis. He wrought,
+also, in the Church of the Carmine, in the Chapel of S. Giovanni
+Battista, all the life of that Saint, divided into a number of pictures;
+and in the Palace of the Guelph party, in Florence, there is a story of
+the Christian Faith, painted perfectly in fresco by his hand; and
+therein is the portrait of Pope Clement IV, who created that magisterial
+body, giving it his arms, which it has always held and holds still.
+
+[Illustration: _Anderson_
+
+THE BODY OF S. FRANCIS BEFORE THE CHURCH OF S. DAMIANO
+
+(_After the fresco of the_ Roman School. _Assisi: Upper Church of S.
+Francesco_)]
+
+After these works, departing from Florence in order to go to finish in
+Assisi the works begun by Cimabue, in passing through Arezzo he painted
+in the Pieve the Chapel of S. Francesco, which is above the place of
+baptism; and on a round column, near a Corinthian capital that is both
+ancient and very beautiful, he portrayed from nature a S. Francis and a
+S. Dominic; and in the Duomo without Arezzo he painted the Stoning of S.
+Stephen in a little chapel, with a beautiful composition of figures.
+These works finished, he betook himself to Assisi, a city of Umbria,
+being called thither by Fra Giovanni di Muro della Marca, then General
+of the Friars of S. Francis; where, in the upper church, he painted in
+fresco, under the gallery that crosses the windows, on both sides of the
+church, thirty-two scenes of the life and acts of S. Francis--that is,
+sixteen on each wall--so perfectly that he acquired thereby very great
+fame. And in truth there is seen great variety in that work, not only in
+the gestures and attitudes of each figure but also in the composition of
+all the scenes; not to mention that it enables us very beautifully to
+see the diversity of the costumes of those times, and certain imitations
+and observations of the things of nature. Among others, there is one
+very beautiful scene, wherein a thirsty man, in whom the desire for
+water is vividly seen, is drinking, bending down on the ground by a
+fountain with very great and truly marvellous expression, in a manner
+that it seems almost a living person that is drinking. There are also
+many other things there most worthy of consideration, about which, in
+order not to be tedious, I do not enlarge further. Let it suffice that
+this whole work acquired for Giotto very great fame, by reason of the
+excellence of the figures and of the order, proportion, liveliness, and
+facility which he had from nature, and which he had made much greater by
+means of study, and was able to demonstrate clearly in all his works.
+And because, besides that which Giotto had from nature, he was most
+diligent and went on ever thinking out new ideas and wresting them from
+nature, he well deserved to be called the disciple of nature and not of
+others. The aforesaid scenes being finished, he painted in the same
+place, but in the lower church, the upper part of the walls at the sides
+of the high-altar, and all the four angles of the vaulting above in the
+place where lies the body of S. Francis; and all with inventions both
+fanciful and beautiful. In the first is S. Francis glorified in Heaven,
+surrounded by those virtues which are essential for him who wishes to be
+perfectly in the grace of God. On one side Obedience is placing a yoke
+on the neck of a friar who is before her on his knees, and the bands of
+the yoke are drawn by certain hands towards Heaven; and, enjoining
+silence with one finger to her lips, she has her eyes on Jesus Christ,
+who is shedding blood from His side. And in company with this virtue are
+Prudence and Humility, in order to show that where there is true
+obedience there are ever humility and prudence, which enable us to carry
+out every action well. In the second angle is Chastity, who, standing in
+a very strong fastness, is refusing to be conquered either by kingdoms
+or crowns or palms that some are presenting to her. At her feet is
+Purity, who is washing naked figures; and Force is busy leading people
+to wash and purify themselves. Near to Chastity, on one side, is
+Penitence, who is chasing Love away with a Discipline, and putting to
+flight Impurity. In the third space is Poverty, who is walking with bare
+feet on thorns, and has a dog that is barking at her from behind, and
+about her a boy who is throwing stones at her, and another who is busy
+pushing some thorns with a stick against her legs. And this Poverty is
+seen here being espoused by S. Francis, while Jesus Christ is holding
+her hand, there being present, not without mystic meaning, Hope and
+Compassion. In the fourth and last of the said spaces is a S. Francis,
+also glorified, in the white tunic of a deacon, and shown triumphant in
+Heaven in the midst of a multitude of angels who are forming a choir
+round him, with a standard whereon is a Cross with seven stars; and on
+high is the Holy Spirit. Within each of these angles are some Latin
+words that explain the scenes. In like manner, besides the said four
+angles, there are pictures on the side walls which are very beautiful
+and truly to be held in great price, both by reason of the perfection
+that is seen in them and because they were wrought with so great
+diligence that up to our own day they have remained fresh. In these
+pictures is the portrait of Giotto himself, very well made, and over the
+door of the sacristy, by the same man's hand and also in fresco, there
+is a S. Francis who is receiving the Stigmata, so loving and devout that
+to me it appears the most excellent picture that Giotto made in these
+works, which are all truly beautiful and worthy of praise.
+
+Having finished, then, for the last, the said S. Francis, he returned to
+Florence, where, on arriving there, he painted, on a panel that was to
+be sent to Pisa, a S. Francis on the tremendous rock of La Vernia, with
+extraordinary diligence, seeing that, besides certain landscapes full of
+trees and cliffs, which was something new in those times, there are seen
+in the attitude of a S. Francis, who is kneeling and receiving the
+Stigmata with much readiness, a most ardent desire to receive them and
+infinite love towards Jesus Christ, who, being surrounded in the sky by
+seraphim, is granting them to him with an expression so vivid that
+anything better cannot be imagined. In the lower part of the same panel
+there are three very beautiful scenes of the life of the same Saint.
+This panel, which to-day is seen in S. Francesco in Pisa on a pillar
+beside the high-altar, and is held in great veneration as a memorial of
+so great a man, was the reason that the Pisans, having just finished the
+building of the Campo Santo after the design of Giovanni, son of Niccola
+Pisano, as has been said above, gave to Giotto the painting of part of
+the inner walls, to the end that, since this so great fabric was all
+incrusted on the outer side with marbles and with carvings made at very
+great cost, and roofed over with lead, and also full of sarcophagi and
+ancient tombs once belonging to the heathens and brought to Pisa from
+various parts of the world, even so it might be adorned within, on the
+walls, with the noblest painting. Having gone to Pisa, then, for this
+purpose, Giotto made in fresco, on the first part of a wall in that
+Campo Santo, six large stories of the most patient Job. And because he
+judiciously reflected that the marbles of that part of the building
+where he had to work were turned towards the sea, and that, all being
+saline marbles, they are ever damp by reason of the south-east winds and
+throw out a certain salt moisture, even as the bricks of Pisa do for the
+most part, and that therefore the colours and the paintings fade and
+corrode, he caused to be made over the whole surface where he wished to
+work in fresco, to the end that his work might be preserved as long as
+possible, a coating, or in truth an intonaco or incrustation--that is to
+say, with lime, gypsum, and powdered brick all mixed together; so
+suitably that the pictures which he afterwards made thereon have been
+preserved up to the present day. And they would be still better if the
+negligence of those who should have taken care of them had not allowed
+them to be much injured by the damp, because the fact that this was not
+provided for, as was easily possible, has been the reason that these
+pictures, having suffered from damp, have been spoilt in certain places,
+and the flesh-colours have been blackened, and the intonaco has peeled
+off; not to mention that the nature of gypsum, when it has been mixed
+with lime, is to corrode in time and to grow rotten, whence it arises
+that afterwards, perforce, it spoils the colours, although it appears at
+the beginning to take a good and firm hold. In these scenes, besides the
+portrait of Messer Farinata degli Uberti, there are many beautiful
+figures, and above all certain villagers, who, in carrying the grievous
+news to Job, could not be more full of feeling nor show better than they
+do the grief that they felt over the lost cattle and over the other
+misadventures. Likewise there is amazing grace in the figure of a
+man-servant who is standing with a fan beside Job, who is covered with
+ulcers and almost abandoned by all; and although he is well done in
+every part, he is marvellous in the attitude that he strikes in chasing
+the flies from his leprous and stinking master with one hand, while with
+the other he is holding his nose in disgust, in order not to notice the
+stench. In like manner, the other figures in these scenes and the heads
+both of the males and of the women are very beautiful; and the draperies
+are wrought to such a degree of softness that it is no marvel if this
+work acquired for him so great fame, both in that city and abroad, that
+Pope Benedict IX of Treviso sent one of his courtiers into Tuscany to
+see what sort of man was Giotto, and of what kind his works, having
+designed to have some pictures made in S. Pietro. This courtier, coming
+in order to see Giotto and to hear what other masters there were in
+Florence excellent in painting and in mosaic, talked to many masters in
+Siena. Then, having received drawings from them, he came to Florence,
+and having gone into the shop of Giotto, who was working, declared to
+him the mind of the Pope and in what way it was proposed to make use of
+his labour, and at last asked him for some little drawing, to the end
+that he might send it to His Holiness. Giotto, who was most courteous,
+took a paper, and on that, with a brush dipped in red, holding his arm
+fast against his side in order to make a compass, with a turn of the
+hand he made a circle, so true in proportion and circumference that to
+behold it was a marvel. This done, he smiled and said to the courtier:
+"Here is your drawing." He, thinking he was being derided, said: "Am I
+to have no other drawing but this?" "'Tis enough and to spare," answered
+Giotto. "Send it, together with the others, and you will see if it will
+be recognized." The envoy, seeing that he could get nothing else, left
+him, very ill-satisfied and doubting that he had been fooled. All the
+same, sending to the Pope the other drawings and the names of those who
+had made them, he also sent that of Giotto, relating the method that he
+had followed in making his circle without moving his arm and without
+compasses. Wherefore the Pope and many courtiers that were versed in the
+arts recognized by this how much Giotto surpassed in excellence all the
+other painters of his time. This matter having afterwards spread abroad,
+there was born from it the proverb that is still wont to be said to men
+of gross wits: "Tu sei piu tondo che l' O di Giotto!" ("Thou art
+rounder than Giotto's circle"). This proverb can be called beautiful not
+only from the occasion that gave it birth, but also for its
+significance, which consists in the double meaning; tondo being used, in
+Tuscany, both for the perfect shape of a circle and for slowness and
+grossness of understanding.
+
+[Illustration: _Anderson_
+
+THE RAISING OF LAZARUS
+
+(_After the fresco by_ Giotto and his Pupils. _Assisi: Lower Church of
+S. Francesco_)]
+
+The aforesaid Pope then made him come to Rome, where, honouring him much
+and appreciating his talents, he made him paint five scenes from the
+life of Christ in the apse of S. Pietro, and the chief panel in the
+sacristy, which were all executed by him with so great diligence that
+there never issued from his hands any more finished work in distemper.
+Wherefore he well deserved that the Pope, holding himself to have been
+well served, should cause to be given to him six hundred ducats of gold,
+besides granting him so many favours that they were talked of throughout
+all Italy.
+
+About this time--in order to withhold nothing worthy of remembrance in
+connection with art--there was in Rome one Oderigi d'Agobbio, who was
+much the friend of Giotto and an excellent illuminator for those days.
+This man, being summoned for this purpose by the Pope, illuminated many
+books for the library of the palace, which are now in great part eaten
+away by time. And in my book of ancient drawings are some remains from
+the very hand of this man, who in truth was an able man; although a much
+better master than Oderigi was Franco Bolognese, who wrought a number of
+works excellently in that manner for the same Pope and for the same
+library, about the same time, as can be seen in the said book, wherein I
+have designs by his hand both in painting and in illumination, and among
+them an eagle very well done, and a very beautiful lion that is tearing
+a tree. Of these two excellent illuminators Dante makes mention in the
+eleventh canto of the _Purgatorio_, where he is talking of the
+vainglorious, in these verses:
+
+     O, dissi a lui, non se' tu Oderigi,
+     L'onor d'Agobbio, e l'onor di quell'arte
+     Che alluminare e chiamata in Parigi?
+     Frate, diss'egli, piu ridon le carte
+     Che pennelleggia Franco Bolognese;
+     L'onor e tutto suo, e mio in parte.
+
+The Pope, having seen these works, and the manner of Giotto pleasing him
+infinitely, ordered him to make scenes from the Old Testament and the
+New right round S. Pietro; wherefore, for a beginning, Giotto made in
+fresco the Angel that is over the organ, seven braccia high, and many
+other paintings, whereof part have been restored by others in our own
+days, and part, in founding the new walls, have been either destroyed or
+removed from the old edifice of S. Pietro, up to the space below the
+organ; such as a Madonna on a wall, which, to the end that it might not
+be thrown to the ground, was cut right out of the wall and made fast
+with beams and iron bars and thus removed, and afterwards built in, by
+reason of its beauty, in the place that pleased the pious love that is
+borne towards everything excellent in art by Messer Niccolo Acciaiuoli,
+doctor of Florence, who richly adorned this work of Giotto with
+stucco-work and also with modern paintings. By his hand, also, was the
+Navicella in mosaic that is over the three doors of the portico in the
+court of S. Pietro, which is truly marvellous and deservedly praised by
+all beautiful minds, because in it, besides the design, there is the
+grouping of the Apostles, who are travailing in diverse manners through
+the sea-tempest, while the winds are blowing into a sail, which has so
+high a relief that a real one would not have more; and moreover it is
+difficult to have to make with those pieces of glass a unity such as
+that which is seen in the lights and shadows of so great a sail, which
+could only be equalled by the brush with great difficulty and by making
+every possible effort; not to mention that in a fisherman, who is
+fishing from a rock with a line, there is seen an attitude of extreme
+patience proper to that art, and in his face the hope and the wish to
+make a catch. Under this work are three little arches in fresco, of
+which, since they are for the greater part spoilt, I will say no more.
+The praises universally given by craftsmen to this work are well
+deserved.
+
+Giotto, having afterwards painted on a panel a large Crucifix coloured
+in distemper, for the Minerva, a church of the Preaching Friars,
+returned to his own country, having been abroad six years. But no long
+time after, by reason of the death of Pope Benedict IX, Clement V was
+created Pope in Perugia, and Giotto was forced to betake himself with
+that Pope to the place where he brought his Court, to Avignon, in order
+to do certain works there; and having gone there, he made, not only in
+Avignon but in many other places in France, many very beautiful panels
+and pictures in fresco, which pleased the Pontiff and the whole Court
+infinitely. Wherefore, the work dispatched, the Pope dismissed him
+lovingly and with many gifts, and he returned home no less rich than
+honoured and famous; and among the rest he brought back the portrait of
+that Pope, which he gave afterwards to Taddeo Gaddi, his disciple. And
+this return of Giotto to Florence was in the year 1316. But it was not
+granted to him to stay long in Florence, because, being summoned to
+Padua by the agency of the Signori della Scala, he painted a very
+beautiful chapel in the Santo, a church built in those times. From there
+he went to Verona, where, for Messer Cane, he made certain pictures in
+his palace, and in particular the portrait of that lord; and a panel for
+the Friars of S. Francis. These works completed, in returning to Tuscany
+he was forced to stay in Ferrara, and he painted at the behest of those
+Signori d'Este, in their palace and in S. Agostino, some works that are
+still seen there to-day. Meanwhile, it coming to the ears of Dante, poet
+of Florence, that Giotto was in Ferrara, he so contrived that he brought
+him to Ravenna, where he was living in exile; and he caused him to make
+round the Church of S. Francesco, for the Signori da Polenta, some
+scenes in fresco that are passing good. Next, having gone from Ravenna
+to Urbino, there too he wrought some works. Then, chancing to pass
+through Arezzo, he could not but comply with the wish of Piero Saccone,
+who had been much his friend; wherefore he made for him in fresco, on a
+pillar in the principal chapel of the Vescovado, a S. Martin who has cut
+his cloak in half and is giving one part of it to a beggar, who is
+standing before him almost wholly naked. Then, having made for the Abbey
+of S. Fiore a large Crucifix painted in distemper on wood, which is
+to-day in the middle of that church, he returned finally to Florence,
+where, among many other works, he made some pictures in the Convent of
+the Nuns of Faenza, both in fresco and in distemper, that are not in
+existence to-day, by reason of the destruction of that convent. In the
+year 1322, likewise--Dante, very much his friend, having died in the
+year before, to his great sorrow--he went to Lucca, and at the request
+of Castruccio, then Lord of that city, his birthplace, he made a panel
+in S. Martino with a Christ in air and four Saints, Protectors of that
+city--namely, S. Peter, S. Regulus, S. Martin, and S. Paulinus--who
+appear to be recommending a Pope and an Emperor, who, according to what
+is believed by many, are Frederick of Bavaria and the Anti-Pope Nicholas
+V. Some, likewise, believe that Giotto designed the castle and fortress
+of Giusta, which is impregnable, at San Frediano, in the same city of
+Lucca.
+
+Afterwards, Giotto having returned to Florence, Robert, King of Naples,
+wrote to Charles, King of Calabria, his first-born son, who chanced to
+be in Florence, that he should send him Giotto to Naples at all costs,
+for the reason that, having finished the building of S. Chiara, a
+convent of nuns and a royal church, he wished that it should be adorned
+by him with noble paintings. Giotto, then, hearing himself summoned by a
+King so greatly renowned and famous, went more than willingly to serve
+him, and, on arriving, painted many scenes from the Old Testament and
+the New in some chapels of the said convent. And the scenes from the
+Apocalypse that he made in one of the said chapels are said to have been
+inventions of Dante; and this may be also true of those at Assisi, so
+greatly renowned, whereof there has been enough said above. And although
+Dante at that time was dead, they may have held discourse on these
+matters, as often comes to pass between friends.
+
+[Illustration: GIOTTO: MADONNA AND CHILD
+
+(_Florence: Accademia 103. Panel_)]
+
+But to return to Naples; Giotto made many works in the Castel dell'Uovo,
+and in particular the chapel, which much pleased that King, by whom he
+was so greatly beloved that many times, while working, Giotto found
+himself entertained by the King in person, who took pleasure in seeing
+him at work and in hearing his discourse. And Giotto, who had ever some
+jest on his tongue and some witty repartee in readiness, would entertain
+him with his hand, in painting, and with pleasant discourse, in his
+jesting. Wherefore, the King saying to him one day that he wished to
+make him the first man in Naples, Giotto answered, "And for that end
+am I lodged at the Porta Reale, in order to be the first in Naples."
+Another time, the King saying to him, "Giotto, an I were you, now that
+it is hot, I would give over painting for a little;" he answered, "And
+I, i' faith, an I were you." Being then very dear to the King, he made
+for him a good number of pictures in a hall (that King Alfonso I pulled
+down in order to make the Castle), and also in the Incoronata; and among
+others in the said hall were the portraits of many famous men, and among
+them that of Giotto himself. Now the King having one day out of caprice
+besought him to paint his realm for him, Giotto, so it is said, painted
+for him an ass saddled, that had at its feet a new pack-saddle, and was
+sniffing at it and making semblance of desiring it; and on both the old
+pack-saddle and the new one were the royal crown and the sceptre of
+sovereignty; wherefore Giotto, being asked by the King what such a
+picture signified, answered that such were his subjects and such the
+kingdom, wherein every day a new lord was desired.
+
+Departing from Naples in order to go to Rome, Giotto stopped at Gaeta,
+where he was forced to paint some scenes from the Old Testament in the
+Nunziata, which are now spoilt by time, but yet not so completely that
+there may not be seen in them very well the portrait of Giotto himself,
+near a large and very beautiful Crucifix. This work finished, not being
+able to refuse this to Signor Malatesta, he first occupied himself in
+his service for some days in Rome, and afterwards he betook himself to
+Rimini, of which city the said Malatesta was lord; and there, in the
+Church of S. Francesco, he made very many pictures, which were
+afterwards thrown to the ground and destroyed by Gismondo, son of
+Pandolfo Malatesta, who rebuilt the whole said church anew. In the
+cloisters of the said place, also, opposite to the wall of the church,
+he painted in fresco the story of the Blessed Michelina, which was one
+of the most beautiful and excellent works that Giotto ever made, by
+reason of the many and beautiful ideas that he had in working thereon;
+for besides the beauty of the draperies, and the grace and vivacity of
+the heads, which are miraculous, there is a young woman therein as
+beautiful as ever a woman can be, who, in order to clear herself from
+the false charge of adultery, is taking oath over a book in a most
+wonderful attitude, holding her eyes fixed on those of her husband, who
+was making her take the oath by reason of mistrust in a black son born
+from her, whom he could in no way bring himself to believe to be his.
+She, even as the husband is showing disdain and distrust in his face, is
+making clear with the purity of her brow and of her eyes, to those who
+are most intently gazing on her, her innocence and simplicity, and the
+wrong that he is doing to her in making her take oath and in proclaiming
+her wrongly as a harlot.
+
+In like manner, very great feeling was that which he expressed in a sick
+man stricken with certain sores, seeing that all the women who are round
+him, overcome by the stench, are making certain grimaces of disgust, the
+most gracious in the world. The foreshortenings, next, that are seen in
+another picture among a quantity of beggars that he portrayed, are very
+worthy of praise and should be held in great price among craftsmen,
+because from them there came the first beginning and method of making
+them, not to mention that it cannot be said that they are not passing
+good for early work. But above everything else that is in this work,
+most marvellous is the gesture that the aforesaid Blessed Michelina is
+making towards certain usurers, who are disbursing to her the money from
+the sale of her possessions for giving to the poor, seeing that in her
+there is shown contempt of money and of the other things of this earth,
+which appear to disgust her, and, in them, the personification of human
+avarice and greed. Very beautiful, too, is the figure of one who, while
+counting the money, appears to be making sign to the notary who is
+writing, considering that, although he has his eyes on the notary, he is
+yet keeping his hands on the money, thus revealing his love of it, his
+avarice, and his distrust. In like manner, the three figures that are
+upholding the garments of S. Francis in the sky, representing Obedience,
+Patience, and Poverty, are worthy of infinite praise, above all because
+there is in the manner of the draperies a natural flow of folds that
+gives us to know that Giotto was born in order to give light to
+painting. Besides this, he portrayed Signor Malatesta on a ship in this
+work, so naturally that he appears absolutely alive; and some mariners
+and other people, in their promptness, their expressions, and their
+attitudes--and particularly a figure that is speaking with some others
+and spits into the sea, putting one hand up to his face--give us to know
+the excellence of Giotto. And certainly, among all the works of painting
+made by this master, this may be said to be one of the best, for the
+reason that there is not one figure in so great a number that does not
+show very great craftsmanship, and that is not placed in some
+characteristic attitude. And therefore it is no marvel that Signor
+Malatesta did not fail to reward him magnificently and to praise him.
+
+Having finished his labours for that lord, he complied with the request
+of a Prior of Florence who was then at S. Cataldo d'Arimini, and made a
+S. Thomas Aquinas, reading to his friars, without the door of the
+church. Departing thence, he returned to Ravenna and painted a chapel in
+fresco in S. Giovanni Evangelista, which is much extolled. Having next
+returned to Florence with very great honour and ample means, he painted
+a Crucifix on wood and in distemper for S. Marco, larger than life and
+on a ground of gold, which was placed on the right hand in the church.
+And he made another like it in S. Maria Novella, whereon Puccio Capanna,
+his pupil, worked in company with him; and this is still to-day over the
+principal door, on the right as you enter the church, over the tomb of
+the Gaddi. And in the same church, over the tramezzo,[11] he made a S.
+Louis for Paolo di Lotto Ardinghelli, and at the foot thereof the
+portrait of him and of his wife, from the life.
+
+Afterwards, in the year 1327, Guido Tarlati da Pietramala, Bishop and
+Lord of Arezzo, died at Massa di Maremma in returning from Lucca, where
+he had been to visit the Emperor, and after his body had been brought to
+Arezzo and the most magnificent funeral honours had been paid to it,
+Piero Saccone and Dolfo da Pietramala, the brother of the Bishop,
+determined that there should be made for him a tomb in marble worthy of
+the greatness of so notable a man, who had been a lord both spiritual
+and temporal, and head of the Ghibelline party in Tuscany. Wherefore,
+having written to Giotto that he should make the design of a tomb very
+rich and with all possible adornment, and having sent him the
+measurements, they prayed him afterwards that he should place at their
+disposal the sculptor who was the most excellent, according to his
+opinion, of all that were in Italy, because they were relying wholly on
+his judgment. Giotto, who was most courteous, made the design and sent
+it to them; and after this design, as will be told in the proper place,
+the said tomb was made. And because the said Piero Saccone had infinite
+love for the talent of this man, having taken Borgo a San Sepolcro no
+long time after he had received the said design, he brought from there
+to Arezzo a panel with little figures by the hand of Giotto, which
+afterwards fell to pieces; and Baccio Gondi, nobleman of Florence, a
+lover of these noble arts and of every talent, being Commissary of
+Arezzo, sought out the pieces of this panel with great diligence, and
+having found some brought them to Florence, where he holds them in great
+veneration, together with some other works that he has by the hand of
+the same Giotto, who wrought so many that their number is almost beyond
+belief. And not many years ago, chancing to be at the Hermitage of
+Camaldoli, where I have wrought many works for those reverend Fathers, I
+saw in a cell, whither it had been brought by the Very Reverend Don
+Antonio da Pisa, then General of the Congregation of Camaldoli, a very
+beautiful little Crucifix on a ground of gold, with the name of Giotto
+in his own hand; which Crucifix, according to what I hear from the
+Reverend Don Silvano Razzi, monk of Camaldoli, is kept to-day in the
+cell of the Superior of the Monastery of the Angeli, as being a very
+rare work and by the hand of Giotto, in company with a most beautiful
+little picture by Raffaello da Urbino.
+
+For the Frati Umiliati of Ognissanti in Florence, Giotto painted a
+chapel and four panels, in one of which there was the Madonna, with many
+angels round her and the Child in her arms, and a large Crucifix on
+wood, whereof Puccio Capanna took the design and wrought many of them
+afterwards throughout all Italy, having much practice in the manner of
+Giotto. In the tramezzo[12] of the said church, when this book of the
+Lives of the Painters, Sculptors, and Architects was printed the first
+time, there was a little panel in distemper painted by Giotto with
+infinite diligence, wherein was the death of Our Lady, with the
+Apostles round her and with a Christ who is receiving her soul into His
+arms. This work was much praised by the craftsmen of painting, and in
+particular by Michelagnolo Buonarroti, who declared, as was said another
+time, that the quality of this painted story could not be more like to
+the truth than it is. This little panel, I say, having come into notice
+from the time when the book of these Lives was first published, was
+afterwards carried off by someone unknown, who, perhaps out of love for
+art and out of piety, it seeming to him that it was little esteemed,
+became, as said our poet, impious. And truly it was a miracle in those
+times that Giotto had so great loveliness in his painting, considering,
+above all, that he learnt the art in a certain measure without a master.
+
+After these works, in the year 1334, on July 9, he put his hand to the
+Campanile of S. Maria del Fiore, whereof the foundation was a platform
+of strong stone, in a pit sunk twenty braccia deep from which water and
+gravel had been removed; upon this platform he made a good mass of
+concrete, that reached to the height of twelve braccia above the first
+foundation, and the rest--namely, the other eight braccia--he caused to
+be made of masonry. And at this beginning and foundation there
+officiated the Bishop of the city, who, in the presence of all the
+clergy and all the magistrates, solemnly laid the first stone. This
+work, then, being carried on with the said model, which was in the
+German manner that was in use in those times, Giotto designed all the
+scenes that were going into the ornamentation, and marked out the model
+with white, black, and red colours in all those places wherein the
+marbles and the friezes were to go, with much diligence. The circuit
+round the base was one hundred braccia--that is, twenty-five braccia for
+each side--and the height, one hundred and forty-four braccia. And if
+that is true, and I hold it as of the truest, which Lorenzo di Cione
+Ghiberti has left in writing, Giotto made not only the model of this
+campanile, but also part of those scenes in marble wherein are the
+beginnings of all the arts, in sculpture and in relief. And the said
+Lorenzo declares that he saw models in relief by the hand of Giotto, and
+in particular those of these works; which circumstance can be easily
+believed, design and invention being father and mother of all these
+arts and not of one alone. This campanile was destined, according to the
+model of Giotto, to have a spire, or rather a pyramid, four-sided and
+fifty braccia high, as a completion to what is now seen; but, for the
+reason that it was a German idea and in an old manner, modern architects
+have never done aught but advise that it should not be made, the work
+seeming to be better as it is. For all these works Giotto was not only
+made citizen of Florence, but was given a pension of one hundred florins
+yearly by the Commune of Florence, which was something very great in
+those times; and he was made overseer over this work, which was carried
+on after him by Taddeo Gaddi, for he did not live so long as to be able
+to see it finished.
+
+Now, while this work continued to be carried forward, he made a panel
+for the Nuns of S. Giorgio, and three half-length figures in an arch
+over the inner side of the door of the Badia in Florence, now covered
+with whitewash in order to give more light to the church. And in the
+Great Hall of the Podesta of Florence he painted the Commune (an idea
+stolen by many), representing it as sitting in the form of Judge,
+sceptre in hand, and over its head he placed the balanced scales as
+symbol of the just decisions administered by it, accompanying it with
+four Virtues, that are, Strength with courage, Wisdom with the laws,
+Justice with arms, and Temperance with words; this work is beautiful as
+a picture, and characteristic and appropriate in invention.
+
+[Illustration: _Alinari_
+
+THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT
+
+(_After the fresco by_ Giotto. _Padua: Arena Chapel_)]
+
+Afterwards, having gone again to Padua, besides many other works and
+chapels that he painted there, he made a Mundane Glory in the precincts
+of the Arena, which gained him much honour and profit. In Milan, also,
+he wrought certain works, that are scattered throughout that city and
+held most beautiful even to this day. Finally, having returned from
+Milan, no long time passed before he gave up his soul to God, having
+wrought so many most beautiful works in his life, and having been no
+less good as Christian than he was excellent as painter. He died in the
+year 1336, to the great grief of all his fellow-citizens--nay, of all
+those who had known him or even only heard his name--and he was buried,
+even as his virtues deserved, with great honour, having been loved by
+all while he lived, and in particular by the men excellent in all the
+professions, seeing that, besides Dante, of whom we have spoken
+above, he was much honoured by Petrarca, both he and his works, so
+greatly that it is read in Petrarca's testament that he left to Signor
+Francesco da Carrara, Lord of Padua, among other things held by him in
+the highest veneration, a picture by the hand of Giotto containing a
+Madonna, as something rare and very dear to him. And the words of that
+clause in the testament run thus:
+
+"Transeo ad dispositionem aliarum rerum; et praedicto igitur domino meo
+Paduano, quia et ipse per Dei gratiam non eget, et ego nihil aliud habeo
+dignum se, mitto tabulam meam sive historiam Beatae Virginis Mariae, opus
+Jocti pictoris egregii, quae mihi ab amico meo Michaele Vannis de
+Florentia missa est, in cujus pulchritudinem ignorantes non intelligunt,
+magistri autem artis stupent; hanc iconam ipsi domino lego, ut ipsa
+Virgo benedicta sibi sit propitia apud filium suum Jesum Christum."
+
+And the same Petrarch, in a Latin epistle in the fifth book of his
+_Familiar Letters_, says these words:
+
+"Atque (ut a veteribus ad nova, ab externis ad nostra transgrediar) duos
+ego novi pictores egregios, nec formosos, Joctum Florentinum civem,
+cujus inter modernos fama ingens est, et Simonem Senensem. Novi
+scultores aliquot," etc.
+
+Giotto was buried in S. Maria del Fiore, on the left side as you enter
+the church, where there is a slab of white marble in memory of so great
+a man. And, as was told in the Life of Cimabue, a commentator of Dante,
+who lived at the same time as Giotto, said: "Giotto was and is the most
+eminent among painters in the same city of Florence, and his works bear
+testimony for him in Rome, in Naples, in Avignon, in Florence, in Padua,
+and in many other parts of the world."
+
+His disciples were Taddeo Gaddi, held by him at baptism, as has been
+said, and Puccio Capanna of Florence, who, working at Rimini in the
+Church of S. Cataldo, belonging to the Preaching Friars, painted
+perfectly in fresco the hull of a ship which appears to be sinking in
+the sea, with men who are throwing things into the sea, one of whom is
+Puccio himself portrayed from life among a good number of mariners. The
+same man painted many works after the death of Giotto in the Church of
+S. Francesco at Assisi, and in the Church of S. Trinita in Florence,
+near the side-door towards the river, he painted the Chapel of the
+Strozzi, wherein is the Coronation of the Madonna in fresco, with a
+choir of angels which draw very much to the manner of Giotto; and on the
+sides are stories of S. Lucia, very well wrought. In the Badia of
+Florence he painted the Chapel of S. Giovanni Evangelista, belonging to
+the family of Covoni, beside the sacristry; and in Pistoia he wrought in
+fresco the principal chapel of the Church of S. Francesco and the Chapel
+of S. Lodovico, with the stories of those Saints, passing well painted.
+In the middle of the Church of S. Domenico, in the same city, there are
+a Crucifix, a Madonna, and a S. John, wrought with much sweetness, and
+at their feet a complete human skeleton, wherein (and this was something
+unusual in those times) Puccio showed that he had sought to find the
+foundations of art. In this work there is read his name, written by
+himself in this fashion: PUCCIO DI FIORENZA ME FECE. In the arch over
+the door of S. Maria Nuova in the said church there are three
+half-length figures by his hand, Our Lady with the Child in her arms,
+and S. Peter on one side, and on the other S. Francis. He also painted
+in the aforesaid city of Assisi, in the lower Church of S. Francesco,
+some scenes of the Passion of Jesus Christ in fresco, with good and very
+resolute mastery, and in the chapel of the Church of S. Maria degli
+Angeli he wrought in fresco a Christ in Glory, with the Virgin praying
+to Him for the Christian people; this work, which is passing good, has
+been all blackened by the smoke of the lamps and the candles that are
+burning there continually in great quantity. And in truth, in so far as
+it can be judged, Puccio had the manner and the whole method of working
+of his master Giotto, and knew how to make good use of it in the works
+that he wrought, even if, as some have it, he did not live long, having
+fallen sick and died by reason of labouring too much in fresco. By his
+hand, in so far as is known, is the Chapel of S. Martino in the same
+church, with the stories of that Saint, wrought in fresco for Cardinal
+Gentile. There is seen, also, in the middle of the street called
+Portica, a Christ at the Column, and in a square picture there is Our
+Lady, with S. Catherine and S. Clara, one on either side of her. There
+are works by his hand scattered about in many other places, such as a
+panel with the Passion of Christ, and stories of S. Francis, in the
+tramezzo[13] of the church in Bologna; and many others, in short, that
+are passed by for the sake of brevity. I will say, indeed, that in
+Assisi, where most of his works are, and where it appears to me that he
+assisted Giotto in painting, I have found that they hold him as their
+fellow-citizen, and that there are still to-day in that city some of the
+family of the Capanni. Wherefore it may easily be believed that he was
+born in Florence, having written so himself, and that he was a disciple
+of Giotto, but that afterwards he took a wife in Assisi, that there he
+had children, and that now he has descendants there. But because it is
+of little importance to know this exactly, it is enough to say that he
+was a good master.
+
+Likewise a disciple of Giotto and a very masterly painter was Ottaviano
+da Faenza, who painted many works at Ferrara in S. Giorgio, the seat of
+the Monks of Monte Oliveto; and in Faenza, where he lived and died, he
+painted, in the arch over the door of S. Francesco, a Madonna, S. Peter
+and S. Paul, and many other works in his said birthplace and in Bologna.
+
+A disciple of Giotto, also, was Pace da Faenza, who stayed with him long
+and assisted him in many works; and in Bologna there are some scenes in
+fresco by his hand on the facade of S. Giovanni Decollato. This Pace was
+an able man, particularly in making little figures, as can be seen to
+this day in the Church of S. Francesco at Forli, in a Tree of the Cross,
+and in a little panel in distemper, wherein is the life of Christ, with
+four little scenes from the life of Our Lady, all very well wrought. It
+is said that he wrought in fresco, in the Chapel of S. Antonio at
+Assisi, some stories of the life of that Saint, for a Duke of Spoleto
+who is buried in that place together with his son, both having died
+fighting in certain suburbs of Assisi, according to what is seen in a
+long inscription that is on the sarcophagus of the said tomb. In the old
+book of the Company of Painters it is found that the same man had
+another disciple, Francesco, called di Maestro Giotto, of whom I have
+nothing else to relate.
+
+Guglielmo of Forli was also a disciple of Giotto, and besides many other
+works he painted the chapel of the high-altar in S. Domenico at Forli,
+his native city. Disciples of Giotto, also, were Pietro Laurati and
+Simon Memmi of Siena, Stefano, a Florentine, and Pietro Cavallini, a
+Roman; but, seeing that of all these there is account in the Life of
+each one of them, let it suffice to have said in this place that they
+were disciples of Giotto, who drew very well for his time and for that
+manner, whereunto witness is borne by many sheets of parchment drawn by
+his hand in water-colour, outlined with the pen, in chiaroscuro, with
+the high lights in white, which are in our book of drawings, and are
+truly a marvel in comparison with those of the masters that lived before
+him.
+
+Giotto, as it has been said, was very ingenious and humorous, and very
+witty in his sayings, whereof there is still vivid memory in that city;
+for besides that which Messer Giovanni Boccaccio wrote about him, Franco
+Sacchetti, in his three hundred Stories, relates many of them that are
+very beautiful. Of these I will not forbear to write down some with the
+very words of Franco himself, to the end that, together with the story
+itself, there may be seen certain modes of speech and expressions of
+those times. He says in one, then, to give it its heading:
+
+"To Giotto, a great painter, is given a buckler to paint by a man of
+small account. He, making a jest of it, paints it in such a fashion that
+the other is put to confusion."
+
+The story: "Everyone must have heard already who was Giotto, and how
+great a painter he was above every other. A clownish fellow, having
+heard his fame and having need, perchance for doing watch and ward, to
+have a buckler of his painted, went off incontinent to the shop of
+Giotto, with one who carried his buckler behind him, and, arriving where
+he found Giotto, said, 'God save thee, master, I would have thee paint
+my arms on this buckler.' Giotto, considering the man and the way of
+him, said no other word save this, 'When dost thou want it?' And he told
+him; and Giotto said, 'Leave it to me'; and off he went. And Giotto,
+being left alone, ponders to himself, 'What meaneth this? Can this
+fellow have been sent to me in jest? Howsoever it may be, never was
+there brought to me a buckler to paint, and he who brings it is a
+simple manikin and bids me make him his arms as if he were of the
+blood-royal of France; i' faith, I must make him a new fashion of arms.'
+And so, pondering within himself, he put the said buckler before him,
+and, having designed what seemed good to him, bade one of his disciples
+finish the painting, and so he did; which painting was a helmet, a
+gorget, a pair of arm-pieces, a pair of iron gauntlets, a cuirass and a
+back-piece, a pair of thigh-pieces, a pair of leg-pieces, a sword, a
+dagger, and a lance. The great man, who knew not what he was in for, on
+arriving, comes forward and says, 'Master, is it painted, that buckler?'
+Said Giotto, 'Of a truth, it is; go, someone, and bring it down.' The
+buckler coming, that would-be gentleman begins to look at it and says to
+Giotto, 'What filthy mess is this that thou hast painted for me?' Said
+Giotto, 'And it will seem to thee a right filthy business in the
+paying.' Said he, 'I will not pay four farthings for it.' Said Giotto,
+'And what didst thou tell me that I was to paint?' And he answered, 'My
+arms.' Said Giotto,' And are they not here? Is there one wanting?' Said
+the fellow, 'Well, well!' Said Giotto, 'Nay, 'tis not well, God help
+thee! And a great booby must thou be, for if one asked thee, "Who art
+thou?" scarce wouldst thou be able to tell; and here thou comest and
+sayest, "Paint me my arms!" An thou hadst been one of the Bardi, that
+were enough. What arms dost thou bear? Whence art thou? Who were thy
+ancestors? Out upon thee! Art not ashamed of thyself? Begin first to
+come into the world before thou pratest of arms as if thou wert Dusnam
+of Bavaria. I have made thee a whole suit of armour on thy buckler; if
+there be one piece wanting, name it, and I will have it painted.' Said
+he, 'Thou dost use vile words to me, and hast spoilt me a buckler;' and
+taking himself off, he went to the justice and had Giotto summoned.
+Giotto appeared and had him summoned, claiming two florins for the
+painting, and the other claimed them from him. The officers, having
+heard the pleadings, which Giotto made much the better, judged that the
+other should take his buckler so painted, and should give six lire to
+Giotto, since he was in the right. Wherefore he was constrained to take
+his buckler and go, and was dismissed; and so, not knowing his measure,
+he had his measure taken."
+
+It is said that Giotto, while working in his boyhood under Cimabue, once
+painted a fly on the nose of a figure that Cimabue himself had made, so
+true to nature that his master, returning to continue the work, set
+himself more than once to drive it away with his hand, thinking that it
+was real, before he perceived his mistake. Many other tricks played by
+Giotto and many witty retorts could I relate, but I wish that these,
+which deal with matters pertinent to art, should be enough for me to
+have told in this place, leaving the rest to the said Franco and others.
+
+Finally, seeing that there remained memory of Giotto not only in the
+works that issued from his hands, but in those also that issued from the
+hand of the writers of those times, he having been the man who recovered
+the true method of painting, which had been lost for many years before
+him; therefore, by public decree and by the effort and particular
+affection of the elder Lorenzo de' Medici, the Magnificent, in
+admiration of the talent of so great a man his portrait was placed in S.
+Maria del Fiore, carved in marble by Benedetto da Maiano, an excellent
+sculptor, together with the verses written below, made by that divine
+man, Messer Angelo Poliziano, to the end that those who should become
+excellent in any profession whatsoever might be able to cherish a hope
+of obtaining, from others, such memorials as these that Giotto deserved
+and obtained in liberal measure from his goodness:
+
+     Ille ego sum, per quem pictura extincta revixit,
+       Cui quam recta manus, tam fuit et facilis.
+     Naturae deerat nostrae quod defuit arti;
+       Plus licuit nulli pingere, nec melius.
+     Miraris turrim egregiam sacro aere sonantem?
+       Haec quoque de modulo crevit ad astra meo.
+     Denique sum Jottus, quid opus fuit illa referre?
+       Hoc nomen longi carminis instar erit.
+
+And to the end that those who come after may be able to see drawings by
+the very hand of Giotto, and from these to recognize all the more the
+excellence of so great a man, in our aforesaid book there are some that
+are marvellous, sought out by me with no less diligence than labour and
+expense.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 11: See note on p. 57.]
+
+[Footnote 12: See note on p. 57.]
+
+[Footnote 13: See note on p. 57.]
+
+
+
+
+AGOSTINO AND AGNOLO OF SIENA
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF AGOSTINO AND AGNOLO OF SIENA,
+
+SCULPTORS AND ARCHITECTS
+
+
+Among others who exercised themselves in the school of the sculptors
+Giovanni and Niccola of Pisa, Agostino and Agnolo, sculptors of Siena,
+of whom we are at present about to write the Life, became very excellent
+for those times. These, according to what I find, were born from a
+father and mother of Siena, and their forefathers were architects,
+seeing that in the year 1190, under the rule of the three Consuls, they
+brought to perfection the Fontebranda, and afterwards, in the following
+year, under the same Consulate, the Customs-house of that city and other
+buildings. And in truth it is clear that very often the seeds of talent
+germinate in the houses where they have lain for some time, and throw
+out shoots which afterwards produce greater and better fruits than the
+first plants had done. Agostino and Agnolo, then, adding great
+betterment to the manner of Giovanni and Niccola of Pisa, enriched the
+art with better design and invention, as their works clearly
+demonstrate. It is said that the aforesaid Giovanni, returning from
+Naples to Pisa in the year 1284, stayed in Siena in order to make the
+design and foundation for the facade of the Duomo, wherein are the three
+principal doors, to the end that it might be all adorned very richly
+with marbles; and that then Agostino, being no more than fifteen years
+of age, went to be with him in order to apply himself to sculpture,
+whereof he had learnt the first principles, being no less inclined to
+this art than to the matters of architecture. And so, under the teaching
+of Giovanni, by means of continual study he surpassed all his
+fellow-disciples in design, grace, and manner, so greatly that it was
+said by all that he was the right eye of his master. And because,
+between people who love each other, there is no gift, whether of
+nature, or of soul, or of fortune, that is mutually desired so much as
+excellence, which alone makes men great and noble, and what is more,
+most happy both in this life and in the other, therefore Agostino,
+seizing this occasion of assistance from Giovanni, drew his brother
+Agnolo into the same pursuit. Nor was it a great labour for him to do
+this, seeing that the intercourse of Agnolo with Agostino and with the
+other sculptors had already, as he saw the honour and profit that they
+were drawing from such an art, fired his mind with extreme eagerness and
+desire to apply himself to sculpture; nay, before Agostino had given a
+thought to this, Agnolo had wrought certain works in secret.
+
+Agostino, then, being engaged in working with Giovanni on the marble
+panel of the high-altar in the Vescovado of Arezzo, whereof there has
+been mention above, contrived to bring there the said Agnolo, his
+brother, who acquitted himself in this work in such a manner that when
+it was finished he was found to have equalled Agostino in the excellence
+of his art. Which circumstance, becoming known to Giovanni, was the
+reason that after this work he made use of both one and the other in
+many other works of his that he wrought in Pistola, in Pisa, and in
+other places. And seeing that he applied himself not only to sculpture
+but to architecture as well, no long time passed before, under the rule
+of the Nine in Siena, Agostino made the design of their Palace in
+Malborghetto, which was in the year 1308. In the making of this he
+acquired so great a name in his country, that, returning to Siena after
+the death of Giovanni, they were made, both one and the other,
+architects to the State; wherefore afterwards, in the year 1317, there
+was made under their direction the front of the Duomo that faces towards
+the north, and in the year 1321, with the design of the same men, there
+was begun the construction of the Porta Romana in that manner wherein it
+stands to-day, and it was finished in the year 1326; which gate was
+first called Porta S. Martino. They rebuilt, also, the Porta a Tufi,
+which at first was called Porta di S. Agata all'Arco. In the same year,
+with the design of the same Agostino and Agnolo, there was begun the
+Church and Convent of S. Francesco in the presence of Cardinal di Gaeta,
+Apostolic Legate. No long time after, by the action of some of the
+Tolomei who were living as exiles at Orvieto, Agostino and Agnolo were
+summoned to make certain sculptures for the work of S. Maria in that
+city; wherefore, going there, they carved some prophets in marble which
+are now, in comparison with the other statues in that facade, the finest
+and best proportioned in that so greatly renowned work.
+
+Now it came to pass in the year 1326, as it has been said in his Life,
+that Giotto was called by means of Charles, Duke of Calabria, who was
+then staying in Florence, to Naples, in order to make some things for
+King Robert in S. Chiara and other places in that city; wherefore
+Giotto, passing by way of Orvieto on his way to Naples, in order to see
+the works that had been made and were still being made there by so many
+men, wished to see everything minutely. And because the prophets of
+Agostino and Agnolo of Siena pleased him more than all the other
+sculptures, it came about therefore that Giotto not only commended them
+and held them, much to their contentment, among his friends, but also
+presented them to Piero Saccone da Pietramala as the best of all the
+sculptors then living, for the making of the tomb of Bishop Guido, Lord
+and Bishop of Arezzo, which has been mentioned in the Life of Giotto
+himself. And so then Giotto having seen in Orvieto the works of many
+sculptors and having judged the best to be those of Agostino and Agnolo
+of Siena, this was the reason that the said tomb was given to them to
+make--in that manner, however, wherein he had designed it, and according
+to the model which he himself had sent to the said Piero Saccone.
+Agostino and Agnolo finished this tomb in the space of three years,
+executing it with much diligence, and built it into the Church of the
+Vescovado of Arezzo, in the Chapel of the Sacrament. Over the
+sarcophagus, which rests on certain great consoles carved more than
+passing well, there is stretched the body of that Bishop in marble, and
+at the sides are some angels that are drawing back certain curtains very
+gracefully. Besides this, there are carved in half-relief, in
+compartments, twelve scenes from the life and actions of that Bishop,
+with an infinite number of little figures. I will not grudge the labour
+of describing the contents of these scenes, to the end that it may be
+seen with what great patience they were wrought, and how zealously
+these sculptors sought the good manner.
+
+In the first is the scene when, assisted by the Ghibelline party of
+Milan, which sent him money and four hundred masons, he is rebuilding
+the walls of Arezzo all anew, making them much longer than they were and
+giving them the form of a galley. In the second is the taking of
+Lucignano di Valdichiana. In the third, that of Chiusi. In the fourth,
+that of Fronzoli, then a strong castle above Poppi, and held by the sons
+of the Count of Battifolle. The fifth is when the Castle of Rondine,
+after having been many months besieged by the Aretines, is surrendering
+finally to the Bishop. In the sixth is the taking of the Castle of
+Bucine in Valdarno. The seventh is when he is taking by storm the
+fortress of Caprese, which belonged to the Count of Romena, after having
+maintained the siege for several months. In the eighth the Bishop is
+having the Castle of Laterino pulled down and the hill that rises above
+it cut into the shape of a cross, to the end that it may no longer be
+possible to build a fortress thereon. In the ninth he is seen destroying
+Monte Sansovino and putting it to fire and flames, chasing from it all
+the inhabitants. In the eleventh is his coronation, wherein are to be
+seen many beautiful costumes of soldiers on foot and on horseback, and
+of other people. In the twelfth, finally, his men are seen carrying him
+from Montenero, where he fell sick, to Massa, and thence afterwards, now
+dead, to Arezzo. Round this tomb, also, in many places, are the
+Ghibelline insignia, and the arms of the Bishop, which are six square
+stones "or," on a field "azure," in the same ordering as are the six
+balls in the arms of the Medici; which arms of the house of the Bishop
+were described by Frate Guittone, chevalier and poet of Arezzo, when he
+said, writing of the site of the Castle of Pietramala, whence that
+family had its origin:
+
+     Dove si scontra il Giglion con la Chiassa
+     Ivi furono i miei antecessori,
+     Che in campo azurro d'or portan sei sassa.
+
+Agnolo and Agostino of Siena, then, executed this work with better art
+and invention and with more diligence than there had been shown in any
+work executed in their times. And in truth they deserve nothing but
+infinite praise, having made therein so many figures and so great a
+variety of sites, places, towers, horses, men, and other things, that it
+is indeed a marvel. And although this tomb was in great part destroyed
+by the Frenchmen of the Duke of Anjou, who sacked the greater part of
+that city in order to take revenge on the hostile party for certain
+affronts received, none the less it shows that it was wrought with very
+good judgment by the said Agostino and Agnolo, who cut on it, in rather
+large letters, these words:
+
+     HOC OPUS FECIT MAGISTER AUGUSTINUS ET MAGISTER ANGELUS DE SENIS.
+
+After this, in the year 1329, they wrought an altar-panel of marble for
+the Church of S. Francesco at Bologna, in a passing good manner; and
+therein, besides the carved ornamentation, which is very rich, they made
+a Christ who is crowning Our Lady, and on each side three similar
+figures--S. Francis, S. James, S. Dominic, S. Anthony of Padua, S.
+Petronius, and S. John the Evangelist, with figures one braccio and a
+half in height. Below each of the said figures is carved a scene in
+low-relief from the life of the Saint that is above; and in all these
+scenes is an infinite number of half-length figures, which make a rich
+and beautiful adornment, according to the custom of those times. It is
+seen clearly that Agostino and Agnolo endured very great fatigue in this
+work, and that they put into it all diligence and study in order to make
+it, as it truly was, a work worthy of praise; and although they are half
+eaten away, yet there are to be read thereon their names and the date,
+by means of which, it being known when they began it, it is seen that
+they laboured eight whole years in completing it. It is true, indeed,
+that in that same time they wrought many other small works in diverse
+places and for various people.
+
+Now, while they were working in Bologna, that city, by the mediation of
+a Legate of the Pope, gave herself absolutely over to the Church; and
+the Pope, in return, promised that he would go to settle with his Court
+in Bologna, saying that he wished to erect a castle there, or truly a
+fortress, for his own security. This being conceded to him by the
+Bolognese, it was immediately built under the direction and design of
+Agostino and Agnolo, but it had a very short life, for the reason that
+the Bolognese, having found that the many promises of the Pope were
+wholly vain, pulled down and destroyed the said fortress, with much
+greater promptness than it had been built.
+
+It is said that while these two sculptors were staying in Bologna the Po
+issued in furious flood from its bed and laid waste the whole country
+round for many miles, doing incredible damage to the territory of Mantua
+and Ferrara and slaying more than ten thousand persons; and that they,
+being called on for this reason as ingenious and able men, found a way
+to put this terrible river back into its course, confining it with dykes
+and other most useful barriers; which was greatly to their credit and
+profit, because, besides acquiring fame thereby, they were recompensed
+by the Lords of Mantua and by the D'Este family with most honourable
+rewards.
+
+After this they returned to Siena, and in the year 1338, with their
+direction and design, there was made the new Church of S. Maria, near
+the Duomo Vecchio, towards Piazza Manetti; and no long time after, the
+people of Siena, remaining much satisfied with all the works that these
+men were making, determined with an occasion so apt to put into effect
+that which had been discussed many times, but up to then in
+vain--namely, the making of a public fountain on the principal square,
+opposite the Palagio della Signoria. Wherefore, this being entrusted to
+Agostino and Agnolo, they brought the waters of that fountain through
+pipes of lead and of clay, which was very difficult, and it began to
+play in the year 1343, on the first day of June, with much pleasure and
+contentment to the whole city, which remained thereby much indebted to
+the talent of these its two citizens.
+
+About the same time there was made the Great Council Chamber in the
+Municipal Palace; and so too, with the direction and design of the same
+men, there was brought to its completion the tower of the said Palace,
+in the year 1344, and there were placed thereon two great bells, whereof
+they had one from Grosseto and the other was made in Siena. Finally,
+while Agnolo chanced to be in the city of Assisi, where he made a
+chapel and a tomb in marble in the lower Church of S. Francesco for a
+brother of Napoleone Orsino, a Cardinal and a friar of S. Francis, who
+had died in that place--Agostino, who had remained in Siena in the
+service of the State, died while he was busy making the design for the
+adornments of the said fountain in the square, and was honourably buried
+in the Duomo. I have not yet found, and cannot therefore say anything
+about the matter, either how or when Agnolo died, or even any other
+works of importance by their hand; and therefore let this be the end of
+their Life.
+
+Now, seeing that it would be without doubt an error, in following the
+order of time, not to make mention of some who, although they have not
+wrought so many works that it is possible to write their whole life,
+have none the less contributed betterment and beauty to art and to the
+world, I will say, taking occasion from that which has been said above
+about the Vescovado of Arezzo and about the Pieve, that Pietro and Paolo,
+goldsmiths of Arezzo, who learnt design from Agnolo and Agostino of
+Siena, were the first who wrought large works of some excellence with
+the chasing-tool, since, for an arch-priest of the said Pieve of Arezzo,
+they executed a head in silver as large as life, wherein was placed the
+head of S. Donatus, Bishop and Protector of that city; which work was
+worthy of nothing but praise, both because they made therein some very
+beautiful figures in enamel and other ornaments, and because it was one
+of the first works, as it has been said, that were wrought with the
+chasing-tool.
+
+About the same time, the Guild of Calimara in Florence caused Maestro
+Cione, an excellent goldsmith, to make the greater part, if not the
+whole, of the silver altar of S. Giovanni Battista, wherein are many
+scenes from the life of that Saint embossed on a plate of silver, with
+passing good figures in half-relief; which work, both by reason of its
+size and of its being something new, was held marvellous by all who saw
+it. In the year 1330, after the body of S. Zanobi had been found beneath
+the vaults of S. Reparata, the same Maestro Cione made a head of silver
+to contain a piece of the head of that Saint, which is still preserved
+to-day in the same head of silver and is borne in processions; which
+head was then held something very beautiful and gave a great name to its
+craftsman, who died no long time after, rich and in great repute.
+
+Maestro Cione left many disciples, and among others Forzore di Spinello
+of Arezzo, who wrought every kind of chasing very well but was
+particularly excellent in making scenes in silver enamelled over fire,
+to which witness is borne by a mitre with most beautiful adornments in
+enamel, and a very beautiful pastoral staff of silver, which are in the
+Vescovado of Arezzo. The same man wrought for Cardinal Galeotto da
+Pietramala many works in silver that remained after his death with the
+friars of La Vernia, where he wished to be buried. There, besides the
+wall that was erected in that place by Count Orlando, Lord of Chiusi, a
+small town below La Vernia, the Cardinal built the church, together with
+many rooms in the convent and throughout that whole place, without
+putting his arms there or leaving any other memorial. A disciple of
+Maestro Cione, also, was Leonardo di Ser Giovanni, a Florentine, who
+wrought many works in chasing and soldering, with better design than the
+others before him had shown, and in particular the altar and panel of
+silver in S. Jacopo at Pistoia; in which work, besides the scenes, which
+are numerous, there was much praise given to a figure in the round that
+he made in the middle, representing S. James, more than one braccio in
+height, and wrought with so great finish that it appears rather to have
+been made by casting than by chasing. This figure is set in the midst of
+the said scenes on the panel of the altar, round which is a frieze of
+letters in enamel, that run thus:
+
+
+     AD HONOREM DEI ET SANCTI JACOBI APOSTOLI, HOC OPUS FACTUM FUIT
+     TEMPORE DOMINI FRANC. PAGNI DICTAE OPERAE OPERARII SUB ANNO 1371
+     PER ME LEONARDUM SER JO. DE FLOREN. AURIFIC.
+
+Now, returning to Agostino and Agnolo: they had many disciples who,
+after their death, wrought many works of architecture and of sculpture
+in Lombardy and other parts of Italy, and among others Maestro Jacopo
+Lanfrani of Venice, who founded S. Francesco of Imola and wrought the
+principal door in sculpture, where he carved his name and the date,
+which was the year 1343. And at Bologna, in the Church of S. Domenico,
+the same Maestro Jacopo made a tomb in marble for Giovanni Andrea
+Calduino, Doctor of Laws and Secretary to Pope Clement VI; and another,
+also in marble and in the said church, very well wrought, for Taddeo
+Peppoli, Conservator of the people and of Justice in Bologna. And in the
+same year, which was the year 1347, or a little before, this tomb being
+finished, Maestro Jacopo went to his native city of Venice and founded
+the Church of S. Antonio, which was previously of wood, at the request
+of a Florentine Abbot of the ancient family of the Abati, the Doge being
+Messer Andrea Dandolo. This church was finished in the year 1349.
+Jacobello and Pietro Paolo, also, Venetians and disciples of Agostino
+and Agnolo, made a tomb in marble for Messer Giovanni da Lignano, Doctor
+of Laws, in the year 1383, in the Church of S. Domenico at Bologna.
+
+All these and many other sculptors went on for a long space of time
+following one and the same method, in a manner that with it they filled
+all Italy. It is believed, also, that the Pesarese, who, besides many
+other works, built the Church of S. Domenico in his native city, and
+made in sculpture the marble door with the three figures in the round,
+God the Father, S. John the Baptist, and S. Mark, was a disciple of
+Agostino and Agnolo; and to this the manner bears witness. This work was
+finished in the year 1385. But, seeing that it would take too long if I
+were to make mention minutely of the works that were wrought by many
+masters of those times in that manner, I wish that this, that I have
+said of them thus in general, should suffice me for the present, and
+above all because there is not any benefit of much account for our arts
+from such works. Of the aforesaid it has seemed to me proper to make
+mention, because, if they do not deserve to be discussed at length, yet,
+on the other hand, they were not such as to need to be passed over
+completely in silence.
+
+
+
+
+STEFANO AND UGOLINO SANESE
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF STEFANO, PAINTER OF FLORENCE, AND OF UGOLINO SANESE
+
+[_UGOLINO DA SIENA_]
+
+
+Stefano, painter of Florence and disciple of Giotto, was so excellent,
+that he not only surpassed all the others who had laboured in the art
+before him, but outstripped his own master himself by so much that he
+was held, and deservedly, the best of all the painters who had lived up
+to that time, as his works clearly demonstrate. He painted in fresco the
+Madonna of the Campo Santo in Pisa, which is no little better in design
+and in colouring than the work of Giotto; and in Florence, in the
+cloister of S. Spirito, he painted three little arches in fresco. In the
+first of these, wherein is the Transfiguration of Christ with Moses and
+Elias, imagining how great must have been the splendour that dazzled
+them, he fashioned the three Disciples with extraordinary and beautiful
+attitudes, and enveloped in draperies in a manner that it is seen that
+he went on trying to do something that had never been done
+before--namely, to suggest the nude form of the figures below new kinds
+of folds, which, as I have said, had not been thought of even by Giotto.
+Under this arch, wherein he made a Christ delivering the woman
+possessed, he drew a building in perspective, perfectly and in a manner
+then little known, executing it in good form and with better knowledge;
+and in it, working with very great judgment in modern fashion, he showed
+so great art and so great invention and proportion in the columns, in
+the doors, in the windows, and in the cornices, and so great diversity
+from the other masters in his method of working, that it appears that
+there was beginning to be seen a certain glimmer of the good and perfect
+manner of the moderns. He invented, among other ingenious ideas, a
+flight of steps very difficult to make, which, both in painting and
+built out in relief--wrought in either way, in fact--is so rich in
+design and variety, and so useful and convenient in invention, that the
+elder Lorenzo de' Medici, the Magnificent, availed himself of it in
+making the outer staircase of the Palace of Poggio a Cajano, now the
+principal villa of the most Illustrious Lord Duke. In the other little
+arch is a story of Christ when he is delivering S. Peter from shipwreck,
+so well done that one seems to hear the voice of Peter saying: "Domine,
+salva nos, perimus." This work is judged much more beautiful than the
+others, because, besides the softness of the draperies, there are seen
+sweetness in the air of the heads and terror in the perils of the sea,
+and because the Apostles, shaken by diverse motions and by phantoms of
+the sea, have been represented in attitudes very appropriate and all
+most beautiful. And although time has eaten away in part the labours
+that Stefano put into this work, it may be seen, although but dimly,
+that the Apostles are defending themselves from the fury of the winds
+and from the waves of the sea with great energy; which work, being very
+highly praised among the moderns, must have certainly appeared a miracle
+in all Tuscany in the time of him who wrought it. After this he painted
+a S. Thomas Aquinas beside a door in the first cloister of S. Maria
+Novella, where he also made a Crucifix, which was afterwards executed in
+a bad manner by other painters in restoring it. In like manner he left a
+chapel in the church begun and not finished, which has been much eaten
+away by time, wherein the angels are seen raining down in diverse forms
+by reason of the pride of Lucifer; where it is to be noticed that the
+figures, with the arms, trunks, and legs foreshortened much better than
+any foreshortenings that had been made before, give us to know that
+Stefano began to understand and to demonstrate in part the difficulties
+that those men had to reduce to excellence, who afterwards, with greater
+science, showed them to us, as they have done, in perfection; wherefore
+the surname of "The Ape of Nature" was given him by the other craftsmen.
+
+Next, being summoned to Milan, Stefano made a beginning for many works
+for Matteo Visconti, but was not able to finish them, because, having
+fallen sick by reason of the change of air, he was forced to return to
+Florence. There, having regained his health, he made in fresco, in the
+tramezzo[14] of the Church of S. Croce, in the Chapel of the Asini, the
+story of the martyrdom of S. Mark, when he was dragged to death, with
+many figures that have something of the good. Being then summoned to
+Rome by reason of having been a disciple of Giotto, he made some stories
+of Christ in S. Pietro, in the principal chapel wherein is the altar of
+the said Saint, between the windows that are in the great choir-niche,
+with so much diligence that it is seen that he approached closely to the
+modern manner, surpassing his master Giotto considerably in
+draughtsmanship and in other respects.
+
+After this, on a pillar on the left-hand side of the principal chapel of
+the Araceli, he made a S. Louis in fresco, which is much praised,
+because it has in it a vivacity never displayed up to that time even by
+Giotto. And in truth Stefano had great facility in draughtsmanship, as
+can be seen in our said book in a drawing by his hand, wherein is drawn
+the Transfiguration (which he painted in the cloister of S. Spirito), in
+such a manner that in my judgment he drew much better than Giotto.
+
+Having gone, next, to Assisi, he began in fresco a scene of the
+Celestial Glory in the niche of the principal chapel of the lower Church
+of S. Francesco, where the choir is; and although he did not finish it,
+it is seen from what he did that he used so great diligence that no
+greater could be desired. In this work there is seen begun a circle of
+saints, both male and female, with so beautiful variety in the faces of
+the young, the men of middle age, and the old, that nothing better could
+be desired. And there is seen a very sweet manner in these blessed
+spirits, with such great harmony that it appears almost impossible that
+it could have been done in those times by Stefano, who indeed did do it;
+although there is nothing of the figures in this circle finished save
+the heads, over which is a choir of angels who are hovering playfully
+about in various attitudes, appropriately carrying theological symbols
+in their hands, and all turned towards a Christ on the Cross, who is in
+the middle of this work, over the head of a S. Francis, who is in the
+midst of an infinity of saints. Besides this, in the border of the
+whole work, he made some angels, each of whom is holding in his hand one
+of those Churches that S. John the Evangelist described in the
+Apocalypse; and these angels are executed with so much grace that I am
+amazed how in that age there was to be found one who knew so much.
+Stefano began this work with a view to bringing it to the fullest
+perfection, and he would have succeeded, but he was forced to leave it
+imperfect and to return to Florence by some important affairs of his
+own.
+
+During that time, then, that he stayed for this purpose in Florence, in
+order to lose no time he painted for the Gianfigliazzi, by the side of
+the Arno, between their houses and the Ponte alla Carraja, a little
+shrine on a corner that is there, wherein he depicted a Madonna sewing,
+to whom a boy dressed and seated is handing a bird, with such diligence
+that the work, small as it is, deserves to be praised no less than do
+the works that he wrought on a larger and more masterly scale.
+
+This shrine finished and his affairs dispatched, being called to Pistoia
+by its Lords in the year 1346, he was made to paint the Chapel of S.
+Jacopo, on the vaulting of which he made a God the Father with some
+Apostles, and on the walls the stories of that Saint, and in particular
+when his mother, wife of Zebedee, asks Jesus Christ to consent to place
+her two sons, one on His right hand and the other on His left hand, in
+the Kingdom of the Father. Close to this is the beheading of the said
+Saint, a very beautiful work.
+
+It is reputed that Maso, called Giottino, of whom there will be mention
+below, was the son of this Stefano; and although many, by reason of the
+suggestiveness of the name, hold him the son of Giotto, I, by reason of
+certain records that I have seen, and of certain memoirs of good
+authority written by Lorenzo Ghiberti and by Domenico del Ghirlandajo,
+hold it as true that he was rather the son of Stefano than of Giotto. Be
+this as it may, returning to Stefano, it can be credited to him that he
+did more than anyone after Giotto to improve painting, for, besides
+being more varied in invention, he was also more harmonious, more
+mellow, and better blended in colouring than all the others; and
+above all he had no peer in diligence. And as for those foreshortenings
+that he made, although, as I have said, he showed a faulty manner in
+them by reason of the difficulty of making them, none the less he who is
+the pioneer in the difficulties of any exercise deserves a much greater
+name than those who follow with a somewhat more ordered and regular
+manner. Truly great, therefore, is the debt that should be acknowledged
+to Stefano, because he who walks in darkness and gives heart to others,
+by showing them the way, brings it about that its difficult steps are
+made easy, so that with lapse of time men leave the false road and
+attain to the desired goal. At Perugia, too, in the Church of S.
+Domenico, he began in fresco the Chapel of S. Caterina, which remained
+unfinished.
+
+[Illustration: _Berlin Photo. Co._
+
+SS. PAUL, PETER AND JOHN THE BAPTIST
+
+(_After the painting by_ Ugolino Sanese [da Siena]. _Berlin: K.
+Friedrich Museum, 1635_)]
+
+There lived about the same time as Stefano a man of passing good repute,
+Ugolino, painter of Siena, very much his friend, who painted many panels
+and chapels throughout all Italy, although he held ever in great part to
+the Greek manner, as one who, grown old therein, had wished by reason of
+a certain obstinacy in himself to hold rather to the manner of Cimabue
+than to that of Giotto, which was so greatly revered. By the hand of
+Ugolino, then, is the panel of the high-altar of S. Croce, on a ground
+all of gold, and also a panel which stood many years on the high-altar
+of S. Maria Novella and is to-day in the Chapter-house, where the
+Spanish nation every year holds most solemn festival on the day of S.
+James, with other offices and funeral ceremonies of its own. Besides
+these, he wrought many other works with good skill, without departing,
+however, from the manner of his master. The same man made, on a
+brick-pier in the Loggia that Lapo had built on the Piazza
+d'Orsanmichele, that Madonna which worked so many miracles, not many
+years later, that the Loggia was for a long time full of images, and is
+still held in the greatest veneration. Finally, in the Chapel of Messer
+Ridolfo de' Bardi, which is in S. Croce, where Giotto painted the life
+of S. Francis, he painted a Crucifix in distemper on the altar-panel,
+with a Magdalene and a S. John weeping, and two friars, one on either
+side. Ugolino passed away from this life, being old, in the year 1349,
+and was buried with honour in Siena, his native city.
+
+But returning to Stefano, of whom they say that he was also a good
+architect, which is proved by what has been said above, he died, so it
+is said, in the year when there began the jubilee, 1350, at the age of
+forty-nine, and was laid to rest in the tomb of his fathers, in S.
+Spirito, with this epitaph:
+
+     STEPHANO FLORENTINO PICTORI, FACIUNDIS IMAGINIBUS AC COLORANDIS
+     FIGURIS NULLI UNQUAM INFERIORI, AFFINES MOESTISS. POS. VIX. AN.
+     XXXXIX.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 14: See note on p. 57.]
+
+
+
+
+PIETRO LAURATI
+
+[Illustration: _Alinari_
+
+THE MADONNA ENTHRONED
+
+(_After the polyptych_ by Pietro Laurati [Lorenzetti]. _Arezzo: S. Maria
+della Pieve_)]
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF PIETRO LAURATI
+
+[_PIETRO LORENZETTI_],
+
+PAINTER OF SIENA
+
+
+Pietro Laurati, an excellent painter of Siena, proved in his life how
+great is the contentment of the truly able, who feel that their works
+are prized both at home and abroad, and who see themselves sought after
+by all men, for the reason that in the course of his life he was sent
+for and held dear throughout all Tuscany, having first become known
+through the scenes that he painted in fresco for the Scala, a hospital
+in Siena, wherein he imitated in such wise the manner of Giotto, then
+spread throughout all Tuscany, that it was believed with great reason
+that he was destined, as afterwards came to pass, to become a better
+master than Cimabue and Giotto and the others had been; for the figures
+that represent the Virgin ascending the steps of the Temple, accompanied
+by Joachim and Anna, and received by the priest, and then in the
+Marriage, are so beautifully adorned, so well draped, and so simply
+wrapped in their garments, that they show majesty in the air of the
+heads, and a most beautiful manner in their bearing. By reason of this
+work, which was the first introduction into Siena of the good method of
+painting, giving light to the many beautiful intellects which have
+flourished in that city in every age, Pietro was invited to Monte
+Oliveto di Chiusuri, where he painted a panel in distemper that is
+placed to-day in the portico below the church. In Florence, next,
+opposite to the left-hand door of the Church of S. Spirito, on the
+corner where to-day there is a butcher, he painted a shrine which, by
+reason of the softness of the heads and of the sweetness that is seen in
+it, deserves the highest praise from every discerning craftsman.
+
+Going from Florence to Pisa, he wrought in the Campo Santo, on the wall
+that is beside the principal door, all the lives of the Holy Fathers,
+with expressions so lively and attitudes so beautiful that he equalled
+Giotto and gained thereby very great praise, having expressed in certain
+heads, both with drawing and with colour, all that vivacity that the
+manner of those times was able to show. From Pisa he went to Pistoia,
+where he made a Madonna with some angels round her, very well grouped,
+on a panel in distemper, for the Church of S. Francesco; and in the
+predella that ran below this panel, in certain scenes, he made certain
+little figures so lively and so vivid that in those times it was
+something marvellous; wherefore, since they satisfied himself no less
+than others, he thought fit to place thereon his name, with these words:
+PETRUS LAURATI DE SENIS.
+
+[Illustration: PIETRO LORENZETTI: MADONNA AND CHILD WITH S.S. FRANCIS
+AND JOHN
+
+_(Assisi: Lower Church of S. Francesco. Fresco)_]
+
+Pietro was summoned, next, in the year 1355, by Messer Guglielmo,
+arch-priest, and by the Wardens of Works of the Pieve of Arezzo, who
+were then Margarito Boschi and others; and in that church, built long
+before with better design and manner than any other that had been made
+in Tuscany up to that time, and all adorned with squared stone and with
+carvings, as it has been said, by the hand of Margaritone, he painted in
+fresco the apse and the whole great niche of the chapel of the
+high-altar, making there twelve scenes from the life of Our Lady with
+figures large as life, beginning with the expulsion of Joachim from the
+Temple, up to the Nativity of Jesus Christ. In these scenes, wrought in
+fresco, may be recognized almost the same inventions (the lineaments,
+the air of the heads, and the attitudes of the figures) which had been
+characteristic of and peculiar to Giotto, his master. And although all
+this work is beautiful, what he painted on the vaulting of this niche is
+without doubt better than all the rest, for in representing the Madonna
+ascending into Heaven, besides making the Apostles each four braccia
+high, wherein he showed greatness of spirit and was the first to try to
+give grandness to the manner, he gave so beautiful an air to the heads
+and so great loveliness to the vestments that in those times nothing
+more could have been desired. Likewise, in the faces of a choir of
+angels who are flying in the air round the Madonna, dancing with
+graceful movements, and appearing to sing, he painted a gladness
+truly angelic and divine, above all because he made the angels
+sounding diverse instruments, with their eyes all fixed and intent on
+another choir of angels, who, supported by a cloud in the form of an
+almond, are bearing the Madonna to Heaven, with beautiful attitudes and
+all surrounded by rainbows. This work, seeing that it rightly gave
+pleasure, was the reason that he was commissioned to make in distemper
+the panel for the high-altar of the aforesaid Pieve; wherein, in five
+parts, with figures as far as the knees and large as life, he made Our
+Lady with the Child in her arms, and S. John the Baptist and S. Matthew
+on the one side, and on the other the Evangelist and S. Donatus, with
+many little figures in the predella and in the border of the panel
+above, all truly beautiful and executed in very good manner. This panel,
+after I had rebuilt the high-altar of the aforesaid Pieve completely
+anew, at my own expense and with my own hand, was set up over the altar
+of S. Cristofano at the foot of the church. Nor do I wish to grudge the
+labour of saying in this place, with this occasion and not wide of the
+subject, that I, moved by Christian piety and by the affection that I
+bear towards this venerable and ancient collegiate church, and for the
+reason that in it, in my earliest childhood, I learnt my first lessons,
+and that it contains the remains of my fathers: moved, I say, by these
+reasons, and by it appearing to me that it was wellnigh deserted, I have
+restored it in a manner that it can be said that it has returned from
+death to life; for besides changing it from a dark to a well-lighted
+church by increasing the windows that were there before and by making
+others, I have also removed the choir, which, being in front, used to
+occupy a great part of the church, and to the great satisfaction of
+those reverend canons I have placed it behind the high-altar. This new
+altar, standing by itself, has on the panel in front a Christ calling
+Peter and Andrew from their nets, and on the side towards the choir it
+has, on another panel, S. George slaying the Dragon. On the sides are
+four pictures, and in each of these are two saints as large as life.
+Then above, and below in the predella, there is an infinity of other
+figures, which, for brevity's sake, are not enumerated. The ornamental
+frame of this altar is thirteen braccia high, and the predella is two
+braccia high. And because within it is hollow, and one ascends to it by
+a staircase through an iron wicket very conveniently arranged, there are
+preserved in it many venerable relics, which can be seen from without
+through two gratings that are in the front part; and among others there
+is the head of S. Donatus, Bishop and Protector of that city, and in a
+coffer of variegated marble, three braccia long, which I have had
+restored, are the bones of four Saints. And the predella of the altar,
+which surrounds it all right round in due proportion, has in front of it
+the tabernacle, or rather ciborium, of the Sacrament, made of carved
+wood and all gilt, about three braccia high; which tabernacle is in the
+round and can be seen as well from the side of the choir as from in
+front. And because I have spared no labour and no expense, considering
+myself bound to act thus in honour of God, this work, in my judgment,
+has in all those ornaments of gold, of carvings, of paintings, of
+marbles, of travertines, of variegated marbles, of porphyries, and of
+other stones, the best that could be got together by me in that place.
+
+But returning now to Pietro Laurati; that panel finished whereof there
+has been talk above, he wrought in S. Pietro at Rome many works which
+were afterwards destroyed in making the new building of S. Pietro. He
+also wrought some works in Cortona and in Arezzo, besides those that
+have been mentioned, and some others in the Church of S. Fiora e
+Lucilla, a monastery of Black Friars, and in particular, in a chapel, a
+S. Thomas who is putting his hand on the wound in the breast of Christ.
+
+A disciple of Pietro was Bartolommeo Bologhini of Siena, who wrought
+many panels in Siena and other places in Italy, and in Florence there is
+one by his hand on the altar of the Chapel of S. Silvestro in S. Croce.
+The pictures of these men date about the year of our salvation 1350; and
+in my book, so many times cited, there is seen a drawing by the hand of
+Pietro, wherein a shoemaker who is sewing, with simple but very natural
+lineaments, shows very great expression and the characteristic manner of
+Pietro, the portrait of whom, by the hand of Bartolommeo Bologhini, was
+in a panel in Siena, when I copied it from the original in the manner
+that is seen above.
+
+[Illustration: _Anderson_
+
+THE DEPOSITION FROM THE CROSS
+
+(_After the fresco of the_ Roman School. _Assisi: Upper Church of S.
+Francesco_)]
+
+
+
+
+ANDREA PISANO
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF ANDREA PISANO,
+
+SCULPTOR AND ARCHITECT
+
+
+The art of painting never flourished at any time without the sculptors
+also pursuing their exercise with excellence, and to this the works of
+all ages bear witness for the close observer, because these two arts are
+truly sisters, born at one and the same time, and fostered and governed
+by one and the same soul. This is seen in Andrea Pisano, who, practising
+sculpture in the time of Giotto, made so great improvement in this art,
+that both in practice and in theory he was esteemed the greatest man
+that the Tuscans had had up to his times in this profession, and above
+all in casting in bronze. Wherefore his works were honoured and rewarded
+in such a manner by all who knew him, and above all by the Florentines,
+that it was no hardship to him to change country, relatives, property
+and friends. He received much assistance from the difficulties
+experienced in sculpture by the masters who had lived before him, whose
+sculptures were so uncouth and worthless that whosoever saw them in
+comparison with those of this man judged the last a miracle. And that
+these early works were rude, witness is borne, as it has been said
+elsewhere, by some that are over the principal door of S. Paolo in
+Florence and some in stone that are in the Church of Ognissanti, which
+are so made that they move those who view them rather to laughter than
+to any marvel or pleasure. And it is certain that the art of sculpture
+can recover itself much better, in the event of the essence of statuary
+being lost (since men have the living and the natural model, which is
+wholly rounded, as that art requires), than can the art of painting; it
+being not so easy and simple to recover the beautiful outlines and the
+good manner, in order to bring the art to the light, for these are the
+elements that produce majesty, beauty, grace and adornment in the works
+that the painters make. In one respect fortune was favourable to the
+labours of Andrea, because there had been brought to Pisa, as it has
+been said elsewhere, by means of the many victories that the Pisans had
+at sea, many antiquities and sarcophagi that are still round the Duomo
+and the Campo Santo, and these brought him such great assistance and
+gave him such great light as could not be obtained by Giotto, for the
+reason that the ancient paintings had not been preserved as much as the
+sculptures. And although statues are often destroyed by fires and by the
+ruin and fury of war, and buried or transported to diverse places,
+nevertheless it is easy for the experienced to recognize the difference
+in the manner of all countries; as, for example, the Egyptian is slender
+and lengthy in its figures, the Greek is scientific and shows much study
+in the nudes, while the heads have almost all the same expression, and
+the most ancient Tuscan is laboured in the hair and somewhat uncouth.
+That of the Romans (I call Romans, for the most part, those who, after
+the subjugation of Greece, betook themselves to Rome, whither all that
+there was of the good and of the beautiful in the world was
+carried)--that, I say, is so beautiful, by reason of the expressions,
+the attitudes, and the movements both of the nude and of the draped
+figures, that it may be said that they wrested the beautiful from all
+the other provinces and moulded it into one single manner, to the end
+that it might be, as it is, the best--nay, the most divine of all.
+
+All these beautiful manners and arts being spent in the time of Andrea,
+that alone was in use which had been brought by the Goths and by the
+uncivilized Greeks into Tuscany. Wherefore he, having studied the new
+method of design of Giotto and those few antiquities that were known to
+him, refined in great part the grossness of so miserable a manner with
+his judgment, in such wise that he began to work better and to give much
+greater beauty to statuary than any other had yet done in that art up to
+his times. Therefore, his genius and his good skill and dexterity
+becoming known, he was assisted by many in his country, and while still
+young he was commissioned to make for S. Maria a Ponte some little
+figures in marble, which brought him so good a name that he was sought
+out with very great insistence to come to work in Florence for the
+Office of Works of S. Maria del Fiore, which, after a beginning had been
+made with the facade containing the three doors, was suffering from a
+dearth of masters to make the scenes that Giotto had designed for the
+beginning of the said fabric. Andrea, then, betook himself to Florence,
+for the service of the said Office of Works. And because the Florentines
+desired at that time to gain the friendship and love of Pope Boniface
+VIII, who was then Supreme Pontiff of the Church of God, they wished
+that, before anything else, Andrea should make a portrait in marble of
+the said Pontiff, from the life. Wherefore, putting his hand to this
+work, he did not rest until he had finished the figure of the Pope, with
+a S. Peter and a S. Paul who are one on either side of him; which three
+figures were placed in the facade of S. Maria del Fiore, where they
+still are. Andrea then made certain little figures of prophets for the
+middle door of the said church, in some shrines or rather niches, from
+which it is seen that he had brought great betterment to the art, and
+that he was in advance, both in excellence and design, of all those who
+had worked up to then on the said fabric. Wherefore it was resolved that
+all the works of importance should be given to him to do, and not to
+others; and so, no long time after, he was commissioned to make the four
+statues of the principal Doctors of the Church, S. Jerome, S. Ambrose,
+S. Augustine, and S. Gregory. And these being finished and acquiring for
+him favour and fame with the Wardens of Works--nay, with the whole
+city--he was commissioned to make two other figures in marble of the
+same size, which were S. Stephen and S. Laurence, now standing in the
+said facade of S. Maria del Fiore, at the outermost corners. By the hand
+of Andrea, likewise, is the Madonna in marble, three braccia and a half
+high, with the Child in her arms, which stands on the altar of the
+little Church of the Company of the Misericordia, on the Piazza di S.
+Giovanni in Florence; which was a work much praised in those times, and
+above all because he accompanied it with two angels, one on either side,
+each two braccia and a half high. Round this work there has been made in
+our own day a frame of wood, very well wrought by Maestro Antonio,
+called Il Carota; and below, a predella full of most beautiful figures
+coloured in oil by Ridolfo, son of Domenico Ghirlandajo. In like
+manner, that half-length Madonna in marble that is over the side door of
+the same Misericordia, in the facade of the Cialdonai, is by the hand of
+Andrea, and it was much praised, because he imitated therein the good
+ancient manner, contrary to his wont, which was ever far distant from
+it, as some drawings testify that are in our book, wrought by his hand,
+wherein are drawn all the stories of the Apocalypse.
+
+Now, seeing that Andrea had applied himself in his youth to the study of
+architecture, there came occasion for him to be employed in this by the
+Commune of Florence; for Arnolfo being dead and Giotto absent, he was
+commissioned to make the design of the Castle of Scarperia, which is in
+the Mugello, at the foot of the mountains. Some say, although I would
+not indeed vouch for it as true, that Andrea stayed a year in Venice,
+and there wrought, in sculpture, some little figures in marble that are
+in the facade of S. Marco, and that at the time of Messer Piero
+Gradenigo, Doge of that Republic, he made the design of the Arsenal; but
+seeing that I know nothing about it save that which I find to have been
+written by some without authority, I leave each one to think in his own
+way about this matter. Andrea having returned from Venice to Florence,
+the city, fearful of the coming of the Emperor, caused a part of the
+walls to be raised with lime post-haste to the height of eight braccia,
+employing in this Andrea, in that portion that is between San Gallo and
+the Porta al Prato; and in other places he made bastions, stockades, and
+other ramparts of earth and of wood, very strong.
+
+[Illustration: _Alinari_
+
+SALOME AND THE BEHEADING OF S. JOHN THE BAPTIST
+
+(_Details, after_ Andrea Pisano, _from the Gates of the Baptistery,
+Florence_)]
+
+Now because, three years before, he had shown himself to his own great
+credit to be an able man in the casting of bronze, having sent to the
+Pope in Avignon, by means of Giotto, his very great friend, who was then
+staying at that Court, a very beautiful cross cast in bronze, he was
+commissioned to complete in bronze one of the doors of the Church of S.
+Giovanni, for which Giotto had already made a very beautiful design;
+this was given to him, I say, to complete, by reason of his having been
+judged, among so many who had worked up to then, the most able, the most
+practised and the most judicious master not only of Tuscany but of
+all Italy. Wherefore, putting his hand to this, with a mind determined
+not to consent to spare either time, or labour, or diligence in
+executing a work of so great importance, fortune was so propitious to
+him in the casting, for those times when the secrets were not known that
+are known to-day, that within the space of twenty-two years he brought
+it to that perfection which is seen; and what is more, he also made
+during that same time not only the shrine of the high-altar of S.
+Giovanni, with two angels, one on either side of it, that were held
+something very beautiful, but also, after the design of Giotto, those
+little figures in marble that act as adornment for the door of the
+Campanile of S. Maria del Fiore, and round the same Campanile, in
+certain mandorle, the seven planets, the seven virtues, and the seven
+works of mercy, little figures in half-relief that were then much
+praised. He also made during the same time the three figures, each four
+braccia high, that were set up in the niches of the said Campanile,
+beneath the windows that face the spot where the Orphans now are--that
+is, towards the south; which figures were thought at that time more than
+passing good. But to return to where I left off: I say that in the said
+bronze door are little scenes in low relief of the life of S. John the
+Baptist, that is, from his birth up to his death, wrought happily and
+with much diligence. And although it seems to many that in these scenes
+there do not appear that beautiful design and that great art which are
+now put into figures, yet Andrea deserves nothing but the greatest
+praise, in that he was the first to put his hand to the complete
+execution of such a work, which afterwards enabled the others who lived
+after him to make whatever of the beautiful, of the difficult and of the
+good is to be seen at the present day in the other two doors and in the
+external ornaments. This work was placed in the middle door of that
+church, and stood there until the time when Lorenzo Ghiberti made that
+one which is there at the present day; for then it was removed and
+placed opposite the Misericordia, where it still stands. I will not
+forbear to say that Andrea was assisted in making this door by Nino, his
+son, who was afterwards a much better master than his father had been,
+and that it was completely finished in the year 1339, that is, not only
+made smooth and polished all over, but also gilded by fire; and it is
+believed that it was cast in metal by some Venetian masters, very expert
+in the founding of metals, and of this there is found record in the
+books of the Guild of the Merchants of Calimara, Wardens of the Works of
+S. Giovanni.
+
+While the said door was making, Andrea made not only the other works
+aforesaid but also many others, and in particular the model of the
+Church of S. Giovanni at Pistoia, which was founded in the year 1337. In
+that same year, on January 25, in excavating the foundations of this
+church, there was found the body of the Blessed Atto, once Bishop of
+that city, who had been buried in that place one hundred and
+thirty-seven years. The architecture, then, of this church, which is
+round, was passing good for those times. In the principal church of the
+said city of Pistoia there is also a tomb of marble by the hand of
+Andrea, with the body of the sarcophagus full of little figures, and
+some larger figures above; in which tomb is laid to rest the body of
+Messer Cino d' Angibolgi, Doctor of Laws, and a very famous scholar in
+his time, as Messer Francesco Petrarca testifies in that sonnet:
+
+     Piangete, donne, e con voi pianga Amore;
+
+and also in the fourth chapter of the _Triumph of Love_, where he says:
+
+     Ecco Cin da Pistoia, Guitton d'Arezzo,
+     Che di non esser primo par ch'ira aggia.
+
+In that tomb there is seen the portrait of Messer Cino himself in
+marble, by the hand of Andrea; he is teaching a number of his scholars,
+who are round him, with an attitude and manner so beautiful that,
+although to-day it might not be prized, in those days it must have been
+a marvellous thing.
+
+[Illustration: _Alinari_
+
+THE CREATION OF MAN
+
+(_After a relief, by_ Andrea Pisano, _on the Campanile, Florence_)]
+
+Andrea was also made use of in matters of architecture by Gualtieri,
+Duke of Athens and Tyrant of the Florentines, who made him enlarge the
+square, and caused him, in order to safeguard himself in his palace, to
+secure all the lower windows on the first floor (where to-day is the
+Sala de' Dugento) with iron bars, square and very strong. The said Duke
+also added, opposite S. Pietro Scheraggio, the walls of rustic work
+that are beside the palace, in order to enlarge it; and in the thickness
+of the wall he made a secret staircase, in order to ascend and descend
+unseen. And at the foot of the said wall of rustic work he made a great
+door, which serves to-day for the Customs-house, and above that his
+arms, and all with the design and counsel of Andrea; and although these
+arms were chiselled out by the Council of Twelve, which took pains to
+efface every memorial of that Duke, there remained none the less in the
+square shield the form of the lion rampant with two tails, as anyone can
+see who examines it with diligence. For the same Duke Andrea built many
+towers round the walls of the city, and he not only made a magnificent
+beginning for the Porta a S. Friano and brought it to the completion
+that is seen, but also made the walls for the vestibules of all the
+gates of the city, and the lesser gates for the convenience of the
+people. And because the Duke had it in his mind to make a fortress on
+the Costa di S. Giorgio, Andrea made the model for it, which afterwards
+was not used, for the reason that the work was never given a beginning,
+the Duke having been driven out in the year 1343. Nevertheless, there
+was effected in great part the desire of that Duke to bring the palace
+to the form of a strong castle, because, to that which had been made
+originally, he added the great mass which is seen to-day, enclosing
+within its circuit the houses of the Filipetri, the tower and the houses
+of the Amidei and Mancini, and those of the Bellalberti. And because,
+having made a beginning with so great a fabric and with the thick walls
+and barbicans, he had not all the material that was essential equally in
+readiness, he held back the construction of the Ponte Vecchio, which was
+being worked on with all haste as a work of necessity, and availed
+himself of the stone hewn and the wood prepared for it, without the
+least scruple. And although Taddeo Gaddi was not perhaps inferior in the
+matters of architecture to Andrea Pisano, the Duke would not avail
+himself of him in these buildings, by reason of his being a Florentine,
+but only of Andrea. The same Duke Gualtieri wished to pull down S.
+Cecilia, in order to see from his palace the Strada Romana and the
+Mercato Nuovo, and likewise to destroy S. Pietro Scheraggio for his own
+convenience, but he had not leave to do this from the Pope; and
+meanwhile, as it has been said above, he was driven out by the fury of
+the people.
+
+Deservedly then did Andrea gain, by the honourable labours of so many
+years, not only very great rewards but also the citizenship; for he was
+made a citizen of Florence by the Signoria, and was given offices and
+magistracies in the city, and his works were esteemed both while he
+lived and after his death, there being found no one who could surpass
+him in working, until there came Niccolo Aretino, Jacopo della Quercia
+of Siena, Donatello, Filippo di Ser Brunellesco, and Lorenzo Ghiberti,
+who executed the sculptures and other works that they made in such a
+manner that people recognized in how great error they had lived up to
+that time; for these men recovered with their works that excellence
+which had been hidden and little known by men for many and many a year.
+The works of Andrea date about the year of our salvation 1340.
+
+Andrea left many disciples; among others, Tommaso Pisano, architect and
+sculptor, who finished the Chapel of the Campo Santo and added the
+finishing touch to the Campanile of the Duomo--namely, that final part
+wherein are the bells. Tommaso is believed to have been the son of
+Andrea, this being found written in the panel of the high-altar of S.
+Francesco in Pisa, wherein there is, carved in half-relief, a Madonna,
+with other Saints made by him, and below these his name and that of his
+father.
+
+[Illustration: _Alinari_
+
+MADONNA AND CHILD
+
+(_After_ Nino Pisano. _Orvieto: Museo dell'Opera_)]
+
+Andrea was survived by Nino, his son, who applied himself to sculpture;
+and his first work was in S. Maria Novella, where he finished a Madonna
+in marble begun by his father, which is within the side door, beside the
+Chapel of the Minerbetti. Next, having gone to Pisa, he made in the
+Spina a half-length figure in marble of Our Lady, who is suckling an
+infant Jesus Christ wrapped in certain delicate draperies. For this
+Madonna an ornamental frame of marble was made in the year 1522, by the
+agency of Messer Jacopo Corbini, and another frame, much greater and
+more beautiful, was made then for another Madonna of marble, which was
+of full length and by the hand of the same Nino; in the attitude of
+which Madonna the mother is seen handing a rose with much grace to her
+Son, who is taking it in a childlike manner, so beautiful that it may
+be said that Nino was beginning to rob the stone of its hardness and to
+reduce it to the softness of flesh, giving it lustre by means of the
+highest polish. This figure is between a S. John and a S. Peter in
+marble, the head of the latter being a portrait of Andrea from the life.
+Besides this, for an altar in S. Caterina, also in Pisa, Nino made two
+statues of marble--that is, a Madonna, and an Angel who is bringing her
+the Annunciation, wrought, like his other works, with so great diligence
+that it can be said that they are the best that were made in those
+times. Below this Madonna receiving the Annunciation Nino carved these
+words on the base: ON THE FIRST DAY OF FEBRUARY, 1370; and below the
+Angel: THESE FIGURES NINO MADE, THE SON OF ANDREA PISANO. He also made
+other works in that city and in Naples, whereof it is not needful to
+make mention.
+
+Andrea died at the age of seventy-five, in the year 1345, and was buried
+by Nino in S. Maria del Fiore, with this epitaph:
+
+     INGENTI ANDREAS JACET HIC PISANUS IN URNA,
+     MARMORE QUI POTUIT SPIRANTES DUCERE VULTUS,
+     ET SIMULACRA DEUM MEDIIS IMPONERE TEMPLIS
+     EX AERE, EX AURO CANDENTI, ET PULCRO ELEPHANTO.
+
+
+
+
+BUONAMICO BUFFALMACCO
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF BUONAMICO BUFFALMACCO,
+
+PAINTER OF FLORENCE
+
+
+Buonamico di Cristofano, called Buffalmacco, painter of Florence, who
+was a disciple of Andrea Tafi, and celebrated for his jokes by Messer
+Giovanni Boccaccio in his _Decameron_, was, as is known, a very dear
+companion of Bruno and Calandrino, painters equally humorous and gay;
+and as may be seen in his works, scattered throughout all Tuscany, he
+was a man of passing good judgment in his art of painting. Franco
+Sacchetti relates in his three hundred Stories (to begin with the things
+that this man did while still youthful), that Buffalmacco lived, while
+he was a lad, with Andrea, and that this master of his used to make it a
+custom, when the nights were long, to get up before daylight to labour,
+and to call the lads to night-work. This being displeasing to Buonamico,
+who was made to rise out of his soundest sleep, he began to think of
+finding a way whereby Andrea might give up rising so much before
+daylight to work, and he succeeded; for having found thirty large
+cockroaches, or rather blackbeetles, in a badly swept cellar, with
+certain fine and short needles he fixed a little taper on the back of
+each of the said cockroaches, and, the hour coming when Andrea was wont
+to rise, he lit the tapers and put the animals one by one into the room
+of Andrea, through a chink in the door. He, awaking at the very hour
+when he was wont to call Buffalmacco, and seeing those little lights,
+all full of fear began to tremble and in great terror to recommend
+himself under his breath to God, like the old gaffer that he was, and to
+say his prayers or psalms; and finally, putting his head below the
+bedclothes, he made no attempt for that night to call Buffalmacco, but
+stayed as he was, ever trembling with fear, up to daylight. In the
+morning, then, having risen, he asked Buonamico if he had seen, as he
+had himself, more than a thousand demons; whereupon Buonamico said he
+had not, because he had kept his eyes closed, and was marvelling that he
+had not been called to night-work. "To night-work!" said Tafo, "I have
+had something else to think of besides painting, and I am resolved at
+all costs to go and live in another house." The following night,
+although Buonamico put only three of them into the said room of Tafo,
+none the less, what with terror of the past night and of those few
+devils that he saw, he slept not a wink; nay, no sooner was it daylight
+than he rushed from the house, meaning never to return, and a great
+business it was to make him change his mind. At last Buonamico brought
+the parish priest, who consoled him the best that he could. Later, Tafo
+and Buonamico discoursing over the affair, Buonamico said: "I have ever
+heard tell that the greatest enemies of God are the demons, and that in
+consequence they must also be the most capital adversaries of painters;
+because, besides that we make them ever most hideous, what is worse, we
+never attend to aught else than to making saints, male and female, on
+walls and panels, and to making men more devout and more upright
+thereby, to the despite of the demons; wherefore, these demons having a
+grudge against us for this, as beings that have greater power by night
+than by day they come and play us these tricks, and worse tricks will
+they play if this use of rising for night-work is not given up
+completely." With these and many other speeches Buffalmacco knew so well
+how to manage the business, being borne out by what Sir Priest kept
+saying, that Tafo gave over rising for night-work, and the devils ceased
+going through the house at night with little lights. But Tafo beginning
+again, for the love of gain, not many months afterwards, having almost
+forgotten all fear, to rise once more to work in the night and to call
+Buffalmacco, the cockroaches too began again to wander about; wherefore
+he was forced by fear to give up the habit entirely, being above all
+advised to do this by the priest. Afterwards this affair, spreading
+throughout the city, brought it about that for a time neither Tafo nor
+other painters made a practice of rising to work at night. Later, and no
+long time after this, Buffalmacco, having become a passing good master,
+took leave of Tafo, as the same Franco relates, and began to work for
+himself; and he never lacked for something to do.
+
+Now, Buffalmacco having taken a house, to work in and to live in as
+well, that had next door a passing rich woolworker, who, being a
+simpleton, was called Capodoca (Goosehead), the wife of this man would
+rise every night very early, precisely when Buffalmacco, having up to
+then been working, would go to lie down; and sitting at her wheel, which
+by misadventure she had planted opposite to the bed of Buffalmacco, she
+would spend the whole night spinning her thread; wherefore Buonamico,
+being able to get scarce a wink of sleep, began to think and think how
+he could remedy this nuisance. Nor was it long before he noticed that
+behind a wall of brickwork, that divided his house from Capodoca's, was
+the hearth of his uncomfortable neighbour, and that through a hole it
+was possible to see what she was doing over the fire. Having therefore
+thought of a new trick, he bored a hole with a long gimlet through a
+cane, and, watching for a moment when the wife of Capodoca was not at
+the fire, he pushed it more than once through the aforesaid hole in the
+wall and put as much salt as he wished into his neighbour's pot;
+wherefore Capodoca, returning either for dinner or for supper, more
+often than not could not eat or even taste either broth or meat, so
+bitter was everything through the great quantity of salt. For once or
+twice he had patience and only made a little noise about it; but after
+he saw that words were not enough, he gave blows many a time for this to
+the poor woman, who was in despair, it appearing to her that she was
+more than careful in salting her cooking. She, one time among others
+that her husband was beating her for this, began to try to excuse
+herself, wherefore Capodoca, falling into even greater rage, set himself
+to thrash her again in a manner that the woman screamed with all her
+might, and the whole neighbourhood ran up at the noise; and among others
+there came up Buffalmacco, who, having heard of what Capodoca was
+accusing his wife and in what way she was excusing herself, said to
+Capodoca: "I' faith, comrade, this calls for a little reason; thou dost
+complain that the pot, morning and evening, is too much salted, and I
+marvel that this good woman of thine can do anything well. I, for my
+part, know not how, by day, she keeps on her feet, considering that the
+whole night she sits up over that wheel of hers, and sleeps not, to my
+belief, an hour. Make her give up this rising at midnight, and thou wilt
+see that, having her fill of sleep, she will have her wits about her by
+day and will not fall into such blunders." Then, turning to the other
+neighbours, he convinced them so well of the grave import of the matter,
+that they all said to Capodoca that Buonamico was speaking the truth and
+that it must be done as he advised. He, therefore, believing that it was
+so, commanded her not to rise in the night, and the pot was then
+reasonably salted, save when perchance the woman on occasion rose early,
+for then Buffalmacco would return to his remedy, which finally brought
+it about that Capodoca made her give it up completely.
+
+Buffalmacco, then, among the first works that he made, painted with his
+own hand the whole church of the Convent of the Nuns of Faenza, which
+stood in Florence on the site of the present Cittadella del Prato; and
+among other scenes that he made there from the life of Christ, in all
+which he acquitted himself very well, he made the Massacre that Herod
+ordained of the Innocents, wherein he expressed very vividly the
+emotions both of the murderers and of the other figures; for in some
+nurses and mothers who are snatching the infants from the hands of the
+murderers and are seeking all the assistance that they can from their
+hands, their nails, their teeth, and every movement of the body, there
+is shown on the surface a heart no less full of rage and fury than of
+woe.
+
+Of this work, that convent being to-day in ruins, there is to be seen
+nothing but a coloured sketch in our book of drawings by diverse
+masters, wherein there is this scene drawn by the hand of Buonamico
+himself. In the doing of this work for the aforesaid Nuns of Faenza,
+seeing that Buffalmacco was a person very eccentric and careless both in
+dress and in manner of life, it came to pass, since he did not always
+wear his cap and his mantle, as in those times it was the custom to do,
+that the nuns, seeing him once through the screen that he had caused to
+be made, began to say to the steward that it did not please them to see
+him in that guise, in his jerkin; however, appeased by him, they stayed
+for a little without saying more. But at last, seeing him ever in the
+same guise, and doubting whether he was not some knavish boy for
+grinding colours, they had him told by the Abbess that they would have
+liked to see the master at work, and not always him. To which Buonamico
+answered, like the good fellow that he was, that as soon as the master
+was there, he would let them know; taking notice, none the less, of the
+little confidence that they had in him. Taking a stool, therefore, and
+placing another above it, he put on top of all a pitcher, or rather a
+water-jar, and on the mouth of that he put a cap, hanging over the
+handle, and then he covered the rest of the jar with a burgher's mantle,
+and finally, putting a brush in suitable fashion into the spout through
+which the water is poured, he went off. The nuns, returning to see the
+work through an opening where the cloth had slipped, saw the
+supposititious master in full canonicals; wherefore, believing that he
+was working might and main and was by way of doing different work from
+that which the untidy knave was doing, they left it at that for some
+days, without thinking more about it. Finally, having grown desirous to
+see what beautiful work the master had done, fifteen days having passed,
+during which space of time Buonamico had never come near the place, one
+night, thinking that the master was not there, they went to see his
+paintings, and remained all confused and blushing by reason of one
+bolder than the rest discovering the solemn master, who in fifteen days
+had done not one stroke of work. Then, recognizing that he had served
+them as they merited and that the works that he had made were worthy of
+nothing but praise, they bade the steward recall Buonamico, who, with
+the greatest laughter and delight, returned to the work, having given
+them to know what difference there is between men and pitchers, and that
+it is not always by their clothes that the works of men should be
+judged. In a few days, then, he finished a scene wherewith they were
+much contented, it appearing to them to be in every way satisfactory,
+except that the figures appeared to them rather wan and pallid than
+otherwise in the flesh-tints. Buonamico, hearing this, and having learnt
+that the Abbess had some Vernaccia, the best in Florence, which was used
+for the holy office of the Mass, said to them that in order to remedy
+this defect nothing else could be done but to temper the colours with
+some good Vernaccia; because, touching the cheeks and the rest of the
+flesh on the figures with colours thus tempered, they would become rosy
+and coloured in most lifelike fashion. Hearing this, the good sisters,
+who believed it all, kept him ever afterwards furnished with the best
+Vernaccia, as long as the work lasted; and he, rejoicing in it, from
+that time onwards made the figures fresher and more highly coloured with
+his ordinary colours.
+
+This work finished, he painted some stories of S. James in the Abbey of
+Settimo, in the chapel that is in the cloister, and dedicated to that
+Saint, on the vaulting of which he made the four Patriarchs and the four
+Evangelists, among whom S. Luke is doing a striking action in blowing
+very naturally on his pen, in order that it may yield its ink. Next, in
+the scenes on the walls, which are five, there are seen beautiful
+attitudes in the figures, and the whole work is executed with invention
+and judgment. And because Buonamico was wont, in order to make his
+flesh-colour better, as is seen in this work, to make a ground of
+purple, which in time produces a salt that becomes corroded and eats
+away the white and other colours, it is no marvel if this work is spoilt
+and eaten away, whereas many others that were made long before have been
+very well preserved. And I, who thought formerly that these pictures had
+received injury from the damp, have since proved by experience, studying
+other works of the same man, that it is not from the damp but from this
+particular use of Buffalmacco's that they have become spoilt so
+completely that there is not seen in them either design or anything
+else, and that where the flesh-colours were there has remained nothing
+else but the purple. This method of working should be used by no one who
+is anxious that his pictures should have long life.
+
+Buonamico wrought, after that which has been described above, two panels
+in distemper for the Monks of the Certosa of Florence, whereof one is
+where the books of chants are kept for the use of the choir, and the
+other below in the old chapels. He painted in fresco the Chapel of the
+Giochi and Bastari in the Badia of Florence, beside the principal
+chapel; which chapel, although afterwards it was conceded to the family
+of the Boscoli, retains the said pictures of Buffalmacco up to our own
+day. In these he made the Passion of Christ, with effects ingenious and
+beautiful, showing very great humility and sweetness in Christ, who is
+washing the feet of His Disciples, and ferocity and cruelty in the Jews,
+who are leading Him to Herod. But he showed talent and facility more
+particularly in a Pilate, whom he painted in prison, and in Judas
+hanging from a tree; wherefore it is easy to believe what is told about
+this gay painter--namely, that when he thought fit to use diligence and
+to take pains, which rarely came to pass, he was not inferior to any
+painter whatsoever of his times. And to show that this is true, the
+works in fresco that he made in Ognissanti, where to-day there is the
+cemetery, were wrought with so much diligence and with so many
+precautions, that the water which has rained over them for so many years
+has not been able to spoil them or to prevent their excellence from
+being recognized, and that they have been preserved very well, because
+they were wrought purely on the fresh plaster. On the walls, then, are
+the Nativity of Jesus Christ and the Adoration of the Magi--that is,
+over the tomb of the Aliotti. After this work Buonamico, having gone to
+Bologna, wrought some scenes in fresco in S. Petronio, in the Chapel of
+the Bolognini--that is, on the vaulting; but by reason of some accident,
+I know not what, supervening, he did not finish them.
+
+It is said that in the year 1302 he was summoned to Assisi, and that in
+the Church of S. Francesco, in the Chapel of S. Caterina, he painted all
+the stories of her life in fresco, which have been very well preserved;
+and there are therein some figures that are worthy to be praised. This
+chapel finished, on his passing through Arezzo, Bishop Guido, by reason
+of having heard that Buonamico was a gay fellow and an able painter,
+desired him to stop in that city and paint for him, in the Vescovado,
+the chapel where baptisms are now held. Buonamico, having put his hand
+to the work, had already done a good part of it when there befell him
+the strangest experience in the world, which was, according to what
+Franco Sacchetti relates, as follows. The Bishop had an ape, the
+drollest and the most mischievous that there had ever been. This animal,
+standing once on the scaffolding to watch Buonamico at work, had given
+attention to everything, and had never taken his eyes off him when he
+was mixing the colours, handling the flasks, beating the eggs for making
+the distempers, and in short when he was doing anything else
+whatsoever. Now, Buonamico having left off working one Saturday evening,
+on the Sunday morning this ape, notwithstanding that he had, fastened to
+his feet, a great block of wood which the Bishop made him carry in order
+that thus he might not be able to leap wherever he liked, climbed on to
+the scaffolding whereon Buonamico was used to stand to work, in spite of
+the very great weight of the block of wood; and there, seizing the
+flasks with his hands, pouring them one into another and making six
+mixtures, and beating up whatever eggs there were, he began to daub over
+with the brushes all the figures there, and, persevering in this
+performance, did not cease until he had repainted everything with his
+own hand; and this done, he again made a mixture of all the colours that
+were left him, although they were but few, and, getting down from the
+scaffolding, went off. Monday morning having come, Buonamico returned to
+his work, where, seeing the figures spoilt, the flasks all mixed up, and
+everything upside down, he stood all in marvel and confusion. Then,
+having pondered much in his own mind, he concluded finally that some
+Aretine had done this, through envy or through some other reason;
+wherefore, having gone to the Bishop, he told him how the matter stood
+and what he suspected, whereat the Bishop became very much disturbed,
+but, consoling Buonamico, desired him to put his hand again to the work
+and to repaint all that was spoilt. And because the Bishop had put faith
+in his words, which had something of the probable, he gave him six of
+his men-at-arms, who should stand in hiding with halberds while he was
+not at work, and, if anyone came, should cut him to pieces without
+mercy. The figures, then, having been painted over again, one day that
+the soldiers were in hiding, lo and behold! they hear a certain rumbling
+through the church, and a little while after the ape climbing on to the
+scaffolding; and in the twinkling of an eye, the mixtures made, they see
+the new master set himself to work over the saints of Buonamico. Calling
+him, therefore, and showing him the culprit, and standing with him to
+watch the beast at his work, they were all like to burst with laughter;
+and Buonamico in particular, for all that he was vexed thereby, could
+not keep from laughing till the tears came. Finally, dismissing the
+soldiers who had mounted guard with their halberds, he went off to the
+Bishop and said to him: "My lord, you wish the painting to be done in
+one fashion, and your ape wishes it done in another." Then, relating the
+affair, he added: "There was no need for you to send for painters from
+elsewhere, if you had the true master at home. But he, perhaps, knew not
+so well how to make the mixtures; now that he knows, let him do it by
+himself, since I am no more good here. And his talent being revealed, I
+am content that there should be nothing given to me for my work save
+leave to return to Florence." The Bishop, hearing the affair, although
+it vexed him, could not keep from laughing, and above all as he thought
+how an animal had played a trick on him who was the greatest trickster
+in the world. However, after they had talked and laughed their fill over
+this strange incident, the Bishop persuaded Buonamico to resume the work
+for the third time, and he finished it. And the ape, as punishment and
+penance for the crime committed, was shut up in a great wooden cage and
+kept where Buonamico was working, until this work was entirely finished;
+and no one could imagine the contortions which that creature kept making
+in this cage with his face, his body, and his hands, seeing others
+working and himself unable to take part.
+
+The work in this chapel finished, the Bishop, either in jest or for some
+other reason known only to himself, commanded that Buffalmacco should
+paint him, on one wall of his palace, an eagle on the back of a lion
+which it had killed. The crafty painter, having promised to do all that
+the Bishop wished, had a good scaffolding made of planks, saying that he
+refused to be seen painting such a thing. This made, shutting himself up
+alone inside it, he painted, contrary to what the Bishop wished, a lion
+that was tearing to pieces an eagle; and, the work finished, he sought
+leave from the Bishop to go to Florence in order to get some colours
+that he was wanting. And so, locking the scaffolding with a key, he went
+off to Florence, in mind to return no more to the Bishop, who, seeing
+the business dragging on and the painter not returning, had the
+scaffolding opened, and discovered that Buonamico had been too much for
+him. Wherefore, moved by very great displeasure, he had him banished on
+pain of death, and Buonamico, hearing this, sent to tell him to do his
+worst; whereupon the Bishop threatened him to a fearful tune. But
+finally, remembering that he had begun the playing of tricks and that it
+served him right to be tricked himself, he pardoned Buonamico for his
+insult and rewarded him liberally for his labours. Nay, what is more,
+summoning him again no long time after to Arezzo, he caused him to make
+many works in the Duomo Vecchio, which are now destroyed, treating him
+ever as his familiar friend and very faithful servant. The same man
+painted the niche of the principal chapel in the Church of S. Giustino,
+also in Arezzo.
+
+Some writers tell that Buonamico being in Florence and often frequenting
+the shop of Maso del Saggio with his friends and companions, he was
+there, with many others, arranging the festival which the men of the
+Borgo San Friano held on May 1 in certain boats on the Arno; and that
+when the Ponte alla Carraia, which was then of wood, collapsed by reason
+of the too great weight of the people who had flocked to that spectacle,
+he did not die there, as many others did, because, precisely at the
+moment when the bridge collapsed on to the structure that was
+representing Hell on the boats in the Arno, he had gone to get some
+things that were wanting for the festival.
+
+Being summoned to Pisa no long time after these events, Buonamico
+painted many stories of the Old Testament in the Abbey of S. Paolo a
+Ripa d'Arno, then belonging to the Monks of Vallombrosa, in both
+transepts of the church, on three sides, and from the roof down to the
+floor, beginning with the Creation of man, and continuing up to the
+completion of the Tower of Nimrod. In this work, although it is to-day
+for the greater part spoilt, there are seen vivacity in the figures,
+good skill and loveliness in the colouring, and signs to show that the
+hand of Buonamico could very well express the conceptions of his mind,
+although he had little power of design. On the wall of the right
+transept which is opposite to that wherein is the side door, in some
+stories of S. Anastasia, there are seen certain ancient costumes and
+head-dresses, very charming and beautiful, in some women who are painted
+there with graceful manner. Not less beautiful, also, are those figures
+that are in a boat, with well-conceived attitudes, among which is the
+portrait of Pope Alexander IV, which Buonamico had, so it is said, from
+Tafo his master, who had portrayed that Pontiff in mosaic in S. Pietro.
+In the last scene, likewise, wherein is the martyrdom of that Saint and
+of others, Buonamico expressed very well in the faces the fear of death
+and the grief and terror of those who are standing to see her tortured
+and put to death, while she stands bound to a tree and over the fire.
+
+A companion of Buonamico in this work was Bruno di Giovanni, a painter,
+who is thus called in the old book of the Company; which Bruno (also
+celebrated as a gay fellow by Boccaccio), the said scenes on the walls
+being finished, painted the altar of S. Ursula with the company of
+virgins, in the same church. He made in one hand of the said Saint a
+standard with the arms of Pisa, which are a white cross on a field of
+red, and he made her offering the other hand to a woman who, rising
+between two mountains and touching the sea with one of her feet, is
+stretching both her hands to her in the act of supplication; which
+woman, representing Pisa, and having on her head a crown of gold and
+over her shoulders a mantle covered with circlets and eagles, is seeking
+assistance from that Saint, being much in travail in the sea. Now, for
+the reason that in painting this work Bruno was bewailing that the
+figures which he was making therein had not the same life as those of
+Buonamico, the latter, in his waggish way, in order to teach him to make
+his figures not merely vivacious but actually speaking, made him paint
+some words issuing from the mouth of that woman who is supplicating the
+Saint, and the answer of the Saint to her, a device that Buonamico had
+seen in the works that had been made in the same city by Cimabue. This
+expedient, even as it pleased Bruno and the other thick-witted men of
+those times, in like manner pleases certain boors to-day, who are served
+therein by craftsmen as vulgar as themselves. And in truth it seems
+extraordinary that from this beginning there should have passed into use
+a device that was employed for a jest and for no other reason, insomuch
+that even a great part of the Campo Santo, wrought by masters of repute,
+is full of this rubbish.
+
+The works of Buonamico, then, finding much favour with the Pisans, he
+was charged by the Warden of the Works of the Campo Santo to make four
+scenes in fresco, from the beginning of the world up to the construction
+of Noah's Ark, and round the scenes an ornamental border, wherein he
+made his own portrait from the life--namely, in a frieze, in the middle
+of which, and on the corners, are some heads, among which, as I have
+said, is seen his own, with a cap exactly like the one that is seen
+above. And because in this work there is a God, who is upholding with
+his arms the heavens and the elements--nay, the whole body of the
+universe--Buonamico, in order to explain his story with verses similar
+to the pictures of that age, wrote this sonnet in capital letters at the
+foot, with his own hand, as may still be seen; which sonnet, by reason
+of its antiquity and of the simplicity of the language of those times,
+it has seemed good to me to include in this place, although in my
+opinion it is not likely to give much pleasure, save perchance as
+something that bears witness as to what was the knowledge of the men of
+that century:
+
+     Voi che avisate questa dipintura
+     Di Dio pietoso, sommo creatore,
+     Lo qual fe' tutte cose con amore,
+     Pesate, numerate ed in misura;
+     In nove gradi angelica natura,
+     In ello empirio ciel pien di splendore,
+     Colui che non si muove ed e motore,
+     Ciascuna cosa fece buona e pura.
+     Levate gli occhi del vostro intelletto,
+     Considerate quanto e ordinato
+     Lo mondo universale; e con affetto
+     Lodate lui che l'ha si ben creato;
+     Pensate di passare a tal diletto
+     Tra gli Angeli, dov'e ciascun beato.
+     Per questo mondo si vede la gloria,
+     Lo basso e il mezzo e l'alto in questa storia.
+
+And to tell the truth, it was very courageous in Buonamico to undertake
+to make a God the Father five braccia high, with the hierarchies, the
+heavens, the angels, the zodiac, and all the things above, even to the
+heavenly body of the moon, and then the element of fire, the air, the
+earth, and finally the nether regions; and to fill up the two angles
+below he made in one, S. Augustine, and in the other, S. Thomas
+Aquinas. At the head of the same Campo Santo, where there is now the
+marble tomb of Corte, Buonamico painted the whole Passion of Christ,
+with a great number of figures on foot and on horseback, and all in
+varied and beautiful attitudes; and continuing the story he made the
+Resurrection and the Apparition of Christ to the Apostles, passing well.
+
+Having finished these works and at the same time all that he had gained
+Pisa, which was not little, he returned to Florence as poor as he had
+left it, and there he made many panels and works in fresco, whereof
+there is no need to make further record. Meanwhile there had been
+entrusted to Bruno, his great friend (who had returned with him from
+Pisa, where they had squandered everything), some works in S. Maria
+Novella, and seeing that Bruno had not much design or invention,
+Buonamico designed for him all that he afterwards put into execution on
+a wall in the said church, opposite to the pulpit and as long as the
+space between column and column, and that was the story of S. Maurice
+and his companions, who were beheaded for the faith of Jesus Christ.
+This work Bruno made for Guido Campese, then Constable of the
+Florentines, whose portrait he had made before he died in the year 1312;
+in that work he painted him in his armour, as was the custom in those
+times, and behind him he made a line of men-at-arms, armed in ancient
+fashion, who make a beautiful effect, while Guido himself is kneeling
+before a Madonna who has the Child Jesus in her arms, and is appearing
+to be recommended to her by S. Dominic and S. Agnes, who are on either
+side of him. Although this picture is not very beautiful, yet,
+considering the design and invention of Buonamico, it is worthy to be in
+part praised, and above all by reason of the costumes, helmets, and
+other armour of those times. And I have availed myself of it in some
+scenes that I have made for the Lord Duke Cosimo, wherein it was
+necessary to represent men armed in ancient fashion, and other similar
+things of that age; which work has greatly pleased his most Illustrious
+Excellency and others who have seen it. And from this it can be seen how
+much benefit may be gained from the inventions and works made by these
+ancients, although they may not be very perfect, and in what fashion
+profit and advantage can be drawn from their performances, since they
+opened the way for us to the marvels that have been made up to our day
+and are being made continually.
+
+While Bruno was making this work, a peasant desiring that Buonamico
+should make him a S. Christopher, they came to an agreement in Florence
+and arranged a contract in this fashion, that the price should be eight
+florins and that the figure should be twelve braccia high. Buonamico,
+then, having gone to the church where he was to make the S. Christopher,
+found that by reason of its not being more than nine braccia either in
+height or in length, he could not, either without or within, accommodate
+the figure in a manner that it might stand well; wherefore he made up
+his mind, since it would not go in upright, to make it within the church
+lying down. But since, even so, the whole length would not go in, he was
+forced to bend it from the knees downwards on to the wall at the head of
+the church. The work finished, the peasant would by no means pay for it;
+nay, he made an outcry and said he had been cozened. The matter,
+therefore, going before the Justices, it was judged, according to the
+contract, that Buonamico was in the right.
+
+In S. Giovanni fra l'Arcore was a very beautiful Passion of Christ by
+the hand of Buonamico, and among other things that were much praised
+therein was a Judas hanging from a tree, made with much judgment and
+beautiful manner. An old man, likewise, who was blowing his nose, was
+most natural, and the Maries, broken with weeping, had expressions and
+aspects so sad, that they deserved to be greatly praised, since that age
+had not as yet much facility in the method of representing the emotions
+of the soul with the brush. On the same wall there was a good figure in
+a S. Ivo of Brittany, who had many widows and orphans at his feet, and
+two angels in the sky, who were crowning him, were made with the
+sweetest manner. This edifice and the pictures together were thrown to
+the ground in the year of the war of 1529.
+
+In Cortona, also, for Messer Aldobrandino, Bishop of that city,
+Buonamico painted many works in the Vescovado, and in particular the
+chapel and panel of the high-altar; but seeing that everything was
+thrown to the ground in renovating the palace and the church, there is
+no need to make further mention of them. In S. Francesco, however, and
+in S. Margherita, in the same city, there are still some pictures by the
+hand of Buonamico. From Cortona going once more to Assisi, Buonamico
+painted in fresco, in the lower Church of S. Francesco, the whole Chapel
+of Cardinal Egidio Alvaro, a Spaniard; and because he acquitted himself
+very well, he was therefore liberally rewarded by that Cardinal.
+Finally, Buonamico having wrought many pictures throughout the whole
+March, in returning to Florence he stopped at Perugia, and painted there
+in fresco the Chapel of the Buontempi in the Church of S. Domenico,
+making therein stories of the life of S. Catherine, virgin and martyr.
+And in the Church of S. Domenico Vecchio, on one wall, he painted in
+fresco the scene when the same Catherine, daughter of King Costa, making
+disputation, is convincing and converting certain philosophers to the
+faith of Christ; and seeing that this scene is more beautiful than any
+other that Buonamico ever made, it can be said with truth that in this
+work he surpassed himself. The people of Perugia, moved by this,
+according to what Franco Sacchetti writes, commanded that he should
+paint S. Ercolano, Bishop and Protector of that city, in the square;
+wherefore, having agreed about the price, on the spot where the painting
+was to be done there was made a screen of planks and matting, to the end
+that the master might not be seen painting; and this made, he put his
+hand to the work. But before ten days had passed, every passer-by asking
+when this picture would be finished, as though such works were cast in
+moulds,[15] the matter disgusted Buonamico; wherefore, having come to
+the end of the work and being distracted with such importunity, he
+determined within himself to take a gentle vengeance on the impatience
+of these people. And this came to pass, for, when the work was finished,
+before unveiling it, he let them see it, and it was entirely to their
+satisfaction; but on the people of Perugia wishing to remove the screen
+at once, Buonamico said that for two days longer they should leave it
+standing, for the reason that he wished to retouch certain parts on the
+dry; and so it was done. Buonamico, then, having mounted the
+scaffolding, removed the great diadem of gold that he had given to the
+Saint, raised in relief with plaster, as was the custom in those times,
+and made him a crown, or rather garland, right round his head, of
+roaches; and this done, one morning he settled with his host and went
+off to Florence. Now, two days having passed, the people of Perugia, not
+seeing the painter going about as they had been used, asked the host
+what had become of him, and, hearing that he had returned to Florence,
+went at once to remove the screen; and finding their S. Ercolano crowned
+solemnly with roaches, they sent word of it immediately to their
+governors. But although these sent horsemen post-haste to look for
+Buonamico, it was all in vain, seeing that he had returned in great
+haste to Florence. Having determined, then, to make a painter of their
+own remove the crown of roaches and restore the diadem to the Saint,
+they said all the evil that can be imagined about Buonamico and the rest
+of the Florentines.
+
+Buonamico, back in Florence and caring little about what the people of
+Perugia might say, set to work and made many paintings, whereof, in
+order not to be too long, there is no need to make mention. I will say
+only this, that having painted in fresco at Calcinaia a Madonna with the
+Child in her arms, he who had charged him to do it, in place of paying
+him, gave him words; whence Buonamico, who was not used to being trifled
+with or being fooled, determined to get his due by hook or by crook. And
+so, having gone one morning to Calcinaia, he transformed the child that
+he had painted in the arms of the Virgin into a little bear, but in
+colours made only with water, without size or distemper. This change
+being seen, not long after, by the peasant who had given him the work to
+do, almost in despair he went to find Buonamico, praying him for the
+sake of Heaven to remove the little bear and to paint another child as
+before, for he was ready to make satisfaction. This the other did
+amicably, being paid for both the first and the second labour without
+delay; and for restoring the whole work a wet sponge sufficed. Finally,
+seeing that it would take too long were I to wish to relate all the
+tricks, as well as all the pictures, that Buonamico Buffalmacco made,
+and above all when frequenting the shop of Maso del Saggio, which was
+the resort of citizens and of all the gay and mischievous spirits that
+there were in Florence, I will make an end of discoursing about him.
+
+He died at the age of seventy-eight, and being very poor and having done
+more spending than earning, by reason of being such in character, he was
+supported in his illness by the Company of the Misericordia in S. Maria
+Nuova, the hospital of Florence; and then, being dead, he was buried in
+the Ossa (for so they call a cloister, or rather cemetery, of the
+hospital), like the rest of the poor, in the year 1340. The works of
+this man were prized while he lived, and since then, for works of that
+age, they have been ever extolled.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 15: Proverbial expression, equivalent to our "twinkling of an
+eye."]
+
+
+
+
+AMBROGIO LORENZETTI
+
+[Illustration: MADONNA AND CHILD
+
+(_After the painting by_ Ambrogio Lorenzetti. _Milan: Cagnola
+Collection_)]
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF AMBROGIO LORENZETTI,
+
+PAINTER OF SIENA
+
+
+If that debt is great, as without doubt it is, which craftsmen of fine
+genius should acknowledge to nature, much greater should that be that is
+due from us to them, seeing that they, with great solicitude, fill the
+cities with noble and useful buildings and with lovely historical
+compositions, gaining for themselves, for the most part, fame and riches
+with their works; as did Ambrogio Lorenzetti, painter of Siena, who
+showed beautiful and great invention in grouping and placing his figures
+thoughtfully in historical scenes. That this is true is proved by a
+scene in the Church of the Friars Minor in Siena, painted by him very
+gracefully in the cloister, wherein there is represented in what manner
+a youth becomes a friar, and how he and certain others go to the Soldan,
+and are there beaten and sentenced to the gallows and hanged on a tree,
+and finally beheaded, with the addition of a terrible tempest. In this
+picture, with much art and dexterity, he counterfeited in the travailing
+of the figures the turmoil of the air and the fury of the rain and of
+the wind, wherefrom the modern masters have learnt the method and the
+principle of this invention, by reason of which, since it was unknown
+before, he deserved infinite commendation. Ambrogio was a practised
+colourist in fresco, and he handled colours in distemper with great
+dexterity and facility, as it is still seen in the panels executed by
+him in Siena for the little hospital called Mona Agnesa, where he
+painted and finished a scene with new and beautiful composition. And at
+the great hospital, on one front, he made in fresco the Nativity of Our
+Lady and the scene when she is going with the virgins to the Temple. For
+the Friars of S. Augustine in the same city he painted their
+Chapter-house, where the Apostles are seen represented on the vaulting,
+with scrolls in their hands whereon is written that part of the Creed
+which each one of them made; and below each is a little scene containing
+in painting that same subject that is signified above by the writing.
+Near this, on the main front, are three stories of S. Catherine the
+martyr, who is disputing with the tyrant in a temple, and, in the
+middle, the Passion of Christ, with the Thieves on the Cross, and the
+Maries below, who are supporting the Virgin Mary who has swooned; which
+works were finished by him with much grace and with beautiful manner.
+
+In a large hall of the Palazzo della Signoria in Siena he painted the
+War of Asinalunga, and after it the Peace and its events, wherein he
+fashioned a map, perfect for those times; and in the same palace he made
+eight scenes in terra-verde, highly finished. It is said that he also
+sent to Volterra a panel in distemper which was much praised in that
+city. And painting a chapel in fresco and a panel in distemper at Massa,
+in company with others, he gave them proof how great, both in judgment
+and in genius, was his worth in the art of painting; and in Orvieto he
+painted in fresco the principal Chapel of S. Maria. After these works,
+proceeding to Florence, he made a panel in S. Procolo, and in a chapel
+he painted the stories of S. Nicholas with little figures, in order to
+satisfy certain of his friends, who desired to see his method of
+working; and, being much practised, he executed this work in so short a
+time that there accrued to him fame and infinite repute. And this work,
+on the predella of which he made his own portrait, brought it about that
+in the year 1335 he was summoned to Cortona by order of Bishop Ubertini,
+then lord of that city, where he wrought certain works in the Church of
+S. Margherita, built a short time before for the Friars of S. Francis on
+the summit of the hill, and in particular the half of the vaulting and
+the walls, so well that, although to-day they are wellnigh eaten away by
+time, there are seen notwithstanding most beautiful effects in the
+figures; and it is clear that he was deservedly commended for them.
+
+[Illustration: AMBROGIO LORENZETTI: MADONNA AND CHILD WITH S.S. MARY
+MAGDALENE AND DOROTHY
+
+(_Siena: Pinacoteca 77. Panel_)]
+
+This work finished, Ambrogio returned to Siena, where he lived
+honourably the remainder of his life, not only by reason of being an
+excellent master in painting, but also because, having given attention
+in his youth to letters, they were a useful and pleasant
+accompaniment to him in his painting, and so great an ornament to his
+whole life that they rendered him no less popular and beloved than did
+his profession of painting; wherefore he was not only intimate with men
+of learning and of taste, but he was also employed, to his great honour
+and advantage, in the government of his Republic. The ways of Ambrogio
+were in all respects worthy of praise, and rather those of a gentleman
+and a philosopher than of a craftsman; and what most demonstrates the
+wisdom of men, he had ever a mind disposed to be content with that which
+the world and time brought, wherefore he supported with a mind temperate
+and calm the good and the evil that came to him from fortune. And truly
+it cannot be told to what extent courteous ways and modesty, with the
+other good habits, are an honourable accompaniment to all the arts, and
+in particular to those that are derived from the intellect and from
+noble and exalted talents; wherefore every man should make himself no
+less beloved with his ways than with the excellence of his art.
+
+Finally, at the end of his life, Ambrogio made a panel at Monte Oliveto
+di Chiusuri with great credit to himself, and a little afterwards, being
+eighty-three years of age, he passed happily and in the Christian faith
+to a better life. His works date about 1340.
+
+As it has been said, the portrait of Ambrogio, by his own hand, is seen
+in the predella of his panel in S. Procolo, with a cap on his head. And
+what was his worth in draughtsmanship is seen in our book, wherein are
+some passing good drawings by his hand.
+
+[Illustration: _Alinari_
+
+MADONNA AND CHILD
+
+(_Central panel of the polyptych by_ Ambrogio Lorenzetti. _Massa
+Marittima: Municipio_)]
+
+
+
+
+PIETRO CAVALLINI
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF PIETRO CAVALLINI,
+
+PAINTER OF ROME
+
+
+For many centuries Rome had been deprived not only of fine letters and
+of the glory of arms but also of all the sciences and fine arts, when,
+by the will of God, there was born therein Pietro Cavallini, in those
+times when Giotto, having, it may be said, restored painting to life,
+was holding the sovereignty among the painters in Italy. He, then,
+having been a disciple of Giotto and having worked with Giotto himself
+on the Navicella in mosaic in S. Pietro, was the first who, after him,
+gave light to that art, and he began to show that he had been no
+unworthy disciple of so great a master when he painted, over the door of
+the sacristy of the Araceli, some scenes that are to-day eaten away by
+time, and very many works coloured in fresco throughout the whole Church
+of S. Maria di Trastevere. Afterwards, working in mosaic on the
+principal chapel and on the facade of the church, he showed in the
+beginning of such a work, without the help of Giotto, that he was no
+less able in the execution and bringing to completion of mosaics than he
+was in painting. Making many scenes in fresco, also, in the Church of S.
+Grisogono, he strove to make himself known both as the best disciple of
+Giotto and as a good craftsman. In like manner, also in Trastevere, he
+painted almost the whole Church of S. Cecilia with his own hand, and
+many works in the Church of S. Francesco appresso Ripa. He then made the
+facade of mosaic in S. Paolo without Rome, and many stories of the Old
+Testament for the central nave. And painting some works in fresco in the
+Chapter-house of the first cloister, he put therein so great diligence
+that he gained thereby from men of judgment the name of being a most
+excellent master, and was therefore so much favoured by the prelates
+that they commissioned him to do the inner wall of S. Pietro, between
+the windows. Between these he made the four Evangelists, wrought very
+well in fresco, of extraordinary size in comparison with the figures
+that at that time were customary, with a S. Peter and a S. Paul, and a
+good number of figures in a ship, wherein, the Greek manner pleasing him
+much, he blended it ever with that of Giotto; and since he delighted to
+give relief to his figures, it is recognized that he used thereunto the
+greatest efforts that can be imagined by man. But the best work that he
+made in that city was in the said Church of Araceli on the Campidoglio,
+where he painted in fresco, on the vaulting of the principal apse, the
+Madonna with the Child in her arms, surrounded by a circle of sunlight,
+and beneath is the Emperor Octavian, to whom the Tiburtine Sibyl is
+showing Jesus Christ, and he is adoring Him; and the figures in this
+work, as it has been said in other places, have been much better
+preserved than the others, because those that are on the vaulting are
+less injured by dust than those that are made on the walls.
+
+After these works Pietro went to Tuscany, in order to see the works of
+the other disciples of his master Giotto and those of Giotto himself;
+and with this occasion he painted many figures in S. Marco in Florence,
+which are not seen to-day, the church having been whitewashed, except
+the Annunciation, which stands covered beside the principal door of the
+church. In S. Basilio, also, in the Canto alla Macine, he made another
+Annunciation in fresco on a wall, so like to that which he had made
+before in S. Marco, and to another one that is in Florence, that some
+believe, and not without probability, that they are all by the hand of
+this Pietro; and in truth they could not be more like, one to another,
+than they are. Among the figures that he made in the said S. Marco in
+Florence was the portrait of Pope Urban V from the life, with the heads
+of S. Peter and S. Paul; from which portrait Fra Giovanni da Fiesole
+copied that one which is in a panel in S. Domenico, also of Fiesole; and
+that was no small good-fortune, seeing that the portrait which was in S.
+Marco and many other figures that were about the church in fresco were
+covered with whitewash, as it has been said, when that convent was taken
+from the monks who occupied it before and given to the Preaching
+Friars, the whole being whitewashed with little attention and
+consideration.
+
+[Illustration: _Alinari_
+
+HEAD OF AN APOSTLE
+
+(_Detail from_ "The Last Judgment," _after the fresco by_ Pietro
+Cavallini. _Rome: Convent of S. Cecilia_)]
+
+Passing afterwards, in returning to Rome, through Assisi, not only in
+order to see those buildings and those notable works made there by his
+master and by some of his fellow-disciples, but also to leave something
+there by his own hand, he painted in fresco in the lower Church of S.
+Francesco--namely, in the transept that is on the side of the
+sacristy--a Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, with men on horseback armed in
+various fashions, and with many varied and extravagant costumes of
+diverse foreign peoples. In the air he made some angels, who, poised on
+their wings in diverse attitudes, are in a storm of weeping; and some
+pressing their hands to their breasts, others wringing them, and others
+beating the palms, they are showing that they feel the greatest grief at
+the death of the Son of God; and all, from the middle backwards, or
+rather from the middle downwards, melt away into air. In this work, well
+executed in the colouring, which is fresh and vivacious and so well
+contrived in the junctions of the plaster that the work appears all made
+in one day, I have found the coat of arms of Gualtieri, Duke of Athens;
+but by reason of there not being either a date or other writing there, I
+cannot affirm that it was caused to be made by him. I say, however, that
+besides the firm belief of everyone that it is by the hand of Pietro,
+the manner could not be more like his than it is, not to mention that it
+may be believed, this painter having lived at the time when Duke
+Gualtieri was in Italy, that it was made by Pietro as well as by order
+of the said Duke. At least, let everyone think as he pleases, the work,
+as ancient, is worthy of nothing but praise, and the manner, besides the
+public voice, shows that it is by the hand of this man.
+
+In the Church of S. Maria at Orvieto, wherein is the most holy relic of
+the Corporal, the same Pietro wrought in fresco certain stories of Jesus
+Christ and of the Host, with much diligence; and this he did, so it is
+said, for Messer Benedetto, son of Messer Buonconte Monaldeschi and lord
+at that time, or rather tyrant, of that city. Some likewise affirm that
+Pietro made some sculptures, and that they were very successful, because
+he had genius for whatever he set himself to do, and that he made the
+Crucifix that is in the great Church of S. Paolo without Rome; which
+Crucifix, as it is said and may be believed, is the one that spoke to S.
+Brigida in the year 1370.
+
+By the hand of the same man were some other works in that manner, which
+were thrown to the ground when the old Church of S. Pietro was pulled
+down in order to build the new. Pietro was very diligent in all his
+works, and sought with every effort to gain honour and to acquire fame
+in the art. He was not only a good Christian, but most devout and very
+much the friend of the poor, and he was beloved by reason of his
+excellence not only in his native city of Rome but by all those who had
+knowledge of him or of his works. And finally, he devoted himself at the
+end of his old age to religion, leading an exemplary life, with so much
+zeal that he was almost held a saint. Wherefore there is no reason to
+marvel not only that the said Crucifix by his hand spoke to the Saint,
+as it has been said, but also that innumerable miracles have been and
+still are wrought by a certain Madonna by his hand, which I do not
+intend to call his best, although it is very famous in all Italy and
+although I know very certainly and surely, by the manner of the
+painting, that it is by the hand of Pietro, whose most praiseworthy life
+and piety towards God were worthy to be imitated by all men. Nor let
+anyone believe, for the reason that it is scarcely possible and that
+experience continually shows this to us, that it is possible to attain
+to honourable rank without the fear and grace of God and without
+goodness of life. A disciple of Pietro Cavallini was Giovanni da
+Pistoia, who made some works of no great importance in his native city.
+
+Finally, at the age of eighty-five, he died in Rome of a colic caught
+while working in fresco, by reason of the damp and of standing
+continually at this exercise. His pictures date about the year 1364, and
+he was honourably buried in S. Paolo without Rome, with this epitaph:
+
+     QUANTUM ROMANAE PETRUS DECUS ADDIDIT URBI
+     PICTURA, TANTUM DAT DECUS IPSE POLO.
+
+His portrait has never been found, for all the diligence that has been
+used; it is therefore not included.
+
+[Illustration: _Alinari_
+
+HEAD OF THE CHRIST IN GLORY
+
+(_Detail from_ "The Last Judgment," _after the fresco by_ Pietro
+Cavallini. _Rome: Convent of S. Cecilia_)]
+
+
+
+
+SIMONE SANESE
+
+[Illustration: _Anderson_
+
+S. LOUIS CROWNING KING ROBERT OF NAPLES
+
+(_After the Altarpiece by_ Simon Sanese [Memmi _or_ Martini]. _Naples:
+Church of S. Lorenzo_)]
+
+
+
+LIFE OF SIMONE SANESE
+
+[_SIMONE MEMMI OR MARTINI_]
+
+PAINTER
+
+
+Truly happy can those men be called, who are inclined by nature to those
+arts that can bring to them not only honour and very great profit, but
+also, what is more, fame and a name wellnigh eternal, and happier still
+are they who have from their cradles, besides such inclination, courtesy
+and honest ways, which render them very dear to all men. But happiest of
+all, finally, talking of craftsmen, are they who not only receive a love
+of the good from nature, and noble ways from the same source and from
+education, but also live in the time of some famous writer, from whom,
+in return for a little portrait or some other similar courtesy in the
+way of art, they gain on occasion the reward of eternal honour and name,
+by means of their writings; and this, among those who practise the arts
+of design, should be particularly desired and sought by the excellent
+painters, seeing that their works, being on the surface and on a ground
+of colour, cannot have that eternal life which castings in bronze and
+works in marble give to sculpture, or buildings to the architects.
+
+Very great, then, was that good-fortune of Simone, to live at the time
+of Messer Francesco Petrarca and to chance to find that most amorous
+poet at the Court of Avignon, desirous of having the image of Madonna
+Laura by the hand of Maestro Simone, because, having received it as
+beautiful as he had desired, he made memory of him in two sonnets,
+whereof one begins:
+
+     Per mirar Policleto a prova fiso
+     Con gli altri che ebber fama di quell'arte;
+
+and the second:
+
+     Quando giunse a Simon l'alto concetto
+     Ch'a mio nome gli pose in man lo stile.
+
+These sonnets, in truth, together with the mention made of him in one of
+his _Familiar Letters_, in the fifth book, which begins: "Non sum
+nescius," have given more fame to the poor life of Maestro Simone than
+all his own works have ever done or ever will, seeing that they must at
+some time perish, whereas the writings of so great a man will live for
+eternal ages. Simone Memmi of Siena, then, was an excellent painter,
+remarkable in his own times and much esteemed at the Court of the Pope,
+for the reason that after the death of Giotto his master, whom he had
+followed to Rome when he made the Navicella in mosaic and the other
+works, he made a Virgin Mary in the portico of S. Pietro, with a S.
+Peter and a S. Paul, near to the place where the bronze pine-cone is, on
+a wall between the arches of the portico on the outer side; and in this
+he counterfeited the manner of Giotto very well, receiving so much
+praise, above all because he portrayed therein a sacristan of S. Pietro
+lighting some lamps before the said figures with much promptness, that
+he was summoned with very great insistence to the Court of the Pope at
+Avignon, where he wrought so many pictures, in fresco and on panels,
+that he made his works correspond to the reputation that had been borne
+thither. Whence, having returned to Siena in great credit and much
+favoured on this account, he was commissioned by the Signoria to paint
+in fresco, in a hall of their Palace, a Virgin Mary with many figures
+round her, which he completed with all perfection to his own great
+credit and advantage. And in order to show that he was no less able to
+work on panel than in fresco, he painted in the said Palace a panel
+which led to his being afterwards made to paint two of them in the
+Duomo, and a Madonna with the Child in her arms, in a very beautiful
+attitude, over the door of the Office of the Works of the said Duomo. In
+this picture certain angels, supporting a standard in the air, are
+flying and looking down on to some saints who are round the Madonna, and
+they make a very beautiful composition and great adornment.
+
+[Illustration: SIMONE MARTINI: KNIGHTING OF S. MARTIN
+
+(_Assisi: Lower Church of S. Francesco, Chapel of S. Martin. Fresco_)]
+
+This done, Simone was brought by the General of the Augustinians to
+Florence, where he painted the Chapter-house of S. Spirito, showing
+invention and admirable judgment in the figures and the horses that he
+made, as is proved in that place by the story of the Passion of
+Christ, wherein everything is seen to have been made by him with
+ingenuity, with discretion, and with most beautiful grace. There are
+seen the Thieves on the Cross yielding up their breath, and the soul of
+the good one being carried to Heaven by the angels, and that of the
+wicked one going, accompanied by devils and all harassed, to the
+torments of Hell. Simone likewise showed invention and judgment in the
+attitudes and in the very bitter weeping of some angels round the
+Crucifix. But what is most worthy of consideration, above everything
+else, is to see those spirits visibly cleaving the air with their
+shoulders, almost whirling right round and yet sustaining the motion of
+their flight. This work would bear much stronger witness to the
+excellence of Simone, if, besides the fact that time has eaten it away,
+it had not been spoilt by those Fathers in the year 1560, when they,
+being unable to use the Chapter-house, because it was in bad condition
+from damp, made a vaulted roof to replace a worm-eaten ceiling, and
+threw down the little that was left of the pictures of this man. About
+the same time Simone painted a Madonna and a S. Luke, with some other
+Saints, on a panel in distemper, which is to-day in the Chapel of the
+Gondi in S. Maria Novella, with his name.
+
+Next, Simone painted three walls of the Chapter-house of the said S.
+Maria Novella, very happily. On the first, which is over the door
+whereby one enters, he made the life of S. Dominic; and on that which
+follows in the direction of the church, he represented the Religious
+Order of the same Saint fighting against the heretics, represented by
+wolves, which are attacking some sheep, which are defended by many dogs
+spotted with black and white, and the wolves are beaten back and slain.
+There are also certain heretics, who, being convinced in disputation,
+are tearing their books and penitently confessing themselves, and so
+their souls are passing through the gate of Paradise, wherein are many
+little figures that are doing diverse things. In Heaven is seen the
+glory of the Saints, and Jesus Christ; and in the world below remain the
+vain pleasures and delights, in human figures, and above all in the
+shape of women who are seated, among whom is the Madonna Laura of
+Petrarca, portrayed from life and clothed in green, with a little flame
+of fire between her breast and her throat. There is also the Church of
+Christ, and, as a guard for her, the Pope, the Emperor, the Kings, the
+Cardinals, the Bishops, and all the Christian Princes; and among them,
+beside a Knight of Rhodes, is Messer Francesco Petrarca, also portrayed
+from the life, which Simone did in order to enhance by his works the
+fame of the man who had made him immortal. For the Universal Church he
+painted the Church of S. Maria del Fiore, not as it stands to-day, but
+as he had drawn it from the model and design that the architect Arnolfo
+had left in the Office of Works for the guidance of those who had to
+continue the building after him; of which models, by reason of the
+little care of the Wardens of Works of S. Maria del Fiore, as it has
+been said in another place, there would be no memorial for us if Simone
+had not left it painted in this work. On the third wall, which is that
+of the altar, he made the Passion of Christ, who, issuing from Jerusalem
+with the Cross on His shoulder, is going to Mount Calvary, followed by a
+very great multitude. Arriving there, He is seen raised on the Cross
+between the Thieves, with the other circumstances that accompany this
+story. I will say nothing of there being therein a good number of
+horses, of the casting of lots by the servants of the court for the
+garments of Christ, of the raising of the Holy Fathers from the Limbo of
+Hell, and of all the other well-conceived inventions, which belong not
+so much to a master of that age as to the most excellent of the moderns;
+inasmuch as, taking up the whole walls, with very diligent judgment he
+made in each wall diverse scenes on the slope of a mountain, and did not
+divide scene from scene with ornamental borders, as the old painters
+were wont to do, and many moderns, who put the earth over the sky four
+or five times, as it is seen in the principal chapel of this same
+church, and in the Campo Santo of Pisa, where, painting many works in
+fresco, he was forced against his will to make such divisions, for the
+other painters who had worked in that place, such as Giotto and
+Buonamico his master, had begun to make their scenes with this bad
+arrangement.
+
+[Illustration: _G. H._
+
+THE ANNUNCIATION
+
+(_After the painting by_ Simone Sanese [Memmi _or_ Martini]. _Antwerp:
+Royal Museum, 257, 258_)]
+
+In that Campo Santo, then, following as the lesser evil the method used
+by the others, Simone made in fresco, over the principal door and on the
+inner side, a Madonna borne to Heaven by a choir of angels, who are
+singing and playing so vividly that there are seen in them all those
+various gestures that musicians are wont to make in singing or playing,
+such as turning the ears to the sound, opening the mouth in diverse
+ways, raising the eyes to Heaven, blowing out the cheeks, swelling the
+throat, and in short all the other actions and movements that are made
+in music. Under this Assumption, in three pictures, he made some scenes
+from the life of S. Ranieri of Pisa. In the first scene he is shown as a
+youth, playing the psaltery and making some girls dance, who are most
+beautiful by reason of the air of the heads and of the loveliness of the
+costumes and head-dresses of those times. Next, the same Ranieri, having
+been reproved for such lasciviousness by the Blessed Alberto the Hermit,
+is seen standing with his face downcast and tearful and with his eyes
+red from weeping, all penitent for his sin, while God, in the sky,
+surrounded by a celestial light, appears to be pardoning him. In the
+second picture Ranieri, distributing his wealth to God's poor before
+mounting on board ship, has round him a crowd of beggars, of cripples,
+of women, and of children, all most touching in their pushing forward,
+their entreating, and their thanking him. And in the same picture, also,
+that Saint, having received in the Temple the gown of a pilgrim, is
+standing before a Madonna, who, surrounded by many angels, is showing
+him that he will repose on her bosom in Pisa; and all these figures have
+vivacity and a beautiful air in the heads. In the third Simone painted
+the scene when, having returned after seven years from beyond the seas,
+he is showing that he has spent thrice forty days in the Holy Land, and
+when, standing in the choir to hear the Divine offices, he is tempted by
+the Devil, who is seen driven away by a firm determination that is
+perceived in Ranieri not to consent to offend God, assisted by a figure
+made by Simone to represent Constancy, who is chasing away the ancient
+adversary not only all in confusion but also (with beautiful and
+fanciful invention) all in terror, holding his hands to his head in his
+flight, and walking with his face downcast and his shoulders shrunk as
+close together as could be, and saying, as it is seen from the writing
+that is issuing from his mouth: "I can no more." And finally, there is
+also in this picture the scene when Ranieri, kneeling on Mount Tabor,
+is miraculously seeing Christ in air with Moses and Elias; and all the
+features of this work, with others that are not mentioned, show that
+Simone was very fanciful and understood the good method of grouping
+figures gracefully in the manner of those times. These scenes finished,
+he made two panels in distemper in the same city, assisted by Lippo
+Memmi, his brother, who had also assisted him to paint the Chapter-house
+of S. Maria Novella and other works.
+
+He, although he had not the excellence of Simone, none the less followed
+his manner as well as he could, and made many works in fresco in his
+company for S. Croce in Florence; the panel of the high-altar in S.
+Caterina at Pisa, for the Preaching Friars; and in S. Paolo a Ripa d'
+Arno, besides many very beautiful scenes in fresco, the panel in
+distemper that is to-day over the high-altar, containing a Madonna, S.
+Peter, S. Paul, S. John the Baptist, and other Saints; and on this Lippo
+put his name. After these works he wrought by himself a panel in
+distemper for the Friars of S. Augustine in San Gimignano, and thereby
+acquired so great a name that he was forced to send to Arezzo, to Bishop
+Guido de' Tarlati, a panel with three half-length figures which is
+to-day in the Chapel of S. Gregorio in the Vescovado.
+
+While Simone was at work in Florence, one his cousin, an ingenious
+architect called Neroccio, undertook in the year 1332 to make to ring
+the great bell of the Commune of Florence, which, for a period of
+seventeen years, no one had been able to make to ring without twelve men
+to pull at it. He balanced it, then, in a manner that two could move it,
+and once moved one alone could ring it without a break, although it
+weighed more than six thousand libbre; wherefore, besides the honour, he
+gained thereby as his reward three hundred florins of gold, which was
+great payment in those times.
+
+[Illustration: LIPPO MEMMI: MADONNA AND CHILD
+
+(_Berlin: K. Friedrich Museum 1081A. Panel_)]
+
+But to return to our two Memmi of Siena; Lippo, besides the works
+mentioned, wrought a panel in distemper, with the design of Simone,
+which was carried to Pistoia and placed over the high-altar of the
+Church of S. Francesco, and was held very beautiful. Finally, both
+having returned to their native city of Siena, Simone began a very large
+work in colour over the great gate of Camollia, containing the
+Coronation of Our Lady, with an infinity of figures, which remained
+unfinished, a very great sickness coming upon him, so that he, overcome
+by the gravity of the sickness, passed away from this life in the year
+1345, to the very great sorrow of all his city and of Lippo his brother,
+who gave him honourable burial in S. Francesco.
+
+Lippo afterwards finished many works that Simone had left imperfect, and
+among these was a Passion of Jesus Christ over the high-altar of S.
+Niccola in Ancona, wherein Lippo finished what Simone had begun,
+imitating that which the said Simone had made and finished in the
+Chapter-house of S. Spirito in Florence. This work would be worthy of a
+longer life than peradventure will be granted to it, there being in it
+many horses and soldiers in beautiful attitudes, which they are striking
+with various animated movements, doubting and marvelling whether they
+have crucified or not the Son of God. At Assisi, likewise, in the lower
+Church of S. Francesco, he finished some figures that Simone had begun
+for the altar of S. Elizabeth, which is at the entrance of the door that
+leads into the chapels, making there a Madonna, a S. Louis King of
+France, and other Saints, in all eight figures, which are only as far as
+the knees, but good and very well coloured. Besides this, in the great
+refectory of the said convent, at the top of the wall, Simone had begun
+many little scenes and a Crucifix made in the shape of a Tree of the
+Cross, but this remained unfinished and outlined with the brush in red
+over the plaster, as may still be seen to-day; which method of working
+was the cartoon that our old masters used to make for painting in
+fresco, for greater rapidity; for having distributed the whole work over
+the plaster, they would outline it with the brush, reproducing from a
+small design all that which they wished to paint, and enlarging in
+proportion all that they thought to put down. Wherefore, even as this
+one is seen thus outlined, and many others in other places, so there are
+many others that had once been painted, from which the work afterwards
+peeled off, leaving them thus outlined in red over the plaster.
+
+But returning to our Lippo, who drew passing well, as it may be seen in
+our book in a hermit who is reading with his legs crossed; he lived for
+twelve years after Simone, executing many works throughout all Italy,
+and in particular two panels in S. Croce in Florence. And seeing that
+the manner of these two brothers is very similar, one can distinguish
+the one from the other by this, that Simone used to sign his name at the
+foot of his works in this way: SIMONIS MEMMI SENENSIS OPUS; and Lippo,
+leaving out his baptismal name and caring nothing about a Latinity so
+rough, in this other fashion: OPUS MEMMI DE SENIS ME FECIT.
+
+On the wall of the Chapter-house of S. Maria Novella--besides Petrarca
+and Madonna Laura, as it has been said above--Simone portrayed Cimabue,
+the architect Lapo, his son Arnolfo, and himself, and in the person of
+that Pope who is in the scene he painted Benedetto XI of Treviso, one of
+the Preaching Friars, the likeness of which Pope had been brought to
+Simone long before by Giotto, his master, when he returned from the
+Court of the said Pope, who had his seat in Avignon. In the same place,
+also, beside the said Pope, he portrayed Cardinal Niccola da Prato, who
+had come to Florence at that time as Legate of the said Pontiff, as
+Giovanni Villani relates in his History.
+
+Over the tomb of Simone was placed this epitaph:
+
+     SIMONI MEMMIO PICTORUM OMNIUM OMNIS AETATIS CELEBERRIMO.
+     VIXIT ANN. LX, MENS. II, D. III.
+
+As it is seen in our aforesaid book, Simone was not very excellent in
+draughtsmanship, but he had invention from nature, and he took much
+delight in drawing portraits from the life; and in this he was held so
+much the greatest master of his times that Signor Pandolfo Malatesti
+sent him as far as Avignon to portray Messer Francesco Petrarca, at the
+request of whom he made afterwards the portrait of Madonna Laura, with
+so much credit to himself.
+
+[Illustration: _M. S._
+
+MADONNA AND CHILD
+
+(_After the painting by_ Lippo Memmi. _Altenburg: Lindenau Museum, 43_)]
+
+
+
+
+TADDEO GADDI
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF TADDEO GADDI,
+
+PAINTER OF FLORENCE
+
+
+It is a beautiful and truly useful and praiseworthy action to reward
+talent largely in every place, and to honour him who has it, seeing that
+an infinity of intellects which might otherwise slumber, roused by this
+encouragement, strive with all industry not only to learn their art but
+to become excellent therein, in order to advance themselves and to
+attain to a rank both profitable and honourable; whence there may follow
+honour for their country, glory for themselves, and riches and nobility
+for their descendants, who, upraised by such beginnings, very often
+become both very rich and very noble, even as the descendants of the
+painter Taddeo Gaddi did by reason of his work. This Taddeo di Gaddo
+Gaddi, a Florentine, after the death of Giotto--who had held him at his
+baptism and had been his master for twenty-four years after the death of
+Gaddo, as it is written by Cennino di Drea Cennini, painter of Colle di
+Valdelsa--remained among the first in the art of painting and greater
+than all his fellow-disciples both in judgment and in genius; and he
+wrought his first works, with a great facility given to him by nature
+rather than acquired by art, in the Church of S. Croce in Florence, in
+the chapel of the sacristy, where, together with his companions,
+disciples of the dead Giotto, he made some stories of S. Mary Magdalene,
+with beautiful figures and with most beautiful and extravagant costumes
+of those times. And in the Chapel of the Baroncelli and Bandini, where
+Giotto had formerly wrought the panel in distemper, he made by himself
+in fresco, on one wall, some stories of Our Lady which were held very
+beautiful. He also painted over the door of the said sacristy the story
+of Christ disputing with the Doctors in the Temple, which was afterwards
+half ruined when the elder Cosimo de' Medici, in making the noviciate,
+the chapel, and the antechamber in front of the sacristy, placed a
+cornice of stone over the said door. In the same church he painted in
+fresco the Chapel of the Bellacci, and also that of S. Andrea by the
+side of one of the three of Giotto, wherein he made the scene of Jesus
+Christ taking Andrew and Peter from their nets, and the crucifixion of
+the former Apostle, a work greatly commended and extolled both then when
+it was finished and still at the present day. Over the side-door, below
+the burial-place of Carlo Marsuppini of Arezzo, he made a Dead Christ
+with the Maries, wrought in fresco, which was very much praised; and
+below the tramezzo[16] that divides the church, on the left hand, above
+the Crucifix of Donato, he painted in fresco a story of S. Francis,
+representing a miracle that he wrought in restoring to life a boy who
+was killed by falling from a terrace, together with his apparition in
+the air. And in this story he portrayed Giotto his master, Dante the
+poet, Guido Cavalcanti, and, some say, himself. Throughout the said
+church, also, in diverse places, he made many figures which are known by
+painters from the manner. For the Company of the Temple he painted the
+shrine that is at the corner of the Via del Crocifisso, containing a
+very beautiful Deposition from the Cross.
+
+In the cloister of S. Spirito he wrought two scenes in the little arches
+beside the Chapter-house, in one of which he made Judas selling Christ,
+and in the other the Last Supper that He held with the Apostles. And in
+the same convent, over the door of the refectory, he painted a Crucifix
+and some Saints, which give us to know that among the others who worked
+here he was truly an imitator of the manner of Giotto, which he held
+ever in the greatest veneration. In S. Stefano del Ponte Vecchio he
+painted the panel and the predella of the high-altar with great
+diligence; and on a panel in the Oratory of S. Michele in Orto he made a
+very good picture of a Dead Christ being lamented by the Maries and laid
+to rest very devoutly by Nicodemus in the Sepulchre.
+
+[Illustration: _Alinari_
+
+THE LAST SUPPER
+
+(_After the fresco by_ Taddeo Gaddi, _in the Refectory of S. Croce,
+Florence_)]
+
+In the Church of the Servite Friars he painted the Chapel of S. Niccolo,
+belonging to those of the palace, with stories of that Saint, wherein he
+showed very good judgment and grace in a boat that he painted,
+demonstrating that he had complete understanding of the tempestuous
+agitation of the sea and of the fury of the storm; and while the
+mariners are emptying the ship and jettisoning the cargo, S. Nicholas
+appears in the air and delivers them from that peril. This work, having
+given pleasure and having been much praised, was the reason that he was
+made to paint the chapel of the high-altar in that church, wherein he
+made in fresco some stories of Our Lady, and another figure of Our Lady
+on a panel in distemper, with many Saints wrought in lively fashion. In
+like manner, in the predella of the said panel, he made some other
+stories of Our Lady with little figures, whereof there is no need to
+make particular mention, seeing that in the year 1467 everything was
+destroyed when Lodovico, Marquis of Mantua, made in that place the
+tribune that is there to-day and the choir of the friars, with the
+design of Leon Battista Alberti, causing the panel to be carried into
+the Chapter-house of that convent; in the refectory of which Taddeo
+made, just above the wooden seats, the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with
+the Apostles, and above that a Crucifix with many saints.
+
+Having given the last touch to these works, Taddeo Gaddi was summoned to
+Pisa, where, for Gherardo and Bonaccorso Gambacorti, he wrought in
+fresco the principal chapel of S. Francesco, painting with beautiful
+colours many figures and stories of that Saint and of S. Andrew and S.
+Nicholas. Next, on the vaulting and on the front wall is Pope Honorius,
+who is confirming the Order; here Taddeo is portrayed from the life, in
+profile, with a cap wrapped round his head, and at the foot of this
+scene are written these words:
+
+     MAGISTER TADDEUS GADDUS DE FLORENTIA PINXIT HANC HISTORIAM SANCTI
+     FRANCISCI ET SANCTI ANDREAE ET SANCTI NICOLAI, ANNO DOMINI MCCCXLII,
+     DE MENSE AUGUSTI.
+
+Besides this, in the cloister also of the same convent he made in fresco
+a Madonna with her Child in her arms, very well coloured, and in the
+middle of the church, on the left hand as one enters, a S. Louis the
+Bishop, seated, to whom S. Gherardo da Villamagna, who had been a friar
+of this Order, is recommending a Fra Bartolommeo, then Prior of the
+said convent. In the figures of this work, seeing that they were taken
+from nature, there are seen liveliness and infinite grace, in that
+simple manner which was in some respects better than that of Giotto,
+above all in expressing supplication, joy, sorrow, and other similar
+emotions, which, when well expressed, ever bring very great honour to
+the painter.
+
+Next, having returned to Florence, Taddeo continued for the Commune the
+work of Orsanmichele and refounded the piers of the Loggia, building
+them with stone dressed and well shaped, whereas before they had been
+made of bricks, without, however, altering the design that Arnolfo left,
+with directions that there should be made over the Loggia a palace with
+two vaults for storing the provisions of grain that the people and
+Commune of Florence used to make. To the end that this work might be
+finished, the Guild of Porta S. Maria, to which the charge of the fabric
+had been given, ordained that there should be paid thereunto the tax of
+the square of the grain-market and some other taxes of very small
+importance. But what was far more important, it was well ordained with
+the best counsel that each of the Guilds of Florence should make one
+pier by itself, with the Patron Saint of the Guild in a niche therein,
+and that every year, on the festival of each Saint the Consuls of that
+Guild should go to church to make offering, and should hold there the
+whole of that day the standard with their insignia, but that the
+offering, none the less, should be to the Madonna for the succour of the
+needy poor. And because, during the great flood of the year 1333, the
+waters had swept away the parapets of the Ponte Rubaconte, thrown down
+the Castle of Altafronte, left nothing of the Ponte Vecchio but the two
+piers in the middle, and completely ruined the Ponte a S. Trinita except
+one pier that remained all shattered, as well as half the Ponte alla
+Carraia, bursting also the weir of Ognissanti, those who then ruled the
+city determined no longer to allow the dwellers on the other side of the
+Arno to have to return to their homes with so great inconvenience as was
+caused by their having to cross in boats. Wherefore, having sent for
+Taddeo Gaddi, for the reason that Giotto his master had gone to Milan,
+they caused him to make the model and design of the Ponte Vecchio,
+giving him instructions that he should have it brought to completion as
+strong and as beautiful as might be possible; and he, sparing neither
+cost nor labour, made it with such strength in the piers and with such
+magnificence in the arches, all of stone squared with the chisel, that
+it supports to-day twenty-two shops on either side, which make in all
+forty-four, with great profit to the Commune, which drew from them eight
+hundred florins yearly in rents. The extent of the arches from one side
+to the other is thirty-two braccia, that of the street in the middle is
+sixteen braccia, and that of the shops on either side eight braccia. For
+this work, which cost sixty thousand florins of gold, not only did
+Taddeo then deserve infinite praise, but even to-day he is more than
+ever commended for it, for the reason that, besides many other floods,
+it was not moved in the year 1557, on September 13, by that which threw
+down the Ponte a S. Trinita and two arches of that of the Carraia, and
+shattered in great part the Rubaconte, together with much other
+destruction that is very well known. And truly there is no man of
+judgment who can fail to be amazed, not to say marvel, considering that
+the said Ponte Vecchio in so great an emergency could sustain unmoved
+the onset of the waters and of the beams and the wreckage made above,
+and that with so great firmness.
+
+At the same time Taddeo directed the founding of the Ponte a S. Trinita,
+which was finished less happily in the year 1346, at the cost of twenty
+thousand florins of gold; I say less happily, because, not having been
+made like the Ponte Vecchio, it was entirely ruined by the said flood of
+the year 1557. In like manner, under the direction of Taddeo there was
+made at the said time the wall of the Costa a S. Gregorio, with piles
+driven in below, including two piers of the bridge in order to gain
+additional ground for the city on the side of the Piazza de' Mozzi, and
+to make use of it, as they did, to make the mills that are there.
+
+While all these works were being made by the direction and design of
+Taddeo, seeing that he did not therefore stop painting, he decorated the
+Tribunal of the Mercanzia Vecchia, wherein, with poetical invention, he
+represented the Tribunal of Six (which is the number of the chief men of
+that judicial body), who are standing watching the tongue being torn
+from Falsehood by Truth, who is clothed with a veil over the nude, while
+Falsehood is draped in black; with these verses below:
+
+     LA PURA VERITA, PER UBBIDIRE
+     ALLA SANTA GIUSTIZIA, CHE NON TARDA,
+     CAVA LA LINGUA ALLA FALSA BUGIARDA.
+
+And below the scene are these verses:
+
+     TADDEO DIPINSE QUESTO BEL RIGESTRO;
+     DISCEPOL FU DI GIOTTO IL BUON MAESTRO.
+
+Taddeo received a commission for some works in fresco in Arezzo, which
+he carried to the greatest perfection in company with his disciple
+Giovanni da Milano. Of these we still see one in the Company of the Holy
+Spirit, a scene on the wall over the high-altar, containing the Passion
+of Christ, with many horses, and the Thieves on the Cross, a work held
+very beautiful by reason of the thought that he showed in placing Him on
+the Cross. Therein are some figures with vivid expressions which show
+the rage of the Jews, some pulling Him by the legs with a rope, others
+offering the sponge, and others in various attitudes, such as the
+Longinus who is piercing His side, and the three soldiers who are
+gambling for His raiment, in the faces of whom there is seen hope and
+fear as they throw the dice. The first of these, in armour, is standing
+in an uncomfortable attitude awaiting his turn, and shows himself so
+eager to throw that he appears not to be feeling the discomfort; the
+other, raising his eyebrows, with his mouth and with his eyes wide open,
+is watching the dice, in suspicion, as it were, of fraud, and shows
+clearly to anyone who studies him the desire and the wish that he has to
+win. The third, who is throwing the dice, having spread the garment on
+the ground, appears to be announcing with a grin his intention of
+casting them. In like manner, throughout the walls of the church are
+seen some stories of S. John the Evangelist, and throughout the city
+other works made by Taddeo, which are recognized as being by his hand by
+anyone who has judgment in art. In the Vescovado, also, behind the
+high-altar, there are still seen some stories of S. John the Baptist,
+which are wrought with such marvellous manner and design that they cause
+him to be held in admiration. In the Chapel of S. Sebastiano in S.
+Agostino, beside the sacristy, he made the stories of that martyr, and a
+Disputation of Christ with the Doctors, so well wrought and finished
+that it is a miracle to see the beauty in the changing colours of
+various sorts and the grace in the pigments of these works, which are
+finished to perfection.
+
+[Illustration: TADDEO GADDI: THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE
+
+(_Florence: Accademia 107. Panel_)]
+
+In the Church of the Sasso della Vernia in the Casentino he painted the
+chapel wherein S. Francis received the Stigmata, assisted in the minor
+details by Jacopo di Casentino, who became his disciple by reason of
+this visit. This work finished, he returned to Florence together with
+Giovanni, the Milanese, and there, both within the city and without,
+they made very many panels and pictures of importance; and in process of
+time he gained so much, turning all into capital, that he laid the
+foundation of the wealth and the nobility of his family, being ever held
+a prudent and far-sighted man.
+
+He also painted the Chapter-house in S. Maria Novella, being
+commissioned by the Prior of the place, who suggested the subject to
+him. It is true, indeed, that by reason of the work being large and of
+there being unveiled, at that time when the bridges were being made, the
+Chapter-house of S. Spirito, to the very great fame of Simone Memmi, who
+had painted it, there came to the said Prior a desire to call Simone to
+the half of this work; wherefore, having discussed the whole matter with
+Taddeo, he found him well contented therewith, for the reason that he
+had a surpassing love for Simone, because he had been his
+fellow-disciple under Giotto and ever his loving friend and companion.
+Oh! minds truly noble! seeing that without emulation, ambition, or envy,
+ye loved one another like brothers, each rejoicing as much in the honour
+and profit of his friend as in his own! The work was divided, therefore,
+and three walls were given to Simone, as I said in his Life, and Taddeo
+had the left-hand wall and the whole vaulting, which was divided by him
+into four sections or quarters in accordance with the form of the
+vaulting itself. In the first he made the Resurrection of Christ,
+wherein it appears that he wished to attempt to make the splendour of
+the Glorified Body give forth light, as we perceive in a city and in
+some mountainous crags; but he did not follow this up in the figures and
+in the rest, doubting, perchance, that he was not able to carry it out
+by reason of the difficulty that he recognized therein. In the second
+section he made Jesus Christ delivering S. Peter from shipwreck, wherein
+the Apostles who are manning the boat are certainly very beautiful; and
+among other things, one who is fishing with a line on the shore of the
+sea (a subject already used by Giotto in the mosaics of the Navicella in
+S. Pietro) is depicted with very great and vivid feeling. In the third
+he painted the Ascension of Christ, and in the fourth the coming of the
+Holy Spirit, where there are seen many beautiful attitudes in the
+figures of the Jews who are seeking to gain entrance through the door.
+On the wall below are the Seven Sciences, with their names and with
+those figures below them that are appropriate to each. Grammar, in the
+guise of a woman, with a door, teaching a child, has the writer Donato
+seated below her. After Grammar follows Rhetoric, and at her feet is a
+figure that has two hands on books, while it draws a third hand from
+below its mantle and holds it to its mouth. Logic has the serpent in her
+hand below a veil, and at her feet Zeno of Elea, who is reading.
+Arithmetic is holding the tables of the abacus, and below her is sitting
+Abraham, its inventor. Music has the musical instruments, and below her
+is sitting Tubal-Cain, who is beating with two hammers on an anvil and
+is standing with his ears intent on that sound. Geometry has the square
+and the compasses, and below, Euclid. Astrology has the celestial globe
+in her hands, and below her feet, Atlas. In the other part are sitting
+seven Theological Sciences, and each has below her that estate or
+condition of man that is most appropriate to her--Pope, Emperor, King,
+Cardinals, Dukes, Bishops, Marquises, and others; and in the face of the
+Pope is the portrait of Clement V. In the middle and highest place is S.
+Thomas Aquinas, who was adorned with all the said sciences, holding
+below his feet some heretics--Arius, Sabellius, and Averroes; and round
+him are Moses, Paul, John the Evangelist, and some other figures, that
+have above them the four Cardinal Virtues and the three Theological,
+with an infinity of other details depicted by Taddeo with no little
+design and grace, insomuch that it can be said to have been the best
+conceived as well as the best preserved of all his works.
+
+In the same S. Maria Novella, over the tramezzo[17] of the church, he
+also made a S. Jerome robed as a Cardinal, having such a devotion for
+that Saint that he chose him as the protector of his house; and below
+this, after the death of Taddeo, his son caused a tomb to be made for
+their descendants, covered with a slab of marble bearing the arms of the
+Gaddi. For these descendants, by reason of the excellence of Taddeo and
+of their merits, Cardinal Jerome has obtained from God most honourable
+offices in the Church--Clerkships of the Chamber, Bishoprics,
+Cardinalates, Provostships, and Knighthoods, all most honourable; and
+all these descendants of Taddeo, of whatsoever degree, have ever
+esteemed and favoured the beautiful intellects inclined to the matters
+of sculpture and painting, and have given them assistance with every
+effort.
+
+Finally, having come to the age of fifty and being smitten with a most
+violent fever, Taddeo passed from this life in the year 1350, leaving
+his son Agnolo and Giovanni to apply themselves to painting,
+recommending them to Jacopo di Casentino for ways of life and to
+Giovanni da Milano for instruction in the art. After the death of Taddeo
+this Giovanni, besides many other works, made a panel which was placed
+on the altar of S. Gherardo da Villamagna in S. Croce, fourteen years
+after he had been left without his master, and likewise the panel of the
+high-altar of Ognissanti, where the Frati Umiliati had their seat, which
+was held very beautiful, and the tribune of the high-altar at Assisi,
+wherein he made a Crucifix, with Our Lady and S. Chiara, and stories of
+Our Lady on the walls and sides. Afterwards he betook himself to Milan,
+where he wrought many works in distemper and in fresco, and there
+finally he died.
+
+Taddeo, then, adhered constantly to the manner of Giotto, but did not
+better it much save in the colouring, which he made fresher and more
+vivacious than that of Giotto, the latter having applied himself so
+ardently to improving the other departments and difficulties of this
+art, that although he gave attention to this, he could not, however,
+attain to the privilege of doing it, whereas Taddeo, having seen that
+which Giotto had made easy and having learnt it, had time to add
+something and to improve the colouring.
+
+Taddeo was buried by Agnolo and Giovanni, his sons, in the first
+cloister of S. Croce, in that tomb which he had made for Gaddo his
+father, and he was much honoured with verses by the men of culture of
+that time, as a man who had been greatly deserving for his ways of life
+and for having brought to completion with beautiful design, besides his
+pictures, many buildings of great convenience to his city, and besides
+what has been mentioned, for having carried out with solicitude and
+diligence the construction of the Campanile of S. Maria del Fiore, from
+the design left by Giotto his master; which campanile was built in such
+a manner that stones could not be put together with more diligence, nor
+could a more beautiful tower be made, with regard either to ornament, or
+cost, or design. The epitaph that was made for Taddeo was this that is
+to be read here:
+
+     HOC UNO DICI POTERAT FLORENTIA FELIX
+     VIVENTE; AT CERTA EST NON POTUISSE MORI.
+
+Taddeo was very resolute in draughtsmanship, as it may be seen in our
+book, wherein is drawn by his hand the scene that he wrought in the
+Chapel of S. Andrea, in S. Croce at Florence.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 16: See note on p. 57.]
+
+[Footnote 17: See note on p. 57.]
+
+
+
+
+ANDREA DI CIONE ORCAGNA
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF ANDREA DI CIONE ORCAGNA,
+
+PAINTER, SCULPTOR, AND ARCHITECT, OF FLORENCE
+
+
+Rarely is a man of parts excellent in one pursuit without being able
+easily to learn any other, and above all any one of those that are akin
+to his original profession, and proceed, as it were, from one and the
+same source, as did the Florentine Orcagna, who was painter, sculptor,
+architect, and poet, as it will be told below. Born in Florence, he
+began while still a child to give attention to sculpture under Andrea
+Pisano, and pursued it for some years; then, being desirous to become
+abundant in invention in order to make lovely historical compositions,
+he applied himself with so great study to drawing, assisted by nature,
+who wished to make him universal, that having tried his hand at painting
+with colours both in distemper and in fresco, even as one thing leads to
+another, he succeeded so well with the assistance of Bernardo Orcagna,
+his brother, that this Bernardo took him in company with himself to
+paint the life of Our Lady in the principal chapel of S. Maria Novella,
+which then belonged to the family of the Ricci. This work, when
+finished, was held very beautiful, although, by reason of the neglect of
+those who afterwards had charge of it, not many years passed before, the
+roof becoming ruined, it was spoilt by the rains and thereby brought to
+the condition wherein it is to-day, as it will be told in the proper
+place. It is enough for the present to say that Domenico Ghirlandajo,
+who repainted it, availed himself greatly of the invention put into it
+by Orcagna, who also painted in fresco in the same church the Chapel of
+the Strozzi, which is near to the door of the sacristy and of the
+belfry, in company with Bernardo, his brother. In this chapel, to which
+one ascends by a staircase of stone, he painted on one wall the glory of
+Paradise, with all the Saints and with various costumes and head-dresses
+of those times. On the other wall he made Hell, with the abysses,
+centres, and other things described by Dante, of whom Andrea was an
+ardent student. In the Church of the Servites in the same city he
+painted in fresco, also with Bernardo, the Chapel of the family of
+Cresci; with a Coronation of Our Lady on a very large panel in S. Pietro
+Maggiore, and a panel in S. Romeo, close to the side-door. In like
+manner, he and his brother Bernardo painted the outer facade of S.
+Apollinare, with so great diligence that the colours in that exposed
+place have been preserved marvellously vivid and beautiful up to our own
+day.
+
+[Illustration: _Alinari_
+
+CHRIST WITH THE VIRGIN ENTHRONED
+
+(_Detail from the_ "Paradise," _after the fresco by_ Bernardo di Cione
+Orcagna. _Florence: S. Maria Novella_)]
+
+Moved by the fame of these works of Orcagna, which were much praised,
+the men who at that time were governing Pisa had him summoned to work on
+a portion of one wall in the Campo Santo of that city, even as Giotto
+and Buffalmacco had done before. Wherefore, putting his hand to this,
+Andrea painted a Universal Judgment, with some fanciful inventions of
+his own, on the wall facing towards the Duomo, beside the Passion of
+Christ made by Buffalmacco; and making the first scene on the corner, he
+represented therein all the degrees of lords temporal wrapped in the
+pleasures of this world, placing them seated in a flowery meadow and
+under the shade of many orange-trees, which make a most delicious grove
+and have some Cupids in their branches above; and these Cupids, flying
+round and over many young women (all portraits from the life, as it
+seems clear, of noble ladies and dames of those times, who, by reason of
+the long lapse of time, are not recognized), are making a show of
+shooting at the hearts of these young women, who have beside them young
+men and nobles who are standing listening to music and song and watching
+the amorous dances of youths and maidens, who are sweetly taking joy in
+their loves. Among these nobles Orcagna portrayed Castruccio, Lord of
+Lucca, as a youth of most beautiful aspect, with a blue cap wound round
+his head and with a hawk on his wrist, and near him other nobles of that
+age, of whom we know not who they are. In short, in that first part, in
+so far as the space permitted and his art demanded, he painted all the
+delights of the world with exceeding great grace. In the other part of
+the same scene he represented on a high mountain the life of those who,
+drawn by repentance for their sins and by the desire to be saved,
+have fled from the world to that mountain, which is all full of saintly
+hermits who are serving the Lord, busy in diverse pursuits with most
+vivacious expressions. Some, reading and praying, are shown all intent
+on contemplation, and others, labouring in order to gain their
+livelihood, are exercising themselves in various forms of action. There
+is seen here among others a hermit who is milking a goat, who could not
+be more active or more lifelike in appearance than he is. Below there is
+S. Macarius showing to three Kings, who are riding with their ladies and
+their retinue and going to the chase, human misery in the form of three
+Kings who are lying dead but not wholly corrupted in a tomb, which is
+being contemplated with attention by the living Kings in diverse and
+beautiful attitudes full of wonder, and it appears as if they are
+reflecting with pity for their own selves that they have in a short time
+to become such. In one of these Kings on horseback Andrea portrayed
+Uguccione della Faggiuola of Arezzo, in a figure which is holding its
+nose with one hand in order not to feel the stench of the dead and
+corrupted Kings. In the middle of this scene is Death, who, flying
+through the air and draped in black, is showing that she has cut off
+with her scythe the lives of many, who are lying on the ground, of all
+sorts and conditions, poor and rich, halt and whole, young and old, male
+and female, and in short a good number of every age and sex. And because
+he knew that the people of Pisa took pleasure in the invention of
+Buffalmacco, who gave speech to the figures of Bruno in S. Paolo a Ripa
+d'Arno, making some letters issue from their mouths, Orcagna filled this
+whole work of his with such writings, whereof the greater part, being
+eaten away by time, cannot be understood. To certain old men, then, he
+gives these words:
+
+     DACCHE PROSPERITADE CI HA LASCIATI,
+     O MORTE, MEDICINA D' OGNI PENA,
+     DEH VIENI A DARNE OMAI L' ULTIMA CENA!
+
+with other words that cannot be understood, and verses likewise in
+ancient manner, composed, as I have discovered, by Orcagna himself, who
+gave attention to poetry and to making a sonnet or two. Round these dead
+bodies are some devils who are tearing their souls from their mouths,
+and are carrying them to certain pits full of fire, which are on the
+summit of a very high mountain. Over against these are angels who are
+likewise taking the souls from the mouths of others of these dead
+people, who have belonged to the good, and are flying with them to
+Paradise. And in this scene there is a scroll, held by two angels,
+wherein are these words:
+
+     ISCHERMO DI SAVERE E DI RICCHEZZA,
+     DI NOBILTADE ANCORA E DI PRODEZZA,
+     VALE NIENTE A I COLPI DI COSTEI;
+
+with some other words that are difficult to understand. Next, below
+this, in the border of this scene, are nine angels who are holding
+legends both Italian and Latin in some suitable scrolls, put into that
+place below because above they were like to spoil the scene, and not to
+include them in the work seemed wrong to their author, who considered
+them very beautiful; and it may be that they were to the taste of that
+age. The greater part is omitted by us, in order not to weary others
+with such things, which are not pertinent and little pleasing, not to
+mention that the greater part of these inscriptions being effaced, the
+remainder is little less than fragmentary. After these works, in making
+the Judgment, Orcagna set Jesus Christ on high above the clouds in the
+midst of His twelve Apostles, judging the quick and the dead; showing on
+one side, with beautiful art and very vividly, the sorrowful expressions
+of the damned who are being dragged weeping by furious demons to Hell,
+and, on the other, the joy and the jubilation of the good, whom a body
+of angels guided by the Archangel Michael are leading as the elect, all
+rejoicing, to the right, where are the blessed. And it is truly a pity
+that for lack of writers, in so great a multitude of men of the robe,
+chevaliers, and other lords, that are clearly depicted and portrayed
+there from the life, there should be not one, or only very few, of whom
+we know the names or who they were; although it is said that a Pope who
+is seen there is Innocent IV, friend[18] of Manfredi.
+
+[Illustration: ANDREA DI CIONE ORCAGNA: CHRIST ENTHRONED
+
+(_Florence: S. Maria Novella, Strozzi Chapel. Fresco_)]
+
+After this work, and after making some sculptures in marble for the
+Madonna that is on the abutment of the Ponte Vecchio, with great honour
+for himself, he left his brother Bernardo to execute by himself a Hell
+in the Campo Santo, which is described by Dante, and which was
+afterwards spoilt in the year 1530 and restored by Sollazzino, a painter
+of our own times; and he returned to Florence, where, in the middle of
+the Church of S. Croce, on a very great wall on the right, he painted in
+fresco the same subjects that he painted in the Campo Santo of Pisa, in
+three similar pictures, excepting, however, the scene where S. Macarius
+is showing to three Kings the misery of man, and the life of the hermits
+who are serving God on that mountain. Making, then, all the rest of that
+work, he laboured therein with better design and more diligence than he
+had done in Pisa, holding, nevertheless, to almost the same plan in the
+invention, the manner, the scrolls, and the rest, without changing
+anything save the portraits from life, for those in this work were
+partly of his dearest friends, whom he placed in Paradise, and partly of
+men little his friends, who were put by him in Hell. Among the good is
+seen portrayed from life in profile, with the triple crown on his head,
+Pope Clement VI, who changed the Jubilee in his reign from every hundred
+to every fifty years, and was a friend of the Florentines, and had some
+of Orcagna's pictures, which were very dear to him. Among the same is
+Maestro Dino del Garbo, a most excellent physician of that time, dressed
+as was then the wont of doctors, with a red bonnet lined with miniver on
+his head, and held by the hand by an angel; with many other portraits
+that are not recognized. Among the damned he portrayed Guardi, serjeant
+of the Commune of Florence, being dragged along by the Devil with a
+hook, and he is known by three red lilies that he has on his white
+bonnet, such as were then wont to be worn by the serjeants and other
+similar officials; and this he did because Guardi once made distraint on
+his property. He also portrayed there the notary and the judge who had
+been opposed to him in that action. Near to Guardi is Ceccho d'Ascoli, a
+famous wizard of those times; and a little above--namely, in the
+middle--is a hypocrite friar, who, having issued from a tomb, is seeking
+furtively to put himself among the good, while an angel discovers him
+and thrusts him among the damned.
+
+Besides Bernardo, Andrea had a brother called Jacopo, who was engaged in
+sculpture, but with little profit; and in making on occasion for this
+Jacopo designs in relief and in clay, there came to him the wish to make
+something in marble and to see whether he remembered the principles of
+that art, wherein, as it has been said, he had worked in Pisa; and so,
+putting himself with more study to the test, he made progress therein in
+such a fashion that afterwards he made use of it with honour, as it will
+be told. Afterwards he devoted himself with all his energy to the study
+of architecture, thinking that at some time or another he would have to
+make use of it. Nor did his thought deceive him, seeing that in the year
+1355, the Commune of Florence having bought some citizens' houses near
+their Palace (in order to have more space and to make a larger square,
+and also in order to make a place where the citizens could take shelter
+in rainy or wintry days, and carry on under cover such business as was
+transacted on the Ringhiera when bad weather did not hinder), they
+caused many designs to be made for the building of a magnificent and
+very large Loggia for this purpose near the Palace, and at the same time
+for the Mint where the money is struck. Among these designs, made by the
+best masters in the city, that of Orcagna being universally approved and
+accepted as greater, more beautiful, and more magnificent than all the
+others, by decree of the Signori and of the Commune there was begun
+under his direction the great Loggia of the square, on the foundations
+made in the time of the Duke of Athens, and it was carried on with
+squared stone very well put together, with much diligence. And what was
+something new in those times, the arches of the vaulting were made no
+longer quarter-acute, as it had been the custom up to that time, but
+they were turned in half-circles in a new and laudable method, which
+gave much grace and beauty to this great fabric, which was brought to
+completion in a short time under the direction of Andrea. And if there
+had been taken thought to put it beside S. Romolo and to turn the arches
+with the back to the north, which they did not do, perchance, in order
+to have it conveniently near to the gate of the Palace, it would have
+been as useful a building for the whole city as it is beautiful in
+workmanship; whereas, by reason of the great wind, in winter no one
+can stand there. In this Loggia, between the arches on the front wall,
+in some ornamental work by his own hand, Orcagna made seven marble
+figures in half-relief representing the seven Theological and Cardinal
+Virtues, as accompaniment to the whole work, so beautiful that they made
+him known for no less able as sculptor than as painter and architect;
+not to mention that he was in all his actions as pleasant, courteous,
+and lovable a man as was ever any man of his condition. And because he
+would never abandon the study of any one of his professions for that of
+another, while the Loggia was building he made a panel in distemper with
+many large figures, with little figures in the predella, for that chapel
+of the Strozzi wherein he had formerly made some works in fresco with
+his brother Bernardo; on which panel, it appearing to him that it could
+bear better testimony to his profession than the works wrought in fresco
+could do, he wrote his name with these words: ANNO DOMINI MCCCLVII,
+ANDREAS CIONIS DE FLORENTIA ME PINXIT.
+
+[Illustration: _Alinari_
+
+THE DEATH AND ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN
+
+(_Relief on the Tabernacle by_ Andrea di Cione Orcagna, _Or San Michele,
+Florence_)]
+
+This work completed, he made some pictures, also on panel, which were
+sent to the Pope in Avignon and are still in the Cathedral Church of
+that city. A little while afterwards the men of the Company of
+Orsanmichele, having collected large sums of money from offerings and
+donations given to their Madonna by reason of the mortality of 1348,
+resolved to make round her a chapel, or rather shrine, not only very
+ornate and rich with marbles carved in every way and with other stones
+of price, but also with mosaic and ornaments of bronze, as much as could
+possibly be desired, in a manner that both in workmanship and in
+material it might surpass every other work of so great a size wrought up
+to that day. Wherefore, the charge of the whole being given to Orcagna
+as the most excellent of that age, he made so many designs that finally
+one of them pleased the authorities, as being better than all the
+others. The work, therefore, being allotted to him, they put complete
+reliance in his judgment and counsel; wherefore, giving the making of
+all the rest to diverse master-carvers brought from several districts,
+he applied himself with his brother to executing all the figures of the
+work, and, the whole being finished, he had them built in and put
+together very thoughtfully without mortar, with clamps of copper fixed
+with lead, to the end that the shining and polished marbles might not
+become discoloured; and in this he succeeded so well, with profit and
+honour from those who came after him, that to one who studies that work
+it appears, by reason of such union and methods of joining discovered by
+Orcagna, that the whole chapel has been shaped out of one single piece
+of marble. And although it is in a German manner, for that style it has
+so great grace and proportion that it holds the first place among the
+works of those times, above all because its composition of figures great
+and small, and of angels and prophets in half-relief round the Madonna,
+is very well executed. Marvellous, also, is the casting of the bands of
+bronze, diligently polished, which, encircling the whole work, enclose
+and bind it together in a manner that it is therefore as stout and
+strong as it is beautiful in all other respects. But how much he
+laboured in order to show the subtlety of his intellect in that gross
+age is seen in a large scene in half-relief on the back part of the said
+shrine, wherein, with figures of one braccio and a half each, he made
+the twelve Apostles gazing on high at the Madonna, while she, in an oval
+space, surrounded by angels, is ascending to Heaven. In one of these
+Apostles he portrayed himself in marble, old, as he was, with the beard
+shaven, with the cap wound round the head, and with the face flat and
+round, as it is seen above in his portrait, drawn from that one. Besides
+this, he inscribed these words in the marble below: ANDREAS CIONIS,
+PICTOR FLORENTINUS, ORATORII ARCHIMAGISTER EXTITIT HUJUS, MCCCLIX.
+
+It is known that the building of this Loggia and of the marble shrine,
+with all the master-work, cost ninety-six thousand florins of gold,
+which were very well spent, for the reason that it is, both in the
+architecture and in the sculptures and other ornaments, as beautiful as
+any other work whatsoever of those times, and is such that, by reason of
+the parts made therein by him, the name of Andrea Orcagna has been and
+will be ever living and great.
+
+He used to write in his pictures: FECE ANDREA DI CIONE, SCULTORE; and in
+his sculptures: FECE ANDREA DI CIONE, PITTORE; wishing that his painting
+should be known by his sculpture, and his sculpture by his painting.
+There are throughout all Florence many panels made by him, which are
+partly known by the name, such as a panel in S. Romeo, and partly by the
+manner, such as one that is in the Chapter-house of the Monastery of the
+Angeli. Some of them that he left unfinished were completed by Bernardo,
+his brother, who survived him, but not for many years. And because, as
+it has been said, Andrea delighted in making verses and various forms of
+poetry, when already old he wrote some sonnets to Burchiello, then a
+youth; and finally, being sixty years of age, he finished the course of
+his life in 1389, and was borne with honour from his dwelling, which was
+in the Via Vecchia de' Corazzai, to his tomb.
+
+There were many men able in sculpture and in architecture at the same
+time as Orcagna, of whom the names are not known, but their works are to
+be seen, and these are worthy of nothing but praise and commendation.
+Among their works is not only the Monastery of the Certosa of Florence,
+made at the expense of the noble family of the Acciaiuoli, and in
+particular of Messer Niccola, Grand Seneschal of the King of Naples, but
+also the tomb of the same man, whereon he is portrayed in stone, and
+that of his father and one of his sisters, which has a covering of
+marble, whereon both were portrayed very well from nature in the year
+1366. There, too, wrought by the hand of the same men, is the tomb of
+Messer Lorenzo, son of the said Niccola, who, dying at Naples, was
+brought to Florence and laid to rest there with the most honourable pomp
+of funeral obsequies. In like manner, in the tomb of Cardinal Santa
+Croce of the same family, which is in a choir then built anew in front
+of the high-altar, there is his portrait on a slab of marble, very well
+wrought in the year 1390.
+
+Disciples of Andrea in painting were Bernardo Nello di Giovanni Falconi
+of Pisa, who wrought many panels in the Duomo of Pisa, and Tommaso di
+Marco of Florence, who, besides many other works, made in the year 1392
+a panel that is in S. Antonio in Pisa, set up against the tramezzo[19]
+of the church.
+
+After the death of Andrea, his brother Jacopo, occupied himself in
+sculpture, as it has been said, and in architecture, was employed in the
+year 1328 on the foundation and building of the Tower and Gate of S.
+Piero Gattolini, and it is said that he made the four marzocchi[20] of
+stone which were placed on the four corners of the Palazzo Principale of
+Florence, all overlaid with gold. This work was much censured, by reason
+of there being laid on those places, without necessity, a greater weight
+than peradventure was expedient; and many would have been pleased to
+have the marzocchi made rather of plates of copper, hollow within, and
+then, after being gilded in the fire, set up in the same place, because
+they would have been much less heavy and more durable. It is said, too,
+that the same man made the horse, gilded and in full relief, that is in
+S. Maria del Fiore, over the door that leads to the Company of S.
+Zanobi, which horse is believed to be there in memory of Piero Farnese,
+Captain of the Florentines; however, knowing nothing more about this, I
+could not vouch for it. About the same time Mariotto, nephew of Andrea,
+made in fresco the Paradise of S. Michele Bisdomini, in the Via de'
+Servi in Florence, and the panel with an Annunciation that is on the
+altar; and for Monna Cecilia de' Boscoli he made another panel with many
+figures, placed near the door of the same church.
+
+But among all the disciples of Orcagna none was more excellent than
+Francesco Traini, who made a panel with a ground of gold for a nobleman
+of the house of Coscia, who is buried at Pisa in the Chapel of S.
+Domenico, in the Church of S. Caterina; which panel contained a S.
+Dominic standing two braccia and a half high, with six scenes of his
+life on either side of him, animated and vivacious and well coloured.
+And in the same church, in the Chapel of S. Tommaso d'Aquino, he made a
+panel in distemper with fanciful invention, which is much praised,
+placing therein the said S. Thomas seated, portrayed from the life: I
+say from the life, because the friars of that place had an image of him
+brought from the Abbey of Fossa Nuova, where he died in the year 1323.
+Below, round S. Thomas, who is placed seated in the air with some books
+in his hand, which are illuminating the Christian people with their rays
+and lustre, there are kneeling a great number of doctors and clergy of
+every sort, Bishops, Cardinals, and Popes, among whom is the portrait
+of Pope Urban VI. Under the feet of S. Thomas are standing Sabellius,
+Arius, Averroes, and other heretics and philosophers, with their books
+all torn; and the said figure of S. Thomas is placed between Plato, who
+is showing him the _Timaeus_, and Aristotle, who is showing him the
+_Ethics_. Above, a Jesus Christ, in like manner in the air between the
+four Evangelists, is blessing S. Thomas, and appears to be in the act of
+sending down upon him the Holy Spirit, and filling him with it and with
+His grace. This work, when finished, acquired very great fame and praise
+for Francesco Traini, for in making it he surpassed his master Andrea by
+a great measure in colouring, in harmony, and in invention. This Andrea
+was very diligent in his drawings, as it may be seen in our book.
+
+[Illustration: _Alinari_
+
+S. THOMAS AQUINAS
+
+(_After the painting by_ Francesco Traini. _Pisa: Church of S.
+Caterina_)]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 18: This is probably a printer's error for "nemico," as that
+Pope was anything but the friend of Manfredi.]
+
+[Footnote 19: See note on p. 57.]
+
+[Footnote 20: Lions of stone, emblems of the city of Florence.]
+
+
+
+
+TOMMASO, CALLED GIOTTINO
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF TOMMASO, CALLED GIOTTINO,
+
+PAINTER OF FLORENCE
+
+
+When those arts that proceed from design come into competition and their
+craftsmen work in rivalry, without doubt the good intellects, exercising
+themselves with much study, discover new things every day in order to
+satisfy the various tastes of men; and some, speaking for the present of
+painting, executing works obscure and unusual and demonstrating in them
+the difficulty of making them, make known by the shadows the brightness
+of their genius. Others, fashioning the sweet and delicate, thinking
+these to be likely to be more pleasing to the eyes of all who behold
+them by reason of their having more relief, easily attract to themselves
+the minds of the greater part of men. Others, again, painting with unity
+and lowering the tones of the colours, reducing to their proper places
+the lights and shades of their figures, deserve very great praise, and
+reveal the thoughts of the intellect with beautiful dexterity of mind;
+even as they were ever revealed with a sweet manner in the works of
+Tommaso di Stefano, called Giottino, who, being born in the year 1324
+and having learnt from his father the first principles of painting,
+resolved while still very young to attempt, in so far as he might be
+able with assiduous study, to be an imitator of the manner of Giotto
+rather than of that of his father Stefano. In this attempt he succeeded
+so well that he gained thereby, besides the manner, which was much more
+beautiful than that of his master, the surname of Giottino, which never
+left him; nay, by reason both of the manner and of the name it was the
+opinion of many, who, however, were in very great error, that he was the
+son of Giotto; but in truth it is not so, it being certain, or to speak
+more exactly, believed (it being impossible for such things to be
+affirmed by any man) that he was the son of Stefano, painter of
+Florence.
+
+He was, then, so diligent in painting and so greatly devoted to it,
+that, although many of his works are not to be found, those nevertheless
+that have been found are good and in a beautiful manner, for the reason
+that the draperies, the hair, the beards, and all the rest of his work
+were made and harmonized with so great softness and diligence, that it
+is seen that without doubt he added harmony to this art and had it much
+more perfect than his master Giotto and his father Stefano. In his youth
+Giottino painted a chapel near the side-door of S. Stefano al Ponte
+Vecchio in Florence, wherein, although it is to-day much spoilt by damp,
+the little that has remained shows the dexterity and the genius of the
+craftsman. Next, he made the two Saints, Cosimo and Damiano, for the
+Frati Ermini in the Canto alla Macine, but little is seen of them
+to-day, for they too have been ruined by time. And he wrought in fresco
+a chapel in the old S. Spirito in that city, which was afterwards ruined
+in the burning of that church; and in fresco, over the principal door of
+the church, the story of the Sending of the Holy Spirit; and on the
+square before the said church, on the way to the Canto alla Cuculia, on
+the corner of the convent, he painted that shrine that is still seen
+there, with Our Lady and other Saints round her, wherein both the heads
+and the other parts lean strongly towards the modern manner, for the
+reason that he sought to vary and to blend the flesh-colours, and to
+harmonize all the figures with grace and judgment by means of a variety
+of colours and draperies. In like manner he wrought the stories of
+Constantine with much diligence in the Chapel of S. Silvestro in S.
+Croce, showing very beautiful ideas in the gestures of the figures; and
+then, behind an ornament of marble made for the tomb of Messer Bertino
+de' Bardi, a man who at that time had held honourable military rank, he
+made this Messer Bertino in armour, after the life, issuing from a
+sepulchre on his knees, being summoned with the sound of the trumpets of
+the Judgment by two angels, who are in the air accompanying a
+beautifully-wrought Christ in the clouds. On the right hand of the
+entrance of the door of S. Pancrazio the same man made a Christ who is
+bearing His Cross, and some Saints near Him, that have exactly the
+manner of Giotto. In S. Gallo (which convent was without the Gate called
+by the same name, and was destroyed in the siege) in a cloister, there
+was a Pieta painted in fresco, whereof there is a copy in the aforesaid
+S. Pancrazio, on a pillar beside the principal chapel. In S. Maria
+Novella, in the Chapel of S. Lorenzo de' Giuochi, as one enters by the
+door on the left, on the front wall, he wrought in fresco a S. Cosimo
+and a S. Damiano, and, in Ognissanti, a S. Christopher and a S. George,
+which were spoilt by the malice of time, and then restored by other
+painters by reason of the ignorance of a Provost little conversant with
+such matters. In the said church there has remained whole the arch that
+is over the door of the sacristy, wherein there is in fresco a Madonna
+with the Child in her arms by the hand of Tommaso, which is a good work,
+by reason of his having wrought it with diligence.
+
+By means of these works Giottino had acquired so good a name, imitating
+his master both in design and in invention, as it has been told, that
+there was said to be in him the spirit of Giotto himself, both because
+of the vividness of his colouring and of his mastery in draughtsmanship;
+and in the year 1343, on July 2, when the Duke of Athens was driven out
+by the people and when he had renounced the sovereignty and restored
+their liberty to the Florentines, Giottino was forced by the twelve
+Reformers of the State, and in particular by the prayers of Messer
+Agnolo Acciaiuoli, then a very great citizen, who had great influence
+with him, to paint in contempt, on the tower of the Palace of the
+Podesta, the said Duke and his followers, who were Messer Ceritieri
+Visdomini, Messer Maladiasse, his Conservator, and Messer Ranieri da San
+Gimignano, all with the cap of Justice ignominiously on their heads.
+Round the head of the Duke were many beasts of prey and other sorts,
+signifying his nature and his character; and one of those his
+counsellors had in his hand the Palace of the Priors of the city, and
+was handing it to him, like a disloyal traitor to his country. And all
+had below them the arms and emblems of their families, and some writings
+which can hardly be read to-day because they have been eaten away by
+time. In this work, both by reason of the draughtsmanship and of the
+great diligence wherewith it was executed, the manner of the craftsman
+gave universal pleasure to all. Afterwards, at the Campora, a seat of
+the Black Friars without the Porta a S. Piero Gattolini, he made a S.
+Cosimo and a S. Damiano, which were spoilt in the whitewashing of the
+church; and on the bridge of Romiti in Valdarno he painted in fresco the
+shrine that is built over the middle, with his own hand and in a
+beautiful manner.
+
+It is found recorded by many who wrote thereon that Tommaso applied
+himself to sculpture and wrought a figure in marble on the Campanile of
+S. Maria del Fiore in Florence, four braccia high and facing the place
+where the Orphans now dwell. In S. Giovanni Laterano in Rome, likewise,
+he brought to fine completion a scene wherein he represented the Pope in
+several capacities, which is now seen to have been eaten away and
+corroded by time; and in the house of the Orsini he painted a hall full
+of famous men; with a very beautiful S. Louis on a pillar in the
+Araceli, on the right hand beside the altar.
+
+In the lower church of S. Francesco at Assisi, in an arch over the
+pulpit (there being no other space that was not painted) he wrought the
+Coronation of Our Lady, with many angels round her, so gracious, so
+beautiful in the expressions of the faces, and so sweet and delicate in
+manner, that they show, with the usual harmony of colour which was
+something peculiar to this painter, that he had proved himself the peer
+of all who had lived up to that time; and round this arch he made some
+stories of S. Nicholas. In like manner, in the Monastery of S. Chiara in
+the same city, in the middle of the church, he painted a scene in
+fresco, wherein is S. Chiara supported in the air by two angels who
+appear real; she is restoring to life a child that was dead, while round
+her are standing many women all full of wonder, with great beauty in the
+faces and in the very gracious head-dresses and costumes of those times
+that they are wearing. In the same city of Assisi, over the gate of the
+city that leads to the Duomo--namely, in an arch on the inner side--he
+made a Madonna with the Child in her arms, with so great diligence that
+she appears alive, and a S. Francis and another Saint, both very
+beautiful; both of which works, although the story of S. Chiara
+remained unfinished by reason of Tommaso having fallen sick and returned
+to Florence, are perfect and most worthy of all praise.
+
+
+[Illustration: GIOTTINO: THE DESCENT FROM THE CROSS
+
+(_Florence: Uffizi 27. Panel_)]
+
+It is said that Tommaso was melancholic in temperament and very
+solitary, but with respect to art devoted and very studious, as it is
+clearly seen from a panel in the Church of S. Romeo in Florence, wrought
+by him in distemper with so great diligence and love that there has
+never been seen a better work on wood by his hand. In this panel, which
+is placed in the tramezzo[21] of the church, on the right hand, is a
+Dead Christ with the Maries and Nicodemus, accompanied by other figures,
+who are bewailing His death with bitterness and with very sweet and
+affectionate movements, wringing their hands with diverse gestures, and
+beating themselves in a manner that in the air of the faces there is
+shown very clearly their sharp sorrow at the so great cost of our sins.
+And it is something marvellous to consider, not that he penetrated with
+his genius to such a height of imagination, but that he could express it
+so well with the brush. Wherefore this work is consummately worthy of
+praise, not so much by reason of the subject and of the invention, as
+because in it the craftsman has shown, in some heads that are weeping,
+that although the lineaments of those that are weeping are distorted in
+the brows, in the eyes, in the nose, and in the mouth, this, however,
+neither spoils nor alters a certain beauty which is wont to suffer much
+in weeping when the painters do not know well how to avail themselves of
+the good methods of art. But it is no great thing that Giottino should
+have executed this panel with so much consideration, since in his
+labours he ever aimed rather at fame and glory than at any other reward,
+being free from the greed of gain, that makes our present masters less
+diligent and good. And even as he did not seek to have great riches, so
+he did not trouble himself much about the comforts of life--nay, living
+poorly, he sought to satisfy others rather than himself; wherefore,
+taking little care of himself and enduring fatigue, he died of
+consumption at the age of thirty-two, and was given burial by his
+relatives at the Martello Gate without S. Maria Novella, beside the tomb
+of Bontura.
+
+Disciples of Giottino, who left more fame than wealth, were Giovanni
+Tossicani of Arezzo, Michelino, Giovanni dal Ponte, and Lippo, who were
+passing good masters of this art, but above all Giovanni Tossicani, who
+made many works throughout all Tuscany after Tommaso and in the same
+manner as his, and in particular the Chapel of S. Maria Maddalena,
+belonging to the Tuccerelli, in the Pieve of Arezzo, and a S. James on a
+pillar in the Pieve of the township of Empoli. In the Duomo of Pisa,
+also, he wrought some panels which have since been removed in order to
+make room for the modern. The last work that he made was in a chapel of
+the Vescovado of Arezzo, for the Countess Giovanna, wife of Tarlato da
+Pietramala--namely, a very beautiful Annunciation, with S. James and S.
+Philip; which work, by reason of the back of the wall being turned to
+the north, was little less than completely spoilt by damp, when Maestro
+Agnolo di Lorenzo of Arezzo restored the Annunciation, and shortly
+afterwards Giorgio Vasari, still a youth, restored the S. James and S.
+Philip, to his own great profit, having learnt much, at that time when
+he had not the advantage of other masters, by studying Giovanni's method
+of painting and the shadows and colours of that work, spoilt as it was.
+In this chapel there are still read these words in an epitaph of marble,
+in memory of the Countess who had it built and painted:
+
+     ANNO DOMINI 1335, DE MENSE AUGUSTI, HANC CAPELLAM CONSTITUI FECIT
+     NOBILIS DOMINA COMITISSA JOANNA DE SANCTA FLORA, UXOR NOBILIS
+     MILITIS DOMINI TARLATI DE PETRAMALA, AD HONOREM BEATAE MARIAE
+     VIRGINIS.
+
+Of the works of the other disciples of Giottino there is no mention
+made, seeing that they were but ordinary and little like those of the
+master and of Giovanni Tossicani, their fellow-disciple. Tommaso drew
+very well, as it may be seen in our book, in certain drawings wrought by
+his hand with much diligence.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 21: See note on p. 57.]
+
+
+
+
+GIOVANNI DAL PONTE
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF GIOVANNI DAL PONTE,
+
+PAINTER OF FLORENCE
+
+
+Although there is no truth and not much confidence to be placed in the
+ancient proverb that the prodigal's purse is never empty, and although,
+on the contrary, it is very true that he who does not live a
+well-ordered life in his own degree lives at the last in want and dies
+miserably, it is seen, nevertheless, that fortune sometimes aids rather
+those who squander without restraint than those who are in all things
+careful and self-restrained; and when the favour of fortune ceases,
+there often comes death, to make up for her defection and for the bad
+management of men, supervening at the very moment when such men would
+begin with infinite dismay to recognize how miserable a thing it is to
+have squandered in youth and to want in old age, living and labouring in
+poverty, as would have happened to Giovanni da Santo Stefano a Ponte of
+Florence, if, after having consumed his patrimony and much gain which
+had been brought to his hands rather by fortune than by his merits, with
+some inheritances that came to him from an unexpected source, he had not
+finished at one and the same time the course of his life and all his
+means.
+
+This man, then, who was a disciple of Buonamico Buffalmacco, and who
+imitated him more in attending to the pleasures of life than in seeking
+to become an able painter, was born in the year 1307, and after being in
+early youth a disciple of Buffalmacco, he made his first works in the
+Chapel of S. Lorenzo, in the Pieve of Empoli, painting there in fresco
+many scenes of the life of that Saint, with so great diligence that he
+was summoned to Arezzo in the year 1344, a better development being
+expected after so fine a beginning; and there he painted the Assumption
+of Our Lady in a chapel in S. Francesco. And a little time afterwards,
+being in some credit in that city for lack of other painters, he
+painted the Chapel of S. Onofrio in the Pieve, with that of S. Antonio,
+which to-day is spoilt by damp. He also made some other pictures that
+were in S. Giustina and in S. Matteo, but these were thrown to the
+ground by Duke Cosimo, together with the said churches, in the making of
+fortifications for that city; and exactly in that place, at the foot of
+the abutment of an ancient bridge beside the said S. Giustina, where the
+stream entered the city, there were then found a head of Appius Caecus
+and one of his son, both in marble and very beautiful, with an ancient
+epitaph, likewise very beautiful, which are all now in the
+guardaroba[22] of the said Lord Duke.
+
+Giovanni, having returned to Florence at the time when there was
+finished the closing of the middle arch of the Ponte a S. Trinita,
+painted many figures both within and without a chapel built over one
+pier and dedicated to S. Michelagnolo, and in particular all the front
+wall; which chapel, together with the bridge, was carried away by the
+flood of the year 1557. It is by reason of these works that some
+maintain, besides what has been said about him at the beginning, that he
+was ever afterwards called Giovanni dal Ponte. In Pisa, also, in the
+year 1355, he made some scenes in fresco behind the altar of the
+principal chapel of S. Paolo a Ripa d'Arno, which are now all spoilt by
+damp and by time. Giovanni also painted the Chapel of the Scali in S.
+Trinita in Florence, with another that is beside it, and one of the
+stories of S. Paul by the side of the principal chapel, where is the
+tomb of Maestro Paolo, the astrologer. In S. Stefano al Ponte Vecchio he
+painted a panel, with other pictures in distemper and in fresco both
+within and without Florence, which brought him considerable credit.
+
+He gave contentment to his friends, but more in his pleasures than in
+his works, and he was the friend of men of learning, and in particular
+of all those who pursued the studies of his own profession in order to
+become excellent therein; and although he had not sought to have in
+himself that which he desired in others, yet he never ceased to
+encourage others to work valiantly. Finally, having lived fifty-nine
+years, Giovanni was seized by pleurisy and in a few days departed
+this life, wherein, had he survived a little longer, he would have
+suffered many discomforts, there being left in his house scarce as much
+as sufficed to give him decent burial in S. Stefano al Ponte Vecchio.
+His works date about 1365.
+
+[Illustration: _Alinari_
+
+S. PETER ENTHRONED
+
+(_After the painting by_ Giovanni dal Ponte. _Florence: Uffizi, 1292_)]
+
+In our book of drawings by diverse ancients and moderns there is a
+drawing in water-colour by the hand of Giovanni, wherein is a S. George
+on horseback who is slaying the Dragon, and a skeleton, which bear
+witness to the method and manner that he had in drawing.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 22: Guardaroba, the room or rooms where everything of value
+was stored--clothes, linen, art treasures, furniture, etc.]
+
+
+
+
+AGNOLO GADDI
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF AGNOLO GADDI,
+
+PAINTER OF FLORENCE
+
+
+How honourable and profitable it is to be excellent in a noble art is
+manifestly seen in the talent and management of Taddeo Gaddi, who,
+having acquired very good means as well as fame with his industry and
+labours, left the affairs of his family so well arranged, when he passed
+to the other life, that Agnolo and Giovanni, his sons, were easily able
+to give a beginning to the very great riches and to the exaltation of
+the house of Gaddi, to-day very noble in Florence and in great repute
+throughout all Christendom. And in truth it has been very reasonable,
+seeing that Gaddo, Taddeo, Agnolo, and Giovanni adorned many honoured
+churches with their talent and their art, that their successors have
+been since adorned by the Holy Roman Church and by the Supreme Pontiffs
+of the same with the greatest ecclesiastical dignities.
+
+Taddeo, then, of whom we have already written the Life, left his sons
+Agnolo and Giovanni in company with many of his disciples, hoping that
+Agnolo, in particular, would become very excellent in painting; but he,
+who in his youth showed promise of surpassing his father by a great
+measure, did not succeed further in justifying the opinion that had
+already been conceived of him, for the reason that, being born and bred
+in easy circumstances, which are often an impediment to study, he was
+given more to traffic and to trading than to the art of painting; which
+should not appear a thing new or strange, seeing that avarice very often
+bars the way to many intellects which would ascend to the greatest
+height of excellence, if the desire of gain did not impede their path in
+their earliest and best years. Working as a youth in S. Jacopo tra'
+Fossi in Florence, Agnolo wrought a little scene, with figures little
+more than a braccio high, of Christ raising Lazarus on the fourth day
+after death, wherein, imagining the corruption of that body, which had
+been dead three days, with much thought he made the grave-clothes which
+held him bound discoloured by the decay of the flesh, and round the eyes
+certain livid and yellowish marks in the flesh, that seems half living
+and half dead; not without stupefaction in the Apostles and in other
+figures, who, with attitudes varied and beautiful, and with their
+draperies to their noses in order not to feel the stench of that corrupt
+body, are no less afraid and awestruck at such a marvellous miracle than
+Mary and Martha are joyful and content to see life returning to the dead
+body of their brother. This work was judged so excellent that many
+deemed the talent of Agnolo to be destined to surpass all the disciples
+of Taddeo, and even Taddeo himself; but the event proved otherwise,
+because, even as in youth the will conquers every difficulty in order to
+acquire fame, so a certain negligence that the years bring with them
+often causes a man, instead of advancing, to go backwards, as did
+Agnolo. Having given so great a proof of his talent, he was commissioned
+by the family of Soderini, who had great hopes of him, to paint the
+principal chapel of the Carmine, and he painted therein all the life of
+Our Lady, so much less well than he had done the resurrection of
+Lazarus, that he gave every man to know that he had little wish to
+attend with every effort to the art of painting; for the reason that in
+all that great work there is nothing else of the good save one scene,
+wherein, round Our Lady, in a room, are many maidens who are wearing
+diverse costumes and head-dresses, according to the diversity of the use
+of those times, and are engaged in diverse exercises: this one is
+spinning, that one is sewing, that other is winding thread, one is
+weaving, and others working in other ways, all passing well conceived
+and executed by Agnolo.
+
+For the noble family of the Alberti, likewise, he painted in fresco the
+principal chapel of the Church of S. Croce, making therein all that came
+to pass in the discovery of the Cross, and he executed that work with
+much mastery of handling but not with much design, for only the
+colouring is beautiful and good enough. Next, in painting in fresco some
+stories of S. Louis in the Chapel of the Bardi in the same church, he
+acquitted himself much better. And because he used to work by caprice,
+now with more zeal and now with less, working in S. Spirito, also in
+Florence, within the door that leads from the square into the convent,
+he made in fresco, over another door, a Madonna with the Child in her
+arms, and S. Augustine and S. Nicholas, so well that the said figures
+appear as if made only yesterday.
+
+[Illustration: THE MARRIAGE OF S. CATHARINE
+
+(_After the painting by_ Agnolo Gaddi. _Philadelphia, U.S.A.: J. G.
+Johnson Collection_)]
+
+And because in a certain manner there had come to Agnolo, by way of
+inheritance, the secret of working in mosaic, and he had at home the
+instruments and all the materials that his grandfather Gaddo had used in
+this, he would make something in mosaic when it pleased him, merely to
+pass time and by reason of that convenience of material, rather than for
+aught else. Now, seeing that time had eaten away many of those marbles
+that cover the eight faces of the roof of S. Giovanni, and that the damp
+penetrating within had therefore spoilt much of the mosaic which Andrea
+Tafi had wrought there at a former time, the Consuls of the Guild of
+Merchants determined, to the end that the rest might not be spoilt, to
+rebuild the greater part of that covering with marble, and in like
+manner to have the mosaic restored. Wherefore, the direction and
+commission for the whole being given to Agnolo, he, in the year 1346,
+had it recovered with new marbles and the pieces laid over each other at
+the joinings, with unexampled diligence, to the breadth of two fingers,
+cutting each slab to the half of its thickness; then, joining them
+together with cement made of mastic and wax melted together, he fitted
+them with so great diligence that from that time onwards neither the
+roof nor the vaulting has received any damage from the rains. Agnolo,
+having afterwards restored the mosaic, brought it about by means of his
+counsel and of a design very well conceived that there was rebuilt,
+round the said church, all the upper cornice of marble below the roof,
+in that form wherein it now remains; which cornice was much smaller than
+it is and very commonplace. Under direction of the same man there was
+also made the vaulting of the Great Hall of the Palace of the Podesta,
+which before was directly under the roof, to the end that, besides the
+adornment, fire might not again be able to do it damage, as it had done
+a long time before. After this, by the counsel of Agnolo, there were
+made round the said Palace the battlements that are there to-day, which
+before were in no wise there.
+
+The while that these works were executing, he did not desert his
+painting entirely, and painted in distemper, in the panel that he made
+for the high-altar of S. Pancrazio, Our Lady, S. John the Baptist, and
+the Evangelist, and beside them the Saints Nereus, Archileus, and
+Pancratius, brothers, with other Saints. But the best of this work--nay,
+all that is seen therein of the good--is the predella alone, which is
+all full of little figures, divided into eight stories of the Madonna
+and of S. Reparata. Next, in 1348, he painted the panel of the
+high-altar of S. Maria Maggiore, also in Florence, for Barone Cappelli,
+making therein a passing good dance of angels round a Coronation of Our
+Lady. A little afterwards, in the Pieve of the district of Prato,
+rebuilt under direction of Giovanni Pisano in the year 1312, as it has
+been said above, Agnolo painted in fresco, in the chapel wherein was
+deposited the Girdle of Our Lady, many scenes of her life; and in other
+churches of that district, which was full of monasteries and convents
+held in great honour, he made other works in plenty. In Florence, next,
+he painted the arch over the door of S. Romeo; and in Orto S. Michele he
+wrought in distemper a Disputation of the Doctors with Christ in the
+Temple. And at the same time, many houses having been pulled down in
+order to enlarge the Piazza de' Signori, and in particular the Church of
+S. Romolo, this was rebuilt with the design of Agnolo. There are many
+panels by his hand throughout the churches in the said city, and many of
+his works may also be recognized in the domain, which were wrought by
+him with much profit to himself, although he worked more in order to do
+as his forefathers had done than for any love of it, having his mind
+directed on commerce, which brought him better profit; as it is seen
+when his sons, not wishing any longer to be painters, gave themselves
+over completely to commerce, holding a house open for this purpose in
+Venice together with their father, who, from a certain time onward, did
+not work save for his own pleasure, and, in a certain manner, in order
+to pass time. Having thus acquired great wealth by means of trading and
+by means of his art, Agnolo died in the sixty-third year of his life,
+overcome by a malignant fever which in a few days made an end of him.
+
+His disciples were Maestro Antonio da Ferrara, who made many beautiful
+works in S. Francesco at Urbino, and at Citta di Castello; and Stefano
+da Verona, who painted in fresco most perfectly, as it is seen in many
+places at Verona, his native city, and also in many of his works at
+Mantua. This man, among other things, was excellent in giving very
+beautiful expressions to the faces of children, of women, and of old
+men, as it may be seen in his works, which were all imitated and copied
+by that Piero da Perugia, illuminator, who illuminated all the books
+that are in the library of Pope Pius in the Duomo at Siena, and was a
+practised colourist in fresco. A disciple of Agnolo, also, was Michele
+da Milano, as was Giovanni Gaddi, his brother, who made, in the cloister
+of S. Spirito where are the little arches of Gaddo and of Taddeo, the
+Disputation of Christ in the Temple with the Doctors, the Purification
+of the Virgin, the Temptation of Christ in the Wilderness, and the
+Baptism of John; and finally, having created very great expectation, he
+died. A pupil of the same Agnolo in painting was Cennino di Drea Cennini
+of Colle di Valdelsa, who, having very great affection for the art,
+wrote a book describing the methods of working in fresco, in distemper,
+in size, and in gum, and, besides, how illuminating is done, and all the
+methods of applying gold; which book is in the hands of Giuliano,
+goldsmith of Siena, an excellent master and a friend of these arts. And
+in the beginning of this his book he treated of the nature of colours,
+both the minerals and the earth-colours, according as he learnt from
+Agnolo his master, wishing, for the reason perchance that he did not
+succeed in learning to paint perfectly, at least to know the nature of
+the colours, the distempers, the sizes, and the application of gesso,
+and what colours we must guard against as harmful in making the
+mixtures, and in short many other considerations whereof there is no
+need to discourse, there being to-day a perfect knowledge of all those
+matters which he held as great and very rare secrets in those times. But
+I will not forbear to say that he makes no mention (and perchance they
+may not have been in use) of some earth-colours, such as dark red
+earths, cinabrese, and certain vitreous greens. Since then there have
+been also discovered umber, which is an earth-colour, giallo santo,[23]
+the smalts both for fresco and for oils, and some vitreous greens and
+yellows, wherein the painters of that age were lacking. He treated
+finally of mosaics, and of grinding colours in oils in order to make
+grounds of red, blue, green, and in other manners; and of the mordants
+for the application of gold, but not then for figures. Besides the works
+that he wrought in Florence with his master, there is a Madonna with
+certain saints by his hand under the loggia of the hospital of Bonifazio
+Lupi, coloured in such a manner that it has been very well preserved up
+to our own day.
+
+This Cennino, in the first chapter of his said book, speaking of
+himself, uses these very words: "I, Cennino di Drea Cennini, of Colle di
+Valdelsa, was instructed in the said art for twelve years by Agnolo di
+Taddeo of Florence, my master, who learnt the said art from Taddeo, his
+father, who was held at baptism by Giotto and was his disciple for
+four-and-twenty years; which Giotto transmuted the art of painting from
+Greek into Latin, and brought it to the modern manner, and had it for
+certain more perfected than anyone ever had it." These are the very
+words of Cennino, to whom it appeared that even as those who translate
+any work from Greek into Latin confer very great benefit on those who do
+not understand Greek, so, too, did Giotto in transforming the art of
+painting from a manner not understood or known by anyone, save perchance
+as very rude, to a beautiful, facile, and very pleasing manner,
+understood and known as good by all who have judgment and the least
+grain of reason.
+
+All these disciples of Agnolo did him very great honour, and he was
+buried by his sons, to whom it is said that he left the sum of fifty
+thousand florins or more, in S. Maria Novella, in the tomb that he
+himself had made for himself and for his descendants, in the year of our
+salvation 1387. The portrait of Agnolo, made by himself, is seen in the
+Chapel of the Alberti, in S. Croce, beside a door in the scene wherein,
+the Emperor Heraclius is bearing the Cross; it is painted in profile,
+with a little beard, and with a rose-coloured cap on his head according
+to the use of those times. He was not excellent in draughtsmanship, in
+so far as is shown by some drawings by his hand that are in our book.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 23: A yellow-lake made from the unripe berries of the spin
+cervino, a sort of brier.]
+
+
+
+
+INDEX OF NAMES OF THE CRAFTSMEN MENTIONED IN VOLUME I
+
+
+ Aglaophon, xxxix
+
+ Agnolo (of Siena), _Life_, 97-105. 39
+
+ Agnolo di Lorenzo, 208
+
+ Agnolo Gaddi, _Life_, 217-223. 185, 186
+
+ Agobbio, Oderigi d', 79
+
+ Agostino (of Siena), _Life_, 97-105. 39
+
+ Aholiab, xxxviii
+
+ Alberti, Leon Batista, xli, 179
+
+ Alesso Baldovinetti, 4, 48
+
+ Ambrogio Lorenzetti, _Life_, 155-157
+
+ Andrea di Cione Orcagna, _Life_, 189-199
+
+ Andrea Pisano, _Life_, 123-131. 189
+
+ Andrea Tafi, _Life_, 47-51. 55, 56, 58, 135, 136, 145, 219
+
+ Angelico, Fra (Fra Giovanni da Fiesole), 162
+
+ Antonio (called Il Carota), 125
+
+ Antonio d'Andrea Tafi, 51
+
+ Antonio da Ferrara, 221
+
+ Antonio da San Gallo, 32
+
+ Antonio Pollaiuolo, xxxiv
+
+ Apelles, xxviii, xxxix
+
+ Apollodorus, xxxix
+
+ Apollonio, 47, 49
+
+ Ardices, xxxix
+
+ Aretino, Marchionne, 17, 18
+
+ Aretino, Niccolo, 130
+
+ Aretino, Spinello, 67
+
+ Aristides, xli
+
+ Arnolfo di Lapo (Arnolfo Lapo, Arnolfo Lapi), _Life_, 20-26. 8, 13, 14,
+   20-26, 29, 30, 33, 39, 65, 113, 126, 170, 174, 180
+
+
+ Baldovinetti, Alesso, 4, 48
+
+ Bartolommeo Bologhini, 120
+
+ Benedetto da Maiano, 94
+
+ Bernardo di Cione Orcagna, 189, 190, 193-195, 197
+
+ Bernardo Nello di Giovanni Falconi, 197
+
+ Bezaleel, xxxviii
+
+ Bologhini, Bartolommeo, 120
+
+ Bolognese, Franco, 79
+
+ Bonanno, 15, 16
+
+ Bramante da Urbino, 32
+
+ Brunelleschi, Filippo (Filippo di Ser Brunellesco), lii, 22, 23, 26, 48,
+   130
+
+ Bruno di Giovanni, 135, 145, 147, 148, 191
+
+ Buffalmacco, Buonamico, _Life_, 135-151. 50, 51, 135-151, 170, 190, 191,
+   211
+
+ Buonarroti, Michelagnolo, xxvi, xxxiv, 87
+
+ Buono, 14, 15
+
+ Buschetto, liv, lvi
+
+
+ Calandrino, 135
+
+ Campi, Fra Ristoro da, 59
+
+ Capanna, Puccio, 85, 89-91
+
+ Carota (Antonio, called Il Carota), 125
+
+ Casentino, Jacopo di, 183, 185
+
+ Castelfranco, Giorgione da, xxxii
+
+ Cavallini, Pietro, _Life_, 161-164. 92
+
+ Cennini, Cennino di Drea, 177, 221, 222
+
+ Cimabue, Giovanni, _Life_, 3-10. xxiv, xxxv, lix, 3-10, 20, 21, 29, 47,
+   50, 55, 56, 58, 63, 72, 74, 89, 94, 113, 117, 145, 174
+
+ Cione, 103, 104
+
+ Cleanthes, xxxix
+
+ Cleophantes, xxxix
+
+ Como, Guido da, 48
+
+
+ Danti, Vincenzio, 36
+
+ Domenico Ghirlandajo, 112, 126, 189
+
+ Donato (Donatello), 48, 130, 178
+
+
+ Fabius, xl
+
+ Faenza, Ottaviano da, 91
+
+ Faenza, Pace da, 91
+
+ Falconi, Bernardo Nello di Giovanni, 197
+
+ Ferrara, Antonio da, 221
+
+ Fiesole, Fra Giovanni da (called Fra Angelico), 162
+
+ Filippo Brunelleschi (Filippo di Ser Brunellesco), lii, 22, 23, 26, 48,
+   130
+
+ Fonte, Jacopo della (Jacopo della Quercia), 130
+
+ Forli, Guglielmo da, 92
+
+ Forzore di Spinello, 104
+
+ Fra Angelico (Fra Giovanni da Fiesole), 162
+
+ Fra Giovanni, 59
+
+ Fra Giovanni da Fiesole (called Fra Angelico), 162
+
+ Fra Jacopo da Turrita, 49, 50, 56
+
+ Fra Ristoro da Campi, 59
+
+ Francesco (called di Maestro Giotto), 91
+
+ Francesco Traini, 198, 199
+
+ Franco Bolognese, 79
+
+ Fuccio, 30, 31
+
+
+ Gaddi, Agnolo, _Life_, 217-223. 185, 186
+
+ Gaddi, Gaddo, _Life_, 55-58. 50, 55-58, 177, 186, 217, 219, 221
+
+ Gaddi, Giovanni, 185, 186, 217, 221
+
+ Gaddi, Taddeo, _Life_, 177-186. 57, 58, 81, 88, 89, 129, 177-186, 217,
+   218, 221, 222
+
+ Ghiberti, Lorenzo (Lorenzo di Cione Ghiberti), 87, 112, 127, 130
+
+ Ghirlandajo, Domenico, 112, 126, 189
+
+ Ghirlandajo, Ridolfo, 125
+
+ Giorgio Vasari, see Vasari
+
+ Giorgione da Castelfranco, xxxii
+
+ Giottino (Tommaso, or Maso), _Life_, 203-208. 112
+
+ Giotto, _Life_, 71-94. 7-9, 25, 39, 50, 51, 57, 63, 71-94, 99, 109,
+   111-113, 117, 118, 123-127, 161, 162, 168, 170, 174, 177, 178, 180,
+   182, 184-186, 190, 203-205, 222
+
+ Giovanni, Bruno di, 135, 145, 147, 148, 191
+
+ Giovanni, Fra, 59
+
+ Giovanni Cimabue, _Life_, 3-10. xxiv, xxxv, lix, 3-10, 20, 21, 29, 47,
+   50, 55, 56, 58, 63,72, 74, 89, 94, 113, 117, 145, 174
+
+ Giovanni da Milano, 182, 183, 185
+
+ Giovanni da Pistoia, 164
+
+ Giovanni dal Ponte (Giovanni da Santo Stefano a Ponte), _Life_, 211-213,
+   208
+
+ Giovanni Gaddi, 185, 186, 217, 221
+
+ Giovanni Pisano, _Life_, 35-44. 29, 35-44, 76, 97, 98, 220
+
+ Giovanni Tossicani, 208
+
+ Giuliano, 221
+
+ Guglielmo, 15, 31
+
+ Guglielmo da Forli, 92
+
+ Guido da Como, 48
+
+ Gyges the Lydian (fable), xxxix
+
+
+ Jacobello, 105
+
+ Jacopo da Turrita, Fra, 49, 50, 56
+
+ Jacopo della Quercia (or della Fonte), 130
+
+ Jacopo di Casentino, 183, 185
+
+ Jacopo di Cione Orcagna, 194, 197, 198
+
+ Jacopo Lanfrani, 104, 105
+
+ Jacopo Tedesco (Lapo), 14, 18-20, 23, 24, 65, 174
+
+
+ Lanfrani, Jacopo, 104, 105
+
+ Lapo, Arnolfo di (Arnolfo Lapo, Arnolfo Lapi), _Life_, 20-26. 8, 13, 14,
+   20-26, 29, 30, 33, 39, 65, 113, 126, 170, 174, 180
+
+ Lapo (Maestro Jacopo Tedesco), 14, 18-20, 23, 24, 65, 174
+
+ Laurati, Pietro (called Lorenzetti), _Life_, 117-120. 92
+
+ Leonardo da Vinci, xxxiv
+
+ Leonardo di Ser Giovanni, 104
+
+ Leon Batista Alberti, xli, 179
+
+ Lino, 43
+
+ Lippo, 48, 208
+
+ Lippo Memmi, 172-174
+
+ Lorenzetti, Ambrogio, _Life_, 155-157
+
+ Lorenzetti, Pietro (Laurati), _Life_, 117-120. 92
+
+ Lorenzo, Agnolo di, 208
+
+ Lorenzo Ghiberti (Lorenzo di Cione Ghiberti), 87, 112, 127, 130
+
+ Lysippus, xl
+
+
+ Maglione, 34
+
+ Maiano, Benedetto da, 94
+
+ Marchionne Aretino, 17, 18
+
+ Marco, Tommaso di, 197
+
+ Margaritone, _Life_, 63-67. 38, 118
+
+ Mariotto, 198
+
+ Martini, Simone (Memmi or Sanese), _Life_, 167-174. 10, 25, 89, 92,
+   167-174, 183
+
+ Memmi, Lippo, 172-174
+
+ Memmi, Simone (Martini or Sanese), _Life_, 167-174. 10, 25, 89, 92,
+   167-174, 183
+
+ Metrodorus, xxxix, xl
+
+ Michelagnolo Buonarroti, xxvi, xxxiv, 87
+
+ Michele da Milano, 221
+
+ Michelino, 208
+
+ Milano, Giovanni da, 182, 183, 185
+
+ Milano, Michele da, 221
+
+
+ Neroccio, 172
+
+ Niccola Pisano, _Life_, 29-37. lvi, 29-37, 40, 41, 43, 44, 76, 97
+
+ Niccolo Aretino, 130
+
+ Nino Pisano, 127, 130, 131
+
+
+ Oderigi d'Agobbio, 79
+
+ Orcagna, Andrea di Cione, _Life_, 189-199
+
+ Orcagna, Bernardo di Cione, 189, 190, 193-195, 197
+
+ Orcagna, Jacopo di Cione, 194, 197, 198
+
+ Ottaviano da Faenza, 91
+
+
+ Pace da Faenza, 91
+
+ Pacuvius, xxxix
+
+ Paolo, 103
+
+ Perugia, Piero da, 221
+
+ Pesarese, 105
+
+ Pheidias, xl
+
+ Philocles, xxxix
+
+ Piero da Perugia, 221
+
+ Pietro, 103
+
+ Pietro Cavallini, _Life_, 161-164. 92
+
+ Pietro Laurati (called Lorenzetti), _Life_, 117-120. 92
+
+ Pietro Paolo, 105
+
+ Pisano, Andrea, _Life_, 123-131. 189
+
+ Pisano, Giovanni, _Life_, 35-44. 29, 35-44, 76, 97, 98, 220
+
+ Pisano, Niccola, _Life_, 29-37. lvi, 29-37, 40, 41, 43, 44, 76, 97
+
+ Pisano, Nino, 127, 130, 131
+
+ Pisano, Tommaso, 130
+
+ Pistoia, Giovanni da, 164
+
+ Pollaiuolo, Antonio, xxxiv
+
+ Polycletus, xl, 167
+
+ Polygnotus, xxxix
+
+ Ponte, Giovanni dal (Giovanni da Santo Stefano a Ponte), _Life_, 211-213,
+   208
+
+ Praxiteles, xxvi, xl, xli
+
+ Prometheus (fable), xxxix
+
+ Puccio Capanna, 85, 89-91
+
+ Pygmalion, xxviii, xl
+
+ Pyrgoteles, xl
+
+ Pythias, xxxix
+
+
+ Quercia, Jacopo della (called della Fonte), 130
+
+
+ Raffaello Sanzio (or da Urbino), 86
+
+ Ridolfo Ghirlandajo, 125
+
+ Ristoro da Campi, Fra, 59
+
+
+ Sanese, Simone (Martini or Memmi), _Life_, 167-174. 10, 25, 89, 92,
+   167-174, 183
+
+ Sanese, Ugolino (Ugolino da Siena), _Life_, 113
+
+ San Gallo, Antonio da, 32
+
+ Sanzio, Raffaello (Raffaello da Urbino), 86
+
+ Ser Giovanni, Leonardo di, 104
+
+ Siena, Ugolino da (Sanese), _Life_, 113
+
+ Simone Sanese (Martini or Memmi), _Life_, 167-174. 10, 25, 89, 92,
+   167-174, 183
+
+ Sollazzino, 193
+
+ Spinello, Forzore di, 104
+
+ Spinello, Aretino, 67
+
+ Stefano, _Life_, 109-114. 92, 203, 204
+
+ Stefano da Verona, 221
+
+
+ Taddeo Gaddi, _Life_, 177-186. 57, 58, 81, 88, 89, 129, 177-186, 217,
+   218, 221, 222
+
+ Tafi, Andrea, _Life_, 47-51. 55, 56, 58, 135, 136, 145, 219
+
+ Tafi, Antonio d'Andrea, 51
+
+ Tedesco, Jacopo (Lapo), 14, 18-20, 23, 24, 65, 174
+
+ Telephanes, xxxix
+
+ Timagoras, xxxix
+
+ Tommaso (or Maso, called Giottino), _Life_, 203-208. 112
+
+ Tommaso di Marco, 197
+
+ Tommaso Pisano, 130
+
+ Tossicani, Giovanni, 208
+
+ Traini, Francesco, 198, 199
+
+ Turrita, Fra Jacopo da, 49, 50, 56
+
+
+ Ugolino Sanese (Ugolino da Siena), _Life_, 113
+
+ Urbino, Bramante da, 32
+
+ Urbino, Raffaello da (Raffaello Sanzio), 86
+
+
+ Vasari, Giorgio--
+   as art-collector, xvii, xviii, lix, 10, 58, 79, 92, 94, 111, 120, 126,
+     138, 157, 173, 174, 199, 208, 213, 223
+   as author, xiii-xix, xxi, xxiii, xxiv, xxxi, xxxiii-xxxvii, xlii, xliii,
+     xlvii, xlix, l, lv-lix, 7, 9, 10, 13-16, 23-25, 29, 44, 47-49, 51,
+     57-59, 66, 75, 79, 80, 86, 87, 89, 91, 92, 94, 97, 99, 103, 105, 109,
+     112, 113, 124, 126, 127, 140, 141, 146, 150, 163, 164, 170, 181, 183,
+     191, 192, 198, 217, 222
+   as painter, xlii, 67, 86, 119, 120, 147, 208
+   as architect, 25, 31, 38, 39, 119, 120
+
+ Verona, Stefano da, 221
+
+ Vicino, 50, 57, 58
+
+ Vincenzio Danti, 36
+
+ Vinci, Leonardo da, xxxiv
+
+
+ Zeuxis, xxxix
+
+
+END OF VOL. I.
+
+PRINTED UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF CHAS. T. JACOBI OF THE CHISWICK PRESS,
+LONDON. THE COLOURED REPRODUCTIONS ENGRAVED AND PRINTED BY HENRY STONE
+AND SON, LTD. BANBURY
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Lives of the Most Eminent Painters
+Sculptors and Architects, by Giorgio Vasari
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIVES OF MOST EMINENT PAINTERS ***
+
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