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diff --git a/28421.txt b/28421.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5e1ab9f --- /dev/null +++ b/28421.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9482 @@ +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 + Vol. 05 ( of 10) Andrea da Fiesole to Lorenzo Lotto + +Author: Giorgio Vasari + +Translator: Gaston du C. De Vere + +Release Date: March 27, 2009 [EBook #28421] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EMINENT PAINTERS *** + + + + +Produced by Mark C. Orton, Christine P. Travers and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net +(This file was produced from images generously made +available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) + + + + + +[Transcriber's note: Bold text is marked with =." + +Obvious printer's errors have been corrected, +all other inconsistencies are as in the original. The author's spelling +has been maintained. + +"Elecate" should be "Elacate".] + + + + +LIVES OF THE MOST EMINENT PAINTERS SCULPTORS & ARCHITECTS BY GIORGIO +VASARI: + +VOLUME V. ANDREA DA FIESOLE TO LORENZO LOTTO 1913 + +NEWLY TRANSLATED BY GASTON Du C. DE VERE. WITH FIVE HUNDRED +ILLUSTRATIONS: IN TEN VOLUMES + +[Illustration: 1511-1574] + +PHILIP LEE WARNER, PUBLISHER TO THE MEDICI SOCIETY, LIMITED 7 GRAFTON +ST. LONDON, W. 1912-14 + + + + +CONTENTS OF VOLUME V + + PAGE + + ANDREA DA FIESOLE [ANDREA FERRUCCI], AND OTHERS 1 + + VINCENZIO DA SAN GIMIGNANO [VINCENZIO TAMAGNI], AND TIMOTEO + DA URBINO [TIMOTEO DELLA VITE] 9 + + ANDREA DAL MONTE SANSOVINO [ANDREA CONTUCCI] 19 + + BENEDETTO DA ROVEZZANO 33 + + BACCIO DA MONTELUPO, AND RAFFAELLO HIS SON 39 + + LORENZO DI CREDI 47 + + LORENZETTO AND BOCCACCINO 53 + + BALDASSARRE PERUZZI 61 + + GIOVAN FRANCESCO PENNI [CALLED IL FATTORE], AND PELLEGRINO + DA MODENA 75 + + ANDREA DEL SARTO 83 + + MADONNA PROPERZIA DE' ROSSI 121 + + ALFONSO LOMBARDI, MICHELAGNOLO DA SIENA, GIROLAMO SANTA + CROCE, AND DOSSO AND BATTISTA DOSSI 129 + + GIOVANNI ANTONIO LICINIO OF PORDENONE, AND OTHERS 143 + + GIOVANNI ANTONIO SOGLIANI 157 + + GIROLAMO DA TREVISO 167 + + POLIDORO DA CARAVAGGIO AND MATURINO 173 + + IL ROSSO 187 + + BARTOLOMMEO DA BAGNACAVALLO, AND OTHERS 205 + + FRANCIABIGIO [FRANCIA] 215 + + MORTO DA FELTRO AND ANDREA DI COSIMO FELTRINI 225 + + MARCO CALAVRESE 235 + + FRANCESCO MAZZUOLI [PARMIGIANO] 241 + + JACOPO PALMA [PALMA VECCHIO] AND LORENZO LOTTO 257 + + INDEX OF NAMES 267 + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOLUME V + +PLATES IN COLOUR + FACING PAGE + + TIMOTEO DA URBINO (TIMOTEO DELLA VITE) + A Muse + Florence: Corsini Gallery 10 + + LORENZO DI CREDI + Venus + Florence: Uffizi, 3452 48 + + BERNARDINO DEL LUPINO (LUINI) + S. Catharine borne to her Tomb by Angels + Milan: Brera, 288 54 + + ANDREA DEL SARTO + Madonna dell' Arpie + Florence: Uffizi, 1112 94 + + DOSSO DOSSI + A Nymph with a Satyr + Florence: Pitti, 147 140 + + FRANCIABIGIO (FRANCIA) + Portrait of a Man + Vienna: Prince Liechtenstein 222 + + LORENZO LOTTO + The Triumph of Chastity + Rome: Rospigliosi Gallery 258 + + JACOPO PALMA (PALMA VECCHIO) + S. Barbara + Venice: S. Maria Formosa 260 + + RONDINELLO (NICCOLO RONDINELLI) + Madonna and Child + Paris: Louvre, 1159 264 + + +PLATES IN MONOCHROME + + ANDREA DA FIESOLE (ANDREA FERRUCCI) + Font + Pistoia: Duomo 6 + + SILVIO COSINI (SILVIO DA FIESOLE) + Tomb of Raffaele Maffei + Volterra: S. Lino 8 + + VINCENZIO DA SAN GIMIGNANO (VINCENZIO TAMAGNI) + The Birth of the Virgin + San Gimignano: S. Agostino, Cappella del S. Sacramento 12 + + TIMOTEO DA URBINO (TIMOTEO DELLA VITE) + Madonna and Saints, with a Child Angel + Milan: Brera, 508 12 + + TIMOTEO DA URBINO (TIMOTEO DELLA VITE) + The Magdalene + Bologna: Accademia, 204 16 + + ANDREA DAL MONTE SANSOVINO (ANDREA CONTUCCI) + Altar-piece + Florence: S. Spirito 22 + + ANDREA DAL MONTE SANSOVINO (ANDREA CONTUCCI) + Tomb of Cardinal Ascanio Sforza + Rome: S. Maria del Popolo 24 + + ANDREA DAL MONTE SANSOVINO (ANDREA CONTUCCI) + The Madonna and Child, with S. Anne + Rome: S. Agostino 26 + + BENEDETTO DA ROVEZZANO + Tomb of Piero Soderini + Florence: S. Maria del Carmine 38 + + BACCIO DA MONTELUPO + S. John the Evangelist + Florence: Or San Michele 42 + + AGOSTINO BUSTI (IL BAMBAJA) + Detail from the Tomb: Head of Gaston de Foix + Milan: Brera 44 + + RAFFAELLO DA MONTELUPO + S. Damiano + Florence: New Sacristy of S. Lorenzo 44 + + LORENZO DI CREDI + Andrea Verrocchio + Florence: Uffizi, 1163 50 + + LORENZO DI CREDI + Madonna and Child, with Saints + Paris: Louvre, 1263 52 + + LORENZO DI CREDI + The Nativity + Florence: Accademia, 92 52 + + LORENZETTO + Elijah + Rome: S. Maria del Popolo, Chigi Chapel 56 + + LORENZETTO + S. Peter + Rome: Ponte S. Angelo 56 + + BOCCACCINO + Madonna and Child, with Saints + Rome: Doria Gallery, 125 58 + + BERNARDINO DEL LUPINO (LUINI) + The Marriage of the Virgin + Saronno: Santuario della Beata Vergine 60 + + BALDASSARRE PERUZZI + Cupola of the Ponzetti Chapel + Rome: S. Maria della Pace 64 + + BALDASSARRE PERUZZI + Palazzo della Farnesina + Rome 66 + + BALDASSARRE PERUZZI + Courtyard of Palazzo Massimi + Rome 70 + + GIOVANNI FRANCESCO PENNI (IL FATTORE) + The Baptism of Constantine + Rome: The Vatican 78 + + GAUDENZIO MILANESE (GAUDENZIO FERRARI) + The Last Supper + Milan: S. Maria della Passione 80 + + ANDREA DEL SARTO + "Noli Me Tangere" + Florence: Uffizi, 93 86 + + ANDREA DEL SARTO + The Last Supper + Florence: S. Salvi 88 + + ANDREA DEL SARTO + The Arrival of the Magi + Florence: SS. Annunziata 90 + + ANDREA DEL SARTO + Charity + Paris: Louvre, 1514 98 + + ANDREA DEL SARTO + Caesar receiving the Tribute of Egypt + Florence: Poggio a Caiano 104 + + ANDREA DEL SARTO + Portrait of the Artist + Florence: Uffizi, 280 112 + + MADONNA PROPERZIA DE' ROSSI + Two Angels (with The Assumption of the Virgin, after TRIBOLO) + Bologna: S. Petronio 126 + + ALFONSO LOMBARDI + The Death of the Virgin + Bologna: S. Maria della Vita 134 + + MICHELAGNOLO DA SIENA + Tomb of Adrian VI + Rome: S. Maria dell' Anima 136 + + GIROLAMO SANTA CROCE + Madonna and Child, with SS. Peter and John + Naples: Monte Oliveto 138 + + DOSSO DOSSI + Madonna and Child, with SS. George and Michael + Modena: Pinacoteca, 437 140 + + GIOVANNI ANTONIO LICINIO OF PORDENONE + The Disputation of S. Catharine + Piacenza: S. Maria di Campagna 150 + + GIOVANNI ANTONIO LICINIO OF PORDENONE + The Adoration of the Magi + Treviso: Duomo 152 + + GIOVANNI ANTONIO SOGLIANI + The Legend of S. Dominic + Florence: S. Marco 162 + + IL ROSSO + Madonna and Child, with Saints + Florence: Uffizi, 47 190 + + IL ROSSO + The Transfiguration + Citta di Castello: Duomo 198 + + BARTOLOMMEO DA BAGNACAVALLO + The Holy Family, with Saints + Bologna: Accademia, 133 208 + + AMICO OF BOLOGNA (AMICO ASPERTINI) + The Adoration + Bologna: Pinacoteca, 297 210 + + INNOCENZIO DA IMOLA + The Marriage of S. Catharine + Bologna: S. Giacomo Maggiore 214 + + FRANCIABIGIO (FRANCIA) + The Marriage of the Virgin + Florence: SS. Annunziata 218 + + FRANCESCO MAZZUOLI (PARMIGIANO) + The Marriage of S. Catharine + Parma: Gallery, 192 246 + + FRANCESCO MAZZUOLI (PARMIGIANO) + Madonna and Child, with Saints + Bologna: Accademia, 116 250 + + JACOPO PALMA (PALMA VECCHIO) + S. Sebastian + Venice: S. Maria Formosa 260 + + LORENZO LOTTO + The Glorification of S. Nicholas + Venice: S. Maria del Carmine 262 + + LORENZO LOTTO + Andrea Odoni + Hampton Court Palace 262 + + RONDINELLO (NICCOLO RONDINELLI) + Madonna and Child, with Saints + Ravenna: Accademia 264 + + FRANCESCO DA COTIGNOLA + The Adoration of the Shepherds + Ravenna: Accademia 266 + + + + +CORRIGENDUM + +P. 151, l. 13, _Vicenza_ is an error of the Italian text for Piacenza, +the church referred to being in the latter town + + + + +ANDREA DA FIESOLE + + + + +LIVES OF ANDREA DA FIESOLE + +[_ANDREA FERRUCCI_] + +SCULPTOR + +AND OF OTHER CRAFTSMEN OF FIESOLE + + +Seeing that it is no less necessary for sculptors to have mastery over +their carving-tools than it is for him who practises painting to be able +to handle colours, it therefore happens that many who work very well in +clay prove to be unable to carry their labours to any sort of perfection +in marble; and some, on the contrary, work very well in marble, without +having any more knowledge of design than a certain instinct for a good +manner, I know not what, that they have in their minds, derived from the +imitation of certain things which please their judgment, and which their +imagination absorbs and proceeds to use for its own purposes. And it is +almost a marvel to see the manner in which some sculptors, without in +any way knowing how to draw on paper, nevertheless bring their works to +a fine and praiseworthy completion with their chisels. This was seen in +Andrea, a sculptor of Fiesole, the son of Piero di Marco Ferrucci, who +learnt the rudiments of sculpture in his earliest boyhood from Francesco +di Simone Ferrucci, another sculptor of Fiesole. And although at the +beginning he learnt only to carve foliage, yet little by little he +became so well practised in his work that it was not long before he set +himself to making figures; insomuch that, having a swift and resolute +hand, he executed his works in marble rather with a certain judgment and +skill derived from nature than with any knowledge of design. +Nevertheless, he afterwards gave a little more attention to art, when, +in the flower of his youth, he followed Michele Maini, likewise a +sculptor of Fiesole; which Michele made the S. Sebastian of marble in +the Minerva at Rome, which was so much praised in those days. + +Andrea, then, having been summoned to work at Imola, built a chapel of +grey-stone, which was much extolled, in the Innocenti in that city. +After that work, he went to Naples at the invitation of Antonio di +Giorgio of Settignano, a very eminent engineer, and architect to King +Ferrante, with whom Antonio was in such credit, that he had charge not +only of all the buildings in that kingdom, but also of all the most +important affairs of State. On arriving in Naples, Andrea was set to +work, and he executed many things for that King in the Castello di San +Martino and in other parts of that city. Now Antonio died; and after the +King had caused him to be buried with obsequies suited rather to a royal +person than to an architect, and with twenty pairs of mourners following +him to the grave, Andrea, recognizing that this was no country for him, +departed from Naples and made his way back to Rome, where he stayed for +some time, attending to the studies of his art, and also to some work. + +Afterwards, having returned to Tuscany, he built the marble chapel +containing the baptismal font in the Church of S. Jacopo at Pistoia, and +with much diligence executed the basin of that font, with all its +ornamentation. And on the main wall of the chapel he made two lifesize +figures in half-relief--namely, S. John baptizing Christ, a work +executed very well and with a beautiful manner. At the same time he made +some other little works, of which there is no need to make mention. I +must say, indeed, that although these things were wrought by Andrea +rather with the skill of his hand than with art, yet there may be +perceived in them a boldness and an excellence of taste worthy of great +praise. And, in truth, if such craftsmen had a thorough knowledge of +design united to their practised skill and judgment, they would vanquish +in excellence those who, drawing perfectly, only hack the marble when +they set themselves to work it, and toil at it painfully with a sorry +result, through not having practice and not knowing how to handle the +tools with the skill that is necessary. + +After these works, Andrea executed a marble panel that was placed +exactly between the two flights of steps that ascend to the upper choir +in the Church of the Vescovado at Fiesole; in which panel he made three +figures in the round and some scenes in low-relief. And for S. Girolamo, +at Fiesole, he made the little marble panel that is built into the +middle of the church. Having come into repute by reason of the fame of +these works, Andrea was commissioned by the Wardens of Works of S. Maria +del Fiore, at the time when Cardinal Giulio de' Medici was governing +Florence, to make a statue of an Apostle four braccia in height; at that +time, I mean, when four other similar statues were allotted at one and +the same moment to four other masters--one to Benedetto da Maiano, +another to Jacopo Sansovino, a third to Baccio Bandinelli, and the +fourth to Michelagnolo Buonarroti; which statues were eventually to be +twelve in number, and were to be placed in that part of that magnificent +temple where there are the Apostles painted by the hand of Lorenzo di +Bicci. Andrea, then, executed his rather with fine skill and judgment +than with design; and he acquired thereby, if not as much praise as the +others, at least the name of a good and practised master. Wherefore he +was almost continually employed ever afterwards by the Wardens of Works +of that church; and he made the head of Marsilius Ficinus that is to be +seen therein, within the door that leads to the chapter-house. He made, +also, a marble fountain that was sent to the King of Hungary, which +brought him great honour; and by his hand was a marble tomb that was +sent, likewise, to Strigonia, a city of Hungary. In this tomb was a +Madonna, very well executed, with other figures; and in it was +afterwards laid to rest the body of the Cardinal of Strigonia. To +Volterra Andrea sent two Angels of marble in the round; and for Marco +del Nero, a Florentine, he made a lifesize Crucifix of wood, which is +now in the Church of S. Felicita at Florence. He made a smaller one for +the Company of the Assumption in Fiesole. Andrea also delighted in +architecture, and he was the master of Mangone, the stonecutter and +architect, who afterwards erected many palaces and other buildings in +Rome in a passing good manner. + +In the end, having grown old, Andrea gave his attention only to mason's +work, like one who, being a modest and worthy person, loved a quiet +life more than anything else. He received from Madonna Antonia Vespucci +the commission for a tomb for her husband, Messer Antonio Strozzi; but +since he could not work much himself, the two Angels were made for him +by Maso Boscoli of Fiesole, his disciple, who afterwards executed many +works in Rome and elsewhere, and the Madonna was made by Silvio Cosini +of Fiesole, although it was not set into place immediately after it was +finished, which was in the year 1522, because Andrea died, and was +buried by the Company of the Scalzo in the Church of the Servi. + +[Illustration: FONT + +(_After_ Andrea da Fiesole [Andrea Ferrucci]. _Pistoia: Duomo_) + +_Brogi_] + +Silvio, when the said Madonna was set into place and the tomb of the +Strozzi completely finished, pursued the art of sculpture with +extraordinary zeal; wherefore he afterwards executed many works in a +graceful and beautiful manner, and surpassed a host of other masters, +above all in the bizarre fancy of his grotesques, as may be seen in the +sacristy of Michelagnolo Buonarroti, from some carved marble capitals +over the pilasters of the tombs, with some little masks so well hollowed +out that there is nothing better to be seen. In the same place he made +some friezes with very beautiful masks in the act of crying out; +wherefore Buonarroti, seeing the genius and skill of Silvio, caused him +to begin certain trophies to complete those tombs, but they remained +unfinished, with other things, by reason of the siege of Florence. +Silvio executed a tomb for the Minerbetti in their chapel in the +tramezzo[1] of the Church of S. Maria Novella, as well as any man could, +since, in addition to the beautiful shape of the sarcophagus, there are +carved upon it various shields, helmet-crests, and other fanciful +things, and all with as much design as could be desired in such a work. +Being at Pisa in the year 1528, Silvio made there an Angel that was +wanting over a column on the high-altar of the Duomo, to face the one by +Tribolo; and he made it so like the other that it could not be more like +even if it were by the same hand. In the Church of Monte Nero, near +Livorno, he made a little panel of marble with two figures, for the +Frati Ingesuati; and at Volterra he made a tomb for Messer Raffaello da +Volterra, a man of great learning, wherein he portrayed him from nature +on a sarcophagus of marble, with some ornaments and figures. +Afterwards, while the siege of Florence was going on, Niccolo Capponi, a +most honourable citizen, died at Castel Nuovo della Garfagnana on his +return from Genoa, where he had been as Ambassador from his Republic to +the Emperor; and Silvio was sent in great haste to make a cast of his +head, to the end that he might afterwards make one in marble, having +already executed a very beautiful one in wax. + +Now Silvio lived for some time with all his family in Pisa; and since he +belonged to the Company of the Misericordia, which in that city +accompanies those condemned to death to the place of execution, there +once came into his head, being sacristan at that time, the strangest +caprice in the world. One night he took out of the grave the body of one +who had been hanged the day before; and, after having dissected it for +the purposes of his art, being a whimsical fellow, and perhaps a wizard, +and ready to believe in enchantments and suchlike follies, he flayed it +completely, and with the skin, prepared after a method that he had been +taught, he made a jerkin, which he wore for some time over his shirt, +believing that it had some great virtue, without anyone ever knowing of +it. But having once been upbraided by a good Father to whom he had +confessed the matter, he pulled off the jerkin and laid it to rest in a +grave, as the monk had urged him to do. Many other similar stories could +be told of this man, but, since they have nothing to do with our +history, I will pass them over in silence. + +After the death of his first wife in Pisa, Silvio went off to Carrara. +There he remained to execute some works, and took another wife, with +whom, no long time after, he went to Genoa, where, entering the service +of Prince Doria, he made a most beautiful escutcheon of marble over the +door of his palace, and many ornaments in stucco all over that palace, +after the directions given to him by the painter Perino del Vaga. He +made, also, a very beautiful portrait in marble of the Emperor Charles +V. But since it was Silvio's habit never to stay long in one place--for +he was a wayward person--he grew weary of his prosperity in Genoa, and +set out to make his way to France. He departed, therefore, but before +arriving at Monsanese he turned back, and, stopping at Milan, he +executed in the Duomo some scenes and figures and many ornaments, with +much credit for himself. And there, finally, he died at the age of +forty-five. He was a man of fine genius, capricious, very dexterous in +any kind of work, and a person who could execute with great diligence +anything to which he turned his hand. He delighted in composing sonnets +and improvising songs, and in his early youth he gave his attention to +arms. If he had concentrated his mind on sculpture and design, he would +have had no equal; and, even as he surpassed his master Andrea Ferrucci, +so, had he lived, he would have surpassed many others who have enjoyed +the name of excellent masters. + +There flourished at the same time as Andrea and Silvio another sculptor +of Fiesole, called Il Cicilia, who was a person of much skill; and a +work by his hand may be seen in the Church of S. Jacopo, in the Campo +Corbolini at Florence--namely, the tomb of the Chevalier Messer Luigi +Tornabuoni, which is much extolled, particularly because he made therein +the escutcheon of that Chevalier, in the form of a horse's head, as if +to show, according to the ancient belief, that the shape of shields was +originally taken from the head of a horse. + +About the same time, also, Antonio da Carrara, a very rare sculptor, +made three statues in Palermo for the Duke of Monteleone, a Neapolitan +of the house of Pignatella, and Viceroy of Sicily--namely, three figures +of Our Lady in different attitudes and manners, which were placed over +three altars in the Duomo of Monteleone in Calabria. For the same patron +he made some scenes in marble, which are in Palermo. He left behind him +a son who is also a sculptor at the present day, and no less excellent +than was his father. + +[Illustration: TOMB OF RAFFAELE MAFFEI + +(_After_ Silvio Cosini [Silvio da Fiesole]. _Volterra: S. Lino_) + +_Alinari_] + +FOOTNOTE: + +[1] See note on p. 57, Vol. I. + + + + +VINCENZIO DA SAN GIMIGNANO AND TIMOTEO DA URBINO + + + + +[Illustration: TIMOTEO DA URBINO (TIMOTEO VITI): A MUSE + +(_Florence: Corsini Gallery. Panel_)] + + + + +LIVES OF VINCENZIO DA SAN GIMIGNANO AND TIMOTEO DA URBINO + +[_TIMOTEO DELLA VITE_] + +PAINTERS + + +Having now to write, after the Life of the sculptor Andrea da Fiesole, +the Lives of two excellent painters, Vincenzio da San Gimignano of +Tuscany, and Timoteo da Urbino, I propose to speak first of Vincenzio, +as the man whose portrait is above,[2] and immediately afterwards of +Timoteo, since they lived almost at one and the same time, and were both +disciples and friends of Raffaello. + +Vincenzio, then, working in company with many others in the Papal Loggie +for the gracious Raffaello da Urbino, acquitted himself in such a manner +that he was much extolled by Raffaello and by all the others. Having +therefore been set to work in the Borgo, opposite to the Palace of +Messer Giovanni Battista dall' Aquila, with great credit to himself he +painted on a facade a frieze in terretta, in which he depicted the Nine +Muses, with Apollo in the centre, and above them some lions, the device +of the Pope, which are held to be very beautiful. Vincenzio showed great +diligence in his manner and softness in his colouring, and his figures +were very pleasing in aspect; in short, he always strove to imitate the +manner of Raffaello da Urbino, as may also be seen in the same Borgo, +opposite to the Palace of the Cardinal of Ancona, from the facade of a +house that was built by Messer Giovanni Antonio Battiferro of Urbino, +who, in consequence of the strait friendship that he had with Raffaello, +received from him the design for that facade, and also, through his good +offices, many benefits and rich revenues at the Court. In this design, +then, which was afterwards carried into execution by Vincenzio, +Raffaello drew, in allusion to the name of the Battiferri, the Cyclopes +forging thunderbolts for Jove, and in another part Vulcan making arrows +for Cupid, with some most beautiful nudes and other very lovely scenes +and statues. The same Vincenzio painted a great number of scenes on a +facade in the Piazza di S. Luigi de' Francesi at Rome, such as the Death +of Caesar, a Triumph of Justice, and a battle of horsemen in a frieze, +executed with spirit and much diligence; and in this work, close to the +roof, between the windows, he painted some Virtues that are very well +wrought. In like manner, on the facade of the Epifani, behind the Curia +di Pompeo, and near the Campo di Fiore, he painted the Magi following +the Star; with an endless number of other works throughout that city, +the air and position of which seem to be in great measure the reason +that men are inspired to produce marvellous works there. Experience +teaches us, indeed, that very often the same man has not the same manner +and does not produce work of equal excellence in every place, but makes +it better or worse according to the nature of the place. + +[Illustration: THE BIRTH OF THE VIRGIN + +(_After the fresco by =Vincenzio da San Gimignano [Vincenzio Tamagni]=. +San Gimignano: S. Agostino_) + +_Brogi_] + +Vincenzio being in very good repute in Rome, there took place in the +year 1527 the ruin and sack of that unhappy city, which had been the +mistress of the nations. Whereupon, grieved beyond measure, he returned +to his native city of San Gimignano; and there, by reason of the +sufferings that he had undergone, and the weakening of his love for art, +now that he was away from the air which nourishes men of fine genius and +makes them bring forth works of the rarest merit, he painted some things +that I will pass over in silence, in order not to veil with them the +renown and the great name that he had honourably acquired in Rome. It is +enough to point out clearly that violence turns the most lofty +intellects roughly aside from their chief goal, and makes them direct +their steps into the opposite path; which may also be seen in a +companion of Vincenzio, called Schizzone, who executed some works in the +Borgo that were highly extolled, and also in the Campo Santo of Rome and +in S. Stefano degl' Indiani, and who was likewise caused by the +senseless soldiery to turn aside from art and in a short time to +lose his life. Vincenzio died in his native city of San Gimignano, +having had but little gladness in his life after his departure from +Rome. + +[Illustration: MADONNA AND SAINTS, WITH A CHILD ANGEL + +(_After the painting by =Timoteo da Urbino [Timoteo della Vite]=. Milan: +Brera, 508_) + +_Brogi_] + +Timoteo, a painter of Urbino, was the son of Bartolommeo della Vite, a +citizen of good position, and Calliope, the daughter of Maestro Antonio +Alberto of Ferrara, a passing good painter in his day, as is shown by +his works at Urbino and elsewhere. While Timoteo was still a child, his +father dying, he was left to the care of his mother Calliope, with good +and happy augury, from the circumstance that Calliope is one of the Nine +Muses, and the conformity that exists between poetry and painting. Then, +after he had been brought discreetly through his boyhood by his wise +mother, and initiated by her into the studies of the simpler arts and +likewise of drawing, the young man came into his first knowledge of the +world at the very time when the divine Raffaello Sanzio was flourishing. +Applying himself in his earliest years to the goldsmith's art, he was +summoned by Messer Pier Antonio, his elder brother, who was then +studying at Bologna, to that most noble city, to the end that he might +follow that art, to which he seemed to be inclined by nature, under the +discipline of some good master. While living, then, in Bologna, in which +city he stayed no little time, and was much honoured and received by the +noble and magnificent Messer Francesco Gombruti into his house with +every sort of courtesy, Timoteo associated continually with men of +culture and lofty intellect. Wherefore, having become known in a few +months as a young man of judgment, and inclined much more to the +painter's than to the goldsmith's art, of which he had given proofs in +some very well-executed portraits of his friends and of others, it +seemed good to his brother, wishing to encourage the young man's natural +genius, and also persuaded to this by his friends, to take him away from +his files and chisels, and to make him devote himself entirely to the +study of drawing. At which he was very content, and applied himself +straightway to drawing and to the labours of art, copying and drawing +all the best works in that city; and establishing a close intimacy with +painters, he set out to such purpose on his new road, that it was a +marvel to see the progress that he made from one day to another, and all +the more because he learnt with facility the most difficult things +without any particular teaching from any appointed master. And so, +becoming enamoured of his profession, and learning many secrets of +painting merely by sometimes seeing certain painters of no account +making their mixtures and using their brushes, and guided by himself and +by the hand of nature, he set himself boldly to colouring, and acquired +a very pleasing manner, very similar to that of the new Apelles, his +compatriot, although he had seen nothing by his hand save a few works at +Bologna. Thereupon, after executing some works on panel and on walls +with very good results, guided by his own good intellect and judgment, +and believing that in comparison with other painters he had succeeded +very well in everything, he pursued the studies of painting with great +ardour, and to such purpose, that in course of time he found that he had +gained a firm footing in his art, and was held in good repute and vast +expectation by all the world. + +Having then returned to his own country, now a man twenty-six years of +age, he stayed there for some months, giving excellent proofs of his +knowledge. Thus he executed, to begin with, the altar-piece of the +Madonna for the altar of S. Croce in the Duomo, containing, besides the +Virgin, S. Crescenzio and S. Vitale; and there is a little Angel seated +on the ground, playing on a viola with a grace truly angelic and a +childlike simplicity expressed with art and judgment. Afterwards he +painted another altar-piece for the high-altar of the Church of the +Trinita, together with a S. Apollonia on the left hand of that altar. + +By means of these works and certain others, of which there is no need to +make mention, the name and fame of Timoteo spread abroad, and he was +invited with great insistence by Raffaello to Rome; whither having gone +with the greatest willingness, he was received with that loving kindness +that was as peculiar to Raffaello as was his excellence in art. Working, +then, with Raffaello, in little more than a year he made a great +advance, not only in art, but also in prosperity, for in that time he +sent home a good sum of money. While working with his master in the +Church of S. Maria della Pace, he made with his own hand and invention +the Sibyls that are in the lunettes on the right hand, so much esteemed +by all painters. That they are his is maintained by some who still +remember having seen them painted; and we have also testimony in the +cartoons which are still to be found in the possession of his +successors. On his own account, likewise, he afterwards painted the bier +and the dead body contained therein, with the other things, so highly +extolled, that are around it, in the Scuola of S. Caterina da Siena; and +although certain men of Siena, carried away by love of their own +country, attribute these works to others, it may easily be recognized +that they are the handiwork of Timoteo, both from the grace and +sweetness of the colouring, and from other memorials of himself that he +left in that most noble school of excellent painters. + +Now, although Timoteo was well and honourably placed in Rome, yet, not +being able to endure, as many do, the separation from his own country, +and also being invited and urged every moment to come home by the +counsels of his friends and by the prayers of his mother, now an old +woman, he returned to Urbino, much to the displeasure of Raffaello, who +loved him dearly for his good qualities. And not long after, having +taken a wife in Urbino at the suggestion of his family, and having +become enamoured of his country, in which he saw that he was highly +honoured, besides the circumstance, even more important, that he had +begun to have children, Timoteo made up his mind firmly never again to +consent to go abroad, notwithstanding, as may still be seen from some +letters, that he was invited back to Rome by Raffaello. But he did not +therefore cease to work, and he made many works in Urbino and in the +neighbouring cities. At Forli he painted a chapel in company with +Girolamo Genga, his friend and compatriot; and afterwards he painted +entirely with his own hand a panel that was sent to Citta di Castello, +and likewise another for the people of Cagli. At Castel Durante, also, +he executed some works in fresco, which are truly worthy of praise, as +are all the other works by his hand, which bear witness that he was a +graceful painter in figures, landscapes, and every other field of +painting. In Urbino, at the instance of Bishop Arrivabene of Mantua, he +painted the Chapel of S. Martino in the Duomo, in company with the same +Genga; but the altar-panel and the middle of the chapel are entirely by +the hand of Timoteo. For the same church, also, he painted a Magdalene +standing, clothed in a short mantle, and covered below this by her own +tresses, which reach to the ground and are so beautiful and natural, +that the wind appears to move them; not to mention the divine beauty of +the expression of her countenance, which reveals clearly the love that +she bore to her Master. + +In S. Agata there is another panel by the hand of the same man, with +some very good figures. And for S. Bernardino, without that city, he +made that work so greatly renowned that is at the right hand upon the +altar of the Buonaventuri, gentlemen of Urbino; wherein the Virgin is +represented with most beautiful grace as having received the +Annunciation, standing with her hands clasped and her face and eyes +uplifted to Heaven. Above, in the sky, in the centre of a great circle +of light, stands a little Child, with His foot on the Holy Spirit in the +form of a Dove, and holding in His left hand a globe symbolizing the +dominion of the world, while, with the other hand raised, He gives the +benediction; and on the right of the Child is an angel, who is pointing +Him out with his finger to the Madonna. Below--that is, on the level of +the Madonna, to her right--is the Baptist, clothed in a camel's skin, +which is torn on purpose that the nude figure may be seen; and on her +left is a S. Sebastian, wholly naked, and bound in a beautiful attitude +to a tree, and wrought with such diligence that the figure could not +have stronger relief nor be in any part more beautiful. + +At the Court of the most illustrious Dukes of Urbino, in a little +private study, may be seen an Apollo and two half-nude Muses by his +hand, beautiful to a marvel. For the same patrons he executed many +pictures, and made some decorations for apartments, which are very +beautiful. And afterwards, in company with Genga, he painted some +caparisons for horses, which were sent to the King of France, with such +beautiful figures of various animals that they appeared to all who +beheld them to have life and movement. He made, also, some triumphal +arches similar to those of the ancients, on the occasion of the marriage +of the most illustrious Duchess Leonora to the Lord Duke Francesco +Maria, to whom they gave vast satisfaction, as they did to the whole +Court; on which account he was received for many years into the +household of that Duke, with an honourable salary. + +[Illustration: THE MAGDALENE + +(_After the panel by =Timoteo da Urbino [Timoteo della Vite]=. Bologna: +Accademia, 204_) + +_Anderson_] + +Timoteo was a bold draughtsman, and even more notable for the sweetness +and charm of his colouring, insomuch that his works could not have been +executed with more delicacy or greater diligence. He was a merry fellow, +gay and festive by nature, and most acute and witty in his sayings and +discourses. He delighted in playing every sort of instrument, and +particularly the lyre, to which he sang, improvising upon it with +extraordinary grace. He died in the year of our salvation 1524, the +fifty-fourth of his life, leaving his native country as much enriched by +his name and his fine qualities as it was grieved by his loss. He left +in Urbino some unfinished works, which were finished afterwards by +others and show by comparison how great were the worth and ability of +Timoteo. + +In our book are some drawings by his hand, very beautiful and truly +worthy of praise, which I received from the most excellent and gentle +Messer Giovanni Maria, his son--namely, a pen-sketch for the portrait of +the Magnificent Giuliano de' Medici, which Timoteo made when Giuliano +was frequenting the Court of Urbino and that most famous academy, a +"Noli me tangere," and a S. John the Evangelist sleeping while Christ is +praying in the Garden, all very beautiful. + +FOOTNOTE: + +[2] In the original edition of 1568. + + + + +ANDREA DAL MONTE SANSOVINO + + + + +LIFE OF ANDREA DAL MONTE SANSOVINO + +[_ANDREA CONTUCCI_] + +SCULPTOR AND ARCHITECT + + +Although Andrea, the son of Domenico Contucci of Monte Sansovino, was +born from a poor father, a tiller of the earth, and rose from the +condition of shepherd, nevertheless his conceptions were so lofty, his +genius so rare, and his mind so ready, both in his works and in his +discourses on the difficulties of architecture and perspective, that +there was not in his day a better, rarer, or more subtle intellect than +his, nor one that was more able than he was to render the greatest +doubts clear and lucid; wherefore he well deserved to be held in his own +times, by all who were qualified to judge, to be supreme in those +professions. Andrea was born, so it is said, in the year 1460; and in +his childhood, while looking after his flocks, he would draw on the sand +the livelong day, as is also told of Giotto, and copy in clay some of +the animals that he was guarding. So one day it happened that a +Florentine citizen, who is said to have been Simone Vespucci, at that +time Podesta of the Monte, passing by the place where Andrea was looking +after his little charges, saw the boy standing all intent on drawing or +modelling in clay. Whereupon he called to him, and, having seen what was +the boy's bent, and heard whose son he was, he asked for him from +Domenico Contucci, who graciously granted his request; and Simone +promised to place him in the way of learning design, in order to see +what virtue there might be in that inclination of nature, if assisted by +continual study. + +Having returned to Florence, then, Simone placed him to learn art with +Antonio del Pollaiuolo, under whom Andrea made such proficience, that in +a few years he became a very good master. In the house of that Simone, +on the Ponte Vecchio, there may still be seen a cartoon executed by him +at that time, of Christ being scourged at the Column, drawn with much +diligence; and, in addition, two marvellous heads in terra-cotta, copied +from ancient medals, one of the Emperor Nero, and the other of the +Emperor Galba, which heads served to adorn a chimney-piece; but the +Galba is now at Arezzo, in the house of Giorgio Vasari. Afterwards, +while still living in Florence, he made an altar-piece in terra-cotta +for the Church of S. Agata at Monte Sansovino, with a S. Laurence and +some other saints, and little scenes most beautifully executed. And no +long time after this he made another like it, containing a very +beautiful Assumption of Our Lady, S. Agata, S. Lucia, and S. Romualdo; +which altar-piece was afterwards glazed by the Della Robbia family. + +[Illustration: ALTAR-PIECE + +(_After_ Andrea dal Monte Sansovino [Andrea Contucci]. _Florence: S. +Spirito_) + +_Alinari_] + +Then, pursuing the art of sculpture, he made in his youth for Simone del +Pollaiuolo, otherwise called Il Cronaca, two capitals for pilasters in +the Sacristy of S. Spirito, which brought him very great fame, and led +to his receiving a commission to execute the antechamber that is between +the said sacristy and the church; and since the space was very small, +Andrea was forced to use great ingenuity. He made, therefore, a +structure of grey-stone in the Corinthian Order, with twelve round +columns, six on either side; and having laid architrave, frieze, and +cornice over these columns, he then raised a barrel-shaped vault, all of +the same stone, with a coffer-work surface full of carvings, which was +something novel, rich and varied, and much extolled. It is true, indeed, +that if the mouldings of that coffer-work ceiling, which serve to divide +the square and round panels by which it is adorned, had been contrived +so as to fall in a straight line with the columns, with truer proportion +and harmony, this work would be wholly perfect in every part; and it +would have been an easy thing to do this. But, according to what I once +heard from certain old friends of Andrea, he used to defend himself by +saying that he had adhered in his vault to the method of the coffering +in the Ritonda at Rome, wherein the ribs that radiate from the round +window in the centre above, from which that temple gets its light, serve +to enclose the square sunk panels containing the rosettes, which +diminish little by little, as likewise do the ribs; and for that reason +they do not fall in a straight line with the columns. Andrea used to +add that if he who built the Temple of the Ritonda, which is the best +designed and proportioned that there is, and made with more harmony than +any other, paid no attention to this in a vault of such size and +importance, much less should he do so in a coffered ceiling with far +smaller panels. Nevertheless many craftsmen, and Michelagnolo in +particular, have been of the opinion that the Ritonda was built by three +architects, of whom the first carried it as far as the cornice that is +above the columns, and the second from the cornice upwards, the part, +namely, that contains those windows of more graceful workmanship, for in +truth this second part is very different in manner from the part below, +since the vaulting was carried out without any relation between the +coffering and the straight lines of what is below. The third is believed +to have made the portico, which was a very rare work. And for these +reasons the masters who practise this art at the present day should not +fall into such an error and then make excuses, as did Andrea. + +After that work, having received from the family of the Corbinelli the +commission for the Chapel of the Sacrament in the same church, he +carried it out with much diligence, imitating in the low-reliefs Donato +and other excellent craftsmen, and sparing no labour in his desire to do +himself credit, as, indeed, he did. In two niches, one on either side of +a very beautiful tabernacle, he placed two saints somewhat more than one +braccio in height, S. James and S. Matthew, executed with such spirit +and excellence, that every sort of merit is revealed in them and not one +fault. Equally good, also, are two Angels in the round that are the +crowning glory of this work, with the most beautiful draperies--for they +are in the act of flying--that are anywhere to be seen; and in the +centre is a little naked Christ full of grace. There are also some +scenes with little figures in the predella and over the tabernacle, all +so well executed that the point of a brush could scarcely do what Andrea +did with his chisel. But whosoever wishes to be amazed by the diligence +of this extraordinary man should look at the architecture of this work +as a whole, for it is so well executed and joined together in its small +proportions that it appears to have been chiselled out of one single +stone. Much extolled, also, is a large Pieta of marble that he made in +half-relief on the front of the altar, with the Madonna and S. John +weeping. Nor could one imagine any more beautiful pieces of casting than +are the bronze gratings that enclose that chapel, with their ornaments +of marble, and with stags, the device, or rather the arms, of the +Corbinelli, which serve as adornments for the bronze candelabra. In +short, this work was executed without any sparing of labour, and with +all the best considerations that could possibly be imagined. + +By these and by other works the name of Andrea spread far and wide, and +he was sought for from the elder Lorenzo de' Medici, the Magnificent, in +whose garden, as has been related, he had pursued the studies of design, +by the King of Portugal; and, being therefore sent to him by Lorenzo, he +executed for that King many works of sculpture and of architecture, and +in particular a very beautiful palace with four towers, and many other +buildings. Part of the palace was painted after designs and cartoons by +the hand of Andrea, who drew very well, as may be seen from some +drawings by his own hand in our book, finished with a charcoal-point, +and some other architectural drawings, showing excellent design. He also +made for that King a carved altar of wood, containing some Prophets; and +likewise a very beautiful battle-piece in clay, to be afterwards carved +in marble, representing the wars that the King waged with the Moors, who +were vanquished by him; and no work by the hand of Andrea was ever seen +that was more spirited or more terrible than this, what with the +movements and various attitudes of the horses, the heaps of dead, and +the vehement fury of the soldiers in combat. And he made a figure of S. +Mark in marble, which was a very rare work. While in the service of that +King, Andrea also gave his attention to some difficult and fantastic +architectural works, according to the custom of that country, in order +to please the King; of which things I once saw a book at Monte Sansovino +in the possession of his heirs, which is now in the hands of Maestro +Girolamo Lombardo, who was his disciple, and to whom it fell, as will be +related, to finish some works begun by Andrea. + +[Illustration: TOMB OF CARDINAL ASCANIO SFORZA + +(_After_ Andrea dal Monte Sansovino [Andrea Contucci]. _Rome: S. Maria +del Popolo_) + +_Alinari_] + +Having been nine years in Portugal, and growing weary of that service, +and desirous of seeing his relatives and friends in Tuscany again, +Andrea determined, now that he had put together a good sum of money, +to obtain leave from the King and return home. And so, having been +granted permission, although not willingly, he returned to Florence, +leaving behind him one who should complete such of his works as remained +unfinished. After arriving in Florence, he began in the year 1500 a +marble group of S. John baptizing Christ, which was to be placed over +that door of the Temple of S. Giovanni that faces the Misericordia; but +he did not finish it, because he was almost forced to go to Genoa, where +he made two figures of marble, Christ, or rather S. John, and a Madonna, +which are truly worthy of the highest praise. And those at Florence +remained unfinished, and are still to be found at the present day in the +Office of Works of the said S. Giovanni. + +He was then summoned to Rome by Pope Julius II, and received the +commission for two tombs of marble, which were erected in S. Maria del +Popolo--one for Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, and the other for the Cardinal +of Recanati, a very near relative of the Pope--and these works were +wrought so perfectly by Andrea that nothing more could be desired, since +they were so well executed and finished, and with such purity, beauty, +and grace, that they reveal the true consideration and proportion of +art. There may be seen there, also, a Temperance with an hourglass in +her hand, which is held to be a thing divine; and, indeed, it does not +appear to be a modern work, but ancient and wholly perfect. And although +there are other figures there similar to it, yet on account of its +attitude and grace it is much the best; not to mention that nothing +could be more pleasing and beautiful than the veil that she has around +her, which is executed with such delicacy that it is a miracle to +behold. + +In S. Agostino at Rome, on a pilaster in the middle of the church, he +made in marble a S. Anne embracing a Madonna with the Child, a little +less than lifesize. This work may be counted as one of the best of +modern times, since, even as a lively and wholly natural gladness is +seen in the old woman, and a divine beauty in the Madonna, so the figure +of the Infant Christ is so well wrought, that no other was ever executed +with such delicacy and perfection. Wherefore it well deserved that for +many years a succession of sonnets and various other learned +compositions should be attached to it, of which the friars of that +place have a book full, which I myself have seen, to my no little +marvel. And in truth the world was right in doing this, for the reason +that the work can never be praised enough. + +[Illustration: THE MADONNA AND CHILD WITH S. ANNE + +(_After_ Andrea dal Monte Sansovino [Andrea Contucci]. _Rome: S. +Agostino_) + +_Alinari_] + +The fame of Andrea having thereby grown greater, Leo X, who had resolved +that the adornment with wrought marble of the Chamber of the Madonna in +S. Maria at Loreto should be carried out, according to the beginning +made by Bramante, ordained that Andrea should bring that work to +completion. The ornamentation of that Chamber, which Bramante had begun, +had at the corners four double projections, which, adorned by pillars +with bases and carved capitals, rested on a socle rich with carvings, +and two braccia and a half in height; over which socle, between the two +aforesaid pillars, he had made a large niche to contain seated figures, +and, above each of these niches, a smaller one, which, reaching to the +collarino of the capitals of those pillars, left a frieze of the same +height as the capitals. Above these were afterwards laid architrave, +frieze, and richly carved cornice, which, going right round all the four +walls, project over the four corners; and in the middle of each of the +larger walls--for the Chamber is greater in length than in breadth--were +left two spaces, since there was the same projection in the centre of +those walls as there was at the corners; whence the larger niche below, +with the smaller one above it, came to be enclosed by a space of five +braccia on either side. In this space were two doors, one on either +side, through which one entered into the chapel; and above the doors was +a space of five braccia between one niche and another, wherein were to +be carved scenes in marble. The front wall was the same, but without +niches in the centre, and the height of the socle, with the projection, +formed an altar, which was set off by the pillars and the niches at the +corners. In the same front wall, in the centre, was a space of the same +breadth as the spaces at the sides, to contain some scenes in the upper +part, while below, the same in height as the spaces of the sides, but +beginning immediately above the altar, was a bronze grating opposite to +the inner altar, through which it was possible to hear the Mass and to +see the inside of the Chamber and the aforesaid altar of the Madonna. +Altogether, then, the spaces and compartments for the scenes were +seven: one in front, above the grating, two on each of the longer sides, +and two on the upper part--that is to say, behind the altar of the +Madonna; and, in addition, there were eight large and eight small +niches, with other smaller spaces for the arms and devices of the Pope +and of the Church. + +Andrea, then, having found the work in this condition, distributed over +these spaces, with a rich and beautiful arrangement, scenes from the +life of the Madonna. In one of the two side-walls, he began in one part +the Nativity of the Madonna, and executed half of it; and it was +completely finished afterwards by Baccio Bandinelli. In the other part +he began the Marriage of the Virgin, but this also remained unfinished, +and after the death of Andrea it was completed as we see it by Raffaello +da Montelupo. On the front wall he arranged that there should be made, +in two small squares which are on either side of the bronze grating, in +one the Visitation and in the other the scene of the Virgin and Joseph +going to have themselves enrolled for taxes; which scenes were +afterwards executed by Francesco da San Gallo, then a young man. Then, +in that part where the greatest space is, Andrea made the Angel Gabriel +bringing the Annunciation to the Virgin--which happened in that very +chamber which these marbles enclose--with such grace and beauty that +there is nothing better to be seen, for he made the Virgin wholly intent +on that Salutation, and the Angel, kneeling, appears to be not of +marble, but truly celestial, with "Ave Maria" issuing from his mouth. In +company with Gabriel are two other Angels, in full-relief and detached +from the marble, one of whom is walking after him and the other appears +to be flying. Behind a building stand two other Angels, carved out by +the chisel in such a way that they seem to be alive. In the air, on a +cloud much undercut--nay, almost entirely detached from the marble--are +many little boys upholding a God the Father, who is sending down the +Holy Spirit by means of a ray of marble, which, descending from Him +completely detached, appears quite real; as, likewise, is the Dove upon +it, which represents the Holy Spirit. Nor can one describe how great is +the beauty and how delicate the carving of a vase filled with flowers, +which was made in this work by the gracious hand of Andrea, who +lavished so much excellence on the plumes of the Angels, the hair, the +grace of their features and draperies, and, in short, on every other +thing, that this divine work cannot be extolled enough. And, in truth, +that most holy place, which was the very house and habitation of the +Mother of the Son of God, could not obtain from the resources of the +world a greater, richer, or more beautiful adornment than that which it +received from the architecture of Bramante and the sculpture of Andrea +Sansovino; although, even if it were entirely of the most precious gems +of the East, it would be little more than nothing in comparison with +such merits. + +Andrea spent an almost incredible amount of time over this work, and +therefore had no time to finish the others that he had begun; for, in +addition to those mentioned above, he began in a space on one of the +side-walls the Nativity of Jesus Christ, with the Shepherds and four +Angels singing; and all these he finished so well that they seem to be +wholly alive. But the story of the Magi, which he began above that one, +was afterwards finished by Girolamo Lombardo, his disciple, and by +others. On the back wall he arranged that two large scenes should be +made, one above the other; in one, the Death of Our Lady, with the +Apostles bearing her to her burial, four Angels in the air, and many +Jews seeking to steal that most holy corpse; and this was finished after +Andrea's lifetime by the sculptor Bologna. Below this one, then, he +arranged that there should be made a scene of the Miracle of Loreto, +showing in what manner that chapel, which was the Chamber of Our Lady, +wherein she was born, brought up, and saluted by the Angel, and in which +she reared her Son up to the age of twelve and lived ever after His +Death, was finally carried by the Angels, first into Sclavonia, +afterwards to a forest in the territory of Recanati, and in the end to +the place where it is now held in such veneration and continually +visited in solemn throng by all the Christian people. This scene, I say, +was executed in marble on that wall, according to the arrangement made +by Andrea, by the Florentine sculptor Tribolo, as will be related in due +place. Andrea likewise blocked out the Prophets for the niches, but did +not finish them completely, save one alone, and the others were +afterwards finished by the aforesaid Girolamo Lombardo and by other +sculptors, as will be seen in the Lives that are to follow. But with +regard to all the works wrought by Andrea in this undertaking, they are +the most beautiful and best executed works of sculpture that had ever +been made up to that time. + +In like manner, the Palace of the Canons of the same church was also +carried on by Andrea, after the arrangements made by Bramante at the +commission of Pope Leo. But this, also, remained unfinished after the +death of Andrea, and the building was continued under Clement VII by +Antonio da San Gallo, and then by the architect Giovanni Boccalino, +under the patronage of the very reverend Cardinal da Carpi, up to the +year 1563. While Andrea was at work on the aforesaid Chapel of the +Virgin, there were built the fortifications of Loreto and other works, +which were highly extolled by the all-conquering Signor Giovanni de' +Medici, with whom Andrea had a very strait friendship, having become +first acquainted with him in Rome. + +Having four months of holiday in the year for repose while he was +working at Loreto, he used to spend that time in agriculture at his +native place of Monte Sansovino, enjoying meanwhile a most tranquil rest +with his relatives and friends. Living thus at the Monte during the +summer, he built there a commodious house for himself and bought much +property; and for the Friars of S. Agostino in that place he had a +cloister made, which, although small, is very well designed, but also +out of the square, since those Fathers insisted on having it built over +the old walls. Andrea, however, made the interior rectangular by +increasing the thickness of the pilasters at the corners, in order to +change it from an ill-proportioned structure into one with good and true +measurements. He designed, also, for a Company that had its seat in that +cloister, under the title of S. Antonio, a very beautiful door of the +Doric Order; and likewise the tramezzo[3] and pulpit of the Church of S. +Agostino. He also caused a little chapel to be built for the friars +half-way down the hill on the descent to the fountain, without the door +that leads to the old Pieve, although they had no wish for it. He made +the design for the house of Messer Pietro, a most skilful astrologer, at +Arezzo; and a large figure of terra-cotta for Montepulciano, of King +Porsena, which was a rare work, although I have never seen it again +since the first time, so that I fear that it may have come to an evil +end. And for a German priest, who was his friend, he made a lifesize S. +Rocco of terra-cotta, very beautiful; which priest had it placed in the +Church of Battifolle, in the district of Arezzo. This was the last piece +of sculpture that Andrea executed. + +He gave the design, also, for the steps ascending to the Vescovado of +Arezzo; and for the Madonna delle Lagrime, in the same city, he made the +design of a very beautiful ornament that was to be executed in marble, +with four figures, each four braccia high; but this work was carried no +farther, on account of the death of our Andrea. For he, having reached +the age of sixty-eight, and being a man who would never stay idle, set +to work to move some stakes from one place to another at his villa, +whereby he caught a chill; and in a few days, worn out by a continuous +fever, he died, in the year 1529. + +The death of Andrea grieved his native place by reason of the honour +that he had brought it, and his sons and the women of his household, who +lost both their dearest one and their support. And not long ago Muzio +Camillo, one of the three aforesaid sons, who was displaying a most +beautiful intellect in the studies of learning and letters, followed +him, to the great loss of his family and displeasure of his friends. + +Andrea, in addition to his profession of art, was truly a person of much +distinction, for he was wise in his discourse, and reasoned most +beautifully on every subject. He was prudent and regular in his every +action, much the friend of learned men, and a philosopher of great +natural gifts. He gave much attention to the study of cosmography, and +left to his family a number of drawings and writings on the subject of +distances and measurements. He was somewhat small in stature, but robust +and beautifully made. His hair was soft and long, his eyes light in +colour, his nose aquiline, and his skin pink and white; but he had a +slight impediment in his speech. + +His disciples were the aforesaid Girolamo Lombardo, the Florentine +Simone Cioli, Domenico dal Monte Sansovino (who died soon after him), +and the Florentine Leonardo del Tasso, who made the S. Sebastian of +wood over his own tomb in S. Ambrogio at Florence, and the marble panel +of the Nuns of S. Chiara. A disciple of Andrea, likewise, was the +Florentine Jacopo Sansovino--so called after his master--of whom there +will be a long account in the proper place. + +Architecture and sculpture, then, are much indebted to Andrea, in that +he enriched the one with many rules of measurement and devices for +drawing weights, and with a degree of diligence that had not been +employed before, and in the other he brought his marble to perfection +with marvellous judgment, care, and mastery. + +FOOTNOTE: + +[3] See note on p. 57, Vol. I. + + + + +BENEDETTO DA ROVEZZANO + + + + +LIFE OF BENEDETTO DA ROVEZZANO + +SCULPTOR + + +Great, I think, must be the displeasure of those who, having executed +some work of genius, yet, when they hope to enjoy the fruits of this in +their old age, and to see the beautiful results achieved by other +intellects in works similar to their own, and to be able to perceive +what perfection there may be in that field of art that they themselves +have practised, find themselves robbed by adverse fortune, by time, by a +bad habit of body, or by some other cause, of the sight of their eyes; +whence they are not able, as they were before, to perceive either the +deficiencies or the perfection of men whom they hear of as living and +practising their own professions. And even more are they grieved to hear +the praises of the new masters, not through envy, but because they are +not able to judge, like others, whether that fame be well-deserved or +not. + +This misfortune happened to Benedetto da Rovezzano, a sculptor of +Florence, of whom we are now about to write the Life, to the end that +the world may know how able and practised a sculptor he was, and with +what diligence he carved marble in strong relief against its ground in +the marvellous works that he made. Among the first of many labours that +this master executed in Florence, may be numbered a chimney-piece of +grey-stone that is in the house of Pier Francesco Borgherini, wherein +are capitals, friezes, and many other ornaments, carved by his hand in +open-work with great diligence. In the house of Messer Bindo Altoviti, +likewise, is a chimney-piece by the same hand, with a lavatory of +marble, and some other things executed with much delicacy; but +everything in these that has to do with architecture was designed by +Jacopo Sansovino, then a young man. + +Next, in the year 1512, Benedetto received the commission for a tomb of +marble, with rich ornaments, in the principal chapel of the Carmine in +Florence, for Piero Soderini, who had been Gonfalonier in that city; and +that work was executed by him with incredible diligence, seeing that, +besides foliage, carved emblems of death, and figures, he made therein +with basanite, in low-relief, a canopy in imitation of black cloth, with +so much grace and such beautiful finish and lustre, that the stone +appears to be exquisite black satin rather than basanite. And, to put it +in a few words, for all that the hand of Benedetto did in this work +there is no praise that would not seem too little. + +And since he also gave his attention to architecture, there was restored +from the design of Benedetto a house near S. Apostolo in Florence, +belonging to Messer Oddo Altoviti, Patron and Prior of that church. +There Benedetto made the principal door in marble, and, over the door of +the house, the arms of the Altoviti in grey-stone, with the wolf, lean, +excoriated, and carved in such strong relief, that it seems to be almost +separate from the shield; and some pendant ornaments carved in open-work +with such delicacy, that they appear to be not of stone, but of the +finest paper. In the same church, above the two chapels of Messer Bindo +Altoviti, for which Giorgio Vasari of Arezzo painted the panel-picture +of the Conception in oils, Benedetto made a marble tomb for the said +Messer Oddo, surrounded by an ornament full of most masterly foliage, +with a sarcophagus, likewise very beautiful. + +Benedetto also executed, in competition with Jacopo Sansovino and Baccio +Bandinelli, as has been related, one of the Apostles, four and a half +braccia in height, for S. Maria del Fiore--namely, a S. John the +Evangelist, which is a passing good figure, wrought with fine design and +skill. This figure is in the Office of Works, in company with the +others. + +Next, in the year 1515, the chiefs and heads of the Order of +Vallombrosa, wishing to transfer the body of S. Giovanni Gualberto from +the Abbey of Passignano to the Church of S. Trinita, an abbey of the +same Order, in Florence, commissioned Benedetto to make a design, upon +which he was to set to work, for a chapel and tomb combined, with a vast +number of lifesize figures in the round, which were to be suitably +distributed over that work in some niches separated by pilasters filled +with ornaments and friezes and with delicately carved grotesques. And +below this whole work there was to be a base one braccio and a half in +height, wherein were to be scenes from the life of the said S. Giovanni +Gualberto; while endless numbers of other ornaments were to be round the +sarcophagus, and as a crown to the work. On this tomb, then, Benedetto, +assisted by many carvers, laboured continually for ten years, with vast +expense to that Congregation; and he brought the work to completion in +their house of Guarlondo, a place near San Salvi, without the Porta alla +Croce, where the General of the Order that was having the work executed +almost always lived. Benedetto, then, carried out the making of that +chapel and tomb in such a manner as amazed Florence; but, as Fate would +have it--for even marbles and the finest works of men of excellence are +subject to the whims of fortune--after much discord among those monks, +their government was changed, and the work remained unfinished in the +same place until the year 1530. At which time, war raging round +Florence, all those labours were ruined by soldiers, the heads wrought +with such diligence were impiously struck off from the little figures, +and the whole work was so completely destroyed and broken to pieces, +that the monks afterwards sold what was left for a mere song. If any one +wishes to see a part of it, let him go to the Office of Works of S. +Maria del Fiore, where there are a few pieces, bought as broken marble +not many years ago by the officials of that place. And, in truth, even +as everything is brought to fine completion in those monasteries and +other places where peace and concord reign, so, on the contrary, nothing +ever reaches perfection or an end worthy of praise in places where there +is naught save rivalry and discord, because what takes a good and wise +man a hundred years to build up can be destroyed by an ignorant and +crazy boor in one day. And it seems as if fortune wishes that those who +know the least and delight in nothing that is excellent, should always +be the men who govern and command, or rather, ruin, everything: as was +also said of secular Princes, with no less learning than truth, by +Ariosto, at the beginning of his seventeenth canto. But returning to +Benedetto: it was a sad pity that all his labours and all the money +spent by that Order should have come to such a miserable end. + +By the same architect were designed the door and vestibule of the Badia +of Florence, and likewise some chapels, among them that of S. Stefano, +erected by the family of the Pandolfini. Finally, Benedetto was summoned +to England into the service of the King, for whom he executed many works +in marble and in bronze, and, in particular, his tomb; from which works, +through the liberality of that King, he gained enough to be able to live +in comfort for the rest of his life. Thereupon he returned to Florence; +but, after he had finished some little things, a sort of giddiness, +which even in England had begun to affect his eyes, and other troubles +caused, so it was said, by standing too long over the fire in the +founding of metals, or by some other reasons, in a short time robbed him +completely of the sight of his eyes; wherefore he ceased to work about +the year 1550, and to live a few years after that. Benedetto endured +that blindness during the last years of his life with the patience of a +good Christian, thanking God that He had first enabled him, by means of +his labours, to live an honourable life. + +Benedetto was a courteous gentleman, and he always delighted in the +society of men of culture. His portrait was copied from one made, when +he was a young man, by Agnolo di Donnino. This original is in our book +of drawings, wherein there are also some drawings very well executed by +the hand of Benedetto, who deserves, on account of all those works, to +be numbered among our most excellent craftsmen. + +[Illustration: TOMB OF PIETRO SODERINI + +(_After_ Benedetto da Rovezzano. _Florence: S. Maria del Carmine_) + +_Alinari_] + + + + +BACCIO DA MONTELUPO AND RAFFAELLO, HIS SON + + + + +LIVES OF BACCIO DA MONTELUPO + +SCULPTOR + +AND OF RAFFAELLO, HIS SON + + +So strong is the belief of mankind that those who are negligent in the +arts which they profess to practise can never arrive at any perfection +in them, that it was in the face of the judgment of many that Baccio da +Montelupo learnt the art of sculpture; and this happened to him because +in his youth, led astray by pleasures, he would scarcely ever study, +and, although he was exhorted and upbraided by many, he thought little +or nothing of art. But having come to years of discretion, which bring +sense with them, he was forced straightway to learn how far he was from +the good way. Whereupon, seeing with shame that others were going ahead +of him in that art, he resolved with a stout heart to follow and +practise with all possible zeal that which in his idleness he had +hitherto shunned. This resolution was the reason that he produced in +sculpture such fruits as the opinions of many no longer expected from +him. + +Having thus devoted himself with all his powers to his art, and +practising it continually, he became a rare and excellent master. And of +this he gave a proof in a work in hard-stone, wrought with the chisel, +on the corner of the garden attached to the Palace of the Pucci in +Florence; which was the escutcheon of Pope Leo X, with two children +supporting it, executed in a beautiful and masterly manner. He made a +Hercules for Pier Francesco de' Medici; and from the Guild of Porta +Santa Maria he received the commission for a statue of S. John the +Evangelist, to be executed in bronze, in securing which he had many +difficulties, since a number of masters made models in competition with +him. This figure was afterwards placed on the corner of S. Michele in +Orto, opposite to the Ufficio; and the work was finished by him with +supreme diligence. It is said that when he had made the figure in clay, +all who saw the arrangement of the armatures, and the moulds laid upon +them, held it to be a beautiful piece of work, recognizing the rare +ingenuity of Baccio in such an enterprise; and when they had seen it +cast with the utmost facility, they gave Baccio credit for having shown +supreme mastery, and having made a solid and beautiful casting. These +labours endured in that profession, brought him the name of a good and +even excellent master; and that figure is esteemed more than ever at the +present day by all craftsmen, who hold it to be most beautiful. + +Setting himself also to work in wood, he carved lifesize Crucifixes, of +which he made an endless number for all parts of Italy, and among them +one that is over the door of the choir of the Monks of S. Marco at +Florence. These are all excellent and full of grace, but there are some +that are much more perfect than the rest, such as the one of the Murate +in Florence, and another, no less famous than the first, in S. Pietro +Maggiore; and for the Monks of SS. Fiora e Lucilla he made a similar +one, which they placed over the high-altar of their abbey at Arezzo, and +which is held to be much the most beautiful of them all. For the visit +of Pope Leo X to Florence, Baccio erected between the Palace of the +Podesta and the Badia a very beautiful triumphal arch of wood and clay; +with many little works, which have either disappeared or been dispersed +among the houses of citizens. + +Having grown weary, however, of living in Florence, he went off to +Lucca, where he executed some works in sculpture, and even more in +architecture, in the service of that city, and, in particular, the +beautiful and well-designed Temple of S. Paulino, the Patron Saint of +the people of Lucca, built with proofs of a fine and well-trained +intelligence both within and without, and richly adorned. Living in that +city, then, up to the eighty-eighth year of his life, he ended his days +there, and received honourable burial in the aforesaid S. Paulino from +those whom he had honoured when alive. + +[Illustration: S. JOHN THE EVANGELIST + +(_After_ Baccio da Montelupo. _Florence: Or San Michele_) + +_Alinari_] + +A contemporary of Baccio was Agostino, a very famous sculptor and carver +of Milan, who began in S. Maria, at Milan, the tomb of Monsignore de +Foix, which remains unfinished even now; and in it may still be seen +many large figures, some finished, some half completed, and others only +blocked out, with a number of scenes in half-relief, in pieces and not +built in, and a great quantity of foliage and trophies. For the Biraghi, +also, he made another tomb, which is finished and erected in S. +Francesco, with six large figures, the base wrought with scenes, and +other very beautiful ornaments, which bear witness to the masterly skill +of that valiant craftsman. + +Baccio left at his death, among other sons, Raffaello, who applied +himself to sculpture, and not merely equalled his father, but surpassed +him by a great measure. This Raffaello, beginning in his youth to work +in clay, in wax, and in bronze, acquired the name of an excellent +sculptor, and was therefore taken by Antonio da San Gallo to Loreto, +together with many others, in order to finish the ornamentation of that +Chamber, according to the directions left by Andrea Sansovino; where +Raffaello completely finished the Marriage of Our Lady, begun by the +said Sansovino, executing many things in a beautiful and perfect manner, +partly over the beginnings of Andrea, and partly from his own invention. +Wherefore he was deservedly esteemed to be one of the best craftsmen who +worked there in his time. + +He had finished this work, when Michelagnolo, by order of Pope Clement +VII, proceeded to finish the new sacristy and the library of S. Lorenzo +in Florence; and that master, having recognized the talent of Raffaello, +made use of him in that work, and caused him to execute, among other +things, after the model that he himself had made, the S. Damiano of +marble which is now in that sacristy--a very beautiful statue, very +highly extolled by all men. After the death of Clement, Raffaello +attached himself to Duke Alessandro de' Medici, who was then having the +fortress of Prato built; and he made for him in grey-stone, on one of +the extremities of the chief bastion of that fortress--namely, on the +outer side--the escutcheon of the Emperor Charles V, upheld by two nude +and lifesize Victories, which were much extolled, as they still are. And +for the extremity of another bastion, in the direction of the city, on +the southern side, he made the arms of Duke Alessandro in the same kind +of stone, with two figures. Not long after, he executed a large Crucifix +of wood for the Nuns of S. Apollonia; and for Alessandro Antinori, a +very rich and noble merchant of Florence at that time, he prepared a +most magnificent festival for the marriage of his daughter, with +statues, scenes, and many other most beautiful ornaments. + +Having then gone to Rome, he received from Buonarroti a commission to +make two figures of marble, each five braccia high, for the tomb of +Julius II, which was finished and erected at that time by Michelagnolo +in S. Pietro in Vincula. But Raffaello, falling ill while he was +executing this work, was not able to put into it his usual zeal and +diligence, on which account he lost credit thereby, and gave little +satisfaction to Michelagnolo. At the visit of the Emperor Charles V to +Rome, for which Pope Paul III prepared a festival worthy of that +all-conquering Prince, Raffaello made with clay and stucco, on the Ponte +S. Angelo, fourteen statues so beautiful, that they were judged to be +the best that had been made for that festival. And, what is more, he +executed them with such rapidity that he was in time to come to +Florence, where the Emperor was likewise expected, to make within the +space of five days and no more, on the abutment of the Ponte a S. +Trinita two Rivers of clay, each five braccia high, the Rhine to stand +for Germany and the Danube for Hungary. + +After this, having been summoned to Orvieto, he made in marble, in a +chapel wherein the excellent sculptor Mosca had previously executed many +most beautiful ornaments, the story of the Magi in half-relief, which +proved to be a very fine work, on account of the great variety of +figures and the good manner with which he executed them. + +[Illustration: HEAD OF GASTON DE FOIX, FROM THE TOMB + +(_After_ Agostino Busti [Il Bambaja]. _Milan: Brera_) + +_Alinari_] + +Then, having returned to Rome, he was appointed by Tiberio Crispo, at +that time Castellan of the Castello di S. Angelo, as architect of that +great structure; whereupon he set in order many rooms there, adorning +them with carvings in many kinds of stone and various sorts of +variegated marbles on the chimney-pieces, windows, and doors. In +addition to this, he made a marble statue, five braccia high, of the +Angel of that Castle, which is on the summit of the great square tower +in the centre, where the standard flies, after the likeness of that +Angel that appeared to S. Gregory, who, having prayed that the people +should be delivered from a most grievous pestilence, saw him sheathing +his sword in the scabbard. Later, when the said Crispo had been +made a Cardinal, he sent Raffaello several times to Bolsena, where he +was building a palace. Nor was it long before the very reverend Cardinal +Salviati and Messer Baldassarre Turini da Pescia commissioned Raffaello, +who had already left the service of the Castle and of Cardinal Crispo, +to make the statue of Pope Leo that is now over his tomb in the Minerva +at Rome. That work finished, Raffaello made a tomb for the same Messer +Baldassarre in the Church of Pescia, where that gentleman had built a +chapel of marble. And for a chapel in the Consolazione, at Rome, he made +three figures of marble in half-relief. But afterwards, having given +himself up to the sort of life fit rather for a philosopher than for a +sculptor, and wishing to live in peace, he retired to Orvieto, where he +undertook the charge of the building of S. Maria, in which he made many +improvements; and with this he occupied himself for many years, growing +old before his time. + +[Illustration: S. DAMIANO + +(_After_ Raffaello da Montelupo. _Florence: New Sacristy of S. Lorenzo_) + +_Alinari_] + +I believe that Raffaello, if he had undertaken great works, as he might +have done, would have executed more things in art, and better, than he +did. But he was too kindly and considerate, avoiding all conflict, and +contenting himself with that wherewith fortune had provided him; and +thus he neglected many opportunities of making works of distinction. +Raffaello was a very masterly draughtsman, and he had a much better +knowledge of all matters of art than had been shown by his father +Baccio. In our book are some drawings by the hand both of the one and of +the other; but those of Raffaello are much the finer and more graceful, +and executed with better art. In his architectural decorations Raffaello +followed in great measure the manner of Michelagnolo, as is proved by +the chimney-pieces, doors, and windows that he made in the aforesaid +Castello di S. Angelo, and by some chapels built under his direction, in +a rare and beautiful manner, at Orvieto. + +But returning to Baccio: his death was a great grief to the people of +Lucca, who had known him as a good and upright man, courteous to all, +and very loving. Baccio's works date about the year of our Lord 1533. +His dearest friend, who learnt many things from him, was Zaccaria da +Volterra, who executed many works in terra-cotta at Bologna, some of +which are in the Church of S. Giuseppe. + + + + +LORENZO DI CREDI + + + + +[Illustration: LORENZO DI CREDI: VENUS + +(_Florence: Uffizi_, 3452. _Panel_)] + + + + +LIFE OF LORENZO DI CREDI + +PAINTER OF FLORENCE + + +The while that Maestro Credi, an excellent goldsmith in his day, was +working in Florence with very good credit and repute, Andrea +Sciarpelloni placed with him, to the end that he might learn that craft, +his son Lorenzo, a young man of beautiful intellect and excellent +character. And since the ability and willingness of the master to teach +were not greater than the zeal and readiness with which the disciple +absorbed whatever was shown to him, no long time passed before Lorenzo +became not only a good and diligent designer, but also so able and +finished a goldsmith, that no young man of that time was his equal; and +this brought such honour to Credi, that from that day onward Lorenzo was +always called by everyone, not Lorenzo Sciarpelloni, but Lorenzo di +Credi. + +Growing in courage, then, Lorenzo attached himself to Andrea Verrocchio, +who at that time had taken it into his head to devote himself to +painting; and under him, having Pietro Perugino and Leonardo da Vinci as +his companions and friends, although they were rivals, he set himself +with all diligence to learn to paint. And since Lorenzo took an +extraordinary pleasure in the manner of Leonardo, he contrived to +imitate it so well that there was no one who came nearer to it than he +did in the high finish and thorough perfection of his works, as may be +seen from many drawings that are in our book, executed with the style, +with the pen, or in water-colours, among which are some drawings made +from models of clay covered with waxed linen cloths and with liquid +clay, imitated with such diligence, and finished with such patience, as +it is scarcely possible to conceive, much less to equal. + +For these reasons, then, Lorenzo was so beloved by his master, that, +when Andrea went to Venice to cast in bronze the horse and the statue +of Bartolommeo da Bergamo, he left to Lorenzo the whole management and +administration of his revenues and affairs, and likewise all his +drawings, reliefs, statues, and art materials. And Lorenzo, on his part, +loved his master Andrea so dearly, that, besides occupying himself with +incredible zeal with his interests in Florence, he also went more than +once to Venice to see him and to render him an account of his good +administration, which was so much to the satisfaction of his master, +that, if Lorenzo had consented, Andrea would have made him his heir. Nor +did Lorenzo prove in any way ungrateful for this good-will, for, after +the death of Andrea, he went to Venice and brought his body to Florence; +and then he handed over to his heirs everything that was found to belong +to Andrea, except his drawings, pictures, sculptures, and all other +things connected with art. + +The first paintings of Lorenzo were a round picture of Our Lady, which +was sent to the King of Spain (the design of which picture he copied +from one by his master Andrea), and a picture, much better than the +other, which was likewise copied by Lorenzo from one by Leonardo da +Vinci, and also sent to Spain; and so similar was it to that by +Leonardo, that no difference could be seen between the one and the +other. By the hand of Lorenzo is a Madonna in a very well executed +panel, which is beside the great Church of S. Jacopo at Pistoia; and +another, also, which is in the Hospital of the Ceppo, and is one of the +best pictures in that city. Lorenzo painted many portraits, and when he +was a young man he made that one of himself which is now in the +possession of his disciple, Gian Jacopo, a painter in Florence, together +with many other things left to him by Lorenzo, among which are the +portrait of Pietro Perugino and that of Lorenzo's master, Andrea +Verrocchio. He also made a portrait of Girolamo Benivieni, a man of +great learning, and much his friend. + +[Illustration: ANDREA VERROCCHIO + +(_After the panel by =Lorenzo di Credi=. Florence: Uffizi, 1163_) + +_Anderson_] + +For the Company of S. Sebastiano, behind the Church of the Servi in +Florence, he executed a panel-picture of Our Lady, S. Sebastian, and +other saints; and for the altar of S. Giuseppe, in S. Maria del Fiore, +he painted the first-named saint. To Montepulciano he sent a panel that +is now in the Church of S. Agostino, containing a Crucifix, Our Lady, +and S. John, painted with much diligence. But the best work that +Lorenzo ever executed, and that to which he devoted the greatest care +and zeal, in order to surpass himself, was the one that is in a chapel +at Cestello, a panel containing Our Lady, S. Julian, and S. Nicholas; +and whoever wishes to know how necessary it is for a painter to work +with a high finish in oils if he desires that his pictures should remain +fresh, must look at this panel, which is painted with such a finish as +could not be excelled. + +While still a young man, Lorenzo painted a S. Bartholomew on a pilaster +in Orsanmichele, and for the Nuns of S. Chiara, in Florence, a +panel-picture of the Nativity of Christ, with some shepherds and angels; +in which picture, besides other things, he took great pains with the +imitation of some herbage, painting it so well that it appears to be +real. For the same place he made a picture of S. Mary Magdalene in +Penitence; and in a round picture that is in the house of Messer +Ottaviano de' Medici he painted a Madonna. For S. Friano he painted a +panel; and he executed some figures in S. Matteo at the Hospital of +Lelmo. For S. Reparata he painted a picture with the Angel Michael, and +for the Company of the Scalzo he made a panel-picture, executed with +much diligence. And, in addition to these works, he made many pictures +of Our Lady and others, which are dispersed among the houses of citizens +in Florence. + +Having thus got together a certain sum of money by means of these +labours, and being a man who loved quiet more than riches, Lorenzo +retired to S. Maria Nuova in Florence, where he lived and had a +comfortable lodging until his death. Lorenzo was much inclined to the +sect of Fra Girolamo of Ferrara, and always lived like an upright and +orderly man, showing a friendly courtesy whenever the occasion arose. +Finally, having come to the seventy-eighth year of his life, he died of +old age, and was buried in S. Pietro Maggiore, in the year 1530. + +He showed such a perfection of finish in his works, that any other +painting, in comparison with his, must always seem merely sketched and +dirty. He left many disciples, and among them Giovanni Antonio Sogliani +and Tommaso di Stefano. Of Sogliani there will be an account in another +place; and as for Tommaso, he imitated his master closely in his high +finish, and made many works in Florence and abroad, including a +panel-picture for Marco del Nero at his villa of Arcetri, of the +Nativity of Christ, executed with great perfection of finish. But +ultimately it became Tommaso's principal profession to paint on cloth, +insomuch that he painted church-hangings better than any other man. Now +Stefano, the father of Tommaso, had been an illuminator, and had also +done something in architecture; and Tommaso, after his father's death, +in order to follow in his steps, rebuilt the bridge of Sieve, which had +been destroyed by a flood about that time, at a distance of ten miles +from Florence, and likewise that of S. Piero a Ponte on the River +Bisenzio, which is a beautiful work; and afterwards he erected many +buildings for monasteries and other places. Then, being architect to the +Guild of Wool, he made the model for the new buildings which were +constructed by that Guild behind the Nunziata; and, finally, having +reached the age of seventy or more, he died in the year 1564, and was +buried in S. Marco, to which he was followed by an honourable train of +the Academy of Design. + +But returning to Lorenzo: he left many works unfinished at his death, +and, in particular, a very beautiful picture of the Passion of Christ, +which came into the hands of Antonio da Ricasoli, and a panel painted +for M. Francesco da Castiglioni, Canon of S. Maria del Fiore, who sent +it to Castiglioni. Lorenzo had no wish to make many large works, because +he took great pains in executing his pictures, and devoted an incredible +amount of labour to them, for the reason, above all, that the colours +which he used were ground too fine; besides which, he was always +purifying and distilling his nut-oils, and he made mixtures of colours +on his palette in such numbers, that from the first of the light tints +to the last of the darks there was a gradual succession involving an +over-careful and truly excessive elaboration, so that at times he had +twenty-five or thirty of them on his palette. For each tint he kept a +separate brush; and where he was working he would never allow any +movement that might raise dust. Such excessive care is perhaps no more +worthy of praise than the other extreme of negligence, for in all things +one should observe a certain mean and avoid extremes, which are +generally harmful. + +[Illustration: MADONNA AND CHILD WITH SAINTS + +(_After the panel by =Lorenzo di Credi=. Paris: Louvre, 1263_) + +_Alinari_] + +[Illustration: THE NATIVITY + +(_After the panel by =Lorenzo di Credi=. Florence: Accademia, 92_) + +_Anderson_] + + + + +LORENZETTO AND BOCCACCINO + +[Illustration: BERNARDINO DEL LUPINO (LUINI): S. CATHARINE BORNE TO HER +TOMB BY ANGELS + +(_Milan: Brera, 288. Fresco_)] + + + + +LIVES OF LORENZETTO + +SCULPTOR AND ARCHITECT OF FLORENCE + +AND OF BOCCACCINO + +PAINTER OF CREMONA + + +It happens at times, after Fortune has kept the talent of some fine +intellect subjected for a period by poverty, that she thinks better of +it, and at an unexpected moment provides all sorts of benefits for one +who has hitherto been the object of her hatred, so as to atone in one +year for the affronts and discomforts of many. This was seen in Lorenzo, +the son of Lodovico the bell-founder, a Florentine, who was engaged in +the work both of architecture and of sculpture, and was loved so dearly +by Raffaello da Urbino, that he not only was assisted by him and +employed in many enterprises, but also received from the same master a +wife in the person of a sister of Giulio Romano, a disciple of +Raffaello. + +Lorenzetto[4]--for thus he was always called--finished in his youth the +tomb of Cardinal Forteguerra, formerly begun by Andrea Verrocchio, which +was erected in S. Jacopo at Pistoia; and there, among other things, is a +Charity by the hand of Lorenzetto, which is not otherwise than passing +good. And a little afterwards he made a figure for Giovanni Bartolini, +to adorn his garden; which finished, he went to Rome, where in his first +years he executed many works, of which there is no need to make any +further record. Then, receiving from Agostino Chigi, at the instance of +Raffaello da Urbino, the commission to make a tomb for him in S. Maria +del Popolo, where Agostino had built a chapel, Lorenzo set himself to +work on this with all the zeal, diligence, and labour in his power, in +order to come out of it with credit and to give satisfaction to +Raffaello, from whom he had reason to expect much favour and +assistance, and also in the hope of being richly rewarded by the +liberality of Agostino, a man of great wealth. Nor were these labours +expended without an excellent result, for, assisted by Raffaello, he +executed the figures to perfection: a nude Jonah delivered from the +belly of the whale, as a symbol of the resurrection from the dead, and +an Elijah, living by grace, with his cruse of water and his bread baked +in the ashes, under the juniper-tree. These statues, then, were brought +to the most beautiful completion by Lorenzetto with all the art and +diligence at his command, but he did not by any means obtain for them +that reward which his great labours and the needs of his family called +for, since, death having closed the eyes of Agostino, and almost at the +same time those of Raffaello, the heirs of Agostino, with scant respect, +allowed these figures to remain in Lorenzetto's workshop, where they +stood for many years. In our own day, indeed, they have been set into +place on that tomb in the aforesaid Church of S. Maria del Popolo; but +Lorenzo, robbed for those reasons of all hope, found for the present +that he had thrown away his time and labour. + +[Illustration: ELIJAH + +(_After_ Lorenzetto. _Rome: S. Maria del Popolo, Chigi Chapel_) + +_Anderson_] + +Next, by way of executing the testament of Raffaello, Lorenzo was +commissioned to make a marble statue of Our Lady, four braccia high, for +the tomb of Raffaello in the Temple of S. Maria Ritonda, where the +tabernacle was restored by order of that master. The same Lorenzo made a +tomb with two children in half-relief, for a merchant of the Perini +family, in the Trinita at Rome. And in architecture he made the designs +for many houses; in particular, that of the Palace of Messer Bernardino +Caffarelli, and in the Valle, for Cardinal Andrea della Valle, the inner +facade, and also the design of the stables and of the upper garden. In +the composition of that work he included ancient columns, bases, and +capitals, and around the whole, to serve as base, he distributed ancient +sarcophagi covered with carved scenes. Higher up, below some large +niches, he made another frieze with fragments of ancient works, and +above this, in those niches, he placed some statues, likewise ancient +and of marble, which, although they were not entire--some being without +the head, some without arms, others without legs, and every one, in +short, with something missing--nevertheless he arranged to the best +advantage, having caused all that was lacking to be restored by +good sculptors. This was the reason that other lords have since done the +same thing and have restored many ancient works; as, for example, +Cardinals Cesis, Ferrara, and Farnese, and, in a word, all Rome. And, in +truth, antiquities restored in this way have more grace than those +mutilated trunks, members without heads, or figures in any other way +maimed and defective. But to return to the aforesaid garden: over the +niches was placed the frieze that is still seen there, of supremely +beautiful ancient scenes in half-relief; and this invention of Lorenzo's +stood him in very good stead, since, after the troubles of Pope Clement +had abated, he was employed by him with much honour and profit to +himself. For the Pope had seen, when the fight for the Castello di S. +Angelo was raging, that two little chapels of marble, which were at the +head of the bridge, had been a source of mischief, in that some +harquebusiers, standing in them, shot down all who exposed themselves at +the walls, and, themselves in safety, inflicted great losses and baulked +the defence; and his Holiness resolved to remove those chapels and to +set up in place of them two marble statues on pedestals. And so, after +the S. Paul of Paolo Romano, of which there has been an account in +another Life, had been set in place, the commission for the other, a S. +Peter, was given to Lorenzetto, who acquitted himself passing well, but +did not surpass the work of Paolo Romano. These two statues were set up, +and are to be seen at the present day at the head of the bridge. + +[Illustration: S. PETER + +(_After_ Lorenzetto. _Rome: Ponte S. Angelo_) + +_Anderson_] + +After Pope Clement was dead, Baccio Bandinelli was given the commissions +for the tombs of that Pope and of Leo X, and Lorenzo was entrusted with +the marble masonry that was to be executed for them; whereupon the +latter spent no little time over that work. Finally, at the election of +Paul III as Pontiff, when Lorenzo was in sorry straits and almost worn +out, having nothing but a house which he had built for himself in the +Macello de' Corbi, and being weighed down by his five children and by +other expenses, Fortune changed and began to raise him and to set him +back on a better path; for Pope Paul wishing to have the building of S. +Pietro continued, and neither Baldassarre of Siena nor any of the others +who had been employed in that work being now alive, Antonio da San +Gallo appointed Lorenzo as architect for that structure, wherein the +walls were being built at a fixed price of so much for every four +braccia. Thereupon Lorenzo, without exerting himself, in a few years +became more famous and prosperous than he had been after many years of +endless labour, through having found God, mankind, and Fortune all +propitious at that one moment. And if he had lived longer, he would have +done even more towards wiping out those injuries that a cruel fate had +unjustly brought upon him during his best period of work. But after +reaching the age of forty-seven, he died of fever in the year 1541. + +The death of this master caused great grief to his many friends, who had +always known him as a loving and reasonable man. And since he had always +lived like an upright and orderly citizen, the Deputati of S. Pietro +gave him honourable burial in a tomb, on which they placed the following +epitaph: + + SCULPTORI LAURENTIO FLORENTINO + + ROMA MIHI TRIBUIT TUMULUM, FLORENTIA VITAM: + NEMO ALIO VELLET NASCI ET OBIRE LOCO. + MDXLI + VIX. ANN. XLVII, MEN. II, D. XV. + +[Illustration: MADONNA AND CHILD WITH SAINTS + +(_After the panel by =Boccaccino=. Rome: Doria Gallery, 125_) + +_Anderson_] + +Boccaccino of Cremona, who lived about the same time, had acquired the +name of a rare and excellent painter in his native place and throughout +all Lombardy, and his works were very highly extolled, when he went to +Rome to see the works, so much renowned, of Michelagnolo; but no sooner +had he seen them than he sought to the best of his power to disparage +and revile them, believing that he could exalt himself almost exactly in +proportion as he vilified a man who truly was in the matters of design, +and indeed in all others without exception, supremely excellent. This +master, then, was commissioned to paint the Chapel of S. Maria +Traspontina; but when he had finished it and thrown it open to view, it +was a revelation to all those who thought that he would soar above the +heavens, for they saw that he could not reach even to the level of the +lowest floor of a house. And so the painters of Rome, on seeing the +Coronation of Our Lady that he had painted in that work, with some +children flying around her, changed from marvel to laughter. + +From this it may be seen that when people begin to exalt with their +praise men who are more excellent in name than in deeds, it is a +difficult thing to contrive to bring such men down to their true level +with words, however reasonable, before their own works, wholly contrary +to their reputation, reveal what the masters so celebrated really are. +And it is a very certain fact that the worst harm that one man can do to +another is the giving of praise too early to any intellect engaged in +work, since such praise, swelling him with premature pride, prevents him +from going any farther, and a man so greatly extolled, on finding that +his works have not that excellence which was expected, takes the censure +too much to heart, and despairs completely of ever being able to do good +work. Wise men, therefore, should fear praise much more than censure, +for the first flatters and deceives, and the second, revealing the +truth, gives instruction. + +Boccaccino, then, departing from Rome, where he felt himself wounded and +torn to pieces, returned to Cremona, and there continued to practise +painting to the best of his power and knowledge. In the Duomo, over the +arches in the middle, he painted all the stories of the Madonna; and +this work is much esteemed in that city. He also made other works +throughout that city and in the neighbourhood, of which there is no need +to make mention. + +He taught his art to a son of his own, called Camillo, who, applying +himself to the art with more study, strove to make amends for the +shortcomings of the boastful Boccaccino. By the hand of this Camillo are +some works in S. Gismondo, which is a mile distant from Cremona; and +these are esteemed by the people of Cremona as the best paintings that +they have. He also painted the facade of a house on their Piazza, all +the compartments of the vaulting and some panels in S. Agata, and the +facade of S. Antonio, together with other works, which made him known as +a practised master. If death had not snatched him from the world before +his time, he would have achieved a most honourable success, for he was +advancing on the good way; and even for those works that he has left to +us, he deserves to have record made of him. + +But returning to Boccaccino; without having ever made any improvement in +his art, he passed from this life at the age of fifty-eight. In his time +there lived in Milan a passing good illuminator, called Girolamo, whose +works may be seen in good numbers both in that city and throughout all +Lombardy. A Milanese, likewise, living about the same time, was +Bernardino del Lupino,[5] a very delicate and pleasing painter, as may +be seen from many works by his hand that are in that city, and from a +Marriage of Our Lady at Sarone, a place twelve miles distant from Milan, +and other scenes that are in the Church of S. Maria, executed most +perfectly in fresco. He also worked with a very high finish in oils, and +he was a courteous person, and very liberal with his possessions; +wherefore he deserves all the praise that is due to any craftsman who +makes the works and ways of his daily life shine by the adornment of +courtesy no less than do his works of art on account of their +excellence. + +[Illustration: THE MARRIAGE OF THE VIRGIN + +(_After the fresco by =Bernardino del Lupino [Luini]=. Saronno: +Santuario della Beata Vergine_) + +_Anderson_] + +FOOTNOTE: + +[4] Diminutive of Lorenzo. + +[5] Luini. + + + + +BALDASSARRE PERUZZI + + + + +LIFE OF BALDASSARRE PERUZZI + +PAINTER AND ARCHITECT OF SIENA + + +Among all the gifts that Heaven distributes to mortals, none, in truth, +can or should be held in more account than talent, with calmness and +peace of soul, for the first makes us for ever immortal, and the second +blessed. He, then, who is endowed with these gifts, in addition to the +deep gratitude that he should feel towards God, must make himself known +among other men almost as a light amid darkness. And even so, in our own +times, did Baldassarre Peruzzi, a painter and architect of Siena, of +whom we can say with certainty that the modesty and goodness which were +revealed in him were no mean offshoots of that supreme serenity for +which the minds of all who are born in this world are ever sighing, and +that the works which he left to us are most honourable fruits of that +true excellence which was infused in him by Heaven. + +Now, although I have called him above, Baldassarre of Siena, because he +was always known as a Sienese, I will not withhold that even as seven +cities contended for Homer, each claiming that he was her citizen, so +three most noble cities of Tuscany--Florence, Volterra, and Siena--have +each held that Baldassarre was her son. But, to tell the truth, each of +them has a share in him, seeing that Antonio Peruzzi, a noble citizen of +Florence, that city being harassed by civil war, went off, in the hope +of a quieter life, to Volterra; and after living some time there, in the +year 1482 he took a wife in that city, and in a few years had two +children, one a boy, called Baldassarre, and the other a girl, who +received the name of Virginia. Now it happened that war pursued this man +who sought nothing but peace and quiet, and that no long time afterwards +Volterra was sacked; whence Antonio was forced to fly to Siena, and to +live there in great poverty, having lost almost all that he had. + +Meanwhile Baldassarre, having grown up, was for ever associating with +persons of ability, and particularly with goldsmiths and draughtsmen; +and thus, beginning to take pleasure in the arts, he devoted himself +heart and soul to drawing. And not long after, his father being now +dead, he applied himself to painting with such zeal, that in a very +short time he made marvellous progress therein, imitating living and +natural things as well as the works of the best masters. In this way, +executing what work he could find, he was able to maintain himself, his +mother, and his sister with his art, and to pursue the studies of +painting. + +[Illustration: CUPOLA OF THE PONZETTI CHAPEL + +(_After the fresco by =Baldassarre Peruzzi=. Rome: S. Maria della Pace_) + +_Anderson_] + +His first work--apart from some things at Siena, not worthy of +mention--was in a little chapel near the Porta Fiorentina at Volterra, +wherein he executed some figures with such grace, that they led to his +forming a friendship with a painter of Volterra, called Piero, who lived +most of his time in Rome, and going off with that master to that city, +where he was doing some work in the Palace for Alexander VI. But after +the death of Alexander, Maestro Piero working no more in that place, +Baldassarre entered the workshop of the father of Maturino, a painter of +no great excellence, who at that time had always plenty of work to do in +the form of commonplace commissions. That painter, then, placing a panel +primed with gesso before Baldassarre, but giving him no scrap of drawing +or cartoon, told him to make a Madonna upon it. Baldassarre took a piece +of charcoal, and in a moment, with great mastery, he had drawn what he +wished to paint in the picture; and then, setting his hand to the +colouring, in a few days he painted a picture so beautiful and so well +finished, that it amazed not only the master of the workshop, but also +many painters who saw it; and they, recognizing his ability, contrived +to obtain for him the commission to paint the Chapel of the High-Altar +in the Church of S. Onofrio, which he executed in fresco with much grace +and in a very beautiful manner. After this, he painted two other little +chapels in fresco in the Church of S. Rocco a Ripa. Having thus begun to +be in good repute, he was summoned to Ostia, where he painted most +beautiful scenes in chiaroscuro in some apartments of the great tower of +the fortress; in particular, a hand-to-hand battle after the manner +in which the ancient Romans used to fight, and beside this a company of +soldiers delivering an assault on a fortress, wherein the attackers, +covered by their shields, are seen making a beautiful and spirited +onslaught and planting their ladders against the walls, while the men +within are hurling them back with the utmost fury. In this scene, also, +he painted many antique instruments of war, and likewise various kinds +of arms; with many other scenes in another hall, which are held to be +among the best works that he ever made, although it is true that he was +assisted in this work by Cesare da Milano. + +After these labours, having returned to Rome, Baldassarre formed a very +strait friendship with Agostino Chigi of Siena, both because Agostino +had a natural love for every man of talent, and because Baldassarre +called himself a Sienese. And thus, with the help of so great a man, he +was able to maintain himself while studying the antiquities of Rome, and +particularly those in architecture, wherein, out of rivalry with +Bramante, in a short time he made marvellous proficience, which +afterwards brought him, as will be related, very great honour and +profit. He also gave attention to perspective, and became such a master +of that science, that we have seen few in our own times who have worked +in it as well as he. Pope Julius II having meanwhile built a corridor in +his Palace, with an aviary near the roof, Baldassarre painted there, in +chiaroscuro, all the months of the year and the pursuits that are +practised in each of them. In this work may be seen an endless number of +buildings, theatres, amphitheatres, palaces, and other edifices, all +distributed with beautiful invention in that place. He then painted, in +company with other painters, some apartments in the Palace of S. Giorgio +for Cardinal Raffaello Riario, Bishop of Ostia; and he painted a facade +opposite to the house of Messer Ulisse da Fano, and also that of the +same Messer Ulisse, wherein he executed stories of Ulysses that brought +him very great renown and fame. + +Even greater was the fame that came to him from the model of the Palace +of Agostino Chigi, executed with such beautiful grace that it seems not +to have been built, but rather to have sprung into life; and with his +own hand he decorated the exterior with most beautiful scenes in +terretta. The hall, likewise, is adorned with rows of columns executed +in perspective, which, with the depth of the intercolumniation, cause it +to appear much larger. But what is the greatest marvel of all is a +loggia that may be seen over the garden, painted by Baldassarre with +scenes of the Medusa turning men into stone, such that nothing more +beautiful can be imagined; and then there is Perseus cutting off her +head, with many other scenes in the spandrels of that vaulting, while +the ornamentation, drawn in perspective with colours, in imitation of +stucco, is so natural and lifelike, that even to excellent craftsmen it +appears to be in relief. And I remember that when I took the Chevalier +Tiziano, a most excellent and honoured painter, to see that work, he +would by no means believe that it was painted, until he had changed his +point of view, when he was struck with amazement. In that place are some +works executed by Fra Sebastiano Viniziano, in his first manner; and by +the hand of the divine Raffaello, as has been related, there is a +Galatea being carried off by sea-gods. + +[Illustration: PALAZZO DELLA FARNESINA + +(_After_ Baldassarre Peruzzi. _Rome_) + +_Alinari_] + +Baldassarre also painted, beyond the Campo di Fiore, on the way to the +Piazza Giudea, a most beautiful facade in terretta with marvellous +perspectives, for which he received the commission from a Groom of the +Chamber to the Pope; and it is now in the possession of Jacopo Strozzi, +the Florentine. In like manner, he wrought for Messer Ferrando Ponzetti, +who afterwards became a Cardinal, a chapel at the entrance of the Church +of the Pace, on the left hand, with little scenes from the Old +Testament, and also with some figures of considerable size; and for a +work in fresco this is executed with much diligence. But even more did +he prove his worth in painting and perspective near the high-altar of +the same church, where he painted a scene for Messer Filippo da Siena, +Clerk of the Chamber, of Our Lady going into the Temple, ascending the +steps, with many figures worthy of praise, such as a gentleman in +antique dress, who, having dismounted from his horse, with his servants +waiting, is giving alms to a beggar, quite naked and very wretched, who +may be seen asking him for it with pitiful humility. In this place, +also, are various buildings and most beautiful ornaments; and right +round the whole work, executed likewise in fresco, are counterfeited +decorations of stucco, which have the appearance of being attached to +the wall with large rings, as if it were a panel painted in oils. + +And in the magnificent festival that the Roman people prepared on the +Campidoglio when the baton of Holy Church was given to Duke Giuliano de' +Medici, out of six painted scenes which were executed by six different +painters of eminence, that by the hand of Baldassarre, twenty-eight +braccia high and fourteen broad, showing the betrayal of the Romans by +Julia Tarpeia, was judged to be without a doubt better than any of the +others. But what amazed everyone most was the perspective-view or +scenery for a play, which was so beautiful that it would be impossible +to imagine anything finer, seeing that the variety and beautiful manner +of the buildings, the various loggie, the extravagance of the doors and +windows, and the other architectural details that were seen in it, were +so well conceived and so extraordinary in invention, that one is not +able to describe the thousandth part. + +For the house of Messer Francesco di Norcia, on the Piazza de' Farnesi, +he made a very graceful door of the Doric Order; and for Messer +Francesco Buzio he executed, near the Piazza degl' Altieri, a very +beautiful facade, in the frieze of which he painted portraits from life +of all the Roman Cardinals who were then alive, while on the wall itself +he depicted the scenes of Caesar receiving tribute from all the world, +and above he painted the twelve Emperors, who are standing upon certain +corbels, being foreshortened with a view to being seen from below, and +wrought with extraordinary art. For this whole work he rightly obtained +vast commendation. In the Banchi he executed the escutcheon of Pope Leo, +with three children, that seemed to be alive, so tender was their flesh. +For Fra Mariano Fetti, Friar of the Piombo, he made a very beautiful S. +Bernard in terretta in his garden at Montecavallo. And for the Company +of S. Catherine of Siena, on the Strada Giulia, in addition to a bier +for carrying the dead to burial, he executed many other things, all +worthy of praise. In Siena, also, he gave the design for the organ of +the Carmine; and he made some other works in that city, but none of much +importance. + +Later, having been summoned to Bologna by the Wardens of Works of S. +Petronio, to the end that he might make the model for the facade of that +church, he made for this two large ground-plans and two elevations, one +in the modern manner and the other in the German; and the latter is +still preserved in the Sacristy of the same S. Petronio, as a truly +extraordinary work, since he drew that building in such sharply-detailed +perspective that it appears to be in relief. In the house of Count +Giovan Battista Bentivogli, in the same city, he made several drawings +for the aforesaid structure, which were so beautiful, that it is not +possible to praise enough the wonderful expedients sought out by this +man in order not to destroy the old masonry, but to join it in beautiful +proportion with the new. For the Count Giovan Battista mentioned above +he made the design of a Nativity with the Magi, in chiaroscuro, wherein +it is a marvellous thing to see the horses, the equipage, and the courts +of the three Kings, executed with supreme beauty and grace, as are also +the walls of the temples and some buildings round the hut. This work was +afterwards given to be coloured by the Count to Girolamo Trevigi, who +brought it to fine completion. Baldassarre also made the design for the +door of the Church of S. Michele in Bosco, a most beautiful monastery of +the Monks of Monte Oliveto, without Bologna; and the design and model of +the Duomo of Carpi, which was very beautiful, and was built under his +direction according to the rules of Vitruvius. And in the same place he +made a beginning with the Church of S. Niccola, but it was not finished +at that time, because Baldassarre was almost forced to return to Siena +in order to make designs for the fortifications of that city, which were +afterwards carried into execution under his supervision. + +He then returned to Rome, where, after building the house that is +opposite to the Farnese Palace, with some others within that city, he +was employed in many works by Pope Leo X. That Pontiff wished to finish +the building of S. Pietro, begun by Julius II after the design of +Bramante, but it appeared to him that the edifice was too large and +lacking in cohesion; and Baldassarre made a new model, magnificent and +truly ingenious, and revealing such good judgment, that some parts of it +have since been used by other architects. So diligent, indeed, was this +craftsman, so rare and so beautiful his judgment, and such the method +with which his buildings were always designed, that he has never had an +equal in works of architecture, seeing that, in addition to his other +gifts, he combined that profession with a good and beautiful manner of +painting. He made the design of the tomb of Adrian VI, and all that is +painted round it is by his hand; and Michelagnolo, a sculptor of Siena, +executed that tomb in marble, with the help of our Baldassarre. + +When the Calandra, a play by Cardinal Bibbiena, was performed before the +same Pope Leo, Baldassarre made the scenic setting, which was no less +beautiful--much more so, indeed--than that which he had made on another +occasion, as has been related above. In such works he deserved all the +greater praise, because dramatic performances, and consequently the +scenery for them, had been out of fashion for a long time, festivals and +sacred representations taking their place. And either before or after +(it matters little which) the performance of the aforesaid Calandra, +which was one of the first plays in the vulgar tongue to be seen or +performed, in the time of Leo X, Baldassarre made two such scenes, which +were marvellous, and opened the way to those who have since made them in +our own day. Nor is it possible to imagine how he found room, in a space +so limited, for so many streets, so many palaces, and so many bizarre +temples, loggie, and various kinds of cornices, all so well executed +that it seemed that they were not counterfeited, but absolutely real, +and that the piazza was not a little thing, and merely painted, but real +and very large. He designed, also, the chandeliers and the lights within +that illuminated the scene, and all the other things that were +necessary, with much judgment, although, as has been related, the drama +had fallen almost completely out of fashion. This kind of spectacle, in +my belief, when it has all its accessories, surpasses any other kind, +however sumptuous and magnificent. + +Afterwards, at the election of Pope Clement VII in the year 1524, he +prepared the festivities for his coronation. He finished with +peperino-stone the front of the principal chapel, formerly begun by +Bramante, in S. Pietro; and in the chapel wherein is the bronze tomb of +Pope Sixtus, he painted in chiaroscuro the Apostles that are in the +niches behind the altar, besides making the design of the Tabernacle of +the Sacrament, which is very graceful. + +Then in the year 1527, when the cruel sack of Rome took place, our poor +Baldassarre was taken prisoner by the Spaniards, and not only lost all +his possessions, but was also much maltreated and outraged, because he +was grave, noble, and gracious of aspect, and they believed him to be +some great prelate in disguise, or some other man able to pay a fat +ransom. Finally, however, those impious barbarians having found that he +was a painter, one of them, who had borne a great affection to Bourbon, +caused him to make a portrait of that most rascally captain, the enemy +of God and man, either letting Baldassarre see him as he lay dead, or +giving him his likeness in some other way, with drawings or with words. +After this, having slipped from their hands, Baldassarre took ship to go +to Porto Ercole, and thence to Siena; but on the way he was robbed of +everything and stripped to such purpose, that he went to Siena in his +shirt. However, he was received with honour and reclothed by his +friends, and a little time afterwards he was given a provision and a +salary by the Commonwealth, to the end that he might give his attention +to the fortification of that city. Living there, he had two children; +and, besides what he did for the public service, he made many designs of +houses for his fellow-citizens, and the design for the ornament of the +organ, which is very beautiful, in the Church of the Carmine. + +[Illustration: COURTYARD OF PALAZZO MASSIMI + +(_After_ Baldassarre Peruzzi. _Rome_) + +_Anderson_] + +Meanwhile, the armies of the Emperor and the Pope had advanced to the +siege of Florence, and his Holiness sent Baldassarre to the camp to +Baccio Valori, the Military Commissary, to the end that Baccio might +avail himself of his services for the purposes of his operations and for +the capture of the city. But Baldassarre, loving the liberty of his +former country more than the favour of the Pope, and in no way fearing +the indignation of so great a Pontiff, would never lend his aid in any +matter of importance. The Pope, hearing of this, for a short time bore +him no little ill-will; but when the war was finished, Baldassarre +desiring to return to Rome, Cardinals Salviati, Trivulzi, and Cesarino, +to all of whom he had given faithful service in many works, restored him +to the favour of the Pope and to his former appointments. He was thus +able to return without hindrance to Rome, where, not many days after, he +made for the Signori Orsini the designs of two very beautiful palaces, +which were built on the way to Viterbo, and of some other edifices for +Apuglia. But meanwhile he did not neglect the studies of astrology, nor +those of mathematics and the others in which he much delighted, and he +began a book on the antiquities of Rome, with a commentary on Vitruvius, +making little by little illustrative drawings beside the writings of +that author, some of which are still to be seen in the possession of +Francesco da Siena, who was his disciple, and among them some papers +with drawings of ancient edifices and of the modern manner of building. + +While living in Rome, also, he made the design for the house of the +Massimi, drawn in an oval form, with a new and beautiful manner of +building; and for the facade he made a vestibule of Doric columns +showing great art and good proportion, with a beautiful distribution of +detail in the court and in the disposition of the stairs; but he was not +able to see this work finished, for he was overtaken by death. + +And yet, although the talents and labours of this noble craftsman were +so great, they brought much more benefit to others than to himself; for, +while he was employed by Popes, Cardinals, and other great and rich +persons, not one of them ever gave him any remarkable reward. That this +should have happened is not surprising, not so much through want of +liberality in such patrons, although for the most part they are least +liberal where they should be the very opposite, as through the timidity +and excessive modesty, or rather, to be more exact in this case, the +lack of shrewdness of Baldassarre. To tell the truth, in proportion as +one should be discreet with magnanimous and liberal Princes, so should +one always be pressing and importunate with such as are miserly, +unthankful, and discourteous, for the reason that, even as in the case +of the generous importunate asking would always be a vice, so with the +miserly it is a virtue, and with such men it is discretion that would be +the vice. + +In the last years of his life, then, Baldassarre found himself poor and +weighed down by his family. Finally, having always lived a life without +reproach, he fell grievously ill, and took to his bed; and Pope Paul +III, hearing this, and recognizing too late the harm that he was like to +suffer in the loss of so great a man, sent Jacopo Melighi, the +accountant of S. Pietro, to give him a present of one hundred crowns, +and to make him most friendly offers. However, his sickness increased, +either because it was so ordained, or, as many believe, because his +death was hastened with poison by some rival who desired his place, from +which he drew two hundred and fifty crowns of salary; and, the +physicians discovering this too late, he died, very unwilling to give up +his life, more on account of his poor family than for his own sake, as +he thought in what sore straits he was leaving them. He was much +lamented by his children and his friends, and he received honourable +burial, next to Raffaello da Urbino, in the Ritonda, whither he was +followed by all the painters, sculptors, and architects of Rome, doing +him honour and bewailing him; with the following epitaph: + + BALTHASARI PERUTIO SENENSI, VIRO ET PICTURA ET ARCHITECTURA + ALIISQUE INGENIORUM ARTIBUS ADEO EXCELLENTI, UT SI PRISCORUM + OCCUBUISSET TEMPORIBUS, NOSTRA ILLUM FELICIUS LEGERENT. VIX. + ANN. LV, MENS. XI, DIES XX. + LUCRETIA ET JO. SALUSTIUS OPTIMO CONJUGI ET PARENTI, NON SINE LACRIMIS + SIMONIS, HONORII, CLAUDII, AEMILIAE, AC SULPITIAE, MINORUM FILIORUM, + DOLENTES POSUERUNT, DIE IIII JANUARII, MDXXXVI. + +The name and fame of Baldassarre became greater after his death than +they had been during his lifetime; and then, above all, was his talent +missed, when Pope Paul III resolved to have S. Pietro finished, because +men recognized how great a help he would have been to Antonio da San +Gallo. For, although Antonio had to his credit all that is to be seen +executed by him, yet it is believed that in company with Baldassarre he +would have done more towards solving some of the difficulties of that +work. The heir to many of the possessions of Baldassarre was Sebastiano +Serlio of Bologna, who wrote the third book on architecture and the +fourth on the antiquities of Rome with their measurements; in which +works the above-mentioned labours of Baldassarre were partly inserted in +the margins, and partly turned to great advantage by the author. Most of +these writings of Baldassarre came into the hands of Jacomo Melighino of +Ferrara, who was afterwards chosen by Pope Paul as architect for his +buildings, and of the aforesaid Francesco da Siena, his former assistant +and disciple, by whose hand is the highly renowned escutcheon of +Cardinal Trani in Piazza Navona, with some other works. From this +Francesco we received the portrait of Baldassarre, and information about +some matters which I was not able to ascertain when this book was +published for the first time. Another disciple of Baldassarre was +Virgilio Romano, who executed a facade with some prisoners in +sgraffito-work in the centre of the Borgo Nuovo in his native city, and +many other beautiful works. From the same master, also, Antonio del +Rozzo, a citizen of Siena and a very excellent engineer, learnt the +first principles of architecture; and Baldassarre was followed, in like +manner, by Riccio, a painter of Siena, who, however, afterwards imitated +to no small extent the manner of Giovanni Antonio Sodoma of Vercelli. +And another of his pupils was Giovan Battista Peloro, an architect of +Siena, who gave much attention to mathematics and cosmography, and made +with his own hand mariner's compasses, quadrants, many irons and +instruments for measuring, and likewise the ground-plans of many +fortifications, most of which are in the possession of Maestro Giuliano, +a goldsmith of Siena, who was very much his friend. This Giovan Battista +made for Duke Cosimo de' Medici a plan of Siena, all in relief and +altogether marvellous, with the valleys and the surroundings for a mile +and a half round--the walls, the streets, the forts, and, in a word, a +most beautiful model of the whole place. But, since he was unstable by +nature, he left Duke Cosimo, although he had a good allowance from that +Prince; and, thinking to do better, he made his way into France, where +he followed the Court without any success for a long time, and finally +died at Avignon. And although he was an able and well-practised +architect, yet in no place are there to be seen any buildings erected by +him or after his design, for he always stayed such a short time in any +one place, that he could never bring anything to completion; wherefore +he consumed all his time with designs, measurements, models, and +caprices. Nevertheless, as a follower of our arts, he has deserved to +have record made of him. + +Baldassarre drew very well in every manner, with great judgment and +diligence, but more with the pen, in water-colours, and in chiaroscuro, +than in any other way, as may be seen from many drawings by his hand +that belong to different craftsmen. Our book, in particular, contains +various drawings; and in one of these is a scene full of invention and +caprice, showing a piazza filled with arches, colossal figures, +theatres, obelisks, pyramids, temples of various kinds, porticoes, and +other things, all after the antique, while on a pedestal stands a +Mercury, round whom are all sorts of alchemists with bellows large and +small, retorts, and other instruments for distilling, hurrying about and +giving him a clyster in order to purge his body--an invention as +ludicrous as it is beautiful and bizarre. + +Friends and intimate companions of Baldassarre, who was always +courteous, modest, and gentle with every man, were Domenico Beccafumi of +Siena, an excellent painter, and Il Capanna, who, in addition to many +other works that he painted in Siena, executed the facade of the house +of the Turchi and another that is on the Piazza. + + + + +GIOVAN FRANCESCO PENNI OF FLORENCE AND PELLEGRINO DA MODENA + + + + +LIVES OF GIOVAN FRANCESCO PENNI OF FLORENCE + +[_CALLED IL FATTORE_] + +AND OF PELLEGRINO DA MODENA + +PAINTERS + + +Giovan Francesco Penni, called Il Fattore, a painter of Florence, was no +less indebted to Fortune than he was to the goodness of his own nature, +in that his ways of life, his inclination for painting, and his other +qualities brought it about that Raffaello da Urbino took him into his +house and educated him together with Giulio Romano, looking on both of +them ever afterwards as his children, and proving at his death how much +he thought both of the one and of the other by leaving them heirs to his +art and to his property alike. Now Giovan Francesco, who began from his +boyhood, when he first entered the house of Raffaello, to be called Il +Fattore, and always retained that name, imitated in his drawings the +manner of Raffaello, and never ceased to follow it, as may be perceived +from some drawings by his hand that are in our book. And it is nothing +wonderful that there should be many of these to be seen, all finished +with great diligence, because he delighted much more in drawing than in +colouring. + +The first works of Giovan Francesco were executed by him in the Papal +Loggie at Rome, in company with Giovanni da Udine, Perino del Vaga, and +other excellent masters; and in these may be seen a marvellous grace, +worthy of a master striving at perfection of workmanship. He was very +versatile, and he delighted much in making landscapes and buildings. He +was a good colourist in oils, in fresco, and in distemper, and made +excellent portraits from life; and he was much assisted in every respect +by nature, so that he gained great mastery over all the secrets of art +without much study. He was a great help to Raffaello, therefore, in +painting a large part of the cartoons for the tapestries of the Pope's +Chapel and of the Consistory, and particularly the ornamental borders. +He also executed many other things from the cartoons and directions of +Raffaello, such as the ceiling for Agostino Chigi in the Trastevere, +with many pictures, panels, and various other works, in which he +acquitted himself so well, that every day he won greater affection from +Raffaello. On the Monte Giordano, in Rome, he painted a facade in +chiaroscuro, and in S. Maria de Anima, by the side-door that leads to +the Pace, a S. Christopher in fresco, eight braccia high, which is a +very good figure; and in this work is a hermit with a lantern in his +hand, in a grotto, executed with good draughtsmanship, harmony, and +grace. + +Giovan Francesco then came to Florence, and painted for Lodovico Capponi +at Montughi, a place without the Porta a San Gallo, a shrine with a +Madonna, which is much extolled. + +Raffaello having meanwhile been overtaken by death, Giulio Romano and +Giovan Francesco, who had been his disciples, remained together for a +long time, and finished in company such of Raffaello's works as had been +left unfinished, and in particular those that he had begun in the Vigna +of the Pope, and likewise those of the Great Hall in the Palace, wherein +are painted by the hands of these two masters the stories of +Constantine, with excellent figures, executed in an able and beautiful +manner, although the invention and the sketches of these stories came in +part from Raffaello. While these works were in progress, Perino del +Vaga, a very excellent painter, took to wife a sister of Giovan +Francesco; on which account they executed many works in company. And +afterwards Giulio and Giovan Francesco, continuing to work together, +painted a panel in two parts, containing the Assumption of Our Lady, +which went to Monteluci, near Perugia; and also other works and pictures +for various places. + +[Illustration: THE BAPTISM OF CONSTANTINE + +(_After the fresco by =Giovanni Francesco Penni [Il Fattore]=. Rome: The +Vatican_) + +_Anderson_] + +Then, receiving a commission from Pope Clement to paint a panel-picture +like the one by Raffaello (which is in S. Pietro a Montorio), which was +to be sent to France, whither Raffaello had meant to send the first, +they began it; but soon afterwards, having fallen out with each other, +they divided their inheritance of drawings and everything else left +to them by Raffaello, and Giulio went off to Mantua, where he executed +an endless number of works for the Marquis. Thither, not long +afterwards, Giovan Francesco also made his way, drawn either by love of +Giulio or by the hope of finding work; but he received so cold a welcome +from Giulio that he soon departed, and, after travelling round Lombardy, +he returned to Rome. And from Rome he went to Naples by ship in the +train of the Marchese del Vasto, taking with him the now finished copy +of the panel-picture of S. Pietro a Montorio, with other works, which he +left in Ischia, an island belonging to the Marquis, while the panel was +placed where it is at the present day, in the Church of S. Spirito degli +Incurabili at Naples. Having thus settled in Naples, where he occupied +himself with drawing and painting, Giovan Francesco was entertained and +treated with great kindness by Tommaso Cambi, a Florentine merchant, who +managed the affairs of that nobleman. But he did not live there long, +because, being of a sickly habit of body, he fell ill and died, to the +great grief of the noble Marquis and of all who knew him. + +He had a brother called Luca, likewise a painter, who worked in Genoa +with his brother-in-law Perino, as well as at Lucca and many other +places in Italy. In the end he went to England, where, after executing +certain works for the King and for some merchants, he finally devoted +himself to making designs for copper-plates for sending abroad, which he +had engraved by Flemings. Of such he sent abroad a great number, which +are known by his name as well as by the manner; and by his hand, among +others, is a print wherein are some women in a bath, the original of +which, by the hand of Luca himself, is in our book. + +A disciple of Giovan Francesco was Leonardo, called Il Pistoia because +he came from that city, who executed some works at Lucca, and made many +portraits from life in Rome. At Naples, for Diomede Caraffa, Bishop of +Ariano, and now a Cardinal, he painted a panel-picture of the Stoning of +S. Stephen for his chapel in S. Domenico. And for Monte Oliveto he +painted another, which was placed on the high-altar, although it was +afterwards removed to make room for a new one, similar in subject, by +the hand of Giorgio Vasari of Arezzo. Leonardo earned large sums from +these Neapolitan nobles, but he accumulated little, for he squandered it +all as it came to his hand; and finally he died in Naples, leaving +behind him the reputation of having been a good colourist, but not of +having shown much excellence in draughtsmanship. + +Giovan Francesco lived forty years, and his works date about 1528. + +A friend of Giovan Francesco, and likewise a disciple of Raffaello, was +Pellegrino da Modena, who, having acquired in his native city the name +of a man of fine genius for painting, and having heard of the marvels of +Raffaello da Urbino, determined, in order to justify by means of labour +the hopes already conceived of him, to go to Rome. Arriving there, he +placed himself under Raffaello, who never refused anything to men of +ability. There were then in Rome very many young men who were working at +painting and seeking in mutual rivalry to surpass one another in +draughtsmanship, in order to win the favour of Raffaello and to gain a +name among men; and thus Pellegrino, giving unceasing attention to his +studies, became not only a good draughtsman, but also a well-practised +master of the whole of his art. And when Leo X commissioned Raffaello to +paint the Loggie, Pellegrino also worked there, in company with the +other young men; and so well did he succeed, that Raffaello afterwards +made use of him in many other things. + +He executed three figures in fresco in S. Eustachio at Rome, over an +altar near the entrance into the church; and in the Church of the +Portuguese, near the Scrofa, he painted in fresco the Chapel of the +High-Altar, as well as the altar-piece. Afterwards, Cardinal Alborense +having caused a chapel richly adorned with marbles to be erected in S. +Jacopo, the Church of the Spanish people, with a S. James of marble by +Jacopo Sansovino, four braccia and a half in height, and much extolled, +Pellegrino painted there in fresco the stories of that Apostle, giving +an air of great sweetness to his figures in imitation of his master +Raffaello, and designing the whole composition so well, that the work +made him known as an able man with a fine and beautiful genius for +painting. This work finished, he made many others in Rome, both by +himself and in company with others. + +[Illustration: THE LAST SUPPER + +(_After the fresco by =Gaudenzio Milanese [Gaudenzio Ferrari]=. Milan: +S. Maria della Passione_) + +_Anderson_] + +But finally, when death had come upon Raffaello, Pellegrino returned to +Modena, where he executed many works; among others, he painted for a +Confraternity of Flagellants a panel-picture in oils of S. John +baptizing Christ, and another panel for the Church of the Servi, +containing S. Cosimo and S. Damiano, with other figures. Afterwards, +having taken a wife, he had a son, who was the cause of his death. For +this son, having come to words with some companions, young men of +Modena, killed one of them; the news of which being carried to +Pellegrino, he, in order to help his son from falling into the hands of +justice, set out to smuggle him away. But he had not gone far from his +house, when he stumbled against the relatives of the dead youth, who +were going about searching for the murderer; and they, confronting +Pellegrino, who had no time to escape, and full of fury because they had +not been able to catch his son, gave him so many wounds that they left +him dead on the ground. This event was a great grief to the people of +Modena, who knew that by the death of Pellegrino they had been robbed of +a spirit truly excellent and rare. + +A contemporary of this craftsman was the Milanese Gaudenzio, a resolute, +well-practised, and excellent painter, who made many works in fresco at +Milan; and in particular, for the Frati della Passione, a most beautiful +Last Supper, which remained unfinished by reason of his death. He also +painted very well in oils, and there are many highly-esteemed works by +his hand at Vercelli and Veralla. + + + + +ANDREA DEL SARTO + + + + +LIFE OF ANDREA DEL SARTO + +A MOST EXCELLENT PAINTER OF FLORENCE + + +At length, after the Lives of many craftsmen who have been excellent, +some in colouring, some in drawing, and others in invention, we have +come to the most excellent Andrea del Sarto, in whose single person +nature and art demonstrated all that painting can achieve by means of +draughtsmanship, colouring, and invention, insomuch that, if Andrea had +possessed a little more fire and boldness of spirit, to correspond to +his profound genius and judgment in his art, without a doubt he would +have had no equal. But a certain timidity of spirit and a sort of +humility and simplicity in his nature made it impossible that there +should be seen in him that glowing ardour and that boldness which, added +to his other qualities, would have made him truly divine in painting; +for which reason he lacked those adornments and that grandeur and +abundance of manners which have been seen in many other painters. His +figures, however, for all their simplicity and purity, are well +conceived, free from errors, and absolutely perfect in every respect. +The expressions of his heads, both in children and in women, are +gracious and natural, and those of men, both young and old, admirable in +their vivacity and animation; his draperies are beautiful to a marvel, +and his nudes very well conceived. And although his drawing is simple, +all that he coloured is rare and truly divine. + +Andrea was born in Florence, in the year 1478, to a father who was all +his life a tailor; whence he was always called Andrea del Sarto by +everyone. Having come to the age of seven, he was taken away from his +reading and writing school and apprenticed to the goldsmith's craft. But +in this he was always much more willing to practise his hand in +drawing, to which he was drawn by a natural inclination, than in using +the tools for working in silver or gold; whence it came to pass that +Gian Barile, a painter of Florence, but one of gross and vulgar taste, +having seen the boy's good manner of drawing, took him under his +protection, and, making him abandon his work as goldsmith, directed him +to the art of painting. Andrea, beginning with much delight to practise +it, recognized that nature had created him for that profession; and in a +very short space of time, therefore, he was doing such things with +colours as filled Gian Barile and the other craftsmen in the city with +marvel. Now after three years, through continual study, he had acquired +an excellent mastery over his work, and Gian Barile saw that by +persisting in his studies the boy was likely to achieve an extraordinary +success. Having therefore spoken of him to Piero di Cosimo, who was held +at that time to be one of the best painters in Florence, he placed +Andrea with Piero. And Andrea, as one full of desire to learn, laboured +and studied without ceasing; while nature, which had created him to be a +painter, so wrought in him, that he handled and managed his colours with +as much grace as if he had been working for fifty years. Wherefore Piero +conceived an extraordinary love for him, feeling marvellous pleasure in +hearing that when Andrea had any time to himself, particularly on +feast-days, he would spend the whole day in company with other young +men, drawing in the Sala del Papa, wherein were the cartoons of +Michelagnolo and Leonardo da Vinci, and that, young as he was, he +surpassed all the other draughtsmen, both native and foreign, who were +always competing there with one another. + +[Illustration: "NOLI ME TANGERE" + +(_After the panel by =Andrea del Sarto=. Florence: Uffizi, 93_) + +_Alinari_] + +Among these young men, there was one who pleased Andrea more than any +other with his nature and conversation, namely, the painter +Franciabigio; and Franciabigio, likewise, was attracted by Andrea. +Having become friends, therefore, Andrea said to Franciabigio that he +could no longer endure the caprices of Piero, who was now old, and that +for this reason he wished to take a room for himself. Hearing this, +Franciabigio, who was obliged to do the same thing because his master +Mariotto Albertinelli had abandoned the art of painting, said to his +companion Andrea that he also was in need of a room, and that it would +be to the advantage of both of them if they were to join forces. +Having therefore taken a room on the Piazza del Grano, they executed +many works in company; among others, the curtains that cover the +panel-pictures on the high-altar of the Servi; for which they received +the commission from a sacristan very closely related to Franciabigio. On +one of those curtains, that which faces the choir, they painted the +Annunciation of the Virgin; and on the other, which is in front, a +Deposition of Christ from the Cross, like that of the panel-picture +which was there, painted by Filippo and Pietro Perugino. + +The men of that company in Florence which is called the Company of the +Scalzo used to assemble at the head of the Via Larga, above the houses +of the Magnificent Ottaviano de' Medici, and opposite to the garden of +S. Marco, in a building dedicated to S. John the Baptist, which had been +built in those days by a number of Florentine craftsmen, who had made +there, among other things, an entrance-court of masonry with a loggia +which rested on some columns of no great size. And some of them, +perceiving that Andrea was on the way to becoming known as an excellent +painter, and being richer in spirit than in pocket, determined that he +should paint round that cloister twelve pictures in chiaroscuro--that is +to say, in fresco with terretta--containing twelve scenes from the life +of S. John the Baptist. Whereupon, setting his hand to this, he painted +in the first the scene of S. John baptizing Christ, with much diligence +and great excellence of manner, whereby he gained credit, honour, and +fame to such an extent, that many persons turned to him with commissions +for works, as to one whom they thought to be destined in time to reach +that honourable goal which was foreshadowed by his extraordinary +beginnings in his profession. + +Among other works that he made in that first manner, he painted a +picture which is now in the house of Filippo Spini, held in great +veneration in memory of so able a craftsman. And not long after this he +was commissioned to paint for a chapel in S. Gallo, the Church of the +Eremite Observantines of the Order of S. Augustine, without the Porta a +S. Gallo, a panel-picture of Christ appearing in the garden to Mary +Magdalene in the form of a gardener; which work, what with the colouring +and a certain quality of softness and harmony, is sweetness itself, and +so well executed, that it led to his painting two others not long +afterwards for the same church, as will be related below. This panel is +now in S. Jacopo tra Fossi, on the Canto degli Alberti, together with +the two others. + +After these works, Andrea and Franciabigio, leaving the Piazza del +Grano, took new rooms in the Sapienza, near the Convent of the Nunziata; +whence it came about that Andrea and Jacopo Sansovino, who was then a +young man and was working at sculpture in the same place under his +master Andrea Contucci, formed so warm and so strait a friendship +together, that neither by day nor by night were they ever separated one +from another. Their discussions were for the most part on the +difficulties of art, so that it is no marvel that both of them should +have afterwards become most excellent, as is now being shown of Andrea +and as will be related in the proper place of Jacopo. + +[Illustration: THE LAST SUPPER + +(_After the fresco by =Andrea del Sarto=. Florence: S. Salvi_) + +_Anderson_] + +There was at this same time in the Convent of the Servi, selling the +candles at the counter, a friar called Fra Mariano dal Canto alla +Macine, who was also sacristan; and he heard everyone extolling Andrea +mightily and saying that he was by way of making marvellous proficience +in painting. Whereupon he planned to fulfil a desire of his own without +much expense; and so, approaching Andrea, who was a mild and guileless +fellow, on the side of his honour, he began to persuade him under the +cloak of friendship that he wished to help him in a matter which would +bring him honour and profit and would make him known in such a manner, +that he would never be poor any more. Now many years before, as has been +related above, Alesso Baldovinetti had painted a Nativity of Christ in +the first cloister of the Servi, on the wall that has the Annunciation +behind it; and in the same cloister, on the other side, Cosimo Rosselli +had begun a scene of S. Filippo, the founder of that Servite Order, +assuming the habit. But Cosimo had not carried that scene to completion, +because death came upon him at the very moment when he was working at +it. The friar, then, being very eager to see the rest finished, thought +of serving his own ends by making Andrea and Franciabigio, who, from +being friends, had become rivals in art, compete with one another, each +doing part of the work. This, besides effecting his purpose very +well, would make the expense less and their efforts greater. Thereupon, +revealing his mind to Andrea, he persuaded him to undertake that +enterprise, by pointing out to him that since it was a public and much +frequented place, he would become known on account of such a work no +less by foreigners than by the Florentines; that he should not look for +any payment in return, or even for an invitation to undertake it, but +should rather pray to be allowed to do it; and that if he were not +willing to set to work, there was Franciabigio, who, in order to make +himself known, had offered to accept it and to leave the matter of +payment to him. These incitements did much to make Andrea resolve to +undertake the work, and the rather as he was a man of little spirit; and +the last reference to Franciabigio induced him to make up his mind +completely and to come to an agreement, in the form of a written +contract, with regard to the whole work, on the terms that no one else +should have a hand in it. The friar, then, having thus pledged him and +given him money, demanded that he should begin by continuing the life of +S. Filippo, without receiving more than ten ducats from him in payment +of each scene; and he told Andrea that he was giving him even that out +of his own pocket, and was doing it more for the benefit and advantage +of the painter than through any want or need of the convent. + +Andrea, therefore, pursuing that work with the utmost diligence, like +one who thought more of honour than of profit, after no long time +completely finished the first three scenes and unveiled them. One was +the scene of S. Filippo, now a friar, clothing the naked. In another he +is shown rebuking certain gamesters, who blasphemed God and laughed at +S. Filippo, mocking at his admonition, when suddenly there comes a +lightning-flash from Heaven, which, striking a tree under the shade of +which they were sheltering, kills two of them and throws the rest into +an incredible panic. Some, with their hands to their heads, cast +themselves forward in dismay; others, crying aloud in their terror, turn +to flight; a woman, beside herself with fear at the sound of the +thunder, is running away so naturally that she appears to be truly +alive; and a horse, breaking loose amid this uproar and confusion, +reveals with his leaps and fearsome movements what fear and terror are +caused by things so sudden and so unexpected. In all this one can see +how carefully Andrea looked to variety of incident in the representation +of such events, with a forethought truly beautiful and most necessary +for one who practises painting. In the third he painted the scene of S. +Filippo delivering a woman from evil spirits, with all the most +characteristic considerations that could be imagined in such an action. +All these scenes brought extraordinary fame and honour to Andrea; and +thus encouraged, he went on to paint two other scenes in the same +cloister. On one wall is S. Filippo lying dead, with his friars about +him making lamentation; and in addition there is a dead child, who, +touching the bier on which S. Filippo lies, comes to life again, so that +he is first seen dead, and then revived and restored to life, and all +with a very beautiful, natural, and appropriate effect. In the last +picture on that side he represented the friars placing the garments of +S. Filippo on the heads of certain children; and there he made a +portrait of Andrea della Robbia, the sculptor, in an old man clothed in +red, who comes forward, stooping, with a staff in his hand. There, too, +he portrayed Luca, his son; even as in the other scene mentioned above, +in which S. Filippo lies dead, he made a portrait of another son of +Andrea, named Girolamo, a sculptor and very much his friend, who died +not long since in France. + +Having thus finished that side of the cloister, and considering that if +the honour was great, the payment was small, Andrea resolved to give up +the rest of the work, however much the friar might complain. But the +latter would not release him from his bond without Andrea first +promising that he would paint two other scenes, at his own leisure and +convenience, however, and with an increase of payment; and thus they +came to terms. + +[Illustration: THE ARRIVAL OF THE MAGI + +(_After the fresco by =Andrea del Sarto=. Florence: SS. Annunziata_) + +_Alinari_] + +Having come into greater repute by reason of these works, Andrea +received commissions for many pictures and works of importance; among +others, one from the General of the Monks of Vallombrosa, for painting +an arch of the vaulting, with a Last Supper on the front wall, in the +Refectory of the Monastery of S. Salvi, without the Porta alla Croce. In +four medallions on that vault he painted four figures, S. Benedict, S. +Giovanni Gualberto, S. Salvi the Bishop, and S. Bernardo degli Uberti +of Florence, a friar of that Order and a Cardinal; and in the centre +he made a medallion containing three faces, which are one and the same, +to represent the Trinity. All this was very well executed for a work in +fresco, and Andrea, therefore, came to be valued at his true worth in +the art of painting. Whereupon he was commissioned at the instance of +Baccio d' Agnolo to paint in fresco, in a close on the steep path of +Orsanmichele, which leads to the Mercato Nuovo, the Annunciation still +to be seen there, executed on a minute scale, which brought him but +little praise; and this may have been because Andrea, who worked well +without over-exerting himself or forcing his powers, is believed to have +tried in this work to force himself and to paint with too much care. + +As for the many pictures that he executed after this for Florence, it +would take too long to try to speak of them all; and I will only say +that among the most distinguished may be numbered the one that is now in +the apartment of Baccio Barbadori, containing a full-length Madonna with +a Child in her arms, S. Anne, and S. Joseph, all painted in a beautiful +manner and held very dear by Baccio. He made one, likewise well worthy +of praise, which is now in the possession of Lorenzo di Domenico +Borghini, and another of Our Lady for Leonardo del Giocondo, which at +the present day is in the hands of Piero, the son of Leonardo. For Carlo +Ginori he painted two of no great size, which were bought afterwards by +the Magnificent Ottaviano de' Medici; and one of these is now in his +most beautiful villa of Campi, while the other, together with many other +modern pictures executed by the most excellent masters, is in the +apartment of the worthy son of so great a father, Signor Bernardetto, +who not only esteems and honours the works of famous craftsmen, but is +also in his every action a truly generous and magnificent nobleman. + +Meanwhile the Servite friar had allotted to Franciabigio one of the +scenes in the above-mentioned cloister; but that master had not yet +finished making the screen, when Andrea, becoming apprehensive, since it +seemed to him that Franciabigio was an abler and more dexterous master +than himself in the handling of colours in fresco, executed, as it were +out of rivalry, the cartoons for his two scenes, which he intended to +paint on the angle between the side-door of S. Bastiano and the smaller +door that leads from the cloister into the Nunziata. Having made the +cartoons, he set to work in fresco; and in the first scene he painted +the Nativity of Our Lady, a composition of figures beautifully +proportioned and grouped with great grace in a room, wherein some women +who are friends and relatives of the newly delivered mother, having come +to visit her, are standing about her, all clothed in such garments as +were customary at that time, and other women of lower degree, gathered +around the fire, are washing the newborn babe, while others are +preparing the swathing-bands and doing other similar services. Among +them is a little boy, full of life, who is warming himself at the fire, +with an old man resting in a very natural attitude on a couch, and +likewise some women carrying food to the mother who is in bed, with +movements truly lifelike and appropriate. And all these figures, +together with some little boys who are hovering in the air and +scattering flowers, are most carefully considered in their expressions, +their draperies, and every other respect, and so soft in colour, that +the figures appear to be of flesh and everything else rather real than +painted. + +In the other scene Andrea painted the three Magi from the East, who, +guided by the Star, went to adore the Infant Jesus Christ. He +represented them dismounted, as though they were near their destination; +and that because there was only the space embracing the two doors to +separate them from the Nativity of Christ which may be seen there, by +the hand of Alesso Baldovinetti. In this scene Andrea painted the Court +of those three Kings coming behind them, with baggage, much equipment, +and many people following in their train, among whom, in a corner, are +three persons portrayed from life and wearing the Florentine dress, one +being Jacopo Sansovino, a full-length figure looking straight at the +spectator, while another, with an arm in foreshortening, who is leaning +against him and making a sign, is Andrea, the master of the work, and a +third head, seen in profile behind Jacopo, is that of Ajolle, the +musician. There are, in addition, some little boys who are climbing on +the walls, in order to be able to see the magnificent procession and the +fantastic animals that those three Kings have brought with them. This +scene is quite equal in excellence to that mentioned above; nay, in +both the one and the other he surpassed himself, not to speak of +Franciabigio, who also finished his. + +At this same time Andrea painted for the Abbey of S. Godenzo, a benefice +belonging to the same friars, a panel which was held to be very well +executed. And for the Friars of S. Gallo he made a panel-picture of Our +Lady receiving the Annunciation from the Angel, wherein may be seen a +very pleasing harmony of colouring, while the heads of some Angels +accompanying Gabriel show a sweet gradation of tints and a perfectly +executed beauty of expression in their features; and the predella below +this picture was painted by Jacopo da Pontormo, who was a disciple of +Andrea at that time, and gave proofs at that early age that he was +destined to produce afterwards those beautiful works which he actually +did execute in Florence with his own hand, although in the end he became +one might say another painter, as will be related in his Life. + +Andrea then painted for Zanobi Girolami a picture with figures of no +great size, wherein was a story of Joseph, the son of Jacob, which was +finished by him with unremitting diligence, and therefore held to be a +very beautiful painting. Not long after this, he undertook to execute +for the men of the Company of S. Maria della Neve, situated behind the +Nunnery of S. Ambrogio, a little panel with three figures--Our Lady, S. +John the Baptist, and S. Ambrogio; which work, when finished, was placed +in due time on the altar of that Company. + +Meanwhile, thanks to his talent, Andrea had become intimate with +Giovanni Gaddi, afterwards appointed Clerk of the Chamber, who, always +delighting in the arts of design, was then keeping Jacopo Sansovino +continually at work. Being pleased, therefore, with the manner of +Andrea, he caused him to paint a picture of Our Lady for himself, which +was very beautiful, for Andrea painted various patterns and other +ingenious devices round it, so that it was considered to be the most +beautiful work that he had executed up to that time. After this he made +for Giovanni di Paolo, the mercer, another picture of Our Lady, which, +being truly lovely, gave infinite pleasure to all who saw it. And for +Andrea Santini he executed another, containing Our Lady, Christ, S. +John, and S. Joseph, all wrought with such diligence that the painting +has always been esteemed in Florence as worthy of great praise. + +All these works acquired such a name for Andrea in his city, that among +the many, both young and old, who were painting at that time, he was +considered one of the most excellent who were handling brushes and +colours. Wherefore he found himself not only honoured, but even, +although he exacted the most paltry prices for his labours, in a +condition to do something to help and support his family, and also to +shelter himself from the annoyances and anxieties which afflict those of +us who live in poverty. But he became enamoured of a young woman, and a +little time afterwards, when she had been left a widow, he took her for +his wife; and then he had more than enough to do for the rest of his +life, and much more trouble than he had suffered in the past, for the +reason that, in addition to the labours and annoyances that such +entanglements generally involve, he undertook others into the bargain, +such as that of letting himself be harassed now by jealousy, now by one +thing, and now by another. + +[Illustration: ANDREA DEL SARTO: MADONNA DELL' ARPIE + +(_Florence: Uffizi, 1112. Panel_)] + +But to return to the works of his hand, which were as rare as they were +numerous: after those of which mention has been made above, he painted +for a friar of S. Croce, of the Order of Minorites, who was then +Governor of the Nunnery of S. Francesco in Via Pentolini, and delighted +much in paintings, a panel-picture destined for the Church of those +Nuns, of Our Lady standing on high upon an octagonal pedestal, at the +corners of which are seated some Harpies, as it were in adoration of the +Virgin; and she, using one hand to uphold her Son, who is clasping her +most tenderly round the neck with His arms, in a very beautiful +attitude, is holding a closed book in the other hand and gazing on two +little naked boys, who, while helping her to stand upright, serve as +ornaments about her person. This Madonna has on her right a beautifully +painted S. Francis, in whose face may be seen the goodness and +simplicity that truly belonged to that saintly man; besides which, the +feet are marvellous, and so are the draperies, because Andrea always +rounded off his figures with a very rich flow of folds and with certain +most delicate curves, in such a way as to reveal the nude below. On her +left hand she has a S. John the Evangelist, represented as a young +man and in the act of writing his Gospel, in a very beautiful manner. In +this work, moreover, over the building and the figures, is a film of +transparent clouds, which appear to be really moving. This picture, +among all Andrea's works, is held at the present day to be one of +singular and truly rare beauty. For the joiner Nizza, also, he made a +picture of Our Lady, which was considered to be no less beautiful than +any of his other works. + +After this, the Guild of Merchants determined to have some triumphal +chariots made of wood after the manner of those of the ancient Romans, +to the end that these might be drawn in procession on the morning of S. +John's day, in place of certain altar-cloths and wax tapers which the +cities and townships carry in token of tribute, passing before the Duke +and the chief magistrates; and out of ten that were made at that time, +Andrea painted some with scenes in oils and in chiaroscuro, which were +much extolled. But although it was proposed that some should be made +every year, until such time as every city and district had one of its +own, which would have produced a show of extraordinary magnificence, +nevertheless this custom was abandoned in the year 1527. + +Now, while Andrea was adorning his city with these and other works, and +his name was growing greater every day, the men of the Company of the +Scalzo resolved that he should finish the work in their cloister, which +he had formerly begun by painting the scene of the Baptism of Christ. +Having resumed that work, therefore, more willingly, he executed two +scenes there, with two very beautiful figures of Charity and Justice to +adorn the door that leads into the building of the Company. In one of +these scenes he represented S. John preaching to the multitude in a +spirited attitude, lean in person, as befitted the life that he was +leading, and with an expression of countenance filled with inspiration +and thoughtfulness. Marvellous, likewise, are the variety and the +vivacity of his hearers, some being shown in admiration, and all in +astonishment, at hearing that new message and a doctrine so singular and +never heard before. Even more did Andrea exert his genius in painting +the same John baptizing with water a vast number of people, some of whom +are stripping off their clothes, some receiving the baptism, and +others, naked, waiting for him to finish baptizing those who are before +them. In all of them Andrea showed a vivid emotion, with a burning +desire in the gestures of those who are eager to be purified of their +sins; not to mention that all the figures are so well executed in that +chiaroscuro, that the whole has the appearance of a real and most +lifelike scene in marble. + +I will not refrain from saying that while Andrea was employed on these +and other pictures, there appeared certain copper engravings by Albrecht +Duerer, and Andrea made use of them, taking some of the figures and +transforming them into his manner. And this has caused some people, +while not saying that it is a bad thing for a man to make adroit use of +the good work of others, to believe that Andrea had not much invention. + +At that time there came to Baccio Bandinelli, then a draughtsman of +great repute, a desire to learn to paint in oils. Whereupon, knowing +that no man in Florence knew how to do that better than our Andrea, he +commissioned him to paint his portrait, which was a good likeness of him +at that age, as may be seen even yet; and thus, by watching him paint +that work and others, he saw his method of colouring, although +afterwards, either by reason of the difficulty or from lack of +inclination, he did not pursue the use of colours, finding more +satisfaction in sculpture. + +Andrea executed for Alessandro Corsini a picture of a Madonna seated on +the ground with a Child in her arms, surrounded by many little boys, +which was finished with beautiful art and with very pleasing colour; and +for a mercer, much his friend, who kept a shop in Rome, he made a most +beautiful head. Giovan Battista Puccini of Florence, likewise, taking +extraordinary pleasure in the manner of Andrea, commissioned him to +paint a picture of Our Lady for sending into France; but it proved to be +so fine that he kept it for himself, and would by no means send it. +However, having been asked, while transacting the affairs of his +business in France, to undertake to send choice paintings to that +country, he caused Andrea to paint a picture of a Dead Christ surrounded +by some Angels, who were supporting Him and contemplating with gestures +of sorrow and compassion their Maker sunk to such a pass through the +sins of the world. This work, when finished, gave such universal +satisfaction, that Andrea, urged by many entreaties, had it engraved in +Rome by the Venetian Agostino; but it did not succeed very well, and he +would never again give any of his works to be engraved. But to return to +the picture: it gave no less satisfaction in France, whither it was +sent, than it had done in Florence, insomuch that the King, kindled with +even greater desire to have works by Andrea, gave orders that he should +execute others; which was the reason that Andrea, encouraged by his +friends, resolved to go in a short time to France. + +But meanwhile the Florentines, hearing in the year 1515 that Pope Leo X +wished to grace his native city with his presence, ordained for his +reception extraordinary festivities and a sumptuous and magnificent +spectacle, with so many arches, facades, temples, colossal figures, and +other statues and ornaments, that there had never been seen up to that +time anything richer, more gorgeous, or more beautiful; for there was +then flourishing in that city a greater abundance of fine and exalted +intellects than had ever been known at any other period. At the entrance +of the Porta di S. Piero Gattolini, Jacopo di Sandro, in company with +Baccio da Montelupo, made an arch covered with historical scenes. +Giuliano del Tasso made another at S. Felice in Piazza, with some +statues and the obelisk of Romulus at S. Trinita, and Trajan's Column in +the Mercato Nuovo. In the Piazza de' Signori, Antonio, the brother of +Giuliano da San Gallo, erected an octagonal temple, and Baccio +Bandinelli made a Giant for the Loggia. Between the Badia and the Palace +of the Podesta there was an arch erected by Granaccio and Aristotele da +San Gallo, and Il Rosso made another on the Canto de' Bischeri with a +very beautiful design and a variety of figures. But what was admired +more than everything else was the facade of S. Maria del Fiore, made of +wood, and so well decorated with various scenes in chiaroscuro by our +Andrea, that nothing more could have been desired. The architecture of +this work was by Jacopo Sansovino, as were some scenes in low-relief and +many figures carved in the round; and it was declared by the Pope that +this structure--which was designed by Lorenzo de' Medici, father of that +Pontiff, when he was alive--could not have been more beautiful, even if +it had been of marble. The same Jacopo made a horse similar to the one +in Rome, which was held to be a miracle of beauty, on the Piazza di S. +Maria Novella. An endless number of ornaments, also, were executed for +the Sala del Papa in the Via della Scala, and that street was half +filled with most beautiful scenes wrought by the hands of many +craftsmen, but designed for the most part by Baccio Bandinelli. +Wherefore, when Leo entered Florence, on the third day of September in +the same year, this spectacle was pronounced to be the grandest that had +ever been devised, and the most beautiful. + +But to return now to Andrea: being again requested to make another +picture for the King of France, in a short time he finished one wherein +he painted a very beautiful Madonna, which was sent off immediately, the +merchants receiving for it four times as much as they had paid. Now at +that very time Pier Francesco Borgherini had caused to be made by Baccio +d' Agnolo some panelling, chests, chairs, and a bed, all carved in +walnut-wood, for the furnishing of an apartment; wherefore, to the end +that the paintings therein might be equal in excellence to the rest of +the work, he commissioned Andrea to paint part of the scenes on these +with figures of no great size, representing the acts of Joseph the son +of Jacob, in competition with some of great beauty that had been +executed by Granaccio and Jacopo da Pontormo. Andrea, then, devoting an +extraordinary amount of time and diligence to the work, strove to bring +it about that they should prove to be more perfect than those of the +others mentioned above; in which he succeeded to a marvel, for in the +variety of events happening in the stories he showed how great was his +worth in the art of painting. So excellent were those scenes, that an +attempt was made by Giovan Battista della Palla, on account of the siege +of Florence, to remove them from the places where they were fixed, in +order to send them to the King of France; but, since they were fixed in +such a way that it would have meant spoiling the whole work, they were +left where they were, together with a picture of Our Lady, which is held +to be a very choice work. + +[Illustration: CHARITY + +(_After the painting by =Andrea del Sarto=. Paris: Louvre, 1514_) + +_Neurdein_] + +After this Andrea executed a head of Christ, now kept by the Servite +Friars on the altar of the Nunziata, of such beauty, that I for my part +do not know whether any more beautiful image of the head of Christ +could be conceived by the intellect of man. For the chapels in the +Church of S. Gallo, without the Porta S. Gallo, there had been painted, +in addition to the two panel-pictures by Andrea, a number of others, +which were not equal to his; wherefore, since there was a commission to +be given for another, those friars contrived to persuade the owner of +the chapel to give it to Andrea; and he, beginning it immediately, made +therein four figures standing, engaged in a disputation about the +Trinity. One of these is S. Augustine, who, robed as a Bishop and truly +African in aspect, is moving impetuously towards S. Peter Martyr, who is +holding up an open book in a proud and sublime attitude: and the head +and figure of the latter are much extolled. Beside him is a S. Francis +holding a book in one hand and pressing the other against his breast; +and he appears to be expressing with his lips a glowing ardour that +makes him almost melt away in the heat of the discussion. There is also +a S. Laurence, who, being young, is listening, and seems to be yielding +to the authority of the others. Below them are two figures kneeling, one +a Magdalene with most beautiful draperies, whose countenance is a +portrait of Andrea's wife; for in no place did he paint a woman's +features without copying them from her, and if perchance it happened at +times that he took them from other women, yet, from his being used to +see her continually, and from the circumstance that he had drawn her so +often, and, what is more, had her impressed on his mind, it came about +that almost all the heads of women that he made resembled her. The other +kneeling figure is a S. Sebastian, who, being naked, shows his back, +which appears to all who see it to be not painted, but of living flesh. +And indeed, among so many works in oils, this was held by craftsmen to +be the best, for the reason that there may be seen in it signs of +careful consideration in the proportions of the figures, and much order +in the method, with a sense of fitness in the expressions of the faces, +the heads of the young showing sweetness of expression, those of the old +hardness, and those of middle age a kind of blend that inclines both to +the first and to the second. In a word, this panel is most beautiful in +all its parts; and it is now to be found in S. Jacopo tra Fossi on the +Canto degli Alberti, together with others by the hand of the same +master. + +While Andrea was living poorly enough in Florence, engaged in these +works, but without bettering himself a whit, the two pictures that he +had sent to France had been duly considered in that country by King +Francis I; and among many others which had been sent from Rome, from +Venice, and from Lombardy, they had been judged to be by far the best. +The King therefore praising them mightily, it was remarked to him that +it would be an easy matter to persuade Andrea to come to France to serve +his Majesty; which news was so agreeable to the King, that he gave +orders that all that was necessary should be done, and that money for +the journey should be paid to Andrea in Florence. Andrea then set out +for France with a glad heart, taking with him his assistant Andrea +Sguazzella; and, having arrived at last at the Court, they were received +by the King with great kindness and rejoicing. Before the very day of +his arrival had passed by, Andrea proved for himself how great were the +courtesy and the liberality of that magnanimous King, receiving presents +of money and rich and honourable garments. Beginning to work soon +afterwards, he became so dear to the King and to all the Court, that he +was treated lovingly by everyone, and it appeared to him that his +departure from his country had brought him from one extreme of +wretchedness to the other extreme of bliss. Among his first works was a +portrait from life of the Dauphin, the son of the King, born only a few +months before, and still in swaddling-clothes; and when he took this to +the King, he received a present of three hundred gold crowns. Then, +continuing to work, he painted for the King a figure of Charity, which +was considered a very rare work and was held by that Sovereign in the +estimation that it deserved. After that, his Majesty granted him a +liberal allowance and did all that he could to induce Andrea to stay +willingly with him, promising him that he should never want for +anything; and this because he liked Andrea's resoluteness in his work, +and also the character of the man, who was contented with everything. +Moreover, giving great satisfaction to the whole Court, he executed many +pictures and various other works; and if he had kept in mind the +condition from which he had escaped and the place to which fortune had +brought him, there is no doubt that he would have risen--to say nothing +of riches--to a most honourable rank. But one day, when he was at work +on a S. Jerome in Penitence for the mother of the King, there came to +him some letters from Florence, written by his wife; and he began, +whatever may have been the reason, to think of departing. He sought +leave, therefore, from the King, saying that he wished to go to +Florence, but would return without fail to his Majesty after settling +some affairs; and he would bring his wife with him, in order to live +more at his ease in France, and would come back laden with pictures and +sculptures of value. The King, trusting in him, gave him money for that +purpose; and Andrea swore on the Testament to return to him in a few +months. + +Thus, then, he arrived in Florence, and for several months blissfully +took his joy of his fair lady, his friends, and the city. And finally, +the time at which he was to return having passed by, he found in the end +that what with building, taking his pleasure, and doing no work, he had +squandered all his money and likewise that of the King. Even so he +wished to return, but he was more influenced by the sighs and prayers of +his wife than by his own necessities and the pledge given to the King, +so that, in order to please his wife, he did not go back; at which the +King fell into such disdain, that for a long time he would never again +look with a favourable eye on any painter from Florence, and he swore +that if Andrea ever came into his hands he would give him a very +different kind of welcome, with no regard whatever for his abilities. +And thus Andrea, remaining in Florence, and sinking from the highest +rung of the ladder to the very lowest, lived and passed the time as best +he could. + +After Andrea's departure to France, the men of the Scalzo, thinking that +he would never return, had entrusted all the rest of the work in their +cloister to Franciabigio, who had already executed two scenes there, +when, seeing Andrea back in Florence, they persuaded him to set his hand +to the work once more; and he, continuing it, painted four scenes, one +beside another. In the first is S. John taken before Herod. In the +second are the Feast and the Dance of Herodias, with figures very well +grouped and appropriate. In the third is the Beheading of S. John, +wherein the minister of justice, a half-nude figure, is beautifully +drawn, as are all the others. In the fourth Herodias is presenting the +head; and here there are figures expressing their astonishment, which +are wrought with most beautiful thought and care. These scenes have been +for some time the study and school of many young men who are now +excellent in our arts. + +In a shrine without the Porta a Pinti, at a corner where the road turns +towards the Ingesuati, he painted in fresco a Madonna seated with a +Child in her arms, and a little S. John who is smiling, a figure wrought +with extraordinary art and with such perfect execution, that it is much +extolled for its beauty and vivacity; and the head of the Madonna is a +portrait of his wife from nature. This shrine, on account of the +incredible beauty of the painting, which is truly marvellous, was left +standing in 1530, when, because of the siege of Florence, the aforesaid +Convent of the Ingesuati was pulled down, together with many other very +beautiful buildings. + +About the same time the elder Bartolommeo Panciatichi, who was carrying +on a great mercantile business in France, desiring to leave a memorial +of himself in Lyons, ordered Baccio d' Agnolo to have a panel painted +for him by Andrea, and to send it to him there; saying that he wanted +the subject to be the Assumption of Our Lady, with the Apostles about +the tomb. This work, then, Andrea carried almost to completion; but +since the wood of the panel split apart several times, he would +sometimes work at it, and sometimes leave it alone, so that at his death +it remained not quite finished. Afterwards it was placed by the younger +Bartolommeo Panciatichi in his house, as a work truly worthy of praise +on account of the beautiful figures of the Apostles; not to speak of the +Madonna, who is surrounded by a choir of little boys standing, while +certain others are supporting her and bearing her upwards with +extraordinary grace. And in the foreground of the panel, among the +Apostles, is a portrait of Andrea, so natural that it seems to be alive. +It is now at the villa of the Baroncelli, a little distance from +Florence, in a small church built by Piero Salviati near his villa to do +honour to the picture. + +At the head of the garden of the Servi, in two angles, Andrea painted +two scenes of Christ's Vineyard, one showing the planting, staking, and +binding of the vines, and then the husbandman summoning to the labour +those who were standing idle, among whom is one who, being asked +whether he wishes to join the work, sits rubbing his hands and pondering +whether he will go among the other labourers, exactly as those idle +fellows do who have but little mind to work. Even more beautiful is the +other scene, wherein the same husbandman is causing them to be paid, +while they murmur and complain, and one among them, who is counting over +his money by himself, wholly intent on examining his share, seems +absolutely alive, as also does the steward who is paying out the wages. +These scenes are in chiaroscuro, and executed with extraordinary mastery +in fresco. After them he painted a Pieta, coloured in fresco, which is +very beautiful, in a niche at the head of a staircase in the noviciate +of the same convent. He also painted another Pieta in a little picture +in oils, in addition to a Nativity, for the room in that convent wherein +the General, Angelo Aretino, once lived. + +The same master painted for Zanobi Bracci, who much desired to have some +work by his hand, for one of his apartments, a picture of Our Lady, in +which she is on her knees, leaning against a rock, and contemplating +Christ, who lies on a heap of drapery and looks up at her, smiling; +while a S. John, who stands there, is making a sign to the Madonna, as +if to say that her Child is the true Son of God. Behind these figures is +a S. Joseph with his head resting on his hands, which are lying on a +rock; and he appears to be filled with joy at seeing the human race +become divine through that Birth. + +Cardinal Giulio de' Medici having been commissioned by Pope Leo to see +to the adorning with stucco and paintings of the ceiling in the Great +Hall of Poggio a Caiano, a palatial villa of the Medici family, situated +between Pistoia and Florence, the charge of arranging for that work and +of paying out the money was given to the Magnificent Ottaviano de' +Medici, as to a person who, not falling short of the standard of his +ancestors, was well informed in such matters and a loving friend to all +the masters of our arts, and delighted more than any other man to have +his dwellings adorned with the works of the most excellent. Ottaviano +ordained, therefore, although the commission for the whole work had +already been given to Franciabigio, that he should have only a third, +Andrea another, and Jacopo da Pontormo the last. But it was found +impossible, for all the efforts that the Magnificent Ottaviano made to +urge them on, and for all the money that he offered and even paid to +them, to get the work brought to completion; and Andrea alone finished +with great diligence a scene on one wall, representing Caesar being +presented with tribute of all kinds of animals. The drawing for this +work is in our book, with many others by his hand; it is in chiaroscuro, +and is the most finished that he ever made. In this picture Andrea, in +order to surpass Franciabigio and Jacopo, subjected himself to +unexampled labour, drawing in it a magnificent perspective-view and a +very masterly flight of steps, which formed the ascent to the throne of +Caesar. And these steps he adorned with very well-designed statues, not +being content with having proved the beauty of his genius in the variety +of figures that are carrying on their backs all those different animals, +such as the figure of an Indian who is wearing a yellow coat, and +carrying on his shoulders a cage drawn in perspective with some parrots +both within it and without, the whole being rarely beautiful; and such, +also, as some who are leading Indian goats, lions, giraffes, panthers, +lynxes, and apes, with Moors and other lovely things of fancy, all +grouped in a beautiful manner and executed divinely well in fresco. On +these steps, also, he made a dwarf seated and holding a box containing a +chameleon, which is so well executed in all the deformity of its +fantastic shape, that it is impossible to imagine more beautiful +proportions than those that he gave it. But, as has been said, this work +remained unfinished, on account of the death of Pope Leo; and although +Duke Alessandro de' Medici had a great desire that Jacopo da Pontormo +should finish it, he was not able to prevail on him to put his hand to +it. And in truth it suffered a very grievous wrong in the failure to +complete it, seeing that the hall, for one in a villa, is the most +beautiful in the world. + +After returning to Florence, Andrea painted a picture with a nude +half-length figure of S. John the Baptist, a very beautiful thing, which +he executed at the commission of Giovan Maria Benintendi, who presented +it afterwards to the Lord Duke Cosimo. + +[Illustration: CAESAR RECEIVING THE TRIBUTE OF EGYPT + +(_After the fresco by =Andrea del Sarto=. Florence: Poggio a Caiano_) + +_Alinari_] + +While affairs were proceeding in this manner, Andrea, remembering +sometimes his connection with France, sighed from his heart: and if +he had hoped to find pardon for the fault he had committed, there is no +doubt that he would have gone back. Indeed, to try his fortune, he +sought to see whether his talents might be helpful to him in the matter. +Thus he painted a picture of a half-naked S. John the Baptist, meaning +to send it to the Grand Master of France, to the end that he might +occupy himself with restoring the painter to the favour of the King. +However, whatever may have been the reason, he never sent it after all, +but sold it to the Magnificent Ottaviano de' Medici, who always valued +it much as long as he lived, even as he did two pictures of Our Lady +executed for him by Andrea in one and the same manner, which are in his +house at the present day. + +Not long afterwards he was commissioned by Zanobi Bracci to paint a +picture for Monsignore di San Biause,[6] which he executed with all +possible diligence, hoping that it might enable him to regain the favour +of King Francis, to whose service he desired to return. He also executed +for Lorenzo Jacopi a picture of much greater size than was usual, +containing a Madonna seated with the Child in her arms, accompanied by +two other figures that are seated on some steps; and the whole, both in +drawing and in colouring, is similar to his other works. He painted for +Giovanni d' Agostino Dini, likewise, a picture of Our Lady, which is now +much esteemed for its beauty; and he made so good a portrait from life +of Cosimo Lapi, that it seems absolutely alive. + +Afterwards, in the year 1523, the plague came to Florence and also to +some places in the surrounding country; and Andrea, in order to avoid +that pestilence and also to do some work, went at the instance of +Antonio Brancacci to the Mugello to paint a panel for the Nuns of S. +Piero a Luco, of the Order of Camaldoli, taking with him his wife and a +stepdaughter, together with his wife's sister and an assistant. Living +quietly there, then, he set his hand to the work. And since those +venerable ladies showed more and more kindness and courtesy every day to +his wife, to himself, and to the whole party, he applied himself with +the greatest possible willingness to executing that panel, in which he +painted a Dead Christ mourned by Our Lady, S. John the Evangelist, and +the Magdalene, figures so lifelike, that they appear truly to have +spirit and breath. In S. John may be seen the loving tenderness of that +Apostle, with affection in the tears of the Magdalene, and bitter sorrow +in the face and whole attitude of the Madonna, whose aspect, as she +gazes on Christ, who seems to be truly a real corpse and in relief, is +so pitiful, that she fills with helpless awe and bewilderment the minds +of S. Peter and S. Paul, who are contemplating the Dead Saviour of the +World in the lap of His mother. From these marvellous conceptions it is +clear how much Andrea delighted in finish and perfection of art; and to +tell the truth, this panel has given more fame to that convent than all +the buildings and all the other costly works, however magnificent and +extraordinary, that have been executed there. + +This picture finished, Andrea, seeing that the danger of the plague was +not yet past, stayed some weeks more in the same place, where he was so +well received and treated with such kindness. During that time, in order +not to be idle, he painted not only a Visitation of Our Lady to S. +Elizabeth, which is in the church, on the right hand above the Manger, +serving as a crown to a little ancient panel, but also, on a canvas of +no great size, a most beautiful head of Christ, somewhat similar to that +on the altar of the Nunziata, but not so finished. This head, which may +in truth be numbered among the better works that issued from the hands +of Andrea, is now in the Monastery of the Monks of the Angeli at +Florence, in the possession of that very reverend father, Don Antonio da +Pisa, who loves not only the men of excellence in our arts, but every +man of talent without exception. From this picture several copies have +been taken, for Don Silvano Razzi entrusted it to the painter Zanobi +Poggini, to the end that he might make a copy for Bartolommeo Gondi, who +had asked him for one, and some others were made, which are held in vast +veneration in Florence. + +In this manner, then, Andrea passed without danger the time of the +plague, and those nuns received from the genius of that great man such a +work as can bear comparison with the most excellent pictures that have +been painted in our day; wherefore it is no marvel that Ramazzotto, the +captain of mercenaries of Scaricalasino, sought to obtain it on several +occasions during the siege of Florence, in order to send it to his +chapel in S. Michele in Bosco at Bologna. + +On his return to Florence, Andrea executed for Beccuccio da Gambassi, +the glass-blower, who was very much his friend, a panel-picture of Our +Lady in the sky with the Child in her arms, and four figures below, S. +John the Baptist, S. Mary Magdalene, S. Sebastian, and S. Rocco; and in +the predella he made portraits from nature, which are most lifelike, of +Beccuccio and his wife. This panel is now at Gambassi, a township in +Valdelsa, between Volterra and Florence. For a chapel in the villa of +Zanobi Bracci at Rovezzano, he painted a most beautiful picture of Our +Lady suckling a Child, with a Joseph, all executed with such diligence +that they stand out from the panel, so strong is the relief; and this +picture is now in the house of M. Antonio Bracci, the son of that +Zanobi. About the same time, also, and in the above-mentioned cloister +of the Scalzo, Andrea painted two other scenes, in one of which he +depicted Zacharias offering sacrifice and being made dumb by the Angel +appearing to him, while in the other is the Visitation of Our Lady, +beautiful to a marvel. + +Now Federigo II, Duke of Mantua, in passing through Florence on his way +to make obeisance to Clement VII, saw over a door in the house of the +Medici that portrait of Pope Leo between Cardinal Giulio de' Medici and +Cardinal de' Rossi, which the most excellent Raffaello da Urbino had +formerly painted; and being extraordinarily pleased with it, he +resolved, being a man who delighted in pictures of such beauty, to make +it his own. And so, when he was in Rome and the moment seemed to him to +have come, he asked for it as a present from Pope Clement, who +courteously granted his request. Thereupon orders were sent to Florence +to Ottaviano de' Medici, under whose care and government were Ippolito +and Alessandro, that he should have it packed up and taken to Mantua. +This matter was very displeasing to the Magnificent Ottaviano, who would +never have consented to deprive Florence of such a picture, and he +marvelled that the Pope should have given it up so readily. However, he +answered that he would not fail to satisfy the Duke; but that, since +the frame was bad, he was having a new one made, and when it had been +gilt he would send the picture with every possible precaution to Mantua. +This done, Messer Ottaviano, in order to "save both the goat and the +cabbage," as the saying goes, sent privately for Andrea and told him how +the matter stood, and how there was no way out of it but to make an +exact copy of the picture with the greatest care and send it to the +Duke, secretly retaining the one by the hand of Raffaello. Andrea, then, +having promised to do all in his power and knowledge, caused a panel to +be made similar in size and in every respect, and painted it secretly in +the house of Messer Ottaviano. And to such purpose did he labour, that +when it was finished even Messer Ottaviano, for all his understanding in +matters of art, could not tell the one from the other, nor distinguish +the real and true picture from the copy; especially as Andrea had +counterfeited even the spots of dirt, exactly as they were in the +original. And so, after they had hidden the picture of Raffaello, they +sent the one by the hand of Andrea, in a similar frame, to Mantua; at +which the Duke was completely satisfied, and above all because the +painter Giulio Romano, a disciple of Raffaello, had praised it, failing +to detect the trick. This Giulio would always have been of the same +opinion, and would have believed it to be by the hand of Raffaello, but +for the arrival in Mantua of Giorgio Vasari, who, having been as it were +the adoptive child of Messer Ottaviano, and having seen Andrea at work +on that picture, revealed the truth. For Giulio making much of Vasari, +and showing him, after many antiquities and paintings, that picture of +Raffaello's, as the best work that was there, Giorgio said to him, "A +beautiful work it is, but in no way by the hand of Raffaello." "What?" +answered Giulio. "Should I not know it, when I recognize the very +strokes that I made with my own brush?" "You have forgotten them," said +Giorgio, "for this picture is by the hand of Andrea del Sarto; and to +prove it, there is a sign (to which he pointed) that was made in +Florence, because when the two were together they could not be +distinguished." Hearing this, Giulio had the picture turned round, and +saw the mark; at which he shrugged his shoulders and said these words, +"I value it no less than if it were by the hand of Raffaello--nay, even +more, for it is something out of the course of nature that a man of +excellence should imitate the manner of another so well, and should make +a copy so like. It is enough that it should be known that Andrea's +genius was as valiant in double harness as in single." Thus, then, by +the wise judgment of Messer Ottaviano, satisfaction was given to the +Duke without depriving Florence of so choice a work, which, having been +presented to him afterwards by Duke Alessandro, he kept in his +possession for many years; and finally he gave it to Duke Cosimo, who +has it in his guardaroba together with many other famous pictures. + +While Andrea was making this copy, he also painted for the same Messer +Ottaviano a picture with only the head of Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, +who afterwards became Pope Clement; and this head, which was similar to +that by Raffaello, and very beautiful, was presented eventually by +Messer Ottaviano to old Bishop de' Marzi. + +Not long after, Messer Baldo Magini of Prato desiring to have a most +beautiful panel-picture painted for the Madonna delle Carcere in his +native city, for which he had already caused a very handsome ornament of +marble to be made, one of the many painters proposed to him was Andrea. +Wherefore Messer Baldo, having more inclination for him than for any of +the others, although he had no great understanding in such a matter, had +almost given him to believe that he and no other should do the work, +when a certain Niccolo Soggi of Sansovino, who had some interest at +Prato, was suggested to Messer Baldo for the undertaking, and assisted +to such purpose by the assertion that there was not a better master to +be found, that the work was given to him. Meanwhile, Andrea's supporters +sending for him, he, holding it as settled that the work was to be his, +went off to Prato with Domenico Puligo and other painters who were his +friends. Arriving there, he found that Niccolo not only had persuaded +Messer Baldo to change his mind, but also was bold and shameless enough +to say to him in the presence of Messer Baldo that he would compete with +Andrea for a bet of any sum of money in painting something, the winner +to take the whole. Andrea, who knew what Niccolo was worth, answered, +although he was generally a man of little spirit, "Here is my assistant, +who has not been long in our art. If you will bet with him, I will put +down the money for him; but with me you shall have no bet for any money +in the world, seeing that, if I were to beat you, it would do me no +honour, and if I were to lose, it would be the greatest possible +disgrace." And, saying to Messer Baldo that he should give the work to +Niccolo, because he would execute it in such a manner as would please +the folk that went to market, he returned to Florence. + +There he was commissioned to paint a panel for Pisa, divided into five +pictures, which were afterwards placed round the Madonna of S. Agnese, +beside the walls of that city, between the old Citadel and the Duomo. +Making one figure, then, in each picture, he painted in two of them S. +John the Baptist and S. Peter, one on either side of the Madonna that +works miracles; and in the others are S. Catharine the Martyr, S. +Agnese, and S. Margaret, each a figure by itself, and all so beautiful +as to fill with marvel anyone who beholds them, and considered to be the +most gracious and lovely women that he ever painted. + +M. Jacopo, a Servite friar, in releasing and absolving a woman from a +vow, had told her that she must have a figure of Our Lady painted over +the outer side of that lateral door of the Nunziata which leads into the +cloister; and therefore, finding Andrea, he said to him that he had this +money to spend, and that although it was not much it seemed to him +right, since the other works executed by Andrea in that place had +brought him such fame, that he and no other should paint this one as +well. Andrea, who was nothing if not an amiable man, moved by the +persuasions of the friar and by his own desire for profit and glory, +answered that he would do it willingly; and shortly afterwards, putting +his hand to the work, he painted in fresco a most beautiful Madonna +seated with her Son in her arms, and S. Joseph leaning on a sack, with +his eyes fixed upon an open book. And of such a kind was this work, in +draughtsmanship, grace, and beauty of colouring, as well as in vivacity +and relief, that it proved that he outstripped and surpassed by a great +measure all the painters who had worked up to that time. Such, indeed, +is this picture, that by its own merit and without praise from any other +quarter it makes itself clearly known as amazing and most rare. + +There was wanting only one scene in the cloister of the Scalzo for it to +be completely finished; wherefore Andrea, who had added grandeur to his +manner after having seen the figures that Michelagnolo had begun and +partly finished for the Sacristy of S. Lorenzo, set his hand to +executing this last scene. In this, giving the final proof of his +improvement, he painted the Birth of S. John the Baptist, with figures +that were very beautiful and much better and stronger in relief than the +others made by him before in the same place. Most beautiful, among +others in this work, are a woman who is carrying the newborn babe to the +bed on which lies S. Elizabeth, who is likewise a most lovely figure, +and Zacharias, who is writing on a paper that he has placed on his knee, +holding it with one hand and with the other writing the name of his son, +and all with such vivacity, that he lacks nothing save the breath of +life. Most beautiful, also, is an old woman who is seated on a stool, +smiling with gladness at the delivery of the other aged woman, and +revealing in her attitude and expression all that would be seen in a +living person after such an event. + +Having finished that work, which is certainly well worthy of all praise, +he painted for the General of Vallombrosa a panel-picture with four very +lovely figures, S. John the Baptist, S. Giovanni Gualberto, founder of +that Order, S. Michelagnolo, and S. Bernardo, a Cardinal and a monk of +the Order, with some little boys in the centre that could not be more +vivacious or more beautiful. This panel is at Vallombrosa, on the summit +of a rocky height, where certain monks live in some rooms called "the +cells," separated from the others, and leading as it were the lives of +hermits. + +After this he was commissioned by Giuliano Scala to paint a +panel-picture, which was to be sent to Serrazzana, of a Madonna seated +with the Child in her arms, and two half-length figures from the knees +upwards, S. Celso and S. Julia, with S. Onofrio, S. Catharine, S. +Benedict, S. Anthony of Padua, S. Peter, and S. Mark; which panel was +held to be equal to the other works of Andrea. And in the hands of +Giuliano Scala, in place of the balance due to him of a sum of money +that he had paid for the owners of that work, there remained a lunette +containing an Annunciation, which was to go above the panel, to complete +it; and it is now in his chapel in the great tribune round the choir of +the Church of the Servi. + +The Monks of S. Salvi had let many years pass by without thinking of +having a beginning made with their Last Supper, which they had +commissioned Andrea to execute at the time when he painted the arch with +the four figures; but finally an Abbot, who was a man of judgment and +breeding, determined that he should finish that work. Thereupon Andrea, +who had already pledged himself to it on a previous occasion, far from +making any demur, put his hand to the task, and, working at it one piece +at a time when he felt so inclined, finished it in a few months, and +that in such a manner, that the work was held to be, as it certainly is, +the most spontaneous and the most vivacious in colouring and drawing +that he ever made, or that ever could be made. For, among other things, +he gave infinite grandeur, majesty, and grace to all the figures, +insomuch that I know not what to say of this Last Supper that would not +be too little, it being such that whoever sees it is struck with +amazement. Wherefore it is no marvel that on account of its excellence +it was left standing amid the havoc of the siege of Florence, in the +year 1529, at which time the soldiers and destroyers, by command of +those in authority, pulled down all the suburbs without the city, and +all the monasteries, hospitals, and other buildings. These men, I say, +having destroyed the Church and Campanile of S. Salvi, and beginning to +throw down part of the convent, had come to the refectory where this +Last Supper is, when their leader, seeing so marvellous a painting, of +which he may have heard speak, abandoned the undertaking and would not +let any more of that place be destroyed, reserving the task until such +time as there should be no alternative. + +[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST + +(_After the painting on a tile by =Andrea del Sarto=. Florence: Uffizi, +280_) + +_Alinari_] + +Andrea then painted for the Company of S. Jacopo, called the Nicchio, on +a banner for carrying in processions, a S. James fondling a little boy +dressed as a Flagellant by stroking him under the chin, with another boy +who has a book in his hand, executed with beautiful grace and +naturalness. He made a portrait from life of a steward of the Monks of +Vallombrosa, who lived almost always in the country on the affairs of +his monastery; and this portrait was placed under a sort of bower, in +which he had made pergole and contrivances of his own in various +fanciful designs, so that it was buffeted by wind and rain, according to +the pleasure of that steward, who was the friend of Andrea. And because, +when the work was finished, there were some colours and lime left over, +Andrea, taking a tile, called to his wife Lucrezia and said to her: +"Come here, for these colours are left over, and I wish to make your +portrait, so that all may see how well you have preserved your beauty +even at your time of life, and yet may know how your appearance has +changed, which will make this one different from your early portraits." +But the woman, who may have had something else in her mind, would not +stand still; and Andrea, as it were from a feeling that he was near his +end, took a mirror and made a portrait of himself on that tile, of such +perfection, that it seems alive and as real as nature; and that portrait +is in the possession of the same Madonna Lucrezia, who is still living. + +He also portrayed a Canon of Pisa, very much his friend; and the +portrait, which is lifelike and very beautiful, is still in Pisa. He +then began for the Signoria the cartoons for the paintings to be +executed on the balustrades of the Ringhiera in the Piazza, with many +beautiful things of fancy to represent the quarters of the city, and +with the banners of the Consuls of the chief Guilds supported by some +little boys, and also ornaments in the form of images of all the +virtues, and likewise the most famous mountains and rivers of the +dominion of Florence. But this work, thus begun, remained unfinished on +account of Andrea's death, as was also the case with a panel--although +it was all but finished--which he painted for the Abbey of the Monks of +Vallombrosa at Poppi in the Casentino. In that panel he painted an +Assumption of Our Lady, who is surrounded by many little boys, with S. +Giovanni Gualberto, S. Bernardo the Cardinal (a monk of their Order, as +has been related), S. Catharine, and S. Fedele; and, unfinished as it +is, the picture is now in that Abbey of Poppi. The same happened to a +panel of no great size, which, when finished, was to have gone to Pisa. +But he left completely finished a very beautiful picture which is now in +the house of Filippo Salviati, and some others. + +About the same time Giovan Battista della Palla, having bought all the +sculptures and pictures of note that he could obtain, and causing copies +to be made of those that he could not buy, had despoiled Florence of a +vast number of choice works, without the least scruple, in order to +furnish a suite of rooms for the King of France, which was to be richer +in suchlike ornaments than any other in the world. And this man, +desiring that Andrea should return to the service and favour of the +King, commissioned him to paint two pictures. In one of these Andrea +painted Abraham in the act of trying to sacrifice his son; and that with +such diligence, that it was judged that up to that time he had never +done anything better. Beautifully expressed in the figure of the +patriarch was seen that living and steadfast faith which made him ready +without a moment of dismay or hesitation to slay his own son. The same +Abraham, likewise, could be seen turning his head towards a very +beautiful little angel, who appeared to be bidding him stay his hand. I +will not describe the attitude, the dress, the foot-wear, and other +details in the painting of that old man, because it is not possible to +say enough of them; but this I must say, that the boy Isaac, tender and +most beautiful, was to be seen all naked, trembling with the fear of +death, and almost dead without having been struck. The same boy had only +the neck browned by the heat of the sun, and white as snow those parts +that his draperies had covered during the three days' journey. In like +manner, the ram among the thorns seemed to be alive, and Isaac's +draperies on the ground rather real and natural than painted. And in +addition there were some naked servants guarding an ass that was +browsing, and a landscape so well represented that the real scene of the +event could not have been more beautiful or in any way different. This +picture, having been bought by Filippo Strozzi after the death of Andrea +and the capture of Battista, was presented by him to Signor Alfonso +Davalos, Marchese del Vasto, who had it carried to the island of Ischia, +near Naples, and placed in one of his apartments in company with other +most noble paintings. + +In the other picture Andrea painted a very beautiful Charity, with three +little boys; and this was afterwards bought from the wife of Andrea, +after his death, by the painter Domenico Conti, who sold it later to +Niccolo Antinori, who treasures it as a rare work, as indeed it is. + +During this time there came to the Magnificent Ottaviano de' Medici, +seeing from that last picture how much Andrea had improved his manner, a +desire to have a picture by his hand. Whereupon Andrea, who was eager to +serve that lord, to whom he was much indebted, because he had always +shown favour to men of lofty intellect, and particularly to painters, +executed for him a picture of Our Lady seated on the ground with the +Child riding astride on her knees, while He turns His head towards a +little S. John supported by an old S. Elizabeth, a figure so natural and +so well painted that she appears to be alive, even as every other thing +is wrought with incredible diligence, draughtsmanship, and art. Having +finished this picture, Andrea carried it to Messer Ottaviano; but since +that lord had something else to think about, Florence being then +besieged, he told Andrea, while thanking him profoundly and making his +excuses, to dispose of it as he thought best. To which Andrea made no +reply but this: "The labour was endured for you, and yours the work +shall always be." "Sell it," answered Messer Ottaviano, "and use the +money, for I know what I am talking about." Andrea then departed and +returned to his house, nor would he ever give the picture to anyone, for +all the offers that were made to him; but when the siege was raised and +the Medici back in Florence, he took it once more to Messer Ottaviano, +who accepted it right willingly, thanking him and paying him double. The +work is now in the apartment of his wife, Madonna Francesca, sister to +the very reverend Salviati, who holds the beautiful pictures left to her +by her magnificent consort in no less account than she does the duty of +retaining and honouring his friends. + +For Giovanni Borgherini Andrea painted another picture almost exactly +like the one of Charity mentioned above, containing a Madonna, a little +S. John offering to Christ a globe that represents the world, and a very +beautiful head of S. Joseph. + +There came to Paolo da Terrarossa, a friend to the whole body of +painters, who had seen the sketch for the aforesaid Abraham, a wish to +have some work by the hand of Andrea. Having therefore asked him for a +copy of that Abraham, Andrea willingly obliged him and made a copy of +such a kind, that in its minuteness it was by no means inferior to the +large original. Wherefore Paolo, well satisfied with it and wishing to +pay him, asked him the price, thinking that it would cost him what it +was certainly worth; but Andrea asked a mere song, and Paolo, almost +ashamed, shrugged his shoulders and gave him all that he claimed. The +picture was afterwards sent by him to Naples ...[7] and it is the most +beautiful and the most highly honoured painting in that place. + +During the siege of Florence some captains had fled the city with the +pay-chests; on which account Andrea was asked to paint on the facade of +the Palace of the Podesta and in the Piazza not only those captains, but +also some citizens who had fled and had been proclaimed outlaws. He said +that he would do it; but in order not to acquire, like Andrea dal +Castagno, the name of Andrea degl' Impiccati, he gave it out that he was +entrusting the work to one of his assistants, called Bernardo del Buda. +However, having made a great enclosure, which he himself entered and +left by night, he executed those figures in such a manner that they +appeared to be the men themselves, real and alive. The soldiers, who +were painted on the facade of the old Mercatanzia in the Piazza, near +the Condotta, were covered with whitewash many years ago, that they +might be seen no longer; and the citizens, whom he painted entirely with +his own hand on the Palace of the Podesta, were destroyed in like +manner. + +After this, being very intimate in these last years of his life with +certain men who governed the Company of S. Sebastiano, which is behind +the Servite Convent, Andrea made for them with his own hand a S. +Sebastian from the navel upwards, so beautiful that it might well have +seemed that these were the last strokes of the brush which he was to +make. + +The siege being finished, Andrea was waiting for matters to mend, +although with little hope that his French project would succeed, since +Giovan Battista della Palla had been taken prisoner, when Florence +became filled with soldiers and stores from the camp. Among those +soldiers were some lansquenets sick of the plague, who brought no +little terror into the city and shortly afterwards left it infected. +Thereupon, either through this apprehension or through some imprudence +in eating after having suffered much privation in the siege, one day +Andrea fell grievously ill and took to his bed with death on his brow; +and finding no remedy for his illness, and being without much +attention--for his wife, from fear of the plague, kept as far away from +him as she could--he died, so it is said, almost without a soul being +aware of it; and he was buried by the men of the Scalzo with scant +ceremony in the Church of the Servi, near his own house, in the place +where the members of that Company are always buried. + +The death of Andrea was a very great loss to the city and to art, +because up to the age of forty-two, which he attained, he went on always +improving from one work to another in such wise that, if he had lived +longer, he would have continued to confer benefits on art; for the +reason that it is better to go on making progress little by little, +advancing with a firm and steady foot through the difficulties of art, +than to seek to force one's intellect and nature in a single effort. Nor +is there any doubt that if Andrea had stayed in Rome when he went there +to see the works of Raffaello and Michelagnolo, and also the statues and +ruins of that city, he would have enriched his manner greatly in the +composition of scenes, and would one day have given more delicacy and +greater force to his figures; which has never been thoroughly achieved +save by one who has been some time in Rome, to study those works in +detail and grow familiar with them. Having then from nature a sweet and +gracious manner of drawing and great facility and vivacity of colouring, +both in fresco-work and in oils, it is believed without a doubt that if +he had stayed in Rome, he would have surpassed all the craftsmen of his +time. But some believe that he was deterred from this by the abundance +of works of sculpture and painting, both ancient and modern, that he saw +in that city, and by observing the many young men, disciples of +Raffaello and of others, resolute in draughtsmanship and working +confidently and without effort, whom, like the timid fellow that he was, +he did not feel it in him to excel. And so, not trusting himself, he +resolved, as the best course for him, to return to Florence; where, +reflecting little by little on what he had seen, he made such +proficience that his works have been admired and held in price, and, +what is more, imitated more often after his death than during his +lifetime. Whoever has some holds them dear, and whoever has consented to +sell them has received three times as much as was paid to him, for the +reason that he never received anything but small prices for his works, +both because he was timid by nature, as has been related, and also +because certain master-joiners, who were executing the best works at +that time in the houses of citizens, would never allow any commission to +be given to Andrea (so as to oblige their friends), save when they knew +that he was in great straits, for at such times he would accept any +price. But this does not prevent his works from being most rare, or from +being held in very great account, and that rightly, since he was one of +the best and greatest masters who have lived even to our own day. In our +book are many drawings by his hand, all good; but in particular there is +one that is altogether beautiful, of the scene that he painted at +Poggio, showing the tribute of all the animals from the East being +presented to Caesar. This drawing, which is executed in chiaroscuro, is a +rare thing, and the most finished that Andrea ever made; for when he +drew natural objects for reproduction in his works, he made mere +sketches dashed off on the spot, contenting himself with marking the +character of the reality; and afterwards, when reproducing them in his +works, he brought them to perfection. His drawings, therefore, served +him rather as memoranda of what he had seen than as models from which to +make exact copies in his pictures. + +The disciples of Andrea were innumerable, but they did not all pursue +the same course of study under his discipline, for some stayed with him +a long time, and some but little; which was the fault, not of Andrea, +but of his wife, who, tyrannizing arrogantly over them all, and showing +no respect to a single one of them, made all their lives a burden. Among +his disciples, then, were Jacopo da Pontormo; Andrea Sguazzella, who +adhered to the manner of Andrea and decorated a palace, a work which is +much extolled, without the city of Paris in France; Solosmeo; Pier +Francesco di Jacopo di Sandro, who has painted three panels that are in +S. Spirito; Francesco Salviati; Giorgio Vasari of Arezzo, who was the +companion of the aforesaid Salviati, although he did not stay long with +Andrea; Jacopo del Conte of Florence; and Nannoccio, who is now in +France with Cardinal de Tournon, in the highest credit. In like manner, +Jacopo, called Jacone, was a disciple of Andrea and much his friend, and +an imitator of his manner. This Jacone, while Andrea was alive, received +no little help from him, as is evident in all his works, and +particularly in the facade executed for the Chevalier Buondelmonti on +the Piazza di S. Trinita. + +The heir to Andrea's drawings and other art-possessions, after his +death, was Domenico Conti, who made little proficience in painting; but +one night he was robbed--by some men of the same profession, so it is +thought--of all the drawings, cartoons, and other things that he had +from Andrea, nor was it ever discovered who these men were. Now +Domenico, as one not ungrateful for the benefits received from his +master, and desiring to render to him after his death the honours that +he deserved, prevailed upon Raffaello da Montelupo to make for him out +of courtesy a very handsome tablet of marble, which was built into a +pilaster in the Church of the Servi, with the following epitaph, written +for him by the most learned Messer Piero Vettori, then a young man: + + ANDREAE SARTIO + ADMIRABILIS INGENII PICTORI, AC VETERIBUS ILLIS OMNIUM JUDICIO + COMPARANDO, + DOMINICUS CONTES DISCIPULUS, PRO LABORIBUS IN SE INSTITUENDO SUSCEPTIS, + GRATO ANIMO POSUIT. + VIXIT ANN. XLII, OB. ANN. MDXXX. + +After no long time, certain citizens, Wardens of Works of that church, +rather ignorant than hostile to honoured memories, so went to work out +of anger that the tablet should have been set up in that place without +their leave, that they had it removed; nor has it yet been re-erected in +any other place. Thus, perchance, Fortune sought to show that the power +of the Fates prevails not only during our lives, but also over our +memorials after death. In spite of them, however, the works and the +name of Andrea are likely to live a long time, as are these my writings, +I hope, to preserve their memory for many ages. + +We must conclude, then, that if Andrea showed poor spirit in the actions +of his life, contenting himself with little, this does not mean that in +art he was otherwise than exalted in genius, most resolute, and masterly +in every sort of labour; and with his works, in addition to the +adornment that they confer on the places where they are, he rendered a +most valuable service to his fellow-craftsmen with regard to manner, +drawing, and colouring, and that with fewer errors than any other +painter of Florence, for the reason that, as has been said above, he +understood very well the management of light and shade and how to make +things recede in the darks, and painted his pictures with a sweetness +full of vivacity; not to mention that he showed us the method of working +in fresco with perfect unity and without doing much retouching on the +dry, which makes his every work appear to have been painted in a single +day. Wherefore he should serve in every place as an example to Tuscan +craftsmen, and receive supreme praise and a palm of honour among the +number of their most celebrated champions. + +FOOTNOTE: + +[6] Jacques de Beaune. + +[7] There is here a gap in the text. + + + + +MADONNA PROPERZIA DE' ROSSI + + + + +LIFE OF MADONNA PROPERZIA DE' ROSSI + +SCULPTOR[8] OF BOLOGNA + + +It is an extraordinary thing that in all those arts and all those +exercises wherein at any time women have thought fit to play a part in +real earnest, they have always become most excellent and famous in no +common way, as one might easily demonstrate by an endless number of +examples. Everyone, indeed, knows what they are all, without exception, +worth in household matters; besides which, in connection with war, +likewise, it is known who were Camilla, Harpalice, Valasca, Tomyris, +Penthesilea, Molpadia, Orizia, Antiope, Hippolyta, Semiramis, Zenobia, +and, finally, Mark Antony's Fulvia, who so often took up arms, as the +historian Dion tells us, to defend her husband and herself. But in +poetry, also, they have been truly marvellous, as Pausanias relates. +Corinna was very celebrated as a writer of verse, and Eustathius makes +mention in his "Catalogue of the Ships of Homer"--as does Eusebius in +his book of "Chronicles"--of Sappho, a young woman of great renown, who, +in truth, although she was a woman, was yet such that she surpassed by a +great measure all the eminent writers of that age. And Varro, on his +part, gives extraordinary but well-deserved praise to Erinna, who, with +her three hundred verses, challenged the fame of the brightest light of +Greece, and counterbalanced with her one small volume, called the +"Elecate," the ponderous "Iliad" of the great Homer. Aristophanes +celebrates Carissena, a votary of the same profession, as a woman of +great excellence and learning; and the same may be said for Teano, +Merone, Polla, Elpe, Cornificia, and Telesilla, to the last of whom, in +honour of her marvellous talents, a most beautiful statue was set up in +the Temple of Venus. + +Passing by the numberless other writers of verse, do we not read that +Arete was the teacher of the learned Aristippus in the difficulties of +philosophy, and that Lastheneia and Assiotea were disciples of the +divine Plato? In the art of oratory, Sempronia and Hortensia, women of +Rome, were very famous. In grammar, so Athenaeus relates, Agallis was +without an equal. And as for the prediction of the future, whether we +class this with astrology or with magic, it is enough to say that +Themis, Cassandra, and Manto had an extraordinary renown in their times; +as did Isis and Ceres in matters of agriculture, and the Thespiades in +the whole field of the sciences. + +But in no other age, for certain, has it been possible to see this +better than in our own, wherein women have won the highest fame not only +in the study of letters--as has been done by Signora Vittoria del Vasto, +Signora Veronica Gambara, Signora Caterina Anguisciuola, Schioppa, +Nugarola, Madonna Laura Battiferri, and a hundred others, all most +learned as well in the vulgar tongue as in the Latin and the Greek--but +also in every other faculty. Nor have they been too proud to set +themselves with their little hands, so tender and so white, as if to +wrest from us the palm of supremacy, to manual labours, braving the +roughness of marble and the unkindly chisels, in order to attain to +their desire and thereby win fame; as did, in our own day, Properzia de' +Rossi of Bologna, a young woman excellent not only in household matters, +like the rest of them, but also in sciences without number, so that all +the men, to say nothing of the women, were envious of her. + +This Properzia was very beautiful in person, and played and sang in her +day better than any other woman of her city. And because she had an +intellect both capricious and very ready, she set herself to carve +peach-stones, which she executed so well and with such patience, that +they were singular and marvellous to behold, not only for the subtlety +of the work, but also for the grace of the little figures that she made +in them and the delicacy with which they were distributed. And it was +certainly a miracle to see on so small a thing as a peach-stone the +whole Passion of Christ, wrought in most beautiful carving, with a vast +number of figures in addition to the Apostles and the ministers of the +Crucifixion. This encouraged her, since there were decorations to be +made for the three doors of the first facade of S. Petronio all in +figures of marble, to ask the Wardens of Works, by means of her husband, +for a part of that work; at which they were quite content, on the +condition that she should let them see some work in marble executed by +her own hand. Whereupon she straightway made for Count Alessandro de' +Peppoli a portrait from life in the finest marble, representing his +father, Count Guido, which gave infinite pleasure not only to them, but +also to the whole city; and the Wardens of Works, therefore, did not +fail to allot a part of the work to her. In this, to the vast delight of +all Bologna, she made an exquisite scene, wherein--because at that time +the poor woman was madly enamoured of a handsome young man, who seemed +to care but little for her--she represented the wife of Pharaoh's +Chamberlain, who, burning with love for Joseph, and almost in despair +after so much persuasion, finally strips his garment from him with a +womanly grace that defies description. This work was esteemed by all to +be most beautiful, and it was a great satisfaction to herself, thinking +that with this illustration from the Old Testament she had partly +quenched the raging fire of her own passion. Nor would she ever do any +more work in connection with that building, although there was no person +who did not beseech her that she should go on with it, save only Maestro +Amico, who out of envy always dissuaded her and went so far with his +malignity, ever speaking ill of her to the Wardens, that she was paid a +most beggarly price for her work. + +She also made two angels in very strong relief and beautiful +proportions, which may now be seen, although against her wish, in the +same building. In the end she devoted herself to copper-plate engraving, +which she did without reproach, gaining the highest praise. And so the +poor love-stricken young woman came to succeed most perfectly in +everything, save in her unhappy passion. + +The fame of an intellect so noble and so exalted spread throughout all +Italy, and finally came to the ears of Pope Clement VII, who, +immediately after he had crowned the Emperor in Bologna, made inquiries +after her; but he found that the poor woman had died that very week, and +had been buried in the Della Morte Hospital, as she had directed in her +last testament. At which the Pope, who was eager to see her, felt much +sorrow at her death; but more bitter even was it for her +fellow-citizens, who regarded her during her lifetime as one of the +greatest miracles produced by nature in our days. + +In our book are some very good drawings by the hand of this Properzia, +done with the pen and copied from the works of Raffaello da Urbino; and +her portrait was given to me by certain painters who were very much her +friends. + +[Illustration: TWO ANGELS, _after_ Madonna Properzia de' Rossi + +(THE ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN, _after_ Tribolo) + +(_Bologna: S. Petronio_) + +_Alinari_] + +But, although Properzia drew very well, there have not been wanting +women not only to equal her in drawing, but also to do as good work in +painting as she did in sculpture. Of these the first is Sister +Plautilla, a nun and now Prioress in the Convent of S. Caterina da +Siena, on the Piazza di S. Marco in Florence. She, beginning little by +little to draw and to imitate in colours pictures and paintings by +excellent masters, has executed some works with such diligence, that she +has caused the craftsmen to marvel. By her hand are two panels in the +Church of that Convent of S. Caterina, of which the one with the Magi +adoring Jesus is much extolled. In the choir of the Convent of S. Lucia, +at Pistoia, there is a large panel, containing Our Lady with the Child +in her arms, S. Thomas, S. Augustine, S. Mary Magdalene, S. Catherine of +Siena, S. Agnese, S. Catherine the Martyr, and S. Lucia; and another +large panel by the same hand was sent abroad by the Director of the +Hospital of Lelmo. In the refectory of the aforesaid Convent of S. +Caterina there is a great Last Supper, with a panel in the work-room, +both by the hand of the same nun. And in the houses of gentlemen +throughout Florence there are so many pictures, that it would be tedious +to attempt to speak of them all. A large picture of the Annunciation +belongs to the wife of the Spaniard, Signor Mondragone, and Madonna +Marietta de' Fedini has another like it. There is a little picture of +Our Lady in S. Giovannino, at Florence; and an altar-predella in S. +Maria del Fiore, containing very beautiful scenes from the life of S. +Zanobi. And because this venerable and talented sister, before +executing panels and works of importance, gave attention to painting in +miniature, there are in the possession of various people many +wonderfully beautiful little pictures by her hand, of which there is no +need to make mention. The best works from her hand are those that she +has copied from others, wherein she shows that she would have done +marvellous things if she had enjoyed, as men do, advantages for +studying, devoting herself to drawing, and copying living and natural +objects. And that this is true is seen clearly from a picture of the +Nativity of Christ, copied from one which Bronzino once painted for +Filippo Salviati. In like manner, the truth of such an opinion is proved +by this, that in her works the faces and features of women, whom she has +been able to see as much as she pleased, are no little better than the +heads of the men, and much nearer to the reality. In the faces of women +in some of her works she has portrayed Madonna Costanza de' Doni, who +has been in our time an unexampled pattern of beauty and dignity; +painting her so well, that it is impossible to expect more from a woman +who, for the reasons mentioned above, has had no great practice in her +art. + +With much credit to herself, likewise, has Madonna Lucrezia, the +daughter of Messer Alfonso Quistelli della Mirandola, and now the wife +of Count Clemente Pietra, occupied herself with drawing and painting, as +she still does, after having been taught by Alessandro Allori, the pupil +of Bronzino; as may be seen from many pictures and portraits executed by +her hand, which are worthy to be praised by all. But Sofonisba of +Cremona, the daughter of Messer Amilcaro Anguisciuola, has laboured at +the difficulties of design with greater study and better grace than any +other woman of our time, and she has not only succeeded in drawing, +colouring, and copying from nature, and in making excellent copies of +works by other hands, but has also executed by herself alone some very +choice and beautiful works of painting. Wherefore she well deserved that +King Philip of Spain, having heard of her merits and abilities from the +Lord Duke of Alba, should have sent for her and caused her to be +escorted in great honour to Spain, where he keeps her with a rich +allowance about the person of the Queen, to the admiration of all that +Court, which reveres the excellence of Sofonisba as a miracle. And it is +no long time since Messer Tommaso Cavalieri, a Roman gentleman, sent to +the Lord Duke Cosimo (in addition to a drawing by the hand of the divine +Michelagnolo, wherein is a Cleopatra) another drawing by the hand of +Sofonisba, containing a little girl laughing at a boy who is weeping +because one of the cray-fish out of a basket full of them, which she has +placed in front of him, is biting his finger; and there is nothing more +graceful to be seen than that drawing, or more true to nature. +Wherefore, in memory of the talent of Sofonisba, who lives in Spain, so +that Italy has no abundance of her works, I have placed it in my book of +drawings. + +We may truly say, then, with the divine Ariosto, that-- + + Le donne son venute in eccellenza + Di ciascun' arte ov' hanno posto cura. + +And let this be the end of the Life of Properzia, sculptor of Bologna. + +FOOTNOTE: + +[8] The translator is unwilling to use the somewhat ugly word +"sculptress." + + + + +ALFONSO LOMBARDI OF FERRARA, MICHELAGNOLO DA SIENA, GIROLAMO SANTA CROCE +OF NAPLES, DOSSO AND BATTISTA DOSSI + + + + +LIVES OF ALFONSO LOMBARDI OF FERRARA, MICHELAGNOLO DA SIENA, AND +GIROLAMO SANTA CROCE OF NAPLES + +SCULPTORS + +AND DOSSO AND BATTISTA DOSSI + +PAINTERS OF FERRARA + + +Alfonso of Ferrara, working in his early youth with stucco and wax, made +an endless number of portraits from life on little medallions for many +nobles and gentlemen of his own country. Some of these are still to be +seen, white in colour and made of wax or stucco, and bear witness to the +fine intellect and judgment that he possessed; such as those of Prince +Doria, of Duke Alfonso of Ferrara, of Clement VII, of the Emperor +Charles V, of Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici, of Bembo, of Ariosto, and of +other suchlike personages. Finding himself in Bologna at the coronation +of Charles V, he executed the decorations of the door of S. Petronio as +a part of the preparations for that festival; and he had come into such +repute through being the first to introduce the good method of making +portraits from life in the form of medals, as has been related, that +there was not a single man of distinction in those Courts for whom he +did not execute some work, to his own great profit and honour. But, not +being content with the gain and the glory that came to him from making +works in clay, in wax, and in stucco, he set himself to work in marble; +and such was the proficience that he showed in some things that he made, +although these were of little importance, that he was commissioned to +execute the tomb of Ramazzotto, which brought him very great fame and +honour, in S. Michele in Bosco, without Bologna. After that work he made +some little scenes of marble in half-relief on the predella of the +altar at the tomb of S. Dominic, in the same city. And for the door of +S. Petronio, also, on the left hand of the entrance into the church, he +executed some little scenes in marble, containing a very beautiful +Resurrection of Christ. But what pleased the people of Bologna most of +all was the Death of Our Lady, wrought with a very hard mixture of clay +and stucco, with figures in full-relief, in an upper room of the Della +Vita Hospital; and marvellous, among other things in that work, is the +Jew who leaves his hands fixed to the bier of the Madonna. With the same +mixture, also, he made a large Hercules with the dead Hydra under his +feet, for the upper room of the Governor in the Palazzo Pubblico of that +city; which statue was executed in competition with Zaccaria da +Volterra, who was greatly surpassed by the ability and excellence of +Alfonso. For the Madonna del Baracane the same master made two Angels in +stucco, who are upholding a canopy in half-relief; and in some +medallions in the middle aisle of S. Giuseppe, between one arch and +another, he made the twelve Apostles from the waist upwards, of +terra-cotta and in full-relief. In terra-cotta, likewise, for the +corners of the vaulting of the Madonna del Popolo in the same city, he +executed four figures larger than life; namely, S. Petronio, S. Procolo, +S. Francis, and S. Dominic, figures which are all very beautiful and +grand in manner. And by the hand of the same man are some works in +stucco at Castel Bolognese, and some others in the Company of S. +Giovanni at Cesena. + +Let no one marvel that hitherto our account of this master has dealt +with scarcely any work save in clay, wax, and stucco, and very little in +marble, because--besides the fact that Alfonso was always inclined to +that sort of work--after passing a certain age, being very handsome in +person and youthful in appearance, he practised art more for pleasure +and to satisfy his own vanity than with any desire to set himself to +chisel stone. He used always to wear on his arms, on his neck, and in +his clothing, ornaments of gold and suchlike fripperies, which showed +him to be rather a courtier, vain and wanton, than a craftsman desirous +of glory. Of a truth, just as such ornaments enhance the splendour of +those to whom, on account of their wealth, high estate, and noble blood, +they are becoming, so are they worthy of reproach in craftsmen and +others, who should not measure themselves, some for one reason and some +for another, with the rich, seeing that such persons, in place of being +praised, are held in less esteem by men of judgment, and often laughed +to scorn. Now Alfonso, charmed with himself and indulging in expressions +and wanton excesses little worthy of a good craftsman, on one occasion +robbed himself through this behaviour of all the glory that he had won +by labouring at his profession. For one evening, chancing to be at a +wedding in the house of a Count in Bologna, and having made love for +some time to a lady of quality, he had the luck to be invited by her to +dance the torch-dance; whereupon, whirling round with her, and overcome +by the frenzy of his passion, he said with a trembling voice, sighing +deeply, and gazing at his lady with eyes full of tenderness: "S'amor non +e, che dunque e quel ch' io sento?"[9] Hearing this, the lady, who had a +shrewd wit, answered, in order to show him his error: "A louse, +perhaps." Which answer was heard by many, so that the saying ran through +all Bologna, and he was held to scorn ever afterwards. Truly, if Alfonso +had given his attention not to the vanities of the world, but to the +labours of art, without a doubt he would have produced marvellous works; +for if he achieved this in part without exerting himself much, what +would he have done if he had faced the dust and heat? + +The aforesaid Emperor Charles V being in Bologna, and the most excellent +Tiziano da Cadore having come to make a portrait of his Majesty, Alfonso +likewise was seized with a desire to execute a portrait of that +Sovereign. And having no other means of contriving to do that, he +besought Tiziano, without revealing to him what he had in mind, that he +should do him the favour of introducing him, in the place of one of +those who used to carry his colours, into the presence of his Majesty. +Wherefore Tiziano, who loved him much, like the truly courteous man that +he has always been, took Alfonso with him into the apartments of the +Emperor. Alfonso, as soon as Tiziano had settled down to work, took up a +position behind him, in such a way that he could not be seen by the +other, who was wholly intent on his portrait; and, taking up a little +box in the shape of a medallion, he made therein a portrait of the +Emperor in stucco, and had it finished at the very moment when Tiziano +had likewise brought his picture to completion. The Emperor then rising, +Alfonso closed the box and had already hidden it in his sleeve, to the +end that Tiziano might not see it, when his Majesty said to him: "Show +me what you have done." He was thus forced to give his portrait humbly +into the hand of the Emperor, who, having examined it and praised it +highly, said to him: "Would you have the courage to do it in marble?" +"Yes, your sacred Majesty," answered Alfonso. "Do it, then," added the +Emperor, "and bring it to me in Genoa." How unusual this proceeding must +have seemed to Tiziano every man may imagine for himself. For my part, I +believe that it must have appeared to him that he had compromised his +credit. But what must have seemed to him most strange was this, that +when his Majesty sent a present of a thousand crowns to Tiziano, he bade +him give the half, or five hundred crowns, to Alfonso, keeping the other +five hundred for himself, at which it is likely enough that Tiziano felt +aggrieved. Alfonso, then, setting to work with the greatest zeal in his +power, brought the marble head to completion with such diligence, that +it was pronounced to be a very fine thing: which was the reason that, +when he had taken it to the Emperor, his Majesty ordered that three +hundred crowns more should be given to him. + +[Illustration: THE DEATH OF THE VIRGIN + +(_After the terra-cotta by =Alfonso Lombardi=. Bologna: S. Maria della +Vita_) + +_Poppi_] + +Alfonso having come into great repute through the gifts and praises +bestowed on him by the Emperor, Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici took him to +Rome, where he kept many sculptors and painters about his person, in +addition to a vast number of other men of ability; and he commissioned +him to make a copy in marble of a very famous antique head of the +Emperor Vitellius. In that work Alfonso justified the opinion held of +him by the Cardinal and by all Rome, and he was charged by the same +patron to make a portrait-bust in marble of Pope Clement VII, after the +life, and shortly afterwards one of Giuliano de' Medici, father of the +Cardinal; but the latter was left not quite finished. These heads were +afterwards sold in Rome, and bought by me at the request of the +Magnificent Ottaviano de' Medici, together with some pictures; and in +our own day they have been placed by the Lord Duke Cosimo de' Medici in +that hall of the new apartments of his palace wherein I have painted, on +the ceiling and the walls, all the stories of Pope Leo X; they have been +placed, I say, in that hall, over the doors made of that red veined +marble which is found near Florence, in company with the heads of other +illustrious men of the house of Medici. + +But returning to Alfonso; he then went on to execute many works in +sculpture for the same Cardinal, but these, being small things, have +disappeared. After the death of Clement, when a tomb had to be made for +him and also for Leo, the work was allotted by Cardinal de' Medici to +Alfonso; whereupon he made a model with figures of wax, which was held +to be very beautiful, after some sketches by Michelagnolo Buonarroti, +and went off to Carrara with money to have the marble quarried. But not +long afterwards the Cardinal, having departed from Rome on his way to +Africa, died at Itri, and the work slipped out of the hands of Alfonso, +because he was dismissed by its executors, Cardinals Salviati, Ridolfi, +Pucci, Cibo, and Gaddi, and it was entrusted by the favour of Madonna +Lucrezia Salviati, daughter of the great Lorenzo de' Medici, the elder, +and sister of Leo, to Baccio Bandinelli, a sculptor of Florence, who had +made models for it during the lifetime of Clement. + +For this reason Alfonso, thus knocked off his high horse and almost +beside himself, determined to return to Bologna; and, having arrived in +Florence, he presented to Duke Alessandro a most beautiful head in +marble of the Emperor Charles V, which is now in Carrara, whither it was +sent by Cardinal Cibo, who removed it after the death of Duke Alessandro +from the guardaroba of that Prince. The Duke, when Alfonso arrived in +Florence, was in the humour to have his portrait taken; for it had +already been done on medals by Domenico di Polo, a gem-engraver, and by +Francesco di Girolamo dal Prato, for the coinage by Benvenuto Cellini, +and in painting by Giorgio Vasari of Arezzo and Jacopo da Pontormo, and +he wished that Alfonso should likewise portray him. Wherefore he made a +very beautiful portrait of him in relief, much better than the one +executed by Danese da Carrara, and then, since he was wholly set on +going to Bologna, he was given the means to make one there in marble, +after the model. And so, having received many gifts and favours from +Duke Alessandro, Alfonso returned to Bologna, where, being still far +from content on account of the death of the Cardinal, and sorely vexed +by the loss of the tombs, there came upon him a pestilent and incurable +disease of the skin, which wasted him away little by little, until, +having reached the age of forty-nine, he passed to a better life, never +ceasing to rail at Fortune, which had robbed him of a patron to whom he +might have looked for all the blessings which could make him happy in +this life, and saying that she should have closed his own eyes, since +she had reduced him to such misery, rather than those of Cardinal +Ippolito de' Medici. Alfonso died in the year 1536. + +[Illustration: TOMB OF ADRIAN VI + +(_After_ Michelagnolo da Siena. _Rome: S. Maria dell' Anima_) + +_Anderson_] + +Michelagnolo, a sculptor of Siena, after he had spent the best years of +his life in Sclavonia with other excellent sculptors, made his way to +Rome on the following occasion. After the death of Pope Adrian, Cardinal +Hincfort, who had been the friend and favourite of that Pontiff, +determined, as one not ungrateful for the benefits received from him, to +erect to him a tomb of marble; and he gave the charge of this to +Baldassarre Peruzzi, the painter of Siena. And that master, having made +the model, desired that the sculptor Michelagnolo, his friend and +compatriot, should undertake the work on his own account. Michelagnolo, +therefore, made on that tomb a lifesize figure of Pope Adrian, lying +upon the sarcophagus and portrayed from nature, with a scene, also in +marble, below him, showing his arrival in Rome and the Roman people +going to meet him and to do him homage. Around the tomb, moreover, in +four niches, are four Virtues in marble, Justice, Fortitude, Peace, and +Prudence, all executed with much diligence by the hand of Michelagnolo +after the counsel of Baldassarre. It is true, indeed, that some of the +things that are in this work were wrought by the Florentine sculptor, +Tribolo, then a very young man, and these were considered the best of +all; but Michelagnolo executed the minor details of the work with +supreme diligence and subtlety, and the little figures that are in it +deserve to be extolled more than all the rest. Among other things, there +are some variegated marbles wrought with a high finish, and put +together so well that nothing more could be desired. For these +labours Michelagnolo received a just and honourable reward from the +aforesaid Cardinal, and was treated with much favour by him for the rest +of his life; and, in truth, with right good reason, seeing that this +tomb and the Cardinal's gratitude have done as much to bring fame to him +as did the work to give a name to Michelagnolo in his lifetime and +renown after his death. This work finished, no long time elapsed before +Michelagnolo passed from this life to the next, at about the age of +fifty. + +Girolamo Santa Croce of Naples, although he was snatched from us by +death in the very prime of life, at a time when greater things were +looked for from him, yet showed in the works of sculpture that he made +at Naples during his few years, what he would have done if he had lived +longer; for the works that he executed in sculpture at Naples were +wrought and finished with all the lovingness that could be desired in a +young man who wishes to surpass by a great measure those who for many +years before his day have held the sovereignty in some noble profession. +In S. Giovanni Carbonaro at Naples he built the Chapel of the Marchese +di Vico, which is a round temple, partitioned by columns and niches, +with some tombs carved with much diligence. And because the altar-piece +of this chapel, made of marble in half-relief and representing the Magi +bringing their offerings to Christ, is by the hand of a Spaniard, +Girolamo executed in emulation of this work a S. John in a niche, so +beautifully wrought in full-relief, that it showed that he was not +inferior to the Spaniard either in courage or in judgment; on which +account he won such a name, that, although Giovanni da Nola was held in +Naples to be a marvellous sculptor and better than any other, +nevertheless Girolamo worked in competition with him as long as he +lived, notwithstanding that his rival was now old and had executed a +vast number of works in that city, where it is much the custom to make +chapels and altar-pieces of marble. Competing with Giovanni, then, +Girolamo undertook to execute a chapel in Monte Oliveto at Naples, just +within the door of the church, on the left hand, while Giovanni executed +another opposite to his, on the other side, in the same style. In his +chapel Girolamo made a lifesize Madonna in the round, which is held to +be a very beautiful figure; and since he took infinite pains in +executing the draperies and the hands, and in giving bold relief to the +marble by undercutting, he brought it to such perfection that it was the +general opinion that he had surpassed all those who had handled tools +for working marble at Naples in his time. This Madonna he placed between +a S. John and a S. Peter, figures very well conceived and executed, and +finished in a beautiful manner, as are also some children which are +placed above them. + +In addition to these, he made two large and most beautiful statues in +full-relief for the Church of Capella, a seat of the Monks of Monte +Oliveto. He then began a statue of the Emperor Charles V, at the time of +his return from Tunis; but after he had blocked it and carved it with +the pointed chisel, and even in some places with the broad-toothed +chisel, it remained unfinished, because fortune and death, envying the +world such excellence, snatched him from us at the age of thirty-five. +It was confidently expected that Girolamo, if he had lived, even as he +had outstripped all his compatriots in his profession, would also have +surpassed all the craftsmen of his time. Wherefore his death was a +grievous blow to the Neapolitans, and all the more because he had been +endowed by nature not only with a most beautiful genius, but also with +as much modesty, sweetness, and gentleness as could be looked for in +mortal man; so that it is no marvel if all those who knew him are not +able to restrain their tears when they speak of him. His last sculptures +were executed in 1537, in which year he was buried at Naples with most +honourable obsequies. + +[Illustration: MADONNA AND CHILD, WITH SS. PETER AND JOHN + +(_After the altar-piece_ by Girolamo Santa Croce. _Naples: Monte +Oliveto_) + +_Alinari_] + +Old as he was, Giovanni da Nola, who was a well-practised sculptor, as +may be seen from many works made by him at Naples with good skill of +hand, but not with much design, still remained alive. Him Don Pedro di +Toledo, Marquis of Villafranca, and at that time Viceroy of Naples, +commissioned to execute a tomb of marble for himself and his wife; and +therein Giovanni made a great number of scenes of the victories obtained +by that lord over the Turks, with many statues for the same work, which +stands quite by itself, and was executed with much diligence. This tomb +was to have been taken to Spain; but, since that nobleman did not do +this while he was alive, it remained in Naples. Giovanni died at the age +of seventy, and was buried in Naples, in the year 1558. + +About the same time that Heaven presented to Ferrara, or rather, to the +world, the divine Lodovico Ariosto, there was born in the same city the +painter Dosso, who, although he was not as rare among painters as +Ariosto among poets, nevertheless acquitted himself in his art in such a +manner, that, besides the great esteem wherein his works were held in +Ferrara, his merits caused the learned poet, his intimate friend, to +honour his memory by mentioning him in his most celebrated writings; so +that the pen of Messer Lodovico has given more renown to the name of +Dosso than did all the brushes and colours that he used in the whole of +his life. Wherefore I, for my part, declare that there could be no +greater good-fortune than that of those who are celebrated by such great +men, since the might of the pen forces most of mankind to accept their +fame, even though they may not wholly deserve it. + +Dosso was much beloved by Duke Alfonso of Ferrara: first for his good +abilities in the art of painting, and then because he was a very +pleasant and amiable person--a manner of man in whom the Duke greatly +delighted. Dosso had the reputation in Lombardy of executing landscapes +better than any other painter engaged in that branch of the profession, +whether in mural painting, in oils, or in gouache; and all the more +after the German manner became known. In Ferrara, for the Cathedral +Church, he executed a panel-picture with figures in oils, which was held +to be passing beautiful; and in the Duke's Palace he painted many rooms, +in company with a brother of his, called Battista. These two were always +enemies, one against the other, although they worked together by the +wish of the Duke. In the court of the said palace they executed stories +of Hercules in chiaroscuro, with an endless number of nudes on those +walls; and in like manner they painted many works on panel and in fresco +throughout all Ferrara. By their hands is a panel in the Duomo of +Modena; and they painted many things in the Cardinal's Palace at Trento, +in company with other painters. + +At this same time the painter and architect, Girolamo Genga, was +executing various decorations in the Imperiale Palace, above Pesaro, as +will be related in the proper place, for Duke Francesco Maria of Urbino; +and among the number of painters who were summoned to that work by order +of the same Signor Francesco Maria, invitations were sent to Dosso and +Battista of Ferrara, principally for the painting of landscapes; many +paintings having been executed long before in that palace by Francesco +di Mirozzo[10] of Forli, Raffaello dal Colle of Borgo a San Sepolcro, +and many others. Now, having arrived at the Imperiale, Dosso and +Battista, according to the custom of men of their kidney, found fault +with most of the paintings that they saw, and promised the Duke that +they would do much better work; and Genga, who was a shrewd person, +seeing how the matter was likely to end, gave them an apartment to paint +by themselves. Thereupon, setting to work, they strove with all labour +and diligence to display their worth; but, whatever may have been the +reason, never in all the course of their lives did they do any work less +worthy of praise, or rather, worse, than that one. It seems often to +happen, indeed, that in their greatest emergencies, when most is +expected of them, men become blinded and bewildered in judgment, and do +worse work than at any other time; which may result, perchance, from +their own malign and evil disposition to be always finding fault with +the works of others, or from their seeking to force their genius +overmuch, seeing that to proceed step by step according to the ruling of +nature, yet without neglecting diligence and study, appears to be a +better method than seeking to wrest from the brain, as it were by force, +things that are not there; and it is a fact that in the other arts as +well, but above all in that of writing, lack of spontaneity is only too +easily recognized, and also, so to speak, over-elaboration in +everything. + +[Illustration: DOSSO DOSSI: A NYMPH WITH A SATYR + +(_Florence: Pitti_, 147. _Canvas_)] + +Now, when the work of the Dossi was unveiled, it proved to be so +ridiculous that they left the service of the Duke in disgrace; and he +was forced to throw to the ground all that they had executed, and to +have it repainted by others after the designs of Genga. + +[Illustration: MADONNA AND CHILD, WITH SS. GEORGE AND MICHAEL + +(_After the painting by =Dosso Dossi=. Modena: Pinacoteca, 437_) + +_Anderson_] + +Finally, they painted a very beautiful panel-picture in the Duomo of +Faenza for the Chevalier, M. Giovan Battista de' Buosi, of Christ +disputing in the Temple; in which work they surpassed themselves, by +reason of the new manner that they used, and particularly in the +portraits of that Chevalier and of others. That picture was set up in +that place in the year 1536. Ultimately Dosso, having grown old, spent +his last years without working, being pensioned until the close of his +life by Duke Alfonso. And in the end Battista survived him, executing +many works by himself, and maintaining himself in a good condition. +Dosso was buried in his native city of Ferrara. + +There lived in the same times the Milanese Bernazzano, a very excellent +painter of landscapes, herbage, animals, and other things of earth, air, +and water. And since, as one who knew himself to have little aptitude +for figures, he did not give much attention to them, he associated +himself with Cesare da Sesto, who painted them very well and in a +beautiful manner. It is said that Bernazzano executed in a courtyard +some very beautiful landscapes in fresco, in which he painted a +strawberry-bed full of strawberries, ripe, green, and in blossom, and so +well imitated, that some peacocks, deceived by their natural appearance, +were so persistent in picking at them as to make holes in the plaster. + +FOOTNOTE: + +[9] "What is it that I feel, if it is not love?" + +[10] This seems to be an error for Melozzo. + + + + +GIOVANNI ANTONIO LICINIO OF PORDENONE, AND OTHER PAINTERS OF FRIULI + + + + +LIVES OF GIOVANNI ANTONIO LICINIO OF PORDENONE, AND OF OTHER PAINTERS OF +FRIULI + + +It would seem, as has been remarked already in the same connection, that +Nature, the kindly mother of the universe, sometimes presents the rarest +things to certain places that never had any knowledge of such gifts, and +that at times she creates in some country men so much inclined to design +and to painting, that, without masters, but only by imitating living and +natural objects, they become most excellent. And it also happens very +often that when one man has begun, many set themselves to work in +competition with him, and labour to such purpose, without seeing Rome, +Florence, or any other place full of notable pictures, but merely +through rivalry one with another, that marvellous works are seen to +issue from their hands. All this may be seen to have happened more +particularly in Friuli, where, in our own day, in consequence of such a +beginning, there has been a vast number of excellent painters--a thing +which had not occurred in those parts for many centuries. + +While Giovanni Bellini was working in Venice and teaching his art to +many, as has been related, he had two disciples who were rivals one with +another--Pellegrino da Udine, who, as will be told, was afterwards +called Da San Daniele, and Giovanni Martini of Udine. Let us begin, +then, by speaking of Giovanni. He always imitated the manner of Bellini, +which was somewhat crude, hard, and dry; nor was he ever able to give it +sweetness or softness, although he was a diligent and finished painter. +This may have happened because he was always making trial of certain +reflections, half-lights, and shadows, with which, cutting the relief in +the middle, he contrived to define light and shade very abruptly, in +such a way that the colouring of all his works was always crude and +unpleasant, although he strove laboriously with his art to imitate +Nature. By the hand of this master are numerous works in many places in +Friuli, particularly in the city of Udine, in the Duomo of which there +is a panel-picture executed in oils, of S. Mark seated with many figures +round him, which is held to be the best of all that he ever painted. +There is another on the altar of S. Ursula in the Church of the Friars +of S. Pietro Martire, wherein the first-mentioned Saint is standing with +some of her virgins round her, all painted with much grace and beautiful +expressions of countenance. This Giovanni, besides being a passing good +painter, was endowed by Nature with beauty and grace of features and an +excellent character, and, what is most desirable, with such foresight +and power of management, that, after his death, in default of heirs +male, he left an inheritance of much property to his wife. And she, +being, so I have heard, a lady as shrewd as she was beautiful, knew so +well how to manage her life after the death of her husband, that she +married two very beautiful daughters into the richest and most noble +houses of Udine. + +Pellegrino da San Daniele, who was a rival of Giovanni, as has been +related, and a man of greater excellence in painting, received at +baptism the name of Martino. But Giovanni Bellini, judging that he was +destined to become, as he afterwards did, a truly rare master of art, +changed his name from Martino to Pellegrino.[11] And even as his name +was changed, so he may be said by chance to have changed his country, +since, living by preference at San Daniele, a township ten miles distant +from Udine, and spending most of his time in that place, where he had +taken a wife, he was called ever afterwards not Martino da Udine, but +Pellegrino da San Daniele. He painted many pictures in Udine, and some +may still be seen on the doors of the old organ, on the outer side of +which is painted a sunken arch in perspective, containing a S. Peter +seated among a multitude of figures and handing a pastoral staff to S. +Ermacora the Bishop. On the inner side of the same doors, likewise, in +some niches, he painted the four Doctors of the Church in the act of +studying. For the Chapel of S. Giuseppe he executed a panel-picture in +oils, drawn and coloured with much diligence, in the middle of which is +S. Joseph standing in a beautiful attitude, with an air of dignity, and +beside him is Our Lord as a little Child, while S. John the Baptist is +below in the garb of a little shepherd-boy, gazing intently on his +Master. And since this picture is much extolled, we may believe what is +said of it--namely, that he painted it in competition with the aforesaid +Giovanni, and that he put forward every effort to make it, as it proved +to be, more beautiful than that which Giovanni painted of S. Mark, as +has been related above. Pellegrino also painted at Udine, for the house +of Messer Pre Giovanni, intendant to the illustrious Signori della +Torre, a picture of Judith from the waist upwards, with the head of +Holofernes in one hand, which is a very beautiful work. By the hand of +the same man is a large panel in oils, divided into several pictures, +which may be seen on the high-altar of the Church of S. Maria in the +town of Civitale, at a distance of eight miles from Udine; and in it are +some heads of virgins and other figures with great beauty of expression. +And in his township of San Daniele, in a chapel of S. Antonio, he +painted in fresco scenes of the Passion of Jesus Christ, and that so +finely that he well deserved to be paid more than a thousand crowns for +the work. He was much beloved for his talents by the Dukes of Ferrara, +and, in addition to other favours and many gifts, he obtained through +their good offices two Canonicates in the Duomo of Udine for two of his +relatives. + +Among his pupils, of whom he had many, making much use of them and +rewarding them liberally, was one of Greek nationality, a man of no +little ability, who had a very beautiful manner and imitated Pellegrino +closely. But Luca Monverde of Udine, who was much beloved by Pellegrino, +would have been superior to the Greek, if he had not been snatched from +the world prematurely when still a mere lad; although one work by his +hand was left on the high-altar of S. Maria delle Grazie in Udine, a +panel-picture in oils, his first and last, in which, in a recess in +perspective, there is a Madonna seated on high with the Child in her +arms, painted by him with a soft gradation of shadow, while on the level +surface below there are two figures on either side, so beautiful that +they show that if he had lived longer he would have become truly +excellent. + +Another disciple of the same Pellegrino was Bastianello Florigorio, who +painted a panel-picture that is over the high-altar of S. Giorgio in +Udine, of a Madonna in the sky surrounded by an endless number of little +angels in various attitudes, all adoring the Child that she holds in her +arms; while below there is a very well executed landscape. There is also +a very beautiful S. John, and a S. George in armour and on horseback, +who, foreshortened in a spirited attitude, is slaying the Dragon with +his lance; while the Maiden, who is there on one side, appears to be +thanking God and the glorious Virgin for the succour sent to her. In the +head of the S. George Bastianello is said to have made his own portrait. +He also painted two pictures in fresco in the Refectory of the Friars of +S. Pietro Martire: in one is Christ seated at table with the two +disciples at Emmaus, and breaking the bread with a benediction, and in +the other is the death of S. Peter Martyr. The same master painted in +fresco in a niche on a corner of the Palace of M. Marguando, an +excellent physician, a nude man in foreshortening, representing a S. +John, which is held to be a good painting. Finally, he was forced +through some dispute to depart from Udine, for the sake of peace, and to +live like an exile in Civitale. + +Bastianello had a crude and hard manner, because he much delighted in +drawing works in relief and objects of Nature by candle-light. He had +much beauty of invention, and he took great pleasure in executing +portraits from life, making them truly beautiful and very like; and at +Udine, among others, he made one of Messer Raffaello Belgrado, and one +of the father of M. Giovan Battista Grassi, an excellent painter and +architect, from whose loving courtesy we have received much particular +information touching our present subject of Friuli. Bastianello lived +about forty years. + +Another disciple of Pellegrino was Francesco Floriani of Udine, who is +still alive and is a very good painter and architect, like his younger +brother, Antonio Floriani, who, thanks to his rare abilities in his +profession, is now in the service of his glorious Majesty the Emperor +Maximilian. Some of the pictures of that same Francesco were to be seen +two years ago in the possession of the Emperor, who was then a King; one +of these being a Judith who has cut off the head of Holofernes, painted +with admirable judgment and diligence. And in the collection of that +monarch there is a book of pen-drawings by the same master, full of +lovely inventions, buildings, theatres, arches, porticoes, bridges, +palaces, and many other works of architecture, all useful and very +beautiful. + +Gensio Liberale was also a disciple of Pellegrino, and in his pictures, +among other things, he imitated every sort of fish excellently well. +This master is now in the service of the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, +a splendid position, which he deserves, for he is a very good painter. + +But among the most illustrious and renowned painters of the territory of +Friuli, the rarest and most famous in our day--since he has surpassed +those mentioned above by a great measure in the invention of scenes, in +draughtsmanship, in boldness, in mastery over colour, in fresco work, in +swiftness of execution, in strength of relief, and in every other +department of our arts--is Giovanni Antonio Licinio, called by some +Cuticello. This master was born at Pordenone, a township in Friuli, +twenty-five miles from Udine; and since he was endowed by nature with a +beautiful genius and an inclination for painting, he devoted himself +without any teacher to the study of natural objects, imitating the style +of Giorgione da Castelfranco, because that manner, seen by him many +times in Venice, had pleased him much. Now, having learnt the rudiments +of art, he was forced, in order to save his life from a pestilence that +had fallen upon his native place, to take to flight; and thus, passing +many months in the surrounding country, he executed various works in +fresco for a number of peasants, gaining at their expense experience of +using colour on plaster. Wherefore, since the surest and best method of +learning is practice and a sufficiency of work, it came to pass that he +became a well-practised and judicious master of that kind of painting, +and learned to make colours produce the desired effect when used in a +fluid state, which is done on account of the white, which dries the +plaster and produces a brightness that ruins all softness. And so, +having mastered the nature of colours, and having learnt by long +practice to work very well in fresco, he returned to Udine, where he +painted for the altar of the Nunziata, in the Convent of S. Pietro +Martire, a panel-picture in oils containing the Madonna at the moment of +receiving the Salutation from the Angel Gabriel; and in the sky he made +a God the Father surrounded by many little boys, who is sending down the +Holy Spirit. This work, which is executed with good drawing, grace, +vivacity, and relief, is held by all craftsmen of judgment to be the +best that he ever painted. + +In the Duomo of the same city, on the balustrade of the organ, below the +doors already painted by Pellegrino, he painted a story of S. Ermacora +and Fortunatus, also in oils, graceful and well designed. In the same +city, in order to gain the friendship of the Signori Tinghi, he painted +in fresco the facade of their palace; in which work, wishing to make +himself known and to prove what a master he was of architectural +invention and of working in fresco, he made a series of compartments and +groups of varied ornaments full of figures in niches; and in three great +spaces in the centre of the work he painted scenes with figures in +colours, two spaces, high and narrow, being on either side, and one +square in shape in the middle; and in the latter he painted a Corinthian +column planted with its base in the sea, with a Siren on the right hand, +holding the column upright, and a nude Neptune on the left supporting it +on the other side; while above the capital of the column there is a +Cardinal's hat, the device, so it is said, of Pompeo Colonna, who was +much the friend of the owners of that palace. In one of the two other +spaces are the Giants being slain with thunderbolts by Jove, with some +dead bodies on the ground very well painted and most beautifully +foreshortened. On the other side is a Heaven full of Gods, and on the +earth two Giants who, club in hand, are in the act of striking at Diana, +who, defending herself in a bold and spirited attitude, is brandishing a +blazing torch as if to burn the arms of one of them. + +[Illustration: THE DISPUTATION OF S. CATHARINE + +(_After the fresco by =Giovanni Antonio Licinio of Pordenone=. Piacenza: +S. Maria di Campagna_) + +_Alinari_] + +At Spelimbergo, a large place fifteen miles above Udine, the balustrade +and the doors of the organ in the great church are painted by the hand +of the same master; on the outer side of one door is the Assumption +of Our Lady, and on the inner side S. Peter and S. Paul before Nero, +gazing at Simon Magus in the air above; while on the other door there is +the Conversion of S. Paul, and on the balustrade the Nativity of Christ. + +Through this work, which is very beautiful, and many others, Pordenone +came into repute and fame, and was summoned to Vicenza, whence, after +having executed some works there, he made his way to Mantua, where he +coloured a facade in fresco with marvellous grace for M. Paris, a +gentleman of that city. Among other beautiful inventions which are in +that work, much praise is due to a frieze of antique letters, one +braccio and a half in height, at the top, below the cornice, among +which, passing in and out of them, are many little children in various +attitudes, all most beautiful. + +That work finished, he returned in great credit to Vicenza, and there, +besides many other works, he painted the whole of the tribune of S. +Maria di Campagna, although by reason of his departure a part remained +unfinished, which was afterwards finished with great diligence by +Maestro Bernardo da Vercelli. In the same church he painted two chapels +in fresco: one with stories of S. Catherine, and the other with the +Nativity of Christ and the Adoration of the Magi, both being worthy of +the highest praise. He then painted some poetical pictures in the +beautiful garden of M. Barnaba dal Pozzo, a doctor; and, in the said +Church of S. Maria di Campagna, the picture of S. Augustine, which is on +the left hand as one enters the church. All these most beautiful works +brought it about that the gentlemen of that city persuaded him to take a +wife there, and always held him in vast veneration. + +Going afterwards to Venice, where he had formerly executed some works, +he painted a wall of S. Geremia, on the Grand Canal, and a panel-picture +in oils for the Madonna del Orto, with many figures, making a particular +effort to prove his worth in the S. John the Baptist. He also painted +many scenes in fresco on the facade of the house of Martin d'Anna on the +same Grand Canal; in particular, a Curtius on horseback in +foreshortening, which has the appearance of being wholly in the round, +like the Mercury flying freely through the air, not to speak of many +other things that all prove his ability. That work pleased the whole +city of Venice beyond measure, and Pordenone was therefore extolled +more highly than any other man who had ever worked in the city up to +that time. + +Among other reasons that caused him to give an incredible amount of +effort to all his works, was his rivalry with the most excellent +Tiziano; since, setting himself to compete with him, he hoped by means +of continual study and by a bold and resolute method of working in +fresco to wrest from the hands of Tiziano that sovereignty which he had +gained with so many beautiful works; employing, also, unusual methods +outside the field of art, such as that of being obliging and courteous +and associating continually and of set purpose with great persons, +making his interests universal, and taking a hand in everything. And, in +truth, this rivalry was a great assistance to him, for it caused him to +devote the greatest zeal and diligence in his power to all his works, so +that they proved worthy of eternal praise. + +For these reasons, then, he was commissioned by the Wardens of S. Rocco +to paint in fresco the chapel of that church, with all the tribune. +Setting his hand, therefore, to this work, he painted a God the Father +in the tribune, with a vast number of children in various beautiful +attitudes, radiating from Him. In the frieze of the same tribune he +painted eight figures from the Old Testament, with the four Evangelists +in the angles, and the Transfiguration of Christ over the high-altar; +and in the two lunettes at the sides are the four Doctors of the Church. +By the hand of the same master are two large pictures in the middle of +the church: in one is Christ healing an endless number of the sick, all +very well painted, and in the other is S. Christopher carrying Jesus +Christ on his shoulders. On the wooden tabernacle of the same church, +wherein the vessels of silver are kept, he painted a S. Martin on +horseback, with many beggars who are bringing votive offerings, in a +building in perspective. + +[Illustration: THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI + +(_After the fresco by =Giovanni Antonio Licinio of Pordenone=. Treviso: +Duomo_) + +_Alinari_] + +This work, which was much extolled and brought him honour and profit, +was the reason that M. Jacopo Soranzo, having become his intimate +friend, caused him to be commissioned to paint the Sala de' Pregai in +competition with Tiziano; and there he executed many pictures with +figures seen foreshortened from below, which are very beautiful, +together with a frieze of marine monsters painted in oils round that +hall. These works made him so dear to the Senate, that as long as he +lived he always received an honourable salary from them. And since, out +of rivalry, he always sought to do work in places where Tiziano had also +worked, he painted for S. Giovanni di Rialto a S. John, as Almoner, +giving alms to beggars, and also placed on an altar a picture of S. +Sebastian, S. Rocco, and other saints, which was very beautiful, but yet +not equal to the work of Tiziano, although many, more out of malignity +than out of a love for the truth, exalted that of Giovanni Antonio. The +same master painted in the cloister of S. Stefano many scenes in fresco +from the Old Testament, and one from the New, divided one from another +by various Virtues; and in these figures he displayed amazing +foreshortenings, in which method of painting he always delighted, +seeking to introduce them into his every composition with no fear of +difficulties, and making them more ornate than any other painter. + +Prince Doria had built a palace on the seashore in Genoa, and had +commissioned Perino del Vaga, a very celebrated painter, to paint halls, +apartments, and ante-chambers both in oils and in fresco, which are +quite marvellous for the richness and beauty of the paintings. But +seeing that Perino was not then giving much attention to the work, and +wishing to make him do by the spur of emulation what he was not doing by +himself, he sent for Pordenone, who began with an open terrace, wherein, +following his usual manner, he executed a frieze of children, who are +hurrying about in very beautiful attitudes and unloading a barque full +of merchandise. He also painted a large scene of Jason asking leave from +his uncle to go in search of the Golden Fleece. But the Prince, seeing +the difference that there was between the work of Perino and that of +Pordenone, dismissed the latter, and summoned in his place Domenico +Beccafumi of Siena, an excellent painter and a rarer master than +Pordenone. And he, glad to serve so great a Prince, did not scruple to +leave his native city of Siena, where there are so many marvellous works +by his hand; but he did not paint more than one single scene in that +palace, because Perino brought everything to completion by himself. + +Giovanni Antonio then returned to Venice, where he was given to +understand that Ercole, Duke of Ferrara, had brought a great number of +masters from Germany, and had caused them to begin to make fabrics in +silk, gold, floss-silk, and wool, for his own use and pleasure, but that +he had no good designers of figures in Ferrara, since Girolamo da +Ferrara had more ability for portraits and separate things than for +difficult and complicated scenes, which called for great power of art +and design; and that he should enter the service of that Prince. +Whereupon, desiring to gain fame no less than riches, he departed from +Venice, and on reaching Ferrara was received with great warmth by the +Duke. But a little time after his arrival, being attacked by a most +grievous affliction of the chest, he took to his bed with the doom of +death upon him, and, growing continually worse and finding no remedy, +within three days or little more he finished the course of his life, at +the age of fifty-six. This seemed a strange thing to the Duke, and also +to Pordenone's friends; and there were not wanting men who for many +months believed that he had died of poison. The body of Giovanni Antonio +was buried with honour, and his death was a grief to many, particularly +in Venice, for the reason that he was ready of speech and the friend and +companion of many, and delighted in music; and his readiness and grace +of speech came from his having given attention to the study of Latin. He +always made his figures grand, and was very rich in invention, and so +versatile that he could imitate everything very well; but he was, above +all, resolute and most facile in works in fresco. + +A disciple of Pordenone was Pomponio Amalteo of San Vito, who won by his +good qualities the honour of becoming the son-in-law of his master. This +Pomponio, always following that master in matters of art, has acquitted +himself very well in all his works, as may be seen at Udine from the +doors of the new organ, painted in oils, on the outer side of which is +Christ driving the traders from the Temple, and on the inner side the +story of the Pool of Bethesda and the Resurrection of Lazarus. In the +Church of S. Francesco, in the same city, there is a panel-picture in +oils by the hand of the same man, of S. Francis receiving the Stigmata, +with some very beautiful landscapes, and with a sunrise from which, in +the midst of some rays of the greatest splendour, there radiates the +celestial light, which pierces the hands, feet, and side of S. Francis, +who, kneeling devoutly and full of love, receives it, while his +companion lies on the ground, in foreshortening, all overcome with +amazement. Pomponio also painted in fresco for the Friars of La Vigna, +at the end of their refectory, Jesus Christ between the two disciples at +Emmaus. In the township of San Vito, his native place, twenty miles +distant from Udine, he painted in fresco the Chapel of the Madonna in +the Church of S. Maria, in so beautiful a manner, and so much to the +satisfaction of all, that he has won from the most reverend Cardinal +Maria Grimani, Patriarch of Aquileia and Lord of San Vito, the honour of +being enrolled among the nobles of that place. + +I have thought it right in this Life of Pordenone to make mention of +these excellent craftsmen of Friuli, both because it appears to me that +their talents deserve it, and to the end that it may be recognized in +the account to be given later how much more excellent are those who, +after such a beginning, have lived since that day, as will be related in +the Life of Giovanni Ricamatori of Udine, to whom our age owes a very +great obligation for his works in stucco and his grotesques. + +But returning to Pordenone; after the works mentioned above as having +been executed by him at Venice in the time of the most illustrious +Gritti, he died, as has been related, in the year 1540. And because he +was one of the most able men that our age has possessed, and for the +reason, above all, that his figures seem to be in the round and detached +from their walls, and almost in relief, he can be numbered among those +who have rendered assistance to art and benefit to the world. + +FOOTNOTE: + +[11] _I.e._, singular or rare. + + + + +GIOVANNI ANTONIO SOGLIANI + + + + +LIFE OF GIOVANNI ANTONIO SOGLIANI + +PAINTER OF FLORENCE + + +Very often do we see in the sciences of learning and in the more liberal +of the manual arts, that those men who are melancholy are the most +assiduous in their studies and show the greatest patience in supporting +the burden of their labours; so that there are few of that disposition +who do not become excellent in such professions. Even so did Giovanni +Antonio Sogliani, a painter of Florence, whose cast of countenance was +so cold and woeful that he looked like the image of melancholy; and such +was the power of this humour over him that he gave little thought to +anything but matters of art, with the exception of his household cares, +through which he endured most grievous anxieties, although he had enough +to live in comfort. He worked at the art of painting under Lorenzo di +Credi for four-and-twenty years, living with him, honouring him always, +and rendering him every sort of service. Having become during that time +a very good painter, he showed afterwards in all his works that he was a +most faithful disciple of his master and a close imitator of his manner. +This was seen from his first paintings, in the Church of the Osservanza +on the hill of San Miniato without Florence, for which he painted a +panel-picture copied from the one that Lorenzo had executed for the Nuns +of S. Chiara, containing the Nativity of Christ, and no less excellent +than the one of Lorenzo. + +Afterwards, having left his master, he painted for the Church of S. +Michele in Orto, at the commission of the Guild of Vintners, a S. Martin +in oils, robed as a Bishop, which gave him the name of a very good +master. And since Giovanni Antonio had a vast veneration for the works +and the manner of Fra Bartolommeo di San Marco, and made great efforts +to approach that manner in his colouring, it may be seen from a panel +which he began but did not finish, not being satisfied with it, how +much he imitated that painter. This panel remained in his house during +his lifetime as worthless: but after his death it was sold as a piece of +old rubbish to Sinibaldo Gaddi, and he had it finished by Santi Titi dal +Borgo, then a mere boy, and placed it in a chapel of his own in S. +Domenico da Fiesole. In this work are the Magi adoring Jesus Christ, who +is in the lap of His Mother, and in one corner is his own portrait from +life, which is a passing good likeness. + +He then painted for Madonna Alfonsina, the wife of Piero de' Medici, a +panel-picture that was placed as a votive offering over the altar of the +Chapel of the Martyrs in the Camaldolite Church at Florence: in which +picture he painted the Crucifixion of S. Arcadio and other martyrs with +their crosses in their arms, and two figures, half covered with +draperies and half naked, kneeling with their crosses on the ground, +while in the sky are some little angels with palms in their hands. This +work, which was painted with much diligence, and executed with good +judgment in the colouring and in the heads, which are very lifelike, was +placed in the above-mentioned Camaldolite Church; but that monastery was +taken on account of the siege of Florence from those Eremite Fathers, +who used devoutly to celebrate the Divine offices in the church, and was +afterwards given to the Nuns of S. Giovannino, of the Order of the +Knights of Jerusalem, and finally destroyed; and the picture, being one +which may be numbered among the best works that Sogliani painted, was +placed by order of the Lord Duke Cosimo in one of the chapels of the +Medici family in S. Lorenzo. + +The same master executed for the Nuns of the Crocetta a Last Supper +coloured in oils, which was much extolled at that time. And in a shrine +in the Via de' Ginori, he painted in fresco for Taddeo Taddei a Crucifix +with Our Lady and S. John at the foot, and in the sky some angels +lamenting Christ, very lifelike--a picture truly worthy of praise, and a +well-executed example of work in fresco. By the hand of Sogliani, also, +is a Crucifix in the Refectory of the Abbey of the Black Friars in +Florence, with angels flying about and weeping with much grace; and at +the foot the Madonna, S. John, S. Benedict, S. Scholastica, and other +figures. For the Nuns of the Spirito Santo, on the hill of San Giorgio, +he painted two pictures that are in their church, one of S. Francis, and +the other of S. Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary and a sister of that Order. +For the Company of the Ceppo he painted the banner for carrying in +processions, which is very beautiful, representing on the front of it +the Visitation of Our Lady, and on the other side S. Niccolo the Bishop, +with two children dressed as Flagellants, one of whom holds his book and +the other the three balls of gold. On a panel in S. Jacopo sopra Arno he +painted the Trinity, with an endless number of little boys, S. Mary +Magdalene kneeling, S. Catherine, S. James, and two figures in fresco +standing at the sides, S. Jerome in Penitence and S. John; and in the +predella he made his assistant, Sandrino del Calzolaio, execute three +scenes, which won no little praise. + +On the end wall of the Oratory of a Company in the township of Anghiari, +he executed on panel a Last Supper in oils, with figures of the size of +life; and on one of the two adjoining walls (namely, the sides) he +painted Christ washing the feet of the Apostles, and on the other a +servant bringing two vessels of water. The work is held in great +veneration in that place, for it is indeed a rare thing, and one that +brought him both honour and profit. A picture that he executed of a +Judith who had cut off the head of Holofernes, being a very beautiful +work, was sent to Hungary. And likewise another, in which was the +Beheading of S. John the Baptist, with a building in perspective for +which he had copied the exterior of the Chapter-house of the Pazzi, +which is in the first cloister of S. Croce, was sent as a most beautiful +work to Naples by Paolo da Terrarossa, who had given the commission for +it. For one of the Bernardi, also, Sogliani executed two other pictures, +which were placed in a chapel in the Church of the Osservanza at San +Miniato, containing two lifesize figures in oils--S. John the Baptist +and S. Anthony of Padua. But as for the panel that was to stand between +them, Giovanni Antonio, being dilatory by nature and leisurely over his +work, lingered over it so long that he who had given the commission +died: wherefore that panel, which was to contain a Christ lying dead in +the lap of His Mother, remained unfinished. + +[Illustration: THE LEGEND OF S. DOMINIC + +(_After the fresco by =Giovanni Antonio Sogliani=. Florence: S. Marco_) + +_Anderson_] + +After these things, when Perino del Vaga, having departed from Genoa on +account of his resentment against Prince Doria, was working at Pisa, +where the sculptor Stagio da Pietrasanta had begun the execution of the +new chapels in marble at the end of the nave of the Duomo, together with +that space behind the high-altar, which serves as a sacristy, it was +ordained that the said Perino, as will be related in his Life, with +other masters, should begin to fill up those adornments of marble with +pictures. But Perino being recalled to Genoa, Giovanni Antonio was +commissioned to set his hand to the pictures that were to adorn the +aforesaid recess behind the high-altar, and to deal in his works with +the sacrifices of the Old Testament, as symbols of the Sacrifice of the +Most Holy Sacrament, which was there over the centre of the high-altar. +Sogliani, then, painted in the first picture the sacrifice that Noah and +his sons offered when they had gone forth from the Ark, and afterwards +those of Cain and of Abel; which were all highly extolled, but above all +that of Noah, because some of the heads and parts of the figures in it +were very beautiful. The picture of Abel is charming for its landscapes, +which are very well executed, and the head of Abel himself, which is the +very presentment of goodness; but quite the opposite is that of Cain, +which has the mien of a truly sorry villain. And if Sogliani had pursued +the work with energy instead of being dilatory, he would have been +charged by the Warden, who had given him his commission and was much +pleased with his manner and character, to execute all the work in that +Duomo, whereas at that time, in addition to the pictures already +mentioned, he painted no more than one panel, which was destined for the +chapel wherein Perino had begun to work; and this he finished in +Florence, but in such wise that it pleased the Pisans well enough and +was held to be very beautiful. In it are the Madonna, S. John the +Baptist, S. George, S. Mary Magdalene, S. Margaret, and other saints. +His picture, then, having given satisfaction, Sogliani received from the +Warden a commission for three other panels, to which he set his hand, +but did not finish them in the lifetime of that Warden, in whose place +Bastiano della Seta was elected; and he, perceiving that the business +was moving but slowly, allotted four pictures for the aforesaid sacristy +behind the high-altar to Domenico Beccafumi of Siena, an excellent +painter, who dispatched them very quickly, as will be told in the proper +place, and also painted a panel there, and other painters executed the +rest. Giovanni Antonio, then, working at his leisure, finished two other +panels with much diligence, painting in each a Madonna surrounded by +many saints. And finally, having made his way to Pisa, he there painted +the fourth and last, in which he acquitted himself worse than in any +other, either through old age, or because he was competing with +Beccafumi, or for some other reason. + +But the Warden Bastiano, perceiving the slowness of the man, and wishing +to bring the work to an end, allotted the three other panels to Giorgio +Vasari of Arezzo, who finished two of them, those that are beside the +door of the facade. In the one nearer the Campo Santo is Our Lady with +the Child in her arms, with S. Martha caressing Him. There, also, on +their knees, are S. Cecilia, S. Augustine, S. Joseph, and S. Guido the +Hermit, and in the foreground a nude S. Jerome, with S. Luke the +Evangelist, and some little boys uplifting a piece of drapery, and +others holding flowers. In the other, by the wish of the Warden, he +painted another Madonna with her Son in her arms, S. James the Martyr, +S. Matthew, S. Sylvester the Pope, and S. Turpe the Chevalier. Having to +paint the Madonna, and not wishing to repeat the same composition +(although he had varied it much in other respects), he made her with +Christ dead in her arms, and those saints as it were round a Deposition +from the Cross; and on the crosses, planted on high and made of +tree-trunks, are fixed two naked Thieves, surrounded by horses and +ministers of the crucifixion, with Joseph, Nicodemus, and the Maries; +all for the satisfaction of the Warden, who wished that in those new +pictures there should be included all the saints that there had been in +the past in the various dismantled chapels, in order to renew their +memory in the new works. One picture was still wanting to complete the +whole, and this was executed by Bronzino, who painted a nude Christ and +eight saints. And in this manner were those chapels brought to +completion, all of which Giovanni Antonio could have done with his own +hand if he had not been so slow. + +And since Sogliani had won much favour with the Pisans, after the death +of Andrea del Sarto he was commissioned to finish a panel for the +Company of S. Francesco, which the said Andrea left only sketched; which +panel is now in the building of that Company on the Piazza di S. +Francesco at Pisa. The same master executed some rows of cloth-hangings +for the Wardens of Works of the aforesaid Duomo, and many others in +Florence, because he took pleasure in doing that sort of work, and above +all in company with his friend Tommaso di Stefano, a painter of +Florence. + +Being summoned by the Friars of S. Marco in Florence to paint a work in +fresco at the head of their refectory, at the expense of one of their +number, a lay-brother of the Molletti family, who had possessed a rich +patrimony when in the world, Giovanni Antonio wished to paint there the +scene of Jesus Christ feeding five thousand persons with five loaves and +two fishes, in order to make the most of his powers; and he had already +made the design for it, with many women and children and a great +multitude of other people, when the friars refused to have that story, +saying that they wanted something definite, simple, and familiar. +Whereupon, to please them, he painted the scene when S. Dominic, being +in the refectory with his friars and having no bread, made a prayer to +God, when the table was miraculously covered with bread, brought by two +angels in human form. In this work he made portraits of many friars who +were then in the convent, which have the appearance of life, and +particularly that of the lay-brother of the Molletti family, who is +serving at table. Then, in the lunette above the table, he painted S. +Dominic at the foot of a Crucifix, with Our Lady and S. John the +Evangelist, who are weeping, and at the sides S. Catherine of Siena and +S. Antonino, Archbishop of Florence, a brother of their Order. All this, +for a work in fresco, was executed with much diligence and a high +finish; but Sogliani would have been much more successful if he had +executed what he had designed, because painters express the conceptions +of their own minds better than those of others. On the other hand, it is +only right that he who pays the piper should call the tune. The design +for the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes is in the hands of Bartolommeo +Gondi, who, in addition to a large picture that he has by the hand of +Sogliani, also possesses many drawings and heads painted from life on +tinted paper, which he received from the wife of the painter, who had +been very much his friend, after his death. And we, also, have in our +book some drawings by the same hand, which are beautiful to a marvel. + +Sogliani began for Giovanni Serristori a large panel-picture which was +to be placed in S. Francesco dell' Osservanza, without the Porta a S. +Miniato, with a vast number of figures, among which are some marvellous +heads, the best that he ever made; but it was left unfinished at the +death of the said Giovanni Serristori. Nevertheless, since Giovanni +Antonio had received full payment, he finished it afterwards little by +little, and gave it to Messer Alamanno di Jacopo Salviati, the +son-in-law and heir of Giovanni Serristori; and he presented it, frame +and all, to the Nuns of S. Luca, who have it over their high-altar in +the Via di S. Gallo. + +Giovanni Antonio executed many other works in Florence, some of which +are in the houses of citizens, and some were sent to various countries; +but of these there is no need to make mention, for we have spoken of the +most important. Sogliani was an upright person, very religious, always +occupied with his own business, and never interfering with his +fellow-craftsmen. + +One of his disciples was Sandrino del Calzolaio, who painted the shrine +that is on the Canto delle Murate, and, in the Hospital of the Temple, a +S. John the Baptist who is assigning shelter to the poor; and he would +have done more work, and good work, if he had not died as young as he +did. Another of his disciples was Michele, who afterwards went to work +with Ridolfo Ghirlandajo, whose name he took; and likewise Benedetto, +who went with Antonio Mini, a disciple of Michelagnolo Buonarroti, to +France, where he has executed many beautiful works. And another, +finally, was Zanobi di Poggino, who has painted many works throughout +the city. + +In the end, being weary and broken in health after having been long +tormented by the stone, Giovanni Antonio rendered up his soul to God at +the age of fifty-two. His death was much lamented, for he had been an +excellent man, and his manner had been much in favour, since he gave an +air of piety to his figures, in such a fashion as pleases those who, +delighting little in the highest and most difficult flights of art, love +things that are seemly, simple, gracious, and sweet. His body was opened +after his death, and in it were found three stones, each as big as an +egg; but as long as he lived he would never consent to have them +extracted, or to hear a word about them. + + + + +GIROLAMO DA TREVISO + + + + +LIFE OF GIROLAMO DA TREVISO + +PAINTER + + +Rarely does it happen that those who persist in working in the country +in which they were born, are exalted by Fortune to that height of +prosperity which their talents deserve; whereas, if a man tries many, he +must in the end find one wherein sooner or later he succeeds in being +recognized. And it often comes to pass that one who attains to the +reward of his labours late in life, is prevented by the venom of death +from enjoying it for long, even as we shall see in the case of Girolamo +da Treviso. + +This painter was held to be a very good master; and although he was no +great draughtsman, he was a pleasing colourist both in oils and in +fresco, and a close imitator of the methods of Raffaello da Urbino. He +worked much in his native city of Treviso; and he also executed many +works in Venice, such as, in particular, the facade of the house of +Andrea Udoni, which he painted in fresco, with some friezes of children +in the courtyard, and one of the upper apartments: all of which he +executed in colour, and not in chiaroscuro, because the Venetians like +colour better than anything else. In a large scene in the middle of this +facade is a Juno, seen from the thighs upwards, flying on some clouds +with the moon on her head, over which are raised her arms, one holding a +vase and the other a bowl. He also painted there a Bacchus, fat and +ruddy, with a vessel that he is upsetting, and holding with one arm a +Ceres who has many ears of corn in her hands. There, too, are the +Graces, with five little boys who are flying below and welcoming them, +in order, so they signify, to make the house of the Udoni abound with +their gifts; and to show that the same house was a friendly haven for +men of talent, he painted Apollo on one side and Pallas on the other. +This work was executed with great freshness, so that Girolamo gained +from it both honour and profit. + +The same master painted a picture for the Chapel of the Madonna in S. +Petronio, in competition with certain painters of Bologna, as will be +related in the proper place. And continuing to live in Bologna, he +executed many pictures there; and in S. Petronio, in the Chapel of S. +Antonio da Padova, he depicted in oils, in imitation of marble, all the +stories of the life of the latter Saint, in which, without a doubt, +there may be perceived grace, judgment, excellence, and a great delicacy +of finish. He painted a panel-picture for S. Salvatore, of the Madonna +ascending the steps of the Temple, with some saints; and another of the +Madonna in the sky, with some children, and S. Jerome and S. Catherine +beneath, which is certainly the weakest work by his hand that is to be +seen in Bologna. Over a great portal, also, in Bologna, he painted in +fresco a Crucifix with Our Lady and S. John, all worthy of the highest +praise. For S. Domenico, at Bologna, he executed a panel-picture in oils +of Our Lady with some saints, which is the best of his works; it is near +the choir, as one ascends to the tomb of S. Dominic, and in it is the +portrait of the patron who had it painted. In like manner, he painted a +picture for Count Giovanni Battista Bentivogli, who had the cartoon by +the hand of Baldassarre of Siena, representing the story of the Magi: a +work which he carried to a very fine completion, although it contained +more than a hundred figures. There are also many other works by the hand +of Girolamo in Bologna, both in private houses and in the churches. In +Galiera he painted in chiaroscuro the facade of the Palace of the +Teofamini, with another facade behind the house of the Dolfi, which is +considered in the judgment of many craftsmen to be the best work that he +ever executed in that city. + +He went to Trento, and, in company with other painters, painted the +palace of the old Cardinal, from which he gained very great fame. Then, +returning to Bologna, he gave his attention to the works that he had +begun. Now it happened that there was much talk throughout Bologna about +having a panel-picture painted for the Della Morte Hospital, for which +various designs were made by way of competition, some in drawing and +some in colour. And since many thought that they had the first claim, +some through interest and others because they held themselves to be most +worthy of such a commission, Girolamo was left in the lurch; and +considering that he had been wronged, not long afterwards he departed +from Bologna. And thus the envy of others raised him to such a height of +prosperity as he had never thought of; since, if he had been chosen for +the work, it would have impeded the blessings that his good fortune had +prepared for him. For, having made his way to England, he was +recommended by some friends, who favoured him, to King Henry; and +presenting himself before him, he entered into his service, although not +as painter, but as engineer. Then, making trial of his skill in various +edifices, copied from some in Tuscany and other parts of Italy, that +King pronounced them marvellous, rewarded him with a succession of +presents, and decreed him a provision of four hundred crowns a year; and +he was given the means to build an honourable abode for himself at the +expense of the King. Thereupon Girolamo, raised from one extreme of +distress to the other extreme of grandeur, lived a most happy and +contented life, thanking God and Fortune for having turned his steps to +a country where men were so favourable to his talents. But this unwonted +happiness was not destined to last long, for the war between the French +and the English being continued, and Girolamo being charged with +superintending all the work of the bastions and fortifications, the +artillery, and the defences of the camp, it happened one day, when the +city of Boulogne in Picardy was being bombarded, that a ball from a +demi-cannon came with horrid violence and cut him in half on his horse's +back. And thus, Girolamo being at the age of thirty-six, his life, his +earthly honours, and all his greatness were extinguished at one and the +same moment, in the year 1544. + + + + +POLIDORO DA CARAVAGGIO AND MATURINO + + + + +LIVES OF POLIDORO DA CARAVAGGIO AND THE FLORENTINE MATURINO + +PAINTERS + + +In the last age of gold, as the happy age of Leo X might have been +called for all noble craftsmen and men of talent, an honoured place was +held among the most exalted spirits by Polidoro da Caravaggio, a +Lombard, who had not become a painter after long study, but had been +created and produced as such by Nature. This master, having come to Rome +at the time when the Loggie of the Papal Palace were being built for Leo +under the direction of Raffaello da Urbino, carried the pail, or we +should rather say the hod, full of lime, for the masons who were doing +the work, until he had reached the age of eighteen. But, when Giovanni +da Udine had begun to paint there, the building and the painting +proceeding together, Polidoro, whose will and inclination were much +drawn to painting, could not rest content until he had become intimate +with all the most able of the young men, in order to study their methods +and manners of art, and to set himself to draw. And out of their number +he chose as his companion the Florentine Maturino, who was then working +in the Papal Chapel, and was held to be an excellent draughtsman of +antiquities. Associating with him, Polidoro became so enamoured of that +art, that in a few months, having made trial of his powers, he executed +works that astonished every person who had known him in his former +condition. On which account, the work of the Loggie proceeding, he +exercised his hand to such purpose in company with those young painters, +who were well-practised and experienced in painting, and learned the art +so divinely well, that he did not leave that work without carrying away +the true glory of being considered the most noble and most beautiful +intellect that was to be found among all their number. Thereupon the +love of Maturino for Polidoro, and of Polidoro for Maturino, so +increased, that they determined like brothers and true companions to +live and die together; and, uniting their ambitions, their purses, and +their labours, they set themselves to work together in the closest +harmony and concord. But since there were in Rome many who had great +fame and reputation, well justified by their works, for making their +paintings more lively and vivacious in colour and more worthy of praise +and favour, there began to enter into their minds the idea of imitating +the methods of Baldassarre of Siena, who had executed several facades of +houses in chiaroscuro, and of giving their attention thenceforward to +that sort of work, which by that time had come into fashion. + +They began one, therefore, on Montecavallo, opposite to S. Silvestro, in +company with Pellegrino da Modena, which encouraged them to make further +efforts to see whether this should be their profession; and they went on +to execute another opposite to the side-door of S. Salvatore del Lauro, +and likewise painted a scene by the side-door of the Minerva, with +another, which is a frieze of marine monsters, above S. Rocco a Ripetta. +And during this first period they painted a vast number of them +throughout all Rome, but not so good as the others; and there is no need +to mention them here, since they afterwards did better work of that +sort. Gaining courage, therefore, from this, they began to study the +antiquities of Rome, counterfeiting the ancient works of marble in their +works in chiaroscuro, so that there remained no vase, statue, +sarcophagus, scene, or any single thing, whether broken or entire, which +they did not draw and make use of. And with such constancy and +resolution did they give their minds to this pursuit, that they both +acquired the ancient manner, the work of the one being so like that of +the other, that, even as their minds were guided by one and the same +will, so their hands expressed one and the same knowledge. And although +Maturino was not as well assisted by Nature as Polidoro, so potent was +the faithful imitation of one style by the two in company, that, +wherever either of them placed his hand, the work of both one and the +other, whether in composition, expression, or manner, appeared to be the +same. + +In the Piazza di Capranica, on the way to the Piazza Colonna, they +painted a facade with the Theological Virtues, and a frieze of very +beautiful invention beneath the windows, including a draped figure of +Rome representing the Faith, and holding the Chalice and the Host in her +hands, who has taken captive all the nations of the earth; and all +mankind is flocking up to bring her tribute, while the Turks, overcome +at the last, are shooting arrows at the tomb of Mahomet; all ending in +the words of Scripture, "There shall be one fold and one Shepherd." And, +indeed, they had no equals in invention; of which we have witness in all +their works, abounding in personal ornaments, vestments, foot-wear, and +things bizarre and strange, and executed with an incredible beauty. And +another proof is that their works are continually being drawn by all the +foreign painters; wherefore they conferred greater benefits on the art +of painting with the beautiful manner that they displayed and with their +marvellous facility, than have all the others together who have lived +from Cimabue downwards. It has been seen continually, therefore, in +Rome, and is still seen, that all the draughtsmen are inclined more to +the works of Polidoro and Maturino than to all the rest of our modern +pictures. + +In the Borgo Nuovo they executed a facade in sgraffito, and on the Canto +della Pace another likewise in sgraffito; with a facade of the house of +the Spinoli, not far from that last-mentioned, on the way to the +Parione, containing athletic contests according to the custom of the +ancients, and their sacrifices, and the death of Tarpeia. Near the Torre +di Nona, on the side towards the Ponte S. Angelo, may be seen a little +facade with the Triumph of Camillus and an ancient sacrifice. In the +road that leads to the Imagine di Ponte, there is a most beautiful +facade with the story of Perillus, showing him being placed in the +bronze bull that he had made; wherein great effort may be seen in those +who are thrusting him into that bull, and terror in those who are +waiting to behold a death so unexampled, besides which there is the +seated figure of Phalaris (so I believe), ordaining with an imperious +air of great beauty the punishment of the inhuman spirit that had +invented a device so novel and so cruel in order to put men to death +with greater suffering. In this work, also, may be perceived a very +beautiful frieze of children, painted to look like bronze, and other +figures. Higher up than this they painted the facade of the house where +there is the image which is called the Imagine di Ponte, wherein are +seen several stories illustrated by them, with the Senatorial Order +dressed in the garb of ancient Rome. And in the Piazza della Dogana, +beside S. Eustachio, there is a facade of battle-pieces; and within that +church, on the right as one enters, may be perceived a little chapel +with figures painted by Polidoro. + +They also executed another above the Farnese Palace for the Cepperelli, +and a facade behind the Minerva in the street that leads to the +Maddaleni; and in the latter, which contains scenes from Roman history, +may be seen, among other beautiful things, a frieze of children in +triumph, painted to look like bronze, and executed with supreme grace +and extraordinary beauty. On the facade of the Buoni Auguri, near the +Minerva, are some very beautiful stories of Romulus, showing him when he +is marking out the site of his city with the plough, and when the +vultures are flying over him; wherein the vestments, features, and +persons of the ancients are so well imitated, that it truly appears as +if these were the very men themselves. Certain it is that in that field +of art no man ever had such power of design, such practised mastery, a +more beautiful manner, or greater facility. And every craftsman is so +struck with wonder every time that he sees these works, that he cannot +but be amazed at the manner in which Nature has been able in this age to +present her marvels to us by means of these men. + +Below the Corte Savella, also, on the house bought by Signora Costanza, +they painted the Rape of the Sabines, a scene which reveals the raging +desire of the captors no less clearly than the terror and panic of the +wretched women thus carried off by various soldiers, some on horseback +and others in other ways. And not only in this one scene are there such +conceptions, but also (and even more) in the stories of Mucius and +Horatius, and in the Flight of Porsena, King of Tuscany. In the garden +of M. Stefano dal Bufalo, near the Fountain of Trevi, they executed some +most beautiful scenes of the Fount of Parnassus, in which they made +grotesques and little figures, painted very well in colour. On the +house of Baldassini, also, near S. Agostino, they executed scenes and +sgraffiti, with some heads of Emperors over the windows in the court. On +Montecavallo, near S. Agata, they painted a facade with a vast number of +different stories, such as the Vestal Tuccia bringing water from the +Tiber to the Temple in a sieve, and Claudia drawing the ship with her +girdle; and also the rout effected by Camillus while Brennus is weighing +the gold. On another wall, round the corner, are Romulus and his brother +being suckled by the wolf, and the terrible combat of Horatius, who is +defending the head of the bridge, alone against a thousand swords, while +behind him are many very beautiful figures in various attitudes, working +with might and main to hew away the bridge with pickaxes. There, also, +is Mucius Scaevola, who, before the eyes of Porsena, is burning his own +hand, which had erred in slaying the King's minister in place of the +King; and in the King's face may be seen disdain and a desire for +vengeance. And within that house they executed a number of landscapes. + +They decorated the facade of S. Pietro in Vincula, painting therein +stories of S. Peter, with some large figures of Prophets. And so +widespread was the fame of these masters by reason of the abundance of +their work, that the pictures painted by them with such beauty in public +places enabled them to win extraordinary praise in their lifetime, with +glory infinite and eternal through the number of their imitators after +death. On a facade, also, in the square where stands the Palace of the +Medici, behind the Piazza Navona, they painted the Triumphs of Paulus +Emilius, with a vast number of other Roman stories. And at S. Silvestro +di Montecavallo they executed some little things for Fra Mariano, both +in the house and in the garden; and in the church they painted his +chapel, with two scenes in colour from the life of S. Mary Magdalene, in +which the disposition of the landscapes is executed with supreme grace +and judgment. For Polidoro, in truth, executed landscapes and groups of +trees and rocks better than any other painter, and it is to him that art +owes that facility which our modern craftsmen show in their works. + +They also painted many apartments and friezes in various houses at Rome, +executing them with colours in fresco and in distemper; but these works +were attempted by them as trials, because they were never able to +achieve with colours that beauty which they always displayed in their +works in chiaroscuro, in their imitations of bronze, or in terretta. +This may still be seen in the house of Torre Sanguigna, which once +belonged to the Cardinal of Volterra, on the facade of which they +painted a most beautiful decoration in chiaroscuro, and in the interior +some figures in colour, the painting of which is so badly executed, that +in it they diverted from its true excellence the good design which they +always had. And this appeared all the more strange because of there +being beside them an escutcheon of Pope Leo, with nude figures, by the +hand of Giovan Francesco Vetraio, who would have done extraordinary +things if death had not taken him from our midst. However, not cured by +this of their insane confidence, they also painted some children in +colour for the altar of the Martelli in S. Agostino at Rome, a work +which Jacopo Sansovino completed by making a Madonna of marble; and +these children appear to be by the hands, not of illustrious masters, +but of simpletons just beginning to learn. Whereas, on the side where +the altar-cloth covers the altar, Polidoro painted a little scene of a +Dead Christ with the Maries, which is a most beautiful work, showing +that in truth that sort of work was more their profession than the use +of colours. + +Returning, therefore, to their usual work, they painted two very +beautiful facades in the Campo Marzio; one with the stories of Ancus +Martius, and the other with the Festivals of the Saturnalia, formerly +celebrated in that place, with all the two-horse and four-horse chariots +circling round the obelisks, which are held to be most beautiful, +because they are so well executed both in design and in nobility of +manner, that they reproduce most vividly those very spectacles as +representations of which they were painted. On the Canto della Chiavica, +on the way to the Corte Savella, they painted a facade which is a divine +thing, and is held to be the most beautiful of all the beautiful works +that they executed; for, in addition to the story of the maidens passing +over the Tiber, there is at the foot, near the door, a Sacrifice painted +with marvellous industry and art, wherein may be seen duly represented +all the instruments and all those ancient customs that used to have a +place in sacrifices of that kind. Near the Piazza del Popolo, below S. +Jacopo degli Incurabili, they painted a facade with stories of Alexander +the Great, which is held to be very fine; and there they depicted the +ancient statues of the Nile and the Tiber from the Belvedere. Near S. +Simeone they painted the facade of the Gaddi Palace, which is truly a +cause of marvel and amazement, when one observes the lovely vestments in +it, so many and so various, and the vast number of ancient helmets, +girdles, buskins, and barques, adorned with all the delicacy and +abundance of detail that an inventive imagination could conceive. There, +with a multitude of beautiful things which overload the memory, are +represented all the ways of the ancients, the statues of sages, and most +lovely women: and there are all the sorts of ancient sacrifices with +their ritual, and an army in the various stages between embarking and +fighting with an extraordinary variety of arms and implements, all +executed with such grace and finished with such masterly skill, that the +eye is dazzled by the vast abundance of beautiful inventions. Opposite +to this is a smaller facade, which could not be improved in beauty and +variety; and there, in the frieze, is the story of Niobe causing herself +to be worshipped, with the people bringing tribute, vases, and various +kinds of gifts; which story was depicted by them with such novelty, +grace, art, force of relief and genius in every part, that it would +certainly take too long to describe the whole. Next, there follows the +wrath of Latona, and her terrible vengeance on the children of the +over-proud Niobe, whose seven sons are slain by Phoebus and the seven +daughters by Diana; with an endless number of figures in imitation of +bronze, which appear to be not painted but truly of metal. Above these +are executed other scenes, with some vases in imitation of gold, +innumerable things of fancy so strange that mortal eye could not picture +anything more novel or more beautiful, and certain Etruscan helmets; but +one is left confused by the variety and abundance of the conceptions, so +beautiful and so fanciful, which issued from their minds. These works +have been imitated by a vast number of those who labour at that branch +of art. They also painted the courtyard of that house, and likewise the +loggia, which they decorated with little grotesques in colour that are +held to be divine. In short, all that they touched they brought to +perfection with infinite grace and beauty; and if I were to name all +their works, I should fill a whole book with the performances of these +two masters alone, since there is no apartment, palace, garden, or villa +in Rome that does not contain some work by Polidoro and Maturino. + +Now, while Rome was rejoicing and clothing herself in beauty with their +labours, and they were awaiting the reward of all their toil, the envy +of Fortune, in the year 1527, sent Bourbon to Rome; and he gave that +city over to sack. Whereupon was divided the companionship not only of +Polidoro and Maturino, but of all the thousands of friends and relatives +who had broken bread together for so many years in Rome. Maturino took +to flight, and no long time passed before he died, so it is believed in +Rome, of plague, in consequence of the hardships that he had suffered in +the sack, and was buried in S. Eustachio. Polidoro turned his steps to +Naples; but on his arrival, the noblemen of that city taking but little +interest in fine works of painting, he was like to die of hunger. +Working, therefore, at the commission of certain painters, he executed a +S. Peter in the principal chapel of S. Maria della Grazia; and in this +way he assisted those painters in many things, more to save his life +than for any other reason. However, the fame of his talents having +spread abroad, he executed for Count ... a vault painted in distemper, +together with some walls, all of which is held to be very beautiful +work. In like manner, he executed a courtyard in chiaroscuro for Signor +..., with some loggie, which are very beautiful, rich in ornaments, and +well painted. He also painted for S. Angelo, beside the Pescheria at +Naples, a little panel in oils, containing a Madonna and some naked +figures of souls in torment, which is held to be most beautiful, but +more for the drawing than for the colouring; and likewise some pictures +for the Chapel of the High-Altar, each with a single full-length figure, +and all executed in the same manner. + +It came to pass that Polidoro, living in Naples and seeing his talents +held in little esteem, determined to take his leave of men who thought +more of a horse that could jump than of a master whose hands could give +to painted figures the appearance of life. Going on board ship, +therefore, he made his way to Messina, where, finding more consideration +and more honour, he set himself to work; and thus, working continually, +he acquired good skill and mastery in the use of colour. Thereupon he +executed many works, which are dispersed in various places; and turning +his attention to architecture, he gave proof of his worth in many +buildings that he erected. After a time, Charles V passing through +Messina on his return from victory in Tunis, Polidoro made in his honour +most beautiful triumphal arches, from which he gained vast credit and +rewards. And then this master, who was always burning with desire to +revisit Rome, which afflicts with an unceasing yearning those who have +lived there many years, when making trial of other countries, painted as +his last work in Messina a panel-picture of Christ bearing the Cross, +executed in oils with much excellence and very pleasing colour. In it he +made a number of figures accompanying Christ to His Death--soldiers, +pharisees, horses, women, children, and the Thieves in front; and he +kept firmly before his mind the consideration of how such an execution +must have been marshalled, insomuch that his nature seemed to have +striven to show its highest powers in this work, which is indeed most +excellent. After this he sought many times to shake himself free of that +country, although he was looked upon with favour there; but he had a +reason for delay in a woman, beloved by him for many years, who detained +him with her sweet words and cajoleries. However, so mightily did his +desire to revisit Rome and his friends work in him, that he took from +his bank a good sum of money that he possessed, and, wholly determined, +prepared to depart. + +Polidoro had employed as his assistant for a long time a lad of the +country, who bore greater love to his master's money than to his master; +but, the money being kept, as has been said, in the bank, he was never +able to lay his hands upon it and carry it off. Wherefore, an evil and +cruel thought entering his head, he resolved to put his master to death +with the help of some accomplices, on the following night, while he was +sleeping, and then to divide the money with them. And so, assisted by +his friends, he set upon Polidoro in his first sleep, while he was +slumbering deeply, and strangled him with a cloth. Then, giving him +several wounds, they made sure of his death; and in order to prove that +it was not they who had done it, they carried him to the door of the +woman whom he had loved, making it appear that her relatives or other +persons of the house had killed him. The assistant gave a good part of +the money to the villains who had committed so hideous an outrage, and +bade them be off. In the morning he went in tears to the house of a +certain Count, a friend of his dead master, and related the event to +him; but for all the diligence that was used for many days in seeking +for the perpetrator of the crime, nothing came to light. By the will of +God, however, nature and virtue, in disdain at being wounded by the hand +of fortune, so worked in one who had no interest in the matter, that he +declared it to be impossible that any other but the assistant himself +could have committed the murder. Whereupon the Count had him seized and +put to the torture, and without the application of any further torment +he confessed the crime and was condemned by the law to the gallows; but +first he was torn with red-hot pincers on the way to execution, and +finally quartered. + +For all this, however, life was not restored to Polidoro, nor was there +given back to the art of painting a genius so resolute and so +extraordinary, such as had not been seen in the world for many an age. +If, indeed, at the time when he died, invention, grace, and boldness in +the painting of figures could have laid down their lives, they would +have died with him. Happy was the union of nature and art which embodied +a spirit so noble in human form; and cruel was the envy and hatred of +his fate and fortune, which robbed him of life with so strange a death, +but shall never through all the ages rob him of his name. His obsequies +were performed with full solemnity, and he was given burial in the +Cathedral Church, lamented bitterly by all Messina, in the year 1543. + +Great, indeed, is the obligation owed by craftsmen to Polidoro, in that +he enriched art with a great abundance of vestments, all different and +most strange, and of varied ornaments, and gave grace and adornment to +all his works, and likewise made figures of every sort, animals, +buildings, grotesques, and landscapes, all so beautiful, that since his +day whosoever has aimed at catholicity has imitated him. It is a +marvellous thing and a fearsome to see from the example of this master +the instability of Fortune and what she can bring to pass, causing men +to become excellent in some profession from whom something quite +different might have been expected, to the no small vexation of those +who have laboured in vain for many years at the same art. It is a +marvellous thing, I repeat, to see those same men, after much travailing +and striving, brought by that same Fortune to a miserable and most +unhappy end at the very moment when they were hoping to enjoy the fruits +of their labours; and that with calamities so monstrous and terrible, +that pity herself takes to flight, art is outraged, and benefits are +repaid with an extraordinary and incredible ingratitude. Wherefore, even +as painting may rejoice in the fruitful life of Polidoro, so could he +complain of Fortune, which at one time showed herself friendly to him, +only to bring him afterwards, when it was least expected, to a dreadful +death. + + + + +IL ROSSO + + + + +LIFE OF IL ROSSO + +PAINTER OF FLORENCE + + +Men of account who apply themselves to the arts and pursue them with all +their powers are sometimes exalted and honoured beyond measure, at a +moment when it was least expected, before the eyes of all the world, as +may be seen clearly from the labours that Il Rosso, a painter of +Florence, devoted to the art of painting; for if these were not +acknowledged in Rome and Florence by those who could reward them, yet in +France he found one to recompense him for them, and that in such sort, +that his glory might have sufficed to quench the thirst of the most +overweening ambition that could possess the heart of any craftsman, be +he who he may. Nor could he have obtained in this life greater +dignities, honour, or rank, seeing that he was regarded with favour and +much esteemed beyond any other man of his profession by a King so great +as is the King of France. And, indeed, his merits were such, that, if +Fortune had secured less for him, she would have done him a very great +wrong, for the reason that Rosso, in addition to his painting, was +endowed with a most beautiful presence; his manner of speech was +gracious and grave; he was an excellent musician, and had a fine +knowledge of philosophy; and what was of greater import than all his +other splendid qualities was this, that he always showed the invention +of a poet in the grouping of his figures, besides being bold and +well-grounded in draughtsmanship, graceful in manner, sublime in the +highest flights of imagination, and a master of beautiful composition of +scenes. In architecture he showed an extraordinary excellence; and he +was always, however poor in circumstances, rich in the grandeur of his +spirit. For this reason, whosoever shall follow in the labours of +painting the walk pursued by Rosso, must be celebrated without ceasing, +as are that master's works, which have no equals in boldness and are +executed without effort and strain, since he kept them free of that dry +and painful elaboration to which so many subject themselves in order to +veil the worthlessness of their works with the cloak of importance. + +In his youth, Rosso drew from the cartoon of Michelagnolo, and would +study art with but few masters, having a certain opinion of his own that +conflicted with their manners; as may be seen from a shrine executed in +fresco for Piero Bartoli at Marignolle, without the Porta a S. Piero +Gattolini in Florence, containing a Dead Christ, wherein he began to +show how great was his desire for a manner bold and grand, graceful and +marvellous beyond that of all others. While still a beardless boy, at +the time when Lorenzo Pucci was made a Cardinal by Pope Leo, he executed +over the door of S. Sebastiano de' Servi the arms of the Pucci, with two +figures, which made the craftsmen of that day marvel, for no one +expected for him such a result as he achieved. Wherefore he so grew in +courage, that, after having painted a picture with a half-length figure +of Our Lady and a head of S. John the Evangelist for Maestro Jacopo, a +Servite friar, who was something of a poet, at his persuasion he painted +the Assumption of the Madonna in the cloister of the Servites, beside +the scene of the Visitation, which was executed by Jacopo da Pontormo. +In this he made a Heaven full of angels, all in the form of little naked +children dancing in a circle round the Madonna, foreshortened with a +most beautiful flow of outlines and with great grace of manner, as they +wheel through the sky: insomuch that, if the colouring had been executed +by him with that mature mastery of art which he afterwards came to +achieve, he would have surpassed the other scenes by a great measure, +even as he actually did equal them in grandeur and excellence of design. +He made the Apostles much burdened with draperies, and, indeed, +overloaded with their abundance; but the attitudes and some of the heads +are more than beautiful. + +[Illustration: MADONNA AND CHILD, WITH SAINTS + +(_After the panel by =Il Rosso=. Florence: Uffizi, 47_) + +_Alinari_] + +The Director of the Hospital of S. Maria Nuova commissioned him to paint +a panel: but when he saw it sketched, having little knowledge of that +art, the Saints appeared to him like devils; for it was Rosso's custom +in his oil-sketches to give a sort of savage and desperate air to the +faces, after which, in finishing them, he would sweeten the expressions +and bring them to a proper form. At this the patron fled from his house +and would not have the picture, saying that the painter had cheated him. + +In like manner, over another door that leads into the cloister of the +Convent of the Servites, Rosso painted the escutcheon of Pope Leo, with +two children; but it is now ruined. And in the houses of citizens may be +seen several of his pictures and many portraits. For the visit of Pope +Leo to Florence he executed a very beautiful arch on the Canto de' +Bischeri. Afterwards he painted a most beautiful picture of the Dead +Christ for Signor di Piombino, and also decorated a little chapel for +him. At Volterra, likewise, he painted a most lovely Deposition from the +Cross. + +Having therefore grown in credit and fame, he executed for S. Spirito, +in Florence, the panel-picture of the Dei family, which they had +formerly entrusted to Raffaello da Urbino, who abandoned it because of +the cares of the work that he had undertaken in Rome. This picture Rosso +painted with marvellous grace, draughtsmanship, and vivacity of +colouring. Let no one imagine that any work can display greater force or +show more beautifully from a distance than this one, which, on account +of the boldness of the figures and the extravagance of the attitudes, no +longer employed by any of the other painters, was held to be an +extraordinary work. And although it did not bring him much credit at +that time, the world has since come little by little to recognize its +excellence and has given it abundant praise; for with regard to the +blending of colour it would be impossible to excel it, seeing that the +lights which are in the brightest parts unite with the lower lights +little by little as they merge into the darks, with such sweetness and +harmony, and with such masterly skill in the projection of the shadows, +that the figures stand out from one another and bring each other into +relief by means of the lights and shades. Such vigour, indeed, has this +work, that it may be said to have been conceived and executed with more +judgment and mastery than any that has ever been painted by any other +master, however superior his judgment. + +For S. Lorenzo, at the commission of Carlo Ginori, he painted a +panel-picture of the Marriage of Our Lady, which is held to be a most +beautiful work. And, in truth, with regard to his facility of method, +there has never been anyone who has been able to surpass him in masterly +skill and dexterity, or even to approach within any distance of him; and +he was so sweet in colouring, and varied his draperies with such grace, +and took such delight in his art, that he was always held to be +marvellous and worthy of the highest praise. Whosoever shall observe +this work must recognize that all that I have written is most true, +above all as he studies the nudes, which are very well conceived, with +all the requirements of anatomy. His women are full of grace, and the +draperies that adorn them fanciful and bizarre. He showed, also, the +sense of fitness that is necessary in the heads of the old, with their +harshness of features, and in those of women and children, with +expressions sweet and pleasing. He was so rich in invention, that he +never had any space left over in his pictures, and he executed all his +work with such facility and grace, that it was a marvel. + +For Giovanni Bandini, also, he painted a picture with some very +beautiful nudes, representing the scene of Moses slaying the Egyptian, +wherein were things worthy of the highest praise; and this was sent, I +believe, into France. And for Giovanni Cavalcanti, likewise, he executed +another, which went to England, of Jacob receiving water from the women +at the well; this was held to be a divine work, seeing that it contained +nudes and women wrought with supreme grace. For women, indeed, he always +delighted to paint transparent pieces of drapery, head-dresses with +intertwined tresses, and ornaments for their persons. + +While Rosso was engaged on this work, he was living in the Borgo de' +Tintori, the rooms of which look out on the gardens of the Friars of S. +Croce; and he took much pleasure in a great ape, which had the +intelligence rather of a man than of a beast. For this reason he held it +very dear, and loved it like his own self; and since it had a marvellous +understanding, he made use of it for many kinds of service. It happened +that this beast took a fancy to one of his assistants, by name +Battistino, who was a young man of great beauty; and from the signs that +his Battistino made to him he understood all that he wished to say. Now +against the wall of the rooms at the back, which looked out upon the +garden of the friars, was a pergola belonging to the Guardian, loaded +with great Sancolombane grapes; and the young men used to let the ape +down with a rope to the pergola, which was some distance from their +window, and pull the beast up again with his hands full of grapes. The +Guardian, finding his pergola stripped, but not knowing the culprit, +suspected that it must be mice, and lay in hiding; and seeing Rosso's +ape descending, he flew into a rage, seized a long pole, and rushed at +him with hands uplifted in order to beat him. The ape, seeing that +whether he went up or stayed where he was, the Guardian could reach him, +began to spring about and destroy the pergola, and then, making as +though to throw himself on the friar's back, seized with both his hands +the outermost crossbeams which enclosed the pergola. Meanwhile the friar +made play with his pole, and the ape, in his terror, shook the pergola +to such purpose, and with such force, that he tore the stakes and rods +out of their places, so that both pergola and ape fell headlong on the +back of the friar, who shrieked for mercy. The rope was pulled up by +Battistino and the others, who brought the ape back into the room safe +and sound. Thereupon the Guardian, drawing off and planting himself on a +terrace that he had there, said things not to be found in the Mass; and +full of anger and resentment he went to the Council of Eight, a tribunal +much feared in Florence. There he laid his complaint; and, Rosso having +been summoned, the ape was condemned in jest to carry a weight fastened +to his tail, to prevent him from jumping on pergole, as he did before. +And so Rosso made a wooden cylinder swinging on a chain, and kept it on +the ape, in such a way that he could go about the house but no longer +jump about over other people's property. The ape, seeing himself +condemned to such a punishment, seemed to guess that the friar was +responsible. Every day, therefore, he exercised himself in hopping step +by step with his legs, holding the weight with his hands; and thus, +resting often, he succeeded in his design. For, being one day loose +about the house, he hopped step by step from roof to roof, during the +hour when the Guardian was away chanting Vespers, and came to the roof +over his chamber. There, letting go the weight, he kept up for half an +hour such a lovely dance, that not a single tile of any kind remained +unbroken. Then he went back home; and within three days, when rain came, +were heard the Guardian's lamentations. + +Rosso, having finished his works, took the road to Rome with Battistino +and the ape; in which city his works were sought for with extraordinary +eagerness, great expectations having been awakened about them by the +sight of some drawings executed by him, which were held to be +marvellous, for Rosso drew divinely well and with the highest finish. +There, in the Pace, over the pictures of Raffaello, he executed a work +which is the worst that he ever painted in all his days. Nor can I +imagine how this came to pass, save from a reason which has been seen +not only in his case, but also in that of many others, and which appears +to be an extraordinary thing, and one of the secrets of nature; and it +is this, that he who changes his country or place of habitation seems to +change his nature, talents, character, and personal habits, insomuch +that sometimes he seems to be not the same man but another, and all +dazed and stupefied. This may have happened to Rosso in the air of Rome, +and on account of the stupendous works of architecture and sculpture +that he saw there, and the paintings and statues of Michelagnolo, which +may have thrown him off his balance; which works also drove Fra +Bartolommeo di San Marco and Andrea del Sarto to flight, and prevented +them from executing anything in Rome. Certain it is, be the cause what +it may, that Rosso never did worse; and, what is more, this work has to +bear comparison with those of Raffaello da Urbino. + +At this time he painted for Bishop Tornabuoni, who was his friend, a +picture of a Dead Christ supported by two angels, which was a most +beautiful piece of work, and is now in the possession of the heirs of +Monsignor della Casa. For Baviera he made drawings of all the Gods, for +copper-plates, which were afterwards engraved by Jacopo Caraglio; one of +them being Saturn changing himself into a horse, and the most noteworthy +that of Pluto carrying off Proserpine. He executed a sketch for the +Beheading of S. John the Baptist, which is now in a little church on the +Piazza de' Salviati in Rome. + +Meanwhile the sack of the city took place, and poor Rosso was taken +prisoner by the Germans and used very ill, for, besides stripping him of +his clothes, they made him carry weights on his back barefooted and with +nothing on his head, and remove almost the whole stock from a +cheesemonger's shop. Thus ill-treated by them, he escaped with +difficulty to Perugia, where he was warmly welcomed and reclothed by the +painter Domenico di Paris, for whom he drew the cartoon for a +panel-picture of the Magi, a very beautiful work, which is to be seen in +the house of Domenico. But he did not stay long in that place, for, +hearing that Bishop Tornabuoni, who was very much his friend, and had +also fled from the sack, had gone to Borgo a San Sepolcro, he made his +way thither. + +There was living at that time in Borgo a San Sepolcro a pupil of Giulio +Romano, the painter Raffaello dal Colle; and this master, having +undertaken for a small price to paint a panel for S. Croce, the seat of +a Company of Flagellants, in his native city, lovingly resigned the +commission and gave it to Rosso, to the end that he might leave some +example of his handiwork in that place. At this the Company showed +resentment, but the Bishop gave him every facility; and when the +picture, which brought him credit, was finished, it was set up in S. +Croce. The Deposition from the Cross that it contains is something very +rare and beautiful, because he rendered in the colours a certain effect +of darkness to signify the eclipse that took place at Christ's death, +and because it was executed with very great diligence. + +Afterwards, at Citta di Castello, he received the commission for a +panel-picture, on which he was about to set to work, when, as it was +being primed with gesso, a roof fell upon it and broke it to pieces; +while upon him there came a fever so violent, that he was like to die of +it, on which account he had himself carried from Castello to Borgo a San +Sepolcro. This malady being followed by a quartan fever, he then went on +to the Pieve a San Stefano for a change of air, and finally to Arezzo, +where he was entertained in the house of Benedetto Spadari, who so went +to work with the help of Giovanni Antonio Lappoli of Arezzo and the many +friends and relatives that they had, that Rosso was commissioned to +paint in fresco a vault previously allotted to the painter Niccolo +Soggi, in the Madonna delle Lagrime. And so eager were they that he +should leave such a memorial of himself in that city, that he was given +a payment of three hundred crowns of gold. Whereupon Rosso began his +cartoons in a room that they had allotted to him in a place called +Murello; and there he finished four of them. In one he depicted our +First Parents, bound to the Tree of the Fall, with Our Lady drawing from +their mouths the Sin in the form of the Apple, and beneath her feet the +Serpent; and in the air--wishing to signify that she was clothed with +the sun and moon--he made nude figures of Phoebus and Diana. In the +second is Moses bearing the Ark of the Covenant, represented by Our Lady +surrounded by five Virtues. In another is the Throne of Solomon, also +represented by the Madonna, to whom votive offerings are being brought, +to signify those who have recourse to her for benefits: together with +other bizarre fancies, which were conceived by the fruitful brain of M. +Giovanni Pollastra, the friend of Rosso and a Canon of Arezzo, in +compliment to whom Rosso made a most beautiful model of the whole work, +which is now in my house at Arezzo. He also drew for that work a study +of nude figures, which is a very choice thing; and it is a pity that it +was never finished, for, if he had put it into execution and painted it +in oils, instead of having to do it in fresco, it would indeed have been +a miracle. But he was ever averse to working in fresco, and therefore +went on delaying the execution of the cartoons, meaning to have the work +carried out by Raffaello dal Borgo and others, so that in the end it was +never done. + +At that same time, being a courteous person, he made many designs for +pictures and buildings in Arezzo and its neighbourhood; among others, +one for the Rectors of the Fraternity, of the chapel which is at the +foot of the Piazza, wherein there is now the Volto Santo. For the same +patrons he drew the design for a panel-picture to be painted by his +hand, containing a Madonna with a multitude under her cloak, which was +to be set up in the same place; and this design, which was not put into +execution, is in our book, together with many other most beautiful +drawings by the hand of the same master. + +But to return to the work that he was to execute in the Madonna delle +Lagrime: there came forward as his security for this work Giovanni +Antonio Lappoli of Arezzo, his most faithful friend, who gave him proofs +of loving kindness with every sort of service. But in the year 1530, +when Florence was being besieged, the Aretines, having been restored to +liberty by the small judgment of Papo Altoviti, attacked the citadel and +razed it to the ground. And because that people looked with little +favour on Florentines, Rosso would not trust himself to them, and went +off to Borgo a San Sepolcro, leaving the cartoons and designs for his +work hidden away in the citadel. + +Now those who had given him the commission for the panel at Castello, +wished him to finish it; but he, on account of the illness that he had +suffered at Castello, would not return to that city. He finished their +panel, therefore, at Borgo a San Sepolcro; nor would he ever give them +the pleasure of a glance at it. In it he depicted a multitude, with +Christ in the sky being adored by four figures, and he painted Moors, +Gypsies, and the strangest things in the world; but, with the exception +of the figures, which are perfect in their excellence, the composition +is concerned with anything rather than the wishes of those who ordered +the picture of him. At the same time that he was engaged on that work, +he disinterred dead bodies in the Vescovado, where he was living, and +made a most beautiful anatomical model. Rosso was, in truth, an ardent +student of all things relating to art, and few days passed without his +drawing some nude from life. + +He had always had the idea of finishing his life in France, and of thus +delivering himself from that misery and poverty which are the lot of men +who work in Tuscany, or in the country where they were born; and he +resolved to depart. And with a view to appearing more competent in all +matters, and to being ignorant of none, he had just learned the Latin +tongue; when there came upon him a reason for further hastening his +departure. For one Holy Thursday, on which day matins are chanted in the +evening, one of his disciples, a young Aretine, being in church, made a +blaze of sparks and flames with a lighted candle-end and some resin, at +the moment when the "darkness," as they call it, was in progress; and +the boy was reproved by some priests, and even struck. Seeing this, +Rosso, who had the boy seated at his side, sprang up full of anger +against the priests. Thereupon an uproar began, without anyone knowing +what it was all about, and swords were drawn against poor Rosso, who was +busy with the priests. Taking to flight, therefore, he contrived to +regain his own rooms without having been struck or overtaken by anyone. +But he held himself to have been affronted; and having finished the +panel for Castello, without troubling about his work at Arezzo or the +wrong that he was doing to Giovanni Antonio, his security (for he had +received more than a hundred and fifty crowns), he set off by night. +Taking the road by Pesaro, he made his way to Venice, where, being +entertained by Messer Pietro Aretino, he made for him a drawing, which +was afterwards engraved, of Mars sleeping with Venus, with the Loves and +Graces despoiling him and carrying off his cuirass. Departing from +Venice, he found his way into France, where he was received by the +Florentine colony with much affection. There he painted some pictures, +which were afterwards placed in the Gallery at Fontainebleau; and these +he then presented to King Francis, who took infinite pleasure in them, +but much more in the presence, speech, and manner of Rosso, who was +imposing in person, with red hair in accordance with his name, and +serious, deliberate, and most judicious in his every action. The King, +then, after straightway granting him an allowance of four hundred +crowns, and giving him a house in Paris, which he occupied but seldom, +because he lived most of the time at Fontainebleau, where he had rooms +and lived like a nobleman, appointed him superintendent over all the +buildings, pictures, and other ornaments of that place. + +[Illustration: THE TRANSFIGURATION + +(_After the panel by =Il Rosso=. Citta da Castello: Duomo_) + +_Alinari_] + +There, in the first place, Rosso made a beginning with a gallery over +the lower court, which he completed not with a vault, but with a +ceiling, or rather, soffit, of woodwork, partitioned most beautifully +into compartments. The side-walls he decorated all over with +stucco-work, fantastic and bizarre in its distribution, and with carved +cornices of many kinds; and on the piers were lifesize figures. +Everything below the cornices, between one pier and another, he +adorned with festoons of stucco, vastly rich, and others painted, and +all composed of most beautiful fruits and every sort of foliage. And +then, in a large space, he caused to be painted after his own designs, +if what I have heard is true, about twenty-four scenes in fresco, +representing, I believe, the deeds of Alexander the Great; for which, as +I have said, he made all the designs, executing them in chiaroscuro with +water-colours. At the two ends of this gallery are two panel-pictures in +oils by his hand, designed and painted with such perfection, that there +is little better to be seen in the art of painting. In one of these are +a Bacchus and a Venus, executed with marvellous art and judgment. The +Bacchus is a naked boy, so tender, soft, and delicate, that he seems to +be truly of flesh, yielding to the touch, and rather alive than painted; +and about him are some vases painted in imitation of gold, silver, +crystal, and various precious stones, so fantastic, and surrounded by +devices so many and so bizarre, that whoever beholds this work, with its +vast variety of invention, stands in amazement before it. Among other +details, also, is a Satyr raising part of a pavilion, whose head, in its +strange, goatlike aspect, is a marvel of beauty, and all the more +because he seems to be smiling and full of joy at the sight of so +beautiful a boy. There is also a little boy riding on a wonderful bear, +with many other ornaments full of grace and beauty. In the other picture +are Cupid and Venus, with other lovely figures; but the figure to which +Rosso gave the greatest attention was the Cupid, whom he represented as +a boy of twelve, although well grown, riper in features than is expected +at that age, and most beautiful in every part. + +The King, seeing these works, and liking them vastly, conceived an +extraordinary affection for Rosso; wherefore no long time passed before +he gave him a Canonicate in the Sainte Chapelle of the Madonna at Paris, +with so many other revenues and benefits, that Rosso lived like a +nobleman, with a goodly number of servants and horses, giving banquets +and showing all manner of courtesies to all his friends and +acquaintances, especially to the Italian strangers who arrived in those +parts. + +After this, he executed another hall, which is called the Pavilion, +because it is in the form of a Pavilion, being above the rooms on the +first floor, and thus situated above any of the others. This apartment +he decorated from the level of the floor to the roof with a great +variety of beautiful ornaments in stucco, figures in the round +distributed at equal intervals, and children, festoons, and various +kinds of animals. In the compartments on the walls are seated figures in +fresco, one in each; and such is their number, that there may be seen +among them images of all the Heathen Gods and Goddesses of the ancients. +Last of all, above the windows, is a frieze all adorned with stucco, and +very rich, but without pictures. + +He then executed a vast number of works in many chambers, bathrooms, and +other apartments, both in stucco and in painting, of some of which +drawings may be seen, executed in engraving and published abroad, which +are full of grace and beauty; as are also the numberless designs that +Rosso made for salt-cellars, vases, bowls, and other things of fancy, +all of which the King afterwards caused to be executed in silver; but +these were so numerous that it would take too long to mention them all. +Let it be enough to say that he made designs for all the vessels of a +sideboard for the King, and for all the details of the trappings of +horses, triumphal masquerades, and everything else that it is possible +to imagine, showing in these such fantastic and bizarre conceptions, +that no one could do better. + +In the year 1540, when the Emperor Charles V went to France under the +safeguard of King Francis, and visited Fontainebleau, having with him +not more than twelve men, Rosso executed one half of the decorations +that the King ordained in order to honour that great Emperor, and the +other half was executed by Francesco Primaticcio of Bologna. The works +that Rosso made, such as arches, colossal figures, and other things of +that kind, were, so it was said at the time, the most astounding that +had ever been made by any man up to that age. But a great part of the +rooms finished by Rosso at the aforesaid Palace of Fontainebleau were +destroyed after his death by the same Francesco Primaticcio, who has +made a new and larger structure in the same place. + +Among those who worked with Rosso on the aforesaid decorations in stucco +and relief, and beloved by him beyond all the others, were the +Florentine Lorenzo Naldino, Maestro Francesco of Orleans, Maestro Simone +of Paris, Maestro Claudio, likewise a Parisian, Maestro Lorenzo of +Picardy, and many others. But the best of them all was Domenico del +Barbieri, who is an excellent painter and master of stucco, and a +marvellous draughtsman, as is proved by his engraved works, which may be +numbered among the best in common circulation. The painters, likewise, +whom he employed in those works at Fontainebleau, were Luca Penni, +brother of Giovan Francesco Penni, called Il Fattore, who was a disciple +of Raffaello da Urbino; the Fleming Leonardo, a very able painter, who +executed the designs of Rosso to perfection in colours; Bartolommeo +Miniati, a Florentine; with Francesco Caccianimici, and Giovan Battista +da Bagnacavallo. These last entered his service when Francesco +Primaticcio went by order of the King to Rome, to make moulds of the +Laocoon, the Apollo, and many other choice antiquities, for the purpose +of casting them afterwards in bronze. I say nothing of the carvers, the +master-joiners, and innumerable others of whom Rosso availed himself in +those works, because there is no need to speak of them all, although +many of them executed works worthy of much praise. + +In addition to the things mentioned above, Rosso executed with his own +hand a S. Michael, which is a rare work. For the Constable he painted a +panel-picture of the Dead Christ, a choice thing, which is at a seat of +that noble, called Ecouen; and he also executed some exquisite +miniatures for the King. He then drew a book of anatomical studies, +intending to have it printed in France; of which there are some sheets +by his own hand in our book of drawings. Among his possessions, also, +after he was dead, were found two very beautiful cartoons, in one of +which is a Leda of singular beauty, and in the other the Tiburtine Sibyl +showing to the Emperor Octavian the Glorious Virgin with the Infant +Christ in her arms. In the latter he drew the King, the Queen, their +Guard, and the people, with such a number of figures, and all so well +drawn, that it may be said with truth that this was one of the most +beautiful things that Rosso ever did. + +By reason of these works and many others, of which nothing is known, he +became so dear to the King, that a little before his death he found +himself in possession of more than a thousand crowns of income, without +counting the allowances for his work, which were enormous; insomuch +that, living no longer as a painter, but rather as a prince, he kept a +number of servants and horses to ride, and had his house filled with +tapestries, silver, and other valuable articles of furniture. But +Fortune, who never, or very seldom, maintains for long in high estate +one who puts his trust too much in her, brought him headlong down in the +strangest manner ever known. For while Francesco di Pellegrino, a +Florentine, who delighted in painting and was very much his friend, was +associating with him in the closest intimacy, Rosso was robbed of some +hundreds of ducats; whereupon the latter, suspecting that no one but the +same Francesco could have done this, had him arrested by the hands of +justice, rigorously examined, and grievously tortured. But he, knowing +himself innocent, and declaring nothing but the truth, was finally +released; and, moved by just anger, he was forced to show his resentment +against Rosso for the shameful charge that he had falsely laid upon him. +Having therefore issued a writ for libel against him, he pressed him so +closely, that Rosso, not being able to clear himself or make any +defence, felt himself to be in a sorry plight, perceiving that he had +not only accused his friend falsely, but had also stained his own +honour; and to eat his words, or to adopt any other shameful method, +would likewise proclaim him a false and worthless man. Resolving, +therefore, to kill himself by his own hand rather than be punished by +others, he took the following course. One day that the King happened to +be at Fontainebleau, he sent a peasant to Paris for a certain most +poisonous essence, pretending that he wished to use it for making +colours or varnishes, but intending to poison himself, as he did. The +peasant, then, returned with it; and such was the malignity of the +poison, that, merely through holding his thumb over the mouth of the +phial, carefully stopped as it was with wax, he came very near losing +that member, which was consumed and almost eaten away by the deadly +potency of the poison. And shortly afterwards it slew Rosso, although he +was in perfect health, he having drunk it to the end that it might take +his life, as it did in a few hours. + +This news, being brought to the King, grieved him beyond measure, since +it seemed to him that by the death of Rosso he had lost the most +excellent craftsman of his day. However, to the end that the work might +not suffer, he had it carried on by Francesco Primaticcio of Bologna, +who, as has been related, had already done much work for him; giving him +a good Abbey, even as he had presented a Canonicate to Rosso. + +Rosso died in the year 1541, leaving great regrets behind him among his +friends and brother-craftsmen, who have learned by his example what +benefits may accrue from a prince to one who is eminent in every field +of art, and well-mannered and gentle in all his actions, as was that +master, who for many reasons deserved, and still deserves, to be admired +as one truly most excellent. + + + + +BARTOLOMMEO DA BAGNACAVALLO AND OTHERS + + + + +LIVES OF BARTOLOMMEO DA BAGNACAVALLO, AND OTHER PAINTERS OF ROMAGNA + + +It is certain that the result of emulation in the arts, caused by a +desire for glory, proves for the most part to be one worthy of praise; +but when it happens that the aspirant, through presumption and +arrogance, comes to hold an inflated opinion of himself, in course of +time the name for excellence that he seeks may be seen to dissolve into +mist and smoke, for the reason that there is no advance to perfection +possible for him who knows not his own failings and has no fear of the +work of others. More readily does hope mount towards proficience for +those modest and studious spirits who, leading an upright life, honour +the works of rare masters and imitate them with all diligence, than for +those who have their heads full of smoky pride, as had Bartolommeo da +Bagnacavallo, Amico of Bologna, Girolamo da Cotignola, and Innocenzio da +Imola, painters all, who, living in Bologna at one and the same time, +felt the greatest jealousy of one another that could possibly be +imagined. And, what is more, their pride and vainglory, not being based +on the foundation of ability, led them astray from the true path, which +brings to immortality those who strive more from love of good work than +from rivalry. This circumstance, then, was the reason that they did not +crown the good beginnings that they had made with that final excellence +which they expected; for their presuming to the name of masters turned +them too far aside from the good way. + +Bartolommeo da Bagnacavallo had come to Rome in the time of Raffaello, +in order to attain with his works to that perfection which he believed +himself to be already grasping with his intellect. And being a young man +who had some fame at Bologna and had awakened expectations, he was set +to execute a work in the Church of the Pace at Rome, in the first chapel +on the right hand as one enters the church, above the chapel of +Baldassarre Peruzzi of Siena. But, thinking that he had not achieved the +success that he had promised himself, he returned to Bologna. There he +and the others mentioned above, in competition one with another, +executed each a scene from the Lives of Christ and His Mother in the +Chapel of the Madonna in S. Petronio, near the door of the facade, on +the right hand as one enters the church; among which little difference +in merit is to be seen between one and another. But Bartolommeo acquired +from this work the reputation of having a manner both softer and +stronger than the others; and although there is a vast number of strange +things in the scene of Maestro Amico, in which he depicted the +Resurrection of Christ with armed men in crouching and distorted +attitudes, and many soldiers crushed flat by the stone of the Sepulchre, +which has fallen upon them, nevertheless that of Bartolommeo, as having +more unity of design and colouring, was more extolled by other +craftsmen. On account of this Bartolommeo associated himself with Biagio +Bolognese, a person with much more practice than excellence in art; and +they executed in company at S. Salvatore, for the Frati Scopetini, a +refectory which they painted partly in fresco and partly "a secco," +containing the scene of Christ satisfying five thousand people with five +loaves and two fishes. They painted, also, on a wall of the library, the +Disputation of S. Augustine, wherein they made a passing good view in +perspective. These masters, thanks to having seen the works of Raffaello +and associated with him, had a certain quality which, upon the whole, +gave promise of excellence, but in truth they did not attend as they +should have done to the more subtle refinements of art. Yet, since there +were no painters in Bologna at that time who knew more than they did, +they were held by those who then governed the city, as well as by all +the people, to be the best masters in Italy. + +[Illustration: THE HOLY FAMILY WITH SAINTS + +(_After the panel by =Bartolommeo da Bagnacavallo=. Bologna: Accademia, +133_) + +_Anderson_] + +By the hand of Bartolommeo are some round pictures in fresco under the +vaulting of the Palace of the Podesta, and a scene of the Visitation of +S. Elizabeth in S. Vitale, opposite to the Palace of the Fantucci. In +the Convent of the Servites at Bologna, round a panel-picture of the +Annunciation painted in oils, are some saints executed in fresco by +Innocenzio da Imola. In S. Michele in Bosco Bartolommeo painted in +fresco the Chapel of Ramazzotto, a faction-leader in Romagna. In a +chapel in S. Stefano the same master painted two saints in fresco, with +some little angels of considerable beauty in the sky; and in S. Jacopo, +for Messer Annibale del Corello, a chapel in which he represented the +Circumcision of Our Lord, with a number of figures, above which, in a +lunette, he painted Abraham sacrificing his son to God. This work, in +truth, was executed in a good and able manner. For the Misericordia, +without Bologna, he painted a little panel-picture in distemper of Our +Lady and some saints; with many pictures and other works, which are in +the hands of various persons in that city. + +This master, in truth, was above mediocrity both in the uprightness of +his life and in his works, and he was superior to the others in drawing +and invention, as may be seen from a drawing in our book, wherein is +Jesus Christ, as a boy, disputing with the Doctors in the Temple, with a +building executed with good mastery and judgment. In the end, he +finished his life at the age of fifty-eight. + +He had always been much envied by Amico of Bologna, an eccentric man of +extravagant brain, whose figures, executed by him throughout all Italy, +but particularly in Bologna, where he spent most of his time, are +equally eccentric and even mad, if one may say so. If, indeed, the vast +labour which Amico devoted to drawing had been pursued with a settled +object, and not by caprice, he might perchance have surpassed many whom +we regard as rare and able men. And even so, such is the value of +persistent labour, that it is not possible that out of a mass of work +there should not be found some that is good and worthy of praise; and +such, among the vast number of works that this master executed, is a +facade in chiaroscuro on the Piazza de' Marsigli, wherein are many +historical pictures, with a frieze of animals fighting together, very +spirited and well executed, which is almost the best work that he ever +painted. He painted another facade at the Porta di S. Mammolo, and a +frieze round the principal chapel of S. Salvatore, so extravagant and so +full of absurdities that it would provoke laughter in one who was on the +verge of tears. In a word, there is no church or street in Bologna +which has not some daub by the hand of this master. + +In Rome, also, he painted not a little; and in S. Friano, at Lucca, he +filled a chapel with inventions fantastic and bizarre, among which are +some things worthy of praise, such as the stories of the Cross and some +of S. Augustine. In these are innumerable portraits of distinguished +persons of that city; and, to tell the truth, this was one of the best +works that Maestro Amico ever executed with colours in fresco. + +In S. Jacopo, at Bologna, he painted at the altar of S. Niccola some +stories of the latter Saint, and below these a frieze with views in +perspective, which deserve to be extolled. When the Emperor Charles V +visited Bologna, Amico made a triumphal arch, for which Alfonso Lombardi +executed statues in relief, at the gate of the Palace. And it is no +marvel that the work of Amico revealed skill of hand rather than any +other quality, for it is said that, like the eccentric and extraordinary +person that he was, he went through all Italy drawing and copying every +work of painting or relief, whether good or bad, on which account he +became something of an adept in invention; and when he found anything +likely to be useful to him, he laid his hands upon it eagerly, and then +destroyed it, so that no one else might make use of it. The result of +all this striving was that he acquired the strange, mad manner that we +know. + +Finally, having reached the age of seventy, what with his art and the +eccentricity of his life, he became raving mad, at which Messer +Francesco Guicciardini, a noble Florentine, and a most trustworthy +writer of the history of his own times, who was then Governor of +Bologna, found no small amusement, as did the whole city. Some people, +however, believe that there was some method mixed with this madness of +his, because, having sold some property for a small price while he was +mad and in very great straits, he asked for it back again when he +regained his sanity, and recovered it under certain conditions, since he +had sold it, so he said, when he was mad. I do not swear, indeed, that +this is true, for it may have been otherwise; but I do say that I have +often heard the story told. + +[Illustration: THE ADORATION + +(_After the panel by =Amico of Bologna [Amico Aspertini]=. Bologna: +Pinacoteca, 297_) + +_Alinari_] + +Amico also gave his attention to sculpture, and executed to the best +of his ability, in marble, a Dead Christ with Nicodemus supporting +Him. This work, which he treated in the manner seen in his pictures, is +on the right within the entrance of the Church of S. Petronio. He used +to paint with both hands at the same time, holding in one the brush with +the bright colour, and in the other that with the dark. But the best +joke of all was that he had his leather belt hung all round with little +pots full of tempered colours, so that he looked like the Devil of S. +Macario with all those flasks of his; and when he worked with his +spectacles on his nose, he would have made the very stones laugh, and +particularly when he began to chatter, for then he babbled enough for +twenty, saying the strangest things in the world, and his whole +demeanour was a comedy. Certain it is that he never used to speak well +of any person, however able or good, and however well dowered he saw him +to be by Nature or Fortune. And, as has been said, he so loved to +chatter and tell stories, that one evening, at the hour of the Ave +Maria, when a painter of Bologna, after buying cabbages in the Piazza, +came upon Amico, the latter kept him under the Loggia del Podesta with +his talk and his amusing stories, without the poor man being able to +break away from him, almost till daylight, when Amico said: "Now go and +boil your cabbages, for the time is getting on." + +He was the author of a vast number of other jokes and follies, of which +I shall not make mention, because it is now time to say something of +Girolamo da Cotignola. This master painted many pictures and portraits +from life in Bologna, and among them are two in the house of the +Vinacci, which are very beautiful. He made a portrait after death of +Monsignore de Foix, who died in the rout of Ravenna, and not long after +he executed a portrait of Massimiliano Sforza. For S. Giuseppe he +painted a panel-picture which brought him much praise, and, for S. +Michele in Bosco, the panel-picture in oils which is in the Chapel of S. +Benedetto. The latter work led to his executing, in company with Biagio +Bolognese, all the scenes which are round that church, laid on in fresco +and executed "a secco," wherein are seen proofs of no little mastery, as +has been said in speaking of the manner of Biagio. The same Girolamo +painted a large altar-piece for S. Colomba at Rimini, in competition +with Benedetto da Ferrara and Lattanzio, in which work he made a S. +Lucia rather wanton than beautiful. And in the great tribune of that +church he executed a Coronation of Our Lady, with the twelve Apostles +and the four Evangelists, with heads so gross and hideous that they are +an outrage to the eye. + +He then returned to Bologna, but had not been there long when he went to +Rome, where he made portraits from life of many men of rank, and in +particular that of Pope Paul III. But, perceiving that it was no place +for him, and that he was not likely to acquire honour, profit, or fame +among so many noble craftsmen, he went off to Naples, where he found +some friends who showed him favour, and above all M. Tommaso Cambi, a +Florentine merchant, and a devoted lover of pictures and antiquities in +marble, by whom he was supplied with everything of which he was in need. +Thereupon, setting to work, he executed a panel-picture of the Magi, in +oils, for the chapel of one M. Antonello, Bishop of I know not what +place, in Monte Oliveto, and another panel-picture in oils for S. +Aniello, containing the Madonna, S. Paul, and S. John the Baptist, with +portraits from life for many noblemen. + +Being now well advanced in years, he lived like a miser, and was always +trying to save money; and after no long time, having little more to do +in Naples, he returned to Rome. There some friends of his, having heard +that he had saved a few crowns, persuaded him that he ought to get +married and live a properly-regulated life. And so, thinking that he was +doing well for himself, he let those friends deceive him so completely +that they imposed upon him for a wife, to suit their own convenience, a +prostitute whom they had been keeping. Then, after he had married her +and come to a knowledge of her, the truth was revealed, at which the +poor old man was so grieved that he died in a few weeks at the age of +sixty-nine. + +And now to say something of Innocenzio da Imola. This master was for +many years in Florence with Mariotto Albertinelli; and then, having +returned to Imola, he executed many works in that place. But finally, at +the persuasion of Count Giovan Battista Bentivogli, he went to live in +Bologna, where one of his first works was a copy of a picture formerly +executed by Raffaello da Urbino for Signor Leonello da Carpi. And for +the Monks of S. Michele in Bosco he painted in fresco, in their +chapter-house, the Death of Our Lady and the Resurrection of Christ, +works which were executed with truly supreme diligence and finish. For +the church of the same monks, also, he painted the panel of the +high-altar, the upper part of which is done in a good manner. For the +Servites of Bologna he executed an Annunciation on panel, and for S. +Salvatore a Crucifixion, with many pictures of various kinds throughout +the whole city. At the Viola, for the Cardinal of Ivrea, he painted +three loggie in fresco, each containing two scenes, executed in colour +from designs by other painters, and yet finished with much diligence. He +painted in fresco a chapel in S. Jacopo, and for Madonna Benozza a +panel-picture in oils, which was not otherwise than passing good. He +made a portrait, also, besides many others, of Cardinal Francesco +Alidosio, which I have seen at Imola, together with the portrait of +Cardinal Bernardino Carvajal, and both are works of no little beauty. + +Innocenzio was a very good and modest person, and therefore always +avoided any dealings or intercourse with the painters of Bologna, who +were quite the opposite in nature, and he was always exerting himself +beyond the limits of his strength; wherefore, when he fell sick of a +putrid fever at the age of fifty-six, it found him so weak and exhausted +that it killed him in a few days. He left unfinished, or rather, +scarcely begun, a work that he had undertaken without Bologna, and this +was completed to perfection, according to the arrangement made by +Innocenzio before his death, by Prospero Fontana, a painter of Bologna. + +The works of all the above-named painters date from 1506 to 1542, and +there are drawings by the hands of them all in our book. + +[Illustration: THE MARRIAGE OF S. CATHARINE + +(_After the painting by =Innocenzio da Imola=. Bologna: S. Giacomo +Maggiore_) + +_Alinari_] + + + + +FRANCIABIGIO + + + + +LIFE OF FRANCIABIGIO + +[_FRANCIA_] + +PAINTER OF FLORENCE + + +The fatigues that a man endures in this life in order to raise himself +from the ground and protect himself from poverty, succouring not only +himself but also his nearest and dearest, have such virtue, that the +sweat and the hardships become full of sweetness, and bring comfort and +nourishment to the minds of others, insomuch that Heaven, in its bounty, +perceiving one drawn to a good life and to upright conduct, and also +filled with zeal and inclination for the studies of the sciences, is +forced to be benign and favourably disposed towards him beyond its wont; +as it was, in truth, towards the Florentine painter Francia. This +master, having applied himself to the art of painting for a just and +excellent reason, laboured therein not so much out of a desire for fame +as from a wish to bring assistance to his needy relatives; and having +been born in a family of humble artisans, people of low degree, he +sought to raise himself from that position. In this effort he was much +spurred by his rivalry with Andrea del Sarto, then his companion, with +whom for a long time he shared both work-room and the painter's life; on +account of which life they made great proficience, one through the +other, in the art of painting. + +Francia learned the first principles of art in his youth by living for +some months with Mariotto Albertinelli. And being much inclined to the +study of perspective, at which he was always working out of pure +delight, while still quite young he gained a reputation for great +ability in Florence. The first works painted by him were a S. Bernard +executed in fresco in S. Pancrazio, a church opposite to his own house, +and a S. Catharine of Siena, executed likewise in fresco, on a pilaster +in the Chapel of the Rucellai; whereby, exerting himself in that art, +he gave proofs of his fine qualities. Much more, even, was he +established in repute by a picture which is in a little chapel in S. +Pietro Maggiore, containing Our Lady with the Child in her arms, and a +little S. John caressing Jesus Christ. He also gave proof of his +excellence in a shrine executed in fresco, in which he painted the +Visitation of Our Lady, on a corner of the Church of S. Giobbe, behind +the Servite Convent in Florence. In the figure of that Madonna may be +seen a goodness truly appropriate, with profound reverence in that of +the older woman; and the S. Job he painted poor and leprous, and also +rich and restored to health. This work so revealed his powers that he +came into credit and fame; whereupon the men who were the rulers of that +church and brotherhood gave him the commission for the panel-picture of +their high-altar, in which Francia acquitted himself even better; and in +that work he painted a Madonna, and S. Job in poverty, and made a +portrait of himself in the face of S. John the Baptist. + +There was built at that time, in S. Spirito at Florence, the Chapel of +S. Niccola, in which was placed a figure of that Saint in the round, +carved in wood from the model by Jacopo Sansovino; and Francia painted +two little angels in two square pictures in oils, one on either side of +that figure, which were much extolled, and also depicted the +Annunciation in two round pictures; and the predella he adorned with +little figures representing the miracles of S. Nicholas, executed with +such diligence that he deserves much praise for them. In S. Pietro +Maggiore, by the door, and on the right hand as one enters the church, +is an Annunciation by his hand, wherein he made the Angel still flying +through the sky, and the Madonna receiving the Salutation on her knees, +in a most graceful attitude; and he drew there a building in +perspective, which was a masterly thing, and was much extolled. And, in +truth, although Francia had a somewhat dainty manner, because he was +very laborious and constrained in his work, nevertheless he showed great +care and diligence in giving the true proportions of art to his figures. + +[Illustration: THE MARRIAGE OF THE VIRGIN + +(_After the fresco by =Franciabigio [Francia]=. Florence: SS. +Annunziata_) + +_Anderson_] + +He was commissioned to execute a scene in the cloister in front of the +Church of the Servites, in competition with Andrea del Sarto; and there +he painted the Marriage of Our Lady, wherein may be clearly recognized +the supreme faith of Joseph, who shows in his face as much awe as joy +at his marriage with her. Besides this, Francia painted there one who is +giving him some blows, as is the custom in our own day, in memory of the +wedding; and in a nude figure he expressed very happily the rage and +disappointment that drive him to break his rod, which had not blossomed, +the drawing of which, with many others, is in our book. In the company +of Our Lady, also, he painted some women with most beautiful expressions +and head-dresses, things in which he always delighted. And in all this +scene he did not paint a single thing that was not very well considered; +as is, for example, a woman with a child in her arms, who, turning to go +home, has cuffed another child, who has sat down in tears and refuses to +go, pressing one hand against his face in a very graceful manner. +Certain it is that he executed every detail in this scene, whether large +or small, with much diligence and love, on account of the burning desire +that he had to show therein to craftsmen and to all other good judges +how great was his respect for the difficulties of art, and how +successfully he could solve them by faithful imitation. + +Not long after this, on the occasion of a festival, the friars wished +that the scenes of Andrea, and likewise that of Francia, should be +uncovered; and the night after Francia had finished his with the +exception of the base, they were so rash and presumptuous as to uncover +them, not thinking, in their ignorance of art, that Francia would want +to retouch or otherwise change his figures. In the morning, both the +painting of Francia and those of Andrea were open to view, and the news +was brought to Francia that Andrea's works and his own had been +uncovered; at which he felt such resentment, that he was like to die of +it. Seized with anger against the friars on account of their presumption +and the little respect that they had shown to him, he set off at his +best speed and came up to the work; and then, climbing on to the +staging, which had not yet been taken to pieces, although the painting +had been uncovered, and seizing a mason's hammer that was there, he beat +some of the women's heads to fragments, and destroyed that of the +Madonna, and also tore almost completely away from the wall, plaster and +all, a nude figure that is breaking a rod. Hearing the noise, the friars +ran up, and, with the help of some laymen, seized his hands, to prevent +him from destroying it completely. But, although in time they offered to +give him double payment, he, on account of the hatred that he had +conceived for them, would never restore it. By reason of the reverence +felt by other painters both for him and for the work, they have refused +to finish it; and so it remains, even in our own day, as a memorial of +that event. This fresco is executed with such diligence and so much +love, and it is so beautiful in its freshness, that Francia may be said +to have worked better in fresco than any man of his time, and to have +blended and harmonized his paintings in fresco better than any other, +without needing to retouch the colours; wherefore he deserves to be much +extolled both for this and for his other works. + +At Rovezzano, without the Porta alla Croce, near Florence, he painted a +shrine with a Christ on the Cross and some saints; and in S. Giovannino, +at the Porta a S. Piero Gattolini, he executed a Last Supper of the +Apostles in fresco. + +No long time after, on the departure for France of the painter Andrea +del Sarto, who had begun to paint the stories of S. John the Baptist in +chiaroscuro in a cloister of the Company of the Scalzo at Florence, the +men of that Company, desiring to have that work finished, engaged +Francia, to the end that he, being an imitator of the manner of Andrea, +might complete the paintings begun by the other. Thereupon Francia +executed the decorations right round one part of that cloister, and +finished two of the scenes, which he painted with great diligence. These +are, first S. John the Baptist obtaining leave from his father Zacharias +to go into the desert, and then the meeting of Christ and S. John on the +way, with Joseph and Mary standing there and beholding them embrace one +another. But more than this he did not do, on account of the return of +Andrea, who then went on to finish the rest of the work. + +With Ridolfo Ghirlandajo he prepared a most beautiful festival for the +marriage of Duke Lorenzo, with two sets of scenery for the dramas that +were performed, executing them with much method, masterly judgment, and +grace; on account of which he acquired credit and favour with that +Prince. This service was the reason that he received the commission for +gilding the ceiling of the Hall of Poggio a Caiano, in company with +Andrea di Cosimo. And afterwards, in competition with Andrea del Sarto +and Jacopo da Pontormo, he began, on a wall in that hall, the scene of +Cicero being carried in triumph by the citizens of Rome. This work had +been undertaken by the liberality of Pope Leo, in memory of his father +Lorenzo, who had caused the edifice to be built, and had ordained that +it should be painted with scenes from ancient history and other +ornaments according to his pleasure. And these had been entrusted by the +learned historian, M. Paolo Giovio, Bishop of Nocera, who was then chief +in authority near the person of Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, to Andrea +del Sarto, Jacopo da Pontormo, and Franciabigio, that they might +demonstrate the power and perfection of their art in the work, each +receiving thirty crowns every month from the magnificent Ottaviano de' +Medici. Thereupon Francia executed on his part, to say nothing of the +beauty of the scene, some buildings in perspective, very well +proportioned. But the work remained unfinished on account of the death +of Leo; and afterwards, in the year 1532, it was begun again by Jacopo +da Pontormo at the commission of Duke Alessandro de' Medici, but he +lingered over it so long, that the Duke died and it was once more left +unfinished. + +But to return to Francia; so ardent was his love for the matters of art, +that there was no summer day on which he did not draw some study of a +nude figure from the life in his work-room, and to that end he always +kept men in his pay. For S. Maria Nuova, at the request of Maestro +Andrea Pasquali, an excellent physician of Florence, he executed an +anatomical figure, in consequence of which he made a great advance in +the art of painting, and pursued it ever afterwards with more zeal. He +then painted in the Convent of S. Maria Novella, in the lunette over the +door of the library, a S. Thomas confuting the heretics with his +learning, a work which is executed with diligence and a good manner. +There, among other details, are two children who serve to uphold an +escutcheon in the ornamental border; and these are very fine, full of +the greatest beauty and grace, and painted in a most lovely manner. + +He also executed a picture with little figures for Giovanni Maria +Benintendi, in competition with Jacopo da Pontormo, who painted another +of the same size for that patron, containing the story of the Magi; and +two others were painted by Francesco d' Albertino.[12] In his work +Francia represented the scene of David seeing Bathsheba in her bath; and +there he painted some women in a manner too smooth and dainty, and drew +a building in perspective, wherein is David giving letters to the +messengers, who are to carry them to the camp to the end that Uriah the +Hittite may meet his death; and under a loggia he painted a royal +banquet of great beauty. This work contributed greatly to the fame and +honour of Francia, who, if he had much ability for large figures, had +much more for little figures. + +Francia also made many most beautiful portraits from life; one, in +particular, for Matteo Sofferroni, who was very much his friend, and +another for a countryman, the steward of Pier Francesco de' Medici at +the Palace of S. Girolamo da Fiesole, which seems absolutely alive, with +many others. And since he undertook any kind of work without being +ashamed, so long as he was pursuing his art, he set his hand to whatever +commission was given to him; wherefore, in addition to many works of the +meanest kind, he painted a most beautiful "Noli me tangere" for the +cloth-weaver Arcangelo, at the top of a tower that serves as a terrace, +in Porta Rossa; with an endless number of other trivial works, executed +by Francia because he was a person of sweet and kindly nature and very +obliging, of which there is no need to say more. + +[Illustration: FRANCIABIGIO: PORTRAIT OF A MAN + +(_Vienna: Collection of Prince Liechtenstein._ _Canvas_)] + +This master loved to live in peace, and for that reason would never take +a wife; and he was always repeating the trite proverb, "The fruits of a +wife are cares and strife." He would never leave Florence, because, +having seen some works by Raffaello da Urbino, and feeling that he was +not equal to that great man and to many others of supreme renown, he did +not wish to compete with craftsmen of such rare excellence. In truth, +the greatest wisdom and prudence that a man can possess is to know +himself, and to refrain from exalting himself beyond his true worth. +And, finally, having acquired much by constant work, for one who was not +endowed by nature with much boldness of invention or with any powers +but those that he had gained by long study, he died in the year 1524 at +the age of forty-two. + +One of Francia's disciples was his brother Agnolo, who died after having +painted a frieze that is in the cloister of S. Pancrazio, and a few +other works. The same Agnolo painted for the perfumer Ciano, an +eccentric man, but respected after his kind, a sign for his shop, +containing a gipsy woman telling the fortune of a lady in a very +graceful manner, which was the idea of Ciano, and not without mystic +meaning. Another who learnt to paint from the same master was Antonio di +Donnino Mazzieri, who was a bold draughtsman, and showed much invention +in making horses and landscapes. He painted in chiaroscuro the cloister +of S. Agostino at Monte Sansovino, executing therein scenes from the Old +Testament, which were much extolled. In the Vescovado of Arezzo he +painted the Chapel of S. Matteo, with a scene, among other things, +showing that Saint baptizing a King, in which he made a portrait of a +German, so good that it seems to be alive. For Francesco del Giocondo he +executed the story of the Martyrs in a chapel behind the choir of the +Servite Church in Florence; but in this he acquitted himself so badly, +that he lost all his credit and was reduced to undertaking any sort of +work. + +Francia taught his art also to a young man named Visino, who, to judge +from what we see of him, would have become an excellent painter, if he +had not died young, as he did; and to many others, of whom I shall make +no further mention. He was buried by the Company of S. Giobbe in S. +Pancrazio, opposite to his own house, in the year 1525; and his death +was truly a great grief to all good craftsmen, seeing that he had been a +talented and skilful master, and very modest in his every action. + +FOOTNOTE: + +[12] Francesco Ubertini, called Il Bacchiacca. + + + + +MORTO DA FELTRO AND ANDREA DI COSIMO FELTRINI + + + + +LIVES OF MORTO DA FELTRO AND OF ANDREA DI COSIMO FELTRINI + +PAINTERS + + +The painter Morto da Feltro, who was as original in his life as he was +in his brain and in the new fashion of grotesques that he made, which +caused him to be held in great estimation, found his way as a young man +to Rome at the time when Pinturicchio was painting the Papal apartments +for Alexander VI, with the loggie and lower rooms in the Great Tower of +the Castello di S. Angelo, and some of the upper apartments. He was a +melancholy person, and was constantly studying the antiquities; and +seeing among them sections of vaults and ranges of walls adorned with +grotesques, he liked these so much that he never ceased from examining +them. And so well did he grasp the methods of drawing foliage in the +ancient manner, that he was second to no man of his time in that +profession. He was never tired, indeed, of examining all that he could +find below the ground in Rome in the way of ancient grottoes, with +vaults innumerable. He spent many months in Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli, +drawing all the pavements and grottoes that are there, both above ground +and below. And hearing that at Pozzuolo, in the Kingdom of Naples, ten +miles from the city, there were many walls covered with ancient +grotesques, both executed in relief with stucco and painted, and said to +be very beautiful, he devoted several months to studying them on the +spot. Nor was he content until he had drawn every least thing in the +Campana, an ancient road in that place, full of antique sepulchres; and +he also drew many of the temples and grottoes, both above and below the +ground, at Trullo, near the seashore. He went to Baia and Mercato di +Sabbato, both places full of ruined buildings covered with scenes, +searching out everything in such a manner that by means of his long and +loving labour he grew vastly in power and knowledge of his art. + +Having then returned to Rome, he worked there many months, giving his +attention to figures, since he considered that in that part of his +profession he was not the master that he was held to be in the execution +of grotesques. And after he had conceived this desire, hearing the +renown that Leonardo and Michelagnolo had in that art on account of the +cartoons executed by them in Florence, he set out straightway to go to +that city. But, after he had seen those works, he did not think himself +able to make the same improvement that he had made in his first +profession, and he went back, therefore, to work at his grotesques. + +There was then living in Florence one Andrea di Cosimo Feltrini, a +painter of that city, and a young man of much diligence, who received +Morto into his house and entertained him with most affectionate +attentions. Finding pleasure in the nature of Morto's art, Andrea also +gave his mind to that vocation, and became an able master, being in time +even more excellent than Morto, and much esteemed in Florence, as will +be told later. And it was through Andrea that Morto came to paint for +Piero Soderini, who was then Gonfalonier, decorations of grotesques in +an apartment of the Palace, which were held to be very beautiful; but in +our own day these have been destroyed in rearranging the apartments of +Duke Cosimo, and repainted. For Maestro Valerio, a Servite friar, Morto +decorated the empty space on a chair-back, which was a most beautiful +work; and for Agnolo Doni, likewise, in a chamber, he executed many +pictures with a variety of bizarre grotesques. And since he also +delighted in figures, he painted Our Lady in some round pictures, in +order to see whether he could become as famous for them as he was (for +his grotesques). + +Then, having grown weary of staying in Florence, he betook himself to +Venice; and attaching himself to Giorgione da Castelfranco, who was then +painting the Fondaco de' Tedeschi, he set himself to assist him and +executed the ornamentation of that work. And in this way he remained +many months in that city, attracted by the sensuous pleasures and +delights that he found there. + +He then went to execute works in Friuli, but he had not been there long +when, finding that the rulers of Venice were enlisting soldiers, he +entered their service; and before he had had much experience of that +calling he was made Captain of two hundred men. The army of the +Venetians had advanced by that time to Zara in Sclavonia; and one day, +when a brisk skirmish took place, Morto, desiring to win a greater name +in that profession than he had gained in the art of painting, went +bravely forward, and, after fighting in the melee, was left dead on the +field, even as he had always been in name,[13] at the age of forty-five. +But in fame he will never be dead, because those who exercise their +hands in the arts and produce everlasting works, leaving memorials of +themselves after death, are destined never to suffer the death of their +labours, for writers, in their gratitude, bear witness to their talents. +Eagerly, therefore, should our craftsmen spur themselves on with +incessant study to such a goal as will ensure them an undying name both +through their own works and through the writings of others, since, by so +doing, they will gain eternal life both for themselves and for the works +that they leave behind them after death. + +Morto restored the painting of grotesques in a manner more like the +ancient than was achieved by any other painter, and for this he deserves +infinite praise, in that it is after his example that they have been +brought in our own day, by the hands of Giovanni da Udine and other +craftsmen, to the great beauty and excellence that we see. For, although +the said Giovanni and others have carried them to absolute perfection, +it is none the less true that the chief praise is due to Morto, who was +the first to bring them to light and to devote his whole attention to +paintings of that kind, which are called grotesques because they were +found for the most part in the grottoes of the ruins of Rome; besides +which, every man knows that it is easy to make additions to anything +once it has been discovered. + +The painting of grotesques was continued in Florence by Andrea Feltrini, +called Di Cosimo, because he was a disciple of Cosimo Rosselli in the +study of figures (which he executed passing well), as he was afterwards +of Morto in that of grotesques, of which we have spoken. In this kind +of painting Andrea had from nature such power of invention and such +grace that he was the first to make ornaments of greater grandeur, +abundance, and richness than the ancient, and quite different in manner; +and he gave them better order and cohesion, and enriched them with +figures, such as are not seen in Rome or in any other place but +Florence, where he executed a great number. In this respect there has +never been any man who has surpassed him in excellence, as may be seen +from the ornament and the predella painted with little grotesques in +colour round the Pieta that Pietro Perugino executed for the altar of +the Serristori in S. Croce at Florence. These are heightened with +various colours on a ground of red and black mixed together, and are +wrought with much facility and with extraordinary boldness and grace. + +Andrea introduced the practice of covering the facades of houses and +palaces with an intonaco of lime mixed with the black of ground +charcoal, or rather, burnt straw, on which intonaco, when still fresh, +he spread a layer of white plaster. Then, having drawn the grotesques, +with such divisions as he desired, on some cartoons, he dusted them over +the intonaco, and proceeded to scratch it with an iron tool, in such a +way that his designs were traced over the whole facade by that tool; +after which, scraping away the white from the grounds of the grotesques, +he went on to shade them or to hatch a good design upon them with the +same iron tool. Finally, he went over the whole work, shading it with a +liquid water-colour like water tinted with black. All this produces a +very pleasing, rich, and beautiful effect; and there was an account of +the method in the twenty-sixth chapter, dealing with sgraffiti, in the +Treatise on Technique. + +The first facades that Andrea executed in this manner were that of the +Gondi, which is full of delicacy and grace, in Borg' Ognissanti, and +that of Lanfredino Lanfredini, which is very ornate and rich in the +variety of its compartments, on the Lungarno between the Ponte S. +Trinita and the Ponte della Carraja, near S. Spirito. He also decorated +in sgraffito the house of Andrea and Tommaso Sertini, near S. Michele in +Piazza Padella, making it more varied and grander in manner than the +two others. He painted in chiaroscuro the facade of the Church of the +Servite Friars, for which work he caused the painter Tommaso di Stefano +to paint in two niches the Angel bringing the Annunciation to the +Virgin; and in the court, where there are the stories of S. Filippo and +of Our Lady painted by Andrea del Sarto, he executed between the two +doors a very beautiful escutcheon of Pope Leo X. And on the occasion of +the visit of that Pontiff to Florence he executed many beautiful +ornaments in the form of grotesques on the facade of S. Maria del Fiore, +for Jacopo Sansovino, who gave him his sister for wife. He executed the +baldachin under which the Pope walked, covering the upper part with most +beautiful grotesques, and the hangings round it with the arms of that +Pope and other devices of the Church; and this baldachin was afterwards +presented to the Church of S. Lorenzo in Florence, where it is still to +be seen. He also decorated many standards and banners for the visit of +Leo, and in honour of many who were made Chevaliers by that Pontiff and +by other Princes, of which there are some hung up in various churches in +that city. + +Andrea, working constantly in the service of the house of Medici, +assisted at the preparations for the wedding of Duke Giuliano and that +of Duke Lorenzo, executing an abundance of various ornaments in the form +of grotesques; and so, also, in the obsequies of those Princes. In all +this he was largely employed by Franciabigio, Andrea del Sarto, +Pontormo, and Ridolfo Ghirlandajo, and by Granaccio for triumphal +processions and other festivals, since nothing good could be done +without him. He was the best man that ever touched a brush, and, being +timid by nature, he would never undertake any work on his own account, +because he was afraid of exacting the money for his labours. He +delighted to work the whole day long, and disliked annoyances of any +kind; for which reason he associated himself with the gilder Mariotto di +Francesco, one of the most able and skilful men at his work that ever +existed in the world of art, very adroit in obtaining commissions, and +most dexterous in exacting payments and doing business. This Mariotto +also brought the gilder Raffaello di Biagio into the partnership, and +the three worked together, sharing equally all the earnings of the +commissions that they executed; and this association lasted until death +parted them, Mariotto being the last to die. + +To return to the works of Andrea; he decorated for Giovanni Maria +Benintendi all the ceilings of his house, and executed the ornamentation +of the ante-chambers, wherein are the scenes painted by Franciabigio and +Jacopo da Pontormo. He went with Franciabigio to Poggio, and executed in +terretta the ornaments for all the scenes there in such a way that there +is nothing better to be seen. For the Chevalier Guidotti he decorated in +sgraffito the facade of his house in the Via Larga, and he also executed +another of great beauty for Bartolommeo Panciatichi, on the house (now +belonging to Ruberto de' Ricci) which he built on the Piazza degli Agli. +Nor am I able to describe all the friezes, coffers, and strong-boxes, or +the vast quantity of ceilings, which Andrea decorated with his own hand, +for the whole city is full of these, and I must refrain from speaking of +them. But I must mention the round escutcheons of various kinds that he +made, for they were such that no wedding could take place without his +having his workshop besieged by one citizen or another; nor could any +kind of brocade, linen, or cloth of gold, with flowered patterns, ever +be woven, without his making the designs for them, and that with so much +variety, grace, and beauty, that he breathed spirit and life into all +such things. If Andrea, indeed, had known his own value, he would have +made a vast fortune; but it sufficed him to live in love with his art. + +I must not omit to tell that in my youth, while in the service of Duke +Alessandro de' Medici, I was commissioned, when Charles V came to +Florence, to make the banners for the Castle, or rather, as it is called +at the present day, the Citadel; and among these was a standard of +crimson cloth, eighteen braccia wide at the staff and forty in length, +and surrounded by borders of gold containing the devices of the Emperor +Charles V and of the house of Medici, with the arms of his Majesty in +the centre. For this work, in which were used forty-five thousand leaves +of gold, I summoned to my assistance Andrea for the borders and Mariotto +for the gilding; and many things did I learn from that good Andrea, so +full of love and kindness for those who were studying art. And so great +did the skill of Andrea then prove to be, that, besides availing myself +of him for many details of the arches that were erected for the entry of +his Majesty, I chose him as my companion, together with Tribolo, when +Madama Margherita, daughter of Charles V, came to be married to Duke +Alessandro, in making the festive preparations that I executed in the +house of the Magnificent Ottaviano de' Medici on the Piazza di S. Marco, +which was adorned with grotesques by his hand, with statues by the hand +of Tribolo, and with figures and scenes by my hand. At the last he was +much employed for the obsequies of Duke Alessandro, and even more for +the marriage of Duke Cosimo, when all the devices in the courtyard, +described by M. Francesco Giambullari, who wrote an account of the +festivities of that wedding, were painted by Andrea with ornaments of +great variety. And then Andrea--who, by reason of a melancholy humour +which often oppressed him, was on many occasions on the point of taking +his own life, but was observed so closely and guarded so well by his +companion Mariotto that he lived to be an old man--finished the course +of his life at the age of sixty-four, leaving behind him the name of a +good and even rarely excellent master of grotesque-painting in our own +times, wherein every succeeding craftsman has always imitated his +manner, not only in Florence, but also in other places. + +FOOTNOTE: + +[13] From the word "Morto," which means "dead." + + + + +MARCO CALAVRESE + + + + +LIFE OF MARCO CALAVRESE + +PAINTER + + +When the world possesses some great light in any science, every least +part is illuminated by its rays, some with greater brightness and some +with less; and the miracles that result are also greater or less +according to differences of air and place. Constantly, in truth, do we +see a particular country producing a particular kind of intellect fitted +for a particular kind of work, for which others are not fitted, nor can +they ever attain, whatever labours they may endure, to the goal of +supreme excellence. And if we marvel when we see growing in some +province a fruit that has not been wont to grow there, much more can we +rejoice in a man of fine intellect when we find him in a country where +men of the same bent are not usually born. Thus it was with the painter +Marco Calavrese, who, leaving his own country, chose for his habitation +the sweet and pleasant city of Naples. He had been minded, indeed, on +setting out, to make his way to Rome, and there to achieve the end that +rewards the student of painting; but the song of the Siren was so sweet +to him, and all the more because he delighted to play on the lute, and +the soft waters of Sebeto so melted his heart, that he remained a +prisoner in body of that land until he rendered up his spirit to Heaven +and his mortal flesh to earth. + +Marco executed innumerable works in oils and in fresco, and he proved +himself more able than any other man who was practising the same art in +that country in his day. Of this we have proof in the work that he +executed at Aversa, ten miles distant from Naples; and, above all, in a +panel-picture in oils on the high-altar of the Church of S. Agostino, +with a large ornamental frame, and various pictures painted with scenes +and figures, in which he represented S. Augustine disputing with the +heretics, with stories of Christ and Saints in various attitudes both +above and at the sides. In this work, which shows a manner full of +harmony and drawing towards the good manner of our modern works, may +also be seen great beauty and facility of colouring; and it was one of +the many labours that he executed in that city and for various places in +the kingdom. + +Marco always lived a gay life, enjoying every minute to the full, for +the reason that, having no rivalry to contend with in painting from +other craftsmen, he was always adored by the Neapolitan nobles, and +contrived to have himself rewarded for his works by ample payments. And +so, having come to the age of fifty-six, he ended his life after an +ordinary illness. + +He left a disciple in Giovan Filippo Crescione, a painter of Naples, who +executed many pictures in company with his brother-in-law, Leonardo +Castellani, as he still does; but of these men, since they are alive and +in constant practice of their art, there is no need to make mention. + +The pictures of Maestro Marco were executed by him between 1508 and +1542. He had a companion in another Calabrian (whose name I do not +know), who worked for a long time in Rome with Giovanni da Udine and +executed many works by himself in that city, particularly facades in +chiaroscuro. The same Calabrian also painted in fresco the Chapel of the +Conception in the Church of the Trinita, with much skill and diligence. + +At this same time lived Niccola, commonly called by everyone Maestro +Cola dalla Matrice, who executed many works in Calabria, at Ascoli, and +at Norcia, which are very well known, and which gained for him the name +of a rare master--the best, indeed, that there had ever been in these +parts. And since he also gave his attention to architecture, all the +buildings that were erected in his day at Ascoli and throughout all that +province had him as architect. Cola, without caring to see Rome or to +change his country, remained always at Ascoli, living happily for some +time with his wife, a woman of good and honourable family, and endowed +with extraordinary nobility of spirit, as was proved when the strife of +parties arose at Ascoli, in the time of Pope Paul III. For then, while +she was flying with her husband, with many soldiers in pursuit, more on +her account (for she was a very beautiful young woman) than for any +other reason, she resolved, not seeing any other way in which she could +save her own honour and the life of her husband, to throw herself from a +high cliff to the depth below. At which all the soldiers believed that +she was not only mortally injured, but dashed to pieces, as indeed she +was; wherefore they left the husband without doing him any harm, and +returned to Ascoli. After the death of this extraordinary woman, worthy +of eternal praise, Maestro Cola passed the rest of his life with little +happiness. A short time afterwards, Signor Alessandro Vitelli, who had +become Lord of Matrice,[14] took Maestro Cola, now an old man, to Citta +di Castello, where he caused him to paint in his palace many works in +fresco and many other pictures; which works finished, Maestro Cola +returned to finish his life at Matrice. + +This master would have acquitted himself not otherwise than passing +well, if he had practised his art in places where rivalry and emulation +might have made him attend with more study to painting, and exercise the +beautiful intellect with which it is evident that he was endowed by +nature. + +FOOTNOTE: + +[14] Amatrice. + + + + +FRANCESCO MAZZUOLI + + + + +LIFE OF FRANCESCO MAZZUOLI + +[_PARMIGIANO_] + +PAINTER OF PARMA + + +Among the many natives of Lombardy who have been endowed with the +gracious gift of design, with a lively spirit of invention, and with a +particular manner of making beautiful landscapes in their pictures, we +should rate as second to none, and even place before all the rest, +Francesco Mazzuoli of Parma, who was bountifully endowed by Heaven with +all those parts that are necessary to make a supreme painter, insomuch +that he gave to his figures, in addition to what has been said of many +others, a certain nobility, sweetness, and grace in the attitudes which +belonged to him alone. To his heads, likewise, it is evident that he +gave all the consideration that is needful; and his manner has therefore +been studied and imitated by innumerable painters, because he shed on +art a light of grace so pleasing, that his works will always be held in +great price, and himself honoured by all students of design. Would to +God that he had always pursued the studies of painting, and had not +sought to pry into the secrets of congealing mercury in order to become +richer than Nature and Heaven had made him; for then he would have been +without an equal, and truly unique in the art of painting, whereas, by +searching for that which he could never find, he wasted his time, +wronged his art, and did harm to his own life and fame. + +Francesco was born at Parma in the year 1504, and because he lost his +father when he was still a child of tender age, he was left to the care +of two uncles, brothers of his father, and both painters, who brought +him up with the greatest lovingness, teaching him all those praiseworthy +ways that befit a Christian man and a good citizen. Then, having made +some little growth, he had no sooner taken pen in hand in order to learn +to write, than he began, spurred by Nature, who had consecrated him at +his birth to design, to draw most marvellous things; and the master who +was teaching him to write, noticing this and perceiving to what heights +the genius of the boy might in time attain, persuaded his uncles to let +him give his attention to design and painting. Whereupon, being men of +good judgment in matters of art, although they were old and painters of +no great fame, and recognizing that God and Nature had been the boy's +first masters, they did not fail to take the greatest pains to make him +learn to draw under the discipline of the best masters, to the end that +he might acquire a good manner. And coming by degrees to believe that he +had been born, so to speak, with brushes in his fingers, on the one hand +they urged him on, and on the other, fearing lest overmuch study might +perchance spoil his health, they would sometimes hold him back. Finally, +having come to the age of sixteen, and having already done miracles of +drawing, he painted a S. John baptizing Christ, of his own invention, on +a panel, which he executed in such a manner that even now whoever sees +it stands marvelling that such a work should have been painted so well +by a boy. This picture was placed in the Nunziata, the seat of the Frati +de' Zoccoli at Parma. Not content with this, however, Francesco resolved +to try his hand at working in fresco, and therefore painted a chapel in +S. Giovanni Evangelista, a house of Black Friars of S. Benedict; and +since he succeeded in that kind of work, he painted as many as seven. + +But about that time Pope Leo X sent Signor Prospero Colonna with an army +to Parma, and the uncles of Francesco, fearing that he might perchance +lose time or be distracted, sent him in company with his cousin, +Girolamo Mazzuoli, another boy-painter, to Viadana, a place belonging to +the Duke of Mantua, where they lived all the time that the war lasted; +and there Francesco painted two panels in distemper. One of these, in +which are S. Francis receiving the Stigmata, and S. Chiara, was placed +in the Church of the Frati de' Zoccoli; and the other, which contains a +Marriage of S. Catharine, with many figures, was placed in S. Piero. And +let no one believe that these are works of a young beginner, for they +seem to be rather by the hand of a full-grown master. + +The war finished, Francesco, having returned with his cousin to Parma, +first completed some pictures that he had left unfinished at his +departure, which are in the hands of various people. After this he +painted a panel-picture in oils of Our Lady with the Child in her arms, +with S. Jerome on one side and the Blessed Bernardino da Feltro on the +other, and in the head of one of these figures he made a portrait of the +patron of the picture, which is so wonderful that it lacks nothing save +the breath of life. All these works he executed before he had reached +the age of nineteen. + +Then, having conceived a desire to see Rome, like one who was on the +path of progress and heard much praise given to the works of good +masters, and particularly to those of Raffaello and Michelagnolo, he +spoke out his mind and desire to his old uncles, who, thinking that such +a wish was not otherwise than worthy of praise, said that they were +content that he should go, but that it would be well for him to take +with him some work by his own hand, which might serve to introduce him +to the noblemen of that city and to the craftsmen of his profession. +This advice was not displeasing to Francesco, and he painted three +pictures, two small and one of some size, representing in the last the +Child in the arms of the Madonna, taking some fruits from the lap of an +Angel, and an old man with his arms covered with hair, executed with art +and judgment, and pleasing in colour. Besides this, in order to +investigate the subtleties of art, he set himself one day to make his +own portrait, looking at himself in a convex barber's mirror. And in +doing this, perceiving the bizarre effects produced by the roundness of +the mirror, which twists the beams of a ceiling into strange curves, and +makes the doors and other parts of buildings recede in an extraordinary +manner, the idea came to him to amuse himself by counterfeiting +everything. Thereupon he had a ball of wood made by a turner, and, +dividing it in half so as to make it the same in size and shape as the +mirror, set to work to counterfeit on it with supreme art all that he +saw in the glass, and particularly his own self, which he did with such +lifelike reality as could not be imagined or believed. Now everything +that is near the mirror is magnified, and all that is at a distance is +diminished, and thus he made the hand engaged in drawing somewhat +large, as the mirror showed it, and so marvellous that it seemed to be +his very own. And since Francesco had an air of great beauty, with a +face and aspect full of grace, in the likeness rather of an angel than +of a man, his image on that ball had the appearance of a thing divine. +So happily, indeed, did he succeed in the whole of this work, that the +painting was no less real than the reality, and in it were seen the +lustre of the glass, the reflection of every detail, and the lights and +shadows, all so true and natural, that nothing more could have been +looked for from the brain of man. + +[Illustration: THE MARRIAGE OF S. CATHARINE + +(_After the painting by =Francesco Mazzuoli [Parmigiano]=. Parma: +Gallery, 192_) + +_Anderson_] + +Having finished these works, which were held by his old uncles to be out +of the ordinary, and even considered by many other good judges of art to +be miracles of beauty, and having packed up both pictures and portrait, +he made his way to Rome, accompanied by one of the uncles. There, after +the Datary had seen the pictures and appraised them at their true worth, +the young man and his uncle were straightway introduced to Pope Clement, +who, seeing the works and the youthfulness of Francesco, was struck with +astonishment, and with him all his Court. And afterwards his Holiness, +having first shown him much favour, said that he wished to commission +him to paint the Hall of the Popes, in which Giovanni da Udine had +already decorated all the ceiling with stucco-work and painting. And so, +after presenting his pictures to the Pope, and receiving various gifts +and marks of favour in addition to his promises, Francesco, spurred by +the praise and glory that he heard bestowed upon him, and by the hope of +the profit that he might expect from so great a Pontiff, painted a most +beautiful picture of the Circumcision, which was held to be +extraordinary in invention on account of three most fanciful lights that +shone in the work; for the first figures were illuminated by the +radiance of the countenance of Christ, the second received their light +from others who were walking up some steps with burning torches in their +hands, bringing offerings for the sacrifice, and the last were revealed +and illuminated by the light of the dawn, which played upon a most +lovely landscape with a vast number of buildings. This picture finished, +he presented it to the Pope, who did not do with it what he had done +with the others; for he had given the picture of Our Lady to Cardinal +Ippolito de' Medici, his nephew, and the mirror-portrait to Messer +Pietro Aretino, the poet, who was in his service, but the picture of the +Circumcision he kept for himself; and it is believed that it came in +time into the possession of the Emperor. The mirror-portrait I remember +to have seen, when quite a young man, in the house of the same Messer +Pietro Aretino at Arezzo, where it was sought out as a choice work by +the strangers passing through that city. Afterwards it fell, I know not +how, into the hands of Valerio Vicentino, the crystal-engraver, and it +is now in the possession of Alessandro Vittoria, a sculptor in Venice, +the disciple of Jacopo Sansovino. + +But to return to Francesco; while studying in Rome, he set himself to +examine all the ancient and modern works, both of sculpture and of +painting, that were in that city, but held those of Michelagnolo +Buonarroti and Raffaello da Urbino in supreme veneration beyond all the +others; and it was said afterwards that the spirit of that Raffaello had +passed into the body of Francesco, when men saw how excellent the young +man was in art, and how gentle and gracious in his ways, as was +Raffaello, and above all when it became known how much Francesco strove +to imitate him in everything, and particularly in painting. Nor was this +study in vain, for many little pictures that he painted in Rome, the +greater part of which afterwards came into the hands of Cardinal +Ippolito de' Medici, were truly marvellous; and even such is a round +picture with a very beautiful Annunciation, executed by him for Messer +Agnolo Cesis, which is now treasured as a rare work in the house of that +family. He painted a picture, likewise, of the Madonna with Christ, some +Angels, and a S. Joseph, which are beautiful to a marvel on account of +the expressions of the heads, the colouring, and the grace and diligence +with which they are seen to have been executed. This work was formerly +in the possession of Luigi Gaddi, and it must now be in the hands of his +heirs. + +Hearing the fame of this master, Signor Lorenzo Cibo, Captain of the +Papal Guard, and a very handsome man, had a portrait of himself painted +by Francesco, who may be said to have made, not a portrait, but a living +figure of flesh and blood. Having then been commissioned to paint for +Madonna Maria Bufolini of Citta di Castello a panel-picture which was +to be placed in S. Salvatore del Lauro, in a chapel near the door, +Francesco painted in it a Madonna in the sky, who is reading and has the +Child between her knees, and on the earth he made a figure of S. John, +kneeling on one knee in an attitude of extraordinary beauty, turning his +body, and pointing to the Infant Christ; and lying asleep on the ground, +in foreshortening, is a S. Jerome in Penitence. + +But he was prevented from bringing this work to completion by the ruin +and sack of Rome in 1527, which was the reason not only that the arts +were banished for a time, but also that many craftsmen lost their lives. +And Francesco, also, came within a hair's breadth of losing his, seeing +that at the beginning of the sack he was so intent on his work, that, +when the soldiers were entering the houses, and some Germans were +already in his, he did not move from his painting for all the uproar +that they were making; but when they came upon him and saw him working, +they were so struck with astonishment at the work, that, like the +gentlemen that they must have been, they let him go on. And thus, while +the impious cruelty of those barbarous hordes was ruining the unhappy +city and all its treasures, both sacred and profane, without showing +respect to either God or man, Francesco was provided for and greatly +honoured by those Germans, and protected from all injury. All the +hardship that he suffered at that time was this, that he was forced, one +of them being a great lover of painting, to make a vast number of +drawings in water-colours and with the pen, which formed the payment of +his ransom. But afterwards, when these soldiers changed their quarters, +Francesco nearly came to an evil end, because, going to look for some +friends, he was made prisoner by other soldiers and compelled to pay as +ransom some few crowns that he possessed. Wherefore his uncle, grieved +by that and by the fact that this disaster had robbed Francesco of his +hopes of acquiring knowledge, honour, and profit, and seeing Rome almost +wholly in ruins and the Pope the prisoner of the Spaniards, determined +to take him back to Parma. And so he set Francesco on his way to his +native city, but himself remained for some days in Rome, where he +deposited the panel-picture painted for Madonna Maria Bufolini with the +Friars of the Pace, in whose refectory it remained for many years, +until finally it was taken by Messer Giulio Bufolini to the church of +his family in Citta di Castello. + +Having arrived in Bologna, and finding entertainment with many friends, +and particularly in the house of his most intimate friend, a saddler of +Parma, Francesco stayed some months in that city, where the life pleased +him, during which time he had some works engraved and printed in +chiaroscuro, among others the Beheading of S. Peter and S. Paul, and a +large figure of Diogenes. He also prepared many others, in order to have +them engraved on copper and printed, having with him for this purpose +one Maestro Antonio da Trento; but he did not carry this intention into +effect at the time, because he was forced to set his hand to executing +many pictures and other works for gentlemen of Bologna. The first +picture by his hand that was seen at Bologna was a S. Rocco of great +size in the Chapel of the Monsignori in S. Petronio; to which Saint he +gave a marvellous aspect, making him very beautiful in every part, and +conceiving him as somewhat relieved from the pain that the plague-sore +in the thigh gave him, which he shows by looking with uplifted head +towards Heaven in the act of thanking God, as good men do in spite of +the adversities that fall upon them. This work he executed for one +Fabrizio da Milano, of whom he painted a portrait from the waist upwards +in the picture, with the hands clasped, which seems to be alive; and +equally real, also, seems a dog that is there, with some landscapes +which are very beautiful, Francesco being particularly excellent in this +respect. + +He then painted for Albio, a physician of Parma, a Conversion of S. +Paul, with many figures and a landscape, which was a very choice work. +And for his friend the saddler he executed another picture of +extraordinary beauty, containing a Madonna turned to one side in a +lovely attitude, and several other figures. He also painted a picture +for Count Giorgio Manzuoli, and two canvases in gouache, with some +little figures, all graceful and well executed, for Maestro Luca dai +Leuti. + +One morning about this time, while Francesco was still in bed, the +aforesaid Antonio da Trento, who was living with him as his engraver, +opened a strong-box and robbed him of all the copper-plate engravings, +woodcuts, and drawings that he possessed; and he must have gone off to +the Devil, for all the news that was ever heard of him. The engravings +and woodcuts, indeed, Francesco recovered, for Antonio had left them +with a friend in Bologna, perchance with the intention of reclaiming +them at his convenience; but the drawings he was never able to get back. +Driven almost out of his mind by this, he returned to his painting, and +made a portrait, for the sake of money, of I know not what Count of +Bologna. After that he painted a picture of Our Lady, with a Christ who +is holding a globe of the world. The Madonna has a most beautiful +expression, and the Child is also very natural; for he always gave to +the faces of children a vivacious and truly childlike air, which yet +reveals that subtle and mischievous spirit that children often have. And +he attired the Madonna in a very unusual fashion, clothing her in a +garment that had sleeves of yellowish gauze, striped, as it were, with +gold, which gave a truly beautiful and graceful effect, revealing the +flesh in a natural and delicate manner; besides which, the hair is +painted so well that there is none better to be seen. This picture was +painted for Messer Pietro Aretino, but Francesco gave it to Pope +Clement, who came to Bologna at that time; then, in some way of which I +know nothing, it fell into the hands of Messer Dionigi Gianni, and it +now belongs to his son, Messer Bartolommeo, who has been so +accommodating with it that it has been copied fifty times, so much is it +prized. + +[Illustration: MADONNA AND CHILD WITH SAINTS + +(_After the panel by =Francesco Mazzuoli [Parmigiano]=. Bologna: +Accademia, 116_) + +_Brogi_] + +The same master painted for the Nuns of S. Margherita, in Bologna, a +panel-picture containing a Madonna, S. Margaret, S. Petronio, S. Jerome, +and S. Michael, which is held in vast veneration, as it deserves, since +in the expressions of the heads and in every other part it is as fine as +all the other works of this painter. He made many drawings, likewise, +and in particular some for Girolamo del Lino, and some for Girolamo +Fagiuoli, a goldsmith and engraver, who desired them for engraving on +copper; and these drawings are held to be full of grace. For Bonifazio +Gozzadino he painted his portrait from life, with one of his wife, which +remained unfinished. He also began a picture of Our Lady, which was +afterwards sold in Bologna to Giorgio Vasari of Arezzo, who has it in +the new house built by himself at Arezzo, together with many other +noble pictures, works of sculpture, and ancient marbles. + +When the Emperor Charles V was at Bologna to be crowned by Clement VII, +Francesco, who went several times to see him at table, but without +drawing his portrait, made a likeness of that Emperor in a very large +picture in oils, wherein he painted Fame crowning him with laurel, and a +boy in the form of a little Hercules offering him a globe of the world, +giving him, as it were, the dominion over it. This work, when finished, +he showed to Pope Clement, who was so pleased with it that he sent it +and Francesco together, accompanied by the Bishop of Vasona, then +Datary, to the Emperor; at which his Majesty, to whom it gave much +satisfaction, hinted that it should be left with him. But Francesco, +being ill advised by an insincere or injudicious friend, refused to +leave it, saying that it was not finished; and so his Majesty did not +have it, and Francesco was not rewarded for it, as he certainly would +have been. This picture, having afterwards fallen into the hands of +Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici, was presented by him to the Cardinal of +Mantua; and it is now in the guardaroba of the Duke of that city, with +many other most noble and beautiful pictures. + +After having been so many years out of his native place, as we have +related, during which he had gained much experience in art, without +accumulating any store of riches, but only of friends, Francesco, in +order to satisfy his many friends and relatives, finally returned to +Parma. Arriving there, he was straightway commissioned to paint in +fresco a vault of some size in the Church of S. Maria della Steccata; +but since in front of that vault there was a flat arch which followed +the curve of the vaulting, making a sort of facade, he set to work first +on the arch, as being the easier, and painted therein six very beautiful +figures, two in colour and four in chiaroscuro. Between one figure and +another he made some most beautiful ornaments, surrounding certain +rosettes in relief, which he took it into his head to execute by himself +in copper, taking extraordinary pains over them. + +At this same time he painted for the Chevalier Baiardo, a gentleman of +Parma and his intimate friend, a picture of a Cupid, who is fashioning +a bow with his own hand, and at his feet are seated two little boys, +one of whom catches the other by the arm and laughingly urges him to +touch Cupid with his finger, but he will not touch him, and shows by his +tears that he is afraid of burning himself at the fire of Love. This +picture, which is charming in colour, ingenious in invention, and +executed in that graceful manner of Francesco's that has been much +studied and imitated, as it still is, by craftsmen and by all who +delight in art, is now in the study of Signor Marc' Antonio Cavalca, +heir to the Chevalier Baiardo, together with many drawings of every kind +by the hand of the same master, all most beautiful and highly finished, +which he has collected. Even such are the many drawings, also by the +hand of Francesco, that are in our book; and particularly that of the +Beheading of S. Peter and S. Paul, of which, as has been related, he +published copper-plate engravings and woodcuts, while living in Bologna. +For the Church of S. Maria de' Servi he painted a panel-picture of Our +Lady with the Child asleep in her arms, and on one side some Angels, one +of whom has in his arms an urn of crystal, wherein there glitters a +Cross, at which the Madonna gazes in contemplation. This work remained +unfinished, because he was not well contented with it; and yet it is +much extolled, and a good example of his manner, so full of grace and +beauty. + +Meanwhile Francesco began to abandon the work of the Steccata, or at +least to carry it on so slowly that it was evident that he was not in +earnest. And this happened because he had begun to study the problems of +alchemy, and had quite deserted his profession of painting, thinking +that he would become rich quicker by congealing mercury. Wherefore, +wearing out his brain, but not in imagining beautiful inventions and +executing them with brushes and colour-mixtures, he wasted his whole +time in handling charcoal, wood, glass vessels, and other suchlike +trumperies, which made him spend more in one day than he earned by a +week's work at the Chapel of the Steccata. Having no other means of +livelihood, and being yet compelled to live, he was wasting himself away +little by little with those furnaces; and what was worse, the men of the +Company of the Steccata, perceiving that he had completely abandoned +the work, and having perchance paid him more than his due, as is often +done, brought a suit against him. Thereupon, thinking it better to +withdraw, he fled by night with some friends to Casal Maggiore. And +there, having dispersed a little of the alchemy out of his head, he +painted a panel-picture for the Church of S. Stefano, of Our Lady in the +sky, with S. John the Baptist and S. Stephen below. Afterwards he +executed a picture, the last that he ever painted, of the Roman +Lucretia, which was a thing divine and one of the best that were ever +seen by his hand; but it has disappeared, however that may have +happened, so that no one knows where it is. + +By his hand, also, is a picture of some nymphs, which is now in the +house of Messer Niccolo Bufolini at Citta di Castello, and a child's +cradle, which was painted for Signora Angiola de' Rossi of Parma, wife +of Signor Alessandro Vitelli, and is likewise at Citta di Castello. + +In the end, having his mind still set on his alchemy, like every other +man who has once grown crazed over it, and changing from a dainty and +gentle person into an almost savage man with long and unkempt beard and +locks, a creature quite different from his other self, Francesco went +from bad to worse, became melancholy and eccentric, and was assailed by +a grievous fever and a cruel flux, which in a few days caused him to +pass to a better life. And in this way he found an end to the troubles +of this world, which was never known to him save as a place full of +annoyances and cares. He wished to be laid to rest in the Church of the +Servite Friars, called La Fontana, one mile distant from Casal Maggiore; +and he was buried naked, as he had directed, with a cross of cypress +upright on his breast. He finished the course of his life on the 24th of +August, in the year 1540, to the great loss of art on account of the +singular grace that his hands gave to the pictures that he painted. + +Francesco delighted to play on the lute, and had a hand and a genius so +well suited to it that he was no less excellent in this than in +painting. It is certain that if he had not worked by caprice, and had +laid aside the follies of the alchemists, he would have been without a +doubt one of the rarest and most excellent painters of our age. I do not +deny that working at moments of fever-heat, and when one feels +inclined, may be the best plan. But I do blame a man for working little +or not at all, and for wasting all his time over cogitations, seeing +that the wish to arrive by trickery at a goal to which one cannot +attain, often brings it about that one loses what one knows in seeking +after that which it is not given to us to know. If Francesco, who had +from nature a spirit of great vivacity, with a beautiful and graceful +manner, had persisted in working every day, little by little he would +have made such proficience in art, that, even as he gave a beautiful, +gracious, and most charming expression to his heads, so he would have +surpassed his own self and the others in the solidity and perfect +excellence of his drawing. + +He left behind him his cousin Girolamo Mazzuoli, who, with great credit +to himself, always imitated his manner, as is proved by the works by his +hand that are in Parma. At Viadana, also, whither he fled with Francesco +on account of the war, he painted, young as he was, a very beautiful +Annunciation on a little panel for S. Francesco, a seat of the Frati de' +Zoccoli; and he painted another for S. Maria ne' Borghi. For the +Conventual Friars of S. Francis at Parma he executed the panel-picture +of their high-altar, containing Joachim being driven from the Temple, +with many figures. And for S. Alessandro, a convent of nuns in that +city, he painted a panel with the Madonna in Heaven, the Infant Christ +presenting a palm to S. Giustina, and some Angels drawing back a piece +of drapery, with S. Alexander the Pope and S. Benedict. For the Church +of the Carmelite Friars he painted the panel-picture of their +high-altar, which is very beautiful, and for S. Sepolcro another +panel-picture of some size. In S. Giovanni Evangelista, a church of nuns +in the same city, are two panel-pictures by the hand of Girolamo, of no +little beauty, but not equal to the doors of the organ or to the picture +of the high-altar, in which is a most beautiful Transfiguration, +executed with much diligence. The same master has painted a +perspective-view in fresco in the refectory of those nuns, with a +picture in oils of the Last Supper of Christ with the Apostles, and +fresco-paintings in the Chapel of the High-Altar in the Duomo. And for +Madama Margherita of Austria, Duchess of Parma, he has made a portrait +of the Prince Don Alessandro, her son, in full armour, with his sword +over a globe of the world, and an armed figure of Parma kneeling before +him. + +In a chapel of the Steccata, at Parma, he has painted in fresco the +Apostles receiving the Holy Spirit, and on an arch similar to that which +his cousin Francesco painted he has executed six Sibyls, two in colour +and four in chiaroscuro; while in a niche opposite to that arch he has +painted the Nativity of Christ, with the Shepherds adoring Him, which is +a very beautiful picture, although it was left not quite finished. For +the high-altar of the Certosa, without Parma, he has painted a +panel-picture with the three Magi; a panel for S. Piero, an abbey of +Monks of S. Bernard, at Pavia; another for the Duomo of Mantua, at the +commission of the Cardinal; and yet another panel for S. Giovanni in the +same city, containing a Christ in a glory of light, surrounded by the +Apostles, with S. John, of whom He appears to be saying, "Sic eum volo +manere," etc.; while round this panel, in six large pictures, are the +miracles of the same S. John the Evangelist. + +In the Church of the Frati Zoccolanti, on the left hand, there is a +large panel-picture of the Conversion of S. Paul, a very beautiful work, +by the hand of the same man. And for the high-altar of S. Benedetto in +Pollirone, a place twelve miles distant from Mantua, he has executed a +panel-picture of Christ in the Manger being adored by the Shepherds, +with Angels singing. He has also painted--but I do not know exactly at +what time--a most beautiful picture of five Loves, one of whom is +sleeping, and the others are despoiling him, one taking away his bow, +another his arrows, and the others his torch, which picture belongs to +the Lord Duke Ottavio, who holds it in great account by reason of the +excellence of Girolamo. This master has in no way fallen short of the +standard of his cousin Francesco, being a fine painter, gentle and +courteous beyond belief; and since he is still alive, there are seen +issuing from his brush other works of rare beauty, which he has +constantly in hand. + +A close friend of the aforesaid Francesco Mazzuoli was Messer Vincenzio +Caccianimici, a gentleman of Bologna, who painted and strove to the best +of his power to imitate the manner of Francesco. This Vincenzio was a +very good colourist, so that the works which he executed for his own +pleasure, or to present to his friends and various noblemen, are truly +well worthy of praise; and such, in particular, is a panel-picture in +oils, containing the Beheading of S. John the Baptist, which is in the +chapel of his family in S. Petronio. This talented gentleman, by whose +hand are some very beautiful drawings in our book, died in the year +1542. + + + + +JACOPO PALMA AND LORENZO LOTTO + + + + +[Illustration: LORENZO LOTTO: THE TRIUMPH OF CHASTITY + +(_Rome: Rospigliosi Gallery. Panel_)] + + + + +LIVES OF JACOPO PALMA + +[_PALMA VECCHIO_] + +AND LORENZO LOTTO + +PAINTERS OF VENICE + + +So potent are mastery and excellence, even when seen in only one or two +works executed to perfection by a man in the art that he practises, +that, no matter how small these may be, craftsmen and judges of art are +forced to extol them, and writers are compelled to celebrate them and to +give praise to the craftsman who has made them; even as we are now about +to do for the Venetian Palma. This master, although not very eminent, +nor remarkable for perfection of painting, was nevertheless so careful +and diligent, and subjected himself so zealously to the labours of art, +that a certain proportion of his works, if not all, have something good +in them, in that they are close imitations of life and of the natural +appearance of men. + +[Illustration: JACOPO PALMA (PALMA VECCHIO): S. BARBARA + +(_Venice: S. Maria Formosa. Panel_)] + +Palma was much more remarkable for his patience in harmonizing and +blending colours than for boldness of design, and he handled colour with +extraordinary grace and finish. This may be seen in Venice from many +pictures and portraits that he executed for various gentlemen; but of +these I shall say nothing more, since I propose to content myself with +making mention of some altar-pieces and of a head that I hold to be +marvellous, or rather, divine. One of the altar-pieces he painted for S. +Antonio, near Castello, at Venice, and another for S. Elena, near the +Lido, where the Monks of Monte Oliveto have their monastery. In the +latter, which is on the high-altar of that church, he painted the Magi +presenting their offerings to Christ, with a good number of figures, +among which are some heads truly worthy of praise, as also are the +draperies, executed with a beautiful flow of folds, which cover the +figures. Palma also painted a lifesize S. Barbara for the altar of the +Bombardieri in the Church of S. Maria Formosa, with two smaller figures +at the sides, S. Sebastian and S. Anthony; and the S. Barbara is one of +the best figures that this painter ever executed. The same master also +executed another altar-piece, in which is a Madonna in the sky, with S. +John below, for the Church of S. Moise, near the Piazza di S. Marco. In +addition to this, Palma painted a most beautiful scene for the hall +wherein the men of the Scuola of S. Marco assemble, on the Piazza di SS. +Giovanni e Paolo, in emulation of those already executed by Giovanni +Bellini, Giovanni Mansueti, and other painters. In this scene is +depicted a ship which is bringing the body of S. Mark to Venice; and +there may be seen counterfeited by Palma a terrible tempest on the sea, +and some barques tossed and shaken by the fury of the winds, all +executed with much judgment and thoughtful care. The same may be said of +a group of figures in the air, and of the demons in various forms who +are blowing, after the manner of winds, against the barques, which, +driven by oars, and striving in various ways to break through the +dangers of the towering waves, are like to sink. In short, to tell the +truth, this work is of such a kind, and so beautiful in invention and in +other respects, that it seems almost impossible that brushes and +colours, employed by human hands, however excellent, should be able to +depict anything more true to reality or more natural; for in it may be +seen the fury of the winds, the strength and dexterity of the men, the +movements of the waves, the lightning-flashes of the heavens, the water +broken by the oars, and the oars bent by the waves and by the efforts of +the rowers. Why say more? I, for my part, do not remember to have ever +seen a more terrible painting than this, which is executed in such a +manner, and with such care in the invention, the drawing, and the +colouring, that the picture seems to quiver, as if all that is painted +therein were real. For this work Jacopo Palma deserves the greatest +praise, and the honour of being numbered among those who are masters of +art and who are able to express with facility in their pictures their +most sublime conceptions. For many painters, in difficult subjects of +that kind, achieve in the first sketch of their work, as though +guided by a sort of fire of inspiration, something of the good and a +certain measure of boldness; but afterwards, in finishing it, the +boldness vanishes, and nothing is left of the good that the first fire +produced. And this happens because very often, in finishing, they +consider the parts and not the whole of what they are executing, and +thus, growing cold in spirit, they come to lose their vein of boldness; +whereas Jacopo stood ever firm in the same intention and brought to +perfection his first conception, for which he received vast praise at +that time, as he always will. + +[Illustration: S. SEBASTIAN + +(_After the panel by =Jacopo Palma [Palma Vecchio]=. Venice: S. Maria +Formosa_) + +_Anderson_] + +But without a doubt, although the works of this master were many, and +all much esteemed, that one is better than all the others and truly +extraordinary in which he made his own portrait from life by looking at +himself in a mirror, with some camel-skins about him, and certain tufts +of hair, and all so lifelike that nothing better could be imagined. For +so much did the genius of Palma effect in this particular work, that he +made it quite miraculous and beautiful beyond belief, as all men +declare, the picture being seen almost every year at the Festival of the +Ascension. And, in truth, it well deserves to be celebrated, in point of +draughtsmanship, colouring, and mastery of art--in a word, on account of +its absolute perfection--beyond any other work whatsoever that had been +executed by any Venetian painter up to that time, since, besides other +things, there may be seen in the eyes a roundness so perfect, that +Leonardo da Vinci and Michelagnolo Buonarroti would not have done it in +any other way. But it is better to say nothing of the grace, the +dignity, and the other qualities that are to be seen in this portrait, +because it is not possible to say as much of its perfection as would +exhaust its merits. If Fate had decreed that Palma should die after this +work, he would have carried off with him the glory of having surpassed +all those whom we celebrate as our rarest and most divine intellects; +but the duration of his life, keeping him at work, brought it about +that, not maintaining the high beginning that he had made, he came to +deteriorate as much as most men had thought him destined to improve. +Finally, content that one or two supreme works should have cleared him +of some of the censure that the others had brought upon him, he died in +Venice at the age of forty-eight. + +A friend and companion of Palma was Lorenzo Lotto, a painter of Venice, +who, after imitating for some time the manner of the Bellini, attached +himself to that of Giorgione, as is shown by many pictures and portraits +which are in the houses of gentlemen in Venice. In the house of Andrea +Odoni there is a portrait of him, which is very beautiful, by the hand +of Lorenzo. And in the house of Tommaso da Empoli, a Florentine, there +is a picture of the Nativity of Christ, painted as an effect of night, +which is one of great beauty, particularly because the splendour of +Christ is seen to illuminate the picture in a marvellous manner; and +there is the Madonna kneeling, with a portrait of Messer Marco Loredano +in a full-length figure that is adoring Christ. For the Carmelite Friars +the same master painted an altar-piece showing S. Nicholas in his +episcopal robes, poised in the air, with three Angels; below him are S. +Lucia and S. John, on high some clouds, and beneath these a most +beautiful landscape, with many little figures and animals in various +places. On one side is S. George on horseback, slaying the Dragon, and +at a little distance the Maiden, with a city not far away, and an arm of +the sea. For the Chapel of S. Antonino, Archbishop of Florence, in SS. +Giovanni e Paolo, Lorenzo executed an altar-piece containing the +first-named Saint seated with two priests in attendance, and many people +below. + +[Illustration: THE GLORIFICATION OF S. NICHOLAS + +(_After the painting by =Lorenzo Lotto=. Venice: S. Maria del Carmine_) + +_Anderson_] + +While this painter was still young, imitating partly the manner of the +Bellini and partly that of Giorgione, he painted an altar-piece, divided +into six pictures, for the high-altar of S. Domenico at Recanati. In the +central picture is the Madonna with the Child in her arms, giving the +habit, by the hands of an Angel, to S. Dominic, who is kneeling before +the Virgin; and in this picture are also two little boys, one playing on +a lute and the other on a rebeck. In the second picture are the Popes S. +Gregory and S. Urban; and in the third is S. Thomas Aquinas, with +another saint, who was Bishop of Recanati. Above these are the three +other pictures; and in the centre, above the Madonna, is a Dead Christ, +supported by an Angel, with His Mother kissing His arm, and S. +Magdalene. Over the picture of S. Gregory are S. Mary Magdalene and S. +Vincent; and in the third--namely, above the S. Thomas Aquinas--are S. +Gismondo and S. Catharine of Siena. In the predella, which is a +rare work painted with little figures, there is in the centre the +scene of S. Maria di Loreto being carried by the Angels from the regions +of Sclavonia to the place where it now stands. Of the two scenes that +are on either side of this, one shows S. Dominic preaching, the little +figures being the most graceful in the world, and the other Pope +Honorius confirming the Rule of S. Dominic. In the middle of this church +is a figure of S. Vincent, the Friar, executed in fresco by the hand of +the same master. And in the Church of S. Maria di Castelnuovo there is +an altar-piece in oils of the Transfiguration of Christ, with three +scenes painted with little figures in the predella--Christ leading the +Apostles to Mount Tabor, His Prayer in the Garden, and His Ascension +into Heaven. + +[Illustration: ANDREA ODONI + +(_After the painting by =Lorenzo Lotto=. Hampton Court Palace_) + +_Mansell_] + +After these works Lorenzo went to Ancona, at the very time when Mariano +da Perugia had finished a panel-picture, with a large ornamental frame, +for the high-altar of S. Agostino. This did not give much satisfaction; +and Lorenzo was commissioned to paint a picture, which is placed in the +middle of the same church, of Our Lady with the Child in her lap, and +two figures of Angels in the air, in foreshortening, crowning the +Virgin. + +Finally, being now old, and having almost lost his voice, Lorenzo made +his way, after executing some other works of no great importance at +Ancona, to the Madonna of Loreto, where he had already painted an +altar-piece in oils, which is in a chapel at the right hand of the +entrance into the church. There, having resolved to finish his life in +the service of the Madonna, and to make that holy house his habitation, +he set his hand to executing scenes with figures one braccio or less in +height round the choir, over the seats of the priests. In one scene he +painted the Birth of Jesus Christ, and in another the Magi adoring Him. +Next came the Presentation to Simeon, and after that the Baptism of +Christ by John in the Jordan. There was also the Woman taken in Adultery +being led before Christ, and all these were executed with much grace. +Two other scenes, likewise, did he paint there, with an abundance of +figures; one of David causing a sacrifice to be offered, and in the +other was the Archangel Michael in combat with Lucifer, after having +driven him out of Heaven. + +These works finished, no long time had passed when, even as he had lived +like a good citizen and a true Christian, so he died, rendering up his +soul to God his Master. These last years of his life he found full of +happiness and serenity of mind, and, what is more, we cannot but believe +that they gave him the earnest of the blessings of eternal life; which +might not have happened to him if at the end of his life he had been +wrapped up too closely in the things of this world, which, pressing too +heavily on those who put their whole trust in them, prevent them from +ever raising their minds to the true riches and the supreme blessedness +and felicity of the other life. + +[Illustration: RONDINELLO (NICCOLO RONDINELLI): MADONNA AND CHILD + +(_Paris: Louvre, 1159. Panel_)] + +There also flourished in Romagna at this time the excellent painter +Rondinello, of whom we made some slight mention in the Life of Giovanni +Bellini, whose disciple he was, assisting him much in his works. This +Rondinello, after leaving Giovanni Bellini, laboured at his art to such +purpose, that, being very diligent, he executed many works worthy of +praise; of which we have witness in the panel-picture of the high-altar +in the Duomo at Forli, showing Christ giving the Communion to the +Apostles, which he painted there with his own hand, executing it very +well. In the lunette above this picture he painted a Dead Christ, and in +the predella some scenes with little figures, finished with great +diligence, representing the actions of S. Helena, the mother of the +Emperor Constantine, in the finding of the Cross. He also painted a +single figure of S. Sebastian, which is very beautiful, in a picture in +the same church. For the altar of S. Maria Maddalena, in the Duomo of +Ravenna, he painted a panel-picture in oils containing the single figure +of that Saint; and below this, in a predella, he executed three scenes +with very graceful little figures. In one is Christ appearing to Mary +Magdalene in the form of a gardener, in another S. Peter leaving the +ship and walking over the water towards Christ, and between them the +Baptism of Jesus Christ; and all are very beautiful. For S. Giovanni +Evangelista, in the same city, he painted two panel-pictures, one with +that Saint consecrating the church, and in the other three martyrs, S. +Cantius, S. Cantianus, and S. Cantianilla, figures of great beauty. In +S. Apollinare, also in that city, are two pictures, highly extolled, +each with a single figure, S. John the Baptist and S. Sebastian. +And in the Church of the Spirito Santo there is a panel, likewise by his +hand, containing the Madonna placed between the Virgin Martyr S. +Catharine and S. Jerome. For S. Francesco, likewise, he painted two +panel-pictures, one of S. Catharine and S. Francis, and in the other Our +Lady with S. James the Apostle, S. Francis, and many figures. For S. +Domenico, in like manner, he executed two other panels, one of which, +containing the Madonna and many figures, is on the left hand of the +high-altar, and the other, a work of no little beauty, is on a wall of +the church. And for the Church of S. Niccolo, a convent of Friars of S. +Augustine, he painted another panel with S. Laurence and S. Francis. So +much was he commended for all these works, that during his lifetime he +was held in great account, not only in Ravenna but throughout all +Romagna. Rondinello lived to the age of sixty, and was buried in S. +Francesco at Ravenna. + +[Illustration: MADONNA AND CHILD WITH SAINTS + +(_After the painting by =Rondinello [Niccolo Rondinelli]=. Ravenna: +Accademia_) + +_Alinari_] + +This master left behind him Francesco da Cotignola, a painter likewise +held in estimation in that city, who painted many works; in particular, +for the high-altar of the Church of the Abbey of Classi in Ravenna, a +panel-picture of some size representing the Raising of Lazarus, with +many figures. There, opposite to that work, in the year 1548, Giorgio +Vasari executed for Don Romualdo da Verona, Abbot of that place, another +panel-picture containing the Deposition of Christ from the Cross, with a +large number of figures. Francesco also painted a panel-picture of the +Nativity of Christ, which is of great size, for S. Niccolo, and likewise +two panels, with various figures, for S. Sebastiano. For the Hospital of +S. Catarina he painted a panel-picture with Our Lady, S. Catharine, and +many other figures; and for S. Agata he painted a panel with Christ +Crucified, the Madonna at the foot of the Cross, and a good number of +other figures, for which he won praise. And for S. Apollinare, in the +same city, he executed three panel-pictures; one for the high-altar, +containing the Madonna, S. John the Baptist, and S. Apollinare, with S. +Jerome and other saints; another likewise of the Madonna, with S. Peter +and S. Catharine; and in the third and last Jesus Christ bearing His +Cross, but this he was not able to finish, being overtaken by death. + +Francesco was a very pleasing colourist, but not so good a draughtsman +as Rondinello; yet he was held in no small estimation by the people of +Ravenna. He chose to be buried after his death in S. Apollinare, for +which he had painted the said figures, being content that his remains, +when he was dead, should lie at rest in the place for which he had +laboured when alive. + +[Illustration: THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS + +(_After the panel by =Francesco da Cotignola=. Ravenna: Accademia_) + +_Alinari_] + + + + +INDEX OF NAMES + +OF THE CRAFTSMEN MENTIONED IN VOLUME V + + + Agnolo, Andrea d' (Andrea del Sarto), _Life_, 85-120. 164, 194, + 217-221, 231 + + Agnolo, Baccio d' (Baccio Baglioni), 91, 98, 102 + + Agnolo Bronzino, 127, 163 + + Agnolo di Cristofano, 223 + + Agnolo di Donnino, 38 + + Agostino Busto (Il Bambaja), 42, 43 + + Agostino Viniziano, 97 + + Aimo, Domenico (Bologna), 28 + + Albertinelli, Mariotto, 86, 212, 217 + + Albertino, Francesco d' (Francesco Ubertini, or Il Bacchiacca), 222 + + Alberto, Antonio, 13 + + Albrecht Duerer, 96 + + Alessandro Allori, 127 + + Alessandro Vittoria, 247 + + Alesso Baldovinetti, 88, 92 + + Alfonso Lombardi, _Life_, 131-136. 210 + + Allori, Alessandro, 127 + + Amalteo, Pomponio, 154, 155 + + Amico Aspertini, _Life_, 209-211. 125, 207-211 + + Andrea Contucci (Andrea Sansovino, or Andrea dal Monte Sansovino), + _Life_, 21-31. 43, 88 + + Andrea d' Agnolo (Andrea del Sarto), _Life_, 85-120. 164, 194, + 217-221, 231 + + Andrea da Fiesole (Andrea Ferrucci), _Life_, 3-8. 11 + + Andrea dal Castagno (Andrea degli Impiccati), 116 + + Andrea dal Monte Sansovino (Andrea Sansovino, or Andrea Contucci), + _Life_, 21-31. 43, 88 + + Andrea degli Impiccati (Andrea dal Castagno), 116 + + Andrea del Sarto (Andrea d' Agnolo), _Life_, 85-120. 164, 194, + 217-221, 231 + + Andrea della Robbia, 90 + + Andrea di Cosimo Feltrini, _Life_, 229-233. 221, 228 + + Andrea Ferrucci (Andrea da Fiesole), _Life_, 3-8. 11 + + Andrea Sansovino (Andrea Contucci, or Andrea dal Monte Sansovino), + _Life_, 21-31. 43, 88 + + Andrea Sguazzella, 100, 118 + + Andrea Verrocchio, 49, 50, 55 + + Anguisciuola, Sofonisba, 127, 128 + + Antonio Alberto, 13 + + Antonio da Carrara, 8 + + Antonio da San Gallo (the elder), 97 + + Antonio da San Gallo (the younger), 29, 43, 58, 72 + + Antonio da Trento (Antonio Fantuzzi), 249, 250 + + Antonio del Rozzo (Antonio del Tozzo), 73 + + Antonio di Donnino Mazzieri, 223 + + Antonio di Giorgio Marchissi, 4 + + Antonio di Giovanni (Solosmeo), 118 + + Antonio Fantuzzi (Antonio da Trento), 249, 250 + + Antonio Floriani, 148, 149 + + Antonio Mini, 165 + + Antonio Pollaiuolo, 21 + + Apelles, 14 + + Aretusi, Pellegrino degli (Pellegrino da Modena, or Pellegrino de' + Munari), _Life_, 80-81. 176 + + Aristotele (Sebastiano) da San Gallo, 97 + + Aspertini, Amico, _Life_, 209-211. 125, 207-211 + + + Bacchiacca, Il (Francesco Ubertini, or Francesco d' Albertino), 222 + + Baccio Baglioni (Baccio d' Agnolo), 91, 98, 102 + + Baccio Bandinelli, 5, 27, 36, 57, 96-98, 135 + + Baccio d' Agnolo (Baccio Baglioni), 91, 98, 102 + + Baccio da Montelupo, _Life_, 41-45. 97 + + Baccio della Porta (Fra Bartolommeo di San Marco), 159, 160, 194 + + Baglioni, Baccio (Baccio d' Agnolo), 91, 98, 102 + + Bagnacavallo, Bartolommeo da (Bartolommeo Ramenghi), _Life_, 207-209 + + Bagnacavallo, Giovan Battista da, 201 + + Baldassarre Peruzzi, _Life_, 63-74. 57, 63-74, 136, 170, 176, 208 + + Baldovinetti, Alesso, 88, 92 + + Bambaja, Il (Agostino Busto), 42, 43 + + Bandinelli, Baccio, 5, 27, 36, 57, 96-98, 135 + + Barbieri, Domenico del, 201 + + Barile, Gian (of Florence), 86 + + Bartolommeo da Bagnacavallo (Bartolommeo Ramenghi), _Life_, 207-209 + + Bartolommeo di San Marco, Fra (Baccio della Porta), 159, 160, 194 + + Bartolommeo Miniati, 201 + + Bartolommeo Neroni (Riccio), 73 + + Bartolommeo Ramenghi (Bartolommeo da Bagnacavallo), _Life_, 207-209 + + Bastianello Florigorio (Sebastiano Florigerio), 148 + + Battista, Martino di (Pellegrino da San Daniele, or Martino da + Udine), 145-150 + + Battista Dossi, _Life_, 139-141 + + Battistino, 193, 194 + + Baviera, 194 + + Bazzi, Giovanni Antonio (Sodoma), 73 + + Beccafumi, Domenico (Domenico di Pace), 74, 153, 163 + + Belli, Valerio de' (Valerio Vicentino), 247 + + Bellini family, 262 + + Bellini, Giovanni, 145, 146, 260, 264 + + Bembo, Giovan Francesco (Giovan Francesco Vetraio), 180 + + Benedetto, 165 + + Benedetto da Ferrara (Benedetto Coda), 211, 212 + + Benedetto da Maiano, 5 + + Benedetto da Rovezzano, _Life_, 35-38 + + Benedetto Spadari, 195, 196 + + Benvenuto Cellini, 135 + + Bernardino del Lupino (Bernardino Luini), 60 + + Bernardino Pinturicchio, 227 + + Bernardo da Vercelli, 151 + + Bernardo del Buda (Bernardo Rosselli), 116 + + Bernazzano, Cesare, 141 + + Biagio, Raffaello di, 231, 232 + + Biagio Bolognese (Biagio Pupini), 208, 211 + + Bicci, Lorenzo di, 5 + + Boccaccino, Boccaccio, _Life_, 58-60 + + Boccaccino, Camillo, 59, 60 + + Boccalino, Giovanni (Giovanni Ribaldi), 29 + + Bologna (Domenico Aimo), 28 + + Bolognese, Biagio (Biagio Pupini), 208, 211 + + Borgo, Raffaello dal (Raffaello dal Colle), 140, 195, 196 + + Borgo, Santi Titi dal, 160 + + Boscoli, Maso, 6 + + Bramante da Urbino, 26, 28, 29, 65, 68, 69 + + Bronzino, Agnolo, 127, 163 + + Buda, Bernardo del (Bernardo Rosselli), 116 + + Buonaccorsi, Perino (Perino del Vaga), 7, 77-79, 153, 162 + + Buonarroti, Michelagnolo, 5, 6, 23, 43-45, 58, 86, 111, 117, 128, + 135, 165, 190, 194, 228, 245, 247, 261 + + Busto, Agostino (Il Bambaja), 42, 43 + + + Caccianimici, Francesco, 201 + + Caccianimici, Vincenzio, 255, 256 + + Cadore, Tiziano da (Tiziano Vecelli), 66, 133, 134, 152, 153 + + Calavrese, Marco (Marco Cardisco), _Life_, 237-239 + + Caldara, Polidoro (Polidoro da Caravaggio), _Life_, 175-185 + + Calzolaio, Sandrino del, 161, 165 + + Camillo Boccaccino, 59, 60 + + Capanna (of Siena), 74 + + Caraglio, Giovanni Jacopo, 194 + + Caravaggio, Polidoro da (Polidoro Caldara), _Life_, 175-185 + + Cardisco, Marco (Marco Calavrese), _Life_, 237-239 + + Carpi, Girolamo da (Girolamo da Ferrara), 154 + + Carrara, Antonio da, 8 + + Carrara, Danese da (Danese Cattaneo), 135 + + Carrucci, Jacopo (Jacopo da Pontormo), 93, 98, 104, 118, 135, 190, + 221, 222, 231, 232 + + Castagno, Andrea dal (Andrea degli Impiccati), 116 + + Castelfranco, Giorgione da, 149, 228, 262 + + Castellani, Leonardo, 238 + + Castrocaro, Gian Jacopo da, 50 + + Cattaneo, Danese (Danese da Carrara), 135 + + Cellini, Benvenuto, 135 + + Cesare Bernazzano, 141 + + Cesare da Sesto (Cesare da Milano), 65, 141 + + Cicilia, Il, 8 + + Cimabue, Giovanni, 177 + + Cioli, Simone, 30 + + Claudio of Paris, 201 + + Coda, Benedetto (Benedetto da Ferrara), 211, 212 + + Cola dalla Matrice (Niccola Filotesio), 238, 239 + + Colle, Raffaello dal (Raffaello dal Borgo), 140, 195, 196 + + Conte, Jacopo del, 119 + + Conti, Domenico, 115, 119 + + Contucci, Andrea (Andrea Sansovino, or Andrea dal Monte Sansovino), + _Life_, 21-31. 43, 88 + + Cosimo, Piero di, 86 + + Cosimo Rosselli, 88, 229 + + Cosimo, Silvio, 6-8 + + Cotignola, Francesco da (Francesco de' Zaganelli), _Life_, 265-266 + + Cotignola, Girolamo da (Girolamo Marchesi), _Life_, 211-212. 207 + + Credi, Lorenzo di, _Life_, 49-52. 159 + + Credi, Maestro, 49 + + Crescione, Giovan Filippo, 238 + + Cristofano, Agnolo di, 223 + + Cronaca, Il (Simone del Pollaiuolo), 22 + + Cuticello (Giovanni Antonio Licinio, or Pordenone), _Life_, 145-155 + + + Danese da Carrara (Danese Cattaneo), 135 + + Della Robbia family, 22 + + Domenico Aimo (Bologna), 28 + + Domenico Beccafumi (Domenico di Pace), 74, 153, 163 + + Domenico Conti, 115, 119 + + Domenico dal Monte Sansovino, 30 + + Domenico del Barbieri, 201 + + Domenico di Pace (Domenico Beccafumi), 74, 153, 163 + + Domenico di Paris, 195 + + Domenico di Polo, 135 + + Domenico Puligo, 109 + + Donato (Donatello), 23 + + Donnino, Agnolo di, 38 + + Dossi, Battista, _Life_, 139-141 + + Dossi, Dosso, _Life_, 139-141 + + Duerer, Albrecht, 96 + + + Fagiuoli, Girolamo, 250 + + Fantuzzi, Antonio (Antonio da Trento), 249, 250 + + Fattore, Il (Giovan Francesco Penni), _Life_, 77-80. 201 + + Feltrini, Andrea di Cosimo, _Life_, 229-233. 221, 228 + + Feltro, Morto da, _Life_, 227-229. 230 + + Ferrara, Benedetto da (Benedetto Coda), 211, 212 + + Ferrara, Girolamo da (Girolamo da Carpi), 154 + + Ferrari, Gaudenzio, 81 + + Ferrucci, Andrea (Andrea da Fiesole), _Life_, 3-8. 11 + + Ferrucci, Francesco di Simone, 3 + + Fiesole, Andrea da (Andrea Ferrucci), _Life_, 3-8. 11 + + Filippo Lippi (Filippino), 87 + + Filotesio, Niccola (Cola dalla Matrice), 238, 239 + + Floriani, Antonio, 148, 149 + + Floriani, Francesco, 148, 149 + + Florigorio, Bastianello (Sebastiano Florigerio), 148 + + Fontana, Prospero, 213 + + Fra Bartolommeo di San Marco (Baccio della Porta), 159, 160, 194 + + Fra Sebastiano Viniziano del Piombo, 66 + + Francesco, Mariotto di, 231-233 + + Francesco Caccianimici, 201 + + Francesco d' Albertino (Francesco Ubertini, or Il Bacchiacca), 222 + + Francesco da Cotignola (Francesco de' Zaganelli), _Life_, 265-266 + + Francesco da San Gallo, 27 + + Francesco da Siena, 71, 73 + + Francesco de' Rossi (Francesco Salviati), 119 + + Francesco de' Zaganelli (Francesco da Cotignola), _Life_, 265-266 + + Francesco di Girolamo dal Prato, 135 + + Francesco di Mirozzo (Melozzo), 140 + + Francesco di Simone Ferrucci, 3 + + Francesco Floriani, 148, 149 + + Francesco Granacci (Il Granaccio), 97, 98, 231 + + Francesco Mazzuoli (Parmigiano), _Life_, 243-256 + + Francesco of Orleans, 201 + + Francesco Primaticcio, 200, 201, 203 + + Francesco Salviati (Francesco de' Rossi), 119 + + Francesco Ubertini (Francesco d' Albertino, or Il Bacchiacca), 222 + + Franciabigio (Francia), _Life_, 217-223. 86-89, 91, 93, 101, 103, + 104, 217-223, 231, 232 + + Francucci, Innocenzio (Innocenzio da Imola), _Life_, 212-213. 207, 209 + + + Gaudenzio Ferrari, 81 + + Genga, Girolamo, 15, 16, 140 + + Gensio Liberale, 149 + + Ghirlandajo, Michele di Ridolfo, 165 + + Ghirlandajo, Ridolfo, 220, 231 + + Gian Barile (of Florence), 86 + + Gian Jacopo da Castrocaro, 50 + + Giannuzzi, Giulio Pippi de' (Giulio Romano), 55, 77-79, 108, 109, 195 + + Giorgio Vasari. See Vasari (Giorgio) + + Giorgione da Castelfranco, 149, 228, 262 + + Giotto, 21 + + Giovan Battista da Bagnacavallo, 201 + + Giovan Battista de' Rossi (Il Rosso), _Life_, 189-203. 97 + + Giovan Battista Grassi, 148 + + Giovan Battista Peloro, 73 + + Giovan Filippo Crescione, 238 + + Giovan Francesco Bembo (Giovan Francesco Vetraio), 180 + + Giovan Francesco Penni (Il Fattore), _Life_, 77-80. 201 + + Giovan Francesco Vetraio (Giovan Francesco Bembo), 180 + + Giovanni, Antonio di (Solosmeo), 118 + + Giovanni Antonio Bazzi (Sodoma), 73 + + Giovanni Antonio Lappoli, 196-198 + + Giovanni Antonio Licinio (Cuticello, or Pordenone), _Life_, 145-155 + + Giovanni Antonio Sogliani, _Life_, 159-166. 51 + + Giovanni Bellini, 145, 146, 260, 264 + + Giovanni Boccalino (Giovanni Ribaldi), 29 + + Giovanni Cimabue, 177 + + Giovanni da Nola, 137-139 + + Giovanni da Udine (Giovanni Martini), 145-147 + + Giovanni da Udine (Giovanni Nanni, or Giovanni Ricamatori), 77, 155, + 175, 229, 238, 246 + + Giovanni Jacopo Caraglio, 194 + + Giovanni Mangone, 5 + + Giovanni Mansueti, 260 + + Giovanni Martini (Giovanni da Udine), 145-147 + + Giovanni Nanni (Giovanni da Udine, or Giovanni Ricamatori), 77, 155, + 175, 229, 238, 246 + + Giovanni Ribaldi (Giovanni Boccalino), 29 + + Giovanni Ricamatori (Giovanni da Udine, or Giovanni Nanni), 77, 155, + 175, 229, 238, 246 + + Girolamo, 60 + + Girolamo da Carpi (Girolamo da Ferrara), 154 + + Girolamo da Cotignola (Girolamo Marchesi), _Life_, 211-212. 207 + + Girolamo da Ferrara (Girolamo da Carpi), 154 + + Girolamo da Treviso (Girolamo Trevigi), _Life_, 169-171. 68 + + Girolamo della Robbia, 90 + + Girolamo Fagiuoli, 250 + + Girolamo Genga, 15, 16, 140 + + Girolamo Lombardo, 24, 28-30 + + Girolamo Marchesi (Girolamo da Cotignola), _Life_, 211-212. 207 + + Girolamo Mazzuoli, 244, 245, 254, 255 + + Girolamo Santa Croce, _Life_, 137-138 + + Girolamo Trevigi (Girolamo da Treviso), _Life_, 169-171. 68 + + Giuliano da San Gallo, 97 + + Giuliano del Tasso, 97 + + Giuliano (di Niccolo Morelli), Maestro, 73 + + Giulio Romano (Giulio Pippi de' Giannuzzi), 55, 77-79, 108, 109, 195 + + Granacci, Francesco (Il Granaccio), 97, 98, 231 + + Grassi, Giovan Battista, 148 + + Guazzetto, Il (Lorenzo Naldino), 201 + + + Il Bacchiacca (Francesco Ubertini, or Francesco d' Albertino), 222 + + Il Bambaja (Agostino Busto), 42, 43 + + Il Cicilia, 8 + + Il Cronaca (Simone del Pollaiuolo), 22 + + Il Fattore (Giovan Francesco Penni), _Life_, 77-80. 201 + + Il Granaccio (Francesco Granacci), 97, 98, 231 + + Il Guazzetto (Lorenzo Naldino), 201 + + Il Pistoia (Leonardo), 79, 80 + + Il Rosso (Giovan Battista de' Rossi), _Life_, 189-203. 97 + + Imola, Innocenzio da (Innocenzio Francucci), _Life_, 212-213. 207, 209 + + Impiccati, Andrea degli (Andrea dal Castagno), 116 + + Innocenzio da Imola (Innocenzio Francucci), _Life_, 212-213. 207, 209 + + + Jacomo Melighino, 72, 73 + + Jacone (Jacopo), 119 + + Jacopo da Pontormo (Jacopo Carrucci), 93, 98, 104, 118, 135, 190, + 221, 222, 231, 232 + + Jacopo del Conte, 119 + + Jacopo di Sandro, 97 + + Jacopo Palma (Palma Vecchio), _Life_, 259-261 + + Jacopo Sansovino, 5, 31, 35, 36, 80, 88, 92, 93, 97, 98, 180, 218, + 231, 247 + + + Lappoli, Giovanni Antonio, 196-198 + + Lattanzio Pagani, 212 + + Leonardo (Il Pistoia), 79, 80 + + Leonardo Castellani, 238 + + Leonardo da Vinci, 49, 50, 86, 228, 261 + + Leonardo del Tasso, 31 + + Leonardo the Fleming, 201 + + Liberale, Gensio, 149 + + Licinio, Giovanni Antonio (Cuticello, or Pordenone), _Life_, 145-155 + + Lippi, Filippo (Filippino), 87 + + Lombardi, Alfonso, _Life_, 131-136. 210 + + Lombardo, Girolamo, 24, 28-30 + + Lorenzetto (Lorenzo) Lotti, _Life_, 55-58 + + Lorenzo di Bicci, 5 + + Lorenzo di Credi, _Life_, 49-52. 159 + + Lorenzo Lotto, _Life_, 261-264 + + Lorenzo Naldino (Il Guazzetto), 201 + + Lorenzo of Picardy, 201 + + Lotti, Lorenzetto (Lorenzo), _Life_, 55-58 + + Lotto, Lorenzo, _Life_, 261-264 + + Luca della Robbia (the younger), 90 + + Luca Monverde, 147 + + Luca Penni, 79, 201 + + Lucrezia, Madonna, 127 + + Luini, Bernardino (Bernardino del Lupino), 60 + + Lunetti, Stefano (Stefano of Florence), 51 + + Lunetti, Tommaso di Stefano, 51, 52, 164, 231 + + Lupino, Bernardino del (Bernardino Luini), 60 + + + Madonna Lucrezia, 127 + + Madonna Properzia de' Rossi, _Life_, 123-128 + + Maestro Credi, 49 + + Maestro Giuliano (di Niccolo Morelli), 73 + + Maiano, Benedetto da, 5 + + Maini (Marini), Michele, 3, 4 + + Mangone, Giovanni, 5 + + Mansueti, Giovanni, 260 + + Marchesi, Girolamo (Girolamo da Cotignola), _Life_, 211-212. 207 + + Marchissi, Antonio di Giorgio, 4 + + Marco Calavrese (Marco Cardisco), _Life_, 237-239 + + Mariano da Perugia, 263 + + Marini (Maini), Michele, 3, 4 + + Mariotto Albertinelli, 86, 212, 217 + + Mariotto di Francesco, 231-233 + + Martini, Giovanni (Giovanni da Udine), 145-147 + + Martino da Udine (Pellegrino da San Daniele, or Martino di + Battista), 145-150 + + Maso Boscoli, 6 + + Matrice, Cola dalla (Niccola Filotesio), 238, 239 + + Maturino, _Life_, 175-185 + + Mazzieri, Antonio di Donnino, 223 + + Mazzuoli, Francesco (Parmigiano), _Life_, 243-256 + + Mazzuoli, Girolamo, 244, 245, 254, 255 + + Melighino, Jacomo, 72, 73 + + Michelagnolo Buonarroti, 5, 6, 23, 43-45, 58, 86, 111, 117, 128, + 135, 165, 190, 194, 228, 245, 247, 261 + + Michelagnolo da Siena, _Life_, 136-137. 69 + + Michele di Ridolfo Ghirlandajo, 165 + + Michele Maini (Marini), 3, 4 + + Milano, Cesare da (Cesare da Sesto), 65, 141 + + Mini, Antonio, 165 + + Miniati, Bartolommeo, 201 + + Mirozzo (Melozzo), Francesco di, 140 + + Modena, Pellegrino da (Pellegrino degli Aretusi, or Pellegrino de' + Munari), _Life_, 80-81. 176 + + Monte Sansovino, Andrea dal (Andrea Contucci, or Andrea Sansovino), + _Life_, 21-31. 43, 88 + + Monte Sansovino, Domenico dal, 30 + + Montelupo, Baccio da, _Life_, 41-45. 97 + + Montelupo, Raffaello da, _Life_, 41-45. 27, 119 + + Monverde, Luca, 147 + + Morelli, Maestro Giuliano di Niccolo, 73 + + Morto da Feltro, _Life_, 227-229. 230 + + Mosca, Simone, 44 + + Munari, Pellegrino de' (Pellegrino da Modena, or Pellegrino degli + Aretusi), _Life_, 80-81. 176 + + + Naldino, Lorenzo (Il Guazzetto), 201 + + Nanni, Giovanni (Giovanni da Udine, or Giovanni Ricamatori), 77, + 155, 175, 229, 238, 246 + + Nannoccio, 119 + + Neroni, Bartolommeo (Riccio), 73 + + Niccola Filotesio (Cola dalla Matrice), 238, 239 + + Niccolo (called Tribolo), 6, 28, 136, 233 + + Niccolo Rondinello (Rondinello da Ravenna), _Life_, 264-265. 266 + + Niccolo Soggi, 109, 110, 196 + + Nola, Giovanni da, 137-139 + + + Pace, Domenico di (Domenico Beccafumi), 74, 153, 163 + + Pagani, Lattanzio, 212 + + Palma, Jacopo (Palma Vecchio), _Life_, 259-261 + + Paolo Romano, 57 + + Paris, Domenico di, 195 + + Parmigiano (Francesco Mazzuoli), _Life_, 243-256 + + Pellegrino da Modena (Pellegrino degli Aretusi, or Pellegrino de' + Munari), _Life_, 80-81. 176 + + Pellegrino da San Daniele (Martino da Udine, or Martino di + Battista), 145-150 + + Peloro, Giovan Battista, 73 + + Penni, Giovan Francesco (Il Fattore), _Life_, 77-80. 201 + + Penni, Luca, 79, 201 + + Perino del Vaga (Perino Buonaccorsi), 7, 77-79, 153, 162 + + Perugia, Mariano da, 263 + + Perugino, Pietro (Pietro Vannucci), 49, 50, 87, 230 + + Peruzzi, Baldassarre, _Life_, 63-74. 57, 63-74, 136, 170, 176, 208 + + Pier Francesco di Jacopo di Sandro, 118, 119 + + Piero da Volterra, 64 + + Piero di Cosimo, 86 + + Pietrasanta, Stagio da, 162 + + Pietro Perugino (Pietro Vannucci), 49, 50, 87, 230 + + Pinturicchio, Bernardino, 227 + + Piombo, Fra Sebastiano Viniziano del, 66 + + Pistoia, Il (Leonardo), 79, 80 + + Plautilla, 126 + + Poggini, Zanobi, 106 + + Poggino, Zanobi di, 165 + + Polidoro da Caravaggio (Polidoro Caldara), _Life_, 175-185 + + Pollaiuolo, Antonio, 21 + + Pollaiuolo, Simone del (Il Cronaca), 22 + + Polo, Domenico di, 135 + + Pomponio Amalteo, 154, 155 + + Pontormo, Jacopo da (Jacopo Carrucci), 93, 98, 104, 118, 135, 190, + 221, 222, 231, 232 + + Pordenone (Giovanni Antonio Licinio, or Cuticello), _Life_, 145-155 + + Porta, Baccio della (Fra Bartolommeo di San Marco), 159, 160, 194 + + Prato, Francesco di Girolamo dal, 135 + + Primaticcio, Francesco, 200, 201, 203 + + Properzia de' Rossi, Madonna, _Life_, 123-128 + + Prospero Fontana, 213 + + Puligo, Domenico, 109 + + Pupini, Biagio (Biagio Bolognese), 208, 211 + + + Raffaello da Montelupo, _Life_, 41-45. 27, 119 + + Raffaello da Urbino (Raffaello Sanzio), 11-15, 55, 56, 66, 72, 77-81, + 107-109, 117, 126, 169, 175, 191, 194, 201, 207, 208, 213, 222, + 245, 247 + + Raffaello dal Colle (Raffaello dal Borgo), 140, 195, 196 + + Raffaello di Biagio, 231, 232 + + Raffaello Sanzio (Raffaello da Urbino), 11-15, 55, 56, 66, 72, 77-81, + 107-109, 117, 126, 169, 175, 191, 194, 201, 207, 208, 213, 222, + 245, 247 + + Ramenghi, Bartolommeo (Bartolommeo da Bagnacavallo), _Life_, 207-209 + + Ravenna, Rondinello da (Niccolo Rondinello), _Life_, 264-265. 266 + + Ribaldi, Giovanni (Giovanni Boccalino), 29 + + Ricamatori, Giovanni (Giovanni Nanni, or Giovanni da Udine), 77, + 155, 175, 229, 238, 246 + + Riccio (Bartolommeo Neroni), 73 + + Ridolfo Ghirlandajo, 220, 231 + + Robbia, Andrea della, 90 + + Robbia, Girolamo della, 90 + + Robbia, Luca della (the younger), 90 + + Romano, Giulio (Giulio Pippi de' Giannuzzi), 55, 77-79, 108, 109, 195 + + Romano, Paolo, 57 + + Romano, Virgilio, 73 + + Rondinello, Niccolo (Rondinello da Ravenna), _Life_, 264-265. 266 + + Rosselli, Bernardo (Bernardo del Buda), 116 + + Rosselli, Cosimo, 88, 229 + + Rossi, Francesco de' (Francesco Salviati), 119 + + Rossi, Giovan Battista de' (Il Rosso), _Life_, 189-203. 97 + + Rossi, Madonna Properzia de', _Life_, 123-128 + + Rosso, Il (Giovan Battista de' Rossi), _Life_, 189-203. 97 + + Rovezzano, Benedetto da, _Life_, 35-38 + + Rozzo, Antonio del (Antonio del Tozzo), 73 + + + Salviati, Francesco (Francesco de' Rossi), 119 + + San Daniele, Pellegrino da (Martino da Udine, or Martino di + Battista), 145-150 + + San Gallo, Antonio da (the elder), 97 + + San Gallo, Antonio da (the younger), 29, 43, 58, 72 + + San Gallo, Francesco da, 27 + + San Gallo, Giuliano da, 97 + + San Gallo, Sebastiano (Aristotele) da, 97 + + San Gimignano, Vincenzio da (Vincenzio Tamagni), _Life_, 11-17 + + San Marco, Fra Bartolommeo di (Baccio della Porta), 159, 160, 194 + + Sandrino del Calzolaio, 161, 165 + + Sandro, Jacopo di, 97 + + Sandro, Pier Francesco di Jacopo di, 118, 119 + + Sansovino, Andrea (Andrea dal Monte Sansovino, or Andrea Contucci), + _Life_, 21-31. 43, 88 + + Sansovino, Jacopo, 5, 31, 35, 36, 80, 88, 92, 93, 97, 98, 180, 218, + 231, 247 + + Santa Croce, Girolamo, _Life_, 137-138 + + Santi Titi dal Borgo, 160 + + Sanzio, Raffaello (Raffaello da Urbino), 11-15, 55, 56, 66, 72, + 77-81, 107-109, 117, 126, 169, 175, 191, 194, 201, 207, 208, + 213, 222, 245, 247 + + Sarto, Andrea del (Andrea d' Agnolo), _Life_, 85-120. 164, 194, + 217-221, 231 + + Schizzone, 12 + + Sebastiano (Aristotele) da San Gallo, 97 + + Sebastiano Florigerio (Bastianello Florigorio), 148 + + Sebastiano Serlio, 72 + + Sebastiano Viniziano del Piombo, Fra, 66 + + Serlio, Sebastiano, 72 + + Sesto, Cesare da (Cesare da Milano), 65, 141 + + Sguazzella, Andrea, 100, 118 + + Siena, Francesco da, 71, 73 + + Siena, Michelagnolo da, _Life_, 136-137. 69 + + Silvio Cosini, 6-8 + + Simone Cioli, 30 + + Simone del Pollaiuolo (Il Cronaca), 22 + + Simone Mosca, 44 + + Simone of Paris, 201 + + Sodoma (Giovanni Antonio Bazzi), 73 + + Sofonisba Anguisciuola, 127, 128 + + Soggi, Niccolo, 109, 110, 196 + + Sogliani, Giovanni Antonio, _Life_, 159-166. 51 + + Solosmeo (Antonio di Giovanni), 118 + + Spadari, Benedetto, 195, 196 + + Stagio da Pietrasanta, 162 + + Stefano Lunetti (Stefano of Florence), 51 + + + Tamagni, Vincenzio (Vincenzio da San Gimignano), _Life_, 11-17 + + Tasso, Giuliano del, 97 + + Tasso, Leonardo del, 31 + + Timoteo da Urbino (Timoteo della Vite), _Life_, 11-17 + + Titi dal Borgo, Santi, 160 + + Tiziano da Cadore (Tiziano Vecelli), 66, 133, 134, 152, 153 + + Tommaso di Stefano Lunetti, 51, 52, 164, 231 + + Tozzo, Antonio del (Antonio del Rozzo), 73 + + Trento, Antonio da (Antonio Fantuzzi), 249, 250 + + Treviso, Girolamo da (Girolamo Trevigi), _Life_, 169-171. 68 + + Tribolo (Niccolo), 6, 28, 136, 233 + + + Ubertini, Francesco (Francesco d' Albertino, or Il Bacchiacca), 222 + + Udine, Giovanni da (Giovanni Martini), 145-147 + + Udine, Giovanni da (Giovanni Nanni, or Giovanni Ricamatori), 77, 155, + 175, 229, 238, 246 + + Udine, Martino da (Pellegrino da San Daniele, or Martino di Battista), + 145-150 + + Urbino, Bramante da, 26, 28, 29, 65, 68, 69 + + Urbino, Raffaello da (Raffaello Sanzio), 11-15, 55, 56, 66, 72, 77-81, + 107-109, 117, 126, 169, 175, 191, 194, 201, 207, 208, 213, 222, + 245, 247 + + Urbino, Timoteo da (Timoteo della Vite), _Life_, 11-17 + + + Vaga, Perino del (Perino Buonaccorsi), 7, 77-79, 153, 162 + + Valerio Vicentino (Valerio de' Belli), 247 + + Vannucci, Pietro (Pietro Perugino), 49, 50, 87, 230 + + Vasari, Giorgio-- + as art-collector, 17, 22, 24, 38, 45, 49, 74, 77, 79, 104, 118, + 126, 128, 165, 196, 197, 201, 209, 213, 219, 250-252, 256 + as author, 3-5, 7, 11, 12, 17, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 35, 45, 63, + 66, 69, 73, 91, 96, 98, 108, 112, 114, 120, 126, 128, 132, + 134, 135, 139, 145, 146, 148, 155, 177, 182, 185, 192, 194, + 199, 201, 210-213, 223, 230, 232, 238, 247, 250, 251, 253-255, + 259, 260, 264 + as painter, 36, 80, 119, 135, 163, 232, 233, 265 + as architect, 233, 250, 251 + + Vecchio, Palma (Jacopo Palma), _Life_, 259-261 + + Vecelli, Tiziano (Tiziano da Cadore), 66, 133, 134, 152, 153 + + Vercelli, Bernardo da, 151 + + Verrocchio, Andrea, 49, 50, 55 + + Vetraio, Giovan Francesco (Giovan Francesco Bembo), 180 + + Vicentino, Valerio (Valerio de' Belli), 247 + + Vincenzio Caccianimici, 255, 256 + + Vincenzio da San Gimignano (Vincenzio Tamagni), _Life_, 11-17 + + Vincenzio Tamagni (Vincenzio da San Gimignano), _Life_, 11-17 + + Vinci, Leonardo da, 49, 50, 86, 228, 261 + + Viniziano, Agostino, 97 + + Virgilio Romano, 73 + + Visino, 223 + + Vite, Timoteo della (Timoteo da Urbino), _Life_, 11-17 + + Vitruvius, 68, 71 + + Vittoria, Alessandro, 247 + + Volterra, Piero da, 64 + + Volterra, Zaccaria da, 45, 132 + + + Zaccaria da Volterra, 45, 132 + + Zaganelli, Francesco de' (Francesco da Cotignola), _Life_, 265-266 + + Zanobi di Poggino, 165 + + Zanobi Poggini, 106 + + +END OF VOL. V. + + + 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 EMINENT PAINTERS *** + +***** This file should be named 28421.txt or 28421.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/8/4/2/28421/ + +Produced by Mark C. Orton, Christine P. 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