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diff --git a/34585.txt b/34585.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d4fc48c --- /dev/null +++ b/34585.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11064 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The History of Painting in Italy, Vol. 2 +(of 6), by Luigi Antonio Lanzi + +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: The History of Painting in Italy, Vol. 2 (of 6) + from the Period of the Revival of the Fine Arts to the End + of the Eighteenth Century (6 volumes) + +Author: Luigi Antonio Lanzi + +Translator: Thomas Roscoe + +Release Date: December 8, 2010 [EBook #34585] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY OF PAINTING IN *** + + + + +Produced by Barbara Tozier, Carol Brown, Bill Tozier and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + THE + + HISTORY OF PAINTING + + IN + + ITALY. + + + VOL. II. + + + + + THE + + HISTORY OF PAINTING + + IN + + ITALY, + + FROM THE PERIOD OF THE REVIVAL OF + + THE FINE ARTS, + + TO THE END OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: + + TRANSLATED + + From the Original Italian + + OF THE + + ABATE LUIGI LANZI. + + BY THOMAS ROSCOE. + + _IN SIX VOLUMES._ + + VOL. II. + + CONTAINING THE SCHOOLS OF ROME AND NAPLES. + + LONDON: + + PRINTED FOR + + W. SIMPKIN AND R. MARSHALL, + + STATIONERS'-HALL COURT, LUDGATE STREET. + + 1828. + + J. M'Creery, Tooks Court, + Chancery-lane, London. + + + + + CONTENTS + OF + THE SECOND VOLUME. + + + + HISTORY OF PAINTING IN LOWER ITALY. + + BOOK THE THIRD. + + ROMAN SCHOOL. + + Page + + EPOCH I. _The old masters_ 1 + + EPOCH II. _Raffaello and his school_ 48 + + EPOCH III. _The art declines, in consequence of the + public calamities of Rome, and gradually + falls into mannerism_ 124 + + EPOCH IV. _Restoration of the Roman school by Barocci + and other artists, subjects of the Roman + state and foreigners_ 177 + + EPOCH V. _The scholars of Pietro da Cortona, from + an injudicious imitation of their master, deteriorate + the art_--_Maratta and others support + it_ 262 + + + BOOK THE FOURTH. + + NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. + + EPOCH I. _The old masters_ 345 + + EPOCH II. _Modern Neapolitan style, founded on the + schools of Raffaello and Michelangiolo_ 368 + + EPOCH III. _Corenzio, Ribera, Caracciolo, flourish in + Naples_--_Strangers who compete with them_ 389 + + EPOCH IV. _Luca Giordano, Solimene, and their + scholars_ 426 + + + + + HISTORY OF PAINTING + + IN + + LOWER ITALY. + + BOOK III. + + + + + ROMAN SCHOOL. + + +I have frequently heard the lovers of art express a doubt whether the +Roman School possesses the same inherent right to that distinctive +appellation as the schools of Florence, Bologna, and Venice. Those of +the latter cities were, indeed, founded by their respective citizens, +and supported through a long course of ages; while the Roman School, it +may be said, could boast only of Giulio Romano and Sacchi, and a few +others, natives of Rome, who taught, and left scholars there. The other +artists who flourished there were either natives of the cities of the +Roman state, or from other parts of Italy, some of whom established +themselves in Rome, and others, after the close of their labours there, +returned and died in their native places. But this question is, if I +mistake not, rather a dispute of words than of things, and similar to +those objections advanced by the peripatetic sophists against the modern +philosophy; insisting that they abuse the meaning of their words, and +quoting, as an example, the _vis inertiae_; as if that, which is in +itself inert, could possess the quality of force. The moderns laugh at +this difficulty, and coolly reply that, if the _vis_ displeased them, +they might substitute _natura_, or any other equivalent word; and that +it was lost time to dispute about words, and neglect things. So it may +be said in this case; they who disapprove of the designation of school, +may substitute that of academy, or any other term denoting a place where +the art of painting is professed and taught. And, as the learned +universities always derive their names from the city where they are +established, as the university of Padua or Pisa, although the professors +may be all, or in great part, from other states, so it is with the +schools of painting, to which the name of the country is always +attached, in preference to that of the master. In Vasari we do not find +this classification of schools, and Monsignor Agucchi was the first to +divide Italian art into the schools of Lombardy, Venice, Tuscany, and +Rome.[1] He has employed the term of schools after the manner of the +ancients, and has thus characterised one of them as the Roman School. He +has, perhaps, erred in placing Michel Angiolo, as well as Raphael, at +the head of this school, as posterity have assigned him his station as +chief of the school of Florence; but he has judged right in classing it +under a separate head, possessing, as it does, its own peculiar style; +and in this he has been followed by all the modern writers of art. The +characteristic feature in the Roman School has been said to consist in a +strict imitation of the works of the ancients, not only in sublimity, +but also in elegance and selection; and to this we shall add other +peculiarities, which will be noticed in their proper place. Thus, from +its propriety, or from tacit convention, the appellation of the Roman +School has been generally adopted; and, as it certainly serves to +distinguish one of the leading styles of Italian art, it becomes +necessary to employ it, in order to make ourselves clearly understood. +We cannot, indeed, allow to the Roman School so extensive a range as we +have assigned to that of Florence, in the first book; nevertheless, +every one that chooses may apply this appellation to it in a very +enlarged sense. Nor is the fact of other artists having taught, or +having given a tone to painting in the capital, any valid objection to +this term; since, in a similar manner, we find Titiano, Paolo Veronese, +and Bassano, in Venice, though all of them were strangers; but, as they +were subjects of her government, they were all termed Venetians, as that +name alike embraces those born in the city or within the dominions of +the Republic. The same may be said of the subjects of the Pope. Besides +the natives of Rome, there appeared masters from many of her subject +cities, who, teaching in Rome, followed in the steps of their +predecessors, and maintained the same principles of art. Passing over +Pier della Francesca and Pietro Vannucci, we may refer to Raffaello +himself as an example. Raffaello was born in Urbino, and was the subject +of a duke, who held his fief under the Roman see, and who, in Rome, held +the office of prefect of the city; and whose dominions, in failure of +male issue, reverted to the Pope, as the heritage of the church. Thus +Raffaello cannot be considered other than a Roman subject. To him +succeeded Giulio Romano and his scholars; who were followed by Zuccari, +and the mannerists of that time, until the art found a better style +under the direction of Baroccio, Baglione, and others. After them +flourished Sacchi and Maratta, whose successors have extended to our own +times. Restricted within these bounds, the Roman may certainly be +considered as a national school; and, if not rich in numbers, it is at +least so in point of excellence, as Raffaello in himself outweighs a +world of inferior artists. + +The other painters who resided in Rome, and followed the principles of +that school, I shall neither attempt to add to, nor to subtract from the +number of its followers; adopting it as a maxim not to interfere in the +decision of disputes, alike idle and irrelevant to my subject. Still +less shall I ascribe to it those who there adopted a totally different +style, as Michelangiolo da Caravaggio, an artist whom Lombardy may lay +claim to, on account of his birth, or Venice, from his receiving his +education in that city, though he lived and wrote in Rome, and +influenced the taste of the national school there by his own example and +that of his scholars. In the same manner many other names will +occasionally occur in the history of this school: it is the duty of the +historian to mention these, and it is, at the same time, an incomparable +triumph to the Roman School, that she stands, in this manner, as the +centre of all the others; and that so many artists could not have +obtained celebrity, if they had not seen Rome, or could not have claimed +that title from the world unless they had first obtained her suffrage. + +I shall not identify the limits of this school with those of the +dominions of the church, as in that case we should comprise in it the +painters of Bologna, Ferrara, and Romagna, whom I have reserved for +another volume. In my limits I shall include only the capital, and the +provinces in its immediate vicinity, as Latium, the Sabine territories, +the patrimony of the Church, Umbria, Picenum, and the state of Urbino, +the artists of which district were, for the most part, educated in Rome, +or under the eyes of Roman masters. My historical notices of them will +be principally derived from Vasari, Baglione, Passeri, and Leone +Pascoli. From these writers we have the lives of many artists who +painted in Rome, and the last named author has included in his account +his fellow countrymen of Perugia. Pascoli has not, indeed, the merits of +the three first writers; but he does not deserve the discredit thrown on +him by Ratti and Bottari, the latter of whom, in his notes to Vasari, +does not hesitate to call him a wretched writer, and unworthy of credit. +His work, indeed, on the artists of Perugia, shows that he +indiscriminately copied what he found in others, whether good or bad; +and to the vulgar traditions of the early artists he paid more than due +attention. But his other work, on the history of the modern painters, +sculptors, and architects, is a book of authority. In every branch of +history much credit is attached to the accounts of contemporary writers, +particularly if they were acquaintances or friends of the persons of +whom they wrote; and Pascoli has this advantage; for, in addition to +information from their own mouths, he derived materials from their +surviving friends, nor spared any pains to arrive at the truth, (_see +Vita del Cozza_). The judgment, therefore, which he passes on each +artist, is not wholly to be despised, since he formed it on those of the +various professors then living in Rome, as Winckelmann has observed +(tom. i. p. 450); and, if these persons, as it is pretended, have erred +in their judgment on the Greek sculptors, they have certainly not erred +in their estimate of modern painters, particularly Luti, to whom I +imagine Pascoli, from esteem and intimacy, deferred more than to any +other artist. + +We have from Bellori other lives, written with more learning and +criticism, some of which are supposed to be lost. He had originally +applied himself to painting, but deserted that art, as we may conjecture +from Pascoli (_vita del Canini_), and attached himself to poetry, and +the study of antiquities: and his skill in both arts manifests itself in +the lives he has left, which are few, but interspersed with interesting +and minute particulars of the characters of the painters and their +works. In his plan, he informs us he has followed the advice of Niccolo +Poussin. He composed also a "Description of the figures painted by +Raffaello, in the churches of the Vatican;" a tract which contains some +severe reflections on Vasari,[2] but is nevertheless highly useful. We +also find a profusion of entertaining anecdotes in Taja, in his +"Description of the Vatican;" and in Titi, in his account of the +pictures, sculpture, and architecture of Rome. This work has recently +been republished, with additions; and we shall occasionally quote it +under the name of the _Guide_. Pesaro is indebted for a similar _Guide_ +to Signor Becci, and Ascoli and Perugia to Signor Baldassare Orsini, a +celebrated architect. We have also the _Lettere Perugine_ of Sig. +Dottore Annibale Mariotti, which treat of the early painters of Perugia, +with a store of information and critical acumen that render them highly +valuable. To these may also be added, the _Risposta_ of the above named +Sig. Orsini, whom I regret to see entering on Etruscan ground, as he +there repeats many ancient errors, which have been long exploded by +common consent: in other points it is a treatise worth perusal. If we +turn to _Descriptions_, we have them of several periods, as that of the +Basilica Loretana, and that of Assisi, composed by P. Angeli; and the +account of the Duomo of Orvieto, written by P. della Valle; and the +works on the churches of S. Francesco di Perugia, and S. Pietro di Fano, +by anonymous writers. The Abbate Colucci has favoured us with recent +notices on various artists of Piceno and Umbria, and Urbino, in his +_Antichita Picene_, extended, as far as my observation goes, to tom. +XXXI.[3] The learned authors whom I have named, and others to whom I +shall occasionally refer, have furnished the chief materials of my +present treatise, although I have myself collected a considerable part +from artists and lovers of art, either in conversation, or in my +correspondence. Thus far in the way of introduction. + +[Footnote 1: Bellori, Vite de' Pittori, p. 191. "The Roman School, of +which Raffaello and Michel Angiolo were the great masters, derived its +principles from the study of the statues and works of the ancients."] + +[Footnote 2: Lett. Pittor. tom. ii. p. 323; and Dialoghi sopra le tre +Arti del Disegno. In Lucca, 1754.] + +[Footnote 3: This work contains contributions from various quarters. I +have not, however, made an equal use of all; as I believe some pictures +to be copies, which are there referred to as originals; and as several +names there mentioned, may with propriety be omitted. In my references, +I shall often cite the collections; sometimes also the authors of some +more considerable treatises, as P. Civalli, Terzi, Sig. Agostino Rossi, +Sig. Arciprete Lazzari, respecting whom I must refer to the second +index, where will be found the titles of their respective works.] + + + + + ROMAN SCHOOL + + EPOCH I. + + _Early Artists._ + + +If we turn our eyes for a moment to that tract of country which we have +designated as falling within the limits of the Roman School, amidst the +claims of modern art, we shall occasionally meet with both Greek and +Latin pictures of the rude ages; from the first of which we may +conclude, that Greek artists formerly painted in this part of Italy; and +from the latter, that our own countrymen were emulous to follow their +example. One of these artists is said to have had the name of Luca, and +to him is ascribed the picture of the Virgin, at S. Maria Maggiore, and +many others in Italy, which are believed to be painted by S. Luke the +Evangelist. Who this Luca was, or whether one painter or more of that +name ever existed, we shall presently inquire. The tradition was +impugned by Manni,[4] and after him by Piacenza, (tom. ii. p. 120,) and +is now only preserved among the vulgar, a numerous class indeed, who +shut their ears to every rational criticism as an innovation on their +faith. This vulgar opinion is alike oppugned by the silence of the early +artists, and the well attested fact, that in the first ages of the +church the Virgin was not represented with the holy Infant in her +arms;[5] but had her hands extended in the act of prayer. This is +exemplified in the funeral vase of glass in the Museo Trombelli at +Bologna, with the inscription MARIA, and in many bassirilievi of +christian sarcophagi, where she is represented in a similar attitude. +Rome possesses several of these specimens, and several are to be found +in Velletri.[6] It is however a common opinion, that these pictures are +by a painter of the name of Luca. Lami refers to a legend of the 14th +century of the Madonna dell'Impruneta, where they are said to be the +works of a Florentine of the name of Luca, who for his many christian +virtues obtained the title of saint.[7] They are not however all in the +same style, and some of them bear Greek inscriptions, whence we may +conclude that they are by various hands; although they all appear to be +painted in or about the 12th century. This tradition was not confined to +Italy alone, but found its way also into many of the eastern churches. +The author of the _Anecdotes des Beaux Arts_, relates that the memory of +a Luca, a hermit, who had painted many rude portraits of the Virgin, was +held in great veneration in Greece; and that through a popular +superstition he had succeeded to the title of S. Luke the Evangelist. +Tournefort (_Voyage, &c._) mentions an image of the Virgin at Mount +Lebanon, attributed by the vulgar to S. Luke; but which was doubtless +also the work of some Luke, a monk in one of the early ages. + +More considerable remains both of the Greek and Italian artists of the +13th century are to be found in Assisi, as related in my first book; and +to those already mentioned as painted on the walls, may be added others +on panel, and all by unknown artists; particularly a crucifixion in S. +Chiara, of which there is a tradition, that it was painted before Giunta +appeared. Another picture anterior to this period, and bearing the date +of 1219, is to be seen at Subiaco; it is a consecration of a church, and +the painter informs us that _Conciolus pinxit_. If in addition to these +artists we inquire after the miniature painters, we may find specimens +of them in abundance, in the library of the Vatican, and other +collections in Rome. I shall name S. Agostino, in the public library of +Perugia, where the Redeemer is seen in the midst of saints, and the +opening of Genesis is painted in miniature; a design which, from the +angular folds of the drapery, partakes of the Greek style, but still +serves to prove this art to have been known at that time in Umbria. In +addition to what I have remarked, I may also observe, that in Perugia, +in the course of the same century, the artists were sufficiently +numerous to form an academy, as we may collect from the _Lettere +Perugine_, and these, when we consider the time, must have been in great +part miniature painters. + +It is now time to notice Oderigi of Gubbio, a town very near to Perugia. +Vasari tells us that he was a man of celebrity, and a friend of Giotto, +in Rome; and Dante, in his second _Cantica_, calls him an honour to +Agobbio, and excelling in the art of miniature. These are the only +authorities that Baldinucci could have for transferring this ancient +artist to the school of Cimabue, and ingrafting him in his usual manner +on that stock. Upon these he founded his conjecture; and, according to +his custom, gave them more weight than they deserved. His opinion, +however amplified, reduces itself to the assumption that Giotto, +Oderigi, and Dante, were lovers of art, and common friends, and became +therefore acquainted in the school of Cimabue; a very uncertain +conclusion. We shall consider this subject more maturely in the school +of Bologna, since Oderigi lived there, and instructed Franco, from whom +Bologna dates the series of her painters. It is thought, too, that he +left some scholars in his native place, and not long after him, in 1321, +we find Cecco, and Puccio da Gubbio, engaged as painters of the +Cathedral of Orvieto; and about the year 1342, Guido Palmerucci of the +same place, employed in the palace of his native city. There remains a +work of his in fresco in the hall, much injured by time; but some +figures of saints are still preserved, which do not yield to the best +style of Giotto. Some other vestiges of very ancient paintings are to be +seen in the Confraternita de' Bianchi; in whose archives it is mentioned +that the picture of S. Biagio was repaired by Donato, in 1374; whence it +must necessarily be of a very early period. This and other interesting +information I obtained from Sig. Sebastiano Rangliasci, a noble +inhabitant of Gubbio, who has formed a catalogue of the artists of his +native city, inserted in the fourth volume of the last edition of +Vasari. + +We are now arrived at the age of Giotto, and the first who presents +himself to us is Pietro Cavallini, who was instructed by Giotto, in +Rome,[8] in the arts of painting and mosaic, both of which he followed +with skill and intelligence. The Roman Guide makes mention of him, and +that of Florence refers to a Nunziata at S. Mark; and there are others +mentioned by Vasari as being in the chapels of that city; one of which +is in the Loggia del Grano. The most remarkable of his works is to be +seen in Assisi. It is a fresco, and occupies a large facade in one +division of the church. It represents the crucifixion of our Saviour, +surrounded by bands of soldiers, foot and horse, and a numerous crowd of +spectators, all varying in their dress and the expression of their +passions. In the sky is a band of angels, whose sympathizing sorrow is +vividly depicted. In extent and spirit of design it partakes of the +style of Memmi, and in one of the sufferers on the cross he has shewn +that he justly appreciated and successfully followed his guide. The +colours are well preserved, particularly the blue, which there, and in +other parts of the church, presents to our admiring gaze, to use the +language of our poets, a heaven of oriental sapphire. + +Vasari does not appear to have been acquainted with any scholar of +Pietro Cavallini, except it be Giovanni da Pistoja; but Pietro, who +lived in Rome the greater part of his life, which was extended to a +period of eighty-five years, must have contributed his aid in no small +degree to the advancement of art, in the capital, as well as in other +places. However this may be, in that part of Italy, pictures of his +school are still found; or at least memorials of art of the age in which +he flourished. We have an Andrea of Velletri, of whom a specimen is +preserved in the select collection of the Museo Borgia, with the Virgin +surrounded by saints, a common subject at that period in the churches, +as I have before observed. It has the name of the painter, with the year +1334, and in execution approaches nearer to the school of Siena than any +other. In the year 1321 we find Ugolino Orvietano, Gio. Bonini di +Assisi, Lello Perugino, and F. Giacomo da Camerino, noticed by us in +another place, all employed in painting in the Cathedral of Orvieto. +Mariotti, in his letters, mentions other artists of Perugia, and the +memory of a very early painter of Fabriano is preserved by Ascevolini, +the historian of that city, who informs us, that in the country church +of S. Maria Maddalena, in his time, there was a picture in fresco, by +Bocco, executed in 1306. A Francesco Tio da Fabriano, who in 1318 +painted the tribune of the Conventuals at Mondaino, is mentioned by +Colucci, (tom. xxv. p. 183). This work has perished; but the productions +of a successor of his at Fabriano are to be seen in the oratory of S. +Antonio Abate, the walls of which remain. Many histories of the saint +are there to be found, divided into pictures, in the early style, and +inscribed, _Allegrettus Nutii de Fabriano hoc opus fecit 136_.... The +art in these parts was not a little advanced by their proximity to +Assisi, where Giotto's scholars were employed after his death, +particularly Puccio Capanna of Florence. This artist, who is esteemed +one of the most successful followers of Giotto, after painting in +Florence, in Pistoia, Rimino, and Bologna, is conjectured by Vasari to +have settled in Assisi, where he left many works behind him. + +We shall find the succeeding century more fruitful in art, as the Popes +at that time forsook Avignon, and, re-establishing themselves in Rome, +began to decorate the palace of the Vatican, and to employ painters of +celebrity both there and in the churches. There does not appear any +person of distinction amongst them as a native of Rome. From the Roman +State we find Gentile da Fabriano, Piero della Francesca, Bonfigli, +Vannucci, and Melozzo, who first practised the art of _sotto in su_; and +amongst the strangers are Pisanello, Masaccio, Beato Angelico, +Botticelli and his colleagues. Amongst these too, it is said, was to be +found Mantegna, and there still remains the chapel painted by him for +Innocent VIII. although since converted to another purpose. Each of +these artists I shall notice in their respective schools, and shall here +only mention such as were found in the country from the Ufente to the +Tronto, and from thence to the Metauro, which are the confines of our +present class. The names of many others may be collected from books; as +an Andrea, and a Bartolommeo, both of Orvieto, and a Mariotto da +Viterbo, and others who worked at Orvieto from 1405 to 1457; and some +who painted in Rome itself, a Giovenale and a Salli di Celano, and +others now forgotten. But without pausing on these, we will advert to +the artists of Piceno, of the State of Urbino, and the remaining parts +of Umbria: where we shall meet with the traces of schools which remained +for many years. + +The school of Fabriano, which seems very ancient in Picenum, produced at +that time Gentile, one of the first painters of his age, of whom +Bonarruoti is reported to have said, that his style was in unison with +his name. The first notice we have of him is among the painters of the +church of Orvieto, in 1417; and then, or soon afterwards, he received +from the historians of that period the appellation of _magister +magistrorum_, and they mention the Madonna which he there painted, and +which still remains. He afterwards resided in Venice, where, after +ornamenting the Palazzo Publico, he was rewarded by the republic with a +salary, and with the privilege of wearing the patrician dress of that +city. He there, says Vasari, became the master, and, in a manner, the +father of Jacopo Bellini, the father and preceptor of two of the +ornaments of the Venetian school. These were Gentile, who assumed that +name in memory of Gentile da Fabriano, born in 1421; and Giovanni, who +surpassed his brother in reputation, and from whose school arose +Giorgione and Titian. He (Gentile da Fabriano) was employed in the +Lateran, at Rome, where he rivalled Pisanello, in the time of Martin V.; +and it is to be regretted that his works, both there and in Venice, have +perished. Facio, who eulogizes him, and who had seen his most finished +performances, extols him as a man of universal art, who represented, not +only the human form and edifices in the most correct manner, but painted +also the stormy appearances of nature in a style that struck terror into +the spectator. In painting the history of St. John, in the Lateran, and +the Five Prophets over it, of the colour of marble, he is said to have +used more than common care, as if he at that time prognosticated his own +approaching death, which soon afterwards occurred, and the work remained +unfinished. Notwithstanding this, Ruggier da Bruggia, as Facio relates, +when he went to Rome, in the holy year, and saw it, considered it a +stupendous work, which placed Gentile at the head of all the painters of +Italy. According to Vasari and Borghini, he executed a countless number +of works in the Marca, and in the state of Urbino, and particularly in +Gubbio, and in Citta di Castello, which are in the neighbourhood of his +native place; and there still remain in those districts, and in Perugia, +some paintings in his style. A remarkable one is mentioned in a country +church called la Romita, near Fabriano.[9] Florence possesses two +beautiful specimens: the one in S. Niccolo, with the effigy and history +of the sainted bishop, the other in the sacristy of S. Trinita, with an +Epiphany, having the date of 1423. They bear a near resemblance to the +style of B. Angelico, except that the proportions of the figures are not +so correct, the conception is less just, and the fringe of gold and +brocades more frequent. Vasari pronounces him a pupil of Beato, and +Baldinucci confirms this opinion, although he says that Beato took +religious orders at an early age in 1407, a period which would exclude +Gentile from his tuition. I conjecture both the one and the other to +have been scholars of miniature painters, from the fineness of their +execution, and from the size of their works, which are generally on a +small scale. The name of an Antonio da Fabriano appears in a +Crucifixion, in 1454, painted on wood, which I saw in Matelica, in the +possession of the Signori Piersanti; but it is inferior to Gentile in +style.[10] + +On an ancient picture, which is preserved in Perugia, in the convent of +S. Domenico, is the name of a painter of Camerino, a place in the same +neighbourhood, who flourished in 1447. The inscription is _Opus Johannis +Bochatis de Chamereno_. In the same district is S. Severino, where we +find a Lorenzo, who, in conjunction with his brother, painted in the +oratory of S. John the Baptist in Urbino, the life of that saint. These +two artists were much behind their age. I have seen some other works by +them, from which it appears that they were living in 1470, and painted +in the Florentine style of 1400. Other artists of the same province are +named in the _Storia del Piceno_, particularly at S. Ginesio, a Fabio di +Gentile di Andrea, a Domenico Balestrieri, and a Stefano Folchetti, +whose works are cited, with the date of their execution attached to +them.[11] In this district also resided several strangers, scarcely +known to their native places, as Francesco d'Imola, a scholar of +Francia, who, in the convent of Cingoli, painted a Descent from the +Cross; and Carlo Crivelli, a Venetian, who passed from one state to +another, and finally settled in Ascoli. His works are to be met with +there more frequently than in any other city of Picenum. I shall speak +of his merits in the Venetian school, and shall here only add, that he +had for a pupil Pietro Alamanni, the chief of the painters of Ascoli, a +respectable _quattrocentista_, who painted an altarpiece at S. Maria +della Carita, in 1489. About this time also we find amongst their names +a Vittorio Crivelli, a Venetian, of the family, as I conjecture, and +perhaps of the school of Carlo. There is frequent mention of him in the +_Antichita Picene_. + +Urbino, too, had her artists, as her princes were not behind the other +rulers of Italy in good taste. At the restoration of the art, we find +Giotto, and several of his scholars, there; and afterwards Gentile da +Fabriano,[12] a Galeazzo, and, possibly, a Gentile di Urbino. At Pesaro, +in the convent of S. Agostino, I have seen a Madonna, accompanied with +beautiful architecture, and an inscription--_Bartholomaeus Magistri +Gentilis de Urbino_, 1497; and at Monte Cicardo, I saw the same name on +an ancient picture of 1508, but without his birthplace. (Ant. Pic. tom. +xvii. 145.) I am in doubt whether this _M. Gentilis_ refers to the +father of Bartolommeo or his master, as the scholars at that time often +took their designation from their masters. At all events, this artist is +not to be confounded with Bartolommeo from Ferrara, whose son, +Benedetto, subscribes himself _Benedictus quondam Bartholomaei de Fer. +Pictor._ 1492. This is to be seen in the church of S. Domenico di +Urbino, on the altarpiece in the Chapel of the Muccioli, their +descendants. + +In the city of Urbino there remain some works of the father of +Raffaello, who, in a letter of the Duchess Giovanna della Rovere, which +is the first of the Lettere Pittoriche, is designated as _molto +virtuoso_. There is by him in the church of S. Francis, a good picture +of S. Sebastian, with figures in an attitude of supplication. There is +one attributed also to him in a small church dedicated to the same +saint, representing his martyrdom, with a figure foreshortened, which +Raffaello, when young, imitated in a picture of the Virgin, at Citta di +Castello. He subscribed himself _Io. Sanctis Urbi._ (_Urbinas_). So I +read it in the sacristy of the Conventuals of Sinigaglia in an +Annunciation in which there is a beautiful angel, and an infant Christ +descending from the father; and which seems to be copied from those of +Pietro Perugino, with whom Raffaello worked some time, though it has a +still more ancient style. The other figures are less beautiful, but yet +graceful, and the extremities are carefully executed. But the most +distinguished painter in Urbino was F. Bartolommeo Corradini d'Urbino, a +Domenican, called Fra. Carnevale. To an accurate eye his pictures are +defective in perspective, and retain in the drapery the dryness of his +age, but the portraits are so strongly expressed that they seem to live +and speak; the architecture is beautiful, and the colours bright, and +the air of the heads at the same time noble and unaffected. It is known +that Bramante and Raffaello studied him, as there were not, at that +time, any better works in Urbino. In Gubbio, which formed a part of this +dukedom, were to be seen in that age the remains of the early school. +There exists a fresco by Ottaviano Martis in S. Maria Nuova, painted in +1403. The Virgin is surrounded by a choir of angels, certainly too much +resembling each other, but in their forms and attitudes as graceful and +pleasing as any contemporary productions. + +Borgo S. Sepolcro, Foligno, and Perugia, present us with artists of +greater celebrity. Borgo was a part of Umbria subject to the Holy See, +and was, in 1440, pledged to the Florentines,[13] by Eugenius IV. at the +time Piero della Francesca, or Piero Borghese, one of the most memorable +painters of this age, was at the summit of his reputation. He must have +been born about 1398, since Vasari states that "he painted about the +year 1458,"[14] and that he became blind at sixty years of age, and +remained so until his death, in his eighty-sixth year. From his +fifteenth year he applied himself to painting, at which age he had made +himself master of the principles of mathematics, and he rose to great +eminence both in art and science.[15] I have not been able to ascertain +who was his master, but it is probable that as he was the son of a poor +widow, who had barely the means of bringing him up, he did not leave his +native place; and that under the guidance of obscure masters he raised +himself, by his own genius, to the high degree of fame which he enjoyed. +He first appeared, says Vasari, in the court of the elder Guidubaldo +Feltro, Duke of Urbino, where he left only some pictures of figures on a +small scale, which was the case with such as were not the pupils of the +great masters. He was celebrated for a remarkable drawing of a Vase, so +ingeniously designed that the front, the back, the sides, the bottom, +and the mouth, were all shewn; the whole drawn with the greatest +correctness, and the circles gracefully foreshortened. The art of +perspective, the principles of which he was, as some affirm, the first +among the Italians to develope and to cultivate, was much indebted to +him;[16] and painting, too, owed much to his example in imitating the +effects of light, in marking correctly the muscles of the naked figure, +in preparing models of clay for his figures, and in the study of his +drapery, the folds of which he fixed on the model itself, and drew very +accurately and minutely. On examining the style of Bramante and his +Milanese contemporaries, I have often thought that they derived some +light from Piero, for, as I have before said, he painted in Urbino where +Bramante studied, and afterwards executed many works in Rome, where +Bramantino came and was employed by Nicholas V. + +In the Floreria of the Vatican is still to be seen a large fresco +painting, in which the above named pontiff is represented with cardinals +and prelates, and there is a degree of truth in the countenances highly +interesting. Taja does not assert that it is by Pietro, but says that it +is attributed to him.[17] Those which are pointed out in Arezzo +doubtless belong to him, and the most remarkable are the histories of +the holy cross in the choir of the church of the Conventuals, which shew +that the art was already advanced beyond its infancy; there is so much +new in the Giotto manner of foreshortening, in the relief, and in many +difficulties of the art overcome in his works. If he had possessed the +grace of Masaccio he might with justice have been placed at his side. At +Citta S. Sepolcro there still remain some works attributed to him; a S. +Lodovico Vescovo, in the public palace, at S. Chiara a picture of the +Assumption, with the apostles in the distance, and a choir of angels at +the top, but in the foreground are S. Francis, S. Jerome, and other +figures, which injure the unity of the composition. There are, however, +still traces in them of the old style; a poverty of design, a hardness +in the foldings of the drapery, feet which are well foreshortened, but +too far apart. As to the rest, in design, in the air, and in the +colouring of the figures, it seems to be a rude sketch of that style +which was ameliorated by P. Perugino, and perfected by Raffaello. + +In the latter part of this century there flourished several good +painters at Foligno, but it is not known from whom they derived their +instructions. In the twenty-fifth volume of the Antichita Picene we +read, that in the church of S. Francesco di Cagli there exists (I know +not whether it be now there) a most beautiful composition, painted in +1461, at the price of 115 ducats of gold, by M. Pietro di Mazzaforte and +M. Niccolo Deliberatore of Foligno. At S. Venanzio di Camerino is a +large altarpiece on a ground of gold, with Christ on the Cross, +surrounded by many Saints, with three small evangelical histories added +to it. The inscription is _Opus Nicolai Fulginatis_, 1480; it is in the +style of the last imitators of Giotto, and there is scarcely a doubt +that the artist studied at Florence. I believe him to be the same artist +as Niccolo Deliberatore, or di Liberatore; and different from Niccolo +Alunno, also of Foligno, whom Vasari mentions as an excellent painter in +the time of Pinturicchio. He painted in distemper, as was common before +Pietro Perugino, but in tints that have survived uninjured to our own +times. In the distribution of his colours he was original; his heads +possess expression, though they are common, and sometimes heavy, when +they represent the vulgar. There is at S. Niccolo di Foligno a picture +by him, composed in the style of the fourteenth century, the Virgin +surrounded by saints, and underneath small histories of the Passion, +where the perspicuity is more to be praised than the disposition. In the +same style some of his pieces in Foligno are painted after 1500. Vasari +thinks they are all surpassed by his Pieta in a chapel of the Duomo, in +which are represented two angels, "whose grief is so vividly expressed, +that any other artist, however ambitious he might be, would find it +difficult to surpass it." + +Perugia, from whence the art derived no common lustre, abounded in +painters beyond any other city. The celebrated Mariotti formed a long +catalogue of the painters of the fourteenth century, and among the most +conspicuous are Fiorenzo di Lorenzo, and Bartolommeo Caporali, of whom +we have pictures of the date of 1487. Some strangers were also to be +found amongst them, as that Lello da Velletri, the author of an +altarpiece, and its lower compartments, noticed by Signor Orsini. +Benedetto Bonfigli was distinguished above all others, and was the most +eminent artist of Perugia in his day. I have seen by him, besides the +picture in fresco in the Palazzo Publico, mentioned by Vasari, a picture +of the Magi, in S. Domenico, in a style similar to Gentile, and with a +large proportion of gold; and another in a more modern style, an +Annunciation, in the church of the Orfanelli. The angel in it is most +beautiful, and the whole picture would bear comparison with the works of +the best artists of this period, if the drawing were more correct.[18] + +What I have already adduced sufficiently proves that the art was not +neglected in the Papal States, even in the ruder ages; and that men of +genius from time to time appeared there, who, without leaving their +native places, still gave an impulse to art. Florence, however, has ever +been the great capital of design, the leading academy, and the Athens of +Italy. It would be idle to question her indisputable claim to this high +honour; and Sixtus IV., who, as we have before mentioned, sought through +all Italy for artists to ornament the Sistine chapel, procured the +greatest number from Tuscany; nor were there to be found amongst them +any who were his own subjects, except Pietro Perugino, and he too had +risen to notice and celebrity in Florence. These then are the first +mature fruits of the Roman school, for until this period they had been +crude and tasteless. Pietro is her Masaccio, her Ghirlandajo, her all. +We will here take a short view of him and his scholars, reserving, +however, the divine Raffaello to the next epoch, which indeed is +designated by his illustrious name. + +Pietro Vannucci della Pieve,[19] as he calls himself in some pictures, +or of Perugia in others, from the citizenship which he there enjoyed, +had studied under a master of no great celebrity, if we are to believe +Vasari; and this was a Pietro da Perugia, as Bottari conjectured, or +Niccolo Alunno, as it was reported in Foligno. Mariotti pretends that +Pietro advanced himself greatly in Perugia in the schools of Bonfigli, +and Pietro della Francesca, from which he not only derived that +excellence in perspective, which, from the testimony of Vasari was so +much admired in Florence, but also much of his design and colouring.[20] +Mariotti then raises a doubt whether, when he went as an artist to +Florence, he became the scholar of Verrocchio, as writers report, or +whether he did not rather perfect himself from the great examples of +Masaccio, and the excellent painters who at that time flourished there; +and he finally determines in favour of the opinion held by Pascoli, +Bottari, and Taja, and adopted by Padre Resta, in his _Galleria +Portatile_, p. 10, that Verrocchio was never his master. It is well +worth while to read the disquisitions of this able writer in his fifth +letter, where we may admire the dexterity with which he settles a point +so perplexed and so interesting to the history of art. I will only add +that it appears to me not improbable, that Pietro, when he arrived at +Florence, attached himself to this most celebrated artist, and was +instructed by him in design, and in the plastic art particularly, and in +that fine style of painting with which Verrocchio, without much +practising it himself, imbued both Vinci and Credi. Traditions are +seldom wholly groundless; they have generally some foundation in truth. + +The manner of Pietro is somewhat hard and dry, like that of other +painters of his time; and he occasionally exhibits a poverty in the +drapery of his figures; his garments and mantles being curtailed and +confined. But he atones for these faults by the grace of his heads, +particularly in his boys and in his women; which have an air of elegance +and a charm of colour unknown to his contemporaries. It is delightful to +behold in his pictures, and in his frescos which remain in Perugia and +Rome, the bright azure ground which affords such high relief to his +figures; the green, purple, and violet tints so chastely harmonized, the +beautiful and well drawn landscape and edifices, which, as Vasari says, +was a thing until that time never seen in Florence. In his altarpieces +he is not sufficiently varied. There is a remarkable painting executed +for the church of S. Simone, at Perugia, of a Holy Family, one of the +first specimens of a well designed and well composed altarpiece. In +other respects Pietro did not make any great advances in invention; his +Crucifixions and his Descents from the Cross are numerous, and of an +uniform character. He has thus represented, with little variation, the +Ascensions of our Lord and of the Virgin, in Bologna, in Florence, +Perugia, and Citta di S. Sepolcro. He was reproached with this +circumstance in his lifetime, and defended himself by saying that no one +had a right to complain, as the designs were all his own. There is also +another defence, which is, that compositions, really beautiful, are +still seen with delight when repeated in different places; whoever sees +in the Sistine his S. Peter invested with the keys, will not be +displeased at finding at Perugia the same landscape, in a picture of the +Marriage of the Virgin. On the contrary, this picture is one of the +finest objects that noble city affords; and may be considered as +containing an epitome of the various styles of Pietro. In the opinion of +some persons, his frescos exhibit a more fertile invention, and greater +delicacy and harmony of colour. Of these, his masterpiece is in his +native city, in the Sala del Cambio. It is an evangelical subject, with +saints from the Old Testament, and with his own portrait, to which his +grateful fellow citizens attached an elegant eulogy. He is most eminent, +and adopts a sort of Raffaellesque style, in some of his latter +pictures. I have observed it in a Holy Family, in the Carmine in +Perugia. The same may be said too of certain small pictures, almost of a +miniature class; as in the grado of S. Peter, in Perugia, than which +nothing can be more finished and beautiful; and in many other pieces in +which he has spared no pains,[21] but which are few in comparison to the +multitude by his scholars, attributed to him. + +In treating of the school of Pietro Perugino, it is necessary to advert +to what Taja,[22] and after him the author of the _Lettere Perugine_, +notices respecting his scholars, "that they were most scrupulous in +adhering to the manner of their master, and as they were very numerous, +they have filled the world with pictures, which both by painters and +connoisseurs are very commonly considered as his." When his works in +Perugia are inspected, he generally rises in the esteem of travellers, +of whom many have only seen paintings incorrectly ascribed to him. In +Florence there are some of his pictures in the Grand Duke's collection: +and in the church of S. Chiara, his beautiful Descent from the Cross, +and some other works; but in private collections both here and in other +cities of Tuscany, many Holy Families are assigned to him, which are +most probably by Gerino da Pistoja, or some of his Tuscan scholars, of +whom there is a catalogue in our first book. The Papal states also +possessed many of his scholars, who were of higher reputation, nor so +wholly attached to his manner as the strangers. Bernardino Pinturicchio, +his scholar and assistant in Perugia and in Rome, was a painter little +valued by Vasari, who has not allowed him his full share of merit. He +has not the style of design of his master, and retains more than +consistent with his age, the ornaments of gold in his drapery; but he is +magnificent in his edifices, spirited in his countenances, and extremely +natural in every thing he introduces into his composition. As he was on +the most familiar footing with Raffaello, with whom he painted at Siena, +he has emulated his grace in some of his figures, as in his picture of +S. Lorenzo in the church of the Francescani di Spello, in which there is +a small S. John the Baptist, thought by some to be by Raphael himself. +He was very successful in arabesques and perspective; in which way he +was the first to represent cities in the ornaments of his fresco +paintings, as in an apartment of the Vatican, where in his landscapes he +introduced views of the principal cities of Italy. In many of his +paintings he retained the ancient custom of making part of his +decorations of stucco, as the arches, a custom which was observed in the +Milanese school to the time of Gaudenzio. Rome possesses some of his +works, particularly in the Vatican, and in Araceli. There is a good +picture by him in the duomo of Spello.[23] His best is at Siena, in the +magnificent sacristy of which we have already made mention. They consist +of ten historical subjects, containing the most memorable passages in +the life of Pius II., and on the outside is an eleventh, which +represents the Coronation of Pius III., by whom this work was ordered. + +Vasari has added to the life of Pinturicchio that of Girolamo Genga, of +Urbino, at first a scholar of Signorelli, afterwards of Perugino, and +who remained some time pursuing his studies in Florence. He was, for a +long period, in the service of the Duke of Urbino, and attached himself +more to architecture than to painting, though, in the latter, he was +sufficiently distinguished to deserve a place in the history of art. We +cannot form a correct judgment of him, as a great part of his own works +have perished; and as he assisted Signorelli in Orvieto and other +places; and was assisted by Timoteo della Vite in Urbino, and in the +imperial palace of Pesaro by Raffaelle del Colle, and various others. In +the Petrucci palace at Siena, which now belongs to the noble family of +Savini, some historical pieces are ascribed to him near those of +Signorelli. They are described in the Lettere Senesi, and in the notes +published at Siena to the fourth volume of Vasari. These pieces are +praised as superior to those of Signorelli, and as in many parts +approaching the early style of Raffaello. Nor do I see how, in the above +mentioned letters, they could be supposed to be by Razzi, or Peruzzi, or +Pacchiarotto, "_in their hard dry manner_" when history assures us that +Girolamo was with Pandolfo a considerable time, which cannot be asserted +of the other three; and as it appears that Petrucci, to finish the work +of Signorelli, selected Genga from among his scholars. If we deprive him +of this work, which is the only one which can be called his own, what +can he have executed in all this time? In this house there is no other +picture that can be assigned to him, although Vasari asserts that he +there painted other rooms. A most beautiful picture by Genga, and of the +greatest rarity, is to be seen in S. Caterina da Siena in Rome; the +subject is the Resurrection of our Saviour. + +Of the other scholars of Perugino we have no distinct account; but we +find some notice of them in the life of their master. Giovanni +Spagnuolo, named Lo Spagna, was one of the many _oltramontani_ whom +Perugino instructed. The greater part of these introduced his manner +into their own countries, but Giovanni established himself at Spoleti, +at which place, and in Assisi, he left his best works. In the opinion of +Vasari the colouring of Perugino survived in him more than in any of his +fellow scholars. In a chapel of the Angioli, below Assisi, there remains +the picture described by Vasari, in which are the portraits of the +brotherhood of S. Francis, who closed his days on this spot, and, +perhaps, no other pupil of this school has painted portraits with more +truth, if we except Raffaello himself, with whom no other painter is to +be compared. + +A more memorable person is Andrea Luigi di Assisi, a competitor of +Raffaello, although of more mature years, who, from his happy genius was +named L'Ingegno. He assisted Perugino in the Sala del Cambio, and in +other works of more consequence; and he may be said to be the first of +that school who began to enlarge the style, and soften the colouring. +This is observable in several of his works, and singularly so in the +sybils and prophets in fresco in the church of Assisi; if they are by +his hand, as is generally believed. It is impossible to behold his +pictures without a feeling of compassion, when we recollect that he was +visited with blindness at the most valuable period of his life. Domenico +di Paris Alfani also enlarged the manner of his master, and even more +than him Orazio his son, and not his brother, as has been imagined. This +artist bears a great resemblance to Raffaello. There are some of his +pictures in Perugia, which, if it were not for a more delicate +colouring, and something of the suavity of Baroccio, might be assigned +to the school of Raffaello; and there are pictures on which a question +arises whether they belong to that school or to Orazio; particularly +some Madonnas, which are preserved in various collections. I have seen +one in the possession of the accomplished Sig. Auditor Frigeri in +Perugia; and there is another in the ducal gallery in Florence. The +reputation of the younger Alfani has injured that of the other; and even +in Perugia some fine pieces were long considered to be by Orazio, which +have since been restored to Domenico. An account of these, and other +works of eminent artists, may be found in modern writers; and +particularly in Mariotti, who mentions the altarpiece of the +Crucifixion, between S. Apollonia and S. Jerome, at the church of the +Conventuals, a work by the two Alfanis, father and son. In commendation +of the latter he adds, that he was the chief of the academy for design, +which was founded in 1573, and which, after many honourable struggles, +has been revived in our own time. + +There are other artists of less celebrity in Perugia, though not omitted +by Vasari. Eusebio da S. Giorgio painted in the church of S. Francesco +di Matelica, a picture with several saints, and on the grado, part of +the history of S. Anthony, with his name, and the year 1512. We may +recognize in it the drawing of Perugino, but the colouring is feeble. +His picture of the Magi at S. Agostino is better coloured, and in this +he followed Paris. The works of Giannicola da Perugia, a good colourist, +and therefore willingly received by Pietro to assist him in his labours, +however inferior to that artist in design and perspective, are +recognized in the Cappella del Cambio, which is near the celebrated sala +of Perugino, and was painted by him with the life of John the Baptist. +In the church of S. Thomas, is his picture of that Apostle about to +touch the wounds of our Saviour, and excepting a degree of sameness in +the heads, it possesses much of the character of Perugino. Giambatista +Caporali, erroneously called Benedetto by Vasari, Baldinucci, and +others, holds likewise a moderate rank in this school, and is more +celebrated among the architects. Giulio, his natural son, afterwards +legitimatized, also cultivated the same profession. + +The succeeding names belonging to this school are not mentioned by +Vasari; a circumstance which does not prove the impropriety of their +admission, as there are many deserving of notice. Mariotti, our guide in +the chronology of this age, and a correct judge of the conformity of +style, notices Mariano di Ser Eusterio, whom Vasari calls Mariano da +Perugia (tom. iv. p. 162), referring to a picture in the church of S. +Agostino in Ancona, which is "not of much interest." In opposition to +this opinion of Vasari, however, Mariotti adduces another picture, of a +respectable class, by Mariano, to be found in S. Domenico di Perugia; +whence we may conclude that this painting is deserving of a place in the +history of art. He also mentions Berto di Giovanni, whom Raffaello +engaged as his assistant to paint a picture for the monks of Monteluci +(of which we shall speak in our notice of Penni) and who was appointed +in this contract by Raphael himself to paint the grado. This grado is in +the sacristy, and is so entirely in the manner of Raffaello, in the +history of the virgin which it represents, that we may conclude either +that Raffaello made the design, or that it was painted by one of his +school. If it was by Berto, it proves him to have been one of those who +exchanged the school of Perugino for that of Raffaello; and if he did +not paint it, he must always be held in consideration for the regard he +received from the master of the art. Of this artist more information may +be obtained from Bianconi, in the Antologia Romana, vol. iii. p. 121. +Mariotti enumerates also Sinibaldo da Perugia, who must be esteemed an +excellent painter from his works in his native place, and more so from +those in the cathedral at Gubbio, where he painted a fine picture in +1505, and a gonfalon still more beautiful, which would rank him among +the first artists of the ancient school. To the above painters Pascoli +adds a female artist of the name of Teodora Danti, who painted cabinet +pictures in the style of Perugino and his scholars. + +From tradition, as well as conjecture, we may notice in Citta di +Castello a Francesco of that city, a scholar of Perugino, who, in an +altarpiece in the church of the Conventuals, left an Annunciation with a +fine landscape. He is named in the Guida di Roma, in the account of the +chapel of S. Bernardino in Ara Caeli, where he is supposed to have +worked with Pinturicchio and Signorelli. There is a conjecture, though +no decided proof, that a Giacomo di Guglielmo was a pupil of Pietro, +who, at Castel della Pieve, his native place, painted a gonfalon, +estimated by good judges in Perugia at sixty-five florins; and also a +Tiberio di Assisi, who, in many of the coloured lunettes in the convent +degli Angeli, containing the history of the Life of S. Francis, shews +clearly that Perugino was his prototype, though he had not talent enough +to imitate him. Besides Tiberio, some have assigned to the instructions +of Perugino, the most eminent painter of Assisi, Adone (or Dono) Doni, +not unknown to Vasari, who often mentions him, and particularly in his +life of Gherardi (vol. v. p. 142). He is there called of Ascoli, an +opinion which Bottari maintains against Orlandi, who, on the best +grounds, changed it to Assisi. In Ascoli he is not at all known, but he +is well known in Perugia by a large picture of the Last Judgment in the +church of S. Francis, and still better in Assisi, where he painted in +fresco, in the church of the Angeli, the life of the founder, and of S. +Stephen, and many other pieces, which, for a long period, served as a +school for youth. He had very little of the ancient manner; the truth of +his portraits is occasionally wonderful; his colouring is that of the +latest of the scholars of Perugino; and he appears to be an artist of +more correctness than spirit. I find also a Lattanzio della Marca, of +the school of Perugino, commemorated by Vasari in the above mentioned +life. He is thought to be the same as Lattanzio da Rimino, of whom +Ridolfi makes mention, among the scholars of Giovanni Bellino, as +painting a picture in Venice in rivalship with Conegliano.[24] We are +enabled more correctly to ascertain this from a document in the +possession of Mariotti, of which we shall shortly speak, from which we +not only learn to a certainty his native place, but further, that he was +the son of Vincenzo Pagani, a celebrated painter, as will hereafter be +seen, and that both were living in the year 1553. It appears, therefore, +very probable that Lattanzio was instructed by his father, and that we +may doubt of his being under Bellini, who died about 1516, or under +Perugino, among whose disciples he is not enumerated by the very +accurate Mariotti. It seems certain, that on the death of Vannucci he +succeeded to his fame, and obtained for himself some of the most +important orders in Perugia, as, for instance, the great work of +painting the chambers in the castle. He accomplished this task by the +assistance of Raffaellino del Colle, Gherardi, Doni, and Paperello. He +there commenced the picture of S. Maria del Popolo, and executed the +lower part, where there is a great number of persons in the attitude of +prayer; a fine expression is observable in the countenances, the figures +are well disposed, the landscape beautiful, and there is a strength and +clearness in the colouring, and a taste which, on the whole, is +different from that of Perugino. The upper part of the picture, which is +by Gherardi, has not an equal degree of force. Lattanzio finished his +career by being sheriff of his native city; and of this office, a more +honourable distinction than at the present day, it appears he took +possession in the year 1553, and at that time renounced the art. It is +certain, that, in the before mentioned paper, the Capitano Lattanzio di +Vincenzo Pagani da Monte Rubbiano acknowledges to have received six +scudi of gold from Sforza degli Oddi, as earnest money for a picture +representing the Trinity, with four saints; and engages that in the +ensuing August it should be executed by his father Vincenzo and Tommaso +da Cortona, and this must be the picture still existing in the chapel of +the Oddi in S. Francesco, since the figures particularized in the +agreement are found there; we shall have an opportunity of noticing it +again. + +In the _Antichita Picene_, tom. xxi. p. 148, Ercole Ramazzani di +Roccacontrada is recorded as a scholar of Pietro Perugino, and for some +time of Raffaello. A picture of the circumcision, by him, is there +mentioned to be at Castel Planio, with his name and the date of 1588; +and in speaking of the artist it is added, that he possessed a beautiful +style of colour, a charming invention, and a manner approaching to +Barocci. I have never seen the above mentioned picture, nor the others +which he left in his native city, mentioned in the _Memorie_ of +Abbondanziere: but only one by a Ramazzani di Roccacontrada, painted in +the church of S. Francesco, in Matelica, in 1573. Although I cannot +affirm to a certainty that this painter called himself Ercole, I still +suspect him to be the same. It represents the conception of the Virgin, +in which the idea of the subject is taken from Vasari, where Adam, and +others of the Old Testament, are seen bound to the tree of knowledge of +good and evil, as the heirs of sin, while the Virgin triumphs over them +in her exemption from the penalty of the first parents. Ramazzani has +adopted this design, which he had probably seen, but he has executed his +picture on a much larger scale, with better colouring, and much more +expression in the countenances. To conclude, we do not see a trace of +the manner of Perugino, and the period at which he lived seems too late +for him to have received instructions from that artist; and it is most +probable that he was taught by some of his latter scholars, in whom, if +I mistake not, that more fascinating than correct style of colouring had +its origin, before it was adopted by Barocci. + +I may further observe, that as Perugino was the most celebrated name at +the beginning of the sixteenth century, many other artists of the Roman +States, who studied the art about his time, are given to his school +without any sufficient authority; and particularly those who retained a +share of the old style. Such was a Palmerini of Urbino, a contemporary +of Raphael, and probably his fellow scholar in early life, of whom there +remains at S. Antonio, a picture of various saints, truly beautiful, and +approaching to a more modern style. In the same style I found, in the +Borghese Gallery at Rome, the Woman of Samaria at the Well, painted by a +Pietro Giulianello, or perhaps _da_ Giulianello, a little district not +far from Rome; an artist deserving to be placed in the first rank of +_quattrocentisti_, although not mentioned by any writer. There are +besides, some pictures by Pietro Paolo Agabiti, who in tom. xx. of the +_Ant. Pic._ is said to be of Masaccio, where he painted in 1531, and +some time afterwards. But I have seen a work by him in the church of S. +Agostino in Sassoferrato, a series of small histories, with an +inscription in which he names Sassoferrato as his native place, with the +date of 1514; a date that will carry him from the moderns to the better +class of the old school. Lorenzo Pittori da Macerata painted in the +church of the Virgin, highly esteemed for its architecture, a picture of +Christ in 1533, in a manner which has been called _antico moderno_. Two +artists, Bartolommeo, and Pompeo his son, flourished in Fano, and +painted in 1534 in conjunction, in the church of S. Michele, the +resurrection of Lazarus. It is wonderful to observe how little they +regarded the reform which the art had undergone. These artists strictly +followed the dry style of the quattrocentisti, with a thorough contempt +of the modern style. Nor was the son at all modernized on leaving his +father's studio. I found at S. Andrea di Pesaro a picture by him of +various saints, which might have done him honour in the preceding age. +Civalli mentions other works by him in a better style: and he certainly +in his lifetime enjoyed a degree of reputation, and was one of the +masters of Taddeo Zuccaro. There are a number of painters of this class, +of whom a long list might be compiled; they are generally represented to +be pupils of some well known master, and in such cases Pietro Perugino +is selected; though it would be more candid to confess our ignorance on +the subject. + +It would be improper to pass on to another epoch of art, without +adverting to the grotesque. This branch of the art is censured by +Vitruvius[25] as a creation of portentous monsters beyond the reign of +nature, transferring to canvas the dreams and ravings of a disordered +fancy, as wild as the waves of a convulsed sea, lashed into a thousand +varying forms by the fury of the tempest. This style took its name from +the _grotte_, for so those beautiful antique edifices may be called, +where paintings of this kind are found, covered with earth, and with +buildings of a later period. This style was revived in Rome, where a +greater proportion of these ancient specimens is found, and was restored +at this epoch. Vasari ascribes the revival of them to Morto da Feltro, +and the perfecting of the style to Giovanni da Udine. But he himself, +notwithstanding the little esteem he had for Pinturicchio, calls him the +friend of Morto da Feltro, and allows that he executed many works in the +same manner in Castel S. Angelo. Before him too Pietro his master had +painted some of the same kind in the Sala del Cambio, which Orsini says +are well conceived, and to him likewise a precedent had been afforded by +Benedetto Bonfigli, of whom Taja, in his description of the Vatican +palace, says, that he painted for Innocent VIII. in Rome some singularly +beautiful grotesques. This branch of art was afterwards cultivated in +many of the schools of Italy, particularly in that of Siena. Peruzzi +approved of it in architecture, and adopted it in his painting, and gave +occasion to Lomazzo to offer a defence of it, and precepts, as I before +noticed, and as may be seen in the sixth book of his Trattato della +Pittura, chapter forty-eight. + +[Footnote 4: _Dell'errore, che persiste_, &c. see the second index. It +was opposed by Crespi, in his _Dissertazione Anticritica_, referred to +in the same index. It was also opposed by P. dell'Aquila, in the +_Dizionario portatile della Bibbia, tradotto dal francese_, in a note of +some length, on the article S. Luca.] + +[Footnote 5: See the _Opuscoli Calogeriani_, tom. xliii. where a learned +dissertation is inserted, which shews that this custom was introduced +about the middle of the fifth century, on occasion of the Council of +Ephesus.] + +[Footnote 6: Engraved by command of the learned Cardinal Borgia. The +artists began about the middle of the fifth century, to represent her +with the Infant in her arms. See _Opuscoli Calogeriani_, as above.] + +[Footnote 7: "The painter was a man of holy life, and a Florentine, +whose name was Luca, and who was honoured by the common people with the +title of saint." Lami, Deliciae Eruditorum, tom. xv.] + +[Footnote 8: So says Vasari, who writes his life, but Padre della Valle +thinks it highly probable that he was the scholar of Cosimati, and not +of Giotto; as Cavallini was contemporary with Giotto. I agree that he +was only a very few years younger, and might have received some +instructions in the school of Cosimati: but who, except Giotto himself, +could have taught him that Giottesque and improved style scarcely +inferior to Gaddi?] + +[Footnote 9: In the archives of the Collegiate Church of S. Niccolo, in +Fabriano, is preserved a catalogue of the pictures of the city, which +has been communicated to me by Sig. Can. Claudio Serafini. This picture, +which is divided into five compartments, is there mentioned; and it is +added, that "many celebrated painters visited the place to view this +excellent work, and in particular, the illustrious Raffaello."] + +[Footnote 10: In the archives before alluded to, are also mentioned two +ancient pictures of a Giuliano da Fabriano, the one in the church of the +Domenicans, the other in the Church of the Capuchins.] + +[Footnote 11: Tom. xxiii. page 83, &c. By the first, is the ancient +picture of S. Maria della Consolazione in that church, erected in 1442. +By the second, are the pictures in the church of S. Rocco, painted about +the year 1463. The third artist painted a picture in the church of S. +Liberato, in 1494.] + +[Footnote 12: Galeazzo Sanzio and his sons will be noticed in the second +epoch.] + +[Footnote 13: See Vasari, Bologna edition, p. 260.] + +[Footnote 14: The commentators of Vasari remark, that when he uses this +phrase, he refers to the year of the death of the artist, or to the +period when he relinquished his art. Pietro must therefore have become +blind about the year 1458, in the sixtieth year of his age, and must +have died about 1484, aged eighty-six. This painter was intimately +connected with the family of Vasari. Lazaro the great-grandfather of +Vasari, who died in 1452, was the friend and imitator of Pietro, and +some time before his death assigned him his nephew Signorelli as a +scholar. We must, therefore, give credit to Vasari's account of +Borghese; for if we discredit him on this occasion, as some have done, +when are we to believe him? It is true, indeed, that he is guilty of a +strange anachronism in mentioning Guidubaldo, the old Duke of Urbino, as +his first patron; but this kind of error is frequent in him, and not to +be regarded.] + +[Footnote 15: "Fu eccellentissimo prospettivo, e il maggior geometra de' +suoi tempi." Romano Alberti, Trattato della nobilta della pittura, p. +32. See also Pascoli, Vite, tom. i. p. 90.] + +[Footnote 16: It appears that in this art he was preceded by Van Eych of +Flanders. See tom. i. p. 81, &c.; and also the eulogium on him by +Bartolommeo Facio, p. 46, where he praises his skill in geometry, and +refers to several of his pictures, which prove him to have been highly +accomplished, and almost unrivalled in perspective.] + +[Footnote 17: If there be any truth in Pietro having been blind for +twenty-four years, I do not know how he could have painted Sixtus IV. On +the other hand this tradition of his blindness comes from Vasari, whose +family was so intimately connected with that of Pietro della Francesca, +that there was less room for error in the life of that artist than in +any other. This excellent picture, of which I have seen a beautiful copy +in the possession of the Duke di Ceri, I should myself rather attribute +to Melozzo.] + +[Footnote 18: He is favorably mentioned by Crispolti, in the _Perugia +Augusta_; by Ciatti, in the _Istorie di Perugia_; Alessi, in the _Elogi +de' Perugini illustri_; and by Pascoli, in the _Vite de' Pittori Sc. +Arch. Perugini_; with whom I can in no manner concur in opinion, that +"Benedetto was equal to the best artists of his time, and probably the +first among the early masters who contributed to the introduction of an +improved style," (p. 21). An assertion singularly unjust to Masaccio.] + +[Footnote 19: He subscribed himself _de Castro Plebis_, now _Citta della +Pieve_. There, according to Pascoli, the father was born, who afterwards +removed to Perugia, where Pietro was born; but the greater probability +is, that Pietro also was born in Citta della Pieve. _Mariotti._] + +[Footnote 20: This resemblance might have arisen from his imitation of +the works of Borghese, (Pietro della Francesca) which he saw in Perugia, +as it most assuredly cannot be proved that Perugino was ever in his +school. P. Valle and others express great doubts of it, and when I +reflect that Vannucci was only twelve years old when Borghese lost his +sight, I regard it as an absurd tradition.] + +[Footnote 21: Vasari, at the close of his Life observes, "none of his +scholars ever equalled Pietro in application or in amenity of colour." +Padre della Valle asserts on the contrary, "that he was indebted for a +great portion of his celebrity to the talents displayed by his +scholars;" and says that he detected the touch of Raffaello in his +picture in the Grand Duke's collection; but we must have a stronger +testimony before we submit ourselves to this decision.] + +[Footnote 22: Descrizione del Palazzo Vaticano, p. 36.] + +[Footnote 23: Consisting of three subjects from the Life of Christ, in +the Chapel of the Holy Sacraments. The Annunciation, the Birth of +Christ, and the Dispute with the Doctors, the best of the three. In one +of these he introduced his own portrait. Vasari does not mention this +fine production.] + +[Footnote 24: He probably came to Venice from Rimino, or resided there +for some time. We find other early painters assigned first to one +country and then to another, as Jacopo Davanzo, Pietro Vannucci, Lorenzo +Lotto, &c.] + +[Footnote 25: It is said that Mengs, who was desirous of being +considered a philosophical painter, coincided with Vitruvius in opinion. +But this opinion should be restricted to some indifferent specimens; for +when he afterwards saw them painted in the true style of the ancients, +he regarded them with extraordinary pleasure; as in Genoa, which +possesses some beautiful arabesques by Vaga. So the defender of Ratti +assures us.] + + + + + ROMAN SCHOOL. + + EPOCH II. + + _Raffaello and his School._ + + +We are now arrived at the most brilliant period, not only of the Roman +School, but of modern painting itself. We have seen the art carried to a +high degree of perfection by Da Vinci and Bonarruoti, at the beginning +of the sixteenth century, and it is a remarkable fact that the same +period embraces not only Raphael, but also Coreggio, Giorgione, and +Titian, and the most celebrated Venetian painters: so that a man +enjoying the common term of life might have seen the works of all these +illustrious masters. The art in but a few years thus reached a height to +which it had never before attained, and which has never been rivalled, +except in the attempt to imitate these early masters, or to unite in one +style their varied and divided excellences. It seems indeed an ordinary +law of providence, that individuals of consummate genius should be born +and flourish at the same period, or at least at short intervals from +each other, a circumstance of which Velleius Paterculus, after a +diligent investigation, protested he could never discover the real +cause. I observe, he says, men of the same commanding genius making +their appearance together, in the smallest possible space of time; as it +happens in the case of animals of different kinds, which, confined in a +close place, nevertheless each selects its own class, and those of a +kindred race separate themselves from the rest, and unite in the closest +manner. A single age was sufficient to illustrate Tragedy, in the +persons of AEschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides: ancient comedy under +Cratinus, Aristophanes, and Eumolpides; and in like manner the new +comedy under Menander, Diphilus, and Philemon. There appeared few +philosophers of note after the days of Plato and Aristotle, and whoever +has made himself acquainted with Isocrates and his school, is acquainted +with the summit of Grecian eloquence. The same remark applies also to +other countries. The great Roman writers are included under the single +age of Octavius: Leo X. was the Augustus of modern Italy; the reign of +Louis XIV. was the brilliant era of French letters, that of Charles II. +of the English. + +This rule applies equally to the fine arts. _Hoc idem_, proceeds +Velleius, _evenisse plastis, pictoribus, sculptoribus, quisquis temporum +institerit notis reperiet, et eminentiam cujusque operis arctissimis +temporum claustris circumdatam._[26] Of this union of men of genius in +the same age, _Causas_, he says, _quum semper requiro, numquam invenio +quas veras confidam_. It seems to him probable that when a man finds +the first station in art occupied by another, he considers it as a post +that has been rightfully seized on, and no longer aspires to the +possession of it, but is humiliated, and contented to follow at a +distance. But this solution I confess does not satisfy my mind. It may +indeed account to us why no other Michelangiolo, or Raffaello, has ever +appeared; but it does not satisfy me why these two, and the others +before mentioned, should all have appeared together in the same age. For +myself, I am of opinion that the age is always influenced by certain +principles, universally adopted both by professors of the art, and by +amateurs: which principles happening at a particular period to be the +most just and accurate of their kind, produce in that age some +supereminent professors, and a number of good ones. These principles +change through the instability of all human affairs, and the age +partakes in the change. I may add, nevertheless, that these happy +periods never occur without the circumstance of a number of princes and +influential individuals rivalling each other in the encouragement of +works of taste; and amidst these there always arise some persons of +commanding genius, who give a bias and tone to art. The history of +sculpture in Athens, a city where munificence and taste went hand in +hand, favours my opinion, and it is further confirmed by this golden +period of Italian art. Nevertheless I do not pretend to give a verdict +on this important question, but leave the decision of it to a more +competent tribunal. + +But although it be a matter of difficulty to account for this +developement and union of rare talent at one particular period, we may +however hope to trace the steps of a single individual to excellence; +and I would wish to do so of Raffaello. Nature and fortune seemed to +unite in lavishing their favours on this artist; the first in investing +him with the rarest gifts of genius, the other in adding to these a +singular combination of propitious circumstances. In order to illustrate +our inquiry it will be necessary to observe him from his earliest +years,[27] and to note the progress of his mind. He was born in Urbino +in 1483; and if climate, as seems not improbable, have any influence on +the genius of an artist, I know not a happier spot that could have been +chosen for his birth, than that part of Italy which gave to architecture +a Bramante, supplied the art of painting with a successor to Raffaello +in Baroccio, and bestowed on sculpture the plastic hand of a Brandani, +without referring to many less celebrated, but still deserving artists, +who are the boast of Urbino and her state. The father of this +illustrious artist was Giovanni di Santi,[28] or as he has been commonly +called Giovanni Sanzio, an artist of moderate talents, and who could +contribute but little to the instruction of his son; although it was no +small advantage to have been initiated in a simple style, divested of +mannerism. He made some further progress from studying the works of F. +Carnevale, an artist of great merit, for the times in which he +flourished; and being placed at Perugia, under Pietro, he soon became +master of his style, as Vasari observes, and had then probably already +formed the design of excelling him. I was informed in Citta di Castello, +that at the age of seventeen he painted the picture of S. Nicholas of +Tolentino in the church of the Eremitani. The style was that of +Perugino, but the composition differed from that of the age, being the +throne of our Saviour surrounded by saints. The Beato (beatified saint) +is there represented, while the Virgin and St. Augustine, concealed in +part by a cloud, bind his temples with a crown; there are two angels at +the right hand, and two at the left, graceful, and in different +attitudes; with inscriptions variously folded, on which are inscribed +some words in praise of S. Eremitano. Above is the Eternal Father +surrounded by a majestic choir of angels. The actors of the scene appear +to be in a temple, the pillars of which are ornamented in the minute and +laboured style of Mantegna, and the ancient manner is still perceptible +in the folds of the drapery, though there is an evident improvement in +the design, as in the figure of Satan, who lies under the feet of the +saint. This figure is free from the singular deformity with which the +ancient painters represented him; and has the genuine features of an +Ethiopian. To this picture another of this period may be added in the +church of S. Domenico; a Crucifixion, with two attendant angels; the one +receives in a cup the sacred blood which flows from the right hand, the +other, in two cups, collects that of the left hand and the side; the +weeping mother and disciples contribute their aid, while the Magdalen +and an aged saint kneeling in silence contemplate the solemn mystery; +above is the Deity. These figures might all pass for those of Pietro, +except the Virgin, the beauty of which he never equalled, unless perhaps +in the latter part of his life. Another specimen of this period is +noticed by the Abate Morcelli, (de Stylo Inscript. Latin, p. 476). He +states, that in the possession of Sig. Annibale Maggiori, a nobleman of +Fermo, he saw the picture of a Madonna, raising with both hands a veil +of delicate texture from the holy Infant, as he lies in a cradle asleep. +Nigh at hand is S. Joseph, whose eyes rest in contemplation on the happy +scene, and on his staff the same writer detected an inscription in +extremely minute characters, R. S. V. A. A. XVII. P. _Raphael Sanctius +Urbinas an. aetatis 17 pinxit_. This must have been the first attempt of +the design which he perfected at a more mature age, and which is in the +Treasury of Loreto, where the holy Infant is represented, not in the act +of sleeping, but gracefully stretching out his hand to the Virgin: of +the same epoch I judge the _tondini_ to be, which I shall describe in +the course of a few pages, when I refer to the Madonna della Seggiola. + +Vasari informs us, that before executing these two pictures, he had +already painted in Perugia an Assumption in the church of the +Conventuals, with three subjects from the life of Christ in the grado; +which may however be doubted, as it is a more perfect work. This picture +possesses all the best parts of the style of Vannucci; but the varied +expressions which the apostles discover on finding the sepulchre void, +are beyond the reach of that artist's powers. Raffaello still further +excelled his master, as Vasari observes, in the third picture painted +for Citta di Castello. This is the marriage of the Virgin, in the church +of S. Francesco. The composition very much resembles that which he +adopted in a picture of the same subject in Perugia; but there is +sufficient of modern art in it to indicate the commencement of a new +style. The two espoused have a degree of beauty which Raffaello scarcely +surpassed in his mature age, in any other countenances. The Virgin +particularly is a model of celestial beauty. A youthful band festively +adorned accompany her to her espousals; splendour vies with elegance; +the attitudes are engaging, the veils variously arranged, and there is a +mixture of ancient and modern drapery, which at so early a period cannot +be considered as a fault. In the midst of these accompaniments the +principal figure triumphantly appears, not ornamented by the hand of +art, but distinguished by her native nobility, beauty, modesty, and +grace. The first sight of this performance strikes us with astonishment, +and we involuntarily exclaim, how divine and noble the spirit that +animates her heavenly form! The group of the men of the party of S. +Joseph are equally well conceived. In these figures we see nothing of +the stiffness of the drapery, the dryness of execution, and the peculiar +style of Pietro, which sometimes approaches to harshness: all is action, +and an animating spirit breathes in every gesture and in every +countenance. The landscapes are not represented with sterile and +impoverished trees, as in the backgrounds of Pietro; but are drawn from +nature, and finished with care. The round temple in the summit is +ornamented with columns, and executed, Vasari observes, with such +admirable art, that it is wonderful to observe the difficulties he has +willingly incurred. In the distance are beautiful groups, and there is a +figure of a poor man imploring charity depicted to the life, and, more +near, a youth, a figure which proves the artist to have been master of +the then novel art of foreshortening. I have purposely described these +specimens of the early years of Raphael, more particularly than any +other writer, in order to acquaint the reader with the rise of his +divine talents. In the labours of his more mature years, the various +masters whose works he studied may each claim his own; but in his first +flight he was exclusively supported by the vigour of his own talents. +The bent of his genius, which was not less voluptuous and graceful than +it was noble and elevated, led him to that ideal beauty, grace, and +expression, which is the most refined and difficult province of +painting. To insure success in this department neither study nor art is +sufficient. A natural taste for the beautiful, an intellectual faculty +of combining the several excellences of many individuals in one perfect +whole, a vivid apprehension, and a sort of fervour in seizing the sudden +and momentary expressions of passion, a facility of touch, obedient to +the conceptions of the imagination; these were the means which nature +alone could furnish, and these, as we have seen, he possessed from his +earliest years. Whoever ascribes the success of Raffaello to the effects +of study, and not to the felicity of his genius, does not justly +appreciate the gifts which were lavished on him by nature.[29] + +He now became the admiration of his master and his fellow scholars; and +about the same time Pinturicchio, after having painted with so much +applause at Rome before Raffaello was born, aspired to become, as it +were, his scholar in the great work at Siena. He did not himself possess +a genius sufficiently elevated for the sublime composition which the +place required; nor had Pietro himself sufficient fertility, or a +conception of mind equal to so novel an undertaking. It was intended to +represent the life and actions of AEneas Silvius Piccolomini, afterwards +Pope Pius II.; the embassies entrusted to him by the council of +Constance to various princes; and by Felix, the antipope, to Frederick +III., who conferred on him the laurel crown; and also the various +embassies which he undertook for Frederick himself to Eugenius IV., and +afterwards to Callistus IV., who created him a Cardinal. His subsequent +exaltation to the Papacy, and the most remarkable events of his reign, +were also to be represented; the canonization of S. Catherine; his +attendance on the Council of Mantua, where he was received in a princely +manner by the Duke; and finally his death, and the removal of his body +from Ancona to Rome. Never perhaps was an undertaking of such magnitude +entrusted to a single master. The art itself had not as yet attempted +any great flight. The principal figures in composition generally stood +isolated, as Pietro exhibited them in Perugia, without aiming at +composition. In consequence of this the proportions were seldom true, +nor did the artists depart much from sacred subjects, the frequent +repetition of which had already opened the way to plagiarism. Historical +subjects of this nature were new to Raffaello, and to him, unaccustomed +to reside in a metropolis, it must have been most difficult, in painting +so many as eleven pictures, to imitate the splendour of different +courts, and as we may say, the manners of all Europe, varying the +composition agreeably to the occasion. Nevertheless, being conducted by +his friend to Siena, he made the sketches and cartoons of _all_ these +subjects, says Vasari in his life of Pinturicchio, and that he made the +sketches of the whole is the common report at Siena. In the life of +Raffaello he states that he made _some of the designs and cartoons for +this work_, and that the reason of his not continuing them, was his +haste to proceed to Florence, to see the cartoons of Da Vinci and +Bonarruoti. But I am more inclined to the first statement of Vasari, +than the subsequent one. In April, 1503, Raffaello was employed in the +Library, as is proved by the will of Cardinal Francesco Piccolomini.[30] +While the Library was yet unfinished, Piccolomini was elected Pope on +the twenty-first day of September; and his coronation following on the +eighth of October, Pinturicchio commemorated the event on the outside of +the Library, in the part opposite to the duomo. Bottari remarks, that in +this facade we may detect not only the design, but in many of the heads +the colouring also of Raffaello. It appears probable therefore that he +remained to complete the work, the last subject of which might perhaps +be finished in the following year, 1504, in which he departed to +Florence. We may here observe, that this work, which has maintained its +colours so well that it almost appears of recent execution, confers +great honour on a young artist of twenty years of age; as we do not find +a composition of such magnitude, in the passage from ancient to modern +art, conceived by any single painter. So that if Raffaello stood not +entirely alone in this work, the best part of it must still be assigned +to him, since Pinturicchio himself was improving at this time, and the +works which he afterwards executed at Spello and Siena itself, incline +more to the modern than any he had before done. This will justify us in +concluding that Raffaello had already, at that early age, far +outstripped his master; his contour being more full, his composition +more rich and free, accompanied by an ornamental and grander style, and +an ability unlimited, and capable of embracing every subject that was +presented to him. + +The works which he saw in Florence did not lead him out of his own path, +as, to mention one instance, afterwards happened to Franco, who, coming +from Venice, applied himself to a style of design and a career entirely +new. Raffaello had formed his own system, and only sought examples, to +enlarge his ideas and facilitate his execution. He therefore studied the +works of Masaccio, an elegant and expressive painter, whose Adam and Eve +he afterwards adopted in the Vatican. He also became acquainted with Fra +Bartolommeo, who, about this time, had returned to the exercise of his +profession. To this artist he taught the principles of perspective, and +acquired from him, in return, a better style of colouring. We have not +any record to prove that he made himself known to Da Vinci; and the +portrait of Raffaello, in the ducal gallery in Florence, which is said +to be by Lionardo, is an unknown head. I would willingly, however, +flatter myself, that a congeniality of mind and an affinity of genius, +emulous in the pursuit of perfection, must have produced a knowledge of +each other, if it did not conciliate a mutual attachment. No one +certainly was more capable than Da Vinci, of communicating to Raffaello +a degree of refinement and knowledge, which he could not have received +from Pietro; and to introduce him into the more subtle views of art. As +to Michelangiolo, his pictures were rare, and less analogous to the +genius of Raffaello. His celebrated Cartoon was not yet finished, in +1504, and that great master was jealous of its being seen, before its +entire completion. He finished it some few years afterwards, when he +returned to Florence on his flight from Rome, occasioned by the anger of +Julius II. Raffaello therefore could not have had the opportunity of +studying it at that time, nor did he then long remain in Florence, for, +as Vasari states, he was soon obliged to return to his native place, in +consequence of the death of his parents.[31] In 1505 we find him in +Perugia: and to this year belongs the chapel of S. Severo, and the +Crucifixion, which was severed from the wall, and preserved by the Padri +Camaldolensi. From these works, which are all in fresco, we may +ascertain the style which he acquired in Florence; and I think we may +assert, that it was not anatomical, no traces of it being visible in the +body of the Redeemer, which was an opportunity well adapted for the +exhibition of it. Nor was it the study of the beautiful, of which he had +previously exhibited such delightful specimens; nor that of expression, +as there were not to be found in Florence, heads more expressive and +lovely than those he had painted. But after his visit to Florence, we +find his colouring more delicate, and his grouping and the +foreshortening of his figures improved; whether or not he owed it to the +example of Da Vinci or Bonarruoti, or both together, or to some of the +older masters. He afterwards repaired to Florence, but soon quitted it +again, in order to paint in the church of S. Francis, in Perugia, a dead +Christ entombed, the cartoon of which he had designed at Florence; and +which picture was first placed in the church of S. Francis, was +afterwards, in the pontificate of Paul V., transferred to Rome, and is +now in the Borghese palace. After this he returned again to Florence, +and remained there until his departure for Rome, at the end of the year +1508. In this interval, more particularly, he executed the works which +are said to be in his second style, though it is a very delicate matter +to attempt to point them out. Vasari assigns to this period the Holy +Family in the Rinuccini gallery, and yet it bears the date of 1506. Of +this second style is undoubtedly the picture of the Madonna and the +infant Christ and S. John, in a beautiful landscape, with ruins in the +distance, which is in the gallery of the Grand Duke, and others, some of +which are to be found in foreign countries. His pictures of this period +are composed in the more usual style of a Madonna, accompanied by +saints, like the picture of the Pitti palace, formerly at Pescia, and +that of S. Fiorenzo in Perugia, which passed into England. The +attitudes, however, the air of the heads, and smaller features of +composition, are beyond a common style. The dead Christ above mentioned, +is in a more novel and superior style. Vasari calls it a most divine +picture; the figures are not numerous; but each fulfils perfectly the +part assigned to it; the subject is most affecting; the heads are +remarkably beautiful, and the earliest of the kind in the restoration of +art, while the expression of profound sorrow and extreme anguish does +not divest them of their beauty. After finishing this work, Raphael was +ambitious of painting an apartment in Florence, one, I believe, of the +Palazzo Pubblico. There remains a letter of his, in which he requests +the Duke of Urbino to write to the Gonfaloniere Soderini, in April, +1508.[32] But his relative, Bramante, procured him a nobler employ in +Rome, recommending him to Julius II. to ornament the Vatican. He removed +thither, and was already established there in the September of the same +year.[33] + +We at length, then, behold him fixed in Rome, and placed in the Vatican +at a period, and under circumstances calculated to render him the first +painter in the world. His biographers do not mention his literary +attainments; and, if we were to judge from his letter just cited, and +now in the Museo Borgia, we might consider him grossly illiterate. But +he was then writing to his uncle; and therefore made use of his native +dialect, as is still done even in the public acts in Venice; though he +might be master of, and might use on proper occasions, a more correct +language. Raffaello, too, was of a family fully competent to afford him +the necessary instructions in his early years. Other letters of his are +found in the _Lettere Pittoriche_, in a very different style; and of his +knowledge in matters of importance, it is sufficient to refer to what +Celio Calcagnini, an eminent literary character of the age of Leo, +states of him to Giacomo Zieglero: "I need not," he says, "mention +Vitruvius, whose precepts he not only explains, but defends or impugns +with evident justice, and with so much temper, that in his objections +there does not appear the slightest asperity. He has excited the +admiration of the Pontiff Leo, and of all the Romans, in such a way, +that they regard him as a man sent down from heaven purposely to restore +the eternal city to its ancient splendour."[34] This acknowledged skill +in architecture must suppose an adequate acquaintance with the Latin +language and geometry; and we know from other quarters, that he +assiduously cultivated anatomy, history, and poetry.[35] But his +principal pursuit in Rome was the study of the remains of Grecian +genius, and by which he perfected his knowledge of art. He studied, too, +the ancient buildings, and was instructed in the principles of +architecture for six years by Bramante, in order that on his death he +might succeed him in the management of the building of S. Peter.[36] He +lived among the ancient sculptors, and derived from them not only their +contours and drapery, and attitudes, but the spirit and principles of +the art itself. Nor yet content with what he saw in Rome, he employed +artists to copy the remains of antiquity at Pozzuolo and throughout all +Italy, and even in Greece. Nor did he derive less assistance from living +artists whom he consulted on his compositions. "The universal esteem +which he enjoyed,"[37] and his attractive person and engaging manners, +which all accounts unite in describing as incomparable, conciliated him +the favour of the most eminent men of letters of his age; and Bembo, +Castiglione, Giovio, Navagero, Ariosto, Aretino, Fulvio, and Calcagnini, +set a high value on his friendship, and supplied him, we may be allowed +to suppose, with hints and ideas for his works. + +His rival Michelangiolo, too, and his party, contributed not a little to +the success of Raffaello. As the contest between Zeuxis and Parrhasius +was beneficial to them both, so the rivalship of Bonarruoti and Sanzio +aided the fame of Michelangiolo, and produced the paintings of the +Sistine chapel; and at the same time contributed to the celebrity of +Raffaello, by producing the pictures of the Vatican, and not a few +others. Michelangiolo disdaining any secondary honours, came to the +combat, as it were, attended by his shield bearer; for he made drawings +in his grand style, and then gave them to F. Sebastiano, the scholar of +Giorgione, to execute; and by these means he hoped that Raffaello would +never be able to rival his productions either in design or colour. +Raffaello stood alone; but aimed at producing works with a degree of +perfection beyond the united efforts of Michelangiolo and Sebastian del +Piombo, combining in himself a fertile invention, ideal beauty founded +on a correct imitation of the Greek style, grace, ease, amenity, and an +universality of genius in every department of the art. The noble +determination of triumphing in such a powerful contest animated him +night and day, and did not allow him any respite. It also excited him to +surpass both his rivals and himself in every new work which he produced. +The subjects, too, chosen for these chambers, aided him, as they were in +a great measure new, or required to be treated in a novel manner. They +did not profess to represent bacchanalian or vulgar scenes, but the +exalted symbols of science; the sacred functions of religion; military +actions, which contributed to establish the peace of the world; +important events of former days, under which were typified the reigns of +the Pontiffs Julius and Leo X.: the latter the most powerful protector, +and one of the most accomplished judges of art. More favourable +circumstances could not have conspired to stimulate a noble mind. The +eulogizing of Augustus was a theme for the poets of his age, which +produced the richest fruits of genius. Propertius, accustomed to sing +only of the charms or the disdain of his Cinthia, felt himself another +poet when called on to celebrate the triumphs of Augustus; and with +newborn fervour invoked Jove himself to suspend the functions of his +divinity whilst he sang the praises of the emperor.[38] It is certain +that such elevated subjects, in minds richly stored, must excite +corresponding ideas, and thus both in poets and painters, give birth to +the sublime. + +Raffaello, on his arrival in Rome, says Vasari, was commissioned to +paint a chamber, which was at that time called La Segnatura, and which, +from the subject of the pictures, was also called the chamber of the +Sciences. On the ceiling are represented Theology, Philosophy, Poetry, +and Jurisprudence. Each of them has on the neighbouring facade a grand +historical piece illustrative of the subject. On the basement are also +historical pieces which belong to the same sciences; and these smaller +performances, and the caryatides and telamoni distributed around, are +monocromati or chiaroscuri, an idea entirely of Raffaello, and +afterwards, it is said, continued by Polidoro da Caravaggio. Raffaello +commenced with Theology, and imitated Petrarch, who in one of his +visions has assembled together men of the same condition, though living +in different ages. He there placed the evangelists, whose volumes are +the foundation of theology; the sacred writers, who have preserved its +traditions; the theologists, S. Thomas, S. Bonaventura, Scotus, and the +rest who have illustrated it by their arguments; above all, the Trinity +in the midst of the beatified, and beneath on an altar the eucharist, as +if to express the mystery of that doctrine. There are traces of the +ancient style in this piece. Gold is made use of in the glories of the +saints, and in other ornamental parts; the upper glory is formed on the +plan of that of S. Severo, which I have already noticed: the composition +is more symmetrical and less free than in other pieces; and the whole, +compared with the other compositions, seems too minute. Nevertheless, +whosoever regards each part in itself, will find it of such careful and +admirable execution, that he will be disposed to prefer it to all other +works. It has been observed, that Raffaello began this piece at the +right side, and that by the time he had arrived at the left side +portion, he had made rapid strides in the art. This work must have been +finished about the year 1508: and such was the surprise and admiration +of the Pope, that he ordered all the works of Bramantino, Pier della +Francesca, Signorelli, l'Abate di Arezzo, and Sodoma (though some of the +ornamental parts by this last are preserved) to be effaced, in order +that the whole chamber might be decorated by Raffaello. + +In the subsequent works of Raffaello, and after the year 1509, we do not +find any traces of his first style. He had adopted a nobler manner, and +henceforth applied all his powers to the perfecting of it. He had now to +represent, on the opposite side, Philosophy. In this he designed a +gymnasium in the form of a temple, and placed the learned ancients, some +in the precincts of the building, some on the ascent of the steps, and +others in the plain below. In this, more than on any other occasion, he +was aided by his favourite Petrarch in the third capitolo of his Fame. +Plato, "_che in quella schiera ando piu presso al segno_," is there +represented with Aristotle, "_piu d'ingegno_," in the act of +disputation; and they possess also in the composition, the highest place +of honour; Socrates is represented instructing Alcibiades; Pythagoras is +seen, and before him a youth holds a tablet with the harmonious +concords; and Zoroaster, King of Bactriana, appears with an elementary +globe in his hand. Diogenes is stretched near on the ground, with his +wooden bowl in his hand, "_assai piu che non vuol vergogna aperto_:" +Archimedes is seen "_star col capo basso_," and turning the compasses on +the table, instructs the youth in geometry; and others are represented +meditating, or in disputation, whose names and characters it would be +possible, with careful observation, to distinguish more truly than +Vasari has done. This picture is commonly called the School of Athens, +which in my judgment is just as appropriate, as the name of the +Sacrament bestowed on the first subject. The third picture, representing +Jurisprudence, is divided into two parts. On the left side of the window +stands Justinian, with the book of the Civil Law; Trebonian receives it +from his hand with an expression of submission and acquiescence, which +no other pencil can ever hope to equal. On the right side is seen +Gregory IX. who delivers the book of the Decretals to an advocate of the +Consistory, and bears the features of Julius II., who is thus honoured +in the character of his predecessor. In the concluding picture, which is +a personification of Poetry, is seen Mount Parnassus, where, in company +of Apollo and the muses, the Greek, Roman, and Tuscan poets are +represented in their own portraitures, as far as records will allow. +Homer, seated between Virgil and Dante, is, perhaps, the most striking +figure; he is evidently gifted with a divine spirit, and unites in his +person the characters of the prophet and the poet. The historical pieces +in chiaroscuro contribute, by their ornaments, to charm the sight, and +preserve the unity of design. Beneath the Theology, for instance, is +represented S. Augustine on the borders of the sea, instructed by the +angels not to explore the mystery of the Trinity, incomprehensible to +the human mind. Under the Philosophy, Archimedes is seen surprised and +slain by a soldier, whilst immersed in his studies. This first chamber +was finished in 1511, as that year appears inscribed near the Parnassus. + +Vasari, until the finishing of the first chamber, does not speak of the +improvement of his manner; on the contrary, in his life of Raffaello, he +says, "although he had seen so many monuments of antiquity in that city, +and studied so unremittingly, still his figures, up to this period, did +not possess that breadth and majesty which they afterwards exhibited. +For it happened, that the breach between Michelangiolo and the Pope, +which we have before mentioned in his life, occurred about this time, +and compelled Bonarruoti to flee to Florence; from which circumstance, +Bramante obtaining possession of the keys of the chapel, exhibited it to +his friend Raffaello, in order that he might make himself acquainted +with the style of Michelangiolo;" and he then proceeds to mention the +Isaiah of S. Agostino, and the Sibyls della Pace, painted after this +period, and the Heliodorus. In the life of Michelangiolo, he again +informs us of the quarrel which obliged him to depart from Rome, and +proceeds to say, that when, on his return, he had finished one half of +the work, the Pope suddenly commanded it to be exposed; "whereupon +Raffaello d'Urbino, who possessed great facility of imitation, +immediately changed his style, and at one effort designed the Prophets +and Sibyls della Pace." This brings us to a dispute prosecuted with the +greatest warmth both in Italy and other countries. Bellori attacked +Vasari in a violent manner, in a work entitled: "_Se Raffaello ingrandi +e miglioro la maniera per aver vedute le opere di Michelangiolo_," +(Whether Raffaello enlarged and improved his style on seeing the works +of Michelangiolo). Crespi replied to him in three letters, inserted in +the Lettere Pittoriche,[39] and many other disputants have arisen and +stated fresh arguments. + +It is not, however, our province to engage the reader in these +disputations. It was greatly to the advantage of Michelangiolo's fame to +have had two scholars, who, while he was yet living, and after the death +of Raffaello, employed themselves in writing his life; and a great +misfortune to Raffaello not to have been commemorated in the same +manner. If he had survived to the time when Vasari and Condivi wrote, he +would not have passed over their charges in silence. Raffaello would +then have easily proved, that when Bonarruoti fled to Florence, in 1506, +he himself was not in Rome, nor was called thither until two years +afterwards; and that he could not, therefore, have obtained a furtive +glance of the Sistine chapel. It would have been proved too, that from +the year 1508, when Michelangiolo had, perhaps, not commenced his work, +until 1511, in which year he exhibited the first half of it,[40] +Raffaello had been endeavouring to enlarge his style; and as +Michelangiolo had before studied the Torso of the Belvidere, so +Raffaello also formed himself on this and other marbles,[41] a +circumstance easily discoverable in his style. He might too have asked +Vasari, in what he considered grandeur and majesty of style to consist; +and from the example of the Greeks, and from reason herself, he might +have informed him, that the grand does not consist in the enlargement of +the muscles, or in an extravagance of attitude, but in adopting, as +Mengs has observed, the noblest, and neglecting the inferior and meaner +parts;[42] and exercising the higher powers of invention. Hence he would +have proceeded to point out the grandeur of style in the School of +Athens, in the majestic edifice, in the contour of the figures, in the +folds of the drapery, in the expression of the countenances, and in the +attitudes; and he would have easily traced the source of that sublimity +in the relics of antiquity. And if he appeared still greater in his +Isaiah, he might have refuted Vasari from his own account, who assigns +this work to a period anterior to 1511, and therefore contemporary as it +were with the School of Athens: adding, that he elevated his style by +propriety of character, and by the study of Grecian art. The Greeks +observed an essential difference between common men and heroes, and +again between their heroes and their gods; and Raffaello, after having +represented philosophers immersed in human doubts, might well elevate +his style when he came to figure a prophet meditating the revelations of +God.[43] All this might have been advanced by Raffaello, in order to +relieve Bramante and himself from so ill supported an imputation. As to +the rest, I believe he never would have denied, that the works of +Michelangiolo had inspired him with a more daring spirit of design, and +that in the exhibition of strong character, he had sometimes even +imitated him. But how imitated him? In rendering, as Crespi himself +observes, that very style more beautiful and more majestic, (p. 344). It +is indeed a great triumph to the admirers of Raffaello to be able to +say, whoever wishes to see what is wanting in the Sibyls of +Michelangiolo, let him inspect those of Raffaello; and let him view the +Isaiah of Raffaello, who would know what is wanting in the prophets of +Michelangiolo. + +After public curiosity was gratified, and Raffaello had obtained a +glimpse of this new style, Bonarruoti closed the doors, and hastened to +finish the other half of his work, which was completed at the close of +1512, so that the Pope, on the solemnization of the Feast of Christmas, +was enabled to perform mass in the Sistine chapel. In the course of this +year, Raffaello was employed in the second chamber on the subject of +Heliodorus driven from the Temple by the prayers of Onias the high +priest, one of the most celebrated pictures of the place. In this +painting, the armed vision that appears to Heliodorus, scatters +lightnings from his hand, while the neighing of the steed is heard +amidst the attendant thunder. In the numerous bands, some of which are +plundering the riches of the Temple, and others are ignorant of the +cause of the surprise and terror exhibited in Heliodorus, consternation, +amazement, joy, and abasement, and a host of passions, are expressed. In +this work, and in others of these chambers, Raffaello, says Mengs, gave +to painting all the augmentation it could receive after Michelangiolo. +In this picture he introduced the portrait of Julius II., whose zeal and +authority is represented in Onias. He appears in a litter borne by his +grooms, in the manner in which he was accustomed to repair to the +Vatican, to view this work. The Miracle of Bolsena was also painted in +the lifetime of Julius. + +The remaining decorations of these chambers were all illustrative of the +history of Leo X., whose imprisonment in Ravenna, and subsequent +liberation, is typified by St. Peter released from prison by the angel. +It was in this piece that the painter exhibited an astonishing proof of +his knowledge of light. The figures of the soldiers, who stand without +the prison, are illuminated by the beams of the moon: there is a torch +which produces a second light; and from the angel emanates a celestial +splendour, that rivals the beams of the sun. He has here, too, afforded +another proof how art may convert the impediments thrown in her way to +her own advantage; for the place where he was painting being broken by a +window, he has imagined on each side of it a staircase, which affords an +ascent to the prison, and on the steps he has placed the guards +overpowered with sleep; so that the painter does not seem to have +accommodated himself to the place, but the place to have become +subservient to the painter. The composition of S. Leo the Great, who +checks Attila at the head of his army, and that of the other chamber, +the battle with the Saracens in the port of Ostium, and the victory +obtained by S. Leo IV., justify Raffaello's claim to the epic crown: so +powerfully has he depicted the military array of men and horse, the arms +peculiar to each nation, the fury of the combat, and the despair and +humiliation of the prisoners. Near this performance, too, is the +wonderful piece of the Incendio di Borgo (a city enveloped in fire), +which is miraculously extinguished by the same S. Leo. This wonderful +piece alternately chills the heart with terror, or warms it with +compassion. The calamity of fire is carried to its extreme point, as it +is the hour of midnight, and the fire, which already occupies a +considerable space, is increased by a violent wind, which agitates the +flames that leap with rapidity from house to house. The affright and +misery of the inhabitants is also carried to the utmost extremity. Some +rush forward with water, but are driven back by the scorching flames; +others seek safety in flight, with naked feet, robeless, and with +dishevelled hair; women are seen turning an imploring look to the +Pontiff; mothers, whose own terrors are absorbed in fear for their +offspring; and here a youth, who bearing on his shoulders his aged and +infirm sire, and sinking beneath the weight, collects his almost +exhausted strength to place him out of danger. The concluding subjects +refer to Leo III.; the Coronation of Charlemagne, by the hand of that +Pontiff, and the Oath taken by the Pope on the Holy Evangelists, to +exculpate himself from the calumnies laid to his charge. In Leo, is +meant to be represented Leo X., who is thus honoured in the persons of +his predecessors; and in Charlemagne is represented Francis I., King of +France. Many persons of the age are also figured in the surrounding +group, so that there is not an historical subject in these chambers that +does not contain the most accurate likenesses. In this latter department +of art, also, Raffaello may be said to have been transcendant. His +portraits have deceived even persons the most intimately acquainted with +the subjects of them. He painted a remarkable picture of Leo X., and on +one occasion the Cardinal Datary of that time, found himself approaching +it with a bull, and pen and ink, for the Pope's signature.[44] + +The six subjects which relate to Leo, elected in 1513, were finished in +1517. In the nine years which Raphael employed on these three chambers, +and also in the three following years, he made additional decorations to +the Pontifical Palace; he observed the style of ornament suitable to +each part of it, and thus made the Pope's residence a model of +magnificence and taste for all Europe. Few have adverted to this +instance of his merit. He superintended the new gallery of the palace, +availing himself in part of the design of Bramante, and in part +improving on him. "He then made designs for the stuccos, and the various +subjects there painted, and also for the divisions, and he then +appointed Giovanni da Udine to finish the stuccos and arabesques, and +Giulio Romano the figures." The exposure of this gallery to the +inclemencies of the air, has left little remaining besides the squalid +grotesques; but those who saw it at an early period, when the unsullied +splendor of the gold, the pure white of the stuccos, the brilliancy of +the colours, and the newness of the marble, rendered every part of it +beautiful and resplendent, must have thought it a vision of paradise. +Vasari, in eulogizing it, says, "It is impossible to execute, or to +conceive, a more exquisite work." The best which now remain are the +thirteen ceilings, in each of which are distributed four subjects from +holy writ, the first of which, the Creation of the World, Raffaello +executed with his own hand as a model for the others, which were painted +by his scholars, and afterwards retouched and rendered uniform by +himself, as was his custom. I have seen copies of these in Rome, +executed at great cost, and with great fidelity, for Catherine, Empress +of Russia, under the direction of Mr. Hunterberger, and from the effect +which was produced by the freshness of the colours, I could easily +conceive how highly enchanting the originals must have been. But their +great value consisted in Raffaello having enriched them by his +invention, expression, and design, and every one is agreed that each +subject is a school in itself. It appears certain too, that he was +desirous of competing with Michelangiolo, who had treated the same +subject in the Sistine chapel; and of appealing to the public to judge +whether or not he had equalled him. To describe in a suitable manner the +other pictures in chiaroscuro, and the numerous landscapes and +architectural subjects, the trophies, imitations of cameos, masks, and +other things which this divine artist either designed himself or formed +into new combinations from the antique, is a task, says Taja, far above +the reach of human powers. Taja has however himself given us a +delightful description of these works.[45] It confers the highest honour +on Raffaello, to whom we owe the fifty-two subjects, and all the +ornamental parts. + +Nor were the pavements, or the doors, or other interior works in the +palace of the Vatican, completed without his superintendence. He +directed the pavements to be formed of _terra invetriata_, an ancient +invention of Luca della Robbia, which having continued for many +generations as a family secret, was then in the hands of another Luca. +Raffaello invited him to Florence to execute this vast work, employed +him in the gallery, and in many of the chambers, which he adorned with +the arms of the Pope. For the couches and other ornaments of the Camera +di Segnatura he brought to Rome F. Giovanni da Verona, who formed them +of mosaic with the most beautiful views. For the entablatures of the +chambers, and for several of the windows and doors, he engaged Giovanni +Barile, a celebrated Florentine engraver of gems. This work was executed +in so masterly a manner, that Louis XIII., wishing to ornament the +palace of the Louvre, had all these intaglios separately copied. The +drawings of them were made by Poussin, and Mariette boasted of having +them in his collection. Nor was there any other work either of stone or +marble for which a design was required, which did not come under the +inspection of Raffaello, and on which he did not impress his taste, +which was consummate also in the sister art of sculpture. A proof of +this is to be seen in the Jonah, in the church of the Madonna del +Popolo, in the Chigi chapel, which was executed by Lorenzetto under his +direction, and which, Bottari says, may assume its place by the side of +the Greek statues. Among his most remarkable works may be mentioned his +designs for the tapestry in the papal chapel, the subjects of which were +from the lives of the Evangelists, and the Acts of the Apostles. The +cartoons for them were both designed and coloured by Raffaello; and +after the tapestries were finished in the Low Countries, the cartoons +passed into England, where they still remain. In these tapestries the +art attained its highest pitch, nor has the world since beheld anything +to equal them in beauty. They are exposed annually in the great portico +of S. Peter, in the procession of the _Corpus Domini_, and it is +wonderful to behold the crowds that flock to see them, and who ever +regard them with fresh avidity and delight. But all these works of +Raffaello would not have contributed to the extension of art at that +period, beyond the meridian of Rome, if he had not succeeded in +extending the fruits of his genius, by the means of prints. We have +already noticed M. A. Raimondi, in the first book, and we have shewn +that this great engraver was courteously received, and was afterwards +assisted by Sanzio, whence an abundance of copies of the designs and the +works of this master have been given to the world. A fine taste was thus +rapidly propagated throughout Europe, and the beautiful style of +Raffaello began to be justly appreciated. In a short time it became the +prevailing taste, and if his maxims had remained unaltered, Italian +painting would probably have flourished for as long a period as Greek +sculpture. + +In the midst of such a variety of occupations, Raffaello did not fail to +gratify the wishes of many private individuals, who were desirous of +having his designs for buildings, in which branch of art he was highly +celebrated, and also of possessing his pictures. I need only to refer to +the gallery of Agostini Chigi, which he ornamented with his own hand, +with the well known fable of Galatea. He afterwards, with the assistance +of his pupils, painted the Marriage of Psyche, at the banquet of which +he assembled all the heathen deities, with such propriety of form, with +their attendant symbols and genii, that in these fabulous subjects he +almost rivalled the Greeks. These pictures, and those also of the +chambers of the Vatican, were retouched by Maratta, with incredible +care; and the method he adopted, as described by Bellori, may serve as a +guide in similar cases. Raffaello also painted many altarpieces, with +saints generally introduced; as that Delle Contesse at Foligno, where he +introduced the Chamberlain of the Pope, alive, rather than drawn from +the life: that for S. Giovanni in Monte, at Bologna, of S. Cecilia, who, +charmed to rapture by a celestial melody, forgets her musical +instrument, which falls neglected from her hands; that for Palermo, of +Christ ascending Mount Calvary, called _dello Spasimo_, which, however +much disparaged by Cumberland, for having been retouched, is a noble +ornament of the royal collection at Madrid; and the others at Naples and +at Piacenza, which are mentioned by his biographers. He also painted S. +Michael for the King of France, and many other holy families[46] and +devotional subjects, which neither Vasari nor his other biographers have +fully enumerated. + +But although the creation of these wonderful works was become a habit in +this great artist, still every part of his productions cannot be +considered as equally successful. It is known, that in the frescos of +the palace, and in the Chigi gallery, he was censured in some naked +figures for errors committed, as Vasari says, by some of his school. +Mengs, who varied his opinions at different periods of his life, +insinuates, that Raffaello for some time seemed to slumber, and did not +make those rapid strides in the art, which might have been expected from +his genius. This was, probably, when Michelangiolo was for some years +absent from Rome. But when he returned, and heard it reported that many +persons considered the paintings of Raffaello superior to his in colour, +of more beauty and grace in composition, and of a correspondent +excellence in design, whilst his works were said to possess none of +these qualities except the last; he was stimulated to avail himself of +the pencil of Fra Sebastiano, and at the same time supplied him with his +own designs. The most celebrated work which they produced in +conjunction, was a Transfiguration, in fresco, with a Flagellation, and +other figures, in a chapel of S. Peter in Montorio. Raffaello being +subsequently employed to paint a picture for the Cardinal Giulio de' +Medici, afterwards Clement VII., Sebastiano, in a sort of competition, +painted another picture of the same size. In the latter was represented +the raising of Lazarus; in the former, with the master's accustomed +spirit of emulation, the Transfiguration. "This is a picture which +combines," says Mengs, "more excellences than any of the previous works +of Raffaello. The expression in it is more exalted and more refined, the +chiaroscuro more correct, the perspective better understood, the +penciling finer, and there is a greater variety in the drapery, more +grace in the heads, and more grandeur in the style."[47] It represents +the mystery of the Transfiguration of Christ on the summit of Mount +Tabor. On the side of the hill he has placed a band of his disciples, +and with the happiest invention has engaged them in an action +conformable to their powers, and has thus formed an episode not beyond +the bounds of probability. A youth possessed is presented to them, that +they may expel the evil spirit that torments him; and in the possessed, +struggling with the presence of the demon, the confiding faith of the +father, the affliction of a beautiful and interesting female, and the +compassion visible in the countenances of the surrounding apostles, we +are presented with perhaps the most pathetic incident ever conceived. +Yet this part of the composition does not fix our regard so much as the +principal subject on the summit of the mountain. There the two prophets, +and the three disciples, are most admirably delineated, and the Saviour +appears enveloped in a glory emanating from the fountain of eternal +light, and surrounded by that chaste and celestial radiance, that is +reserved exclusively for the eyes of the elect. The countenance of +Christ, in which he has developed all his combined ideas of majesty and +beauty, may be considered the masterpiece of Raffaello, and seems to us +the most sublime height to which the genius of the artist, or even the +art itself, was capable of aspiring. After this effort he never resumed +his pencil, as he was soon afterwards suddenly seized with a mortal +distemper, of which he died, in the bosom of the church, on Good Friday, +(also the anniversary of his birthday,) 1520, aged thirty-seven years. +His body reposed for some days in the chamber where he was accustomed to +paint, and over it was placed this noble picture of the Transfiguration, +previous to his mortal remains being transferred to the church of the +Rotonda for interment. There was not an artist that was not moved to +tears at this affecting sight. Raffaello had always possessed the power +of engaging the affections of all with whom he was acquainted. +Respectful to his master, he obtained from the Pope an assurance that +his works, in one of the ceilings of the Vatican, should remain +unmolested; just towards his rivals, he expressed his gratitude to God +that he had been born in the days of Bonarruoti; gracious towards his +pupils, he loved them, and intrusted them as his own sons; courteous +even to strangers, he cheerfully lent his aid to all who asked his +advice; and in order to make designs for others, or to direct them in +their studies, he sometimes even neglected his own work, being alike +incapable of refusing or delaying his inestimable aid. All these +reflections forced themselves on the minds of the spectators, whose eyes +were at one moment directed to the view of his youthful remains, and of +those divine hands that had, in the imitation of her works, almost +excelled nature herself; and at another moment, to the contemplation of +this his latest production, which appeared to exhibit the dawn of a new +and wonderful style; and the painful reflection presented itself, that, +with the life of Raffaello, the brightest prospects of art were thus +suddenly obscured. The Pope himself was deeply affected at his death, +and requested Bembo to compose the epitaph which is now read on his +tomb; and his loss was considered as a national calamity throughout all +Italy. True indeed it is, that soon after his decease, Rome herself, and +her territory, experienced such unheard of calamities, that many had +just cause to envy him, not only the celebrity of his life, but the +opportune period of his death. He was not doomed to see the illustrious +Leo X., at a time when he extended the most exalted patronage to the +arts, poisoned by a sacrilegious hand; nor Clement VII., pressed by an +enraged enemy, seeking shelter in the Castle of S. Angelo, afterwards +compelled to fly for his life, and obliged to purchase, at enormous +sums, the liberty of his servants. Nor did he witness the horrors +attending the sacking of Rome, the nobility robbed and plundered in +their own palaces, the violation of hapless females in the convents; +prelates unrelentingly dragged to the scaffold, and priests torn from +the altars, and from the images of their saints, to whom they looked in +vain for refuge, slaughtered by the sword, and their bodies thrown out +of the churches a prey to the dogs. Nor did he survive to see that city, +which he had so illustrated by his genius, and where he had for so many +years shared the public admiration and esteem, wasted with fire and +sword. But of this we shall speak in another place, and shall here +adduce some observations on his style, selected from various authors, +and more particularly from Mengs, who has ably criticised it in his +works already enumerated by me, as well as in some others. + +Raffaello is by common consent placed at the head of his art; not +because he excelled all others in every department of painting, but +because no other artist has ever possessed the various parts of the art +united in so high a degree. Lazzarini even asserts, that he was guilty +of errors, and that he is only the first, because he did not commit so +many as others. He ought, however, to have allowed, that his defects +would be excellences in any other artist, being nothing more in him than +the neglect of that higher degree of perfection to which he was capable +of attaining. The art, indeed, comprehends so many and such difficult +parts, that no individual artist has been alike distinguished in all; +even Apelles was said to yield to Amphion in disposition and harmony, to +Asclepiadorus in proportion, and to Protogenes in application. + +The style of design of Raffaello, as seen in those drawings, divested of +colours, which now form the chief ornaments of cabinets, presents us, if +we may use the term, with the pure transcript of his imagination, and we +stand in amaze at the contours, grace, precision, diligence, and genius, +which they exhibit. One of the most admired of his drawings I once saw +in the gallery of the Duke of Modena, a most finished and superior +specimen, uniting in style all the invention of the best painters of +Greece, and the execution of the first artists of Italy. It has been +made a question whether Raffaello did not yield to Michelangiolo in +drawing; and Mengs himself confesses, that he did, as far as regards the +anatomy of the muscles, and in strong expression, in which he considers +Raffaello to have imitated Michelangiolo. But we need not say with +Vasari, that in order to prove that he understood the naked figure as +well as Michelangiolo, he appropriated to himself the designs of that +great master. On the contrary, in the figures of the two youths in the +Incendio di Borgo, criticised by Vasari, one of whom is in the act of +leaping from a wall to escape the flames, and the other is fleeing with +his father on his shoulders, he not only proved that he had a perfect +knowledge of the action of the muscles and the anatomy requisite for a +painter, but prescribed the occasion when this style might be used +without impropriety, as in figures of a robust form engaged in violent +action. He moreover commonly marked the principal parts in the naked +figure, and indicated the others after the example of the better ancient +masters, and where he wrought from his own ideas, his execution was most +correct. On this subject Bellori may be consulted at page 223 of the +work already quoted, and the annotations to vol. ii. of Mengs, (page +197,) made by the Cavaliere d'Azzara, minister of the king of Spain at +Rome, an individual, who, in conferring honour on the artist, has by his +own writing conferred honour on art itself. + +In chasteness of design, Raffaello was by some placed on a level with +the Greeks, though this praise we must consider as extravagant. Agostino +Caracci commends him as a model of symmetry; and in that respect, more +than in any other, he approached the ancients; except, observes Mengs, +in the hands, which being rarely found perfect in the ancient statues, +he had not an equal opportunity of studying, and did not therefore +design them so elegantly as the other parts. He selected the beautiful +from nature, and as Mariette observes, whose collection was rich in his +designs, he copied it with all its imperfections, which he afterwards +gradually corrected, as he proceeded with his work. Above all things, he +aimed at perfecting the heads, and from a letter addressed to +Castiglione on the Galatea of the Palazzo Chigi, or of the Farnesina, he +discovers how intent he was to select the best models of nature, and to +perfect them in his own mind.[48] His own Fornarina assisted him in this +object. Her portrait, by Raffaello's own hand, was formerly in the +Barberini palace, and it is repeated in many of his Madonnas, in the +picture of S. Cecilia, in Bologna, and in many female heads. Critics +have often expressed a wish that these heads had possessed a more +dignified character, and in this respect he was, perhaps, excelled by +Guido Reni, and however engaging his children may be, those of Titian +are still more beautiful. His true empire was in the heads of his men, +which are portraits selected with judgment, and depicted with a dignity +proportioned to his subject. Vasari calls the air of these heads +superhuman, and calls on us to admire the expression of age in the +patriarchs, simplicity of life in the apostles, and constancy of faith +in the martyrs; and in Christ in the Transfiguration, he says, there is +a portion of the divine essence itself transferred to his countenance, +and made visible to mortal eyes. + +This effect is the result of that quality that is called expression, and +which, in the drawing of Raffaello has attracted more admiration of late +years than formerly. It is remarkable, that not only Zuccaro, who was +indeed a superficial writer, but that Vasari, and Lomazzo himself, so +much more profound than either of them, should not have conferred on him +that praise which he afterwards received from Algarotti, Lazzarini, and +Mengs. Lionardo was the first, as we shall see in the Milanese School, +to lead the way to delicacy of expression; but that master, who painted +so little, and with such labour, is not to be compared to Raffaello, who +possessed the whole quality in its fullest extent. There is not a +movement of the soul, there is not a character of passion known to the +ancients, and capable of being expressed by art, that he has not caught, +expressed, and varied, in a thousand different ways, and always within +the bounds of propriety. We have no tradition of his having, like Da +Vinci, frequented the public streets to seek for subjects for his +pencil; and his numerous pictures prove that he could not have devoted +so much time to this study, while his drawings clearly evince, that he +had not equal occasion for such assistance. Nature, as I have before +remarked, had endowed him with an imagination which transported his mind +to the scene of the event, either fabulous or remote, in which he was +engaged, and awoke in him the very same emotions which the subjects of +such story must themselves have experienced; and this vivid conception +assisted him until he had designed his subject with that distinctness +which he had either observed in other countenances, or found in his own +mind. This faculty, seldom found in poets, and still more rarely in +painters, no one possessed in a more eminent degree than Raffaello. His +figures are passions personified; and love, fear, hope, and desire, +anger, placability, humility, or pride, assume their places by turns, as +the subject changes; and while the spectator regards the countenances, +the air, and the gestures of his figures, he forgets that they are the +work of art, and is surprised to find his own feelings excited, and +himself an actor in the scene before him. There is another delicacy of +expression, and this is the gradation of the passions, by which every +one perceives whether they are in their commencement or at their height, +or in their decline. He had observed their shades of difference in the +intercourse of life, and on every occasion he knew how to transfer the +result of his observations to his canvas. Even his silence is eloquent, +and every actor + + "Il cor negli occhi, e nella fronte ha scritto:" + +the smallest perceptible motion of the eyes, of the nostrils, of the +mouth, and of the fingers, corresponds to the chief movements of every +passion; the most animated and vivid actions discover the violence of +the passion that excites them; and what is more, they vary in +innumerable degrees, without ever departing from nature, and conform +themselves to a diversity of character without ever risking propriety. +His heroes possess the mien of valour; his vulgar, an air of debasement; +and that, which neither the pen nor the tongue could describe, the +genius and art of Raffaello would delineate with a few strokes of the +pencil. Numbers have in vain sought to imitate him; his figures are +governed by a sentiment of the mind, while those of others, if we except +Poussin and a very few more, seem the imitation of tragic actors from +the scenes. This is Raffaello's chief excellence; and he may justly be +denominated the painter of mind. If in this faculty be included all that +is difficult, philosophical, and sublime, who shall compete with him in +the sovereignty of art? + +Another quality which Raffaello possessed in an eminent degree was +grace, a quality which may be said to confer an additional charm on +beauty itself. Apelles, who was supremely endowed with it among the +ancients, was so vain of the possession that he preferred it to every +other attribute of art.[49] Raffaello rivalled him among the moderns, +and thence obtained the name of the new Apelles. Something might, +perhaps, be advantageously added to the forms of his children, and other +delicate figures which he represented, but nothing can add to their +gracefulness, for if it were attempted to be carried further it would +degenerate into affectation, as we find in Parmegiano. His Madonnas +enchant us, as Mengs observes, not because they possess the perfect +lineaments of the Medicean Venus, or of the celebrated daughter of +Niobe; but because the painter in their portraits and in their +expressive smiles, has personified modesty, maternal love, purity of +mind, and, in a word, grace itself. Nor did he impress this quality on +the countenance alone, but distributed it throughout the figure in its +attitude, gesture, and action, and in the folds of the drapery, with a +dexterity which may be admired, but can never be rivalled. His freedom +of execution was a component part of this grace, which indeed vanishes +as soon as labour and study appear; for it is with the painter as with +the orator, in whom a natural and spontaneous eloquence delights us, +while we turn away with indifference from an artificial and studied +harangue. + +In regard to the province of colour, Raffaello must yield the palm to +Titian and Correggio, although he himself excelled Michelangiolo and +many others. His frescos may rank with the first works of other schools +in that line: not so his pictures in oil. In the latter he availed +himself of the sketches of Giulio, which were composed with a degree of +hardness and timidity; and though finished by Raffaello, they have +frequently lost the lustre of his last touch. This defect was not +immediately apparent, and if Raffaello's life had been prolonged, he +would have been aware of the injuries his pictures received from the +lapse of time, and would not have finished them in so light a manner. He +is on this account more admired in his first subject in the Vatican, +painted under Julius II., than in those he executed under Leo X., for +being there pressed by a multiplicity of business, and an idea of the +importance of a grander style, he became less rich and firm in his +colouring. That, however, he excelled in these respects is evinced by +his portraits, when not having an opportunity of displaying his +invention, composition, and beautiful style of design, he appears +ambitious to distinguish himself by his colouring. In this respect his +two portraits of Julius II. are truly admirable, the Medicean and the +Corsinian: that of Leo X. between the two cardinals; and above all, in +the opinion of an eminent judge, Renfesthein, that of Bindo Altoviti, in +the possession of his noble descendants at Florence, by many regarded as +a portrait of Raphael himself.[50] The heads in his Transfiguration are +esteemed the most perfect he ever painted, and Mengs extols the +colouring of them as eminently beautiful. If there be any exception, it +is in the complexion of the principal female, of a greyish tint, as is +often the case in his delicate figures; in which he is therefore +considered to excel less than in the heads of his men. Mengs has made +many exceptions to the chiaroscuro of Raffaello, as compared with that +of Correggio, on which connoisseurs will form their own decision. We are +told that he disposed it with the aid of models of wax; and the relief +of his pictures, and the beautiful effect in his Heliodorus, and in the +Transfiguration, are ascribed to this mode of practice. To his +perspective, too, he was most attentive. De Piles found, in some of his +sketches, the scale of proportion.[51] It is affirmed by Algarotti, that +he did not attempt to paint _di sotto in su_. But to this opinion we may +oppose the example we find in the third arch of the gallery of the +Vatican, where there is a perspective of small columns, says Taja, +imitated _di sotto in su_. It is true, that in his larger works he +avoided it; and in order to preserve the appearance of nature, he +represented his pictures as painted on a tapestry, attached by means of +a running knot to the entablature of the room. + +But all the great qualities which we have enumerated, would not have +procured for Raffaello such an extraordinary celebrity, if he had not +possessed a wonderful felicity in the invention and disposition of his +subjects, and this circumstance is, indeed, his highest merit. It may +with truth be said, that in aid of this object he availed himself of +every example, ancient and modern; and that these two requisites have +not since been so united in any other artist. He accomplishes in his +pictures that which every orator ought to aim at in his speech--he +instructs, moves, and delights us. This is an easy task to a narrator, +since he can regularly unfold to us the whole progress of an event. The +painter, on the contrary, has but the space of a moment to make himself +understood, and his talent consists in describing not only what is +passing, and what is likely to ensue, but that which has already +occurred. It is here that the genius of Raffaello triumphs. He embraces +the whole subject. From a thousand circumstances he selects those alone +which can interest us; he arranges the actors in the most expressive +manner; he invents the most novel modes of conveying much meaning by a +few touches; and numberless minute circumstances, all uniting in one +purpose, render the story not only intelligible, but palpable. Various +writers have adduced in example the S. Paul at Lystra, which is to be +seen in one of the tapestries of the Vatican. The artist has there +represented the sacrifice prepared for him and S. Barnabas his +companion, as to two gods, for having restored a lame man to the use of +his limbs. The altar, the attendants, the victims, the musicians, and +the axe, sufficiently indicate the intentions of the Lystrians. S. Paul, +who is in the act of tearing his robe, shews that he rejects and abhors +the sacrilegious honours, and is endeavouring to dissuade the populace +from persisting in them. But all this were vain, if it had not indicated +the miracle which had just happened, and which had given rise to the +event. Raffaello added to the group the lame man restored to the use of +his limbs, now easily recognized again by all the spectators. He stands +before the apostles rejoicing in his restoration; and raises his hands +in transport towards his benefactors, while at his feet lie the crutches +which had recently supported him, now cast away as useless. This had +been sufficient for any other artist; but Raffaello, who wished to carry +reality to the utmost point, has added a throng of people, who, in their +eager curiosity, remove the garment of the man, to behold his limbs +restored to their former state. Raffaello abounds with examples like +these, and he may be compared to some of the classical writers, who +afford the more matter for reflection the more they are studied. It is +sufficient to have noticed in the inventive powers of Raffaello, those +circumstances which have been less frequently remarked; the movement of +the passions, which is entirely the work of expression, the delight +which proceeds from poetical conceptions, or from graceful episodes, may +be said to speak for themselves, nor have any occasion to be pointed out +by us. + +Other things might contribute to the beauty of his works, as unity, +sublimity, costume, and erudition; for which it is sufficient to refer +to those delightful poetical pieces, with which he adorned the gallery +of Leo X., and which were engraved by Lanfranco and Badalocchi, and are +called the Bible of Raffaello. In the Return of Jacob, who does not +immediately discover, in the number and variety of domestic animals, the +multitude of servants, and the women carrying with them their children, +a patriarchal family migrating from a long possessed abode into a new +territory? In the Creation of the World, where the Deity stretches out +his arms, and with one hand calls forth the sun and with the other the +moon, do we not see a grandeur, which, with the simplest expression, +awakes in us the most sublime ideas? And in the Adoration of the Golden +Calf, how could he better have represented the idolatrous ceremony, and +its departure from true religion, than by depicting the people as +carried away by an insane joy, and mad with fanaticism? In point of +erudition it is sufficient to notice the Triumph of David, which Taja +describes and compares with the ancient bassirelievi, and is inclined to +believe that there is not any thing in marble that excels the art and +skill of this picture. I am aware that on another occasion he has not +been exempted from blame, as when he repeated the figure of S. Peter out +of prison, which hurts the unity of the subject; and in assigning to +Apollo and to the muses instruments not proper to antiquity. Yet it is +the glory of Raffaello to have introduced into his pictures numberless +circumstances unknown to his predecessors, and to have left little to be +added by his successors. + +In composition also he is at the head of his art. In every picture the +principal figure is obvious to the spectator; we have no occasion to +inquire for it; the groups, divided by situation, are united in the +principal action; the contrast is not dictated by affectation, but by +truth and propriety; a figure absorbed in thought, often serves as a +relief to another that acts and speaks; the masses of light and shade +are not arbitrarily poised, but are in the most select imitation of +nature; all is art, but all is consummate skill and concealment of art. +The School of Athens, as it is called, in the Vatican, is in this +respect amongst the most wonderful compositions in the world. They who +succeeded Raffaello, and followed other principles, have afforded more +pleasure to the eye, but have not given such satisfaction to the mind. +The compositions of Paul Veronese contain a greater number of figures, +and more decoration; Lanfranco and the machinists introduced a powerful +effect, and a vigorous contrast of light and shade: but who would +exchange for such a manner the chaste and dignified style of Raffaello? +Poussin alone, in the opinion of Mengs, obtained a superior mode of +composition in the groundwork, or economy of his subject; that is to +say, in the judicious selection of the scene of the event. + +We have thus concisely stated the perfection to which Raffaello carried +his art, in the short space allotted him. There is not a work in nature +or art where he has not practically illustrated his own axiom, as handed +down to us by Federigo Zuccaro, that things must be represented, not as +they are, but as they ought to be; the country, the elements, animals, +buildings, every age of man, every condition of life, every affection, +all was embraced and rendered more beautiful by the divine genius of +Raffaello. And if his life had been prolonged to a more advanced period, +without even approaching the term allowed to Titian or Michelangiolo, +who shall say to what height of perfection he might not have carried his +favourite art? Who can divine his success in architecture and sculpture, +if he had applied himself to the study of them; having so wonderfully +succeeded in his few attempts in those branches of art? + +Of his pictures a considerable number are to be found in private +collections, particularly on sacred subjects, such as the Madonna and +Child, and other compositions of the Holy Family. They are in the three +styles which we have before described: the Grand Duke has some specimens +of each. The most admired is that which is named the Madonna della +Seggiola.[52] Of this class of pictures it is often doubted whether they +ought to be considered as originals, or copies, as some of them have +been three, five, or ten times repeated. The same may be said of other +cabinet pictures by him, particularly the S. John in the desart, which +is in the Grand Ducal gallery at Florence, and is found repeated in many +collections both in Italy and in other countries. This was likely to +happen in a school where the most common mode was the following:--The +subject was designed by Raffaello, the picture prepared by Giulio, and +finished by the master so exquisitely, that one might almost count the +hairs of the head. When the pictures were thus finished, they were +copied by the scholars of Raffaello, who were very numerous, and of the +second and third order; and these were also sometimes retouched by +Giulio and by Raffaello himself. But whoever is experienced in the +freedom and delicacy of the chief of this school, need not fear +confounding his productions with those of the scholars, or of Giulio +himself; who, besides having a more timid pencil, made use of a darker +tint than his master was accustomed to do. I have met with an +experienced person, who declared that he could recognize the character +of Giulio in the dark parts of the flesh tints, and in the middle dark +tints, not of a leaden colour as Raffaello used, nor so well harmonized; +in the greater quantity of light, and in the eyes designed more roundly, +which Raffaello painted somewhat long, after the manner of Pietro. + +On this propitious commencement was founded the school which we call +Roman, rather from the city of Rome itself, than from the people, as I +have before observed. For as the inhabitants of Rome are a mixture of +many tongues, and many different nations, of whom the descendants of +Romulus form the least proportion; so the school of painting has been +increased in its numbers by foreigners whom she has received and united +to her own, and who are considered in her academy of S. Luke, as if they +had been born in Rome, and enjoyed the ancient rights of Romans. Hence +is derived the great variety of names that we find in the course of it. +Some, as Caravaggio, derived no assistance from the study of the ancient +marbles, and other aids peculiar to the capital; and these may be said +to have been in the Roman School, but not to have formed a part of it. +Others adopted the principles of the disciples of Raffaello, and their +usual method was to study diligently both Raffaello and the ancient +marbles; and from the imitation of him, and more particularly of the +antique, resulted, if I err not, the general character, if I may so +express it, of the Roman School: the young artists who were expert in +copying statues and bassirelievi, and who had those objects always +before their eyes, could easily transfer their forms to the panel or the +canvas. Hence their style is formed on the antique, and their beauty is +more ideal than that of other schools. This circumstance, which was an +advantage to those who knew how to use it, became a disadvantage to +others, leading them to give their figures the air of statues, +beautiful, but isolated, and not sufficiently animated. Others have done +themselves greater injury from copying the modern statues of saints; a +practice which facilitated the representation of devout attitudes, the +disposition of the folds in the garments of the monks and priests, and +other peculiarities which are not found in ancient sculpture. But as +sculpture has gradually deteriorated, it could not have any beneficial +influence on the sister art; and it has hence led many into mannerism in +the folds of their drapery, after Bernino and Algardi; excellent +artists, but who ought not to have influenced the art of painting, as +they did, in a city like Rome. The style of invention in this school is, +in general, judicious, the composition chaste, the costume carefully +observed, with a moderate study of ornament. I speak of pictures in oil, +for the frescos of this later period ought to be separately considered. +The colouring, on the whole, is not the most brilliant, nor is it yet +the most feeble; there being always a supply of artists from the +Lombards, or Flemings, who prevented it being entirely neglected. + +We may now return to the original subject of our inquiry, examine the +principles of the Roman School, and attend it to its latest epoch. +Raffaello at all times employed a number of scholars, constantly +instructing and teaching them; whence he never went to court, as we are +assured by Vasari, without being accompanied by probably fifty of the +first artists, who attended him out of respect. He employed every one in +the way most agreeable to his talent. Some having received sufficient +instruction, returned to their native country, others remained with him +as long as he lived, and after his death established themselves in Rome, +where they became the germs of this new school. At the head of all was +Giulio Romano, whom, with Gio. Francesco Penni, Raffaello appointed his +heir, whence they both united in finishing the works on which their +master was employed at his death. They associated to themselves as an +assistant Perino del Vaga, and to render the connexion permanent, they +gave him a sister of Penni to his wife. To these three were also joined +some others who had worked under Raffaello. On their first establishment +they did not meet with any great success, for, as Vasari informs us, the +chief place in art being by universal consent assigned to Fra +Sebastiano, through the partiality of Michelangiolo, the followers of +Raffaello were kept in the back ground. We may also add, as another +cause, the death of Leo X., in 1521, and the election of his successor, +Adrian VI., a decided enemy to the fine arts, by whom the public works +contemplated, and already commenced by his predecessor, remained +neglected; and many artists, in consequence of the want of employment, +occasioned by this event, and by the plague, in 1523, were reduced to +the greatest distress. But Adrian dying after a reign of twenty-three +months, and Giulio de' Medici being elected in his place under the name +of Clement VII., the arts again revived. Raffaello, before his death, +had begun to paint the great saloon, and had designed some figures, and +left many sketches for the completion of it. It was intended to +represent four historical events, although the subjects of some of them +are disputed. These were the Apparition of the Cross, or the harangue of +Constantine; the battle wherein Maxentius is drowned, and Constantine +remains victor; the Baptism of Constantine, received from the hands of +S. Silvester; and the Donative of the city of Rome, made to the same +pontiff. Giulio finished the two first subjects, and Giovanni Francesco +the other two, and they added to them bassirelievi, painted in imitation +of bronze under each of the same subjects, with some additional figures. +They afterwards painted, or rather finished the pictures of the villa at +Monte Mario, a work ordered by the Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, and +suspended until the second or third year of his papal reign. This villa +was afterwards called di Madama, and there still remain many traces, +although suffering from time, of the munificence of that prince, and the +taste of the school of Raffaello. Giulio meanwhile, with the permission +of the pope, established himself in Mantua, Il Fattore went to Naples; +and some little time afterwards, in 1527, in consequence of the sacking +of Rome, and the unrestrained licence of the invading army, Vaga, +Polidoro, Giovanni da Udine, Peruzzi, and Vincenzio di S. Gimignano left +Rome, and with them Parmigianino, who was at this time in the capital, +and passionately employed in studying the works of Raffaello. This +illustrious school was thus separated and dispersed over Italy, and +hence it happened that the new style was quickly propagated, and gave +birth to the florid schools, which form the subjects of our other books. +Although some of the scholars of Raffaello might return to Rome, yet the +brilliant epoch was past. The decline became apparent soon after the +sacking of the city, and from the time of that event, the art daily +degenerated in the capital, and ultimately terminated in mannerism. But +of this in its proper place. At present, after this general notice of +the school of Raffaello, we shall treat of each particular scholar and +of his assistants. + +Giulio Pippi, or Giulio Romano, the most distinguished pupil of +Raffaello, resembled his master more in energy than in delicacy of +style, and was particularly successful in subjects of war and battles, +which he represented with equal spirit and correctness. In his noble +style of design he emulates Michelangiolo, commands the whole mechanism +of the human body, and with a masterly hand renders it subservient to +all his wishes. His only fault is, that his demonstrations of motion are +sometimes too violent. Vasari preferred his drawings to his pictures, as +he thought that the fire of his original conception was apt to +evaporate, in some degree, in the finishing. Some have objected to the +squareness of his physiognomies, and have complained of his middle tints +being too dark. But Niccolo Poussin admired this asperity of colour in +his battle of Constantine, as suitable to the character of the subject. +In the picture of the church dell'Anima, which is a Madonna, accompanied +by Saints, and in others of that description, it does not produce so +good an effect. His cabinet pictures are rare, and sometimes too free in +their subjects. He generally painted in fresco, and his vast works at +Mantua place him at the head of that school, which indeed venerates him +as its founder. + +Gianfrancesco Penni of Florence, called Il Fattore, who when a boy was a +servant in the studio of Raffaello, became one of his principal +scholars, and assisted him more than any other in the cartoons of the +tapestries: he painted in the gallery of the Vatican the Histories of +Abraham and Isaac, noticed by Taja. Among other works left incomplete by +his master, and which he finished, is the Assumption of Monte Luci in +Perugia, the lower part of which, with the apostles, is painted by +Giulio, and the upper part, which abounds with Raffaellesque grace, is +ascribed to Il Fattore, although Vasari assigns it to Perino. Of the +works which he performed alone, his frescos in Rome have perished, and +so few of his oil pictures remain, that they are rarely to be found in +any collection. He is characterised by fertility of conception, grace of +execution, and a singular talent for landscape. He was joint heir of +Raffaello with Giulio, and wished to unite himself with him in his +profession; but being coldly received by Giulio in Mantua, he proceeded +to Naples, where he, as we shall see, contributed greatly to the +improvement of art, although cut off by an early death. Orlandi notices +two Penni in the school of Raffaello, comprehending Luca, a brother of +Gianfrancesco, a circumstance not improbable, and not, as far as I know, +contradicted by history. We are also told by Vasari, that Luca united +himself to Perino del Vaga, and worked with him at Lucca, and in other +places of Italy; that he followed Rosso into France, as we have before +observed; and that he ultimately passed into England, where he painted +for the king and private persons, and made designs for prints. + +Perino del Vaga, whose true name was Pierino Buonaccorsi, was a relation +and fellow citizen of Penni. He had a share in the works of the Vatican, +where he at one time worked stuccos and arabesques with Giovanni da +Udine, at another time painted chiaroscuri with Polidoro, or finished +subjects from the sketches and after the style of Raffaello. Vasari +considered him the best designer of the Florentine School, after +Michelangiolo, and at the head of all those who assisted Raffaello. It +is certain, at least, that no one could, like him, compete with Giulio, +in that universality of talent so conspicuous in Raffaello; and the +subjects from the New Testament, which he painted in the papal gallery, +were praised by Taja above all others. In his style there is a great +mixture of the Florentine, as may be seen at Rome, in the Birth of Eve, +in the church of S. Marcello, where there are some children painted to +the life, a most finished performance. A convent at Tivoli possesses a +S. John in the desart, by him, with a landscape in the best style. There +are many works by him in Lucca, and Pisa, but more particularly in +Genoa, where we shall have occasion again to consider him as the origin +of a celebrated school. + +Giovanni da Udine, by a writer of Udine called Giovanni di Francesco +Ricamatore, (Boni, p. 25,) likewise assisted Sanzio in arabesques and +stuccos, and painted ornaments in the gallery of the Vatican, in the +apartments of the pope, and in many other places. Indeed, in the art of +working in stucco, he is ranked as the first among the moderns,[53] +having, after long experience, imitated the style of the baths of Titus, +discovered at that time in Rome, and opened afresh in our own days.[54] +His foliage and shells, his aviaries and birds, painted in the above +mentioned places, and in other parts of Rome and Italy, deceive the eye +by their exquisite imitation; and in the animals more particularly, and +the indigenous and foreign birds, he seems to have reached the highest +point of excellence. He was also remarkable for counterfeiting with his +pencil every species of furniture; and a story is told, that having left +some imitations of carpets one day in the gallery of Raffaello, a groom +in the service of the Pope coming in haste in search of a carpet to +place in a room, ran to snatch up one of those of Giovanni, deceived by +the similitude. After the sacking of Rome he visited other parts of +Italy, leaving wherever he went, works in the most perfect and brilliant +style of ornament. This will occasion us to notice him in other schools. +At an advanced age he returned to Rome, where he was provided with a +pension from the Pope, till the time of his death.[55] + +Polidoro da Caravaggio, from a manual labourer in the works of the +Vatican, became an artist of the first celebrity, and distinguished +himself in the imitation of antique bassirelievi, painting both sacred +and profane subjects in a most beautiful chiaroscuro. Nothing of this +kind was ever seen more perfect, whether we consider the composition, +the mechanism, or the design; and Raffaello and he, of all artists, are +considered in this respect to have approached nearest to the style of +the ancients. Rome was filled with the richest friezes, facades, and +ornaments over doors, painted by him and Maturino of Florence, an +excellent designer, and his partner; but these, to the great loss of +art, have nearly all perished. The fable of Niobe, in the Maschera +d'Oro, which was one of their most celebrated works, has suffered less +than any other from the ravages of time and the hand of barbarism. This +loss has been in some measure mitigated by the prints of Cherubino +Alberti, and Santi Bartoli, who engraved many of these works before they +perished. Polidoro lost his comrade by death in Rome, as was supposed, +by the plague, and he himself repaired to Naples, and from thence to +Sicily, where he fell a victim to the cupidity of his own servant, who +assassinated him. With him invention, grace, and freedom of hand, +seem to have died. This notice of him as an artist may suffice for the +present, as we shall again recur to him in the fourth book, as one of +the masters of the Neapolitan School. + +Pellegrino da Modena, of the family of Munari, of all the scholars of +Raffaello, perhaps resembled him the most in the air of his heads, and a +peculiar grace of attitude. After having painted in an incomparable +manner the history of Jacob, before mentioned, and others of the same +patriarch, and some from the life of Solomon, in the gallery of the +Vatican, under Raffaello, he remained in Rome employed in the decoration +of many of the churches, until his master's death. He then returned to +his native place, where he became the head of a numerous succession of +Raffaellesque painters, as we shall in due time relate. + +Bartolommeo Ramenghi, or as he is sometimes named, Bagnacavallo, and by +Vasari Il Bologna, is also included in the catalogue of those who worked +in the gallery. There is not however any known work of his in Rome, and +we may say the same of Biagio Pupini, a Bolognese, with whom he +afterwards united himself to paint in Bologna. Vasari is not prodigal of +praise towards the first, and writes with the most direct censure +against the second. Of their merits we shall speak more fully in the +Bolognese School, to which Bagnacavallo was the first to communicate a +new and better style. + +Besides these, Vasari mentions Vincenzio di S. Gimignano, in Tuscany, to +whom, as a highly successful imitator of Raffaello, he gives great +praise, referring to some facades in fresco by him, which have now +perished. After the sacking of Rome he returned home, but so changed and +dispirited, that he appeared quite another person, and we have no +account of any of his subsequent works. Schizzone, a comrade of +Vincenzio, a most promising artist, shared the same fate; and we find +also, in the Bolognese School, Cavedone losing his powers by some great +mental affliction. Among the subjects of the Vatican we do not find any +ascribed to Vincenzio, but we may perhaps assign to him the history of +Moses in Horeb, which Taja, on mere conjecture, ascribes to the bold +pencil of Raffaele del Colle, who was employed by Raffaello in the +Farnesina, and in the Hall of Constantine, under Giulio. Of this artist +and his successors we have spoken in the first book, where we have made +some additions to the account of Vasari. + +Timoteo della Vite, of Urbino, after some years spent at Bologna in +studying under Francesco Francia, returned to his native city, and from +thence repaired to the academy which his countryman and relation +Raffaello had opened in the Vatican. He assisted Raffaello at the Pace, +in the fresco of the Sybils, of which he retained the cartoons; and +after some time, from some cause or other, he returned to Urbino, and +there passed the remainder of his days. He brought with him to Rome, a +method of painting which partook much of the manner of the early +masters, as may be seen in some of his Madonnas, at the palace +Bonaventura, and the chapter of Urbino; and in a Discovery of the Cross +in the church of the conventuals of Pesaro. He improved his style under +Raffaello, and acquired much of his grace, attitudes, and colour, though +he always remained a limited inventor, with a certain timidity of touch, +more correct than vigorous. The picture of the Conception at the +Osservanti of Urbino, and the Noli me Tangere, in the church of S. +Angelo, at Cagli, are the best pieces that remain of Timoteo. Pietro +della Vite, who is supposed to have been his brother, painted in the +same style, but in an inferior manner. This Pietro is, perhaps, the +relative and heir of Raffaello, whom Baldinucci mentions in his fifth +volume. The same writer affirms, at the end of his fourth volume, that +the artists of Urbino included amongst the scholars of Raffaello one +Crocchia, and assign to him a picture at the Capuchins in Urbino, of +which I have no further knowledge. + +Benvenuto Tisi, of Ferrara, or as he is generally called, Il Garofalo, +also studied only a little time under Sanzio; but it was sufficient to +enable him to become, as we shall notice hereafter, the chief of the +Ferrarese School. He imitated Raffaello in design, in the character of +his faces, and in expression, and considerably also in his colouring, +although he added something of a warmer and stronger cast, derived from +his own school. Rome, Bologna, and other cities of Italy, abound with +his pictures from the lives of the apostles. They are of various merit, +and are not wholly painted by himself. In his large pictures he stands +more alone, and many of these are to be found in the Chigi gallery. The +Visitation in the Palazzo Doria, is one of the first pieces in that rich +collection. This artist was accustomed, in allusion to his name, to mark +his pictures with a violet, which the common people in Italy call +garofalo. It does not appear from Vasari, Titi, and Taja, that Garofalo +had any share in the works which were executed by Raffaello and his +scholars. + +Gaudenzio Ferrari is mentioned by Titi, as an assistant of Raffaello in +the story of Psyche, and we shall advert to him again in another book as +chief of the Milanese School. Orlandi, on the credit of some more modern +writers, asserts, that he worked with Raffaello also at Torre Borgia; +and before that time, he considers him to have been a scholar of Scotto +and Perugino. In Florence, and in other places in Lower Italy, some +highly finished pictures are attributed to him, which partake of the +preceding century, though they do not seem allied to the school of +Perugino. Of these pictures we shall resume our notice hereafter; at +present it may be sufficient to remark, that in Lombardy, where he +resided, there is not a picture in that style to be found with his name +attached to it. He is always Raffaellesque, and follows the chiefs of +the Roman School. + +Vasari also notices Jacomone da Faenza. This artist assiduously studied +the works of Raffaello, and from long practice in copying them, became +himself an inventor. He flourished in Romagna, and it was from him that +a Raffaellesque taste was diffused throughout that part of Italy. He is +also mentioned by Baldinucci, and we shall endeavour to make him better +known in his proper place. + +Besides the above mentioned scholars and assistants of Raffaello, +several others are enumerated by writers, of whom we may give a short +notice. Il Pistoja, a scholar of Il Fattore, and probably employed by +him in the works of Sanzio, as Raffaellino del Colle was with Giulio, is +mentioned as a scholar of Raffaello by Baglione, and, on the credit of +that writer, also by Taja. We mentioned him among the Tuscans, and shall +further notice him in Naples, where we shall also find Andrea da +Salerno, head of that school, whom Dominici proves to be a scholar of +Raffaello. + +In the _Memorie di Monte Rubbiano_, edited by Colucci, at page 10, +Vincenzo Pagani, a native of that country, is mentioned as a pupil of +the same master. There remains of him in the collegiate church there, a +most beautiful picture of the Assumption; and the Padre Civalli points +out another in Fallerone and two at Sarnano, in the church of his +religious fraternity, much extolled, and in a Raffaellesque manner, if +we are to credit report. This painter, of whom, in Piceno, I find traces +to the year 1529, again appears in Umbria in 1553, where Lattanzio his +son, being elected a magistrate of Perugia, he transferred himself +thither, and was employed to paint the altarpiece of the Cappella degli +Oddi, in the church of the Conventuals, as we have already mentioned. +According to the conditions of the contract, Paparelli had a share with +him in this work, and he must be considered as an assistant of Vincenzo, +both because he is named as holding the second place, and because he is +reported by Vasari on other occasions, as having been an assistant. But +as history mentions nothing relative to this picture, except the +contract, we shall content ourselves with observing, that this +praiseworthy artist, who was passed over in silence for so many years, +still painted in the year 1553. Whether he was a scholar of Raffaello, +or whether this was a tradition which arose in his own country in +progress of time, supported only on the consideration of his age and his +style, is a point to be decided by proofs of more authority than those +we possess. I agree with the Sig. Arciprete Lazzari, when, writing of F. +Bernardo Catelani of Urbino, who painted in Cagli the picture of the +great altar in the church of the Capucins, he says, that he had there +exhibited the style of the school of Raffaello, but he does not consider +him his scholar. + +It has been asserted, that Marcantonio Raimondi painted some pictures +from the sketches of Raffaello, in a style which excited the admiration +of the designer himself; but this appears doubtful, and is so considered +by Malvasia. L'Armenini also assigns to this school, Scipione Sacco, a +painter of Cesena, and Orlandi, Don Pietro da Bagnaja, whom we shall +mention in the Romagna School. Some have added to it Bernardino Lovino, +and others Baldassare Peruzzi, a supposition which we shall shew to be +erroneous. Padre della Valle has more recently revived an opinion, that +Correggio may be ranked in the same school, and that he was probably +employed in the gallery, and might have painted the subject of the Magi, +attributed by Vasari to Perino. This is conjectured from the peculiar +smile of the mother and the infant. But these surmises and conjectures +we may consider as the chaff of that author, who has nevertheless +presented us with much substantial information. We shall now advert to +the foreigners of this school. Bellori has enumerated, among the +imitators of Raffaello, Michele Cockier, or Cocxie, of Malines, of whom +there remain some pictures in fresco in the church dell'Anima. Being +afterwards in Flanders, where several works of Raffaello were engraved +by Cock, he was accused of plagiarism, but still maintained a +considerable reputation; as to a fertile invention he added a graceful +style of execution. Many of his best pictures passed into Spain, and +were there purchased at great prices. Palomino acquaints us with another +excellent scholar of Sanzio, Pier Campanna, of Flanders, who, although +he could not entirely divest himself of the hardness of his native +school, was still highly esteemed in his day. He resided twenty years in +Italy, and was employed in Venice by the Patriarch Grimani, for whom he +painted several portraits, and the celebrated picture of the Magdalen +led by Saint Martha to the Temple, to hear the preaching of Christ. This +picture, which was bequeathed by the Patriarch to a friend, after a +lapse of many years, passed into the hands of Mr. Slade, an English +gentleman. Pier Campanna distinguished himself in Bologna, by painting a +triumphal arch on the arrival of Charles V., by whom he was invited to +Seville, where he resided a considerable time, painting and instructing +pupils, among whom is reckoned Morales, who, from his countrymen, had +the appellation of the divine. He was accustomed to paint small +pictures, which were eagerly sought after by the English, and +transferred to their country, where they are highly prized. Of his +altarpieces, several remain in Seville, and we may mention the +Purification, in the Cathedral, and the Deposition at S. Croce, as the +most esteemed. Murillo, who was himself a truly noble artist, greatly +admired and studied this latter picture, which, even after we have seen +the masterpieces of the Italian School, still excites our astonishment +and admiration. This artist, to some one, who, in his latter years, +inquired why he so often repaired to this picture, replied, that he +waited the moment when the body of Christ should reach the ground. +Mention is also made of one Mosca, whether a native or foreigner I know +not, as a doubtful disciple of this school. Christ on his way to Mount +Calvary, now in the Academy in Mantua, is certainly a Raffaellesque +picture, but we may rather consider Mosca an imitator and copyist, than +a pupil of Raffaello. In the edition of Palomino, published in London, +1742, I find some others noticed as scholars of Raffaello, who being +born a little before or after 1520, could not possibly belong to him; as +Gaspare Bacerra, the assistant of Vasari; Alfonso Sanchez, of Portugal; +Giovanni di Valencia; Fernando Jannes. It is not unusual to find similar +instances in the history of painting, and the reports have for the most +part originated in the last age. Whenever the artists of a country began +to collect notices of the masters who had preceded them, their style had +become the prevailing taste; and as if human genius could attain no +improvement beyond that which it receives subserviently from another, +every imitator was supposed to be a scholar of the artist imitated, and +every school, arrogating to itself the names of the first masters, +endeavoured to load itself with fresh honours. + +[Footnote 26: Hist. Rom. vol. i. ad calcem.] + +[Footnote 27: Besides his life by Vasari, another was published by Sig. +Abate Comolli, which I consider posterior to that of Vasari. Memoirs of +him were also collected by Piacenza, Bottari, and other authors whom I +shall notice; and I shall also avail myself of the information derived +from the inspection of his pictures, and their character, and the +various dates of his works.] + +[Footnote 28: We find his name written _Io. Sanctis_ in the Nunziata of +Sinigaglia; and it appears that he was born of a father called, +according to the expression of that age, _Santi_ or _Sante_; a name in +common use in many parts of Italy. In support of the surname of Sanzio, +Bottari produces a portrait of Antonio Sanzio, which exists in the +Palazzo Albani, representing him holding in his hands a document, with +the title of _Genealogia Raphaelis Sanctii Urbinatis_. Julius Sanctius +is there named as the head of the family, _familiae quae adhuc Urbini +illustris extat, ab agris dividendis cognomen imposuit_, and was the +progenitor of Antonio. From the latter, and through a Sebastiano, and +afterwards through a Gio. Batista, descends Giovanni, _ex quo ortus est +Raphael qui pinxit a. 1519_. It is also recorded that Sebastiano had a +brother, Galeazzo, _egregium pictorem_, and the father of three +painters, Antonio, Vincenzio, and Giulio, called _maximus pictor_. Thus +in this branch of the Sanzii are enumerated four painters, of whom I do +not find any memorial in Urbino. The family also boasts of a Canon in +divinity, and a distinguished captain of infantry. The anonymous writer +of Comolli confirms this illustrious origin of Raffaello; but it is +highly probable, that in that age, when the forgery of genealogies, as +Tiraboschi observes, was a common practice, he may have adopted it +without any examination. The portrait of Antonio is well executed, but +it has been said that it would have been much more so, if Raffaello had +painted it a year before his death, according to the inscription. If +connoisseurs (who alone ought to decide this point) should be of this +opinion, it may be suspected that the person that counterfeited the hand +of the artist, might also substitute the writing; or we may at least +conclude, that the etymology of Sanzio should be sought for in the word +_Sanctis_, the name of the grandfather of Raffaello, not in _sancire_, +(to divide fields or property). In tom. xxxi. of the Ant. Picene, a will +is produced of Ser Simone di Antonio, in 1477, where a _Magister +Baptista, qu. Peri Sanctis de Peris_, who is called _Pittor di grido e +di eccellenza_, leaves his son Tommaso his heir, to whom is substituted +a son of Antonio his brother, of the name of Francesco. I may remark, +that in this _Batista di Pier Sante de' Pieri_, we may find the surname +of a family different from that of Sanzia. But on this subject I hope we +shall shortly be favoured with more certain information by the Sig. +Arciprete Lazzari, who has obliged me with many valuable contributions +to the present edition of this work.] + +[Footnote 29: Condivi, in his Life of Bonarruoti, (num. 67.) assures us +that Michaelangelo was not of a jealous temper, but spoke well of all +artists, not excepting Raffaello di Urbino, "between whom and himself +there existed, as I have mentioned, an emulation in painting; and the +utmost that he said was, that Raffaello did not inherit his excellences +from nature, but obtained them through study and application."] + +[Footnote 30: See the Preface to the Life of Raffaello, by Vasari, +_ediz. Senese_, p. 228, where the will is quoted.] + +[Footnote 31: Vasari states, that that event occurred either whilst +Michaelangelo was employed upon the Statues in S. Pietro in Vincoli, or +whilst he was painting the vault of the Sistine Chapel, that is, some +years afterwards, when Raffaello was in Rome. To this second opinion, +which is the most common one, I formerly assented; but since, on perusal +of a Brief of Julius II. (Lett. Pittoriche, tom. iii. p. 320) in which +that Pope invites Michaelangelo back to Rome, and promises that +_illaesus, inviolatusque erit_, I am inclined to believe that the Cartoon +was finished in 1506, which is the date of the brief; so that Raffaello, +if he could not see it on his first visit to Florence, might at least +have done so on his second or third.] + +[Footnote 32: See Vasari, ed. Sen. tom. v. p. 238, where we find the +Letter written from him to one of his uncles, with all the +provincialisms common to the inhabitants of Urbino and its +neighbourhood.] + +[Footnote 33: Malvasia, _Felsina Pittrice_, tom. i. p. 45. There are +some facts, however, in opposition to this letter, and which seem to +prove that Raffaello did not go to Rome until 1510. But the Sig. Abate +Francesconi is now employed in rectifying the chronology of the Life and +Works of Sanzio; and from his critical sagacity we may expect the +solution of this difficulty.] + +[Footnote 34: See Le Aggiunte al Vasari. Ed. Senese, p. 223.] + +[Footnote 35: A sonnet by him is referred to by Sig. Piacenza, in his +notes to Baldinucci, tom. xi. p. 371.] + +[Footnote 36: In compliance with the wishes of Leo X. he made drawings +of the buildings of Ancient Rome, and accompanied them with +descriptions, employing the compass to ascertain their admeasurement. We +owe this information to Sig. Abate Francesconi, who has restored to +Sanzio a letter, formerly attributed to Castiglione. It is a sort of +dedication of the work to Leo X.; but the work itself and the drawings +are lost; and many of the edifices measured by Raffaello were destroyed +in the following Pontificates. The Abate Morelli has made public a high +eulogium on this work, by a contemporary pen, in the notes to the +Notizia, page 210. It is written by one Marcantonio Michiel, who +asserts, that Raffaello had drawn the ancient buildings of Rome in such +a manner, and shewn their proportions, forms, and ornaments so +correctly, that whoever had inspected them might be said to have seen +Ancient Rome.] + +[Footnote 37: In a brief of Leo X. 1514, mentioned by Sig. Piacenza, +tom. ii. p. 321.] + +[Footnote 38: + + Caesaris in nomen ducuntur carmina: Caesar + Dum canitur, quaeso, Jupiter ipse vaces. + Prop. lib. iv. Eleg. vi.] + +[Footnote 39: Vol. ii. p. 323 et seq.] + +[Footnote 40: See the first letter of Crespi, Lettere Pittoriche, tom. +ii. p. 338.] + +[Footnote 41: Mengs has observed, that Raffaello diligently studied the +bassirelievi of the arches of Titus and Constantine, which were on the +arch of Trajan, and adopted from them his manner of marking the +articulations of the joints, and a more simple and an easier mode of +expressing the contour of the fleshy parts. Riflessioni sopra i tre gran +Pittori, &c. cap. 1.] + +[Footnote 42: Riflessioni su la bellezza e sul gusto della Pittura, +parte iii. cap. 1, and see the _Osservazioni_ of the Cav. Azara on that +tract, Sec.. xii.] + +[Footnote 43: A doubt has arisen on the exact time in which he painted +the Prophet and the Sybils, and from the grandeur of their style doubts +have been thrown on Vasari's account, that they were painted anterior to +1511. But a painter who is the master of his art, elevates or lowers his +style according to his subject. The Sybils are in Raffaello's grandest +style; and that they are amongst his earliest works, is proved from his +having had Timoteo della Vite, as his assistant in them.] + +[Footnote 44: Lett. Pittor. tom. v. p. 131.] + +[Footnote 45: Commencing at p. 139.] + +[Footnote 46: I do not find that any mention has been made of his +picture in the possession of the Olivieri family at Pesaro, or of the +one in the Basilica di Loreto in the Treasury, which seems to be the +same which was formerly in the church of the Madonna del Popolo, or a +copy of it. I have seen a similar subject in the Lauretana, belonging to +the Signori Pirri, in Rome. At Sassoferrato also, on the great altar of +the church of the Capucins, there is a Virgin and child, said to be by +him; but it is more probably by Fra Bernardo Catelani. There exist +engravings of the two first, but I have not seen any of the last.] + +[Footnote 47: Riflessioni sopra i tre gran Pittori, &c., cap. i. Sec. 2.] + +[Footnote 48: Lo dico con questa condizione che V. S. si trovasse meco a +far la scelta del meglio: ma essendo carestia e di buoni giudici e di +belle donne, mi servo di una certa idea che mi viene in mente. Lett. +Pittor. tom. i. p. 84.] + +[Footnote 49: Plin. Hist. Natur. lib. xxxv. cap. 10. Quintil. Instit. +Orat. xii. 10.] + +[Footnote 50: Portraits of Raffaello are to be found in the Duomo, and +in the Sacristy of Siena, in more than one picture; but it is doubtful +whether by his own hand or that of Pinturicchio. That which is mentioned +in the Guida di Perugia, as being in a picture of the Resurrection at +the Conventuals, is said to be by Pietro Perugino: and in the Borghese +gallery in Rome, there is one, supposed to be by the hand of Timoteo +della Vite. The portrait in the gallery in Florence, by Da Vinci, bears +some resemblance to Raffaello, but it is not he. Another which I have +seen in Bologna, ought, perhaps, to be ascribed to Giulio Romano. One of +the most authentic portraits of Raffaello, by his own hand, next to the +one in the picture of S. Luke, is that in the Medici Collection in the +_Stanza de' Pittori_, though this is not in his best manner.] + +[Footnote 51: Idee de Peintre parfait, chap. xix.] + +[Footnote 52: Engraved by Morghen. The three figures, the Madonna, the +Infant, and St. John, appear almost alive. It should seem that Raffaello +made several studies for this picture, and he painted one without the +St. John, which remained for some time in Urbino. I saw a copy in the +possession of the Calamini family, at Recanati, which was said to be by +Baroccio, and at all events belonging to his school. I have seen the +same subject in the Casa Olivieri, at Pesaro, and at Cortona, in the +possession of another noble family, to whom it had passed by inheritance +from Urbino, and was considered to be by Raffaello. The faces in these +are not so beautiful, nor the colours so fine; they are round, and in a +larger circle, with some variations: I have also seen a copy in the +Sacristy of S. Luigi de' Franzesi, in Rome, and in the Palazzo +Giustiniani.] + +[Footnote 53: Morto da Feltro sotto Alessandro VI., comincio a dipingere +a grottesco, ma senza stucchi. Baglione, Vite, p. 21.] + +[Footnote 54: The entrance into these baths was designedly and +maliciously closed. Serlio, in speaking of the various arabesques in +Pozzuolo, Baja, and Rome, says that they were injured or destroyed by +the artists who had copied them, through a jealous feeling lest others +should also avail themselves of the opportunity of studying them, (lib. +iv. c. 11). The names of these destroyers, which Serlio has suppressed, +posterity has been desirous of recovering, and some have accused +Raffaello, others Pinturicchio, and others Vaga, or Giovanni da Udine, +or rather his scholars and assistants, "of whom," says Vasari, "there +were an infinite number in every part of Italy." This subject is ably +discussed by Mariotti, in _Lettera_ ix. p. 224, and in the _Memorie +delle belle Arti_, per l'anno 1788, p. 24.] + +[Footnote 55: It was charged on the office of the Piombo, or papal +signet, when Sebastiano da Venezia was invested with it, and was a +pension of three hundred scudi. Padre Federici observes that the one was +designated Fra Sebastiano, but that the other was not called Fra +Giovanni; nor is this remarkable, for a Bishop is called Monsignore, but +the person who enjoys a pension charged upon a Bishoprick has not the +same title. It cannot however be deduced from this, as Federici wishes +to do, that Sebastiano was first Frate di S. Domenico, by the name of F. +Marco Pensaben, and afterwards secularized by the Pope, and appointed to +the signet, and that he retained the _Fra_ in consequence of his former +situation.] + + + + + ROMAN SCHOOL. + + EPOCH III. + + _The art declines in consequence of the public calamities of + Rome, and gradually falls into mannerism._ + + +After the mournful events of the year 1527, Rome for some time remained +in a state of stupor, contemplating her past misfortunes and her future +destiny; and, like a vessel escaped from shipwreck, began slowly to +repair her numerous losses. The soldiers of the besieging army, among +other injuries committed in the Apostolic palace, had defaced some heads +of Raffaello; and F. Sebastiano, an artist by no means competent to such +a task, was employed to repair them. This, at least, was the opinion of +Titian, who was introduced to these works, and ignorant of the +circumstances, asked Sebastiano what presumptuous wretch had had the +audacity to attempt their restoration;[56] an impartial observation, +against which even the patronage of Michelangiolo could not shield the +artist. Paul III. was now in possession of the papal chair, and under +his auspices the arts again began to revive. The decoration of the +palace of Caprarola, and other works of Paul and his nephews, gave +employment to the painters, and happy had these patrons been, could they +have found a second Raffaello. Bonarruoti, as we have observed, was +engaged by the Pope, and gave to the Roman School many noble specimens +of art, though he formed but few scholars. Sebastiano, after the death +of Raffaello, freed from all further competition with that great artist, +and honoured with the lucrative office of the papal signet, seemed +disposed to rest from his labours; and as he had never, at any time, +discovered great application, he now resigned himself to a life of +vacant leisure, and Vasari does not mention with commendation any pupil +of his school except Laureti.[57] Giulio Romano was now invited back to +Rome, and the superintendence of the building of S. Peter's offered to +him, but death prevented his return to his native city. Perino del Vaga, +however, repaired to Rome, and might, himself, have effected the +restoration of art, if his magnanimity had corresponded with the +sublimity of his mind. But he did not inherit the daring genius of his +master. He communicated his instructions with jealousy, and worked with +a spirit of gain, or to speak correctly, he did not paint himself, but +undertaking works of more or less consequence, he allowed his scholars +to execute them, often to the injury of his own reputation. He continued +to secure to himself artists of the first talents, as we shall see; but +this was done with the intention of making them dependant on him, and to +prevent their interfering with his emoluments and commissions. But +together with the good, he engaged also many indifferent and inferior +artists, whence it happens, that in the chambers of the castle of S. +Angelo, and in other places, we meet with so marked a difference in many +of his works. Few of his scholars attained celebrity. Luzio Romano is +the most noted, and possessed a good execution. Of him there exists a +frieze in the Palazzo Spada; and for some time, too, he had for an +assistant Marcello Venusti of Mantua, a young man of great talents, but +diffident, and probably standing in need of more instruction than Perino +afforded him. He afterwards received some instructions from Bonarruoti, +whose ideas he executed in an excellent manner, as I have mentioned +before, and by his aid he became himself also a good designer.[58] +Perino, by these means, always abounded in work and in money. A similar +traffic in the art was carried on by Taddeo Zuccaro, if we are to +believe Vasari; and by Vasari himself, too, if we may be allowed to +judge from his pictures. + +The actual state of the art at this period may be ascertained from a +view of the numerous works produced; but none are so distinguished as +the paintings in the Sala Regia, commenced under Paul III., and scarcely +finished, after a lapse of thirty years, in 1573. Of these Vaga had the +direction, as Raffaello had formerly had, of the chambers of the +Vatican. He planned the compartments, ornamented the ceiling, directed +all the stuccos, cornices, devices, and large figures, and all in the +style of a great master. He then applied himself to design the subjects +for his pencil, and was employed on them when he was carried off by +death in 1547. Through the partiality of Michelangiolo, he was succeeded +by Daniel di Volterra, who had already worked in stucco, under his +direction, in the same place. Volterra resolved to represent the +donations of those sovereigns who had extended or consolidated the +temporal dominion of the church, whence the chamber was called Sala dei +Regi, and this idea was, in some degree, though with variations, +continued by succeeding artists. Volterra was naturally slow and +irresolute, and after painting the Deposition from the Cross, which we +have mentioned as being executed with the assistance of Michelangiolo, +he produced no more of these prodigies of art. He had indeed begun some +designs, but on the death of the Pope, in 1549, he was compelled, in +order to accommodate the conclave, to remove the scaffolding, and expose +the work unfinished. It did not meet with public approbation, nor was it +continued under Julius III., and still less under Paul IV., in whose +reign the art was held in so little respect, that the apostles, painted +by Raffaello in one of the chambers of the Vatican, were displaced. + +Pius IV., who resumed the work, on the suggestion of Vasari, in 1561, +had intended to charge Salviati with the entire execution of it; but, by +the intercessions of Bonarruoti, was at length prevailed on to assign +one half of the apartment to Salviati, and the other half to +Ricciarelli, though this did not contribute to expedite the work. Pirro +Ligorio, a Neapolitan, was at this time held in high esteem by the Pope. +He was an antiquarian, though not of great celebrity, but a good +architect, and a fresco painter of some merit;[59] an enthusiast too, +and alike jealous of Ricciarelli, for the homage he paid to Bonarruoti, +and of Salviati, for the respect which he did not shew to Ligorio +himself. Remarking that the Pope wished to hasten the completion of the +work, he proposed to select a number of scholars, and to divide the work +amongst them. Vasari adds, that Salviati was disgusted and left Rome; +where, on his return, he died, without finishing his work; and that +Ricciarelli, who was always slow, never touched it again, and died also +after the lapse of some little time. The completion of the work was then +entrusted, as far as possible, to the successors of Raffaello. Livio +Agresti da Forli, Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta, and Marco da Pino, +of Sienna, although they had received their first instructions from +other masters, had been instructed by Perino del Vaga, and had assisted +in his cartoons. Taddeo Zuccaro had accomplished himself under Giacomone +da Faenza, and had made his younger brother Federigo an able artist. To +these the work was assigned, and there were added to them Samacchini and +Fiorini, Bolognese artists; and Giuseppe Porta della Garfagnana, called +Giuseppe Salviati. This latter had been the pupil of Francesco Salviati, +from whom he learnt the principles of design; he was afterwards a +follower of the school of Venice, where he resided. Of these numerous +artists Vasari assigns the palm to Taddeo Zuccaro, but the court was so +much pleased with Porta, that it was in contemplation to destroy the +works of the other artists, in order that the apartment might be +finished by him alone. He represented Alexander III. in the act of +bestowing his benediction on Frederick Barbarossa, in the Piazza of S. +Mark, in Venice; and he here indulged his taste for architectural +ornaments, in the Venetian manner. When however this work is viewed and +compared with that of other artists, we discover a sameness of style, +the character of the time; a deficiency of strength in the colours and +shadows is the common failing. It seems as if the art, through a long +course of years, had become debilitated: it discovers the lineaments of +a better age, but feebly expressed and deprived of their primitive +vigour. That portion of the work which remained unfinished, was, after +the death of Pius IV., completed by Vasari and his school, under his +successor; and some little was supplied under Gregory XIII., who was +elected in 1572. + +With that year a reign commenced but little auspicious to art, and still +less so was the Pontificate of Sixtus V., the successor of Gregory. +These Pontiffs erected or ornamented so many public buildings, that we +can scarcely move a step in Rome, without meeting with the papal arms of +a dragon or a lion. Baglione has accurately described them, and to him +we are indebted for the lives of the artists of this and the following +period. It is natural for men advanced in years to content themselves +with mediocrity in the works which they order, from the apprehension of +not living to see them, if they wait for the riper efforts of talent. +Hence those artists were the most esteemed, and the most employed, who +possessed despatch and facility of execution, particularly by Sixtus, of +whose severity towards dilatory artists we shall shortly adduce a +memorable instance. This inaccuracy of style was continued to the time +of Clement VIII., when a number of works were hastily finished to meet +the opening of the holy year 1600. Under these pontiffs the painters of +Italy, and even the _oltramontani_, inundated Rome with their works, in +the same manner that the poets and philosophers had filled that city +with their writings in the time of Domitian and Marcus Aurelius. Every +one indulged his own taste; and the style of many was deteriorated +through rapidity of execution. Thus the art, particularly in fresco, +became the employment of a mechanic, not founded in the just imitation +of nature, but in the capricious ideas of the artist.[60] Nor was the +colouring better than the design. At no period do we find such an abuse +of the simple tints, in none so feeble a chiaroscuro, or less harmony. +These are the mannerists, who peopled the churches, convents, and +saloons of Rome with their works, but in the collections of the nobility +they have not had the same good fortune. + +This era, nevertheless, is not wholly to be condemned, as it contains +several great names, the relics of the preceding illustrious age. We +have enumerated the painters who flourished in Rome in the first reigns +of this century, and we ought to notice a number of others. They were +for the most part foreigners, and ought to be introduced in other +schools. I shall here describe those particularly, who were born within +the limits of the Roman School, and those who, being established in it, +taught and propagated their own peculiar style. + +Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta, who adopted Raffaello's style, may be +enumerated among the scholars of that great man, from his felicitous +imitation of their common master. In the Sala de' Regi, in the Vatican, +he painted Pepin, King of France, bestowing Ravenna on the church, after +having made Astolfo, King of the Lombards, his prisoner. But he +approached Raffaello more closely in some of his oil pictures than in +his frescos, as in the martyrdom of S. Lucia, in the church of S. Maria +Maggiore; in the Transfiguration in Ara Coeli, and in the Nativity in +the church della Pace, a subject which he repeated in the most graceful +style in the church of Osimo. His masterpiece is in Ancona on the great +altar in the church of S. Bartolommeo, a vast composition, original and +rich in invention, and commensurate with the grandeur of the subject, +and the multitude of saints that are introduced in it. The throne of the +Virgin is seen above, amidst a brilliant choir of angels, and on either +side a virgin saint in the attitude of adoration. To this height there +is a beautiful ascent on each side, and the picture is thus divided into +a higher and lower part, in the latter of which is the titular saint, a +half naked figure vigorously coloured, together with S. Paul and two +other saints, the whole in a truly Raffaellesque style. This altarpiece +possesses so much harmony, and such a force of colour, that it is +esteemed by some persons the best picture in the city. If any thing be +wanting in it, it is perhaps a more correct observance of the +perspective. Sermoneta did not paint many pictures for collections. He +excelled in portrait painting. + +A similar manner, though more laboured, and formed on the styles of +Raffaello and Andrea del Sarto, was adopted by Scipione Pulzone da +Gaeta, who was educated in the studio of Jacopino del Conte. He died +young in his thirty-eighth year, but left behind him a great reputation, +partly in the painting of portraits, of which he executed a great number +for the popes and princes of his day, and with so much success, that by +some he is called the Vandyke of the Roman School. He was a forerunner +of Seybolt in the high finishing of the hair, and in representing in the +pupil of the eye the reflexion of the windows, and other objects as +minute and exact as in real life. He also painted some pictures in the +finest style, as the Crucifixion in the Vallicella, and the Assumption +in S. Silvestro at Monte Cavallo, a composition of chaste design, great +beauty of colouring, and brilliant in effect. In the Borghese collection +is a Holy Family by him, and in the gallery in Florence, a Christ +praying in the garden; and in other places are to be found some of his +cabinet pictures, deservedly held in high esteem. + +Taddeo and Federigo Zuccaro have been called the Vasaris of this school; +for as Vasari trod in the steps of Michelangiolo, so these artists +professed to follow Raffaello. They were the sons of an indifferent +painter of S. Angiolo in Vado, called Ottaviano Zuccaro, and came to +Rome one after the other, and in the Roman state executed a vast number +of works, some good, some indifferent, and others, when they allowed +their pupils to take a share in them, absolutely bad. A salesman, who +dealt in the pictures of these artists, was accustomed, like a retailer +of merchandize, to ask his purchasers whether they wished for a Zuccaro +of Holland, of France, or of Portugal; intimating by this that he +possessed them of all qualities. Taddeo, who was the elder of the two, +studied first under Pompeo da Fano, and afterwards with Giacomone da +Faenza. From the latter and other good Italian artists, whom he +assiduously studied, he acquired sufficient talent to distinguish +himself. He adopted a style which, though not very correct, was +unconstrained and engaging, and very attractive to such as do not look +for grandeur of design. He may be compared to that class of orators who +keep the attention of their hearers awake, not from the nature of their +subject, but from the clearness of their language, and from their +finding, or thinking they find, truth and nature in every word. His +pictures may be called compositions of portraits; the heads are +beautiful, the hands and feet not negligently painted, nor yet laboured, +as in the Florentine manner; the dress and ornaments, and form of the +beard, are agreeable to the times; the disposition is simple, and he +often imitates the old painters in shewing on the canvass only half +figures in the foreground, as if they were on a lower plain. He often +repeated the same countenance, and his own portrait. In his hands, feet, +and the folds of his drapery, he is still less varied, and not +unfrequently errs in his proportions. + +In Rome are vast works of Taddeo, in fresco, and amongst the best may be +ranked the history of the Evangelists, in the church of the +Consolazione. He left few pictures in oil. There is a Pentecost by him +in the church of the Spirito Santo in Urbino, which city also possesses +some other of his works, though not in his best style. He is most +pleasing in his small cabinet pictures, which are finished in the first +style of excellence. One of the best of these, formerly possessed by the +Duke of Urbino, is now in the collection of the noble family of +Leopardi, in Osimo. It is a Nativity of our Lord, in Taddeo's best +manner, but none of his productions have added so much to his celebrity +as the pictures in the Farnese Palace of Caprarola, which were engraved +by Preninner in 1748. They represent the civil and military history of +the illustrious family of the Farnesi. There occur also other subjects, +sacred and profane, of which the most remarkable is the Stanza del +Sonno, the subject of which was executed in a highly poetical manner, +from the suggestions of Caro in a delightful letter, which was +circulated among his friends, and is reprinted in the Lettere +Pittoriche, (tom. iii. l. 99). Strangers who visit Caprarola, often +return with a higher opinion of this artist than they carried with them. +It is true that a number of young artists, fully his equal, or perhaps +superior to him, were employed there, both in conjunction with him and +after his death, whose works ought not to be confounded with his, though +it is not always easy to distinguish them. Like Raffaello, he died at +the age of thirty-seven, and his monument is to be seen at the side of +that illustrious master in the Rotunda. + +Federigo, his brother and scholar, resembled him in style, but was not +equal to him in design, having more mannerism than Taddeo, being more +addicted to ornament, and more crowded in his composition. He was +engaged to finish in the Vatican, in the Farnese Palace, in the church +of La Trinita de' Monti, and other places, the various works which his +brother had left incomplete at his death; and he thus succeeded, as it +were, to the inheritance of his own house. He had the reputation of +possessing a noble style, and was invited by the Grand Duke Francis I. +to paint the great dome of the metropolitan church at Florence, which +was commenced by Vasari, and left unfinished at his death. Federigo in +that task designed more than three hundred figures, fifty feet in +height, without mentioning that of Lucifer, so gigantic that the rest +appeared like children, for so he informs us, adding, that they were the +largest figures that the world had ever seen.[61] But there is little to +admire in this work except the vastness of the conception,[62] and in +the time of Pier da Cortona, there was an intention of engaging that +artist to substitute for it a composition of his own, had not the +apprehension that his life might not be long enough to finish it, +frustrated the design. After the painting of this dome, every work on a +large scale in Rome was assigned to Federigo, and the Pope engaged him +to paint the vault of the Paolina, and thus give the last touch to a +work commenced by Michelangiolo. About this period, in order to revenge +himself on some of the principal officers of the Pope who had treated +him with indignity, he painted, and exposed to public view, an +allegorical picture of Calumny,[63] in which he introduced the portraits +of all those persons who had given him offence, representing them with +asses' ears. His enemies, on this, made such complaints, that he was +compelled to quit the dominions of the Pope. He therefore left Rome and +visited Flanders, Holland, and England, and was afterwards invited to +Venice to paint the submission of the Emperor Federigo Barbarossa to +Pope Alexander III., in the Palazzo Pubblico, and he was there highly +esteemed and constantly employed. The Pontiff being by this time +appeased, Federigo returned to finish the work he had left imperfect, +and which is perhaps the best of all he executed in Rome, without the +assistance of his brother. The larger picture also of S. Lorenzo in +Damaso, and that of the Angels in the Gesu, and other of his works in +various churches, are not deficient in merit. Federigo built for himself +a house in the Monte Pincio, and decorated it with pictures in fresco, +portraits of his own family, conversazioni, and many novel and strange +subjects, which he painted with the assistance of his scholars, and at +little expense; but on this occasion more than on any other, he appears +an indifferent artist, and may be called the champion of mediocrity. + +Federigo was afterwards invited to Madrid by Philip II.; but that +monarch not being satisfied with his works, they were effaced, and their +places supplied by Tibaldi, and he himself, with an adequate pension, +was sent back to Italy. He undertook another journey late in life, +visiting the principal cities of Italy, and leaving specimens of his art +in every place where he was called to exercise his talents. One of the +best of these is an Assumption of the Virgin, in an Oratory of Rimino, +on which he inscribed his name, and the Death of the Virgin, at S. Maria +_in Acumine_, with some figures of the Apostles, more finished than +usual with him. A simple and graceful style is observable in his +Presepio, in the cathedral of Foligno, and in two pictures from the life +of the Virgin, in a chapel of Loreto, painted for the Duke of Urbino. +The Cistercian monks, at Milan, possess two large pictures in their +library on the Miracle della Neve, with a numerous assemblage of +figures, the countenances in his usual lively manner, the colouring +varied and well preserved. In the Borromei college, in Pavia, is a +saloon painted in fresco, with subjects from the life of S. Carlo. The +most admired of these is the saint at prayer in his retirement; the +other pieces, the Consistory in which was his chapel, and the Plague of +Milan, would be much better, if the figures were fewer. He returned to +Venice, where his great picture remained, and which had not been so much +injured by time, as by a sarcasm of Boschini on certain sugar +[_Zucchero_] of very poor quality lately imported into Venice, in +consequence of which he retouched his work, and wrote on it, by way of a +memorial, _Federicus Zuccarus f. an. sal. 1582, perfecit an. 1603_. It +is one of his best works, copious, and, agreeably to Zanetti, beautiful +and well sustained. He then went to Turin, where he painted a S. Paul, +for the Jesuits, and began to ornament a gallery for Charles Emanuel, +Duke of Savoy; and it was in that city that he first published _La idea +de' Pittori, Scultori, e Architetti_, which he dedicated to the Duke. He +afterwards returned into Lombardy, where he composed two other works, +the one intitled _La Dimora di Parma del Sig. Cav. Federigo Zuccaro_: +the other, _Il Passaggio per Italia colla dimora di Parma del Sig. Cav. +Federigo Zuccaro_, both printed in Bologna, in 1608. In the following +year, on his return to his native place, he fell sick in Ancona, where +he died. Baglione admired the versatility of talent in this artist, +which extended to sculpture and architecture; but more than all he +admired his good fortune, in which he exceeded all his contemporaries. +This distinction he owed in a great measure to his personal qualities, +to his noble presence, his encouragement of letters, his quality of +attaching persons to him, and his liberality, which led him to expend in +a generous manner the large sums he derived from his works. + +He appears to have written with the intention of rivalling and excelling +Vasari. Whatever was the cause, Vasari was disliked by him, as may be +gathered from the notes to his Lives, occasionally cited by the +annotator of the Roman edition; and is charged by him with spleen and +malignity, particularly in the life of Taddeo Zuccaro. In order to excel +Vasari, it seems he chose an abstruse mode of writing, in opposition to +the plain style of that author. The whole work, printed in Turin, is +involved in its design, and instead of precepts, contains speculative +metaphysical opinions, which tend more to raise disputes than to convey +information. The language is incongruous and affected, and even the very +titles to the chapters are interwoven with many absurdities, as that of +the 12th, _Che la filosofia e il filosofare e disegno Metaforico +similitudinario_. This style may perhaps impose on the ignorant, but +cannot deceive the learned.[64] The latter do not esteem a writer for +pedantic expressions adopted from the Greek and Latin authors; but for a +correct mode of definition, for an accuracy of analysis, for a sagacity +in tracing effects to their true causes, and for a manner strictly +adapted to the subject. These qualities are not to be found in the works +of Federigo, where we find philosophical expressions mingled with +puerile reflections, as in the etymology of the word _disegno_, which +after much circumlocution, he informs us, owes its derivation to _Segno +di Dio_; and instead of affording any instructive maxims to youth, he +presents them with a mass of sterile and ill directed speculations. +Hence we may be said to derive more information from a single page of +Vasari, than from this author's whole work. Both Mariette and Bottari +have shewn the little esteem in which they held this work, by their +correspondence, inserted in the 6th volume of the Lettere Pittoriche. +Nor are his other two works of greater utility, one of which contains +some arguments in the same style, which are proposed as a theme for +disputation in the Academy of the Innominati, in Parma. + +It is generally thought that this treatise of Zuccaro was composed in +Rome, where he presided in the Academy of S. Luke. That academy was +instituted in the pontificate of Gregory XIII., who signed the brief for +its foundation at the instance of Muziano, as Baglione relates in the +life of that artist. He further states, that when the ancient church of +S. Luke, on the Esquiline, was demolished, the seat I believe of the +society of painters, the church of S. Martina was allotted to them, at +the foot of the Campidoglio. But this brief does not seem to have been +used until the return of Zuccaro from Spain, as according to the same +writer, it was he who put it in execution. And this must have occurred +in 1595, if the year which was celebrated by the painters of S. Luke in +1695, was the true centenary of the Academy. But the origin of the +institution may be dated, agreeably to some persons, from the month of +November, 1593, as mentioned by the Sig. Barone Vernazza, who, among the +first promoters, or members, includes the Piedmontese Arbasia, on the +relation of Romano Alberti. Baglione says that Federigo was declared +president by common consent; and that that day was a sort of triumph to +him, as he was accompanied on his return home by a company of artists +and literary persons; and in a little time afterwards he assigned a +saloon in his own house for the use of the academy. He wrote both in +poetry and in prose in the Academy of S. Luke, which is referred to more +than once in his greater work. He evinced an extraordinary affection for +this institution, and according to the example of Muziano, he named it +the heir of his estate, in the event of the extinction of his family. He +was succeeded in the presidency by Laureti, and a series of eminent +artists down to our own time. The sittings of the academy have now for a +long time past been fixed in a house contiguous to the church of S. +Martina, which is decorated with the portraits and works of its members. +The picture of S. Luke, by Raffaello, is there religiously preserved, +together with his own portrait; and there too is to be seen the skull of +Raffaello, in a casket, the richest spoil ever won by death from the +empire of art. Of this academy we shall speak further towards the +conclusion of this third book. We will now return to Federigo. + +The school of this artist received distinction from Passignano and other +scholars, elsewhere mentioned by us. To these we may add Niccolo da +Pesaro, who painted in the church of Ara Coeli; but whose best piece is +a Last Supper in the church of the sacrament at Pesaro. It is a picture +so well conceived and harmonized, and so rich in pictorial ornament, +that Lazzarini has descanted on it in his lectures as one of the first +of the city. It is said that Baroccio held this artist in great esteem. +Baglione commended him for his early works, but it must be confessed +that he did not persevere in his first style, and fell into an insipid +manner, whence he suffered both in reputation and fortune. Another +artist of Pesaro, instructed by Zuccaro, was Gio. Giacomo Pandolfi, +whose works are celebrated in his native city, and do not yield the palm +to those of Federigo, as the picture of S. George and S. Carlo in the +Duomo. He ornamented the whole chapel in the Nome di Dio, with a variety +of subjects in fresco, from the Old and New Testament; but as he was +then become infirm from age and the gout, they did not add much to his +fame. His greatest merit was the instilling good principles into Simon +Canterini, of whom, as well as of the Pesarese artists his followers, we +shall write at large in the school of Bologna. One Paolo Cespede, a +Spaniard, called in Rome Cedaspe, also received his education from +Zuccaro. He commenced his career in Rome, and excited great expectations +from some pictures in fresco, which are still to be seen at the church +of Trinita de' Monti, and other places. He had adopted a natural style, +and was in a way to rise in his profession, when he obtained an +ecclesiastical benefice in his native country, and retired to reside +upon it. Marco Tullio Montagna accompanied Federigo to Turin as an +assistant; and a small picture of S. Saverio and other saints in a +church of that city, generally attributed to the school of Zuccaro, is +probably by him. He painted in Rome in the church of S. Niccolo in +Carcere, in the vaults of the Vatican, and in many other places, in a +tolerable style, but nothing more. + +After the above named artists a crowd of contemporaries present +themselves, more particularly those who had the direction of the works +under Gregory XIII. The Sala de' Duchi was entrusted to Lorenzino of +Bologna, who was invited to Rome from his native city, where he enjoyed +the reputation of an excellent painter, and deservedly so, as we shall +see in his place. He undertook the decoration of the gallery of the +Vatican, which, from the vast size of that building, forms a boundless +field of art. Niccolo Circignani, or delle Pomarance, already mentioned +in the first book, distributed the work amongst a number of young +artists, who there painted historical subjects, landscapes, and +arabesques. The Pope was desirous that the walls also should serve the +cause of science, and ordered the compartments to be adorned with +geographical delineations of ancient and modern Italy, a task which was +assigned to Padre Ignazio Danti, a Domenican, a mathematician and +geographer of his court, and who was afterwards promoted to the +bishopric of Alatri. Ignazio was born in Perugia, of a family devoted to +the fine arts, and had two brothers, painters; Girolamo, of whom there +remain some works in S. Pietro, on the model of Vasari; and Vincenzio, +who in Rome assisted Ignazio, and there died, and was a good fresco +painter. Another grand work was also undertaken about this time, which +was the continuation of the gallery of Raffaello, in an arm of the +building contiguous to it, where, in conformity to the plan of +Raffaello, it was intended to paint four subjects in every arcade, all +from the New Testament. Roncelli, the scholar of Circignano, our notice +of whom we shall reserve to a subsequent epoch, was charged with the +execution of this plan, but was himself subject to the direction of +Padre Danti, experience having shewn that the entire abandonment of a +design to the direction of practical artists is injurious to its +execution, as there are few that, in the choice of inferior artists, are +not governed by influence, avarice, or jealousy. The selection, +therefore, was reserved to Danti, who to an excellent practical +knowledge of the art of design, united moral qualities that insured +success: and under his direction the whole work was regulated and +conducted in such a manner, that the spirit of Raffaello seemed to be +resuscitated in the precincts of the Vatican. But the hand was no longer +the same, and the imbecility which was apparent in the new productions, +when compared with the old, betrayed the decline of the art, though we +occasionally meet with subjects by Tempesti, Raffaellino da Reggio, the +younger Palma, and Girolamo Massei, which reflect a ray of honour on the +age. + +Another superintendant of the works of the Vatican, but rather in +architecture than in painting, was Girolamo Muziano da Brescia, who, +undistinguished in his native place, came young to Rome, and was there +considered the great supporter of true taste. He derived his principles +both in design and colour from the Venetian School, and early acquired +such skill in landscape, that he was named in Rome Il Giovane de' Paesi. +But he soon afterwards adopted a more elevated style, and devoted +himself with such obstinate assiduity to study, that he shaved his head +in order to prevent himself from going out of the house. It was at this +time that he painted the Raising of Lazarus, afterwards transferred from +the church of S. Maria Maggiore to the Quirinal Palace; and which, when +exposed to public view, immediately conciliated to him the esteem and +protection of Bonarruoti. His pictures occur in various churches and +palaces of Rome, and are often ornamented with landscapes in the style +of Titian. The church of the Carthusians possesses one of singular +beauty. It represents a troop of Anchorets attentively listening to a +Saint. There is great elegance and good disposition in the picture of +the Circumcision in the Gesu, and the Ascension in Ara Coeli displays an +intimate knowledge of art. The picture too of S. Francis receiving the +Stigmata, in the church of the Conception, is an enchanting piece, both +as regards the figures and the landscape. Nor was he beneath himself in +the pictures which he executed in the Duomo at Orvieto, which are highly +commended by Vasari. The chapel of the Visitation in the Basilica +Loretana, possesses three pictures by him, and that of the Probatica +discovers great originality and expression. In the Duomo of Foligno, a +picture by him in fresco, of the Miracles of S. Feliciano is pointed +out, which was formerly hidden by dust, but was a few years ago restored +in a wonderful manner to all its original freshness and charm of colour. + +The figures of Muziano are accurately drawn, and we not unfrequently +trace in them the anatomy of Michelangiolo. He excelled in painting +military and foreign dresses; and above all, in representing hermits and +anchorets, men of severe aspects, whose bodies are attenuated by +abstinence, and his style, in general, inclines rather to the dry than +the florid. We are indebted to this artist for the engraving of the +Trajan Column. Giulio Romano had begun to copy it, and the laborious +undertaking was continued and perfected by Muziano, and so prepared for +the engraver. + +The most celebrated scholar of Muziano, was Cesare Nebbia of Orvieto. He +presided over the works of Sixtus, entrusting the completion of his own +designs to the younger painters. In this task he was assisted by Gio. +Guerra da Modena, who suggested to him the subjects, and apportioned the +work among the scholars. Both the one and the other of these artists, +was endowed with a facility which was essential to the vast works on +which they were employed in the five years reign of Sixtus, in the +chapel of S. Maria Maggiore, in the library of the Vatican itself, in +the Quirinal and Lateran palaces, and at the Scala Santa, and many other +places. But in other respects, Muziano left his scholars far behind, as +he was possessed of a great and inventive genius, while Nebbia was more +remarkable for the mechanism of his art; particularly when he decorated +walls. There are, however, some beautiful and well coloured pictures by +him; among which may be mentioned the Epiphany, in the church of S. +Francis at Viterbo, quite in Muziano's style. Baglione associates with +Nebbia Giovanni Paolo della Torre, a gentleman of Rome, who was raised +by Girolamo above the rank of a mere dilettante. Taja too, adds Giacomo +Stella da Brescia, who, he observes, had degenerated in some degree from +the style of his master. He was employed, nevertheless, both in the +gallery of Gregory XIII., and in other places, not without commendation. +It may be observed, that M. Bardon states him to have been a native of +Lyons, long resident in Italy. + +Another foreigner, but who came a considerable time after Muziano, was +Raffaellino da Reggio, who, after being instructed in the first +principles of the art by Lelio di Novellara, formed a master style in +Rome. Nothing was wanting to this artist except a greater knowledge of +design, as he possessed spirit, disposition, delicacy, relief, and +grace; qualities not common in that age. His pictures in oil are +occasionally, though not often, found in galleries, but his best works +are his frescos of small figures, such as the two charming fables of +Hercules, in the ducal hall at Florence, and the two gospel stories in +the gallery adjoining to that of Raffaello d'Urbino. He painted also at +Caprarola in competition with the Zuccari, and Vecchi, and with such +success, that his figures seem living, while those of his comrades are +inanimate. This excellent artist died immaturely, greatly lamented, +without leaving any pupil worthy of his name. He was however considered +as the head of a school in Rome, and his works were studied by the youth +of the academy. Many artists adopted his manner of fresco, particularly +Paris Nogari of Rome, who left there numerous works, which are known for +their peculiar manner; amongst others, some subjects in the gallery. He +had another follower in Gio. Batista della Marca, of the family of +Lombardelli, a young man of great natural talents, but which were +rendered unavailing from his want of application. Many pictures in +fresco by him remain in Perugia and in Rome, but the best are in +Montenovo, his native place. None, however, approached so near to +Raffaellino as Giambatista Pozzo, who also died young, and who, as far +as regards ideal beauty, may be considered the Guido of his day. To be +convinced of this it is only necessary to see the Choir of Angels, which +he painted in the chapel of the Gesu. If he had survived to the time of +the Caracci, it is impossible to say to what degree of perfection he +might not have attained. + +Tommaso Laureti, a Sicilian, already noticed with commendation by us +among the scholars of F. Sebastiano, and deserving honourable mention +among the professors of Bologna, was invited to Rome in the pontificate +of Gregory XIII., and was entrusted with a work of an invidious nature. +This was the decoration of the ceiling and lunettes in the Hall of +Constantine, the lower part of which had been illustrated by the pencils +of Giulio Romano and Perino. The subjects chosen by this master were +intended to commemorate the piety of Constantine, idols subverted, the +cross exalted, and provinces added to the church. Baglione informs us +that Laureti was entertained by the Pope in his palace in a princely +manner; and either from his natural indolence, or his reluctance to +return to a laborious profession, procrastinated the work so much, that +Gregory died, and Sixtus commenced his reign before it was completed. +The new pontiff was aware that the artist had abused the patience of his +predecessor, and became so exasperated, that Laureti, in order to avert +his wrath, proceeded in all haste to finish his labours. When the work +however was exposed to public view, in the first year of the new +pontificate, it was judged unworthy of the situation. The figures were +too vast and heavy, the colouring crude, the forms vulgar. The best part +of it was a temple in the ceiling, drawn in excellent perspective, in +which art indeed Laureti may be considered as one of the first masters +of his day. Misfortune was added to his disgrace; for he was not only +not rewarded as he had expected, but the cost of his living and +provisions were placed to his charge, even to the corn supplied to his +horse. So that he gained no remuneration, and actually died in poverty +in the succeeding pontificate. He had however an opportunity afforded +him of redeeming his credit, particularly in the stories of Brutus and +Horatius on the bridge, which he painted in the Campidoglio, in a much +better style. Intimately acquainted with the theory of art, and +possessing an agreeable manner of inculcating its principles, he taught +at Rome with considerable applause. He had a scholar and assistant in +the Vatican, in Antonio Scalvati, a Bolognese, who in the time of Sixtus +was employed among the painters of the Library, and who was afterwards +engaged in painting portraits under Clement VIII., Leo XI., and Paul V.; +and was highly celebrated in this department. + +A better fortune attended Gio. Batista Ricci da Novara, who arrived at +Rome in the pontificate of Sixtus, and who from his despatch manifested +in the works at the Scala Lateranense, and the Vatican Library, was +immediately taken into employ by the Pope, who appointed him +superintendant for the decorations of the palace of the Quirinal. He was +also held in favour by Clement VIII., in whose time he painted in S. +Giovanni Laterano the history of the consecration of that church: and +there, according to Baglione, he succeeded better than in any other +place. He left not a few works in Rome, and elsewhere his pictures +display a facility of pencil, and a brilliancy and elegance which +attract the eye. He was born in a city into which Gaudenzio Ferrari had +introduced the Raffaellesque style, and where Lanini, his son-in-law had +practised it; but in whose hands it seemed to decline, and still more so +under Ricci, when he came to Rome; so that his style was Raffaellesque +reduced to mannerism, like that professed by Circignani, Nebbia, and +others of this age. + +Giuseppe Cesari, also called Il Cavaliere d'Arpino, is a name as +celebrated among painters, as that of Marino among poets. These two +individuals, each in his line, contributed to corrupt the taste of an +age already depraved, and attached more to shew than to reality. Both +the one and the other exhibited considerable talents, and it is an old +observation, that the arts, like republican states, have received their +subversion from master spirits. Cesari discovered great capacity from +his infancy, and soon attracted the admiration of Danti, and obtained +the protection of Gregory XIII., with the reputation of the first master +in Rome. Some pictures painted in conjunction with Giacomo Rocca,[65] +from designs of Michelangiolo, (in which Giacomo was very rich,) +established his reputation. So much talent was not required to secure +him general applause, as the public of that day were chiefly attracted +by the energy, fire, tumult, and crowds, that filled his composition. +His horses, which he drew in a masterly manner, and his countenances, +which were painted with all the force of life, won the admiration of the +many; while few attended to the incorrect design, the monotony of the +extremities, the poverty of the drapery, the faulty perspective and +chiaroscuro. Of these few however were Caravaggio, and Annibale Caracci. +With these he became involved in disputes, and challenges were mutually +exchanged. Cesari refused the challenge of Caravaggio, as he was not a +cavaliere, and Annibale declined that of the Cavaliere d'Arpino, +alleging that the pencil was his proper weapon. Thus these two eminent +professors met with no greater obstacle in Rome in their attempts to +reform the art, than Cesari and his adherents. + +The Cavaliere d'Arpino survived both these masters more than thirty +years, and left behind him _progeniem vitiosiorem_. To conclude, he was +born a painter, and in so vast and difficult an art, he had endowments +sufficient to atone, in part, for his defects. His colouring in fresco +was admirable, his imagination was fruitful and felicitous, his figures +were animated, and possessed a charm that Baglione, who himself +entertained very different principles, could not refrain from admiring. +Cesari moreover practised two distinct manners. The one, the most to be +commended, is that in which he painted the Ascension, at S. Prassede, +and several prophets, _di sotto in su_: the Madonna in the ceiling of S. +Giovanni Grisogono, which is remarkable for its fine colouring; the +gallery of the Casa Orsini; and in the Campidoglio, the Birth of +Romulus, and the battle of the Romans and the Sabines, a painting in +fresco, preferred by some to all his other works. Others of his pictures +may be added, particularly some smaller works, with lights in gold, +exquisitely finished, as if they were by an entirely different artist. +Of this kind there is an Epiphany in possession of the Count Simonetti, +in Osimo, and S. Francis in extacies, in the house of the Belmonti at +Rimino. His other style was sufficiently free, but negligent, and this +latter he used too frequently, partly through impatience of labour, and +partly through old age, as may be seen in three other subjects in the +Campidoglio, painted in the same saloon forty years after the first. His +works are almost innumerable, not only in Rome, where he worked in the +pontificates of Gregory and Sixtus, and where, under Clement VIII., he +presided over the decorations in S. Gio. Laterano, and there continued +under Paul V., but also in Naples, at Monte Casino, and in various +cities of the Roman state, without mentioning the pictures sent to +foreign courts, and painted for private individuals. For the latter +indeed, and even for persons of inferior rank in life, he worked more +willingly than for princes, with whom, like the Tigellius of Horace, he +was capricious and morose. He was indeed desirous of being solicited by +persons of rank, and often affected to neglect them, so much had the +applause of a corrupted age flattered his vanity. + +Cesari had many scholars and assistants, whom he more particularly +employed in the works of the Lateran; as he did not deign in those times +often to take up the pencil himself. Some of these pupils adopted his +faults, and as they did not possess the same genius, their works proved +intolerably bad. A vicious example, easy of imitation, is, as Horace has +observed, highly seductive. There were however some of his school, who +in part at least corrected themselves from the works of others. His +brother, too, Bernardino Cesari, was an excellent copyist of the designs +of Bonarruoti, and worked assiduously under the Cav. Giuseppe, but +little remains of him, as he died young. One Cesare Rossetti, a Roman, +served under Arpino a longer time, and of him there are many works in +his own name. There are also to be found some public memorials of +Bernardino Parasole, who was cut off in the flower of his age. Guido +Ubaldo Abatini of Citta di Castello, merited commendation from Passeri +as a good fresco painter, particularly for a vault at the Vittoria. +Francesco Allegrini di Gubbio was a fresco painter, in design very much +resembling his master, if we may judge from the cupola of the Sacrament +in the Cathedral of Gubbio, and from another at the Madonna de' Bianchi. +We there observe the same attenuated proportions, and the same +predominant facility of execution. He nevertheless shewed himself +capable of better things, when his mind became matured, and he worked +with more care. He is commended by Ratti for various works in fresco, +executed at Savona, in the Duomo, and in the Casa Gavotti, and for +others in the Casa Durazzo at Genoa; where one may particularly admire +the freshness of the colouring, and the skill exhibited in his _sotto in +su_. He is also commended by Baldinucci for similar works in the Casa +Panfili, and merits praise for his smaller pieces and battles frequently +found in Rome and Gubbio. He also added figures to the landscapes of +Claude, two of which are to be seen, in the Colonna palace. He lived a +long time in Rome, and his son Flaminio with him, commemorated by Taja +for some works in the Vatican. Baglione has enumerated not a few other +artists, in part belonging to the Roman state, and in part foreigners. +Donato of Formello (a fief of the dukes of Bracciano) had greatly +improved on the style of Vasari his master, as is proved by his +histories of S. Peter, in a staircase of the Vatican, particularly the +one of the piece of money found in the fish's mouth. He died whilst yet +young, and the art had real cause to lament his loss. Giuseppe Franco, +also called _dalle Lodole_, in consequence of his painting a lark in one +of his pieces in S. Maria in Via, and on other occasions, and Prospero +Orsi, both Romans, had a share in the works prosecuted by Sixtus. When +these were finished, the former repaired to Milan, where he remained +some years; the latter, from painting historical subjects, passed to +arabesque, and from his singular talents in that line, was called +Prosperino dalle Grottesche. Of the same place was Girolamo Nanni, +deserving of particular mention, because, during all the time that he +was engaged in these works, he never hurried himself, and to the +directors who urged him to despatch, he answered always _poco e buono_, +which expression was ever afterwards attached to him as a surname. He +continued to work with the same study and devotion, as far as his +talents would carry him, at S. Bartolommeo all'Isola, at S. Caterina de' +Funai, and in many other places: he was not however much distinguished, +except for his great application. Of him however, and of Giuseppe +Puglia, or Bastaro, and of Cesare Torelli, also Romans; and of Pasquale +Cati da Jesi, an inexhaustible painter of that age, though somewhat +affected, and of many professors, that are in fact forgotten in Rome +itself, I have thought it my duty to give this short notice, as I had +pledged myself to include a number of the second rate artists. It would +be an endless task to enumerate here all the foreign artists. It may be +sufficient to observe, that in the Vatican library more than a hundred +artists, almost all foreigners, were employed. In the first book I have +mentioned Gio. de' Vecchi, an eminent master, who, from the time of his +works for the Farnese family, was considered a first rate artist; and +the colony of painters, his fellow citizens, whom Raffaellino brought to +Rome. In the same book we meet with Titi, Naldini, Zucchi, Coscj, and a +number of Florentines, and in the following book Matteo da Siena and +some others of his school. Again, in the fourth book, Matteo da Leccio +and Giuseppe Valeriani dell' Aquila will have place; and in the third +volume will be described Palma the younger (amongst the Venetians) who +worked in the gallery; about which time Salvator Fontana, a Venetian, +painted at S. Maria Maggiore, whom it is sufficient to have named. We +may also enumerate Nappi and Paroni of Milan, Croce of Bologna, +Mainardi, Lavinia Fontana, and not a few others of various schools, who +in those times painted in Rome, without ultimately remaining there, or +leaving scholars. + +A more circumstantial mention may be made of some _oltramontani_, who, +in conjunction with our countrymen, were employed in the works in these +pontificates; and it may be done with the more propriety, as we do not +speak of them in any other part of our work. But those who worked in +Rome were very numerous in every period, and it would be too much to +attempt to enumerate them all in a history of Italian painting. One +Arrigo, from Flanders, painted a Resurrection in the Sistine chapel, and +also worked in fresco in other places in Rome; and is commended by +Baglione as an excellent artist. Francesco da Castello, was also of +Flanders, and of a more refined and correct taste. There is a picture by +him at S. Rocco, with various saints; and it is perhaps the best piece +the world possesses of him; but almost all his works were painted for +the cabinet, and in miniature, in which he excelled. The Brilli we may +include among the landscape painters. + +The states of the church possessed in this epoch painters of +consideration, besides those in Perugia, where flourished the two Alfani +and others, followers of a good style; but whether they were known or +employed in Rome, I am not able to say. I included them in the school of +Pietro, in order that they might not be separated from the artists of +Perugia, but they continued to live and to work for many years in the +16th century. To these may be added Piero and Serafino Cesarei,[66] and +others of less note. In the city of Assisi, there resided, in the +beginning of the 16th century, a Francesco Vagnucci, and there remain +some works by him in the spirit of the old masters. There, also, +afterwards resided Cesare Sermei Cavaliere, who was born in Orvieto, and +married in Assisi, and lived there until 1600, when he died at the age +of 84. He painted both there and in Perugia, and if not in a grand style +of fresco, still with a felicity of design, with much spirit in his +attitudes, and with a vigorous pencil. He was a good machinist, and of +great merit in his oil pictures. At Spello I saw a picture by him of the +Beatified Andrea Caccioli; and it seems to me, that few other painters +of the Roman School had at that time equalled him. His heirs, in Assisi, +possess some pictures by him of fairs, processions, and ceremonies which +occur in that city on occasion of the Perdono; and the numbers and +variety and grace of the small figures, the architecture, and the humour +displayed, are very captivating. At Spello, just above mentioned, in the +church of S. Giacomo, is a picture which represents that saint and S. +Catherine before the Madonna: where we read _Tandini Mevanatis_, 1580; +that is, of Tandino di Bevagna, a place near Assisi; nor is it a picture +to be passed over. + +Gubbio possessed two painters, brothers of the family de' Nucci; +Virgilio, who was said to be the scholar of Daniel di Volterra, whose +Deposition he copied for an altar at S. Francis in Gubbio; and +Benedetto, a disciple of Raffaellino del Colle, considered the best of +the painters of Gubbio.[67] Both of them have left works in their native +place, and in the neighbouring districts; the first of them always +following the Florentine, and the second the Roman School. Of the latter +there are many pictures at Gubbio, which shew the progress he had made +in the style of Raffaello; and to see him in his best work, we must +inspect his S. Thomas in the Duomo, which would be taken for a picture +of Garofalo, or some such artist, if we were not acquainted with the +master. A little time afterwards flourished Felice Damiani, or Felice da +Gubbio, who is said to have studied in the Venetian School. The +Circumcision at S. Domenico has certainly a good deal of that style; but +in pencil he inclines more to the Roman taste, which he, perhaps, +derived from Benedetto Nucci. The Decollation of St. Paul, at the Castel +Nuovo, in Recanati, is by him: the attitude of the saint excites our +sympathy: the spectators are represented in various attitudes, all +appropriate and animated: the drawing is correct, and the colours vivid +and harmonious. It is inscribed with the year 1584. About ten years +afterwards, he painted two chapels at the Madonna de' Lumi, at S. +Severino, with subjects from the life of Christ; and there likewise +displayed more elegance than grandeur of style. His most studied and +powerful work is at S. Agostino di Gubbio, the Baptism of the Saint, +painted in 1594, a picture abounding in figures, and which surprises by +the novelty of the attire, by its correct architecture, and by the air +of devotion exhibited in the countenances. He received for this picture +two hundred scudi, by no means a low price in those times; and it should +seem that his work was regulated by the price, since in some other +pictures, and particularly in one in 1604, he is exceedingly negligent. +Federigo Brunori, called also Brunorini, issued, it is said, from his +school, and still more decidedly than his master, followed the Venetian +style. His portraits are natural; and he was a lover of foreign drapery, +and coloured with a strong effect. The Bianchi have an Ecce Homo by him, +in which the figures are small, but boldly expressed, and shew that he +had profited from the engravings of Albert Durer. Pierangiolo Basilj, +instructed by Damiani, and also by Roncalli, partakes of their more +delicate manner. His frescos, in the choir of S. Ubaldo, are held in +esteem; and at S. Marziale, there is by him a Christ preaching, with a +beautiful portico in perspective, and a great number of auditors: the +figures in this are also small, and such as are seen in the compositions +of Albert Durer. The pictures appear to be painted in competition. +Brunori displays more energy, Basilj more variety and grace. + +In the former edition of this work I made mention of Castel Durante, now +Urbania, in the state of Urbino. I noticed Luzio Dolce among the ancient +painters, of whom I had at that time seen no performance, except an +indifferent picture, in the country church of Cagli, in 1536. Since that +period Colucci has published (tom. xxvii.) a _Cronaca di Castel +Durante_, wherein he gives a full account of Luzio, and of others that +belong to that place. Bernardino, his grandfather, and Ottaviano, his +father, excelled in stucco, and had exercised their art in other places; +and he himself, who was living in 1589, is commended for his altarpieces +and other pictures, in the churches, both in his native city and other +places: and further, it is stated that he was employed by the duke to +paint at the Imperiale. He also makes honourable mention of a brother of +Luzio, and extols Giustino Episcopio, called formerly de' Salvolini, +who, in conjunction with Luzio, painted in the abbey the picture of the +Spirito Santo, and the other pictures around it. He also executed many +other works by himself in Castel Durante and elsewhere, and in Rome as +well, where he studied and resided for a considerable time. It is +probable that Luzio was, in the latter part of his life, assisted by +Agostino Apolonio, who was his sister's son, married in S. Angelo in +Vado, and who removed and settled in Castel Durante where he executed +works both in stucco and in oils, particularly at S. Francesco, and +succeeded alike to the business and the property of his maternal uncle. + +At Fratta, which is also in the state of Urbino, there died young, one +Flori, of whom scarcely any thing remains, except the Supper of our +Lord, at S. Bernardino. But this picture is composed in the manner of +the best period of art, and deserves commemoration. Not far from thence +is Citta di Castello, where, in the days of Vasari, flourished Gio. +Batista della Bilia, a fresco painter, and another Gio. Batista, +employed in the Palazzo Vitelli, (tom. v. p. 131). I know not whether it +was from him, or some other artist, that Avanzino Nucci had his first +instructions, who repairing to Rome, designed after the best examples, +and was a scholar and fellow labourer in many of the works of Niccolo +Circignano. He had a share in almost all the works under Sixtus, and +executed many others, in various churches and palaces. He possessed +facility and despatch, and a style not very dissimilar to that of his +master, though inferior in grandeur. He resided some time in Naples, and +worked also in his native place. There is a picture by him, of the +Slaughter of the Innocents, at S. Silvestro di Fabriano. Somewhat later +than he, was Sguazzino, noticed by Orlandi for the pictures painted at +the Gesu in Perugia; though he left better works in Citta di Castello, +as the S. Angelo, in the Duomo; and the lunettes, containing various +histories of our Lady, at the Spirito Santo, besides others in various +churches. He was not very correct in his drawing, but had a despatch and +a contrast of colours, and a general effect that entitled him to +approbation. + +Another considerable painter, though less known, was Gaspare Gasparrini, +of Macerata. He was of noble birth, and followed the art through +predilection, and painted both in fresco and oils. From the information +which I received from Macerata,[68] it seems he learned to paint from +Girolamo di Sermoneta.[69] However this may be, Gasparrini pursued a +similar path, although his manner is not so finished, if we may judge +from the two chapels at S. Venanzio di Fabriano, in one of which is the +Last Supper, and in the other the Baptism of Christ. Other subjects are +added on the side walls, and the best is that of S. Peter and S. John +healing the Sick, a charming composition, in the style of Raffaello. We +find by him, in his native place, a picture of the Stigmata, at the +Conventuals, and some cabinet pictures, in the collection of the Signori +Ferri, relations of the family of Gaspare. Others too are to be found, +but either doubtful in themselves, or injured by retouching. Padre +Civalli M. C., who wrote at the close of the sixteenth century, mentions +this master with high commendation, as may be seen on reference to the +_Antichita Picene_, tom. xxv. In a recent description of the pictures at +Ascoli, I find that a Sebastian Gasparrini, of Macerata, a scholar of +the Cav. Pomaranci, decorated a chapel of S. Biagio in that city with +historical paintings in fresco. But it is probable that this may be +Giuseppe Bastiani, the scholar of Gasparrini. Another chapel at the +Carmelites in Macerata, contains many pictures by him, with the date of +1594. + +Of Marcantonio di Tolentino, mentioned by Borghini in his account of the +Tuscan artists, and after him by Colucci (tom. xxv. p. 80), I do not +know whether or not he returned to practise his art in his native +country. In Caldarola, in the territory of Macerata, flourished a +Durante de' Nobili, a painter who formed himself on the style of +Michelangiolo. A picture of a Madonna by him is to be seen in Ascoli, at +S. Pier di Castello, on which he inscribed his name and country, and the +year 1571. From another school I believe arose a Simon de Magistris, a +painter as well as sculptor, who left many works in the province. One of +his pictures of S. Philip and S. James, in the Duomo of Osimo, in 1585, +discovers a poverty in the composition, and little felicity of +execution; but he appears to greater advantage, at a more advanced +period of life, in the works he left at Ascoli. There is one, of the +Rosario, at S. Domenico, where Orsini found much to commend in the +arrangement of the figures, in the design, and in the colouring. There +is another, of the same subject, at S. Rocco, which is preferred to the +former, except for the shortness of the figures, and which we have +described in writing of Andrea del Sarto, and afterwards of Taddeo +Zuccaro. For the same reason he reproaches Carlo Allegretti, who, in the +same city, committed a similar fault. He painted in various styles, as +may be seen from an Epiphany, in Bassano's manner, which he placed in +the cathedral, a picture which will apologize for the others. +Baldassini, in his Storia di Jesi, speaking of Colucci, records there +the priest Antonio Massi, who studied and gave to the world some +pictures in Bologna; and Antonio Sarti, whom I esteem superior to Massi; +praising highly his picture of the Circumcision, in the collegiate +church of Massaccio. This city gave birth to Paolo Pittori, who +ornamented his native place and its vicinity. These may serve as an +example of the provincial painters of this age. I purposely omit many +names, several of whom are fresco painters, who were indifferent +artists; and others who were below mediocrity. It is indeed true, that +many have escaped, from being unknown to me, and there still remain, in +the Roman state, many works highly beautiful, deserving of research and +notice. + +From the time of the preceding epoch, the art became divided into +various departments; and at this period, they began to multiply, in +consequence of many men of talent choosing to cultivate different +manners. After Jacopo del Conte and Scipione da Gaeta, the portraits of +Antonio de' Monti, a Roman, are celebrated, who was considered the first +among the portrait painters under Gregory; as also those of Prospero and +Livia Fontana, and of Antonio Scalvati; all three of the School of +Bologna; to whom may be added Pietro Fachetti, of Mantua. + +With regard to perspective, it was successfully cultivated by Jacopo +Barocci, commonly called Il Vignola, an illustrious name in +architecture; owing to which his celebrity in the other branches has +been overlooked. But it ought to be observed that his first studies were +directed to painting, in the school of Passarotti, in Bologna; until he +was led by the impulse of his genius, to apply himself to perspective, +and by the aid of that science, as he was accustomed to say, to +architecture, in which he executed some wonderful works, and amongst +others the palace of Caprarola. There, and I know not whether in other +places, are to be seen some pictures by him. As a writer, we shall refer +to him in the second index, where, omitting his other works, we shall +cite the two books which he wrote in this department of art. Great +progress was made in Rome, in the art of perspective, after Laureti, by +the genius of Gio. Alberti di Citta S. Sepolcro, whose eulogy I shall +not here stop to repeat, having already spoken of it in the first +volume. Baglione names two friends, Tarquinio di Viterbo and Giovanni +Zanna, of Rome; the first of whom painted landscapes, and the second +adorned them with figures. He mentions the two brothers, Conti, of +Ancona; Cesare, who excelled in arabesques, and Vincenzio in figures: +these artists painted for private persons. Marco da Faenza was much +employed under Gregory XIII., in arabesques, and the more elegant +decorations of the Vatican, and had also the direction of other artists. +Of him we shall make more particular mention amongst the artists of +Romagna. + +The landscapes in the Apostolic palace, and in various places of Rome, +were many of them painted by Matteo da Siena, and by Gio. Fiammingo, +with whom Taja makes us acquainted, in the ducal hall, and particularly +the two brothers Brilli, of Flanders, who painted both in fresco and +oil. Matteo always retained his _ultramontane_ manner, rather dry, and +not very true in colour. Paolo, who survived him, improved his style, +from the study of Titian and the Caracci, and was an excellent artist in +every department of landscape, and in the power of adapting it to +historical subjects. Italy abounds with his pictures. Two other +landscape painters also lived in Rome at this time, Fabrizio of Parma, +who may be ranked with Matteo, and Cesare, a Piedmontese, more attached +to the style of Paolo. Nor ought we to omit Filippo d'Angeli, who, from +his long residence in Naples, is called a Neapolitan, though he was born +in Rome, where, and as we have observed in Florence, he was highly +esteemed. His works are generally of a small size; his prospects are +painted with great care, and ornamented with figures admirably +introduced. There are also some battle pieces by him. + +But in battles and in hunting pieces, none in these times equalled +Antonio Tempesti. He was followed, though at a considerable interval, by +Francesco Allegrini, a name not new to those who have read the preceding +pages. To these we may add Marzio di Colantonio, a Roman, though he has +left fewer works in Rome than in Turin, where he was employed by the +Cardinal, prince of Savoy. He was also accomplished in arabesque and +landscapes, and painted small frescos in an agreeable manner. + +It is at this epoch that Vasari describes the manufacture of earthen +vases, painted with a variety of colours, with such exquisite art, that +they seemed to rival the oil pictures of the first masters. He pretends +that this art was unknown to the ancients, and it is at any rate certain +that it was not carried to such perfection by them. Signor Gio. Batista +Passeri, who composed _l'Istoria delle pitture in Majolica fatte in +Pesaro e ne' luoghi circonvicini_, derives the art from Luca della +Robbia, a Florentine, who discovered a mode of giving to the clay a +glazing to resist the injuries of time. In this manner were formed the +bassirelievi and altars which still exist, and the pavements which are +described at page 81. Others derive this art from Cina, whence it passed +to the island of Majolica, and from thence into Italy; and this +invention was particularly cultivated in the state of Urbino. The coarse +manufacture had been for a long time in use. The fine earthenware +commenced there about 1500, and was manufactured by an excellent artist, +of whom there exists in the convent of Domenicans, of Gubbio, a statue +of an abbot, S. Antonio, well modelled and painted, and many services in +various noble houses with his name _M. Giorgio da Ugubio_. The year is +also inscribed, from which it appears that his manufacture of these +articles began in 1519, and ended in 1537. At this time Urbino also +cultivated the plastic art, and the individual of his day, who most +excelled, was Federigo Brandani. Whoever thinks that I exaggerate, may +view the Nativity, which he left at S. Joseph, and say, whether, except +Begarelli of Modena, there is any one that can be compared with him for +liveliness and grace in his figures, for variety and propriety of +attitude, and for natural expression of the accessory parts; the +animals, which seem alive; the satchels and a key suspended; the humble +furniture, and other things admirably appropriate, and all wonderfully +represented: the figure of the divine Infant is not so highly finished, +and is perhaps the object which least surprises us. Nor in the meanwhile +did the people of Urbino neglect to advance the art of painted vases, in +which fabric a M. Rovigo of Urbino is much celebrated. The subjects +which were first painted in porcelain, were poor in design, but were +highly valued for the colouring, particularly for a most beautiful red, +which was subsequently disused, either because the secret was lost, or +because it did not amalgamate with the other colours. + +But the art did not attain the perfection which Vasari describes, until +about the year 1540, and was indebted for it to Orazio Fontana, of +Urbino, whose vases, for the polish of the varnish, for the figures, and +for their forms, may perhaps be ranked before any that have come down to +us from antiquity. He practised this art in many parts of the state, but +more especially in Castel Durante, now called Urbania, which possesses a +light clay, extremely well adapted for every thing of this nature. His +brother, Flamminio, worked in conjunction with him, and was afterwards +invited to Florence by the grand duke of Tuscany, and introduced there a +beautiful manner of painting vases. This information is given us by the +Sig. Lazzari, and for which the Florentine history of art ought to +express its obligations to him. The establishment of this fine taste in +Urbino, was, in a great measure, owing to the Duke Guidobaldo, who was a +prince enthusiastically devoted to the fine arts, and who established a +manufactory, and supported it at his own expense. He did not allow the +painters of these vases to copy their own designs, but obliged them to +execute those of the first artists, and particularly those of Raffaello; +and gave them for subjects many designs of Sanzio never before seen, and +which formed part of his rich collection. Hence these articles are +commonly known in Italy by the name of Raphael ware, and from thence +arose certain idle traditions respecting the father of Raffaello, and +Raffaello himself; and the appellation of _boccalajo di Urbino_ (the +potter of Urbino), was in consequence applied, as we shall mention, to +that great master.[70] Some designs of Michelangiolo, and many of +Raffaele del Colle, and other distinguished masters, were adopted for +this purpose. In the life of Batista Franco, we are informed that that +artist made an infinite number of designs for this purpose, and in that +of Taddeo Zuccaro it is related that all the designs of the service, +which was manufactured for Philip II., were entrusted to him. Services +of porcelain were also prepared there for Charles V. and other princes, +and the duke ordered not a few for his own court. Several of his vases +were transferred to, and are now in the S. Casa di Loreto; and the Queen +of Sweden was so much charmed with them, that she offered to replace +them with vases of silver. A large collection of them passed into the +hands of the Grand Duke of Florence, in common with other things +inherited from the Duke of Urbino, and specimens of them are to be seen +in the ducal gallery, some with the names of the places where they were +manufactured. There are many, too, to be found in the houses of the +nobility of Rome, and in the state of Urbino, and, indeed, in all parts +of Italy. The art was in its highest perfection for about the space of +twenty years, or from 1540 to 1560; and the specimens of that period are +not unworthy a place in any collection of art. If we are to believe +Lazzari, the secret of the art died with the Fontani, and the practice +daily declined until it ended in a common manufactory and object of +merchandize. Whoever wishes for further information on this subject, may +consult the above cited Passeri, who inserted his treatise in the fourth +volume of the Calogeriani, not forgetting the Dizionario Urbinate, and +the Cronaca Durantina. + +The art of painting on leather deserves little attention; nevertheless, +as Baglione mentions it with commendation in his life of Vespasian +Strada, a fresco painter of some merit in Rome, I did not think it right +to pass it over without this slight notice. + +[Footnote 56: Dolce, Dial. della Pittura, p. 11.] + +[Footnote 57: We shall notice him again in the school of Bologna, where +he passed his best years, and also in the Roman School, in which he was +a master. Sebastiano had also another scholar, or imitator, as we find a +Communion of S. Lucia, painted in his style, in the collegiate church of +Spello. The artist inscribes his name, _Camillus Bagazotus Camers +faciebat_.--_Orsini Risposta_, p. 16.] + +[Footnote 58: He painted the S. Catherine in S. Agostino, the Presepio +in S. Silvestro at Monte Cavallo, and left works in many other +churches.] + +[Footnote 59: He painted some facades in Rome. In the oratory of S. +Giovanni Decollato, there remains the Dance before Herod, not very +correctly designed, and feeble in colouring; but the perspective, and +the richness of the drapery in the Venetian style, may confer some value +on the picture.] + +[Footnote 60: Bellori, Vite de' Pittori, p. 20.] + +[Footnote 61: Idea de' Pittori, Scultori, e Architetti, reprinted in the +Lett. Pitt. tom. vi. p. 147.] + +[Footnote 62: The charming poet Lasca noticed this work as soon as the +Cupola was opened to public view, in a madrigal inserted in the edition +of his poems in the year 1741. He blamed Giorgio d'Arezzo (Vasari) more +than Federigo, that for sordid motives he had designed and undertaken a +work, which in the judgment of the Florentines, injured the Cupola of +Brunellesco, which was the admiration of every one, and which Benvenuto +Cellini was accustomed to call, _la Maraviglia delle cose belle_. He +concludes by saying, that the Florentine people + + "Non sara mai di lamentarsi stanco + Se forse un di non le si da di bianco."] + +[Footnote 63: This is not the large picture of the Calumny of Apelles +painted in distemper for the Orsini family, and engraved, and which is +now to be seen in the Palazzo Lante, and is one of the most finished +productions of Federigo.] + +[Footnote 64: The same inflated style has of late become prevalent in +some parts of Italy, with no little injury to our language and to good +taste. In the _Arte di vedere_ we find for example _le pieghe +longitudinali, la trombeggiata resurrezzione del Bello_, &c. Some one +has also attempted to illustrate the qualities of the art of painting by +those of music, which has given occasion to a clever Maestro di Capella +to write a humorous letter, an extract of which is given in the _Difesa +del Ratti_, pag. 15, &c., and is the most entertaining and least ill +tempered thing to be met with in that work.] + +[Footnote 65: A scholar of Daniel di Volterra, from whom he inherited +these designs, with many others by the same great master. He painted but +little, and generally from the designs of others, and which he did not +execute in a happy manner; and Baglione says, his pictures were +deficient in taste.] + +[Footnote 66: There remained, in the time of Pascoli, some _pitture +saporite_, as he terms them, by this artist, at Spoleto, where Piero +established himself, and in the neighbouring towns; and which often pass +for the works of Pietro Perugino, from a similarity of names. It appears +however that Cesarei was desirous of preventing this error, as he +inscribed his name Perinus Perusinus, or Perinus Cesareus Perusinus, as +in the picture of the Rosary at Scheggino, painted in 1595. Vasari, in +the life of Agnol Gaddi, names among his scholars Stefano da Verona, and +says, that "all his works were imitated and drawn by that Pietro di +Perugia, the painter in miniature, who ornamented the books at the +cathedral of Siena, in the Library of Pope Pius, and who worked well in +fresco." These words have puzzled more than one person. Pascoli (P. P. +p. 134.) and Mariotti (L. P. p. 59.) consider them as written of Piero +Cesarei; as if a man born in the golden age should so far extol an old +_trecentista_; or as if the canons of Siena could approve such a style +after possessing Razzi and Vanni. Padre della Valle interprets it to +mean Pietro Vannucci, and not finding the books of the Choir adorned in +such a style as he wished, reproves Vasari for having confounded so +great a master with a common fresco painter and a _Miniatore_. It is +most likely that this _Miniatore_ and _Frescante_ of Vasari was a third +Pietro, hitherto unknown in Perugia, and whom we shall notice in the +Venetian School.] + +[Footnote 67: See Il Sig. Cav. Reposati _Appendice del tomo ii. della +Zecca di Gubbio_; and the Sig. Conte Ranghiasci in the _Elenco de' +Professori Eugubini_, inserted in vol. iv. of Vasari (ediz. Senese), at +the end of the volume.] + +[Footnote 68: I am indebted for it, to the noble Sig. Cav. Ercolani, who +obligingly transmitted it to me, after procuring it from the Sig. Cav. +Piani and the Sig. Paolo Antonio Ciccolini, of Macerata.] + +[Footnote 69: In a former edition, on the authority of a MS. I called +him Serj, and was doubtful whether Siciolante was not his surname. Sig. +Brandolese has informed me of an epitaph, in the hands of Mons. +Galletti, in which he is called Siciolante, whence Serio was most +probably his surname.] + +[Footnote 70: Another probable cause of this appellation, is to be found +in the name of Raffaello Ciarla, who was one of the most celebrated +painters of this ware, and was appointed by the duke to convey a large +assortment of it to the court of Spain. Hence the vulgar, when they +heard the name of Raffaello, might attribute them to Sanzio.] + + + + + ROMAN SCHOOL. + + FOURTH EPOCH. + + _Restoration of the Roman School by Barocci, and other + Artists, Subjects of the Roman State, and Foreigners._ + + +The numerous works carried on by the Pontiffs Gregory and Sixtus, and +continued under Clement VIII., while they in a manner corrupted the pure +taste of the Roman School, contributed, nevertheless, at the same time, +to regenerate it. Rome, from the desire of possessing the best specimens +of art, became by degrees the resort of the best painters, as it had +formerly been in the time of Leo X. Every place sent thither its first +artists, as the cities of Greece formerly sent forth the most valiant of +their citizens to contend for the palm and the crown at Olympia. +Barocci, of Urbino, was the first restorer of the Roman School. He had +formed himself on the style of Correggio, a style the best calculated to +reform an age which had neglected the true principles of art, and +particularly colouring and chiaroscuro. Happy indeed had it been, had he +remained in Rome, and retained the direction of the works which were +entrusted to Nebbia, Ricci, and Circignani! He was there, indeed, for +some time, and assisted the Zuccari in the apartments of Pius IV., but +was compelled to fly in consequence of some pretended friends having, in +an execrable manner, administered poison to him through jealousy of his +talents, and so materially injured his health, that he could only paint +at intervals, and for a short space of time. Forsaking Rome, therefore, +he resided for some time in Perugia, and a longer period in Urbino, from +whence he despatched his pictures from time to time to Rome and other +places. By means of these, the Tuscan School derived great benefit +through Cigoli, Passignano, and Vanni, as we have before observed; and +it is not improbable, that Roncalli and Baglione may have profited by +them, if we may judge from some works of both the one and the other of +these artists to be seen in various places. + +However this might be, at the commencement of the seventeenth century, +these five were in the highest repute as artists who were not corrupted +by the prevailing taste. An idea had subsisted from the time of Clement +VIII., of decorating the church of the Vatican, with the History of S. +Peter, and of employing in that work the best artists. The execution of +this design occupied a considerable time, the pictures being reduced to +mosaic, as the painting on wood and slate did not resist the humidity of +the church. The five before mentioned artists were selected to paint +each a subject; and Bernardo Castelli, one of the first painters of the +Genoese School, was the sixth, and the least celebrated. These artists +were all liberally paid, and the five first raised to the rank of +_Cavalieri_, and their works had a beneficial influence on the rising +generation, and proved that the reign of the mannerists was on the +decline. Caravaggio gave it a severe shock by his powerful and natural +style, and Baglione attests, that this young artist, by the great +applause which he gained, excited the jealousy of Federigo Zuccaro, then +advanced in years, and entered into competition with Cesare, his former +master. But the most serious blow the mannerists received, was from the +Caracci and their school. Annibale arrived in Rome not much before the +year 1600, invited by the Cardinal Farnese to paint his gallery; a work +which occupied him for nearly eight years, and for which he received +only five hundred scudi, a sum so inadequate that we can scarcely +believe it to be correct. He also decorated several churches. Lodovico, +his cousin, was with him for a short time; Agostino, his brother, for a +longer period; and he had his scholars with him, amongst whom we may +enumerate Domenichino, Guido, Albano, and Lanfranc. They came thither at +different periods, matured in their talents, and able to assist their +master not only in execution but design. + +Rome had for some years seen only the two extreme styles of painting. +Caravaggio and his followers were mere _naturalists_; Arpino and his +scholars pure idealists. Annibale introduced a style founded in nature, +yet ennobled by the ideal, and supported his ideal by his knowledge of +nature. He was at first denounced as cold and insipid, because he was +not affected and extravagant, or rather because great merit was never +unaccompanied by envy. But though envy for a time, by her insidious +suggestions and subterfuges, may derive a mean pleasure in persecuting a +man of genius, she can never hope to succeed in blinding the public, who +ever decide impartially on the merits of individuals, and whose judgment +is not disregarded even by princes. The Farnese gallery was opened, and +Rome beheld in it a grandeur of style, which might claim a place after +the Sistine chapel, and the chambers of the Vatican. It was then +discovered, that the preceding Pontiffs had only lavished their wealth +for the corruption of art; and that the true secret which the great +ought to put in practice lay in a few words: a judicious selection of +masters, and a more liberal allowance of time. Hence, though somewhat +tardy indeed in consequence of the death of Annibale, came the order +from Paul V., to distribute the work among the Bolognese; for so the +Caracci and their scholars were at that time designated; one of whom, +Ottaviano Mascherini, was the Pope's architect.[71] A new spirit was +thus introduced into the Roman School, which, if it did not wholly +destroy the former extravagance of style, still in a great degree +repressed it. The pontificate of Gregory XV. (Lodovisi) was short, but +still, through national partiality, highly favourable to the Bolognese, +amongst whom we may reckon Guercino da Cento, although a follower of +Caravaggio rather than Annibale. He was the most employed in St. +Peter's, and in the villa Lodovisi. This reign was followed by the +pontificate of Urban VIII., favourable both to poets and painters, +though, perhaps, more so to the latter than the former; since it +embraced, besides the Caracci and their school, Poussin, Pietro da +Cortona, and the best landscape painters that the world had seen. The +leading masters then all found employment, either from the Pope himself, +or his nephew the Cardinal, or other branches of that family, and were +engaged in the decoration of St. Peter's, or their own palaces, or in +the new church of the Capucins, where the altarpieces were distributed +among Lanfranc, Guido, Sacchi, Berrettini, and other considerable +artists. The same liberal plan was followed by Alexander VII. a prince +of great taste, and by his successors. It was during the reign of +Alexander, that Christina, Queen of Sweden, established herself in Rome, +and her passion for the fine arts inspired and maintained not a few of +the painters whom we shall mention. It must indeed be premised, that we +are under the necessity of deferring our notice of the greatest names of +this epoch to another place, as they belong of right to the school of +Bologna, and some we have already recorded in the Florentine School. But +to proceed. + +Federigo Barocci might from the time of his birth be placed in the +preceding epoch, but his merit assigns him to this period, in which I +comprise the reformers of art. He learned the principles of his art from +Batista Franco, a Venetian by birth, but a Florentine in style. This +artist going young to Rome, to prosecute his studies there, was struck +with the grand style of Michelangiolo, and copied both there and in +Florence, all his works, as well his paintings and drawings as statues. +He became an excellent designer, but was not equally eminent as a +colourist, having turned his attention at a late period to that branch +of the art. In Rome he may be seen in some evangelical subjects painted +in fresco, in a chapel in the Minerva, and preferred by Vasari to any +other of his works. He also decorated the choir of the Metropolitan +church of Urbino in fresco, and there left a Madonna in oil, placed +between S. Peter and S. Paul, in the best Florentine style, except that +the figure of S. Paul is somewhat attenuated. There is a grand picture +in oil by him in the tribune of S. Venanzio, in Fabriano; containing the +Virgin, with the titular and two other protecting Saints. In the +sacristy of the cathedral of Osimo, I saw many small pictures +representing the life of Christ, painted by him in the year 1547, as we +learn from the archives of that church; a thing of rare occurrence, as +Franco was scarcely ever known to paint pictures of this class. Under +this artist, whilst he resided in Urbino, Barocci designed and studied +from the antique. He then went to Pesaro, where he employed himself in +copying after Titian, and was instructed in geometry and perspective by +Bartolommeo Genga, the architect, the son of Girolamo and the uncle of +Barocci. From thence he passed to Rome, and acquired a more correct +style of design, and adopted the manner of Raffaello, in which style he +painted the S. Cecilia for the Duomo of Urbino, and in a still more +improved and original manner, the S. Sebastian, a work which Mancini, in +point of solid taste, sets above all the works of Barocci. But the +amenity and gracefulness of his style led him almost instinctively to +the imitation of Correggio, in whose manner he painted in his native +city the delightful picture of S. Simon and S. Judas, in the church of +the Conventuals. + +Nevertheless this was not the style which he permanently adopted as his +own, but as a free imitation of that great master. In the heads of his +children and of his female figures, he approaches nearly to him; also in +the easy flow of his drapery, in the pure contour, in the mode of +foreshortening his figures; but in general his design is not so grand, +and his chiaroscuro less ideal; his tints are lucid and well arranged, +and bear a resemblance to the beautiful hues of Correggio, but they have +neither his strength nor truth. It is however delightful to see the +great variety of colours he has employed, so exquisitely blended by his +pencil, and there is perhaps no music more finely harmonized to the ear, +than his pictures are to the eye. This is in a great measure the effect +of the chiaroscuro, to which he paid great attention, and which he was +the first to introduce into the schools of Lower Italy. In order to +obtain an accurate chiaroscuro, he formed small statues of earthenware, +or wax, in which art he did not yield the palm to the most experienced +sculptors. In the composition and expression of every figure, he +consulted the truth. He made use of models too, in order to obtain the +most striking attitudes, and those most consonant to nature; and in +every garment, and every fold of it, he did not shew a line that was not +to be found in the model. Having made his design, he prepared a cartoon +the size of his intended picture, from which he traced the contours on +his canvass; he then on a small scale tried the disposition of his +colours, and proceeded to the execution of his work. Before colouring, +however, he formed his chiaroscuro very accurately after the best +ancient masters, (vol. i. p. 187,) of which method he left traces in a +Madonna and Saints, which I saw in Rome in the Albani palace, a picture +which I imagine the artist was prevented by death from finishing. +Another picture unfinished, and on that account very instructive and +highly prized, is in possession of the noble family of Graziani in +Perugia. To conclude, perfection was his aim in every picture, a maxim +which insures excellence to artists of genius. + +Bellori, who wrote the life of Barocci, has given us a catalogue of his +pictures. There are few found which are not of religious subjects; some +portraits, and the Burning of Troy, which he painted in two pictures, +one of which now adorns the Borghese gallery. Except on this occasion +his pencil may be said to have been dedicated to religion; so devout, so +tender, and so calculated to awaken feelings of piety, are the +sentiments expressed in his pictures. The Minerva, in Rome, possesses +his Institution of the Sacrament, a picture which Clement X. employed +him to paint; the Vallicella has his two pictures of the Visitation and +the Presentation. In the Duomo of Genoa is a Crucifixion by him, with +the Virgin and S. John, and S. Sebastian; in that of Perugia, the +Deposition from the Cross; in that of Fermo, S. John the Evangelist; in +that of Urbino, the Last Supper of our Lord. Another Deposition, and a +picture of the Rosario, and mysteries, is in Sinigaglia; and, in the +neighbouring city of Pesaro, the calling of St. Andrew, the +Circumcision, the Ecstacy of S. Michelina on Mount Cavalry, a single +figure, which fills the whole picture, and esteemed, it is said, by +Simon Cantarini, as his masterpiece. Urbino, besides the pictures +already noticed, and some others, possesses a S. Francis in prayer, at +the Capucins; and at the Conventuals, the great picture of the Perdono, +in which he consumed seven years. The perspective, the beautiful play of +light, the speaking countenances, the colour and harmony of the work, +cannot be imagined by any one who has not seen it. The artist himself +was delighted with it, wrote his name on it, and etched it. His +Annunciation, at Loreto, is a beautiful picture, and the same subject at +Gubbio, unfinished; the Martyrdom of S. Vitale, at the church of that +saint, in Ravenna, and the picture of the Misericordia, painted for the +Duomo of Arezzo, and afterwards transferred to the ducal gallery of +Florence. The same subject exists also in the hospital of Sinigaglia, +copied there by the scholars of Barocci, who have repeated the pictures +of their master in numerous churches of the state of Urbino, and of +Umbria, and in some in Piceno, and these are, occasionally, so well +painted, that one might imagine he had finished them himself. + +The same may be said of some of his cabinet pictures, which are to be +seen in collections; such is the Virgin adoring the Infant Christ, which +I remarked in the Ambrosian Library at Milan, in the Casa Bolognetti in +Rome, and in a noble house in Cortona, and which I find mentioned also +in the imperial gallery at Vienna. A head of the _Ecce Homo_ has also +been often repeated, and some Holy Families, which he varied in a +singular manner; I have seen a S. Joseph sleeping, and another S. +Joseph, in the Casa Zaccaria, in the act of raising a tapestry; and in +the Repose in Egypt, which was transferred from the sacristy of the +Jesuits at Perugia to the chamber of the Pope, he is represented +plucking some cherries for the Infant Christ, a picture, which seems +painted to rival Correggio. Bellori remarks, that he was so fond of it +that he frequently repeated it. + +The school of Barocci extended itself through this duchy and the +neighbouring places; although his best imitator was Vanni of Siena, who +had never studied in Urbino. The disciples of Federigo were very +numerous, but remaining in general in their own country they did not +disseminate the principles, and few of them inherited the true spirit of +their master's style: the most confining themselves to the exterior of +the art of colouring; and even this was deteriorated by the use of large +quantities of cinnabar and azure, colours which their master had +employed with greater moderation; and they were not unfrequently +condemned for this practice, as Bellori and Algarotti remark. The flesh +tints under their pencil often became livid, and the contours too much +charged. I cannot give an accurate catalogue of these scholars, but +independent of the writers on the works in Urbino, and other guides and +traditions in various parts, I am certain, that if they were not +instructed by Barocci himself, they must at all events, from their +country, and from the period at which they flourished, have formed +themselves on his pictures. There is little to be observed respecting +Francesco Baldelli, the nephew and scholar of Federigo. I do not find +any memorial of him, except a picture which he placed in the Capella +Danzetta, of S. Agostino, in Perugia, and which is mentioned by +Crispolti, in his history of that city, at page 133. + +Of Bertuzzi and Porino I have not seen any works, except copies in the +style of Barocci, or feeble productions of their own. An excellent +copyist was found in Alessandro Vitali of Urbino, in which city, at the +Suore della Torre, is found the Annunciation of Loreto, copied by him in +such a manner that it might be taken for the original picture. Barocci +was pleased with his talent, and willingly retouched some of his +pictures, and probably favoured him in this way in the S. Agnes and S. +Agostino, placed by Vitali, the one in the Duomo, the other in the +church of the Eremitani, where he may be said to surpass himself. +Antonio Viviani, called il Sordo of Urbino, also made some very accurate +copies of his master, which are still preserved by his noble posterity. +He too was a great favourite of Federigo, and was in his native city +called his nephew; although Baglione, who wrote his life, is silent on +this head. He left some pictures in Urbino, in the best style of +Barocci; particularly the S. Donato, in a suburban church of the saint +of that name. This however cannot be called his own style, for he +visited Rome at various times, where, having received instructions from +Mascherini, and employed himself for a time in the imitation of Cesari, +and of the rapid manner of the practicians recorded by us, he exhibited +in that metropolis various styles, and some of the most feeble which he +adopted. Assuredly his fresco pictures, which remain in various places +in Rome, do not support the opinion which is inspired by a view of the +vast work which he conducted in the church de' Filippini at Fano. There, +in the vault, and in the chapel, are executed various histories of the +chief of the apostles to whom the church is dedicated. His style in +these exhibits a beautiful imitation of Barocci and Raffaello, in which +the manner of the latter predominates. Lazzari maintains that this +Antonio Viviani repaired to Genoa, and that Soprani changed his name to +Antonio Antoniani; thus giving to Barocci a scholar who never existed. +Of this supposition we shall speak with more propriety in the Genoese +School. Another Viviani is mentioned by tradition in Urbino, Lodovico, a +brother or cousin of the preceding. This painter sometimes imitates +Barocci, as in the S. Girolamo in the Duomo, and sometimes approaches +the Venetian style, as in the Epiphany at the Monastery della Torre. + +Another painter almost unknown in the history of art, but of singular +merit, is Filippo Bellini of Urbino, of whom I have not seen any works +in his native place, but a number in oil and fresco scattered through +many cities of the March. He is in general an imitator of Barocci, as in +the picture of the Circumcision in the church of Loreto, in the +Espousals of the Virgin in the Duomo in Ancona, and in a Madonna +belonging to the Counts Leopardi at Osimo. He affords, however, +sometimes an example of a vigorous and lively style, and exhibits a +powerful colouring, and a grandeur of composition. He discovered this +character in some works in Fabriano in his best time, and particularly +in the Opere della Misericordia, which are fourteen subjects taken from +Scripture, and represented in the church della Carita.[72] They are +beheld by cultivated foreigners with admiration, and it appears strange +that such a painter, whose life and works are alike worthy of +remembrance, should not have found a place in the catalogues. He is also +extolled for his works in fresco, in the chapel of the Conventuals in +Montalboddo, where he has represented the Martyrdom of S. Gaudenzio, and +which is described in the guide book of that city. + +We may next notice Antonio Cimatori, called also Antonio Visacci, not +only by the vulgar, but also by Girolamo Benedetti, in the Relazione, +which in the lifetime of the artist he composed on the festival at +Urbino, in honour of Giulia de' Medici, married to the Prince Federigo. +Cimatori was there engaged to paint the arches and pictures, which were +exhibited, in conjunction with the younger Viviani, Mazzi, and Urbani. +His forte lay in pen drawing, and in chiaroscuro; as may be seen from +his Prophets, in a grand style, transferred from the Duomo to the +apostolic palace. He did not leave many works in his native place; but +amongst them is his picture of S. Monica, at S. Agostino. His copies +from the original pictures of Barocci are to be found in various places, +particularly in the Duomo of Cagli. He resided, and worked for a long +time in Pesaro, where he instructed Giulio Cesare Begni, a bold and +animated artist, a good perspective painter, and in a great degree a +follower of the Venetian School, in which he studied and painted. He +left many works in Udine, and many more in his native place, in a rapid +and unfinished style, but of a good general effect. In the _Descrizione +odeporica della Spagna_, (tom. ii. p. 130), we find Giovanni and +Francesco d'Urbino mentioned, who about the year 1575, it seems, were +both engaged by the court to decorate the Escurial. The latter came +early in life to Spain, and being endowed with a noble genius, soon +became an excellent artist, and is extolled by his contemporary P. +Siguenza, and by all who have seen the Judgment of Solomon, and his +other pictures in a choir in that magnificent place: he died young. That +these works belong to the pencil of Barocci might be suspected from +their era, and the practice of that splendid court, which was in the +habit of engaging in its service the first masters of Italy or their +scholars. But not possessing positive information, nor finding any +indication of their style, I dare not assign these two to Barocci. I +feel a pleasure however in restoring them to the glorious country from +which they had been separated. + +Passing from the fellow countrymen of Barocci to foreigners, some +persons have imagined Andrea Lilio, of Ancona, to have been his +disciple. I rather consider him to have been an imitator of him, but +more in respect to colour than any thing else. He had a share in the +works which were carried on under Sixtus, and painted for the churches, +chiefly in fresco, and sometimes in partnership with Viviani of Urbino. +He went to Rome when young, and lived there until the reign of Paul V., +but suffered both in body and mind from domestic misfortunes, which +interrupted not a little his progress in art. Ancona possesses several +of his pictures in fresco, varying in their merit, as well as some of +his oil pictures at the Paolotti in S. Agostino, and in the sacristy +some pieces, from the Life of S. Nicholas, highly prized. The most +celebrated is his Martyrdom of S. Lorenzo, by many ascribed to Barocci, +for which I refer to the _Guida_ of Montalboddo, and the church of S. +Catherine, where it is placed. His greatest work is the altarpiece in +the Duomo at Fano, representing all the saints, containing a vast number +of figures well grouped and well contrasted, and if not very correctly +designed, still possessing Barocci's tone of colour. + +Giorgio Picchi of Durante I included in a former edition among the +scholars of Barocci, in conformity to the general opinion prevalent in +Pesaro and Rimini; but I have not found this confirmed in the chronicle +of Castel Durante, published by Colucci, which contains a particular +account of this artist, written soon after his death. I am therefore +inclined to think him only a follower, like Lilio, with whom he was +associated in Rome in the time of Sixtus V., if the chronicle is to be +relied on. It relates that he worked in the library of the Vatican, at +the Scala Santa, and at the Palazzo di S. Giovanni; and it appears +unaccountable that all this was unknown to Baglione, who narrates the +same circumstances of Lilio and others, and makes no mention of Picchi. +However this may be, he was certainly a considerable artist, and was +attached to the style of Barocci, which was in vogue at that period, as +we may perceive from his great picture of the Cintura, in the church of +S. Agostino, in Rimini, and still more from the history of S. Marino, +which he painted in the church of that saint in the same city. Others of +his works are to be found both in oil and fresco in Urbino, in his +native place, at Cremona, and elsewhere; and although on a vast scale, +embracing whole oratories and churches, they could not have cost him any +great labour, from the rapid manner which he had acquired in Rome. + +In S. Ginesio, a place in the March, Domenico Malpiedi is considered as +belonging to Federigo's school, and of him there are preserved in the +collegiate church, the Martyrdoms of S. Ginesio and S. Eleuterio, which +are highly commended. From Colucci we learn that there also remain other +works by him; and from the prices paid, we may conclude that he was +esteemed an excellent artist. He was living in 1596, and about the same +time there flourished also another Malpiedi, who painted a Deposition +from the Cross in S. Francesco di Osimo, and inscribed on it _Franciscus +Malpedius di S. Ginesio_, a picture feeble in composition, deficient in +expression, and little resembling the school of Barocci, except in a +distant approximation of colour. + +The _Guida_ of Pesaro assigns to the same school Terenzio Terenzj, +called il Rondolino, whom it characterises as an eminent painter, and of +whom there exist four specimens in public, and many more in the +neighbourhood of the city (page 80). It is also mentioned that he was +employed by the Cardinal della Rovere in Rome, and that he placed a +picture in the church of S. Silvestro. The picture of S. Silvestro _in +capite_, which represents the Madonna, attended by Saints, is ascribed +by Titi to a Terenzio of Urbino, who, according to Baglione, served the +Cardinal Montalto. It is most probable, that in the records of Pesaro +there arose some equivoque on the name of the cardinal, and that these +two painters might, or rather ought to be merged in one. Terenzio +Rondolino, it appears to me, is the same as Terenzio d'Urbino, and very +probably in Rome took his name from Urbino, the capital of Pesaro. But +by whatever name this painter may be distinguished, we learn from +Baglione that Terenzio d'Urbino was a noted cheat; and that, after +having sold to inexperienced persons many of his own pictures for those +of ancient masters, he attempted to pass the same deceit upon the +Cardinal Peretti, the nephew of Sixtus V. and his own patron, offering +to his notice one of his own pieces as a Raphael: but the fraud was +detected, and Terenzio in consequence banished from the court; a +circumstance which he took to heart, and died whilst yet young. + +Two brothers, Felice and Vincenzio Pellegrini, born and resident in +Perugia, are recorded by Orlandi and Pascoli, as scholars of Barocci. +The first became an excellent designer, and in the pontificate of +Clement VIII. was called to Rome, probably to assist Cesari, though it +is not known that he left any work in his own name. Some copies after +Barocci by him exist in Perugia, and it is well known that his master +was highly satisfied with his labours in that line. The other brother is +mentioned by Bottari in the notes to his life of Raffaello; and I +recollect having seen in Perugia a picture in the sacristy of S. Philip, +in rather a hard manner, in which it is difficult to recognize the style +of his supposed master. It is possible that these two artists might have +had their first instructions from Barocci, and that they afterwards +returned to another manner. A similar instance occurs in Ventura Marzi. +In the Biographical Dictionary of the Painters of Urbino he is given to +the school of Barocci. His manner however is different, and I should say +bad, if all his pictures were similar to that of S. Uomobuono, which I +saw in the sacristy of the metropolitan church; but he did indeed paint +some better, and it is an ancient maxim, that to improve we must +sometimes err. Benedetto Bandiera, of Perugia, who approaches nearer to +the style of Barocci than most others, is said to have been a relative +of Vanni, from whom he derived that manner, if we may believe Orlandi. +But Pascoli, both on this point, and on the period in which he +flourished, confutes him, and considers him to have been instructed by +Barocci in Urbino for many years, and that afterwards he became a +diligent observer of all his pictures which he could discover in other +places. + +Whilst Italy was filled with the fame of Barocci, there came to Urbino, +and resided in his house for some time, Claudio Ridolfi, called also +Claudio Veronese, from his native city, of which he was a noble. He was +there instructed by Dario Pozzo, an author of few but excellent works, +and after these first instructions he remained many years without +further applying himself. Being afterwards compelled by necessity to +practise the art, he became the scholar of Paolo, and the rival of the +Bassani; and not finding employment in his native place, which then +abounded with painters, he removed to Rome, and from thence to Urbino. +It is said that he derived from Federigo the amenity of his style, and +the beautiful airs of his heads. He married in Urbino, and afterwards +fixed his residence in the district of Corinaldo, where, and in the +neighbouring places, he left a great number of pictures, which yield +little in tone to the best colourists of his native school, and are +often conducted with a design, a sobriety, and a delicacy sufficient to +excite their envy. Ridolfi, who wrote a brief life of him, enumerates +scarcely one half of his works. There are some at Fossombrone, Cantiano, +and Fabriano; and Rimino possesses a Deposition from the Cross, a +beautiful composition. There are several mentioned in the _Guida di +Montalboddo_, lately edited. Urbino is rich in them, where the Nascita +del S. Precursore, (the Birth of S. John the Baptist), at S. Lucia, and +the Presentation of the Virgin at the Spirito Santo, are highly valued. +Many of his works are also to be seen in the Palazzo Albani, and in +other collections of the nobility in Urbino. He there indeed formed a +school, which gave birth to Cialdieri, of whom there are works +remaining, both public and private; the most noted of which is a +Martyrdom of S. John, at the church of S. Bartholomew. He possessed a +facility and elegance of style, was highly accomplished in landscape, +which he often introduced into his pictures, and is remarkable for his +accurate perspective. Urbinelli, of Urbino, and Cesare Maggieri[73] of +the same city, lived also about this time. The first was a vigorous +painter, an excellent colourist, and partial to the Venetian style. The +second an industrious artist, inclining to the style of Barocci and +Roman School. The history of art does not assign either of these to the +school of Ridolfi; but there is a greater probability of the first +rather than the second belonging to it. Another painter of uncertain +school, but who partakes more of Claudio than of Barocci, is Patanazzi, +who is mentioned in the Galleria de' Pittori Urbinati, (v. Coluc. tom. +xvi.), and poetic incense is bestowed on his _risentito pennello e +l'ottima invenzione_. I have seen by him in a chapel of the Duomo a +Marriage of the Virgin, the figures not large, but well coloured and +correctly drawn, if indeed some of them may not be thought rather +attenuated than slender and elegant. A celebrated scholar of Ridolfi, +Benedetto Marini, of Urbino, went to Piacenza, where he left some highly +valued pictures in several churches, in which the style of Barocci is +mixed with the Lombard and Venetian. The work which excites our greatest +admiration is the Miracle of the Loaves in the Desert, which he painted +in the refectory of the Conventuals in 1625. It is one of the largest +compositions in oil which is to be seen, well grouped and well +contrasted, and displaying uncommon powers.[74] I should not hesitate to +prefer the scholar to the master in grandeur of idea and vigour of +execution, though in the fundamental principles of the art he may not be +equal to him. The history of his life, as well as his works, scattered +in that neighbourhood, in Pavia, and elsewhere, were deserving of +commemoration; yet this artist as well as Bellini remains unnoticed by +the catalogues, and what is more, he is little known in his native +place, which has no other specimen of his pencil than a picture of S. +Carlo at the Trinita, with some angels, which does not excite the same +admiration as his works in Lombardy.[75] Some other scholars of Claudio +are found in Verona, to which city he returned, and remained for a short +time; and in the Bolognese School mention will be made of Cantarini, +among the masters of which he is numbered. In the meantime let us turn +from these provincial schools, which were the first that felt the +reviving influence of the age, to the capital, where we shall find +Caravaggio, the Caracci, and other reformers of the art. + +Michelangiolo Amerighi, or Morigi da Caravaggio, is memorable in this +epoch, for having recalled the art from mannerism to truth, as well in +his forms, which he always drew from nature, as in his colours, +banishing the cinnabar and azures, and composing his colours of few but +true tints, after the manner of Giorgione. Annibale Caracci extolling +him, declares that he did not paint, but grind flesh, and both Guercino +and Guido highly admired him, and profited from his example. He was +instructed in the art in Milan, from whence he went to Venice to study +Giorgione; and he adopted at the commencement of his career that subdued +style of shadow, which he had learnt from that great artist, and in +which some of the most highly prized works of Caravaggio are executed. +He was however afterwards led away by his sombre genius, and represented +objects with very little light, overcharging his pictures with shade. +His figures inhabit dungeons, illuminated from above by only a single +and melancholy ray. His backgrounds are always dark, and the actors are +all placed in the same line, so that there is little perspective in his +pictures; yet they enchant us, from the powerful effect which results +from the strong contrast of light and shade. We must not look in him for +correct design, or elegant proportion, as he ridiculed all artists who +attempted a noble expression of countenance, or graceful foldings of +drapery, or who imitated the forms of the antique, as exhibited in +sculpture, his sense of the beautiful being all derived from visible +nature. There is to be seen by him in the Spada palace a S. Anne, with +the Virgin at her side, occupied in female work. Their features are +remarkable only for their vulgarity, and they are both attired in the +common dress of Rome, and are doubtless portraits, taken from the first +elderly and young women that offered themselves to his observation. This +was his usual manner; and he appeared most highly pleased when he could +load his pictures with rusty armour, broken vessels, shreds of old +garments, and attenuated and wasted bodies. On this account some of his +works were removed from the altars, and one in particular at the Scala, +which represented the Death of the Virgin, in which was figured a +corpse, hideously swelled. + +Few of his pictures are to be seen in Rome, and amongst them is the +Madonna of Loreto, in the church of S. Agostino; but the best is the +Deposition from the Cross, in the church of the Vallicella, which forms +a singular contrast to the gracefulness of Barocci, and the seductive +style of Guido, exhibited on the adjoining altars. He generally painted +for collections. On his arrival in Rome he painted flowers and fruit; +afterwards long pictures of half figures, a custom much practised after +his time. In these he represented subjects sacred and profane, and +particularly the manners of the lower classes, drinking parties, +conjurors, and feasts. His most admired works are his Supper at Emmaus, +in the Casa Borghese; S. Bastiano in Campidoglio; Agar, with Ishmael +Dying, in the Panfili collection; and the picture of a Fruit Girl, which +exhibits great resemblance of nature, both in the figures and +accompaniments. He was still more successful in representing quarrels +and nightly broils, to which he was himself no stranger, and by which +too he rendered his own life scandalous. He fled from Rome for homicide, +and resided for some time in Naples; from thence he passed to Malta, +where, after having been honoured with the Cross by the Grand Master, +for his talent displayed in his picture of the Decollation of S. John, +in the oratory of the church of the Conventuals, he quarrelled with a +cavalier and was thrown into prison. Escaping from thence with +difficulty, he resided for some time in Sicily, and wished to return to +Rome; but had not proceeded further on his journey than Porto Ercole, +when he died of a malignant fever, in the year 1609. He left numerous +works in these different countries, as we learn from Gio. Pietro +Bellori, who wrote his life at considerable length. Of his chief +scholars we shall treat in the following book. At present we will +enumerate his followers in Rome and its territories. + +His school, or rather the crowd of his imitators, who were greatly +increased on his death, does not afford an instance of a single bad +colourist; it has nevertheless been accused of neglect, both in design +and grace. Bartolommeo Manfredi, of Mantua, formerly a scholar of +Roncalli, might be called a second Caravaggio, except that he was rather +more refined in his composition. His works are seldom found in +collections, although he painted for them, as he died young, and is +often supplanted by his master, as I believe was the case with some +pictures painted for the Casa Medicea, mentioned by Baglione. + +Carlo Saracino, or Saraceni, also called Veneziano, wishing to be +thought a second Caravaggio, affected the same singular mode of dress as +that master, and provided himself with a huge shagged dog, to which he +gave the same name that Caravaggio had attached to his own. He left many +works in Rome, both in fresco and oils. He too was a _naturalista_, but +possessed a more clear style of colour. He displayed a Venetian taste in +his figures, dressing them richly in the Levant fashion, and was fond of +introducing into his compositions corpulent persons, eunuchs, and shaven +heads. His principal frescos are in a hall of the Quirinal; his best oil +pictures are thought to be those of S. Bonone, and a martyred bishop in +the church dell'Anima. He is seldom found in collections; but, from the +above peculiarities, I have more than once recognized his works. He +returned to Venice, and soon afterwards died there; hence he was omitted +by Ridolfi, and scarcely noticed by Zanetti. + +Monsieur Valentino, as he is called in Italy, who was born at Brie, near +Paris, and studied in Rome, became one of the most judicious followers +of Caravaggio. He painted in the Quirinal the Martyrdom of the Saints +Processo and Martiniano. He was a young artist of great promise, but was +cut off by a premature death. His easel pictures are not very rare in +Rome. The Denial of S. Peter, in the Palazzo Corsini, is a delightful +picture. + +Simone Vovet, the restorer of the French School, and the master of Le +Brun, formed his style from the pictures of Caravaggio and Valentino. In +Rome there are some charming productions by him both in public and +private, particularly in the Barberini gallery. I have heard them +preferred to many others that he painted in France in his noted rapid +style. + +Angiolo Caroselli was a Roman, in whose works, consisting chiefly of +portraits and small figures, if we except the S. Vinceslao of the +Quirinal palace, and a few similar pictures, we find the style of +Caravaggio improved by an addition of grace and delicacy. He was +remarkable for not making his design on paper, or using any preparatory +study for his canvass. He is lively in his attitudes, rich in his tints, +and finished and refined in his pictures, which are highly prized, but +few in number, when we consider the term of his life. Besides practising +the style of Caravaggio, in which he frequently deceived the most +experienced, he imitated other artists in a wonderful manner. A S. Elena +by him was considered as a production of Titian even by his rivals, +until they found the cipher A. C. marked on the picture in small +letters, and Poussin affirms, that he should have taken his two copies +of Raffaello for genuine pictures, if he had not known where the +originals were deposited. + +Gherardo Hundhorst is called Gherardo dalle Notti, from having painted +few subjects except illuminated night pieces, in which he chiefly +excelled. He imitated Caravaggio, adopting only his better parts, his +carnations, his vigorous pencil, and grand masses of light and shade: +but he aimed also at correctness in his costume, selection in his forms, +gracefulness of attitude, and represented religious subjects with great +propriety. His pictures are very numerous, and the Prince Giustiniani +possesses the one of Christ led by night to the Judgment Seat, which is +one of his most celebrated works. + +The school of Caravaggio flourished for a considerable period, but its +followers, painting chiefly for private individuals, have in a great +degree remained unknown. Baglione makes particular mention of Gio. +Serodine, of Ascona, in Lombardy, and enumerates many works by him, more +remarkable for their facility of execution than their excellence. There +remains no public specimen of him, except a Decollation of S. John at S. +Lorenzo fuor delle Mura. One of the latest of the school of Caravaggio +was Tommaso Luini, a Roman, who, from his quarrelsome disposition, and +his style, was called Il Caravaggino. He worked in Rome, and appeared +most to advantage when he painted the designs of his master, Sacchi, as +at S. Maria in Via. When he embodied his own ideas, his design was +rather dry and his colouring dark. About the same time Gio. Campino of +Camerino, who received his first instructions under Gianson in Flanders, +resided in Rome for some years, and increased the number of this school. +He was afterwards painter to the court of Madrid, and died in Spain. It +is not known whether or not Gio. Francesco Guerrieri di Fossombrone ever +studied in Rome, but his works are to be seen at Filippini di Fano, +where he painted in a chapel, S. Carlo contemplating the Mysteries of +the Passion, with two lateral pictures from the life of that saint; and +in another chapel, where he represented the Dream of S. Joseph, his +style resembles that of Caravaggio, but possesses more softness of +colour, and more gracefulness of form. In the Duomo of Fabriano is also +a S. Joseph by him. He has left, in his native place, an abundance of +works, which, if distributed more widely, would give him a celebrity +which it has not hitherto been his lot to receive. I there saw, in a +church, a night piece of S. Sebastian attended by S. Irene, a picture of +most beautiful effect; a Judith, in possession of the Franceschini +family; other works in the Casa Passionei and elsewhere, very charming, +and which often shew that he had very much imitated Guercino. His female +forms are almost all cast in the same mould, and are copied from the +person of a favorite mistress. + +We now come to the Caracci and their school. Before Annibale arrived in +Rome, he had already formed a style which left nothing to be desired, +except to be more strongly imbued with the antique. Annibale added this +to his other noble qualities when he came to Rome; and his disciples, +who trod in his steps, and continued after his death to paint in that +city, are particularly distinguished by this characteristic from those +who remained in Bologna under the instruction of his cousin Lodovico. +The disciples of Annibale left scholars in Rome; but no one except +Sacchi approached so near in merit to his master, as they had done to +Annibale, nor did there appear, like them, any founder of an original +style. Still they were sufficient to put a check on the mannerists, and +the followers of Caravaggio, and to restore the Roman School to a better +taste. We shall now proceed to enumerate their scholars in their various +classes. + +Domenichino Zampieri, to his talents as a painter, added commensurate +powers of instruction. Besides Alessandro Fortuna, who under the +direction of his master painted some fables from Apollo, in the villa +Aldobrandini in Frescati, and died young, Zampieri had in Rome two +scholars of great repute, mentioned only by Bellori; Antonio Barbalunga, +of Messina, and Andrea Camassei of Bevagna, both of whom honoured their +country with their name and works, although they did not live many +years. The first was a happy imitator of his master, who had long +employed him in copying for himself. In the church of the P. P. Teatini, +at Monte Cavallo, is his picture of their Founder, and of S. Andrea +Avellino, attended by angels, which might be ascribed to Zampieri +himself, whose forms in this class of subjects were select, and his +attitudes elegant, and most engaging. To him I shall return in the +fourth book. The second, who had also studied in the school of Sacchi, +lived longer in Rome; and whoever wishes justly to appreciate him, must +not judge from the chapel which he painted whilst yet young in his +native place, but must inspect his works in the capital. There, in S. +Andrea della Valle, is the S. Gaetano, painted at the same time, and in +competition with the S. Andrea of Barbalunga, before mentioned with +commendation; the Assumption at the Rotonda, and the Pieta at the +Capucins; and many excellent frescos in the Baptistery of the Lateran, +and in the church of S. Peter; which evince that he had almost an equal +claim to fame with his comrade. If, indeed, he was somewhat less bold, +and less select, yet he had a natural style, a grace, and a tone of +colour, that do honour to the Roman School, to which he contributed +Giovanni Carbone, of S. Severino, a scholar of some note. It has been +remarked, that his fate resembles that of Domenichino, as his merits +were undervalued, and himself persecuted by his relatives, and he was +also prematurely cut off by domestic afflictions. + +Francesco Cozza was born in Calabria, but settled in Rome. He was the +faithful companion of Domenichino during the life of that master, and +after his death completed some works left unfinished by that artist, and +executed them in the genuine spirit of his departed friend, as may be +seen in Titi. He appears to have inherited from his teacher his learning +rather than his taste. One of his most beautiful pictures is the Virgin +del Riscatto at S. Francesca Romana a Capo alle Case. Out of Rome there +are few public or private works to be met with by him. He was considered +exceedingly expert in his knowledge of the hands of the different +masters, and on disputed points, which often arose on this subject in +Rome, his opinion was always asked and acted on, without any appeal from +his judgment. Of Pietro del Po, also a disciple of Domenichino, and of +his family, we shall speak more at large in the fourth book. + +Giannangiolo Canini, of Rome, was first instructed by Domenichino, and +afterwards by Barbalunga, and would have obtained a great reputation for +his inventive genius, if, seduced by the study of antiquities, he had +not for his pleasure taken a short way to the art; which led him to +neglect the component parts, and to satisfy himself with a general +harmonious effect. He possessed, however, great force and energy in +subjects which required it, as in the Martyrdom of S. Stephen at S. +Martino a' Monti. The works which he executed with the greatest labour +and care, were some sacred and profane subjects, which he was +commissioned to paint for the Queen of Sweden. But although he was +appointed painter to that court, and was also a great favourite with the +queen, it should seem that he did not much exercise his profession +either for her or others, as his great pleasure was in designing from +the antique. He filled a large volume with a collection of portraits of +illustrious ancients, and heads of the heathen deities, from gems and +marbles. This book, the Cardinal Chigi having carried it with him into +France, he presented to Louis XIV., and received a collar of gold as a +remuneration for it. On his return to Rome he was intending to eulogize +the queen in verse, and to continue in prose the lives of the painters, +which he had in part prepared when he died. His biographical work +probably afforded assistance to Passeri or to Bellori, his intimate +friends. + +With Canini worked Giambatista Passeri, a Roman, a man of letters, and +who became afterwards a secular priest. It is recorded, that in the +early part of his life he lived on very intimate terms with Domenichino +at Frescati, and he adhered much to his style. There exists by him a +Crucifixion between two Saints at S. Giovanni della Malva, but no other +work in public, as most of his pictures are in private collections. In +the Palazzo Mattei are some pictures representing butcher's meat, birds, +and game, touched with a masterly pencil; to these are added some half +figures, and also some sparrows (_passere_), in allusion to his name. +There is also, by his hand, at the academy of S. Luke, the portrait of +Domenichino, painted on the occasion of his funeral; on which occasion +Passeri, and not Passerino, as Malvasia states, recited a funeral +oration, and probably paid some poetical tribute to his memory, since he +was accustomed to write both verse and prose as Bellori did; and his +silence on the Lives of Bellori, which had then appeared, and which he +had numerous opportunities of noticing, probably arose from feelings of +jealousy. He is esteemed one of the most authentic writers on Italian +art; and if Mariette expressed himself dissatisfied with him, (v. Lett. +Pitt. tom. vi. p. 10,) it probably arose from his having seen only his +Life of Pietro da Cortona, which was left unfinished by the author. He +possessed a profound knowledge of the principles of art, was just in his +criticisms, accurate in his facts; if, indeed, as has been pretended by +a writer in the _Pittoriche Lettere_, he did not in some degree +depreciate Lanfranc, in order to raise his own master, Zampieri. His +work contains the lives of many painters, at that time deceased, and was +published anonymously, it is supposed, by Bottari, who in many places +shortened it, and improved the style, which was too elaborate, +containing useless preambles, and was occasionally too severe against +Bernino and others, on which account the work remained unedited for more +than a century. + +Vincenzio Manenti, of Sabina, who was first the scholar of Cesari, and +afterwards of Domenichino, left many works in his native place. Some +pictures by him are to be seen in Tivoli, as the S. Stefano in the +Duomo, and the S. Saverio at the Gesu, which do not exhibit him as an +artist of very great genius, but assiduous and expert in colouring. Of +Ruggieri, of Bologna, we shall speak elsewhere. + +Guido cannot be said to have contributed much to the Roman School, +except in leaving in the capital a great number of works displaying that +charm of style, and distinguished by that superhuman beauty, which were +his characteristics. We are told of two scholars who came to him at the +same time from Perugia, Giandomenico Cerrini, and Luigi, the son of +Giovanni Antonio Scaramuccia. The pictures of Cerrini, (who was commonly +called Il Cav. Perugino) were frequently touched by his master Guido, +and passed for originals of that artist, and were much sought after. In +his other works he varies, having sometimes followed the elder +Scaramuccia. His fellow disciple is more consistent. He displays grace +in every part of his work, and if he does not soar, still he does not +fall to the ground. There are many of his paintings in Perugia, both in +public and private, amongst which is a Presentation at the Filippini, +from all accounts a beautiful performance. He left many works in Milan, +where in the church of S. Marco, is a S. Barbera by him; a large +composition, and extremely well coloured. He published a book in Pavia, +in 1654, which he intituled _Le Finezze de' Pennelli Italiani_. It is +full, says the Abbate Bianconi, _di buona volonta pittorica_. It +possesses nevertheless some interesting remarks. + +Gio. Batista Michelini, called Il Folignate, is almost forgotten in this +catalogue; but there are in Gubbio various works by him, and +particularly a Pieta, worthy of the school of Guido. Macerata possessed +a noble disciple of Guido, in the person of the Cav. Sforza Compagnoni, +by whose hand there is, in the academy de' Catinati, the device of that +society, which might be taken for a design of Guido. He gave a picture +to the church of S. Giorgio, which is still there, and presented a still +more beautiful one to the church of S. Giovanni, which was long to be +seen over the great altar, but is now in the possession of the Conte +Cav. Mario Compagnoni. Malvasia mentions him in the life of Viola, but +makes him a scholar of Albano. The Ginesini boast of Cesare Renzi, as a +respectable scholar of Guido, and, in the church of S. Tommaso, they +shew a picture of that saint by his hand. In addition to the scholars of +Guido, whose names have been handed down to us, I shall here beg leave +to add an imitator of Guido, who from the time in which he flourished, +and from his noble style of colour, probably belonged to the same +school. I found his name subscribed Giorgio Giuliani da Civita +Castellana, 161.., on a large picture of the Martyrdom of S. Andrew, +which Guido painted for the Camaldolesi di S. Gregorio at Rome: and +which this artist copied for the celebrated monastery of the Camaldolesi +all'Avellana. It is exposed in the refectory, and notwithstanding the +dampness of the place, maintains a freshness of colour very unusual in +pictures of that antiquity. + +The Cav. Gio. Lanfranco came to Rome whilst yet young, and there formed +that free and noble style, which served to decorate many cupolas and +noble edifices, and which pleases also in his cabinet pictures when he +executed them with care. Giacinto Brandi di Poli was his most celebrated +scholar in Rome. He at first adopted his master's moderate tone of +colour, the variety and contrast of his composition, and his flowing +pencil; but in consequence of his filling, as he did, Rome and the state +with his works, he neglected correctness of design, and never arrived at +that grandeur of style which we admire in Lanfranc. He sometimes indeed +went beyond himself, as in the S. Rocco of the Ripetta, and in the forty +martyrs of the Stigmata in Rome; but his inordinate love of gain would +not allow him to finish many works in the same good style. I have been +informed by a connoisseur, on whose opinion I can rely, that the best +works of this artist are at Gaeta, where he painted at the Nunziata a +picture of the Madonna with the Holy Infant; and where, in the inferior +part of the Duomo, he painted in the vault three recesses and ten +angles, adding over the altar the picture of the martyrdom of S. +Erasmus, bishop of the city, who was buried in that church. Brandi did +not perpetuate the taste of his school, not leaving any pupil of +eminence except Felice Ottini, who painted in his youth a chapel at the +P. P. di Gesu e Maria, and did not long survive that work. Orlandi also +mentions a Carlo Lamparelli di Spello, who left in Rome a picture at the +church of the Spirito Santo, but nothing further. An Alessandro Vaselli +also left some works in another church in Rome. + +After Brandi, we ought to commemorate Giacomo Giorgetti, of Assisi, who +is little known beyond his native city, and the neighbouring towns. He +is said to have first studied the art of design in Rome, when he learned +colouring from Lanfranc, and became a good fresco painter. There is by +him in a chapel of the Duomo at Assisi, a large composition in fresco, +and in the sacristy of the Conventuals, various subjects from the Life +of the Virgin, also in fresco; works coloured in a fine style, and much +more finished than was usual with Lanfranc. If there be any fault to be +found with them, it is the proportions of the figures, which not +unfrequently incline to awkwardness. His name is found in the +_Descrizione della Chiesa di S. Francesco di Perugia_, together with +that of Girolamo Marinelli, his fellow citizen and contemporary, of whom +I never found any other notice. + +Lanfranc instructed in Rome a noble lady, who filled the church of S. +Lucia with her pictures. These were designed by her master, and coloured +by herself. Her name was Caterina Ginnasi. There were also with Lanfranc +in Rome, Mengucci, of Pesaro, and others, who afterwards left Rome, and +will be mentioned by us elsewhere. Some have added to these Beinaschi, +but he was only an excellent copyist and imitator, as we shall see in +the fourth book. At the same time, we may assert, that none of the +Caracci school had a greater number of followers than Lanfranc; as +Pietro di Cortona, the chief of a numerous family, derived much of his +style from him, and the whole tribe of machinists adopted him as their +leader, and still regard him as their prototype. + +Albano too, here deserves a conspicuous place as a master of the Roman +School. Giambatista Speranza, a Roman, learned from him the principles +of the art, and became a fresco painter of the best taste in Rome. If we +inspect his works at S. Agostino, and S. Lorenzo in Lucina, and in other +places where he painted religious subjects, we immediately perceive that +his age is not that of the Zuccari, and that the true style of fresco +still flourished. From Albano too, and from Guercino, Pierfrancesco Mola +di Como derived that charming style, which partook of the excellences of +both these artists. He renounced the principles of Cesari, who had +instructed him for many years; and after having diligently studied +colouring at Venice, he attached himself to the school of the Caracci, +but more particularly to Albano. He never, however, equalled his master +in grace, although he had a bolder tone of colour, greater invention, +and more vigour of subject. He died in the prime of life whilst +preparing for his journey to Paris, where he was appointed painter to +the court. Rome possesses many of his pictures, particularly in fresco, +in the churches; and in the Quirinal palace, is Joseph found by his +Brethren, which is esteemed a most beautiful piece. There are also many +of his pictures to be found in private collections; and in his +landscapes, in which he excelled, it is doubted whether the figures are +by him or Albano. He had in Rome three pupils, who, aspiring to be good +colourists, frequented the same fountains of art as their master had +done, and travelled through all Italy. They were Antonio Gherardi da +Rieti, who on the death of Mola frequented the school of Cortona; and +painted in many churches in Rome with more despatch than elegance;[76] +Gio. Batista Boncuore, of Abruzzo, a painter in a grand though somewhat +heavy style;[77] and Giovanni Bonatti, of Ferrara, whom we shall reserve +for his native school. + +Virgilio Ducci, of Citta di Castello, is little known among the scholars +of Albano, though he does not yield to many of the Bolognese in the +imitation of their common master. Two pictures of Tobias, in a chapel of +the Duomo, in his native place, are painted in an elegant and graceful +style. An Antonio Catalani, of Rome, is mentioned to us by Malvasia, and +with him Girolamo Bonini, of Ancona, the intimate friend of Albani. +These artists resided in Bologna, and were employed there, as we shall +see in our history of that school. Of the second we are told that he +painted both in Venice and in Rome; and Orlandi praises his works in the +Sala Farnese, which either no longer exist, or are neglected to be +mentioned in the Guida of Titi. + +Lastly, from the studio of Albani issued Andrea Sacchi, after its chief +the best colourist of the Roman School, and one of the most celebrated +in design, in the practice of which he continued until his death. +Profoundly skilled in the theory of art, he was yet slow in the +execution. It was a maxim with him that the merit of a painter does not +consist in giving to the world a number of works of mediocrity, but a +few perfect ones; and hence his pictures are rare. His compositions do +not abound with figures, but every figure appears appropriate to its +place; and the attitudes seem not so much chosen by the artist, as +regulated by the subject itself. Sacchi did not, indeed, shun the +elegant, though he seems born for the grand style--grave miens, majestic +attitudes, draperies folded with care and simplicity; a sober colouring, +and a general tone, which gave to all objects a pleasing harmony, and a +grateful repose to the eye. He seems to have disdained minuteness, and, +after the example of many of the ancient sculptors, to have left some +part always unfinished; so at least his admirers assert. Mengs expresses +himself differently, and says, that Sacchi's principle was to leave his +pictures, as it were, merely indicated, and to take his ideas from +natural objects, without giving them any determinate form: on this +matter the professors of the art must decide. His picture of S. Romualdo +surrounded by his monks, is ranked among the four best compositions in +Rome; and the subject was a difficult one to treat, as the great +quantity of white in the vestures tends to produce a sameness of colour. +The means which Sacchi adopted on this occasion have always been justly +admired. He has placed a large tree near the foreground, the shade of +which serves to break the uniformity of the figures, and he thus +introduced a pleasing variety in the monotony of the colours. His +Transito di S. Anna at S. Carlo a' Catinari, his S. Andrea in the +Quirinal, and his S. Joseph at Capo alle Case, are also beautiful +pictures. Perugia, Foligno, and Camerino, possess altarpieces by him +which are the boast of these cities. He enjoyed the reputation of an +amiable and learned instructor. One of his lectures, communicated by his +celebrated scholar, Francesco Lauri, may be read in the life of that +artist, written by Pascoli, who, as I have before remarked, collected +the greater part of his information from the old painters in Rome. He +has probably engrafted on them some sentiments either of his own or of +others, as often happens in a narrative when the related facts are +founded more in probability than in certainty; but the maxims there +inculcated by Sacchi are worthy of an artist strongly attached to the +true, the select, and the grand; and who, to give dignity to his +figures, seems to have had his eyes on the precepts of Quintilian +respecting the action of his orator. He had a vast number of scholars, +among whom we may reckon Giuseppe Sacchi, his son, who became a +conventual monk, and painted a picture in the sacristy, in the church of +the Apostles. But his most illustrious disciple was Maratta, of whom, +and of whose scholars, we shall speak in another epoch. + +We find a follower of the Caracci, though we know not of what particular +master, in Giambatista Salvi, called from the place in which he was +born, Sassoferrato,[78] and whom we shall notice further when we speak +of Carlo Dolci, and his very devotional pictures. This artist excelled +Dolci in the beauty of his Madonnas, but yielded to him in the fineness +of his pencil. Their style was dissimilar, Salvi having formed himself +on other models; he first studied in his native place under Tarquinio, +his father,[79] then in Rome and afterwards in Naples; it is not known +precisely under what masters, except that in his MS. Memoirs we read of +one Domenico. The period in which Salvi studied corresponds in a +remarkable manner with the time in which Domenichino was employed in +Naples, and his manner of painting shews that he adopted the style of +that master, though not exclusively. I have seen in the possession of +his heirs many copies from the first masters, which he executed for his +own pleasure. I observed several of Albano, Guido, Barocci, Raffaello, +reduced to a small size, and painted, as one may say, all in one breath. +There are also some landscapes of his composition, and a vast number of +sacred portraits; several of S. John the Baptist, but more than all of +the Madonna. Though not possessing the ideal beauty of the Greeks, he +has yet a style of countenance peculiarly appropriate to the Virgin, in +which an air of humility predominates, and the simplicity of the dress +and the attire of the head corresponds with the expression of the +features, without at the same time lessening the dignity of her +character. He painted with a flowing pencil, was varied in his +colouring, had a fine relief and chiaroscuro; but in his local tints he +was somewhat hard. He delighted most in designing heads with a part of +the bust, which frequently occur in collections; his portraits are very +often of the size of life, and of that size, or larger, is a Madonna, by +him, with the infant Christ, in the Casali palace at Rome. The picture +of the Rosario, that he painted at S. Sabina, is one of the smallest +pictures in Rome. It is, however, well composed, and conducted with his +usual spirit, and is regarded as a gem. In other places the largest +picture by him which is to be seen, is an altarpiece in the cathedral of +Montefiascone. + +A follower of the Caracci also, though of an uncertain school, was +Giuseppino da Macerata, whom a dubious tradition has assigned to +Agostino. His works are to be seen in the two collegiate churches of +Fabriano; an Annunciation, in oils, in S. Niccolo, and at S. Venanzio +two chapels, painted in fresco, in one of which, where he represented +the miracles of the apostles, he surpassed himself in the beauty of the +heads and in the general composition; in other respects he is somewhat +hasty and indecisive. Two of his works remain in his native place; at +the Carmelites the Madonna in Glory, with S. Nicola and S. Girolamo on +the foreground; and at the Capucins, S. Peter receiving the Keys. Both +these pictures are in the Caracci style, but the second is most so; +corresponding in a singular manner with one of the same subject which +the Filippini of Fano have in their church, and which is an authentic +and historical work of Guido Reni. The second, therefore, is probably a +copy. There is written on it _Joseph Ma. faciebat_ 1630, but the figures +of the year are not very legible. Marcello Gobbi, and Girolamo +Boniforti,[80] a tolerable good imitator of Titian, lived at this time +in Macerata. Perugia presents us with two scholars of the Caracci, +Giulio Cesare Angeli and Anton. Maria Fabrizzi, the one the pupil of +Annibale in Rome, the other of Lodovico in Bologna. They were attracted +by the fame of their masters, and secretly leaving their native place +for about the space of twelve years, they obtained admission for some +time into their school, if we may rely on Pascoli. Fabrizzi, who is also +said to have worked under Annibale, does not shew great correctness; and +the cause may be ascribed to his too ardent temperament, and the want of +more mature instruction; for Annibale dying after three years, from a +scholar he became a master, and was celebrated for his vigorous +colouring, his composition, and the freedom of his pencil. Angeli was +more remarkable for expression and colour than design, and excelled +rather in the draped than in the naked figure. There is a vast work by +him in fresco in the oratory of the church of S. Agostino in Perugia, +and in part of it a limbo of saints, certainly not designed by the light +of Lodovico's lamp, if indeed it ought not to be considered that this +lunette is by another hand. This branch of the Bolognese School, which +was constantly degenerating from the excellence of its origin, being at +such a distance from Bologna as not to be able to be revivified by the +pictures of the Caracci, still survived for a long time. Angeli +instructed Cesare Franchi, who excelled in small pictures, which were +highly prized in collections; and Stefano Amadei also, who was formed +more on the Florentine School of that age than on the School of Bologna. +Stefano was also attached to letters, and opened a school, and by +frequent meetings and instructive lectures improved the minds of the +young artists who frequented it. One of the most assiduous of these was +Fabio, brother of the Duke of Cornia, of whom some works are mentioned +in the Guida di Roma, and who entitled himself to a higher rank than +that of a mere dilettante. + +Besides the Bolognese, a number of Tuscans who were employed by Paul V. +in the two churches of S. Peter and S. M. Maggiore, also contributed to +the melioration of the Roman School; and some others who, deprived of +that opportunity of distinguishing themselves, are yet memorable for the +scholars they left behind them. Of the diocese of Volterra was +Cristoforo Roncalli, called Il Cav. delle Pomarance, cursorily noticed +by us among the Tuscans. I now place him in this school, because he both +painted and taught for a considerable time in Rome; and I assign him to +this epoch, not from the generality of his works, but from his best +having been executed in it. He was the scholar of Niccolo delle +Pomarance, for whom he worked much with little reward; and from his +example he learnt to avail himself of the labour of others, and to +content himself with mediocrity. Yet there are several pictures by him, +in which he appears excellent, except that he too often repeats himself +in his backgrounds, his foreshortened heads, and full and rubicund +countenances. His style of design is a mixture of the Florentine and +Roman. In his frescos he displayed fresh and brilliant colours; in his +oil pictures, on the contrary, he adopted more sober tints, harmonized +by a general tone of tranquillity and placidness. He frequently +decorated these with landscapes gracefully disposed. Among his best +labours is reckoned the death of Ananias and Sapphira, which is at the +Certosa, and which was copied in mosaic in S. Peter's. Other mosaics +also in the same church were executed after his cartoons, and in the +Lateranense is his Baptism of Constantine, a grand historical +composition. But his most celebrated work is the cupola of Loreto, very +rich in figures, but injured by time, except some prophets, which are in +a truly grand style. He painted considerably in the treasury of that +church; and there are some histories of the Madonna not conducted with +equal felicity, particularly in the perspective. He obtained this vast +commission through the patronage of the Cardinal Crescenzi, in +competition with Caravaggio, who, to gratify his revenge, hired an +assassin to wound him in the face; and in rivalship too with Guido Reni, +who retaliated in a more laudable manner, by proving his superiority by +his works. Roncalli from this time was in great request in the cities of +Picenum, which in consequence abound with his pictures. There is to be +seen at the Eremitani at S. Severino, a _Noli me tangere_; at S. +Agostino in Ancona, a S. Francis praying; and at S. Palazia in Osimo, a +picture of a saint, one of his most finished productions. In the same +city, in the Casa Galli, he painted _di sotto in su_ the Judgment of +Solomon; and this is perhaps the best fresco that he ever executed. He +could vary his manner at will. There is an Epiphany in the possession of +the Marquis Mancinforti in Ancona, quite in the style of the Venetian +School. + +There were two artists who approached this master in style, the Cav. +Gaspare Celio, a Roman, and Antonio, the son of Niccolo Circignani. +Celio was the pupil of Niccolo, according to Baglione, but of Roncalli, +if we are to believe Titi. He designed and engraved antique statues, and +painted in a commendable manner whilst young, after the designs of P. +Gio. Bat. Fiammeri, at the Gesu, and at a more mature age after his own, +in numerous churches. The S. Francis, on the altar of the Ospizio, at +Ponte Sisto, is by him; and he also painted the history of S. Raimondo +at the Minerva, and the Moses passing the Red Sea, in a vault of the +Mattei gallery, where he competed with other first rate artists. Antonio +is not well known in Rome, where he worked with his father, after whose +death he decorated by himself a chapel at the Traspontina, another at +the Consolazione, and painted also in private houses. Citta di Castello, +where he passed some of the best years of his life, possesses many of +his pictures, and amongst the rest, that of the Conception, at the +Conventuals, which may be called a mixture of Barocci and Roncalli, from +whom he probably learned to improve the style he had inherited from his +father. + +The Cav. delle Pomarance instructed the Marchese Gio. Batista Crescenzi, +who became a great patron of the fine arts, and who was so much skilled +in them, that Paul V. appointed him superintendent of the works which he +was carrying on in Rome; and Philip III., the Catholic, also availed +himself of his services in the Escurial. He did not execute many works, +and his chief talent lay in flower painting. His house was frequented by +literary men, and particularly by Marino; he formed in it a gallery +containing an extensive collection of pictures and drawings, of which he +himself says, "I believe I may indeed safely affirm that there is not a +prince in Europe that does not yield to me in this respect." (Lett. p. +89.) There the artists were always to be found, one of whom, his +disciple, was called Bartolommeo del Crescenzi, of the family of +Cavarozzi of Viterbo. He was a most correct artist, a follower first of +Roncalli, and afterwards became the author of a captivating natural +style. There exist many excellent pictures by him in collections, and in +the church of S. Anna, a picture of that saint, executed, says Baglione, +in his best taste, and with a vigorous pencil. + +Among the scholars of Roncalli may also be ranked Giovanni Antonio, +father of Luigi Scaramuccia, who also saw and imitated the Caracci. His +works are often met with in Perugia. The spirit and freedom of his +pencil are more commended than his tints, which are too dark, and which +in the churches easily distinguish him amidst a crowd of other artists. +It is probable that he used too great a quantity of _terra d'ombra_, +like others of his day. Girolamo Buratti, of the same school, painted in +Ascoli the beautiful picture of the Presepio at the Carita, and some +subjects in fresco, highly commended by Orsini. Of Alessandro Casolani, +who belongs to this master, we spoke in the Sienese School. With him, +too, was included Cristoforo his son, who, with Giuseppe Agellio of +Sorrento, may be ranked with the inferior artists. + +Francesco Morelli, a Florentine, demands our notice only as having +imparted the rudiments of the art to the Cav. Gio. Baglione of Rome. His +pupil, however, did not remain with him for any length of time, but +formed a style for himself from a close application to the works of the +best masters, and was employed by Paul V., by the Duke of Mantua, and by +persons of distinction. He is less vigorous in design and expression, +than in colour and chiaroscuro. We meet with his works, not only in +Rome, where he painted much, but also in several provincial towns, as +the S. Stephen in the Duomo of Perugia, and the S. Catherine at the +Basilica Loretana. In his colours he resembled Cigoli, but was far +behind him in other respects. The picture which procured him great +applause in the Vatican, the Resuscitation of Tabitha, is defaced by +time; but both there and at the Cappella Paolina in S. Maria Maggiore, +which was the most considerable work of Paul V., his pieces in fresco +still remain, and are not unworthy of their age. He is not often found +in collections, but in that of the Propaganda I saw a S. Rocco painted +by him with great force of colour. He lived to a considerable age, and +left behind him a compendium of the lives of professors of the fine +arts, who had been his contemporaries in Rome from 1572 to 1642. He +wrote in an unostentatious manner, and free from party spirit, and was +on all occasions more disposed to commend the good than to censure the +bad. Whenever I peruse him, I seem to hear the words of a venerable +teacher, inclined rather to inculcate precepts of morals, than maxims on +the fine arts. Of the latter, indeed, he is very sparing, and it would +almost lead one to suppose that he had succeeded in his profession, more +from a natural bias, and a talent of imitation, than from scientific +principles and sound taste. It was, perhaps, in order that he might not +be tied to treat of the art theoretically, and to write profoundly, that +he distributed his work in five dialogues, in the course of which we do +not meet with professors of art, but are introduced to a foreigner and +to a Roman gentleman, who act the respective parts of master and +scholar. Dialogues, indeed, were never composed in a more simple style, +in any language. The two interlocutors meet in the cloisters of the +Minerva, and after a slight salutation, one of them recounts the lives +of the masters of the art, to the number of eighty, which are commenced, +continued, and ended, in a style sufficiently monotonous, both as to +manner and language; the other listens to this long narrative, without +either interrupting or answering, or adding a word in reply: and thus +the dialogue, or rather soliloquy, concludes, without the slightest +expression of thanks on the part of the auditor, or even the ceremony of +a farewell. We shall now return to the Tuscan scholars. + +Passignano was at Rome many times, without, however, leaving there any +scholars, at least of any name. We may indeed mention Vanni, and he left +there, too, a Gio. Antonio, and a Gio. Francesco del Vanni, who are +mentioned in the _Guida di Roma_. The school of Cigoli produced two +Roman artists of considerable reputation; Domenico Feti, who +distinguished himself in Mantua, and Gio. Antonio Lelli, who never left +his native place. They painted more frequently in oil, and for private +collections, than in fresco, or in churches. Of the first, no public +work remains except the two Angels at S. Lorenzo in Damaso; of the +second some pictures, and some histories on the walls, among which the +Visitation in the choir of the Minerva is much praised. + +Comodi and Ciarpi are said to have been the successive masters of Pietro +di Cortona; and on that account, and from his birthplace, he has by many +been placed in the school of Florence; although others have assigned him +to that of Rome. It is true, indeed, that he came hither at the age of +fourteen only, bringing with him from Tuscany little more than a +well-disposed genius; and he here formed himself into an excellent +architect, and as a painter became the head of a school distinguished +for a free and vigorous style, as we have mentioned in our first book. +Whoever wishes to observe how far he carried this style in fresco, and +in large compositions, must inspect the Sala Barberina in Rome; although +the Palazzo Pitti, in Florence, presents us with works more elegant, +more beautiful, and more studied in parts. Whoever, too, wishes to see +how far he carried it in his altarpieces, must inspect the Conversion of +S. Paul at the Capucins in Rome, which, placed opposite the S. Michael +of Guido, is, nevertheless, the admiration of those who do not object to +a variety of style in art: nor am I aware that we should reject this +principle in what we designate the fine arts; as it is invariably +acknowledged in eloquence, in poetry, and history, where we find +Demosthenes and Isocrates, Sophocles and Euripides, and Thucydides and +Xenophon, equally esteemed, though all dissimilar in style. + +The works of Pietro in Rome, and in the states of the church, are not at +all rare. They are to be found also in other states of Italy, and those +pieces are the most attractive in which he had the greatest opportunity +of indulging his love of architecture. His largest compositions, which +might dismay the boldest copyist, are S. Ivo at the Sapienza of Rome, +and the S. Charles in the church of that saint, at Catinari, in the act +of relieving the infected. The Preaching of S. James in Imola, in the +church of the Domenicans, is also on a vast scale. The Virgin attended +by S. Stephen, the Pope, and other saints in S. Agostino, in Cortona, is +a picture of great research, and is considered one of his best +performances. There is an enchanting picture of the Birth of the Virgin, +in the Quirinal palace; and the Martyrdom of S. Stephen, at S. Ambrogio, +in Rome, and Daniel in the Den of Lions, in the church of that saint, in +Venice, are most beautiful works, superior to those of most of his +competitors in this school, in regard to composition, and equal to them +in colour. His historical subjects are not met with in the galleries of +the Roman nobility. In that of the Campidoglio, is the battle between +the Romans and the Sabines, full of picturesque spirit; and in +possession of the Duke Mattei, is the Adultery, half figures, more +studied and more highly finished than was customary with him. This brief +notice of him may suffice for the present. Of the scholars whom he +formed in the Roman School, I shall speak more opportunely in the +subsequent epoch. + +At this period we find three Veronese artists, Ottini, Bassetti, and +Turchi, studying in Rome; and we shall speak of them more at length in +the Venetian School. The first returned home without executing any +public work. The second left, in the church dell'Anima, in Rome, two +pictures in fresco, the Birth, and the Circumcision of Christ. The +third, known under the name of Orbetto, took up his residence, and died +in that capital; but I am not aware that he left there any disciples of +merit, except some of his own countrymen, who returned to their native +place. This engaging and elegant painter, who possessed great +originality and beauty of colour, worked still more in Verona than in +Rome, and we ought to see his works in the former city, in order justly +to appreciate them. But he is not on that account held in the less +esteem in Rome for his cabinet pictures, which are highly prized, as the +Sisara de' Colonnesi, and for his scriptural subjects, as the Flight +into Egypt, in the church of S. Romualdo, and the S. Felice Cappuccino, +at the Conception, where, as we before observed, the Barberini family +employed the most eminent artists. + +Many other Italians worked in Rome in the time of the Caracci, but their +schools, as well as the places of their birth, are uncertain; and of +these, in a city so abounding in pictures, a slight notice will suffice. +In the Guida di Roma, we find only a single notice of Felice Santelli, a +Roman, in the church of the P. P. Spagnuoli del Riscatto Scalzi, where +he painted in competition with Baglione; he is a painter full of truth, +and one of his pictures in Viterbo, in the church of S. Rosa, is +inscribed with his name. In Baglione, we read of Orazio Borgianni, a +Roman, the rival of Celio, and we find pictures and portraits by him in +a good natural style. Gio. Antonio Spadarino, of the family of Galli, +painted in S. Peter's, a S. Valeria, with such talent, that Orlandi +complains of the silence of biographers respecting him. He had a fellow +disciple in Matteo Piccione, of the March, and Titi mentions their +peculiar style. Nor is Grappelli much known, whose proper name or +country I cannot accurately ascertain; but his Joseph Recognized, which +is painted in fresco, in the Casa Mattei, commands our admiration. +Mattio Salvucci, who obtained some reputation in Perugia, came to Rome, +and although he was graciously received by the Pope, yet, from his +inconstant temper, he did not remain there, nor does Pascoli, his fellow +countrymen and biographer, mention any authentic pictures by him. +Domenico Rainaldi, nephew of the architect, Cav. Carlo Rainaldi, who was +employed by Alexander VII., is mentioned in the Roman Guida, as also +Giuseppe Vasconio, praised too by Orlandi. In the same description of +books, and particularly in those which treat of the pictures of Perugia, +mention is made in this epoch of the Cav. Bernardino Gagliardi, who was +domiciled for many years in that city, though born in Citta di Castello. +Although a scholar of Avanzino Nucci, he adopted a different style, +after having seen in his travels the best works of every school of +Italy, from Rome to Turin. In historical composition he particularly +followed the Caracci and Guido, but in what I have seen of him, both in +his own and his adopted city, he appears exceedingly various. The noble +house of Oddi, in Perugia, amongst some feeble productions of his, have +a Conversazione of young people, half figures, and truly beautiful. In +the Duomo of Castello is a Martyrdom of S. Crescenziano, a picture of +fine effect, though inferior in other respects. He there appears more +studied and more select in the two pictures of the young Tobias, which +are included among his superior works. His best is perhaps the picture +of S. Pellegrino, with its accompaniments, in the church of S. Marcello +in Rome. I do not recollect any other provincial painters of this period +whom I have not assigned to one or other of the various masters. + +A more arduous task than recording the names of the Italian artists now +awaits us in the enumeration of strangers. About the beginning of the +century Peter Paul Rubens came young to Rome, and left some oil pictures +at the Vallicella, and in S. Croce in Gerusalemme. Not many years +afterwards Antonio Vandyck arrived there also, with an intention of +remaining for a long period; but many of his fellow countrymen, who were +there studying, became offended at his refusing to join them in their +convivial tavern parties and dissipated mode of life; he in consequence +left Rome. Great numbers too of that nation who professed the lower +school of art, remained in Italy for a considerable period, and some are +mentioned in their classes. Others were employed in the churches of +Rome, and the ecclesiastical state. The master is unknown who painted at +S. Pietro in Montorio, the celebrated Deposition, which is recommended +to students, as a school of colour in itself; by some he is called +Angiolo Fiammingo. Of Vincenzio Fiammingo there is at the Vallicella a +picture of the Pentecost; of Luigi Gentile, from Brussels, the picture +of S. Antonio at S. Marco, and others in various churches in Rome; he +painted also at the church of the Capucins, at Pesaro, a Nativity and a +S. Stephen, pictures highly finished and of a beautiful relief. He +executed others at Ancona, and in various cities, with his usual taste, +which is still more to be admired in his easel pictures. He excelled, +says Passeri, who was very sparing in his praise of artists, in small +compositions; since besides finishing them with great diligence, he +executed them in an engaging style, and he concludes with the further +encomium, that he equalled, if not surpassed, most artists in portrait +painting. + +About the year 1630, Diego Velasquez, the chief ornament of Spanish art, +studied in Rome and remained there for a year. He afterwards returned +thither under the pontificate of Innocent X., whose portrait he painted, +in a style which was said to be derived from Domenico Greco, instructed +by Titian, at the court of Spain. Velasquez renewed in this portrait the +wonders which are recounted of those of Leo X. by Raffaello, and of Paul +III. by Titian; for this picture so entirely deceived the eye as to be +taken for the Pope himself. At this time too a number of excellent +German artists were employed in Rome, as Daniel Saiter, whom I shall +notice in the school of Piedmont, and the two Scor, Gio. Paolo, called +by Taja, Gian. Paolo Tedesco, whose Noah's Ark, painted in the Quirinal +palace, has excited the most enthusiastic encomiums; and Egidio, his +brother, who worked there for a considerable time in the gallery of +Alexander VII. There were also in Rome Vovet, as we have observed, and +the two Mignards, Nicolas, an excellent artist, and Pierre, who had the +surname of Romano, and who left some beautiful works at S. Carlino and +other places; and a master who claims more than a brief notice, Nicolas +Poussin, the Raffaello of France. + +Bellori, who has written the Life of Poussin, introduces him to Rome in +1624, and informs us that he was already a painter, and had formed his +style more after the prints of Raffaello than the instruction of his +masters. At Rome he improved, or rather changed his style, and acquired +another totally different, of which he may be considered the chief. +Poussin has left directions for those who come to study the art in Rome: +the remains of antiquity afforded him instruction which he could not +expect from masters. He studied the beautiful in the Greek statues, and +from the Meleager of the Vatican (now ascertained to be a Mercury) he +derived his rule of proportions. Arches, columns, antique vases, and +urns, were rendered tributary to the decoration of his pictures. As a +model of composition, he attached himself to the Aldobrandine Marriage; +and from that, and from basso-relievos, he acquired that elegant +contrast, that propriety of attitude, and that fear of crowding his +picture, for which he was so remarkable, being accustomed to say, that a +half figure more than requisite was sufficient to destroy the harmony of +a whole composition. + +Leonardo da Vinci, from his sober and refined style of colour, could not +fail to please him; and he decorated that master's work _Su la Pittura_ +with figures designed in his usual fine taste. He followed him in theory +and emulated him in practice. He adopted Titian's style of colour, and +the famous Dance of Boys, which was formerly in the Villa Lodovisi, and +is now in Madrid, taught him to invest with superior colours the +engaging forms of children, in which he so much excelled. It should seem +that he soon abandoned his application to colouring, and his best +coloured pictures are those which he painted on first coming to Rome. He +was apprehensive lest his anxiety on that head might distract his +attention from the more philosophical part of his picture, to which he +was singularly attentive; and to this point he directed his most serious +and assiduous care. Raffaello was his model in giving animation to his +figures, in expressing the passions with truth, in selecting the precise +moment of action, in intimating more than was expressed, and in +furnishing materials for fresh reflection to whoever returns a second +and a third time to examine his well conceived and profound +compositions. He carried the habit of philosophy in painting even +further than Raffaello, and often executed pictures, whose claim to our +regard is the poetical manner in which their moral is inculcated. Thus, +in that at Versailles, which is called _Memoria della morte_, he has +represented a group of youths, and a maid visiting the tomb of an +Arcadian shepherd, on which is inscribed the simple epitaph, "I also was +an Arcadian." + +He did not owe this elegant expression of sentiment to his genius alone, +but was indebted for it, as well to the perusal of the first classic +authors, as the conversation of literary men, and his intercourse with +scholars. He deferred much to the Cav. Marini, and might do so with +advantage where poetry was not concerned. In the art of modelling, in +which he excelled, he accomplished himself under Fiammingo; he consulted +the writings of P. Zaccolini for perspective; he studied the naked +figure in the academy of Domenichino and in that of Sacchi; he made +himself acquainted with anatomy; he exercised himself in copying the +most beautiful landscapes from nature, in which he acquired an exquisite +taste, which he communicated to his relative Gaspar Dughet, of whom we +shall speak in a short time. I think it may be asserted without +exaggeration, that the Caracci improved the art of landscape painting, +and that Poussin brought it to perfection.[81] His genius was less +calculated for large than small figures, and he has generally painted +them a palm and a half, as in the celebrated sacraments, which were in +the Casa Boccapaduli: sometimes of two or three palms size, as in the +picture of the Plague in the Colonna gallery, and elsewhere. Other +pictures of his are seen in Rome, as the Death of Germanicus in the +Barberini palace, the Triumph of Flora in the Campidoglio, the Martyrdom +of S. Erasmus, in the Pope's collection at Monte Cavallo, afterwards +copied in mosaic in S. Peter's. Although he had established himself in +Rome, he afterwards left that city for Paris, where he was appointed +first painter to the court; after two years time, however, he again +returned to Rome, but had his appointment confirmed, and, though absent, +enjoyed the same place and stipend. He remained in Rome for twenty three +years, and there closed his days. It is not long since his bust in +marble, with an appropriate eulogy, was placed in the church of the +Rotonda, at the suggestion and generous expense of the Sig. Cav. +d'Agincourt. + +In the class of portrait painters, we find at the beginning of the +seventeenth century, Antiveduto Grammatica, and Ottavio Lioni of Padua, +who engraved the portraits of the painters; and, on his death, +Baldassare Galanino was preeminent. It must however be remarked, that +these artists were also designers; and that even those who were held the +first masters in composition were employed in portrait painting, as +Guido for example, who executed for the Cardinal Spada one of the finest +portraits in Rome. + +Thus far of historical painters. We may now recur to landscape and other +inferior branches of the art, whose brightest era may be said to have +been in the reign of Urban VIII. Landscape, indeed, never flourished so +greatly as at that period. A little time before this pontificate, died +in Rome, Adam Elzheimer, or Adam of Frankfort, or Tedesco, who had +already, under the pontificate of Paul V., established a school (in +which David Teniers was instructed); an artist of an admirable fancy, +who in an evening committed to the canvass, with singular fidelity, the +scenery which he had visited in the early part of the day, and he so +refined his style in Rome, that his pictures, which generally +represented night scenes, were there held in the greatest request. Only +a short time too had elapsed since the death of Giovanni Batista Viola +in Rome, one of the first artists who, profiting from the instructions +of Annibal Caracci, reformed the old, dry style of the Flemish, and +introduced a richer mode of touching landscape. Vincenzio Armanno had +also promoted this branch of art, adding to his landscapes a similitude +to nature, which without much selection of ground, or trees, or +accompaniments, charms us by its truth, and a certain stilness of +colour, pleasingly chequered with lights and shades. He is highly to be +commended too in his figures, and is copious in his invention. But the +three celebrated landscape painters, whose works are so much sought +after in the collections of princes, appeared under Urban; Salvator +Rosa, a Neapolitan, and a poet of talent; Claude Gellee, of Lorraine; +and Gaspar Dughet, also called Poussin, the relative of Niccolas, as I +have already mentioned. That kind of fashion, which often aspires to +give a tone to the fine arts, alternately exalted one or other of these +three, and thus also obliged the painters in Rome to copy in succession, +and to follow their various styles. + +Rosa was the most celebrated of this class at the commencement of this +century. A scholar of Spagnoletto, and the son, as one may say, of +Caravaggio, as in historical composition he attached himself to the +strong natural style and dark colouring of that master, so in landscape +he seems to have adopted his subject without selection, or rather to +have selected the least pleasing parts. _Le selve selvagge_, to speak +with Dante, savage scenery, Alps, broken rocks and caves, wild thickets, +and desert plains, are the kind of scenery in which he chiefly +delighted; his trees are shattered, torn, and dishevelled; and in the +atmosphere itself he seldom introduced a cheerful hue, except +occasionally a solitary sunbeam. He observed the same manner too in his +sea views. His style was original, and may be said to have been +conducted on a principle of savage beauty, as the palate of some persons +is gratified with austere wines. His pictures too were rendered more +acceptable from the small figures of shepherds, mariners, or banditti, +which he has introduced in almost all his compositions; and he was +reproached by his rivals with having continually repeated the same +ideas, and in a manner copied himself. + +Owing to his frequent practice, he had more merit in his small than in +his large figures. He was accustomed to insert them in his landscapes, +and composed his historical pictures in the same style as the Regulus, +so highly praised in the Colonna palace, or fancy subjects, as the +Witchcrafts, which we see in the Campidoglio, and in many private +collections. In these he is never select, nor always correct, but +displays great spirit, freedom of execution, and skill and harmony of +colour. In other respects he has proved, more than once, that his genius +was not confined to small compositions, as there are some altarpieces +well conceived, and of powerful effect, particularly where the subject +demands an expression of terror, as in a Martyrdom of Saints at S. Gio. +de' Fiorentini at Rome; and in the Purgatory, which I saw at S. Giovanni +delle Case Rotte in Milan, and at the church del Suffragio in Matelica. +We have also some profane subjects by him, finely executed on a large +scale; such is the Conspiracy of Catiline, in the possession of the +noble family of Martelli, in Florence, mentioned also by Bottari, as one +of his best works. Rosa left Naples at the age of twenty, and +established himself in Rome, where he died at the age of about sixty. +His remains were placed in the church degli Angeli, with his portrait +and eulogy; and another portrait of him is to be seen in the Chigi +gallery, which does not seem to have been recognised by Pascoli; the +picture represents a savage scene; a poet is represented in a sitting +attitude, (the features those of Salvator,) and before him stands a +satyr, allusive to his satiric style of poetry, but the picture is +described by the biographer as the god Pan appearing to the poet Pindar. +He had a scholar in Bartol. Torregiani, who died young, and who excelled +in landscape, but was not accomplished enough to add the figures. +Giovanni Ghisolfi, of Milan, a master of perspective, adopted in his +figures the style of Salvator. + +Gaspar Dughet, or Poussin, of Rome, or of the Roman School, did not much +resemble Rosa, except in despatch. Both these artists were accustomed to +commence and finish a landscape and decorate it with figures on the same +day. Poussin, contrary to Salvator, selected the most enchanting scenes, +and the most beautiful aspects of nature; the graceful poplar, the +spreading plane trees, limpid fountains, verdant meads, gently +undulating hills, villas delightfully situated, calculated to dispel the +cares of state, and to add to the delights of retirement. All the +enchanting scenery of the Tusculan or Tiburtine territory, and of Rome, +where, as Martial observes, nature has combined the many beauties which +she has scattered singly in other places, was copied by this artist. He +composed also ideal landscapes, in the same way that Torquato Tasso, in +describing the garden of Armida, concentrated in his verses all the +recollections of the beautiful which he had observed in nature. + +Notwithstanding this extreme passion for grace and beauty, it is the +opinion of many, that there is not a greater name amongst landscape +painters. His genius had a natural fervour, and as we may say, a +language, that suggests more than it expresses. To give an example, in +some of his larger landscapes, similar to those in the Panfili palace, +we may occasionally observe an artful winding of the road, which in part +discovers itself to the eye, but in other parts, leaves itself to be +followed by the mind. Every thing that Gaspar expresses, is founded in +nature. In his leaves he is as varied as the trees themselves, and is +only accused of not having sufficiently diversified his tints, and of +adhering too much to a green hue. He not only succeeded in representing +the rosy tint of morning, the splendour of noon, evening twilight, or a +sky tempestuous or serene; but the passing breeze that whispers through +the leaves, storms that tear and uproot the trees of the forest, +lowering skies, and clouds surcharged with thunder and rent with +lightning, are represented by him with equal success. Niccolas, who had +taught him to select the beauties of nature, instructed him also in the +figures, and the accessary parts of the composition. Thus in Gaspar +every thing displays elegance and erudition, the edifices have all the +beautiful proportions of the antique; and to these may be added arches +and broken columns, when the scene lay in the plains of Greece or Rome; +or, if in Egypt, pyramids, obelisks, and the idols of the country. The +figures which he introduces are not in general shepherds and their +flocks, as in the Flemish pictures, but are derived from history, or +classic fables, hawking parties, poets crowned with laurel, and other +similar decorations, generally novel, and finished in a style almost as +fine as miniature. His school gave birth to but few followers. By some +Crescenzio di Onofrio is alone considered his true imitator, of whom +little remains in Rome; nor indeed is he much known in Florence, +although he resided there many years in the service of the ducal house. +It is said that he executed many works for the ducal villas; and that he +painted for individuals may be conjectured from some beautiful +landscapes which the Sig. Cancelliere Scrilli possesses, together with +the portrait of Sig. Angelo, his ancestor, on which the artist has +inscribed his name and the year 1712, the date of his work. After him we +may record Gio. Domenico Ferracuti, of Macerata, in which city, and in +others of Piceno, are to be found many landscapes painted by him, +chiefly snow pieces, in which kind of landscape he was singularly +distinguished. + +Claude Lorraine is generally esteemed the prince of landscape painters, +and his compositions are indeed, of all others, the richest and the most +studied. A short time suffices to run through a landscape of Poussin or +Rosa from one end to the other, when compared with Claude, though on a +much smaller surface. His landscapes present to the spectator an endless +variety; so many views of land and water, so many interesting objects, +that like an astonished traveller, the eye is obliged to pause to +measure the extent of the prospect, and his distances of mountains or of +sea are so illusive, that the spectator feels, as it were, fatigued by +gazing. The edifices and temples, which so finely round off his +compositions, the lakes peopled with aquatic birds, the foliage +diversified in conformity to the different kinds of trees,[82] all is +nature in him; every object arrests the attention of an amateur, every +thing furnishes instruction to a professor; particularly when he painted +with care, as in the pictures of the Altieri, Colonna, and other palaces +of Rome. There is not an effect of light, or a reflection in the water, +or in the sky itself, which he has not imitated; and the various changes +of the day are no where better represented than in Claude. In a word, he +is truly the painter, who in depicting the three regions of air, earth, +and water, has embraced the whole universe. His atmosphere almost always +bears the impress of the sky of Rome, whose horizon is, from its +situation, rosy, dewy, and warm. He did not possess any peculiar merit +in his figures, which are insipid, and generally too much attenuated; +hence he was accustomed to observe to the purchasers of his pictures, +that he sold them the landscape, and presented them with the figures +gratis. The figures indeed were generally added by another hand, +frequently by Lauri. A painter of the name of Angiolo, who died young, +deserves to be mentioned as the scholar of Claude, as well as +Vandervert. Claude also contributed to the instruction of Gaspar +Poussin. + +To the preceding may be added those artists who particularly +distinguished themselves by sea views and shipping. Enrico Cornelio +Vroom is called Enrico di Spagna, as he came to Rome immediately from +Seville, although born in Haerlem in Holland. He was a pupil of the +Brills, and seems rather to have aimed at imitating the national art of +shipbuilding, than the varying appearances of the sea and sky. No one is +more diligent, or more minute in fitting up the vessels with every +requisite for sailing; and some persons have purchased his pictures, for +the sole purpose of instructing themselves in the knowledge of ships, +and the mode of arming them. Sandrart relates that he returned to Spain, +and there painted landscapes, views of cities, fishing boats, and +seafights. He places his birth in 1566, whence he must have flourished +about the year 1600. Guarienti makes a separate article of Enrico Vron +of Haerlem, as if he had been a different artist. Another article is +occupied upon _Enrico delle Marine_, and on the authority of Palomino, +he says, that that artist was born in Cadiz, and coming to Rome, there +acquired that name; and that, without wishing ever to return to Spain, +he employed himself in painting in that city shipping and sea views +until his death, at the age of sixty in 1680. I have named three +writers, whose contradictions I have frequently adverted to in this +work, and whose discordant notices require much examination to reconcile +or refute. What I have advanced respecting Enrico was the result of my +observations on several pictures in the Colonna gallery, six in number, +and which, as far as I could judge, all partake of a hard and early +style, and generally of a peculiar reddish tone, often observed in the +landscapes of Brill. Any other Enrico di Spagna, a marine painter, or of +a style corresponding with that of him who died in 1680, I have not met +with in any collection, nor is any such artist to be found in the works +of Sig. Conca, as any one may ascertain by referring to the index of his +work. Hence, at present, I can recognize the Dutch artist alone, and +shall be ready to admit the claims of the Cadiz painter whenever I am +furnished with proofs of his having really existed. + +Agostino Tassi, of Perugia, whose real name was Buonamici, a man of +infamous character, but an excellent painter, was the scholar of Paul +Brill, though he was ambitious of being thought a pupil of the Caracci. +He had already distinguished himself as a landscape painter, when he was +condemned to the galleys at Leghorn, where through interest the +laborious part of his sentence was remitted, and in this situation he +prosecuted his art with such ardour, that he soon obtained the first +rank as a painter of sea views, representing ships, storms, fishing +parties, and the dresses of mariners of various countries with great +spirit and propriety. He excelled too in perspective, and in the papal +palace of the Quirinal and in the palace de' Lancellotti displayed an +excellent style of decoration, which his followers very much +overcharged. He painted many pictures in Genoa, in conjunction with +Salimbeni and Gentileschi, and was assisted by a scholar of his born in +Rome, and domiciled in Genoa, where he died. This scholar is called by +Raffaello Soprani, Gio. Batista Primi, and he eulogizes him as an +esteemed painter of sea views. + +Equal to Tassi in talent, and still more infamous in his life, was +Pietro Mulier, or Pietro de Mulieribus, of Holland, who, from his +surprising pictures of storms, was called Il Tempesta. His compositions +inspire a real terror, presenting to our eyes death, devoted ships +overtaken by tempests and darkness, fired by lightning, or driving +helpless before the demons of the storm; now rising on the mountain +waves, and again submerged in the abyss of ocean. His works are more +frequently met with than those of Tassi, as he almost always painted in +oil. He was assisted in Rome by a young man, who in consequence obtained +the name of Tempestino, though he often exercised his genius in +landscape in the style of Poussin. He afterwards married a sister of +this young artist, and subsequently procured her assassination, for +which he was sentenced to death in Genoa, but his sentence was commuted +for five years imprisonment. His pictures of storms, which he painted in +his dungeon, seem to have acquired an additional gloom from the horrors +of his prison, his merited punishment, and his guilty conscience. These +works were very numerous, and were considered his best performances. He +excelled also in the painting of animals, for which purpose he kept a +great variety of them in his house. Lastly, he acquired celebrity from +his landscapes, in some of which he has shewn himself not an unworthy +follower of Claude in invention, enriching them with a great variety of +scenery, hills, lakes, and beautiful edifices, but he is still far +behind that master in regard to tone of colour and finishing. He was +however superior to Claude in his figures, to which he gave a mixed +Italian and Flemish character, with lively, varied, and expressive +countenances. There are more specimens of his talents in Milan than in +any other place, as he passed his latter years in that and the +neighbouring cities, as in Bergamo, and particularly in Piacenza. His +epitaph is given in the Guida di Milano, page 129. + +Il Montagna, another artist from Holland, was also a painter of sea +views, which may almost indeed be called the landscapes of the Dutch. He +left many works in Italy, more particularly in Florence and in Rome, +where he is sometimes mistaken for Tempesta in the galleries and in +picture sales; but Montagna, as far as I can judge, is more serene in +his skies, and darker in his waves and the appearance of the sea. A +large picture of the Deluge, which is at S. Maria Maggiore in Bergamo, +placed there in 1668, in which the figures are by the Cav. Liberi, is +supposed to be by Montagna, from the tone of the water. This however is +an error, for the Montagna of whom we speak, called by Felibien (tom. +iii. p. 339,) Montagna di Venezia, certainly died in Padua; and in a MS. +by a contemporary author, where he is mentioned as a distinguished sea +painter, he is said to have died in 1644. I apprehend this is the same +artist whom Malvasia (tom. ii. p. 78,) calls Mons. Rinaldo della +Montagna, and states that he was held in esteem by Guido for his +excellence in sea views. I also find a Niccolo de Plate Montagna, +favourably mentioned by Felibien, also a marine painter, who died about +1665; and I formerly imagined that this might be the artist who painted +so much in Italy, but I now retract that opinion. + +Tempesti was the first to introduce the custom of decorating landscapes +with battles and skirmishes. A Flemish artist of the name of Jacopo +succeeded to him in this branch, but his fame was eclipsed by his own +scholar Cerquozzi, a Roman, who from his singular talent in this +respect, was called Michelangiolo delle Battaglie. He was superior to +Tempesti in colouring, but inferior to him in designing horses. In the +human figure, too, he is less correct, and more daring in the style of +his master Cesari. It must however be remembered, that when Cerquozzi +painted battles he was not in his prime, and that his chief merit lay in +subjects on which I shall presently make some remarks. + +Padre Jacopo Cortese, a Jesuit, called from his native country Il +Borgognone, carried this branch of the art to a height unknown before or +since. M. A. Cerquozzi discovered his genius for this department, and +persuaded him to abandon the other branches of painting which he +cultivated, and to confine himself to this alone. The Battle of +Constantine, by Giulio Romano in the Vatican, was the model on which he +founded his style. His youth had been dedicated to arms, and his +military spirit was not to be extinguished by the luxury of Rome, or the +indolence of the cloister. He imparted a wonderful air of reality to his +compositions. His combatants appear before us courageously contending +for honour or for life, and we seem to hear the cries of the wounded, +the blast of the trumpet, and the neighing of the horses. He was indeed +an inimitable artist in his line, and his scholars were accustomed to +say that their own figures seemed to fight only in jest, while those of +Borgognone were the real occupants of the field of battle. He painted +with great despatch, and his battle pieces are in consequence very +frequent in collections; his touch was rapid, in strokes, and his pencil +flowing, so that the effect is heightened by distance; and this style +was probably the result of his study of Paolo at Venice, and of Guido in +Bologna. From whatever cause it may be, his colouring is very different +from that of Guglielmo Baur, who is considered his master, and of whom +there are some works in the Colonna gallery. There also may be seen +several specimens of his scholars, Bruni, Graziano, and Giannizero, who +adopted from Borgognone their colouring, and the selection of a distant +point of view for their subject. Others of his scholars occur in various +schools. + +It was also during the pontificate of Urban, about the year 1626, that +the burlesque style was first brought into notice in Rome. It had been +practised by Ludius in the time of Augustus, and was not wholly unknown +to our early artists; but I am not aware that any one had exercised this +branch as a profession, or on so small a scale as was practised by +Pietro Laar, who was called Bamboccio, from his deformity, as well as +from the subjects of his pencil; and the appellation of _bambocciate_ is +generally applied to these small pictures, which represent the +festivities of the vintage, dances, fights, and carnival masquerades. +His figures are usually of a span in size, and the accompanying +landscape and the animals are so vividly coloured, that we seem, says +Passeri, to see the very objects themselves from an open window, rather +than the representation on canvass. The great painters frequently +purchased the pictures of Pietro, in order to study his natural style of +colour, though at the same time they lamented that so much talent should +be misapplied to such low subjects.[83] He resided many years in Rome, +and then retired to Holland, where he died at an advanced age, and not a +young man, as Passeri has imagined. + +His place and his employ in Rome were soon filled up by Cerquozzi, who +had for some time past exchanged the name of M. A. delle Battaglie, for +that of M. A. delle Bambocciate. Although the subjects which he +represents are humourous, like those of Laar, the incidents and the +characters are for the most part different. The first adopted the +Flemish boors, the other the peasantry of Italy. They had both great +force of colour, but Bamboccio excels Cerquozzi in landscape, while the +latter discovers more spirit in his figures. One of Cerquozzi's largest +compositions is in the Spada palace at Rome, in which he represented a +band of insurgent Lazzaroni applauding Maso Aniello. + +Laar had another excellent imitator in Gio. Miel, of Antwerp, who having +imbibed a good style of colouring from Vandyke, came to Rome and +frequented the school of Sacchi. From thence, however, he was soon +dismissed, as his master wished him to attempt serious subjects, but he +was led both by interest and genius to the burlesque. His pictures +pleased from their spirited representations and their excellent +management of light and shade, and brought high prices from collectors. +He afterwards painted on a larger scale, and besides some altarpieces in +Rome, he left some considerable works in Piedmont, where we shall notice +him again. Theodore Hembreker, of Haerlem, also employed himself on +humourous subjects, and scenes of common life, although there are some +religious pieces attributed to him in the church della Pace in Rome, and +a number of landscapes in private collections. He passed many years in +Italy, and visited most of the great cities, so that his works are +frequently found not only in Rome, where he had established himself, but +in Florence, Naples, Venice, and elsewhere. His style is a pleasing +union of the Flemish and Italian. + +Many artists of this period attached themselves to the painting of +animals. Castiglione distinguished himself in this line, but he resided +for the most part of his time in another country. M. Gio. Rosa, of +Flanders, is the most known in Rome and the State, for the great number +of his paintings of animals, in which he possessed a rare talent. It is +told of him, that dogs were deceived by the hares he painted, thus +reviving the wonderful story of Zeuxis, so much boasted of by Pliny. Two +of his largest and finest pictures are in the Bolognetti collection, and +there is attached to them a portrait, but whether of the painter +himself, or some other person, is not known. We must not confound this +artist with Rosa da Tivoli, who was also an excellent animal painter, +but not so celebrated in Italy, and flourished at a later period, and +whose real name was Philip Peter Roos. He was son-in-law of Brandi, and +his scholar in Rome, and rivalled his hasty method in many pictures +which I have seen in Rome and the states of the church; but we ought not +to rest our decision of his merits on these works, but should view the +animals painted by him at his leisure, particularly for the galleries of +princes. These are to be found in Vienna, Dresden, Monaco, and other +capital cities of Germany; and London possesses not a few of the first +value in their way.[84] + +After Caravaggio had given the best examples of flowers in his pictures, +the Cav. Tommaso Salini, of Rome, an excellent artist, as may be seen in +a S. Niccola at S. Agostino, was the first that composed vases of +flowers, accompanying them with beautiful groups of corresponding +foliage, and other elegant designs. Others too pursued this branch, and +the most celebrated of all, was Mario Nuzzi della Penna, better known by +the name of Mario da' Fiori; whose productions during his life were +emulously sought after, and purchased at great prices; but after the +lapse of some years, not retaining their original freshness, and +acquiring, from a vicious mode of colouring, a black and squalid +appearance, they became much depreciated in value. The same thing +happened to the flower pieces of Laura Bernasconi, who was his best +imitator, and whose works are still to be seen in many collections. + +Orsini informs us, that he found in Ascoli some paintings of flowers by +another of the fair sex, to whose memory the Academy of S. Luke in Rome +erected a marble monument in their church, not so much in compliment to +her talents in painting, as in consequence of her having bequeathed to +that society all her property, which was considerable. In her epitaph +she is commemorated only as a miniature painter, and Orlandi describes +her as such, adding, that she resided for a long time in Florence, where +she left a large number of portraits in miniature of the Medici, and +other princes of that time, about the year 1630. She also painted in +other capitals of Italy, and died at an advanced age in Rome, in 1673. + +Michelangiolo di Campidoglio of Rome, was greatly distinguished for his +masterly grouping of fruits. Though almost fallen into oblivion from the +lapse of years, his pictures are still to be met with in Rome, and in +other places. The noble family of Fossombroni in Arezzo, possess one of +the finest specimens of him that I have ever seen. More generally known +is Pietro Paolo Bonzi, called by Baglione, Il Gobbo di Cortona, which +was his native place; by others, Il Gobbo de' Caracci, from his having +been employed in their school; and by the vulgar, Il Gobbo da' Frutti, +from the natural manner of his painting fruit. He did not pass the +bounds of mediocrity in historical design, as we may see from his S. +Thomas, in the church of the Rotonda, nor in landscapes; but he was +unrivalled in painting fruits, and designing festoons, as in the ceiling +of the Palazzo Mattei; and in his elegant grouping of fruit in dishes +and baskets, as I have seen in Cortona, in the house of the noble family +of Velluti, in the Olivieri gallery in Pesaro, and elsewhere. The +Marchesi Venuti, in Cortona, have a portrait of him painted, it is +believed, by one of the Caracci, or some one of their school, and it is +well known, that the drawing of caricatures was a favourite amusement of +that academy. + +At this brilliant epoch, the art of perspective too was carried to a +high degree of perfection in deceiving the eye of the spectator. From +the beginning of the seventeenth century, it had made great advances by +the aid of P. Zaccolini, a Theatine monk of Cesena, in whose praise it +is sufficient to observe, that Domenichino and Poussin were instructed +by him in this art. S. Silvestro, in Montecavallo, possesses the finest +specimen of this power of illusion, in a picture of feigned columns, and +cornices and other architectural decorations. His original drawings +remain in the Barberini library. Gianfrancesco Niceron de' P. P. Minimi +added to this science by his work entitled _Thaumaturgus opticus_, 1643; +and in a gallery of his convent at Trinita de' Monti, he painted some +landscapes, which, on being viewed in a different aspect, are converted +into figures. But the most practised artist in the academy of Rome, was +Viviano Codagora, who drew from the ruins of ancient Rome, and also +painted compositions of his own invention in perspective. He engaged +Cerquozzi and Miel, and others in Rome, to insert the figures for him, +but he was most partial to Gargiuoli of Naples, as we shall mention in +our account of that school. Viviano may he called the Vitruvius of this +class of painters. He was correct in his linear perspective, and an +accurate observer of the style of the ancients. He gave his +representations of marble the peculiar tint it acquires by the lapse of +years, and his general tone of colour was vigorous. What subtracts the +most from his excellence is a certain hardness, and too great a quantity +of black, by which his pictures are easily distinguished from others in +collections, and which in the course of time renders them dark and +almost worthless. His true name is unknown to the greater number of the +lovers of art, by whom he is called Il Viviani; and who seem to have +confounded him with Ottavio Viviani of Brescia, who is mentioned by the +Dictionaries; a perspective painter also, but in another branch, and in +a different style, as we shall hereafter see. + +[Footnote 71: He excelled chiefly in architecture, although he had given +a proof of his talents in painting, in some subjects in the gallery, +executed under Gregory XIII.] + +[Footnote 72: In the, not very accurate, catalogue of the pictures in +Fabriano, besides the above mentioned fourteen, seven more are mentioned +by the same master.] + +[Footnote 73: Mention is also made of one Basilio Maggieri, an excellent +painter of portraits.] + +[Footnote 74: V. Le Pitture pubbliche di Piacenza, p. 81.] + +[Footnote 75: In a letter of the Oretti correspondence, written in 1777, +from Andrea Zanoni to the Prince Ercolani, I find Marini classed in the +school of Ferrau da Faenza, and there still remain many pictures by him +in the style of that master.] + +[Footnote 76: Pascoli has restored to him the picture of S. Rosalia at +the Maddalena, which Titi had ascribed to Michele Rocca, called _Il +Parmigianino_, an artist of repute, and proper to be mentioned, as by +those who are not acquainted with his name and style, he might be +mistaken for Mazzuola, or perhaps Scaglia. The same author, soon +afterwards, mentions Grecolini, and thereby renders any further notice +of that artist on my part unnecessary.] + +[Footnote 77: We ought to judge of him from the Visitation, at the +church of the Orfanelli, rather than from the picture of various Saints, +in _Ara Coeli_. This kind of observation may be extended to many other +artists, who are commemorated for the sake of some superior work.] + +[Footnote 78: Memoirs of this painter have been long a desideratum, as +may be seen from the Lett. Pitt. tom. v. p. 257. I give such information +as I have been able to procure in his native place, assisted by the +researches of the very obliging Monsignore Massajuoli, Bishop of Nocera. +Gio. Batista was born in Sassoferrato on the 11th July, 1605, and died +in Rome on the 8th August, 1685. And I may here correct an error of my +first edition, where it is printed 1635.] + +[Footnote 79: There is a picture of the Rosario in the church of the +Eremitani, with his name, and the year 1573. It is a large composition.] + +[Footnote 80: In the Oretti Correspondence there is a letter from an +anonymous writer to Malvasia respecting this painter, who is there +called Francesco, and is declared to be _Pittore di molta stima_. He +then painted in Ancona, as appears from letters under his own hand to +Malvasia, where he invariably subscribes himself Francesco.] + +[Footnote 81: Passeri, Vite de' Pittori, page 363. He was remarkable for +being the first to adopt a new style in trees in landscapes, where by a +strong character of truth and attention to the forms of the trunk, +foliage, and branches, he denoted the particular species he wished to +express.] + +[Footnote 82: He painted for his _studio_ a landscape enriched with +views from the Villa Madama, in which a wonderful variety of trees was +introduced. This he preserved for the purpose of supplying himself, as +from nature, with subjects for his various pictures, and refused to sell +it to the munificent pontiff, Clement IX., although that prince offered +to cover it with pieces of gold.] + +[Footnote 83: V. Salvator Rosa, sat. iii. p. 79, where he reprehends not +only the artists, but also the great, for affording such pictures a +place in their collections.] + +[Footnote 84: He was the ancestor of the Sig. Giuseppe Rosa, director of +the imperial gallery in Vienna, who has given us a catalogue of the +Italian and Flemish pictures of that collection, and who will, we hope, +add the German. Of this deserving artist he possesses a portrait, +engraved in 1789, where we find a list of the various academies that had +elected him a member, and these are numerous, and of the first class in +Europe. We find him also amongst those masters whose drawings were +collected by Mariette; and he is also mentioned in the Lessico +Universale delle Belle Arti, edited in Zurich, in 1763.] + + + + + ROMAN SCHOOL. + + FIFTH EPOCH. + + _The Scholars of Pietro da Cortona, from an injudicious + imitation of their Master, deteriorate the art. Maratta + and others support it._ + + +It may with equal justice be asserted of the fine arts, as of the belles +lettres, that they never long remain in the same state, and that they +experience often great changes even in the common period assigned to the +life of man. Many causes contribute to this; public calamities, such as +I mentioned to have occurred after the death of Raffaello; the +instability of the human mind, which in the arts as in dress is guided +by fashion and the love of novelty; the influence of particular artists; +the taste of the great, who from their selection or patronage of +particular masters, silently indicate the path to those artists who seek +the gifts of fortune. These and other causes tended to produce the +decline of painting in Rome towards the close of the seventeenth +century, at a time too when literature began to revive; a clear proof +that they are not mutually progressive. This was in a great measure +occasioned by the calamitous events which afflicted Rome and the state, +about the middle of that century; by the feuds of the nobles, the flight +of the Barberini family, and other unfortunate circumstances, which, +during the pontificate of Innocent X., as we are informed by Passeri, +(p. 321,) rendered the employment of artists very precarious; but more +than all the dreadful plague of 1655, under Alexander VII. To this state +of decay too the evil passions of mankind contributed in no small +degree, and these indeed in all revolutions are among the most active +and predominant sources of evil, and often even in a prosperous state of +things sow the seeds of future calamities. + +The Cav. Bernini, a man of more talents as an architect than as a +sculptor, was under Urban VIII. and Innocent X., and also until the year +1680, in which he died, the arbiter of the public taste in Rome. The +enemy of Sacchi and the benefactor of Cortona, he obtained more employ +for his friend than for his rival; and this was easily accomplished, as +Cortona was rapid as well as laborious, while Sacchi was slow and +irresolute, qualities which rendered him unacceptable even to his own +patrons. In course of time Bernini began to favour Romanelli, to the +prejudice of Pietro; and, instructing that artist and Baciccio in his +principles, he influenced them to the adoption of his own style, which, +though it possessed considerable beauty, was nevertheless mannered, +particularly in the folds of the drapery. The way being thus opened to +caprice, they abandoned the true, and substituted false precepts of art, +and many years had not elapsed before pernicious principles appeared in +the schools of the painters, and particularly in that of Cortona. Some +went so far as to censure the imitation of Raffaello, as Bellori attests +in the Life of Carlo Maratta, (p. 102,) and others ridiculed, as +useless, the study of nature, preferring to copy, in a servile manner, +the works of other artists. These effects are visible in the pictures of +the time. All the countenances, although by different artists, have a +fulness in the lips and nose like those of Pietro, and have all a sort +of family resemblance, so much are they alike; a defect which Bottari +says is the only fault of Pietro, but it is not the only fault of his +school. Every one was anxious to avoid the labour of study, and to +promote facility at the expense of correct design; the errors in which +they endeavoured to conceal by overcharging rather than discriminating +the contours. No one can be desirous that I should enter into further +particulars, when we are treating of matters so very near our own times, +and whoever is free from prejudice may judge for himself. I now return +to the state of the Roman School about one hundred and twenty years +back. + +The schools most in repute, after the death of Sacchi, in 1661, and of +Berrettini, in 1670, when the best scholars of the Caracci were dead, +were reduced to two, that of Cortona supported by Ciro, and that of +Sacchi, by Maratta. The first of these expanded the ideas, but induced +negligence; the second enforced correctness, but fettered the ideas. +Each adopted something from the other, and not always the best part; an +affected contrast pleased some of the scholars of Maratta, and the +drapery of Maratta was adopted by some of the followers of Ciro.[85] The +school of Cortona exhibited a grand style in fresco; the other school +was restricted to oils. They became rivals, each supported by its own +party, and were impartially employed by the pontiffs until the death of +Ciro, that is, until 1689. From that time a new tone was given to art by +Maratta, who, under Clement XI., was appointed director of the numerous +works which that pontiff was carrying on in Rome and in Urbino. Although +this master had many able rivals, as we shall see, he still maintained +his superiority, and on his death, his school continued to flourish +until the pontificate of Benedict XIV., ultimately yielding to the more +novel style of Subleyras, Batoni, and Mengs. Thus far of the two schools +in general: we shall now notice their followers. + +Besides the scholars whom Pietro formed in Tuscany, as Dandini of +Florence, Castellucci of Arezzo, Palladino of Cortona, and those whom he +formed in other schools, where we shall see them as masters, he educated +others in the Roman state, of whom it is now time to speak. The number +of his scholars is beyond belief. They were enumerated by Sig. Cav. +Luzi, a nobleman of Cortona, who composed a life of Berrettini with more +accuracy than had been before done, but his death prevented the +publication of it. Pietro continued to teach to the close of his life, +and the picture of S. Ivo, which he left imperfect, was finished by Gio. +Ventura Borghesi, of Citta di Castello. Of this artist there are also at +S. Niccola, two pictures, the Nativity, and the Assumption of the +Virgin, and I am not acquainted with any other public specimens of his +pencil in Rome. His native place possesses many of his performances, and +the most esteemed are four circles of the History of S. Caterina, V. M., +in the church of that saint. Many of his works are to be found also in +Prague, and the cities of Germany. He follows Pietro with sufficient +fidelity in design, but does not display so much vigour of colour. Carlo +Cesi, of Rieti, or rather of Antrodoco, in that neighbourhood, was also +a distinguished scholar of Pietro. He lived in Rome, and in the Quirinal +gallery, where the best artists of the age painted under Alexander VII., +he has left a large picture of the Judgment of Solomon. He worked also +in other places; as at S. M. Maggiore, at the Rotunda, and was +patronized by several cardinals. He was correct in his design, and +opposed, both in person and by his precepts and example, the fatal and +prevailing facility of his time. Pascoli has preserved some of his +axioms, and this among others, that the beautiful should not be crowded, +but distributed with judgment in the composition of pictures; otherwise +they resemble a written style, which by the redundancy of brilliant and +sententious remarks fails in its effect. Francesco Bonifazio was of +Viterbo, and from the various pictures by him, which Orlandi saw in that +city, I do not hesitate to rank him among the successful followers of +Pietro. We may mention Michelangiolo Ricciolini, a Roman by birth, +although called of Todi, whose portrait is in the Medici gallery, where +is also that of Niccolo Ricciolini, respecting whom Orlandi is silent. +Both were employed in decorating the churches of Rome; the second had +the reputation of a better designer than the first, and in the cartoons +painted for some mosaics for the Vatican church, he competed with the +Cav. Franceschini. Paolo Gismondi, called also Paolo Perugino, became a +good fresco painter, and there are works remaining by him in the S. +Agata, in the Piazza Nova, and at S. Agnes, in the Piazza Navona. Pietro +Paolo Baldini, of whose native place I am ignorant, is stated by Titi to +have been of the school of Cortona. Ten pictures by him are counted in +the churches of Rome, and in some of them, as in the Crucifixion of S. +Eustace, a precision of style derived from another school is observable. +Bartolommeo Palombo has only two pictures in the capital. That of S. +Maria Maddelena de' Pazzi, which is placed at S. Martino a' Monti, +entitles him to rank with the best of his fellow scholars, the picture +possesses so strong a colouring, and the figures are so graceful and +well designed. Pietro Lucatelli, of Rome, was a distinguished painter, +and is named in the catalogue of the Colonna gallery, as the scholar of +Ciro, and in Titi, as the disciple of Cortona. He is a different artist +from Andrea Lucatelli, of whom we shall shortly speak. Gio. Batista +Lenardi, whom, in a former edition, I hesitated to place in the list of +the pupils of Pietro, I now consider as belonging to that school, though +he was instructed also by Baldi. In the chapel of the B. Rita, at S. +Agostino, he painted two lateral pictures as well as the vault; he also +ornamented other churches with his works, and particularly that of +Buonfratelli, at Trastevere, where he painted the picture of S. Gio. +Calibita. That of the great altar was ascribed to him, probably from a +similarity of style; but is by Andrea Generoli, called Il Sabinese, a +pupil either of Pietro himself, or of one of his followers. + +Thus far of the less celebrated of this school. The three superior +artists, whose works still attract us in the galleries of princes, are +Cortesi, and the two elder scholars of the academy of Pietro, Romanelli +and Ferri. Nor is it improbable that having competitors in some of his +first scholars, he became indisposed to instruct others with the same +degree of good will, as those noble minds are few, in whom the zeal of +advancing the art exceeds the regret at having produced an ingrate or a +rival. + +Guglielmo Cortesi, the brother of P. Giacomo, like him named Il +Borgognone, was one of the best artists of this period; and a scholar +rather than an imitator of Pietro. His admiration was fixed on Maratta, +whom he followed in the studied variety of his heads, and in the +sobriety of the composition, more than in the division of the folds of +his drapery or in colour; in which latter he manifested a clearness +partaking of the Flemish. His style was somewhat influenced by that of +his brother, whose assistant he was, and by his study of the Caracci. He +often appears to have imitated the strong relief and azure grounds of +Guercino. His Crucifixion of S. Andrea, in the church of Monte Cavallo, +the Fight of Joshua in the Quirinal palace, and a Madonna attended by +Saints, in the Trinita de' Pellegrini, merit our attention. In these +works there is a happy union of various styles, exempt from mannerism. + +Francesco Romanelli was born at Viterbo, and, as well as Testa, studied +some time under Domenichino. He afterwards placed himself with Pietro, +whose manner he imitated so successfully, that on Pietro going on a +journey into Lombardy, he left him, together with Bottalla (called +Bortelli by Baldinucci) to supply his place in decorating the Barberini +palace. It is reported that the two scholars, in the absence of their +master, endeavoured to have the work transferred to themselves, and were +on that account dismissed. It was at this time that Romanelli, assisted +by Bernini, changed his style, and adopted by degrees a more elegant and +a seductive manner in his figures, but possessing less grandeur and +science than that of Pietro. He used more slender proportions, clearer +tints, and a more minute taste in folding his drapery. His Deposition in +S. Ambrogio, which was extolled as a prodigy, stimulated Pietro to paint +opposite to it that wonderful picture of S. Stephen, on seeing which +Bernini exclaimed, that he then perceived the difference between the +master and the scholar. Romanelli was twice in France, having found a +patron in the Cardinal Barberini, who had fled to Paris; and he +participated in the spirited manner of that country, which gave an +animation before unknown to his figures. This at least is the opinion of +Pascoli. He decorated a portico of Cardinal Mazarine with subjects from +the metamorphoses of Ovid, and afterwards adorned some of the royal +saloons with passages from the AEneid. He was preparing to return to +France with his family for the third time, when he was intercepted by +death at Viterbo. He left in that city, at the grand altar of the Duomo, +the picture of S. Lorenzo, and in Rome, and in other cities of Italy, +numerous works both public and private, although he died at about +forty-five years of age. He had the honour of painting in the church of +the Vatican. The presentation which he placed there is now in the church +of the Certosa, the mosaic in S. Peter. He did not leave behind him any +scholars who inherited his reputation. Urbano, his son, was educated by +Ciro after the death of his father. He is known for his works in the +cathedral churches of Velletri and Viterbo: those in Viterbo are from +the life of S. Lorenzo, the patron saint of the church, and prove him to +have been a young man of considerable promise, but he was cut off +prematurely. + +Ciro Ferri, a Roman by birth, was, of all the disciples of Cortona, the +one the most attached in person, and similar to him in style; and not a +few of the works of Pietro were given to him to complete, both in +Florence and in Rome. There are indeed some pictures so dubious, that +the experienced are in doubt whether to assign them to the master or the +scholar. He displays generally less grace in design, a less expansive +genius, and shuns that breadth of drapery which his master affected. The +number of his works in Rome is not proportioned to his residence there, +because he lent much assistance to his master. There is a S. Ambrogio in +the church of that saint just mentioned, and it is a touchstone of merit +for whoever wishes to compare him with the best of his fellow scholars, +or with his master himself. His works in the Pitti palace have been +already mentioned in another place, and we ought not to forget another +grand composition by him in S. M. Maggiore in Bergamo, consisting of +various scriptural histories painted in fresco. He speaks of them +himself in some letters inserted in the Pittoriche, (tom. ii. p. 38,) +from which we gather, that he had been reprehended for his colouring, +and contemplated visiting Venice in order to improve himself. He did not +leave any scholar of celebrity in Rome. Corbellini, who finished the +Cupola of S. Agnes, the last work of Ciro, which has been engraved, +would not have found a place in Titi and Pascoli, if it had not been to +afford those writers an opportunity of expressing their regret at so +fine a composition being injured by the hand that attempted to finish +it. + +But another scion of the same stock sprung up to support the name and +credit of the school of Ciro, transferred from Florence to Rome. We +mentioned in the first book, that when Ciro was in Florence he formed a +scholar in Gabbiani, who became the master of Benedetto Luti. Ciro was +only just dead when Luti arrived in Rome, who not being able to become +his scholar, as he had designed when he left his native place, applied +himself to studying the works of Ciro, and those of other good masters, +as I have elsewhere remarked. He thus formed for himself an original +style, and enjoyed in Rome the reputation of an excellent artist in the +time of Clement XI., who honoured him with commissions, and decorated +him with the cross. It is to be regretted that he attached himself so +much to crayons, with which he is said to have inundated all Europe. He +was intended by nature for nobler things. He painted well in fresco, and +still better in oils. His S. Anthony in the church of the Apostles, and +the Magdalen in that of the Sisters of Magnanapoli, which is engraved, +are highly esteemed. Nor would it add a little to his reputation, if we +had engravings of his two pictures in the Duomo of Piacenza, S. Conrad +penitent, and S. Alexius recognised after death; where, amidst other +excellences, a fine expression of the pathetic predominates. Of his +profane pieces, his Psyche in the Capitoline gallery, is the most +remarkable, and breathes an elegant and refined taste. Of the few +productions which Tuscany possesses by him, we have written in the +school of Gabbiani. We shall here mention a few of his scholars, who +remained in Rome, noticing others in various schools. + +Placido Costanzi is often mentioned with approbation in the collections +of Rome for the elegant figures he inserted in the landscapes of +Orizzonte; he also painted some altarpieces in a refined style. In the +church of the Magdalen is a picture of S. Camillo attended by Angels, so +gracefully painted, that he seems to have aspired to rival Domenichino. +He also distinguished himself in fresco, as may be seen in the S. Maria +in Campo Marzio, where the ceiling in the greater tribune is the work of +Costanzi. + +Pietro Bianchi resembled Luti more than any of his scholars in elegance +of manner, and excelled him in large compositions, which he derived from +his other master, Baciccio. His extreme fastidiousness and his early +death prevented him from leaving many works. A very few of his pictures +are found in the churches of Rome. At Gubbio is his picture of S. +Chiara, with the Angel appearing, a piece of grand effect, from the +distribution of the light. The sketch of this picture was purchased by +the King of Sardinia at a high price. He painted for the church of S. +Peter a picture, which was executed in mosaic in the altar of the choir: +the original is in the Certosa, in which the Cav. Mancini had the +greatest share, as Bianchi did little more than furnish the sketch. + +Francesco Michelangeli, called l'Aquilano, is known to posterity from a +letter written by Luti himself, (Lett. Pitt. tom. vi. p. 278,) where the +annotator informs us, that his master frequently employed him in copying +his works, and that he died young. This notice is not without its use, +as it acquaints us with the origin of the beautiful copies of Luti which +are so frequently met with. + +We may lastly notice an artist of mediocrity of this school, who is +nevertheless said to be the painter of some beautiful pictures; the two +pictures of S. Margaret, in Araceli; S. Gallicano, in the church of that +saint; and the Nativity, in the church of the Infant Jesus. His name was +Filippo Evangelisti, and he was chamberlain to the Cardinal Corradini, +through whose influence he obtained many commissions. Being himself +incapable of executing these well, (if we may rely on a letter in the +_Pittoriche_) he engaged Benefial, whom we shall shortly notice, to +assist him. They thus painted in partnership, the gain was divided +between them, but the celebrity was the portion of the principal; and if +any piece came out under the name of the assistant, it was rather +censured than praised. The poor artist at last became impatient of this +treatment, and disdaining any longer to support a character which did +him no honour, he left his companion to work by himself; and it was then +that Evangelisti, in his picture of S. Gregory, in the church of the +Saints Peter and Marcellino, appeared in his true colours, and the +public thus discovered that he was indebted to Benefial for genius as +well as labour. + +The school of Sacchi may boast of one of the first artists of the age in +Francesco Lauri, of Rome, in whom his master flattered himself he had +found a second Raffaello. The disciple himself, in order to justify the +high expectation which the public had conceived of him, before opening a +school in Rome, travelled through Italy, and from thence visited +Germany, Holland, and Flanders, and resided for the space of a year in +Paris; thus adding greatly to the funds of knowledge and experience +already obtained by him in his native place. He was, however, cut off +very early in life, leaving behind him, in the Sala de' Crescenzi, three +figures of Goddesses painted in the vault in fresco; but no other +considerable work, as far as my knowledge extends. This artist must not +be confounded with Filippo, his brother, and scholar in his early years, +who was afterwards instructed by Caroselli, who espoused his sister. He +was not accustomed to paint large compositions; and the Adam and Eve, +which are seen in the Pace, it should seem, he represented on so much +larger a scale, lest any one should despise his talent, as only capable +of small works, on which he was always profitably employed. We meet with +cabinet pictures by him in the Flemish style, touched with great spirit, +and coloured in good taste, evincing a fund of lively and humorous +invention. He sometimes painted sacred subjects, and at S. Saverio, in +the collection of the late Monsignor Goltz, I saw an enchanting picture +by him, a perfect gem, and greatly admired by Mengs. He painted in the +Palazzo Borghese some beautiful landscapes in fresco, in which branch +his family was already celebrated, as his father, Baldassare, of +Flanders, who had been a scholar of Brill, and lived in Rome in the time +of Sacchi, was ranked among the eminent landscape painters, and is +commemorated by Baldinucci. + +The immature death of Lauri was compensated for by the lengthened term +of years accorded to Luigi Garzi and Carlo Maratta, who continued to +paint to the commencement of the eighteenth century; enemies to +despatch, correct in their style, and free from the corrupt prejudices +which afterwards usurped the place of the genuine rules of art. The +first, who is called a Roman by Orlandi, was born in Pistoja, but came +while yet young to Rome. He studied landscape for fifteen years under +Boccali, but being instructed afterwards by Sacchi, he discovered such +remarkable talents, that he became highly celebrated in Naples and in +Rome in every class of painting. In the former city, his decoration of +two chambers of the royal palace is greatly extolled; and in the latter, +where he ornamented many churches, he seemed to surpass himself in the +Prophet of S. Giovanni Laterano. He is praised in general for his forms +and attitudes, and for his fertile invention and his composition. He +understood perspective, and was a good machinist, though in refinement +of taste he is somewhat behind Maratta. In his adherence to the school +of Sacchi we may still perceive some imitation of Cortona, to whom some +have given him as a scholar, as well in many pictures remaining in Rome, +as in others sent to various parts; among which is his S. Filippo Neri, +in the church of that saint at Fano, which is a gallery of beautiful +productions. But on no occasion does he seem more a follower of Cortona, +or rather of Lanfranco, than in the Assumption in the Duomo of Pescia, +an immense composition, and which is considered his masterpiece. It is +mentioned in the _Catalogo delle migliori Pitture di Valdinievole_, +drawn up by Sig. Innocenzio Ansaldi, and inserted in the recent History +of Pescia. Mario, the son of Luigi Garzi who is mentioned twice in the +_Guida di Roma_, died young. We may here also mention the name of +Agostino Scilla of Messina, whom we shall hereafter notice more at +length. + +Carlo Maratta was born in Camurano, in the district of Ancona, and +enjoyed, during his life, the reputation of one of the first painters in +Europe. Mengs, in a letter "On the Rise, Progress, and Decline of the +Art of Design," assigns to Maratta the enviable distinction of having +sustained the art in Rome, where it did not degenerate as in other +places. The early part of his life was devoted to copying the works of +Raffaello, which always excited his admiration, and his indefatigable +industry was employed in restoring the frescos of that great master in +the Vatican and the Farnesina, and preserving them for the eyes of +posterity; a task requiring both infinite care and judgment, and +described by Bellori. He was not a machinist, and in consequence neither +he nor his scholars distinguished themselves in frescos, or in large +compositions. At the same time he had no fear of engaging in works of +that kind, and willingly undertook the decoration of the Duomo of +Urbino, which he peopled with figures. This work, with the Cupola +itself, was destroyed by an earthquake in 1782; but the sketches for it +are preserved in Urbino, in four pictures, in the Albani palace. He was +most attached by inclination to the painting of cabinet pictures and +altarpieces. His Madonnas possess a modest, lively, and dignified air; +his angels are graceful; and his saints are distinguished by their fine +heads, a character of devotion, and are clothed in the sumptuous costume +of the church. In Rome his pictures are the more prized the nearer they +approach to the style of Sacchi, as the S. Saverio in the Gesu, a +Madonna in the Panfili palace, and several others. Some are found beyond +the territories of the church, and in Genoa is his Martyrdom of S. +Biagio, a picture as to the date of which I do not inquire, but only +assert that it is worthy of the greatest rival of Sacchi. He afterwards +adopted a less dignified style, but which for its correctness is worthy +of imitation. Though he had devoted the early part of his life to the +acquisition of a pure style of design, he did not think himself +sufficiently accomplished in it, and again returned, when advanced in +years, to the study of Raffaello, of whose excellences he possessed +himself, without losing sight of the Caracci and Guido. But many are of +opinion that he fell into a style too elaborate, and sacrificed the +spirit of his compositions to minute care. His principal fault lay in +the folding of his drapery, when through a desire of copying nature he +too frequently separates its masses, and neglects too much the naked +parts, which takes away from the elegance of his figures. He endeavoured +to fix his principal light on the most important part of his +composition, subduing rather more than was right, the light in other +parts of his picture, and his scholars carried this principle afterwards +so far as to produce an indistinctness which became the characteristic +mark of his school. + +Though not often, he yet painted some few pictures of an extraordinary +magnitude, as the S. Carlo in the church of that saint at the Corso, and +the Baptism of Christ in the Certosa, copied in mosaic in the Basilica +of S. Peter. His other pictures are for the most part on a smaller +scale; many are in Rome, and amongst them the charming composition of S. +Stanislaus Kostka, at the altar where his ashes repose; not a few others +in other cities, as the S. Andrea Corsini in the chapel of that noble +family in Florence, and the S. Francesco di Sales at the Filippini di +Forli, which is one of his most studied works. He contributed largely, +also, to the galleries of sovereigns and private individuals. There is +not a considerable collection in Rome without a specimen of his pencil, +particularly that of the Albani, to which family he was extremely +attached. His works are frequently met with in the state. There is a +valuable copy of the Battle of Constantine, in possession of the +Mancinforti family in Ancona. It is related, that, being requested to +copy that picture, he proposed the task to one of his best scholars, who +disdained the commission. He therefore undertook the work himself, and +on finishing it, took occasion to intimate to his pupils, that the +copying such productions might not be without benefit to the most +accomplished masters. He had a daughter whom he instructed in his own +art; and her portrait, executed by herself, in a painting attitude, is +to be seen in the Corsini gallery at Rome. + +Maratta, in his capacity of an instructor, is extolled by his +biographer, Bellori (p. 208); but is by Pascoli accused of jealousy, and +of having condemned a youth of the most promising talents in his school, +Niccolo Berrettoni di Montefeltro, to the preparation of colours. This +artist, however, from the principles which he imbibed from Cantarini, +and from his imitation of Guido and Coreggio, formed for himself a mixed +style, delicate, free, and unconstrained, and the more studied, as that +study was concealed under the semblance of nature. He died young, +leaving very few works behind him, almost all of which were engraved, in +consequence of his high reputation. The Marriage of the Virgin Mary, +which he executed for S. Lorenzo in Borgo, was engraved by Pier Santi +Bartoli, a very distinguished engraver of those times, an excellent +copyist, and himself a painter of some merit.[86] Another of his +pictures, a Madonna, attended by saints at S. Maria di Monte Santo, and +the lunettes of the same chapel, were engraved by Frezza. An account of +this artist may be found in the Lettere Pitt. tom. v. p. 277. + +Giuseppe Chiari of Rome, who finished some pictures of Berrettoni and of +Maratta himself, was one of the best painters of easel pictures of that +school. Many of his works found their way to England. He painted some +pictures for the churches of Rome, and probably the best is the +Adoration of the Magi in the church of the Suffragio, of which there is +an engraving. He also succeeded in fresco. Those works in particular, +which he executed in the Barberini palace, under the direction of the +celebrated Bellori, and those also of the Colonna gallery, will always +do him credit; he was sober in his colours, careful and judicious; rare +qualities in a fresco painter. He did not inherit great talents from +nature, but by force of application became one of the first artists of +his age. Tommaso Chiari, a pupil also of Maratta, and whose designs he +sometimes executed, did not pass the bounds of mediocrity. The same may +be observed of Sigismond Rosa, a scholar of Giuseppe Chiari. + +To Giuseppe Chiari, who was the intimate friend of Maratta, we may add +two others, who were, according to Pascoli, the only scholars whom he +took a pleasure in instructing; Giuseppe Passeri, the nephew of +Giambatista, and Giacinto Calandrucci of Palermo. Both were +distinguished as excellent imitators of their master. Passeri worked +also in the state. In Pesaro is a S. Jerome by him, meditating on the +Last Judgment, which may be enumerated among his best works. In the +church of the Vatican, he painted a pendant to the Baptism of Maratta, +S. Peter baptizing the centurion, which after being copied in mosaic, +was sent to the church of the Conventuals in Urbino. This picture, which +was executed under the direction of Maratta, is well coloured; but in +many of his works his colouring is feeble, as in the Conception at the +church of S. Thomas in Parione, and in other places in Rome. +Calandrucci, after having given proof of his talents in the churches of +S. Antonio de' Portoghesi, and S. Paolino della Regola, and in other +churches of Rome, and after having been creditably employed by many +noble persons, and by two pontiffs, returned to Palermo, and there, in +the church del Salvatore, placed his large composition of the Madonnas, +attended by S. Basil and other saints, which work he did not long +survive. He left behind him in Rome a nephew, who was his scholar, +called Giambatista; and he had also a brother there of the name of +Domenico, a disciple of Maratta and himself; but there are no traces of +their works remaining. + +Andrea Procaccini and Pietro de' Petri, also hold a distinguished place +in this school, although their fortunes were very dissimilar. +Procaccini, who painted in S. Giovanni Laterano, the Daniel, one of the +twelve prophets which Clement XI. commanded to be painted as a trial of +skill by the artists of his day, obtained great fame, and ultimately +became painter to the court of Spain, where he remained fourteen years, +and left some celebrated works. Petri on the contrary continued to +reside in Rome, and died there at a not very advanced age. He was +employed there in the tribune of S. Clement, and in some other works. He +did not, however, obtain the reputation and success that he deserved, in +consequence of his infirm health and his extreme modesty. He is one of +those who engrafted on the style of Maratta, a portion of the manner of +Cortona. Orlandi calls him a Roman, others a Spaniard, but his native +place in fact was Premia, a district of Novara. Paolo Albertoni and Gio. +Paolo Melchiorri, both Romans, flourished about the same time; less +esteemed, indeed, than the foregoing, but possessing the reputation of +good masters, particularly the second. + +At a somewhat later period, the last scholar of Maratta, Agostino +Masucci presents himself to our notice. This artist did not exhibit any +peculiar spirit, confining himself to pleasing and devout subjects. In +his representations of the Virgin he emulated his master, who from his +great number of subjects of that kind, was at one time called Carlo +dalle Madonne; as he himself has commemorated in his own epitaph. Like +Maratta he imparted to them an expression of serene majesty, rather than +loveliness and affability. In some of his cabinet pictures I am aware +that he occasionally renounced this manner, but it was only through +intercession and expostulation. He was a good fresco painter, and +decorated for pope Benedict XIV. an apartment in a casino, erected in +the garden of the Quirinal. He painted many altarpieces, and his angels +and children are designed with great elegance and nature, and in a novel +and original style. His S. Anna at the Nome S. S. di Maria, is one of +the best pictures he left in Rome; there is also a S. Francis in the +church of the Osservanti di Macerata, a Conception at S. Benedetto di +Gubbio, in Urbino a S. Bonaventura, which is perhaps his noblest +composition, full of portraits (in which he was long considered the most +celebrated painter in Rome), and finished with exquisite care. Lorenzo, +his son and scholar, was very inferior to him. + +Stefano Pozzi received his first instructions from Maratta, and +afterwards became a scholar of Masucci. He had a younger brother, +Giuseppe, who died before him, ere his fame was matured. Stefano lived +long, painting in Rome with the reputation of one of the best masters of +his day; more noble in his style of design than Masucci, and if I err +not, more vigorous, and more natural in his colouring. We may easily +estimate their merits in Rome in the church just mentioned, where we +find the Transito di S. Giuseppe of Pozzi, near the S. Anna of Masucci. +Of the Cav. Girolamo Troppa, I have heard from oral tradition that he +was the scholar of Maratta. He was certainly his imitator, and a +successful one too, although he did not live long. He left works both in +oil and fresco in the capital, and in the church of S. Giacomo delle +Penitenti, he painted in competition with Romanelli. I have found +pictures by him in the state; and in S. Severino is a church picture +very well conducted. Girolamo Odam, a Roman of a Lorena family, is +reckoned among the disciples of the Cav. Carlo, and is eulogized in a +long and pompous article by Orlandi, or perhaps by some friend of Odam, +who supplied Orlandi with the information. He is there described as a +painter, sculptor, architect, engraver, philosopher, mathematician, and +poet, and accomplished in every art and science. In all these I should +imagine he was superficial, as nothing remains of him except some +engravings and a very slender reputation, not at all corresponding to +such unqualified commendation. + +Of other artists who are little known in Rome and its territories, such +as Jacopo Fiammingo, Francesco Pavesi, Michele Semini, there is little +information that can be relied on. Respecting Subissati, Conca is +silent, though information might possibly be obtained of him in Madrid, +at which court he died. In Urbino, which was his native place, I find no +picture of him remaining, except the head of a sybil: Antonio Balestra +of Verona and Raffaellino Bottalla will be found in their native +schools, but I must not here omit one, a native of the state, who after +being educated in the academy, returned to his native country, and there +introduced the style of Carlo, at that time so much in vogue. Orlandi +mentions with applause Gioseffo Laudati of Perugia, as having +contributed to restore the art, which after the support it had found in +Bassotti and others, had fallen into decay. + +Lodovico Trasi, of Ascoli, is deserving of particular notice. He was for +several years a fellow disciple of Maratta in the school of Sacchi, and +was afterwards desirous of becoming his scholar. After studying some +time in his academy, he returned to Ascoli, where he has left a great +number of works both public and private, in various styles. In some of +his smaller pictures he discovers a good Marattesque style; but in his +fresco and altarpieces he is negligent, and adheres much to Sacchi, yet +in a manner that discovers traces of Cortona. His picture of S. Niccolo +at the church of S. Cristoforo is beautiful, and is one of the pieces +which he finished with more than usual care. He has there represented +the enfranchisement of a slave, at the moment the pious youth is serving +at his master's table. There are some remarkable pictures of this artist +in the cathedral, painted in distemper, particularly that of the +martyrdom of S. Emidio. Trasi was the instructor of D. Tommaso Nardini, +who continued on his master's death the decoration of the churches of +the city, and his best work is perhaps in S. Angelo Magno, a church of +the Olivetani. The perspective was by Agostino Collaceroni of Bologna, a +scholar of Pozzi. Nardini supplied the figures, representing the +mysteries of the Apocalypse and other scriptural events. It displays +great spirit and harmony, richness of colouring and facility, which are +the distinguishing characteristics of this master, and are perhaps +better expressed in this picture than in any other. We may add to the +two before mentioned painters, Silvestro Mattei, who studied under +Maratta, Giuseppe Angelini, the scholar of Trasi, and Biagio Miniera, +also of Ascoli, whom Orsini has noticed in his _Guida_. + +There flourished about the same time in the neighbouring city of Fermo, +two Ricci, scholars of Maratta, who were probably instructed before +going to Rome by Lorenzino di Fermo, a good artist, though doubtful of +what school, and who is said to have painted the picture of S. Catharine +at the church of the Conventuals, and other pictures in the adjoining +territories. The one was named Natale, the other Ubaldo; the latter was +superior to the former, and is much extolled for his S. Felice, which he +painted for the church of the Capucins, in his native place. He did not +often pass the bounds of mediocrity, which is frequently the case with +artists residing at a distance from a capital, and who have not the +incitement to emulation and an opportunity of studying good examples. +The same observation is, I think, applicable also to another scholar of +Maratta, Giuseppe Oddi, of Pesaro, where one of his pictures remains in +the church della Carita. We shall now return to the metropolis. + +A fresh reinforcement to support the style of the Caracci in Rome, was +received from the school of Bologna. I speak only of those who +established themselves there. Domenico Muratori had been the scholar of +Pasinelli, and painted the great picture in the church of the Apostles, +which is probably the largest altarpiece in Rome, and represents the +martyrdom of S. Philip and S. James. The grandeur of this composition, +its judicious disposition and felicity of chiaroscuro, though its +colouring was not entirely perfect, gave him considerable celebrity. He +was also employed in many smaller works, in which he always evinced an +equally correct design, and perhaps better colouring. He was chosen to +paint one of the prophets in the Basilica Lateranense, and was employed +also in other cities. In the cathedral of Pisa, he painted a large +picture of S. Ranieri, in the act of exorcising a demon, which is +esteemed one of his most finished works. Francesco Mancini di S. Angiolo +in Vado, and Bonaventura Lamberti di Carpi, had better fortune in +Bologna, in having for their master Carlo Cignani. Mancini, when he came +to Rome, did not adhere exclusively to his master's manner, as he was +rather more attached to the facility and freedom of Franceschini, his +fellow scholar, whom he somewhat resembles in style. He seems, however, +to have had less despatch, and certainly painted less. He was chaste in +his invention, and followed the example of Lazzarini; he designed well, +coloured in a charming manner, and was numbered among the first artists +of his age in Rome. He painted the Miracle of S. Peter at the beautiful +gate of the temple, a picture which is preserved in the palace of Monte +Cavallo, and is copied in mosaic in S. Peter's. This picture, which is a +spirited composition, and well arranged in the perspective, is his +principal work, and does not suffer from a comparison with those +mentioned in the Guida di Roma, and others scattered through the +dominions of the church. Such are pictures with various saints in the +church of the Conventuals of Urbino, and in that of the Camaldolesi of +Fabriano; the appearing of Christ to S. Peter in that of the Filippini, +in Citta di Castello, and the various works executed in oil and in +fresco at Forli and at Macerata. He painted many pictures for foreign +collections, and was commended for his large compositions. From his +studio issued the Canonico Lazzarini before named, whom, as he lived +amongst other followers of Cignani, I shall reserve with them to the +close of the Bolognese school. Niccola Lapiccola, of Crotone, in +Calabria Ultra, remained in Rome; and a cupola of a chapel in the +Vatican painted by him, was copied in mosaic. There are some pictures by +him in other churches; the best are, perhaps, in the state, particularly +in Velletri. I have heard that he was a disciple of Mancini, though in +his colouring he somewhat adhered to his native school. + +Bonaventura Lamberti is numbered by Mengs among the latest of the +successful followers of the school of Cignani, whose style he preserved +more carefully than Mancini himself. He did not give many works to the +world. He had, however, the honour of having his designs copied in +mosaic by Giuseppe Ottaviani, in S. Peter's, and one of his pictures +engraved by Frey. It is in the church of the Spirito Santo de' +Napolitani, and represents a miracle of S. Francesco di Paola. The +Gabrieli family, which patronised him in an extraordinary manner, +possesses a great number of historical pictures by him, which are in +themselves sufficient to engage the attention of an amateur for several +hours. Lamberti had the honour of giving to the Roman School the Cav. +Marco Benefial, born and resident in Rome, a painter of great genius, +though not always equal to himself, rather perhaps from negligence, than +deficiency of powers. + +The Marchese Venuti[87] extols this master above all others of his time +for his accurate design, and his Caracciesque colouring. His monument is +placed in the Pantheon, among those of the most celebrated painters, and +to his bust is attached the eulogy bestowed on him by the Abate +Giovenazzo, where he is particularly commended for his power of +expression. The factions to which he gave rise still subsist, as if he +were yet living. His admirers not being able to defend all his works, +have fixed on the Flagellation at the Stimmate, painted in competition +with Muratori,[88] and S. Secondino at the Passionisti, as the subjects +of their unqualified approbation; pictures indeed, of such science, that +they may challenge any comparison. To these may be added his S. Lorenzo +and S. Stefano, in the Duomo of Viterbo, and a few others of similar +merit, in which he evidently imitated Domenichino and his school. His +enemies have designated him as an inferior artist, and adduce several +works feeble in expression and effect. The impartial consider him an +eminent artist, but his productions vary, being occasionally in a grand +style, and at other times not passing the bounds of mediocrity. This is +a character which has been ascribed to many poets also, and even to +Petrarch himself. + +Our obligations are due to the Sig. Batista Ponfredi, his scholar, for +the memoirs of this eminent man. They were addressed to the Count +Niccola Soderini, a great benefactor of Benefial, and more rich in his +works than any other Roman collector. His letter is in the fifth volume +of the _Pittoriche_, and is one of the most instructive in the +collection, although altered by the editor in some points. I shall +transcribe a passage from it, as it may be satisfactory to see the +actual state of the art at that time, and the way in which Marco +contributed to its support. "He was so anxious to revive the art, and so +grieved to see it fall into decay, that he frequently consumed several +hours in the day in declaiming against the prevailing conception of +style, and urging the necessity of shunning mannerism, and adopting a +style founded in truth, which few did, or if they did, attempted not to +imitate its simplicity, but adapted it to their own manner. He directed +the particular attention of his pupils to the difference between the +production of a mannerist, and one which was studied and simple, and +founded in nature; that the first, if it were well designed, and had a +good chiaroscuro, had at first sight a striking effect from the +brilliancy of its colours, but gradually lost ground at every succeeding +view, while the other appeared the more excellent the longer it was +inspected."--These and other precepts of the same kind he delivered in +terms perhaps too cynical; not only in private, but in the school of +design at the Campidoglio, at the time that he presided there; the +consequence was that the inferior artists combined against him, deprived +him of his employment, and suspended him from the academy. Some further +information respecting Benefial was communicated to the public in the +_Risposta alle Lett. Perugine_, p. 48. + +From a scholar also of Cignani, (Franceschini,) Francesco Caccianiga +received instructions in Bologna, whence he came to Rome, where he +perfected his style and established himself. He was a painter to whom +nothing was wanting, except that natural spirit and vigour which are not +to be supplied by industry. He was employed by several potentates, and +two of his works executed for the king of Sardinia were engraved by +himself. Ancona possesses four of his altarpieces, among which are the +Institution of the Eucharist, and the Espousals of the Virgin; pictures +coloured in a clear, animated, and engaging style, and easily +distinguished among a thousand. Rome has few public works by him. In the +Gavotti palace is a good fresco, and there are others in the palace and +villa of the Borghesi, who generously extended to him a permanent and +suitable provision, when overtaken by poverty and age.[89] + +From the school of Guercino came Sebastiano Ghezzi of Comunanza, not far +from Ascoli. He was eminent both in design and colouring, and at the +church of the Agostiniani Scalzi di Monsammartino is a S. Francesco by +him, which is esteemed an exquisite picture, and wants only the +finishing hand of the artist. He was the father and teacher of Giuseppe +Ghezzi, who studied in Rome, and was also a tolerable writer, +considering the period at which he wrote. In his painting he seemed to +adopt the style of Cortona. His name is frequently mentioned in the +Guida di Roma, and more than once in the _Antichita Picene_, where it is +stated that he was held in great esteem by Clement XI., and that he died +secretary to the academy of S. Luke, (tom. xxv. p. 11). Pascoli, who has +written his life, extols him for his skill in restoring pictures, in +which capacity the queen of Sweden employed him exclusively on all +occasions. + +Pierleone, his son and scholar, possessed a style similar to that of his +father, but less hurried, and became a more distinguished artist. He was +selected with Luti and Trevisani, and other eminent masters, to paint +the prophets of the Lateran, as well as other commissions. But for his +chief reputation he is indebted to the singular talent he possessed in +designing caricatures, which are to be found in the cabinets of Rome and +other places. In these he humourously introduced persons of quality, a +circumstance particularly gratifying in a country where the freedom of +the pencil was thought a desirable addition to the licence of the +tongue. + +Other schools of Italy also contributed artists to the Roman School, who +however did not produce any new manner, except that in respect of the +two principal masters then in vogue, Cortona and Maratta, they have +afforded an occasional modification of those two styles. + +Gio. Maria Morandi came whilst yet a youth from Florence, and forsaking +the manner of Bilivert, his first instructor, formed for himself a new +style. This was a mixture of Roman design and Venetian colouring (for in +travelling through Italy, he resided some time at Venice, and copied +much there), while some part of it partakes of the manner of Cortona, +and was esteemed in Rome. He established himself in this latter city, in +the Guida of which he is often mentioned, and his works are not +unfrequently found in collections. His Visitation at the Madonna del +Popolo is a fine composition; and still more highly finished, and full +of grand effect, is his picture of the death of the Virgin Mary, in the +church della Pace. This may indeed be considered his masterpiece, and it +has been engraved by Pietro Aquila. He was also celebrated for his +historical pictures, which he sometimes sent into foreign countries, and +more than in any other branch, he acquired a reputation in portraits, in +which he was constantly employed by persons of quality in Rome and +Florence, and was also called to Vienna by the emperor. There, besides +the imperial family, he painted also the portraits of many of the lesser +princes of Germany. Odoardo Vicinelli, a painter of considerable merit +in these latter times, in vol. vi. of the Lett. Pitt. is said to have +been a scholar of Morandi, and Pascoli does not hesitate to assert that +he conferred greater honour than any other of his scholars on his +master; I believe, in Rome, where Pietro Nelli alone could dispute +precedence with him. + +Francesco Trevisani, a native of Trevigi, was educated by Zanchi in +Venice, where, in order to distinguish him from Angiolo Trevisani, he +was called Il Trevisani Romano. In Rome, he abandoned his first +principles, and regulated his taste by the best manner then in vogue. He +possessed a happy talent of imitating every manner, and at one time +appears a follower of Cignani, at another of Guido; alike successful +whichever style he adopted. The Albiccini family, in Forli, possess many +of his pictures in various styles, and amongst them a small Crucifixion, +most spirited and highly finished, which the master esteemed his best +work, and offered a large sum to obtain back again. His pictures abound +in Rome, and in general exhibit an elegance of design, a fine pencil, +and a vigorous tone of colour. His S. Joseph dying, in the church of the +Collegio R., is a remarkably noble production. A subject painted by him +to accompany one by Guido in the Spada palace is also highly esteemed. +He enjoyed the patronage of Clement XI. by whom he was not only +commissioned to paint one of the prophets of the Lateran, but was also +employed in the cupola of the Duomo in Urbino, in which he painted the +four quarters of the world; a work truly estimable for design, fancy, +and colouring. In other cities of the state we find pictures by him +painted with more or less care, in Foligno, at Camerino, in Perugia, at +Forli, and one of S. Antonio at S. Rocco in Venice, of a form more +elegant than robust. + +Pasquale Rossi, better known by the name of Pasqualino, was born in +Vicenza, and from long copying the best Venetian and Roman pictures, +attained without the instruction of a master, a natural mode of colour, +and a good style of design. Few of his public works remain in Rome; +Christ praying in the garden in the church of S. Carlo al Corso, the +Baptism also of our Saviour at the Madonna del Popolo. The Silvestrini +of Fabriano have several pictures by him, and among them a Madonna truly +beautiful. His S. Gregory, in the Duomo of Matelica, in the act of +liberating souls from purgatory, is in the style of Guercino, and is one +of his best works. In private collections we find his cabinet pictures +representing gaming parties, conversations, concerts, and similar +subjects, carefully finished on a small scale, and little inferior to +Flemish pictures. I have met with numerous specimens of them in various +places; but in no place have I admired this artist so much as in the +royal gallery at Turin, in which are some ornaments over doors, and +pictures of considerable size by him, chiefly scriptural subjects, +executed in an animated and vigorous style, and with so much imitation +of the Roman School, that we should think them to be by some other +master. + +Giambatista Gaulli, commonly called Baciccio, studied first in Genoa. +Whilst still young he went to Rome, where under the direction of a +Frenchman, and by the more valuable aid of Bernino, he formed himself on +the style of the great machinists. As he was endowed by nature with a +ready genius and a dexterity of hand, he could not have chosen any +branch of the art more adapted to his talent. The vault of the Gesu is +his most conspicuous work. The knowledge of the _sotto in su_, the +unity, harmony, and correct perspective of its objects, the brilliancy +and skilful gradation of the light, rank it among the best, if indeed it +be not his best picture in Rome. It must, however, be confessed, that we +must inspect it with an eye to the general effect, rather than to the +local tints, or the drawing of the figures, in which he is not always +correct. His faults in his easel pictures, which are very numerous in +Italy and in foreign countries, are less obtrusive, and are abundantly +atoned for by their spirit, freshness of tints, and engaging +countenances. He varies his manner with his subject, assigning to each a +peculiar style. There is a delightful picture in his best manner, +gracefully painted in the church of S. Francesco a Ripa, representing +the Madonna with the divine Infant in her arms, and at her feet S. Anna +kneeling, surrounded by Angels. In a grave and pathetic style on the +contrary, is the representation of S. Saverio dying in the desert island +of Sanciano, which is placed near the altar of S. Andrea at Monte +Cavallo. His figures of children are very engaging and highly finished, +though after the manner of Fiammingo, more fleshy and less elegant than +those of Titian or the Greeks. He painted seven pontiffs, and many +persons of rank of his day, and was considered the first portrait +painter in Rome. In this branch of his art he followed a custom of +Bernino, that of engaging the person he painted in an animated +conversation, in order to obtain the most striking expression of which +the subject was susceptible. + +Giovanni Odazzi, his first scholar, was ambitious of emulating him in +celerity, but not possessing equal talent, he did not attain the same +distinction. He is the most feeble, or at all events, the least eminent +of the painters of the prophets of the Lateran, where his Hosea is to be +seen; and indeed, in every corner of Rome, his pictures are to be met +with, as he never refused any commission. Pascoli has preserved the +memory of another of his scholars, a native of Perugia, in the lives of +the painters of his native country. This was Francesco Civalli, +initiated in the art by Andrea Carlone; he was a youth of talent, but +impatient of instruction. He painted in Rome and other places, but did +not pass the bounds of mediocrity. The Cav. Lodovico Mazzanti, was the +scholar of Gaulli, and emulated his manner to the best of his ability; +but his talents were not commanding, nor were his powers equal to his +ambition. Gio. Batista Brughi, a worker in mosaic, rather than a +painter, left notwithstanding some public pictures in Rome. He is called +in the Guida sometimes Brughi, and sometimes Gio. Batista, the disciple +of Baciccio, which makes it there appear as if they had been distinct +individuals. I do not recollect any other artist contributed by Gaulli +to the Roman School. + +The Neapolitan School, which was in the beginning of this age supported +by Solimene, sent some scholars to Rome, who adopted a Roman style. +Sebastiano Conca was the first that arrived there with an intention of +seeing it, but he established himself there, together with Giovanni, his +brother, to meliorate his style of design. Resigning the brush, he +returned at forty years of age to the pencil, and spent five years in +drawing after the antique, and after the best modern productions. His +hand, however, had become the slave of habit in Naples, and would not +answer to his own wishes; and he was kept in constant vexation, as he +could appreciate excellence, but found himself incapable of attaining +it. The celebrated sculptor, Le Gros, advised him to return to his +original style, and he then became in Rome an eminent painter, in the +manner of Pietro da Cortona, with considerable improvements on his early +manner. He possessed a fertile invention, great facility of execution, +and a colour which enchanted by its lucidness, its contrast, and the +delicacy of the flesh tints. It is true, that on examination we find +that he was not in reality a profound colourist, and that to obtain a +grandeur of tone, he adopted in the shadows a green tint, which produced +a mannerism. He distinguished himself in frescos, and also in pictures +in the churches, decorating them with choirs of angels, happily disposed +in a style of composition that may be called his own, and which served +as an example to many of the machinists. He was indefatigable too in +painting for private individuals, and in the states of the church there +is scarcely a collection without its Conca. His most studied, finished, +and beautiful work is the Probatica at the hospital of Siena. Of great +merit in Rome is the Assumption at S. Martina, and the Jonah among the +prophets in the S. Giovanni Laterano. His works were in high esteem in +the ecclesiastical state; his best appear to be the S. Niccolo at +Loreto, S. Saverio in Ancona, S. Agostino at Foligno, S. Filippo in +Fabriano, and S. Girolamo Emiliano at Velletri. Giovanni, his brother, +assisted Sebastiano in his commissions, had an equal facility, a similar +taste, though less beautiful in his heads, and of not so fine a pencil. +He shewed great talent in copying the pictures of the best masters. In +the church of the Domenicans of Urbino are the copies which he made of +four pictures to be executed in mosaic; they were by Muziani, Guercino, +Lanfranco, and Romanelli. Conca is eulogized by Rossi with his usual +intelligence and discrimination (v. tom. ii. of his _Memorie_, p. 81.) + +Mengs perhaps censures him too severely, where he says, that by his +precepts he contributed to the decay of the art. He had his followers, +but they were not so numerous as to corrupt all the other schools of +Italy. Every school, as we have seen, had within itself the seeds of its +own destruction, without seeking for it elsewhere. It is true, indeed, +that some of his scholars inherited his facility and his colouring, and +left many injurious examples in Italy. Nor shall I give myself much +trouble to enumerate his disciples, but shall content myself with the +names of the most celebrated. Gaetano Lapis di Cagli was one of these, +and brought with him good principles of design when he came to study +under Conca. He was a painter of an original taste, as Rossi describes, +not very spirited, but correct. Many of his works are found in the +churches of his native place, and in the Duomo are two highly prized +pieces on each side the altar, a Supper of our Lord, and a Nativity. In +the various pictures I have seen of him at S. Pietro, S. Niccolo, and S. +Francesco, I generally found the same composition of a Madonna of a +graceful form, attended by Saints in the act of adoring her and the Holy +Infant. We find some of his works also in Perugia and elsewhere. The +Prince Borghese, in Rome, has a Birth of Venus by him, painted on a +ceiling, with a correctness of design, and a grace superior to any thing +that remains of him, and no one can justly appreciate his talents, who +has not seen this work. It should seem, that a timidity and diffidence +of his own powers, prevented his attaining that high station which his +genius seemed to have intended for him. Salvator Monosilio, who resided +much in Rome, was of Messina, and trod closely in the footsteps of his +master. In a chapel of S. Paolino della Regola, where Calandrucci +furnished the altarpiece, he painted the vault in fresco; and others of +his works are to be seen at the S. S. Quaranta, and at the church of the +Polacchi. In Piceno, where Conca was in great reputation, Monosilio was +held in high esteem, and was employed both in public and in private. At +S. Ginesio is a S. Barnabas by him, in the church of that saint, which +in the _Memorie_ so often quoted by us, is designated as an excellent +work. Conca educated another Sicilian student, the Abbate Gaspero +Serenari, of Palermo, who was considered a young man of talents in Rome, +and painted in the church of S. Teresa, in competition with the Abate +Peroni of Parma. On his return to Palermo he became a celebrated master, +and besides his oil pictures he executed some vast works in fresco, +particularly the cupola of the Gesu, and the chapel of the monastery of +Carita. + +Gregorio Guglielmi, a Roman, is not much known in his native place, +although his fresco pictures in the hospital of the S. Spirito in +Sassia, intitle him to be numbered amongst the most eminent young +artists who painted in Rome in the pontificate of Benedict XIV. He left +Rome early and went to Turin, where, in the church of S. S. Solutore e +Comp. is a small picture of the Tutelar Saints. He was afterwards in +Dresden, Vienna, and St. Petersburgh, where he painted in fresco with +much applause, for the respective sovereigns of those cities. He was +facile in composition, pleasing in his colour, and attached to the Roman +style of design, which, like Lapis, he seemed to have carried from some +other school into that of Conca. Among his most esteemed works is a +ceiling, painted in the university of Vienna, and another in the +imperial palace at Schoenbrunn. He did not succeed so well in oils, in +which his efforts are mostly feeble; a proof that he belongs more to the +school of Conca than that of Trevisani, to which some have assigned him. + +Corrado Giaquinto was another scholar of Solimene. He came from Naples +to Rome, where he attached himself to Conca to learn colouring, in which +he chiefly followed his master's principles, though he was less correct +and more of a mannerist, and was accustomed to repeat himself in the +countenances of his children, which resemble the natives of his own +country. He was not, however, without merit, as he possessed facility as +well as vigour, and was known in the ecclesiastical state for various +works executed in Rome, Macerata, and other places. He went afterwards +to Piedmont, as we shall mention at the proper time; then to Spain, +where he was engaged in the service of the court, and gave satisfaction +to the greater part of the native artists. The public taste in Spain, +which had for a long time retained the principles of the school founded +by Titian, had been changed within a few years. Luca Giordano was become +the favorite, and they admired his spirit, his freedom, and his +despatch; qualities which were combined in Corrado. This partiality +lasted even after Mengs had introduced his style, which in consequence +appeared at first meagre and cold to many of the masters and +connoisseurs of the day, when compared with that of Luca Giordano; until +prejudice there, as in Italy, ultimately yielded to truth. + +Some other artists flourished in Rome at the commencement, and as far as +the middle of the century, and somewhat beyond, who may perhaps have a +claim to be remembered. Of Francesco Fernandi, called L'Imperiali, the +Martyrdom of S. Eustachio in the church of the saint of that name, is +well conceived and scientifically coloured. Antonio Bicchierai, a fresco +painter, is more particularly known at S. Lorenzo in Panisperna, in +which church he painted a sfondo which did him honour. Michelangiolo +Cerruti, and Biagio Puccini, a Roman, about the time of Clement XI. and +Benedict XIII., were esteemed artists of good execution. Of others who +acquired some reputation in the following pontificate, I shall write in +other schools, or if I should not mention them, they may be found in the +Guida of the city. + +I shall now pass from native to foreign artists, and shall take a brief +notice of them, since my work has grown upon me with so many new Italian +names, which are its proper object, that I have not much spare room for +foreigners, and a sufficient notice of them may be found in their own +country. Not a few _oltremonti_ painted at this period in Rome, +celebrated for the most part in the inferior branches of painting, where +they deserve commemoration. Some of them were employed in the churches, +as Gio. Batista Vanloo di Aix, a favorite scholar of Luti, who painted +the picture of the Flagellation at S. Maria in Monticelli. But he did +not remain in Rome, but passed to Piedmont, and from thence to Paris and +London, and was celebrated for his historical compositions, and highly +esteemed in portrait. Some years after Vanloo, Pietro Subleyras di +Gilles settled in Rome, and conferred great benefit on the Roman School; +for whilst it produced only followers of the old manner, and thus fell +gradually into decay, he very opportunely appeared and introduced an +entirely new style. An academy had been founded in Rome by Louis XIV., +about the year 1666. Le Brun had there cooperated, the Giulio Romano of +France, and the most celebrated of the four Carli, who were at that time +considered the supporters of the art; the others were Cignani, Maratta, +and Loth. It had already produced some artists of celebrity, as Stefano +Parocel, Gio. Troy, Carlo Natoire, by whom many pictures are to be found +in the public edifices in Rome. There prevailed, however, in the style +of this school a mannerism, which in a few years brought it into +disrepute. Mengs designated it by the epithet of _spiritoso_, and it +consisted, according to him, in overstepping the limits of beauty and +propriety, overcharging both the one and the other, and aiming at +fascinating the eyes rather than conciliating the judgment. Subleyras, +educated in this academy, reformed this taste, retaining the good, and +rejecting the feeble part, and adding from his own genius what was +wanting to form a truly original manner. There was an engaging variety +in the air of his heads, and in his attitudes, and he had great merit in +the distribution of his chiaroscuro, which gives his pictures a fine +general effect. He painted with great truth; but the figures and the +drapery, under his pencil, took a certain fulness which in him appears +easy, because it is natural; it remained his own, for although he left +some scholars, none of them ever emulated the grandeur of style which +distinguished their master. + +He was mature in talent when he left the academy, and the portrait which +he in preference to Masucci, painted of Benedict XIV., established his +reputation as the first painter in Rome. He was soon afterwards chosen +to paint the history of S. Basil, for the purpose of being copied in +mosaic for the church of the Vatican. The original is in the church of +the Carthusians, and astonishes, by the august representation of the +Sacrifice solemnly celebrated by the saint in the presence of the +emperor, who offers bread at the altar. The countenances are very +animated, and there is great truth in the drapery and accompaniments, +and the silks in their lucid and light folds appear absolutely real. +From this production, and others of smaller size, and particularly the +Saint Benedict at the church of the Olivetani di Perugia, which is +perhaps his masterpiece, he deserves a place in the first collections, +where, indeed, his pictures are rare and highly prized. Further notices +of this artist may he found in the second volume of the _Giornale delle +belle Arti_. + +Egidio Ale, of Liege, studied in Rome, and became a spirited, pleasing, +and elegant painter. His works in the sacristy dell'Anima, in fresco and +oil, painted in competition with Morandi, Bonatti, and Romanelli, do him +honour. Ignazio Stern was a Bavarian, who was instructed by Cignani in +Bologna, and worked in Lombardy. An Annunciation in Piacenza, in the +church of the Nunziata, exhibits a certain grace and elegance, which is +peculiar to him, as is observed in the description of the public +pictures in that city. Stern afterwards established himself in Rome, +where he painted in fresco the sacristy of S. Paolino, and left some oil +pictures in the church of S. Elisabetta, and in other churches. He was +more particularly attached to profane history, conversations, and +similar subjects, which have a place even in royal collections. Spain +possessed a disciple of the school of Maratta, in Sebastiano Mugnoz, but +dying young he left few works behind him. + +In this place I ought to notice an establishment designed _to revive the +art in that quarter, where it seemed to have so much declined_, as D. +Francesco Preziado, of that country, says, in a letter which we shall +shortly have occasion to mention with commendation. "The royal academy +of S. Ferdinand, in Madrid, which owed its origin to Philip V., and was +completed and endowed by Ferdinand VI., sent several students to Rome, +and provided for their maintenance." They there selected the master the +most agreeable to their genius, and had, in addition, a director, who +was employed to superintend their studies; as I am informed by Sig. +Bonaventura Benucci, a Roman painter, educated in that academy. Bottari +and all Rome called it the Spanish academy, and I myself, in a former +edition, followed the common report, and the two above named sovereigns +I described as the founders of the academy. Having been censured for +this statement, I have here thought proper to specify my authorities. It +may without dispute be asserted, that the Spanish students have left in +Rome many noble specimens of their talents and taste. D. Francesco +Preziado was for many years the director of this academy, and painted a +Holy Family at the S. S. Quaranta, in a good style. He made also a +valuable communication to the Lettere Pittoriche (tom. vi. p. 308), on +the artists of Spain, very useful to any one desiring information +respecting this school, which is less known than it deserves to be. + +An institution very much on the plan of the French academy was founded +in Rome a few years ago, by his most faithful majesty, for Portuguese +students, to the promotion of which, two celebrated Portuguese, the Cav. +de Manique, intendant general of the police in Lisbon, and the Count de +Souza, minister of that court in Rome, had the merit of contributing +their assistance; the one having projected, and the other executed, the +plan in the year 1791. The government of the academy was entrusted to +the Sig. Gio. Gherardo de' Rossi, known for his very numerous and able +writings, to which he has recently added an ingenious little work, +intitled, _Scherzi poetici e pittorici_, with engravings by a celebrated +academician. These establishments are of too recent a date to allow me +to speak further respecting their productions. + +The provincial painters have been occasionally noticed in connexion with +their masters. I here add a supplement, which may be useful in the way +of completion. Foligno possessed a Fra Umile Francescano, a good fresco +painter, engaged in Rome by Cardinal Castaldi, to ornament the tribune +of S. Margaret, while Gaulli and Garzi were commanded to paint the +pictures for it. The Abbate Dondoli lived at Spello at the beginning of +this century. He was more to be commended for his design than for his +colouring. Marini has some celebrity in S. Severino, his native place. +He was the scholar of Cipriano Divini, whom he surpassed in his art. +Marco Vanetti, of Loreto, is known to me more from his life of Cignani, +who was his master, than from his own works. Antonio Caldana, of Ancona, +painted a very large composition in Rome, in the sacristy of S. Niccola +da Tolentino, from the life of that saint. I do not know whether there +remain any works of his in his native place; but there are a great +number by a respectable artist, one Magatta, whose name was Domenico +Simonetti, and who painted the gallery of the Marchesi Trionfi; he +furnished many churches with his paintings, and distinguished himself in +that of the church of the Suffragio, which is his most finished +production. Anastasi di Sinigaglia was a painter less elegant and +finished, but free and spirited. His works are not scarce in that city, +and his best are the two historical subjects in the church della Croce. +Three pictures by him also in S. Lucia di Monte Alboddo, are highly +prized, and are called by the writer of the _Guida_, "_Capi d'opera +dell'Anastasi_." Camillo Scacciani, of Pesaro, called Carbone, +flourished at the beginning of the age we are writing on, and had a +Caracciesque style allied to the modern. There is a S. Andrea Avellino +by him in the Duomo of Pesaro; his other works are in private +collections. This notice I deem sufficient, always excepting the living +artists, whom I of course omit.[90] + +Three masters who died successively in the pontificate of Pius VI. seem +to require from me more than a transient notice, and with them I shall +conclude the series of historical painters of the fifth epoch. I shall +first commemorate the Cav. Raffaello Mengs, from whom our posterity may +perhaps date a new and more happy era of the art. He was born in Saxony, +and brought to Rome by his father while yet a boy, and was at that time +skilled in miniature, and was a careful and correct draughtsman. On his +arrival in Rome, his father employed him in copying the works of +Raffaello, and chastised the young artist for every fault in his work, +with an incredible severity, or rather inhumanity, inflicting on him +even corporeal punishment, and reducing his allowance of food. Being +thus compelled to study perfection, and endowed with a genius to +appreciate it and perceive it, he acquired a consummate taste in art; he +communicated to Winckelmann very important materials for his _Storia +delle belle arti_, and was himself the author of many profound and +valuable essays on the fine arts, which have materially contributed to +improve the taste of the present age. They have different titles, but +all the same aim, the discrimination of the real perfection of art.[91] + +The artist, as characterized by Mengs, may be compared to the orator of +Cicero, and both are endued by their authors with an ideal perfection, +such as the world has never seen, and will probably never see; and it is +the real duty of an instructor to recommend excellence, that in striving +to attain it, we may at least acquire a commendable portion of it. +Considered in this point of view, I should defend several of his +writings, where in the opinion of others he seems to assume a +dictatorial tone, in the judgment he passes on Guido, Domenichino, and +the Caracci; the very triumvirate whom he proposes as models in the art. +Mengs assuredly was not so infatuated as to hope to surpass these great +men, but because he knew that no one does so well but that it might be +done still better, he shews where they attained the summit of art, and +where they failed. The artist, therefore, described by Mengs, and to +whose qualifications he also aspired, and was anxious that all should do +the same, ought to unite in himself the design and beauty of the Greeks, +the expression and composition of Raffaello, the chiaroscuro and grace +of Coreggio, and, to complete all, the colouring of Titian. This union +of qualities Mengs has analyzed with equal elegance and perspicuity, +teaching the artist how to form himself on that ideal beauty, which is +itself never realised. If, on some occasions, he appears too +enthusiastic, or in some degree obscure, it cannot excite our surprise, +as he wrote in a foreign language, and was not much accustomed to +composition. His ideas therefore stood in need of a refined scholar to +render them clear and intelligible; and this advantage he would have +procured, had he been resolved to publish them; but his works are all +posthumous, and were given to the world by his excellency the Sig. Cav. +Azara. Hence it frequently happens in his works, that one treatise +destroys another, as Tiraboschi has observed in regard to his notice of +Coreggio, in his _Notizie degli Artefici Modenesi_; and hence concludes +that the _Riflessioni di Mengs su i tre gran Pittori_, where he finds +much to censure in Coreggio, were written by him before he saw the works +of that master; and that his _Memorie_ on the life of the same master, +where he extols Coreggio to the skies, and calls him the Apelles of +modern painting, were written after having seen and studied him.[92] In +spite however of all objections, he will retain a distinguished place, +as well among the theorists or writers, as among professors themselves, +as long as the art endures. + +We perhaps should not say that Mengs was a whetstone which gave a new +quality to the steel, which it could not otherwise have acquired; but +that he was the steel itself, which becomes brighter and finer the more +it is used. He became painter to the court of Dresden; every fresh work +gave proof of his progress in the art. He went afterwards to Madrid, +where in the chambers of the royal palace he painted the assembly of the +Gods, the Seasons, and the various parts of the day, in an enchanting +manner. After repairing a second time to Rome to renew his studies, he +again returned to Madrid, where he painted in one of the saloons the +Apotheosis of Trajan, and in a theatre, Time subduing Pleasure; pictures +much superior to his former pieces. In Rome there are three large works +by him; the painting in the vault of S. Eusebio; the Parnassus in the +saloon of the Villa Albani, far superior to the preceding one;[93] and +lastly, the cabinet of manuscripts in the Vatican was painted by him, +where the celestial forms of the angels, the majesty of Moses, and the +dignified character of S. Peter, the enchanting colour, the relief, and +the harmony, contribute to render this chamber one of the most +remarkable in Rome for its beautiful decorations. This constant +endeavour to surpass himself, would be evident also from his easel +pictures, if they were not so rare in Italy; as he painted many of this +description for London and the other capitals of Europe. In Rome itself, +where he studied young, where he long resided, to which he always +returned, and where at last he died, there are few of his works to be +found. We may enumerate the portrait of Clement XIII. and his nephew +Carlo, in the collection of the prince Rezzonico; that of Cardinal +Zelada, secretary of state; and a few other pieces, in the possession of +private gentlemen, more particularly the Sig. Cav. Azara. Florence has +some large compositions by him in the Palazzo Pitti, and his own +portrait in the cabinet of painters, besides the great Deposition from +the Cross in chiaroscuro, for the Marchese Rinuccini, which he was +prevented by death from colouring; and a beautiful Genius in fresco in a +chamber of the Sig. Conte Senatore Orlando Malevolti del Benino. + +Returning from the consideration of his works to Mengs himself, I leave +to others to estimate his merit, and to determine how far his principles +are just.[94] As far as regards myself, I cannot but extol that +inextinguishable ardour of improving himself by which he was +particularly distinguished, and which prompted him, even while he +enjoyed the reputation of a first rate master, to proceed in every work +as if he were only commencing his career. Truth was his great aim, and +he diligently studied the works of the first luminaries of the art, +analysed their colours, and examined them in detail, till he entered +fully into the spirit and design of those great models. Whilst employed +in the ducal gallery in Florence, he did not touch a pencil, until he +had attentively studied the best pieces there, and particularly the +Venus of Titian in the tribune. In his hours of leisure he employed +himself in carefully studying the fresco pictures of the best masters of +that school, which is so distinguished in this art. He was accustomed to +do the same by every work of celebrity which fell in his way, whether +ancient or modern; all contributed to his improvement, and to carry him +nearer to perfection; he was in short a man of a most aspiring mind, and +may be compared to the ancient, who declared that he wished "to die +learning." If maxims like these were enforced, what rapid strides in the +art might we not expect! + +But the greater part of artists form for themselves a manner which may +attract popularity, and then relax their efforts, satisfied with the +applause of the crowd; and if they feel the necessity of improving, it +is not with a design of acquiring a just reputation, but of adding to +the price of their works. + +Notwithstanding the considerable space which Mengs has occupied in our +time, he has nevertheless left room for the celebrity of Pompeo Batoni, +of Luca. The Cav. Boni, who has honoured this artist with an elegant +eulogium, thus expresses himself in comparing him with Mengs. "The +latter," he says, "was the painter of philosophy, the former of nature. +Batoni had a natural taste which led him to the beautiful without +effort; Mengs attained the same object by reflection and study. Grace +was the gift of nature in Batoni, as it had formerly been in Apelles; +while the higher attributes of the art were allotted to Mengs, as they +were in former days to Protogenes. Perhaps the first was more painter +than philosopher, the second more philosopher than painter. The latter, +perhaps, was more sublime, but more studied; Batoni less profound, but +more natural. Not that I would insinuate that nature was sparing to +Mengs, or that Batoni was devoid of the necessary science of the art, +&c." If it were ever said with truth of any artist, that he was born a +painter, this distinction must be allowed to Batoni. He learned only the +principles of the art in his native country, and of the two +correspondents from whom I have received my information, the one +considers him to have been the scholar of Brugieri, the other of +Lombardi, as already mentioned, vol. i. p. 360, and probably he was +instructed by both. He came young to Rome, and did not frequent any +particular school, but studied and copied Raffaello and the old masters +with unceasing assiduity, and thus learnt the great secret of copying +nature with truth and judgment. + +That boundless and instructive volume, open to all, but cultivated by +few, was rightly appreciated by Batoni, and it was hence that he derived +that beautiful variety in his heads and contours, which are sometimes +wanting even in the great masters, who were occasionally too much +addicted to the ideal. Hence, too, he derived the gestures and +expressions most appropriate to each subject. Persuaded that a vivid +imagination was not alone sufficient to depict those fine traits in +which the sublimity of the art consists, he did not adopt any attitudes +which were not found in nature. He took from nature the first ideas, +copied from her every part of the figure, and adapted the drapery and +folds from models. He afterwards embellished and perfected his work with +a natural taste, and enlivened all with a style of colour peculiarly his +own; clear, engaging, lucid, and preserving after the lapse of many +years, as in the picture of various saints at S. Gregorio, all its +original freshness. This was in him not so much an art as the natural +ebullition of his genius. He sported with his pencil. Every path was +open to him; painting in various ways, now with great force, now with a +touch, and now finishing all by strokes. Sometimes he destroyed the +whole work, and gave it the requisite force by a line.[95] Although he +was not a man of letters, he yet shows himself a poet in conception, +both in a sublime and playful style. One example from a picture in the +possession of his heirs, will suffice. Wishing to express the dreams of +an enamoured girl, he has represented her wrapped in soft slumbers, and +surrounded by loves, two of whom present to her splendid robes and +jewels, and a third approaches her with arrows in his hand, while she, +captivated by the vision, smiles in her sleep. Many of these poetical +designs, and many historical subjects, are in private collections, and +in the courts of Europe, from which he had constant commissions. + +Batoni possessed an extraordinary talent for portrait painting, and had +the honour of being employed by three pontiffs in that branch of the +art, Benedict XIV., Clement XIII., and Pius VI.; to whom may be added, +the emperor Joseph II. and his august brother and successor, Leopold +II., the Grand Duke of Muscovy, and the Grand Duchess, besides numerous +private individuals. He for some time painted miniatures, and +transferred that care and precision which is essential in that branch to +his larger productions, without attenuating his style by hardness. We +find an extraordinary proof of this in his altarpieces, spread over +Italy, and mentioned by us in many cities, particularly in Lucca. Of +those that remain in Rome, Mengs gave the preference to S. Celso, which +is over the great altar of that church. Another picture, the Fall of +Simon Magus, is in the church of the Certosa. It was intended to have +been copied in mosaic for the Vatican, and to have been substituted for +a picture of the same subject by Vanni, the only one in that church on +stone. But the mosaic, from some cause or other, was not executed. +Perhaps the subject displeased, from not being evangelical, and the idea +of removing the picture of Vanni not being resumed, the subject was +changed, and a commission given to Mengs to paint the Government of the +church conferred on S. Peter. He made a sketch for it in chiaroscuro +with great care, which is in the Palazzo Chigi, but did not live to +finish it in colours. This sketch evinces a design and composition +superior to the picture of Batoni, but the subject of the latter was +more vigorously conceived. At all events, however, Batoni must +henceforth be considered the restorer of the Roman School, in which he +lived until his 79th year, and educated many pupils in his profession. + +The example of the two last eminent artists was not lost on Antonio +Cavallucci da Sermoneta, whose name when I began to print this volume, I +did not expect would here have found a place. But having recently died, +some notice is due to his celebrity, as he is already ranked with the +first artists of his day. He was highly esteemed both in Rome and +elsewhere. The Primaziale of Pisa, who in the choice of their artists +consulted no recommendation but that of character, employed him on a +considerable work, representing S. Bona of that city taking the +religious habit. It breathes a sacred piety, which he himself both felt +and expressed in a striking manner. In this picture he wished to shew +that the examples of christian humility, such as burying in a cloister +the gifts of nature and fortune, are susceptible of the gayest +decoration. This he effected by introducing a train of noble men and +women, who, according to custom, assisted in the solemnity. In this +composition, in which he follows the principles of Batoni rather than +those of Mengs, we may perceive both his study of nature, and his +judgment and facility in imitating her. Another large picture of the +saints Placido and Mauro, he sent into Catania, and another of S. +Francesco di Paola, he executed for the church of Loreto, and which was +copied in mosaic. In Rome are his S. Elias and the Purgatorio, two +pictures placed at S. Martino a' Monti, and many works in the possession +of the noble family of Gaetani, who were the first to encourage and +support this artist. His last work was the Venus and Ascanius, in the +Palazzo Cesarini, which has been described to me as a beautiful +production by the Sig. Gio. Gherardo de' Rossi, who has declared his +intention of publishing the life of Cavallucci, which will no doubt be +done in his usual masterly manner. + +The Roman School has recently had to regret the loss of two accomplished +masters; Domenico Corvi of Viterbo, and Giuseppe Cades of Rome, who +although younger than Corvi, and for some years his scholar, died before +him. In my notice of them, I shall begin with the master who has been +honoured and eulogized more than once in the respectable _Memorie delle +belle Arti_, as well as his scholar, and also some other disciples; as +there was not in Rome in the latter times any school more productive in +talent. He was truly an accomplished artist, and there were few to +compare with him in anatomy, perspective, and design; and from Mancini +his instructor, he acquired something of the style of the Caracci. +Hence, his academy drawings are highly prized, and I may say, more +sought after than his pictures, which indeed want that fascination of +grace and colour which attracts the admiration alike of the learned and +the vulgar. He maintained an universal delicacy of colour, and was +accustomed to defend the practice by asserting, with what justice I +cannot say, that pictures painted in that manner were less liable to +become black. His most esteemed works are his night pieces, as the Birth +of our Saviour in the church of the Osservanti at Macerata, which is +perhaps the summit of his efforts. Some amateurs went thither express +towards the close of day; a lofty window opposite favoured the illusion +of the perspective of the picture; and Corvi, who in other pictures is +inferior to Gherardo delle Notti, viewed in this manner, here excels +him, by an originality of perspective and general effect. He worked much +both for his own countrymen and foreigners, besides the pictures which +he kept ready by him, to supply the daily calls of purchasers, and many +of which are still on sale in the house of his widow. + +Cades recommends himself to our notice, principally by a facility of +imitation, dangerous to the art when it is not governed by correct +principles. No simulator of the character of another handwriting, could +ever rival him in the dexterity with which at a moment's call he could +imitate the physiognomy, the naked figure, the drapery, and the entire +character of every celebrated designer. The most experienced persons +would sometimes request from him a design after Michelangiolo or +Raffaello, or some other great master, which he instantly complied with, +and when confronted with an indisputable specimen of the master, and +these persons were requested to point out the original, as Buonaruoti +for example, they often hesitated, and frequently fixed on the design of +Cades. He was notwithstanding, extremely honourable. He made on one +occasion, a large design in the style of Sanzio, to deceive the director +of a foreign cabinet, who boasted an infallible knowledge of the touch +of Raffaello; and employing a person to shew it to him, with some +fictitious history attached to it, the director purchased it at 500 +zecchins. Cades wishing to return the money, the other refused to +receive it, insisting on retaining the drawing, and disregarding all the +protestations of the artist, and his request to be remunerated by a +smaller sum; and this drawing is at this moment probably considered as +an original, in one of the finest cabinets of Europe. He was confident +in his talents from his early years, and on a public occasion, he made a +drawing after the bent of his own genius, regardless of the directions +of Corvi, who wished it to be done in another style, and he was in +consequence dismissed from that school. This drawing obtained the first +premium, and now exists in the academy of S. Luke, where it is much +admired. In the art of colouring, too, he owed little to the instruction +of masters, and much to his native talent of imitation. I have seen +exhibited in the church of the Holy Apostles, a picture by him, which in +the upper part represents the Madonna with the Holy Infant, and in the +inferior part five saints, an allegorical picture, as I have heard +suggested, relating to the election of Clement XIV. That Pope was +elected by the suffrages of the Cardinal Carlo Rezzonico and his +friends, and contrary to the expectation of P. Innocenzio Buontempi, who +ordered the picture, and who after this election was promoted by the +Pope to the eminent station of Maestro nel S. Ordine Serafico, and +afterwards to that of the Pope's confessor. Hence this piece represents +in the centre S. Clement reading the sacred volume; on his right is S. +Carlo, who appears to admire his learning, and by his attitude seems to +say, "This is a man justly entitled to the pontificate;" and in the last +place S. Innocent the Pope, which representing the person of the P. +Maestro, must here for the sake of propriety yield the place to the +Cardinal S. Carlo. In the background are S. Francis and S. Anthony, half +figures. Cades here took for his model the picture of Titian in the +Quirinal, which he imitated as well in the composition as in the colour. +And in this, indeed, he proceeded too far, giving it that obscure tone +which the works of Titian have acquired only by the lapse of time. Cades +here defended himself by saying that this piece was intended to be +placed in the church of S. Francesco di Fabriano in a very strong light, +where if the colours had not been kept low, they would have been +displeasing to the spectator. There is an error in the perspective which +cannot be overlooked. The allegorical figure of P. M. Innocenzio, who +stands amazed at the sudden phenomenon, appears to be out of +equilibrium, and would fall in real life. Other faults of colour, of +costume, or of vulgarity of form, are noticed in others of his pictures +by the author of the _Memorie_, in tom. i. and iii. But as he advanced +in life he improved his style from study, and attending to the +criticisms of the public. In tom. iii. just referred to, we find the +description of one of his works executed for the Villa Pinciana, the +subject of which is taken from Boccaccio; Walter Conte di Anguersa +recognized in London. Let us weigh the opinion which this eminent author +gives of this most beautiful composition, or let us compare it with the +picture of S. Joseph of Copertino, which he painted at twenty-one years +of age, as an altarpiece in the church of the Apostles, and we shall +perceive the rapid strides which are made by genius. Other princely +families, besides the Borghesi, availed themselves of his talents to +ornament their palaces and villas; as the Ruspoli and the Chigi, and he +executed several works for the empress of Russia. He died before he had +attained his fiftieth year, and not long after he had so much improved +his style. In the opinion of some, his execution still required to be +rendered more uniform, since he sometimes displayed as many different +manners in a picture, as there were figures. But in that he might plead +the example of Caracci, as we shall notice on a proper opportunity. + +We shall now pass to other branches of the art, and shall commence with +landscapes. In this period flourished the scholars of the three famous +landscape painters, described in their proper place, besides Grimaldi, +mentioned in the Bolognese School, who resided a considerable time in +Rome; and Paolo Anesi, of whom we made mention in speaking of +Zuccherelli. With Anesi lived Andrea Lucatelli, a Roman, whose talents +are highly celebrated in every inferior branch of the art. In the +archbishop's gallery in Milan are a number of his pictures, historical, +architectural, and landscapes. In these he often appears original in +composition, and in the disposition of the masses; he is varied in his +touch, delicate in his colouring, and elegant in his figures, which, as +we shall see, he was also accustomed to paint in the Flemish style, +separate from his landscapes. + +Francis Van Blomen was a less finished artist, and from the hot and +vaporous air of his pictures, obtained the name of Orizzonte. The +palaces of the Pope and the nobility in Rome, abound with his landscapes +in fresco and oil. In the character of his trees, and in the composition +of his landscapes, he commonly imitated Poussin. In his general tone +there predominates a greenish hue mixed with red. His pictures are not +all equally finished, but they rise in value as those of older artists +become injured by time, or rare from being purchased by foreigners. At +the side of Van Blomen we often find the works of some of his best +scholars, as Giacciuoli and Francis Ignazio, a Bavarian. + +At the same time lived in Rome Francesco Wallint, called M. Studio, who +painted small landscapes and sea views, ornamented with very beautiful +figures; devoid however of that sentiment which is the gift of nature, +and that delicacy which charms in the Italian School. He imitated +Claude: Wallint the younger, his son, attached himself to the same +manner with success, but did not equal his father. + +At the beginning of this epoch, or thereabouts, there flourished two +artists in Perugia in the same line; Ercolano Ercolanetti, and Pietro +Montanini, the scholar of Ciro Ferri and of Rosa. The last was ambitious +of the higher walks of art, and attempted the decoration of a church, +but failed in the attempt, as his talent was restricted to landscape; +and even when he added figures to these, they were not very correct, and +possessed more spirit than accuracy of design. He was nevertheless a +pleasing painter, and his pictures were sought after by foreigners. In +Perugia there is an abundance of his works, and some are to be seen in +the sacristy of the Eremitani, which might be said to discover a Flemish +style. + +Alessio de Marchis, a Neapolitan, is not much known in Rome, although in +the Ruspoli and Albani palaces, some pleasing pieces by him are pointed +out. He is better known in Perugia and Urbino, and the adjacent cities. +It is said that, in order to obtain a study for a picture from nature, +he set fire to a barn. For this act he was condemned to the galleys for +several years, and was liberated under the pontificate of Clement XI. +whose palace in Urbino he decorated with architectural ornaments, +distant views, and beautiful seapieces, more in the style of Rosa than +any other artist. There is an extraordinarily fine picture by him of the +Burning of Troy, in the collection of the Semproni family, and some +landscapes in other houses in Urbino, in which he has displayed all his +genius, and extended it also to figures. But in general there is little +more to praise in him than his spirit, his happy touch, and natural +colouring, particularly in fires, and the loaded and murky air, and the +general tone of the piece, as the detached parts are negligent and +imperfect. He left a son, also a landscape painter, but not of much +celebrity. + +At the beginning of the century Bernardino Fergioni displayed in Rome an +extraordinary talent in sea views, and harbours, to which he added a +variety of humourous figures. He was first a painter of animals, and +afterwards tried this line with better success; but his fame was a few +years afterwards eclipsed by two Frenchmen, Adrian Manglard, of a solid, +natural, and correct taste; and his scholar, Joseph Vernet, who +surpassed his master by his spirit and his charming colouring. The first +seemed to paint with a degree of timidity and care, the latter in the +full confidence of genius; the one seemed to aim at truth, the other at +beauty. Manglard was many years in Rome, and his works are to be seen in +the Villa Albani, and in many other palaces. Vernet is to be seen in the +Rondanini mansion, and in a few other collections. + +There were not many painters of battles during this epoch, except the +scholars of Borgognone. Christiano Reder, called also M. Leandro, who +came to Rome about 1686, the year of the taking of Buda, devoted +himself, in conformity with the feelings of the times, to painting +battles between the Christians and the Turks; but his pictures, though +well touched, were soon depreciated from the great number of them. The +best in the opinion of Pascoli, was that in the gallery de' Minimi; and +he left many also in the palaces of the nobility. He was also expert in +landscape and humourous subjects, and was assisted by Peter Van Blomen, +called also Stendardo, the brother of Francis Orizzonte. Stendardo also +painted battle pieces, but he was more attached to Bambocciate, in the +Flemish style, wherein he delights to introduce animals, and +particularly horses, in designing which he was very expert, and almost +unrivalled. His distances are very clear, and afford a fine relief to +his figures. + +In Rome, and throughout the ecclesiastical state, we find many pictures +of this sort by that Lucatelli who has been mentioned among the +landscape painters. The connoisseurs attribute to him two different +manners; the first good, the second still better, and exhibiting great +taste, both in colouring and invention. In some collections we find +Monaldi near him, who although of a similar taste, yielded to him in +correctness of design, in colour, and in that natural grace which may be +called the _Attic salt_ of this mute poetry. + +I have not ascertained who was the instructor of Antonio Amorosi, a +native of Comunanza, and a fellow countryman of Ghezzi, and his +co-disciple also in the school of the Cav. Giuseppe (Vernet). I only +know that he is in his way equally facetious, and sometimes satirical. +Like Ghezzi he painted pictures in the churches, which are to be found +in the Guida di Roma; he did not, however, succeed so well in them as in +his _bambocciate_, which would appear really Flemish if the colours were +more lucid. He is less known in the metropolis than in Piceno, where he +is to be seen in many collections, and is mentioned in the Guida +d'Ascoli. He pleased also in foreign countries, and represented subjects +from common life, as drinking parties in taverns in town and country, on +which occasion he discovered no common talent in architecture, +landscape, and the painting of animals. + +Arcangelo Resani, of Rome, the scholar of Boncuore, painted animals in a +sufficiently good taste, accompanying them with large and small figures, +in which he had an equal talent. In the Medici gallery is his portrait, +with a specimen attached of the art in which he most excelled, the +representation of still life. In the same way Nuzzi added flowers, and +other artists landscapes, to their portraits. + +Carlo Voglar, or Carlo da' Fiori, was a painter of fruit and flowers in +a very natural style, and was also distinguished in painting dead game. +He had a rival in this style in Francesco Varnetam, called Deprait, who +was still more ingenious in adding glass and portraits, and composed his +pieces in the manner of a good figurist. This artist after residing +several years in Rome, was appointed painter to the Imperial Court, and +died in Vienna, after having spread his works and his fame through all +Germany. In the time of the two preceding artists, Christian Bernetz was +celebrated, who on the death of the first, and the departure of the +second artist, remained in Rome the chief painter in this style. All the +three were known to Maratta, and employed by him in ornamenting his +pictures; and he enriched theirs in return with children and other +figures, which have rendered them invaluable. The last was also a friend +of Garzi, in conjunction with whom he painted pictures, each taking the +department in which they most excelled. Scipione Angelini, of Perugia, +improperly called Angeli by Guarienti, was celebrated by Pascoli for +similar talents. His flowers appear newly plucked and sparkling with dew +drops. In the _Memorie Messinesi_, I find that Agostino Scilla when he +was exiled from Sicily, repaired to Rome, where he died. Whilst in Rome, +he seemed to shun all competition with the historical painters, and +occupied himself (with a certainty of not being much celebrated), in +designing animals, and in other inferior branches of the art. In this +line both he and Giacinto, his younger brother, had great merit. +Saverio, the son of Agostino, who, on the death of them both, continued +to reside and to paint in Rome, did not equal them in reputation. + +During this period of the decline of the art, one branch of painting, +perspective, made an extraordinary progress by the talents of P. Andrea +Pozzo, a Jesuit, and a native of Trent. He became a painter and +architect from his native genius, rather than from the instruction of +any master. His habit of copying the best Venetian and Lombard pictures, +had given him a good style of colour, and a sufficiently correct design, +which he improved in Rome, where he resided many years. He painted also +in Genoa and Turin, and in these cities and in both the states, we find +some beautiful works, the more so as they resemble Rubens in tone, to +whose style of colour he aspired. There are not many of his oil +paintings in Italy, and few of them are finished, as S. Venanzio in +Ascoli, and S. Borgia at S. Remo. Even the picture of S. Ignatius at the +Gesu in Rome, is not equally rendered in every part. Nevertheless, he +appears on the whole a fine painter, his design well conceived, his +forms beautiful, his colours fascinating, and the touch of his pencil +free and ready. Even his less finished performances evince his genius; +and of the last mentioned picture, I heard from P. Giulio Cordara, an +eminent writer in verse and prose, an anecdote which deserves +preservation. A painter of celebrity being directed to substitute +another in its place, declared that neither himself nor any other living +artist could execute a superior work. His despatch was such, that in +four hours he began and finished the portrait of a cardinal, who was +departing the same day for Germany. + +He occupies a conspicuous place among the ornamental painters, but his +works in this way would be more perfect if there was not so great a +redundance of decoration, as vases, festoons, and figures of boys in the +cornices, though this indeed was the taste of the age. The ceiling of +the church of S. Ignatius is his greatest work, and which would serve to +show his powers, if he had left nothing else, as it exhibits a novelty +of images, an amenity of colour, and a picturesque spirit, which +attracted even the admiration of Maratta and Ciro Ferri; the last of +whom, amazed that Andrea had in so few years, and in so masterly a +manner, peopled, as he called it, this Piazza Navona, concluded that the +horses of other artists went at a common pace, but those of Pozzo on the +gallop. He is the most eminent of perspective painters, and even in the +concaves has given a convex appearance to the pieces of architecture +represented, as in the Tribune of Frascati, where he painted the +Circumcision of Jesus Christ, and in a corridor of the Gesu at Rome. He +succeeded too in a surprising manner in deceiving the eye with +fictitious cupolas in many churches of his order; in Turin, Modena, +Mondovi, Arezzo, Montepulciano, Rome, and Vienna, to which city he was +invited by the emperor Leopold I. He also painted scenes for the +theatres, and introduced colonnades and palaces with such inimitable +art, that it renders more credible the wonderful accounts handed down to +us by Vitruvius and Pliny of the skill of the ancients in this art. +Although well grounded in the theory of optics, as his two volumes of +perspective prove, it was his custom never to draw a line without first +having made a model, and thus ascertained the correct distribution of +the light and shade. When he painted on canvass, he laid on a light coat +of gum, and rejected the use of chalk, thinking that when the colours +were applied, the latter prevented the softening of the lights and +shadows, when requisite. + +He had many scholars who imitated him in perspective; some in fresco; +others in oil, taking their designs from real buildings, and at other +times painting from their own inventions. One of these was Alberto +Carlieri, a Roman, a painter also of small figures, of whom Orlandi +makes mention. Antonio Colli, another of his scholars, painted the great +altar at S. Pantaleo, and decorated it in perspective in so beautiful a +manner, that it was by some taken for the work of his master. Of +Agostino Collaceroni of Bologna, considered of the same school, we have +before spoken. + +There were also architectural painters in other branches. Pierfrancesco +Garoli, of Turin, painted the interior of churches, and Garzi supplied +the figures. Tiburzio Verzelli, of Recanati, is little known beyond +Piceno, his birthplace. The noble family of Calamini of Recanati, +possess perhaps his best picture, the elevation of S. Pietro in +Vaticano, one of the most beautiful and largest works of this kind that +I ever saw, which occupied the master several years in finishing. +Gaspare Vanvitelli, of Utrecht, called _Dagli Occhiali_, may be called +the painter of modern Rome; his pictures, which are to be found in all +parts of Europe, represent the magnificent edifices of that city, to +which landscapes are added, when the subject admits of it. He also +painted views of other cities, seaports, villas, and farm houses, useful +alike to painters and to architects. He painted some large pictures, +though most of his works are of a small size. He was correct in his +proportions, lively and clear in his tints, and there is nothing left to +desire, except a little more spirit and variety in the landscape or in +the sky, as the atmosphere is always of a pale azure, or carelessly +broken by a passing cloud. He was the father of Luigi Vanvitelli, a +painter, who owed his great name to architecture, as we shall see was +the case also with the celebrated Serlio. + +But no painter of perspective has found more admirers than the Cav. Gio. +Paolo Pannini, mentioned elsewhere; not so much for the correctness of +his perspective, in which he has many equals, as for his charming +landscape and spirited figures. It cannot indeed be denied, that these +latter are sometimes too high in proportion to the buildings, and that +also, to shun the dryness of Viviani, he has a mannered style of mixing +a reddish hue in his shadows. For the first defect there is no remedy; +but the second will be alleviated by time, which will gradually subdue +the predominant colour. + +Lastly, to this epoch the art of mosaic owes the great perfection which +it attained, in imitating painting, not only by the means of small +pieces of marble selected and cemented together, but by a composition +which could produce every colour, emulate every tint, represent each +degree of shade, and every part, equal to the pencil itself. Baglione +attributes the improvement in this art to Muziani, whom he calls the +inventor of working mosaics in oil; and that which he executed for the +Cappella Gregoriana, he praises as the most beautiful mosaic that has +been formed since the time of the ancients. Paolo Rossetti of Cento was +employed there under Muziani, and instructed Marcello Provenzale, his +fellow countryman. Both left many works beautifully painted in mosaic; +and the second, who lived till the time of Paul V. painted the portrait +of that Pope, and some cabinet pictures. An extensive work, as has often +been the case, was the cause of improving this art. The humidity of the +church of S. Peter was so detrimental to oil paintings, that from the +time of Urban VIII. there existed an idea of substituting mosaics in +their place. The first altarpiece was executed by a scholar of +Provenzale, already mentioned, Giambatista Calandra, born in Vercelli. +It represents S. Michael, and is of a small size, copied from a picture +of the Cav. d'Arpino. He afterwards painted other subjects in the small +cupolas, and near some windows of the church, from the cartoons of +Romanelli, Lanfranco, Sacchi, and Pellegrini; but thinking his talents +not sufficiently rewarded, he began to work also for individuals, and +painted portraits, or copied the best productions of the old masters. +Among these Pascoli particularly praises a Madonna copied from a picture +of Raffaello, in possession of the Queen of Sweden, and of this and +other similar works he judged that from their harmony of colour and high +finishing, they were deserving of close and repeated inspection. + +At this time great approaches were made towards the modern style of +mosaic; but this art was afterwards carried to a much higher pitch by +the two Cristofori, Fabio, and his son Pietro Paolo. These artists +painted the S. Petronilla, copied from the great picture of Guercino, +the S. Girolamo of Domenichino, and the Baptism of Christ by Maratta. +For other works by him and his successors, I refer the reader to the +_Descrizione_ of the pictures of Rome above cited. I will only add, that +when the works were completed for S. Peter's, lest the art might decay +for want of due encouragement, it was determined to decorate the church +of Loreto with similar pictures, which were executed in Rome, and +transferred to that church. + +Before I finish this portion of my work, I would willingly pay a tribute +to the numerous living professors, who have been, or who are now +resident in Rome; but it would be difficult to notice them all, and to +omit any might seem invidious. We may be allowed, however, to observe +that the improvement which has taken place in the art of late years, has +had its origin in Rome. That city at no period wholly lost its good +taste, and even in the decline of the art was not without connoisseurs +and artists of the first merit. Possessing in itself the best sources of +taste in so many specimens of Grecian sculpture, and so many works of +Raffaello, it is there always easy to judge how near the artists +approach to, and how far they recede from, their great prototypes of +art. This criterion too is more certain in the present age, when it is +the custom to pay less respect to prejudices and more to reason; so that +there can be no abuse of this useful principle. The works too of +Winckelmann and Mengs have contributed to improve the general taste; and +if we cannot approve every thing we there find, they still possess +matter highly valuable, and are excellent guides of genius and talent. +This object has also been promoted by the discovery of the ancient +pictures in Herculaneum, the Baths of Titus, and of the Villa Adriana, +and the exquisite vases of Nola, and similar remains of antiquity. These +have attracted every eye to the antique; Mengs and Winckelmann have +admirably illustrated the history of ancient sculpture, and the art of +painting may be more advantageously studied from the valuable engravings +which have been published, than from any book. From these extraordinary +advantages the fine arts have extended their influence to circles where +they were before unknown, and have received a new tone from emulation as +well as interest. The custom of exhibiting the productions of art to a +public who can justly appreciate them, and distinguish the good from the +bad; the rewards assigned to the most meritorious, of whatever nation, +accompanied by the productions of literary men, and public rejoicings in +the Campidoglio; the splendour of the sacred edifices peculiar to the +metropolis of the Christian world, which, while the art contributes to +its decoration, extends its protection in return to the professors of +that art; the lucrative commissions from abroad, and in the city itself, +from the munificence and unbounded liberality of Pius VI. and that of +many private individuals;[96] the circumstance of foreign sovereigns +frequently seeking in this emporium for masters, or directors for their +academies; all these causes maintain both the artists and their schools +in perpetual motion, and in a generous emulation, and by degrees we may +hope to see the art restored to its true principles, the imitation of +nature and the example of the great masters. There is not a branch, not +only of painting, but even of the arts depending on it, as miniature, +mosaic, enamel,[97] and the weaving of tapestry, that is not followed +there in a laudable manner. Whoever desires to be further informed of +the present state of the Roman School, and of the foreign artists +resident in Rome, should peruse the four volumes entitled, _Memorie per +le belle arti_, published from the year 1785, and continued to the year +1788, a periodical work deserving a place in every library of the fine +arts, and which was, I regret to add, prematurely discontinued. + +[Footnote 85: With regard to drapery, Winckelmann conjectures, (Storia +delle Arti del Disegno, tom. i. p. 450,) that the erroneous opinion that +the ancients did not drape their figures well, and were surpassed in +that department by the moderns, was at that time common among the +artists. This opinion still subsists among some sculptors, who +disapprove particularly of the ancient custom of moistening the drapery, +in order to adapt it the better to the form of the figure. The ancients, +they say, ought to be esteemed, not idolized. To carry nature to the +highest degree of perfection, was always allowable, but not so to +degrade her by mannerism.] + +[Footnote 86: He was the pupil of Niccolas Poussin, and from him +acquired his taste for drawing after the antique. He employed this +talent in copying the finest bassirilievi, and the noblest remains of +ancient Rome. These were engraved by him, and circulated through Europe. +He also copied a great number of ancient pictures from the +_Sotterranei_, which passed into private hands unpublished. Pascoli +mentions many more of his works in engraving, the pursuit of which +branch of the art led him gradually to forsake painting. Of his pictures +we find one in the church of Porto, and a very few more of his own +designing. He devoted himself to the copying the pictures of the best +masters, and carried his imitation even to the counterfeiting the +effects of time on the colours; and he copied some pictures of Poussin +with such dexterity, that it was with difficulty the painter himself +could distinguish them.] + +[Footnote 87: In the _Risposta alle Riflessioni Critiche di Mons. +Argens_.] + +[Footnote 88: This artist had painted one of the two laterals of the +chapel, asserting that there was no artist living capable of painting a +companion to it. Benefial painted one very superior, and represented in +it an executioner with his eyes fixed on and deriding the picture of +Muratori.] + +[Footnote 89: See _Memorie per le Belle Arti_, tom. ii. p. 135, where +Sig. Giangherardo de' Rossi gives an account of this artist, derived +principally from information furnished by Sig. Cav. Puccini, who has +been occasionally mentioned with approbation in the first volume of this +work.] + +[Footnote 90: Francesco Appiani, of Ancona, a scholar of Magatta, and +not long since deceased, did not find a place in my former edition, but +is fully entitled to one in this. He studied a considerable time in +Rome, whilst Benefial, Trevisani, Conca, and Mancini, flourished there; +and through the friendship of these masters (particularly of the +latter), was enabled to form an agreeable style, of which he there left +a specimen at S. Sisto Vecchio. It is the death of S. Domenico, painted +in fresco, by order of Benedict XIII. who remunerated him with a gold +medal. He went afterwards to Perugia, where he was presented with the +freedom of the city, and continued his labours there with unabated +ardour, until ninety years of age, an instance of vigour unexampled, +except in the case of Titian. Perugia abounds with his paintings of all +kinds, and his best works are to be found in the churches of S. Pietro +de' Cassinensi, S. Thomas, and Monte Corona. He also decorated the +church of S. Francis, and the vault of the cathedral, where he rivalled +the freedom of style and composition of Carloni. Both he himself, and +one of his pictures, placed in a church of Masaccio, are eulogised in +the Antich. Picene (tom. xx. p. 159). He painted many pictures also for +England.] + +[Footnote 91: For a more particular catalogue of these works, see the +_Memorie delle belle arti_, 1788, in which year they were republished in +Rome, with the remarks of the Sig. Avvocato Fea, in one vol. 4to. and 2 +vols. 8vo. The most celebrated treatise of Mengs is the _Riflessioni +sopra i tre gran pittori, Raffaello, Tiziano, e Coreggio, e sopra gli +antichi_. On the life and style of Coreggio he wrote a separate paper, +which was afterwards the subject of a controversy; for as, at the close +of the year 1781, appeared the _Notizie storiche del Coreggio_ of Ratti, +accompanied by a letter from Mengs, dated Madrid, 1774, in which he +entreats Ratti to collect and publish them, Ratti was by several writers +accused of plagiarism, and of having endeavoured, by a change of style +and the addition of some trifling matter, to appropriate to himself what +in reality belonged to Mengs. Not long afterwards there appeared an +anonymous Defence of Ratti, without date or place, for which I refer to +the next note.] + +[Footnote 92: In the _Difesa del Ratti_, accused _de repetundis_, this +very obvious contradiction is adduced as a proof that the _Memorie_ were +really composed by that author. It is there asserted that he wrote them +in a clear and simple style, and then communicated them to Mengs, on +whose death they were found among his writings, and published as his. +Some other things are indeed said, that do not favour the cause of +Ratti; as that when he was in Parma he consulted Mengs on what he should +say of the works of Coreggio in that city, and as he could not see those +in Dresden, he had from him a minute account of them; and also that +Mengs was accustomed to add remarks to the MS. on which his friends +consulted him. If, therefore, it be conceded that Mengs had such a share +in this MS. (which would appear to have been drawn up by the scholar +under the direction of the master, as to opinions on art, and as to a +catalogue of the best pictures, accompanied too with remarks,) who does +not perceive that the best part of that work, and the great attraction +of its matter and style, is due to Mengs?] + +[Footnote 93: This picture is one of the most finished compositions +since the restoration of art. Each muse is there represented with her +peculiar attribute, as derived from antiquity; and the artist is +deservedly eulogized by the Sig. Ab. Visconti, in the celebrated _Museo +Pio Clementino_, tom. i. p. 57.] + +[Footnote 94: This eminent man was not without his enemies and +calumniators, excited by his criticisms on the great masters, and still +more by his animadversions on artists of inferior fame, and some +recently deceased. Cumberland wrote against him with manifest prejudice; +and the anonymous author of the _Difesa del Cav. Ratti_, the work of +Ratti himself, or for which at least he furnished the materials, speaks +of him in a contemptuous manner. He particularly questions his literary +character and his discernment, and ascribes to his confidential friend, +Winckelmann, the merit of his remarks. In point of art he estimates +Mengs as an excellent, but by no means an unrivalled painter. Descending +to particulars, he publishes not a few criticisms, which he received +either in MS. or from the mouths of different professors, and adds +others of his own. Of these the experienced must form their own +judgment. With regard to his colouring, indeed, with which his rival +Batoni found great fault, the most inexperienced person may perceive +that it is not faultless, as the flesh tints are already altered by +time, at least in some of his works. Lastly, in the _Difesa_ are some +personal remarks regarding Mengs, which, if Ratti, from respect to his +late deceased friend, thought it right to omit them in his life of him, +printed in 1779, might with still greater propriety have been spared in +this subsequent work.] + +[Footnote 95: See the _Elogio di Pompeo Batoni_, page 66, where the +illustrious author, who, to his other accomplishments, adds that of +painting, expatiates at length, and in the style of a professor, on this +wonderful talent of Batoni.] + +[Footnote 96: The decoration of the Villa Pinciana, in which the prince +Borghesi has given encouragement to so many eminent artists, is an +undertaking that deserves to be immortalized in the history of art.] + +[Footnote 97: I refer to what I have written on the art of enamel, in +the school of Ferrara, in which city the art may be said to have been +revived by the Sig. Ab. Requeno. It was also greatly improved in the +school of Rome, where in 1788 an entire cabinet was painted in enamel +for the empress of Russia, as was publicly noticed in the _Giornale di +Roma_, of the month of June. Il Sig. Consigl. Gio. Renfestein, had the +commission of the work, which was executed from the designs of +Hunterberger, by the Sigg. Gio. and Vincenzio Angeloni. They were both +assisted in their task by the Sig. Ab. Garcia della Huerta, who greatly +facilitated the inventions of Requeno, as well by his experience as by +his work, intitled _Commentarj della pittura encaustica del pennello_, +published in Madrid, a very learned work, and which obtained for the +author from Charles IV. an annuity for life.] + + + + + BOOK IV. + + NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. + + FIRST EPOCH. + + +We are now arrived at a school of painting which possesses indisputable +proofs of having, in ancient times, ranked among the first in Italy; as +in no part of that country do the remains of antiquity evince a more +refined taste, no where do we find mosaics executed with more +elegance,[98] nor any thing more beautiful than the subterranean +chambers which are ornamented with historical designs and grotesques. +The circumstance of its deriving its origin from ancient Greece, and the +ancient history of design, in which we read of many of its early +artists, have ennobled it above all others in Italy; and on this account +we feel a greater regret at the barbarism which overwhelmed it in common +with other schools. We may express a similar sentiment with regard to +Sicily, which from its affinity in situation and government, I shall +include in this Fourth Book; but generally in the notes.[99] That +island, too, possessed many Greek colonies, who have left vases and +medals of such extraordinary workmanship, that many have thought that +Sicily preceded Athens in carrying this art to perfection. But to +proceed to the art of painting in Naples, which is our present object, +we may observe that Dominici and the other national writers, the notice +of whom I shall reserve for their proper places, affirm, that that city +was never wholly destitute of artists, not only in the ancient times, +which Filostrato extols so highly in the proemium of his _Immagini_, but +even in the dark ages. In confirmation of this, they adduce devotional +pictures by anonymous artists, anterior to the year 1200; particularly +many Madonnas in an ancient style, which were the objects of adoration +in various churches. They subjoin moreover a catalogue of these early +artists, and bitterly inveigh against Vasari, who has wholly omitted +them in his work. + +The first painter whom we find mentioned at the earliest period of the +restoration of the art, is Tommaso de' Stefani, who was a contemporary +of Cimabue, in the reign of Charles of Anjou.[100] That prince, +according to Vasari, in passing through Florence, was conducted to the +studio of Cimabue, to see the picture of the Virgin, which he had +painted for the chapel of the Rucellai family, on a larger scale than +had ever before been executed. He adds, that the whole city collected in +such crowds thither to view it, that it became a scene of public +festivity, and that that part of the city in which the artist resided, +received in consequence the name of Borgo Allegri, which it has retained +to the present day. Dominici has not failed to make use of this +tradition to the advantage of Tommaso. He observes that Charles would +naturally have invited Cimabue to Naples, if he had considered him the +first artist of his day; the king however did not do so, but at the same +time employed Tommaso to ornament a church which he had founded, and he +therefore must have considered him superior to Cimabue. This argument, +as every one will immediately perceive, is by no means conclusive of the +real merits of these two artists. That must be decided by an inspection +of their works; and with regard to these, Marco da Siena, who is the +father of the history of painting in Naples, declares, that in respect +to grandeur of composition, Cimabue was entitled to the preference. +Tommaso enjoyed the favour also of Charles II. who employed him, as did +also the principal persons of the city. The chapel of the Minutoli in +the Duomo, mentioned by Boccaccio, was ornamented by him with various +pictures of the Passion of our Saviour. Tommaso had a scholar in Filippo +Tesauro, who painted in the church of S. Restituta, the life of B. +Niccolo, the hermit, the only one of his frescos which has survived to +our days. + +About the year 1325, Giotto was invited by King Robert to paint the +church of S. Chiara in Naples, which he decorated with subjects from the +New Testament, and the mysteries of the Apocalypse, with some designs +suggested to him at a former time by Dante, as was currently reported in +the days of Vasari. These pictures were effaced about the beginning of +the present century, as they rendered the church dark; but there +remains, among other things in good preservation, a Madonna called della +Grazia, which the generous piety of the religious possessors preserved +for the veneration of the faithful. Giotto painted some pictures also in +the church of S. Maria Coronata; and others which no longer exist, in +the Castello dell'Uovo. He selected for his assistant in his labours, a +Maestro Simone, who, in consequence of enjoying Giotto's esteem, +acquired a great name in Naples. Some consider him a native of Cremona, +others a Neapolitan, which seems nearer the truth. His style partakes +both of Tesauro and Giotto, whence some consider him of the first, +others of the second master; and he may probably have been instructed by +both. However that may be, on the departure of Giotto he was employed in +many works which King Robert and the Queen Sancia were prosecuting in +various churches, and particularly in S. Lorenzo. He there painted that +monarch in the act of being crowned by the Bishop Lodovico, his brother, +to whom upon his death and subsequent canonization, a chapel was +dedicated in the Episcopal church, and Simone appointed to decorate it, +but which he was prevented from doing by death. Dominici particularly +extols a picture by him of a Deposition from the Cross, painted for the +great altar of the Incoronata; and thinks it will bear comparison with +the works of Giotto. In other respects, he confesses that his conception +and invention were not equally good, nor did his heads possess so +attractive an air as those of Giotto, nor his colours such a suavity of +tone. + +He instructed in the art a son, called Francesco di Simone, who was +highly extolled for a Madonna in chiaroscuro, in the church of S. +Chiara, and which was one of the works which escaped being effaced on +the occasion before mentioned. He had two other scholars in Gennaro di +Cola, and Stefanone, who were very much alike in their manner, and on +that account were chosen to paint in conjunction some large +compositions, such as the pictures of the Life of S. Lodovico, Bishop of +Tolosa, which Simone had only commenced, and various others of the Life +of the Virgin, in S. Giovanni da Carbonara, which were preserved for a +long period. Notwithstanding the similarity of their styles, we may +perceive a difference in the genius of the two artists; the first being +in reference to the second, studied and correct, and anxious to overcome +all difficulties, and to elevate the art; on which account he appears +occasionally somewhat laboured: the second discovers more genius, more +confidence, and a greater freedom of pencil, and to his figures he gives +a spirit that might have assured him a distinguished place, if he had +been born at a more advanced period of art. + +Before Zingaro (who will very soon occupy our attention) introduced a +manner acquired in other schools, the art had made little progress in +Naples and her territories. This is clearly proved by Colantonio del +Fiore, the scholar of Francesco, who lived till the year 1444, of whom +Dominici mentions some pictures, though he is in doubt whether they +should not be assigned to Maestro Simone; which is a tacit confession, +that in the lapse of a century the art had not made any considerable +progress. It appears, however, that Colantonio after some time, by +constant practice, had considerably improved himself; having painted +several works in a more modern style, particularly a S. Jerome, in the +church of S. Lorenzo, in the act of drawing a thorn from the foot of a +lion, with the date of 1436. It is a picture of great truth, removed +afterwards, for its merit, by the P. P. Conventuali, into the sacristy +of the same church, where it was for a long time the admiration of +strangers. He had a scholar of the name of Angiolo Franco, who imitated +better than any other Neapolitan the manner of Giotto; adding only a +stronger style of chiaroscuro, which he derived from his master. + +The art was, however, more advanced by Antonio Solario, originally a +smith, and commonly called lo Zingaro. His history has something +romantic in it, like that of Quintin Matsys, who, from his first +profession, was called il Fabbro, and became a painter from his love to +a young girl, who promised to marry him when he had made himself a +proficient in the art of painting. Solario in the same manner being +enamoured of a daughter of Colantonio, and receiving from him a promise +of her hand in marriage in ten years, if he became an eminent painter, +forsook his furnace for the academy, and substituted the pencil for the +file. There is an idle tradition of a queen of Naples having been the +author of this match, but that matter I leave in the hands of the +narrators of it. It is more interesting to us to know that Solario went +to Bologna, where he was for several years the scholar of Lippo +Dalmasio, called also Lippo delle Madonne, from his numerous portraits +of the Virgin, and the grace with which he painted them. On leaving +Bologna he visited other parts of Italy in order to study the works of +the best artists in the various schools; as Vivarini, in Venice; Bicci, +in Florence; Galasso, in Ferrara; Pisanello, and Gentile da Fabriano, in +Rome. It has been thought that he assisted the two last, as Luca +Giordano affirmed that among the pictures in the Lateran he recognized +some heads which were indisputably by Solario. He excelled in this +particular, and excited the admiration of Marco da Siena himself, who +declared that his countenances seemed alive. He became also a good +perspective painter for those times, and respectable in historical +compositions; which he enlivened with landscape in a better style than +other painters, and distinguished his figures by drapery peculiar to the +age, and carefully drawn from nature. He was less happy in designing his +hands and feet, and often appears heavy in his attitudes, and crude in +his colouring. On his return to Naples, it is said, that he gave proof +of his skill, and was favorably received by Colantonio, and thus became +his son-in-law nine years after his first departure; and that he painted +and taught there under King Alfonso, until the year 1455, about which +time he died. + +The most celebrated work of this artist was in the choir of S. Severino, +in fresco, representing, in several compartments, the life of S. +Benedict, and containing an incredible variety of figures and subjects. +He left also numerous pictures with portraits, and Madonnas of a +beautiful form, and not a few others painted in various churches of +Naples. In that of S. Domenico Maggiore, where he painted a dead Christ, +and in that of S. Pier Martire, where he represented a S. Vincenzio, +with some subjects from the life of that saint, it is said that he +surpassed himself. Thus there commenced in Naples a new epoch, which +from its original and most celebrated prototype, is called by the Cav. +Massimo, the school of Zingaro, as in that city those pictures are +commonly distinguished by the name of Zingaresque, which were painted +from the time of that artist to that of Tesauro, or a little later, in +the same way that pictures are every where called Cortonesque, that are +painted in imitation of Berettini. + +About this time there flourished two eminent artists, whom I deem it +proper to mention in this place before I enter on the succeeding +scholars of the Neapolitan School. These were Matteo da Siena, and +Antonello da Messina. The first we noticed in the school of Siena, and +mentioned his having painted in Naples the Slaughter of the Innocents. +It exists in the church of S. Caterina a Formello, and is engraved in +the third volume of the Lettere Senesi. The year M.CCCC.XVIII. is +attached to it, but we ought not to yield implicit faith to this date. +Il P. della Valle, in p. 56 of the above mentioned volume, observes, +that Matteo, in the year 1462, when he painted with his father in +Pienza, was young, and that in the portrait which he painted of himself +in 1491, he does not appear aged. He could not therefore have painted in +Naples in 1418. After this we may believe it very possible, that in this +date an L has been inadvertently omitted, and that the true reading is +M.CCCC.LXVIII. Thus the above writer conjectures, and with so much the +more probability, as he advances proofs, both from the form of the +letters and the absence of the artist from his native place. Whoever +desires similar examples, may turn to page 141 of vol. i., and he will +find that such errors have occurred more than once in the date of books. +Guided by this circumstance we may correct what Dominici has asserted of +Matteo da Siena having influenced the style of Solario. It may be true +that there is a resemblance in the air of the heads, and the general +style, but such similarity can only be accounted for by Matteo deriving +it from Solario, or both, as often happens, deriving it from the same +master. + +Antonello, of the family of the Antonj, universally known under the name +of Antonello da Messina, is a name so illustrious in the history of art, +that it is not sufficient to have mentioned him in the first book and to +refer to him here again, as he will claim a further notice in the +Venetian School, and we must endeavour too to overcome some perplexing +difficulties, to ascertain with correctness the time at which he +flourished, and attempt to settle the dispute, whether he were the first +who painted in oil in Italy, or whether that art was practised before +his time. Vasari relates, that when young, after having spent many years +in Rome in the study of design,[101] and many more at Palermo, painting +there with the reputation of a good artist, he repaired first to +Messina, and from thence passed to Naples, where he chanced to see a +large composition painted in oil by Gio. da Bruggia, which had been +presented by some Florentine merchants to King Alfonso. Antonello, +smitten with this new art, took his departure to Flanders, and there, by +his affability, and by a present of some drawings of the Italian School, +so far ingratiated himself with Giovanni, as to induce him to +communicate to him the secret, and the aged painter dying soon +afterwards, thus left him instructed in the new art. This must have +happened about the year 1440, since that time is required to support the +supposition that Giovanni, born about 1370, died at an advanced age, as +the old writers assert, or exactly in 1441, as is asserted by the author +of the _Galleria Imperiale_. Antonello then left Flanders, and first +resided for some months in his native place; from thence he went to +Venice, where he communicated the secret to Domenico Veneziano; and +having painted there a considerable time, died there at the age of +forty-nine. All this we find in Vasari, and it agrees with what he +relates in the life of Domenico Veneziano, that this artist, after +having learnt the new method from Antonello in Venice, painted in Loreto +with Piero della Francesca, some few years before that artist lost his +eyesight, which happened in 1458. Thus the arrival of Antonello in +Venice must have occurred about the year 1450, or some previous year; +but this conclusion is contrary to Venetian evidence. The remaining +traces of Antonello, or the dates attached to his works there, commence +in 1474, and terminate according to Ridolfi in 1490. There does not +appear any reason whatever, why he should not have attached dates to his +pictures, until after residing twenty-four years in Venice. Besides, how +can it be maintained, that Antonello, after passing many years in Rome +as a student, and many in Palermo as a master, and some years in Messina +and Flanders, should not in Venice, in the forty-ninth year after the +death of Giovanni, have passed the forty-ninth year of his age. Hackert +quotes the opinion of Gallo, who in the _Annali di Messina_, dates the +birth of Antonello in 1447, and his death at forty-nine years of age, +that is, in 1496. But if this were so, how could he have known Gio. da +Bruggia? Yet if such fact be denied, we must contradict a tradition +which has been generally credited. I should be more inclined to believe +that there is a mistake in his age, and that he died at a more advanced +period of life. Nor on this supposition do we wrong Vasari; others +having remarked what we shall also on a proper opportunity confirm; that +as far as regards Venetian artists, Vasari errs almost in every page +from the want of accurate information. I further believe that respecting +the residence of Antonello in Venice, he wrote with inaccuracy. That he +was there about the year 1450, and communicated his secret to Domenico, +is a fact, which after so many processes made in Florence on the murder +of Domenico, and so much discussion respecting him, must have been well +ascertained, not depending on the report contained in the memoirs of the +painters by Grillandajo, or any other contemporary, in whose writings +Vasari might search for information. But admitting this, I am of +opinion, that Antonello did not reside constantly in Venice from the +year 1450 until his death, as Vasari insinuates. It appears that he +travelled afterwards in several countries, resided for a long time in +Milan, and acquired there a great celebrity; and that he repaired afresh +to Venice, and enjoyed there for some years a public salary. This we +gather from Maurolico, quoted by Hackert: _Ob mirum hic ingenium +Venetiis aliquot annos publice conductus vixit: Mediolani quoque fuit +percelebris_, (_Hist. Sican. pl. 186, prim. edit._), and if he was not a +contemporary writer, still he was not very far removed from Antonello. +This is the hypothesis I propose in order to reconcile the many +contradictory accounts which we find on this subject in Vasari, Ridolfi, +and Zanetti; and when we come to the Venetian School, I shall not forget +to adduce further proofs in support of it. Others may perhaps succeed +better than I have done in this task, and with that hope I shall console +myself: as in my researches I have no other object than truth, I shall +be equally satisfied whether I discover it myself, or it be communicated +to me by others. + +That therefore Antonello was the first who exhibited a perfect method of +practising painting in oil in Italy, is an assertion that, it seems to +me, may be with justice maintained, or at least it cannot be said that +there is proof to the contrary. And yet in the history of the art in the +Two Sicilies, this honour is strongly disputed. In that history we find +the description of a chapel in the Duomo of Messina, called Madonna +della Lettera, where it is said there exists a very old Greek picture of +the Virgin, an object of adoration, which was said to be in oil. If this +were even admitted, it could not detract from the merit of Antonello in +having restored a beautiful art that had fallen into desuetude; but in +these Greek pictures, the wax had often the appearance of oil, as we +observed in vol. i. p. 89. Marco da Siena, in the fragment of a +discourse which Dominici has preserved, asserts, that the Neapolitan +painters of 1300 continued to improve in the two manners of painting in +fresco and in oil. When I peruse again what I have written in vol. i. p. +90, where some attempt at colouring in oil anterior to Antonello is +admitted, I may be permitted not to rely on the word of Pino alone. +There exist in Naples many pictures of 1300, and I cannot imagine, why +in a controversy like this, they are neither examined nor alluded to, +and why the question is rested solely on a work or two of Colantonio. +Some national writers, and not long since, Signorelli, in his _Coltura +delle due Sicili_ (tom. iii. p. 171), have pretended, that Colantonio +del Fiore was certainly the first to paint in oil, and adduce in proof +the very picture of S. Jerome, before mentioned, and another in S. Maria +Nuova. Il Sig. Piacenza after inspecting them, says, that he was not +able to decide whether these pictures were really in oil or not. Zanetti +(P. V. p. 20) also remarks, that it is extremely difficult to pass a +decided judgment on works of this kind, and I have made the same +observation with respect to Van Eyck, which will I hope, convince every +reader who will be at the trouble to refer to vol. i. p. 87. And unless +that had been the case, how happened it that all Europe was filled with +the name of Van Eyck in the course of a few years; that every painter +ran to him; that his works were coveted by princes, and that they who +could not obtain them, procured the works of his scholars, and others +the works of Ausse, Ugo d'Anversa, and Antonello; and of Ruggieri +especially, of whose great fame in Italy we shall in another place +adduce the documents.[102] On the other hand, who, beyond Naples and its +territory, had at that time heard of Colantonio? Who ever sought with +such eagerness the works of Solario? And if this last was the scholar +and son-in-law of a master who painted so well in oil, how happened it +that he was neither distinguished in the art, nor even acquired it? Why +did he himself and his scholars work in distemper? Why did the +Sicilians, as we have seen, pass over to Venice, where Antonello +resided, to instruct themselves, and not confine themselves to Naples? +Why did the whole school of Venice, the emporium of Europe, and capable +of contradicting any false report, attest, on the death of Antonello, +that he was the first that painted in oil in Italy, and no one opposed +to him either Solario or Colantonio?[103] They either could not at that +time have been acquainted with this discovery, or did not know it to an +extent that can contradict Vasari, and the prevailing opinions +respecting Antonello. Dominici has advanced more on this point than any +other person, asserting that this art was discovered in Naples, and was +carried from thence to Flanders by Van Eyck himself, to which +supposition, after the observations already made, I deem it superfluous +to reply.[104] + +We shall now return to the scholars of Solario, who were very numerous. +Amongst them was a Niccola di Vito, who may be called the Buffalmacco of +this school, for his singular humour and his eccentric invention, though +in other respects he was an inferior artist, and little deserving +commemoration. Simone Papa did not paint any large composition in which +he might be compared to his master; he confined himself to altarpieces, +with few figures grouped in a pleasing style, and finished with +exquisite care; so that he sometimes equalled Zingaro, as in a S. +Michele, painted for S. Maria Nuova. Of the same class seems to have +been Angiolillo di Roccadirame, who in the church of S. Bridget, painted +that saint contemplating in a vision the birth of Christ; a picture +which even with the experienced, might pass for the work of his master. +More celebrated and more deserving of notice, are Pietro and Polito +(Ippolito) del Donzello, sons-in-law of Angiolo Franco, and relatives of +the celebrated architect Giuliano da Maiano, by whom they were +instructed in that art. Vasari mentions them as the first painters of +the Neapolitan school, but does not give any account of their master, or +of what school they were natives, and he writes in a way that might lead +the reader to believe that they were Tuscans. He says that Giuliano, +having finished the palace of Poggio Reale for King Robert, the monarch +engaged the two brothers to decorate it, and that first Giuliano dying, +and the king afterwards, Polito _returned_ to Florence.[105] Bottari +observes, that he did not find the two Donzelli mentioned by Orlandi, +nor by any one else; a clear proof that he did not himself consider them +natives of Naples, and on that account he did not look for them in +Bernardo Dominici, who has written at length upon them, complaining of +the negligence or inadvertent error of Vasari. + +The pictures of the two brothers were painted, according to Vasari, +about the year 1447. But as he informs us that Polito did not leave +Naples until the death of Alfonso, this epoch should be extended to +1463, or beyond; as he remained for a year longer, or thereabouts, under +the reign of Ferdinand, the son and successor of Alfonso. He painted for +that monarch some large compositions in the refectory of S. Maria Nuova, +partly alone and partly in conjunction with his brother, and both +brothers combined in decorating for the king a part of the palace of +Poggio Reale. We may here with propriety also mention, that they painted +in one of the rooms the conspiracy against Ferdinand, which being seen +by Jacopo Sannazzaro, gave occasion to his writing a sonnet, the 41st in +the second part of his _Rime_. Their style resembles that of their +master, except that their colouring is softer. They distinguished +themselves also in their architectural ornaments, and in the painting of +friezes and trophies, and subjects in chiaroscuro, in the manner of +bassirilievi, an art which I am not aware that any one practised before +them. The younger brother leaving Naples and dying soon afterwards, +Pietro remained employed in that city, where he and his scholars +acquired a great reputation by their paintings in oil and fresco. The +portraits of Pietro had all the force of nature, and it is not long +since, that on the destruction of some of his pictures on a wall in the +palace of the Dukes of Matalona, some heads were removed with the +greatest care, and preserved for their excellence. + +We may now notice Silvestro de' Buoni, who was placed by his father in +the school of Zingaro, and on his death attached himself to the +Donzelli. His father was an indifferent painter, of the name of Buono, +and from that has arisen the mistake of some persons, who have ascribed +to the son some works of the father in an old style, and unworthy the +reputation of Silvestro. This artist, in the opinion of the Cav. +Massimo, had a finer colouring and a superior general effect to the +Donzelli; and in the force of his chiaroscuro, and in the delicacy of +his contours, far surpassed all the painters of his country who had +lived to that time. Dominici refers to many of his pictures in the +various churches of Naples. One of the most celebrated is that of S. +Giovanni a Mare, in which he included three saints, all of the same +name, S. John the Baptist, the Evangelist, and S. Chrysostom. + +Silvestro is said to have had a disciple in Tesauro, whose Christian +name has not been correctly handed down to us; but he is generally +called Bernardo. He is supposed to have been of a painter's family, and +descended from that Filippo who is commemorated as the second of this +school, and father or uncle of Raimo, whom we shall soon notice. This +Bernardo, or whatever his name may have been, made nearer approaches to +the modern style than any of the preceding artists; more judicious in +his invention, more natural in his figures and drapery; select, +expressive, harmonized, and displaying a knowledge in gradation and +relief, beyond what could be expected in a painter who is not known to +have been acquainted with any other schools, or seen any pictures beyond +those of his own country. Luca Giordano, at a time when he was +considered the Coryphaeus of painting, was struck with astonishment at +the painting of a Soffitto by Tesauro at S. Giovanni de' Pappacodi, and +did not hesitate to declare that there were parts in it, which in an age +so fruitful in fine works, no one could have surpassed. It represents +the Seven Sacraments. The minute description which the historian gives +of it, shews us what sobriety and judgment there were in his +composition; and the portraits of Alfonso II. and Ippolita Sforza, whose +espousals he represented in the Sacrament of Marriage, afford us some +light for fixing the date of this picture. Raimo Tesauro was very much +employed in works in fresco. Some pictures by him are also mentioned in +S. Maria Nuova, and in Monte Vergine; pictures, says the Cav. Massimo, +"very studied and perfect, according to the latest schools succeeding +our Zingaro." + +To the same schools Gio. Antonio d'Amato owed his first instructions; +but it is said, that when he saw the pictures which Pietro Perugino had +painted for the Duomo of Naples, he became ambitious of emulating the +style of that master. By diligence, in which he was second to none, he +approached, as one may say, the confines of modern art; and died at an +advanced period of the sixteenth century. He is highly extolled for his +Dispute of the Sacrament, painted for the Metropolitan church, and for +two other pictures placed in the Borgo di Chiaia, the one at the +Carmine, the other at S. Leonardo. And here we may close our account of +the early painters, scanty indeed, but still copious for a city harassed +by incessant hostilities.[106] + +[Footnote 98: In the Museo of the Sig. D. Franc. Daniele, are some +birds, not inferior to the doves of Furietti.] + +[Footnote 99: I adopt this mode because "little has hitherto been +published on the Sicilian School," as the Sig. Hackert observes in his +_Memorie de' Pittori Messinesi_. I had not seen that book when I +published the former edition of the present work, and I was then +desirous that the memoirs of the Sicilian painters should be collected +together and given to the public. I rejoice that we have had memoirs +presented to us of those of Messina, and that we shall also have those +of the Syracusans and others, as the worthy professor gives us reason to +hope in the preface to the _Memorie_ before mentioned, which were +written by an anonymous writer, and published by Sig. Hackert with his +own remarks.] + +[Footnote 100: The history of the art in Messina enumerates a series of +pictures from the year 1267, of which period is the S. Placido of the +cathedral, painted by an Antonio d'Antonio. It is supposed that this is +a family of painters, which had the surname of Antonj, and that many +pictures in S. Francesco, S. Anna, and elsewhere, are by different +Antonj, until we come to Salvatore di Antonio, father of the celebrated +Antonello di Messina, and himself a master; and there remains by him a +S. Francis in the act of receiving the Stigmata, in the church of his +name. Thus the genealogy of this Antonello is carried to the before +mentioned Antonio di Antonio, and still further by a writer called _il +Minacciato_ (Hack. p. 11), although Antonio never, to my knowledge, +subscribed himself degli Antonj, having always on his pictures, which I +have seen, inscribed his country, instead of his surname, as +_Messinensis_, _Messineus_, _Messinae_.] + +[Footnote 101: The _Memorie de' Pittori Messinesi_ assert, that at Rome +he was attracted by the fame of the works of Masaccio, and that he there +also designed all the ancient statues. They add, too, that he arrived at +such celebrity, that his works are equal to those of the best masters of +his time. I imagine it must be meant to allude to those who preceded +Pietro Perugino, Francia, Gio. Bellini, and Mantegna; as his works will +not bear any comparison with those of the latter masters.] + +[Footnote 102: In the first epoch of the Venetian School.] + +[Footnote 103: The following inscription, composed at the instance of +the Venetian painters, is found in Ridolfi, p. 49. "_Antonius pictor, +praecipuum Messanae suae et totius Siciliae ornamentum hac humo contegitur: +non solum suis picturis, in quibus singulare artificium et venustas +fuit: sed et quod coloribus oleo miscendis splendorem et perpetuitatem_ +PRIMUS ITALIAE PICTURAE _contulit, summo_ SEMPER _artificum studio +celebratus._"] + +[Footnote 104: A letter of Summonzio, written on the 20th March, 1524, +has been communicated to me by the Sig. Cav. de' Lazara, extracted from +the 60th volume of the MSS. collected in Venice by the Sig. Ab. Profess. +Daniele Francesconi. It is addressed to M. A. Michele, who had requested +from him some information respecting the ancient and modern artists of +Naples; and in reference to the present question he thus speaks. "Since +that period (the reign of King Ladislaus), we have not had any one of so +much talent in the art of painting as our Maestro Colantonio of Naples, +who would in all probability have arrived at great eminence, if he had +not died young. Owing to the taste of the times, he did not arrive at +that perfection of design founded on the antique, which his disciple +Antonello da Messina attained; an artist, as I understand, well known +amongst you. The style of Colantonio was founded on the Flemish, and the +colouring of that country, to which he was so much attached, that he had +intended to go thither, but the King Raniero retained him here, +satisfied with showing him the practice and mode of such colouring." +From this letter, which seems contrary to my argument, I collect +sufficient, if I err not, to confirm it. For, 1st, the defence of those +writers falls to the ground, who assume that the art of oil colouring +was derived from Naples, while we see that Colantonio, by means of the +king, received it from Flanders. 2ndly, Van Eyck himself is not here +named, but the painters of Flanders generally; which country first +awakened, as we have observed, by the example of Italy, had discovered +new, and it is true, imperfect and inefficient methods, but still +superior to distemper; and who knows if this were not the mode adopted +by Colantonio. 3rdly, It is said that he died young, a circumstance +which may give credit to the difficulty that he had in communicating the +secret: in fact, it is not known that he communicated it even to his +son-in-law, much less to a stranger. 4thly, Hence the necessity of +Antonello undertaking the journey to Flanders to learn the secret from +Van Eyck, who was then in years, and not without difficulty communicated +it to him. 5thly, If we believe with Ridolfi that Antonello painted in +1494 in Trevigi, and credit the testimony of Vasari, that he was not +then more than forty-nine years of age, how could he be the scholar of +Colantonio, who, according to Dominici, died in 1444? It is with +diffidence I advance these remarks on a matter on which I have before +expressed my doubts, and I have been obliged to leave some points +undecided, or decided rather according to the opinions of others than my +own.] + +[Footnote 105: In the ducal gallery in Florence, is a Deposition from +the Cross, wholly in the style of Zingaro: and I know not whether it +ought to be ascribed to Polito, who certainly resided in Florence, or to +some other painter of the Neapolitan School.] + +[Footnote 106: In Messina, towards the close of the fifteenth century, +or at the beginning of the sixteenth, some artists flourished who +practised their native style, not yet modernised on the Italian model, +as Alfonso Franco, a scholar of Jacopello d'Antonio, and a Pietro Oliva, +of an uncertain school. Both are praised for their natural manner, the +peculiar boast of that age, but in the first we admire a correct design +and a lively expression, for which his works have been much sought after +by strangers, who have spared only to his native place a Deposition from +the Cross, at S. Francesco di Paola, and a Dispute of Christ with the +Doctors, at S. Agostino. Still less remains of Antonello Rosaliba, +always a graceful painter. This is a Madonna with the Holy Infant, in +the village of Postunina.] + + + + + NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. + + SECOND EPOCH. + + _Modern Neapolitan Style, founded on the Schools of Raffaello + and Michelangiolo._ + + +It has already been observed, that at the commencement of the sixteenth +century, the art of painting seemed in every country to have attained to +maturity, and that every school at that time assumed its own peculiar +and distinguishing character. Naples did not, however, possess a manner +so decided as that of other schools of Italy, and thus afforded an +opportunity for the cultivation of the best style, as the students who +left their native country returned home, each with the manner of his own +master, and the sovereigns and nobility of the kingdom invited and +employed the most celebrated strangers. In this respect, perhaps, Naples +did not yield precedence to any city after Rome. Thus the first talents +were constantly employed in ornamenting both the churches and palaces of +that metropolis. Nor indeed was that country ever deficient in men of +genius, who manifested every exquisite quality for distinction, +particularly such as depended on a strong and fervid imagination. Hence +an accomplished writer and painter has observed, that no part of Italy +could boast of so many native artists, such is the fire, the fancy, and +freedom, which characterizes, for the most part, the works of these +masters. Their rapidity of execution was another effect of their genius, +a quality which has been alike praised by the ancients,[107] and the +moderns, when combined with other more requisite gifts of genius. But +this despatch in general excludes correct design, which from that cause +is seldom found in that school. Nor do we find that it paid much +attention to ideal perfection, as most of its professors, following the +practice of the naturalists, selected the character of their heads and +the attitudes of their figures from common life; some with more, and +others with less discrimination. With regard to colour, this school +changed its principles in conformity to the taste of the times. It was +fertile in invention and composition, but deficient in application and +study. The history of the vicissitudes it experienced will occupy the +remainder of this volume. + +The epoch of modern painting in Naples could not have commenced under +happier auspices than those which it had the good fortune to experience. +Pietro Perugino had painted an Assumption of the Virgin, which I am +informed exists in the Duomo, or S. Reparata, a very ancient cathedral +church, since connected with the new Duomo. This work opened the way to +a better taste. When Raffaello and his school rose into public esteem, +Naples was among the first distant cities to profit from it, by means of +some of his scholars, to whom were also added some followers of +Michelangiolo, about the middle of the century. Thus till nearly the +year 1600, this school paid little attention to any other style than +that of these two great masters and their imitators, except a few +artists who were admirers of Titian. + +We may commence the new series with Andrea Sabbatini of Salerno. This +artist was so much struck with the style of Pietro, when he saw his +picture in the Duomo, that he immediately determined to study in the +school of Perugia. He took his departure accordingly for that city, but +meeting on the road some brother painters who much more highly extolled +the works of Raffaello, executed for Julius II., he changed his mind and +proceeded to Rome, and there placed himself in the school of that great +master. He remained with him however, only a short time, as the death of +his father compelled him to return home, against his wishes. But he +arrived a new man. It is related that he painted with Raffaello at the +Pace, and in the Vatican, and that he became an accomplished copyist of +his works, and successfully emulated the style of his master. Compared +with his fellow scholars, although he did not rival Giulio Romano, he +yet surpassed Raffaele del Colle, and others of that class. He had a +correctness of design, selection in his faces and in his attitudes, a +depth of shade, and the muscles rather strongly expressed; a breadth in +the folding of his drapery, and a colour which still preserves its +freshness after the lapse of so many years. He executed many works in +Naples, as appears from the catalogue of his pictures. Among his best +works are numbered some pictures at S. Maria delle Grazie; besides the +frescos which he executed there and in other places, extolled by writers +as miracles of art, but few of which remain to the present day. He +painted also in his native city, in Gaeta, and indeed in all parts of +the kingdom, both in the churches and for private collections, where +many of his Madonnas, of an enchanting beauty, are still to be +seen.[108] + +Andrea had several scholars, some of whom studied under other masters, +and did not acquire much of his style. Such was Cesare Turco, who rather +took after Pietro; a good painter in oil, but unsuccessful in fresco. +But Andrea was the sole master of Francesco Santafede, the father and +master of Fabrizio; painters who in point of colouring have few equals +in this school, and possessing a singular uniformity of style. +Nevertheless the experienced discover in the father more vigour, and +more clearness in his shadows; and there are by him some pictures in the +Soffitto of the Nunziata, and a Deposition from the Cross in the +possession of the prince di Somma, highly celebrated. But of all the +scholars of Andrea, one Paolillo resembled him the most, whose works +were all ascribed to his master, until Dominici restored them to their +right owner. He would have been the great ornament of this school had he +not died young. + +Polidoro Caldara, or Caravaggio, came to Naples in the year of the +sacking of Rome, 1527. He was not, as Vasari would have us believe, in +danger of perishing through want at Naples; for Andrea da Salerno, who +had been his fellow disciple, generously received him into his house, +and introduced him in the city, where he obtained many commissions, and +formed several scholars before he went to Sicily. He had distinguished +himself in Rome by his chiaroscuri, as we have related; and he painted +in colours in Naples and Messina. His colour in oil was pallid and +obscure, at least for some time, and in this style I saw some pictures +of the Passion in Rome, which Gavin Hamilton had received from Sicily. +In other respects they were valuable, from their design and invention. +Vasari mentions this master with enthusiasm, calls him a divine genius, +and extols to the skies a picture which he painted in Messina a little +while before his death. This was a composition of Christ on his way to +Mount Calvary, surrounded by a great multitude, and he assures us that +the colouring was enchanting. + +Giambernardo Lama was first a scholar of Amato, and afterwards attached +himself to Polidoro, in whose manner he painted a Pieta at S. Giacomo +degli Spagnuoli, which, from its conception, its correctness, and vigour +of design, variety in attitude, and general style of composition, was by +many ascribed to that master. In general however, he displayed a softer +and more natural manner, and was partial to the style of Andrea di +Salerno. Marco di Pino, an imitator of Michelangiolo, as we have +observed, though sober and judicious, was held in disesteem by him. In +the _Segretario_ of Capece, there is an interesting letter to Lama, +where amongst other things he says, "I hear that you do not agree with +Marco da Siena, as you paint with more regard to beauty, and he is +attached to a vigorous design without softening his colours. I know not +what you desire of him, but pray leave him to his own method, and do you +follow yours." + +A Francesco Ruviale, a Spaniard, is also mentioned in Naples, called +Polidorino, from his happy imitation of his master, whom he assisted in +painting for the Orsini some subjects illustrative of the history of +that noble family; and after the departure of his master, he executed by +himself several works at Monte Oliveto and elsewhere. The greater part +of these have perished, as happened in Rome to so many of the works of +Polidoro. This Ruviale appears to me to be a different artist from a +Ruviale, a Spaniard, who is enumerated among the scholars of Salviati, +and the assistants of Vasari, in the painting of the Chancery; on which +occasion Vasari says, he formed himself into a good painter. This was +under Paul VII. in 1544, at which time Polidorino must already have been +a master. Palomino has not said a word of any other Ruviale, a painter +of his country; and this is a proof that the two preceding artists never +returned home to Spain. + +Some have included among the scholars of Polidoro an able artist and +good colourist, called Marco Calabrese, whose surname is Cardisco. +Vasari ranks him before all his Neapolitan contemporaries, and considers +his genius a fruit produced remote from its native soil. This +observation cannot appear correct to any one who recollects that the +Calabria of the present day is the ancient Magna Graecia, where in former +times the arts were carried to the highest pitch of perfection. Cardisco +painted much in Naples and in the state. His most celebrated work is the +Dispute of S. Agostino in the church of that saint in Aversa. He had a +scholar in Gio. Batista Crescione, who together with Lionardo +Castellani, his relative, painted at the time Vasari wrote, which was an +excuse for his noticing them only in a cursory manner. We may further +observe that Polidoro was the founder of a florid school in Messina, +where we must look for his most able scholars.[109] + +Gio. Francesco Penni, or as he is called, il Fattore, came to Naples +some time after Polidoro, but soon afterwards fell sick, and died in the +year 1528. He contributed in two different ways to the advancement of +the school of Naples. In the first place he left there the great copy of +the Transfiguration of Raffaello, which he had painted in Rome in +conjunction with Perino, and which was afterwards placed in S. Spirito +degl'Incurabili, and served as a study to Lama, and the best painters, +until, with other select pictures and sculptures at Naples, it was +purchased and removed by the viceroy Don Pietro Antonio of Aragon. +Secondly, he left there a scholar of the name of Lionardo, commonly +called il Pistoja, from the place of his birth; an excellent colourist, +but not a very correct designer. We noticed him among the assistants of +Raffaello, and more at length among the artists of the Florentine state, +where we find some of his pictures, as in Volterra and elsewhere. After +he had lost his friend Penni in Naples, he established himself there for +the remainder of his days, where he received sufficient encouragement +from the nobility of that city, and painted less for the churches than +for private individuals. He chiefly excelled in portrait. + +Pistoja is said to have been one of the masters of Francesco Curia, a +painter, who, though somewhat of a mannerist in the style of Vasari and +Zucchero, is yet commended for the noble and agreeable style of his +composition, for his beautiful countenances, and natural colouring. +These qualities are singularly conspicuous in a Circumcision painted for +the church della Pieta, esteemed by Ribera, Giordano, and Solimene, one +of the first pictures in Naples. He left in Ippolito Borghese an +accomplished imitator, who was absent a long time from his native +country, where few of his works remain, but those are highly prized. He +was in the year 1620 in Perugia, as Morelli relates in his description +of the pictures and statues of that city, and painted an Assumption of +the Virgin, which was placed in S. Lorenzo. + +There were two Neapolitans who were scholars and assistants of Perino +del Vaga in Rome; Gio. Corso, initiated in the art by Amato, or as +others assert by Polidoro; and Gianfilippo Criscuolo, instructed a long +time by Salerno. There are few remains of Corso in Naples, except such +as are retouched; nor is any piece so much extolled as a Christ with a +Cross painted for the church of S. Lorenzo. Criscuolo in the short time +he was at Rome, diligently copied Raffaello, and was greatly attached to +his school. He followed, however, his own genius, which was reserved and +timid, and formed for himself rather a severe manner; a circumstance to +his honour, at a time when the contours were overcharged and the +correctness of Raffaello was neglected. He is also highly commended as +an instructor. + +From his school came Francesco Imparato, who was afterwards taught by +Titian, and so far emulated his style, that a S. Peter Martyr by him in +the church of that saint in Naples was praised by Caracciolo as the best +picture which had then been seen in that city. We must not confound this +Francesco with Girolamo Imparato, his son, who flourished after the end +of the sixteenth century, and enjoyed a reputation greater than he +perhaps merited. He too was a follower of the Venetian, and afterwards +of the Lombard style, and he travelled to improve himself in colouring, +the fruits of which were seen in the picture of the Rosario at S. +Tommaso d'Aquino, and in others of his works. The Cav. Stanzioni, who +knew him, and was his competitor, considered him inferior to his father +in talent, and describes him as vain and ostentatious. + +To these painters of the school of Raffaello, there succeeded in Naples +two followers of Michelangiolo, whom we have before noticed. The first +of these was Vasari, who was called thither in 1544, to paint the +refectory of the P. P. Olivetani, and was afterwards charged with many +commissions in Naples and in Rome. By the aid of architecture, in which +he excelled more than in painting, he converted that edifice, which was +in what is commonly called the Gothic style, to a better form; altered +the vault, and ornamented it with modern stuccos, which were the first +seen in Naples, and painted there a considerable number of subjects, +with that rapidity and mediocrity that characterize the greater part of +his works. He remained there for the space of a year, and of the +services he rendered to the city, we may judge from the following +passage in his life. "It is extraordinary," he says, "that in so large +and noble a city, there should have been found no masters after Giotto, +to have executed any work of celebrity, although some works by Perugino +and by Raffaello had been introduced. On these grounds I have +endeavoured, to the best of my humble talents, to awaken the genius of +that country to a spirit of emulation, and to the accomplishment of some +great and honourable work; and from these my labours, or from some other +cause, we now see many beautiful works in stucco and painting, in +addition to the before mentioned pictures." It is not easy to conjecture +why Vasari should here overlook many eminent painters, and even Andrea +da Salerno himself, so illustrious an artist, and whose name would have +conferred a greater honour on his book, than it could possibly have +derived from it. Whether self love prompted him to pass over that +painter and other Neapolitan artists, in the hope that he should himself +be considered the restorer of taste in Naples; or whether it was the +consequence of the dispute which existed at that time between him and +the painters of Naples; or whether, as I observed in my preface, it +sometimes happens in this art, that a picture which delights one person, +disgusts another, I know not, and every one must judge for himself. For +myself, however much disposed I should be to pardon him for many +omissions, which in a work like his, are almost unavoidable, still I +cannot exculpate him for this total silence. Nor have the writers of +Naples ever ceased complaining of this neglect, and some indeed have +bitterly inveighed against him and accused him of contributing to the +deterioration of taste. So true is it, that an offence against a whole +nation is an offence never pardoned. + +The other imitator, and a favourite of Michelangiolo (but not his +scholar, as some have asserted) that painted in Naples, was Marco di +Pino, or Marco da Siena, frequently before mentioned by us. He appears +to have arrived in Naples after the year 1560. He was well received in +that city, and had some privileges conferred on him; nor did the +circumstance of his being a stranger create towards him any feeling of +jealousy on the part of the Neapolitans, who are naturally hospitable to +strangers of good character; and he is described by all as a sincere, +affable, and respectable man. He enjoyed in Naples the first reputation, +and was often employed in works of consequence in some of the greater +churches of the city, and in others of the kingdom at large. He repeated +on several occasions the Deposition from the Cross, which he painted at +Rome, but with many variations, and the one the most esteemed was that +which he placed in S. Giovanni de' Fiorentini, in 1577. The Circumcision +in the Gesu Vecchio, where Parrino traces the portrait of the artist and +his wife,[110] the adoration of the Magi at S. Severino, and others of +his works, contain views of buildings, not unworthy of him, as he was an +eminent architect, and also a good writer on that art. Of his merit as a +painter, I believe I do not err, when I say that among the followers of +Michelangiolo, there is none whose design is less extravagant and whose +colour is more vigorous. He is not however, always equal. In the church +of S. Severino, where he painted four pictures, the Nativity of the +Virgin is much inferior to the others. A mannered style was so common in +artists of that age, that few were exempt from it. He had many scholars +in Naples, but none of the celebrity of Gio. Angelo Criscuolo. This +artist was the brother of Gio. Filippo, already mentioned, and exercised +the profession of a notary, without relinquishing that of a miniature +painter, which he had learnt in his youth. He became desirous of +emulating his brother in larger compositions, and under the direction of +Marco succeeded in acquiring his style. + +These two painters laid the foundation of the history of the art in +Naples. In 1568, there issued from the Giunti press in Florence, a new +edition of the works of Vasari, in which the author speaks very briefly +of Marco da Siena, in the life of Daniello da Volterra. He only observes +that he had derived the greatest benefit from the instructions of that +master, and that he had afterwards chosen Naples for his country, and +settled and continued his labours there. Marco, either not satisfied +with this eulogium, or displeased at the silence of Vasari with regard +to many of the painters of Siena, and almost all those of Naples, +determined to publish a work of his own in opposition to him. Among his +scholars was the notary before mentioned, who supplied him with memoirs +of the Neapolitan painters taken from the archives of the city, and from +tradition; and from these materials Marco prepared a _Discorso_. He +composed it in 1569, a year after the publication of this edition of +Vasari's works, and it was the first sketch of the history of the fine +arts in Naples. It did not, however, then see the light, and was not +published until 1742, and then only in part, by Dominici, together with +notes written by Criscuolo in the Neapolitan dialect, and with the +addition of other notes collected respecting the subsequent artists, and +arranged by two excellent painters, Massimo Stanzioni, and Paolo de' +Matteis. Dominici himself added some others of his own collecting, and +communicated by some of his learned friends, among whom was the +celebrated antiquarian Matteo Egizio. The late _Guida_ or _Breve +Descrizione di Napoli_ says, this voluminous work stands in need of more +information, a better arrangement, and a more concise style. There might +also be added some better criticisms on the ancient artists, and less +partiality towards some of the modern. Still this is a very lucid work, +and highly valuable for the opinions expressed on the talents of +artists, for the most part by other artists, whose names inspire +confidence in the reader. Whether the sister arts of architecture and +sculpture are as judiciously treated of, it is not our province to +inquire. + +In the above work the reader may find the names of other artists of +Naples who belong to the close of this epoch, as Silvestro Bruno, who +enjoyed in Naples the fame of a good master; a second Simone Papa, or +del Papa, a clever fresco painter, and likewise another Gio. Ant. Amato, +who to distinguish him from the first is called the younger. He was +first instructed in the art by his uncle, afterwards by Lama, and +successively imitated their several styles. He obtained considerable +fame, and the infant Christ painted by him in the Banco de' Poveri, is +highly extolled. To these may be added those artists who fixed their +residence in other parts of Italy, as Pirro Ligorio, honoured, as we +have observed, by Pius IV. in Rome, and who died in Ferrara, engineer to +Alfonso II.; and Gio. Bernardino Azzolini, or rather Mazzolini, in whose +praise Soprani and Ratti unite. He arrived in Genoa about 1510, and +there executed some works worthy of that golden age of art. He excelled +in waxwork, and formed heads with an absolute expression of life. He +extended the same energetic character to his oil pictures, particularly +in the Martyrdom of S. Agatha in S. Giuseppe. + +The provincial cities had also in this age their own schools, or at +least their own masters; some of whom remained in their native places, +and others resided abroad. Cola dell'Amatrice, known also to Vasari, who +mentions him in his life of Calabrese, took up his residence in Ascoli +del Piceno, and enjoyed a distinguished name in architecture and in +painting, through all that province. He had somewhat of a hard manner in +his earlier paintings, but in his subsequent works he exhibited a +fulness of design and an accomplished modern style. He is highly +extolled in the Guida di Ascoli for his picture in the oratory of the +_Corpus Domini_, which represents the Saviour in the act of dispensing +the Eucharist to the Apostles. + +Pompeo dell'Aquila was a finished painter and a fine colourist, if we +are to believe Orlandi, who saw many of his works in Aquila, +particularly some frescos conducted in a noble style. In Rome in S. +Spirito in Sassia, there is a fine Deposition from the Cross by him. +This artist is not mentioned either by Baglione or any other writer of +his time. Giuseppe Valeriani, another native of Aquila, is frequently +mentioned. He painted at the same period and in the same church of S. +Spirito, where there exists a Transfiguration by him. We perceive in him +an evident desire of imitating F. Sebastiano, but he is heavy in his +design, and too dark in his colours. He entered afterwards into the +society of Jesuits, and improved his first manner. His best works are +said to be a Nunziata in a chapel of the Gesu, with other subjects from +the life of Christ, in which are some most beautiful draperies added by +Scipio da Gaeta. This latter artist also was a native of the kingdom of +Naples; but of him and of the Cav. di Arpino, who both taught in Rome, +we have already spoken in that school. + +Marco Mazzaroppi di S. Germano died young, but is known for his natural +and animated colouring, almost in the Flemish style. At Capua they +mention with applause the altarpieces and other pictures of Gio. Pietro +Russo, who after studying in various schools returned to that city, and +there left many excellent works. Matteo da Lecce, whose education is +uncertain, displayed in Rome a Michelangiolo style, or as some say, the +style of Salviati. It is certain that he had a strong expression of the +limbs and muscles. He worked for the most part in fresco, and there is a +prophet painted by him for the company of the Gonfalone, of such relief, +that the figures, says Baglione, seem starting from the wall. Although +there were at that time many Florentines in Rome, he was the only one +who dared in the face of the Last Judgment of Michelangiolo, to paint +the Fall of the Rebel Angels, a subject which that great artist designed +to have painted, but never put his intentions into execution. He chose +too to accompany it with the combat between the Prince of the Angels and +Lucifer, for the body of Moses; a subject taken from the epistle of S. +James, and analogous to that of the other picture. Matteo entered upon +this very arduous task with a noble spirit; but, alas! with a very +different result. He painted afterwards in Malta, and passing to Spain +and to the Indies, he enriched himself by merchandise, until turning to +mining, he lost all his wealth, and died in great indigence. We may also +mention two Calabrians of doubtful parentage. Nicoluccio, a Calabrian, +who will be mentioned among the scholars of Lorenzo Costa, but only +cursorily, as I know nothing of this parricide, as he may be called, +except that he attempted to murder his master. Pietro Negroni, a +Calabrian also, is commemorated by Dominici as a diligent and +accomplished painter. In Sicily, it is probable that many painters +flourished belonging to this period, besides Gio. Borghese da Messina, a +scholar also of Costa, and Laureti, whom I notice in the schools of Rome +and Bologna, and others whose names I may have seen, but whose works +have not called for my notice. The succeeding epoch we shall find more +productive in Sicilian art. + +[Footnote 107: _Plin. Hist. Nat._ lib. XXXV. cap. 11. _Nec ullius +velocior in pictura manus fuit._] + +[Footnote 108: The style of Raffaello found imitators also in Sicily, +and the first to practise it was Salvo di Antonio, the nephew of +Antonello, by whom there is, we are told, in the sacristy of the +cathedral, the death of the Virgin, "_in the pure Raffaellesque style_," +although Salvo is not the painter who has been called the Raffaello of +Messina: this was Girolamo Alibrandi. A distinguished celebrity has of +late been attached to this artist, whose name was before comparatively +unknown. Respectably born, and liberally educated, instead of pursuing +the study of the law, for which he was intended, he applied himself to +painting, and having acquired the principles of the art in the school of +the Antonj of Messina, he went to perfect himself in Venice. The scholar +of Antonello, and the friend of Giorgione, he improved himself by the +study of the works of the best masters. After many years residence in +Venice he passed to Milan, to the school of Vinci, where he corrected +some dryness of style which he had brought thither with him. Thus far +there is no doubt about his history; but we are further told, that being +recalled to his native country, he wished first to see Coreggio and +Raffaello, and that he repaired to Messina about the year 1514; a +statement which is on the face of it incorrect, since Lionardo left +Milan in 1499, when Raffaello was only a youth, and Coreggio in his +infancy. But I have before observed, that the history of art is full of +these contradictions; a painter resembling another, he was therefore +supposed his scholar, or at all events acquainted with him. On this +subject I may refer to the Milanese School in regard to Luini, (Epoch +II.) and observe that a follower of the style of Lionardo almost +necessarily runs into the manner of Raffaello. Thus it happened to +Alibrandi, whose style however bore a resemblance to others besides, so +that his pictures pass under various names. There remains in his native +place, in the church of Candelora, a Purification of the Virgin, in a +picture of twenty-four Sicilian palms, which is the chef d'oeuvre of the +pictures of Messina, from the grace, colouring, perspective, and every +other quality that can enchant the eye. Polidoro was so much captivated +with this work, that he painted in distemper a picture of the Deposition +from the Cross, as a precious covering to this picture, in order that it +might be transmitted uninjured to posterity. Girolamo died in the plague +of 1524, and at the same time other eminent artists of this school; a +school which was for some time neglected, but which has, through the +labours of Polidoro, risen to fresh celebrity.] + +[Footnote 109: I here subjoin a list of them. Deodato Guinaccia may be +called the Giulio of this new Raffaello, on whose death he inherited the +materials of his art, and supported the fame of his school: and like +Giulio, completed some works left unfinished by his master; as the +Nativity in the church of Alto Basso, which passes for the best +production of Polidoro. In this exercise of his talents he became a +perfect imitator of his master's style, as in the church of the Trinita +a' Pellegrini, and in the Transfiguration at S. Salvatore de' Greci. He +imparted his taste to his scholars, the most distinguished of whom for +works yet remaining, are Cesare di Napoli, and Francesco Comande, pure +copyists of Polidoro. With regard to the latter, some errors have +prevailed; for having very often worked in conjunction with Gio. Simone +Comande, his brother, who had an unequivocal Venetian taste, from having +studied in Venice, it not unfrequently happens, that when the pictures +of Comande are spoken of, they are immediately attributed to Simone, as +the more celebrated artist; but an experienced eye cannot be deceived, +not even in works conjointly painted, as in the Martyrdom of S. +Bartholomew, in the church of that saint, or the Magi in the monastery +of Basico. There, and in every other picture, whoever can distinguish +Polidoro from the Venetians, easily discovers the style of the two +brothers, and assigns to each his own. + +Polidoro had in his academy Mariano and Antonello Riccio, father and +son. The first came in order to change the manner of Franco, his former +master, for that of Polidoro; the second to acquire his master's style. +Both succeeded to their wishes; but the father was so successful a rival +of his new master, that his works are said to pass under his name. This +is the common report, but I think it can only apply to inexperienced +purchasers, since if there be a painter, whose style it is almost +impossible to imitate to deception, it is Polidoro da Caravaggio. In +proof, the comparison may be made in Messina itself, where the Pieta of +Polidoro, and the Madonna della Carita of Mariano, are placed near each +other. + +Stefano Giordano was also a respectable scholar of Caldara, and we may +mention, as an excellent production, his picture of the Supper of our +Lord in the monastery of S. Gregory, painted in 1541. With him we may +join Jacopo Vignerio, by whom we find described, as an excellent work, +the picture of Christ bearing his Cross, at S. Maria della Scala, +bearing the date of 1552. + +We may close this list of the scholars of Polidoro with the infamous +name of Tonno, a Calabrian, who murdered his master in order to possess +himself of his money, and suffered for the atrocious crime. He evinced a +more than common talent in the art, if we may judge from the Epiphany +which he painted for the church of S. Andrea, in which piece he +introduced the portrait of his unfortunate master. + +Some writers have also included among the followers of Polidoro, Antonio +Catalano, because he was a scholar of Deodato. We are informed he went +to Rome and entered the school of Barocci; but as Barocci never taught +in Rome, we may rather imagine that it was from the works of that artist +he acquired a florid colouring, and a _sfumatezza_, with which he united +a portion of the taste of Raffaello, whom he greatly admired. His +pictures are highly valued from this happy union of excellences; and his +great picture of the Nativity at the Capuccini del Gesso is particularly +extolled. We must not mistake this accomplished painter for Antonio +Catalano _il Giovane_, the scholar of Gio. Simone Comande, from whose +style and that of others he formed a manner sufficiently spirited, but +incorrect, and practised with such celerity, that his works are as +numerous as they are little prized.] + +[Footnote 110: These traditions are frequently nothing more than common +rumour, to which, without corroborating circumstances, we ought not to +give credit. It has happened more than once, that such portraits have +been found to belong to the patrons of the church.] + + + + + NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. + + THIRD EPOCH. + + _Corenzio, Ribera, Caracciolo, flourish in Naples. Strangers + who compete with them._ + + +About the middle of the sixteenth century, Tintoretto was considered one +of the first artists in Venice; and towards the close of the same +century Caravaggio in Rome, and the Caracci in Bologna, rose to the +highest degree of celebrity. The several styles of these masters soon +extended themselves into other parts of Italy, and became the prevailing +taste in Naples, where they were adopted by three painters of +reputation, Corenzio, Ribera, and Caracciolo. These artists rose one +after the other into reputation, but afterwards united together in +painting, and assisting each other interchangeably. At the time they +flourished, Guido, Domenichino, Lanfranco, and Artemisia Gentileschi, +were in Naples; and there and elsewhere contributed some scholars to the +Neapolitan School. Thus the time which elapsed between Bellisario and +Giordano, is the brightest period of this academy, both in respect to +the number of excellent artists, and the works of taste. It is however +the darkest era, not only of the Neapolitan School, but of the art +itself, as far as regards the scandalous artifices, and the crimes which +occurred in it. I would gladly pass over those topics in silence, if +they were foreign to my subject, but they are so intimately connected +with it, that they must, at all events, be alluded to. I shall notice +them at the proper time, adhering to the relation of Malvasia, Passeri, +Bellori, and more particularly of Dominici. + +Bellisario Corenzio, a Greek by birth, after having passed five years in +the school of Tintoretto, settled in Naples about the year 1590. He +inherited from nature a fertile imagination and a rapidity of hand, +which enabled him to rival his master in the prodigious number of his +pictures, and those too of a large class. Four common painters could +scarcely have equalled his individual labour. He cannot be compared to +Tintoretto, who, when he restrained his too exuberant fancy, was +inferior to few in design; and excelled in invention, gestures, and the +airs of his heads, which, though the Venetians have always had before +their eyes, they have never equalled. Corenzio successfully imitated his +master when he painted with care, as in the great picture, in the +refectory of the Benedictines, representing the multitude miraculously +fed; a work he finished in forty days. But the greater part of the vault +resembles in many respects the style of the Cav. d'Arpino,[111] other +parts partake of the Venetian School, not without some character +peculiar to himself, particularly in the glories, which are bordered +with shadowy clouds. In the opinion of the Cav. Massimo, he was of a +fruitful invention, but not select. He painted very little in oil, +although he had great merit in the strength and harmony of his colours. +The desire of gain led him to attempt large works in fresco, which he +composed with much felicity, as he was copious, varied, and energetic. +He had a good general effect, and was finished in detail and correct, +when the proximity of some eminent rival compelled him to it. This was +the case at the Certosa, in the chapel of S. Gennaro. He there exerted +all his talents, as he was excited to it by emulation of Caracciolo, who +had painted in that place a picture, which was long admired as one of +his finest works, and was afterwards transferred into the monastery. In +other churches we find some sacred subjects painted by him in smaller +size, which Dominici commends, and adds too, that he assisted M. +Desiderio, a celebrated perspective painter, whose views he accompanied +with small figures beautifully coloured and admirably appropriate. + +The birthplace of Giuseppe Ribera has been the subject of controversy. +Palomino, following Sandrart and Orlandi, represents him as a native of +Spain, in proof of which they refer to a picture of S. Matteo, with the +following inscription. _Jusepe de Ribera espanol de la ciutad de Xativa, +reyno de Valencia, Academico romano ano 1630._ The Neapolitans, on the +contrary, contend that he was born in the neighbourhood of Lecce, but +that his father was from Spain; and that in order to recommend himself +to the governor, who was a Spaniard, he always boasted of his origin, +and expressed it in his signature, and was on that account called +Spagnoletto. Such is the opinion of Dominici, Signorelli, and Galanti. +This question is however now set at rest, as it appears from the +_Antologia di Roma_ of 1795, that the register of his baptism was found +in Sativa (now San Filippo) and that he was born in that place. It is +further said, that he learnt the principles of the art from Francesco +Ribalta of Valencia, a reputed scholar of Annibale Caracci. But the +History of Neapolitan Artists, which is suspicious in my eyes as relates +to this artist, affirms also, that whilst yet a youth, or a mere boy, he +studied in Naples under Michelangiolo da Caravaggio, when that master +fled from Rome for homicide, and fixing himself there about 1606, +executed many works both public and private.[112] But wherever he might +have received instruction in his early youth, it is certain that the +object of his more matured admiration was Caravaggio. On leaving him, +Ribera visited Rome, Modena, and Parma, and saw the works of Raffaello +and Annibale in the former place, and the works of Coreggio in the two +latter cities, and adopted in consequence a more graceful style, in +which he persevered only for a short time, and with little success; as +in Naples there were others who pursued, with superior skill, the same +path. He returned therefore to the style of Caravaggio, which for its +truth, force, and strong contrast of light and shade, was much more +calculated to attract the general eye. In a short time he was appointed +painter to the court, and subsequently became the arbiter of its taste. + +His studies rendered him superior to Caravaggio in invention, selection, +and design. In emulation of him, he painted at the Certosini that great +Deposition from the Cross, which alone, in the opinion of Giordano, is +sufficient to form a great painter, and may compete with the works of +the brightest luminaries of the art. Beautiful beyond his usual style, +and almost Titianesque, is his Martyrdom of S. Januarius, painted in the +Royal Chapel, and the S. Jerome at the Trinita. He was much attached to +the representation of the latter saint, and whole lengths and half +figures of him are found in many collections. In the Panfili Palace in +Rome we find about five, and all differing. Nor are his other pictures +of similar character rare, as anchorets, prophets, apostles, which +exhibit a strong expression of bone and muscle, and a gravity of +character, in general copied from nature. In the same taste are commonly +his profane pictures, where he is fond of representing old men and +philosophers, as the Democritus and the Heraclitus, which Sig. March. +Girolamo Durazzo had in his collection, and which are quite in the +manner of Caravaggio. In his selection of subjects the most revolting +were to him the most inviting, as sanguinary executions, horrid +punishments, and lingering torments; among which is celebrated his Ixion +on the wheel, in the palace of Buon Ritiro at Madrid. His works are very +numerous, particularly in Italy and Spain. His scholars flourished +chiefly at a lower period of art, where they will be noticed towards the +conclusion of this epoch. With them we shall name those few who rivalled +him successfully in figures and half figures; and we must not, at the +same time, neglect to impress on the mind of the reader, that among so +many reputed pictures of Spagnoletto found in collections, we may rest +assured that they are in great part not justly entitled to his name, and +ought to be ascribed to his scholars. + +Giambatista Caracciolo, an imitator, first of Francesco Imparato, and +afterwards of Caravaggio, attained a mature age without having +signalised himself by any work of peculiar merit. But being roused by +the fame of Annibale, and the general admiration which a picture of that +master had excited, he repaired to Rome; where by persevering study in +the Farnese Gallery, which he carefully copied, he became a correct +designer in the Caracci style.[113] Of this talent he availed himself to +establish his reputation on his return to Naples, and distinguished +himself on some occasions of competition, as in the Madonna at S. Anna +de' Lombardi, in a S. Carlo in the church of S. Agnello, and Christ +bearing his Cross at the Incurabili, paintings praised by connoisseurs +as the happiest imitations of Annibale. But his other works, in the +breadth and strength of their lights and shades, rather remind us of the +school of Caravaggio. He was a finished and careful painter. There are +however some feeble works by him, which Dominici considers to have been +negligently painted, through disgust, for individuals who had not given +him his own price, or they were perhaps executed by Mercurio d'Aversa +his scholar, and an inferior artist. + +The three masters whom I have just noticed in successive order, were the +authors of the unceasing persecutions which many of the artists who had +come to, or were invited to Naples, were for several years subjected to. +Bellisario had established a supreme dominion, or rather a tyranny, over +the Neapolitan painters, by calumny and insolence, as well as by his +station. He monopolized all lucrative commissions to himself and +recommended, for the fulfilment of others, one or other of the numerous +and inferior artists that were dependant on him. The Cav. Massimo, +Santafede, and other artists of talent, if they did not defer to him, +were careful not to offend him, as they knew him to be a man of a +vindictive temper, treacherous, and capable of every violence, and who +was known through jealousy to have administered poison to Luigi +Roderigo, the most promising and the most amiable of his scholars. + +Bellisario, in order to maintain himself in his assumed authority, +endeavoured to exclude all strangers who painted rather in fresco than +in oil. Annibale arrived there in 1609, and was engaged to ornament the +churches of Spirito Santo and Gesu Nuovo, for which, as a specimen of +his style, he painted a small picture. The Greek and his adherents being +required to give their opinion on this exquisite production, declared it +to be tasteless, and decided that the painter of it did not possess a +talent for large compositions. This divine artist in consequence took +his departure under a burning sun for Rome, where he soon afterwards +died. But the work in which strangers were the most opposed was the +chapel of S. Gennaro, which a committee had assigned to the Cav. +d'Arpino, as soon as he should finish painting the choir of the Certosa. +Bellisario leaguing with Spagnoletto, (like himself a fierce and +ungovernable man,) and with Caracciolo, who aspired to this commission, +persecuted Cesari in such a manner, that before he had finished the +choir he fled to Monte Cassino, and from thence returned to Rome. The +work was then given to Guido, but after a short time two unknown persons +assaulted the servant of that artist, and at the same time desired him +to inform his master that he must prepare himself for death, or +instantly quit Naples, with which latter mandate Guido immediately +complied. Gessi, the scholar of Guido, was not however intimidated by +this event, but applied for and obtained the honorable commission, and +came to Naples with two assistants, Gio. Batista Ruggieri and Lorenzo +Menini. But these artists were scarcely arrived, when they were +treacherously invited on board a galley, which immediately weighed +anchor and carried them off, to the great dismay of their master, who, +although he made the most diligent inquiries both at Rome and Naples, +could never procure any tidings of them. + +Gessi also in consequence taking his departure, the committee lost all +hope of succeeding in their task, and were in the act of yielding to the +reigning cabal, assigning the fresco work to Corenzio and Caracciolo, +and promising the pictures to Spagnoletto, when suddenly repenting of +their resolution, they effaced all that was painted of the two frescos, +and entrusted the decoration of the chapel entirely to Domenichino. It +ought to be mentioned to the honor of these munificent persons, that +they engaged to pay for every entire figure 100 ducats, for each half +figure 50 ducats, and for each head 25 ducats. They took precautions +also against any interruption to the artist, threatening the viceroy's +high displeasure if he were in any way molested. But this was only +matter of derision to the junta. They began immediately to cry him down +as a cold and insipid painter, and to discredit him with those, the most +numerous class in every place, who see only with the eyes of others. +They harassed him by calumnies, by anonymous letters, by displacing his +pictures, by mixing injurious ingredients with his colours, and by the +most insidious malice they procured some of his pictures to be sent by +the viceroy to the court of Madrid; and these, when little more than +sketched, were taken from his studio and carried to the court, where +Spagnoletto ordered them to be retouched, and, without giving him time +to finish them, hurried them to their destination. This malicious fraud +of his rival, the complaints of the committee, who always met with some +fresh obstacle to the completion of the work, and the suspicion of some +evil design, at last determined Domenichino to depart secretly to Rome. +As soon however as the news of his flight transpired, he was recalled, +and fresh measures taken for his protection; when he resumed his +labours, and decorated the walls and base of the cupola, and made +considerable progress in the painting of his pictures. + +But before he could finish his task he was interrupted by death, +hastened either by poison, or by the many severe vexations he had +experienced both from his relatives and his adversaries, and the weight +of which was augmented by the arrival of his former enemy Lanfranco. +This artist superseded Zampieri in the painting of the _catino_ of the +chapel; Spagnoletto, in one of his oil pictures; Stanzioni in another; +and each of these artists, excited by emulation, rivalled, if he did not +excel Domenichino. Caracciolo was dead. Bellisario, from his great age, +took no share in it, and was soon afterwards killed by a fall from a +stage, which he had erected for the purpose of retouching some of his +frescos. Nor did Spagnoletto experience a better fate; for, having +seduced a young girl, and become insupportable even to himself from the +general odium which he experienced, he embarked on board a ship; nor is +it known whither he fled, or how he ended his life, if we may credit the +Neapolitan writers. Palomino however states him to have died in Naples +in 1656, aged sixty-seven, though he does not contradict the first part +of our statement. Thus these ambitious men, who by violence or fraud had +influenced and abused the generosity and taste of so many noble patrons, +and to whose treachery and sanguinary vengeance so many professors of +the art had fallen victims, ultimately reaped the merited fruit of their +conduct in a violent death; and an impartial posterity, in assigning the +palm of merit to Domenichino, inculcates the maxim, that it is a +delusive hope to attempt to establish fame and fortune on the +destruction of another's reputation. + +The many good examples in the Neapolitan School increased the number of +artists, either from the instructions of the above mentioned masters, or +from an inspection of their works; for there is much truth in the +observation of Passeri, "that a painter who has an ardent desire of +learning, receives as much instruction from the works of deceased +artists as from living masters." It was greatly to the honour of the +Neapolitan artists, amidst such a variety of new styles, to have +selected the best. Cesari had no followers in Naples, if we except Luigi +Roderigo,[114] who exchanged the school of Bellisario for his, but not +without a degree of mannerism, although he acquired a certain grace and +judgment, which his master did not possess. He initiated a nephew, +Gianbernardino, in the same style; who, from his being an excellent +imitator of Cesari, was employed by the Carthusian monks to finish a +work which that master had left imperfect. + +Thus almost all these artists trod in the steps of the Caracci, and the +one that approached nearest to them was the Cav. Massimo Stanzioni, +considered by some the best example of the Neapolitan School, of which, +as we have observed, he compiled some memoirs. He was a scholar of +Caracciolo, to whom he bore some analogy in taste, but he availed +himself of the assistance of Lanfranco, whom in one of his MS. he calls +his master, and studied too under Corenzio, who in his painting of +frescos yielded to few. In portrait he adopted the principles of +Santafede, and attained an excellent Titianesque style. Going afterwards +to Rome, and seeing the works of Annibale, and, as some assert, making +acquaintance with Guido, he became ambitious of uniting the design of +the first with the colouring of the second, and we are informed by +Galanti, that he obtained the appellation of _Guido Reni di Napoli_. His +talents, which were of the first order, enabled him in a short time to +compete with the best masters. He painted in the Certosa a Dead Christ, +surrounded by the Maries, in competition with Ribera. This picture +having become somewhat obscured, Ribera persuaded the monks to have it +washed, and he purposely injured it in such a way with a corrosive +liquid, that Stanzioni refused to repair it, declaring that such an +instance of malice ought to be perpetuated to the public eye. But in +that church, which is in fact a museum of art, where every artist, not +to be surpassed by his rivals, seems to have surpassed himself, Massimo +left some other excellent works, and particularly a stupendous +altarpiece, of S. Bruno presenting to his brethren the rules of their +order. His works are not unfrequent in the collections in his own +country, and are highly esteemed in other places. The vaults of the Gesu +Nuovo and S. Paolo entitle him to a distinguished place among fresco +painters. His paintings were highly finished, and he studied perfection +during his celibacy, but marrying a woman of some rank, in order to +maintain her in an expensive style of living, he painted many hasty and +inferior pictures. It may be said that Cocchi, in his _Ragionamento del +Matrimonio_, not without good reason took occasion to warn all artists +of the perils of the wedded state. + +The school of Massimo produced many celebrated scholars, in consequence +of his method and high reputation, confirming that ancient remark, which +has passed into a proverb, _primus discendi ardor nobilitas est +Magistri_. (The example of the master is the greatest incentive to +improvement). Muzio Rossi passed from his school to that of Guido, and +was chosen at the age of eighteen to paint in the Certosa of Bologna, in +competition with the first masters, and maintained his station on a +comparison; but this very promising artist was immaturely cut off, and +his own country does not possess any work by him, as the Tribune of S. +Pietro in Majella, which he painted a little time before his death, was +modernized, and his labours thus perished. This is the reason that his +works in the Certosa just mentioned, and which are enumerated by Crespi, +are held in great esteem. Another man of genius of this school, Antonio +de Bellis, died also at an early age; he painted several subjects from +the life of S. Carlo, in the church of that saint, which were left +imperfect by his death. His manner partakes somewhat of Guercino, but is +in fact founded like that of all the scholars of Massimo, on the style +of Guido. + +Francesco di Rosa, called Pacicco, was not acquainted with Guido +himself, but under the direction of Massimo, devoted himself to the +copying of his works. He is one of the few artists commemorated by Paolo +de' Matteis, in one of his MSS. which admits no artists of inferior +merit. He declares the style of Rosa almost inimitable, not only from +his correct design, but from the rare beauty of the extremities, and +still more from the dignity and grace of the countenances. He had in his +three nieces the most perfect models of beauty, and he possessed a +sublimity of sentiment which elevated his mind to a high sense of +excellence. His colouring, though conducted with exquisite sweetness, +had a strong body, and his pictures preserve a clear and fresh tone. +These are frequently to be found in the houses of the nobility, as he +lived long. He painted some beautiful altarpieces, as S. Tommaso +d'Aquino at the Sanita, the Baptism of S. Candida at S. Pietro d'Aram, +and other pieces. + +This artist had a niece of the name of Aniella di Rosa, who may be +called the Sirani of the Neapolitan School, from her talents, beauty, +and the manner of her death, the fair Bolognese being inhumanly poisoned +by some envious artists, and Aniella murdered by a jealous husband. This +husband was Agostino Beltrano, her fellow scholar in the school of +Massimo, where he became a good fresco painter, and a colourist in oil +of no common merit, as is proved by many cabinet pictures and some +altarpieces. His wife also painted in the same style, and was the +companion of his labours, and they jointly prepared many pictures which +their master afterwards finished in such a manner that they were sold as +his own. Some, however, pass under her own name, and are highly +extolled, as the Birth and Death of the Virgin, at the Pieta, not +however without suspicion that Massimo had a considerable share in that +picture, as Guido had in several painted by Gentileschi. But at all +events, her original designs prove her knowledge of art, and her +contemporaries, both painters and writers, do not fail to extol her as +an excellent artist, and as such Paolo de' Matteis, has admitted her +name in his catalogue. + +Three young men of Orta became also celebrated scholars in this academy, +Paol Domenico Finoglia, Giacinto de' Popoli, and Giuseppe Marullo. By +the first there remains at the Certosa at Naples, the vault of the +chapel of S. Gennaro, and various pictures in the chapter house. He had +a beautiful expression, fertility, correctness, a good arrangement of +parts, and a happy general effect. The second painted in many churches, +and is admired more for his style of composition, than for his figures. +The third approached so near to his master in manner, that artists have +sometimes ascribed his works to Massimo; and in truth he left some +beautiful productions at S. Severino, and other churches. He had +afterwards a dry style of colouring, particularly in his contours, which +on that account became crude and hard, and he gradually lost the public +favour. His example may serve as a warning to every one to estimate his +own powers correctly, and not to affect genius when he does not possess +it. + +Another scholar who obtained a great name, was Andrea Malinconico, of +Naples. There do not exist any frescos by him, but he left many works in +oil, particularly in the church, de' Miracoli, where he painted almost +all the pictures himself. The Evangelists, and the Doctors of the +church, subjects with which he ornamented the pilasters, are the most +beautiful pictures, says the encomiast, of this master; as the attitudes +are noble, the conception original, and the whole painted with the +spirit of a great artist, and with an astonishing freshness of colour. +There are other fine works by him, but several are feeble and +spiritless, which gave a connoisseur occasion to remark that they were +in unison with the name of the painter. + +But none of the preceding artists were so much favoured by nature as +Bernardo Cavallino, who at first created a jealous feeling in Massimo +himself. Finding afterwards that his talent lay more in small figures +than large, he pursued that department, and became very celebrated in +his school, beyond which he is not so well known as he deserves to be. +In the galleries of the Neapolitan nobility are to be seen by him, on +canvass and copper, subjects both sacred and profane, composed with +great judgment, and with figures in the style of Poussin, full of spirit +and expression, and accompanied by a native grace, and a simplicity +peculiarly their own. In his colouring, besides his master and +Gentileschi, who were both followers of Guido, he imitated Rubens. He +possessed every quality essential to an accomplished artist, as even the +most extreme poverty could not induce him to hurry his works, which he +was accustomed frequently to retouch before he could entirely satisfy +himself. Life was alone wanting to him, which he unfortunately shortened +by his irregularities.[115] + +Andrea Vaccaro was a contemporary and rival of Massimo, but at the same +time his admirer and friend, a man of great imitative powers. He at +first followed Caravaggio, and in that style his pictures are frequently +found in Naples, and some cabinet pictures, which have even imposed upon +connoisseurs, who have bought them for originals of that master. After +some time Massimo won him over to the style of Guido, in which he +succeeded in an admirable manner, though he did not equal his friend. In +this style are executed his most celebrated works at the Certosa, at the +Teatini and Rosario, without enumerating those in collections, where he +is frequently found. On the death of Massimo, he assumed the first rank +among his countrymen. Giordano alone opposed him in his early years, +when on his return from Rome he brought with him a new style from the +school of Cortona, and both artists were competitors for the larger +picture of S. Maria del Pianto. That church had been lately erected in +gratitude to the Virgin, who had liberated the city from pestilence, and +this was the subject of the picture. Each artist made a design, and +Pietro da Cortona being chosen umpire, decided against his own scholar +in favour of Vaccaro, observing, that as he was first in years, so he +was first in design and natural expression. He had not studied frescos +in his youth, but began them when he was advanced in life, in order that +he might not yield the palm to Giordano, but by the loss of his fame, he +verified the proverb, that _ad omnem disciplinam tardior est senectus_. + +Of his scholars, Giacomo Farelli was the most successful, who by his +vigorous talents, and by the assistance of his master, painted a picture +in competition with Giordano. The church of S. Brigida has a beautiful +picture of that saint by Farelli, and its author is mentioned by Matteis +as a painter of singular merit. He declined however, in public esteem, +from wishing at an advanced age to change his style, when he painted the +sacristy of the Tesoro. He was on that occasion anxious to imitate +Domenichino, but he did not succeed in his attempt, and indeed he never +afterwards executed any work of merit. + +Nor did Domenichino fail to have among the painters of Naples, or of +that state, many deserving followers.[116] Cozza, a Calabrian, who lived +in Rome, I included in that school, as also Antonio Ricci, called il +Barbalunga, who was of Messina, and well known in Rome. I may add, that +he returned to Messina, and ornamented that city with many works; as at +S. Gregorio, the saint writing; the Ascension at S. Michele; two Pietas +of different designs at S. Niccolo and the Spedale. He is considered as +one of the best painters of Sicily, where good artists have abounded +more than is generally imagined. He formed a school there and left +several scholars.[117] + +I ought after him to mention another Sicilian, Pietro del Po da Palermo, +a good engraver, and better known in Rome in that capacity, than as a +painter. There is a S. Leone by him at the church of the Madonna di +Costantinopoli; an altarpiece which however does not do him so much +honour as the pictures which he painted for collections, some of which +are in Spain; and particularly some small pictures which he executed in +the manner of miniatures with exquisite taste. Two of this kind I saw in +Piacenza, at the Sig. della Missione, a Decollation of S. John, and a +Crucifixion of S. Peter in his best manner, and with his name. This +artist, after working in Rome, settled in Naples with a son of the name +of Giacomo, who had been instructed in the art by Poussin and himself. +He also taught a daughter of the name of Teresa, who was skilled in +miniatures. The two Pos were well acquainted with the principles of the +art, and had taught in the academy of Rome. But the father painted +little in Naples; the son found constant employ in ornamenting the halls +and galleries of the nobility with frescos. His intimacy with letters +aided the poetic taste with which his pictures were conceived, and his +varied and enchanting colours fascinated the eye of every spectator. He +was singular and original in his lights, and their various gradations +and reflections. In his figures and drapery he became, as is generally +the case with the machinists, mannered and less correct; nor has he any +claim as an imitator of Domenichino, except from the early instructions +of his father. In Rome there are two paintings by him, one at S. Angiolo +in Pescheria, the other at S. Marta; and there are some in Naples; but +his genius chiefly shines in the frescos of the gallery of the Marchese +Genzano, and in the house of the Duke of Matalona, and still more in +seven apartments of the Prince of Avellino. + +A more finished imitator of Zampieri than the two Pos was a scholar of +his, of the name of Francesco di Maria, the author of few works, as he +willingly suffered those reproaches of slowness and irresolution which +accompanied the unfortunate Domenichino to the grave. But his works, +though few in number, are excellent, particularly the history of S. +Lorenzo at the Conventuals in Naples, and also many of his portraits. +One of the latter exhibited in Rome, together with one by Vandyke, and +one by Rubens, was preferred by Poussin, Cortona, and Sacchi, to those +of the Flemish artists. Others of his pictures are bought at great +prices, and are considered by the less experienced as the works of +Domenichino. He resembled that master indeed in every quality, except +grace, which nature had denied him. Hence Giordano said of his figures, +that when consumption had reduced the muscles and bones, they might be +correct and beautiful, but still insipid. In return he did not spare +Giordano; declaring his school "heretical, and that he could not endure +works which owe all their merit to ostentatious colour, and a vague +design," as Matteis, who is partial to the memory of Francesco, attests. + +Lanfranco in Naples had contributed, as I have observed, to the +instruction of Massimo, but that artist renounced the style of Lanfranco +for that of Guido. The two Pos, however, were more attached to him, and +imitated his colouring. Pascoli doubts whether he should not assign +Preti to him, an error which we shall shortly confute. Dominici also +includes among his countrymen Brandi, a scholar of Lanfranco; collecting +from one of his letters that he acknowledged Gaeta for his native place. +His family was probably from thence, but he himself was born in +Poli.[118] I included him among the painters of Rome, where he studied +and painted; and I mentioned at the same time the Cav. Giambatista +Benaschi, as he is called by some, or Beinaschi by others. This +variation gave occasion to suppose, that there were two painters of that +name; in the same way there may be a third, as the name is sometimes +written Bernaschi. Some contradictions in his biographers, which it is +not worth our while to enter on, have contributed to perpetuate this +error. I shall only observe, that he was not born until 1636, and was +not a scholar of Lanfranco, but of M. Spirito, in Piedmont, and of +Pietro del Po, in Rome. Thus Orlandi writes of him, who had a better +opportunity than Pascoli, or Dominici, of procuring information from +Angela, the daughter of the Cavaliere, who lived in Rome in his time, +and painted portraits in an agreeable style. He is considered both by +Pascoli and Orlandi, as a painter of Rome, but he left very few works +there, as appears from Titi. Naples was the theatre of his talents, and +there he had numerous scholars, and painted many cupolas, ceilings, and +other considerable works, and with such a variety of design, that there +is not an instance of an attitude being repeated by him. Nor was he +deficient in grace, either of form or colour, as long as he trod in the +steps of Lanfranco, as he did in the S. M. di Loreto, and in other +churches, but aspiring in some others to a more vigorous style, he +became dark and heavy. He excelled in the knowledge of the _sotto in +su_, and displayed extraordinary skill in his foreshortenings. The +painters in Naples have often compared among themselves, says Dominici, +the two pictures of S. Michael, the one by Lanfranco, and the other by +Benaschi, in the church of the Holy Apostles, without being able to +decide to which master they ought to assign the palm of merit. + +Guercino himself was never in Naples, but the Cav. Mattia Preti, +commonly called il Cav. Calabrese, allured by the novelty of his style, +repaired to Cento, to avail himself of his instructions. This +information we have from Domenici, who had heard him say, that he was in +fact the scholar of Guercino, but that he had, moreover, studied the +works of all the principal masters; and he had indeed visited almost +every country, and seen and studied the best productions of every +school, both in and beyond Italy. Hence in his painting he may be +compared to a man whose travels have been extensive, and who never hears +a subject started to which he does not add something new, and indeed the +drapery and ornaments, and costume of Preti, are highly varied and +original. He confined himself to design, and did not attempt colours +until his twenty-sixth year. In design he was more vigorous and robust +than delicate, and sometimes inclines to heaviness. In his colouring he +was not attractive, but had a strong _impasto_, a decided chiaroscuro, +and a prevailing ashy tone, that was well adapted for his mournful and +tragical subjects; for, following the bent of his genius, he devoted his +pencil to the representation of martyrdoms, slaughters, pestilence, and +the pangs of a guilty conscience. It was his custom, says Pascoli, at +least in his large works, to paint at the first conception, and true to +nature, and he did not take much pains afterwards in correction, or in +the just expression of the passions. + +He executed some large works in fresco in Modena, Naples, and Malta. He +had not equal success at S. Andrea della Valle, in Rome, where he +painted three histories of that saint, under the tribune of Domenichino; +a proximity from which his work suffers considerably, and the figures +appear out of proportion, and not well adapted to the situation. His oil +pictures in Italy are innumerable, as he lived to an advanced age; he +had a great rapidity of hand, and was accustomed, wherever he went, to +leave some memorial of his talents, sometimes in the churches, but +chiefly in private collections, and they are, in general, figures of +half size, like those of Guercino and Caravaggio. Naples, Rome, and +Florence, all abound with his works, but above all Bologna. In the +Marulli palace is his Belisarius asking alms; in that of Ratti, a S. +Penitente, chained in a suffering position; in the Malvezzi palace, Sir +Thomas More in prison; in that of the Ercolani, a Pestilence, besides +many more in the same, and other galleries of the nobility. Amongst his +altarpieces, one of the most finished is in the Duomo of Siena, S. +Bernardino preaching to and converting the people. In Naples, besides +the soffitto of the church de' Celestini, he painted not a little; less +however than both he himself and the professors of a better taste +desired, and in conjunction with whom he resisted the innovations of +Giordano. But that artist had an unprecedented popularity, and in spite +of his faults triumphed over all his contemporaries, and Preti was +himself obliged to relinquish the contest, and close his days in Malta, +of which order, in honour of his great merit as a painter, he was made a +commendatore. He left some imitators in Naples, one of whom was Domenico +Viola; but neither he, nor his other scholars passed the bounds of +mediocrity. The same may be said of Gregorio Preti, his brother, of whom +there is a fresco at S. Carlo de' Catinari, in Rome. + +After this enumeration of foreign artists, we must now return to the +national school, and notice some disciples of Ribera, It often happens +that those masters who are mannerists, form scholars who confine their +powers to the sole imitation of their master, and thus produce pictures +that deceive the most experienced, and which in other countries are +esteemed the works of the master himself. This was the case with +Giovanni Do, and Bartolommeo Passante, in regard to Spagnoletto, +although the first in progress of time softened his manner, and tamed +his flesh tints; while the second added only to the usual style of +Spagnoletto, a more finished design and expression. Francesco Fracanzani +possessed a peculiar grandeur of style, and a noble tone of colour; and +the death of S. Joseph, which he painted at the Pellegrini, is one of +the best pictures of the city. Afterwards however his necessities +compelled him to paint in a coarse manner in order to gratify the +vulgar, and he fell into bad habits of life, and was finally, for some +crime or other, condemned to die by the hands of the hangman, a +sentence, which for the honour of the art, was compounded for his secret +death in prison by poison.[119] + +Aniello Falcone and Salvator Rosa are the great boast of this school; +although Rosa frequented it but a short time and improved himself +afterwards by the instructions of Falcone. Aniello possessed an +extraordinary talent in battle pieces. He painted them both in large and +small size, taking the subjects from the sacred writings, from profane +history, or poetry; his dresses, arms, and features, were as varied as +the combatants he represented. Animated in his expression, select and +natural in the figures and action of his horses, and intelligent in +military affairs, though he had never been in the army, nor seen a +battle; he drew correctly, consulted truth in every thing, coloured with +care, and had a good impasto. That he taught Borgognone as some have +supposed, it is difficult to believe. Baldinucci, who had from that +artist himself the information which he published respecting him, does +not say a word of it. It is however true, that they were acquainted and +mutually esteemed each other; and if the battle pieces of Borgognone +have found a place in the collections of the great, and have been bought +at great prices, those of Aniello have had the like good fortune. He had +many scholars, and by means of them and some other painters his friends, +he was enabled to revenge the death of a relation and also of a scholar, +whom the Spanish authorities had put to death. On the revolution of Maso +Aniello, he and his partisans formed themselves into a company called +the Band of Death; and, protected by Spagnoletto, who excused them to +the Viceroy, committed the most revolting and sanguinary excesses; until +the state was composed, and the people reduced to submission, when this +murderous band fled, to escape the hands of justice. Falcone withdrew to +France for some years, and left many works there; the remainder fled to +Rome, or to other places of safety. + +The most celebrated of the immediate scholars of Falcone was Salvator +Rosa, whom we have elsewhere noticed, who began his career by painting +battles, and became a most distinguished landscape painter; and Domenico +Gargiuoli, called Micco Spadaro, a landscape painter of merit, and a +good painter in large compositions, as he appears at the Certosa, and in +other churches. He had an extraordinary talent too in painting small +figures, and might with propriety be called the Cerquozzi of his school. +Hence Viviano Codagora, who was an eminent landscape painter, after +becoming acquainted with him, would not permit any other artist to +ornament his works with figures, as he introduced them with infinite +grace; and this circumstance probably led to their intimate friendship, +and to risking their lives in the same cause as we have before related. +The Neapolitan galleries possess many of their pictures; and some have +specimens of _capricci_, or humourous pictures, all by the hand of +Spadaro. He indeed had no equal in depicting the manners and dresses of +the common people of his country, particularly in large assemblies. In +some of his works of this kind, the number of his figures have exceeded +a thousand. He was assisted by the etchings of Stefano della Bella, and +Callot, both of whom were celebrated for placing a great body of people +in a little space; but it was in the true spirit of imitation, and +without a trace of servility; on the contrary, he improved the principal +figures (where bad contours are with difficulty concealed) and corrected +the attitudes, and carefully retouched them. + +Carlo Coppola is sometimes mistaken for Falcone from their similarity of +manner: except that a certain fulness with which he paints his horses in +his battle pieces, may serve as a distinction. Andrea di Lione resembles +him, but in his battles we easily trace his imitation. Marzio Masturzo +studied some time with Falcone; but longer with Rosa in Rome, and was +his best scholar; but he is sometimes rather crude in his figures, and +rocks, and trunks of trees, and less bright in his skies. His flesh +tints are not pallid, like those of Rosa, as in these he followed +Ribera. + +I shall close this catalogue, passing over some less celebrated artists, +with Paolo Porpora, who from battles, were directed by the impulse of +his genius to the painting of animals, but succeeded best in fish, and +shells, and other marine productions, being less skilled in flowers and +fruit. But about his time Abraham Brughel painted these subjects in an +exquisite style in Naples, where he settled and ended his days. From +this period we may date a favourable epoch for certain pictures of minor +rank, which still add to the decoration of galleries and contribute to +the fame of their authors. After the two first we may mention +Giambatista Ruoppoli and Onofrio Loth, scholars of Porpora, excelling +him in fruits, and particularly in grapes, and little inferior in other +respects. + +Giuseppe Cav. Recco, from the same school, is one of the most celebrated +painters in Italy, of hunting, fowling, and fishing pieces, and similar +subjects. One of his best pictures which I have seen, is in the house of +the Conti Simonetti d'Osimo, on which the author has inscribed his name. +He was admired in the collections also for his beautiful colouring, +which he acquired in Lombardy; and he resided for many years at the +court of Spain, whilst Giordano was there. There was also a scholar of +Ruoppoli, called Andrea Belvedere, excelling in the same line, but most +in flowers and fruit. There arose a dispute between him and Giordano, +Andrea asserting that the historical painters cannot venture with +success on these smaller subjects; Giordano, on the contrary, +maintaining that the greater included the less; which words he verified +by painting a picture of birds, flowers, and fruit, so beautifully +grouped that it robbed Andrea of his fame, and obliged him to take +refuge among men of letters; and indeed in the literary circle he held a +respectable station. + +Nevertheless his pictures did not fall in esteem or value, and his +posterity after him still continue to embellish the cabinets of the +great. His most celebrated scholar was Tommaso Realfonso, who to the +talents of his master, added that of the natural representation of every +description of utensils, and all kinds of confectionery and eatables. He +had also excellent imitators in Giacomo Nani, and Baldassar Caro, +employed to ornament the royal court of King Charles of Bourbon; and +Gaspar Lopez, the scholar first of Dubbisson, afterwards of Belvidere. +Lopez became a good landscape painter, was employed by the Grand Duke of +Tuscany, and resided a considerable time in Venice. According to +Dominici he died in Florence, and the author of the Algarotti Catalogue +in Venice, informs us, that that event took place about the year 1732. +We may here close the series of minor painters of the school of +Aniello,[120] and may now proceed to the succeeding epoch, commencing +with the historical painters. + +[Footnote 111: In tom. iii. of the _Lett. Pittoriche_, is a letter of P. +Sebastiano Resta dell'Oratorio, wherein he says, it is probable that the +Cav. d'Arpino imitated him in his youth: which cannot be admitted, as it +is known that Cesari formed himself in Rome, and resided only in Naples +when an adult. As to the resemblance between them, that applies as well +to other artists. In the same letter Corenzio is called the Cav. +Bellisario, and some anecdotes are related of him, and among others, +that he lived to the age of a hundred and twenty. This is one of those +tales to which this writer so easily gives credit. In proof of this we +may refer to Tiraboschi, in the life of Antonio Allegri, where similar +instances of his credulity are noticed.] + +[Footnote 112: Caravaggio had another scholar of eminence in Mario +Minniti of Syracuse, who however passed a considerable part of his life +in Messina. Having painted for some time in Rome with Caravaggio, he +imbibed his taste; and though he did not equal him in the vigour of +style, he displayed more grace and amenity. There are works remaining of +him in all parts of Sicily, as he painted much, and retained in his +service twelve scholars, whose works he retouched, and sold as his own. +Hence his pictures do not altogether correspond with his reputation. +Messina possesses several, as the Dead of Nain at the Church of the +Capucins, and the Virgin, the tutelar saint, at the Virginelle.] + +[Footnote 113: Among the scholars of Annibale, I find Carlo Sellitto +mentioned, to whom Guarienti assigns a place in the Abbeccadario, and I +further find him commended in some MS. notices of eminent artists of the +school.] + +[Footnote 114: There is a different account of him in the Memorie de' +Pittori Messinesi, where it is said that his true family name was +Rodriguez. It is there said that he studied in Rome, and went from +thence to work in Naples, in the Guida of which city he is frequently +mentioned. It is added that, from his Roman style, he was called by his +brother Alonso, the _slave of the antique_; and that he returned the +compliment by calling his brother, who was instructed in Venice, _the +slave of nature_. But Alonso, who spent his life in Sicily, surpassed +his brother in reputation; and it is a rare commendation that he painted +much and well. He particularly shone in the Probatica in S. Cosmo de' +Medici, and the picture of two Founders of Messina in the senatorial +palace, a work rewarded with a thousand scudi. His fame declined, and he +began to fail in commissions on the arrival of Barbalunga. But he did +not, on that account, refuse him his esteem, as he was accustomed to +call him the Caracci of Sicily.] + +[Footnote 115: I find in Messina, Gio. Fulco, who imbibed the principles +of the art under the Cav. Massimo; a correct designer, a lively and +graceful painter, particularly of children, excepting a somewhat too +great fleshiness, and a trace of mannerism. Many of his works in his +native country were destroyed by an earthquake. Some remain at the +Nunziata de' Teatini, where in the chapel of the Crucifix are his +frescos, and a picture by him in oil of the Nativity of the Virgin.] + +[Footnote 116: Gio. Batista Durand, of Burgundy, was established in +Messina. He was the scholar of Domenichino, and was always attached to +his manner. Of his larger works we find only a S. Cecilia in the convent +of that saint, as he was generally occupied in painting portraits. He +had a daughter called Flavia, the wife of Filippo Giannetti, skilled in +portraits, and an excellent copyist.] + +[Footnote 117: Domenico Maroli, Onofrio Gabriello, and Agostino Scilla, +were the three painters of Messina who did him the most honour, although +from being engaged in the revolutions of 1674 and 1676, the first lost +his life, and the other two were long exiles from their country. Maroli +did not adopt the style of Barbalunga exclusively, but having made a +voyage to Venice, and there studied the works of the best Venetian +artists, and particularly of Paolo, he returned with many of the +excellences of that great master, brilliant flesh tints, a beautiful air +in his heads, and a fine style in his drawings of women, a talent which +he abused as much or more than Liberi. To this moral vice he added a +professional one, which was painting sometimes on the _imprimiture_, and +generally with little colour; whence his works, which were extolled and +sought after when new, became, when old, neglected, like those dark +paintings of the Venetian School, which we have mentioned. Messina has +many of them: the Martyrdom of S. Placido at the Suore di S. Paolo, the +Nativity of the Virgin in the church della Grotta, and some others. In +Venice there must also be remaining in private collections, some of his +paintings of animals in the style of Bassano, as we have before +mentioned. Onofrio Gabriello was for six years with Barbalunga, and for +some further time with Poussin, and then with Cortona in Rome, until +passing another nine years in Venice with Maroli, he brought back with +him to Messina that master's vicious method of colour, but not his +style. In the latter he aimed at originality, exhibiting much lightness, +grace, and fancy, in the accessory parts, and in ribbons, jewels, and +lace, in which he particularly excelled. He left many pictures in +Messina, in the church of S. Francesco di Paola: many also in Padua, in +the _Guida_ of which city various pictures by him are enumerated, +without mentioning his cabinet pictures and portraits in private +collections. I have seen several in possession of the noble and learned +Sig. Co. Antonio Maria Borromeo; amongst which is a family piece with a +portrait of the painter. + +Agostino Scilla, or Silla, as Orlandi calls him, opened a school in +Messina, which was much frequented while it lasted, but the scholars +were dispersed by the storm of revolutions, in which they took a part, +not without great injury both to the art and themselves. He possessed an +elegant genius for painting, which he cultivated, and added to it a +taste for poetry, natural history, and antiquities. His genius raised +such high expectations in Barbalunga, that he procured a pension for him +from the senate, in order to enable him to reside in Rome under Andrea +Sacchi. After four years he returned to Messina, highly accomplished, +from his study of the antique and of Raffaello, and if his colouring was +at first somewhat dry, he soon rendered it rich and agreeable. He +excelled in figures and in heads, particularly of old men, and had a +peculiar talent in landscapes, animals, and fruit. For this I may refer +to the Roman School, where he is mentioned with his brother and son. +There are few of his works in Rome, but many in Messina. His frescos are +in S. Domenico, and in the Nunziata de' Teatini, and many paintings in +other places, among which is S. Ilarione dying, in the church of S. +Ursula, than which work there is no greater favourite with the public. + +Of the scholars of Scilla, who remained in Messina after the departure +of their master, there is not much to be said. F. Emanuel da Como we +have mentioned elsewhere. Giuseppe Balestriero, an excellent copyist of +the works of Agostino, and a good designer, after painting some +pictures, became a priest, and took leave of the art. Antonio la Falce +was a good painter in distemper and in oil. He afterwards attempted +frescos, and painted tavern scenes. Placido Celi, a man of singular +talents, but bad habits, followed his master to Rome. He there changed +his style for that of Maratta and Morandi; after whose works he painted +in Rome, in the churches dell'Anima and Traspontina, and in several +churches of his own country, but he never passed the bounds of +mediocrity. A higher reputation belongs to Antonio Madiona, of Syracuse, +who although he separated himself from Scilla in Rome, to follow il +Preti to Malta, was nevertheless an industrious artist, and painted both +there and in Sicily, in a strong and vigorous style, which partakes of +both his masters. And this may suffice for the members of this +unfortunate school. + +To complete the list of the chief scholars of Barbalunga, I may mention +here Bartolommeo Tricomi, who confined himself to portrait painting, and +in this hereditary gift of the school of Domenichino, he greatly +excelled. He had notwithstanding in Andrea Suppa a scholar who surpassed +him. The latter learned also of Casembrot, as far as regards landscape +and architecture; but he formed himself principally on the antique; and +by constantly studying Raffaello and the Caracci, and other select +masters, or their drawings, he acquired a most enchanting style of +countenance, and indeed of every part of his composition. His works are +as fine as miniature, and are perhaps too highly finished. His subjects, +in unison with his genius, are of a pensive and melancholy cast, and are +always treated in a pathetic manner. He excelled in frescos, and painted +the vaults in the Suore in S. Paolo; he excelled equally in oils, as may +be seen from the picture of S. Scolastica, there also. Some of his works +were lost by earthquakes. His style was happily imitated by Antonio +Bova, his scholar, and we may compare their works together at the +Nunziata de' Teatini. He painted much in oil, as well as fresco, and +from his placid and tranquil disposition, took no part in the +revolutions of Messina, but remained at home, where he closed his days +in peace, and with him expired the school of Barbalunga.] + +[Footnote 118: Pascoli, Vite, tom. i. p. 129.] + +[Footnote 119: I may insert at the close of this epoch the names of some +Sicilian painters, who flourished in it, or at the beginning of the +following, instructed by various masters. They were furnished to me by +the Sig. Ansaldo, whose attentions I have before acknowledged, and were +transmitted to him by a painter of that island. Filippo Tancredi was of +Messina, but is not assigned to any of the before mentioned masters, as +he studied in Naples and in Rome under Maratta. He was a skilful artist, +composed and coloured well; was celebrated in Messina, and also in +Palermo, where he lived many years, and where the vault of the church +de' Teatini, and that also of the Gesu Nuovo were painted by him. The +Cav. Pietro Novelli (or Morelli, which latter however I regard as an +error) called Monrealese from his native place, also enjoyed the +reputation of a good painter, and an able architect. He there left many +works in oil and fresco, and the great picture of the Marriage at Cana, +in the refectory of the P. P. Benedettini, is particularly commended. He +resided for a long time in Palermo, and the greatest work he there +executed, was in the church of the Conventuals, the vault of which was +divided into compartments, and wholly painted by himself. Guarienti +eulogises him for his style, as diligent in copying nature, correct in +design, and graceful in his colouring, with some imitation of +Spagnoletto; and the people of Palermo confer daily honour on him, +since, whenever they meet with a foreigner of taste, they point out to +him little else in the city, than the works of this great man. Pietro +Aquila, of Marzalla, a distinguished artist, who engraved the Farnese +gallery, left no works to my knowledge in Rome; in Palermo there remain +of him two pictures in the church della Pieta, representing the parable +of the Prodigal Son. Lo Zoppo di Gangi is known at Castro Giovanni, +where in the Duomo he left several works. Of the Cav. Giuseppe Paladini, +a Sicilian, I find commended at S. Joseph di Castel Termini, the picture +of the Madonna and the tutelar saint. I also find honourable mention +among the chief painters of this island, of a Carrega, who I believe +painted for private individuals. Others, though I know not of what +merit, are found inscribed in the academy of S. Luke, from the registers +of which I have derived some information for my third and fourth +volumes, communicated to me by the Sig. Maron, the worthy secretary of +the academy.] + +[Footnote 120: In this epoch flourished in Messina one Abraham +Casembrot, a Dutchman, who was considered one of the first painters of +his time, of landscape, seapieces, harbours, and tempests. He professed +architecture also, and was celebrated for his small figures. He was +accustomed to give the highest finish to every thing he painted. The +church of S. Giovacchino has three pictures of the Passion by him. Some +individuals of Messina possess delightful specimens of him, though not +many, as he sold them at high prices, and generally to Holland. Hence +most of the collectors of Messina turned to Jocino, the contemporary of +Casembrot; a painter of a vigorous imagination, and rapid execution. His +landscapes and views are still prized, and maintain their value. I do +not find that Casembrot wholly formed any scholar at Messina. He +communicated, however, the elements of architecture and perspective to +several, as well as the principles of painting. For this reason we find +enumerated among his scholars the Cappucin P. Feliciano da Messina +(Domenico Guargena) who afterwards studied Guido in the convent of +Bologna, and imbued himself with his style. Hackert makes honourable +mention of a Madonna and Child and S. Francesco by him at the church of +that order in Messina, and he assigns the palm to him among the painters +of his order, which boasted not a few.] + + + + + NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. + + FOURTH EPOCH. + + _Luca Giordano, Solimene, and their scholars._ + + +A little beyond the middle of the 17th century, Luca Giordano began to +flourish in Naples. This master, though he did not excel his +contemporaries in his style, surpassed them all in good fortune, for +which he was indebted to his vast talents, confidence, and unbounded +powers of invention, which Maratta considered unrivalled and +unprecedented. In this he was eminently gifted by nature from his +earliest youth. Antonio, his father, placed him first under the +instructions of Ribera, and afterwards under Cortona in Rome,[121] and +having conducted him through all the best schools of Italy, he brought +him home rich in designs and in ideas. His father was an indifferent +painter, and being obliged in Rome to subsist by his son's labours, +whose drawings were at that time in the greatest request,[122] the only +principle that he instilled into him was one dictated by necessity, +despatch. A humorous anecdote is related, that Luca, when he was obliged +to take refreshments, did not retire from his work, but, gaping like a +young bird, gave notice to his father of the calls of hunger, who, +always on the watch, instantly supplied him with food, at the same time +reiterating with affectionate solicitude, _Luca fa presto_. Upon this +incident he was always afterwards known by the name of _Luca fa presto_, +among the students in Rome, and which is also his most frequent +appellation in the history of the art. By means like these, Antonio +acquired for his son a portentous celerity of hand, from which quality +he has been called _il Fulmine della pittura_. The truth however is, +that this despatch was not derived wholly from rapidity of pencil, but +was aided by the quickness of his imagination, as Solimene often +observed, by which he was enabled to ascertain, from the first +commencement of his work, the result he proposed to himself, without +hesitating to consider the component parts, or doubting, proving, and +selecting like other painters. He also obtained the name of the Proteus +of painting, from his extraordinary talent in imitating every known +manner, the consequence of his strong memory, which retained every thing +he had once seen. There are numerous instances of pictures painted by +him in the style of Albert Durer, Bassano, Titian, and Rubens, with +which he imposed on connoisseurs and on his rivals, who had more cause +than any other persons to be on their guard against him. These pictures +are valued by dealers at more than double or triple the price of +pictures of his own composition. There are examples of them even in the +churches at Naples; as the two pictures in the style of Guido at S. +Teresa, and particularly that of the Nativity. There is also at the +court of Spain a Holy Family, so much resembling Raffaello, that, as +Mengs says in a letter, (tom. ii. p. 67,) whoever is not conversant with +the quality of beauty essential to the works of that great master, would +be deceived by the imitation of Giordano. + +He did not however permanently adopt any of these styles as his own. At +first he evidently formed himself on Spagnoletto; afterwards, as in a +picture of the Passion at S. Teresa a little before mentioned, he +adhered to Paul Veronese; and he ever retained the maxim of that master, +by a studied decoration to excite astonishment, and to fascinate the +eye. From Cortona he seems to have taken his contrast of composition, +the great masses of light, and the frequent repetition of the same +features, which, in his female figures, he always copied from his wife. +In other respects he aimed at distinguishing himself from every other +master by a novel mode of colouring. He was not solicitous to conform to +the true principles of art; his style is not natural either in tone or +colour, and still less so in its chiaroscuro, in which Giordano formed +for himself a manner ideal and wholly arbitrary. He pleased, +notwithstanding, by a certain deceptive grace and attraction, which few +attempt, and which none have found it easy to imitate. Nor did he +recommend this style to his scholars, but on the contrary reproved them +when he saw them disposed to imitate him, telling them that it was not +the province of young students to penetrate so far. He was well +acquainted with the principles of design, but would not be at the +trouble of observing them; and in the opinion of Dominici, if he had +adhered to them too rigidly he would have enfeebled that spirit which is +his greatest merit; an excuse which perhaps will not appear satisfactory +to every amateur. Another reason may with more probability of truth be +assigned, which was his unbounded cupidity, and his habit of not +refusing commissions from the meanest quarter, which led him to abuse +his facility to the prejudice of his reputation. Hence, among other +things, he has been accused of having often painted superficially, +without impasto, and with a superabundance of oil, so that some of his +pictures have almost disappeared from the canvass. + +Naples abounds with the works of Giordano both public and private. There +is scarcely a church in that great city which does not boast some work +by him. A much admired piece is the Expulsion of the sellers and buyers +from the Temple at the P. P. Girolamini: the architectural parts of +which are painted by Moscatiello, a good perspective painter. Of his +frescos, those at the Treasury of the Certosa are esteemed the best. +They were executed by him when his powers were matured, and appear to +unite in themselves all the best qualities of the artist. Every one must +be forcibly struck by the picture of the Serpent raised in the desert, +and the throng of Israelites, who, assailed in a horrible manner, turn +to it for relief. The other pictures on the walls and in the vault, all +scriptural, are equally powerful in effect. The cupola of S. Brigida is +also extolled, which was painted in competition with Francesco di Maria, +and in so very short a time, and with such fascinating tints, that it +was preferred by the vulgar to the work of that accomplished master, and +thus served to diffuse less solid principles among the rising artists. +As a miracle of despatch we are also shewn the picture of S. Saverio, +painted for the church of that saint in a day and a half, full of +figures, and as beautiful in colour as any of his pictures. Luca went to +Florence to paint the Capella Corsini and the Riccardi Gallery, besides +many works in the churches and for individuals, particularly for the +noble house of Rosso, who possessed the Baccanali of Giordano, +afterwards removed to the palace of the Marchese Gino Capponi. He was +also employed by the Grand Duke; and Cosmo III., in whose presence he +designed and painted a large picture in less time than I dare mention, +complimented him by saying that he was a fit painter for a sovereign +prince. The same eulogium was passed on him by Charles II. of Spain, in +whose court he resided thirteen years; and, to judge from the number of +works he left there, it might be supposed that he had consumed a long +life in his service. He continued and finished the series of paintings +begun by Cambiasi of Genoa, in the church of the Escurial, and +ornamented the vault, the cupola, and the walls with many scriptural +subjects, chiefly from the life of Solomon. He painted some other large +compositions in fresco in a church of S. Antonio, in the palace of +Buonritiro, in the Hall of the Ambassadors; and for the Queen Mother a +Nativity, most highly finished, which is said to be a surprising +picture, and perhaps superior to any other of his painting. If all his +works had been executed with similar care, the observation, that his +example had corrupted the Spanish School, might perhaps have been +spared.[123] In his old age he returned to his native place, loaded with +honours and riches, and died lamented and regretted as the greatest +genius of his age. + +His school produced but few designers of merit; most of them were +contaminated by the maxim of their master, that it is the province of a +painter to please the public, and that their favour is more easily won +by colour than by correct design; so that, without much attention to the +latter, they gave themselves entirely to facility of hand. His favorite +scholars were Aniello Rossi of Naples, and Matteo Pacelli della +Basilicata, whom he took with him to Spain as assistants, and who +returned with him home with handsome pensions, and lived after in +leisure and independence. Niccolo Rossi of Naples became a good designer +and colourist in the style of his master, although somewhat too red in +his tints. In some of his more important works, as in the soffitto of +the royal chapel, Giordano assisted him with his designs. He painted +much for private individuals, and was considered next to Reco in his +drawings of animals. The _Guida_ of Naples commends him and Tommaso +Fasano, for their skill in painting in distemper some very fine works +for Santi Sepolcri and Quarantore. Giuseppe Simonelli, originally a +servant of Giordano, became an accurate copyist of his works, and an +excellent imitator of his colouring. He did not succeed in design, +though he is praised for a S. Niccola di Tolentino in the church of +Montesanto, which approaches to the best and most correct manner of +Giordano. Andrea Miglionico had more facility of invention, and equal +taste in colour, but he has less grace than Simonelli. Andrea also +painted in many churches in Naples, and I find him highly commended for +his picture of the Pentecost in the S. S. Nunziata. A Franceschitto, a +Spaniard, was so promising an artist that Luca was accustomed to say, +that he would prove a greater man than his master. But he died very +young, leaving in Naples a favourable specimen of his genius in the S. +Pasquale, which he painted in S. Maria del Monte. It contains a +beautiful landscape, and a delightful choir of angels. + +But his first scholar, in point of excellence, was Paolo de' Matteis, +mentioned also by Pascoli among the best scholars of Morandi, and an +artist who might vie with the first of his age. He was invited to +France, and during the three years that he resided there, obtained +considerable celebrity in the court and in the kingdom at large. He was +then engaged by Benedict XIII. to come to Rome, where he painted at the +Minerva and at the Ara Coeli. He decorated other cities also with his +works, particularly Genoa, which has two very valuable pictures by him +at S. Girolamo; the one, that saint appearing and speaking to S. Saverio +in a dream; the other, the Immaculate Conception with an angelic choir, +as graceful as ever was painted. His home was, notwithstanding, in +Naples, and that is the place where we ought to view him. He there +decorated with his frescos the churches, galleries, halls, and ceilings +in great number; often rivalling the celerity without attaining the +merit of his master. It was his boast to have painted in sixty-six days +a large cupola, that of the Gesu Nuovo, a few years since taken down in +consequence of its dangerous state; a boast which, when Solimene heard, +he sarcastically replied, that the work declared the fact itself without +his mentioning it. Nevertheless there were so many beauties in it in the +style of Lanfranco, that its rapid execution excited admiration. + +When he worked with care, as in the church of the Pii Operai, in the +Matalona Gallery, and in many pictures for private individuals, he left +nothing to desire, either in his composition, in the grace of his +contour, in the beauty of his countenances, though there was little +variety in the latter, or in any of the other estimable qualities of a +painter. His colouring was at first _Giordanesque_; afterwards he +painted with more force of chiaroscuro, but with a softness and delicacy +of tint, particularly in the madonnas and children, where he sometimes +displays the sweetness of Albano, and a trace of the Roman School, in +which he had also studied. He was not very happy in his scholars, who +were not numerous. Giuseppe Mastroleo is the most distinguished, who is +much praised for his S. Erasmus at S. Maria Nuova. Gio. Batista Lama was +a fellow disciple, and afterwards a relative of Matteis, and received +some assistance from him in his studies. Excited by the example of +Paolo, he attained a suavity of colour and of chiaroscuro, much praised +in his larger works, as the gallery of the Duke of S. Niccola Gaeta, and +particularly in his pictures of small figures in collections. In these +he was fond of representing mythological stories, and they are not +unfrequent in Naples and its territories. + +Francesco Solimene, called L'Abate Ciccio, born at Nocera de' Pagani, +was the son of Angelo, a scholar of Massimo. Early imbibing a love of +painting, he forsook the study of letters, and after receiving the first +rudiments of the art from his father, he repaired to Naples. He there +entered the school of Francesco di Maria, but soon left it, as he +thought that master too exclusively devoted to design. He then +frequented the academy of Po, where he industriously began at the same +time to draw from the naked figure and to colour. Thus he may be said to +have been the scholar of the best masters, as he always copied and +studied their works. At first he imitated Pietro da Cortona, but +afterwards formed a manner of his own, still retaining that master as +his model, and copying entire figures from him, which he adapted to his +new style. This new and striking style of Solimene approached nearer +than any other to that of Preti. The design is not so correct, the +colouring not so true, but the faces have more beauty: in these he +sometimes imitated Guido, and sometimes Maratta, and they are often +selected from nature. Hence by some he was called il Cav. Calabrese +_ringentilito_. To the style of Preti he added that of Lanfranco, whom +he named his master, and from whom he adopted that curving form of +composition, which he perhaps carried beyond propriety. From these two +masters he took his chiaroscuro, which he painted strong in his middle +age, but softened as he advanced in years, and then attached himself +more to facility and elegance of style. He carefully designed every part +of his picture, and corrected it from nature before he coloured it; so +that in preparing his works, he may be included among the most correct, +at least in his better days, for he latterly declined into the general +facility, and opened the way to mannerism. He possessed an elegant and +fruitful talent of invention, for which he is celebrated by the poets of +the day. He was also characterised by a sort of universality in every +style he attempted, extending himself to every branch of the art; +history, portrait, landscape, animals, fruit, architecture, utensils; +and whatever he attempted, he seemed formed for that alone. As he lived +till the age of ninety, and was endowed with great celerity of pencil, +his works, like those of Giordano, were spread over all Europe. Of that +artist he was at the same time the competitor and the friend, less +powerful in genius, but more correct in his principles. When Giordano +died, and Solimene became the first painter in Italy, notwithstanding +what his rivals said of his colours not being true to nature, he began +to ask extravagant prices for his pictures, and still abounded in +commissions. + +One of his most distinguished works is the sacristy of the P. P. Teatini +detti di S. Paolo Maggiore, painted in various compartments. His +pictures also in the arches of the chapels in the church of the Holy +Apostles deserve to be mentioned. That work had been executed by Giacomo +del Po, to correspond with the style of the tribune, and the other works +which Lanfranco had painted there: but Po did not satisfy the public +expectation. The whole work was therefore effaced, and Solimene was +employed to paint it over again, and proved that he was more worthy of +the commission. The chapel of S. Filippo in the church of the Oratory, +is a proof of his extreme care and attention; every figure in it being +almost as finely finished as a miniature. Among private houses the most +distinguished is the Sanfelice, so called from the name of his noble +scholar Ferdinand, for whom he painted a gallery, which afterwards +became an academy for young artists. Of his large pictures we may +mention that of the great altar in the church of the monks of S. +Gaudioso, without referring to others in the churches and in various +parts of the kingdom; particularly at Monte Cassino, for the church of +which he painted four stupendous pictures in the choir. They will be +found in the _Descrizione Istorica del Monistero di Monte Cassino_, +edited in Naples, in 1751. He is not often met with in private +collections in Italy, beyond the kingdom of Naples. In Rome the princes +Albani and Colonna have some large compositions by him, and the +Bonaccorsi family a greater number in the gallery of Macerata; and among +them the death of Dido, a large picture of fine effect. His largest work +in the ecclesiastical state, is a Supper of our Lord, in the refectory +of the Conventuals of Assisi, an elegant composition, painted with +exquisite care, where the artist has given his own portrait among the +train of attendants. + +Solimene instilled his own principles into the minds of his disciples, +who formed a numerous school, which extended even beyond the kingdom of +Naples, about the beginning of the eighteenth century. Among those who +remained in Naples, was Ferdinando Sanfelice, lately noticed by us, a +nobleman of Naples, who put himself under the instructions of Francesco, +and became as it were the arbiter of his wishes. As the master could not +execute all the commissions which crowded on him from every quarter, the +surest mode to engage him was to solicit him through Sanfelice, to whom +alone he could not deny any request. By the assistance of Solimene, +Sanfelice attained a name among historical painters, and painted +altarpieces for several churches. He took great delight in fruit, +landscapes, and views, in which he particularly excelled, and had also +the reputation of an eminent architect. But perhaps none of the +disciples of Solimene approached nearer to the fame of their master than +Francesco de Mura, called Franceschiello. He was a Neapolitan by birth, +and contributed much to the decoration of his native city, both in +public and private. Perhaps no work on the whole procured him a greater +degree of celebrity than the frescos painted in various chambers of the +Royal Palace of Turin, where he competed with Beaumont, who was then in +the height of his reputation. He there ornamented the ceilings of some +of the rooms which contain the Flemish pictures. The subjects which he +chose, and treated with much grace, were the Olympic Games, and the +Deeds of Achilles. In other parts of the palace he also executed various +works. Another artist, who was held in consideration, was Andrea +dell'Asta, who after being instructed by Solimene, went to finish his +studies in Rome, and engrafted on his native style some imitation of +Raffaello and the antique. We may enumerate among his principal works, +the two large pictures of the Nativity, and the Epiphany of Christ, +which he painted in Naples for the church of S. Agostino de' P. P. +Scalzi. Niccolo Maria Rossi was also reputably employed in the churches +of Naples, and in the court itself. Scipione Cappella excelled all the +scholars of Solimene in copying his pictures, which were sometimes +touched by the master and passed for originals. Giuseppe Bonito had a +good invention, and was a distinguished portrait painter, and was +considered one of the best imitators of Solimene. He was at the time of +his death painter to the court of Naples. Conca and he excel their +fellow disciples in the selection of their forms. Other scholars in +Naples and Sicily,[124] less known to me, will be found in the history +of painting in Naples, which has been recently published by the +accomplished Sig. Pietro Signorelli, a work which I have not in my +possession, but which is cited by me, as is the case with several more, +on the authority of others. + +Some artists, who resided out of the kingdom, we shall notice in other +schools, and in the Roman School we have already spoken sufficiently of +Conca and Giaquinto; to whom we may add Onofrio Avellino, who resided +some years in Rome, executing commissions for private persons, and +painting in the churches. The vault of S. Francesco di Paola is the +largest work he left. The works of Maja and Campora are to be found in +Genoa, those of Sassi in Milan, and of others of the school of Solimene +in various cities. These artists, it is to be regretted, sometimes +passed the boundaries prescribed by their master. His colouring, though +it might be more true to nature, is yet such as never offends, but +possesses on the contrary a degree of amenity which pleases us. But his +scholars and imitators did not confine themselves within their master's +limits, and it may be asserted, that from no school has the art suffered +more than from them. Florence, Verona, Parma, Bologna, Milan, Turin, in +short, all Italy was infected with their style; and by degrees their +pictures presented so mannered a colouring, that they seemed to abandon +the representation of truth and nature altogether. The habit too of +leaving their pictures unfinished after the manner of Giordano and +Solimene, was by many carried so far, that instead of good paintings, +many credulous buyers have purchased execrable sketches. The imitation +of these two eminent men carried too far, has produced in our own days +pernicious principles, as at an earlier period did the imitation of +Michelangiolo, Tintoretto, and even of Raffaello himself, when carried +to an extreme. The principal and true reason of this deterioration is to +be ascribed generally to the masters of almost all our schools; who, +abandoning the guidance of the ancient masters, endeavoured in their +ignorance to find some new leader, without considering who he might be, +or whither he might lead them. Thus, at every proclamation of new +principles, they and their scholars were ready to follow in their train. + +In the time of Giordano and Solimene, Niccola Massaro was considered a +good landscape painter. He was a scholar of Salvator Rosa, but rather +imitated him in design than in colour. In the latter he was insipid, nor +even added the accompaniment of figures to his landscapes, but was +assisted in that respect by Antonio di Simone, not a finished artist, +but of some merit in battle pieces.[125] Massaro instructed Gaetano +Martoriello, who was a landscape painter of a free style, but often +sketching, and his colouring not true to nature. In the opinion of +connoisseurs a better style was displayed by Bernardo Dominici, the +historiographer, and the scholar of Beych in landscape, a careful and +minute painter of Flemish subjects and _bambocciate_. There were two +Neapolitans, Ferraiuoli and Sammartino, who settled in Romagna, and were +good landscape painters. In perspective views Moscatiello was +distinguished, as we observed, when we spoke of Giordano. In the life of +Solimene, Arcangelo Guglielmelli is mentioned as skilled in the same +art. Domenico Brandi of Naples, and Giuseppe Tassoni of Rome, were +rivals in animal painting. In this branch, and also in flowers and +fruits, one Paoluccio Cattamara, who flourished in the time of Orlandi, +was celebrated. Lionardo Coccorante, and Gabriele Ricciardelli, the +scholar of Orizzonte, were distinguished in seaviews and landscapes, and +were employed at the court of King Charles of Bourbon.[126] + +By the accession of this prince, a munificent patron of the fine arts, +wherever he reigned, the Neapolitan School was regenerated and +invigorated; employment and rewards awaited the artists; the specimens +of other schools were multiplied, and Mengs, who was invited to paint +the Royal Family, and a large cabinet picture, laid the foundations of a +more solid style, at the same time improving his own fortune, and giving +a considerable impulse to art. But the greatest benefit this monarch has +conferred on the arts is to be found at Ercolano, where under his orders +so many specimens of sculpture and ancient paintings, buried for a long +lapse of ages, have been brought to light, and by his direction +accurately drawn and engraved, and illustrated with learned notes, and +communicated to all countries. Lastly, in order that the benefits which +he had conferred on his own age, might be continued to the future +masters of his country, he turned his attention to the education of +youthful artists. Of this fact I was ignorant at the time of my first +edition, but now write on the information afforded me at the request of +the Marchese D. Francesco Taccone, treasurer of the kingdom, by the very +learned Sig. Daniele, Regio Antiquario, both of whom, with truly +patriotic feelings, have devoted themselves to the preservation of the +antiquities of their country, and are equally polite in communicating to +others that information for which they are themselves so distinguished. +There formerly existed at Naples the academy of S. Luke, founded at the +Gesu Nuovo, in the time of Francesco di Maria, who was one of the +masters, and taught in it anatomy and design. This institution continued +for some years. King Charles in some measure revived this establishment +by a school for painting, which he opened in the Laboratory of mosaics +and tapestry. Six masters of the School of Solimene were placed there as +directors, and some good models being provided in the place, young +artists were permitted to attend and study there. Bonito was engaged as +the acting professor, and after some time Mura was associated with him, +but died before the professor. Ferdinand IV. treading in the steps of +his august father, has, by repeated instances of protection to these +honorable pursuits, conferred fresh honours on the Bourbon name, and +rendered it dearer than ever to the fine arts. He transferred the +academy to the new royal Museum, and supplied it with all requisites for +the instruction of young artists. On the death of Bonito he bestowed the +direction of it on the first masters, and having established pensions +for the maintenance in Rome of a certain number of young men, students +in the three sister arts, he assigned four of these to those students +who were intended for painters; thus confirming by his suffrage to the +city of Rome, that proud appellation which the world at large had long +conceded to her, the Athens of Modern Art. + +[Footnote 121: Cortona had in Sicily a good scholar in Gio. Quagliata, +who, in the _Memorie Messinesi_, is said to have been favored and +distinguished by his master; and to have afterwards returned to his +native country to paint in competition with Rodriguez, and what +surprises me still more, with Barbalunga. If we may be allowed to judge +of these two artists by their works which remain in Rome, Barbalunga in +S. Silvestro at Monte Cavallo, appears a great master; Quagliata at the +Madonna di C. P. a respectable scholar. The former is celebrated and +known to every painter in Rome, the latter has not an admirer. In +Messina he perhaps painted better. His biographer commends him as a +graceful and sober painter, as long as his rivals lived; and adds, that +after their death he devoted himself to frescos, when the exuberance of +his imagination is evident in the strong expression of character, and in +the superfluity of architectural and other ornaments. Andrea, his +brother, was not in Rome; he is, however, in Messina, considered a good +artist.] + +[Footnote 122: Giordano is said at this period to have copied the +Chambers and the Gallery of Raffaello no less than twelve times, and +perhaps twenty times the Battle of Constantine, painted by Giulio +Romano, without reckoning his designs after the works of Michelangiolo, +Polidoro, and other great masters. See _Vite del Bellori_, edited in +Rome in 1728, with the addition of the life of Giordano, page 307.] + +[Footnote 123: It may be observed, that if he had followers, some of +them did not copy him implicitly. Palomino, although much attached to +Giordano, forsaking letters for painting, when his style was so much in +vogue, did not imitate him servilely, but in conjunction with the style +of other distinguished painters of his age; a good artist, and appointed +by Charles II. painter to himself. This is the same Palamino who has +merited the appellation of the _Vasari of Spain_, and whom I have so +often cited. They who are acquainted with that noble language highly +commend his style, which is perhaps the reason that copies of his +_Teorica e Pratica della Pittura_ (2 vol. fol.) are so rare out of +Spain. But in point of accuracy, like Vasari himself, he often errs. I +fancy that he frequently adopted traditions, without sufficiently +weighing them, which I am led to suspect from the circumstance that in +the scholars assigned to masters, he is guilty of many anachronisms.] + +[Footnote 124: The _Memorie de' Messinesi Pittori_ mentions a Gio. +Porcello, who, after studying under Solimene, returned, it is said, to +his native country, where he found the art at an extremely low ebb; and +he attempted to revive it by opening an academy in his house, and +diffusing the taste of his master, which he fully possessed. A still +better style of painting was brought from Rome by Antonio and Paolo, two +brothers, who, fresh from the school of Maratta, also opened an academy +in Messina, which was greatly frequented. They worked in conjunction in +many churches, and excelled in fresco, but in oil Antonio was much +superior to his brother. There was also a third brother, Gaetano, who +executed the ornamental parts. Their works on the walls and on canvass +are to be seen in S. Caterina di Valverde, in S. Gregorio delle Monache, +and elsewhere. There flourished at the same time with the Filocami, +Litterio Paladino, and Placido Campolo, a scholar of Conca in Rome, +where he derived more benefit from the antique marbles than from the +instructions of his master. Both these artists executed works on a very +large scale; and of the first they particularly commend the vault of the +church of Monte Vergine, and, of the second, the vault of the gallery of +the Senate. Both are esteemed for their correct design; but the taste of +the second is more solid and more free from mannerism. The above named +five artists all died in the fatal year of 1743. Luciano Foti survived +them, an excellent copyist of every master, but particularly of +Polidoro, whose style he adopted in his own composition. But his +characteristic merit consisted in his penetration into the secrets of +the art, which enabled him to detect every style, every peculiar +varnish, and the various methods of colouring, so that he not only +ascertained many doubtful masters, but restored pictures, damaged by +time, in so happy a manner as to deceive the most experienced. A man of +such talents outweighs a host of common artists. + +To these we may add other artists of the island itself, born in +different places. Marcantonio Bellavia, a Sicilian, who painted in Rome, +at S. Andrea delle Fratte, is conjectured, though not ascertained, to be +a scholar of Cortona. Calandrucci, of Palermo, is named among the +scholars of Maratta. Gaetano Sottino painted the vault of the oratory at +the Madonna di C. P., a respectable artist. Giovacchino Martorana, of +Palermo, was a machinist, and in his native city they boast of the +Chapel de' Crociferi, and at S. Rosalia, four large pictures from the +life of S. Benedict. Olivio Sozzi, of Catania, painted much in Palermo; +particularly at S. Giacomo, where all the altars have pictures by him, +and the tribune three large subjects from the infancy of Christ. Another +Sozzi, of the name of Francesco, I find praised for a picture of Five +Saints, Bishops of Agrigentum, in the Duomo of that city. Of Onofrio +Lipari, of Palermo, there are two pictures of the Martyrdom of S. Oliva +in the Church de' Paolotti. Of Filippo Randazzo, there are to be seen in +Palermo some vast works in fresco, as well as of Tommaso Sciacca, who +was an assistant of Cavalucci in Rome, and who left some large +compositions at the Duomo and at the Olivetani of Rovigo.] + +[Footnote 125: Gio. Tuccari of Messina, the son of an Antonio, a feeble +scholar of Barbalunga, although he painted much in other branches of the +art, owes the celebrity of his name to his battle pieces, which, by the +despatch of his pencil, were multiplied beyond number. They were +frequently sent into Germany where they were engraved. He had a fruitful +and spirited genius, but was not a correct designer.] + +[Footnote 126: Among the painters of Messina is mentioned Niccolo +Cartissani, who died in Rome with the name of a good landscape painter, +and Filippo Giannetti, a scholar of Casembrot, who in the vastness of +his landscapes and his views surpassed his master; but he will not bear +a comparison in the correctness of his figures and in finishing; though +he was, from his facility and rapidity of pencil, denominated the +Giordano of landscape painters. He was esteemed and protected by the +Viceroy Co. di S. Stefano, and painted in Palermo and Naples.] + + + + + Transcriber's notes: + + Standardized spacing after apostrophes in Italian names and phrases. + Standardized inconsistent hyphenation. + Retained archaic spelling and punctuation, except as noted below. + Moved footnotes to the end of each chapter. + + Other adjustments: + + Changed 'Pistoia' to 'Pistoja' for consistency with remaining text. + ...Pistoja, Rimino, and Bologna... + Changed 'Winckelman' to 'Winckelmann' + ...as Winckelmann has observed... + Changed 'Niccolo Alunno' to 'Niccolo Alunno' + ...different from Niccolo Alunno... + Added missing end quotation mark + ..."connoisseurs are very commonly considered as his."... + Changed 'antient' to 'ancient' + ...he retained the ancient custom... + Changed 'beautifully' to 'beautiful' + ...some singularly beautiful grotesques... + Changed 'della' to 'dello' + ...called dello Spasimo, which... + Eliminated duplicate 'as as' + ...as in the martyrdom of S. Lucia.. + Added accent to 'Niccolo' Circignani + ...Niccolo Circignani, or delle Pomarance,... + Changed 'hat' to 'that' + ...in the style of that master... + Retained two-dot ellipsis to represent missing partial date + ...Castellana, 161.., on a large picture... + Eliminated duplicate 'was was' + ...he was called Il Trevisani Romano... + Changed 'Vandyk' to 'Vandyke' + ...together with one by Vandyke... + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The History of Painting in Italy, Vol. +2 (of 6), by Luigi Antonio Lanzi + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY OF PAINTING IN *** + +***** This file should be named 34585.txt or 34585.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/5/8/34585/ + +Produced by Barbara Tozier, Carol Brown, Bill Tozier and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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