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 LEON BATTISTA ALBERTI
Architect of Florence
(1404-1472)

LETTERS are of the greatest use to all those artists who

enlighten them, but especially to sculptors, painters and
architects, by paving a way for their inventions, while without
them no one can have a perfect judgment, however great his
natural ability. Who does not know that in choosing sites for
buildings it is necessary to consider philosophically the severity
of potential winds, the unhealthiness of the air, the smell and
exhalations of impure and unhealthy waters? Who does not
know that it is necessary when a work is to be begun to
ascertain, unaided, by mature reflection, what to avoid and what
to adopt, without being obliged to have recourse to the theories
of others, which, when unilluminated by practice, are usually of
little assistance. But when theory and practice are united in one
person, the ideal condition is attained, because art is enriched and perfected by
knowledge, the opinions and writings of learned artists having more weight and more
credit than the words or works of those who have nothing more to recommend them
beyond what they have produced; whether it be done well or ill. The truth of these
remarks is illustrated by Leon Battista Alberti, who, having studied the Latin tongue and
practised architecture, perspective and painting; has left works to which modern artists
can add nothing, although numbers of them have surpassed him in practical skill. His
writings possess such force that is it commonly supposed that he surpassed all those who
were actually his superiors in art. Thus it is clear from experience that, with respect to
fame and name, writings enjoy the greatest power and vitality, for books easily penetrate
everywhere and inspire confidence if they are true and lie not.
It is no marvel, then, if the famous Leon Battista is better known by his writings than
by the works of his hands. He was born in Florence 1), of the most noble family of the
Alberti, spoken of elsewhere, and he endeavoured not only to explore the world and
measure antiquities, but also paid much more attention to writing than to his other work,
following his inclination. He was an excellent mathematician and geometrician, and
wrote a Latin work on architecture in ten books, published by him in 1485. It may be read
today in the translation by the Rev. M. Cosimo Bartoli, provost of S. Giovanni in
Florence. He wrote three books on painting, which have been translated into Tuscan by
Ludovico Domenichi. 2) He wrote a treatise on traction and on measuring elevations, the
Libri della Vita Civile, and some erotic works in prose and verse, while he was the first to
employ the Latin prosody for verses in the vulgar tongue, as may be seen in this letter of
his:
Questa per estrema miserabile pistola mando A te che spregi
miseramente noi.
Leon Battista happened to arrive in Rome 3) at the time when Nicholas V. by his
manner of building had turned the city upside down, and by the offices of his close
friend, Biondo da Forli, he became intimate with the Pope, who had hitherto been
advised in architectural matters by Bemardo Rossellino, sculptor and architect of
Florence, as will be said in the life of his brother Antonio. This man having begun to
restore the Pope's palace and to do some things in S. Maria Maggiorein conformity with
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the Pope's wishes, always previously took the advice of Leon Battista. Thus the Pope, by
following the advice of one of them and the execution of the other, carried out many
useful and praise worthy things, such as the rebuilding of the ruined acqueduct of the
Virgin, making the fountain on the piazza de' Trevi with the marble ornamentation which
is still there, containing the arms of that pontiff and of the Roman people.
After this Leon went to Sigismondo Malatesti, lord of Rimini, and designed for him
the church of S. Francesco, and especially its in arble fame, as well as anarcade of large
arches on the south side and the tombs for illustrious men of the city. 4) In short, he so
transformed the building that from being quite an ordinary work it became one of the
most famous temples in Italy. The interior contains six fine chapels. One of them
dedicated to St. Jerome is very ornate, many relics from Jerusalem being preserved
there. In the same church are the tombs of Sigismondo and his wife, richly constructed
of marble in the year 1450, and above one is the effigy of that lord, and in another part of
the work is the portrait of Leon Battista. In the year following, 1457, in which John
Gutemberg, a German, discovered the most useful art of printing books, Leon Battista
likewise made a discovery for representing landscapes and for diminishing and enlarging
figures by means of an instrument, all good inventions, useful to art.
It happened that when Giovanni di Paolo Rucellai wished to build the facade of S.
Maria Novella in marble at his own cost, he consulted Leon Battista, his close friend,
who not only gave him advice, but the design, so that he decided to execute the work as
a memorial of himself. Accordingly it was begun and finished in 1477, to the general
satisfaction, the whole work giving pleasure, but especially the door, upon which Leon
Battista clearly bestowed more than ordinary pains. For Cosimo Rucellai he made the
design of the palace which he erected in the street called La Vigua, and that of the loggia
opposite. In this he formed his arches over the narrow columns on the forward face, but
as he wished to continue these and not make a single arch, he found he had too much
space in every direction. Accordingly he was obliged to make brackets on the inside.
When he came to the vaulting of the interior he found that to give it the sixth of a half-
circle would result in cramped and awkward appearance, and so he decided to form
small arches from one bracket to another. This lack of judgment and design proves that
practice is necessary as well as theory, because the judgment can never be perfected
unless knowledge is put into practice.
It is said that he also made the design for the house and garden of these same
Rucellaiin the via della Scala, a work of great judgment and very convenient, for beside
many other things lie introduced two loggias, one facing south and another west, both
very beautiful, and erected upon columns without arches. 5) This method is the true one,
and was observed by the ancients, because the architraves which are laid upon the
capitals of the columns make things level, whereas a square thing such as arches are,
which turn, cannot rest upon a round column, without throwing the corners out; the true
method of construction therefore requires that the architraves shall be placed upon the
columns, and that when arches are made they should be borne by pilasters and not by
columns. For the same style, Leon Battista made a chapel in S. Brancazio, 6) which is
borne upon large architraves laid upon two columns and two pilasters made in the wall of
the church, a difficult but safe method, so that this is one of the best works of our
architect. In the middle of the chapel is a fine marble tomb of an elongated ovals form,
like the sepulchre of Christ at Jerusalem, as an inscription indicates. At this same time,
Ludovico Gonzago, Marquis of Mantua, wished to make the tribune and principal chapel
in the Nunziata of the Servites at Florence, from designs by Leon Battista. Accordingly
he pulled down an old square chapel there of no great size, painted in the old style, and
made the beautiful and difficult tribune in the shape of a round temple, surrounded by
nine chapels forming an arc and constructed like niches. 7) The arches of the chapel
being borne by the pilasters in front, the stone ornamentation of the arches inclining
towards the wall, tends to lean backward in order to meet the wall, thus turning away
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from the tribune. Accordingly, when the arches of the chapels are looked at from the
side, they have an ugly appearance, as they fall backwards, although the measurements
are correct and the method of construction difficult. Indeed, it would have been better
had Leon Battista avoided this method, because, besides being awkward to carry out, it
cannot be done successfully, being ugly as a whole and in the details. Thus we see that,
though the great front arch is very fine when looked at from the outside at the entrance
of the tribune, it is extremely ugly on the inside, because it has to be turned in conformity
with the round chapel, and this gives it the appearance of falling backwards. Possibly
Leon Battista would not have done this if he had possessed practical knowledge and
experience in addition to his learning and theories, for any man would have avoided
such difficulties, and striven rather to render the building as graceful and beautiful as
possible. In other respects this work is entirely beautiful, ingenious and difficult, and the
courage of Leon Battista must have been great to make the vaulting of the tribune in
such a manner in that age.
Being invited to Mantua afterwards by the same Marquis Ludovico, Leon Battista
made the model of the church of S. Andrea 8) and some other things for him, and on the
road from Mantuato Padua some churches built in his style may be seen. 9) Salvestro
Fancelli carried out the designs and models of Leon Battista. Fancelli an architect and
sculptor of Florence of some ability, and executed for Leon Battista all the works which
he had done in Florence with extraordinary judgment and diligence. Those at Mantua
were done by one Luca, 10) a Florentine, who subsequently came to live in the city and
died there. According to Filarete he left his name to the family of the Luchi, which still
flourishes there. Leon Battista was not a little fortunate, therefore, in having friends who
understood him, knew his methods and were willing to serve him for as architects cannot
always be at their work, a faithful and loving executor is a great boon to them, as I know
very well by my own experience.
In painting Leon Battista produced no great or remarkable work, his things being
small without great perfection. This is not remarkable, because he paid more attention to
his studies than to design. Yet he was able to show this meaning in his drawings, as we
see by some sheets of his in our book, containing a drawing of the PonteS. Agnolo, and
of the roof made there from his design for the loggia, as a shelter from the sun in
summer and from the wind and the rain in winter. This work was given to him by Pope
Nicholas V., who intended to make many similar ones all for Rome, had not death
interposed. Another work of Leon Battista on the side of the pontealla Carraia at
Florence, in a small chapel of Our Lady, is a small altar-slab that entails three scenes
with perspectives, much better described by his pen than they were painted by his brush.
In Florence also there is a portrait of himself in the house of Palla Rucellai, done with a
mirror, and a picture of somewhat large figures in Chiaroscuro. He further painted a
Venice in perspective, and S. Marco, but the figures were done by other masters, and
this is one of his best paintings. He was a person of the most courteous and praise
worthy manners, a friend of distinguished men, generous and kind to all. He lived
honourably like a nobleman all his days, and after having attained a somewhat advanced
age, passed quietly and contentedly to a better life, leaving an honoured name behind
him.

1)
He was born at Venice.
2)
1447-55.
3)
In 1453.
4)
1447-55.
5)
Now Palazzo Strozzi; Alberti's authorship is denied.
6)
Rectius s. Pancrazio; In 1467.
7)
In 1476.
8)
Building 1472-94.
9)
Rectius Luca.
10)
The same Luca Fancelli.
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 FRA GIOVANNI ANGELICO of Fiesole
of the Order of Friars Preachers
Painter
(1387-1455)

FRA GIOVANNI ANGELICO of Fiesole, known in the

world as Guido, was no less excellent as a painter and
illuminator than as a monk of the highest character, and in
both capacities he deserves to be most honourably
remembered. Although he might easily have led a secular
life and gained what he liked at art beyond what he
possessed, for he showed great skill while still quite young,
yet, being naturally quiet and modest, he entered the order
of Friars Preachers 1) chiefly for the sake of his soul and for
his peace of mind. For although it is possible for men of all
conditions to serve God, yet some think that they can win
salvation more easily in a monastery than in the world. Although this course is well
enough for good men, yet it leads to a wretched and unhappy existence for those who
become monks for other ends.
There are some choir books illuminated by Fra Giovanni in his convent of S. Marco
at Florence of indescribable beauty, and others like them in S. Domenico at Fiesole,
executed with extraordinary diligence. It is true that in doing these he was assisted by
an elder brother who was also an illuminator, and well skilled in painting. One of the first
works in painting executed by this good Father was a panel in the Certosa of Florence,
placed in the principal chapel of the Cardinal degli Acciaiuoli, representing a Madonna
and Child, with lovely angels playing and singing at her feet. Beside her are St.
Laurence, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Zanobius and St. Benedict. The predella contains
incidents from the lives of these saints in small figures, executed with extraordinary
finish. On the screen of the chapel are two other pictures by his hand, the one a
Coronation of the Virgin, the other a Madonna and two saints, beautifully executed in
ultramarine blue. On the screen of S. Maria Novella he afterwards painted in fresco,
beside the door opposite the choir, St. Dominic, St. Catherine of Siena and St. Peter
Martyr, as well as some small scenes in the chapel of the Coronation of the Virgin. He
made an Annunciation on canvas for the small doors of the old organ, now in the
convent opposite the door of the dormitory, low down between one cloister and the
other. This friar, on account of his great qualities, was much esteemed by Cosimo de'
Medici, who, after he had built the church and convent of S. Marco, employed him to
paint the Passion of Christ on a wall of the chapter house. On one side are all the saints
who have founded or been the heads of religious orders, sorrowful and weeping at the
foot of the cross, the other side being occupied by St. Mark the Evangelist, the Mother
of God, who has fainted on seeing the Saviour of the world crucified, the Maries who are
supporting her, and SS. Cosimo and Damian, the former said to be a portrait of his
friend, Nanni d'Antonio di Banco, the sculptor. Beneath this work, in a frieze above the
dado, he made a tree, at the foot of which is St. Dominic; and in some medallions which
are about the branches are all the popes, cardinals‚ bishops, saints and masters of
theology who had been members of the order of the Friars Preachers up to that time. In
this work he introduced many portraits, the friars helping him by sending for them to
different places. They include St. Dominic, who is in the middle and holding the
branches of the cross, the French Pope Innocent V., the Blessed Ugo, the first cardinal
of the order, the Blessed Paolo, the Florence patriarch, St. Anthony, Archbishop of
Florence, Giordano the German, the second general of the order, the Blessed Niccolo,
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the Blessed Remigio of Florence, Boninsegno, martyr of Florence, all these being on the
right-hand; on the left are Benedict IX. Of Treviso, Giandomenico the cardinal, a
Florentine, Pietro da Palude, Patriarch of Jerusalem, Alberto Magno the German, the
Blessed Raimondoda Catalogna, third general of the order, the Blessed Chiaro of
Florence, provincial of Rome, St. Vincenzio di Valenza, and the Blessed Bemardo of
Florence, all the heads being wonderfully graceful and very beautiful. In the first cloister,
above some lunettes, he afterwards did many fine figures in fresco, with a St. Dominic
at the foot of the cross which has been much admired. In the dormitory, besides many
other things in the cells and on the walls, he made a scene from the New Testament of
indescribable beauty. But especially beautiful and marvellous is the picture of the high
altar of the church. The Madonna inspires devotion in the beholder by her simplicity, and
the saints standing are like her. The predella contains incidents in the martyrdom of SS.
Cosmo and Damian and the others, all most wonderfully done, so that it would be hard
to imagine a work executed with more diligence or containing more delicate and better
devised figures 2) .
In S. Domenico at Fiesole he painted the picture of the high altar, but because it was
thought to be damaged it has been retouched by other masters and spoiled. The
predella and the ciborium of the Sacrament, however have been better preserved, and
the innumerable figures contained in the heavenly glory are so fine that they appear
really to be from Paradise, and one can never tire of looking at them 3). In a chapel of
the same church there is an Annunciation by his hand, the face being so devout,
delicate and well made that it is not like the work of a man, but a product of Paradise. In
the landscape are Adam and Eve, who led to the Incarnation of the Redeemer through
the Virgin. The predella also contains some very charming little scenes4). But among all
the works of Fra Giovanni, he surpassed himself and displayed the full extent of his
powers and knowledge of art in a panel in the same church next to the entrance door on
the left side, containing Christ crowning Our Lady in the middle of a choir of angels and
a multitude of saints, so numerous, 50 well executed and so varied in action and
gesture that it is an unspeakable delight to regard them, for it appears that the spirits of
the blessed in heaven cannot be otherwise than these, or to put it better, they could not
if they were corporeal, for all the saints there are not only full of life with their sweet and
delicate ways, but the entire colouring appears to be the work of a saint or an angel like
themselves5). Right well did this holy friar deserve the name by which he was always
known, Fra Giovanni Angelico. In the predella the scenes of Our Lady and of St.
Dominic are divine of their kind, and I can truthfully say that for me they never lose their
freshness, and I never tire of seeing them. In the Chapel of the Nunziata of Florence,
erected by Piero di Cosimo de' Medici, he painted the doors of the presses, where the
plate is kept, with small figures executed with great finish6). This friar did so many things
which are in private houses in Florence that I am lost in astonishment that one man,
even in so many years, could have done such a quantity of things, and so well. The
Very Rev. Don Vincenzo Borghini, master of the Innoccnti, has a lovely small Madonna
by his hand, and Bartolommeo Gondi, as zealous a patron of the arts as any other
nobleman, has a large picture, small oil, and a cross by the same hand. The paintings in
the tympanum over the door of S. Domenico are also his, and so is a picture in the
sacristy of S. Trinita representing a Deposition from the Cross, finished carefully so that
it may be counted among his best works7). At S. Francesco outside the S. Miniato gate
is an Annunciation, and in S. Maria Novella, besides the things already spoken of, he
painted the paschal taper and some reliquaries with small scenes, which are placed
upon the altar on great occasions. In the Badia in the same city he made a St. Benedict
commanding silence, over the door of the cloister. For the linen drapers he made a
picture which is in the office of their art 8), and in Cortona lie dida small arch over the
door of the church of his order, as well as the picture of the high altar 9) . At Orvieto he
began some prophets on the vaulting of the chapel of Our Lady in the Duomo 10) , which

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were finished by Luca da Cortona. For the conipatly of the Temple at Florence he made
a dead Christ on a panel, and in the church of the monks of the Angeli he made a
Paradise and a Hell of small figures, displaying great observation in his representations
of the beauty, the blessedness and rejoicing of the good, and the damned prepared for
the pains of hell, with various expressions of sadness, their sin and worthlessness
depicted in their faces. The blessed enter Paradise by the door joyfully dancing, while
the damned are dragged by demons to everlasting pains 11). This work is on the right
side of the church as one goes towards the high altar, where the priest is stationed
when Masses sung. For the nuns of S. Piero Martire, who now occupy the monastery of
S. Felice in the piazza, which belonged to the monks of Camaldoli, he made a panel
containing Our Lady, St. John the Baptist, St. Dominic, St. Thomas and St. Peter Martyr,
in somewhat small figures12) . A panel by his hand may still be seen on the screen of S.
Maria Nuova 13).
By these numerous works the fame of Fra Giovanni was spread abroad through all
Italy, so that Pope Nicholas V. sent for him to Rome, and employed him to decorate the
chapel of the palace where the Pope hears Mass. Here he painted a Deposition from
the Cross and some stories of St. Laurence of great beauty, and lie also illuminated
some books very beautifully 14). In the Minerva he made the picture of the high altar, and
an Annunciation now fixed to the wall beside the principal chapel. For the same Pope he
did the chapel of the Sacrament in the Vatican. This was afterwards destroyed by Pope
Paul III. in order to put his stairs there. In this work, which was excellent in his distinctive
style, he did some incidents from the life of Jesus Christ in fresco, introducing many
portraits from life of noteworthy persons of the day. These would probably have been
lost also had not Giovio saved them for his museum. They comprise Pope Nicholas V.,
the Emperor Frederick, who came to Italy at that time, Fri Antonino, afterwards
Archbishop of Florence, Flavio Biondo of Forli, and Ferrante of Aragon. And because
Fra Giovanni appeared to the Pope to be a person of most holy life, quiet and modest,
as indeed he was, he wished to appoint him to the Archbishopric of Florence, then
vacant. When the friar learned this he besought His Holiness to appoint another,
because he did not feel himself fit to be a ruler of men, saying that his order possessed
a friar who was kind to the poor, very learned, capable of ruling, and God-fearing, far
better suited for that dignity than himself. The Pope recognised that he spoke no more
than the truth and granted the favour freely. In this way Fra Antonino of the order of the
Preachers became Archbishop of Florence 15). He was a truly distinguished man, both
for his holiness and his learning, fully deserving his canonisation in our own day by
Adrian VI. It was a good action of Fra Giovanni and a most rare thing to grant such a
dignity and so great a charge, when offered to him by the pontiff, to a man whom his
clear judgment and sincerity recognised as being much better fitted for it than himself.
The monks of our own day might well learn from the example of this holy man not to
undertake burdens which they cannot worthily sustain, but to yield them to more
capable men. To return to Fra Giovanni. Would God it could be said that all the monks
spent their time as this truly religious friar did, for he devoted his life entirely to the
service of God and the benefit of the world and his neighbours. What more can or
should be desired than to win the heavenly kingdom by holy living, and eternal renown
on earth by masterly work? It is certain that as for passing and extraordinary talent like
that of Fra Giovanni cannot and ought not to be granted to any man who is not of a most
holy life, because those who devote themselves to ecclesiastical and holy things ought
to be eclesiastics and holy men, for it is seen that, whenever such things are produced
by men of little belief who do nothing value religion, they frequently excite dishonourable
appetites and lascivious desires, so that the work is blamed for what is disreputable,
while praise is accorded to its artistic qualities. But I do not wish to be misunderstood to
call an awkward, clumsy thing devout, and a fine and good work lascivious, as some do
when they see figures of women and youths rather more beautiful and ornate than

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usual, condemning them immediately as lascivious without perceiving that they are most
wrongfully condemning the good judgment of the painter, who considers that the saints,
as celestial beings, must be as much superior to mortal nature in beauty as heavenly
loveliness surpasses that of the earth. What is worse than this, they display the foulness
and corruptness of their own minds in finding evil and wicked ideas in those things in
which, if they had been true lovers of right, as they would like in their blind zeal to be
thought, they would perceive the longing for heaven and the desire to make them
acceptable to the Creator of all things, from whose most perfect and beautiful nature all
perfection and beauty are derived. What might be expected of such men if they
happened to find themselves in the presence of living beauties, with their lascivious
ways, soft words, movements full of grace and ravishing eyes, when the mere
counterfeit and shadow of beauty moves them so much? However, I would not let it be
understood that I approve of the all but nude figures which are painted in churches,
because they prove that the artist has not entertained a proper respect for the place.
Wherefore, whenever an artist wishes to display his skill he ought to do so with a full
regard for the circumstances, the persons, the time and the place.
Fra Giovanni was a simple and most holy man in his habits, and it is a sign of his
goodness that one morning, when Pope Nicholas V. wished him to dine with him, he
excused himself from eating flesh without the permission of his prior, not thinking of the
papal authority. He avoided all worldly intrigues, living purity and holiness, and was as
benign to the poor as I believe Heaven must now be to him. He was always busy with
his paintings, but would never do any but holy subjects. He might have become rich, but
he cared nothing about it, for he used to say that true riches consist in being contented
with little. He might have ruled many but would not, saying that there was less trouble
and error in obeying others. He could have obtained high rank in his order and in the
world but he did not esteem it, saying that he wished for no other dignity than to escape
hell and win Paradise. In truth, not only the religious, but all men ought to seek that
dignity, which is only to be found in good and in virtuous living. He was most gentle and
temperate, living chastely, removed from tile cares of the world. He would often say that
whoever practised art needed a quiet life and freedom from care, and that be who
occupies himself with the things of Christ ought always to be with Christ. He was never
seen in anger among the friars, which seems to me an extraordinary thing and almost
impossible to believe; his habit was to smile and reprove his friends. To those who
wished works of him he would gently say that they must first obtain the consent of the
poor, and after that he would not fail. I cannot bestow too much praise on this holy
father, who was so humble and modest in all his works and conversation, so facile and
devout in his painting, the saints by his hand being more like those blessed beings than
those of any other. He never retouched or repaired any of his pictures, always leaving
them in the condition in which they were first seen, believing, so he said, that this was
the will of God. Some say that Fra Giovanni never took up his brush without first making
a prayer. He never made a crucifix when the tears did not course down his cheeks,
while the goodness of his sincere and great soul in religion may be seen in the faces
and attitudes of his figures. He died in 1455 at the age of sixty-eight, and left as his
pupils Benozzo of Florence, who closely imitated his style, and Zanobi Strozzi, who
made panels and paintings for all Florence, for the houses of citizens, and notably a
picture now placed in the transept of S. Maria Novella beside that of Fra Giovanni, and
one in S. Benedetto; a monastery of the monks of Camaldoli outside the Pinti gate, now
destroyed. This painting is at present in the monastery of the Angeli in the little church of
S. Michele, before one enters the principal church, on the right hand going towards the
altar, fixed to the wall. He also made a picture for the Chapel of the Nasi in S. Lucia and
another in S. Romeo. In the wardrobe of the duke are the portraits of Giovanni di Bicci
de'Medici and that of Bartolommeo Valori in the same picture by the same artist. Other
pupils of Fra Giovanni were Gentile da Fabriano and Domenico di Michelino, who made

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the picture at the altar of St. Zanobius in S. Apollinare at Florence, and many other
paintings. Fra Giovanni was buried by the friars in the Minerva at Rome by the side
entry near the sacristy, in a round marble tomb, with his effigy above it. On the marble is
carved this epitaph:

Non mihi cit laudi, quod eram velut alter Apelles,Sed quod lucra
tuis omnia, Christe, dabam: Altera nam tertis opera extant, altera
caelo. Urbs me Joannem 0os tulit Etruriae.

In S. Maria del Fiore there are two large books divinely illuminated by Fra Giovanni
held in great veneration; they are richly ornamented, and are only seen on great
occasions.
There lived at the same time as Fra Giovanni a celebrated and famous illuminator
named Attavante of Florence, whose cognomen I have never heard. Among other
things he illuminated a Silius Italicus, now in S. Giovani, i e Paolo at Venice. I will
describe some particulars of this work, both because they are worthy of note by artists,
and because, so far as I am aware, no other work of his is known. Indeed, I should not
have known of this myself had not the Very Rev. M.Cosimo Rartoli, noble man of
Florence, told me about it, out of the affection which he bears for the arts, in order that
the talents of Attavante should not be practically buried. In this book, the figure of Silius
wears a helmet incrusted with gold, surrounded with a laurel crown, a blue cuirass
plated with gold in the antique style, his right hand holds a book and his left a short
sword. Over the cuirass he wears a red cloak, fastened in front by a brooch, and
hanging from his shoulders is a gold fringe; the lining of the cloak is of varied colours
and embroidered with gold rosettes‚ His shoes are yellow, and he is resting on his right
foot, in a niche. The next figure in the book, representing Scipio Africanus, wears a
yellow cuirass, the girdle and sleeves of which are blue and all embroidered with gold.
On his head is a helmet, with two wings and a fish as a crest. He is a youth of blonde
complexion and remarkable beauty, and proudly raises his right hand brandishing a
naked sword, while he holds his sheath, which is red and embroidered with gold, in his
left. His shoes are simple, of green colour, and the cloak blue, the lining being red with a
border of gold. It is buckled under the chin, leaving the front open, and falling gracefully
behind. This youth, who is placed in a niche of mixed green and grey, with blue shoes
embroidered with gold, regards with indescribable fierceness the Hannibal on the
opposite page. Hannibal is represented as a man of about thirty-six. His brow is
wrinkled like that of an angry man, and he also fixedly regards Scipio. On his head is a
yellow helmet, with a green and yellow dragon for a crest, and wreathed by a serpent.
He rests on one foot, and raises his right hand, in which he holds the shaft of an ancient
javelin. His cuirass is blue, and the trappings partly blue and partly yellow, the sleeves
alternately red and blue, and the shoes yellow. The cloak is red and yellow, gathered at
the shoulder and lined with green. The left hand rests on his sword, and he stands in a
niche of alternate yellow and white. On the opposite page is a portrait of Pope Nicholas
V., in a striped mantle of violet and red, all embroidered with gold. He is in full profile
without a beard, and he looks towards the beginning of the work opposite to him, to
which he points with an air of wonderment. The niche is green, white and red. In the
border are some half-figures, introduced into ovals and circles, and other like things,
with a number of small birds and chenibs so well made that nothing better could he
desired. Near these are similar representations of Hanno the Carthaginian, Hasdrtibal,
Lelius, Massinissa, C. Salinator, Nero, Sempronius, M. Marcellus, Q. Fabius, the other
Scipio, and Vibius. At the end of the book there is a Mars in an antique chariot drawn by
two red horses. On his head is a helmet of red and gold with two wings, on his left arm a
shield which he holds before him, and in his right hand a naked sword. He rests on one
foot only, holding the other up. His cuirass is antique, and of red and gold, while his
- 10 -
shoes and stockings are the same. The cloak is blue above and green beneath
embroidered with gold. The chariot is covered with red cloth embroidered with gold
surrounded by a band of ermine; he is placed in a green and flowery country, amid
boulders and rocks, countries and cities being visible in the distance, in the midst of a
blue sky, all most excellent. On the other side is a Neptune, a youth clothed in a long
flowing embroidered robe, with an earth-green girdle. His complexion is very pale. In his
right hand he holds a small trident, and lifts his robe with his left. He rests with both his
feet in the car, which is covered with red, embroidered with gold and bordered with
sable. This car has four wheels like that of Mars, but is drawn by four dolphins. There
are also three sea-nymphs, two boys, and innumerable fish, all done in a water colour
like the earth, bathed in a delightful air. Here also we may see Carthage in despair, a tall
and dishevelled woman clothed in green, her open garb showing her vest lined with red
cloth embroidered with gold. Through an opening in this is seen another thin vest, with
violet and white stripes. The sleeves are red and gold, with certain swellings and folds
made by the upper vest. She stretches out her left hand to Rome, wh1o, is opposite, as
if to say, What is your will? I will answer you. In her right hand is a naked sword, as if
she were infuriated. Her shoes are blue, while she stands on a rock in the middle of the
sea, surrounded by air of marvellous purity. Rome is a young woman of the highest
imaginable beauty, her dishevelled tresses falling with infinite grace, clothed all in red,
embroidered only at the feet. The lining of the vest is yellow; and the under-vest, seen
through an opening, is violet and white. Her shoes are green; in her right hand she
holds a sceptre, in her left a globe. She also stands upon a rock in the middle of an
inconceivably beautiful air. But although I have done my utmost to show with what skill
these figures were produced by Attavante, I have only been able to give a feeble idea of
their beauty; no more perfect illuminations of that time can be seen, displaying such
judgment and design, and, above all, the colours are laid on with in comparable
delicacy.

1)
In 1497.
2
) Painted 1438. Now in the Accademia, Florence.
3)
Restored by Lorenzo di Credi in 1505. The middle portion of the predella is now in the National Gallery.
4)
A picture in the Madrid Gallery may probably be identified as the one here described.
5)
Now in the Louvre.
6)
Now in the Accademia, Florence; done about 1450.
7)
Accademia, Florence.
8)
The Uffizi, with the famous angels. Painted 1433.
9)
In 1414.
10)
Begun in 1447.
11)
Both works now in the Accademia, Florence.
12)
Pitti Gallery, Florence.

- 11 -
13)
Uffizi Gallery.
14)
He went to Rome in 1445. The payments for the St. Laurence frescoes extend from 1445 to 1450.
15)
Antonio Forcellioni was consecrated Archbishop on the 10th January, 1448.

DON BARTOLOMMEO, Abbot of S.CLEMENTE

Illuminator and Painter

IT rarely happens that a man of good and exemplary life is not provided by Heaven
with the best friends and an honourable abode, and is not greatly revered for his
blameless character when alive, and lamented after his death by those who have known
him. Such a man was Don Bartolommeo della Gatta, abbot of S. Clemente at Arezzo,
who excelled in many things, and was a man of exemplary character. He was a monk of
the Angioli at Florence, of the Camaldo line order, and in his youth, perhaps for the
same reasons that have been related in the Life of Don Lorenzo, he proved himself a
remarkable illuminator, and very skilful in design, as is shown by the illuminations which
he did for the monks of S. Fiore and Lucilla in the abbey of Arezzo, and particularly in a
missal given to Pope Sixtus, where the first page for private prayers contains a most
beautiful Passion of Christ. Those also which are in the Duomo of S. Martino at Lucca
are by his hand. Soon after this he was employed to do the abbey of S. Clemente at
Arezzo by Mariotto Maldoli, an Aretine, general of the Camaldo lines, a member of the
same family as that Maldolo who gave to St. Romuald, the founder of the order, the
place and site of Camaldoli, at that time called the field of Maldolo. Bartolommeo, as if
grateful for this favour, afterwards did many things for the general and for his order.
On the outbreak of the plague of 1468, the abbot, like many others, remained in his
house, and devoted himself to making large figures, and, finding himself successful, he
began to do more important things 1). The first was a St. Roch which he painted oil a
panel for the rectors of the fraternity at Arezzo, and which is now in their audience-
chamber, the figure interceding with Our Lady for the people of Arezzo 2). He introduced
the piazza of the city, and the house of the fraternity, with some grave diggers burying
the dead. He did yet another St. Roch like it for the church of S. Pietro, representing
Arezzo as it then was, very different from its present form, and a third, which was far
better than the other two, in a panel which is in the Lippi Chapel in the Pieve of Arezzo.
This last St. Roch is a very fine and remarkable figure, and probably the best that he
ever produced, it being impossible to imagine a finer head or hands. In the same city of
Arezzo he painted a panel of the Archangel Raphael in S. Piero, where the Servite friars
are, and in the same place he drew the portrait of the Blessed Jacopo Filippo of
Piacenza.
Being invited to Rome, he did a scene in the Sistine Chapel in conjunction with Luca
of Cortona and Pietro Perugino 3) . Returning to Arezzo, he did for the Chapel of the
Gozzari in the Vescovado a St. Jerome in penance, the figure being lean and clean
shaven, with his eyes fixed intently upon the crucifix, while he strikes his breast, and
shows the force of his struggle against the passions. For this work he made a large rock
with some caves, the openings of which he filled with stories of the saint in very graceful
small figures. After this he did a Coronation of the Virgin in fresco in a chapel of S.
Agostino, for the nuns of the third order, it is said, which has been much admired, and is
very well done. Below this, in another chapel, he has done an Assumption, with some
angels in delicate draperies, forming a large picture. It has been much admired as a
work in tempera, and indeed it shows good design, and was executed with extraordinary
diligence. In the tympanum above the door of the church of S. Donato, in the citadel of
Arezzo, he painted in fresco Our Lady with the Child, St. Donato and St. John Gualbert,
all very fine figures.
- 12 -
 In the abbey of S. Fiore, in the same city, there is a chapel by his hand near the
principal door, containing St. Benedict and other saints executed with much grace, skill
and sweetness. He also painted a lead Christ in a chapel for Gentile of Urbino, bishop of
Arezzo 4) , his close friend, with whom he passed nearly all his time in the episcopal
palace. In a loggia he drew the bishop himself, his vicar, and Ser Matteo Francini, the
bishop's notary of the bench, who is reading a bull to him, as well as his own portrait,
and some canons of the city. For the same bishop he designed a loggia connecting the
palace and the Vescovado, and on the same level as they are. The bishop wished to
have his tomb constructed here in the form of a chapel, and Bartolommeo therefore
worked hard at it, but at his death it was left unfinished, for though he instructed his
successor to complete it he did nothing, as is usually the case when works are thus left.
For the same bishop the abbot made a large and beautiful chapel in the old Duomo, but
as it had a short life I will say no more about it. Besides this he worked in many places
in the city, as, for example, three figures in the Carmine and the chapel of the nuns of S.
Orsina, and a picture in tempera in the chapel of the high altar in the Pieve of S.
Giuliano at Castiglione of Arezzo, containing a lovely Madonna, St. Julian and St.
Michael, all excellent figures, particularly the St. Julian, who steadfastly regards the
Christ in His Mother's arms, and seems greatly distressed at having killed his father and
his mother 5) . In a chapel slightly below this there is a small door by him which used to
belong to an old organ, on which is painted a St. Michael, considered remarkable, with a
baby in a woman's arms, which seems alive. For the nuns of the Murate at Arezzo he
did the chapel of the high altar, a much-admired painting. At Monte S. Savino he did a
tabernacle opposite the palace of the Cardinal di Monte, which was considered very
fine, and in Borgo S. Sepolcro, where the Vescovado now is, he did a chapel which won
him great honour and profit.
Don Clemente possessed a mind capable of all things, and, besides being a good
musician, he made lead organs, and one of paper in S. Domenico, which has always
remained sweet and good. There was another by his hand in S. Clemente, raised on
high, with the keyboard below on a level with the choir. This was a good idea, for the
place had but few monks, and he wished the organist to sing as well as play. This abbot
was devoted to religion, being a true minister and not as quanderer of Divine things; and
he greatly improved that place with buildings and paintings, restoring the principal
chapel of his church and painting it all, and in two niches on either side he put St. Roch
and St. Bartholomew, which have perished with the church but to return to the abbot. He
was a good and pious monk, and left as his pupil in painting Matteo Lappoli of Arezzo,
who was a worthy and skilful artist, as is seen by his works in the chapel of St.
Sebastian in St. Agostino, that saint being represented in a niche, made in relief. About
him are painted St. Blaise, St. Roch, St. Anthony of Padua and St. Bernardino. In the
arch of the chapel there is at, Annunciation, while the four Evangelists are smoothly
represented in fresco on the vaulting. There is another chapel in fresco by the same
hand, on the left as one enters the side door, containing the Nativity and an
Annunciation, the angel being a portrait of Giuliano Bacci, then a beautiful youth. Over
this door, on the outside, he did an Annunciation, between St. Peter and St. Paul, the
Madonna being a portrait of the mother of M. Pietro Aretino, the famous poet. In the
chapel of St. Bernardino in St. Francesco he painted a life-like figure of the saint, which
is the best figure that he ever did. In the Chapel of the Pietramaleschi in the Vescovado
he did a very fine St. Ignatius in tempera, and at the door opening onto the piazza in the
Pieve he did St. Andrew and St. Sebastian.
For the company of the Trinity he displayed great power of invention in the execution
of a work done for Buoninsegua Duoninsegni of Arezzo, which may be numbered
among the best which he ever did. This is a crucifix upon the altar between St. Martin
and St. Roch, who are both kneeling. The one is a poor, shrivelled, hungry and ill-
clothed man, from whom issue rays towards the wounds of the Saviour, whom he
- 13 -
regards intently; the other is richly clothed in purple and fine linen, joyful of
countenance, and his rays, although they issue from his heart like those of the other, do
not go straight to the wounds of Christ, but spread and enlarge through a country full of
corn, wheat, cattle, gardens and other like things, while others descend towards the sea
upon some vessels laden with merchandise, and others again to some benches where
money is changed. All these were executed by Matteo with judgment, skill and
diligence, but were destroyed not long afterwards to make a chapel. In the Pieve below
the pulpit he made a Christ with the Cross for M. Lionardo Albergotti.
Another pupil of the abbot of S. Clemente was an Aretine friar of the Servites, who
painted in colours the front of the house of the Belichini of Arezzo, and two chapels in
fresco in S. Piero, next each other. Another pupil was Domenico Pecori of Arezzo, who
did three figures in tempera at Sargiano, and a fine banner in oils for the company of St.
Mary Magdalene, to be carried in procession, and a picture of St. Apollonia for M.
Presentino Bisdomini in the chapel of St. Andrew in the Pieve, like the one mentioned
above. He finished many things which his master had left, as, for instance, the picture of
S. Sebastian and Fabian, with the Madonna, for the family of the Benucci, 6) and in the
church of S. Antonio he painted the picture for the high altar, containing a very devout
Madonna, with some saints. The Madonna is adoring the Child, who is in her lap, and
he has introduced a little angel kneeling, who holds up Jesus on a cushion, the Virgin
not being able to support Him, as she hasher hands folded in adoration. In the church of
S. Giustino he painted a chapel of the Magi in fresco for M. Antonio Roseni, and a large
picture in the Pieve for the company of the Madonna, representing Our Lady in the air,
with the people of Arezzo beneath, comprising a number of portraits 7) . He was assisted
in this work by a Spanish painter who worked skillfully in oils, Domenico not being so
skilled in oils as in tempera. The same artist helped him with a picture for the company
of a Trinita 8) , containing the Circumcision of Our Lord, considered very good, and a
Noli me tangere in fresco in the garden of S. Fiore. Finally, he painted in the Vescovado
for M. Donato Marinelli, the dean, a picture containing many figures of good invention
and design, and in high relief, which brought him much honour at the time, and has
done since. As he was an old man, he called to his assistance M. Capanna, a painter of
Siena and a meritorious master who had done a number of walls in grisaille and many
panels at Siene.
If he had lived he would have won great honour in the art, to judge from the little
which he did accomplish. For the fraternity of Arezzo Domenico had made a baldachino
9)
, painted in oils, a rich and costly thing, but a short while ago it was lent for a
representation of St. John and St. Paulin S. Francesco to adorn a Paradise near the
roof of the church, and the large number of lights caused a fire which burned the picture,
as well as the representative of God the Father, who, being bound, was unable to
escape as the angels did, and there was a great loss of ecclesiastical adornments and
injury to the spectators, who were panic-stricken and rushed to the door, about eighty of
them being crushed, a most lamentable circumstance. The baldachino was
subsequently restored 10) with more richness and painted by Giorgio Vasari. Domenico
next devoted himself to making windows, and there were three by his hand in the
Vescovado, but they were destroyed by the artillery during the wars. Another pupil of the
abbot was Angelo di Lorentino, painter 11) who possessed no mean talent. He also
worked at the door of S. Domenico, and with assistance he might have become an
excellent master. The abbot died at the age of eighty-three, leaving the church of Our
Lady of the Tears unfinished, after making the model. The edifice was afterwards
completed by various masters. The abbot thus deserves praise as an illuminator,
architect, painter and musician. His monks buried him in his abbey of S. Clemente, and
his works have always been held in high repute in the city, where these lines may be
read upon the tomb:

- 14 -
 Pingebat docte Zeusis, condebat et aedes Nicon Pan capripes,
fistula prima tua est. Non tamen ex vobis mecum certaverit ullus
Quae tres fecistis, unicus haec facio.
He died in 1461, after having enriched the art of illuminating with the beauties which
characterise all his works. Some of his sheets in our book may serve as an example.
His style was afterwards imitated by Girolamo Padoano in the illuminations in some
books at S. Maria Novella, Florence, and by Gherardo, a Florentine illuminator, also
called Vante, who is spoken of elsewhere, and whose works are mostly at Venice. I
have inserted a notice upon him sent to me by some Venetian nobles. I have copied this
exactly to satisfy those who have taken such pains to collect the information here given,
adopting their own words, for as I have not seen the things myself I am unable to give
an independent judgment.

1)
Professor Venturi gives reasons for the conclusion that there was no such person. The facts given here
seem to apply to one Pietro Dei.
2)
Now in the Pinacoteca, Arezzo; painted about 1479.
3)
1481.
4)
Gentile de Becchi, who died 1497.
5)
1486. For this saint, see note vol. i., page 265.
6)
Now at Campriano, near Areszo.
- 15 -
7)
Pinacoteca, Arezzo.
8)
Now in S. Agostino.
9)
Pinacoteca, Arezzo.
10)
In 1556.
11)
Who died 1527.

FRA BARTOLOMMEO OF S. MARCO

Painter of Florence
(1472-1517)

BARTOLOMMEO called Baccio after the Tuscan usage, was born in the territory of
Prato, at a place called Savignano, ten miles from Florence. In his boyhood he showed
great inclination and aptitude for design, and by the influence of Benedetto da Maiano
he was put with Cosimo Rosselli, lodging in the house of some relatives who lived at the
gate (porta) of S. Piero Gattolini. Here he remained for many years, so that he became
generally known as Baccio della Porta. After leaving Cosimo Rosselli, he began
earnestly to study the things of Lionardo da Vinci, and in a short time made such
progress in colouring that he became known as one of the best of the young artists both
for colour and design. He associated with Mariotto Albertinelli 1) , who soon acquired his
style and together they did many Madonnas which are scattered about Florence, to
speak of which would take too long. I may mention one excellent example, in the house
of Filippo di Averardo Salviati. Another, bought not long ago, sold among some old
tapestries, was acquired by Pier Maria delle Pozze, a great lover of paintings, who
recognised its beauty and did not spare his money. This Madonna is executed with
extraordinary diligence 2) . Pier del Pugliese had a small marble Madonna in bas relief
by Donatello, a lovely work, to receive which he had a wooden tabernacle made with
two small doors, which he gave to Baccio to paint. The artist did two scenes, one a
Nativity, the other the Circumcision, executed like illuminations, in the best possible
workmanship, and on the outside he painted an Annunciation in grisaille, the entire work
being in oils. This work is now in the Scriptorium of Duke Cosimo, where he keeps all
his small bronze antiquities, medals and other rare illuminations, and it is highly valued
by him for its undoubted excellence.
Baccio was loved in Florence for his ability; was an assiduous workman, quiet, good-
natured, and God-fearing. He preferred a quite life and avoided vicious pleasures, was
very fond of sermons, and always sought the society of learned and staid people. It is
rare when Nature creates a man of genius and a clever artist that she does not prove
his worth. So it was with Baccio 3), who, as I shall say presently, fulfilled her desires to
show the full extent of his excellence, and so spread abroad his name that Gerozzo di
Monna Venna Dini employed him to do a chapel in the cemetery containing the bones
of the dead from the hospital of S. Maria Nuova. He there began a Last Judgment in
fresco: working with such diligence and in so good a style in the part which he
completed, that he largely increased his reputation; and was much celebrated for having
so well rendered the glory of Paradise and Christ, with the twelve Apostles judging the
twelve tribes, the draperies being fine and the colouring charming. In the unfinished
portion we see the despair of the damned and the pain and shame of eternal death, in
contrast with the joy of the elect. The work was left unfinished because the artist thought
more of the welfare of his soul than of painting.
At this time Fra Jeronimo Savonarola, a Dominican of Ferrara and a most famous
theologian, was at S. Marco, and Baccio became deeply attached to him and intimate
with him from hearing his preaching, being almost always at the convent, where he
made friends with the other friars. Fra Jeronimo, continuing his preaching, declared
- 16 -
daily from the pulpit that lascivious pictures, music and amorous books often lead men
astray, and that he was persuaded that it was not good to have pictures of naked men
and women in houses where there are young girls. The following carnival, it being a
custom of the city to make bonfires on the piazzas on Tuesday evening, accompanied
by amorous dances, the men and women taking hands and dancing round them, the
people, stirred up by Fra Jeronimo, brought numbers of profane paintings and
sculptures, many of them the work of great masters, with books, lutes and collections of
love-songs to be burned 4). This was most unfortunate, especially in the case of
paintings, for Baccio brought all his studies of the nude, his example being imitated by
Lorenzo di Credi and many others who were called Piagnoni. It was not long before
Baccio’s affection led him to make a fine portrait of Fra Jeronimo 5) . It was taken to
Ferrara, and not long since it came back to Florence to the house of AIamanno Salviati,
who greatly values it for the artist's sake. One day, however, the friar’s opponents rose
to put him to death, because of the sedition which he had stirred up in the city. Fra
Jeronimo's friends rallied to his defence, more than five hundred in number, and shut
themselves up in S. Marco, Baccio being among them. But, being a timid and cowardly
man, when he heard the assault on the convent and that men were being killed and
wounded, he began to be seriously alarmed and vowed that if he escaped he would at
once assume the habit of the order, a vow which he strictly observed. The fight ended,
the friar was taken and condemned to death, as the historians have related in detail,
and Baccio departed to Prato, where he entered the Dominican order, as recorded in
the chronicles of the convent there, on 26 July, 1500, to the regret of all his friends, who
were most sorry at having lost him, especially as they heard that he had determined to
give up painting. Mariotto Albertinelli, Baccio's friend and companion, at the prayers of
Gerozzo Dini, took up the mantle of Fra Bartolommeo, as the prior called him in giving
him the habit, and completed his work at S. Maria Nuova, drawing a portrait of the
master of the hospital there and of some friars skilful in surgery, with Gerozzo himself
and his wife at the side, kneeling, while a nude figure seated is Giuliano Bugiardini, his
young pupil, with a shock of hair as then worn, his hairs being so carefully done that
they may be counted. He drew himself, a shock-headed man, one of those coming out
of a tomb. The work also contains a portrait of Fra Giovanni of Fiesole, the painter,
numbered among the blessed, whose life we have written. The entire work, both
Bartolommeo's and Mariotto's, is in fresco, and is in such an excellent state of
preservation that it is much valued by artists, because it is not possible to go much
farther in that branch.
After remaining for many months at Prato, Fra Bartolommeo was sent by his
superiors to S. Marco, in Florence, where he was warmly welcomed by the friars on
account of his ability. In the Badia of Florence, Bernardo del Bianco had about that time
erected a chapel inmacigno, richly carved and decorated from designs by Benedetto da
Rovezzano, who was and still is of great repute for ornate and varied work. Here
Benedetto Buglioni did some figures and angels in full relief 6), in glazed terra cotta, in
niches, as a finish, covering the friezes with cherubim and designs. Wishing to have a
picture worthy of this frame work, it occurred to him that Fra Bartolommeo was the man,
and he employed every effort and the persuasion of friends to induce him to do it. The
friar was in the convent, intent only on the divine offices and other things of his rule. The
prior and his dearest friends had continually pressed him to do some painting, but for
more than four years he had steadily refused. Being pressed, however, by Bernardo del
Bianco he at length began the picture of St. Bernard writing, and seeing a vision of Our
Lady with the Child 7) and many angels and cherubs, smoothly coloured by him. The
saint is wrapped in contemplation, exhibiting an indescribable celestial fervour which
illuminates the whole work, to the eyes of an attentive observer. Baccio displayed every
care and diligence in doing this and an arch in fresco above it. He also did some

- 17 -
pictures for Cardinal Giovanni de Medici, and painted a Madonna of extraordinary
beauty for Agnolo Doni, which serves for an altar in a chapel in his house 8).
At this time Raphael of Urbino, the painter, came to Florence to learn the art, and
taught the first principles of perspective to Fra Bartolommeo, and being anxious to
colour like the friar, he associated constantly with him because he liked his
management and blending of colours. At this time Bartolomnieo did a panel with a
quantity of figures in S. Marco at Florence 9). It is now in the possession of the King of
France, to whom it was given, and it remained on exhibition in S. Marco for many
months. He did another in that place, containing a large number of figures, to replace
the one sent to France, with some children flying in the air, holding a canopy open, with
such art, design and relief that they seem to be coming out of the picture 10). The flesh
colouring is of that excellence which every talented artist would like to give to his things,
and this work is still considered of the highest excellence. There are many very
admirable figures about a Madonna, of wonderful grace and vigour; with fine
expressions and full of life. The colouring is so bold that they seem to be in relief. This
was because Baccio was anxious to show that in addition to a good design he could
bring out his figures by means of shadows. This is seen by the cherubs flying about the
canopy, which seem to be coming out of the picture. Besides these there is a Christ-
child espousing St. Catherine the nun, and nothing more vivid than this is possible in the
dark colouring which he has chosen. A group of saints on one side, following the curve
of a large niche and diminishing as they recede, are so well arranged that they seem
alive, and there is a like group on the other side. Indeed, in this colouring he imitated
Lionardo, especially in the shadows, using printers' fumes and the black of burnt ivory.
Owing to this black the picture has become much darker than he painted it, the colours
being deeper and more obscure. Among the chief figures he did a St. George in the
foreground, in armour, with a standard in his hand: a noble; vigorous, animated figure in
a fine pose. There is also a St. Bartholomew standing, deserving great praise, with two
children playing a lute and a lyre respectively. One has bent back his leg and rests his
instrument upon it, while his fingers are on the strings to moderate them as he listens to
the music; his head is raised and the mouth slightly open, so that it is hard to believe
that his voice will not be heard. The other leans over with an ear against the lyre to see
whether it is in tune with the lute, to which he is playing second, his eyes on the ground
and carefully following his companion. These ingenious ideas are marvellously executed
by Fra Bartolommeo, with wonderful industry, the children being seated, in light
draperies, and the whole work immersed in deep vaporous shadow. In a little while he
did another much-admired panel opposite this, of a Madonna and saints. He deserves
great praise for his introduction of the toning of the figures, a great gain to art, as they
seem to be in relief, and are executed with vigour and perfection. Hearing of the great
works of Michelangelo at Rome, of those of the gracious Raphael, Fra Bartolommeo
went to the Eternal City by the prior's permission 11), impelled by the desire to see the
marvels of these two divine artists, of which he heard so much. There he was lodged by
Fra Mariano Fetti, the friar of the Piombo, at Montecavallo and S. Salvestro, his place,
where he painted two pictures of St. Peter and St. Paul. The air did not suit him so well
as Florence, as among the ancient and modern works which he saw in such abundance
he became dazed, and as this seriously impaired his skill and excellence he decided to
return. He left to Raphael the St. Peter one of the pictures he had not completed, and
after that marvellous master had retouched it, it was given to Fra Mariano.
Meanwhile Bartolommeo returned to Florence, where he was frequently taunted with
being unable to do nudes. This stirred him to make proof of himself and show that he
was most apt in every branch of his art. Accordingly he did a nude St. Sebastian with
very good flesh-colouring, of sweet aspect and great personal beauty, so that he won
great praise among artists. It is said that while this figure was on exhibition in the church
the friars found out by the confessional that women had sinned in regarding it, owing to
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the realistic skill of Fra Bartolommeo; accordingly they removed it, and put it in the
chapter-house, where it had not been long before it was bought by Gio Battista della
Pellaii, and sent to the King of France.
Bartolommeo had fallen out with the carvers who made the frames for his pictures
and who habitually covered up an eighth of the figures as they do still. He therefore
determined to find some way of obviating this, and for his St. Sebastian, done on a half-
circle, he made a niche in perspective, which seems in relief on the picture, and he
formed a frame by painting an ornament about it. He did the same with our St. Vincent
and St. Mark, as I shall presently relate. Over the arch of a door leading into the sacristy
he did a St. Vincent of his order, on wood in oils, representing his preaching of the Last
Judgment 12), his forcible expression and gestures being very characteristic of preachers
when they are endeavouring to redeem men from their evil ways by threats of the
judgment of God, so that the figure appears a living thing and not paint, to the attentive
observer. It is a great pity, seeing that it has been done with such strong relief, that it
should have been spoiled and cracked owing to the fresh colours being put on wet glue,
as I said of the work of Pietro Perugino in the Ingesuati.
Bartolommeo, wishing to show that he could do large figures, as some objected that
his style was small, did a St. Mark the Evangelist 13), a panel of five braecia, to be placed
on the wall with the door of the choir, executed with fine design and of great beauty. A
Florentine merchant, Salvador Billi, returning from Naples, hearing the fame of the friar
and seeing his works, commissioned him to do a panel of Christ the Saviour, in allusion
to his name, surrounded by the four Evangelists, with two cherubs at the feet holding
the sphere of the earth, a beautiful reproduction of fresh and tender flesh, like the rest of
the work. It also contains two much-admired prophets. This picture is in the Nunziata at
Florence 14), under the great organ, as Salvador desired, and is a beautiful work,
finished with loving care by the friar, who had the marble frame carved by Piero
Rosselli.
Bartolommeo requiring a change of air, the prior, being his friend, sent him to
another monastery. While he stayed there, being led to the contemplation of death, he
did a panel at S. Martino, Lucca, where at the feet of the Virgin is a small angel playing
the lute, with St. Stephen and St. John in excellent design and colouring, showing his
skill 15). At S. Romano he did a picture on canvas of Our Lady of Mercy, placed on a
stone dado, and some angels holding her mantle 16). With her are figures, upon steps,
some standing, some seated, some kneeling, regarding a Christ in the air who is
sending lightning and thunder among them. In this painting Fra Bartolommeo displayed
his power of shading the dark parts, producing a striking relief, showing his mastery of
the difficulties of the art, and his colouring, design and invention, the work being of the
highest perfection. On another picture on canvas he did Christ and St. Catherine the
Martyr, with St. Catherine of Siena in an ecstasy, an unequalled figure in that style 17).
Returning to Florence, he devoted himself to music, and being very fond of it he would
sometimes sing as a pastime. Opposite the prison at Prato he did an Assumption 18),
and in the Medici palace he painted Madonnas and other things for various persons.
Such are a Madonna in the chamber of Lodovico di Lodovico Capponi, and another
Madonna with the Child, with the heads of two saints, in the possession of the renowned
M. Lelio Torelli, principal secretary of the illustrious Duke Cosimo, who values it very
highly as a work of Fra Bartolommeo, and also because he loves and favours all artists,
and, indeed, all men of genius. In the house of Pier del Pugliese, now of Matteo Botti,
citizen and merchant of Florence, Bartolommeo did a St. George armed and on
horseback in a recess at the top of a staircase, He is slaying the serpent, the vigorous
figures being painted in oils in grisaille, of which Baecio was so fond. We see this by his
cartoons, whether in ink or crayon, and in many pictures and panels which he left
unfinished at his death, as well as in his drawings in grisaille, now mostly in the
monastery of S. Caterina atSiena, on the piazza of S. Marco, in the possession of a nun
- 19 -
who paints, of whom I shall write a notice later. There are many others still kept in
memory of him in our book of designs, and M. Francescodel Garbo the physician has an
excellent one.
It was a plan of Fra Bartolommeo to have the living objects before him as he worked,
and in order to draw draperies, arms and such things, he had a large wooden model of
life-size, with movable joints, and this he dressed in natural clothes. Thus he was able to
obtain excellent results, by keeping the figure in any position he desired, until he had
completed his work. This model, though very dilapidated, is in my possession, in
memory of him. In the abbey of the black monks, at Arezzo, he did the head of Christ in
grisaille, a lovely thing, and the altarpiece of the company of the Contemplanti 19), which
has been preserved in the house of M. Ottaviano de Medici the Magnificent, being now
placed in a chapel in the house of his son M. Alessandro, with many ornaments, valued
for the sake of Fra Bartolommeo and because he was extremely fond of painting. In the
chapel in the Noviciate of S. Marco is a fine picture of the Purification 20), excellently
designed and finished, and while the friar was staying for pleasure at S. Maria
Maddalena, a house of his order outside Florence, he did a Christ and the Magdalene
and some frescoes for the convent. In a tympanum in the guest chamber at S. Marco lie
painted in fresco Christ with Cleophas and Luke, with a portrait of Era Niccolo della
Magna, as a young man, who afterwards became Archbishop of Capua and finally
cardinal. Fra Bartolommeo began a panel at S. Gallo, which was afterwards finished by
Giuliano Bugiardini, and is now at the high altar of S. Jacopo fra Fossi 21) at the corner of
the Alberti. A picture of the rape of Dinah, in the possession of M. Cristofano Rinieri,
coloured afterwards by Giuliano, is full of buildings and greatly admired ideas 22). Piero
Soderini employed him to do the picture of the Council Chamber, which he executed in
grisaille, and in such a way as to win the greatest honour. It is now in S. Lorenzo in the
Chapel of Ottaviano de Medici the Magnificent, imperfect as it is, and contains all the
protecting saints of Florence and those on whose festivals the city has won victories.
Here is the portrait of Fra Bartolommeo himself, done with the aid of a mirror. After
beginning this painting, the friar became paralysed through working under a window
with the sun on his back. Being advised by the physicians to go to the bath at S. Filippo,
he spent much time there, but was very little benefited. He was very fond of fruits,
although they were most harmful to him. One morning, after eating a great quantity of
figs, he fell into a raging fever in addition to the malady from which he was already
suffering and died in four days, at the age of forty-eight, and so, in full consciousness,
rendered his soul to heaven. His friends, and especially the friars, were much grieved by
his death, and they gave him honourable burial in S. Marcoon 8 October, 1517. He
received a dispensation from the prohibition of the friars to go into the choir during the
office. The profits of his works fell to the convent after he had taken what was necessary
for the colours and painting materials. He had as pupils Cecchino del Erate, Benedetto
Cianfanini, Gabbriel Rusticiand Fra Paolo Pistoiese, to whom he left all his things. Many
pictures were done from his designs after his death, three being in S. Domenico at
Pistoia and one at S. Maria del Sasso in Casentino. Era Bartolommeo imparted such
charm of colouring to his figures, and endowed them with such a modern grace, that he
deserves a place among the benefactors of the art.

- 20 -
1)
They were partners from 1492 to 1500.
2)
Now in the Uffizi.
3)
Painted in 1499; now in the Uffizi.
4)
The burning of the Vanities under the influence of Savonarola took place on Shrove Tuesday, 1496.
5)
Now in the convent of S. Marco, Florence.
6)
In 1504.
7)
Comissioned in 1504 and finished in 1507; now in the Accademia, Florence.
8)
Now in the Colsini Gallery, Rome; dated 1516.
9)
A Madonna and saints, now in the Louvre and dated 1511.
10)
Now ill the Pitti Gallery; painted about 1512.
11)
In 1514
12)
Now in the Accademia, Florence.
13)
Pitti Gallery; painted in 1516.
14)
Now in tile Uffizi Gallery.
- 21 -
 15)
Dated 1509.
16)
In 1515.
17)
Now in the Piiiacoteca, Lucca.
18)
Painted in 1516; now in the Naples Museum.
19)
Probably the picture now in the Berlin Gallery.
20)
Painted in 1516: some time in the Vienna Gallery.
21)
Now in the Pitti Gallery.
22)
Some time in the Vienna Gallery.

JACOPO, GIOVANNI, and GENTILE BELLINI

Painters of Venice
(circa 1400-1464; 1428-1516; 1426-1507)

WHERE there is a foundation of ability, no matter how vile or

base the beginning may appear, steady progress is invariably
made until the zenith of glory is attained, without any pause by
the way. This is clearly shown in the base and humble origin of
the house of the Bellini and in the rank to which they
afterwards attained by means of painting.
Jacopo Bellini, painter of Venice, was a pupil of Gentileda
Fabriano 1). In comparison with that same Domenico who
taught oil-painting to Andrea del Castagno, although he took
great pains to achieve excellence in the art, he did not acquire
fame in it until after the departure of Domenico from Venice. Being then left without
arival in that city, his credit and renown steadily increased, and he became so excellent
that he was the most famous in his profession. To preserve this renown in his house,
and to augment it, he had two sons, devoted to the arts and possessing great ability, the
one Giovanni, the other Gentile, named after Gentile da Fabriano, his dear master, who
had been like a loving father to him. When these boys were grown, Jacopo himself
taught them the principles of design with all diligence. But it was not long before they
both far surpassed him, to the delight of their father, who incited them to endeavour to
surpass each other, competing as the Tuscans did, so that Giovanni should beat him,
then Gentile both of them, and so on.
The first things which brought fame to Jacopo were the portraits of Giorgio Cornaro
and of Catherine, Queen of Cyprus; a picture which he sent to Verona of the Passion of
Christ with many figures, including his own portrait, and a Story of the Cross, said to be
in the Scuola of S. Giovanni Evangelista. All these and many others were painted by
Jacopo with the aid of his sons. The last one was painted on canvas, the almost
invariable practice in that city, where they seldom employ wood panels of poplar as is
done elsewhere. This wood, which grows along rivers or other waters, is extremely soft
and excellent for painting upon, as it holds firmly together when joined with glue. But in
Venice they do not make panels, or, if they do, they are of fir, which is abundant there,
being brought down from Germany by the River Adige in great quantities, while a great
deal also comes from Sclavonia. It is thus the custom of Venice to paint on canvas;
either because it does not split and is not worm-eaten, or because pictures can be made
of any size desired, or else for convenience, as is said elsewhere, so that they may be
sent anywhere with very little trouble or expense. Whatever the cause, Jacopo and
Gentile, as I have said above, made their first works on canvas, and afterwards Gentile
by himself added seven or eight pictures to the Story of the Cross, representing the
Miracle of the Cross of Christ, which the Scuola keeps as a relic. This miracle was as
follows: The cross having fallen by some accident from the Ponte della Paglia into the
canal many men threw themselves into the water to recover it, owing to their reverence
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for the wood of the True Cross, but it was the will of God that no one was found worthy
to take it except the warden of the school. In treating this story; Gentile represented the
Grand Canal in perspective, with many houses, the Ponte della Paglia, the Piazza of S.
Marco, and a long procession of men and women following the clergy. He also
represented many in the water, others ready to jump in, several half-immersed and
other fine and varied attitudes, including the warden who recovers it. Great pains and
diligence were displayed by Gentile in this work, as we see by the countless figures, the
numerous portraits, the foreshortening of the distant figures and the portraits notably of
almost all the members of the Scuola or company at that time. He finished by doing the
restoration of the Cross to its place, including many fine incidents; all these pictures,
painted on canvas, greatly increasing his reputation. After this Jacopo retired, and each
of the brothers devoted himself to his art. I will say no more about Jacopo, because his
works were not remarkable compared with those of his sons, and not long after they left
him he died, so that I consider it best to speak at length of Giovanni and Gentile only.
Although the brothers lived apart, they bore such a respect for each other and for
their father that each one declared himself to be inferior to the other, thus seeking
modestly to surpass the other no less in goodness and courtesy than in the excellence
of art. The first works of Giovanni were some portraits which gave great satisfaction,
especially that of the Doge Loredano, although some say that it is Giovanni Mozzenigo,
brother of that Piero who was doge long before Loredano 2). Giovanni next made a large
picture for the altar of St. Catherine of Siena in the church of S. Giovanni 3), representing
Our Lady seated, with the Child, St. Dominic, St. Jerome, St. Catherine, St. Ursula and
two other Virgins, with three beautiful children standing at the Madonna's feet and
singing from a book. Above them he represented the inside of the vaulting of a building,
which is very fine. This work was among the best which had been produced in Venice
up to that time. In the church of S. Jobbe he painted the altar-picture with excellent
design and fine colouring, representing the Virgin seated somewhat higher in the midst,
with the Child, St. Job and St. Sebastian, both nude figures, and St. Dominic, St.
Francis, St. John and St. Augustine hard-by 4). Below are three children playing various
instruments with much grace. This picture not only excited great admiration when it was
new, but it has always been praised as a most beautiful work.
Moved by these admirable works, it occurred to some noblemen that it would be well
to employ such rare masters to decorate the hall of the great council with paintings
descriptive of the magnificence and greatness of their marvellous city, its achievements
in war, its enterprises, and other matters worthy of such celebration, as a reminder to
succeeding generations, who would derive both pleasure and instruction from scenes
appealing alike to the eye and to the mind. Here they would see representations of
illustrious lords made by skilful hands as well as the notable deeds of men worthy of
undying renown. Accordingly the Government allotted this task to Giovanni and to
Gentile, whose reputation increased daily, with instructions to begin as soon as possible
5)
. It is only right to mention, however, that long before this Antonio Viniziano had begun
to paint the same hall, as I have said in his Life, and had finished a large scene, but was
forced to abandon it by the envy of some malignant persons, and so he never carried
out that honourable task.
Now Gentile, being more accustomed to paint on canvas than in fresco, or for some
other cause, so contrived it that the work should not be painted in fresco but on canvas.
The first thing which he did was the Pope presenting to the doge a candle to be carried
in a solemn procession then about to take place. In this work Gentile pictured the whole
of the exterior of S. Marco, and represented the Pope in his pontificals, followed by
numerous prelates, the doge standing, and accompanied by a number of senators. In
another part he first did the Emperor Barbarossa graciously receiving the Venetian
envoys, and then where he is angrily preparing for war, containing many fine
perspectives and countless portraits executed with the utmost grace. In the following
- 23 -
scene he painted the Pope exhorting the doge and Venetian senators to arm thirty
galleys at the common expense to go and fight with Frederick Barbarossa. The Pope is
seated on a pontifical throne in his rochet, with the doge at his side and many senators
below. In this scene also Gentile drew the piazza and façade of S. Marco, but in another
manner, and the sea with such a multitude of men upon it as to be a veritable marvel.
The same Pope occurs again standing in his robes and blessing the doge, who appears
armed, with many soldiers behind him, ready to set out. Behind the doge is a long line of
nobles, and in the same part the palace and S. Marco are drawn in perspective. This is
among the best works of Gentile, although there is another representing a naval battle
which is more remarkable for invention and for the countless number of galleys, where
multitudes of men are fighting, showing that he was no less acquainted with naval
warfare than with painting. In this work he depicted a number of galleys involved
together with the soldiers fighting, boats drawn in perspective, with the fury, force and
strength of the soldiers in fighting, men dying in various ways the cleaving of the water
by the galleys, the confusion of the waves and every kind of naval armament. This
endless variety shows the boldness, skill, invention and good judgment of Gentile,
everything being excellent in its kind while the whole forms an admirable composition. In
another scene he represented the joyful reception accorded by the Pope to the doge on
his return after the victory, presenting him with a gold ring to espouse the sea, as his
successors have done every year, and still do in sign of the true and perpetual lordship
over it which they have earned. In this he made a portrait of Otto, the son of Frederick
Barbarossa, kneeling before the Pope; the doge having many armed men behind him,
while cardinals and nobles stand behind the Pope. Only the poops of the galleys appear
in this scene, and over the admiral's galley is a gilded Victory seated, wearing a gold
crown on her head, and holding a sceptre in her hand.
The paintings on the other side of the hall were allotted to Gentile's brother
Giovanni, but as his arrangement depends on work already begun there by Vivarino and
left unfinished, I must say something of this artist. The portion of the hall not given to
Gentile was partly entrusted to Giovanni and partly to Vivarino, in order that competition
might induce them to do better. Accordingly Vivarino began his section 6), starting next
to the last scene of Gentile, where Otto offers his services to the Pope and the
Venctians to go and procure peace between them and his father Frederick, and this
being granted, sets out, dismissed on his parole. In this scene, besides many
noteworthy things, Vivarino painted an open church in perspective, with steps and many
persons. In the foreground is seated the Pope surrounded by senators, while Otto
kneels before him and pledges his honour,. Next to this Vivarino did the arrival of Otto
and his father’s joyful reception, with a fine perspective of buildings. Barbarossais
seated, while his son kneels and holds his hand, a number of Venetian nobles hard-by
being portraits from life, showing how well the artist imitated Nature. Poor Vivarino
would have completed the remainder of his section with great praise, but it pleased God
that he should die, worn out by his toil and by bad health, so that he did no more, and
even what he had done was not completed, and it was necessary for Giovanni Bellini
tore touch it in some places.
Giovanni had himself begun four scenes which followed those just mentioned. In the
first he made the Pope in S. Marco, drawing the church as it then was, offering his foot
to Frederick Barbarossa to kiss. But whatever the cause, this first scene of Giovanni
was treated much more forcefully and incomparably better by the master Titian.
Giovanni then represented the Pope saying Mass in S. Marco, and then standing
between the emperor and the doge and granting a plenary and perpetual indulgence to
all who visit that church at a certain time, notably at the Ascension. He made the interior
of the church, the Pope standing on the steps leading to the choir, dressed in his
pontifical robes, and surrounded by a multitude of cardinals and nobles, composing a
full, rich and beautiful scene. In the painting beneath this the Pope stands in his rochet,
- 24 -
and is giving a canopy to the doge, after having presented one to the emperor and
reserved two for himself. In the last scene painted by Giovanni here presents the arrival
at Rome of Pope Alexander, the emperor and the doge. Outside the gates the clergy
and all the Roman people have come to present eight standards of various colours and
eight silver trumpets, which are handed by the Pope to the doge, that he and his
successors may preserve them as a memento. Here Giovanni drew Rome in
perspective, taken some distance off, a large number of horse and foot, with banners
and other signs of joy floating from the castle of S. Angelo. As these works of Giovanni
gave great satisfaction, and they are truly excellent, he was immediately employed to
paint all the rest of the hall, when his death took place, for he was then an old man.
As I have spoken of nothing hitherto except this hall, so as not to interrupt the
narrative, I will retrace my steps somewhat and speak of other works. Among them is a
picture now on the high altar of S. Domenico 7) at Pesaro. In the chapel of St. Jerome in
the church of S. Zaccaria at Venice there is a picture of Our Lady with many saints,
executed with great diligence, containing a building painted with great judgment. In the
sacristy of the Minorites, called Cagrande 8), in the same city, there is another by his
hand of good design and manner. Yet another is in S. Michele, at Murano, a monastery
of the Camaldo line monks; and in the old church of S. Frailcesco della Vigna,of the
bare-footed friars, there was a picture of a dead Christ. This was so beautiful that Louis
XI. of France took a great fancy to it, and as he made an earnest request to have it, the
owners were obliged to gratify him, though they did so unwillingly. Another work of
Giovanni was put in its place, but not so good or so well executed as the first one.
Some, indeed, believe that it was painted by Giovanni's pupil, Girolamo Mocetto.
In the brother-hood of S. Girolamo there is a much-admired work of small figures by
the same Bellini while the house of M. Giorgio Cornaro contains a similar fine picture,
with Christ, Cleophas and Luke. In the hall already spoken of, but at another time, he
painted the scene where the Venetians discover some pope in the monastery della
Carita, who had taken refuge in Venice, and had long served the monks as a cook. Into
this scene he introduced a number of portraits and other fine figures. Not long after this
the Grand Turk happened to see some portraits brought by an ambassador, which filled
him with wonder and amazement, and although paintings are prohibited by the
Mahommedan laws he gladly accepted them, ceaselessly praising the artist and his
work and, what is more, requesting that the master should be sent for. The senate,
reflecting that Giovanni was of an age at which he could not support hardships, and
unwilling to deprive their city of such a great man, especially as he was at the time
employed upon the hall of the great council, decided to send his brother Gentile, who
would, they thought, do as well 9). Accordingly Gentile was safely taken in their galleys
to Constantinople, and on being presented by the ambassador of the Signoria to
Mahommed, he was received graciously and highly favoured as being something novel,
especially as he presented the prince with a lovely picture, which he greatly admired,
wondering how a mortal man could possibly possess such divine talent as to be able to
express natural things so vividly. Gentile had not long been there before he painted the
emperor himself so well that it was considered a miracle. After the emperor had seen
many examples of his art he asked Gentile if he would like to paint his own portrait.
Gentile replied in the affirmative, and in a few days he had made a wonderful likeness of
himself with the aid of a mirror. When the portrait was shown to the prince he was
amazed, feeling convinced that the artist had been assisted by some divine spirit, and if
such things had not been forbidden among the Turks by their laws, he would never
have allowed Gentile to go. Whether he feared that murmurs might arise, or for some
other reason, the emperor sent for Gentile one day, and after thanking him and praising
his excellence, he asked him to name any favour which he desired; and it would
immediately be granted to him. Gentile, being a modest and worthy man, asked for
nothing but a letter of recommendation to the senate and government of his native
- 25 -
Venice. This was written in the warmest possible terms, after which Gentile was
dismissed with noble gifts and the honour of knighthood.
Among other gifts and privileges accorded to him by the lord of the country, a golden
chain worked in the Turkish fashion and weighing 250 gold crowns was placed on his
neck, and it is still in the possession of his heirs at Venice. Leaving Constantinople 10),
Gentile enjoyed a prosperous voyage back to Venice, where he was joyfully received by
his brother Giovanni and almost all the city, everyone being delighted at the honour
rendered to his skill by Mahommed. When he went to pay his respects to the doge and
the senate he was graciously received and commended for having accomplished their
wish in giving so much gratification to the emperor. In order to show their consideration
for that prince's letter of recommendation, they decreed to him a provision of 200
crowns a year, which was paid to him until the end of his life. After his return Gentile
produced but few more works. At length, when nearly eighty years of age, and after
having executed the above-mentioned works and many others, he passed to the other
life, and was honourably buried by his brother in S. Giovanni e Paolo in the year 1501.
Giovanni, who had always loved his brother tenderly, being thus left alone, still
continued to work, old as he was, and as he was employed to paint portraits, it became
a practice in that city that every man of any note should have his portrait painted either
by Giovanni or by some other. Hence all the houses of Venice contain numerous
portraits, and several nobles have those of their ancestors to the fourth generation,
while some of the noblest go even farther back. The custom is an admirable one, and
was in use among the ancients. Who does not experience the utmost satisfaction in
seeing the likeness of his ancestors, especially of those who have been distinguished in
Politics, for worthy deeds in war and peace, in letters or other honourable employments;
moreover the portraits are in themselves ornamental. To what other end did the
ancients place the images of their great men in public places, with laudatory
inscriptions, except to kindle those who come after to virtue and to glory 11) Giovanni
painted for M. Pietro Bembo, before he went to visit Pope Leo X., a portrait of his
mistress so finely that he earned a mention in the verses of this second celebrated
Venetian, just as Simon of Siena had been celebrated by Petrarch, as in the sonnet: O
imagine mia ceilate and flura, where at the beginning of the second quatrain he says:
Credo che'l mio Bellini con la figura, etc.
And what greater reward can our artists desire for their labours than to be celebrated
by the pens of illustrious poets. Thus Titian has been sung by the learned M. Giovanni
della Casa in the sonnet beginning:
Ben veggo io Tiziano, in forme nuove;
and in the other:
Son quest Amor le vaghe treccie bionde.
And was not Bellini numbered among the best painters of his age by the renowned
Ariosto at the beginning of Canto XXXIII. of the Orlatido Furioso? But to return to the
works of Giovanni, that is to say to the chief ones, for it would take too long to mention
all the pictures and portraits which are in the houses of the Venetian nobles and in other
places of that state. In Rimini he made a Pieta for Sig. Sigismondo Malatesta, borne by
two children, a large picture now in S. Francesco in that city 12). Among other portraits he
drew that of Bartolommeo da Liviano 13), a captain of the Venetians.
Giovanni had many pupils, because he taught all with pleasure. Among them, sixty
years ago, was Jacopo da Montagna, who closely imitated his style, as his works in
Padua and Venice show. But the one who imitated him most and who did him the
greatest honour was Rondinello da Ravenna, of whom he made great use in all his
works. This pupil painted a picture in S. Domenico at Ravenna and another in the

- 26 -
Duomo, which is considered a fine example of that style. But his best work was that in
the Carmelite church of S. Giovanni Battista in the same city, where, besides a
Madonna, he painted a St. Albert of that order, the head being very fine, and the whole
figure much admired. Benedetto Coda of Ferrara was also with Giovanni, though he did
not profit much by the association. He lived at Rimini, where he painted many pictures,
and left a son Bartolommeo, who did the same. It is said that Giorgio da Castelfranco
began by studying art with Giovanni, as well as many others, of the Trevisano and
Lombardy, whom I need not mention.
At length, when Giovanni had attained to the age of ninety years, he died of old age,
leaving an immortal name by the works which he produced in his native Venice and
elsewhere. He was buried in the same church and in the same tomb where he had
previously laid his brother Gentile. There was no lack at Venice of those who
endeavoured to honour him when dead with sonnets and epigrams, just as he had
honoured his country when alive.
At the time, when the Bellini were at work or shortly before, Giacomo Marzone'
painted a number of things in Venice, and among others one in the chapel of the
Assumption in S. Elena, representing the Virgin with a palm, St. Benedict, St. Helena
and St. John, but in an old-fashioned style, the figures standing on the tips of their toes,
after the manner of the painters who lived in the time of Bartolommeo da Bergamo.

1)
Variously conjectured to be Frisoni or Foscardi.
2)
Gentile only did three of them, which are all in the Accademia, Venice. The Miracle of the Cross was
painted in 1500.
3)
Mocenigo was doge 1478-85, Loredano 1501-21.
4)
i.e. Zanipolo. The picture was destroyed by fire in 1867 together with Titian's St. Peter Martyr.
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5)
Now in the Accademia, Venice.
6)
Gentile began the work in 1474 and Giovanni carried it on in1479, when his brother went to
Constantinople. It was destroyed by fire in 1577.
7)
Alvise Vivarini, in 1488.
8)
Rectius S. Francesco.
9)
Known as the Frari.
10)
1479. But Gentile was the elder and it was he who was first engaged upon the Great Hall.
11)
November 1480.
12)
Now in the Gallery, Rimini.
13)
Rectius Alviano.

SANDRO BOTTICELLI
Painter of Florence
(1444-1510)

IN these same days of Lorenzo de' Medici the Magnificent, which was a veritable
golden age for men of genius, flourished Alessandro, called Sandro according to our
custom, and di Botticelli, for reasons which I shall give presently. he was the son of
Mariano Filipepi, a citizen of Florence, who brought him up with care, teaching him
everything which children are usually set to learn before the age when they are first
apprenticed to trades. Although Sandro quickly mastered anything that he liked, he was
always restless and could not settle down at school to reading, writing and arithmetic.
Accordingly his father, in despair at his waywardness, put him with a goldsmith who was
known to him called Botticelli, a very reputable master of the craft. Very close and
friendly relations then existed between the goldsmiths and the painters, so that Sandro,
who was an ingenious lad and devoted to drawing, became attracted to painting, and
resolved to take it up. When he had told his wish to his father, the latter, who knew his
whims, took him to Fra Filippo of the Carmine, an admirable painter of the day, and it
was agreed that he should teach Sandro, as the boy desired. Devoting himself heart
and soul to his art, Sandro followed and imitated his master so well that Fra Filippo
became very fond of him and taught him so carefully that he soon attained to an
excellence that no one would have thought possible.
While still young he painted for the Mercatanzia of Florence a Fortitude for the
Series of the Virtues done by Antonio and Piero del Pollajuolo 1). In the Chapel of the
Bardi in S. Spirito, Florence, he painted a panel 2) which is diligently executed and well
finished, containing some olives and palms produced with whole-hearted delight. For
the Convertite nun she did a panel, and another for those of S. Barnaba 3). On the
screen of Ognissanti, by the door leading into the choir, he painted a St. Augustine 4) for
the Vespucci, in which he endeavoured to surpass all his contemporaries, but especially
Domenico Ghirlandajo, who had done a St. Jerome on the other side. This work proved
very successful, the head of the saint being expressive of profound thought and quick
subtlety, such as are usually possessed by those who are always examining into difficult
and abstruse questions. As I have said in the Life of Ghirlandajo, this painting was
removed without suffering damage in 1564. Having thus won name and fame, Sandro
was employed by the art of Porta S. Maria to do a Coronation of the Virgin 5) for S.
Marco,with a choir of angels, and he executed this commission admirably.
In the Casa Medici he did many things for Lorenzo the Magnificent, the elder,
notably a life-size Pallas 6) above a design of vine-branches flaming fire, and also a St.
Sebastian. In S. Maria Maggiore, at Florence, there is a fine Pieta 7) of small figures
beside the Chapel of the Panciatichi. For various houses in the city he did round
pictures, and a goodly number of nude female figures, two of which are now at Castello,
a villa of Duke Cosimo. One is a Birth of Venus 8) wafted to land by the breezes, with
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cupids; the other is also a Venus in company with the Graces and flowers, denoting
Spring 9), expressed by him with much grace. In the house of Giovanni Vespucci in the
via de'Servi, now Piero Salviati's, he did a number of pictures round a room, framed in
an ornamental border of walnut, and figures full of life and beauty. In the Casa Pucci he
did Boccaccio's story of Nastagio degli Onesto 10), in small figures, the series consisting
of four pictures of great beauty and grace.
He further did a round picture of the Epiphany. In a chapel of the monks of Cestello
he did an Annunciation. By the side door of S. Piero Maggiore he did a panel for Matteo
Palmieri, with a large number of figures representing the Assumption of Our Lady 11),
with zones of patriarchs, prophets, apostles, evangelists, martyrs, confessors, doctors,
virgins, and the orders of angels, the whole from a design given to him by Matteo, who
was a worthy and learned man. He executed this work with the greatest mastery and
diligence, introducing the portraits of Matteo and his wife on their knees. But although
the great beauty of this work could find no other fault with it, said that Matteo and
Sandro were guilty of grave heresy. Whether this be true or not, I cannot say, but I know
that Sandro's figures are admirable for the pains which he has taken and the manner in
which he has made the circles of the heavens, introducing foreshortening and spaces
between the groups of angels, while the general design is excellent.
At this time Sandro was commissioned to paint a small panel, with figures three-
quarters of a braccia high, which was placed in S. Maria Novella on the main wall of the
church between the two doors, on the left-hand side of the middle door on entering. The
subject is the Adoration of the Magi 12), remarkable for the emotion of the elderly man,
who overflows with love as he kisses the foot of Our Lord, clearly showing that he has
attained the end of his long journey. This king is a portrait of Cosimode Medici, the
elder, and is the finest of all that are now extant for its life and vigour. The second is
Giuliano de' Medici, the father of Pope Clement VII., doing reverence with absorbed
devotion and offering his gift. The third, who is also kneeling and appears to be adoring
and giving thanks while he confesses the true Messiah, is Cosimo's son Giovanni. The
beauty of the heads in this scene is indescribable, their attitudes all different, some full-
face, some in profile, some three-quarters, some bent down, and in various other ways,
while the expressions of the attendants, both young and old, are greatly varied,
displaying the artist's perfect mastery of his profession. Sandro further clearly shows the
distinction between the suites of each of the kings. It is a marvellous work in colour,
design and composition, and the wonder and admiration of all artists. It brought Sandro-
such a reputation in Florence and abroad that Pope Sixtus IV. entrusted him with the
direction of the painting of the chapel which he was building in his palace at Rome.
Here Sandro painted the following subjects: Christ tempted by the devil; Moses
slaying the Egyptian and receiving drink from the daughter of Jethro the Midianite; the
sacrifice of the sons of Aaron and the fire from heaven which consumed them, with
some of the canonised popes in the niches above 13). By these he won yet greater
renown among many rivals who were working with him, Florentines and natives of other
cities, and he received a goodly sum of money from the Pope. But he spent all during
his Stay at Rome in his usual thoughtless way, and after finishing his section of the work
he uncovered it, and straightway left for Florence 14). Being of a sophistical turn of mind,
he there wrote a commentary on a portion of Dante and illustrated the Itiferno 15), which
he printed, spending much time over it, and this abstension from work led to serious
disorders in his living. He printed many other drawings, but in an inferior style, because
the plates were badly engraved, his best work being the triumph of the faith of Fra
Girolamo Savonorola of Ferrara. Of this sect he was an adherent, and this led him to
abandon painting, and, as he had no income, it involved him in the most serious trouble.
But remaining obstinate in his determination and becoming a Piagnone, as they were
called, he gave up work, and owing to this he became so poor in his old age that if
Lorenzo de'Medici the Magnificent, while he lived, had not assisted him, for he had done
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many things for that prince at the Spedaletto at Volterra, and if he had not been helped
by friends and many wealthy men who admired his genius, he would practically have
died of hunger. In S. Francesco, outside the S. Miniatogate, there is a circular picture by
Sandro of a Madonna andangels, of life-size, which was considered very beautiful.
Sandro was a merry fellow and played many pranks on his pupils and friends. It is
related that he once had a pupil named Biagio, who made a picture for sale like the one
just mentioned, and Sandro disposed of it to a citizen for six gold florins. Finding Biagio,
Sandro said, "I have sold your picture at last, but the purchaser wants it set up this
evening to have a better view of it. Go to the citizen's house to-morrow, taking it with
you, so that when he has seen it well placed he may pay you the price.” Biagio was
delighted, and thanked his master, and hastened to the workshop, setting the picture
fairly high up, and departed. Thereupon Sandro and another pupil called Jacopo made
eight hoods of paper, such as the citizens use, and fastened them with white wax to the
heads of the angels surrounding the Madonna. The next morning up came Biagio with
the citizen who had bought the picture and who was aware of the joke. When Biagio
entered the shop and looked up, he saw his Madonna seated not in the midst of angels,
but of the Signoria of Florence, with their hoods. He was about to excuse himself to his
patron, but as the latter said nothing but praise of the picture, he kept his counsel.
Finally Biagio went home with the citizen and received the payment of six florins as
settled by his master. Meanwhile Sandro and Jacopo had removed the paper hoods,
and on Biagio's return he saw his angels were as they should be and no longer hooded
citizens. Lost in amazement, he knew not what to say. At length he turned to Sandro
and said, "Master, I do not know if I am dreaming or awake. When I came here these
angels had red hoods on their heads and now they have none; what does it mean?''
“You must be mad, Biagio," said Sandro; "this money has turned your brain. If they had
been like that do you think the citizen would have bought it?" "That is true," replied
Biagio, "he said nothing tome about it, and I certainly thought it strange." All the other
boys in the shop surrounded him, and together they succeeded in making him believe
that his head had been in a whirl.
A cloth-weaver once came to live next door to Sandro, and put up eight looms,
which made such a noise when they were at work as to deafen poor Sandro, making the
whole house shake, the walls not being so strong as they might have been, so that for
one reason and another he was unable to work or remain in his house. He several times
begged his neighbour to remedy this nuisance, but the man declared that he could and
would do what he pleased in his own house. This aroused Sandro's ire, and his wall
being higher than his neighbour's, he balanced a huge stone upon the top of it, which
looked as if it would fall at the slightest movement and break the roofs, ceiling and
looms of the man below. Terrified by this danger, the weaver had recourse to Sandro,
who, adopting his own phrase, replied that he would do as he pleased in his own house.
Unable to obtain any fuller satisfaction, the man was forced to come to terms and to act
like a good neighbour. It is also related that for a jest Sandro accused a friend of his of
heresy to the vicar. The friend appeared and demanded who accused him and of what.
Learning that it was Sandro who said that he held the opinion of the Epicureans that the
soul dies with the body, he asked to see his accuser before the judge. When Sandro
arrived he said, "It is true that I hold this opinion of this man, for he is a brute. Do not
you yourselves think him a heretic, since without any education, and scarce knowing
how to read, he writes a commentary on Dante, taking his name in vain?"
It is said that Sandro was extraordinarily fond of those whom he knew to be students
of the arts, and that he made a good deal, but wasted all through his carelessness and
want of control. Having become old and useless, he fell to walking with two crutches, as
he could not stand straight, and in this state of decrepitude he died at the age of
seventy-eight, being buried in Ognissanti in 1515. There are two female heads in profile
by his hand in the wardrobe of Duke Cosimo, one of whom is said to be the mistress of
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Giuliano de' Medici, Lorenzo's brother,and the other Madonna Lucrezia de' Tornabuoni,
Lorenzo'swife 16). The same place has a Bacchus of Sandro raising a cask with both
hands and putting it to his lips, a very graceful figure.
In the Chapel of the Impagliata, in the Duomo of Lisa, he began an Assumption, with
a choir of angels, but as it did not please him he left it unfinished. In S. Francesco at
Montevarchi he did the picture of the high altar and two angels in the Pieve of Empoli,
on the same side as Rossellino's St. Sebastian. He was one of the first to find a way of
making standards and other draperies by joining pieces together, so that the colours do
not run, and show on both sides. He also did the baldachino of Orsanmichele, full of
Madonnas, all different and beautiful. It is clear that this method of making standards is
the must durable, as they do not suffer from acids, which quickly eat them away,
although the latter method is most often used because it is less costly. Sandro's drawing
was much beyond the common level, so much so that artists strove to obtain examples
for some time after his death, and there are some in our book done with great judgment
and skill. He was prodigal of figures in his scenes, as may be noticed in the embroidery
of the frieze of the processional cross of the friars of S. Maria Novella, all by his design.
Sandro then deserves high praise for his paintings, into which he threw himself with
diligence and ardour, producing such works as the Adoration of the Magi in S. Maria
Novella already described, which is a marvel. Another very remarkable work is a small
round picture in the chamber of the prior of the Angeli at Florence, the figures being
small but very graceful and beautifully composed. A Florentine gentleman, M. Fabio
Segni, has a picture of the same size as the Magi, representing the Calumny of Apelles
17)
, of the utmost beauty. He gave this picture to his close friend Antonio Segni, with the
following lines of his own composition beneath it:

Indicio quemquam ne falso laedere tentent Terrarum reges,

parva tabella monet. Huic similem Aegypti regi donavit Apelles Rex
fuit et dignus munere, munus eo.

1)
Done about 1468, now in the Uffizi.
2)
A Madonna between St.John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, now in the Berlin Gallery.
3)
Now in the Accademia, Florence.
4)
In 1480.
5)
Probably painted in 1481; now in the Accademia, Florence.
6)
This seems to be the picture discovered in the Pitti palace in1895, painted in 1490.
7)
Now in the Pinacothek, Munich.

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8)
Uffizi
9)
Accademia, Florence, painted about 1478.
10)
Decameron Day 5, Novello 8. The panels appear to be those now in the National Gallery, London.
11)
About 1490.
12)
Painted about 1472, now in the National Gallery, ascribed to Botticini.
13)
Uffizi, painted 1477.
14)
Comissioned in 1481. Vasari is at fault in some of the subjects; he misconstrues the gallantry of Moses,
and the "sacrifice of the sons of Aaron really represents the purification of a leper as prescribed in
Leviticus XIV. 2-7.
15)
In 1482.
16)
The drawings were done between 1492 and 1497.
17)
The first "La bella Simonetta" is now in the Pitti Gallery, the second at Berlin, and represents the wife of
Piero de' Medici.

FILIPPO BRUNELLESCHI
Sculptor and Architect of Florence
(1377-1446)

MANY whom Nature creates small and insignificant in

appearance have their souls filled with such greatness and
their hearts with such boundless courage that they cannot
rest unless they undertake things of almost impossible
difficulty, and bring them to completion to the wonder of all
beholders, and no matter how vile and base things may be,
they become in their hands valuable and lofty. Thus we
should never turn up our noses when we meet persons who
do not possess that grace and bearing which Nature might be
expected to give to distinguished men when they come into
the world, for clods of earth hide veins of gold. It frequently
happens that men of insignificant appearance possess great generosity of spirit and
sincerity of heart, and when nobility of soul is joined to these characteristics the greatest
marvels may be expected, for they endeavour to overcome the defects of their body by
the virtues of their mind. This appears in Filippo di ser Brunellesco, as well as in Messer
Forese da Rabatta and Giotto, who were all of mean appearance, but their minds were
lofty, and of Filippo it may be said that he was given by Heaven to invest architecture
with new forms, after it had wandered astray for many centuries, during which the men
of the time had expended much treasure to bad purpose in erecting buildings devoid of
arrangement, in bad style, of sorry design, with the queerest notions, most ungraceful
grace, and worse ornament. It was Heaven's decree, after the earth had been so many
years without a master mind and divine spirit, that Filippo should leave to the world the
greatest and loftiest building, the finest of all the achievements of ancient and modem
times, proving that the ability of the Tuscan artists though lost was not dead. It also
adorned him with the highest virtues, among which was that of friendship, and no one
was ever more kind and loveable than he. His judgment was free from passion, and
when he perceived merit in others he put aside his own interest and that of his friends.
He knew himself and communicated his own virtues to many, being always ready to
assist his neighbours when in need. The mortal enemy of vice, he sought the society of
those who practised virtue. He never wasted time, but was always engaged upon his
own works or those of others, if they needed help, and was always visiting his friends
and remembering them.
There lived in Florence, we are told, a man of excellent repute, of worthy habits and
competent in his affairs, named Ser Brunellesco di Lippo Lapi, whose grandfather,
called Cambio, was a learned man, the son of a very famous physician of the day,
- 32 -
named Master Ventura Bacherini. This Ser Drunellesco took to wife a virtuous lady of
the noble family of the Spini, and as part of her dower he had a house, in which he and
his sons dwelt until their death, situated opposite S. Michele Berteldi, at a corner beyond
the piazza degli Agli. While he was living there a son was born to him in the year 1377,
whom he named Filippo after his dead father, the event causing the greatest rejoicings.
In the child's early youth his father carefully taught him the first principles of letters, in
which he exhibited much intelligence, but he did not exert his full powers, as if he did not
wish to attain to great perfection in this, intending apparently to devote himself to things
of greater utility. This greatly displeased Ser Brunellesco, who wished to make him a
notary or to follow his great great grandfather’s profession. But perceiving that the boy
was always returning to art and manual work, he made him learn the abacus and writing
and then put in with a goldsmith, a friend of his, so that he should learn to design.
Greatly delighted, Filippo began to learn and practise that art, so that before many years
he could set stones better than a practised craftsman. He did niello and grotesques,
such as half-length silver figures of two prophets placed at the head of the altar of S.
Jacopo of Fistoia' and considered very beautiful, made by him for the wardens of the
city, and works in bas-relief where he showed such a thorough grasp of that trade that
his mind was clearly ready to pass to higher things. Coming into contact with some
studious artists he began to study with enthusiasm motion, weights and wheels, how
they may be made to revolve and what sets them in motion, and so produced with his
own hand some excellent and very beautiful clocks. Not contented with this he aspired
to practise sculpture on a large scaled and this led to a constant association in
practising that art with Donatello 1), a youth of skill and great promise, and so great an
affection grew up between them, owing to their high qualities, that they did not seem
able to live apart from one another. Although Filippo was skilled in many things and
practised several professions, yet he did not devote so much time to them as to prevent
his being considered an excellent architect by persons qualified to judge. He proved this
in his decorations for various houses, such as that of Appollonio Lapi, his kinsman, at
the corner of the Ciai towards the Mercato Vecchio, where he did many things during
the building. Outside Florence he did the same in the tower and house of the Petraia at
Castello. In the palace of the Signoria he arranged and separated off all the apartments
where the offices of the officials of the Monte were situated, and constructed the doors
and windows in a style borrowed from the ancients not much in use then, because
architecture was in a very crude state in Tuscany. Filippo was next commissioned to
make a statue in linden wood of St. Mary Magdalene in penitence for the friars of S.
Spirito, to be placed in a chapel, and as he had made many small things in sculpture he
was anxious to prove that he could also succeed in large ones. When the statue was
finished and set up it was considered most beautiful, but it perished in the fire at that
church in 1471, together with many other notable things. He paid great attention to
perspective, which was badly understood at the time, many errors being perpetrated,
and spent much time over it, but at length he discovered unaided a method of getting it
perfectly true; this was to trace it with the ground plan and elevation by means of
intersecting lines, a useful addition to the art of design. He took such delight in this that
he drew with his own hand the piazza of S. Giovanni, with all the divisions of the black
and white marble incitation, diminishing them with a singular grace; and he also did the
house of the Misericordia, with the shops of the wafer-makers; the vault of the Pecon,
with the column of St. linobi on the other side. The praise accorded to the work by artists
and connoisseurs so much encouraged him that before long he began another, drawing
the palace, the piazza and the loggia of the Signori, with the shelter of the Fisani and all
the buildings about, thus awakening the spirit of other artists, who afterwards bestowed
much study upon them. In particular, he taught Masaccio the painter, then a youth and
his close friend, who did honour to his instructor, as appears in the buildings which
occur in his works. He further showed it to those who do tarsia work, which is an art of
inlaying coloured woods, stimulating them to such an extent that he gave rise to many
- 33 -
good and useful things produced in that art both then and afterwards which have
brought fame and profit to Florence for many years. One evening Messer Paolo dal
Pozzo Toscanelli happened to be entertaining some friends in a garden and invited
Filippo, who, hearing him speak of mathematics, cultivated his friendship and learned
geometry from him, and, although Filippo was not a lettered man, he was able to argue
so well from his own practice and experience that he often astonished M. Paolo. Then
again Filippo interested himself in the Christian Scriptures, and never failed to be
present at the disputes and preaching of learned persons, making so much profit
through his excellent memory that M. Paolo used to say that when he heard Filippo
argue he thought he was listening to a new St. Paul.
At this time also Filippo studied Dante, thoroughly familiarising himself with the
localities and measurements, and often quoting the poet in his arguments. His mind was
always contriving and imagining ingenious and difficult things, and he found a kindred
spirit in Donato, with whom he would have friendly discussions, in which they both
delighted, on the difficulties of their profession. Thus, one day when Donato had
finished a wooden crucifix (which was placed in S. Croce in Florence, under the scene
where St. Francis raises the child, painted by Taddeo Gaddi), he wished to have
Filippo's opinion; but he repented, for Filippo said that he had put rustic on the cross.
Donato then retorted, "Take some wood bind make one yourself," as is related at length
in his life. Filippo, who never lost his temper, however great the provocation, quietly
worked on for several months until he had completed a wooden crucifix of the same
size, of extraordinary excellence, and designed with great art and diligence 2). He then
sent Donato to his house before him, quite ignorant of the fact that Filippo had made
such a work, so that he broke an apron-full of egg- and things for their meal which he
had with him, while he regarded the marvel with transport, noting the art and skill shown
by Filippo in the legs, body and arms of the figure, the whole being so finely and
harmoniously composed that Donato not only acknowledged himself beaten but
proclaimed the work as a miracle. It is now placed in S. Maria Novella, between the
Chapel of the Strozzi and that of the Bardi of Vernio, where it is still greatly admired by
the moderns. The worth of these truly excellent masters being thus made apparent, they
were commissioned by the art of the butchers and the art of the linen- drapers to make
two marble figures for their niches in Or. Michele. Filippo left Donato to do these by
himself, as he himself was otherwise engaged, and Donato brought them to a
successful completion. After this, in the year 1401, it was proposed to make the two
bronze doors of the church and baptistery of S. Giovanni, sculpture having advanced so
greatly, because from the time of the death of Andrea Pisano there had not been any
masters capable of carrying them out. Accordingly this purpose was made known to the
sculptors then in Tuscany, who were invited to come, provided with maintenance and
set to prepare a panel. Among those thus invited were Filippo and Donato, Lorenzo
Ghiberti, Jacopo della Fonte, Simono da Colle, Francesco di Valdambrina and Niccolo
d' Arezzo. The panels were completed that same year, and when they came to be
exhibited in competition they were all most beautiful, each different from the other. That
of Donato was well designed and badly executed; that of Jacopo dalla Quercia was well
designed and executed, but with faulty perspective of the figures; that of Francesco di
Valdambrina had poor invention and tiny figures; the worst of all were those of Niccolo
d' Arezzo and Simone da Colle, and the best that of Lorenzo di Ghiberti, combining
design, diligence, invention and art, the figures being beautifully made. Not much
inferior to his, however, was the panel of Filippo, on which he had represented Abraham
sacrificing Isaac, with a servant extracting a thorn from his foot while waiting for
Abraham, and an ass grazing, which merits considerable praise. When the scenes
came to be exhibited, Filippo and Donato were only satisfied with that of Lorenzo,
judging it to be better adapted to its peculiar purpose than those of the others. So they
persuaded the consuls with good arguments that the work should be given to Lorenzo,

- 34 -
showing that both public and private ends would be best served thereby. This was a
true act of friendship, a virtue without envy, and a clear judgment of their own
limitations, so that they deserve more praise than if they had completed that work
themselves. Happy spirits who, while assisting each other, rejoice in praising the work of
others. How unhappy are the men of our own times, who try to injure others, and burst
with envy if they cannot vent their malice. Filippo was requested by the consuls to
undertake the work together with Lorenzo, but he refused, as he preferred to be the first
in another art, rather than be equal or second in that. He presented his bronze to
Cosimo de' Medici, who eventually caused it to be put in the old sacristy of S. Lorenzo,
as the redo of the altar, where it now is, while that of Donato was put in the art of the
changers 3). After the doors had been allotted to Lorenzo Ghiberti, Filippo and Donato
met, and determined to leave Florence and go to Rome for a year or so, the one to
study architecture and the other sculpture. Filippo did this because he wished to be
superior to Lorenzo and Donato, since architecture is much more useful to men than
either painting or sculpture. After Filippo had sold a small property of his at Settignano,
they left Florence and proceeded to Rome, where at the sight of the grandeur of the
buildings, and the perfection of the churches, Filippo was lost in wonder, so that he
looked like one demented. He set to work to measure the cornices and take the plans of
these buildings. He and Donato were constantly going about and spared neither time
nor money. They left no place unvisited, either in Rome or its neighbourhood, and took
measurements of everything when they had the opportunity. As Filippo was free from
the cares of a family, he abandoned himself to his studies, neglecting to sleep and to
eat, his only concern being architecture, which had been corrupted, studying the good
ancient orders and not the barbarous Gothic style then in general use.
Two great ideals possessed him: the one to bring back to light the true architecture,
whereby he believed he should make a name for himself not inferior to that of Giotto
and Cimabue, the other was to find a method, if possible, of vaulting the cupola of S.
Maria del Fiore at Florence, the difficulty of which had deterred anyone, after the death
of Arnolfo Lapi, from wishing to attempt it, except by incurring a great expense for a
wooden covering. However, he did not communicate this purpose of his to Donato or to
any living soul, but in Rome be attentively observed Bill the difficulties of the vaulting of
the Rotonda. He had noted and drawn all the vaulting in the antique, and he was
continually studying the subject, and if pieces of capitals, columns, cornices and bases
of buildings were found buried he and Donato set to work and dug them out to find the
foundations. From this a report spread in Rome, when they passed by, carelessly
dressed, and they were called the men of the treasure, for it was believed that they were
studying necromancy in order to find treasure. The reason for this was that one day they
had found an ancient earthen vessel full of medals. Filippo came to be short of money
and he went about setting precious jewels for some goldsmiths, friends of his. On
nonato returning to Florence he was left alone, and he studied the more ardently and
diligently among the ruins of ancient buildings. He drew every sort of building, round and
square, and octagonal churches, basilicas, aqueducts, baths, arches, coliseums,
amphitheatres, and every temple of brick, noting the methods of binding and clamping
as well as the turning of the vaulting. Finding by examination that all the large stones
had a hole in the middle of the under-side, for the iron tool used for drawing the stones
up, called by us the ulivella, he reintroduced this system and brought it into general use.
He then studied the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders, one after the other, and to such
purpose that he was able to reconstruct in his mind's eye the aspect of Rome as it stood
before its fall.
The air of the city caused him a slight disorder in the year 1407, and he was advised
by his friends to take a change. Accordingly he returned to Florence, where many
buildings had suffered by his absence, and on his arrival he was enabled to supply
many designs and much advice. The same year there took place a gathering of
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architects and engineers of the district upon the method of vaulting the cupola, at the
instance of the wardens of S. Maria del Fiore and the consuls of the art of wool. In this
Filippo took part, giving his advice that it was necessary to take away the roof of the
building and not to follow Arnolfo's design, but to raise the walls fifteen braccia, and
make a large eye in the middle of each face, for this would both lessen the weight on
the piers beneath and the cupola could be vaulted more easily. Models accordingly
were prepared and the work started. One morning, some months after his return, Filippo
was on the piazza of S. Maria del Fipre with Donato and other artists discussing antique
sculptures, and Donato was relating how, when he returned from Rome, he had made a
journey to Orvieto, to see the far-famed marble facade of the Duomo, the work of
various masters, and considered a notable thing at that time, and how, in passing
afterwards through Cortona, he had entered the Pieve, and seen a remarkable ancient
marble sarcophagus, with a bas-relief 4), a rare thing then, for the multitude of things
discovered in our day had not then been dug out. Donato went on to say how
excellently the master had done his work, describing the perfection and beauty with
which he had completed it, and so inflamed Filippo with an ardent desire to see it that,
just as he was, in his mantle, hood and sabots, he left them without saying a word of
where he was going, and proceeded to Cortona, led by his love and affection for art. He
saw the sarcophagus, admired it, and made a drawing of it, with which he returned to
Florence without Donato or anyone else being aware that he had left the city, for they
thought he must be engaged upon designing or contriving something. On his return he
showed his carefully executed drawing, and Donato greatly marvelled at this proof of
Filippo's love for his art. He remained many months at Florence, where he secretly
made many models and machines, all designed for the work of the cupola, always
joking witli his fellow-artists, this being the time of his jest about the fat man and Matteo
5)
. He also frequently went to assist Lorenzo Ghiberti in the polishing of his doors, by
way of relaxation. But one morning the whim took him to leave for Rome, for he knew
that it was proposed to appoint engineers to vault the cupola, and he thought it would
round more to his credit if he were sent for from a distance than if he remained in
Florence. Accordingly, while he was at Rome he received a letter begging him to come
to Florence, for they had considered the nature of the work and the sagacity of his mind,
as he had exhibited a confidence and courage which had not been shown by the other
masters, who were totally at a loss, as were the builders, being helplessly convinced
that a method could never be found to vault the cupola, and that beams large enough to
span the distance and bear the weight of such a structure above them did not exist.
Filippo, who wished for nothing better, returned with the utmost alacrity. On his
arrival, the wardens of S. Maria del Fiore and the consuls of the art of wool met together
and told him all the t' difficulties, from the least to the greatest, which had been raised by
the masters, who were also present. Filippo answered as follows: "Wardens, there is no
doubt that great things always present difficulties in their execution, and this particular
one offers questions especially hard to solve, harder than you are perhaps aware. I do
not know if even the ancients ever vaulted anything so tremendous as this, and I have
often thought of the framework, both within and without, and how it might be safely
constructed, and I have never been able to make up my mind for the breadth of the
building troubles me no less than its height. It had been circular, it would have been
possible to follow the methods observed by the Romans in vaulting the Pantheon or
Rotonda at Rome, but here it is necessary to follow the eight sides, and to dovetail and
chain the stones together, question of great difficulty. But when I remember that the
church is dedicated to God and to the Virgin, I am confident that what is done in their
memory will not fail for lack of knowledge, and that the architect will receive aid in his
strength, wisdom and ingenuity. But of what assistance can I be, as the work is none of
mine. However, I will say that if the work were entrusted to me, I should resolutely set
myself to find a means of vaulting it without too much trouble; but I have not yet thought

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of the matter, and yet you wish me to find a means. But if you propose to have it
vaulted, you should not appeal to me only, for I do not think I am competent to give
advice on so great a matter, but you should ordain that within a year, and on an
appointed day architects shall come to Florence, not only Tuscans and Italians but
Germans, French, and others, to give their advice, so that after the question has been
discussed and settled by so many masters; the work may be begun, and be entrusted to
the man who will give proof of the best methods and ability to carry it out. I can give you
no better advice than this." This suggestion of Filippo pleased the consuls and wardens,
but they would have preferred him to have made a model in the meantime, and to have
devoted his attention to the question. But he affected carelessness, and, having taken
leave of them, said that he had received letters requesting him to return to Rome. When
the consuls perceived that their prayers, united with those of the wardens, could not
detain him, they induced many of his friends to use their influence, and a- this did not
succeed, one morning, on the 26th May, 1417, the wardens decreed him an allowance
of money, which is to be found debited to him in the books of the opera, all this being
done to satisfy him. But he remained firm to his purpose, and leaving Florence he
returned to Rome, where he devoted himself to constant study in preparation for this
great work, for he felt confident that no one but himself could carry it out. His advice
about bringing new architects to consult had been given with no other purpose but in
order that they might bring their testimony to the greatness of his genius, rather than
because he thought that they would find a means to vault the tribune and take up such
a difficult burden, A great deal of time was lost before the architects assembled. They
were summoned from afar by means of directions given to the Florentine merchants
living in France, Germany, England and Spain, who were commissioned to spend any
amount of money to obtain the principal, most experienced and gifted men of those
regions.
At length, in 1420, all these foreign masters and those of Tuscany were assembled
at Florence with all the principal Florentine artists, and Filippo returned from Rome.
They all met together in the Opera of S. Maria del Fiore, in the presence of the consuls
and wardens and a chosen number of the ablest citizens, so that, after the opinion of
everyone had been taken, the method of vaulting the tribune might be determined. They
sent for the architects one by one and heard what they had to suggest. It was a
remarkable thing to hear the curious and varied opinions upon the subject, for some
said that they would build pillars from the ground level to bear arches to carry the beams
which should support the weight; others thought it would be good to vault it with pumice
stone, so that the weight might be lighter; and many agreed to make a pillar in the
middle and construct It in the manner of a tent, like that of S. Giovanni at Florence; and
there were not wanting those who said that it would be a good thing to fill the space with
earth mixed with small coin and vault it, giving the people licence to go and take the
earth so that it should be removed without cost. Filippo alone said that he could easily
vault it without so many beams and pillars or earth, at a less expense than would be
involved by a quantity of arches, and without a framework. The consuls expected some
flighty plan, and the wardens and all the citizens thought that Filippo had spoken like a
madman, and they mocked at him, telling him to speak of something else, as his plan
was the device of a fool. Filippo grew angry and said, "Sirs, reflect that it is not possible
to do the thing in any other way, and yet you mock me, although you must know, if you
are not obstinate, that it must not and cannot be done otherwise. According to the
method I have thought out it is necessary to employ the ogive shape, and to make two
vaults, an outer and an inner, with sufficient space to walk between them, and that the
structure must be bound together at the angles of the eight sides by dove-tailing the
stones, and by oak ties over the front of it. More- over, it is necessary to consider the
lights, the ladders, and the channels for carrying off the rain-water. And not one of you
has thought that places may be prepared inside for making mosaics, and many other

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difficult things; but I who see the place vaulted know that there is no other way than the
one I have described." The more he warmed in speaking in seeking to make his ideas
clear so that they might understand and believe, the more doubts suggested themselves
to them, causing them to believe less and to consider him foolish and flighty. Thus, after
they had waved him off several times and he would not go, he was carried out from the
audience by force by some youths, everyone thinking him utterly mad. Filippo
afterwards said that he did not at that time dare to go into any part of the city for fear of
it being said, "There goes that madman." The consuls at the audience were left in a
state of confusion, both by the difficult methods of the first masters, and by the last one
of Filippo, which they could not understand, for they thought that there were two
stumbling- blocks in his way: the one being the double roofs which would be a great
weight, and the other the construction without a framework.
On the other hand, Filippo, who had studied the matter for so many years in order to
get the work, was at a loss 1what to do, and was frequently tempted to leave Florence.
Yet, as he wished to conquer, he must need arm himself with patience, and he had
seen enough to know the volatile nature of his fellow-citizens. He might have shown a
small model which he had by him, but he did not wish to, because he saw how little the
consuls understood and realised the envy of the artists and the instability of the citizens,
who favoured now one and now another, according to the caprice of the moment. I do
not wonder at this, for everyone in the city professes to know as much as the skilled
masters, although those who really know are few. But what Filippo had not been able to
do before the united magistracy he attempted to achieve by attacking individuals,
speaking with a consul here, a warden there, and to many citizens, and showing a part
of his plan, so that he succeeded in getting them to decide to allot the work either to him
or to one of the foreigners. Encouraged by this the consuls, wardens and citizens met
together, and the architects disputed on the matter. But they were all routed by Filippo,
and it is said that the dispute of the egg arose during these discussions. They wanted
Filippo to declare his plan in detail, and to show his model as they had shown theirs, but
he refused, and proposed to the masters assembled that whoever should make an egg
stand upright on a flat marble surface should make the cupola, as this would be a test of
their ability. He produced an egg and all the masters endeavoured to make it stand, but
no one succeeded. Then they passed it to Filippo, who lightly took it, broke the end with
a blow on the marble and made it stand. All the artists cried out that they could have
done as much themselves, but Filippo answered laughing that they would also know
how to vault the cupola after they had seen his model and design. And it was resolved
that he should have the conduct of the work, and he was invited to supply the consuls
and wardens with fuller information. He returned home and wrote on a sheet the gist of
his plan, as clearly as he could, to give it to the magistrates, in this form: "Sirs, in taking
into consideration the difficulties of this structure, I find that it is impossible for anyone to
make it perfectly round, seeing that the space over which the lantern is to go would be
so great that, when any weight was put there, the whole would speedily fall down. Yet it
appears to me that those the architects who have not an eye to the eternity of their
buildings, have no care for their memory and do not know what they are about. I
accordingly resolved to make the inside of the vault in sections, corresponding with the
outside, adopting the manner of the pointed arch, as that tends most upward, and when
the weight of the lantern is imposed the whole will be made durable. The thickness of
the mass at the base is to be braccia, and it will diminish pyramidically as it rises to the
point where the junction with the lantern is to be made, where it will be braccia thick.
Then another vault is to be made outside the first one, braccia thick at the base, to
preserve the inside one from the weather. This will also diminish in thickness towards
the top, so that at the point of its junction with the lantern it will only be of a braccia in
width. At every angle there will be a buttress, eight in all, and two for each front
including one in the middle and making sixteen in all. On the inside and outside in the

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middle of the angles at each front there will be two buttresses, each one braccia thick at
the base. The two vaults will rise pyramidically in due relation to each other to the top of
the circle which is closed by the lantern. Thus 24 buttresses in all will be made about the
vaulting and six long arches of hard stone, well braced with iron, and covered over, the
stonework and buttresses being all bound together with an iron chain. The masonry
must be solid without a break to a height of braccia, and then come the buttresses and
the springs of the vaulting. The first and second circles will be strengthened at the base
with long blocks of macigno stone set horizontally, so that both vaults of the cupola shall
rest upon these stones. At every braccia in the vaulting there will be small arches the
buttresses with ties of thick oak to bind the buttresses which support the inside vaulting.
These oak ties will be covered with iron plates for the sake of the ascents. The masonry
of the buttresses is to be entirely of macigno, as are the sidesof the cupola, the walls to
be tied to the buttresses to the height of 24 braccia and then built of bricks or pumice
stone, as those who make it may decide, to obtain the utmost possible lightness.
Outside a promenade will be made above the round windows with a terrace below and
open parapets 2 braccia high, similar to the galleries below, forming two promenades
one above the other on a decorated cornice, the upper one being open to the sky. The
water will be carried off the cupola in a marble channel. A braccia wide, and will throw
the water to a part made of strong stone below the channel. On the outside of the
cupola there will be eight marble ribs at the angles, as large as is necessary, I braccia
high, above the cupola, curved at the head, 2 braccia wide, so that there may be eaves
and gutters everywhere. These must have a pyramidical form from the base to the top.
The cupola will be built as aforesaid, without a framework, to the height of 20 braccia,
and the rest in the manner preferred by the masters who are charged with the work, as
practice will show the best method.
When Filippo had finished writing the above, he went in the morning to the
magistrates and, on his showing them this sheet, they proceeded to consider it, and
although they were not able to grasp it, yet, seeing the confidence of Filippo and that
none of the other architects were on more certain ground, while he always exhibited the
utmost assurance in his replies, which would have led one to suppose that he had
already vaulted ten such spaces, the consuls withdrew apart and proposed to give him
the work. However, they wished to be shown how the vaulting could be made without a
framework, though they approved of all the rest. Fortune favoured this desire, for since
Bartolommeo Barbadori had previously proposed to erect a chapel at S. Felicita, and
had consulted Filippo about it, the latter had undertaken the work, and caused the
chapel to be vaulted without a framework. It is on the right as one enters the church, as
is the holy-water vessel by the same hand. About the same time Filippo vaulted another
chapel at S. Jacopo sopr' Arno for Stiatta Ridolfi, next to the chapel of the high altar,
and these things inspired more confidence than his arguments. The consuls and the
wardens being thus reassured by the document and the work which they had seen,
allotted the cupola to him, making him head master by a majority of votes. But they
would not allow him to build higher than twelve braccia, saying that they wished to see
how the work succeeded, and that if every- thing prospered in the manner described by
him, they would not fail to allow him to complete the rest. It seemed strange to Filippo
that the consuls and wardens should display so much hardness and mistrust, and if he
had not known that he was the only man who could accomplish the task he would not
have undertaken it. However, his desire of glory led him to accept it, and he undertook
to bring it to completion. His sheet was copied into a book, where the overseer entered
the debtors and creditors for timber and marble. The same provision was made for his
payment as other masters had received up to that time. When the artists and citizens
learned that the work had been allotted to Filippo, some approved and others shook
their heads, as people always do, some being thoughtless and others envious. While
preparations for the building were going forward, a coterie of artists and citizens banded

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together and went to the consuls and wardens, representing that the matter had been
too hastily settled, and that a work of such importance ought not to be entrusted to a
single man. If they had no men of ability this would be pardonable, but there were many
such, and the city would incur reproach; for when some accident happened, such as
sometimes occur during great constructions, they would be blamed for having imposed
so great a burden on one man alone, not to speak of the loss and shame which would
thereby result to the public; and, besides, it would be well to give Filippo a colleague in
order to bridle his ardour. Lorenzo Ghiberti had proved his genius in the doors of S.
Giovanni, and that he had influence with some who had power with the governors was
clearly shown, for when they saw how Filippo's renown was growing they contrived that
Ghiberti should be associated with him; in the work, under the pretext of their love and
affection for the building. Filippo was rendered so desperate and bitter when he heard
what the wardens had done, that he proposed to flee from Florence, and had it not been
for the consolations of Donato and Luca della Robbia he might have lost his reason. Fell
and cruel indeed is the rage of those who in the blindness of their envy endanger
honoured things and beautiful works in the strife of ambition. It was no thanks to them
that Filippo did not break his models; tear up his plans, and in less than half an hour
destroy all the labour of so many years. The wardens first made excuses to Filippo and
persuaded him to proceed since he and no other was the inventor and author of the
work, but nevertheless they gave Lorenzo the same salary. Filippo pursued his work
with no good will, for he knew that all the labour would devolve upon him while he would
have to share the honour and renown with Lorenzo.
However, he took courage in the assurance that this condition would not endure for
long, and together with Lorenzo he proceeded with the building in the manner described
in his letter to the wardens. It then occurred to Filippo that he would make a model, as
he had not previously done so, and having set his hand to it he gave it to Bartolommeo,
a carpenter, to execute, a man who lived near his studio. In this he made all the difficult
things to scale, such as the lighted and dark staircases, all manner of lights, doors,
chains, and buttresses and also a part of the gallery. When Lorenzo heard of this he
tried to see it, but as Filippo refused he became angry and determined to make a model
of his own, in order that he might not appear to be drawing his salary for doing nothing.
For his model Filippo received 50 lire 15 soldi, as appears by an entry in the book of
Migliore di Tommaso, on 3rd October 1419, while Lorenzo Ghiberti was paid 300 lire for
his trouble and expense, the reason for the difference being his greater influence and
favour rather than any benefit or need that the building had of it. This torment of Filippo
lasted until the end of 1426, Lorenzo and himself being equally known as the inventors,
a thing which kept Filippo's mind in a perpetual state of ferment. Having planned many
different ways he determined to rid himself of this incubus, knowing how little Lorenzo
could do in the work. Filippo had carried the double vaulting of the cupola to a height of
2 braccia, and now the chains of stone and timber were to put up. As this was a difficult
task, he decided to speak of it to Lorenzo in order to see whethhr he had taken this
difficulty into consideration. So far was Lorenzo from having thought of such a thing that
he answered that he relied on Filippo as being the inventor. This answer pleased
Filippo, for it suggested a means of removing Lorenzo from the work and of showing
that he did not possess the intelligence presupposed by his friends and by the favour
which had put him where he was. The workmen were at a standstill, waiting for the
beginning of the work above the 2 braccia, the construction of the vaulting and the
making of the chains. They had already begun to close the cupola towards the top. For
this it became necessary to make a scaffolding in order that the work- men and builders
might work without danger. The height was such that a glance below was sufficient to
make the blood and cold. The builders and other masters accordingly were waiting for
directions for making the chains and the scaffolding, and as they heard nothing either
from Lorenzo or from Filippo there arose a murmuring among them seeing that matters

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were not being carried on so rapidly as at first. Being poor men who lived by their
hands, they feared that neither of the masters had the courage to proceed with the
work, the best they could do being to finish and polish so much as had already been
built. One morning Filippo did not appear at the work, bound up his head, took to his
bed and called for hot plates and linen, pretending that he had the colic. When the
masters who were waiting for orders heard this they went to Lorenzo and asked what
they were to do. He answered that Filippo had the direction, and that it was necessary
to wait for him. One of them asked, "But do you not know his intentions ?" "Yes," said
Lorenzo, "but I will do nothing without him." This he said to excuse himself, for he had
not seen Filippo's model and had never asked him what Plan he meant to follow, but in
order that he might not appear ignorant he answered guardedly and in ambiguous
words, particularly as he knew that he was in this work against Filippo's will.
After the latter's illness had lasted for more than two days, the overseer of the work
and several master builders went to see him and insisted that he should tell them what
was to be done. He answered: "You have Lorenzo, let him do something," and nothing
more could be drawn from him. When they heard this they fell to discussing the matter
and greatly blamed the manner of the work. Some said that Filippo had taken to his bed
from grief that he had not sufficient courage to undertake the vaulting and that he
repented of having ever begun it; his friends defended him, saying that his displeasure
was caused by the disgrace of having Lorenzo given to him for a colleague, and that his
pleurisy was caused by his efforts in the work. Mean- while the building came to a
standstill, and the builders and stone cutteis were all but idle, so that they begun to
murmur against Lorenzo, saying, "He can draw his salary all right, but cannot give
directions for the work. If Filippo does not come, or if his illness lasts a long time, how
will he manage? What fault of his is it that he is ill?" He wardens seeing the discredit
attached to them for this state of affairs resolved to visit Filippo, and on their arrival,
after condoling with him for his sickness, they informed him of the disorder in which the
building then was and what trouble his sickness had caused. With words made
passionate by his feint of illness and by his love for the work Filippo replied, "Is not
Lorenzo there? Why does not he do something? I wonder at you coming to me." "He will
do nothing without you," answered the wardens. "I could manage very well without him,"
was Filippo's retort. This sharp and two- edged answer sufficed them, and they
departed, recognising that he was sick from his desire to have the work to himself. They
therefore sent his friends to take him from his bed, intending to remove Lorenzo from
the work. Filippo returned to the building, but perceiving the power and the influence
behind Lorenzo, which allowed him to draw his salary without doing any of the work, he
determined to find another method of holding him up to scorn and exposing his
ignorance. Accordingly, in Lorenzo's Presence, he made this proposal to the wardens:
"Sirs, if we could ourselves determine the length of our own existence there can be no
doubt that many works which are now left unfinished would have been completed. The
accident of my recent sickness might have resulted in my death and stopped this work;
yet in case either Lorenzo or myself falls sick, which God forefend, and that the
progress of the work may not be suspended, it has occurred to me that as you, sirs,
have divided the salary, so we may divide the work in order that each of us may show
his knowledge, and be in a position to will honour and profit from the republic. We have
at present two difficulties to solve: one is the scaffolding to permit the buildings on the
outside and inside of the structure to work in safety, as it is necessary for it to sustain
men, stones and mortar, as well as the crane for lifting weights, and other similar
instruments; the other is the chain which is to be placed above the 2 braccia, to bind
together the eight sides of the cupola in order that the whole of the superimposed
weight may be so distributed that it will not push or spread but rest equally upon the
entire edifice. Let Lorenzo take the one of these which he believes himself most capable
of doing, so that I may prove my ability to deal successfully with the other, and that more

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time may not be lost." Lorenzo was bound in honour to accept one of these
undertakings, however unwillingly, and he decided to take the chain as being more
easy, trusting to the advice of the masons, and reflecting that there was a stone chain in
the vaulting of S. Giovanni of Florence from which he might derive hints for a part if not
the whole of the work. Thus one set to work at the scaffolding and the other at the chain,
both completing their task. The scaffolding of Filippo was constructed with such
ingenuity and industry that the contrary of what many had expected proved true,
because the masons worked there in such security, drew up weights, and stood there
as safely as if they had been on the level ground. The models of the scaffolding
remained in the Opera. Lorenzo, with the utmost difficulty, succeeded in making the
chain on one of the eight sides, and when it was completed the wardens brought Filippo
to see it, but he said nothing to them. However, he spoke about it to some of his friends,
saying that it was necessary to have a different ligature from that, and to have it laid in
another fashion, and that it was not sufficient for the weight that was to be placed upon
it, and would not stand the pressure, and that Lorenzo's salary as well as the money
spent upon the chain had been thrown away. Filippo's opinion became known, and he
was asked to show what he would have done if he had been employed to make the
chain. As he had already made designs and models for this, he immediately produced
them, and when the wardens and the other masters had seen these they recognised
their mistake in favouring Lorenzo.
Wishing to atone for this rector, hid to show that they were capable of recognising
excellence, they made Filippo director and head of the work for life, and provided that
nothing should be done without his consent. To prove their recognition of his work, they
paid him zoo florins down, by a resolution of the consuls and wardens on s3th August,
1423, given by the hand of Lorenzo Paoli, notary of the work, to be paid by M. Gherardo
di M. Filippo Corsini, and made him a provision of 100 florins yearly for life. Accordingly
Filippo gave instructions for the continuation of the work, and he followed its progress so
closely that not a stone was laid without his personal supervision. On the other hand,
Lorenzo, though vanquished and disgraced, was so favoured and assisted by his
friends, that he continued to draw his salary, arguing that he could not be removed
before the expiry of three years. Filipio was continually making designs for the smallest
details, constructing models for scaffolds, and devising machines for raising weights.
However, this did not prevent some ill-disposed persons, friends of Lorenzo, from
annoying him by constantly making models in competition against him, to such an
extent that Master Antonio da Verzelli made one, and other masters favoured and put
forward by one citizen or another, showing their fickleness, ignorance and lack of
understanding, for they possessed perfect things and they put forward imperfect and
useless ones. At length the chains round the eight sides were completed, and the
builders worked with spirit and a will; but as Filippo required more of them than before,
and found fault daily with the building or some particulars, they became discontented.
The leaders then took counsel together, saying that the work was difficult and
dangerous, and they would not go on with it except at high wages, although their pay
had been higher than the usual rate. In this way they hoped to be revenged on Filippo,
and to benefit themselves. This dispute was equally displeasing to the wardens and to
Filippo, and the latter, after thinking over the matter, took the step one Saturday of
dismissing all his workmen. Finding themselves thus dismissed, and not knowing what
the outcome would be, these men waited results, full of ill-will. But the following Monday
Filippo set ten Lombards on the work, and stood over them himself, saying, Do this and
that, and in one day he succeeded in teaching them so much that they continued to
work there for many weeks. On the other hand, the builders who saw themselves
dismissed and deprived of employment as well as put to shame, since they had no other
work which was equally desirable, sent representations to Filippo that they were willing
to return, pressing him to take them. But he kept them in suspense for many lays,

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pretending that he did not want them, and at length engaged them at less 1vages than
they had received before. Thus instead of gaining advantage for themselves, and being
revenged on Filippo, they suffered loss and contumely.
The murmurers had now been silenced, and the genius of Filippo had so far
triumphed in the smooth progress of the building, that all who were not blinded by
passion considered that he had displayed more ability in this structure than almost any
other artist, ancient or modem. This feeling was caused by his producing his model, by
which he showed with what care he had considered every detail: the ladders, the lights
within and without, so that no one could injure himself in the darkness, and various iron
staples for the purpose of mounting where it was steep, and similar considerations.
Besides this, he had devised the iron staples to bear the scaffolding inside if it was ever
to be a domed with mosaics or painting, and had put in the least dangerous places the
channels for carrying off the water, showing where they should be covered, and where
uncovered, a hanging spaces and apertures to break the force of the winds, and to
provide that tempests and earthquake should not injure the structure, in all which things
he proved how much he had profited by the long years he spent at Rome. When one
considers how much attention he had paid to the joints, incrustations, nailing and ties of
stone, one trembles at the thought that a single mind could compass so much. So
greatly did his abilities increase that there was nothing, however difficult and hard, which
he did not render easy and smooth 6). For example, he devised a method of raising
weights by means of counterpoises and pulleys, so that a single Ox was able to draw as
much as six pair would otherwise have had difficulty in pulling. The building had by this
time grown so much that it was a considerable journey to reach it from the ground, and
much time was lost by the workmen in going to eat and drink, while they suffered great
discomfort from the heat of the day. Filippo therefore contrived that inns should be
opened on the cupola, where food could be cooked and wine sold. In this way no one
left the work except at evening, which was a great advantage to the men and a
considerable gain to the work. The progress and success of the building infused Filippo
with more and more courage, and his efforts were unremitting. He would frequently go
to the brick-kilns and examine the clay there, rubbing it carefully in his hands. He
carefully examined the stones of the stonecutters to see that they were hard or if they
contained any flaws, and showed them the way to make the joints by models made of
wood and wax, or even of turnips, and doing the like with the ironwork for the smiths. He
discovered a method of making hinges with a head and pivots, a great gain to
architecture, which was indeed brought by him to a perfection probably never equalled
among the Tuscans. In the year 1423 Florence was delighted by the election of Filippo
as one of the Signory by the quarter of S. Giovanni for the months of May and June,
Lapo Niccolini being chosen gon-faloniere of justice by the quarter of S. Croce. In the
Register Filippo is entered as Filippo ser Brunellesco Lippo, but this need not excite
surprise, as he was thus named correctly after Lippo, his grandfather, and not de' Lapi.
The Register contains similar examples in the case of others, as is well known by those
who are acquainted with the ways of that time.
Filippo performed the duties of that office as well as of other magistracies which he
had in the city, in which he always displayed the weightiest judgment. As the vaulting
was by this time being closed at the point where the lantern was to begin, Filippo had to
decide finally what he would put there, although he had made more models of both
vaults in clay and in wood, both at Rome and at Florence, than had been exhibited.
Accordingly he determined to complete the gallery, and made various designs for it,
which were in the Opera after his death, but have been lost owing to the carelessness of
those in charge there. In our own day a part of one was made on one of the eight sides,
but as it did not match the other work it was abandoned by the advice of Michelagnolo
Buonarotti. Filippo also made a model for the lantern with eight sides, which is very
beautiful for its originality, variety and decoration. He made a ladder up to the hall which
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was a marvel, but as he had stopped it up with a little wood at the point of entrance, no
one but himself suspected its existence. Although he was now praised, and had
overcome the envy and arrogance of many, yet he was not able to prevent all the
masters in Florence from making their models in various fashions, so that even a lady of
the house of Gaddi ventured to set up her judgment in competition with his. He,
however, simply laughed at the presumption of others, and when his friends told him
that he ought not to show his model to any aritst in order that they might not learn
anything from it, he answered that there was only one true model and all the rest were
vain. Some of the masters had adopted parts of Filippo's model in their own, so that
when he saw them he said, "The next model of So-and-so will be entirely mine." Praise
was lavished upon Filippo's work by all, but as they did not see any steps to ascend to
the ball they concluded that it was defective. However, the wardens decided to allot this
work to him, but stipulated that he should show them the way up. Filippo then removed
the piece of wood at the base of the model and showed the ascent in a pillar in the form
in which it exists today, of a vaulted cylinder, and on one side a channel with bronze
rings, where, by placing one foot after another, one may ascend to the top. He did not
live to see the completion of the lantern, but he left directions in his will that it should be
built as the model showed, and as he had directed in writing. If done otherwise he
declared that the structure would fall, as it was vaulted in ogive and needed a
counterpoising weight to render it more strong. He was not permitted to see this
structure completed before his death, but was able to complete several braccia of it. He
caused almost all the marble there to be well prepared. The people who saw it were
amazed, believing it impossible that he could intend to place so great a weight above
the vaulting. It was the opinion of many engineers that it would not bear the strain, and
they thought it was a temptation of Providence to load it so heavily after having brought
the work to that point. Filippo only laughed and made ready all the machines and every
arrangement for the purpose of building, his brain being constantly busy in preparing
and providing for every detail, even to the point of arranging that the worked marble
should not be chipped when being raised into position. Thus all the arches of the
tabernacles were eased in a wooden framework, and for the rest he left written
instructions and models, as I have said. The extraordinary beauty of the structure is self-
evident. Its height from the ground-level to the lantern is 104 braccia, the lantern itself
being 36 braccia, the copper ball 4 braccia, and the cross 8 braccia, making 202 braccia
in all. It may be safely asserted that the ancients never raised their buildings so high or
incurred such great risks in contending with the skies as this building appears to, for it
rises to such a height that the mountains about Florence look like its fellows. Indeed one
would say that the heavens are incensed against it since it is continually being struck by
lightning. Whilst this work was in progress Filippo erected many other buildings, as I
shall describe in order below.
With his own hand he made the model of the chapter-house of S. Croce in Florence
for the family of the Pazzi 7), a work of great and varied beauty, and the model of the
house of the Busini 8), for the use of two families, and also the model for the house and
loggia of the Innocenti 9), the vaulting of which was erected without a scaffolding, a
method now universally adopted. It is said that Filippo was invited to Milan to make the
model for a fortress for the duke, Filippo Maria, and that he left the care of the structure
of the Innocenti to his close friend, Francesco della Luna. This Francesco made the
surrounding ornamentation of an architrave, Naning downward from above, which is
false according to architecture, When Filippo returned and blamed him for this, he
replied that he had taken it from the church of S. Giovanni, which is ancient. "It is the
only error in that building," replied Filippo, "and you have copied it." The model of this
building by Filippo's hand was for many years in the art of Por S. Maria, and much
valued as the structure was to have been completed. Today it is lost. Filippo made the
model of the abbey of the Regular Canons of Fiesole for Cosimo de' Medici 10). It is a

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very ornate architecture, convenient and delightful; in fine really magnificent. The church
with its barrel vaulting is roomy, the sacristy has its own conveniences, and indeed so
has every other part of the monastery. But the most important consideration is that,
having to erect the building on the flat on the steep side of the mountain; he made use
of the basement with great skill, making cellars, lavatories, ovens, stables, kitchens,
stores for wood, and other like conveniences, so that better could not be desired. He
thus obtained a level base for his building, so that he was afterwards able to make on
one plane the refectory, infirmary, noviciate, dormitory, library and other principal
apartments of a monastery. All this was done at the cost of Cosimo de' Medici, both on
account of his deep Christian piety and because of the affection he bore to Don Timoteo
da Verona, a most excellent preacher of the order. In order the better to enjoy his
conversation, he made many roonis for himself in the monastery, and lived there at his
ease. On this building Cosimo spent 200,000 crowns, as we see by an inscription 11).
Filippo also designed the model of the fortress of Vicopisano, and at Pisa he designed
the old citadel and fortified the sea bridge, while he further designed the new citadel for
enclosing the bridge with the two towers. He also made the model of the fortress of the
harbour of Pesaro, and on his return to Milan he did many things for the duke, including
plans for the builders of the Duomo. At that time the church of S. Lorenzo at Florence
was begun 12) by order of the parishioners, who had made the prior chief director of the
works, he being a person who professed to understand such things, and who amused
himself with architecture as a pastilne, The building had already been started with brick
pillars when Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, who had promised the parishioners and the
prior that he would make the sacristy and a chapel at his own cost, invited Filippo to
breakfast one morning, and after some preliminary conversation asked him his opinion
about the new church. Filippo was constrained by Giovanni's prayers to give his
Opinion, and in speaking the truth blamed it in many things as a building designed by a
man who probably had more learning than experience in such structures. Giovanni
asked Filippo if he could devise anything better and finer, to which the latter replied,
"Without doubt, and I wonder that you, as head, do not spend several thousand crowns
and make a church with all that is requisite for the place and for the numerous family
tombs of nobles, who, when they see a start made, will follow with their chapels to the
utmost of their power, especially as we leave no other memory but the walls which bear
witness to their authors for hundreds and thousands of years." Stirred by these words of
Filippo, Giovanni determined to make the sacristy and principal chapel together with the
body of the church, although no more than seven other houses would join him, the
others not having the means, these seven being the Rondinelli, Ginori, dalla Stufa,
Neroni, Ciai, Marignolli, Martelli and Marco di Luca, and these chapels were to be made
in the cross. The sacristy was the first thing to be put in hand, and the church was
afterwards built by degrees. And ill the nave of the church chapels were granted one by
one to notable citizens. The roofing in of the sacristy was no sooner completed than
Giovanni de' He did passed to the other life 13), leaving his son Cosimo. The latter being
more enterprising than his father, and loving to cherish his memory, caused this building
to be carried on. It was the first thing that he built, and he took such delight in it that up
to the time of his death he was always erecting something there. Cosimo prosecuted
this work with more ardour, and while one thing was under deliberation had another one
completed. Having taken up this work as a pastime he was almost continued at it, and
his care provided that Filippo should finish the sacristy whilst Donato made the stucco
as well as the stone Ornament above and the bronze doors of the porch. There also he
made his father Giovanni's tomb under a large marble slab, borne by four little columns,
and standing in the midst of the sacristy, where the priests get ready. In the same place
he made the tombs of his house, separating the women from the men, and in one of the
two small chambers on either side of the altar of the sacristy he made a basin on one
side and a place to wash the hands; in fact everything done there shows great
judgment. Giovanni and the others had proposed to make the choir in the middle under
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the tribune. At Filippo's desire Cosimo moved it, so as to increase the size of the large
chapel, which had been i small recess in the first design, and to be able to place the
choir there as it now is. When this was finished, the middle tribune and the rest of the
church still remained to be done, and these were not vaulted until after Filippo's death.
The church is 544 braccia long and it contains many errors, among others that the
columns rest on the ground without a dado beneath, which ought to reach to the level of
the bases of the pilasters, placed upon the steps. The pilaster thus looks shorter than
the column, and gives the whole work a stunted appearance. This was due to the advice
of those who survived Filippo, who envied his name, and who in his lifetime had made
models against him. While Filippo lived he ridiculed them in his sonnets, but after his
death they revenged themselves not only in this work, but in all that was left to them to
do. Filippo left the model, and a part of the capitular buildings of the priests of S.
Lorenzo was finished in which he made the cloister 544 braccia long.
Whilst this work was going on, Cosimo de' Medici wished to build his palace, and
accordingly opened his mind to Filippo, who, putting aside every other care, made him a
most beautiful large model for it. He wished to have it erected opposite S. Lorenzo, on
the piazza, and standing alone. Filippo had given such free rein to his art that Cosimo
thought the building too sumptuous and grand, and more to escape envy than expense,
he refrained from putting the work in hand. While he was at work on the model, Filippo
would say that he thanked Fortune for giving him such a chance, for he had a house to
build, a thing he had desired for many years, and it had fallen to his lot to make one
which he was anxious and able to do. But learning afterwards Cosimo's resolve not to
put that work in hand, he wrathfully broke the design into a thousand pieces. After his
palace had been erected upon another plan, Cosimo repented that he had not followed
Filippo's, and used to say that he had never spoken to a man of greater intelligence and
wit than Filippo. The latter also made the model for the curious temple of the Angeli for
the noble family of the Scolari, which was left incomplete as it is today, because the
Florentines in their difficulties had spent the money upon some necessities of the city,
or, as some say, in the war which supervened with the Lucchese, in which they also
expended the money left by Niccolo da Uzzano to build the Sapienza, as is related at
length in mother plan. If this temple of the Angeli had been finished according to the
model of Brunellesco, it would have been one of the finest in Italy, since the part that
may now be seen cannot be too highly praised 14). The drawing by Filippo's hand for the
ground plan and elevation of this octagonal church are in our book, with others of his
designs. Filippo also planned a rich and magnificent palace for M. Luca Fitti outside the
S. Niccolo gate at Florence in a place called Ruciano, but not at all like that which was
begun by the same man in Florence, and carried as far as the second story, with such
grandeur and magnificence that no finer piece of Tuscan work has yet been seen. The
doors of this later palace are double, 26 braccia by 8, the windows of the first and
second stories resembling the doors in every respect. The vaulting is double, and the
entire edifice so artistic that nothing finer or more magnificent could possibly be desired.
The one who carried out this work was Luca Fancelli, architect of Florence, who did
many buildings for Filippo; and for Leon Battista Alberti he did the principal chapel of the
Nunziata at Florence, for Ludovico Gonzaga, who took him to Mantua, where he did a
goodly number of works, and there took a wife, and lived and died, leaving heirs who
are still called the Luchi after him. The illustrious Lady Leonora di Toledo, Duchess of
Florence, bought this palace not many years ago, by the advice of Duke Cosimo, her
consort;' and enlarged it greatly, adding a large garden, which is partly on the flat, partly
sloping, and partly hills, full of all manner of native and forest trees, with Pleasant
thickets, all sorts of evergreen plants, not to speak of the water, the fountains, conduits;
fish-Ponds, lime-trees, hedges, and other things proper to a magnificent prince, which I
do not describe, because one who has not seen them cannot possibly imagine their
grandeur and beauty. Indeed, Duke Cosimo could not possibly have undertaken

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anything more worthy of the power and greatness of his spirit than this palace, which
really seems to have been built expressly for his Illustrious Excellency by M. Luca Pitti
from Brunellesco's design. M. Luca was prevented from completing it because of his
labours in matters of State, and his heirs having no means of completing it were glad to
have this opportunity of pleasing the duchess, and saving it from going to ruin. While
she lived she was always spending money upon it, but not so much that she could
expect to see it speedily completed. If she had lived, indeed, she was disposed to spend
40,000 ducats upon it in a single year, as I have understood, in order that she might see
it well advanced if not finished. Filippo's model being lost, her Excellency caused
another to be made by Bartolommeo Ammannati, an excellent sculptor and architect,
and the work was carried on in accordance with that, and a great part of the courtyard
has been made of rustic work, like the exterior. Indeed, anyone who considers the
greatness of this work will marvel that Filippo's mind should conceive such a building,
which is not only magnificent in its exterior facade, but in the disposition of all the
apartments. I pass over the view, which is very beautiful, and the amphitheatre formed
by the pleasant hills descending to the walls of the palace, because, as I have said, it
would take too long to describe them at length, and one who has not seen it cannot
imagine how superior it is to any other royal edifice.
It is said that the apparatus of the Paradise of S. Felice in the piazza of that city was
invented by Filippo for the representation or feast of the enunciation according to the
time-honoured custom of the Florentines. This thing was truly marvellous, and displayed
the ability and industry of the inventor. On high was a heaven full of living and moving
figures, and a quantity of lights which flash in and out. I will take pains to describe
exactly how the apparatus of this machine was devised, seeing that the machine itself is
destroyed, and the men are dead who could have spoken of it from experience. There is
no hope that it will be reconstructed, for the Camaldoline monks no longer inhabit the
spot, but the nuns of St. Peter Martyr; and the roof of the Carmine suffered considerable
injury from these celebrations. For this effect Filippo had arranged a half-globe between
two rafters of the roof of the church, like a hollow porringer or a barber's basin turned
upside down. It was formed of thin laths secured to an iron star which revolved round a
great iron ring upon which it was poised. The whole machine was supported by a strong
beam of pine well bound with iron, which was across the timbers of the roof. In this
beam was fixed the ring which held the basin in suspense and balance, which from the
ground resembled a veritable heaven. At the base, on the inside edge, were certain
wooden brackets just large enough for one to stand on, and at the height of a braccia
and also inside another iron. On each of the brackets was placed a child of about
twelve, making in braccia with the iron, and so girt about that they could not fall even if
they wanted to. These children, twelve in all, being arranged, as I have said, on
pedestals and clad like angels with gilt wings and caps of gold lace, took one another's
hands when the time came, and extending their arms they appeared to be dancing,
especially as the basin was always turning and moving. Inside this and above the head
of the angels were three circles or garlands of lights arranged with some tiny lanterns
which could not turn over. These lights looked like stars from the ground, while the
beams being covered with cotton resembled clouds. From the ring issued an immense
iron bar furnished with another ring at the side, to which was attached a slender cord
which fell to the ground, as we shall see. The bar had eight branches, and revolved in
an arc filling the entire space inside the basin. At the end of each branch was a plate as
large as a trencher, on which a boy of nine was placed, tied in with an iron fixed at the
height of the branch, but so as to allow him to turn in every direction. These eight
angels, by means of a crane, descended from the top of the basin to beneath the plane
of the beams bearing the roof, a distance of eight braccia, so that they could be seen
and did not interfere with the view of the angels surrounding the inside of the basin.
Inside what we may truthfully call the nosegay of eight angels, there was a copper

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mandorla filled with small lights placed in many niches, and set upon an iron like
cannon, which, upon touching a spring, were all hidden in the hollow of the copper
mandorla, and when the spring was not pressed all the lights appeared through holes
there. When the nosegay had reached its place, the mandorla was slowly lowered by
another crane to the stage where the performance took place. Above this stage, exactly
where the mandorla was to rest, was a high throne with four steps, with an opening,
through which the abort of the mandorla tossed. A man was placed below the throne,
and when the mandorla reached its station be secured it with a bolt. Inside the mandorla
was a youth of about fifteen, representing an angel, surrounded by an iron and fixed in
the mandorla so that he could not fall, and to permit him to kneel the iron was in three
pieces, so that as he knelt one telescoped into the other. Thus, when the nosegay had
descended and the mandorla rested oil the throne, the man who fastened the mandorla
unfactened the iron which bore the angel, so that he came out, walked along the stage,
and when he came to where the Virgin was saluted her, and made the Annunciation.
Then he returned to the mandorla, and the lanterns; which had been extinguished when
he stepped out, were relighted, and the iron which bore him was newly fastened by the
unseen man beneath, whilst the angels of the nosegay sang, and those of the heaven
turned about. It thus appeared a veritable Paradise, the more so as, in addition, a God
the Father was placed beside the convex side of the basin, surrounded by angels
similar to those above, and fastened with iron in such a manner that the heaven, the
nosegay, the Deity, the mandorla, with the numerous lights and sweet music,
represented Paradise most realistically. In addition to this, in order that the heaven
might be opened or shut, Filippo added two large doors, five braccia high, one on either
side, provided with iron or copper rollers manning in grooves, so arranged that by
drawing a slender cord, the doors opened or closed at will, the two parts of the door
coming together or slowly separating. These doors had two properties, one was that,
being heavy, they made a noise like thunder, the other was that, when closed, they
formed a scaffold for fixing the angels and arranging the other things needed inside.
These ingenious things and many others were invented by Filippo, although some
assert that they were introduced long before. However this may he, it is well to speak of
them, because the use of them has completely gone out.
But to return to Filippo. His fame and name had increased to such an extent that all
who wanted to erect buildings sent for him from great distances, to procure designs and
models by the hand of such a great man, and for this they brought the most
distinguished influences to bear. Among those who wanted him was the Marquis of
Mantua, who wrote a very pressing letter to the Signoria of Florence. And so Filippo was
sent thither by them, and designed the dykes to hold in the Po, in the year 1445, and
some other things, in conformity with the prince's desire, who made much of him, saying
that Florence was worthy to have a citizen like Filippo, just as he deserved to have so
noble and beautiful a city for his home. Similarly in Pisa, where he convinced the Count
Francesco Sforza and Niccolo da Pisa of his superiority, in certain fortifications; when
they commended him in his presence, saying that if every state had a man like Filippo, it
might feel secure without arms. In Florence Filippo designed the house of the Barbadori,
next to the tower of the Rossi in the Borgo S. Jacopo, which was not carried out, and he
also designed the house of the Giuntini on the piazza of Ognissanti on the Amo. After
this, the captains of the Guelph party in Florence proposed to erect a building containing
a hall and audience-chamber for that magistracy, and entrusted it to Francesco della
Luna, who began the work 15). He had already raised it to a height of ten braccia from
the ground, and committed many mistakes, when the charge of it was given to Filippo,
who brought that palace to its present shape and magnificence. In building it he had to
compete with Francesco, who was favoured by many; indeed throughout his life Filippo
was forced to contend first with one and then with another, a source of constant
annoyance to him. Often they sought to win honour with his designs, so that finally he

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refused to show any- thing or trust anyone. The hall of this palace no longer serves for
the captains of the party, because the flood of 1557 did such damage to the papers of
the Monte that Duke Cosimo caused the magistracy to be brought there for greater
safety, as the papers are of the highest importance. Thus the old hall of the palace
serves for the magistracy of the captains, and being separated from the room which is
used for the Moflte, and withdrawn to another part of the building, the convenient hall,
which now leads into the hall of the Monte, was made by Giorgio Vasari by the
commission of his Excellency. The same architect designed a square balcony,
supported, according to the arrangement of Filippo, upon fluted pillars of macigno.
One Lent the preaching at S. Spirito at Florence was under- taken by M. Francesco
Zoppo, then a favourite with the people, and he spoke eloquently in favour of the
convent, the schools for young men, and especially for the church which had recently
been burned 16). The heads of the quarter, Lorenzo Ridolfl, Bartolommeo Corbinelli, Neri
di Gino Capponi,Goro di Stagio Dati, and many other citizens, obtained permission from
the Signoria to take steps for the rebuilding of the church, making Stoldo Frescobaldi
the overseer. This man devoted the most severe labour to this work, owing to the
interest which he had in the old church, the high-altar chapel of which belonged to his
family. Thus, from the very beginning, before money had been raised by the rating of
the tombs and of those who had chapels, he spent many thousand crowns out of his
own pocket, for which he was recouped later. After they had deliberated upon the
matter, Filippo was sent for and made a model comprising all the arrangements befitting
a Christian church. He entirely reversed the plan of the church, as he was most anxious
that the piazza should face the Arno, for it was there that all the people from Genoa, the
Riviera, the Lunigiana, the Pisano and the Lucchese passed by, and they would see the
magnificence of the structure. But as certain people were unwilling to allow their houses
to be pulled down, Filippo's wish could not be carried out. Filippo then made the model
of the church as well as of the friars' quarters in their present form 17). The length of the
church was 14 braccia, and its breadth 54 braccia, and it is so well arranged that no
building could be richer, finer or more spacious in the disposition of its columns and
other ornaments. Indeed, had it not been for the curse of those who, from lack of
understanding more than anything else, spoil things beautifully begun, this would be the
most perfect church in Christendom, as in some respects it is, being more beautiful and
better divided than any other, although the model has not been followed, as is shown by
some things begun outside which have not followed the dispositions of the interior for
the doors and window decoration as shown in the model. It contains some rectors
attributed to Filippo which I pass over, for I do not believe that he would have fallen into
them if he had continued the building of that church, all his work being done with great
judgment, discretion, genius and art, and everything brought to perfection. This work
puts the stamp of the highest worth upon his genius.
Filippo was witty in his conversation and acute in repartee, as for instance in the
case of Lorenzo Ghiberti, who had bought a property at Monte Morcllo called Lepriano,
on which he spent twice as much as he derived from it, and finally sold it in disgust. On
being asked what was the best thing Lorenzo had done, Filippo replied, "The sale of
Lepriano," possibly thinking that he owed him this because of their unfriendly relations.
At last, having reached the great age of sixty-nine, Filippo passed to in better life on
16th April, 1446, after a life of labour in producing those works which should earn him
an honoured name on earth and a place of rest in heaven. His loss caused great grief to
his country, which knew him and valued him much more after his death than during his
life. He was buried with honourable obsequies in S. Maria del Fiore, although his family
tomb was in S. Marco under the pulpit towards the door, containing a coat of arms with
two fig leaves and some green waves on a gold ground, as his ancestors came from
Fiearyolo, a place on the Po, in the territory of Ferrara, the leaves denoting the place
and the waves the river. His artist friends also grieved, especially the poorer ones,
- 49 -
whom he was always helping. He lived as a good Christian and left to the world the
savour of his goodness and striking virtues. It may safely be said that from the time of
the
missing pp.300-301
ornament in the grotesque manner, the base varied and twisted and the pediment a
quarter-circle, adding six infants bearing festoons, who seem to be afraid of the height,
and to be reassuring themselves by embracing each other. But he showed especial
genius and art in the figure of the Virgin, who, affrighted at the sudden appearance of
the angel, moves her person timidly arid sweetly to a modest reverence, turning with
beautiful grace to the one who salutes her, so that her face displays the proper humility
and gratitude due to the bestower of the un- expected gift. Besides this, Donato showed
a mastery in the arrangement of the folds of the drapery of the Madonna and of the
angel, and by a study of the nude he endeavoured to discover the beauty of the
ancients which had remained hidden for so many years. He gave evidence of so much
facility and art in this work that design, judgment and skilled use of the chisel could
produce nothing finer.
In the same church, below the screen, beside the scene painted by Taddeo Gaddi,
he made a wooden crvcifix with extraordinary labour, when he had finished-it he thought
it most remarkable, and showed it to Filippo di ser Brunellesco, his close friend, to have
his opinion. From what Donato had said Filippo expected to see something much better
than he actually did, and could not refrain from smiling. Donato perceived this and he
adjured him by their friendship to give his opinion. Filippo then frankly replied that it
seemed to him that he had put a rustic on the cross and not a body like Jesus Christ,
who was most delicate in every member, and the most perfect man who was ever born.
Donato thus hearing himself criticised so trenchantly when he had expected praise,
retorted, "If it was as easy to do things as to pass judgment; my Christ would seem to
you to be a Christ and not a rustic: but take some wood and try and make one yourself."
Without another word Filippo returned to his house, no one being aware of what he was
doing, and began to make a crucifix, endeavouring to surpass Donato in order not to
condemn his own judgment. After many months he brought it to the utmost perfection.
This done, he invited Donato one morning to dine with him, and Donato accepted the
invitation. Accordingly he proceeded to Filippo's house in his host's company, and when
they reached the Mercato Vecchio, Filippo bought some things and gave them to
Donato, saying, "Take these things to the house and wait for me there, and I Mill come
directly." When Donato entered the house and had arrived on the spot he saw Filippo's
crucifix in a good light and stopped to examine it. He found it so perfectly finished that,
overcome with amazement and almost beside himself, he opened his hands and his
lapful of eggs, cheese and other things was spilt and broken. But he stood rapt in
wonder and admiration icicle one demented. At this moment Filippo arrived, and said
laughing, "What are you thinking about, Donato? What shall we dine upon seeing that
you have upset everything?" "I have had enough this morning for my part," said Donato,
"if you want yours take it. But enough, to you it is given to make Christs, to me rustics."
In the church of S. Giovanni in the same city Donato made the tomb of Pope
Giovanni Costa, who had been deposed from the pontificate by the Council of
Constance 18). This work was a commission from Cosimo de' Medici, the close friend of
Costa and in it Donato represented the dead man in gilt bronze, with Hope and Charity
in marble, while his pupil Afichelozzo did the Faith. In the scene church, opposite this
work, may be scene a St. Mary Magdalene in wood, a very beautiful penitential figure 19),
finely executed, as she is consumed by fasting and abstinence, so that her body
exhibits a most perfect knowledge of anatomy in every part. In the Mercato Vecchio
there is a stone figure of Plenty by Donato, placed upon a granite column by itself,
which has been much admired by artists and all good judges for its excellent
workmanship. The column upon which it stands was originally in S. Giovanni, among
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other granite columns supporting the inner cornice, which are still there. When it was
taken away, another fluted column was put in its place, upon which the statue of Mars
formerly stood in the middle of the church, being taken away when the Florentines were
converted to the faith of Christ. The same artist, while still a youth, also made the
prophet Daniel 2 in marble for the fade of S. Maria de1 Fiore, and a St. John the
Evangelist seated, four braccia high, clothed in a simple habit, which has been much
admired 20). At the same place, on the angle facing the via del Cocomero, is an old man
between two columns, more like the antique manner than any extant work of Donato,
the head exhibiting that thoughtfulness which comes with years in those who are wasted
by age and labour. For the interior of the same church he made the ornamentation of
the organ over the door of the old sacristy 21), the figures depicted on it seeming in truth
to be endowed with life and motion. For this reason it may be said that Donato
employed his judgment as much as his hands, seeing that he made many things which
look beautiful in the places where they are situated; but when they have been removed,
and put else- where in another light or higher up, their appearance is changed and they
create an entirely different impression. Thus Donato made his figures in such fashion
that in his studio they did not appear half so remarkable as when they were set up in the
appointed places. In the new sacristy of the same church he designed the children who
hold the festoons which turn about the frieze, and he also designed the figures for the
round window beneath the cupola containing the Coronation of Our Lady. This design is
clearly superior to those of the other round windows. At S. Michele in Orto in that city he
made the statue of St. Peter for the art of the butchers, a suave and marvellous figure,
and a St. Mark the Evangelist 22) for the art of the linen- drapers, which he had
undertaken to do in conjunction with Filippo Brunelleschi, but afterwards finished by
himself, an arrangement to which Filippo had consented. This figure was executed by
Donatello with so much judgment that when it was on the ground its excellence was not
recognised by unskilled persons, and the consuls of the art were not disposed to accept
it; but Donato asked them to allow it to be set up, as after he had retouched it the figure
would appear quite different. This was done, the figure was veiled for fifteen days, and
then, without having done anything more to it, he uncovered it, and filled everyone with
admiration.
For the art of the armourers he made a fine statue of St. George armed 23), the head
exhibiting the saint's youthful beauty, valour and spirit with extraordinary realism and life
for a piece of stone. Certainly no modern figures in marble display so much force and
realism as Nature and art have produced in this by means of Donato's hand. On the
marble pedestals which bears the niche he carved in bas-relief the slaying of the
serpent, including a horse, which has been highly valued and praised. On the pediment
he made a God the Father in bas-relief. Opposite the church of the said oratory he
made a marble tabernacle for the Mercatanzia in the Corinthian Order, distinct from the
Gothic style, to receive two statues, which he did not make owing to disputes about the
price. After his death Andrea del Verocchio made these two figures in bronze, as will be
said. For the front of the campanile of S. Maria del Fiore he did four marble figures five
braccia high, the two middle ones being portraits of Fran- cesco Soderini as a youth and
Giovanni di Borduccio Cherichini, now known as La Zuccone 24). This being considered
a most rare work, and finer than anything else which he did, Donato used to say, when
he wished to take an unusually solemn oath, "By the faith which I bear to my Zuccone";
and while he was at work on it he would look at it, and repeat, "Speak, plague take you,
speak." On the side facing the Canonry, over the door of the campanile, he made an
Abraham sacrificing Isaac and another prophet which were placed between two other
statues 25).
For the Signoria of the city he made a metal cast which was placed in an arch of
their loggia on the piazza, representing Judith cutting off the head of Holophernes, a
work of great excellence and mastery, which displays to anyone who will consider the
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external simplicity of Judith in her dress and aspect the great spirit of that lady and the
assistance of God, while the appearance of Holophernes exhibits the effects of wine
and sleep, with death in his cold and drooping limbs. This work was so well carried out
by Donato that the slender and beautiful cast excited the utmost admiration after he had
polished it. The pedestal, which is a granite baluster of simple design, is full of grace
and pleasing to the eye. He was so delighted with this work that he put his name on it,
contrary to his usual custom, as we see by the words Donatein opus. In the courtyard of
the palace of the Signoria there is a nude David of life-size, who has cut off Goliath's
head arid places his raised foot upon it, while his right hand holds a sword 26). This
figure is so natural and possesses such beauty that it seems incredible to artists that it
was not moulded upon a living body. This statue formerly stood in the courtyard of the
Medici palace, and was carried to its present place on the exile of Cosimo. The Duke
Cosimo has recently made a fountain on its former site and caused the statue to be
removed, reserving it for another courtyard which he proposes to make at the back of
the palace, where the lions were. On the left-hand of the hall containing 27) the clock of
Lorenzo della Volpaia there is still a fine David in marble, with the head of Goliath under
his foot, while in his hand he holds the sling with which he has slain him 28) In the first
court of the Casa Medici there are eight marble medallions containing representations of
antique cameos, the reverse of medals, and some scenes very beautifully executed by
him, built into the frieze between the windows and the architrave above the arches of
the loggia. He also restored a Marsyas in antique white marble, placed at the exit from
the garden, and a large number of antique heads placed over the doors and arranged
by him with ornaments of wings and diamonds, the device of Cosimo, finely worked in
stucco. In granite he made a lovely basin which throws up water, and a similar one in
the garden of the Pazzi at Florence which also spouts water. In the same palace of the
Medici there are Madonnas in marble and bronze, in bas-relief, and some scenes in
marble, with fine figures marvellously done in shadow relief. The esteem which Cosimo
entertained for Donato's talent was such that he kept him constantly employed, and
Donato had so much affection for Cosimo that from the slightest indication he divined all
that he required and punctiliously obeyed him. It is said that a Genoese merchant once
employed Donato to make a su fine bronze head of life-size and very light, so that it
might be carried to a distance, and that the work was given to him through the
intervention of Cosimo. When it was finished, and the merchant wished to pay for it, it
seemed to him that Donato asked too much. The question was referred to Cosimo, who
caused the head to be brought to the court of his palace, and placed among the
pinnacles on the street front, that it might be the better seen. Cosimo then decided that
the merchant's offer was inadequate, saying that the price asked was too small. The
merchant, who thought it too high, said that Donato had completed it in a month or a
little more, which came to more than half a florin a day. Donato turned round angrily,
much incensed at the remark, and exclaiming to the merchant that in an instant he was
able to destroy the work and toil of a year, gave the head a push into the street where it
was broken into many pieces, saying that the merchant was accustomed to bargain for
liar cot beans but not for statues. Then he repented, and offered Donato double if he
would make another, but the sculptor refused, though Cosimo united his prayers to
those of the merchant. In the houses of the Martelli there are many scenes in marble
and bronze, among them a David, three braccia high, and many other things generously
given by him as a sign of the service and love which he bore to such a family, and
especially a marble St. John 29) in full relief, three braccia high; a most rare work, now in
the house of the heirs of Ruberto Martelli, who made a bond that it should never be
pledged, sold or given away, under severe penalties, as a testimony of the affection
they bore to Donato in recognition of his worth, and of his gratitude to them for their
protection and favours.

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 He also made a marble tomb for an archbishop, which was sent to Naples, and is
placed in S. Angelo at Seggio di Nido. It contains three figures in full relief which bear
the sarcophagus on their beads, and on the body of the sarcophagus there is a
remarkably fine bas-relief which has been much admired 30). In the house of the Count
of Matalone in the same city there is a horse's head by Donatello, so fine that many
believe it to be antique 31) In the town of Prato he made the marble pulpit where the
girdle is shown 32). The panels contain some dancing children so beautifully and
marvellously carved that his mastery of his art may be said to be displayed in this as
signally as in his other things. To support this work he made two bronze capitals, one of
which is still there, the other having been carried off by the Spaniards when they
ravaged the country. It happened at this time that the Signoria of Venice, hearing of
Donatello's fame, sent for him to make a moniiment to Gattamelata in the city of Padua
33)
. He went there very willingly and made the bronze horse which stands in the piazza
of S. Antonio, displaying the chafing and foaming of the animal and the courage and
pride of the figure who is riding him with great truth. He showed such skill in the size of
the cast in its proportions and general excellence that it may be compared with any
antique for movement, design, artistic qualities, proportion and diligence. Not only did it
fill all the men of that day with amazement, but it astonishes every- one who sees it at
the present time. For this cause the Paduans endeavoured by every means to make
him a fellow-citizen and to detain him there by all manner of favours. To keep him
employed they allotted to him the predella of the his altar of the church of the friars
minors, to represent scenes in the life of St. Anthony of Padua 34). These bas-reliefs are
executed with such judgment that masters in the art have been struck dumb with
admiration in beholding them when they have considered their beautiful and varied
composition, comprising such a number of remarkable figures placed in diminishing
perspective. For the front of the altar he made the Maries weeping over the dead Christ.
In the house of one of the Counts of Capodilista he made the skeleton of a horse of
wood without glue, which may still be seen, in which the joints are so well made that he
who reflects upon the method of such work may form an opinion of the capacity of the
brain and the greatness of the spirit of the author. For a nunnery he made a St.
Sebastian of wood at the request of a chaplain, their friend and his familiar, who was a
Florentine. The chaplain brought him a rude old one which they had, asking Donato to
make one like it, but though he endeavoured to imitate it, in order to please the chaplain
and the nuns, he could not succeed, and though the model was rude, his own work was
of his accustomed exeellence an art. In conjunction with this he made many other
figures of clay and stucco, and chiselled a very beautiful Madonna from the corner of a
piece of old marble which the nuns had in their garden. An extraordinary number of his
works may be met with all over Padua. But being considered as a miracle there and
praised by every intelligent man, he determined to return to Florence, saying that if he
remained longer at Padua he would have forgotten all that he ever knew, as he was so
highly praised -by everyone, and he returned gladly to his native town because there he
was always being blamed, and this blame induced him to study and was productive of
more glory. Accordingly he left Padua and, returning to Venice, left there a St. John the
Baptist in wood, as a gift for the Florentine nation, for their chapel in the friars minor,
executed by him with the greatest diligence and care, as a memorial of his excellence.
In the city of Faenza he carved a St. John and a St. Jerome in wood 35), which were not
less highly esteemed than his other works. Returning next to Tuscany, he made a
marble tomb in the Pieve of Montepulciano with a very fine scene 36). In the sacristy of S.
Lorenzo in Florence he made a fine marble lavatory at which Andrea Vierocchio also
worked, and in the house of Lorenzo della Stufa he made some very life-like heads and
figures. Leaving Florence after this he went to Rome, to imitate and study the antique as
much as possible. At that time he made a stone tabernacle of the Sacrament, which is
now in S. Pietro 37). Returning to Florence and passing through Siena, he undertook to
make a bronze door for the baptistery of S. Giovanni. But when he had made a model in
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wood and had almost got the wax moulds ready for the casting, Bernardetto di Mona
Papera, a Florentine goldsmith and his friend and familiar, arrived upon the scene,
having come from Rome, and succeeded in carrying him off to Florence, whether for his
own needs or for other reasons, and thus the work remained imperfect, as if it had never
been begun. The only thing by his hand in that city is in the Opera of the Duomo, a St.
John the Baptist in metal, the right arm of which is wanting from the elbow 38). It is said
that Donato did this because he did not receive full payment. On his return to Florence
he did the sacristy of S. Lorenzoni, stucco for Cosim de Medlel, namely, four circles at
the foot of the vaulting with stories of the Evangelists in, perspective, partly painted and
partly bas-relief. He made No very beautiful little bronze doors in bas-relief, with the
Apostles, martyrs and confessors, and above these some flat niches, one containing a
St. Laurence and St. Stephen, and the other SS. Cosmo and Damian 39). In the crossing
of the church he did four saints in stucco of five braccia each, which are skillfully
executed. He also desigued the bronze pulpits 40), representing the Passion of Christ,
which possess design, force, invention and an abundance of figures and buildings. As
he could not work at then, himself on account of his age, his pupil, Bertoldo, completed
them and put the finishing touches. At S. Maria del Fiore he made two colossal figures
of bricks and stucco, which were placed outside the church on the sides of the chapels
as an ornament. Over the door of S. Croce may be seen to this day a bronze St. Louis
of five braccia, finished by him 41). When he was blamed for making this clumsily, it
being considered perhaps the worst thing he ever did, he replied that he had made it so
of set purpose, as it was a foolisli trick to leave a kingdom to make oneself a friar. He
also made in bronze the head of the wife of Cosimo de' Medici; which is preserved in
the wardrobe of Duke Cosimo, where many other things of Donato in bronze and marble
are preserved, among others a Madonna and Child in marble, in shadow relief, of
matchless `beauty, especially as it is surrounded with scenes in miniature by Fra
Bemardo, which are admirable, as I shall relate when the time comes. In bronze the
duke has a most beautiful and wondrous crucifix by Donato's hand in his studio, which
contains a number of rare antiquities and beautiful medals. In the same wardrobe is the
Passion of Our Lord in relief in a bronze panel, with a large number of figures, and in
another panel, also of metal, another crucifix. Also in the house of the heirs of Jacopo
Capponi, who was a good citizen and worthy gentleman, there is a marble Madonna in
half-relief considered a most rare work. M. Antonio de Nobili again, who was the duke
had a marble panel by Donato's hand containing a half-figure of Our Lady in bas-relief,
so beautiful that M. Antonio esteemed it equivalent to all his other possessions, and it is
equally highly valued by his son Giulio, a youth of singular goodness and judgment, the
friend of all men of genius. In the house of Gio Battista di Agnol Doni, a noble
Florentine, there is a metal Mercury by Donato, braccia high, in full relief, and clothed in
a curious fashion which is really very fine 42), and not less rare than the other things
which adorn his beautiful house. Rartolommeo Gondi, who is mentioned in the Life of
Giotto, has a Madonna in half-relief made by Donato with incomparable love and
diligence, but it must be seen in order to realise the light touch of the master in the poise
of the head and arrangement of the draperies. M. Lelio Torelli again, the chief auditor
and secretary of the duke, and not inferior as a lover of all the sciences and honourable
employments than as an excellent juries consult, has a marble panel of Our Lady by
Donatello's hand. And whoever desired to write in full of the life and works of this artist
would have to make a longer story of it than is contemplated in the plan of this work,
Donato put his hand not only to the great things, of which enough has been said, but
also to the smallest things of his art; making coats-of-arms on the chimneypieces and
fronts of houses of citizens, a very fine example of which may be seen on the house of
the Sommai opposite the tower of the Vacca. For the family of the Martelli he made a
chest in the form of a cradle, constructed of wicker-work, to serve as a tomb. But it is
below the church of S. Lorenzo, as no tombs of any sort appear above except the
epitaph of that of Cosimo de' Medici, which also has its opening beneath like the rest. It
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is said that Donato's brother, Simone, after making the model for the tomb of Pope
Martin V., sent for Donato to see it before he cast it. Accordingly Donato went to Rome,
and was there at the time when the Emperor Sigismund went to receive the crown from
Pope Eugenius IV. 43), so that he was constrained to take part in pre- paring the
festivities for this event in company with Simone 44), whereby he acquired great fame
and honour. In the wardrobe of Guidobaldo, Duke of Urbino, there is a fine marble bust
by the same hand, and it is supposed that it was given to the duke's ancestors by
Giuliano de' Medici the Magnificent, when he was staying at that court, then full of many
noble lords. In short Donato was so admirable in his every act that in skill, judgment and
knowledge he may be said to have been among the first to illustrate the art of sculpture
and the good design of the modems. He deserves the greater commendation, because
in his day antiquities had not been dug out, such as columns, sarcophagi and triumphal
arches. It was chiefly by his influence that Cosimo de' Medici conceived the desire to
introduce to Florence the antiquities which are and were in the Casa Medici, all of which
were restored by his hand. He was free, affectionate and courteous, and more so to his
friends than to himself. He thought nothing of money, keeping it in a basket suspended
by a rope from the ceiling, so that all his workmen and friends took what they wanted
without saying anything to him. He passed his old age very happily, and when he could
work no longer he was assisted by Cosimo and other friends. It is said that when
Cosimo was on his death-bed he recommended Donato to his son Piero, who diligently
executed his father's wish and gave the artist a property in Cafaggiuolo, which brought
in sufficient income to permit him to live in comfort. At this Donato was greatly rejoiced,
thinking himself more than assured against the fear of dying of hunger. But he had not
possessed it a year before he returned to Piero and publicly renounced it, declaring that
he would not give up his peace of mind to think of household affairs and the troubles of
the country, which bothered him one day out of three, as either the wind blew down his
dove-cote; or his beasts were seized by the commune for taxes, or a tempest destroyed
his vine and fruits. He had had enough of this, and would rather die of hunger than be
obliged to think of such things. Piero laughed at his simplicity, and to relieve him from
this vexation took back the estate and assigned to Donato a tension of the same value
or more in money to be drawn from the bank weekly. This gave him the utmost
satisfaction, and as the servant and friend of the house of the Medici he lived happily
and care-free all the rest of his days. Having attained the age of eighty-three, he
became so paralytic that he could no longer do the slightest work, and remained in bed
in a poor little house which he had in the via del Cocomero, near the nuns of S. Niccolo.
Growing daily worse and gradually wasting away, he died on 23rd December, 1466, and
was buried in the church of S. Lorenzo, near the tomb of Cosimo, as the latter had
himself ordained, so that the dead body should be near him in death, as they had
always been near in spirit when alive.
The citizens sorrowed greatly at his death, as well as the artists and all who knew
him. Thus, in order to honour him more in death than they had done when he was alive,
they gave him a stately funeral in that church, all the painters, architects, sculptors,
goldsmiths, and indeed practically the whole population of the city, accompanying the
chortle, while they used for a long time afterwards to compose in his praise various
verses in divers languages, of which I will content myself with quoting those given
below.
But before I come to the epitaphs, I have another matter to relate of him. When he
was sick, shortly before his death, Some of his relations went to see him, and after they
had greeted him and offered their condolences, as was customary, they told him it was
his duty to leave them an estate which he had at Prato, although it was a small one and
brought in but little, and they earnestly besought him to do this. Donato listened patiently
and then said, for he was just in everything, I cannot gratify you, for I think it only right to
leave it to the peasant who has always toiled there, and not to you who have never
- 55 -
done any good to it or had any other thought than to possess it, which is the sole object
of this visit. Go in peace." And in truth such relations, who only love their kin for the
hopes which they have from them, ought to be treated after this fashion. Donato
accordingly sent for the notary and left the estate to the peasant who had always
worked there, and who had probably conducted himself better towards his master in his
need than the relations had done. His artistic properties Donato left to his pupils, who
were Bertoldo, a sculptor of Florence, who imitated him rather closely, as may be seen
in a fine bronze fight between men on horseback, which is now in the wardrobe of Duke
Cosimo; Nanni d' Anton di Banco, who died before him; in Rossellino; Disiderio and
Vellano di Padoa, and indeed it may be said that everyone who wished to excel in relief
after his death was his pupil. In design he was resolute, and made his drawings so
skillfully and boldly that they have no equal, as our book shows. I have here both nude
and draped figures by his hand, animals which excite the liveliest admiration, and other
equally beautiful things. His portrait was made by Paolo Ucello, as related in the life of
that artist. The epitaphs are these:

Sculptura H. M. a Florentinis fleri voluit Donatello utpote homini

qui ei quod jarndiu opfimis artificibus, multique saeculis, turn
nobilitatis turn nominis acquisitum fuerat, inj unave tcmpor.
perdidcrat ipsa, ipse unus una vita infinitisquc operibiis cumulatiss
restituerit, et patriae benemerenti hujus restitutae virtutis palmam
reportarit.

Excuclit nemo spirantia rnollius asra: Vera cano: cernes

rnarmora viva loqui, Graecorum sileat prisca adnurahilis aetas
Compedibus statuas continuisse Rhodon. Nectere namque magis
fucrant haec vincula cligna I.qtius cgregias artifieis statuas.

Quanto con dotta mano alia sculptura Cia fecer rnolti, or

sol Donato ha fatto: Renduto ha vita a' marrni, affetto, ed
atto: Che piu, Sc non parlar, puo dar ziatura?

The world is so full of Donato's works that it may be truthfully affirmed that no artist
ever produced more than he. He took delight in everything, and undertook all kinds of
work without looking whether it was common or pretentious. However, this
productiveness was very necessary to sculpture in some kinds of round figures, half-and
bas-reliefs, because, just as in the days of the ancient Greeks and Romans, many
combined to attain perfection, so he, single-handed, brought perfection and delight back
to our age by the multitude of his works. Thus artists ought to recognise the greatness of
his art more than that of any modern, for him, besides rendering the difficulties of art
easy by the number of his works, united in himself that invention design, skill, judgment,
and every other faculty that can or ought to be expected in a man of genius. Donato was
very determined and quick, completing his things with the utmost facility, always
performing much more than he promised. All his work was left to his pupil Bertoldo,
principally the bronze pulpits of S. Lorenzo, which were polished by him and brought to
their present state of completion.
I must not omit to mention that the learned and very reverend Don Vincenzio
Borghini, of whom I have spoken above in another connection, having collected in a
large book an immense number of designs by prominent painters and sculptors, both
ancient and modern, has introduced, with much judgment, into the ornamental border of

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two sheets opposite each other, containing drawings by Donato and Michelagnolo
Buonarotti, the following Greek phrases, to Donato:
"Awvao9, Bovap'pwr(and to Michelagnolo, Bovappwrog "dwyaTh
which in Latin run, "Aut Donatus Bonarottum exprimit et refert, aut
Bonarottus Donatum," and in our tongue, "The spirit of Donato
animates Ruonarotto, or else that of Buonarotto first animated
Donato."

1)
In 1400.
2)
About 1410.
3)
Brunelleschi's is now in the Bargello, Florence; the whereabouts of Donato's is unknown.
4)
A combat between Centaurs and Lapiths, now in the Duomo.
5)
A practical joke to induce the victim to doubt his own identity.
6)
Rectius 1425.
7)
Begun 1429.
8)
Now Quaratesi, via Proconsolo, begun 1445.
9)
Begun 1420.
10)
Begun 1439.
11)
The building was not finished until 1466. Some consider it to be work of Leozi Battista Alberti.
12)
In 1419.
13)
In 1429.
14)
In 1549.
15)
In 1418 in the via delle Terme.
16)
In 1417.
17)
The church was begun about 1436.
18)
Baldassare Coscia, who had been Pope John XXIII. He died 1419. His tomb was begun in 1425.
19)
Now inside, paid for in 1412. The figure represents Joshua.
20)
Done in 1408.
21)
Commissioned 1433, finished 1440. Now in the Opera del Duomo.
22)
These two Apostles were done in 1412.
23)
Done about 1415. Removed to the Bargello in 1886.

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24)
On the west front. The figures are John the Baptist, Jonas (the Zuccone), Jeremias; the fourth, Abdias,
is by Rosso.
25)
Done in conjunction with Giovanni di Bartolo, called in Rosso, in 1421.
26)
Done about 1440; set up in the Palazzo Vecchio in 1495.
27)
Verocchio's Boy with the Dolphin.
28)
This is probably the David now in the Bargello.
29)
i.e. St. John the Baptist, still in the Casa Martelli.
30)
The tomb was that of Cardinal Brancacci, who died in 1427. The figures represent the Assumption of
the Virgin. The work was done in conjuction with Michelozzo.
31)
Now in the National Museum, Naples. Goethe took it for an antique when visiting the city.
32)
Done 1434-8.
33)
Erasmus de' Narni, a famous condottiere, who died at Venice in 1443. The monument was cast in 1447
and unveiled in 1453. Donatello received 1650 gold ducats.
34)
The altar was completed in 1450.
35)
This latter figure is now in the Museo Civico. Professor Venturi considers it unworthy of Donatello.
36)
To Bartolommeo Agazzi, secretary to Pope Martin V. The work was allotted jointly to Donatello and
Michelozzo in 1427 and completed in 1429. Portions remain in the Duomo at Montepulciano and two
angels from it are in South Kensington Museum.
37)
Rediscovered in 1886 and placed in the Sacristy Chapel of the Beneficiati, S. Pietro.
38)
This was done in 1457. There are other works of Donatello's at Siena. These are a panel on the
Baptistery font of the head of St. John delivered to Herod, done in 1425, but not delivered until 1457;
five statuettes for the font, and a slab for the tomb of Bishop Pecci in the Duomo, who died 1426,
delivered in 1427.
39)
In 1440.
40)
In 1461.
41)
Done for Orsanmichele in 1425; moved to the facade of S. Croce in 1463, and to the interior in 1860.
42)
It represents Cupido Alys; now in the Bargello.
43)
He was crowned 31 May, 1433.
44)
Not Donatello's brother. It has been conjectured that it was Simone di Giovanni Ghini, though Professor
Venturi considers this unlikely.

Michelangelo BUONAROTI
Painter, Sculptor and Architect of Florence
(1475-1564)

WHILE industrious and choice spirits, aided by the light

afforded by Giotto and his followers, strove to show the world
the talent with which their happy stars and well-balanced
humours had endowed them, and endeavoured to attain to the
height of knowledge by imitating the greatness of Nature in all
things, the great Ruler of Heaven looked own and, seeing
these vain and fruitless efforts and the presumptuous opinion
of man more removed from truth than light from darkness,
resolved, in order to rid him of these errors, to send to earth a
genius universal in each art, to show single-handed the
perfection of line and shadow, and who should give relief to his paintings, show a sound
judgment in sculpture, and in architecture should render habitations convenient, safe,
healthy, pleasant, well proportioned, and enriched with various ornaments. He further
endowed him with true moral philosophy and a sweet poetic spirit, so that the world
should marvel at the singular eminence of his life and works and all his actions, seeming
rather divine than earthy.
In the arts of painting, sculpture and architecture the Tuscans have always
been among the best, and Florence was the city in Italy most worthy to be the birthplace
of such a citizen to crown her perfections. Thus in 1474 the true and noble wife of
Ludovico di Lionardo Buonarotti Simone, said to be of the ancient and noble family of
the Counts of Canossa, gave birth to a son in the Casentino, under a lucky star. The
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son was born on Sunday, 6 March, at eight in the evening, and was called
Michelangelo, as being of a divine nature, for Mercury and Venus were in the house of
Jove at his birth, showing that his works of art would be stupendous. Ludovico at the
time was podestaat Chiusi and Caprese near the Sasso della Vernia, where St. Francis
received the stigmata, in the diocese of Arezzo. On laying down his office Ludovico
returned to Florence, to the villa of Settignano, three miles from the city, where he had a
property inherited from his ancestors, a place full of rocks and quarries of maeigno
which are constantly worked by stonecutters and sculptors who are mostly natives.
There Michelangelo was put to nurse with a stonecutter's wife. Thus he once said
jestingly to Vasari: "What good I have comes from the pure air of your native Arezzo,
and also because I sucked in chisels and hammers with my nurse's milk." In time
Ludovico had several children, and not being well off, he put them in the arts of wool
and silk. Michelangelo, who was older, he placed with Maestro Francesco da Urbino to
school. But the boy devoted all the time he could to drawing secretly, for which his
father and seniors scolded and sometimes beat him, thinking that such things were
base and unworthy of their noble house.
About this time Michelangelo made friends with Francesco Granacci, who though
quite young had placed himself with Domenico del Grillandaio to learn painting.
Granacci perceived Michelangelo's aptitude for design, and supplied him daily with
drawings of Grillandaio, then reputed to be one of the best masters not only in Florence
but throughout Italy. Michelagnolo's desire to achieve thus increased daily, and
Ludovico perceiving that he could not prevent the boy from studying design, resolved to
derive some profit from it, and by the advice of friends put him with Domenico
Grillandaio that he might learn the profession. At that time Michelangelo was fourteen
years old. The author of his Life 1), written after 1550 when I first published this work,
has stated that some through not knowing him have omitted things worthy of note and
stated others that are not true, and in particular he taxes Domenico with envy, saying
that he never assisted Michelagnolo. This is clearly false, as may be seen by a writing in
the hand of Ludovico written in the books of Domenico no win the possession of his
heirs. It runs thus: “1488. bow this 1st April that I Ludovico di Lionardo Buonarroto
apprentice my son Michelangelo to Domenico and David di Tommaso di Currado for the
next three years, with the following agreements: that the said Michelangelo shall remain‚
with them that time to learn to paint and practice that art and shall do what they bid him,
and they shall give him 24 florins in the three years, 6 in the first, 8 in the second and 10
in the third, in all 96 lire". Below this Ludovico has written: "Michelangelo has received 2
gold florins this 16th April, and I Ludovico di Lionardo, his father, have received 12 lire
12 soldi." I have copied this from the book to show that I have written the truth, and I do
not think that there is anyone who has seen more of Michelangelo, who has been a
greater and more faithful friend to him, or who can show a larger number of autograph
letters than I. I have made this digression in the interests of truth, and let this suffice for
the rest of the life. We will now return to the story.
Michelangelo's progress amazed Domenico when he saw him doing things beyond a
boy, for he seemed likely not only to surpass the other pupils, of whom there were a
great number, but would also frequently equal the master's own works. One of the
youths happened one day to have made a pen sketch of draped women by his master,
Michelangelo took the sheet, and with a thicker pen made a new outline for one of the
women, representing her as she should be and making her perfect. The difference
between the two styles is as marvellous as the audacity of the youth whose good
judgment led him to correct his master. The sheet is now in my possession, treasured
as a relic. I had it from Granaccio with others of Michelangelo, to place in the Book of
Designs. In 1550, when Giorgio showed it to Michelangelo at Rome, he recognised it
with pleasure, and modestly said that he knew more of that art when a child than later
on in life.
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 One day, while Domenico was engaged upon the large chapel of S. Maria Novella,
Michelangelo drew the scaffolding and all the materials with some of the apprentices at
work. When Bomenico returned and saw it, he said, "He knows more than I do," and
remained amazed at the new style produced by the judgment of so young a boy, which
was equal to that of an artist of many years' experience. To this Michelangelo added
study and diligence so that he made progress daily, as we see by a copy of a print
engraved by Martin the German 2), which brought him great renown. When a copper
engraving by Martin of St. Anthony beaten by the devils reached Florence, Michelangelo
made a pen drawing and then painted it. To counterfeit some strange forms of devils he
bought fish with curiously coloured scales, and showed such ability that he won much
credit and reputation. He also made perfect copies of various old masts, making them
look old with smoke and other things so that they could not be distinguished from the
originals. He did this to obtain the originals in exchange for the copies, as he wanted the
former and sought to surpass them, thereby acquiring a great name.
At this time Lorenzo de' Medici the Magnificent kept Bertoldo the sculptor in his
garden on the piazza of S. Marco, not so much the custodian of the numerous
collections of beautiful antiquities there, as because he wished to create a school of
great painters and sculptors with Bertoldo as the head, who had been pupil of Donato.
Although old and unable to work, he was a master of skill and repute, having diligently
finished Donatos pulpits and cast many bronze reliefs of battles and other small things,
so that no one then in Florence could surpass him in such things. Lorenzo, who loved
painting and sculpture, was grieved that no famous sculptors lived in his day to equal
the great painters who then flourished, and so he resolved to found a school.
Accordingly he asked Domenico Ghirlandajo that if he had any youths in his shop
inclined to this he should send them to the garden, where he would have them
instructed so as to do honour to him and to the city. Domenico elected among others
Michelangelo and Francesco Granaccio as being the best. At the garden they found that
Torrigiano was modelling clay figures given to him by Bertoldo. Michelangelo
immediately did some in competition, and Lorenzo, seeing his genius, always expected
great things of him. Thus encouraged, the boy began in a few days to copy in marble an
antique faun's head, smiling, with a broken nose 3). Although he had never previously
touched marble or the chisel, he imitated it so well that Lorenzo was amazed. Seeing
that in addition the boy had opened its mouth and made the tongue and all the teeth,
Lorenzo jestingly said, for he was a pleasant man, "You ought to know that the old
never have all their teeth, and always lack some." Michelangelo, who loved and
respected his patron, took him seriously in his simplicity, and so soon as he was gone
he broke out a tooth and made the gum look as if it had fallen out. He anxiously awaited
the return of Lorenzo, who, when he saw Michelangelo's simplicity and excellence,
laughed more than once, and related the matter to his friends as a marvel. He returned
to help and favour the youth, and sending for his father, Ludovico, asked him to allow
him to treat the boy as his own son, a request that was readily granted. Accordingly
Lorenzo gave Michelangelo. a room in the palace, and he ate regularly at table with the
family and other nobles staying there. This was the year after he had gone to Domenico,
when he was fifteen or sixteen, and he remained in the house for four years until after
the death of Lorenzo in `92. I hear that he received a provision at this time from Lorenzo
and five ducats a month to help his father. The Magnificent also gave him a violet
mantle, and conferred an office in the customs upon his father. Indeed all the youths in
the garden received a greater or less salary from that noble citizen, as well as rewards.
By the advice of Poliziano, the famous man of letters, Michelangelo did a fight
between Hercules and the Centaurs 4) on a piece of marble given him by that signor, of
such beauty that it seems the work of a consummate master and not of a youth. It is
now preserved in his house by his nephew Lionardo as a precious treasure, in memory
of him. Not many years since this Lionardo had a Madonna in bas-relief 5) by his uncle,
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more than a braccia high, in imitation of Donatello's style, so fine that it seems the world
6)
of that master, except that it possesses more grace and design. Lionardo gave it to
Duke Cosimo, who values it highly, as he possesses no other bas-relief of the master.
To return to Lorenzo's garden. It was full of antiquities and excellent paintings,
collected there for beauty, study and pleasure. Michelangelo had the keys, and was
much more studious than the others in every direction, and always showed his proud
spirit. For many months he drew Masaccio's paintings in the Carmine, showing such
judgment that he amazed artists and others, and also roused envy. It is said that
Torrigiano made friends with him, but moved by envy at seeing him more honoured and
skilful than himself, struck him so hard on the nose that he broke it and disfigured him
for life. For this Torrigiano was banished from Florence, as is related elsewhere.
On the death of Lorenzo Michelangelo returned home, much grieved at the loss of
that great man and true friend of genius. Buying a large block of marble, he made a
Hercules 6) of four braccia, which stood for many years in the Strozzi palace, and was
considered remarkable. In the year of the siege it was sent to King Francis of France by
Giovambattista della Palla. It is said that Piero de' Medici, who had long associated with
Michelangelo, often sent for him, wishing to buy antique cameos and other intaglios,
and one snowy winter he got him to make a beautiful snow statue in the court of his
palace. He so honoured Michelangelo for his ability that his father, seeing him in such
favour with the great, clothed him much more sumptuously than before. For S. Spirito in
Florence Michelangelo made a wooden crucifix 7), put over the lunette above the high
altar to please the prior, who gave him suitable rooms, where he was able, by frequently
dissecting dead bodies, to study anatomy, and thereby he began to perfect his great
design. At the time of the expulsion of the Medici from Florence, Michelangelo had gone
to Bologna a few weeks before the event, and had then proceeded to Venice, fearing
evil consequences from piero's arrogance and bad government, for he was a member of
the household. Finding no means of existence at Venice, he returned to Bologna, where
he had the misfortune not to take the countersign on entering the gate to permit him to
go out again, for M. Giovanni Bentivogli had ordained that those who had not the
countersign should be condemned to pay fifty lire. Michelangelo was in great distress,
being unable to pay, but M. Giovanfrancesco Aldovrandi, one of the sixteen governors,
took compassion on him, made him relate the circumstances, released him, and
entertained him in his house for more than a year. One day Aldovrandi took him to see
the ark of St. Dominic, made by Giovan Pisano and Maestro Niccolo dal l'Arca, the old
sculptors. He asked him if he had the courage to do an angel holding a candle stick,and
a St. Petronius, figures of about a braccia, that were wanting. Michelangelo replied in
the affirmative, and on receiving the marble made them, and they are the best figures
there. He received thirty ducats for both from M. Francesco Aldovrandi. He remained
rather more than a year at Bologna, and would have stayed longer to please Aldovrandi,
who loved him for his design and liked to hear him read Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio and
other Tuscan poets with his Tuscan accent. But perceiving that he was wasting time,
Michelangelo gladly returned to Florence. There he did a marble St. John for Lorenzo di
Pierfrancesco de' Medici, and then began a life-size sleeping Cupid also in marble.
When it was done Baldassare del Milanese caused it to be shown to Pierfrancesco, who
said, "If you buried it, I feel sure that it would pass for an antique at Rome if made to
appear old, and you would get much more than by selling it here." It is said that
Michelangelo made it appear antique, and indeed it was an easy matter as he had wit
enough for this and more. Others state that Milanese took it to Rome, buried it at his
villa, and then sold it as an antique for two hundred ducats to the Cardinal S. Giorgio. It
is also said that Milanese wrote to Pierfrancesco telling him to give thirty crowns to
Michelangelo, as he had not obtained more for the Cupid, thus deceiving the cardinal,
Pierfrancesco and Michelangelo. But it afterwards became known that the Cupid had
been made in Florence, and Milanese's agent was forced to restore the money and take
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back the figure. It came subsequently into the hands of Duke Valentino, who gave it to
the Marchioness of Mantua, and she took it home to that city where it now is The
Cardinal S. Giorgio did not escape blame for not recognising the merit of the work, for
when the moderns equal the ancients in perfection it is a mere empty preference of a
name to the reality when men prefer the works of the latter to those of the former,
though such men are found in every age. The noise of this matter. so increased
Michelangelo's reputation that he was immediately invited to Rome 8) and engaged by
the cardinal S. Giorgio. He stayed nearly a year, but the cardinal, knowing little of art,
gave him nothing to do.
At that time the cardinal's barber, who coloured in tempera very diligently but could
not design, made friends with Michelangelo, who made him a cartoon of St. Francis
receiving the stigmata which the barber executed in colours on a small panel with great
diligence. It is now in the first chapel on the left on entering S. Piero a Montorio 9). M.
Jacopo Galli, an intelligent Roman noble, recognized Michelangelo's ability, and
employed him to make a marble Cupid of life-size 10), and then to do a Bacchus of ten
palms holding a cup in the right hand, and in the left a tiger's skin and a bunch of grapes
with a satyr trying to eat them. This figure shows that he intended a marvellous blending
of limbs, uniting the slenderness of a youth with the fleshy roundness of the female,
proving Michelangelo's superiority to all the moderns in statuary. During his stay in
Rome he made such progress in art that his conceptions were marvellous, and he
executed difficulties with the utmost ease, frightening those who were not accustomed
to see such things, for when they were done the works of others appeared as nothing
beside them. Thus the cardinal of St. Denis, called Cardinal Rohan, a Frenchman,
desired to leave a memorial of himself in the famous city by such a rare artist, and got
him to do a marble Pieth, which was placed in the chapel of S. Maria della Febbre in the
temple of Mars, in S. Pietro 11) The rarest artist could add nothing to its design and
grace, or finish the marble with such polish and art, for it displays the utmost limits of
sculpture. Among its beauties are the divine draperies, the foreshortening of the dead
Christy and the beauty of the limbs with the muscles, veins, sinews, while no better
presentation of a corpse was ever made. The sweet air of the head and the harmonious
joining of the arms and legs to the torso, with the pulses and veins, are marvellous, and
it is a miracle that a once shapeless stone should assume a form that Nature with
difficulty produces in flesh. Michelangelo devoted so much love and pains on this work
that he put his name on the girdle crossing the Virgin's breast, a thing he never did
again. One morning he had gone to the place to where it stands and observed a
number of Lombards who were praising it loudly. One of them asked another the name
of the sculptor, and he replied, "Our Gobbo of Milan" 12). Michelangelo said nothing, but
he resented the injustice of having his work attributed to another, and that night he shut
himself in the chapel with a light and his chisels and carved his name on it. It has been
thus aptly described:

Bellezza ed onestate E doglia e pieta on vivo marmo morte,Deh,

come voi pur fate Nort piangete si forte Che anzi tempo risveglisi
da morte E pur, mai grado suo Nostro Signore e tuo Sposo, figliuolo
e padre Unica sposa sua figliuola e madre.

It brought him great renown, and though some fools say that he has made the Virgin
too young, they ought to know that spotless virgins keep their youth for a long time,
while people afflicted like Christ do the reverse, so that should contribute more to
increase the fame of his genius than all the things done before.
Some of Michelangelo's friends wrote from Florence urging him to return, as they did
not want that block of marble on the opera to be spoiled which Piero Soderini, then
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gonfaloniere for life in the city, had frequently proposed to give to Lionardo da Vinci, and
then to Andrea Contucci, an excellent sculptor, who wanted it. Michelangelo on
returning tried to obtain it, although it was difficult to get an entire figure without pieces,
and no other man except himself would have had the courage to make the attempt, but
he had wanted it for many years, and on reaching Florence he made efforts to get it 13).
It was nine braecia high, and unluckily one Simone da Fiesole had begun a giant,
cutting between the legs and mauling it so badly that the wardens of S. Maria del Fiore
had abandoned it without wishing to have it finished, and it had rested so for many
years. Michelangelo examined it afresh, and decided that it could be hewn into
something new while following the attitude sketched by Simone, and he decided to ask
the wardens and Soderini for it. They gave it to him as worthless, thinking that anything
he might do would be better than its present useless condition. Accordingly
Michelangelo made a wax model of a youthful David holding the sling to show that the
city should be boldly defended and righteously governed, following David's example. He
began it in the opera, making a screen between the wall and the tables, and finished it
without anyone having seen him at work 14). The marble had been hacked and spoiled
by Simone so that be could not do all that he wished with it, though he left some of
Simone's work at the end of the marble, which may still be seen. This revival of a dead
thing was a veritable miracle. When it was finished various disputes arose as to who
should take it to the piazza of the Signori, so Giuliano da Sangallo and his brother
Antonio made a strong wooden frame and hoisted the figure on to it with ropes; they
then moved it forward by beams and windlasses and placed it in position. The knot of
the rope which held the statue was made to slip so that it tightened as the weight
increased, an ingenious device, the design for which is in our book, showing a very
strong and safe method of suspending heavy weights. Piero Soderini came to see it,
and expressed great pleasure to Michelangelo who was retouching it, though he said he
thought the nose large. Michelangelo seeing the gonfaloniere below and knowing that
he could not see properly, mounted the scaffolding and taking his chisel dexterously let
a little marble dust fall on to the gonfaloniere, without, however, actually altering his
work. Looking down he said, "Look now." "I like it better," said the gonfaloniere," you
have given it life". Michelangelo therefore came down with feelings of pity for those who
wish to seem to understand matters of which they know nothing. When the statue was
finished and set up Michelangelo uncovered it. It certainly bears the palm among all
modern and ancient works, whether Greek or Roman, and the Marforio of Rome, the
Tiber and Nile of Belvedere, and the colossal statues of Montecavallo do not compare
with it in proportion and beauty 15). The legs are finely turned, the slender flanks divine,
and the graceful pose unequalled, while such feet, hands and head have never been
excelled. Alter seeing this no one need wish to look at any other sculpture or the work of
any other artist. Michelangelo received four hundred crowns from Piero Soderini, and it
was set up in 1504.Owing to his reputation thus acquired, Michelangelo did a beautiful
bronze David 16) for the gonfaloniere, which he sent to France, and he‚sketched out two
marble medallions 17), one for Taddeo Taddei, and now in his house, the other for
Bartolommeo Pitti, which was given by Fra Miniato Pitti of Monte Oliveto, a master of
cosmography and many sciences, especially painting, to his intimate friend Luigi
Guicciardini. These works were considered admirable. At the same time he sketched a
marble statue of St. Matthew in the opera of S. Mariadel Fiore 18), which showed his
perfection and taught sculptors the way to make statues without spoiling them, by
removing the marble so as to enable them to make such alterations as may be
necessary. He also did a bronze Madonna in a circle 19), carved at the request of some
Flemish merchants of the Moscheroni, noblemen in their country, who paid him one
hundred crowns and sent it to Flanders. His friend, Agnolo Doni, citizen of Florence, and
the lover of all beautiful works whether ancient or modern, desired to have something of
his. Michelangelo therefore began a round painting of the Virgin kneeling and offering
the Child to Joseph, 8 where he shows his marvellous power in the head of the Mother
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fixedly regarding the beauty of the Child, and the emotion of Joseph in reverently and
tenderly taking it, which is obvious without examining it closely. As this did not suffice to
display his powers, he made seated, standing and reclining nude figures in the
background, completing the work with such finish and polish that it is considered the
finest of his few panel paintings. When finished he sent it wrapped up to Agnolo's
house, by a messenger, with a note and a request for seventy ducats as payment.
Agnolo being a careful man, thought this a large sum for one picture, though he knew it
was worth more. So he gave the bearer forty ducats, saying that was enough.
Michelangelo at once sent demanding one hundred ducats or the return of the picture.
Andrea being delighted with the picture, then agreed to give seventy ducats, but
Michelangelo being incensed by Agnolo's mistrust, demanded double what he had
asked the first time, and Agnolo, who wanted the picture, was forced to send him one
hundred and forty crowns.
When Lionardo da Vinci was painting in the Great Hall of the Council 20), as related
in his Life, Piero Soderini, the gonfaloniere, his great genius, and the artist chose the
war of Pisa as his subject 21). He was given a room in the dyers' hospital at S. Onofrio,
and there began a large cartoon which he allowed no one to see. He filled it with nude
figures bathing in the Arno owing to the heat, and running in this condition to their arms
on being attacked by the enemy. He represented them hurrying out of the water to
dress, and seizing their arms to go to assist their comrades, some buckling their
cuirasses and many putting on other armour, while others on horseback are beginning
the fight. Among other figures is an old man wearing a crown of ivy to shade his head
trying to pull his stockings on to his wet feet, and hearing the cries of the soldiers and
the beating of the drums he is struggling violently, all his muscles to the tips of his toes
and his contorted mouth showing the effects of the exertion. It also contained drums and
nude figures with twisted draperies running to the fray, foreshortened in extraordinary
attitudes, some upright, some kneeling, some bent, and some lying. There were also
many groups sketched in various ways, some merely outlined in carbon, some with
features filled in, some hazy or with white lights, to show his knowledge of art. And
indeed artists were amazed when they saw the lengths he had reached in this cartoon.
Some in seeing his divine figures declared that it was impossible for any other spirit to
attain to its divinity. When finished 22) it was carried to the Pope's hall amid the
excitement of artists and to the glory of Michelangelo, and all those who studied and
drew from it, as foreigners and natives did for many years afterwards, became excellent
artists, as we see by Aristotile da Sangallo, his friend, Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, Raphael
Sanzio, FrancescoGranaccio, Baccio Bandinelli, AIonso Berugetta a Spaniard, with
Andrea del Sarto, Franciabigio, Jacopo Sansovino, Rosso, Maturino, Lorenzetto,
Tribolo, then a child, Jacopo da Pontormo, and Perino del Vaga, all great Florentine
masters. Having become a school for artists, this cartoon was taken to the great hall of
the Medici palace, where it was entrusted too freely to artists, for during the illness of
Duke Giuliano it was unexpectedly torn to pieces and scattered in many places 23), some
fragments still being in the house of M. Uberto Strozzi, a Mantuan noble, where they are
regarded with great reverence, indeed they are more divine than human.
The Pieta, the colossal statue and the cartoon gave Michelagnolo such a name that
when, in 1503 24), Julius II. succeeded Alexander VI., he sent for the artist, who was
then about twenty nine, to make his tomb, paying him one hundred crowns for the
journey. After reaching Rome, it was many months before he did anything. At last he
settled on a design for the tomb, surpassing in beauty and richness of ornamental
ancient and imperial tombs, affording the best evidence of his genius. Stimulated by
this, Julius decided to rebuild S. Pietro in order to hold the tomb, as related elsewhere.
Michelangelo set to work with spirit, and first went to Cartara to obtain all the marble,
accompanied by two apprentices, receiving 1000 crowns for this from Alamanno Salviati
at Florence. He spent eight months there without receiving any further provision, his
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mind being full of projects for making great statues there as a memorial to himself, as
the ancients had done, for he felt the fascination of the blocks. Having chosen his
marble, he sent it by sea to Rome, where it filled half the piazza of S. Pietro towards S.
Caterina, and the space between the church and the corridor leading to Castello. Here
Michelangelo made his studio for producing his figures and the rest of the tomb. In order
that the Pope might readily come to see him work, he made a drawbridge from the
cortidor to the studio. His intimacy with the Pope grew out of this, but it afterwards
brought him great annoyance and persecution, giving rise to much envy among artists.
Of this work, during Julius's life and after his death, Michelangelo did four complete
statues and sketched eight, as I shall relate.
The work being devised with great invention, I will describe the ordering of it.
Michelangelo wished it to stand isolated, in arranged a series of niches separated by
terminal figures clothed order to make it appear larger, showing all four sides, from the
middle upwards and bearing the first cornice on their heads, each one in a curious
attitude and having a nude prisoner bound, standing on a projection from the basement.
These prisoners were to represent the provinces subdued by the Pope and rendered
obedient to the Church. Other statues, also bound, represented the sciences and fine
arts doomed to death like the Pope who had protected them. At the corners of the first
cornice were four large figures, Active and Contemplative Life, St. Paul and Moses.
Above the cornice the work was on a smaller scale with a frieze of bronze bas-reliefs
and other figures, infants and ornaments. As a completion there were two figures above,
one a smiling Heaven, supporting the bier on her shoulders, with Cybele, goddess of the
earth, who seems to grieve that the world has lost such a man, while the other rejoices
that his soul has passed to celestial glory. There was an arrangement to enter at the top
of the work between the niches, and an oval place to move about in the middle, like a
church, in the midst of which the sarcophagus to contain the Pope's body was to be
placed. In all it was to have forty marble statues without counting the reliefs, infants and
ornaments, the carved cornices and other architectural parts. For greater convenience
Michelangelo ordered that a part of the marble should be taken to Florence, where he
proposed to spend the summer to escape from the malaria of Rome. There he
completed one face of the work in several pieces, and at Rome divinely finished two
prisoners 25) and other statues which are unsurpassed. That they might not be otherwise
employed, he gave the prisoners to Signor Ruberto Strozzi, in whose house
Michelangelo had fallen sick. They were afterwards sent to King Francis as a gift, and
are now at Ecouen inFrance. He sketched eight statues at Rome and five at Florence,
and finished a Victory 26) above a prisoner, now owned by Duke Cosimo, who had it
from the artist's nephew Lionardo. The duke has placed it in the great hall of the palace
painted by Vasari. Michelangelo finished the Moses in marble, a statue of five braccia,
unequalled by any modern or ancient work. Seated in a serious attitude, he rests with
one arm on the tables, and with the other holds his long glossy beard, the hairs, so
difficult to render in sculpture, being so soft and downy that it seems as if the iron chisel
must have become a brush. The beautiful face, like that of a saint and mighty prince,
seems as one regards it to need the veil to cover it, so splendid and shining does it
appear, and so well has the artist presented in the marble the divinity with which God
had endowed that holy countenance. The draperies fall in graceful folds, the muscles of
the arms and bones of the hands are of such beauty and perfection, as are the legs and
knees, the feet being adorned with excellent shoes, that Moses may now be called the
friend of God more than ever, since God has permitted his body to be prepared for the
resurrection before the others by the hand of Michelangelo. The Jews still go every
Saturday in troops to visit' and adore it as a divine, not a human thing. At length he
finished this part, which was afterwards set up in S. Pietro ad Vincola.
It is said that while Michelangelo was engaged upon it, the remainder of the marble
from Carrara arrived at Ripa, and was taken with the rest to the piazza of S. Pietro. As it
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was necessary to pay those who brought it, Michelangelo went as usual to the Pope.
But the Pope had that day received important news concerning Bologna, so
Michelangelo returned home and paid for the marble himself, expecting to be soon
repaid. He returned another day to speak to the Pope, and found difficulty in entering,
as a porter told him to wait, saying he had orders to admit no one. A bishop said to the
porter, "Perhaps you do not know this man." "I know him very well," said the porter," but
I am here to execute my orders." Unaccustomed to this treatment, Michelangelo told the
man to inform the Pope he was away when next His Holiness inquired for him.
Returning home, he set out post at two in the morning, leaving two servants with
instructions to sell his things to the Jews, and to follow him to Florence. Reaching
Poggibonsi, in Florentine territory, he felt safe, not being aware that five couriers had
arrived with letters from the Pope with orders to bring him back. But neither prayers nor
letters which demanded his return upon pain of disgrace moved him in the least.
However, at the instance of the couriers, he at length wrote a few lines asking the Pope
to excuse him, saying he would never return as he had been driven away like a rogue,
that his faithful service merited better treatment, and that he should find someone else
to serve him.
On reaching Florence, Michelangelo finished in three months the cartoon of the
great hall which Piero Soderini the gonfaloniere desired him to finish. The Signoria
received at that time three letters from the Pope demanding that Michelangelo should
be sent back to Rome. On this account it is said that, fearing the Pope's wrath, he
thought of going to Constantinople to serve the Turk by means of some Franciscan
friars, from between Constantinople and Pera. However, Piero Soderini persuaded him,
against his will, to go to the Pope, and sent him as ambassador of Florence, to secure
his person, to Bologna whither the Pope had gone from Rome 27), with letters of
recommendation to Cardinal Soderini, the gonfaloniere's brother, who was charged to
introduce the Pope. There is another account of this departure from Rome: that the
Pope was angry with Michelangelo, who would not allow him to see any of his things.
The artist suspected his assistants of having received bribes from the Pope more than
once to admit him to look at the chapel of his uncle Sixtus, which he was having
painted, on certain occasions when Michelangelo was not at home, or at work. It
happened once that Michelangelo hid himself, for he suspected the betrayal by his
apprentices, and threw down some planks as the Pope entered the chapel, and not
thinking who it was, caused him to be summarily ejected. At all events, whatever the
cause, he was angry with the Pope and also afraid of him, and so he ran away.
Arrived at Bologna, he first approached the footmen and was taken to the palace of
the Sixteen by a bishop sent by Cardinal Soderini, who was sick. He knelt before the
Pope, who looked wrathfully at him, and said as if in anger:' "Instead of coming to us,
you have waited for us to come and find you," inferring that Bologna is nearer Florence
than Rome. Michelangelo spread his hands and humbly asked for pardon in aloud
voice, saying he had acted in anger through being driven away, and that he hoped for
forgiveness for his error. The bishop who presented him made excuses, saying that
such men are ignorant of everything except their art. At this the Pope waxed wroth, and
striking the bishop with a mace he was holding, said: "It is you who are ignorant, to
reproach him when we say nothing." The bishop therefore was hustled out by the
attendants, and the Pope's anger being appeased, he blessed Michelangelo, who was
loaded with gifts and promises, and ordered to prepare a bronze statue of the Pope, five
braccia high, in a striking attitude of majesty, habited in rich vestments, and with
determination and courage displayed in his countenance. This was placed in a niche
above the S. Petronio gate.
It is said that while Michelangelo was engaged upon it Francia the painter came to
see it, having heard much of him and his works, but seen none. He obtained the
permission, and was amazed at Michelangelo's art. When asked what he thought of the
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figure, he replied that it was a fine cast and good material. Michelangelo, thinking that
he had praised the bronze rather than the art; said: "I am under the same obligation to
Pope Julius, who gave it to me, as you are to those who provide your paints,'' and in the
presence of the nobles he angrily called him a blockhead. Meeting one day a son of
Francia, who was said to be a very handsome youth, he said: "Your father knows how
to make living figures better than to paint them. ''One of the nobles asked him which
was the larger, the Pope's statue of a pair of oxen, and he replied, "It depends upon the
oxen, those of Bologna are certainly larger than our Florentine ones. ''Michelangelo
finished the statue in clay before the Pope left for Rome; His Holiness went to see it,
and the question was raised of what to put in the left hand, the right being held up with
such a proud gesture that the Pope asked if it was giving a blessing or a curse.
Michelangelo answered that he was admonishing the people of Bologna to be prudent.
When he asked the Pope whether he should put a book in his left hand, the pontiff
replied, "Give me a sword; I am not a man of letters." The Pope left 1000 crowns
wherewith to finish it in the bank of M. Antonmaria da Lignano. Alter sixteen months of
hard work it was placed in front of the church of S. Petronio, as already related it was
destroyed by the Bentivogli, and the bronze sold to Duke Alfonso of Ferrara, who made
a cannon of it, called the Julius, the head only being preserved, which is now in his
wardrobe.
After the Pope had returned to Rome, and when Michelangelo had finished the
statue, Bramante, the friend and relation of Raphael and therefore ill-disposed to
Michelangelo, seeing the Pope's preference for sculpture, schemed to divert his
attention, and told the Pope that it would be a bad omen to get Michelagnolo to go on
with his tomb, as it would seem to be an invitation to death. He persuaded the Pope to
get Michelangelo, on his return, to paint the vaulting of the Sixtine Chapel. In this way
Bramante and his other rivals hoped to confound him, for by taking him from sculpture,
in which he was perfect, and putting him to colouring in fresco, in which he had had no
experience, they thought he would produce less admirable work than Raphael, and
even if he succeeded he would become embroiled with the Pope, from whom they
wished to separate him. Thus, when Michelangelo returned to Rome, the Pope was
disposed not to have the tomb finished for the time being, and asked him to paint the
vaulting of the chapel. Michelangelo tried every means to avoid it, and recommended
Raphael, for he saw the difficulty of the work, knew his lack of skill in colouring, and
wanted to finish the tomb. But the more he excused himself, the more the impetuous
Pope was determined he should do it, being stimulated by the artist's rivals, especially
Bramante, and ready to become incensed against Michelangelo. At length, seeing that
the Pope was resolute, Michelangelo decided to do it 28). The Pope commanded
Bramante to make preparations for the painting, and he hung a scaffold on ropes,
making holes in the vaulting. When Michelangelo asked why he had done this, as on the
completion of the painting it would be necessary to fill up the holes again, Bramante
declared there was no other way. Michelagnolo thus recognised either that Bramante
was incapable or else hostile, and he went to complain to the Pope that the scaffolding
would not do, and that Bramante did not know how it should be constructed. The Pope
answered, in Bramante's presence, that Michelangelo should design one for himself.
Accordingly he erected one on poles not touching the wall, a method which guided
Bramante and others in similar work. He gave so much rope to the poor carpenter who
made it, that it sufficed, when sold, for the dower of the man's daughter, to whom
Michelangelo presented it. He then Get to work on the cartoons. The Pope wanted to
destroy the work on the walls done by masters in the time of Sixtus, and he set aside
15,000 ducats as the cost, as valued by Giuliano da San Gallo. Impressed by the
greatness of the work, Michelangelo sent to Florence for help, resolving to prove himself
superior to those who had worked there before, and to show modern artists the true way
to design and paint. The circumstances spurred him on in his quest of fame and his

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desire for the good of art. When he had completed the cartoons, he waited before
beginning to colour them in fresco until some friends of his, who were painters, should
arrive from Florence, as he hoped to obtain help from them, and learn their methods of
fresco-painting, in which some of them were experienced, namely Granaccio, Giulian
Dugiardini, Jacopo di Sandro, Indaco the elder, Agnolo di Donnino and Aristotile. He
made them begin some things as a specimen, but perceiving their work to be very far
from his expectations, he decided one morning to destroy everything which they had
done, and shut- ting himself up in the chapel he refused to admit them, and would not
let them see him in his house. This jest seemed to them to be carried too far, and so
they took their departure, returning with shame and mortification to Florence.
Michelangelo then made arrangements to do the whole work single handed. His care
and labour brought everything into excellent train, and he would see no one in order to
avoid occasions for showing any- thing, so that the most lively curiosity was excited.
Pope Julius was very anxious to see his plans, and the fact of their being hidden greatly
excited his desire. But when he went one day he was not admitted. This led to the
disturbance already referred to, when Michelangelo had to leave Rome. Michelangelo
has himself told me that, when he had painted a third of the vault, a certain mouldiness
began to appear one winter when the north wind was blowing; This was because the
Roman lime, being white and made of travertine, does not dry quickly enough, and
when mixed with pozzolana, which is of a tawny colour, it makes a dark mixture. If this
mixture is liquid and watery, and the wall thoroughly wetted, it often effloresces in
drying. This happened here, where the salt effloresced in many places, although in time
the air consumed it. In despair at this, Michelangelo wished to abandon the work, and
when he excused himself, telling the Pope that he was not succeeding, Julius sent
Giuliano da San Gallo, who explained the difficulty and taught him how to obviate it.
When he had finished half, the Pope, who sometimes went to see it by means of steps
and scaffolds, wanted it to be thrown open, being an impatient man; unable to wait until
it had received the finishing-touches. Immediately all Rome flocked to see it, the Pope
being the first, arriving before the dust of the scaffolding had been removed. Raphael,
who was excellent in imitating, at once changed his style after seeing it, and to show his
skill did the prophets and sybils 29) in a Pace, while Bramante tried to have the other
half of the chapel given to Raphael. On hearing this Michelangelo became incensed
against Bramante, and pointed out to the Pope without mincing matters many faults in
his life and works, the latter of which he afterwards corrected in the building of S. Pietro.
But the Pope daily became more convinced of Michelangelo's genius, and wished him
to complete the work, judging that he would do the other half even better. Thus, single
handed, he completed the work in twenty months, aided of fly by his mixer of colours.
He sometimes complained that owing to the impatience of the Pope he had not been
able to finish it as be would have desired, as the Pope was always asking him when he
would be done. On one occasion Michelangelo replied that he would be finished when
he had satisfied his own artistic sense. "And we require you to satisfy us in getting it
done quickly," replied the Pope, adding that if it was not done soon he would have the
scaffolding down. Fearing the Pope's impetuosity. Michelangelo finished what he had to
do without devoting enough time to it, and the scaffold being removed it was opened on
All Saints day, when the Pope went there to sing Mass amid the enthusiasm of the
whole city. Like the old masters who had worked below, Michelangelo wanted to retouch
some things a secco, such as the backgrounds, draperies, the gold ornaments and
things, to impart greater richness and a better appearance. When the Pope learned this
he wished it to be done, for he heard what he had seen so highly praised, but as it
would have taken too long to reconstruct the scaffold it remained as it was. The Pope
often saw Michelagnolo, and said, "Have the chapel enriched with colours and gold, in
which it is poor." He would answer familiarly, "Holy Father, in those days they did not
wear gold; they never became very rich, but were holy men who despised wealth."
Altogether Michelangelo received 3000 crowns from the Pope for this work, and he must
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have spent twenty-five on the colours. The work was executed in great discomfort, as
Michelangelo had to stand with his head thrown back, and he so injured his eyesight
that for several months he could only read and look at designs in that posture. I suffered
similarly when doing the vaulting of four large rooms in the palace of Duke Cosimo, and
I should never have finished them had I not made a seat supporting the head, which
enabled me to work lying down, but it so enfeebled my head and injured my sight that I
feel the effects still, and I marvel that Michelangelo supported the discomfort. However,
he became more eager every day to be doing and making progress, and so he felt no
fatigue, and despised the discomfort.
The work had six corbels on each side and one at each end, containing sibyls and
prophets, six braccia high, with the Creation of the World in the middle, down to the
Flood and Noah's drunkenness, and the generations of Jesus Christ in the lunettes. He
used no perspective or foreshortening, or any fixed point of view, devoting his energies
rather to adapting the figures to the disposition than the disposition to the figures,
contenting himself with the perfection of his nude and draped figures, which are of
unsurpassed design and excellence. This work has been a veritable beacon to our art,
illuminating all painting and the world which had remained in darkness for so any
centuries. Indeed, painters no longer care about novelties, inventions, attitudes and
draperies, methods of new expression or striking subjects painted in different ways,
because this work contains every perfection that can be given. Men are stupefied by the
excellence of the figures, the perfection of the foreshortening, the stupendous rotundity
of the contours, the grace and slenderness and the charming proportions of the fine
nudes showing every perfection; every age, expression and form being represented in
varied attitudes, such as sitting, turning, holding festoons of oak-leaves and laurel, the
device of Pope Julius, showing that his was a golden age, for Italy had yet to experience
her miseries. Some in the middle hold medals with, scenes, painted like bronze or gold,
the subject being taken from the Book of Kings. To show the greatness of God and the
perfection of art he represents the Dividing of Light from Darkness, showing with love
and art the Almighty, self-supported, with extended arms. With fine discretion and
ingenuity he then did God making the sun and moon, supported by numerous cherubs,
with marvellous foreshortening of the arms and legs. The same scene contains the
blessing of the earth and the Creation, God being foreshortened in the act of flying, the
figure following you to whatever part of the chapel you turn. In another part he did God
dividing the waters from the land, marvellous figures showing the highest intellect and
worthy of being made by the divine hand of Michelangelo. He continued with the
creation of Adam, God being borne by a group of little angels, who seem also to be
supporting the whole weight of the world. ‚The venerable majesty of God with the motion
as He surrounds some of cherubs with one arm and stretches the other to an Adam of
marvellous beauty of attitude and outline, seem a new creation of the Maker rather than
one of the brush and design of such a man. He next did the creation of our mother Eve,
showing two nudes, one in a heavy sleep like death, the other quickened by the
blessing of God. The brush of this great artist has clearly marked the difference between
sleeping and waking, and the firmness presented by the Divine Majesty, to speak
humanly.
He then did Adam eating the apple, persuaded by a figure half woman and half
serpent, and he and Eve expelled from Paradise, the angel executing the order of the
incensed Deity with grandeur and nobility, Adam showing at once grief for his sin and
the fear of death, while the woman displays shame, timidity and a desire to obtain
pardon as she clasps her arms and hands over her breast, showing, in turning her head
towards the angel, that she has more fear of the justice than hope of the Divine mercy.
No less beautiful is the sacrifice of Cain and Abel, one bringing wood, one bending over
the fire, and some killing the victim, certainly not executed with less thought and care
than the others. He employed a like art and judgment in the story of the Flood,
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containing various forms of death, the terrified men trying every possible means to save
their lives. Their heads show that they recognise the danger with their terror and utter
despair. Some are humanely assisting each other to climb to the top of a rock; one of
them is trying to remove a half-dead man in a very natural manner. It is impossible to
describe the excellent treatment of Noah's drunkenness, showing incomparable and
unsurpassable art. Encouraged by these he attacked the five sibyls and seven prophets,
showing himself even greater. They are of five braccia and more, in varied attitudes,
beautiful draperies and displaying miraculous judgment and invention, their expressions
seeming divine to a discerning eye. Jeremiah, with crossed legs, holds his beard with
his elbow on his knee, the other hand resting in his lap, and his head being bent in a
melancholy and thoughtful manner, expressive of his grief, regrets, reflection, and the
bitterness he feels concerning his people. Two boys behind him show similar power;
and in the first sibyl nearer the door, in representing old age, in addition to the involved
folds of her draperies, he wishes to show that her blood is frozen by time, and in reading
she holds the book close to her eyes, her sight having failed. Next comes Ezekiel, an
old man with fine grace and movement, in copious draperies, one hand holding a scroll
of his prophecies, the other raised and his head turned as if he wished to declare things
high and great. Behind him are two boys holding his books. Next comes a sibyl, who,
unlike the Erethrian sibyl just mentioned, holds her book at a distance, and is about to
turn the page; her legs are crossed, and she is reflecting what she shall write, while a
boy behind her is lighting her lamp. This figure has an expression of extraordinary
beauty, the hair and draperies are equally fine, and her arms are bare, and as perfect
as the other parts. He did next the Joel earnestly reading a scroll, with the most natural
expression of satisfaction at what he finds written, exactly like one who has devoted
close attention to some subject. Over the door of the chapel Michelangelo placed the
aged Zachariah, who is searching for something n a book, with one leg raised and the
other down, though in his eager search he does not feel the discomfort. He is a fine
figure of old age somewhat stout in person, his fine drapery falling in few folds. There is
another sibyl turned towards the altar showing writings, not less admirable with her I"
boys than the others. But for Nature herself one must see the Isaiah, a figure wrapped
in thought, with his legs crossed, one hand on his book to keep the place, and the elbow
of the other arm also on the volume, and his chin in his hand. Being called by one of the
boys behind, he rapidly turns his head without moving the rest of his body. This figure,
when well studied, is a liberal education in all the principles of painting. Next to him is a
beautiful aged sibyl who sits studying a book, with extraordinary grace, matched by the
two boys beside her. It would not be possible to add to the excellence of the youthful
Daniel, who is writing in a large book, copying with incredible eagerness from some
writings, while a boy standing between his legs supports the weight as he writes.
Equally beautiful is the Lybica, who, having written a large volume drawn from several
books, remains in a feminine attitude ready to rise and shut the book, a difficult thing
practically impossible for any other master. What can I say of the four scenes in the
angles of the corbels of the vaulting? A David stands with his boyish strength triumphant
over a giant, gripping him by the neck while soldiers about the camp marvel. Very
wonderful are the attitudes in the story of Judith, in which we see the headless trunk of
Holofernes, while Judith puts the head into a basket carried b her old attendant, who
being tall bends down to permit Judith to do t, while she prepares to cover it, and turning
towards the trunk shows her fear of the camp and of the body, a well-thought-out
painting. Finer than this and than all the rest is the story of the Brazen Serpent, over the
left corner of the altar, showing the death of many, the biting of the serpents, and Moses
raising the brazen serpent on a staff, with a variety in the manner of death and in those
who being bitten have lost all hope. The keen poison causes the agony and death of
many, who lie still with twisted legs and arms, while many fine heads are crying out in
despair. Not less beautiful are those regarding the serpent, who feels their pains
diminishing with returning life. Among them is a woman, supported by one whose aid is
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as finely shown as her need in her fear and distress. The scene of Ahasuerus in bed
having the annals read to him is very fine. There are three figures eating at a table,
showing the council held to liberate the Hebrews and impale Haaman, a wonderfully
foreshortened figure, the stake supporting him and an arm stretched out seerifing real,
not painted, as do his projecting leg and the parts of the body turned inward. It would
take too long to enumerate all the beauties and various circumstances in the genealogy
of the patriarchs, beginning with the sons of Noah, forming the generation of Christ,
containing a great variety of draperies, expressions, extraordinary and novel fancies;
nothing in fact but displays genius, all the figures being finely foreshortened, and
everything being admirable and divine. But who can see without wonder and
amazement the tremendous Jonah, the last figure of the chapel, for the vaulting which
curves forward from the wall is made by a triumph of art to appear straight, through the
posture of the figure, which by the mastery of the drawing and the light and shade,
appears really to be bending backwards. O, happy age O, blessed artists who have
been able to refresh your darkened eyes at the fount of such clearness, and see
difficulties made plain by this marvellous artist His labours have removed the bandage
from your eyes, and he has separated the true from the false which clouded the mind.
Thank Heaven, then, and try to imitate Michelangelo in all things.
When the work was uncovered everyone rushed to see it from every part and
remained dumbfounded. The Pope, being thus encouraged to greater designs, richly
rewarded Michelangelo, who sometimes said in speaking of the great favours showered
upon him by the Pope that he fully recognised his powers, and if he sometimes used
hard words, he healed them by signal gifts and favours. Thus, when Michelangelo once
asked leave to go and spend the feast of St. John in Florence, and requested money for
this, the Pope said, "When will this chapel be ready?" "When I can get it done, Holy
Father." The Pope struck him with his mace, repeating, "When I can, when I can, I will
make you finish it !"Michelangelo, however, returned to his house to prepare for his
journey to Florence, when the Pope sent Cursio, his chamberlain, with five hundred
crowns to appease him and excuse the Pope, who feared what Michelangelo might do.
As Michelangelo knew the Pope, and was really devoted to him, he laughed, especially
as such things always turned to this advantage, and the Pope did everything to retain
his goodwill.
On the completion of the chapel the Pope directed Cardinal Santiquattro and the
Cardinal of Agen, his nephew, to have his tomb finished on a smaller scale than at first
proposed. Michelagnolo readily began it anew, hoping to complete it without the
hindrance which afterwards caused him so much pain and trouble. It proved the bane of
his life, and for some time made him appear ungrateful to the Pope who had so highly
favoured him. On returning to the tomb he worked ceaselessly upon designs for the
walls of the chapel; but envious Fortune would not allow him to complete the monument
he had begun so superbly, for the death of Julius occurred then 30). It was abandoned at
the election of Leo X., a Pope of no less worth and splendour, who, being the first
Florentine Pope, desired to adorn his native city with some marvel executed by a great
artist and worthy of his position. Accordingly he directed Michelangelo to prepare
designs for the facade of S. Lorenzo, the church of the Medici at Florence, as he was to
direct the work, and so the tomb of Julius was abandoned. When Michelangelo made
every possible objection, saying that he was under obligation to Santiquattro and Agen,
Leo replied that he had thought of this, and had induced them to release him, promising
that Michelangelo should do the figure for the tomb at Florence he had already begun to
do. But this caused great dissatisfaction to the cardinals and Michelangelo, who
departed weeping.
Endless disputes now arose, because the facade should have been divided among
several persons. Moreover, many artists flocked to Rome, and designs were prepared
by Baccio d'Agnolo, Antonio da San Gallo, Andrea and Jacopo Sansovino, and the
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 gracious Raphael of Urbino, who afterwards went to Florence with the Pope for the
purpose: Michelangelo therefore deter- mined to make a model, not acknowledging any
superior or guide in architecture. But his resolve to do without help led to the inactivity of
himself and the other masters, who in despair returned to their accustomed avocations.
Michelangelo went to Carrara 31) with a commission to receive 1000 crowns from Jacopo
Salviati. But Jacopo being closeted in a room with some citizens on certain affairs,
Michelangelo would not wait, but left at once for Carrara without a word. On hearing of
Michelangelo's arrival, Jacopo, who could not find him in Florence, sent the 2000
crowns to Carrara. The messenger desired him to give a receipt, but Michelangelo said
that he was working for the Pope and not for himself, and it was not take it with you for
your requirements." Cristofano replied, I do not want money, take it for yourself. I shall
be content to remain near you, and to live and die with you." "I am not in the habit of
profiting by the labours of others," replied Vasari if you do not want it I will send it to your
father Guido. "Do not do that," said Cristofano, for he would be sure to put it to a bad
use as he always does." At length he took it and went to Borgo, sick in body and
troubled in mind. In a few days his grief at his brother's death, whom he had loved
dearly, and a cruel disorder of the reins, caused his death. He received the sacraments,
and distributed the money he had brought with him to the members of his house and the
poor. It is said that his only cause of grief before his death was that he had left Vasari
with too much on his hands in the duke's palace. Not long after the duke heard with
sorrow of Cristofano's death, and ordered a marble bust, with the following epitaph, to
be made and sent to the Borgo, where it as placed in S. Francesco:

D.O.M.CHRISTOPHORO GHERARDO BVRGENSIPINGENDI ARTE

PRAESTANTISS. QUOD GE0RGIVS VASARIUS ARETINUSHUIUS ARTIS
FACILE PRINcEPSIN EXORNANDOCOSMI FLORENTIN. DUCIS
PALATIOILLIVS OPERAM QUAM MAXIMEPROBAVERITPICTORES
HETRVCI POSVEREOBIIT. A.D. MDLVI.VIXIT ANN. LVI. M. III. D. VI.

1)
Ascanio Condivi.
2)
Martin Sehos.

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3)
Now in the Bargello, Florence.
4)
Between Lapiths and Centanrs; now in the Casa Buonarotti, Florence.
5)
Also in the Casa Buonarotti.
6)
It went to Fontainebleau and remained in the garden of the Palace until 1713, since which time it has been
lost.
7)
In 1494, now lost.
8)
It has since vanished. in 1496. a Now lost.
9)
Probably the one now in South Kensington Museum.
10)
Now in the Bargello, Florence.
11)
The contract was made in 1498. The patron was Jean de Groslaye deVilliers, abbot of St. Denis and
cardinal of St. Sabina, not the Cardinal de Rohan.
12)
i.e. Cristoforo Solari of Milan.
13)
In 1501. It had been given to Agostino di Duccio in 1463and taken from him three years later.
14)
In 1504.
15)
It was removed to the Accademia in 1873.
16)
In 1502, now lost.
17)
One in the Royal Academy, London, and the other in the Bargello.
18)
In 1503.
19)
Now in Notre Dame, Bruges, done for John and Alexander Mouscron in 1505.
20)
Painted in 1503; now in the Uffizi.
21)
In I504.
22)
The scene represented the battle of Cascina, which took place on 28 July, 1364, when Sir John
Hawkwood surprised the Florentines.
23)
In 1506.
24)
See Vol III., p. 190. Mr. Symonds gives reasons for doubting this story, Life of Michelangelo, i. 164.
25)
It was in 1505.
26)
In 1513. They are now in the Louvre.
27)
Now in the Bargello.
28)
In 1506.
29)
He was engaged upon this work from 1508 to 1512.
30)
On 22 September, 1513.
31)
In 1517.

ANTONIO DA CORREGGIO
Painter
(1494-1534)

I Do not leave this country from which Mother Nature, to

escape the charge of partiality, has given to the world
distinguished men of the stamp of those who have adorned
Tuscany for so many years. Among them was Antonio da
Correggio, a most remarkable painter, who adopted the
modern style perfectly, and being endowed with a rare
genius, of great natural ability and well trained in art, he
became in a few years a sublime and marvellous artist. He
was of a very timid disposition, and, at great personal
inconvenience, worked continually for the family which
depended upon him. Although naturally good, he allowed
himself to be unreasonably afflicted in resisting those
passions which usually affect men. In art he was very melancholy, enduring its labours,
but most skilful in overcoming difficulties, as we see in the great tribune of the Duomo of
Parma 1), which contains a multitude of well-finished figures in fresco, where he has
marvellously foreshortened the view as seen from below. He was the first to introduce
the modern style into Lombardy, so that it was thought he might have done marvels and
endangered the laurels of many who were considered great in his time if he had left
Lombardy and gone to Rome. But not having seen any antiques or good modern works,
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he was obliged to follow what he had seen, and he would necessarily have done better,
with greater advantages, to the infinite improvement of his works, raising him to the
highest excellence.
It is considered certain that there never was a better colourist, or any artist who
imparted more loveliness or relief to his things, so great was the soft beauty of his flesh-
tints and the grace of his finish. In the same Duomo he did two other large pictures in
oils, one being a much-admired dead Christ. In S. Giovanni, in the same city, he did a
picture in fresco for the tribune of the Virgin ascending into heaven amid a throng of
angels and other saints 2). The beauty of the drapery and the air of the figures are of a
loveliness which one would have thought it impossible to conceive, far less to express
with the hands. Some of these figures drawn by him in red chalk are in our book, with a
border of beautiful children and other decorative borders, with various fancies of
sacrifices in the antique style. But if Antonio had not brought his works to that perfection
which we see in them, his designs, although possessing good style, charm and masterly
skill, would not have won him such a reputation as his more ambitious efforts. This art
has so many branches that an artist frequently cannot master them all perfectly, for
some have drawn divinely and been faulty colourists, while others have been
marvellous colourists and only mediocre draughts men. This is due to a decision and
practice adopted in youth, some taking up design and some colouring. But as all is
learned in order to produce perfect work at length, that is colouring with design,
Correggio deserves great praise for having attained perfection in his works, both in oils
and in fresco. Thus, in the church of S. Francesco 3) of the bare-footed friars in the same
city he did an Annunciation in fresco so finely that, when the wall on which it was
painted threatened to fall down, the friars shored it up with wood andiron supports, and,
cutting the wall away piece by piece, they saved it, and transported it to another and
safer place in tile same convent. Over a gate of that city he painted a Madonna and
Child, marvellous for its beautiful colouring in fresco, so that travellers who have not
seen his other works admire it greatly. In S. Antonio in the same city he did a picture of
the Virgin and St. Mary Magdalene with a laughing child near, like a little angel, holding
a book in his hand 4). It is so natural that no one who sees it can refrain from smiling,
and a melancholy person is made happy. There is also a St. Jerome of such marvellous
and stupendous colouring that painters admire it for this character, seeing that it is not
possible to paint better.
He did other paintings for Lombardy, and for many lords, and, among others, two in
Mantual 5) for Duke Federigo II., to be sent to the emperor, a work worthy of such a
prince. When Giulio Romano saw these paintings, he said that he had never seen
colouring to approach it. One was a naked Leda, and the other a Venus, the colouring
so lovely and the flesh-tints so well done that it appears actual flesh and not paint. One
of them contains are markable landscape, in which no Lombard has ever surpassed
him. He also did hairs so lightly coloured and so finely polished and threaded that
nothing better can be seen. Some cupids shoot arrows of gold and lead at a stone, a
very skilfully executed subject. A clear and limpid stream runs between rocks, and
bathes the feet of Venus, enhancing her loveliness, and it is hard to regard her
delicateness and whiteness without emotion. Therefore Antonio merited every possible
honour when alive and the praises of writers after his death. At Modena he painted a
Madonna 6), valued by all artists, and considered to be the best-painting in that city. At
Bologna, in the house of the Ercolani, Bolognese noblemen, there is a Christ in the
Garden appearing to Mary Magdalene 7), a very beautiful thing. Reggio possessed a fine
and remarkable picture, which not long ago came under the notice of M. Luciano
Pallavicino, who was very fond of paintings, and, without minding the cost, he bought it
as if it had been a jewel and sent it to his house at Genoa. There is another picture at
Reggio of a Nativity of Christ 8), who emits a radiance which illuminates the shepherds
and those who are regarding Him. Among many ideas contained in this subject there is
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a woman who wishes to look steadily at the Christ, but, as mortal sight could not bear
the radiance of His divinity, she puts her hand before her eyes in a marvellously natural
manner. Above the manger is a choir of angels singing, so well done that they seem to
have rained from heaven rather than to be the mere creation of a painter. In the same
city is a small picture of the size of a foot, the most remarkable and beautiful of his
works. It represents Christ in the Garden, with small figures, at nighttime, and the
radiance of the angel appearing to Him illuminates the Christ in an extraordinarily true
and striking manner. The three Apostles lie sleeping on a plain at the foot of the
mountain on which Christ is praying, the shadow of which lies across this plain and
gives an extraordinary force to the figures. In the‚distance the dawn is coming, and from
one of the sides soldiers‚approach with Judas. This small scene is so well conceived
that it cannot be equalled in a work of its size for patience or study. I might say much
more of this artist's work, but as everything by his hand is admired by our foremost
artists as a divine thing, I will say nothing further. I have taken the utmost pains to obtain
his portrait, and have not been able to find it, because he did not draw himself, and was
never drawn by others. Indeed he was a modest man, and felt that he had not mastered
his art so thoroughly as he would have desired, for he realised its difficulties. He was
content with little, and lived as a good Christian should.
Antonio was anxious to save, like everyone who is burdened with a family, and he
thus became excessively miserly. It is said that payment of 60 crowns being made to
him at Parma in coppers, which he wished to take to Correggio for his affairs, he set out
with this burden on foot. Becoming overheated by the warmth of the sun, he took some
water to refresh himself, and caught a severe fever, which terminated his life in the
fortieth year of his age or thereabouts. His paintings date about 1512, and he greatly
enriched art by his masterly colouring, whereby he opened the eyes of Lombardy,
where so many fine spirits have been seen in painting, following him in the production of
fine pictures, worthy of being remembered. By his facile treatment of hair, so difficult to
do, he has taught the proper methods of representing it, for which all painters owe him
an eternal debt. At their instance M. Fabio Segni, a nobleman of Florence, wrote the
following epigram:

Hujus cum regeret mortales spiritus artus Pictoris, Charites

supplicuere Jovi: Non alia pingi dextra, Pater alme, rogamus, Hunc
praeter, nulli pingere nos liceat. Annuit his votis summi regnator
olympi, Et juvenem subito sydera ad alta tulit Ut posset melius
Charitum simulacra referre, Praesens, et nudas cerneret inde Deas.

At this same time flourished Andrea del Gobbo; painter of Milan 9), and a charming
colourist. Many of his works are to be found in private houses in Milan, and there is a
large picture of the Assumption in the Certosa of Pavia, left unfinished owing to his
death. `This picture shows the extent of his excellence and his love for the labours of his
art.

- 75 -
1)
Begun in 1526; left unfinished at his death.
2)
1520-4.
3)
It is in S. Annuziata.
4)
Painted in 1523. Both this and the preceding picture are in the Parma Gallery.
5)
About 1532; the Leda is in the Borghese Gallery, Rome.
6)
Probably the one at Dresden, painted in 1525 for the brotherhood of S. Sebastiano, Modena.
7)
Now in the Escurial.
8)
Painted for S.Prospero, Reggio, in 1522, now in the Dresden Gallery.
9)
Andrea Solari. His brother Cristofano Solari, the sculptor, was known, as Il Gobbo, i.e hunch-back. The
Assumption was painted by Andrea after 1515.

JACOPO DA FONTORMO
Painter of Florence
(1494-1557)

THE ancestors of Bartolommeo di Jacopo di Martino, the father of Jacopo da

Pontormo, whose Life I now write, came, as some declare, from Ancisa of the Valdarno,
famous as the home of the ancestors of M. Francesco Petrarca. But whatever their
place of origin, this Bartolommeo was a Florentine, and of the family of the Carucci. He
is said to have been a pupil of Domenico del Ghirlandajo, and being a painter of merit,
who did many things in Valdarno, he ultimately went to work at Empoli, and took a wife
at Pontormo nearby, called Alessandra, daughter of Pasquale di Zanobi and Mona
Brigida, his wife. the fruit of this union was Jacopo, born in 1493. But the father dying in
1499, the mother in 1504, and the grandfather in 1506, the boy remained in the charge
of Mona Brigida, his grandmother, who kept him several years in Pontormo, and had
him taught reading, writing and the elements of Latin grammar. At the age of thirteen
she took him to Florence, and put him in the Court of Wards, so that his small property
might be taken charge of by that magistracy, as was the custom. After leaving him in the
house of a cobbler, a distant relation, Mona Brigida returned to Pontormo, taking
Jacopo's sister with her. But Mona Brigida dying soon after, Jacopo was forced to bring
this sister to Florence and put her in the house of a relation called Niccolaio, who lived
in the via de' Servi. But this child died in 1512 before being married. Jacopo had not

- 76 -
been many months in Florence before Bernardo Vettori sent him to stay with Lionardo
da Vinci, and then with Mariotto Albertinelli, Piero di Cosimo, and finally, in 1512, with
Andrea del Sarto, with whom he did not remain long, for after he had done the cartoons
for the arch of the Servites it does not seem that Andrea bore him any good will,
whatever the cause may have been.
Jacopo's first work was a little Annunciation for a tailor, his friend. The tailor
dying before this was finished, it remained in Jacopo's hands, who was then with
Mariotto, who boasted of it, and showed it to all who visited his shop. It happened that
Raphael came to Florence, and upon seeing this he marvelled, and foretold Jacopo's
future success. Not long after, when Mariotto left Florence to do the panel begun by Fra
Bartolommeo at Viterbo, Jacopo, who was young, melancholy and lonely, remained
without a master, and went of his own accord to Andrea del Sarto at the time when he
had completed the series on St. Philip in the court of the Servites. These greatly
pleased Jacopo, as did the style, design and everything else of Andrea. Jacopo
therefore tried to imitate him, and before long he made marvellous progress in design
and colouring, so that he seemed to have followed art for many years. Andrea having
finished an Annunciation for the church of the friars of Sangallo, now destroyed, he gave
the predella to Jacopo to do in oils. He made a dead Christ, with two little angels
weeping and holding torches. At the sides he did two prophets in circles, executed with
the skill of a master. But Bronzino has said that he remembers having heard from
Jacopo that Rossi also worked at the predella. Jacopo also assisted Andrea in many
pictures and works on which he was continually engaged.
On the elevation of Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici to the papacy as Leo X., the friends
of the house in Florence made numerous scutcheons of the Pope in stone, marble,
canvas and fresco. The Servite friars, wishing to show their devotion to the house and
the Pope, had a stone coat-of-arms of Leo made and placed in the middle of the arch of
the first portico of the Nuniata, on the piazza, and soon after directed Andrea di Cosimo
1)
, the painter, to gild and decorate it with arabesques, of which he was an excellent
master, and with devices of the Medici house, adding figures of Faith and Charity on
either side. Andrea, feeling that he could not do so much by himself, resolved to give the
figures to others, and calling Jacopo, who was not more than nineteen, he gave them to
him, although he had some difficulty to persuade him, as the youth was unwilling at first
to undertake a work in a place of such importance. However, he took courage, and
although he was not so skilful in fresco as in oils, he accepted the work. While still with
Andrea del Sarto, he withdrew to make the cartoons in S. Antonio at the Faenza gate,
where he lived, and, that done, he one day took his master to see them. And re-
appraised them loudly, but, whether through envy or some other cause, he never
regarded Jacopo kindly again. Thus, when Jacopo sometimes went to his shop, it was
shut, or he was chased away by the apprentices. Accordingly he withdrew and began to
reduce his expenses, for he was very poor, and studied with great assiduity. When
Andrea di Cosimo had finished gilding the arms, Jacopo began to finish the rest by
himself, and moved by his desire to make a name, and aided by his natural grace and
fertility, he executed the work with marvelous quickness, and as perfectly as an old and
experienced master. With added courage, he felt he could do a much better work, and
he had thought of breaking up the old one and making another after a design of his
own. The friars, seeing the work was finished and that Jacopo came no more, went to
Andrea and persuaded him to unveil his work. Andrea sought Jacopo to ask if he
wished to retouch anything, and not finding him, for he was engrossed upon the new
design, and would see no one, he removed the scaffolding and uncovered the work.
That same evening, when Jacopo left his house to go to the Servites, it being night, to
take down what he had done and set to work on the new design, he found the work
unveiled and a crowd regarding it. He sought out Andrea, and wrathfully complained of
his acting without him, telling him what he intended to do. Andrea answered, “You do
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wrong to complain, for your work is so good that I am sure you could not do better, and
as you will have no lack of employment, use these designs for something else." His
work was of such beauty that for its new style and the sweetness of the heads of the
two women and the charm of the infants it was the finest fresco ever seen till then.
There are two other infants in the air holding a drapery over the Pope's arms, of
unsurpassable beauty, while all the figures have the utmost relief, and their colouring
cannot be over-praised. Michelagnolo, on seeing it, and knowing it to be the work of a
youth of nineteen, said," This youth, if he lives and continues to pursue art, will attain to
heaven." The men of Pontormo, hearing of Jacopo's renown, sent for him and employed
him to do the arms of Pope Leo over a door on the main street, with two lovely infants,
but it has been all but destroyed by water. At the carnival of that year there were great
rejoicings in Florence over the creation of Leo, and, among other festivities, two were
carried out at the expense of two companies of lords and nobles of the city. The head of
one of these, called the Diamond, was Sig. Giuliano de' Medici, the Pope's brother,
and .it was so called because the diamond was the device of Lorenzo the elder, his
father. That of the other, with a Branch as device, had Sig. Lorenzo, son of Piero de'
Medici, as its head, with a dried laurel branch, with new leaves springing forth, to show
the revival of his grandfather's name. M. Andrea Dazzi, who was then professing Greek
and Latin at the University of Florence, was charged by the Diamond company to devise
something for a triumph. He arranged one like those of the Romans, with three beautiful
wooden cars richly painted. The first represented Boy- hood, with a row of boys; the
second was Manhood, with persons who had done great things at that season of life;
the third was Old Age, with men who had done great deeds when old. All the characters
were most sumptuously dressed. The architects of these cars were Raffaello delle
Viviole, Carota the carver, Andreadi Cosimo the painter, and Andrea del Sarto. The
draperies of the figures were designed by Ser Piero da Vinci, Lionardo's father, and
Bernardo di Giordano, while Jacopo Pontormo was charged to paint the three cars
single handed, with scenes in chiaroscuro, representing the transformations of the gods.
These are now in the possession of Pietro Paolo Galeotti, an excellent goldsmith. The
first car bore the device Erimus, the second Sumus, the third Fuimus. The canzone
began: "Volano gli anni" etc.
Sig. Lorenzo, head of the Branch company, having seen these things and desiring to
surpass them, gave the charge of all to Jacopo Nardi, a noble and learned man (to
whom his native Florence was afterwards much bound). This Jacopo arranged Six
triumphs, double in number to those of the Diamond. The first, drawn by oxen draped
with grass, represented the golden age of Saturn and Janus. At the top of the car were
Saturn with the scythe and two-headed Janus holding the keys of the temple of Peace,
with Fury bound at his feet, and countless things pertaining to Saturn, beautifully
coloured by Pontormo. Six pairs of shepherds accompanied this car, dressed in sable
and martin’s fur, wearing shoes of antique pattern and with garlands on their heads of
many kinds of leaves. The horses on which they rode were without saddles, but covered
with the skins of lions, tigers and wolves, the gilded claws of which hung gracefully at
the sides. The cruppers had gold cord and the spurs bore the heads of sheep, dogs and
other animals. The bridles were made of various kinds of verdure and silver cord. Each
shepherd had four footmen dressed as shepherds of a simple kind in other skins,
bearing torches made like dry branches and with pine-branches, very beautiful to see.
The second car, drawn by two pairs of oxen draped with rich cloth, with garlands at their
heads and large beads hanging from their gilt horns, carried Numa Pompilius, second
King of the Romans, with the books of religion and all the priestly trappings and
necessaries for sacrifice, as he was the first of the Romans to regulate religion and
sacrifices. Six priests accompanied the car on handsome mules, their heads covered
with cloth hoods embroidered with gold and silver ivy leaves, worked with mastery. They
wore ancient sacerdotal vestments, with rich gold borders and fringes, some carrying a

- 78 -
censer and some a gold vase or something similar. Their footmen were like Levites,
whose torches resembled ancient candelabra. The third car represented the consulship
of Titus Manlius Torquatus, consul after the end of the first Carthagenian war, and who
governed so that Rome flourished in virtue and prosperity. This car, decorated with
many fine ornaments by Pontormo, was drawn by eight fine horses, preceded by six
pairs of senators on horseback in togas covered with a gold web, accompanied by
lictors with the fasces, axes and other instruments of justice. The fourth car, drawn by
buffaloes dressed as elephants, represented Julius Caesar triumphing for his victory
over Cleopatra, on a car painted with his most famous deeds by Pontormo. Six pairs of
men-at-arms in rich and shining armour accompanied him, having gold fringes, and with
their lances at their sides. Their half-armed footmen carried torches in the form of
trophies of different kinds. The fifth car, drawn by winged horses like griffins, had
Augustus, the ruler of the universe, accompanied by six pairs of poets on horseback
crowned like Caesar with laurel and dressed according to their provinces. Each poet
bore a scroll inscribed with his name. On the sixth car, drawn by six pairs of heifers
richly caparisoned was the just Emperor Trajan, before whose car, richly painted by
Pontormo, rode six pairs of doctors of law, with togas down to their feet and cloaks of
ermine, such as they anciently wore. The footmen carrying torches were scribes,
copyists and notaries with books and writings in their hands. After them came the car of
the Golden Age, richly made, with. many figures in relief by Baccio Bandinelli and
beautiful paintings by Pontormo, among which the four cardinal Virtues were much
admired. In the midst of the car was a great globe, upon which lay a man, as if dead, his
arms all rusted, his back open and emerging the refrom a naked gilded child,
representing the Golden Age revived by the creation of the Pope and the end of the Iron
Age from which it issued. The dried branch putting forth new leaves had the same
signification, although some said that it was an allusion to Lorenzo de’ Medici, Duke of
Urbino. The gilt boy, the child of a baker, who had been paid 10 crowns, died soon after
of the effects. The canzone sung at the masquerade was composed by Jacopo Nardi;
the first stanza ran thus:

Colui che da le leggi alla natura,

E i vari stati e secoli dispone,
D'ogni bene e cagione
E il mal, quanto permette, al mondo dura: Onde, questa
figura
Contemplando, si vede
Come con certo piede
L'un secol dopo l'altro al mondo viene, E muta il bene in
mal e'l mal in bene 2).

From his work for this feast Pontormo won much advantage obtained in the city.
Thus when Pope Leo afterwards came to Florence he was much employed on the
preparations. With Baccio da Montelupo, a sculptor of the age, who made a wooden
arch at the top of the via del Palagio, from the steps of Badia, the painted some
beautiful scenes, which afterwards suffered from the negligence of those who had
charge of them. One only remained, a Pallas tuning her instrument to the lyre of Apollo
with much grace. The excellence of the other scenes may be judged from this.
In the same festivities Ridolfo Ghirlandajo was charged to embellish the Pope’s hall,
adjoining the convent of S. Maria Novella, the ancient residence of the pontiffs in the
city. Being pressed for time, he was forced to employ assistance. Having decorated all
the other rooms, he charged Pontormo to do some frescoes in the chapel 3) where the
Pope heard Mass every morning. Jacopo did a God the Father with cherubs, and a
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Veronica with the face of Christ on a handkerchief, a work that was much admired
though done in such haste. In a chapel S. Raffaello, behind the Archives covado of
Florence, he painted a Madonna and Child between St. Michael and St. Lucy, and two
other saints kneeling, and a God the Father surrounded by seraphim in the lunette of
the chapel. Maestro Jacopo, a Servite friar, afterwards allotted to him a part of the
Servite cloister, a thing he had greatly desired, because Andrea del Sarto had gone to
France and left the work there unfinished. Jacopo made the cartoons with great care,
but being in poor circumstances, and as he had to live while striving to acquire honour,
he did two beautiful figures above the door of the Women’s Hospital, behind the church
of the hospital of the priests, between the piazza of S. Marco and the via di Sangallo,
opposite the wall of the sisters of St. Catherine of Siena. These were Christ as a pilgrim
receiving some women into the hospital, a work that has always been deservedly
praised. At the same time he painted some pictures in oils for the masters of the mint on
the car of the Moneta, which goes in procession every St. John's day, the car being
made by Marco del Tasso. Over the door of the company of la Cecilia, on the hill of
Fiesole, he did a St. Cecilia in fresco, holding roses, one of the most beautiful frescoes
in existence. When Maestro Jacopo, the Servite friar, had seen these works, his desire
was greatly kindled, and he hoped to get Pontormo to finish the cloister, thinking that the
competition with the other masters who had worked there would spur him to produce
something extraordinarily fine. Jacopo did a Visitation in a manner somewhat more
elegant than his wont, being moved as much by his desire for honour and glory as for
gain. This gave his work much greater beauty, for the women, children, youths and old
men are rendered so charming, in such harmonious colouring, that it is a marvel. The
flesh-colouring of a boy seated on some steps and that of all the other figures is such
that it cannot be surpassed for softness. By these and his other works Jacopo took rank
beside Andrea del Sarto and Franciabigio, who had laboured there. He finished the task
in 1516, only receiving 16 crowns for it. I remember well that Francesco Pucci allotted to
him the altarpiece of a chapel which he had erected in S. Michele Bisdomini, in the via
de' Servi. Jacopo executed this with marvellous style and in brilliant it colouring. He
represents the Virgin seated offering the Infant Jesus to St. Joseph, who is laughing in a
wonderfully natural manner. Very beautiful also are the little St. John the Baptist and two
other naked boys supporting a canopy. Here also is St. John the Evangelist, a fine old
man, and a St. Francis kneeling, with clasped hands, and intently regarding the Virgin
and Child, so that he seems to be breathing. No less fine is St. James at the side. It is
the finest picture ever produced by this rare painter 4). I think it was afterwards that he
did for Bartolommeo Lanfredini in Lung Arno, between the S. Trinita and the Carraia
bridges, in a passage, two graceful boys in fresco above a door supporting a scutcheon.
But Bronzino, who deserves credence in these things, declares that they were among
the first things executed by Jacopo. If so, Pontormo deserves the more praise, for they
are of unequalled beauty.
To continue: Jacopo next did a panel for the men of Pontormo which was placed in
the chapel of the Madonna in their principal church of S. Agnolo. It represents St.
Michael and St. John the Evangelist. At this time a youth called Giovanmaria Pichi of
Borgo a S. Sepolcro was staying with Jacopo, and did very well, becoming a Servite
friar afterwards, while he executed some works in the Pieve at S. Stefano. With Jacopo
he painted a large Martyrdom of St. Quentin to be sent to the Borgo, but as Jacopo
wished him to win honour, here touched it, and being unable to leave it, he thus finished
the whole; the picture may therefore be called his, so that it is no wonder that it is very
beautiful. It is now in the Observantine church of S. Francesco at the Rorgo. Another
apprentice, Giovanni Antonio Lappoli of Arezzo, mentioned elsewhere, drew himself in a
mirror while with Jacopo, who did not think the likeness good, and drew an admirable
portrait of him himself. This is now at Arezzo in the house of the youth's heirs. Pontormo
also portrayed two of his friends in one picture one the son-in-law of Becuccio

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Becchieraio and another whose name I do not know. For Bartolommeo Ginori he did
some hangings for use after his death, according to a Florentine custom. In the upper
part he did a Virgin and Child on white taffeta, and the arms of the family beneath. In the
middle of the hangings, formed of twenty four pieces of white taffeta, he did two St.
Bartholomews, two braccia high. This new style made all the others executed before
look poor and insignificant, and led to the large style of to-day which is very light and
less costly. At the top of the garden and vineyard of the friars of S. Gallo outside the S.
Gallo gate Jacopo did a dead Christ, a weeping Virgin and two cherubs in the air, in a
chapel in a line with the entrance. One of the cherubs holds the cup and the other
supports Christ's head. On one side is St. John in tears, with his arms open, on the
other St. Augustine in the episcopal habit, leaning sadly and thought- fully on his
pastoral staff, contemplating the Saviours death. For M. Spina, familiar of Giovanm
Salviati, he did the latter's arms, who had been created cardinal by Pope Leo 5), in a
court opposite the principal door of the house, with the red hat and two cherubs, of great
beauty and much valued by M. Filippo Spina as Pontormo's work. Jacopo also did the
wood decoration for some apartments of Bierfrancesco Borgherini in conjunction with
other masters, notably the history of Joseph in small figures of great beauty, on two
chests. But his best work, which shows his genius in the vivacity of heads, composition
of figures, variety of attitudes and beauty of invention, may be seen in this chamber of
Borgherini 6), a Florentine nobleman, on the left of the side entrance. It is a
representation in small figures of Joseph in Egypt receiving his father Jacob and all his
brethren. Among these figures he introduced Bronzino, his pupil, then a child, at the foot
of the scene, seated on some steps, with a basket, a marvellously life-like and beautiful
figure. If this picture had been large I venture to say that it would not be possible to
match it for grace, perfection and excellence, and artists consider it Jacopo's best work.
No wonder then that Borgherini valued it or that great men wished him to sell it to
present to lords and princes.
Bierfrancesco having withdrawn to Lucca because of the siege of Florence, Giovanni
Battista della Palla, who desired the ornaments of this room, with other things to be
taken to France to present to King Francis in the name of the Signoria, induced the
gonfaloniere and Signori to take it and pay the wife of Pierfrancesco; But when he went
to the house the lady confronted him. "Do you venture to come here, vile bagman,'' she
said, "to rob the decorations of noblemen and deprive the city of its richest possessions
to adorn foreign countries hostile to us I do not wonder at you, who are a base-born
man and the enemy of your country, but I marvel that the magistrates permit such
abominable rascality. This bed, which is the object of your lust for money, is my
marriage-bed, in honour of which my brother-in-law Salvi had all this decoration
prepared, and I honour it in memory of him and for love of my husband, and I will defend
it with my life. Leave this house with your baggage, and tell those who sent you that I
will not allow any of these things to be removed from their places, and if those who trust
in such a vile creature as you wish to present something to King Francis, let them
despoil their own houses. If you are so rash as to enter this place again I will teach you
the respect due by such as you to the houses of nobles." These words of Madonna
Margherita, who was daughter of Ruberto Acciaiuoli, a noble and prudent citizen, being
herself a lady of spirit, preserved these treasures for her house.
Giovannimaria Benintendi about the same time decorated an ante-chamber with
pictures by various artists, imitating Jacopo's work for the Borgherini. Jacopo, being
much encouraged by praise, did an Adoration of the Magi 7), and by dint of much study
and diligence he rendered the heads and other parts varied, beautiful and worthy of all
praise. For M. Goro da Pistoia, then secretary of the Medici, he did an admirable three-
quarter figure of Cosimo de' Medici the elder 8), now in the house of M. Ottaviano de’
Medici, in the possession of his son M. Alessandro, a youth of holy life, learned, and a
worthy son of his father and of Madonna Francesca, daughter of Jacopo Salviati, and
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aunt of Duke Cosimo. By these works, especially the last, Pontormo had won the
friendship of M. Ottaviano, and he was commissioned 9) to paint the two ends of the
great hall of Poggio a Caiano, where the two round windows are, from the usual in such
ceiling to the floor. Wishing to do better than a place and in competition with the other
painters engaged there, Jacopo showed himself over anxious, as he kept doing and
effacing his things, though he was always making new discoveries for the
embellishment of the work. Thus he represented a countryman seated with a pruning-
knife in his hand for Vertumnus, executed with great beauty, and some infants there are
very life-like and natural. In his Pomona and Diana on the other side he perhaps
involved their draperiestoo much, though the whole work is beautiful and much praised.
But meanwhile Leo died, and the work was left unfinished, like many others at Rome,
Florence, Loreto and elsewhere, when the world lost that true Maecenas. On returning
to Florence Jacopo did a St. Augustine seated and giving the benediction, with two
beautiful nude infants flying in the air. This is over an altar in the little church of the
sisters of St. Clemente in the via di S. Gallo. He also completed a Pieta' with some nude
angels, a beautiful work, highly valued by the Ragusan merchants, for whom he did it. It
contained a fine landscape, mostly copied from a print of Albert Durer. He also did a
Virgin and Child with some cherubs, now in the house of Alessandro Neroni, and
another Madonna, different in style, for some Spaniards, which Bronzino was
commissioned to buy for M. Bartolommeo Panciatichi at a sale many years after.
In 1522, when the plague broke out in Florence, so that many fled to escape the
infection, Jacopo took the opportunity to leave the city. The prior of the Certosa, a house
built by the Acciaiuoli, three miles from Florence, wished to have some fresco paintings
at the corners of a large and beautiful cloister surrounding a lawn, and gave them to
Jacopo, who readily accepted the work, and went there, accompanied by Bronzino only.
Enjoying the quiet and solitude so dear to him, Jacopo thought it a good opportunity to
study and to embellish and vary his style. Not long before a good number of delicate
engravings by Albert Durer had come to Florence and among others some scenes of
the Passion of Christ, of the utmost perfection in beauty, variety in the costumes and
invention. Jacopo proposed to make use of them in the cloister, expecting thus to give
satisfaction to himself and to most of the Florentine artists, who with one accord praised
these engravings. Jacopo therefore sought to endow his figures with the expressions,
vigour and variety possessed by those of Albert, and thus lost the natural sweetness
and grace of his first manner by exchanging it for the German style, so that, though his
later works are beautiful, his figures lack their former excellence and ace. At the
entrance to the cloister he did Christ in the Garden, the darkness illuminated by the
moon, so that it seems almost daylight. As Christ prays, Peter, James and John are
sleeping, a marvellous imitation of Durer. Not far off, Judas is bringing the Jews, with a
curious expression like that of all the soldiers, who are done in the German style, so that
they excite our compassion for the artist, who took such pains to learn what others
avoid, abandoning a good style which pleased everyone. Was not Pontormo aware that
Germans and Flemings come to learn the Italian style which he made such efforts to
shake off as if it was bad? Next this is Christ led before Pilate, the Saviour displaying
the humility of His innocence abandoned to wicked men, and Pilate's wife her
compassion and fear of the divine judgment, and, as she pleads for Christ to her
husband, she regards Him with a pitying wonder. Pilate is surrounded by soldiers,
German in costume and expression, and anyone who did not know the artist might
suppose this the work of an ultramontane. It is true that in the distance there is a servant
of Pilate mounting some steps, carrying a basin and jug to wash his master's hands,
very life-like, and showing something of Jacopo's old style. For a Resurrection in
another corner Jacopo had the caprice to change his colouring, his brain always
evolving new things and he made it so sweet and good that if he had adopted another
style than the German the work would have been most beautiful, and the soldiers who

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are in a sleep in various attitudes, like death seeming unsurpassable. He continued in
another corner with Christ bearing the Cross, followed by the people of Jerusalem, the
two naked thieves going before, between the executioners, some of whom are on foot
and some mounted, with ladders, the title of the cross, hammers, nails, ropes and other
tools. Behind a hillock is the Virgin with the Maries weeping as they regard Christ, who
has fallen to the ground, while the Jews are beating Him and Veronica offers Him the
handkerchief, accompanied by Old and young women weeping at the Saviour's
sufferings. This scene proved much better than the others, perhaps because Jacopo
recognised the harm done to his style by his study of German work, or because he had
been warned by friends. Some naked Jews and heads of old men are finely executed in
fresco, although he has pre- served the German style for the whole. In the other corners
he continued with the Crucifixion and Deposition from the Cross. But he left them,
intending to do these last, and did instead a Deposition in the same style, but with
harmonious colouring. Besides a beautiful Magdalene kissing Christ's feet, two old men
representing Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, although in the German style, have
the most beautiful expression imaginable, with downy beards and soft colouring.
As the quiet of the Certosa pleased Jacopo, he devoted several years to this work,
and when the plague was over and he had returned to Florence, he continued to
frequent the place, and obliged the friars in many ways. Among other things he did the
portrait of a lay brother then living, and aged one hundred and twenty, over a door
leading into the chapel, so well executed and so life-like that it alone excuses Pontormo
for his fancies when in that lonely place far from men. For the prior's chamber he did a
Nativity, with a light on Christ's face in the darkness, thrown by Joseph holding a
lantern, of the same order of ideas that he derived from the German prints. Let no one
blame Jacopo for imitating Albert Durer because many painters have done it and do so
still. But he did wrong in adopting that stiff style for everything, the draperies, expression
and attitudes, which should be avoided when borrowing the ideas, as he had a graceful
and beautiful modern style. For the guest-chamber he did a large canvas in oils, without
apparent effort, of Christ with Cleophas and Luke, of life-size 10), and, as he followed his
genius, it proved a marvelous success, for among the servants he introduced the
portraits of some friars whom I have known, making marvellous likenesses.
Bronzino, while his master was thus engaged, pursued his study of painting, being
encouraged thereto by Pontormo, who loved his pupils. Without ever having seen
colouring in oils, he did a fine nude of St. Laurence on the gridiron on the wall over the
cloister door leading to the church, showing signs of the excellence to which he
afterwards attained, and delighting Jacopo, who already foresaw his future success. Not
long after, Ludovico di Gino Capponi having returned from Rome, and having brought
the chapel in S. Felicith which Brunnellesco erected for the Barbadori, on the right on
entering the church, resolved to have it richly decorated. He accordingly consulted his
friend M. Niccolo Vespucci, a knight of Rhodes, who, being a friend of Jacopo, praised
his genius, so that Ludovico allotted the chapel to him. He built a screen and shut off the
chapel for three years. On the vaulting he did God the Father surrounded by the four
Patriarchs, and at the four circles at the angles he did the Evangelists, giving one to
Bronzino. I must add that Pontormo hardly ever made use of his apprentices, or allowed
them to touch his own work, but when he did, usually for purposes of instruction, he let
them do the whole alone, as Bronzino did here. In his works in the chapel Jacopo
appears to have returned to this first manner, but not in the picture, as he devised a
novelty, executing it in such level colouring that it is hard to distinguish the lights from
the half-tints, and the half-tints from the shadows. It represents a dead Christ being
carried to the sepulchre, with the Virgin and the other Maries, in an utterly different style
from the first, showing how his brain was seeking for new fancies and was not content
with holding fast to, one. The composition and colouring are altogether different from the
painting of the vaulting, and the four Evangelists, in a different style, are much better.
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On the window wall are the Virgin and the angel annunciating, showing his curious
ideas and how he never rested content. While he was engaged upon this work he would
not allow even the patron to see it, in order that he might do it in his own way, and when
it was finally uncovered, without his friends knowing anything about it, all Florence
marvelled. For a chamber of the same Ludovico he did a Madonna in the same style,
and represented a daughter of his, a very beautiful maiden, as St. Mary Magdalene.
Near the monastery of Boldrone at the junction of the Cestello road with the one that
mounts the hill to Cercina, two miles from Florence, he did in a tabernacle Christ on the
Cross, the Virgin weeping, St. John the Evangelist, St. Augustine and St. Julian, all in
the German style, for he had not yet rid himself of the fancy, and not unlike those done
at the Certosa. For the nuns of St. Anna at the S. Friano gate he did a panel of the
Virgin and Child, St. Anne behind, St. Peter, St. Benedict, and other saints 11). The
predella in small figures represents the Signoria of Florence going in procession, with
drums, fifes, mace- bearers, commendatories, and the rest of the household, because
the panel was commissioned by the captain of the palace. While Jacopo was engaged
upon this, Silvio Passerini, cardinal of Cortona, was sent to Rome, with Alcssandro and
Ippolito de' Medici, by Clement VII., and Ottaviano the Magnificent,to whom the Pope
recommended them, employed Pontormo to paint their portraits 12); he did excellent
ones, although he did not depart much from his German style. With Ippolito he drew a
favourite dog called Rodon, making it appear alive 13). He also drew Bishop Ardinghelii,
afterwards cardinal, and for his friend Filippo del Migliore he painted a Pomona in his
house in the via Larga, where he seems to be attempting to throw off his German style
somewhat. Gio Battista della Palla, observing Jacopo to be daily becoming more
famous and not having succeeded in getting his paintings and those of others to send to
King Francis, resolved to send the king something by Pontormo, as he knew his Majesty
desired it. He at length succeeded in inducing him to do a fine Resurrection of Lazarus,
one of his best works, and it was sent among others to King Francis. The heads were
very beautiful, and Lazarus reviving from the dead is marvellous, having the green
about the eyes and dead flesh at the ends of his feet and hands. In a picture of one and
a half braccia for the nuns of the hospital of the Innocenti, he did the history of the
eleven thousand martyrs crucified in a wood by order of Diocletian 14), containing a
cavalry battle and fine nudes, and some cherubs in the air shooting arrows at the
executioners. The emperor is also surrounded by some fine nudes going to their death.
This picture, admirable in every part, is now greatly valued by Don Vincenzio Borghini,
master of the hospital, and a former friend of Jacopo. He made one like it for Carlo
Neroni, with the martyrs only and the angel baptising, and Carlo's portrait. At the time of
the siege of Florence he drew the portrait of Francesco Guardi, dressed as a soldier, a
fine work. On the cover of this work Bronzino painted Pygmalion praying Venus to make
his statue live, as we read in the poets. At this time, after long toil, Jacopo obtained what
he had long desired, a house of his own, where he could live as he pleased, for he
bought one in the via della Colonna, opposite the nuns of S. Mariadegli Angeli. Whcn
the siege was over, Pope Clement directed Ottavianode' Medici to have the hall of
Poggio a Caiano completed. Franciabigio and Andrea del Sarto being dead, the care of
it was entirely entrusted to Pontormo. After making his scaffolding, he began on the
cartoons, but in the midst of his ceaseless fancies he did not begin to work. This might
not have happened if Bronzino had been near, but he was then working at Imperiale, a
place of the Duke of Urbino, near Pesaro, and although daily summoned by Jacopo he
could not leave his post. When he had decorated a vaulting at Imperiale with a fine
nude cupid, the Prince Guidobaldo, who knew the youth's skill, commanded him to paint
his portrait. But as the prince wished to be painted in some armour which he was
expecting from Lombardy, Bronzino was forced to stay longer than he intended.
Meanwhile he painted the case for a harpsichord, which greatly delighted the prince.
Bronzino afterwards completed the portrait, greatly to the satisfaction of the prince.

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 Jacopo wrote so many times that at length Bronzino went, but could not succeed in
inducing his master to make anything but cartoons, in spite of the entreaties of
Ottaviano the Magnificent and Duke Alessandro. One of these cartoons, most of which
are now in the house of Ludovico Capponi, represents Hercules crushing Antaeus,
another Venus and Adonis, and a sheet of nudes playing ball. Sig. Alfonso Davalo,
Marquis of il Guasto, having obtained a cartoon of a Noli metangere by means of Fra
Niccolo della Magna, by Michelagnolo, tried every way to induce Jacopo to execute it in
painting, for Buonartoti had said that no one could do it better. This work, when
completed, was considered marvellous for the grandeur of Michelagnolo's design and
the colouring of Jacopo. When Sig. Alessandro Vitelli, then captain of the guard at
Florence, had seen it, he made Jacopo do him another from the same cartoon and had
it placed in his house at Cittadi Castello. It being seen how highly Michelagnolo
esteemed Pontormo and how excellently the latter executed the designs of the former,
Bartolommeo Bettini induced his friend Michelagnolo to make a cartoon of a nude
Venus with a cupid kissing her, to be painted by Pontormo and put in the middle of a
room of his, in the lunettes of which Bronzino had begun to paint Dante, Petrarch and
Boccaccio, intending to represent the other Tuscan lyric poets there. Jacopo executed
this cartoon at his ease, in a style known to all the world, so that I need not stop to
praise It. These designs led Pontormo to consider the style of Michelagnolo, and he
resolved to imitate it so far as he was able. He then saw his mistake in letting slip such
work as that of Poggio a Caiano, and he blamed for it a long sickness and finally the
death of Pope Clement, which stopped everything there. Jacopo had done a portrait of
Amerigo Antinori, a youth very popular in Florence at that time. The portrait being
universally praised, Duke Alessandro intimated to Jacopo that he desired a large one of
himself. For greater convenience Jacopo made the for- trait on a half-sheet of paper
with as much care as an illumination, and besides being a good likeness it contains
every requisite it of a good painting. From this, which is now in Duke Cosimo's
wardrobe, Jacopo copied another portrait of the duke holding a pen and drawing a
woman's head. The duke gave this to Signora Taddea Malespina, sister of the
Marchioness of Massa. The duke, wishing to reward Jacopo, told his servant Niccolo da
Montaguto to get him to ask what he wanted and it would be granted. But so great was
the pusillanimity, respect or modesty of this man that he only asked for enough money
to redeem a mantle which he had pawned. When the duke heard this he laughed, and
gave him 50 gold crowns and the offer of a pension, though Niccolo had hard work to
make him accept it. Jacopo having finished the Venus from Bettini's cartoon with
marvellous success, it was not given to Bettini for the price which Jacopo had promised,
but was taken out of Jacopo's hands by some fortune-hunters, almost by force, out of
spite to Bettini, and then presented to Duke Alessandro, the cartoon being restored to
Bettini. When Michelagnolo heard this he was sorry for his friend and bore a grudge
against Jacopo, who, though he received 50 crowns from the duke, cannot be said to
have defrauded Bettini, for he had only obeyed his prince's command. But some say it
was Bettini's fault for wanting too much. With this money Pontormo had a chance of
repairing his house. He began to build, but he did not do anything of importance. Thus,
though some say he intended to spend a great deal for his state and make a convenient
and artistic abode, yet it has rather the appearance of the dwelling of a fantastic and
solitary man than a well-considered house. The room where he slept and sometimes
worked was approached by a wooden ladder which he drew up after him, so that no one
could come up without his knowledge or permission. But what aroused more
dissatisfaction was that he would only work when he wished, and being often requested
to do things by noble- men, and notably on one occasion by M. Ottaviano de' Medici, he
would not serve them, but would then begin something for some plebeian instead at a
low price. Thus Rossino, a clever mason, received from him in payment for some
building a beautiful Madonna, upon which Jacopo took as much pains as the mason did
over his work. Rossino also succeeded in obtaining from Jacopo a fine portrait of
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Cardinal Giulio de Medici, copied from one by Raphael, and also a beautiful crucifix. But
though Ottaviano bought this from Rossino as a work of Jacopo, it is certain that it is by
Bronzino, who did by himself while with Jacopo at the Certosa, although it remained in
Pontormo's possession, I do not know why. These three paintings are now in the house
of M. Alessandro de' Medici, Ottaviano's son. But although these proceedings and this
solitary life of Pontormo's are blameworthy, it is easy to excuse him, and he might well
do the works which he liked and leave the others without blame. No artist is bound to
work except when and for whom he pleases, and he alone suffers from his course of
action. As for solitude, I have always heard that it is the friend of study, but even if it
were not, I do not think that we ought to blame one who, without offending God and his
neighbour, lives after his own fashion in the way best suited to his temperament.
But to return to the works of Jacopo. Duke Alessandro having restored the villa of
Careggi, built by Cosimo de' Medici the elder, two miles from Florence, and executed
the decoration of the fountain and the labyrinth in the middle of an open court, directed
that the two loggias facing it should be painted by Jacopo with assistance, in order that
it might be done more quickly, and so that the conversation would render him more
cheerful and make him work without troubling his brain with various fancies. The duke
himself sent for Jacopo, and asked him to finish the work as soon as possible. Jacopo
therefore sent for Bronzino, and in the five compartments of the vaulting made him do
figures, namely Fortune, Justice, Victory, Peace and to Fame, and at the sixth Jacopo
himself did a Love. He then designed some cherubs in the oval of the vaulting with
various animals, foreshortened from below all except one being coloured by Bronzino,
who did excellently. While Jacopo and Bronzino were engaged upon these figures,
Jacone, Pierfrancesco di Jacopo and others did the surrounding decoration, and so the
whole work was soon finished, to the delight of the duke, who wished to have the other
loggia painted. But there was not time, for the work being finished on 13 December,
1536, the duke was assassinated by his kinsman Lorenzino on 6 January following. On
the succession of Duke Cosimo, followed by the successful affair of Montemurlo, the
work of Castello was begun, as related in the Life of Tribolo. The duke, to please Donna
Maria, his mother, directed Jacopo to paint the first loggia on the left on entering the
palace. Here, after designing the ornaments, he gave it to Bronzino to execute and to
the others who had worked at Careggi. He then shut himself up and continued the work
at his ease, endeavouring to surpass the work at Careggi, which he had not done
entirely by himself. He could easily do so, for he received 8 crowns a month from the
duke, whom he drew, young as he was, at the beginning of the work, with Donna Maria,
his mother. The scaffolding having stood for five years, and no one being able to see
what Jacopo had done, the lady became angry and one day commanded that it should
be pulled down. But Jacopo had been warned, and obtaining some days' grace he
retouched where he thought it necessary. He then devised a canvas to cover it when
the quality was not there so that the air should not damage it, as had happened at
Careggi. Great expectations had been raised, as it was thought that Jacopo would have
surpassed himself and produced a stupendous work. However, the work did not
altogether realise these expectations, for, although many particulars are good, the
figures are out of proportion and their attitudes seem strange and ill regulated. But
Jacopo excused himself by saying that he did not like the place, because, being outside
the city, it was exposed to the fury of the soldiers and other accidents. However, the air
and time are gradually destroying it, as he did it in oils on dry lime. In the middle of the
vaulting he did Saturn with the sign of Capricorn, and Mars Hermaphroditus in the signs
of Leo and Virgo, with some flying cherubs like those at Careggi. He then did large
female figures, almost nude, of Philosophy, Astrology, Geometry, Music, Arithmetic and
a Ceres, with small circular scenes in various tints appropriate to the figures. But
although all this labour did not give great satisfaction, at least much less than was
expected, the duke expressed himself as pleased and employed Jacopo at every

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opportunity, for the artist was much esteemed by the people for his numerous beautiful
works in the past.
The duke having brought to Florence the Flemings Giovanni Rosso and Niccolo 15),
excellent masters of arras, to teach the art to the Florentines, directed that gold and silk
hangings should be made for the council chamber of the Two Hundred, at a cost of
60,000 crowns, and that Jacopo and Bronzino should prepare cartoons of the history of
Joseph. Jacopo having done one of the Death of Joseph announced to Jacob, and
another of Joseph and Potiphar's wife, the duke and the masters did not like them,
thinking them strange and unsuitable for the medium, and so Jacopo did no more.
Returning to his accustomed work, he did a Madonna, presented by the duke to Don,
who took it to Spain. The duke, following in the footsteps of his ancestors, has always
sought to decorate his city, and he now resolved to paint the principal chapel of the
magnificent church of S. Lorenzo, erected by Cosimo de' Medici the elder. He gave this
to Jacopo either of his own notion or by means of M. Pierfraneesco Ricei, major-domo,
as is said. Jacopo was delighted, because of the importance of the work, he being well
advanced in years and feeling that he had such an opportunity to display his talents.
Some say that when he heard the work had been allotted to him, notwithstanding that
Franceseo Salviati, a famous painter, was in Florence and had decorated the audience-
chamber of the palace of the Signoria, he declared he would show how designing and
painting in fresco should be done, that other painters were commonplace, and similar
insolent speeches. But as I always knew him to be a modest man who spoke well of all,
as a good artist should, I do not believe he ever uttered such boasts, which are the
sayings of vain and presumptuous men without talent or character 16). I would have
preferred not to mention this except that I believe it to be my duty as a veracious
historian. If such reports were circulated, they were spread abroad by the malicious, for
Jacopo was always modest.
Having, shut himself up alone in the chapel, Jacopo kept the place closed for eleven
years, so that not a living soul entered it except himself. It is indeed true that some
youths who were drawing in the sacristy of Michelagnolo climbed on to the roof, as boys
will, and lifting the tiles and gilt bosses saw everything. When Jacopo heard it he took it
very ill, but made no other sign except to cover up everything with more diligence than
ever. Some say that he harassed and annoyed the youths greatly. He expected to
surpass all the painters, even perhaps Michelagnolo, so it was said. In the upper part he
did the creation of Adam and Eve, the Fall, the expulsion from Paradise, Tilling the Soil,
the Sacrifice of Abel, the Death of Cain, the Blessing of the Seed of Noah, and the
designing of the Ark. He decorated the lower walls, which are fifteen braccia square,
with the Flood, containing a mass of drowned bodies, and Noah speaking with God, the
general resurrection of the dead, with a universal and general confusion such as will
probably take place on the last day. Opposite the altar, between the windows, is a row
of nudes forming a ladder from the earth to paradise, many dead being there, and two
of them clothed except the legs and arms, and holding lighted torches, forming the
ends. At the top and in the middle he did Christ in majesty surrounded by nude angels,
and raising the dead for judgment. I have never been able to understand the meaning of
this scene, but I know that Jacopo was a genious man and associated with the learned.
I mean what he intended by Christ raising the dead, with God the Father beneath him
creating Adam and Eve. At one corner are the Evangelists, nude figures with books in
their hands, and I do not think he has anywhere observed the order of the scene,
measure, time, variety of the heads, changes in the flesh-tints, or any rule, proportion or
perspective. The whole is full of nudes, arranged, designed and coloured after his
fashion, with so much melancholy as to afford little pleasure to the observer, for even I
though a painter, do not understand it, and it seems to me that in this labour of eleven
years Jacopo has sought to bewilder both him and those who see the work. It contains
some torsos with their shoulders turned forward and sides, done with marvellous study
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and labour, and Jacopo made clay models for nearly all. However, the work is not in his
usual style, and everyone feels it to be without measure, the torsos being mostly large
and the legs and arms small, not to speak of the heads, which lack that singular grace
and excellence which he used to give and which afford such pleasure in his other
paintings. He seems indeed to have taken pains with some parts and neglected others
of more importance. Thus, whereas he hoped to surpass all artists, he fell far short of
his own previous efforts, and so we see that when men wish to force Nature they ruin
their natural endowments. But we cannot fail to pity him, for artists are prone to error like
other men, and even Homer is said to have sometimes slept, while all of Jacopo's works
contain some good parts, no matter how much he forced Nature. He died shortly before
finishing this work, some say of grief and dissatisfaction with himself, but the truth is, he
was old and worn out in making portraits, clay models and fresco-work, and he fell into a
dropsy, of which he died at the age of sixty-five. After his death many beautiful designs,
cartoons and clay models were found in his house and a fine Madonna in good style,
apparently executed many years before. It was subsequently sold by his heirs to Piero
Salviati. Jacopo was buried in the first cloister of the church of the Servites, below his
own Visitation, being followed by all the painters, sculptors and architects. He was a
frugal and temperate man, rather wretched in his manner of life and clothing, and he
almost always lived alone, without anyone to serve or cook for him. However, in his last
years, he adopted Battista Naldini, a youth of good intelligence, who took as much care
of Jacopo as the latter would permit. Under Jacopo he made considerable progress in
design, and excited the highest expectations. Pontormo's friends: especially at the end
of his life, were Pierfrancesco Vernacci and Don Vincenzio Borghini, with whom he
relaxed occasionally and dined with them. But he always cherished a great affection for
Bronzino, who returned it, being grateful for the benefits received. Jacopo had strange
notions, and was so fearful of death that he never allowed it to be mentioned, and he
avoided dead bodies. He never went to feasts or to other places where crowds collected
for fear of being crushed, and he was solitary beyond belief. Sometimes when he went
to work he would fall into such deep thought that he came away at the end of the day
without having done anything but think. This frequently occurred while he was engaged
at S. Lorenzo, as may readily be believed, for when he had made up his mind he was
not deterred by anything from carrying out what he had proposed, like a clever and
skilful man.

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1)
Andrea di Cosimo Feltrini.
2)
He who makes Nature's laws and disposes of principalities and the ages is the source of all good, and
when He allows it evil oppresses the world. Hence, in contemplating this figure you may see how surely
one age follows another and how the good changes to ill and the ill to good.
3)
Done in1513.
4)
Dated 1518.
5)
In 1517.
6)
Now in the National Gallery, London.
7)
Now in the Pitti Gallery.
8)
Uffizi Gallery.
9)
In 1521.
10)
Painted in 1528; now in the Accademia, Florence.
11)
Painted 1543; now in the Louvre.
12)
In 1524.
13)
Possibly the man with the dog in the Pitti Gallery.
14)
Now in the Pitti Gallery, with a replica in the Uffizi.
15)
John Rost and Nicholas Kercker.
16)
Was uncovered in 1558, but all whitewashed over in 1738.

MASOLINO DA PANICALE
Painter of Florence
(1383-1447)

I FEEL sure that the satisfaction of those who approach

the topmost degree in the profession to which they devote
themselves must be very great, for, besides the pleasure
which they have in producing good work, they enjoy some
fruits of their labours, and no doubt live peacefully and
happily. If it chance that one is overtaken by death as he is
progressing towards perfection in any science or art, his
memory will not be completely lost if he has really taken
pains to aim at the true end of art. Therefore everyone ought
to exert himself to the utmost to attain to perfection,
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because, even if he is interrupted in mid- career, he will obtain praise, if not for the
works which he was unable to complete, at least for his good intentions and the careful
study displayed in the little that remains. Masolino da Panicale of Valdelsa, who was a
pupil of Lorenzodi Ghiberti 1) and an excellent goldsmith in his youth, being the best
finisher that Lorenzo had for his doors, was very dexterous and skilful in making the
draperies of figures, and possessed a good style and intelligence in finishing. He used
his chisel very skilfully in representing creases, both in human limbs and in draperies. At
the age of nineteen he devoted himself to painting, and practised that art ever
afterwards, learning colouring from Gherardo dello Starnina. He went to Rome to study,
and while there did the hall of the old Orsinihouse on Monte Giordano. He subsequently
returned to Florence because the air of Rome gave him headaches, and in the Carmine,
next to the chapel of the Crucified; he did the St. Peter which may still be seen there. As
this was praised by artists, it led to the Brancacci Chapel in the same church being
alloted to him. Here he did scenes from the life of St. Peter, a part of which he
completed with great diligence, Comprising the four Evangelists on the vaulting, Christ
calling Andrew and Peter from their nets, Peter weeping at the sin of his denial, and his
preaching to convert the people 2). Here also he painted the shipwreck of the Apostles,
and St. Peter curing his daughter Petronilla. In the same scene he represented Peter
and John going to the Temple and healing by a sign of the cross before the porch the
poor cripple who asks an alms, and to whom they can give neither silver nor gold.
The figures in the whole of this work are made with remarkable grace, and
there is a nobility in their bearing, beauty and harmony in the colouring, and power and
relief in the design. The work was much admired for its novelty, it being in many
respects wholly foreign to the manner of Giotto, but Masolino was over taken by death
while it was still imperfect. He was a man of excellent intellect, his paintings display
great harmony and facility, and he completed them with much diligence and devotion.
This ardour for study and desire to take pains which always animated him exercised an
injurious influence upon his health, and brought him to the grave before his time,
removing him from the world too cruelly. Masolino died young at the age of thirty-seven,
disappointing the expectations which were held of him. His paintings were made about
1440. Paolo Schiavo took great pains to imitate his style, and made a Madonna at the
comer of the Gori in Florence, with figures whose feet are fore- shortened. I have
frequently examined Masolino's works, and have found his style very different from that
of his predecessors, for he endowed his figures with majesty, and made the draperies
soft, falling in elegant folds. The heads of his figures, too, are much superior to those of
his predecessors, for he discovered a better method of treating the eyes, and many
other parts of the body. He also began to understand the art of light and shade, for he
worked in relief, and achieved many difficult foreshortenings admirably, such, for
instance, as the poor man who is asking alms of St. Peter, his leg thrust out behind him,
so that by means of the shadows on the colouring and the outline of the design he
actually appears to be kicking the wall. Masolino further introduced a softer air into the
faces of his women, and gave brighter clothes to his youths than the old artists had
done, and he was fairly skillful in perspective. But the matter in which he chiefly excelled
was colouring in fresco, his paintings being coloured and shaded with such grace that
the flesh-tints possess an indescribable beauty. If he had been a perfect designer, as he
might have been had he lived longer, he would have been numbered among the
greatest, for his works are executed with grace, in a noble style, with beautiful and
harmonious colouring and considerable power and relief in design, though this is not
absolutely perfect.

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 1)
Tommaso di Cristoforo Fini.
2)
Begun 1422. Some critics deny that he did any work in this chapel.

DESIDERIO DA SETTIGNANO
Sculptor
(1428-1464)

THOSE men who create without fatigue, with a certain grace, what others cannot
produce by toil and imitation, owe a great debt to Nature. But this is a truly heavenly gift
which bestows upon their works such a light and graceful appearance that they attract
not only those who understand the profession, but also many others. This arises from
the facility with which they are produced, being free from the hardness in crudity so
frequent in things produced with effort and difficulty. This grace and simplicity, which
give universal pleasure and are felt by everyone, are characteristic of the work of
Desiderio. Some say that he came from Settignano, a place two miles from Florence,

- 91 -
others consider him a Florentine, but this is of little importance where the distance is so
slight.
He imitated the style of Donato, being naturally endowed with gracefulness
and lightness in the treatment of heads. His women and children possess a soft,
delicate and charming manner, due as much to Nature as to art. In his youth he made
the pedestal of Donato's David, which is in the duke's palace at Florence, introducing
some fine harpies and vine-tendrils all in bronze, very graceful and well contrived. On
the facade of the house of the Gianfigliazzi' he made a large escutcheon with a
magnificent lion, as well as other things in stone in that city 1). In the Brancacci Chapel in
the Carmine he made an angel of wood, and in S. Lorenzo he finished the marble
chapel of the Sacrament, completing it with great diligence. It contained a marble child
in relief, which was taken away, and is placed today on the altar at Christmas-time as
being a marvellous thing. To replace it Baccio da Montelupo made another, also of
marble, which stands upon the tabernacle of the Sacrament. In S. Maria Novella he
made the marble tomb of the Blessed Villana 2), with some graceful little angels, drawing
the saint from life, 50 that she does not seem dead but asleep. For the convent of the
nuns of the Murate he made a small Madonna upon a column in a tabernacle, in alight
and graceful style, for both of which works he is greatly valued and esteemed. In S.
Piero Maggiore he made the tabernacle of the Sacrament in marble, with his usual
finish, and although it contains no figures, it displays the grace and style distinctive of
his work. He made a marble bust of Marietta degli Strozzi 3), from life, and, as she was
very beautiful, it proved most successful. He made the tomb of M. Carlo Marsuppini of
Arezzo 4), in S. Croce, which not only amazed the artists and clever men of his day, but
those who see it now also marvel, for on the sarcophagus he has introduced foliage
which, although somewhat hard and dry, as not many antiquities had been discovered
then, was considered very beautiful at the time.
Among other portions of the work there are some wings attached to a scallop-shell
at the foot of the sarcophagus which seem to be really feathers and not marble, a great
achievement, seeing that the chisel cannot easily repro- duce hair and feathers. The
large marble scallop-shell there is marvellously realistic. There are also some children
and angels executed in a lively and beautiful style, while the effigy of the dead man,
taken from life, is of the highest excellence and art. A medallion of a Madonna done in
bas relief, in the manner of Donato, possesess wonderful judgment and grace, as do
many other of his marble bas reliefs, some being in the wardrobe of Duke Cosimo,
notably the heads of Our Lord Jesus Christ and John the Baptist as a child, in a
medallion. At the foot of the tomb of M. Carlo he made a large slab for M. Giorgio, a
famous doctor and secretary of the Signoria of Florence, with a very fine bas-relief
containing the portrait of M. Giorgio, in the doctor's robes of the time. If death had not so
soon removed this spirit who worked with such excellence, he might with experience
and study have surpassed in art all those whom he excelled in grace. But death cut the
thread of his life at the age of twenty eight, causing great sorrow to all who expected to
see the perfection of his mind in his old age, who were dazed by such a loss. He was
carried to the church by his relations and numerous friends, while for a long time
epigrams and sonnets were affixed to his tomb. Out of a large number I content myself
by selecting the following only:

Come vide natzira Oar Desideyio ai fteddi `narmi vita E floter Ia

sculttrra Aggztagliar sua bc'lleza alma e infirtita Si fermo sbigotti‚ta
E disse: omai sara `,zia gloria osciira E ~iet~ d'alto sdegito Trot'co
Ia vita a cosi &cll'ingegtio. Ma i': `va':, che se costui Die vita etertta
ai marmi i mar'ni a lui.

- 92 -
 Desiderio's sculptures were executed in 1485. He left a sketch of St. Mary
Magdalene in penitence, afterwards finished by Benedetto da Maiano, and now in S.
Trinita' at Florence, on the right-hand as one enters the church. It is a marvellously fine
figure. In our book there are some fine designs by Oesiderio's hand, and his portrait,
which I had from some of his relations at Settignano.

1)
On the Lung Arno, between the Trinity and Carraia bridges.
2)
The tomb is by Bernardo Rosseiino.
3)
Now in the Berlin Museum.
4)
Who died in 1455.

BRAMANTE DA URBINO
Architect
(1444-1514)

THE modern methods of Filippo Brunelleschi proved of great assistance to

architecture, as he had copied and brought to light after long ages the excellent
productions of the most learned and distinguished ancients. But Bramante has been no
less useful to our own century, for he followed in the footsteps of Filippo, and paved a
safe way for those who succeeded, his spirit, courage, genius and knowledge of the art
- 93 -
being displayed not only in theory but in practice. Nature could not have formed a mind
better adapted than his to put into practice the works of his art with invention and
proportion and on so firm a basis. But it was necessary that she should create at the
same time a Pope like Julius II., ambitious of leaving a great memory. It was most
fortunate that this prince should have afforded Bramante such unrivalled opportunities
of displaying his abilities and of showing the full force of his genius, for such a thing
rarely happens. Bramante took full advantage of his chance, the mouldings of his
cornices, the shafts of his columns, the grace of his capitals, his bases, corbels, angles,
vaults, steps, projections and every other detail of architecture being marvellously
modelled with the best judgment, and men of ability seem to me to be under as great a
debt to him as to the ancients 1). Because, while the Greeks invented architecture and
the Romans imitated them, Bramante not only added new inventions, but greatly
increased the beauty and difficulty of the art, to an extent we may now perceive.
He was born at Castello Durante, in the state of Urbino; of a poor man of good
condition. In his childhood, besides reading and writing, he was continually doing the
abacus. But as it was necessary that he should learn some trade, his father, perceiving
his great fondness for design, apprenticed him while still a child to the art of painting.
Here he carefully studied the productions of Fra Bartolommeo, otherwise Fra Carnovale
da Urbino, who did the picture of S. Maria della Bella at Urbino. But as he always
delighted in architecture and perspective, he left Castel Durante, and, passing to
Lombardy, worked as best he could in one city after another, not producing things of
great cost or value, because as yet he had neither fame nor credit. Determined to see at
least one notable thing, he preceeded to Milan 2) to visit the Duomo, where there
happened to be one Cesare Cesariano, reputed a good geometrician and architect, who
had written a commentary on Vitruvius. Enraged at not having received the reward
which he had expected, Cesare refused to work any more, and, becoming eccentric, he
died more like a beast than a man. There also was Bernardino da Trevion 3), a Milanese
engineer and architect of the Duomo, and a great draughtsman. He was considered a
rare master by Lionardo da Vinci, even though his manner in painting was crude and
somewhat dry. There is a Resurrection of his 4) with some fine foreshortenings at the top
of the cloister of the Grazie, and a Death of S S. Peter and Paul in fresco in a chapel of
S. Francesco. He painted many other works in Milan, and did several others in the
neighbourhood, which were valued, and our book contains a very meritorious woman's
head in charcoal and white lead, a good example of his style.
But to return to Bramante. After an examination of the Duomo, and having met these
masters, he determined to devote himself entirely to architecture. Accordingly he left
Milan, and arrived at Rome before the Holy Year 1500. Here he was welcomed by some
friends and natives of Lombardy and commissioned to paint in fresco the arms of Pope
Alexander VI., supported by angels and figures, over the holy door of S. Giovanni
Lateran, which was opened for the Jubilee. Bramante had earned money in Lombardy
and at Rome, and on this he hoped to live, by dint of severe economy, and to be able to
measure all the ancient buildings of Rome without it being necessary to work. He set
about this task, going alone and wrapped in thought. In a little while he had measured
all the buildings there and in the neighbourhood, going even as far as Naples, and
wherever he knew antiquities to be. He measured what there was at Tivoli and the villa
of Hadrian, and made considerable use of this, as I shall have occasion to relate.
Bramante's spirit being thus disclosed, the cardinal of Naples 5 happened to observe
him, and took him into favour. Thus Bramante pursued his studies, and was charged to
restore in travertine the cloister of the friars of the Pace, which the cardinal wished to
have done. Being anxious to make a name and to please the cardinal, Bramante
displayed the utmost industry and diligence, and speedily completed the work 6).
Although it was not of perfect beauty, it brought him a great reputation, as there were
not many in Rome who devoted so much love, study and activity to architecture as he.
- 94 -
 Bramante began by serving Pope Alexander VI. as under architect, at the fountain of
Trastevere and the one on the piazza of S. Piero. His reputation increasing, he was one
of the eminent artists consulted about the palace of S. Giorgio, and the church of S.
Lorenzo in Damaso, near the Campo di Fiore, put in hand by Raflaello Riario, cardinal
of S. Giorgio, which, though improved after, was and still is considered a convenient and
magnificient abode for its size. The director of this building was one Antonio
Montecavallo. Bramante was also on the council for the enlargement of S. Jacopo degli
Spagnuoliat Navona, and took part in the deliberation concerning S. Marii de Anima,
afterwards carried out by a German architect 7). The palace of the Cardinal Adriano da
Corneto in the Borgo Nuovo was also his design. It was built slowly, and was left
unfinished owing to the flight of the cardinal, He also designed the enlargement of the
principal chapel of S. Maria del Popolo. These works brought him such credit at Rome
that he was considered the foremost architect for his resolution, rapidity and excellent
invention, so that he was constantly employed by all the great men of the city upon their
chief requirements. On the election of Pope Julius II. in 1503 he began to serve him.
That Pope had a fancy to cover the space between the Belvedere and the palace, and
that it should take the form of a square theatre, embracing a depression between the
old papal palace and the building erected there for the pope's dwelling by Innocent VIII.,
and that there should be a passage by two corridors on either side of the depression
leading from the Belvedere to the palace covered by loggias, and so from the palace to
the Belvedere, the level of which should be reached from the valley by flights of steps,
variously arranged. Bramante, who possessed a good judgment and a fanciful genius in
such matters, divided the bottom part into two stories, first a fine Doric loggia like the
Coliseum of the Savelli 8) but instead of half-columns, he put pilasters, building the
whole of travertine. The second stage was of the Ionic order and with windows, rising to
the level of the first apartments of the papal palace and of those of the Belvedere; to
form subsequently a loggia more than four hundred paces on the side towards Rome
and another towards the wood, with the valley between, so that it was necessary to
bring all the water of the Belvedere and to erect a beautiful fountain. Of this design
Bramante completed the first corridor rising from the palace and leading to the
Belvedere on the Roman side, except the last loggia, which was to go above. Of the
part towards the wood he laid the foundations, but could not finish it, owing to the death
of Julius, followed by his own. It was considered such a fine idea that it was believed
that Rome had never seen better since the time of the ancients. But, as I have said,
nothing but the foundations of the other corridor were laid, and it has barely been
completed even in our own day, Pius IV. Putting the finishing touches. Bramante also
did the antique gallery in the Belvedere for the ancient statues with the arrangement of
niches. Here in his own lifetime Laocoon was put, a very rare and ancient statue, and
the Apollo and Venus, and other slater on by Leo X., such as the Tiber, the Nile and the
Cleopatra, some others by Clement VII. and a number of important improvements were
carried out at great expense in the time of Paul III. and Julius III.
But to return to Bramante, if those who supplied him were not sparing he was very
expeditious and he understood the art of construction thoroughly. This building of the
Belvedere was carried out with great rapidity, his own energy being equalled by the
fever of the Pope, who wanted his structures not to be built but to grow up as by magic.
Thus the builders carried away by night the sand and earth excavated by day in the
presence of Bramante, so that he directed the laying of the foundations without taking
further precautions. This carelessness has occasioned the cracking of his works, so that
they are in danger of falling. Of the corridor in question eighty braccia fell down in the
time of Pope Clement VII., and it was rebuilt by Pope Paul III., who caused it to be
restored and enlarged. There are many other flights of steps of Bramante in the palace,
high or low, according to their situation, in the Corinthian, Ionic and Doricorders, very
beautiful, and executed with the utmost grace. His model is said to have been of

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marvellous beauty, as we may judge by the part actually constructed. In addition to this,
he made a spiral staircase on rising columns, which a horse may go up, the Doric
merging into the Ionic and the Ionic into the Corinthian, all carried out with the utmost
grace and art, doing him no less honour than his other works at the same place. This
idea was borrowed by Bramante from Niccolo of Pisa, as has been said in the Life of
Giovanni and Niccolo Pisani. It entered Bramante's fancy to make a frieze on the front
of the Belvedere, with some letters like ancient hieroglyphics to show his skill, and thus
to spell out the Pope's name and his own. Thus he had begun: Julio II. Pont. Maxi,
making a head in profile of Julius Cesar and a bridge with two arches for Julio II. Pont.,
and an obelisk of the Circus Maximus for Max., at which the Pope laughed, and told him
to do it in letters a braccia long, in the ancient style, which are there today. Bramante
said he had borrowed that folly from over a door at Viterbo, where a French architect
had done a St. Francis, anarch (cirro), a roof (tetto) and a tower (torre), to signify
Maestro Francesco Architettore. The Pope was very gracious to Bramante for his great
talents in architecture, and he deserved the Pope's affection and his appointment to the
office of the Piombo 9), for which he made a machine for stamping the bulls, with a fine
winch.
When Bologna returned to the Church in 1504, Bramante accompanied the Pope
thither, and was busy during the war of Mirandola in many ingenious matters of great
importance. He drew many ground-plans and elevations, which were excellently
designed, some well-measured and artistically conceived ones being in our book. He
instructed Raphael of Urbino in many points of architecture, and sketched for him the
buildings which he afterwards drew in perspective in the Pope's chamber, representing
Mount Parnassus. Here Raphael drew Bramante measuring with a sextant. The Pope
resolved to employ Bramante to collect into one place in the Strada Giulia all the offices
and bureaux of Rome for the benefit of those who had affairs there, and who had
previously suffered much inconvenience. Accordingly Bramante began the palace at S.
Biagio su'l Tevere, containing an unfinished Corinthian temple, a very rare thing, and
the remainder in rustic work of great beauty. It is a pity that a work of such nobility and
advantage should remain incomplete, for professional men consider it the best thing of
the kind ever produced. At S. Piero a Montorio he did a round temple of travertine in the
first cloister, unequalled for its proportions, order and variety, with unsurpassable grace
and finish. It would have been even better if his design had been carried out in the
cloister, which is unfinished. He erected the palace for Raphael of Urbino in the Borgo,
built of bricks and blocks of concrete, the columns and the bosses being of Doric and
rustic-work of great beauty, and the concrete blocks a new invention. He also designed
the decoration of S. Maria of Loreto, afterwards continued by Andrea Sansovino, and
made endless models of palaces and temples in Rome and for the States of the Church.
So tremendous was his genius that he made a very large design for restoring the
Pope's palace.
Bramante's spirit being thus grown great, and seeing the Pope's wish corresponded
with his own desire to pull down the church of S. Pietro and build it anew, he made a
great number of designs, one being especially admirable displaying his wonderful skill. It
has two campaniles, one on either side of the facade, as we see in the coins of Julius II.
and Leo X., designed by Caradosso, an excellent goldsmith, unequalled for his dies,
and by the fine medal of Bramante himself. The Pope then decided to undertake the
stupendous task of building S. Pietro, and caused a half to be pulled down, intending
that in beauty, invention, order, size, richness and decoration it should surpass all the
buildings ever erected in that city by the power of the republic and by the art and genius
of so many able masters. Bramante laid the foundation with his accustomed speed, and
before the Pope's death' the walls were raised as high as the cornice, where the arches
to all four pilasters are, and he vaulted these with the utmost rapidity and great art 10).
He also vaulted the principal chapel where the nice is, and proposed to push forward
- 96 -
the chapel called after the King of France. He discovered, the means of making vaulting
by using wooden frames, that it may be carved with friezes and foliage of stucco, and
showed the way to make the arches with a hanging scaffolding, an invention followed by
Antonio da San Gallo. In this part, finished by himself, the cornice running round the
interior is such that it would be impossible to improve its design. The strange and
beautiful olive leaves of the capitals and the beauty of the exterior Doric work show the
tremendous character of Bramante' s genius, so that if his strength had equalled his
genius he would have accomplished unheard-of marvels. Since his death many
architects have meddled with this work, so that, excepting the four outside arches
bearing the tribune, there is nothing of his left. Raphael of Urbino and Giuliano da S.
Gallo, who had charge of the work after the death of Julius II., together with Giocondo of
Verona, began to change it. After their death Baldassare Peruzzio made the alterations
in building the chapel of the King of France in the crossing towards the Camposanto,
while, under Paul III., Antonio da S. Gallo changed everything, and finally Michelagnolo
Buonarroti did away with their various ideas and useless expenditure, and brought it to a
unified whole of great beauty and perfection, feeling himself, as he has frequently told
me, the executor of the plan and design of Bramante, an idea which had never entered
the heads of the others, who only thought of their own designs and judgment, although
those who begin the construction of an edifice are its real authors. Bramante's
conception of this work seemed limitless; he initiated a great building, and if he had
begun this magnificent church on a lesser plan it would not have been possible for S.
Gallo and the others, no, not even for Michelagnolo, to increase it, indeed they
diminished the size, for Bramante conceived something larger.
It is said that Bramante was so anxious for the work to progress that he destroyed in
S. Pietro many fine tombs of popes, paintings and mosaics, thus obliterating the
memory of many portraits of great men scattered about the principal church in
Christendom. He only retained the altar of St. Peter and the old tribune, introducing a
fine Doric decoration of peperigno stone, so that when the Pope went to S. Pietroto say
Mass he could stand there with all his court and the ambassadors of the Christian
princes. Death prevented him from finishing it, and Baldassare of Siena completed it
afterwards.
Bramante was of a happy temperament and loved to help his neighbours. He was a
great friend to men of ability, and assisted them as much as possible, as in the case of
the ever celebrated painter Raphael Urbino, whom he brought to Rome. He lived in
honour and splendour in the rank to which his merits had raised him, but he would have
been far more lavish had he possessed more. He was very fond of poetry, and loved to
hear and compose improvisations on the lee. He composed sonnets which, if not so
nice as those of to-day, were grave and faultless. He was greatly esteemed by prelates,
and rewarded by the numberless lords who knew him. His reputation stood very high
during his life, and became greater after his death, because the building of S. Pietro was
delayed for many years. He lived seventy years, being carried to his grave by the papal
court, and by all the sculptors, painters and architects. His funeral took place in S. Pietro
in 1514. His death was a very great loss to architecture, as he investigated many
auxiliary arts, such as forming vaults of gypsum and the making of stucco, used by the
ancients, but lost until his day. Those who measure ancient monuments find no less
science and design in the works of Bramante. Thus he is evidently one of the most
remarkable of the men of genius who have illustrated our century. He left behind him his
familiar friend Giulian Leno, who was more skilled in executing the designs of others
than in framing his own, though he possessed judgment and experience.
Bramante employed in his works Ventura, a carpenter of Pistoia, very skilful and
ingenious in design. This man was fond of measuring the monuments at Rome, and
when he returned to Pistoia in 1509 there was a Virgin there, known as the Madonna
della Umilita, which works miracles. As this brought much alms, the Signoria determined
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to erect a temple in its honour. As this opportunity presented itself to Ventura, he made
a model with eight sides, braccia broad and. braccia high, with a vestibule or closed
porch in front, beautifully decorated within. The heads of the city being delighted with
this, the building was begun under Ventura. He laid the foundations of the vestibule and
church, completed the former, richly decorating it with pilasters and cornices of the
Corinthian order, while fluted cornices were prepared for the vaulting, made of stone
and adorned with bosses. The church was also built as far as the last cornice, the
tribune remaining to be vaulted while Ventura lived. Not being very skilled in a work of
such proportions, he did not consider the weight of the tribune, and in the thickness of
the walls in the first and second rows of windows he had made a passage round the
church, which weakened the walls, so that as the church was without buttresses it was
dangerous to vault it, especially at the corner angles, where the whole weight of the
vaulting would fall. Accordingly, after his death, no one had sufficient courage to vault it,
and they brought beams to make a flat roof. This did not satisfy the citizens, who would
not begin it, and the building remained roofless for many years, until in 1561 the
wardens besought Duke Cosimo to grant that the tribune might be made. His Highness
directed Giorgio Vasari to go there and devise a means of vaulting the church. He did
so, and made a model, raising the edifice eight braccial above the cornice left by
Ventura to make buttresses, being together the space between the walls of the passage
and strengthening the buttresses, the angles and the parts beneath the passages made
by Ventura between the windows, chaining them with great iron limbs doubled at the
angles, so that the vaulting might be imposed with safety. His Excellency went to the
spot, and, being pleased with everything, gave orders that the work should be carried
out. Thus all the buttresses were made and the vaulting begun, as rich as the work of
Ventura, but larger, more ornamental, and with better proportion. But Ventura deserves
a notice, because that church is the most notable modern work in the city.

1)
A portrait of Simonetta Vespucci; now in the Musee Conde, Chantilly.
2)
Probably about 1472.
3)
Bernardino Zenale of Treviglio, 1436-1526.
4)
It is the work of Bernardo Butinone.
5)
Oliviero Caraffa.
6)
In 1504.
7)
Begun in 1500.
8)
i.e. the theatre of Marcellus.
9)
For the sealing of bulls. In 1511.
10)
18 April, 1506.

LEONARDO DA VINCI
Painter and Sculptor of Florence
(1452-1519)

THE heavens often rain down the richest gifts on human

beings, naturally, but sometimes with lavish abundance
bestow upon a single individual beauty, grace and ability,
so that, whatever he does, every action is so divine that he
distances all other men, and clearly displays how his genius
is the gift of God and not an acquirement of human art. Men
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saw this in Leonardo da Vinci, whose personal beauty could not be exaggerated, whose
every movement was grace itself and whose abilities were so extraordinary that he
could readily solve every difficulty. He possessed great personal strength, combined
with dexterity, and a spirit and courage invariably royal and magnanimous, and the fame
of his name so spread abroad that, not only was he valued in his own day, but his
renown has greatly increased since his death.
This marvellous and divine Leonardo was the son of Piero da Vinci. He would
have made great profit in learning had he not been so capricious and fickle, for he
began to learn many things and then gave them up. Thus in arithmetic, during the few
months that he studied it, he made such progress that he frequently confounded his
master by continually raising doubts and difficulties. He devoted some time to music,
and soon learned to play the lyre, and, being filled with a lofty and delicate spirit, he
could sing and improvise divinely with it. Yet though he studied so many different things,
he never neglected design and working in relief, those being the things which appealed
to his fancy more than any other. When Ser Piero perceived this, and knowing the boy's
soaring spirit, he one day took some of his drawings to Andrea del Verrocchio, who was
his close friend, and asked his opinion whether Leonardo would do anything by studying
design. Andrea was so amazed at these early efforts that he advised Ser Piero to have
the boy taught. So it was decided that Leonardo should go to Andrea's workshop 1). The
boy was greatly delighted, and not only practised his profession, but all those in which
design has a part. Possessed of a divine and marvellous intellect, and being an
excellent geometrician, he not only worked in sculpture, doing some heads of women
smiling, which were casts, and children's heads also, executed like a master, but also
prepared many architectural plans and elevations, and he was the first, though so
young, to propose to canalise the Arno from Pisa to Florence. He made designs for
mills, fulling machines, and other engines to go by water, and as painting was to be his
profession he studied drawing from life. He would make clay models of figures, draping
them with soft rags dipped in plaster, and would then draw them patiently on thin sheets
of cambric or linen, in black and white, with the point of the brush. He did these
admirably, as may be seen by specimens in my book of designs. He also drew upon
paper so carefully and well that no one has ever equaled him. I have a head in grisai he
which is divine. The grace of God so possessed his mind, his memory and intellect
formed such a mighty union, and he could so clearly express his ideas in discourse, that
he was able to confound the boldest opponents. Every day he made models and
designs for the removal of mountains with ease and to pierce them to pass from one
place to another, and by means of levers, cranes and winches to raise and draw heavy
weights; he devised a method for cleansing ports, and to raise water from great depths,
schemes which his brain never ceased to evolve. Many designs for these notions are
scattered about, and I have seen numbers of them. He spent much time in making a
regular design of a series of knots so that the cord maybe traced from one end to the
other, the whole filling a round space. There is a fine engraving of this most difficult
design, and in the middle are the words: Leonardus Vinci Academia. Among these
models and designs there was one which he several times showed to many able
citizens who then ruled Florence, of a method of raising the church of S. Giovanni and
putting steps under it without it falling down. He argued with so much eloquence that it
was not until after his departure that they recognised the impossibility of such a feat.
His charming conversation won all hearts, and although he possessed nothing and
worked little, he kept servants and horses of which he was very fond, and indeed he
loved all animals, and trained them with great kindness and patience. Often, when
passing places where birds were sold, he would let them out of their cages and pay the
vendor the price asked. Nature had favoured him so greatly that in whatever his brain or
mind took up he displayed unrivalled divinity, vigour, vivacity, excellence, beauty and
grace. His knowledge of art, indeed, prevented him from finishing many things which he
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had begun, for he felt that his hand would be unable to realize the perfect creations of
his imagination, as his mind formed such difficult, subtle and marvellous conceptions
that his hands, skilful as they were, could never have expressed them. His interests
were so numerous that his inquiries into natural phenomena led him to study the
properties of herbs and to observe the movements of the heavens, the moon's orbit and
the progress of the sun.
Leonardo was placed, as I have said, with Andrea del Verrocchio in his childhood by
Ser Piero, and his master happened to be painting a picture of St. John baptising Christ
2)
. For this Leonardo did an angel holding some clothes, and, although quite young, he
made it far better than the figures of Andrea. The latter would never afterwards touch
colours, chagrined that a child should know more than he. Leonardo was next employed
to draw a cartoon of the Fall for a portire in tapestry, to be made in Flanders of gold and
silk, to send to the King of Portugal. Here he did a meadow in grisaille, with the lights in
white lead, containing much vegetation and some animals, unsurpassable for finish and
naturalness. There is a fig-tree, the leaves and branches beautifully foreshortened and
executed with such care that the mind is amazed at the amount of patience displayed.
There is also a palm-tree, the rotundity of the dates being executed with great and
marvellous art, due to the patience and ingenuity of Leonardo. This work was not
carried farther, and the cartoon is now in Florence in the fortunate house of Ottaviano
de' Medici the Magnificent, to whom it was given not long ago by Leonardo's uncle.
It is said that when Ser Piero was at his country-seat he was requested by a peasant
of his estate to get a round piece of wood painted for him at Florence, which he had cut
from a fig-tree on his farm. Piero readily consented, as the man was ‚very skilful in
catching birds and fishing, and was very useful to him in such matters. Accordingly
Piero brought the wood to Florence and asked Leonardo to paint something upon it,
without telling him its history. Leonardo, on taking it up to examine it one day, found it
warped, badly prepared and rude, but with the help of fire he made it straight, and giving
it to a turner, had it rendered soft and smooth instead of being rough and rude. Then,
after preparing the surface in his own way, he began to cast about what he should paint
on it, and resolved to do the Medusa head to terrify all beholders. To a room, to which
he alone had access, Leonardo took lizards, newts, maggots, snakes, butterflies,
locusts, bats, and other animals of the kind out of which he composed a horrible and
terrible monster, of poisonous breath, issuing from a dark and broken rock, belching
poison from its open throat, fire from its eyes, and smoke from its nostrils, of truly
terrible and horrible aspect. He was so engrossed with the work that he did not notice
the terrible stench of the dead animals, being absorbed in his love for art. His father and
the peasant no longer asked for the work, and when it was finished Leonardo told his
father to send for it when he pleased, as he had done his part. Accordingly Ser Piero
went to his rooms one morning to fetch it. When he knocked at the door Leonardo
opened it and told him to wait a little, and, returning to his room, put the round panel in
the light on his easel, and having arranged the window to make the light dim, he called
his father in. Ser Piero, taken unaware, started back, not thinking of the round piece of
wood, or that the face which he saw was painted, and was beating a retreat when
Leonardo detained him and said, "This work has served its purpose; take it away, then,
as it has produced the effect intended." Ser Piero indeed thought it more than
miraculous, and he warmly praised Leonardo's idea. He then quietly went and bought
another round wheel with a heart transfixed by a dart painted upon it, and gave it to the
peasant, who was grateful to Piero all his life. Piero took Leonardo's work secretly to
Florence and sold it to some merchants for 100 ducats, and in a short time it came into
the hands of the Duke of Milan, who bought it of them for 300 ducats.
Leonardo next did a very excellent Madonna, which afterwards belonged to Pope
Clement VII. Among other things it contained a bowl of water with some marvellous
flowers, the dew upon them seeming actually to be there, so that they looked more real
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than reality itself. For his good friend Antonio Segni he drew a Neptune on paper, with
so much design and care that he seemed alive. The sea is troubled and his car is drawn
by sea-horses, with the sprites, monsters, and south winds and other fine marine
creatures. The drawing was given by Antonio's son Fabio to M. Giovanni Gaddi with this
epigram:

Pinxit Virgilius Neptunum, pinxit Homerus; Dum maris undisoni

per vada flectit equos Mente quidem vates illum conspexit uterque
Vincius ast oculus; jureque vincit eos.

Leonardo then had the fancy to paint a picture of the Medusa's head in oils with a
garland of snakes about it, the most extra-ordinary idea imaginable, but as the work
required time, it remained unfinished, the fate of nearly all his projects 3). This is among
the treasures in the palace of Duke Cosimo, together with the head of an angel, who is
raising an arm in the air, this arm being foreshortened from the shoulder to the elbow,
while the other rests on its breast. So marvellous was Leonardo's mind that, desiring to
throw his things into greater relief, he endeavoured to obtain greater depths of shadow,
and sought the deepest blacks in order to render the lights clearer by contrast. He
succeeded so well that his scenes looked rather like representations of the night, there
being no bright light, than of the brightness of day, though all was done with the idea of
throwing things into greater relief and to find the end and perfection of art. Leonardo
was so delighted when he saw curious heads, whether bearded or hairy, that he would
follow about anyone who had thus attracted his attention for a whole day, acquiring
such a clear idea of him that when he went home he would draw the head as well as if
the man had been present. In this way many heads of men and women came to be
drawn, and I have several such pen-and-ink drawings in my book, so often referred to.
Among them is the head of Amergio Vespucci, a fine old man, drawn in carbon, and that
of Scaramuccia, the gipsy captain, which afterwards belonged to M. Donato Valdambrini
of Arezzo, canon of S. Lorenzo, left to him by Giambullari. He began a picture of the
Adoration of the Magi 4), containing many beautiful things, especially heads, which was
in the house of Amerigo Benci, opposite the loggia of the Peruzzi, but which was left
unfinished like his other things.
On the death of Giovan. Galeazzo, Duke of Milan, and the accession of Ludovico
Sforza in the same year, 1493, Leonardo was invited to Milan with great ceremony by
the duke to play the lyre, in which that prince greatly delighted 5). Leonardo took his own
instrument, made by himself in silver, and shaped like a horse's head, a curious and
novel idea to render the harmonies more loud and sonorous, so that he surpassed all
the musicians who had assembled there. Besides this he was the best reciter of
improvised rhymes of his time. The duke 6), captivated by Leonardo's conversation and
genius, conceived an extraordinary affection for him. He begged him to paint an altar-
picture of the Nativity, which was sent by the duke to the emperor. Leonardo then did a
Last Supper for the Dominicans at S. Maria delle Grazie in Milan 7), endowing the heads
of the Apostles with such majesty and beauty that he left that of Christ unfinished,
feeling that he could not give it that celestial divinity which it demanded. This work left in
such a condition has always been held in the greatest veneration by the Milanese and
by other foreigners, as Leonardo has seized the moment when the Apostles are anxious
to discover who would betray their Master. All their faces are expressive of love, fear,
wrath or grief at not being able to grasp the meaning of Christ, in contrast to the
obstinacy, hatred and treason of Judas, while the whole work, down to the smallest
details, displays incredible diligence, even the texture of the tablecloth being clearly
visible so that actual cambric would not look more real. It is said that the prior
incessantly importuned Leonardo to finish the work, thinking it strange that the artist
should pass half a day at a time lost in thought. He would have desired him never to lay
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down the brush, as if he were digging a garden. Seeing that his importunity produced no
effect, he had recourse to the duke, who felt compelled to send for Leonardo to inquire
about the work, showing tactfully that he was driven to act by the importunity of the
prior. Leonardo, aware of the acuteness and discretion of the duke, talked with him fully
about the picture, a thing which he had never done with the prior. He spoke freely of his
art, and explained how men of genius really are doing most when they work least, as
they are thinking out ideas and perfecting the conceptions, which they subsequently
carry out with their hands. He added that there were still two heads to be done, that of
Christ, which he would not look for on the earth, and felt unable to conceive the beauty
of the celestial grace that must have been incarnate in the divinity. The other head was
that of Judas, which also caused him thought, as he did not think he could express the
face of a man who could resolve to betray his Master, the Creator of the world, after
having received so many benefits. But he was willing in this case to seek no farther, and
for lack of a better he would do the head of the importunate and tactless prior. The duke
was wonderfully amused, and laughingly declared that he was quite right. Then the poor
prior, covered with confusion, went back to his garden and left Leonardo in peace, while
the artist indeed finished his Judas, making him a veritable likeness of treason and
cruelty. The head of Christ was left unfinished, as I have said. The nobility of this
painting, in its composition and the care with which it was finished, induced the King of
France to wish to take it home with him. Accordingly he employed architects to frame it
in wood andiron, so that it might be transported in safety, without any regard for the
cost, so great was his desire. But the king was thwarted by its being done on the wall,
and it remained with the Milanese.
While engaged upon the Last Supper, Leonardo painted the portrait of Duke
Ludovico, with Maximilian, his eldest son, at the top of this same refectory, where there
is a Passion in the old style. At the other end he did the Duchess Beatrice with
Francesco, her other son, both of whom afterwards became Dukes of Milan, the
portraits being marvellous. While thus employed, Leonardo suggested that the duke
should set up a bronze horse of colossal size with the duke upon it in memory of
himself. But he began it on such a scale that it could never be done. Such is the malice
of man when stirred by envy that there are some who believe that Leonardo, as with so
many of his things, began this with no intention of completing it, because its size was so
great that extraordinary difficulties might be foreseen in having it install in one piece.
And it is probable that many have formed this opinion from the result, since so many of
his things have been left unfinished. However, we can readily believe that his great and
extraordinary talents suffered a check from being too venturesome, and that the real
cause was his endeavour to go on from excellence to excellence and from perfection to
perfection. Talche l'Operafusseritardata dal desio" 8) as our Petrarca says in truth, those
who have seen Leonardo's large clay model aver that they never beheld anything finer
or more superb. It was preserved until the French came to Milan with King Louis of
France, and broke it all to pieces. Thus a small wax model, considered perfect, was lost,
as well as a book of the anatomy of horses, done by him. He afterwards devoted even
greater care to the study of the anatomy of men, aiding and being aided by M.
Marcantonio della Torre, a profound philosopher, who then professed at Padua and
wrote upon the subject. I have heard it said that he was one of the first who began to
illustrate the science of medicine, by the learning of Galen, and to throw true light upon
anatomy, up to that time involved in the thick darkness of ignorance. In this he was
marvellously served by the genius, work and hands of Leonardo, who made a book
about it with red crayon drawings 9) outlined with the pen, in which he foreshortened and
portrayed with the utmost diligence. He did the skeleton, adding all the nerves and
muscles, the first attached to the bone, the others keeping it firm and the third moving,
and in the various parts he wrote notes in curious characters, using his left hand, and
writing from right to left, so that it cannot be read without practice, and only at a mirror. A

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great part of the sheets of this anatomy is in the hands of M. Francesco de Melzo, a
nobleman of Milan, who was a lovely child in Leonardo's time, who was very fond of
him, and being now a handsome and courteous old man, he treasures up these
drawings with a portrait of Leonardo. Whoever succeeds in reading these notes of
Leonardo will be amazed to find how well that divine spirit has reasoned of the arts, the
muscles, the nerves and veins, with the greatest diligence in all things. N. N., a painter
of Milan, also possesses some writings of Leonardo, written in the same way, which
treat of painting and of the methods of design and colour 10). Not long ago he came to
Florence to see me, wishing to have the work printed. He afterwards went to Rome to
put it in hand, but I do not know with what result.
To return to Leonardo's works. When Lionardo was at Milan the King of France
came there and desired him to do something curious; accordingly he made a lion whose
chest opened after he had walked a few steps, discovering himself to be full of lilies. At
Milan Leonardo took Salai 11) of that city as his pupil. This was a graceful and beautiful
youth with fine curly hair, in which Leonardo greatly delighted. He taught him many
things in art, and some works which are attributed in Milan to Salai were retouched by
Leonardo. He returned to Florence, where he found that the Servite friars had allotted to
Filippino the picture of the high altar of the Nunziata. At this Leonardo declared that he
should like to have done a similar thing. Filippino heard this, and being very courteous,
he withdrew. The friars, wishing Leonardo to paint it, brought him to their house, paying
all his expenses and those of his household. He kept them like this for a long time, but
never began anything. At length he drew a cartoon of the Virgin and St. Anne with a
Christ, which not only filled every artist with wonder, but, when it was finished and set up
in the room, men and women, young and old, flocked to see it for two days, as if it had
been a festival, and they marvelled exceedingly. The face of the Virgin displays all the
simplicity and beauty which can shed grace on the Mother of God, showing the modesty
and humility of a Virgin contentedly happy, in seeing the beauty of her Son, whom she
tenderly holds in her lap. As she regards it the little St. John at her feet is caressing a
lamb, while St. Anne smiles in her great joy at seeing her earthly progeny become
divine, a conception worthy of the great intellect and genius of Leonardo. This cartoon,
as will be said below, afterwards went to France. He drew Ginevra, the wife of Amerigo
Benci, a beautiful portrait, and then abandoned the work of the friars, who recalled
Filippino, though he was prevented from finishing it by death.
For Francesco del Giocondo Leonardo undertook the portrait of Mona Lisa, his wife,
and left it incomplete after working at it for four years 12). This work is now in the
possession of Francis, King of France, at Fontainebleau. This head is an extraordinary
example of how art can imitate Nature, because here we have all the details painted
with great subtlety. The eyes possess that moist lustre which is constantly seen in life,
and about them are those livid reds and hair which cannot be rendered without the
utmost delicacy. The lids could not be more natural, for the way in which the hairs issue
from the skin, here thick and there scanty, and following the pores of the skin. The nose
possesses the fine delicate reddish apertures seen in life. The opening of the mouth,
with its red ends, and the scarlet cheeks seem not colour but living flesh. To look closely
at her throat you might imagine that the pulse was beating. Indeed, we may say that this
was painted in a manner to cause the boldest artists to despair. Mona Lisa was very
beautiful, and while Leonardo was drawing her portrait he engaged people to play and
sing, and jesters to keep her merry, and remove that melancholy which painting usually
gives to portraits. This figure of Leonardo's has such a pleasant smile that it seemed
rather divine than human, and was considered marvellous, an exact copy of Nature.
The fame of this divine artist grew to such a pitch by the excellence of his works that
all who delighted in the arts and the whole city wished him to leave some memorial, and
they endeavoured to think of some noteworthy decorative work through which the state
might be adorned and honoured by the genius, grace and judgment characteristic of his
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work. The great hall of the council was being rebuilt under the direction of Giuliano da S.
Gallo, Simone Pollajuolo called Cronaca, Miclielagnolo Buonarroti and Bacciod'Agnolo,
by the judgment and advice of the gonfaloniere and leading citizens, as will be related at
greater length in another place, and being finished with great speed, it was ordained by
public decree that Leonardo should be employed to paint some fine work. Thus the hall
was allotted to him 13) by Piero Soderini, then gonfaloniere of justice. Leonardo began by
drawing a cartoon at the hall of the Pope, a place in S. Maria Novella, containing the
story of Niccolo Piccinino, captain of Duke Filippo of Milan 14). Here he designed a group
of horsemen fighting for a standard, a masterly work on account of his treatment of the
fight, displaying the wrath, anger and vindictiveness of men and horses; two of the
latter, with their front legs involved, are waging war with their teeth no less fiercely than
their riders are fighting for the standard. One soldier, putting his horse to the gallop, has
turned round and, grasping the staff of the standard, is endeavouring by main force to
wrench it from the hands of four others, while two are defending it, trying to cut the staff
with their swords; an old soldier in a red cap has a hand on the staff, as he cries out,
and holds a scimetar in the other and threatens to cut off both hands of the two, who are
grinding their teeth and making every effort to defend their banner. On the ground,
between the legs of the horses, are two foreshortened figures who are fighting together,
while a soldier lying prone has another over him who is raising his arm as high as he
can to run his dagger with his utmost strength into his adversary's throat; the latter,
whose legs and arms are helpless, does what he can to escape death. The manifold
designs Leonardo made for the costumes of his soldiers defy description, not to speak
of the scimetars and other ornaments, and his incredible mastery of form and line in
dealing with horses, which he made better than any other master, with their powerful
muscles and graceful beauty. It is said that for designing the cartoon he made an
ingenious scaffolding which rose higher when pressed together and broadened out
when lowered. Thinking that he could paint on the wall in oils, he made a composition
so thick for laying on the wall that when he continued his painting it began to run and
spoil what had been begun, so that in a short time he was forced to abandon it.
Leonardo had a high spirit and was most generous in every action. It is said that
when he went to the bank for the monthly provision that he used to receive from Piero
Soderini, the cashier wanted to give him some rolls of farthings, but he would not take
them, saying that he was not a painter for farthings. Learning that Piero Soderini
accused him of deceiving him and that murmurs rose against him, Leonardo with the
help of his friends collected the money and took it back, but Piero would not accept it.
He went to Rome with Duke Giuliano de'Medici on the election of Leo X. 15), who studied
philosophy and especially alchemy. On the way he made a paste with wax and
constructed hollow animals which flew in the air when blown up, but fell when the wind
ceased. On a curious lizard found by the vine-dresser of Belvedere he fastened scales
taken from other lizards, dipped in quicksilver, which trembled as it moved, and after
giving it eyes, a horn and a beard, he tamed it and kept it in a box. All the friends to
whom he showed it ran away terrified. He would often dry and purge the guts of a
wether and make them so small that they might be held in the palm of the hand. In
another room he kept a pair of smith's bellows, and with these he would blow out one of
the guts until it filled the room, which was a large one, forcing anyone thereto take
refuge in a corner. The fact that it had occupied such a little space at first only added to
the wonder. He perpetrated many such follies, studied mirrors and made curious
experiments to find oil for painting and varnish to preserve the work done. At this time
he did a small picture for M. Baldassare Turini of Pescia, the datary of Leo, of the Virgin
and Child, with infinite diligence and art. But today it is much spoiled either by neglect or
because of his numerous fanciful mixtures and the colouring. In another picture he
represented a little child, marvellously beautiful and graceful, both works being now at
Pescia in the possession of M. Giulio Turini. It is said that, on being commissioned by

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the Pope to do a work, he straightway began to distil oil and herbs to make the varnish,
which induced Pope Leo to say: "This man will never do anything, for he begins to think
of the end before the beginning.”
There was no love lost between him and Michelagnolo Buonarroti, so that the latter
left Florence owing to their rivalry, Duke Giuliano excusing him by saying that he was
summoned by the Pope to do the facade of S. Lorenzo. When Leonardo heard this, he
left for France, where the king had heard of his works and wanted him to do the cartoon
of St. Ane in colours. But Leonardo, as was his wont, gave him nothing but words for a
long time. At length, having become old, he lay sick for many months, and seeing
himself near death, he desired to occupy himself with the truths of the Catholic Faith
and the holy Christian religion. Then, having confessed and shown his penitence with
much lamentation, he devoutly took the Sacrament out of his bed, supported by his
friends and servants, as he could not stand. The king arriving, for he would often pay
him friendly visits, he sat up in bed from respect, and related the circumstances of his
sickness, showing how greatly he had offended God and man in not having worked in
his art as he ought. He was then seized with a paroxysm, the harbinger of death, so that
the king rose and took his head to assist him and show him favour as well as to alleviate
the pain. Leonardo's divine spirit, then recognising that he could not enjoy a greater
honour, expired in the king's arms, at the age of seventy-five. The loss of Leonardo
caused exception all grief to those who had known him, because there never was a man
who did so much honour to painting. By the splendour of his magnificent mien he
comforted every sad soul, and his eloquence could turn men to either side of a question.
His personal strength was prodigious, and with his right hand he could bend the clapper
of a knocker or a horseshoe as if they had been of lead. His liberality warmed the hearts
of all his friends, both rich and poor, if they possessed talent and ability. His presence
adorned and honoured the most wrethchied and bare apartment. Thus Florence
received a great gift in the birth of Leonardo, and its loss in his death was
immeasurable. To the art of painting he added a type of darkness to the style of
colouring in oils whereby the moderns have imparted great vigour and relief to their
figures. He proved his powers in statuary in three figures in bronze over the door of S.
Giovanni on the north side. They were executed by Gio. Francesco Rustici, but under
Leonardo's direction, and are the finest casts for design and general perfection that
have as yet been seen. To Leonardo we owe a greater perfection in the anatomy of
horses and men. Thus, by his many surpassing gifts, even though he talked much more
about his in armour, a remarkable work, unequalled for its beauty, and that the general
took it away with him. Giorgione did many other fine portraits which are scattered
throughout Italy, as may be seen by that of Leonardo Loredano, done when he was
doge, seen by me on exhibition one Ascension Day, so that I seemed to see that most
serene prince alive. There is yet another at Faenza, in the house of Giovannni di Castel
Polognese 16), an excellent carver of cameos and crystals, done for his father-in-law.
This is indeed a divine work for the soft blending of the colours, and it seems in relief
rather than painted. Giorgione was very fond of painting in fresco, and among many
things did all one side of Ca Soranzo on the piazza of S. Paolo, where, in addition to
many pictures, scenes and other fancies, there is one done in oils upon lime, which has
preserved it from the rain, sun and wind, so that it still exists. There is a Spring, which I
think one of the loveliest works in fresco, and it is a great pity that time has injured it so
cruelly. Personally I know of nothing that injures fresco so much as the scirocco,
especially near the sea, where it always brings some saltness with it.
In the year 1504 there was a terrible fire 17) at Venice, in the Fondaco de' Tedeschi at
the Rialto bridge, which consumed all the merchandise, inflicting great loss upon the
merchants. The Signoria of Venice directed that it should be rebuilt, and it was speedily
finished, with more convenient dwelling-rooms, greater magnificence, decoration and
beauty than before. The fame of Giorgione being now considerable, those in charge of
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the building decided that he should paint it in fresco, colouring it according to his fancy,
in order to display his ability in producing an excellent work, the site being the finest and
the best position in all the city. Accordingly Giorgione set to work 18) but with no other
purpose than to make figures at fancy to display his art, for I cannot discover what they
mean, whether they represent some ancient or modern story, and no one has been able
to tell me. Here is a lady and there a man, in various attitudes, one has a lion's head
hard-by, another an angel in the guise of a cupid, and I cannot tell what it means. There
is certainly a woman over the principal door towards the Merzeria seated, with the head
of a dead giant beneath, almost like a Judith. She is raising the head with a sword and
speaking to a German below. I cannot explain this in any way unless he wished her to
represent Germania. However, we see his figures well grouped and that he was always
improving. There are heads and parts of figures which are excellently done and
brilliantly coloured. Giorgione was careful in all that he did there to copy straight from
living things, and not to imitate any one style. This building is celebrated and famous in
Venice no less for these paintings than for its convenience for commerce and utility to
the public. He did a picture of Christ bearing the Cross and a Jew dragging him along,
which, after a time, was placed in the church of S. Rocco 19) and now works miracles, as
we see, through the devotion of the multitudes who visit it. He worked at various places,
such as Castelfranco in the Trevisano, and did several portraits for various Italian
princes, while many of his works were sent out of Italy as things of distinction, to show
that if Tuscany overflowed with artists in all ages, Heaven had not entirely forgotten or
passed over the district near the mountains.
Giorgione is said to have once engaged in an argument with some sculptors at the
time when Andrea Verrocchio was making his bronze horse. They maintained that
sculpture was superior to painting, because it presented so many various aspects,
whereas painting only showed one side of a figure. Giorgione was of opinion that a
painting could show at a single glance, without it being necessary to walkabout, all the
aspects that a man can present in a number of gestures, while sculpture can only do so
if one walks about it. He offered in a single view to show the front and back and the two
sides of a figure in painting, a matter which greatly excited their curiosity. He
accomplished this in the following way. He painted a nude figure turning its back; at its
feet was a limpid fount of water, the reflection from which showed the front. On one side
was a burnished corselet which had been taken off, and gave a side view, because tile
shining metal reflected everything. On the other side was looking-glass, showing the
other side of the figure, a beautiful and ingenious work to prove that painting demands
more skill and pains, and shows to a single view more than sculpture does. This work
was greatly admired and praised for its ingenuity and beauty. Giorgione also drew a
portrait of Catherine, (Queen of Cyprus; which I have seen in the hands of the most
excellent M. Giovan. Cornaro. In our book there is a head coloured in oils of a German
of the house of Fugger, then one of the foremost merchants of the Fondaco dei
Tedeschi. This marvellous work is accompanied by other pen-and-ink sketches and
designs of his.
Whilst Giorgione was doing honour to his country and to himself, he went frequently
into society to entertain his numerous friends with music, and fell in love with a lady, so
that they became greatly enamoured of each other. However, in 1511, she caught the
plague, and Giorgione, being ignorant of this, associated with her as usual, took the
infection, and died soon after at the age of thirty-four, to the infinite grief of his numerous
friends, who loved him for his talents, and damage to the world which lost him. They
were the better able to support the loss because he left behind two excellent pupils,
Sebastiano of Venice, afterwards friar vi the Piombo at Rome, and Titian of Cadore,
who not only equalled but far excelled his master. I shall have occasion to speak of
these hereafter, and of the honour and benefit which they have conferred upon art.

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1)
About 1468.
2)
About 1470.
3)
The picture answering to this in the Uffizi is a work of the later sixteenth century, painted from Vasari's
description.
4)
Now in the Uffizi, supposed to be the high-altar picture for S. Donato in Scopeto which he was
commissioned to paint in 1481.
5)
Leonardo was at Milan from 1483.
6)
Ludovico il Moro became duke in 1494, but he had been the real ruler of the state some time before.
7)
Between 1495 and 1498.
8)
The full quotation runs:
"Tu sai lesser mioE l'amor di saper che m'ha si accesoChe l'opra e ritardata dal
desio."(Trionfo d'Amore, cap. 3. II. 7-9.)
9)
Now in the British Museum.
10)
Trattato della Pittura, published in 1651.
11)
Andrea Salaino.
12)
1503-06.
13)
In 1503.
14)
The Battle of Anghari, in which the Florentines routed the army of the Duke of Milan on 29 June, 1440.
15)
This was in 1513, but Leonardo did not go till 1515.
16)
Giovanni Bernardi.
17)
On 28 January, 1505, new style.
18
) In 1507.
19)
Modern critics accept this as a work of the master, but in the Life of Titian, Vasari ascribes it to that
artist.

ANDREA DEL SARTO

Painter of Florence
(1486-1531)

AFTER these numerous Lives of artists, some excellent in

colouring, some in design and some in invention, I have now
come to Andrea del Sarto, whom Nature endowed with her
rarest gifts in all three branches, so that, had his spirit been
as bold as his judgment was profound, he would doubtless
have been unequalled. But a timidity of spirit and a yielding
simple nature prevented him from exhibiting a burning ardour
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and dash that, joined to his other qualities, would have made him divine 1). This defect
deprived his work of the ornament, magnificence and wealth of style seen in many other
painters. None the less his figures are simple and pure, well conceived, flawless and
perfect in every particular 2). The heads of his women and children have a natural and
graceful expression, and his young and old men possess a marvellous vivacity and
vigour; his draperies are remarkable and his nudes show thorough knowledge, and
though his design is simple his colouring is truly divine.
Andrea was born in Florence in 1478, and was called del Sarto (tailor) from his
father's profession. At the age of seven he was taken from school and put with a
goldsmith, but he was naturally more fond of designing than of using his tools on the
silver or gold. Gian. Barile, a Florentine painter, though a coarse and plebeian man,
noticed the child's good method of designing, and took him away from the goldsmith to
learn painting. Andrea at once took delight in the art for which Nature had formed him,
and in a short space of time he astonished Gian. Barile and the other artists of the city
by his work in colours. After three years of continuous study, Gian. Barile perceived that
the child would become remarkable, and accordingly he spoke to Piero di Cosimo, then
considered one of the best painters in Florence, who took Andrea, who was anxious to
learn, and continued zealous in his studies. Nature had endowed him with as much skill
in using colours as if he had worked for fifty years, so that Piero became very fond of
him, and was delighted to hear that when the boy had a little time, especially on feast
days, he would devote the whole day with other youths drawing in the Pope's Hall,
containing the cartoons of Michelagnolo and Lionardo. Although so young Andrea
surpassed all the other designers, whether native or foreign, who gathered there.
Among these Andrea derived most pleasure from the character and conversation of
Francia Bigio, the painter, who returned his friendship.
Andrea one day told Francia that he could no longer stand thee eccentricity of Piero,
now an old man, and that he wished to have a room of his own. Francia, who was
forced to do the same because his master, Mariotto Albertinelli, had given up painting,
agreed to come and live with Andrea. Accordingly they took a room on the Piazza del
Grano, where they did many works together. One of these was the curtains for the
picture of the high altar of the Servites 3), given them by the sacristan, a near relation of
Francia. On the side towards the choir they painted an Annunciation, and on the other a
Deposition from the Cross, like the panel there by Filippo and Pietro Perugino. The men
of the company of the Scalzo, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and built in that time by
several Florentine artists used then to meet above the house of Ottaviano de' Medici the
Magnificent, at the top of the via Largo, opposite the garden of S. Marco. Among other
things, they had built a court with a gallery resting on small columns. Some of them,
noticing Andrea's advance as a painter, proposed that he should do twelve scenes in
grisaille there from the life of St. John the Baptist, for they had more spirit than money.
Accordingly he set to work 4), beginning with the Baptism of Christ, done so well that it
brought him great credit and renown, so that many wished to employ him, believing that
such a beginning promised remarkable fruit. Among other things in his first style is a
picture now in the house of Filippo Spini, held in great veneration in memory of such an
artist. Not long after he did a panel of Christ appearing to St. Mary Magdalene in the
garden, for a chapel in S. Gallo, a church of the Fremitani friars of St. Augustine, outside
the S. Gallo gate. The colouring, tone, harmony and sweetness of this work led to his
employment to do two other pictures in the same church not long after, as I shall relate
presently. All three are now at the corner of the Alberti in S. Jacopo tra' Fossi 5).
After this Andrea and Francia left the Piazza del Grano and took new rooms near the
convent of the Nunziata, in the Sapienza. This led to a friendship between Andrea and
the young Jacopo Sansovino, who was doing sculpture there under Andrea Contucci, so
close that they wer enever separated day or night. They usually discussed the
difficulties of art, so that it is small wonder that both became excellent.
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 At that time there was a sacristan with the Servites at the candle bench called Fra
Mariano dal Canto alla Macine. Hearing the praise of Andrea on every hand, and his
marvellous progress in painting, it occurred to him to gratify a wish at a small expense.
Approaching Andrea, who was good-natured and easygoing, he represented that he
wished to help him to win honour and profit, and to make him known, so that he would
never be poor again. Many years before Alesso Baldovinetti had done a Nativity on the
wall joining the Nunziata in the first court of the Servites; and on the other side Cosimo
Rosselli had begun a representation of St. Philip, the founder of the order, taking, the
habit, but had not finished it at the time of his death. The friar being anxious for its
completion thought he could profit by the emulation between Andrea and Francia, by
getting each of them to do a part, and this would induce them to work harder while the
cost would be less. Accordingly he discovered his plan to Andrea, and persuaded him to
undertake the work, showing that in a place so frequented his work would become
known to foreigners as well as to Florentines: so that he ought not to think of the price,
but to beg for the task. If he could not do it, there was Francia, who had offered, leaving
the price to the priest. These considerations induced Andrea to undertake the task,
especially as he had little spirit; but the last remark about Francia made him resolve to
obtain a bond that no one else should be employed. The friar having pledged him and
given him money, he began on the life of St. Philip 6), receiving only ten ducats for each
scene, for they said he was doing it more for his own ends than for the benefit of friar,
as if he thought more of honour than of the profit, he soon completed and unveiled three
scenes, where St. Philip as a friar clothes a naked man; where he is preaching against
some gamblers who are blaspheming God, and as they are deriding his warnings a
flash of lightning kills two and terrifies the others, some, putting their hands to their
heads, throw themselves forward, others flee screaming, while a woman fleeing from
fear of the thunder is most life-like, and a horse rears up at the sound, showing the
terror caused by the unexpected, the entire scene proving that Andrea had thought out
the various accidents that would occur. In the third scene St. Philip casts out a spirit
from a woman, with every imaginable circumstance to illustrate the story, so that the
three works brought Andrea the greatest glory. Encouraged by this, he did two more in
the same court. In one St. Philip lies dead, and the friars are weeping about him, while a
dead child on touching the bier is restored to life. He is seen first dead and then raised,
in a very natural manner. On the last on that side the friars are putting St. Philip's
clothes on the heads of some children. Here he did the portrait of Andrea della Robbia,
the sculptor, as an old man dressed in red, bent down, with a staff in his hands, and one
of Luca, his son. In the death scene of Philip he introduced a portrait of Andrea's son
Girolamo, his great friend, and a sculptor who died in France not long ago since. On
completing this series, he determined to abandon the rest, as the price was too small for
its quality. The friar complained bitterly and would not release Andrea from his bond
unless he promised to do two more scenes at his leisure and for a larger sum, and this
was arranged.
Having, thus made a name, Andrea was commissioned to do many important works.
Among these the general of the monks of Vallombrosa employed him to paint a Last
Supper for an arch in the vaulting of the refectory in the monastery of S. Salvi, outside
the S. Croce gate 7). Here he did in medallions figures of St. Benedict, St. John
Gualbert, St. Salvi the bishop, and St. Bernard degli Uberti of Florence, friar and
cardinal; in the middle he did a circle with three faces, which are the same, representing
the Trinity. The work was excellently done in fresco, and showed Andrea's worth as a
painter. Thus he was employed by Baccio d' Agnolo to do an Annunciat' on in the
minute style, still seen in a recess by Orsanmichele leading to the Mercato Nuovo,
which was not much admired, probably because he made too great efforts, whereas he
was able to do well without forcing Nature. Among the numerous pictures which he did
for Florence, and which it would take too long to recount, one of the most remarkable is

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the one now in the chamber of Baccio Barbadori, representing the Virgin and Child, St.
Anne and St. Joseph, beautifully executed and much valued by Baccio. He did a very
good one now owned by Lorenzo di flomenico Borghini, and another for Lionardo del
Giocondo, of the Virgin, now owned by Piero, his son. For Carlo Ginori he did two small
ones, afterwards bought by Ottaviano de' Medici the Magnificent, one of them at present
being in his beautiful villa of campi, and the other, in company with numerous paintings
by excellent modern masters, in the chamber of Sig. Bernardetto, the worthy son of his
father, who values the works of famous artists, and is a magnificent and generous
signor.
Meanwhile the Scrvites had allotted one of the scenes in their court to Francia Bigio.
He had not completed his preparation of the surface when Andrea, whose jealousy was
aroused, for he believed Francia to be more skilful and quick in fresco painting than
himself, did cartoons for the two scenes as if in competition, to be executed in the
corner between the side door of S. Bastiano and the lesser door leading from the court
into the Nunziata. On finishing the cartoons he began to execute them in fresco, 8
beginning with the Birth of the Virgin, a beautiful composition of figures gracefully
arranged in a chamber, where some women have come on a visit, dressed in the
costumes of the day. Some of lesser estate stand about the fire and wash the new-born
babe, while some are making the swathes and performing similar services. Among them
are a works, his reputation increasing daily, the men of the company of the Scalzo
determined that he should finish their courtyard, where he had already painted a
Baptism of Christ. He took up the work willingly 9) and did two scenes and Charity and
Justice to decorate the entrance door. One of the scenes represents St. John preaching
to the multitudes in a vigorous and life-like attitude, his head displaying much spirit. The
variety and vivacity of the auditors is no less remarkable, some standing in wonder and
all astonished at the new sayings and at such rare and novel teaching. But Andrea
displayed far more genius in his John baptising the multitudes, some undressing, some
receiving baptism, and some waiting their turn, already undressed, the expression of all
being intense in their anxiety to be cleansed of sin, while all the figures are so
excellently done that they resemble a marble group. While Andrea was thus employed,
some copper engravings of Albert Durer issued from the press, from which he borrowed
figures, adapting them to his style, which has led some to think, not that it is bad to use
the good things of others, but that Andrea was weak in invention. Baecio Bandinelli, a
celebrated designer of the day, fancied he would like to colour in oils, and knowing no
better man than Andrea in that art at Florence, got him to make his portrait, which was a
good likeness, and may still be seen. Observing his methods of colouring, he gave up
his idea and returned to sculpture, either owing to the difficulty or because he did not
care for painting. For Alessandro Corsini Andrea did a Virgin seated on the ground with
the Child, surrounded by cherubs, executed with great art and in pleasant colouring 10).
For a mercer, a friend of his who kept a shop in Rome, he did a lovely head. Giovanni
Battista Puccini of Florence, being charmed with Andrea's style, employed him to do a
Madonna to send to France, but it was so beautiful that he kept it for himself. However,
as he was doing business in France, and commissioned to obtain works from great
painters, he got Andrea to do a dead Christ supported by angels, who sorrowfully regard
their Maker in such misery for the sins of men 11). This work gave such universal delight
that Andrea was persuaded to have it engraved at Rome by Agostino Viniziano, but as it
did not succeed very well he never suffered anything to be printed again. The picture
caused as much delight in France as at Florence, so that the king sent orders to Andrea
for others, and Andrea, by the advice of his friends, decided soon after to go to France.
Meanwhile, in the year 1515, the Florentines, learning that Pope Leo X. intended to
favour them with a visit 12) prepared a great reception with arches, facades, temples,
colossal statues, and other ornaments, more sumptuous than had ever been seen
before, as the city was richer then in men of genius than it had ever been. At the S. Pier
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Gattolinigate Jacopo di Sandro made an arch full of scenes, assisted by Baccioda
Montelupo. At S. Felice, in Piazza, Giuliano del Tasso made another, and at S. Trinita
he did some statues, a half-length Romulus and a Trajan column in the Mercato Nuovo.
On the Piazza de' Signori, Antonio, brother of Giuliano da S. Gallo, made an octagoilal
temple, and Baccio Bandinell did a giant for the loggia. Between the Badiaand the
Podest palace an arch was set up by Granaccio and Aristoteleda S. Gallo; at the corner
of the Bischeri, II Rosso made another, beautifully designed with a variety of figures. But
the best of all was a wooden facade to S. Maria del Fiore decorated by Andrea, with
scenes in grisaille. The architecture of this and of some bas-reliefs and sculptures was
by Jacopo Sansovino, so that the Pope‚considered it as fine as if it had been of marble.
It was the invention of Lorenzo de' Medici, the Pope's father. On the piazza of S. Maria
Novella, Jacopo made a horse like that at Rome, of great beauty. Countless ornaments
also were made for the Pope's Hall in the via della Scala, the street being half full of
beautiful bas-reliefs by many artists, but most designed by Baccio Bandinelli. Thus
when Leo entered Florence on 3rd September that same year the decorations were
considered the finest and the most extensive ever seen.
But to return to Andrea. He soon completed another picture for the King of France,
at his request, being a lovely Madonna, which was immediately sent, the merchants
receiving four times as much as they had paid for it. About that time Pier Francesco
Borgherini had employed Baccio d'Agnolo to make wooden arm-chairs, chests, seats
and beds to furnish a room. In order to have pictures of corresponding excellence, he
employed Andrea to do some medium figures of the history of Joseph 13), to compete
with some beautiful ones by Granaccio: and Jacopo da Pontormo. By extraordinary
efforts Andrea endeavoured to surpass these, and succeeded admirably, showing his
ability in the variety of the circumstances which occur in the scenes. During the siege of
Florence Giovanni Battista della Palia proposed to have them packed up to be sent to
the King of France, but they were so firmly fixed that they could not be removed without
destruction, and consequently they remain in the same place, with an admirable
Madonna. Andrea next did a head of Christ, now kept by the Servite friars on the altar of
the Nunziata. I do not think that the human intellect can imagine anything finer of its
kind. In the chapel of the church outside the S. Gallo gate there were two other panels
of Andrea, and many inferior to his. The friars, wishing to have another, induced the
superior of the chapel to give it to Andrea. Beginning at once, he made four figures
standing, discussing the Trinity 14). St. Augustine, of African appearance, dressed as a
bishop, turns vehemently towards St. Peter Martyr, who is holding an open book, his
mien and gesture most formidable, the head and figure being much admired. Next to
him is St. Francis, holding a book in one hand, striking the other on his breast, his
fervour apparently making utterance difficult. St. Laurence, as a young man, gives place
to the authority of the others. Kneeling beneath are two figures, one a Magdalene with
beautiful draperies. This is a portrait of his wife, for he never painted a woman without
using her as his model, and owing to this habit all the women's heads which he did are
alike. The last of the four figures was St. Sebastian, nude, and turning his back, a life-
like figure. Artists consider this his best work in oils, as the measurements of the figures
are carefully observed, the expressions are suitable, the heads of the youths being soft
and those of the old hard, with a medium state for those of middle age; in fact the
picture is most beautiful in every detail. It is now in S. Jacopo Fra Fossi, at the Alberti
corner, with others by the same hand.
While Andrea was just maintaining himself in Florence with these works, without
improving his condition, the two pictures he sent to King Francis in France were
considered much ‚the best out of all that came from Rome, Venice and Lombardy. The
king praised them greatly, and he was told that Andrea would readily come to France to
serve him. Accordingly, being paid the expenses of his journey, Andrea setout joyfully
for France 15) taking with him his pupil Andrea Sguazzella. Arrived at the court, they
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were graciously welcomed by the king, and before he had been a day there Andrea
experienced the liberality and courtesy of that magnanimous king, receiving rich
investments and money. He then began to work, and was so highly favoured by the king
and court that he seemed to have exchanged a very wretched condition for a most
happy one. He drew, among his first things, a portrait of the Dauphin 16), then only a few
months old, and took it to the king, receiving for it 300 gold crowns. Continuing, he did a
Charity 17) for the king, which was much admired and valued, as it deserved. The king
gave him a large pension, and did everything to retain him, promising him that he should
lack nothing, for he was pleased with Andrea's quickness and his satisfaction with
everything. Besides this, Andrea pleased the court, doing many works for them. If he
had considered his origin and the position to which Fortune had raised him, no doubt he
could have attained an honourable rank, not to speak of riches. But one day, as he was
doing a St. Jerome in penitence for the king's mother, some letters arrived from his wife
at Florence, and he began, for some cause or another, to think of returning. He asked
the king's permission to go, saying that he would return when he had arranged some
affairs, and that he would bring back his wife, to enable him to live there more
comfortably, and that he would bring with him valuable paintings and sculptures. The
king trusted him, and gave him money, while Andrea swore on the Gospels to return in
a few months. Arrived in Florence 18) he enjoyed his wife, his friends and the city for
several months. When the time for his return to France had passed, he found that in
building 19) and pleasures, without working, he had spent all his money and the king's
also. But though he wished to return, the tears and entreaties of his wife prevailed more
than his own needs and his promise to the king. Francis became so angry at his
faithlessness that he for a long time looked askance at Florentine painters, and he
swore that if Andrea ever fell into his hands he would have more pain than pleasure, in
spite of all his ability. Thus Andrea remained in Florence, fallen very low from his high
station, and maintaining himself as best he could.
When Andrea left for France the men of the Scalzo, believing he would never return,
had given the remainder of their cloistei'to Francia Kigio, who had already done two
scenes there. When Andrea returned they induced him to take up the work, and he did
four scenes in a row. The first is St. John before Herod; the second the banquet and the
dancing of Herodias 20) with excellent figures; the third is the beheading of John, the
half-naked executioner being finely drawn, as are all the others; in the fourth Herodias is
presenting the head, and some of the figures are in amazement. These scenes were for
some time the school of many youths, now excellent artists. At a vaulted corner leading
to the Ingesuati outside the Pinti gate Andrea did a Virgin seated in a tabernacle with
the Child and a little St. John laughing, so perfectly done that its beauty and vivacity are
highly valued. The head of the Virgin is a portrait of his wife. This tabernacle for its
remarkable beauty was left standing when in 1530 the convent of the Jesuits and other
beautiful buildings were destroyed during the siege of Florence.
At this time Francia Bartolommeo Panciatichi the elder was engaged in business in
France, and wishing to leave a memorial of himself at Lyons, he instructed Baccio
d'Agnolo to get Andrea to do a panel of the Assumption 21) with the Apostles standing
about. Andrea almost completed it, but as the wood‚split several times it was not entirely
finished at his death. It was afterwards set up in the house of Bartolommeo Panciatichi
the younger as a work truly admirable for the figures of the Apostles, as well as the
Virgin, standing and surrounded by a choir of cherubs, some of whom are gracefully
supporting her. At the bottom of the picture Andrea has made a striking likeness of
himself among the Apostles. This is now in the villa of the Baroncelli, a little outside
Florence, in a small church built to receive it by Piero Salviati near his villa. In two
corners at the bottom of the garden of the Servites, Andrea did two scenes of the
Parable of the Vineyard 22), the planting and laying out, and the husbandman asking for
labourers among those standing idle, one of whom is seated and rubs his hands,
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debating whether he shall go with the other workmen, like the loafers who have no relish
for work. Much finer is the husbandman paying them, while they murmur and complain.
Among them is an excellent figure of a man counting the money. These scenes are in
grisaille, skillfully done in fresco. At the top of a staircase in the noviciate of the same
convent Andrea did a Pieta' in a niche, coloured in fresco, of great beauty. He did
another small Pieta and a Nativity in the chamber of Angelo Aretino, the general of the
convent. For Zanobi Bracci, who greatly desired to have works of his, he did for a
chamber a Virgin kneeling against a rock and regarding Christ, who rests on some
clothes and looks up smiling; St. John standing by points out to her the true Son of God.
Behind them is Joseph, his headin his hands, which rest on a rock, his spirit irradiated at
seeing the human race made divine by this birth 23).
When Cardinal Giulio de' Medici was commissioned by Pope Leo to have the
vaulting of the Medici palace at Poggio a Cajano, between Pistoia and Florence,
decorated with stucco and painting, the charge of the works and payments was
entrusted to Ottaviano de' Medici the Magnificent, as one who understood such matters,
and a patron of art like his predecessors, more fond than others of having his houses
adorned with the works of the best artists. He entrusted a third to Francia Bigio, a third
to Andrea, and the rest to Jacopo da Pontormo. But in spite of Ottaviano's entreaties
and offers of money he could not prevail upon them to finish the work. Andrea alone
completed with great diligence a scene on a wall of Caesar receiving tribute of all the
animals. The design for this is in our book, with many others by his hand, and it is the
most finished painting in grisaille that Andrea ever did. In order to surpass Francia and
Jacopo, Andrea took exceptional pains, making a magnificent perspective and some
very difficult steps up to Caesar's seat 24). He adorned this with appropriate statues, not
satisfied with the variety of figures who are bringing the various animals. There is an
Indian in a yellow tunic with a cage on his shoulders containing parrots, rarely drawn in
perspective. Here also some are bringing Indian boars, lions, giraffes, leopards, wolves,
apes and Moors, most divinely produced in fresco. On the steps he made a dwarf
seated, holding a chameleon in a box, the deformed figure being indescribably done in
beautiful proportion. But the work was left unfinished owing to the death of Pope Leo.
Although Duke Alessandro de' Medici wanted Jacopoda Pontormo to finish it, he could
not prevail upon him to take it up. It is a pity that it is imperfect, as it is the finest hall in
any villa in the world. Returning to Florence, Andrea did a half length nude St. John the
Baptist, of great beauty, for Giovan. Maria Benintendi, who afterwards gave it to Duke
Cosimo.
Whilst, these things were going on Andrea would sigh when he thought of France,
and if he had expected pardon no doubt he would have gone back. He determined to
bring his talents to help his fortune. Accordingly he did a half-naked St. John the Baptist
to send to the grand master of France 25) in order that he might restore him to the king's
favour. For some reason he did not send it, but sold it to Ottaviano de' Medici
theMagnificent, who always valued him highly. He also did two Madonnas for him in the
same style, which remain in his house to this day. Not long after Zanobi Bracci got him
to do a picture for Monsignore di S. Biause 26) upon which he devoted great service he
hoped to re-enter. He also did a picture for Lorenzo pains, anxious to regain the favour
of King Francis, whose Jacopi, much larger than usual, of a Madonna seated with the
Child and two other figures sitting on steps, similar to his other works in design and
colouring 27). He further did a lovely Madonna for Giovanni d'Agostino Dini, now much
valued or its beauty, and drew a most life-like portrait of Cosimo Lapi.
On the outbreak of the plague in Florence and some of the country districts in 1523,
Andrea, to escape it and do some work, went to Mugello to do a panel for the
Camaldolite nuns of S. Piero a Luco, taking his wife, his little daughter, his wife's sister,
and a pupil. Here he worked quietly, and as the nuns did many courtesies to his wife
and to him and the others, he bestowed great pains on his task. He represented a dead
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Christ lamented by the Virgin, St. John the Evangelist and a Magdalene 28) the figures
actually appearing alive. St. John displays his tender love, the Magdalene weeps, the
face and posture of the Virgin show her extreme grief at seeing the Christ, who seems
in relief, while St. Peter and St. Paul stand dazed with sorrow and compassion at seeing
the Saviour dead in His Mother's lap, all proving what great delight Andrea took in the
perfection of art. In truth this panel has brought more renown to the convent than all the
other building and outlay made there, great and magnificent as they were. On the
completion of the work, Andrea remained in the convent some weeks as the plague was
still raging, and he received every attention. To occupy his time he did a Visitation,
which is in the church over the Presepio, as the pediment for an ancient picture. He also
did a lovely head of Christ, of no great size, like the one over the altar of the Nunziata,
but did not finish it. The head may be counted among his best works, and it is now in the
monastery of the Angeli at Florence, in the possession of Padre Don Antonio of Pisa,
the patron not only of artists but of all men of ability. Some copies have been made, as it
was entrusted by Don Silvano Razzi to Zanobi Poggoni, the painter, to make a copy for
Bartolommeo Gondi, who asked for one, and others were done which are much valued
in Florence. In this way Andrea avoided the dangers of the plague, while the nuns
profited by his talents, obtaining a work which may stand comparison with any by the
best artists. Thus it is no wonder that Ramazotto, a captain at Scaricalasino, made
several attempts to get it during the siege of Florence, intending to send it to his chapel
in S. Michele in Bosco at Bologna.
On returning to Florence, Andrea did a panel for his friend the glassworker, Becuccio
da Gambassi, of a Virgin and Child in the air, and four figures below, St. John the
Baptist, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Sebastian and St. Roch, with portraits of Becuccio and
his wife in the predella. The panel is now at Gambassi, in the Valdelsa, between
Volterra and Florence 29). For a chapel of Zanobi Bracci at Rovezzano he did a lovely
Madonna suckling the Child, and a Joseph, with such skill that they issue from the
picture; this is now in the house of M. Antonio Bracci, Zanobi's son. At the same time
Andrea did two more scenes in the courtyard of the Scalzo, one of Zacharias sacrificing
and rendered dumb by the angel, the other a marvellously beautiful Visitation. Federico
II., Duke of Mantua, in passing through Florence on his way to visit Clement VII., saw
over a door of the Casa Medici that portrait of Pope Leo between Cardinal Giulio de'
Medici and Cardinal de' Rossi done by Raphael. It pleased him so much that he
determined to get possession of it, and when at Rome he asked the Pope for it, Clement
willingly granting his request. Accordingly Ottavianode' Medici, then the guardian of
Ippolito and Alessandro at Florence, was directed to pack it and send it to Mantua. The
thing greatly displeased Ottaviano, who did not want to deprive Florence of such a
painting, and he wondered at the Pope's action. However, he sent word that he would
serve the duke, but as the frame was bad it was necessary to make a new one, and
when it had been gilt he would send it to Mantua. Then he sent secretly for Andrea and
explained the matter to him, saying there was nothing for it but to make a copy and to
send it to the duke, keeping back Raphael's picture. Andrea promised to do his best,
and set to work secretly in Ottavanio's house. He succeeded so well that Ottaviano,
connoisseur as he was, could not tell the copy from the original, for Andrea had even
copied the grease spots. They then sent it framed to Mantua, the duke being delighted,
and the work was much admired by Giulio Romano the painter, Raphael's pupil, who did
not suspect the truth. He would have always believed it to be Raphael's; but Giorgio
Vasari, being at Mantua, disclosed the facts to him, for when a child and tile protégé of
M. Ottaviano he had seen Andrea doing it. Giulio had displayed great courtesy to
Vasari, and was showing him many antiquities and paintings, when he finally came to
this picture as being the best of all. Giorgio said, "It is a fine work, but not Raphael's."
"What !"exclaimed Giulio, "I know that it is, for I recognise my own handiwork in it." "You
are mistaken," said Giorgio, "it is by Andrea del Sarto, and was done in Florence; here

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is the proof,'' and he showed him. Giulio turned the picture, and seeing the signature,
shrugged his shoulders and said, "I value it even more than if it was by Raphael, for it is
extraordinary that one great master should so exactly imitate the style of another." This
shows the ability of Andrea when acting in cooperation as well as independently. Thus
the duke was satisfied and Florence retained a valuable picture, thanks to the device of
M. Ottaviano, who had the picture given to him by Duke Alessandro and kept it for many
years. Finally he gave it to Duke Cosimo, who keeps it in his wardrobe among many
other famous pictures 30).
While engaged upon this portrait, Andrea did for M. Ottaviano the head of Cardinal
Giulio de' Medici, afterwards Pope Clement, alone, like Raphael's and of great beauty. It
was subsequently given by M. Ottaviano to the old Bishop de' Marzi. Not long after M.
Baldo Magini of Prato wished to have a beautiful picture for the Madonnadella Carcere
on his estate, where he had previously made a fine marble ornament. Andrea was
suggested to him, among others, and although not knowing much of the matter, M.
Baldo had almost made up his mind to employ him when one Niccolo Soggi, of
Sansovino, who had friends in Prato, was recommended to M. Baldo and obtained the
work, as they said no better master could be had. Andrea, being sent for, went to Prato
with Domenico Puligo and other painters, feeling certain that the work would be his. On
arriving, however, he found Niccolo in possession, and so confident that he offered to
wager any sum of money before M. Baldo that he would paint the better picture.
Although a poor-spirited man, Andrea, who knew Niccolo's powers, replied, "My boy
here does not know much art, but if you wish to wager I will put my money on him, but
for myself I have nothing to gain in such a contest and it work to Niccolo, for he would
please the marketers, Andrea would be shameful to lose." Then telling M. Baldo to give
the returned to Florence. There he was allotted a panel for Pisa, divided into five
pictures, afterwards set up in the Madonna of S. Agnesa, on the wall between the old
citadel and the Duomo. In each scene he did one figure, putting St. John the Baptist and
St. Peter on one side of the miracle-working Madonna and St. Catherine the Martyr, St.
Agnes and St. Margaret on the other, all figures of marvellous beauty, and considered
the most delicate and lovely women that he ever did. M. Jacopo, a Servite friar, had
absolved a woman from a vow on condition that she would have a Madonna made to be
placed over the side door of the Nunziata leading into the outside cloister. Finding
Andrea, he told him that he had but little money to expend, and he thought that, as
Andrea had made such a reputation at the house, he would do right to execute the
work. Andrea being a mild man readily agreed, urged by the friar's arguments and by
his desire for profit and glory. He soon after produced a lovely Virgin in fresco, seated
with the Child in her arms, and St. Joseph leaning against a sack, his eyes fixed on an
open book. This picture, in design, grace, excellence of colouring, vivacity and relief,
proved him far superior to all his predecessors; indeed, the work as it stands praises
itself.
Only one scene was lacking to complete the series in the court of the Scalzo.
Andrea, having aggrandised his style after seeing the figures begun and almost finished
by Michelagnolo in the sacristy of S. Lorenzo, put his hand to this, and giving a final
proof of his progress, he painted the birth of St. John the Baptist in fine figures, much
better executed and in higher relief than those previously done by him there. Among
other things there is a woman carrying the new-born child to the bed where St. Elizabeth
is lying, who is also a fine figure. Zacharias is writing on a sheet resting on one knee,
holding it with one hand and writing the child's name with the other, the figure only
lacking breath. Very fine also is an old woman on a stool, laughing at the childbearing of
the aged Elizabeth in the most natural manner. On completing this work, which is very
admirable, Andrea did a panel for the general of Vallombrosa of four fine figures, St.
John the Baptist, St. John Gualbert, founder of the order, St. Michael and St. Bernard,
cardinal and monk of the order, with some very pretty and life-like children in the middle
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31)
. It is at Vallombrosa, at the top of a rock tenanted by monks separated from the
others, in some rooms called the cells, where they live like hermits. For Giuliano Scala,
Andrea then made a panel to send to Serrazzana of the Virgin seated with the Child,
and St. Celsus and St. Julia, from the knees up, with St. Onofrio, St. Catherine, St.
Benedict, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Peter and St. Mark, a work valued as highly as his
others.' He did an Annunciation for the same Giuliano as a pediment to the other in a
lunette, which is in the Servites' church in a chapel of the choir in the principal tribune 32).
The monks of S. Salvi remained many years without thinking of having anything
done to their Last Supper, which they had given to Andrea, when he did four figures in
the arch. At last one worthy abbot determined to have it finished. Andrea, having
previously bound himself to do this, made no objection, and taking up the work he
finished it in a few months 33), doing a piece at a time, at his leisure, and it is considered
the most facile work in the brightest colouring and best design that he ever did or that
could be done. He endowed the figures with infinite grandeur, majesty and grace, so
that I cannot do justice to its merits, everyone who sees it being amazed. Thus it is no
wonder that it was allowed to stand during the siege of Florence in 1529, when the
soldiers were directed to destroy everything in the quarters outside the city,
monasteries, hospitals and buildings of every kind. They had destroyed the church and
campanile coming to the refectory where the Last Supper is, and having of S. Salvi, and
were beginning to attack the convent, but on perhaps heard of the marvellous painting,
they stayed their hands, resolving not to touch it unless absolutely obliged.
For the company of S. Jacopo, called il Nicchio, Andrea next did a processional
banner of St. James touching the chin of a boy dressed as a flagellant, and another with
a book in his hand, very fine and natural. He made the portrait of a steward of the
monks of Vallombrosa, who lived in the country for their affairs; this was placed under a
vine arranged with various fancies, where it was exposed to wind and weather, as the
steward, who was a friend of Andrea, desired. On the completion of the work Andrea
called his wife Lucrezia and said, "Come here; I have some colours over and I will paint
your portrait to show how well preserved you are and yet how different from your first
portraits." But as she would not keep still, possibly having something else in her mind,
Andrea, as if divining that he was near his end, took a mirror and painted himself,
making a fine portrait 34). This is owned by his wife, who is still alive. He also drew a
friend, a Pisan canon, this fine likeness being now at Pisa. For the Signoria he began
the‚ cartoons for the painting of the balustrades of the Kinghi era in the piazza, with
many ingenious ideas illustrating the quarters of the city, as well as the banners of the
principal arts held by boys, and also figures of the Virtues, and the famous mountains
and rivers in the Florentine territory. It was left incomplete at his death, and so was a
panel done for the monks of Vallombrosa for the abbey of Poppi in Casentino, though it
was nearly finished. It represents an Assumption' with cherubs, St. John Gualbert, St.
Bernard, the cardinal and monk, St. Catherine and St. Fidele, and is now in the said
abbey. It was the same with a panel which should have gone to Pisa. But he completed
a fine picture now in the house of Filippo Salviati, and some others.
About the same time Giovanni Battista della Palla 35), having bought as many
notable paintings and sculptures as he could, and having the rest copied, had thus
despoiled Florence of a quantity of choice things to furnish a suite of rooms for the King
of France, which was to be as rich as possible in such decoration. He wished Andrea to
return to the king's service and favour, and got him to do two pictures. One represented
Abraham sacrificing Isaac 36), judged his best work until then, the patriarch showing his
lively faith and constancy in not fearulgto slay his own soil. He turns his head towards a
beautiful angel, who seems to have told him to hold his hand. I say no more of the
attitude, costume and other things of the patriarch, since it is impossible to say enough,
but Isaac is a beautiful boy, trembling with fear and almost dead before the blow. His
neck is sun burnt, but the parts covered by his clothes are white. The ram among the
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thorns looks alive, and the clothes of Isaac on the ground are very natural. Two naked
servants are watching a grazing ass, and the landscape is of the utmost beauty. After
the death of Andrea and the arrest of Battista the picture was bought by Filippo Strozzi,
who gave it to Sig. Alfonso Davalos, Marquis of il Vasto, and he had it taken to the
island of Ischia, near Naples, and placed in some rooms with other fine paintings. In the
other picture Andrea did a lovely Charity with three infants. It was bought after Andrea's
death from his widow by Domenico Conti, the painter. He sold it to Niccolo Antinori, who
values it as a rare work.
Ottaviano de' Medici, seeing the improvement in Andrea's style, wished to have a
picture by him. Andrea being anxious to serve a lord who had always favoured men of
talent, and to whom he was much indebted, made him a Virgin seated on the ground
with a Child astride on her knees, turning His head to St. John held by an old St.
Elizabeth, who seems alive, the whole work being produced with incredible art, design
and finish 37). On completing the picture Andrea took it to M. Ottaviano, but as Florence
was then being besieged, he had other preoccupations, and told Andrea to give it to
anyone he liked, excusing himself and thanking him. But Andrea replied that he had
laboured for Ottaviano and his it should be. "Sell it," said M. Ottaviano, "and use the
money, because I know what I am saying.' Andrea accordingly went home, but would
never give it to anyone. At the end of the siege, when the Medici returned to Florence,
Andrea brought the picture to M. Ottaviano, who thanked him warmly and paid him
double the price. It is now in the chamber of Madonna Francesca, his wife, sister of the
Very Rev. Salviatl, who values the pictures left by her husband just as she retains his
friends. Andrea did another picture, like his Charity referred to, for Cio. Borgherini, of a
Madonna and a little St. John offering the Christ a ball representing the world, and a fine
St. Joseph. Povolo da Terrarossa, as the friend of all painters, having seen Andrea's
sketch of Abraham, wished to have something by his hands, and asked for the figure of
Abraham, which Andrea did for him readily, the small copy being no whit inferior to the
large original. Pavolo, being greatly delighted, asked the price, thinking it would be high,
but Andrea named a wretchedly small sum, and Pavolo, half ashamed, shrugged his
shoulders and paid him. The picture was after- wards sent by him to Naples, where it is
the finest to be seen. During the siege of Florence some captains of the city made off
with the pay of the men. Andrea was asked to paint these and other fugitives and rebel
citizens in the Podesta palace, and agreed to do so. Not wishing to earn the nickname
degl' Impiccati, like Andrea del Castagno, he let it, he understood that he had handed
over the work to an apprentice of his called Bemardo del Buda 38). But constructing a
large shed by which he went in and out at night, he painted the figures himself and
made them seem alive. The soldiers, painted on‚the wall of the old Mercatanzia, near la
Condotta, facing the piazza, have been whitewashed over for many years, and the
citizens finished by him in the palace were obliterated.
In his last years Andrea became intimate with the governors of the company of St.
Bastiano, behind the Servites, and he made them a fine half-length St. Sebastian, which
appears to have been his last work. At the end of the siege Andrea expected better
things, though he had little hope that his design of returning to France would succeed,
as Giovanni Battista della Palla was taken, Florence being full of soldiers and stores.
Among the soldiers were some landsknechts infected with the plague, which they
communicated to the city. Andrea, whether through fear or through having eaten too
freely after the privations of the siege, fell grievously sick. He took to his bed and was
much neglected, his wife fearing infection and keeping away, and he died, they say, with
no one by, being buried by the men of the Scalzo with little ceremony in the church of
the Servites, near his house, where the members of that company are laid.
Andrea's death was a great loss to the city and to art, because he improved steadily
until his forty-second and last year, and would have continued so to do, because more
certain progress is won thus gradually than by a spurt. There is no doubt that if Andrea
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had stayed at Rome when he went there to see the works of Raphael and Michelagnolo
and the statues and monuments, he would have greatly enriched his style of
composition and endowed his figures with more refinement and force, things only
attained by those who stay some time in Rome to study and examine in detail. Naturally
his design was sweet and graceful, his colouring facile and very brilliant, and it is
thought that had he remained in Rome he must have surpassed all the artists of his day.
But some believe that he was deterred by the copious works of the city and by the sight
of the numerous pupils of Raphael, with their bold designs and their unceasing toil, and,
being timid, he had not the heart to continue, and concluded it would be better for him to
return to Florence, where, by turning over gradually what he had seen, he made so
much profit that his works are greatly valued and admired: indeed they have been more
imitated since his death than when he was alive. Those who prized them and have
since Sold them have gained three times as much as they paid him, as he always put a
low value on his things, being of a timid nature, and because the joiners, who did the
best things for private houses, would never give him any cork except when they knew
him to be in great need and ready to accept any sum. Nevertheless, his works are most
rare and deservedly valued, as he was one of the greatest masters who have lived
hitherto.
Many of his designs are in our book, and all are good, especially the scene done at
Poggio, where the tribute of all the oriental animals is presented to Caesar. It is in
grisaille and better finished than any other of his designs, as when he drew from Nature
for his works he made rough sketches as an indication, and did not make them perfect
except in the finished work, so that his designs served rather as an aid to the memory
than as things to copy. His pupils were countless- but they did not all follow the same
course of study under him, some stopping a little while and some longer, not through
Andrea's fault, but his wife's, who tyrannously ordered them all about and rendered their
lives a burden.
Among Andrea's pupils were Jacopo da Pontormo, Andrea Sguazzella, who did a
palace outside Paris' in his style, which is much praised 39), Solosmeo, Pier Francesco di
Jacopo di Sandro, who did three panels in S. Spirito, Francesco Salviati and Giorgio
Vasari of Arezzo, Salviati's companion, although he was but little with Andrea, Jacopo
del Conte of Florence, and Nannoccio, now in France with the cardinal of Tnurn on, in
great credit. Jacopo, called Jacone, was another pupil and a great friend, closely
imitating his style. During Andrea's life Jacone ‚availed himself greatly of his master's
help, as we see in all his works, chiefly on the facade of the house of the knight
Buondelmonti on the piazza of S. Trinita'. Domenico Conti was left the heir of Andrea's
designs and other artistic things, but made little profit in painting, and it is believed some
artists stole them one night, and it was never known what had become of, them.
Domenico Conti, not ungrateful for the benefits received from his master, and desirous
to do him honour, induced Raffaello da Montelupo to make a marble slab set on a
pilaster in the church of the Servites, with this epitaph by the learned M. Pier Vettori,
then a youth:

ANDREAE SARTIOADMIRABILIS INGENII PICT0RI

AC VETERIBUS ILLIS
OMNIUM JUDICIO C0MPARANDODOMINICUS C0NTES
DISCIPULUSPR0 LAB0RIBUS IN SE INSTITUEND0 SUSCEPTIS
GRAT0 ANIM0 P0SUITVIXIT ANN. XLII. 0B A. MDXXX.

Not long after some wardens of the church, through ignorance rather than hostility,
annoyed that the slab should have been put in that place without their licence,
succeeded in having it removed, nor has it yet been set up elsewhere. Thus we see that
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Fortune not only influences the fate of men when alive, but also their memory. However,
in despite of all, the works and name of Andrea will long survive, and I hope these
writings of mine will preserve their memory for many centuries. Let us conclude then
that, if Andrea in life was mean-spirited and contented with little, in art his spirit was
lofty, and he was quick and skilful in work, so that he greatly assisted art by his style in
design and colouring. He committed fewer errors than any other Florentine painter, for
he understood light and shade and the vanishing into darkness, and painted with a very
vivid sweetness, while in fresco he displayed perfect liar-mony and did not retouch
much a secco, so that his works seem to have been done in a single day. Thus he
should serve as an example to Tuscan artists and bear an honoured palm among their
most famous men.

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1)
Gaudenzio Ferrari, 1484-1549.
2)
Rectius Varallo.
3)
They were painted by Andrea di Cosimo, 1510-11.
4)
In 1515.
5)
The Noli me tangere is in the Accademia, Florence, the other two are in the Pitti Gallery.
6)
St. Philip Benizzi, begun in 1509.
7)
In 1519.
8)
In 1511, completed 1514.
9)
He resumed the work in 1522, and finished it in 1526.
10)
Possibly the Holy Family in the Pinacothek, Munich.
11)
Sometime in the Vienna Gallery.
12)
Pitti Gallery.
13)
Pitti Gallery.
14)
At the end of May 1518.
15)
Afterwards Henry II., born 28 February, 1518.
16)
Now in the Louvre.
17)
October 1519.
18)
He built a house for himself at Florence.
19)
Her daughter rather.
20)
Pitti Gallery; painted 1526.
21)
Painted 1512-13.
22)
Pitti Gallery.
23)
In 1521.
24)
Anne de Montmorency.
25)
Jacques de Beaune de Semblancay.
26)
Sold to the Duke of Mantua in 1605.
27)
Pitti Gallery; painted 1524.
28)
Now in the Pitti Gallery.
29)
The original is in the Pitti Gallery, the copy (painted in 1524) at Naples.
30)
Accademia, Florence; painted 1528.
31)
Berlin Gallery, also belongs to 1528.
32)
In 1519.
33)
Now in the Pitti Gallery.
34)
Uffizi.
35
) Pitti Gallery; painted 1529-31.
36)
Dresden: Gallery
37)
Pitti Gallery; finished 1529.
38)
Bernardo de' Rosselli.
39)
Semblancay, painted 1516-24.

PIERO DI COSIMO
Painter of Florence
(1462-1521)

WHILE Giorgione and Correggio were winning praise and glory for Lombardy,
Tuscany was not devoid of distinguished men. Not the least of these was Piero, son of
one Lorenzo, a goldsmith, and godson of Cosimo Rosselli, and owing to these
circumstances he was always known as Piero di Cosimo. Indeed, he who instructs
ability and promotes well-being is as truly a father as the one who begets. Piero's father,
seeing the intelligence of his son and his fondness for design, entrusted him to Cosimo,
who took the charge willingly, and always loved and regarded Piero as a son among all
the pupils whom he saw about him, and watched him growing in years and ability. This
youth naturally possessed a very lofty spirit, and he was very abstracted, and differed in
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tastes from the other pupils of Cosimo. He was sometimes so absorbed in what he was
doing that those who conversed with him were frequently obliged to repeat all that they
had said, for his mind had wandered to other ideas. He was so fond of solitude that his
one delight was to wander alone, free to build his castles in the air. His master Cosimo
had reason to hope that they might be extensive, for he employed him frequently on his
own works, continually entrusting him with matters of importance, knowing that Piero
possessed a finer style and better judgment than himself. For this reason he took him to
Rome when summoned by Pope Sixtus to decorate the chapel. In one of the scenes
there 1) Piero did a beautiful landscape, as I have said in the Life of Cosimo. As he drew
most excellently from life, he did a quantity of portraits of distinguished persons at
Rome, notably Verginio Orsino and Ruberto Sansovino, whom he introduced into the
scenes. He also drew Duke Valentino, son of Pope Alexander VI. So far as I know this
picture cannot now be found, but the cartoon exists in the possession of M. Cosimo
Bartoli, provost of S. Giovanni. He painted a quantity of pictures at Florence for the
houses of various persons, many good examples having come under my notice, and he
also did various things for many other people. In the Noviciate of S. Marco he did a
Madonna standing with the Child, coloured in oils. In the church of S. Spirito at
Florence, in the Chapel of Gino Capponi, he did a picture of the Visitation, with St.
Nicholas and a St. Anthony reading, the latter wearing a pair of spectacles, a vigorous
figure. There is an excellent representation of an old parchment book, and the balls of
St. Nicholas are made lustrous, reflecting each other, showing the curious fancies of
Piero’s brain, and how he sought out and performed difficult things.
After his death it appeared that he had lived the life of a brute rather than a
man, as he had kept himself shut up and would not permit anyone to see him work. He
would not allow his rooms to be swept, he ate when he felt hungry, and would never
suffer the fruit-trees of his garden to be pruned or trained, leaving the vines to grow and
trail along the ground; the fig trees were never pruned nor any others, for he loved to
see everything wild, saving that nature ought to be allowed to look after itself. He would
often go to see animals, herbs, or any freaks of nature, and his contentment and
satisfaction he enjoyed by himself. He would repeat his remarks so many times that at
length they became wearisome, however good they may have been. He stopped to
examine a wall where sick persons had used to spit, imagining that he saw there
combats of horses and the most fantastic cities and extraordinary landscapes ever
beheld. He cherished the same fancies of clouds. He practised colouring in oils after
seeing some things of Lionardo toned and finished with the extreme diligence
characteristic of that master when he wished to display his art. This method pleased
Piero and he strove to imitate it, though he was a long way behind Lionardo, and any
other eccentric things; indeed we may say that this spirit pervaded everything which he
did. If Piero had not been so eccentric, and had possessed more self-respect, he would
have displayed his great genius and commanded admiration, whereas he was rather
considered a fool for his uncouthness, though he really harmed no one but himself and
greatly benefited art by his works. Thus everyman of ability and every excellent artist
ought to consider the end in the light of these examples.
In his youth Piero, possessing a capricious and extravagant invention, was in great
request for the masquerades of carnival time,and was a great favourite with the noble
Florentine youths, because by his inventive mind he greatly improved those
amusements in ornament, grandeur and pomp. He is said to have been one of the first
to give them the character of triumphs, and at any rate he greatly improved them with
his scenes, with music and appropriate speeches, and a grand procession of men on
horses and foot, in costumes adapted to the subject. These proved very rich and fine,
combining grandeur and ingenuity. It was certainly a fine sight at night to see twenty-five
or thirty couples of horses, richly caparisoned, with their masters dressed in accordance
with the subject of the invention; six or eight footmen in the same livery, in single file,
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carrying torches in their hands, sometimes more than four hundred, and then the car or
triumph full of ornaments, spoils and curious fancies, which enchanted the people and
instructed their minds.
Among these things, which were fairly numerous and ingenious, I will briefly
describe one of Piero's chief efforts 2) when he was already mature. It was not, like
many others, pleasant and pretty, but curious, horrible and surprising, giving no small
pleasure to the people. For as acid things give wonderful delight in food, so horrible
things in these amusements tickle the fancy, as, for instance, in tragedy. This particular
device was the car of Death secretly prepared by Piero in the Pope's Hall, so that
nothing transpired until it was made public to all at the same time. It was a large car
drawn by black buffaloes and painted with white death's heads and crossbones. At the
top of the car a gigantic Death held his scythe, while round the car were many tombs
with their stones. When the car stopped, these opened, and figures clothed in black
issued out, with the complete skeleton painted on their draperies, the white set off by
the black. From a distance there appeared some of the torches with masks painted
behind and before like skulls, including the throat, most realistic but a horrid and terrible
sight. At the raucous, dead sound of some trumpets, they came half out of the tombs
and sitting on them, sang the following noble canzone to a music full of sadness:

Dolor, pianto e penitenza, etc.

In front of and following the car were a great number of dead mounted on the
leanest and boniest horses that could be found, with black trappings marked with white
crosses. Each one had four foot men dressed as the dead, carrying black crosses and a
great black standard with crosses, skulls and cross bones. After the triumph they
dragged ten black standards, and as they marched they sang the Miserere, a psalm of
David, in unison, with trembling voices. This lugubrious spectacle, by its novelty and
tremendous character, as I have said, at once terrified and amazed the whole city, and
although it did not seem at first sight suited to the carnival, yet it pleased everyone
because of its novelty and because everything was admirably arranged. Piero, the
inventor, received hearty praise for his work, and this encouraged him to produce witty
and ingenious devices, for the city has no rival in the conduct of such festivals. Old
people who saw this spectacle preserve a lively recollection of it and are never tired of
talking about this curious invention. I have heard it said by Andrea di Cosimo; who
helped him with this work, and by Andrea del Sarto, his pupil, who also had a share in it,
that this invention was intended to signify the return to Florence of the house of the
Medici, exiles at the time and practically dead. Thus they interpret the words:

Morti Siam, come vedete Cosi morti vedrem voi Fummo gia come
voi sete Voi sarete come noi, etc.

to indicate their return, like a resurrection of a dead man to life, and the banishment
of their opponents. However this may be, it was natural that a special significance
should be attributed to these words when this illustrious house returned to Florence, as
men are apt to apply words and acts that happen before the events that follow after. The
opinion was certainly entertained by many, and it was much discussed.
But to return to art and the achievements of Piero. He was Commissioned to do a
picture at the Chapel of the Tedaldi in the church of the Servite friars: where the vest
and pillow of St. Philip, their founder, are preserved. Here he did a Madonna' standing,
raised from the ground on a dado; she is without the Child, holds a book in her hand,
and raises her head to heaven while the Holy Spirit above irradiates her. The light
emitted by the doves is the only thing which illuminates her and the other figures, St.
Margaret and St. Catherine, who are adoring her on their knees, while St. Peter and St.
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John the Baptist, with St. Philip, the Servite friar; and St. Antonino, Archbishop of
Florence, stand and regard her. There is a remarkable landscape of strange trees and
some caves. It indeed contains some very beautiful parts, such as certain heads,
displaying design and grace, with a very even colouring. Certainly Piero possessed the
art of colouring in oil to perfection. He did the predella of small scenes, excellently
painted, among them being St. Margaret is suing from the belly of the servent. This
animal is caricatured and so ugly that I do not consider that a better example of the kind
is to be found, presenting a truly fearful aspect with its poisonous eyes, fire and death. I
do not think that anyone painted such things better than Piero, nor conceived them so
well, as for example a marine monster which he did and presented to M. Giuliano de'
Medici, of remarkable and curious deformity, so that it appears impossible that Nature
should have produced anything so fantastic. This monster is now in the wardrobe of
Dtike Cosimo, which also contains a book of similar curious and strange animals by
Piero, carefully drawn with the pen and executed with admirable patience. The book
was presented by my good friend M. Cosimo Bartoli, provost of S. Giovanni, who is a
great admirer of the profession. In the house of Francesco del Pugliese, Piero did some
scenes of fables in small figures about a room, the diversity of the fantastic creations in
which he delighted, houses, animals, costumes, various instruments and other things
defying description. After the death of Francesco and his children they were removed,
and I do not know what has become of them. There is a picture of Mars and Venus and
their loves, and a Vulcan represented with great art and incredible patience. For Filippo
Strozzi the elder Piero painted a picture of Perseus releasing Andromeda from the
monster, in small figures, containing some most beautiful things. It is now in the house
of Sig. Sforza Almeni, first chamberlain of Duke Cosimo 3) having been given to him by
M. Giovanni Battista di Lorenzo Strozzi, who knew how fond he was of painting and
sculpture. He values it highly, for Piero never did a more lovely or a better-finished
picture; no more curious sea-monster can be seen than the one which he drew there,
while the attitude of Perseus is fine as he raises his sword to strike. Andromeda's
beautiful face is torn between fear and hope, as she stands bound, and before her are
many people in various curious costumes, playing and singing, some laughing and
rejoicing at seeing her release. The landscape is very lovely and the colouring soft,
graceful, harmonious and well blended. Piero finished this work with the greatest care.
He also painted a picture of a nude Venus with a nude Mars lying asleep in a meadow
full of flowers, surrounded by cupids who are carrying his helmet, gauntlets and other
armour. 4 It also contains a myrtle bush and a cupid frightened by a rabbit, with the
dovesof Venus and other accessories of Love. This picture is in Florence in the house of
Giorgio Vasari, treasured in memory of the author whose fancies always delighted him.
The master of the hospital of the Innocents was a great friend of Piero, and when he
wanted a picture for the Chapel of the Pugliese on the left-hand on entering the church,
he allotted it to Piero, who completed it to his satisfaction. But he drove the master to
desperation, as he was not allowed to see it before it was finished. It seemed strange to
him that a friend should be always thinking of the money and not allow him to see the
work, and he refused to make the last payment unless he was allowed to see the work.
But when Piero threatened to destroy what was done he was forced to give him the rest,
with anger exceeding his former patience. The work certainly contains many good
things 5). Piero undertook to do a panel in the church of S. Pier Gattolini, representing a
Madonna seated, surrounded by four figures, while two angels in the air are crowning
her, a work conducted with such diligence that he won much praise and honour. It may
now be seen in S. Friano 6), as the other church is destroyed. He did a small panel of
the Conception 7) on the screen of the church of S. Francesco at Fiesole, a charming
little thing, the figures not being very large. He did some bacchanalian scenes about a
chamber for Giovan. Vespucci, who lived opposite S. Michele in the via de' Servi, now
via di Pier Salviati, introducing curious fawns, satyrs, wood nymphs, children and

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bacchantes, the diversity of creatures and garments being marvellous, with various
goatish faces, all done with grace and remarkable realism. In one scene Silenus is
riding an ass, with a throng of children some carrying him and some giving him drink,
the general joy being ingeniously depicted.
Piero's works betray a spirit of great diversity distinct from those of others, for he
was endowed with a subtlety for investigating curious matters in nature, and executed
them without a thought for the time or labour, but solely for his delight and pleasure in
art. It could not be otherwise, for so devoted was lie to art that he neglected his material
comforts, and his habitual food consisted of hard-boiled eggs, which he cooked while he
was boiling his glue, to save the firing. He would cook not six or eight at a time, but a
good fifty, and would eat them one by one from a basket in which he kept them. He
adhered so strictly to this manner of life that others seemed to him to be in slavery by
comparison. The crying of babies irritated him, and so did the coughing of men, the
sound of bells, the singing of the friars. When it rained hard he loved to see the water
rushing off the roofs and splashing on to the ground. He was much afraid of lightning
and was terrified of the thunder. He would wrap himself up in his mantle, shut up the
windows and doors of the room and crouch into a corner until the fury of the storm had
passed. His conversation was so various and diversified that some of his sayings made
his hearers burst with laughter. But in his old age, when eighty years old, he became so
strange and eccentric that he was unbearable. He would not allow his apprentices to be
about him, so that he obtained less and less assistance by his uncouthness. He wanted
to work, and not being able on account of the paralysis, he became so enraged that he
would try to force his helpless hands, while he doddered about and the brush and maul-
stick fell from his grasp, a pitiful sight to behold. The flies annoyed him, and he hated
the dark. Thus fallen sick of old age, he was visited by a friend who begged him to make
his peace with God. Bu he did not think he was going to die and kept putting it off. It was
not that he was bad or without faith, for though his life had been uncouth lie was full of
zeal. He spoke sometimes of long wasting sicknesses and gradual dying, and its
wretchedness. He abused physicians and apothecaries, saying that they made their
patients die of hunger, in addition to tormenting them with syrups, medicines, clysters
and other tortures, such as not allowing them to sleep when drowsy. He also spoke of
the distress of making a will, seeing relations weep, and being in a room in the dark. He
praised capital punishment, saying it was a fine thing to go to death in the open air amid
a throng of people, being comforted with sweetmeats and kind words, the priest and
people praying for you, and then going with the angels to Paradise, and that those were
very fortunate who died suddenly. And thus he went on with these most extraordinary
notions, twisting things to the strangest imaginable meanings. After such a curious life
he was found dead one morning at the foot of the stairs, in 1521, and was buried in S.
Pier Maggiore. He had several pupils, among them Andrea del Sarto, who counted for
many. His portrait' 8 is obtained from Francesco da S. Gallo, who did it when Piero was
an old man, for he was a great and intimate friend. I must not omit to say that this
Francesco has a very fine head of Cleopatra by Piero, with the serpent about her neck,'
and two portraits, one of Giuliano, his father, the other of Giamberti, his grandfather,
most life-like.

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 1)
The Sermon on the Mount, painted in 1482.
2)
For the carnival of 1511.
3)
Now in the Uffizi Gallery.
4)
Probably the picture in the Berlin Gallery.
5)
It represents a Madonna and saints, painted about 1500.
6)
Probably the picture now in the Louvre.
7)
The Immaculate Conception now in the Uffizi.
8)
Now in the Mauritshuis at The Hague.

Donatello
Sculptor of Florence
(1383-1466)

Donato, who was always called Donatello by his friends and relatives, was born in
Florence in the year 1383, and produced many works in his youth; but the first thing that
caused him to be known was an Annunciation carved in stone for the church of S. Croce
in Florence. For the same church he made a crucifix of wood, which he carved with
extraordinary patience; and when it was done, thinking it a very fine piece of work, he
showed it to Filippo that he might have his opinion upon it. Filippo, who expected from
what Donatello had said to see something better, when he looked at it could not help
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smiling a little. Donatello, seeing it, prayed him by their friendship to speak his mind
truly, upon which Filippo, who was frank enough, replied that he seemed to him to have
put on the cross a peasant and not Jesus Christ, who was the man most perfect in
everything that ever was born. Donatello, feeling the reproach more bitterly because he
had expected praise, replied, "If it were as easy to do a thing as to judge it, my Christ
would not look like a peasant; but take some wood yourself and make one." Filippo
without another word returned home, and, saying nothing to anyone, set to work upon a
crucifix, and aiming to surpass Donatello that he might not condemn himself, he brought
it to great perfection after many months. Then one morning he invited Donatello to dine
with him. Donatello accepted his invitation, and they went together to Filippo's house.
Coming to the old market, Filippo bought some things and gave them to Donatello,
saying, "Go on to the house and wait for me, I am just coming." So Donatello, going into
the house, found Filippo's crucifix arranged in a good light; and stopping to consider it,
he found it so perfect that, overcome with surprise and admiration, he let his apron drop,
and the eggs and cheese and all the other things that he was carrying in it fell to the
ground and were broken. Filippo, coming in and finding him standing thus lost in
astonishment, said, laughingly, "What are you about, Donatello? How are we to dine
when you have dropped all the things?" "I," said Donatello, "have had enough. If you
want anything, take it. To you it is given to do Christ’s, and to me peasants."
After this he made for the facade of S. Maria del Fiore a Daniel and a S. John
the Evangelist, and within the same church, for the organ gallery, those figures which,
though they are only roughly sketched, seem when you look at them to be alive and
move. For Donatello made his figures in such a way that in the room where he worked
they did not look half as well as when they were put in their places. It was so with the S.
Mark, which in company with Filippo he undertook for the joiners (though with Filippo's
goodwill he completed it all himself). When the masters of the company saw it while it
was on the ground they did not recognise its value, and stopped the work; but Donatello
begged them to let him put it up and work upon it, and he would turn it into quite another
figure. Then, having set it up and screened it from view for a fortnight, when he
uncovered it, although he had not touched it, every one was astonished at it. For the
armourers he made a S. George in armour, very full of life, with all the beauty of youth
and the courage of the soldier.
For the facade of S. Maria del Fiore he made also four figures, two of which were
portraits from life, one young Francesco Soderini, and the other Giovanni de Barduccio
Cherichini, which is now called the Zuccone, the bald man. This being considered more
beautiful than anything he had ever done, Donatello used to swear by it, saying, "By the
faith I bear to my bald man." While he was working upon it he would look at it and say,
"Speak, speak!"
Duke Cosimo de' Medici admired his talents so much that he made him work for him
constantly; and he on his part bore such love to Cosimo that he undertook what he
wished at the least sign, and obeyed him. There is a story told of a Genoese merchant
who, by the mediation of Cosimo, prevailed upon Donatello to make a bronze head for
him. When it was finished, the merchant coming to pay him, thought that Donatello
asked too much, so the matter was referred to Cosimo. He had it brought to the upper
court of the palace and placed on the wall overlooking the street, that it might be seen
better. But when he tried to settle the difference, he found the merchant's offer very
much below Donatello's demand, and turning to him he said it was too little. The
merchant, who thought it too much, answered that Donatello had worked upon it for a
month, or a little more, and that would give him more than half a florin a day. Donatello
upon that turned upon him in anger, thinking these words too great an insult, and telling
the merchant that he had found means in a hundredth part of an hour to destroy the
work of a year, he gave the head a sudden blow and knocked it down into the street,
where it was broken into many pieces, adding that it was evident he was in the habit of
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bargaining about beans and not statues. The merchant repenting, offered to give him
double as much if he would make it again, but neither his promises nor Cosimo's
entreaties could make him consent.
In the houses of the Martelli are many works done by Donatello, and among them a
David three braccia high, with many other things given to that family out of his love and
devotion, particularly a S. John in high relief worked in marble, a most rare thing,
belonging now to the heirs of Ruberto Martelli, who left command that it should never be
pledged or sold or given away, under heavy penalties, in testimony of the kindness
shown them by Donatello.
At this time the Signory of Venice, hearing the fame of him, sent for him to make the
monument to Gattamelata in the city of Padua. He undertook it very gladly, and made
the statue that stands in the Piazza of S. Antonio, with the horse chafing and neighing,
and its proud, spirited rider. Donatello showed himself in this so admirable, both for
proportion and execution, that truly it may be compared to any ancient work. The
Paduans sought by every means to prevail upon him to become a citizen and to stay
there, giving him much work to do; but finding himself considered a marvel, and praised
on all sides, he determined to return to Florence, saying if he stayed there longer he
should forget all he knew, being praised so much, and that he must return to his own
city to be continually found fault with, for this faultfinding would be the cause of his
studying more, and thereby winning greater glory.
To sum up, Donatello was so admirable in knowledge, in judgment, and in the
practice of his art that he may be said to have been the first to illustrate the art of
sculpture among the moderns; and he deserves the more commendation because in his
time few antiquities had been uncovered. He was one of those who aroused in Cosimo
de' Medici the desire to bring antiquities into Florence. He was most liberal and
courteous, and kinder to his friends than himself; nor did he care for money, keeping it
in a basket hanging from the ceiling, where his workmen and friends could help
themselves without saying anything to him. When he got old, therefore, and could not
work, he was supported by Cosimo and his friends. Cosimo dying, recommended him to
Piero his son, who, to carry out his father's wishes, gave him a farm in Cafaggiuolo on
which he could live comfortably. Donatello was greatly pleased, thinking he was now
more than secure from dying of hunger. But he had not held it a year before he came to
Piero and gave it him back, saying that he could not give up all his quiet to attend to
domestic matters and to listen to the troubles of the farmer who was at him every third
day, now to complain that the wind had taken the roof off the pigeon house, now that all
the cattle had been taken to pay the taxes, and again that the storm had destroyed his
vines and fruit trees; that he was weary of the trouble, and would rather die of hunger
than have to think of such things. Piero laughed at his simplicity, and taking back the
land, made him a provision of the same value in money paid him every week, with which
he was quite content, and passed all the rest of his life as friend and servant of the
Medici without trouble or care.
One of his pupils was Nanni d'Antonio di Banco, who, although he inherited riches
and was not of low birth, yet delighting in sculpture, was not only not ashamed to learn it
and to practise it, but obtained not a little glory in it. He was by nature rather slow, but
modest, humble, and agreeable in conversation. The S. Philip in marble which is outside
the Orsanmichele in Florence is from his hand. The work had been first allotted to
Donatello by the guild of the shoemakers, but not being able to agree with him about the
price, to spite Donatello they gave it to Nanni, who promised to take whatever they
would give him. But when the statue was finished and set up, he asked a greater price
than Donatello had asked. The consuls of the guild therefore turned again to Donatello,
thinking that envy would make him estimate the value of the statue much lower than if it
had been his work. But they were deceived, for Donatello gave judgment that more

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should be given to Nanni than he had asked. And they, not willing to agree to such a
judgment, cried out to Donatello, "Why, if you would have done the work for less, do you
value it more highly from the hand of another, and constrain us to pay more than he
himself asks, and yet you acknowledge that it would have been better done if you had
done it?" Donatello answered, laughing, "The good man is not as good at the art as I
am, and suffers much more fatigue than I; therefore it appears to me that as just men
you are bound to pay him for the time that he has spent." So his decision was accepted,
the two parties having agreed to abide by it.
Below the niche in which it was placed are four saints in marble, made by Nanni for
the guilds of the smiths, carpenters, and masons. It is said that when they were all
finished he found that it was not possible to get more than three into the niche, he
having made some of them extending their arms. Then in despair he came to Donatello
and prayed him to advise him how to repair his mistake. Donatello, laughing at his
dilemma, said, "If you will promise to pay for a supper for me and my lads I will
undertake to make the saints go into the niche without any trouble." Nanni then, having
given the promise very readily, Donatello sent him to take some measures at Prato, and
to do some other matters that would take a few days. And when he was gone,
Donatello, with all his pupils and workmen, set to work and cut off from the statues here
a shoulder and there the arms, making them fit in close together, with the hand of one
appearing over the next one's shoulder. So Donatello having linked them together to
conceal Nanni's mistake, they remain as tokens of concord and brotherly kindness;
while those who know nothing of the matter would never perceive the error. Nanni, on
his return, finding that Donatello had rectified his mistake, gave him infinite thanks, and
most willingly paid for the supper.

PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA

Painter
(1416-1492)

THOSE are indeed unfortunate who, after most arduous studies to the end that they
may assist others and leave a reputation behind them, are not allowed, either through
sickness or death, to complete the works which they have begun. And it very often
happens in cases where they have almost brought their works to completion, that they
suffer from the presumption of those who endeavour to cover the rownass, hide with the
honoured shin of the lion. And although Time, which is called the father of Truth, sooner
or later brings the truth to light, yet they are for some time defrauded of the honour due
to their labours. This was the case with Piero della Francesca of the Borgo a S.
Sepolcro. A consummate arithmetician, geometrician and perspectivist, the blindness
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which came upon him in his old age and the termination of his life, prevented him from
displaying the results of his labours and the numerous books written by him, which are
still preserved in his native Borgo. The man who should have done his utmost to
increase Piero's glory and reputation, who had learned from him everything which he
knew, impiously and malignantly sought to annul his teacher's fame, and usurp the
honour due to him, publishing under his own name of Fra Luca dal Borgo all the results
of the labours of that good old man, who, besides his knowledge mentioned above, was
also an excellent painter. Born in Borgo a S. Sepolcro, not then a city as it now is, and
called della Francesca after his mother, for she had been left pregnant of him at the
death of her husband, Piero was reared by her and assisted to attain to the rank which
his good fortune procured for him. In his youth Piero studied mathematics, but although
at the age of fifteen he was already on the road to being a painter, he did not relinquish
the study of the other, but made marvellous progress in both. He was accordingly sent
for by Guidobaldo Feltro, the old Duke of Urbino 1), for whom he made many beautiful
pictures of small figures, most of which have come to grief during the numerous wars
from which that State has suffered. However, some of his writings on geometry and
perspective are still preserved there, and in these he proves himself not inferior to
anyone of his own day, or perhaps of all time. All his works give evidence of his skill,
being full of perspectives, especially a vase represented so as to show its front and
back, its sides, its bottom and its mouth. This is certainly a marvellous work, as he has
carefully represented every detail, foreshortening all the curves with much grace. He
acquired such a reputation at that court that he wished to make himself known in other
places. Accordingly he went to Pesaro and Ancona. Thence, while very busy, he was
invited to Fertara by Duke Borso, and in the palace there 2) painted many rooms,
afterwards destroyed by the old Duke Ereole in order to modernise the palace. Thus
nothing of Piero's has been left in the city except a chapel in S. Agostino painted in
fresco, and even that has suffered from the damp. Being afterwards invited to Rome by
Pope Nicholas V., Piero did two scenes in the upper chambers of the palace in
competition with Bramante of Milan 3). These were also destroyed by Pope Julius II. in
order that Raphael of Urbino might paint the Imprisonment of Peter, the Miracle of the
Corporale at Bolsena, together with some other things which Bramantino 4), an excellent
artist of his day, had painted.
As I cannot devote a separate section to the life and works of this man, for his
things have been destroyed so that it is not worth while, I will take this opportunity to
write a notice of him. In the works which he made and which were pulled down there
were, as I have heard them described, some fine heads from life, so well executed that
but for the gift of speech they seemed alive. A goodly number of these heads have been
preserved, because Raphael caused them to be copied, as they all represented great
personalities. Among them were Niccolo Forte- braccio; Charles VII., King of France;
Antonio Colonna, Prince of Salerno; Francesco Carmignuola; Giovanni Vitellesco;
Bessarione, the cardinal; Francesco Spinola; Battista da Caneto. All these portraits
were given to Giovio by Guilio Romano, the pupil and heir of Raphael, and were
deposited by Giovio in his museum at Como. At Milan, over the door of S. Sepolcro 5),
have seen a dead Christ foreshortened by the same hand, the whole painting being no
more than a braccia in height, but showing the whole length with ease and judgment,
though the task seems impossible. That city contains other of his works, in the house of
the young Marquis Ostanesia, where the chambers and loggias are executed by him
with great skill and power in foreshortening the figures. Outside the Versellina gate, near
the castle, he painted in the stables, now demolished, servants grooming horses,
among them being one which is so well done and so full of life that another horse, taking
it for the reality, kicked it repeatedly with its hoofs.
But to return to Piero della Francesca. Having finished his work at Rome, he
returned to the Borgo, his mother being dead. Inside the middle door of the Pieve there
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he did two saints in fresco which are considered very fine. In the convent of the friars of
St. Augustine he painted the picture of the high altar 6), a much-admired work, and
infresco he made Our Lady of Mercy in a company, or as some say aconfratern1ty. In
the palace of the Conservadori he made a Resurrection of Christ, which is considered to
be the best of all his works in that city. At S. Maria of Loreto he began to paint the
vaulting of the sacristy in conjunction with Dominico of Venice, but fearing the plague
they left it incomplete 7). It was afterwards finished by Lucada Cortona, Piero's pupil, as
will be related in the proper place. From Loreto Piero proceeded to Arezzo, where he
painted the chapel of the high altar in S. Francesco for Luigi Bacci, citizen of Arezzo 8),
the vaulting of which had been already begun by Iorenzo di Bicci. This work contains
stories of the cross, from the time when the sons of Adam, when burying their father,
sow the seed of the tree under his tongue, to the exaltation of the cross by the Emperor
Heraclius, who, carrying it on his shoulders, enters Jerusalem bare-headed and bare-
footed. The work contains many fine ideas and praise worthy attitudes, as, for example,
the dresses of the women of the Queen of Sheba, executed in a smooth and novel
manner, many Portraits anti (hue in style and full of life, a divinely measured row of
Corinthian columns, a serf leaning on his spade awaiting the commands of St. Helena,
while the three crosses are being dug up, all of which cannot be improved upon. Very
excellent also is the dead man who is raised on touching the cross, as well as the joy
depicted in the face of St. Ilelena, who kneels to adore, and the amazement of the
bystanders. But the most remarkable indication of his resource, judgment and art is his
painting of an angel fore- shortened, with its head downwards, which appears suddenly
by night to carry the sign of victory to Constantine, as he is sleeping in a tent guarded by
a chamberlain, and by some other armed men, obscured by the darkness of the night.
The heavenly visitor illuminates with his own light the tent, the armed men and all the
surroundings very admirably. In this work Piero shows how important it is to imitate
reality and to draw from the things themselves. His success in this has led the modems
to follow him and thereby attain to that high level from which we now view things. In this
same history, in a battle, he has admirably expressed fear, animosity, skill, force and all
other emotions produced in a fight, as the accidents, with a great heap of wounded, of
the fallen, and the dead. He deserves great praise for having imitated the lustre on the
arms in this work, and also for having made a group of horses in foreshortening on the
other wall, which contains the light and drowning of Maxentius, most marvelously
executed. It must be considered a work of surpassing excellence for those days. In the
same scene he represented a man half-clothed and half-naked, like a Saracen, riding
barebacked, very remarkable for its display of anatomy, a thing little known then, For
this work he deserved the large reward he received from Luigi Bacci, whom he drew
there with Charles and his other brothers- and many Aretines, distinguished men of
letters of the day, assisting at the beheading of a king, and he also merited the love and
reverence of that city which was afterwards accorded to him, having rendered it so
illustrious by his talents. In the Vescovado of the said city he made a St. Mary
Magdalene in fresco 9), beside the sacristy door, and in the company of he Nunziata he
made a banner for carrying in procession. At the head of a cloister in S. Maria delle
Grazie fuor della terra he made a St. Donato shown seated, in perspective, in his
pontificals, surrounded by infants, and a St. Vincent in S. Bemardo for the monks of
Monte Oliveto, in a niche high up in the wall, a work much admired by artists. At
Sargiano, a place of the bare-footed friars of St. Francis outside Arezzo, he painted in a
chapel a beautiful Christ praying in the Garden at night. In Peruoaia also he did many
things which may still be seen there. In the church of the nuns of S. Antonio at Padua,
he painted on a panel in tempera the Virgin and Child, St. Francis, St. Elizabeth, St.
John the Baptist and St. Anthony of Padua 10). Above this he made a fine Annunciation,
with an angel which really seems to have come from heaven, and, what is more, an
admirable perspective of diminishing columns. In the predella‚ are scenes in small
figures of St. Anthony raising a boy, St. Elizabeth saving a child which has fallen into a
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well, and St. Francis receiving the stigmata. At the altar of St. Joseph in S. Ciriaco at
Ancona he painted a fine representation of the marriage of the Virgin.
Piero was, as I have said, a diligent student of his art who assiduously practised
perspective, and had a thorough acquaintance with Euclid, so that he understood better
than anyone else all the curves in regular bodies, and we owe to him the fullest light that
has been thrown on the subject. It happened thus: Luca dal Borgo, a Franciscan friar,
who wrote of regular bodies in geometry, was his pupil; and when Piero came to his old
age and died, after having written many books, the same master Luca took upon himself
to have them printed as his own, since they came into his hands on his master's death.
Piero was in the habit of making clay models, covering them with soft cloth with a
number of folds in order to copy them and turn them to account. Among his pupils was
Lorentino d'Angelo of Arezzo, who in imitation of his style did many paintings in Arezzo,
finishing those which Piero left incomplete when death surprised him. Near the St.
Donato which Piero made in the Madonna delle Grazie, Lorentino painted in fresco
some scenes from the life of that saint, and other works in many other parts of the city,
and a quantity of things in the country districts both because he never rested and to
assist his family, which was then very poor. In this same church delle Grazie he painted
the scene where Pope Sixtuq‚ IV., between the cardinal of Mantua and the Cardinal
Piccolomini, afterwards Pope Pius III., grants an indulgence to that place. In this scene
Lorentino introduced the portraits of Tommaso Marzi, Piero, Traditi Ponato Rosselli and
Giuliano Nardi, kneeling, all citizens of Arezzo and wardens of the church. In the hall of
the palace of the priors he also made portraits from life of Galeotto, cardinal of
Pietramala, the Bishop Guglielmino degli Ubertini, M. Angelo Albergotti, doctor of laws,
and many other works which are scattered about the city. It is said that one carnival-tide
Lorentino's children begged him to kill a pig, as is the custom of the country; but as he
had not the means to buy one, they asked him, "As you have no money, how will papa
manage it?" To this he answered, "Some saint will help us." When he had repeated this
several times, but did not buy the pig, they lost all hope, the season being past, until one
day a rustic came from the Pieve a Quarto who wanted a picture of St. Martin to fulfill a
vow, but had nothing else with which to pay except his pig, worth hire. Finding
Lorentino, he told him that he wanted a picture of St. Martin, but had nothing to give
except the pig. A bargain was struck, Lorentino painted his saint and the rustic brought
him the pig, and thus the saint provided a pig for the poor children of the painter.
Another pupil, Piero da Castel della Pieve did an arch above S. Agostino and a St.
Urban for the nuns of St. Catherine at Arezzo, which has been recently pulled down to
rebuild the church. Another pupil was Luca Signorelli of Cortona, who did him more
credit than all the others. Piero Borghese, whose paintings were executed about 1458,
was rendered blind at sixty by a catarrh, and had thus until the eighty-sixth year of his
life. He left a fine property in the Borgo, and some houses which he had built him- self.
These were burned and destroyed by factions in the year 1536. He was buried by his
fellow-citizens in great state in the principal church, then in the hands of the monks of
Camaldoli, and now the Vescovado. The majority of Piero's books are in the library of
Federigo II., Duke of Urbino, and their many excellencies have earned him the well-
deserved reputation of being the best geometrician of his day.

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1)
He was not born until 1472; Vasari probably means the famous Dulce Federigo of Montefeltro.
2)
i.e. Palazzo Schifanoia, which was raised a story in 1469.
3)
1444-1514.
4)
Bartolomeo Suardi, c. 1450- c. 1526.
5)
Now inside.
6)
Commissioned in 1454.
7)
There was plague in1447 and again in 1452. It is possible that the Dominico referred to was Dominico di
Matteo, who was assassinated in Florence in 1448.
8)
1452-66.
9)
In 1468.
10)
Now in the Accademia, Perugia.

GIULLANO and ANTONIO GALLO

Architects of Florence
(1445-1527; 1455-1534)

FRANCESCO DI PAOLO GIAMBERTI, who was a meritorious architect in the time

of Cosimo de' Medici, and much employed by him, had two sons, Giuliano and Antonio,
who practised the art of wood-carving. He put them with Francione, a clever joiner, who
practised both wood-carving and perspective, and with whom he was very friendly, as
they had done many works together in carving and architecture for Lorenzo de' Medici.
One of the two boys, Giuliano, learned very well what Francione taught him, and carved
the most beautiful perspectives for the choir of the Duomo of Pisa, where they are
considered marvellous even among new works. While Giuliano was studying design, in
all the flush of youth, the army of the Duke of Calabria, who hated Lorenzo de' Medici,
encamped at La Castellina to occupy the territory of Florence, intending, in case of
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success, to pus 1), the attack. Lorenzo being thus obliged to send an engineer to
Castellina to make bastions and to direct the artillery, a thing then understood by few,
dispatched Giuliano as being the best fitted and the most dexterous and quick, knowing
him, as the son of Francesco, to be a devoted servant of the Medici house. When
Giuliano reached Castellina, he fortified it within and without with good walls bastions
and other necessary things for defensive works. Perceiving the men to be slow and
timid in manoeuvring the artillery, he turned his attention to this, and from that time no
more accidents occurred, whereas many had previously lost their lives through
ignorance of their duties. Giuliano then undertook the care of the artillery, and his
prudence in firing and making use of it was so great, and he so terrified the duke's
camp, that his highness at length came to terms and departed. From this Giuliano won
no small praise from Lorenzo at Florence, where he was ever afterwards in great favour.
Meanwhile, having devoted himself to architecture, Giuliano began the first
cloister of Cestello 2), where he did the part in the Ionic style, setting the capitals on the
columns, with the volutes descending in a curve to the collarine where the shaft
terminates. Below the egg and anchor ornament he made the frieze one-third of the
diameter of the column. He copied this capital from a very ancient marble one found at
Fiesole by M. Lionardo Salutati, the bishop there, who at one time preserved this and
other antiquities in his house and garden in the via di S. Gallo, opposite S. Agata. This
capital is now in the possession of M. Gio. Battista de' Ricasoli, bishop of Pistoia, and is
valued for its beauty and uniqueness, no other ancient capital having been found to
match it. But the cloister was left unfinished because; the monks could not bear the
great cost. Giuliano's reputation with Lorenzo being thus increased, and the latter
desirous to build at Poggio a Caiano between Florence and Pistoia, for which he
obtained several models from Francione and others, employed Giuliano to make a
model of what he wanted. He produced one so unique and so different from those of the
others, and so exactly in harmony with Lorenzo's ideas, that he caused the work to be
begun immediately. Giuliano from this time received a provision. Afterwards, when
Lorenzo wished to make a vault, such as we now call a barrel vault, for the great hall of
the palace, he feared that the distance between the walls was too great. But Giuliano,
who was building his own house in Florence, vaulted his hall in this fashion to hearten
Lorenzo, so that he was allowed to successfully undertake that of Poggio. His fame
being thus increased, he made a model for a palace for Naples by the commission of
Lorenzo at the request of the Duke of Calabria, spending much time over it.
Meanwhile Rovere, the castellan of Ostia and a bishop, afterwards Pope Julius II.,
wished to put the fortress in good repair, and hearing of the fame of Giuliano, sent to
Florence for him. Giving him a good provision, he kept him for two years in producing
useful and convenient works by his art. In order that the Duke of Calabria's model
should not suffer, Giuliano left it to his brother Antonio to finish it after his design. This
was done with great diligence, for Antonio was not inferior to his brother. Giuliano was
advised by Lorenzo to present the model himself in order to show the difficulties which
he had overcome. Accordingly he set out for Naples, presented the work, and was
received with honour, the surprise and wonder being equally great that Lorenzo should
behave so handsomely and that the workmanship of the model should be so
remarkable. It gave so much satisfaction that the work was soon put in hand near the
Castelnuovo. After remaining a while at Naples, Giuliano requested permission to
return, and was presented by the king with horses, raiment, and a silver cup containing
some hundreds of ducats. These Giuliano would not accept, saying that he represented
his master, who needed neither gold nor silver, but if the king wished to make him a
present as a memento, he should like to be allowed to choose among his antiquities.
The king freely granted this out of his friendship to Lorenzo the Magnificent and his
esteem for Giuliano's ability. The latter chose a head of the Emperor Hadrian, now over
the door of the garden of the Casa‚Medici, wonderfully natural, a nude woman, more
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than life-size, and a marble Cupid asleep. Giuliano sent these as a present to Lorenzo,
who was overjoyed and never tired of praising this act of the liberal artist, who refused
gold and silver, a thing that few would have done. The Cupid is now in the wardrobe of
Duke Cosimo. When Giuliano returned to Florence he was warmly welcomed by
Lorenzo. This prince determined to gratify Friar Mariano da Ghinazzano, a learned man
of the Eremitani of St. Augustine, by building for him outside the S. Gallo gate a convent
for one hundred friars 3). Many artists prepared rnodels, but that of Giuliano was finally
chosen, and from this circumstance Lorenzo called him Giuliano da S. Gallo. Hearing
everyone call him by this name, he one day said jestingly to Lorenzo: "It is your fault in
calling me `da S. Gallo' that I have lost my ancient family name, and so while I have
been flattering myself at my progress due to my ancient stock I am going backwards."
Lorenzo retorted that he ought rather to desire to be the founder of a new house
through his own abilities than be dependent on others, and so Giuliano was satisfied.
The work of S. Gallo being followed by many other undertakings of Lorenzo, none of
them were finished owing to the death of that prince, and very little of the structure
remained standing, because it was pulled down in 1530 with the rest of the quarter,
owing to the siege of Florence, and thus the whole piazza, formerly full of very beautiful
structures, now shows no trace of‚house, church, or convent.
At this time the King of Naples died 4), and Giuliano Gondi, a wealthy Florentine
merchant, returned to Florence and employed Giuliano to build a palace of rustic-work
opposite S. Firenze, above where the lions stand, as he had become intimate with the
artist during his stay at Naples. This palace was to form the corner and face the
Mercatanzia Vecchia, but the death of Giuliano Gondi put a stop to it. Among other
things it contained a chimney-piece with rich carvings unlike anything seen before,
beautifully composed, and with a great quantity of figures. Giuliano also built a palace
for a Venetian outside the Pinti gate in Camerata, and many houses for private citizens
which I need not mention.
Lorenzo the Magnificent, wishing to fortify Poggio Imperiale above Poggibonsi, on
the road to Rome, to found a city there, as a public benefit and an ornament to the state,
and to leave a memorial of himself in addition to his countless other projects, would do
nothing without the counsel of Giuliano. Accordingly he began that renowned with its
fortifications renown that, by the influence of Lorenzo, he went to Milan to make the
model of a palace for the duke there. Here he was no less honoured by the duke than
he had been at Naples by the king. When he presented his model in the name of
Lorenzo, the duke was filled with wonder and admiration at seeing the arrangement and
distribution of so many fine ornaments, each artistically adapted to its place. Accordingly
he lost no time in procuring the necessary materials and beginning the work. Giuliano
and Lionardo da Vinci were both working for the duke in the same city, the latter being
full of the bronze horse which he was making, producing many studies; but this was
broken in pieces by the French, and so the horse was not finished, and it was not
possible to complete the palace either.
When Giuliano returned to Florence 5) he found that his brother Antonio, who helped
him with his models, had become so excellent that no one at that time could surpass
him in carving, especially large crucifixes of wood, as we see by one on the high altar of
the Nunziata at Florence, and one in the possession of the friars of S. Gallo in S.
Jacopo fra Fossi, and yet another in the company of the Scalzo, all considered
excellent. But Giuliano took him from this and got him to devote his attention to
architecture, as he was full of work, both private and public.
As is usually the case, Fortune, which is hostile to ability, removed that prop of men
of genius, Florenzo de' Medici, causing great harm to the foremost artists, to his
country, and to all Italy. Thus Giuliano was left disconsolate, as well as the other master
spirits of the time, and withdrew to Prato, near Florence, to build a church to the
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Madonna delle Carceri 6), because all the structures in Florence, both public and private,
were at a stand still. He remained at Prato for three years, supporting the expense,
discomfort and trouble as best he could.
At that time it had become necessary to roof in the church of the Madonna at Loreto,
and to vault the cupola begun by Giuliano da Maiano, but those in charge of the work
feared that the piers would be too weak to bear the weight. Accordingly they wrote to
Giuliano, asking if he would come and see the work; so he went, and, being a man of
courage and spirit, showed them that the vaulting could easily be done, that all they
needed was confidence, and so heartened them that they entrusted the work to him 7).
With this new task he hurried on the work at Prato, and brought his masters, builders
and stonecutters at Loreto. To strengthen the stonework and bind it together, he sent to
Rome for pozzolana, which he mixed with all his mortar. Thus, in the space of three
years, the building was perfectly finished.
Proceeding to Rome, he restored the falling roof of S. Maria Maggiore for Pope
Alexander VI., constructing the present ceiling. In serving the court, the Bishop Rovere,
created cardinal of S. Pietro ad Vincola, Giuliano's friend from the time when he was
castellan at Ostia, employed him to make the model of the palace of S. Pietro ad
Vincola. Soon after he further wished another palace to be created at his native Savona,
under Giuliano's direction, but this was difficult,because the ceiling was not finished, and
Pope Alexander would not allow him to go. Accordingly he caused it to be finished by
his brother Antonio, who possessed a rich and versatile mind, and who, in serving the
court, won the favour of the Pope. Alexander employed him to restore and strengthen
the mole of Adrian 8), now the castle of St. Angelo, in the form of a fortress. Great towers
were constructed beneath, ditches, and the other fortications were made as we now see
them, the work bringing Antonio into great favour with the Pope and his son Duke
Valentino, and leading to his employment to make the fortress at Civita Castellana.
During the Pope's life he was in continual employment, being highly rewarded and
esteemed by him.
At Savona Giuliano had the work well advanced when the cardinal returned to Rome
on his affairs, leaving several wardens to finish the structure in accordance with
Giuliano's plan. The cardinal took the artist with him to Rome, and he went very
willingly, for he wished to see his brother Antonio and his works, and he remained there
several months. But at that time the cardinal fellin to disgrace with the Pope, and left
Rome to escape imprisonment, Giuliano following him. Arrived at Savona, they
employed more builders and other workmen, but as the Pope's wrath seemed
increasing, the cardinal thought it prudent to withdraw to Avignon, and presented to the
king the model of a palace made for him by Giuliano, a very richly decorated work, with
spacious apartments capable of accommodating all the court. The king's court was at
Lyons when Giuliano presented his model, and the king was so delighted that he
rewarded the architect liberally, praising him loudly, and heartily thanking the cardinal,
who was at Avignon. Receiving the news that the palace at Savona was nearly finished,
the cardinal sent Giuliano there to see the work, and soon after his arrival it was
completed. Desiring to return to Florence, which he had not seen for a long time,
Giuliano went thither with some of the builders, and, as the King of France had at that
time set Pisa free, and war reigned between Florence and Pisa, Giuliano obtained a
safe conduct at Lucca, as he mistrusted the Pisan soldiers. Nevertheless, in passing
near Altopascio, they were taken prisoners by the Pisans 9), who paid no attention to the
safe conduct, and they were detained six months at Pisa, nor did they return to Florence
until they had paid a ransom of 300 ducats. Antonio had heard of this at Rome, and, as
he wished to see his brother and his native place again, he obtained licence to leave the
city, and on his way back designed the fortress of Montefiascone for Duke Valentino. He
reached Florence in 1503, being received joyfully by his friends. Then occurred the
death of Alexander VI., and, after a short pontificate of Pius III., the cardinal of S. Pietro
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ad Vincola was elected Pope as Julius II. This was welcome news to Giuliano, who had
long served the cardinal, and he determined to go and kiss his feet. On reaching Rome
he was received with great favour, and was at once appointed to direct the
constructions before the arrival of Bramante.
Antonio remained at Florence, where Piero Soderini was gonfaloniere, and, as
Giuliano was away, he continued the building of Poggio Imperiale, at which all the Pisan
prisoners were sent to work in order that it might be finished more quickly. The old
fortress being ruined in the troubles of Arezzo 10), Antonio made the model for a new
one, with the consent of Giuliano, who came from Rome for the purpose and returned
immediately. This work led to the appointment of Antonio as architect of Florence for all
the fortifications.
When Giuliano returned to Rome, the question arose as to whether the divine
Michelagnolo Buonarroti should make the tomb of Julius. Giuliano strongly advised the
Pope to have it done, adding that, in his opinion, a chapel ought to be built expressly to
hold it, and that it ought not to be placed in old S. Pietro, for there was no room, and a
chapel would render the work more perfect. After many architects had prepared plans,
the matter gradually grew until, instead of a chapel, they began the great structure of the
new S. Pietro. In those days Bramante da Castel Durante, the architect, had arrived in
Rome, having returned from Lombardy, and he contrived, by means of his extraordinary
fancies and by the favour of Baldassare Peruzzi, Raphael of Urbino, and other
architects, to throw the whole work into confusion, much time being lost in argument. At
length the work was given to Bramante, who knew how to manage things, as
possessing the best judgment and finest invention. Giuliano was angered, considering
himself slighted by the Pope, whom he had so well served when he was less important,
the structure having been promised to him. Though he had been appointed the
colleague of Bramante for other buildings being erected in Rome, he left and returned to
Florence, laden with many gifts from the Pope. This gave great satisfaction to Piero
Soderini, who immediately gave him employment. There six months had passed, M.
Bartolommeo della Rovere, the Pope's nephew and Giuliano's friend, wrote to him in the
name of His Holiness that it would be to his advantage to return to Rome. But he could
not prevail upon Giuliano to come, because he thought himself slighted. At length they
wrote to Piero Soderini to use every means to send Giuliano to Rome, because the
Pope wished to finish the strengthening of the large round tower begun by Nicholas V.
the Borgo, the Belvedere, and other things. Giuliano at length allowed himself to be
persuaded, and went to Rome, where the Pope welcomed him and gave him many gifts.
After this the Pope went to Bologna, the Bentivogli were driven out, and, by the
advice of Giuliano, Julius determined to get Michelagnolo to make him a bronze statue.
This was done, as I shall relate in the Life of Michelagnolo. Giuliano also accompanied
the Pope to Mirandola, and, as he had borne many discomforts and labours, he
returned to Rome with the Court on its capitulation.
As the Pope's passion to drive the French out of Italy had not entirely left his head,
he attempted to deprive Piero Soderini of the government of Florence, as he was no
small obstacle in the way of this project. The Pope being in this way diverted from his
building to war, Giuliano was left unemployed, and asked for his conge, seeing that the
building of S. Pietro alone received any attention, and even that not much. The Pope
wrathfully asked him, "Do you think there are no other Giulianos da S. Gallo ?" To which
he replied that he would find none with a loyalty and devotion equal to his, but that he
would find princes who kept their promises better than the Pope had kept his to him.
However, he did not obtain
Raphael of Urbino had meanwhile been brought to Rome by his conge, the Pope
saying that he would talk of it at another Bramante, who set him to paint the papal
apartments. Giuliano, seeing that the Pope was delighted with pictures, and that he
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wished to have the vaulting of the chapel of his uncle Sixtus painted, suggested
Michelagnolo to him, saying that he had already done the bronze statue at Bologna.
The idea pleased the Pope, who sent for Michelagnolo, and on his arrival the vaulting
was allotted to him. Soon after Giuliano renewed his application for his conge, and the
Pope, seeing him so persistent, agreed that he should return to Florence with his good
favour. After giving him his blessing, he handed him a red satin purse containing 500
crowns, saying that he ought to return home to rest, and that he would always be his
friend. Giuliano having kissed the holy foot, returned to Florence at the very time that
Pisa was surrounded and besieged by the Florentine army. No sooner had he arrived
and been welcomed by Piero Soderini than he was sent to the camp to the
commissaries, who could not prevent the besieged from revictualling Pisa by the Arno.
Giuliano, after designing a bridge of boats to be built at a better season, returned to
Florence. When spring came he took Antonio, his brother, and they went to Pisa, where
he superintended the construction of this very ingenious bridge. As it rose and fell it was
safe against floods, and being well chained together it enabled the commissaries to
besiege Pisa on the sea-side of the Arno as they wished, so that the garrison, seeing
themselves deprived of succour, were forced to come to terms with the Florentines. Not
long after Piero Soderini sent Giuliano to Pisa 11) with a great number of builders to erect
with great speed the fortress at the S. Marco gate, which is in the Doric style. While
Giuliano was engaged upon this until 1512, Antonio went through all the territory
surveying and repairing fortresses and other public structures.
When the Medici were restored in Florence by the favour of Pope Julius, after having
been driven out on the coming of Charles VIII., King of France, to Italy, Piero Soderini
being turned out of the palace, the services rendered by Giuliano and Antonio to the
Medici in the past were recognised by that house. When, not long after the death of
Julius II., Giovanni de' Medici, the cardinal, was made Pope, Giuliano was compelled to
go to Rome once more, and as Bramante died soon after, it was proposed to entrust the
building of S. Pietro to him. But as he was worn out by toil, enfeebled by old age, and
suffering from the stone, he obtained permission from His Holiness to return to
Florence, and the work was entrusted to Raphael of Urbino.
After suffering for two years, Giuliano died in 1517, aged seventy-four, leaving his
name to the world, his body to the earth, and his soul to God. He was lamented by his
brother Antonio, who loved him dearly, and by a son called Francesco, who studied
sculpture, although of somewhat tender age. This Francesco has reverently preserved
all the works of his ancestors, and among his own works in sculpture and architecture is
the marble group of the Virgin and Child in the lap of St. Anne in Orsanmichele. This
group, made of a single block, the figures in full relief, is considered a fine work. He has
also done the tomb of Piero de' Medici, erected by Pope Clement at Monte Cassino,
and other works, many of which are not mentioned because he is still alive.
Antonio lingered on after Giuliano's death, and made two large crucifixes of wood,
one being sent to Spain and the other taken to France by Domenico Buoninsegni by
order of the Cardinal Giulio de'Medici, the vice-chancellor. Then Antonio was sent to
Livorno by the Cardinal de' Mediei to make a design for the fortress there. This he did,
although the work was not undertaken thoroughly and his plan was not followed. After
this the men of Montepulciano proposed to erect a costly temple for an image of the
Madonna which worked miracles 12). Antonio made the model and directed the work,
visiting the building twice a year. It may now be seen completed will, its beautiful
grouping and variety, executed with the utmost grace by Antonio's genius. All the stones
are of a whitish tint like travertine. This work is outside the S. Biagio gate, on the right-
hand, half-way up the hill. At this same time he began the palace of Antonio di Monte,
cardinal of S. Prassede, in the castle of Monte S. Savino, and did another for the same
at Montepulciano, beautifully made and finished. He built a side wing for the houses of
the Servite friars on their piazza 13), following the arrangement of the loggia of the
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Innocenti. At Arezzo he made the models of the aisles of the Madonna delle Lagrime.
But this was badly designed, because it does not match the rest of the structure, and
the arches at the top are not properly turned. He also made a model of the Madonna in
Cortona, but I do not think that it was carried out. During the siege he was employed to
make fortifications and bastions in the city, being assisted by his nephew Francesco.
After Michelagnolo's colossal statue for the piazza was put in hand, in the time of
Guilliano, Antonio's brother, and another by Baccio Bandinelli was to be taken to its site,
Antonio was charged with this. Obtaining the assistance of Baccio d'Agnolo, he brought
it with very strong engines and set it safely upon the pedestal appointed for it 14). In his
extreme old age he cared for nothing but agriculture, of which he knew a great deal.
When he could no longer support the cares of the world, he rendered his soul to God, in
1534, and was laid to rest with his brother Guiliano in the tomb of the Giamberti in S.
Maria Novella.
The marvellous works of these two brothers testify to the world of their wonderful
genius, as their life and conduct constitute a good example they left the art of
architecture in the Tuscan style inheritor of a better form than before, the Doric order
being endowed with better measure and proportion than can be found in the rules and
theories of Vitruvius. They collected in their house at Florence a great quantity of
beautiful marble antiquities, which adorned the city as they adorned art. Giuliano
brought from Rome the method of casting vaulting of materials which came out already
carved, as we see in a room in his house and in the vaulting of the great hall at Poggio a
Caiano. What a debt, then, do we owe them, for they fortified the Florentine territory and
adorned the city, and wherever they worked they increased the reputation of Florence
and of the Tuscans, so that these lines have been written in their honour:

Cedite Romani structores, cedite, Graii Artis, Vitruvi, tu quoque

cede parens Etruscos celebrare viros testudinis areus', Urna,
tholus, statuae, templa, domusque potunt.

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1)
Castellina was taken in 1478.
2)
i.e. S. Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi, beguzi in 1492.
3)
Rebuilt about 1488.
4)
Ferdinand I. died 25 January, 1494.
5)
In 1488.
6)
Commissioned 1485 and finished 1491.
7)
Completed 1500.
8)
In 1495.
9)
In 1497
10)
In 1502.
11)
In 1509.
12)
S. Biagio, bwldirig 1518-37.
13)
At Florence, in 1517.
14)
The David in 1504, and Bandinelli's in 1534.

LORENZO GHIBERTI
Painter of Florence
(1378-1455)

THERE is no doubt that those who attain to fame among

men by means of some gift usually afford a most blessed light
of example to many who arise after them and to those who live
in the same age, while, in addition to this, they earn infinite
praise and extraordinary rewards in their lifetime. There is
nothing which more excites the minds of men, and which
makes the difficulties of study appear less irksome, than the
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honour and benefit which afterwards accrue from the sweat of virtue; thus difficult
undertakings are rendered easy to everyone, and a noble ambition inflames men to
greater efforts in order to earn the praises of the world. Great numbers of those who
hear and see what has been accomplished set themselves to work to earn what their
countrymen have won, and this was the reason why in ancient times the virtuous were
rewarded with riches, or honoured with triumphs and statues. But, as it rarely happens
that merit is not persecuted by envy, it is necessary to endeavour to overcome this so
far as is possible by extreme excellence, or that men should fortify themselves to resist
its attacks. In this Lorenzo di Cione Gliiberti, otherwise di Bartoluccio, was eminently
successful, both by his merit and his good fortune, for Donato the sculptor, and Filippo
Brunelleschi the architect, both excellent artists and his contemporaries, admitted that
he was a better master in casting than they were, however natural it would have been
for them to say the contrary. This indeed redo to their glory and the confusion of many
who presumptuously push themselves to the front to the exclusion of men of ability, and
after painfully labouring a thousand years to make one thing, produce nothing and
merely disturb and harass the skill of others by their malignity and envy.
Lorenzo was the son of Bartoluccio Ghiberti, and learned the art of a goldsmith
with his father from his earliest years, for the latter was an excellent workman, and
taught his son that trade, so that he was soon surpassed by his pupil. But Lorenzo took
far more pleasure in the art of sculpture and of design, sometimes using colours, and
atother times making small figures of bronze, finishing them with much grace, he was
also very fond of imitating the dies of antique medals, and made the portraits of many of
his friends. Whilst he was working with Bartoluccio and endeavouring to become
proficient in that profession, the plague broke out in Florence in the year 1400, as he
himself relates in a book he has written upon matters relating to the arts, which is in the
possession of the venerable M. Cosimo Bartoli, a nobleman of Florence. In addition to
the plague, many civil discords and other troubles were rife in the city, obliging him to
leave it, and he set out in company with another painter to the Romagna. At Rimini he
painted a chamber for the Sig. Pandolfo Malatesta, and did many other works which
were carefully finished, giving great satisfaction to Pandolfo, who, while still a youth,
took great delight in matters of design. Lorenzo, however, continued to pursue his study
of design, and to work in relief in wax, stucco, and other like things, knowing that such
small reliefs are a sculptor's method of drawing, and that without them it is impossible to
attain to perfection. He had not been long absent from home when the plague ceased,
and the Signoria of Florence and the art of the merchants, seeing that there were a
number of excellent artists in sculpture at that time, both foreigners and Florentines,
thought that it would be a favourable opportunity to make the other two doors of S.
Giovanni, the ancient and principal church of the city, a matter which had frequently
been discussed. It was arranged by them that all the masters considered to be the best
in Italy should be invited to come to Florence to compete in making bronze panels
similar to those which Andrea Pisano had done for the first door. Bartoluccio wrote to
inform Lorenzo of this decision, for he was then working at Lesaro, and advised him to
return to Florence to show what he could do, that this was an excellent opportunity for
him to malce his name and to show his ability, in addition to which he might turn the
matter to such advantage that neither of them would need to work any longer at making
earrings. The words of Bartoluccio so moved Lorenzo that, despite the favours heaped
upon him by Pandolfo, by the painter, and by all the court, Lorenzo obtained leave from
that lord to depart, and bid fare-well to the painter, although they were very sorry and
reluctant to let him go. Their promises and offers of higher wages availed nothing, for to
Lorenzo it seemed worth a thousand years to return to Florence, and he accordingly set
out and reached his home in safety. Many foreigners had already arrived and reported
themselves to the consuls of the arts. From among them seven masters in all were
selected: three Florentines, and the remainder Tuscans. A provision of money was set

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apart for them, and it was stipulated that within a year each of them should produce, as
an example of his skill, a bronze panel of the same size as those of the first door. It was
determined that the scene represented should be the sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham,
which was considered to be a good subject in which the masters could grapple with the
difficulties of the art, because it comprises a landscape, figures both nude and draped,
and animals, while the figures in the foreground might be made in full relief, those in the
middle distance in half-relief, and those in the back- ground in bas-relief. The
competitors for this work were: Filippo di ser Brunellesco, Donato and Lorenzo di
Bartoluccio, Florentines, and Jacopo dalla Quercia of Siena, Niccolo d'Arezzo his pupil,
Francesco di Vandabrina 1) and Simone da Colie, sumamed "of the bronzes," who all
promised the consuls to have their panels ready at the appointed time.
They set to work and devoted all their study and diligence, all their strength and
knowledge, to surpass each other, keeping what they did‚ close secret, so that they
might not light upon the same ideas. Lorenzo alone, who enjoyed the help of
Bartoluccio, who made him take great pains and prepare many models before he
resolved upon adopting any one of them, continually brought his fellow citizens, and
also passing strangers if they understood the trade, to see his work and hear their
opinion. By the aid of their criticisms he was enabled to produce a model which was
beautifully made and absolutely without a fault. Having shaped his figures and cast the
whole in bronze, it proved excellent; and he and his father, Bartoluccio, polished it with
such devotion and patience that it was impossible for it to have been better finished.
When the time arrived for it to be exhibited in the competition, his panel and those of the
other masters were handed over to the art of the merchants to be adjudicated upon.
When they came to be examined by the consuls and several other citizens many
various opinions were expressed. Numbers of strangers had assembled in Florence,
some painters, some sculptors, and some goldsmiths, who were invited by the consuls
to come and judge the works in conjunction with others of the same professions who
lived in Florence. They numbered thirty-four persons in all, each of them being an adept
in his art, and although there were differences of opinion among them, some preferring
the style of one and some that of another, yet they were agreed that Filippo di ser
Brunellesco and Lorenzo di Bartoluccio had composed and finished a larger number of
figures better than Donato had done, although his panel exhibited great powers of
design. In that of Jacopo dalla Quercia the figures were good but lacking in delicacy, in
spite of the good design and the care bestowed. The work of Francesco di Vandabrina
contained good heads and was well finished, but the composition was confused. That of
Simone da Colle was a good cast, because he was a founder by profession, but the
design was not very good. The production of Niccolo d'Arezzo 2), showing great skill,
was marred by stunted figures and absence of finish. Lorenzo's alone was perfect in
every part, and it may still be seen in the audience chamber of the art of the merchants.
The whole scene was well designed and the composition excellent, the figures being
slender and graceful, the pose admirable and so beautifully finished that it did not look
as if it had been cast and polished, but rather as if it had been created by a breath.
Donato and Filippo, when they perceived what diligence Lorenzo had devoted to his
work, withdrew to one side and agreed that the work ought to be given to him, for it
seemed to them that public and private interests would thus be best served, and as
Lorenzo was a young man, not past twenty, he would be able to realise in the
production of this work the great promise of his beautiful scene, which; according to
their judgment, he had made more excellently than the others: adding that it would be
more shameful to dispute his right to preeminence than generous to admit it.
Accordingly Lorcnzo began on that door opposite the opera of S. Giovanni,' constructing
a large wooden frame for a part of it of the exact size he desired, in the shape of a
frame with the ornamentation of heads at the angles about the spaces for containing the
scenes and the surrounding friezes. After he had made the mould and dried it with all

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diligence, he set up a huge furnace, which I remember having seen, and filled the frame
with metal. He did this in some premises he had bought opposite S. Maria Nuova,
where the hospital of the weavers, known as the Threshing-fioor, now stands. But
realising that all was not going well, he did not lose courage or become distracted, but
traced the cause of the disorder and altered his mould with great quickness without
anyone knowing it, recasting the world, which came out most successfully. He went on
similarly with the rest of the work, casting each scene separately, and then putting them
in their appointed places. The division of the scenes was similar to that adopted by
Andrea Pisano in the first door designed for him by Giotto.
He represented twenty scenes from the New Testament, and beneath these he left
eight spaces. Beginning from the bottom he made the four Evangelists, two on each
door, and then four Doctors of the church, similarly arranged, differing from each other
in their attitudes and draperies; one writing, one reading, the others reflecting, and in
their varied expressions they are very life-like and excellently made. In the framework
about t‚he scenes is a border of ivy leaves and other things, which are set in the
framework, and at each corner is the head of a man or a woman in full relief,
representing prophets and sibyls, all very good in their variety, and displaying the
excellence of Lorenzo's genius. Above the Doctors and Evangelists already mentioned,
beginning from the bottom on the side nearest S. Maria dei Fiore, there are four
pictures, the first an Annunciation, in which the attitude of the Virgin exhibits terror and
sudden fear as she gracefully turns herself at the coming of the angel. Next to this he
made the birth of Christ, Our Lady lying down and resting while Joseph is contemplating
the shepherds and angels who are singing. On the other side from this, and on the other
part of the door, but on the same level, is the story of the coming of the Magi and
adoration of Christ, giving Him tribute, comprising the court which followed them with
horses and equipments, made with great skill. Next to this is Christ disputing in the
Temple with the doctors, where the wonder and attention of the doctors who are
listening to him are no less finely expressed than the joy of Mary and Joseph at finding
Him again. Returning to the other end, over the Annunciation is the scene of the
baptism of Christ in the Jordan by John, the postures of the figures exhibiting the
reveience of the one and the faith of the other. Beside this is the temptation of Christ by
the devil, who is terrified by the words of Jesus, and is in an attitude expressive of his
fear, recognizing that He is the Son of God. Next to this, on the other part, is Christ
driving out the changers from the Temple, overthrowing their money, victims for
sacrifice, doves, and other merchandise, where the figures of some men who are falling
over each other in their flight are very graceful and well imagined. Next to this Lorenzo
put the shipwreck of the Apostles, where Peter leaves the boat and is sinking in the
water, while Christ upholds him. This scene is remarkable for the varied attitudes of the
Apostles who are at work in the ship, and the faith of Peter is expressed by his coming
towards Christ. Returning to the other end once again, over the Baptism is the
transfiguration on Mount Tabor, where Lorenzo expresses in the attitude of the Apostles
the bedazzlement experienced by mortal eyes at the heavenly vision: Christ is displayed
in His divinity between Moses and Elias, holding His head high and His arms open.
Beside this is the resurrection of Lazarus, who emerges from the tomb bound hand and
foot, and stands up right to the astonishment of the spectators. Martha is there and
Mary Magdalene, who is kissing the feet of the Lord with the utmost humility and
reverence. Next to this, on the other part, is the entry into Jerusalem on an ass, while
the children of the Hebrews, in varied attitudes, throw down their garments, olive
branches and palms, and the Apostles are following the Saviour. Beside this is a very
fine Last Supper very well arranged, as the Apostles are seated round a long table, half
of them being on one side and half on the other. Over the Transfiguration he made the
Agony in the Garden, where the three Apostles may be observed sleeping in various
attitudes. Next to this is Christ receiving the kiss of Judas, where there are many

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noteworthy things, the Apostles running away, and the Jews represented as taking
Christ, with great vigour. On the other part is Christ bound to the column, His face
somewhat distorted with the pain of the scourging and in a compassionable attitude,
while the Jews who are scourging Him show their terrible rage and vindictive feeling.
Following this is the scene when He is brought before Pilate, who washes his hands
and sentences Him to the cross. Over the Agony in the Garden and in the last row of
scenes is Christ carrying the cross and going to His death, led by a fierce band of
soldiers who are dragging him along with rough gestures. Grief and weeping are
expressed in the gestures of the Maries, so that had one been present it would not have
been possible to realise the scene better. Besides this Lorenzo made Christ on the
cross, with Our Lady and St. John the Evangelist seated on the ground in attitudes full
of grief and indignation. Next to this, on the other part, is the Resurrection, the guards
overcome by the thunder stand like dead men, while Christ is ascending in an attitude
which has all the attributes of glorification in the perfection of His beautiful members,
created by the skilful industry of Lorenzo. The last space contains the coming of the
Holy Spirit, the attitudes and expectancy of those who receive it being exquisite. No time
or labour was spared to make the work perfect. The limbs of the nude figures are most
beautiful in every part, and although the draperies still possess something of the old-
fashioned style of Giotto, yet the general tendency is towards the modern manner, and
figures of this particular size possess a certain delicate gracefulness. In fine, the
composition of the various scenes is so well managed that it deserves the praise
originally accorded by Filippo, and even more. From his Fellow-citizens Lorenzo
obtained the most complete recognition of his labours, and won the highest praise from
them and from all artists, both native and foreign. The entire work cost 22,000 florins,
including the outside ornamentation, which is also of metal, and the festoons of fruit and
animals carved there. The metal doors weighed 34,000 pounds. When the work was
completed, the consuls of the art of the merchants felt that they had been very well
served, and, as everyone praised Lorenzo, they pro posed that he should make a
bronze statue four and a half braccia high in memory of St. John the Baptist for the
exterior of Or san Michele, in the niche belonging to the cloth dressers. Accordingly he
began this, and never rested until he had finished it. The work has been much admired,
and the artist put his name to it on the hem of the robe; it was set up in the year 1414,
and shows an approach towards the good modern style in the head, in an arm, which
looks as if it was actual flesh, and in the hands and the whole attitude of the figure. He
was the first to begin to imitate the masterpieces of the ancient Romans, studying them
very carefully, as everyone should who wishes to become a good craftsman. For the
frontispiece of the niche he made an experiment in mosaic, introducing a half-figure of a
prophet. Lorenzo's fame had already spread through all Italy and beyond as the most
skilful modern founder. Accordingly, when Jacopo dalla Fonte and Vecchietto of Sien 3)
and Donato were required to decorate the Baptist cry of S. Giovanni with some scenes
and figures in bronze, and as the Sienese had seen Lorenzo's work in Florence, they
negotiated with him and employed him to make two scenes of the life of St. John the
Baptist. One of them is the baptism of Christ, comprising a quantity of nude and draped
figures, very richly wrought, and the other John before Llerod. In these scenes Lorenzo
surpassed and vanquished the other artists there, and accordingly he received great
praise from the Sienese and from others who saw them. The masters of the mint at
Florence had to make a statue for one of the niches outside or. S. Michele, opposite the
art of wool, which was to be a St. Matthew of the same height as the St. John
mentioned above 4). They allotted the task to Lorenzo, who executed it to perfection,
and received more praise for it than for his St. John, because it was more modern in
style. This induced the consuls of the art of wool to propose that he should make
another statue, also of, etah in the next niche, which should be of the same size as the
others, and represent their patron, St. Stephen 5). This he also completed, giving a fine

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polish to the bronze, so that it afforded no less satisfaction than his other works. At this
time Maestro Leonardo Dati 6) was general of the Friars Preachers, and in order to leave
a memorial of himself to his native place, in S. Maria Novella, where he had professed,
he employed Lorenzo to make a bronze tomb surmounted by his effigy in the attitude of
death. The praise accorded to this work led to Lorenzo being employed to make one in
S. Croce for Ludovico degli Albizzi and one for Niccolo Valori 7). After these things
Cosimo and Lorenzo de' Medici, wishing to honour the bodies and relics of the three
martyrs Prothus, Hyacinth and Nemesius, had them fetched from Casentino, where they
had remained for many years in slight esteem and employed Lorenzo to make a metal
shrine,& in the middle of which are two angels in bas-relief, holding a garland of olive
branches encircling the names of the martyrs. The relics were deposited in this shrine,
and placed in the church of the monastery of the Angeli at Florence, with these words
carved in marble on the side towards the church of the monks:

Clarissimi viri Cosmas et Laurentiusfratres neglectas diu Sanctorum

reliquias martyrum religioso studio acfidelissima pietate suis
sumptibus aereis loculis condendascolendasque curarunt.

On the outer side, where the little church faces the street, are these words carved in
the marble beneath a coat of arms with the balls:

Hic condita sunt corpora sanctorum Christimartyrum Prothiet

Hyacinthi et Nemesii.Ann. Dom. 1428.

This having proved so successful, the wardens ardens of S. Maria del Fiore became
desirous of having a sarcophagus and tomb of metal constructed to receive the body of
St. Zanobius, bishop of Florence, of the dimensions of three and a half braccia by two 8).
Besides the decoration of divers ornaments, Lorenzo made a scene on the body of the
tomb representing the incident where the saint raises the child left in his custody by its
mother; and who had died during her absence on a pilgrimage. The second scene is of
another child, killed by a cart and raised by the saint, who also raises one of the two
servants sent to him by St. Ambrose, who was left dead on the Alps, the other sorrowing
in the presence of St. Zanobius, who is comforting him and saying, "He is sleeping; go
and you will find him alive.' At the back are six small angels, holding a garland of elm
leaves, on which are carved some sentences in praise of the saint. This work was
carried out and completed with every industry and art, so that it received extraordinary
praise as a beautiful thing. While the works of Lorenzo were increasing his reputation
every day, and he was engaged upon work in silver and gold as well as bronze for
numberless individuals, there came into the possession of Giovanni, the son of Cosimo
de' Medici, a large cornelian carved with the flaying of Mars as by Apollo. It was said to
have been used by the Emperor Nero as a seal. As the stone was large, and very
valuable for its size and the wonderful carving on it, Giovanni gave it to Lorenzo to make
a mount of wrought gold for it. The artist laboured at it for many months, surrounding
this beautiful work with a carved ornamentation no less perfect than the carving on the
stone itself. This event led him to do many more things in gold and silver, which are no
longer to be found. For Pope Martin he made a gold fastening for his cope, with figures
in full relief and jewels of great price among them, a most excellent piece of work. He
also made a mitre, marvellously chased with gold leaves and many small figures in full
relief in the midst, which was considered very beautiful, and besides the fame which he
acquired he benefited considerably owing to the liberality of the Pope. In the year 1439
Pope Eugenius came to Florence to unite the Greek and Latin churches and to hold a
Council. When he saw Lorenzo's works he was equally delighted with hem and with the
artist himself. Accordingly he employed Lorenzo to make a gold mitre for him, weighing
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fifteen pounds, with pearls weighing live and a half pounds, the whole, including the
jewels, being valued at 30,000 gold ducats. It is said that there were six pearls like filbert
nuts, and it is impossible to imagine the curious beauty of the setting of the jewels in a
variety of children and other figures, forming a very graceful ornamentation as shown by
the design for it. For this work Lorenzo received most hearty thanks from the pontiff for
himself and his friends, besides the first payment.
Florence had acquired such celebrity by the works of the most ingenious artist that
the consuls of the art of the merchants determined to assign to him the third door of S.
Giovanni, to be likewise made in metal. In the case of the first door Lorenzo had, by
their direction, carried out the ornamentation which surrounds the figures and binds
together the framework, like that of Andrea Pisano. But now the consuls, recognising
how greatly Lorenzo had excelled him, resolved to move the middle door, which was
Andrea's, and to put it up opposite the Misericordia, and to employ Lorenzo to make
new doors for the middle, judging that he would devote his utmost energies to the task.
9 They left the whole matter in his hands, saying that they gave him full liberty to do as
he pleased and that he should make it as ornamental, rich, perfect and beautiful as he
possibly could, or as could be imagined, without regard to time or expense, and that as
he had surpassed all the other figure- makers up to that time, he should in this work
surpass himself.
Lorenzo began his task, lavishing upon it the very best of his powers. He divided the
door into ten squares; five on each side, the spaces left for the scenes being a braccia
and a third in size. In the ornamentation of the framework surrounding the scenes are
uplight niches containing figures in almost full relief to the number of twenty, and all very
beautiful, such as a nude Samson embracing a column and holding a jaw-bone in his
hand, displaying the highest degree of perfection attained by the ancients in their figures
of Hercules, whether of bronze or of marble; as does a Joshua who is in the act of
speaking to his army. Besides these, there are many prophets and sibyls dressed in
various styles of draperies, and with varied arrangements of their heads, hair and other
ornaments, as well as twelve recumbent figures in the niches in the transverse parts of
the frame. At the corners he made circles containing heads of women, youths and old
men, to the n‚umber of thirty-four 10), introducing his own portrait in the middle of the
door, near the place where he has inscribed his name. The older main beside in, is his
father, Bartoluccio‚ In addition to the heads he made foliage, mouldings and other
ornaments with the greatest mastery. The scenes represented on the door are taken
from the Old Testament. The first represents the creation of Adam and of Eve his wife,
most perfectly executed, showing that Lorenzo did his utmost to render their members
as beautiful as possible, for he wished to show that they were the most lovely creatures
that ever issued from the hand of God; and that they surpassed everything which He
had made in His other works. In the same scene he represented them eating the apple
and being driven together out of Paradise, the figures in this act exhibiting the first effect
of their sin, as they are conscious of their shame and cover it with their hands, while
they show their penitence when they are being expelled from Paradise by the angel. In
the second square are Adam and Eve with Cain and Abel as little children; there also is
Abel's sacrifice of the first fruits with Cain's less acceptable offering, in which Cain's
gestures are expressive of envy towards his brother, and Abel's of love to God. A
singularly beautiful incident here is Cain ploughing with a pair of oxen, very true and
natural in their labour of drawing the plough with the yoke. A fine figure also is that of
Abel slain by Cain as he is keeping the sheep. This last action exhibits the cruel and
pitiless brother slaying Abel with a club, so remarkable that the very bronze shows the
lassitude of the dead members of Abel's beautiful person. In the distance in bas-relief is
God asking Cain, "Where is thy brother?" four scenes being combined to form each
picture. In the third space Lorenzo made Noah coming out of the ark with his wife, sons,
daughters and daughters-in-law, and all the animals, both birds and beasts, which are
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carved each one after its Kind, with the greatest perfection that is allowed to art in the
imitation of Nature, the ark being seen open, and the general desolation is represented
in very low relief with inexpressible grace. The figures of Noah and his sons are
represented with wonderful vivacity as he is offering the sacrifice, and in the sky
appears the rainbow, the token of peace between God and Noah. But more excellent
than the others is the scene where he plants the vine and exposes himself in his
drunkenness, while his son Ham mocks him. Indeed, it would not be possible to
represent a sleeping man better, in the abandonment of his intoxication, or the
consideration and affection, displayed in admirable gestures, of his other two sons, who
are covering him. Here also may be seen the vine, the cask, and other implements for
making wine, introduced with such skill that they form no impediment to the story, but
constitute a beautiful ornament. For the fourth scene Lorenzo chose the appearance of
the three angels in the plain of Mamre, making them all alike, while the holy old man is
adoring them with most appropriate and realistic expressions in the face and hands.
Very excellent also are the servants waiting at the foot of the mountain to which
Abraham has gone to sacrifice his son. Isaac is standing naked on the altar, and his
father is endeavouring to obey the Divine command, with his arm raised, but is hindered
by the angel, who detains him with one hand while with the other he points to the ram
which is to be offered, thus delivering Isaac from death. This scene is really remarkably
fine, there being a striking contrast between the delicate limbs of Isaac and the more
robust ones of the servants, and not a stroke of the scene but has been represented
with the most consummate art. In this work, in dealing with the difficulty of buildings,
Lorenzo surpassed himself, and also in the scene of the birth of Isaac, and of Jacob and
Esau, when the latter is hunting‚to do his father's will, and Jacob, instructed by
Rebecca, is offering the roast kid, while wearing its skin about his neck, which Isaac is
feeling, and giving him his blessing. This scene contains some remarkably fine and life-
like dogs, and the expressions of Jacob, Isaac and Rebecca in their various actions are
exceedingly good. Emboldened by the study of his art, which gave him ever greater
facility, Lorenzo essayed to do things more difficult and ambitious, such as the sixth
scene, when Joseph is thrown into a pit by his brethren, their sale of him to the
merchants, their present of him to Pharaoh, his interpretation of the dream of the
famine, the provision to meet this, and the honours accorded to Joseph by Pharaoh.
Similarly also in the scenes where Jacob sends his sons to obtain in Egypt, and their
return to their father after being recognised by Joseph. In this work Lorenzo attempted a
difficult task in the representation of a round temple in perspective, containing figures in
various fashions carrying corn and flout, and many asses. Here also is the banquet
given by Joseph to his brethren, the hiding of the gold cup in Benjamin's sack, the
finding of it, and his recognition of his brothers and his affectionate embraces. This
scene, on account of the expressions and the variety of incidents which it contains; is
considered by all to be the ablest, the most difficult, and the finest in the whole work.
It is certain that it was impossible for Lorenzo, seeing his skill and grace with this
type of statue, not to make the most beautiful figures when thinking out the composition
of his admirable scenes. This appears in the seventh panel, where he represents Mount
Sinai and Moses on the summit, kneeling reverently and receiving the laws from God.
Half-way up the mountain Joshua is awaiting him, and at the foot the people are
represented with wonderful truth in divers attitudes of terror at the thunder, lightning and
earthquakes. He afterwards displayed great diligence and loving care in the eighth
panel, which represents Joshua going to Jericho, Crossing the Jordan, pitching the
twelve tents filled with the twelve tribes, all very naturally; but the finest part is the bas-
relief of the procession with the ark round the walls of the city to the blowing of trumpets,
with the fall of the walls and the capture of the city by the Jews. Here the relief
diminishes most carefully, from the figures in the foreground to the mountains, from the
mountains to the city, and from the City to the distant landscape, all executed with the

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most perfect grace. And as Lorenzo daily became more expert in his art, the ninth panel
shows the slaying of the giant Goliath, David cutting off his head in a proud, boyish
attitude, the rout of the army of the Philistines by the host of God, with their horses,
chariots and other implements of war. After that he made David returning with the head
of Goliath in his hand, the people meeting him with music and dancing, the expressions
being all appropriate and full of life. In the tenth and last scene it remained for Lorenzo
to put forth all his powers. Here the Queen of Sheba visits Solomon with an immense
escort. In this scene he introduced a building in perspective with great effect, the figures
resembling those in the other scenes. There is also the ornamentation of the architraves
which surround the door, made up of fruit and festoons of the same high level of
excellence. The entire work, in detail and as a whole, is a striking example of what may
be accomplished by the skill and energy of a sculptor-artist in dealing with figures, some
practically in relief, some in half-relief, and some in bas-relief, in invention and the
composition of figures, and in the striking attitudes of the women and men, the variety of
the buildings, the perspectives, the graceful comportment of both sexes, with a well-
regulated sense of decorum, gravity in the old and lightness and grace in the young.
Indeed, the doors may be said to be perfect in every particular, the finest masterpiece in
the world whether among the ancients or the moderns. Right well does Lorenzo merit
praise, for one day Michelagnolo Buonarrotti stopped to look at the work, and on being
asked his opinion he said, "They are so fine that they would grace the entrance of
Paradise," a truly noble encomium pronounced by one well able to judge. Lorenzo
certainly deserved his success, for he began them at the age of twenty and laboured at
them with more than ordinary exertion for over forty years.
In polishing and cleaning this work after it was cast Lorenzo was assisted by many
youths who afterwards became famous masters, such as Filippo Brunelleschi, Masolino
da Panicale 11), Niccolo Laniberti, goldsmiths, Parri Spinehi, Antonio Filareto, I'aolo
Uccello, Antoniodel Pollaiuolo, then quite young, and by many others who were
engaged together upon the same task, and by means of this association and mutual
conference they benefited themselves no less than Lorenzo. Besides the payment
which Lorenzo received from the consuls, the Signoria gave him a considerable
property near the alley of Settimo, and it was not long before he was admitted to the
Signory and thus received the honour of entering the chief magistracy of the city. The
Florentines deserve praise for their gratitude to this man, just as they merit blame for
their ingratitude to many other excellent fellow-citizens. After this stupendous work,
Lorenzo made the bronze ornamentation for the door of the same church which is
opposite the Misericordia, introducing his marvelous foliage, but was unable to finish
this on account of his unexpected death, after he had arranged everything and all but
finished the model for the reconstruction of that door which Andrea Pisano had made.
This model has fared badly in these days, but I saw it when I was a young man in the
Borgo Allegri before it had been allowed to goto ruin by Lorenzo's descendants.
Lorenzo had a son called Bonaccorso 12), who finished the frieze and ornamentation
which had been left incomplete, with great diligence, a decoration which I clam, to be
the rarest and most marvellous work in bronze in existence. He did not produce many
works, as he died young, though he might have done much, seeing that he inherited the
secret of casting things so as to preserve their delicacy, and he possessed the
experience and knowledge necessary for perforating the metal in the manner adopted
by Lorenzo. This master, besides works by his own hand, bequeathed to his heirs many
antiques of marble and of bronze, such as the bed of Policletes, which was a rare
treasure, a bronze leg of life-size, and some heads of women and men, with a quantity
of vases, for which he had sent to Greece at a great expense. He also left some torsos
and many other things, which were dissipated like his property, some being sold to M.
Giovanni Gaddi, some time clerk of the chamber. Among these was the bed of
Policletes and the other more valuable articles. Bonaccorso left a son called Vettorio,
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who devoted himself to sculpture, but with little profit, as is proved by the heads which
he made in the palace of the Duke of Gravina at Naples, which are not very good, for he
never practised the art with affection and diligence, but allowed the property and other
things left him by his father and grand- father to go to rack and ruin. Finally, one night he
was slain by his servant 13), who wished to rob him, as he was going to Ascoli as
architect for Pope Paul III. Thus the family died out, though the fame of Lorenzo will
endure for ever.
But to return to Lorenzo. He took an interest in many things and delighted in painting
on glass. In S. Maria del Fiore he made the circular windows round the cupola, except
one by the hand of Donato, representing Christ crowning the Virgin. Dorenzo also made
the three rose windows over the principal door of the same church, and all those of the
chapels and the tribunes, as well as that in the facade of S. Croce. In Arezzo he made a
window for the principal chapel of the Pieve, representing a Coronation of the Virgin and
two other figures for Lazzaro di Feo di Baccio, a wealthy merchant. But as all these
were made of highly coloured Venetian glass they rather tend to darken the places
where they are placed. Lorenzo was appointed to be the associate of Brunellesco when
the latter was charged with the construction of the cupola of S. Maria del Fiore, but was
afterwards removed, as I shall describe in Filippo's life. Lorenzo wrote a work in the
vulgar tongue' treating of many things, but so that little profit can be derived from it. The
only good thing that it contains, in my opinion, comes after the description of the ancient
painters, particularly those cited by Pliny, where he makes a brief mention of Cimabue,
Giotto, and many others of that time, and he has treated this much more briefly than he
should, and that for no better reason than to discourse at length about himself and to
describe minutely one by one the works which he produced. I must add that he
intimates that the book was written by others; but later on, like one who is more
accustomed to design, chisel and to found metal than to spin stories, in speaking of
himself, he uses the first person I did 14), said, and so forth. Having at length attained the
sixty-forth year of his life, he was attacked by a violent and continuous fever and died,
leaving an immortal fame in his works and in the descriptions of writers. He was buried
honourably in S. Croce. His portrait is on the principal door of S. Giovanni, in the middle
border when the door is shut, being represented as bald, his father, Bartoluccio, being
next him, and near them the following words may be read:

Lautrentii Cionis de Ghibertis mira arte fabricatum.

Lorenzo's designs were excellent and made with great relief, as may be seen in our
book of designs, in an Evangelist by his hand, and some other very fine works in
chiaroscuro. Bartoluccio, his father, also designed very fairly, as is shown by another
Evangelist by his hand in the same‚book, though perceptibly inferior to Lorenzo's. I had
these designs, together with some by Giotto, from Vettorio Ghiberti in the year 1528,
while I was still quite young, and I have always valued them highly on account of their
excellence and in memory of such great men. If I had known what I now know, I might
easily have had many other remarkably fine things which belonged to Lorenzo, at the
time when I was an intimate friend of Vettorio and had constant relations with him.
Among many verses in Datin and in the vulgar tongue which have been composed in
honour of Lorenzo at various times, I select the following, which will make a fitting
conclusion and spare the reader the annoyance of further quotations:

Dum cernit valvas aurato ex aere nitentes In templo Michael

Angelus, obstupuit Attonitusquc diu, sic alta silentia rupit; O
divinum opus! 0 janua digna polo!

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1)
Rectius Valdambrino.
2)
Commissioned 23 November, 1403, completed 20 April, 1424.
3)
Commissioned 1417, finished 1427.
4)
Commissioned 1459, setup 1542.
5)
In 1425.
6)
Who died in 1423.
7)
Now in the Bargello, Florence.
8)
Finished 1446.
9)
Commissioned 2 January, 1425, set up 1452.
10)
There are four recumbent figures and twenty-four heads.
11)
He was not a pupil. Vasari has confused him with Maso diCristofano.
12)
Bonaccorso was his grandson, son of Vittorio.
13)
In 1442.
14)
His Commentarii remained in manuscript until 1813 when it was printed in Cicognara's "Storia della
Scultura," published at Venice.Vasari has used it freely for the earlier- lives.

DOMENICO GHIRLANDAJO
Painter of Florence
(1449-1494)

DOMENICO DI TOMMASO DI GHIRLANDAJO, who for the excellence, size and

multitude of his works deserves to be considered one of the best masters of his age,
was meant by Nature to be a painter, and despite the opposition of his guardian, a thing
which frequently spoils the best fruits of our great minds by diverting them from the
things for which they are best fitted, he followed his natural bent and won great honour
at his art for himself and his house, enriching and charming his age. His father put him
with a goldsmith, in which trade he himself possessed considerable merit, the greater
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part of the silver motive offerings in the treasury of the Nunziata being by his hand, as
well as the silver lamps of the chapel, destroyed in the siege of 1529 1). Tommaso was
the first to invent and make fashionable the head ornament worn by Florentine girls
called garlands (ghirlande), and from this circumstance he obtained the name of
Ghirlandajo, not only because he was the original inventor, but because he had made a
large quantity of rare beauty, so that everyone must needs have those which came from
his shop. Being put with a goldsmith, but discontented with that trade, Domenico 2) did
nothing but design. Endowed by Nature with great ability, admirable taste and good
judgment in painting, he always studied design, goldsmith as he was at first, and
succeeded in becoming so facile that many relate that even while he was with the
goldsmith he would draw everyone who passed the shop, making extraordinary
likenesses, a story which is largely borne out by the number of excellent portraits which
he produced.
His first paintings were in the Chapel of the Vespucci at Ognissanti,
representing a dead Christ and some saints, and a Misericordia over an arch, containing
a portrait of Amerigo Vespucci, who navigated the Indies, while in the refectory he
painted a Last Supper in fresco 3). On the right-hand of the entrance to S. Croce he
painted the story of St. Paulinus. Having thus acquired fame and credit, he did a chapel
in S. Trinita for Francesco Sassatti with stories of St. Francis 4), an admirable work,
remarkable for its grace, finish and delicacy. In it he represented the Ponte S. Trinita
with the palace of the Spini, the first scene showing the appearance of St. Francis in the
air to raise a child of that family, with the women who see him arise, the grief at his
death while they are carrying him to burial, and their joy and wonder at his resurrection.
Here also are the friars issuing from the church, with the gravediggers following the
cross for the purpose of burial, all very life-like, as are the other figures, who are
marvelling and rejoicing at the miracle, affording no little pleasure to the rest of us.
Among them are portraits of Maso degli Albizzi,M. Agnolo Acciaiuoli, M. Palla Strozzi,
notable citizens and prominent in the history of Florence. Another scene shows St.
Francis in the presence of the vicar, renouncing the inheritance of his father, Pietro
Bernardone, and assuming the habit of penitence with its rope girdle. In the middle is his
visit to Rome to obtain the confirmation of his order from Pope Honorius, presenting a
rose to that pontiff in January. In this scene Domenico represented the consistory hall
the cardinals seated about it, and some steps approaching it on which are figures
standing, among them being a portrait of Lorenzo de' Medici the Magnificent, the elder.
He further painted there St. Francis receiving the stigmata, and finally his death anti the
lamentation of the friars, one of them represented kissing his hand, an act which could
not be better presented than it is here. A bishop in his habit, wearing spectacles, is
singing the vigil, and is shown to be merely a painting only because one does not hear
him. In two pictures on either side he painted Francesco Secca kneeling, and Madonna
Nora, his wife and her children, the latter being in the scene above where the boy is
raised to life, with some beautiful maidens of the same family whose names I have not
been able to find, all wearing the costumes of the day and making a pleasing picture.
Besides this he did four sibyls in the vaulting, and outside the chapel an ornamentation
on the front arch, showing how the Tiburtine sibyl caused the Emperor Octavian to
adore Christ. This is a very skillfully executed fresco, the colouring being bright and
attractive. He painted in tempera, as a companion to this work, a Nativity of Christ 5)
which must excite the wonder of every thinking man, introducing his own portrait and
some heads of shepherds, which are considered divine. The drawings for this sibyl and
other parts of this work, notably the perspective of the Ponte S. Trinith in grisaille, are in
our book. For the high altar of the Jesuit friars he painted a picture containing the
following saints, kneeling: St. Just, bishop of Volterra, to whom the church was
dedicated; St. Zanobius, bishop of Florence; the Angel Raphael; a St. Michael in
magnificent armour, and others 6). In truth, Domenico deserves praise, for he was the

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first to imitate the colours of ornaments of gold and other materials, and he did away in
a great measure with those borders made by gilding over plaster or gypsum, which are
more suited for cloth hangings than for the works of good masters. The most beautiful
figure is the Madonna with the Child, surrounded by four little angels. This picture, which
is of the highest merit for a work in tempera, was then placed in the church of those
friars, outside the Pinti gate, but it was subsequently damaged, as will be said
elsewhere, and it is now in the church of S. Giovannino, inside the S. Pier Gattolini gate,
where the Jesuit convent stands. In the church of Cestello Domenico painted a picture,
finished by his brothers David and Benedetto, containing the Visitation of Our Lady and
some very beautiful heads of women 7). In the church of the Innoeenti he painted in
tempera 8 a much-admired picture of the Magi, containing some fine heads and varied
physiognomies of people both young and old, notably a head of the Virgin, displaying all
the modesty, beauty and grace which art can impart to the Mother of God. On the
screen of S. Marco he did another picture, and a Last Supper in the guest-chamber,
both carefully finished. In the house of Giovanni Tornabuoni he did a round picture of
the Magi, painted with care; and a scene of Vulcan forging thunder bolts for Jove at the
Spedaletto for the Lorenzo de' Medici the elder, containing a number of nude figures. In
the church of Ognissanti at Florence he painted a St. Lnerome & surrounded by a
quantity of books and instruments, competition with Sandro Botticelli, now placed beside
the door leading into the choir. This painting, as well as that of Sandro Botticelli, was
removed without injury and setup in the middle of the church at the very time when
these Lives were being printed for the second time, the friars having decided to remove
the position of the choir. Domenico also painted the tympanum of the door of S. Maria
Ughi, and a small tabernacle for the art of the flax merchants. In Ognissanti he also did
a fine St. George slaying the Serpent. He was, indeed, well versed in the methods of
painting walls, and worked with great facility, though his compositions were finely
finished. Being invited by Pope Sixtus IV. To Rome to paint his chapel with other artists,'
he represented Christ calling Peter and Andrew from their nets, and the Resurrection of
Christ, the greater part of which is now destroyed, for it was above the door, and it
became necessary to replace a falling architrave.
There was in Rome at this time a rich merchant and great friend of Domenieo
named Francesco Tornabuoni 9). His wife having died in child-birth, as is related in the
Life of Andrea Verocchio, Francesco caused her to be buried in the Minerva, as became
her rank, and he wished Domenico to paint the entire front of the tomb and also to do a
small picture in tempera there. Accordingly the artist did four scenes, two of St. John the
Baptist and two of Our Lady, which were then much admired. Francesco treated
Domenico so well that when the latter returned to Florence with honour and money he
brought with him a letter to his patron's kinsman, Giovanni, describing how well he had
done his work and how highly the Pope was delighted with his paintings. When
Giovanni heard this he immediately resolved to employ Domenico on some great work
which would do honour to himself and bring fame and riches to the artist. It happened
that the principal chapel of S. Maria Novella, the convent of the Friars Preachers, had
been already painted by Andrea Orcagna, but the roof of the vaulting being badly
pipected, it was almost entirely destroyed by the damp. Many citizens had wished to
have it restored or newly painted, but the family of the Ricci, who were the patrons, had
never been able to makeup their minds, as they could not bear the expense themselves
and would not grant the task to others from fear of losing their rights and their armorial
bearings left them by their ancestors. Giovanni, being anxious that Domenico should
paint this memorial for him, tried various expedients, and at last promised the Ricei that
he would bear the entire cost, would recompense them in some way, and would have
their arms put up in the most prominent and honourable part of the chapel. This was
accepted, and a strictly worded agreement having been drawn up of the tenor indicated
above, Giovanni entrusted the work to Domenico, who was to follow the original

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subjects, arranging that the price should be 1200 gold ducats, and if it should give
satisfaction, 200 more. Domenico set to work, and never rested until in four years he
had completed the task. This was in 1485, and it gave the utmost satisfaction to
Giovanni, who frankly admitted that the 200 ducats had been fairly won, but intimated
that he would prefer to keep to the first price. Domenico, who thought more of glory than
of wealth, at once forgave him the extra amount, declaring that he was better pleased at
having satisfied him than he could be with any payment that he might receive. After this
Giovanni caused two large coats of arms to be carved in stone, those of the Tornaquinci
and the Tornabuoni,and placed on pilasters outside the chapel, and on the arch other
arms of the same family, namely those of the Giachinotti, Fopoleschi, Marabottoni and
Cardinali, as well as the first two. When Domenico afterwards did the altar-picture he
caused a fine tabernacle of the Sacrament to be placed in a gilt ornament under an
arch, as a finish to the picture, introducing the arms of the patrons, that is the Ricci, on a
shield a quarter of a braccia high. But the best was to come, for when the chapel was
uncovered the Ricci looked everywhere for their arms, and when they could not see
them they went off to the magistracy of the Eight, taking their contract. But the
Tornabuoni were able to show that the arms had been placed in the most honoured
situation, and if the Ricci could not see them it was their own fault, because they ought
to be satisfied that their arms were placed near the Sacrament, than which no place was
more holy. Accordingly it was decided that things should remain as they were, and so
they stand to this day. If anyone objects that this is outside my subject, I beg him to
excuse me, because it was at the point of my pen, and serves to show, if nothing else,
that poverty is at the mercy of wealth, and that wealth united to prudence may attain its
ends without censure.
To return to the fine works of Domenico. In the first place, the vaulting of this chapel
contains the four Evangelists, larger than life-size, and the wall with the window has St.
Dominic, St. Peter Martyr, St. John going into the desert, the Annunciation, with many of
the patron saints of Florence kneeling; above the windows, and at the bottom, a portrait
of Giovanni Tornabuoni on the right-hand and of his wife on the left, which are said to
be very life-like. On the right wall the scenes are divided into seven compartments, six
large ones below occuping the width of the wall, and one above in the arch of the
vaulting, twice the size of the others. The left wail has an equal number of spaces, and
these scenes relate to St. John the Baptist. The first scene on the right represents
Joachim being driven from the Temple, his own face exhibiting patience and those of
the Jews contempt and hatred of those who, being childless, came to the Temple. This
scene on the side towards the window contains four portraits. One of these, the old,
clean-shaven man in a red cap, is Alesso Baldovinetti, Domenico's master in painting
and mosaic. Another, standing bareheaded, his hand at his side, in a red mantle, with a
blue vest beneath, is Domenico himself, drawn with the help of a mirror. The man with
black hair and thick lips is Bastiano da S. Gemignano 10), the artist's pupil and brotherin
-law, and the other, with his back turned and wearing a cap, is Davidde Ghirlandajo, his
brother, the painter. All these are said to be most excellent likenesses by those who
knew the originals. The second scene is the Nativity of the Virgin, executed with great
diligence. Among other remarkable things it contains a window which lights the chamber
and actually deceives the beholder. Again, while St. Anne, stretched on her bed,
receives the visit of some ladies, he introduced women washing the Infant with great
care, pouring out water, drying, and other like services, and while each is attentive to
her own duty, one of them holds the Child in her arms and makes it laugh by smiling,
with a feminine grace truly worthy of a work of this great genius, each figure being
distinguished in its various expressions. The third, which is above the first, represents
the Virgin mounting the steps of the Temple, and contains a building diminishing
correctly as it recedes from the eye, as well as a nude figure, which gave great
satisfaction then, because such things were not common, although it is not so perfect as

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the more excellent ones of today. Besides this is the Marriage of the Virgin, the youths
angrily breaking their rods, which did not flower like that of Joseph. This scene contains
many figures and a good building. The fifth shows the Coming of the Magi to Bethlehem
with a number of men, horses, dromedaries and other things, a very well-arranged
scene. Next to this is the cruel crime of Herod against the Innocents, showing finely the
struggles of the women, and the soldiers and horses striking and driving them. Of all his
subjects this is the best, being carried out with judgment, ingenuity and great art. Here
we see the cruelty of those who at Herold's command kill the poor children without pity
for their mothers; one of the babes may be seen still at the breast and dying of a wound
in the throat, so that it is sucking, or rather drinking, as much blood as milk, a sight that
might well arouse pity even where the emotion has become extinct. Here again is a
soldier who has taken a child by force, and as he is pressing it to him to kill it, the
mother tears his hair with fury, forcing him to bend backwards. This displays three
emotions very finely: first the death of the child who is cut open, then the cruelty of the
soldier who is avenging himself on the babe for the pain which he is suffering, and third
the mother, beholding her dead child, in her fury and grief seeking to stop the murderer
from escaping scot-free, the whole for its remarkable judgment rather the work of a
philosopher than a painter. Many other emotions are also represented, so that no
beholder can doubt the excellence of the master. The seventh scene, in the top of the
arch, is the Passing of Our lady and her Assumption, with troops of angels, a number of
figures, landscapes and other ornaments, in which Domenico's easy and skilful style
usually abounds. The other wall contains the history of St. John; the first represents
lichari as sacrificing in the Temple, the appearance of the angel, and his dumbness
because he would not believe. Wishing to show that the most notable persons came to
these sacrifices, flomenico introduced a goodly number of Florentine citizens, who were
then members of the Government, and especially all the members of Tornabuoni family,
both young and old. In order to show that his age abounded in every kind of virtue, and
particularly in letters, he introduced in a circle four half figures talking together, at the
bottom of the scenes.
These were the most learned Florentines of the day, namely M. Marsilio Ficino in a
canon's dress; Cristofano Landino next, in a red mantle and a black ribbon round his
throat; Demetrius the Greek in the middle, turning round and lifting his hand slightly; M.
Angelo Poliziano, all full of life and energy. The next scene, on a level with the last, is
the Visitation of Our Lady and St. Elizabeth, accompanied by women wearing the
costumes of the day, among them a portrait of Ginevra de' Benci, a most beautiful girl of
the time. The third scene, above the first, is the birth of St. John, with a beautiful idea
that, while Elizabeth is in bed and visited by her neighhours and a nurse is suckling the
child, a woman is eagerly calling the attention of the visitors to the wonder that has
come to her mistress in her old age; and lastly there is a woman bringing fruit and wine
from the city, in conformity with the Florentine custom. This is very fine. In the fourth
scene, next to this, Zacharias, still dumb, is marveling that a son has been born to him,
and as they ask him what the name shall be, he writes on his knees, regarding the child
all the while, whom a woman is holding, kneeling reverently before him, making the
words "His name shall be John," to the wonder of many other figures who appear to
question whether it be true or no. The fifth contains the preaching to the multitudes,
showing the attention of the people in hearing new things, notably the scribes listening
to John who seen, to be mocking, so much do they hate him; many men and women
being here both standing and sitting in various fashions. The next scene shows John
baptising Christ, his reverential attitude displaying the belief which he had in that
sacrament, and as this led to the most important results he represented a crowd of
naked and barefooted figures waiting to be baptised, their faces displaying faith and
desire, one especially who is taking off his shoe being energy itself. The last scene, in
the arch next the vaulting, is the sumptuous banquet of Herod, with the dancing of

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Herodias 11), and a troop of servants performing their various duties. It contains a large
building shown in perspective, and in conjunction with the paintings displays
Domenico's skill. He did the altarpiece, which stands alone, in tempera, and the other
figures which are in the six pictures. Besides a Madonna, who is seated in the air with
the Child, surrounded by the other saints, there are St. Laurence and St. Stephen,
figures full of life, as well as the St. Vincent and St. Peter Martyr, who only lack the
power of speech 12). It is true that a part of the picture was left unfinished owing to his
death, but he had done so much that it only wanted the finishing touches to some
figures in the background of the Resurrection of Christ, and three figures in the square
spaces, afterwards finished by Benedet to and Davidde Ghirlandajo, his brothers. This
chapel was reputed a most beautiful, grand, ornate and lovely work for the brightness of
the colouring, the skill and finish of the wall painting, and because there are few
retouches a secco, not to speak of the powers of Invention and composition displayed.
Certainly Domenico deserves the highest praise from every point of view, but especially
for the life he has infused into the heads, which are really the portraits of many
distinguished people. For the same Giovanni Tornabuoni he painted a chapel at the
Casa Maccherelli, his villa, not far from the city, on the River Terzolle, which is now half
in ruins owing to its being near the stream, and has stood roofless for many years,
watered by the rains and scorched by the sun. Nevertheless, the painting has stood as if
it had been protected, such is the quality offers cowork when well done and not
retouched a secco. In the hall of the palace of the Signoria, which contains the
marvellous clock of Lorenzo della Volpaia, Domenico 13) painted a number of Florentine
saints richly adorned. So fond was he of work and so anxious to please that he directed
his pupils to accept whatever commissions should be brought to his workshop, even
though it were hoops for the women's baskets, declaring that if they would not paint
them he would do it himself, and that no one should leave his shop dissatisfied. When
household cares were laid upon him he complained bitterly, and for this reason he
entrusted all expenditure to his brother David, saying: "Leave me to work while you
make provision, because, now that I have begun to master my art, I feel sorry that I am
not employed to paint the entire circuit of the walls of Florence," thus displaying his
determined and resolute spirit. For S. Martino at Lucca he did a picture of SS. Peter and
Paul 14). He did the front of the principal chapel of the abbey of Settimo outside Florence
in fresco, and two panels in tempera on the screen of the church. In Florence he did
many pictures, both round and square, which are not to he seen because they are in
private houses. He decorated the incline at the high altar in the Duomo of Pisa, and
worked at many places in that city, representing on the front of the opera the scene
when King Charles, a portrait from life, protects the city 15). In S. Girolamo he did two
pane in tempera for the Jesuits, one of them for the high altar. In the same place there
is a picture ‚by him of St. Roch and St. Sebastian 16), given to the fathers by some
member of the Medici family, for which reason they have decorated it with the arms of
Pope Leo X.
It is said that when Domenico was drawing antiquities at Rome, such as arches,
baths, columns, colosseums, amphitheatres, aqueducts, etc., his drawing was so exact
that he was able to work with his eye unaided by rule or compass, and that the
dimensions were as accurate as if he had measured them. When he drew the
colosseum he introduced a figure to scale ‚which, when it was tested by the masters
after his death, proved most correct. Over a door in the cemetery at S. Maria Nuova he
painted in fresco a St. Michael armed, the reflection on the armour being excellent, an
effect little practiced before his day. At the abbey of Passignano of the monks
Vallombrosa he did some things in conjunction with his brother David and withBastiano
da S. Gimignano. Before he arrived the monks entertained the others badly, and they
requested the abbot to cause them to be better served, as it was not right that they
should be treated like workmen. The abbot promised, and excused himself on the

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ground that it was due to the ignorance of the monks in charge, and not through malice.
Domenico arrived, and there was no alteration, so that David, meeting the abbot one
day, complained again, saying that he did not do this for his own sake, but on account of
the merits and talents of his brother. The abbot, like a fool, could make no reply. That
evening, when they sat down to supper, the forestarius came in with a tray full of
porringers and coarse pastry, just as he had done before. At this David rose in a rage,
emptied the soup on the friar's head, and, taking the bread off the table, struck him with
it, so that he was carried half-dead to his cell. The abbot, who was already in bed, ran
down on hearing the noise, believing that the monastery was falling. On finding the friar
in such a sorry plight, he began to rail at David. Infuriated at this, David replied, telling
him to be gone and that Domenico was worth more than all the swinish abbots who had
ever lived in the monastery. The abbot, thinking better of the matter, endeavoured from
that moment to treat the artists more according to their worth. When this work was
completed; Domenico returned to Florence and painted a picture for the Sig. di Carpi,
and sent another to Rimini to Carlo Malatesta, who put it in his chapel in S. Domenico
17)
. This painting was in tempera, representing three figures, and small scenes beneath,
and bronze coloured figures behind, executed with great art. He did two other pictures
for the Camaldolite abbey of S. Giusto outside Volterra, at the command of Lorenzo the
Magnificent, very beautiful works 18). This was because the Cardinal Giovanni de'
Medici, Lorenzo's son, who afterwards became Leo X., held the abbey in commendam.
This abbey was restored a few years ago by the Very Rev. M. Gio. Battista Bava of
Volterra, who also held it in commendam to the congregation of Camaldoli. By
Lorenzo's influence Domenico afterwards went to Siena, the prince giving security for
the 20,000 ducats required for doing the facade of the Duomo in mosaic 19). Domenico
set to work with good courage and in his best style. But, being cut off by death, he left it
unfinished, just as the chapel of St. Zanobius at Florence was interrupted by the death
of Lorenzo, after Domenico had begun to decorate it with mosaics 20) with the assistance
of Gherardo the illuminator. Over the side door of S. Maria del Fiore leading to the
Servites there is a very fine Annunciation in mosaic by Domenico 21) and nothing better
has been produced by modern masters. Domenico used to say that painting was
design, but that the true painting for eternity was mosaic. Bastiano Mainardi of S.
Gimignano remained with him to learn, and became a very skilful master in fresco. He
accompanied Domenico to S. Gimignano, and there they painted the beautiful chapel of
St. Fina 22). Pleased with the submissiveness and good behaviour of Bastiano,
Domenico considered him worthy to marry one of his sisters; and thus their friendship
was converted into relationship, the liberality of the master rewarding the skill acquired
by the pupil through his labours. From a cartoon prepared by Domenico, Bastiano
painted in the Chapel of the Baroncelli and Bandini in S. Croce Our Lady ascending into
heaven with St. Thomas beneath receiving her girdle, a beautiful work in fresco. The
two together painted a number of scenes with small figures in a chamber of the palace
of the Spannocchi at Siena‚; and at Pisa, besides the niche in the Duomo already
mentioned, they did the arch of that chapel, filling it with angels, painted the organ
shutters and began to gild the ceiling. When they were about to do some very
considerable works at Pisa and Siena Domenico fell sick of a fever, which carried him
off in five days. Whilst he lay ill, the Tornabuoni sent him a gift of 100 ducats of gold,
showing their friendship and good-will, and a sense of the services which Domenico had
rendered to their house. He lived forty-four years, and was lamented deeply by his
brothers David and Benedetto and his son Ridolfo. They buried him in S. Maria Novella,
the loss being deeply felt by his friends. When his death became known many noted
foreign artists wrote letters of sympathy to his relations. He left as his pupils David and
Benedetto Ghirlandai, Bastiano Mainardi of S. Gimignano, Michelagnolo Buonarroti
ofFlorence, Francesco Granaccio, Niccolo Cieco, Jacopo del Tedesco, Jacopo dell'
Indaco, Baldino Baldinetti, and other masters, all Florentines. He died in 1493.
Domenico enriched the modern art of working in mosaic infinitely more than any other
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Tuscan, as his works, though few, amply demonstrate. On this account he deserves
high rank and honour in his profession and more than customary praise after his death.

1)
Stefano Lunetti.
2)
Domenico Bigordi
3)
1480.
4)
1483-6.
5)
Accademia, Florence; painted 1485.
6)
Uffizi Gallery; painted 1480.
7)
Louvre; Painted 1491.
8)
In 1488.
9)
In1480.
10)
In 1481.
11)
The figure is Gentile de'Becchi, bishop of Arezzo.
12)
Her daughter.
13)
Now in the Pinacothek, Munich.
14)
1482-4.
15)
In 1479.
16)
Probably by David Ghirlandajo, as Charles VIII. of France was not there until 1495, a year after
Domenico's death.
17)
Now in the Museo Civico, Pisa.
18)
Now in the Palazzo del Comune. The figures are SS. Vincenzio, Ferrario, Sebastian and Roch.
19)
There is a Christ in Glory in the Municipio, Volterra, painted in 1492.
20)
The work was done by David Ghirlandajo, the contract being signed in 1493.
21)
Also by David, begun in 1492.
22)
In 1475.
23)
In 1473.

MASACCIO DI S. GIOVANNI
Painter of Valdarno
(1401-1428)

IT is a frequent practice of Nature when she produces a person of great excellence

in any profession to raise up another to rival him at the same time and in a neighbouring
place, so that they may help one another by their emulation and talents. This
circumstance, besides being of singular assistance to those 1immediately concerned,
- 156 -
also inflames the spirits of those who come after, to endeavour by study and industry to
attain to the same honour and glorious reputation which they hear praised every day in
their predecessors. That this is true is shown by Florence having produced in the same
age Filippo, Donato, Lorenzo, Paolo Uecello and Masaccio, each one pre-eminent in his
kind, who not only rid themselves of the rude and rough style in vogue until then, but by
their beautiful works incited and inflamed the minds of their successors to such an
extent that these employment shave been brought to their present state of grandeur and
perfection. For this we are indeed under great obligation to those pioneers who, by
means of their labours pointed out the true way to rise to the highest level. For the good
style of painting we are chiefly indebted to Masaccio. Desiring to acquire renown, he
reflected that, as painting is nothing more than an imitation of all natural living things,
with similar design and colouring, so he who should follow Nature most closely would
come nearest to perfection. This idea of Masaccio led him, by dint of unceasing study,
to acquire so much knowledge that he may be ranked among the first who freed
themselves of the hardness, the imperfections and difficulties of the art, and who
introduced movement, vigour and life into the attitudes, giving the figures a certain
appropriate and natural relief that no painter had ever succeeded in obtaining before. As
his judgment was excellent, he felt that all figures which do not stand with their feet flat
and foreshortened, but are on the tips of their toes, are destitute of all excellence and
style in essentials, and show an utter ignorance of foreshortening. Now, although Paolo
Uecello had devoted himself to this question, and had achieved something towards
smoothing the difficulty, Masaccio did his foreshortenings much better, varying the
methods and taking various points of view, achieving more than any of his
predecessors. His works possess harmony and sweetness, the flesh colour of the
heads and of his nudes blending with the tints of the draperies, which he delighted to
make in a few easy folds, with perfect nature and grace. This has proved most useful to
artists and for it he deserves as much praise as if he had invented it. For the things
made before his time may be termed paintings merely, and by comparison his creations
are real living and natural.
Masaccio was a native of Castello S. Giorgio of Valdarno, and it is said that
some figures made by him in his early childhood may be seen there. He was very
absent-minded and happy-go- lucky, his whole attention and will being devoted
exclusively to his art, and he paid little attention to himself and less to others. He never
took any heed or gave a thought to the cares or affairs of the world, not even about his
clothes, and never collected from his debtors except when he was in extreme need, so
that he was called Masaccio 1) instead of his real name Tommaso, not because he was
vicious, for he was goodness personified, but on account of his extreme carelessness,
in spite of which his kindness in helping and giving pleasures to others was beyond all
praise, he began to practise at the time when Masolino da Panicale was engaged upon
the Chapel of the Brancacci in the Carmine at Florence, and he followed as closely as
possible in the footsteps of Filippo and Donato, although his art was different, and his
constant endeavour was to make his figures life-like and real; as much like Nature as
possible. Thus he drew his lineaments in the modern style, and painted so that his
works may safely stand beside any modern drawing or colour piece. He diligently
studied methods of work and perspective, in which he displayed wonderful ingenuity, as
is shown in a scene of small Figures now in the house of Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio, in
which, besides the Christ delivering the man possessed, there are some very fine
buildings so drawn ill perspective that the interior and exterior are represented at the
same time, as he took for the point of view not the front, but the side, for its greater
difficulty. More than any other master he introduced nudes and foreshortenings into his
paintings, things little practised before his day. He was a very facile workman, and the
arrangement of his draperies was extremely simple, as 2) have said. By his hand is a
picture in tempera representing Our Lady in the lap of St. Anne, with the Child at her

- 157 -
neck, which is now in S. Ambrogio at Florence in the chapel next to the door leading into
the nuns parlour. On the screen of the church of s. Niccolo, beyond the Arno, is a
picture by his hand painted in tempera, in which, besides an Annunciation, there is a
house full of columns beautifully drawn in perspective. Besides the drawing of the lines,
which is perfect, he shaded off his colours so that they are gradually lost to sight, a fact
which proves him the master of perspective. In the Badia at Florence he painted on a
pillar, opposite one of those which bear the arch of the high altar, St. Ivo of Britanny,
represented in a niche with his feet foreshortened, as seen from below. This brought
him no small praise, because it had not been so well done by others before. Beneath
the saint, and above another comice, he represented the widows, children and poor
assisted by him in their want. Below the screen of S. Maria Novella he painted a Trinity
which is placed above the altar of St. Ignatius, between Our Lady and St. John the
Evangelist, who are contemplating the crucified Christ. At the sides are two kneeling
figures, who, as far as one guess, are portraits of the donors, but they are not much ill
evidenced being covered by‚a gold ornamentation. But the most beautiful thing there
besides the figures is a barrel fault represented in perspective, and divided into squares
full of bosses, which gradually diminish so realistically that the building seems hollowed
in the wall.
In S. Maria Maggiore he painted in a chapel, beside the lateral door leading to S.
Giovanni, the altar- picture with Our Lady, St. Catherine, and St. Julian; and in the
predella he made some scenes in small figures of the life of St. Catherine, and St. Julian
slaying his father and mother 3). In the middle he made the Nativity of Christ with a
simplicity and vivacity all his own. In a picture in one of the chapels in the screen of the
Carmine at Pisa he did Our Lady and the Child, with some small angels playing music at
her feet; one playing the lute and listening with his ear down to the harmony he has
produced. The Madonna is placed between St. Peter, St. John the Baptist, St. Julian
and St. Nicholas, all figures of great vigour and life. In the predella beneath are scenes
from the lives of those saints in small figures, the middle being occupied by the three
Magi offering their gifts to Christ. In this part there are some very fine horses drawn from
life-one could not wish for better- and the men of the suite are dressed in the various
costumes in use at the time. Above, to complete the picture, there are saints arranged in
panels about a crucifix. It is thought that the figure of a saint dressed as a bishop,
painted in fresco by the door in that church which leads to the convent, is by Masaccio's
hand, but I think it is clear that it is the work of his pupil, Fra Filippo. On his return from
Pisa, Masaccio painted a life-size representation of a nude man and woman, now in the
Palla Ruccellai house. Not feeling at ease in Florence, and being urged by his love and
devotion to art, he determined to go to Rome in order to study and surpass his rivals.
When there he acquired the greatest fame and did a chapel in the church of S.
Clemente for the Cardinal of S. Clemente, representing in fresco the Passion of Christ,
with the thieves on the cross, and the life of St. Catherine the martyr 4). He likewise did
many pictures in tempera which have all been dispersed or lost during the troubles of
Rome. There is one in the church of S. Maria Maggiore, in a small chapel near the
sacristy, containing four saints so well executed that they appear as if in relief. In the
middle is St. Mary of the Snows and the portrait from life of Pope Martin, who is tracing
the foundations of the church with a spade, and near him is the Emperor Sigismund II 5).
One day Michelagnolo was examining this work with me and praised it greatly, adding
that those men were living in the time of Masaccio. While the latter was in Rome;
Pisanello and Gentile da Fabriano were at work on the walls of the church of S. Janni
for Pope Martin, and they had allotted a part of it to Masaccio, when he received the
news that Cosimo de' Medici, by whom he had been much assisted and favoured, had
been recalled from exile 6). Accordingly he returned to Florence, where the Brancacci
Chapel in the Carmine was entrusted to him, Masolino da Panicale, who had begun it,

- 158 -
having died. Before he put his hand to this work he did, as a specimen of his skill, the
St. Paul that is near the bell-ropes, to show what progress he had made in art.
Decidedly he exhibited extraordinary ability in this painting, the saint's head (a
portrait of Bartolo di Angiolino Angiolini) expressing such vigour that it seems only to
lack the power of speech. Anyone who was not acquainted with St. Paul would
recognise in this figure the Roman citizen joined to that invincible and divine spirit all
intention the cares of the Faith. In this same picture he showed his knowledge of
foreshortening a view seen from below in a truly marvellous manner, and in the
Apostle's feet, how he has overcome a difficulty and shaken off the old rude manner,
which, as I have said, made all the figures stand on the tips of their toes. This method
lasted until his day without anyone correcting it, and he alone and first of all brought in
the good style of to-day. While he was engaged upon this work, the consecration of the
Carmine church took place 7); and as a memorial of this Masaccio painted the scene as
it occurred, in verdeterra and chiaroscuro, in the cloister over 1the door leading to the
convent. There he drew the portraits of a great number of citizens in mantle and hood,
who are taking part in the procession, including Filippo di ser Brunellesco in sahots,
Donatello, Masolino da Panicale, who had been his master, Antonio Brancacci, who
employed him to do the chapel, Niccolo da Uzzano, Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, and
Bartolommeo Valori, which are also in the house of Simon Corsi, a Florentine
nobleman, by the same hand. He also drew there Lorenzo Ridolfi, then ambassador of
the Florentine republic at Venice 8) and not only did he draw all these notabilities from
life, but also the door of the convent, and the porter with the keys in his hand. The work
possesses many perfections, for Masaecio's knowledge enabled him to put five or six
people in a row upon the piazza, judiciously diminishing them in proportion as they
recede, according to the point of view, a truly marvellous feat, especially as he has used
his discretion in making his figures not all of one size, but of various stature, as in life,
distinguishing the small arid the stout from the tall and the slender, all foreshortened in
their ranks with such excellence that they would not look otherwise in real life. After this
he returned to the work in the Brancacci Chapel, continuing the series of St. Peter
begun by Masolino, and finished the part comprising the story of the keys, the healing of
the infirm, raising the dead, healing the sick with his shadow on the way to the Temple
with St. John. 9 But the most notable of all is where Peter, in order to pay tribute, takes
the money by Christ's direction from the fish's belly. Here Masaccio has painted his own
portrait, with the aid of a mirror, in the guise of an Apostle, standing at the end, and so
well done that it is like life; remarkable also are the ardour of St. Peter in his request and
the attention of the Apostles in their various attitudes about Christ, awaiting His decision
with gestures full of life and naturalness.
St. Peter in special, in his efforts to get the money from the fish's body, has his face
quite red from bending; more admirable still is the payment of the tribute, including the
representation of counting the money, and the satisfaction of who is receiving it, who
looks at the money in his hand with the greatest delight. He also painted there the
raising of the king's son by S. S. Peter and Paul. But the work remained unfinished
owing to Masaccio's death, and was afterwards completed by Filippino. In the scene
where St. Peter is baptising, a nude figure is much admired as it stands among the
others and shivers with the cold, executed in the finest relief, and in a charming style, so
that it has always been held in great esteem and admiration by all artists, both ancient
and modern. For this reason the chape1 has always been frequented by an infinite
number of designers and masters up to the present time, and it still contains some
heads of such naturalness and beauty that it may be affirmed that no master
approached so closely to the moderns as Masaccio. For this cause, is labours deserve
unstinted praise, especially as he paved the way for the good style of our own day. That
this is true is shown by the fact that all the celebrated painters and sculptors from that
time until now have become excellent and distinguished by studying in that chapel, as,
- 159 -
for example, Fra Giovanni da Fiesole, Fra Filippo, Filippino, who completed it, Betllesso
Baldovinetti, Andrea dal Castagno, Andrea del Verrocchio, Domenico del Grillandaio,
Sandro di Botticello, Leonardo da Vinci, Pietro Perugino, Fra Bartolommeo of S. Marco,
Mariotto Albertinelli, the divine Michelagnolo Buonarrotti, Raphael of Urbino also, who
there first laid the foundation of his beautiful style, il Granaccio, Lorenzo di Credi,
Ridolfo del Grillandaio, Andrea del Sarto, il Rosso, il Franciabigio, Baccio Bandinelli,
Alonso Spagnuolo, Jacopo da Pontormo, Pierino del Vaga and Toto del Nunziata, in
short, all who have endeavoured to learn the art have always gone for instruction to this
chapel to grasp the precepts and rules of Masaccio for the proper representation of
figures. If I have failed to mention many foreigners and Florentines in this list of those
who went to study in the chapel, it is because it follows that where the heads of the arts
have gone the members will also go. He has Masaccio's reputation has always stood, it
is nevertheless the firm conviction of many that he would have produced even better
work if death, which carried him off at the age of twenty-six, had not cut short his time.
Whether through envy or because good things do not usually last long, he died in the
flower of his age, and so suddenly that doubts were not wanting that poison was the
cause rather than mere chance.
It is said that when Filippo died Brunellesco heard of his death he said, "We have
experienced a great loss in Masaccio," and he was plunged in deep grief, as the master
had taken great pains to show him many points in perspective and architecture.
Masaccio was buried in the church of the Carmine in the year 1443, and although no
memorial was placed above him at the time, as he had been held in high esteem during
his life, yet he was honoured after his death with the following epitaphs:
That of Annibal Caro:

Pinsi e Ia mia pittura al ver fu pari L'atteggiai, l'avvivai, le diedi il

moto Le diedi affetto. Insegni il Bonarotto A tutti gli altri e da me
solo impair.

That of Fabio Segno:

Invida cur Lachesis primo sub flore juventae Pollice

discindis stamina funereo? Hoc uno occiso innumeros occidis
Apclles: Picturae omnis obit, hoc obeunte, lepos. Hoc sole
cxtincto cxtinguuntur sydera cuiicta. Heu! decus omiie perit
hoc perunte simul.

1)
Maso is an abbreviation for Tommaso, i.e. Thomas. Thus Masolino means little Thomas, and Masaccio
big, building, clumsy Thomas.
2)
Now in the Academia, Florence.
3)
This action, somewhat equivocal in a saint, was committed by St. Julian Hospitaller, owing to a
misapprehension. He spent the remainder of his life in expiation.
4)
Done in 1417. Now considered to be the work of Masolino.
5)
Martin V., 1417-31 and Sigismund, 1410-37; there was only one Emperor of this name.
6)
In 1434.
7)
On 19 April, 1422.
8)
He went twice on embassies, in 1402 and 1425.
9)
About 1425.

- 160 -
 FRA FILIPPO LIPPI
Painter of Florence
(1406 - 1469)

FRA FILIPPO DI TOMMASO LIPPI, the Carmelite, who was born in Florence in a
side street called Ardiglione, under the Canto alla Cuculia, behind the convent of the
Carmelite friars, was left at the age of two in great poverty by the death of his father
Tommaso, and with no one to care for him, as his mother had died shortly after his birth.
Accordingly he remained in the charge of his aunt, Monapaccia, his father's sister, who,
after: rearing him with great difficulty until he attained the age of eight, could no longer
maintain him, and made him a friar in the convent of the Carmine. Here he showed
himself as dexterous and ingenious in all manual exercises as he was clumsy and ill-
fitted to learn letters, for he would never apply his mind or take kindly to them. The boy,
who was called Filippo, the name which he had borne in the world, being with others in
the noviciate under the discipline of the master of grammar, in order that it might be
seen what he was fit for, instead of studying did nothing but cover his books and those
of the others with caricatures. Accordingly the prior determined to give him every
opportunity to learn to paint. The chapel in the Carmine had just been newly painted by
Masaccio, and being very beautiful, greatly delighted Fra Filippo, who frequented it
every day, and was always practising in the company of many youths who spent their
time in drawing there. These he far surpassed in skill and knowledge, so that all agreed
that he ought to do something wonderful in times to come. But in his early as well as in
his mature years he produced such admirable works that he was a miracle. Thus a short
time after he painted in terra verde in the cloister near the Consecration of Masaccio a
pope confirming the rule of the Carmelites, and painted in fresco on several walls in
many parts of the church, notably a St. John the Baptist and some incidents of his life.
And so making progress every day, he had so far acquired the manner of Masaccio,
making his things in a similar manner, that many declared that the spirit of Masaccio
had entered into the body of Fra Filippo.
On a pilaster in the church he made the figure of St. Martial, near the organ,
which brought him great renown, as it would bear comparison with the paintings of
Masaccio. Then hearing himself so greatly praised by the general cry, he boldly
discarded the habit at the age of seven- teen. But one day, while he was in the March of
Ancona on a pleasure excursion with some of his friends, they were all taken while in a
small boat by the light galleys of the Moors which scoured those parts, and being put
into chains they were carried off as slaves to Barbary, where they remained for eighteen
months, enduring great hardships. One day Filippo, who was on very good terms with
his master, had the happy fancy to draw him, and picking up a burnt coal from the floor
he drew his portrait on a white wall, with his Moorish clothes. The other slaves told the
master of this, since it appeared a miracle to them, painting and design being unknown
in those parts, bind this led to Filippo's release from the chains in which he had been
bound for so long a time. It is indeed a glorious tribute to this faculty that one who has
the legal power to condemn and punish should do the contrary, and instead of
punishment and death should give caresses and liberty. After Filippo had done some
things in colours for his master, he was taken in safety to Naples, where he painted a
panel in tempera for King Alfonso, then Duke of Calabria, in the castle chapel where the
guard now is. He afterwards became anxious to return to Florence, remaining there for
some months, painting a fine picture for the nuns of S. Ambruogio at the high altar 1).
This procured for him the favour of Cosimo del Mediei, who became his fast friend. He
did another picture in the chapter-house of S. Croce, and another which was placed in
the Chapel of the Casa Mediei, representing the Nativity of Christ 2). For the wife of
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Cosimo he made a picture of the Nativity and St. John the Baptist 3) to be placed in the
hermitage of the Camaldolites in one of their cells, which she caused to be built for her
devotions, and dedicated to St. John the Baptist. He also did some small scenes to be
sent by Cosimo as a gift to Pope Eugenius IV., the Venetian. By this work Filippo
acquired great favour with the Pope. He is said to have been so amorous that when he
saw a woman who pleased him he would have given all his possessions to have her,
and if he could not succeed in this he quieted the flame of his love by painting her
portrait. This appetite so took possession of him that while the humour lasted he paid
little or no attention to his work. Thus, on one occasion when Cosimo de' Medici was
employing him; he shut him up in the house so that he might not go out and waste time.
He remained so for two days, but overcome by his amorous and bestial desires, he cut
up his sheet with a pair of scissors, and, letting himself down out of the window, devoted
many days to his pleasures. When Cosimo could not find him he caused a search to be
made for him, until' at length Filippo returned to his labours. From that time forward
Cosimo gave him liberty to go and come as he chose, repenting that he had shut him
up, and thinking of his folly and the danger which he might run. For this reason he ever
after sought to hold Filippo by the bonds of affection, and was thus served by him with
greater readiness, for he said geniuses are celestial forms and not pack asses. Filippo
did a picture in the church of S. Maria Primerana on the piazza of Fiesole containing an
Annunciation, most carefully finished, the figure of the angel exhibiting a truly celestial
beauty 4). For the nuns of the Murate he did two pictures, one of an Annunciation placed
at the high altar, containing stories of St. Benedict and St. Bernard, and in the palace of
the Signoria he painted an Annunciation on a panel over a door, and he also made a St.
Bernard there over another door. In the sacristy of S. Spirito at Florence he made a
Madonna surrounded by angels, with saints at the side, a rare work which has always
been held in the highest veneration by our masters here.
In the chapel of the wardens at S. Lorenzo Filippo made another Annunciation and
yet another for the Stufa, which is unfinished. In a chapel in S. Apostolo in the same city
he painted some figures about Our Lady on a panel, and for M. Carlo Marsuppini he did
the altar -piece of the chapel of St. Bernard in the convent of the monks of Monte
Oliveto at Arezzo representing the Coronation of the Virgin, surrounded by many saints,
so well preserved that it looks as if Fra Filippo had just painted it. Here M. Carlo warned
him to take care what he painted, because many of his things were blamed. For this
reason Fra Filippo painted nearly all his figures from that time forward either covered
with draperies or with other inventions, in order to escape such censure. In this work he
drew the portrait of this same M. Carlo. For the nuns of Annalena, at Florence, he
painted a picture of the Manger, and some of his pictures may still be seen at Padua.
He sent to the Cardinal Barbo at Rome two small scenes of tiny figures which were
most excellently done and very care- fully finished. He certainly worked with marvellous
grace, giving his things a wonderful finish, so that they are always valued by artists and
highly esteemed by modern masters; indeed, he will be held in veneration by every age
so long as time will permit his works to remain extant. In Prato, near Florence, where he
had some relations, he remained for many months in the company of Fra Diamante of
the Carmine, for they had been companions and novices together, doing a number of
things in all that district. After this the nuns of S. Margherita employed him to do the
picture of the high altar 5). While at work there he chanced one day to see a daughter of
Francesco Buti, a Florentine citizen, who was there either as a ward or as a nun. Fra
Filippo cast his eyes upon Lucrezia, for that was the girl's name, for she was very
graceful and beautiful, and persuaded the nuns to allow him to paint her as the Virgin
for their work. Becoming more enamoured of her by this work, he subsequently
contrived to take her away from the nuns on the very day that she was going to see the
exhibition of the girdle of Our Lady, an honoured relic of that city. By this mishap the
nuns were covered with shame, while a perpetual gloom settled upon her father

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Francesco, who made every effort to recover her. But whether through fear or some
other cause, she would never return, and remained with Filippo, who had a boy by her,
also called Filippo 6), who afterwards became a great and famous painter like his father.
In S. Domenico at Prato there are two pictures and a Madonna on the screen of S.
Francesco. This was removed from its original position to the place it now occupies, by
cutting away the wall and making a wooden framework. In the Ceppo of Francesco di
Marco there is a small panel by the same hand, with a portrait of the said Francesco,
the originator and founder of that pious house, over a well in a courtyard.
In the Pieve of the town he painted on a small panel over the side door leading to
the staircase the death of St. Bernard, who is healing a number of lame folk who touch
the bier. Here also are the friars weeping for their master, the heads being truly
admirable, the grief of the weeping men being finely represented. Some of the folds of
the friars' hoods are excellent, and deserve the highest praise for their good design,
colouring and composition, and for the grace and proportion displayed by the most
delicate hand of Fra Filippo. The chapel of the high altar of the Pieve was assigned to
him by the wardens, who wished to have a memorial of him 7). This enabled him to
display his skill, the draperies and heads being admirable, not to speak of the general
excellence and artistic qualities of the whole. In this work he made the figures greater
than life-size, thus introducing the modern method of doing things on a large scale.
Some of the figures are dressed in a manner not common at that time, when men began
to emerge from that simplicity which deserves to be called old-fashioned rather than
ancient. The work contains incidents from the life of St. Stephen, patron saint of the
Pieve, arranged on the right-hand wall, to wit, the disputation, stoning and death of the
proto-martyr, the scene in which he is disputing with the Jews displaying such zeal and
fervour that it is difficult to imagine and much more so to describe the hatred, rage and
anger depicted in the faces and attitudes of the Jews at seeing themselves conquered
by him. Filippo has been even more successful in depicting the brutality and fury of
those who are killing him with stones, some picking up large ones and some small, and
grinding their teeth in a horrible manner in their cruelty and fury. And yet, in the midst of
this terrible assault, Stephen, with the utmost calmness, lifts his eyes to heaven and
with the greatest charity and fervour prays to the Eternal Father for the very men who
are killing him. These are fine ideas, and show the inestimable value to painting of
invention and an ability to depict feeling. The artist has observed this in making the
attitudes of those who are burying Stephen so sorrowful, and some so afflicted and
distressed in their mourning, that it is hardly possible to look at them without emotion.
On the other side he did the Nativity, the preaching, the baptism, the banquet of
Herod, and the beheading of St. John the Baptist, the face of the preacher displaying
the divine spirit, while the divers movements of the crowd are expressive of joy and
sorrow, in the women as well as the men, all of them hanging on the ministrations of St.
John. The baptism shows beauty and excellence, and the banquet of Herod the majesty
of the occasion, the address of Herodias, the astonishment and the excessive sorrow of
the guests at the presentation of the head on the charger. About the table are a number
of figures in fine attitudes, and well executed as regards the draperies and expressions
on the faces. Among these Filippo drew his own portrait with the aid of a mirror, clothed
in black in prelate’s habit, together with his pupil, Fra Diamante, in the scene of the
mourning for St. Stephen. Indeed, this work was the most excellent which he produced,
for the reasons given above, or because he made the figures somewhat larger than life-
size, a thing which encouraged those who came after to work on a larger scale. He was
so highly esteemed for his abilities that many blameworthy things in his life were
covered over by his excellencies. In this work he drew the portrait of M. Carlo; natural
son of Cosimo de' Medici, then provost of the church, upon which he and his house
conferred many benefits. After the completion of this work Filippo painted in tempera, in
1463, a picture for the church of S. Jacopo at Pistoia, containing a fine Annunciation, for
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M. Jacopo Bellucci, whose most life-like portrait is drawn there. The house of Pulidoro
Bracciolini contains a picture of the Nativity of the Virgin by him, and the magistracy of
the Eight at Florence have a round Madonna and Child in tempera. In the house of
Ludovico Capponi is a most beautiful Madonna; and in the possession of Rernardo
Vecchietti, a Florentine gentleman of great virtue and respectability is a remarkably fine
small picture by the same hand of St. Augustine in this study. Far better even than these
is a St. Jerome, in penance, of the same size, in the wardrobe of Duke Cosimo.
Remarkable in all his paintings, Fra Filippo surpassed himself in the small ones, making,
‚ them so graceful and so beautiful that nothing better could be desired, as we see by
the predellas of all his paintings. Indeed, such was his excellence that no one surpassed
him in his day, and but few in our own, while Michelagnolo has never tired of singing his
praises and has frequently imitated him. For the old church of S. Domenico at Perugia
Filippo did a picture of Our Lady, with St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Louis and St. Anthony the
abbot, afterwards placed at the high altar. M. Alessandro degli Alessandri, a knight of
that time, and his friend, employed him to do a St. Laurence and other saints for his
church at Vincigliata on the hill of Fiesole, introducing portraits of the knight and his two
sons.
Filippo loved to surround himself with cheerful companions and lived with gaiety. He
taught the art of painting to Fri Diamante, who did a number of pictures in the Carmine
at Prato, and by imitating his master's style won much honour, attaining to the highest
perfection. Among those who studied with Filippo in his youth were Sandro Botticello,
Pisello, Jacopo del Sellaio of Florence, who painted two pictures in S. Friano and one in
the Carmine, in tempera, and countless other masters to whom he taught his art with
unfailing kindness. He lived in honour on his labours, and incurred very heavy expenses
on love intrigues, in which he continued to indulge until his death. Through Cosimo de'
Medici he was requested by the community of Spoleto to decorate the chapel in the
principal church of Our Lady J Working in conjunction with Fra Riamante he had made
good progress with this when death presented him from completing it. It is said that in
one of his everlasting intrigues the relations of the lady had poisoned him. Fra Filippo
finished his career at the age of fifty-seven, in 1438, and by his will left his son Filippo to
the care of Fra Diamante. The boy being then ten years of age learned the art from Fra
Diamante and returned with him to Florence, the monk taking with him 300 ducats which
were due to him by the community. With this money the friar bought some property for
himself, and gave but little to the child. Sandro Botticello, then considered a most
excellent master, took Filippo into his workshop. The father was buried in a tomb of
white and red marble set up by the people of Spoleto in the church which he painted for
them. His death caused great sorrow to his friends, particularly to Cosimo de' Medici
and Pope Eugenius 8), who had endeavoured to legitimatise the union between Filippo
and Lucrezia di Francesco Buti, but the former refused, because he wished to be able to
give full rein to his appetite. During the lifetime of Sixtus IV., Lorenzo de' Medici, being
ambassador of Florence, went by way of Spoleto to as for the body of Fra Filippo which
he wished to place in S. Maria del Fiore at Florence, but they answered that they were
badly provided with things of note, and especially with men of eminence, and asked
leave to possess Filippo as a favour, because Florence had countless distinguished
men, indeed almost a superfluity, so that they could spare this one, and so Lorenzo
failed to carry his point. It is true that, it being decided to honour him in the best possible
way, Lorenzo sent Filippo the son to the Cardinal of Naples at Rome, to make a chapel.
When the Cardinal passed through Spoleto, he caused a marble tomb-to be made
under the organ and above the sacristy, by commission of Lorenzo, on which he
expended zoo gold ducats, paid by Nofriromaboni, director of the hank of the Mediei. He
further obtained the following eprigram from M. Agnolo Poliziano, which was inscribed
on the tomb in antique letters:

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 Conditus hic ego sum pictlirae fama Philippus Nulli ignota meae
est gratia mtra mauus, Artifices potui digitis animare eolores
Sperataque animos fallere voce diu, Ipsa meis stupuit natura
expressa figuris Meque suis fassa est artibus esse parem,
Marmoreo tumuio Medices Larnrentius hie me Condidit, ante
humiil pulvere teetus eram.
Filippo designed excellently, as may be seen in our hook of the drawings of the most
famous painters, and especially in some sheets containing his designs for the picture of
S. Spirito, and in others of the chapel of Prato.

1) A Coronation of the Virgin, now in the Accademia, painted in 1447.

2) Now in the Uffizi.
3) Now in the Accademia, Florence.
4) Painted in 1447, now in the National Gallery, London.
5) About 1450. Born in 1457 and known to fame as Filippino Lippi.
6) Now in the Maicia Gallery at Prato.
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7) Now in the Duomo. Begun in 1456.
8) 467-9. Both were dead before Fra Filippo.

Filippo Lippi
Painter of Florence
(1457-1504)

ABOUT the same time there lived in Florence a painter of the rarest genius and
most charming invention, named Filippo, the son of Fra Filippo of the Carmine. He
followed in the footsteps of his dead father, and was kept and taught while still no
more‚than a boy by Sandro Botticello, in spite of the fact that his father on his death-bed
had recommended him to his intimate friend Fra Diamante, whom he regarded as a
brother. Filippo's invention was so copious, and his ornamentation so curious and
original, that he was the first among the moderns to employ the new method of varying
the costumes, and to dress his figures in the short antique vestments 1). He was also the
first to bring to light the grotesques resembling antiques, executing them in coloured
clay in friezes, with more design and grace than his predecessors. The strange fancies
which he introduced into his paintings are truly marvellous; moreover, he never did a
single work without making use of carefully studied Roman antiquities, such as vases,
buskins, trophies, banners, crests, ornaments of temples, head-dresses, strange
fashions for the body, armour, scimetars, swords, togas, mantles and such like, so that
a great and everlasting debt is due to him for having enriched art with such beautiful
ornaments.
In his early youth Filippo completed the Brancacci Chapel in the Carmine at
Florence 2), begun by Masolino and not quite finished by Masaccio at his death. Filippo
put the finishing touches, and did the remainder of a scene where Peter and Paul are
raising the emperor's nephew 3), the child, who is nude, being a portrait of Francesco
Granacci the painter, then a boy. He also introduced portraits of M. Tommaso Soderini,
knight, Piero Guicciardini, father of M. Francesco the historian, Piero del Pugliese and
Luigi Pulci the poet, as well as Antonio Pollajuolo and himself, young as he was. As he
never drew himself again in his life, it is not possible to obtain a portrait of him at a riper
age. He further drew Sandro Botticello, his master, and many other friends and great
men, including II Raggio the broker, a very clever and witty man, who made the whole of
Dante's Hell in relief in a shell, with all the circles and pits and the well, including all the
figures and smallest details so graphically described by the great poet, a work
considered marvelous in its time. In the Chapel of Francesco del Pugliese at Campora,
belonging to the monks of the abbey outside Florence, Filippo painted in tempera the
vision of St. Dernard 4), our Lady appearing to him with some angels as he is writing in a
wood. It is a remarkable work for the rocks, books, grass and such things which it
contains. He introduced a portrait of this Francesco so life-like that it only lacks speech.
During the siege it was removed for safety to the sacristy of the Badia at Florence. In S.
Spirito in the same city he painted a panel 5) with Our Lady, St. Martin, St. Nicholas and
St. Catherine for Tanai de' Nerli. In the Rucellai Chapel in S. Brancazio he did a panel,
and in S. Raffaello a crucifix and two figures on a gold ground 6). In front of the sacristy
of S. Francesco outside the S. Miniato gate he did a God the Father with a number of
babes. At the Palco, a place of the bare-footed friars outside Prato, he did a panel 7) and
in the audience-chamber of the priors of the district he painted another small one 8),
which has been much admired, of Our Lady, St. Stephen and St. John the Baptist. Next
the Mercatale at Prato and opposite the nuns of S. Margherita, near some of their
houses, he painted in fresco a lovely Madonna in a tabernacle with a choir of seraphim
on a field of glory. The serpent beneath St. Margaret in this picture is most curious and
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terrible, displaying its fangs, its fire and death-dealing weapons. The rest of the work is
coloured with such freshness and brilliance that it merits the highest praise. He also did
some things at Lucca, notably a panel in a chapel of the church of S. Ponziano of the
friars of Monte Oliveto, in the middle of which is a fine St. Andrew, standing in a niche,
by that great sculptor Andrea Sansovino.
Although invited to Hungary by King Matthias, Filippo would not go, but did two
beautiful panels 9) for the king in Florence and sent them to him, one of them being the
king's portrait as shown on his medals. He also sent some works to Genoa, and did a
St. Sebastian 10) for the left-hand side of the chapel of the high altar of S. Domenico at
Bologna which deserves every praise. For Tanai de' Nerli he did another panel at S.
Salvadore outside Florence, and for Piero del Pugliese, a friend, a scene of small
figures, executed with such art and diligence that when another citizen desired one like
it he refused, saying that it was not possible. After these things he did a stupendous
work at Rome for Olivieri Caraffa, cardinal of Naples, friend of Lorenzo de' Medici the
elder, at the latter's request. On the way he passed through Spoleto, at Lorenzo's
desire, to give directions for the making of a marble tomb for Fra' Filippo, his father, at
the cost of that prince, who had not been able to obtain the body from the Spoletans for
burial in Florence. So Filippo designed the tomb, and Lorenzo caused it to be made
sumptuous and beautiful; as is related elsewhere. Arrived at Rome, Filippo decorated a
chapel in the Minerva 11) for Cardinal Caraffa, painting scenes from the life of St.
Thomas Aquinas, and some beautiful and ingenious poetical compositions, for which he
had a natural talent and devised them entirely himself. Here we see Faith taking captive
Infidelity, all heretics and infidels. Beneath are Hope and Despair, with many other
virtues subduing the opposing vices. St. Thomas is seated in a chair engaged in a
discussion, defending the Church against a school of heretics. Beneath him are the
vanquished forms of Sabellius, Arius, Averroes and others, gracefully dressed. Filippo's
own design for this scene is in my book, as well as some others, done with a skill which
is unsurpassable. Here also is the crucifix saying to Thomas as he prays, Bene scripsisti
de ine, Thonza, with a companion, who stands amazed at hearing the crucifix speak. A
panel contains the Annunciation, and on the walls is an Assumption, with the twelve
Apostles surrounding the tomb. This work has always been considered excellent and
highly finished for a fresco. It contains a portrait of the Cardinal Olivieri Caraffa, bishop
of Ostia, who was buried here in 1511 12) , and afterwards taken to Naples to the
episcopal church.
When Filippo returned to Florence he undertook to do the Chapel of Filippo Strozzi
the elder in S. Maria Novella 13), and he began it, but after doing the ceiling he had to
return to Rome, where he made a tomb for the cardinal in stucco. He also did a small
chapel next to this in plaster, with some figures, some of which were by Raffaellino del
Garbo, his pupil. The work was valued at 2000 gold ducats, without reckoning the cost
of the blue and of the assistants, by Maestro Lanzilago of Padua, and by Antonio, called
Antoniasso, a Roman, two of the best painters then in Rome. After receiving this sum
Filippo returned to Florence, where he completed the Strozzi Chapel, which excites the
admiration of all who see it for its beauty and art, and for the variety of curious things
which it contains, such as armed men, temples, vases, crests, armour, trophies, spears,
banner, habits, bus kills, head-dresses, priests' vestments, and other things deserving
the greatest praise for their arrangement. It contains the raising of Drvsiana by St. John
the Evangelist, with a remarkable expression of the amazement of the bystanders at
seeing the dead raised to life by a simple sign of the cross. The one who marvels most
is a priest or philosopher clothed in the antique style, and holding a vase in his hand.
Among a number of women here in various dresses is a boy frightened by a red-spotted
spaniel who has seized his tunic, running to hide himself in his mother's dress,
exhibiting no less fear than she does at the resurrection of Drusiana. Near this, where
St. John is in the boiling oil, he shows the rage of the judge who is commanding the fire
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to be made hotter, while the flames fly out in the faces of those engaged in the task, all
the figures being in varied and well-chosen attitudes. On the other wall is St. Philip in
the Temple of Mars, making the serpent come from beneath the altar, whose poisonous
breath kills the king's son. The hole from which the reptile issued is shown in some
steps, and is so well painted that one evening one of Filippo's boys, who wished to hide
something from someone who was about to enter, ran hastily to this hole to put it-in,
believing it to be real. Filippo also displayed such art in painting the serpent that the
poison the stench and the fire seem real and not painted. Very much admired also is his
conception of the crucifixion of the saint. He imagined, following the legend, that the
saint was stretched on the cross as it lay on the ground, and that it was afterwards
raised by means of ropes and pulleys. These are fixed to some broken antiquities,
fragments of pillars and pedestals, and pulled by the attendants. On one side the weight
of the cross against it, and on the other a man holds it in position with a stake, while two
others are relieving the weight so as to allow the cross to enter a hole in the ground
prepared for it. In short, it is a picture which it would be impossible for any invention,
design, industry or artifice to improve. It also contains many grotesques and other things
in grisaille, made like marble and designed with originality and beauty. For the
Scopetine friars at S. Donato, outside Florence, called Scopeto, which is now in ruins,
he did a panel of the Magi offering their gifts to Christ 14), very carefully finished, and
containing the portrait of Pier Francesco de' Medici the elder, son of Lorenzo de' Bicci,
as an astrologer with a quadrant in his hand, as well as others of Giovanni son of Sig.
Giovanni de' Medici and another Pier Francesco, Giovanni's brother, with other noted
personages. It contains Moors, Indians, and very strange dresses and a most curious
cottage. For Lorenzo de' Medici he began a sacrifice in fresco in a loggia at Poggio a
Caiano, which was left unfinished. For the nuns of S. Jeronimo, upon the hill of S.
Giorgio in Florence, he began the picture of the high altar, which was continued with
considerable success after his death by Alonso Berughetta, a Spaniard, although
completed by other painters on the latter going to Spain 15). In the palace of the Signoria
he painted a panel of the room where the Eight hold their sittings, and designed another
large one to adorn the council chamber but he died before he had begun to carry it out,
although the frame for it was carved, and is now in the possession of Baccio Baldini, an
excellent Florentine physician and an admirer of all talent. For the church of the Badia at
Florence Filippo did a very fine St. Jerome. For the high altar of the friars of the
Nunziata he began a Deposition from the Cross 16), but had only half finished the figures
when he was attacked by a raging fever and by the constriction of the throat, commonly
known as quinsy, of which he died in a few days at the age of forty-five.
He had invariably shown himself courteous, affable and gentle, and was lamented
by all who had known him, especially by the youth of his noble city, who had always
made use of his unrivalled genius in devising things for public festivals, masquerades
and other spectacles. His excellence was such that he obliterated the stain of his birth, if
any there be, not only by his eminence as an artist, although he was inferior to no one in
his day, but by his modest and courteous bearing, and, abode all, by his lovable nature,
the true power of which to win the affections of everyone can only be realised by those
who have experienced it. Filippo was buried by his children in S. Michele Bisdomini on
13th April, 1505. While they were carrying him to burial all the shops in the via de' Servi
were closed, which is sometimes done at the funerals of men of eminence.
His pupils were far inferior to him. Among them was Raffaellino del Garbo, who did a
number of things as I shall have occasion to say, although he did not realise the
expectations excited about him during Filippo's lifetime, when he himself was a boy, for
the fruit does not always equal the flowers which appear in the spring. Nor did Niccolo
Zoccolo, whom some call Niccolo Cartoni, another of Filippo's pupils, achieve great
success. He did the wall over the altar of S. Giovanni Decollato at Arezzo, and a small
panel of merit in S. Agnesa, as well as a panel in the abbey of S. Fiora over a lavabo, of
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Christ asking drink of the woman of Samaria, with many other works too mediocre to
deserve notice.

1)
In 1506.
2)
1484 and 1485.
3)
Vasari seems to be confusing the legends of Peter and Paul here.
4)
1480-82, now in the Badia, Florence.
5)
1493-4.
6)
The former, a Madonna with St. Jerome and St. Dominicis in the National Gallery, London; the
Crucifixion is in the Berlin Gallery.
7)
Of Christ appearing to the Virgin, painted in 1495, now in the Pinacothek, Munich.
8)
In 1503.
9)
In 1488.
10)
Dated 1501.
11)
1488-93.
12)
He did not die until 1551.
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13)
He was at work there 1484-1502.
14)
Dated 1496, now in the Uffizi.
15)
Dated 1485, now in the Uffizi.
16)
Begun in 1503, finished by Perugino in 1505, now in the Accademia, Florence.

ANDREA MANTEGNA
Painter of Mantua
(1431-1506)

THOSE who work with skill, and have received a part of their reward 1), know what
new vigour encouragement imparts to them, for when men expect honour and rewards
they do not feel the toil and fatigue, while their talents become more remarkable every
day. True skill does not always meet with such recognition and reward as Andrea
Mantegna received 2). He was born of very humble stock in the territory of Mantua 3) and
though as a child he used to tend the flocks, he rose by his merits and by good fortune
to the rank of knight, as I shall presently relate. When he was a little grown he was
taken to the city, where he studied painting under Jacopo 4) Squarcione, a painter of
Padua, who took the boy to his house, and, discovering his great talents, subsequently
adopted him, as M. Girolamo Campagnuola writes in a Latin letter to M. Leonieo Timeo,
a Greek philosopher, where he notices some of the old painters who served the
Carrara, lords of Padua. Squarcione, well aware that he was not the most skilful painter
imaginable, in order that Andrea might learn more than his master knew, made him
study from plaster casts of antique statues and from paintings on canvas, which he sent
for from various places, but chiefly Tuscany and Rome. In these and other ways Andrea
learned much in his youth. The rivalry also of Marco Zoppo of Bologna, Dario da Trevisi
and Niccolo Pizzolo of Padua, pupils of his master and adoptive father, afforded him no
little aid and stimulus. When no more than seventeen he did the picture of the high altar
of S. Sofiaat Padua, which might well be the production of a skilled veteran and not of a
mere boy. After this the chapel of St. Christopher, in the church of the Eremitani friars of
St. Augustine in Padua, was allotted to Squarcione, who entrusted the work to Niceolo
Pizzolo and Andrea. Niccolo did God the Father seated in majesty in the midst of the
Doctors of the Church, a painting reputed to be no whit inferior to those of Andrea there.
Indeed, though Niceolo did but few things, they were all good, and if he had been as
fond of painting as of arms he would have become excellent, and possibly might have
enjoyed a longer life, but he always went armed, and having many enemies, he was
attacked one day as he was returning from work and treacherously killed. He left no
other works, so far as I am aware, except another God the Father in the chapel of
Urbano Perfetto 5).
Andrea, being thus left to himself, did the four Evangelists in the chapel,
considered very fine. Great hopes were now conceived of Andrea, owing to this and
other works, and as success brings success, he took to wife the daughter of Jacopo
Fidlini 6), the Venetian painter and father of Gentile and Giovanni, and the rival of
Squarcione. When Squarcione heard this, he was angry with Andrea, and they were
enemies from that time. Whereas Squarcione had previously praised Andrea's works,
he now blamed them publicly, especially those in the chapel of St. Christopher, saying
they were bad because he had imitated marble antiques, from which it is impossible to
learn painting properly, since stones always possess a certain harshness and never
have that softness peculiar to flesh and natural objects, which fall in folds and exhibit
various movements. He added that the figures would have been greatly improved if
Andrea had made them of the colour of marble and not in so many hues, because his
painted figures resembled ancient marble statues and other such things, and were not
like living beings. These strictures wounded Andrea, but on the other hand they did him
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much good, because he recognised that there was a great deal of truth in them, and so
he set himself to draw living persons. He made such progress in this that in the
remaining scene in the chapel he showed himself quite as able to learn from Nature as
from objects of art. But nevertheless Andrea always maintained that the good antique
statues were more perfect and beautiful than anything in Nature. He believed that the
masters of antiquity had combined in one figure the perfections which are rarely found
together in one individual, and had thus produced single figures of surpassing beauty.
He considered that statues displayed the muscles, veins and nerves in a more
accentuated manner than is found in nature, where they are covered by the soft flesh
which rounds them off, except in the ease of old or emaciated people such as are
usually avoided by artists. He clung tenaciously to this opinion, a fact which renders his
style somewhat sharp, more closely resembling stone than living flesh. However this
may be in this last scene, which gave great satisfaction, Andrea drew Squarcione as a
small, fat man holding a lance and a sword. He also introduced the portraits of Noferi di
M. Palla Strozzi of Florence; M. Girolamo dalla Valle, an excellent physician; M.
Bonifazio Fuzimeliga, doctor of laws; Niccolo, the goldsmith of Pope Innocent VIII., and
Baldassarre da Leccio, his intimate friends, all clothed in shining white armour, in a very
fine style. He also drew M. Bonramino, knight and a bishop of Hungary, a very foolish
man, who wandered about Rome all day and at night slept like the beasts in the stables.
Another portrait is that of Marsilio Pazzo, who is the executioner cutting off the head of
St. James, and he also drew himself. In short, this work, by its excellence, greatly
increased his reputation 7). While engaged upon this chapel And repainted a picture
which was placed in S. Justina, at the altar of St. Luke 8) and then did in fresco the arch
over the door of S. Antonio, where he wrote his name. In Verona he did a picture 9) for
the altar of S. Cristofano and of S. Antonio and some figures at the corner of the Piazza
della Paglia. He did the high-altar picture for the friars of Monte Oliveto 10) in S. Maria in
Organo, a lovely work, and also that of S. Zeno. While at Verona 11) he sent pictures to
various places, one of which was owned by his friend and relation the abbot of Fiesole.
It represents a Madonna from the waist upwards, with the Child, and some heads of
angels singing, done with admirable grace. This picture is now in the library of that
place, and has always been highly valued.
While in Mantua Andrea had served Ludovico Gonzaga the marquis, a lord who
always valued him and favoured his talent. He painted for this lord a small panel in the
chapel of the castle of Mantua containing some scenes with figures of no great size, but
very beautiful. In the same place there are a number of figures foreshortened from
below, which are much admired, because, although the drapery is crude and slight and
the manner somewhat dry, the whole is executed with great skill and diligence 12).
For the same marquis Andrea painted the Triumph of Caesar in the palace of S.
Sebastiano at Mantua, and this is the best thing which he ever did. It shows in an
excellent arrangement the beauty and decoration of the chariot, a man cursing the
victor, the relations, perfumes, incense, sacrifices, priests, bulls crowned for sacrifice,
prisoners, booty taken by the soldiers, the array of squadrons, elephants, spoils,
victories, cities and fortresses represented in various cars, with a quantity of trophies on
spears and arms for the head and back, coiffures, ornaments and vases without
number. Among the spectators is a woman holding a child by the hand, who has run a
thorn into his foot, and he is weeping and showing it to his mother very gracefully and
naturally. Andrea, as I may have intimated elsewhere, had the admirable idea in this
work of placing the plane on which the figures stood higher than the point of view, and
while showing the feet of those in the foreground, he concealed those of the figures
farther back, as the nature of the point of view demanded. The same method is applied
to the spoils, vases and other implements and ornaments. The same idea was observed
by Andrea degli Impiccati 13) in his Last Supper in the refectory of S. Maria Nuova. Thus
we see that at that time men of genius were busily engaged in investigating and
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imitating the truths of Nature. And, in a word, the entire work could not be made more
beautiful or improved, and if the marquis valued Andrea before, his affection and
esteem were greatly increased. What is more, Andrea became so famous that his
renown reached Pope Innocent VIII., who, having heard of his excellence in painting
and his other good qualities with which he was marvellously endowed, sent for him and
for several others to adorn with paintings the walls of the Belvedere, which was just
finished. Arrived at Rome with much favour and honour from the marquis, who made
him a knight, Andrea was kindly received by the Pope, and immediately employed to do
a small chapel in the place mentioned 14). He carried this out with great diligence and
care, and so minutely that the vaulting and the walls look like an illumination rather than
a painting. The largest figures there are over the altar, done in fresco like the rest, and
representing St. John baptising Christ, while some others are undressing as if they
would be baptised 15). One among them, wishing to remove a stocking which clings to
his leg owing to the sweat, pulls it off inside out across his other leg, while his
expression clearly indicates the effort and inconvenience. This fancy excited great
wonder in those who saw it at the time. It is said that the Pope, on account of his
numerous engagements, did not pay Mantegna so often as the artist's needs required,
and that the latter, in painting some of the Virtues in that work, introduced Equity. The
Pope, going one day to see the work asked what the figure was, and on learning that
she represented Equity, he replied, "You should have associated Patience with her."
The painter understood what was meant and never uttered another word. On the
completion of the work, the Pope sent Andrea back to the duke richly rewarded and
highly favoured.
Whilst Andrea was working at Rome he painted, besides the chapel, a small picture
of Our Lady and the Child sleeping 16). The background is a mountain with men
quarrying stones, executed with great labour and patience, so that it would seem all but
impossible to do such delicate work with the brush. It is today in the hands of Don
Francesco Medici, prince of Florence, who keeps it among his choicest possessions. In
my book there is half a folio sheet with a drawing in grisaille by Andrea of Judith putting
the head of Holofernes into a bag held by her Moorish slave. It is done in chiaroscuro in
a style no longer in use, as he has left the lights unpainted, and so clearly marked that
the hairs and other delicate things may be seen as carefully done as if they had been
painted with the brush, so that this may in some sense be called a coloured work rather
than a drawing.
Like Pollajuolo, Andrea delighted in copper engraving, and, among other things,
reproduced his Triumphs. They were greatly valued, because better ones had not then
been seen. Among his last works was a panel at S. Maria della Vittoria, a church built
under his direction by the Marquis Francesco to celebrate his victory at the River Taro
when he was general of the Venetians against the French 17). It is painted in tempera,
and was placed at the high altar. Our Lady with the Child is erected upon a pedestal;
beneath her are St. Michael the Archangel, St. Anne and Joach in presenting the
marquis, who is drawn from life most naturally, while the Madonna stretches out her
hand to him. This world, which gives pleasure to everyone, so delighted the marquis
that he rewarded the genius and the pains of Andrea most liberally, the painter retaining
to the end his honourable rank of knight, his works being admired by princes
everywhere. Lorenzo da Lendinara, a rival of Andrea, was considered an excellent
painter at Padua, and did some things in clay in the church of S. Antonio, and others of
no great value. He maintained a close friendship with Mario da Trevisi and Mario Zoppo
of Bologna, because they had been fellow-pupils of Squarcione. Marco did a loggia for
the Minorites at Padua, which serves as their chapter-house, and a picture at Pesaro,
which is now in the new church of S. Giovanni Evangelista. In one picture he drew the
portrait of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro 18), when he was captain of the Florentines.
Another friend of Mantegna was Stefano, painter of Ferrara, whose works were few but
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meritorious. The ornamentation of the arch of S. Antonio at Padua is by him, as well as
the Virgin Mary, called del Pilastro.
To return to Andrea. He built and painted a most beautiful house at Mantua for his
own use, and lived there all his life. He died at the age of sixty-six in 1517, and was
buried honourably in S. Andrea, the following epitaph being placed upon his tomb, over
which is his portrait in bronze:

Esse parem hunc noris, si non praeponis, Apelli, Aenea

Mantineasqui simulacra vides.

Andrea was so gentle and amiable in all his acts that he will always be remembered,
not only in his own country, but throughout the world. Thus he deserves the reference of
Ariosto as much for his courteous manners as for the excellence of his‚painting. I refer
to the passage at the beginning of Canto XXXIII., where, in enumerating the most
celebrated painters of the time, the poet says:

Leonardo, Andrea Mantegna, Gian Bellino

Andrea improved the foreshortening of figures as seen from below, and this was a
difficult and fine invention. He was also fond, as I have said, of copper engraving, a very
remarkable process, by means of which the world has been able to see the
Bacchanalia, the battle of the sea-monsters, the Deposition from the Cross, the Burial of
Christ and the Resurrection, with Longinus and St. Andrew, all works of Mantegna, as
well as the styles of all the artists who have ever lived.

1)
1461 c. 1521.
2)
It is the work of Agostino di Duccio.
3)
He was born at Vicenza.
4)
Rectius Francesco.
5)
The urban prefect, not a proper name.
6)
Nicolosia, in 1454.
7)
He was at work in the chapel from 1448 to 1455.
8)
Now in the Brera, Milan, painted 1453.
9)
A Madonna enthroned, with saints.
10)
In 1496. (4)1457-9.
11)
The Triptych now in the Uffizzi, painted about 1464, and representing the Adoration of the Magi, with
the Circumcision on one side and the Ascension on the other.
12)
Now at Hampton Court; painted about 1484-94.
- 173 -
13)
i.e. AIidrea del Castagno.
14)
In 1488.
15)
Destroyed in 1780 to erect the Museo Pio-Clementino.
16)
The Madonna of the Grotto, now in the Uffizi, dated 1491.
17)
To celebrate the battle of Fornovo, fought in 1495, and painted in the following year; now in the Louvre.
18)
Now at Berlin; dated 1471.

MICHELOZZO MICHELOZZI
Sculptor and Architect of Florence
(1396-1472)

If only men realised that they may live to an age when they can no longer work,
there would not be so many who are compelled to beg in their old age, after having
spent lavishly in their youth, when their considerable gains, blinding them to good
counsel, caused them to spend more than was necessary, and much more than was
fitting. Therefore, seeing the stigma that attaches to those who have descended from
affluence to penury, everyone ought to endeavour by an honourable and temperate life
not to be obliged to beg in his old age. Whoever will act like Michelozzo, who in this
respect did not imitate his master Donato, only copying his ability, will live honourably all
his life and will not be obliged to go about miserably seeking a livelihood in his last
years.
In his youth Michelozzo studied sculpture and design with Donatello, and
whenever a difficulty presented itself, whether in clay or wax, or with the marble, he
worked so hard that his productions always displayed genius and great talent. But in
one thing he surpassed many and even himself, for after Bruneling a useful and
beautiful division into apartments. The cellars are dug out to a depth of four braccia, with
three above ground for the sake of the light, and comprise the buttery and larders 1). On
the ground-floor there are two courtyards with magnificent loggie, communicating with
salons, chambers, anti-chambers, studies, lavatories, kitchens, wells, secret and public
staircases, and upon each floor are the dwellings and apartments for a family, with
every convenience not only for a private citizen as Cosimo then was, but for a king,
however renowned and great, so that in our own day kings, emperors, popes and all the
illustrious princes of Europe have been comfortably entertained thereto the equal glory
of the magnificence of Cosimo, and of Michelozzo's excellence as an architect 2). When
Cosimo was exiled in 1433, Michelozzo, who greatly loved him and was very faithful to
him, voluntarily accompanied him to Venice, and was with him during his stay there.
Accordingly, besides the many desigus and models which he made there of public and
private dwellings for the friends of Cosimo, and for many noblemen, he made by
Cosimo's order, and at his expense, the library of the monastery of S. Giorgio Maggiore,
a place of the black monks of St. Justina, which was finished not only with walls, seats,
wood-work and other ornaments, but filled with many books. This constituted the
diversion and pastime of Cosimo until, being recalled in 1434 to his native place, he
returned in triumph and Michelozzo with him. While Michelozzo was in Florence the
public palace of the Siguoria began to show signs of age, because some columns of the
courtyard gave way, owing to the great weight upon them, the foundation being weak
and awry, and possibly because the pieces were badly joined and badly built. Whatever
the cause may have been, the remedy was entrusted to Michelozzo, who willingly
accepted the task, because near S. Barnabaat, Venice he had successfully dealt with a
similar danger. A nobleman who owned a house which was in danger of falling gave the
charge of it to Miehelozzo.
As Michelagnolo Bonarotti has told me, he secretly caused a column to be made
and collected a number of props, hid the whole in a boat in which he entered the house
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with some builders, and in a single night he had propped up the house and secured the
column. Encouraged by this experience Michelozzo repaired the danger at the palace,
winning honour for himself and for those who had favoured him by giving him such a
charge, and he made new foundations and rebuilt the columns in their present state,
having first made a framework of thick beams and strong uprights to support the centres
of the arches, made of walnut wood, which together bore the weight originally sustained
by the columns 3). Then having gradually removed the badly joined pieces, he replaced
them by pieces prepared with care, so that the building has suffered no harm, and has
not moved a hair's-breadth. In order that his columns should be distinguished from the
others, he made some octagonal ones at the angles, with capitals carved with leaves in
the modern fashion, and others round, which may easily be distinguished from the old
ones made by Arnolfo. The government of the city afterwards ordained, by Michelozzo's
advice, that the arches of the columns should be eased and the weight of the walls
upon them lightened, by rebuilding the courtyard afresh from the arches upwards,
making windows in the modern style, like those which he had made for Cosimo in the
courtyard of the palace of the Medici, and that bosses might be carved on the walls for
the gold lilies, which may still be seen there. All this was carried out by Michelozzo with
speed. In a line with the windows of the courtyard in the second story he made round
openings, as a variant from the windows, to give light to the middle apartments above
the first floor, where the hall of the Two Hundred now is. The third floor, now tenanted
by the Signori and gonfaloniere, he made more ornate, separating off some chambers
for the Signori in a line on the side towards S. Pietro Seheraggio, whereas they had
previously slept all together in one room. There were eight of these chambers for the
Signori, and a larger one for the gonfaloniere, and they all communicated with a
passage, the windows of which looked out on the courtyard, Above this he made
another convenient series of rooms for the servants of the palace, one of which, where
the Treasury now is, contains the portrait of Charles, son of King Robert, Duke of
Calbria kneeling before a Madonna by Giotto.
He also made the quarters for the pages, waiters, trumpeters, musicians, pipers,
mace- bearers, ushers, heralds, and all the other apartments necessary in a palace of
this description. At the top of the balustrade he arranged a stone cornice, encircling the
courtyard, and never this a water-tank to collect the rain and supply some fountains at
certain times. Michelozzo also restored the chapel where the Mass is heard, and many
chambers near it, decorating the ceiling with gold lilies on a blue ground; for the upper
and lower apartments of the palace he made new ceilings, covering all those already
existing in the antique style. In short, he gage it every perfection that becomes such a
building. He caused the water from the wells to reach the top floor, to which it was easily
raised by means of a wheel. One thing only his genius was unable to remedy, namely,
the public staircase, which was ill contrived from the first, ill placed and badly made,
steep and without light, the steps being of wood from the first floor up- wards.
Nevertheless, he contrived that the entrance to the courtyard should have a flight of
round steps and a door with pilasters of hard stone, surmounted by fine capitals carved
by his hand, and a cornice and double architrave with a well designed frieze, in which
he arranged all the arms of the commune. He further made all the steps of‚ hard stone
up to the level of the Signoria's quarters, and fortified it at the top and in the middle with
two portcullis, in case of riots, making at the top a door called "The Chain," where an
usher Was always stationed to open and shut it according as he was directed by the
governor. He strengthened the tower of the campanile with large iron stays, as it had
cracked with the weight on the part which was falsely placed, namely, that above the
cross-beams towards the piazza. ~d ultimately he so greatly improved and restored the
palace that he won commendations from all the city, and amongst other rewards was
made a member of the Collegio, a very honourable magistracy in Florence 4). If anyone
thinks that I have dealt at greater length with this matter than was necessary I must be

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excused, because after I had shown in the Life of Arnolfo that the original construction in
1298 was built out of the square and devoid of all reasonable measure, with unequal
columns in the courtyard, large and small arches, inconvenient staircases, and the
rooms awry and out of proportion, it was necessary that I should show to what condition
the ingenuity and judgment of Michelozzo brought it, although even he could not make it
a convenient place to inhabit, for no one could live there without the utmost discomfort.
When Duke Cosimo made it his residence in 1538, he began to bring it to a better
form, but as his ideas were never understood or known by the architects whom he
employed on the work for many years, he tried to see if it was not possible to repair the
old building without destroying it, since it possessed some amount of good, by making
the stairs and inconvenient apartments in better order and proportion, according to the
plan ho conceived. Accordingly he sent to Rome for Giorgio Vasari, painter and
architect of Arezzo, who was serving Pope Julius III., and gave him a commission not
only to arrange the rooms which he had begun in the upper part opposite the Corn
Market, which were awry owing to the defects of the ground plan, but to contrive a plan
whereby, without ruining the existing building, he might so arrange the interior of the
palace that it would be possible to go from one part to another by secret and public
stairs, and as easily as possible. Whilst the apartments already begun were adorned
with gilt ceilings and oil-paintings, and the walls with fresco paintings, some being
worked in stucco, Giorgio did away entirely with the plan of the palace, both the new
and the old, and having long and carefully studied the matter, he began to bring it
gradually to a good form, and to reunite the disconnected apartments; hardly destroying
anything that was already there, though some of the rooms were on one level and some
on another. But in order that the duke should seethe whole design, he made a wooden
model to scale in the course of six months of the entire structure, which has rather the
disposition and size of a castle than a palace. The model pleased the duke, and in
accordance with it many convenient rooms were connected and made, and pleasant
staircases, both public and private, communicating with every floor, in this manner
relieving the salons which had been like a public street; for it had not been possible to
go from one floor to another without passing through the middle of them, and the whole
is magnificently adorned with a variety of paintings. Finally, the roof of the great hall was
‚raised twelve braccia above its original height. Thus if Arnolfo, Michelozzo and the
others who worked on that building from its foundation should return to life, they would
not recognise it, and would take it for another and a new structure.
But to return to Michelozzo. The church of S. Giorgio being given to the friars of S.
Domenic of Fiesoie, they only remained there from mid-July to the end of January,
because cosimo de' Medici and his brother Lorenzo obtained for them from Pope
Eugenius the church and convent of S. Marco, where the Silvestrine monks had
originally been stationed, to whom S. Giorgio was given in exchange. The Dominicans
being much inclined to religion and to the divine service and worship, ordained that the
convent of S. Marco should be rebuilt on a larger and more magnificent scale from the
design and model of Michelozzo, with all the conveniences which the friars could desire.
It was begun in 1437, the first part constructed being the section which answers to the
place above the old refectory, opposite the duke's stables, which Duke Lorenzo de'
Mcdici had previously caused to be built. In this part twenty coins wore constructed and
roofed in, while the wooden furniture of the refectory was supplied and the whole
finished in its present condition. From that point the work was not pursued for sometime,
as the friars were awaiting the result of a lawsuit brought it against them by Maestro
Stofano, general of the Silvestrines, who claimed the convent. When this was concluded
in favour of, the friars of S. Marco, the building was pursued. But as the pnncipal chapel
had been built by Scrpino Bonaccorsi, there arose a dispute afterwards with a lady of
the Caponsacchi, and through her with Mariotto Banchi, which afterwards led to endless
litigation. Mariotto gave the chapel to Cosimo de' Medici after having deprived
- 176 -
Agnolodella Casa of it, to whom the Silvestrines had either given or sold it, and Cosimo
gave Mariotto 500 crowns for it. After Cosimo had in like manner bought from the
company of the Holy Spirit the site where the choir now is, the chapel, the tribune and
the choir were erected from designs by Michelozzo, and completed by 1439 5). After this
the library was constructed, to braccia long and in broad both above and below,
furnished with 64 cases of cypress wood full of the most beautiful books. The dormitory
was the next thing to be finished, being made square, and then the cloister and all the
other apartments of the convent, which is believed to be the just appointed, fine stand
most convenient in all Italy, thanks to the talents and industry of Michelozzo, who
completed it in 1452. It is said that Cosimo expended 36,000 ducats upon it, and that
while it was building he gave the friars 366 ducats a year for their living. Concerning the
building and consecration of that temple there is an inscription on a marbles lab over the
door leading into the sacristy which reads as follows:

Cum hoc templum Marc ~vaiigelistae dicatum magnincis

sumptibuscl. v. cosmi Medicis tandem absolutum esset, Eugenius
Quartus RomanusPontifex maxima Cardinalium Arcliiepiscoporvm,
Episcoporvm.aliorumque sacerdotum frequentia comitatus, id
celeberriino Epipbaniaedie solemni more servato consecravit.
Tum etiam quotannis omnibus, quieodem die festo annuas
statasque consecrationis ceremonias castepieque celebraverint,
viserintve teillporibus luendis peccatis suisdebiti septem annos
totidemque quadragesimas apostolica remisitauctoritato A.M.
cccc. XLII.

It was also from Michelozzo's design that Cosimo made the noviciate of S. Croce at
Florence, the chapel thereof and the passage leading from the church to the sacristy, to
the noviciate, and to the stairs of the dormitory; the beauty, convenience and grace of
these not being one whit inferior to any of the buildings erected by the truly magnificent
Cosimo de' Medici or by Michelozzo. Among other things, the door of macigno stone,
leading from the church to these places, was much admired in those days for its
originality and for its excellent decoration, for it was not customary at that time to imitate
ancient things of good style as this does. It was also from Miehelozzo's design and with
his advice that Cosimo de' Medici made the palace of Cafaggiuolv in Mugello, giving it
the form of a fortress, with ditches surrounding it, and arranged the farms, ways;
gardens, fountains in wooded groves, aviaries, and other requisites of a country house.
Two miles from the palace he made a convent for the bare-footed friars of St. Francis, in
a place called il Bosco, which is a fine work. In like manner he made many various
improvements at Trebbio, as may be seen. Two miles from Florence he made the
palace of the villa di Careggi, which was a rich and magnificent structure. Michelozzo
brought water to it in the fountain which may be seen there at the present time. For
Giovanni, the son of Cosimo de'Medici, he made another magnificent palace at Fiesole
6)
, the foundations being dug in the sides of the hill, at a great expense, but not without
great advantage; as he utilised the basement for the vaults, larders, stables, butteries
and other convenient things. Above, besides the usual chambers, halls and other
apartments, he made some for books and others for music; in fine, in this building
Michelozzo displayed to the full his ability as an architect. The building, besides what I
have said, was so excellently constructed that it has never stirred a hair's-breadth.
When it was completed, he built above it, at Giovanni's expense, the church and
convent of the friars of St. Jerome, on the very top of the hill. Michelozzo also made the
design and model which Cosimo sent to Jerusalem for the hospice which he erected
there for the pilgrims visiting Christ's sepulchre. He further sent the design for the six
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windows on the facade of S. Pietro at Rome, which were afterwards made there, with
the arms of Cosimo de' Medici. Three of these have been removed in our own day, and
reconstructed by Paul III. with the Famese arms. On Cosimo's learning that S. Maria
degli Angeliat Ascesi was suffering greatly from lack of water, to the very great
discomfort of the people who go there every 1st of August for the indulgence, he sent
Michelozzo to the place. That artist brought a spring which rises on the side of the hill to
the fountain, covering it with a very pretty and rich loggia resting on columns formed of
separate pieces and bearing the arms of Cosimo. Inside the convent, and also by
Cosimo's commission, he carried out many useful improvements for the friars. Lorenzo
de' Medici the Magnificent subsequently restored it at more expense and with more
ornament, offering to the Madonna the waxen image which may still be seen there
Cosimo also caused the street leading from Madonna to the city to be paved. Before
Michelozzo loft the neighbourhood he designed the old citadel of Perugia.
On his return to Florence, he built the house of Giovanni Tornabuoni next to the
Tornaquinci almost exactly like the palace which he had made for Cosimo, except that
the front is plain and not of blocks or surmounted by a cornice 7). After the death of
Cosimo, who had loved Michelozzo like a dear friend, his S. Piero employed him to
construct in marble the chapel containing the crucifix in S. Miniato in sul Monte 8). In the
half- circle of the arch behind the chapel Michelozzo carved a falcon in bas-relief with
the diamond, the device of Cosimo, a truly beautiful work. Piero de' Medici next
proposed to make the chapel of the Annunciation in the church of the Servites entirely in
marble, and desired Michelozzo 9), who was by this time an old man, to give his opinion,
both because he greatly admired his talents and also because he knew what a faithful
friend and servant he had been to his father, Cosimo. When Michelozzo had complied,
the charge of the work was entrusted to Pagno di LapoPartigiani 10), sculptor of Fiesoie,
who had many things to take into consideration, as it was necessary to include a great
deal in a small space. Four marble columns of about braccia, double fluted and of
Corinthian work, the bases and capitals being variously carved and the members
doubled, support the chapel. Above the columns are laid architraves, a frieze and
cornices, also double and carved, full of varied fancies and containing the device and
arms of the Medici and foliage. Between these and the other cornices made for another
row of windows there is a large inscription carved in beautiful marble. Below it, by the
ceiling of the chapel, and between the four columns, there is a marble slab richly carved
with enamels worked in fire and mosaics with various fancies, of the colour of gold and
precious stones. The pavement is full of porphyry and serpentine, mixed with other rare
stones, well joined and tastefully arranged. The chapel is enclosed by a bronze grille
with chandeliers above, all fixed to a marble framework, which makes a very fine finish
to the bronze and chandeliers. The front exit from the chapel is also of bronze and
excellently disposed. Piero left instructions that thirty silver lamps should be put about
the chapel to light it, and this was done, but as they were destroyed in the siege the
duke many years ago gave orders that they should be replaced. This has now been
done for the most part and the work goes on. However, lamps have always been kept
lighted there, as Piero directed, although they were not of silver. To these ornaments
Pagno added a large copper lily which rises from a vase, which is placed at an angle of
the cornice, and is made of painted wood, the part holding the lamps being overlaid with
gold. However, the cornice alone does not bear this great weight, as the whole is
sustained by two branches of the lily made of iron and painted green. These are
fastened with lead into the marble angle of the cornice, holding the others, which are of
copper, suspended in the air. This work was indeed carried out with judgment and
invention, for which reason it deserves much admiration as a beautiful and ingenious
production. Beside the chapel another was made towards the cloister, which serves as
a choir for the friars, the windows opening upon the courtyard. These give light not only'
to the chapel, but, being opposite two similar windows, to the organ chamber also,

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which is adjacent to the marble chapel. Against the wall of the choir is a large cupboard
in which the plate of the Nunziata is kept, and the arms and device of the Medici may be
seen in every part of these ornaments. Outside the cliapel of the Annunciation, and
opposite it, the same artist made a large bronze lustre braccia big and the marble vessel
for holy water at the entrance of the church, with a remarkably fine St. John in the
middle. Over the bench where the friars sell the candles he made a marble Madonna
and Child of half length in semi-relief, of life-size, and did another like it in the Opera of
S. Maria del Fiore where the wardens are.
At S. Miniato al Tedosco, Pagno did some figures in conjunction with his master
Donnto while he was still a young man, and in the church of S. Martino at Lucca he
made a marble tomb opposite the chapel of the Sacrament for M. Piero Nocera, who is
there drawn from life 11). In the twenty-fifth book of his work, Filreto wrote the Frincesco
S forza, fourth Duke of Milan, gave to Cosimo de' Medici the Magnificent a most
beautiful palace in Milan 12), a painter of no mean repute in that country at the time.
It is found that the money expended by Cosimo in the restoration of this palace was
paid by Pigello Portinari, a Florentine citizen who was then director of the bank at Milan
and Cosimo's agent, and he lived in that palace. In Genoa there are some works of
Michelozzo in marble and bronze, and many other works in other places which may be
recognised by the style. I will content myself with what I have already said about him.
He died at the age of sixty-eight, and was buried in his tomb at S. Marco in Florence.
His portrait by the hand of Fra Giovanni is in the sacristy of S Trinita; where he is
represented as an old Nicodemus wearing a hood on his head taking Christ down from
the cross.

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1)
Done by Antonio Rossellino in 1477.
2)
The Palazzo Riccardi, built about 1444.
3)
In 1451.
4)
In 1462.
5)
Restored and altered in 1678.
6)
The Villa Mozzi.
7)
The Palazzo Corsi Salviati in the via Tomabuoni; remodeled when the street was widened.
8)
In 1448.
9)
Begun in 1461.
10)
Rectius Portigiani.
11)
The work of Matteo Civitale, and signed.
12)
The Casa Vismara,via de' Bossi, done in 1455. The portal has been set up in the Castello.

PIETRO PERUGINO
Painter
(1446-1523)

THE beneficial influence of poverty in impelling men to perfect their talents is well
illustrated in the life of Pietro Perugino. Escaping from the dire misfortunes of Perugia,
and coming to Florence, he endeavoured to make himself a name by his talents. For
many months he lived with nothing to sleep in but a chest, while he studied his
profession with the utmost ardour, turning night into day. Once this had become a habit,
he knew no other pleasure than the continual practice of his art and to be always
painting 1). Moreover, the fear of poverty being continually before his eyes, he did things
for gain which he probably would never have looked at but for the necessity of
maintaining himself, so that wealth might have prevented that progress which he was
compelled to make in order that, even if he did not attain to the highest excellence, he
might at least have enough to support himself. Thus he took no heed of cold, hunger,
discomfort, toilor shame, to the end that he might one day enjoy ease and rest, his
favourite saying being that good weather must needs follow bad, and that houses are
built in fair weather so that one may have shelter when the need arises.
But in order that the progress of this artist may be better understood, I will
begin at the beginning. According to the public report he was born at Perugia, of a poor
man of Castellodal Pieve called Cristofano, and was christened Pietro. Brought up amid
misery and want, he was sent by his father to run errands for a painter of Perugia 2),
who though not very skilful himself, had a great veneration for art and those who
excelled therein. He never tired of telling Pietro what gain and honour painting brought
to those who did well in it, describing to him the rewards of the ancients and moderns,
and advising him to study the art. He succeeded in kindling the boy's imagination so that
he aspired, by the help of Fortune, to join the ranks of the painters. He would often ask
his master in what state artists were best treated, who invariably replied in the same
way, that it was in Florence more than elsewhere that men became perfect in all the
arts, but especially in painting, owing to three causes: The spirit of criticism, the air
making minds naturally free and not content with mediocrity, but leading them to value
works for their beauty and other good qualities rather than for their authors. The second
is that whoever wishes to live there must be industrious, quick and ready, constantly
employing his intellect and judgment, and then he must know how to make money,
Florence not having a rich and fruitful territory, so that prices cannot be so low as where
there is abundance. The third, which probably exercises no less influence than the
others, is a thirst of glory and honour which the air generates strongly in the men of
every profession, so that no man of ability will allow others to equal him, and still less
suffer himself to be distanced by other men, fashioned like himself, even though
acknowledged to be masters. This desire for their own advancement frequently renders
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them censorious and ungrateful if they are not naturally amiable and wise. It is true that
when a man has learned what is necessary, if he wishes to do more than vegetate like
the brutes, and would become rich, he must leave the city and sell his works abroad,
spreading the reputation of the city, as learned men do that of their university, for
Florence deals with her artists like Time, who, after creating them, casts them off and
gradually consumes them. Moved by this advice and the persuasions of many others,
Pietro came to Florence with the determination to excel, and succeeded so well that
works in his style were very highly valued.
He studied under Andrea Verrocchio, and his first figures were for the nuns outside
the Prato gate in S. Martino, now destroyed by the war. In Camaldoli he did a St.
Jerome 3) on a wall, then much valued by the Florentines and greatly praised because
he had made the saint old, lean and shrivelled, his eyes fixed on a crucifix. He is wasted
to a skeleton, as may be seen by a copy in the possession of Bartolommeo Gondi. In a
few years Pietro had won such a reputation that not only were Florence and Italy filled
with his works, but France, Spain and many other countries. His paintings being so
highly valued, the merchants began to traffic in them, and sent them to different
countries, with considerable profit to themselves. For the nuns of S. Chiara, Pietro did a
dead Christ, on a panel, the colouring being so lovely and novel that artists expected
marvelous results from him. These works contain some fine heads of old men, as well
as some Maries weeping as they regard the body with unspeakable reverence and love.
He also introduced a landscape which was then considered most beautiful, the true
method of doing them not having been found at that time. It is said that Francesco del
Pugliese was willing to give the nuns three times as much as they had paid Pietro to get
him to do another painting for them, and that they would not consent because Pietro
said that he did not believe he could equal the first. In the convent of the Jesuits outside
the Pinti gate there were many things by Pietro, but the church and convent being now
destroyed I will take this opportunity to say a few things about them before proceeding
further. This church, designed by Antonio di Giorgio of Settignano 4), was forty braccia
long and twenty broad. Four steps led to a platform six braccia high, upon which was
the high altar with many ornaments of carved stone, and over the altar, in a rich frame, a
picture of Domenico Ghirlandajo, as has been said. In the middle was a screen across
the church, with a door in the middle and an altar on either side, on each being a picture
by Pietro Perugino, as I shall relate, and over the door was a fine crucifix by Benedetto
da Maiano, between Our Lady and St. John, in relief. Before the platform of the high
altar, and attached to the screen, was a singing-gallery of walnut wood, of the Doric
order, very well made, and over the principal door of the church was another singing-
gallery resting upon a wooden framework. The underside formed a ceiling or soffit
handsomely partitioned, while rows of balusters formed a railing for the gallery on the
side facing the high altar. The gallery was very convenient for the friars of the convent at
night for their hours, for their private devotions, and also for feast days. Over the
principal door of the church, which possessed a beautiful stone framework, and had a
porch on columns reaching as far as the door of the convent, was a lunette with St. Just
the bishop between two angels, by the hand of Gherardo the illuminator, a beautiful
work. This was because the church was dedicated to that saint, of whom they have an
arm as a relic. At the entrance of the convent was a small cloister of about the same
size as the church, that is to say forty braccia by twenty, the surrounding arches with
their vaulting resting upon stone columns, forming a very spacious and convenient
loggia. In the middle of the courtyard of this cloister, which was paved throughout with
squared stones, was a beautiful well with a loggia above, also resting upon stone
columns and forming a rich and handsome decoration. This cloister contained the
chapter-house of the friars; the side door to the church, and the steps leading to the
dormitory and the other apartments and conveniences of the friars. From the cloister to
the principal door of the convent was a passage as long as the chapter-house and

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buttery, corresponding with another larger cloister more beautiful than the first. All this
way, namely the 40 braccia of the loggia of the first cloister, the passage and that of the
second made an inexpressibly fine and lengthy vista, especially as there was an avenue
in the garden in the same direction, 200 braccia long, and thus a remarkably fine view
was obtained from the principal door of the convent. In the second cloister there was a
refectory 60 braccia long and 18 broad with the necessary apartments, and what the
friars call the offices, required by such a convent. Above was a T-shaped dormitory, the
right-hand side of which, 60 braccia long, was double, that is to say it had cells on either
side with an oratory at the end in a space of 15 braccia. Above the altar here was a
picture by Pietro Perugino, and another work in fresco by the same hand over the door.
On the same floor above the chapter-house was a large room in which the friars made
stained glass windows, with the furnaces and other things necessary for that work.
While Pietro lived he did the cartoons for many of their works, which were
consequently excellent. The garden of the convent was the finest, the best kept and
best arranged about Florence, with vines surrounding the whole. Moreover the rooms
for the customary distilling of scented waters and medicinal things possessed every
imaginable convenience. Define, the convent was among the most beautiful arid the
best appointed of Florence, and this is why I was anxious to leave a record of it,
especially as the majority of the paintings there were by Pietro Perugino. None of those,
however, which he did there has been preserved, except the panels, because the
remainder were destroyed during the siege, together with the entire structure. The
panels were taken to the S. Pier Gattolini gate, where the friars received a house in the
church and convent of S. Giovannino 5). The two pictures on the screen were by Pietro,
one representing Christ in the Garden, with the Apostles sleeping. Here Pietro shows
how sleep quiets fears and troubles, representing the Apostles as resting very
comfortably. In the other he did a Pieta 6), namely Christ on his Mother's knees, with four
figures about, quite equal to his other works. He represented the dead Christ as if
stiffened by the cold and the time spent on the cross, and borne with grief and
lamentation by John and the Magdalene. In another panel he did a Crucifixion, with the
Magdalene and St. John the Baptist, St. Jerome and the Blessed John Colombino, the
founder of the order, executed with infinite diligence. These three panels have suffered
considerably, having darkened, and cracked where the shadows are. The reason for
this is that three coatings of paint are‚superimposed, and when the first coating laid
upon the composition is not quite dry, the colours contract in drying and after a time the
cracks appear. Pietro could not know this because oil-colouring was then in its infancy.
As Pietro's works were much praised by the Florentines, a prior of the same convent of
the Jesuits, who was fond of art, employed him to do a Nativity, with the Magi, in the
minute style, on a wall of the first cloister. This was executed by him with great
loveliness and perfect finish. It contained a great number of different heads and not a
few portraits, among them being his master, Andrea Verrocchio. In the same court he
did a frieze over the arches of the columns, with very well executed life-size heads. One
of these was that of the prior, done with such vigour and life that many of the most skilful
artists considered it to be Pietro's best work. In the other cloister, over the door leading
into the refectory, he did Pope Boniface 7) confirming the habit of the Blessed John
Colombino, introducing the portraits of eight of the friars, and a lovely receding
perspective which won much well-deserved praise, because Pietro paid special
attention to this branch. Below, in another scene, he began the Nativity of Christ, with
angels and shepherds, very freshly coloured and over the door of the oratory he did a
Madonna, a St. Jerome and the Blessed John, three half-figures in the tympanum, so
finely executed that they were ranked among Pietro's best works on the wall. I have
heard it said that the prior was very skilful in making ultramarine blue, and having a
great deal he wished Pietro to use it freely, but he was so miserly and mistrustful that he
insisted on being present when Pietro used it. Pietro, who was a just man, and never

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desired what he did not earn, took this want of confidence in very ill part, and resolved
to shame the prior. Accordingly he took a basin of water whenever he did draperies or
other parts which he intended to paint in blue and white, and kept applying to the prior
who, in his miserly way, took the ultramarine from his bag to put in the vessel when it
was tempered with water. Then Pietro set to work, and dipped his brush in the basin at
every two strokes, so that more remained in the water than was on the work. The prior,
on seeing his paint disappear and the work progressing but slowly, kept on exclaiming,
"What a quantity of ultramarine this lime consumes!" "You see how it is for yourself,"
replied Pietro. When the prior had gone, Pietro took the ultramarine which had settled at
the bottom of the basin, and when he thought the moment opportune presented it to the
prior, saying, "Father, this is yours. Learn to trust honest men who never deceive those
who put confidence in them, but who are perfectly able if they choose to deceive
suspicious men like you."
Having become famous by these and many other works, Pietro was all but
compelled to go to Siena, where he painted a magnificent picture in S. Francesco, and
another in S. Agostino, of a Crucifixion and some saints 8). Shortly after he did a St.
Jerome in penitence in the church of S. Gallo at Florence, which is now in S. Jacopo tra'
Fossi, where the friars live, near the comer of the Alberti. He was next employed to do a
dead Christ, with St. John and the Madonna over the steps of the side door of S. Pier
Maggiore, and succeeded so well that it has maintained its original freshness in spite of
the wind and rain. Pietro was undoubtedly a skilful colourist both in fresco and in oils.
Thus all skilled artists are under obligations to him, because it is to him that they owe
their knowledge of lights, as seen in his works. In S. Croce, in the same city, he did a
Pieta, with the dead Christ, and two marvellous figures, remarkable not so much for
their excellence as for the way in which the colours painted in fresco have remained so
fresh and new 9). He was employed by Bernardino de' Rossi, citizen of Florence, to do a
St. Sebastian to be sent to France, the price being fixed at zoo gold crowns, but
Bernardino sold it to the King of France for 400 gold ducats. At Vallombrosa he painted
a picture for the high altar 10) and did another for the friars in the Certosa of Pavia. For
theCardinal Caraffa he painted an Assumption, with the Apostles about the tomb, at the
high altar of the Piscopio; and for Abbot Simone dei Graziani he did a large picture at
Borgo S. Sepolcro, painted at Florence, and taken on the shoulders of porters to S. Gilio
of the Borgo, at a great cost. For the church of S. Giovanni in Monte, at Bologna, he did
a panel with some upright figures, and a Madonna in the air 11).
Pietro's fame being spread abroad throughout Italy, he was, to his great glory,
invited to Rome by Pope Sixtus IV. to work in the chapel with other famous artists 12).
Here he did Christ giving the keys to St. Peter, in conjunction with Don Bartolommeo
della Gatta, abbot of S. Clemente, Arezzo, and also the Nativity and Baptism of Christ,
the birth of Moses, and when he is taken out of the ark by Pharoah's daughter. On the
wall where the altar is he did an Assumption of the Madonna, with a portrait of Sixtus
kneeling. But these works were destroyed in the time of Pope Paul III. to make the wall
for the Last Judgment of the divine Michelagnolo. He did the vaulting in the Borgia
tower, in the Pope's palace, with stories of Christ, and some foliage in grisaille, which
had an extraordinary reputation for excellence in his day. In S. Marco at Rome he did a
story of two martyrs, next to the Sacrament, one of the best works executed by him in
that city. In the palace of S. Apostolo he did a loggia and other apartments for Sciarra
Colonna, all of which works brought a great deal of money into his hands. Accordingly
he decided to stay no longer in Rome, and left in high favour with all the court, returning
to his native Perugia. Here he completed a number of easel pictures and frescoes,
notably an oil-painting of the Virgin and other saints in the Chapel of the Signori in the
palace 13). At S. Francesco del Monte he painted two chapels in fresco 14), one of the
Magi offering their gifts, the other of some Franciscan friars who went to the Sultan of
Babylon and were killed. In the convent of S. Francesco he painted two panels in oils,
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one being a Resurrection of Christ and the other St. John the Baptist and saints 15). In
the church of the Servites he also did two pictures, one a Transfiguration and the other,
next the sacristy, the story of the Magi; but as they are not of Pietro's usual excellence it
is considered certain that they are among his earliest works. In S. Lorenzo, the Duomo
of that city, the Chapel of the Crucified contains a Madonna, St. John and the other
Maries, St. Laurence, St. James anti other saints. At the altar of the Sacrament, which
contains the marriage-ring of the Virgin, he painted her marriage 16). After that he did all
the audience-chambers of the Cambio, representing in the divisions of the vaulting the
seven planets drawn upon chariots by various animals; according to the ancient custom.
On the wall opposite the door of entrance he did the Nativity and Resurrection of Christ,
and St. John the Baptist on a panel, in the midst of other saints. On the side walls he
painted in his characteristic style Fabius Maximus, Socrates, Numa Pompilius, Fulvius
Camillus, Pythagoras, Trajan, L. Sicinius, Leonid as the Spartan, Horatius Cocles,
Fabius, Sempronius, Pericles the Athenian, and Cincinnatus. On the other wall are the
prophets Isaiah, Moses, Daniel, David, Jeremiah, Solomon and the Ercthrian, Lybian,
Tiburtine, Delphic and other sibyls. Under each figure he wrote an appropriate
inscription. In the border he introduced a very life-like portrait of himself, with his name
thus:

Petrus Perusinus egregius pictor. Perdita si fuerat, pingendo hic

retulit artem: Si nunquam; inventa esset hactenus, ipse dedit
Anno P. 1500.

This beautiful work won more praise than any which Pietro had executed in Perugia,
and is highly valued to-day by the men of that city in memory of their great countryman.
In the principal chapel of St. Agostino he did a large isolated panel, in a rich frame, the
front representing St. John baptising Christ 17), and the back, that is the side facing the
choir, the Nativity, with the heads of some saints. The predella contains some scenes of
small figures, very carefully finished. In the chapel of St. Nicholas, in the same church,
he 18 a St. Bernard in a panel, and in the chapter-house a Crucifixion, the Virgin, St.
Benedict, St. Bernard and St. John. On the right-hand side of the second chapel in S.
Domenico at Fiesole is a Madonna, with three figures, one of which, a St. Sebastian, is
most admirable.
Pietro worked so hard, and had always so much to do, that he frequently repeated
himself, and his theory of art led him so far that all his figures have the same air. When
Michelagnolo arose, Pietro was most anxious to see the figures which were so be
lauded by artists. Seeing the greatness of his own name, acquired with so much toil, in
danger of eclipse, he tried hard with biting words to mortify those who were at work. For
this he richly deserved Michelagnolo's publicly-uttered description of him as a blockhead
in art, as well as other rough words from the artists. Pietro, unable to brook such an
insult, brought his rival before the Eight, but made a sorry exhibition. Meanwhile the
Servite friars at Florence, who wished the picture of their high altar to be by some
famous master, had entrusted the work to Filippino, since Lionardo da Vinci had
departed for France. But when Filippino had done half of one of the two pictures which
were to go there he died, so that the friars entrusted the work to Pietro, in whom they
had great confidence. Filippino had finished a Deposition of Christ from the Cross, with
Nicodemus handing the body down, while Pietro did the Virgin fainting and other figures
19)
. The work being in two pictures, one turned to the choir of the friars and the other
towards the body of the church, the Deposition was to face behind the choir and the
Assumption in front. But Pietro did so moderately that they altered this arrangement,
putting the Deposition in front and the Assumption behind. Both have been removed to
make room for the tabernacle of the Sacrament, and have been placed upon other
altars, only six sections of the work remaining, containing some saints painted by Pietro,
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in niches. It is said that when this work was uncovered it was severely criticised by all
the new artists, chiefly because Pietro had employed figures of which he had already
made use. Even his friends declared that he had not taken pains, but had abandoned
the good method of working either from avarice or in order to save time. Pietro
answered, I have done the figures which you have formerly praised and which have
given you great pleasure. If you are now dissatisfied and do not praise them, how can I
help it?" But they attacked him bitterly with sonnets and epigrams. Accordingly, though
now old, he left Florence and returned to Perugia, doing some works in fresco in S.
Severo, a monastery of the Camaldolite order 20). Here his young pupil, Raphael of
Urbino, had done some figures, as will be related in his Life. Pietro also worked at
Montone, La Fratta and in many other places round Perugia, especially at S. Maria degli
Angeli at Assisi, where he painted a Christon the Cross and many other figures in fresco
on the wall behind the chapel of the Madonna, which communicates with the choir of the
friars. In the church of S. Piero, an abbey of the black monks in Perugia, he painted a
large picture of the Ascension at the high altar, with the Apostles below looking
heavenwards 21). The predella contains three scenes done with great diligence, namely
the Magi, the baptism and resurrection of Christ, the whole work being replete with fine
efforts so that it is Pietro's best oil-painting in Perugia. He began a work in fresco of
considerable importance at Castello della Pieve, but did not finish it. As he, trusted no
one, he was accustomed, in going and coming between the Castello and Perugia, to
carry his money with him, but some men lay in wait for him in a pass and robbed him.
He begged for his life and obtained it, and afterwards, by means of his numerous
friends, he recovered a great part of his money, though his grief at the loss brought him
to death's door.
Pietro was not a religious man, and would never believe it, the immortality of the
soul, obstinately refusing to listen to all good reasons. He relied entirely upon the good
gifts of fortune, and would have gone to any lengths for money. He acquired great
wealth, and built and bought houses in Florence. At Perugia and Castello della Pieve he
acquired much real property. He took to wife a beautiful girl, and had children by her,
and he liked her to wear pretty head-dresses both out of doors and in the house, and is
said to have often dressed her himself. Having attained a good old age, Pietro died at
the age of seventy-eight at Castellodella Pieve, where he was honourably buried in
1524. Pietro made many masters of his style, but one greatly excelled the others, and
having devoted himself entirely to the honourable study of painting, far surpassed his
master. This was that wonder, Raphael Sanzio of Urbino, who worked for many years
with Pietro, together with Giovanni de' Santi, his father. Pinturicchio, the Perugian
painter, was another pupil, and he always retained Pietro's style, as has been said in his
Life. Another pupil was Rocco Zoppo, painter of Florence, of whom Filippo Salviati has a
very beautiful Madonna, though, indeed it was finished by Pietro. Rocco painted many
Madonnas and a number of portraits of which I need not speak, except to say that in the
Sistine Chapel at Rome he drew those of Girolamo Riaro and of F. Pietro, cardinal of S.
Sisto. Another pupil of Pietro was in Montevarchi, who painted many scenes in
S.Giovanni di Valdarno, and notably the story of the miracle of the Virgin's milk. He also
left a number of pictures in his native Montevarchi. Gerino da Pistoia also learned of
Pietro, and remained some time with him. He is mentioned in the Lifeof Pinturiccllio, and
so is Baccio Ubertino of Florence, a diligent colourist and designer, of whom Pietro
made great use. There is a pen-and-ink drawing by him in our book, of Christ at the
Column, a very charming thing.
Francesco, brother to this Baccio, and also a pupil of Pietro, was called in
Bacchiacca, and was a diligent master of small figures, as is shown by many of his
works in Florence, especially in the house of Gio. Maria Benintendi and in the house of
Pier Francesco Borgherini. II Bacchiacea was fond of making grotesques, and for Duke
Cosimo he did a book of studies full of rare animals and plants taken from life, which are
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considered very beautiful. He also drew the cartoons for many tapestries, afterwards
woven in silk by Maestro Giovanni Rosto, a Fleming, for the apartments of the palace of
his excellency.
Another pupil of Pietro, Giovanni the Spaniard, called Jo Spagna 22), coloured better
than any of those whom Pietro left behind him. He would have remained in Perugia after
Pietro's death had not the envy of the painters there, who hated foreigners, driven him
to withdraw to Spoleto, where he won a lady of good blood as his wife by his goodness
and ability, and was made a citizen of the place. Here he did many works, as in all the
other cities of Umbria, whilst at Assisi he painted the altarpiece in the chapel of St.
Catherine in the lower church of S. Francesco 23) for the Spanish cardinal Egidio, and
another in S. Damiano. In the little chapel of S. Maria degli Angeli, where St. Francis
died, he painted some half-length figures of life-size, namely some of the companions of
the saint and other saints, very full of life, surrounding a statue of St. Francis.
But the best of the pupils of Pietro was Andrea Luigi of Assisi, called Lngegno, who
in his early youth competed with Raphaelof Urbino himself under Pietro's instruction, the
master employing him more and more on all his most important works, such as that in
the audience-chamber of the Cambio at Perugia, where there are some beautiful figures
by his hand; those which he did at Assisi, and, lastly, those in the Sistine Chapel at
Rome. In all these works Andrea promised to far surpass his master.
He undoubtedly would have done so, but Fortune, which seems always to frown
upon high beginnings, would not allow him to attain to perfection, for he was overtaken
by a disease of the eyes and became totally blind, to the great grief of all who knew him.
When Pope Sixtus heard of this lamentable misfortune, he ordained, like a true friend of
talent, that his steward should grant him a yearly provision during his life. This was done
until Andrea died at the age of eighty-six.
Other pupils of Pietro, Perugians like himself, were Eusebio S. Giorgio, who painted
the picture of the Magi in S. Agnostino; Domenico di Paris 24), who did many works in
Perugia and the neighbourhood, followed by Orazio, his brother; Gian. Niccola also,
who painted Christ in the Garden in S. Francesco and the picture of All Saints in the
chapel of the Baglioni in S. Domenico, while be did scenes from the life of St. John the
Baptist in fresco in the Chapel of the Cambio; Bendetto Caporali or Bitti also, many of
whose pictures are in his native Perugia, and he also practised architecture, producing
many works. He wrote a commentary on Vitruvius, as all may see, since it is printed,
and he was followed in these studies by his son Giulio, painter of Perugia. But not one
of these numerous pupils ever equalled Pietro for his finish, or the grace of his
colouring, or his style, which so pleased his time that many came from France, Spain,
Germany and other countries to learn it 25). As I have said, quite a trade was done with
his works before the advent of the style of Michelagnolo, who has shown tile true and
good methods of art, and has brought them to the perfection which will be seen in the
third part, where I shall treat of the excellence and perfection of the arts, showing that
artists who work and study steadily, and not capriciously, or by fits and starts, leave
works which bring them fame, wealth and friends.

1)
Pietro Vannucci.
2)
Probably Bonfigli.
3)
Dated 1495; now in the Pitti Gallery.
4)
S. Guisto alla Mura; the church was demolished in 1529 when Prince Philibert of Orange was
threatening to besiege Florence. The convent was suppressed in 1668.
5)
They are now in the Accademia, Florence.
6)
Accademia, Florence.
7)
It should be Urban V., in 1367.
8)
Painted in 1506; the S. Francesco picture was destroyed by fire in 1655.
9)
Painted in 1500; now in the Accademia, Florence.

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10)
The middle portion, with a Madonna and Child with St. Raphael and Tobias and St. Michael on either
side is now in the National Gallery, London.
11)
Now in the Pinacoteca, Bologna.
12)
1481-2.
13)
Painted in 1496; now in the Vatican Gallery.
14)
Commissioned in 1502.
15)
The Resurrection is in the Vatican Gallery, the St. John in the Pinacoteca, Perugia.
16)
i.e. S. Maria Nuova, now in the Pinacoteca, Perugia.
17)
In 1505; now in the Accademia, Florence.
18)
In 1521.
19)
Painted in 1495; now at Caen and attributed to Lo Spagna.
20)
Now in the Pinacoteca, Perugia.
21)
i.e. S. Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi; commissioned 1493, finished l496.
22)
Painted 1493; now in the Uffizi.
23)
Commssioned 1495.
24)
fl. 1500-20.
25)
In 1516.

BERNARDINO PINTURICCHIO
Painter of Florence
(1454-1513)

JUST as many are aided by Fortune without being endowed with great talent, so
many men of talent are pursued by a hostile fortune. Thus she seems to adopt as her
children those who depend upon her, without the aid of any ability, and is pleased that
some should rise by her favour who would never have attracted notice by their own
merits. Thus it was with Pinturicchio of Perugia, who, prolific as he was, and enjoying
the assistance of others, nevertheless possessed a far higher reputation than his works
warranted. At the same time, he had great skill in large works, and always employed a
number of assistants 1).
After working in his early youth for some time with Pietro Perugino 2), his
master, doing many things, and receiving a third of the profits, he was invited to Siena
by Cardinal Francesco Piccolomini to paint the library built by Pope Pius II. in the
Duomo there. It is indeed true that the sketches and cartoons for all the scenes there
were by Raphael of Urbino, then a youth, who had been his companion and fellow-pupil
under Piero, whose style Raphael had thoroughly mastered. One of these cartoons may
still be seen at Siena, and some of these sketches of Raphael are in our book. The
scenes of this work were divided into ten pictures, Pinturicchio being assisted by many
boys and workmen of Pietro's school. The first shows the birth of Pius II., with his
parents, Silvio Piccolomini and Vittoria, in 1405, in Valdorcia, in the district of
Corsignano (now called Pienza, after him, because he made it into a city), and his being
called Aeneas. His parents are drawn from life. In the same scene is Domenico, cardinal
of Capranica crossing the Alps in the ice and snow to attend the council at Basel. The
second scene represents the missions on which Aeneas was sent by the council: to
Strasburg thrice, to Trent, Constance, Frankfurt and Savoy. In the third, Aeneas is sent
as ambassador by the anti-Pope Felix to the Emperor Frederick III., who was so much
struck lay his dexterity, ability, eloquence and grace that he caused him to be crowned
with laurel as a poet, after which he is made protonotary, received among his friends,
and appointed chief secretary. The fourth shows him being sent by Frederick to
Eugenius IV. 3), who made him Bishop of Triest, and subsequently Archbishop of Siena.
In the fifth, the emperor, who is anxious to come to Italy to receive the imperial crown,
sends Aeneas to Telamone, a port of the Sienese, to meet his wife Leonora, who is
coming from Portugal. In the sixth, Aeneas is sent by the emperor to Calixtus IV. to
persuade him to make war on the Turks; and, as Siena has been harassed by the Count
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of Pitigliano and others, at the instigation of King Alfonso of Naples, the Pope is sending
Aeneas to treat for peace. This done, a war is planned against the Orientals, and, on
returning to Rome, Aeneas is created cardinal by the Pope. The seventh shows the
death of Calixtus and the election of Aeneas to be Pope as Pins II. In the eighth the
Pope is going to the council at Mantua for the expedition against the Turks, where the
Marquis Ludovico receives him with great pomp and extraordinary magnificence. In the
ninth the Pope is canonising Catherine of Siena, a nun and holy lady of the order of the
Friar Preachers. In the tenth and last the Pope, while preparing a great fleet against the
Turks, with the aid of all the Christian princes, dies at Ancona, and a holy hermit of
Camaldoli sees his soul carried to heaven by angels at the moment of his death, as we
read. The same picture shows the body brought from Ancona to Rome, accompanied by
a crowd of lords and prelates weeping for the death of such a man, and of so rare and
so holy a Pope 4). This work is full of portraits, which it would take too long to
enumerate; the colouring is fine and vigorous; it is enriched with gold ornaments, while
the ceiling decoration is admirably devised. Under each scene is a Latin inscription
describing its nature. To this library the three Graces were brought by Cardinal
Francesco Piccolomini, the Pope's nephew, and placed in the middle. These are fine
marble antiques, and the first which excited admiration. Before the library was finished
5)
, which contained the books left by Pius II., Cardinal Francesco was created Pope, and
chose the title of Pius III. in memory of his uncle. Over the door of the library leading to
the Duomo, and occupying the whole of the wall space, Pinturicchio painted the
coronation of Pius III., with many portraits from life. Beneath it are these words:
(1) Pius III. Senensis, Pii II. nepos MDIII. Septembris XXI.apertis
electus suffragiis, octavo Octobris coronattts est.
Pinturicchio, having worked at Rome in the time of Pope Sixtus, while he was with
Pietro Perugino, had served Domenico della Rovere, cardinal of S. Clemente. The
cardinal having erected a fine palace in the Borgo Vecchio, wished Pinturicchio to
decorate it and paint the arms of Pope Sixtus on the facade, supported by two infants.
He did some things in the palace of S. Apostolo for Sciarra Colonna‚ Not long after, in
1484, the Genoese Pope Innocent VIII. employed him to decorate some rooms and
loggias in the palace of the Belvedere, where, among other things, he painted a loggia
full of landscapes at the Pope's desire, with views of Rome, Milan, Genoa, Florence,
Venice and Naples, in the Flemish style 6). This being unusual at the time, gave
considerable satisfaction. In the same place he did a Madonna in fresco at the entrance
to the principal door. In the chapel in S. Pietro containing the lance which pierced the
side of Christ, he painted a Madonna of more than life-size in tempera on a panel for
Innocent VIII. In the church of S. Maria del Popolo he painted two chapels 7), one for
Domenico della Rovere, cardinal of S. Clemente, where he was afterwards buried, and
the other for Cardinal Innocenzio Cibo, where he also was interred, introducing the
portrait of each in his respective chapel. In the Pope's palace he painted some
apartments communicating with the court of S. Pietro, the ceilings and paintings of
which were restored a few years ago by Pope Pius IV. In the same palace Alexander VI.
employed him to paint his own apartments and all the Borgia tower, where he decorated
one room with representations of the liberal arts, doing the vaulting with stucco and
gold. But, as the modem manner of making stucco was not then known, these
ornaments are all but entirely destroyed. Over the door of a room in this palace he
painted a portrait of Signora Giulia Farnese as Our Lady, with the head of Pope
Alexander adoring her 8).
It was a habit of Bernardino to decorate his paintings with gold ornaments in relief to
please some who had little knowledge of art, and to create an imposing appearance, but
it is a clumsy device in a picture. After painting a story of St. Catherine in these
apartments, he made the arches of Rome in relief, and painted the scene so that, the

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figures being in front and the buildings behind, the receding objects are more prominent
than the figures in the foreground, a capital heresy in our art. In the castle of S. Angelo
he painted a number 9) of rooms with grotesques, and in the garden at the base of the
great tower he did scenes of Pope Alexander, with portraits of Isabella, the Catholic
queen, Niccolo Orsino, Count of Pitigliano, Gianjacomo Triulzi, with many other relations
and friends of the Pope, notably Cesare Borgia, his brother, his sisters, and many
prominent men of the day. In the Chapel of Paolo Tolosa at Monte Oliveto of Naples
there is an Assumption 10) by Pinturicchio. He did number of other works all over Italy,
but, as they are not very excellent, though skilful, I pass them over in silence.
Pinturicchio used to say that painters could give the best relief to their works by
relying on themselves without owing anything to princes or others. He worked also at
Perugia, but did only a few things. At Araceli he painted the chapel of St. Bernardino 11)
and in the vaulting of the principal chapel of St. Maria del Popolo, where, as I have said,
he did the two chapels, he painted the four Doctors of the Church 12). When he had
attained the age of fifty-nine he was employed to paint a Nativity of the Virgin in S.
Francesco at Siena. After he had begun it, the friars gave him a room to dwell in,
entirely bare, as he desired, except for a large antique trunk, which they found too
heavy to move; but Pinturicchio, who was very eccentric, made such a clamour that the
friars in despair determined to take it away. In removing it they broke a plank, and out
came 500 gold ducats. Pinturicehio was chagrined at this, and bore such a grudge
against the poor friars for their good fortune, that he could think of nothing else, and it
so weighed upon his mind that it caused his death. His works were executed about
1513.
Benedetto Buonfiglio 13), a painter of Perugia, was his companion and friend,
although older than he, and painted several things in the Pope's palace at Rome with
other masters. In the Chapel of the Signoria in his native Perugia he did scenes from the
life of St. Frcolano 14), bishop and protector of that city, as well as some miracles of St.
Louis 15). In S. Domenico he painted the story of the Magi in tempera on a panel, and a
number of saints on another. In the church of S. Bernardino he painted Christ in the air,
with the saint and the people below 16). In short, he enjoyed a considerable reputation in
those parts before the rise of Pietro Perugino. Another friend and a fellow-worker of
Pinturicchio was Gerino of Pistoia, who was considered a careful colourist and a
successful imitator of the style of Pietro Perugino, with whom he worked until his death.
He did a few things in his native Pistoia. At Borgo S. Sepolcro he did a meritorious oil-
painting of the Circumcision for the company of the Buon Gesu. He painted a chapel in
fresco in the Pieve there, as well as another chapel for the community on the Tiber on
the way to Anghiari, also in fresco. In S. Lorenzo, an abbey of the Camaldolite monks
there, he did another chapel. He stayed a long while at the Borgo while engaged upon
these works, so that‚he almost made it his home. He was quite insignificant as an artist
but a most laborious worker, so much so that it amounted to drudgery.
There was an excellent painter in the city of Fuligno at that time named Niccolo
Alunno, because, as oils were not in general use before Pietro Perugino, many men
were considered able who did not afterwards come to the fore. Niccolo gave
considerable satisfaction by his works, although tempera was his only medium, because
all his heads were portraits and seemed alive. There is a Nativity of Christ by him in S.
Agostino at Fuligno, with a predella of small figures. At Assisi he made a processional
banner, the high-altar picture in the Duomo, and another picture in S. Francesco. But his
best painting was a chapel in the Duomo containing a Pieta and two angels holding
torches and weeping so naturally that I do not think any painter could have done better,
however excellent. He painted the facade of S. Maria degli Angeli at the same place,
and did many other works which I need not mention, as I have spoken of the best. This
is the end of the Life of Pinturicchio, who, among other things, pleased many princes

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and lords because he finished his works quickly, though perhaps less excellently than if
he had gone slowly and carefully.
1)
Bernardino di Betto.
2)
He did this work between 1503 and1508.
3)
It was Nicholas V. who gave him this preferment.
4)
Now in the Galleria.
5)
In 1482.
6)
Done in 1487.
7)
In 1505.
8)
Between 1492 and 1495.
9)
In 1495, now all destroyed.
10)
Now in the Naples Museum.
11)
1497-1500.
12)
In 1489.
13)
c. 1420-96.
14)
Begun in 1454.
15)
c. 1466.
16)
1465. All these works in the Signoria Chapel. St. Domenico and St. Bernardino are now in the Perugia
Gallery.

ANTONIO and PIERO POLLAJUOLO

Painters and Sculptors of Florence
(1432-1498; 1443-1496)

MANY men timidly begin with base things, but, their courage increasing with their
ability, they attack more formidable tasks, rise into the heavens with their soaring ideas,
and, aided by fortune, frequently obtain the favour of some prince who, being well
served, is bound to reward their labours, so that their descendants profit richly from their
efforts. Thus they proceed through life, always winning fresh renown and filling the world
with wonder. Such was the career of Antonio and Piero di Pollajuolo, who were much
valued in their day for the great talents which they had acquired by their industry and
labour. They were born at Florence within a few years of each other, their father being a
man of low birth and not in very easy circumstances. Perceiving the keen intelligence of
his sons by many signs, and being without the means to have them taught letters, he
put Antonio with the gold smith Bartoluccio Ghiherti, then a famous master of the craft,
and Piero with Andrea dal Castagno, then the best painter in Florence. Antonio, being
instructed by Bartoluccio, learned to set jewels and prepare silver enamelwork, and was
considered the most skilful workman with his tools that the art possessed. Thus Lorenzo
Ghiberti, being then busy with the doors of S. Giovanni, and happening to see Antonio's
work, employed him as well as many other youths. Antonio, being set to work on one of
the festoons which may still be seen there, made a quail so finely that it lacks nothing
but the power of flight. Antonio had not spent many weeks at that employment before he
surpassed all his fellows in design and patience, as well as in ingenuity and diligence.
His talents and fame increasing, he left Bartoluccio and Lorenzo, and opened a
magnificent goldsmith's shop of his own in the Mercato nuovo. He practised this art for
many years, designing and making wax models and other fancies in relief, so that he
soon gained the well-merited reputation of being the first man in his trade.
At this time there lived another goldsmith named Maso Finiguerra, with an
extraordinary but well merited reputation. In engraving Andniello no one could put so
many figures into small or large spaces as he, as may be seen by some patines done
by him in S. Giovanni at Florence, with tiny scenes relating to the Passion of Christ. He
designed excellently, and our book contains a number of sheets of his drawings of
draped and nude figures and water-colour sketches. In competition with him Antonio did
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some scenes which equalled Maso's for diligence and surpassed them in design 1). The
consuls of the art of the merchants, recognising the worth of Antonio, proposed to
employ him to do some patines in silver for the altar of S. Giovanni, such as had been
executed by various masters at different times. This was done, and his work proved so
excellent that they may be recognised as the best among all the others. They
represented the banquet of Herod and the dancing of Herodias (sic), but the most
beautiful of all is the St. John' in the middle of the altar, entirely chiselled, and greatly
admired. After this the wardens allotted to him the silver candelabrato do, three braccia
each, and the cross in proportion 2). He executed these with such elaborate carving, and
finished them so beautifully that they have always been considered marvellous by
strangers as well as by natives. He spared no pains in his work, whether in gold, silver
or enamel. Among them there are some fine patines in S. Giovanni, so well coloured
that it would hardly be possible to make better ones with the brush; while the churches
of Florence and Rome and other places in Italy contain some marvellous enamels by
him. He taught his art to Maszingo 3) of Florence, and to Giuliano del Facchino, both
meritorious masters, and to Giovanni Turini of Siena, who easily surpassed his
companions. From the days of Antonio di Salvi, who did many good things, including a
large silver cross in the Badia at Florence, until now, no work of extraordinary merit has
been seen in that art. Many of the works of these men and of the Pollajuoli have gone
into the melting-pot for the requirements of the city during the war.
Antonio foresaw that his art did not promise a lasting fame to his labours, and
resolved to take up something else. As his brother Piero was a painter, he went to him
to learn the art of manipulating colours. He found this art so different from that of the
goldsmith, that if he had not resolved entirely to abandon his former pursuit he would
probably have returned to it. But being impelled onwards by a sense of shame, he
learned the art of colouring in a few months, and became an excellent master. He
identified himself completely with Piero, and in conjunction they produced a quantity of
pictures. Among these was an oil painting for the cardinal of Portugal, a great lover of
painting, placed upon the altar of his chapel in S. Miniato al Monte, outside Florence 4).
It represented St. James the Apostle, St. Eustace and St. Vincent, and has been much
admired. Piero, who had learned oil-painting from Andrea dal Castagno, painted in that
medium the wall spaces under the architrave below the vaulting, doing some prophets,
and an Annunciation with three figures in a lunette. For the captains of the Parte he did
a Madonna and Child in a lunette surrounded by a border of cherubim, all in oils. On a
pilaster of S. Michele in Orto they painted in oils on canvas the Angel Raphael with
Tobias 5) and did some Virtues in the Mercatanzia of Florence 6), in the place where the
magistrate sits in judgment. He drew the portrait of M. Poggio, secretary of the Signoria
of Florence, who continued the history of Florence by M. Leonardo d' Areszo, and M.
Giannozzo Manetti, a learned and notable person in the Proconsolo, where portraits of
the Florentine poet Zanetti da Strada Domenico Acciaiuoli, and others, had been done
by other masters. In the Chapel of the Pucci at S. Sebastiano of the Servites he did the
altarpiece, a fine work, containing some remarkable horses, nude figures and
perspectives, with St. Sebastian, a portrait of Gino di Ludovico Capponi 7). This work
was the most admired of all that Antonio did. He always copied Nature as closely as
possible, and has here represented an archer drawing the bowstring to his breast and
bending down to charge it, putting all the force of his body into the action, for we may
see the swelling of his veins and muscles and the manner in which he is holding his
breath. This was not the only figure executed with such considerations, but all the others
are alike in their varied attitudes, showing the ingenuity and thought which he bestowed
upon the work. This was fully recognised by Antonio Pucci, who gave him 300 crowns
for it, declaring that he was barely paying him for the colours. It was finished in 1475.
Encouraged by his success; Antonio painted a St. Christopher 8) at S‚ Miniato
between the towers, outside the gatten braccia high, done so well and in such a modern
- 191 -
style, that it was the best-proportioned figure of its size produced up to that time. He
then painted a crucifix on canvas, with Antonino, now placed in his chapel in Marco. In
the palace of the Signoria of Florence he did a St. John the Baptist at the Catena door,
and in the Casa Medici he did for the elder three Hercules in three pictures, each five
braccia high, the one where he crushes Antaeus 9), a very fine figure, with a splendid
representation of the force of the hero, the muscles and nerves being all braced for the
effort, while the grinding of the teeth and the attitude of the head accord with the tension
of the other members. The figure of Antaeus is no less remarkable, as all life is being
crushed out of him by the grasp of Hercules, and he expires with open mouth. In the
next Hercules is killing the lion, with his left knee on its chest, forcing apart the
creature's jaws with his hands, setting his teeth and bracing his arms the while, the
animal clawing at his arms in self-defence. The third, in which he is killing the hydra, is
truly marvellous, especially as the colouring of the creature is of the brightest and most
effective hue. Here we perceive the venom, the fire, the fury, all represented with a
vigour worthy of admiration and imitation by all good artists. For the company of S.
Angelo at Arezzo he painted a banner with a crucifix on one side and on the other St.
Michael fighting the dragon, of remarkable excellence. St. Michael is boldly confronting
the serpent, grinding his teeth and frowning, so that he actually seems to have come
down from heaven for the purpose of wreaking the vengeance of God upon the pride of
Lucifer. It is really a marvel. Antonio's treatment of the nude is more modern than that of
any of the masters who preceded him, and he dissected many bodies to examine their
anatomy, being the first to show how the muscles must be looked for to take their proper
place in figures. He engraved a battle scene on copper of all these, Surrounded by a
chain, and followed this up by a number of engravings far superior to any done by his
predecessors. Having become famous among artists, he was invited to Rome on the
death of Pope Sixtus IV. by his successor Innocent. There he made a metal tomb for
Innocent, representing him seated and in the act of benediction, which was placed in S.
Pietro, and he did another very sumptuous tomb for Pope Sixtus, set up in the chapel
named after him 10), richly decorated and standing alone. It contains a fine recumbent
effigy of that pope. The tomb of Innocent stands in S. Pietro next the chapel containing
the lance of Christ. It is said that Antonio designed the Belvedere Palace for Pope
Innocent, though the building was carried out by others, because he had no great
experience in such work. Both brothers, having become rich died in 1498, within a short
time of each other, and were buried by their relations in S. Piero ad Vincula. Their
portraits in two marble medallions were set up by the middle door on the left-hand side
as one enters the church, with the following epitaph:

Antonius Pullarius patria Florentinus pictor insignis, qui duor.pont.

Xisti et Innocentii aerea moniment. miro opific. expressit refamil.
composita ex test. hic se cum Petro fratre condi voluit. vixitan.
LXXII. Obiit an. sal. M.IID.

Antonio also made a metal bas-relief representing a fight between nude figures,
which went to Spain. There is a plaster cast of this fine work in the possession of the
artists at Florence. After his death a model was discovered for an equestrian statue of
Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, which he did for Ludovico Sforza. There are two
versions of this design in our book: in the one Verona is represented beneath in the
other the figure is in full armour, and on a pedestal full of battle scenes he makes the
horse tread upon an armed man. I have not yet been able to discover why these
designs were not carried out. He also made some fine medals, one especially of the
conspiracy of the Pazzi, with the head of Lorenzo arid Giuliano de' Medici, and on the
reverse the choir of S. Maria del Fiore and the whole incident just at it happened. He

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also made the medals of some of the popes, and many other things well known to
artists.
Antonio was seventy-two at his death and Piero sixty-five. He left many pupils,
amongst them Andrea Sansovino. During the course of a most fortunate life Antonio
came into contact with very rich popes, while his native city was at the height of her
artistic appreciation. Thus he was greatly valued, but if he had lived in un prosperous
times he would not have succeeded so well, because they are very unfavourable to the
sciences in which men take delight. From his design two dalmatic as, a chasuble and a
cope were made for S. Giovanni at Florence of double brocade, all of one piece without
any seam, the borders and ornamentation consisting of Scenes from the life of St. John
embroidered by Paolo da Verona, a marvellous master at such work, the most skilful to
be found, who executed the figures with the needle no less finely than Antonio did them
with t brush, so that the patient sewing of the one was not less he than the skilful
designing of the other. The production of this work took twenty-six years, and it looks
like a piece of colouring, though it is far more durable. This art is now all but lost, the
stitches being now made much longer, rendering the work at once less durable and less
pleasing to the eye.

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1)
Done in 1452 by Michelozzo Michelozzi; now in the Opera del Duomo.
2)
The cross is by Betto Betti.
3)
Alitonio de' Mazzinghi.
4)
Painted in 1465; now in the Uffizi. Mr. Berenson considers it entirely the work of Piero.
5)
Painted in 1496; now in the Turin Gallery.
6)
Now in the Uffizi.
7)
Painted 1475; now in the National Gallery, London.
8)
Now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York. Mr. Berenson considers it the work of Piero.
9)
These large paintings have disappeared. The Uffizi possesses two small panels by Antonio of Hercules
and Antaeus and Hercules and the Hydra.
10)
Pope Sixtus died in 1484; the tomb was made 1490-93.

JACOPO DALLA QUERCIA

Sculptor of Siena
(1371-1438)

Jacopo was the son of Master Piero di Filippo of a Quercia, a place in the territory of
Siena, and he was the first sculptor after Andrea Pisano, Orcagna, and the others
named above, who, by applying himself with greater study and dili0trence to sculpture,
began to show that it was possible to approach Nature, and was also the first to inspire
others with courage and the belief that it would be possible to equal her in some sort.
His first works of importance were done at Siena, at the age of nineteen, under these
circumstances. The Sienese had an army out against the Florentines under the captains
Gian Tedesco, nephew of Saccone da Pietramala, and Giovanni d'Azzo Ubaldini. The
latter fell sick in the country, and when brought to Siena he died 1). His death was a
great blow to the Sienese, and at his obsequies, which were very splendid, they caused
a wooden erection in the form of a pyramid to be made, on which was placed an
equestrian statue of the general by Jacopo's hand, of more than life-size, executed with
much judgment and invention. In the execution of this work, Jacopo employed a device
not in use up to that time, of constructing a framework for the horse and figure of pieces
of wood and laths fitted together, wrapped about with straw, tow and hemp, the whole
being tightly bound together, and then covered with the clay mixed with a cement
composed of woollen cloth, paste, and glue. This method of construction was, and is,
undoubtedly the best for such things, because, although they appear to be heavy, yet
after they are finished and dry they prove to be light, and being covered with white they
resemble marble, and are very pleasing to the eye, as was this work of Jacopo. In
addition to these advantages, such works do not crack as they would do if they were
made of dried clay only. In this style the models for sculptures are made to-day, to the
great convenience of Artists, who in this way always have a model before them of the
exact proportions of the sculptures upon which they are engaged, so that they are under
no small obligation to Jacopo, who is said to have been the inventor of this device.
Jacopo next made two panels of hard wood, carving on them the figures, beards and
hair with such patience that they were a marvel to behold. After these panels, which
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were placed in the Duomo, he did some prophets of moderate size in marble, which are
on the front of that building, and he would have pursued this work had it not been for the
plague, famine and the civil discords of the Sienese, who, after several revolts, had
thrown the city into disorder, and driven out Orlando Maleyolti 2), by whose favour
Jacopo had been employed in his native place with much honour. Accordingly he left
Siena, and through the efforts of some friends he was invited to Lucca, and there made
a tomb for the wife of Paulo Guinigi, the lord of the city, who had recently died, in the
church of S. Martino 3). On the pedestal of this he made some infants in marble bearing
a festoon, so beautifully finished that they are like living flesh and blood. On the
sarcophagus which is upon this pedestal he did the effigy of Paulo's wife, who was
buried there, with admirable finish, and at her feet, and on the same stone, he made a
dog in full relief, emblematical of her fidelity to her husband. After the departure, or
rather the expulsion, of Paolo from Lucca in the year 1429 4), when the city won its
freedom, this sarcophagus was removed from its place and all but entirely destroyed
because of the hatred which the Lucchese bore to the memory of Guinigi. Yet the
reverence which they felt for the beauty and the ornamentation restrained them, and led
them soon after to set up the sarcophagns and the effigy at the entrance door of the
sacristy, with great care, where they now are, the chapel of Guinigi becoming the
property of the community. About this time Jacopo learned that the art of the merchants
of the Calimara of Florence proposed to have a bronze door made for the church of S.
Giovanni, where Andrea Pisano had previously laboured, as already narrated.
He went to Florence 5) to make himself known, more especially because this
work was to be entrusted to the one who should display the best evidence of his skill in
producing one of the scenes in bronze. Arrived at Florence he not only made the model,
but completed and finished a well-conceived scene, which gave so much satisfaction
that, had not the excellent Donatello and Filippo Brunelleschi been among his rivals,
their knowledge surpassing his, he would have secured this important work. But as
matters turned out otherwise, he left for Bologna, where, by means of the favour of
Giovanni Bentivogli, he was commissioned 6) by the overseers of the church of S.
Petronio to make the principal door of that building in marble. Here he adopted the
Gothic style in order not to depart from the manner in which the building had already
been begun, filling the spaces which interrupt the rows of pillars bearing this corner and
tympanum with scenes executed with great devotion. To this work he gave twelve
years, doing with his own hand the foliage and ornamentation of the door with the
greatest imaginable diligence and care. Each of the pilasters bearing the architrave,
cornice and tympanum contains five bas-reliefs, and there are five in the architrave,
making fifteen in all. In these he carved scenes from the Old Testament, from the
creation of man by God to the Flood and Noah's arc, giving a great aid to sculpture, as
from the time of the ancients until then there had been no one to produce works in bas-
relief, so that that species of work was rather lost than degenerate. In the tympanum he
made three marble figures of life-size in full relief, namely Our Lady with the Child, very
beautifully done, S. Petronius and another saint all well arranged in fine attitudes. The
Bolognese, who had imagined that it would not be possible to produce any marble work
equal, much less superior, to that which Agostino and Agnolo of Siena had done on the
high altar of S. Francesco in that city, in the old style, had to admit that they were
mistaken when they perceived how much finer these were. Being next requested to
return to Lucca, Jacopo did so very readily, and for Federigo di maestro Trenta del
Veglia he did a marble slab in S. Friano 7) there, with the Virgin and Child, St. Sebastian,
St. Lucy, St. Jerome and St. Sigismund, in a good style with grace and design, and in
the predella beneath he did scenes from the life of each saint, in half-relief. This was a
very pretty and pleasing work, as Jacopo had displayed much art in making his figures
retire gradually on the different planes, and in diminishing those which were farthest
away. In like manner he encouraged others to endow their works with grace and beauty

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by new methods, and on two large stones he made the effigies of Federigo, the donor of
the work, and his wife, in bas-relief, for their two tombs. On these stones are the words

Hoc opus fecit Jacobus magistri Petri de Senis, 1422.

When Jacopo afterwards proceeded to Florence, the wardens of S. Maria del Fiore,
having heard a good report of him, employed him to make the marble front which is over
the door of that church, leading to the Nunziata 8). Here he represented a Madonna in a
mandorla 9) carried to heaven by a choir of angels, who are playing and singing,
displaying the most beautiful movements and attitudes, for there is vigour and decision
in their flight, such as had never been seen before. In like manner the Madonna is
clothed so gracefully and simply that nothing better could be desired, for the folds of the
drapery are soft and beautiful, the clothes following the lines of the figure, and while
covering the limbs disclose every turn. Under this Madonna is a St. Thomas receiving
the girdle. In short, this work, completed by Jacopo in four years, represents his powers
at their highest, for, besides his natural desire to do well, the rivalry of Donato, Filippo
and Lorenzo di Bartolo, some of whose works had already appeared and were much
admired, proved an even greater stimulus. His work was so good that even to this day it
is regarded by modern artists as most rare. On the other side of the Madonna opposite
St. Thomas Jacopo made a bear climbing a pear-tree. Upon this caprice of his many
things were related at the time, and I might add some more, but I refrain in order to
leave everyone free to follow his own belief and judgment. After this Jacopo, wishing to
see his native country again, returned to Siena, and on his arrival seized the opportunity
which he had‚ desired of leaving an honourable memorial of himself there. The Signoria
of Siena had decided to erect a very rich marble ornament for the water which Agnolo
and Agostino of Siena had brought to the piazza in the year1343 and this work they
entrusted to Jacopo for the price of 2200 gold crowns. Accordingly he made a model
and fetched the marble, set to work, and completed it to the great satisfaction of his
fellow citizens, who no longer called him Jacopo dalla Quercia but Jacopo dalla Fonte
ever after 10). In the midst of this work he carved the glorious Virgin Mary, the special
protector of the city, making her rather larger than the other figures and in a graceful
and original style. About her he put the seven Theo- logical Virtues, whose soft and
delicate heads he made with a beautiful expression and in such fashion that it is clear
that he was making advances towards excellence, overcoming the difficulties of the art
and giving grace to the marble, shaking off the old-fashioned style employed by
sculptors up to that time, who made their figures without a break and devoid of the least
grace, whilst Jacopo rendered his soft and flesh-like, finishing the marble with patience
and delicacy. Besides these he did some scenes of the Old Testament, namely, the
creation of our first parents and the eating of the forbidden fruit, in which the woman's
face is beautiful and gracious, and her comportment exhibits such reverence to Adain in
placing him first that it does not seem as if he could possibly refuse her. Besides this,
the remainder of the work is full of beautiful ideas and adorned with lovely children and
other ornaments of lions and wolves, tile arms of the city, all produced by Jacopo with
devotion, skill and judgment in the space of twelve years. By his hand also are three
very fine scenes in bronze of the life of St. John the Baptist, in half-relief 11), which are
about the font of S. Giovanni below the Duomo, as well as some other bronze figures in
full relief, one braccia high between the two scenes, which are really excellent and
admirable. For the excellence of these works, and for the goodness of his well-ordered
life, Jacopo deserved the honour of knighthood accorded to him by the Signoria of
Siena 12), as well as his subsequent appointment to be one of the wardens of the
Duomo. This latter office he discharged so well that the building was never better
managed either before or after, as although he only lived three years after the charge
was entrusted to him, yet he made a number of useful and notable repairs. though
Jacopo was only a sculptor, yet he could design very fairly, as is shown by some sheets
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of his in our book, which rather resemble the work of an illuminator than that of a
sculptor. His portrait, at the head of this Life, I had from Maestro Domenico Beccafumi,
who told me many things about the virtue, goodness and kindness of Jacopo.
Exhausted by his continual labours, he at length died at the age of sixty-four, and was
honourably buried in his native Siena by his friends and relatives, lamented by the
whole city. And he was certainly fortunate in that his worth was recognised by his fellow-
citizens, since it rarely happens that men of ability are universally loved and honoured in
their native land.
Matteo, sculptor of Lucca, was a pupil of Jacopo, who in the year1440 did the little
octagonal marble temple in the cliurch of S. Martino in that city, for Domenico Galigano
of Lucca. This contains the image of Holy Cross, which is said to have been
miraculously carved by Nicodemus, one of the seventy-two disciples of Our Lord. The
temple is really very fine and well proportioned. The same Matteo carved a marble
figure of St. Sebastian in full relief, three braccia high and very finely designed, the
attitude being excellent and the work well finished. By his hand also is a slab containing
three figures in three niches, in the church which is said to contain the body of St.
Regolo, another slab in S. Michele containing three marble figures, and the statue of
Our Lady which is at one of the out- side angles of the same church, which show that
Matteo strove hard to equal his master, Jacopo.
Niccolo Bolognese was another pupil of Jacopo, and among other things he
completed in an exquisite manner the marble shrine at Bologna, full of scenes and
figures, and containing the body of St. Dominic, which was left unfinished by Niccola
Pisano. From this work he won such fame and profit that. He was ever afterwards
known as Master Niccolo dell' Arca (of the Shrine). He completed this work in the year
1460, and then made a Madonna of bronze, four braccia high, for the front of the palace
where the Legate of Bologna now dwells, putting it in its place in the year 1418. In fine,
he was an excellent master and a worthy pupil of Jacopo dalla Querria of Siena.

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1)
In 1390.
2)
She died in 1406, and the tomb was made in 1413.
3)
It happened in September 1430.
4)
In 1402.
5)
On 25 March,1425; but Giovanni Bentivogli was killed in June 1402.
6)
i.e. Frediano, done in 1413.
7)
The Porta della Cintola but it is the work of Nanni di Banco done in 1414-21.
8)
An almond-shaped glory sun‚ rounding the entire figure.
9)
Begun in 1409 and finished 1419.
10)
Jacopo's panel is the angel appearing to Zacharias, done in1419, but not cast till 1430.
11)
In 1435.
12)
Matteo Civitali,1435-1501.

RAPHAEL OF URBINO
Painter and Architect
(1483-1520)

THE liberality with which Heaven now and again

unites in one person the inexhaustible riches of its
treasures and all those graces and rare gifts which are
usually shared among many over a long period is seen
in Raphael Sanzio of Urbino, who was as excellent as
gracious, and endowed with a natural modesty and
goodness sometimes seen in those who possess to an
unusual degree a humane and gentle nature adorned
with affability and good-fellowship, and he always
showed himself sweet and pleasant with persons of
every degree and in all circumstances. Thus Nature
created Michelagnolo Buonarroti to excel and conquer
in art, but Raphael to excel in art and in manners also.
Most artists have hitherto displayed something of folly
and savagery, which, in addition to rendering them eccentric and fantastical, has also
displayed itself in the darkness of vice and not in the splendour of those virtues which
render men immortal. In Raphael, on the other hand, the rarest gifts were combined with
such grace, diligence, beauty, modesty and good character that they would have
sufficed to cover the ugliest vice and the worst blemishes. We may indeed say that
those who possess such gifts as Raphael are not mere men, but rather mortal gods,
and that those who by their works leave an honoured name among us on the roll of
fame may hope to receive a fitting reward in heaven for their labours and their merits.
Raphael was born at Urbino, a most important city of Italy, in 1483, on Good
Friday, at three in the morning, of Giovanni de' Santi, a painter of no great merit, but of
good intelligence and well able to show his son the right way, a favour which bad
fortune had not granted to himself in his youth. Giovanni, knowing how important it was
for the child, whom he called Raphael as a good augury, being his only son, to have his
mother's milk and not that of a nurse, wished her to suckle it, so that the child might see
the ways of his equals in his tender years rather than the rough manners of clowns and
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people of low condition. When the boy was grown, Giovanni began to teach him
painting, finding him much inclined to that art and of great intelligence. Thus Raphael,
before many years and while still a child, greatly assisted his father in the numerous
works which he did in the state of Urbino. At last this good and loving father perceived
that his son could learn little more from him, and determined to put him with Pietro
Perugino, who, as I have already said, occupied the first place among the painters of
the time. Accordingly Giovanni went to Perugia, and not finding Pietro there he waited
for him, occupying the time in doing some things in S. Francesco. When Pietro returned
from Rome 1), Giovanni being courteous and well bred, made his acquaintance, and at a
fitting opportunity told him what he wished in the most tactful manner. Pietro, who was
also courteous and a friend of young men of promise, agreed to take Raphael.
Accordingly Giovanni returned joyfully to Urbino, and took the boy with him to Perugia,
his mother, who loved him tenderly, weeping bitterly at the separation 2). When Pietro
had seen Raphael's method of drawing and his fine manners and behaviour, he formed
an opinion of him that was amply justified by time. It is well known that while Raphael
was studying Pietro's style he imitated him so exactly in everything that his portraits
cannot be distinguished from those of his master, nor indeed can other things, as we
see in some figures done in oils on a panel in S. Francesco at Perugia for Madonna
Maddalena degli Oddi 3). It represents an Assumption, Jesus Christ crowning the Virgin
in heaven, while the twelve Apostles about the tomb are contemplating the celestial
glory. The predella contains three scenes: the Annunciation, the Magi adoring Christ,
and the Presentation in the Temple. This work is most carefully finished, and anyone not
skilled in style would take it to be by the hand of Pietro, though there is no doubt that it
is by Raphael. After this Pietro returned on some business to Florence, and Raphael left
Perugia, going with some friends to Citta di Castello. Here he did a panel in S. Agostino
in that style, and a Crucifixion in S. Domenico, which, if not signed with Raphael's name,
would be taken by everyone to be a work of Perugino. In S. Francesco in the same city
he also did a Marriage of the Virgin 4); which shows that Raphael was progressing in
skill, refining upon the style of Pietro and surpassing it. This work contains a temple
drawn in perspective, so charmingly that it is a wonder to see how he confronted the
difficulties of this task. Raphael had thus acquired a great reputation in this style when
the library of the Duomo at Siena was allotted by Pope Pius II. to Pinturicchio 5). As he
was a friend of Raphael, and knew him to be an admirable draughtsman, he brought
him to Siena, where Raphael drew some of the cartoons for that work. He did not finish
it because his love for art drew him to Florence 6), for he heard great things from some
painters of Siena of a cartoon done by Lionardo da Vinci in the Pope's HaIl at Florence
of a fine group of horses, to be put in the hall of the palace, and also of some nudes of
even greater excellence done by Michelagnolo in competition with Lionardo. This
excited so strong a desire in Raphael that he put aside his work and all thought of his
personal advantage, for excellence in art always attracted him.
Arrived in Florence, he was no less delighted with the city than with the works of art
there, which he thought divine, and he determined to live there for some time. Having
struck up a friendship with Ridolfo Ghirlandajo, Aristotele S. Gallo, and other young
painters, he was well received, especially by Taddeo Taddei, who was always inviting
him to his house and table, being one who loved the society of men of ability. Raphael,
who was courtesy itself, in order not to be surpassed in kindness, did two pictures for
him in a transitional style between the early manner of Pietro and of the other which he
learned afterwards, and which was much better, as I shall relate. These pictures are still
in the house of the heirs of Taddeo 7). Raphael was also very friendly with
Lorenzo‚ Nasi, and as Lorenzo had newly taken a wife, he painted him a picture of a
babe between the knees of the Virgin, to whom a little St. John is offering a bird, to the
delight of both. Their attitude displays childish simplicity and affection, while the picture
is well coloured and carefully finished, so that they appear to be actual living flesh 8).

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The Madonna possesses an air full of grace and divinity, the plain, the landscape and
all the rest of the work being of great beauty. This picture was greatly valued by Lorenzo
Nasi in memory of his close friend and for its excellent workmanship. But it was severely
damaged on 17 November, 1548, when the house of Lorenzo was crushed, together
with the beautiful houses of the heirs of Marco del Nero and many others, by a landslip
from Monte S. Giorgio. However, the pieces were found among the debris, and were
carefully put together by Battista, Lorenzo's son, who was very fond of the arts. After
these works Raphael was forced to leave Florence and go to Urbino, because, owing to
the death of his father and mother, all his things were in disorder. While staying there he
did two small but very beautiful Madonnas in his second manner for Guidobaldo da
Montefeltro, then captain of the Florentines 9). These are now the property of the
illustrious Guidobaldo, "Duke of Urbino. For the same captain he did a sleeping in the
distance. This painting is as delicately finished small picture of Christ praying in the
Garden, the three Apostles as a miniature. After remaining for a long time in the
possession of Francesco Maria, Duke of Urbino, it was given by his illustrious consort,
Leonora, to Don Paolo Giustiniano and Don Pietro Quirini, Venetians, hermits of the
Camaldoli. They placed it in a principal chamber of the hermitage, as a thing of rare
virtue, a work of Raphael, and the gift of so great a lady, and there it is held in the
esteem which it merits.
After settling his affairs, Raphael returned to Perugia, where he painted for the
Ansidei Chapel, in the church of the Servites, a picture of Our Lady, St. John the Baptist
and St. Nicholas 10). In the Lady Chapel of S. Severo, in the same city, a small
Camaldorite monastery, he painted in fresco a Christ in Glory, God the Father
surrounded by angels, with six saints seated, three on either side, St. Benedict, St.
Romuald, St. Laurence, St. Jerome, St. Maur and St. Placidus 11). To this fine fresco he
put his name in large letters, easily seen. The nuns of S. Antono da Padova, in the
same city, employed him to paint a Madonna with a clothed Christ, as they desired, with
St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Cecilia and St. Catherine, the heads of the two holy virgins being
the sweetest and purest imaginable, with their varied attire, a rare thing in those days.
Above this he painted a fine God the Father in a lunette, and three scenes of small
figures in the predella of Christ praying in the Garden, bearing the cross, the soldiers
driving Him being very vigorous, and dead in the lap of His Mother 12). This is a
marvellous work, greatly valued by the nuns and much admired by all artists. It is well
known that after his stay in Florence Raphael greatly altered and improved his style,
through having seen the works of the foremost masters; and he never reverted to his
former manner, which looks like the work of a different and inferior hand.
Before Raphael left Perugia, Madonna Atalanta Baglioni begged him to do a panel
for her chapel in the church of S. Francesco. But not being able to do so then, he
promised that he would not fail her when he returned from Florence, vhere he had
affairs. At Florence he devoted infinite pains to the study of his art, and did the cartoon
for this chapel, intending to carry it out as soon as he had the opportunity, as he did.
Agnolo Doni was then in Florence, and though sparing in other things, spent willingly
upon paintings and sculpture, of which he was very fond, though he saved as much as
he could. He had portraits of himself and his wife done 13), which may be seen in the
house of his son Gio. Battista, built by Agnolo, a fine structure and most convenient in
the Corso de' Tintori, near the corner of the Alberti in Florence. For Domenico Canigiani
Raphael did a Madonna with the Child Jesus playing with a St. John held to him by St.
Elizabeth, who is regarding St. Joseph, leaning with both hands on a staff and bending
his head towards Elizabeth, as if marvelling and praising the greatness of God that so
old a woman should have a little child 14). All of them seem to be marvelling at the
attitude of the children as they play, one reverencing the other, the colouring of the
heads, hands and feet being faultless, and the work of a master. This noble picture is

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now the property of the heirs of Dolnenico Canigiani, who value it as a work of Raphael
deserves.
This excellent artist studied the old paintings of Masaccio at Florence, and the works
of Lionardo and Michelagnolo which he saw induced him to study hard, and brought
about an extraordinary improvement in his art and style. While at Florence Raphael
became very friendly with Fri Bartolommeo of S. Marco, whose colouring pleased him
greatly, arid this he tried to imitate. On his part he taught the good father the methods of
perspective, which he had previously neglected. In the midst of this intimacy Raphael
was recalled to Perugia, where he began by finishing the work for Atalanta Baglioni, for
which he had prepared the cartoon at Florence, as I have said. This divine picture
represents Christ carried to burial, so finely done that it seems freshly executed 15). In
composing this work Raphael imagined the grief of loving relations in carrying to burial
the body of their dearest, the one on whom all the welfare, honour and advantage of the
entire family depended. Our Lady is fainting, and the heads of the figures in weeping
are most graceful, especially that of St. John, who hangs his head and clasps his hands
in a manner that would move the hardest to pity. Those who consider the diligence,
tenderness, art and grace of this painting may well marvel, for it excites astonishment by
the expressions of the figures, the beauty of the draperies, and the extreme excellence
of every particular.
On returning to Florence after completing this work, Raphael was commissioned by
the Dei, citizens there, to paint a picture for the chapel of their altar in S. Spirito 16). He
began this and made good progress with the outline. Meanwhile he did a picture 17) to
send to Siena, which at his departure he left to Ridolfo del Ghirlandajo to finish some
blue drapery in it. This was because Bramante, who was in the service of Julius II.,
wrote to him on account of a slight relationship, and because they were of the same
country, saying that he had induced the Pope to have certain apartments done, and that
Raphael might have a chance of showing his powers there. This pleased Raphael so
that he left his works at Florence and the picture of the Dei unfinished (but so far
complete that M. Baldassarre da Pescia had it put in the Pi eve of his native place after
Raphael's death), and went to Rome 18). Arrived there, Raphael found a great part of the
chambers of the palace already painted, and the whole being done by several masters.
Thus Pietro della Francesca had finished one scene, Luca da Cortona had completed a
wall, while Don Pietro della Gatta, abbot of S. Clemente, Arezzo, had begun some
things. Bramantino da Milano also had painted several figures, mostly portraits, and
considered very fine. Raphael received a hearty welcome from Pope Julius, and in the
chamber of the Segnatura he painted the theologians reconciling Philosophy and
Astrology with Theology, including portraits of all the wise men of the world in
disputation 19). Some astrologers there have drawn figures of their science and various
characters on tablets, carried by angels to the Evangelists, who explain them. Among
these is Diogenes with a pensive air, lying on the steps, a figure admirable for its beauty
and the disordered drapery. There also are Aristotle and Plato, with the Ethics and Tim-
us respectively, and a group of philosophers in a ring about them. Indescribably fine are
those astrologers and geometricians drawing figures and characters with their sextants.
Among them is a youth of remarakble beauty with his arms spread in astonishment and
head bent. This is a portrait of Federigo II., Duke of Mantua, who was then in Rome.
Another figure bends towards the ground, holding a pair of compasses in his hand and
turning them on a board. This is said to be a life-like portrait of Bramante the architect.
The next figure, with his back turned and a globe in his hand is a portrait of Zoroaster.
Beside him is Raphael himself, drawn with the help of a mirror. He is a very modest
looking young man, of graceful and pleasant mien, wearing a black cap on his head.
The beauty and excellence of the heads of the Evangelists are inexpressible, as he has
given them an air of attention and carefulness which is most natural, especially in those
who are writing. Behind St. Matthew, as he is copying the characters from tablets, held
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by an angel, is an old man with paper on his knees copying what Matthew dictates. As
he stands in that uncomfortable position, he seems to move his lips and head to follow
the pen. The minor considerations, which are numerous, are well thought out, and the
composition of the entire scene, which is admirably portioned out, show Raphael's
determination to hold the field, without a rival, against all who wielded the brush. He
further adorned this work with a perspective and many figures, so delicately and finely
finished that Pope Julius caused all the other works of the other masters, both old and
new, to be destroyed, that Raphael alone might have the glory of replacing what had
been done. Although the work of Gio Antonio Sodoma of Vercelli, which was above the
scene of Raphael's, was to have been destroyed by the Pope's order, Raphael decided
to make use of its arrangement and of the grotesques. In each of the four circles he
made an allegorical figure to point the significance of the scene beneath, towards which
it turns. For the first, where he had painted Philosophy, Astrology, Geometry and Poetry
agreeing with Theology, is a woman representing Knowledge, seated in a chair
supported on either side by a goddess Cybele, with the numerous breasts ascribed by
the ancients to Diana Polymastes. Her garment is of four colours, representing the four
elements, her head being the colour of fire, her bust that of air, her thighs that of earth,
and her legs that of water. Some beautiful children are with her. In another circle
towards the window looking towards the Belvedere is Poetry in the person of
Polyhymnia, crowned with laurel, holding an ancient instrument in one hand and a book
‚in the other. Her legs are crossed, the face having an expression of immortal beauty,
the eyes being raised to heaven. By her are two children, full of life and movement,
harmonising well with her and the others. On this side Raphael afterwards did the Mount
Pamasstis 20) above the window already mentioned. In the circle over the scene where
the holy doctors are ordering Mass is Theology with books and other things about her,
and children of no less beauty than the others. Over the window looking into the court,
in another circle, he did Justice with -her scales and naked sword, with similar children
of the utmost beauty, because on the wall underneath he had represented civil and
canon law, as I shall relate. On the same vaulting, at the comers, he did four scenes,
designed and coloured with great diligence, though the figures are not large. In one of
them, next the Theology, he did the sin of Adam in eating the apple, in a graceful style.
In the one where Astrology is, he represented that science putting the fixed and moving
stars in their appointed places. In the one of Mount Parnassus he did Marsyas Rayed at
a tree by Apollo; and next the scene of the giving of the Decretals is Judgment of
Solomon. These four scenes are full of feeling and expression, executed with great
diligence in beautiful and graceful colouring.
I must now relate what was done on the walls below. On the wall towards the
Belvedere, containing the Mount Parnassus and Fountain of Helicon, he made a shady
laurel grove about the mount, so that the trembling of the leaves in the soft air can
almost be seen, while a number of naked cupids, with lovely faces, are floating above,
holding laurel branches, of which they make garlands and scatter them over the mount.
The beauty of the figures and the nobility of the painting breathe a truly divine afflatus,
and cause those who examine them to marvel that they should be the work of a human
mind, through the imperfect medium of colours; and that the excellence of the design
should make them appear alive. The poets scattered about the mountain are
remarkable in this respect, some standing and some writing, others talking, and others
singing or conversing in groups of four or six according to the disposition. Here are
portraits of all the most famous poets, both ancient and modern, taken partly from
statues, partly from medals, and many from old pictures, while others were living. Here
we see Ovid, Virgil, Ennius, Tibullus, Catullus, Propertius and Homer, holding up his
blind head and singing verses, while at his feet is one writing. Here in a group are the
nine Muses, with Apollo, breathing realities of wonderful beauty and grace. Here are the
learned Sappho, the divine Dante, the delicate Petrarca, the amorous Boccacio, all full

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of life; Tibaldeo is there also, and numerous other moderns, the whole scene being
done with exquisite grace and finished with care. On another wall he did Heaven, with
Christ and the Virgin, St. John the Baptist, the Apostles, Evangelists, martyrs in the
clouds, with God the Father above sending out the Holy Spirit over a number of saints
who subscribe to the Mass and argue upon the Host which is on the altar. Among them
are the four Doctors of the Church, surrounded by saints, including Dominic, Francis,
Thomas Aquinas Bonaventura, Scotus, Nicholas of Lyra, Dante, Fra Girolamo
Savonarola of Ferrara, and all the Christian theologians, including a number of portraits.
In the air are four children holding open the Gospels, and it would be impossible for any
painter to produce figures of more grace and perfection than these. The saints in a
group in the air seem alive, and are remarkable for the foreshortening and relief. Their
draperies also are varied and very beautiful, and the heads rather celestial than human,
especially that of Christ, displaying all the clemency and pity which divine painting can
demonstrate to mortal man. Indeed, Raphael had the gift of rendering his heads sweet
and gracious, as we see in a Madonna with her hands to her breast contemplating the
Child, who looks incapable of refusing a favour. Raphael appropriately rendered his
patriarchs venerable, his apostles simple, and his matryrs full of faith. But he showed
much more art and genius in the holy Christian doctors, disputing in groups of six, three
and two. Their faces show curiosity and their effort to establish, the certainty of which
they are in doubt, using their hands in arguing and certain gestures of the body,
attentive ears, knit brows, and many different kinds of astonishment, various and
appropriate. On the other hand, the four Doctors of the Church, illuminated by the Holy
Spirit, solve, by means of the Holy Scriptures, all the questions of the Gospels, which
are held by children flying in the air. On the other wall, containing the other window, he
did Justinian giving laws to the doctors, who correct them; above are Temperance,
Fortitude and Prudence. On the other side the Pope being a portrait of Julius II., while
Giovanni de' Medici the cardinal, afterwards Pope Leo, Cardinal Antonio di Monte, and
Cardinal Alessandro Famese, afterwards Pope Paul III., are also present, with other
portraits. The Pope was greatly delighted with this work, and in order to have woodwork
of equal value to the paintings, he sent for Fra Giovanni of Verona from Monte Oliveto of
Chiusuri, in the Siena territory, then a great master in marquetry. He not only did the
wainscoting, but the fine doors and seats with perspectives, which won him favour,
rewards and honours from the Pope. Certainly no one was ever more skilful in design
and workmanship in that profession than Giovanni, as we see by the admirable
perspectives in wood in the sacristy of S. Maria in Organo in his native Verona, the choir
of Monte Oliveto di Chiusuri and that of S. Benedetto at Siena, as well as the sacristy of
Monte Oliveto of Naples, and the choir in the chapel of Paolo di Tolosa there. Thus he
deserves to be held in honour by his order, in which he died at the age of sixty-eight in
1537. I have mentioned him as a man of true excellence, because 21) think his ability
deserves it, for he induced other masters to make many rare works subsequently, as I
shall say elsewhere.
But to return to Raphael. His style improved so greatly that the Pope entrusted to
him the second chamber towards the great hall. His reputation had now become very
great, and at this time he painted a portrait of Pope Julius in oils so wonderfully life-like
and true that it inspired fear as if it were alive. This work is now in S. Maria del Popolo
22)
, with a fine painting of Our Lady done at the same time, and containing a Nativity of
Christ, the Virgin covering the Child with a veil. This is of great beauty, the air of the
head and of the whole body showing the Child to be the veritable Son of God. The head
and face of the Madonna are of equal beauty, and also display her joy and pity. Joseph
leans with both hands on a staff in pensive contemplation of the King and Queen of
Heaven, in the wonder of a most holy old man. Both these pictures are shown on
solemn festivals.

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 At this time Raphael had acquired great renown at Rome. But although his graceful
style commanded the admiration of all, and he continually studied the numerous
antiquities in the city, he‚had not as yet endowed his figures with the grandeur and
majesty which he imparted to them henceforward.
It happened at this time that Michelagnolo caused the Pope so much upset and
alarm in the chapel, of which I shall speak in his Life, whereby he was forced to fly to
Florence. Bramante had the keys of the chapel, and, being friendly with Raphael, he
showed him Michelagnolo's methods so that he might understand them. This at once
led Raphael to do over again the Prophet Isaiah in S. Agostino above the St. Anne of
Andrea Sansovino, which he had just finished. Aided by what he had seen of
Michelagnolo, he greatly improved and enlarged the figure, endowing it with more
majesty. When Michelagnolo saw it afterwards he concluded that Bramante had played
him this bad turn to benefit Raphael. Not long after, Agostino Chisi, a wealthy merchant
of Siena and patron of men of genius, allotted to Raphael a chapel, because shortly
before he had painted in the sweetest manner, in a loggia of the merchant's palace, now
called Chisi in Trastevere, a Galatea in the sea on car drawn by two dolphins,
surrounded by tritons and many sea gods 23). After making a cartoon for this chapel,
which is on the right-hand on entering the principal door of the church of S. Maria della
Pace, Raphael carried it out in fresco in a new style, considerably finer and more
magnificent than his first. Here he did some prophets and sibyls, before the chapel of
Michelagnolo was opened publicly, though he had seen it, which are considered the
best of his works and the most beautiful among so many others, because the women
and children are represented with great vivacity and perfect colouring. This work
established his renown for ever, as being the most excellent that he produced in his life.
At the prayers of a chamberlain of Julius 24) he painted the picture of the high altar of
Araceli, representing Our Lady in the air, a beautiful landscape, St. John, St. Francis
and St. Jerome as a cardinal. Our Lady shows the humility and modesty proper to the
Mother of Christ, the Child is very prettily playing with his Mother's cloak. St. John
shows the effect of fasting, his head expressive of great sincerity and absolute certainty,
like those who are far removed from the world, who speak the truth and hate falsehood.
St. Jerome raises his head and eyes to Our Lady in contemplation, indicative of the
learning and wisdom displayed in his writings; with both hands he is presenting the
chamberlain, who is very life-like. Raphael was equally successful with his St. Francis,
who kneels on the ground with one arm t‚stretched out, and with his head raised he
regards the burning with love and emotion, his features and the colouring showing his
consuming love and the comfort and life which he derives from regarding her beauty
and that of the Child. Raphael did a boy standing in the middle of the picture under the
Virgin, looking up to her and holding a tablet. For his beautiful face and well-
proportioned limbs he cannot be surpassed. Besides this there is a landscape of
remarkable perfection and beauty. Continuing the rooms in the palace, Raphael did the
miracle of the Sacraiment of the Corporale of Orvieto, or Bolsena, as it is ealled 25. We
see the priest blushing with shame in saying Mass at seeing the Host melted into blood
on the Corporale owing to his incredulity. Fear is in his eyes, and he seems beside
himself in the presence of his auditors, as he stands irresolute. His hands tremble, and
he shows other signs of terror natural on such an occasion. About him are many varied
figures, some serving the Mass, some kneeling on the steps in beautiful attitudes,
astonished at the event, showing the many various effects of the same emotion, both in
the men and women 26). There is one woman seated on the ground in the lower part of
the scene, holding a child in her arms. She turns in wonder at hearing someone speak
of what has happened to the priest with a very charming and vivacious feminine grace.
On the other side Raphael represented Pope Julius hearing the Mass, introducing
the portrait of the cardinal of S. Giorgio and many others. In the part interrupted by the
window he introduced a flight of steps, shown entire, so that the story is uninterrupted,
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and it seems that if this gap had not been there the scene would have suffered. Thus we
see that in inventing and composing scenes no one ever excelled Raphael in
arrangement and skill. This appears opposite in the came place where St. Peter is
represented guarded in prison by armed men, by Herod's order 27). Here his architecture
and his discretion in treating the prison are such that beside him the work of others
seem more confused than his are beautiful, for he always endeavoured to follow the
narrative in his scenes and introduce beautiful things. Thus, for example, in the horrible
prison we see the aged Peter chained between two armed men, the heavy sleep of the
guards, the shining splendour of the angel in the darkness of the night, showing all the
details of the cell and making the armour glisten so that it appears to be burnished and
not a painted representation. No less art and genius is displayed in the scene where
Peter leaves the prison, freed from his chains, accompanied by the angel, the Apostle's
face showing that he believes himself to be dreaming. The other armed guards outside
the prison are terror-stricken as they hear the sound of the iron door. A sentinel holds a
torch in his right hand, the light of which is reflected in all the armour, and where this
does not fall there is moonlight. Raphael did this above the window, and thus makes the
wall darker. But in looking at the picture, the painted light and the various lights of the
night seem due to Nature, so that we fancy we see the smoke of the torch, the
splendour of the angel, and the deep darkness of the night, so natural and true that it is
hard to believe they are only painted, where every difficult thing that he has imagined is
so finely presented. Here in the darkness we see the outlines of the armour, the
shading, the reflections, the effects of the heat of the lights, showing Raphael to be the
master of the other painters. No better representation of the night has ever been made,
this being considered the divinest and most remarks He of all. On one of the bare walls
Raphael further did the Divine worship, the ark of the Hebrews and the candlestick, and
Pope Julius driving Avarice from the church, scenes of beauty and excellence like the
night just mentioned. They contain portraits of the bearers then living, who are carrying
the Pope in a chair, for whom some men and women make way to allow him to pass 28).
An armed man on horseback, accompanied by two on foot, is fiercely striking the proud
Heliodorus, who, by the command of Antiochus, intended to despoil the Temple of all
the deposits of widows and orphans. We see the property and treasures being taken
away, but all thrown to the ground and scattered at the fall of Heliodorus, beaten to the
earth by the three, whom he alone sees, those engaged in carrying them being seized
with sudden terror like all the other followers of Heliodorus. Apart from these kneels the
High Priest Onias in his pontifieals, his eyes and hands turned to heaven in fervent
prayer, filled with compassion for the poor who are losing their possessions, and with
joy at the succour sent by Heaven. By a happy idea of Raphael the plinths of the
pedestals are filled with many who have climbed up by the columns, and are looking on
in their uneasy postures, while the astonished multitude, in various attitudes, is awaiting
the event. This work 29) is so marvellous in every particular that even the cartoons for it
are greatly prized. Some parts of them belong to M. Francesco Masini, a nobleman of
Cesena, who, without the help of any Masters but guided from his childhood by an
extraordinary natural instinct, has himself studied painting and produced pictures which
are much admired by connoisseurs. These cartoons are among his designs with some
ancient reliefs in marble, and are valued by him as they deserve. I must add that M.
Niccolo Masini, who has supplied me with these particulars, is a genuine admirer of our
arts as he is distinguished in every other particular.
But to return to Raphael. In the vaulting of this chamber he did four scenes: the
appearance of God to Abraham, promising the multiplication of his seed, the sacrifice of
Isaac, Jacob's ladder, and the burning bush of Moses, displaying no less art, invention,
design and grace than in his other works. While he was engaged in producing these
marvels, envious Fortune deprived Julius II. of his life, removing that patron of talent and
admirer of every good thing. On Leo X. succeeding 30) he wished the work to be

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continued. Raphael's abilities ascended to the heavens, and he was much gratified at
meeting so great a prince, who inherited the love of his family for the arts. Accordingly
he was heartened to continue the work, and on the other wall did the coming of Attila to
Rome, and his meeting with Leo III. at the foot of Monte Mario, and being driven away
with a simple benediction. In the air are St. Peter and St. Paul with drawn swords
coming to defend the Church. Although the history of Leo III. does not relate this, ‚the
artist no doubt wished it to be 50, just as the poets often introduce some fresh matter to
their work as an ornament, and yet do not depart from the main idea. The Apostles
show a valour and celestial Aardour that the divine judgment often puts into the faces of
its servants to defend the most holy religion. Attila, mounted on a black horse of the
utmost beauty with a white star on his forehead, betrays great fear in his face as he
takes to flight. There are other very fine horses, notably a dappled Spanish jennet,
ridden by a man whose bare parts are covered with scales like a fish. He is copied from
Trajan's Column, where the men are armed in this Way, and it is supposed to be made
of crocodile skin. Monte Mario is burning, showing that on the departure of soldiers their
quarters are always left in flames. Raphael also drew some mace-bearers
accompanying the Pope, who are very life-like, and the horses they ride, with the court
of the cardinals and other bearers, holding the Hackney, upon which the man in
pontificals is mounted, who is a portrait of Leo X., as fine as the others, and many
courtiers. This is a truly charming thing, thus adapted to such a work, and most useful to
our art, especially for those who delight in such things. At the same time Raphael did a
panel for Naples which was placed in S. Domenico in the chapel containing the crucifix
which spoke to St. Thomas Aquinas. It represents the Virgin 31), St. Jerome dressed as a
cardinal, and the Angel Raphael accompanying Tobias. He did a picture for Leonello da
Carpi, lord of Meldola, who is still alive, though over ninety. This was a marvel of
colouring and of singular beauty, being executed with vigour and of such delicate
loveliness that I do not think it can be improved upon. The face of the Madonna
expresses divinity and her attitude modesty. With joined hands she adores her Child,
who sits on her knees and is caressing a little St. John, who adores him, as do St.
Elizabeth and Joseph. This picture belonged to the Cardinal di Carpi, son of Leonello, a
distinguished patron of the arts, and it must now be in the possession of his heirs. When
Lorenzo Pucci, cardinal of Sante Quattro, was appointed chief penancer, Raphael
obtained a commission from him to do a picture for S. Giovanni in Monte at Bologna. It
is now placed in the chapel containing the body of the Blessed Elena dall' Olio 32). In this
work we see the full power of the delicate grace of Raphael joined to art. St. Cecilia
listens entranced to a choir of angels in heaven, absorbed by the music. Her face is
abstracted like one in an ecstasy, on the ground musical instruments are scattered,
which look real and not painted, as do her veil and vestments of cloth of gold and silk,
with a marvellous haircloth beneath. St. Paul rests his right arm on a naked sword and
hid head on his hand, showing his knowledge and his fiery nature turned to gravity. He
is bare-footed and dressed like an apostle in a simple red mantle, with a green tunic
beneath. St. Mary Magdalene lightly holds a vase of precious stone in her hand, and
turns her head in joy at her conversion; these are of unsurpassable beauty, and so are
the heads of St. Augustine and St. John the Evangelist. While we may term other works
paintings, those of Raphael are living things; the flesh palpitates, the breath comes and
goes, every organ lives, life pulsates everywhere, and so this picture added
considerably to his reputation. Thus many verses were written in his honour in the
vulgar and Latin tongues. I will quote the following only, not to make my story too long:

Pingant sola alii referantque coloribus ora Coeciliae os

Raphael atque animum explicuit.

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 After this Raphael did a small picture of little figures, also at Bologna, in the house of
Count Vincenzio Ercolani, containing Christ, as Jove, in heaven, surrounded by the four
Evangelists as described by Ezekiel, one like a man, one as a lion, one as an eagle and
one as an ox, with a landscape beneath 33), no less beautiful for its scale than the large
works. To the counts of Canossa at Verona he sent a large picture of equal excellence
of Nativity, with a much admired Dawn, and a St. Anne. Indeed, the whole work is fine,
and to say that it is by Raphael is to bestow the highest praise, and it is greatly prized by
the counts. Though offered great sums by many princes they have refused to part with
it. For Bindo Altoviti Raphael did his portrait as a young man 34), considered most
wonderful. He also did a picture of the Virgin, which he sent to Florence 35). This is now
in the palace of Duke Cosimo in the chapel of the new apartments built and painted by
myself, where it serves as the altarpiece. It represents an aged St. Anne seated,
offering the Christ-child to the Virgin, the baby being a beautiful nude figure with a lovely
face that gladdens all beholders by its smile. Raphael in painting this Madonna shows
with what beauty art can endow the aspect of a Virgin, with her modest eyes, her noble
forehead, her graceful nose and her virtuous mouth, while her dress displays the utmost
simplicity and virtue. Indeed, I do not think a better can be seen. There is a nude St.
John, seated, and a very beautiful female saint. The background is a house with a
window lighting the room in which the figures are. At Rome Raphael did a picture with
the portraits of Pope Leo, Cardinal Giulio de' Medici and the Cardinal de' Rossi 36). The
figures seem to stand out in relief; the velvet shows its texture, the damask on the Pope
is shining and lustrous, the fur lining soft and real, and the gold and silk look like the
actual materials and not colours. There is the illuminated parchment book, of
remarkable realism, and a bell of chased silver of indescribable beauty. Among other
things is the burnished gold ball of the seat, reflecting, such is its clearness, the lights of
the windows, the Pope's back, and the furniture of the room like a mirror, so wonderfully
done that it would seem that no master can improve upon it. For this work the Pope
largely rewarded him, and the picture is still in Florence in the duke's wardrobe. He also
painted Duke Lorenzo and Duke Giuliano as finely as these, with equal grace in the
colouring. These are in the possession of the heirs of Ottaviano de' Medici in Florence.
Thus the glory and the rewards of Raphael increased together. To leave a memory of
himself he built a palace in the Borgo Nuovo at Rome, decorated with stucco by
Bramante.
By these and other works the fame of Raphael spread to France and Flanders.
Albert Durer, a remarkable German painter and author of some fine copper engravings,
paid him the tribute of his homage and sent him his own portrait, painted in water-
colours, on cambric, so fine that it was transparent, without the use of white paint, the
white material forming the lights of the picture This appeared marvellous to Raphael,
who sent back many drawings of his own which were greatly valued by Albert. This
head was among the things of Giulio Romano, Raphael's heir, in Mantua.
Having seen the engravings of Albert Durer, Raphael was anxious to show what he
could do in that art, and caused Marco Antonio of Bologna to study the method. He
succeeded so well that he had his first things engraved: the Innocents, a Last Supper, a
Neptune, the St. Cecilia 37) boiled in oil. Marco Antonio then did a number of prints which
Raphael afterwards gave to Baviera, his boy, who had the charge of one of hid
mistresses whom Raphael loved until his death He made a beautiful life-like portrait of
her which is now in Florence in the possession of the most noble Botti, a Florentine
merchant, the friend and intimate of all distinguished men, especially painters He keeps
it as a reminder of his love for art and especially of Raphael. His brother Simone Botti is
not behind him in his love of art, and besides his reputation among artists as one of the
best patrons of their profession, he is especially esteemed by me as the best friend I
have ever had, while he possesses a good artistic judgment.

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 But to return to engravings. The favour of Raphael to II Baviera quickened the hand
of Marco da Ravenna so that copper engravings from being scarce became as plentiful
as we now see them. Then Ugo da Carpi, a man whose head was full of ingenious
ideas and fancies, discovered wood engraving, so that by three impressions he
obtained the light and the shade of chiaroscuro sketches, a very beautiful and ingenious
invention. Quantities of these prints may now be seen, as I shall relate more in detail, in
the Life of Marco Antonio of Bologna: For the monastery of Palermo, called S. Maria
dello Spasmo, of the friars of Monte Oliveto, Raphael did Christ bearing the Cross,
which is considered marvellous, seeing the cruelty of the executioners leading Him to
death on Mount Calvary with fierce rage 38). The Christ in his grief and pain at the
approach of death has fallen through the weight of the cross, and, bathed in sweat and
blood, turns towards the Maries, who are weeping bitterly. Here Veronica is stretching
out her hand and offering the handkerchief with an expression of deep love. The work is
full of armed men on horse and foot, who issue from the gate of Jerusalem with the
standards of justice in their hands, in varied and fine attitudes. When this picture was
finished, but not set up in its place, it was nearly lost, because on its way by sea to
Palermo a terrible storm overtook the ship, which was broken on a rock, and the men
and merchandise all perished, except this picture, which was washed up at Genoa in its
case. When it was fished out and landed it was found to be a divine work, and proved to
be uninjured, for even the fury of the winds and waves respected such painting. When
the news had spread, the monks hastened to claim it, and no sooner was it restored to
them through the influence of the Pope than they handsomely rewarded those who had
saved it. It was again sent by ship, and was set up in Palermo, where it is more famous
than the mountain of Vulcan. While Raphael was at work on these things, which he had
to do, since it was for great and distinguished persons, and he could not decline them in
his own interest, he nevertheless continued his work in the Pope's chambers and halls,
where he kept men constantly employed in carrying on the work from his designs, while
he supervised the whole, giving assistance as he well knew how. It vas not long before
he uncovered the chamber of the Borgia tower. On every wall he painted a scene, two
above the windows and two others on the sides. During a fire in the Borgo Vecchio at
Rome, which could not be put out, St. Leo IV. had gone to the loggia of the palace and
extinguished it with a benediction. This scene represents various perils. In one part we
see women whose hair and clothes are blown about by the fury of the wind, as they
carry water to extinguish the fire in vessels in their hands and on their heads. Others
endeavouring to cast water are blinded by the smoke. On the other side is a sick old
man, beside himself with infirmity and the conflagration, borne as Virgil describes 39)
Anchises to have been borne by Aeneas, the youth showing his spirit and putting out his
strength to carry his burden. A lean, bare-footed old woman follows them, fleeing from
the fire, with a naked child before them. From the top of some ruins is a naked,
dishevelled woman, who throws her child to one who has escaped from the flames and
stands on tip-toe in the street, with arms stretched out to receive the little one in its
swaddling-clothes. The desire of the woman to save the child and her own fear of the
approaching fire are well depicted, while the one receiving the child is disturbed by fear
for his own safety while anxious to save his charge. Equally remarkable is a mother,
dishevelled and ragged, with some clothes in her hand, who beats her children to make
them run faster from the fire. Some women kneeling before the Pope seem to be
begging him to cause the fire to cease.
The other scene is also of St. Leo IV., where he has represented the port of Ostia,
occupied by the Turks, who came to make him prisoner. We see the Christians fighting
the fleet at sea, a number of prisoners already taken to the port, coming out of a boat,
led by soldiers by the beard, the attitudes being very fine. In their varying costumes they
are led by galley-slaves before St. Leo, who is a portrait of Leo X., the Pope standing in
his pontificals between Bernardo Divizio of Bibbiena, the Cardinal S. Maria in Portico,

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and Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, afterwards Pope Clement. I cannot relate at length the
numerous fine devices employed by the artist in representing the prisoners, and how,
without speech, he represents grief, fear and death. There are two other scenes, one 40)
of Leo X. consecrating the Most Christian King Francis I. of France, singing the Mass in
his pontificals and blessing the anointing oil, with a number of cardinals and bishops in
pontificals assisting, including the portraits of several ambassadors and others, some
dressed in the French fashion of the time. The other scene is the coronation of the king,
the Pope and Francis being portraits, the one in armour and the other in pontificals. All
the cardinals, bishops, chamberlains, squires, grooms of the chamber, are in their
robes, and seated according to rank, after the custom of the chapel, and are portraits,
including Giannozzo Pandolfini, bishop of Troyes, a great friend of Raphael, and many
other noted men of the time. Near the king is a boy kneeling and holding the royal
crown. This is a portrait of Lppolito de' Medici, who afterwards became cardinal and
vice-chancellor, and a great friend of the arts and other talents. To his memory I
acknowledge my indebtedness, for it is to him that I owe my start on my career, such as
it has been. I cannot enter into every minute detail concerning the productions of this
artist whose very silence is like speech. Beneath these scenes are figures of the
defenders and benefactors of the Church each surrounded by a different border and
everything carried out with spirit, expression and good ideas, with a harmony of colours
that cannot be described. As the vaulting of this room was painted by Pietro Perugino,
his master, Raphael would not efface it, from respect for the memory of him who had
taught him the first elements of his art.
Such was the greatness of this man that he kept draughts men in all Italy, at
Pozzuolo, and as far as Greece, to procure everything of value to assist his art.
Continuing his series, he did a room with some figures on the ground-level of apostles
and saints in tabernacles, and employed Giovanni da Udine, his pupil, unique in
drawing animals, to do all the animals of Pope Leo: a chameleon, the civet cats, apes,
parrots, lions, elephants, and other curious creatures. He further decorated the palace
with grotesques and varied pavements, designing the papal staircases and other loggia
begun by Bramante the architect, but left unfinished at his death. Raphael followed a
new design of his own, and made a wooden model on a larger scale and more ornate
than Bramante's. As Pope Leo wished to display his magnificence and generosity,
Raphael prepared the designs for the stucco ornaments and the scenes painted there,
as well as of the borders. He appointed Giovanni da Udine head of the stucco and
grotesque work, and Giuliano da Romano of the figures, though he did little work on
them. Gio. Francesco 41), also Il Bologna, Perino del Vaga, Pellegrino da Modana,
Vincenzio da S. Gimignano, and Polidoro da Caravaggio, with many other painters, did
scenes and figures and other things for that work, which Raphael finished with such
perfection that he sent to Florence for a pavement by Luca della Robbia. Certainly no
finer work can be conceived, with its paintings, stucco, disposition and inventions. It led
to Raphael's appointment as superintendent of all works of painting and architecture
done in the palace. It is said that his courtesy was so great that the builders, to allow
him to accommodate his friends, did not make the walls solid, but left openings above
the old rooms in the basement, where they might store casks, pipes and firewood.
These openings enfeebled the base of the structure, so that it became necessary to fill
them up owing to the cracks which began to show. For the gracefully finished inlaid
work of the doors and wainscoting of these rooms Raphael employed Gian Barile, a
clever woodcarver. He prepared architectural designs for the Pope's villa, and for
several houses in the Borgo, notably the palace of M. Gio. Battista dall' Aquila, which
was very beautiful. He did another for the bishop of Troyes in the via di S. Gallo in
Florence. For the black monks of S. Sisto at Piacenza he did the high-altar picture
representing the Madonna, with St. Sixtus and St. Barbara, a rare and unique work 42).
He did many pictures for France, notably a St. Michael fighting the devil 43), for the king,

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considered marvellous. He represented the centre of the earth by a half-burned rock,
from the fissures of which issue flames of fire and sulphur. Lucifer, whose burned
members are coloured several tints, exhibits his rage and his poisoned and inflated
pride against Him who has cast him down, and his realisation of his doom of eternal
punishment. Michael, on the other hand, is of celestial aspect, in armour of iron and
gold, courageous and strong, having already overthrown Lucifer, at whom he aims his
spear. In fine, this work deserved a rich reward from the king. He drew portraits of
Beatrice of Ferrara and other ladies, including his own mistress.
Raphael was very amorous, and fond of women, and was always swift to serve
them. Possibly his friends showed him too much complaisance in the matter. Thus,
when Agostino Chigi, his close friend, employed him to paint the first loggia in his
palace, Raphael neglected the work for one of his mistresses. Agostino, in despair, had
the lady brought to his house to live in the part where Raphael was at work, contriving
this with difficulty by the help of others. That is why the work was completed. Raphael
did all the cartoons of this work, and coloured many figures in fresco with his own hand.
In the vaulting he did the council of the gods in heaven, introducing forms and costumes
borrowed from the antique, with refined grace and design. Thus he did the espousal of
Psyche, with the ministers who serve Jove, and the Graces scattering flowers. In the
lower part of the vaulting he did many scenes, including Mercury with the flute, who
seems to be cleaving the sky in his flight. In another, Jove, with celestial dignity, is
kissing Ganymede. Beneath is the chariot of Venus and Mercury, and the Graces taking
Psyche to heaven, with many other poetical scenes. In the arched space between the
corbels he did a number of cherubs, beautifully foreshortened, carrying the implements
of the gods in their flight: the thunderbolts and arrows of Jove, the helm et, sword and
target of Mars, the hammers of Vulcan, the club and lion's skin of Hercules, the wand of
Mercury, the pipe of Pan, the agricultural rakes of Vertumnus, all with animals
appropriate to their nature, a truly beautiful painting and poem. As a border to these
scenes he caused Giovanni da Udine to make flowers, leaves and fruits in festoons,
which could not be better. He designed the architecture of the stables of the Ghigi, and
Agostino's chapel in the church of S. Maria del Popolo, where, besides the painting, he
designed a marvellous tomb, directing Lorenzetto, a sculptor of Florence, to make two
figures, which are still in his house in the Macello de' Corbi at Rome; but the death of
Raphael, followed by that of Agostino, led to the work being given to Sebastiano
Viniziano.
Raphael had become so great that Leo X. ordained that he should begin the large
upper hall, containing the Victories of Constantine, which he began. The Pope also
desired to have rich tapestry hangings of gold and silk. For these Raphael made large
coloured cartoons of the proper size, all with his own hand, which were sent to weavers
in Flanders,' and, when finished, the tapestries came to Rome 44). The work is so
marvellously executed that it excites the wonder of those who see it that such things as
hair and beards and delicate flesh-colouring can be woven work. It is certainly a miracle
rather than a production of human art, containing, as it does, water, animals, buildings,
all so well done that they seem the work of the brush and not of the loom. It cost 70,000
crowns, and is still preserved in the papal chapel. For the Cardinal Colonna Raphael did
a St. John' on canvas, greatly prized by its owner, who, falling sick, gave it to the
physician who healed him, M. Jacopo da Carpi, feeling under a great obligation, and it is
now in Florence in the hands of Francesco Benintendi. For Cardinal Giulio de' Medici,
the vice-chancellor, he painted the Transfiguration, to be sent to France. He worked
steadily at this with his own hands, bringing it to its final completion. It represents Christ
transfigured on Mount Tabor with the eleven disciples at the foot, awaiting their Master.
A boy possessed by a devil is brought so that Christ when he has come down from the
mount may release him. The sufferings of this boy through the malignity of the spirit are
apparent in his flesh, veins and pulse, as he thrusts himself forward in a contorted
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attitude, shouting and turning up his eyes, while his pallor renders the gesture unnatural
and alarming. An old man is embracing and supporting him, his eyes shining, his brows
raised, and his forehead knit, showing at once his resolution and fear. He steadily
regards the Apostles, as if to derive courage from them. A woman there, the principal
figure of the picture, kneels in front of the Apostles, and is turning her head towards
them, while she points out the misery of the boy possessed. The Apostles, standing,
sitting and kneeling, show their great compassion for this great misfortune. Indeed, the
figures and heads are of extraordinary beauty, and so new and varied that artists have
commonly reputed this work the most renowned the most beautiful and the most divine.
Whoever wishes to imagine and realise the transfiguration of Christ should examine this
work, where the Lord is in the shining air, with Moses and Elias illuminated by His
splendour. Prostrate on the ground is Peter, James and John in varied and beautiful
attitudes. One has his head on the ground, one shades his eyes with his hands from the
rays of light of the splendour of Christ, who, clothed in snow white, opens His arms and
lifts His head, showing the Divine Essence of the three persons of the Trinity thus
displayed in the perfection of Raphael's art 45). The artist seems to have gathered all his
force to worthily present the face of Christ, which was the last thing he did, as death
overtook him before he again took up the brush.
Having hitherto described the works of this great man, I will make some
observations on his style for the benefit of our artists, before I come to the other
particulars of his life and death. In his childhood Raphael imitated the style of Pietro
Perugino, his master, improving it greatly in, design, colouring and invention. But in riper
years he perceived that this was too far from the truth. For he saw the works of Lionardo
da Vinci, who had no equal for the fashion of the heads of women and children, and in
rendering his figures graceful, while in movement he surpassed all other artists; these
filled Raphael with wonder and amazement. As this style pleased him more than any he
had ever seen, he set to work to study it, and gradually and painfully abandoning the
manner of Pietro, he sought as far as possible to imitate Lionardo. But in spite of all his
diligence and study he could never surpass Lionardo, and though some consider him
superior in sweetness, and in a certain natural facility, yet he never excelled that
wonderful groundwork of ideas, and that grandeur of art, in which few have equalled
Lionardo. Raphael, however, approached him more closely than any other painter,
especially in grace of colouring.
But to return to Raphael himself. The style which he learnt of Pietro when young
became a great disadvantage to him. He had learned it readily because it was slight, dry
and defective in design, but his not being able to throw it off rendered it very difficult for
him to learn the beauty of nudes, and the method of difficult foreshortening of the
cartoon of Michelagnolo Buonarroti for the Hall of the Council at Florence. Another man
would have lost his art at having wasted so much time, but not so Raphael, who purged
himself of the style of Pietro, and used it as a stepping-stone to reach that of
Michelagnolo, full as it was of difficulties in every part. The master having thus become
a pupil again, applied himself to do as a man in a few months the work of several years,
at an age when one learns quickly. Indeed, he who does not learn good principles and
the style which he means to follow at an early age, acquiring facility by experience,
seeking to understand the parts and put them in practice, will hardly ever become
perfect, and can only do so with great pains, and after long study. When Raphael began
to change and improve his style, he had never studied the nude as it should be studied,
but had only done portraits as he had seen his master Pietro do them, assisted by his
own natural grace. Accordingly he studied the nude, comparing the muscles of dead
men with those of the living, which do not seem so marked when covered with skin as
they do when the skin is removed. He afterwards saw how the soft and fleshy parts are
made, and graceful turnings and twists, the effects of swelling, lowering and raising a
member or the whole body, the system of bones, nerves and veins, becoming excellent
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in all the parts as a great master should. But seeing this he could not in this respect
attain to the perfection of Michelagnolo, and being a man of good judgment, he reflected
that painting does not consist of representing nude figures alone, but that it has a large
field, and among the excellent painters there were many who could express their ideas
with ease, felicity and good judgment, composing scenes not overcrowded or poor, and
with few figures, but with good invention and order, and who deserved the name of
skilled and judicious artists. It was possible, he reflected, to enrich his works with variety
of perspective, buildings and landscapes, a light and delicate treatment of the draperies,
sometimes causing the figure to be lost in the darkness, and sometimes coming into the
clear light, making living and beautiful heads of women, children, youths and old men,
endowing them with suitable movement and vigour. He also reflected upon the
importance of the flight of horses in battle, the courage of the soldiers, the knowledge of
all sorts of animals, and, above all, the method of drawing portraits of men to make
them appear life-like and easily recognised, with a number of other things, such as
draperies, shoes, helmets, armour, women's head-dresses, hair, beards, vases, trees,
caves, rain, lightning, fine weather, night, moonlight, bright sun, and other necessities of
present-day painting. Reflecting upon these things, Raphael determined that, if he could
not equal Michelagnolo in some respects, he would do so in the other particulars, and
perhaps surpass him. Accordingly he did not imitate him, not wishing to lose time, but
studied to make himself the best master in the particulars mentioned. If other artists had
done this instead of studying and imitating Michelagnolo only, though they could not
attain to such perfection, they would not have striven in vain, attaining a very hard
manner full of difficulty, without beauty or colouring, and poor in invention, when by
seeking to be universal, and imitating other parts, they might have benefited themselves
and the world. Having made this resolution, and knowing that Fra Bartolommeo of S.
Marco had a very good method of painting, solid design and pleasant colouring,
although he sometimes used the shadows too freely to obtain greater relief, Raphael
borrowed from him what he‚ thought would be of service, namely a medium style in
design and colouring, combining it with particulars selected from the best things of other
masters. He thus formed a single style out of many, which was always considered his
own, and was, and will always be, most highly esteemed by artists. This is seen to
perfection in the sibyls and prophets done in the Pace, as has been said, for which he
derived so much assistance from having seen the work of Michelagnolo in the Pope's
chapel. If Raphael had stopped here, without seeking to aggrandise and vary his style,
to show that he understood nudes as well as Michelagnolo, he would not have partly
obscured the good name he had earned, for his nudes in the chamber of the Borgia
tower in the Burning of the Borgo Nuovo, though good, are not flawless. Equally
unsatisfactory are those done by him on the vaulting of the palace of Agostino Ghigi in
Trastevere, because they lack his characteristic grace and sweetness. This was caused
in great measure by his having employed others to colour from his designs. Recognising
this mistake, he did the Transfiguration of S. Pietro a Montorio by himself unaided, so
that it combines all the requisites of a good painting. If he had not employed printers'
lampblack, through some caprice, which darkens with time, as has been said, and spoils
the other colours with which it is mixed, I think the work would now be as fresh as when
he did it, whereas it has now become rather faded.
I have entered upon these questions at the end of this Life to show how great were
the labours, studies and diligence of this famous artist, and chiefly for the benefit of
other painters, so that they may rise superior to disadvantages as Raphael did by his
prudence and skill. Let me also add that everyone should be contented with doing the
things for which he has a natural bent, and ought not to endeavour out of emulation to
do what does not come to him naturally, in order that he may not labour in vain,
frequently with shame and loss. Besides this, he should rest contented and not
endeavour to surpass those who have worked miracles in art through great natural

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ability and the especial favour of God. For a man without natural ability, try how he may,
will never succeed like one who successfully progresses with the aid of Nature. Among
the ancients Paolo Uecello is an example of this, for he steadily deteriorated through his
efforts to do more than he was able. The same remark applies in our own day to Jacopo
da Pontormo, and may be seen in many others, as I have related and shall relate again.
Perhaps this is because when Heaven has distributed favours it wishes men to rest
content with their share.
Having spoken upon these questions of art, possibly at greater length than was
necessary, I will now return to Raphael.
A great friend of his, Bernardo Divizio, cardinal of Bibbiena, had for many years
urged him to take a wife. Raphael had not definitely refused, but had temporised, saying
he would wait for three or four years. At the end of this time, when he did not expect it,
the cardinal reminded him of his promise. Feeling obliged to keep his word, Raphael
accepted a niece of the cardinal for wife. But being very ill-content with this
arrangement, he kept putting things off, so that many months passed without the
marriage taking place. This was not done without a purpose because he had served the
court so many years, and Leo was his debtor for a good sum, so that he had received
an intimation that, on completing the room which he was doing, the Pope would give
him the red hat for his labours and ability, as it was proposed to create a good number
of cardinals, some of less merit than Raphael.
Meanwhile Raphael continued his secret pleasures beyond all measure. After an
unusually wild debauch he returned home with a severe fever, and the doctors believed
him to have caught a chill. As he did not confess the cause of his disorder, the doctors
imprudently let blood, thus enfeebling him when he needed restoratives. Accordingly he
made his will, first sending his mistress out of the house, like a Christian, leaving her the
means to Jive honestly. He then divided his things among his pupils, Giulio Romano, of
whom he was always very fond, Cio. Francesco of Florence, called "iI Fattore, and
some priest of Urbino, a relation. He ordained and left a provision that one of the
antique tabernacles in S. Maria Rotonda should be restored with new stones, and an
altar erected with a marble statue of the Madonna. This was chosen for his tomb after
his death. He left all his possessions to Giulio and Cio. Francesco, making M.
Baldassare da Pescia, then the Pope's datary, his executor. Having confessed and
shown penitence, he finished the course of his life on the day of his birth, Good Friday,
aged thirty-seven. We may believe that his soul adorns heaven as his talent has
embellished the earth. At the head of the dead man, in the room where he worked, they
put the Transfiguration, which he had done for the Cardinal de' Medici. The sight of the
dead and of this living work filled all who saw them with poignant sorrow. The picture
was placed by the cardinal in S. Pietro a Montorio, at the high altar, and was always
prized for its execution. The body received honoured burial, as befitted so noble a spirit,
for there was not an artist who did not grieve or who failed to accompany it to the tomb.
His death caused great grief to the papal court, as he held office there as groom of the
chamber, and afterwards the Pope became so fond of him that his death made him
weep bitterly. O happy spirit, for all are proud to speak of thee and celebrate thy deeds,
admiring every design. With the death of this admirable artist painting might well have
died also, for when he closed his eyes she was left all but blind. We who remain can
imitate the good and perfect examples left by him, and keep his memory green for his
genius and the debt which we owe to him. It is, indeed, due to him that the arts,
colouring and invention have all been brought to such perfection that further progress
can hardly be expected, and it is unlikely that anyone will ever surpass him. Besides
these services rendered to art, as a friend he was courteous alike to the upper, the
middle and the lower classes. One of his numerous qualities fills me with amazement:
that Heaven endowed him with the power of showing a disposition quite contrary to that
of most painters. For the artists who worked with Raphael, not only the poor ones, but
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those who aspired to be great-and there are many such in our profession-lived united
and in harmony, all their evil humours disappearing when they saw him, and every vile
and base thought deserting their mind. Such a thing was never seen at any other time,
and it arose because they were conquered by his courtesy and tact, and still more by
his good nature, so full of gentleness and love that even animals loved him, not to speak
of men. It is said that he would leave his own work to oblige any painter who had known
him, and even those who did not. He always kept a great number employed, assisting
and teaching them with as much affection as if they had been his own sons. He never
went to court without having fifty painters at his heels, all good and skilful, who
accompanied him to do him honour. In short, he did not live like a painter, but as a
prince. For this cause, O Art of Painting, thou mayest consider thyself fortunate in
having possessed an artist who, by his genius and character, has raised thee above the
heavens. Blessed indeed art thou to have seen thy disciples brought together by the
instruction of such a man, uniting the arts and virtues, which in Raphael compelled the
greatness of Julius II. and the generosity of Leo, men occupying the highest dignity, to
treat him with familiarity, and practise every kind of liberality, so that by means of their
favour, and the wealth they gave him, he was able to do great honour to himself and to
his art. Happy also were those who served under him, because all who imitated him
were on a safe road, and so those who imitate his labours in art will be rewarded by the
world, as those who copy his virtuous life will be rewarded in heaven. Bembo wrote the
following epitaph for Raphael:
D. O. M RAPHAELI SANCTO IOAN. F. VRBINATI PICTORI EMINENTISS.
VETERVMQ. AEMVLO CVIVS SPIRANTEIS PROPE IMAGINEIS ST CONTEMPLERE
NATVRAE ATQVE ARTIS FOEDVS EACIELE INSPEXERIS. IVLIl II. ET LEONIS X.
PONT. MAX. PICTVRAE ET ARCHITECT. OPERIBVS GLORIAM AVXIT VIXIT AN
XXXVII. INTEGER INTEGROS QVO DIE NATVS EST EO ESSE DESIIT VII. ID APRIL
MDXX . ILLE HIC EST RAPHAEL TIMUIT QU0 S0SPITE VINCI RERUM MAGNA
PARENS QU0 M0RIENTE M0RI."
The Count Baldassare Castiglione wrote of his death as follows:

Quod lacerum corpus medica sanaverit arte Hippolytum Stygiis et

revocarit aquis Ad Stygias ipse est raptus Epidaurius undas. Sic
precium vitae mors fuit artifici Tu quoque dum toto laniatum
corpore Romam Componis miro, Raphael, ingenio, Atque urbis
lacerum ferro, igni, annisque cadaver Ad vitam, antiquum Jam
revocasque decus Movisti superum invidiam, indignataque mors
est, Te dudum extinctis reddere posse animam; Et quod longa
dies paullatim aboleverat, hoc te Mortali spreta lege parare
iterum Sic mis er heu! prima cadis intercepte juventa, Deberi et
morti nostraque nosqite mones.

While at Naples Giovanni Francesco drew and painted, being much favoured by
Tommaso Cambi, a Florentine merchant, who managed the affairs of the marquis. But
he did not stay there long, for, being of weak constitution, he fell sick and died, to the
sorrow of the marquis and of all his acquaintance.
He had a brother named Luca, also a painter, who worked with Perino, his kinsman,
at Genoa, at Lucca, and many other places in Italy. Ultimately he went to England, and
after doing some things for the king and some merchants he took to making designs for
the Flemish copper engravers, doing many things which may be identified by his name
as well as his style. Among them is a sheet of some women bathing, the original of
which is in our book.
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 Lionardo, called II Pistoia, after his native place, was a pupil of Gian. Francesco. He
did some things at Lucca, and in Rome painted many portraits; while in Naples, for
Diomede Caraffa, bishop of Ariano, now cardinal, he did a Stoning of St. Stephen in his
chapel. At Monte Oliveto he did another panel, placed at the high altar, but since
removed to make room for a similar conception by Giorgio Vasari of Arezzo. Lionardo
made considerable wealth out of the Neapolitan lords, but profited little by it, as he lost it
in gaming. He died at Naples, leaving the reputation of having been a good colourist
without much design. He lived forty years, and his works were produced about 1528.
A friend of Giovanni Francesco, and also a pupil of Raphael, was I'ellegrino da
Modena, who, after acquiring a reputation at home, on hearing of the wonders of
Raphael, determined to go to Rome, in order that he might realise the hopes formed of
him. Arrived there he joined Raphael, who never refused a man of ability. At that time
Rome contained numbers of young painters who vied with each other in their
endeavours to win the favour of Raphael and a reputation among the people. By
continual study Pellegrino became a skilful master and designer, and when Leo X.
employed Raphael to paint the loggia, Pellegrino worked there with the other youths,
doing so well that Raphael afterwards employed him in many other things.‚ At an altar at
the entrance of S. Eustachio at Rome, Pellegrino did three figures in fresco, and
decorated the chapel of the high altar in the Portuguese church at La Scrofa. Cardinal
Alborense having erected a chapel decorated with many marbles in S. Jacopo of the
Spaniards, with a St. James four and a half braccia high by Jacopo Sansovino,
Pellegrino painted the life of the Apostle there in fresco, imitating Raphael in the gentle
air of his figures, the composition showing him to be a skilful and ingenious painter. He
afterwards did many other works in Rome by himself and with others. On the death of
Raphael he returned to Modena, where he did many works, among others a St. John
baptising Christ, in oils, for a confratemity of Flagellants, and in the church of the
Servites he did 55. Cosmo and Damian, with other figures, on a panel. He took a wife
and had a son, who caused his death; for, during a dispute with some young
companions of Modena, the son killed one. Pellegrino ran out to rescue his son from
justice, but on the way he met the kinsmen of the murdered youth seeking the murderer.
Furious at meeting Pellegrino, because they had not caught his son, they inflicted so
many wounds on him that he died. This chance greatly grieved the Modenese, for in him
they felt they had lost a rare spirit.
Gaudenzio of Milan was a companion of his, and an excellent, skilful and rapid
painter. He did many works in fresco at Milan, notably a beautiful Last Supper for the
friars of La Passione, left unfinished at his death. He also worked excellently in oils,
there being a goodly number of fine works by his hand at Vercelli and Veralla.

1)
Perugino was in Perugia in 1490 and again in 1499.
2)
Raphael's mother died in 1495 when he was only eight years old. His father remarried and himself died
in 1494.
3)
Painted 1502; now in the Vatican Gallery.
4)
The Sposalizio of the Brera, Milan, painted in 1504.
5)
In1502, but by the nephew of Pius II., Francesco Piccolomini, who afterwards became Pope as Pius III.
6)
In 1504.
7)
The Madonna del Giardino in the Vienna Gallery is one, the other possibly that in Bridgwater House.
8)
Now in the Uffizi, known as the Madonna del Cardellino.
9)
Captain from 1495 to 1498.
10)
Painted 1506; now in the National Gallery.
11)
In 1505.
12)
Now in the Naples Museum.
13)
Now in the Pitti Gallery.
14)
Now at Munich.
15)
Borghese Gallery, Rome; painted 1507.
16)
The Madonna del Baldacchino, now in the Pitti Gallery.

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17)
Either La Belie Jardiniere of the Louvre or the Colonna Madonna of Berlin.
18)
1508.
19)
In the following description vasari has confused in the most astonishing manner the "Disputa" and the
"School of Athens."
20)
Finished in 1511.
21)
Now in the Pitti Gallery.
22
) In the Farnesina; painted in 1514.
23)
Sigismondo de' Conti. This picture, known as the Madonna di Foligno is now in the Vatican Gallery.
24)
Maria Bibbiena; but she seems to have died before the artist.
25)
Now in the Vatican Gallery.
26)
In 1512.
27)
Painted in 1514.
28)
Painted in 1512.
29)
Finished in 1514.
30)
13 February, 1553.
31)
Madonna del Pesce, now in the Prado, Madrid.
32)
Now in the Bologna Academy; painted 1513.
33)
Pitti Gallery.
34)
Pinacothek, Munich, ascription doubtful.
35)
Madonna dell' Impannata, Pitti Gallery.
36)
Pitti Gallery; painted in 1518.
37)
It should be St. Felicita.
38)
The "Spasmo di Sicilia," now at Madrid; Vasari is wrong about Veronica.
39)
Begun in 1514.
40)
Dated 1517, the scene represents the coronation of Charlemagrie.
41)
Giovanini Francesco Penn.
42)
The Sistine Madonna, now at Dresden.
43)
Now in the Louvre; dated, 1518.
44)
The cartoons were done in 1515 or 1516. They were bought by Charles I. in 1630 and are now in
South Kensington Museum.
45)
Uffizi Gallery.

LUCA DELLA ROBBIA

Sculptor of Florence
(1397-1482)

LUCA DELLA ROBBIA, sculptor of Florence, was born in the year1388, in the house
of his forefathers, which stands under the church of S. Barnaba in Florence. He was
carefully brought up, so that not only was he able to read and write, but, like most
Florentines, he could do such arithmetic as he needed. He was then set by his father to
learn the goldsmith's art from Leonardo di Ser Giovanni, who was then esteemed the
best exponent of that craft in Florence. Under this man Luca learned to design and to
model in wax, and, his courage increasing, he went on to make some things of marble
and of bronze. As these proved quite successful, he was led to abandon entirely the
craft of goldsmith, and he devoted himself so thoroughly to sculpture that he did nothing
else, spending all his days in chiselling, and his nights in designing. So diligent was he
that frequently at night, when his feet grew cold, he would put them in a basket of
shavings, such as carpenters leave by planing, to keep them warm, so that he need not
leave his designing. I am in no wise astonished at this, seeing that no one ever excels in
any worthy exercise who does not begin, while still a child, to support cold and heat,
hunger and thirst, and other discomforts; and those who think that it is possible to attain
to honour in ease and comfort are entirely deceived, for progress is made not in
sleeping, but by watching and studying continually. Luca was barely fifteen years old
when he was invited to Rimini with other young sculptors to make some figures and
other marble ornaments for Sigismondo di Pandolfo Malatesta, lord of that city, who was
then building a chapel in the church of S. Francesco, and a tomb for his dead wife 1). In

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this work Luca afforded a striking proof of his ability in some has-reliefs which may still
be seen. He was then recalled to Florence by the wardens of S. Maria del Fiore, where
he did five small subjects in marble for the campanile, on the side next the church to
complete the series designed by Giotto, and next to the sciences and arts previously
done by Andrea Pisano, as I have related. In the first scene Luca represented Donatus
teaching grammar; in the second, Plato and Aristotle, for philosophy; in the third is a
man playing the lute, for music the fourth is Ptolomaeus, for astrology and the fifth
Euclid, for geometry 2). These subjects in finish, grace‚ and design were a considerable
advance on the two done by Giotto, who, as I have said, represented Apelles at work,
for painting, and Phidias with his chisel, for sculpture. The wardens being thus made
cognizant of Luca's worth and persuaded by M. Vieri de' Medici, then a prominent
popular citizen who was very fond of Luca, entrusted to him the marble ornamentation
of the organ which was being constructed on a large scale, to be placed over the door
of the sacristy of the church 3). For the base of this work Luca made scenes
representing choirs of music singing in various ways, and he worked so cunningly and
achieved such success that, although it is sixteen braccia from the ground, one may
perceive the swelling of the cheeks of the singers, the beating of the hands of the
director of the music on the shoulders of the lesser ones, and, in short, the various ways
of playing, singing, dancing and other pleasant actions which constitute the charm of
music. Above the framework of this decoration Luca made two figures of gilt metal
representing two nude angels, beautifully finished, as indeed was the whole work, which
was considered most rare.
It is true that Donatello, who afterwards did the ornamentation of the other
organ opposite this one, displayed much more judgment and skill than Luca, as will be
said in the proper place, because he did almost the whole of the work in the rough as it
were, not delicately finishing it, so that it should appear much better at a distance than
Luca's; as it does, for with all his care and skill the eye cannot appreciate it well
because of the very polish and finish, which are lost in the distance, as it can the almost
purely rough hewn work of Donato. To this matter artists should devote much attention,
because experience shows that all things seen at a distance, whether they be paintings
or sculptures or any other like thing, are bolder and more vigorous in appearance if
skilfully hewn in the rough than if they are carefully finished. Besides the effect obtained
by distance, it often happens that these rough sketches, which are born in an instant in
the heat of inspiration, express the idea of their author in a few strokes, while on the
other hand too much effort and diligence sometimes sap the vitality and powers of those
who never know when to leave off. Anyone who realises that all the arts of design, and
not painting alone, are allied to poetry, also knows that as poems composed in a poetic
fervour are the true and genuine, and far better than those produced with effort, so the
works of men who excel in the arts of design are better when they are the result of a
single impulse of the force of that fervour than if they are produced little by little with toil
and labour. The man who knows already from the first what he is going to do, as should
always be the case, invariably proceeds on his way towards perfect realisation with
great ease. At the same time, since men are not all of one stamp, there are some,
though they are rare, who do not do well unless they go slowly. Not to speak of painters,
it is said among poets that the very Rev. and learned Bembo expends months and even
years of effort to make a sonnet, so that it is small wonder if this should sometimes be
the case in our arts. But for the most part the contrary is the rule, as I have said above;
and yet the vulgar prefer a certain external and apparent delicacy, where the lack of
what is essential is concealed by the care bestowed, to a good work produced with
reason and judgment but not so smooth or so highly finished.
But to return to Luca. He finished this work, which gave great satisfaction, and was
then commissioned to do the bronze door of the sacristy 4), which he divided into ten
compartments, five on each side. At each corner he placed a man's head, all of them
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being different: youths, old men, men of middle age, bearded, clean shaven, in fact,
every variety and all good of their kind, so that the framework is most ornate. In the
scenes for the panels, beginning from the top, he represented a Madonna of wonderful
grace, with the Child in her arms, and the resurrection of Christ from the tomb. Beneath
these, in each of the first four panels, is the figure of an Evangelist, and under them are
the four Doctors of the Church who are writing in various attitudes. All this work is so
clear and so highly finished that it is a marvel, and it shows the advantage to Luca of his
early training as a goldsmith. On the completion of these things he made an estimate of
what he had gained upon them, and of the time which he had expended in making
them, and came to realise how slight had been his advantage, and how great his labour.
Accordingly he determined to abandon marble and bronze, and to see if he could derive
greater advantage from other methods. It then occurred to him that clay can be
manipulated with ease and little trouble, and that the only thing required was to discover
a means whereby work produced in this material could be preserved a long time. By dint
of many experiments he discovered a method of protecting it from the injury of time, for
he found that he could render such works practically imperishable, by covering the clay
with a glaze made of tin, litharge, antimony and other materials, baked in the fire in a
specially constructed furnace. For this method, of which he was the inventor, he won
loud praises, and all succeeding ages are under an obligation to him.
Having thus succeeded in attaining his purpose, Luca's first work was for the
tympanum over the bronze door which he had made for the sacristy of S. Maria del
Fiore, beneath the organ; this being a Resurrection of Christ of such beauty that when it
was set up it was admired as a work of great value. The wardens immediately desired
him to do another for the tympanum of the door where Donatello had made the
ornament of the organ 5). Accordingly Luca made a very fine representation of Jesus
Christ ascending to heaven. Now this method, beautiful and useful as it was especially
for places where there is water, and where on account of damp and other reasons there
can be no Pictures, did not satisfy Luca, and he found a means of improving it. Whereas
his first works were simply white, he now introduced colour into them to the wonder and
admiration of everyone. Among the earliest to employ Luca upon works in coloured clay
was the magnificent Piero di Cosimo de' Medici 6), for whom he decorated with various
fancies, in half-relief, the whole of the vaulting of the scriptorium in a palace built, as I
shall relate, by Cosimo, his father, and also the pavement, a remarkable work and very
cool in summer. It is certainly wonderful that, although this method was then very
difficult, the utmost care being required in baking the clay, Luca should have brought
this work to such a pitch of perfection that the vaulting as well as the pavement look as if
they were made of a single piece only.
The fame of these things spread not only throughout Italy but all through Europe,
and to such an extent that the Florentine merchants kept Luca constantly employed, to
his great advantage, sending his works to every part of the world. And because he could
not satisfy all their demands by himself, he took away his brothers, Ottaviano and
Agostino; from the chisel and set them to do this work, at which they all gained far more
than they had hitherto done in sculpture. Besides the works which they sent to France
and Spain, they also did many things in Tuscany, notably the very handsome vaulting
with octagonal ornaments of the marble chapel in the church of S. Miniato a Monte for
Piero de' Medici, which rests upon four columns in the middle of the church 7). But the
most remarkable work of this kind which issued from his hands was the vaulting of the
chapel of St. James in the same church, where the cardinal of Portugal is buried 8). In
this, although it is without sharp angles, they made the four Evangelists in four
medallions at the corners, and in the middle the Holy Spirit, in a medallion, filling the
remainder of the space with scales which cover the vault‚ and diminish gradually as they
approach the centre. Nothing of the same kind could be better, nor could any
constructive work be more carefully carried out. In a small arch over the door of the
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church of S. Piero Buonconsiglio, below the Mercato Vecchio, he did a Madonna
surrounded by angels in a very life-like manner. Over the door of a little church near S.
Pier Maggiore he did another Madonna, in a half-circle, and some angels, which are
considered very fine 9). Again, in the chapter-house of S. Croce, erected by the family of
the Pazzi under the direction of Pippo di ser Brunellesco, he did all the figures in terra
cotta, both within and without 10). It is said that Luca sent some very fine figures in full
relief to the King of Spain, together with some works in marble. For Naples he made in
Florence the marble tomb for the infant brother of the Duke of Calabria, decorated with
many ornaments in terra cotta, a work in which he was assisted by his brother Agostino.
Luca next endeavoured to discover a method of painting figures and subjects in the flat
in terra cotta, in order to impart life to his representations. As an experiment he did a
medallion which is over the niche of the four saints on the exterior of or. S. Michele On
this flat surface he gave five examples of the tools and insignia of the handicraftsmen,
with very beautiful ornamentation. He did two other medallions in the same place, in
relief, one of Our Lady for the art of the apothecaries, and in the other, for the
merchants, he made a lily above a bale, surrounded by a festoon of flowers and leaves
of various kinds, so well done that they look quite natural and not like painted terracotta
11)
. For M. Benozzo Federighi 12), bishop of Fiesole, he made a marble tomb in the
church of S. Brancazio, with the recumbent effigy of the bishop upon it, from life, and
three other half-length figures. In the ornamentation of the pilasters of this work he
painted on the flat some festoons made up of fruits and flowers, and so natural that it
would be impossible to do better with a brush and colours. Indeed, this work is a marvel
and most rare, for Luca has made the lights and shades so well that one would imagine
it impossible to obtain such results from the fire. If this artist had lived longer we should
have seen even greater things issue from his hands, because shortly before his death
he had begun to make scenes and to paint figures on flat surfaces, some pieces of
which I have seen in his house, which have led me to believe that he would have
succeeded had not death, which always snatches away the best when they are about to
make some improvement in the world, deprived him of life before his time.
Luca's brothers, Ottaviano and Agostino, survived him, and the latter had a son,
another Luca, who was a very learned man in his day. Agostino took up the art after
Luca, and in the year 1461 he made the facade of S. Bernardino at Perugia, Introducing
three subjects in bas-relief, and four finely executed figures in full relief, beautifully
finished. To this work he signed his name thus:

AGUSTINI FLORENTINI LAPICIDAE

Andrea 13), Luca's nephew, a member of the same family, was an excellent workman
in marble, as may be seen in the chapel of S. Mariadelle Grazie outside Arezzo, where
he made for the Community many small figures in full and in half-relief on a large marble
ornament which was made for a Virgin by the hand of Parri di Spinello of Arezzo.
Andrea also did the terra-cotta slab for the Chapel of Puccio di Magio in S. Francesco in
that city, and that of the Circumcision for the family of the Bacci. Again, in S. Maria in
Grado, there is a very fine slab by his hand with a number of figures, and on another
slab at the high altar in the company of the Trinity is a God the Father, by him,
supporting with His arms the crucified Christ, surrounded by a multitude of angels, while
St. Donato and St. Bernard kneel beneath. He also did a number of bas-reliefs in the
church and other places of the Sasso della Vernia, which have been preserved in that
desert place, where no painting could have carefully observe a proper consistency in
the employment of his colours, for he made his fields blue, his city red, and his buildings
of various hues according to his fancy. In this he was at fault, for buildings which are
represented to be of stone cannot and ought not to be coloured of another tint. It is said
that, while Paolo was engaged upon this work, the abbot of the place gave him hardly
anything but cheese to eat. Tired of this treatment, Paolo, being a shy man, determined
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that he would no longer go there to work. When the abbot sent for him, and when he
heard the friars asking for him; he was never at home and if he met by accident any
members of the order in Florence, he took to flight as fast as he could in order to escape
them. One day two of the more curious among them, younger than himself, caught him
up, and asked why he did not return to finish the work which he had begun, and why he
ran away when he saw the friars. Paolo replied, "You have reduced me to such a
condition that not only do I run away from you, but I am unable to work or to pass by
places where carpenters are. This is entirely due to the thoughtlessness of your abbot,
who, by means of his dishes and soups, which are always made with cheese, has put
so much cheese, into my body, that as I consist entirely of that commodity, I am in terror
lest they should take me to turn into glue. If I went on any longer at this rate, I should
soon be not Paolo, but cheese." The friars left him, laughing loudly, and related all to the
abbot, who induced him to return to work, and provided other food for him besides
cheese. In the chapel of S. Oirolamo of the Pugliesi in the Carmine he painted the altar
front of SS. Cosmo and Damian. In the house of the of edici he painted some scenes of
animals in tempera on canvas. He always delighted to paint animals, and took the
utmost pains to do so well. His house was always full of painted representations of
birds, cats, dogs and every sort of strange animal of which he could get drawings, as he
was too poor to have the living creatures themselves. His favourite animals were birds
(uccelli), and from this circumstance he derived his name, Paolo Uccelli.
In the same house, among other scenes of animals, he made some lions fighting
each other with such terrible vigour and fury that they seem alive. Among many other
scenes there is one particularly remarkable of a serpent fighting with a lion, and showing
fury in its powerful movements and the poison which it is shooting from its mouth and
eyes, while a little country girl hard-by is looking after an ox, beautifully ford shortened.
The design for this drawing, by Paolo's own hand, is in our book as well as that of the
peasant girl who is in the act of running away from the animals in her fright. The same
scene contains some very life-like shepherds, and a landscape which was considered a
very fine thing in its day. On some other canvasses he made scenes of men-at-arms of
the time on horseback, comprising a goodly number of portraits. He was afterwards
allotted some scenes in the cloister of S. Maria Novella 14). The first of these is in the
way from the church to the cloister, and represents the creation of the animals, with an
infinite number of different creatures, birds, beasts and fishes. He was, as I have said,
very fanciful, and took great delight in making animals well, showing the pride of some
lions, eager to fight, the fleetness and timidity of certain stags and bucks, in addition to
which the birds and fishes with their feathers and scales are most realistic. Here also he
made the Creation of man and of woman, with their Fall, in a beautiful style, carefully
and finely executed. In this work he took pleasure in the colouring of the trees, which
had not usually been well done up to that time. He was the first among the old painters
who won a name for doing landscapes well, and he brought this branch of art to a
greater pitch of perfection than his predecessors. It is true that those who succeeded
him made them more perfectly, because with all his efforts he never succeeded in giving
them that softness and unity achieved in the oil-paintings of our own day. But Paolo was
absorbed by his questions of perspective, and continued to persevere with his
vanishing-point, doing everything which he saw: fields, arable land, ditches and other
details of Nature in his dry, sharp style, whereas if he had picked out what was good
and had worked specially at those things which turn out well in pictures, his works would
have been among the most perfect. When he had completed this task, he worked in the
same cloister beneath two scenes by the hands of other artists, painting the Flood and
Noah's ark, representing the dead. The tempest, the fury of the winds, the flashes of
lightning, the rooting up of trees, and the terror of men with such pains, and with so
much art and diligence, that it is impossible to praise it too highly. In perspective he has
represented a dead body, foreshortened, whose eyes are being pecked out by a crow,

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and a drowned child, whose body, being full of water, is arched up. He further
represented various human emotions, such as the disregard of the water by two men
fighting on horseback, the extreme terror of death of a woman and a man who are riding
a buffalo; but as his hind-parts are sinking they are despairing of all hope of safety.
The work is of such excellence that Paolo acquired the greatest fame from it. His
use of perspective in this, in the diminution of figures, the representation of large
masses and other things, is certainly very striking. Under this scene he painted Noah's
drunkenness and the irreverence of Canaan his son, introducing the portrait of his friend
Dello, painter and sculptor of Florence, with Shem and Japhet, who are covering his
shame. Here in perspective he made a cask, the curved lines being considered very
fine. Here also is a trellis work covered with grapes, the squares of which diminish
towards the vanishing-point; but he was at fault, because the diminution of the lower
plane, where the feet of the figures are set, follows the lines of the trellis, and the cask
does not follow the same vanishing-lines. I am amazed that so accurate and diligent a
man should have fallen into such an error. He further made the sacrifice of Noah, the
ark being open in perspective, with ranges of perches in the upper parts divided into
regular rows where the birds are stationed, which fly out in flocks foreshortened in
several directions. In the air appears God the Father above the sacrifice which Noah
and his sons are making. This is the most difficult figure represented by Paolo in all his
works, because it is flying towards the wall with the head foreshortened, and it has such
force, and is in such strong relief, that it has the appearance of forcing its way through
Besides this, Noah is surrounded by a large number of different animals of great
excellence. In fact Paolo imparted such softness and grace to all this work that it is
beyond comparison superior to all his others, being praised not only at that time, but
much admired to-day. In S. Maria del Fiore, in memory of Giovanni Acuto, an English
captain of the Florentines, who died in the year 1393, he made a remarkably fine horse
of exceptional size in terraverde surmounted by the figure of the captain in chiaroscuro
of the colour of terra verde, forming part of a picture ten braccia high, in the middle of
one side of the church, where he drew a large sarcophagus in perspective as if the body
was inside, the mounted figure, armed as a captain, being above this 15). The work was
considered a very fine example of that kind of painting, and is still so esteemed, and if
Paolo had not represented the horse as moving his legs on one side only, a thing
horses cannot do without falling, the work would be perfect. The error probably was due
to the fact that he could not ride, and had no practical knowledge of horses as of other
animals. The perspective of the horse, which is very large, is fine, and on the pedestal is
the inscription PAOLIUCCELLI OPUS. At the same time, and in the same church, over
the principal doorway he painted in colours the dial of the hours, with four heads at the
corners, coloured in fresco.
He also did in verdeterra 16) the loggia overlooking the garden of the monastery of
the Angeli, and facing westward, representing under each arch a scene from the life of
St. Benedict the abbot, including the most noteworthy events of his life until the time of
his death. Among a number of striking incidents, there is one where a monastery has
fallen through the machinations of the devil, and under the stones and timbers lays a
dead friar. No less noteworthy is the terror of another monk, round whose naked form,
as he flies, the draperies flutter in most graceful folds. The work has so greatly
influenced the ideas of artists that they have always imitated this device. Very beautiful
also is the figure of St. Benedict in the act of raising the dead friar; with gravity and
devotion, in the presence of all his monks. In fact, all these scenes contain things that
are worthy of attention, especially in some instances where the perspective has been
carried out to the very slates and tiles of the roof. In the death scene of St. Benedict
there are some remarkably fine representations of infirm and decrepit people, who have
come to see him, while the monks are making his obsequies and lamenting. Among all
these men so affectionate and devoted to the saint, there is a remarkable figure of an
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old monk with crutches under his arms, who displays admirable feeling and possibly
hopes to recover his health. Although this work contains no coloured landscapes and
not many buildings or difficult perspectives, yet the design is large and there is much
that is good. Many houses ‚of Florence possess a number of small pictures in
perspective for the sides of couches, beds and other things, by Paolo's hand, and there
are some battle scenes by him in four pictures on wood at Gualfonda, on a terrace in
the garden, which belonged to the Bartolini, containing horses and armed men in the
apparel of the time 17). Among the men are portraits of Paolo Orsino, Ottobuono da
Parma, Luca da Canale,and Carlo Malatesta, lord of Rimini, all commanders of that
time. These pictures being damaged, and having suffered a good deal, were restored in
our own day by Giuliano Bugiardini, who has done them more harm than good. Paolo
was taken by Donato to Padua, when the latter was working there, and painted some
giants at the entry of the house of the Vitali, inverde terra, which are so good that
Andrea Mantegna thought very highly of them, as I have found from a Latin letter written
by Girolamo Campagnolo to M. Leonico Tomco, the philosopher. The vaulting of the
Peruzzi was done by Paolo in fresco, by triangles in perspective, and in the corners he
painted the four elements, associating an appropriate animal with each: with earth a
mole, with water a fish, with fire a salamander, and with air a chameleon, which lives
upon it and can assume every colour. Having never seen a chameleon, he displayed a
remarkable simplicity in representing it as a large and awkward camels wallowing air,
though it is really like a small shrivelled lizard. It is certain that Paolo's labours in
painting were very severe, for he designed so much that he left his chests full of
drawings to his relations, as they have themselves informed me. But although it is
undoubtedly a good thing to make designs, yet it is better to carry them out in practice,
for large works enjoy a longer life than sheets of drawings. Our book contains a quantity
of figures, perspectives, birds and wonderfully fine animals, but the best thing of all is a
nzazzocchio drawn in outline only, but so fine that only Paolo's patience could have
accomplished it. Eccentric as he was, Paolo loved talent in artists, and in order that he
might leave a memorial of them to posterity, he drew the portraits of five of the most
distinguished on a long pane land kept it in his house 18). One was Giotto, as the light
and father of the art, then Filippo di ser Brunnellescli for architecture, Donatello for
sculpture, himself for perspective and animals, and his friend Giovanni Manetti for
mathematics, with whom he frequently talked and argued on questions of Euclid. It is
said that, upon his being commissioned to do a St. Thomas examining the wounds of
Christ, over the door of that saint in the Mercato Vecchio, he devoted all his abilities to
the task, saying that he wished it to be a proof of his worth and knowledge. Accordingly
he shut it round with a hoarding so that no one should see it until it was finished. One
day he fell in with Donato, by himself, who asked, "What is this work of yours which you,
are keeping so close?" Paolo simply said, "You shall see. Donato would not press him
to say more, and expected, as usual, to see a miracle when the time came. One
morning, when Donato happened to be in the Mercato Vecchio buying fruit, he saw
Paolo uncovering his work, and went up courteously to greet him. Paolo, who was
curious to hear his opinion, asked him what he thought of the picture. After Donato had
made a good inspection of it he said "Ah, Paolo, now that you ought to be covering it up,
you uncover it." This criticism made PaoJo very sad, for he had obtained much more
blame for this last labour of his than he had expected praise, and being thoroughly
discouraged he would not venture out, but shut himself up in his house, devoting himself
to perspective, which left him in poverty and obscurity to the end of his days. Arrived at
a great age, with little comfort for his advanced years, he died in the eighty-third year of
his life, in 1432, and was buried in S. Maria Novella. He left a daughter who could
design, and a wife who used to say that Paolo would remain the night long in his study
to work out the lines of his perspective, and that when she called him to come to rest, he
replied, "Oh what a sweet thing this perspective is" And in truth, if it was sweet to him,

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his labours have rendered it no less dear and useful to those who have practised it after
him.

1)
Begun in 1447.
2)
Allotted 1437 and finished 1440. The man playing the lute represents Orpheus; Astronomy and
Geometry are shown together, and Vasari omits Tubal Cain.
3)
Commissioned 1433 and set up 28 August, 1438.
4)
In 1446, in conjunction with Michelozzo and Maso di Bartolommeo. Payments continue up to 1468; all
the work was done by Luca.
5)
In 1443.
6)
In 1446.
7)
In 1448.
8)
The chapel was built in 1462. The medallions contain Virtues; the four Evangetists were done by Luca
for the similar work of S. Giobbe Venice.
9)
Now in the Bargello.
10)
The Pazzi Chapel was begun in 1429 and completed 1443.
11)
The first medallion is over Nanni di Banco's four saints; the Madonna was done about 1465; the lily in
1163 over Verrocchio's St. Thomas.
12)
Federighi died in 1450; the tomb was commissioned 1455; it has been in the Trinitli since 1890.
13)
1435-1525.
14)
About 1446.
15)
Sir John Hawk wood died 17 March, 1394. The work was done in1436.
16)
Green earth, used as a Pignaentit is silicious earth coloured by protoxide of iron.
17)
Three of these battle scenes are izi‚ public galleries: the Uffizi, the Louvre and the National Gallery.
They are supposed to represent the battle of S. Romano, fought in 1432.
18)
Now in the Louvre; critics attribute it to Autonello da Messina.

GIULIO ROMANO
Painter
(1492-1546)

AMONG the countless pupils of Raphael, who mostly became excellent, no one
imitated him more closely in style, invention, design and colouring than Giulio Romano,
nor was anyone of them more profound, spirited, fanciful, various, prolific and universal;
he also was an agreeable companion, jovial, affable, gracious and abounding in
excellent qualities, so that Raphael loved him as if he had been his son, and employed
him on all his principal works. Thus, when Raphael had designed the building,
decoration and scenes for the loggias for Leo X., he charged Giulio 1) to do many of the
paintings, and amongst others the creation of Adam and Eve, that of the animals, the
building of Noah's ark, the sacrifice, and many others recognisable by the style, such as
Pharoah's daughter finding Moses in the ark, a marvellous work with a finely executed
landscape. He also helped Raphael to colour many things in the chamber of the Borgia
tower containing the burning of the Borgo, notably the bronze-coloured basement, the
Countess Matilda, King Pepin, Charlemagne, Godfrey of Bouillon, King of Jerusalem,
and other benefactors of the Church, all excellent figures. A part was issued as prints
not long ago from Giulio's design. He also did most of the scenes in fresco in the loggia
of Agostino Ghigi, and a fine St. Elizabeth in oils, done by Raphael and sent to King
Francis of France with another of St. Margaret, almost entirely by Giulio from Raphael's
design, who sent to the same king a portrait of the vice-queen of Naples 2), in which
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Raphael only did the head, the rest being by Giulio. These works greatly pleased the
king, and they are still in the royal chapel at Fontainebleau. In this way Giulio learned
the difficulties of art, taught to him with great patience by Raphael, and before long he
became skilled in drawing perspectives, measuring buildings and making plans.
Sometimes Raphael would sketch his ideas and Giulio would enlarge them for use in
architecture, in which he began to take such delight that with practice he became an
excellent master. On Raphael's death Giulio and Giovan francesco, called II Fattore,
were left his heirs and charged to finish his works, a task which they honourably fulfilled
in most cases.
Cardinal Giuliano de' Medici, afterwards Clement VII., acquired a site in Rome
under Mt. Mario, with a beautiful view, flowing water, well wooded, and extending along
the Tiber from Ponte Molle to the S. Piero gate. Here on the flat ground at the top of the
bank he resolved to erect a palace furnished with convenient rooms, loggias, gardens,
fountains, woods and other things of beauty, and gave the work to Giulio. He took it
readily, and erected the palace then known as the Vigna de' Medici, and now as the
Vigna di Madama, with great perfection. Accommodating himself to the site and to the
cardinal's wishes, he designed a semicircular facade with niches and windows of the
Ionic order, so much admired that many believed Raphael had designed them, and that
Giulio had but elaborated his sketches. Giulio decorated the chambers and other parts
with pictures, notably a fine loggia beyond the first vestibule, adorned with large and
small niches containing a quantity of ancient statues comprising a Jupiter of rare beauty,
afterwards sent by the Farnesi to King Francis of France, with many other beautiful
statues. The walls and vaulting are, moreover, covered with arabesques by Giovanni da
Udine, and the loggia is decorated with stucco. At the top Giulio painted a great
Polyphemus in fresco, with infants and satyrs playing about him, for which he won great
praise. His other designs there were equally admired, of fisheries, pavements, rustic
fountains, woods and other things, all of great beauty and executed with judgment. But
the work was interrupted by the death of Leo, as, on the election of Adrian and the
departure of the Cardinal de' Medici for Florence, all public works begun by Leo were
discontinued. Meanwhile Giuliano and Giovan franceseo finished many of Raphael's
incomplete works, and prepared to carry out the cartoons he had done for the great hall
of the palace, representing four scenes of the acts of the Emperor Constantine. Before
his death Raphael had prepared the surface of one wall to receive the oils. But Adrian,
who cared nothing for painting, sculpture, or anything fine, did not want it done. Thus,
while Adrian lived, Giulio, Giovanfrancesco, Perino del Vaga, Giovanni da Udine,
Bastiano Veniziano and other excellent artists came near dying of hunger. But while the
court, nourished on the greatness of Leo, had come to this pass, and the best artists
were at their wits' end, their abilities being no longer valued, Adrian died, by God's will,
and Cardinal Giulio de' Medici was elected pope as Clement VII. Thus in one day all the
arts of design revived with the other talents, and Giulio and Giovanfrencesco
immediately and joyfully set about finishing the Hall of Constantine by the Pope's order.
They threw down the wall prepared for the oils, leaving, however, two figures, which
they had previously painted as a decoration about some popes, of Justice and another
virtue. The hall being low, the dispositions had been judiciously arranged by Raphael. At
the corners over the doors he put some large niches decorated with infants holding
various devices of Leo X., such as lilies, diamonds, feathers and the like. In the niches
were seated popes in their pontificals, each one having a shadow. About them were
cherubs holding books and other suitable things. On either side of each pope was an
appropriate Virtue. Peter had Religion and Charity or Piety, and the others had the like,
the popes being Damasus I., Alexander I., Leo III., Gregory, Silvester and some others,
all well executed by Giulio, who devoted his best energies to the task. His labour and
diligence are shown by a fine drawing of St. Silvester by him, probably more graceful
than the painting, for he was always happier in expressing his ideas in drawing than in

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painting, obtaining more vivacity, vigour and expression, possibly because a design
ismade in an hour in heat, while a painting takes months and years. Thus he became
tired, losing his first ardour, and it is no wonder that the paintings are inferior.
But to return to the scenes. On one of the walls Giulio painted Constantine
addressing his soldiers, a cross appearing in the air with some cherubs, and the letters
IN HOC SIGNO VINCES. A dwarf at Constantine's feet, putting on a helmet, is made
with great art. On the largest wall is a cavalry fight near Ponte Molle, where Constantine
routs Maxentius, an admirable work for the wounded and dead and the varied and
curious attitudes of the infantry and cavalry fiercely engaged. There are also many
portraits, and if it did not contain too much black, of which Giulio was always fond, it
would be perfect, but this greatly detracts from its beauty. He did the whole landscape of
Monte Mario, and Maxentius drowning in the River Tiber on his horse. This scene 3) has
proved of great assistance to those who have since represented battles. Giuliano
studied the ancient columns of Trajan and Antoninus at Rome, making great use of
them for the dresses of the soldiers, the armour, ensigns, bastions, stockades, rams
and other implements of war represented there. Below this he painted many admirable
things in bronze colour. On the other wall he did St. Silvester the Pope baptising
Constantine, representing the very bath made by that emperor, now at St. John Lateran.
St. Silvester is a portrait of Pope Clement, and many assistants and others are present.
Among the Pope's servants he drew the Pope's favourite, M.Niccolo Vespucci, knight of
Rhodes, the little cavalier, and below in bronze colour he painted Constantine building
S. Pietro, an allusion to Pope Clement, with portraits of Bramante and Giulian Lemi, who
hold the plan of the church, making a very beautiful scene. On the fourth wall over the
chimneypiece he represented S. Pietro in perspective, with the papal residence as it
stands, the Pope singing Mass with the cardinals and other prelates of the court, and
the chapel of the choristers and musicians. The Pope is seated, as St. Silvester, with
Constantine kneeling at his feet and presenting to him a golden Rome as it is shown on
ancient medals, to indicate the gift which Constantine made to the Church. Giulio here
introduced many beautiful women kneeling to view the ceremony, a poor man asking
alms, a boy playing with a dog, and the lances of the Pope's guard making the people
stand back in the usual way. Among the numerous portraits are those of Giulio himself,
his friend Count Baldassare Castiglione, author of Il Cortigiano, Pontano, his great
friend, Marullo and many other men of letters, and courtiers. About the windows Giulio
painted many designs and poetic fancies of great beauty, greatly delighting the Pope,
who richly rewarded him.
While this hall was being painted, Giulio and Gio. Francesco did an Assumption 4) of
great beauty, which was sent to Perugia, and placed in the monastery of' the nuns of
Montelucci. Giulo alone did a Madonna with a cat 5), so natural that it was called the
picture of the cat. In another large picture he represented Christ at the Column, which
was placed over the high altar of S. Prassedia at Rome. Not long after M. Gio. Matteo
Giberti, afterwards bishop of Verona, and then datary of Pope Clement, employed his
friend Giulio to design some apartments, built of brick, near the door of the Pope's
palace, on the piazza of S. Pietro, near where the trumpeters stand when the cardinals
go to the consistory, with convenient steps, which can be mounted on horse or foot. For
the same friend Giulio did a Stoning of St. Stephen 6), with remarkable invention, grace
and composition, and while the Jews are stoning him young Saul is seated on their
clothes. Giulio never did a finer work than this, representing the vigour of the assailants
and the patience of Stephen, who really seems to see Christ on the right hand of the
Father in a lovely sky. M. Gio. Matteo gave this work to the monks of Monte Oliveto,
together with the benefice, which they have converted into a monastery. For Jacopo
Fugger, a German, Giulio did a panel for a chapel in S. Maria de Anima at Rome of the
Virgin, St. Anne, St. Joseph, St. James, the little St. John, and St. Mark kneeling, with a
lion at his feet, and a book. This was a difficult task, as the lion has wings, with soft,
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plumy feathers, an extraordinary imitation of nature. He also made a building, round like
a theatre, with statues of in expressible beauty, finely disposed. Among them is a
woman spinning, and looking at a hen with her chickens, wonderfully natural. Above the
Virgin are some cherubs, holding a graceful canopy, but unfortunately this picture also
contained too much black, which goes far to neutralise the labour bestowed on it, for the
black always contains some carbon or other acid which eats into the material. Among
the numerous pupils of Giulio who assisted him with this work were Bartolommeo da
Castiglione, Tommaso Paparello 7) of Cortona, Benedetto Pagni of Pescia, and Giovanni
da Lione and Raffaello dal Colle of Borgo S. Sepolero, both much employed in the Hall
of Constantine and the other works mentioned. Being dexterous painters who had
carefully observed Giulio's methods, they coloured from his designs the arms of Pope
Clement VII., near the old mint in Banchi, with a figure on either side. Not long after
Raffaello, from a design of Giulio, painted in fresco, in the lunette of the door of the
palace of the Cardinal della Valle, a Virgin covering the sleeping Child, between St.
Andrew the Apostle and St. Nicholas, considered an excellent work. Giulio being friendly
with M. Baldassarre Turini of Pescia, made a model and built him a palace on Mount
Janiculum 8), where he has a fine view, of the utmost grace and convenience. The
rooms were adorned with stucco and painting, as Giulio himself painted stories of Numa
Pompilius, who was buried there. In the bath-room Giulio painted stories of Venus and
Cupid, Apollo, Hyacinth, being helped by his apprentices, all of which scenes are
engraved. On separating from Gio. Francesco, he did various works in architecture at
Rome, such as the design for the Alberini house in Banchi, attributed by some to
Raphael, and a palace on the Piazzadella Dogana at Rome, since engraved because of
its good arrangement.
He also did a fine range of windows at a corner of the Macello de' Corbi where his
birthplace was, which, though small, is very graceful. Alter Raphael's death Giulio's
excellent qualities gave him the reputation of being the best artist in Italy, and Count
Baldassarre Castiglione, then ambassador at Rome of Federigo Gonzaga, Marquis of
Mantua, and his friend, being requested by the marquis to procure him an architect for
his palace, he succeeded by prayers and promises in getting Giulio to go if he could
obtain the permission of Pope Clement. That done, the count, on .going to Mantua with
a message from the Pope to the emperor, took Giulio with him 9). He presented him to
the marquis, who received Giulio graciously, gave him a well-furnished house, and
ordained a provision for him and for Benedetto Pagni and another youth. He also sent
him several ells of velvet and smooth cloth to dress himself, and, understanding that he
had no horse, gave him a favourite one of his own called Ruggieri. On this creature
Giulio rode a bow- shot out of the S. Bastiano gate, where the marquis had a place and
stables, called the T, in the middle of a meadow, where he kept his stud. When he
arrived there, the marquis said that he wanted, without destroying the old building, to
have a place where he could resort for amusement and take refreshment. Giulio, after
examining the site, set to work and, using the old walls, made the first hall in a larger
part, as may be seen on entering, with the chambers on either side. As there is no good
stone there for building or carving, he used bricks and tiles, with stucco, and of this
material he made columns, bases, Capitals cornices, doors, windows and other things
in fine proportion, with new and extraordinary decoration for the vaulting, and richly
decorated the interior, and this led to the marquis deciding to make the present fine
palace there from a humble beginning. Giulio prepared a fine model in the court of
rustic-work, which greatly pleased the marquis, who gave him a provision and, Giulio
bringing many builders to the place, the work was speedily completed 10). The building is
rectangular, with an open court in the middle for a piazza, upon which four ways open,
in the form of across. The first passes to a large loggia, which leads through another
into the garden. Two others lead to various apartments, decorated with stucco and
painting. The vaulting of the hall, which is entered from the first, is painted in fresco, and

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the walls contain representations of all the best horses of the marquis's breed, and the
dogs also, which are marked like the horses, each with its name, all being designed by
Giulio, and coloured in fresco by his pupils, Benedetto Pagni and Rinaldo Mantovano,
so well that they seem alive. From here one enters a room at the corner of the palace,
the vaulting of which is finely decorated with stucco and various cornices, gilt in some
places. These form four octagons, which surround a square in the highest part, where a
cupid stands before Jove, who is surrounded by a celestial light, and espouses Psyche
in the presence of the gods, a most graceful design, the figures being so well
foreshortened, as seen from beneath, that some, not more than a braccia long, look
three; indeed, Giulio has made the illusion complete, the figures are in such relief. The
octagons contain the other stories of Psyche, of the wrath of Venus against her,
executed with the same beauty and perfection. The other angles contain cupids, and
there are others in the windows with various expressions according to the spaces. The
ceiling is coloured in oils by Benedetto and Rinaldo.
The remainder of the scenes on the lower walls represent Psyche taking her bath,
attended by the cupids, while we see the banquet of Mercury, with the Bacchantae and
the Graces beautifully embellishing the picture, and a goat, with two infants sucking her
dugs; and near him is Bacchus, with two tigers at his feet; he leans on a sideboard on
one arm, and has a camel on one side, and an elephant on the other. This sideboard is
semi circular, and covered with festoons and flowers, full of vines and grapes. Beneath
are three tiers of curious vases, basins, cups and such things in various forms, and so
lustrous that they actually seem silver and gold, though he has used simple yellow
colour, an instance of Giulio s genius and ability, which was rich, varied and prolific in
invention and art. Not far off is Psyche, surrounded by women serving her, and in the
distance is Phoebus guiding the four horses of his chariot, and a naked Zephyr reclining
on clouds and blowing soft breezes through a horn, making a pleasant atmosphere
about Psyche. These designs were engraved soon after by Battista Franco of Venice,
who made them uniform with the large cartoon of Giulio done by Benedetto and
Rinaldo, who executed these scenes, except the Bacchus, the Silenus and the two
children suckled by the goat. The work was indeed retouched by Giulio, and is therefore
his. He learned this method from Raphael, and it is very useful for the young men
employed, because they become excellent masters, and although some think they are
better than those who direct the work, they soon recognise that without such guidance
they would find them- selves blind in a sea of infinite errors. But to return to the rooms of
the T. The Psyche room led into another, full of friezes of figures in bas-relief in stucco
from Giulio's design, by Francesco Primaticcio of Bologna 11), then a youth, and by Gio.
Battista Mantovano, containing all the soldiers on the Trajan Column at Rome, done in
fine style, the ceiling of an ante-chamber being painted in oils, representing Icarus
directed by his father Daedalus, who, through wishing to fly too high, comes insight of
Cancer and the chariot of the sun, drawn by four horses, near Leo, and is left without
wings, the wax being melted by the heat. He is next seen falling, his face deathly pale, a
fine idea of Giulio, and very truthful, as we notice the sun's heat withering the wings, the
smoke of the fire, the splitting of the feathers and the death agony in the face of Icarus,
with passion and grief in that of Daedalus. I have the original design for this beautiful
scene in my book. In the same place Giulio did the Months, with the usual occupations
of each, a work of delightful imagination, carried out with judgment and diligence.
Passing the great loggia, decorated with stucco, arms and other curious ornaments,
we come to some rooms full of such various fancies that the mind is bewildered, for
Guilio being very imaginative and ingenious, to show his ability, intended to make a
room similar to the Psyche room, the walls of which should‚ correspond with the painting
and create an illusion. As the place was marshy he laid the foundations deep and
double, building a round room with thick walls so that the four external angles should be
strong enough to bear a double barrel-vault. He then made the windows, door and
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chimneypiece of rustic stone, so twisted that they looked as if they leaned to one side
and would fall. In this strangely built place he began to paint the most curious idea
imaginable: Jove fulminating the giants. On the vaulting is the throne of Jove
foreshortened, and a round Ionic temple on perforated columns, with a canopy over the
seat in the middle. His eagle is there, the whole being on the clouds. Lower down angry
Joveis fulminating the giants, with Juno assisting; lower still, while the strange-faced
winds blow on the earth, the goddess Ops turns at the noise with her lions, as do the
other gods and goddesses especially Venus, who is next to Mars and Momus, who with
wide-open arms seems to be expecting the heavens to fall, and yet remains immovable.
The Graces stand in fear with the Hours near them, and each goddess is fleeing in her
chariot. The Moon, with Saturn and Janus, move towards an opening in the clouds to
get away from the noise and fury, and so does Neptune, who, with his dolphins, seems
to be trying to rest on his trident, while Pallas and the nine Muses wonder what this
portends. Pan embraces a nymph who is trembling with fear, and he wishes to take her
away from the tumult and lightnings which fill the heavens. Apollo stands on the chariot
of the sun and some of the Hours attempt to stop the: horses. Bacchus and Silenus,
with satyrs and nymphs, exhibit the utmost fear, and Vulcan, with his huge hammer on
his shoulder, looks towards Hercules, who is speaking of the matter to Mercury. Near
them stands the trembling Pomona, while Vertumnus and all the other gods exhibit the
emotion of fear, which is presented with indescribable force both iii those standing and
in those fleeing. On the lower part, that is to say on the walls below the arching of the
vault, are the giants, some under mountains and huge rocks, which they are carrying on
their strong shoulders to mount to heaven. But Jove fulminates and all heaven is
incensed against them, so that it not only strikes terror into the rash daring of the giants,
hurling mountains at them, but all the world seems overturned and the end of all things
at hand. We see Briareus in a dark cavern almost covered by the huge masses of rock,
the other giants lying crushed and some killed under the fragments. Through the cleft of
a dark cave many giants may be seen fleeing, struck by the thunders of Jove and about
to be crushed like the others. Elsewhere Giulio did other giants with temples, columns
and parts of mountains falling, making a great slaughter among them. Between these
falling walls is the fireplace, and when a fire is lighted the giants seem to be burning.
Pluto in his car is drawn by shrivelled horses, and flees to the centre accompanied by
the Furies, and thus Giulio decorated the chimneypiece most beautifully with this idea of
fire. To make the work more terrible, he represented huge giants struck in various ways
by the lighting and thunder bolts, falling to earthy some killed, some wounded, and
some crushed beneath mountains and ruins. No more terrible work of the brush exists,
and anyone entering the room and seeing the windows, doors and other things so
twisted that they appear about to fall, and the tumbling mountains and ruins, will fear
that all is about to come about his ears, especially as he sees the gods fleeing hither
and thither.
A marvellous feature is that the painting has neither beginning nor end, and is not
interrupted in any way, so that objects near the buildings seem very large, and those in
the distant landscape are gradually lost, and the room, which is not more than fifteen
braccia long, looks like an open country, and the floor being of small round stones set
with a knife and the walls at the junction being painted like them, there seem to be no
corner stones, and the place looks extremely large. The judgment and art here
displayed by Giulio place artists under a great debt to him. In this work Rinaldo became
a perfect colourist, as he completed it from Giulio's designs, as well as the other
apartments. If he had not died young he would have brought great honour to Giulio in
after years. Besides this palace, in which Giulio did many admirable things, which I pass
over in order not to be too long, he restored many rooms of the duke's castle at Mantua,
and made two large spiral staircases, richly decorated with stucco throughout. He
decorated one hall with the history of the Trojan war, and did twelve scenes in oil in an

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ante-chamber under the heads of the Roman emperors by Titian, considered rare. At
Marmiruolo, five miles from Mantua, he designed a convenient structure and large
paintings not less fine than those of the castle and palace of the T. In the Chapel of
Signora Isabella Buschetta in S. Andrea, at Mantua, he did an oil-panel of the Virgin
adoring the Child Jesus lying on the ground, while Joseph, the ass and the ox are near
a manger. On one side is St. John the Evangelist and on the other St. Longinus, larger
than life-size 12). On the walls of the same chapel Rinaldo did two fine scenes from his
designs, a Crucifixion with the thieves, some angels in the air, and the executioners, the
Maries and many horses below(for he loved to paint horses, and made them
marvellously beautiful)and many soldiers in various attitudes. The other was the Finding
of the Blood of Christ in the time of the Countess Matilda, a most beautiful work. For
Duke Federigo Giulio next did with his own hand a Virgin washing the Christ-child, who
is standing in a basin while St. John empties water out of a jug, both figures, which are
life-size, being very beautiful 13). In the distance are half-length figures of women coming
on a visit. This picture was afterwards given by the duke to Signora Isabella Buschetta.
Giulio made a fine portrait of this lady in a small Nativity, a braccia high, now in the
possession of Sig. Vespasiano Gonzaga, with another of Giulio's given him by Duke
Federigo, representing a youth and maiden embracing on a bed 14), while an old woman
secretly observes them at a door, the figures being rather less than life-size and very
graceful. In the same house there is a very fine St. Jerome by Giulio. Count Niccolo
Maffei has a life-size Alexander the Great holding a Victory in his hand, copied from an
ancient medal, and a very beautiful thing. Giulio next painted for his friend, M. Girolamo,
organist of the Duomo at Mantua, a Vulcan forging arrows, in fresco. He holds the
bellows in his hand and grasps a piece of red-hot iron with pincers, while Venus cools
some of the arrows in a vase and puts them in Cupid's quiver 15). This is one of Giulio's
most beautiful works, and there is very little else of his infresco. In S. Domenico he did a
dead Christ for M. Ludovico da Fermo, and Joseph and Nicodemus preparing to carry
him to the tomb, with the Virgin, the Marles and St. John the Evangelist nearby. He did
another dead Christ, now at Venice, in the house of Tommaso da Enipoli of Florence.
About this time Sig. Giovanni de' Medici, being wounded by a musket, was taken to
Mantua, where he died. M. Pietro Aretino, his faithful servant and a friend of Giulio,
desired the artist to take a death mask, from which he made a portrait which remained
in Aretino's possession for many years. When Charles V. came to Mantua 16), Giulio, by
the duke's order, made many fine arches, scenes for comedies and other things, in
which he had no peer, no one being like him for masquerades, and making curious
costumes for jousts, feasts, tournaments, which excited great wonder in the emperor
and in all present. For the city of Mantua at various times he designed temples, chapels,
houses, gardens, facades, and was so fond of decorating them that, by his industry, he
rendered dry, healthy and pleasant places previously miry, full of stagnant water, and
almost uninhabitable.
While he was serving the duke, the Po one year broke its banks, so that in some
parts of Mantua the water was nearly tour braccia deep, and frogs lived there almost all
the year. Giulio considered how he would make this good, and he succeeded in
restoring the former state and in preventing the recurrence of the accident, causing the
streets to be raised on that side, by the duke's command, so that the buildings were
above the level of the water. He directed that the small houses there should be pulled
down, rebuilding larger and finer ones. When some opponents told the duke that Giulio
was destroying too much, he refused to hear them, making Giulio master of the work
and directing that no one should build except under him. This led to many complaints
and threats, which reached the duke's ears, and he spoke out, letting it be known that
he would consider any wrong done to Giulio as an injury to himself. The duke loved the
talents of Giulioso that he could not live without him, and Giulio cherished the utmost
reverence for the duke. He asked for no favour that he did not receive, and at his death

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he was found to have an income of over 1000 ducats owing to the duke's liberality.
Giulio built himself a house at Mantua opposite S. Barnaba, with a fantastic fade in
coloured stucco, the inside being similarly decorated, and furnished with numerous
antiquities brought from Rome and received from the duke, to whom he gave many of
his own. Giulio designed an incredible number of things for foreign parts and Mantua,
for no palaces or other important buildings could be erected there without his designs.
He rebuilt the church of S. Benedetto there near the Po, a large and rich house of the
black monks, upon the old walls, and he embellished the building with fine paintings and
pictures. As his things were highly valued in Lombardy, Gian. Matteo Giberti, bishop of
Verona, wished to have the tribune of the Duomo there, painted by Moro Veronese from
Giulio's designs. For the Duke of Ferrara Giulio prepared many designs for arras,
afterwards executed by Maestro Niccolo and Gio. Battista Rosso, Flemings, in silk and
gold. These were engraved by Giovan. Battista Mantovano, who thus treated several of
Giulio's designs, and besides three battle-scenes engraved by others, he did a
physician putting leeches on a woman's back, a Flight into Egypt, Joseph leading the
ass, and angels bending a palm-tree to permit Christ to gather the fruit. He also
engraved from Giulio's design the Tiber wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, and four
scenes of Pluto, Jove and Neptune dividing the heavens, the earth and the sea by lot.
He did the goat Alfea held by Melissa and nourishing Jove, and men tortured in prison,
on a large sheet. Other prints were the parley between the armies of Scipio and
Hannibal on the banks of a river; the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, engraved by
Sebastiano da Reggio,and many others printed in Italy. In Flande is and France also
many were printed, which I need not mention, beautiful as they were, as he produced
them in the mass. Everything in art came so easy to him, especially design, that no one
is known to have done more than he. He was universal and could discuss every- thing,
but especially medals, upon which he spent much time and money. Although he spent
most of his time on great things, yet he also did the smallest to oblige his patron and
friends, and no sooner had they opened their mouth to express an idea than he had
grasped it and made a sketch. Among the numerous treasures in his house there was a
portrait of Albert Durer, by himself, on fine cambric, sent by him to Raphael, diligently
executed in water-colours, and finished without using white lead, the fabric itself serving
for the whites and the fine threads being used to represent the hairs of the beard, and
when held up to the light it was transparent all over. Giulio, who valued it highly, showed
it tome himself as a miracle once when I was on business at Mantua.
The death of Duke Federigo 17) whom Giulio loved beyond all imagining, affected him
so deeply that he would have left Mantua if the cardinal, the duke's brother, regent
during the minority of Federigo's sons, had not detained him. Giulio, indeed, had there
his wife, children, houses, estate, and all the other requirements of a gentleman of
position. The cardinal also wished to consult Giulio on the restoration of the Duomo. To
this Giulio put his hand 18), executing it in a beautiful style.
At this time Giorgio Vasari a great friend of Giulio, though they only knew each other
by report and by letters, passed through Mantua on his way to Venice to see him and
his works. On meeting, they recognised each other as though they had met a thousand
times before. Giulio was so delighted that he spent four days in showing Vasari all his
works, especially the plans of ancient buildings at Rome, Naples, Pozzuolo, Campagna,
and all the other principal antiquities designed partly by him and partly by others. Then,
opening a great cupboard, he showed him plans of all the buildings erected from his
designs in Mantua, Rome and all Lombardy, so beautiful that I do not believe that more
original, fanciful or convenient buildings exist. When the cardinal afterwards asked
Giorgio, in Giulio's presence, what he thought of Giulio's work, he answered that he
deserved a statue to every corner of the city and half the state would not suffice at
reward his labours. The cardinal answered that Giulio was much more the master of the
state than himself, and as Giulio was a most amiable man, especially to his friends, he
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loaded Giorgio with caresses. Vasari left Mantua for Venice, and returned to Rome at
the time when Michelagnolo uncovered his Last Judgment. He sent to Giulio by M. Nino
Nini of Cortona, secretary of the cardinal of Mantua, three drawings of the seven mortal
sins represented in that Judgment, which Giulio greatly welcomed for the author, and
because he was about to do a chapel for the cardinal in the palace, and this incited him
to greater things than he had purposed. Accordingly he made every effort to produce a
fine cartoon 19) and represented the call of Peter and Andrew to become fishers of men.
It was the finest cartoon he ever did, and was executed by Fermo Guisoni, his pupil,
now an excellent master. Not long after, the chiefs of the building of S. Petronio at
Bologna desired to begin the facade of that church 20) and sent for Guilio and a Milanese
architect called Tofano Lombardino, a man then much esteemed in Lombardy for
numerous buildings. They made several designs and, those of Baldass are Peruzzi
being lost, one of Giulio's proved so fine that he deserved the greatest praise from that
people and a rich reward on returning to Mantua.
Antonio Sangallo having died at Rome 21) and the trustees of S. Pietro being in no
small difficulty, not knowing to whom they should entrust the completion of so great a
structure, they thought no one was better fitted than Giulio, whose qualities they all
knew. Accordingly they endeavoured to tempt him with a large provision and by means
of his friends, but all in vain, for although he would willingly have gone, two things
detained him, the cardinal would not let him go, and his wife, friends and relations
dissuaded him in every way. Perhaps neither cause would have prevailed, only he was
not in good health. He thought of the honour to himself and his children, and began to
make preparations, intending to ask the cardinal's permission, but the trouble grew
worse. It was decreed that he should not go to Rome, and the end of his life was near,
for he died in a few days at Mantua, in grief and pain, not being allowed to adorn his
native Rome as he had adorned that city. He was fifty-four and left only one son, named
Raffaello, after his master. This boy, having mastered the elements of the arts and
shown considerable promise, died not long after, and so did his mother. A daughter
named Virginia alone survives as the wife of Ercole Malatesta, and is living at Mantua.
The death of Giulio caused deep sorrow to all who knew him. He was buried in S.
Barnaba, where they intended to raise an honourable memorial. But his children and
wife kept putting it off till at last there remained none. It is a shame that a man who did
so much for the city has not received any recognition except from those who made use
of him, who often remembered him in their needs. But the talents which adorned him
through life and which are displayed in his works form a perpetual memorial which
neither time nor years will destroy.
He was of medium stature, rather plump than thin, dark skinned, a handsome face,
black and laughing eyes, most amiable, of courtly manners, a small eater, and elegant
in his dress and bearing. Among his numerous pupils the best were Gian. dal Lione,
Raffaello dal ColleBorghese, Benedetto Pagni of Pescia, Figurino da Faenza, Rinaldo
and Cio. Battista Mantovani and Fermo Guisoni, who is still in Mantua and does him
honour, being an excellent master. So also has Benedetto, who has done many things
in his native Pescia, and a panel in the Opera of the Duomo at Pisa, a picture of the
Virgin with a Florence presenting to her the dignity of the Medici house, a picture now
owned by Sig. Mondragone, a Spaniard, highly favoured by the illustrious Prince of
Florence. Giulio died in 1546 on All Saints' Day, and the following epitaph was placed
on his tomb:

Romanus moriens secum tres Julius arteis Abstulit (haud

mirum) quatuorunus erat.

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1)
Giulio Pippi.
2)
Joan of Aragon, painted 1518, now in the Louvre.
3)
Begun in 1524.
4)
In 1525; now in the Vatican Gallery.
5)
Naples Museum.
6)
In 1523, in S. Stefano, Genoa.
7)
Rectius Papacello.
8)
Villa Lante.
9)
In 1524.
10)
Between 1525 and 1535.
11)
He was at Mantua between 1525 and 1531.
12)
Now in the Louvre, formerly in the collection of Charles I.
13)
The Madonna della Catina, Dresden.
14)
Berlin Gallery.
15)
Probably the Venus and Vulcan of the Louvre.
16)
In 1530
17)
In 1540.
18)
In 1544.
19)
The original is in the Louvre.
20)
In 1543.
21)
In 1546.

ANTONIO ROSSELLINO
Sculptor of Florence
(1427-1479)

MODESTY is indeed praiseworthy and virtuous at times, and so are the amiability
and the rare talents which adorned the life of Antonio Rossellino the sculptor. He
practiced his art with such grace that he was valued as something more than a man by
those who knew him 1), who well-nigh adored him as a saint for those preeminent
qualities which he possessed in addition to his talents. Antonio was called to Rossellino
del Proconsolo because his workshop was in a place of that name in Florence.
His works were so soft and delicate, the finesse and polish so perfect, that his
style may justly be called true and really modern 2). For the palace of the Medici he
made the marble fountain which is in the second court, containing children who hold
dolphins spouting water, finished with the utmost skill and diligence 3). In the church of
S. Croce by the holy-water vessel he made the tomb of Francesco Neri with a Madonna
in bas-relief above, and another Madonna in the house of the Tornabuoni, as well as
many other things sent to divers parts, such, for example, as a marble tomb for Lyons in
France. At S. Miniato al Monte, a monastery of the white monks outside the walls of
Florence, he was employed to make the tomb of the Cardinal of Portugal 4), which was
executed so marvellously and with such diligence and art that no artist can ever expect
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to see anything to surpass it for finish and grace. To anyone looking at it, it seems not
difficult but impossible that it should have been made so. It contains angels which in
their grace and beauty, with their draperies and attitudes, seem not marble creations but
living beings. One of them holds the cardinal's crown of virginity, as he is said to have
died chaste; another raises the palm of victory which he won against the world. Among
the many charming things there is a maeigno arch supporting a marble curtain hooked
up, so that with the white of the marble and the grey of the stone it is much more like
real cloth than marble. On the sarcophagus are some really lovely children, and the
deceased prelate himself with a Madonna, in a circle very finely worked. The
sarcophagus resembles the porphyry one on the Piazza della Rotonda at Rome. This
tomb was set up in 1459 5) and so pleased the Duke of Malfi, nephew of Pope Pius II.,
who was equally delighted with the architecture of the chapel, that he caused another to
be made for his wife at Naples, similar in every respect except the effigy of the
deceased. Antonio further made a bas-relief of the Nativity of Christ in the Manger, with
angels dancing on the thatch, singing with open mouth 6), so that with the sole exception
of breath Antonio endowed them with every movement and gesture, and with such
grace and finish that steel and genius could produce no more out of marble. For this
reason his works have been highly praised by Michelagnolo and by every other artist of
distinction.
For the Pieve of Empoli he made a marble St. Sebastian which is much admired 7),
his design for it being in our book, together with those for the architecture and figures of
the chapel of St. Miniato in Monte, already mentioned, as well as his own portrait.
Antonio died in Florence at the age of forty-six, leaving his brother Fernardo, an
architect and sculptor. Bernardo made in S. Croce the marble tomb of M. Leonardo
Bnini of Arezzo 8) who wrote the history of Florence, and was a very learned man, as
everyone knows. This Bernardo was highly valued as an architect by Pope Nicholas V.,
who thought much of him, and employed him on many of the works carried out during
his pontificate. He would have done more had not death interrupted the works which the
Pope had in his mind. Thus, if we may believe Giannozzo Manetti, he restored the
piazza of Fabriano, where he remained for some months on account of the plague,
enlarging it and improving its shape where it was narrow and ill-made, and surrounding
it with rows of shops at once useful, commodious and beautiful. He then restored the
church of S. Francesco in the same place, which was falling to ruin. At Gualdo he may
be said to have rebuilt, with the addition of some fine structures, the‚church of S.
Benedetto.
In Assisi he strengthened the foundations and repaired the roof of the church of S.
Francesco, which was in ruins in some places and threatened to fall. At Civitavecchia he
made many fine and magnificent buildings. At Civitacastellana he restored more than a
third of the wall in a fine style. At Narni he restored and enlarged the fortress with strong
walls. At Orvieto he made a large fortress with a magnificent palace, a work as costly as
it was splendid. At Spoleto he enlarged and strengthened the fortress, making the
dwellings inside so fine, so convenient and so well arranged that nothing better could be
desired. He restored the baths of Viterbo at a great expense and in regal style, making
apartments suitable not only for the sick, who daily go there to bathe, but worthy of the
greatest princes. All these works were carried out by the Pope outside the city from
Bernardo's designs.
In Rome he restored and in many places rebuilt the city walls, which were for the
most part in decay, adding some towers and including in them a new fortress which he
made outside the Castle S. Angelo, with many apartments and ornaments within. The
Pope further conceived and in great part executed a project for restoring and rebuilding,
so far as was necessary, the forty churches of the stations established by St. Gregory I.
called the Great. He also restored S. Maria Trastevere, S. Prassedia, S. Teodoro, S.
Pietro ad Vincola, and many others of less importance. In six of the largest and most
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important he carried this out with greater spint, ornament and diligence, namely in S.
Giovanni Lateran, S. Maria Maggiore, S. Stefano on the Celian Mount, S. Apostolo, S.
Paolo and S. Lorenzo extra micros. I do not include S. Pietro because that was a
separate undertaking. It was this Pope again who thought of converting the Vatican into
a fortress, making it like a separate city, and designing three ways leading to S. Pietro, I
fancy where the old and new Forgo now are. These he covered with loggias here and
there, and convenient shops separating the nobler and richer arts from the lesser, and
putting each in a street by itself. He had previously made the round tower, still known as
the tower of Nicholas. Over these shops and loggias were magnificent and convenient
dwellings in beautiful architecture, so contrived as to be sheltered from all the
pestiferous winds of Rome, all the impediments of water or refuse which engender bad
air being removed. Nicholas would have finished it all if only he had lived a little longer.
This pontiff was bold and resolute and so well informed that he guided and controlled
the artists no less than they did him, an arrangement which brings about the speedy
completion of great undertakings, the patron being skilled in the subject and capable of
making up his mind quickly, whereas an irresolute and ignorant man would lose much
time in wavering between yes and no, and between various designs and opinions, the
work standing still meanwhile. Of this design of Nicholas it is unnecessary to say more
than that it was not carried out.
He also wished to build the papal palace with such magnificence and grandeur,
united to convenience and beauty, that it would have been the finest building in
Christendom. He desired that it should serve not only the pontiff and head of
Christendom, with the sacred college of cardinals, which advised and assisted him and
which he wished to be always about him, but also that all affairs, expeditions, and
judgments of the court should take place there; and this gathering together of all the
offices and courts would have made a magnificent and grand edifice with incredible
pomp, if the word is permissible in this connection, and what is of infinitely more
importance, it was to receive emperors, kings, dukes and other Christian princes who
visited the Most Holy Apostolic See either to make their devotions or on their affairs. It
seems incredible that he even intended to erect a theatre for the coronation of the Pope,
and gardens, loggias, aqueducts, fountains, chapels, libraries, and a separate conclave
hall, of great splendour. In short this (I know not whether to call it palace, castle or city)
would have been the most superb creation since the beginning of the world so far as we
know. What greatness would have belonged to the Holy Roman Church had its chief
pontiff and head gathered together all the ministers of God inhabiting Rome into a kind
of famous and sacred monastery, there to live as in a new earthly paradise, a celestial,
angelical and holy life, affording an example to all Christendom and kindling the minds
of unbelievers to the true worship of God and of Jesus Christ. But this great work was
left unfinished as it was barely begun at the time of the Pope's death. The little that was
done may be recognised by the Pope's arms, or what he used as arms, namely two
keys in saltire on a red field.
The last of the five things which he intended to do was the church of S. Pietro, which
he wished to make so large, so rich and so ornate that I shall do better to keep silence
than to attempt to depict that which is utterly indescribable, especially as the model was
afterwards destroyed and others were made by other architects. If anyone desires to
know fully the great mind of Pope Nicholas V., let him read what Giannozzo Manetti, a
noble and learned citizen of Florence, has written in detail upon the life of that Pontiff. In
all these designs Nicholas employed the abilities and industry of Bernardo Rossellino,
as well as others, as I have said. Antonio, the brother, to return to the point where I
started, produced his sculptures about the year1490. The extraordinary diligence and
mastery of difficulty displayed in his work have excited general wonder, so that he
merits fame and honour as being the best example from whom the moderns have been
able to learn how statues should be made, to win praise and fame overcoming
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difficulties. After Donatello he added a certain polish and completeness to the art of
sculpture, seeking to turn his figures so that they should appear entirely round and
finished, a matter which had not been previously perfected. As he was the first to
introduce this style, it appeared marvellous in the following age, and does so even in our
own day.

1)
S. Maria di Mezzaratta
2)
Cosimo Tura, 1420-95.
3)
Probably the one now at Casteilo.
4)
James of Portugal died 1459.
5)
It was not began till 1461.
6)
Now at S. Maria di Monte, Naples.
7)
About 1457.
8)
In 1444.

COSIMO ROSSELLI
Painter of Florence
(1439-1507)

MANY men take an ignoble pleasure in deriding and scorning others though this
most frequently recoils upon themselves, just as Cosimo Rosselli 1) returned scorn upon
the heads of those who endeavoured to minimise his efforts. This Cosimo, although not
a very rare or excellent painter, produced some very meritorious works. In his youth he
painted a picture for the church of S. Ambruogio at Florence 2), on the right as one
enters, and three figures over the arch of the nuns of S. Jacopo dalle Murate. In the
church of the Servites, also at Florence, he did the altar piece of the chapel of St.
Barbara 3) and in the first courtyard in front of the entrance to the church he painted in
fresco the Blessed Philip receiving the habit from Our Lady. For the monks of Cestello
he painted the picture of the high altar, and another for another chapel of the same
church; as well as the one in as mall church above the Bernardino, beside the entrance
of Cestello. He painted the banner for the children of the company of Bernardino and
also that of the company of St. George, containing an Annunciation. For the same nuns
of S. Ambruogio he did the chapel of the Miracle of the Sacrament 4), quite a good work,

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and even greater ones, seeing that they practised them frequently for reward or
otherwise.
I will not speak of some candles painted in various guises, but so rudely that
they have given a name to common painters, so that bad pictures are called "Candle
puppets," things of no account. In the time of Cecca these had nearly gone out of use,
being replaced by cars like the triumphal ones used today. The first of those was that of
the Mint, which was brought to its present state of perfection, being sent out every year
by the masters and lords of the mint with a St. John at the top, and many other saints
and angels below represented by living persons. Not long ago it was decided that each
district should offer a candle, and as many as ten were made to adorn the feast, but it
did not take place on account of the events which supervened. The first then, that of the
Mint, was made under Cecca's direction by Domenico, Marco and Giuliano del Tasso,
then among the best master joiners in Florence. The lower wheels in particular are
especially admirable, being so arranged that the whole structure shall turn easily with
the least derangement possible out of consideration for those bound above. He also
made a scaffolding for the cleaning and repairing of the mosaics of S. Giovanni. This
lowered and directed at will with could be turned, raised, such ease that two men could
manage it, and it greatly increased Cecca's reputation.
When the Florentines were besieging Piancaldoli, Cecca contrived a mine by means
of which the soldiers entered the city without striking a blow. But when the army
proceeded to other places he was killed, as bad fortune would have it, in endeavouring
to measure some altitudes from a difficult point. For he put his head out to let down a
string, and a priest on the side of the enemy, who were more afraid of Cecca's ingenuity
than of all the opposing forces, discharged a quarrel at him, which passed through his
head, so that the poor fellow fell dead on the spot. His death was a great loss to the
army and to his fellow-citizens, but there being no remedy, they brought the body back
to Florence, where he was buried by the sisters in S. Piero Scheraggio. Beneath his
portrait in marble the following epitaph was placed:

(1) Fabrum magister Cicca. natus oppidis vet obsidendis

vettuendis.hic Jacet. Vixit an. XXHXI. mens. XIV. dies XIV. Obiit
propatria telo ictus. Piae sorores monumentum fecerunt
MCCCCXCIX.

- 236 -
1)
It should be Morazsoni.
2)
In 1498.
3)
Now in the Accademia.
4)
In 1486.

Rosso Rossi
Painter of Florence
(1494-1541)

ABLE men who devote all their efforts to improving their gifts are often, when least
expected, raised to the greatest honours in the sight of the world. This occurred to the
Florentine painter Rosso, for if he could not obtain satisfactory recognition in Rome and
Florence, he proved more fortunate in France; where the glory he acquired would have
satiated the most ambitious artist. Indeed, he could not rise higher, being so favoured
and esteemed by so great a monarch as the King of France. His merits were indeed
such that if fortune had treated him otherwise she would have done him a great wrong.
Besides his skill in painting, Rosso possessed a handsome presence, was gracious and
grave in speech, an accomplished musician and a well-versed philosopher, while more
important than all were his poetical fancy in the composition of figures, his bold and

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solid design, light style, beautiful composition and the forcefulness of his grotesques.
Excellent as an architect, he was rich in spirit and grandeur, though poor in pocket.
Thus those who follow in his steps will always be praised, as his works are; for they
have no equal in force and ease, being entirely devoid of that circumstance with which
so many endeavour to endow their nothings with importance. In his youth, Rosso drew
from the cartoon of Michelagnolo. He would not bind himself to any master, as he had
an opinion of his own in opposition to their styles. We may observe this in a tabernacle
at Marignole, outside the S. Pier Gattolini gate at Florence, done in fresco for Piero
Bartoli, representing a dead Christ, in which we see the first signs of his desire for a
bold and grandiose style beyond others, with lightness of touch and wonderful.
As a beardless youth, when Lorenzo Pucci was created cardinal by Pope Leo
1)
, Rosso did the arms of the Pucci over the door of S. Sebastiano of the Servites, with
two figures, which then excited the wonder of artists who did not expect success from
him. Thus encouraged, and after doing a half-length Madonna with the head of St. John
the Evangelist for Maestro Giacopo, a Servite friar who studied poetry, he did an
Assumption at the friar's instigation, beside the Visitation of Giacopo da Pontormo,with a
heaven full of naked child angels dancing about the Virgin. Their graceful outlines are
beautifully foreshortened, and if the colouring had shown the same maturity that he
afterwards acquired, he would have far surpassed the other scenes there, for he
equalled them in grandeur and good design. The Apostles are laden with draperies, the
folds being too ample, but their attitudes and some of the heads are more than divine.
The master of the hospital of S. Maria Novella employed Rosso to do a panel, but as he
understood little of art, when he saw the sketch he thought the saints were devils, as
Rosso usually made his figures harsh at first, softening them after. Accordingly the
master rushed out of the house and refused to take the picture, saying that he had been
deceived. Over another door leading into the cloister of the convent of the Servites
Rosso painted the arms of Pope Leo, with two children, now destroyed, and did several
paintings and portraits for private houses. When Pope Leo came to Florence he did a
fine arch at the comer of the Bischeri. He next did a beautiful dead Christ 2) for the lord
of Piombino, as well as a chapel, while at Volterra he painted a fine Deposition from the
Cross 3). Having thus increased in reputation he did the picture of the Gods at S. Spirito
in Florence 4), which had been allotted to Raphael, who left it for the work at Rome.
Rosso executed it with grace and design and with brilliant colouring. No work seems to
possess more power or shows to greater advantage at a distance for the boldness of
the figures and the ease of the attitudes. As it differed from the work of others it was
considered eccentric. But although it was not much admired at the time, men have since
gradually come to recognise its merits, for it would be impossible to improve upon the
harmony of the colours, the clear lights above merging into the medium lights and then
into the shadows with such softness and harmony that the figures stand in relief on each
other. Indeed, Rosso maybe said to have produced a work which, for judgment and
mastery, may he compared with the efforts of any other master. In S. Lorenso he did a
panel for Carlo Ginori of the Marriage of Our Lady, considered very beautiful. No one
has ever surpassed or even approached him in his facility of production, his colouring
being soft, the draperies falling gracefully, so that he is always admirable. Everyone who
sees his work must acknowledge the truth of what I say, for his nudes are very fine,
showing a thorough knowledge of anatomy. His women are very graceful, their
draperies being curious and fanciful. His old men's heads are curious, while those of
women and children are sweet and pleasant. He showed such rich invention that he
never had any superfluous spaces in his pictures, and he did everything with marvellous
facility and grace. For Cio Flandini he did a picture of some beautiful nudes in a scene
of Moses slaying the Egyptian 5), containing praiseworthy things. I think it was sent to
France. He did another for Cio Cavalcanti, which went to England, of Jacob giving drink
to the women at the well, considered divine, seeing that it contained most graceful

- 238 -
nudes and women; for whom he loved to make delicate draperies, coiffures and
garments. While engaged upon this work Rosso inhabited the Borgode' Tintori, the
rooms of which opened on to the gardens of the friars of S. Croce.
He took a great fancy for a baboon, which was more like a man than an animal,
loving it like himself, and as the creature was marvellously intelligent, he employed it on
several services. This soon happened to become very fond of a handsome apprentice
called Battistino, divining by signs all that he wished. At the back of the rooms, which led
into the friar's garden, there was a vine of the keeper's full of very large saneolztmbatte
grapes, and as it was a long way off the window, the apprentices sent the baboon with a
rope to gather grapes. The keeper, finding that his grapes were disappearing with no
apparent cause, suspected mice and set a watch. When he discovered the culprit to be
Rosso's baboon he was filled with rage, and seizing a stick went to beat him. The
animal seeing he would he caught whether he climbed up or stayed where he was,
began to jump enough to ruin the pergola, and as if moved to throw himself upon the
friar he seized the outside cross pieces of the trellis with both hands. Meanwhile the friar
arrived with his stick, whereupon the baboon shook with fear to such an extent that he
broke the uprights and the whole pergola with the baboon collapsed upon the friars
head. The friar cried for mercy, and Battista and the others pulled the rope and brought
the baboon back to their room. The keeper picked himself up and going to a small
terrace made remarks not to be found in the mass, and went off in a rage to the office of
the Eight, a much-dreaded magistracy in Florence. Here he lodged his plaint; Rosso
was summoned, and the baboon was condemned to have a weight fastened to his leg,
so that he could not leap on to the vine. Rosso made a ring, with an iron weight
attached, for him, so that he was able to run about the house, but could not go outside.
The creature seemed to know that the friar was the cause of his punishment, and he
practiced jumping every day, holding the weight in his paws, and so at length achieved
his purpose. One day he jumped from roof to roof, at the hour when the keeper was
singing vespers, until he reached the roof of his room, and there he let the weight fall
and amused himself for half an hour to such purpose that not a tile was left unbroken.
Three days afterwards a heavy rain fell, and the keeper was heard to complain bitterly.
When Rosso had completed his works, he went away to Rome with Battista and the
baboon. His works were much in request, as some of his designs had preceded him and
were considered marvellous, for he drew divinely, with great finish. Above Raphael's
work in the Pace he did one of his worst performances 6). I do not know why- but all
suffer in this way, and it is a curious fact that a change of country produces a change of
nature, ability and habits, so that men are rendered different and stupid. The air of
Rome might have affected him, while the stupendous works of architecture and
sculpture, and the paintings and statues of Michelagnolo, may have overcome him.
Such considerations induced Fra Bartolommeo and Andrea del Sarto to fly from Rome
without leaving any work there. Whatever the cause, Rosso never did worse, and it is
unfortunate it should have been next to Raphael's work. At this time he did a dead
Christ supported by two angels for his friend the Bishop Tornabuoni, which is now in the
hands of the heirs of Monsignor della Casa, and is a beautiful thing. For II Baviera he
designed all the gods afterwards engraved by Jacopo Caraglio, including Saturn
changed into a horse and the rape of Proserpine by Pluto. He did a sketch of the
Decollation of St. John the Baptist, now in a church on the Piazza de' Salviati at Rome.
On the sack of Rome Rosso was taken prisoner by the Cermans, and very badly
treated, being stripped and made to carry weights, removing in this way almost the
entire stock of a cheese monger. He dragged himself to Perugia, where he was
welcomed and clothed by the painter Domenico di Paris. For him Rosso did a cartoon
for a picture of the Magi, a beautiful thing, still in his possession. He did not remain there
long, for learning that the Bishop de' Tornabuoni, another refugee from the sack, had
arrived at the Borgo, he proceeded thither to meet his friend.
- 239 -
 At that time Raffaello dal Colle, painter and pupil of Giulio Romano, was living there.
He had undertaken to do a panel cheaply for S. Croce, an oratory of Flagellants, but
gave up the task in a friendly spirit to Rosso, that the latter might leave a memorial of
himself in the city. The company objected, but the bishop intervened in his favour. When
the panel was completed it brought him much renown, and was set up in S. Croce. It
represents a Deposition from the Cross of rare beauty, the colouring showing the
darkness of the eclipse which took place at Christ's death, and the work displaying great
diligence. At Citta di Castello he was commissioned to paint a panel 7), but the roof
falling in while he was doing the gesso completely destroyed it, and he caught a fever
which brought him to death's door, so that he was carried from Castello to the Borgo.
When quart an fever followed this attack he proceeded to the Pieve of S. Stefano to
obtain a change of air, and finally to Arezzo, where he was entertained by Benedetto
Spadari. He and Cio. Antonio Lappoli of Arezzo and their relations and friends
succeeded in securing for him the painting in fresco of a vault in the Madonna delle
Lagrime 8), already allotted to Niccolo Soggi, painter, agreeing to pay him 300 gold
crowns to the end that he might leave a memorial of himself in the city. Rosso began the
cartoons in a room provided for him in a place called Murello, finishing four. One
represents our first parents bound to the tree of sin, and the Virgin taking the sin,
represented by the apple, out of their mouths. At their feet lies the serpent, and in the air
are Phoebus and Diana, to show that Our Lady was clothed with the sun and moon. In
the second where the ark of the covenant is borne by Moses, he represented the Virgin
surrounded by five Virtues. In another is the throne of Solomon, with the same
represention. Vows are offered to show that people come to Our Lady for favours, and
there are other curious fancies devised by M. Cio. Pollastra of Arezzo, a friend of
Rosso, to please whom Rosso made a fine model of the whole now house at Arezzo.
He drew a study of nudes for the work of rare beauty, so that it is a pity it is incomplete,
because if he had done it in oils instead of fresco it would have been a miracle. But he
always disliked working in fresco, and frittered away his time in making cartoons to be
finished by Raffaello dal Borgo and others. Being a courteous man, he at the same time
did many designs in Arezzo and elsewhere for paintings and buildings, as, for example,
that of a chapel for the rectors of the Fraternity at the foot of the piazza where the Volto
Santo now is, for whom he had designed a panel of Our Lady with the people under her
mantle, to be put in this place. This design is on our book, with many other fine ones by
him.
But to return to the work he was to do in the Madonna delle Lagrime. His trusty
friend Cio. Antonio Lappoli was bail for him, for he left no means untried of rendering
Rosso a service. But during the siege of Florence in 1530, the Aretines, being liberated
from all restraint owing to the imprudence of Papo Altovit, captured and destroyed the
citadel. As the people disliked the Florentines Rosso would not trust them, and went to
Borgo S. Sepolcro, leaving his cartoons and drawings shut up in the citadel. Those of
Castello who had allotted the panel to him desired him to finish it, and because of the
troubles which he had experienced there he would not return, so he finished the panel
at Borgo, and would never allow them the pleasure of seeing it. He represented a crowd
of people, and Christ in the air adored by four figures, introducing Moors, gipsies, and
the strangest figures in the world, though perfectly beautiful, the whole composition
being adapted to everything except the purpose for which it was required. At this same
time he disinterred the dead in the Vescovado, where he was staying, and made
magnificent anatomical studies. In truth Rosso was a diligent student of art, and few
days passed when he did not draw some nude from life.
He always hoped to end his days in France, and thus escape the misery and poverty
to which, so he said; those who work in Tuscany and in their native places are exposed,
and so he determined to go there. To make himself universal he learned Latin, when an
event occurred which hastened his departure. One Holy Thursday, during evening
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service, an Aretine youth and pupil of his was making sparks and flames with a lighted
match and some pitch and as they were reciting the Tenebrae, the boy was
reprimanded by some priests and struck slightly. Rosso, who was seated beside the
boy, angrily struck the priest in the face; at which a disturbance arose, and men who
knew nothing of the circumstances drew their swords on poor Rosso, who was
struggling with the priests. So Rosso fled and fortunately reached his quarters without
injury. But considering himself dishonoured by this, he finished his Castello panel, and
without thinking of his work at Arezzo or the harm he was doing his surety Cio. Antonio,
for he had received more than 150 crowns on account, he departed by night, and,
taking the Pesaro road, reached Venice. Here he was received by M. Pietro Aretino,
and drew for him a sleeping Mars, with Venus, Cupids and Craces ‚undressing him and
trailing about his cuirass. It was afterwards engraved. From Venice Rosso went to
France 9), where he was heartily welcomed by the Florentines. Having painted some
pictures, which were afterwards put in the gallery at Fontainebleau, he gave them to
King Francis, who was greatly delighted. The monarch was even more pleased with
Rosso's bearing, conversation and habits (his ruddy complexion suiting his name), his
grave, serious manner and great judgment. After granting him a provision of 400 crowns
and giving him a house in Paris, which Rosso used little, spending most of his time in
Fontainebleau, where he had apartments and lived like a lord, the king made him chief
of all structures, paintings and other ornaments of that place. Here Rosso began a
gallery over the lower court, not vaulting it, but making a flat roof with open beams,
beautifully partitioned. The sides he decorated with stucco and curious and fantastic
panels, with several kinds of cornices carved with life-size figures, the lower part being
adorned with rich festoons in stucco, others with paintings of fruit and every so it of
verdure. In a large space he had about 25 scenes painted in fresco from his design, if I
am rightly informed, of the deeds of Alexander the Great, the designs being water-
colours done in grisaille. At the two ends of the gallery are two oil-paintings by him,
executed with such perfection that few better can be seen. One contains a Bacchus, the
other represents Venus, done with marvelous art and judgment. The Bacchus is a
naked youth, tender, delicate and soft, the flesh seeming to palpitate; about him are
vessels of gold, silver, crystal and various precious stones of such extraordinary nature
that they astound the beholder. Among other things is a satyr, raising part of a canopy,
his head with his strange goat's horn being of marvellous beauty, while he seems to
smile with' delight at seeing such a beautiful youth. There is a child riding a bear, of
great beauty, with many other graceful and beautiful ornaments.
The other design contains Cupid, Venus and other beautiful figures. But the figure to
which Rosso devoted the most pains was the Cupid, represented as a boy of twelve but
possessing greater powers, and beautiful in every part. When the king saw these works
he was greatly pleased, and took Rosso into high favour, giving him soon after a stall in
Notre Dame at Paris and other revenues, so that he lived like a lord with his servants
and horses, giving banquets to his friends and acquaintances, especially to the Italians
who came there. For the top-most hall, called the pavilion from its shape, Rosso did
decorations in stucco and figures in relief at regular intervals, from the floor to the
beams, with children, festoons and various sorts of animals, and a seated figure in
fresco on the level, representing gods and goddesses of the ancients in great numbers:
Over the windows is a rich stucco frieze without paintings. For the other rooms he did
stuccos and paintings, copies of which have been printed and circulated. They are of
great beauty and grace, as are his designs for salt-cellars, vases, basins and other
curious things which the king had executed in silver, and which are too numerous to
describe. Suffice it to say that he designed all the vessels for a chamber of the king, and
all the things for horses, masques, triumphs and other events with a curious and
whimsical fancy. When the Emperor Charles V. came to Fontainebleau in 1540, with
only twelve men, trusting himself to King Francis, Rosso and Francesco Primaticcio of

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Bologna between them arranged the tournaments instituted by the king in honour of his
guest. But Rosso's arches, colossi and such-like things were, it was said, the most
stupendous ever made. A great deal of his work at Fontainebleau has since been
destroyed by Francesco Primaticcio, who has made a new and larger building there. In
these things Rosso was assisted by his favourites Lorenzo Naldino of Florence, Maestro
Francesco of Orleans, Maestro Simone of Paris and Maestro Claudio, also of Paris, by
Maestro Lorenzo of Picardy, and many others. But the best of them was Domenico del
Barbieri, an excellent painter and master of stucco, and an extraordinary designer, as
his engraved works slow, which may be considered among the best extant. The painters
whom Rosso employed at Fontainebleau were Luca Penni, brother of Cio. Franceseo,
called II Fattore, a pupil of Raphael, Leonardo Fiammingo, a very able painter who
beautifully coloured Rosso's designs, Bartolommeo Miniati of Florence, Francesco
Caccianimici and Cio. Battista da Bagnacavallo. They all served him while Francesco
Primaticcio went to Rome by the king's order to make bronze casts of the Laocoon, the
Apollo and other rare antiquities. I do not mention the carvers, wood-workers and others
without number of whom he made use, because it is unnecessary to speak of all,
though many of them produced admirable work. Besides the things mentioned, Rosso
did a remarkable St. Michael, and a dead Christ on a panel for the Constable, a rare
work, sent to Ecouen. He also did some fine miniatures for the king. He further did a
book of anatomy to be printed in France, some portions of which are in our book of
designs. After his death two beautiful cartoons were found among his things, one a
Leda, the other of the Tiburtine Sibyl showing the glorious Virgin and Christ to the
Emperor Octavian. Into this he introduced King Francis and his queen, the guard and
the people, with such a quantity of fine figures that it maybe accounted one of his best
works. The king favoured him so greatly that shortly before his death he possessed an
income of 1000 crowns, besides his very considerable gains from his works. He lived
more like a prince than a painter, with numerous servants and horses, his house
furnished with tapestries, silver and other valuable furniture. But Fortune, who rarely or
never allows those who trust too much to her to retain their high degree long, caused his
fall in the strangest possible manner. Franceceo di Pellegrino, a Florentine, who was
fond of painting and a friend of Rosso, associated with him, when the latter was robbed
of 100 ducats. Rosso suspected Francesco, and had him removed from court and
rigorously examined. Being found innocent and released, Francesco was moved with
the greatest indignation against Rosso for the false charge made against him, and
attacked his former friend in such a way that Rosso was in a quandary, being unable to
defend himself, seeing that he had not only accused his friend falsely, but stained his
own honour, proclaiming himself a bad and disloyal man. Accordingly he determined to
kill himself. One day, when the king was at Fontainebleau, he sent a peasant to Paris
for a poisonous liquor, saying that he wanted it for varnish. The peasant returned with
the poison, but such was the nature of the liquid that it had almost destroyed the finger
with which he stopped the phial, though it was sealed with wax. Soon afterwards Rosso
took this poison and so died. When the news was brought to the kind he was much
grieved, feeling that in Rosso he had lost the best artist of the day. In order that the work
might not suffer, he entrusted it to Franeeseo Primaticcio of Bologna, who had already
done several works, giving him a good abbey, just as he had given a canonry to Rosso.
The latter died in 1541, having shown artists what an advantage it is in dealing with a
prince to be universal, courteous and gentle in bearing. Indeed, he deserves admiration
for many reasons as being truly excellent.

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1)
In 1513.
2)
Probably the Pieta in the Louvre.
3)
Duomo, Volterra.
4)
The three Fates of the Pitti Gallery.
5)
Uffizi.
6)
In 1524.
7)
1528.
8)
In 1537.
9)
About 1530.

LUCA SIGNORELLI
Painter of Cortona
(1441-1523)

LUCA SIGNORELLI, an excellent painter, of whom we

must now speak, following the chronological order, was
in his day considered more famous in Italy and his works
were more highly valued than almost any other master's,
no matter of what period, because he showed the way to
represent nude figures in painting so as to make them
appear alive, although with art and difficulty. He was the
pupil of Pietro of Borgoa S. Sepolcro, and made great
efforts in his youth to equal and even to surpass his
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master. Whilst he was working at Arezzo with his master and living with his uncle
Lazzaro Vasari, as has been said, he imitated Pietro's style so well that it was hardly
possible to perceive any difference. His first works were at S. Lorenzo at Arezzo, where
he painted the chapel of St. Barbara in fresco in 1472, and did the processional banner
in oils on cloth for the company of St. Caterina as well as that of la Trinita, which seems
rather the work of Pietro dal Borgo than his own. In S. Agostino in that city he did the
picture of St. Nicholas of Tolentino, with beautiful small scenes executed with design
and invention. In the chapel of the Sacrament in the same place he did two angels in
fresco. In the Chapel of the Accolti in the Church of S. Francesco he did a picture of M.
Francesco, doctor of laws, with portraits of the doctor and some members of his family.
In this work is an admirable St. Michael weighing souls, showing Luca's knowledge in
the splendour of the arms, in the reflections, and indeed in the whole work. He puts in
his hands a pair of scales, the nudes in either scale, one up and the other down, being
finely foreshortened. Among other ingenious things there is a nude figure finely
transformed into a devil, while a lizard licks the blood flowing from his wound. Here are
also a Virgin and Child, St. Stephen, St. Lawrence and St. Catherine, two angels
playing, one a lute and the other a rebec, all these figures being draped and wonderfully
adorned. But the predella is the most remarkable, full of small figures of the friars of St.
Catherine. In Perugia Luca did many works, among others a panel in the Duomo 1) for
M. Jacopo Vannucci, of Cortona the John the Baptist and St. Stephen, and a beautiful
angel tuning a lute. At Volterra he painted a fine Cirumcision of Christ 2) in fresco over
the altar of an oratory in S. Francesco, which is considered very remarkable, although
the babe having suffered from the damp was restored by Sodoma much less finely than
the original. Indeed, it is sometimes better to keep the works of famous men even half-
destroyed than to have them retouched by inferior hands. In S. Agostino in the same
city he did a panel in tempera with a predella of small figures representing scenes from
the Passion of Christ 3), which is considered extraordinarily fine. For the lords of Monte a
S. Maria he painted a dead Christ and a Nativity in S. Francesco at Citth di Castello 4),
and a St. Sebastian 5) on another panel in S. Domenico. In S. Margherita in his native
Cortona, a house of the bare-footed friars, he did a dead Christ 6), one of his finest
works, and in the oratory of the Gesh in the same city he did three panels, the one near
the high altar being marvellous, representing Christ communicating with the Apostles
and Judas putting the lost in the money-bag 7). In the Pieve, now called the Vescovado,
he painted some life size prophets in fresco in the chapel of the Sacrament, with angels
about the tabernacle opening a pavilion, while St. Jerome and St. Thomas Aquinas are
at the sides. At the high altar of this church he did a fine Assumption and designed the
glass for the principal rose-window, afterwards carried out by Stagio Sassoli of Arezzoo.
In Castiglione Aretino he did a dead Christ 8) above the cliapel of the Sacrament with the
Maries, and the doors of the presses in S. Francesco di Lucignano, in which is a coral
tree with a cross at the top. He did a panel of the chapel of St. Christopher in St.
Agostino at Siena, containing some saints surrounding a St. Christopher in relief 9).
From Siena he went to Florence to see the works of the masters then living
and those of the dead. Here he painted some naked gods, on canvas for Lorenzo de
Medici, which were much praised, and a picture of Our Lady with two small prophets;
this is now 10) It Castello, a villa of Duke Cosimo. He gave both works to Lorenzo, who
would never allow himself to be surpassed by anyone in liberality and magnificence. He
also painted a Madonna 11) in a round, which is in the audience-chamber of the captains
of the Guelph party. At Chiusuri of Siena, one of the principal houses of the monks of
Monte Oliveto, he painted on one side of the cloister eleven scenes of the life and acts
of St. Benedict 12). From Cortona he sent some of his works to Montepulciano, the
picture which is on the high altar of the Pieve at Foiano, and others to other places of
Valdichiana. In the Madonna, the principal church of Orvieto, he finished the chapel
begun by Fra Giovanni da Fiesole 13), representing all the scenes of the end of the world

- 244 -
with curious and fanciful invention, with angels, demons, ruins, earthquakes, fires,
miracles of Antichrist, and many other such things, in addition to nudes, foreshortenings,
and a number of fine figures, and their terror on that great and awful day. So he paved
the way for his successors, who have found the difficulties of that manner smoothed
away. Accordingly I do not wonder that Luca's works were always highly praised by
Michelagnolo, who in his divine Last Judgment in the chapel partly borrowed from Luca
such things as angels, demons, the arrangement of the heavens, and other things in
which Michelagnolo imitated Luca's treatment, as all may see 14). Into this Work Luca
introduced many portraits of friends, including his own and those of Niccolo, Paoloand
Vittellozzo Vitelli, Giovan. Paolo and Orazio Baglioni, and others whose names I do not
know. In S. Maria at Loreto he painted in fresco in the sanctuary of the four Evangelists,
the four Doctors, and other saints, which are very fine, being liberally rewarded by Pope
Sixtus. It is said that on a son, of whom he was very fond, of beautiful face and figure,
being killed at Cortona, Luca caused him to be stripped, and with extraordinary fortitude,
without shedding a tear, drew the body so that he might always behold in this work of
his hands what Nature had given him and cruel Fortune taken away. Being summoned
by Pope Sixtus to work in the chapel of the palace with other painters, he did two
scenes which are reckoned among the best, one being the testament of Moses to the
Hebrew people after seeing the Land of Promise, and the other his death.
At length, after working for almost every prince in Italy, and being now old, Luca
returned to Cortona 15), where he passed his last years in working more for love of it
than anything else, as if after spending his life in toil he could not remain idle. He then
did a panel for the nuns of S. Margherita at Arezzo 16) and one at the oratory of S.
Girolamo, part of the cost being paid for by M. Niccolo Gamurrini, doctor of laws, auditor
of the Ruota, whose portrait is there, kneeling before the Madonna, to whom St.
Nicholas presents him. St. Donato and St. Stephen are also there, and lower down St.
Jerome naked and David singing with a psalter. Here also are two prophets who treat of
the Conception, to judge by the scrolls in their hands. This work was taken from Cortona
to Arezzo on the shoulders of the men of that company, and Luca, old as he was,
wanted to set it up there and revisit his friends and relations. He stayed in the house of
the Vasari, and as a child of eight 17) I remember the worthy old man, so gracious and
refined, and when he heard from my master who taught me my letters that I did nothing
but draw figures in school, he turned to my father Antonio and said, "Antonio, in order
that Giorgiomay not grow worse, get him to learn to draw, because even with his other
studies this cannot fail to be of assistance and honour to him as it is to all worthy men."
Then turning to me as I stood before him, he said, " Learn, little kinsman, learn." he said
a great deal more, which I will not repeat, because I know that I have not nearly realised
the expectations which he formed of me. Knowing also that I suffered severely from
bleeding at the nose, which sometimes left me in a fainting condition, he very tenderly
put a jasper on my neck. This memory of Luca will remain with me for ever. Having set
up the picture, he returned to Cortona, accompanied for a great part of the way by
citizens, friends and relations, as his great qualities merited, and he lived rather like a
great lord and gentleman than as a painter.
About this time Benedetto Caporali, a painter of Perugia, had erected a palace for
Silvio Passerrini, cardinal of Cortona, half a mile outside the city. Benedetto, being fond
of architecture, had just previously written a commentary on Vitruvius 18). The cardinal
wished the whole palace to be painted, and Benedetto set to work on it with the help of
Maso Papacello of Cortona, his pupil, who had also studied under Giulio Romano, as
will be said, and of Tommaso, and other pupils and boys, and painted almost the whole
in fresco. But the cardinal desired to have some painting of Luca, and, old and paralytic
as he was, he did in fresco the altar-wall of the chapel of the palace, representing John
baptising the Saviour. He did not quite finish it, as he died while he was still at work on
it, at the age of eighty-two. Luca was a man of the highest character, sincere and loving
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with friends, of gentle and pleasing conversation with everyone, and, above all,
courteous to all who needed his skill, and a good master to his pupils. He lived
magnificently, and was fond of fine clothes. For his good qualities he was always
revered at home and abroad. I shall therefore finish this second part with the close of his
life, which took place in 1521 19), Luca being the one who by his ground-work of design,
and especially of nudes, by his grace of invention and the grouping of his scenes, paved
the way for the final perfection of art, and for most of those artists with whom we shall
now have to deal, who put the finishing touches.

1)
Painted in 1484.
2)
Painted about 1490; now in the National Gallery, London.
3)
Possibly the picture now in the Louvre.
4)
Probably the picture now in the National Gallery, painted in 1496.
5)
Commissioned in 1498.
6)
In 1502.
7)
Painted in 1552.
8)
Probably the picture in the Berlin Gallery.
9)
In 1498.
10)
The "School of Pan," now in the Berlin Gallery.
11)
Now in the Uffizi.
12)
Commissioned in 1497.
13)
Between 1499 and1509.
14)
About 1479.
15)
Between 1482 and 1484.
16)
In 1520; now in the Gallery, Arezzo.
17)
It would therefore be in 1519.
18)
Published in 1536.
19)
1523.

SEBASTIANO VENEZIANO
Friar of the Piombo and Painter
(1485-1547)

PAINTING was not, as many affirm, the first profession of Sebastiano, but music, as
besides singing he delighted in playing various instruments and especially the lute, on
which he could render all the parts without accompaniment. It was an exercise of which
the Venetian nobles were very fond, and he always enjoyed intimate relations with
them. While still young he turned to painting, learning the elements from Giovan. Bellini,
then an old man. Then Giorgione da Castlefranco introduced a more modern style,
more harmonious and the colours better toned, so that Sebastiano left Giovanni and
joined Giorgione, whose style he in great part acquired. He did many good portraits in
Venice, among others that of Verdelotto, an excellent French musician then chapel-
master in S. Marco, and in the same picture Uberto, his fellow-singer. Verdelotto
took‚ this picture to Florence, where he became chapel-master in S. Giovanni, and it is
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now in the house of Francesco Sangallo, the sculptor. At that time Sebastiano 1) did a
panel with some figures in S. Giovanni Grisostomo at Venice, so like Giorgione's work
that many people not experts, have been deceived. It is a fine picture, the colouring
giving it great relief. Sebastiano's fame spreading, Agostino Chigi, a wealthy Sienese
merchant, having affairs at Venice and hearing him greatly praised in Rome, tried to
induce him to go thither, being pleased also with his lute-playing and pleasant
conversation. The task was not a hard one, for Sebastiano knew that city to be the
home of all lofty spirits. When Sebastiano arrived there 2) Agostino gave him work, the
first thing being the arches of the loggia in the palace of Agostino in Travestevere 3),
opening on the garden where Baldassare of Siena had painted the vaulting. Here
Sebastiano did some poetical fancies in a style he had brought from Venice, very unlike
that in use among the prominent painters then at Rome.
After this, Raphael having done a scene of Galatea there, Sebastiano at
Agostino's request, painted Polyphemus beside it, doing his utmost, spurred by the
competition of Baldassare of Siena and of Raphael. He then painted some things in oils
much valued in Rome for the method of colouring he had learned from Giorgione. While
he was at work at Rome, Raphael had become so famous that his friends said his
paintings were superior to those of Michelagnolo for beauty of colour, excellence in
design and grace, and they judged Raphael superior or at least equal to him in painting,
but absolutely superior in colouring. These things, being spread abroad by many artists
who thought more of Raphael's grace than of Michelagnolo's profundity, had made
many more favourable to the former than the latter. Sebastiano, however, was not
among these, as his exquisite judgment showed him the precise worth of each.
Michelagnolo therefore turned to him, being attracted by his colouring and grace, and
took him under his protection, thinking that if he gave his assistance to Sebastian in
design he might succeed in confounding his rivals under cover of a third person; While
matters were in this state and some things of Sebastiano being greatly appreciated by
the praises bestowed by Michelagnolo, besides being beautiful and admirable of
themselves, some one from Viterbo, in high favour with the Pope, employed Sebastiano
to decorate a chapel for him in S. Francesco at Viterbo, with a dead Christ lamented by
His Mother 4). This was diligently completed by Sebastiano who introduced a much-
admired shaded landscape, but the invention and cartoon were Michelagnolo's. The
work was considered most beautiful by all who saw it, and Sebastiano acquired great
credit and confirmed the reports of those who favoured him. Piero Francesco
Borgherini, a Florentine merchant, having taken a chapel in S. Pietro a Montorio on the
right on entering the church, it was allotted to Sebastiano by Michelagnolo's influence,
because Piero thought Michelagnolo would prepare the design, as edict. Sebastiano
executed it with such diligence that it was rightly considered very beautiful. From
Michelagnolo's small design he made some larger ones for his own use, a particularly
good one being in our book. Sebastiano thought he had discovered a method of
colouring in oils on a wall, and so he prepared the surface of the walls of
The same wardrobe contains a fine portrait of Signora Anguisciola by herself,
presented by her to Julius II., and an ancient M S. of the Bucolics, Georgics and neid of
Virgil, the characters of which have led many learned men to believe that it was written
actually under Caesar Augustus or soon after, so that it is small wonder if the cardinal
treasures it greatly. This is the end of the Life of Taddeo Zucchero the painter.

- 247 -
1)
Sebastiano Luciani.
2)
About1512.
3)
The Farnesina.
4)
In 1525.

ANDREA VERROCCHIO
Painter, Sculptor and Architect of Florence
(1435-1488)

ANDREA DEL Verrocchio of Florence was in his time a goldsmith, perspectivist,

sculptor, carver, painter and musician. But his style in sculpture and painting was
somewhat hard and crude, as if he had acquired his skill rather by indefatigable study
than by any natural gift or facility. This facility, although not so advantageous 1) as study
and diligence, would have rendered him a most excellent artist, but when either study or
Nature is lacking, the highest excellence is rarely found, although‚study confers more
than the other. However, Andrea, by his unequalled diligence, won a place among the
rare and excellent artists. In his youth he studied science and especially geometry.
While a goldsmith he made, besides other things, some clasps for copes which are in S.
Maria del Fiore at Florence, and a cup, the body of which is surrounded by animals,
leaves and other curious things, a work well known to all goldsmiths. In another he has
- 248 -
very prettily represented some boys dancing. Having disclosed his merit by these
things, Andrea was employed by the art of the merchants to make two silver bas-reliefs
for the altar of S. Giovanni 2), from which when done he acquired much glory and
reputation.
Rome did not at this time possess all of those large-sized apostles usually
placed upon the altar of the Pope's chapel with some other silver-work now destroyed.
Accordingly Andrea was sent for, and by the special favour of Pope Sixtus he was
employed to do all that was necessary here 3). He completed his task with the utmost
diligence. Seeing that the numerous ancient statues and other things at Rome were
greatly esteemed, and that the bronze horse 4) was placed by the Pope in S. Giovanni
Lateran, and fragments of other things found every day were also highly valued, Andrea
determined to take up sculpture. Accordingly he altogether abandoned the goldsmith's
craft, and began by casting some little bronze figures which were much admired, and,
encouraged by this, he began to work in marble. About this time occurred the death of
the wife of Francesco Tornabuoni in child-birth, and her husband, who had greatly loved
her and wished to honour her as much as possible, employed Andrea to make her
tomb. He carved the lady's effigy in stone upon a marble sarcophagus, representing her
confinement and passing to another life, and then did three Virtues, considered very
fine, this being his first work in marble. The tomb was afterwards placed in the Minerva
5)
.
Returning to Florence with money, fame and honour, Andrea was set to make a
David two and a half braccia high 6). When finished it was placed in the palace at the top
of the stairs where the chain was, to his great glory. Whilst engaged upon this statue he
did the marble Madonna in S. Croce above the tomb of M. Leonardo Bruni' of Arezzo.
He did this while still young for Bernardo Rossellino, architect and sculptor, who carried
out the entire work in marble, as has been said. He further made a Madonna and Child,
half-length, in half-relief on a marble slab, which used to be in the Casa Medici, and is
now over a door in the chamber of the Duchess of Florence, as a most beautiful thing.
He also did two metal heads, one of Alexander the Great, in profile, the other of Darius,
a fancy head, in half-relief with different crests and armour and variety in every
particular. Both were sent by Lorenzo de' Medici the elder to Matthias Corvinus, King of
Hungary, with many other things, as will be said in the proper place 7). Having acquired
a reputation as an excellent master, especially in numerous bronze works in which he
greatly delighted, Andrea made the torn b of Giovanni and Piero di Cosimo de' Medici in
S. Lorenzo 8), with a sarcophagus of porphyry borne at the four corners by bronze
supports with beautifully turned leaves, finished with tile utmost diligence.
This tomb is placed between the chapel of the Sacrament and the sacristy, and
there is no better work of bronze anywhere, especially as he had at the same time
demonstrated his skill in architecture by arranging the tomb in the opening of a window
five braccia wide and about ten high, placed upon a pedestal and separating the chapel
of the Sacrament from the old sacristy. To fill the gap between the sarcophagus and the
vaulting he made a grille of bronze rope netting, diamond pattern, ornamented in places
with festoons and other remarkable fancies, executed with great skill, judgment and
invention.
Donatello having made the marble niche for the Magistracy of the Six of the
Mercanzia, now opposite S. Michele in the oratory of Orsanmichele, and a St. Thomas
feeling the wounds of Christ being required, that work was not then carried out because
some wished it to be done by Donatello and others by Lorenzo Ghiberti. The dispute
having endured throughout the lives of these masters, both statues were ultimately
allotted to Andrea 9), who made the models and forms, cast them, and obtained the
most satisfactory results. Having afterwards cleaned and finished them, he brought
them to their prese1it state of perfection, which is unrivalled. St. Thomas displays his

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incredulity and a too great readiness to ascertain the fact, though he also shows love
while putting his hand in Christ's side, the Lord raising His arm with great freedom and
opening His garment, thus removing the doubt of the incredulous disciple with all the
grace and divinity that art can impart to a figure. The excellence of the draperies of
these figures shows that Andrea was as much a master of this art as Donato, Lorenzo,
and his other predecessors, so that the work deserved to be placed in a niche beside
Donato's and to be held then as now in the greatest repute.
As Andrea could not rise higher in that profession, and being a man who could not
be contented with excellence in one department, ‚ but eager to win distinction in others,
he turned his attention to painting and did some sketches for a combat of nude figures
which he proposed to execute in colours on a wall. He also made the cartoons of some
pictures which he proceeded to execute in colours, but whatever the cause these
remained imperfect. There are some of his drawings in our book executed with the
greatest patience and judgment, among them being some female heads so beautiful
and with such charming hair that Leonardo da Vinci was always imitating them. It also
contains two horses with the method of enlarging things in proportion without errors. I
also have a horse's head in terra cotta copied from the antique, and a rare work, while
the Very Rev. Don Vincenzio Borghini has some others on paper in his book, already
mentioned. Among them is a design for a tomb made by Andrea at Venice for a doge,
and the Magi adoring Christ, with a most lovely woman's head, painted on paper. For
Lorenzo de' Medici he made a bronze boy hugging a fish 10), for the fountain of the Villa
Careggi, which has been set up by Duke Cosimo as the fountain in the court of his
palace, and is a really marvellous work.
Upon the completion of the dome of S. Maria del Fiore 11) it was determined after
much discussion to place a copper ball on the top of it, as Filippo Brunelleschi had
devised. The charge of this was entrusted to Andrea, who made one four braccia high,
placed on a disk and so arranged that it could safely carry the cross. This done, it was
installed amid universal rejoicing 12). It was necessary to employ both genius and
diligence in its construction, because it was essential to arrange an entrance into it from
below and to fortify it so that the wind should do it 110 harm. As Andrea never rested,
but was always at work on something, whether painting or sculpture, it would sometimes
happen that one thing would overlap another so that he might not, like many others,
become tired of always doing the same thing. However, he did not carry out the
cartoons mentioned, though he also did some paintings, among them being a well-
executed picture for the nuns of S. Domenico at Florence 13) in which he considered he
had done very well. Accordingly, soon after he painted another in S. Salvi for the friars
of Vallombroso representing St. John baptising Christ 14). In this work he was assisted
by Lionardo Da Vinci, his pupil, then quite a youth, who did an angel so far excelling the
rest that Andrea resolved never to touch the brush again, because Lionardo, though so
young, had so far surpassed him.
Cosimo de' Medici imported from Rome many antiquities, and inside the door of the
garden or court opening into the via de' Ginori he placed a beautiful white marble
Marsyas bound to a tree and ready to be flayed. Lorenzo, his nephew, having obtained
a torso and head of another antique Marsyas, much finer than the first and of red stone,
wished to match it with the first and could not because it was very imperfect.
Accordingly he gave it to Andrea to restore and finish, and that artist made the legs,
sides and arms that were lacking for the one in red marble so well that Lorenzo was
delighted and had it set up on the opposite side of the door to the other. This antique
torso of a flayed Marsyas was made with such skill and judgment that some slender
white veins in the red stone came out, through skilful carving, in the proper places,
appearing like small sinews, such as are seen in natural figures when flayed, and this
rendered the work most life-like when it was polished for the first time.

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 The Venetians desiring to honour the skill of Bartolommeo da Bergamo, who had
gained many victories for them, and in order to encourage the others, invited Andrea, of
whose fame they had heard, to come to Venice, and instructed him to make a bronze
equestrian statue of that captain for the Piazza S. Giovanni e Paolo 15). Andrea
accordingly made the model for the horse, and had begun his preparations to cast it in,
bronze when by means of the favour of some nobles it was proposed that Vellano da
Padova should make the figure and Andrea the horse. When Andrea heard this he
broke the legs and head of his model, and without a word returned in a rage to
Florence. On hearing this the Signoria warned him never to venture to return to Venice
on pain of losing his head, to which he wrote in reply that he would take good care not
to, because it was not in their power to replace men's heads after they had removed
them, and never one like his own, though he could do so in the case of the horse's head
he had broken, and make it even finer. This answer did not displease the Signoria, and
they subsequently induced him to return to Venice at twice the salary. Here he repaired
his first model and cast it in bronze, but did not finish it, for becoming overheated during
the casting he caught a chill, of which he died in a few days, leaving unfinished not only
that work, although there was little to be done, and after being finished it was set up in
its appointed place, but another which he was doing in Pistoia, namely the tomb of the
Cardinal Forteguerra, with the three Theological Virtues and God the Father above,
afterwards finished by Lorenzetto, sculptor of Florence 16). Andrea was fifty-six at his
death, which caused great grief to his friends and numerous pupils, and especially to
Nanni Grosso, the sculptor, a very eccentric man both in art and in life. It is said that he
would never do any work away from his shop, and certainly not for monks or friars,
unless the entrance to the vault or cellar were left open, so that he might go and drink
when he pleased without being obliged to ask permission. It is also related that once, on
returning cured from some sickness from S. Maria Nuova, he told the friends who visited
him and inquired after his health that he was ill. "Yet you are healed," they replied; to
which he retorted, "That is why I am ill, because I want a little fever to enable me to
remain comfortably here in the hospital." When he came to die they brought him a
rudely made wooden crucifix, and he requested them to take it away, and bring him one
by Donatello, saying that if they did not he should die in despair, so much did he detest
the sight of ill-made works of his art. Pietro Perugino and Leonardo da Vinci, who will be
mentioned elsewhere, were also pupils of Andrea, as well as Francesco di Simone of
Florence, who did a marble tomb in S. Domenico, at Bologna, with small figures, which
by their style might be by Andrea 17). It was made for M. Alessandro Tartaglia, a doctor
of Imola, and another, which corresponds, in S. Brancazio, at Florence, in the sacristy,
and in a chapel of the church for M. Pier Minerbetti, knight. Yet another pupil, Agnolo di
Polo, was a skilful worker in clay, and has filled the city with his productions, and if he
had eared to devote himself seriously to art he would have done most beautiful things.
But Andrea's favourite pupil was Lorenzo di Credi, who brought his master's remains
from Venice, and laid them in the church of S. Ambruogio, in the tomb of Ser Miehele di
Cione, above which these words are carved:

Ser Michaelis di Cionis, et suorum: and nearby: Hic ossa jacent

Andreae Verrochii qui obiit Venetiis MCCCCLXXXVIII.

Andrea was very fond of making plaster casts, the material being a soft stone
excavated at Volterra, Siena, and many other places in Italy. This stone, baked at the
fire, and made into a paste with tepid water, may then be fashioned as desired, and
being afterwards dried, it becomes hard so that whole figures may be east in it. Andrea
used it to form natural objects, so that he might have them before him and imitate them,
such as hands, feet, knees, legs, arms and busts. Later on in his life men began to
make at a slight cost death masks of those who died, so that a number of these life-like

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portraits may be seen in every house in Florence over chimney-pieces, doors, windows
and cornices. This practice has been continued to our own time, and has proved of
great advantage in obtaining many of the portraits introduced into the scenes in the
palace of Duke Cosimo. For this a great debt is due to Andrea, who was one of the first
to make use of it.
To Andrea also is due a greater perfection in votive images, not only in Florence, but
in all places where there are dcvotions, and where persons assemble to offer such
objects for some favour received, miracles as they are called. These were first made
small in silver, or small painted panels, or else very rudely moulded in wax, but in
Andrea's time a much better style was introduced, for being very intimate with Orsino, a
worker in wax, a man of good judgment in his art, Andrea began to show him how he
could attain to excellence. An opportunity presented itself at the death of Giuliano, and
the wounding of his brother Lorenzo in S. Maria del Fiore 18). It was then decreed by the
friends and relations of Lorenzo that images of him should be made in several places,
rendering thanks to God for his preservation. Accordingly Orsino, with the assistance
arid advice of Andrea, made three life-sized wax figures, the framework being of wood,
as has been said elsewhere, covered with split canes, over which cloth was stretched
and waxed over, so that nothing more life-like could be desired. He made the heads,
hands and feet of coarser wax, hollow inside, painting the hair and other things in oils,
as was necessary, in a very natural manner. All three may still be seen, one being in the
church of the nuns of Chiarito in the via di S. Gallo, opposite the crucifix which works
miracles. This figure is dressed exactly as Lorenzo was when wounded in the throat,
and showed himself at the windows of his house, all bandaged, to be seen by the
people, who wished to know whether he was alive, as they hoped, or dead, so that they
might avenge him. The second figure is in a gown, a civil habit worn by the Florentines,
and this is in the church of the Servites at the Nunziata, above the lesser door, beside
the desk where the candles are sold. The third was sent to S. Maria degli Angeli at
Assisi and placed before that Madonna.
As I have already said, Lorenzo caused the whole of the street leading from S. Maria
to the gate of Assisi towards S. Franeesco to be paved with bricks, and he restored the
fountains erected there by his grandfather Cosimo. But to return to the waxen images.
Those are by Orsino, which are in the said church of the Servites, and which have on
the bottom a large O with an R inside and a cross above. All are of extreme beauty, and
very few have equalled them. The art has been maintained until our own days, though
in a somewhat declining condition, through lack of devotion, or from some other cause.
But to return to Verrocchio. Besides the works referred to he did some wooden
crucifixes, and other things in clay, in which he excelled, as we see by the models of the
subjects which he did for the altar of S. Giovanni, in some beautiful children, and in a
head of St. Jerome, which is considered marvellous. He also did the boy on the clock in
the Mereatonuovo with movable arms, which he raises to strike the hour with a hammer.
This was considered a very beautiful and curious thing at the time. We have now
reached the end of the Life of that distinguished sculptor Andrea Verrocchio. A
contemporary of his named Benedetto Buglioni learned from his wife, a member of the
house of Andrea della Robbia, the secret of glazing clay, and made many works of that
sort in Florence and elsewhere, notably in the church of the Servites, near the chapel of
St. Barbara, where he made a Resurrection of Christ, with some angels, which are of
considerable merit for works of that kind. In a chapel of St. Brancazio he painted a dead
Christ, and the lunette over the door of S. Pier Maggiore. The secret was transmitted by
Benedetto to Santi Buglioni, the only living man who understands this sort of sculpture.

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1)
Andrea di Cioni.
2)
In 1477.
3)
As there is no mention of Verrocchio in the papal accounts, this statement must be regarded as
doubtful.
4)
The statue of Marcus Aurelius.
5)
Lucrezia Tornabuoni died in September 1477. Fragments of the tomb are preserved in the Bargello,
Florence.
6)
Done about 1476.
7)
Who died 1443.
8)
In 1472.
9)
In 1478; set up in 1483.
10)
Done about 1469.
11)
In 1467.
12)
In 1471.
13)
Now in the Budapest Gallery.
14
) Now in the Accademia, Florence.
15)
Golleone died 1 Febluary, 1475. The monument was commissioned in 1479 and set up in 1496.
16)
The cardinal died in 1473 and the tomb was commissioned in 1477. Verrocchios original design, which
was not followed, is preserved in the South Kensington Museum.
17)
Francesco di Simone Feruccio (1438-93); the tomb is that of Alessandro Tartagni, who died in 1477.
18)
In the Pazzi conspiracy of 1478.

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