was preserved for many years the girdle of Our Lady, which Michele da
Prato had brought back with him from the Holy Land, and had deposited
it with Uberto, provost of the church, who laid it in the said place,
where it was always held in great veneration. In the year 1312 an
attempt to steal it was made by a native of Prato, a man of a most
evil life, another Ser Ciappelletto, but he was discovered and put to
death for sacrilege. Moved by this deed, the people of Prato proposed
to make a strong and suitable receptacle in which the girdle should
be kept with greater security, and sent for Giovanni, who was now an
old man. Acting upon his advice, they constructed the chapel in the
principal church, where Our Lady's girdle now reposes. They then
greatly increased their church also from his plans, and incrusted
both the church and the campanile with white and black marble on the
outside, as may be seen. At length Giovanni died at a ripe old age in
the year 1320, after having completed many works in sculpture and
architecture besides those which are mentioned here. And in truth a
great debt is due to him and to Niccola his father, since in an age
which lacked every element of good design, in the midst of all the
darkness they threw so much light on those arts in which they were
really excellent.
Giovanni was honourably buried in the Campo Santo, in the same tomb
in which his father Niccola was laid. Many disciples of his
flourished after him, but especially Lino, sculptor and architect of
Siena, who made the chapel which contains the body of St Ranieri in
the Duomo of Pisa, richly decorated with marble; and also the
baptismal font of that cathedral which bears his name. Let no one
marvel that Niccola and Giovanni executed so many works, for besides
the fact that they lived to a good age, they were the foremost
masters in Europe of their time, so that nothing of importance was
undertaken without their taking part in it, as may be seen in many
inscriptions besides those which have been quoted. Whilst speaking of
these two sculptors and architects, I have often referred to Pisa, so
that I do not hesitate at this stage to quote some words written on
the pedestal of a vase mounted on a column of porphyry and supported
by a lion, which is situated on the steps of the new hospital there.
They are as follows:
"This is the talent which the Emperor Cæesar gave to Pisa, to the
intent that the tribute which they rendered to him should be
regulated thereby. The talent was set upon this column and lion in
the time of Giovanni Rosso, master of the work of S. Maria Maggiore,
Pisa, A.D. MCCCXIII., the second Indiction, in March."
Andrea Tafi, Florentine Painter.
Just as the works of Cimabue excited no small amount of wonder in the
men of that time, since he introduced a better design and form into
the art of painting, whereas they had only been accustomed to see
things executed on the Byzantine style, so the mosaics of Andrea
Tafi, who was a contemporary, were much admired and even considered
divine, for the people of that day, who had not been used to see
anything different did not think that it was possible to produce
better works in that art. But in truth, as he was not the most
capable man in the world, and having reflected that working in mosaic
was more valued on account of its greater durability, be left
Florence for Venice, where some Greek painters were working in mosaic
at S. Marco. There he formed a close intimacy with them, and by dint
of persuasion, money, and promises he at length contrived to bring to
Florence Master Apollonio, a Greek painter, who taught him how to
bake the glass of the mosaic, and how to make the cement in which to
fix it. With him Andrea worked at the tribune of S. Giovanni, doing
the upper part which contains the Dominions, Principalities, and
Powers. Afterwards when he had gained more experience, he did the
Christ which is in the same church above the principal chapel as will
be related below. But as I have mentioned S. Giovanni, I will take
this opportunity of saying that that ancient sanctuary is incrusted
both within and without with marbles of the Corinthian order, and not
only is it perfectly proportioned and finished in all its parts, but
most beautifully adorned with doors and windows. Each face is
supplied with two columns of granite, 11 braccia high, forming three
compartments, above which are the architraves, which rest on the
columns, to carry the whole weight of the double roof, which is
praised by modern architects as a remarkable thing, and justly,
because this church helped to demonstrate to Filippo di Ser
Brunellesco, Donatello, and the other masters of their time what
possibilities there were in that art. They all studied architecture
from this building and from the church of S. Apostolo at Florence, a
work of such a good style that it approaches the true antique, since,
as I have said before, all the columns are measured and arranged with
such care that much may be learned from a careful examination of the
entire structure. But I will refrain from saying more about the good
architecture of this church, though much might be added to what
precedes, and I will content myself by saying that those who rebuilt
the marble façade of the church of S. Miniato del Monte, deviated
widely from this model and from this excellent style. This work was
carried out in honour of the conversion of the blessed Giovanni
Gualberto, citizen of Florence and founder of the congregation of the
monks of Vallombrosa, because these and many other works erected
afterwards are not to be compared for excellence to those two
buildings. The art of sculpture experienced a similar fate because
all the masters of the time who were then working in Italy, as has
been said in the preface to the lives, were very rude. This may be
seen in many places, but especially in S. Bartolommeo of the regular
canons at Pistoia where there is a pulpit very rudely executed by
Guido da Como, containing the beginning of the life of Jesus Christ,
with these words inscribed there by the artist himself in the year
1199:
"Sculptor laudatur, quod doctus in arte probatur,
Guido da Como me cunctis carmine promo."
But to return to S. Giovanni, I pass by the history of its foundation
because that has been written by Giovanni Villani and other authors,
and, as I have already remarked that the good architecture in use
to-day is derived from that building, I will now add that, to judge
by appearances, the tribune is of a later date. At the time when
Alesso Baldovinetti, succeeding the Florentine painter Lippo,
repaired the mosaics it appeared as if it had anciently been painted
in red, the designs being executed on the stucco. Now Andrea Tafi and
Apollonius the Greek, in their scheme for the decoration of the
tribune, divided it into compartments. Starting from the top of the
vault next to the lantern these became gradually larger until they
reached the cornice below. The upper part is divided into rings
representing various subjects. The first contains all the ministers
and performers of the Divine will, such as the Angels, Archangels,
Cherubim, Seraphim, Dominions, Principalities, Powers. The second, in
which the mosaics are executed in the Byzantine style, are the
principal acts of God from the creation of light to the flood. The
circle underneath this which descends with increased space to the
eight faces of the tribune contains the history of Joseph and his
twelve brethren. These are followed by other spaces of the same size
and a like situation containing the life of Jesus Christ in mosaic
from the Conception of Mary to the Ascension. Next, following the
same order, under the three friezes, is the life of St John the
Baptist, beginning with the apparition of the angel to Zacharias the
priest and continuing to John's beheading and the burial of his body
by the disciples. All these things are rude, without design and
without art, and they are no advance upon the Byzantine style of the
time so that I cannot praise them absolutely, though they merit some
commendation, when one considers the methods in use at the time and
the imperfect state in which pictorial art then was. Besides, the
work is sound and the pieces of mosaic are very well set. In short,
the latter part of the work is much better or rather less bad than is
the beginning, although the whole, when compared with the works
of to-day rather excites laughter than pleasure or admiration.
Ultimately Andrea made the Christ, 7 braccia high, for the tribune on
the wall of the principal chapel, which may be seen there to-day, and
this he did by himself without the aid of Apollonio, to his great
glory. Having become famous throughout Italy by these works and being
reputed excellent in his own land, he received the richest honours
and rewards. It was certainly a great good fortune for Andrea to be
born at a time when only rude works were produced, so that things
which should have been considered of very slight account or even
worthless, were held in reasonable repute. The same thing happened
to fra Jacopo da Turrita, of the order of St Francis, who received
extraordinary rewards for the mosaics which he executed for the
small choir behind the altar of S. Giovanni, although they deserved
little praise, and he was afterwards invited to Rome as a great
master, where he was employed on some works in the chapel of the high
altar of S. Giovanni Lateram and in that of S. Maria Maggiore. He was
next invited to Pisa, where he did the Evangelists and other things
which are in the principal tribune of the Duomo, in the same style as
the other things which he executed, although he was assisted by
Andrea Tafi and Gaddo Gaddi. These were finished by Vicino, for
Jacopo left them in a very imperfect state. The works of these
masters obtained credit for some time, but when the productions of
Andrea, Cimabue, and the rest had to bear comparison with those of
Giotto, as will be said when the time comes, people came to recognise
in which direction perfection in art lay, for they saw how great a
difference there was between the first manner of Cimabue and that of
Giotto in the delineation of figures, a difference equally strongly
marked in the case of their pupils and imitators. From this time
others gradually sought to follow in the footsteps of the better
masters, surpassing each other more and more every day, so that art
rose from these humble beginnings to that summit of perfection to
which it has attained to-day. Andrea lived eighty-one years and died
before Cimabue in 1294. The reputation and honour which he won by his
mosaics, because it was he who had first brought to Tuscany the
better manner of executing and who had taught it to the men of that
province, led to the execution of the excellent works in that art by
Gaddo Gaddi, Giotto, and the rest, which have brought them fame and
immortality. After Andrea's death his merits were magnified in the
following inscription:
Here lies Andrea, who produced graceful and beautiful works
In all Tuscany. Now he has gone.
To adorn the realm of the stars.
Buonamico Buffalmacco was a pupil of Andrea, and played many pranks
on him when a youth. From his master Buonamico had the portraits of
Pope Celestine IV. and Innocent IV., both of which he afterwards
introduced in the paintings which he made in S. Paolo a Ripa d'Arno
at Pisa. Another pupil was Antonio di Andrea Tafi, who may possibly
have been his son. He was a fair painter, but I have not been able to
find any works by his hand, and there is nothing beyond a bare
mention of him in the old book of the company of artists in design.
But Andrea Tafi deserves a high place among the old masters, because,
although he learned the principles of mosaic from the craftsman whom
he brought from Venice to Florence, yet he introduced such
improvements into the art, uniting the pieces with great care, and
making his surfaces as smooth as a table (a very important thing in
mosaics), that he prepared the way for Giotto among others, as will
be said in that artist's life; and not for Giotto alone, but for all
those who have since practised this branch of pictorial art to our
own day. Thus it may be asserted with perfect truth that the
marvellous works in mosaic, which are now being carried out in S.
Marco, at Venice, owe their origin to Andrea Tafi.
Gaddo Gaddi, Florentine Painter.
Gaddo, painter of Florence, who flourished at this same time, showed
more design in the works which he produced in the Byzantine style,
and which he executed with great care, than did Andrea Tafi and the
other painters who preceded him. This was possibly due to his close
friendship and intercourse with Cimabue, for, whether it was through
congeniality of disposition or through the goodness of their hearts,
they became very much attached to each other, and their frequent
conversations together, and their friendly discussions upon the
difficulties of the arts, gave rise to many great and beautiful ideas
in their minds. This came to pass the more readily, because they were
aided by the quality of the air of Florence, which usually produces
ingenious and subtle spirits, and which made them strangers to that
ruggedness and coarseness from which Nature cannot entirely free
herself even when assisted by the rivalry of the good craftsmen and
the precepts laid down by them in every age. It is, indeed,
abundantly clear that, when things have been talked over in a
friendly way, without any reserve of convention, although this rarely
happens, they may be brought to a great state of perfection. The same
remark applies to those who study the sciences; for, by discussing
difficulties among themselves when they arise, they remove them,
rendering the path so clear and easy, that the greatest glory may be
won thereby. But, on the other hand, there are some who, with
devilish arts, and led by envy and malice, make profession of
friendship under the guise of truth and affection, give the most
pernicious advice, so that the arts do not attain to excellence so
soon as they do where the minds of noble spirits are united by such a
bond of love as that which drew together Gaddo and Cimabue, and, in
like manner, Andrea Tafi and Gaddo. It was Andrea who took Gaddo into
his companionship to finish the mosaics of S. Giovanni. Here Gaddo
learned so much, that he was able, without assistance, to make the
prophets, which may be seen round the walls of that sanctuary, in the
squares under the windows; and, as he executed these unaided and in a
much improved style, they brought him great renown. Encouraged by
this, he prepared himself to work alone, and devoted himself
constantly to the study of the Byzantine style, combined with that of
Cimabue. By such means, it was not long before he became an excellent
artist; so that the wardens of S. Maria del Fiore entrusted to him
the semi-circular space within the building above the principal
entrance, where he introduced a Coronation of the Virgin, in mosaic.
Upon its completion, it was pronounced by all the foreign and native
masters to be the finest work of its kind that had yet been seen in
Italy, for they recognised that it possessed more design and more
judgment, and displayed the results of more study, than were to be
found in all the remaining works in mosaic then in existence in the
peninsula. Thus, his fame being spread abroad by this work, he was
summoned to Rome by Clement V. in the year 1308,--that is to say, in
the year following the great fire, in which the church and palaces of
the Lateran were destroyed. There he completed for the Pope some
works in mosaic, which had been left unfinished by Jacopo da Turrita.
His next work, also in mosaic, was in the church of St Peter's, where
he executed some things in the principal chapel and for other parts
of the church; but especially a God the Father, of large size with
many figures, which he did for the façade. He also assisted in the
completion of some mosaics on the façade of S. Maria Maggiore,
somewhat improving the style, and departing slightly from the
Byzantine manner, which was entirely devoid of merit. On his return
to Tuscany, he did some work in mosaic for the Tarlati, lords of
Pietramala, in the old Duomo, outside Arezzo, in a vault entirely
constructed of spungite. He covered the middle part of this
building with mosaics; but the church fell down in the time of Bishop
Gentile Urbinate, because the old stone vaulting was too heavy for
it, and it was afterwards rebuilt in brick by that bishop. On his
departure from Arezzo, Gaddo went to Pisa, where he made, for a niche
in the chapel of the Incoronata in the Duomo, the Ascension of Our
Lady into Heaven, where Jesus Christ is awaiting her, with a richly
appareled throne for her seat. This work was executed so well and so
carefully for the time, that it is in an excellent state of
preservation to-day. After this, Gaddo returned to Florence,
intending to rest. Accordingly he amused himself in making some small
mosaics, some of which are composed of egg-shells, with incredible
diligence and patience, and a few of them, which are in the church of
S. Giovanni at Florence, may still be seen. It is related that he
made two of these for King Robert, but nothing more is known of the
matter. This much must suffice for the mosaics of Gaddo Gaddi. Of
pictures he painted a great number, among them that which is on the
screen of the chapel of the Minerbetti in S. Maria Novella, and many
others sent to different places in Tuscany. Thus, by producing now
mosaics and now paintings, he executed many very tolerable works in
both mediums, which will always assure him good credit and
reputation. There is a great deal more which I might say about Gaddo,
but I will pass it over in silence, because the manner of the
painters of those days cannot be of great assistance to artists; and
I shall dwell at greater length upon the lives of those who may be of
some help, because they introduced improvements into the art.
Gaddo lived seventy-three years, and died in 1312. He was honourably
buried in S. Croce by his son Taddeo. This Taddeo, who had Giotto for
his godfather, was the only one of all Gaddo's children who became a
painter, learning the rudiments of the art from his father and the
rest from Giotto. Besides Taddeo, a Pisan painter named Vicino was
also a pupil of Gaddo. He did some excellent work in mosaic for the
great tribune of the Duomo of Pisa, where the following words still
testify to his authorship:
"Tempore Domini Johannis Rossi operarii istius ecclesiæ, Vicinus
pictor incepit et perfecit hanc imaginem B. Mariæ, sed Majestatis,
et Evangelistae per alios inceptæ, ipse complevit et perfecit.
Anno Domini 1321. De mense Septembris. Benedictum sit nomen Domini
Dei nostri Jesu Christi. Amen."
The portrait of Gaddo, by the hand of Taddeo his son, may be seen in
the Baroncelli chapel in the church of S. Croce, where he stands by
the side of Andrea Tafi, in the marriage of the Virgin. In the book,
which I have mentioned above, there is a miniature by Gaddo, like
those of Cimabue, and which serves to show his ability as a
draughtsman.
Now, because an old book from which I have extracted these few
notices about Gaddo Gaddi, speaks of the building of the church of S.
Maria Novella in Florence for the Friars Preachers, a truly
magnificent and imposing structure, I will take this opportunity of
relating the circumstances of its erection. While St Dominic was at
Bologna, the place of Ripoli outside Florence was granted to him.
Accordingly he sent twelve friars thither under the care of the
blessed Giovanni da Salerno. Not many years after they came to
Florence, to the church and place of S. Pancrazio, and established
themselves there. When Dominic himself came to Florence they left it,
and went to stay in the church of S. Paolo, as he wished them to do.
Subsequently when the place of S. Maria Novella and all its
possessions were granted to Blessed Giovanni by the papal legate and
by the bishop of the city, they entered into possession and began to
live in that place on the last day of October 1221. But as this
church was rather small, with a western aspect and the entrance on
the old piazza, the friars, who had increased in numbers and who were
in great credit in the city, began to think of enlarging their church
and convent. So, having collected a great sum of money, and many
people of the city having promised every assistance, they began the
construction of a new church on St Luke's day, 1278, when the first
stone was laid with great ceremony by the Cardinal Latino degli
Orsini, legate of Pope Nicholas III. to the Florentines. The
architects of the church were fra Giovanni of Florence, and fra
Ristoro of Campi, lay brethren of the order, who had restored the
ponte alia Carraia, and that of S. Trinita, after their destruction
by the flood of October 1264. The greater part of the land covered by
the church and convent was given to the friars by the heirs of M.
Jacopo, de' Tornaquinci knight. The cost, as has been said, was
defrayed partly by alms, partly by the money of various persons who
gave assistance readily, but especially by the good offices of friar
Aldobrandino Cavalcanti, who was, afterwards bishop of Arezzo, and
who is buried over the gate of the Virgin. Besides other things this
friar is said to have collected by his industry all the labour and
materials required for the church. It was completed when fra Jacopo
Passavanti was prior of the convent, who thus deserved his marble
tomb which is on the left hand side in front of the principal chapel.
The church was consecrated by Pope Martin V. in the year 1470, as
appears by an inscription on marble on a pillar on the right of the
principal chapel, which runs:
Anno Domini 1420 die Septembris, Dominus Martinus divina
providentia Papa V personaliter hanc ecclesiam consecravit, et
magnas indulgentias contulit visitantibus eamdem.
All these things and many more are related in a chronicle of the
building of this church, which is in the possession of the fathers of
S. Maria Novella, as well as in the history of Giovanni Villani. I
did not wish to omit these few particulars, because the church is one
of the finest and most important in Florence, and also because it
contains many excellent works of the most famous artists of a later
time, as will be related hereafter.
Margaritone, Painter, Sculptor and Architect of Arezzo.