Florence, entrusted to Master Cione, an excellent goldsmith, the
greater part, if not the whole, of the silver altar of S. Giovanni
Batista, which contains many scenes from the life of that saint,
engraved in a very creditable manner on a silver plate. This work, on
account of its dimensions, and the novelty of its execution, was
considered marvellous by everyone who saw it. The same Master Cione,
in 1330, when the body of St Zenobius was found under the vaults of
St Reparata, placed in a silver head of life-size, the piece of the
head of that saint which is still preserved therein, and is carried
in procession. This head was considered a most beautiful thing at the
time, and brought much reputation to the artist, who died soon after,
a wealthy man, and held in high esteem.
Master Cione left many pupils, and among others, Forzore di Spinello
of Arezzo, who did all manner of engraving excellently, but was
especially good in making scenes in enamel on silver, such as may be
seen in the Vescovado at Arezzo, for which he made a mitre with a
beautiful border of enamel, and a fine pastoral staff in silver. He
also executed many things in silver for the Cardinal Galeotto da
Pietramala, who bequeathed them to the friars of la Vernia, where he
wished to be buried, and where, besides the wall, which the Count
Orlando, lord of Chiusi, a small castle below la Vernia, had caused
to be set up, he built the church and many rooms in the convent, and
all this without leaving any notice or other memorial of himself in
any part of that place. Another pupil of Master Cione was Lionardo di
Ser Giovanni of Florence, who executed a number of works with the
chisel and with solder, with a better design than those who preceded
him, especially the altar and silver bas-reliefs of S. Jacopo at
Pistoia, where, beside a large number of subjects, the half-length
figure of St James, more than a braccia high, is much admired. It is
in full relief, and finished with such elaboration, that it seems to
have been cast rather than engraved. The figure is placed in the
midst of the scenes of the altar table, about which runs a legend in
letters of enamel:
Ad honorem Dei et S. Jacobi Apostoli, hoc opus factum fuit tempore
Domini Franc. Pagni dictae operae operarii sub anno 1371 per me
Leonardum Ser Jo. de Floren. aurific.
Now to return to Agostino and Agnolo, they had many pupils who
produced many works after them in architecture and sculpture in
Lombardy and other places in Italy. Among them was Jacopo Lanfrani of
Venice, who founded S. Francesco of Imola, and executed the
sculptures for the principal door, where he carved his name and the
date, 1343; for the church of S. Domenico at Bologna the same Master
Jacopo made a marble tomb for Gio. Andrea Calduino, doctor of law and
secretary of Pope Clement VI., and another very well executed also in
marble and in the same church for Taddeo Peppoli, protector of the
people and of justice at Bologna. In the same year, that is to say in
1347, after the completion of this tomb, or shortly before, Master
Jacopo returned to his native Venice and there founded the church of
S. Antonio, which was originally of wood, at the request of a
Florentine abbot of the ancient family of the Abati, M. Andrea
Dandolo, being doge at the time. This church was completed in the
year 1349.
Then again Jacobello and Pietro Paolo, Venetians, who were pupils of
Agostino and Agnolo, erected in S. Domenico at Bologna a marble tomb
for M. Giovanni da Lignano, doctor of laws, in the year 1383. All
these and many other sculptors continued for a long space of time to
employ the same manner, so that they filled all Italy with examples
of it. It is further believed that the native of Pesaro, who besides
many other things did the door of the church of S. Domenico in his
native town, with the three marble figures of God the Father, St John
the Baptist and St Mark, was a pupil of Agostino and Agnolo, and the
style of the work gives colour to the supposition. This work was
completed in the year 1385. But since it would take much too long to
enter into particulars of the works made in this style by many
masters of the time, I will let what I have said, in this general
way, suffice, chiefly because they have not exercised a great
influence upon our arts. Yet I thought it good to mention these men,
because even if they do not deserve a long notice, yet they are not
so insignificant as to be altogether passed over in silence.
Stefano, Painter of Florence, and Ugolino of Siena.
Stefano, painter of Florence and pupil of Giotto, was so excellent
that not only did he surpass all the artists who had studied the arts
before him, but he so far surpassed his master himself that he was
deservedly considered the best of the painters up to that time, as
his works clearly prove. He painted the Madonna in fresco for the
Campo Santo at Pisa, and it is somewhat superior in design and
colouring to the work of Giotto. In the cloister of S. Spirito at
Florence he painted three arches in fresco, in the first of which,
containing the Transfiguration with Moses and Elias, he represented
the three disciples in fine and striking attitudes. He has formed a
fine conception of the dazzling splendour which astonished them,
their clothes being in disorder, and falling in new folds, a thing
first seen in this picture, as he tried to base his work upon the
nude figures, an idea which had not occurred to anyone before, no not
even to Giotto himself. Under that arch, in which he made a Christ
releasing a demoniac, he drew an edifice in perspective, perfectly,
in a style then little known, displaying improved form and more
science. He further executed it in the modern manner with great
judgment, and displayed such art and such invention and proportion in
the columns, doors, windows and cornices, and such different methods
from the other masters that it seemed as if he had begun to see some
glimpses of the light of the good and perfect manner of the moderns.
Among other ingenious things he contrived a very difficult flight of
steps, which are shown both in painting and in relief, and possess
such design, variety, and invention, and are so useful and convenient
that Lorenzo de' Medici, the Magnificent, the elder, made use of the
design for the steps outside the palace of Poggio a Caiano, now the
principal villa of the Most Illustrious Duke. In the other arch is a
representation of Christ saving St Peter from the fury of the waters,
so well done that one seems to hear the voice of Peter saying:
_Domine, salva nos, perimus_. This work is considered much finer than
the other, because, besides the grace of the draperies, there is a
sweetness in the bearing of the heads, a fear of the fortunes of the
sea, while the terror of the apostles at various motions and
appearances of the water, are represented in very suitable attitudes
and with great beauty. And although time has partly destroyed the
labour expended by Stefano on this work, one may still discern
confusedly that the apostles are defending themselves with spirit
from the fury of the winds and waves. This work, which has been
highly praised by the moderns, must certainly have appeared a miracle
in all Tuscany at the time when it was produced, Stefano then
painted in the first cloister of S. Maria Novella a St Thomas
Aquinas, next a door, where he also made a crucifix which has since
been much damaged by other painters in restoring it. He also left
unfinished a chapel in the church, which he began, now much damaged
by time. In it may be seen the fall of the angels through the pride
of Lucifer, in divers forms. Here it is noteworthy that the
foreshortening of the arms, busts, and legs of the figures is much
better done than ever before, and this shows us that Stefano began to
recognise and had partially overcome the difficulties which stand in
the way of the highest excellence, the mastery of which by his
successors, by means of unremitting study, has rendered their works
so remarkable. For this cause artists have well named him the ape of
nature.
Some time after Stefano was invited to Milan where he began many
things for Matteo Visconti, but was not able to complete them,
because having fallen sick owing to the change of air, he was
compelled to return to Florence. There he regained his strength and
executed in fresco in the chapel of the Asini in S. Croce, the story
of the martyrdom of St Mark by being drawn asunder, with many figures
which possess merit. As a pupil of Giotto he was then invited to Rome
where he did in fresco for the principal chapel of St Peter's, which
contains the altar of that saint, some scenes from the life of Christ
between the windows of the large apse, with such care that he
approaches very closely to the modern style and surpasses his master
Giotto in design and other things. After this he executed in fresco,
at Araceli, on a pillar beside the principal chapel on the left, a St
Louis, which is much admired because it possesses a vivacity which
had not been apparent in any works up to that time, not even in those
of Giotto. Indeed Stefano had great facility in design, as may be
seen in a drawing by his hand in our book, in which the
transfiguration is represented which he made for the cloister of S.
Spirito, and indeed in my opinion he designed much better than
Giotto. He next went to Assisi and in the apse of the principal
chapel of the lower church, where the choir is, he began a
representation in fresco of the Heavenly Glory; and although he did
not finish it, what he did perform shows that he used the utmost
diligence. In this work he began a series of saints with such
beautiful variety in the faces of the youths, the men of middle age
and the old men, that nothing better could be desired, and those
blessed spirits exhibit so sweet and so united a style that it
appears all but impossible that they could have been done by Stefano
at that time. He however did execute them, although no more than the
heads of the figures are finished. Above them is a choir of angels
rejoicing in various attitudes, appropriately carrying theological
symbols in their hands. All are turned towards a crucified Christ who
is in the midst of the work immediately above a St Francis, who is
surrounded by a multitude of saints. Besides this he made some angels
as a border for the work, each of them holding one of those churches
of which St John the Evangelist writes in the Apocalypse. These
angels are represented with such grace that I am amazed to find a man
of that age capable of producing them. Stefano began this work with
the intention of thoroughly completing it, and he would have
succeeded had he not been forced to leave it imperfect and to return
to Florence on some important affairs of his own. During this stay at
Florence and in order to lose no time, he painted for the
Granfigliazzi lung' Arno, between their houses and the ponte alle
Carraia in a small tabernacle on one side, Our Lady seated sewing, to
whom a clothed child who is seated, is offering a bird, done with
such care that although it is small it merits no less praise than the
more ambitious efforts of the master.
On the completion of this work and the settling of his affairs,
Stefano was summoned to Pistoia by the lords there, and was set by
them to paint the chapel of St James in the year 1346. In the vault
he did a God the Father with some apostles, and on the side walls the
life of the saint, notably the scene where his mother, the wife of
Zebedee, asks Jesus Christ to permit that her two sons shall sit, one
on His right hand and the other on His left in the kingdom of His
Father. Near this is a fine presentation of the beheading of the
saint. It is thought that Maso, called Giottino, of whom I shall
speak afterwards, was the son of this Stefano, and although, on
account of his name, many believe him to be the son of Giotto, I
consider it all but certain that he was rather the son of Stefano,
both because of certain documents which I have seen, and also because
of some notices written in good faith by Lorenzo Ghiberti and by
Domenico del Grillandaio. However, this may be, and to return to
Stefano, to him is due the credit of the greatest improvement in
painting since the days of Giotto; because, besides being more varied
in his inventions, he showed more unity in colouring and more shading
than all the others, and above all, in diligence he had no rival. And
although the foreshortenings which he made exhibit, as I have said,
a bad manner owing to the difficulties of execution, yet as the first
investigator of these difficulties he deserves a much higher place
than those who follow after the path has been made plain for them.
Thus a great debt is due to Stefano, because he who presses on
through the darkness and shows the way, heartens the others, enabling
them to overcome the difficulties of the way, so that in time they
arrive at the desired haven. In Perugia also, in the church of S.
Domenico, Stefano began in fresco the chapel of St Catherine which
is still unfinished.
At the same time there lived a Sienese painter, called Ugolino, of
considerable repute, and a great friend of Stefano. He did many
pictures and chapels in all parts of Italy. But he kept in great part
to the Byzantine style, to which he had become attached by habit, and
always preferred, from a caprice of his own, to follow the manner of
Cimabue rather than that of Giotto, which was held in such esteem.
His works consist of a picture for the high altar of S. Croce, on a
gold ground, and another picture which stood for many years on the
high altar of S. Maria Novella, and which is now in the
chapter-house, where every year the Spanish nation celebrates with a
solemn feast the day of St James and its other offices and burial
services. Besides these he did many other things in a good style, but
without in the least departing from the manner of his master. It was
he who painted on a pillar of bricks in the loggia, which Lapo had
built on the piazza of Orsanmichele, that Madonna which, not many
years after, worked so many miracles that the loggia was for a great
time full of images, and to this day is held in the highest
veneration. Finally, in the chapel of M. Ridolfo de' Bardi, in S.
Croce, where Giotto painted the life of St Francis, he did a
crucifix in tempera with the Magdalene and St John weeping, and two
friars on either side. Ugolino died at an advanced age in the year
1349, and was honourably buried at Siena, his native place.
But to return to Stefano, who, they say, was also a good architect,
and what has been said above makes this likely; he died, it is said,
at the beginning of the Jubilee of 1350, at the age of forty-nine,
and was buried at S. Spirito in the tomb of his ancestors with this
epitaph:
Stephano Florentino pictori, faciundis imaginibus ac colorandis
figuris nulli unquam inferiori; Affines moestiss. pos. vix. an.
XXXXIX.
Pietro Laurati, Painter of Siena.
Pietro Laurati, an excellent painter of Siena, proved by his life how
great may be the contentment of men of undoubted talent, who realise
that their works are valued, both in their native land and outside
it, and who see themselves in request by all men; for in the course
of his life he was employed and caressed by all Tuscany. The first
works which brought him into notice were the scenes which he painted
in fresco in la Scala, a hospital of Siena, in which he imitated the
style of Giotto so successfully that these paintings became known
throughout Tuscany and gave rise to the well-founded belief that he
would become a better master than Cimabue, Giotto, and the others, as
he actually did. In these scenes he represented the Virgin mounting
the steps of the Temple, accompanied by Joachim and Anna, and
received by the priest; then her marriage, both remarkable for good
ornamentation, well-draped figures with simple folds of the clothes,
and a majesty in the carnage of the heads, while the disposition of
the figures is in the finest style. During the progress of this work,
which introduced the good style of painting to Siena, being the first
gleam of light for the many fine spirits who have flourished in that
land in every age, Pietro was summoned to Monte Oliveto di Chiusuri,
where he painted a picture in tempera which is now placed in the
paradiso under the church. He next painted a tabernacle at Florence,
opposite the left door of the church of S. Spirito, on the side where
a butcher's shop now stands, which merits the highest praise from
every attentive artist, on account of the grace of the heads and the
smoothness which it exhibits. Proceeding from Florence to Pisa, he
did for the Campo Santo on the wall next the principal door, all the
life of the Holy Fathers, with such striking reality and in such fine
attitudes, that they rival Giotto. For this work he won the highest
praise, having expressed in some heads, in drawing and colour, all
the vivacity of which the manner of the time was capable. From Pisa
he passed to Pistoia, and in S. Francesco did a picture of Our Lady
in tempera, surrounded by some angels, very well arranged, the
predella beneath containing some scenes with small figures, presented
with a vigour and life remarkable for those times. This work
satisfied him as much as it delighted others, and accordingly he put
his name to it in these words: _Petrus Laurati de Senis_. Afterwards,
in the year 1355, Pietro was summoned to Arezzo by M. Guglielmo, head
priest, and by Margarito Boschi and the other wardens of the Pieve
of Arezzo. This church had been brought to an advanced stage in a
better style and manner than had been practised in Tuscany up to that
time, being ornamented with squared stones and carvings by the hand
of Margaritone, as has been said. There Pietro painted in fresco the
tribune and all the great apse of the chapel of the high altar,
representing twelve scenes from the life of Our Lady, with life-size
figures, from the chasing of Joachim out of the Temple, to the birth
of Jesus Christ. In these works in fresco one meets with the ideas,
lineaments, carriage of the heads, and attitudes of the figures
characteristic of Giotto, his master. And although the whole of this
work is beautiful, yet the paintings in the vault of the apse are
certainly much better than the rest, because, in the place where he
represented the ascent of Our Lady to heaven, besides making the
apostles four braccia high each, in which he showed his greatness of
mind, being the first artist who attempted to aggrandise his style,
he gave such a beautiful turn to the heads and such grace to the
vestments that more could not have been desired in those days. In
like manner he painted in the vaulting a choir of angels flying in
the air about a Madonna. As they gracefully dance they appear to be
singing, with a joy truly angelic and divine; whilst they are playing
various instruments their eyes are fixed and intent on another choir
of angels, sustained by a cloud of almond shape bearing the Madonna
to heaven arranged in beautiful attitudes and surrounded by rainbows.
This work, which was deservedly popular, procured him a commission to
paint in tempera the picture of the high altar of that Pieve, where
in five panels of life-size figures, represented to the knees, he
made Our Lady with the Child on her arm, with St John the Baptist and
St Matthew on one side of her, and on the other the Evangelist and St
Donate. In the predella are many small figures, as well as in the
frame of the picture above, all really fine and executed in the best
style. I have entirely restored this altar at my own expense and with
my own hands, so that this picture has been placed above the altar of
St Christopher, at the bottom of the church. I may take this
opportunity, without appearing to be impertinent, of saying in this
place that I have myself restored this ancient collegiate church,
moved by Christian piety and by the affection which I bear to the
venerable building, because it was my first instructress in my early
childhood. This I did also because it appeared to me to be as it were
abandoned, and it may now be said to have been called back to life
from the dead. Besides increasing the light, for it was very dark, by
enlarging the original windows and making new ones, I also took away
the choir, which used to occupy a great part of the church, and put
it behind the high altar, to the great satisfaction of the canons
there. The new altar stands alone, and has on the table before it a
Christ calling Peter and Andrew from their nets, and on the side next
the choir is another picture of St George killing the serpent. On the
sides are four panels, each of which contains two saints of
life-size. Above and below in the predella are numerous other
figures, which are omitted for the sake of brevity. The ornamentation
of the altar is thirteen braccia high, and the predella two braccia.
The interior is hollow and is approached by a staircase through a
small iron door, very well arranged. Many valuable relics are
preserved there, which may be seen from the outside through two iron
gratings in the front. Among others is the head of St Donato, bishop
and protector of Arezzo. In a chest of various materials, three
braccia high, which I have caused to be newly made, are the bones of
four saints. The predella of the altar, which entirely surrounds it,
has in front of it the tabernacle or _ciborium_ of the Sacrament, in
carved wood, all gilt, about three braccia high, and it may be seen
from the choir side as well as from the front. As I have spared
neither pains nor expense, since I considered myself bound to do my
best to honour God, I may venture to affirm that, so far as my
ability would allow, this work lacks nothing in the way of ornament,
whether of gold, carving, painting, marble, trevertine, porphyry, or
other stones.
Now to return to Pietro Laurati. When he had completed the picture
mentioned above, he did many things for St Peter's at Rome, which
were afterwards destroyed in building the new church. He also
executed some works at Cortona and at Arezzo, besides those already
mentioned, and some others in the church of S. Fiore e Lucilla, a
monastery of black monks, notably a representation in a chapel of St
Thomas putting his hand into the wound in Christ's side.
A pupil of Pietro was Bartolommeo Bologhini of Siena, who executed
many pictures at Siena and other places in Italy. There is one by his
hand at Florence, on the altar of the chapel of St Silvester in S.
Croce. The paintings of this man were executed about the year 1350.
In my book, which I have so often referred to, may be seen a drawing
by Pietro, representing a shoemaker sewing in a simple but most
natural manner with an admirable expression. It affords a good
example of Pietro's peculiar style. His portrait by the hand of
Bartolommeo Bologhini was in a picture at Siena, where not many years
ago I copied it, in the manner seen above.
Andrea Pisano, Sculptor and Architect.