lacking who could produce excellent work. To the attentive mind, the
works of every age bear testimony to this fact, for the two arts are
really sisters, born at the same time and nourished and animated by
the same spirit. This is seen in Andrea Pisano, who practised
sculpture in the time of Giotto, and made so much improvement in that
art, both by practice and study, that he was considered the best
exponent of the profession who had until then appeared in Tuscany,
especially in casting bronze. For this reason his works were so
honoured and prized by those who knew him, and especially by the
Florentines, that he was able without a pang to change his country,
relations, property, and friends. It was a great advantage to him
that the masters who had preceded him in sculpture had experienced so
much difficulty in the art that their works were rough and common, so
that those who saw his productions, judged him a miracle by
comparison. That these first works were rude may be credited, as has
been said elsewhere, upon an examination of some which are over the
principal door of S. Paolo at Florence, and some stone ones in the
church of Ognissanti, which are so executed as to move to laughter
those who regard them, rather than to excite in them any admiration
or pleasure. It is certain that it was much more easy to recover the
art of sculpture when the statues had been lost, as a man is a round
figure by nature, and is so represented by that art, whereas in
painting, on the other hand, it is not so easy to find the right
shapes and the best manner of portraying them, which are essential to
the majesty, beauty, grace, and ornament of a picture. In one
circumstance fortune was favourable to Andrea, because, as has been
said elsewhere, by means of the numerous victories won by the Pisans
at sea, many antiquities and sarcophagi were brought to Pisa, which
are still about the Duomo and Campo Santo. These gave him great
assistance and much light, advantages which could not be enjoyed by
Giotto, because the ancient paintings which have been preserved are
not so numerous as the sculptures. And although statues have
frequently been destroyed by fire, devastation, and the fury of war,
or buried or transported to various places, yet it is easy for a
connoisseur to recognise the productions of all the different
countries by their various styles. For example, the Egyptian is
slender, with long figures; the Greek is artificial, and much care is
displayed on the nude, while the heads nearly always have the same
turn; and the ancient Tuscan is careful in the treatment of hair and
somewhat rude. As regards the Romans, and I call Roman for the most
part those things which were brought to Rome after Greece was
subjugated, as all that was good and beautiful in the world was
carried thither; this Roman work, I say, is so beautiful in
expression, attitudes, movements both in nude figures and in
draperies, that the Romans may be said to have extracted the
beautiful from all the other provinces and gathered it into a
single style, making it the best and the most divine of all the arts.
At the time of Andrea all these good methods and arts were lost, and
the only style in use was that which had been brought to Tuscany by
the Goths and the rude Greeks. Thus he noted the new style of Giotto
and such few antiquities as were known to him, and somewhat refined a
great part of the grossness of that wretched manner by his own
judgment, so that he began to work in better style, and endow his
works with far more beauty than had hitherto been seen. When his
intelligence, skill, and dexterity had become known he was assisted
by many of his compatriots, and while he was still a young man, he
was commissioned to make some small figures in marble for S. Maria a
Ponte. These brought him such a good name that he was most earnestly
desired to come to work at Florence by those in charge of the
building of S. Maria del Fiore, as after the façade of the three
doors had been begun, there was a lack of masters to execute the
subjects which Giotto had designed for the beginning of that
structure. Accordingly Andrea went to Florence in order to undertake
that work, and because at that time the Florentines were desirous of
making themselves agreeable and friendly to Pope Boniface VIII., who
was then chief pontiff of the church of God, they wished Andrea,
before everything else, to make his statue in marble. Andrea
therefore set to work, and did not rest until he had finished the
Pope's figure placed between St Peter and St Paul, the three figures
being set up on the façade of S. Maria del Fiore, where they still
are. Afterwards Andrea made some figures of prophets for the middle
door of that church, in some tabernacles or niches. These showed that
he had made great improvements in the art, and that in excellence and
design he surpassed all those who had laboured for that structure up
to that time. Hence it was decided that all works of importance
should be entrusted to him and not to others. Soon after he was
commissioned to make four statues of the principal doctors of the
church--St Jerome, St Ambrose, St Augustine, and St Gregory. When
these were finished they brought him favour and renown with the
craftsmen and throughout the city, and he was commissioned to make
two other figures in marble of the same size. These were St Stephen
and St Laurence, which are on the front of S. Maria del Fiore at the
outside angle. By Andrea's hand also is the marble Madonna, three and
a half braccia high with the child at her neck, which is over the
altar of the little church and company of the Misericordia on the
piazza of S. Giovanni at Florence. This was much praised in those
times, especially as on either side of the Madonna he put an angel
two and a half braccia high. A setting of very finely carved wood has
been made for this in our own day by Maestro Antonio called "Il
Carota," with a predella beneath, full of most beautiful figures
coloured in oil by Ridolfo, son of Domenico Grillandai. In like
manner the half-length Madonna in marble which is over the
side-door of the Misericordia, on the façade of the Cialdonai, is by
Andrea's hand, and was highly praised, because in it he had imitated
the good antique manner, contrary to his habit, which was always
different from it, as shown by some designs of his which are in our
book, and in which he represents all the scenes from the Apocalypse.
Now Andrea had studied architecture in his youth, and an opportunity
occurred for his employment in this art by the commune of Florence,
for as Arnolfo was dead and Giotto absent, he was entrusted with the
preparation of plans for the castle of Scarperia, which is in Mugello
at the foot of the Alps. Some say, though I will not vouch for the
truth of it, that Andrea stayed a year at Venice, and there executed
some small marble figures which are on the façade of S. Marco, and
that in the time of M. Piero Gradenigo, doge of that republic, he
designed the Arsenal. But as I know nothing of this beyond the bare
mention of it which occurs in some writers, I must leave the matter
to the judgment of my readers. From Venice he returned to Florence,
where the city, fearing the coming of the emperor, with Andrea's
co-operation, hastily added eight braccia to part of the wall between
S. Gallo and the Prato Gate, and in other places he made bastions,
palisades and works in earth and wood. Now some three years before,
he had shown his skill in casting bronze in a much admired cross
which he had sent to the Pope at Avignon, by means of his close
friend Giotto; accordingly he was commissioned to make in bronze one
of the doors of the church of S. Giovanni, for which Giotto had
already made a very fine design. This, as I say, was given to him to
finish, because he was considered the most talented, skilful, and
judicious master of all those who had worked until then, not only in
Tuscany, but throughout Italy. He set to work, resolved to spare
neither time, pains, nor diligence upon the completion of a task of
such importance. Fate was propitious to him in his casting, at a time
when men were ignorant of the secrets known today, so that in the
space of twenty-two years he brought the door to its present stage of
perfection; and what is more, at the same time he made not only the
tabernacle of the high altar of S. Giovanni, with an angel on either
side which were considered most beautiful, but also the small marble
figures about the base of the door of the campanile of S. Maria del
Fiore, after Giotto's design, and about that campanile, in certain
mandorle, the seven planets, the seven virtues, and the seven works
of mercy in small figures in half-relief, which were then much
admired. At the same time he made the three figures of four braccia
high, which were placed in niches in that campanile, on the side
towards the place where the Pupilli now are, that is towards the
south, figures which were considered at the time to be of
considerable merit. But to return to my starting-point, I say that
the bronze door contains scenes in bas-relief from the life of St
John the Baptist, from his birth to his death, most happily conceived
and executed with great care. And although many are of opinion that
these stories do not exhibit that fine design nor that high art which
should be put into figures, yet Andrea merits the highest praise,
because he was the first who undertook to complete a work which
rendered it possible for those who came after him to produce what is
beautiful, difficult and good in the other two doors, and in the
exterior ornaments now to be seen. This work was set in the middle
door of the church, and remained there until Lorenzo Ghiberti made
the present one, when it was removed and set up opposite the
Misericordia, where it is at the present time. I must not omit to say
that in making this door Andrea was assisted by his son Nino, who
afterwards became a much better master than his father had been, and
that it was finished in the year 1339--that is to say, not only
polished and cleaned, but gilt at the fire. It is thought that the
metal was cast by some Venetian masters very skilful in founding; and
a record of this is in the library of the art of the Calimara,
guardians of the work of S. Giovanni. Whilst the door was being made,
Andrea not only made the altars aforesaid, but many others, and in
particular the model of the church of S. Giovanni at Pistoia, which
was founded in the year 1337. In this same year, on the 25th day of
January, was found the body of St Atto, bishop of that city, in
excavating the foundations of the church. The body had been buried in
that place for 137 years. The architecture of that temple, which is
round, was meritorious for the time. Also by the hand of Andrea is a
marble tomb in the principal church of Pistoia, the body of the
sarcophagus of which is full of small figures, with some larger ones
above. In this tomb rests the body of M. Cino d'Angibolgi, doctor of
laws, and a very famous man of letters in his day, as M. Francesco
Petrarca testifies in the sonnet:
"Piangette donne, e con voi pianga Amore;"
and in the fourth chapter of the _Trionfo d'Amore_, where he says:
"Ecco Cin da Pistoia; Guitton d'Arezzo,
Che di non esser primo per ch' ira aggia."
This marble tomb of Andrea's contains the portrait of M. Cino, who is
represented as teaching a number of his scholars, who are about him,
with such a fine attitude and style that it must have been considered
a marvellous thing in those days, although it would not be valued
now.
Walter, Duke of Athens and tyrant of Florence, also employed Andrea
to enlarge the piazza, and to fortify his palace by barring the
bottom of all the windows on the first floor, where the hall of the
Two Hundred now is, with very strong square iron bars. The same duke
also added, opposite S. Piero Scheraggio, the rough stone walls which
are beside the palace to augment it, and in the thickness of the wall
he made a secret staircase, to mount and descend unperceived. At the
bottom face of the wall he made a great door, which now serves for
the Customs, and over this he set his arms, the whole after the
designs and with the advice of Andrea. Although the arms were defaced
by the magistracy of the twelve, who took pains to obliterate every
memorial of that duke, yet on the square shield there remained the
form of the lion rampant with two tails, as any attentive observer
may see. For the same duke Andrea made many towers about the city,
and not only began the fine gate of S. Friano, leaving it in its
present form, but also made the walls of the portals and all the
gates of the city, and the smaller gates for the convenience of the
people. And, because the duke purposed to make a fortress on the hill
of S. Giorgio, Andrea prepared a model for it, which was never used,
as the work was not begun, the duke being driven out in the year
1343. The duke's plan to convert the palace into a strong castle was
in great measure effected, for a considerable addition was made to
the original building, as may be seen to-day, the circuit comprising
the houses of the Filipetri, the tower and houses of the Amidei, and
Mancini, and those of the Bellaberti. And because, after this great
undertaking was begun, all the materials required for it and for the
great walls and barbicans were not ready, he kept back the building
of the Ponte Vecchio, which was being hurried forward as a necessary
thing, and made use of the dressed stones and timber designed for
this without any consideration. Although Taddeo Gaddi was probably
not inferior to Andrea Pisano as an architect, the duke would not
employ him on these works because he was a Florentine, but made use
of Andrea. The same Duke Walter wished to pull down S. Cicilia, in
order to obtain a view of the Strada Romana and the Mercato Nuovo
from his palace, and would also have destroyed S. Piero Scheraggio
for his convenience, but the Pope would not grant him licence. At
length, as has been said above, he was driven out by the fury of the
people.
For his honoured labours of so many years Andrea not only deserved
the highest rewards, but also civil honours. Accordingly he was made
a Florentine citizen by the Signoria, offices and magistracies in the
city were given to him, and his works were valued during his life and
after his death, as no one was found to surpass him in workmanship
until the advent of Niccolo of Arezzo, Jacopo della Quercia of Siena,
Donatello, Filippo di Ser Brunellesco, and Lorenzo Ghiberti, whose
sculptures and other works were such that people recognised in what
error they had been living up till then, as these men had again
discovered the true excellence which had been hidden for so great a
number of years. The works of Andrea were executed about the year of
grace 1340.
The pupils of Andrea were numerous, and, among others, Tommaso,
architect and sculptor, of Pisa, who finished the chapel of the Campo
Santo, and brought the campanile of the Duomo to completion--that is
to say, the last part, where the bells are. This Tommaso was Andrea's
son, if we may believe an inscription on the high altar of S.
Francesco at Pisa, on which a Madonna and other saints are carved by
him in half relief, with his name and that of his father beneath.
Andrea left a son Nino, who devoted himself to sculpture, his first
work being in S. Maria Novella at Florence, where he finished a
marble Madonna, begun by his father, which is inside the door, near
the chapel of the Minerbetti. Going afterwards to Pisa, he made for
the Spina a half-length marble Madonna suckling the infant Jesus
Christ, clothed in delicate draperies. In the year 1522 a marble
ornament for this Madonna was made for M. Jacopo Corbini, who had a
much larger and finer one made for another full-length marble Madonna
of Nino, representing with great grace the mother offering a rose to
the child, who takes it in childish fashion, and so prettily, that
one may say that Nino had made some steps to subduing the roughness
of the stone, and endowing it with the attributes of living flesh.
The figure is between a St John and a St Peter in marble, the head of
the latter being a portrait of Andrea. Nino also made two marble
statues for an altar of S. Caterina at Pisa--that is to say, the
Madonna and an angel in an Annunciation, executed, like his other
works, with such care that they may be considered as the best
productions of those times. On the base beneath this Madonna Nino
carved the following words: "On the first day of February 1370;" and
beneath the angel: "Nino, son of Andrea Pisano, made these figures."
He produced yet other works in that city and at Naples which it is
not necessary to mention here. Andrea died at the age of
seventy-five, in the year 1345, and was buried by Nino in S. Maria
del Fiore with the following epitaph:
"Ingenti Andreas jacet hie Pisanus in urna,
Marmore qui potuit spirantes ducere vultus
Et simulacra Deum mediis imponere templis
Ex acre, ex auro, candenti et pulcro elephanto."
Buonamico Buffalmacco, Painter of Florence.
Buonamico di Cristofano, called Buffalmacco, painter of Florence,
who was a pupil of Andrea Tafi, celebrated for his jests by M.
Giovanni Boccaccio in his "Decameron," is well known to have been the
close companion of Bruno and Calandrino, painters, and themselves
facetious and pleasant men. He possessed a very fair judgment in the
art of painting, as may be seen by his works, which are scattered
throughout Tuscany. Franco Sacchetti relates in his "Three Hundred
Tales" (to begin with the deeds of this artist while he was still
young) that, while Buffalmacco was a boy with Andrea, it was his
master's custom, when the nights were long, to rise to work before
dawn and to call the boys. This thing displeased Buonamico, who
enjoyed a good sleep, and he tried to devise a plan that should
induce Andrea to leave off calling them to work so much before
daylight. He soon found one, for in an ill-swept loft he happened to
find thirty great beetles or cockroaches. With some thin needles and
corks he fixed a small candle on the back of each beetle, and when
the hour came for Andrea to rise he lighted the candles and put the
beetles one by one through a hole leading into Andrea's room. When
the master awoke, just about the hour when he was accustomed to call
Buffalmacco, and saw these lights he began to tremble with fear, and
to recommend himself to God, repeating his prayers and psalms. At
length he put his head under the clothes and did not call Buffalmacco
that night, but remained trembling in that posture until the day. The
following morning when he arose he asked Buonamico if he, like
himself, had seen more than a thousand devils. Buonamico said "No,"
because he had kept his eyes shut, and had wondered why he had not
been called. "What!" said Tafi; "I had something else to think of
besides painting, and I am resolved to go and live in another house."
The following night, although Buonamico only put three beetles into
Tafi's chamber, yet the poor man did not sleep a jot, owing to his
fear of the past night and to those devils which he saw. No sooner
was day come than he left the house, declaring he would never return
to it, and it was long before they were able to induce him to change
his mind. But Buonamico brought him the priest of the parish, who
consoled him as best he could. When Tafi and Buonamico were talking
over the matter afterwards, the latter said: "I have always heard
tell that the devils are the greatest enemies of God, and
consequently they must also be the chief adversaries of painters,
because, besides the fact that we always make them very ugly, We do
nothing else but represent saints on walls and tables, in order to
render men more devout or better in despite of the devils. For this
cause the devils are enraged with us, and as they have more power at
night than during the day, they come and play these pranks, and will
do worse if this practice of early rising is not entirely abandoned."
With these words, and many others, Buffalmacco succeeded in settling
the matter, as the priest supported his arguments, so that Tafi left
off his early rising and the devils ceased to go through the house at
night with lights. But not many months afterwards, when Tafi, induced
by desire of gain, and crushing every fear, began once more to rise
and work at night and to call Buffalmacco, the beetles also began to
make their rounds, so that the master was compelled by fear to give
it up entirely, being strongly advised to this by the priest.
When this thing became known through the city, it for a while
prevented other painters as well as Tafi from rising to work at
night. When, shortly afterwards, Buffalmacco himself became a fairly
good master he left Tafi, as the same Franco relates, and began to
work by himself, and he never lacked employment. Accordingly he took
a house to serve equally as a workshop and a dwelling-house, next
door to a worker of wool in easy circumstances, who, being a raw
simpleton, was called Goosehead. This man's wife rose early every
night, when Buffalmacco, who had worked up to that time, was going to
rest, and setting herself at her spinning wheel, which she
unfortunately placed over against Buffalmacco's bed, she spent all
the night in spinning thread. Buonamico was unable to sleep a moment,
and began to devise a means whereby to rid himself of this nuisance.
It was not long before he perceived that, behind the brick wall which
separated him from Goosehead, was the fire of his objectionable
neighbour, and by means of a crack he could see everything that she
did at the fire. Accordingly he devised a new trick, and provided
himself with a long tube. When he found that the wife of Goosehead
was not at the fire, he every now and again put through that hole in
the wall into his neighbour's pot as much salt as he wished. When
Goosehead returned either to dine or to sup he could, as a rule,
neither eat nor drink or taste either soup or meat, as everything was
made bitter by too much salt. For a little while he had patience, and
only spoke of it or grumbled; but when he found that words did not
suffice, he frequently gave blows to the poor woman, who was in
despair, because she thought she had been more than cautious in
salting the dish. As her husband beat her from time to time, she
tried to excuse herself, which only increased the anger of Goosehead,
so that he began to strike her again, and as she cried out at the top
of her voice, the noise penetrated the whole neighbourhood, and drew
thither Buffalmacco among others. When he heard of what Goosehead
accused his wife and how she excused herself, he said to Goosehead:
"Worthy friend, you should be reasonable; you complain that your
morning and evening dishes are too salt, but I only wonder that your
wife makes them so well as she does. I cannot understand how she is
able to keep going all day, considering that she is sitting up the
whole night over her spinning, and does not, I believe, sleep an
hour. Let her give up rising at midnight, and you will see, when she
has enough sleep, her brain will not wander, and she will not fall
into such serious mistakes." Then he turned to the other neighbours,
and succeeded so well in convincing them that he had found the true
explanation that they all told Goosehead that Buonamico was right,
and that he should follow this advice. Goosehead, believing what he
was told, ordered his wife not to rise so soon, and the dishes were
afterwards reasonably salted, except sometimes when the goodwife had
risen early, because then Buffalmacco had recourse to his remedy, a
fact which induced Goosehead to cause his wife to give up early
rising altogether.