that he had made when he was shut up in the Castello di S. Angelo;
which vow was that he would place on the summit of the great round
tower of marble, which is in front of the Ponte di Castello, seven
large figures of bronze, each six braccia in length, and all lying
down in different attitudes, as it were vanquished by an Angel that he
wished to have set up on the centre of the tower, upon a column of
variegated marble, the Angel being of bronze with a sword in the hand.
By this figure of the Angel he wished to represent the Angel Michael,
the guardian and protector of the Castle, whose favour and assistance
had delivered him and brought him out of that prison; and the seven
recumbent figures were to personify the seven Mortal Sins,
demonstrating that with the help of the victorious Angel he had
conquered and thrown to the ground his enemies, evil and impious men,
who were represented by those seven figures of the seven Mortal Sins.
For this work his Holiness caused a model to be made; which having
pleased him, he ordained that Baccio should begin to make the figures
in clay of the size that they were to be, in order to have them cast
afterwards in bronze. Baccio began the work, and finished in one of
the apartments in the Belvedere one of those figures in clay, which
was much extolled. At the same time, also, in order to divert himself,
and wishing to see how he would succeed in casting, he made many
little figures in the round, two-thirds of a braccio in height, as of
Hercules, Venus, Apollo, Leda, and other fantasies of his own, which
he caused to be cast in bronze by Maestro Jacopo della Barba of
Florence; and they succeeded excellently well. He presented them
afterwards to his Holiness and to many lords; and some of them are now
in the study of Duke Cosimo, among a collection of more than a hundred
antique figures, all very choice, and others that are modern.
At this same time Baccio had made a scene of the Deposition from the
Cross with little figures in low-relief and half-relief, which was a
rare work; and he had it cast with great diligence in bronze. When
finished, he presented it in Genoa to Charles V, who held it very
dear; and a sign of this was that his Majesty gave Baccio a Commandery
of S. Jago, and made him a Chevalier. From Prince Doria, also, he
received many courtesies; and from the Republic of Genoa he had the
commission for a statue of marble six braccia high, which was to be a
Neptune in the likeness of Prince Doria, to be set up on the Piazza in
memory of the virtues of that Prince and of the extraordinary benefits
that his native country of Genoa had received from him. This statue
was allotted to Baccio at the price of a thousand florins, of which he
received five hundred at that time; and he went straightway to Carrara
to block it out at the quarry of Polvaccio.
While the popular government was ruling Florence, after the departure
of the Medici, Michelagnolo Buonarroti was employed on the
fortifications of the city; and there was shown to him the marble that
Baccio had blocked out, together with the model of the Hercules and
Cacus, the intention being that if the marble had not been cut away
too much Michelagnolo should take it and carve from it two figures
after his own design. Michelagnolo, having examined the block, thought
of a different subject; and, abandoning the Hercules and Cacus, he
chose the subject of Samson holding beneath him two Philistines whom
he had cast down, one being already dead, and the other still alive,
against whom he was aiming a blow with the jawbone of an ass, seeking
to kill him. But even as it often happens that the minds of men
promise themselves at times certain things the opposite of which is
determined by the wisdom of God, so it came to pass then, for, war
having arisen against the city of Florence, Michelagnolo had other
things to think about than polishing marble, and was obliged from fear
of the citizens to withdraw from the city. Afterwards, the war being
finished and peace made, Pope Clement caused Michelagnolo to return to
Florence in order to finish the Sacristy of S. Lorenzo, and sent
Baccio to see to the completion of the giant. Baccio, while engaged in
this, took up his abode in the Palace of the Medici; and, writing
almost every week to his Holiness in order to make a show of devotion,
he entered, besides dealing with matters of art, into particulars
relating to the citizens and those who were administering the
government, with an odious officiousness likely to bring upon him even
more ill-will than he had awakened before. Whereupon, when Duke
Alessandro returned from the Court of his Majesty to Florence, the
citizens made known to him the sinister policy that Baccio was
pursuing against them; from which it followed that his work of the
giant was hindered and retarded by the citizens by every means in
their power.
[Illustration: HERCULES AND CACUS
(_After the marble by =Baccio Bandinelli=. Florence: Piazza della
Signoria_)
_Alinari_]
At this time, after the war of Hungary, Pope Clement and the Emperor
Charles held a conference at Bologna, whither there went Cardinal
Ippolito de' Medici and Duke Alessandro; and it occurred to Baccio to
go and kiss the feet of his Holiness. He took with him a panel, one
braccio high and one and a half wide, of Christ being scourged at the
Column by two nude figures, which was in half-relief and very well
executed; and he gave this panel to the Pope, together with a
portrait-medal of his Holiness, which he had caused to be made by
Francesco dal Prato, his familiar friend, the reverse of the medal
being the Flagellation of Christ. This gift was very acceptable to his
Holiness, to whom Baccio described the annoyances and impediments that
he had experienced in the execution of his Hercules, praying him that
he should prevail upon the Duke to give him the means to carry it to
completion. He added that he was envied and hated in that city; and,
being a very devil with his wit and his tongue, he persuaded the Pope
to induce the Duke to see that his work should be brought to
completion and set up in its place in the Piazza.
Death had now snatched away the goldsmith Michelagnolo, the father of
Baccio, who during his lifetime had undertaken to make for the Wardens
of Works of S. Maria del Fiore, by order of the Pope, a very large
cross of silver, all covered with scenes in low-relief of the Passion
of Christ. This cross, for which Baccio had made the figures and
scenes in wax, to be afterwards cast in silver, Michelagnolo had left
unfinished at his death; and Baccio, having the work in his hands,
together with many libbre of silver, sought to persuade his Holiness
to have it finished by Francesco dal Prato, who had gone with him to
Bologna. But the Pope, perceiving that Baccio wished not only to
withdraw from his father's engagements, but also to make something out
of the labours of Francesco, gave Baccio orders that the silver and
the scenes, those merely begun as well as those finished, should be
given to the Wardens of Works, that the account should be settled, and
that the Wardens should melt all the silver of that cross, in order to
make use of it for the necessities of the church, which had been
stripped of its ornaments at the time of the siege; and to Baccio he
caused one hundred florins of gold and letters of recommendation to be
given, to the end that he might return to Florence and finish the work
of the giant.
While Baccio was at Bologna, Cardinal Doria, having heard that he was
about to depart, went to the pains of seeking him out, and threatened
him with many reproaches and abusive words, for the reason that he had
broken his pledge and failed in his duty by neglecting to finish the
statue of Prince Doria and leaving it only blocked out at Carrara,
after taking five hundred crowns in payment; on which account, said
the Cardinal, if Andrea could get Baccio into his hands, he would make
him pay for it at the galleys. Baccio defended himself humbly and with
soft words, saying that he had been delayed by a sufficient hindrance,
but that he had in Florence a block of marble of the same height, from
which he had intended to carve that figure, and that when he had
carved and finished it he would send it to Genoa. And so well did he
contrive to speak and to excuse himself that he succeeded in escaping
from the presence of the Cardinal. After this he returned to Florence,
and caused the base for the giant to be taken in hand; and, himself
working continuously at the figure, in the year 1534 he finished it
completely. But Duke Alessandro, on account of the hostile reports of
the citizens, did not take steps to have it set up in the Piazza.
The Pope had returned to Rome many months before this, and desired to
erect two tombs of marble in the Minerva, one for Pope Leo and one for
himself; and Baccio, seizing this occasion, went to Rome. Thereupon
the Pope resolved that Baccio should make those tombs after he had
succeeded in setting up the giant on the Piazza; and his Holiness
wrote to the Duke that he should give Baccio every convenience for
placing his Hercules in position there. Whereupon, after an enclosure
of planks had been made all round, the base was built of marble, and
at the foot of it they placed a stone with letters in memory of Pope
Clement VII, and a good number of medals with the heads of his
Holiness and of Duke Alessandro. The giant was then taken from the
Office of Works, where it had been executed; and in order to convey it
with greater ease, without damaging it, they made round it a
scaffolding of wood, with ropes passing under the legs and cords
supporting it under the arms and at every other part; and thus,
suspended in the air between the beams in such a way that it did not
touch the wood, little by little, by means of compound pulleys and
windlasses and ten pairs of oxen, it was drawn as far as the Piazza.
Great assistance was rendered by two thick, semi-cylindrical beams,
which were fixed lengthways along the foot of the scaffolding, in the
manner of a base, and rested on other similar beams smeared with soap,
which were withdrawn and replaced by workmen in succession, according
as the structure moved forward; and with these ingenious contrivances
the giant was conveyed safely and without much labour to the Piazza.
The charge of all this was given to Baccio d'Agnolo and the elder
Antonio da San Gallo, the architects to the Office of Works, who
afterwards with other beams and a double system of compound pulleys
set the statue securely on its base.
It would not be easy to describe the concourse and multitude that for
two days occupied the whole Piazza, flocking to see the giant as soon
as it was uncovered; and various judgments and opinions were heard
from all kinds of men, every one censuring the work and the master.
There were also attached round the base many verses, both Latin and
Tuscan, in which it was pleasing to see the wit, the ingenious
conceits, and the sharp sayings of the writers; but they overstepped
all decent limits with their evil-speaking and their biting and
satirical compositions, and Duke Alessandro, considering that, the
work being a public one, the indignity was his, was forced to put in
prison some who went so far as to attach sonnets openly and without
scruple to the statue; which proceeding soon stopped the mouths of the
critics.
When Baccio examined his work in position, it seemed to him that the
open air was little favourable to it, making the muscles appear too
delicate. Having therefore caused a new enclosure of planks to be made
around it, he attacked it again with his chisels, and, strengthening
the muscles in many places, gave the figures stronger relief than they
had before. Finally, the work was uncovered for good; and by everyone
able to judge it has always been held to be not only a triumph over
difficulties, but also very well studied, with every part carefully
considered, and the figure of Cacus excellently adapted to its
position. It is true that the David of Michelagnolo, which is beside
Baccio's Hercules, takes away not a little of its glory, being the
most beautiful colossal figure that has ever been made; for in it is
all grace and excellence, whereas the manner of Baccio is entirely
different. But in truth, considering Baccio's Hercules by itself, one
cannot but praise it highly, and all the more because it is known that
many sculptors have since tried to make colossal statues, and not one
has attained to the standard of Baccio, who, if he had received as
much grace and facility from nature as he took pains and trouble by
himself, would have been absolutely perfect in the art of sculpture.
Desiring to know what was being said of his work, he sent to the
Piazza a pedagogue whom he kept in his house, telling him that he
should not fail to report to him the truth of what he might hear said.
The pedagogue, hearing nothing but censure, returned sadly to the
house, and, when questioned by Baccio, answered that all with one
voice were abusing the giants, and that they pleased no one. "And
you," asked Baccio, "what do you say of them?" "I speak well of them,"
he replied, "and say, may it please you, that they please me." "I will
not have them please you," said Baccio, "and you, also, must speak ill
of them, for, as you may remember, I never speak well of anyone; and
so we are quits." Thus Baccio concealed his vexation, and it was
always his custom to act thus, pretending not to care for the censure
that any man laid on his works. Nevertheless, it is likely enough that
his resentment was considerable, because when a man labours for
honour, and then obtains nothing but censure, one cannot but believe,
although that censure may be unjust and undeserved, that it afflicts
him secretly in his heart and torments him continually. He was
consoled in his displeasure by an estate, which was given to him in
addition to his payment, by order of Pope Clement. This gift was
doubly dear to him, first because it was useful for its revenue and
was near his villa of Pinzirimonte, and then because it had previously
belonged to Rignadori, his mortal enemy, who had just been declared an
outlaw, and with whom he had always been at strife on account of the
boundary of this property.
At this time a letter was written to Duke Alessandro by Prince Doria,
asking that he should prevail upon Baccio to finish his statue, now
that the giant was completely finished, and saying that he was ready
to revenge himself on Baccio if he did not do his duty; at which
Baccio was so frightened that he would not trust himself to go to
Carrara. However, having been reassured by Cardinal Cibo and Duke
Alessandro, he went there, and, working with some assistants,
proceeded to carry the statue forward. The Prince had himself informed
every day as to how much Baccio was doing; wherefore, receiving a
report that the statue was not of that excellence which had been
promised, he gave Baccio to understand that, if he did not serve him
well, he would make him smart for it. Baccio, hearing this, spoke very
ill of the Prince; which having come to the Prince's ears, he
determined to get him into his hands at all costs, and to take
vengeance upon him by putting him in wholesome fear of the galleys.
Whereupon Baccio, seeing certain persons spying and keeping a watch
upon him, became suspicious, and, being a shrewd and resolute man,
left the work as it was and returned to Florence.
About this time a son was born to Baccio from a woman whom he kept in
his house, and to this son, Pope Clement having died in those days, he
gave the name of Clemente, in memory of that Pontiff, who had always
loved and favoured him. After the death of Pope Clement, he heard that
Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici, Cardinal Innocenzio Cibo, Cardinal
Giovanni Salviati, and Cardinal Niccolo Ridolfi, together with Messer
Baldassarre Turini da Pescia, being the executors of the Pope's will,
had commissions to give for the two marble tombs of Leo and Clement,
which were to be placed in the Minerva. For these tombs Baccio in the
past had already made the models; but the work had been promised
recently to the Ferrarese sculptor Alfonso Lombardi through the favour
of Cardinal de' Medici, whose servant he was. This Alfonso, by the
advice of Michelagnolo, had changed the design of the tombs, and he
had already made the models for them, but without any contract for the
commission, relying wholly on promises, and expecting every day to
have to go to Carrara to quarry the marble. While the time was
slipping away in this manner, it happened that Cardinal Ippolito died
of poison on his way to meet Charles V. Baccio, hearing this, went
without wasting any time to Rome, where he was first received by the
sister of Pope Leo, Madonna Lucrezia Salviati de' Medici, to whom he
strove to prove that no one could do greater honour to the remains of
those great Pontiffs than himself, with his ability in art, adding
that Alfonso was a sculptor without power of design and without skill
and judgment in the handling of marble, and that he was not able to
execute so honourable an undertaking save only with the help of
others. He also used many other devices, and so went to work in
various ways and by various means that he succeeded in changing the
purpose of those lords, who finally entrusted to Cardinal Salviati the
charge of making an agreement with Baccio.
At this time the Emperor Charles V had arrived in Naples, and in Rome
Filippo Strozzi, Anton Francesco degli Albizzi, and the other exiles
were seeking to arrange with Cardinal Salviati to go and set his
Majesty against Duke Alessandro; and they were with the Cardinal at
all hours. Baccio was also all day long in Salviati's halls and
apartments, waiting to have the contract made for the tombs, but not
able to bring matters to a head, because of the Cardinal's
preoccupation with the affairs of the exiles; and they, seeing Baccio
in those rooms morning and evening, grew suspicious of this, and,
fearing lest he might be there to spy upon their movements and give
information to the Duke, some of the young men among them agreed to
follow him secretly one evening and put him out of the way. But
Fortune, coming to his aid in time, brought it about that the two
other Cardinals, with Messer Baldassarre da Pescia, undertook to
finish Baccio's business. Knowing that Baccio was worth little as an
architect, they had caused a design to be made by Antonio da San
Gallo, which pleased them, and had ordained that all the mason's work
to be done in marble should be executed under the direction of the
sculptor Lorenzetto, and that the marble statues and scenes should be
allotted to Baccio. Having arranged the matter in this way, they
finally made the contract with Baccio, who therefore appeared no more
about the house of Cardinal Salviati, withdrawing himself just in
time; and the exiles, the occasion having passed by, thought nothing
more about him.
After these things Baccio made two models of wood, with the statues
and scenes in wax. These models had the bases solid, without
projections, and on each base were four fluted Ionic columns, which
divided the space into three compartments, a large one in the middle,
where in each there was a Pope in full pontificals seated upon a
pedestal, who was giving the benediction, and smaller spaces, each
with a niche containing a figure in the round and standing upright,
four braccia high; which figures, representing Saints, stood on either
side of those Popes. The order of the composition had the form of a
triumphal arch, and above the columns that supported the cornice was a
marble tablet three braccia in height and four braccia and a half in
width, in which was a scene in half-relief. In the scene above the
statue of Pope Leo, which statue had on either side of it in the
niches S. Peter and S. Paul, was his Conference with King Francis at
Bologna, and this story of Leo in the middle, above the columns, was
accompanied by two smaller scenes, in one of which, that above S.
Peter, was the Saint restoring a dead man to life, and in the other,
that above S. Paul, that Saint preaching to the people. In the scene
above Pope Clement, which corresponded to that mentioned above, was
that Pontiff crowning the Emperor Charles at Bologna, and on either
side of it are two smaller scenes, in one of which is S. John the
Baptist preaching to the people, and in the other S. John the
Evangelist raising Drusiana from the dead; and these have below them
in the niches the same Saints, four braccia high, standing on either
side of the statue of Pope Clement, as with that of Leo.
In this structure Baccio showed either too little religion or too much
adulation, or both together, in that he thought fit that the first
founders--after Christ--of our religion, men deified and most dear to
God, should give way to our Popes, and placed them in positions
unworthy of them and inferior to those of Leo and Clement. Certain it
is that this design of his, even as it was displeasing to God and to
the Saints, so likewise gave no pleasure to the Popes or to any other
man, for the reason, it appears to me, that religion--and I mean our
own, the true religion--should be placed by mankind before all other
interests and considerations. And, on the other hand, he who wishes to
exalt and honour any other person, should, I think, be temperate and
restrained, and confine himself within certain limits, so that his
praise and honour may not become another thing--I mean senseless
adulation, which first disgraces the praiser, and also gives no
pleasure to the person praised, if he has any proper feeling, but does
quite the contrary. Baccio, in doing what I have described, made known
to everyone that he had much goodwill and affection indeed towards the
Popes, but little judgment in exalting and honouring them in their
sepulchres.
The models described above were taken by Baccio to the garden of
Cardinal Ridolfi at S. Agata on Monte Cavallo, where his lordship was
entertaining Cibo, Salviati, and Messer Baldassarre da Pescia to
dinner, they having assembled together there in order to settle all
that was necessary in the matter of the tombs. While they were at
table, then, there arrived the sculptor Solosmeo, an amusing and
outspoken person, who was always ready to speak ill of anyone, and
little the friend of Baccio. When the message was brought to those
lords that Solosmeo was seeking admittance, Ridolfi ordered that he
should be ushered in, and then, turning to Baccio, said to him: "I
wish that we should hear what Solosmeo says of our bestowal of these
tombs. Raise that door-curtain, Baccio, and stand behind it." Baccio
immediately obeyed, and, when Solosmeo had entered and had been
invited to drink, they then turned to the subject of the tombs
allotted to Baccio; whereupon Solosmeo reproached the Cardinals for
having made a bad choice, and went on to speak all manner of evil
against Baccio, taxing him with ignorance of art, avarice, and
arrogance, and going into many particulars in his criticisms. Baccio,
who stood hidden behind the door-curtain, was not able to contain
himself until Solosmeo should have finished, and, bursting out
scowling and full of rage, said to Solosmeo: "What have I done to you,
that you should speak of me with such scant respect?" Dumbfounded at
the appearance of Baccio, Solosmeo turned to Ridolfi and said: "What
tricks are these, my lord? I want nothing more to do with priests!"
and took himself off. The Cardinals had a hearty laugh both at the one
and at the other; and Salviati said to Baccio: "You hear the opinion
of your brothers in art. Go and give them the lie with your work."
[Illustration: STATUE OF GIOVANNI DELLE BANDE NERE
(_After the marble by =Baccio Bandinelli=. Florence: Piazza di S.
Lorenzo_)
_Brogi_]