consideration, besides those in Perugia, where flourished the two Alfani
and others, followers of a good style; but whether they were known or
employed in Rome, I am not able to say. I included them in the school of
Pietro, in order that they might not be separated from the artists of
Perugia, but they continued to live and to work for many years in the
16th century. To these may be added Piero and Serafino Cesarei,[66] and
others of less note. In the city of Assisi, there resided, in the
beginning of the 16th century, a Francesco Vagnucci, and there remain
some works by him in the spirit of the old masters. There, also,
afterwards resided Cesare Sermei Cavaliere, who was born in Orvieto, and
married in Assisi, and lived there until 1600, when he died at the age
of 84. He painted both there and in Perugia, and if not in a grand style
of fresco, still with a felicity of design, with much spirit in his
attitudes, and with a vigorous pencil. He was a good machinist, and of
great merit in his oil pictures. At Spello I saw a picture by him of the
Beatified Andrea Caccioli; and it seems to me, that few other painters
of the Roman School had at that time equalled him. His heirs, in Assisi,
possess some pictures by him of fairs, processions, and ceremonies which
occur in that city on occasion of the Perdono; and the numbers and
variety and grace of the small figures, the architecture, and the humour
displayed, are very captivating. At Spello, just above mentioned, in the
church of S. Giacomo, is a picture which represents that saint and S.
Catherine before the Madonna: where we read _Tandini Mevanatis_, 1580;
that is, of Tandino di Bevagna, a place near Assisi; nor is it a picture
to be passed over.
Gubbio possessed two painters, brothers of the family de' Nucci;
Virgilio, who was said to be the scholar of Daniel di Volterra, whose
Deposition he copied for an altar at S. Francis in Gubbio; and
Benedetto, a disciple of Raffaellino del Colle, considered the best of
the painters of Gubbio.[67] Both of them have left works in their native
place, and in the neighbouring districts; the first of them always
following the Florentine, and the second the Roman School. Of the latter
there are many pictures at Gubbio, which shew the progress he had made
in the style of Raffaello; and to see him in his best work, we must
inspect his S. Thomas in the Duomo, which would be taken for a picture
of Garofalo, or some such artist, if we were not acquainted with the
master. A little time afterwards flourished Felice Damiani, or Felice da
Gubbio, who is said to have studied in the Venetian School. The
Circumcision at S. Domenico has certainly a good deal of that style; but
in pencil he inclines more to the Roman taste, which he, perhaps,
derived from Benedetto Nucci. The Decollation of St. Paul, at the Castel
Nuovo, in Recanati, is by him: the attitude of the saint excites our
sympathy: the spectators are represented in various attitudes, all
appropriate and animated: the drawing is correct, and the colours vivid
and harmonious. It is inscribed with the year 1584. About ten years
afterwards, he painted two chapels at the Madonna de' Lumi, at S.
Severino, with subjects from the life of Christ; and there likewise
displayed more elegance than grandeur of style. His most studied and
powerful work is at S. Agostino di Gubbio, the Baptism of the Saint,
painted in 1594, a picture abounding in figures, and which surprises by
the novelty of the attire, by its correct architecture, and by the air
of devotion exhibited in the countenances. He received for this picture
two hundred scudi, by no means a low price in those times; and it should
seem that his work was regulated by the price, since in some other
pictures, and particularly in one in 1604, he is exceedingly negligent.
Federigo Brunori, called also Brunorini, issued, it is said, from his
school, and still more decidedly than his master, followed the Venetian
style. His portraits are natural; and he was a lover of foreign drapery,
and coloured with a strong effect. The Bianchi have an Ecce Homo by him,
in which the figures are small, but boldly expressed, and shew that he
had profited from the engravings of Albert Durer. Pierangiolo Basilj,
instructed by Damiani, and also by Roncalli, partakes of their more
delicate manner. His frescos, in the choir of S. Ubaldo, are held in
esteem; and at S. Marziale, there is by him a Christ preaching, with a
beautiful portico in perspective, and a great number of auditors: the
figures in this are also small, and such as are seen in the compositions
of Albert Durer. The pictures appear to be painted in competition.
Brunori displays more energy, Basilj more variety and grace.
In the former edition of this work I made mention of Castel Durante, now
Urbania, in the state of Urbino. I noticed Luzio Dolce among the ancient
painters, of whom I had at that time seen no performance, except an
indifferent picture, in the country church of Cagli, in 1536. Since that
period Colucci has published (tom. xxvii.) a _Cronaca di Castel
Durante_, wherein he gives a full account of Luzio, and of others that
belong to that place. Bernardino, his grandfather, and Ottaviano, his
father, excelled in stucco, and had exercised their art in other places;
and he himself, who was living in 1589, is commended for his altarpieces
and other pictures, in the churches, both in his native city and other
places: and further, it is stated that he was employed by the duke to
paint at the Imperiale. He also makes honourable mention of a brother of
Luzio, and extols Giustino Episcopio, called formerly de' Salvolini,
who, in conjunction with Luzio, painted in the abbey the picture of the
Spirito Santo, and the other pictures around it. He also executed many
other works by himself in Castel Durante and elsewhere, and in Rome as
well, where he studied and resided for a considerable time. It is
probable that Luzio was, in the latter part of his life, assisted by
Agostino Apolonio, who was his sister's son, married in S. Angelo in
Vado, and who removed and settled in Castel Durante where he executed
works both in stucco and in oils, particularly at S. Francesco, and
succeeded alike to the business and the property of his maternal uncle.
At Fratta, which is also in the state of Urbino, there died young, one
Flori, of whom scarcely any thing remains, except the Supper of our
Lord, at S. Bernardino. But this picture is composed in the manner of
the best period of art, and deserves commemoration. Not far from thence
is Citta di Castello, where, in the days of Vasari, flourished Gio.
Batista della Bilia, a fresco painter, and another Gio. Batista,
employed in the Palazzo Vitelli, (tom. v. p. 131). I know not whether it
was from him, or some other artist, that Avanzino Nucci had his first
instructions, who repairing to Rome, designed after the best examples,
and was a scholar and fellow labourer in many of the works of Niccolo
Circignano. He had a share in almost all the works under Sixtus, and
executed many others, in various churches and palaces. He possessed
facility and despatch, and a style not very dissimilar to that of his
master, though inferior in grandeur. He resided some time in Naples, and
worked also in his native place. There is a picture by him, of the
Slaughter of the Innocents, at S. Silvestro di Fabriano. Somewhat later
than he, was Sguazzino, noticed by Orlandi for the pictures painted at
the Gesu in Perugia; though he left better works in Citta di Castello,
as the S. Angelo, in the Duomo; and the lunettes, containing various
histories of our Lady, at the Spirito Santo, besides others in various
churches. He was not very correct in his drawing, but had a despatch and
a contrast of colours, and a general effect that entitled him to
approbation.
Another considerable painter, though less known, was Gaspare Gasparrini,
of Macerata. He was of noble birth, and followed the art through
predilection, and painted both in fresco and oils. From the information
which I received from Macerata,[68] it seems he learned to paint from
Girolamo di Sermoneta.[69] However this may be, Gasparrini pursued a
similar path, although his manner is not so finished, if we may judge
from the two chapels at S. Venanzio di Fabriano, in one of which is the
Last Supper, and in the other the Baptism of Christ. Other subjects are
added on the side walls, and the best is that of S. Peter and S. John
healing the Sick, a charming composition, in the style of Raffaello. We
find by him, in his native place, a picture of the Stigmata, at the
Conventuals, and some cabinet pictures, in the collection of the Signori
Ferri, relations of the family of Gaspare. Others too are to be found,
but either doubtful in themselves, or injured by retouching. Padre
Civalli M. C., who wrote at the close of the sixteenth century, mentions
this master with high commendation, as may be seen on reference to the
_Antichita Picene_, tom. xxv. In a recent description of the pictures at
Ascoli, I find that a Sebastian Gasparrini, of Macerata, a scholar of
the Cav. Pomaranci, decorated a chapel of S. Biagio in that city with
historical paintings in fresco. But it is probable that this may be
Giuseppe Bastiani, the scholar of Gasparrini. Another chapel at the
Carmelites in Macerata, contains many pictures by him, with the date of
1594.
Of Marcantonio di Tolentino, mentioned by Borghini in his account of the
Tuscan artists, and after him by Colucci (tom. xxv. p. 80), I do not
know whether or not he returned to practise his art in his native
country. In Caldarola, in the territory of Macerata, flourished a
Durante de' Nobili, a painter who formed himself on the style of
Michelangiolo. A picture of a Madonna by him is to be seen in Ascoli, at
S. Pier di Castello, on which he inscribed his name and country, and the
year 1571. From another school I believe arose a Simon de Magistris, a
painter as well as sculptor, who left many works in the province. One of
his pictures of S. Philip and S. James, in the Duomo of Osimo, in 1585,
discovers a poverty in the composition, and little felicity of
execution; but he appears to greater advantage, at a more advanced
period of life, in the works he left at Ascoli. There is one, of the
Rosario, at S. Domenico, where Orsini found much to commend in the
arrangement of the figures, in the design, and in the colouring. There
is another, of the same subject, at S. Rocco, which is preferred to the
former, except for the shortness of the figures, and which we have
described in writing of Andrea del Sarto, and afterwards of Taddeo
Zuccaro. For the same reason he reproaches Carlo Allegretti, who, in the
same city, committed a similar fault. He painted in various styles, as
may be seen from an Epiphany, in Bassano's manner, which he placed in
the cathedral, a picture which will apologize for the others.
Baldassini, in his Storia di Jesi, speaking of Colucci, records there
the priest Antonio Massi, who studied and gave to the world some
pictures in Bologna; and Antonio Sarti, whom I esteem superior to Massi;
praising highly his picture of the Circumcision, in the collegiate
church of Massaccio. This city gave birth to Paolo Pittori, who
ornamented his native place and its vicinity. These may serve as an
example of the provincial painters of this age. I purposely omit many
names, several of whom are fresco painters, who were indifferent
artists; and others who were below mediocrity. It is indeed true, that
many have escaped, from being unknown to me, and there still remain, in
the Roman state, many works highly beautiful, deserving of research and
notice.
From the time of the preceding epoch, the art became divided into
various departments; and at this period, they began to multiply, in
consequence of many men of talent choosing to cultivate different
manners. After Jacopo del Conte and Scipione da Gaeta, the portraits of
Antonio de' Monti, a Roman, are celebrated, who was considered the first
among the portrait painters under Gregory; as also those of Prospero and
Livia Fontana, and of Antonio Scalvati; all three of the School of
Bologna; to whom may be added Pietro Fachetti, of Mantua.
With regard to perspective, it was successfully cultivated by Jacopo
Barocci, commonly called Il Vignola, an illustrious name in
architecture; owing to which his celebrity in the other branches has
been overlooked. But it ought to be observed that his first studies were
directed to painting, in the school of Passarotti, in Bologna; until he
was led by the impulse of his genius, to apply himself to perspective,
and by the aid of that science, as he was accustomed to say, to
architecture, in which he executed some wonderful works, and amongst
others the palace of Caprarola. There, and I know not whether in other
places, are to be seen some pictures by him. As a writer, we shall refer
to him in the second index, where, omitting his other works, we shall
cite the two books which he wrote in this department of art. Great
progress was made in Rome, in the art of perspective, after Laureti, by
the genius of Gio. Alberti di Citta S. Sepolcro, whose eulogy I shall
not here stop to repeat, having already spoken of it in the first
volume. Baglione names two friends, Tarquinio di Viterbo and Giovanni
Zanna, of Rome; the first of whom painted landscapes, and the second
adorned them with figures. He mentions the two brothers, Conti, of
Ancona; Cesare, who excelled in arabesques, and Vincenzio in figures:
these artists painted for private persons. Marco da Faenza was much
employed under Gregory XIII., in arabesques, and the more elegant
decorations of the Vatican, and had also the direction of other artists.
Of him we shall make more particular mention amongst the artists of
Romagna.
The landscapes in the Apostolic palace, and in various places of Rome,
were many of them painted by Matteo da Siena, and by Gio. Fiammingo,
with whom Taja makes us acquainted, in the ducal hall, and particularly
the two brothers Brilli, of Flanders, who painted both in fresco and
oil. Matteo always retained his _ultramontane_ manner, rather dry, and
not very true in colour. Paolo, who survived him, improved his style,
from the study of Titian and the Caracci, and was an excellent artist in
every department of landscape, and in the power of adapting it to
historical subjects. Italy abounds with his pictures. Two other
landscape painters also lived in Rome at this time, Fabrizio of Parma,
who may be ranked with Matteo, and Cesare, a Piedmontese, more attached
to the style of Paolo. Nor ought we to omit Filippo d'Angeli, who, from
his long residence in Naples, is called a Neapolitan, though he was born
in Rome, where, and as we have observed in Florence, he was highly
esteemed. His works are generally of a small size; his prospects are
painted with great care, and ornamented with figures admirably
introduced. There are also some battle pieces by him.
But in battles and in hunting pieces, none in these times equalled
Antonio Tempesti. He was followed, though at a considerable interval, by
Francesco Allegrini, a name not new to those who have read the preceding
pages. To these we may add Marzio di Colantonio, a Roman, though he has
left fewer works in Rome than in Turin, where he was employed by the
Cardinal, prince of Savoy. He was also accomplished in arabesque and
landscapes, and painted small frescos in an agreeable manner.
It is at this epoch that Vasari describes the manufacture of earthen
vases, painted with a variety of colours, with such exquisite art, that
they seemed to rival the oil pictures of the first masters. He pretends
that this art was unknown to the ancients, and it is at any rate certain
that it was not carried to such perfection by them. Signor Gio. Batista
Passeri, who composed _l'Istoria delle pitture in Majolica fatte in
Pesaro e ne' luoghi circonvicini_, derives the art from Luca della
Robbia, a Florentine, who discovered a mode of giving to the clay a
glazing to resist the injuries of time. In this manner were formed the
bassirelievi and altars which still exist, and the pavements which are
described at page 81. Others derive this art from Cina, whence it passed
to the island of Majolica, and from thence into Italy; and this
invention was particularly cultivated in the state of Urbino. The coarse
manufacture had been for a long time in use. The fine earthenware
commenced there about 1500, and was manufactured by an excellent artist,
of whom there exists in the convent of Domenicans, of Gubbio, a statue
of an abbot, S. Antonio, well modelled and painted, and many services in
various noble houses with his name _M. Giorgio da Ugubio_. The year is
also inscribed, from which it appears that his manufacture of these
articles began in 1519, and ended in 1537. At this time Urbino also
cultivated the plastic art, and the individual of his day, who most
excelled, was Federigo Brandani. Whoever thinks that I exaggerate, may
view the Nativity, which he left at S. Joseph, and say, whether, except
Begarelli of Modena, there is any one that can be compared with him for
liveliness and grace in his figures, for variety and propriety of
attitude, and for natural expression of the accessory parts; the
animals, which seem alive; the satchels and a key suspended; the humble
furniture, and other things admirably appropriate, and all wonderfully
represented: the figure of the divine Infant is not so highly finished,
and is perhaps the object which least surprises us. Nor in the meanwhile
did the people of Urbino neglect to advance the art of painted vases, in
which fabric a M. Rovigo of Urbino is much celebrated. The subjects
which were first painted in porcelain, were poor in design, but were
highly valued for the colouring, particularly for a most beautiful red,
which was subsequently disused, either because the secret was lost, or
because it did not amalgamate with the other colours.
But the art did not attain the perfection which Vasari describes, until
about the year 1540, and was indebted for it to Orazio Fontana, of
Urbino, whose vases, for the polish of the varnish, for the figures, and
for their forms, may perhaps be ranked before any that have come down to
us from antiquity. He practised this art in many parts of the state, but
more especially in Castel Durante, now called Urbania, which possesses a
light clay, extremely well adapted for every thing of this nature. His
brother, Flamminio, worked in conjunction with him, and was afterwards
invited to Florence by the grand duke of Tuscany, and introduced there a
beautiful manner of painting vases. This information is given us by the
Sig. Lazzari, and for which the Florentine history of art ought to
express its obligations to him. The establishment of this fine taste in
Urbino, was, in a great measure, owing to the Duke Guidobaldo, who was a
prince enthusiastically devoted to the fine arts, and who established a
manufactory, and supported it at his own expense. He did not allow the
painters of these vases to copy their own designs, but obliged them to
execute those of the first artists, and particularly those of Raffaello;
and gave them for subjects many designs of Sanzio never before seen, and
which formed part of his rich collection. Hence these articles are
commonly known in Italy by the name of Raphael ware, and from thence
arose certain idle traditions respecting the father of Raffaello, and
Raffaello himself; and the appellation of _boccalajo di Urbino_ (the
potter of Urbino), was in consequence applied, as we shall mention, to
that great master.[70] Some designs of Michelangiolo, and many of
Raffaele del Colle, and other distinguished masters, were adopted for
this purpose. In the life of Batista Franco, we are informed that that
artist made an infinite number of designs for this purpose, and in that
of Taddeo Zuccaro it is related that all the designs of the service,
which was manufactured for Philip II., were entrusted to him. Services
of porcelain were also prepared there for Charles V. and other princes,
and the duke ordered not a few for his own court. Several of his vases
were transferred to, and are now in the S. Casa di Loreto; and the Queen
of Sweden was so much charmed with them, that she offered to replace
them with vases of silver. A large collection of them passed into the
hands of the Grand Duke of Florence, in common with other things
inherited from the Duke of Urbino, and specimens of them are to be seen
in the ducal gallery, some with the names of the places where they were
manufactured. There are many, too, to be found in the houses of the
nobility of Rome, and in the state of Urbino, and, indeed, in all parts
of Italy. The art was in its highest perfection for about the space of
twenty years, or from 1540 to 1560; and the specimens of that period are
not unworthy a place in any collection of art. If we are to believe
Lazzari, the secret of the art died with the Fontani, and the practice
daily declined until it ended in a common manufactory and object of
merchandize. Whoever wishes for further information on this subject, may
consult the above cited Passeri, who inserted his treatise in the fourth
volume of the Calogeriani, not forgetting the Dizionario Urbinate, and
the Cronaca Durantina.
The art of painting on leather deserves little attention; nevertheless,
as Baglione mentions it with commendation in his life of Vespasian
Strada, a fresco painter of some merit in Rome, I did not think it right
to pass it over without this slight notice.
[Footnote 56: Dolce, Dial. della Pittura, p. 11.]
[Footnote 57: We shall notice him again in the school of Bologna, where
he passed his best years, and also in the Roman School, in which he was
a master. Sebastiano had also another scholar, or imitator, as we find a
Communion of S. Lucia, painted in his style, in the collegiate church of
Spello. The artist inscribes his name, _Camillus Bagazotus Camers
faciebat_.--_Orsini Risposta_, p. 16.]
[Footnote 58: He painted the S. Catherine in S. Agostino, the Presepio
in S. Silvestro at Monte Cavallo, and left works in many other
churches.]
[Footnote 59: He painted some facades in Rome. In the oratory of S.
Giovanni Decollato, there remains the Dance before Herod, not very
correctly designed, and feeble in colouring; but the perspective, and
the richness of the drapery in the Venetian style, may confer some value
on the picture.]
[Footnote 60: Bellori, Vite de' Pittori, p. 20.]
[Footnote 61: Idea de' Pittori, Scultori, e Architetti, reprinted in the
Lett. Pitt. tom. vi. p. 147.]
[Footnote 62: The charming poet Lasca noticed this work as soon as the
Cupola was opened to public view, in a madrigal inserted in the edition
of his poems in the year 1741. He blamed Giorgio d'Arezzo (Vasari) more
than Federigo, that for sordid motives he had designed and undertaken a
work, which in the judgment of the Florentines, injured the Cupola of
Brunellesco, which was the admiration of every one, and which Benvenuto
Cellini was accustomed to call, _la Maraviglia delle cose belle_. He
concludes by saying, that the Florentine people
"Non sara mai di lamentarsi stanco
Se forse un di non le si da di bianco."]
[Footnote 63: This is not the large picture of the Calumny of Apelles
painted in distemper for the Orsini family, and engraved, and which is
now to be seen in the Palazzo Lante, and is one of the most finished
productions of Federigo.]
[Footnote 64: The same inflated style has of late become prevalent in
some parts of Italy, with no little injury to our language and to good
taste. In the _Arte di vedere_ we find for example _le pieghe
longitudinali, la trombeggiata resurrezzione del Bello_, &c. Some one
has also attempted to illustrate the qualities of the art of painting by
those of music, which has given occasion to a clever Maestro di Capella
to write a humorous letter, an extract of which is given in the _Difesa
del Ratti_, pag. 15, &c., and is the most entertaining and least ill
tempered thing to be met with in that work.]
[Footnote 65: A scholar of Daniel di Volterra, from whom he inherited
these designs, with many others by the same great master. He painted but
little, and generally from the designs of others, and which he did not
execute in a happy manner; and Baglione says, his pictures were
deficient in taste.]