century, the art of painting seemed in every country to have attained to
maturity, and that every school at that time assumed its own peculiar
and distinguishing character. Naples did not, however, possess a manner
so decided as that of other schools of Italy, and thus afforded an
opportunity for the cultivation of the best style, as the students who
left their native country returned home, each with the manner of his own
master, and the sovereigns and nobility of the kingdom invited and
employed the most celebrated strangers. In this respect, perhaps, Naples
did not yield precedence to any city after Rome. Thus the first talents
were constantly employed in ornamenting both the churches and palaces of
that metropolis. Nor indeed was that country ever deficient in men of
genius, who manifested every exquisite quality for distinction,
particularly such as depended on a strong and fervid imagination. Hence
an accomplished writer and painter has observed, that no part of Italy
could boast of so many native artists, such is the fire, the fancy, and
freedom, which characterizes, for the most part, the works of these
masters. Their rapidity of execution was another effect of their genius,
a quality which has been alike praised by the ancients,[107] and the
moderns, when combined with other more requisite gifts of genius. But
this despatch in general excludes correct design, which from that cause
is seldom found in that school. Nor do we find that it paid much
attention to ideal perfection, as most of its professors, following the
practice of the naturalists, selected the character of their heads and
the attitudes of their figures from common life; some with more, and
others with less discrimination. With regard to colour, this school
changed its principles in conformity to the taste of the times. It was
fertile in invention and composition, but deficient in application and
study. The history of the vicissitudes it experienced will occupy the
remainder of this volume.
The epoch of modern painting in Naples could not have commenced under
happier auspices than those which it had the good fortune to experience.
Pietro Perugino had painted an Assumption of the Virgin, which I am
informed exists in the Duomo, or S. Reparata, a very ancient cathedral
church, since connected with the new Duomo. This work opened the way to
a better taste. When Raffaello and his school rose into public esteem,
Naples was among the first distant cities to profit from it, by means of
some of his scholars, to whom were also added some followers of
Michelangiolo, about the middle of the century. Thus till nearly the
year 1600, this school paid little attention to any other style than
that of these two great masters and their imitators, except a few
artists who were admirers of Titian.
We may commence the new series with Andrea Sabbatini of Salerno. This
artist was so much struck with the style of Pietro, when he saw his
picture in the Duomo, that he immediately determined to study in the
school of Perugia. He took his departure accordingly for that city, but
meeting on the road some brother painters who much more highly extolled
the works of Raffaello, executed for Julius II., he changed his mind and
proceeded to Rome, and there placed himself in the school of that great
master. He remained with him however, only a short time, as the death of
his father compelled him to return home, against his wishes. But he
arrived a new man. It is related that he painted with Raffaello at the
Pace, and in the Vatican, and that he became an accomplished copyist of
his works, and successfully emulated the style of his master. Compared
with his fellow scholars, although he did not rival Giulio Romano, he
yet surpassed Raffaele del Colle, and others of that class. He had a
correctness of design, selection in his faces and in his attitudes, a
depth of shade, and the muscles rather strongly expressed; a breadth in
the folding of his drapery, and a colour which still preserves its
freshness after the lapse of so many years. He executed many works in
Naples, as appears from the catalogue of his pictures. Among his best
works are numbered some pictures at S. Maria delle Grazie; besides the
frescos which he executed there and in other places, extolled by writers
as miracles of art, but few of which remain to the present day. He
painted also in his native city, in Gaeta, and indeed in all parts of
the kingdom, both in the churches and for private collections, where
many of his Madonnas, of an enchanting beauty, are still to be
seen.[108]
Andrea had several scholars, some of whom studied under other masters,
and did not acquire much of his style. Such was Cesare Turco, who rather
took after Pietro; a good painter in oil, but unsuccessful in fresco.
But Andrea was the sole master of Francesco Santafede, the father and
master of Fabrizio; painters who in point of colouring have few equals
in this school, and possessing a singular uniformity of style.
Nevertheless the experienced discover in the father more vigour, and
more clearness in his shadows; and there are by him some pictures in the
Soffitto of the Nunziata, and a Deposition from the Cross in the
possession of the prince di Somma, highly celebrated. But of all the
scholars of Andrea, one Paolillo resembled him the most, whose works
were all ascribed to his master, until Dominici restored them to their
right owner. He would have been the great ornament of this school had he
not died young.
Polidoro Caldara, or Caravaggio, came to Naples in the year of the
sacking of Rome, 1527. He was not, as Vasari would have us believe, in
danger of perishing through want at Naples; for Andrea da Salerno, who
had been his fellow disciple, generously received him into his house,
and introduced him in the city, where he obtained many commissions, and
formed several scholars before he went to Sicily. He had distinguished
himself in Rome by his chiaroscuri, as we have related; and he painted
in colours in Naples and Messina. His colour in oil was pallid and
obscure, at least for some time, and in this style I saw some pictures
of the Passion in Rome, which Gavin Hamilton had received from Sicily.
In other respects they were valuable, from their design and invention.
Vasari mentions this master with enthusiasm, calls him a divine genius,
and extols to the skies a picture which he painted in Messina a little
while before his death. This was a composition of Christ on his way to
Mount Calvary, surrounded by a great multitude, and he assures us that
the colouring was enchanting.
Giambernardo Lama was first a scholar of Amato, and afterwards attached
himself to Polidoro, in whose manner he painted a Pieta at S. Giacomo
degli Spagnuoli, which, from its conception, its correctness, and vigour
of design, variety in attitude, and general style of composition, was by
many ascribed to that master. In general however, he displayed a softer
and more natural manner, and was partial to the style of Andrea di
Salerno. Marco di Pino, an imitator of Michelangiolo, as we have
observed, though sober and judicious, was held in disesteem by him. In
the _Segretario_ of Capece, there is an interesting letter to Lama,
where amongst other things he says, "I hear that you do not agree with
Marco da Siena, as you paint with more regard to beauty, and he is
attached to a vigorous design without softening his colours. I know not
what you desire of him, but pray leave him to his own method, and do you
follow yours."
A Francesco Ruviale, a Spaniard, is also mentioned in Naples, called
Polidorino, from his happy imitation of his master, whom he assisted in
painting for the Orsini some subjects illustrative of the history of
that noble family; and after the departure of his master, he executed by
himself several works at Monte Oliveto and elsewhere. The greater part
of these have perished, as happened in Rome to so many of the works of
Polidoro. This Ruviale appears to me to be a different artist from a
Ruviale, a Spaniard, who is enumerated among the scholars of Salviati,
and the assistants of Vasari, in the painting of the Chancery; on which
occasion Vasari says, he formed himself into a good painter. This was
under Paul VII. in 1544, at which time Polidorino must already have been
a master. Palomino has not said a word of any other Ruviale, a painter
of his country; and this is a proof that the two preceding artists never
returned home to Spain.
Some have included among the scholars of Polidoro an able artist and
good colourist, called Marco Calabrese, whose surname is Cardisco.
Vasari ranks him before all his Neapolitan contemporaries, and considers
his genius a fruit produced remote from its native soil. This
observation cannot appear correct to any one who recollects that the
Calabria of the present day is the ancient Magna Graecia, where in former
times the arts were carried to the highest pitch of perfection. Cardisco
painted much in Naples and in the state. His most celebrated work is the
Dispute of S. Agostino in the church of that saint in Aversa. He had a
scholar in Gio. Batista Crescione, who together with Lionardo
Castellani, his relative, painted at the time Vasari wrote, which was an
excuse for his noticing them only in a cursory manner. We may further
observe that Polidoro was the founder of a florid school in Messina,
where we must look for his most able scholars.[109]
Gio. Francesco Penni, or as he is called, il Fattore, came to Naples
some time after Polidoro, but soon afterwards fell sick, and died in the
year 1528. He contributed in two different ways to the advancement of
the school of Naples. In the first place he left there the great copy of
the Transfiguration of Raffaello, which he had painted in Rome in
conjunction with Perino, and which was afterwards placed in S. Spirito
degl'Incurabili, and served as a study to Lama, and the best painters,
until, with other select pictures and sculptures at Naples, it was
purchased and removed by the viceroy Don Pietro Antonio of Aragon.
Secondly, he left there a scholar of the name of Lionardo, commonly
called il Pistoja, from the place of his birth; an excellent colourist,
but not a very correct designer. We noticed him among the assistants of
Raffaello, and more at length among the artists of the Florentine state,
where we find some of his pictures, as in Volterra and elsewhere. After
he had lost his friend Penni in Naples, he established himself there for
the remainder of his days, where he received sufficient encouragement
from the nobility of that city, and painted less for the churches than
for private individuals. He chiefly excelled in portrait.
Pistoja is said to have been one of the masters of Francesco Curia, a
painter, who, though somewhat of a mannerist in the style of Vasari and
Zucchero, is yet commended for the noble and agreeable style of his
composition, for his beautiful countenances, and natural colouring.
These qualities are singularly conspicuous in a Circumcision painted for
the church della Pieta, esteemed by Ribera, Giordano, and Solimene, one
of the first pictures in Naples. He left in Ippolito Borghese an
accomplished imitator, who was absent a long time from his native
country, where few of his works remain, but those are highly prized. He
was in the year 1620 in Perugia, as Morelli relates in his description
of the pictures and statues of that city, and painted an Assumption of
the Virgin, which was placed in S. Lorenzo.
There were two Neapolitans who were scholars and assistants of Perino
del Vaga in Rome; Gio. Corso, initiated in the art by Amato, or as
others assert by Polidoro; and Gianfilippo Criscuolo, instructed a long
time by Salerno. There are few remains of Corso in Naples, except such
as are retouched; nor is any piece so much extolled as a Christ with a
Cross painted for the church of S. Lorenzo. Criscuolo in the short time
he was at Rome, diligently copied Raffaello, and was greatly attached to
his school. He followed, however, his own genius, which was reserved and
timid, and formed for himself rather a severe manner; a circumstance to
his honour, at a time when the contours were overcharged and the
correctness of Raffaello was neglected. He is also highly commended as
an instructor.
From his school came Francesco Imparato, who was afterwards taught by
Titian, and so far emulated his style, that a S. Peter Martyr by him in
the church of that saint in Naples was praised by Caracciolo as the best
picture which had then been seen in that city. We must not confound this
Francesco with Girolamo Imparato, his son, who flourished after the end
of the sixteenth century, and enjoyed a reputation greater than he
perhaps merited. He too was a follower of the Venetian, and afterwards
of the Lombard style, and he travelled to improve himself in colouring,
the fruits of which were seen in the picture of the Rosario at S.
Tommaso d'Aquino, and in others of his works. The Cav. Stanzioni, who
knew him, and was his competitor, considered him inferior to his father
in talent, and describes him as vain and ostentatious.
To these painters of the school of Raffaello, there succeeded in Naples
two followers of Michelangiolo, whom we have before noticed. The first
of these was Vasari, who was called thither in 1544, to paint the
refectory of the P. P. Olivetani, and was afterwards charged with many
commissions in Naples and in Rome. By the aid of architecture, in which
he excelled more than in painting, he converted that edifice, which was
in what is commonly called the Gothic style, to a better form; altered
the vault, and ornamented it with modern stuccos, which were the first
seen in Naples, and painted there a considerable number of subjects,
with that rapidity and mediocrity that characterize the greater part of
his works. He remained there for the space of a year, and of the
services he rendered to the city, we may judge from the following
passage in his life. "It is extraordinary," he says, "that in so large
and noble a city, there should have been found no masters after Giotto,
to have executed any work of celebrity, although some works by Perugino
and by Raffaello had been introduced. On these grounds I have
endeavoured, to the best of my humble talents, to awaken the genius of
that country to a spirit of emulation, and to the accomplishment of some
great and honourable work; and from these my labours, or from some other
cause, we now see many beautiful works in stucco and painting, in
addition to the before mentioned pictures." It is not easy to conjecture
why Vasari should here overlook many eminent painters, and even Andrea
da Salerno himself, so illustrious an artist, and whose name would have
conferred a greater honour on his book, than it could possibly have
derived from it. Whether self love prompted him to pass over that
painter and other Neapolitan artists, in the hope that he should himself
be considered the restorer of taste in Naples; or whether it was the
consequence of the dispute which existed at that time between him and
the painters of Naples; or whether, as I observed in my preface, it
sometimes happens in this art, that a picture which delights one person,
disgusts another, I know not, and every one must judge for himself. For
myself, however much disposed I should be to pardon him for many
omissions, which in a work like his, are almost unavoidable, still I
cannot exculpate him for this total silence. Nor have the writers of
Naples ever ceased complaining of this neglect, and some indeed have
bitterly inveighed against him and accused him of contributing to the
deterioration of taste. So true is it, that an offence against a whole
nation is an offence never pardoned.
The other imitator, and a favourite of Michelangiolo (but not his
scholar, as some have asserted) that painted in Naples, was Marco di
Pino, or Marco da Siena, frequently before mentioned by us. He appears
to have arrived in Naples after the year 1560. He was well received in
that city, and had some privileges conferred on him; nor did the
circumstance of his being a stranger create towards him any feeling of
jealousy on the part of the Neapolitans, who are naturally hospitable to
strangers of good character; and he is described by all as a sincere,
affable, and respectable man. He enjoyed in Naples the first reputation,
and was often employed in works of consequence in some of the greater
churches of the city, and in others of the kingdom at large. He repeated
on several occasions the Deposition from the Cross, which he painted at
Rome, but with many variations, and the one the most esteemed was that
which he placed in S. Giovanni de' Fiorentini, in 1577. The Circumcision
in the Gesu Vecchio, where Parrino traces the portrait of the artist and
his wife,[110] the adoration of the Magi at S. Severino, and others of
his works, contain views of buildings, not unworthy of him, as he was an
eminent architect, and also a good writer on that art. Of his merit as a
painter, I believe I do not err, when I say that among the followers of
Michelangiolo, there is none whose design is less extravagant and whose
colour is more vigorous. He is not however, always equal. In the church
of S. Severino, where he painted four pictures, the Nativity of the
Virgin is much inferior to the others. A mannered style was so common in
artists of that age, that few were exempt from it. He had many scholars
in Naples, but none of the celebrity of Gio. Angelo Criscuolo. This
artist was the brother of Gio. Filippo, already mentioned, and exercised
the profession of a notary, without relinquishing that of a miniature
painter, which he had learnt in his youth. He became desirous of
emulating his brother in larger compositions, and under the direction of
Marco succeeded in acquiring his style.
These two painters laid the foundation of the history of the art in
Naples. In 1568, there issued from the Giunti press in Florence, a new
edition of the works of Vasari, in which the author speaks very briefly
of Marco da Siena, in the life of Daniello da Volterra. He only observes
that he had derived the greatest benefit from the instructions of that
master, and that he had afterwards chosen Naples for his country, and
settled and continued his labours there. Marco, either not satisfied
with this eulogium, or displeased at the silence of Vasari with regard
to many of the painters of Siena, and almost all those of Naples,
determined to publish a work of his own in opposition to him. Among his
scholars was the notary before mentioned, who supplied him with memoirs
of the Neapolitan painters taken from the archives of the city, and from
tradition; and from these materials Marco prepared a _Discorso_. He
composed it in 1569, a year after the publication of this edition of
Vasari's works, and it was the first sketch of the history of the fine
arts in Naples. It did not, however, then see the light, and was not
published until 1742, and then only in part, by Dominici, together with
notes written by Criscuolo in the Neapolitan dialect, and with the
addition of other notes collected respecting the subsequent artists, and
arranged by two excellent painters, Massimo Stanzioni, and Paolo de'
Matteis. Dominici himself added some others of his own collecting, and
communicated by some of his learned friends, among whom was the
celebrated antiquarian Matteo Egizio. The late _Guida_ or _Breve
Descrizione di Napoli_ says, this voluminous work stands in need of more
information, a better arrangement, and a more concise style. There might
also be added some better criticisms on the ancient artists, and less
partiality towards some of the modern. Still this is a very lucid work,
and highly valuable for the opinions expressed on the talents of
artists, for the most part by other artists, whose names inspire
confidence in the reader. Whether the sister arts of architecture and
sculpture are as judiciously treated of, it is not our province to
inquire.
In the above work the reader may find the names of other artists of
Naples who belong to the close of this epoch, as Silvestro Bruno, who
enjoyed in Naples the fame of a good master; a second Simone Papa, or
del Papa, a clever fresco painter, and likewise another Gio. Ant. Amato,
who to distinguish him from the first is called the younger. He was
first instructed in the art by his uncle, afterwards by Lama, and
successively imitated their several styles. He obtained considerable
fame, and the infant Christ painted by him in the Banco de' Poveri, is
highly extolled. To these may be added those artists who fixed their
residence in other parts of Italy, as Pirro Ligorio, honoured, as we
have observed, by Pius IV. in Rome, and who died in Ferrara, engineer to
Alfonso II.; and Gio. Bernardino Azzolini, or rather Mazzolini, in whose
praise Soprani and Ratti unite. He arrived in Genoa about 1510, and
there executed some works worthy of that golden age of art. He excelled
in waxwork, and formed heads with an absolute expression of life. He
extended the same energetic character to his oil pictures, particularly
in the Martyrdom of S. Agatha in S. Giuseppe.
The provincial cities had also in this age their own schools, or at
least their own masters; some of whom remained in their native places,
and others resided abroad. Cola dell'Amatrice, known also to Vasari, who
mentions him in his life of Calabrese, took up his residence in Ascoli
del Piceno, and enjoyed a distinguished name in architecture and in
painting, through all that province. He had somewhat of a hard manner in
his earlier paintings, but in his subsequent works he exhibited a
fulness of design and an accomplished modern style. He is highly
extolled in the Guida di Ascoli for his picture in the oratory of the
_Corpus Domini_, which represents the Saviour in the act of dispensing
the Eucharist to the Apostles.
Pompeo dell'Aquila was a finished painter and a fine colourist, if we
are to believe Orlandi, who saw many of his works in Aquila,
particularly some frescos conducted in a noble style. In Rome in S.
Spirito in Sassia, there is a fine Deposition from the Cross by him.
This artist is not mentioned either by Baglione or any other writer of
his time. Giuseppe Valeriani, another native of Aquila, is frequently
mentioned. He painted at the same period and in the same church of S.
Spirito, where there exists a Transfiguration by him. We perceive in him
an evident desire of imitating F. Sebastiano, but he is heavy in his
design, and too dark in his colours. He entered afterwards into the
society of Jesuits, and improved his first manner. His best works are
said to be a Nunziata in a chapel of the Gesu, with other subjects from
the life of Christ, in which are some most beautiful draperies added by
Scipio da Gaeta. This latter artist also was a native of the kingdom of
Naples; but of him and of the Cav. di Arpino, who both taught in Rome,
we have already spoken in that school.