created Grand Penitentiary, Raffaello was favoured by him with a
commission to paint a panel for S. Giovanni in Monte at Bologna,
which is now set up in the chapel wherein lies the body of the
Blessed Elena dall' Olio: in which work it is evident how much
grace, in company with art, could accomplish by means of the
delicate hands of Raffaello. In it is a S. Cecilia, who, entranced
by a choir of angels on high, stands listening to the sound, wholly
absorbed in the harmony; and in her countenance is seen that
abstraction which is found in the faces of those who are in ecstasy.
Scattered about the ground, moreover, are musical instruments, which
have the appearance of being, not painted, but real and true; and
such, also, are some veils that she is wearing, with vestments woven
in silk and gold, and, below these, a marvellous hair-shirt. And in
a S. Paul, who has the right arm leaning on his naked sword, and the
head resting on the hand, one sees his profound air of knowledge, no
less well expressed than the transformation of his pride of aspect
into dignity. He is clothed in a simple red garment by way of
mantle, below which is a green tunic, after the manner of the
Apostles, and his feet are bare. There is also S. Mary Magdalene,
who is holding in her hands a most delicate vase of stone, in an
attitude of marvellous grace; turning her head, she seems full of
joy at her conversion; and indeed, in that kind of painting, I do
not think that anything better could be done. Very beautiful,
likewise, are the heads of S. Augustine and S. John the Evangelist.
Of a truth, other pictures may be said to be pictures, but those of
Raffaello life itself, for in his figures the flesh quivers, the
very breath may be perceived, the pulse beats, and the true
presentment of life is seen in them; on which account this picture
gave him, in addition to the fame that he had already, an even
greater name. Wherefore many verses were written in his honour, both
Latin and in the vulgar tongue, of which, in order not to make my
story longer than I have set out to do, I will cite only the
following:
Pingant sola alii referantque coloribus ora;
Cæciliæ os Raphael atque animum explicuit.
After this he also painted a little picture with small figures,
which is likewise at Bologna, in the house of Count Vincenzio
Ercolano, containing a Christ after the manner of Jove in Heaven,
surrounded by the four Evangelists as Ezekiel describes them, one in
the form of a man, another as a lion, the third an eagle, and the
fourth an ox, with a little landscape below to represent the earth:
which work, in its small proportions, is no less rare and beautiful
than his others in their greatness.
[Illustration: POPE LEO X WITH TWO CARDINALS
(_After the panel by =Raffaello da Urbino=. Florence: Pitti, 40_)
_M.S._]
To the Counts of Canossa in Verona he sent a large picture of equal
excellence, in which is a very beautiful Nativity of Our Lord, with
a daybreak that is much extolled, as is also the S. Anne, and,
indeed, the whole work, which cannot be more highly praised than by
saying that it is by the hand of Raffaello da Urbino. Wherefore
those Counts rightly hold it in supreme veneration, nor have they
ever consented, for all the vast prices that have been offered to
them by many Princes, to sell it to anyone.
For Bindo Altoviti, he made a portrait of him when he was a young
man, which is held to be extraordinary; and likewise a picture of
Our Lady, which he sent to Florence, and which is now in the Palace
of Duke Cosimo, in the chapel of the new apartments, which were
built and painted by me, where it serves as altar-piece. In it is
painted a very old S. Anne, seated, and holding out to Our Lady her
Son, the features of whose countenance, as well as the whole of His
nude form, are so beautiful that with His smile He rejoices whoever
beholds Him; besides which, Raffaello depicted, in painting the
Madonna, all the beauty that can be imparted to the aspect of a
Virgin, with the complement of chaste humility in the eyes, honour
in the brow, grace in the nose, and virtue in the mouth; not to
mention that her raiment is such as to reveal infinite simplicity
and dignity. And, indeed, I do not think that there is anything
better to be seen than this whole work. There is a nude S. John,
seated, with a female saint, who is likewise very beautiful; and for
background there is a building, in which he painted a linen-covered
window that gives light to the room wherein are the figures.
In Rome he made a picture of good size, in which he portrayed Pope
Leo, Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, and Cardinal de' Rossi. In this the
figures appear to be not painted, but in full relief; there is the
pile of the velvet, with the damask of the Pope's vestments shining
and rustling, the fur of the linings soft and natural, and the gold
and silk so counterfeited that they do not seem to be in colour, but
real gold and silk. There is an illuminated book of parchment, which
appears more real than the reality; and a little bell of wrought
silver, which is more beautiful than words can tell. Among other
things, also, is a ball of burnished gold on the Pope's chair,
wherein are reflected, as if it were a mirror (such is its
brightness), the light from the windows, the shoulders of the Pope,
and the walls round the room. And all these things are executed with
such diligence, that one may believe without any manner of doubt
that no master is able, or is ever likely to be able, to do better.
For this work the Pope was pleased to reward him very richly; and
the picture is still to be seen in Florence, in the guardaroba of
the Duke. In like manner he executed portraits of Duke Lorenzo and
Duke Giuliano, with a perfect grace of colouring not achieved by any
other than himself, which are in the possession of the heirs of
Ottaviano de' Medici at Florence.
Thereupon there came to Raffaello a great increase of glory, and
likewise of rewards; and for this reason, in order to leave some
memorial of himself, he caused a palace to be built in the Borgo
Nuovo at Rome, which Bramante executed with castings. Now, the fame
of this most noble craftsman, by reason of the aforesaid works and
many others, having passed into France and Flanders, Albrecht Dürer,
a most marvellous German painter, and an engraver of very beautiful
copperplates, rendered tribute to Raffaello out of his own works,
and sent to him a portrait of himself, a head, executed by him in
gouache on a cloth of fine linen, which showed the same on either
side, the lights being transparent and obtained without lead-white,
while the only grounding and colouring was done with water-colours,
the white of the cloth serving for the ground of the bright parts.
This work seemed to Raffaello to be marvellous, and he sent him,
therefore, many drawings executed by his own hand, which were
received very gladly by Albrecht. That head was among the
possessions of Giulio Romano, the heir of Raffaello, in Mantua.
Raffaello, having thus seen the manner of the engravings of Albrecht
Dürer, and desiring on his own behalf to show what could be done
with his work by such an art, caused Marc' Antonio Bolognese to make
a very thorough study of the method; and that master became so
excellent, that Raffaello commissioned him to make prints of his
first works, such as the drawing of the Innocents, a Last Supper,
the Neptune, and the S. Cecilia being boiled in oil. Marc' Antonio
afterwards made for Raffaello a number of other engravings, which
Raffaello finally gave to Baviera, his assistant, who had charge of
a mistress whom Raffaello loved to the day of his death. Of her he
made a very beautiful portrait, wherein she seemed wholly alive: and
this is now in Florence, in the possession of that most gentle of
men, Matteo Botti, a Florentine merchant, and an intimate friend of
every able person, and particularly of painters, who treasures it
as a relic, on account of the love that he bears to art, and above
all to Raffaello. And no less esteem is shown to the works of our
arts and to the craftsmen by his brother, Simon Botti, who, besides
being held by us all to be one of the most loving spirits that show
favour to the men of our professions, is held in estimation by me in
particular as the best and greatest friend that ever man loved after
a long experience; not to mention the good judgment that he has and
shows in matters of art.
But to return to the engravings; the favour shown by Raffaello to
Baviera was the reason that there afterwards sprang up Marco da
Ravenna and a host of others, insomuch that the dearth of copper
engravings was changed into that abundance that we see at the
present day. Thereupon Ugo da Carpi, having a brain inclined to
ingenious and fanciful things, and showing beautiful invention,
discovered the method of wood-engraving, whereby, with three blocks,
giving the middle values, the lights, and the shadows, it is
possible to imitate drawings in chiaroscuro, which was certainly a
thing of beautiful and fanciful invention; and from this, also,
there afterwards came an abundance of prints, as will be related
with greater detail in the Life of Marc' Antonio Bolognese.
Raffaello then painted for the Monastery of the Monks of Monte
Oliveto, called S. Maria dello Spasmo, at Palermo, a panel-picture
of Christ bearing the Cross, which is held to be a marvellous work.
In this may be seen the impious ministers of the Crucifixion,
leading Him with wrath and fury to His death on Mount Calvary; and
Christ, broken with agony at the near approach of death, has fallen
to the ground under the weight of the Tree of the Cross, and, bathed
with sweat and blood, turns towards the Maries, who are in a storm
of weeping. Moreover, there is seen among them Veronica, who
stretches out her arms and offers Him a cloth, with an expression of
the tenderest love, not to mention that the work is full of
men-at-arms both on horseback and on foot, who are pouring forth
from the gate of Jerusalem with the standards of justice in their
hands, in various most beautiful attitudes. This panel, when
completely finished, but not yet brought to its resting-place, was
very near coming to an evil end, for the story goes that after it
had been put on shipboard, in order that it might be carried to
Palermo, a terrible storm dashed against a rock the ship that was
carrying it, in such a manner that the timbers broke asunder, and
all the men were lost, together with the merchandise, save only the
panel, which, safely packed in its case, was washed by the sea on to
the shore of Genoa. There, having been fished up and drawn to land,
it was found to be a thing divine, and was put into safe keeping;
for it had remained undamaged and without any hurt or blemish, since
even the fury of the winds and the waves of the sea had respect for
the beauty of such a work. The news of this being then bruited
abroad, the monks took measures to recover it, and no sooner had it
been restored to them, by the favour of the Pope, than they gave
satisfaction, and that liberally, to those who had rescued it.
Thereupon it was once more put on board ship and brought at last to
Sicily, where they set it up in Palermo; in which place it has more
fame and reputation than the Mount of Vulcan itself.
While Raffaello was engaged on these works, which, having to gratify
great and distinguished persons, he could not refuse to
undertake--not to mention that his own private interests prevented
him from saying them nay--yet for all this he never ceased to carry
on the series of pictures that he had begun in the Papal apartments
and halls; wherein he always kept men who pursued the work from his
own designs, while he himself, continually supervising everything,
lent to so vast an enterprise the aid of the best efforts of which
he was capable. No long time passed, therefore, before he threw open
that apartment of the Borgia Tower in which he had painted a scene
on every wall, two above the windows, and two others on the unbroken
walls. In one was the Burning of the Borgo Vecchio of Rome, when,
all other methods having failed to put out the fire, S. Leo IV
presents himself at the Loggia of his Palace and extinguishes it
completely with his benediction. In this scene are represented
various perils. On one side are women who are bearing vessels filled
with water in their hands and on their heads, whereby to extinguish
the flames; and their hair and draperies are blown about by the
terrible fury of a tempestuous wind. Others, who are seeking to
throw water on the fire, are blinded by the smoke and wholly
bewildered. On the other side, after the manner of Virgil's story
of Anchises being carried by Æneas, is shown an old sick man,
overcome by his infirmity and the flames of the fire; and in the
figure of the young man are seen courage and strength, and great
effort in all his limbs under the weight of the old man, who lies
helpless on the young man's back. He is followed by an old woman
with bare feet and disordered garments, who is flying from the fire;
and a little naked boy runs before them. On the top of some ruins,
likewise, may be seen a naked woman, with hair all dishevelled, who
has her child in her hands and is throwing him to a man of her
house, who, having escaped from the flames, is standing in the
street on tiptoe, with arms outstretched to receive the child
wrapped in swathing-bands; wherein the eager anxiety of the woman to
save her son may be recognized no less clearly than her torment in
the peril of the fierce flames, which are already licking around
her. And no less suffering is evident in him who is receiving the
child, both for its sake and on account of his own fear of death.
Nor is it possible to describe the imagination that this most
ingenious and most marvellous craftsman showed in a mother with her
feet bare, her garments in disorder, her girdle unbound, and her
hair dishevelled, who has gathered her children before her and is
driving them on, holding part of her clothing in one hand, that they
may escape from the ruins and from that blazing furnace; not to
mention that there are also some women who, kneeling before the
Pope, appear to be praying to his Holiness that he should make the
fire cease.
The next scene is from the life of the same S. Leo IV, wherein
Raffaello depicted the port of Ostia occupied by the fleet of the
Turks, who had come to take the Pope prisoner. The Christians may be
seen fighting against that fleet on the sea; and already there has
come to the harbour an endless number of prisoners, who are
disembarking from a boat and being dragged by the beard by some
soldiers, who are very beautiful in features and most spirited in
their attitudes. The prisoners, dressed in the motley garb of
galley-slaves, are being led before S. Leo, whose figure is a
portrait of Pope Leo X. Here Raffaello painted his Holiness in
pontificals, between Cardinal Santa Maria in Portico, who was
Bernardo Divizio of Bibbiena, and Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, who
afterwards became Pope Clement. Nor is it possible to describe in
detail the beautiful conceptions that this most ingenious craftsman
showed in the expressions of the prisoners, wherein one can
recognize, without speech, their grief and the fear of death.
In the first of the other two scenes is Pope Leo X consecrating the
most Christian King, Francis I of France, chanting the Mass in his
pontificals, and blessing the oil for the anointing of the King, and
likewise the royal crown. There, besides the great number of
Cardinals and Bishops in their robes, who are assisting, he
portrayed from life many Ambassadors and other persons, and also
some figures dressed in the French fashion, according to the style
of that time. In the other scene he painted the Crowning of the same
King, wherein are portraits from life of the Pope and of Francis,
one in armour and the other in his pontificals; besides which, all
the Cardinals, Bishops, Chamberlains, Esquires, and Grooms of the
Chamber are seated in due order in their places, as is the custom in
the chapel, all in their robes and portrayed from life, among them
being Giannozzo Pandolfini, Bishop of Troia, a close friend of
Raffaello, with many others who were distinguished at that time.
Near the King is a little boy kneeling, who is holding the royal
crown--a portrait of Ippolito de' Medici, who afterwards became
Cardinal and Vice-Chancellor, a man of great repute, and much the
friend not only of this art, but of all others, to whose blessed
memory I acknowledge a vast obligation, seeing that my first steps,
such as they were, were taken under his auspices.
It is not possible to write of every detail in the works of this
craftsman, wherein every least thing, although dumb, appears to have
speech: save only of the bases executed below these pictures, with
various figures of defenders and benefactors of the Church, and
various terminal figures on either side of them, the whole being
wrought in such a manner that everything reveals spirit, feeling,
and thought, and with such a harmony and unity of colouring that
nothing better can be conceived. And since the ceiling of that
apartment had been painted by Pietro Perugino, his master, Raffaello
would not destroy it, moved by respect for his memory and by the
love that he bore to the man who had been the origin of the rank
that he held in his art.
Such was the greatness of this master, that he kept designers all
over Italy, at Pozzuolo, and even in Greece; and he was for ever
searching out everything of the good that might help his art.
Now, continuing his work, he also painted a hall, wherein were some
figures of the Apostles and other saints in tabernacles, executed in
terretta; and there he caused to be made by Giovanni da Udine, his
disciple, who has no equal in the painting of animals, all the
animals that Pope Leo possessed, such as the chameleon, the
civet-cats, the apes, the parrots, the lions, the elephants, and
other beasts even more strange. And besides embellishing the Palace
greatly with grotesques and varied pavements, he also gave the
designs for the Papal staircases, as well as for the loggie begun by
the architect Bramante, but left unfinished on account of his death,
and afterwards carried out with the new design and architecture of
Raffaello, who made for this a model of wood with better proportion
and adornment than had been accomplished by Bramante. The Pope
wishing to demonstrate the greatness and magnificence of his
generous ambition, Raffaello made the designs for the ornaments in
stucco and for the scenes that were painted there, and likewise for
the compartments; and as for the stucco and the grotesques, he
placed at the head of that work Giovanni da Udine, and the figures
he entrusted to Giulio Romano, although that master worked but
little at them; and he also employed Giovanni Francesco, Il Bologna,
Perino del Vaga, Pellegrino da Modena, Vincenzio da San Gimignano,
and Polidoro da Caravaggio, with many other painters, who executed
scenes and figures and other things that were required throughout
that work, which Raffaello caused to be completed with such
perfection, that he even sent to Florence for pavements by the hand
of Luca della Robbia. Wherefore it is certain that with regard to
the paintings, the stucco-ornaments, the arrangement, or any of the
beautiful inventions, no one would be able to execute or even to
imagine a more marvellous work; and its beauty was the reason that
Raffaello received the charge of all the works of painting and
architecture that were in progress in the Palace.
It is said that the courtesy of Raffaello was such that he prevailed
upon the masons, in order that he might accommodate his friends, not
to build the walls absolutely solid and unbroken, but to leave,
above the old rooms below, various openings and spaces for the
storage of barrels, flasks, and wood; which holes and spaces so
weakened the lower part of the masonry, that afterwards they had to
be filled in, because the whole was beginning to show cracks. He
commissioned Gian Barile to adorn all the doors and ceilings of
woodwork with a good number of carvings, which he executed and
finished with beautiful grace.
He gave architectural designs for the Vigna[26] of the Pope, and for
many houses in the Borgo; in particular, for the Palace of Messer
Giovanni Battista dall' Aquila, which was a very beautiful work. He
also designed one for the Bishop of Troia, who had it built in the
Via di S. Gallo at Florence. For the Black Friars of S. Sisto in
Piacenza, he painted the picture for their high-altar, containing
the Madonna with S. Sisto and S. Barbara, a truly rare and
extraordinary work. He executed many pictures to be sent into
France, and in particular, for the King, a S. Michael fighting with
the Devil, which was held to be a marvellous thing. In this work he
painted a fire-scarred rock, to represent the centre of the earth,
from the fissures of which were issuing sulphurous flames; and in
Lucifer, whose scorched and burned limbs are painted with various
tints of flesh-colour, could be seen all the shades of anger that
his venomous and swollen pride calls up against Him who overbears
the greatness of him who is deprived of any kingdom where there
might be peace, and doomed to suffer perpetual punishment. The
opposite may be perceived in the S. Michael, clad in armour of iron
and gold, who, although he is painted with a celestial air, yet has
valour, force, and terror in his aspect, and has already thrown
Lucifer down and hurled him backwards with his spear. In a word,
this work was of such a kind that he won for it, and rightly, a most
honourable reward from that King. He made portraits of Beatrice of
Ferrara and other ladies, and in particular that of his own
mistress, with an endless number of others.
Raffaello was a very amorous person, delighting much in women, and
ever ready to serve them; which was the reason that, in the pursuit
of his carnal pleasures, he found his friends more complacent and
indulgent towards him than perchance was right. Wherefore, when his
dear friend Agostino Chigi commissioned him to paint the first
loggia in his palace, Raffaello was not able to give much attention
to his work, on account of the love that he had for his mistress; at
which Agostino fell into such despair, that he so contrived by means
of others, by himself, and in other ways, as to bring it about,
although only with difficulty, that this lady should come to live
continually with Raffaello in that part of the house where he was
working; and in this manner the work was brought to completion. For
this work he made all the cartoons, and he coloured many of the
figures in fresco with his own hand. And on the ceiling he made the
Council of the Gods in Heaven, wherein, in the forms of the Gods,
are seen many vestments and lineaments copied from the antique, and
executed with very beautiful grace and draughtsmanship. In like
manner he made the Marriage of Psyche, with ministers serving Jove,
and the Graces scattering flowers over the table. In the spandrels
of the vaulting he executed many scenes, in one of which is Mercury
with his flute, who, as he flies, has all the appearance of
descending from Heaven; and in another is Jove with an air of
celestial dignity, kissing Ganymede; and in another, likewise, lower
down, is the Car of Venus, and the Graces, with Mercury, drawing
Psyche up to Heaven; with many other scenes from the poets in the
other spandrels. And in the spherical triangles of the vaulting
above the arches, between the spandrels, are many most beautiful
little boys in foreshortening, hovering in the air and carrying all
the instruments of the gods; Jove's lightnings and thunderbolts, the
helmet, sword, and shield of Mars, Vulcan's hammers, the club and
lion-skin of Hercules, the caduceus of Mercury, Pan's pipes, and the
agricultural rakes of Vertumnus. All are accompanied by animals
appropriate to their character; and the whole work, both as picture
and as poem, is truly beautiful. Round these scenes he caused
Giovanni da Udine to make a border of all kinds of flowers, foliage,
and fruits, in festoons, which are as beautiful as they could be.