Monte Cassino, a seat of the Black Friars in the kingdom of Naples; the
S. Peter and the S. Paul that are at the foot of the steps of S. Pietro
in Rome, and the tomb of Pope Paul II in S. Pietro. The figure that
Paolo made in competition with Mino was the S. Paul that is to be seen
on a marble base at the head of the Ponte S. Angelo, which stood
unnoticed for a long time in front of the Chapel of Sixtus IV. It
afterwards came to pass that one day Pope Clement VII observed this
figure, which pleased him greatly, for he was a man of knowledge and
judgment in such matters; wherefore he determined to have a S. Peter
made of the same size, and also, after removing two little chapels of
marble, dedicated to those Apostles, which stood at the head of the
Ponte S. Angelo and obstructed the view of the Castle, to put these two
statues in their place.
It may be read in the work of Antonio Filarete that Paolo was not only a
sculptor but also an able goldsmith, and that he wrought part of the
twelve Apostles in silver which stood, before the sack of Rome, over the
altar of the Papal Chapel. Part of the work of these statues was done by
Niccolo della Guardia and Pietro Paolo da Todi, disciples of Paolo, who
were afterwards passing good masters in sculpture, as is seen from the
tombs of Pope Pius II and Pope Pius III, on which the said Pontiffs are
portrayed from nature. By the hand of the same men are medals of three
Emperors and other great persons. The said Paolo made a statue of an
armed man on horseback, which is now on the ground in S. Pietro, near
the Chapel of S. Andrea. A pupil of Paolo was the Roman Gian Cristoforo,
who was an able sculptor; and there are certain works by his hand in S.
Maria Trastevere and in other places.
Chimenti Camicia, of whose origin nothing is known save that he was a
Florentine, was employed in the service of the King of Hungary, for whom
he made palaces, gardens, fountains, churches, fortresses, and many
other buildings of importance, with ornaments, carvings, decorated
ceilings, and other things of the kind, which were executed with much
diligence by Baccio Cellini. After these works, drawn by love for his
country, Chimenti returned to Florence, whence he sent to Baccio (who
remained there), as presents for the King, certain pictures by the hand
of Berto Linaiuolo, which were held very beautiful in Hungary and much
extolled by that King. This Berto (of whom I will not refrain from
making this record as well), after having painted many pictures in a
beautiful manner, which are in the houses of many citizens, died at the
very height of his powers, cutting short the great expectations that
had been formed of him. But to return to Chimenti; he had not been long
in Florence when he returned to Hungary, where he continued to serve the
King; but while he was journeying on the Danube in order to give designs
for mills, in consequence of fatigue he was seized by a sickness, which
carried him off in a few days to the other life. The works of these
masters date about the year 1470.
About the same time, during the pontificate of Pope Sixtus IV, there
lived in Rome one Baccio Pintelli, a Florentine, who was rewarded for
the great skill that he had in architecture by being employed by that
Pope in all his building enterprises. With his design, then, were built
the Church and Convent of S. Maria del Popolo, and certain highly ornate
chapels therein, particularly that of Domenico della Rovere, Cardinal of
San Clemente and nephew of that Pope. The same Pontiff erected a palace
in Borgo Vecchio after the design of Baccio, which was then held to be a
very beautiful and well-planned edifice. The same master built the Great
Library under the apartments of Niccola, and that chapel in the Palace
that is called the Sistine, which is adorned with beautiful paintings.
He also rebuilt the structure of the new Hospital of S. Spirito in
Sassia (which was burnt down almost to the foundations in the year
1471), adding to it a very long loggia and all the useful conveniences
that could be desired. Within the hospital, along its whole length, he
caused scenes to be painted from the life of Pope Sixtus, from his birth
up to the completion of that building--nay, up to the end of his life.
He also made the bridge that is called the Ponte Sisto, from the name of
that Pontiff; this was held to be an excellent work, because Baccio
built it with such stout piers and with the weight so well distributed,
that it is very strong and very well founded. In the year of the Jubilee
of 1475, likewise, he built many new little churches throughout Rome,
which are recognized by the arms of Pope Sixtus--in particular, S.
Apostolo, S. Pietro in Vincula, and S. Sisto. For Cardinal Guglielmo,
Bishop of Ostia, he made the model of his church, with that of the
facade and of the steps, in the manner wherein they are seen to-day.
Many declare that the design of the Church of S. Pietro a Montorio in
Rome was by the hand of Baccio, but I cannot say with truth that I have
found this to be so. This church was built at the expense of the King
of Portugal, almost at the same time that the Spanish nation had the
Church of S. Jacopo erected in Rome.
The talent of Baccio was so highly esteemed by that Pontiff, that he
would never have done anything in the way of building without his
counsel; wherefore, in the year 1480, hearing that the Church and
Convent of S. Francesco at Assisi were threatening to fall, he sent
Baccio thither; and he, making a very stout counterfort on the side of
the plain, rendered that marvellous fabric perfectly secure. On one
buttress he placed a statue of that Pontiff, who, not many years before,
had caused to be made in that same convent many apartments, in the form
of chambers and halls, which are known not only by their magnificence
but also by the arms of the said Pope that are seen in them. In the
courtyard there is one coat of arms much larger than the others, with
some Latin verses in praise of Pope Sixtus IV, who gave many proofs that
he held that holy place in great veneration.
ANDREA DAL CASTAGNO OF MUGELLO AND DOMENICO VINIZIANO
LIVES OF ANDREA DAL CASTAGNO OF MUGELLO AND DOMENICO VINIZIANO
[_ANDREA DEGL' IMPICCATI AND DOMENICO DA VENEZIA_]
PAINTERS
How reprehensible is the vice of envy, which should never exist in
anyone, when found in a man of excellence, and how wicked and horrible a
thing it is to seek under the guise of a feigned friendship to
extinguish not only the fame and glory of another but his very life, I
truly believe it to be impossible to express with words, for the
wickedness of the act overcomes all power and force of speech, however
eloquent. For this reason, without enlarging further on this subject, I
will only say that in such men there dwells a spirit not merely inhuman
and savage but wholly cruel and devilish, and so far removed from any
sort of virtue that they are no longer men or even animals, and do not
deserve to live. For even as emulation and rivalry, when men seek by
honest endeavour to vanquish and surpass those greater than themselves
in order to acquire glory and honour, are things worthy to be praised
and to be held in esteem as necessary and useful to the world, so, on
the contrary, the wickedness of envy deserves a proportionately greater
meed of blame and vituperation, when, being unable to endure the honour
and esteem of others, it sets to work to deprive of life those whom it
cannot despoil of glory; as did that miserable Andrea dal Castagno, who
was truly great and excellent in painting and design, but even more
notable for the rancour and envy that he bore towards other painters,
insomuch that with the blackness of his crime he concealed and obscured
the splendour of his talents.
This man, having been born at a small village called Castagno in
Mugello, in the territory of Florence, took that name as his own
surname when he came to live in Florence, which came about in the
following manner. Having been left without a father in his earliest
childhood, he was adopted by an uncle, who employed him for many years
in watching his herds, since he saw him to be very ready and alert, and
so masterful, that he could look after not only his cattle but the
pastures and everything else that touched his own interest. Now, while
he was following this calling, it came to pass one day that he chanced
to seek shelter from the rain in a place wherein one of those local
painters, who work for small prices, was painting a shrine for a
peasant. Whereupon Andrea, who had never seen anything of the kind
before, was seized by a sudden marvel and began to look most intently at
the work and to study its manner; and there came to him on the spot a
very great desire and so violent a love for that art, that without
losing time he began to scratch drawings of animals and figures on walls
and stones with pieces of charcoal or with the point of his knife, in so
masterly a manner that it caused no small marvel to all who saw them.
The fame of this new study of Andrea's then began to spread among the
peasants; whereupon, as his good-fortune would have it, the matter
coming to the ears of a Florentine gentleman named Bernardetto de'
Medici, whose possessions were in that district, he expressed a wish to
know the boy; and finally, having seen him and having heard him
discourse with great readiness, he asked him whether he would like to
learn the art of painting. Andrea answered that nothing could happen to
him that would be more welcome or more pleasing than this, and
Bernardetto took the boy with him to Florence, to the end that he might
become perfect in that art, and set him to work with one of those
masters who were then esteemed the best.
[Illustration: THE LAST SUPPER
(_After the fresco by =Andrea dal Castagno=. Florence: S. Apollonia_)
_Alinari_]
Thereupon Andrea, following the art of painting and devoting himself
heart and soul to its studies, displayed very great intelligence in the
difficulties of that art, above all in draughtsmanship. But he was not
so successful in the colouring of his works, which he made somewhat
crude and harsh, thus impairing to a great extent their excellence and
grace, and depriving them, above all, of a certain quality of
loveliness, which is not found in his colouring. He showed very great
boldness in the movements of his figures and much vehemence in the
heads both of men and of women, making them grave in aspect and
excellent in draughtsmanship. There are works coloured in fresco,
painted by his hand in his early youth, in the cloister of S. Miniato al
Monte as one descends from the church to go into the convent, including
a story of S. Miniato and S. Cresci leaving their father and mother. In
S. Benedetto, a most beautiful monastery without the Porta a Pinti, both
in a cloister and in the church, there were many pictures by the hand of
Andrea, of which there is no need to make mention, since they were
thrown to the ground in the siege of Florence. Within the city, in the
first cloister of the Monastery of the Monks of the Angeli, opposite to
the principal door, he painted the Crucifix that is still there to-day,
with the Madonna, S. John, S. Benedict, and S. Romualdo; and at the head
of the cloister, which is above the garden, he made another like it,
only varying the heads and a few other details. In S. Trinita, beside
the Chapel of Maestro Luca, he painted a S. Andrew. In a hall at Legnaia
he painted many illustrious men for Pandolfo Pandolfini; and a standard
to be borne in processions, which is held very beautiful, for the
Company of the Evangelist.
In certain chapels of the Church of the Servi in the said city he
wrought three flat niches in fresco. In one of these, that of S.
Giuliano, there are scenes from the life of that Saint, with a good
number of figures, and a dog in foreshortening that was much extolled.
Above this, in the chapel dedicated to S. Girolamo, he painted that
Saint shaven and wasted away, with good design and great diligence. Over
this he painted a Trinity, with a Crucifix so well foreshortened that
Andrea deserves to be greatly extolled for it, seeing that he executed
the foreshortenings with a much better and more modern manner than the
others before him had shown; but this picture, having been afterwards
covered with a panel by the family of the Montaguti, can no longer be
seen. In the third, which is beside the one below the organ, and which
was erected by Messer Orlando de' Medici, he painted Lazarus, Martha,
and the Magdalene. For the Nuns of S. Giuliano, over their door, he made
a Crucifix in fresco, with a Madonna, a S. Dominic, a S. Julian, and a
S. John; which picture, one of the best that Andrea ever made, is
universally praised by all craftsmen.
In the Chapel of the Cavalcanti in S. Croce he painted a S. John the
Baptist and a S. Francis, which are held to be very good figures. But
what caused all the craftsmen to marvel was a very beautiful picture in
fresco that he made at the head of the new cloister of the said convent,
opposite to the door, of Christ being scourged at the Column, wherein he
painted a loggia with columns in perspective, and groined vaulting with
diminishing lines, and walls inlaid in a pattern of mandorle, with so
much art and so much diligence, that he showed that he had no less
knowledge of the difficulties of perspective than he had of design in
painting. In the same scene there are beautiful and most animated
attitudes in those who are scourging Christ, showing hatred and rage in
their faces as clearly as Jesus Christ is showing patience and humility.
In the body of Christ, which is bound tightly with ropes to the Column,
it appears that Andrea tried to demonstrate the suffering of the flesh,
while the Divinity concealed in that body maintains a certain noble
splendour, which seems to be moving Pilate, who is seated among his
councillors, to seek to find some means of liberating Him. In short,
this picture is such that, if the little care that has been taken of it
had not allowed it to be scratched and spoilt by children and
simpletons, who have scratched all the heads and the arms and almost the
entire persons of the Jews, as though they would thus take vengeance on
them for the wrongs of Our Lord, it would certainly be the most
beautiful of all the works of Andrea. And if Nature had given grace of
colouring to this craftsman, even as she gave him invention and design,
he would have been held truly marvellous.
In S. Maria del Fiore he painted the image of Niccolo da Tolentino on
horseback; and while he was working at this a boy who was passing shook
his ladder, whereupon he flew into such a rage, like the brutal man that
he was, that he jumped down and ran after him as far as the Canto de'
Pazzi. In the cemetery of S. Maria Nuova, also, below the Ossa, he
painted a S. Andrew, which gave so much satisfaction that he was
afterwards commissioned to paint the Last Supper of Christ with His
Apostles in the refectory, where the nurses and other attendants have
their meals. Having acquired favour through this work with the house of
Portinari and with the Director of the hospital, he was appointed to
paint a part of the principal chapel, of which another part was allotted
to Alesso Baldovinetti, and the third to the then greatly celebrated
painter Domenico da Venezia, who had been summoned to Florence by reason
of the new method that he knew of painting in oil. Now, while each of
them applied himself to his part of the work, Andrea was very envious of
Domenico, because, while knowing himself to be superior to the other in
design, he was much displeased that the Venetian, although a foreigner,
should be welcomed and entertained by the citizens; wherefore anger and
disdain moved him so strongly, that he began to think whether he could
not in one way or another remove him from his path. Andrea was no less
crafty in dissimulation than he was excellent in painting, being
cheerful of countenance at his pleasure, ready of speech, fiery in
spirit, and as resolute in every bodily action as he was in mind; he
felt towards others as he did towards Domenico, and, if he saw some
error in the works of other craftsmen, he was wont to mark it secretly
with his nail. And in his youth, when his works were criticized in any
respect, he would give the critics to know by means of blows and insults
that he was ever able and willing to take revenge in one way or another
for any affront.
But let us say something of Domenico, before we come to the work of the
said chapel. Before coming to Florence, Domenico had painted some
pictures with much grace in the Sacristy of S. Maria at Loreto, in
company with Piero della Francesca; which pictures, besides what he had
wrought in other places (such as an apartment in the house of the
Baglioni in Perugia, which is now in ruins), had made his fame known in
Florence. Being summoned to that city, before doing anything else, he
painted a Madonna in the midst of some saints, in fresco, in a shrine on
the Canto de' Carnesecchi, at the corner of two streets, of which one
leads to the new Piazza di S. Maria Novella and the other to the old.
This work, being approved and greatly extolled by the citizens and by
the craftsmen of those times, caused even greater disdain and envy to
blaze up in the accursed mind of Andrea against poor Domenico;
wherefore Andrea, having determined to effect by deceit and treachery
what he could not carry out openly without manifest peril to himself,
pretended to be very much the friend of Domenico, who, being a good and
affectionate fellow, fond of singing and devoted to playing on the lute,
received him as a friend very willingly, thinking Andrea to be a clever
and amusing person. And so, continuing this friendship, so true on one
side and so false on the other, they would come together every night to
make merry and to serenade their mistresses; and this gave great delight
to Domenico, who, loving Andrea sincerely, taught him the method of
colouring in oil, which as yet was not known in Tuscany.
Andrea, then (to take events in their due order), working on his wall in
the Chapel of S. Maria Nuova, painted an Annunciation, which is held
very beautiful, for in that work he painted the Angel in the air, which
had never been done up to that time. But a much more beautiful work is
held to be that wherein he made the Madonna ascending the steps of the
Temple, on which he depicted many beggars, and one among them hitting
another on the head with a pitcher; and not only that figure but all the
others are wondrously beautiful, for he wrought them with much care and
love, out of rivalry with Domenico. There is seen, also, in the middle
of a square, an octagonal temple drawn in perspective, standing by
itself and full of pilasters and niches, with the facade very richly
adorned with figures painted to look like marble. Round the square are
various very beautiful buildings; and on one side of these there falls
the shadow of the temple, caused by the light of the sun--a beautiful
conception, carried out with great ingenuity and art.
Maestro Domenico, on his part, painting in oil, represented Joachim
visiting his consort S. Anna, and below this the Birth of Our Lady,
wherein he depicted a very ornate chamber, and a boy beating very
gracefully with a hammer on the door of the said chamber. Beneath this
he painted the Marriage of the Virgin, with a good number of portraits
from the life, among which are those of Messer Bernardetto de' Medici,
Constable of the Florentines, wearing a large red barret-cap; Bernardo
Guadagni, who was Gonfalonier; Folco Portinari, and others of that
family. He also painted a dwarf breaking a staff, very life-like, and
some women wearing garments customary in those times, lovely and
graceful beyond belief. But this work remained unfinished, for reasons
that will be told below.
[Illustration: ANDREA DAL CASTAGNO: DANTE
_(Florence: S. Apollonia. Fresco)_]
Meanwhile Andrea had painted in oil on his wall the Death of Our Lady,
in which, both by reason of his rivalry with Domenico and in order to
make himself known for the able master that he truly was, he wrought in
foreshortening, with incredible diligence, a bier containing the dead
Virgin, which appears to be three braccia in length, although it is not
more than one and a half. Round her are the Apostles, wrought in such a
manner, that, although there is seen in their faces their joy at seeing
their Madonna borne to Heaven by Jesus Christ, there is also seen in
them their bitter sorrow at being left on earth without her. Among the
Apostles are some angels holding burning lights, with beautiful
expressions in their faces, and so well executed that it is seen that he
was as well able to manage oil-colours as his rival Domenico. In these
pictures Andrea made portraits from life of Messer Rinaldo degli
Albizzi, Puccio Pucci, and Falganaccio, who brought about the liberation
of Cosimo de' Medici, together with Federigo Malevolti, who held the
keys of the Alberghetto. In like manner he portrayed Messer Bernardo di
Domenico della Volta, Director of that hospital, who is kneeling and
appears to be alive; and in a medallion at the beginning of the work he
painted himself with the face of Judas Iscariot, whom he resembled both
in appearance and in deed.
Now Andrea, having carried this work very nearly to completion, being
blinded by envy of the praises that he heard given to the talent of
Domenico, determined to remove him from his path; and after having
thought of many expedients, he put one of them into execution in the
following manner. One summer evening, according to his custom, Domenico
took his lute and went forth from S. Maria Nuova, leaving Andrea in his
room drawing, for he had refused to accept the invitation to take his
recreation with Domenico, under the pretext of having to do certain
drawings of importance. Domenico therefore went to take his pleasure by
himself, and Andrea set himself to wait for him in hiding behind a
street corner; and when Domenico, on his way home, came up to him, he
crushed his lute and his stomach at one and the same time with certain
pieces of lead, and then, thinking that he had not yet finished him off,
beat him grievously on the head with the same weapons; and finally,
leaving him on the ground, he returned to his room in S. Maria Nuova,
where he put the door ajar and sat down to his drawing in the manner
that he had been left by Domenico. Meanwhile an uproar had arisen, and
the servants, hearing of the matter, ran to call Andrea and to give the
bad news to the murderer and traitor himself, who, running to where the
others were standing round Domenico, was not to be consoled, and kept
crying out: "Alas, my brother! Alas, my brother!" Finally Domenico
expired in his arms; nor could it be discovered, for all the diligence
that was used, who had murdered him; and if Andrea had not revealed the
truth in confession on his death-bed, it would not be known now.