Pisa, which was not little, he returned to Florence as poor as he had
left it, and there he made many panels and works in fresco, whereof
there is no need to make further record. Meanwhile there had been
entrusted to Bruno, his great friend (who had returned with him from
Pisa, where they had squandered everything), some works in S. Maria
Novella, and seeing that Bruno had not much design or invention,
Buonamico designed for him all that he afterwards put into execution on
a wall in the said church, opposite to the pulpit and as long as the
space between column and column, and that was the story of S. Maurice
and his companions, who were beheaded for the faith of Jesus Christ.
This work Bruno made for Guido Campese, then Constable of the
Florentines, whose portrait he had made before he died in the year 1312;
in that work he painted him in his armour, as was the custom in those
times, and behind him he made a line of men-at-arms, armed in ancient
fashion, who make a beautiful effect, while Guido himself is kneeling
before a Madonna who has the Child Jesus in her arms, and is appearing
to be recommended to her by S. Dominic and S. Agnes, who are on either
side of him. Although this picture is not very beautiful, yet,
considering the design and invention of Buonamico, it is worthy to be in
part praised, and above all by reason of the costumes, helmets, and
other armour of those times. And I have availed myself of it in some
scenes that I have made for the Lord Duke Cosimo, wherein it was
necessary to represent men armed in ancient fashion, and other similar
things of that age; which work has greatly pleased his most Illustrious
Excellency and others who have seen it. And from this it can be seen how
much benefit may be gained from the inventions and works made by these
ancients, although they may not be very perfect, and in what fashion
profit and advantage can be drawn from their performances, since they
opened the way for us to the marvels that have been made up to our day
and are being made continually.
While Bruno was making this work, a peasant desiring that Buonamico
should make him a S. Christopher, they came to an agreement in Florence
and arranged a contract in this fashion, that the price should be eight
florins and that the figure should be twelve braccia high. Buonamico,
then, having gone to the church where he was to make the S. Christopher,
found that by reason of its not being more than nine braccia either in
height or in length, he could not, either without or within, accommodate
the figure in a manner that it might stand well; wherefore he made up
his mind, since it would not go in upright, to make it within the church
lying down. But since, even so, the whole length would not go in, he was
forced to bend it from the knees downwards on to the wall at the head of
the church. The work finished, the peasant would by no means pay for it;
nay, he made an outcry and said he had been cozened. The matter,
therefore, going before the Justices, it was judged, according to the
contract, that Buonamico was in the right.
In S. Giovanni fra l'Arcore was a very beautiful Passion of Christ by
the hand of Buonamico, and among other things that were much praised
therein was a Judas hanging from a tree, made with much judgment and
beautiful manner. An old man, likewise, who was blowing his nose, was
most natural, and the Maries, broken with weeping, had expressions and
aspects so sad, that they deserved to be greatly praised, since that age
had not as yet much facility in the method of representing the emotions
of the soul with the brush. On the same wall there was a good figure in
a S. Ivo of Brittany, who had many widows and orphans at his feet, and
two angels in the sky, who were crowning him, were made with the
sweetest manner. This edifice and the pictures together were thrown to
the ground in the year of the war of 1529.
In Cortona, also, for Messer Aldobrandino, Bishop of that city,
Buonamico painted many works in the Vescovado, and in particular the
chapel and panel of the high-altar; but seeing that everything was
thrown to the ground in renovating the palace and the church, there is
no need to make further mention of them. In S. Francesco, however, and
in S. Margherita, in the same city, there are still some pictures by the
hand of Buonamico. From Cortona going once more to Assisi, Buonamico
painted in fresco, in the lower Church of S. Francesco, the whole Chapel
of Cardinal Egidio Alvaro, a Spaniard; and because he acquitted himself
very well, he was therefore liberally rewarded by that Cardinal.
Finally, Buonamico having wrought many pictures throughout the whole
March, in returning to Florence he stopped at Perugia, and painted there
in fresco the Chapel of the Buontempi in the Church of S. Domenico,
making therein stories of the life of S. Catherine, virgin and martyr.
And in the Church of S. Domenico Vecchio, on one wall, he painted in
fresco the scene when the same Catherine, daughter of King Costa, making
disputation, is convincing and converting certain philosophers to the
faith of Christ; and seeing that this scene is more beautiful than any
other that Buonamico ever made, it can be said with truth that in this
work he surpassed himself. The people of Perugia, moved by this,
according to what Franco Sacchetti writes, commanded that he should
paint S. Ercolano, Bishop and Protector of that city, in the square;
wherefore, having agreed about the price, on the spot where the painting
was to be done there was made a screen of planks and matting, to the end
that the master might not be seen painting; and this made, he put his
hand to the work. But before ten days had passed, every passer-by asking
when this picture would be finished, as though such works were cast in
moulds,[15] the matter disgusted Buonamico; wherefore, having come to
the end of the work and being distracted with such importunity, he
determined within himself to take a gentle vengeance on the impatience
of these people. And this came to pass, for, when the work was finished,
before unveiling it, he let them see it, and it was entirely to their
satisfaction; but on the people of Perugia wishing to remove the screen
at once, Buonamico said that for two days longer they should leave it
standing, for the reason that he wished to retouch certain parts on the
dry; and so it was done. Buonamico, then, having mounted the
scaffolding, removed the great diadem of gold that he had given to the
Saint, raised in relief with plaster, as was the custom in those times,
and made him a crown, or rather garland, right round his head, of
roaches; and this done, one morning he settled with his host and went
off to Florence. Now, two days having passed, the people of Perugia, not
seeing the painter going about as they had been used, asked the host
what had become of him, and, hearing that he had returned to Florence,
went at once to remove the screen; and finding their S. Ercolano crowned
solemnly with roaches, they sent word of it immediately to their
governors. But although these sent horsemen post-haste to look for
Buonamico, it was all in vain, seeing that he had returned in great
haste to Florence. Having determined, then, to make a painter of their
own remove the crown of roaches and restore the diadem to the Saint,
they said all the evil that can be imagined about Buonamico and the rest
of the Florentines.
Buonamico, back in Florence and caring little about what the people of
Perugia might say, set to work and made many paintings, whereof, in
order not to be too long, there is no need to make mention. I will say
only this, that having painted in fresco at Calcinaia a Madonna with the
Child in her arms, he who had charged him to do it, in place of paying
him, gave him words; whence Buonamico, who was not used to being trifled
with or being fooled, determined to get his due by hook or by crook. And
so, having gone one morning to Calcinaia, he transformed the child that
he had painted in the arms of the Virgin into a little bear, but in
colours made only with water, without size or distemper. This change
being seen, not long after, by the peasant who had given him the work to
do, almost in despair he went to find Buonamico, praying him for the
sake of Heaven to remove the little bear and to paint another child as
before, for he was ready to make satisfaction. This the other did
amicably, being paid for both the first and the second labour without
delay; and for restoring the whole work a wet sponge sufficed. Finally,
seeing that it would take too long were I to wish to relate all the
tricks, as well as all the pictures, that Buonamico Buffalmacco made,
and above all when frequenting the shop of Maso del Saggio, which was
the resort of citizens and of all the gay and mischievous spirits that
there were in Florence, I will make an end of discoursing about him.
He died at the age of seventy-eight, and being very poor and having done
more spending than earning, by reason of being such in character, he was
supported in his illness by the Company of the Misericordia in S. Maria
Nuova, the hospital of Florence; and then, being dead, he was buried in
the Ossa (for so they call a cloister, or rather cemetery, of the
hospital), like the rest of the poor, in the year 1340. The works of
this man were prized while he lived, and since then, for works of that
age, they have been ever extolled.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 15: Proverbial expression, equivalent to our "twinkling of an
eye."]
AMBROGIO LORENZETTI
[Illustration: MADONNA AND CHILD
(_After the painting by_ Ambrogio Lorenzetti. _Milan: Cagnola
Collection_)]
LIFE OF AMBROGIO LORENZETTI,
PAINTER OF SIENA
If that debt is great, as without doubt it is, which craftsmen of fine
genius should acknowledge to nature, much greater should that be that is
due from us to them, seeing that they, with great solicitude, fill the
cities with noble and useful buildings and with lovely historical
compositions, gaining for themselves, for the most part, fame and riches
with their works; as did Ambrogio Lorenzetti, painter of Siena, who
showed beautiful and great invention in grouping and placing his figures
thoughtfully in historical scenes. That this is true is proved by a
scene in the Church of the Friars Minor in Siena, painted by him very
gracefully in the cloister, wherein there is represented in what manner
a youth becomes a friar, and how he and certain others go to the Soldan,
and are there beaten and sentenced to the gallows and hanged on a tree,
and finally beheaded, with the addition of a terrible tempest. In this
picture, with much art and dexterity, he counterfeited in the travailing
of the figures the turmoil of the air and the fury of the rain and of
the wind, wherefrom the modern masters have learnt the method and the
principle of this invention, by reason of which, since it was unknown
before, he deserved infinite commendation. Ambrogio was a practised
colourist in fresco, and he handled colours in distemper with great
dexterity and facility, as it is still seen in the panels executed by
him in Siena for the little hospital called Mona Agnesa, where he
painted and finished a scene with new and beautiful composition. And at
the great hospital, on one front, he made in fresco the Nativity of Our
Lady and the scene when she is going with the virgins to the Temple. For
the Friars of S. Augustine in the same city he painted their
Chapter-house, where the Apostles are seen represented on the vaulting,
with scrolls in their hands whereon is written that part of the Creed
which each one of them made; and below each is a little scene containing
in painting that same subject that is signified above by the writing.
Near this, on the main front, are three stories of S. Catherine the
martyr, who is disputing with the tyrant in a temple, and, in the
middle, the Passion of Christ, with the Thieves on the Cross, and the
Maries below, who are supporting the Virgin Mary who has swooned; which
works were finished by him with much grace and with beautiful manner.
In a large hall of the Palazzo della Signoria in Siena he painted the
War of Asinalunga, and after it the Peace and its events, wherein he
fashioned a map, perfect for those times; and in the same palace he made
eight scenes in terra-verde, highly finished. It is said that he also
sent to Volterra a panel in distemper which was much praised in that
city. And painting a chapel in fresco and a panel in distemper at Massa,
in company with others, he gave them proof how great, both in judgment
and in genius, was his worth in the art of painting; and in Orvieto he
painted in fresco the principal Chapel of S. Maria. After these works,
proceeding to Florence, he made a panel in S. Procolo, and in a chapel
he painted the stories of S. Nicholas with little figures, in order to
satisfy certain of his friends, who desired to see his method of
working; and, being much practised, he executed this work in so short a
time that there accrued to him fame and infinite repute. And this work,
on the predella of which he made his own portrait, brought it about that
in the year 1335 he was summoned to Cortona by order of Bishop Ubertini,
then lord of that city, where he wrought certain works in the Church of
S. Margherita, built a short time before for the Friars of S. Francis on
the summit of the hill, and in particular the half of the vaulting and
the walls, so well that, although to-day they are wellnigh eaten away by
time, there are seen notwithstanding most beautiful effects in the
figures; and it is clear that he was deservedly commended for them.
[Illustration: AMBROGIO LORENZETTI: MADONNA AND CHILD WITH S.S. MARY
MAGDALENE AND DOROTHY
(_Siena: Pinacoteca 77. Panel_)]
This work finished, Ambrogio returned to Siena, where he lived
honourably the remainder of his life, not only by reason of being an
excellent master in painting, but also because, having given attention
in his youth to letters, they were a useful and pleasant
accompaniment to him in his painting, and so great an ornament to his
whole life that they rendered him no less popular and beloved than did
his profession of painting; wherefore he was not only intimate with men
of learning and of taste, but he was also employed, to his great honour
and advantage, in the government of his Republic. The ways of Ambrogio
were in all respects worthy of praise, and rather those of a gentleman
and a philosopher than of a craftsman; and what most demonstrates the
wisdom of men, he had ever a mind disposed to be content with that which
the world and time brought, wherefore he supported with a mind temperate
and calm the good and the evil that came to him from fortune. And truly
it cannot be told to what extent courteous ways and modesty, with the
other good habits, are an honourable accompaniment to all the arts, and
in particular to those that are derived from the intellect and from
noble and exalted talents; wherefore every man should make himself no
less beloved with his ways than with the excellence of his art.
Finally, at the end of his life, Ambrogio made a panel at Monte Oliveto
di Chiusuri with great credit to himself, and a little afterwards, being
eighty-three years of age, he passed happily and in the Christian faith
to a better life. His works date about 1340.
As it has been said, the portrait of Ambrogio, by his own hand, is seen
in the predella of his panel in S. Procolo, with a cap on his head. And
what was his worth in draughtsmanship is seen in our book, wherein are
some passing good drawings by his hand.
[Illustration: _Alinari_
MADONNA AND CHILD
(_Central panel of the polyptych by_ Ambrogio Lorenzetti. _Massa
Marittima: Municipio_)]
PIETRO CAVALLINI
LIFE OF PIETRO CAVALLINI,
PAINTER OF ROME
For many centuries Rome had been deprived not only of fine letters and
of the glory of arms but also of all the sciences and fine arts, when,
by the will of God, there was born therein Pietro Cavallini, in those
times when Giotto, having, it may be said, restored painting to life,
was holding the sovereignty among the painters in Italy. He, then,
having been a disciple of Giotto and having worked with Giotto himself
on the Navicella in mosaic in S. Pietro, was the first who, after him,
gave light to that art, and he began to show that he had been no
unworthy disciple of so great a master when he painted, over the door of
the sacristy of the Araceli, some scenes that are to-day eaten away by
time, and very many works coloured in fresco throughout the whole Church
of S. Maria di Trastevere. Afterwards, working in mosaic on the
principal chapel and on the facade of the church, he showed in the
beginning of such a work, without the help of Giotto, that he was no
less able in the execution and bringing to completion of mosaics than he
was in painting. Making many scenes in fresco, also, in the Church of S.
Grisogono, he strove to make himself known both as the best disciple of
Giotto and as a good craftsman. In like manner, also in Trastevere, he
painted almost the whole Church of S. Cecilia with his own hand, and
many works in the Church of S. Francesco appresso Ripa. He then made the
facade of mosaic in S. Paolo without Rome, and many stories of the Old
Testament for the central nave. And painting some works in fresco in the
Chapter-house of the first cloister, he put therein so great diligence
that he gained thereby from men of judgment the name of being a most
excellent master, and was therefore so much favoured by the prelates
that they commissioned him to do the inner wall of S. Pietro, between
the windows. Between these he made the four Evangelists, wrought very
well in fresco, of extraordinary size in comparison with the figures
that at that time were customary, with a S. Peter and a S. Paul, and a
good number of figures in a ship, wherein, the Greek manner pleasing him
much, he blended it ever with that of Giotto; and since he delighted to
give relief to his figures, it is recognized that he used thereunto the
greatest efforts that can be imagined by man. But the best work that he
made in that city was in the said Church of Araceli on the Campidoglio,
where he painted in fresco, on the vaulting of the principal apse, the
Madonna with the Child in her arms, surrounded by a circle of sunlight,
and beneath is the Emperor Octavian, to whom the Tiburtine Sibyl is
showing Jesus Christ, and he is adoring Him; and the figures in this
work, as it has been said in other places, have been much better
preserved than the others, because those that are on the vaulting are
less injured by dust than those that are made on the walls.
After these works Pietro went to Tuscany, in order to see the works of
the other disciples of his master Giotto and those of Giotto himself;
and with this occasion he painted many figures in S. Marco in Florence,
which are not seen to-day, the church having been whitewashed, except
the Annunciation, which stands covered beside the principal door of the
church. In S. Basilio, also, in the Canto alla Macine, he made another
Annunciation in fresco on a wall, so like to that which he had made
before in S. Marco, and to another one that is in Florence, that some
believe, and not without probability, that they are all by the hand of
this Pietro; and in truth they could not be more like, one to another,
than they are. Among the figures that he made in the said S. Marco in
Florence was the portrait of Pope Urban V from the life, with the heads
of S. Peter and S. Paul; from which portrait Fra Giovanni da Fiesole
copied that one which is in a panel in S. Domenico, also of Fiesole; and
that was no small good-fortune, seeing that the portrait which was in S.
Marco and many other figures that were about the church in fresco were
covered with whitewash, as it has been said, when that convent was taken
from the monks who occupied it before and given to the Preaching
Friars, the whole being whitewashed with little attention and
consideration.
[Illustration: _Alinari_
HEAD OF AN APOSTLE
(_Detail from_ "The Last Judgment," _after the fresco by_ Pietro
Cavallini. _Rome: Convent of S. Cecilia_)]
Passing afterwards, in returning to Rome, through Assisi, not only in
order to see those buildings and those notable works made there by his
master and by some of his fellow-disciples, but also to leave something
there by his own hand, he painted in fresco in the lower Church of S.
Francesco--namely, in the transept that is on the side of the
sacristy--a Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, with men on horseback armed in
various fashions, and with many varied and extravagant costumes of
diverse foreign peoples. In the air he made some angels, who, poised on
their wings in diverse attitudes, are in a storm of weeping; and some
pressing their hands to their breasts, others wringing them, and others
beating the palms, they are showing that they feel the greatest grief at
the death of the Son of God; and all, from the middle backwards, or
rather from the middle downwards, melt away into air. In this work, well
executed in the colouring, which is fresh and vivacious and so well
contrived in the junctions of the plaster that the work appears all made
in one day, I have found the coat of arms of Gualtieri, Duke of Athens;
but by reason of there not being either a date or other writing there, I
cannot affirm that it was caused to be made by him. I say, however, that
besides the firm belief of everyone that it is by the hand of Pietro,
the manner could not be more like his than it is, not to mention that it
may be believed, this painter having lived at the time when Duke
Gualtieri was in Italy, that it was made by Pietro as well as by order
of the said Duke. At least, let everyone think as he pleases, the work,
as ancient, is worthy of nothing but praise, and the manner, besides the
public voice, shows that it is by the hand of this man.
In the Church of S. Maria at Orvieto, wherein is the most holy relic of
the Corporal, the same Pietro wrought in fresco certain stories of Jesus
Christ and of the Host, with much diligence; and this he did, so it is
said, for Messer Benedetto, son of Messer Buonconte Monaldeschi and lord
at that time, or rather tyrant, of that city. Some likewise affirm that
Pietro made some sculptures, and that they were very successful, because
he had genius for whatever he set himself to do, and that he made the
Crucifix that is in the great Church of S. Paolo without Rome; which
Crucifix, as it is said and may be believed, is the one that spoke to S.
Brigida in the year 1370.
By the hand of the same man were some other works in that manner, which
were thrown to the ground when the old Church of S. Pietro was pulled
down in order to build the new. Pietro was very diligent in all his
works, and sought with every effort to gain honour and to acquire fame
in the art. He was not only a good Christian, but most devout and very
much the friend of the poor, and he was beloved by reason of his
excellence not only in his native city of Rome but by all those who had
knowledge of him or of his works. And finally, he devoted himself at the
end of his old age to religion, leading an exemplary life, with so much
zeal that he was almost held a saint. Wherefore there is no reason to
marvel not only that the said Crucifix by his hand spoke to the Saint,
as it has been said, but also that innumerable miracles have been and
still are wrought by a certain Madonna by his hand, which I do not
intend to call his best, although it is very famous in all Italy and
although I know very certainly and surely, by the manner of the
painting, that it is by the hand of Pietro, whose most praiseworthy life
and piety towards God were worthy to be imitated by all men. Nor let
anyone believe, for the reason that it is scarcely possible and that
experience continually shows this to us, that it is possible to attain
to honourable rank without the fear and grace of God and without
goodness of life. A disciple of Pietro Cavallini was Giovanni da
Pistoia, who made some works of no great importance in his native city.
Finally, at the age of eighty-five, he died in Rome of a colic caught
while working in fresco, by reason of the damp and of standing
continually at this exercise. His pictures date about the year 1364, and
he was honourably buried in S. Paolo without Rome, with this epitaph:
QUANTUM ROMANAE PETRUS DECUS ADDIDIT URBI
PICTURA, TANTUM DAT DECUS IPSE POLO.
His portrait has never been found, for all the diligence that has been
used; it is therefore not included.
[Illustration: _Alinari_
HEAD OF THE CHRIST IN GLORY
(_Detail from_ "The Last Judgment," _after the fresco by_ Pietro
Cavallini. _Rome: Convent of S. Cecilia_)]
SIMONE SANESE
[Illustration: _Anderson_
S. LOUIS CROWNING KING ROBERT OF NAPLES
(_After the Altarpiece by_ Simon Sanese [Memmi _or_ Martini]. _Naples:
Church of S. Lorenzo_)]
LIFE OF SIMONE SANESE
[_SIMONE MEMMI OR MARTINI_]
PAINTER
Truly happy can those men be called, who are inclined by nature to those
arts that can bring to them not only honour and very great profit, but
also, what is more, fame and a name wellnigh eternal, and happier still
are they who have from their cradles, besides such inclination, courtesy
and honest ways, which render them very dear to all men. But happiest of
all, finally, talking of craftsmen, are they who not only receive a love
of the good from nature, and noble ways from the same source and from
education, but also live in the time of some famous writer, from whom,
in return for a little portrait or some other similar courtesy in the
way of art, they gain on occasion the reward of eternal honour and name,
by means of their writings; and this, among those who practise the arts
of design, should be particularly desired and sought by the excellent
painters, seeing that their works, being on the surface and on a ground
of colour, cannot have that eternal life which castings in bronze and
works in marble give to sculpture, or buildings to the architects.