THE WORK OF PINTURICCHIO AND GHIRLANDAJO
BERNARDINO PINTURICCHIO of Perugia (1454-1513) was an excellent painter
in fresco, although Vasari, in his _Lives of the Painters_, has done
scant justice to his great merits. In the face of much splendid work
that has been done by Pinturicchio, the want of appreciation of his
merits by Vasari is quite inexplicable. Any one who has seen, and
carefully examined his frescos in the Borgia apartments of the Vatican
must acknowledge him as one of the greatest decorative artists of his
time, greater, for example because less conventional, than Perugino, his
contemporary, with whom he sometimes collaborated, and who often got
credit for work which was done by Pinturicchio. To compare his work with
that of Perugino we should say that in the design and colouring of the
former artist there is more life, more spontaneity, and much less
mannerism than is seen in the work of Perugino. In design his wall
decorations are characterized by great variety and plenitude of
incident, and although he may appear at times to aim at the expression
of too
[Illustration: _Photo. Alinari._]
[_To face p. 56._
PLATE 23.--DETAIL FROM CHRIST’S CHARGE TO PETER
_Perugino, Sistine Chapel_]
[Illustration: _Photo. Anderson._]
[_To face p. 57._
PLATE 24.--ST. CATHERINE DISPUTING BEFORE THE EMPEROR MAXIMIANUS
_Pinturicchio, Borgia Appartments, Vatican, Rome_]
much individuality in the figures of his groups, the outcome perhaps of
his great versatility, yet in a masterly way he invariably succeeds in
uniting the various and contrasting elements of his work into one
harmonious arrangement, the unity being largely assisted by the
judicious disposition of his colour, which, generally speaking, is a
harmony of azure and gold. Pinturicchio has been adversely criticised
for his practice of giving undue prominence to some of the mouldings and
other salient points of the painted architecture in his frescos, and the
patterns of embroidery on the dresses of his figures, by modelling them
in low relief and afterwards gilding them, the objection being that such
a practice is not the function of painting; that may be, but surely an
artist may be allowed to treat his subject in his own way, by using any
means to produce the desired end he may have in view, especially if that
end is to produce a beautiful work in harmony with its surroundings.
Artistic heresies may be illogical enough, but it matters very little if
the result is a production of beauty, for do we not often see that some
dreadfully logical people only succeed in producing the ugliness of the
commonplace however careful they may be in the due observance of
artistic laws?
In the vaulted ceiling panels and on the groined ribs of the vaults in
the Borgia apartments there is a good deal of stucco relief modelling of
ornament and animal forms by Giovanni da Udine and Perina del Vaga,
this relief decoration being coloured and gilded, similar to the cameo
reliefs in the loggia of the Vatican, which the two last-named artists
had executed under Raffaelle’s direction; and as Pinturicchio’s frescos
were in all probability painted before the date of the ceiling
decorations, it is not at all unlikely that the relief work on the wall
frescos underneath suggested in a great measure a similar enrichment of
the vaulted ribs and ceilings. In any case the whole of the decorations
on both walls and ceilings of the Borgia apartments are in singular
harmony and unity, although the work has been done by different hands.
Pinturicchio was employed by the Pope, Alexander VI, to decorate the
Borgia apartments; accordingly, the frescos of the second, third, and
fourth rooms were painted by him, with scenes from the life of Christ,
the lives of the Saints, and with allegorical representations of the
arts and sciences respectively. The most important and largest fresco
has the subject of St. Catherine of Alexandria disputing before the
Emperor Maximianus, in the background of which is a representation of
the Arch of Constantine. This is painted on the back wall of the third
room. The figure of St. Catherine is finely designed and painted, and is
supposed to be a portrait of Lucretia Borgia. (See illustrations.) Among
the best work of Pinturicchio are his frescos in the first chapel to the
right in the Church of S. Maria Araceli, Rome, representing scenes from
[Illustration: _Photo. Anderson._]
[_To face p. 58._
PLATE 25.--PORTRAIT OF LUCREZIA BORGIA. ST. CATHERINE DISPUTING BEFORE
THE EMPEROR. DETAIL OF FRESCO
_Pinturicchio, Borgia Appartments, Vatican_]
[Illustration:
[_To face p. 59_
PLATE 26.--THE NATIVITY
_Pinturicchio, Church of Sta. Maria del Popolo, Rome_]
the life of St. Bernard of Siena, and on the vaulted roof is painted the
four Evangelists, all of which are very vigorous and lifelike
representations; the same may also be said of his frescos in the
Baglioni Chapel in the Duomo at Spello. His two frescos in the Sistine
Chapel, “Moses journeying to Egypt” and the “Baptism of Christ,” were
formerly ascribed to Perugino.
The Florentine artist, Domenico Ghirlandajo (1449-1498), was one of the
most eminent fresco painters of his time. He was fond of introducing
sumptuously dressed personages into his works, many of whom were
representations of the people of his day. The powerful Tornabuoni family
of Florence were his patrons, who commissioned him to paint many frescos
in Florence and in Rome. He can claim the distinction of having Michael
Angelo as one of his pupils.
Some of his best existing works are those in the choir of the Church of
Santa Maria Novella, and the Church of St. Trinita at Florence. In the
Church of Santa Maria degli Innocenti, in the Foundling Hospital at
Florence, is a well-preserved altar-piece, a tempera painting on panel
by him, the “Adoration of the Magi,” which is dignified in its design,
and the colouring is brilliant in reds and golden hues, these colours
being very characteristic of his later works. In the background of this
fine work is a beautiful landscape, and at the foot of the hill on the
left is the scene representing the slaughter of the Innocents. The
drapery of the kneeling king is masterly in the design of its folds, but
the standing figure of the youthful king on the left is the most
beautiful of the larger figures. In all the range of Italian art it
would be difficult to match for beauty and for types of innocence the
two little babes, or _innocenti_, who are kneeling at the bottom of the
picture, adoring and adorable, as in every way they are. At the top,
kneeling on clouds above the manger, are four lovely angels holding a
scroll, on which is written, “Gloria in excelsis Deo.” Generally
speaking, his frescos are remarkable for their high degree of careful
finish, and nearly all of the spectators or accessory figures in his
paintings are portraits of his patrons and contemporaries. His
compositions are very simple and dignified, with a certain degree of
solemn severity in the drawing of the principal figures. The latter
characteristic is partly due to his practice of making many of his
figures stately portraits, and partly to the long and straight folds of
his draperies, which remind us of Masaccio’s work, and, in a lesser
degree, that of Giotto. It is interesting to compose and note the
similarity of design which is apparent in his fresco, the “Calling of
SS. Peter and Andrew,” in the Sistine Chapel, with the “Tribute Money,”
by Masaccio, in the Brancacci Chapel of the Carmelite Church at
Florence; and also his celebrated work, the “Death of St. Francis,” in
St. Trinita at Florence, with the same subject painted by Giotto
[Illustration: _Photo. Alinari._]
[_To face p. 60._
PLATE 27.--FLORENTINE LADY. DETAIL OF FRESCO, BIRTH OF ST. JOHN
_Ghirlandajo, Church of Sta. Maria Novella, Florence_]
[Illustration:
[To face p. 61.
PLATE 28.--DEATH OF ST. FRANCIS
_Ghirlandajo, Church of St. Trinita, Florence_]
in the Bardi Chapel of Santa Croce. In the latter work we see piety and
sentiment more strongly expressed by Giotto, while portraiture and light
and shade are more in evidence in Ghirlandajo’s rendering of this
subject, but the figure composition in both works is almost identical.
The frescos by Ghirlandajo in the choir of the Church of Santa Maria
Novella are among the most important of his works, and remain as fine
examples of his skill as a great decorator. The subjects are from the
life of the Virgin and John the Baptist, all of which are treated with
great care and elaboration of rich detail, the utmost finish being not
only accorded to the principal actors in the scenes, but also to the
architectural backgrounds, with their panels and friezes of figures, the
embroidered patterns on the dresses, and other decorative accessories,
in fact all his beauties of style in design, execution, and colouring
are admirably expressed in these characteristic works.
In the Monastery of San Marco in Florence, in the smaller refectory, is
an interesting fresco of the “Cenacolo,” or Last Supper, by Ghirlandajo.
There is a little stiffness and formality in the composition of this
work, but the heads of the principal figures are lifelike and well
painted. The colouring is strong and rich, gold has been freely used in
the nimbi and on the dresses of the figures, and in the background.
Above the figures, in the background, is painted an abundance of
cypress, orange trees, and flowers; while in the sky, hawks are
pursuing wild duck. There is also a similar, but in some ways a much
better, “Cenacolo” by Ghirlandajo in the refectory in the convent of the
Church of the Ognissanti at Florence.
[Illustration: _Photo. Alinari._]
[_To face p. 62._
PLATE 29.--FLORENTINE LADY. DETAIL OF FRESCO, BIRTH OF THE VIRGIN
_Ghirlandajo, Church of Sta. Maria Novella, Florence_]
[Illustration: _Photo. Alinari._]
[_To face p. 63._
PLATE 30.--DETAIL FROM FRESCO, BIRTH OF THE VIRGIN
_Ghirlandajo, Church of Sta. Maria Novella, Florence_]