to himself, always imitated his manner, as is proved by the works by his
hand that are in Parma. At Viadana, also, whither he fled with Francesco
on account of the war, he painted, young as he was, a very beautiful
Annunciation on a little panel for S. Francesco, a seat of the Frati de'
Zoccoli; and he painted another for S. Maria ne' Borghi. For the
Conventual Friars of S. Francis at Parma he executed the panel-picture
of their high-altar, containing Joachim being driven from the Temple,
with many figures. And for S. Alessandro, a convent of nuns in that
city, he painted a panel with the Madonna in Heaven, the Infant Christ
presenting a palm to S. Giustina, and some Angels drawing back a piece
of drapery, with S. Alexander the Pope and S. Benedict. For the Church
of the Carmelite Friars he painted the panel-picture of their
high-altar, which is very beautiful, and for S. Sepolcro another
panel-picture of some size. In S. Giovanni Evangelista, a church of nuns
in the same city, are two panel-pictures by the hand of Girolamo, of no
little beauty, but not equal to the doors of the organ or to the picture
of the high-altar, in which is a most beautiful Transfiguration,
executed with much diligence. The same master has painted a
perspective-view in fresco in the refectory of those nuns, with a
picture in oils of the Last Supper of Christ with the Apostles, and
fresco-paintings in the Chapel of the High-Altar in the Duomo. And for
Madama Margherita of Austria, Duchess of Parma, he has made a portrait
of the Prince Don Alessandro, her son, in full armour, with his sword
over a globe of the world, and an armed figure of Parma kneeling before
him.
In a chapel of the Steccata, at Parma, he has painted in fresco the
Apostles receiving the Holy Spirit, and on an arch similar to that which
his cousin Francesco painted he has executed six Sibyls, two in colour
and four in chiaroscuro; while in a niche opposite to that arch he has
painted the Nativity of Christ, with the Shepherds adoring Him, which is
a very beautiful picture, although it was left not quite finished. For
the high-altar of the Certosa, without Parma, he has painted a
panel-picture with the three Magi; a panel for S. Piero, an abbey of
Monks of S. Bernard, at Pavia; another for the Duomo of Mantua, at the
commission of the Cardinal; and yet another panel for S. Giovanni in the
same city, containing a Christ in a glory of light, surrounded by the
Apostles, with S. John, of whom He appears to be saying, "Sic eum volo
manere," etc.; while round this panel, in six large pictures, are the
miracles of the same S. John the Evangelist.
In the Church of the Frati Zoccolanti, on the left hand, there is a
large panel-picture of the Conversion of S. Paul, a very beautiful work,
by the hand of the same man. And for the high-altar of S. Benedetto in
Pollirone, a place twelve miles distant from Mantua, he has executed a
panel-picture of Christ in the Manger being adored by the Shepherds,
with Angels singing. He has also painted--but I do not know exactly at
what time--a most beautiful picture of five Loves, one of whom is
sleeping, and the others are despoiling him, one taking away his bow,
another his arrows, and the others his torch, which picture belongs to
the Lord Duke Ottavio, who holds it in great account by reason of the
excellence of Girolamo. This master has in no way fallen short of the
standard of his cousin Francesco, being a fine painter, gentle and
courteous beyond belief; and since he is still alive, there are seen
issuing from his brush other works of rare beauty, which he has
constantly in hand.
A close friend of the aforesaid Francesco Mazzuoli was Messer Vincenzio
Caccianimici, a gentleman of Bologna, who painted and strove to the best
of his power to imitate the manner of Francesco. This Vincenzio was a
very good colourist, so that the works which he executed for his own
pleasure, or to present to his friends and various noblemen, are truly
well worthy of praise; and such, in particular, is a panel-picture in
oils, containing the Beheading of S. John the Baptist, which is in the
chapel of his family in S. Petronio. This talented gentleman, by whose
hand are some very beautiful drawings in our book, died in the year
1542.
JACOPO PALMA AND LORENZO LOTTO
[Illustration: LORENZO LOTTO: THE TRIUMPH OF CHASTITY
(_Rome: Rospigliosi Gallery. Panel_)]
LIVES OF JACOPO PALMA
[_PALMA VECCHIO_]
AND LORENZO LOTTO
PAINTERS OF VENICE
So potent are mastery and excellence, even when seen in only one or two
works executed to perfection by a man in the art that he practises,
that, no matter how small these may be, craftsmen and judges of art are
forced to extol them, and writers are compelled to celebrate them and to
give praise to the craftsman who has made them; even as we are now about
to do for the Venetian Palma. This master, although not very eminent,
nor remarkable for perfection of painting, was nevertheless so careful
and diligent, and subjected himself so zealously to the labours of art,
that a certain proportion of his works, if not all, have something good
in them, in that they are close imitations of life and of the natural
appearance of men.
[Illustration: JACOPO PALMA (PALMA VECCHIO): S. BARBARA
(_Venice: S. Maria Formosa. Panel_)]
Palma was much more remarkable for his patience in harmonizing and
blending colours than for boldness of design, and he handled colour with
extraordinary grace and finish. This may be seen in Venice from many
pictures and portraits that he executed for various gentlemen; but of
these I shall say nothing more, since I propose to content myself with
making mention of some altar-pieces and of a head that I hold to be
marvellous, or rather, divine. One of the altar-pieces he painted for S.
Antonio, near Castello, at Venice, and another for S. Elena, near the
Lido, where the Monks of Monte Oliveto have their monastery. In the
latter, which is on the high-altar of that church, he painted the Magi
presenting their offerings to Christ, with a good number of figures,
among which are some heads truly worthy of praise, as also are the
draperies, executed with a beautiful flow of folds, which cover the
figures. Palma also painted a lifesize S. Barbara for the altar of the
Bombardieri in the Church of S. Maria Formosa, with two smaller figures
at the sides, S. Sebastian and S. Anthony; and the S. Barbara is one of
the best figures that this painter ever executed. The same master also
executed another altar-piece, in which is a Madonna in the sky, with S.
John below, for the Church of S. Moisè, near the Piazza di S. Marco. In
addition to this, Palma painted a most beautiful scene for the hall
wherein the men of the Scuola of S. Marco assemble, on the Piazza di SS.
Giovanni e Paolo, in emulation of those already executed by Giovanni
Bellini, Giovanni Mansueti, and other painters. In this scene is
depicted a ship which is bringing the body of S. Mark to Venice; and
there may be seen counterfeited by Palma a terrible tempest on the sea,
and some barques tossed and shaken by the fury of the winds, all
executed with much judgment and thoughtful care. The same may be said of
a group of figures in the air, and of the demons in various forms who
are blowing, after the manner of winds, against the barques, which,
driven by oars, and striving in various ways to break through the
dangers of the towering waves, are like to sink. In short, to tell the
truth, this work is of such a kind, and so beautiful in invention and in
other respects, that it seems almost impossible that brushes and
colours, employed by human hands, however excellent, should be able to
depict anything more true to reality or more natural; for in it may be
seen the fury of the winds, the strength and dexterity of the men, the
movements of the waves, the lightning-flashes of the heavens, the water
broken by the oars, and the oars bent by the waves and by the efforts of
the rowers. Why say more? I, for my part, do not remember to have ever
seen a more terrible painting than this, which is executed in such a
manner, and with such care in the invention, the drawing, and the
colouring, that the picture seems to quiver, as if all that is painted
therein were real. For this work Jacopo Palma deserves the greatest
praise, and the honour of being numbered among those who are masters of
art and who are able to express with facility in their pictures their
most sublime conceptions. For many painters, in difficult subjects of
that kind, achieve in the first sketch of their work, as though
guided by a sort of fire of inspiration, something of the good and a
certain measure of boldness; but afterwards, in finishing it, the
boldness vanishes, and nothing is left of the good that the first fire
produced. And this happens because very often, in finishing, they
consider the parts and not the whole of what they are executing, and
thus, growing cold in spirit, they come to lose their vein of boldness;
whereas Jacopo stood ever firm in the same intention and brought to
perfection his first conception, for which he received vast praise at
that time, as he always will.
[Illustration: S. SEBASTIAN
(_After the panel by =Jacopo Palma [Palma Vecchio]=. Venice: S. Maria
Formosa_)
_Anderson_]
But without a doubt, although the works of this master were many, and
all much esteemed, that one is better than all the others and truly
extraordinary in which he made his own portrait from life by looking at
himself in a mirror, with some camel-skins about him, and certain tufts
of hair, and all so lifelike that nothing better could be imagined. For
so much did the genius of Palma effect in this particular work, that he
made it quite miraculous and beautiful beyond belief, as all men
declare, the picture being seen almost every year at the Festival of the
Ascension. And, in truth, it well deserves to be celebrated, in point of
draughtsmanship, colouring, and mastery of art--in a word, on account of
its absolute perfection--beyond any other work whatsoever that had been
executed by any Venetian painter up to that time, since, besides other
things, there may be seen in the eyes a roundness so perfect, that
Leonardo da Vinci and Michelagnolo Buonarroti would not have done it in
any other way. But it is better to say nothing of the grace, the
dignity, and the other qualities that are to be seen in this portrait,
because it is not possible to say as much of its perfection as would
exhaust its merits. If Fate had decreed that Palma should die after this
work, he would have carried off with him the glory of having surpassed
all those whom we celebrate as our rarest and most divine intellects;
but the duration of his life, keeping him at work, brought it about
that, not maintaining the high beginning that he had made, he came to
deteriorate as much as most men had thought him destined to improve.
Finally, content that one or two supreme works should have cleared him
of some of the censure that the others had brought upon him, he died in
Venice at the age of forty-eight.
A friend and companion of Palma was Lorenzo Lotto, a painter of Venice,
who, after imitating for some time the manner of the Bellini, attached
himself to that of Giorgione, as is shown by many pictures and portraits
which are in the houses of gentlemen in Venice. In the house of Andrea
Odoni there is a portrait of him, which is very beautiful, by the hand
of Lorenzo. And in the house of Tommaso da Empoli, a Florentine, there
is a picture of the Nativity of Christ, painted as an effect of night,
which is one of great beauty, particularly because the splendour of
Christ is seen to illuminate the picture in a marvellous manner; and
there is the Madonna kneeling, with a portrait of Messer Marco Loredano
in a full-length figure that is adoring Christ. For the Carmelite Friars
the same master painted an altar-piece showing S. Nicholas in his
episcopal robes, poised in the air, with three Angels; below him are S.
Lucia and S. John, on high some clouds, and beneath these a most
beautiful landscape, with many little figures and animals in various
places. On one side is S. George on horseback, slaying the Dragon, and
at a little distance the Maiden, with a city not far away, and an arm of
the sea. For the Chapel of S. Antonino, Archbishop of Florence, in SS.
Giovanni e Paolo, Lorenzo executed an altar-piece containing the
first-named Saint seated with two priests in attendance, and many people
below.
[Illustration: THE GLORIFICATION OF S. NICHOLAS
(_After the painting by =Lorenzo Lotto=. Venice: S. Maria del Carmine_)
_Anderson_]
While this painter was still young, imitating partly the manner of the
Bellini and partly that of Giorgione, he painted an altar-piece, divided
into six pictures, for the high-altar of S. Domenico at Recanati. In the
central picture is the Madonna with the Child in her arms, giving the
habit, by the hands of an Angel, to S. Dominic, who is kneeling before
the Virgin; and in this picture are also two little boys, one playing on
a lute and the other on a rebeck. In the second picture are the Popes S.
Gregory and S. Urban; and in the third is S. Thomas Aquinas, with
another saint, who was Bishop of Recanati. Above these are the three
other pictures; and in the centre, above the Madonna, is a Dead Christ,
supported by an Angel, with His Mother kissing His arm, and S.
Magdalene. Over the picture of S. Gregory are S. Mary Magdalene and S.
Vincent; and in the third--namely, above the S. Thomas Aquinas--are S.
Gismondo and S. Catharine of Siena. In the predella, which is a
rare work painted with little figures, there is in the centre the
scene of S. Maria di Loreto being carried by the Angels from the regions
of Sclavonia to the place where it now stands. Of the two scenes that
are on either side of this, one shows S. Dominic preaching, the little
figures being the most graceful in the world, and the other Pope
Honorius confirming the Rule of S. Dominic. In the middle of this church
is a figure of S. Vincent, the Friar, executed in fresco by the hand of
the same master. And in the Church of S. Maria di Castelnuovo there is
an altar-piece in oils of the Transfiguration of Christ, with three
scenes painted with little figures in the predella--Christ leading the
Apostles to Mount Tabor, His Prayer in the Garden, and His Ascension
into Heaven.
[Illustration: ANDREA ODONI
(_After the painting by =Lorenzo Lotto=. Hampton Court Palace_)
_Mansell_]
After these works Lorenzo went to Ancona, at the very time when Mariano
da Perugia had finished a panel-picture, with a large ornamental frame,
for the high-altar of S. Agostino. This did not give much satisfaction;
and Lorenzo was commissioned to paint a picture, which is placed in the
middle of the same church, of Our Lady with the Child in her lap, and
two figures of Angels in the air, in foreshortening, crowning the
Virgin.
Finally, being now old, and having almost lost his voice, Lorenzo made
his way, after executing some other works of no great importance at
Ancona, to the Madonna of Loreto, where he had already painted an
altar-piece in oils, which is in a chapel at the right hand of the
entrance into the church. There, having resolved to finish his life in
the service of the Madonna, and to make that holy house his habitation,
he set his hand to executing scenes with figures one braccio or less in
height round the choir, over the seats of the priests. In one scene he
painted the Birth of Jesus Christ, and in another the Magi adoring Him.
Next came the Presentation to Simeon, and after that the Baptism of
Christ by John in the Jordan. There was also the Woman taken in Adultery
being led before Christ, and all these were executed with much grace.
Two other scenes, likewise, did he paint there, with an abundance of
figures; one of David causing a sacrifice to be offered, and in the
other was the Archangel Michael in combat with Lucifer, after having
driven him out of Heaven.
These works finished, no long time had passed when, even as he had lived
like a good citizen and a true Christian, so he died, rendering up his
soul to God his Master. These last years of his life he found full of
happiness and serenity of mind, and, what is more, we cannot but believe
that they gave him the earnest of the blessings of eternal life; which
might not have happened to him if at the end of his life he had been
wrapped up too closely in the things of this world, which, pressing too
heavily on those who put their whole trust in them, prevent them from
ever raising their minds to the true riches and the supreme blessedness
and felicity of the other life.
[Illustration: RONDINELLO (NICCOLÒ RONDINELLI): MADONNA AND CHILD
(_Paris: Louvre, 1159. Panel_)]
There also flourished in Romagna at this time the excellent painter
Rondinello, of whom we made some slight mention in the Life of Giovanni
Bellini, whose disciple he was, assisting him much in his works. This
Rondinello, after leaving Giovanni Bellini, laboured at his art to such
purpose, that, being very diligent, he executed many works worthy of
praise; of which we have witness in the panel-picture of the high-altar
in the Duomo at Forlì, showing Christ giving the Communion to the
Apostles, which he painted there with his own hand, executing it very
well. In the lunette above this picture he painted a Dead Christ, and in
the predella some scenes with little figures, finished with great
diligence, representing the actions of S. Helena, the mother of the
Emperor Constantine, in the finding of the Cross. He also painted a
single figure of S. Sebastian, which is very beautiful, in a picture in
the same church. For the altar of S. Maria Maddalena, in the Duomo of
Ravenna, he painted a panel-picture in oils containing the single figure
of that Saint; and below this, in a predella, he executed three scenes
with very graceful little figures. In one is Christ appearing to Mary
Magdalene in the form of a gardener, in another S. Peter leaving the
ship and walking over the water towards Christ, and between them the
Baptism of Jesus Christ; and all are very beautiful. For S. Giovanni
Evangelista, in the same city, he painted two panel-pictures, one with
that Saint consecrating the church, and in the other three martyrs, S.
Cantius, S. Cantianus, and S. Cantianilla, figures of great beauty. In
S. Apollinare, also in that city, are two pictures, highly extolled,
each with a single figure, S. John the Baptist and S. Sebastian.
And in the Church of the Spirito Santo there is a panel, likewise by his
hand, containing the Madonna placed between the Virgin Martyr S.
Catharine and S. Jerome. For S. Francesco, likewise, he painted two
panel-pictures, one of S. Catharine and S. Francis, and in the other Our
Lady with S. James the Apostle, S. Francis, and many figures. For S.
Domenico, in like manner, he executed two other panels, one of which,
containing the Madonna and many figures, is on the left hand of the
high-altar, and the other, a work of no little beauty, is on a wall of
the church. And for the Church of S. Niccolò, a convent of Friars of S.
Augustine, he painted another panel with S. Laurence and S. Francis. So
much was he commended for all these works, that during his lifetime he
was held in great account, not only in Ravenna but throughout all
Romagna. Rondinello lived to the age of sixty, and was buried in S.
Francesco at Ravenna.
[Illustration: MADONNA AND CHILD WITH SAINTS
(_After the painting by =Rondinello [Niccolò Rondinelli]=. Ravenna:
Accademia_)
_Alinari_]
This master left behind him Francesco da Cotignola, a painter likewise
held in estimation in that city, who painted many works; in particular,
for the high-altar of the Church of the Abbey of Classi in Ravenna, a
panel-picture of some size representing the Raising of Lazarus, with
many figures. There, opposite to that work, in the year 1548, Giorgio
Vasari executed for Don Romualdo da Verona, Abbot of that place, another
panel-picture containing the Deposition of Christ from the Cross, with a
large number of figures. Francesco also painted a panel-picture of the
Nativity of Christ, which is of great size, for S. Niccolò, and likewise
two panels, with various figures, for S. Sebastiano. For the Hospital of
S. Catarina he painted a panel-picture with Our Lady, S. Catharine, and
many other figures; and for S. Agata he painted a panel with Christ
Crucified, the Madonna at the foot of the Cross, and a good number of
other figures, for which he won praise. And for S. Apollinare, in the
same city, he executed three panel-pictures; one for the high-altar,
containing the Madonna, S. John the Baptist, and S. Apollinare, with S.
Jerome and other saints; another likewise of the Madonna, with S. Peter
and S. Catharine; and in the third and last Jesus Christ bearing His
Cross, but this he was not able to finish, being overtaken by death.
Francesco was a very pleasing colourist, but not so good a draughtsman
as Rondinello; yet he was held in no small estimation by the people of
Ravenna. He chose to be buried after his death in S. Apollinare, for
which he had painted the said figures, being content that his remains,
when he was dead, should lie at rest in the place for which he had
laboured when alive.
[Illustration: THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS
(_After the panel by =Francesco da Cotignola=. Ravenna: Accademia_)
_Alinari_]
INDEX OF NAMES
OF THE CRAFTSMEN MENTIONED IN VOLUME V
Agnolo, Andrea d' (Andrea del Sarto), _Life_, 85-120. 164, 194,
217-221, 231
Agnolo, Baccio d' (Baccio Baglioni), 91, 98, 102
Agnolo Bronzino, 127, 163
Agnolo di Cristofano, 223
Agnolo di Donnino, 38
Agostino Busto (Il Bambaja), 42, 43
Agostino Viniziano, 97
Aimo, Domenico (Bologna), 28
Albertinelli, Mariotto, 86, 212, 217
Albertino, Francesco d' (Francesco Ubertini, or Il Bacchiacca), 222
Alberto, Antonio, 13
Albrecht Dürer, 96
Alessandro Allori, 127
Alessandro Vittoria, 247
Alesso Baldovinetti, 88, 92
Alfonso Lombardi, _Life_, 131-136. 210
Allori, Alessandro, 127
Amalteo, Pomponio, 154, 155
Amico Aspertini, _Life_, 209-211. 125, 207-211
Andrea Contucci (Andrea Sansovino, or Andrea dal Monte Sansovino),
_Life_, 21-31. 43, 88
Andrea d' Agnolo (Andrea del Sarto), _Life_, 85-120. 164, 194,
217-221, 231
Andrea da Fiesole (Andrea Ferrucci), _Life_, 3-8. 11
Andrea dal Castagno (Andrea degli Impiccati), 116
Andrea dal Monte Sansovino (Andrea Sansovino, or Andrea Contucci),
_Life_, 21-31. 43, 88
Andrea degli Impiccati (Andrea dal Castagno), 116
Andrea del Sarto (Andrea d' Agnolo), _Life_, 85-120. 164, 194,
217-221, 231
Andrea della Robbia, 90
Andrea di Cosimo Feltrini, _Life_, 229-233. 221, 228
Andrea Ferrucci (Andrea da Fiesole), _Life_, 3-8. 11
Andrea Sansovino (Andrea Contucci, or Andrea dal Monte Sansovino),
_Life_, 21-31. 43, 88
Andrea Sguazzella, 100, 118
Andrea Verrocchio, 49, 50, 55
Anguisciuola, Sofonisba, 127, 128
Antonio Alberto, 13
Antonio da Carrara, 8
Antonio da San Gallo (the elder), 97
Antonio da San Gallo (the younger), 29, 43, 58, 72
Antonio da Trento (Antonio Fantuzzi), 249, 250
Antonio del Rozzo (Antonio del Tozzo), 73
Antonio di Donnino Mazzieri, 223
Antonio di Giorgio Marchissi, 4
Antonio di Giovanni (Solosmeo), 118
Antonio Fantuzzi (Antonio da Trento), 249, 250
Antonio Floriani, 148, 149
Antonio Mini, 165
Antonio Pollaiuolo, 21
Apelles, 14
Aretusi, Pellegrino degli (Pellegrino da Modena, or Pellegrino de'
Munari), _Life_, 80-81. 176
Aristotele (Sebastiano) da San Gallo, 97
Aspertini, Amico, _Life_, 209-211. 125, 207-211
Bacchiacca, Il (Francesco Ubertini, or Francesco d' Albertino), 222
Baccio Baglioni (Baccio d' Agnolo), 91, 98, 102
Baccio Bandinelli, 5, 27, 36, 57, 96-98, 135
Baccio d' Agnolo (Baccio Baglioni), 91, 98, 102
Baccio da Montelupo, _Life_, 41-45. 97
Baccio della Porta (Fra Bartolommeo di San Marco), 159, 160, 194
Baglioni, Baccio (Baccio d' Agnolo), 91, 98, 102
Bagnacavallo, Bartolommeo da (Bartolommeo Ramenghi), _Life_, 207-209
Bagnacavallo, Giovan Battista da, 201
Baldassarre Peruzzi, _Life_, 63-74. 57, 63-74, 136, 170, 176, 208
Baldovinetti, Alesso, 88, 92
Bambaja, Il (Agostino Busto), 42, 43
Bandinelli, Baccio, 5, 27, 36, 57, 96-98, 135
Barbieri, Domenico del, 201
Barile, Gian (of Florence), 86
Bartolommeo da Bagnacavallo (Bartolommeo Ramenghi), _Life_, 207-209
Bartolommeo di San Marco, Fra (Baccio della Porta), 159, 160, 194
Bartolommeo Miniati, 201
Bartolommeo Neroni (Riccio), 73
Bartolommeo Ramenghi (Bartolommeo da Bagnacavallo), _Life_, 207-209
Bastianello Florigorio (Sebastiano Florigerio), 148