near the walls of Florence, a few steps from the Porta a Pinti. Then
they went into the city and had a house in the parish of S. Ambrogio, in
which church Francesco di Domenico made a tomb for himself and his
family in 1470. They had arms; at first they were a goldsmith's anvil
(tasso or tassetto), and above a ball or heap of silver. Afterwards the
field of the shield was divided, and they added in the upper part two
little badgers (tassi) at the side of the anvil, and put below the keys
of S. Peter, crossed, and interspersed with four roses. "And this they
did, not only to point out the parish of S. Pier Maggiore in the
gonfalon 'Chiavi' of the quarter of S. Giovanni, where the del Tasso
lived, but also to differentiate their arms from those almost similar of
another Florentine family of the same name." Evidently there was no
College of Heralds in Florence in those days! The first of the family
recorded is Chimenti di Francesco, who, in 1483-4 made a grating or
gridiron of wood in the Chapel of S. Lorenzo in the Monastery of S.
Ambrogio, and the dossal of the altar called "del Miracolo." In 1488 he
carved a choir of walnut, outlined with tarsia, for the Chapel
Minerbetti in S. Pancrazio, for which he was paid 100 florins of gold.
He had, among others, two sons, Lionardo and Zanobi, who became
sculptors under Benedetto da Majano and Andrea Sansovino. They also
worked in S. Ambrogio, and the figure of S. Sebastian is by Lionardo.
The two brothers in 1499 made nine antique heads of marble and bronze,
which the republic sent as a gift to the Maréchal de Guise in France.
Chimenti had two brothers, also carvers and joiners, Cervagio and
Domenico, who brought up their sons to follow the same calling, who did
many things for triumphal arches, cars, &c., for "feste." Domenico did
the tarsia and rosettes in the seat backs of the refectory of S. Pietro,
Perugia, and a credence of walnut, ordered on October 20, 1490, for the
table of the priors, on which were festoons, griffins, and other inlaid
work. The year after he finished the choir of the Cathedral left by
Giuliano da Majano, and was paid 1404 florins, according to the estimate
of Crispolto and Polimante, Perugian joiners. For the same choir he made
the panelling of wood, for which he was paid 60 florins. There were 34
seats with ornaments at 36 florins each, and three with figures, which
were estimated at 60 florins apiece. Payments were also made to him for
work in the Sala del Cambio, sometimes for wood, sometimes on account of
salary, so that it seems certain that he made the benches there on
finishing the choir of the Cathedral, since they were being made between
1491 and 1494. The first cost 130 florins and 6 soldi in 1491, but it
was not finished till the next year. Polimante da Nicola was made
citizen of Perugia in 1473. Three years after he began the choir of S.
Domenico, which cost 11 florins per seat. Four years later it was still
unfinished. "Mastro Crespolto and Mastro Giovagne" were his assistants.
Domenico had three sons, Chimenti, Francesco, and Marco, who followed
the paternal calling. Chimenti was one of those who were judges in 1490
in the competition for the façade of S. Maria del Fiore, and in 1504 was
one of those chosen to decide the position in the piazza to be occupied
by Michael Angelo's David. Marco was an enthusiastic follower of
Savonarola; in 1491 he was, with his brother Francesco, at Perugia
helping his father, and six years later he undertook work there on his
own account. They did half of the choir of La Badia in 1501-2, and the
very elaborate lectern. The son of Mark was Giambattista, called Maestro
Tasso, who was a fine carver in wood, and, in the opinion of Cellini,
the best in his profession. He did many things both for ephemeral and
lasting purposes, and became an architect, designing the door of the
Church of S. Romolo and the Loggia of Mercato Nuovo, Florence, and
superintending the construction of the latter between 1549 and 1551. In
1548 he designed an addition to the Palazzo Vecchio, then the ducal
residence, and also undertook to execute all the joinery. At the same
time he made a model of the Palace which he intended to build in Pisa,
which, however, was not carried out. He died in 1555. He was said by
Vasari to spend his time in playing the wag, in enjoyment rather than
work, and in criticising the works of others. But Cellini calls him
pleasant and gay; Bronzino, good, lovable, and honest; and so does Luca
Martini, who was a great friend of his. The following story of him,
related by Il Lasca, shows that he was not above playing a practical
joke of a rough character, and that he took great pride in the
achievements of his fellow-artists:--"A Lombard Benedictine abbot on
the way to Rome stayed in Florence, and wished one day to see the
figures on the Medicean tombs in the sacristy of San Lorenzo carved by
Michael Angelo, and having therefore gone thither with his two attendant
monks, the prior of the church asked Tasso, who was then working at the
floor of the library together with his son-in-law Crocini Antonio di
Romolo, under the direction of Michael Angelo, to show the abbot the
sacristy and the said library. Which abbot, after having seen the
figures in the sacristy, and thought very little of them, set off to see
the library, and while he was gently ascending a stair which conducted
to it, talking with Tasso, happened to turn his eyes on the cupola of
Brunellesco, and stopping to look at it commenced to say that, although
it was considered by all the world as a marvel, he had heard a person
worthy of credence say that the dome of Norcia was much more beautiful,
and made with greater art. Which words so much exasperated Tasso that,
pulling the abbot backwards with force, he made him tumble down the
staircase, and he took care to let himself fall on him (!) and calling
out that the frater was mad, he got two cords, with which he bound his
arms, his legs, and all his person, so that he could not move, and then
taking him, hanging over his shoulders, carried him to a room near,
and, stretching him on the ground, left him there in the dark, locking
the door and taking away the key." What happened to the unfortunate
abbot after, and whether he was much damaged or not one does not know,
for the anecdote stops here. Another instance of a family which devoted
itself for many years to the production of tarsia and wood-work,
displaying hereditary aptitude in the craft and gaining great repute, is
given by the Canozii of Lendinara. The first member who took up tarsia,
abandoning his craft of painting for that purpose, was Lorenzo Genesino
da Lendinara, surnamed Canozio, to give him his full description. From
him descended many excellent workers in wood. He studied in Padua, where
he had Mantegna as fellow-student, and worked in company with his
brother, his son, and a relation called Pier Antonio dell' Abate di
Modena, who did the intarsia in the choir of S. Francesco at Treviso in
1486. He died in 1477, and is buried in the first cloister of S. Antonio
at Padua, for which he made the stalls, as his epitaph states. They were
commenced in 1462, were worked at continuously for three years, and
after an interval finished in 1468. They were then coloured and gilded
in places by "Maestro Ugozon de Padoa, depentor." Burnt in 1749, only
two stalls remain, made into confessional boxes, in the Chapel of the
Beato Belludi. The designs for the tarsia of the sacristy were made by
Squarcione, master of Mantegna and Lorenzo, who was paid for them in
1462. There were 90 seats in this choir, so that it was a very important
piece of work. A contemporary account by Matteo Colaccio (1486) shows
what were the aims of the intarsiatori of the period as understood and
admired by the more or less cultivated populace. "In past days in
visiting those intarsiad figures, I was so much taken with the
exquisiteness of the work that I could not withhold myself from praising
the authors to heaven! And to commence with the objects that one sees
around every day, here are books expressed in tarsia that seem real.
Some are one on the other, and arranged carelessly, or by chance, some
closed, some newly bound and difficult to close; candles of wax with the
ends of wicks, now in well-turned wooden candlesticks, one straight, one
crooked, less or more, with another crossing it. Elsewhere one sees
clouds of smoke which spread out from new chimneys, fish which turn
round from a full basket, a cithern which hangs from the centre of a
narrow niche. Close by is a cage of bars expressed with wonderful
spirit. Palaces, towers, and churches, through the half-closed doors of
which one can see in the interior arches and windows, cupolas and
steps. Most natural, then, is it not to be able to decide which tower
to approach; these mountains appear to one covered with grass and with
stones; and where earth of various colours appears there all green is
taken away. But what shall I say of the images of the saints. Of their
uncut and curled beards, of their hands, the joints of their fingers,
their nails? Of their clothes, their sinuous folds, and the shadows? Nor
less pleased me the little collar of rich pearls under the chin of S.
Prosdocimus. Then round the angel Gabriel and the most pious mother one
admires branches with such fruit and twigs that nature does not make
them more true. And this is specially admirable, that through the dull
colour of their leaves they seem to have been taken from the tree
scarcely a day ago." And then he praises in a pompous fashion the folds
of the Virgin's and the Angel's drapery, the silk veil over a chalice,
and the perspective of a flight of steps which support the feet of the
Madonna, &c. One of his first works was done for S. Mark's, Venice, in
1450. His reputation was much increased by the stalls of the Cathedral
of Modena, made in 1472 by Lorenzo and Cristoforo, and restored in 1540
by Mastro Angelo de Piacenza, one of their pupils. He also worked at
Parma in 1473. Fra Luca Pacioli (1509) makes an enthusiastic eulogium
upon Lorenzo, "who, in the said art (perspective), was in his time
supreme, as he showed in all his famous works, as in tarsia in the
worthy choir of the Santo and its sacristy, and in Venice in the Cha
Grande, as well as in painting in the same places and elsewhere. And at
the present time his son, Giovan Marco, my dear comrade, who is worthy
of his paternity, as his work at Rovigo shows, and that in the choir of
our convent in Venice, and in Mirandola, the architecture of which
fortress is well understood." In the sacristy of the Cathedral at Lucca
are five panels from the seats which once surrounded it, signed
"Cristopharus de Canociis de Lendinaria fecit opus, MCCCCLXXXVIII." One
shows S. Martin, the bishop, full length, the others perspectives,
perhaps of various streets of the city as then existing. He did these in
conjunction with Matteo Civitale, and they were his last works. He died
in 1491. Bernardino da Lendinara, who worked at Parma in 1494, and
later, and was a citizen of that town and of Modena, was son of
Cristoforo, who was also citizen of those cities from 1463.
[Illustration: Plate 15.--_Two panels from the Sala del Cambio,
Perugia._
_To face page 28._]
[Illustration: Plate 16.--_Frieze from S. Mark's, Venice._
_To face page 30._]
[Illustration: _To face page 32._ Plate 17.--_Frieze from S. Mark's,
Venice._]
[Illustration: Plate 18.--_Stalls from the Cathedral, Lucca._]
The stalls from the Cathedral at Lucca, which are illustrated, are now
in the Picture Gallery. They were made by Leonardo Marti, of Lucca. When
in 1620 the choir was spoilt (they thought that they were making grand
improvements) they were moved to the church of the Riformati of S.
Cerbone, being badly mutilated to adapt them to their new position.
There, in two centuries of neglect they became in such a state that the
brothers thought them no longer decent, and wished to sell them and make
a new choir. The Opera of the Cathedral and the Commission of Art paid
them something for them, and thus preserved them as they now are, having
executed some restorations here and there.
At Ferrara are some remains of stalls in the apse of the Cathedral which
were commissioned from Bernardino da Lendinara in 1501, though not made
by him owing to the defalcations of a dishonest steward. In 1519 the
Chapter of the Cathedral renewed the contract with Pietro de' Rizzardi
and Bernardino, but as he died in 1520, M. Angelo Discaccia, of Cremona,
son of M. Cristoforo (da Lendinara?), was substituted, and assisted
Rizzardi till the work was finished in 1525. The gilding was done by
Baldassare dalla Viola and Albertino dalla Mirandola. A note in the
books of the Fabbrica, June 30, 1525, states that "Mro. Piero di
Richardo dale Lanze" owes for work not yet completed 58 lire 20 soldi.
There are three rows of seats, 132 in all, and the Episcopal throne in
the middle. The upper row is of 56 seats, without the throne, the middle
one 42, the lowest 34. Originally there were 150, but in the
alterations of 1715 nine from each side were taken away, as the high
altar was placed further within the apse. The upper stalls are divided
by a chancelled column with Corinthian capital, and terminated in a
shell hood. The intarsia on the back showed ornament of fine style,
drawings of sacred objects and perspectives of fine buildings drawn from
various parts of the city. Two of the best preserved show the ducal
castle and the ancient ducal courtyard with the still-existing staircase
constructed by Ercole I. in 1481. The usual bird in a cage appears, the
symbol of human passions conquered by religious abnegation. The lower
rows of seats are also worked in tarsia, but with ornaments of
geometrical form, books, and joint-stools, the diamond, the cognisance
of Ercole I. (who gave the original commission), and the pomegranate,
that of Alfonso, and this last figure, which only occurs in the third
stall to the right in the lower order, makes one think that only that
part was finished under him. The frames surrounding are carved with
restraint. The work cost altogether 2771 lire 8 soldi 2 denari besides
the expense of making the lower seats, which cost 3984 lire marchesane
16 soldi 10 denari. The lira marchesana in 1523-25 corresponded to 43
Roman bajocchi 9 denari, about 2 francs 35 centimes of modern Italian
money.
[Illustration: Plate 19.--_Lectern in Pinacoteca, Lucca._]
[Illustration: Plate 20.--_Two-leaved door in the Pinacoteca, Lucca._
_To face page 35._]
The Canozii were also at Reggio, in the Emilia, in 1474 and in 1485, but
the work of the stalls in the Cathedral seems rather more archaic than
their period, and the lectern is dated 1459. It is probably the work of
Antonio da Melaria, who three years later made one exactly like it, with
other things, for the Church of S. Domenico. This was done for Antonia
di Fiordibelli, and the contract shows what were the conditions under
which such work was done. He was given 50 lire at once to buy material
with, 50 when he began working, 50 when he had finished a third of the
work, 50 when it was half done, 50 more when three-quarters was
finished, and the rest of the whole price of 336 lire when it was
completed. He was to use wood of Piella, and give 48 planks to the
lady--a very curious clause in the contract.
At Città di Castello there are tarsie designed by Raffaello da Colle in
the Cathedral.
The choir stalls at the Certosa, Pavia, were made by Bartolommeo Poli,
surnamed dalla Polla, from designs by Borgognone, as is said, and the
style certainly seems to bear out the assertion, though no document has
yet been found directly connecting him with them. They were restored in
1847 by Count Nava with wax and stucco coloured to imitate the missing
pieces of wood. The upper row contains a series of figures of saints
and prophets, and below are exceedingly graceful and flowing arabesques.
A document in the Brera Library notes that in 1490 "Mro. Bartolommeo de
Polli da Mantoa, who made the inlaid choir and the doors of the chapels,
has a right to 8 ducats per door, and also for the wooden pulpits 30
ducats a pulpit." He was the son of Andrea da Mantova, who was born at
Modena, but lived and worked at Mantua, and also with his brother Paolo
in S. Mark's, Venice. The stalls were made between 1486 and 1501, and
are the only work which he is recorded to have executed. A Cremonese,
Pantaleone de' Marchi also worked on these stalls--a relation of the
large family of the Marchi of Crema, perhaps, who worked in S. Petronio,
Bologna, in 1495. The father was named Agostino, and he had six sons,
Giacomo, Nicolo, Taddeo, Biagio, Agostino, and a second Giacomo. The
stalls in the Chapel of S. Sebastian are signed Jacopo de Marchis. Some
stalls by Pantaleone de' Marchi are in the Museum at Berlin, acquired in
1883. They probably came from Bramante's Church, the Madonna of Tirano,
in the Valtelline, which was built in 1505, and where there are still
some remains of seats similar in style. The upper range of panels has a
few half-lengths of saints, landscapes, and the usual open cupboard
doors revealing objects on the shelves within. On the backs of the seats
below are arabesques, and the pilaster panels and divisions between are
also inlaid, as is the cornice. He also worked at Savona.
[Illustration: Plate 21.--_Stalls at the Certosa, Pavia._]
[Illustration: Plate 22.--_Detail of Arabesques, lower seats, Certosa,
Pavia._
_To face page 37._]
One of the best Sienese masters has not yet been mentioned, Antonio
Barili, much of whose work has perished, like that of many other
intarsiatori, an example of which the collectors for the Austrian K.K.
Museum at Vienna have picked up, however, where it may now be seen. He
was born in Siena, August 12, 1453. His first work on his own account
was the choir of the Chapel of S. Giovanni, in the Cathedral, Siena, of
which a few poor remains have escaped the carelessness of the last
century, and are in the Collegiate Church of S. Quirico in Osenna, 26
miles from Siena, on the old Roman road. The contract is dated January
16, 1483, and in it he engages to finish it in about two years. He was
to be paid 50 florins of 4 lire beyond what he expended, and was to go
on working at the rate of 10 florins a month. If he did not finish it in
the given time he was to forfeit 100 florins, except for cause of
infirmity, plague, &c. It was to be valued in the usual manner, and 100
florins was the penalty for the breaking of the contract on either side.
As a matter of fact it took him nearly 20 years to complete. On one of
the panels Barili made a portrait of himself at work, the one referred
to above, now in the K.K. Austrian Museum at Vienna, which shows the
very simple means used by the great intarsiatori. His tools consist of a
folding pocket-knife, a square-handled gouge, and a short-bladed,
long-handled knife, which he holds with the left hand and presses his
shoulder against, so as to use the push of the shoulder in cutting,
while in the right he holds a small pencil, with which he appears to
direct the knife edge. The panel upon which he is at work bears the
inscription, "Hoc ego Antonius Barilis opus c[oe]lo non penicello
excussi. Anno. D., 1502." He works in a window opening with panelled
framing, and behind him a tree spreads across a courtyard against the
sky, upon a branch of which a parrot is seated. Von Tschudi says that
the panel is about 2 feet 10 inches long by 1 foot 9-1/2 inches broad,
and that the woods employed are pear and walnut, oak, maple, box,
mahogany, palisander, and one as hard as birch in texture. A full
description of it as it originally was is appended in a note taken from
Della Valle's "Lettere Senese." It was valued by Fra Giovanni of Verona
at 3990 lire. While this work was in progress he made the benches and
other wood-work in the Cathedral Library for Francesco Piccolomini at a
cost of 2000 lire, and did other work for private persons. Another
great work was the choir of the Certosa of Maggiano, which has entirely
disappeared. He was not only intarsiatore, but was much employed by the
commune on architectural works. In 1484 he was sent to rebuild the
bridge of Buonconvento, broken by a flood of the Ombrone, and in the
same year, with Francesco di Giorgio, and on equal terms with him,
restored the bridge of Macereto. In 1495 he was asked to make designs
and models for a bastion to be erected over against the bridge of
Valiano, taken by the Florentines. Owing to a bad guard being kept this
was taken, and between 1498 and 1500 Barili was sent again to rebuild it
larger and stronger. Finally, in 1503, he was sent to make designs and
models of the new walls for the fortifications of Talamone, an important
coast town. In his intarsias he was helped by his nephew, Giovanni,
whose salary, when working for Leo X. at Rome, was five ducats a month.
He died in 1516.[2]
[Illustration: Plate 23.--_Panel from S. Petronio, Bologna._]
[Illustration: Plate 24.--_Panel from S. Petronio, Bologna._
_To face page 39._]
[Illustration: _To face page 40._
Plate 25.--_Panel from S. Miniato, Florence._]
[Illustration: Plate 26.--_Panel from S. Maria Novella, Florence._
_To face page 42._]
Other names mentioned by Vasari are Baccio Albini and his pupil Girolamo
della Cecca, _pipers to the signoria_, as good intarsiatori who worked
also in ivory when Benedetto da Majano was yet a young man, and
David of Pistoia and Geri of Arezzo, who decorated the choir and pulpit
of S. Agostino in the latter town. Geri also made intarsie for S.
Michele, Arezzo. Milanesi says Girolamo della Cecca was of Volterra,
and calls Baccio, di Andrea Cellini; he was in Hungary in 1480 with his
brother Francesco; they were brothers of Giovanni, who was father of
Benvenuto and piper also. The stalls in S. Miniato, Florence, were made
in 1466 by Francesco Manciatto and Domenico da Gajuolo; but perhaps the
highest point reached by Florentine intarsia is shown by the stalls of
S. Maria Novella, made by Baccio d'Agnolo from Filippino Lippi's
designs. There are 40 stalls and 30 different ornamental fillings; the
capitals, pilasters, and frieze are inlaid, the rest carved; the
execution of figures, scrolls, leaves, and ornamental forms is as near
perfection as may be.
Baccio, or Bartolommeo d'Agnolo Baglioni, was born May 19, 1462. "In his
youth he did very fine intarsia in the choir of S. Maria Novella, in
which are a very fine S. John Baptist and S. Laurence, and also carved
the ornaments in the same place and the organ case"--so says Vasari. The
organ case is no longer there, having been sold in England, but the
stalls still remain. After carving the surroundings of the altar at S.
S. Annunziata, which no longer exist, he went to Rome and studied
architecture, of which Vasari remarks, "the science of which has not
been exercised, for several years back, except by carvers and deceitful
persons, who made profession of understanding perspective without
knowing even the terminology and the first principles" (!) When he
returned to Florence he made triumphal arches of carpentry for the entry
of Leo X. But he still stuck to his shop, in which, especially in the
winter, fine discourses and discussions on art matters were held,
attended at different times by Raffaello, then quite young; by Andrea
Sansovino, il Maiano, il Cronaca, Antonio and Giuliano San Gallo, il
Granaccio, and sometimes, by chance, by Michel Agnolo, and many young
men, both Florentines and strangers. He did a great deal of work for the
great hall of the Palazzo Vecchio in conjunction with others, and the
staircase of the Sala del Dugento. After this he did many architectural
works, palaces and additions to churches, some of which are still
existing. The design of Brunelleschi for the gallery to surround the
dome of the Cathedral having been lost, Baccio was commissioned to make
a fresh one, and a piece of it was put up; but when Michael Angelo came
back from Rome he said it was not large enough in style for the dome; in
fact, he called it a cage for grasshoppers (grilli), and made a design
to replace it himself; as, however, the authorities could not make up
their minds to accept it, and Baccio's work was much blamed, it went no
farther, and was never finished. He died on May 6, 1543, at the age of
83, being still in full possession of his faculties, and leaving three
sons, of whom the second, Giuliano, did a good deal of carving both in
stone and wood, and architectural design, working in conjunction with
Baccio Bandinelli, among which was the choir of the Cathedral of
Florence. Another son, Domenico, showed great promise, but died young.
[Illustration: Plate 27.--_Panel from S. Maria Novella, Florence._
_To face page 44._]