palace a considerable way towards completion, and had finished part of
the first range of windows in the façade and the inner hall, and had
begun one side of the courtyard; but the building was yet not so far
advanced that it could be seen in its perfection, when the Cardinal was
elected Pontiff, and Antonio altered the whole of the original design,
considering that he had to make a palace no longer for a Cardinal, but
for a Pope. Having therefore pulled down some houses that were round it,
and the old staircase, he rebuilt it with a more gentle ascent, and
increased the courtyard on every side and also the whole palace, making
the halls greater in extent and the rooms more numerous and more
magnificent, with very beautiful carved ceilings and many other
ornaments. And he had already brought the façade, with the second range
of windows, to completion, and had only to add the great cornice that
was to go right round the whole, when the Pope, who was a man of exalted
mind and excellent judgment, desiring to have a cornice richer and more
beautiful than any that there had ever been in any other palace
whatsoever, resolved that, in addition to the designs that Antonio had
made, all the best architects of Rome should each make one, after which
he would choose the finest, but would nevertheless have it carried into
execution by Antonio. And so one morning, while he was at table at the
Belvedere, all those designs were brought before him in the presence of
Antonio, the masters who had made them being Perino del Vaga, Fra
Sebastiano del Piombo, Michelagnolo Buonarroti, and Giorgio Vasari, who
was then a young man and in the service of Cardinal Farnese, at the
commission of whom and of the Pope he had prepared for that cornice not
one only, but two different designs. It is true that Buonarroti did not
bring his own himself, but sent it by the same Giorgio Vasari, who had
gone to show him his designs, to the end that he might express his
opinion on them as a friend; whereupon Michelagnolo gave him his own
design, asking that he should take it to the Pope and make his excuses
for not going in person, on the ground that he was indisposed. And when
all the designs had been presented to the Pope, his Holiness examined
them for a long time, and praised them all as ingenious and very
beautiful, but that of the divine Michelagnolo above all.
Now all this did not happen without causing vexation to Antonio, who was
not much pleased with this method of procedure on the part of the Pope,
and who would have liked to do everything by himself. But even more was
he displeased to see that the Pope held in great account one Jacomo
Melighino of Ferrara, and made use of him as architect in the building
of S. Pietro, although he showed neither power of design nor much
judgment in his works, giving him the same salary as he paid to Antonio,
on whom fell all the labour. And this happened because this Melighino
had been the faithful servant of the Pope for many years without any
reward, and it pleased His Holiness to recompense him in that way; not
to mention that he had charge of the Belvedere and of some other
buildings belonging to the Pope.
After the Pope, therefore, had seen all the designs mentioned above, he
said, perchance to try Antonio: "These are all beautiful, but it would
not be amiss for us to see another that our Melighino has made." At
which Antonio, feeling some resentment, and believing that the Pope was
making fun of him, replied: "Holy Father, Melighino is but an architect
in jest." Which hearing, the Pope, who was seated, turned towards
Antonio, and, bowing his head almost to the ground, answered: "Antonio,
it is our wish that Melighino should be an architect in earnest, as you
may see from his salary." Having said this, he dismissed the company and
went away; and by these words he meant to show that it is very often by
Princes rather than by their own merits that men are brought to the
greatness that they desire. The cornice was afterwards executed by
Michelagnolo, who reconstructed the whole of that palace almost in
another form, as will be related in his Life.
After the death of Antonio there remained alive his brother Battista
Gobbo, a person of ability, who spent all his time on the buildings of
Antonio, although the latter did not behave very well towards him. This
Battista did not live many years after Antonio, and at his death he left
all his possessions to the Florentine Company of the Misericordia in
Rome, on the condition that the men of that Company should cause to be
printed a book of Observations on Vitruvius that he had written. That
book has never come into the light of day, but it is believed to be a
good work, for he had a very fine knowledge of the matters of his art,
and was a man of excellent judgment, and he was also upright and true.
But returning to Antonio: having died at Terni, he was taken to Rome and
carried to the grave with the greatest pomp, followed by all the
craftsmen of design and by many others; and then, at the instance of the
Wardens of S. Pietro, his body was placed in a tomb near the Chapel of
Pope Sixtus in S. Pietro, with the following epitaph:
ANTONIO SANCTI GALLI FLORENTINO, URBE MUNIENDA AC PUB. OPERIBUS,
PRÆCIPUEQUE D. PETRI TEMPLO ORNAN. ARCHITECTORUM FACILE PRINCIPI,
DUM VELINI LACUS EMISSIONEM PARAT, PAULO PONT. MAX. AUCTORE,
INTERAMNÆ INTEMPESTIVE EXTINCTO, ISABELLA DETA UXOR MOESTISS.
POSUIT 1546, III. CALEND. OCTOBRIS.
And in truth Antonio, who was a most excellent architect, deserves to be
celebrated and extolled, as his works clearly demonstrate, no less than
any other architect, whether ancient or modern.
FOOTNOTE:
[24] The "palma" as used here is equal to about nine inches.
[25] The "canna" is equal to four braccia.
GIULIO ROMANO
LIFE OF GIULIO ROMANO
PAINTER
Among his many, or rather innumerable, disciples, the greater number of
whom became able masters, Raffaello da Urbino had not one who imitated
him more closely in manner, invention, design, and colouring, than did
Giulio Romano, nor one who was better grounded, more bold, resolute,
prolific, and versatile, or more fanciful and varied than Giulio; not to
mention for the present that he was very pleasant in his conversation,
gay, amiable, gracious, and supremely excellent in character. These
qualities were the reason that he was so beloved by Raffaello, that, if
he had been his son, he could not have loved him more; wherefore it came
to pass that Raffaello always made use of him in his most important
works, and, in particular, in executing the Papal Loggie for Leo X; for
after Raffaello had made the designs for the architecture, the
decorations, and the scenes, he caused Giulio to paint many of the
pictures there, among which are the Creation of Adam and Eve, that of
the animals, the Building of Noah's Ark, his Sacrifice, and many other
works, which are known by the manner, such as the one in which the
daughter of Pharaoh, with her ladies, finds Moses in the little ark,
which had been cast adrift on the river by the Hebrews--a work that is
marvellous on account of a very well executed landscape. Giulio also
assisted Raffaello in painting many things in that apartment of the
Borgia Tower which contains the Burning of the Borgo, more particularly
the base, which is painted in the colour of bronze, with the Countess
Matilda, King Pepin, Charlemagne, Godfrey de Bouillon, King of
Jerusalem, and other benefactors of the Church--all excellent figures;
and prints of a part of this scene, taken from a drawing by the hand of
Giulio, were published not long since. The same Giulio also executed
the greater part of the scenes in fresco that are in the Loggia of
Agostino Chigi; and he worked in oils on a very beautiful picture of S.
Elizabeth, which was painted by Raffaello and sent to King Francis of
France, together with another picture, of S. Margaret, painted almost
entirely by Giulio after the design of Raffaello, who sent to the same
King the portrait of the Vice-Queen of Naples, wherein Raffaello did
nothing but the likeness of the head from life, and the rest was
finished by Giulio. These works, which were very dear to that King, are
still in the King's Chapel at Fontainebleau in France.
Working in this manner in the service of his master Raffaello, and
learning the most difficult secrets of art, which were taught to him by
Raffaello himself with extraordinary lovingness, before a long time had
passed Giulio knew very well how to draw in perspective, take the
measurements of buildings, and execute ground-plans; and Raffaello,
designing and sketching at times inventions after his own fancy, would
afterwards have them drawn on a larger scale, with the proper
measurements, by Giulio, in order to make use of them in his works of
architecture. And Giulio, beginning to delight in that art, gave his
attention to it in such a manner, that he afterwards practised it and
became a most excellent master. At his death, Raffaello left as his
heirs Giulio and Giovan Francesco, called Il Fattore, on the condition
that they should finish the works begun by him; and they carried the
greater part of these to completion with honour.
[Illustration: THE BATTLE OF CONSTANTINE
(_Detail, after the fresco by =Giulio Romano=. Rome: The Vatican_)
_Anderson_]
Now Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, who afterwards became Pope Clement VII,
took a site under Monte Mario at Rome, in which, besides a beautiful
view, there were running waters, with some woods on the banks and a
lovely plain which, running along the Tiber as far as the Ponte Molle,
formed on either side a wide expanse of meadowland that extended almost
to the Porta di S. Pietro; and on the highest point of the bank, where
there was a level space, he proposed to build a palace with all the best
and most beautiful conveniences and adornments that could be desired in
the form of apartments, loggie, gardens, fountains, groves, and other
things. Of all this he gave the charge to Giulio, who, undertaking it
willingly, and setting his hand to the work, brought that palace, which
was then called the Vigna de' Medici, and is now known as the Villa
Madama, to that condition which will be described below. Accommodating
himself, then, to the nature of the site and the wishes of the Cardinal,
he made the façade in the form of a semicircle, after the manner of a
theatre, with a design of niches and windows of the Ionic Order; which
was so excellent, that many believe that Raffaello made the first sketch
for it, and that the work was afterwards pursued and carried to
completion by Giulio. The same Giulio painted many pictures in the
chambers and elsewhere; in particular, in a very beautiful loggia beyond
the first entrance vestibule, which is adorned all around with niches
large and small, wherein are great numbers of ancient statues; and among
these was a Jupiter, a rare work, which was afterwards sent by the
Farnese family to King Francis of France, with many other most beautiful
statues. In addition to those niches, the said loggia is all wrought in
stucco and has the walls and ceilings all painted with grotesques by the
hand of Giovanni da Udine. At the head of this loggia Giulio painted in
fresco an immense Polyphemus with a vast number of children and little
satyrs playing about him, for which he gained much praise, even as he
did for all the designs and works that he executed for that place, which
he adorned with fish-ponds, pavements, rustic fountains, groves, and
other suchlike things, all most beautiful and carried out with fine
order and judgment.
It is true that, the death of Leo supervening, for a time this work was
carried no further, for when a new Pontiff had been elected in Adrian,
and Cardinal de' Medici had returned to Florence, it was abandoned,
together with all the public works begun by Adrian's predecessor. During
this time Giulio and Giovan Francesco brought to completion many things
that had been left unfinished by Raffaello, and they were preparing to
carry into execution some of the cartoons that he had made for the
pictures of the Great Hall of the Palace--in which he had begun to paint
four stories from the life of the Emperor Constantine, and had, when he
died, covered one wall with the proper mixture for painting in
oils--when they saw that Adrian, being a man who took no delight in
pictures, sculptures, or in any other good thing, had no wish that the
Hall should be finished. Driven to despair, therefore, Giulio and Giovan
Francesco, and with them Perino del Vaga, Giovanni da Udine, Sebastiano
Viniziano, and all the other excellent craftsmen, were almost like to
die of hunger during the lifetime of Adrian. But by the will of God,
while the Court, accustomed to the magnificence of Leo, was all in
dismay, and all the best craftsmen, perceiving that no art was prized
any longer, were beginning to consider where they might take refuge,
Adrian died, and Cardinal Giulio de' Medici was elected Supreme Pontiff
under the name of Clement VII; and with him all the arts of design,
together with the other arts, were restored to life in one day. Giulio
and Giovan Francesco, full of joy, set themselves straightway by order
of the Pope to finish the above-mentioned Hall of Constantine, and threw
to the ground the preparation that had been laid on one wall for
painting in oils; but they left untouched two figures that they had
painted previously in oils, which serve as adornments to certain Popes;
and these were a Justice and another similar figure.
The distribution of this Hall, which is low, had been designed with much
judgment by Raffaello, who had placed at the corners, over all the
doors, large niches with ornaments in the form of little boys holding
various devices of Leo, such as lilies, diamonds, plumes, and other
emblems of the House of Medici. In the niches were seated some Popes in
pontificals, each with a canopy in his niche; and round those Popes were
some little boys in the form of little angels, holding books and other
appropriate things in their hands. And each Pope had on either side of
him a Virtue, chosen according to his merits; thus, the Apostle Peter
had Religion on one side and Charity, or rather Piety, on the other, and
so all the others had similar Virtues; and the said Popes were Damasus
I, Alexander I, Leo III, Gregory, Sylvester, and some others. All these
figures were so well placed in position and executed by Giulio, who
painted all the best parts of this work in fresco, that it is clear that
he endured much labour and took great pains with them; as may also be
seen from a drawing of S. Sylvester, which was designed very well by his
own hand, and is perhaps a much more graceful work than the painted
figure. It may be affirmed, indeed, that Giulio always expressed his
conceptions better in drawings than in finished work or in paintings,
for in the former may be seen more vivacity, boldness, and feeling; and
this may have happened because he made a drawing in an hour, in all the
heat and glow of working, whereas on paintings he spent months, and even
years, so that, growing weary of them, and losing that keen and ardent
love that one has at the beginning of a work, it is no marvel that he
did not give them that absolute perfection that is to be seen in his
drawings.
But to return to the stories: Giulio painted on one of the walls
Constantine making an address to his soldiers; while in the air, in a
splendour of light, appears the Sign of the Cross, with some little
boys, and letters that run thus: "In hoc signo vinces." And there is a
dwarf at the feet of Constantine, placing a helmet on his head, who is
executed with great art. Next, on the largest wall, there is the battle
of horsemen which took place at the Ponte Molle, in which Constantine
routed Maxentius. This work is worthy of the highest praise, on account
of the dead and wounded that may be seen in it, and the various
extravagant attitudes of the foot-soldiers and horsemen who are fighting
in groups, all painted with great spirit; not to mention that there are
many portraits from life. And if this scene were not too much darkened
and loaded with blacks, which Giulio always delighted to use in
colouring, it would be altogether perfect; but this takes away much of
its grace and beauty. In the same scene he painted the whole landscape
of Monte Mario, and the River Tiber, in which Maxentius, who is on
horseback, proud and terrible, is drowning. In short, Giulio acquitted
himself in such a manner in this work, that it has been a great light to
all who have painted battle-pieces of that kind since his day. He
himself learned so much from the ancient columns of Trajan and Antoninus
that are in Rome, that he made much use of this knowledge for the
costumes of soldiers, armour, ensigns, bastions, palisades,
battering-rams, and all the other instruments of war that are painted
throughout the whole of that Hall. And beneath these scenes, right
round, he painted many things in the colour of bronze, which are all
beautiful and worthy of praise.
On another wall he painted S. Sylvester the Pope baptizing Constantine,
representing there the very bath made by Constantine himself, which is
at S. Giovanni Laterano at the present day; and he made a portrait from
life of Pope Clement in the S. Sylvester who is baptizing, with some
assistants in their vestments, and a crowd of people. Among the many
attendants of the Pope of whom he painted portraits there, also from
life, was the Cavalierino, who was very influential with His Holiness at
that time, and Messer Niccolò Vespucci, a Knight of Rhodes. And below
this, on the base, he painted a scene with figures in imitation of
bronze, of Constantine causing the Church of S. Pietro to be built at
Rome, in allusion to Pope Clement. There he made portraits of the
architect Bramante and of Giuliano Lemi,[26] holding the design of the
ground-plan of the said church, and this scene is very beautiful.
On the fourth wall, above the chimney-piece of that Hall, he depicted in
perspective the Church of S. Pietro at Rome, with the Pope's throne
exactly as it appears when His Holiness chants the Pontifical Mass; the
body of Cardinals and all the other prelates of the Court; the chapel of
singers and musicians; and the Pope seated, represented as S. Sylvester,
with Constantine kneeling at his feet and presenting to him a figure of
Rome made of gold in the manner of those that are on the ancient medals,
by which Giulio intended to signify the dowry which that Constantine
gave to the Roman Church. In this scene Giulio painted many women
kneeling there to see that ceremony, who are very beautiful; a beggar
asking for alms; a little boy amusing himself by riding on a dog; and
the Lancers of the Papal Guard, who are making the people give way and
stand back, as is the custom. And among many portraits that are in this
work may be seen portraits from life of Giulio himself, the painter; of
Count Baldassarre Castiglioni, the author of the "Cortigiano," and very
much his friend; of Pontano and Marullo; and of many other men of
letters and courtiers. Right round the Hall and between the windows
Giulio painted many devices and poetical compositions, which were
pleasing and fanciful; and everything was much to the satisfaction of
the Pope, who rewarded him liberally for his labours.
While this Hall was being painted, Giulio and Giovan Francesco,
although they could not meet the demands of their friends even in part,
executed an altar-piece with the Assumption of Our Lady, a very
beautiful work, which was sent to Perugia and placed in the Convent of
the Nuns of Monteluci. Then, having withdrawn to work by himself, Giulio
painted a picture of Our Lady, with a cat that was so natural that it
appeared to be truly alive; whence that picture was called the Picture
of the Cat. In another picture, of great size, he painted a Christ being
scourged at the Column, which was placed on the altar of the Church of
S. Prassedia at Rome. And not long after this, M. Giovan Matteo Giberti,
who was then Datary to Pope Clement, and afterwards became Bishop of
Verona, commissioned Giulio, who was his very familiar friend, to make
the design for some rooms that were built of brick near the gate of the
Papal Palace, looking out upon the Piazza of S. Pietro, and serving for
the accommodation of the trumpeters who blow their trumpets when the
Cardinals go to the Consistory, with a most commodious flight of steps,
which can be ascended on horseback as well as on foot. For the same M.
Giovan Matteo he painted an altar-piece of the Stoning of S. Stephen,
which M. Giovan Matteo sent to a benefice of his own, called S. Stefano,
in Genoa. In this altar-piece, which is most beautiful in invention,
grace, and composition, the young Saul may be seen seated on the
garments of S. Stephen while the Jews are stoning him; and, in a word,
Giulio never painted a more beautiful work than this, so fierce are the
attitudes of the persecutors and so well expressed the patience of
Stephen, who appears to be truly seeing Jesus Christ on the right hand
of the Father in the Heaven, which is painted divinely well. This work,
together with the benefice, M. Giovan Matteo gave to the Monks of Monte
Oliveto, who have turned the place into a monastery.
The same Giulio executed at the commission of the German Jacob Fugger,
for a chapel that is in S. Maria de Anima at Rome, a most lovely
altar-piece in oils, in which are the Madonna, S. Anne, S. Joseph, S.
James, S. John as a little boy kneeling, and S. Mark the Evangelist with
a lion at his feet, which is lying down with a book, its hair curving in
accordance with its position, which was a beautiful consideration, and
difficult to execute; not to mention that the same lion has short wings
on its shoulders, with feathers so soft and plumy, that it seems almost
incredible that the hand of a craftsman could have been able to imitate
nature so closely. Besides this, he painted there a building that curves
in a circular form after the manner of a theatre, with some statues so
beautiful and so well placed that there is nothing better to be seen.
Among other figures there is a woman who is spinning and gazing at a hen
with some chickens, than which nothing could be more natural; and above
Our Lady are some little boys, very graceful and well painted, who are
upholding a canopy. And if this picture, also, had not been so heavily
loaded with black, by reason of which it has become very dark, it would
certainly have been much better; but this blackness has brought it about
that the greater part of the work that is in it is lost or destroyed,
and that because black, even when fortified with varnish, is the ruin of
all that is good, always having in it a certain desiccative quality,
whether it be made from charcoal, burnt ivory, smoke-black, or burnt
paper.
Among the many disciples that Giulio had while he was executing these
works, such as Bartolommeo da Castiglione, Tommaso Papacello of Cortona,
and Benedetto Pagni of Pescia, those of whom he made the most particular
use were Giovanni da Lione and Raffaello dal Colle of Borgo a San
Sepolcro, both of whom assisted him in the execution of many things in
the Hall of Constantine and in the other works of which we have spoken.
Wherefore I do not think it right to refrain from mentioning that these
two, who were very dexterous in painting, and followed the manner of
Giulio closely in carrying into execution the works that he designed for
them, painted in colours after his design, near the old Mint in the
Banchi, the escutcheon of Pope Clement VII, each of them doing one-half,
with two terminal figures, one on either side of that escutcheon. And
the same Raffaello, not long after, painted in fresco from a cartoon
drawn by Giulio, in a lunette within the door of the Palace of Cardinal
della Valle, a Madonna who is covering the Child, who is sleeping, with
a piece of drapery, with S. Andrew the Apostle on one side and S.
Nicholas on the other, which was held, with justice, to be an excellent
picture.
Giulio, meanwhile, being very intimate with Messer Baldassarre Turini da
Pescia, built for him on Mount Janiculum, where there are some villas
that have a most beautiful view, after making the design and model, a
palace so graceful and so well appointed, from its having all the
conveniences that could be desired in such a place, that it defies
description. Moreover, the apartments were adorned not only with stucco,
but also with paintings, for he himself painted there some stories of
Numa Pompilius, who was buried on that spot; and in the bathroom of this
palace, with the help of his young men, Giulio painted some stories of
Venus, Love, Apollo, and Hyacinthus, which are all to be seen in
engraving.
After having separated himself completely from Giovan Francesco, he
executed various architectural works in Rome, such as the design of the
house of the Alberini in the Banchi (although some believe that the plan
of this work came from Raffaello), and likewise a palace that may be
seen at the present day on the Piazza della Dogana in Rome, which, being
beautiful in design, has been reproduced in engraving. And for himself,
on a corner of the Macello de' Corbi, where stood his own house, in
which he was born, he made a beginning with a beautiful range of
windows, which is a small thing, but very graceful.