A 448100
N
6911
·M323

ARTES
LIBRARY
1837
SCIENTIA
VERITAS
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
T PLURIBUS UNIM:
SI-QUAERIS PENINSULAM AMOENAME":
CIRCUMSPICE


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;
LIVES
OF THE MOST EMINENT
Painters, Sculptors, and Architects
ОР
THE ORDER OF S. DOMINIC.
N
6911
.M323


Marchese, Vincenzo Fortunato
LIVES
OF
THE MOST EMINENT
Painters, Sculptors & Architects
OF
THE ORDER OF S. DOMINIC.
TRANSLATED FROM THE ITALIAN OP
Um
Father Marchese of the same Justitute,
WITH NOTES, ETC.,
BY THE REV. C. P. MEEHAN.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
DUBLIN:
JAMES DUFFY, 7, WELLINGTON QUAY.
1852.
:
DUBLIN:
PRINTED BY J. M. O'TOOLE,
13, HAWKINS'-street.
ΤΟ
SIR VERE DE VERE, BARONET,
THESE VOLUMES ARE MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED,
落
​BY
THE TRANSLATOR.
297989
Che Cranslator's Preface.
AFTER perusing Father Marchese's work, and the many
highly encomiastic notices bestowed on it by Reviewers
and Ecclesiological¹ writers, it occurred to me that I
would be doing valuable service to Religion, Arts, and to
the Monastic Institutions particularly, if I were to give an
English version of the original Italian. Encouraged by
various Prelates, Clergymen, Noblemen, Protestants as
well as Catholics, and also by some of the most distin-
guished members of the Catholic Laity in England and
Ireland, I laboured according to the best of my ability
to produce the following pages; and completed the trans-
lation within the brief period of two months.
Whatever may be the merit or demerit of the ren-
dering-no one will venture to assert, after having
read the following pages, that they do not abound in
facts, which must have the greatest interest for the Artist,
as well as for the studious of Ecclesiastical History.
Apart from such considerations, it will be admitted
that there never existed any period in which it was more
incumbent on persons in my position, to exercise what-
ever ability they possess, in order to enlighten men's
minds on the real nature of Catholic dogmas, practices,
and Institutions, and to expose the calumnies which have
been so unsparingly showered on the Religious Orders.
Indeed, it would be difficult to point out a single one of the
'See Dublin Review, No. L., January, 1849, and Rev. Mr. Webb's
Continental Ecclesiology.
viii
THE TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
1
many sanctioned and cherished by the Church, which has
escaped the obloquy and scorn of men who make it the
grand business of their lives to defame them. Some, no
doubt, have traduced the Religious Institutions, because
they were either ignorant of their true history, or derived
their information from sources which, far from being
trustworthy, should be regarded as the merest figments,
and frenetic ravings of disordered intellects. Whilst com-
passionating the mental blindness of men who blaspheme
what they do not comprehend, what are we to think of
those modern writers and itinerant ventilators of calumny,
who, for their own sordid ends, wilfully and knowingly
circulate these abominable misrepresentations from the
pulpit, the hustings, the Senate house, and in every
coterie to which they gain access? A spurious and soul
destroying literature has been subsidized to perpetuate
these delusions; and if we had no other reason for vene-
rating and respecting the Religious Orders, these slander-
ous productions, no matter how plausible and fascinating,
instead of diminishing that respect and veneration, should
rather strengthen and confirm both, since the grand
object of those writers is to strike at Christianity, after
having striven to overthrow its strongest defences. Con-
spiracies against thrones and principalities have been
universal in the nineteenth century, and the anarchists of
succeeding ages will, doubtless, look back to it with
delight; but if men should ever become more reflect-
ing and dispassionate than they are at present, they
will certainly marvel at the wide-spread conspiracy
against truth, which has distinguished our era. Not
many centuries ago the gold and silver vessels of the
altar, the jewelled shrines wherein grateful generations
had deposited the canonized bones of their Sainted bene-
factors, the rich endowments with which the piety of
THE TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
ix
princes and people had invested the monasteries, and the
fair fields reclaimed by the industry of the monks, offered
a tempting prize to the cupidity of a sacrilegious monarch,
whose whole life, from the moment of his apostacy, was
an uninterrupted series of heinous atrocities against the
laws of God and human nature. The dispersion and
murder of the Monks, and the suppression of the religi-
ous houses, are facts familiar to almost every one who
reads. The legalized plunder' commenced by Henry
VIII., was a precedent for every other despot who had
the same passions to gratify; and it is almost superfluous
to state, that vested rights and time-honoured immunities,
were of little avail to men whose very existence was
denounced as a positive evil to society. Contemplating
the remains of the glorious monuments of their genius-
monuments that shame the creations of a period boasting
its superior enlightenment and exhaustless resources—
which everywhere arrest the eye of the traveller in
England, Ireland, France and Spain, one might be
tempted to believe that they had been the dwellings of
a race far more execrable than the viper brood of Phari-
sees, if history did not assure him that the men who
caused this tremendous ruin, were the most relentless
enemies of civilization whom the world has ever seen since
the times of the Iconoclasts. Nevertheless, there was
that which they could not destroy, a principle, forsooth,
which defied all the expedients suggested by the most
malignant ingenuity-a principle which could not be
strangled by the halter, consumed by the fire, nor con-
signed to death by acts of Parliament. Need we say that
that principle was vitality-and that we have the most
The latest instance of this has been given by the Swiss infidels, who
are about to seize the property of the Monks of Mont St. Bernard, if they are
not deterred by the protest of the French government.
A 2
THE TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
palpable proofs of its indestructibility, here and else-
where?
This fact is so undeniable, that the enemies of the Mo-
nastic Institutions dare not gainsay it. The influences of
monasticism are operating too sensibly and too bene-
ficially on society, to allow any one to doubt for a moment
of their existence. Men and women of every grade,
tired of vain pursuits, and sick of a world which
has no anodyne for the soul's tribulations, yearn for that
repose which cannot be found outside the cloister, and
for the universal revival of that blessed economy which
provided an asylum for the repentant and contemplative,
in times when sins and excesses were far less heinous
and numerous, than they are in ours.
The evidences of that revival are as numerous as they
are consoling, not only in these countries, but also in many
regions of the Continent. Nay, the abortive attempts
which have been made by Anglicans to modify monas-
ticism, so as to accommodate it to their own views, are in-
contestible proofs of an irrepressible desire to return to
that happy state, which operated so beneficially not only
during the Middle Ages, but in times nearer to our own.
Were it our province to enumerate the multiform blessings
which monasticism is conferring on these countries, as
well as on many districts of the Continent, we would be
at no loss for facts to confute the calumnies of its adver-
saries, or to convince the sceptical of the utter falsity of
all the arguments that have been urged against it. When
the enemies of monasticism shall have proved that it is a
high misdemeanour against Christianity to enlighten the
ignorant, and preach the doctrines of the Redeemer in the
moral wildernesses that are to be found in many of the
cities of this empire, it will then be time to admit the
truth of all that has been asserted concerning its worth-
THE TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
xi
lessness. When the scoffer and unbeliever shall have
shewn that it is a work of supererogation to minister
consolation to the moribund, to open a refuge for the
outcast, or to convert the gorgeous palace' into an infir-
mary for those who should, otherwise, perish in the noi-
some damps of the cellar or in the deserted attic, then,
indeed, it will be time to applaud their philanthropy and
acknowledge the truth of their conclusions. In a word,
when they shall have demonstrated that it is criminal to
diffuse the Gospel truths, to educate youth in the fear and
love of God, to devote wealth to works of mercy, and
that we should discredit all that the Apostle S. John
has said of this world, then, but not till then, will we
feel ourselves bound to consider them in the light of
philosophers, proclaiming irrefragable truths.
2
Far from respecting monasticism for the benefits which
it has bestowed on the human race, an ungrateful and
malignant tribe of writers has never ceased to vilipend
and depreciate it. The Novelist would deem his work
imperfect, and some of its principal characters omitted, if
he did not introduce a Nun or a Friar, to excite the pity
or move the mirth of his readers. The one is almost in-
variably represented as a victim, who either entombs herself
in living death, to brood and mourn over vanished hopes
¹ S. Vincent's Hospital, for example. This splendid institution, in which
the Sisters of Charity perform the duty of uurses, affords medical aid to about
26,000 extern patients annually. The intern patients average about 1,500
per annum. Protestants, as well as Catholics, are freely admitted to this
grand establishment, which sprung up under the auspices of the late Most
Rev. Dr. Murray. Attached to this hospital is a school of clinical instruc-
tion, where lectures are delivered by Dr. O'Ferrall, one of the most eminent
physicians in England or Ireland. The pathological researches of this dis-
tinguished gentleman have been translated into various languages, and are
highly valued in America and on the Continent.
2 Epistle i., v. 16.
xii
THE TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
:
and unrequited loves, or as a mere hypochondriac, to
whose distempered vision and crazed imagination all that
is bright and beautiful in this world appears like a ghastly
panorama of dismal spectres, mocking the heart's affec-
tions and beckoning her on to the inevitable bourne of all
humanity. Occasionally, too, when it becomes necessary
to paint this character in a different light, she is repre-
sented as a victim sacrificed to the ambition or caprice of
a parent, who desires to aggrandize his own house, and
make some favoured first-born the inheritor of all his
wealth. Nor should it be forgotten, that the priest-
hood has been held up to scorn and execration as abettors
of acts analogous to these-as men, in a word, who have
designs on the gold and chattels of their penitents, dis-
regarding the most sacred obligations in order to compass
their own sordid ends. Misrepresentations of this sort
have been multiplied beyond number. In fact, there
is scarcely a single work of fiction, prosaic or poetical,
that does not teem with them; and the authors, who
derive golden gains by catering to the morbid appetites of
their readers, can afford to smile at that credulity which
it is their chiefest interest to perpetuate. Nevertheless,
we should congratulate ourselves that this race of tra-
ducers is fast fading away, that it is all but effete, and
that their absurd figments find scarcely any other media
for circulation than these wretched prints, whose object
is to unchristianize and subvert society. The vindicators
of Catholic doctrines and institutions are every day be-
coming more numerous. The genius and learning which
they have consecrated to the defence of Religion, is work-
ing a wonderful revolution in men's souls, not only within
these realms, but in almost every region of the Continent;
and we would fain flatter ourselves that the day has gone
by when any one, pretending to the name of Christian,
THE TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
would tolerate a sneer or an attack on these grand virtues
-Poverty, Continence, Humility, and Self-denial, which
were practised and inculcated by the Redeemer himself.
But, of all the characters whom the writers of fiction,
nay, and grave historians, have held up to the opprobrium
of mankind, none have been more sadly maligned than
the Friars. With the exception of Shakspeare, almost
every dramatist represents the inmate of the cloister in
the most odious light. His role in the drama, since the
days of Erasmus, has ever been that of an intriguer or
a debauchee; so much so, that these two designations
were sought to be made synonymous with that of a Friar.
The Novelist, too, has not failed to paint him in the same
colours; and when we find any Romancist giving a Friar-
who is an essential character in the structure of all Ro-
mances-the smallest amount of credit for any virtue, we
may reasonably begin to think that such a writer is
likely to forfeit all claims on the admiration and respect
of his readers. In fact, it has been the aim of Dramatists,
Essayists, Romancists, Poets, and Historians, to parade
the serge-clad form, as the veriest incarnation of every-
thing infamous, and deserving universal execration. If
a murder is to be done, the Friar, whose superior
knowledge has taught him how to blend the subtlest
poisons, is an agent always at hand, and ready to com-
mit the atrocity for the smallest consideration. If a
throne is to be subverted, a band of these men will
undertake, when bribed, to trample crowns beneath
their sandalled feet, and evoke all the demons of anarchy
from the abyss. If two hearts are to be united in "wed-
ded bonds," the Friar will hasten the union by means
of his ghostly influences, or prevent it by the same
agencies, as it may suit his own views or these of the
parties who commission him. Deeply skilled in all that
xiv
THE TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
.
is wicked and baneful, he is, at the same time, utterly
ignorant, and hostile to all that tends to promote the weal
and happiness of society!
This, in sober earnestness, is no exaggerated por-
traiture of the Monk, or Friar, as painted by those who
have had a decided interest in blackening and defaming
their characters. This gross and scandalous distortion of
truth is stereotyped in thousands of volumes, in almost
every language; and it grieves one to think, that genera-
tion after generation has lived and passed away, believing
that these horrid fabrications were almost tantamount to
metaphysical certainties. The pains and penalties enacted
against those men here and elsewhere, the fiendish malig-
nity with which they have been banned and pursued in
almost every realm of Europe, and the unscrupulous
spoliation of their churches, shrines, libraries, and endow-
ments, while they reflect eternal disgrace on those who
profited thereby, must convince us, at the same time,
that they had succeeded in corrupting the people, who,
if true to themselves, or grateful for past benefits, would
not have looked calmly on during such scenes of persecu-
tion, murder, and robbery. These vast and splendid
benefits have been faithfully chronicled by the author
of this work in the following pages; and were one dis-
posed to exaggerate their importance he should neces-
sarily fail, for they comprise all that is most valuable to
society-Religion, Arts, Literature, and Science. This
charge of ingratitude, however, does not apply to Ire-
land, where the people and clergy of all Orders were sa-
crificed for their devotion to the Religion of their fathers;
but rather to England, France, Spain, and some parts
of Italy, where the most glorious services were requited
with rapine, exile, death, and foulest defamation.
But of all the Orders that ever existed in the Church,
THE TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
XV
none has been so grossly calumniated as that of S. Do-
minic. Whilst the Jesuit and Franciscan Institutes have
been described as corporations whose members were
distinguished for all that is disgusting, the Dominicans
have been invariably represented as communities of
assassins, whose grand mission was to invent instruments
of torture for the Inquisition, and to preside over revolt-
ing exhibitions in the piazzas of Italian and Spanish
cities. A countless tribe of slanderous writers, in
almost every tongue, from the days of Philip Van Lym-
borch, down to the fabricators in our times-to say nothing
of the Moral Suicides who trade on the credulity of their
dupes in public assemblages, and whose frantic ravings
are pronounced in a language unintelligible to the
majority of those who hear them-has never tired of
making this Order the special object of vituperation. In
fact, it is almost hopeless to think of obliterating the
impressions made on the minds of the bigoted and un-
reflecting, by those chroniclers of facts which never
existed outside their own imaginations-facts on which a
dispassionate thinker should place the same reliance that
he ought on the Mysteries of Udolpho, or similar
figments. Happily, however, the Dominican Order has
found an apologist of great power, in the person of Father
Lacordaire; and no one can peruse his "Memorial to the
French People," and refuse to acknowledge that he has
lucidly and satisfactorily vindicated his Institute against
all those abominable traducers. Henceforth, they shall be
entitled to the same credence and respect that one should
give to Mazzini and his Free Lances.
The history of the Dominicans should not be studied
in the pages of men who have had an interest in blacken-
¹ Life of S. Dominic, by P. Lacordaire. Duffy, Dublin.
xvi
THE TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
ing their characters, and misrepresenting them. Far
otherwise, it should be read in the works which they
have left to attest their piety and splendid genius. Dis-
tinguished in every department of literature, sacred and
profane, they have produced some of the greatest men
whom the world has ever seen. Dante' has apotheosized
S. Dominic, and him of Aquino, so justly titled " Angel of
the Schools." Touron is the faithful chronicler of the cele-
brated men of this Order, who shed lustre on Christianity
by the sanctity of their lives, and the cultivation of these
pursuits in which they have not been excelled by the
Illuminati of our times. The following pages, too, must
convince every unbiassed reader, that the very worst
enemies to civilization and mental progress, are they
who make the Religious Orders objects of ridicule and
scorn. No matter how unjust the verdict pronounced
on them by the malice and bigotry of the present
times, the long array of celebrities recorded in these
volumes will rise up to reverse it, and vindicate the
Dominicans. Their witnesses shall be the hallowed and
glorious temples that they raised to the honor of the
Eternal-the marble, into which they almost breathed
the breath of life-the storied windows-the canvas-
and the frescos whereon they pourtrayed the images of
the Saints, and the glories of that Angelic world to
which we all aspire. The generations to whom their
works were such a treasure and source of inspiration,
will bitterly condemn an ungrateful posterity, who,
instead of venerating their memories, have not ceased to
treat them with indifference and scorn. Many evidences
of that zeal with which they laboured to promote the
happiness of society, spiritual as well as temporal, have
¹ Paradiso, Canto X. XI.
THE TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
xvii
survived the wasting hand of time, and even now chal-
lenge the rivalry of modern genius. The graceful
fountains "flinging freshness all about" in many of the
Italian cities, the aquaducts, bridges, palaces, fortresses,
and gates of bronze, not unworthy, perhaps, of praise
similar to that which Michelangiolo bestowed on these
"So marvellously wrought,
That they might serve to be the gates of heaven,"
are so many monuments, recording their love of their
fellow-man; and above all, of that dear, sunny land,
with whose happiness and greatness they were long and
so intimately identified.
It is quite unnecessary for me to dwell further on this
subject; and, perhaps, it would be more desirable that I
should plead, in extenuation of the inaccuracies that
may be found in this version, the very limited time in
which it was accomplished-to say nothing of occupa-
tions of a more serious and important character. A book
such as this must do much to promote the cultivation of
architecture and the decoration of our churches-sub-
jects which have occupied the grave deliberations of the
Prelates lately assembled in the Synod of Thurles. Its
utility will be acknowledged by the Irish Ecclesiological
Society, which counts so many distinguished members,
and a president of such abilities as the Rev. Dr. Russell.
The translator is justified in this expectancy, by the
favourable opinion of a young and talented architect,
to whom some of the proofs were read before going
to press; and, indeed, Mr. M'Carthy's judgment, on
such matters, is entitled to the highest respect, since
no other man, in this country, has done so much for the
revival of Christian Architecture.
I will not dismiss these pages without recording
xviii
THE TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
my sincere and lasting regret for the sudden decease
of the illustrious Prelate, under whose auspices they
were commenced. My chiefest ambition was to place
them in his hands, that I might thus testify my vene-
ration for all the admirable qualities which adorned his
sacred character, and endeared him to his clergy and
flock. The numerous churches, convents, and schools,
which he may be said to have created, will prove to after-
times that his zeal for Christian Art was great and noble;
and that he would have blessed any effort, however
humble, that tended to promote it. Now that he lies
awaiting the Resurrection, under the dome of his cathe-
dral, and by the side of his predecessor, the Dominican
Archbishop, I may appropriately adopt the words of the
erudite and elegant Melchior Canus, of the same Institute,
"Motus sum, tali Parente orbatus, qualis, ut arbitror
apud mortales reliquus nullus est."
C. P. M.
SS. Michael and John,
Dublin, March 10th, 1852.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
THE history of the Fine Arts, considered under the influence of Christianity,
may be divided into two grand epochs. The first, commencing in the sixth
century, continued till the end of the twelfth; that is to say, throughout
that long interval which has been termed the sleep of the human race: the
second dates its origin at the beginning of the thirteenth century, and lasted
till about one half of the sixteenth had passed away. During the first of
these, it was the signal glory of Religion to have saved the Arts, together with
sciences and letters, from utter destruction, and to have preserved the sacred
primitive traditions, over whose development she watched with teuderest care.
In the second epoch, she raised them to that excellence of form and con-
ception which they attained and partly lost in the age of Leo X. At
both periods she deserves our veneration for having elevated the Arts to
the dignity of moral conceptions, and made them the teachers of the people.
The Greeks and Romans employed Art to cater to the delectation of the
senses; but Christianity, motived by holier sentiments, made it a medium
for perfecting the heart and soul. Nor should we be understood as depre-
ciating the importance of the Arts whether contemplated in the Roman
catacombs, or under the empire of the Greeks in Constantinople. Neither do
we mean to imply that their history, in ages subsequent to the sixteenth
century, is not, in many respects, of great moment; but we confidently assert,
that the influence of religion on the Arts, and the action of the Arts on the
people, were at no time so marvellously or universally felt as in the two
aforesaid epochs. Who is there that must not admire the sublime origin of
Christian Art, whose earliest essays were made amidst the dreary gloom of the
sepulchres where it wreathed its choicest garlands for the urns of the Martyrs,
and like a holy hand-maid, followed Religion even when She was compassed
by the instruments of death and torture? Who will not bless Art for
having nerved the hearts of the Christian heroes, and transmitted their names
and deeds to the latest posterity? Nevertheless, though born in holiness,
Art for many a year was forced to shroud itself in mysterious and obscure
symbols, as though its inspirations where unhallowed; nor would the cir-
cumstances of the times permit it to strengthen or develope its innermost life.
Still more deplorable were the vicissitudes of the Arts among the Greeks in
Constantinople, for, after a short-lived and ignoble existence, they were
.XX
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
ostracised by the ruthless fury of Leo the Isaurian and Constantine Coproni-
mus, who obliged them to seek an asylum on the hospitable shores of
Latium. A terrible history is that in which we find the cultivators of the
Arts defending the Catholic dogma with their blood, and binding their brows
with the Martyr's crown. Oh! how they learned to suffer in the gloomy
depths of the catacombs. Oh! how intimate was the union between Art
and Religion! This struggle against the Iconoclasts deserves to be studied
and described far better than it has been, because it teems with great and
piteous facts, and because that heresy was not only an attack on the Faith
of Christendom but a war against civilization and the glory of nations.
It was a desperate and accursed effort to rob man of all he holds most
dear-a conspiracy to deprive him of the media by which he reveals to
his fellow man his affections, joys, griefs, and hopes-an office which Art
shares with poesy and eloquence.* Towards the decline of the sixteenth
century and in the beginning of the following, when Italy lay prostrate and
exhausted beneath foreign domination-when public decency was contami-
nated by the debaucheries of the courts-when the pernicious examples of
the aristocratic classes had corrupted the masses-and when the Reformation
had weakened the faith of the people, the Arts-far from being able to stay
this direful ruin-suffered themselves to be carried away by the torrent on
whose turbid waters the wrecks of society were floating, and lapsed into the
most abominable obscenity. It was then that they abjured their high and
holy function; it was then that they apostatized from their sacred calling
that they might pander to the lusts of the voluptuary, and the laciviousness
of their professors, thus covering our forefathers with shame, and perpetuat-
ing the history of our bondage and degradation.
But far different was it in the earlier Middle Ages, when the Arts had a
sanctified and noble mission to perform. For when eloquence was mute, when
philosophy was eclipsed, when the civil code was bloody and oppressive, when
language itself was uncouth and dissonant, the Arts associated with Religion,
undertook to civilize the ferocious races, and to form out of the fierce and
various tribes of barbarians one great and concordant brotherhood. For
this reason the artist may be called, the orator, poet, philosopher, and
historian of the Medieval period; and during that long interval in which
we have no records, save of the sufferings of the oppressed, and the bar-
barity of their oppressors; in which we cannot behold virtue or learning
triumphant outside the cloister, the Arts present themselves to us as
the media of civilization and perfection, exercising the holy ministry con-
fided to them, and consoling humanity in its long and terrible tribulations.
This, however, is an epoch so little known and so shamefully calumniated in
* In the Conciliabulum held in Constantinople, by order of Constantine Coproni-
mus, A.D., 754, the worship of images was pronounced to be a diabolical invention;
and the art of painting was similarly anathematized. V. Concil, Tom. vii., p. 254.
3
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
xxi
the history of the Arts, that few will deign to study it; so much so, that
those who write on the state of the Arts at this period, are wont to exhaust
themselves in lamenting their decadence, and singing dirges over their grave,
without ever reflecting that their remains were still palpitating, and that
beneath these rude forms there was a vigorous and superabundant life, which
was destined to reveal itself, after a little while, in the schools of Niccola of
Pisa and of Giotto. The Painting and Sculpture of these ages, in all that
regards mere form, are not calculated to console the studious of Art;
nevertheless we are not to suppose that the miniatures and mosaics of the
same periods lack merit even in this particular. But in all that relates to
sacred architecture, we hold that they can bear comparison with the succeeding
centuries; for if the classic eurythmy of the Greek and Roman edifices
was best adapted to the fascinating and voluptuous religion of the Gentiles,
the architecture improperly called Gothic, was unquestionably the fittest
style for the Christian temple, since no other was so well calculated to
sublimate the soul, or to inspire that profound recollection which the Catholic
Ritual requires of its votaries. So thought Muratori, who has not hesitated
to affirm, that though the moderns have introduced order and elegance into
the construction of their fabrics, they are nevertheless excelled by the ancients
in majesty and solidity.* Leon Battisa Alberti, who revived the archi-
tecture of Greece and Rome, was obliged to admit that Art, during the
Middle Ages, had won its most signal triumphs in the Christian churches.
Nay more, the origin of these edifices is intimately identified with the great
civil and religious events of those periods; and the attentive observer will
regard them not merely as masses of stone put together and arranged with
greater or less order and proportion, but rather as so many adamantine pages
whereon history has been written. Surely the animus of the Mediæval
period is far more lucidly revealed in these monuments than in the rude
chronicles and insipid lays of the Troubadours; for we must needs confess
with Tommaseo, that Architecture is far more expressive of public life† than
any other art can be. In fact, the very sight of it reminds us of the God's
Truces, of the Crusades, of Feudalism, and of Chivalry, of the virtues, crimes,
the few joys and the multiplied calamities of those times; nor can we cross
the thresholds of these venerable piles without remembering how their vaults
resounded for many a century with the psalmody and with the groans of
our forefathers, who, during that tremendous struggle, came to the foot of the
altar, begging of God to give them strength to suffer and to hope; since
religion alone was their defence against the oppression of their tyrants, the
sole guarantee of their rights, and their only consolation amidst the sorrows
that surrounded them. At this period, the artist who undertook to erect a
temple to the Most High, felt himself raised above all the conventionalities of
* De Artibus Italicorum post declinationem Rom., Imperii. Disert., xxiv., p. 350
Antiq., Ital., medii., ævi., v. 2.
+ Nuovi Scritti d. N. Tommasseo, v. 2, p. 3, p. 317.
xxii
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
art, and thought of nothing save satisfying the civil and religious require-
ments of his time. In these ages of almost patriarchal simplicity, every
species of luxury was studiously avoided in private life; but in all that
appertained to the temple of God, both artists and people determined that
it should be a monument of their genius, of their faith, and of the pros-
perity and riches of their country. Art having been thus ennobled, we are
not to be surprised, if, on reading the history of those periods, we find it to
have been professed by the Regular and Secular clergy, nay, and even
by Bishops; nor are we to wonder at that sacred enthusiasm which so
influenced the people in erecting edifices consecrated to the divine worship,*
that they vied with each other in honoring the Religion which was so
intimately identified with their every-day-life, happiness and prosperity.
We find a singular example of this devout enthusiasm recorded by the
monk Aimone, who, when the Benedictines were erecting their church sacred
to S. Peter in Dive, wrote to his brethren of the Abbey of Tutbury in
England, thus: "It is truly an astonishing sight to behold men who
boast of their high lineage and wealth yoking themselves to cars,
drawing stones, lime, wood, and all the materials necessary for the con-
struction of the sacred edifice. Sometimes a thousand persons, men and
women, are yoked to the same car, so great is the burden; and yet the pro-
foundest silence prevails. When they halt on the way, one hears nothing
but the recital of their sins, of which they make public confession, accom-
panied with tears and prayers. Then the priests avail themselves of the
opportunity to preach pardon of injuries, satisfaction of debts, &c., &c.;
and should any one be so hardened as to withstand these pious exhortations,
he is immediately expelled the holy brotherhood." (Ann. 861.)* But it
often happened that Painting was productive of still grander results. We
read, for example, that Bogori, king of the Bulgarians, in the ninth century,
asked the monk Methodius for a picture, whereon the artist executed a
painting of the Final Judgment, so tremendous and awful, that the bar-
barian prince, on hearing its signification explained by the holy solitary,
immediately embraced Christianity, as did also all his subjects.† Arts
which wrought such wondrous effects on the minds and hearts of nations,
should not be treated superficially by historians, nor do we fear to assert
that the latter generally have paid little heed to the results which the
Arts were wont to produce. In fact, during these periods they supplied
the place of eloquence and Philosophy, and tended as much to the weal of
society as did either or both of the said sciences. Whoever would question
this, can consult the ancient Chronicles, which must convince him that the
great men who flourished in these days, employed both Painting and
Sculpture to enlighten the illiterate populace, to whom the grand truths of
* Caumont, Histoire sommaire de l'architecture religieuse, militaire et civile au
Moyen Age, ch. viii., p. 176.
+ D' Agincourt Histoire de L'Art. v. 1. ch. xxviii., p. 26, in the note.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
xxiii
Religion and morality were thus made almost palpable.*
Let us bear in
mind, however, that no one may hope to produce a perfect history of the
Arts during the Middle Ages, until he has deeply studied these won-
derful Monastic Institutions which have rendered such glorious services to
society. In fact, the Monks were not only the most learned of their times in
science and letters, but they were also the most distinguished cultivators of
Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture. After preaching the holy doctrines
of peace and Christian charity to the fierce conquering hordes, and causing
the Law of Christ to triumph over the barbarous tyranny of Feudalism, they
proved themselves to be the Champions of the people and the Vindicators of
their rights. Having accomplished this glorious task, they applied themselves
sedulously to artistic pursuits, and we find them actively employed building
bridges, embanking rivers, and constructing these magnificent cathedrals and
abbeys, many of which still exist, recording to posterity their multiform
genius and beneficence. We will not deny that Charlemagne, Theodolinda,
and Theodoric, have strong claims on our gratitude for that zeal with which
they laboured to preserve and promote the Arts; but we will fearlessly
assert that neither their efforts, nor the laudable solicitude of many of the
Roman Pontiffs, could have saved the Arts from inevitable ruin, if the
Monks had not taken them under their fostering protection, and cultivated
them lovingly for many an age. They preserved the sacred traditions
entrusted to them by the Byzantines, and after having stamped them
with that devotion and melancholy which they reveal, despite their grace-
less developments, transmitted them like a holy heritage to succeeding
centuries. It would be almost superfluous to state, that this zeal and love,
acted most beneficially on the barbarians, who as soon as they saw the
Monks preserving, nay, and practising the Arts, began to respect and
admire them, as though they were emanations of that Religion which had
rehabilitated and humanized themselves. We have reason to regret that no
one has as yet given us memoirs of the Benedictine artists, or snatched from
oblivion those many great names which are worthy of eternal remembrance;
but this is a service which we have a right to expect from the Monks
themselves, who by a diligent examination of their archives—of that
portion of them, at least, which has escaped the Vandalic demolition of
latter times-could easily produce a history of the Arts during the Middle
Ages, when they owed their salvation and advancement to the influence
of monachism itself. Every one is aware that the monasteries of S. Gall
in Switzerland, of Monte Casino in Italy, of Solognac near Limoges, (in
* V. the 105th Epistle of S. Gregory the great, in which we read these words:
"wherefore let pictures be employed in the churches, that those who do not under-
stand letters may be able at least to read on the walls what they are not able to read
in books." In the statutes enacted by the Sienese Painters (A.D., 1355,) we read “We,
by the Grace of God, manifest to rude and ignorant men the miraculous events
operated by virtue of and in confirmation of our Holy Faith."—Gaye, Carteggio
Inedito. Archivio delle Riformagioni, etc. V. 1.
*
xxiv
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
France,) of Douay in Flanders, not to mention others, were so many
flourishing schools in which the Arts were cultivated by the Recluses.
Nay more, the very earliest elementary treatise on Goldsmith's work and
Italian painting, was written by the monk Theophilus in the twelfth century;
and in the days of the Revival, the Camaldulese Monks were the most
successful cultivators of Painting, the Olivetans of Tarsia, (or of wood-inlay-
ing,) whilst those of Monte Casino were far famed for their Miniatures and
Paintings on glass. This alone ought to be sufficient to prove that the
monks of old burned with holy zeal to provide for the moral and intellectual
requirements of society.
Reverting to the second epoch, which is termed the Revival, we find
that the influence which Religion exercised on art, nay, and on Society, tran-
scends all our imaginings. The movement which originated in the twelfth
century foreshadowed the results which it was destined to produce in after
times, for when the Crusades and Chivalry had humanized the peoples' hearts,
and improved their social condition, every one was seized with a generous
resolve to ameliorate his status; and it would appear that men began to be
ashamed of ignorance, and intolerant of the degrading serfdom beneath which
they had groaned for so many ages. It was then that they began to reunite
all these social bonds which feudal egotism had not only relaxed, but shat-
tered, sacrificing the rights and happiness of an entire people to the passions
of iniquitous oligarchs. Banding themselves together in municipalities, and
subsequently in commercial, civil, and religious confederations, and applying
themselves at the same time to the study of Roman jurisprudence, they wisely
emancipated themselves from those Lombard laws which allowed might to
triumph over right. The two Universities of Bologna and Paris fed the lamp
of knowledge; and the Arts, following the general movement, elevated them-
selves to greater dignity of development and conception. Poesy lisped with
the Troubadours, but they were sent to prepare the way for the great Alli-
ghieri; and Painting, associating itself with the Bards, did not give Giotto to
the world till Dante had begun to sing the three kingdoms of the Second Life.
Wondrous, indeed, must this movement in favour of Arts and Sciences appear,
if we reflect on the turbulent character of that period. Though the Italians
were threatened with bondage by the house of Swabia-though they were
distracted and split into factions by internecine feuds, nevertheless they
never for a moment renounced those resolves and hopes which, far from being
dismayed or weakened, seemed to gather strength and boldness from that
tremendous conflict. The same may be asserted of the Roman Pontiffs,
who were a great element in the revival of arts and sciences, at that precise
period when the struggle with the Germanic Empire was fiercest—the strug-
gle in which the Roman Church triumphed over these disasters which en-
slaved and ruined her rival on the shores of the Bosphorus. Every honest
heart must throb with gratitude when recalling the names of Gregory VII.,
Alexander III. and those of the two Innocents (III. and IV.); for had success
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
XXV
!
attended the iniquitous machinations of their enemies, our glory must have
perished, the advancement of science, arts and letters must have been re-
tarded, and we ourselves, in all probability must have lapsed like the Greeks
into barbarism. To appreciate fully the influence which Religion exercised
on Art in this second epoch, we need but contemplate the sacred monuments
raised in this age, for they are far more eloquent than the historian's pen,
and in their number as well as beauty surpass all those that have been erected
before or since. The eleventh and twelfth centuries witnessed the erection
of S. Marco in Venice, and of the Cathedral of Pisa. At this period, too, a
goodly portion of the Cathedral of Siena was raised, and Monte Cassino was
partly rebuilt; but the thirteenth century beheld the construction of more
numerous edifices, not only in Italy, but in France, Germany, England and
Belgium.* And this all-pervading enthusiasm for Art, and this cultivation
of Art for the sake of religion, created, and sooth to say, multiplied the num-
ber of artists. Then appeared that marvellous genius, Niccola of Pisa, whom
Italian sculpture canonizes as her saviour; and who perpetuated in his disci-
ples, Giovanni Pisano and Arnolfo, that most splendid school so fruitful of
illustrious artists, that was destined to derive fresh lustre from such men as
Donatello, Ghiberti, and Michelangiolo Buonarroti. Arnolfo was the pre-
cursor of Brunellesco and Leon Battista Alberti; and Cimabue was the in-
structor of that Giotto who founded one of the grandest schools recorded
in his country's history. Never since that moment when Christian Art,
unnoticed and timorous, traced its first etchings on the walls of the catacombs,
and the first symbols of its Faith on the Martyr's urns, never since that
period, whose annals are written in blood, did it behold such glorious days as
these. Twelve centuries had passed away ere Giotto came; and never till
then had Christian Art been hailed with such devotion of heart and soul ;
for it was then that it began to develop all its potency and fecundity, giving
the universe to know that it possessed types of beauty which should rival
the productions of Greece and Rome, and excel the ancients by the subli-
mity of these holy sentiments which were transfused from heaven into the
intellects of its cultivators.
Speaking of the first epoch, we have observed that the Arts during the
earlier periods of the Middle ages had found a sanctuary and an asylum in
the cloisters, and that the Monks were their greatest and most enthusiastic
devotees; nor shall the oblivion of their names nor the destructive
* We may here mention some of the buildings belonging to this period. In Italy :
-the basilica of S. Francesco di Assisi, A.D. 1228, the duomo of Florence, 1298—
that of Orvietto, 1290-S. Antonio di Padova, 1231-the Campo Santo di Pisa,
1278-S. Maria Novella in Florence, 1279. S. Croce was built in 1294, and to
this period belong SS. Giovanni e Paolo, and the church of the Frari in Venice.
Outside Italy :-the cathedrals of Cologne, of Beauvais, of Chartres, Reims, Amiens,
Brussels, York, Salisbury, Westminster, Burgos, Toledo, etc. etc., all belong to the
first half of the thirteenth century.
b
xxvi
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
hand of time gainsay this fact. The same may be asserted of the
Religious Orders founded in the thirteenth century, for although only
then in their infancy, they gave a vigorous impulse to the pro-
gressive social movement which was almost contemporaneous with them.
Whosoever has studied the genius and nature of that age, must have
perceived how intimately the Orders of the Franciscans and Dominicans are
identified with its progression, and must have seen at a glance that they were
an emanation of the religious enthusiasm which then pervaded the world.
Hence, their indefatigable and undying zeal in preaching peace and calming
these ferocious passions which had reddened the piazzas and fields of Italy
with blood. When it became necessary to espouse one of the two factions-the
Guelph or the Ghibelline—the Religious Orders did not withhold their fealty
from the Pontiff, or prove themselves traitors to the independence of Italy,
but preserved their allegiance inviolable to the one and the other, despite the
persecutions of the Emperor Frederic the Second, of Ezzelino da Romano,* and
of Ludovic, the Bavarian. When the chivalry of Europe was marching to
Palestine, they, too, marched in the vanguard of the Crusaders; and when
the Ultramontanest disseminated the baleful tares of the Manichean Heresy,
(whose tenets were destructive of religion, arts, and civilization,) on our fair
soil, they laboured with all their energy to uproot the seeds that must
have germinated a crop of malediction. Need we say, when time re-
quired a diffusion of light, and the souls of men were athirst for know-
ledge, that they produced S. Thomas of Aquino, Albertus Magnus,
Bacon, and S. Bonaventura? In a word, when early monachism-born
amid the tears and tribulations of the people during the barbaric inva-
sions, and designed by God to mitigate the bitterness of these calamities
and to prepare society for its future destinies-had lost its moral power,
then came the Orders of the thirteenth century; and as they originated at the
precise moment when the progressive movement was most impetuous, and
society was about to reconstruct itself on newer and more solid bases, they,
too, were constrained to take a part in that tremendous struggle of right
against might. The grandest service however which they rendered to humanity,
was that of banding the discordant classes together, and making themselves
a centre of union between the people and the nobility. As to their love and
protection of the Arts, we need only contemplate the monuments they have
left; nor can Italy deny that she is indebted to them for these splendid works
which must crown her with glory for evermore. Whosoever would appre-
ciate the paintings of the early periods must visit the splendid basilica of S.
Francesco in Assisi, for the decoration of which the Franciscans employed
* For a vivid portraiture of this man, who called himself the "Enemy of God," see
Aliley's learned History of the Papal States, vol. 3, page 236.
+ The meaning of this designation will be understood when it is remembered that
Father Marchese wrote his work in Florence.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
xxvii
the pencils of the Greeks, and of Giunta, Cimabue, Giotto, Pietro Cavallini,
Giottino, Buffalmacco, Filippo and Simone Memmi, Puccio Capanna, and of
all the great men of the time. Whosoever would contemplate all the glories
of the chisel expended on one monument, has only to visit the sepulchral urn
which enshrines the bones of S. Dominic in Bologna; for the ornamentation of
which the Preaching Friars engaged Niccola Pisano, Fra Guglielmo, Niccola
di Bari, the pupil of Jacopo della Fonte, Alfonso Lombardi, Gerolamo Coltel-
lini, and Michelangiolo Buonarroti. Whosoever would behold all the arts of
design unfolding all their diversified beauties must make a pilgrimage to the
temple of S. Antonio in Padua, to S. Croce and Santa Maria Novella in
Florence, to the Frari and SS. Giovanni e Paolo in Venice, and to the
other churches in Italy and elsewhere. Those who are familiar with
the rigid poverty enjoined by the austere laws of these Orders will marvel,
no doubt, at the splendour in which they arrayed their temples, but let it be
borne in mind that the Friars of those days set no value or the things of
earth, save when they could employ them for the embellishment of God's
consecrated dwelling. Innocent ambition which could produce so many and
such glorious monuments! But they were not satisfied with being merely
protectors and patrons of the arts, they cultivated them themselves, and
in all the departments of design they contended for mastery with the most
celebrated artists of their times. When the Byzantines were "lording it over
Mosaic's field," Fra Mino da Turrita, the Franciscan, had already gained
celebrity in that art as early as the first half of the thirteenth century. The
architects of S. Maria Novella of the Preaching Friars, emulated Arnolfo—
Fra Filippo Lippi, a Carmelite, walked with a master's step in the footprints of
Masaccio; and the Blessed Giovanni Angelico, and Fra Bartolommeo (both
Dominicans) were amongst the foremost of those whom Italian painting has
apotheosized. Montorsoli, of the Order of Servites, won the love and estcem
of Michelangiolo Buonarroti, who would fain have him as his assistant when
sculpturing the tomb of Julius the Second in Rome, and those of the Medici
in Florence. Fra Giocondo was so famed for his architecture and literary
accomplishments that he has none to compete with him save Leon Battista
Alberti. I will not mention the elect and numerous band of artists belonging
to the other Orders, for there is not a single one of them that cannot boast of
many ;* but it would be ingratitude not to notice the signal services rendered
to the Arts by two religious orders long since extinct, the Gesuati and Umiliati,
whose constitutions bound them to industrial pursuits, such as pharmacy
weaving cloth, etc. They also cultivated architecture, civil, religious, and
military, and we very frequently find them employed as public engineers by
* Whoever desires to peruse the series of the principal artists belonging to the other
Religious Orders may consult a long note given by Bottari at the end of Vasari's life
of Fra Giovanni Angelico. See the Livornese and Florentine editions of 1771. In the
course of these volumes we will have occasion to speak of others.
xxviii
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
?
the Florentine Republic and other cities of Tuscany. Nor should it be for-
gotten that they excelled as painters on glass. Thus did the Religious
Orders realize, as early as the fourteenth century, one of the cherished ideas
of Carlo Denina,† who would have them employed not only in the study of
sacred and profane sciences, but also in the cultivation of the Fine Arts and
mechanics. Two religious communities effected all this in the fourteenth
century; and an age so industrial as ours will, doubtless, appreciate this fact
more than many others which we could enumerate.
It would be in our power to heighten these encomiums which we have been
bestowing on the religious Orders for their devotion to the arts, had we
space to insert the series of the men who have written on Art, and de-
veloped its grand principles. The foremost names in that category should
be those of Fathers Pacioli, Giocondo, Ignazio Danti, Della Valle, Affò,
Federici, Lanzi, and Pungileoni; and thus would a beauteous page be added
to the annals of the religious societies-an important page truly-without
which their history must be incomplete.
From all that we have said, every one may easily perceive what a grand
and noble mission is reserved for the man, who, motived by the love of
Religion and of Art, will undertake to narrate the great services which Ca-
tholicism has conferred on Art during the two foresaid epochs. Nor would
it be difficult to demonstrate that Christian Art was at all times under the
special protection and influence of monachism. In fact, it had scarcely
emerged from the Roman Catacombs after the Imperial persecutions, when
the Solitaries of the East gave it an asylum, and defended it with their
blood against the Iconoclasts, cultivating it fondly and ardently, if not ex-
clusively. Its destinies were then confided to the monks of the West, at the
time when the barbarians were invauing the Roman Empire; till at length,
the Mendicant Orders of the thirteenth century received it in its infancy,
and reared it to maturity by a two-fold action-protection and cultivation.
What a blessing to Religion and society, if the Friars of the various Orders
would only search their archives and publish memoirs of the various artists
who shed lustre on our common country! Expecting to see this work ac-
complished sooner or later, we have laboured to compose this artistic history
of the Preaching Friars, humbly hoping that it may be productive of some
utility. And in truth, no other Order has reared a grander or more nume-
rous body of painters, architects, painters of glass, intarsiatori, and minia-
turists. In the pages of this work we shall find these Dominicans educating
* Gaye (Carteggio Ineditio e Archivio delle Riformagioni, etc. v. 1 Appen.) gives
us a memorial presented by these two Orders to the Florentine Republic, which com-
mences thus "Whereas these two Orders (the Gesuati and Umiliati) heretofore and
at present have been of service to the Republic and Florentine people in all matters
pertaining to said commune, and whereas they possess an establishment for the
weaving of cloth, etc."
+ Rivoluz. d'Italia, lib. xii. cap. vi. e lib. xxiv. cap. v.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
xxix
Raffaello da Urbino and Bramante Lazzari in the pictorial Art-we shall
see them working in the Cathedrals of Pisa, Orvieto, Milan, in S. Petronio
at Bologna, and in S. Peter's at Rome. We shall find them erecting bridges
over the Arno, the Seine, and the Minho; superintending the most gigantic
operations in hydraulics, and distinguishing themselves as military engineers,
in the principal cities and fortresses of Italy. Nor will we omit that most
brilliant episode in Italian history, which tells how, they toiled to rehabili-
tate Art, when the profligacy of the times had seduced and degraded it.
Need we say that the life and tragic death of SAVONAROLA must be an
everlasting attestation of this fact? No one can doubt for a moment that
they excelled all other artists in sacred painting, for they not only sur-
passed all competitors in their knowledge of its innermost nature, but
regarded it as a holy profession, so that with few exceptions, all the artists
of this Order were famed for the sanctity of their lives. It is true, that
Vasari and Baldinucci have given us notices of the most distinguished of
these men; but their memoirs are in many instances incomplete, and need
many corrections and additions. Nor should we forget that they have
suppressed many a glorious name which deserves to be chronicled in the
memory of mankind. We flatter ourselves with the hope of having done
some service; and, indeed, it involved no inconsiderable labour, to shape a
unique narrative, comprising our most eminent Artists, out of the discord-
ant and often conflicting statements of Art-Historians. However, a diligent
investigation of public and private archives, has resulted in the discovery
of numerous valuable documents, hitherto unpublished, which are calculated
to diffuse stronger light on the history of Art. For example, the life of
Fra Bartolommeo della Porta, that most illustrious painter, is enriched with
many facts of the greatest importance. The life of Fra Benedetto del Mu-
gello, (Fra Giovanni, Angelico's brother,) the miniaturist, is entirely new; as
is also that of Fra Domenico Portigiani the sculptor, and pupil of Gian Bolog-
na. The life of Fra Guglielmo of Pisa, omitted by Vasari and Baldinucci, and
superficially treated by Alessandro Morrona, will be found in the pages of
this work, copiously illustrated with many valuable notices which have been
recently brought to light. To the very meagre details given by Count
Tassi, regarding the life of Fra Damiano da Bergamo, the most distin-
guished of the Italian Intarsiatori we will add much that has not been pub-
lished heretofore. The same may be said of the Blessed James of Ulm,
and of many others. But to the life of one in particular, we have devoted all
the energies we possess, sparing no research or labour, that we might do jus-
tice to the subject and satisfy the expectations of his numerous admirers.
Hitherto the life of the Blessed Giovanni Angelico, has not been written with
that accuracy and copiousness which alone can rescue it from the arbitrary
conjectures of modern historians; and if our researches in public and private
archives for notices of the life of this eminent and holy painter, have not
b2
XXX
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
I
are
been always crowned with success, we can congratulate ourselves, at least,
on having made additions to the memoirs written of him by his two
Tuscan biographers, and thus, in great part, satisfied the anxiety of those
who take deep interest in his history. As we have undertaken to write only
of the most emiment artists of the Order, we would hope that we shall not
be censured for having omitted many of those who are celebrated in Italy
and beyond the Alps; and as the most eminent of them were Tuscans, we
convinced that our biography will not be found in any particular
meagre. We frankly confess, however, that this first attempt to write the
Artistic History of the Preaching-Friars, is not without its imperfections;
but we pray our readers to remember the many difficulties which must be
encountered by those who undertake to investigate and arrange the annals
and memoirs of early periods, and the liability to err, which such investiga-
tion almost invariably involves. Nobody has preceded us in this labour;
and should we be fortunate enough to light on other documents calculated
to illustrate what is here collected, we shall not fail to give a supplemental
volume. *
These Memoirs, therefore, are not to be considered as a history, but
rather as the result of our researches, and as material for a still more perfect
work. As it was not our province to treat of the Esthetics of Art, or to
pronounce criticisms on the productions of our artists, we have cautiously
avoided these extremes into which the opinions of writers on that subject
are wont to lead, contenting ourselves with occasional comments on the
genius and works of our distinguished confreres. Each one forms his own
judgment of the excellence or imperfections of objects of Art, nor should we be
deemed unreasonable for differing with many as to the correctness of their
conclusions. In fact, of all debatable subjects, there is not a single one on
which men are so likely to differ as on that of Art. It has been our grand
object to render some service to Religion as well as to the Arts; and to
rekindle in the hearts of our Friars, the love of those pursuits which their
predecessors cultivated with such noble zeal. In extenuation of the short-
comings which must necessarily characterize these Memoirs, we can only say,
that if youth, good intention, and indefatigable labour, deserve sympathy,
we are certain that it will not be denied to us.
* Bottari, in a letter addressed to Mariette which may be read in V. volume,
"Delle PITTORICHE," says, "It would seem as tho' all writers on Art have some
malediction over them, for they invariably fall into incredible errors. I myself am
an instance of this, for I have made blunders in matters which I knew as well as my
own name.
C
CONTENTS.
BOOK I.
CHAPTER I.
State of the Arts in Italy at the commencement of the Thirteenth
Century, and particularly of Architecture, commonly termed
Gothic or Teutonic,
Page
1
CHAPTER II.
Fra Sisto and Fra Ristoro, Tuscan architects-Their first works for the
Florentine Republic-They finish the Palace del Podesta-They
rebuild the Carraja Bridge-They build the Church of S. Maria
Novella-They are called to Rome by Pope Nicholas III. to work
in the Vatican,
CHAPTER III.
Minor Tuscan Architects, their Works in Prato, Florence, and in
Val d'Arno, etc.
9
30
CHAPTER IV.
Of some Portuguese Architects of the Thirteenth Century,
36
CHAPTER V.
Notice of the Life and Works of Fra Guglielmo da Pisa, Sculptor and
Architect-State of Sculpture in Italy, at the beginning of the
Thirteenth Century-The first Works of Fra Guglielmo, in his
own country and in Bologna,
39
xxxii
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VI.
Page
Description of the Arca or shrine of S. Dominic at Bologna-What
part Niccola Pisano and Fra Guglielmo had in its execution-
The Sculptors who at various periods were engaged at it,
CHAPTER VII.
Continuation of the Life of Fra Guglielmo da Pisa-His works in the
Duomo of Orvieto, and in his own country-His Death,
CHAPTER VIII.
Bolognese and Lombard Architects—Their buildings in Venice, in
Padua, in Trevigi, in Milan,
CHAPTER IX.
Notices of Fra Giovanni da Campi, and Fra Jacopo Talenti, Tuscan
architects-They finish the Church of S. Maria Novella-They
build the new Convent-They re-build the Carraja Bridge, and
raise other edifices for the Republic and private citizens,
CHAPTER X.
Fra Giovannino da Marcojano, and other religious Architects of the
Convent of S. Maria Novella, pupils of Fra Giovanni da Campi
and Fra Jacopo Talenti,
CHAPTER XI.
•
48
60
70
87
•
109
Dominican Miniaturists of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries in
S. Maria Novella, S. Marco in Florence, and S. Catherine at Pisa, 115
CHAPTER XII.
Notices of the Life and Works of Fra Benedetto del Mugello,
Miniaturist and Painter,
129
CHAPTER XIII.
Fra Eustachio, and Fra Pietro da Tramoggiano, Tuscan Miniaturists
of the Sixteenth Century,
•
141
CONTENTS.
xxxiii
Fra Angelico,
BOOK II.
CHAPTER I.
Page
150
CHAPTER II.
Published and unpublished Documents, from which the present Life
of Fra Giovanni Angelico has been compiled,
CHAPTER III.
The Origin, Country, Studies, and Religious Profession of Fra
Giovanni Angelico,
160
164
CHAPTER IV.
The first Works of the Angelico in Foligno and Cortona,
175
CHAPTER V.
Fra Giovanni returns to Fiesole,
. 186
CHAPTER VI.
Fra Giovanni and Fra Benedetto go to Florence-The building of the
new Convent of S. Mark-Paintings by the Angelico for the
Church and Convent of his Order, and for the city of Florence, 200
CHAPTER VII.
Paintings by Fra Angelico for the other Churches of Florence,
CHAPTER VIII.
The Angelico is invited to paint in Rome, probably by Pope Eugene
IV. and is detained there by his successor, Nicholas V.-His
Paintings in the Vatican, the Minerva, and in Orvieto-His
Death, Eulogy, and Disciples,
227
240
xxxiv
CONTENTS.
Page
Summary of the Paintings now existing by Fra Giovanni Angelico, 262
CHAPTER IX.
Notices of Fra Bartolomeo Coradini of Urbino, commonly called Fra
Carnovale,
CHAPTER X.
Fra Gerolamo Monsignori, the Veronese Painter,
CHAPTER XI.
•
265
272
Father Domenico Emanuele Maccarj, the Genoese Painter,
279
CHAPTER XII.
Fra Francesco Colonna, the Venetian Architect, author of the Art-
Romance, entitled The Dream of Polifilo,
CHAPTER XIII.
•
282
Of some Tuscan Painters, and Fra Bartolomeo Perugino,
295
CHAPTER XIV.
Notices of the Blessed James of Ulm and of his Disciples in Glass-
Painting,
CHAPTER XV.
Reformation of Italian Art attempted by Fra Gerolamo Savonarola-
His Ideas on the Subject-The Men who aided him in this
:
attempt,
307
•
316
MEMOIRS
OF THE MOST
Eminent Painters, Sculptors & Architects,
OF THE
ORDER OF ST. DOMINIC.
}
BOOK I.
CHAPTER I.
State of the Arts in Italy at the commencement of the Thirteenth Century,
and particularly of Architecture, commonly termed Gothic or Teutonic.
In the second decade of the thirteenth century, when the
Preaching-Friars came to perform the duties of their reli-
gious and civil apostolate, the Fine Arts had begun to
emerge from the obscurity of the barbaric times into the
light of a new era, and were approaching their perfection,
with the same rapidity that had marked their decline. This,
however, cannot be asserted of every branch of art at this
precise period, since painting and mosaic were, for a long
time, retarded by the teachings and productions of the
Byzantines; so much so, that the advancement of both
was slow and inglorious in the days of Giunta, Margari-
tone of Arezzo, Guido of Siena, and Andrea Tafi; whilst
the progress of sculpture, in the schools of Niccola Pisano
andhis disciples, may be described as rapid and gigantic.
B
2
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
Singularly capricious, however, yet not without glory,
was the progress of architecture. The causes of that
decline as well as of this happy return to their primitive
excellence, have been narrated by writers on the arts, with
more or less accuracy; and we deem it our duty to ex-
pend a few words on the subject of architecture; since
the Dominicans applied themselves most zealously to its
study and cultivation, in the two first centuries of their
institution. The necessity of erecting churches and con-
vents for themselves was well calculated to educate them
in an art as delightful as it was useful; and, indeed, so
great was their proficiency, that Cicognara has not hesi-
tated to assert, that they were the only men who influ-
enced the glorious genius of Niccola Pisano, or success-
fully competed with him in this department.¹
Those who have made a study of the incipient decay
into which architecture-the first-born of the arts-had
fallen, are wont to trace it to the times of Diocletian, and
Constantine; and to discover the signs of its debasement in
the baths of the one, as well as in the triumphal arch of
the other, which may be still seen at Rome, not to speak
of Diocletian's palace at Spalatro, in Dalmatia. In these
2
1 Cicognara Storia della Scultura Italiana. Vol. 3, 1. iii., c. 6, p. 366.
2 The palace of Spalatro, was erected in the third century, and bears all
the marks of the bad taste which then had begun to prevail. In this edifice
pillars are made to support arches instead of architraves, whilst arcades
destroy the entablature. The baths of Diocletian, at Rome, are evidences of
still greater deterioration, and licentiousness. Columns uselessly built into
the walls, and raised one above the other, resting on tasteless pedestals, sur-
mounted by architraves and broken cornices, are some of the marks wherein
may be recognised that decay of architecture, which was perpetuated during
the reign of Constantine, and his successors. What wonder, then, if the
wars which devastated the empire in the fourth and fifth centuries, involved
arts and sciences in one common ruin ?-V. D'Agincourt, and the excellent
work entitled, "Archeologie Chretienne," par J. Oudin, Cure de Bourron.
Bruxelles, 1847.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
3
edifices the eye immediately recognises a licentious depar-
ture from the laws which the great masters had laid down,
as it were to overrule the caprices of innovators. These
signs of debasement were, if possible, still more distin-
guishable in Byzantium, where the absence of the grand
models with which Rome and the cities of Greece
abounded, might have made men despair of ever re-
viving classic elegance; since all laws had been sacri-
ficed to a vitiated taste for ornamentation. Indeed, the
manners of a people are so intimately connected with
their arts, that their grandeur or abjectness may be learned
from the monuments which bear the impress of their con-
ceptions. At a subsequent period, when the northern
hordes swept like a torrent over Europe, far from intro-
ducing a new style of architecture-for, indeed, they knew
nothing of science or letters—they retained the ROMAN;
but, setting no value on any characteristic, save solidity,
they despoiled it of all ornament and grace. In an age
of rapine and conflagration, when fierce masses, thirsting
for blood and gold, were in constant conflict, the grand
object was to seek protection for life and property; at
that period private domiciles, nay, and even the conse-
crated temples of God, presented all the appearances of
fortresses. It was then that the barbarians began to erect
these massive castles where they stored their prey, and
the numberless towers, many of which are still standing
in our cities. This, then, is the first epoch of that style,
by some most improperly termed Gothic, (for it had
begun to be used at a period anterior to the irruption of
the Goths,) and by others, Romano-Byzantine; but which
ought to be designated as Romano-barbaric, though in
some of the Italian provinces it has been called "Lom-
bard." Its principle characteristics are nudity, the total
absence of proportion, and immense massiveness. The
4
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
ancient churches of S. Michele, in Pavia, and S. Fre-
diano, in Lucca, may be regarded as examples of this
style. This form of architecture was adopted during the
eleventh century; but at the commencement of the twelfth
an improvement was introduced. For this we are indebted
to the crusades, to our intercourse with the East, and to
the invasion of the Saracens, who, having occupied
nearly the whole of Spain, and burst into Italy and
France, bequeathed much of their ornamental tastes, nay,
and of their mannerism, to the peoples whom they had
either conquered or expelled from their homesteads. To
say nothing of their Arabesques, and Damaskeening,
their architecture was closely imitated, as is clearly proved
by the palace of Ziza, and the church of Monreale, in
Sicily; and were confirmation of this needed, we have
but to point to the church of S. Mark, at Venice.
Strange as it may appear, it is not the less certain
that whilst the Italians were plunged in ignorance and
barbarism, the Spanish Arabs were engaged in rearing
such graceful monuments as the Alhambra, the Alca-
zar, and the Mosque (now the cathedral) of Cordova;
neither do we deem this the place to speak of their emi-
nence in science and literature. Nevertheless, whilst archi-
tecture, in some parts of Italy, was copied after the prevail-
ing fashion of the East, and was every day adopting strange
and whimsical developments, a new, and far more desirable
change was manifesting itself in other regions of the penin-
sula. As soon as the barbarians had ceased to invade, and
when the different races, grown tired of blood and havoc, had
1 "Grenada (says an Arabic author, quoted by Romey, Hist. D'Es-
pagne. T. viii., p. 194,) was so splendid in works of Arabic art, that it
resembled a silver cup, filled with hyacinths and emeralds.""
See also an
interesting chapter on the literature and arts of the Spanish Arabs in Pres-
cott's "Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella." Vol. 1.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
5
begun to amalgamate, the interval of peace that followed
witnessed the erection of many sacred edifices of consi-
derable beauty, in Tuscany. These edifices generally
were constructed out of the debris of the ancient Roman
monuments, which still remained in abundance to attest
the glory of the past, and the terrible calamities that had
fallen on the earth. These relics of civilisation were
then piled one upon another, without order or propor-
tion. Even so, such beauteous remains of cultivated
genius might have stimulated the rude builders to study
and copy the works of the ancients, had not circum-
stances, for which we cannot account, exercised a deplor-
able influence over them. It must be admitted, however,
that Rome, Florence, Pisa, and other cities, which
abounded with monuments of the classical times, made a
better use of them; and even now, after the lapse of so
many centuries, the cathedral of Pisa presents a vast
quantity of capitals, columns, bases, and inscriptions taken
from the Roman edifices of the purer ages. No one can
inspect the baptistery and campanile at Pisa, without
feeling astonishment at this singular aggregate. The
same may be remarked of S. Pietro, at Grado, near Pavia,
of S. Giovanni and S. Miniato, al Monte, and of the
Duomo, at Fiesole. Thus did Italy pass to the second
period of Gothic architecture, which of all its modifica-
tions, seems to have the strongest claim on our admira-
tion, for the arrangement of its details. But its duration
was short, for it did not outlive the twelfth century, and
was exclusively confined to these places in which the
remains of the Roman buildings were numerous.
Meanwhile, in this twelfth century,' and at the dawn
1 " Au douzieme siecle," writes M. Amperes, (Hist. litt. de la France)
"tout nait, tout resplendit à la fois dans le monde moderne; chevalerie
6
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
of that immediately following, a wondrous change was
witnessed in civil and religious architecture a change
that totally altered its form and aspect, and seemed to
herald the still more wondrous revolution that was taking
place in society.
The arches, which up to this period were semicircular,
became diagonal, or to speak more intelligibly, pointed;
columns and pilasters were succeeded by clustered co-
lumns, or pilasters adorned with demi-columns; whilst
the Doric and Corinthian capitals, which had been so
happily employed in the preceding century, made way
for arabesques and most bizarre figures. The very roofs
began to be considerably elevated, and arches springing
out of arches, and gracefully intersecting each other,
were raised to a height hitherto unprecedented. It would
appear that the builders had resolved to conquer what
seemed an insuperable difficulty; for they united perfect
solidity to that majestic altitude whose graceful lightness
fills the eyes of the spectator with astonishment and
delight. Nor should we be understood as implying
that the pointed style did not appear before this period.
On the contrary, for D'Agincourt asserts that he has
found some examples of it in Italy, in the buildings of
the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries. Nevertheless,
it was very rarely used, and was invariably alternated by
the semicircular, as may be seen in the monasteries of
S. Benedict and S. Scolastica, at Subbiaco. Now it
appears to us that this third epoch of the Gothic style
croisades, architecture, langues, litterature, nouvelles: c'est là que debute
veritablement l'histoire de nos arts, de notre litterature, de notre civilisation ;
c'est au douzieme siecle que se termine la transformation du monde ancien
imperial, romain, paien, qui devient le monde nouveau, feodal e Chretien."
¹ V. D'Agincourt, l'Histoire de l'Art, and the eloquent pages of Monta-
lembert, on the origin of Gothic or Teutonic architecture, in the Introduction
to the Life of St. Elizabeth of Hungary.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
7
should be divided into two periods of time. The first,
which lasted throughout the thirteenth century, is the
most simple, and best proportioned. The second is that
of the fourteenth century; and it is the richest and the
most ornate of all the styles presented to us in the archi-
tecture of the earlier ages. The façades of the duomi of
Orvieto and Siena clearly belong to this style, as does
also the façade of the cathedral at Milan, which is the
latest exemplification that Italy exhibits of the Gothic
in all its splendour, richness, and majesty. Beyond the
Alps the existence of Gothic architecture was destined
to be of much longer duration; but with us it ceased
about the middle of the fifteenth century, when Leon
Battista Alberti and Brunellesco revived the orders of
Greece and Rome. Withal, though the last period of
the Teutonic style yields to the first in harmony of pro-
portions and severe majesty, it cannot be said to have
conferred many advantages on all the arts, since the love
of lavishing every species of decoration, especially on the
façades of the basilicas, obliged artists to pay special atten-
tion to the study of design, thus contributing to the
progress of painting and sculpture. These decorations
which they expended in such profusion on the exteriors
of the sacred edifices in the earlier periods, consisted of
fruits, flowers, animals, mysterious symbols, and, not
rarely, of figures in relievo and mezzo-relievo: till, at
length, many façades, like that of the duomo of Orvieto,
had their whole superficies covered with histories from
the Old and New Testament. Many of these façades
presented the sculptured effigies of the holy protectors of
the city, of the benefactors of the church, of the archi-
tects who had designed them; and the duomo of Siena
was decorated with the armorial bearings of all the cities
federated with that illustrious republic. Thus did one
8
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
single edifice chronicle, as it were, the civil, religious,
and artistic glories of a people, their history, genius, and
faith. Mosaic, inlaid wood, (la tarsia,) stained glass,
bronze, and plaster, were copiously employed to decorate
the sacred precincts; and this will account for the fact
that the ablest architects of the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries, such as Niccola and Giovanni of Pisa, Agos-
tino and Agnolo of Siena, were also distinguished sculp-
tors; nay, we sometimes find them both architects and
painters, as in the person of Taddeo Gaddi; whilst others,
such as Orgagna, were perfect masters of each of the three
sister-arts.¹
But when the Franciscan and Dominican orders were
founded in Italy, architecture underwent that change
which we have indicated in the first period of the third
epoch; that is to say, when the imitation of the antique
was abandoned for the cultivation of the Gothic, or, as it
is more commonly termed, the Teutonic style.²
1 V. their Lives in Vasari, Bohn's Series, vol. i.
2 The reader will understand that this partition of the Gothic style does
not pretend to rigid exactness, since architecture, more than any of the
other arts, is subject to modifications. Hence, what is here said of Italy
does not apply to France or Germany. As proof of this, we give the scale
of the Abbè Bourasse, (Archeol. Chret. c. v. p. 72,) which agrees with
Caumont's, and differs from D'Agincourt's-the two first having written
especially for France, and the second for Italy.
Roman-Byzantin. (Primitive, from 400 to 1000.
Architecture
of the
Middle Ages.
Pointed,
Secondary, from 1000 to 1100.
Third, or transition, from 1100 to 1200.
Lancet, from 1200 to 1300.
Decorated, from 1300 to 1400.
Perpendicular, from 1400 to 1550.
Renaissance in middle of 16th century.
Let it be borne in mind, also, that Orgagna employed the pointed arch
in Florence as early as 1370, or thereabouts.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
9
CHAPTER II.
Fra Sisto and Fra Ristoro, Tuscan architects-Their first works for the
Florentine Republic-They finish the Palace del Podesta-They rebuild
the Carraja Bridge-They build the Church of S. Maria Novella-They
are called to Rome by Pope Nicholas III., to work in the Vatican.
THE first cultivators of the arts whom the history of the
Preaching-Friars presents to us, are two distinguished
architects, greater than whom, if we except Niccola
Pisano and Arnolfo, were not beheld in their times.
Justly indeed has public gratitude classified these two
celebrated men with those who were conspicuous in the
restoration of Italian architecture. These men were
called Fra Sisto and Fra Ristoro, lay-brothers of the
convent of S. Maria Novella.
Fra Sisto was born in Florence, in that quarter of the
city that bears his name, near the gate of S. Pancrazio.
Fra Ristoro was a native of Campi, a considerable ham-
let, seven miles from Florence and four from Prato.
The valuable, yet meagre, notices that have been pre-
served of them (and indeed they amount to a few lines
in the Necrology of the foresaid convent,) do not furnish
us with the names of their parents or the year of their
birth." Nevertheless it would appear that they were
born between 1220 and 1225, that is to say, fifteen or
1 Necrol. Ven. Conv. S. Maria Novellæ de Flor. ord Praedic. ab ann.
1225. This Necrology was commenced by F. Pietro Macci, who continued
it to 1280, and probably to 1301, the year of his death. This interesting
record was partly published by F. Fineschi, (Florence, 1780,) in a work
entitled "Memorie istoriche per servire alle vite degli uomini illustri del
Conv. di S. Maria Novella.
VOL. I.
""
B 2
10
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
To re-
twenty years before Cimabue. Neither have we been
able to discover from whom they learned the art of
building. Baldinucci and Niccolini pronounce them
imitators or disciples of Arnolfo; but we would prefer to
adopt the opinion of Father Lanzi, who says that they
were his preceptors, had it not been ascertained that
Arnolfo learned the art from Niccola Pisano.¹
move all doubt on this subject, it may suffice to state
that Arnolfo survived Fra Ristoro twenty-seven, and
Fra Sisto twenty-one, years.2 Two illustrious architects
were then living in Tuscany, Jacopo, whom Vasari calls
the German, and Niccola Pisano. The first, who was the
architect of the church and convent of St. Francis in Assisi,
built the Rubiconte bridge in Florence, laid the piers of the
Carraja, A.D. 1218, finished the church of S. Salvadore del
Vescovado, after his own designs, also the church of S. Mi-
chele, in piazza Bertelde, (now called degli Antinori,) and
the palace of the Podestà, which, it appears, he did not com-
plete. The second, who was well known for the splendid
works which he erected in his own country, in Bologna,
in Padua, in Venice, and Naples, built the church of the
holy Trinity in Florence, about the year 1250. Greater
architects than these were not living in Tuscany at this
period; and it is probable that Fra Sisto and Fra Ristoro
availed themselves of the teaching and productions of
the two. The Necrology of their convent does not
state the year in which they took the Dominican habit;
¹ Baldinucci, Notizie dei Professori del disegno. v. i. Vita di Arnolfo. G.
B. Niccolini, Elogio di L. B. Alberti, Lanzi, vol. i., part 1, Tuscan School.
That Arnolfo was a disciple of Niccola is now placed beyond doubt by the
"Lettere Sanesè" of F. Guglielmo della Valle, vol. i. lettera xviii.
2 Baldinucci dates Arnolfo's death as having taken place either in 1300,
or 1320.
1310.
The Necrology of Sta. Reparata states the period to have been
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
11
nevertheless, F. Fineschi conjectures that they entered reli-
gion about the period when F. Aldobrandino Cavalcanti
(twice prior of the convent of S. Maria Novella,) caused
the ancient church of this name to be enlarged. In all
likelihood it was at this period that the two youthful
architects, after receiving the habit of S. Dominic, prof-
fered their services for this work, just as Filippo da
Campello superintended the construction of the great
church of Assisi, after taking the habit of St. Francis.'
Cavalcanti was prior of Sta. Maria Novella from 1244 to
1252. In 1255 F. Enrico da Massa filled that office;
and in 1256 Cavalcanti was re-elected. F. Borghigiani
agrees with Fineschi in this chronology."
2
The first essay of their skill in architecture, recorded in
ancient documents, is a public work to which they were
invited by the Florentine magistracy. Desiring to finish
the Palace de Priori, begun in 1252 by Jacopo, called the
German, they were charged to raise large vaults, or it
may have been a court-yard or cloister (magnas testu-
dines); and this they executed with such excellence, that
the city resolved to employ them in works of greater im-
portance.³ In the early part of October of the year 1269,
the Arno, swollen by heavy rains, carried away its em-
bankments, and inundated a great tract of the adjacent
country and the city of Florence. The flood was so
great that it bore along in its impetuous course a great
1 Fineschi. Memorie, p. 343.
2 Cronaca Annalistica del Conv. di S. M. Novella, dall' anno della sua
fundazione fino all' anno 1556, del P. Borghigiani, v. iii. in Fol. M.S. (Ar-
chiv. di S. M. Novella.)
* F. Fineschi is of opinion that the palace of the priors, of which there is
mention in the Necrology, was probably that of the Podesta, now called del
Bargello, not the Palazzo Vecchio, built by Arnolfo in 1298, when the two
Dominican architects were dead. From a passage in Villani, (b. viii. c. 26)
it appears that the priors had no fixed abode anterior to 1298.
12
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
quantity of trees and wood, which, coming into violent
contact with the piers of the bridge della S. Trinità,
swept them away, utterly destroying at the same time
the bridge called la Carraja.
This inundation caused many deaths, and the destruction
of many buildings. The Republic, desiring to restore the
two bridges and the ruined edifices, engaged many archi-
tects, amongst whom were the two lay-brothers of S.
Maria Novella, to whom it especially entrusted the re-
building of the Carraja. In all probability the other (la
Trinita) was confided to Arnolfo. Vasari, Baldinucci,
Lanzi, Cicognara, together with the two Dominican his-
torians, Fineschi and Bitiotti, affirm that Fra Sisto and
Fra Ristoro rebuilt both bridges. F. Borghigiani men-
tions only one bridge, La Trinità; and what is truly
strange, F. Timoteo Bottonio attributes to them the Ru-
baconte, which had not been injured by the flood.
None of them cite documents. Relying, therefore, on
the grave authority of the Necrology of S. Maria Novella,
which was written by a contemporary, we must conclude
that the Carraja alone was rebuilt by the two lay-bro-
thers. Some have believed that the actual beautiful
bridge of this name is the same that was erected in 1269
by Fra Sisto and Fra Ristoro; but this is a manifest
error, the present bridge being the work of another Do-
minican, of whom we shall have occasion to speak else-
where. Villani, an indubitable authority, states that
1 The Guide Book of 1830, errs in stating that the Carraja was built of
stone in 1318, after the designs of Arnolfo. It adds, moreover, that it was
built of stone, by Ammanato, under Cosimo I. The Guide of 1841, gives it
as probable that Fra Giovanni da Campi, was employed to restore it in 1334.
Nor is the recent Guide, by Fantozzi (1842), more accurate, as it states
that this bridge was rebuilt by T. Gaddi, A.D. 1333. Elsewhere we will
have to speak of this bridge.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
13
before and after the flood of 1269, the Carraja was a wooden
bridge, and that Fra Sisto and Fra Ristoro built the piers
of stone, as Jacopo, the German, is said to have done in
1218. Such, however, was the solidity of their construc-
tion, that they resisted the terrible floods of 1282, 1284,
and 1288. Subsequently, however, when the wooden
bridge was destroyed in the fashion that Villani describes,
a new one, entirely of stone, was built in 1304. This
having been swept away by the extraordinary and ever-
memorable inundation of 1333, was reconstructed as it is
at present.
The chroniclers of S. Maria Novella have reason to be-
lieve that the two architects executed other works in
Florence, as well for the Republic as for private citizens,
but in such poverty of materials we are not enabled to
confirm their opinion. I find, however, that the Guide-
book of 1841 conjectures that Fra Sisto and Fra Ristoro
erected the little church of St. Remigio in Florence, and
this conjecture is founded on the similarity of its style to
that of S. Maria Novella. F. Joseph Richa has proved
the first to be long anterior to the second, and thinks it fur-
nished the two lay-brother architects with the idea of
their new church. Sigr. Federigo Fantozzi, in his GUIDE,
(published 1842,) brings the following arguments against
the opinion of the learned Jesuit: "Tis very unlikely
that this church could have served as a model to the
Dominican architects for the magnificent temple of S.
Maria Novella, as many have written and supposed, since,
if it be true, as it really seems indisputable, that about the
year 1428 the church of S. Remigio passed from the pa-
tronage of the bishop to that of the people, as their reward
for having renewed (rinnovata) it about that period,
it is clear that it could not have served as a model for
14
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
S. Maria Novella, which was erected in 1278."1 To this
reasoning, I think that the architecture of the church
itself is opposed, for as far as I am able to judge it, it
appears to be of extreme antiquity, and not very unlike
that of La S. Trinità and S. Maria Novella. In Florence
architecture had made such progress under Brunellesco,
and L. B. Alberti, during 1428, that one would find it
hard to believe that there could have been a desire to
perpetuate the Gothic style in despite of the new methods;
and it is probable that the word "renewed" was employed
to signify the simple restoration of the ancient edifice.
Howsoever that may be, I will leave the subject to be
discussed by more competent critics, as I have not docu-
ments that could prove our architects to have been the
builders of this church. But there is one work of theirs
which has given celebrity to their name-the church of
S. Maria Novella, of which they furnished the designs.
The reader will pardon us if we be prolix in speaking of
this hallowed temple, since it has been always regarded
as a sanctuary of art, to which the Dominican artists
consecrated their genius for more than a century and
a half.
We cannot say in what year the Dominicans
the Dominicans appeared
for the first time in Florence. The annalists of the order and
F. Fineschi assert that they arrived there in 1219.2 Their
first appearance in a city seemed to have a special
The sum
I A D. 1291, the Republic voted a sum
66 pro reparatione Pontis Car-
rariæ," and on the 21st September (same year), 200 flor. parv. ad opus et
laborerium Pontis S. Trinitatis. V. Gaye Carteggio Inedito.
voted for the Carraja (25 parv. fl.), would show that it did not sustain
much damage.
2 Annal. Ord. Præd. Vol. i., p. 245. Fineschi, Memorie, etc. Præfaz.
e vita del B. G. da Salerno.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
15
character. Few, or many, they presented themselves to
the people, and tendered their services to them. When
they lacked an asylum they betook themselves to one of
the public hospitals, situated near the gates of cities, and
then abounding and munificently maintained throughout
Italy for the reception of poor pilgrims. What a blessed
economy was this, at a period when internecine wars,
and the rage of factions cast so many houseless on the
high-ways! In the day time they dispersed themselves
through the churches and piazzas, inviting the people to
come and hear their sermons. For their support they
trusted to God and the charity of the faithful—where
civil discord raged they exhorted to peace, and employed
all their energies to promote friendship. Wheresoever
error had crept in they proved themselves champions of
the faith, and successfully encountered the teachers of
false doctrines. Thus did they comport themselves in
Florence, where they arrived, numbering twelve members,
under the guidance of the blessed Giovanni da Salerno;
the hospital near the gate of S. Gallo was their first
domicile in this city; and there did they fix their abode,
till the bishop, of his liberality, bestowed on them the
small oratory of S. Jacopo, in Pian di Ripoli, two miles
distant from Florence. Compassionating them for the fa-
tigue they were obliged to endure in coming such a distance
each day to preach in the city, he soon afterwards
conducted them to another hospital called S. Pancrazio,
which probably stood near the ancient gate of that name.¹
The nuns of the order of St. Dominick were located at Pian di Ripoli
in 1224. In the year 1292, they removed to Florence, and were established
in Via della Scala. This convent was suppressed in 1787, by the Grand
Duke Pietro Leopoldo, who employed it as a conservatory for the daughters
of the nobility. The Dominican nuns of Florence were amongst the earliest
and most zealous encouragers of the art of printing. In 1476, Fra Do-
+1
16
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
It was here that they were met by S. Dominic, on his
arrival in Florence in the year 1219: nor should we
forget to mention that the holy founder on entering Siena,
met his brethren in the public hospital of St. Mary Mag-
dalene, as they had no other refuge at the time. The number
of the brotherhood having increased in the year 1220, some
of them took up their abode with the Canons of S. Paul, in
Palazzuolo. In August, 1221, Cardinal Ugolino, the
Pontifical Legate, arrived in Florence, from Bologna,
where he had been attending the obsequies of S. Dominic,
who passed out of this life on the 6th of the said month,
and, finding the friars (whom he sincerely loved) very
poorly accommodated, he lost no time in providing them
with a suitable habitation. After two months negociation
he procured from the bishop and the chapter of the
cathedral, the small parochial church of S. Maria "tra le
vigne," or as it is often called "La Novella;" and on the
12th of November, it was formally consigned to the
Dominicans, who, on the 20th of the same month,
took possession of it. To establish a convent was their
first object; and having obtained the Legate's sanction, they
sold some lands which had belonged to the aforesaid
church. The ancient church, a part of which is now
under the actual, was in length equal to the distance.
menico da Pistoja, and Fra Pietro da Pisa (O. S. D.), the spiritual directors
of this convent, established a printing-press and type-foundery, within its
precincts. Some of the nuns did the work of compositors, and the celebrated
Bartolommeo Fonzio, made the corrections. Many works were issued from
this press between 1476 and 1484. When Domenico da Pistoja died (1484),
the nuns ceased to print. F. Fineschi has published "Historical Notices of
the Printing-press of Ripoli, to illustrate the Typographical History of
Florence." 1 vol. octavo. Florence, 1781. See also Moreni Bibliografia
Storico-ragionata della Toscana. Vol. i., p. 372.
1 The first habitation of the Dominicans, at Milan, was the hospital of
St. Barnabas, where they arrived, twelve in number, A.D. 1218.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
17
between the chapel of S. Thomas and the steps of the
grand altar; the door of entrance opened on the piazza vec-
chia; anda fragment of the cloister erected by our religious
of that period may still be seen in the cemetry, where the
arches have been filled up with masonry. Meanwhile the
community was rapidly enlarging itself; and numbers of the
Florentine youth, distinguished for birth, knowledge, and
riches, asked the habit from the blessed John of Salerno.
When the latter died, he left behind him one whose genius
and piety had great influence over the citizens-this
was F. Aldobrandino Cavalcanti, and to him mainly was
the young community indebted for its extension.
In the year 1244, the Pontiff, Innocent IV., having
learned that the Manichean heresy was being dissemi-
nated by the Ghibelline faction in Florence, commissioned
S. Pietro di Verona, to proceed to the city and use every
exertion to eradicate such baneful tares. The sanctity of
his life, and the fervid eloquence for which the Veronese
was distinguished, gave him great influence with the
Florentines. Such a concourse come to hear him preach
that the church and contiguous piazza could not afford
sufficient accommodation: the saint, therefore, besought
the republic to enlarge the piazza di S. Maria Novella,
(then the widest in Florence,) and a decree, dated De-
cember 12, 1244, ordained that a considerable number of
houses should be forthwith removed.¹ F. Aldobrandino
saw the necessity of enlarging the church, in order that
the people might not be exposed to the inclemency of the
weather whilst hearing the Divine word, and immediately
applied himself to the realisation of his project. In the
1 This precious document, which must have escaped the learned F. Cam--
pano, in his life of S. Pietro, M., was published, I believe, for the first time,
by F. G. Richa (1755), in the work entitled "Notizie Storiche delle Chiese
Fiorentine," and more recently by F. Fineschi, in 1790.
18
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
first instance he wrote to the pontiff, and obtained from
him two briefs granting indulgences to those who by alms
would contribute to the erection of the new building:
pending the erection of the new church he resolved to
enlarge the old one. The superintendence of the work
was confided to F. Pasquale dell' Ancisa, and F. Pagano
degli Adimari, who must have been well skilled in
architecture, as we shall see when describing the works
which they carried on in other parts of Tuscany. At
this period F. Aldobrandino invested many of the most
respectable citizens with the Dominican habit; but fore-
most of all were the two youthful architects, who had
resolved to co-operate in the holy work, after having put
on the insignia of the order-these were Fra Sisto and Fra
Ristoro; who, says F. Fineschi, were joined by a certain
Fra Domenico,¹ and other men skilled in the building and
stone-cutting art. According to the biographer whom
we have quoted, these events must have taken place in
1256, or in the year following. As soon as the church
had been somewhat enlarged the friars wished to embellish
it with paintings by those Greeks whom the Republic had
invited to Florence about the middle of the thirteenth
century, to teach their art to the growing generation.
Strange, indeed it is, that the Republic preferred the
Greeks to the Pisan and Sienese painters: who were
certainly not inferior to the former. This surely is an
important fact in the history of art; and thus it was that
the Dominicans may be said to have given the first
impulse to the genius of Cimabue.2 Not content with
แ
1 The Necrology of this Domenico does not give him the usual title
magister lapidum," or architectus; neither is he so mentioned in the docu-
ment cited by F. Fineschi, in the Life of the B. John di Salerno, p. 71.
How, then, can he be enumerated amongst the Dominican artists?
2 The Greeks were twice engaged to paint in S. Maria Novella. First in
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
19
their apostolic labours, but wishing to cary out the very
letter of their rule, which commands them to make them-
selves useful, the Dominicans opened a grammar school
(in this century and that which followed, such is the
designation given to the study of Latin,) for the education
of the Florentine youth, and their own novices. The
teacher at that period was an uncle of Cimabue, but
whether he was a friar or secular priest does not appear.¹
The nephew frequented the school, but was wont to
escape from his books to watch the Greek painters in the
church; at school, instead of attending to the grammar
lesson, he employed himself in making rude sketches with
the pen; and the fathers wishing to encourage his incli-
nations, entrusted him to the Greeks. He was destined
to be the founder of the Florentine School of Painting-
there is now, however, no vestige of the frescos painted by
the Greeks. These that now remain are by an unknown
hand of the school of Giotto, and were executed in 1348.2
Lanzi says that in his day a fragment of the plaster
having fallen down, revealed a remnant of a very rude
painting by the Greeks. It would be difficult after the
lapse of so many ages, and the various modifications of
the church, to realise an idea of its form or beauty in the
olden time. It appears, however, to have been low and
narrow; the vaultings were coloured in ultra-marine blue,
studded with golden stars; and the walls, from cornice to
the ancient church, and then in the new. From not being able to distinguish
these two epochs, many controversies have arisen amongst critics on art.
Cimabue must have studied the paintings of the old church, and not of the
actual, which was commenced in 1279, when he was already thirty-nine
years of age.
1 When the grammar-master was not a religious, he received from the
convent a florin per month, together with food and lodging. It appears
from the ancient records that multitudes came from Tuscany and the Papal
States, to study Latin in Florence, in the fourteenth century, attracted thither
by the fame of the blessed Guido Regiolano. Archiv. di S. Maria.
• V. Borghigiani, and Fineschi.
20
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
basement, were covered with scenes from the life of the
Virgin and the Saints.
But F. Aldobrandino Cavalcanti was not to be satisfied
with a church of such poor dimensions; he had long since
resolved on raising a temple far excelling all others in
Florence, and to this end he collected alms, and exerted
all his energies with the citizens. The Dominicans whose
relatives were wealthy did the same. The fact of having
two skilful architects in the convent was an additional
stimulus, and he was just about to commence the work
when Gregory X., appointed him to the See of Orvieto.
This appointment which took place in 1272, retarded the
work for seven years. When the pontiff set out for the
Ecumenic Council of Lyons, he appointed F. Cavalcanti,
to be his Vicar at Rome; an office which he retained during
the pontificates of Gregory's three successors, (Innocent V.,
Adrian V., John XXI.,) till the year 1277, when, on the
accession of Nicholas III., he obtained permission to go back
to Orvieto. For about two years he continued to govern
that church, till, on account of his failing health, he got
leave to return to his own country, bringing with him a con-
derable sum of money for his church of S. Maria Novella.
Fra Sisto and Fra Ristoro then produced their plan, and it
was no sooner seen than approved of. Just as he was
about to lay the first stone, God called to himself, Mon-
signore Aldobrandino Cavalcanti, on the 31st of August,
1279. The honor was reserved for another religious in
higher dignity; and, indeed, the foundation of this church
is associated with one of the grandest and most auspicious
passages in Florentine history.
Fra Latino Malabranca, nephew of Pope Nicholas III.,
and Legate to the republic, having established peace between
the factions known in Bologna, as the Geremei and Lamber-
tazzi, and having acted in like manner amongst the other
Guelfs and Ghibellines of Romagna, came to Florence,
་
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
21
at the pontiff's bidding, charged with the same merciful
mission. Let us hear Villani-" He came to Florence,
accompanied by three hundred gentlemen, on the 8th of
October, A.D. 1278 (old style); and was received with
marked distinction, by the Florentines and clergy, who
went out to meet him, and accompany his carriage into
the city. On the 18th of October, in the same year,
being the feast of St. Luke, the Evangelist, he laid and
blessed the first stone of the new church of S. Maria
Novella, of the Preaching-Friars, of whom he was a mem-
ber; and there upon that very spot he exhorted Guelfs
and Ghibellines to peace." Such was the joyful event
that marked the foundation of a temple, erected by the
devotion of the faithful to the God of peace. When,
however, the ambition of the Buondelmonti rekindled
the fires of discord, the indefatigable Legate, with still
greater pomp, solemnised a peace in February following.
"Having summoned the Florentines," continues Villani,
"to a parley in the Piazza Vecchia of said church (S.
Maria Novella) . . . . A great pulpit being erected for
the cardinal, in presence of the bishops, prelates, clerics,
religious, podestas, and all the various orders of Florence,
he pronounced a noble discourse, such as was suitable to
the occasion, and worthy of such a wise and eloquent
preacher. When the sermon was concluded, the syndics
deputed by the Guelfs and Ghibellines, kissed each other
on the mouth, to the great joy of the citizens.”¹
Under such auspices was the church of S. Maria
Novella commenced. In these ages of faith, the erection
of a monastery or church was a cause of universal joy.
The poor man knew that in these asylums he could share
the bread that the friar begged at the portals of the rich;
the learned sought the society of their inmates, to listen
.1 Vilanni Cronaca., lib. vii., c. 6. Macchiavelli Storie Fiorentine, lib. ii.
22
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
to their lore; the artists found in them a source of inspi-
ration, encouragement, and remuneration for their labours;
souls enamoured of heaven were there comforted with
the spiritual aliment needful for their trials; and the peo-
ple, almost invariably oppressed, regarded the monks as
their champions and defenders. No wonder, then, if the
people contributed their strength and their substance to
the building of these churches and cloisters, from which
so many blessings have flowed for the benefit of the
human race.
From the very beginning of the work, the two lay-bro-
thers, Fra Sisto and Fra Ristoro, were appointed its archi-
tects. Many of their brethren, who were excellent stone-
masons, and of whom we will have occasion to speak, toiled
at the building with singular industry. The overseers and
architects all belonged to the convent. So much so, that
this beauteous temple was built by their own hands, with-
out the intervention of a single secular-a very rare fact
in the history of art. When the basilica of Assisi, the
duomi of Florence, Orvieto and Milan, were projected,
it was customary to compete for the appointment of ar-
chitect; and invitations were held out to strangers. Not
so with the Dominicans; those who now consecrated
their genius and their arms to this great work were all of
the same soil, of the same institute, and of the same
convent.2
1
The Republic having examined the plans, concluded
that it would be the fairest church in all Florence; and,
being at all times munificent patrons of art, they voted an
annual sum of ten thousand florins, and a hundred bushels
of lime, till such time as the work was completed. Such
'The following superintended the building of S. Maria Novella:-Fra
P. dell' Ancisa, to 1284; Fra Rainerio Gualterotti (called the Greek), to
1317; Fra Jacopo Passavanti, who witnessed its completion about 1317.
• The Cistercian Friars, in Flanders, deserve the same eulogium. V.
Milizia. Mem. degli Architetti Ant e Mod.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
23
•
generosity found a response in the hearts of the people;
and many of the noble families, and bishops whose rela-
tives were members of this convent, contributed large
sums to the undertaking. But what tended most to its
accomplishment was the eloquence of the far-famed Fra
Remigio, who, to distinguish him from the literary cele-
brity of the same name in the sixteenth century (who also
belonged to this convent) is called the SENIOR. Gifted
with glorious genius and natural fluency, he raised
pulpit eloquence to the highest dignity both in style and
conception. His, however, was not the enthusiastic and
impetuous diction of Fra Giovanni da Vicenza, who
saw four hundred thousand human beings swayed by his
tongue, abjuring their hates, and rushing into each other's
embrace; unlike that terrible Savonarola, before whom
the Medici quailed, and whom the people worshipped,
Fra Remigio, if we be allowed the comparison, reminds
us of Casa's discourses to Charles the Fifth, written,
however, in all the simplicity of the thirteenth century.
One of his orations, pronounced when the priors and gonfa-
loniere were entering on their office (December 25, 1293),
made a thrilling appeal on behalf of the church of Santa
Maria Novella; nor was it inefficacious, for the Republic
made two grants to the building, the one on the 23rd
of September, 1295, and the other on the 6th of June,
1297.
The plan of the church of S. Maria Novella² is a Latin
cross, with nave, and aisles. Six pointed arches resting upon
as many pilasters of the stone called PEPERINO, and adorned
¹ Anno 1295, 23 Sept., Pro Ecclesiæ S. M. Novellæ Constructione, libr.,
1200 f. p. (flor. parvor), persolvendæ in quatuor terminis pro anno futuro
initiando in kalend. Januarii proxime venturi. Anno 1297, 6 Junii. Pro
Ecclesia S. M. N. quæ de novo refficitur, et rehedificatur, libr. 1200 f. p., in
termino unius anni. Gaye, Archiv. delle Riformagioni. Vol. i., app. 2.
2 For the dimensions of this church see document No. 1.
24
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
!
with fourmezzo-columns of the same material, extend along
its whole length on either side. The vaultings and arches
are so beautifully disposed, that there appears to be but one
point of difference between the architecture ofFra Sisto and
Fra Ristoro, and that of Orgagna in the following century.
No one can see this church without discovering how well
these architects had penetrated the secret of perspective;
for, being viewed from its threshold, it appears much
longer than it really is. This illusion, we need not say,
is produced by the admirable arrangement of the arches,
the span of which diminishes gradually from the entrance
to the end of the building. In fact, so happy is the
adaptation of all the details, that the eye must fail
to discover the massive iron chains which were em-
ployed at that period to strengthen the vaultings. Sim-
ple and majestic, solid and light, it embraces an ensem-
ble of beauties that makes it the fairest in Florence,
and, according to Richa and Fineschi, the most grace-
ful in Italy. Never let us forget the criticism of Michel-
angelo, who called it his "gentle spouse" (Sposa Gentile).
It is, beyond doubt, the precursor of Brunellesco's archi-
tecture. Here you do not find that multiplicity of detail
that wearies the eye, and produces confusion; nor the
superfluity of decoration which at that period was em-
ployed to ornament the sacred edifices. Here all is
rare and majestic simplicity. Behold it arrayed in
its pomp on festal days, draped in silk and gold, with its
altars lighted; or better still, contemplate it in its severe
simplicity, at sunset, when the grand shadows of the pil-
lars cross each other, falling on the opposite walls, and the
richly-tinted twilight streams through its storied windows,
colouring every object around, and you will feel a thou-
sand celestial thoughts springing up in your soul.¹ Be it
1 In the fifteenth century there was published a little volume (now, I
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
25
remembered, to the honour of these two architects, that
Florence did not furnish them with models of such beauty
as this; for it was not till 1294 that Arnolfo laid the
foundation of S. Croce, and S. Maria del Fiore was not
begun till 1298; that is to say, the first fourteen years,
and the second eighteen after the building of S. Maria
Novella, when the Dominican architects had passed out
of this life. Historic impartiality, however, dictates that
a great part of the glory derivable from this beauteous
edifice should be given to two other architects of the same
convent, who witnessed its completion in the succeeding
century.
The Necrology of the convent having narrated the
works of the two lay-brothers in their own country, goes
on to say, that their fame soon reached Rome, and that
the pontiff (who he was is not quite certain) invited them
to work in his own palace, and to construct some vaults,
(primas testudines,) as they had already done in that of
the Prior's or Podesta's at Florence. In all probability
the pope in question was Nicholas III., the uncle of
Cardinal Latino, whom we have seen laying the first
stone of S. Maria Novella, and who, 'tis likely, mentioned
the lay-brothers to his holiness. If this be true, it must
have been before the August of 1280, in which year and
month Nicholas III., died.
Here I may be permitted to hazard a conjecture on a
question which may be satisfactorily resolved in time to
come. Comparing the date of the arrival of the two lay-
brothers in Rome, with that of the building of S. Maria
believe, lost,) entitled, "De Pulchritudine Sanctæ Mariæ Novellæ." It is
quoted by Savonarola in one of his orations to the Florentine Republic. V.
Burlamacchi "Vita di Savon.," p. 70. Lucca, 1764. Marchese has
forgotten to mention the time in which this church was consecrated. The
inscription on the north pier of the chancel arch, states that Pope Martin V.
performed the ceremony, on the 7th Sept., 1420.
VOL. I.
C

26
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
sopra Minerva, of the same Order, I am of opinion that
Fra Sisto and Fra Ristoro may have furnished the de-
sign, and for some time superintended that work. The
architecture of this church, if unequal to, is not unlike
that of S. Maria Novella, save in lightness, of which its
vastness did not permit, as, with the exception of the
three Basiliche, it is the largest in Rome. The cruciform
character is precisely the same. The two lateral chapels
of the great altar, and the principal chapels correspond
with these of S. Maria Novella in Florence. So likewise
do the clustered columns; or, in other words, the pilasters
decorated with four demi-columns. In fact, if it had not
been frequently modernized, it is probable that the eye,
at one glance, might recognise the architecture of Fra
Sisto and Fra Ristoro. Let us compare the epochs.
This very F. Aldobrandino Cavalcanti, who had given
the religious habit to Fra Sisto and Fra Ristoro, and
engaged them to design S. Maria Novella, being in
Rome in his capacity of vicar to the Pope, confirmed
the surrender made by the Benedictine nuns in Campus
Martius, of the ancient and small church of S. Maria
sopra Minerva in favour of the Dominican Friars,
(16th November, 1274.) It would appear that the new
church had not then been commenced, for F. Fontana
quotes a brief of Nicholas III., dated June 24, 1280, (the
year probably in which the lay-brothers entered Rome,)
addressed to John Colonna and Pandolfo Savelli, Roman
senators, exhorting them to give the promised subsidies
to the Preaching-Friars, in order to enable them to build
the new church: and it is therein expressly mentioned
that the foundations had been already laid, (cum itaque
dicta Ecclesia incipiatur fabricari ad presens.") After
the death of Nicholas III., F. Fontana opines that the
building was not resumed till the election of Boniface
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
27
VIII.; who issued a brief, (January 21, 1295, the first
year of his pontificate,) directed to the prior of the
Dominicans, which describes the commencement of the
new church as "most sumptuous," (opere plurimum son-
tuoso.) It is true that Fra Ristoro had returned to Flo-
rence, but Fra Sisto remained at Rome eight consecutive
years, during which time he might easily have conducted
the building so as to merit for it the description of “most
sumptuous" in 1295. Moreover, Fontana's assertion,
that he remained idle for fully fourteen years, the period
that intervened between the death of Pope Nicholas and
the election of Boniface VIII., is altogether gratuitous.¹
The Necrology of S. Maria Novella states nothing of the
sort, which it should have recorded; and, indeed, this nega
tive argument is worthy some consideration; but, at the same
time, it is very unlikely that the Dominicans would have
invited strangers to do work, which could have been ably
performed by two distinguished members of their own
body, then actually in Rome.2 Fontana, however, has not
been able to determine the name of the architect. Giuseppe
Vasi dates the cession of the ancient church (S. Maria
sopra Minerva,) A.D. 1395. The same error occurs in the
work entitled "Rome, Ancient and Modern," compiled
out of the writings of Panvinio, Pancirolo, and Nardini.
The Roman Guide, published in 1842, repeats the same
error. M. D'Agincourt, (Hist. de L' Art,) states that it
was built in the fourteenth century, in the pontificate of
Gregory XI.; and wonders that the pointed arch should
have appeared at this period in Rome, (vol. i. p. 2, p.
240.) His wonder, however, is quite unreasonable; for
although Orgagna employed the rounded arch at Flo-
¹ De Rom. Prov. Ord. Praed. c, ii. Tit. 1.
2 In 1636 the Director of the modifications made in the Minerva was
Giov. M. da Pesaro, a Dominican lay-brother.
•
28
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
rence about the year 1370; it is not less certain that the
"pointed" prevailed for many years in other Italian
cities. The duomo of Milan commenced at the close of
that century: and S. Petronio di Bologna, that was
begun in 1392, are sufficient proofs of this. But, as we
have already said, the church della Minerva is more
ancient by one century.
M. Valery, after visiting the churches of the Domini-
cans, (SS. John and Paul in Venice, S. Nicholas in
Trevigi, S. Maria Novella in Florence, the Minerva at
Rome, and S. Domenico Maggiore in Naples,) was
astonished at the peculiar character of the Gothic archi-
tecture of the period, which he pronounces noble, simple,
and majestic.¹ Such, too, is the opinion of Montalem-
bert regarding the Dominican churches in France;2
which, says the learned writer, suffered so much from
popular fury in the revolutions of the last century. Alas
that we are obliged to record the same of some of them
even in Italy!
How little soever one may be read in the political,
religious, or literary history of Italy, he cannot cross the
threshold of the Minerva at Rome without experiencing
a tumult of ideas, alternately sad and joyful; without
beholding, as it were, the triumphal entry of the six-
teenth century, and its blood-stained exit. Leo X.,
Bembo and Paolo Manuzio who moulder beneath its
vaults, remind us of our literary and artistic glories-of
Raffaello and Buonarrotti. The tombs of Clement VII.
1 Voyages Historiques et Litter. d' Italie, liv. xii. c. 8.
2 Du Vandalisme et du Catholocisme dans l'Art. Paris, 1839, p. 47. "Je
vous fais observer en passant qu' une sorte de fatalitè toute particuliere sem-
ble s'attacher aux Eglises construites par les Dominicains, toujours d' un
gout si simple, si pur, si regulier: elles sont partout choisies en premier lieu
par les destructeurs."



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29
and Paul IV. revive memories of the sack of Rome, of the
Reformation, and the terrible beleaguering that the Pon-
tifical See had to sustain. From such reminiscences as
these the mind seeks comfort at the sepulchre of the
blessed Angelico da Fiesole, and at that of the holy maiden
of Siena, whose eloquence, more persuasive than Petrarca's,
restored the throne of the pontiffs to the eternal city.
Here terminate the notices of Fra Sisto and Fra Ris-
toro. The first died at Rome, in March, 1289, whilst
carrying on works for the Dominican nuns of the monas-
tery of S. Sisto; the second in his own country, in 1283:
and he desired that his ashes should repose in that temple
which confers a title to glory on the twain. These two
architects are highly lauded by Vasari, in his Life of
Gaddo Gaddi; by Bottari, in a note to his Life of Fra
Giovanni Angelico; by Baldinucci, in his Memoirs of
Arnolfo; by Lanzi, in the History of Painting; but
especially by Cicognara, in his invaluable History of
Italian Sculpture. Observe what he says: "It is strange
that the names of Fra Sisto and Fra Ristoro, both Flo-
rentines, and builders of the principal bridges of the
Arno, to say nothing of their other works in the city,
and in the Vatican, should be almost shrouded in
oblivion. Why is it that no mention is made of Fra
Jacopo Talenti da Nipozzano, who, along with the fore-
said, raised so many edifices in Florence? These archi-
tects of the thirteenth century, (Talenti belongs to the
1 The following is an entry in the Necrology of S. Maria Novella: “Fr.
Ristorus conversus de Campi, hic fuit maximus architectus et una cum fratre
Sixto converso, qui est infra, et obiit Romæ, et fecerunt nostram Ecclesiam
tanto siquidem artificio ut usque hodie sit in admirationem, et hi duo fece-
runt magnas testudines palatii dominorum Priorum Florentiæ, et pontem
Carragiæ, et primas testudines domini Papæ, ubi obiit Fr. Sixtus.
"Fr. Sixtus conversus de porta, S. Pancratii de vico qui dicitur S. Sixtus,
obiit Romæ in loco dominarum S. Sixtii, A.D. 1289, m. martii.
30
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
A
fourteenth,) have an immense claim on our gratitude, for
to them we owe the splendid revival of architecture.
After the Pisan architects, and the builders of the Basilica
at Venice, they deserve the highest place in Italy."
Before closing this chapter, we would fondly pray
that some monument may be raised above their ashes to
tell the native and the stranger their names and works.
Florence did tardy justice to the memory of Arnolfo and
Brunellesco; may the day soon come when she will show
her gratitude to Fra Sisto and Fra Ristoro in S. Maria
Novella!
CHAPTER III.
Minor Tuscan Architects, their Works in Prato, Florence, and in
Val d'Arno, etc.
THAT religious enthusiasm which was kindled in the
hearts, not only of the Italian people, but in these of the
ultramontanes also, is very discernible in the vast number
of edifices which in these days arose, as it were by en-
chantment, in the cities, hamlets, and rural districts of
Spain and Italy. In 1233 Fra Giovanni, a Dominican
of Bologna, addressed the people of Reggio in that fervid
strain of eloquence so efficacious at a period singularly
remarkable for its bloody feuds. He appealed to them
for means to enable him to erect a convent and church
of his order in Reggio; "and then," writes a contemporary
historian, "you might have seen the whole population
making an offering of their services and chattels, nay,
vieing with each other in activity and zeal." What was
witnessed a few centuries before, when the Benedictines
1 Cicognara, v. iii. lib. iii. c. i. pag. 45.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
31
1
et about building their church in Dive, was repeated
n this memorable occasion. Men, women, and chil-
Iren, noble, and plebeian, absolutely carried the mate-
ials for the sacred edifice, which, under the direction of
certain Fra Jacopino of the same Order, was finished in
he brief term of three years. The Perugian Magis-
racy confided the banner of the State to the blessed
Niccolò Di Giovenazzo, telling him, at the same time,
hat wheresoever he planted it there should be raised a
emple to S. Dominic, and an asylum for his children.2
This zeal for church-building required a great number
of architects, stone-masons, engineers, and other persons
competent to superintend the works; and the new Orders,
on this account, received many skilful persons into their
ranks. This will appear more clearly from what we are
about to write. When Fra Sisto and Fra Ristoro died,
the building of S. Maria Novella was continued un-
interruptedly; and such was the abundance of able
architects, that three lay-brothers of the same convent
undertook various works in the neighbouring cities and
towns of Tuscany. The names of these three, (accord-
ing to the Necrology,) were Fra Mazzetto, Fra Borghese,
and Fra Albertino Mazzanti. Of these, the second only
could have learned the art from Fra Sisto and Fra Ris-
toro, unless we suppose that the other two had been his
disciples before entering religion. We have not ascer-
tained the birth place of Fra Mazzetto, the names of his
1 Muratori, writing of this church, says, (Rer. Ital. Script. v. viii. pp.
1107-8:)—“ A.D. 1233, on the festival of St. James, the first stone of this
church was consecrated by Albertus, Archipresbyter of Reggio, and the
bishop Nicholas. All the men and women of Reggio, great and small,
noble and ignoble, citizens and peasants, carried stone, sand, and lime on
their backs, in skins and baskets, and blessed was he who could carry most
and Fra Jacopino superintended the works."
• Fontana De Rom. Prov. Ord. Præd. Tit. vii. p. 103.
32
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
parents, or the year of his birth; but it is certain that he
took the habit in the church of S. Maria Novella, A.D.
1298, when its two first architects had passed out of this
world. About 1300 the superiors entrusted him with
the building of the church of S. Dominic in Prato;
and that work was greatly facilitated by the co-operation
of Fra Niccolo Albertino, the same who was destined to
wear the sacred purple, and to act such a remarkable
part in the political history of his own country and Tus-
cany.
The church of S. Dominic in that city was
begun in 1281, in all probability after the designs of Fra
Sisto and Fra Ristoro; and F. Paul Pilastri conducted the
works to the year 1300; but when the latter was sent to
govern the convents of Pisa, Arezzo, Florence, etc., Fra
Mazzetto took charge of it till its completion. This we
confidently assert, despite Fineschi, who fancies that
Mazzetta was engaged at it in 1281, whereas he did not
receive the habit of the Order till 1298. Neither do we
agree with Vasari, who affirms that the convent of Prato
was restored by Giovanni Pisano in 1300; since it is
indubitable that neither convent nor church were finished
in 1322.¹ For this fact we are indebted to the researches
of Emmanuele Repetti, who states, that on the 10th of
February of that year, Fra Lapo, a Dominican, and one of
the executors of Cardinal Niccolo Albertino, informed
the magistrates of the city that the foresaid Cardinal had
bequeathed a sum of money for the completion of this
church and convent. Fra Mazzeto continued to super-
intend these works for about ten years, and closed his
days in Prato, (October 11th, 1310,) in the twelfth year
of his religious life. The writer of the Necrology in S.
2
1 V. Vasari's Life of P. Pilastri.
2 Dizionario Geog. fisico stor. della Toscana, vol. iv. p. 649. Vasari's
Life of Giov. and Nic. Pisano.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
33
Maria Novella, records that " he was a devout religious,
skilful and industrious in all matters connected with
carpentry, and beloved by his brethren."1 It would be
very difficult to form an accurate judgment of the works
of this architect in Prato, for the church having been de-
stroyed by fire in 1847, has been almost wholly rebuilt
after the design of Baccio del Bianco.2
Much more copious, however, are the documents
relating to the two other architects, Fra Albertino Maz-
zanti and Fra Borghese. The first was born in Florence,
A.D. 1260. From his father's name, which was Cambio,
some have fancied that he was related to the celebrated
Arnolfo, who was not the son of Lapo, as Vasari asserts,
but of Cambio, as Baldinucci has shown.3 He took the
religious habit in S. Maria Novella, A.D. 1284, when
Fra Sisto was in Rome, and Fra Ristoro had been one
year dead. He served God thirty-five years in the in-
stitute of the Preaching-Friars, and was praised as an
eminent architect. Aged fully sixty years, he passed
out of this life in his convent of S. Maria Novella,
A.D. 1319.4
Fra Borghese was born in Florence about 1250, and
was the son of a certain Ugolino, architect, from whom
he may have learned the rudiments of the art. When he
took the habit in S. Maria Novella, in 1272, (being then
in the twentieth year of his age,) Fra Sisto and Fra Ris-
1 It may be useful to state that the word "Carpentarius," so frequently
occuring in the Necrology, is invariably meant to signify an architect-the
term employed to signify carpenter is "Lignarius," or "lignorum faber."
Ducange, however, has no example of this sort.
? Repetti Dizion. 1. c.
3 Notizie dei professori del disegno, v. i.
4 F. Albertinus dict. Mazzante filius Cambi, CARPENTARIUS, et in edifi-
ciis fratrum construendis persubtilis, obiit 1319, vixit in ord. circa 35. ann."
-Necrology, S. M. N.
c 2
34
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
toro were still living, and it is probable that he cultivated
architecture under the guidance of these able masters.
At that precise period they were collecting materials for
the new edifice. When the first stone was laid by
Cardinal Latino, (A. D. 1279,) Fra Borghese may have
attained that degree of proficiency which must have
made him a valuable accession to Sisto and Ristoro. The
latter were not more than eight months engaged at S.
Maria Novella, when they were invited to Rome to work
in the Vatican, as we have already stated; and in their
absence, none could have been more fitted to substitute
them than Fra Borghese. Assisted by Albertino, in 1284,
the two worked conjointly for many years. And, indeed,
it would appear from a valuable hint of the learned Jesuit,
Richa, that we should attribute to them the eastern aisle,
built in 1307, when Fra Giovanni da Campi, and Fra
Jacopo Talenti had not as yet taken the habit. Work,
and prayer, and profound study of the beautiful in art-
always associating his aesthetic genius to the austerity of
the anchorite-constituted the whole life of Fra Borghese,
who, having spent forty years in the institute of the
Preaching Friars, was called to the peace of the just,
February 20, 1313. Much praise is due to these two
architects for having realised the ideal of Sisto and Ris-
toro; since in works of this nature, if the executors lack
science, the beauty of the edifice must be considerably, if
not wholly, deformed.
Whilst Fra Mazzeto was superintending the church of
S. Dominic, in Prato, and Borghese and Mazzanti that
1 Lib. di Ricord. del Conv. di S. M. Novella. "In consideration of Fra
Ugolino Minerbetti, who took the habit of S. Dominic, in 1298, the Miner-
betti (family) gave 300 gold florins to build the eastern aisle; and Andrea
Minerbetti, and his wife Francesca, were painted on the vault in fresco."
Righa Not. Stor. delle C. Fiorentine. V. iii., p. 25.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
35
of S. Maria Novella, some religious, either architects or
amateurs of the art, undertook very many buildings in
Tuscany. The church of S. Domenico, at Pistoja, which
was commenced in 1280, was built, probably, after the
designs of Fra Sisto and Ristoro, and F. Pasquale dall'
Ancisa, whom we have seen employed at S. Maria No-
vella, superintended the works from 1279 to 1284. In
this year, however, he must have come to Pistoja, leaving
F. Rainerio Gualterotti to succeed him in Florence. All
the hospices, which in former ages belonged to the Domi-
nicans in Tuscany, were built about this period; and
some of them, being enlarged, were subsequently used as
convents. Exclusive of S. Vincenzo di Tridozio, in the
Romagna, which belonged to S. Maria Novella, they
amounted to eight; that of St. Domenico di Figline, a
large town on the way between Arezzo and Florence, was
entrusted to F. Pagano degli Adimari, who directed the
works which were finally completed by F. Pietro Macci,
an eminent architect. To Macci, likewise, was entrusted
that of S. Maria Casciano, on the road that leads from
Florence to Siena. That of S. Giovanni, in Val-d'Arno,
was built by Fra Giovanni dell' Ancisa. The first and
second of these, as well as that of S. Niccolo, in Monte
Lupo, erected by the generosity of Saltarelli, a Dominican,
and Archbishop of Pisa, had attached to it a public
hospital, after the style of these which, at an earlier period,
used to be built near the gates of every city, for the
reception of pilgrims.' Thus did the Dominicans repay
¹ Besides the hospices mentioned in the text, the Dominicans possessed
four more in Tuscany. The Necrology makes special mention of one of them,
and we transcribe it here. "F. P. fil. Galigai de Maccis Sacerdos et predi-
cator, cantor bonus, scriptor gratiosus, conversatione quietus, et fratribus
gratus, ingeniosus circa mechanica, et ad edificia construenda industrius;
fuit supprior in conv. flor., insuper conversationi, et recreationi fratrum nos-
36
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
the charity which the Tuscans evinced, when receiving
them into the hospitals of S. M. Magdalene in Siena,
and SS. Paul and Pancrazio, at Florence-when unknown,
needing protection, and poor, they threw themselves on
their generosity. When we remember that all these
edifices were raised by architects, masons, and stone-
cutters belonging to one convent, we can form some
notion of the number and capabilities of the artists
themselves.
*
CHAPTER IV.
Of some Portuguese Architects of the Thirteenth Century.
In order of time three Portuguese architects, illustrious
for their learning and sanctity, and who accompanied
their apostolic labours with the cultivation of the arts,
should take precedence of all the Tuscan architects of
whom we have been writing; but, in fact, they did not
make architecture the business of their lives, and rarely
exercised it. Indeed, we would have been disposed to
speak of them simply as successful preachers of the divine
trorum studiose invigilans, et aliorum etiam pauperum hospitalitati intendens,
hopitale de Fignino sibi a fratre Pagano de quo dictum est supra, sibi com-
missum, ad quem principaliter pertinebat, sua edificavit industria, lectos ibidem
et alia ad hæc necessaria cum multa diligentia procurando, et qualiter fratres
nostri omnes ibidem sufficientem refectionem haberent tam discrete, quam
provide ordinavit ad quos pleniori ferebatur affectu. Fratre autem Pagano
viam universæ carnis ingresso, cura hospitalis ipsius est ei principaliter credita,
a Magistro Ordinis, qui super excrescentibus possessionibus supradicti hospi-
talis, utpote fidelis dispensator et prudens, territorium emit in S. Cassiano et
locum pro fratribus simili modo recipiendis cepit edificare ibidem, quem
morte preventus non potuit consumare. Vix. in ord. ann. 41, ob. 1301.”
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
37
word, had not Milizia,' who ranks them amongst the most
celebrated of ancient and modern architects, counselled
otherwise. These are the blessed Gundisalvo, the blessed
Peter Gonzales, and a certain venerable F. Lorenzo;
who are better known as the "Three holy Architects."
The lives of these men will serve to illustrate what we
have already asserted, and prove, if proof be necessary,
that the arts, in their earlier development, received an
eminently religious character from the inmates of the
cloister. The blessed Gundisalvo was born in the diocese
of Braga, in Portugal, and at a very advanced period of
his life, took the habit of the Preaching-Friars. Enamoured
of solitude, and imitating the example of the anchorites
of old, he built for himself an oratory and a cell in a
lonely place, three leagues from the banks of the Douro,
on the confines of the province called Tras-os-montes. This
solitude was called Amaranthe. It is a fact worth noticing,
that many persons attracted thither by the fame of his virtues
and eloquence, began to construct habitations in the
neighbourhood of the saint's cell; and in these humble
beginnings the city of Amaranta had its origin. All his-
torians attribute to this saint a magnificent bridge over
the Tagus, and describe it a work of great solidity. In
fact, for fully six centuries it withstood the immense
masses of water that rushed against its piers. On the 10th
of January, A.D. 1295, the holy architect passed to the
glory of heaven; and on that day the Catholic Church
celebrates his memory.
The blessed Peter Gonzalez, commonly called St.
Telmo, was a native of the city of Astorga, in Spain, but
spent the greater part of his life at Guimaranez, in Por-
tugal, where he died, on the 15th of April, 1246. He,
1 Memorie degli architetti antichi e moderni. V. i., l. 1, c. 2.
38
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
too, was canonised. The Lusitanian historians, the Bol-
landists, and, on their authority, Milizia, state that he was
the architect of a noble bridge over the Minho, between
Rivadavia and Orense-a work, says Michele Pio, "too
great for any king, and at which he laboured with his own
hands." F. A. Touron is of opinion that the writers we
have quoted were led into an error on account of the
similarity of the name, for, says he, "in the Portuguese
idiom, the blessed Gundisalvo, is called Gonzalez, as is
the blessed Peter:" from this he concludes that the bridge
in question is simply that erected by the former over the
Tagus.2 The truth of this must have been better known
to the Portuguese historians than to Touron; but, how-
soever it be, we have no other architectural remain of
either. F. Michele Pio makes honorable mention of
Father Lorenzo Mendez, a Portuguese, and distinguished
orator, who died in 1259, the same year as the blessed
Gundisalvo; but he does not assert that he was an archi-
tect. Meagre as these notices are, it is consoling to find
three religious occupied in works of public utility, and
shedding a holy lustre on art, by the purity of their
lives.3
1 Vite degli uomini Illustri dell' Ord. di S. Domenico.
P. I. lib. i, p. 1.
2 Vies des Hommes Illustres de l'Ordre de S. Dom. Vol. i., liv. 1.
3 I have not been able to discover any notices of the life of the Ven.
Lorenzo Mendez, the architect of the bridge of Cavez. Two other holy
architects are celebrated in Spain-Giovanni d' Ortega and Domenico della
Calzava, concerning whom v. Milizia Memorie, &c., lib. 1, c. 2.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
39
CHAPTER V.
Notices of the Life and Works of Fra Guglielmo, da Pisa, Sculptor and
Architect-State of Sculpture in Italy, at the beginning of the Thirteenth
Century-The first Works of Fra Guglielmo, in his own country and in
Bologna.
WHOSOEVER Would desire to contemplate Pisa's Artistic
glory, must not hope to find it during that turbid and
feverish period when it bent beneath the bondage of the
Medici. Let it rather be sought in these days memora-
ble for the victory of Mont-Aperti'-in the days of the
dreadful struggle with Genoa, when all the Guelphic
cities of Tuscany were leagued to exterminate the Athens
of Italy. Then it was that Niccola Pisano, following the
precepts of Giunta and Bonanno, consulting the antique,
and what was better still, the real, founded a school of
sculpture and architecture, which may be said to have
revived art in Italy. Truly it was a noble school that
educated such men as Arnolfo, Giovanni, and Andrea of
Pisa. Happy auspices of a glorious future! But alas
for the Republic! prostrated by the Genoese at Meloria;2
then beseiged and taken by Castruccio; sold and assas-
sinated by the infamous Appiano, she was doomed to
fall, like a victim all bloody and mutilated, into the gripe of
the Florentines. Then did the arts follow in the train of
4
3
1 This battle was fought in 1260. The Lucchese historian writes of it,
"Citra tempora salvatoris non fuit major clades." (Since the Saviour's days
there was never such carnage.)
2 The sea-fight at Meloria occurred in 1284.
3 Castruccio died, A.D. 1328.
4 Appiano, who died in 1398, treacherously slew Pietro Gambacorti, and
usurped the government of the Republic.
40
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
the victors; and it was only from time to time that they
deigned to bestow a smile of gratitude on that hospitable soil,
which was consecrated by their resurrection. Amongst
the great ones to whom Niccola had taught both sculp-
ture and architecture, there was a youth whose genius
equalled that of his contemporaries, and whose birth and
piety raised him immeasurably above all competitors. This
youth took the habit of the Preaching-Friars, and was the
foremost of the sculptors whom the Order claims. But
since his life and works are known to few, or, at least,
badly described, we will do our best to illustrate both.
Fra Guglielmo Agnelli, was born in Pisa, of an honor-
able family. We do not know the year of his birth, nor
would it be easy to discover it, as the notices of him which
have descended to us are very meagre. F. Michele Pio,
without quoting any document, and showing himself
very ignorant of this sculptor's life, would have us believe
that he was born in 1222; but, as we shall have occasion
to see, this assertion is not warranted by history. Per-
haps it were better to profess ignorance of it, or to hazard
a conjecture, and say that he was born in 1238, or there-
abouts. Nature had gifted Agnelli with a gentle soul,
which the example and the counsels of his parents inclined
to the practices of virtue; so much so, that when he grew
apace, and acquired fame as a sculptor, the people were
wont to look on him as a man of sanctity. His intellect
was prompt and vigorous: but more enamoured of the
¹ The cognomen "Agnelli," not mentioned in the original chronicle of
the Convent of S. Catherine in Siena, and of which Alberti and Pio were
ignorant, was well known to F. S. Razzi; and to Morrona, the historian of
Pisa. Nearly all of them call him "blessed." Razzi has preserved his por-
trait, and the armorial bearings of the family; and their identity with these
of Agnello Agnelli, a Pisan, and member of the Franciscan Order, leads us to
believe that both were somehow related. In 1368, Giovanni Agnello was
Doge of Venice.
•
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
41
beautiful revealed in nature's works, than of science or
letters; whilst yet a youth, he committed himself to the
teaching of Niccolo Pisano, whose fame had already sur-
passed that of Bonanno, and all his contemporaries. This,
in my judgment, accounts for the preference which the
Pisans of this period gave to sculpture and architecture.
The chisel was prized beyond the pencil of Giunta. We
have already remarked on the condition of the arts in Italy
during the thirteenth century; and briefly alluded to that
wonderful revolution of ideas and principles which induced
art to renounce the imitation of the ancient methods for
a new and imaginative style, which, certainly, did not
lack either beauty or majesty. But miserable in the ex-
treme was the state of painting and sculpture; so much
so, that both one and the other, trammelled by old tradi-
tions, and still more retarded by the Byzantine produc-
tions, did not dare to break the chains of that servile
imitation, and take nature (the most essential foundation
of art,) for their model and exemplar. And here we
may observe that the condition of painting was far more
deplorable than that of sculpture, since time and human
hands had obliterated almost every trace of the Grecian and
Roman pencil; whereas sculpture could avail itself of many
statues and bassi-relievi, which had escaped the devastat-
ing barbaric hordes. This, beyond doubt, is the reason
why the progress of sculpture outstripped that of painting.
Nor should we be understood to assert that many were
not anxious to revive sculpture, or that their efforts were
altogether fruitless, since we know that Benedetto Ante-
lani in Parma, Biduino in Lucca, Bonanno in Pisa,
Viligelmo in Modena, Gruamonte and Enrico in Pistoja,
cultivated the art; but whether it was that they did not
avail themselves of the masterpieces of antiquity, or did
not study nature, they failed to obtain praise, and, most

42
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
certainly, did not hasten its progress. But when Niccolo
Pisano began to study in Rome and in his own country,
the remains of Grecian and Roman excellence, maturing
that study by the contemplation of the real, then, and not
till then, did sculpture cast off barbarism, and arise to a
new life. Pisa contained two precious monuments adorned
with bassi-relievi: the one, a Greek work, represented the
history of Hippolytus and Phaedra; on the other (Roman)
was sculptured the chase of Meleager. Niccolo, instead
of the Byzantine models, presented the two Sarcophagi
to his disciples, retaining nothing of the old school save
the symbolism necessary for Christian art and its tradi-
tions. Cicognara gives us many of Niccola's designs, and
some, too, of the golden age of sculpture, a glance at
which will convince us how intently he applied himself
to the study of the latter, and how he laboured to imitate
them, both in the nude and draped figures: struggling, as
it were, to triumph over all the difficulties that opposed
themselves to that first attempt. Being likewise an emi-
nent architect, he indoctrinated his disciples inth is branch;
and, indeed, they all became more or less distinguished in
both these arts. When Agnelli placed himself under Nic-
cola, his companions may have been Giovanni, (Niccolo's
son,) and Arnolfo and Lapo, the Florentines. In that age,
as well as in the following, art had not begun to embellish
the mansions of the great, but served solely as the hand-
maid of religion, from which it derived its inspirations,
and for whose lustre it wrought. Guglielmo, not satisfied
with consecrating his genius and his chisel to religion,
determined to sacrifice himself entirely to God; and in
the convent of S. Catherine of Pisa, in the year 1257, as
far as we have been able to ascertain, he received the habit
1
¹ Storia della Scultura. Tav. xiii., xiv.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
43
of the Order of S. Dominic. Influenced either by a senti-
ment of humility, or a desire to have more leisure for the
exercise of his art, he determined to be enrolled amongst
the lay-brothers.
The Dominicans appeared in Pisa, in the year 1221;
and, as it happened elsewhere, such was the concourse
attending their sermons, that it became necessary for them
to build a new and vast temple. This building was begun
in 1252; and Morrona would have us believe that the
design was furnished by Niccola, and that Guglielmo
executed it. Supposing then that the latter was born in
1238, it would be difficult to maintain the opinion of the
learned Illustrator: for he should thus have been but
fourteen years of age, a period certainly not suitable to such
a work. The same writer is of opinion, that Agnelli,
wishing to give a proof of his proficiency in sculpture,
made an essay on the façade of the same church, which
may have been finished a few years subsequently. In
Morrona's time there was an excellent piece of chiselling
in the great spherical orifice on the centre of the façade;
but with a great many other pieces of sculpture, it was
either carried away, or misplaced, during the last century.
That Fra Guglielmo applied himself with great assiduity to
the building of the convent is indubitable; and it must
have been well nigh finished in 1272, as the Fathers,
amongst whom was St. Thomas of Aquino, held a general
chapter there at that period. Elsewhere we will have
occasion to speak of this convent, where in every age
there flourished such a number of men remarkable for
their learning and piety-a convent which has given to
Italy Fra Domenico Cavalca, Fra Bartolomeo da S. Con-
¹ Pisa Illustrata. V. II., p. 1. The second volume of this learned work
was published in 1792.
44
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
:
cordio, and Fra Giordano da Pisa, three of its best prose-
writers.
Amongst the earliest of Fra Guglielmo's works, is the
campanile of the Abbey of Settimo, in the neighbour-
hood of Florence, which bears this inscription:-
Guliel. me fecit
Morrona believes it to have been built by our friar;
and Vasari recognises in it a disciple of Niccola Pisano,
who faithfully followed the traces of the master.' And,
indeed, it is probable that after finishing the building of
that Abbey, Niccola, who had many commissions in
various parts of Italy, may have left Guglielmo to erect
the campanile after his own designs.
Whilst Agnelli was carrying on these and similar works,
in his own country and out of it, under the guidance of
Niccola, the Dominicans of Bologna had determined to
erect a monument to S. Dominic, their founder, such as
would excel every other in Italy. To this work they
most wisely invited Niccola Pisano and Fra Guglielmo,
about the year 1266. And since this is one of the most
important facts in the history of Italian sculpture, we will
speak of it at considerable length.
Giorgio Vasari has written that the marble urn contain-
ing the relics of S. Dominic, was sculptured by Niccola,
in the term of six years, between 1225 and 1231. This
date, admitted by all, has led many into error, and,
what is strange, even the Count Leopoldo Cicognara.
Malvasia, however, questioned it; and this doubt caused
Virgilio Davia to conjecture the true date, although, for
want of documents he could not determine it precisely.2.
1 Vasari's Life of Niccola and Giovanni Pisani.
2 Memorie Storico-Artistiche intorno all' Arca di S. Domenico. 1 vol.
8vo. Bologna, 1838. A most valuable work, showing great taste for art.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
45
With good reason did the author of the "Felsina Pittrice"
argue, that the miracles of the saint could not have been
sculptured on his monument before
it was therefore very natural to
scenes were wrought subsequently.
history.
his canonization; and
conclude that these
Let us examine the
closed his days in
S. Domenico di Guzman had
Bologna, on the 6th of August, 1221. His body, en-
closed in a wood coffin, was buried without any pomp or
pageant. The friars, wishing to avoid any charge of
venality, were termed ingrates, because they prevented
the people from worshipping the remains, and removed the
votive offerings which the faithful made at his tomb. For
twelve years the precious relics of the saint's mortality
lay in their humble sepulchre. Finally, Pope Gregory
IX. commanded the blessed Jordan of Saxony, the
Second General of the Order, to transfer them to a more
honorable place, as the process of the canonization had
been commenced. Meanwhile, on the 23rd of May, A. D.
1233, in the presence of the Archbishop of Ravenna, of
the Chief Magistrate of Bologna, and a countless crowd
of the people, the wood coffin was raised from the earth,
and the body, immediately after the autopsy, was enclosed
in a marble urn; or, as some will have it, in one of stone.
Of this we have a very precious document in the letter
which the said Jordan of Saxony addressed to the whole
Order of the Preaching-Friars on that occasion. From
all this it follows that the remains of S. Dominic had
1
1 Ep. B. Jord. "Instrumentis fabrilibus lapis duriori cæmento sepulcro
compaginatus aufertur . . . . . delatum est corpus ad monumentum mar-
moreum cum propriis aromatibus ibidem recondendum." (The stone covering
the sepulchre was detached from the hard cement by masons' tools.
and the body was borne to a marble monument to be there deposited with
its own embalmments.)

46
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
i
lain till the 23rd of May, (1233,) in a coffin of wood
and, consequently, that Vasari's assertion is incorrect
That the urn, in which they were afterwards deposited
was unadorned with sculpture, is as easily collected from
another precious document that has reached us. In fact
the second translation of S. Dominic's body took place on
the 5th of June, A. D. 1267; and the blessed Bartolomed
Bishop of Vicenza, of the Order of Preaching-Friars
who was present, wrote a full account of the ceremony
and described how the Archbishop of Ravenna removed
the relics of the holy founder from an urn of stone, not
sculptured, to a marble one which was sculptured, (“de
tumulo lapideo non caelato, ad marmoreum et caelatum.")
The only discrepancy between this statement of the
bishop and that of Jordan of Saxony is, that the former
calls it a stone urn, the latter, one of marble. This dis-
crepancy arises, probably, from the quality of the stone
employed. And, indeed, Michele Pio says it was simple
stone; white, however, and beautiful, but according to the
usage of the times, rough and square. This we think
removes all doubt as to the date of this marvellous work
of Niccola Pisano. Moreover, I hold it to be indubitable
that he did not execute it till the early part of 1266, or,
at farthest, a little anterior to that date; since it appears
from his life that he returned to his own country on the
29th of September, 1266, and made a contract with Fra
Melano,' a Cistercian, to sculpture the pulpit for the
1 Cicognara. Stor. della Scult., 1. 3. P. Guglielmo della Valle Lettere
Sanesi. Vol. 1, Lett. xviii. For this wonderful work (the Pulpit of Siena,)
Niccola Pisano received 65 lire.! Fra Melano, the Cistercian, was employed
at the duomo of Orvieto, in 1271. He was engaged by the Republic of
Siena to rebuild the church of S. Cristoforo, in 1291. One Fra Domenico,
of the Order of the Umiliati, superintended the building of Castel Paganico,
for the same Republic.-Lettere Sanesi, &c. Lett. xxiv.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
47
duomo of Siena, and bound himself to complete it in one
year, as he did. Hence it follows that Niccola Pisano
was at Siena, in the September of 1267. That Guglielmo
was present at the foresaid translation is apparent from
the concordant testimonies of Leandro Alberti, Melloni,
Pio, and Razzi;¹ and though they do not state whether it
was at the first or second, it is nevertheless plain that it
must have been that of 1267, since Agnelli was not born
at the time of the first. Such were the conjectures con-
cerning the date and the author of this work, and they
were so near the truth that they amounted almost to a
moral certainty. It remained for us to discover some
authentic instrument of the period to set the seal of
historic truth on the epoch. Having, therefore, applied
ourselves to the study of the ancient original chronicle of
the convent of S. Catherine in Siena, which does not
appear to have been consulted by any one on the subject,
it soon appeared that both master and disciple worked at
the monument during the time we have indicated.2
! Alberti De viris illustr. Ord. Præd. Lib. vi., p. 261. Melloni. Vita di
S. Domenico. C. xxiii., p. 128. in nota. P. Michele Pio vite degli uomini
illustri di S. Domenico. Lib. i., p. 134. P. Serafino Razzi, Vite dei Santi e
beati del Sacro ordine dei frati predicatori.
2 "Hic (fr. Gulielmus) cum beati Dominici corpus sanctissimum in sollem-
pniori tumulo levaretur quem sculpserant (sic) magistri Nicole de Pisis,
Policretiori manu, sociatus dicto architettori," &c. I am indebted to Sigre
Buonaini for this and other extracts from the Chronicle of the Convent of
S. Catherine at Pisa.
-

48
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
•
CHAPTER VI.
Description of the Arca or shrine of S. Dominic, at Bologna-What part
Niccola Pisano and Fra Guglielmo had in its execution-The Sculptors
who at various periods were engaged at it.
THE monument commonly called the Ark of S. Dominic
is, in its total height, from the pavement to the statuette
of the Redeemer, which is placed on its summit, six
metres and eleven centimetres; its length is two metres
and forty-two centimetres; the width of its sides is one
metre and twenty-two centimetres. It is composed of
three parts; an embasement, the Ark itself properly so-
called, and the cover; the entire is of the finest statuary
marble. It is isolated in the chapel of the saint, in order
that it may be seen on all sides, as it is everywhere
adorned by the chisel. Its form, like that of all the
sacraphagi of the period, is a right-angled parallelogram.
Of the three parts of the monument, Niccola Pisano and
Fra Guglielmo sculptured only the Ark, where the relics
of the saint repose; the base or gradino having been
executed by Alfonso Lombardi of Ferrara; the summit,
with some statues that adorn it, by Niccola da Barri,
called Niccola " of the urn;" and the two angels on the
mensa, one by Michelangelo, and the other by some un-
known hand of the fifteenth century. There can be
no doubt that Niccola Pisano furnished the design of all
the legends on the Ark, and that he undertook to sculp-
ture the front and two of the sides, leaving the other to
Fra Guglielmo: for, indeed, it is not very likely that
Agnelli, then so very young, would have attempted any
other part of the work.
66
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
49
The legends sculptured on the monument form six
compartments; two in front, one on either side, and two
behind. The figures are in mezzo-relievo, and in height
little more than a mezzo-braccio.' In the first compart-
ment Niccola sculptured the miracle wrought in Rome by
S. Dominic, when he resuscitated the young Napoleone;
and in the second, the legend of the fiery ordeal in Lan-
guedoc, where the books of the Manicheans were
consumed, whilst S. Dominic's remained unscathed.
These legends, as far as composition, design, and expres-
sion, are concerned, may be pronounced most beautiful,
if we take into account the time at which they were
produced. In the middle of these two compartments he
placed an exquisite statuette of the Madonna, in relievo,
holding the Divine Son in her arms; a work that heightens
the beauty of this splendid monument. On the side next
the Gospel he produced two legends which have been
strangely confused by Cicognara. One of these represents
the holy Apostles Peter and Paul giving the holy Scrip-
tures to S. Dominic, and commanding him to go and
convert sinners and heretics; the other, the holy Founder
himself, consigning the sacred volume to his brethren,
and commissioning them to preach it everywhere. On the
side next the Epistle he sculptured only one legend,
which describes how angels provided food for the young
brotherhood, at a period when the charity of the faithful
waxed cold. The workmanship of these two legends is
truly admirable; and, indeed, that of the two angels is of
such rare excellence, that no one, who had seen the
grotesque sculptures of that age, and the following, could
believe it to be a work of the thirteenth century: but
1 The Florentine braccio is equal to one foot eleven inches, English
measurement.
D

50
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
ས་
rather of a period posterior to it; since the design, life-
like attitudes and flowing drapery of the figures, announce
a wonderful progress in the art. On the angles of the
Ark he chiselled the four Doctors of the church: but
although they deserve much praise for the style of the
heads and elaborate execution, Davia does not think them
well proportioned.
The posterior part of the monument, which we think
was designed by Niccola, and executed by Fra Gugliel-
mo, in its two compartments presents six legends: three
of which relate to the blessed Reginald of Orleans, a
disciple of S. Dominic; and three to the holy Founder, and
they are the following:-1. The B. Reginald smitten by
distemper, and falling into the arms of a youth, who
supports him. 2. The Madonna healing the sick man,
pointing to the habit of the new Order of Preaching-
Friars, and commanding him to take it. 3. The same
who, holding S. Dominic's hands, is freed from a terrible
temptation. This is Davia's interpretation. The second
compartment is divided from the first by a beautiful
statuette of the Redeemer; which, judging by the design
and execution, seems to be the work of Niccola. The
fourth legend represents the vision of Pope Honorius III.,
who dreamed that he saw the Lateran Basilica falling,
and S. Dominic supporting it. This subject has been
badly handled by every painter who undertook to produce
it on canvas; and, surely, it must have presented greater
difficulties to the sculptor on account of the perspective.
The fifth represents Pope Honorius III., examining the
Dominican rule and laws; and the sixth, the Pontiff
pronouncing his solemn approbation of the same. Every
one will perceive at a glance how unhappily the subjects
of these six histories were selected, and how little they
aided the sculptor's imagination; whereas the life of the

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
51
great patriarch (S. Dominic,) presents the most varied and
astounding facts which, like these of the anterior part of the
monument, were far better suited to the development of
Niccola's glorious genius, and the execution Fra Gugliel-
mo's chisel. And, in truth, whosoever has seen the splendid
paintings by Simone Memmi, in the great chapel of the
Spagnuoli, in S. Maria Novella; the most rare productions
of Fra Angelico in Cortona and Paris; or even the
embasement of the Ark itself, on which Alfonso Lombardi
sculptured other scenes of the saint's life, must perceive
how unfounded is the criticism of M. Rio, who asserts
that the history of S. Dominic does not contribute so much
to the poetry of Christian art as does that of S. Francis.
He is contradicted, however, by M. Montalembert, who
points to the blessed Angelico as demonstrating the falsity
of this opinion;¹ and he might have added, that when
Dante set about chronicling the glories of S. Dominic, he
produced that beautiful twelfth Canto of the Paradiso,2
than which none is grander or more replete with splendid
imagery. But to return to the works of Fra Guglielmo,
which we have described. No one will deny that they are,
in execution, much inferior to these of Niccola, his master,
and that this (Fra Guglielmo's) portion of the monument
exhibits many of the defects of the period; for, indeed,
1 A. F. Rio de la Poesie Chretienne. 1 Vol. Paris, 1837, ch. iii., p. 86.
We shall have more than one occasion to speak of the work, that does so
much honour to the genius and piety of M. Montalembert, Du Vandalisme
et du Catholocisme dans l'Art, p. 88. "Et d'ailleurs, comment se fait il que
l'Ordre des Freres Precheurs ait produit tant de grand artistes, et du premier
rang, tels que Fra Angelico et Fra Bartholommeo, tandis que le nombre
de ceux sortis des freres Mineurs est infiniment moindre. Nous avouons que
nous sommes jaloux de la moindre parcelle de la gloire de S. Domini-
que," &c.
2 See Cantos xi. and xii. (Carey's Translation) of the Paradiso, for a
magnificent narrative of the glories of S. Thomas D'Aquino, and S.
Dominic.
52
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
the members are too rigid, and the extremities are far
from being well finished; and, what is still more censur-
able, the figures crowd too much one on the other. In my
judgment, however, these defects should not be attributed
to Niccola, or his disciple, but rather to those who desired
to have so many legends sculptured within such narrow
limits; for, as we have already observed, whilst the
anterior part of the Ark has but two legends in two
compartments, there are no less than six in the two which
fell to the lot of Fra Guglielmo. Despite all this, there
is no one who knows anything of the state of Italian
sculpture in the middle of the thirteenth century, who
will deny that Fra Guglielmo, if he did not equal his
master, far excelled all his contemporaries-Arnolfo and
Giovanni Pisano excepted.
To these legends which adorn the saint's sepulchral
urn, the two artists added an exquisite embellishment of
acanthus-leaves and birds, all along the upper cornice;
the entire of which composition is admirably designed and
executed. These, then, are the works that Agnelli exe-
cuted in Bologna, under the guidance of Niccola; which
being finished, the master returned to his own country,
and the disciple, as it is said, remained to witness the
final translocation of S. Dominic's relics. And since we
have dwelt so long on this subject, we deem it well to
narrate the works which various artists, at subsequent
periods, produced on the same monument; for, although
an account of them does not, of right, pertain to these
Memoirs, it cannot be otherwise than agreeable to all
amateurs of art, who have not had an opportunity of
beholding the Ark, or of reading the valuable notices of it,
published by the Marquis Davia in Bologna.
It would be idle to assert that Niccola's design had
been fully carried out in the sculptures of the legends
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
53
already described, as the Ark still needed to have the
embasement adorned, to say nothing of the many other
embellishments which in that age were invariably wrought
on the sepulchres of distinguished men; and if any one
be anxious to form a notion of the eminent sculptor's
entire design for the Dominican monument, (provided he
had been able to realize it,) he must, in my opinion, call
to mind that which Fuccio erected, about this period, in
Assisi, to the Queen of Cyprus, (if, indeed, it be Fuccio's,)
and that by Giovanni Pisano to Benedict XI., in Perugia;
that of Guido Tarlati, in Arezzo, a most beautiful work
by Agnolo and Agostino of Siena in the fourteenth cen-
tury; or, what is more to the purpose, the magnificent
altar of the cathedral church of that city, where repose
the sacred ashes of the bishop and martyr, S. Donatus,
to whom Giovanni Pisano raised a monument, which, if
we except that of S. Augustin in Pavia, has none to
surpass or equal it in Italy. All these monuments, and
others of this period, were adorned not only with figures in
relievo and mezzo-relievo, but also with architecture; and,
indeed, nothing can exceed the beauty of these elaborate
spiral columns, springing out of symbolic animals; or that
of the little Gothic temples, with mouldings so finely
chiselled, and angels on either side drawing the curtains so
as to reveal the reclining statue of the saint or hero. The
base also was embellished with arabesques or mosaics; and,
finally, the plain, but withal devout and affectionate inscrip-
1 Cicognara (Storia della Scultura Ital.) ascribes the monument of St.
Augustin, at Pavia, to the scholars of Agostino and Agnolo of Siena. It
was commenced December 14, 1362. It now lies in a ruinous state in an
apartment contiguous to the cathedral. It was in breadth two, in height
seven, and length five, braccia. It contained 290 figures in relievo and
mezzo-relievo. The workmanship cost the Augustinian Friars 4,000 gold
florins.


54
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
tion, invited the spectator to pray for the defunct, and
warned him of the sure and terrible doom of all mortality.
Whether for want of means, or for some other reason un-
known to us, S. Dominic's monument remained just as the
two Pisan sculptors had left it.¹ Finally, in the year 1469,
the Preaching-Friars came to the unanimous determina-
tion of finishing the monument in a style worthy of the
great Patriarch whose ashes it held. The counsel-book
of the convent of S. Dominic in Bologna records how, on
the 9th of July of that year, the Fathers made arrange-
ments for the work, and confided it to the eminent
sculptor, Niccola di Puglia; and how, on the 10th of Au-
gust of the same year, they provided the artist with a
cell in their convent.2 As the Friars had not money
enough, they applied to the chief magistrates of the city,
who, according to Leandro Alberti, having deputed four
of their number to hasten the work, voted them the sum
of seven hundred gold crowns to enable the foresaid
artist to begin immediately.3 Art, meanwhile, had made
such rapid progress, and even taste had been so much
improved, that it seemed unwise to finish the monument
according to the style and conception of the old masters;
wherefore the Fathers resolved to embellish it with all the
pure graces of the sculpture of the better era. Niccola
devoted four years to the marble cover which was to be
1 In the fifteenth century the urn of S. Dominic was covered with a board,
which on festive days was substituted by a cloth of gold.
* Lib. Consil. S. D. Bononiæ, ab ann. 1459, p. 19. "July 9th, (1469,) it
was decreed that the Ark of St. Dominic, not yet finished, shall be completed
by Master Niccola di Puglia," p. 20. “August 10, (1469,) decreed that said
Master Niccola shall work in the convent."
3 L. Alberti, de Divi Dom. obitu et sepultura, Bononiæ, 1535. "And
having received seven hundred gold crowns, so zealously was the work
carried on, that on the 16th of July, A.D. 1473, the marble covering, most
ingeniously and elaborately wrought, was placed on the Ark."
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
55
placed on the Ark, in lieu of the wooden one; and on the
16th of July, A. D. 1473, though wanting some statues, it
was raised to its destination: but we will take the descrip-
tion of it from Davia. "The marble cover, with its
elegant and varied curvature, is laid on the upper cornice
of the Ark, and is entirely decorated with leaves symme-
trically alternated over the whole superficies, from which
descend eight large zones, at equal distances, terminating
in as many volutes, to serve as bases for eight figures that
represent Saints Francis, Petronius, Dominic, Florian,-
Proculus, John the Baptist, and two other saints whose
names I have not been able to discover. (They are the
holy Martyrs Vitalis and Agricola.) From the plane of
the cover springs an exquisite frieze adorned with
seraphims, and crowned by the corresponding cornice
most delicately carved, upon the four angles of which
stand the figures of as many prophets, and between the
two who correspond to the anterior face of the monument,
is our Lord coming forth naked from the sepulchre, and
adored by two angels. Resting on the cornice of the
foresaid frieze there is a quasi-pyramidal elevation, on
which is laid a species of candelabrum of most elegant
form, sustaining a figure which represents God the Father,
having the globe in his left hand, and his right in the
act of blessing. From the handles of the candelabrum
descend two great festoons of fruits and flowers, beautifully
intertwined, against which the angels, standing on the
corbels at the foot of the candelabrum, lean, thus giving
the two festoons a most graceful curvature, by the pressure
of their bodies."1
All these adornments and figures are of such exquisite
¹ Memorie Storico-Artistiche, p. 30, 31.
56
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
beauty, and so ably elaborated, that Niccola deserved to
be called "of the Ark," (Niccola dell'arca) as Jacopo, his
master, was called " of the fountain," which he so laudably
wrought in his birth-place Siena. For the completion
of the rich frieze there yet remained to be executed
some statues, which, perhaps, because Niccola had other
engagements elsewhere, and died in 1494, could not be
placed thereon. Nevertheless, though this omission must
have caused regret at the period, it may be said to have
heightened the beauty of the monument at a more
glorious epoch. For when Piero de Medici was expelled
by the Florentines, Michelangiolo Buonarroti, then but
twenty years of age, fled with his protector and patron'
to Venice, and subsequently to Bologna, where, having
been kindly received by Giovan Francesco Adovrandi,
one of the sixteen then composing the government, he
was prevailed upon by the latter to decorate the Domi-
nican urn with his chisel. Some have asserted that he
executed four statues; others three; and some mention
only two. We will follow the opinion of the learned
Vincenzo Vannini, who has studied the question. "There
are some historians," says the authority quoted, “who
affirm that Michelangiolo sculptured for the Ark of S.
Dominic, besides the angel, the statues of S. Petronius,
S. Proculus, and S. Francis. But there is authority to
prove that he merely executed the drapery of S. Petronius,
left unfinished by Niccola da Barri; as to the S. Francis
they have little or no proof; and as to S. Proculus there
are authentic documents to convince every one that it
was executed before Buonarrotti's time."2 It would appear
1 V. Roscoe's Life of Lorenzo de' Medici; and Duppa de Quincy's Life of
Michelangiolo.
2 Buonarrotti's angel on the monument of St. Dominic, illustrated by Pro-
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
57
that the angel on the Gospel-side of the altar, was the only
work produced here by this great sculptor. By way of
contrast to the angel on the Epistle-side, Buonarroti repre-
sented his kneeling on one knee, in the act of adoration,
and holding the candelabrum in his hands. He is clothed
in a flowing tunic, admirably draped, and so beauteous is
the countenance-so radiant with devotion-that one
might mistake it for a denizen of heaven worshipping on
earth. The other statues were, doubtless, the work of
Gerolamo Coltellini, a Bolognese of the sixteenth century,
and an artist of rare merit.
But although the Ark of S. Dominic had received some
of the most glorious embellishments of art, and none in
Italy could surpass it, nevertheless, considered in its
ensemble, it was easy to see that it wanted an elevation,
which would render the monument better proportioned
in its parts, and make it appear more graceful to the eye.
To effect this the embasement was necessary, and this,
too, required additional decorations. For this we are
indebted to Leandro Alberti a Bolognese, and a religious
of the Preaching-Friars, whose earnest entreaties induced
Antonio Marsigli Gonfaloniere (di Giustizia) to obtain
from the Senate of Bologna a grant which would enable
the convent to provide a marble base for the monument,
and have it sculptured with histories by Alfonso Lom-
fessor Vinc: Vannini. Bologna, 1840. We are rejoiced to learn that this
distinguished architect has been collecting materials, hitherto unpublished, to
illustrate the magnificent chapel of the Ark. I gladly seize this opportunity
to attest my gratitude for the notices he has given me of some of the Domi-
nican artists.
¹ Condivi, who attributes two statues to him, i. e. S. Petronius and the
angel, writes that he received for the former twelve ducats, and for the latter
eighteen. He adds, that he would have executed others had he not been
deterred by the threats of a Bolognese sculptor, who had conceived the design
of producing them. Vita di Michelangelo.
D 2
58
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
"
bardi of Ferrara. The sum granted did not exceed a
hundred gold crowns, Alberti and the brotherhood
having supplied the remainder. The histories were to be
executed in basso-relievo; and the contract with the artist
is dated November 20, 1532. Having set to work,
Alfonso divided the frieze of the base into five compart-
ments of unequal proportions, on the four smallest of
which he wrought scenes from the life of the saint,
introducing into the centre compartment (which was the
largest) a passage out of the New Testament, namely-
the Adoration of the Magi. The first compartment
represents some beautiful scenes relating to the Saint's
birth. The second exhibits the saint while yet a child,
sleeping on the ground, after having abandoned his bed.
The third contains two histories, or rather the same idea
at two different epochs. There was a famine in the city
of Palenza, and the wealthy, far from succouring the
accouring the poor,
affected ignorance of their condition. The young Guz-
man, having first given all that he possessed, finally sold
the books which were necessary for his philosophical and
theological studies. And here Lombardi pourtrays a
usurer who cautiously counts out the money to the saint,
who gives it to the crowd of starvelings and cripples that
surrounds him. Finally, he sculptured the transit of S.
Dominic, and the angels conducting his blessed soul to
heaven. We should be too prolix were we to dwell on
all the beauties of these splendid decorations. They must
be seen in order to estimate the ability of Lombardi
ability which induced Michelangiolo to call him to his
assistance when he was casting the bronze statue of
Julius II., in Bologna. The wonder really is how, in
This statue was cast in 1506. Buonarrotti having asked Julius what
he would place in the right hand, which was in a threatening attitude, was
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
59
such narrow compass, (the figures being only one-fourth
of a Bolognese braccio in height,) he could exhibit such
admirable composition, such exquisite workmanship, and
such good design. Rightly has Cicognara remarked, “if
we except the dimensions, every thing is grand in these
wonderful sculptures." Thus, after the lapse of three cen-
turies, Italian sculpture strewed its choicest flowers on the
sepulchre of that great man, who despising pomp and the
fleeting pleasures of the age, became voluntarily poor and
followed Christ over the thorny road of humiliations and
sorrows. To him not only Italy, but Europe, in a great
measure, owes the preservation of the Catholic faith, and
the advancement of science, letters, and arts.
told by his holiness to put a sword in it as he was no book-man.
Life of Angelo, p. 37. Bogue's edition.
V. Duppa's
' L. Alberti, de divi Dom. ob. et sepult. "Quin et anno 1532, basim
marmoream minutissimis figuris insculptam ab Alfonso Lombardo egregio
statuario poni jussit (i. e. Sen. Bonon.) pro qua aureos centum, curante
Leandro Alberto Bonon. et Ant. Marsilio vixillefero justitiæ ad senatum
referente, et ipse senatus, videlicet xl. viri, ex publico erario decrevit. Unum
dixerim, absit invidia verbo, me quamplurima nobilissima sepulcra ex argento,
atque ex lapidibus, ex ære, diducta vidisse, non solum per Italiam, quam
totam peragravi, prout in geographia ac typographia ipsius Italiæ ostendi,
sed etiam per Germaniam Galliasque, et adhuc non solum superius ullum
hoc sanctissimo sepulcro, sed nec par vidi." The notices of the translation of
St. Dominic's remains, his sepulchre, church, &c., are most copiously given
in his life, written by F. Melloni, vol. V., c. 23. As the anterior part of the
mensa remained to be decorated, some of the religious of the convent, in the
last century, entrusted the work to Bolognese and extern artists. Mauro Tesi
furnished the design; and Carlo Bianconi executed the history representing
the burial of St. Dominic. Alessandro Savolini sculptured the frieze and its
decorations; and Jean Boudard of France, director of the School of Sculp-
ture in Parma, did the rest. These works are not devoid of merit.

60
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
CHAPTER VII.
Continuation of the Life of Fra Guglielmo da Pisa-His works in the Duomo
of Orvieto, and in his own country-His death.
HAVING now said all that was necessary of the Ark
of S. Dominic, we resume the life of Fra Guglielmo.
The biographers of the Order, and the Chronicles of the
Convent of S. Catherine of Pisa, which are so silent in
many particulars concerning this man, furnish us with an
anecdote which we will briefly narrate. The 5th of June,
A.D. 1267, was the day appointed for the solemn transloca-
tion of the body of S. Dominic to the urn recently sculp-
tured by the two Pisan artists. To prevent every pious
theft, the General of the Preaching-Friars, having obtained
faculties from the Pope, pronounced sentence of excom-
munication against any one who would dare to appropriate
any portion of the sacred relics. The good Fra Guglielmo,
forgetful of the sentence, contrived to carry off a rib of
the saint, which he conveyed to Pisa, and hid under the
altar of S. Mary Magdalen, in the church of his institute;
deeming himself thus adequately remunerated for all the
labour he expended on the decoration of the sepulchre in
Bologna: and never did he reveal that theft till his last
moments, when he had no longer any reason to dread the
indignation of the General of the Order. Now, following
up the narrative of the works which he executed in his
own country and elsewhere, we must refute a conjecture
of F. Guglielmo della Valle, who fancied that Niccola
Pisano, after setting out from Bologna for Siena, to
execute the splendid pulpit of the cathedral, conjointly
with Arnolfo and Lapo, brought with him his son
Giovanni, and Agnelli; for it appeared to the learned
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
61
Franciscan that in the very short time allowed by the
contract, Niccola could not have completed that immense
work, if not assisted by more than his two scholars. But
this opinion is not maintainable, as it is proved that whilst
Niccola was engaged on the Sienese pulpit, Fra Guglielmo
was living in Bologna. This was precisely in the middle
of the year 1267.
Here we have an immense blank in the history of
Agnelli, for which we can only account by attributing
it to the modesty and humility of the ancients, who were
far more intent on spending their lives in good and pious
works, than in writing or proclaiming them; unlike the
men of our day, who abound more in words than in
works. It is not likely, however, though it would appear
so from the chronicle, that an artist of Agnelli's merit
would have remained idle for twenty-six years; or that he
would not have been invited along with the foremost
sculptors of the time to work in Orvieto, at these bassi-
relievi, which still excite the admiration of every beholder.
Every body knows that denser darkness shrouds the life
and works of other eminent sculptors, at periods not so
remote from our times; as for example, that of Niccolo da
Barri and Gerolamo Coltellini, who worked at the Ark of
Dominic. This, indeed, was the most glorious epoch of
Fra Guglielmo's life; when advanced in years and matured
in genius, he could divide the aurels with Arnolfo, and
add an additional triumph to Italian sculpture. We will
now premise some notices which are necessary for the illus-
tration of Agnelli's life, and the works which he produced.
The enthusiasm of all the Italian cities for art, in the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, partakes of the mira-
culous. Venice, Pisa, and Monte Cassino, had given the
impulse; Siena followed it, and raised its magnificent
cathedral. Florence charged Arnolfo to erect a temple
62
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
worthy a people famed for arts, letters, and commerce.
Assisi, Padua, and Bologna, emulated the other cities. All
of them, with the exception of Assisi, were rich: but it
excited astonishment to see the little city of Orvieto
rivalling with its cathedral the most splendid edifices of
Italy; nor need I insist that the far-famed duomo not only
equals, but surpasses that of Siena. Glorious monument
of Italian genius; true emporium of the arts; rich in the
sculptures of Arnolfo, of Fra Guglielmo, Agostino, and
Agnolo of Siena-of Goro, Gregorio the Sienese, Donatello,
Simone Mosca, Raffaello di Monte Lupo, Ippolito Scalza,
the pupil of Buonarroti; of Caccini, and Giovanni di Bolog-
na! Glorious monument, indeed, consecrated by the pencils
of Gentile da Fabriano, Giovanni the angelic, Benozzo
Gozzoli, and Luca Signorelli; temple raised not by the
gold of princes, but by the oboli of the poor! ¹
1
The foundations of this cathedral were laid A. D. 1290.
The first stone was blessed by Pope Nicholas IV., on the
13th of November. Lorenzo Maitani furnished the design,
and was appointed architect and chief superintendent of
the works. To make this temple surpass every other in
every department of the arts, the ablest professors were
invited from all parts of Italy. Thither came forty artists,
amongst whom, excelling all the rest, were Arnolfo, the
Cosmati of Rome, Ramo Paganello, and probably Giovanni
Pisano.2 Fra Guglielmo is recorded as having been
engaged at the works in 1293; and he laboured in the
quarter provided for the sculptors and stone-masons. We
have not learned how long he remained in Orvieto.
1 F. Guglielmo della Valle wrote a history of the duomo of Orvieto, pub-
lished 1791.
2 Storia del duomo di Orvieto. Docum. No. 11, p. 263.
tors received six soldi per diem; the apprentices two.
whilst working in Siena, received eight soldi per diem!
The chief sculp-
Niccola Pisano,
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
63
Arnolfo must have left it at the beginning of the year
1294; for at that period S. Croce in Florence was begun
after his designs, and four years afterwards S. Maria del
Fiore. The departure of this sculptor and architect from
Orvieto being fully ascertained, and the date of Giovanni
Pisano's arrival remaining still doubtful, gives us reason
to believe that the bassi-relievi must, in great part, be
attributed to Agnelli. Of all the Germans mentioned by
Vasari as having been engaged sculpturing marbles for
this church, the Memoirs record but one German and one
Fleming. For a long time it was thought that the most
exquisite of the foresaid bassi-relievi were produced by
Niccola and Giovanni Pisano. Vasari asserted it, and it
was universally repeated. F. della Valle, after making a
diligent examination of the archives of the church, found
no record of either of these sculptors; nevertheless, and it
is a fact worthy consideration, he placed Niccola
foremost amongst all those who worked at the duomo.
As to his son Giovanni, it is probable that he was em-
ployed there, but we lack authentic documents to prove
it. Cicognara has shown that Niccola Pisano was born
in the thirteenth century; remarking, at the same time,
that if the sculptures on the façade were contemporaneous
with the foundation of the duomo, (A. D. 1290,) Niccola
should have been a nonogenarian, a time of life which
must have rendered him incapable of undertaking such a
work.2 If Vasari were not in the habit of contradicting
himself, I think that we could easily learn from him the
date of Niccola's death, and the solution of the doubt.
Narrating the life of his son Giovanni, he writes, "having
heard that Niccola, his father, was dead, he went to Pisa,
where his great merits caused the whole city to receive him
' In 1280 Arnolfo produced the monument of Card. Brayo in Orvieto.
2 Storia della Scultura. L. ii., c. 4.
64
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
with much honour," etc., and having seen some of his
works, "the Pisans employed Giovanni to construct the
Campo Santo." From all this it appears that when Gio-
vanni undertook the works of the Campo Santo, his father
was defunct. Now that fabric was begun in 1278; that
is to say, twelve years before the first stone of the cathedral
of Orvieto was laid. Thus, admitting the truth of Vasari's
statement, every doubt vanishes. F. della Valle saw the
difficulty of the chronology; but it would appear that
he set no great value on it, since he asserts, with a
marvellous indifference, that, "fully seventy years before,
(the foundation of the duomo,) Niccola Pisano enjoyed the
reputation of a most excellent artist, having produced the
Sepulchre of S. Dominic in Bologna, and various pulpits
in Tuscany !" Subsequently, however, after more ma-
ture consideration, he abandons certainty for doubt, and
adds, "This dearth of data has often made me doubt
whether I should believe Vasari, who attributes the finest
of the bassi-relievi of the facade to Giovanni Pisano: for
as the history of art in the thirteenth century does not pre-
sent any artist equal to him, and as Arnolfo, then living,
was one of the most distinguished and ablest of the scho-
lars whom he was in the habit of associating with himself
in the execution of the many works then confided to him
in the chief cities of Italy, I incline to think that Vasari's
opinion is the least erroneous," but I think I have disco-
vered what led Vasari into this error, and F. della Valle
himself rectifies it in his "Documents relative to the
Artists of the Fifteenth Century." (V. No. 70.) The
historian says, "Here we find a certain Niccola di Pisa,
with his son, an able sculptor, and probably nephew
(after two hundred years!) of that other celebrated man
1 Storia del duomo di Orvieto. Docum. xii.
2 Ibid, c. i., p. 99,
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
65
who flourished about the end of the thirteenth century;
and who executed the most beautiful of the bassi-relievi
of the façade, as has been already said." From this it
appears that Vasari or his correspondents who, it must be
confessed, did not care much for accuracy, finding in the
ancient memoirs a certain Niccola Pisano with his son
employed at sculpture in Orvieto, were led into error by
the similarity of name, country, and profession.
The history, therefore, of the Cathedral of Orvieto,
does not inform us to whom we should attribute the prin-
cipal part of these sculptures; and our Fra Guglielmo is
barely mentioned in a note, as our author had forgotten
how much praise he had bestowed on him in a letter
dated June 3rd, 1787, addressed to Alessandro da
Morrona, and inserted in the work entitled, "Pisa
Illustrata."
The bassi-relievi which adorn the façade of the cathe-
dral of Orvieto comprise histories of the Old and New
Testament, the most beautiful of which are engraved in
fourteen plates, given with F. della Valle's work; and they
are the following. The Creation of the animals, which is
contained in two bassi-relievi; that of man and of the
woman being represented in three: the Command not to eat
of the "TREE," and the Disobedience of our first parents;
the penalty of their sin, and their expulsion from Eden;
Adam and Eve in exile experiencing the ills of life; the
Sacrifice of Cain and Abel-the first Fratricide-and,
transporting the spectator from the genesis of the world
1 "What will you think of another Pisan sculptor, Fra Guglielmo, of the
Order of St. Dominic, who was equal to him (Niccola Pisano) in producing
these living histories, (of the duomo of Orvieto.) I have been lately feeding
my eyes on them, and they so affected me that I stood before them mute
and immovable as the marble.
I hold for certain that up to the
•
•
times of Raffaello art never beheld such beauteous productions."
66
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
to its destruction, they exhibit the general Resurrection
on the last day, the agonies of the damned, and the glories
of the elect. Wonderful epic, in which the mind, crossing
over the gulf of time, pauses to meditate how the human
family has passed from innocence to guilt, and to everlasting
pains and glories! In that age of faith the Italians were
ever anxious to have before their eyes and present to their
thoughts the foundations of their hopes and fears, and it
was to the incarnation of these sublime conceptions that
the painter and the sculptor consecrated the pencil and
the chisel, the poet his immortal lay, and the melodist the
sweetest strains of his lyre. Dante, Niccola Pisano, or
Giotto, could produce nothing half so well calculated to
stimulate genius as the dogma of Life and Death. Hence
the very pastimes of the Italians were impressed with
a Religious character; for, indeed, it was Religion
that blessed and sanctified sciences, arts, arms, and
literature.
Cicognara's strictures on the bassi-relievi of the façade
of Orvieto appear to us too severe; and perhaps he did
not reflect that he should not have contrasted them with
these of the pulpits of Pisa and Siena, or with the histories
on S. Dominic's monument in Bologna; since the latter were
wrought for close inspection, and therefore executed with
consummate diligence; whereas these of the façade of the
duomo of Orvieto, being at a very great elevation, and ex-
posed to all the injuries of the weather, did not afford the
same advantages for the patient labour of the artists. This
doubtless damaged their general effect. Certain it is that
none of Niccola's scholars could rival him in giving marble
such life-like shape; but none can deny that some of the
bassi-relievi of Orvieto are singularly beautiful, such, for
example, as the creation of Adam and Eve, the sacrifice
And if
of Abel, our progenitors tilling the soil, &c.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
67
amongst them there be some which may be termed
inferior, such as the Eternal cursing the prevaricators, the
pains of the damned, &c.; the multiplicity of artists, all of
whom were not equal in power, will satisfactorily account
for all their defects and contrasts. But, generally speak-
ing, the nude is well drawn, many of the difficulties of
design are mastered, and the conception is admirably
expressed; nor do I fear to assert that that age exhibits
no greater work, except these of Niccola Pisano.
How long Agnelli tarried in Orvieto is not certain;
but in 1304 we find him in his own country, engaged on
important works of sculpture and architecture; and this
is the reason why he was not invited by Cardinal Niccolo
Albertino, the Dominican, to Perugia, to sculpture the
sepulchral monument of Benedict XI., (of the same
Order,) who died July 27, A.D. 1304.
In his place
Giovanni Pisano was chosen, and he executed the monu-
ment admirably.
The Camaldolese monks of Pisa, wishing to finish the
Church of S. Michele di Borgo, and to decorate its façade
with histories in basso-relievo, invited Fra Guglielmo, who
was now famed for these of Orvieto. The church and
monastery of S. Michele, in Borgo, were founded in 1018.
Vasari affirms, and he is supported by Alessandro da
Morrona, that in 1262, Niccolo Pisano was employed
there, either as an architect or sculptor. In fact, that
church must have been, if not wholly, in great part re-
built; since we read how in 1304, the Abbot Andrea di
Volterra, caused our Fra Guglielmo to finish the façade,
roof, and part of the church. These works of architecture
and sculpture occupied, as it appears, the remaining nine
1
1 Pisa Illustrata. Vol. III., p. 1, c. vi. sec. 2.
!

68
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
years of Agnelli's life. It is not very probable, however,
that he alone sculptured all the histories at this advanced
age, (he had passed his sixtieth year,) and the diversity
of their merit, according to Morrona, announces a diver-
sity of workmanship. I cannot, however, agree with the
learned illustrator of Pisa, who says that among
those who
laboured with Agnelli was Giovanni Pisano, whose then
renowned-name would not have been suppressed in the
inscription that records the authors of the bassi-relievi.
And, in truth, Giovanni had too many commissions on
hands to allow him to associate himself with Agnelli;
and, moreover, he must have remained a very long time
in Perugia, with the Dominicans, for whom, after finish-
ing the monument to Benedict XI., and that to Guida-
lotti, the Founder of the University of Perugia, he re-
constructed the centre aisle of their church according to
his own design. While Fra Guglielmo was engaged at
the building of S. Michele in Borgo, and sculpturing
marbles for the same, he was charged to construct a pulpit,
like these of Siena, Pisa, and Pistoja; and following the
traces of Niccola, he in a very short time completed it.
But the barbarity of the times, called civilized, destroyed
the work of the Pisan Friar, together with the histories on
the façade as well as these of the pulpit: at the present
day but eight of them remain. They have been transferred
to the cathedral, and are placed partly under the choir,
and partly over the doors of the two sacristies.
These works completed, to the satisfaction of the monks
and the glory of the artist, it was resolved to perpetuate
his memory in an inscription now destroyed, but preserved
by Father Grandi in his "Epistola de Pandectis," as may
be seen in Moronna's work on Pisa. This inscription
stamps Fra Guglielmo as the author of these works; and
SCULPTORS AND ARCHITECTS.
69
¿
the verse
corrects all the historians who assert that he died in 1312.
Paoli Tronci, Pio, and Morrona himself, who give the
inscription, had all the facilities for fixing the date; as
"Milleno trecento tres dato deno" clearly means
1313; and the first year of the reign of Henry VII., re-
corded on the inscription, manifestly indicates 1313; for
although he received the iron crown at Milan, January
6, 1311, it was not till the year following that he was
crowned with the imperial crown at Rome. Counting
the years from the time of his coronation at Rome, he had
reigned one year, one month, and twenty-five days. In
a word, as it has been said, Fra Guglielmo Agnelli fol-
lowed him, according to Pio, in his ninetieth year; but,
more probably in his seventieth, after having spent forty-
six years in his institute, as we read in the Chronicle of
the convent of S. Catherine at Pisa.2
Fra Guglielmo deserves to be ranked amongst the
grandest of Italian sculptors, by reason of the many and
important works which he executed in his own country,
in Bologna, and Orvieto. But as it has fared with other
artists, others reaped the glory of his labours. We should
not wonder, then, if Cicognara only mentions him in a
note to his history;3 but it is inconceivable how Morrona,
who was the first to collect notices of his life and works,
did not consult, as he might, the Chronicle of S. Cathe-
1 See document No. 2, in the appendix of this volume.
* See document No. 3, at the end of this volume.
3 Storia della Scultura. Vol. III,, lib. iii., c. vi. "We have also an in-
scription to the memory of Fra Guglielmo, a Dominican architect and sculp-
tor, who is mentioned by the Abbot Grandi, a Camaldolese, in his "Epist.
de Pandectis." Leandro Alberti calls him "Optimus lapidum sculptor."
This friar, mentioned by Morrona, died in 1312, and he might have been
living at the time of this building, (S. Maria Novella,) or about the time of
its completion. Henry II. died at Buonconvento, near Siena, August 24,
I313.

70
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
}
rine, which must have certified him of the share which
Agnelli had in the sculptures of S. Dominic's shrine in
Bologna.¹ We think we have said enough of his fame as
an artist and religious; and we will barely add that, pro-
bably, his disciple in the art was a certain Fra Fazio, a
lay-brother of the convent of S. Catherine of Pisa, whom
the chronicle calls "Magister Sculpturæ." He, in all
likelihood, aided Agnelli in his many works, but we have
no remain of him save the brief entry which the chronicler
makes of his piety and death, which occurred A.D.
1340.
CHAPTER VIII.
Bolognese and Lombard Architects-Their buildings in Venice, in Padua,
in Trevigi, in Milan.
We have often lamented the ungrateful silence of the
historians who have consigned artists of ability to un-
deserved oblivion; and the destruction of ancient records
in days not very remote from our own, when the peaceful
inhabitants of the cloister being dispersed, their libraries
and archives were ruthlessly plundered. And we have
to regret, likewise, that we have been unable to undertake
long journeys in pursuing our researches, as was required
of us, in order to illustrate still more copiously the subject-
matter of these volumes.
The Dominican architects erected three magnificent
temples in the States of the Venetian Republic, and
such as may well bear comparison with the most
1
1 See document 4.
:

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
71
splendid in Italy. However, as we are not able to
determine the names of the architects, we must rely alto-
gether on strong conjectures. The following are the
churches: S. Giovanni and Paolo in Venice, S. Agostino
in Padua, and S. Niccola in Trevigi.' We will say only a
few words regarding the two former, that we may be
enabled to dwell at greater length on the third.
The Preaching-Friars must have arrived simultaneously
in Padua and Venice. In this latter city they had been
preceded by their holy Founder, A.D. 1221. Their first
abode, probably, was the house of some private citizen,
or the public hospitals, as it happened to them when
they appeared in Siena, Florence, and Milan. Accord-
ing to the chronicle of Andrea Dandolo, in the sixth
year of Giacomo Tiepolo's dogato, the Dominicans were
so celebrated for their preaching, (ex laudatione publica
concionis,) that they obtained from the said Tiepolo a
piece of marshy ground on the confines of S. Maria For-
mosa and S. Marina, and there built their church and
convent.2 The sixth year of the dogato of Giacomo
Tiepolo, according to the chronology of F. Bernardo de
Rubeis, was the year of our Lord 1234.3 I will not
admit, however, that the Dominicans remained so long
in Venice without erecting a convent; since it is only
reasonable to conjecture that on the ground granted by
the Doge they would have built a larger and more regu-
lar edifice. In this opinion we are sustained by De
Rubeis, who, on the authority of Ferdinando Ughelli,
1 It is probable that the church of S. Anastasia in Verona, and the con-
vent of the Preaching-Friars may have been erected by architects of the
Order, but we lack documents to prove it.
2 Lib. x. c. v. p. xiii. v. Rev. Italic. Script. v. xii.
3 De rebus. Congregat. B. Jacopi. Salom. in Prov. S. Dom. Venetiarum
erectæ. Comment. Hist. auct. F. J. Franc. Bernardo de Rubeis Venetiis,
1751, one vol. in 4to. c. ii. p. 88.
72
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
quotes a valuable document, which induces us to believe
that they might have had a hospice in Venice and Padua
as early as 1226. This very ancient memoir tells how
Giordano da Modena, bishop of Padua, at the supplica-
tion of Fra Guidone, prior of the Dominicans of Padua,
and of Fra Martino, prior in Venice, blessed the first
stone of the new church which they determined to raise
at Padua, under the invocation of S. Augustin. This
must have been on the 5th of October of the year 1227.
(De Rubeis reads 1226.) The document cited, there-
fore, clearly shows that there was a community of Domi-
nicans in the cities of Venice and Padua in that year,
and that Fra Martino and Fra Guidone were the
superiors.¹
On more than one occasion we have adverted to the
activity and enthusiasm of the Italians and ultramontanes
in erecting gorgeous churches during this wonderful thir-
teenth century; and showed how the new Orders vied with
each other in the magnificence of cloisters and temples,
notwithstanding the rule of poverty which they professed
and followed. Venice now exemplifies this. The Fran-
ciscans had commenced a splendid church, after the
design of Niccola Pisano: and the Dominicans, not satisfied
with the narrow limits of a small oratory, began theirs,
which, on account of the similiarity of architecture,
Cicognara believes to have been planned by the same
artist. But Vasari, who, in the life of Niccola Pisano,
attributes to him the church of the Frari, is silent re-
garding S. Giovanni and Paolo. The learned Illustrators
of the most conspicuous buildings in Venice observe,
we have nothing to oppose to this conjecture, (Cicog-
nara's,) for, although we may lack irrefragable evidence,
(6
¹ Italia Sacra, vol. v. p. 444. De Rubeis, loc. cit. c. ii. p. 68.

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
73
It
we can easily believe that, as the Dominicans commonly
had architects in their communities, it is likely they would
have had recourse to some member of their brother-
hood." 991 We cannot but admire the caution of these
writers who, in the absence of authentic documents, did
not pronounce definitively. In the very important work
by M. l'Abbé Bourassè, on the monuments of the middle
ages, the following words may be found in the Appen-
dix:-"The church di S. Giovanni and Paolo com-
menced A.D. 1246, and, not finished in 1390, was con-
structed by the Dominicans, whose architects followed
one style, while the Franciscans adopted another."
would be desirable to learn where the author came by
such information, and what constituted the styles fol-
lowed by the Dominicans and Franciscans. The Fran-
ciscan Order, which, in the magnificence of its temples,
very often equals and surpasses every other, either for
want of architects, or, being desirous to avail themselves
of extern talent, neither in the thirteenth nor fourteenth
century, as far as I can learn, employed any architect of
their own body to erect any edifice of importance. The
church of Assisi, if Vasari tells truth, was designed by
Jacopo the German; and Fra Filippo da Campello did
nothing more than superintend the works. S. Croce in
Florence had for its architect the celebrated Arnolfo; and
S. Antonio in Padua, and the Frari in Venice, Niccola
Pisano. Hence, the difficulty of determining what style
the Franciscans followed at this period in building their
churches. But to return to S. Giovanni and Paolo, it is
indubitable that it was begun in 1246, since it appears,
by a Bull of Innocent IV. issued on the 10th of July
1 Fabriche piu conspicue di Venezia, 2 vol. in fol.
3 Archeologie Chretienne.
VOL. I.
E
·

74
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
of that year, that an indulgence was granted to all those
who would contribute to the building of the church
of the Dominicans.¹ All my endeavours to ascertain
the name of the architect, have been unavailing; and
although it would appear probable, that he belonged to
the Order, which, at that period, had abundance of
architects and sculptors, nevertheless, in the absence of
documents, I would not venture to affirm it. For want
of funds, the works were suspended, and proceeded so
slowly, that, in the year 1395, only the upper half was
finished. From a letter of the Ven. F. Raimundo da
Capua, Master-general of the Order, dated Palermo,
March 26, 1395, it appears that, after the reformation of
the convents in the Venetian States, (for, indeed, the
said convents, owing to the pestilence and schism, had
fallen away from their ancient observances,) the people
contributed very considerable sums to restore the old
monasteries and build new ones. Wherefore, at this
period, precisely twenty-thousand florins were collected
to complete the magnificent temple of S. Giovanni and
Paolo. Fra Antonio da Siena affirms that this money
served to finish the under half of said church, the chapel
of S. Dominic, and the campanile, (belfry,) which
so resembles that of the Franciscans.2 From all this it
is manifest, that if Niccola Pisano furnished the design
of S. Giovanni and Paolo, as Cicognara thinks, he must
have seen but a small portion of it completed. But, in
the works carried on in the fourteenth century, there can
be no doubt, (according to Ghirardacci and Petrogalli,)
that Niccola da Imola, or Fra Benvenuto da Bologna, both
lay-brothers of the Dominicans, and most skilled in the
art, were the architects employed. These men, also, for
1 Bullarium Ord. Præd. v. i. p. 166.
2 De Rubeis, Loc. cit, ch. i. v. p. 26.

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
75
me time, conducted the building of S. Agostino in
adua, and S. Niccolo in Trevigi.'
The church of S. Giovanni and Paolo at Venice, ac-
ording to Cicognara, is "most rich in everything that is
recious, and may be styled the Pantheon of Venetian
rt, particularly since all the great monuments of sculp-
are and painting, that were well nigh perishing in the
emolition of the other churches of the city, have been
ansferred to it."
Of the church of S. Augustin in Padua, so magnificent
or its pictures and marbles, we have little to say, since it
as utterly ruined in 1822. Suffice it to observe that it
as begun in 1226, and finished in 1303, under the direction
f Fra Benvenuto, a Bolognese architect. We prefer dwell-
ng at considerable length on the church of S. Niccolo in
Trevigi, as the notices relating to it are very copious.
The consolation which the newly-instituted Mendicant
Orders gave to the people in these days of civil strifes,
nd the barriers they opposed to the tyranny of their
ask-masters, justly endeared them to those who heard.
rom their lips the language of peace and mercy. The
bsolute necessity of having God's holy Gospel preached
o them, procured from the inhabitants of Trevigi a
varm welcome for S. Dominic's Order in the year 1221.
But as the little church given them, when they first
1 P. Domenico Federici. Mem. Trevigiane Sulle Opere del disegno.
2 Storia della Scultura, vol. vi. 1. vi. c. iv. p. 232. "This beautiful
hurch of the Dominicans is cruciform, and of vast height. The nave and
isles are of five bays; the lantern has a dome; and the eastern face of the
ransept contains the chancel, between four apsidal chapels."— V. Webb's
Continental Ecclesiology. This church contains Tiziano's celebrated picture
f the martyrdom of S. Pietro di Verona, which holds the same place in the
enetian School that Raffaello's "Transfiguration" does in the Roman. It was
ainted before 1537, and S. Pius V. caused Tiziano, when ninety years of age,
repeat it with some modifications.
יי

76
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
1
appeared in the city, could not contain the vast mult
tudes flocking to the sermons, it was decreed by th
State, that one far more spacious should be built fro
the foundations. This decree found a responsive ech
in the hearts of the inhabitants, who gladly made a
offer of everything necessary for the work. And surel
never was there an apostolate grander or more nob
than that of the Franciscans and Preaching-Friars, who
for the benefit of the people of Trevigi, Padua, an
Vicenza, raised their voices against that tiger of ferocit
and barbarity, Ezelino da Romano, whose memory sha
be eternally execrated in every region of Italy.
As the church of S. Maria Novella in Florence marke
an epoch of peace between the Guelphs and Ghibelline
so was that of S. Niccolo in Trevigi a tribute of gratitud
which the denizens of the latter place offered to the zealou
defenders of their most sacred rights. At length, in th
beginning of the fourteenth century, a citizen of Trevig
and an inmate of this very convent of the Preaching
Friars, famed for his learning and sanctity, was raised t
2
1 F. Federici discovered in the archives of the Commune of Trevigi tl
decree of the city for the building of the church of the Preaching-Friars.
is as follows:-"In the name of Christ. Amen. To the honour of G
and all his saints, and for the confirmation of the holy Christian faith, v
ordain and decree that the commune of Trevigi erect one church in a co
venient spot of the city or suburbs, in which the Friars of S. Dominic's Ord
may preach and celebrate the divine offices, if it seem good to them to ha
a convent in the city or suburbs of Trevigi.” .
2 Pope Alexander IV. A.D. 1255, sent circular letters to all the bisho
and noblemen of the free cities of Lombardy, Emilia, and the Marches
Trevigi, exhorting them to form a crusade against the tyrant Ezelino, a
granting them the indulgences formerly given to those who marched to t
Holy Land. Every corps of armed men selected a religious for its leade
and the Bolognese troops had for their general Fra Giovanni da Vicenza, t
same who reconciled the Guelphs and Ghibellines on the plain of Paquar
-See Sismondi's Ital. Repub. Ezelino, or, as he styled himself, "the enem
of God and man," died of wounds received at the battle of Capano, A.D. 125

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
77
he dignity of the sacred purple; and was subsequently
levated to the Papal Throne, after the death of Boniface
VIII. This was Benedict XI. When the tiara was
laced on his head, he did not forget his country or his
rethren. On the contrary, he determined to adorn his
irth-place with new and elegant buildings, and to erect
or the Dominicans a magnificent temple and convent,
hat might equal in beauty those of Venice, Padua, and
erona. Trevigi sent ambassadors to his holiness, who
resented to him the plan of the city; and the Domini-
ans, at the same time, forwarded to him the design of
he new church, taken in great part from these of S. Gio-
anni and Paolo, and S. Agostino. In the midst of their
oyful anticipations, premature death deprived the Church
of one of its most distinguished Pontiffs, and destroyed all
ope of the BUILDINGS; fortunately, however, it did not
nterfere with the new church of the Dominicans: for,
luring his Cardinalate, Boccasini' bestowed to his brethren
wenty-five thousand gold ducats; and, before dying, left
n the hands of the Dominican bishops of Mantua and
Ferrara a larger sum of forty-eight thousand; with which
the church was erected, and the building of the new
convent commenced. Although there is no record of
the name of the architect who furnished the design, I
have no reason to doubt that it was Fra Benvenuto da
Bologna, who, in 1303, completed the temple of S.
Agostino in Padua; since it is very probable that the
Dominicans would not have selected an extern in pre-
ference to a distinguished member of their own institute:
His whole posterity was destroyed, that none of his race might survive him;
thus forcibly reminding us of Juvenal's dictum :—
"Ad generum Cereris sine cæde et vulnere pauci
Descendunt reges, et sicca morte tiranni.”
1 Benedict XI.

78
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
and this, in my opinion, is sufficient to confute Federic
who, after examining the ancient memoirs of this con
vent, and finding that a Franciscan lay-brother, name
Fra Benvenuto, was then practising architecture in Tre
vigi, mistakes him for another Friar of the same name
who was the author of this church, and who, according
to Ghirardacci, was a Dominican.¹
We have not ascertained precisely in what year the
sacred edifice was commenced, but it was probably between
1310 and 1315: three years after this latter date, it would
appear to have been considerably advanced. It was inter
rupted, however, by the wars for the space of thirty years
that is, from 1318 to 1348. At this period, the building was
resumed under the direction of another Dominican archi
tect, Fra Nicola da Imola, who completed it A.D. 1352
From what has been said hitherto, we may easily perceive
how far Cicognara is from the truth, when he asserts, that
all the most remarkable edifices raised in Italy in the
thirteenth century, should be attributed to Niccola Pisano
Whensoever Cicognara is not able to determine the name
of the architect, he is wont to give the glory of the fabric
to the great Pisan, and he goes so far as to say, that Nicola
furnished the design of the Dominican church at Trevigi
leaving it to be executed by Friar-Architects:2 but as we
have already observed, the celebrated Pisan sculptor and
1 In Trevigi, as well as throughout all the Venetian States, during the
fourteenth century, many of the religious were famous as architects. In
1315, three of them were employed at the works on the river Piave; and at
this period flourished Fra Giovanni Agostiniano, architect and engineer of the
communes of Bassano, Trevigi, and Padua, in which city he constructed the
roof of the hall della Ragione, one of the most singular in Italian architec-
ture. The celebrated saloon of Padua is two hundred and fifty-six feet
long, eighty-six wide, and seventy-two high. Milizia terms it the greatest
in the world.
2 Memorie Trevig. v. i., p. ii., p. 174.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
79
architect, died in 1278, that is fully thirty-two years before
this church was commenced.
"If the church of S. Niccola in Trevigi," says Federici,
"must yield in vastness to the duomo of Milan, and to
these of Orvieto and Siena-if it be surpassed by S. Maria,
Novella in Florence, S. Petronio in Bologna, S. Antonio
in Padua, and some others (all works of the same period,)
in windows, cornices, columns, and other details, it is not
inferior to them in the boldness of its arches, and upper
pilasters, nor in its fine chapels, with these exquisite
windows which are characterised by simplicity, solidity,
and grandeur. In this church, there is more harmony
between the length, width and height, than is to be found
in many others."1
What occurs to me as most worthy
of remark in this church is, that being less in length and
width than these of S. Antonio in Padua, and S. Giovanni
and Paolo in Venice, it exceeds them all in the lofti-
ness of its vaults, since it is eighty feet higher than
S. Anthony's, and eighty-two feet higher than that
in Venice, if Federici's measurement be correct. The
said church having been finished in 1352, it was deter-
mined that every embellishment of art should be be-
stowed on it. There was then in that city, a painter,
named Tommaso di Modena, an artist of celebrity, if we
take the time into consideration. F. Francesco Massa
invited him to paint the church; and F. Vazzola en-
gaged him to produce the histories in the chapter-room.
Thus S. Niccola in Trevigi, was, so to say, an image of
S. Maria Novella in Florence; so much the more as they
were both built by architects of the Dominican Order,
both completed at the same time, and decorated simul-
taneously, by the best pencils of that age, at the instance

1 This church is 274 feet in length; and 107 in height.
80
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
of Friars who cherished the profoundest veneration for
art.
The pictures that adorn the Trevigian church, must
have been executed between 1353 and 1354. In the
fourteenth century, as we have already observed, it was
usual to decorate the walls of the church with histories,
either sculptured in marble, or painted in fresco, of the
principal facts of the Old and New Testament, in order
that wheresoever the eye rested, whether on the coloured
glass of the windows, or on the ceiling of the holy edifice,
it might there find a solemn record, or a solemn lesson,
moral, civil, and religious. Tommaso di Modena, who
in all probability, did not possess the fecundity of Gaddi,
Memmi or Spinello, contented himself with a legendary
ichonography, and painted the images of a great number
of the saints of various periods, on and over the arches,
together with these symbols so dear to the piety of the
faithful. Many of these paintings no longer exist, as
they were destroyed in 1400, to make way for the
restorations and alterations in the church. Federici writes
profusely on the merit of these pictures, and their sig-
nification. The religious of the convent, to attest their
gratitude to F. Massa, who at his own expense, caused
the paintings to be executed, raised a marble monument to
his memory. But of far greater importance to the history
of the Order, were the paintings which the said Tommaso
di Modena, executed in the chapter-room of the same con-
vent, in 1352; as they form an historical gallery of all the
most distinguished Dominicans, who, up to that year,
either by sanctity of life or great learning, had reflected
lustre on their institute. There you may behold the se-
ries of all the Generals and Cardinals of the Order; and on
the friezes you see described the number of the provinces,
and that of the convents of the province of lower Lom-
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
81
bardy to which the Trevigian convent belonged. Rightly
has Frederici called these paintings a "Sacred, Literary,
and Political history of the Order of Preaching-Friars
in the first century of their institution." It is very likely
that Fra Giovanni Angelico, when painting a much
smaller, but similar gallery in the chapter-room of the
convent of S. Marco, availed himself of that of Trevigi,
since Federici who saw both, found many points of re-
semblance between them. Moreover, Giorgio Vasari,
writes, that Fra Giovanni Angelico, was assisted by the
Friars, who procuring portraits from many places for him,
enabled him to execute likenesses after nature; much
merit is due to Father Federici, who by illustrating these
pictures and causing them to be engraved, has rendered
valuable service to the history of art, and his institute;
since anterior to his time, they were all but un-
known.¹
Here terminate the notices relating to the church of
S. Niccolo di Trevigi, and its architects, Fra Benvenuto
da Bologna and Fra Niccolo da Imola. Of the first we
may add, that we find him (A.D. 1314) in his own
country, employed by the magistracy of that city,
together with other engineers, in a work of great impor-
tance. The canal between Bologna and Ferrara being
choked up, so as to impede commerce and all communi-
cation between the two cities, Fra Benvenuto, and the
other engineers, were charged to remedy this great
inconvenience. This they effected by deepening the
bed of the river, taking five feet from either bank, and
turning the water into the Caradiccio, or Grossetta, the
canal that communicates with Ravenna. This work cost
1 Lanzi who knew them only from the engravings published by Federici,
mentions them in his history of painting, in the first epoch of the Modenese school.
E 2
82
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
More of him
We cherish a
the city of Bologna over 5,000 lire.'
we have not been able to learn.
hope, however, that public and private archives may yet
reveal more of the life and works of these two illustrious
Dominican architects.
Before closing the Trevigian notices, we will mention
a fact recorded by Federici, which plainly shows how
much the religious of that convent loved everything
connected with art. In the private archives of S. Niccolo,
Federici discovered a document, signed by Father
Masa, and dated A.D. 1347, by virtue of which the said
father bequeathed to the convent of Trevigi a precious
collection of objects connected with the fine arts, which
he acquired with great labour and expense. Amongst
these were miniatured books, painted images, precious
vases, crystals, corals, cameos, a Madonna in alabaster
and another in ivory; to these he added a collection of
poetical, historical, and philosophical works.
This we
have thought worth recording, since at that period few
cities of Italy, and very few of the princes of the land,
could boast of such an abundance of books or objects
connected with the fine arts. Even this may disabuse
some persons, who fancy that the friars of the thirteenth
and fourteenth centuries were so infatuated by mystic
and scholastic theology, as to set no value on other
and less sombre studies.
Having spoken of the Bolognese architects, it is time
to turn to those of Lombardy. And here again we have
to lament the paucity of our notices. Our sorrow is
increased, when we reflect that towards the close of the
fourteenth century, there lived in Milan an architect of
the Dominican Order, who deserved to be chronicled by
¹ Padre Cherubino Ghirardacci, Agostin. Historia di Bologna, 2 vol. in
folio. Bologna: v. vol. ii. lib. 17, p. 573.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
83
the historians of art. Some one has called the middle
ages the epoch of great anonymous celebrities; and,
indeed, with truth, since at no other period do we find
such wonderful activity, or so much anxiety to hide
great names.
Ticozzi, in his Dictionary, and Cicognara, in the His-
tory of Sculpture, make honourable mention of two
Friar-architects, the one belonging to the Franciscan,
and the other to S. Dominic's Order, who, when the
duomo of Milan was commenced, were invited to assist
at the works, with many other engineers and architects,
Italian and ultramontane.' These were Fra Giovanni da
Giussano, a Dominican, and Fra Andreolo de Ferrari, a
Franciscan. But it would be useless to seek in the
volumes of Ticozzi or Cicognara, for any notice of the
works or life of these two religious; nay, even Milizia,
who undertook to write the lives of the most distinguished
architects, says nothing of them. They barely tell us
that, in 1390, they were both in Milan, engaged at the
erection of the duomo. Duke Giovanni Galeazzo Vis-
conti laid the foundation-stone of this grand edifice, in
the year 1386; but not satisfied with the works executed
in a few months, they were destroyed, and another build-
ing was commenced in the October of 1387. Visconti
very unwisely had invited a great number of architects
from various countries, who, instead of forwarding the
work, retarded it most considerably. Differences of
opinion, rivalries, and ill-will interrupted it at every
stage. This, however, served to exhibit the capabilities
of the two architects; since Fra Andreolo and Fra
Giovanni were appointed to decide between the rival
builders and engineers, who submitted their case to their
judgment. This is all that is recorded of them by
¹ Storia della Scultura, Vol. III., lib. iii., cap. i.
84
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
Ticozzi and Cicognara. Nevertheless, I think it likely
that Fra Giovanni may have directed the building of the
church and convent of S. Eustorgio at Milan, which,
about this period, were very considerably enlarged.
In fact, the Preaching-Friars must have availed
themselves of the services of a member of their own
Order to decorate their own church; and it is only
reasonable to suppose that they would not have preferred
an extern. I should not, however, forget to remark, that
Michele Caffi, who has recently published a work on the
church of S. Eustorgio, makes no mention of Fra
Giovanni da Giussano; but this may be attributed to
the want of documents, and every one knows how care-
less the old chroniclers were in this particular. Neither
shall I go beyond the confines of simple conjecture.
In the year 1218, the city of Milan received a colony
of Preaching-Friars, sent thither by their holy Founder.
They were twelve in number; and here, as in Florence,
their first abode was the public hospital of the Pellegrini,
or S. Barnabas. In 1220, they began to officiate in the
church of S. Eustorgio; and, in 1227, they took possession
of it. In Florence they commenced their mission by
preaching peace to those factions who waged war against
each other; in Trevigi, they began by denouncing the
impious tyranny of Ezelino; but not less difficult or
important was the work they had to execute in Milan.
The baneful doctrines of the Manicheans, supported by
the Imperial arms, were being disseminated through
Lombardy. This depraved sect, hitherto satisfied with
the diffusion of their pernicious dogmas and the corrup-
tion of public morals, had now become audacious, and
proceeded to works of sedition and rapine. To the
children of S. Dominic and S. Francis, Rome entrusted
the important duty of ridding Italy of the foul contagion.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
85
They were commissioned to avail themselves of doctrine,
preaching, and example; and whenever it was necessary
to resort to such, they were empowered to put in execu-
tion the severe laws which Pontiffs and kings had enacted
against heretics. Foremost in this grand work, in Milan
and through Lombardy, was S. Peter of Verona, of the
Order of Preaching-Friars, who, with his companion,
were both slain by the weapons of assassins, on the 6th
of April, 1252. The Milanese, wishing to honour him
who was the zealous defender of their faith, engaged
Balduccio, the Pisan, to erect a splendid marble monu-
ment to his memory; which, if it be not equal to that of
S Domenico at Bologna, or to the 'monument erected to
Guido Tarlati, or to that of S. Donato in Arezzo, or,
finally, to that of S. Agostino in Pavia, most certainly
surpasses them all in magnificence.¹
1 Balduccio, as Cicognara and Lanzi suspect, was probably a disciple of
Andrea Pisano. "He," writes Verri, "was charged by Duke Azzone to
produce the most magnificent design possible, and to execute it with all
diligence and artistic power."-Cicognara Storia della Scultura, lib. iii., chap.
viii., p. 442; Verri, Storia di Milano, Vol. I., p. 442. The marble monu-
ment to S. Peter Martyr, is in length five cubits and fourteen and a-half
ounces; in breadth, one cubit and twenty-three ounces. The total height of
the arca or shrine, from the pavement to the statue of the Saviour, is twelve
cubits and twelve ounces. It is sculptured with arabesques, and has eight
histories of the Saint in basso-relievo, with many statues on the sides and
summit. It was finished in the year 1339. It is not true, as some have
asserted, that this monument should be attributed to the generosity of
Azzone Visconti, and Giovanni, his uncle, Bishop of Novara; for Taegio
narrates, (Ampl. Chronicæ, p. ii. p. 192,) “that many persons from various
parts of the world sent large alms for the construction of this ark." Amongst
the contributors were the King of Cyprus, who gave three hundred gold ducats,
and a nobleman of that island who gave one hundred. The Cardinal Matteo
Orsini advanced the same amount. The Bishop Giovanni Visconti gave
fifty; the Duke Azzone fifty, and sixty loads of lime for the foundations and
base, together with twenty gold ducats for gilding the shrine itself. These
personages were all sculptured on the lid of the ark. D. Erasmo Bozzia gave
thirty gold ducats; and many other nobles of France, Germany, and Italy,
86
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
Not satisfied with this, the people of Milan contributed
large sums for the building of the church and convent.
Fra Beltramo da Robbiano, a religious of that convent,
who must have been skilled in architecture, (as were
usually those selected for such employment,)' presided
over the works. The building, interrupted for some time,
was resumed by Archbishop Ottone Visconti, in 1278;
and it is believed that, about this period, the church was
enlarged, and reduced to its present form. In 1290, the
vault of the chapel, on the left of the grand altar, was
finished; and the bell-tower, according to the manuscript
of Galvano Fiamma, was commenced in 1297, and per-
fected in 1309. Fra Giovanni da Giussano, the architect,
must have been engaged at many of these works. I will
here take occasion to observe, that in 1306, the first
public clock ever seen in Italy, was placed in the tower
of S. Eustorgio.2
•
This, no doubt, is but a very meagre memoir of the
Venetian, Bolognese, and Lombard artists of the
thirteenth and fourteenth century. The notices regard-
ing them and their works, indeed, are scanty; but we
will be able to make amends out of the copious materials
furnished by the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, which
produced so many illustrious men, famous in all the arts
of design.
sent large subscriptions. The whole expense amounted to two thousand gold
ducats.-Campana, Vita di S. Pietro Martire, lib. iv. chap. ii., p. 270, etc.
Michele Caffi, Della Chiesa di S. Eustorgio in Milano, Illustrazione Storico-
monumentali epigrafica Milano, 1841. 1 vol. 8vo. p. 104.
1 Caffi loc. citato. p. 20.
"
2 In the year 1395, Forli had its public clock, which was the work of Fra
Gaspare, a Dominican whom Paolo Bonoli calls, an excellent professor and
engineer." Storia di Forli, lib. viii., vol. ii., p. 57. We hope at some
future day to learn more of the works of this celebrated mechanician.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
87
CHAPTER IX.
Notices of Fra Giovani da Campi, and Fra Jacopo Talenti, Tuscan architects-
They finish the Church of S. Maria Novella-They build the new Con-
vent-They re-build the Carraja Bridge, and raise other edifices for the
Republic and private citizens.
FLORENCE, the mother and protectress of every art, presents
to us new and able artificers, whose names and works she
has recorded and honoured. No city has ever excelled
her in the science or love of the imitative arts; and none
has surpassed her in solicitude to transmit to posterity the
memories of those of her children, who have reflected
lustre on Italy. Whosoever has had the good fortune to
tarry on the banks of Arno, or to enjoy this beauteous
I climate, and hear the dulcet language of its people, must
have perceived at a glance that the love of art is natural
to the inhabitants—that they possess a remarkable power
of appreciating it, and that even the poorer orders are
gifted with general notions of the beautiful. Well may
they be called a privileged people, for their arts, like
their language, are the expression of souls intensely
enamoured of all that is beautiful in nature.
The church of S. Maria Novella, commenced by Fra
Sisto and Fra Ristoro, and whose eastern aisle was con-
tinued by Fra Borghese and Fra Albertino, brings us to
speak of two other distinguished architects, who finished it
in the fourteenth century, and who in their knowledge of
building might be compared to Gaddi and Orgagna.
These are the two lay-brothers Fra Giovanni da Campi,
and Fra Jacopo Talenti. It may be said with truth, that
for more than a hundred years this temple was a school
88
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
of architecture, which educated in that art many of the
young religious who, as we shall see, must have become
illustrious in all its branches, if immature death had not
carried them off. In speaking of them we will follow
the valuable Necrology, deploring the absence of the
Memoirs compiled by F. Fineschi, which were lost after
his death.
Fra Giovanni Brachetti was born at Campi, the birth-
place of Fra Ristoro: the year is uncertain, but it was
probably about 1280. He could not have learned archi-
tecture from Fra Sisto or his colleague; and his teacher
must have been either Fra Albertino or Arnolfo. The
Necrology informs us that he lived in the Order for
twenty-two years, having taken the Dominican habit in
1317.
Fra Jacopo Talenti, who was much younger than
Brachetti, was born at Nipozzano, in the diocese of Fiesole,
two miles and a half from Pontassieve. The Necrology
makes no mention of the date of his birth, of his parents,
or of the year in which he took the Dominican habit. It
would appear that he reached a great old age, and
survived Giovanni twenty-three years. The history of
the duomo of Orvieto mentions a certain Francesco
Talenti of Florence, who, in 1327 worked in that church,
and belonged to the sculptors and stone-masons who
received five soldi a day-the remuneration given to
the Masters. Some have concluded from this fact, that
the foresaid Jacopo belonged to the Franciscan Order,
and that he had changed his name after taking the
religious habit; but as we have discovered that he had
enrolled himself amongst the Dominicans precisely in that
year, it is likely that Francesco may have been his close
relative; a conjecture which would lead us to think that
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
89
2
he belonged to a family celebrated for the cultivation of
art. The Necrology terms Fra Jacopo "magister lapidum,"
(stone-mason,) a designation frequently given to sculptors,
as Cicognara has shown. It appears to us, however, that
Talenti's first occupation was that of a stone-mason, and
that he studied or perfected himself in architecture under
Fra Giovanni da Campi. He it was who produced the
sculptures and traceries in the church of S. Maria Novella,
as also the capitals of the pillars, the ornaments of the
ancient gates and windows, and the works in the chapel
of the Spaniards, together with the beautiful deco-
rations on the pulpit or bridge (now destroyed) which
formerly divided said church. Fra Albertino Mazzanti
having died in 1319, Fra Giovanni da Campi, who two
years before had taken the Dominican habit, set about
Fra Rainerio Gualterotti, a
completing the church.
Florentine, surnamed the Greek, had presided over the
works till 1317, when he was succeeded by the far-
famed Fra Jacopo Passavanti. The Florentine Republic,
3
¹ Storia del duomo di Orvieto. Docum. No. xxiv., p. 272. At the build-
ing of the library of S. M. Novella, we find a master Giovanni Talenti
employed as a mason; he must have been a brother or nephew of Jacopo.
Borghigiani, Cronaca. An. v. i., p. 377.
? A certain Arduino, a Venetian sculptor and architect, subscribes himself
thus—“Arduinus Tajapetra, (stone-cutter) fecit." Cicogn. Stor. della Scult.
L. iii., c. 2.
3 Biliotti, Chronica etc., c. vi., p. 9. "Super ipsum (pontem) privatim
sacrificabant certis diebus, festis autem diaconus et subdiaconus cantabant
hic epistolam, evangelium ille, idque super marmoream illam columnam
egregie sculptam, et quatuor evangelistarum figuris notatam, quæ post pontis
dejectionem, Anno Dom. 1565 factam, in hospitium deportata, atque ibi erecta
ad lectionem hospitibus habendam prostrat." This bridge was destroyed
October 22 of that year, to the grief of many. Gaye, Categgio Inedito.
This bridge served to separate the men from the women during Divine
service. The Rev. Mr. Webb, in his valuable "Sketches of Continental
Ecclesiology," opines that this bridge must have been a rude-loft.
90
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
:
although it had begun to build the cathedral of S. Maria
del Fiore, proved itself munificent to S. Maria Novella;
and in the very year in which the first stone of the new
cathedral (1298) was laid, it granted 1,500 lire to be
divided between the churches of S. Croce, S. Maria
Novella, and S. Spirito. With the contributions of the
citizens and these sent by the prelates of the Order, which
in that age had produced many, it was easy to hasten the
completion of the sacred edifice. But the most distin-
guished and most zealous of all those who laboured for the
building was the celebrated Passavanti. This religious,
who was an eloquent preacher, a wise and elegant writer,
and an exceedingly learned man, was the intimate friend
of the most distinguished artists of Florence, of Gaddi,
Memmi, and Orgagna, whom he consulted and invited to
decorate this church; which, owing to his solicitude, and
that of the religious who succeeded him, became like the
Campo Santo of Pisa, and the basilica of S. Francesco in
Assisi, a gallery of splendid paintings, and rarest products
of the fine arts. We do not know at what time Fra
Jacopo Talenti associated himself with Fra Giovanni, but
the Necrology emphatically states that he laboured inde-
fatigably at the building, and actually completed it. We
do not hesitate to affirm that he may have begun to direct
the works in 1339, the year in which his colleague died;
and, if this be the fact, the period of his labours did not
exceed eighteen years. They were both assisted by
many lay-brothers of the convent, who were excellent
masons. Following the design of Fra Sisto and Fra
Ristoro, they erected the grand nave and western aisle ;
they also built the principal chapel, and the one
next it called di S. Luca or the Gondi, and the two
1 Gaye, loc. cit. v. 1. Appendix 2.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
91
great chapels, that is the Rucellai, south of the south
transept, and in the north that of the Strozzi family,
dedicated to S. Thomas Aquinas. The three lateral
chapels of the great altar, as the architecture manifestly
proves, are of a later period.
At length the year 1357 witnessed the completion of
the church of S. Maria Novella. More than 100,000 gold
florins were expended on it, and seventy-seven years were
devoted to the works. The façade encrusted with white
and black marble, was commenced after 1350, and finished
in 1470: the expenses being defrayed by many honorable
families. And this likewise is due to Passavanti, to whom
Turino Baldesi, in 1349, gave four hundred gold florins for
the construction of the gates and their ornaments. This sum
finished the façade to the arches under the great cornice.
In 1456 the work was resumed at the expense of Gio-
vanni Paolo Rucellai, and was finally completed in
1470, after the design of the celebrated Leon Battista
Alberti.2
In an age so prolific of artists, and so glorious for
Christian art, when every one desired to read on the walls
of the temple the most sublime pages of the Bible, the
popular legends, and even the immortal strain of Dante,
the artist had a grand field for the development of his
genius. Religion was the fountain source of his inspira-
tion, and painting was employed as a grand moral lesson
worthy of a Christian people. Well did Passavanti know
the wants of his age, when he engaged Gaddi, Memmi,
Orgagna, and Buffulmacco, to decorate the walls of S.
1 Fantozzi's Guide Book says that it was finished in 1349, by Fra Gio-
vanni da Campi, but this architect died ten years before, i. e. in 1339.
• V. F. Fineschi's Letter on the Façade of S. M. Novella, inserted in the
Novelle Letterarie of 1779.-Gio. Masselli's Notes to the Life of L. B. Alberti,
by Vasari. Note xvii., p. 308.
•
92
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
Maria Novella. If we except Spinello di Arezzo, and
Pietro Cavallini the Roman, there were none who
surpassed the foresaid painters in the poetry of art. The
Rucellai chapel already possessed that wonderful picture
of the Madonna, by Cimabue, which the Florentines in
their enthusiasm had carried in grand procession to that
very temple. And indeed it was but just that the church
where this great master had received his earliest inspira-
tions should possess his rarest work. Giotto had placed
within its precints the crucifix which is even now over
the grand entrance. Orgagna was commissioned to fresco
the great chapel, or choir, and the chapel of the Strozzi
family. In the former he produced some histories of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, of S. John Baptist, and S.
Dominic. These grand decorations injured by damp,
were, so to say, reproduced by Domenico del Ghirlandajo,
in the following century, and here did the youthful
Michelangelo Buonarotti employ his glorious pencil.¹
In the second chapel Orgagna painted the two Last Things,
Hell and Paradise. And as the Divina Commedia con-
stituted the delight of the people, and as Orgagna was
fascinated by its beauty, he divided the Inferno according
to the Dantesque circles, filling them with the damned
spirits, and as it were incarnating these awful agonies
which revealed themselves to the imagination of the
poet. This theme had tasked the genius of Niccola,
Pisano, Giotto, and others, and it has been repeated
with consummate mastery by the followers of he
latter.
But if art be not perfect here, if the nude
be badly designed, and the composition frequently
confused, nevertheless, Dante's poetry pervades it; and
¹ Ghirlandajo received for this work 1,000 gold florins. It was finished
in 1490.
་
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
93
it manifests the horrors of that abyss from which hope
is banished, and looking at it we may almost fancy that
we hear
"Various tongues,
Horrible languages, outcries of woe,
Accents of anger, voices deep and hoarse,
With hands together smote, that swell the sounds.”ı
Opposite to this he painted the Glory of the Saints,
and in this composition he displayed such power, that the
two works seem as if produced by different hands. It is
true, as F. Borghigiani observes, that the Paradiso was
subsequently retouched by Veraccini. Finally Orgagna
executed the beautiful picture for the altar of S. Thomas,
whereon he traced his name, and the year 1357. To
Bonamico Buffalmacco, many years before, were entrusted
the paintings of a chapel which stood on the spot now
the entrance to the belfry, and of which only one picture
now remains on the door of the same, but so injured that
we no longer recognise the hand of the master. But far
more splendid than all these were the paintings which
Taddeo Gaddi and Simone Memmi executed in the
ancient chapter-room, at present called the chapel of the
Spaniards, as it had for some time bolonged to that
nation. This edifice, which may be termed a monument
of vast importance in the history of Italian painting, is
but little known, and we, therefore, deem it our duty to
speak of it, even at the risk of being charged with
prolixity.
Buonamico di Lapo Guidalotti, merchant of Florence,
having purchased a little chapel, contiguous to the old
Inferno, Canto III. Carey's transl.
• Cronaca Annal. v. iii., ad ann. 1556, p. 329–330.
94
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
church of S. Maria Novella, caused the foundation of the
great chapter-room to be laid, A.D. 1320. This room was
meant to serve as an assembly-place for the religious,
and for the annual celebration of the feast of Corpus
Domini.¹ Fineschi and Borghigiani, who date its erection
about 1350, have fallen into an error, for Simone could
not have painted it at this period, since he died at
Avignon, in the year 1344.2 Which of the two architects
named above, was its author, is not quite certain. The
three Dominican historians, Biliotti, Borghigiani and
Fineschi, to whom we may add, Mecatti, say that it was
Fra Jacopo Talenti; but in my judgment, it was Gio-
vanni da Campi; for in 1320, Talenti was too young,
and Fra Giovanni had been three years a Dominican, and
had presided over the works of the church. Moreover,
the beautiful cloister called il Verde (the Green,) must
have been erected contemporaneously, and Fineschi asserts,
that Giovanni was its builder. When the chapter-room
was finished, Guidalotti resolved to adorn it with the
choicest paintings. He first selected Simone Memmi, who
as Rosini remarks, could not have worked there before
1336, the year in which he returned from Avignon,
where he saw the celebrated Laura, whose likeness he
painted in the chapter-room.3 The second to paint there
was Taddeo Gaddi; but I have not ascertained in what
year. The inscription on Guidalotti's sepulchre states,
that the chapter-room was painted A.D. 1355, the year of his
decease; and it is quite certain, that Taddeo Gaddi must
1 Mecatti, Notizie Storiche riguardanti il Capitolo dei P. Dom. di S.
M. Novella-Fineschi Forestiero instruito in S. M. N. p. 44, Borghig. ad
hunc ann.
2 Giovanni Rosini, Storia della Pittura Italiana, v. ii., Epoca. prima,
c. xii., p. 98.
3 Rosini, loc. cit.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
95
more.
have died about this period.' The expense amounted to
eight hundred and fifty gold florins. Now we are encoun-
tered here by a very great difficulty. Mecatti and Fineschi
have discovered, that Guidalotti, on his death-bed, had
left to his brother Domenico, another sum of three hundred
and twenty-five gold florins, for the completion of the
pictures in the chapter-room; to which sum, because in-
sufficient, as it would appear, Domenico added ninety-two
From this we collect, that the chapter-room
cost 1,265 florins; that in the year 1355, it was not
finished, and that many paintings were still to be exe-
cuted, for which another sum of four hundred and fifteen
florins had been disbursed. But to whom were these
paintings entrusted, if Memmi and Gaddi were dead,
and if the whole chapter-room, even to the very vault,
had been coloured by the same? Not having seen
Guidalotti's last will and testament, I incline to think
that the four hundred and fifteen florins must have been
applied to the decorations of the altar, and to these works
of sculpture that adorn the door and the great windows
of the chapter-room, which were probably produced by
Fra Jacopo Talenti. Having spoken of the building,
let us now return to the paintings. In all that apper-
tained to the historical, symbolical and legendary pictures,
the artists had recourse to Passavanti, who furnished the
¹ Lanzi, History of Painting, 1st Epoch. Flor. School.
Inscription on Guidalotti's tomb :
HIC JACET MICHUS,
FILIUS OLIM. LAPII DE GUIDALOTTIS MERCATOR
QUI FECIT FIERI ET DIPINGI ISTUD CAPITULUM,
CUM CAPPELLA, SEPULTUS IN HABITU ORDINIS,
A.D., MCCC.LV. DIE III. SEPTEMBRIS,
REQUIESCAT IN PACE.
It might not be unreasonable to suppose, that the tribune or chapel
mentioned in the inscription remained to be painted; who worked at the
subsequently, is uncertain. In 1590, these paintings were restored by the
disciples of Alessandro Allori, and by Procetti.

96
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
necessary notices and directed the works. Simone
Memmi undertook to paint three parts: the oriental, the
meridianal, and the northern. In the meridianal, he exe-
cuted some histories of S. Domenico and S. Pietro, martyr,
which are nearly all destroyed. In the oriental, he painted
the church militant and the church triumphant. In the
former, he depicted the principal dignities, civil and
ecclesiastical; and this work is doubly precious for the
portraits it gives us of Pope Benedict XI., the Emperor
Henry VII., Philip the Fair of France, Cardinal Niccolo,
Albertino di Prato, Fra Angelo Acciajuoli, the Dominican
bishop of Florence, Cimabue, Giotto, Arnolfo, Petrarca,
and others. His idea may have been to show how, in
the midst of errors, ambition and pleasures, that fascinate
or torment human life, the true followers of Jesus Christ,
aided by the divine assistance, may attain to celestial
glory. By the errors he typified the sect of the Mani-
cheans, by whom a great portion of Italy had been over-
run. He described the heretics disputing with the
Catholics; and in another compartment, he painted
foxes pursued by white and black hounds, to attest the
vigilance of the Preaching-Friars, who have always
combated false teaching in all its multiform phases. To
denote the blandishments and luxuries by which frail
mortality is seduced, he painted a troop of dancing girls,
amongst whom is seen the beauteous Laura, who inspired
Petrarca's muse. To signify the ambition of honour and
power, he introduced the highest dignities of the church
and state. After these he produced confession, absolution,
and repentance, by which we must enter into the church
1 Rosini writes, that the painting of this chapter-room was superintended
by Fra Domenico Cavalca of Pisa; but he is in error, since all the memoirs
of the convent of S. Maria Novella affirm, that it was Fra Jacopo Passavanti.
who directed these works.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
97
triumphant-in a word, his pencil embodied all that has
been written by the erudite and elegant author of the
work entitled, "The Mirror of True Repentance." In the
northern part he painted Christ, ascending to Calvary:
His crucifixion and death, and his descent to the limbus
of the Fathers. These pictures, for invention' and design,
may be termed truly wonderful. Memmi is nowhere
grander than in these frescoes of the chapter-room.
They reflect honour on Christian painting as well as on
the artist. Taddeo Gaddi was not equal to Memmi in
the poetry of his compositions, but he probably sur-
passed him in design; he restricted himself, however,
to a simpler style of composition. In the western
department, he painted S. Thomas Aquinas triumphing
over error, and treated the subject, much in the style
of Francesco Traini, in his great picture, which is in
the convent of S. Catherine at Pisa. He represents
the holy doctor seated with an open book in his
hand, and surrounded by patriarchs, prophets, apos-
tles, and doctors; at his feet are the heretics in con-
fusion; amongst whom, overwhelmed with shame, is
the Arab Averrhoes, the corrupter of the doctrines of
Aristotle; whose deliriums S. Thomas Aquinas had so
signally confuted. In the lower part he pourtrayed four-
teen female figures to represent the most distinguished
virtues and sciences, and under them the most illustrious
cultivators of the same. The Byzantines and Giottesque
were ardent admirers of this symbolism. On the vault of
1 Here it may not be out of place to give the reader Borghini's definition
of "Invention and Design." "Invention," says this learned writer on art,
"is that history or fable, or man or God, which Painting or Sculpture repre-
sents, and it may be derived from the artist himself or from others. Design
is an apparent demonstration by lines of that which was first conceived in
the mind, and imagined in the idea.”—V. Il Riposo, lib. i., p. 58, l. ii., p. 157
F
98
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
the chapter-room, he painted the Resurrection of our
Lord, the Holy Ghost descending into the supper-room,
and the barque of Peter tost on the waters. Gaddi, in
his emulation of Memmi, applied himself with so much
study and diligence to this work, that it may be classed
as the grandest of all his paintings.
All these pictures must in great part be attributed to
the zeal of Passavanti. But it may be asserted with
truth, that, commencing from the Greeks and Cimabue,
this church and its cloisters engaged the genius and art
of all the illustrious painters of the Florentine school,
with the exception of Andrea del Sarto, and Fra Bartolo-
meo della Porta; for, independently of the foresaid, Spi-
nello di Arezzo, Fra Giovanni l'Angelico, Filippo Lippi,
Paolo Ucello, and Massaccio, worked within its precincts.
And it appears from the ancient records, that the walls of
this church, from top to basement, were all adorned with
pictures of the Giotto school. These were destroyed,
however, in the sixteenth century, when the building was
modernized under the direction of Giorgio Vasari. Let
this suffice concerning S. Maria Novella.
Resuming the life of the architect Fra Giovanni da
Campi, we may observe, that his occupations in the
church and cloister did not prevent him from engaging
in public works, to which he was frequently invited on
account of his great skill and ability, in the years 1319
and 1321. The masons and stone-cutters of S. Maria
Novella were employed by the Republic to erect some
edifices; and the decrees of the State are still preserved
in our archives. In that which relates to 1319, there is
a record of a building erected contiguous to their con-
vent, in order to lodge the officers of the Republic, as
well as those distinguished visitors who might happen to
pass through Florence. This edifice, though meant for
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
99
public utility, was in great part built at the expense of
the Friars, the State granting only two hundred lire.¹
The Dominicans were driven to this alternative in order
to be rid of the inconvenience attendant on lodging
strangers in their domicile; for, since the Republic had
no place fit for such accommodations, it was usual to
send illustrious guests to the various convents of the
city, and particularly to S. Maria Novella, though at
that period very poor and very small. Such as it was,
however, it was soon found to be utterly unsuited for
this purpose; so much so, that in 1419, on occasion of
the visit of Martin V., who came to Florence, accom-
panied by a large retinue of Cardinals and Prelates, the
city caused a magnificent apartment to be built for him
in the convent of S. Maria Novella, expending thereon
fifteen hundred florins out of the fund set apart for the
erection of the duomo.2
Far more important is the decree, dated February 10,
1 Gaye, loc. cit. (To the Friars of S. Maria Novella, two hundred florins)—
"Since they have begun to build, near the gate of their convent, a house
of considerable dimensions, the walls of which are now raised to the coping-
stone, which house will be of great utility to the Republic, for the reception
of the officers of the state, as well as of other citizens, as the case may be ;
and, indeed, the said Friars have not houses large enough for such pur-
poses, as has been very sufficiently proved."
2 Gaye, loc. cit, "January 31, 1419. The builders of the cathedral of
Florence are to erect, at the cost of said cathedral, in the convent of S. Maria
Novella, a habitation for our Lord Pope Martin V. The expenditure is not
to exceed fifteen hundred gold florins." The said Pontiff, on his return from
the council of Constance, remained in this convent, with his court, for the
term of six months. Pope Eugene IV. dwelt there six years (A.D. 1434,)
and there assembled the ecumenic council, for the reconciliation of the
Greeks. In 1451, this convent was the temporary abode of the Emperor
Frederic III. and Ladislaus, his nephew, King of Hungary. A.D. 1459,
Pope Pius II. took up his residence in it. In 1474, Cristierno, King of
Sweden, received its hospitality; and in 1515, Pope Leo X. dwelt beneath
its roof.
100
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
1321, in which the Republic votes to the Dominicans
the great sum of 2000 florins, for the restoration of old
buildings and the erection of new ones. Although it
does not set forth whether these belonged to the city or
to the religious, it would appear that the architects and
masons of S. Maria Novella were invited to undertake
public works, as the Orders of the Umiliati and Gesuati¹
were wont to do at that period. For, indeed, it is not
likely that a Mendicant Order possessed many habita-
tions, or that the Republic would have made them a
present of such a large sum.
But the work that shall always render Fra Giovanni
da Campi's memory dear to posterity, is the present
beautiful bridge over the Arno, vulgarly called "la
Carraja." This noble monument of his genius occupies
the site of that erected a century before by his two pre-
decessors, Fra Sisto and Fra Ristoro. And since some
have striven to rob him of this honour, we deem it our
duty to maintain it for him by producing authentic
documents.
We have already narrated, how, towards the close
of 1269, the two Dominican architects, Fra Sisto and Fra
Ristoro, had built the piers, and constructed a wooden
bridge, like these at that period generally adopted
throughout Florence. In the year 1304, the events,
which we are going to describe, contributed to the des-
truction of this bridge (the Carraja). Florence was once
more a prey to civil discord: the Guelphs and Ghibel-
lines were succeeded by the factions known as the
Neri and Bianchi (the Blacks and Whites). The bishop
2
This Order, founded about 1367, was suppressed by Clement IX.,
A.D. 1668.
2 For the origin and history of these factions, V. Macchiavelli's Hist. of
Florence, p. 66.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
101
Lottieri, instead of promoting peace, as was his duty,
placed himself at the head of the Bianchi. Benedict XI.
being informed of the terrible internecine war, then
raging amongst the citizens, despatched Cardinal Niccolo
Albertino di Prato, of the Order of the Preaching-
Friars, to allay the tumult, and stay bloodshed. The
Pontiff remembered, that another member of this in-
stitute, had reconciled similar factions, in 1279. "This
Master Nicholas," writes Giovanni Villani, "Cardina.
of Prato, was a Dominican, very learned, very wise, and
of Ghibelline origin." The fact of belonging to a
family, partial to one of the two political factions, caused
the people to suspect him; and, as all his efforts to
bring about peace were unavailing, he retired to his
own country; nevertheless, in the following year, when
the parties had been somewhat quieted, it was resolved
to celebrate his return from Prato, by a grand popular
festival.2 "The people of Borgo San Friano," continues
Villani, “were in the habit of inventing many sorts of
amusements; and amongst others, they announced that
all persons desirous of hearing news from the other world,
should assemble on the Carraja bridge on the kalends of
May. On this occasion the Arno presented the unusual
sight of a vast number of boats and rafts, whereon were
various parties tricked out as demons, and enveloped in
flames, who shouted and groaned in mimic agony. It
was a spectacle terrible and odious to hear and see. The
concourse of the people was immense, and the Carraja-
bridge, which was of wood, resting on stone piers, yielded
' Villani Cronaca, 1. viii. c. 66. Macchiavelli, loc. cit.
2 The Florentines, annually, celebrated many of these festivities in their
churches. It was on one of these occasions, that the church di Santo Spirito
was burned to the ground, A.D. 1471. This church was rebuilt, after the
designs of Brunellesco.
102
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
to the pressure, and multitudes were either killed by the
falling timbers or drowned in the Arno. In fact, the
promise of intelligence from the other world proved to
be no joke; for many who came to be amused, very soon
learned more than they had anticipated." After this
the Carraja was entirely rebuilt of stone, but who the
architect was does not appear. In the decrees of the
year 1332, we read that there was a deliberation con-
cerning the paving of the bridge. But the work had
scarcely been carried into effect, when the Arno was
flooded to an extent unprecedented in the annals of the
city. Having done great damage in Valdarno, Casen-
tino, and Arezzo, it was now swollen by tributary tor-
rents, which acquired additional strength when mingled
with the Sieve near the city. Sweeping away the banks
in its impetuosity, it first encountered the Carraja, leav-
ing only two of its arches standing. Of the Trinità
bridge it left but one pier and an arch. Having
shattered the Ponte Vecchio, which was propped up
with wood, and nearly carried away the Rubaconte, it
rushed out on the unhappy city, causing the death of
more than three hundred persons. Villani, who was an
ocular witness of these disasters, relates that it cost the
Florentines one hundred and fifty thousand gold florins
to repair the bridges and other edifices.2 At this crisis
the Republic needed able architects, and amongst others
it selected Taddeo Gaddi and Fra Giovanni da Campi.
To the former it entrusted the rebuilding of the Ponte
Vecchio; to the latter the Carraja. Vasari and Baldi-
nucci assert that the Trinità bridge was re-constructed
by Gaddi; but Bottari, in his Notes to the Life of this
1 Vasari says, that this representation of hell, was invented by Buffal-
macco.
2 Villani, loc. cit. l. xi. c. 12.

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
103
painter and architect, suspects that it was rebuilt by
Da Campi. Probably Baldinucci may err when he
states that "Gaddi rebuilt the Ponte Vecchio after his
own design, of square stone;" since the Florentine chro-
nicler affirms that "only two piers were added to it."
However the Carraja was rebuilt from the foundations,
as we learn from Villani, who says, "In the month of
July, of the year 1334, the new bridge, called 'Alla Car-
raja,' was commenced from the foundations." To prove
that Fra Giovanni da Campi was its builder, besides the
authority of Baldinucci and Bottari, we have that of
the Necrology, which gives him all the credit of this
grand work.3
Another, and not less valuable, document has been
brought to light by Fra Borghigiani; and it is the old
ledger of the syndic of the convent. This contains an
account of various sums paid by the Commune to Fra
Giovanni for this work. An entry made in 1337 records
how this lay-brother-architect gave the syndic thirty
florins out of his earnings from the Carraja bridge, which
he directed to be expended on the pavement of the new
dormitory, at which Fra Jacopo Talenti laboured inces-
santly. With these authorities before them, none, I
presume, will dare to rob Fra Giovanni of the honour
accruing from this great work. It was completed in
January, A.D. 1336, and cost over twenty-five thousand
gold florins. The Trinità bridge, according to Vasari,
cost twenty thousand; and Baldinucci erred when
1 V. Vasari's Lives.
2 Villani, loc. cit.
3 Necrol. S. M. Nov. No. 277-"The Commune appointed him the prin-
cipal, and only architect, of that entire work." The Archives state, that
on the 1st of November, 1333, a committee was formed to enquire, by what
contrivance a communication might be kept with the two banks of the
river."-Gaye, Carteggio Ined.
104
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
stating that the expense amounted to two hundred
thousand; since Villani writes that all the losses
caused by the inundation did not exceed one hun-
dred and fifty thousand gold florins. Baldinucci has
fallen into a similar error when he states that the Ponte
Vecchio cost sixty thousand.'
The Carraja bridge, with its five arches of stone, re-
mains to this day in Florence, and after the Trinità,
(built two centuries later,) it is the most beautiful of
these that span the Arno. The heavy floods of succeed-
ing ages caused it to undergo some repairs; and, after
the terrible inundation of 1557, which carried away two
of its piers and two of its arches, they were restored by
Bartolommeo Ammannato. But it is not true, as the
Florence Guide-Book of 1830 states, that the bridge was
entirely rebuilt. This was not asserted by contempo-
raneous writers, and the very character of the architec-
ture would be sufficient to prove the contrary. I hold,
however, for certain, that Ammannato, besides the two
arches and two piers, added also the spurs that strengthen
the piers, which, like these of the Trinità, belong to the
same architect.
2
During the time that Fra Giovanni da Campi was
employed at these public works, Fra Jacopo Talenti and
the other Dominican architects and masons were actively
engaged at the building of the church and convent.
About 1330 they constructed the beautiful belfry, after
the design left by Fra Sisto and Fra Ristoro; and this is
1 Notizie dei Professori del disegno, Decennio III. del Sec. 2.
2 In a MS. Record, of the convent of S. Marco, Florence, we read-" On
this 13th of Septemb. 1657, at the third hour of night, the Arno, swollen by
heavy rains, burst its banks, and overflowed the city for a mile and a half.
In Florence it destroyed the Trinità bridge entirely-it destroyed
two piers and two arches, and in great part, destroyed the Rubaconte, so
that one cannot pass over," &c.
•
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
105
One
manifest from the inscriptions on the old bells.
bears date 1331, the other 1334. The belfry is one
hundred and eighteen braccia in height; and such is its
graceful lightness, that, if we except the campanile of
the duomo, there is none in Florence to excel or equal
it. It cost eleven thousand gold florins. In the year
1334 they finished the great chapel of S. Niccolò, with
the sacristy contiguous, which is frescoed with histories
of our Lord by Spinello di Arezzo. Fra Ottaviano
Rustici, who was eminently skilled in architecture, pre-
sided over these works. Two lay-brothers of the same
convent, Fra Lapo Bruschi and Fra Francesco da Car-
mignano were employed by Talenti as his head masons.
Meanwhile, the memorable inundation had occasioned
great injury to the primitive subterranean church and
ancient convent. The lower dormitory had been filled
with water. The religious, therefore, saw the necessity
of erecting, from the foundations, a new and larger, and
withal higher convent than the old one, in order to be
prepared for similar contingencies. In fact, they had
already commenced a new dormitory, spacious enough
for the religious who daily became more numerous, as
appears from a memorial which they presented to the
Republic in 1334-a memorial ignored by all the histo-
rians of the Order. In this they prayed for means to
complete the church and the dormitory commenced long
before, and for an additional plot of ground for the fore-
said edifices. Following the chronology of F. Borghigiani,
we will notice how the new wing of the convent was
built over the grand cloister, and how, when it was dis-
covered that the pilasters of the same were too weak to
sustain the superincumbent weight, it became necessary to
1 The expenses of the campanile were defrayed by Mons. S. Saltarelli,
Archbishop of Pisa, a religious of the convent of S. M. Novella.
F 2

106
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
strengthen them. For such an immense building large
sums were required; but as sufficient money could not
be procured at one and the same time, the work was
interrupted; so much so, that the architecture resulted in
that irregularity so plainly visible at the present moment
Amongst those who contributed largely to the necessary
funds, was Fra Giovanni Infangati, who, aided by his
relatives, built the meridianal wing. The western is
due to Angelo Acciajuoli, bishop of Florence. Mons.
Simone Salterelli, archbishop of Pisa, and Fra Scolario
Squarci, all children of this convent, in great part con-
tributed to the completion of the whole. At what period
the convent and church were finished is not very certain.
In the year 1337 the pavement of the new dormitory was
perfected; but in 1340 the cloister was not finished.
This beautiful cloister, with its fifty-six arches, is
the largest in all Florence. A short time before
1570 the solicitude of the Ven. F. Capocchi caused the
painting of it to be commenced; and the most distin-
guished artists of the Florentine school were engaged,
and, according to Lanzi, the works which they produced
here may be regarded as the pictorial history of that
school, (the Florentine,) in its third epoch. Bronzino,
Allori, Santi di Tito, Cosimo Gamberucci, Poccetti¹ and
others painted the histories of S. Dominic, of S. Peter
Martyr, of S. Thomas of Aquino, and of S. Antonino.
All these works were executed at the expense of the
religious of the convent. With the exception of a few
large lunettes, it was entirely finished, a.d. 1582.
At the moment when the convent and church were
well nigh being completed, Fra Giovanni da Campi, the
celebrated architect, migrated from this world. This was
1 Stor. Pittorica Scuola Fior. epoca 3.
1
!
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
107
in the twenty-second year of his claustral life, A.D. 1399.
He passed away regretted by his confreres and all the
citizens, to whom he had rendered such important ser-
vices. He was a great artist, and a most pious and exem-
plary Friar.¹
No one that has seen his works, particularly the
Carraja bridge, the chapel of the Spaniards, and the
green cloister in S. M. Novella, will deny him a distin-
guished place amongst the great architects of the four-
teenth century. He is honourably mentioned by Bal-
dinucci, Cicognara, and Bottari, in a copious note to his
Life of the Angelico. But it will not astonish the
learned in these matters, when we observe that Fran-
cesco Milizia seems to have known nothing of him, of
Fra Sisto, Fra Ristoro, or Jacopo Talenti; another proof,
if such be wanting, of the worthlessness of the book
entitled, "Memoirs of Ancient and Modern Architects."
Having such an abundance of architects, the religious
of S. Maria Novella were in no difficulty as to the pro-
secution of the works in the church and convent. The
whole was now confided to Fra Jacopo Talenti, who had
already devoted much time to forward both. And, in
fact, when we compare the works of the latter with these
of Fra Giovanni, we discover such identity of design
and workmanship, that they appear to have been erected,
not by different, but by the same hands. Talenti was
1 Necrol. S. M. "N. F. Johannes conversus fil. olim Brachetti de Campis,
fuit morum maturitate necnon precipua honestate prepollensi. Hic effectus
est in ordine bonus carpentarius et industrius in edificiis construendis, unde
contigit, quod post diluvium quod inundavit Florentiam A.D. 1333 ad re-
hedificationem del ponte alla Carraja quem præfatum diluvium dissipavit,
ipse factus est per Commune totius illius operis principalis et unicus archi-
tector, tandemque ipsum cum honore ordinis et suo laudabiliter consuma-
vit, ita ut in aliis operibus civitatis continue et avide peteretur. Vixit
autem in ordine ann. xxii. tandemque longa ægritudine paulatim ad ex-
trema deductus obiit A.D. 1339."
108
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
singularly remarkable for the celerity with which he con-
ducted his buildings; for he was wont to undertake many,
all at the same time, and to perfect them in the briefest
term possible. Scarcely was the church of S. Maria No-
vella finished, when he commenced the sacristy, a noble
and severe edifice, in which you do not know what you
are to admire most, its solidity, or its airy lightness. It
must have been finished in 1350, for in that year
it was
used as a chapel by the Cavalcanti family, and there
was placed in it a marble monument to Mainardo Caval-
canti, grand seneschal of Queen Johanna of Naples.¹
About the same year, (1350,) he laid the foundations of
the refectory, which was completed in 1353. A more
beautiful work than this is no where to be seen.2 This
and the great chapel of S. Niccolò, may be regarded as
his most perfect works. They are both remarkable for
the beauty of their vaults, the harmony of their propor-
tions, and the admirable arrangement of their windows.
Two years after the completion of the church, (1357,)
he erected the vaults of the ancient hospice, which is
now used as a refectory. In 1360 he resumed the
building of the dormitory; and long before this he had
completed the library and chapel of S. Anthony, abbot.
The belfry, twice struck by lightning, was twice restored
by him. To all these we may add the works he
executed for the Republic and private citizens. The
Necrology tells us that they occupied him for many
years. If the two first architects deserve our gratitude
for having furnished the design of S. Maria Novella,
surely Talenti merits our praise for having carried it
1 Fineschi, Forestiero, Instr. p. 35.
• The old Records state, that F. Passavanti gave twenty gold florins for
the painting of the refectory: the work was executed by an unknown hand
of the Giottesque School.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
109
out so perfectly. I, for my part, never see these edifices
without experiencing a sense of veneration for this illus-
trious artist, who, although the equal of Gaddi and
Orgagna, studiously desired to conceal himself in the
silence of his solitude, and, like the architect-brethren
who preceded him, sought in God alone the premium
and the praise of his honoured labours. He died of the
pestilence on the second of October, 1362. And the
Necrology, so chary of its praise to the deceased religious,
records the exemplarity of his life and his zeal for the
glory of the Order to which he belonged.¹
CHAPTER X.
Fra Giovannino da Marcojano, and other religious Architects of the Convent
of S. Maria Novella, pupils of Fra Giovanni da Campi and Fra Jacopo
Talenti.
THERE are no gloomier records in the annals of Florence
than these of the pestilence of the year 1348. It is said
to have come from the East into our peninsula, where it
caused such terrible disasters, that the like have never
been witnessed since or before. Giovanni Boccaccio has
given us a terrible narrative of its ravages in Florence; a
¹ Necrol S. M. Novellæ, No. 416, "F. Jacopo Talenti of Nipozzano, a lay-
brother, stone-master (magister lapidum) and architect, so famous, that the
Commune of Florence and its nobility, for many years, availed themselves of
his services in their buildings. He built a great part of the church of
S. Maria Novella, and the chapter-room, and sacristy. In the convent, he
was a man of good and exemplary life, and always full of zeal for the honor
of his Order. After many labors, he passed out of this life to the rest he
yearned for, Octob. 2, 1362." Although this article attributes the chapel
of the Spaniards to him, I cannot induce myself to believe, that Talenti
was its author, but that it, of right, belongs to Fra Giovanni da Campi, as
we have already observed.
110
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
narrative, in sooth, which makes one tremble. Nearly
one hundred thousand citizens were the victims of this
direful scourge. The convent of S. Maria Novella had
to deplore the loss of more than eighty religious, amongst
whom were many youths who had studied architecture
under Fra Giovanni and Fra Jacopo. Some who had
survived the plague of 1348, were carried off immaturely
in the pestilences that followed; for, indeed, after the
first tremendous visitation, the plague became indigenous,
and, throughout an entire century, manifested itself from
time to time in virulent and mitigated phases. In that
of 1362, (the year of Talenti's death,) the convent lost
twenty-eight of its religious; in that of 1383, fourteen,
amongst whom was the Blessed Alessio Strozzi, in the
thirty-fourth year of his age. The plague of 1400
carried off twenty; and nine perished in that of 1417.
Amongst the victims of 1348, in his mature years, was
a lay-brother-architect, who is not mentioned by the
historians of art, and whose only record is found in the
Necrology. This is Fra Giovannino, whose cognomen is
suppressed. He was born in Marcojano del Mugello.
He took the habit in S. M. Novella, in the year 1302,
or thereabouts; and from this we infer that he had
learned the art from Fra Giovanni da Campi: he culti-
vated painting, but the requirements of his convent
caused him to devote himself principally to architecture.
I cannot say that he was employed at the public works
in Florence, but he must have assisted Talenti in building
S. Maria Novella. What makes us confident of his high
merits is that he was sent to Rome to work at S. Peter's.
I have not ascertained what Pope employed him, the
year he went to Rome, or the work which he executed.
All this, we grieve to say, is suppressed in the Necrology ;
for Fra Jacopo Altoriti, who made the entry, being far
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
111
more desirous of recording his excellence as a religious
than describing his ability as an architect, restricts himself
to a narrative of the virtues which adorned Giovannino's
life. He tells us that he was given to fasting and prayer;
that he took little sleep; and that he was indefatigable in
sculpturing, building, and painting; nay, more, that his
chief pleasure, when surrounded by the groups that came
to admire his works, was to entertain them by reciting
the most graceful passages of the holy Scriptures.
After a laborious and sanctified life, he died of the
pestilence, April 16, 1348, in the sixtieth year of his
age. It is a consolation to the writer of these Memoirs,
that it has been his good fortune to have rescued the
name of Giovannino from the oblivion in which it was
shrouded for five centuries.
Continuing our narrative of the other religious of that
convent who applied themselves to architecture, we find
in the Necrology, (No 309,) a certain Fra Matteo
Guiducci da Campi, who is lauded as an industrious and
excellent CARPENTER. He died on the 25th of August,
1346, after having spent twenty-nine years in the Order.
We have already remarked in what sense this word, car-
penter, should be understood, since the Necrology always
employs it to signify an architect. Fra Giovanni da
1 Nicol. No, 321. "F. Joanninus de Marcojano de Mugello conversus fuit
in vita mirabiliter exemplaris, multarum abstinentiarum et vigiliarum et
orationum, nunquam vacando otio. Nan cum esset optimus lignorum faber
et carpentarius perutilis, [here the architect is distinguished from the carpen-
ter] multa et magna edificiorum perfecit in diversis conventibus provinciæ
ac etiam in Urbe in Ecclesia S. Petri. Fuit insuper bonus pigmentarius,
(painter,) erat etiam instructus hujus artis. Historias Bibliæ memoriter
retinebat in quarum narratione dum operabatur manibus devotum solatium
capiebat. Tandem decursis in ordine annis xlvi. vel circa, ei Deus, ut pie
credi potest, post diutinos labores, quietis tribuit mansionem, A.D. 1348
die xvi. Aprilis.”
112
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
.
Settignano is described as very skilful in that art; but
he died when very young, A.D. 1348. Fra Francesco da
Murello is spoken of as most studious of the same art.
After ten years monastic life, he, too, was stricken by the
plague, and died in the said year. Finally, the Necrology
mentions another lay-brother, named Fra Giacomo di
Andrea, of Florence, whom it lauds as an able artificer
in wood, stone, and glass. He was for some time at
Rome, and died of the plague in Viterbo, A.D. 1369,
having lived forty years in the Order. He is spoken of
by the historians, Biliotti and Borghigiani.' Of others
who devoted themselves to other branches of art, we
shall have occasion to speak elsewhere. But Fra Fran-
cesco da Carmignano deserves special mention. It
appears that he was an engineer, and worked with Fra
Lapo Bruschi, in the great chapel of S. Niccolo, as we
have already said. The following anecdote is recorded
of him. A certain Fra Ubertino de' Filippi, a priest of
the same convent, in the year 1345, pronounced a dis-
course from the pulpit, exhorting the young men of
Florence to undertake a crusade against the Saracens. A
long series of calamities, and the interval of three centu-
ries, had not yet extinguished their hatred of that barba-
rous race. I know not what was the scope of this
armament, for Tolemais had for many years been in
possession of the Turks; but their object, probably, was
to retake this place, and expel the Mahomedans. He soon
mustered a number of armed men, amongst whom were
ten religious of his convent, some priests, and some lay-
brothers. Of the latter was Fra Francesco da Carmig-
nano; and the whole posse having appointed Fra
1 Chron. cap. xx. p. 24.-Borgh. Cron. Annal. ad ann. 1368, p. 116.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
113
Ubertino, chief of the expedition, set sail for the East.'
The Chronicles of the convent, narrating their exploits,
tell how the lay-brother Fra Francesco, directed the
machines then used in sieges, as well as the construction
of the necessary fortifications. In all these operations, he
conducted himself with singular bravery and skill,
inflicting as much damage as he possibly could on the
enemy. As the reward of his valour he petitioned to be
admitted to the order of priesthood, and his prayer was
granted. Those who escaped the Ottoman scimitars
were mowed down subsequently by the fatal pestilence
that devastated Florence in 1348.
We have now completed the artistic history of S
Maria Novella; nor do we find in that convent, after the
fourteenth century, any distinguished cultivator of the
arts, save a few Miniaturists, of whom we are about to
speak. We have seen the great number of its able
architects, and the love they cherished for all the arts of
design, with which, for more than six centuries, the
religious of that convent laboured to embellish their
church and cloisters. And most certainly if the pestilence
of 1348, and these which followed, had not cut off many
of its youth, who devoted themselves to architecture, we
should have had some amongst them in many respects equal
1 Besides Fra Francesco da Carmignano and Fra Ubertino de Filippi,
there were, belonging to that expedition, Fra B. di Buonacorso, Fra Otton di
Stefano, Fra Tommaso Mazzei, Fra Ardinghi, Fra de' Rigaletti, Fra Dom.
di Castel Fiorentino, and Fra Bartolom. di Acone. (Acon Tolemais.) In the
siege of St Jean d'Acre, (1291,) we find two other religious of the convent of
S. M. Novella actually fighting. They were Fra Lapo da Cascia, and Fra Matteo
of Florence, the first of whom was slain. (Necrol.) There was also in this
combat Fra Manetto de' Calcagni, a priest, who, according to the Necrology,
"died beyond the seas in Acon." The Dominicans at this period had a con-
vent in Tolemais, mentioned by Ricoldo in his Itinerary.
? Biliotti. Chronic. c. xxxv. p. 39, "Qui cum esset conversus, et machi-
narum bellicarum extruendarum optime gnarus, profectus est cum quibusdam
114
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
to Fra Sisto, Fra Ristoro, and their contemporaries. A
little further on, we shall see the arts migrating to
the convent of S. Mark, in the same city, where not
architecture, but painting, despite the rigours of a first
reform, was cultivated with a zeal unparalleled in all the
other cloisters of Italy. And, in fact, it would seem as
if art had grown enamoured of austerity, and that it
aided the aesthetic genius of the artists; for when S.
Antonino revived the ancient discipline, the Blessed
Angelico began to produce his heavenly tints: and at a
subsequent period, when Savonarola revivified the
monastic body, Porta came forth in all his glory. Both
reformers were great men, and great was their influence
on art. No one can look at the paintings of the Ange-
lico, without feeling how the soul of the artist was swayed
by the gentle influences of the holy Archbishop of Flo-
rence; but contemplating the sternness and grandeur of
Fra Bartolommeo, we are at once reminded of the fierce
invectives of the REPUBLICAN FRIAR, and of his
tremendous ruin.
patribus in Christianorum exercitum contra Turcas. Quibus contra Christi-
anos bellantibus multa intulisset incomoda, et Christianos multum juvisset,
habitum meruit et obtinuit clericorum.”
1 The Chronicle of F. Modesto Biliotti has the following notice: “F. J.
Ricci, in the second year of his prefecture, (1582,) received three youths
skilled in architecture into the Order. They were lay-brothers, who restored
many edifices in the city and country, and many were the buildings which
they raised." And F. Joseph Richa writes that "almost all the armories,
urns, and busts (of the sacristy) are the work of lay-brothers of S. Maria
Novella, where there have always been able men in each of the three arts.
Notizie Storiche delle Chiese Fior. v. 3, p. 46.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
115
CHAPTER XI.
THE DOMINICAN MINIATURISTS.
Miniaturists of the fourteenth and fifteenth Centuries in S. Maria Novella,
S. Marco in Florence, and S. Catherine at Pisa.
THE history of miniature is so important, the number of
its artists so great, and the art itself so exquisitely beau-
tiful, that it requires some diligent and zealous hand to
record its progress and vicissitudes.
In this respect,
the general history of Italian art is far from being com-
plete; and the same may be said of painting on glass,
mosaic, and tarsia.¹
This is to be accounted for by reason of the great
masters who raised historic painting to a height of glory
that won universal admiration for its developments; so
much so, that the minor arts were almost uncared for,
nevertheless it is in miniature precisely that we must
study the genesis of painting during the early ages. It
alone, after architecture, sustained the honour of art
through a long course of centuries; and without it,
it would be difficult to learn whether the Italians
ever painted in these days, since man and time had
destroyed every vestige of pictorial art, properly so
called, with the exception of a few ignoble fragments
of mosaic. In fact, M. d' Agincourt, writing the history
of painting during the long period of the middle ages,
could discover only an immense number of miniatures,
which are still treasured in the principal libraries of
Europe.
'Tarsia or Intarsia, is work of wood inlaid in various colours.
116
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
Born in the disastrous days of barbaric irruptions, minia-
ture may be said to have grown up within the shadow of
the cloister. Fed on pious legends and on the psalmody
of the monks, it sweetened their solitude, strengthened
their piety, and preserved the precious fragments of the
classics, which were esteemed by the barbarians only for
the gold with which the pages were embellished, and for
the beauteous tintings that adorned them. Enamoured
of mysticism and contemplative life, it decked itself
with the biblical and liturgical poetry of the Catholic
Church. Hence, whenever the same individual was a
chronicler of pious legends and a miniaturist, his glow-
ing, though homely phrases, like his little pictures, were
deeply impressed with the devotion of his heart. Above
each picture he was wont to wreath a crown of flowers,
that his written words might find an echo in the graces
of his pencil; which, sooth to say, was often a better
interpreter of the secrets of his heart, than the barbarous
idiom of the Sclaves, or the still more barbarous Latin
then spoken. Hence, (as a celebrated writer of our
times reflects,) the rigours of monastic life were a great
obstacle to the influence of paganism and the profane
joys of the age; and the work of the artist, prosecuted
regularly, as though it were an ascetic exercise, in the
silence of his cell, became thus an association with the
triumphs and bygone tribulations of the church—a com-
memoration of martyrdoms and miracles, an act of faith
in some particular dogma, a devout pilgrimage to some
sepulchre or Calvary; or, more happily still, it developed
itself in fervid prayer, accompanied by an abundant effu-
sion of tears, as Vasari narrates of the Blessed Angelico.¹
Such, for many centuries, was the history of miniature
1 Rio, De la Poesie Chretienne, c. vi. p. 174.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
117
in the various cloisters of the Benedictines, Camaldulese
and Dominicans, whilst it numbered amongst its cultiva-
tors such men as Cassidorus and Cardinal Giov. Dominici.
But, after the celebrated D. Giulio Clovio, of the Regular
Canons, had raised it to an eminence that deserved for it
a place beside the grand productions of Raffaello's age,
the introduction of printing and engraving caused it to
disappear. It is true that it was not confined to trifling
or to merely devout subjects; on the contrary, the Idyl,
the Eclogue and the Epic called forth all the power and
graces
of its most refined cultivators. Hence, Atavante,
Gherardo, the miniaturist, and Memmi embellished the
pages of Martial, Silius Italicus, the Eneid, the Eclogues
of Virgil, etc. And if Alighieri, in the Divina Com-
media, records with honour the two grand fathers of
Italian Painting, Cimabue and Giotto, he has not omitted
the two most celebrated miniaturists of his age, Oderigi
da Gubbio, and Franco of Bologna.¹
It would be a grand and noble work to give us the
history of Italian miniature, of which there are so many
glorious remains in the public and conventual libraries of
Rome, Ferrara, Modena, etc.: and it would, no doubt,
supply the omissions of Agincourt, whose sketch does
not go beyond the Renaissance of painting. We,
1
¹ Purgat. Canto XI.
"Art thou not Oderigi? art not thou
Agobbio's glory—glory of that art,
Which they of Paris call the limner's skill?”
"Brother!" said he, "with tints that gayer smile,
Bolognian Franco's pencil lines the leaves."
2
CAREY'S TRANS.
Here we may observe, that Mr. Carey has very poorly translated Dante's
phrase, which is "alluminare.”
2 M. Rio, in the work quoted, has given us some specimens of miniatures.
But it appears that he did not see the truly beautiful ones in the Ducal
library of Modena, executed for Duke Borso, by Giovanni Russi, about

118
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
however, have thought it wise to preface the history of
the Dominican Painters with this short essay on the
miniaturists of the Order, because they preceded them,
and because we could not comprehend the Blessed
Angelico, nor generally the followers of the Giottesque
school, who were so excellent in this art, if we were not
at first initiated in the history of miniature. Every one
knows that the Greeks themselves, not to speak of the
numerous disciples of Giotto, commenced with it; and
that, as its dimensions enlarged, and the theories of
Chiaroscuro were better studied, it finally eventuated in
grand historical painting. Nay, more, a great many of
the works of these artists, on canvas and in fresco, are
simply repetitions of these very histories which they had
miniatured in books, profane and choral. From the fact
of the parchment being better preserved than the canvas
or walls, and being, likewise, less exposed to retouchings,
we may affirm that the miniatures present the truest
types and traditions of the two schools. Let us observe,
also, that the ancients were accustomed to attach to
every picture a predella, or gradino,' which contained
scenes of the Life of the Saint whose effigy was on the
canvas; nay, the very ornaments of the cornices ex-
hibited a variety of most graceful little figures; and,
1455; or that he did not remember these of Giulio Clovio. Otherwise he would
not have written that "les artistes ultramontains vinrent etonner l'Italie
par la perfection qu'ils savaient donner a ce genre d'ouvrages."
¹ To understand this word, which frequently occurs in the following pages,
we deem it well to give M. Montalembert's definition of it. "The Predella
or Gradino is a small longitudinal border, which is generally placed by the
ancient masters under their principal pictures; on this border they were wont
to paint various passages of the life of the saint or saints who formed the
subject of their work. Thus Fra Angelico's chef d'œuvre (the Coronation of
Our Lady), has a Predella or Gradino, representing the life of S. Dominic.
This master-piece is in the Louvre.

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS,
119
hence, it was absolutely necessary to study miniature, as
did Cimabue and Giotto.
And here let us remark that the cultivators of this art
were divided into two classes; the miniaturists, properly
so called, and the miniature-caligraphists. It was the
province of the first to colour the histories, the ara-
besques, etc., and to lay the gold ornaments on the
pages. The second wrote the book and the initial
letters, frequently traced in red or blue, which were so
capricious, and withal so graceful, that they leave us
doubtful what we ought to admire most-the genius of
the artist or his unwearied patience. People of this class,
when skilled in the art, were described as "fair writers,”
(pulchri scriptores.) Every convent had a great many
of them. Sometimes the same person wrote and minia-
tured the book; and then the workmanship was far more
perfect. We must not forget, however, that the ancient
memoirs often describe both under the same denomination
of "fair writers;" and this should guard us in discrimi-
nating their respective merits.
The first miniaturists of whom I find mention in the
Chronicles of the Order, belong to the first half of the
fourteenth century, and to the convent of S. Maria
Novella; but the authors of that Necrology, not caring to
distinguish between miniaturist and caligraphist, leave
us to doubt whether they should be classed amongst the
first or second. Only one of them is described as a
painter, and he was a priest, named Fra Guido, son of a
certain Niccolo, of the parish of the Holy Trinity. After
praising him for the exemplarity of his life, and his
¹ We may mention, amongst others, the Fathers P. Macci, who died in
1301; Fra Carlo Bellocci, who died in 1336; Fra Matteo Marconaldi, who
died in 1348; Fra Tom. di Romena, deceased, A.D. 1358, etc. All these are
described as "fair-writers."
120
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
abilitity as a preacher, the Necrology tells us that he was
a fair writer, (pulcher scriptor,) and a universal mecha-
nician (totus mechanicus). Instead of being a miniaturist,
he might have been a painter on canvas or in fresco;
and he is the first Dominican whom I find decorated
with this title. Like the other architects of this convent,
he also fell a victim to the pestilence of 1348, after having
lived twelve years in religion. No works of these men
survive; and we can only conjecture that they executed
these very ancient choral books that are now preserved
in the novitiate of the same convent, adorned with very
small, but most graceful figures. There are very few
productions more important to the history of Italian
miniaturing in the first period of the Renaissance of the
arts than these. The design, the colouring, and compo-
sition, manifestly announce an imitator of the Greeks, or
of Cimabue. The flesh is dull and clayey. Nevertheless
the countenances have an expression that is not easily
found in the works of the Greeks: and the attitudes are
far more graceful than these of the Greek pencil. The
ornaments of the initial letters are very few and very
rude. Wonderful, however, is the freshness and trans-
parency of the colouring after the lapse of so many
ages. In some places there are evidences that they
have been retouched, but they are few and easily
recognised. The form of the character of the books
themselves, however, makes me doubt their anti-
quity, and it seems to me to be more recent than the
miniatures. This caused the celebrated painter Camillo
Pucci, who examined them with me, to believe that they
belong to an epoch somewhat posterior; and as in the
days of Giotto there were some who, despite the progress
of the arts, still adhered obstinately to the imitation of
the Greeks and of Cimabue; so, likewise, did the
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
121
miniaturist of these Choral-books. The histories which I
deem most worthy of consideration in them, are a Nativity
of Jesus Christ, the Adoration of the Magi, the Resur-
rection and Ascension: all small pictures of good
composition.
1
To this same fourteenth century belong some minia-
turists of the convent of S. Catherine at Pisa; two of
whom are designated fair-writers, and they are, a Father
Domenico Pollini, a Sardinian, and Father Alessandro
della Spina, the inventor of spectacles. The last-named
is entitled a fair-writer and miniaturist. A certain Fra
Pietro Fieschi, and a Fra Jacopo Gualterotti are praised
as painters. Were we disposed to form a pictorial ento-
mology, we might add to them Fra Guido, of S. Maria
Novella, and insert them all in the number of Dominican
painters: but, where there is such a multitude of great
artists, it would be unreasonable to exhume such as have
been consigned to merited oblivion. Of the Choral-
books of the convent of Pisa, only six are now extant in
the archiepiscopal seminary, and these are so worn and
mutilated, that we cannot form any notion of their
pretensions.
At length came that glorious fifteenth century, in
which the arts may be said to have reached unpre-
cedented eminence in purity of design and excellence of
composition. Miniature, too, made grand progress, and
invested itself with all the beauties and adornments
peculiar to that epoch. And here, as from an elevation,
1 Chron. Antiq. S. Cath. Ord. Præd. Pisarum, p. 16: "Fra Alexander
de Spina, vir modestus et bonus, quae vidit oculis facta scivit et facere.
Occularia AB ALIO primo facta communicare nolente, ipse fecit, et omnibus
communicavit corde hilari et volente. Cantare, scribere, miniare, et omnia
scivit quae manus mechanico valent." Fra Giacomo, son of Lanfranco
Gualterotti, died Archbishop of Turritano in 1379.
VOL. I.
G
:
122
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT, PAINTERS,
we behold a long series of able Tuscan miniaturists, who
will furnish ample matter for the writer of these Me-
moirs. Foremost amongst these elegant masters is F.
Michele Sertini della Casa, a religious of the convent of
S. Maria Novella, and a Doctor of the University of
Florence, who died in 1416. The chronicles of the
convent, making special mention of him, bestow much
praise on the two great Psalters which he miniatured,
and which are still preserved in the novitiate of the
same house, along with these already alluded to.¹ If, in
some particulars they be inferior to these in the convent
of S. Mark, as far as mere adornment is concerned, their
design, however, and the composition of the histories,
possess great merit. Having been in constant use for
three centuries, and frequently retouched by some un-
known hand, they are greatly injured. The frontis-
pieces of both are very beautiful, and of equal merit.
In the upper part is God the Father, in the act of creat-
ing the world: in the lower is the prophet David, who,
wedding the harmony of his harp to the inspired strain,
magnifies the wisdom and goodness of the Creator in
this sublime manifestation of His divine attributes. Exqui-
sitely beautiful are the little figures with which he adorns
the hundred and ninth Psalm. Desiring to embody, as
it were, the sentiment of the words, "The Lord said to
my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand," he designed and
coloured two figures, not precisely like, but equal, in
order to denote the identity of the Divine Nature in the
Father and in the Son. They are seated in great
1 In the time of F. Borghigiani, these Psalters were used daily in the
choir of S. Maria Novella, and the tradition was, that they were miniatured
by Father Sertini. The design and composition announce an artist who
flourished at the beginning of the fifteenth century, or end of that which
preceded. I myself believe them to be the work of the foresaid religious.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
123
majesty; but the Eternal, according to the vision in the
Apocalypse, has on His knees an open volume, where the
usual Alpha and Omega are inscribed; whereas the Son
holds a closed volume, and points to the wound in His side.
No language of ours can adequately describe the majesty
of these two truly divine figures; nor can one ever tire of
beholding the beauty of the ample and noble robe, that,
falling from the shoulders, folds itself gracefully and
naturally on the knees of Both. His manner of express-
ing the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin, appears to
me to be quite novel; for, besides the two figures of the
angel and the Virgin, he introduces the two prophets
who had more distinctly enunciated the mystery of the
Incarnation: and, in the foreground, he places two friars
who, with profoundest veneration, worship the Mother
of God. Over the thirty-eighth Psalm he designed an
excellent figure of king David, "which, with others, we
omit for brevity's sake.
In the same century there flourished two other cele-
brated miniaturists in the convent of S. Maria Novella.
They have honourable mention in the Chronicles and
Necrology, but we are not sure of the works attributed
to them.
1 These were F. Biagio de Filippi, who was an eloquent preacher, and a
distinguished writer and miniaturist, (he died in 1510,) and Father Antonio
De' Rossi, who, being unable to attend to other studies by reason of a long
and painful infirmity, devoted himself to writing and miniaturing Choral-
books for his convent. He died of the plague in 1495. The same novitiate
possesses two antiphonaries, in which there are some charming miniatures of
excellent composition, but, withal, imperfect in design and colouring.
In the history of the church of S. Domenico at Bologna, we have an account
of the expenses incurred by the convent for the writing and miniaturing of
the Choral-books, as well as books for the library; and we find a lay-
brother, named Fra Marco, employed as a writer, together with a Fra
Bartolommeo, who was a painter and miniaturist. They began to work in
1474; but their productions do not exist.

124
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
But it is time that we proceed to speak of the other
convent, (S. Marco,) where miniature numbered some of
the greatest cultivators of an art of which Italy is justly
proud. Of these men we shall briefly treat in the
following pages:-Alas! briefly, for during the French
invasion and the suppression of the convents of the
Order, not only many of the Choral-books were dispersed,
but also the records which would, doubtless, have thrown
much light on the history of their authors.
We will, therefore, begin with the Blessed Giovanni
Dominici, of the Order of Preaching-Friars, and a
Cardinal of holy Church. In every convent of the
Order-whether of men or women-whose regular
discipline he reformed—nay, in every convent that he
built from the foundations-in each and all of them he
toiled to introduce this most noble art, whose tendency
is to raise the soul and the heart to chaste and holy
thoughts. Many of his letters on this subject, written to
the Dominican nuns of the monastery of Corpus Domini,
(which he founded in Venice,) remain to attest the truth
of my assertion. In these letters he directs the religious
how to perfect themselves in miniaturing, and offers to
complete some whose final tintings were too difficult for
them.¹ To him, in my opinion, we are indebted for the
great number of distinguished miniaturists who flourished
in Fiesole, in S. Marco, and in the other convents of the
Order. Most conspicuous of all these were the two friars
of Mugello, Fra Giovanni and Fra Benedetto, so illus-
trious in the annals of the institute, and whom he
probably received into the Order a short time before he
left Florence for the court of Gregory XII., in the
1 Commentario della Vita del C. Giovanni Bacchini, 1 vol. in fol. MS.
Archiv. di S. Marco.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
125
disastrous days of the schism. It is true that the Blessed
Giovanni Angelico is chiefly known for his paintings on
panel and in fresco; but that he was a most excellent
miniaturist (though Vasari does not say much on the
subject,) is evident from his pictures, in which we easily
detect the methods and the precepts of the miniaturists.
In all of them we clearly see the chaste and simple style
of composition-the flowing outline, the lightness and
transparency of the shading; nay, and all the graces and
diligence which characterised the most perfect miniaturist
And in fact it was not till the first half of the fifteenth
century that painters attempted landscape; and in this
particular they were preceded by the miniaturists,
although the limited surface on which they worked
presented great obstacles to perspective, and compelled
them to fill up their back ground with straggling trees
and naked mountains. The heads of their figures were
full of love and life; but we cannot say as much of their
extremities, which in imitation of the Greeks, they were
wont to conceal. With a few strokes of the pencil they
gave shape to the conceptions of their souls; and few
were ever equal to them in producing such wonderful
results with such limited means. From them we have
learned the graceful arrangements of drapery; and in all
these subjects known as tender and devout, they have
eclipsed all other painters. But the beauty of their
colouring, that ever changing iris, that wonderful blending
of the warmest and most languid tints, that light which,
despite the glitter of the gold ornamenting within and
without, is almost reflected from their works, surpasses
all our powers of description. Add to all this the
beauty and the variety of the accessory embellishments,
which in miniaturing, generally speaking, were primary
characteristics; the capricious and bizarre arrangement of
126
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
fruits, flowers, animals, fantastic and symbolic figures,
and not unfrequently spirited caricatures, all executed
with marvellous diligence. And indeed miniature seems
to have been a prelude to the study of the grotesque, in
which Morto di Feltre, Giovanni da Udine, Baldassarc
Peruzzi, and others were so celebrated. From all this I
would infer that every one even slightly acquainted with
the productions of the Angelico, must recognise all these
characteristics in the little works on panel which are now
in the gallery of the Uffizj at Florence, in that of the
Florentine Academy, and in the reliquaries of S. Maria
Novella.
Treating of Fra Angelico as a miniaturist, Vasari
writes thus-" Two great books divinely miniatured,
richly adorned, and regarded with great veneration, are
now preserved in S. Maria del Fiore. They are the
work of Fra Giovanni, and are never seen save on most
solemn festivals." Vainly did I seek these books in the
cathedral. These that I found are from other hands, and
they are manifestly the productions of the second half of
the fifteenth century, or of the first half of that which
followed.¹
Continuing the life of the Angelico, Vasari says,
"There are in the convent of S. Maria some Choral-
books, miniatured by Fra Giovanni, so beautiful that
I cannot describe them; and, like these, are some which
he produced with wonderful diligence, and left in the
convent of S. Dominic at Fiesole. 'Tis quite certain
that an elder brother, who was a miniaturist, and had
1 More fortunate than us, Rosini saw them, and writes thus, "The re-
sults of this employment, (miniaturing,) are the Choral-books of S. Domenico
in Fiesole. Probably two of these belong to the Cathedral of Florence, and
many others which have been carried away from Italy."-Storia della
Pittura, v. 2, c. xvii., p. 254.

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
127
These of Fiesole
practised painting, assisted him in these works." Vasari
has here fallen into some errors which, with the aid of
authentic documents, we will correct. In the first place,
the Choral-books in the convent of S. Marco, which
Vasari attributes to Giovanni, are not his, but his
brother's, as we shall see in his life.
are, in great part, lost; and such of them as exist have
no miniatures, save a few arabesques. In Florence there
are some (but outside Italy a great many more) leaves of
these books, believed to be the work of Fra Giovanni;
but either avarice or barbarity has sadly mutilated them,
and it is not long since a German purchased one of
these, which is described as containing one of the best
miniatures that ever came from the great Fiesolan's
pencil. A graceful wreath of fruits and flowers occu-
pies the whole length of the page, within which, in
little circlets, were twelve half-figures of the Apostles,
and in the midst an Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin.
I believe that Fra Giovanni may have assisted his
brother in miniaturing many of the books belonging
to S. Mark's; and I think that he not only designed
but coloured them, and that they bear all the marks of
his wonderful and perfect skill. In the library of the
same convent there is an ancient Dominican Missal,
which Cosimo de Medici caused to be written and
miniatured; and it is the second of the five that
remain. It contains a miniature, by Fra Giovanni,
which may be regarded as the choicest of all his works
in this style. In the upper part of the first page he
produced a God the Father in the clouds, in the act of
blessing; and in the under part a number of saints, who
are prostrate and adoring:-they are S. Dominici, S.
Peter, Martyr, S. Tommasso of Aquino, S. Francesco,
etc., figures that remind one of these that he painted, life
128
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
size, in the chapter room, or of these which delight us in
the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin. None save those
who have seen them can imagine how perfectly these
little figures are made to express the love and ardent
piety with which these saints raise their prayers to the
Most High; for indeed every touch of his pencil is as
bold and as light as it is in paintings of great dimensions.
At foot of these is another circlet, having a half figure of
the Redeemer bound, which recalls that in the Medicean
apartment in the same convent. We have to lament
that this miniature has been retouched. These that
follow in the same volume seem to be the work of
another miniaturist, who retouched the arabesques and
histories. A third miniaturist, following the original
design, not only retouched but executed, within the
spaces of the initial letters, some exquisitely graceful
histories, which, I think, are the work of the end of the
fifteenth century. In the Festival of the Resurrection,
there is a reminiscence of the Marys at the sepulchre,
which the Angelico frescoed in the convent. In that
of the Ascension, there is a group of the Apostles with
the Blessed Virgin, of whom we see only the counte-
nance; truly beautiful figures but retouched: totally
untouched, however, is a half-figure of our Lord ascend-
ing into the heavens. The most beautiful of all, how-
ever, is a Descent of the Holy Ghost, which is either the
work of the Angelico or of his brother; and on which,
happily, no profane hand has been laid.
Not knowing any other work in miniature which may
be ascribed to him with certainty, we will now proceed
to narrate the life and works of Fra Benedetto, who was
the most distinguished master in this art; and as he
applied himself to miniaturing and painting under the
same cloister-roof with his brother Giovanni, the Angelic,

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
129
we will not expend many words on his life, but rather
confine ourselves to his productions, as we will have to
speak more copiously of the former in our history of the
Blessed Fra Giovanni.
CHAPTER XII.
Notices of the Life and Works of Fra Benedetto del Mugello, Miniaturist and
Painter.
FRA BENEDETTO, (son of a certain Peter, whose cogno-
men is suppressed,) was born in the vast and fertile pro-
vince of Mugello, near the Castle of Vicchio, which was
built by the Florentine Republic, to check the audacity
and ambition of the Guidi. If it be true, as Vasari
states, that Fra Benedetto was older than the Angelico,
we should say that he was born about 1386; but as the
act of his religious profession is posterior to that of Fra
Giovanni, and in the same year, I incline to think that
he was younger, and that we ought to date his birth about
the year 1389. From whom he learned painting does
not appear, and it would be useless to try to discover it.
He may have cultivated the art before taking the habit
of the Order: be that as it may, he entered the convent
of Fiesole in 1407, when he may have been about
eighteen years of age. In the following year he made
his solemn profession, probably in Cortona, and was
enrolled amongst the clerks. I do not know if he was
1 Cron Conv. S. Dom. de Fesulis "Fra Benedictus Petri de Mugello juxta
Vichium, Germanus prædicti frat. Joannis qui et fuit Scriptor optimus, et
multos libros scripsit et notavit pro cantu: accepit habitum clericorum
et sequente anno fecit professionem."
•
•
G 2

130
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
in Cortona when that city was taken by Ladislaus, King
of Naples, or if he had gone to Fiesole, which I think
likely. If so, he must have left it in 1409, for reasons
which we will hereafter recount; but he could not have
returned to it sooner than 1418. All that the chaste joys
of religion, added to the severe discipline of the cloister
and virtuous example, could effect in a soul well inclined,
appeared manifest in him. The exhortations and the
whole life of his truly Angelic brother, and the eminent
virtues of S. Antonino, had such decided influence on his
heart, that he was soon numbered amongst the most dis-
tinguished and venerable Fathers of that convent. In-
deed, we could not desire a more convincing proof of his
goodness than the friendship which, through all his life,
existed between him and S. Antonino; who, in his love
for the two brothers of Mugello, brought them both with
him to Florence, in 1437, after he had obtained the
new convent of S. Marco from Cosimo de Medici. Here
they resided for eight consecutive years, during which
time S. Antonino, desiring to show how much he es-
teemed Fra Benedetto's virtues, divided the government
of the religious community with him, and appointed him
to be his sub-prior as often as he himself was elected
to the priorship. In 1443, Cosimo de Medici, knowing
his skill as an illuminator of sacred and profane books,
commissioned him to write and miniature all these
belonging to the church and sacristy of S. Marco. In
this he was aided by some of his confreres, who were
excellent caligraphists, and, with the exception of one,
he completed the whole in the space of five years. This
wonderful labour cost fifteen hundred ducats. The
work, however, had scarcely been commenced, when
the religious of S. Domenico at Fiesole elected Fra
Benedetto prior of their convent; and S. Antonino, who,
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
131
at that time was vicar-general, having sanctioned the
election, our good miniaturist returned to that sunny
hill-side, where, in company with his brother, he had
For three years he
taken the habit of S. Dominic.'
ruled that convent, and edified its religious by his
example; but, before the third and last year of his guar-
dianship arrived, he was stricken by the pestilence, and
died in the year 1448, in the fifty-ninth of his age. We
have not discovered the month or the place where he
died; for Father Timoteo Bottonio says that he died, not
in Fiesole, but in the convent of S. Marco at Florence;
and, in fact, the Necrology of the latter has an entry of
his decease, while that of the convent of Fiesole barely
alludes to it. Perhaps, for the sake of the books which
he was miniaturing for the convent of S. Marco, he may
have gone to Florence, hoping to escape the pestilence
The chroniclers of
when it showed itself in Fiesole.
both convents make brief, but honourable mention of his
These of Florence call him a most perfect
memory.
religious, blessed in name, as well as in works; and
those of Fiesole, a devout and holy man."
1 Chron. Conv. S. Dom. de Fesulis.
He must,
• Fra Benedictus Petri de Mugello, filius nativus et tunc prior existens
Fesulani conventus, Germanus fratris Joannis, illius tam mirandi pictoris
cujus arte picturæ fere omnes hujus conventus extant. Hic re et nomine
Benedictus moribus et vita integerrimus fuit, et sine querela in ordine con-
versatus. extitit autem excellentissimus, non modo suorum, sed et plurimorum
temporum scriptor et miniator. Cujus, manu, litteris, cantus, nota et minio
st. (sic) omnes fere libri chori hujus Ecclesiæ S. Marci. Antiphonaria vide-
licet, Gradualia et Psalteria dempto ultimo duntaxat festivo Graduali. Hic
ex ea peste invasus alacer mortem intuitus, sacramentis omnibus rite perceptis
in dom. requievit ipso anno 1448, sepultus in communibus fratrum sepulturis
R. I. P. Annal. Conv. S. Marci.
"Fra Benedictus Petri de Mugello Germanus prædicti pictoris, (the An-
gelico,) obiit
hic fuit egregius scriptor et scripsit pene omnes libros
chori S. Marci et notavit, et aliquos etiam hic Fesulis. Fuit hic pater
•
•

132
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
also, have been sufficiently versed in sacred science and
an able preacher, since the constitutions of the Order do
not allow any of its members to be raised to a position
of superiority without a proof of sound studies and ability
for announcing the divine word; and in the fervour of
that reformation which did not tolerate the defect of
pious and learned men, we are not to believe that there
was any infringement of its fundamental law.
Having spoken of his life, we will now turn to his
works. Necessity creates arts: the pleasure that is
derived from the cultivation of them gives them perfec-
tion. The want of an asylum induced the Preaching-
Friars to apply themselves to architecture: that of the
books necessary for the celebration of divine worship
made them study miniature: the beauty of the colouring
caused others to imitate them, and the art, which at first
was necessary, became a delightful occupation to many,
and was thus perpetuated in the Dominican cloisters.
The example of his brother Giovanni, and, mayhap,
the counsels of S. Antonino, persuaded Fra Benedetto to
devote himself to it. The first essay he made was in
miniaturing some Choral-books belonging to the convent
of S. Domenico in Fiesole, as the chronicle narrates;
and, perhaps, these are the same that Vasari attributes to
the Angelico. These of S. Marco, which he is said to
have commenced miniaturing in 1443, and that were
not finished at his death, were perfected two years after-
wards by a religious of the Franciscan Order, whose
name we have not ascertained. (1463.) Father Roberto
Ubaldini, the writer of the chronicle of the convent of S.
Marco, has made a catalogue of them; and they consist
devotus et sanctus et bono fine quievit in domino," (here we see the caligra-
phist confounded with the miniaturist,)-Necrol. Conv. S. Dominici. Fes.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
133
of fourteen volumes, between Graduals and Antiphona-
ries, all written and miniatured by his own hand, with
the exception of the last volume of the Festive Gradual,
and, perhaps, three volumes of the Ferial Gradual, which
death did not allow him to complete; but which, accord-
ing to Ubaldini, were miniatured by a religious of the
Minorites.¹ The same Ubaldino, speaking again, (in
another part of the chronicle,) of these books, excepts
only the Festive Gradual.2 . From this we infer that only
the one last-named can with certainty be attributed to the
Franciscan. Fra Benedetto also wrote and miniatured
the two Psalters, some Missals, and the book of the Invi-
tatoria, which is not illuminated.3 These books are not,
as M. Rio says, lost, but are used daily by the religious, and,
1 Annal. Conv. S. Marci. "Nam 14 volumina Gradualium, et Antiphona-
riorum scripta sunt manu supradicti fratris Benedicti prioris conventus
Fesulani, excepto ultimo volumine Gradualis festivi, et tribus voluminibus
Gradualis ferialis quæ imperfecta remanserunt propter super venientem
mortem: quæ postea completa fuerunt per quemdam Ordinis Minorum.
Sed et tam conventui Fesulano ratione primi scriptoris; quam secundo
Scripsit
scriptori satisfactum semper successive fuit a Domino Cosma.
similiter idem frat. Benedictus duo Psalteria chori, requirente eodem Cosma,
et librum invitatoriorum." As there is here an allusion to two different
writers in Fiesole and S. Marco, a doubt arises whether we should credit
the chronicler of Fiesole in preference to him of S. Marco.
2 V. The obituary already cited.
3 Amongst the MS. in the library of S. Marco, there are five Missals, two
Psalters, some Breviaries, and an Office of the B. V., all miniatured. The two
Psalters are evidently the work of Fra Benedetto, and the little miniatures
that adorn them are very beautiful, but in great part retouched. Some of
the Missals are the work of an unskilful hand; and the Office of the B. V.,
which must have been splendidly illuminated, is so deformed by retouching,
that we can scarcely recognise a vestige of its primitive beauty. On the
fourth and sixth Missal, we read, "This Missal belongs to the Dominican
convent of S. Marco, at Florence; and Cosmos John de Medici caused it to
be executed." In the third, we find the arms of the Medici, and an exqui-
site Epiphany, with other miniatures, which, I think, are by a hand not
inferior to Fra Benedetto's.

134
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
not counting the two Psalters and the Missals, they make
altogether twenty. The increase of six is posterior to
the times of the annalist, for some of them being very
large, were divided into two; but it should be remarked
that three of them have no miniatures. These that I
think certainly belong to Fra Benedetto, are marked
with the letters of the alphabet from A to I. The two
first, (the Gradual of the Saints,) are the richest in deco-
ration and histories, and, we may also add, the most
elaborate. The title page of the first has the Medicean
arms and the following miniatures, videlicet: Jesus, call-
ing Peter and Andrew to the apostolate-the Stoning of
S. Stephen, where there is a beautiful landscape, exqui-
sitely tinted-S. John the Evangelist—a figure elegantly
designed and coloured, but much worn by attrition, and
still more by the audacity of some hand that presumed
to restore it. In the gold ornaments of the initial letter
there is an inscription, of which I could read only the
following words, which remove all doubt as to their
origin:
"hos libros suis pecuniis, illustrissimus
multa et magna beneficia, et hoc templum
extruxit Cosmas Medici"-then follow a Slaughter of the
Innocents-a most beautiful figure of S. Agnes, Virgin
and Martyr-the Conversion of S. Paul, the design of
which is weak, but the perspective admirable-a Purifi-
cation of the Virgin, somewhat inferior to the others—
and a charming Annunciation. In the Common of Apos-
tles and Martyrs he repeats the same conception: that is
to say, Jesus Christ blessing the Apostles, Martyrs, and
Virgins. But surpassing all these in diligence and ex-
cellence of colouring is a Crucifixion, over the votive
Office of the Cross. In the second volume, marked with
the letter B., there is an Annunciation of considerable
dimensions-then follow the Martyrdom of S. Peter of
civis

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
135
Verona, the Dominican-a little S. John, conducted by
an angel into the desert, admirably designed, and still
more admirable for its colouring and a S. Peter the
Apostle, opening the gate of heaven to a sanctified soul.
In the ornaments of the initial letter there is an inscrip-
tion, (hard to be deciphered,) which tells that the con-
vent of S. Marco was founded by the Medici. It is
somewhat of the same character as the Latin inscription
already quoted. We cannot but admire Fra Benedetto
for frequently reminding us of the benefits which our
religious received from that great family. It is a sign of
a soul grateful for kindness. At the Festival of S. Mary
Magdalene he produced a choir of angels carrying the
holy penitent to heaven; a conception which was trans-
mitted from the Greeks to the Griottesque, and which,
for many ages, was most agreeable to Christian art. At
the Feast of S. Domenico, he painted a most beautiful
figure of the Founder of the Preaching-Friars. Equally
beautiful are an Assumption and a Nativity of the
blessed Virgin, which follow. But excelling all in
correctness of design and perfect execution, is a figure
of S. Michael Archangel. For sake of brevity, we will
omit these of the other volumes. But to show how
admirable was Fra Benedetto in the composition of his
little pictures, I will select two miniatures; the first of
which, prefixed to the Common of a Martyr in the
second volume, represents a saint in the act of being
decollated by the executioner, and Jesus Christ, to en-
courage the martyr, placing His left hand on his head,
and pointing to heaven with the right. But still more
beautiful is that in the first page of a volume marked I.
(an Antiphonary,) in which he desired to illustrate the
passage of the Gospel where our Lord foretells all the
sufferings his Apostles should have to endure after His

136
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
return to heaven. The better to embody this concep-
tion, he placed before the Redeemer and the apostles
the figure of a youth with his eyes bandaged and his
hands tied behind his back, in the act of being slain.
And truly does this figure, in presence of the astonished
disciples, realise the beautiful idea of the painter. The
whole is so admirably designed and coloured, that we do
not hesitate to pronounce it one of the most exquisite of
all the works in miniature. In the other volumes we
find only one history in the frontal page. But whoso-
ever would desire to find all the beauties and graces
which he expended on such an immense number of
miniatures, epitomised in one work, must see his won-
derful Adoration of the Magi, which adorns the first
volume of the Festive Gradual. This will convince us
of his eminent skill in this branch of painting.
must also contemplate the first page of this very volume,
where composition, design, colouring, and the vast
variety of ornamentation, prove him to have been a
most perfect master of miniature. This Adoration of
the Magi is a happy imitation of that more divine than
human work of the Angelico, which adorns the apart-
ment of the Medici in the convent of S. Marco.
He
Fra Benedetto was equal to his brother in the beautiful
details of drapery; and most diligent in the elaboration
of the heads. In the extremities, however, he is most
negligent, a defect common to the miniaturists of that
age. In the celestial traits of the countenances he does
not equal the Angelico, although his are noble and
expressive. He appears to me to be feeble in design,
but most happy in composing and grouping his figures.
In colouring he equals the best miniaturists, and as to
perspective, considering the period, he is not excelled by
any. It would be difficult to believe that he was not
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
137
assisted by his brother in his designs, since nearly all his
miniatures are repetitions of the paintings of the Angelico,
with some variations. In his ornaments of fruits, flowers,
and animals, he is more monotonous than rich, but in
these particulars he faithfully followed the conventional
style of the fourteenth century. It was only in the
sixteenth that these details reached their marvellous
perfection. In the embellishments of nearly all these
volumes we occasionally find ridiculous caricatures, which
are surely not to be desired in such works. But in the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries they were very common
in painting and sculpture, particularly outside Italy; and
the spirit of the age countenanced such licenses. Finally
let us advert that about the middle of the sixteenth
century all these books were restored in the letters, notes,
and figures by another miniaturist, of whom we shall
have occasion to speak very soon; and, perhaps, it is to
him that we should attribute the imperfection of the
extremities. Comparing the Choral-books of the duomo
of Siena, with those of S. Marco, it appears to us that
with the exception of such as were miniatured by
Liberale da Verona, a painter and miniaturist of the
sixteenth century, these by Benedetto da Matera, a
Benedictine monk, and these by Fra Mattei, the Servite,
and Ansano di Pietro of Siena, they are inferior in design
and composition to the works of Fra Benedetto of
Mugello, and excel them only in their most rich and
beautiful ornamentations. His have been injured by
retouchings and daily use through four centuries, whereas
these of the cathedral of Siena have been preserved with
the greatest care and diligence.'
1 I know not how Vasari, in his life of Agnolo Gaddi, could have written-
that "Pietro da Perugia miniatured all the books that are in the library of
138
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
It now remains for us to speak of Fra Benedetto as a
cultivator of historical painting; since many think that
he assisted his brother in the innumerable series of his
productions; as it would appear almost incredible that
the Angelico alone could have laboured so constantly
and so diligently. To this let us add what Vasari says
of Fra Benedetto, when writing the life of the Angelico,
videlicet," that he was most skilful as a painter;" and, in
fact, the precepts as well as the example of such a master
were well calculated to advance him to perfection.
Professor Rosini in his recent and previous history of
Italian painting, thinks that he has discovered the method
of distinguishing the productions of Fra Giovanni from
these of his brother; and having observed that some by
the former have more of gold ornamenting than these of
the latter, he conjectures that the first are by the Angelico,
and the second by his brother. But this opinion of the
illustrious professor does not appear well founded; since
the greater or lesser quantity of gold employed by painters
at that period depended more on the will of the persons
who employed them, than on the means which the
artists possessed. And, in fact, in a contract entered into
between Fra Giovanni and a merchant, concerning the
painting of a tabernacle, there is special mention of the
amount of gold and silver agreed upon. Wherefore, if
Fra Benedetto practised painting on panel and on fresco,
his works must be sought amongst the feebler ones usually
attributed to the Angelico; and especially in some frescos
in the cells of the convent of S. Marco, which are
certainly inferior to these of Giovanni. And since such
Pius II., attached to the Cathedral of Siena," as the variety of style clearly
proves a variety of miniaturists, some of whom, like Liberale, and Ansano di
Pietro, subscribed their names to them.
¹ Storia della Pittura Italiana, Vol. II., ch. xvii., p. 257.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
139
was the modesty of these distinguished painters, that they
never signed their productions with their names; and
that even now it is difficult to distinguish the works of
the one from these of the other, we will allow a common
glory to fall on the twain.
It is not ascertained whether Fra Benedetto, at the
time of his death, had brought up any pupil in miniatu-
ring amongst the religious of the convent of S. Marco,
or that of Fiesole. An heir, however, of his name, of
his art, and his virtues appeared in the former convent
towards the close of the fifteenth century. We cannot,
however, point out any of his works with certainty, as
they are not mentioned in the Chronicles. They record,
nevertheless, a passage in his life, which shall always
associate the name of this artist with that of a GREAT and
UNFORTUNATE MAN.
This was Fra Benedetto, the son of a certain Paul, a
Florentine, who, according to the usage of the times was
known by the diminutive Bettuccio. In his youth he
was amongst the impassioned admirers of Girolamo
Savonarola—and where was the noble genius or excellent
artist who, in those days, could have been insensible to
the fascinating eloquence, and splendid virtues of the
Republican Friar? Like Della Porta, Credi Robbia,
Cronaca, and others, Bettuccio loved and reverenced the
Ferrarese; and he was amongst the first of those whom
Savonarola induced to take the habit of S. Dominic. On
the 7th of November, 1495, when Fra Girolamo was
Vicar-General of the congregation of S. Marco, he was
admitted to the Order, and on the 13th of November, of
the following year, he made his solemn profession.
Bound to him by every tie of love and veneration, he
did not abandon him in the hour of his saddest sorrow.
140
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
When the faction of the "Arrabbiati," thirsting for Sa-
vonarola's blood, came to tear their victim from his convent,
Burlamacchi (who knew them both,) describes how Fra
Benedetto, armed to the teeth, joined the Piagnoni in
defending the life so dear to him; and how Savonarola
caused him to throw away his weapons, saying that these
of a religious should be spiritual, not material. But
when Fra Benedetto saw him carried off to prison, he
made every effort to go along with him, and when they
refused him, he still importuned to be allowed to share
his fate: but Fra Girolamo turning to him, said " Fra
Benedetto I command you not to come, for Fra Domenico
and I must die for the love of Christ." "And then he was
torn from the eyes of his children, who were all weeping.
This was at nine of the night." It is consoling to be able
to record these memories of an artist possessing such
gratitude, in an age so chary of generous and heroic
examples.
More than this we do not know of him. Perhaps he
miniatured the books of the library of S. Marco, or others
that have been transferred to the Laurenziana, but
we cannot point with certainty to any of his productions
in this branch of design.
1 The Arrabbiati (the Frantic) were the parties opposed to the reforms in
government and morality advocated by Fra Girolamo Savonarola, and they were
composed of the gentry and nobles, who, hating the Medicean dynasty, contem-
plated the establishment of an oligarchy. The Piagnoni (Mourners) were
those who lamented the decay of liberty and morality, and joined the
democratic friar in his efforts to overthrow the splendid tyranny of the
Medici.
2 Vita del P. F. Girolamo Savonarola scritta dal P. Pacifico Burlamacchi.
Lucca, 1764. 1 vol. v. p. 136, 143.

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
141
CHAP. XIII.
Fra Eustachio, and Fra Pietro da Tramoggiano, Tuscan Miniaturists of the
Sixteenth Century.
THE art of illuminating parchments, which for many
had enriched the cloisters and libraries with so
ages
many and such rare works, was approaching its decline
at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Timid
and unnoticed, but withal ambitious to displace it,
engraving had begun its glorious career in the middle
of the preceding century: at first by poor and ignoble
attempts on wood, till, as it were, taking courage, it
developed itself in the wonderful works on copper by
Albert Dürer and Marc' Antonio Raimondi. Neverthe-
less, it is in these last days of its existence that we must
seek the grand Italian miniaturists, who, having cor-
rected the design of both figures and ornaments, giving
greater vigour to the colouring and greater relief to the
bodies, by means of chiaroscuro, carried this most beau-
tiful art to its perfection. Neither could it have closed its
history with more glorious names than these of Gerolamo,
"dai libri," (of the books,) Liberale da Verona, and
Giulo Clovio. The sixteenth century, that was destined
to terminate the series of its cultivators, presents to us
some who possessed wonderful ability in this branch.
Amongst the foremost of them was Fra Filippo Lappac-
cini, a Florentine, and religious of the convent of S. Marco,
who took the Dominican habit in 1492, and died in
1535. We have no work which can be attributed to
him with certainty; all that we have been able to learn
is, that not being able to apply himself to sacred studies,
he determined, like many other artists of that convent, to

142.
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
remain a deacon, and devote all his time to writing and
miniaturing Choral-books, in which occupation, says F.
Serafino Razzi, he exhibited marvellous skill.¹
Lappaccini had been but three years professed when
he was joined by one of the greatest miniaturists of
whom Italy is justly proud; and of whose works, happily,
we possess many remains. If it be allowed us to com-
pare great things with small, he is the Porta of miniature,
as Fra Benedetto del Mugello may be called its Angelico.
They were both exceedingly eminent masters: the one
in simplicity and devout tenderness, the other in his
delineations of nature, in grandeur of design, and, above
all, in the character of his ornamentations, which we may
term exquisite and Raffaellesque. His name was Fra
Eustachio, his birth-place Florence, his father Baldassare,
and his cognomen unknown. He was born in 1473; in
the world he was called Thomas. Like the other minia-
turists of S. Marco, he received the lay-brother's habit
from the hands of Fra Girolamo Savonarola, in 1496, and
twenty-third of his age. In the year following, on
account of the pestilence in Florence, Savonarola, then
vicar-general, conducted his novices to the villa of Gondi,
and amongst them was Fra Eustachio. There the mini-
aturist pronounced his solemn vows in September, 1497.2
If the historians of art do not mention him, (and a feeling
of gratitude should have prompted Vasari to do so,) we
can learn enough of him from these of the Order. Father
Bottonio, who knew him in Florence, speaks thus of him
in his Annals-"Fra Eustachio, a lay-brother of Florence,
was a rarely-gifted genius; he was an excellent minia-
1 Cronaca della Provincia Romana dell' Ordine de' Predicatori, scritta
dal P. Serafino Razzi.
2 Annal. S. Marci, "Fr. Eustachius antea Thomas Balthassaris, florent.
conversus. hic accepit habitum anno æt. suæ 23 completo."
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
143
turist, and produced very beautiful works, especially a
large and exquisite Psalter, that is now used in the choir
of S. Marco. He had a prodigious memory, and although
decrepid, he recited from memory long passages of the
Commedia Divina, which he thoroughly understood.
When Vasari was writing the Lives of the Painters, he
came frequently to this old man and learned from him
many particulars of the great and most illustrious artists.
He walked through the convent supporting himself on a
staff; and I remember me that he was greatly in dread
of the agony of death: though, sooth to say, his depart-
ure from this world was sweet and placid, as I myself
witnessed. Aged 83 years, he died September 25."
He is similarly recorded by Father Serafino Razzi, and
by the continuator of the Annals of S. Marco.2 The
Psalter of which Bottonio speaks, exists, and is used
daily by the religious of the said church. The first page
is most gracefully embellished; and in the initial letter
there is a half figure of Isaia, over whose head is sus-
pended a scroll, on which we read-" Ari. Dri. M.
V. V.," there is no trace of any intermediary num-
ber: and, perhaps, the good lay-brothers meant to
write M. D. V. Here we do not find the armorial
bearings of the Medici; a clear proof that this book was
not due to their generosity; for at that period there was
1 Annal. MSS.
• Istoria degli Uomini Illustri del sac. Ord, dei Predicatori scritta dal P.
Serafino Razzi: "Fra Eustachio of S. Marco was an excellent miniaturist, as
may be seen by the two great Psalters that are used on the high festivals in
S. Marco. He recited long passages of Dante from memory. He sang each
night, after supper, according to usage, some devout canticles for the com-
munity. He died in 1555."
Annal. conv. S. Marci, "Hic fuit, ni fallor, egregius miniator, id quod
inter alia ipsius opera, Psalterii liber in dextera nostri chori parte locatus
acile attestatur.
144
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
nothing however insignificant, attributable to this family,
that would not have borne their cognizances. But the
great excellence of Fra Eustachio is plainly visible in his
illumination of the first Psalm. A rich ornament of
flowers and most elegant arabesques all in gold, on a
ground of azure and crimson, occupies the whole length
of the page; the flowers and volutes support some groups
of angels-nude, but well designed; and here and there
are little circles at equal distances, which diminish
the uniformity of design. In the two above and below
he miniatured half figures of the four Doctors of the
Latin Church, videlicet, Pope S. Leo, S. Jerom, S.
Augustin, S. Ambrose, all of which show evident marks
of the greatest diligence. In the centre, on the right and
left, are two most graceful animals. At bottom of the
page is a figure of S. Catherine of Siena, but so injured as
to be scarely recognisable. In the initial letter he
produced a landscape of beautiful perspective with Mount
Sion; and this is a repetition of a similar one by Fra
Benedetto. In the midst of a radiant champaign under
the azure and limpid sky, he represents David prostrate,
with hands folded on his bosom, and his crown lying in
the dust, in the act of listening to the voice of God, who
from the highest heavens is seen shedding His consoling
light on the prophet: the figure of David is full of
majesty and life, and the beauty of the drapery reminds
us of Fra Bartolommeo della Porta. The extremities
are not well proportioned, nor sufficiently worked out: a
defect to be found in most miniaturists. That Fra
Eustachio understood well the laws of design is clearly
proved by the nude of the angels, which is most correctly
executed.
To illustrate the thirty-eighth Psalm, he produced a
half figure of king David, with the fore-finger on his
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
145
mouth to indicate silence; but I think Father Sertini's
style of shaping the same thought, far more happy. He
represents David seated in great majesty, and placing
the summit of the regal sceptre on his lips. But nothing
can excel the beautiful idea of Fra Eustachio, or his
mode of embodying it, when he illustrates that passage
of the thirteenth Psalm, where the impious insults the
Almighty-" The fool hath said in his heart: There is
no God.”―Here he designed and exquisitely coloured a
young man, sumptuously attired, reeling in the drunken-
ness of the senses, who, because he values or fears for
nothing in the world, save his pleasures, holds a
sparrow-hawk on his right hand, and raises the other
contemptuously to heaven. At the hundred and ninth
Psalm, ("The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou at my
right hand,") he pourtrayed the Eternal holding in His
arms the lifeless form of His only Son. An excellent
miniature, but so injured by attrition that it must soon
perish. Here we have unmistakable evidence of the
superiority of the Giotto school in the composition of
their sacred pictures; for the foresaid Father Sertini pro-
duced that most beautiful miniature mentioned in the
first chapter, at the same Psalm in the Psalters of S.
Maria Novella. For sake of brevity, we omit some
others of the same volume. From this short notice,
every one will be able to form some estimate of the
ability of Fra Eustachio, whom I do not hesitate to
compare to Liberale da Verona in the selection of sub-
jects, and to whom he is vastly superior in embellishments
and arabesques; such is the elegance and purity with
which they are designed, not to speak of the trans-
parency of their colouring. Nor would we err in say-
ing that the design of these miniatures is due to Fra
Bartolommeo della Porta, who, in the days of Fra Eus-
VOL. I.
H
}
-
146
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
tachio, and in this very convent of S. Marco, executed his
wonderful paintings. Fathers Razzi and Bottonio affirm
that our miniaturist painted large subjects, but they do
not mention when or where. Father Richa attributes
to him the miniatures of the Choral-books belonging to
the cathedral of Florence; of which, however, he must
have executed only a part, their number being very con-
siderable, and manifestly the work of various miniaturists
of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It is certain,
nevertheless, that Fra Eustachio miniatured four books
for the choir of S. Maria della Quercia, near Viterbo, as
they are mentioned in the Chronicles of that convent.
I am assured that they still exist, but not having seen
them, I cannot speak of them.2
We have now to speak of Fra Pietro da Tramoggiano,
with whom we will close this sketch of the Dominican
miniaturists. We are ignorant of the year in which this
religious was born, of his cognomen and parents; we
know simply that he was born in Tramoggiano, a little
hamlet of Casentino, on the slopes of the Apennines.
He was a priest, and probably affiliated to the convent
of S. Maria del Sasso, near Bibbiena, where he was six
times elected prior. That he was an excellent miniatu-
rist appears from the Chronicles of the Order; but we
could not with certainty point out any work in miniature
from his pencil. The continuator of the Annals of S.
Marco writes that, in the year 1577, a certain Father
Antonio Caffarelli desired to have all the Choral-books
of that convent restored, as they had been much injured
by daily use. Fra Pietro da Tramoggiano was invited
to perform this work, and, at his instance, they were
1 Notizie Istoriche, etc., v. 7.
• Libro delle Chroniche della Chiesa e Sacristia del Convento della
Quercia. (MS. in the archives of that convent.)
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
147
newly bound; the largest of them divided; the miniatur-
ing and text restored wherever necessary; and all addi-
tions that the times and liturgy required inserted. He
was employed at these restorations from 1577 to 1578.
Some question having arisen between him and the supe-
rior of the convent, the miniaturist set out from Florence,
nor did he return till F. Filippo Brandolini was elected
to that office, under whom, with the exception of one,
he finished the restoration of all these books.' I am
quite certain that the miniatures of Fra Benedetto del
Mugello sustained no damage, as is usually the case in all
retouchings executed by the ablest artist.
The pain-
ters, as well as miniaturists of the sixteenth century regarded
the colouring of the Quattrocentisti as too weak and
diluted, their outlines too narrow, and the design of the
nude miserable; hence, in their restorations they did not
hesitate to alter both the one and the other, to the great
injury of the works of these reflecting and chastened
painters.
Father Serafino Razzi, who may have known Fra
Pietro da Tramoggiano, does not mention any of his
works with certainty. For what we know of him, we are
indebted to F. V. Fineschi, who speaks of him thus in
his little work:-"I cannot omit to mention the most
beautiful Choral-books, (of the convent of S. Maria del
Sasso,) so admirably miniatured by Fra Pietro da Tra-
moggiano, who was prior of this convent; and who,
along with his other merits, had also that of being an
excellent writer of Choral-books, by which art he gained
much money, which he expended in the collection of all
1 Annal, Conv. S. Marci, fol. 45.
2 Cronica della Provincia Romana.
148
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
the books necessary for the choir. They make, altogether,
fourteen, have beautiful miniatures, and were valued at
more than fifteen hundred dollars. In a note Fineschi
informs us that some of these miniatures were cut out
and carried away. I know not what became of these
Choral-books, which were so likely to prove the high
merits of Fra Pietro. The convent of Bibbiena possesses
only one, and this has no work of miniature.
I am
informed, however, that some of them have been
transferred to the church of S. Maria Novella.
died in the year 1596, probably in the convent of
Bibbiena, where he had spent the greater part of his
life.
He
We might add to the series of Dominican miniaturists
some Nuns of the same Order, who successfully cultivated
this branch of art; but they shall find a place amongst
the paintresses, of whom we will speak in the second
volume of this work.
Recapitulating all that we have hitherto said in this
first book, concerning the artists of the Order of Preach-
ing-Friars, we think we have shown that, in genius and
ability, they rivalled the most celebrated men of their
age. Fra Sisto and Fra Ristoro divided the laurels with
Arnolfo; Fra Guglielmo Agnelli with the disciples of
Niccola Pisano; Fra Giovanni da Campi and Fra Jacopo
Talenti with Taddeo Gaddi and Orgagna; and Fra Be-
nedetto del Mugello and Fra Eustachio with Liberale da
Verona. So much so, that, during three centuries, arts
derived splendour and progress from them; not only in
1 Compend. Storico-Critico on two images of Most Holy Mary, which are
venerated in the church of the Dominicans (S. Maria del Sasso near Bibbiena,)
by F. Fineschi. Florence, 1792.
!

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
149
private works, but in public, in Florence, in Pisa, in
Orvieto, in Rome, Bologna, and the Venetian dominions.
The second book of this work, as well as those that
follow, will show whether they deserve the same
eulogium as painters.
END OF BOOK I.
BOOK II.
Eminent Painters of the Dominican Order.
Ата
CHAPTER I.
FRA ANGELICO.
INTRODUCTION.
Ar a very early period of the fifteenth century Italian
arts had obtained the most happy results in almost all
the branches of design. Whosoever calls to mind their
very miserable condition under the empire of the Greeks,
and contemplates them in this period of glory, must
desire to know by what ways and means they arrived at
such rare excellence. The genius of three men, Niccolo,
Giotto, and Arnolfo, was sufficient for this grand con-
summation; and their numerous and noble descendants,
giving an impulse to that movement, in a very short time
covered Italy from one extremity to the other with
divine and marvellous works. Their titles to ce-
lebrity are to be found in the cathedrals of Siena,
Florence, Orvieto, Padua, Assisi, in the Campo Santo of
Pisa, and on the gates of the baptistery at Florence.¹
These, indeed, are works that challenge every age that
1 They are the work of Lorenzo Ghiberti—
"Sit thee down awhile;
There, by the gates so marvellously wrought,
That they might serve to be the gates of heaven,
Enter the Baptistery."-Rogers' Italy.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
151
passes, to produce monuments excelling them in beauty
and in number. For my part I love to trace the causes
of this happy development of human genius to our civil,
religious, and political history. For if it be true that the
arts are the most eloquent language of a people, as it
progresses from barbarism to refinement, it must neces-
sarily imprint on arts as well as letters, the marks of all
these stages through which it had to pass. And in my
judgment nothing is more calculated to exhibit the
abject state of Italy in the middle ages than the influence
which the Byzantines exercised on our arts; for as we
were subjugated to barbarous laws and barbarous rulers,
so do all the works of painting, sculpture, and archi-
tecture, produced in that age, present evidences of that
ignominious servitude which Italian genius and Italian
liberty had to endure. But when Italy flung off the
shackles of feudalism, enacted her own laws, and assumed
a position which caused her to be feared and respected;
first came Niccola, and then Giotto, to supersede the
teaching and types of the Byzantines. At the com-
mencement of the fifteenth century-turbulent and
bloody by reason of the political and religious questions
that agitated it-the arts seemed to be disturbed and
divided, some wishing to follow the progressive move-
ment of the age; whereas, others desired to adhere,
obstinately, to old principles; believing that the sources
of these inspirations, which up to that period, had
produced so many sublime works were not exhausted;
and not knowing what might be the result of contemning
these traditions, which it had been their chief study to
maintain and diffuse for many ages. In a word, the old
Republican society, with its great vices and great virtues;
its faith and patriotism seems to me to have been
represented by the disciples of the Giottesque school;
152
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
whereas social refinement with its new political and
philosophical systems-its Medicean splendour, and
laxity of morals-heralded the artists of the fourteenth
century, as well as those who followed them in the
succeeding age. Whosoever wishes to investigate this
identification of art with Italian refinement, even in ages
nearer to our own, will find it rigidly exact. But since
in our times much has been written concerning
ancient art, its tendency and nature; we will say a few
words on the subject which will be calculated to throw
some light on the actual state of Italian painting at the
period when Fra Giovanni Angelico began to colour his
devout conceptions.
Art in every age was primarily devoted to religion.
After religion it was employed to cater to the luxury of
the great, and the pleasures of the people. According to
the nature of both it assumed a varied configuration, and
a varied existence. Hence, amongst the Egyptians it
imaged a people disgraced by revolting and cruel rites,
or meanly bending beneath the yoke of their tyrants. In
this instance it was not the office of art to admonish or
delight that people, but rather to mystify and appal
them. Whilst Paganism animated all nature with
beauteous and fascinating developments, the Eastern
nations, and more especially the Egyptians, delighted in
foul and revolting divinities, and shrouded their religious
tenets with myths and mysterious symbols. With them
art was truly symbolical and orgic-a pasture for deluded
souls and corrupted hearts. Under the radiant skies of
Greece, amongst a mighty people gifted with exquisite
perceptions of the beautiful, art drew inspiration from the
voluptuous and poetic theogeny of Hesiod and Homer, and
developed itself in these light and graceful forms which
made other people despair of ever rivalling their sublimity
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
153
At
and elegance. But it was seldom or never employed to
correct or reform morality: its office being chiefly to
please depraved and vitiated tastes. Amongst the
Romans it embodied the genius of conquest, and, as it
were, historied their wars and triumphs. Abandoning
simplicity and gentleness, it aspired to the splendour of
magnificence, and sowed the seeds of that tremendous
ruin which ten centuries were not able to arrest.
length Christianity came to elevate it to a position of
greatness never dreamt of, for it gave a new character to
art, making it a holy medium for instructing the people
in the truth, and enamouring them of virtue, associating
it with all its joys and sorrows, and opening to it beyond
the sensible world, a vast field utterly unknown to the
Gentiles. Born amidst the sepulchres of the martyrs,
nourished by the faith of the first Christians, deriving
inspiration from the Gospels and the Canticles of the
prophets, taking little interest in mere beauty of the
outward form, its grand aim was to adumbrate the chaste
joys of heaven, to make man look with contempt on this
evanescent scene, and to console him in his tribulations,
whilst it disdained to minister to the lusts of the great and
powerful voluptuaries of the world. A sweet, eloquent,
and melancholy comfortress, it adapted itself to all these
forms, and to all these conceptions which were suggested
by faith, hope, and love. Ever and anon it smote man's
heart like the living word; and seldom did tears flow
more abundantly, seldom did the human bosom expe-
rience more delicious throbbings, or the soul such
sublime ecstacies, as in presence of a painting stamped
with the ardent faith of these happy ages. The Egyp-
tians made art a medium for inspiring terror-the Greek
employed it for his refined voluptuousness-the Roman
made it subservient to glory, but Christianity sanc-
H 2
154
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
tified and made it the teacher and the consoler of her
people.
And here we deem it well to advert, that without ever
altering its inmost nature, in all its peregrinations
amongst such varieties of race, it always accommodated
itself to the genius of the people and the circumstances
of the times. In the catacombs, it pictured the days of
its sorrow; in the Roman basilicas, the joy ofits triumphs;
in Constantinople, it decked itself with the barbaric
luxury of a degenerate people; during the invasion of
the Barbarians, it revived memories of the gloomy days
when it struggled into light, once more converting itself
into a comfortress; till at last, in the Renaissance, history,
pious legends, and popular songs, became the fountain-
springs of its inspiration. The following canons, how-
ever, which may be said to be the dogmatic portion of
art were always held inviolably.—Its primary object should
always be, not so much to please as to instruct and move;
in other words, delight was to be regarded as the means,
not the end; and the conception was to be embodied in the
clearest and most simple manner possible: nor were there
to be any accessories to disturb the moral or religious
effect of the subject represented.-The artist was to be
allowed ample liberty, and the use of all these means
which he deemed necessary for the end he had in view,
despite the severity of history and criticism.-The entire
subject should appeal to the soul and the heart of the
spectator; and wherever the artist was not able to achieve
this, he should introduce plain and intelligible symbols;
which proving insufficient, he might cull passages from
the Bible, and inscribe them in a fitting place.'-In all
This will account for the usage that prevailed amongst the ancients, of
associating the words with the picture. It is also a proof that Christianity
regarded painting as a most happy medium of imparting instruction to the
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
155
paintings exposed to the veneration of the faithful, he
was to delineate the Saints, not as mere men in the state
of transition, but surrounded by celestial glory; and in
painting these, and more particularly still, the effigies of
our Divine Redeemer and the Virgin, he should never
make portraits of living people, as such should necessarily
distract and diminish the devotion of the worshipper.-The
most rigid decency was to be observed at all times.-The
artist was always to abhor immoral subjects, and ever to
bear in mind that Christian art was a divine inspiration,
and that no one could undertake to produce the semblance
of the Saints, and the chaste joys of Paradise, without a
pure heart, lively faith, ardent charity, and fervid prayer.
To these general rules were added a few particular ones
regarding types, traditions, and subjects. Thus, in the
pictures of the Byzantines, we always recognise severe
majesty: nor would it appear that they ever aspired
after tenderness and grace, but sought rather to inspire
profound veneration mixed with terror, such as one
must experience in presence of these Virgins and massive
crucifixes, with their great and tremendous eyes.
the other hand, in the productions of the Italians, when
they did not wish to be merely servile imitators of the
Greeks in the middle ages, we find greater softness in
the lines, a far more spontaneous movement of the person,
and a desire to fill the spectator with filial reverence,
and loving confidence in those whose effigies they
pourtrayed.
On
These, if we do not err, are the principal characteristics
of this art, more or less faithfully maintained down to
the fifteenth century; but since it was not so exclusively
literate and illiterate. The Giottesque school was very partial to this intro-
duction of the words which are so well calculated to convey the idea of the
artist.
156
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
intent on feeding the mind with high and holy ideas, as
to spurn every extrinsic perfection, such as the manage-
ment of lights and shadows, perspective, and all the noble
theories of art, it did not fail, during that century, or at
the commencement of the following, to correct and
improve design, colouring, perspective, etc.; till with
Perugino and Raffaello it reached that supreme excellence
of conception and form, than which nothing further was
to be desiderated. To appreciate its worth and nobility,
I believe that one requires nothing more than a heart
sensible to the chaste joys of religion, a soul freed from
prejudices, and an eye that is not easily seduced by the
fascination of charming tints, or by the theatrical com-
positions of times far removed from the venerable sim-
plicity of the ancients. We may say, however, of all
the schools that followed, that their paintings, once or
twice seen, produce satiety, whilst we never tire of
beholding these of the former; and that no one can
seriously contemplate them without immediately feeling
their influence on his soul, like a word of peace and
comfort.
The learned investigators of its history (leaving most
remote times out of the question) beheld it revived and
propagated in Italy by the miniaturists; and since it
impressed itself with more devout affection, and derived
more strength from heavenly meditations in the moun-
tains of Umbria, on the slopes of Fiesole, and in Bologna,
than elsewhere, they gave it the name of MYSTIC; a
name so appropriate that we shall use no other, but by
no means refuse it to all these artists of the Roman,
Sienese, and Florentine Schools, who cultivated this style.
Umbria points to Oderigi da Gubbio, the miniaturist, to
Gentile da Fabriano, Perugino, and others as founders of
his school in their country. Bologna is justly proud of
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
157
Franco, (the same whom Dante records with Oderigi,) of
Vitale, Avanzi, Simone dai Crocifissi, Lippo Dalmasio,
S. Catherine, Francia, etc. The Fiesolan school was
supereminently illustrious in the two brothers of Mugello,
Fra Benedetto and Fra Giovanni the Angelic; and I
would say that, in mysticism, these two were equalled by
Pietro Cavallini, the Roman, and Spinello, of Arezzo.
Truly, they formed a glorious band, and many of them
were remarkable for the sanctity of their lives. I verily
believe that art was never cultivated with greater vene-
ration than in this school of the mystics; and that it
nowhere else exercised such salutary influences on the
hearts of its devotees. Hence it was that Lippo Dal-
masio (not to mention many others) never set about
painting a picture of the Virgin without fasting on
the day preceding his work, and partaking of the Holy
Eucharist. Vasari, writing of Pietro Cavallini, tells us
that "he was not only a good Christian, but a most
devout friend of the poor; and much loved for his
goodness, not only in Rome, his birth-place, but by
every one who had any knowledge of him or his
works. In his old age he so gave himself up to religion,
and led such an exemplary life, that he was reputed a
saint." Never have I been able to contemplate the few
but sublime remains of his works without thinking of
the Angelico, whom he resembled by his genius and
virtues; and whom, according to the estimate of his
cotemporaries, he is said to have equalled.
This school, at first, so timid and reserved, that it
seemed to shun, or sink beneath the greater difficulties
of design, was, nevertheless, of such a noble order, that
it did not hesitate to attempt the epic and historical, and
¹ Lives of the painters, etc. Life of Pietro Cavallini.
叶
​158
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
to rival the poesy of Allighieri in power and beauty.
The subjects selected were numerous and varied, such,
for example, as the History of the Creation, the Life of
Jesus Christ, the Two Last Things, Paradise and Hell,
with which they covered the walls of the burial-grounds,
(Campi Santi) cloisters, and chapter-rooms; but no-
where did the Christian painter show such power as in
the legends of the Blessed Virgin. Here the theories of
art availed little. Before such judges as the people of
the middle ages, with their glowing faith, who loved
religion, and venerated the Queen of Angels with
a worship at once poetical and affectionate, the
artist who would do justice to his subject, should
study all the avenues to the heart, and participate of
that sacred enthusiasm which was cherished by the
populace. His work worthily achieved, what was his
reward? The sobs and tears of devout worshippers,
and the benediction of the sensitive multitude! The
legends of the B. V. were succeeded by these of the
Saints, written, probably, by Blessed Jacopo Varzze,
Metafraste and Cesario; and it is wonderful how these
stories, that our age spurns, furnished the Giottesque
school with so many beauties, and supplied the piety of
the Christian people for many ages with sweetest
pasture. Occasionally the painter drew his inspira-
tion from the great poets, and applied himself to illus-
trate the "Divina Commedia” and the pages of Petrarch's
Triumph."
•
Nor was symbolic painting less poetical, or less
productive, of grand, moral, and religious precepts.
Transmitted by the Greeks, and embellished by the
Italians, it, for a long time, exercised the genius of the
sculptor and the painter, and wonderfully assisted the
artist in developing his conceptions. It was an eloquent
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
159
language, and so peculiar to Christian art, that we cannot
penetrate its innermost nature, without fully compre-
hending it.
But Christianity, after having re-created architecture-
after having breathed the breath of life into marble, in
the works of the Pisans, after educating and encouraging
miniature, painting on glass, and mosaic-after watch-
ing over the birth of engraving, and opening a new school
of mystic painting, had scarcely arrived at the end of
the fifteenth century, when it beheld its works despised,
and almost destroyed in the sixteenth. The ardent
faith of the preceding ages, was succeeded by doubt, and
polemical controversies. After the simple sculptures of
Niccola Pisano, of Donato, and Ghiberti, came these of
Baccio Bandinelli. The architecture of Arnolfo, of Fra
Sisto, and Fra Ristoro, was no longer visible. Miniatur-
ing and painting on glass, languished, and disappeared;
and painting-the noble, and dear companion of its
glories—the reflex of all its celestial delights-having
abjured its most high and holy office of comfortress and
instructress of the people, seemed to prefer the rhapsodies
and turpitudes of the mythology. No human power—
no human counsel, could have staid the movement of
an age, that tended to external perfection. It remained
only for Christian art to give a more splendid sample
of its beauties, by concentrating, in one man, all that
it had produced, whether tender, devout, graceful, or
sublime, in the Catacombs, or at Byzantium-in a man,
whom the severe criticism of the fifteenth, and follow-
ing century, should stamp as the most unapproachable
painter of divinity. This man was Fra Giovanni del
Mugello. He was destined to raise Christian art from
the dust; for, although we concede, that those who
succeeded him, may have excelled him in perfection
160
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
of design and colouring, nevertheless, he is surpassed
by none in affection and religious sentiment. In fact,
the sixteenth century-so enamoured of the Greek and
Roman productions-so sorely travailed, in heart and
soul, that it delighted only in lascivious pictures—was
so astounded by his celestial works, and was SO
charmed by the virtues of Fra Giovanni, that, wishing to
epitomise all his high deserts, it called him by the name
of the Angelic; thus assimilating the painter of Mugello,
to the Doctor of Aquino. Both were remarkable for
innocence and sanctity of life; both wore the same habit,
and followed the same rule. If the title was bestowed
on S. Thomas, for having excelled all men, in describing
the angelic and Divine Nature, it was also due to the
artist, for having rendered it almost palpable by the
tintings of his pencil.
CHAPTER II.
Published and unpublished Documents, from which the present Life of Fra
Giovanni Angelico has been compiled.
BEFORE We begin to describe the life and works of
Fra Giovanni, we deem it our duty to state, from what
sources we have collected the notices regarding him;
and, to make the reader aware of the method we have
adopted, to satisfy those who are desirous of knowing
more of this illustrious painter, than has been hitherto
set forth, and who are not satisfied if anything, calculated
to throw light on his genius, goodness, and innermost
nature, be omitted. The method, however, may not
satisfy the tastes and desires of all parties. Some
would be content with a rapid and simple narrative
which would only point out the extraordinary merits of
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
161
his works, and the principal actions of his life. Others,
on the contrary, who praise this artist, more for his con-
ceptions, than developments, (his grand scope being,
rather to move and instruct, than to delight,) are anxious
to learn, as distinctly as possible, the causes of that
profound emotion, which is ordinarily experienced in
presence of his pictures; wishing, as it were, to be
introduced to the secret movements of his heart, and to
feel, whilst perusing his life, these tender impressions,
that the sight of his works is always calculated to pro-
duce. We, therefore, according to our poor ability,
will endeavour to satisfy the longings of the one, without
lessening these of the other.
Before Vasari published his Lives of the Painters and
Sculptors, (1550,) three Dominicans, who were almost
contemporaries, had made an epitome of that of Fra
Giovanni the Angelic. The first of these is Father Gio-
vanni de Tolosani, the Chronicler of the convent of S.
Dominic at Fiesole, who, according to his own state-
ment, commenced it in 1516; that is, seventy-one years
after the death of our painter. But so negligent was he
in writing the Life, that, without mentioning the year of
his birth or decease, he did little more than produce a
confused catalogue of his paintings, suppressing every
one of these particulars which Vasari detailed fully forty
years afterwards. Nevertheless, deficient as this manu-
script is, it will serve to throw some light on the life of
this artist. The second is Father Roberto Ubaldini, the
Annalist of the convent of S. Mark, of whom we have
already spoken. He began to write his Annals in 1505,
but did not continue them further than 1508. It is cer-
tain, however, that he did not die till 1534.
mentioned him posteriorly to Tolosani, for, although a
more copious and eloquent writer of the Annals of his
We have

162
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
convent than the former, he makes but passing men-
tion of the Angelico, who was affiliated to the convent
of Fiesole. The third is Father Leandro Alberti of
Bologna, a historian and geographer of great merit. In
1517 he published a volume of Latin eulogies on the
illustrious men of the Preaching-Friars; but we collect
from two letters written by friends of the author, and
prefixed to the work, (the first dated February, and the
second March, 1516,) that they were composed some
years before. Amongst these eulogiums is that of Fra
Giovanni Angelico. Alberti is not much more copious
than Tolosani and Ubaldini; but he narrates some parti-
culars that we find in the Life written by Vasari many
years afterwards, and, what is really valuable, the day
and the month of the painter's death, unknown to all
historians of art up to this period. After the publication
of Vasari's work, two other Dominicans briefly described
the life, or rather made incidental mention of the Ange-
lico, and these are, Father Serafino Razzi of Florence,
and Father Bottonio of Perugia; the first in his History
of the Illustrious Men of the Order, and in that of its
Saints and Beatified. The second in the MS. Annals that
still exist in S. Domenico of Perugia. But the first copied
Vasari, and the second translated Ubaldini. Neither of
the two, however, added a single line to the Life written
of him by the first historian of our arts. It remains for
Two poets, contemporaries of Fra Angelico, make honourable mention of
him in their verses. The first is Fr. Domenico da Corella, who died in 1483.
In a heroic poem, "De Origine. Urbis Flor.," he speaks of him thus—
Angelicus Pictor quam finxerat ante Johannes
"
Nomine, non Jotto, non Cimabue minor.”—v. vol. xii. Delicia Eruditorum.
Corella here alludes to the painting of the Madonna in the church
of the Servites, which has been erroneously attributed to Pietro
Cavallini. Rosini, (Storia della Pittura, v. 2, c. viii.,) conjectures that

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
163
us now to ask how Vasari, who lived so long after the
time of the Angelico, was enabled to enter so minutely
into the details of his life, whilst the two chroniclers of
Fiesole and S. Marco, and Leandro Alberti, who were so
near to him, observe such profound silence? This appears
to us a grave question, as Vasari is not accustomed to cite
authorities in confirmation of his statements, and has
no great reputation for truthfulness. Having weighed this
difficulty well, we incline to think that the said biogra-
pher collected all the traditions regarding the painter in
Florence and Fiesole; and that they were faithfully con-
veyed to him by Fra Eustachio, the miniaturist, who,
as we have already observed, gave great assistance to
Vasari in the first edition of his work. For, when he
took the habit from Fra Girolamo Savonarola, in 1496,
(forty-two years after the death of the Angelico,) the his-
tory of his life and works was so fresh in the memory of
people then living, that it was very easy to gather all
the particulars which have come down to us. This
miniaturist, moreover, lived to be eighty-three years of
age, and, being gifted with a most retentive memory, he
was well able to describe a long and important period,
not only of Florentine history, but of the arts also.
After the writers of his life, follow some partial
documents, discovered in the past century and the
antecedent, by Baldinucci and Father Guglielmo della
it was restored by Fra Giovanni. The second is Giovanni Santi da Urbino,
painter, and father of Raffaello, who, in a poem entitled "Dei fatti ed imprese
di Federico Duca d'Urbino," which is now in the Vatican, (unpublished,)
speaks thus of the Fiesolan :—
"Ma nell'Italia in questa età presente
Vi fu il degno Gentil da Fabriano
Giovan da Fiesole frate al ben ardente."
Giovanni Santi died, August, 1494.
164
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
Valle.
With these preliminary notices, we will now
proceed to write the Life of the painter Fra Giovanni
Angelico.
CHAPTER III.
The Origin, Country, Studies, and Religious Profession of Fra
Giovanni Angelico.
THE uncertainty of the ancient memoirs, and the impru
dence of those who pretended to supply them by fictions
and romance, have so strangely confused the life of the
Angelico, that to place it in a clear light, and separate
truth from probability, and probability from falsehood, is
a very arduous undertaking. Vasari states that he was
of Fiesole, but it is likely that he alludes to the convent
of this place, where he resided so long, instead of mak-
ing it out as his birth-place. Father Guglielmo Bartoli,
on the other hand, suspects that he was born in Florence
or its neighbourhood.' Montalembert says that he saw
the light in Mugello, adding that Mugello is a hamlet in
the vicinity of Florence.2 Not being able to discover
the cognomen of the family, they thought it judicious to
invent one. Thus Lorenzo Cantini, citing Borghini,
calls him a Montorsoli, strangely confounding Fra Gio-
vanni Angiolo Montorsoli, a Servite, an illustrious sculptor,
and disciple of Buonarroti, with our painter. It is true
that Borghini has not fallen into these errors. Lanzi, on
the authority of the "Novelle Letterarie" of the year 1773,
states that in the world he was called Santi Tosini, son
3
1 Istoria di S. Antonino e de' suoi pin illustri Discepoli. Florence, 1782.
* Du Vandalisme et du Catholicisme dans l'Art. V. Append., p. 243.
3 Hetruria Sacra, v. 3.

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
165
of Michele Ridolfi, a painter. But Fra Santi Tosini, the
Dominican, of the convent of Fiesole, and a most excel-
lent painter, died in Rome more than a hundred and fifty
years after the Angelico, (1608.)¹ Finally, Masselli
suspects that he was called Petri. Nor is there less
difficulty in determining the year of his birth, as the first
edition of Vasari would have it in 1388, and the second
in 1387. Brocchi dates it about 1390-6.3
2
Having briefly set forth the various opinions of
historians, we will now, with the aid of authentic
documents, describe the early years of the artist. Fra
Giovanni Angelico, as we said in the life of his brother,
was born near Vicchio, a strong and picturesque castle,
situated between Dicomano and Borgo San Lorenzo, on
the river Sieve, in the vast and fertile province of
Mugello. Vespignano, the birth-place of Giotto, is but
a short distance from it. Thus the same region was the
birth-place of the father of Italian painting, and of one of
his most illustrious followers, the painter of nature and of
heaven. The castle of Vicchio was built by the Floren-
tine Repulic, in 1324, to curb the licentiousness of the
Counts Guidi, after having levelled the ancient fortress
of Ampinana.
We will date the birth of Fra Giovanni
1 Hist. of Painting, Epoch 1st, Florent. School. There is a biography of
this F. Santi Tosini, who was reputed a most holy man, in the MSS.
Chronicle of S. Dom. at Fiesole. It is believed that he assisted his father
in restoring the Madonna in the Annunziata, (Church of the Annunciation,)
at Florence.
2 See the Notes to Vasari's Life of the Angelico, by David Passigli,
Florence, 1832. This is by far the best edition of the Lives, and abounds in
annotations teeming with artistic lore.
3 G. M. Brocchi Descriz. della Prov. del Mugello. All these errors have
been copied by M. Fortoul, in a work entitled De l'Art. en Allemagne.
Paris, 1843.
▲ Giovanni Villani, Cronache Fior. L. ix. c. 274.
166
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
in 1387, as we have no arguments to refute Vasari's
correction of himself. His father was Pietro; his
cognomen unknown. In the world he was called Guido
or Guidolino; and to the authority of Vasari is added
that of Baldinucci, who discovered a precious document
which we will give in its proper place. The epithet
Blessed, or Angelic, was given him by the veneration of
the people. We do not know whether he had any
other brother than Fra Benedetto the miniaturist; and as
to the temporal affairs of his parents we can only repeat
what Vasari has recorded. "He might have remained
in the world in very ample circumstances, and along
with what he possessed he might have earned much by
the exercise of that art in which he was well skilled,
while yet a mere youth." From this we collect that he
applied himself at a very early period of his life to design
and the rudiments of painting; and for this reason he
left Vicchio for Florence. I know not who was the
instructor of his youth, but I hold as indubitable that his
first occupation was illuminating Choral-books; and
Vasari, Lanzi, and Rossini, agree in this opinion. For,
as we have already observed, the apprenticeship of the
painters of that age was spent in miniaturing the predelle
of the pictures with histories in small figures; thus
gradually progressing to works of large dimensions. As
1 To show more clearly that the cognomen of the Angelico was not
Pietri, we deem it sufficient to observe that, in the Chronicle of Fiesole, and
also in that of S. Marco, and S. Maria Novella, and generally in these of all
the Mendicant Orders, the name of the Religious is immediately followed by
that of his father, grandfather, or birth-place; but we very rarely find the
cognomen. To take one example out of thousands, the celebrated painter,
Fra Bartolommeo della Porta is called, in the Chronicle of S. Marco, "Fra
Bartholomeus Pauli Jacopi de Florentia." Here Paolo is the name of his
father, Giacomo of his grandfather; but neither of them can be said to
designate the cognomen of his family.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
167
a proof of this we may instance the example of Bartolo-
meo della Gatta, the Camaldulese monk; who, after
having studied miniature, in his mature years practised
historical subjects with happiest success; till with Luca
Signorelli da Cortona, and Pietro Perugino he was
invited to Rome to paint the chapel of Pope Sixtus IV.
But what we have said in our essay on the Dominican
miniaturists is quite sufficient. Baldinucci and Rosini
think that his master in the art of painting was Gherardo
Starnina, a Florentine, whose style is described by Lanzi
as "gay;" but irrespective of Vasari's silence, I am
inclined to doubt it, as Gherardi spent many years in
Spain, and having returned to Italy died in 1403, when
Guidolino of Mugello was but sixteen years of age. It
is true that Baldinucci was induced by a similarity of
style, which he recognised in these two masters, to
believe that Fra Angelico had been his pupil. Never-
theless, the opinion is worthy of consideration; for if it
be well founded, it would go to prove that the Angelico
was the con-disciple of Masolino da Panicale, to whom
he shows some affinity in his shading and management
of drapery; and as Masolino may have been his senior,
it is likely that he instructed him by precept and
example.¹
Our Guido possessed a mild and amiable disposition,
and such exquisite taste for the beauties of nature, that
he easily ascended to these of a higher order. In the
admirable accord of all visible things there is a poetry, a
law of love, and a beauty teeming with sweet emotions,
far more easily felt than expressed, since to feel it, and
describe it, is the privilege of but very few. Painting,
1 We adopt the correction made by Baldinucci in the Chronology of
Masolino da Panicale; since, were we to follow Vasari, Masolino, disciple of
• Starnina, should have been born the very year in which the master died.
168
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
that most powerful and animated language, when
associated to the ecstacy of a contemplative mind, does
not require great efforts, or to astound or flatter the
senses by the strength of tints, or the management of
lights and shadows; but in the sweetness and variety of
lines, in the profiling of the countenances, and in the
simple and ingenious movement of the figure, it becomes
in some sort a reflex of that arcane beauty, and of that
harmony which, pervading all creation, reveals itself
supremely in man. Paintings of this character are not
for the effeminate or the parasite, but for men of delicate
and noble sensibility. Guido saw many artists of that age
so enamoured of nature, that they aspired to no greater
praise than that of pourtraying its exterior. All their
glory was to approach it as nearly as possible; in a word,
to deceive the senses as much as they could. This
appeared to him to be not only foolish but criminal, as it
substituted the means for the end, and made art a pas-
time and a pleasure for the frivolous. He held that it
might be made as useful to that age as either philosophy
or eloquence, provided it became the medium for incul
cating great lessons, religious and moral. And truly did
that age need them, and Florence beyond all the cities of
Italy; for the factions were stained with each other's
blood; morality was disregarded, and religion was made
instrumental to the ambition of many, who, during the
terrible schism, abused it for their sordid and sacrilegious
purposes.
Indeed, when I reflect on the condition of sciences and
letters, and more particularly still on the civil and
political state of Italy during the fifteenth century; I am
persuaded that a grand mission was confided to the artists
who, if they followed the examples of the Angelico, and
the counsels of Savonarola, must have wonderfully
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
169
improved the morals of the people. Our Guido, therefore,
to satisfy the yearnings of his heart, and to obey the
command of heaven, determined to embrace the cloister-
life, concluding that he might thus strengthen his heart
and soul with the sublime sweetness of religion. He was
then about twenty-one, or twenty-two years of age, and
his artistic education, if not perfected, must have been
considerably advanced.
On the declivity of the lovely hill of Fiesole, there had
been already laid the foundations of a convent for the
Preaching-Friars. It was rumoured far and near that
this was to be an asylum of sanctity-a retreat for the
penitent and prayerful. The Blessed Giovanni di
Domenico Bacchini, better known as Dominici, (his
cognomen,) a religious of the convent of S. Maria
Novella, was its founder. He wished to present a model
of reform to all the religious Orders which had fallen
away from their ancient observance, by reason of the
terrible pestilence of the preceding century, and the schism
which was then actually afflicting the church. S. Antonino
was amongst the first of those who presented themselves
to Dominici in order to embrace that reform (1405); and
two years afterwards he was followed by the two brothers
of Mugello; who came, as it were, to adorn the restoration
of the Dominican Order with sweetest flowers. The
building was commenced on the 1st of March, of the
year 1406; and in the September following, fourteen
religious, most of whom had come from Cortona, where
there was another convent reformed by Dominici, were
domiciled within its precincts. Father Marco di Venezia
having been appointed its superior; the Blessed Giovanni
1 Jacopo Altoviti, (a Dominican,) Bishop of Fiesole, gave the ground for
the building in 1405, but the formal cession of it was not perfected till
1406.
VOL. I.
I
Un
170
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
1
Dominici was obliged to leave Fiesole, as he had been sent
as orator by the Florentine Republic to Pope Gregory
XII.; who, wishing to retain him in his court, raised him
to the high dignity of Cardinal. In 1407 Guidolino
and his brother presented themselves to Father Marco, and
asked and obtained the habit of S. Dominic. I think,
however, that they were sent to Cortona, as was also S.
Antonino, there being no novitiate attached to the
convent of Fiesole, which was still very limited and
quite unfinished. The master of novices of the two
painters was the venerable Father Lorenzo di Ripafratta,
a most holy religious, the very same who presided over
the first years of S. Antonino's cloister-life, and of whom
the holy Archbishop has left us a splendid eulogium in
a letter addressed to the Dominicans of Pistoja, to condole
with them on the loss of that mirror of every virtue.2
The Fiesolan Chronicle leaves no doubt that the two
brothers were enrolled amongst the clerices. Guido
took the name of Fra Giovanni, and the younger brother
that of Fra Benedetto.3 In 1408 they made their
solemn profession; and it is very likely that they imme-
diately returned to the convent of S. Domenico, at
Fiesole. Here they were united in holy friendship with
the glorious S. Antonino, who reciprocated their affection
and held the twain in equal esteem.4
A year had scarcely passed over our two painters in
1 This letter is dated October, 1456. V. Vita di S. Antonino, by Dom.
Maccarani. Venezia, 1709.
2 Cron. Conv. S. Dom. de Fesulis, "1407. F. Joannes Petri de Mugello
Juxta Vicchium, optimus pictor, qui multas tabulas et parietes in diversis
locis pinxit, accepit habitum clericorum in hoc conventu
et seq.
anno fecit professionem."
* Along with the friendship of S. Antonino, Fra Giovanni enjoyed also
that of the Blessed Pietro Capucci, and the Blessed Costanzo da Fabriano,
who about that period were living in the convent of S. Domenico in
:Cortona,
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
171
the convent of Fiesole, when the tempest of religious and
political discord which had so terribly travailed the
church and society, burst forth in all its fury, and
disturbed the peace of their solitude. Up to this period
the Florentine Republic remained faithful to Gregory
XII., to whom, as we have already stated, it sent the
Blessed Giovanni Dominici as its orator in 1406. Never-
theless, on the 26th of January, 1409, having renounced
all allegiance to the said Pontiff, the Republic, by a
solemn and formal act, declared that it would adhere to
the approaching council of Pistoja, and acknowledge
whatever Pontiff it might elect and recognise. That
Synod began its sittings on the 25th of March of said
year, and on the 5th of June it deposed the two compe-
titors, Benedict XIII., and Gregory XII. On the 26th
of the same month it elected Fra Pietro Fillorga, a
Minorite, with the title of Alexander V. This determi-
nation instead of extinguishing the schism, rendered it
still more calamitous, as it added a third to the two
Pontiffs already mentioned; who fulminating excommu-
nications against each other, and enlisting clerics, prelates,
and princes for their respective partisans, carried the
torch of discord into the abodes where peace and love
should have their sanctuary and citadel. The Florentine
Republic and the General of the Preaching-Friars,
(Tommaso di Fermo,) had sworn obedience to Alexander
V.; but the religious of the convent of S. Domenico at
Fiesole, owing to the persuasions of Dominici, who
adhered to Gregory XII., remained unshaken in their
devotion to the latter. The superior of the Order sought
by threats and entreaties to weaken their constancy; but
when he found that he could not effect his purpose, he
caused Father Antonio di Milano, prior of the convent
of Fiesole, to be cast into the prison of Florence. The
·

172
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
religious, indignant at this sacrilegious violence, unani-
mously resolved to abandon that loved sojourn, rather
than belie their consciences; and to seek elsewhere
that liberty and peace which they could not enjoy on
their natal soil. But as Cortona, which was then (1409)
beseiged by Ladislao, King of Naples, could not afford
them a secure refuge, they left the convent of S. Dome-
nico at midnight, and set out for Foligno, which city
was leal to Pope Gregory XII. Led by Father Antonio
di Milano, the whole community, which consisted of
about twenty, arrived safely at their destination in
Umbria. Here they were united to the brotherhood of
the convent of S. Domenico, who received them with
that distinction that was due to their deserts.2 It must
be admitted, however, that they got but a very cold
reception from Monsignore Federico Frezzi, bishop of the
city, a religious of the same institute, and a celebrated
rhymer of his times. This fact, hitherto unrecorded by
the historians who have written of S. Antonino and the
Angelico, throws additional light on the life and works
of the painter, and induces us to make a few important
reflections.
1
Amongst modern writers on art, there are some so
enamoured of the sublime beauties of the pictorial school
of Umbria, that their admiration seems occasionally to
1 V. Document at the end of this volume.
2 Supposing that the Angelico and his brother were already in Cortona,
when the religious of Fiesole abandoned their convent, they must have
remained there from 1407 to 1418- e., about eleven consecutive
years.
3 He is the author of a poem, (in terza rima,) which he entitled, “Qua-
triregnio, or the Kingdom of Love, Lucifer, Vice, and Virtue.”
It was pub-
lished in Venice, 1515. According to Tiraboschi, it is "in imitation of Dante,
to whom he is very far from being equal, though we must admit that he has
imitated him." Frezzi died at the Council of Constance in 1416.

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS..
173
go beyond the confines of truth: for they have imagined
that these mountains have sent forth a chosen band of
painters, who re-awakened the semi-spent poetry of art
throughout all Italy; and a writer of our own times, for
whom we profess great veneration, has not hesitated to
assert, that "The poetry of art was everywhere dead;
everywhere, save in the fastnesses of the Apennines.
Amidst the gloomy forests and rugged mountains where
the Seraphic (S. Francis of Assisi,) raised his prayer to
the Eternal, beseeching Him to send His peace into the
hearts of his brethren; amidst the mountains of Umbria
there was reared a simple, modest, and solitary school of
Painting, which gloried in sublime inspirations, and
cultivated external beauty only to show the splendour of
its conceptions. Gentile da Fabriano, the Blessed Ange-
lico, Lorenzo di Credi, Perugino, Pinturricchio, and,
finally, Raffaello, were the pupils of this school." Now
as the Angelico's brief sojourn in Foligno might lead the
advocates of this opinion to form false or exaggerated
conclusions, we will not omit observing that, if Umbria,
in the fifteenth century, had educated a pictorial school
of any merit, with the aid of the miniaturists, neverthe-
less, it was not of such a character as to be able to com-
pete, either in the abundance or ability of its artists, with
the schools of Florence, Siena, or Bologna. Moreover,
if by poetry of art we are to understand devout affection,
and beauty of images, I do not know what painter of
Umbria could, in these characteristics, I will not say
excel, but rival, the ancient Tuscan artists, Giotto,
Memmi, Gaddi, Spinello, Pietro Cavallini, etc.
So true
is this, that, when we seek the names of the champions
1 Sull' Educazione del Pittore Storico Ordierno Italiano, di P. Selvatico.
Padova, 1842.
174
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
of this school who were educated on the Apennines,
instead of Nuzi, Giovanni Bonnini di Assisi, Lello
Perugino, Francesco Tio, Fabriano, and other obscure
painters, mentioned by Lanzi, they cite the Blessed
Angelico, Benozzo Gozzoli, Lorenzo di Credi, who were
Florentines, and who, in their own country, were tutored
by the wonderful works of Giotto, who preceded them;
nay, more, this same Gentile da Fabriano studied art to
far greater perfection in his own country, under the
Angelico, than elsewhere. Again, I deem it very re-
markable (if this Apennine school was so very illustrious)
that, when they were decorating the church of S. Fran-
cis in Assisi, instead of Umbrian painters, we find the
builders inviting, (after the Greeks,) Cimabue, Giotto,
Memmi, Gaddi, who all belonged to the Tuscan school.
But if, as it is likely, these words: "The poetry of art
was everywhere dead," be referable to the times when the
naturalism of Massaccio and Lippi began to influence art
in Florence; I still maintain that, as long as the Angelico,
Benozzo, Lorenzo di Credi, and others, remained in that
capital, it cannot be said to have died there or elsewhere,
since, in them, and by them, it may be said to have
been revivified. None can surpass us in our veneration
for the illustrious propagators of Christian art, whose
glorious works entitle them to the respect of every man
who values either religion or its adornments, and we
here proclaim our acknowledgments of their genius; but
we deem it a duty not less important to point out how
dangerous it is, in a matter of history, to go beyond
these confines that are marked by the severity of criticism.¹
1 M. A. Rio is far more cautious, and confines himself to the mystic
school. V. Poesie Chretienne, pp. 168, 169. He does not, however, deny
that the Florentine and Siena schools sent to the mountains of Umbria little
colonies, or better still, the choicest flowers of the two schools. V. p. 209.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
175
CHAPTER IV.
The first Works of the Angelico in Foligno and Cortona.
THE Fiesolan exiles, having found a refuge in Cortona,
where Frezzi, bishop of the city, had given them the
convent of S. Domenico, set about introducing that
severe discipline, and all these conventual observances
which were cultivated by the Blessed Giovanni Dominici,
in that of Fiesole. S. Antonino was sent to govern the
convents of the Roman province and of the kingdom of
Naples. Fra Angelico, to satisfy the yearnings of his
heart, which required that he should show by his works
the holy fire of affection that burned within his bosom,
once more resumed his pencil. And, indeed, Monta-
lembert and Rio have truly written of him, that painting
was his ordinary prayer and his mode of elevating his
heart and soul to God. It is said that Dante, in the
Paradiso, mated the doctrine of Thomas of Aquino to the
harmony of his verse; and I would venture to affirm
that the Angelico incarnated and coloured the concep
tions of these two great men. If we compare the
pictures of the Angelico with the writings of the great
philosopher and the great poet, we will have little diffi-
culty in detecting the identity of thought that charac-
terised the three Italians in their theories of the super-
natural, and the imagery with which they clothed them.
The primitive mystic school of Bologna had such a
limited range of subjects for its artistic productions, that
Simone confined himself to painting Crucifixions, and
Vitale very rarely went beyond the usual subject of
Madonnas. The Angelico, educated in the poetic and
176
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
imaginative school of Giotto, Spinello, and Memmi,
embraced the whole history of the Old Testament, and,
from time to time, produced something in the Legen-
dary character, in which he surpassed all his predecessors.
Having devoted his life and genius to Religion, he firmly
resolved to observe the rigid canons of Christian art, and
all the traditions of the Giotto school, of which, I would
venture to say, he was the last flower. Hence, he never
profaned his pencil with merely secular subjects; for he
resolved to make it, like the Evangelical word, a means
of moral and religious perfection.
We have no works which can be attributed to him
with certainty at this period; but it is only reasonable to
suppose that, during his sojourn in Foligno, he began to
paint the altar-piece of the chapel of S. Niccolò dei
Guidalotti, for the church of S. Domenico in Perugia,
which still exists. This I reckon amongst the earliest of
his works, for it exhibits more of the style and man-
nerism of the Giottesque than is to be found in any of
his other performances. M. Rio is of opinion that he
executed it when he was returning from Rome to Flo-
rence, through Perugia. But we do not know, if we
except the three months he passed at Orvieto in 1447,
that he ever left Rome after having been summoned to
work there by Eugene IV. Neither are there good
grounds for the opinion of Father Timoteo Bottonio,
who writes that he produced it in 1437;2 at which
period Fra Angelico was in Florence, when the restora-
tions of the church of S. Marco and the building of the
new convent, which he adorned with his marvellous
frescos, had been commenced. This picture, now in the
1
1 Poesie Chretienne, c. vi., p. 199.
2 MSS. Annali.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
177
chapel of S. Orsola, like other works of the same artist,
must have been of pyramidal form, and was divided into
three compartments, after the style of the triptychs, with
one or three cusps, (like arrow-heads,) on the summit,
and a gradino, (base,) in the under part; the whole was
enclosed within a richly-wrought cornice, in the inter-
stices of which were painted many beautiful little figures
of saints, in the style of the celebrated Deposition from the
Cross, by the same author, in the gallery of the Florentine
Academy of Design. Judging from the portions of it
which we have, it was composed after this fashion:-On
a gold ground he painted the Blessed Virgin, seated on a
throne, with the Divine Babe on her knees. Two angels
stand at either side, with baskets of flowers, from which
the infant seems to have taken a rose that he holds in his
right hand. At foot of the throne are some shrubs, with
white and red roses; a beautiful idea, that the painter
repeated afterwards in Cortona and elsewhere. The
Virgin, rejoicing in her maternity, smiles on her Son;
and this portrait appears to us to be the noblest and
sweetest of the many he has executed. Its grand charac-
teristics, like these of all his other paintings of the Ma-
donna, are purity and grace, so well befitting the Mother
of the Son of God. I think, however, that the design
of the nude in the infant, as well as angels, is feeble.
Retouchings, or, perhaps, the injuries of time, prevent
us from recognising the drapery of the Virgin's robe.
In the two lateral compartments, now divided, there
were four figures, two on the right, and two on the left;
these were S. John Baptist, S. Catherine, Virgin and
Martyr, S. Dominic and S. Nicholas, all in one line,
according to the Giottesque; and, if we except the
second of these figures, all the others are most beautiful
and excellently executed. But truly beautiful was the
I 2
178
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
gradino of this picture, on which he painted three histo-
ries of the life of S. Nicholas, of which only one remains,
the other two having been removed to the Vatican.!
This, that may still be seen in the church of S. Domenico,
(Perugia,) over the great door of the sacristy, is divided
into two compartments; in one of which he represents
the holy bishop, and two youths, who, with bandaged eyes,
are in the act of waiting the headsman's stroke; multi-
tudes, assembled to witness the execution, seem to shud-
der and groan; and the sudden appearance of the Saint
stays the axe of the executioner, and saves them. In
the other he painted the funeral of the Saint, whom he
represents stretched on the bier, and surrounded by the
poor, by monks and women, who exhibit signs of the
deepest grief. But that which is still more exquisite is
the action of the two youthful acolytes, one of whom
raises the hem of his surplice to wipe away the tears
which he could not restrain. In the upper part of the
same compartment he painted the soul of the Saint con-
ducted to heaven by angels. Amongst the works of the
Angelico, executed in the miniature style, this appears
to me to be truly beautiful, the little figures being exqui-
sitely designed and coloured. The cornice that adorned
this picture, (now divided into twelve pieces, each hav-
ing a little figure,) may be seen near the same door of
the sacristy; but, although they possess great merit, no
one that has seen his Deposition from the Cross in Flo-
rence, will pronounce them to be his best performance.
To complete the entire picture, we want the points of
the upper part; and, probably, the two little pictures in
the same sacristy formed a part of them. These represent
1 "In the first chamber of the Vatican Gallery, are two paintings with
three histories of the Saint; i. e., his birth, preaching, and miracles."
Nibby Itinerario di Roma, 1830
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
179
the Annunciation and the angel Gabriel, on a gold
ground.' They appear to me to have been executed by
the same painter, but I would not dare to affirm it. To
confute the error of Mariotti, who attributes the figures
we have been describing to Gentile da Fabriano, I think
it quite sufficient to remark that the same are over and
over again repeated in the paintings of Fra Giovanni
Angelico; a peculiarity of this painter being, never to
vary the types of his images, which, though a hundred
times repeated, are always the same.
The long expe-
rience which we have of this artist will not permit us to
doubt it for a moment. To this we may add, also, the
grave authority of F. Timoteo Bottonio, the Chronicler of
the convent of Perugia, by whom we are assured that the
same painter not only painted the picture in the Guida-
lotti chapel, but also that of the great altar of the ancient
church of S. Domenico, which was still existing in the
time of the Annalist, i. e. in 1570. Rosini agrees in
Bottonio's opinion.
2
We do not know that the Angelico executed any work
for his convent of Foligno or for the other convents of
his Order in Umbria; and we are equally ignorant of
the length of his absence from Tuscany. But, although
the Chronicle of Fiesole states that it was of many years'
duration, I do not think that it exceeded four. At the
termination of this period, the pestilence showed itself in
Foligno; and the death of the prior and of many of the
There are in the same place two panels with the same subject, but by a
different artist, both representing the Annunciation. The oldest, by an un-
known hand, represents the Holy Ghost in the form a dove, with the divine
fetus in its beak. This error appears in Pistoja, in a very ancient painting
on glass.
2 Storia della Pittura, v. 3. This picture was taken by the French, and
restored at the general peace.

180
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
religious relaxed that severe discipline which they had
established. This, indeed, was the usual result of this
terrible scourge.
Meanwhile, Alexander V. died at
Bologna, and three years afterwards, (1413,) in Genoa,
Father T. di Fermo, Master-general of the Order, who,
from the opposition he met from many of his religious in
various parts of Italy, had bitter experience of the evils
that must result from doing violence to consciences.
When every apprehension of danger disappeared, and
when it had become irksome or perilous to remain in
Foligno, all the religious began to yearn for the sunny
hill of Fiesole. But, on account of non-residence, this
convent had fallen into the hands of the bishop.
Wherefore they set out immediately for Cortona, and
implored Cardinal Domenici to have their ancient domi-
cile restored to them. This must have happened about
1414.1
We think that it was about this time that Fra Gio-
vanni produced the paintings which are in Cortona, as
we cannot reasonably believe he could have executed
them during the period of his noviceship.
On the exterior façade of the church of S. Domenico,
on the little arch over the entrance, he frescoed the
Blessed Virgin with her Son in her arms; and on
either side S. Domenico and S. Peter, martyr, in the
act of adoration. On the ceiling he painted the four
Evangelists. This work, despite the injuries of rain and
sun, through the course of four hundred years, retains
much freshness of colouring and a certain suavity of
1 "It was stipulated that three Friars should always reside in the convent,
and that if they left it either on account of pestilence or violence done to
them, and did not return within two months, they forfeited all right to said
convent." -Chron. S. Dom. de Fesulis.

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
181
pencil that reveals the Angelico; but the Evangelists,
having been less exposed, are better preserved. For the
same church he executed two pictures, only one of which
remains; the other, with its gradino, having been
removed to the oratory Del Gesù, near the cathedral.
That which is still in S. Domenico, in the lateral chapel,
near the grand altar, may, in some sort, be said to have
been a repetition of the other in S. Domenico of
Perugia, which we have described; but it is so far supe-
rior to it in design and colouring, that I do not hesitate
to number it amongst the best of the Angelico's works.
He painted, moreover, a Madonna, of large dimensions,
seated on a throne, as he was always accustomed to
represent her, having on her knees the Child, Jesus, in
whose right hand he placed a rose; angels, with baskets
of flowers and vases, are at the foot of the throne. On
the right of our Lady, on the same line, are S. John
Baptist, and S. John the Evangelist; on the left S.
Mary Magdalene and S. Mark. As the form of this
picture is, in its upper extremity, pointed, its vertex
exhibits a crucifixion, and on either side the B. V. and
S. John; and in the two angles of the triangle, are
two circlets, in one of which is the Angel Gabriel, and
in the other an Annunciation. Here we find, with very
little variation, the same idea that we have recognised in
the picture at Perugia. He very often repeated this
same subject on panel and in fresco in Florence and
elsewhere, with the addition of other figures; but he has
rarely excelled the perfection of these figures in drapery,
shading, grace or beauty. To this picture, probably,
belonged that gradino with the histories of the life of
S. Dominic, which is now in the church Del Gesù. If
the reader has visited Bologna, and seen the sculptures
that adorn the sepulchre of the holy Founder of the
182
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
Preachers, he must have observed how the same inspi-
ration and the same conceptions guided the chisels of
Nicola Pisano, Fra Guglielmo, Alfonso Lombardi, and
the pencil of Fra Angelico, all of whom vied with each
other in grace, poetry, and truth. In six compartments
he painted eight histories of the life of the Saint; and,
from time to time, by way of episodes to that epic, he
introduced some graceful little figures of saints, which,
far from violating the unity of the subject, tend to
heighten the beauty and perfection of the entire compo-
sition. First, there is S. Peter, Martyr, the wound in
whose head and breast tells how generously he laid
down his life for the faith; then comes the compart-
ment in which he executed two histories-the first is
the vision of Pope Honorius III., who, after having
refused to sanction the new Order, dreamt that he saw
the Lateran Basilica falling, and S. Dominic sustaining it;
the second is, S. Dominic meeting S. Francis of Assisi,
who, recognising each other by divine revelation, kneel
and embrace. The second compartment, like the first, is
divided into two parts, one of which represents the poor
cell, and the other the oratory of the saint. The perspec-
tive in both is admirable. In the oratory we see S.
Dominic before the altar in ecstacy receiving the gospels
and staff from Saints Peter and Paul, who send him
forth to evangelize peoples and nations. One of the
most charming figures in this composition is that of a
friar, who, setting out on his mission in obedience to the
command of his superior, pauses on the threshold of the
cell to steal a glance at this wonderful apparition. Next
comes a beautiful little figure of S. Michael the Arch-
angel, light, airy, and full of grace.
In the third
compartment there are also two histories; in the first, he
represents S. Dominic disputing with the Albigeois; and
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
183
in the second the ordeal of fire, in which he depicts the
astonishment of the Saint's adversaries on seeing their
book burn and his unscathed. In the picture of the
saint resuscitating the young Napoleone at Rome, he
faithfully carried out the idea of Niccola Pisano, and
placed the afflicted mother near the dead body, imploring
the Saint to call back her son to life. Then follows the
figure of a martyr, beautifully painted. I am ignorant,
however, of the subject. By the dalmatic we know that
he is a holy deacon, and that the heavy weight suspended
from his neck describes the mode of his death. He
produced only one history in the compartment that fol-
lows; and here he represents the Holy Founder seated
at table with his brethren, and the angels bringing
them food. In the last he painted the death of the holy
patriarch; and this, in my judgment, excels all the
others. The holy soul has been already borne into the
bosom of the Eternal by angels; His bereaved children
surround the lifeless body; some of them kiss his hands,
others raise their arms to heaven; some of them, almost
petrified by grief, fix their eyes on his beloved features;
whilst others, unable to restrain their tears, raise their
garments to their eyes. This is a work calculated to
awaken piety in every heart. The actual gradino has a
most graceful figure of S. Thomas of Aquino. All these
histories are beatifully designed and coloured, and are
most simple in their composition.
The picture, by the same artist, that passed from the
church of his Order to that of the Gesù, is an Annuncia-
tion of the Blessed Virgin; a subject much loved by Fra
Fra Giovanni. In painting the Saints, as we have
already observed, he always maintained the same types;
whereas, in these of the Madonna and angels, he is
always varied and graceful. And although he some-
184
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
1
times leaves us to desire more correct design and greater
boldness of outline, (a peculiarity of the great masters,)
nevertheless, none can excel him in that angelic purity
and supreme virtue that radiates from the countenances
of his virgins and angels. This, that we now speak of,
is not, certainly, the most perfect, but it is not less
devout than the others. We will not undertake to de-
scribe it, as it is a repetition of a similar one which he
frescoed in the convent of S. Marco. Of this, the design
of which is more perfect, we will have occasion to speak
elsewhere. Here we find that he adhered to the Giot-
tesque traditions, as he introduces the usual salutation,
“Ave Maria gratia plena;" as though he wished, by this
means, to invite the faithful to a more profound contem-
plation of the ineffable mystery. That this was the
object of the painter, there cannot be a doubt, since, in
his times, the use of such inscriptions had been univer-
sally discontinued, and an artist of his great power did
not need them to express or signify his ideas. In the
wings of this angel there is a profusion of gold and
colouring unexampled in the other pictures of the same;
nor does the drapery of this figure deserve so much
praise as that which we find in the generality of Fra
Giovanni's works. Here, indeed, it is too much elabo-
rated and confused. And since the Incarnation of the
Word is intimately connected with the history of our
first parents, he introduced into this picture a landscape
1 I will here observe that Fra Angelico followed two different manners in
his paintings of our Lady. Those that represent her glorified are by far the
most beautiful. In these he always represents her clothed in white.
In these which represent her living on earth, he clothes her in red and
azure colours.
2 There are very few pictures, whether on panel or in fresco, by Fra Gio-
vanni, that have not some devout inscription at foot of the painting, or in
the aureole of the saints, and sometimes in their garments.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
185
of good perspective, in which he represented Adam and
Eve expelled from paradise; thus to show that Mary was
made instrumental in repairing their tremendous ruin.
This picture, and its two gradini, are in excellent pre-
servation. If we be allowed to conjecture that these
works were produced at different periods, I would say
that the Annunciation now in the Gesù was anterior to
that which is in S. Domenico. The former is feeble in
design; whilst the latter may be classed amongst the best
of his works.
It remains for us to speak of the gradino on which he
described the Life of the Virgin, from her birth till her
death, in the same manner and proportions as he did
that of S. Dominic. Whosoever has seen these little
and most graceful pictures by Fra Angelico, which are
now in the gallery of the Uffizj at Florence, may form
an idea of the histories on this gradino, some of which
are repetitions of the former. The first compartment
exhibits the Birth of the Virgin: and it is manifest that
it must have been inserted at a late period; or, perhaps,
it was taken away and restored to its proper place, since
it seems to have been divided from the panel. In the
second he painted the Espousals of the Virgin. In the
third the Visitation, which is truly charming. The
painter represents the consort of Zachary coming to
meet the Virgin of Nazareth outside her habitation, on
the threshold of which is a girl, who, unobserved, con-
templates the joyful greeting of the two mothers. At a
little distance is another woman, who, on bended knees
and with hands raised to heaven, gives thanks to God
for the wonders he has wrought in both. Most beautiful
are the two figures of Our Lady and S. Elizabeth. But
what renders this compartment really precious is a beautiful
landscape, so well designed and coloured, that the Ange-
186
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
lico has no where excelled it. The fourth is an Adoration
of the Magi, in every way like that in the Uffizj. The
fifth is the Presentation in the Temple, with good archi-
tectural perspective. The sixth is the Death and Sepulture
of the Virgin; and this, also, is a repetition of the most
delightful work, which may be seen in the same gallery.
The seventh is a history, which, in all probability, was
taken from the gradino of the life of S. Dominic; as it
represents the Blessed Virgin, surrounded by a choir of
Angels, and directing the Blessed Reginald of Orleans,
a Dominican, to take the habit of the new Order. This
gradino is remarkable for the same excellences that are
to be found in that already mentioned. Nothing can
surpass the beauty of the images, the grace of the figures,
or their diligent execution; and as to the colouring,
which is in tempera, nothing can be more transparent
or lively.
CHAPTER V.
Fra Giovanni returns to Fiesole.
WHILST Fra Giovanni was painting the life of our Lady
in Cortona, and that of the Holy Founder of his Order,
the Blessed Giovanni Dominici interested himself with
the Bishop of Fiesole, and Pope Gregory XII., to have
the convent which he founded restored to our friars.
Father Leonardi Dati, Master-General of the Dominicans,
was not less zealous in advocating their petition; till
finally, after many negociations, the Fiesolan bishop
yielded to their requests-on condition that the religious
would present him with a vestment for the altar, worth a
hundred ducats. This was in the year 1418. This sum
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
187
was taken from a bequest left to the convent by the
father of S. Antonino, who died precisely at this period.
It happened, moreover, that in that very year a rich
Florentine merchant died and bequeathed to the convent
of S. Domenico at Fiesole, six thousand florins, which
he desired to be expended on enlarging the dimensions
of said convent. As soon as the absolute surrender of
the building had been formally made by the bishop, the
Father-General sent thither four religious of the convent
of Cortona, amongst whom, however, we do not find Fra
Giovanni or Fra Benedetto. But there is reason for
believing that all those who abandoned it in 1409 soon
afterwards followed the four. As soon as the building
was commenced, Fra Giovanni resumed his usual occupa-
tion of painting; for wheresoever he went he strewed
flowers of art-flowers which he seems to have culled in
Paradise. He strewed flowers on the mountains of
Umbria and Tuscany; on the banks of Arno and Tiber;
but the most beauteous and odoriferous that ever fell
from his hands were treasured for the loved and sunny
hill of Fiesole. And it was only just that the spot
whereon he sacrificed himself to his God, should be
adorned with the choicest fruits of his genius and piety.
Even though history had not narrated his virtues, the
very sight of these pictures would be quite sufficient to
record his humility-his glowing charity, his contempt
of all earthly pleasures-nay more, the tears and sighs of
a soul enamoured of heaven.
In giving the reader an account of the innumerable
works produced by Fra Giovanni we must observe, that
as he never inscribed them with dates; and as no order
of time has been recorded by Vasari, we, following the
system already adopted, will classify them according
to reason and history. For although there is no great
188
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
.
difficulty in discriminating the works executed by other
painters in youth and maturity-their diversity of
manners and methods always enabling us to arrive at a
sure conclusion; these of Fra Giovanni, on the other hand,
being characterised by a uniformity of design, shading,
colouring, and composition, leave us in great embarrass-
ment to discover which was first, and which last. Let
us not forget, however, that a few of his works are
executed with greater study and diligence than others.
In Fiesole, I believe, he painted many of these
little panels that are now in the Academy of Design at
Florence, and perhaps the doors of the armoury for the
silver utensils in the sacristy of the church of the Annun-
ciation in the same city.
In his first edition Vasari num-
bered them amongst his earliest works; and this appears
likely, as his first essays were in miniaturing and colouring
histories, as has been already said. Vasari praises
his diligence, but he should likewise have praised the
composition, which in many compartments is most
beautiful. We will not expend many words on these
rare paintings, that we may avoid prolixity. He under-
took to narrate the life of our Redeemer in thirty-five
histories, adding a specimen of symbolic painting, and
closing the series with a General Judgment, inferior in
dimensions, as well as merit, to his later works; but yet
not without very great excellence. Especially worthy
of notice are the following:-The Adoration of the Magi
-The Flight into Egypt-The Slaughter of the Inno-
cents-The Resurrection of Lazarus-Judas Selling
Christ to the Priests-The Prayer in the Garden, etc.,
all of which deserve much praise for their truth and
happy execution. One of the doors (of the armory)
seems to be far inferior to the others, and according to
the opinion of some, it should be attributed to another
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
189
artist. It is that which represents the following
histories: The Nuptials in Cana-The Baptism of
Christ, and the Transfiguration; but as to the merit of
this work of the Angelico, it will be better to hear the
opinion that Father Tanzini, (a man deeply skilled in
art,) has pronounced on it.
"But amongst his marvellous and innumerable pic-
tures, these that he executed for the armory in the chapel
of the Annunziata, built by Pietro di Cosimo dei Medici,
and now in the Florentine Academy of the Fine Arts,
are perhaps the most admirable. They represent the
life of our Lord, a favourite theme of our most pious
artist, which he often meditated. Hence, it is easy to
understand that he set his whole soul on it; and this
work alone by that sovereign genius, would suffice to
prove that in religious expression he stands superior to
every other that his soul was enlightened by a supernal
ray—that his exquisite pencil was guided by faith. The
drapings, simple and majestic; the movements natural,
but full of dignity; the expression of the heads truly
celestial, render these ideal histories superior to praise;
and they must be seen over and over again in order to
form a correct estimate of them. At first sight indeed,
like every other solemn and extraordinary painting, they
do not produce the effect that is usually the result of
more brilliant works; but which, on closer study, are
found to be indifferent. The more one contemplates
these of the Angelico, the more palpably does he behold
their arcane and ineffable excellences. The ignorant,
the learned, the sciolist who knows not the secrets of art,
cannot stand before these pictures without experiencing
unwonted emotions-although he is utterly unable to
account for the fascination which they cause. Every one
must admire them, and experience in presence of them
190
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
3
¿
affections not material but spiritual-nay, there is no one
who would not desire that his last gaze should rest
on these chaste images of Mary, the Saints, and the
Crucifix."
For the church of S. Domenico in Fiesole, he painted
three pictures, and in the convent he frescoed two histo-
ries; and as of the former only one remains, one of them
being now in Paris, and the other lost, we will describe
it in the words of Vasari. "He also painted the altar-
piece for the church of S. Domenico in Fiesole, and
this work, because it had been injured, was retouched,
and thus more injured by other masters; but the pre-
della and the ciborium for the sacrament are in better
preservation, and the little figures, surrounded by celes-
tial glory, which we see there, are so delightful, that
they seem to be of paradise, nor can one ever tire of
beholding them."
The historian, however, does not tell us what was the
subject of this picture; but it seems to have been the
same as that which alone, of the three by the Angelico's
hand, remained in that church, and is now actually in the
choir. It represents the Blessed Virgin seated on a
throne with her Divine Son. Here, as in his other
pictures, there are two saints on the right, and two on
the left, videlicit: S. Peter the Apostle, and S. Thomas
of Aquino, S. Dominic, and S. Peter, Martyr. Some
angels, in profound adoration, form a circle around
them. The composition, simple and graceful, maintains
the forms and manner of the Giottesque. Neither Vasari
nor the Chronicler of the convent informs us what the
predella represented; but the latter tells us that in 1501,
¹ Some of these histories were beautifully engraved by A. Perfetti in his
Illustraz. dell Acad. del disegno. (1843-4.) The entire (35 in number) have
been engraved and published by Nocchi.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
191
when the tribune was repaired, the grand altar being
removed to another site, this picture was restored by
Lorenzo di Credi; and, as its form was pyramidal, they
most unwisely reduced it to a square, and added the
ornaments and little figures that surround it. After so
many vicissitudes it would be difficult to form a notion
of its merits. I know not what became of the ancient
gradino; some say that it is in the possession of Signor
Valentini in Rome. The ciborium was lost with the
predella.
The second picture was an Annunciation, of which
Vasari speaks thus:-"In a chapel of the same church
is a painting of our Lady and the Angel Gabriel, the
profile of whose countenance is so devout, so delicate,
and so well executed, that it does not seem to be the
work of man, but of paradise; and in the landscape,
forming the back-ground, he represented Adam and Eve,
whose crime rendered it necessary that the Redeemer
should take flesh of a Virgin. On the predella there are
also some most beautiful little histories." As we have
not seen this painting we cannot say more of it. We
will barely observe that it was sold (in 1611) to Mario
Farnese, for 1,500 ducats; and that a copy of it was left
in the church of S. Domenico. The latter shared the
fate of the original, and both are now lost. 2
"But
above all the works executed by Fra Giovanni," continues
Vasari, "and in which he surpassed himself, is the
painting which is in the same church near the door, as
you enter by the left. In this he represents Jesus Christ
crowning our Lady in the midst of a choir of angels, and
an infinite multitude of saints male and female. So
numerous are they, so well delineated, so varied their
attitudes, and the characters of their countenances, that
1 Cron. S. Dom. de Fesulis.
? Vide Document No. v.
192
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
one must feel incredible pleasure and sweetness whilst
beholding them. Nay, more, it seems as though these
blessed spirits could not be otherwise in heaven; or, better
still, that they could not, even though they had bodies,
be more exquisitely pourtrayed. For all the saints, male
and female, represented here, are not only living and
characterised by a sweet and delicate expression, but the
entire colouring of this work seems to have been
executed by the hand of a saint, or an angel like them-
selves: and it was for this reason that our good religious
was always called Fra Giovanni Angelico. The histories
of our Lady and S. Dominic on the predella are so
divine in their way, that I can affirm that I never see
this work without discovering some new beauty in it,
and never tire of contemplating it." Which words,
written in an age that recognised and appreciated no
beauty save the nude, and the imitation of Greek and
Roman statues, in my opinion, deserve much considera-
tion. Let those to whom the terms "mystic school and
mystic painting," (of which Fra Giovanni was the prince,)
appear to be dangerous innovations, and who dub the
inventors of such designations hypocrites and fanatics,
tell us why it was that the followers of Vasari, of Giulio
Romano, and Caracci never arrived at such perfection in
sacred painting. If they admit that before giving
expression to noble and grand affection, it must needs be
felt; how will they deny that the heart and soul of Fra
Giovanni teemed with heavenly contemplations at the
period when he produced these wonderful works, that
have awakened such profound admiration even in Vasari?
But if the term mystic painting (whose synonyme is devout)
1 This painting is now in the Louvre. It was taken by the French in
1812. It is engraved by Schegel.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
193
seems intolerable to them, provided they admit the fact,
we will not reject it on such slight grounds, or quarrel
with them.¹
The two great frescos that Fra Giovanni painted in
the convent must now be spoken of. That with which
he decorated the refectory may be said to have been
almost lost; but that in the chapter-room is admirably
preserved. These two histories were executed by the
Angelico at a later period, when he had attained to
wonderful perfection. The one in the chapter-room is
remarkable for the grandeur of its style, the softness and
harmony of its tints, and bold pencilling. But to begin
with the first. On the front wall of the refectory he
painted a Crucifixion, (life size,) with the Blessed Virgin
on one side, and S. John the Evangelist on the other:
at the foot of the Cross, kneeling, and seen from behind,
is S. Dominic; but this last figure seems to have been
introduced at a subsequent period. We cannot now
appreciate the colouring or design of this painting, as the
hand of some very ignorant person, who undertook to
restore it, and the vandalism of the parties who got
possession of it, have all but cancelled it. The continu-
ator of the Chronicle of the convent of S. Domenico at
Fiesole, tells how it was restored by a young Florentine
artist, named Francesco Mariani, in 1556; but, heavens,
after what a fashion! enlarging the outlines, and height-
1 It is hard to believe that in these days of enlightenment an outcry should
be raised against the cultivators of Christian art, attributing to them princi-
ples which they never maintained. The grand object, however, which they
have in view, is well calculated to console and stimulate them in this grand
pursuit. The accession of many learned men at home and abroad, has
tended much to forward the advance of Christian art; and we would exhort
them to read the three allocutions pronounced by Antonio Bianchini before
the "Societá Romana degli Amatori e Cultori delle Belle Arti." Florence,
1839.
VOL. I.
K

194
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
ening the colours, so as to efface altogether these delicate
mezzotints, these lines so beautifully varied, and the
simplicity of the drapery, in order to introduce all the
defects peculiar to an age when art was in its decadence.
Finally, when the convent was taken from the religious,
the refectory was turned into a fruit store, to the great
injury of this painting. Notwithstanding, the beauteous
head of S. John is admirably preserved, as is also the
nude of the Redeemer.
But the history that he painted in the chapter-room,
though known to very few, is well preserved, and de-
serves to be classed amongst the best works of the Ange-
lico. Here he painted the Blessed Virgin seated, and,
as in the Perugian picture, holding the Divine Babe on
her knees. The Infant is nude, but the white veil that
covers our Lady's head and bosom falls gracefully over
Him. On her right is S. Dominic, standing; on the left
S. Thomas of Aquino; both having an open book.
The Founder of the Preaching-Friars (a mode of repre-
senting him unusual to this painter) has his chin covered
with a flowing beard, and holds in his hand a lily, the
emblem of his virginity—a simple composition, and well
calculated to awaken devout feelings in the spectator.
Few of the Angelico's works present more beauty in the
expression of the countenances, or more negligence in the
extremities and necessary accessories, than this does.
The type of the Virgin is perhaps less ideal than usual;
it reminds us of Raffaello and Pietro Perugino; and it
is impressed with such beauty and majesty, that we are
almost forced to kneel down and worship in presence of
that image. Wonderfully beautiful are the faces of S.
Dominic and the Infant; that of S. Thomas is the most
1 Chron. S. Dom. de Fesulis.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
195
beautiful in its design and colouring. But we no sooner
set about examining the extremities of these figures, and
the folds of the drapery, than we are obliged to ask
ourselves, whether the same hand that outlined and
coloured the countenances finished the rest of the work.
So much so, that in many places we do not recognise these
exquisite foldings of the robes so peculiar to Fra Ange-
lico; and the feet of S. Thomas and S. Dominic look
like a large blot. This led me to suspect that the same
artist who had attempted to restore the fresco in the
refectory, had likewise injured the drapery and the ex-
tremities of that in the chapter-room. A distinguished
painter, who examined it with me, is of opinion that it
exhibits evident signs of having been retouched at a later
period.
These are the works that Fra Giovanni executed for
the religious of his convent in Fiesole. He painted
something for the churches of the city, and I am assured
that in the church of S. Jerom there is a Madonna, a S.
Jerom, and other saints, by his pencil. But so many
works did this Father execute, writes Vasari, that one
must wonder how any one man, even in many years,
could have done so much, and so perfectly. It seems
that the Florentines vied with each other to obtain some
devout picture from the hands of the Angelico; and that
the churches and oratories of the city sought them avidly
is evident from a catalogue which is still preserved.
During his sojourn in Fiesole, he indubitably executed
the tabernacle that is now in Florence, in the Gallery of
the Uffizj, near the entrance on the left hand. Baldinucci
has given us a precious document, which appears to be a
memorial or contract, made by the Guild of joiners, for
whom it was destined. The celebrated sculptor, Lorenzo
Ghiberti, was requested to furnish the design, which did

196
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
1/
not prove to be very elegant. On the 11th of July,
1433, the Guild of joiners signed the contract for the
painting of the said tabernacle in the following terms,
"They have empowered Fra Guido, (his primitive
name,) called Fra Giovanni, of the Order of S. Dominic
in Fiesole, to paint a tabernacle of our Lady, to be
painted within and without ornamented with gold and
silver-colours and metals to be of the finest description-
all to be executed by his workmanship and skill-for
which they will give 190 gold florins, or whatsoever shall
appear to his conscience to be just. The figures are to be
these furnished in the design." This option of deter-
mining the price of the work, which they leave to his
own conscience, clearly shows what a high opinion they
had formed of the artist's honour. This tabernacle is six
palms high by three wide. Its form is that of an armory;
and it has two doors, with a very strong lock. As the con-
tract stipulated, the painter coloured it within and without,
with great profusion of gold and silver, so as to make it
one of the most splendid things of its sort. In the inte-
rior he depicted Our Lady (life size) seated on a rich
cushion shot with gold. The azure mantle that falls
from her head to her feet, and covers her whole person,
is equally adorned with gold embroidery. On the Vir-
gin's knees sits the Holy Infant, clad in a beautiful tunic,
and holding the globe in His right hand. Around the
Virgin and Son, he introduced a troop of little angels,
playing on various instruments; and they are so graceful
that they seem to have come down from heaven. On
the inside of the two doors he painted (also life size) S.
John Baptist and S. Mark, and on the exterior S. Peter
and S. Mark. This figure he repeated, because this
'Baldinucci, Notizie dei Professori del Disegno. Decenn. 2, p. 1, del.
This tabernacle was removed to the gallery of the Uffizj, 1777.
sec. iv.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
197
Evangelist was the patron of the Guild, and he desired
that, whether the tabernacle was closed or opened, they
should have him always before their eyes. At foot of
this armory, there must have been an embasement, with
three histories, somewhat like the gradini that he was ac-
customed to attach to his pictures. In the centre was an
Adoration of the Magi, and on the sides S. Peter preach-
ing and S. Mark writing. The subject of the third
picture was, a Sea in a tempest, and a Fury threatening the
persecutors of the Evangelists. These three panels were
removed from the tabernacle, and taken to the Gallery of
the Uffizj. This work, though executed in what may
be termed his grandiose style, is nevertheless defective in
chiaroscuro; but in my judgment this may be accounted
for thus. The Angelico, according to his custom, coloured
the figures with light and transparent tints, but as they
are on a gold ground, the excess of light that is reflected
will not allow the eye to rest calmly on the paintings.
This observation holds good in regard of some other
works from his pencil, which, when taken out of the
sombre, religious light of the churches for which they
were executed, and exposed to the glare of the great
windows in public Galleries, cannot produce the effect
which they would doubtless have if viewed in their
original position.'
Amongst the works of his youth, Vasari mentions
three pictures which in his time were to be seen in the
Certosa of Florence; two of which have been lost, and
the third taken from the veneration of the faithful, is
now exposed to gratify the curiosity of persons visiting
the gallery of the Uffizj. We will speak of the first two
1 This painting has been engraved by Signor Livy.
198
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
in the words of the historian-" One of the first works
in painting executed by this father was in the Certosa of
Florence, where he painted on panel, an altar-piece for
the chapel of Cardinal Acciajuoli. It represents our
Lady with her Son in her arms, and some angels at her
feet who play on instruments and sing. On the sides
are S. Laurence, S. Mary Magdalene, S. Zanobi, S.
Benedict; and on the predella (base) are many little
histories of these saints, executed with infinite diligence.
In the same principal chapel are two other pictures by
the same hand; in one of which is a Coronation of our
Lady, and in the other a Madonna with two saints,
in
ultramontane blue-they are most charming." But as
he does not make further mention of the Coronation,
(which is still preserved,) we will endeavour to describe
it, as it is one of the most splendid of the Angelico's
productions.
This picture of the Coronation is about two palms and
a half in height and breadth. In the upper part, a most
lucent gold ray beams from the centre, and forms the
ground of the picture; in the midst is the Blessed Virgin
seated at the right of her Son. Instead of being clothed
in white, as his crowned Virgins usually are, her mantle
is azure, studded with very small gold stars: her hands
are sweetly crossed on her bosom, and the head and
whole person are gently bent in an attitude of affection
and reverence. This idea is supremely mystical, and the
artist kept the interpretation of it to himself A troop of
angels, beautiful as possible, encircle her, some playing
on every sort of instrument; whilst others, hand in hand,
move as in a dance. In the under part are two who
profoundly adore, and offer incense out of thuribles;
whilst two others wake melodies from their harps-from
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
199
the countenances and movements of them all radiate
grace, ecstacy, and marvellous affection. In presence of
this picture we are reminded of Dante's Vision:-
"On every side the living flame decayed,
And in that, midst their sportive pennons, wav'd
Thousands of angels; in resplendence each
Distinct, and quaint adornment. At their glee
And Carol, smil'd the Lovely One of heav'n,
That joy was in the eyes of all the blest."
In the under part of the picture, disposed in beautiful
order, he introduced on the right and left a great host of
saints who, to use Allighieri's thought, rejoice in the
sight, and in these celestial harmonies. On one side are
S. Nicholas di Bari, S. Egidius Abbot, S. Dominic, S.
Jerom, S. Benedict, S. Peter, and S. Paul, Apostles,
with many others; on the other side are S. Mary Magda-
lene, S. Catherine, Virgin and Martyr, with many female
saints, amongst whom he painted S. Stephen, Proto-
Martyr, and S. Peter the Dominican Martyr, because the
Church calls the former the protector of the weaker sex,
and because the latter was illustrious for his singular
love of virginity. No eloquence could describe the
impressions which this work is calculated to produce.
The heart has a language for which it cannot at all times.
find words, and we can never contemplate this picture
without yearning for heaven. Oh! may all the paintings
employed by the Catholic church be like to this: for we
would be thus spared many of the invectives which
those who are not of us, are accustomed to heap on our
veneration for sacred images, which are often far more
efficacious in inculcating virtue than even the words of
man 12
1 Paradiso, Canto xxxi.
? It has been engraved excellently by Buonajuti of Florence.
200
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
Perhaps we would not err in classing amongst the
best works that the Angelico executed at Fiesole, the
painting for the nuns of S. Pietro in Piazza, which is
now in the gallery of the Uffizj, near the entrance, and
the Deposition from the Cross which is in the Academy
of Design, in the gallery of the little pictures, marked
No. 43. The design and composition of both seem to
me to be much in the Giottesque style; and although they
possess wonderful merit,-particularly the Deposition,—
we refrain from describing them; since the first, if we
except some little figures, bears great resemblance to the
Perugian picture of which we have spoken; and as to
the second, since we have to write of another Deposition,
in every way far superior to it, we do not deem the
omission unreasonable.¹
CHAPTER VI.
Fra Giovanni and Fra Benedetto go to Florence-The building of the new
Convent of S. Mark-Paintings by the Angelico for the Church and
Convent of his Order, and for the city of Florence.
We have now arrived at the most splendid period of the
Angelico's life. Well indeed does it merit this predicate,
by reason of the number of his works, and the great
perfection to which he had attained in design, chiaros-
curo, and perspective. Here, however, we deem it our
'This Deposition was painted for the Confraternity of Holy Cross, (del
Tempio,) and amongst the Marys and the disciples weeping over the lifeless
body of the Redeemer, he introduced S. Dominic and the Blessed Villana, a
tertiary of the Dominican Order, who was buried in S. Maria Novella. This
picture was placed in the Gallery of the Academy, A.D. 1786. Richa,
Notizie Ist.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
201
duty to introduce the reader to that portion of pictorial
history that records the termination of the ancient, and
the beginning of the modern school. A memorable
epoch truly, and for the imitative arts, one of supreme
glory. Had its duration been longer, history would have
nothing to record that could equal it. For whilst the
people were struggling between tyranny and liberty;
whilst philosophy was engaged with its deliriums about
judicial astrology, and multiplying comments on the
Stagirite; whilst the civil code was cruel and oppressive,
and religion itself suffered desolation from the schism,
the arts were gradually approaching that sovereign
excellence to which the genius of Leonardo da Vinci
and Raffaello were destined to raise them; till, with the
rapidity that signalised their advancement, they began to
fall into decay and ruin.
When the Angelico left his early instructors, in order
to take the Dominican habit in Fiesole, the old school
of Giotto may be said to have exercised sovereign sway
over the arts; but so tenacious was it of the ancient
methods and primitive traditions, that it did not make
that progress which might have been reasonably expected
during such a lengthened period. Stefano of Florence,
was the only one who had attempted to solve the great
difficulties which accompanied the management of light
in perspective, and his attempts had no very remarkable
results, and were not certainly equal to the requirements:
nevertheless, the labours of many had sowed the seeds of
the new reform; which being lovingly cultivated by
glorious genius, soon gave an increment to art. In two
respects they improved design and colouring; and to
effect that amelioration in the former, they applied them-
selves to the study of perspective, not according to vague
and uncertain theories, but with the aid of Geometry, in
K 2
202
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
which Piero della Francesca and Fra Luca Pacioli, the
Minorite, were deeply skilled. Paolo Uccello learned it
from Giovanni Manetti, Brunellesco from Paolo Tusca-
nelli, and Father Ubertino Strozzi, the Dominican.¹
Sculpture and goldsmith's work improved colouring as
far as lights and shades were concerned. It was thus
that Masolino da Panicale who, being a goldsmith,
painter, and sculptor, and consequently obliged to model
in plaster, learned how to give relief to his figures by
means of shading. He it was who helped Ghiberti to
polish the bronze gates of S. Giovanni. Hence, in the
Renaissance of art, sculpture preceded and aided painting,
as it did in the days of Niccola Pisano, in the
thirteenth century. The glory of this reform is entirely
attributed to Masaccio; but on calm reflection it must be
admitted that he found the way smoothed for him, and
many of the chief difficulties that attended painting
almost removed; whereas, Masolino, after finding art
poor and defective, elevated it marvellously. Of him we
may well affirm what has been said of Giotto, that he
invested painting with new attributes, changing it from
the antique to the modern. Vasari lauds Masolino's
works for their grace, the grandeur of their style, the
softness and unity of their colouring, and the relief of the
figures, although he does not think their design perfect.
It is, nevertheless, indubitable that Masaccio followed the
precepts of his master, and dated the commencement of
the modern school. They and their followers gave a new
character to composition; so much so that the figures
were no longer disposed symmetrically on a horizontal
line or on inclined planes, as was usual with the
1 This distinguished Friar is honourably mentioned in the Chronicles of S.
M. Novella. He was a renowned mathematician and engineer in his times.
Borghigiani, Cron. Ann. ad ann. 1413.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
203
Giottesque on the contrary, their figures were placed
gracefully in various attitudes round the throne of the
Virgin and the Saints. They likewise attempted the
nude, but timidly, and they varied the arrangement and
the robing of the figures; giving to the heads more
life, and a certain simplicity that must ever charm us.
Abandoning the use of gold grounds they substituted
elegant fabrics, graceful landscapes, and a variety of
beautiful accessory adornments. All the painters of this
truly golden age are remarkable for that rare sobriety in
which there is nothing superfluous, and nothing defective;
and the eye reposes tranquilly, and the heart affectionately
on their beauteous works. But it is not for us to repeat
what others have already written, or to describe how at
a subsequent period the study of all the branches of design,
and the imitation of the antique and real, insensibly
caused artists to substitute the means for the end; or
how when art had reached its climax, sentiment began
to be utterly disregarded. But let us return to where
we left off. When Giovanni Angelico set out from
Fiesole for Florence, to paint in the new convent of S.
Mark, (1436,) Masolino da Panicale was dead; Masaccio
in all probability was decorating the Carmine;' Brunel-
lesco was erecting the wondrous cupola of S. Maria del
Fiore; and Lorenzo Ghiberti had just finished these
gates of the baptistery which Michelangelo pronounced
to be worthy of Paradise. Donatello and Luca della
Robbia were at this period vieing with each other in
sculpture and works in plaster. The sight of so many
1 Lanzi says that it was not likely that the Angelico, who was then of
mature age, would have set about learning from Masaccio, who was still
very young; nevertheless the history of art records many examples of this.
-Hist. of Painting.

204
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
monuments of splendid genius soon taught the Angelico
that he had yet much to learn; and that in order to
render his celestial meditations still more acceptable to
the people, he must needs apply himself intently to the
study of perspective and chiaroscuro. And though now
matured in years, and with a name bruited abroad, he
did not fail to devote himself to such studies. He
therefore sat down to contemplate Masaccio's works in
the Carmine; nor need we observe that Leonardo da
Vinci, Buonarroti, Raffaello, and others, learned their
earliest lessons there."
The convent of S. Mark, whose history is identified
with that of religion, literature, arts, and politics, was
founded towards the close of the thirteenth century. It
had belonged to the Silvestrine monks, till the begin-
ning of the fifteenth, when, at the prayers of the
Florentines, supported by Cosimo dei Medici, Martin
V. took it out of the hands of its original owners, (for
whom he provided on the other bank of the Arno,) and
granted it to the reformed religious of the convent of S.
1 The Church of the Carmelites-
"In this chapel wrought
One of the Few, Nature's Interpreters,
The Few whom Genius gives as Lights to shine,
Massaccio; and he slumbers underneath.
Wouldst thou behold his monument? Look round!
And know that where we stand, stood oft and long,
Oft till the day was gone, Raphael himself;
Nor he alone, so great the ardour there,
Such, while it reigned, the generous rivalry;
He and how many as at once called forth,
Anxious to learn of those who came before,
To steal a spark from their authentic fire,
Theirs who first broke the universal gloom,
Sons of the Morning."-Rogers' Italy.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
205
Dominic in Fiesole. In the year 1436 Pope Eugenius
IV., who was then in Florence, "ordained that the
Dominicans should take possession of it in great state
and solemnity. Three bishops of Taranto, of Trevigi,
and Parentino, accompanied the monks, who were pre-
ceded by the mace-bearers of the Signory, sent thither
to add to the pomp. Father Cipriano da Firenze then
took formal possession of it in the name of his religious
society." Then it was that Cosimo dei Medici employed
Michelozzo Micchelozzi, the architect, to build the actual
convent and library on the site of the old one, and also
to enlarge the church and convent, on which he would
have lavished his well-known magnificence, had he not
been requested by the friars to have regard to their
modesty and religious poverty. On the buildings he
expended thirty-six thousand gold ducats; and, during
the period of the works, he gave, for the support of its
new inmates, three hundred and sixty-six crowns an-
nually. He also gave fifteen hundred more for the
purchase of books, as well as for the miniaturing of the
Choral-books; not to speak of other sums which he
bestowed to meet various contingencies. Little did the
magnificent Cosimo imagine that he was then preparing
an asylum for that terrible Savonarola, who was destined
to dispute the dominion of Florence with his posterity!
In 1437 the architect commenced the building, by
constructing twenty cells for the religious, and restoring
the roof of the church, which was in a ruinous condition.
The principal chapel having been completed in 1439,
they set about decorating the church; and it was at this
period that the frescos of Pietro Cavallini and Lorenzo
1 Annali del Conv. di S. Marco.
2 Richa. Notiz. Ist. delle Chiese Fior., v. 7.
206
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
Bicci, which adorned it, were destroyed. Of the former,
happily there still remains a most beautiful Annuncia-
tion, which proves that the same idea guided the hand
of the unknown painter of that which is in the church of
the Servites and of Cavallini, in S. Mark's, so as to lead
Vasari to believe that they were both by the same artist.
In 1441 the restorations and the adornments of the
church must have been completed. In the following
year, on the Feast of the Epiphany, it was solemnly
consecrated by Cardinal Niccolò Acciapaccio, Arch-
bishop of Capua, in presence of Pope Eugene IV., and
the College of Cardinals. The building of the convent
was finished in 1443, but, according to Vasari, in 1452,
and, according to Father Richa, at a period posterior;
for he tells us that only the first cloister and the dormi-
tories over it were finished in 1451, and that the founda-
tion having been discovered to be too weak, the whole
was taken down, and built out of the new. A statement
which I believe to be quite true. The first cloister and
upper dormitories were painted by the Angelico, and
this must have been before 1445; since, about that time,
he set out for Rome, where he died. We must, there-
fore, follow the authority of the Chronicle. The last
work was the library, which, for its architecture, is not
surpassed by any in Florence. It is eighty braccia long,
by eighteen wide, and its ceiling is supported by two
rows of columns of the Doric order. This was the first
that was ever opened in Italy for the public benefit; and
its librarian was the celebrated Tommaso di Sarzana,
afterwards Pope Nicholas V., who, as we shall see, loved
and esteemed the Angelic Painter.'
This library possessed the greatest quantity of Greek works then in
Italy; hence it was called La Greca. When the Republic decreed Savona-
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
207
Having determined the dates of the building, we will
speak chronologically of the paintings which were sub-
sequently executed by Fra Giovanni; as we will thus be
enabled to correct some errors that have escaped Bal-
dinucci and Professor Rosini. The first-named asserts
that the paintings in the cloister of S. Mark should be
reckoned amongst the productions of his youth; whereas
it is indubitable that, if he began to paint them even in
1436, that is, when the Dominicans obtained the con-
vent, the Angelico must have been forty-nine years of
age; but, supposing them to have been executed in
1440, (and I, for my part, think it very likely,) he
could not then have been less than fifty-three. As to
what Rosini states, namely, that Fra Giovanni had
finished the painting of the chapter-room in 1415, (if
this be not a typographical error,) I hold it to be false,
for the reasons already alleged.¹
When the Preaching-Friars got possession of their
new domicile, they all firmly resolved to deserve well of
the Florentine people, who had given them such signal
proofs of their esteem and veneration. S. Antonino
realised this by his preaching, as well as by the moral
and historical works that he published, and the Angelico
and Fra Benedetto, by these glorious developments that
shall evermore class them amongst the greatest artists of
the world. And, indeed, if the religious of S. Marco
could not boast that they erected the church and con-
vent by their own architects, as their confreres of S.
rola's death, all the books, MSS., &c., were taken from the religious. This
happened May 8, 1498. They were restored, however, in the October of
1500. The inventory made by Tommaso Sarzana (Pope Nicholas V.) for
Cosmo de Medici, has been discovered.
¹ Baldinucci, Notiz. dei P. del Disegno. Vita di F. G. Angelico.-Rosini
Storia della Pittura, v. 11.
208
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
Maria Novella had done, they might be justly proud of
having decorated the one and the other by the agency
of their own painters, of whom they had many.
It was, probably, during the restoration of the church
of S. Mark that Fra Giovanni commenced painting the
picture for the great altar of that church. It is that of
which Vasari speaks in the following terms:-"But
singularly beautiful is the picture of the grand altar of
that church, for the Madonna not only excites to devo-
tion, as do the saints who encircle her and resemble her,
but the predella, on which are histories of SS. Cosmas,
Damian, and others, is so well executed, that it is impos-
sible to imagine anything more diligently elaborated, or
in which the figures could be more delicate or better
defined."
In this picture, where there is a perceptible deviation
from the Giottesque method, it appears that the Ange-
lico made an attempt to approach the new school, not
so, however, as to diminish the religious effect of the
work. For, instead of placing the figures that are on
the right and left of the Virgin's throne, on a horizontal
line, in symmetrical order, as he was hitherto wont to do,
he has here grouped them in a variety of attitudes, as
though they were paying court to the Queen of Heaven.
On the right are S. Dominic, S. Francis, S. Peter,
martyr; on the left S. Laurence, S. Paul, and S. Mark,
the Evangelist, with some angels; and in the foreground,
kneeling, are SS. Cosmas and Damian, whom we
find in almost all the paintings he produced in Florence,
as they were the patrons of the Medicean family.
This painting would appear to have been executed in
his grandiose style; but we cannot now judge of its
merits, as far as colouring, relief, and expression, are
concerned. It has been much injured, I know not

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
209
whether by damp or retouchings; so much so, that scarcely
a trace of its ancient beauty remains. The gradino, it
seems, was divided into many parts, and some of them
were placed on the altar of S. Luke, in the chapel of the
Painters, in the cloister of the Annunziata. Perhaps, to
the same belonged that history of SS. Cosmas and Da-
mian healing the infirm, which is now in the gallery of
the Little pictures in the Academy of Design, marked
39, and the other of the Burial of the Five Martyrs,
marked 45, which is a sequel to the History of the
Martyrs, which may be seen on the said gradino in the
chapel of S. Luke. Neither the Memoirs of the convent
nor Vasari state that he executed any other work for
his church: but, instead of doing so, he set about deco-
rating the convent. And most certainly he was well
skilled in fresco-painting, and as polished in composi-
tions of this sort as in these of which we have been
speaking. Nay, more, it would appear that in his latter
years he preferred this style, which requires great
promptitude of intellect and hand; and that he possessed
both, is easily seen by the works which he produced in
Florence, Rome, and Orvieto. These, his last works,
shared a better fate than the others; for, as ultramontane
depredators could not carry them away, they were left in
the holy temples to excite the piety of the devout wor-
shipper; and, what is more, they were thus preserved
1 In this same Gallery is another picture by the same, better preserved than
the preceding, in which he repeated the same subject, varying only some
figures. Much merit as this picture may possess, it is very inferior in the
figure of the Virgin and Child, whilst it excels in these of S. Francis, and S.
Peter Martyr, which are divinely coloured and designed. It has been en-
graved in the collection of Antonio Perfetti, and illustrated by La Farina.
Another Picture by the Angelico in the same Gallery of the Little pictures,
marked 31, is worthy of consideration. The subject is the Virgin and Infant.
The heads of both are beautiful and graceful.

210
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
from the desecration of being exhibited in the public
galleries side by side with obscene productions.
As we mean to speak of the frescos which he painted
in the cloister and cells of the religious, which are over
forty in number, we have deemed it wise to mention
only such as are best worthy consideration, that we may
avoid prolixity. Another reason for this is, that we
have every hope of seeing them all engraved very soon
by Signor Antonio Perfetti, of the Royal Academy.'
In the first cloister, which is now called S. Antonino's,
(because it is ornamented with many histories of the
Saint, by various masters,) opposite the entrance, he
painted a Crucifixion, life size, and S. Dominic embrac-
ing the holy rood; the figures in which are designed
and finished with great excellence. Nothing can be
more happy than the Angelico's style of depicting the
Crucified Redeemer; for, instead of following the exam-
ple of his contemporaries, who pourtrayed Him as dead,
and with evident marks of excessive agony on the coun-
tenance and whole person, and all the contortions of a
violent and cruel death, he, like the painters of the
ancient school, represents Jesus as still living, pouring
most copious streams of blood from His holy wounds; and
he impresses on the face such calm, such serenity, and
such tender affection, that every one must see how the
Man-God truly suffers for His love of us,-a sentiment
which is calculated to awaken compunction in the heart
1 A great many, and certainly the most perfect of these frescoes, designed
and coloured by M. Laborde, have been published in Paris: "Fresque du
Couvent de Saint Marc, à Florence; par Beato Angelico da Fiesole, dessinées
sur les Origineaux par M. H. de Laborde, et reproduites en Chromo-Litho-
graphie, par les Procèdès de MM. Englemann et Graff, par MM. Moulin,
Blanke, Colette, et Sanson, sous la Direction de M. Paul Delaroche; pre-
cedés d'une Notice Historique sur Beato Angelico, par Ludovic Vitel."
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
211
of the spectator. Over the door that leads to the sacristy
he executed a half-figure of S. Peter Martyr, indicating
silence. He has the forefinger raised to his mouth; but
far more impressive, and far more calculated to invite us
to silence and recollection is the severe, I would almost
say threatening, aspect of the Saint. Over the other doors
he also executed, in half-figures, S. Dominic, with the
discipline in his right hand, and the Rules of the Order
in his left; and a Pietà, or Jesus. Christ rising from the
sepulchre, and pointing to the wound in His side. A
figure of wonderfully religious effect; for which the
Mystic School had great predilection, as they frequently
repeated it in and out of Florence. Over the door of the
ancient Guest-house, he painted our Lord, in the garb of
a pilgrim, receiving hospitality from two Dominicans.
The three figures are so beautiful, so devout, and so well
coloured and designed, that I do not hesitate to class
them amongst the most perfect works he executed for S.
Mark's. Then over the other door there is a half figure
of S. Thomas of Aquino; but this, as well as that of S.
Dominic, is very much injured.
But the history that he painted in the chapter-room is
alone sufficient to demonstrate the splendid genius and
piety of the artist; nor do I remember to have seen any
where such a grand and sublime conception, despite the
tenuity of the means, so efficaciously expressed. Others
may excel him in colouring, shading, and in the details
of drapery; but no other man shall ever surpass him in
filling the human bosom with tenderness and sorrow.
•
On a vast superficies of thirty-two palms in length,
and little less in height, he painted the Crucifixion of
our Lord, in figures as large as life. According to Vasari,
he was charged by Cosimo dei Medici to execute this
work. The composition, however, was left to the choice
-
212
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
of the painter; for he did not like to be trammelled by
the severe canons of art in whatever concerned the unity
of the subject and the truth of the history. The scope
of all his works was to move and instruct. Nothing that
tended to this result was omitted by him, and he regarded
everything else as extraneous to the object he had in
view.
Any of the schools that followed, which would have
undertaken such a difficult theme, would, doubtless, have
filled the scene with executioners, soldiers, scoffers,
horsemen, and an immense multitude of spectators;
neither would they have omitted a fair landscape with
beautiful perspective, in a word, they would have
sought to please by a diversity of objects and a resem-
blance to the real. They cared little for touching the
heart, or causing a single tear to flow: not so with the
Angelic, who followed the traditions of the ancients,
and the impulses of his piety. His sensitiveness would
not allow him to cater to the tastes of the Medici, who
were the patrons of those who painted the nude accord-
ing to the antique. The subject was too sacred and too
dear to the painter. Before applying himself to his work,
he prostrated himself at the foot of the crucifix, like S.
Thomas of Aquino, before solving questions on religion,
metaphysics, and law; the tears streamed from his eyes,
his heart throbbed audibly in his breast, his soul crossed
the confines of this world, and he then arose, seized
his pencil, and set him to his labour. No matter how it
resulted, he never retouched it, for he regarded the first
conceptions formed in his mind as heavenly inspirations,
to which he could not add or alter without irreverence.
In the chapter-room, of which we speak, he painted
the Redeemer on the Cross, and on either side of Him the
two thieves. At the foot of the Cross, and on both sides of
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
213
it, he introduced a great multitude of Saints. The figure
of the Redeemer is one of rare beauty and noble form:
the nude is slightly Giottesque; nevertheless, it is, in my
judgment, far superior to the carnose forms of the Cinque-
centists, not excepting even these of Fra Bartolommeo
della Porta. The nude of the two thieves is inferior;
but on the countenance of one of them, you read the
assurance of pardon, whilst that of the other bears the
stamp of blasphemy and a despairfulness that seems a
foretaste of hell. At the Cross's foot, on the right, he
painted the Virgin, who has swooned, and is supported
by S. John and one of the pious women. Magdalene
throws herself forward to help her, and clasps her in
her arms.
This is a group so beauteous and so touching
that it does not yield to Razzi's Swoon of S. Catherine
da Siena-a composition that fills every eye with tears.
Then follows a beautiful figure of the Baptist, well
designed and well coloured, pointing with the index
to that Saviour whom he had preached to the multitude
in the wilderness. S. Mark kneeling, points to the book
of the Gospels, in which he has described the life
and death of the Redeemer. The last figures are SS.
Laurence, Cosmas, and Damian. On the left a new
scene, not less tender and devout, presents itself. Here
are eleven saints, for the most part Founders of the
Religious Orders, who seem to meditate the Passion of
Christ, and it may be that the Angelico introduced
them to show that they had partaken copiously of the
fruits of the Redemption; and as the chapter-room was
meant to be the place for admonishing, correcting, and
inspiring the religious with fervour for the observance of
conventual discipline, perhaps, he desired to present
them these saints as grand models for their imitation.
And first we see S. Dominic prostrate at foot of the

214
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
*
Cross, wrapt in profound contemplation; a figure excel-
lently designed and coloured. Then follows S. Zanobi,
bishop of Florence, who meditates the vaticinations of
the prophets, realised in the Redeemer, to whom he
points with his finger. That bald old man, with white
beard, wasted and emaciated by years and fastings, is the
great Jerom, in whose breast the love of the Cross blunted
the keenest passions, and who seems to beg aid in his
most direful need. Then comes S. Augustin, who medi-
tates and writes. The Patriarch of the Franciscans, the
poor one of Christ, is prostrate on the ground, in the
most overwhelming dolor: a wonderful figure, in which
there is indescribable affection. S. Benedict is in deep
meditation; but I know not whether the Passion of the
Lord or the revival of monastic discipline in the West
has most of his thoughts. S. Bernard lovingly gazes at
the Crucified, and, with both hands, clasps a volume to
his bosom-that dear volume into which he has poured
the tender effusions of his heart. S. Romuald, bending
neath the weight of years, supports his feeble body on a
staff, and seems buried in some profoundly sad thought.
A solitary, that I take to be S. John Gualberto, sobs and
weeps. The last- are two Dominican Saints, S. Thomas
of Aquino, who contemplates the sublime mystery which
saved the human race, and of which he wrote so wisely;
and S. Peter Martyr, whose gaping wound tells how he
gave to Christ blood for blood. What is still more
remarkable in this work is, that the common grief per-
vading all the saints, finds, in each of them, a different
expression, according to their respective characteristics.
In St. Jerom we see it warm and impassioned, in S.
Francis and S. Bernard, tender and expressive; and in
S. Thomas of Aquino, sublime and meditative. This,
indeed, is a work as worthy of a great philosopher as it

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
215
is of the Angelic painter: a work that reminds us of the
Theban Aristides, who boasted that he could paint the
soul and its passions. It proves, however, that Fra Gio-
vanni had begun to adopt the improvements which were
introduced into art at this period in Florence. The
figures in this composition are remarkable for flowing
drapery, as also for the expression of the heads, not to
speak of the relief and great power of the design. I
must observe, however, that I am not satisfied with the
extremities, in which there is a negligence not unusual
to him; nevertheless, whenever he wished he removed
such blemishes. Let us advert, too, that this work bears
evident marks of retouching; and what is still worse, the
primitive ground, which may have been azure, was
removed and substituted (when and by whom I have not
been able to discover) by one of glaring red, which has
injured the outlines of the figures.
In order to develop still more effectively this devout
meditation, the painter executed, on the ten hexagons
that surround the arch of the ceiling, ten half-figures
of Prophets and Sybils, holding certain scrolls with
words relative to the Passion of our Lord; and they are
as beautiful and graceful as it is possible to imagine.
On the frieze that runs under the fresco the entire length
of the façade, he executed, in ten small circles, the por-
traits of S. Dominic and the illustrious men of his insti-
tute. We have elsewhere told how the Dominicans of
the convent of Trevigi, a century before, had caused
Tommaso da Modena to paint similar works in the
chapter-room of S. Niccolo, of which there is a mediocre
engraving in Father Federici's book. The friars of S.
Mark's desiring to have a series of portraits, sent to
Trevigi to procure copies of these executed by the said
Tommaso da Modena. Fra Angelico painted S. Dominic
216
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
in the centre of the picture, supporting with both his
hands, the trunk of a tree, the branches of which extend,
right and left, thirty-two palms; and from which hang
down sixteen medallions. It is to be deplored that, in
times subsequent to the Angelico, some one removed the
names which he had originally inscribed, and introduced
others nowise relevant to the personages whom he repre-
sented. At present we read on the right the names of
Innocent V., Cardinal Hugo, Father Paul of Florence,
S. Antonino, the Blessed Jordan of Saxony, the Blessed
Nicholas, (the provincial,) the Blessed Remigio of Flo-
rence, and the Blessed Buoninsegna, the Martyr. On the
left we find these of Benedict XI., the Blessed John Domi-
nici (Cardinal), the Blessed Peter della Palude, (called the
Annotator,) Albertus Magnus, S. Raymond de Pennafort,
the Blessed Chiaro da Sesto, the first Roman provincial,
S. Vincent Ferrar, and the Blessed Bernard, Martyr,
probably one of the three slain at Avignon, in 1240.
The Saints have an aureole, and the Beatified, rays of
gold.' We do not need much critical acumen to perceive
that the name of S. Antonino must have been added at a
much later period; for independently of the fact that this
picture nowise resembles the various portraits of the
Saint, the Angelico could not have painted the holy
Archbishop with an aureole, or the insignia of an arch-
bishop, whilst he was still living, and nothing more than
a simple religious of the convent of S. Marco. More-
1 For a very learned dissertation on this department of Christian iconography,
v. Father Oudin's Archeologie Chretienne, Bruxelles, 1847. We here transcribe
as much as we deem necessary on the subject: "Les signes characteristiques
des divers personnages en Archeologie, sont la gloire, le nimbe, et l'aureole.
Par le mot Gloire, on entend ordinairement, dans un sens generique, un orna-
ment que les artistes, les peintres, et les sculpteurs mettent, soit autour de la
tete, soit autour du CORPS de quelques personnages."
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
217
over, under the name of S. Antonino, we can trace the
remains of a very ancient inscription. We may also
question these of S. Vincent Ferrar and the Blessed
Giovanni Dominici; or, at least believe, that the aureole
of the former and the rays of the second were introduced
at a more recent period. These portraits are very beau-
tiful but very much injured, and particularly in the
eyes.¹
The Chronicle of the convent of S. Marco mentions
another painting by Fra Giovanni, which he executed
for the refectory of the same convent. It was a Cruci-
fixion, and probably a repetition of that in the refectory
at Fiesole, with the Blessed Virgin and S. John on
either side. It no longer exists, and we may suppose
that it was destroyed to make room for the great fresco
by Antonio Sogliani, which represents S. Dominic seated
at table with his brethren, and served by angels. This
work, executed in 1534, is amongst the best productions
of this painter, who was a very happy copyist of Fra
Bartolommeo della Porta, and in some instances excelled
Il Frate.
But by far the most remarkable of Fra Giovanni's
works singularly remarkable for the elegance of the
figures are these frescos in the convent which can bear
comparison with the most excellent productions of our
age, renowned for the number and ability of its artists.
"Nimbe en archeologie, c'est le cercle lumineux dont les peintres ou les
sculpteurs ornent la tete de la Divinitè ou des Saints.
"L'Aureole est le nimbe de tout le corps, de meme que le nimbe est l'Aureole
de la tete," etc.
1 During the French occupation, the soldiers extracted the pupils from
the eyes of all the figures. They did the same to these of the beautiful
gradino of the life of S. Niccolò in Perugia, which, as we have already said,
was carried off to France.
2 Annal. S. Marci. fol. 6.
VOL. I.
L
218
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
He determined to adorn the cells and dormitories of the
religious with subjects calculated to elevate their souls
and hearts to God, to keep them always in mind of their
heavenly destination, and of the glorious examples given
them by the Saints. This idea, in all likelihood, was
suggested by S. Antonino. We rejoice that we are able
to give the reader a vivid notion of these simple, yet
wonderful works of the Angelico, as they have hitherto
been unnoticed by the historians of art, or seem at least
to have been little known to them. Their subject was
not, as M. Montalembert supposes, the life of the Blessed
Virgin, but that of Jesus Christ, and he barely gives us
as many passages out of the history of the former as were
neccssary to illustrate that of the Son. They are taken
for the most part from these thirty-five histories of our
Lord, which he painted on the doors in the Annunziata,'
with the addition of a Dominican Saint, according to
the devotion of the religious who inhabited the cell.
We will now follow the order of the history, but not
that of the cells, and confine ourselves to a notice of the
principal pictures, leaving the others to be described in
Signor Perfetti's work. The first that presents itself is
an Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin, in the upper
dormitory, the figures of which are somewhat less than
the life-size. On a superficies, ten palms in length, he
painted the habitation of our Lady, surrounded by a
vestibule, which rests on Corinthian columns, much in
the style of that which he executed at Cortona; and
though the perspective is not perfect, it is better than
that of the former. On the outside is the little Garden
of Mary, enclosed by a thick hedge and railing; a figure
employed by the Church to denote her unblemished
virginity. The Holy Maiden of Nazareth is seated on
1 ¹ I. E. on the doors of the armory in that church.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
219
pale
an unadorned chair; the colour of her tunic is a
red, her azure mantle falls in folds over her knees, her
arms are crossed on her bosom, and her countenance, if
not remarkable for great beauty, is resplendent with the
calm serenity of Paradise. Her fair hair falls grace-
fully on her shoulders, and so humble and devotional is
her whole attitude, that in the presence of this dear
image, we almost feel the Angelical Salutation, “Hail
full of Grace," trembling on our lips. But that no one
should be so insensate as to refuse her that homage, our
painter inscribed the words at foot of the painting. The
figure of the Archangel is truly beautiful. A sweet smile
plays on his celestial features, and bending one knee, and
crossing his arms on his breast, he seems to await
anxiously the announcement of Mary's consent: it is
thus that Dante has described him." Whoever has seen
the beautiful Annunciation in the church of the Servites,
or the admirable one by Cavallini in S. Mark's, will
readily admit that the mystic school in treating such
subjects was infinitely superior to the painters of succeed-
ing ages.
Truly, indeed, has an illustrious writer
described why it is that modern artists never succeed in
painting true love, chastity, faith, hope, or the peace of
the just. (All of which are wonderfully embodied in
I The words are, "Virginis intactæ dum veneris ante figuram, pretere-
undo cave, ne sileatur Ave.” And at top, "Mater pietatis et totius
Trinitatis nobile triclinium. Maria."
2 "Say, who that angel is, that with such glee
Beholds our Queen, and so enamoured glows,
Of her high beauty, that all fire he seems,
In him are summ'd
What
Whate'er of buxomness and free delight
May be in spirit, or in angel met :
And so beseems, for that he bare the palm
Down unto Mary, when the Son of God
Vouchsafed to clothe him in terrestrial weeds."-
PARADIJO, c. xxxii. (Cary.)

220
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
this work.) With what truth has he asserted that, "our
love is very often a mere relaxation of hate; our faith,
the faith of critics; our hope, a violent passion; and our
calm, more threatening than the tempest."1
The Nativity, a most charming work, and in admira-
ble preservation, is a repetition of that in the Annun-
ziata church. The Presentation reminds us of Giotto's
conception, which may be seen in his little pictures in
the Academy of Design. Nothing could be truer than
his manner of pourtraying the affection of the Mother,
or the jubilee of the aged Simeon, clasping the Promised
One in his arms. Although this picture has sustained
injury at the hands of some one who removed the pri
mitive ground, it is still very beautitul, particularly in
the heads of Simeon and the Mother. But, where the
Angelico may be said to have excelled himself, (as is
admitted by all,) in design, chiaroscuro, colouring, and
truth of expression, is in the Adoration of the Magi.
In this work it would seem as if he had undertaken to
prove that he was not prevented by the difficulties of
art from arriving at perfection in a certain style of com-
position; but rather by the severe maxims that he pro-
fessed. Nay, more, he clearly shows that he was able
to avail himself of all that was beauteous in Masolino da
Panicale and Masaccio, without violating, in the sim-
plest particular, any one of the canons of Christian art.
Beautiful as are the two little pictures on the same sub-
ject which are now in the gallery of the Uffizj of the
Florentine Academy, this is transcendently superior to
them.
Cosimo dei Medici had caused an apartment to be
built for him in the convent of S. Marco, in order that
Tommaséo, Nuovi Scritti.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
221
he might have greater facilities for his intercourse with
S. Antonino and the two artist-brothers. This apart-
ment was the abode of Pope Eugene IV., when he
assisted at the consecration of the church, in 1442. It is
therefore very probable that this painting, allusive to the
Feast of the Epiphany, on which day the consecration
took place, was executed precisely at that period for the
adornment of the Pontifical chamber. Fra Giovanni
Angelico felt himself bound to give a proof of his genius
which would correspond with the magnificence of the
two guests, and bear evidence of the love with which he
cultivated these arts, of which Cosimo was naturally,
and politically, a munificent patron.
The back ground presents a distant view of the moun-
tains of Judea; and, in order that nothing might seduce
the eye or the soul from the contemplation of the princi-
pal subjects, he divested them of verdure and foliage.
Hollowed in the living rock is seen the miserable grotto
which first sheltered the Saviour. The poor Virgin is
seated, and has her Divine Son on her knees. On her
left is her spouse, who contemplates an offering made
by one of the Kings. Before them, prostrate on the
ground, in most profound adoration, is a hoary-headed
king, the first of the Magi, who, having laid down his
diadem, approaches his lips to the Divine Infant, who,
with childish grace, blesses him. Behind him is the
second, who kneels, and evinces anxiety to perform the
same act of devotion. The third, the youngest of the
three, is standing. Then follows a long train of foot-
men and servitors, admirably arranged and grouped;
some of whom discourse animatedly; and in order to
show that these princes were skilled in astronomy,
he placed in the hand of one of them an armillary
sphere, as though he would thus seek to account for that


222
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
wonderful star which had lighted their way to Beth-
lehem. This idea is beautifully expressed. The others
are engaged with the horses; but nothing can be more
graceful than the last figure on the left, which represents
a man endeavouring to gaze at the star, beaming over
the grotto, whilst he uses his hand to protect his eyes
against its blinding rays. Speaking of the artistic
merits of this work, we may say that the Blessed Virgin
and Infant are supernaturally beautiful. Nothing could
have been better designed and coloured than the first of
the Magi, nor can anything better express his burning
desire to kiss the holy feet of the Redeemer. The two
other figures of the kings possess equal merit for the
nobility and grace that beam from their countenances;
but no words of ours could describe the perfection of
that group of courtiers and pages, who, gathered toge-
ther, converse about the wondrous event. In fact one
knows not which should be most praised, the beauty of
the attitudes, or the arrangement of the draperies, that
every respect worthy of the most celebrated
painter. No one will refuse to recognise in the whole
composition a happy imitation of that life and grace so
peculiar to Masolino; and these characteristics are chiefly
noticeable in the relief which the Angelico has given to
all the figures. The extremities are well designed; nor
does the entire lack a single beauty calculated to gladden
the heart or the eye. We grieve to think that time has
done much injury to this work; nor do I know if it be
in man's power to preserve it from approaching ruin.
Of great merit are also the following histories-The
Sermon on the Mount-The Transfiguration-The Insti-
tution of the Sacrament, in which, following the method
of the Giottesque, he painted the Apostles seated at the
mystic Supper, and Jesus with the chalice in his left
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
223
may
hand whilst he presents to them the consecrated host
with his right. No one may ever hope to excel him in
depicting the wonder, the tender devotion and impatient
desire of the disciples to receive that divine food. In
the Prayer in the Garden, in order the better to express
the weakness of the Apostles at that terrible moment of
the Lord's dereliction, he represents them as buried in
profound sleep, whilst Our Lady and Martha in the dis-
tance pray and meditate. The same encomiums be
bestowed on the Treason of Judas; and still greater on
the history where he painted the Redeemer spurned by
Herod and his army. As the profound devotion of the
Angelico would not allow him to represent the sacred
humanity of the Redeemer exposed to fiendish outrage
and derision, he studied to make His divinity appear
under the lowly garb of His mortality. He therefore
painted Jesus seated in great majesty on a throne, but,
though blindfolded, the transparency of the veil allows
us to see His eyes, which are stern and threatening. His
right hand holds the globe, and the left, instead of a
scepter, a bunch of rods. Of the scoffers we can only see
the hands and faces. The white garment that covers
Him is beautifully draped. Seated at the foot of the
throne are the Dolorated Virgin and S. Dominic, on the
right and left; the latter, whose attitude is graceful,
holds an open volume on his knees, and profoundly
meditates the humiliations of the Divine Word. Motived
by the same tender devotion, instead of exhibiting the
Redeemer writhing under the scourger's lash, he repre-
sents Him bound to the pillar; and places before Him S.
Dominic, who inflicts the discipline on his own naked
shoulders. He painted the Crucifixion in many of the
cells; and in that inhabited by the writer of these Me-
moirs, he represented Christ ascending the gibbet, to

224
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
show the spontaneity of His death, and Mary fainting
and falling into the arms of Magdalene, at foot of the
Holy Rood. In the contiguous cell he painted the
Doloured Virgin and S. John weeping bitterly; then
follow portraits of S. Dominic and Thomas of Aquino,
absorbed in the contemplation of this ineffable mystery
of love.
Omitting the others, I will now speak of three which,
after the Adoration of the Magi, excel all these that we
have been describing. In the Marys at the Sepulchre, fol-
lowing the Evangelical description, he painted a tomb
hollowed out of the living rock, within which we be-
hold the white marble sarcophagus of the Redeemer
uncovered. In the upper part of the same is Jesus Christ,
Risen, and holding in His hand the triumphal ensign.
The pious women who had come with spikenard and per-
fumes to bestow their last offices of love on the Re-
deemer's body, are three figures excellently designed,
and expressive of such profound grief, that they awaken all
our sympathies. The most beautiful, however, apparently
not the work of human pencil, is the angel who, seated
on the threshold of the Sepulchre, gracefully tells the
disconsolate women, that Christ has risen. He also in-
troduced S. Dominic meditating the glory of that Resur-
rection; and this figure is truly angelical. The upper
part of this fresco has suffered some injury. The Descent
to the Limbus' of the Fathers that he painted in Saint
Antonino's cell, according to Rosini, has more power and
poetry than any of his other works. On the threshold of
a most gloomy cave, is seen the noble figure of the Re-
deemer, who triumphantly strikes down the infernal gate,
which crushes Lucifer, just as we see him represented in
Memmi's picture in the chapter-room of S. Maria Novella.
This idea was derived from the Greeks by the Giottesque.

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
225
The Saviour stretches out His right hand to Adam, be-
hind whom comes an immense multitude of souls in great
jubilation. As often as I have contemplated this paint-
ing, in which there is great truth of expression united to
a most happy conception, so often have I said to myself
that nature destined the Angelico to embody none but
tenderest and devoutest ideas; nay, more, I am persuaded
that he possessed such a fervid imagination, and such
abundant imagery, that in these respects he may com-
pete with the greatest artists.
The last of the frescos, and most beautiful of them all,
in which he displays such mastery in depicting the inef-
fable joys of heaven, is the Coronation of the Blessed
Virgin. This, indeed, is far more celestial than his pic-
ture on the same subject now in the gallery of the Uffizj.
We, however, will endeavour to describe how the artist
developed his devout conception; for, indeed, we confess
our inability to express the sensations which this glorious
work has awakened in our heart. He painted the Virgin
seated on a white cloud, which is overarched by a
charming rainbow; She is robed in white, her arms are
folded on her bosom, a gentle smile is on her lips, and
she leans gracefully forward towards her Divine Son.
Mid all the glory, she is the humblest of all. The Word
is seated by her side, and seems to crown her. He does
not, however, hold the golden diadem in his hands; on
the contrary, he barely touches it with the extremity of
His fingers, as though he had ordered it to go and encircle
His mother's temples-a sublime idea that reminds us of
the creative Fiat. He also wears a white robe, which is
shaded with a light tint of chiaroscuro, and appears to
be as subtile as the air. In the drapery of these figures
the Angelico has excelled himself. At their feet he
painted three Saints on the right and three on the left;
L 2

226
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
they also stand on a white cloud, and are wrapt in extacy,
contemplating this glory. Here he has more closely fol-
lowed Dante; for he disposed these six figures on a semi-
circular line, as though they constituted one of these gar-
lands of Blessed spirits who incessantly sing and dance
round the throne of the Eternal. They are SS. Paul,
Thomas, Francis, Benedict, Dominic, Peter Martyr; and
they all have their eyes and hands raised to heaven.
From their countenances beam joy and beatitude.
Whosoever stands in presence of it, may almost fancy
himself translated to the society of the Blessed. The
tinting of this history is so delicate and transparent, and
the pencilling so fine that it looks more like a celestial
vision than a painting; and, perhaps, it appeared as such
to the devout artist in the act of colouring it. On the
wall of the second dormitory, he also painted the Blessed
Virgin and her Son surrounded by many Saints. The
figures are admirably designed and finished.
These, in my opinion, are the best frescos that he
painted in the Convent of S. Marco; they are all well
preserved, but unfortunately the same cannot be said of
these that he executed in the cells on the right of the
second dormitory, which have been so injured that many
of them are lost; and others reduced to a most deplorable
state by retouchings.
This precious gallery — this glorious monument of
Italian Painting, was near being destroyed at the begin-
ning of the current century by the barbarians who came to
civilize Italy; and who, in their wisdom, concluded that
a piazza of larger dimensions than the actual, was of far
1 There is a copy of this Coronation, by Father Serafino Guidotti,
a religious of this convent, who, following the example of Fra Giovanni,
Angelico, and Bartolommeo della Porta, gives great promise of future
excellence.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
227
greater importance than all these works by the
Angelico and Fra Bartolommeo della Porta. The pa-
triotism of Signor Alessandri saved us from this Van-
dalic demolition.
CHAP. VII.
Paintings by Fra Angelico for the other Churches of Florence.
OUR painter was not so intent on embellishing his own
church and monastery, that he would refuse to gratify his
friends who, from time to time, sought some devout
image at his hands; on the contrary, such was his kind-
liness of disposition, that he was wont to say to those who
importuned him, "see that the prior be satisfied, and I
will not fail to oblige you." The Dominicans of S.
Maria Novella desired that their church, which was
adorned by the works of the most illustrious Florentine
artists, should not lack some from the pencil of their con-
frere, who was now regarded as one of the most splendid
of the Christian artists. They, therefore, invited him to
paint some history in the nave of their church; and he
accordingly depicted S. Dominic, S. Catherine of Siena,
and S. Peter, Martyr, together with some little histories in
the chapel of our Lady. These works, which were either
on panel or in fresco, no longer exist, having been de-
stroyed, perhaps, at the restoration of the church, when
(together with the frescos of the Giotto school) the
Twelve Apostles, that stupendous work by Masaccio, were
1 On the site of the actual altar of the Rosary, there was formerly a Cru-
cifixion by the chisel of Masaccio, and on the sides some frescos of Saints
by the same. The Crucifixion was removed to the Sacristy, where it is at

228
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
wholly cancelled. Somewhat more fortunate were the
little pictures on panel which Fra Giovanni had executed
many years before for Father Giovanni Masi, a religious
of that same convent; these were four reliquaries and a
painting for the Paschal candle.' At present only three
of them remain, the fourth having been carried off, and
the ornaments of the candle lost. I have never looked
at the first without experiencing a sense of admiration
and love for the painter; they are so beauteous, so
devout, and so graceful. In one of them he painted the
Coronation of the Blessed Virgin, and a choir of Angels.
The manner in which he has depicted these celestial
spirits is incomparable. At foot of the throne there is a
multitude of saints, so beautifully coloured that nothing
more exquisite can be imagined. On the base, he
painted the Virgin, and S. Joseph adoring the Infant,
with angels on either side. The second reliquary he
divided into two compartments; in the first he painted
an Annunciation; and in the second, the Adoration of
the Magi; and it is wonderful how he could have
enclosed so many graceful figures within such narrow
limits. On the base are some Virgins with our Lady,
who holds the Infant in her arms. In the third he
repeated the subject of the Tabernacle, which is in the
gallery of the Uffizj, with some slight deviation. In
this, the Virgin, instead of being seated, is standing,
surrounded by a choir of Angels, who sing and play on
present, and the paintings are hidden from view by an inferior work of Vasari,
painted in 1570, for which he received 1800 lire.
1 "Habemus et multas plurimorum sanctorum reliquias quas quidam Fr.
Joannes Masius Florentinus multæ devotionis et taciturnitatis vir, in quatuor
inclusit tabellas, quas Fr. Joannes Fesulanus pictor cognomento Angelicus,
pulcherrimis beatissimæ Mariae Virginis et Sanctorum Angelorum ornavit
figuris." Ib. Fr. J. Masius, 1430. Biliotti Chron. MSS.

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
229
various instruments. On the base there are half figures
of S. Dominic, S. Thomas of Aquino, S. Peter Martyr,
and two angels. And whilst on the subject of these
little pictures on panel, we will briefly advert to these
which are in the gallery of the Uffizj; and which, in my
opinion, were the gradini of larger pictures; for he never
painted any Saint, male or female, whose life he did not
narrate in little histories at foot of the picture. We
have already alluded to the Adoration of the Magi, and
the two histories of S. Mark, which were taken from the
Tabernacle that belonged to the Guild of Joiners.
There are also in the same gallery, two of the Blessed
Virgin, and one of S. John Baptist, that is the Espousals,
and the Transit of the Virgin: and Zaccharia calling the
child John. Of the first, Professor Rosini writes in these
terms:-" It (the Virgin) derived such purity, and such
loveliness of features from the hands, or rather from the
heart of Fra Angelico, that in simple expression of
most chaste affection, it excels all his antecedent works,
and leaves us to doubt whether he was surpassed even by
Raffaello in the picture now in the Brera.¹ But oh, how
beautiful is that in which he describes the Transit of Holy
Mary! It must be seen in order to form an idea of Fra
Giovanni's skill in miniature, to which the diligent
execution of this work assimilates it. He has here
faithfully followed the traditions of the ancient masters
in all that regards the life of the Virgin, and the whole
composition may be regarded as a reflex of the tender
feelings of the artist's heart, while engaged in colouring
it. He painted our Lady extended on the bier; and to
show that death could nowise injure that most holy
¹ Storia della Pittura, v. 2, p. 2, p. 257.
i
230
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
2.

form, wherein the Son of God abode; he depicted her
radiant in loveliness, and as though she were sleeping,
tranquilly. She is encircled by the Apostles who have
come to offer her the homage of their tears; and their
countenances exhibit sorrow intense and resigned. At
the head of the bier are two Angels, who act as acolytes,
and between them is an Apostle who pronounces the
eulogium of the defunct. But the most charming figure
of all is that of Jesus Christ descending from heaven in
great effulgence, and clothed in an azure chlamys, studded
with countless golden stars, who having lovingly taken
the Soul of Mary into His arms, (the painter represented
it in the form of a beautiful child,) blesses it before
conducting her body into heaven. This idea was
developed by him less happily in Cortona.¹
We will close the series of the works which he exe-
cuted for the city of Florence, with two pictures by his
pencil which may be termed chefs-d'œuvres of Christian
art. Speaking of this painter, I have to regret that nature
has not gifted me with a power of eloquence capable of
conveying an adequate idea of his marvellous excellence;
so much so, that whenever I fix my eyes on the Deposi-
tion from the Cross, or on the Final Judgment that he
has delineated so admirably, I deem it wise to be silent:
for in truth language has no words capable of describing
the beauty of these productions which seem to have been
conceived in a moment of divine ecstacy. They are a
1 The modern historian of our paintings has given us an engraving of a
Transit of the B. V. M., by Paul Veneto, painted in Vincenza, 1330, in
which the Soul of Mary is represented in the form of a beautiful child, sur-
rounded by a choir of Angels. The three pictures the Espousal, the Tran-
sit, and the Nativity of S. John-have been engraved in the Galleria di
Firenza Illustrata. Serie i. Tav. 30, 105, 106.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
231
celestial harmony that inebriates the soul with ineffable
delight; and the more profoundly it is felt, the more dif-
ficult it is to express it.
The painting of the Deposition from the Cross, which
has been removed from the Church of the Holy Trinity, for
which it was executed, to the Academy of Design, is
about seven palms high by eight wide; its upper part is
pointed, or to speak more intellegibly, is in the form of
three triangles, which are divided from the principal
painting by a gilded cornice. The points and cornice
are beautifully chiselled and painted, the former being
ornamented with many little histories, and the latter with
some minute figures of Saints, somewhat larger in their
dimensions, and certainly far more perfect than those
which he executed in the Perugian painting already de-
scribed. Contrary to his usual idea, he here represents
Mount Calvary clothed with flowers and verdure, as
though he meant to signify that the footprints and blood
of the Redeemer caused the most beautiful vegetation to
flourish on that accursed hill. That such was the paint-
ter's idea may be collected from the fact of the distant
mountains in the back ground (the perspective of which
is admirable,) being treeless and herbless, if we except
here and there some isolated palm. On the opposite side
is a good perspective of Jerusalem, designed and finished
with incredible diligence. The figures are disposed in
three groups; in the centre are two disciples, who, stand-
ing on the steps of the ladder that leans against the
Cross, lower the Redeemer's body; at the ladder's foot
two disciples support the sanctified remains, and the
youngest of the two who betrays such wonderful emotion
is the Evangelist John; a fifth prostrate on the earth
adores the body, and raising his hand to his breast seems
to say, "I should have died this ignominious death!"

232
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
The group on the left presents six figures, one of which
holds the thorny crown in his right hand, and in his left
the bloody nails wherewith the Redeemer's hands and
feet were digged; whilst he exhibits them to an old man
who contemplates them in profound dolor. This thought
has been most happily expressed by Donatello in the
basreliefs on the pulpit of San Lorenzo; and also by
Pietro Perugino in that glorious Deposition from the
Cross, which I regard as the most precious ornament in the
Pitti Gallery. Two of the disciples gaze intently on
the dead body of Christ, and in their midst is one who,
unable to restrain his tears, buries his face in his hands and
sobs almost audibly. "If thou weep'st not now, say, what
will cause thy tears to flow?"
The group on
the right is composed of pious women. Whosoever
would find the tender and loving Magdalene let him seek
her at the feet of Jesus. The Angelico represents her
supporting them and imprinting her last kiss on them.
Behind her, is the Mother. Oh! what a woe-
begone Mother! Grief and agony have so wrung her
heart, that the eye knows not on which of the two objects
it should rest—the lifeless body of the Lord, or on her,
the most afflicted of women! Who can behold this
work and not feel love and sorrow stirring in his heart?
Two women hold the winding-sheet, and two others
contemplate the poignant anguish of Mary; but the last
figure at the side is the most beautiful of all; it is that
of a woman whose whole person is robed in a violet
mantle, which she gracefully gathers over her bosom, thus
revealing only the exquisite beauty of her face. The
figure of the Redeemer is perfection itself, and nothing
can exceed the softness of the lines or the delicate trans-
parency of the mezzotints. The nude which exhibits
1 Se non piangi, di che pianger suoli?
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
233
the stripes of the scourge and the marks of the nails is
most correct. The anatomy is well defined; nor is there
a single trace of that harshness that offends us in the
productions of the Giotto school.
In the triangles are three histories, which the intelli-
gent in art suppose to be the work of a more ancient
painter. In the centre one is the Resurrection; in that
on the right, Magdalen and the Marys: and, on the left,
the "Noli me tangere." In the cornice, partly whole
and partly half figures, are twenty saints of rare beauty.¹
To fix the attention of the spectator, he introduced, at
the foot of the work, some passages of the Scripture
allusive to the death of the Redeemer. Like that of
the Adoration of the Magi, (in fresco,) the design of this
picture is correct, and the colouring very beautiful. The
attitudes, as well as draperies, are elegantly disposed, and
the countenances are noble and expressive. The extre-
mities, likewise, are well designed; but the perspective
wants that gradation of tints that improves distance by
the diminution of light and the addition of shading. Let
us observe, also, that the tinting of the flesh, being very
languid, and that of the robes most brilliant, the eye
somewhat hurt by the contrast. This, however, was not
a defect peculiar to him alone, but to the entire of that
school. Nevertheless, I believe that no one will deny
what D'Agincourt has asserted of the Angelico thật hẹ
surpassed in liveliness of colouring all the painters in
tempera who preceded him; and that he united the two
most opposite qualities of this art, that is, the delicate
touches of the miniaturist with the bold and easy pencil-
is
1 These have been engraved by Perfetti and illustrated by the author of
this work in 1843.
2 Plangent eum quasi unigenitum, quia innocens estimatus sum cum
descendentibus in lacum. Ecce quomodo moritur justus et nemo percipit corde!

234
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
ling of the frescoist; so much so, that if you contemplate
his pictures from a near point of view, you will imagine
that they belong to the former, but, if from a distance,
that they are the work of the latter.¹
It now remains for us to speak of that Final Judgment,
which of all the Angelico's works, appears to me to be
the most stupendous. From the days of Niccola Pisano,
to these of Michelangelo, this subject tasked the art and
genius of the most celebrated artists, who, for the most
part, vied with each other in painting the joys of the
Just, and the despair of the Doomed, as Allighieri had
sung them. Indeed they had almost exhausted them-
selves in depicting the tardy disenchantment and appaling
tortures of the reprobate: in inventing fanciful agonies,
and unprecedented writhings; so much so, that the heart
and soul must shudder at sight of that terrible scene
which Signorelli produced in Orvieto and Buonarrotti
at Rome. Man, it is true, is conversant with sorrows
and woes; and he can well depict them in verse, or on
canvas; but when he undertakes to paint joy, his imagery
is defective, nor does he know in what guise he should
We here subjoin the reflections of M. Montalembert on this splendid
work, "What a superabundance of love of God, of immense and burning
contrition must that dear Angelico have had the day that he painted this!
How he must have wept and meditated that day in the retirement of his
cell, on the sufferings of our Divine Master! Every stroke of his pencil,
every tint seems to have been so many acts of love and sorrow, springing from
the depths of his soul. What a touching sermon is not the sight of such a
picture! Oh, delicious masterpiece!-oh, what a happiness, what a grace,
to be able to contemplate this marvellous representation of the Passion of
our Lord!
Others look on it merely as a work of
art. I have derived consolations and profound lessons from it."-Vandalisme
et Catholicisme dans l'Art. This Deposition was excellently restored in
1841, by Francesco Acciai.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
235
develop it.
Wherefore, as the drama of the Final
Judgment consists of two most distinct acts; that is,
of extreme joy, and of extreme sorrow, it was almost
impossible to convey a lucid idea of the former, for since
God has not revealed the joy of heaven to man, how will
he, most miserable, essay to describe it in words or tintings
of the pencil.¹ To Giovanni Angelico alone, this power
was given; and none of those who preceded or followed
him have surpassed him in this most difficult experiment.
There are four pictures by him on this subject, two in
Rome, and two in Florence. The first is in the gallery
of Prince Corsini—it is that mentioned by Bottari in his
notes to Vasari's Life of Fra Giovanni; the second was
in the collection of the late Cardinal Fesch; the third, is
in the Academy of Design in Florence, it is a compart-
ment of the doors in the Annunziata Church; and the
fourth is actually in the possession of the Camaldulese
Monks in S. Maria degli Angioli. All of them are
splendid, but in my judgment the last is the most perfect,
and it was for many years suspended over the sedilia, or
seat used by the priests during the celebration of the
chaunted Mass. It is about seven palms long, and its
summit is in the form of three arches, the central one
being largest, and the two side ones smaller. The Final
Judgment occupies the central one; in that on the right,
he painted Paradise; and in that on the left, Hell. The
figures are of the dimensions of these which he painted
on the gradini of his pictures. The Judge of the living
and the dead is seated in great majesty in the centre.
'In the unique collection of original designs of the Italian Painters by
Andrea Tafi, (which amounts to over 27,838,) there is a final Judgment
executed with a pen by the Angelico, different from any other that I have
seen.

236
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
He is encircled by choirs of angels, cherubim and sera-
phim, and you behold the Virgin, with arms crossed on
her bosom, turning on her Son a look of love, and mak-
ing her last intercession for miserable sinners. Ah, whạt
words could describe her trepidation for such an immense
section of the human race? Aleft and right of that tre-
mendous judgment-seat, enthroned on clouds, are Patri-
arche, Prophets, and Apostles, the series of whom is
closed by S. Dominic and S. Francis. From the gold
ground of the picture springs a torrent of light that
reveals the glory of the Elect. At the feet of our Lord
an angel raises on high the triumphal ensign of the Cross,
whilst two other blow trumpets, whose sound causes man
to shake off the sleep of ages, and to arise from the
grave. The Supreme Judge is in the act of fulminating
His malediction against the Reprobate. Let not the
reader fancy HIM with His right hand stretched out, or
that there is anything like human vengeance on His fea-
tures, as others would depict Him; on the contrary, there
is nothing irate in His expression; He merely turns away
His eyes from the Doomed, and, by a waive of His hand,
commands them to withdraw for ever from His presence.
A most simple act this, but, surely, far more eloquent
and sublime than any terrible menace. A brief
A brief space
divides the Elect from the Damned. Michelangiolo
painted both naked in the Sixtine: Zuccheri, in the
cupola of the cathedral at Florence, represents the
damned naked, and the elect clothed; and Luca Signo-
relli follows the former in his Judgment in Orvieto, em-
ploying only as much drapery as was required by
modesty. Giovanni Angelico clothed all his figures
equally, thus, not only preserving decorum, but greatly
heightening the moral and religious effect of the whole
composition; for we are thus enabled to recognise those

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
237
whom the painter placed amongst the lost, as well as
those who are made the recipients of eternal joy; from
which the spectator may learn a salutary lesson. Thus
Dante, not satisfied with having recounted the agonies
to which his damned were sentenced, or the blisses which
his elect enjoyed, determined to give us the names of
the most distinguished amongst them, and to narrate,
also, the virtues and the vices according to which they
were adjudged. He thought, no doubt, that he might
thus awaken admiration for the one, and detestation for
the other. It would appear that the Angelico was in-
fluenced by a similar motive. Hence, you behold
amongst the accursed, persons of every age, grade, and
condition, and especially many ministers of the sanc-
tuary; a fact that should not startle us, when we recall
the licentious days of the schism already alluded to in
this work. Hence it is that he has placed so many
monks, prelates, cardinals, and Antipopes amongst the
damned; for, indeed, we cannot think that a painter of
his well-known sanctity could have imagined the distur
bers of the peace of the Church in these times worthy of
any other location. Dante did the same, for other rea-
sons, and also to impart a great moral lesson. It has
been well remarked that the countenances of the doomed
do not exhibit the fury and despair that is given them by
other painters; on the contrary, we find them undeceived
and overwhelmed with grief for having forfeited the
supreme good that was in store for them, as well as the
elect, if they had observed the divine commandments.
Strange and bizarre is the form in which the Angelico
painted his demons; and it must be confessed that, in
this portraiture, he lacked imagination. He divided Hell
into seven circles, (or bolgi,) in each of which, according to
the nature of the seven capital vices, there are various
238
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
torments and tormented. And this portion of the paint-
ing, if it be not in every respect perfect in its composi-
tion, yields to that which follows in design and execu-
tion. The idea of finding the "Emperor who sways the
realm of sorrow" in the depth of the abyss is somewhat
poetical, and is evidently taken from Dante, for, indeed,
the three-headed monster, who
"At every mouth his teeth a sinner champed,
Bruised as with pond'rous engine; so that three
Were in this guise tormented,”
was not such a figure as would have presented itself to
the imagination of Fra Giovanni, who seems to have con-
templated little else than celestial beauty. But where this
painter triumphs and establishes his title to the name of
Angelico, with which the people honoured him, is on the
right side of the picture, where we behold the Elect.
Who can see these graceful little figures and not be
enamoured of virtue? Who is it that does not yearn
to taste the holy and ineffable joys of these blessed
beings; who, having fought the good fight, and com-
pleted their term of exile, are now approaching their true
country to enjoy that reward for which they longed, and
for sake of which they had suffered so many afflictions?
They all have their eyes and arms turned towards their
Redeemer, and they seem to bless and thank Him for
having placed them among his Elect. There you see
princes, warriors, pilgrims, bishops, pontiffs, and mem-
bers of the religious Orders: and here, as in all his paint-
ings, he has given a distinguished place to the children
of SS. Francis and Dominic. But more charming than
even this, are the kisses and embracings which the Elect
interchange with the Angels who protected and guided
1 Inferno, canto xxxiv. (Cary's.)
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
239
them on the path of peril. Kneeling, they clasp each
other in heavenly affection. The idea of the painter,
probably, was to exhibit the angels, venerating in these
bodies, humanity glorified. The greetings between the
angels and the elect terminated, we see them linking
hands and gracefully dancing on a sweet meadow, enamel-
led with most beauteous flowers. Their garments glisten
with innumerable little golden stars; the head of each is
wreathed with a garland of white and red roses, whilst
a brilliant little flame burns on the forehead of each
angel. Then light, aery, graceful, and even during the
dance absorbed in ecstatic contemplation, carolling and
singing they advance towards the celestial Jerusalem;
and the nearer they approach to it, the more etherial and
luminous do their bodies become; till at last, arrived at
the gates of the holy city, they appear to be transmuted
into most subtile and resplendent spirits; and then, two
by two, holding each other's hand, they are introduced
into eternal beatitude. Where did the painter find this
sweet conception? How was he able to develop such
varied beauties? We confess our inability to give or
imagine a reply.
These are the principal works that he executed for the
city of Florence is fresco and on panel; but, certainly,
we have not enumerated them all, since it appears from
an ancient catalogue, in the Chronicle of S. Domenico, in
Fiesole, that he produced others, of which we are all but
ignorant. For example, there was in the church of the
Holy Trinity, along with the " Deposition," another work,
the subject of which is unknown. In the church of S.
Egidio, there was also one. There were some minor
pictures in the Oratories and Confraternities of the
"Children,” many of which congregations were supported
by the Florentines. Some of them were in S. Maria
240
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
Novella and one in S. Marco. Vasari makes no mention
of these paintings. At the end of this Memoir we will
give an inventory of Fra Giovanni's works, in order to
gratify the admirers of the Angelic artist.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Angelico is invited to paint in Rome, probably by Pope Eugene IV.
and is detained there by his successor, Nicholas V.-His Paintings in the
Vatican, the Minerva, and in Orvieto-His Death, Eulogy, and Disciples.
THESE works had rendered the Angelico's name so cele-
brated throughout Italy, that Pope Eugene IV., who had
already admired many of his productions in Florence,
desiring to decorate the Vatican during the last years of
his pontificate, invited him to set out for Rome.
The silence of the ancient as well as the contradictions
of modern writers cause us to question the precise period
of his arrival in Rome. Vasari would have us believe
that he was summoned to the eternal city by Pope Nicho-
las V.; and Rosini, following Vasari, states, that he
arrived there in 1447.1 Leandro Alberti, a much earlier
writer, favours this opinion; nevertheless I think there
are very grave reasons for believing that he went to
Rome in the last years, or at least in the last months of
the reign of Eugene IV. The first of these historians,
who seemingly forgets all he had written, after narrating
the Angelico's arrival at Rome, tells us that Pope Nicho-
las V., knowing the sanctity of his life, offered him the
bishopric of Florence, which was then vacant; and that
our friar supplicated his holiness to provide somebody
1 Storia della Pittura Italiana, v. 2, p. 2.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
241
else, as he did not think himself competent for such an
onerous office, adding, at the same time, that there was
in his Order a man of great sanctity and remarkable for
his love of the poor, on whom such a responsible dignity
might be properly conferred. The Pontiff, knowing the
truth of all this, yielded to the suggestion of the Ange-
lico; and thus was Fra Antonino, of the Order of Preach-
ing-Friars, raised to the Archiepiscopal See of Florence;
and he proved to be a man of such extraordinary sanc-
tity, that he was canonized by Hadrian VI. Supposing
Vasari's statement to be true, in order not to fall into a se-
rious anachronism, we must go back to an anterior epoch,
in order to determine at what time the Angelico set out
for Rome. Let us remember, therefore, that Zabarella,
Archbishop of Florence, who was succeeded by S. Anto-
nino, died in 1445, during the pontificate of Eugene IV.²
therefore this journey could not have been undertaken
in 1447, as Rosini asserts; but granting that Rosini's
narrative is not only false, but very unlikely-as it has
appeared to some—I think, nevertheless, that he was in-
vited to Rome by Eugene IV.; and that he was retained
there after the death of this Pontiff by Nicholas V., his
successor. As a proof of this I will cite the contract
between Fra Giovanni and the builders of the cathedral
of Orvieto, from which it appears that he was in Rome
in 1447, as the said contract, by which he bound himself
to paint in Orvieto, is dated in the former city. Eugene
IV. died in February; and on the sixth of March, of
said year, he was succeeded by Tommaso da Sarzana, of
the Preaching-Friars, who assumed the name of Nicholas
V.; but as it was not at all probable that the Angelico
1 V. Vasari.
• S. Antonino was consecrated Archbishop of Florence, March 13, 1446.
VOL. I.
M
242
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
would have been invited to Rome immediately after the
elevation of the foresaid to the pontifical throne, or that
he would have, immediately on his arrival there, entered
into a contract with the builders of Orvieto, I deem it
far more reasonable to suppose that he was sent for by
Eugene IV. in 1446, and that he was retained by
his successor to complete the works he had already com-
menced. Thus we might easily reconcile the conflicting
opinions.¹
The name of Nicholas V. shall be always venerated by
the lovers of science, letters, and arts; and it was but just to
inscribe his cenotaph with that high encomium-" He re-
stored to Rome its golden age." He was the first to set that
glorious example, which being followed by Julius II. and
Leo X., made the eternal city the sanctuary of all that is
beautiful and noble. The tiara was scarcely on his head
when he invited to his court the most distinguished men
of the age. Vespasiano, the Florentine, tells us that great
numbers of learned men flocked to his court, either
invited thither, or of their own accord. He employed
many writers to copy rare works; and he gave ample
pensions to others whom he engaged to translate the
Greek authors into Latin, and also to correct them accord-
ing to the best exemplars. He was equally munificent
in his patronage of the arts, and particularly of architec-
ture, as the many splendid buildings which he erected in
2
1 M. Rio (Poesie Chretienne, ) is of the same opinion.
2 V. Muratori "Rer. Italic. Scriptores, v. 24, p. 279." To Guarino, the
translator of Strabo, he gave 1,500 crowns; and to Perotti, for the translation
of Polibius, 500. He promised Francesco Filelfo, a house and villa at Rome,
and 10,000 gold crowns, if he would undertake to give a Latin version of
Homer. Diodorus, Zenophon, Thucidides, Herodotus, Appianus Alexandri-
nus, Plato, and some of the Greek holy Fathers were introduced to Latium,
by the munificence of Nicholas V.-V. Spoiorno. Stor. Lett. della Liguria,
and Sismondi's Italian Republics.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
243
Rome can testify. Bernardo Rossellino, and the cele-
brated Leon Battista Alberti were employed by him to
conduct many fabrics; and he commissioned the latter to
furnish the design of a new and vast Basilica, under the
invocation of S. Peter; but he saw only its foundations
laid. The greater glory was reserved for Bramante, by
Julius II.
The Angelico found in this Pontiff not only a Macenas,
but an affectionate friend and sincere admirer. He com-
missioned him to finish the works which had been inter-
rupted by the death of Eugene IV. It appears likely
that he was assisted in their execution by his disciple,
Benozzo Gozzoli, who, as we shall soon see, followed
him to Orvieto, since he was not only skilled in the
manner of the Angelico, but was likewise far-famed for
his admirable paintings of buildings, landscapes, and such
accessories as the condition of art in that age allowed.
They painted two chapels in the Vatican; in the first,
which was called, of the Most Holy Sacrament, (subse-
quently taken down by Paul III.) Fra Giovanni frescoed
some histories of the life of our Lord, and introduced
portraits of many of the distinguished men of these
times, which works would have been lost, had not Giovio
caused them to be removed to his museum. Amongst the
portraits, we find these of Pope Nicholas V., the Emperor
Frederick, who was then in Italy, Fra Antonino, who
was afterwards Archbishop of Florence, Biondo da Forli,
and Ferrante of Aragona. In the second chapel, (now
called, "of Pope Nicholas V.,") he painted some histories
of the protomartyr S. Stephen, and S. Laurence, in the
manner which we will now describe. He coloured the
whole ceiling in ultramarine blue, and studded it with
many golden stars, according to the Giottesque, and he
introduced the four Evangelists, and eight Doctors of
244
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
•
holy Church. On the right, are S. John Chrysos-.
tom and S. Bonaventure. Above these are S. Gregory
and S. Augustin. On the left, in the under part, are S.
Athanasius, and S. Thomas of Aquino, and over them S.
Ambrose and S. Leo, the last of which figures is almost
wholly effaced. All these Doctors are represented as
standing erect under a little Gothic temple. The histo-
ries of the Martyrs he executed in six compartments,
wherein he painted the principal facts of the lives of
two of them, in order to show the great resemblance that
the history of the one bears to that of the other. They
are as follows:-S. Peter at an altar giving the chalice to
the first consecrated Deacon, S. Stephen, who receives it
kneeling-The holy Martyr giving alms to the poor.
In the under part, he introduced Pope S. Sixtus. In the
upper part is the Sermon of S. Stephen, and the same
Saint before the Jewish high priest, who forbids him to
announce Christ Crucified. In the under part he intro-
duced Pope S. Sixtus blessing S. Laurence, and giving
him the treasures of his church to dispense them to the
poor, at the very moment that two armed men are strik-
ing the door in order to gain admittance. Then comes
the holy Deacon, giving alms to a great multitude of
poor and infirm. On the left wall he painted the Stoning
of S. Stephen, and in the under part S. Laurence before
the tyrant, who, pointing to the various instruments of
torture, strives to shake his constancy. In another com-
partment, he executed a little window, through which we
can see the Saint in his dungeon, baptizing his fellow-
captives. Finally, comes the martyrdom of S. Laurence.
Under these little histories, he painted a rich ornamenta-
tion of fruits and flowers, variously intertwined and alter-
nated with the heads of angels and the triple crown:
roses and stars exquisitely arranged complete the adorn-
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
245
eye
ment of this work. I doubt not that Benozzo Gozzoli,
who was celebrated for such decorations, was the author
of these. Of the merits of the histories, we will now
hear two of the most celebrated writers on art. M. Seroux
D'Agincourt' speaks of them thus:-"The ability with
which these frescos are finished is truly prodigious,
and nothing can be more delicious to the than their
colouring. The shadings are not strong, but the chiar-
oscuro is harmonious. On near inspection, these frescos
have all the graces of miniature. At a distance, the
vigour of their tints produce the effect of a bold and
free pencilling,” etc. He then lauds the artist for the
beauty of the expression, in which he recognises a happy
imitation of Masaccio. He likewise praises the perspec-
tive of the buildings.' The criticism of M. Rio is as
follows:-"The work which excels that of which I speak,
(the reliquaries in S. Maria Novella) I will not say in
beauty, as that is impossible, but in dimensions, and
perhaps, too, in historical importance, is the great fresco
in the Vatican, in which Fra Angelico, who was in-
vited to Rome by Eugene IV., painted, in six compart-
ments, the principal facts of the life of S. Stephen and S.
Laurence, thus uniting these two Christian heroes in the
same poetic commemoration, as it is the custom of the
faithful to invoke them conjointly, since one and the same
sepulchre enshrines the ashes of both in the ancient Basi-
lica of San Lorenzo, outside the walls of Rome.
"The Consecration of S. Stephen, the Distribution of
the alms, and far better still the Preaching, are three
paintings as perfect in their style as any of the grandest
productions of the most distinguished masters; it would
be difficult to fancy a group that could excel the life and
1 Histoire de l'Art, v. 4, p. 427.

246
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
attitudes of these figures, and particularly of the women
who are seated and listening to the holy preacher.
If the bestial fury of the murderers who stone the Saint
be not adequately expressed, we should attribute it to a
glorious impotency of that Angelic imagination which
teemed with ecstacies of love, and was never accustomed
to these dramatic scenes in which it is necessary to depict
violent passions.
"The figures are disposed with equal grace and nobility,
and this merit that is always to be admired in all the
works of the Angelico, is here, if possible, still more admi-
rable, since he has paid marked attention to the costume
and other adjuncts belonging to the period, which he
copied from the monuments of the Primitive Church. Not
so, however, can we speak of the inferior compartments in
which the painter has given the histories of S. Laurence."
We will finally observe with Professor Rosini, that in this
work, more than in any other, he seems to have enlarged
his style, and to have carried it to such perfection as to
dispute the palm with the noblest geniuses of that age.
For the altar of the same chapel he also painted a De-
position from the Cross, which, I believe, is now lost."
Whilst Fra Angelico was engaged at the histories we
have been describing, the Pontiff, from time to time,
came to inspect them, and as much as he admired his
artistic genius the more did he admire his virtues. His-
tory has preserved an anecdote which we will give on the
authority of Fra Leandro Alberti and Vasari.
"Fra
Giovanni," says the latter,
the latter," was a very simple and most
holy man, and as a proof of his goodness we may state
1 Loc. Cit. p. 198.
* Some of these frescos have been engraved in Professor Rosini's His--
tory of Painting. The copies in D'Agincourt are far inferior. Vide
Tav. CXLV.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
247
that, being invited by Pope Nicholas to dine with him;
he excused himself, saying that he could not eat meat
without the permission of his prior: not thinking on the
authority of the Pontiff." It would appear that it was
during this familiar intercourse that what we have related
about the Archbishopric of Florence occurred. Leandro
Alberti, however, the most ancient of Fra Giovanni's
biographers, makes no mention of it. It appeared to
F. Guglielmo Bartoli to be not only false but very un-
likely, for two reasons: the first of which is, that Vasari
states the offer to have been made to Fra Angelico by
Nicholas V.; whereas Eugene IV. was Pope at the
time of the supposed presentation. The second is,
that the Angelico, though a most holy
most holy man and
distinguished painter, did not possess that learning so
essential to such an exalted dignity. As to Alberti's
silence, I will observe that he has omitted much of the
Angelico's life, and instead of narrating his works he
expends all his powers in eulogising the good religious;
this however does not detract in the smallest degree from
the truth of whatever he says in reference to him. That
Vasari, instead of writing Eugene IV. should have
written, Nicholas V. will not be a matter of surprise to
any one who is acquainted with the negligence of this
biographer; who is generally correct as to facts, but very
heedless as to dates. Let us adduce an example of this;
in his life of Giovanni Pisano, he informs us that this
artist sculptured the marble monument which was
erected in the Church of S. Dominic in Perugia, to Pope
Benedict IX. who died about that period. Now every
! It is not likely that the Pope would have asked him to dine with him,
as Vasari says; but I think we may rely on what Albertus states, namely,
that the Pontiff, seeing him overworked, exhorted him to use meat instead
of the meagre fare prescribed by the Dominican Rule.
248
MEMOIRS OF EMİNENT PAINTERS,
one must know that Giovanni Pisano could not have
been engaged at this work, since there was not only an
interval of years but of centuries between the sculptor
and this Pontiff. Transpose a figure, or instead of IX.
read XI., and you shall have arrived at the truth, as
Benedict XI. died in the days of the said Giovanni. In
like manner Vasari has erred in stating that the Arch-
bishopric was conferred on S. Antonino by Nicholas V.
instead of Eugene IV., but despite this confusion of
names the fact may still be undeniable, provided the
Angelico was invited to Rome by Eugene IV. as we
have endeavoured to show. Bartoli subjoins that he was
not very learned, or in other words, that he had made no
ecclesiastical studies; this, however, is a very gratuitous
assertion, for he may have had more learning than his
well known modesty would allow him to display, and he
certainly must have had that amount of it which is
always required in a priest belonging to an Order
famed for its cultivation of sacred studies. Those who
have perused the history of that period must know
that ecclesiastical dignities of the highest Order were
often bestowed on the most illiterate of men, and they
at least will not be astonished at reading that the Pontiff
desired to confer the Archbishopric on a holy painter.
I will now give my own opinion on this subject. Fran-
cesco Castiglioni, a man remarkable for piety and learning,
who was the intimate friend of S. Antonino, tells us that
on the death of Zabarella, the Pope saw so clearly into
the intrigues of parties looking for the dignity, as to feel
himself justified in leaving the See vacant for fully nine
months, in order to provide some one who was really
deserving of it. He then goes on to say that "Some
religious men proposed S. Antonino to his Holiness,
which so accorded with the Pope's own ideas, that he
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
249
immediately elevated him to the archiepiscopal throne,
from which I infer that, if Eugene IV. did not really
offer the Archbishopric to the Angelico, as Vasari states,
it is very likely that S. Antonino was proposed by
him. Hence, if we cannot laud the painter for his pro-
found humility in declining such an honour, we can well
praise his prudence for having advised the Pontiff to
consecrate a man who was an exemplar of virtues to his
own age, and to these that shall follow."
The histories described above, in the two chapels of
the Vatican, were only commenced when the death of
Eugene IV., and the election of Nicholas V., took place,
in the year 1447. In the beginning of May, or at the
end of April, the works were suspended, by order of the
Pontiff, and it is likely that Fra Giovanni, in order to
escape the insalubrious heats of Rome, during the
summer months, wrote to the builders of the cathedral
of Orvieto, that he would undertake to paint in that
duomo, during the months of June, July, and August.
More joyful news could not have reached the superinten-
dents, who were desirous of inviting the ablest artists of
the day. A painter of Fra Angelico's celebrity, then
actually in the service of the Pontiff, was naturally
regarded as a most invaluable accession to the number of
the great geniuses then employed at the decorations of
this renowned temple. We have already told how
splendid were the sculptures produced by the chisel of
Guglielmo da Pisca in this edifice, towards the decline
Epist. Francisci Castilionensis presbyteri secularis ad fratres S. Dom. de
Bononia super vita Beati Antonii de Florentia, ejusd. Ord. Arch. Florent.
"Ita novem mensibus ambiguus, suspensusque animo Romanus Ponti-
fex perseverat: cui tandem subjicientibus viris religiosis personam Antonii,
cum jam antea virtutem hominis cognovisset, statim eorum consiliis acquie-
vit." This letter may be seen in the Acta Sanctorum, (the Bollandists.)
M 2
250
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
of the thirteenth century. In 1362 Fra Giovanni Luca
Leonardelli, of the third Order of S. Francis, an eminent
mosaicist, was invited thither. In 1401, Father Fran-
cesco di Antonio, a Cistercian monk, worked at the
mosaics and glass-painting of this cathedral, and when
the Angelico arrived, it is probable that Father Fran-
cesco Brunacci, a Benedictine, one of the most celebrated
glass-painters recorded by history, was actually working
within the sacred precincts. It would appear, indeed,
that the religious Orders had determined to vie with each
other in the embellishments of this temple dedicated to
Mary. On the 13th of May, the Council of the super-
intendents met to deliberate on Fra Angelico's proposal.
He had offered to bring with him his disciple Benozzo
Gozzoli, who had been working with him in the Vatican,
together with some younger pupils. When this was
acceded to, they resolved to engage him to paint the
chapel of the Blessed Virgin, for which he was to receive
two hundred gold ducats a year, above all contingent
expenses. Benozzo was to get seven ducats per month,
and two of his assistants three. They bound themselves
to paint four months each year, till the work was
completed. On the 2nd of June, 1447, the secretary
reported to the deputies that "Fra Giovanni di Pietro..
of the Order of Preachers, had accepted the invitation
to come and paint the new chapel, and that he would
arrive in Orvieto on the feast of Corpus Domini, and
that he now sought to know what paintings he should
execute." It was, therefore, unanimously resolved that
he should paint a Final Judgment, in life-size figures:
and to show their high appreciation of him, they
bestowed on him the title of "Master of Masters," which
was only conferred on the most distinguished artists, and
which had been given to Gentile da Fabriano, in 1423
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
251
This last-named was either a disciple or an imitator of
the Angelico. On the 14th of June, Fra Giovanni
signed the contract: and as the greater part of that
month had gone by, it was agreed that he should paint
during the months of July, August, and September.!
We will now adopt the words of Father Guglielmo della
Valle, the historian of the cathedral:-"Fra Giovanni
set to work diligently; but he was greatly grieved for
the death of Antonio Giovanelli, who fell from a scaffold,
and died at his feet.
He was assisted in these
paintings by Pietro di Niccolo, and Giovanni di Pietro
Orvietans, probably in the ornamental departments;
because it is written of the latter that he painted over
Master Fra Giovanni, painter and chief of the Masters;
and thus he continued to work at the ceiling till the
28th of September, of same year; when after having
been paid one hundred and three florins for himself and
companions, he set out for Rome, and never returned to
Orvieto."2 According to this historian, the Angelico
painted the Judge in the act of pronouncing his male
diction on the Reprobate, and the beautiful Choir of
Prophets that is over the Inferno, which was completed
some years afterwards by Luca Signorelli da Cortona.
These figures were engraved and published with the rest
of the paintings, by the same Father della Valle in his
history of that cathedral. Nobody, I believe, has ob-
served that the Christ in this work is a repetition of
that which he executed in very small dimensions on the
¹ See Document vi.
• F. Della Valle states that a few months after the Angelico's departure
from Orvieto it was found necessary to repair the roof of the chapel, through
which the rain had entered, to the great injury of his works. The diminu-
tion of the sum agreed upon may be accounted for by the fact that, instead
of painting for four months, he remained but three in Orvieto.
252
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
repre-
doors of the armory in the church of the Annunciation
at Florence. Here, as in that of the Camaldulese, the
Lord of the living and the dead is enthroned in great
majesty; and instead of the calm severity which distin-
guishes His features in the foresaid painting, he
sented Him with His right hand raised as it were in
awful anger, commanding the wicked to flee from before
His face. It is very likely, that Michelangelo, in some
respects, copied this figure in his Final Judgment in the
Sixtine chapel. It is probable, too, that Buonarrotti not
only studied the Judge, as depicted by the Angelico, but
also the rest of the work executed by Signorelli, and
this will very considerably diminish the admiration with
which every one must regard the tremendous terrors of
the Judgment in the Sistina; so much so, that this work
by Luca, has always appeared to me, both in the beauty
of the figures, and the truth of the expression, to be
truly stupendous. The boldness and correctness of the
design, the management of the nude, and the nobleness
of the figures, may be said, to be very admirable,
and particularly worthy of consideration-as they are the
work of an artist of the fifteenth century. But let no
one hope to find in Signorelli's "Elect," the divine
ecstacy and the aerial forms of the Angelico-let no one
hope to be inebriated by that celestial delight that must
be felt at sight of these dear images, since such merit
belongs to him alone, and no other may ever calculate
on attaining it. Signor Rosini, having considered the
shortness of the time-one hundred days-and the
interval that must have been employed in making the
designs, the contours, and putting up the scaffolding, is
of opinion that Fra Angelico could not have executed
all the work that is attributed to him. He thinks,
however, that Christ the Judge was by Benozzo Gozzoli,
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
253
and the Choir of Prophets by the Angelico. His reason
for this opinion is, that the Choir is much superior to the
former work in its grandiose and perfect execution. In
the absence of authentic documents, it would be difficult
to admit or reject this opinion. I will barely advert,
that Fra Giovanni was so expeditious in frescoing, that
he could, in a very short time, cover a great superficies
with the choicest compositions, a fact which excited the
wonder of Vasari, and must ever win the admiration of
those who shall see the innumerable frescos that he
produced in the convent of San Marco. This illustrious
historian of art believes that the choir of angels raising up
the cross, which is surrounded by others holding the
various instruments of the Passion, was designed by
the Angelico. The Virgin is here represented in the
midst of the Apostles; as are also the four Doctors of the
Church, with the four Founders of the Mendicant Orders.
"If the composition," continues Rosini, rigorously
speaking, presents nothing singular, the expression of the
heads is most beautiful and varied; and the figure of S.
Francis is full of life.'
""1
66
It would now be almost impossible to divine the
Angelico's motives for not returning to Orvieto to finish
the works he had commenced. Perhaps the painter was
overwhelmed with grief for the death of Giovanelli; or
it may be that the important works which he had under-
taken by command of the Pontiff, would not allow him
to satisfy his obligations to the Orvietan cathedral. In
fact, he not only painted in the Vatican the histories we
have described, and the Deposition from the Cross; but
he also, (by the Pope's command,) miniatured some
books, which, according to Vasari, were extremely beau-
¹ Storia della Pittura Italiana, Epoca ii. c. v. p. 299.

254
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
tiful, and which, at his time of life, must have caused
him great labour. He also executed some little pictures
for private Roman citizens, for example, the two Final
Judgments which are in the Corsini and Fesch galleries,
if we may suppose that they were not brought thither
from Florence; and particularly the two great paintings
that he placed in Santa Maria sopra Minerva, if what
Vasari writes be true. He mentions, without tell-
ing us the subject, the painting for the grand altar,
and an Annunciation that was near the principal chapel,
laid against the wall. Some of the Roman Guide books,
mentioning the Angelico's works, attribute to him the
altar-piece of the chapel del Rosario, that of S. Thomas
of Aquino, and that of the most holy Annunciation.
Giovanni Masselli, in his Notes to Vasari, being misled,
probably, by some of these Guides, adopted the same
opinion. The anonymous writer of the Life of Cardinal
Dominici, (which is in MS. in the archives of S. Marco,)
attributes to Fra Giovanni Angelico the two paintings of
the chapels of the Rosary and S. Thomas Aquino. Ano-
ther Guide, published in 1842, thinks that the altar-
piece of the Annunziata was by Benozzo Gozzoli.
Having consulted some of the most distinguished Roman
painters, I have ascertained that that church does not
possess a single work by the Angelico. But, as to the
painting in the chapel of S. Thomas Aquino, Filippino
Lippi executed an Annunciation for it, which, in all
probability, was subsequently removed to the chapel of
this name built by Cardinal Giovanni di Torrecremata.
Let us remark, however, that there is reason for suppos-
ing that this work was executed by Benozzo Gozzolo ;
since, besides Our Lady of the Annunciation, he also
1 Roma compiutamente descritta in vii. Giornate.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
255
painted a portrait of the Cardinal, who is prostrate
amongst a number of young females, venerating the
Madonna; thus alluding to the charitable foundation of
the said Cardinal, which annually gives a dowry to a
certain number of girls, either for the purpose of entering
convents or getting married;—a foundation that was
established whilst Benozzo Gozzoli was in Rome.
The Angelico had now reached his sixty-eighth year.
His marvellous works had embellished Florence, Rome,
Perugia, Cortona and Fiesole; his name was venerated
by the people, by the Medicean Princes, and two Roman
Pontiffs. He had witnessed the decline of the ancient
and religious school of Giotto, of which he was the last
flower: and the rise of another, full of life, of grace, and
studious of the True, which was destined to win re-
splendent glories for Art. Unlike the old Margaritone,
who mourned over the fall of the Greek school, our
painter, even in his mature years, worshipped the sub-
limity of Masaccio, nor did he shrink from becoming the
disciple of a man to whom, as far as years were con-
But while he
cerned, he might have been a master.
admired the rare perfection to which art was rapidly
approaching in every branch of design, he felt conscious
that no theory would ever enable the new school to de-
pict the joys of heaven as he had done, not by the acces-
sories of Art, but by an ardent faith and a glowing
charity. I, for my part, believe that no other man shall
ever excel him in this respect, unless God Himself
reveals to him a glimpse of His transcendent glory. He
had now run his career, after having caused Christian
Art to beam forth in new light, and leaving to all future
ages, in the history of his life, as well as in his paintings,
On the
many beautiful moral and religious precepts.
18th of March, of the year 1455, he was taken up to
256
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
heaven, to contemplate these dear and holy images which
he so admirably depicted here on earth. The Pontiff,
Nicholas V., who bewailed his departure, caused a mar-
ble monument to be erected to his memory in the
church of the Minerva, on which he ordered that the
effigy of the artist should be sculptured. According to
some, the Pope himself wrote the inscription, which was
meant to record the ability and the virtues of the painter,
as well as the esteem in which the Pontiff held him.
is as follows:-
It
"HIC. JACET, VEN. PICTOR.
FR. JO. de FLOR. ORD. P.
M.
C. C. C. C.
L.
V.
Non mihi sit laudi, quod eram velut alter Apelles,
Sed quod lucra tuis (L. pauperibus) omnia, Christe dabam :
Altera nam terris opera extant, altera cœlo
Urbs me Joannem flos tulit Etruriæ."1
We will close his life with the eulogy which Vasari
has pronounced on him, "Fra Giovanni was a most holy
man, and very simple in his habits
He shunned
all worldly pursuits, and, living a pure and sanctified life,
he was as much the friend of the poor whilst here on
earth, as I believe his soul to be now in heaven. He
painted constantly; nor did he ever wish to produce any-
thing save for the Saints. He might have been wealthy,
but he did not care to become so; on the contrary, he
was wont to say that true riches consist in being content
with little. He might have commanded many, but he
did not wish for it, and it was a maxim of his that there is
The term "venerable," applied to the Angelico so soon after his death,
appears somewhat remarkable. Leandro Alberti is the first who, as far as I
have ascertained, calls him Beato, (Blessed.)
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
257
less trouble and less danger of error in being subject to
others. It was in his power to have had dignities con-
ferred on him by the friars and others, but he did not
esteem them, and he was accustomed to say that he de-
sired no dignity save escaping hell and winning Para-
dise. And, in fact, what dignity can be compared to
that which all religious, nay, all men of every condition,
should seek, and which is to be found in God alone and
a holy life? He was most gentle and sober, and disen-
gaged himself from the snares of the world by living
chastely; and he used to say that persons of his art
had need of repose, and should be entirely freed from all
interruptions; and that he whose works related to Christ
should be always communing with Christ. Never did
he exhibit anger amongst his brethren, a fact which to
me seems almost incredible; and whensoever he had
occasion to admonish his friends, he did so with a gentle
smile. Whensoever any one sought works by his pencil,
he used to tell them, with incredible amiability, that, if
they satisfied his prior, he would not fail them. In a
word, this never-to-be-sufficiently-lauded father, both in
actions and words, was most humble and modest, and, in
his paintings, simple and devout; and the saints that he
painted have more of the air and resemblance of saints
than these of any other painter. It was his custom never
to retouch or heighten the effect of any of his works,
but to leave them just as they came from his pencil,
believing, as he used to say, that such was the will of
God. Some say that Fra Giovanni never took up pencil
Whensoever
without first having recourse to prayer.
he painted a Crucifixion, the tears streamed down his
cheeks, and in the countenances and attitudes of his
figures it is easy to perceive the goodness of his soul and
his great love of the Christian religion."
258
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
It may be pleasing to the reader if we add a few words
concerning the portraits of Fra Angelico that exist, or
that are thought to be meant for him; for, indeed, most
people are anxious to learn from the features of all
great men, what may have been the internal workings of
their souls. It appears to me, therefore, that the likeness on
the monument in the Minerva, should be regarded as the
truest, since it is probable that it was taken from a cast after
death. This portrait, however, has suffered so much from
attrition, that we cannot now very clearly trace his linea-
ments. According to Rosini and, I believe, Father Gug-
lielmo Della Valle, Luca Signorelli made a likeness of
him in his Final Judgment in Orvieto, placing him near
himself in the two figures which are on the left of Anti-
christ; thus wishing to present to the spectator the por-
traits of the two painters of this tremendous epic. Fra
Bartolomeo della Porta, who could not have seen him as
he lived many years after him, gives us his portrait in
the Final Judgment that he painted in the hospital of S.
Maria Nuova in Florence, whilst he was yet a secular;
and this was engraved by Vasari, in the second edition of
his works published by Giunti, Florence, 1568; the best
of all, however, is that by Signor Raffaello Buonajuti.
There is one by Carlo Dolce, in the Academy of Design,
at Florence, which if it does not present the true linea-
ments of the Angelico, charms all eyes by its sweetness
and religious expression. Hitherto, the convent of S.
Marco possessed one coloured, I know not by what hand;
and it was in the cell of S. Antonino. The friars of that
convent very wisely transformed the humble cell inha-
bited by the holy Archbishop, into a Pinacoteca, wherein
you might behold the likenesses of all these religious
whose learning or sanctity reflected honour on the con-
gregation of San Marco. This was a splendid eulogium
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
259
and a solemn monument that attested the glory of the
Saint to whom, in great measure, the restoration of the Do-
minican Order was due. The portraits were as follows:-
Giovanni Dominici-the Cardinal-the Archbishop-S.
Antonino-the Venerable Lorenzo da Ripafratta-Fra
Giovanni Angelico-the Blessed Pietro Cappucci di Città
di Castello—the Blessed Antonio Neyrot the Martyr—the
Blessed Costanzo da Fabriano-the Venerable Father
Santi Schiattesi, &c.; of all of which there only remains
now that of S. Antonino, and of the Venerable Father Lo-
renzo da Ripafratta, who, it would seem, were destined to
represent their illustrious compeers. The convent of
Fiesole, which counted the two brothers of Mugello
amongst its earliest inmates, and who embellished it by
their genius, placed the portrait of the Angelico with
these of other great men of the Order, illustrious for
learning and sanctity, in their refectory, with the follow-
ing inscription:-
"Beatus Joannes pictor, moribus et pencillo
Angelici cognomen jure merito. H. C. F.”ı
This portrait no longer exists.
It now remains for us to mention those whom the
Angelico educated in painting, or who having adopted
his manner, may be regarded as his imitators. Vasari
enumerates four, amongst whom, however, there is no
Dominican-they are the following:-Benozzo Gozzoli,
Zanobi Strozzi, Gentile da Fabriano, and a certain
Domenico di Michelino. Of the first there can be no
doubt, as there is distinct mention of him in the contract
regarding the Orvietan cathedral. Of the second no
work remains at present, or it may be that his paintings,
on account of the similarity of style, were attributed to
¹ Hujus Conventus Filius.
260
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
Benozzo Gozzoli, or to the Angelico. Lanzi enumerates
Strozzi, amongst the dilettanti; Vasari adds that he
executed pictures on canvas and in panel, for all Florence,
and the said biographer has given a series of his paint-
ings; but that by Baldinucci, is still better. Domenico
di Michelino was altogether forgotten, even by Lanzi,
who records an abundance of mediocre painters. At last
the celebrated Doctor Gaye, a few years back, discovered
a precious document, which gives us to understand that
the picture in S. Maria del Fiore, of Dante crowned
with Laurel, and presenting his Divine Poem to Florence,
(a sort of reparation made by the city to the grandest of
its Bards,) was not the work of Orgagna, as had been
commonly believed, but of Domenico Michelino. But
far superior to all these were Benozzo, and Gentile da
Fabriano. The first of these excelled all his contempo-
raries in landscape, and equalled Filippino Lippi in the
variety and beauty of his edifices. Second to none in
the poetry of art, he has left in the Ricardi palace,
Florence, and in the Campo Santo of Pisa, such proof of
his power, as is sufficient to frighten a legion of painters.
(Vasari.) In my opinion he imitated the Angelico in
the lightness and transparency of his tints, as well as in
graceful and devout expression. He is not so noble, but
perhaps more imaginative, and he is inferior to him in
draperies, as are most painters of his period.
On the authority of Lanzi and Father Della Valle,
many doubted whether Gentile da Fabriano should be
classed amongst the disciples of the Angelico, alleging
that Gentile was actually painting in Orvieto, in 1417;
and that he was then called " Master of Masters." But
Rosini very wisely adverts that, 1417, is either an error
' Carteggio inedito, v. i.

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
261
1
of type, or a mistake of F. Della Valle; since, in another
passage of his book, he states that Gentile went there in
1423.¹ Amico Ricci, in a very learned work on the
artists of the Marches of Ancona, thinks, that Gentile da
Fabriano learned the rudiments of the art from Alegretto
di Nuzio, and that he studied to perfect himself under
the Angelico in Florence. We have nothing to oppose
to this opinion. It may be more probable, however, that
Fabriano, having heard of the Angelico's arrival in
Foligno, proceeded thither to see his paintings, and obey
his precepts. Michelangiolo said of Gentile, that his
style was like his name. In the expression of his heads,
which exhibit all the finish of the miniaturist, he is supe-
rior to Benozzo; and if I were to judge by the Adora-
tion of the Magi that is in the gallery of the Florentine
Academy, I would say that he is inferior to Gozzoli in
correctness of design. His highest encomium, however,
is, that he educated, in Venice, Jacopo Bellini, the
Founder and Father of that school, which produced
Giorgione and Tiziano.
1 Storia della Pitturia, Ep. ii. v. iii.
• Memorie Storiche delle Arti, etc., Macerata, 1834.
SUMMARY OF THE PAINTINGS
NOW EXISTING BY
FRA GIOVANNI ANGELICO.
PERUGIA.
Church of S. Dominic-In the little choir of the Religious:
The Blessed Virgin on a throne, with her Son in her arms; and
on the sides two panels, in one of which is S. John Baptist, and
S. Catherine V. M; and in the other S. Dominic and S. Nicholas
di Bari. In the sacristy: Twelve little pictures of twelve
Saints; a panel, with two histories of S. Nicholas di Bari; and
two panels of the Annunciation and the Angel Gabriel.
CORTONA.
Church of S. Dominic-On the façade of the church in fresco:
The Blessed Virgin, with her Son in her arms, and on the sides
two Dominican Saints; in the little arch: the Four Evangelists.
In the church, in the lateral chapel: the B. V. seated on a throne,
with some Angels and Saints at the sides. Church del Gesù: An
Annunciation, and two gradini; one a history of S. Dominic,
the other of the B. V. M.
FIESOLE.
Church of S. Dominic-In the choir (on panel): the B. V.
seated on a throne, surrounded by Angels and Saints. In the
refectory: a fresco of the Crucifixion, with S. John and the B. V.
on the sides. In the chapter-room (fresco): The B. V. with her
Son in her arms, between S. Dominic and S. Thomas of Aquino,
figures life-size. Church of S. Jerom: The B. V., with the holy
Doctor and other Saints (v. Montalem bert.)
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
263
FLORENCE.
S. Marco (in fresco)-The Crucifixion in the first cloister,
with five lunettes in half figures. The Crucifixion in the
chapter-room, and portraits of illustrious Dominicans. In the
convent, with the exception of two, all the cells of the upper
dormitory, in number thirty-two, and three histories on the ex-
terior walls. In the dormitory called il Giovanato, some Cruci-
fixes.
S. Maria Novella—Three Reliquaries. Academy of Design,
Gallery of large pictures: No. 15. The Deposition from the
Cross. Gallery of little pictures: Nos. 14 and 20, two little
pictures, representing the Blessed Albertus Magnus, and S.
Thomas Aquino disputing ex cathedra; No 30, the B. V., with
her Son in her arms; No. 39, S. Cosimo, healing an Infirm;
No. 43, a Deposition from the Cross; 44, the Last Judgment;
45, the Burial of the five Martyrs -i. e., SS. Cosmas and
Damian, and their three brothers; 51, a Pietà, with the instru-
ments of the Passion; 56, eight panels or doors of the armory
of the Church of the Annunciation, with thirty-five histories of
the life of our Lord. Saloon: 14, the B. V. M. surrounded by
Saints; 15, a similar panel; 18, the B. V. between two Angels
and some Saints. Gallery degli Uffizj: A grand tabernacle,
with the B. V. on a throne, and some Saints; a panel with the
B. V. and some Saints, now in the Gallery of the Palazzo Pitti.
Tuscan School: The Coronation of the B. V. and the six little
panels-i. e., the Adoration of the Magi; two histories of S.
Mark; the Espousals and Transit of the B. V. M.; and the
Nativity of S. John the Baptist.
ROME.
Vatican-The chapel of Pope Nicholas V. painted in fresco,
with histories of S. Stephen and S. Laurence, Martyrs. Gallery:
two little panels of the life of S. Nicholas di Bari. Galleria
Valentini a portion of a gradino, belonging, perhaps, to the
picture that is now in the choir of S. Domenico at Fiesole.
Galleria Corsini: a Final Judgment. Fesch Gallery: a Final
Judgment.
264
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
ORVIETO.
Cathedral. The ceiling of the chapel of the B. V: A great
fresco, with the upper portion of a Final Judgment, finished by
Luca Signorelli.
MONTEFALCO.
Church of the Franciscans-Professor Rosini says it contains
some works by the Angelico, but he does not mention their
subject.
PARIS.
Louvre-The picture of the Coronation of the B. V. M, and a
gradino, with passages from the life of S. Dominic.
BERLIN.
Royal Museum-S. Dominick and S. Francis embracing, (v.
Montalembert, "Du Catholicisme et du Vandalisme.") A Final
Judgment, (Fortoul de l'Art en Allemagne.)
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
265
CHAPTER IX.
NOTICES OF FRA BARTOLOMEO CORADINI OF URBINO,
COMMONLY CALLED FRA CARNOVALE.
If we were to depend on Vasari, Baldinucci, and Lanzi,
for a memoir of Bartolomeo Coradini, a very excellent
painter of the city of Urbino, we should be content with
the following very meagre notices. Towards the close of
the fifteenth century, there flourished in Urbino a painter,
vulgarly called Fra Carnovale, either on account of his
lively temperament, or, perhaps, because his features were
very gay and cheerful. He painted an altar-piece for the
church of the Franciscans in his native city; and Bramante
Lazzari and the divine Raffaello studied the works of this
cheerful friar in their youth. Thanks, however to the
diligent and indefatigable researches of the learned
Father Luigi Pungileoni of the Minor Conventuals,
whose demise has evoked the sorrow of every lover of
art, we are now enabled to know more of the life and
works of this Dominican painter. In the historical
eulogy of Giovanni Santi di Urbino, father of Raffael,
Pungileoni has inserted a long letter, in which he details
all that he was able to collect regarding Coradini. This
letter he addressed to the Marquis Antaldi, a most pro-
found virtuoso; and we will enrich our pages with it,
barely supplying some few observations which could
'Elogio Storico di Giovanni Santi, painter and poet, father of Raffael, of
Urbino, by Vincenzo Guerrini, 1822, 1 vol. in 8vo.
VOL. I.
N
266
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
not have come within the narrow limits of an
epistle :-
“TO THE MARQUIS RAIMONDI ANTALDI, PATRICIAN, AND
GONFALONIERE OF URBINO.
"The love with which you cultivate the fine arts, has
induced me to send you such notices as I have been able
to collect respecting Bartolommeo, the Dominican painter,
son of Giovanni di Bartoli Coradini and Michelina, of
whose family I am ignorant. Gifted with no ordinary
talent, he devoted himself to the study of sacred litera-
ture and art. He was far from being mediocre, and he
would have acquired greater reputation in painting, if
the duties of the cloister and the cure of a parish, (he
was the Cure of Castello Cavallino,) had not often obliged
him to abandon the pencil. Various notices extracted
from the book of the confraternity of Santa Maria della
Misericordia, induce me to believe that he was a disciple
of Fra Jacopo Veneto, his confrere. Our gratitude is due
to the man who compiled the Memoirs regarding the
church and suburban convent of S. Bernardino, from
which the learned Father Thomas of the Reformed
Minorites, has kindly transcribed for me, the following
fragment:-'About this period, (1472,) Fra Bartolomeo,
called Fra Carnovale, painted the picture for the great
altar: the Madonna, is the portrait of the Duchess
1 Loc. cit. p. 47. In a book of the Archives of S. Croce, written between 1363
and 1420, we read, "July 21st, to Fra Giacomo di Venezia, of the Order of
S. Dominic, two florins, as an instalment of what he is to receive for painting
the new audience chamber;" here we find another Dominican artist, hitherto
unknown to Art-History. In the Annali del Convento di S. Dominico in
Bologna, we have an entry dated 1434, concerning some pieces of land, the
usus-fructus of which belonged to Fra Antonio, a Bolognese painter. We
hope to be able to discover some painting or memoir of these two Dominican
artists, Fra Giacomo di Venezia and Fra Antonio di Bologna.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
267
Battista Sforza, wife of Duke Frederic, and the infant
that is on the Madonna's knees, is the portrait (taken from
life) of the baby then born to the Duke, of the said
Battista,' etc. I entirely agree with your brother, who
says in his unpublished notices of the artists of Pesaro
and Urbino, that the picture was executed between the
24th of January (Guidobaldo's birth-day) and the 6th
of July, on which day the second wife of Duke Federico
departed this life. Whatsoever may have been the date
of this painting, which is now in the Pinacoteca, at
Milan-you who have had time to examine it, can
readily inform me whether we should trust to Stefano
Ticozzi, who lauds it for its colouring, but not for the
drapery of the figures, or the architecture, in which he
discovers all the imperfections of the period; or to Lanzi,
who describes the architecture as beautiful. The learned
Count Montevecchio, in his unpublished memoirs,
reconciles both opinions, by observing that, it was very
difficult to shake off the Gothic dust, which was more
the vice of the times, than of the painter. To him, I am
indebted for various reflections on the works of Santi
and Viti, and I will not fail to notify to the public, the
weight of my obligations. A sketch on wood, believed
to have been by the same hand that produced the altar-
piece, is now carefully preserved in S. M. delle Grazie,
of the Reformed Franciscans, near Sinigaglia. It
represents the Infant sleeping on the Mother's bosom,
and Duke Federico with his arms crossed on his breast;
but it is deficient in perspective, and wants more than
one personage of the Feltresca family. I am tempted to
introduce to your notice here, another work from his
pencil, now existing in S. Maria della Bella, but I abstain
from doing so because Cardinal Barberini, the Legate,
took it away; and gave in lieu of it an excellent picture
268
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
{
by Claudio Ridolfi, which has also disappeared. I will
rather mention the painting on wood, now preserved in
the Staccoli Gallery, which is attributed to him by the
Professor Michele Dolci, in his manuscript memoirs. The
head of the Madonna, who is seated in the centre of the
painting, within a niche, is well painted, and expressive;
and amongst the other figures, that of an old man, with a
white beard, reading a book, is elaborated with taste
approaching perfection. Occupied with his pastoral
duties, he had not much time for his pencil. In my
opinion, want of leisure caused him, in 1456, to refund
to the bank of Lucca Zaccagna, a sum which had been
advanced to him by the Guild of Corpus Domini, for a.
picture which they had ordered, as appears from the
following entry in Latin:- Whereas, it was agreed
between the members of the Guild of Corpus Domini of
Urbino, and Fra Bartolomeo, of the Dominicans, that the
latter should paint a certain picture, for said Fraternity,
and whereas, the said Fra Bartolomeo received in part-
payment, forty gold ducats, of which he expended seven
for colours, and as said parties absolved said Fra Bartolo-
meo from this agreement,
because Baldo, the
goldsmith, promised to make good the remaining thirty-
three gold ducats,' etc. Permit me to give you another
notice, though it does not regard the painter. In the
Communal Archives of this city, there are various entries
regarding wax oblations—and, dated August, 22, 1461,
is the following:-Item to the Venerable Bartolomeo,
Pastor of S. Cassiano di Cavallino, four florins, for four
pounds of wax, painted,
this sum was given
to the said Pastor, for thus commemorating the victory
which his Lordship (probably the Duke of Urbino) had,
on the festival, when he defeated Sigismondo di Mala-
testa.' I might add much more anent this artist, were I
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
269
not afraid of tiring you, but let me inform you, that if
you think, with Lanzi, that he died in 1478, you are
mistaken.' The Archives of Urbino, ad. ann. 1481, tell
us that amongst other witnesses, summoned for some
legal proceeding was, the venerable man and Pastor
Fra Bartolomeo, of S. Cassiano Cavallino;' and in
the book of the Confraternity we read: (ad. ann.
1482,) 'To Fra Bartolomeo, Archpriest of Cavallino.'
Again, under date, January 1st, 1484: To Fra Barto-
lomeo, as above, for the poor.' It would appear that he
died in 1488, and was succeeded by a certain Baldissare,
whose baptismal name I have not discovered. I would
desire, my most amiable Lord, to tender you all my
services, if they be worth anything; accept, therefore,
my
most anxious desire to exhibit my profound respect
and esteem," etc.
•
To these observations of the learned Franciscan, I
have little to add; and I will confine myself to a few
remarks on the picture now existing in the church of S.
Bernardino, of which I can only speak from the engra-
ving given in his History of Italian Painting, by
Professor Rosini.2 In this he represents the Virgin
seated on a throne, having on her knees the Divine
Infant, (nude,) who is in profound sleep. The features,
and whole attitude of the Madonna, are expressive
of prayer and adoration.
At either side he places
two Saints, on one line, according to the style of the
Giotto-school; and they are, S. John Baptist, S. Jerom,
S. Francis, and another Saint, whose name I cannot
determine. Before the throne, kneeling, and clothed in
1 Lazzari, Father Lanzi, and even Professor Rosini have erred in stating
that this painter died in 1478.
2 Tav. XCIII.

270
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
armour, is the Duke of Urbino, in the act of imploring
for himself and family, (whom he places behind the
throne,) the protection of Mary. Every body praises the
beauty of the heads, and the portraits of the Duke and
his Children; which are so life-like, that they will bear
comparison with the best productions of Pietro Perugino.
We cannot say so much, however, of the composition,
and particularly as regards the manner in which he
disposes the Ducal family. Instead of hiding them
behind the throne, he should have grouped them before
it, as did many painters of that and the following
century. In my opinion, Coradini was influenced by
the traditions of the old masters, of which there are
many traces in his works. The drapery is far from
being graceful in its folds, and is, likewise, very scanty;
and as to the nude of the Infant, it is feeble in design.
Despite these defects, common to nearly all the painters
of that age, this painting reveals an artist gifted with
genius; and worthy of being classed amongst the fore-
most of the Roman school of the fifteenth century.
Lanzi thinks him superior to Giovanni Santi; and Father
Pungileoni suspects that the latter did not fail to avail
himself of the precepts and mannerism of Fra Carnovale,
who was his senior.' Three of the most distinguished of
the painters of Urbino studied his works. Vasari states,
of Bramante, that "whilst yet a mere boy, he studied
' History of Painting, Rom. School, 1st Epoch. "But the most distin-
guished of them all was Fra Bartolomeo Corradini, of Urbino, the Domini-
can called Fra Carnovale. His pictures are defective in perspective, and re-
tain, in the drapery, the dryness of his age; but the portraits are so strongly
expressed, that they seem to live and speak; the architecture is beautiful,
the colours bright, and the expression of the heads is noble and un-
affected. It has been ascertained that Bramante and Raffaello studied them
as there was nothing superior to them then in Urbino,"

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
271
many of the paintings of Coradini, commonly called Fra
Carnovale, of Urbino, who executed the altar-piece of
Santa Maria della Bella, in Urbino.' As to Santi, all
agree with Pungileoni; but as to Raffaello, the assertions
of Lanzi and Rosini, are nothing more than conjectures.
And, indeed, the recent works executed by Piero della
Francesca, about this period, for Duke Federico, of
Urbino, all of which were conducted in the style of the
miniaturists, with little historical figures, could not have
been of great assistance to the painters we have recorded,
who desired to emancipate themselves from the ancient
methods, and, as it were, to enter on a larger field;
whereas, in Fra Carnovale, I think, we can discover a
grander style, as though he represented, in his own
person, Sandro Botticelli, Andrea del Castagno, Roselli,
etc., and the other Florentines of this period.
A person, whom I venerate, and who is skilled in arts
and literature, suspects that the picture, now in the
Pinacotea of Milan, should be attributed to Piero della
Francesca, instead of Corradini. His reason for this
opinion is, that he found in many of the works of the
former, all the portraits of the Duke and of his family.
He evidently alludes to these now in the Gallery of the
Uffizj at Florence. Nevertheless, it is but a conjecture;
since, irrespective of the ancient Memoirs of Father
Pungileoni, which remove all doubt as to the author of
1
History of Painting, v. 3, Epoch, 2nd., ch. VIII. How very little
Baldinucci knew this artist, appears from these, his own words: "This painter
came from Raffaello's school, and became excellent in perspective."
and further on-"This was that Fra Bartolomeo da Urbino who taught the
art of design and painting to Bramante di Castel Durante, and who lived
about 1520."-V. Decenn. III. Part 1, Sec. IV. How could a painter of
Raffael's school be master to Bramante, and flourish about 1520? Add to
this the eulogium on his perspective, whereas all his pictures are most de-
fective in this particular.
272
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
that picture, it is easy to suppose that Piero della Fran-
cesca, during his residence in the Feltresca Court, may
have designed and coloured the portraits of Duke
Federico and his family. This fact could not be an
argument for ascribing to him the said altar-piece.
Moreover, admitting what Ticozzi and Lanzi state of the
defective perspective of the temple, that forms the back
ground of the painting, how could we suppose that
Piero della Francesca, who was so great a master in this
science, could have been its author? But let this suffice
regarding Fra Carnovale, till we discover other materials
to illustrate his life and works.
CHAPTER X.
Fra Gerolamo Monsignori, the Veronese Painter.
LEAVING the declivity of the Apennines, and proceeding
along the smiling banks of the Adige and Mincio, we
find amongst the painters educated in the school of
Andrea Mantegna the Padovan,-Fra Gerolamo Monsig-
nori, whose name, with these of many others, should
have been buried in oblivion, had not Vasari recorded it.
to posterity. Bartolommeo del Pozzo, concluding the
Life of Francesco Monsignori, adopts Vasari's words in
relation to Gerolamo: and Scipione Maffei simply states
that Francesco had two brothers who cultivated paint-
ing.2 Father Serafino Razzi is not more copious than
the authors we have quoted, and, to spare himself trou-
1 Vite dei Pittori Scultori e Architetti Veronesi.
2 Verona illustrata.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
273
ble, he merely quoted Vasari. This uncertainty and
poverty of materials will not allow us to determine pre-
cisely the year of Gerolamo's birth, which Razzi says
was 1440 (according to him he died, aged sixty, at the
beginning of 1500); whereas Vasari, speaking of his
brother, affirms that 1445 was the year in which he was
born, and that he died in 1519. This discrepancy pre-
cludes all possibility of reasonable conjecture, and indeed
these two historians are very heedless of accuracy in
matters of dates. The country of our Friar was Verona,
and his father, Alberto Monsignori, was a man in easy
circumstances. He had three children, Gerolamo, Cheru-
bino, and Francesco, but I have not ascertained which of
them was the eldest; it appears, that the last-named sur-
vived Gerolamo for a few years. As Alberti took great de-
light in painting, and cultivated it, not as a means to
make out his livelihood, but to shun idleness, he deter-
mined that his three sons should be educated in the art,
and he himself taught them the first rudiments. Subse-
quently, finding that Francesco had exquisite taste and a
ready hand, and that Gerolamo, who was of a very mild
disposition, equalled his brother in talent, he resolved to
provide them with the ablest master he could provide.
What redounds more to the praise of the father, was the
earnestness with which he laboured to instil into the
minds of his children the holy fear of God, both by pre-
cept and example. Nor did the result disappoint the
hopes he had preconceived; for both Gerolamo and
Francesco led a most holy life, the former in the clois-
ters of the Preaching-Friars, and the latter amongst the
Minorites. As to Francesco, we need only transcribe
what Vasari has recorded of him:-"Francesco was a
man of holy life, and a hater of every vice, and he never
274
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
could be induced to execute lascivious works, though
importuned by Francesco Gonzaga, of Mantua-all his
brothers resembled him in goodness."
Such splendid conduct as this, in a most corrupt age, is
well calculated to console these high-minded artists who
attach more value to a moral idea than to the disgusting
nude; and who, despite most prave examples, know how to
accomplish the object of their art without contaminating
their pencils with indecent productions.
The man at this period in highest esteem was the
painter Andrea Mantegna, of Padua, the disciple of
Squarcione; who, having left his own country, and Ve-
nice, where he married the daughter of Jacopo Bellini,
accepted the invitation of the Marquess Lodovico Gon-
zaga, and settled himself in Mantua. Here were laid
the foundations of the Lombard school, which the tran-
scendent genius of Lionardo da Vinci soon raised to that
eminence which is known to all. Alberto Monsignori
thought, however, that his sons required an able teacher,
and that Verona had no one who could compete with
Mantegna; and indeed few of that period excelled him
in fertility or elegance, and certainly none in the correct-
ness of design. He therefore sent Francesco and Gero-
lamo to study under him. As to Francesco, there can be
no doubt that Mantegna was his master; and of Ge-
rolamo, we may readily affirm the same; for he
not only followed Mantegna in his first manner, but
Lanzi assures us that he should be numbered amongst
the Mantegneschi painters.2 Cherubino, on the other
hand, applied himself to miniaturing, and he succeeded
* Vite degli uomini illustri.
* History of Painting, Mantuan School, Epoch 1st.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
275
so admirably in this art, that Vasari terms him "a most
beautiful writer and miniaturist.” When and where
Gerolamo took the Dominican habit is not recorded by
any one. Without knowing it, save by hearsay, he was
a most faithful imitator of Fra Giovanni Angelico.
Though the offspring of respectable parents, such was
his humility, that he entered amongst the lay-brothers.
Prayer, seclusion, and an indifference to all earthly
goods, were his grand characteristics. Vasari has given
us some particulars of his life; and we will narrate them
in the words of this writer:-"Fra Gerolamo was a most
simple person, and altogether detached from mundane
pursuits; and staying in the country in a farm belonging
to the convent, in order to avoid all interruptions, he
kept the money which he earned by his works, and
which he expended on the purchase of colours, in a box
without a lid, which he hung up in the centre of his
cell, so that any one, who so wished, might come and
make use of it. To avoid all trouble about his daily
food, he cooked, each Monday, a pot of beans, which
sufficed him throughout the week. At length, when
Mantua was smitten by the plague, and when every
body fled, Fra Gerolamo, motived by charity, never
abandoned the sick Fathers, but, on the contrary, tended
them with his own hands. Thus, not shrinking from
sacrificing his life to God, he caught the contagion, and
died at the age of sixty, regretted by all who knew
him."
As a painter, Vasari styles him mediocre; but, speak-
ing of his works, he raises them above mediocrity. He
painted much for his convent in Mantua; and amongst
the works he produced in that place is the altar-piece of
the chapel del Rosario, and in the refectory a very beau-
tiful "Last Supper," and a Crucifixion, which death

276
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
prevented him from finishing. In his own country, in
the convent of S. Anastasia, he frescod a Madonna, S.
Remigius, the bishop, and S. Anastasia, the martyr; of
which nearly all the figures have been destroyed. In
the second cloister of the same convent, over the second
door, in the little arch, he painted the B.V., S. Dominic,
and S. Thomas of Aquino. At the latter period of his
life, when the fame of Lionardo da Vinci was resounding
not only through Lombardy, but throughout all Italy,
Fra Gerolamo abandoned the study and imitation of
Mantegna, and began to follow the manner of Vinci.
This proves that Monsignori's genius was not swayed by
prejudices, for, even in his old age, which is almost
always tenacious of the first methods, he desired to strike
out into a new and more difficult path. Lionardo had
been invited to paint in Milan by Duke Lodovico, called
il Moro, in 1494, or, as others think, as early as 1482.
It must be borne in mind that our Fra Gerolamo, having
left Mantua or Verona, where he usually dwelt, pro-
ceeded to the convent delle Grazie, in Milan, when that
bizarre genius, Matteo Bandello was there, and Vinci
was painting the marvellous Supper, that Lanzi truly
describes as one of the most beautiful paintings that ever
came from the hand of man. Here, the precepts and
example of such a great master must have been of the
greatest service to him; and in order to make an essay
in the Leonardesque style, he painted a little S. John,
and a woman laughing, which, in the days of Vasari,
were preserved in the mint at Milan, and in which many
recognise that truthfulness and grace peculiar to the
great master. But, above all his paintings, that which
won for him most praise, was a most beautiful copy of
the Supper, that Vinci had frescod in the convent delle
Grazie, which he must have executed between 1498 and
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
277
1499, in which year Lionardo left Milan, then beseiged
by the French. The Benedictine monks of Mantua en-
trusted Monsignori with this work, for they knew well how
splendid was the original by Lionardo, and how faith-
fully our Friar imitated him. This painting was of the
same dimensions as the original. We are not able to
determine exactly the year in which he executed this
copy, but supposing that he died in 1500, as Father
Razzi says, it must necessarily have been finished in
1499. As this was the first copy of Lionardo's great
work, so was it, likewise, the most excellent of the
many. As to the original, it very soon became quite
blackened, so much so, that in the time of Armennini, i.e.
fifty years after it was painted, it was already half de-
stroyed; and Vasari, who saw it in 1566, affirms that it
was in such sad condition, that it seemed like a dazzling
blot: “and," continues Vasari, "the piety of this good
Father, (Fra Gerolamo Monsignori,) will always bear
testimony to Lionardo's abilities."
Lanzi, who probably had seen the copy which the
Veronese Friar made, writes that some regarded it as the
best ever executed of that miracle of art; and Vasari says
it was so beautifully finished, that it struck him with
The Benedictine monks, for whom it
astonishment.2
¹ Life of Gerolamo da Carpi in fine.
• In the Milanese edition of Vasari's Lives, published 1809, there is an
elenchus of the copies of the Supper executed by illustrious painters: that of
Fra Gerolamo is marked the eighteenth; and it is there stated of Gerolamo
that he studied Lionardo, and imitated him excellently. The first in the
series is one executed by Lomazzo, in 1561, for the Observantines della
Pace. I do not know whether the annotator followed the order of time or
merit; but I will observe that in the first case that if Monsignori is anterior
by sixty-two years; and in the second, that if the original was in the con-
dition described by Vasari, I do not see how Lomazzo could have produced
a faithful copy of it. Lanzi, and many along with him, affirm that Gerola-
mo's was by far the best.
278
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
was painted, at first placed it in their refectory in the
convent of Mantua, and then in the library, but it was sold
at the beginning of the present century, and removed to
France.¹
After having finished this work, it would
appear that Monsignori returned to Mantua, where he
had scarcely arrived, when the Dominicans of that city
requested him to paint that Crucifixion, which, as has
been said, death prevented him from finishing. We will
not place Fra Gerolamo amongst the most illustrious
painters of the Lombard and Venetian school, but we think
he was above mediocrity; and even though he did not
equal his brother Francesco, it appears to us that he should
be classed amongst the most happy imitators of Mantegna
and Vinci, which is no trifling encomium. Every one
who respects virtue will venerate this artist, whose whole
life reflected honour on art.
1 Signor Mariette has written the history of Lionardo's "Supper;" and it
will be found in the second vol. of the Lettere Pittoriche, No. 84. We will
not close the life of Gerolamo without a few observations on the original
painting. At a time when every one thought it was irreparably lost, the
Superior of that convent (and I cannot be his apologist) caused the wall in
the under part of the picture to be sawed through, in order to construct a
window for the convenience of the friars. Subsequently in the year 1726,
Michael Angelo Bellotti, the painter, proposed to restore it; and the religious,
flattering themselves that this chef-dœuvre might be preserved, gladly em-
braced the offer, and gave the said artist five hundred crowns for his trouble.
The Abate Carlo Bianconi, in his Milan Guide, is too severe on the Domini-
cans, for the first and second of these doings, as both resulted badly. But
those who are wont to measure the merit of actions, according to the
good intention, will not, I trust, blame them for the infelicitous termination
of all these attempts.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
279
CHAPTER XI.
Father Domenico Emanuele Maccarj, the Genoese Painter.
ONLY one Ligurian, and he a mediocre painter, shall
figure in these Memoirs; for, indeed, the religious of
another institute, and another district, were far superior
to the Dominican artists in that Republic. There was,
first, a certain Fra Stefano da Milano, I know not of
what order, who flourished about the beginning of the
sixteenth century. There were also three Carmelites,
Fra Gerolamo and Fra Giovanni da Brescia, and a Fra
Lorenzo Moreno, whom Lanzi describes as a good
frescoist. Simone da Carnuli, of the Reformed Minors,
was a Genoese, and very able in perspective. But emi-
nent above them all was Fra Bernardo Strozzi, by
some called the Cappucine, and by others the Priest,
who was such a splendid painter that he may be said to
have divided the laurels with the best of the Venetian
masters. Our Maccarj, who was unknown to Lanzi,
Ratti, Soprani, and, in fact, to all the historians of the
Genoese school, is indebted to the diligence of Father
Spotorno the Barnabite, for obtaining a very distinguished
position in the same. But he has shared the fate of
many of his confreres, for the notices of his life were lost;
and of all his works, only one picture has survived
him.
The district of Pigna, on the confines of Piemonte,
was the birth-place of Fra Emanuele Maccarj; and this
humble region has been honoured in our times as the
natal soil of a most distinguished antiquarian, the Abate
•
280
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
Fea. Of his parents, the year of his birth, or even of his
death, we have no authentic documents. We readily
adopt the opinion of the historian of Ligurian Literature,
who states that our Domenico Emanuele learned the art
in Taggia, from Corrado the German, and that his con-
disciple was Lodovico Brea di Nizza, whom Lanzi, without
any reason, calls the founder of the Genoese school.¹ Giusto
di Allemagna had a much better title to this designation.
This was the artist who executed the fresco of the An-
nunciation in the convent of S. Maria di Castello in
Genoa, A.D. 1451, and who, in all probability, was master
to that Corrado who educated Brea and Maccarj in
Taggia. This, however, should not be understood in
any sense derogatory to the other national painters, who
were either the contemporaries of Giusto, or preceded
him, and who claim to be the founders of the Ligurian
school. The registry of the Genoese painters, (recently
discovered by the learned Barnabite, Father Spotorno,
who was the early and honoured instructor of the writer
of these pages) induces us to believe that this high
merit should not be attributed to the ultramontanes.
Where or when Maccarj took the Dominican habit has
baffled all our researches; it appears certain, however,
that he was a priest, and affiliated to the convent of S.
Maria della Misericordia in Taggia. This was one of
the convents that had embraced the reform which was
being introduced into the Order, since in all the ancient
memoirs it is called Conventus Observantia. We desire
that particular stress should be laid on this remark, for
wheresoever the regular discipline prevailed in the Domini-
can cloisters, there were always to be found the most eminent
artists and scholars. The blessed Angelico, his brother,
¹ Storia Letteraria della Liguria, Geneva, 1826, vol 4.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
281
Fra Bartolomeo, Fra Paolino, Fra Gerolamo Monsignori,
all belonged to the reformed convents of Tuscany and
Lombardy. By Father Domenico Emanuele Maccarj,
we have only the altar-piece of the chapel of S. Peter,
Martyr, in the church of his institute in Taggia: a
church which David Bertolotti justly termed a rich
Pinacoteca of the paintings of the fifteenth century; as
it was embellished with these by Lodovico Brea, Cor-
rado di Allemagna, Maccarj, and others.¹ Maccarj also
painted a Crucifixion, with S. Dominic and Catherine
V. M. at either side, and at foot of the Holy Rood S. Peter,
Martyr, and St. Jerom. It would now be difficult to
judge of the merits of this work, as the chronicle of the
convent tells us that a gang of desperadoes made an in-
cursion into the district for the purpose of plundering,
and hacked the picture with hatchets, the traces of which
are discernible even now. Far worse than this was the
outrage perpetrated on it by an unworthy priest, whom
heaven's vengeance suddenly and severely chastised.² We
do not know precisely in what year Maccarj began to
paint it, but it appears to have been after 1522. We are
led to believe this by the last will and testament of Dome-
nico Oddi, of Taggia, dated January, 21st of that year,
in which he devised to the chapel of S. Peter, Martyr,
in the church of the Dominicans, all his property, toge-
ther with twenty-five ducats to defray the expense of the
painting, which was subsequently executed by Father
Domenico Emanuele, as manifestly appears from said
chronicle. For this notice I am indebted to the kind-
1 Viaggio nella Liguria Marittima di Davide Bartolotti, Torino, 1834,
vol. I.
⁹ V. Document, ad finem.


282
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
ness of the Canon Vincenzo Lotti, of Taggia, who is a
distinguished investigator of his country's annals.
It may be objected to us that a painter who flourished in
1522 should be placed amongst the artists of the sixteenth
century, rather than amongst the Quattrocentisti; but we
will take leave to observe that in the history of art, along
with years, we are bound to consider style and method;
and that of Maccarj, in the judgment of many, is peculiar
to the latter and not to the former. This consideration
shall serve as a rule to us as we proceed in these pages.
Here end the very meagre notices which we have been
able to collect regarding Father Emanuel. Perhaps we
may one day light upon some memoir or work of his
which will be calculated to make us appreciate him still
more, and thus fill up the void which Ratti and Soprani
have left in the Pictorial History of Liguria.
CHAPTER XII.
Fra Francesco Colonna, the Venetian Architect, author of the Art-Romance,
entitled The Dream of Polifilo.
THE fifteenth century which has enriched these memoirs
with so many able artists, has not, as yet, presented to us
any cultivator of the first of the three Sister-Arts-I
mean Architecture. But happily we are now enabled to
narrate the life of one who, with Leon Battista Alberti,
and Brunellesco, was instrumental in restoring the classic
eurythmy of the Greeks and Romans to Italy. So
lovingly did the Preaching-Friars cultivate this art, that
its destinies seem to have been linked with theirs, and
wheresoever civilization progressed, we are sure to find
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
283
them setting the seal of their genius on the move-
ment. Hence, it is, that Gothic architecture, in its
two last and most splendid phases, revives memories
of the many architects of S. Maria Novella in Flo-
rence; whilst the Renaissance reminds us of two
Venetian writers, and at the same time most able
architects and antiquarians-Fra Francesco Colonna, and
Fra Giocondo. Of the second we will have occasion to
speak in the following volume. But should any one
seek to know why we have divided two artists who
exercised the same art, and were contemporaries, we will
answer that the work which won for Colonna the name
of a great architect, belongs to the last periods of the
fifteenth century; whereas, Fra Giocondo designed and
constructed many splendid edifices in the golden age of
Leo X.
It is really wonderful that a friar who consecrated all
his days, studies, and writings to the glory and advance-
ment of the imitative arts, should, in progress of time,
have fallen into such oblivion, and that his name should be
unknown not only to people of other countries, but even
to his fellow-citizens. In fact the learned researches of
many able writers did not suffice to restore his memory
to the veneration of men.¹ His destiny was like that of
many others, who either wrote on Art, or otherwise
' How very little Colonna was known to the Venetian historians, even to
those of his own Order, appears from the brief notice of Fathers Echard and
Quietif. "Fr. Franciscus Colunna Venetus, inter viros in oratoria hac
aetate præstantes laudatur a. Leandro, fol. 154, 6, et de eo sic. habet:-
In quodam libro materno sermone edito, litteraturam et varium ac multi-
plex ingenium suum præsefert." Nescio qui Alberico venit in mentem in
suis scriptoribus Venetis, ut librum litteraturam auctoris arguentem ut habet
Leander, verteret in volumen variarum epistolarum eruditum, nam opus ipse
se vidisse non indicat. Albericum tamen excipiunt Altamura, ad 1489 et
Rovetta, ad 1493. Mihi donec lux major affulserit Leandro æquali standum
visum est. Script. Ord. Prædicat, v. 2, tom. 35 ad 1517.

284
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
helped to advance it. Is not the Treatise on Painting,
by the Monk Theophilus, so rare in Italy, that few know
anything more of it than what they have been able to
learn in the fragments given to us by writers on Art?
Is it not true that we are indebted to the recent solicitude
of Tambroni, for Cennino Cennini's little work?
Lorenzo Ghiberti's work shared a similar fate; and, even
now, there are many treatises by Lionardo da Vinci,
which have not been printed. The past and present
century, which may be justly termed the two epochs of
solemn reparations to the names of the great men who
vied with each other in honouring their respective
countries, have begun to study the history, and illustrate
the works of these celebrated Italians, whose genius has
crowned their peninsula with glory. Such, too, was the
fate of our Colonna, till Filibien, Apostolo Zeno, Fossati,
and Algarotti vindicated his fame. But foremost in this
work were Temanza and Father Federici, of the Domi-
nican Order, who laboured with incredible diligence to
dissipate the clouds that hung over the author, and the
mysterious book entitled, "The Dream of Polifilo."
1
Amongst the families expelled from Lucca, by the
tyranny of Castruccio Castracane, was that of Colonna,
which, like many others of the period, sought and found
hospitality in Venice. Our Francesco was born there in
the year 1433, and received a splendid education, in every
respect worthy of his talents and social position. The
Venetians very wisely thought that to perfect the civil
and scientific education of their young patricians, it was
not enough to have acquired knowledge from books by
way of precept, but that it was absolutely necessary to
visit foreign countries, and to study the customs of
I Vite dei piu celebri architetti Veneziani, Venezia, 1778, 1 vol. 4to.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
285
peoples, their laws, arts, religion, and politics. Temanza
however, supposes that Francesco, when a very young
man, travelled in the East, visiting Greece, Egypt, and
Constantinople to store his mind with varied and rarest
erudition. He states, moreover, that he saw all Italy,
and that he made a long sojourn in Rome, where he col-
lected these antiquarian notices with which his book
abounds. When his biographer could find no further
traces of Colonna, he fancied that his life should be sought
in his Art-Romance; and that Polifilo, who is its hero,
was also the author of the mysterious dream. For this
reason he assumed that Colonna, till his thirty-fourth
year, was an idle tourist and married to Polia, the
heroine of the composition; and that on the death of his
spouse, he took the Dominican habit. But all romances
are very fallacious guides, for Father Federici has dis-
covered documents which prove that in the year 1455
Colonna belonged to the institute of the Preaching-Friars,
i. e. when he was but twenty-two years of age-that
he resided in Trevigi till 1472; that in the latter place
he taught rhetoric and languages, and was master of the
young religious—that in 1473 the University of Padua
gave him the degree of bachelor; and finally, that he
there studied Theology, and was decorated with the
laurea. Whosoever desires to find this subject more fully
developed, needs but to read the Trevigian Memoirs of
the author we have been quoting. Here follow two other
documents, one of which informs us that he was Lector
to his religious; and the other states that in 1485 he was
procurator for the nuns of S. Paolo, in Trevigi. Other
notices, omitted by F. Federici, will be found in Te-
manza's work. Amongst these is an act of the Council
of SS. Giovanni and Paolo, in Venice, (a convent to
which Colonna was probably affiliated,) dated October,

286
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
1523, which shows how careful the friars were of his
old age, as it ordains that "Father Francis Colonna shall
every day have as much wood as the infirmarian can
carry; and that the Sacristan shall each day give him
four pence (quatuor solidi) and bread and wine, and all
this in consideration of his wants, necessities, and decre-
pitude.” Finally, his decease is dated in the Necrology of
that convent," October 2nd, 1527, in the 94th year of
his age." He was honoured with a private sepulchre in
the cloister of his convent, as appears from the registry of
the monumental inscriptions of SS. Giovanni and Paolo,
compiled by Father Luciani.¹
Having premised so much, we must now speak of the
studies and works of this most learned man. All writers
agree in saying that he was skilled in Latin, Greek,
Hebrew, and Syriac. But the pursuit that constituted
his chiefest delight was that of antiquity, and especially
of that branch of it which has relation to the Fine Arts.
He was deeply read in Vitruvius and the work of Leon
Battista Alberti, which was published in his time. Chro-
nology, Numismatics, and monumental inscriptions were
all familiar to him, and in each of these departments he
acquired much knowledge during his travels. That a
man so deeply versed in the theory of architecture must
have raised various edifices in his own country and else-
where, is very likely, even though history does not
record them; but even supposing that such was not the
case, no one, I believe, will deny him an honourable
place amongst the great architects, since Milizia and
Temanza have conceded it to him, although the former
(because he could not penetrate the obscure significancy
of his artistic-poem) renounced all veneration for him.2
1 Memorie Trevigiane.
2 Loc. cit p. 52, 53, Memorie degli architetti antichie moderni.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
287
66
"The
Father Colonna, desiring to give us, in a single work,
a sample of his deep studies, and to render the doctrine
of Vitruvius familiar to all, fancied that the dogmatic
style would revolt the generality of readers, who wish to
become, or mayhap appear, learned, with as little labour
as possible. He doubtless fancied that the best method
of inculcating science, together with a knowledge of
antiquity and art, was that which should prove novel
and delectable to persons of every condition. Influenced
by this persuasion, he wrote the Art-Romance, to which
he gave a sesquipedal Greek title, which was quite
enough to terrify the polished and terse Annibale Caro,
The title is
and, indeed, the generality of readers.
Hypnerotomachia di Polifiol;" or, in other words,
Combat of Love in a Dream." In this dream, fantastic
and bizarre beyond all other dreams, and surely much
longer than any ordinary dream, he fancied that he be-
held all the objects of the Fine Arts that he describes;
and that he encountered in his somnolent state all these
amorous incidents which make up a large folio volume.
Had the "Hypnerotomachia" been turned into verse, it
must have been as long as the Morgante Maggiore of
Pulci, the Ricciardetto of Forteguerri, or the Orlando of
Ariosto and Berni. But that which overwhelms the
patience of every one is the pedantic style, by means of
which he sought to cloak his arcane doctrines and the
lascivious loves of his Polifilo; so much so, that the
Dream often acts on the reader's eyes like a narcotic. As
the author concealed his name, not wishing (and with
very good reason) to be thought an indecent writer,
some persons imagined that they had discovered his mo-
tive. Fossati, for example, believed Polifilo to have been
a Servite Friar, masked like another Filoxeno; and Fon-
tanini would have us suppose that he was a contemplative
288
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
canon. On the other hand, F. Petrogalli and Apostolo
Zeno found the name of Francesco Colonna, in acrostics, in
the initial letters of the chapters of the work. Nor did the
vagaries of the writers who sought to find the history of
this antiquarian friar in the adventures of Polifilo end
here. They resolved to discover who was the Polia
with whom the unhappy Polifilo was so much smitten,
and in my opinion she was as much a real entity as was
Don Quixote's Dulcinea. Such conjectures are more
laughable than the most amusing incidents of any dream.
Others have determined Polia to be an allegorical person,
or another name for Science, Antiquity, and Architecture,
the study of which occupied Colonna's whole life; and
we, for our part, very willingly subscribe to this opinion.
Various people, notwithstanding, maintained that Polia
was not an ideal person, but a concrete of flesh and bone
-in a word, a handsome young woman, of the family of
Poli. Some fancied her to have been a Lucrezia, or
Camilla Collalto; and Temanza and Federici would
have us believe that the Hypolita, (playfully termed Polia,)
was the daughter of a certain Francesco Lelio, a lawyer
of Trevigi. But we will prove by Colonna's own words,
that all such conjectures are baseless; and we will at
the same time unveil the allegory of the Art-Romance;
though we may not attempt to clear him of the charge of
being a very loose writer. He forcibly reminds us of the
too celebrated Matteo Bandello, who in the last years of
Colonna's life was writing his indecent Novels in Milan.
So wide spread was pravity in these days, that it had
corrupted all classes!¹
The time in which this long and learned dream com-
1 Bandello's Romeo and Juliet is an exception to all his Novelle, which
deserve the character given them by F. Marchese.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
289
menced, seems to have been indicated by the author
himself, at the end of the work, in the following words:
"Trevigi, where the most wretched Polifilo was held in
bonds by Polia, MCCCCLXVII., Kalendis Maii," in
which year Colonna was lector in his convent of S. Nic-
colò, Trevigi, and had attained his thirty-fourth year.
Some have thought that this is the date of the publica-
tion, but the first opinion is preferable. It went through
two Aldine editions, and was translated into French by
Jean Martin, secretary to Cardinal Lenencourt, who
also translated Vitruvius and Leon Battista Alberti into
the same language by order of Francis I. of France.
The Italian editions have many woodcuts, which Fede-
rici says were designed by Giovanni Bellini, the Vene-
tian painter; or, if we are to believe Temanza, by
Colonna himself. As a remarkable work, reflecting ho-
nour on the age and Italy, Lorenzo Crasso dedicated it
to Guidobaldo, Duke of Urbino. But it is now time to
introduce the reader to the mysterious dream of Polifilo,
and to unfold its arcane significance.
In my opinion, the very title reveals the author's
innermost mind: "Hypnerotomachia, Poliphili ubi hu-
mana omnia non nisi esse somnium docet," (Polifilo's
Battle of Love, in which he shows that all human things
are but a dream,) being an evident allusion to the vanity
and instability of all earthly affairs. This moral and
philosophical scope is placed in a still clearer light by
the author in the preface, where he distinctly reveals
his project. Let us hear himself: "Reader, if thou
desirest to learn what this book contains, know that
Polifilo narrates the wonderful things he beheld in a
dream, and that he has given the work a Greek title,
which signifies the "Battle of Love in a Dream." In
this work he feigns that he saw many ancient things
290
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
worthy of being recorded, and that he himself saw them
all one by one, and he describes them according to
their proper names in an elegant style, (not very)—they
are Pyramids, Obelisks, great Ruins of buildings, the
difference of columns, their measurement, the capitals,
bases, epystyles, friezes, cornices, and their adornments.
A great horse-an immense elephant-a colossus—a
magnificent harbour, with its dimensions and ornaments.
A fright, the five senses in five nymphs, a beautiful
bath, fountains, the palace of the queen, which is free-
will,
a game of chess,
a labyrinth,
which is human life," etc. From all this, it is very
manifest that Polifilo's dream should not be understood
in any other than an allegorical sense; as he himself tells
us that the five nymphs are simple allusions to the five
senses, which act as handmaids to the soul, and convey to
it the forms of material objects. The queen of the royal
palace is free-will, that governs and influences the body
and the sensitive appetites. Finally, the tortuous laby-
rinth represents the many vicissitudes of life, and the
various contingencies to which it is subject. Hence, I
conclude that the Polia who so fascinated Polifilo was
no other than the study of antiquity, as the whole Art-
Romance bears evidence of the love with which Colonna
cultivated it. As the author proceeds in his work, he
develops its allegorical sense. For example, in the first
chapter of the first part, he narrates how he dreamed that
he wandered along a quiet, silent shore, all uncultivated,
and that, trembling with great fear, he entered a dense
and gloomy forest. Words which clearly refer to our
first entrance into life, which may be aptly compared to a
dense and opaque forest, wherein it is easy-alas! too easy
-to lose oneself. In the second chapter Polifilo, dreading
the dangers of the forest, prostrates himself in prayer

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
291
before Diespiter, and, feeling himself parched by thirst,
applies his lips to a stream of limpid water: but in the
very act he is spell-bound by some one who sings a
melodious strain, and he gets up and abandons the
stream for the Syren. Here we see adumbrated the
yearning of our youth for knowledge, which is too often
diverted and destroyed by sensible objects. The third,
fourth, and fifth chapters are devoted to a description of
the great architectural works which he had seen in a
valley wonderfully enclosed; nor do we think we err in
stating that the author's object was to shew how no one
can become learned in that science without long and
laborious study. Thus it would be easy to turn, if not
the whole, at least the greater part of the Dream into a
moral sense.
As to the amours of Polifilo, we have
nothing to say of them; and whosoever desires to be
acquainted with the scientific portion of the work, parti-
cularly on architecture, Vitruvius, and Leon Battista
Alberti, let him read Temanza. We will now take a
cursory glance of the great merits of the "Hypneroto-
machia," and of the vast services it has done to all the
arts and their cultivators. Father Federici observes that
all these precious objects of art which he feigned to have
seen in a dream, are not inventions, but realities, which
came under his notice when he was travelling. Amongst
these were marble monuments, coins, cameos, (for which
name we are indebted to him,) cornelians, and other
"So
precious stones, in which he was deeply skilled."
much so," says Federici, "that we are not to believe
what M. Mariette states in his Dattiliographia, namely,
1 We have elsewhere alluded to the museum which was formed by
Father Francesco Massa in the convent of S. Niccolo, Trevigi, where Colonna
lived for many years.
Here there was a valuable collection of cameos and
cornelians which Polifilo must have studied.
292
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
that Antoine Le Pois and Enea Vico di Parma were the
first illustrators of the lapidary monuments of the an-
cients. On the contrary, Colonna preceded them all,
and was the first to make impressions from the marbles
themselves, in all that related to the religion of the Gen-
tiles; and he it was who illustrated and published their
sculptures, and described their value and their super-
stitious uses. The Roman inscriptions, historical and
sepulchral, that he copied, form the beautiful Polifilian
lapidary museum, and these, in most part, are gems
which he read on the various marble monuments, and
which were collected by Gruter, Gudio, Gori, and at
an earlier period by Ciriaco, Feliciano, and Giocondo,
who interpreted them-all these are encountered in the
dream. He gives us the precepts of Vitruvius, in the
author's own words, and sometimes in these of Leon Bat-
tista Alberti, thus proving himself to have been a most
zealous cultivator of architecture, no matter what Milizia
fanatically says to the contrary. It was from him that
Bernardino Baldo derived so much knowledge: he was
the first to solve the problem of forming a polygon of
seven sides within a circle, and this geometrical dis-
covery has been claimed most unfairly by others, who
plumed themselves on it. He was the first to teach the
new form of the Vitruvian volutes, and true arches,
divesting them of all Gothicism: he did much for har-
monics: he has given us the most distinct and exact
notion of the five orders, with the interpretation of Vit-
ruvius, and the most correct measurement of the ancient
Roman fabrics, together with the dimensions of harbours,
palaces, piazzas, bascourts, temples, all most accurately
designed, even out of the debris of the ancient edifices
which are crumbling in Rome. And now, will any one
refuse to admit Polifilo to a distinguished place amongst
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
293
architects and the writers on this first-born of the
arts?
Not satisfied with having treasured the most precious
antiquities, Colonna also gives us some valuable essays
on the progress of art, from the days of the Renaissance
to his own times. Hence, we find in the Dream, the
description of Dante's Inferno, painted by Giotto in
Padua; that of the Triumph of Cæsar, painted by
Mantegna in Mantua; together with descriptions of
Theodoric's Mausoleum in Ravenna, Donatello's Bronze
Horse in Padua, and the Obelisk, which is supported by
the Elephant, in the Piazza Minerva at Rome. With
regard to the latter, we may here state, what is universally
admitted, that Bernino took the conception, design, and
proportions of this work, from Colonna's dream. Add,
to all this, the descriptions of the Game of Chess; the
twenty emblems that were painted in the cloister of S.
Giustina in Padua, by Bernardo Parentino, and many
other works of art and antiquity; and finally, a valuable
Treatise on Grotesque Painting, in which Morto da
Feltre, Giovanni da Udine, Baldassare Peruzzi, Perin
del Vaga, and others, acquired such celebrity. Where-
fore, we cordially agree with Federici, and anxiously
hope that some one skilled in these sciences, will under-
take to winnow Colonna's rich gleanings of the chaff—I
mean the fantastical and amorous follies-and give us as
much of the work as relates to antiquarian erudition,
and the doctrines of classic architecture. Freed from
much unintelligible jargon, this work would be of the
greatest value to Italian art. We will now conclude
this notice in the words of M. Seroux D'Agincourt:-
"We will not attempt to analyse Polifilo's Dream; but
simply remark that Colonna, yielding to the sweetest
illusions of love, and most fervid enthusiasm for art, has

294
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS, ETC.
proved himself, in the picture created by his warm
imagination, to have been a painter, sculptor, and
architect. His grand object was to reproduce the
beautiful monuments of antiquity, from which, as he
himself states, he learned all he knew. To architecture
he devoted his most profound attention. Stimulated by
the reading of Vitruvius, enlightened by the contempla-
tion of the ancient edifices, which had then begun to be
studied, the friar, in his own peculiar style, walks in the
foot-prints of Leon Battista Alberti-placing, so to say,
the rules and principles of the Florentine Professor, in
action. He sees, in a dream, but he makes his readers
behold in reality, all that some commentators had only
attempted to explain, sometimes without being under-
stood by others, or even by themselves. The idea of
teaching architecture in this fashion, and giving its
precepts a poetical colouring, was very ingenious. Co-
lonna's book had most beneficial influence on his age,
and contributed to the resuscitation of art."
'Histoire de l'Art, v. 2.

PAINTERS ON GLASS
IN THE FOURTEENTH AND FIFTEENTH CENTURIES.
CHAPTER XII.
Of some Tuscan Painters, and Fra Bartolomeo Perugino.
HAVING narrated with all possible diligence the notices
of the life and works of these members of the Dominican
Order who cultivated architecture, sculpture, and paint-
ing during the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth cen-
turies; and having given a brief sketch of the Tuscan
miniaturists of the two last centuries, it only remained
for us to record those who studied mosaic and glass-
painting, to which, being inferior arts, we give the last
place. Amongst the Dominicans I have not found a
single mosaicist, properly so called; but as that style of
art is so much akin to glass-painting, and as some of our
friars attained to great celebrity in the latter, I would
fain hope that they thus made amends for their deficiency
in the former. That they had many and most renowned
artists in this branch is indubitable; and, in my opinion,
no other glass-painter has ever excelled Fra Guglielmo
di Marcillat; but as he belongs to the sixteenth century,
we will have occasion to speak of him in the second
volume of these Memoirs.
The art of painting on glass was cultivated in Italy as
early as the eighth century, in the pontificate of Leo III.,
as may be seen in the treatise on this subject and mosaic,
published by Muratori, in the second volume of Italian
296
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
Antiquities, and written by an anonymous of the same
eighth century; and there is also some trace of it in the
work of the monk Theophilus, who flourished in the ninth
century. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
this art was fondly cherished by the Order of the Gesuati,
particularly in Tuscany; and the cathedrals of Florence,
Arezzo, and other cities present many remains of their
excellence in this department. Like miniature, it con-
stituted the delight of the cloistered for many an age;
and we will never be able to appreciate the great services
which it rendered to Italy, till some one shall have given
us a history or even a copious essay on the art of glass-
painting Whether it was that the Italians did not care
to cultivate this sort of painting, or that the glass which
they had did not answer the purpose, (it was chiefly
manufactured in Venice and was not remarkable for its
transparency) it is certain that the Ultramontanes excelled
them in preparing and colouring it; but in invention and
the composition of the histories and ornaments, we may
be said to have excelled all others, since Pietro Perugino,
Lorenzo Ghiberti, Donatello, and men of such note, very
frequently furnished the designs.
The fifteenth century is, perhaps, the most luminous
period of glass-painting; in that which succeeded, it
reached its perfection and terminated its career. In the
early ages it followed the symbolism of Christian art;
and as its most noble object was to convey moral instruc-
tion, we sometimes find it associated with the Evange-
lical word.² In subsequent ages, it was raised to the
'Gaye, Carteggio Inedito, etc., v. 2, App. p. 449.
• We should never forget the pious solicitude of the Cure of Saint Nixier
di Troyes, who caused three windows to be painted to serve as a Catechism
and instruction to the people. V. Rio Poesie Chretienne, c. i. p. 38.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
297
dignity of historical painting; till the barbarism of man
and the ruthlessness of time destroyed these wonderfully
storied windows whose beauteous colourings tinted the
walls and floors of our ancient basilicas, and impressed
the worshipper with most solemn and holy thoughts.
There is no heart so savage, wrote Montaigne, that will
not feel itself filled with reverence when it considers the
sombre vastness of our churches, and the variety of their
ornaments; when it hears the pealings of the organ, and
the sweet and religious harmony of our canticles. The
present century is making an effort to revive an art which
its three predecessors had almost caused to be forgotten.
In France it has had most happy results, but we cannot
say so much of Italy.'
The Tuscans, who are always foremost in these Me-
moirs in painting, sculpture, and architecture, were also
the most distinguished painters on glass. The Necrolo-
gies of this region record many men who were famous in
this art, but they are uncertain and very jejune. The
chronicle of the convent of S. Catherine, in Pisa, extols,
above all others, a certain Fra Domenico Pollini, a native
of Cagliari, in Sardinia, affiliated to that convent, and
praises him for his skill in music, miniaturing, and glass-
painting. He, it appears, was a priest, and died in 1340.
Somewhat more copious is the eulogy bestowed on Fra
Michele, of Pisa, who was also a priest: he is described
as a grave and solitude-loving religious, and a perfect
master of the art of glass-painting. He painted the great
window in the church of S. Domenico, (Pistoja,) now de-
stroyed, and another in the refectory of S. Catherine, at
I M. Emile Thibaud has established a manufactory for glass-painting at
Clermont Ferrand, and published some historical notices on the ancient and
modern windows. Lievel and Langlois have likewise written on this sub-
ject.
o 2
298
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
Pisa. The convent of Santa Maria Novella presents to
us a Florentine lay-brother, named Fra Giacomo di
Andrea, who had considerable skill in this art. In the
following century Fra Bernardino, a priest, is called (in
the Necrology) a most excellent master of glass-painting
(magister fenestrarum vitrearum optimus); he died in
Florence, A. D., 1450. But the artist who deserves to be
classed amongst the chiefest of Italy, in the fifteenth cen-
tury, was Fra Bartolomeo of Perugia, of whom we will
give such notices as we have been able to collect in the
archives of the convent of that city.
Three Dominicans undertook to write the memoirs of
that convent. The first is an anonymous of the four-
teenth century, and author of a brief chronicle, which
is in the style of the Necrologies. It begins in 1232,
and terminates in 1345.2 The second is Father Dome-
nico Baglioni of Perugia, who continued it from 1500 to
1503. The third is the often-mentioned F. Timoteo
Bottonio, a most learned religious, and as far as I know,
most accurate. He has left two MS. folio vols. of
Annals of Universal History, divided into four parts, the
first of which treats of General History; the second of
the History of Perugia; the third of the principal
events relating to the Dominican Order; and the last, of
such as regarded his convent of S. Domenico; but as to
1 "Frater Dominicus Sardus de Pollinis Kallaritanus fuit valde gratiosus
et probus, soavissimæ conversationis. Cantabat bene, scribebat pulcre, et
finestras vitreas operabatur optime. Frater Michael Domine Pine, dictus
Pisanus fuit antiquus pater coellicula continuus. Fuit perfectus magister in
arte vitrorum ita ut fenestram pistoriensis conventus faceret in ecclesia, et in
refectorio nostro, et quidquid in conventu reficiendum videbat, promptissime
resarcire curabat." Migravit ut supra. (1340.)
2 Chron. de ob. Frat. Frædicat. conv. S. Dom. de Perusio, ab anno 1232.
Father Baglioni is author of a poem, entitled "De fuga Christi in Egyp-
tum.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
299
facts, it is little better than an amplified Historical
Index. To these, we might add, a Historical Description
of the church of S. Domenico in Perugia, by F. Reginald
Boarini, and some MS. memoirs of that convent by F.
Agostino Guiducci.¹ From these writers we will glean
as much as we can regarding this great artist.
All the aforesaid historians are silent as to the year of
Fra Bartolomeo's birth and decease. His father was a
certain Peter, and if we are to credit Serafino Siepi, was
called Vanni Accomandati.2 But of this cognomen
there is no mention in the Conventual Chronicles. This
writer says that he, for some time, exercised the office of
syndic. Bottonio and Baglioni, however, agree in
stating that he was elected Superior of his convent, (S.
Domenico,) A.D. 1413; a fact which assures us of his
integrity, as well as prudence. The loss of old documents
has occasioned great penury in the notices of the life and
productions of this rare artist. Baglioni blames the
negligence of the friars of that convent for not continuing
the memoirs, in which there is a vacuum of more than
one century, and particularly of the fifteenth. Hence,
it is quite impossible to discover from whom Fra Barto-
lomeo learned the art of glass-painting, or what works
should be attributed to him. There remains, however,
for the honor and glory of his name, a most beautifully
painted window, in the church of S. Domenico in
Perugia, which in dimensions, composition, and excel-
Į Boarini's work was published in 1778.
3
• Descriz. Tropologica della città di Perugia da S. Siepi. Perugia, 1822.
3 Chronica de obitu etc, "Postquam per centum et plures annos hæc in-
termissa est chronica de glorioso obitu fratrum conv. S. Dom. de Perusio,
vel viventium neglectu vel oblivione seu negligentia, vel quod libellus iste ad
tempus latuerit
visum est mihi fratri Dominico quondam
innovare pro viribus.”
•
Francisci Ballionii de Perusio, etc. .
300
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
lence of colouring, surpasses all that are in Italy; these
by Fra G. Marcillat in Arezzo, excepted.
It is ninety-five palms high, by thirty-four and a half
wide. It is divided in the centre by a travertine tree,
whose summit forms various branches, chiselled out of
the same stone. In its upper extremity is the Eternal
Father, who sustains the globe, and is in the act of
blessing. The branches are intertwined in the form of
small circles, which contain various Seraphims, and a
figure that seems to be surrounded by tongues of fire.
This summit is supported by an architrave, under
which are four orders of Saints; then comes a base, and
after the base an inscription. The figures are whole,
and enclosed within a little Gothic temple, according to
the style of that age. In the first order are:-S. Peter,
S. Paul, S. John Baptist, the Angel Gabriel, an Annun-
ciation, S. John the Evangelist, which last figure being
destroyed, was substituted by a painting on canvas, but
so transparent as to appear, like the others, on glass. In
the second order are:-S. Stephen, S. Peter Martyr, S.
Constance, S. Herculanus, S. Dominic, and S. Laurence.
In the third-S. Thomas of Aquino, S. Augustin, S.
Gregory, S. Ambrose, S. Jerom, and a holy Dominican
Bishop; w', according to Siepi, is S. Antonino, which
is improbable, as that Saint died in 1459, and was
canonized in 1523. Under this order are twelve circlets,
with twelve half figures, of Founders of religious Orders.
In the fourth order he painted S. Lucy, S. Dorothy, S.
Mary Magdalene, S. Catherine of Siena, S. Agnese, V. M.,
and S. Catherine, V. M. On the base, in little figures,
he historied the Martyrdom of S. James the Apostle,
with three Miracles; and at the sides he introduced the
armorial cognizance of the Graziani family; who,
probably, defrayed the expense of the window. Lower
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
301
down, we read in Gothic characters, the following inscrip-
tion:-
To the Bonor of God and the Most Boly Virgin Mary,
of St. James the Apostle, and the Blessed Dominic our Founder,
and of the
Whole Celestial Choir,
and to perpetuate his own name,
Brother Bartolomeo,
Son of Peter of Perugia, the least of the illustrious Order of the Preachers,
painted this Glass Window, and, with the Divine Aid,
finished it in the
fourteen hundredth and eleventh year after the Incarnation of the Lord,
in the month of August.
The design of this window is grand, and the colouring
most exquisite, but exceeding these in beauty are the
ornaments, particularly of the little Gothic temples which
enclose the little figures. The history of S. James, on
the base, is so well conceived and executed, that no
work of the same dimensions is to be found amongst
these of the fifteenth century to surpass it. The extre-
mities, however, are not very correctly designed, and in
the expression of the heads we miss that accuracy and
truth that astonish us in the windows of Arezzo. But
this is a defect, not of the artist, but of his times, for it
required many centuries of study and labour to over-
come the difficulty that attended painting the nude on
glass. Moreover, nearly all the glass-painters were very
feeble in design, and availed themselves of cartoons de-
signed and coloured by painters, whereas G. di Marcillat,
who executed the windows of the cathedral of Arezzo,
was also a good frescoist, as his paintings on the ceiling
of the same church prove.
No one will suppose that Fra Bartolomeo lacked ge-
nius to produce other works of this sort, although we
302
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
cannot point them out. But, despite the traditions of
three centuries, and the inscription of the author, some
have striven to rob the artist of the glory of this work,
and Perugia of one of the most distinguished glass-paint-
ers of the fifteenth century.
Mariotti was the first who
doubted this truth, having persuaded himself that Bindo
di Siena was its author. Siepi adopted his opinion.
We, after giving the arguments of both, will maintain
that the Perugian Friar was its indubitable artist, the
meagreness of the Memoirs notwithstanding.
"We must observe," says Siepi, "with the learned
Mariotti, that the date, (1411,) which is here marked,
does not belong to this work, for we cannot suppose that
the window was finished before the church, which was
not completed till 1458. Moreover, the art of glass-
painting was not familiar to us before 1436.
and Campano assures us, (in Vita Pii II.,) that in
1459, when Pius II. passed through Perugia, and con-
secrated this church, he ordered that the great window
then opened behind the grand altar should be closed
opere vitreo artificio et textura texellata." The author
opines, with Mariotti, that, there was another painted
window of an earlier period in the lateral wall of the
choir, and an altar dedicated to S. James the Apostle,
belonging to the Graziani family; and that when the
window was closed up, the painted-glass and altar de-
stroyed, and the title removed to the grand altar, some
portions of the old painted-glass, and particularly the
inscription, with the histories of S. James, were em-
ployed by Bindo di Siena and Benedetto di Valdorcia
to form the base of the actual great window now at the
end of the choir; and, as far as Fra Bartolomeo is con-
¹ Lettere Pittoriche Perugine. Perugia, 1778.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
303
cerned, that he was simply recorded there because he
was syndic of the convent, which, with the oblations of
the faithful, and particularly of the Graziani family, had
caused the painted-glass window to be executed in 1411.
So inconclusive do the first reasons appear, that we will
not expend many words in confuting them; but the grave
authority of Campano deserves more serious consideration.
When Fra Bartolomeo was employed at his glass-
painting in 1411, the church of S. Domenico in Perugia
may be said to have been well nigh finished, as Gio-
vanni Pisano had erected the central nave, after his own
designs, as early as 1304, or thereabouts. The choir
in which the window in question is, is a remain of the
ancient church. About the middle of that same four-
teenth century, the Dominicans of Perugia were zealously
labouring to embellish their temple through the agency
of the most distinguished artists, amongst whom was
Buonamico Buffalmacco; and the building of the church
was not yet perfected. Now why might not Fra Bar-
tolomeo have painted this window sixty years afterwards?
Neither is it easy to understand how, after having as-
serted that there was a painted glass window in the
lateral part of the choir before 1459, there might not also
have been another at the end of the choir. As to saying
that the Perugians were not familiar with glass-painting
before 1436, it is manifestly contradicted by the inscrip-
tion, which bears date 1411. Fra Bartolomeo might
have learned the art outside his own country; and we
have already seen that some of his confreres were skilled
in it a century before, and that they left proof of this in
Pisa, Pistoja, and Florence. But let us return to Cam-
pano, a contemporaneous writer.
Narrating the arrival in Perugia of Pius II., in 1459,
1 Descrizione Tropol. v. 3.
304
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
he writes:-" And at the instance of the citizens, on ac-
count of the great dimensions of the church, he dedicated
it to S. Dominic, and he was the first to make offerings;
and he ordered a painted glass window of great magni-
tude to be placed near the great altar." From which
words we easily collect the Pontiff's order to construct a
window of painted-glass for the choir. Supposing Cam-
pano's narrative to be true, I think it reasonable to
answer, that, instead of an order, the Pope expressed a
wish; and that, as he did not give the friars the necessary
means, they fancied that they could not satisfy his holi-
ness's pleasure, save by removing the entire window ex-
ecuted in 1411, which was in the lateral wall of the choir,
and placing it at the end of the same. As to what Mariotti
and Siepi say of its destruction, it is wholly gratuitous.
Moreover, if the Pontiff had contributed to defray the
whole, or even a part of the expense, neither the name
of Fra Bartolomeo, even though he were the syndic who
caused the work to be executed, nor the armorial cogni-
zance of the Graziani could have figured on it; on the
contrary, we should have had a eulogium on the generosity
of the Pontiff, and probably his escutcheon. To all this
we will add that this window does not present evidences
to make us believe it an ensemble of two works; on
the contrary, such unity of conception pervades the
whole heavenly hierarchy which it represents, together
with some passages in the life of S. James, that we must
regard the entire as the production of one mind and one
hand.
Let the words of the inscription be well pondered. "Fra
Bartolomeo, son of Peter . . . . painted this glass window
to perpetuate his name, and with the Divine aid finished
it," &c. Now, when was any religious who, with the
1 Joann. Campanus. opera omnia in Vita Pii II.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
305
money collected from the faithful, caused works of art to
be executed, allowed to set them forth as his own pro-
ductions? And if the Graziani family supplied the
means, as their armorial bearings and the conventual me-
moirs record, and if Bindo di Siena painted the work;
what are we to think of the modesty of the Friar who
asserts that he executed it to perpetuate his own name?¹
vent.
To these arguments, which to us appear conclusive,
we will add the authority of the historians of that con-
In the Chronicle (de Obitu F. F. Prædicatorum)
we read, I believe in Baglioni's hand, "Fra Bartolomeo
of Perugia, who painted the wonderful window of our
church, as clearly appears by the inscription. Of that
ingenious man we have no other work." Again: "Fra
Bartolomeo was a man of genius, and he constructed
the window of our church, as appears from the words
on the same." In 1460, a year after the arrival of
Pius II., in Perugia there died in the convent of
S. Dominic a religious, called Giuliano d'Agnolo, a
Perugian, who left a MS. memoir relative to the same
convent. This was seen by F. Bottonio; and amongst
other illustrious religious whom it records, he found
distinct mention of "Fra Bartolomeo, who painted
the great window." Baglioni, in his Registry of the
church and sacristy of S. Domenico, in Perugia, which
he commenced in 1548, speaking of the presbytery,
writes: "And the great painted window was made by the
Graziani family, as appears by the arms of that family
(one of the most noble in Perugia) at foot of the painting.
1 Siepi writes that Pier Antonio Graziani, in 1547, left a bequest of five
florins yearly for the maintenance of the Presbytery and choir, from which
obligation Captain Felice Graziani freed himself a few years afterwards, by
payment of one hundred florins.
• Annali, vol ii., p. 119.
306
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
Said family also made the presbytery, as is clearly proved
by their cognizances.¹" If I have hitherto seemed to regard
Campano's account of the order given by Pius II. to paint
a great window at the end of the choir, (in 1459,) as true,
nevertheless, I cannot give it my entire assent, for we
read in the MS. Annals of F. Bottonio, ad ann. 1411:
"The great painted window of our church was finished
in this year, as appears by the inscription thereon.”
Again, under date 1455, he writes, that "the curtains
which are on the great painted window, were made in
this year;" that is to say, four years before the Pope's
arrival in Perugia.2 Describing the consecration of the
church, he shows himself to be particular in the veriest
minutiæ. "Our church was dedicated, or rather conse-
crated, in this year by Pope Pius II. on Sunday, Feb. 10,
the bishop of the city made the unctions and per-
formed the ceremonies; and the archpriest sang the Mass,
the Pope being at the altar on the side of the choir."3
Now, how could Bottonio, who was so throughly ac
quainted with his country's history, not to speak of that
of his convent, and who is so particular about every cir
cumstance-how could he have been ignorant of what
Campano writes concerning the window ordered by the
Pope? Serafino Razzi, who was the contemporary of
Bottonio, and who was lector of theology in that convent,
in his work (The Illustrious Men of the Preaching-Friars)
which we have had frequent occasion to quote, speaks
thus of our celebrated Artist:-" Fra Bartolomeo da
Perugia, was the author and constructor of the painted
glass window of the principal chapel (in the choir); and
that he painted it is proved by the inscription at foot
of it."
¹ Registry MS.
2 Loc. cit. v. 2, fol. 21 and fol. 103.
3 Loc. Cit. ad ann. 1459.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
307
With such authorities as these before us, I must con-
clude that Campano either erred in attributing the window
to Pius II., or that the actual one was removed from the
lateral wall, not only with its base but in its entirety;
and that Fra Bartolomeo was the painter who coloured
it. The unanimity of the ancient writers, and the words
of the inscription confirm us in this opinion; therefore,
till the authority of Campano shall have been corrobo-
rated by irrefragable proofs, we will insist that Fra Bar-
tolomeo "to perpetuate God's glory and his own name,"
painted this marvellous window, which is a solemn
monument to his genius and memory.
CHAPTER X.
Notices of the Blessed James of Ulm and of his Disciples in
Glass-Painting.
NARRATING the lives and works of the Dominican artists,
we have often had occasion to speak of the rare goodness
of some of them, who made art the medium for impart-
ing religious and moral instruction. Foremost, amongst
these, were the Blessed Guglielmo Agnelli, Fra Giovan-
nino da Marcojano, Fra Gerolamo Monsignori, and that
most devout painter Fra Giovanni Angelico. At present
we are about to speak of one who attained much
celebrity in glass-painting, and whose exemplary life has
caused the Catholic Church to rank him amongst her
Beatified. This man is the Blessed James, the German,
of the convent of S. Domenico in Bologna.
As the life of the Blessed James has been written by
many and accurate historians, we have not to lament
308
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
•
the poverty of materials. Nevertheless, we have to
regret, that very few of his paintings on glass remain,
and that there are many attributed to him, to which we
cannot establish his claim. Most infelicitous indeed is
the condition of this art, whose productions are liable to
so many accidents. It may be justly termed the most
perishable of any style of painting, since the most trifling
contingency can destroy the work of long years of labour
and study.
The Blessed James was born in the city of Ulm,
A.D. 1407. His father was called Theodoric, and was a
merchant. Fra Ambrogino da Soncino, a Dominican
lay-brother, (who was also a pupil of the Blessed James,)
the earliest biographer of this illustrious artist, records
that, in his youth, he devoted himself to the study of
mechanics, for which he had a peculiar aptness; and that
he also applied himself to glass-painting, in which the Ger-
mans and Flemings had attained great celebrity. Being
of a very religious turn of mind, he set out to visit the
sepulchre of the Prince of the Apostles; for, indeed,
there were very few in these ages of faith who did not
yearn to see that venerable shrine, and bathe it with
their tears. He arrived at Rome, in 1432, being then
only twenty-five years of age; and so ineffable was the
delight which he experienced, while tarrying on the
soil, sanctified by the blood of so many martyrs, that he
would fain have dwelt there for ever. When, however,
his money was exhausted, he set out for Naples, and
took service under the banner of Alfonso, King of
Arragon; and was engaged in that memorable fight in
which the valour of the Genoese deprived Alfonso of
his throne and liberty. For four years he carried the
sword with integrity and valour; but at length, tiring of
the military life, he got into the service of a private
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
309
citizen of Capua. In 1440, or '41, the love of Father-
land, or that home-sickness which visits every gentle soul,
induced him to set out to embrace his aged father.
Having reached Bologna, on his way to Germany, he
visited the shrine of S. Dominic, and whilst praying
before it, felt himself inspired to renounce his earthly
home, and to go in pursuit of the "True Land." At the
gate of that convent, (S. Domenico,) when thirty-four
years of age, he asked, and obtained, the lay-brother's
habit. For fifty years he lived a most holy life, in the
Dominican institute, and died, October 11, 1491. A
pilgrim, a soldier, and a monk, he was a mirror of every
virtue. Pope Leo XII., enrolled him amongst the
Beatified, in 1825, and the church solemnizes his
memory on the 12th of October. Whosoever may desire
to know more of his life, can consult "Melloni's Acts of
the Bolognese Saints," and Leandro Alberto in the fifth
book of his "Eulogiums of the Illustrious Men of the
Preaching-Friars." We can speak here only of his
merits as an artist.
Scarcely had the Blessed James put on the Dominican
habit, when he resumed the practice of glass-painting,
which had been interrupted by nine years absence from
his native land; and, in fact, Fra Ambrogino, in the
18th chapter of his Chronicle, states that he had been a
disciple of the Blessed James for fully thirty-three years.
The earliest notice of his works that I have been able to
discover, is dated 1465. In the public archive of De-
manio in Bologna, there are two MS. volumes, now
belonging to the convent of S. Domenico, which contain
entries of sums expended on that building, and on the
decorations of the church itself. One of these volumes
was written in 1465, and the other in the following year
by the lay-brother Fra Bartolomeo di Vigevano. In
310
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
both there is an account of the cost of the windows
painted by the Blessed James: For example, in the
book marked F. G. No. 2, under date 1465, we find
the following entry:-"Fra Giacomo of Germany, is to
receive, May 3rd, for works executed at various times,
thirty-eight pounds, (libre,) and two soldi, in three
payments, which are to be debited to this building.”
Again, under date, 1466, we read:-"Fra Giacomo of
Germany, (of the windows,) is to receive, April 16th,
seven soldi, on account of the iron work which Gugliel-
mo da Como executed in our forge, for the eye of the
window." Other entries of this sort are very frequent.
In another journal, of the building of the same convent,
we find, ad. ann. 1467, a memorandum of monies
expended “on colours, for the windows of the library.
Ad. ann. 1468, there is an entry of sixteen, (Bolognini,)
paid to Micheli for the design of the window of the
library." From this, we think, we may infer that Fra
Giacomo was assisted by others in designing. Similar
entries for painting the windows of the library are found
as late as 1472; and the last time his name appears in
that journal, is in 1480, when he had completed his
seventy-third year. He also painted the windows of the
refectory of his convent, two windows in the chapel of
S. Dominic, and the great eye over the principal door of
said church, which Vincenzo Vannini certifies to have
been exceedingly beautiful. His brethren do not at pre-
sent possess any work by this distinguished artist. Over
the entrance of the first dormitory there is a little history
on glass, which an ancient tradition attributes to the
Blessed Giacomo; it represents the Crucifixion, with the
B. V. M., and S. John the Evangelist, in small figures.
Having examined it accurately, I deem it to be the
work of an earlier artist. Others agree in this opinion;
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
311
and the Bologna "Guide-book" terms it the most ancient
glass-painting which that city possesses.¹
But the works which secured the greatest celebrity for
him, as a glass-painter, are the windows in the cathedral
of San Petronio, which are still preserved. All writers
of his life extol their beauty; and the Bologna Guide
pronounces a merited eulogium on them. But who
could now determine the age of these paintings? Many
and excellent artists worked in that church, and amongst
others Fra Ambrogino, a disciple of the German. More-
over, some of these windows were removed in 1792, and
substituted by white glass, as the painted ones were
much injured by time. Amongst these there may have
been some by the B. James. F. Melloni attributes to
him some little histories in the oratory of S. Helena,
(dall' Olio,) in the Bentivogli palace, Bologna. Others
regard as his a small painting on glass, which is now
in the house, of Professor Bianconi, (Via Mascarella,)
and attribute to him, likewise, the two circlets in the
church of the Misericordia, near Bologna, together with
some other works on glass in the principal chapel of the
College of Spain, in the same city.
2
Having enumerated all these paintings, which history
and tradition attribute to the Blessed James of Ulm, we
will close the notices of his life and works with the
1 I would hope that the following extract may be of use in helping us to
discover a window which he painted for the chapel of S. Domenico in
Bologna. Irrespective of this, it shows by what means the builders and de-
corators of the fifteenth century procured the monies which were required
for erecting and embellishing their churches: "Anno 1462, die 27 Decembris.
Determinatum fuit in concilio per patres, quod frater Gulielmus debeat com-
plere Auconam quam fecit fieri Venetiis pro Archa S. Dominici Bononiensis,
et quod conventus debeat dare sibi litteras sigillatas sigillo conventus in bona
forma, habito prius consensu conventus continentes quod ipse frater Gulielmus
possit eleemosinas quaerere ubique terrarum pro ipsa Ancona."
? Memorie della Beata Elena.
312
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
narrative of a fact, which we have collected from the
writings of M. Emile Thibaud. Jean de Bruges, who is
generally believed to have been the discoverer of oil
painting, is said to have invented a method of tinting the
leaves of glass in the furnace. Thibaud, however, would
maintain that James of Ulm is primarily entitled to this
honor, and he states that our friar was the first who
discovered the method of giving glass a diaphonous
yellow tint, by the application of oxide of silver. He
relates that the friar was one day engaged preparing
glass at the furnace, when a vessel of silver falling on the
lime, which he used as a stratum, a portion of the silver
was fused, and the glass with which it came in contact
assumed a yellowish tinge. This fact was subsequently
noted down in all the books relating to the art of glass-
painting.¹
It reflects great credit on an artist to be able to perpe-
tuate himself in his disciples. The Angelico left Benozzo
Gozzoli and Gentile da Fabriano heirs of his style; but
the Blessed James of Ulm, far more fortunate, found
successors in his own convent, and he not only trans-
mitted to them his artistic power, but even his very
sanctity. These were Fra Ambrogino and Fra Anas-
tasio. The former was born in Soncino, in the Milanese.
Leandro Alberti, a contemporary, and religious of the
same convent, writes that he was eminently skilled in
glass-painting, and that there was no man of his times
who surpassed him. He likewise adds that many of his
works were the admiration of Bologna. There is also
honourable mention made of him in Alberti's "Descrip-
tion of Italy." Having recorded some celebrated literary
men of Soncino, he continues, "All these splendid
¹ Bourasse Archeologie Chretienne, c. xiv., p. 260.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
313
geniuses were contemporaries of Ambrogino, the Domini-
can lay-brother, who was not more famed for his sanctity
than for his skill in glass-painting. Although he was
only a lay-brother, he wrote the Life of the Blessed
James of Germany, of whom he was a disciple." Michele
Pio, who gives him the title of Blessed, seems to have
derived his knowledge of him from this notice by
Alberti.2 We are unable to point with certainty to any
of his paintings on glass, and, in this respect, he resem-
bles his master. It is certain, however, that he painted
with Fra Giacomo in the cathedral of S. Petronio—and
this may be said to be a proof of his ability, as the Bolog-
nesi employed none but the most excellent masters to de-
of
corate that church. Echard and Quietif, in the "Library
Dominican Writers," date Fra Ambrogino's death a. D.
1517, the year in which Fra Bartolomeo della Porta died
in Florence. The memory of this good lay-brother shall
be always venerated by his Order, for his skill as a glass-
painter, for his virtues, and for having described the
wonderful life of the Blessed James of Ulm, which sub-
sequently afforded matter for these written by Prierio,
Flaminio, Alberti, and Melloni. We have thought it
fair to make the following extract from a letter which,
in his own unadorned style, he addressed to the General
of the Order:-" I well remember that mirror of religion
and holy life, the Blessed lay brother, Fra Jacopo of Ger-
many, whose unworthy disciple I have been. I slept
with him during one year on the same sack, and I have
heard many secrets from his holy mouth, which are
worthy of being treasured." The two biographers already
quoted think that he was the author of another legend
relating to the Blessed Luchina da Soncino, of the third
1 Loc. Cit. p. 160.
VOL. I.
2 Uomini illustri dell' Ordine di S. Domenico.
P
314
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
Order of S. Dominic, which is condensed in Pio's work
-on the Illustrious Men of the Preaching-Friars.'
As to Fra Anastasio, a lay-brother of the same insti-
tute and convent, we are ignorant of his country, cog-
nomen, and works; neither could I have known anything
of him were it not for the kindness of Vannini, who has
kindly communicated to me an extract which he made
out of the public archives of Bologna. In a memoran-
dum concerning the Ark of S. Dominic, which was com-
menced April 10, 1521, we find that Fra Anastasio
succeeded Petronio Bolognese, who held the office of
Archist from 1512 to 1521. We will give the extract
in the simple and affectionate style of the lay-brother:-
"After him my beloved and dear master and prede-
cessor was appointed (Archist); he was a most devout
man-wholly a man of God and of our Blessed Founder,
S. Dominic. He was a rosy, lively person of the middle
height; and I am certain that the beauty of his soul was
reflected on his body; I often thought him a cherub, and
one of his hands was worth my whole body. He pos-
sessed a fine intellect; he was very skilful in glass-paint-
ing; he was a disciple and imitator of the Blessed
Giacomo. For the space of eight years, most faithfully,
fervently, and devoutly, and with the greatest exempla-
rity and integrity he served his and our good Father, S.
Domenico; and by him, doubtless, he was richly re-
warded. On Pentecost night, as he was going to kiss
the sacred Ark, I said to him, walk slowly and cau-
tiously, my dearest master, to your cell; and in the
month of July he had a rupture, and, after receiving all
¹ Bibliotheca Script. Ord. Prædic. v. 2, p. 35.
2 The Archists were the custodians of the shrine of S. Dominic; and we
find distinct mention of similar functionaries in our own annals. V. Reeves'
learned work on the Antiquities of Down and Connor.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
315
the sacraments, he slept in the Lord. He was buried
with his fathers on the following day." From this it
would appear that he learned the art from the German,
that he survived Fra Ambrogino twelve years, that he
taught the writer of this record the art of glass-paint-
ing, and that he died in 1529. We experienced a
feeling of delight in restoring to the veneration of
present times and future the memory of Fra Giovannino
di Marcojano, the architect of S. Maria Novella; and we
are equally delighted to be able to record this distin-
guished glass-painter, this true imitator of the Blessed
Giacomo of Ulm, who was forgotten by all the historians
of the Order.
From these brief notices of the glass-painters of the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, every one may fancy
what a great collection might be made if we were able
to enumerate those who flourished in the Venetian
dominions, in Lombardy, and particularly in France and
Germany. Though the Dominican Order could count
only Fra Guglielmo di Marcillat, he, alone, would reflect
honour on it in this branch of art.
In the history of the duomo of Orvieto, we read that a Dominican,
named Fra Mariano di Viterbo, offered to paint the windows of that cathe-
dral, and proposed to make a trial. The directors of the building ordered
him to execute a figure with various adornments, which was intended for
the chapel of the holy Corporal. But being dissatisfied with the work, which
was feeble in design, they invited Don Gasparre, a priest of Volterra, who
likewise failed to please them. They then brought from Perugia the cele-
brated Benedictine monk, Francesco di Barone Brunacci, who painted some
of the windows with consummate skill. I will here submit a conjecture of
my own.
It is likely that this Perugian glass-painter may have been a
disciple of Fra Bartolomeo di Pietro, or that he followed his precepts,
as they were contemporaries. The Necrology of the convent of S. Domenico
di Siena, ad ann. 1515, mentions another eminent artist: Frater Raphael
Peregrini Senen. artis vitrariæ peritus Ecclesiæ Sacramentis devote susceptis
vii. Decemb. migravit ad Christum.
316
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
CHAPTER XV.
Reformation of Italian Art attempted by Fra Gerolamo Savonarola-His
Ideas on the Subject-The Men who aided him in this attempt.
HAVING Concluded this first volume of the Memoirs of the
Dominican Artists, in which we have compendiously nar-
rated the history of three centuries, we think that this
work should be defective if we were to overlcok one of
the grandest and most memorable events which is recorded
in the civil, religious, and artistic history of the fifteenth
century. It is our intention to speak of the magnani-
mous attempt made by Fra Gerolamo Savonarola, to raise
Italian arts from the debasement to which the licen-
tiousness of the times had contributed to reduce them at
a period when they were threatened with that ruin into
which they lapsed after his death. I have said that this
fact pertains to civil, religious, and artistic history, because
the entire fifteenth century seems to have been epito-
mised in that sole, terrible orator; and, because he availed
himself of civil and religious science to give art a nobler
tendency. Hitherto, no one that I know of undertook to
develop this subject. The first amongst the modern
writers who has touched it with wonderful genius and
elegance, is M. Rio; and the most valuable portion of his
book on the vicissitudes of Christian Art, is that in which
he speaks of this fact. Wherefore we willingly unite
with M. Montalembert in returning thanks to this author,
who seems to have deserved well, not only of art, but of
religion, since every line he has written is a learned
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
317
commentary on the dogmas of Catholicity, regarding the
imitative arts, in as much as they are ancillary to her
forms of worship. Having pretermitted the two grand
questions anent Savonarola's political opinions, and the
part he took in the government of Florence, and without
discussing whether he ignored the authority of the Pontiff
in fulminating the excommunication against him, M.
Rio, like a true lover of art and Christian poetry, calmly
considers that truly dramatic and spirited struggle which
was maintained by a simple Dominican friar against
his age, in the presence of all Italy. "His object is to
re-establish the reign of Christ in the heart and soul of
peoples; to enlarge and extend the blessings of redemp-
tion to all the human faculties, and to all their operations.
The enemy that he combats with all the energy of his
soul, and all the power of his word, is Paganism, of which
he has everywhere found traces-in arts and morals, in
ideas as well as acts, in the cloisters, as well as in the
schools of his age." Without entering into a detailed
account of this drama, we will barely touch that portion
of it which relates to the arts; and although we confess
our inability to write in the style of M. Rio's imaginative
and glowing narrative, we will endeavour, nevertheless,
to confirm, with authentic documents, all that he has
asserted of the Ferrarese orator.2
¹ Du Vandalisme et du Catholicisme dans l'Art, p. 115: "Mais ce n'est
pas seulement à l'histoire de l'art, c'est à l'histoire religieuse en general que
M. Rio a rendu un service essentiel, en pulvirisant les mensonges à l'aide de
quels les Protestants et les philosophes ont jusque a present exploité le role
jouè par Savonarola au profit de leurs haines contre l'Eglise Romaine.
M. Rio a rehabiliteé les opinions religieuses et politiques de ce grand homme;
il a prouvé que son Catholicisme etait aussi pur que sa politique etait sage
et eloignee de la demagogie qu'on lui impute; il a reconquis pour l'Eglise la
gloire et le genie de Savonarola. Qu'il en soit beni!"
¹ Savonarola was born in Ferrara, A.D. 1452.
•
318
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
At the termination of the fifteenth century, Italy
was agitated by a tremendous movement, which fore-
shadowed the breaking up of the old feudal society, and
the genesis of the present. The people were making
their last struggle to liberate themselves from these
tyrants, great and small, who exerted all their energies
to retain and defend every inch of ground that they had
usurped in the days of internecine discord. Nor more
pacific or less unhappy was the condition of the Church,
which, after a long contest against schism and heresy,
beheld her influence diminished, and the veneration and
affection of many waxing cold. The invention of print-
ing aiding the study of the classics, and, as it were,
broadcasting the seeds of erudition, shook the founda-
tions of the old Aristotelian edifice, opened a new high-
way to genius, and gave study new direction. From
these causes the following consequences were derived :—
In policy no age ever surpassed the fifteenth century in
wickedness, for it fought, not with arms and valour, but
but with fraud and poisons; and few ever equalled it in
the corruption of morality. In religion there appeared
the signs of these heresies which, in the following cen-
tury, tore such a great portion of Europe from the Roman
Church. The study of the classics during that century
did little for letters; it neither refined language nor
consoled philosophy; but merely prepared the world for
that luminous period called the age of Leo X. The
Medici, who were intent on securing the dominion of
Tuscany, strove to corrupt the people and to debauch them
by their festivals and pageants. Like all other oppressors
of liberty, they thought to win the people by their
promises and bribes. Such was the policy of Pericles in
Greece, and of Augustus in Rome. When the instances
of Pico della Mirandola caused the Medici to invite Savo-
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
319
narola to Florence, the friar found pride and infidelity in
the men of learning, in the people and the artists licen-
tiousness-in all classes a turbulent restlessness, an ennui
of actual evils, and an anxious expectation of something
novel. When the conditions of society have reached
this term, the very nature of the times creates singular
men to sway it; and in fact, if they be not able to
rule and wield the movement, they must perish in it.
Savonarola believed himself destined to perform a grand
mission, moral, intellectual, artistic, and political; and he
at once cast himself boldly into that tremendous conflict
of ideas, passions, and interests in which only one out of
a thousand escapes, while the generality are victimised
and exhibited to all future generations to prove how
fatal it is to have been gifted, in such times, with a
soul that soars above the ordinary level of intelligence.
Every quality that is most glowing and impassioned
in popular and religious eloquence; all that the genius
and imagination of an orator can communicate to a
people as fervid and imaginative as himself, was wit-
nessed in Florence during the eight consecutive years
that beheld Fra Gerolamo wielding dominion over that
great Republic. The Annals of Greece or Latium record
no eloquence so powerful as that of the Friar. In the
thirteenth century, a voice went forth from the Domi-
nican cloisters, inviting the Lambertazzi and Geremei in
Bologna, and the Guelphs and Ghibellines in Florence,
to renounce their murderous animosities; and at this
voice, which sped from mouth to mouth, from Fra
Giovanni da Vicenza to Fra Latino Malabranca, from Fra
Jacopo da Varagine, to Fra Bartolomeo di Vicenza, all
the people "shut in by the Alps and sea," fraternised. In
the sixteenth century this same voice resounded in the
woods of America, striving to burst the bonds of a
320
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
people cruelly oppressed, and the words and the virtues
of the venerable bishop of Chiapa, Fra Bartolomeo di
Las Casas, obtained some alleviation of the afflictions
which the Spanish tyrants inflicted on the poor Indians.
This sublime mission cost Las Casas and his predecessors
toil of mind and body: but far more arduous was the
mission of Fra Gerolamo; for although they all had but
one common end to achieve, the enemies against whom
he had to combat, were of a very different order. Nor
would the eloquence and splendid virtues of the bishop
of Chiapa have saved him from the poignards of the
exterminating Spaniards, if he had not been over-
shadowed by the dreaded power of Charles the Fifth.
It is not our province to speak of the political influence
which Savonarola exercised in the Government of Flor-
ence, and we would rather refer the reader to what Nardi,
Guicciardini, and especially Bernardino Segni have
written of him. "Fra Gerolamo," say the latter," who
conferred the blessing of free government on our country,
should be ranked amongst the good legislators, and as
such, should be honoured and loved by the Florentines,
just as much as Numa was loved by the Romans, Licur-
gus by the Lacedæmonians, and Solon by the Athenians.”
When I reflect how great must have been the efficacy of
Savonarola's language, which could raise a people so
thoroughly corrupted to a sense of their own dignity—
when I remember that he alone effected that wonderful
revolution, which is usually the work of years of toil; I
grieve to think that in our days, sacred, and popular
eloquence, seems all but extinct. As to the wondrous
change that Savonarola wrought in Florence, let us hear
1 Storie Fiorent. Had Segni lived in our times he would have added,
or as much as Washington is loved by the Americans."
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
321
Burlamacchi, who was an ocular witness:-"The
people rose from their beds at midnight to go to the
sermon, and they came to the doors of the cathedral,
waiting uncovered, till they were opened; nor did they
complain of the inconvenience, nor of the cold, nor of
the air, nor of standing in the winter-time on the marble,
and amongst these were young and old, women and
children, of every sort, all filled with great joy, and
going to the sermon, as though it were to a wedding.
In the church, there was profound silence, every one
going to his place with taper in hand, and such as could
read, read the office, and others said other prayers.
Amongst such a multitude, not a whisper was heard, till
the children came, who sang some hymns, with such
sweetness, that Paradise seemed to have been opened.
Thus, they waited, three or four hours, till the Father
ascended the pulpit, etc. (p. 27.)
66
They no longer sang profane songs, but spiritual
canticles, a great many of which were composed at that
time—they sometimes chaunted them in chorus on the
highways, as Friars do in the choir, and with great
jubilee whilst at their work, so wide-spread was this
great fire everywhere! Mothers were seen in the streets
reciting the office with their children. When they sat
at table, after the benediction, they observed silence, and
they listened to a person reading the lives of the Holy
Fathers, and other devout works, and in particular, the
sermons of the Father, (Savonarola,) and others of his
works." And at page 80:-" The women dressed with
greatest modesty, and to effect a reform in this particular,
they sent a deputation, of their own body, to the Signory,
with great solemnity. The children did the same, and
P 2
322
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
sent a deputation to the Governors of the City,
praying them to enact laws for the protection of good
morals."
This wonderful eloquence found its way to the hearts
of all classes: the plebeian, the monk, the priest, nay,
and even the grand intellects, native, as well as Ultra-
montane, whom the Medici retained in their court,
bowed before its majesty. Rio has truthfully observed
that no other man, no matter how famed, was ever fol-
lowed by such a long array of celebrities; and, indeed, it
would be difficult to persuade oneself that it was merely
to honour the friar, since we find amongst his most
enthusiastic admirers philosophers, poets, artists in every
branch, painters, sculptors, architects, and engravers,
who presented themselves to him as his most pliant
instruments in this grand social reform.2 Foremost
amongst these was the Count Giovanni Pico della Mi-
randola, on whom an admiring age bestowed the epithet
of "Phoenix of Intellects;" then came Angelo Poliziano,
a polished writer of the Medicean court; Marsilio Ficino;
the Canon Sacromoro; the two Benivieni; Giorgio Ves-
pucci, uncle to the great navigator; Zanobi Acciaiuoli;
Tommaso Seratico, all of whom were famed for their
knowledge of Greek and Roman literature. Some
of them, not satisfied with being classed amongst his
admirers, resolved to follow the observances of his
domestic life, and took the habit of the Order; and
Mirandola, whom death prevented from pursuing a like
course, desired that his body should be consigned to the
tomb, clothed in the costume of S. Dominic, and in-
1 Vita del P. F. Gerolamo Savonarola, scritta dal C. P. Burlamacchi.
Lucca, 1764.
2 Loc. Cit. p. 341.

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
323
terred beside Poliziano, in the church of S. Mark, where
they had both often listened to the preaching of Fra
Gerolamo.
None but those who have perused the Chronicles of
the Convent of S. Marco, could believe what numbers of
the Florentine nobility hastened to enrol themselves
under the banner of S. Dominic, in order to be near to
this wonderful man.' But that which exceeds all
powers of imagination is the influence which he exer-
cised over the Florentine artists. Vasari compares it to
a delirium, so great was his power over their hearts and
souls: for they not only adopted all his ideas of what
should be the moral tendency of art, but also declared
themselves ready to suffer any amount of toil, and to
confront the rage of a brutal faction, sooner than aban-
don him in the tremendous struggle that he maintained
for his country and her Arts. Some of them paid
dearly for their devotion, for they either fell beneath the
assassin's stiletto or were driven into exile. Others,
when the terrible tragedy was ended, abandoned the
cultivation of these arts which formed their delight dur-
ing the life-time of Fra Gerolamo. The history of these
facts is given by men who were not the partisans of
Savonarola, but by the creature of the Medici, Giorgio
Vasari, who confesses himself unable to account for that
mighty influence which Fra Gerolamo exercised over
the most distinguished geniuses of his times.
1 So great was the number of those who took the habit, that the convent
of S. Marco, which had to be enlarged, counted two hundred inmates. All
the Camaldulese monks in Florence sent a deputation to Savonarola, beseeching
him to invest them with the Dominican habit, and receive them into his Order.
Burlamacchi, who conveyed their request, was informed by Fra Gerolamo
that he could not grant their prayer, and that they should return to their
convents, and live according to the rule of their Founder, which was in every
respect calculated to make them perfect men. V. Burlamacchi.
324
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
The artists who adopted Savonarola's ideas were by
far the most distinguished men of the Florentine school
in all the branches of design; and there is no one who
will not admit the great excellence of Giovanni delle
Corniole, as an engraver on stone; of Baldini and Sandro
Botticelli, in copper-plate engraving; of Cronaca, in
architecture; of the Robbia family, in all the branches of
the plastic art; of Baccio da Monte Lupo, in sculpture;
of Baccio della Porta and Lorenzo di Credi in painting;
and of Bettuccio and Eustachio, of Florence, in minia-
turing. And the very same motive that induced many
of the Florentine nobility to retire from the world, and
pass their days with that singular man, impelled many
an artist to ask the habit at his hands. Elsewhere we
shall see what numbers were invested by him in the
convent of S. Marco, and in that of Fiesole.¹
Surrounded by such a galaxy of artists and literati,
Savonarola began to unfold his ideas to both. His object
was to convert the literary man from infidelity, and
to impress him with the proper notions of Christianity.
As to the artists, the scope of all his reasonings was to
rescue the imitative arts from that immoral tendency
which was so much encouraged by the licentiousness of
the times; for they not only delighted in depicting the
nude, and representing foulest abominations, but treated
with contempt the very subjects suggested by religion
itself. Nothing was then more common than to select
women of depraved life as originals for portraits of the
Madonna and other Saints; nor need we say that such
practices brought dishonour on religion and scandalized
1 Amongst the artists who opposed Savonarola, were Mariotto Alberti-
nelli and Piero di Cosimo, Florentine painters. Burlamacchi states that
Baccio da Monte Lupo fled the city in order to escape the poignards of Fra
Gerolamo's enemies.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
325
Was it not thus that
It
the faithful. It is true, indeed, that abuses of this sort
were still more flagrant in the following century, in the
days of Giulio Romano, Tiziano, and Coreggio, but the
far-seeing eye of the Ferrarese clearly beheld the debase-
ment which should inevitably prevail, if he did not warn
the cultivators of art of the ignominy with which they
would cover themselves; and of the direful evils that
should befal their country, if they devoted their genius
to propagate such foul contamination. Alas! they knew
not that corruption always precedes the loss of liberty;
and they took little heed of that maxim which we
read in Tacitus: that the easiest way to conquer and
enslave a people is to debauch it.
the Romans subjugated Britain, Gaul, and Germany? It
was against men of this class that Savonarola thundered
from the pulpit, and he also predicted the tremendous evils
which they were likely to bring on his country.
may be that the future was revealed to him, and that he
beheld the Imperialists besieging Florence. Who knows
but that he saw in prophetic vision the last struggle of
the Republic, which, despite of valour and chivalry,
lapsed once more into the power of the Medicean
tyrants! Knowing the power which the imitative arts
exercised over that imaginative people, and that they
might be made instrumental in the social reform, he set
about developing his ideas of them, by going back to
the general principles of æsthetics, and giving a new
definition of the beautiful. This, he maintained, should
not be understood to be a mere pleasing of the senses,
but that the senses should be the media for conveying it
to the heart and soul, and enamouring it of virtue. He
never would separate his ideal of the beautiful from that
of truth and decorum. Perhaps, it may be better to
hear himself: "In what does beauty consist? In colour-

326
PAINTERS,
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT •
ing? no: In form? no: but beauty is a form that results
from the proportion and correspondency of all the mem-
bers and colours; and from this proportion there results
a quality which philosophers term beauty. This is true
in compound entities, but in simple ones their beauty is
the light. Behold the sun; its beauty consists in pos-
sessing light: behold the blessed spirits, the beauty of
whom is light: behold God, who, because he is most
lucid, is beauty itself. The beauty of every creature
is the more perfect, the more closely it is assimilated
to the beauty of God; and the body is beautiful in pro-
portion to the beauty of the soul. Suppose two women
whose bodies are equally beautiful: fancy one of them to
be of holy life, and the other immoral; you will find that
the holy woman will be more loved by every one than
the wicked woman, and that all eyes will be turned on
her. I now speak of carnal men. Suppose a holy man,
whose body is deformed-you will find that every one
respects him, and, although deformed, his sanctity seems to
be reflected in his countenance. Now fancy what must
have been the beauty of the Virgin, who possessed
such sanctity-sanctity that shone from all her features.
Imagine how beautiful was Christ, who was God and
Man!" Every one must perceive that the Angelico
realised all these theories; for no painter ever excelled
him in giving to his images the beauty of an immortal
soul. Having given these general notions of the Beauti-
ful, Savonarola proceeds to denounce the licentiousness
of artists, who made painting subservient to the lusts of
the great, instead of an eloquent language for inculcat-
ing virtue and morality; and, to overwhelm them with
shame, he quotes a Gentile author. "Aristotle," he
¹ Prediche Quadrigesimali del P. Sav. Recitate l'anno 1495.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
327
exclaims, "who was a pagan, tells us that we should not
tolerate indecent pictures, lest children, seeing them, be
corrupted; but what shall I say of you, Christian pain-
ters, who produce these nude figures? I tell you to do
so no more. You, who have such paintings in your houses,
should destroy them, for you would thus be doing a work
pleasing to God and the Holy Virgin." Directing his
discourse to those who selected as models for portraits of
the Saints, women whose profligacy was well known to
every one, after quoting the passage in Amos, (c. v.)—
"But you carried a tabernacle for your Moloch, and the
image of your idols"-he pronounces the following in-
vective:-"You have dedicated my temple and my
churches to your God Moloch. See how they act in
Florence! When Florentine mothers have married their
daughters, they deck them out for show, till they look
like nymphs; and they lead them forthwith to Santa
Liberata (the cathedral). These are your idols that you
have placed in my temple. The images of your gods
are the images and the likenesses of the figures that you
cause to be painted in the churches; and the young men
say to this and that maiden: this is Magdalene; that
beyond there is S. John; because you paint figures in
the church which resemble this woman or that. All this
is sinful, and a contempt of God. You painters act
wrongly; and if you knew the scandal that results, as I
know it, you would not paint such things. You intro-
duce worldly vanities into the church. Do you believe
that the Blessed Virgin was dressed as you represent
her? I tell you that she was modestly dressed, and so
veiled that one could scarcely see her face; and S. Eliza-
beth was also modest and simple in her attire.
! Predica della prima Dom. di Quar.
You
328
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
would do well if you would cancel these indecent pic-
tures. You represent the Virgin Mary decked out like a
harlot. Oh, how is God's worship debased!" It is easy
to conjecture what effect such discourses as these had
on the minds of the Florentine artists, many of whom
swore to Savonarola that they would never again degrade
the art of painting or sculpture. Not content with this,
Baccio della Porta, (called in religion Fra Bartolomeo,)
Lorenzo di Credi, and others, laid at the Father's feet all
their designs in the nude, together with their other works
which outraged decency. But, as Savonarola desired to
impress the minds of the Florentines with a salutary
horror of all such objects, he caused them all to be
burned with great solemnity in the piazza of the Palazzo
Vecchio. Let us hear Burlamacchi on this subject:-
At the beginning of the carneval, (1497,) the Father
ordered that there should be a very solemn procession,
full of mysteries; and he caused to be erected in the
Piazza dei Signori, a large cabin, within which were
gathered all vain and lascivious things, which the
children had collected from all parts of the city. The
cabin was formed as we will describe: The joiners
constructed a pyramid, and in its hollow placed a great
quantity of brush-wood, and some gunpowder. This
pyramid had fifteen steps, on which were laid and
arranged, with great ingenuity, all the various offensive
objects. On the first step were laid the most precious
1 Sabbato dopo la Seconda Dom. di Quar. In another sermon on the edu-
cation of youth, he speaks thus: "The bad Poets should not be read in
schools: such as Ovid, (de Arte Am.,) Tibullus, Catullus, and Terentius
(where he speaks de Meretricibus.) Read S. Jerom, S. Augustin, and other
ecclesiastical books, or Tully, Virgil, and some portions of holy Scripture.
And you, masters, when you find mention of Jove and Pluto, say to your
scholars: these are fabulous deities, and God alone governs the world.”
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
329
foreign tapestries, on which obscene figures had been
wrought; above these, on the second step, was a great
number of figures and portraits of the fairest damsels of
Florence, and others by most excellent painters and
sculptors. On another step, were tables, cards, dice, and
such like diabolical inventions. On another step were
music-books, harps, lutes, guitars, cymbals, trumpets, and
various other instruments. Then came the adornments
of women—false hair, mirrors, perfumes, Cyprus powders,
and similar vanities. On another step were the works of
the Latin and modern poets, such as Morganti, Boccaccio,
Petrarcha, and the like. Then followed masques, beards,
liveries, and all such carneval trumpery. There were
also many very beautiful works of the chisel and pencil,
together with ivory and alabaster chess-men, for which a
Venetian merchant offered the Signory twenty thousand
crowns; but instead of getting them, they painted him,
from the life, and enthroned him on the top of the pyra-
At length,
mid, as King of all these vanities.
four men approached, with lighted torches, and set fire
to the cabin, mid the ringing of bells, and the sounding of
fifes and trumpets, so that every one seemed enraptured
on the occasion of this festivity. The flames mounted
to heaven, and all the vanities were consumed." This
spectacle was renewed A.D. 1498, the last of Fra Gerola-
mo's Apostolic career.
And, here, it sickens the soul to think that this solemn
triumph, which he had achieved over the licentiousness
of his age, should soon be followed by error and immo-
rality. The partisans of the Medici, who were working
for their restoration: a ruler far more potent than the
Medici; the libertine artists who battened on corruption,
¹ Burlamacchi. Loc. Cit. p. 113.
330
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
and who had fallen in popular esteem; the literary men,
too, who could not tolerate the severe maxims of the
Friar, all conspired, and swore to effect Savonarola's
oyerthrow. Then arose the sect of the Arrabbiati, who
were the partisans of everything infamous, and who
thirsted for vengeance. Foiled in their first attempts,
they retired for a while, to knit themselves more closely
together, and seizing the occasion of the disputation' on
May 23rd, 1498, they inaugurated their triumph. In
that very square, and on that very pyre whereon, a few
months before, Savonarola had attempted to consume
revived Paganism, he, himself, was burned. Illustrious,
and hapless victim! in thee was realised that aphorism
of Macchiavelli-"Ill fares it with prophets who expose
their unarmed breasts to the fury of factions." But
though his enemies destroyed his body, they could not
destroy his memory, which has been honorably recorded
by every writer who does not shrink from stating truth.
For more than two centuries, on the anniversary of his
death, the ground that drank his blood, has been covered
with garlands, and this will attest the veneration in
which the Friar is held, and prove that his grand
precepts have not perished in the memory of the
Florentines.
Ten years after Savonarola's death on an ignominious
gibbet, Raffaello painted him amongst the Doctors of the
1 This is an allusion to the ordeal of fire, to which Savonarola blindly
consented, and, as it were, signed his own death-warrant. V. the Life and
Times of Savonarola, where this terrible scene is very well described.
2 Savonarola seems to have had a presentiment of the tragic termination
of his apostolic career. Nothing else can be collected from these memorable
words: "Go read the sacred books, and you will see that all the prophets
were murdered. So too, I think, it shall be with me. This is the reward
that I receive from this people."—Oraz. della Renovatione della Chiesa, lib. i.,
page 51.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
331
Catholic Church, in the halls of the Vatican, and this is
his most splendid religious rehabilitation-the most
luminous proof of his innocence, and the most convincing
evidence of the perfidy of his persecutors. Julius II.
charged Raffaello to execute these grand works, and
surely he would not have allowed an impious man, or
one who outraged the honor of the Pontificate, to figure
amongst the champions of the church, in the "Dispu
tation on the Sacrament." Mark how Julius proclaimed
Savonarola's innocence:-1
"The death of the Friar preceded, by a few years, the
death of the Republic !"
Having thus briefly described the ideas of Fra Gero-
lamo, as well as his calamitous death, it remains for us to
vindicate his character against those who call him an
apostle of barbarism-an iconoclast, and an enemy to the
fine arts. The facts we have narrated from Burlamacchi
have been distorted to furnish grounds for these accusa-
tions, and to prove that Savonarola was utterly insensible
to the beautiful in arts as well as letters. But I am, per-
suaded that every dispassionate reader of Fra Gerolamo's
history, will confess that he did not denounce the legiti-
mate use of either arts or letters, but simply inveighed
against those who made them subservient to the demora-
lization of society. That public and solemn spectacle of
the destruction of so many lascivious objects, seems to
have been necessitated by the very nature of the evil
1 Filippo Moisê, Illustrazione Storico-Artistica del Palazzo vecchio. Fir.
1843. Rio Poesie Chretienne, c. viii., p. 361. Rosini endeavours to prove
that the portrait in the "Disputation" is not Savonarola's, and has given an
engraving of it in his History of Painting. In my judgment this is the
strongest confirmation of the generally received opinion, and any one who
takes the trouble of examining it must find that it bears a most striking re-
semblance to the portrait of Fra Gerolamo painted by Fra Bartolomeo.
332
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
which demanded a prompt and desperate remedy. Were
we to condemn Savonarola for this, we should also con-
demn the Apostle Paul, who not only caused such books
as sinned against morality to be consumed, but also such
as were calculated to lure the faithful from the cultiva-
tion of Christian knowledge.' A writer of the last cen-
tury did not hesitate to pronounce Paul a fanatic for
conduct like Savonarola's. Certain it is that the artists
who espoused Fra Gerolamo's doctrines, did not abandon
painting or sculpture, as they would have done, if
he had anathematized either of these arts; far other-
wise, they did nothing more than give them a right
direction, no longer contaminating either pencil or
chisel with obscene representations, and their example
may be said to have preserved many from corruption.
That the Friar was a lover of art is, I think, very
evident to such as have read our history. If this had
not been the fact, it would be hard to understand how
so many and such illustrious painters and sculptors could
have entertained the kindliest feelings for the man who
denounced the arts which they professed, or have sub-
mitted to so many grievous trials for their devotion to
his principles. Nay, more, when Fra Gerolamo hurled
his most scathing invectives against those who desecrated
the temple of the living God by their obscene paintings,
did he not thus vindicate the character of Catholicity
from the aspersions of her enemies, who had ample reason
to accuse us of a serious innovation? In a word, did he
not anticipate the decision of the Tridentine Council,
which ordains that no work of art should find a place
within the sacred precincts, that was not calculated to
1 "And many of them who had followed curious arts, brought together
their books, and burnt them before all; and counting the price of them, they
found the money to be fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the
word of GOD, and was confirmed.”—Acts, xix.
SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
333
convey a moral lesson and stimulate the piety of the
faithful?1
To these arguments which to us appear conclusive,
we will add some facts. Savonarola for many years
belonged to a congregation which had always cherished
and cultivated art. We have already seen how the
Blessed Giovanni Dominici, who was its Founder,
laboured to propagate and diffuse the love of arts in all
the cloisters of men and women that he had established.
In these solitudes lived and worked Fra Giovanni An-
gelico, and that distinguished band of miniaturists
whom we have recorded, in the first book of these
Memoirs; and this, in my judgment, was a most benefi-
cial provision, since there can be nothing better calcu-
lated to fill the heart and soul with chastened and sub-
lime ideas than the divine art of design and painting,
when directed by that spirit of piety that glowed in the
bosom of the Angelico. We are assured on the authority
of Burlamacchi, that when Fra Gerolamo determined to
revive the primitive rigid observance in his convent of
San Marco, he resolved to promote the study of the arts
of design which he regarded as essential to his grand
reform. "He determined," says Burlamacchi, “that the
lay-brothers should apply themselves to some of the arts
which were not likely to distract them, such as sculpture,
painting, mason's work, writing, &c.; and that by the
exercise of these arts, they might acquire means for the
support of the convent. This, he thought, would enable
his preachers to pronounce the truth more fearlessly, and
render them independent of those who would not contri-
bute alms when their vices were openly attacked and
1 Sess. xxv. c. i. "Omnis denique lascivia vitetur; ita ut procaci venustate
imagines non pingantur, nec ornentur.”
334
MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PAINTERS,
exposed." This prudential arrangement had the happiest
results, so much so, that during his life time, or at least a
few years after his tragic death, a chosen band of artists
entered the convent of San Marco, to walk in the foot-
prints and revive the examples of the Blessed Angelico;
a fact that never could have been realised if Savonarola,
who was the president of that Dominican Congrega-
tion, had been an Apostle of barbarism, an iconoclast,
and implacable enemy of the imitative arts. Let
us take another passage from his history to corro-
borate what we have here asserted. The most noble
Lady Camilla Rucellai was so deeply impressed by the
holy preaching of Fra Gerolamo, that she resolved to
renounce the world, for the sake of Jesus Christ, and to
erect a convent, within whose walls she might end her
career, in the practices of austere piety. Having opened
her mind to Savonarola, and being encouraged by him,
she built and endowed the magnificent monastery of S.
Caterina da Siena in Via Larga; and there, carrying out
Savonarola's reform, she introduced, at his suggestion,
the arts of painting and modelling in plaster. Most
happy were the results, so much, that no other convent
in all Italy produced abler female artists than this one,
founded by Rucellai. A learned and accurate writer
attests, that the fine arts were most lovingly cultivated in
this convent till the beginning of the last century, that
is to say, till the suppression of the religious Orders.
"There exist,” says he, "in this monastery, many
glorious monuments, which evidence the zeal and piety
of Savonarola, who, to protect its religious inmates from
the dangers of idleness, introduced the noble arts of
painting, design, and miniature, in which these pious
women became so excellent, that their works were

SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.
335
sought in Rome, Naples, Lombardy, and through all
Italy."
This convent adopted all the observances practised in
that of San Marco, and may be said to have rivalled it
in the cultivation of the Arts. This accomplished sister-
hood will furnish matter for us in the second volume of
these Memoirs.
We need not dwell longer on Savonarola, for we are
conscious that every one who desires to see art employed
as an efficacious means for inculcating religious and
moral precepts, will applaud his magnanimous attempt
to rescue it from degradation. He would not have it
ancillary to base and revolting passions: he struggled to
raise it to the dignity of the Evangelical language, and
though his efforts failed, we cannot refuse to do homage
to the motives that influenced him.
Livorno, 1782. This most
1 Della Storia di Fr. Gerolamo Savonarola.
complete and accurate life of Fra Gerolamo, was written by Father
Barsanti di S. Marco. M. P. J. Carle published another life of this great
man. Paris, 1842. It is replete with poetry and devotion.
APPENDIX.
ARTISTS WHOM SAVONAROLA INFLUENCED TO
TAKE THE DOMINICAN HABIT.
MINIATURISTS.
Fra Benedetto or Bettuccio of Florence, invested November 7th, 1459;
and professed by F. Savonarola, 13th November, 1496.
Fra Filippo Lappaccini of Florence, invested at the beginning of August,
1492; professed, August 3, 1493.
Fra Eustachio of Florence, invested in 1461; professed, September 12,
1497.
PAINTERS.
Fra Agostino di Paolo Del Mugello, invested in 1495; professed, 1416.
Fra Andrea, a Florentine, invested in 1500; professed, 1596.
Fra Bartolommeo Della Porta, invested at Prato, July 26, 1500; pro-
fessed, 1501.
ARCHITECTS.
Fra Domenico Di Paolo, a Florentine. I do not know in what year he
entered. He was a priest, and died October 5, 1501.
Fra Francesco di Prato. The time of his reception and profession does
not appear. He died, December, 1522.
MODELLERS IN PLASTER.
Amongst the cultivators of this art was, probably, Fra Ambrogio della
Robbia, invested by Fra Gerolamo Savonarola, in 1425. He was professed
December 13, 1496.
VOL. I.
Q

DOCUMENTS
TO ILLUSTRATE
THE MEMOIRS OF THE DOMINICAN ARTISTS.
BOOK I.
[CHAP. II., p. 23.]
"The plan of S. M. Novella is a nave with aisles, transepts with chapels
at their ends, and on their east faces, and a small square-ended chapel.
The nave is parted from its aisles by six arches of a broad pointed span: the
arches diminish in width from west to east. The transepts have two chapels
on each east face, and one apiece on a higher level and reached by some
steps at the extremities; and there is a fine Pointed sacristy (built in 1350)
west of the north transept. The south elevation of the south transept has a
round window of twelve radiating lights, not foliated, and with trefoils
between each pair of their heads and the circumference."-V. Webb's Con-
tinental Ecclesiology. This church is 322 feet long, 88 feet wide across the
nave and aisles, and 203 feet through the transepts.
[PAGE 69.]
The following is the inscription on the façade of the church of S. Michele
in Borgo:-
Cernite vos queso que fulgent marmore ceso
Hoc opus alarum frontis templi quoque clarum
Tempore constructum fuit, ad finemq. reductum
Hic patris Andree laudis de culmine vere
Vulterri natus fuit Abbas ipse prefatus,
Infrascriptorum numero tunc et monachorum
Cei ductoris claustralis rite prioris
Anselmique, Boni, Benedictum junge Guidoni
Sic Plancus, Michael, Andreas, Angelus inde
Camaldulenses sunt hic, et cenobienses
Laude supernorum insistunt angelicorum
Anno milleno trecento tres dato deno
Cesar et Henricus annus regnandoque primus
GUGLIELMUS sane pisanus sumite plane
Hic operis factor caput extat et ordinis actor
Ergo tu spector qui respicis hec quoque lector
Summo dans laudes Patri quo denique plaudes
Dic animabus eorum, da bona Christe polorum.
(V. ALESSANDRO DA MORRONA, Pisa Illustrata, vol. III. p. 1, cap. VI.)
APPENDIX.
339
[CHAP. VII. p. 69.]
ANCIENT CHRONICLE OF THE CONVENT OF S. CATHERINE
OF THE ORDER OF S. DOMINIC IN PISA.
(NECROLOGY OF FRA GUGLIELMO DA PISA.)
"William, the lay-brother, was a famous sculptor, and did much for the
enlargement of the convent. When the body of Blessed Dominic was being
removed to the Arca which was sculptured by Master Nicholas of Pisa,
(with whom our William worked at the same,) he (William) contrived to
carry off one of the ribs of the Saint's side, not thinking of the excommuni-
cation pronounced by the Master of the Order, who was then at Bologna
presiding over the general chapter. William conveyed the rib to Pisa, and
reverently hid it under the altar of S. M. Magdalene. On his death-bed he be-
wailed his innocent fault, and revealed the fact. When the brethren found it
where he told them, they removed it to the sacristy. He lived fifty-six years in
the Order. May his spirit have everlasting rest in Abraham's bosom !"
[PAGE 70.]
(NECROLOGY OF FRA FAZIO.)
Fazio, the lay-brother, was a master of sculpture, and a very devout and
discreet man. He was for a long time janitor to the convent: and he dis-
charged that and all other offices punctually and obediently. Full of years,
he entered into the peace of the Lord, A.D. 1340."
BOOK II.
[CHAP. III., p. 172.]
CHRONICLE OF THE CONVENT OF S. DOMINIC IN FIESOLE.
In the same year, (1406,) the Ven. Fra Giovanni Dominici, was sent as
orator, by the Florentine Signory, to Pope Gregory XII., who succeeded
Innocent VII.; and he was retained by Pope Gregory, and employed in
affairs of the Church, and created Cardinal. There remained, however, in
that convent (which was unfinished) about sixteen members, the first Prior
of whom was Marcus of Venice, and he was succeeded by Brother Antony
de Cruce of Milan, during whose Priorate the schism was greatly augmented
in the Church of God, A.D. 1409. Up to that period two men, Gregory XII.
and Benedict XIII. contended for the Papacy. At length the Cardinals of the
foresaid Pontiffs, who in great numbers seceded from them, held a concilia-
bulum at Pisa, and created a third Pope, namely, Alexander V., who was
hitherto called Peter of Candia, a Minorite, and one of Pope Gregory's (xii.)
Cardinals. But although the city of Florence sided with Alexander V., the
Friars of that convent (S. Domenico at Fiesole) maintained their allegiance
to Pope Gregory XII., who was their true and legitimate Pastor. But when
+

340
APPENDIX.
F. Thomas de Fermo, who was then Master of the Order, wished to coerce
the conscience of the Friars, and make them acknowledge Alexander V., and
when he had imprisoned the Prior of the convent in the dungeons of
Florence-the Friars, to avoid the schismatical contagion, stole away, every
one of them, from the convent by night, lest they might be intercepted, and
guided by the Prior, journeyed on to Foligno, where the Governor of the City,
and the Bishop of the same, (Federico, of the Order of S. Dom.) who remained
faithful to Gregory XII., gave them the convent which belonged to the
Order. Here they lived for many years according to STRICTEST DISCIPLINE.
But when the pestilence came and killed the Prior and many of the religious,
the discipline in that convent was relaxed.
"The aforesaid Fiesolan convent being abandoned by the Friars, for
the causes we have stated, was taken possession of by some Friars from S.
Maria Novella; but a short time afterwards they, too, left it, because the
conditions on which they were to hold it had not been observed, and the
Bishop of Fiesole seized it as a fief of his Church.”
BOOK V.
[CHAP. V. p. 191.]
FROM A BOOK OF MEMORANDA BELONGING TO THE
CONVENT OF S. DOMINIC DI FIESOLE.
"I remember how, on the 20th of February, 1611, the illustrious Lord
Mario Farnese, after having negotiated with our convent for two years, to
obtain the picture of the Annunciation, painted by Fra Angelico of Mugello,
a son of this house, and contemporary of S. Antonino, Archbishop of Flor-
ence, (who also belonged to this convent,) finally obtained it; and he, in
consideration of this privation, gave us one thousand five hundred ducats.
This painting was consigned to F. Carlo Strozzi, together with its predella,
on which were painted five histories of the B. V. M., by the same painter.
Glory be to the Lord, and honor to our Angelic painter, from
whom our convent has experienced benefits for more than one hundred and
sixty years."
BOOK VII.
[CHAP. VIII. p. 251.]
HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL OF ORVIETO.
(ROME, 1791.)
CONTRACT BETWEEN THE BUILDERS OF THE CATHEDRAL AND
FRA GIOVANNI ANGELICO, JUNE 14, 1447.
"In the name of God, amen. After many conversations with the painter,
he was engaged to paint the new chapel near the Episcopate.
The chamberlain employed Fra Giovanni, Son of Peter, of

APPENDIX.
341
the Order of Preaching-Friars, to paint all the pictures of said chapel, on
condition that Fra Giovanni would personally execute said pictures, and
engage Benozzo Gozzoli of Florence and James de Coli, and that he would
exercise all care and diligence."
"He is, likewise, to see that the figures of said pictures shall be beautiful
and laudable.
"The engagement is to commence on to-morrow, which is the 15th of the
current month of June. Item. He is to paint each year with the said
artists, during the months of June, July, August, and September, til! the whole
Item. He is to execute the whole work
chapel shall have been finished
without fraud, and as becometh a good painter.
hath solemnly
"And the aforesaid chamberlain,
promised and sworn to Fra Giovanni, then present, and representing his
heirs, and likewise to the said Benozzo, and John and James, to give and
disburse to brother John, for his works, as salary for said four months each
year, at the rate of CC. gold ducats, for each and every complete year.
Videlicet, for said four months, the third part of CC. ducats.
"Item, to Benozzo, each month, seven ducats of the same value; to John,
two ducats, and to James, one ducat.
"Item, the said master will give the painter all the colours necessary for
said pictures,
irrespective of the salary.
•
"Item, independently of the salary, bread and wine in abundance; and
XX. libras each month,
as long as they are working.
•
“Item, he will defray all their expenses up to the present day.
'Item, whilst the scaffolding is being set up, said Master John, (the
Angelico,) will furnish the designs of the pictures and figures which he is to
paint on the ceiling of the chapel.
"All which articles were agreed on. Stipulated before us, Peter Mei,
goldsmith, and Peter Natii, of the city of Orvieto, and Master Giovannino
de Senis, chief of the superintendents.
[From the same Work.]
(28th September, 1447.)
•
that he would not
"Fra Giovanni, of the Order of S. Dominic, Painter, was engaged to
paint in the new chapel of said church, with his own person, and the persons
of Benozzo of Florence, whom he brought with him for this work.
He fully satisfied the chamberlain,
insist on the agreement, by which he was entitled to one hundred and three,
gold florins,
which he was to get from said building, as
well for himself as for the said Benozzo.
mouths
he declared himself content.
said Master John swore on the Holy Gospels
And for three
The
that he would
Q 2

342
APPENDIX.
at all times observe and attend. Moreover, for greater caution, he exonerated
said building,
by stipulation, etc. etc., in the presence of
Jacopo Petri, Petro Putii, Master John of Peter, alias Pintalvecchia painter,
and Pancrazio Luce, witnesses."
[CHAP. VIII. p. 256.]
NECROLOGY OF FRA GIOVANNI ANGELICO IN THE
CHRONICLE OF S. DOMENICO AT FIESOLE.
"Fra Giovanni de Mugello, died on the
•
This
was a great painter, and as he was a devout man at heart, so were his
pictures full of devotion. He painted many works for the altars of
various churches, chapels, and confraternities. Three of them are in this
Fiesolan convent; one in S. Marco, Florence; two in the church of the Holy
Trinity, of the Order of Valombrosa; one in S. Maria degli Angeli, of the
Camaldulese; one in S. Egidio, in the hospital of S. Maria Nuova. Some
minor pictures are in the Confraternities of the children. He painted the cells
of San Marco, and the chapter-room, and some figures in the cloister. He
likewise painted some figures here in the refectory at Fiesole, in the chapter-
room, which is now the guest-house. He painted the Papal chapel, and
part of a chapel in the cathedral of the old city; and many other works did
he paint splendidly: and at length, after having lived in all simplicity, he
rested in the Lord."
ANNALS OF THE CONVENT OF S. MARCO, FLORENCE.
"The picture of the great altar, and the figures of the chapter-room, and
of the first cloister, and of all the upper cells, and of the Crucifixion in the
refectory, were all painted by a certain friar of the Order of S. Dominic, of
the convent of Fiesole, who was reputed to be the greatest master of the
pictorial art in Italy. He was called Fra Giovanni, and was a man of great
modesty and religious life."
ILLUSTRIOUS MEN OF THE PREACHING FRIARS.
(SIX BOOKS.)
BY LEANDRO ALBERTI.
[Book v.]
BLESSED JOHN OF FIESOLE.
"John, of Fiesole, the Hetrurian, a man of great sanctity, and most
celebrated for his paintings, died at Rome XII. Kal. of March, MCCCCLV.,
and was buried in a manner worthy such a man, in the church of S. Maria

APPENDIX.
343
sopra Minerva, in a marble tomb, which Nicholas V. caused to be adorned
with two elegantly written epitaphs. This venerable man was so addicted
to all the observances of his rule, that even whilst working in the Pope's
For when the Pontiff came
palace, he would not omit a single tittle of it.
one day to visit the works he was executing in the chapel, which still exists,
he said to him, 'John, thou must eat meat to-day, for thou hast laboured
much'-whereon Giovanni answered,' Holy Father, the prior of the convent
did not give me this privilege;'-then quoth the Pope, 'I, who have power
over all, grant thee this indulgence.' From this, it is easy to imagine how
strict was the rule of life, followed by this illustrious member of our Order.
Pope Nicholas venerated this man for his integrity and excellent morals."
BOOK II.
[CHAP. XI. p. 281.]
CHRONICLE OF THE CONVENT OF S. MARIA DELLA MISERI-
CORDIA, (TAGGIA,) OF THE PREACHING-FRIARS, MS.
"Chapel of S. Peter Martyr, A.D. 1474. The nobleman, Bartholomeus
Luprus, bequeathed to it a hundred pounds; (libras centum.) but in the year
1522, January 21st, Dominic Oddi made his last will, in which he devised
all his property to the chapel of S. Peter Martyr; and he ordered the picture
to be executed as it now is, leaving for the expense of the same twenty-five
ducats.
The Rev. F. Emmanuel Maccarj de Pigna, painted
that picture. It represents our Lord Crucified: on His right is the Blessed
Dominic: on the left S. Catherine V. et M.: at foot of the Crucifix (on the
right) is S. Hieronymus striking his breast with a stone: on the left is S.
Peter Martyr. In a raid made by the Turks, that painting received much
injury from the strokes of their axes-they did great damage to the arms
faces, and breasts. But (what should never be forgotten) a certain priest
impiously painted spectacles on the face of our Blessed Founder, S. Dominic,
and as he went homewards, enjoying his sacrilegious exploit, he was struck
blind, and remained so till the end of his days. Many ocular witnesses of
this just punishment are still living."
+
-

ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS.
2
As there was an interval of a year between the publication of the first and
second volume of these Memoirs, the author has deemed it advisable to
supply the following remarks.
P. 12. (Note.)-After a more careful perusal of the Florentine Guide
Book, we admit that Signor Fantozzi is perfectly right in what he states
concerning the Carraja Bridge.
P. 44.-David had ascertained the true date of the erection of the Ark
of S. Dominic before the publication of this work. See his Memoirs, con-
cerning the Ark of S. Dominic, Bologna, 1842.
P. 82.-Vincenzo Vannini has discovered the names of various artificers
belonging to the Dominican Order, in some MS. Memoirs preserved in the
Ercolani Library at Bologna. The first of these is a Fra Domenico of
Bologna, who is styled an Engineer. He is mentioned in the will of Pietro
Martini. This friar (who is also mentioned in the Annali Domenicani di
Bologna) may have been engaged at the primitive church of our Order,
which was built after the desigus of Niccola Pisano. The second of these,
discovered by Vannini, is Fra Evangelista Marani, the architect. He fur-
nished the design of the portico for the Church of S. Dominic-and the
original design is still preserved in the Demanio. There are also notices of
Fra Bartol. da Vigevano and Fra Gerol. Mamolini, who worked as head-
masons at the building of the library of the convent, in 1466 and 1467.
P. 146.-The following notices regarding Fra Eustachio, the Minaturist,
cccur in the Chronicle of the Dominican Convent (di S. Spirito) in Siena.
“A.D. MDII., when Fra Malatesta Sacromoro was prior of this convent, Fra
Eustachio, a Florentine lay-brother, finished the miniaturing of the Anti-
phonary of the Saints. This work is in two volumes, and it was commenced
at the expense of the community many years before.
Fra
Eustachio was brought hither for the purpose of miniaturing and binding
this Antiphonary; and he restored all the books belonging to the choir and
sacristy." The choral books of this convent do not exist at present.
P. 191.-The lucidi of this Gradino are now in the possession of the Metzger
family, in Florence. It represents Christ Risen, and in the under part a
band of Angels playing various instruments. I have been told that Metzger
bought this Gradino, by the Angelico, for 700 dollars, and that he sold it to
Signor Valentini for 900.
ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS.
345
P. 198. The Coronation, now in the Gallery degli Uffizj, was removed
thither from the Church of S. Maria Nuova, and not from the Certosa.
Those who
P. 231.-The translator of Delecluze's "Essay on Lionardo da Vinci,"
conjectures (and with good reason) that the three little histories which adorn
the cusps or triangles of the Angelico's Deposition from the Cross, are by D.
Lorenzo the Camaldulese monk. He inclines to this opinion principally, be-
cause there existed the strongest friendship between these two religious artists.
P. 254.—It is thought that the two paintings executed by the Angelico
for S. Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome, are still in existence.
maintain this opinion assert, that some mediocre painter covered them with
inferior productions of his own pencil, in order to conceal them from the
French and other depredators, at the time of the suppression of the religious
houses. We will here subjoin a list of other paintings by the Angelico, of
which we had no information previous to the publication of these Memoirs.
i. log
Florence. The Metzger family possess seven little pictures on panel:
two doors of a Tryptich, on one of which is represented the Ascent of the Elect
into Heaven; and on the other, the Damned going down to Hell.-A S.
Thomas of Aquino receiving the cincture from Angels.-A S. Peter Martyr.
-Two most beautiful Angels on panel, now in the R. Gallery of Turin.-A
Fresepium (Manger) which has been repainted. There is also a Madonna
holding the Divine Infant, but the rich ornamentation of the robes, parti-
cularly, causes us to doubt whether we should attribute it to the Angelico.
-In the Ugobaldi Gallery, Florence, there is also a painting of the Martyr-
dom of SS. Cosmas and Damian, in little figures. Signor Acchille Sandrini
possesses a small picture by the Angelico, representing the Virgin with the
Divine Babe in her arms: this is a very beautiful work, and somewhat
resembles that which the same artist executed on the wall of a dormitory in
S. Marco. Rome-The late Count Bisenzio possessed a Madonna with the
Divine Infant, surrounded by Angels and Saints: its height is one and a-half
(pollici) by ten-twelfths wide. The paintings in the Convent of Monte
Falco were attributed to the Angelico; but it is more likely that they were
executed by Benozzo Gozzoli. In the sanctuary of Suasia (Civitella di
Romagna) there is a picture of the Madonna which is popularly attributed
to Fra Giovanni Angelico; but we are not able to certify the truth of this.
-
P. 276.- Professor Rossini says, that there is still in Mantua a Madonna
painted by Fra Gerolamo Monsignori. It is in the grandiose style, and
resembles that known as Mantegnesque. This work has been engraved and
illustrated by Count Carlo d'Arco in the Monumenti di Mantova Illustratati,
v. Rosini, Storia della Pittura Ital., v. iv., p. 4, cap. 24, p. 194.
P. 278.-The copy of Vinci's "Supper," by Monsignori, was sold to a
Frenchman for 13 Louis. It appears that Monsignori changed the ground
of the original in his copy; converting the hall into an atrium.-V. d'Arco,
loc. cit.

346
ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS.
*
GLASS
PAINTERS.
P. 297.-Valtancoli (Annali Pisani) states, on the authority of Tronci,
that the painted window of the choir of S. Catherine's, (Pisa,) was executed
by a Dominican lay brother named Andrea, as may be seen by the inscrip-
tion on said window. This lay-brother was a native of Poland. The
window being decorated with the armorial bearings of the Mastiani family,
we may suppose that they caused it to be painted.
P. 315.—We think that some few notices regarding Fra Bartolommeo
(di Pietro,) the author of the beautifully painted window in the choir of S.
Domenico in Perugia, will interest the reader. We are indebted to Professor
Vermiglioli, who has kindly communicated them to us. We therefore make
the following extract from his Description of the Church of S. Domenico in
Perugia:-
"It has been commonly thought that the Fra Bartolommeo of Perugia,
who painted the window, and who is mentioned in the inscription, belonged
to the Graziani of Perugia, and that the same family was charged to preserve
this window. This opinion was popular amongst the inhabitants of our city,
till Father Boarini, the Dominican, discovered in the Perugian Memoirs that
the Friar who executed the window was a certain Fra Bartolommeo di
Pietro di Vanni Accomandoni, a Dominican, and native of Perugia. It
appears that he was living in our city in 1370, when his father made his
will, in which Bartolommeo is mentioned along with his other children.
This Bartolommeo is likewise mentioned in some legal documents, dated 1383.
It is certain, moreover, that he was living in 1415; and this appears on the
face of an agreement into which he entered regarding the execution of a
window for the sacristy of the Church of S. Domenico in Perugia. Hence,
we may reasonably conclude that he was the author of the great window of
the choir, which was finished five years before the latter date. Nor would
it be unreasonable to conjecture, that Benedetto da Siena (who executed
various works in said church) furnished the designs for this window; from
all this we conclude, that the armorial bearings of the Graziani family
were introduced into the window, simply because the chapel of that family
was lighted by said window; or, more probably, because the Graziani had
erected the presbytery of the church. Pier Antonio Graziani bequeathed a
sum of money, to be paid annually, for the preservation of the window which
lights the presbytery and the choir. In 1574, Astorre Graziani entered into
some arrangements concerning the legacy; and, finally, the Captain Felice
Graziani released his family from all further responsibility in the matter, by
paying 100 florins."
P. 315.-Signore Gaetano Milanesi has extracted the subjoined most
interesting documents from the archives of the Duomo of Siena, and as they
:


ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS.
347
relate to a distinguished glass-painter of our Order, we willingly present
them to the reader. In a book entitled "Pigioni e Fitti de' Beni dal 1349 al
1404," we read, "A. D. 1404, Fra Ambrogio di Bindo, of the Sienese Domi-
nicans, has taken from us Chatarino da Corsino, in order to execute two glass
windows, one over the altar and chapel of S. Ansano, and the other over
the chapel and altar of S. Vettorio. He is to provide all the necessaries,
glass, lead, etc., and he is to set up said windows in their proper places,
receiving for the workmanship from two and a-half to three gold florins per
braccio; he is not to exceed this sum, and to this agreement Giovanni Pucci
and Giovanni di Donato are witnesses. For said sum Fra Ambrogio shall be
bound to place the netting over said windows, and we are to supply him with
the metal and scaffolding for said windows, and to give him something over
and above as soon as they are finished."
Memoriale di Nastagio di Francesco, Scrittore dell' Opera, "Fra Ambrogio
di Bindo, the Dominican, who is executing the glass-window over the altar
of S. Savino and S. Vettorio.".
Memoriale di Antonio di Giacomo, 1409. "Fra Ambrogio di Bindo
is to receive, on the 28th of March, twenty-two florins for a window having
large figures painted thereon. Said window is over the chapel of S. Sebas-
tian."
(Archives of the Hospital della Scala.) "April, 23, 1411, I, Guglielmo di
Martino, sacristan of the hospital, and Fra Nello di Ser Giovanni, writer
of said hospital, entered into the following agreement with Fra Ambrogio di
Bindo. Said Ambrogio shall execute two glass-windows, together with all
the tin and lead-work thereto pertaining. We bind ourselves to furnish
him with the netting and iron that shall be required, and he is to receive a
florin for every braccio of the workmanship. We pledge ourselves, moreover,
to give him the necessary supply of oil, and also the glass. As soon as the
work is finished we will pay him five soldi and six libre. As we desire to
have armorial devices on said windows, we will furnish the design; and as
the said devices were not taken into consideration heretofore, he professes his
readiness to abide by the decision of Fra Guglielmo, who will now pay him
three florins of the Sienese currency, to be deducted from the sum for which
he has stipulated.”
This Fra Ambrogio di Bindo is not mentioned in the Necrology of S.
Domenico in Siena; neither is there any notice of him in the Chronicle of
that city.
END OF VOL. I.
SEP 20 1018
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