Ill
 
 O'O 
 
 ?"■ 
 
 THE BRANCACCI CHAPEL 
 
 AND 
 
 MASOLINO, MASACCIO, AND FILIPPINO LIPPI, 
 
 By a. H. LAYAKD, M.P. 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE ARUNDEL SOCIETY, 
 1868. 
 
 11.7752
 
 ■ '- — ^' ', 1 . , i — ' — •-, — . . ■ . . 1 ' ' ■ — '-"-^ — T"* — ; 
 
 #aHsianal publications 
 
 
 
 
 
 OP THE 
 
 
 
 
 
 ARUNDEL SOCIETY, 
 
 
 
 
 NOT INCLUDED IN THE ANNUAL SUBSCKIPTIONS, BUT BROUGHT 
 OUT EXCLUSIVELY FOR SEPARATE SALE. 
 
 
 1. CHROMOLITHOGRAPHS. 
 
 
 
 PRICE TO 
 
 
 1. GIOTTO. — Portrait of Dante. From the Bargello at Florence, 
 before the Fi-esco was repainted ..... 
 
 MEMBERS. 
 7 6 
 
 STRANGERS. 
 
 10 6 
 
 2. FRA ANGELICO.— TAe Annunciation. From St. Mark's 
 Convent, Florence ........ 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 3. FRA ANGELICO.— 7V/e Coronation of the Virgin. From 
 the saiuo place ........ 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. BENOZZO GOZZOLL— 5. Augustine Lecturing. From S. 
 Gimignano ........ 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 .'). ANDREA MANTEGNA.— r/ie Conversion of Hennogenes. 
 From the Eremitani Church, Padua .... 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 n. ANDREA MANTEGNA.— .S. James before Herod. From 
 the same place ........ 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7. FRANCESCO FRANCIA. — r/«e Marriage of S. Cecilia. 
 From 8. Cecilia's Chapel, Bologna ..... 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 8. FRANCESCO FRANCIA.— The Burial of S. Cecilia. From 
 the same place ....... 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 9. FRA BARTOLOMEO.— r/jc Annunciation. From the Villa 
 of the Frati di S. Marco, near Florence .... 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 10. LUINI. — The Marriage of the Virgin. From Saronno . 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 11. LUINI. — Christ among the Doctors. From the same place 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 12. ANDREA DEL SARTO. — The Nativity of the Virgin. 
 From the Annuiiziata Cloister, Florence .... 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 18. ANDREA DEL SARTO.— TAg Madonna del Sacco. From 
 the same place . . . . . . 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 14. RAFFAELLE.— r/je Four Sibijls. From S. Maria della 
 Pace, at Rome ......._ 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 6 
 
 15. RAFFAELLE.— .S'. Peter Delivered from Prison. From the 
 Stanze in the Vatican ....... 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 16. RAFFAELLE. — Theology. From the same place 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 17. ILLUMLMATED CAPITAL LETTERS. From Choral 
 Books at Florence and Siena : — 
 
 Letters C and D . . . . . (each) 
 Letters F and L . . . . . (each) 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 7 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 12 
 10 
 
 6 
 
 <; 
 
 11. ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 AN ALPHABET OF CAPITAL LETTERS, Illuminated by 
 early Italian Painters. From Choral Books at Florence 
 and SitTia, in outline, with letter F in color 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 The same, half bound in morocco ...... 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 ce<i, n 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 tallied 
 
 Detailod Lists of the CaUs, including Fictile Ivories, sold by the Society, with 
 post free, by aj)plication to the Secretary. 
 
 pri 
 
 lay be ob 
 
 24, Old Bond .Street, W., 1868. 
 
 
 

 
 NOTICE. 
 
 This fubjea (" SS. Peter and Paul before Nero," and " The 
 Martyrdom of S. Peter") completes the feries of chromo- 
 lithographs from the frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel of the 
 Church of S. Maria del Carmine at Florence. 
 
 The other fubje(Sls, issued in former years, can still be 
 obtained by fubfcribers wiftiing to complete their fets, at the 
 following prices : — 
 
 " The Fair and " The Expulsion from Para- 
 dise" (on one mount) - - - 
 " The Tribute Money " - - - 
 
 Two full-size heads, from ditto - 
 " S. Peter Preaching and S. Peter Baptising" 
 
 (on one mount) 
 " S. Peter raising Petronilla " - 
 
 Full-size head, from ditto 
 " SS. Peter and John healing the Sick" and 
 SS. Peter and John giving Alms" (on 
 one mount) - - - - 
 
 Full-size head, from ditto 
 " S. Peter delivered from Prison " and *' S. 
 Peter visited by S. Paul" (on one mount) 
 Full-size head, from ditto 
 " SS. Peter and Paul raising the King's Son " 
 Full-size head, from ditto 
 
 ARUNDEL SOCIETY, 
 24, Old Bond Street, W. — 1S68. 
 
 
 PRICE 
 
 TO 
 
 
 
 MEMBERS. 
 
 STRANGERS. 
 
 I s 
 
 <i. 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 6
 
 Ho longer the property Jf the 
 BOSTON PMBLiC LIRRAKY 
 
 ^3
 
 f 6g L 
 
 H? 
 
 HEADS OF MASOLINO. IVASACCIO. AND FILIPPINO LIPPI 
 
 /~\N the walls of a chapel to the rip;ht ot the liigh altar 
 ^-^ in tlie Church of S. Maria del Carmine at Florence 
 is preserved a series of frescoes, Avliich exceed in interest 
 and importance all other works of the same class existing 
 in this city, so rich in similar monuments of art. The 
 chapel was built in the early })ait of the fifteenth century, 
 by Felice Michele di Piuvichese Brancacci, a noble Flo- 
 rentine, Avho had distinguished himself in the service of 
 •the republic. Its decoration was not, liowever, completed 
 until about eighty years later. The smoke of candles 
 and of incense has combined, with the dust and decay 
 of centuries, to darken the surface of the walls, and to 
 dull the colours of the frescoes. It is only in the middle 
 of a bright snnnner's day that some of the ])aintings can 
 be seen in all their tielails. Those that suiTOund the
 
 solitary and lialt-rlosed Aviiulow "vvliicli liglits tlio cliapel 
 are rarely, at any time, more than just visible tlirnugli the 
 
 gloom. 
 
 The iniportanee ol" these frescoes arises from the fact tliat 
 they hold the same place in the history of art during the 
 fifteenth century, as the works of Gi(^tto, in the Arena Chapel 
 at Padua, hold during the fourtecntli. Each series forms an 
 epoch in painting from which may be dated one of those great 
 and sudden ouAvard steps, wliich haye, in various ages and 
 countries, marked the deyelo})ment of art. The history of 
 Italian painting is divided into three distinct and well-defined 
 periods by the Arena and Brancacci chapels, and the fres- 
 coes of Michelangelo and Raphael in the A^atican. 
 
 If, moreover, as A^asari states — and his statement can be 
 tested and verified — all the great painters of the Tuscan and 
 Umbrian schools of the end of the fifteenth and of the whole of 
 the sixteenth century — including Fra Angelico, the two Lipi)is, 
 Ghirlandaio, Botticelli, Leonardo da A^inci, Pietro IVrugino, Fra 
 Bartolomeo, INIichelangelo, Pai)hael, and Andi-ea del Sai'lo, 
 studied the IVcscocs of the Brancacci Chapcf and to a certain 
 extent ibrmed their style upon them; the inlhicncc of those 
 remarkable works reached fir beyond the century in which 
 they were painted. It may, indeed, be said that it has not even 
 i\(Av passed away. 
 
 AVhen Aye consider the condiliou of painting (hiring the l()Ui'- 
 teenth and the first half of tlie lilteeiith century, the inlhieiice
 
 exercised by tliese frescoes, and tlie admiration felt for tliem by 
 the great masters, Avill cause us no surprise. Tlie progress made 
 by Giotto liad been trul\' ^vonderful. However superior the 
 works of Cimabue may have been to those of a race of 
 ignorant painters, who, since the fall of the lioinan Empire, 
 were to be found in almost every city and town of Italy, 
 coverin"' the walls of churches and other sacred buildina's with 
 hideous effigies of virgins and saints, they are wanting in those 
 quahties which mark a ncAV birth in art. This artist, to Avhom 
 Yasari, in his zeal for the reputation of the school of his 
 native province, would attribute the revival of painting, was but 
 the best of that long hue of j^ainters, who had followed each 
 other in monotonous succession, and in Avhom rapidly faded 
 away the influence of Roman art, leaving only a trace of its 
 traditional forms in their grotesque conceptions. Not that such 
 of the authentic Avorks of Cimabue as have been preserved are 
 deficient in a certain feelino; for nature and a striving; after 
 grace in form and sentiment in expression. These qualities, 
 which alone would distinguish him from the })ainters who 
 preceded him, are to a certain extent visible in his cele- 
 brated altar-piece in the Rucellai Chapel of the Church of 
 S. Maria Novella at Florence, the first exhibition of which, 
 acconhng to an apocryphal story related by Vasari, caused so 
 great a manifestation of joy and surprise amongst the inhabit- 
 ants of liis native city. There is a peculiar sentiment and 
 grace in the expression of the Mrgin, and in the Angels 
 supporting licr throne, Avhicli it is very difficult to separate from 
 the stiff and archaic character of the figures ; and whicli, 
 conscHpii'iith-, such copies of the picture thai I have seen tail
 
 6 
 
 to uive. But Avheii wo coiiipaix' the lu'st nf ("iin;il)iK' s works 
 with those of Giotto, it is inqxJssihU' not to be struck by the 
 inunense distanee "wliieli divides tlieui — a distance little less 
 than that Avhieli sej)aiates the rude and spiritless rhymes ol" the 
 predecessors of Dante from the Divina Comedia. AVith Giotto 
 ■\ve lind ourselves in the presence of an almost new art. 
 The bonds of tradition which had hitherto limited and 
 deadened the human intellect, althouuh not altogether thi-own 
 off, have been broken throu£»h; and genius has given to ])ainting 
 a new starting-point, Ironi which the development of all its 
 highest qualities can be traced. 
 
 The genius of Giotto had led him to feel and to strive after 
 the loftiest and noblest ends of art: correct and natural 
 delineation of form ; the rendering of individual sentiment 
 and feeling; the representation of an incident by the combined 
 expression and action of those wdio are taking jiart in it; and 
 the pleasing and hannonious arrangement of lines and masses 
 called composition. lie only failed to reach the height 
 to which he aimed, because there was no school of ])aintei's, 
 no accumulated experience, from which he could learn the 
 best technical processes of his art, and could correct and 
 develop liis own ideas. The laws of light and shade, and of 
 linear and aerial ])erspective, and the ])i'oper I'cpi'esentation 
 of form which can only be acquired by the a])i)lication of 
 rules fiunded uj)on long ex})ei'ience, had all to be worked 
 out by him without any i)revious exam])le to guide and teach 
 him. (jlreat, therefore, as Avas the advance ma<le by (Jiotto 
 in the art of ]:)ainting, it is not suipiisi)ig tliat he liiilcd to
 
 cany out liis magnilicent conceptions in a manner altogetlier 
 worthy of them. His followers and imitators, who form the 
 greater part of the Italian Schools of the fourteenth and of 
 the first half of the fifteenth century — especially that of 
 Tuscany — and whose names and performances have been so 
 carefully chronicled by Vasari, were far behind their master 
 in intellect and power, but they had the advantage of his 
 teaching and experience. Their works have consequently 
 a trace of" Giotto's sentiment and vigour, but exaggerate his 
 defects; whilst they show some httle progress in mastery over 
 the technical part of the art, in which Giotto was deficient. 
 
 It remained for one of the painters of the frescoes in 
 the Brancacci Chapel, for Masaccio, to take up painting from 
 the point at which Giotto had left it, and to carry it forward 
 the next great step towards its maturest development. And 
 this he accomplished, although his span of life was short, 
 because he possessed, like Giotto, that rare genius which 
 enabled him to shake off the trammels of convention, and to 
 seek for truth in nature by ways of his own. 
 
 In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the human intellect 
 was rapidly emancipating itself fi-om those traehtions of the 
 dark ages which still weighed upon it. The arts followed 
 letters in this great struggle. As the object of literature 
 and science was to arrive at truth, so sculpture and painting- 
 strove in tlie same direction, by going back to nature, and 
 seeking in her alone their models. Scul})ture — as it has ever 
 been the case — preceded painting in this onward movement. As
 
 Nicrola Pisnno Imd ^ono before Giotto, so Oliiberti, in tlie gates 
 of the ]>;iptistery of FKMvnoe, first sliowed tlie Avny to that 
 truthful imitation of nature, eonibined Avith the just appheation 
 of tlie laws of art, Avhieli ^lasaeeio was the lirst to cany out 
 in painting. . Kejeeting the traditional foj-nis whieh Avere still 
 used by the followers of Giotto, he rel'used to accept con- 
 ventional types for realities, and sought in nature herself lor 
 the principles of his art. lie studied the laws of form and 
 colour in all their details — laws which, lor the most part, had 
 been luiknown to Giotto, or imperfectly understood by him; 
 and laboured with singular success to carry them out in his 
 works. And not only did IMasaccio seek to imitate nature ni 
 her mere forms, but he also sought to represent the various 
 aspects and subtle shades of human feeling and passion. lie 
 ondeavoiu"ed to produce, as it ^vere, actual deception upon the 
 spectator. This he strove to accomplish by that proper and 
 natural distribution of light and shade, which is technically 
 called "modelling,"' and whicli can alone give the eflect ot 
 roundness and relief to substances delineated on a Hat surface; 
 and by the most careful study and rendering of the proportions 
 of the human irame and of all its subordinate details. * At 
 the same time he disposed his figures in groups, and gave to 
 each one an a])i)r()priate expression, so that the subject ot 
 the picture, and his meaning, might be at once understood. 
 He arranged his draperies in graceful, easy, and massive 
 l()lds, which H)llowed and showed tlie luiiiis bciieatli; and he 
 applii'd to his figiu'es and backgrounds those laws of perspective 
 which are absolutely necessaiy to give reality to a ])icture. lie 
 added to tliis strict imitation of nature, a feclin;^- l()r rich and
 
 9 
 
 linrinonious colouring, and for graceful composition, and the 
 power of selecting the most elevated and beautiful tj^es appro- 
 priate to each class of subjects which he treated. Masaccio 
 thus showed that he possessed the qualities which distinguish 
 the great poet as well as tlie great painter ; qualities forming, 
 when united with the most consummate mastery over the 
 technical processes of the art — as in the frescoes of Michel- 
 angelo and Raphael in the Vatican — the highest perfection 
 which painting has hitherto attained. 
 
 Sir Joshua Rejmolds, although he had little admiration for 
 the painters who preceded the golden period of Italian art, 
 and rarely notices their works, was sensible of the greatness 
 of Masaccio, and of his influence upon the development of 
 painting. He says of him, in his Twelfth Discourse: "Raphael 
 had completely studied his Avorks; and indeed there was no 
 other, if we except Michelangelo (whom he likewise imitated), 
 so worthy of his attention ; and though his manner was dry 
 and hard, his compositions f)nnal and not enough diversified, 
 according to the custom of painters in that early period, yet his 
 works possess that grandeur and sim])H('itv Avhich accom[)anv, 
 and even sometimes ])r(K'eed from, regularity and hardness of 
 manner. We nuist consider tlie barbarous state of the arts 
 belore his time, wlieii skill in di-awing was so. little understood, 
 that tlie best of the painters could not even^ foreshorten the foot, 
 but every figure appeared to stniul upou liis toes ; and Avliat 
 served i()r drjipiTV had, from the hardness and smalluess of the 
 loltls, too uuu'h the appearance of cords clinging i-ouutl the bodv. 
 lie first introiiured largi' drap m-v, flowing in an easv and natural 
 
 V,
 
 10 
 
 iiiaiinor; imlood lie appears to be tlio first "wlio discovered 
 tlie patli that leatls to every excelleiu-e to wliii-li tlie art 
 afterwards arrived, and may, tlierefore, be justly considered 
 as one of the great lathers of modern art." 
 
 It Avill be seen, lunvever, that nnicli of the praise of 
 Eevnolds belongs in right to Filippino Li])[)i, wliose works 
 were confomided, in tlie English critic's time, with tliose of 
 ]\Iasaccio. 
 
 Masaccio Avas the painter of only part of the series of 
 frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel, although it is undoubtedly 
 to his genius that they owe their renown. It is curious that, 
 notwithstanding the celebrity which they had attained imme- 
 diately after their execution, there is scarcely any cpiestion 
 connected with art that has given rise to more controversy 
 than the authorship of each separate fresco. Yasari attributes 
 them to ^Nfasolino, Masaccio, and Filippino Lip])i, and assigns 
 to each painter his share in the w^ork.* ]\Iodern critics 
 have for the most part followed A'asari in ascribing the 
 frescoes to these three painters, without, however, acce])ting 
 his statements as t(3 the authorslii]) of ea(h separate work ; 
 but have endeavoiuvd, by a close examination ol" ea(h fresco, 
 to determine its author. Tlie most n'ceni writer on the 
 
 * Ai.iJEirriNi, wlio.se treatise on the principal Monuments of Art in Florence 
 was published as early as the year lolO, says: ' La capclla de' Brancacci mezza 
 di sua mano (di Masaccio) e I'altni ili Ma>()liiio, cxc(.'i)to Santo Piclro ciucilixo, 
 per niano di Philip{)o." We shall see that he was certainly in error as regards 
 some of the frescoes which he assigns to Masaccio.
 
 11 
 
 subject, Signor Cavalcaselle,* a critic of" miicli acutcness and 
 knowledge, and a patient investigator of the docnmentary 
 evidence througli wliicli so much of modern art-criticism lias 
 been placed upon a solid foundation, maintains that only two 
 of the painters mentioned by Yasari, Masaccio and Filippino 
 LijD^^i, executed the frescoes now existing. 
 
 The accompanying plan will enable the reader to miderstand 
 the form of the Brancacci Chapel and the position of the 
 frescoes upon its walls. At its entrance are two pilasters 
 supporting the arch which opens into the nave of the church. 
 The walls end in lunettes, from wliich spring four spandrils 
 and the vault. Twelve spaces (numbered from 1 to 12 in 
 the plan), four of which are on the ]:)ilasters, are now 
 occupied by frescoes. The paintings, which, according to 
 Vasari, once occupied the lunettes and the vauh, have either 
 been destroyed, or are concealed beneath the modern decoration 
 with which tliis part of the chapel has been covered. 
 
 Tlie existing frescoes, with the exception of the hrst two, 
 represent the principal events in the lite of S. Peter, taken 
 from the New Testament and from the legends, and are 
 divided into tlie (bllowing subjects : f 
 
 * The principal modern authorities upon the frescoes in the Brancacci 
 Chapel are Kuglicr, in his " Handbook of Italian Painting " (edited by Sir 
 Charles Eastlake) ; the author of tlie notes and appendices to the lives of 
 Masolino, Masaccio, and Filijipino Lippi, in Le Monnier's edition of Vasari ; 
 and Ckowe and Cavai.casi;llk, who, in their aduiirablo " History of Painting 
 in Italy," liave almost exhausted the subject. 
 
 f In numbering the frescoes, I have followed the order ol' the subjects 
 All of tlieiii liave been plll)^^he^l by the Arundel Society.
 
 12 
 
 PERSPECTIVE OF THE BRANCACCI CHAPEL IN THE CARMINE AT FLORENCE* 
 
 1. Adnin and Eve staiuliiiL!" bciiuiith the tree uf knowled<j;e, 
 round Avliicli tlie serpent is entwined. 
 
 2. The expulsion of Adam and Kve IVoni Paradise. 
 
 8. The Apostle Peter raising Talntlia, and the .Vpostles 
 Peter and John healing the cripple at the gate of the Temple. 
 
 4. S. Peter baptising. 
 
 5. S. Peter preaching. 
 
 (). S. Peter distributiuiz alms. 
 
 Tak(.;i from C'liOWi; and Cavalcasklle's " History of Painting in Italy."
 
 13 
 
 7. S. Peter and S. Joliii curing tlie infirm and the sick. 
 
 8. Christ directing S. Peter to take the tribute money from 
 the mouth of a fish, and the payment of tlie tribute money. 
 
 9. S. Peter restoring the King's son to Ufe, and the Apostle 
 enthroned. 
 
 10. S. Paul addressing S. Peter in prison. 
 
 11. The Angel delivering S. Peter from prison. 
 
 12. 8. Peter and 8. Paul before the Proconsul, and tlie 
 Martyrdom of S. Peter. 
 
 Before proceeding to describe these fi'escoes, I will give a 
 sketch of the lives of the three painters to whom they are 
 ascribed, and an account of their principal Avorks. 
 
 According to Vasari, Masolino was born in 1-403, in the 
 town of Panicale of Valdelsa, in the Florentine territory. He 
 is, therefore, commonly known as ]\Iasolino da Panicale, to 
 distinguish him from an eminent painter of the same name, 
 who, at a later period, flourished at Ferrara. As a youth, 
 he studied under Ghiberti; and having been employed l)y that 
 great sculptor on the celebrated bronze gates of the Baptistery 
 at Florence, he became an excellent worker in metal. He did 
 not, however, follow the profession of a sculptor, but left his 
 master at an early age. When nineteen years old he gave 
 himself to the study of painting under Stamina, an artist of 
 some reputation and a fair colourist. After making some progress 
 under this painter, he went to Pome in order to perfect 
 himself in his art, but liiiding the air of that city injurious 
 to his health, he returned to Florence. So^n afterwards he
 
 14 
 
 gained so inucli i'anie by a fresco representing S. Peter, wliicli 
 lie executed in tlie C'hurcli ol" tlie Carmine, that lie was chosen 
 to decorate the Cluipel I'ecently erected there by a member oi" 
 tlie Brancacci i'amily. Tlie imtiring energy and earnestness 
 ^vitll ^vhich he devoted himself to this undertakinii', bronu'lit 
 on a iatal illness, and he died in the year 14-40, at the 
 age of thirty-seven, before completing the "work Avhich he 
 had commenced. The only frescoes which he had executed 
 were the fioures of the four EvanQ;elists on the vault ; and, 
 
 O O 7 1 
 
 on the Avails, Christ calling Andrew and Peter from tlieir 
 nets ; the repentance of Peter after he had betrayed his 
 Master; the Apostle preaching to the Gentiles; his shipwreck; 
 S. Peter healing his daughter Petronilla (more correctly 
 described as the raising of Tabitha) ; and the Apostle and 
 S. John curing the lame man at tlie gate of the Temple. 
 
 Of the frescoes thus assigned by Yasari to IMasolino, only 
 two now remain, 8. Peter healing Petronilla (or the raising 
 of Tabitha) and the Apostle preaching. The biographer 
 mentions no other works by this ]);iinter except a fresco in 
 the casa Orsina at Ivome, which has perished. His life of 
 Masolino is singularly meagre mid unsatisfactory, considering 
 the important position which he assigns to him in the 
 history of art. After the death of ISIasoliiio, his |)ii[)il 
 Masaccio was, according to Vasari, nppoiiited t(j complete 
 the decoration of the Ih-ancacei Ch;ipel. 
 
 As Vasari must have been ;icf|u;iiiite(l with eontempornries 
 ot" Filil)|)ill(> I/lppi. <»lie i)f the puiiilers \v\\n \v;is employed
 
 15 
 
 in executing tlie frescoes existing in tlie cliapel, it miszht be 
 fkirly presumed tliat lie had good authority fov ascribing 
 a part of tlieni to Masohno. Even tradition, when attaching 
 to works S(j important and well-known, might, in Yasari's day, 
 have been accepted as almost sufficient evidence of the fact; 
 and Albertini, whose treatise I have already quoted, and ^vdio 
 only wrote five years after the death of Filippino Lippi, confirms 
 his statement as to Alasolino's share in the work. But it has 
 been called in question by Signor Cavalcaselle on two distinct 
 grounds : first, on account of proof, obtained from the most 
 authentic soiu'ces, that nearly all the dates which Vasari has 
 given in connection with Masolino's career are incorrect; and 
 secondly, on the evidence furnished by a critical examination 
 of the works themselves, and by a comparison between them 
 and others undoubtedly executed by Masolino, recently dis- 
 covered, and apparently unknown to Vasari. 
 
 It would appear from documents chiefly existing in the 
 Florentine archives, that Masolino was the son of one Cristoforo 
 Fini, and that he was born at Florence, and not at Panicale, 
 in the year lo83, twenty years earlier than the time assigned 
 for his birth by Vasari. His name was Tommaso, of Avhic-h 
 Masolino is the diminutive. There is no proof whatever that 
 he worked under Ghiberti, and Vasari apj^ears to have 
 confounded him with another Tommaso, or Maso, the son of 
 one Cristoforo Braccii, a goldsmith and W(n"ker in metals, 
 who was employed on the gates <>1" tlic liaptistery. It is 
 probable that he studied ]iainting nndcr Stamina, as his 
 biogra])]u'r has sta1('(l. In the year \i'2'A lie was admitted
 
 k; 
 
 into the uuiKl of tlio doctors and npothecarios (medici e S2:)ezali) 
 of Florence, a uiiild wliicli seems to liave received many painters. 
 Not long afterwards he accompanied to Hnngary the celebrated 
 Filippo Scolari, better known as Pippo Spano, the Obergespann 
 of Temeswar. lie must have returned to Italy after a 
 residence of three or four years abroad, for we find him in 
 1428, according to an inscription still extant, painting Irescoes 
 in a church and baptistery for Cardinal Brenda di Castiglione, 
 in the pleasant town of Castiglione d' Olona, in the beautiful 
 Lombard plains to the north of ]\Iilan. No I'urther traces 
 have as yet been found of this painter; and witli the exception 
 of the statement of Vasari, we have no account of the time 
 and maimer of his death. 
 
 Masaccio probably died, as it will be seen in the seqiiel, 
 in 1429. Consequently, if Vasari's statement be true, that this 
 painter continued the work that ]\Iasolino had conunenced in 
 the Brancacci Chajx'l, either Masolino must have executed 
 the frescoes there previously to those at Castiglione d" Olona, 
 or between his visit to that })lace and the (h'ath of Masaccio. 
 A comparison of the frescoes at Castiglioiu' d" ()l()iia with those 
 in the Cai'mine ])r()ve, in Signor Cavalcaselle's opinion, that 
 the lii'st sup])o>ilion is untrnahle; as the latter works show a 
 far greater acquaintance with the tine principles of painting, 
 and a more matni'ed judgment and skill, than the former. It 
 would be against all expei'ience, he contends, to sn])j)ose that 
 Masolino could have had less knowledge of his art in the 
 later than in the earliei* part of liis career. ( )n the other 
 hand, it seems ("|nall\' iniprol):il)le 1 hat he shonld lia\e pointed
 
 17 
 
 the frescoes in the Braneacci Cliapel attributed to liim by Va sari 
 witliin tlie few months wliich elapsed between the completion of 
 his work at Castigiione d' Olona in 1428 and Masaccio's death 
 m 1429. So that Signor Cavalcaselle comes to the conclusion, 
 after a careful examination of dates and a critical comparison 
 of the frescoes in the two places, either that there are no 
 paintings by Masolino now existing in the Brancacci Chapel; 
 or that, instead of Masaccio carrying on the work commenced 
 by Masolino, the reverse was the case, and that it was the 
 latter who was employed to finish the frescoes begim by 
 Masaccio. The last supposition he rejects on critical grounds, 
 and suggests that if the Brancacci Chapel did ever contain 
 works by Masolino they must have been upon the vanlt and 
 in the huiettes, and that they have been destroyed, or are 
 concealed beneath the comparatively modern decoration with 
 Avhich the upper part of the chapel is now covered.* 
 
 It is evident that no reliance can be placed upon Vasari's 
 account of Masolino, especially as regards the dates. Assuming 
 that the records which I have quoted do not refer to another 
 painter of the same name, Masolino could not have died at 
 the age of thirty-seven in 1440, leaving Masaccio to continue 
 the decoration of the Brancacci Chapel, There can be no 
 doubt as to the authorship and date of the frescoes at Cas- 
 tigiione d' Olona. The inscri[)lion upon a bas-relief over the 
 principal entrance to the church, representing the ^ irgin 
 
 * The arpfuinents on the suhjoct of the autliorsliip of tlic frescoes in tlie 
 Brancacci Chapel are very fully stated in Ci;o\vk and C'avai.casellk's History of 
 Painting in Ital\-, Vdl. i., chap. xxiv.
 
 18 
 
 holding the infant Christ, ^vho is blessing Cardinal Branda, 
 records the erection of the building by that dignitary m 
 1428. This date is repeated in the interior, where a 
 contemporary inscription states that Masolino painted the 
 Irescoes — "masolinus de florentia riNsrr." 
 
 In this confusion of dates, arising out of Vasari's mistakes, 
 it is necessary, in order to form an opinion as to the authorship 
 of the frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel attributed to Masolino, 
 to compare them carefully with his undoubted works at Cas- 
 tiglione d' Olona. At the same time, as nothing now remains 
 of the paintings which, according to his biographer, he 
 executed in the lunettes and on the vault, we have no 
 means of testinii; Vasari's statement with regard to them. 
 
 It appears to me that the only fresco now existing in 
 the Brancacci Cliapel which has any claim to be considered 
 as a work of Masolino, is the "Raising of Tal)itha" (No. 3). 
 I am'ee with Si<]!:nor Cavalcaselle in attributing; to Masaccio 
 the other fresco, the " Preaching of S. Peter" (No. 5), assigned 
 by Vasari to Masolino. In style and technical treatment, 
 in composition, in the costumes of the figures, and in the 
 architecture, the "Baising of Tabitha" seems to me to approach 
 much nearer to the frescoes of Castiglione d' Oloiia than to 
 those undoubtedly by Masaccio in the Brancacci Chapel. 
 That tliere should be a certain resemblance between the 
 works of the two painters need cause us no surprise, as it 
 is most piobable that A'asari was right in saying that 
 ]\[asaccio was the ])upil of Masolino. But thei'e appears
 
 19 
 
 to me to be so marked a difference between this fresco 
 and the rest of the series in the Brancacci Chapel — it shows 
 so evident an inferiority in composition, tliut I can scarcely 
 bring myself to believe that they are by the same hand. 
 It resembles the frescoes of Casti^lione d' Olona in the 
 introduction of fanciful costumes and head-dresses; and 
 the action and expression of the figures are weak and 
 commonplace, when compared with the works of Masaccio.* 
 The difficulty of reconciling dates is no doubt considerable, 
 and the question must perhaps be considered as undecided, 
 until further records of an authentic character, illustratinir 
 the lives of the two painters, are discovered. 
 
 The frescoes of INIasolino at Castio-lione d' Olona were 
 executed on the walls of two separate buildings, a church and 
 an adjoining baptister3^ On the vaulted ceiling and walls of 
 the octangular choir of the church he painted scenes from the 
 lives of the Virgin, S. Stephen, and S. Lawrence, and in one of 
 the compartments he introduced the portrait of Cardinal Branda 
 Castiglione, at whose expense the building was erected and 
 decorated. The frescoes have suffered much from time and 
 wanton injury. Towards the end of the last century they 
 
 * The description Avliich Signer Cavalcaselle gives of ^Masolino's style and 
 his defects, would appear to be especially applicable to the fresco of "The Kaisiiig 
 of Tabitha." "He neglected the great maxims of composition — the general 
 mass is forgotten for the sake of the detail — solitary figures are unduly promint'ut 
 — wanting form, and absence of mass in hght and shadow. He was careless of 
 the traditional garb of time-honoured scriptural figures, and liis personages Avere 
 dressed in vast caps and turbans and tight-fitting clothes." History of Italian 
 Painting, vol. i., p. 508, itc. These criticisms apply to the " liaising of Tabitha," 
 but to no other IVesco in tlie Brancacci Cha])el.
 
 20 
 
 were covered with whitewasli by the rector. In the year hSi,') 
 tlie whitewash was removed, but not without great damage 
 to the paintings 
 
 These frescoes are distinguished by considerable merit. 
 The figures arc not deficient in grace, and are well conceived; 
 the colour is subdued and harmonious. At the same time there 
 is a dryness of manner and a conventional treatment of the 
 subjects, which show that Masolino was still under the inilu- 
 ence of the school of Giotto. 
 
 The inscription containing the name of the painter is 
 written on a " cartellino," in an angle of the wall to the right 
 of the hi oh altar. 
 
 On the Avails of the Baptistery, Masolino represented the 
 history of S. John, and on the vaulted ceiling, Christ 
 surrounded by Angels, the four Evangelists, and various Saints. 
 The principal subjects are "S. John Preaching," the "Baptism 
 of the Saviour," the "Daughter of Herodias before Ilerod,"* and 
 the " Execution of the Baptist." In the fresco of " S. John 
 Baptising," the figures ot" the men preparing lor the rite are 
 drawn with much spirit, and show a careful study of the nude. 
 In treatment they are not unlike those of "S, Peter Baptising," 
 by Masaccio, in the Brancacci Chapel. On the keystone of 
 
 * The wi odciit (if tliis frosco is Irniii u drawing by Signer Cavulcvisclle, and has 
 been kindly lent to me by I\Ir. Murray, to \vhom I am also indebted for the wood- 
 cuts of Masaeeio's fresco in S. Clemente at Ivonie, and of " S. Taul addressing 
 S. Peter," by Lippi.
 
 21 
 
 an arcli is painted a date, 1-435, Avhicli Signer Cavalcaselle 
 believes to liave been added long after the execution of the 
 frescoes.* 
 
 No works by Masolino, except those which I have 
 mentioned, are known to have been preserved, and there is 
 no example of an easel picture or altar-piece by him. 
 
 'Of the many illustrious painters who flourished in the 
 fifteenth century, including Paolo Ucello, Fra Filippo Lippi, 
 Ghirlandaio, and Sandro Botticelli, Masaccio was undoubtedly 
 the one whose genius has had the greatest influence on the 
 progress of painting, and who approaches the nearest to 
 that high standard of perfection which was achieved by 
 the great masters of the sixteenth century.* And this is the 
 more extraordinary when we consider the early age at which 
 he died, and the small number of works which he appears to 
 have left behind him. Vasari — no mean judge and critic of 
 painting, and intimately acquainted with the practice of the art 
 — says of him: " We are most especially indebted to Masaccio 
 for that which regards the good method of painting; since it 
 was he who, desirous of acquiring fame, first ielt that painting- 
 was a close imitation, by outline and colour, of the various 
 objects that nature herself has produced, and that he who best 
 succeeds in accomplishing this, may be considered as having 
 attained to the highest excellency in his art. Con\ inced ot 
 
 * The editors of Le Monnier's edition of Vasari's "Lives" (Florence, 1848), 
 believe this date to be contemporary with the frescoes. They would place 
 tha death of Masulino in 1-140.
 
 22 
 
 this truth, ^fasaccio, by constant study, so taught himself, 
 that he may be classed amongst the first who freed painting 
 almost completely from the dryness and imperfections by which 
 it Avas characterised before his time, lie was the first who 
 introduced into painting beautiful action and movement, 
 loftiness of character and life, and that appropriate and 
 natural relief in his figures, which no painter before his time 
 had succeeded in giving." Vasari adds, that " Masaccio's 
 paintings will bear comparison with any modern work for 
 correct drawino; and for colour." 
 
 According to his biographer, Masaccio was born in the 
 castellated town of S, Giovanni, in one of the most delightful 
 parts of the valley of the Arno. His name was Tommaso, but 
 he was familiarly called Masaccio, a reproachful corruption of 
 it, meaning "slovenly, or dirty, Tom," on account of his negligent 
 habits and dress. He was of a kindly and honest disposition, 
 and ready to help others altliough careless of his own interests. 
 lie commenced the practice of his art when very young, and 
 whilst Masolino was painting his frescoes in the Brancacci 
 chapel. The works of Fra Filippo Lippi and Doiuitello Avere 
 the chief objects of his study. His attention Avas principally 
 directed to the laws of perspective, and Vasari especially 
 mentions a picture by him, preserved in the house of Kidolfo 
 Ghirlandaio, the painter, representing Christ casting out devils, 
 in Avhich the outside and inside of several liouses Avere 
 represented Avith extraordinary skill. He also diligently 
 employed himself in drawing from the nude, and in executing 
 dilfieuh forcshorteninL(s.
 
 23 
 
 After painting various altar-pieces and frescoes in Florence 
 and tlie neiglibourliood, lie went to Rome in order to improve 
 himself still more in his art. There he attained great fame by 
 decorating with frescoes the Chapel of the Cardinal of 
 S Clemente, in the church dedicated to that saint. He painted 
 besides several altar-pieces in tempera, on one of which 
 Michelangelo one day bestowed high praise, in Vasari's 
 presence. On the recall from exile of Cosimo de' Medici, who 
 had always befriended and aided him, Masaccio returned to 
 Florence. During his absence, Masolino had died, leaving 
 unfinished the great work which he had commenced in the 
 Brancacci chapel. JNIasaccio received a commission to^ complete 
 it; but before undertaking a labour of so much importance, he 
 desired to give some proof of the progress wliich he had made 
 in his art. lie accordingly painted in fresco a figure of 
 S. Paul, in the Church of the Carmine, extolled by Vasari as a 
 work of extraordinary power, in which the painter succeeded 
 in conveying, in a most wonderful manner, the character of the 
 Apostle by the expression of his countenance.* Whilst he 
 was thus occupied the church was consecrated. In order to 
 preserve a record of the ceremony, Masaccio represented 
 it in a fresco over a doorway which led into the convent 
 from the cloisters. It was painted in chiaroscuro, or terra 
 verde^ and he introduced into it, with consununate skill, a 
 procession of Florentine citizens, including many of the most 
 distinguished men of the time, and amongst them INIasolino, 
 
 * This fresco, together Avith the flguvc of S. Peter, by Masolino, in the same 
 church, was destroyed in 167;'), wlien a chapel was built by one Andrea Corsini.
 
 24 
 
 ■who had been his master. After finishing this work he 
 painted varicnis frescoes in the Brancacci cliapel, wliich Vasari 
 particularly describes. But before he could complete the task 
 confided to him, he died, at the early age of twenty-six — so 
 suddenly as to give rise to a suspicion that his death had been 
 caused by poison. He was buried in the year 1443, in the 
 Church of the Carmine, but no monument records the spot 
 where he was interred. 
 
 Such is the history of this great painter, as given by Yasari. 
 It abounds with mistakes, and errors of date. As in the case of 
 Masolino, contemporary documents of undoubted authenticity 
 furnish more trustworthy materials for the life of Masaccio than 
 the mere traditions which appear to have been used by his 
 biographer. lie was born in 1402, fifteen years before the 
 time assigned by Vasari, and was the son of a notary, named 
 Ser Giovanni di Simone Guidi, of the family of Schcggia. 
 The place of his birth appears to have been, as Vasari states, 
 Castel S. Giovanni, in the Val d' Arno. Already at the age of 
 nineteen (in 1421) he was enrolled in the guild of the 
 apothecaries at Florence ; two years before Masolino was 
 admitted into the same corporation. In the year 1424 he was 
 registered as a member of the guild of painters, as " Maso di 
 Ser Giovanni di Chastcllo Sangiovanni."* 
 
 The next authentic mention of Alasaccio has been found in 
 the registers of the property and incomes of the citizens of 
 
 ♦ The registers quoted in tlic text are still preserved in the Florenline 
 archives.
 
 25 
 
 /Florence, made in pursuance to a decree of Giovanni di Bicci 
 de' Medici, in the year 1427, The return given by !Masaccio 
 and liis brother Giovanni, dechires that they hved in Florence 
 with their mother, and that iNIasaccio was twenty-five years of 
 age. They resided in a house belonging to one Andrea 
 Macigni, lor Avhich they paid an annual rent of 10 florins. 
 Masaccio earned G soldi a day, and occupied part of a shop be- 
 longing to the Badia of Florence, at the yearly rent of 2 florins. 
 He declares himself debtor to Nicolo di Ser Lapo, painter, in 
 102 lire and 4 soldi. The family owe Pietro Battiloro about 
 6 florins, and to the pawnbrokers, at the signs of " The 
 Lion," and " The Cow," for articles pawned at various times, 
 4 florins. There was, moreover, owing to his assistant, 
 Andrea di Giusto, for arrears of salary, G florins.* 
 
 * This return of INIasaccio's property, first published by Gave, in his 
 " Carteggio," vol. i., p. 115, is very curious. It is in the fuilowing words: — • 
 
 " Dinanzi a voi Signori uficiali del chatasto di firenze, e chontado e distretto, 
 qui faccio tutti nostri beni e sustanze, niobili e iminobili, di noi tomma.so e 
 giovanni di S. Giovanni da Castel Sangiovanni, valdarno di s^pra, a]:)itanti 
 in firenze. Abbiamo dextimo sokli sei. 
 
 ''Siamo in fainiglia noi due chonnostra madre, la quale e d' eta danni quarantu 
 cinque; io toniaso sono detii dainii venticinque e giovaiuii mio iratello sojjradetto 
 e deta danni venti. 
 
 "Sianio in una chasa daiidi'ea macigni, dolla quale paghiamo lanno di pigione 
 fiorini 10, chc da 1" via, da 2" il detto andrca, da 3° lareivescovo di firenze, da 
 4" il detto andrea. 
 
 " Tengo io toniaso parte duna bottega della badia di firenze, della quale pago 
 lanno lanno [sic) fiorini '2, oho di 1" via, da 2° e o" da -l" la detta badia. Sono 
 debitorc di nicholo di s. lapo dipintore di lire 102 s. 4. 
 
 ".Siavno debitori di ])iero battiloro di fior 6, o circa. Siamo dcbitori al presto 
 di lioni e cpiello della vacha per pegni nalibianio j)osti in ])iii volte, di fior 4. 
 
 " l^'ianio debitori dandre di giusto, il quale stette chonieeo tomaso sopradetto, 
 di suo salario fior (>. 
 
 D
 
 26 
 
 In the ivtiirn of Nicolo di Ser Lapo for the same year, 
 the debt owing to liim is stated to be 200 lire, or nearly 
 double the amount niention'\l by jMasaccio; and in that for 
 the year 1430, he declares tliat the heirs of Tommaso di Ser 
 Giovanni the painter, still owe him ()8 lire. " Tliis Tommaso," 
 he adds, " died at Kome, and I know not Avhether I shall ever 
 get any part of my money, as his brother says that he is not 
 his heir."* Masaccio's income return for the same year still 
 exists, but only in part fdled up, and with these words 
 Avritten in a strange hand upon it: " dicesi e morto in Roma" 
 — " He is said to have died in Rome." lie ^vould then 
 have been about twenty-eight years old, and the statement 
 of Vasari as to his death at the age of twenty-seven, 
 would be conlirmcd, but not the biographer's account of 
 the locality at which it took place, and the circumstances 
 attending it. No other documentary evidence has been 
 discovered relating to Masaccio. 
 
 Of the various works which, according to Vasari, Masaccio 
 executcid at Florence before his first visit to Rome, none remain 
 
 "Nostra madre de avere fior 100 per la sua dota, qiiaranta da iiinna d' au- 
 dreUccio di cbastcl sangiovaiiiii, e sessanta dalle rede di tedesclio di cliastel 
 sangiovaniii, il (ju;d<: fii siio scclioiido iiiarito. iV(i>ti'a in;i(]i\' sdjjradrtlo de avcro 
 dalle rode del sopradetto tedc-sco il ii-iitto duna vigna, posta nella piseiiia nella 
 corte di cliastel sjiiigiovaiini, per un l.-iseio fatto (l;d sopradetto tedesco, nonne 
 schriviiinio la rciidita dela vigii:i, lie eiioidiiii, jierclir nogli s,i|i])iaiiio, ue iiona 
 nostra niadre aleliuiia reiidita dclla dttta vigiia ne abita lull.i ijilta cli;isa." 
 
 * "Kede di Tc/inniasj di JSer Giovanni dipintore den dare lire sessanta otto. 
 Questo Tommaso mori a Konia, noa so se mai n' aro alcuna cosa, poiche dice il 
 fratelln non essere re(lt'."
 
 27 
 
 except the fresco in the Church of S. INIaria Novelhi. It is 
 highly praised by his biographer, especially that part of it 
 Avhich represents a vaulted ceiling in perspective; but curiously 
 enough it remained concealed for two centuries by a vast altar- 
 piece, of no great merit, painted by Yasari himself "When 
 the Church of S. Maria Novella was restored a few years 
 ago, Masaccio's fresco was uncovered, and having been 
 detached from the wall was removed to another part of 
 the building. Unfortunately it was exposed at the same 
 time to the destructive process of restoration, and it has 
 consequently suffered so niucli, that little remains to show 
 its original character. It represents the Trinity between the 
 Virgin and S. John the Evangelist, with two kneeling figures, 
 probably portraits of the persons, man and wife, for whom 
 the fresco was executed. From the vigour of the treatment, 
 as compared with the frescoes in S. Clemente at Rome, 
 Signor Cavalcaselle believes it to be of a later period than 
 that assigned to it by Vasari, who places it amongst the 
 painter's earliest works. It is remarkable for a careful 
 study of anatomy ; the expression of the various heads is 
 dignified and life-like, and the Avhole is executed with a 
 power and a mastery over the materials employetl, which 
 are characteristic rather of a mature painter of the sixteenth 
 century, than of one who had commenced his career at the 
 beginning of the fifteenth. At the same time, in composition 
 and style this fresco is inferior to tliose in the Brancacci 
 Chapel. 
 
 Amongst the earliest known works by ]\rasaccio, are the
 
 28 
 
 frescoes in tlie Church vi' S. Clemonte tit Ivonie.* Except 
 from Vasnri's statement, we have no knowledge of tlie thne 
 at which they Avere painted, but they bear signs of having 
 been executed at the commencement of tlie painter's career, 
 probably in the year l-l'io or 1424, wlieu Masaccio was 
 about twenty-one years of agc.f They cover the vault, 
 an arch, and the walls of a chapel. Those on the vault and 
 arch re])rescnt the Evangelists, various saints, the Twelve 
 Apostles, and the doctors of the church. Those on the walls, 
 the Crucifixion and scenes from the histories of S. Catherine, 
 S. Clemente, and of some other saint who has not been 
 satisHictorily identified. In the Crucifixion, ^Masaccio has 
 followed, ill the general composition and disposition of the 
 ])rincipal figures, the traditional arrangement of Giotto and 
 Ills lollowers. In the centre, beneath the Saviour crucilied 
 between the two thieves, is the usual grouj) of the fainting 
 Virgin supported by the three Maries and S. John the 
 Evangelist; Ivoman soldiers, some on horseback, and various 
 spectators, are assembled round the cross. In knowledge 
 of anatomy and in tei:linical execution, this I'resco shows 
 
 * It is ti) he olDserved that tlie editors of the last edition of Vasari's Lives, 
 maintain that the frescoes in the Chapel of S. Clemente arc not by ]\Iasaceio, but 
 by an earlier master of the school of Giotto. (Le INIonnier's ed. Life of Mas-accio.) 
 
 ■)■ Signor Cavalcaselle (History of Italian Painting, vol. i., p. r)2r>) suggests 
 that the frescoes "were painted previous to 1121, but thty could scarcely have 
 been executed by Masaccio at the age of seventeen. He assigns this early date 
 tu them in order to explain Vasari's statement that Masaccio returned to 
 Florence from l\ome upon the recall of Cosinio de' Medici, uhich took place in 
 14.'>4, some years alter the painter's death: an event wliich, he suggests, the 
 biographer may have confounded with ihu irturn to j)o\ver of (iiovanni di 
 Bicci de' Medici, in 1420.
 
 29 
 
 considerable advance upon the works of tlie painters of the 
 previous century, and the head of the dying Christ is singularly 
 fine. But it is in the frescoes representing the life and 
 martyrdom of S. Catherine, that IMasaccio has given evidence 
 of his power as an original painter. The finest and best 
 known of tliese compositions is the one which represents the 
 Saint disputing with the doctors before Maxentius. The 
 
 S. CATHERINE! DISPUTING WITH THE DOCTORS. 
 
 A FRESCO BY MASACCIO, IN S. CLEMENTE AT ROME, 
 
 Emperor is on his throne at the end of a room, on either side 
 of which are seated four doctors. They are earnestly listening 
 to S. Catherine, and their action and expression are admirable 
 for variety and truth to nature. The figure of the youthful 
 Saint is lull of 2;race and innocence. She stands cahnh^ in 
 tlie nfulst oi' the doctors enforcing ]\er argument by a gesture
 
 30 
 
 of her two liauds, still natural to Italian disputants. The 
 composition is very simple, and vividly recalls the works 
 of Fra Ano-elico. 
 
 o 
 
 Of the other frescoes, the most interesting are S. Catherine 
 refusing to worship the idols, the Saint converting the Queen 
 from the window of her cell, the executioners endeavouring 
 in vain to break her upon the wheel, and her final martyrdom, 
 and that of the Queen, by decapitation. They are each 
 distinguished by the same simple and pleasing composition, 
 by natural and graceful action and expression, and by that 
 knoAvledge of form which the painter subsequently displayed 
 so remarkably in the frescoes of the Brancacci Chapel. 
 Unfortunately they have suffered so much from decay and 
 unskilful restoration, tliat but little of Masaccio's original ^vork 
 remains. The other frescoes are of less interest, and are 
 in a worse condition than those representing the history of 
 S. Catherine.* 
 
 The resemblance in style between the frescoes of the chapel 
 of S. Clemente and those of Masolino at Castiglione d' Olona 
 confirms the statement of Vasaii, that INIasaccio had studied 
 and formed himself upon the works of that painter. 
 
 After painting these frescoes, Masaccio probably returned to 
 Florence and obtained the commission to decorate the walls of 
 the Brancacci Chapel, but lirst executed fresco representing 
 
 * EiiLM-aviiigs of llic tVcscocs and df tracinirs froiii the ]iriiicijial licads, 
 Ufjv puMirtlicd ill Ivouic, in [•'^^it', liy Giovanni dall" Aiiiii.
 
 the consecration of the church. It still existed in the lifetime 
 of Vasari, who praises the singular skill with which the 
 painter had arranged and grouped the figures in procession, and 
 the truthfulness of their expressions, but shortly afterwards 
 entirely disappeared. According to the author of an old work 
 on the principal monuments of Florence,* it had not been 
 destroyed, but had been concealed by a wall which had been 
 built up in the cloister when some alterations were made in the 
 church, in the early part of the seventeenth century. Mr. 
 Kirkup, so well known in connection with the interesting 
 discovery of Giotto's portrait of Dante, in the Bargello at 
 Florence, and for his intimate acquaintance with the history 
 and ancient monuments of the city, was convinced that if the 
 wall were taken down the fresco would be found preserved 
 behind it; and he endeavoured to persuade the authorities of 
 the church to try the experiment. However, only a part of 
 the whitewash in the cloister was removed, but a fresco was 
 discovered beneath it ; not the one representing the consecra- 
 tion of the church painted in chiaroscuro, as described 
 by Vasari, but apparently a fresco by Masaccio, and not 
 uuAvorthy of liim. It has, fortunately, escaped the brush of 
 the restorers, and some judgment can, therefore, be formed 
 as to its merits. It is in colour; and in the part uncovered 
 are groups of friars, with buildings, and a landscape in the 
 background. Masaccio's great Iresco may btill remain, and it 
 is to be regretted that after the discovery of this fragment no 
 further attempt lins been made to recover it. 
 
 * PxK'cliI. Bell('/zi> di Fii-eiizo. cd. 1071, p. •^•>7.
 
 82 
 
 Of the various j'jaintina's in public galleries and ])rivnte 
 collections attributed to ^lasaccio, none ai)pear to have any 
 well-founded claim to authenticity except an altar-piece, called 
 " The Conception," described b}- Vasari as having been 
 originally painted for the Church of S. Anibrogio, at Florence, 
 and now in the gallery of the Academy of Arts in that city. 
 Tiiis picture is believed to be a genuine though youthful work 
 of the painter. It has been much injured by restoration, and 
 has been further damaged by the use of bad varnish ; but it 
 recalls the manner and method of Ahisaccio, especially in the 
 proportions and outlines of the ligures, and in the peculiar 
 mode of usin"; hio-li-lio-hts in order to i^-ive relief and 
 roundness of form. The fine head of a youth, in a red cap 
 and dark brown dress, in the National Gallery, assigned to 
 him, and sometimes called his own })ortrait, is probably a 
 work by Filippino Lippi. It is remarkable, considering the 
 reputation which he had acquired, that so much mystery 
 should hano; over Masaccio's death. The tradition recorded by 
 Vasari, that he had died of poison, was probably Avithout 
 foundation; but it is evident from the documents which I have 
 quoted that he had left Florence in a secret and mysterious 
 way. It is probable that the unfortunate painter, overwhelmed 
 with debt and hard pressed by relentless creditors, had fled to 
 Rome, leavinir unfmished the crcat work which he had 
 undertaken in the Brancacci Chapel ; thus furnishing another 
 example of the iniha])py end to the career c;f men of genius 
 of the same stamp. 
 
 Many years (.'lapsed before a ])ainter was found to complete
 
 Mnsaccio's work. At length, towards the end of llie century, 
 between the years 1482 and 1490, Filipphio Lippi, who had 
 acquired great fame as a master, Avas commissioned to finish 
 the series of frescoes whicli Masolino liad commenced more 
 than half a century before. 
 
 Vasari, in writing the life of Filippino Lippi, accepted, as 
 was too much his habit, all the traditional gossip which was 
 current in his day, and treated it as authentic history. 
 Consequently his account of this painter is i'ull of errors, and 
 wrong dates. Filippino, he states, was the natural son of 
 Fra Filippo Lippi, the celebrated painter and Carmelite friar, 
 by a novice named Lucrezia Buti, whom he had seduced, and 
 who had eloped with him from her convent. The story of 
 Fra Filippo, as related by Vasari, is apparently a pure romance. 
 The friar, he tells us, was captured by Barbary pirates, and 
 carried into slavery, but was released from his chains as a 
 reward for drawing his master's portrait in charcoal. On his 
 return to his native country he ran away with Lucrezia, and 
 was expelled the Carmelite order. He refused to avail 
 himself of a dispensation offered to him by Pope Eugenius 
 IV., which would have enabled him to marry tlie nun, and 
 continued to live an immoral and disorderly life until his 
 death. This romantic story, like many others related by 
 Vasari, has been disproved by documentary evidence. Fra 
 Filippo appears to have remained until the close of his life 
 a poor friar. A letter is preserved in which he begs Piero 
 de' Medici to give him souk; corn and oil in part payment of 
 a picture which he had painti'd, in order lliat six marriag(.^able 
 
 E
 
 34 
 
 nieces, who wore entirely dependent upon liini, niiglit not 
 starve. At tlie age of ibrty lie was elKi])laiii to the convent 
 of nuns of S. Giovanni, in Florence, and live years later 
 he Avas rector of the C'hureli of S. Quiiico, at Legnaia. It is 
 not likely that the seducer of a nun, and one who continued 
 to lend the di<s;)lute life attributed to him by his biographer, 
 would have held these offices in the church. Filippino Li[)pi 
 was probably the relative and scholar, and not the natural 
 son, of Fra Filippo, and, in accoi'dance with a custom 
 prevalent at that time amongst artists, had been adopted 
 by the friar. Filippino appears to have been born at Prato, 
 a town (^f some importance near Florence; but the precise 
 period of his birth has not been ascertained: it may have 
 been about the year 14G(). lie was taught painting as a boy 
 by Fra Filippo, who, however, died wdien Filippino was still 
 a youth. lie probably fmished his studies under Fra 
 Diamante, a painter of no great eminence, and a friar of 
 the Carmelite convent, to whose care Fra Fili})po had left 
 him. According to Vasari, however, Sandro Botticelli was 
 his master, and tlure is, indeed, much in his style and mode 
 of colouring to remind one of that great painter, so much so 
 that their works are frequently confounded. But as they Avere 
 nearly of the same age it is more likely that they were fellow- 
 students, and that they both acquired the same manner in 
 the stuJio of Fra Filippo. 
 
 One of the earliest works of Filippino was an altar-piece 
 on panel, re[)reseiiting the Vision of S. Bernard, painted for 
 the Chapel of Francesco del Piigliesc, at Campara, oulside one
 
 35 
 
 of the gates of Florence, and now placed in the church of the 
 Badia, within the Avails of tliat city. It was finished in 1480, 
 when Filippino had only reached his twentieth year, and is still 
 in admirable preservation.* Although in this picture he docs 
 not dis})lay the breadth of treatment and large style of 
 Masaccio, but shows in its details and composition that he was 
 still under the influence of the hard, conventional manner of 
 the quattrocentisti, and to a certain extent of his first teacher ; 
 yet he had already carried the technical part of the art far 
 beyond them, and had attained a richness and harmony of 
 colour never reached by Fra Filippo Lippi. The Virgin 
 suddenly presenting herself before the musing Saint, and 
 turning over the leaves of his book, is a figure of singular 
 dignity, grace, and beauty. The angels who attend her and 
 nestle round her, are amongst the most charming ci'eations of 
 the playful fancy of the painter. The action and expression of 
 the Saint, who starts from his reverie and contemplates the 
 vision with astonishment, are very truthfully represented. The 
 portrait of the donor, Avho kneels in the corner, is vigorously 
 painted and lifedike, but is awkwardly introduced, and 
 interferes with the symmetry of the composition. The 
 background with groups of friars, rocks, trees, and buildings, 
 forms one of those conventional landscapes adopted by most 
 painters of the time in their easel [)ictiires. It, however, shows 
 a feeling for nature, and an attempt to reproduce her forms, 
 whicli has earned the praise of Vasari. The colour, which is 
 
 * A copy of tliis heautiful w( rk has recently hcen maJo for the Arundel 
 Society by Signor Mariannecei. It ^vill l)cinckule(l in the " secund " amnial 
 publications of the Soeiety liir tlic iire.sout year (I.SC.S).
 
 ?^c, 
 
 of tempera of the finest description, is singularly rich and 
 pleasing. The figure of S. Bernard is defective in dra^ving, 
 especially in the unnatural length of the body — a fault not 
 apparent in the other figures. 
 
 This picture may be compared Aviili the representation of 
 the same subject l)y Filippino's adopted father, Fra Fili])po 
 Li])pi, now in the National (Jallery — the graceful imagination 
 and playhil fmcy of the scholar with the severe and simple 
 treatment of the master. The contrast between the two works 
 shows the direction in which painting was rapidly advancing 
 towards the end of the iifteenth century, and how the way 
 was being prepared for the great school which was founded 
 by Raphael and Michelangelo. 
 
 In the ''Vision of S. Bernard'" and in other pictures painted 
 in his early youth, Filippino Lippi had not risen to the 
 dignity and the truthful representation of nature which 
 distinguish his frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel, and which 
 he acquired from the study of the works of his ^reat 
 predecessor, Masaccio. No record has hitherto been dis- 
 covered which enables us to fix with certainty the date 
 of his employment in the Church of the Carmine. His 
 frescoes there show the resulls of h)iig and careful study, 
 and of mature experience. When we compare them Avilli 
 tlie '' \'ision of S. Bernard" and other })ictures by him of the 
 i^ame period, it is scarcely possiljle not to feel convinced 
 that some years must have elaj)sed between their execution, 
 and that the frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel were not, as
 
 87 
 
 Vasari has asserted, amongst his earliest works. It was 
 probal)ly, tlierefore, after he had had much practice as a 
 painter, and towards the end of the century, that they were 
 imdertaken. AVe know, from existing records, that he was 
 in Rome from the year 1489 to about 1498, in the service 
 of Cardinal Olivero Caraffa, for whom he painted a series of 
 frescoes in a chapel in the Church of the Minerva. It 
 seems to me that these works show an inferiority of stvle 
 and execution to those in the Brancacci Chapel, which tends 
 to prove that they are of an earlier date.* 
 
 The frescoes in the Carafia Chapel represent incidents from 
 the legend of S. Thomas Aquinas. They are distinguished by 
 a rich fancy, boldness of execution, variety in the expression, 
 attitudes, and grouping of the figures; a life-like truth and 
 individuality in the various heads, giving them the character 
 of portraits ; and a considerable knowledge of the laws of 
 composition. The architectural backgrounds are r'wh in 
 ornamenls and arabesques, classic in design and s[)irit, and 
 such as, according to Vasari, Filippino first introduced into 
 painting, alter he had made careful studies and drawings ii'oni 
 the ancient monuments by which he l()und himself surroundetl 
 in l\ome. In the most inq)()i'tant of these frescoes, S. Thomas 
 
 * Signor Cavalcnsclle, however, is of a different opinion (Cuowe and 
 Cavalcaseli.e, History of Painting in Italy, vol. ii., p. 441); and it must be 
 admitted that there is strong evidenee to favour his view, if Vasari is right in 
 placing amongst the portraits introduced into one of the frescoes of the Brancacci 
 Chapel those of Messer Sodcrini, who died in 1 185, and of the poet Pulci, 
 who died in 148^; but little dependence can be placed upon this writer's 
 statcnients. 
 
 117752
 
 38 
 
 Aquinas is represciitcHl seated on a rlclily-onianu'iitiHl ai'clii- 
 tectural throne, betAveen i()ur alleLiorieal lemale ligures, amongst 
 Avliieli are Theology and Pliilosopliy. ITc is deleiiding t]ie 
 chureli from the attacks of lier enemies, and lie tramples under 
 foot a prostrate unbehever. Bei()re him stand two groups 
 of diseomlited lieretics, inehiding .Vrius, Sabelhus, AveiToes, 
 and otlier promoteiv of lieresy. On tlie ground, in tlie midst 
 of tliem, he tlieir l)ooks, scattered and torn. Distant views 
 of mountains and l)uildings are seen in the background, and 
 the subject is ench)sed by tAVo pihisters ornamented Avitli elegant 
 arabesques.* Yasai'i possessed Filip])iiu)"s original design ibr 
 this fresco, upon wliicli he bestoAvs nuu'h praise. Amongst the 
 other ii'escoes in the chapel, are those of S. ''Thomas kneeling 
 before the Crucifix,"' Avhen, according to the legend, the figure 
 of Christ s])ake, and addressed to him the Avords, '' Bene 
 scripsisti de me, Toma," and the '' Amnmciation" and "-Ascension 
 of the A'irgiu."f 
 
 The proportions of the figures in these Avorks are not 
 ahvays correct, the heads being too large; and the draAving, 
 in general, is somcAvhat Aveak and constrained — delects Avhich 
 are not apparent in Fili])j)ino"s frescoes in the Hi'ancacci 
 C'h;ip('l. 'J'he colour is also rather monotonous in tone and 
 Avants vigour, hut this may be the i-esiill of r('[)aiiitiiig and 
 of injudicious i-esioralion, Avhich have impaired ils original 
 
 * A careful copy of this fresco, and facsimiles of some of tlie finest licads, 
 have been made for the Arundel Society by Si<riior Mariannecci. 
 
 t Several frescoes uliicli existed in Vasari's time were destroyed ivluii a 
 jiioiiunii'ni Av.i.s crfL'ted in the cliajiel to r<>|ic l';iiil I\'.
 
 briglitness and transparency. The lieads are full of character 
 and individuality, and are amoiiLfst the best examples of the 
 painters style. 
 
 One of tlie most charminu' and characteristic paintin,o;s 
 executed by Filippino after his return fr(jm Rome, was a 
 Madonna, Avitli Saints and Angels, in a " tabernacolo " or 
 small way-side oratory, in the picturesque town of Prato. 
 Time and neglect have dealt hardly witli this fresco, but 
 still in tlie perishing outlines and in the tender fading colours 
 may be traced one of the most graceful and beautiful creations 
 of the painter. 
 
 He married, in 1497, one Margherita, whose family name 
 has not been preserved. He had by her one son, who 
 inherited his collection of sketches, drawings, and studies 
 from the antique, some of which appear to have passed into 
 the collection of Vasari. 
 
 In the year 1500 Fihppino was employed at Florence on 
 his last considerable work, the decoration in ii'csco of the 
 Chapel of the Strozzi family in tiie Church of S. Maria 
 NoveHa. He had ]-eceived the conunission for it some years 
 before. Tlie frescoes which he executed and whicli cover 
 the walls and vanlted ceiling, represent iut'ideiits from the 
 legends of S. Drnsiana, S. John, and S. Fhili]). In composition, 
 in execution, and in general interest they arc^ inli'rior to those 
 which he ])aintc(l inlhc C;ii'mI];i ChniH'l. They are overloaded 
 with iirchileclnral details and with Konian oi'iiameiUs and
 
 40 
 
 oinbliMiis:. wliiclr are not waiitiiii;' in I'ancy and i'k\u'am\', but 
 are out ol' ])\-acv and mar tlu' uvnci'al clU'ct. The li^ures are 
 fivquently rliaracterised by weak and delect ive dfawinj^- and 
 ineori'eet jiroportions. and tlie eolour is deficient in i-ielmcss 
 and liai'nioiiv — this, liowever, may l)e in part owing to recent 
 repainting and restoration. 
 
 Tlie frescoes in the Stro/zi Chapel a[)pear to nie to mark 
 a (k'cline of" the i)owers of the artist, whilst those in the Caraffa 
 Chapel show progress, ami a ])old and vigorous hand. I am, 
 therefore, inclined to think that the frescoes in the Brancacci 
 C'ha|)el — undoubtedly the best of his works — were painted in 
 the interval between the execution of these two undertakings. 
 
 Filip])in() Lippi died ol' lever and (juinsy in 1505, at the 
 age of Ibrty-hve years, whilst ])ainting a picture for the high- 
 altar of the Church of the Annunziata. lie was buried in the 
 Cinu'ch of S. INIichele l)isdomini, at Florence. During his 
 lile-time he had been held in high esteem by his fellow-citizens, 
 and like many great artists ol" his time, seems to have exercised 
 a good deal of inlluence in liis native eitv. A\'e find bv the 
 records of tlie p-riod that he was frc(juentlv called upon by the 
 magisti'atcs and chiefs of the i'e])ul)lic to act u])ou counnissions 
 in matters of art, and to aid them with his o|)inion and 
 advice. A^asari says that h(> was of a vei'\' courteous and 
 amiable disjiosition, and that his death was lamented bv all 
 who knew him, and especially bv the xoiith of Moi-eiice, wliom 
 lie was always ready to liel]) in their juiblic feslixals. masks, and 
 other amusements, with his liiiiirul linicv :iii(l nieiiv iii\ ciUions
 
 41 
 
 — in wliic'li lie liad no cqnal. So much was he beloved that 
 the shops were closed in the streets through which his funeral 
 passed, a mark of honour and respect only shown on the rarest 
 occasions to illustrious citizens. 
 
 In addition to the frescoes which I have described, Filippino 
 painted many altar-pieces and easel pictures, all on panel, some 
 of which are still to be found in the churches of Florence and 
 of the neighbourhood, or are preserved in public galleries and 
 private collections. They are generally pleasing in colour and 
 in composition. His female figures, especially his representations 
 of the Virgin, are distingiushed by much grace and religious 
 sentiment; and there is a vigorous portrait-like character in his 
 male heads which adds interest to his pictures. The most 
 remarkable of his larger works are the altar-piece in the Chapel 
 of the Nerli family in the Church of S. Spirito, at Florence, 
 and the Adoration of the Magi, in the Gallery of the Uffizi; 
 both of them excellent examples of his best qualities — of his 
 pla}"ful fancy, of his truthful rendering of nature, of the life-like 
 individuality of his figures, and of his rich and harmonious 
 colouring. The picture upon which he was engaged at the 
 time of his death, representing Christ taken down from the 
 cross, was finished by Pieti'o Perugino, and is now in the 
 gallery ol' the Academy at Florence. The large altar-piece by 
 liim, painted lor the Ivucellai family, ami now in the National 
 Gallery, of the Virgin and Child, with S. Jen^me and S. 
 Domenick, and the '' predella," witli half-length figures of the 
 Magilalen, S. Francis, and the dead Christ supported bv Joseph 
 of Arimathea, is a work of his later period. It is less pleasing 
 
 F
 
 42 
 
 in composition, and less graceful in the forms, than some 
 of his earlier productions, and the colour has lost nnich of 
 its richness, and has ])ecome dark and heavy tlu'ongh age; 
 Init the pictnre is marked hy his vigorous treatmoit, and the 
 individuality of his heads. The national collection contains 
 two other pictures attribnted to him — the Adoration of the 
 Magi, apparently part of a " cassone " or chest, and a small 
 pictnre representing S. Francis in glory, snrroimded by 
 graceful and fancifnl fimires of ano-els i)laving on varions 
 instrnments of mnsic. Although both are pleasing works, 
 they are not to be classed amongst the best specimens of 
 FiHppino's skill. 
 
 Havino; thns o-iven a sketch of the lives of tlie three i)ainters 
 who, according to Yasari and other authorities, Avere employed 
 upon the walls of the Brancacci Chapel, I will proceed to 
 describe the works which have been attributed to each of them. 
 
 Of the paintings which once adorned the vault and the 
 lunettes, no traces, as I have already mentioned, can now be 
 seen. It is doubtful Avhether they have been entirely 
 destroyed, or whether — like many other works of the great 
 painters of the early periods of Italian art — they are still 
 concealed beneath modern decoration and whitewash. They 
 were executed, according to Yasari, avIio gives a desci-ii)ti(m of 
 them, by Masolino. Those in tlie vault represented the four 
 Evangelists — those in the lunettes, Chi'ist taking S. Petei- and 
 S. AndrcAV from their nets, S. Peter denying Clii-ist, and the 
 shipwre'.'k of" the A])ostles. The frescoes wliich now i-cniain do
 
 43 
 
 not follow any particular arrangement. With the exception of 
 two, the whole series refers to incidents in the life of S. Peter. 
 The two exceptions are Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, 
 and the Expulsion from Paradise, Avhich occupy the upper parts of 
 the two pilasters at the entrance to the Chapel (Xos. 1 and 2).* 
 The first has been generally attributed to Masohno, and the 
 other to Masaccio. Signor Cavalcaselle assigns both to the 
 last-named painter. There is no doubt that both are marked 
 by his j^eculiar manner of seeking to give the effect of 
 roundness and rehef by applying the high lights to the edges 
 of his forms, and by that warm reddish hue Avliich pervades 
 his flesh tints. In both the nude shows a careful study of 
 natm^e, and perhaps of classic examples. The proportions 
 are, on the Avhole, correct, as are the general indications of 
 the anatomical details. The action of the figaux's is natiu'al, 
 and pro})er relief is given to them by just distribution of light 
 and shade; nor are they deficient in a certain grace. In all 
 these respects these frescoes display a very great advance upon 
 any previous and contemporary works — more especially in the 
 successfld attempt to represent the luunan form, li-om a careful 
 study of nature herself In this alone they mark an epoch 
 in the history of painting. 
 
 In the first fi'esco Adam and Eve are represented standing 
 mider the tree of knowledge, round wliich is coiled the serpent, 
 with the head of a Avoman, as is usual in pictures of the time. 
 
 * These two A-cscoes were included in the jinldicatiens o{' tlie Arundel 
 Society ibr 18G1.
 
 44 
 
 \]\v IidKIs ill Ikt liaiul the fatal a|)[)K', and turns toward Adam 
 M itli a calm expression of entreaty, Avliilst lie extends one liand 
 towards lier, as ii" in the aet of remonstrating. In the 
 Expulsion, Adam hides his faee with both liands as if in a 
 paroxysm of grief, and Eve looks towards heaven with an 
 expression of anguish and des])air. An angel boating in tlie 
 air holds a drawn sword in one hand, and with the other points 
 to the way out of Paradise. lva])hael a])pears to have felt so 
 nmcli admiration for tliis group that he introdueed it into the 
 series of seri})ture subjects, which he executed in the Loggie 
 of the Vatican, making some slight alterations in it to improve 
 the composition, lie reversed the position of the arms of Eve, 
 and connected the angel more closely with the two central 
 figures, although perhaps not thereby adchng to tlie dignitv of 
 the composition, by placing one of its hands \i[)on the shoulder 
 of Adam, as if it were forcibly ex])elling him frimi Paradise. 
 The figure of Adam he has leit as Masaccio conceived it, 
 probably thinking that it could not be improved. 
 
 The next livsco, following the most convenient ai'rangement 
 according to subjects, is the u|)pcr one to the right on entering 
 the chapel (No. ?>). It is di\ided, according to the habit of 
 painters of that time, into two distinct parts, representing 
 two diiferent incidents, in l)oth of which the same person 
 plays tlie pi'inci])al ])ai-t. To the riglit is Peter raising 
 Tabitha,* to the left the Apostle healing the ci'i])ple at tiie 
 gate of the Temple. 
 
 • 
 
 * Acts, cliap. ix.
 
 45 
 
 Yasari incorrectly describes tliis fresco as " 8. Peter 
 releasinu' liis (laiiu'liter Petronilla I'rom lier infiriiiitv."' This 
 legend lias I'arely, if ever, been painted by the early Italian 
 masters, and it is pi'obable that in designing a series of frescoes 
 illustrating the life of S. Peter, the painter woidd rather have 
 chosen an incident described in scripture than an aj^ocryphal 
 and little-known story. S. Petronilla, according to the Roman 
 legend, was a daughter of the Apostle, who accompanied him to 
 Rome, where she became paralysed in her hmbs, and was 
 unable to move from her bed. The discij)les of S. Peter 
 having made it a reproach to him, that whilst he healed others 
 he permitted his daughter to remahi stricken with infirmity, he 
 caused her to rise and to serve them at table, after Avhich she 
 retiu'ned to her couch helpless as she was before. After many 
 years of suffering and of prayer she was healed. A noble 
 Roman, of the name of Valerius Flaccus, then became ena- 
 moiu'ed of her and sought her for his wife. Fearing to refuse 
 him she desired him to return in three days, when she Avoidd 
 go with him to his home. In the meanAvhile she pra}'ed 
 fervently to be delivered from this sore trial. Before Flaccus 
 came back she died. She was borne to the gi'ave, crowned 
 with roses, by her lover and the company of young nobles 
 Avho had accompanied him to claim her as his bride.* 
 
 Tliis fresco is the only one in the Brancacci ChajX'l, the 
 authorship of which is o})en to any doubt. A'asari attributes it 
 
 * Tliis legend is vehitcd by Mrs. Jameson, in licr Sacred and Legendary Art, 
 vol. i., ji. 18.j, Ironi the Legendario.
 
 46 
 
 to Masoliiio, aiul liis opinion liad been aceepted by all writers 
 on art who had investigated the subjeet. But recently it lias 
 been rejected, as I have already stated, by Signor Cavalcaselle, 
 who assigns it to Masaccio. 
 
 Tabitha, clothed in white, is raising herself npon her bed. 
 Kneeling by her side are two women, dressed as nuns, " the 
 widows " of the story. Near her are three men, one of 
 whom wears an eastern dress and a tm'ban. They show 
 their astonishment at the miracle by rather violent action of 
 the hands, and by somewhat exaggerated expression of 
 countenance. The Apostle, with a companion, stands at the 
 entrance to the kind of portico beneath which the bed 
 of Tabitha has been placed. lie stretches out his right hand, 
 extending; two fiuLiers, as in tlie act of blessinf]^ and calhng the 
 dead woman to life.* 
 
 It will be perceived that the painter has not closely followed 
 the scripture narrative. The miracle is said to have taken 
 place in " an upper chamber," and after Peter had put out those 
 who stood by him weeping. The Apostle then knelt down, and 
 when, at his command, Tabitha opened her eyes, and sat up, he 
 gave her his right hand and lifted her up.f The painter lias 
 represented the miracle as taking place in an oju'ii ])ortico, in 
 the street of a city, and in the presence of various spectators. 
 
 * A copy of tliid fresco was included in the publieations of the Arundel 
 Society for 18G2. 
 f Acts, cliap. ix.
 
 47 
 
 The group wliich I liave described, is so inferior in its 
 composition, and in dignity and refinement, to tlie other frescoes 
 in the Brancacci Chapel, attributed, upon the best evidence, to 
 Masaccio, tliat it is difficult to convince oneself that they are 
 by the samtj hand.* At the same time there are many points 
 of resemblance between them, especially in the distribution 
 of light and shade, and in the general tone of colour, which 
 would tend to show that they are the works of two men 
 who had studied in the same school, or who stood in the 
 relation to each other of master and scholar. The same 
 remark will apply to the remaining half of the fresco, which 
 is not connected with the part just described in the general 
 composition, and represents a different subject. S. Peter, 
 accompanied by S. John, is seen healing a cripple. The 
 figure of S. Peter is dignified, but inferior in conception to that 
 of the Apostle in the other fi'cscoes in the chapel. His action, 
 and that of the deformed man who appeals to him, is natural. 
 Two youths standhig near are dressed in fantastic costumes, 
 after the manner of Masolino. They are not necessary to 
 the composition, which wants unity and spirit. The back- 
 ground, which represents a street, probably in old' Florence, 
 resembles one in a fresco by MasoHno at Castiglione d' Olona. 
 
 Following the upper line of frescoes we next come to '' S. 
 Peter Baptising "f (No. 4), which Vasari attributes, and no 
 
 * The inferiority in tlie treatment of this fresco may be seen l)y comparing 
 the facsimile of the head of S. Peter, publislied by the Arundel Society, with 
 the facsimiles of other heads by ]Ma&iccio, also included in the Society's 
 pul)lications. 
 
 ■j- Published by the Arundel Society in their issue for lyGl.
 
 48 
 
 doubt riglitly, to ]\Ias;accio. It is impossible not to be struck 
 Avitli the superiority of this great work over the one I liave just 
 described — in the grandeur and ilignily oi" the tigures, in the 
 lofty character of the heads, in llie natni'al grace of the action; 
 of the persons represented, in the broad and skiU'ul arrangement 
 of tlie draperies, and in the composition. If tliey were both I 
 painted by ISIasaccio, liis progress during tlie sliort interval 
 which nmst have elapsed between the time of their execution 
 is without example. 
 
 S. Peter is represented standing on the bank of a small 
 stream. With his left hand he gathers togetlier his am])le 
 garments, wdiilst with his right he pours water from a small vessel 
 upon the head of a youth, who kneels in the stream, and 
 joins his hands together in prayer with a devout and earnest 
 expression. The countenance of the Apostle is grave, and his 
 action natural and dignified. Around this grou]) are several 
 men preparing to receive the rite of baptism. One, already 
 undressed, stands shivering in the cold. Vasari especially 
 praises the natural action of this figure, which, he declares, had 
 attracted the admirati<^n of the greatest painters, and wliich was 
 altogether a new feature in art. Behind S. Peter are two men 
 in turbans. In tlie backgiound are sketched, with reniai'kable 
 freedom of touch, some (hstaiit hills. 
 
 Tlie nude in tliis line composition is more careliilly stndied 
 and understood, and more trntlifully and bi-oadly ivndered than, 
 in the figui'es of Adam and Kve ali'eady (lesci'i])ed. The tvpes 
 which the ])aintcr lias adopted l<)r tlic Apo.>!lc ;ni(l his disciples,
 
 49 
 
 differ from those in the "Raising of Tabitha," and reappear in 
 the other frescoes by Masaccio. Had this work alone been 
 preserved, it would have been sufficient to justify the reputation 
 of its author as the greatest and most original painter of the 
 century in which he hved, so rich in great painters, and as the 
 founder of Avhat Vasari has termed " modern art " — that is to 
 say, of its last and most perfect phase, the union of the highest 
 idealisation of form, action, and expression, with the most 
 truthful representation of natiu'e, and the most intimate know- 
 ledge of the laws of composition and of colour, and the most 
 consummate technical skill. 
 
 The next fr^esco in order of arrangement represents S. Peter 
 Preacliing* (No. 5). It is assigned by A'asari and by some 
 modern critics to Masolino, but there can be little doubt that 
 it is by Masaccio, as it is almost identical in character "s^'ith 
 the one last described. The Apostle stands with his right 
 hand raised, in the act of addressino; the multitude. Behind 
 him are his two companions in turbans, as in the previous 
 fresco. In front of him is a group of men and wcimen, 
 some seated and others standing. They are listening with 
 deep attention t<) the words of the Apostle, and the effect 
 produced upon each of them is shown by an a])pr()priate 
 expression of countenance. Sir Joshua Reynolds suggests 
 that Raphael borrowed one of the figures in his cartt^on of 
 S. Paul Preaching at Athens — that of the listening bystniuler 
 to the riglit — from the representation, in this fresco, of the old 
 
 * Arundel Society's Publications for LSOl. 
 
 G
 
 50 
 
 man seated on tlie ground, with " liis liead sunk in his breast 
 and witli his eyes shut, appearing deej^ly wrapt up in 
 thoui>]it.'"* 
 
 o 
 
 ■Masaccio has shown in this fresco that remarkable power of 
 telhng a story in a simple and natural way, which distinguishes 
 his earhest works in the Church of S. Clemente at Rome. 
 
 The frescoes tliat apparently succeed in order of execution 
 and arrangement are those on the lower part of the same wall. 
 They continue the history of the miracles and acts of S. Peter. 
 In the one to the right (No. 6), the Apostle and S. Jolm are 
 represented chstributing alms to the poor, and in the one to the 
 left (Xo, 7), they are seen walking by the sick, who are cured 
 by the shadows of the Apostles passing over them. These two 
 frescoes are riiilitly assigned l)v Vasari to Masaccio. The 
 composition in both is admirable for its simplicity. In the 
 fresco of the distribution of alms, 8. IVter and liis brotlier 
 disciple are seen in the midst of the sick, the poor, and tlie 
 deformed. The countenance of the elder Apostle is singularly 
 grand and digniiied.f His hair is arranged in three bands, 
 as typical of the triple crown of tlie papacy. In one hand 
 he holds a money-box, and with the other gives a coin to a 
 poor woman, who stands before lum with a child in her arms. 
 A crip})le on crutches drags himself towards the two Apostles, 
 and a young man lies stretched on the ground at their feet. 
 
 • Twelfth Discourse. 
 
 j- A facsimile of the head of S. Peter was published by tlie Arundel Society 
 ia its issue for 18G3.
 
 51 
 
 Several men and women complete the picture, the background 
 of which is formed by houses and distant hills. 
 
 In the other fresco S. Peter, accompanied by S. John, is 
 walking with stately and solemn step through the streets 
 of a city, apparently unmindful that three miserable cripples, 
 deformed and maimed — horrible objects, such as are con- 
 stantly met with on the steps of a Roman church — are 
 seeking his shadow in order that they may be healed. The 
 figure in a red cap, to the right of S. Peter, is believed to 
 be the j^ortrait of Masohno.* The draperies in this fresco 
 are treated with a breadth and dignity worthy of the highest 
 class of sculpture, and are far in advance of the works of any 
 contemporary painter. 
 
 The upper fresco on the wall to the left (Xo. 8), is in 
 some respects the most imj)ortant and interesting of the whole 
 series.f It is unquestionably by Masaccio, and is a noble 
 monument of his genius. The subject is taken from Matthew, 
 ch. xvii., V. 27, where Christ says to Peter, " Go thou to the 
 sea, and cast an hook, and take u]) the fish that first cometh 
 up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find 
 a 2:)iece of money: that take and give unto them (that receive 
 tribute money) for me and thee." Tliree distinct incidents 
 are represented in the fresco : Christ addressing those words 
 to S. Peter, and the Ajiostle taking the money from the mouth 
 
 * Vasari used it to illustrate his biograpliy of the painter. 
 
 f Included in the publications of the Arundel Society for 18G1.
 
 52 
 
 of the lish, and afterwards l):iyiiig it to the receiver of the 
 tribute. The thri'o incidents are, however, so combined as 
 to form part of one grand composition, unlike the scattered 
 arranfjement of the fifnires in the "Raisin<]f of Tubitha." 
 
 The Avhole interest is concentrated in the centre group, in 
 which Christ is represented in tlie midst of his apostles and 
 disciples. Before him stands the oflicer demanding 23a}Tnent 
 of the tribute. The Saviour j^oints towards the sea, and 
 directs Peter to seek the money in the mouth of the fish. 
 In the distance, to the spectator's left, the Apostle is seen 
 bending down at the waters edge and obeying the commands 
 of his Master. To the right, he is i)lacing the tribute money 
 in the extended hand of the oflicer. In tlie background is 
 a landscape, with distant hills. 
 
 In tliis fme composition, Masaccio has s1k)"\mi a knowledge 
 of the laws and practice of painting far in advance of his 
 contemporaries, and such as to excite oiu' wonder, when wc 
 consider the time in which he lived, and the state of the 
 art at that period. The story is told in his usual simple 
 and natural way. There is not a figure too much, lie has 
 not introduced any unnecessaiy details for mere effect. In 
 the principal group tlie painter has orilj' given action to the 
 three persons who take a direct part in the incident — to Clu'ist, 
 8. Peter, and the oflicer. The collector of the tribute 
 stands in the foreground, Avilh his back to the spectator. 
 There is more energy in his atlitude and in his expression, 
 than in those n\' the oilier two fiirui'cs. AN'ilh one hand
 
 53 
 
 extended, lie appears to insist upon the payment of liis due, 
 pointing with the other towards a building, which may be 
 the office of customs, whilst he looks towards Christ as if 
 appeahng to His sense of justice and to His respect for the 
 law. Our Lord points towards the sea, in the act of addi'essing 
 Peter and telling him where to seek the money. The Apostle, 
 with a natural gestm^e, denoting doubt and surprise, repeats the 
 action of his Master, as if enquiring whether he had heard 
 rightly. The other disciples* stand round as spectators. The 
 interest which they take in what is passing is expressed in their 
 countenances, but no action interferes Avith that of the principal 
 persons of the group. The t^^es of the heads chosen by the 
 painter are noble and have a strong individuality. In the 
 subordinate incident of the payment of the tribute money, which, 
 although skilhdly introduced, ought not to have formed part 
 of the composition, the action of S. Peter is dignified and 
 appropriate. The hills and trees forming the background are 
 drawn with nnich boldness and freedom, and blend har- 
 moniously with the figures. They shoAV that Masaccio had 
 rejected the conventional mode of representing a landscape, 
 such as was ])ractised by contemporary painters and even by 
 some who lived lono; after him. 
 
 The figure and countenance of Christ are youthfid, yet 
 grave and majestic; His action iidl of dignity. The individ- 
 uality of 8. Peter is maintained through the whole series of 
 
 * Four figures to tlie left of Christ are without tlie glories round their heads, 
 which mark the others as apostles. They may, therefore, represent mere 
 spectators ; but they make up the number twelve.
 
 54 
 
 frescoes wliicli JNIasaccio painted. He is represented as a man 
 advanced in years, witli a somewliat solenni exjiression of 
 countenance, and liis action is ahvays in agreement willi tlie 
 character which the painter evidently wished to 2)()i'tray. 
 
 The figure to the spectator's riglit, with a broad forehead, 
 denoting much strength of character, wearing an ample red 
 cloak, wdiich is thrown over his shoulder, is traditionally 
 beUeved to be the portrait of Masaccio himself, painted, 
 according to Yasari, by the aid of a mirror.* 
 
 The draperies in this fresco are remarkable for their broad 
 and classic treatment, so different from the hard and angular 
 conventional style of the fourteenth century. Tliey are disposed 
 in massive folds, and so arranged as to 2)rc)duce llowing and 
 graceful lines, and at the same time to indicate the forms 
 beneath. The general tone of the coloiu' has been much lowered 
 by time, and by the dirt and dust which cover the surface of 
 the intonaco, and its original brightness and transparency have 
 disappeared. Fortunately, however, the fresco has escaped the 
 fate of so many great works in Italy, and has not been 
 destroyed by repainting and injudicious restoration. In the 
 reproduction published by tlie Aruudel Society the coloiu's are 
 restored as nearly as possil)](! to their original state. JNfasaccio's 
 colouring is warm and ruddy (])erhaps somewhat too red 
 and hot in the high lights), and ricli and dark in the shadows. 
 
 * Tlio head, togotlur with tliat of tlie last Apostle to the spectator's left, has 
 been published by the Arundel Society in facsimile in their issue Jur I8(>I.
 
 55 
 
 His peculiar method of giving the effect of rehef and 
 roundness by placing the high lights on the edge of his 
 forms, is well illustrated in this fresco. He does not appear 
 to have been followed in it by any other j)ainter. 
 
 When we remember that this work was executed at the 
 commencement of the fifteenth century, when the art of 
 painting was still almost in its infancy, and when it .was 
 trammelled by the conventional forms and traditions upon 
 which the followers and imitators of Giotto had fomided their 
 schools in different parts of Italy; Avhen the laws of light and 
 shade and of perspective were almost unknown; and when 
 Masolino alone appears to have made any attempt to study from 
 nature herself, and to portray her truthfully, the genius of 
 Masaccio cannot but command our admiration. It is true that 
 his master, Masolino, had pointed out the way to him, and had 
 himself made considerable progress in a right direction. But 
 the distance between them is so great tliat they almost seem 
 to belong to a different age. Masaccio appears to have been 
 the first painter to understand thoroughly the laws of 
 composition, and of the distribution of light and shade, and 
 tlie true principles of foreshortening. There remained indeed 
 little for those who came after him to do, except to develop and 
 to perfect what he had began. In the technical part of his art 
 he was still deficient, and he wanted tliat intimate knowledo-e of 
 the human ii'ame and that ]:)ower of portraying it, wliicli 
 painters who came after liim could ac(|uire bv the study and 
 imitation of models and examples which in Masaccio's time did 
 not exist. Rut in the perception of the true aim and object of
 
 50 
 
 painting; in the power of conveying his meaning in the simplest 
 and yet most effective manner ; in a lofty conception of character ; 
 and in that highest quahty of the painter and the poet, which 
 consists in the selection of the most elevated types, and which 
 substitutes the noblest and yet most truthful rendering of nature 
 for that which is vulgar, conventional, and false, Masaccio must 
 be ranked amongst the greatest painters of any age or country. 
 The fresco of the "Tribute-money"' is not unworthy to be ranked 
 with those of Raphael in the Vatican. This illustrious painter, 
 who had diligently studied and frequently imitated the works 
 of Masaccio in the Brancacci Chapel, appears to have had this 
 fresco in his mind when he designed the noble cartoon of 
 " Christ delivering the keys to Peter." lie adopted a somewhat 
 similar composition, and the action he has given to Christ 
 recalls that of the Saviour in the " Tribute-money." It may 
 even be doubted whether, by introducing more energy into the 
 attitude and expression of the Apostle, he has not shown a less 
 dignified conception of his character than Masaccio. 
 
 Masaccio had attained the highest eminence in his art when 
 he commenced the fresco which he did not live to liiiisli. It is 
 on the same side of the chaj)el as tlie one just described, and 
 below it (No. 9). The subject, called by Yasari "The 
 Raising of the King's Son," is taken from an apocrypluil 
 incident in the life of S. Peter, related in tlie (iolden Legend. 
 Theophihis, king of Anti(~>ch, having cast the Apostle into 
 prison lor preaching the gospel to the inhabitants of that city, 
 S. Panl interceded in liis hcliulf and I'l^prcscnled to the king 
 that Peter could cure the infirm and raise the dead. 'J'heophilus
 
 57 
 
 asked that his son, wlio had been dead for fourteen years, sliould 
 be restored to hfe as the condition for tlie release of the 
 Aj)ostle. S. Peter having been brouglit out of his prison prayed 
 over tlie body of the boy, who immediately lived again. 
 Theophilus and his suljjects were converted to Christianity by 
 this miracle, and, building a church, they raised in the middle 
 of it a splendid throne for the Apostle.* 
 
 This incident is represented in the fresco as taking place in 
 the courtyard of a spacious building. To the left Theopnilus 
 is seen enthroned, with his sceptre in his hand. Beneath 
 him are seated his counsellors, one of whom turns towards 
 him as if expressing astonishment at the miracle. Around 
 the throne are various bystanders. S. Peter performs the 
 miracle before the king, and in the midst of a crowd of 
 spectators ; S. Paul kneels by his side, and with joined hands 
 offers up prayers for its success. The kings son, a naked 
 boy on one knee upon a cloth spread upon the ground, 
 raises his two hands in an attitude of fear and astonish- 
 ment. Lying around him are human skulls and bones. In 
 tlie riu'ht-hand corner of the fresco, a second incident is 
 represented. S. Peter is seen seated on a throne, with his face 
 turned towards heaven and his hands joined in pi'nyer. Before 
 him kneel three men, and around him are \:ii'ious figures, 
 including three in Carmelite dress, probably portraits ol' li'iars 
 
 * According to some writers the subjeet of tliis fre.~co is the restoring to 
 
 life of Euliclms, wlio liad fallen fi-oiii a Avindow, (Acts, cli. xx.) According to 
 
 others, S. Paul confounding Simon the Sorcerer by the miracle of restoring a 
 dead youth to life. 
 
 H
 
 58 
 
 ill tlie eoiivent to wliicli tlio C'liurcli coiitniuiiiLi,' llio I>r;incacci 
 Chapel belonged. 
 
 A'asari tells us that ]\[asae('io died "whilst ein])l()yed upon 
 this Ireseo, and that many years afterwards it was iinished by 
 Filippino Lippi. This statement is fully borne out by tlie 
 fi'esco itself. If we compare it Avith those executed entirely 
 by Masaccio, we recoEcnise in it two distinct styles and the work 
 of two different artists. AYe can easily detect the parts which 
 Ayere painted by him. llis peculiar reddish tone of coloming, 
 and his mode of applying the high lights to the edges of his 
 forms, contrast strongly Ayith the more sober and rather grayish 
 tints, and slighter modelling of Filippino Lippi. In the copy of 
 the fresco published by the Arundel Society* the difference 
 bctAveen the styles of the two ])ainters is yery distinctly marked, 
 and we can readily recognise those parts Avliich are by Masaccio. 
 They are, to the left, the king, the two counsellors seated 
 beneath him, and the centre group, as far as the figure in green 
 immediately behind the king's son; and to the right, S. Peter 
 enthroned, the three kneeling figures, and the groups on both 
 sides of the Apostle. The remainder of the fresco, that is 
 to say, the four figures behind the king, and nine forming the 
 centre of the picture, together with the king's son, is by 
 Filippino Li[)pi.f 
 
 * Arundel Society's Pulilicatioiis for ISfi,'), 
 
 f Signor Cavalcasellc fiirtlier attriliutes lialf tlie arm and tlic foot of 
 8. Peter, and all but the liead of" the kneeling 8. J'aul to Fihjiimio Lipiii. 
 (History of Italian Painting, vol. i., ji. 5o7.)
 
 59 
 
 It is impossible to determine how far Filippiiio may have 
 modified Masaccio's original design, or whether he merely 
 finished that which had already been sketched upon the wall, 
 or in a working cartoon, by his predecessor. But the parts 
 painted by him are influenced by a different spirit from that 
 which guided Masaccio. Nearly three quarters of a century 
 had elapsed since that great painter had died. During this 
 interval, Ghirlandaio and other illustrious fresco painters of 
 the Florentine school, had further developed the " modern 
 style " which Masaccio had founded. They had been able to 
 improve the technical processes, and had consequently advanced 
 another step in the art. They had sought to give a more 
 naturalistic character to their works, by introducing the 
 portraits of eminent citizens of their time into their com- 
 positions, rather as adding an historical interest to their 
 frescoes and giving to them a reality which mere ideal 
 heads could not produce, than as forming a necessary part 
 of the incident represented. But if that was their object 
 they scarcely attained it. Interesting as these portraits 
 undoubtedly are, the persons introduced appear to be ])rL'Sent 
 rather as unconcerned spectators of what is passing, than as 
 taking any share in it ; and this gives an unreal and artificial 
 aspect to the com[)osition. Masaccio, as we luxve seen, had, 
 according to a tradition, introduced his own portrait and 
 that of ]\[asolino into his frescoes, but if such be really tlie 
 case, they bolh appear as actors in the incident represented.* 
 
 * Giotto appears to have been the first painter, as far as we know, wh • 
 intruchiced portraits ol" his contoniporaries into his frescoes. Tliat in tiie
 
 60 
 
 111 the fresco of the "Raising of tlie Kings Son," Fihppino 
 Li[)pi lias imitated Ghidandaio. He has introduced a number 
 of persons for the purpose of portraying many of liis most 
 distinguished friends and fellow citizens, and not because they 
 were necessary to the story; but he has placed them in a 
 natural way, and although the composition is somewhat 
 crowded, the nature of the subject may have required this 
 mode of treatment. The portraits are most vigorously and 
 truthfully painted. Vasari has mentioned several of them.* 
 The King's son was the painter Granacci, then a boy. The 
 fissure in the left-hand corner of the fresco is believed to 
 represent Tommaso Soderini; by his side stands Luigi Pulci, 
 the poet. Piero Guicciardini and Piero del Pugliese, two 
 other eminent Florentines introduced into the composition, 
 have not been satisfactorily identified. The portrait of 
 Sandro Botticelli, which Vasari has inadvertently placed in 
 this fresco, is to be found in the one on the opposite side, 
 representing the Martyrdom of S. Peter. 
 
 Filippino Lippi did not possess the genius of Masaccio ; 
 he Avas inferior to that great painter in vigour and inventive 
 power, and was more maniKM'ed, but he had much of his 
 noble and elevated conception of character. His colouring 
 is sometimes monotonous in his frescoes, and lacks that richness 
 and brilliancy which distinguish his })ictures on panel. This 
 
 Bargello contained, besides the portrait ol" Dante, tliosc of some of tlie 
 princij)al citizens of Florence, Ijut tliere was a reason i'or introducing tlieni, 
 * Tliree of them have been copied in laesiniile fur the Arundel Society 
 by Signer Mariunnecci.
 
 Gl 
 
 may perhaps be traced to the influence of Fra FiUppo or 
 Sandro Botticelli. He is superior to Masaccio in certain 
 technical qualities, in a knowledge of the true laws of 
 perspective and of the distribution of light and shade, which 
 give roundness and relief to the forms, and place the various 
 objects represented in their relative positions. His draperies 
 are broadly painted, and well disposed in graceful folds. 
 On the whole, no painter of the time was more worthy to 
 finish the work which Masaccio had begun, and to complete 
 the frescoes of the Brancacci Chapel, than Filippino Lippi. 
 It must not be forgotten that these celebrated paintings owe 
 much of their renown to the subjects executed by him, and that 
 a great part of the praise bestowed by Sir Joshua Reynolds 
 on Masaccio, is really due to Lij^pi, wdiose works the English 
 critic erroneously attributed to the former painter. The fresco 
 of the " Raisino; of the Kind's Son," the combined work of 
 these two great masters, is one of the noblest monuments of 
 painting of the fifteenth century. 
 
 The subjects which follow the fresco just described are 
 on the lower part of the two pilasters at the entrance to 
 the chapel. That to the left of the spectator (No. 10) 
 represents S. Paul addressing S. Peter, who is looking through 
 the Avindow of his prison; that to the right (No. 11) the 
 Angel releasing the Apostle. They are both by Filippino 
 Lippi, and are very characteristic examples of his genius 
 and of his peculiar manner. The majestic figure of S. Paul 
 addressing his brother apostle has been introduced, Aviih 
 little change, by Raphael into his magiiilicent cartuuii ul"
 
 G2 
 
 " S. Paul Preaching at Athens," and again in tlie cartoon of 
 " The Punishment of Elynias the Sorcerer." It is probable 
 th'.it Fihppino Lippi himself Avas indebted for tlie original 
 conception of the figure to Masaccio's fresco of S. Peter 
 Preaching, which he had before him when })ainting in the 
 Brancacci Chapel. There is much which is alike in the 
 attitude and the arrangement of the drapery in both figures. 
 
 The onlj' change which Raphael has made in Filippino 
 Lip[)i\s figure, is to raise both the Apostle's arms and to 
 show both his hands. He did this in order to give additional 
 vehemence and energy to the action, as more appropriate to 
 an orator addressing a large concourse of persons, than the 
 mere lifting of one hand, which would be ihe natural gesture 
 in speaking to a single person.* It would, indeed, have been 
 
 * Sir J. Reynolds (Twelfth Discourse) points out that Iiaphael took two 
 figures of S. Paul fi-oin the frescoes of the Brancacci Chapel, one for the 
 cartoon of S. Paul Preaching at Athens, the other for that of the Apostle 
 Chastising the Sorcerer Elynias. One of these figures is undoubtedly that in 
 Filippino Lippi's fresco, which Reynolds has attributed to Masaccio ; the other 
 is either that by Masaccio in the subject representing S. Paul Preaching, or 
 that in the Raising of tlie King's Son by Lippi. Sir Joshua adds, " that the 
 most material alteration tliat is made in these two figures of S. Paul, is the 
 addition of the left hands, which are not seen in the original. It is a rule 
 that Raphael observed (and, indeed, ought never to be dispensed with) in a 
 j^rincipal figure, to show both hands; tliat it should never be a question "what 
 is become of (lie other hand." Fili])pino Lippi has not observed this rule in 
 liis figure of S. Paul. Masaccio, however, has shown both the Apostle's 
 hands. Of Filippino's figures of S. Paul, Reynolds further observes, " that 
 they are so nobly conceived that perhaps it was not in the power even of 
 Raphael himself to raise and improve them, lu^r has he attempted it; but he 
 has had the address to change in some measure, without diminishing the 
 grandeur of tlicir character, lie has substituted, in the place of a sierene,
 
 S. PAUL ALDRESSING S. PIT^R. FILIPPINO LIPPI
 
 S. PAUL PREACHING. RAPHAEL.
 
 63 
 
 difficult for even Uapliael to improve upon this representation 
 of the Apostle, which for its noble and dignified expression 
 and action, for the broad and well disposed folds of the 
 draper}^, and for its rich yet sober colouring, may be ranked 
 amongst the finest productions of tlie art* In the fresco of 
 the "Delivery of S. Peter fi'om Prison," we are again reminded 
 of Filippino's master, or more probably fellow pupil, Sandro 
 BotticelH, by the dullish gray tone of the colouring, and by 
 the graceful and somewhat efleminate expression and form 
 of the angel who leads the Apostle by the hand, and by the 
 youthful soldier, who sits at the prison gate deep in sleep, 
 leaning upon his lance. 
 
 The last fresco of the series is also the undoubted work of 
 Filippino Lippi (No. 12). It represents two distinct subjects, 
 forming separate groups — the painter having followed in this 
 respect the example set by his predecessors, and adopted a 
 mode of composition which was rarely practised by painters 
 of his time. The subject to the right of the spectator has 
 been variously described by difierent writers. Vasari, in tlie 
 first edition of his Lives of the Italian Painters, calls it " The 
 dispute of Simon the Sorcerer with S. Peter before Nero," but 
 it is now usually known as " S. Peter and S. Paul before the 
 
 composed dignity, that animated expression which was necessary to the more 
 active employment he assigned tliem." As I have pointed out in the text, the 
 difference lay in the fact that in Filippino Lip].i's fresco the Apostle is 
 represented as addressing a single individual, in liaphael's cartoon as addressing 
 a multitude. 
 
 * A lacsiinile of the head ol" 8. Paul has been published by the Arundel 
 Society, in its issue for lcS(;2.
 
 G4 
 
 Proconsul Felix." It is not, however, quite clear, what incident 
 in the life of S. Peter the painter has intended to represent. 
 Tlie Roman judge appears to be stretching forth liis hand as 
 if he were in the act of ordering S. Peter to be led away to 
 execution Before him stand the two Apostles and a person, 
 who appears to be their accuser, and with whom S. Peter, 
 by the action of his hands, would seem to be disputing or 
 remonstratinfT. Two counsellors are seated near the throne 
 of the Proconsul, and five spectators complete the group. 
 
 Raphael appears to have borrowed his figure of Sergius 
 Paulus, in the cartoon of " Elymas the Sorcerer Struck 
 Blind," from that ot" the Proconsul in this fresco.* 
 
 In the other half of the fresco is represented the martyr- 
 dom of S. Peter, who is crucified with his head downwards, 
 according; to the tradition. The executioners are about to 
 raise the cross to which the Apostle has been nailed. Nine 
 spectators stand around. Tlie background of the entire 
 
 * Sir J. Reynolds in his Twelfth Discourse obsei-ves : " the figure of the 
 Proconsul Sergius Paulus (in Raphael's cartoon) is taken from the Felix of 
 INIasaccio (Lippi), though one is a front figure and the other seen in profile; 
 the action is likewise somewhat changed ; but it is plain Raphael had that figure 
 in his mind. There is a circumstance, indeed, which I mention by the bye, 
 which marks it very particularly. Sergius Paulus Avears a croAvn of laurel ; 
 this is hardly reconcilable to strict propriety and the costume, of which 
 Raphael was in general a good observer; but he found it so in Masaccio 
 (Lippi), and he did not bestow so much pains in disguise as to change it. It 
 apj)ears to me an excellent practice, thus to suppose the figures which you 
 wish to adopt in the works of those great painters to be statues; and to give, 
 as Raphael has here given, another view, taking care to preserve all tlic spirit 
 and grace you find in the original."
 
 65 
 
 fresco is formed by a building, tliroiigh an open archway 
 in which is seen a distant landscape. 
 
 In this fresco Filippino Lippi has introduced his own 
 portrait and those of his celebrated contemporaries, the 
 painters Antonio Pollaiolo and Sandro Botticelli. Filippino 
 has represented himself as a young man, in a dark cap, 
 looking towards the spectator, and standing behind the throne 
 of the Proconsul. Pollaiolo is the first standing figure to 
 the right of the Proconsul, dressed in a high red cap and 
 reddish mantle. Sandro Botticelli, in a blue cap and long 
 violet cloak, is the last ligure to the right of the group 
 representing the martyrdom of S. Peter. 
 
 This fresco, fine as it undoubtedly is, and not undeserving 
 of the praise which it has received from Italian writers on 
 art, is inferior in many respects to those of Masaccio. It 
 lacks the unity and concentration of subject, and that quiet 
 and earnest dignit}^, which characterise the compositions of 
 that great painter. But the figures are for the most part 
 nobly conceived ; the drawing of the nude vigorous and 
 correct ; the action truthful and appropriate ; the draperies 
 broad and well arranged. The colour is less rich and 
 ruddy than that of Masaccio, but perhaps more agreeable 
 to the eye. It is laid on with a much lighter brush, and 
 in this respect contrasts with the carei'ul and sumewhat 
 heavy modelling of the earlier painter. Nevertheless, by a 
 skilful disposition of light and shade, Filippino has given 
 relief and roundness to liis figures, which stand out boldly 
 
 I
 
 66 
 
 from the surface. The heads have that portrait-like and 
 individual character which distinguishes all the works of 
 the painter. 
 
 Such are the frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel. Although, 
 considering their age and the injury and neglect to which 
 they have been exposed, they have been fairly preserved, 
 yet the accidents to which such monuments are constantly 
 and, perhaps, unavoidably liable, rendered it very desirable 
 that accurate copies of them — copies which could convey 
 some idea of the beauty and character of the original works 
 — should be made.* Already, many years ago, a part of the 
 Church of the Carmine, containing some of the most remark- 
 able and important of the works of Giotto, was destroyed by 
 fire.f The same fate might befall the Brancacci Chapel. The 
 lamentable destruction, only a few months ago, of two of the 
 grandest and most precious pictures of the Venetian School, the 
 great altar-piece by Gian Bellini, and the "Death of S. Peter 
 Martyr," by Titian, should be a warning to us Now that the 
 principal ecclesiastical edifices in Italy which contain works of 
 art have been placed under the care of public bodies and the 
 local authorities, it may be hoped that proper precautions 
 
 * Enjrravinq-s and outlines from tliese frescoes have been published at 
 
 CO * 
 
 various times. The most complete collection is that iniblishcd l)y Lasinio, 
 at Florence, about thirty years ago, but it gives a very inadequate idea of the 
 originals. 
 
 I Only one or two fragments of Giotto's frescoes were saved — amongst 
 tliem the fine heads of two Apostles, which were purchased at the sale of 
 Mr. Samuel Kogers, and are now in the National Galhiry.
 
 67 
 
 will be taken to protect and preserve them, and to guard 
 these national treasures from unnecessary risk and wanton 
 injury, and especially from the damage to which they 
 have been exposed through the barbarous ignorance and 
 carelessness of those in whose custody they have hitherto 
 been.* But the Arundel Society has done well, and has 
 fulfilled one of the principal objects for which it was founded, 
 in having copies executed and published of works which hold 
 so high a place in the history of art, and have exercised so 
 marked an influence upon the development of painting. 
 
 A. H. LAYARD. 
 
 * Some of the finest pictures and frescoes in Italy, including those of the 
 Brancacci Chapel, have received ii-reparable injury from the nails which the 
 priests have been in the habit of driving into them for the purpose of 
 " decorating " the church with those vulgar tawdry hangings that mark a 
 feast day. The Italian Government has recently directed the removal of 
 some of the most important pictures from churches and suppressed convents 
 to jnxblic museums. 
 
 THE END.
 
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