Chapter 3

Il Francione had a pupil called Il Cecca. His name was really Francesco d'Agnolo, but like most men at that time he went by a nick-name. Cecca is a corruption of Francesco into Cecco, Cecca, from being Francione's companion and disciple. He was born in 1447; his father was Angelo di Giovanni, a mender of leather or "galigajo." He came to Florence from Tonda, a little place near S. Miniato al Tedesco. His father died in 1460; he and three older sisters were left to his mother, Monna Pasqua. So the 13 year-old boy went bravely to work to keep his mother and sisters, and entered Il Francione's workshop. When he was 25 he left him and set up for himself, taking a shop in the Borgo de' Greci, where he lived and slept as well as worked. In 1481 he had a commission from the magistrates, called "degli ufficiali di Palazzo," for all the wood-work of the Hall of the Seventy, Bernardo di Marco Renzi helping him. Afterwards he did other work for different parts of the Palace and for other places, all of which has perished. Finally, he spent most of his time as architect and engineer, and had a great deal to do with the fortification of various places and with the great cars for the "feste"--a not uncommon juxtaposition of engagements. He died in 1488.

The del Tasso lived in the village of S. Gervasio, and moved to a place near the walls of Florence, a few steps from the Porta a Pinti. Then they went into the city and had a house in the parish of S. Ambrogio, in which church Francesco di Domenico made a tomb for himself and his family in 1470. They had arms; at first they were a goldsmith's anvil (tasso or tassetto), and above a ball or heap of silver. Afterwards the field of the shield was divided, and they added in the upper part two little badgers (tassi) at the side of the anvil, and put below the keys of S. Peter, crossed, and interspersed with four roses. "And this they did, not only to point out the parish of S. Pier Maggiore in the gonfalon 'Chiavi' of the quarter of S. Giovanni, where the del Tasso lived, but also to differentiate their arms from those almost similar of another Florentine family of the same name." Evidently there was no College of Heralds in Florence in those days! The first of the family recorded is Chimenti di Francesco, who, in 1483-4 made a grating or gridiron of wood in the Chapel of S. Lorenzo in the Monastery of S. Ambrogio, and the dossal of the altar called "del Miracolo." In 1488 he carved a choir of walnut, outlined with tarsia, for the Chapel Minerbetti in S. Pancrazio, for which he was paid 100 florins of gold. He had, among others, two sons, Lionardo and Zanobi, who became sculptors under Benedetto da Majano and Andrea Sansovino. They also worked in S. Ambrogio, and the figure of S. Sebastian is by Lionardo. The two brothers in 1499 made nine antique heads of marble and bronze, which the republic sent as a gift to the Maréchal de Guise in France. Chimenti had two brothers, also carvers and joiners, Cervagio and Domenico, who brought up their sons to follow the same calling, who did many things for triumphal arches, cars, &c., for "feste." Domenico did the tarsia and rosettes in the seat backs of the refectory of S. Pietro, Perugia, and a credence of walnut, ordered on October 20, 1490, for the table of the priors, on which were festoons, griffins, and other inlaid work. The year after he finished the choir of the Cathedral left by Giuliano da Majano, and was paid 1404 florins, according to the estimate of Crispolto and Polimante, Perugian joiners. For the same choir he made the panelling of wood, for which he was paid 60 florins. There were 34 seats with ornaments at 36 florins each, and three with figures, which were estimated at 60 florins apiece. Payments were also made to him for work in the Sala del Cambio, sometimes for wood, sometimes on account of salary, so that it seems certain that he made the benches there on finishing the choir of the Cathedral, since they were being made between 1491 and 1494. The first cost 130 florins and 6 soldi in 1491, but it was not finished till the next year. Polimante da Nicola was made citizen of Perugia in 1473. Three years after he began the choir of S. Domenico, which cost 11 florins per seat. Four years later it was still unfinished. "Mastro Crespolto and Mastro Giovagne" were his assistants. Domenico had three sons, Chimenti, Francesco, and Marco, who followed the paternal calling. Chimenti was one of those who were judges in 1490 in the competition for the façade of S. Maria del Fiore, and in 1504 was one of those chosen to decide the position in the piazza to be occupied by Michael Angelo's David. Marco was an enthusiastic follower of Savonarola; in 1491 he was, with his brother Francesco, at Perugia helping his father, and six years later he undertook work there on his own account. They did half of the choir of La Badia in 1501-2, and the very elaborate lectern. The son of Mark was Giambattista, called Maestro Tasso, who was a fine carver in wood, and, in the opinion of Cellini, the best in his profession. He did many things both for ephemeral and lasting purposes, and became an architect, designing the door of the Church of S. Romolo and the Loggia of Mercato Nuovo, Florence, and superintending the construction of the latter between 1549 and 1551. In 1548 he designed an addition to the Palazzo Vecchio, then the ducal residence, and also undertook to execute all the joinery. At the same time he made a model of the Palace which he intended to build in Pisa, which, however, was not carried out. He died in 1555. He was said by Vasari to spend his time in playing the wag, in enjoyment rather than work, and in criticising the works of others. But Cellini calls him pleasant and gay; Bronzino, good, lovable, and honest; and so does Luca Martini, who was a great friend of his. The following story of him, related by Il Lasca, shows that he was not above playing a practical joke of a rough character, and that he took great pride in the achievements of his fellow-artists:--"A Lombard Benedictine abbot on the way to Rome stayed in Florence, and wished one day to see the figures on the Medicean tombs in the sacristy of San Lorenzo carved by Michael Angelo, and having therefore gone thither with his two attendant monks, the prior of the church asked Tasso, who was then working at the floor of the library together with his son-in-law Crocini Antonio di Romolo, under the direction of Michael Angelo, to show the abbot the sacristy and the said library. Which abbot, after having seen the figures in the sacristy, and thought very little of them, set off to see the library, and while he was gently ascending a stair which conducted to it, talking with Tasso, happened to turn his eyes on the cupola of Brunellesco, and stopping to look at it commenced to say that, although it was considered by all the world as a marvel, he had heard a person worthy of credence say that the dome of Norcia was much more beautiful, and made with greater art. Which words so much exasperated Tasso that, pulling the abbot backwards with force, he made him tumble down the staircase, and he took care to let himself fall on him (!) and calling out that the frater was mad, he got two cords, with which he bound his arms, his legs, and all his person, so that he could not move, and then taking him, hanging over his shoulders, carried him to a room near, and, stretching him on the ground, left him there in the dark, locking the door and taking away the key." What happened to the unfortunate abbot after, and whether he was much damaged or not one does not know, for the anecdote stops here. Another instance of a family which devoted itself for many years to the production of tarsia and wood-work, displaying hereditary aptitude in the craft and gaining great repute, is given by the Canozii of Lendinara. The first member who took up tarsia, abandoning his craft of painting for that purpose, was Lorenzo Genesino da Lendinara, surnamed Canozio, to give him his full description. From him descended many excellent workers in wood. He studied in Padua, where he had Mantegna as fellow-student, and worked in company with his brother, his son, and a relation called Pier Antonio dell' Abate di Modena, who did the intarsia in the choir of S. Francesco at Treviso in 1486. He died in 1477, and is buried in the first cloister of S. Antonio at Padua, for which he made the stalls, as his epitaph states. They were commenced in 1462, were worked at continuously for three years, and after an interval finished in 1468. They were then coloured and gilded in places by "Maestro Ugozon de Padoa, depentor." Burnt in 1749, only two stalls remain, made into confessional boxes, in the Chapel of the Beato Belludi. The designs for the tarsia of the sacristy were made by Squarcione, master of Mantegna and Lorenzo, who was paid for them in 1462. There were 90 seats in this choir, so that it was a very important piece of work. A contemporary account by Matteo Colaccio (1486) shows what were the aims of the intarsiatori of the period as understood and admired by the more or less cultivated populace. "In past days in visiting those intarsiad figures, I was so much taken with the exquisiteness of the work that I could not withhold myself from praising the authors to heaven! And to commence with the objects that one sees around every day, here are books expressed in tarsia that seem real. Some are one on the other, and arranged carelessly, or by chance, some closed, some newly bound and difficult to close; candles of wax with the ends of wicks, now in well-turned wooden candlesticks, one straight, one crooked, less or more, with another crossing it. Elsewhere one sees clouds of smoke which spread out from new chimneys, fish which turn round from a full basket, a cithern which hangs from the centre of a narrow niche. Close by is a cage of bars expressed with wonderful spirit. Palaces, towers, and churches, through the half-closed doors of which one can see in the interior arches and windows, cupolas and steps. Most natural, then, is it not to be able to decide which tower to approach; these mountains appear to one covered with grass and with stones; and where earth of various colours appears there all green is taken away. But what shall I say of the images of the saints. Of their uncut and curled beards, of their hands, the joints of their fingers, their nails? Of their clothes, their sinuous folds, and the shadows? Nor less pleased me the little collar of rich pearls under the chin of S. Prosdocimus. Then round the angel Gabriel and the most pious mother one admires branches with such fruit and twigs that nature does not make them more true. And this is specially admirable, that through the dull colour of their leaves they seem to have been taken from the tree scarcely a day ago." And then he praises in a pompous fashion the folds of the Virgin's and the Angel's drapery, the silk veil over a chalice, and the perspective of a flight of steps which support the feet of the Madonna, &c. One of his first works was done for S. Mark's, Venice, in 1450. His reputation was much increased by the stalls of the Cathedral of Modena, made in 1472 by Lorenzo and Cristoforo, and restored in 1540 by Mastro Angelo de Piacenza, one of their pupils. He also worked at Parma in 1473. Fra Luca Pacioli (1509) makes an enthusiastic eulogium upon Lorenzo, "who, in the said art (perspective), was in his time supreme, as he showed in all his famous works, as in tarsia in the worthy choir of the Santo and its sacristy, and in Venice in the Cha Grande, as well as in painting in the same places and elsewhere. And at the present time his son, Giovan Marco, my dear comrade, who is worthy of his paternity, as his work at Rovigo shows, and that in the choir of our convent in Venice, and in Mirandola, the architecture of which fortress is well understood." In the sacristy of the Cathedral at Lucca are five panels from the seats which once surrounded it, signed "Cristopharus de Canociis de Lendinaria fecit opus, MCCCCLXXXVIII." One shows S. Martin, the bishop, full length, the others perspectives, perhaps of various streets of the city as then existing. He did these in conjunction with Matteo Civitale, and they were his last works. He died in 1491. Bernardino da Lendinara, who worked at Parma in 1494, and later, and was a citizen of that town and of Modena, was son of Cristoforo, who was also citizen of those cities from 1463.

The stalls from the Cathedral at Lucca, which are illustrated, are now in the Picture Gallery. They were made by Leonardo Marti, of Lucca. When in 1620 the choir was spoilt (they thought that they were making grand improvements) they were moved to the church of the Riformati of S. Cerbone, being badly mutilated to adapt them to their new position. There, in two centuries of neglect they became in such a state that the brothers thought them no longer decent, and wished to sell them and make a new choir. The Opera of the Cathedral and the Commission of Art paid them something for them, and thus preserved them as they now are, having executed some restorations here and there.

At Ferrara are some remains of stalls in the apse of the Cathedral which were commissioned from Bernardino da Lendinara in 1501, though not made by him owing to the defalcations of a dishonest steward. In 1519 the Chapter of the Cathedral renewed the contract with Pietro de' Rizzardi and Bernardino, but as he died in 1520, M. Angelo Discaccia, of Cremona, son of M. Cristoforo (da Lendinara?), was substituted, and assisted Rizzardi till the work was finished in 1525. The gilding was done by Baldassare dalla Viola and Albertino dalla Mirandola. A note in the books of the Fabbrica, June 30, 1525, states that "Mro. Piero di Richardo dale Lanze" owes for work not yet completed 58 lire 20 soldi. There are three rows of seats, 132 in all, and the Episcopal throne in the middle. The upper row is of 56 seats, without the throne, the middle one 42, the lowest 34. Originally there were 150, but in the alterations of 1715 nine from each side were taken away, as the high altar was placed further within the apse. The upper stalls are divided by a chancelled column with Corinthian capital, and terminated in a shell hood. The intarsia on the back showed ornament of fine style, drawings of sacred objects and perspectives of fine buildings drawn from various parts of the city. Two of the best preserved show the ducal castle and the ancient ducal courtyard with the still-existing staircase constructed by Ercole I. in 1481. The usual bird in a cage appears, the symbol of human passions conquered by religious abnegation. The lower rows of seats are also worked in tarsia, but with ornaments of geometrical form, books, and joint-stools, the diamond, the cognisance of Ercole I. (who gave the original commission), and the pomegranate, that of Alfonso, and this last figure, which only occurs in the third stall to the right in the lower order, makes one think that only that part was finished under him. The frames surrounding are carved with restraint. The work cost altogether 2771 lire 8 soldi 2 denari besides the expense of making the lower seats, which cost 3984 lire marchesane 16 soldi 10 denari. The lira marchesana in 1523-25 corresponded to 43 Roman bajocchi 9 denari, about 2 francs 35 centimes of modern Italian money.

The Canozii were also at Reggio, in the Emilia, in 1474 and in 1485, but the work of the stalls in the Cathedral seems rather more archaic than their period, and the lectern is dated 1459. It is probably the work of Antonio da Melaria, who three years later made one exactly like it, with other things, for the Church of S. Domenico. This was done for Antonia di Fiordibelli, and the contract shows what were the conditions under which such work was done. He was given 50 lire at once to buy material with, 50 when he began working, 50 when he had finished a third of the work, 50 when it was half done, 50 more when three-quarters was finished, and the rest of the whole price of 336 lire when it was completed. He was to use wood of Piella, and give 48 planks to the lady--a very curious clause in the contract.

At Città di Castello there are tarsie designed by Raffaello da Colle in the Cathedral.

The choir stalls at the Certosa, Pavia, were made by Bartolommeo Poli, surnamed dalla Polla, from designs by Borgognone, as is said, and the style certainly seems to bear out the assertion, though no document has yet been found directly connecting him with them. They were restored in 1847 by Count Nava with wax and stucco coloured to imitate the missing pieces of wood. The upper row contains a series of figures of saints and prophets, and below are exceedingly graceful and flowing arabesques. A document in the Brera Library notes that in 1490 "Mro. Bartolommeo de Polli da Mantoa, who made the inlaid choir and the doors of the chapels, has a right to 8 ducats per door, and also for the wooden pulpits 30 ducats a pulpit." He was the son of Andrea da Mantova, who was born at Modena, but lived and worked at Mantua, and also with his brother Paolo in S. Mark's, Venice. The stalls were made between 1486 and 1501, and are the only work which he is recorded to have executed. A Cremonese, Pantaleone de' Marchi also worked on these stalls--a relation of the large family of the Marchi of Crema, perhaps, who worked in S. Petronio, Bologna, in 1495. The father was named Agostino, and he had six sons, Giacomo, Nicolo, Taddeo, Biagio, Agostino, and a second Giacomo. The stalls in the Chapel of S. Sebastian are signed Jacopo de Marchis. Some stalls by Pantaleone de' Marchi are in the Museum at Berlin, acquired in 1883. They probably came from Bramante's Church, the Madonna of Tirano, in the Valtelline, which was built in 1505, and where there are still some remains of seats similar in style. The upper range of panels has a few half-lengths of saints, landscapes, and the usual open cupboard doors revealing objects on the shelves within. On the backs of the seats below are arabesques, and the pilaster panels and divisions between are also inlaid, as is the cornice. He also worked at Savona.

One of the best Sienese masters has not yet been mentioned, Antonio Barili, much of whose work has perished, like that of many other intarsiatori, an example of which the collectors for the Austrian K.K. Museum at Vienna have picked up, however, where it may now be seen. He was born in Siena, August 12, 1453. His first work on his own account was the choir of the Chapel of S. Giovanni, in the Cathedral, Siena, of which a few poor remains have escaped the carelessness of the last century, and are in the Collegiate Church of S. Quirico in Osenna, 26 miles from Siena, on the old Roman road. The contract is dated January 16, 1483, and in it he engages to finish it in about two years. He was to be paid 50 florins of 4 lire beyond what he expended, and was to go on working at the rate of 10 florins a month. If he did not finish it in the given time he was to forfeit 100 florins, except for cause of infirmity, plague, &c. It was to be valued in the usual manner, and 100 florins was the penalty for the breaking of the contract on either side. As a matter of fact it took him nearly 20 years to complete. On one of the panels Barili made a portrait of himself at work, the one referred to above, now in the K.K. Austrian Museum at Vienna, which shows the very simple means used by the great intarsiatori. His tools consist of a folding pocket-knife, a square-handled gouge, and a short-bladed, long-handled knife, which he holds with the left hand and presses his shoulder against, so as to use the push of the shoulder in cutting, while in the right he holds a small pencil, with which he appears to direct the knife edge. The panel upon which he is at work bears the inscription, "Hoc ego Antonius Barilis opus c[oe]lo non penicello excussi. Anno. D., 1502." He works in a window opening with panelled framing, and behind him a tree spreads across a courtyard against the sky, upon a branch of which a parrot is seated. Von Tschudi says that the panel is about 2 feet 10 inches long by 1 foot 9-1/2 inches broad, and that the woods employed are pear and walnut, oak, maple, box, mahogany, palisander, and one as hard as birch in texture. A full description of it as it originally was is appended in a note taken from Della Valle's "Lettere Senese." It was valued by Fra Giovanni of Verona at 3990 lire. While this work was in progress he made the benches and other wood-work in the Cathedral Library for Francesco Piccolomini at a cost of 2000 lire, and did other work for private persons. Another great work was the choir of the Certosa of Maggiano, which has entirely disappeared. He was not only intarsiatore, but was much employed by the commune on architectural works. In 1484 he was sent to rebuild the bridge of Buonconvento, broken by a flood of the Ombrone, and in the same year, with Francesco di Giorgio, and on equal terms with him, restored the bridge of Macereto. In 1495 he was asked to make designs and models for a bastion to be erected over against the bridge of Valiano, taken by the Florentines. Owing to a bad guard being kept this was taken, and between 1498 and 1500 Barili was sent again to rebuild it larger and stronger. Finally, in 1503, he was sent to make designs and models of the new walls for the fortifications of Talamone, an important coast town. In his intarsias he was helped by his nephew, Giovanni, whose salary, when working for Leo X. at Rome, was five ducats a month. He died in 1516.[2]