Chapter 23

After this, to provide an ascent to this Hall, Cronaca, with the advice of the same masters, made a great staircase six braccia wide and curving in two flights, richly adorned with grey-stone, and with Corinthian pilasters and capitals, double cornices, and arches, of the same stone; and with barrel-shaped vaulting, and windows with columns of variegated marble and carved marble capitals. But although this work was much extolled, it would have won even greater praise if the staircase had not turned out inconvenient and too steep; for it is a sure fact that it could have been made more gentle, as has been done in the time of Duke Cosimo, within the same amount of space and no more, in the new staircase made, opposite to that of Cronaca, by Giorgio Vasari, which is so gentle in ascent and so convenient, that going up it is almost like walking on the level. This has been the work of the aforesaid Lord Duke Cosimo, who, being a man of most happy genius and most profound judgment both in the government of his people and in all other things, grudges neither expense nor anything else in his desire to make all the fortifications and other buildings, both public and private, correspond to the greatness of his own mind, and not less beautiful than useful or less useful than beautiful.

His Excellency, then, reflecting that the body of this Hall is the largest, the most magnificent, and the most beautiful in all Europe, has resolved to have it improved in such parts as are defective, and to have it made in every other part more ornate than any other structure in Italy, by the design and hand of Giorgio Vasari of Arezzo. And thus, the walls having been raised twelve braccia above their former height, in such a manner that the height from the pavement to the ceiling is thirty-two braccia, the roof-truss made by Cronaca to support the roof has been restored and replaced on high after a new arrangement; and the old ceiling, which was simple and commonplace, and by no means worthy of that Hall, has been remodelled with a system of compartments of great variety, rich in mouldings, full of carvings, and all overlaid with gold, together with thirty-nine painted panels, square, round, and octagonal, the greater number of which are each nine braccia in extent, and some even more, and all containing scenes painted in oils, with the largest figures seven or eight braccia high. In these stories, commencing with the very beginning, may be seen the rise, the honours, the victories, and the glorious deeds of the city and state of Florence, and in particular the wars of Pisa and Siena, together with an endless number of other things, which it would take too long to describe. And on each of the side walls there has been left a convenient space of sixty braccia, in each of which are to be painted three scenes in keeping with the ceiling and embracing the space of seven pictures on either side, which represent events from the wars of Pisa and Siena. These compartments on the walls are so large, that no greater spaces for the painting of historical pictures have ever been seen either by the ancients or by the moderns. And the said compartments are adorned by some vast stone ornaments which meet at the ends of the Hall, at one side of which, namely, the northern side, the Lord Duke has caused to be finished a work begun and carried nearly to completion by Baccio Bandinelli, that is, a facade filled with columns and pilasters and with niches containing statues of marble; which space is to serve as a public audience chamber, as will be related in the proper place. On the other side, opposite to this, there is to be, in a similar facade that is being made by the sculptor and architect Ammanati, a fountain to throw up water in the Hall, with a rich and most beautiful adornment of columns and statues of marble and bronze. Nor will I forbear to say that this Hall, in consequence of the roof having been raised twelve braccia, has gained not only height, but also an ample supply of windows, since, in addition to the others that are higher up, in each of those end walls are to be made three large windows, which will be over the level of a corridor that is to form a loggia within the Hall and to extend on one side over the work of Bandinelli, whence there will be revealed a most beautiful view of the whole Piazza. But of this Hall, and of the other improvements that have been or are being made in the Palace, there will be a longer account in another place. This only let me say at present, that if Cronaca and those other ingenious craftsmen who gave the design for the Hall could return to life, in my belief they would not recognize either the Palace, or the Hall, or any other thing that is there. The Hall, namely, that part which is rectangular, without counting the works of Bandinelli and Ammanati, is ninety braccia in length and thirty-eight braccia in breadth.

But returning to Cronaca: in the last years of his life there entered into his head such a frenzy for the cause of Fra Girolamo Savonarola, that he would talk of nothing else but that. Living thus, in the end he died after a passing long illness, at the age of fifty-five, and was buried honourably in the Church of S. Ambrogio at Florence, in the year 1509; and after no long space of time the following epitaph was written for him by Messer Giovan Battista Strozzi:

CRONACA VIVO, E MILLE E MILLE ANNI E MILLE ANCORA, MERCE DE' VIVI MIEI PALAZZI E TEMPI, BELLA ROMA, VIVRA L' ALMA MIA FLORA.

Cronaca had a brother called Matteo, who gave himself to sculpture and worked under the sculptor Antonio Rossellino; but although he was a man of good and beautiful intelligence, a fine draughtsman, and well practised in working marble, he left no finished work, because, being snatched from the world by death at the age of nineteen, he was not able to accomplish that which was expected from him by all who knew him.

FOOTNOTE:

[28] Earnest-money.

[29] Room in which the beans used in voting for the election of magistrates were counted.

[30] Office of those who had charge of the Specchio, the book in which were inscribed the names of such citizens as were in arrears with their taxes.

DOMENICO PULIGO

LIFE OF DOMENICO PULIGO

PAINTER OF FLORENCE

It is a marvellous and almost incredible thing, that many followers of the art of painting, through continual practice and handling of colours, either by an instinct of nature or by the trick of a good manner, acquired without any draughtsmanship or grounding, carry their works to such thorough completion, and very often contrive to make them so good, that, although the craftsmen themselves may be none of the rarest, their pictures force the world to extol them and to hold them in supreme veneration. And it has been perceived in the past from many examples, and in many of our painters, that the most vivacious and perfect works are produced by those who have a beautiful manner from nature, although they must exercise it with continual study and labour; while this gift of nature has such power, that even if they neglect or abandon the studies of art, and pay attention to nothing save the mere practice of painting and of handling colours with a grace infused in them by nature, at the first glance their works have the appearance of displaying all the excellent and marvellous qualities that are wont to appear after a close inspection in the works of those masters whom we hold to be the best. And that this is true, is demonstrated to us in our own day by experience, from the works of Domenico Puligo, a painter of Florence; wherein what has been said above may be clearly recognized by one who has knowledge of the matters of art.

While Ridolfo, the son of Domenico Ghirlandajo, was executing a number of works in painting at Florence, as will be related, he followed his father's habit of always keeping many young men painting in his workshop: which was the reason that not a few of them, through competing one with another, became very good masters, some at making portraits from life, some at working in fresco, others in distemper, and others at painting readily on cloth. Making these lads execute pictures, panels, and canvases, in the course of a few years Ridolfo, with great profit for himself, sent an endless number of these to England, to Germany, and to Spain. Baccio Gotti and Toto del Nunziata, disciples of Ridolfo, were summoned, one to France by King Francis, and the other to England by the King of that country, each of whom invited them after having seen some of their work. Two other disciples of the same master remained with him, working under him for many years, because, although they had many invitations into Spain and Hungary from merchants and others, they were never induced either by promises or by money to tear themselves away from the delights of their country, in which they had more work to do than they were able to execute. One of these two was Antonio del Ceraiuolo, a Florentine, who, having been many years with Lorenzo di Credi, had learnt from him, above all, to draw so well from nature, that with supreme facility he gave his portraits an extraordinary likeness to the life, although otherwise he was no great draughtsman. And I have seen some heads portrayed from life by his hand, which, although they have, for example, the nose crooked, one lip small and the other large, and other suchlike deformities, nevertheless resemble the life, through his having well caught the expression of the subject; whereas, on the other hand, many excellent masters have made pictures and portraits of absolute perfection with regard to art, but with no resemblance whatever to those that they are supposed to represent. And to tell the truth, he who executes portraits must contrive, without thinking of what is looked for in a perfect figure, to make them like those for whom they are intended. When portraits are like and also beautiful, then may they be called rare works, and their authors truly excellent craftsmen. This Antonio, then, besides many portraits, executed a number of panel-pictures in Florence; but for the sake of brevity I will make mention only of two. One of these, wherein he painted a Crucifixion, with S. Mary Magdalene and S. Francis, is in S. Jacopo tra Fossi, on the Canto degli Alberti; and in the other, which is in the Nunziata, is a S. Michael who is weighing souls.

The other of the two aforesaid disciples was Domenico Puligo, who was more excellent in draughtsmanship and more pleasing and gracious in colouring than any of the others mentioned above. He, considering that his method of painting with softness, without overloading his works with colour or making them hard, but causing the distances to recede little by little as though veiled with a kind of mist, gave his pictures both relief and grace, and that although the outlines of the figures that he made were lost in such a way that his errors were concealed and hidden from view in the dark grounds into which the figures merged, nevertheless his colouring and the beautiful expressions of his heads made his works pleasing, always kept to the same method of working and to the same manner, which caused him to be held in esteem as long as he lived. But omitting to give an account of the pictures and portraits that he made while in the workshop of Ridolfo, some of which were sent abroad and some remained in the city, I shall speak only of those which he painted when he was rather the friend and rival of Ridolfo than his disciple, and of those that he executed when he was so much the friend of Andrea del Sarto, that nothing was more dear to him than to see that master in his workshop, in order to learn from him, showing him his works and asking his opinion of them, so as to avoid such errors and defects as those men often fall into who do not show their work to any other craftsman, but trust so much in their own judgment that they would rather incur the censure of all the world when those works are finished, than correct them by means of the suggestions of loving friends.

One of the first things that Domenico executed was a very beautiful picture of Our Lady for Messer Agnolo della Stufa, who has it in his Abbey of Capalona in the district of Arezzo, and holds it very dear for the great diligence of its execution and the beauty of its colouring. He painted another picture of Our Lady, no less beautiful than that one, for Messer Agnolo Niccolini, now Archbishop of Pisa and a Cardinal, who keeps it in his house on the Canto de' Pazzi in Florence; and likewise another, of equal size and excellence, which is now in the possession of Filippo dell' Antella, at Florence. In another, which is about three braccia in height, Domenico made a full-length Madonna with the Child between her knees, a little S. John, and another head; and this picture, which is held to be one of the best works that he executed, since there is no sweeter colouring to be seen, is at the present day in the possession of Messer Filippo Spini, Treasurer to the most Illustrious Prince of Florence, and a gentleman of magnificent spirit, who takes much delight in works of painting.

Among other portraits that Domenico made from the life, which are all beautiful and also good likenesses, the most beautiful is the one which he painted of Monsignore Messer Piero Carnesecchi, at that time a marvellously handsome youth, for whom he also made some other pictures, all very beautiful and executed with much diligence. In like manner, he portrayed in a picture the Florentine Barbara, a famous and most lovely courtesan of that day, much beloved by many no less for her fine culture than for her beauty, and particularly because she was an excellent musician and sang divinely. But the best work that Domenico ever executed was a large picture wherein he made a life-size Madonna, with some angels and little boys, and a S. Bernard who is writing; which picture is now in the hands of Giovanni Gualberto del Giocondo, and of his brother Messer Niccolo, a Canon of S. Lorenzo in Florence.

The same master made many other pictures, which are dispersed among the houses of citizens, and in particular some wherein may be seen a half-length figure of Cleopatra, causing an asp to bite her on the breast, and others wherein is the Roman Lucretia killing herself with a dagger. There are also some very beautiful portraits from life and pictures by the same hand at the Porta a Pinti, in the house of Giulio Scali, a man whose judgment is as fine in the matters of our arts as it is in those of every other most noble and most honourable profession. Domenico executed for Francesco del Giocondo, in a panel for his chapel in the great tribune of the Church of the Servi at Florence, a S. Francis who is receiving the Stigmata; which work is very sweet and soft in colouring, and wrought with much diligence. In the Church of Cestello, round the Tabernacle of the Sacrament, he painted two angels in fresco, and on the panel of a chapel in the same church he made a Madonna with her Son in her arms, S. John the Baptist, S. Bernard, and other saints. And since it appeared to the monks of that place that he had acquitted himself very well in those works, they caused him to paint in a cloister of their Abbey of Settimo, without Florence, the Visions of Count Ugo, who built seven abbeys. And no long time after, Puligo painted, in a shrine at the corner of the Via Mozza da S. Catarina, a Madonna standing, with her Son in her arms marrying S. Catherine, and a figure of S. Peter Martyr. For a Company in the township of Anghiari he executed a Deposition from the Cross, which may be numbered among his best works.

But since it was his profession to attend rather to pictures of Our Lady, portraits, and other heads, than to great works, he gave up almost all his time to such things. Now if he had devoted himself not so much to the pleasures of the world, as he did, and more to the labours of art, there is no doubt that he would have made great proficience in painting, and especially as Andrea del Sarto, who was much his friend, assisted him on many occasions both with advice and with drawings; for which reason many of his works reveal a draughtsmanship as fine as the good and beautiful manner of the colouring. But the circumstance that Domenico was unwilling to endure much fatigue, and accustomed to labour rather in order to get through work and make money than for the sake of fame, prevented him from reaching a greater height. And thus, associating with gay spirits and lovers of good cheer, and with musicians and women, he died at the age of fifty-two, in the year 1527, in the pursuit of a love-affair, having caught the plague at the house of his mistress.

Colour was handled by him in so good and harmonious a manner, that it is for that reason, rather than for any other, that he deserves praise. Among his disciples was Domenico Beceri of Florence, who, giving a high finish to his colouring, executed his works in an excellent manner.

INDEX

INDEX OF NAMES

OF THE CRAFTSMEN MENTIONED IN VOLUME IV

Abbot of S. Clemente (Don Bartolommeo della Gatta), 41, 82, 216, 217

Agnolo, Baccio d', 101, 204, 267, 270

Agnolo Gaddi, 52, 54

Agostino Busto, 60

Albertinelli, Biagio di Bindo, 165

Albertinelli, Mariotto, _Life_, 165-171. 151, 154

Albrecht Duerer, 232

Aldigieri (Altichiero) da Zevio, 51, 54, 55

Alessandro Filipepi (Sandro Botticelli, or Sandro di Botticello), 3, 4, 82

Alessandro Moretto, 60

Alesso Baldovinetti, 82

Alonzo Berughetta, 8

Alunno, Niccolo, 18, 19

Ammanati, 274

Andrea Contucci (Andrea Sansovino, or Andrea dal Monte Sansovino), 5, 144, 186, 223, 270

Andrea dal Castagno (Andrea degl' Impiccati), 82

Andrea dal Monte Sansovino (Andrea Sansovino, or Andrea Contucci), 5, 144, 186, 223, 270

Andrea degl' Impiccati (Andrea dal Castagno), 82

Andrea del Gobbo, 122

Andrea del Sarto, 83, 129, 134, 281, 283

Andrea di Cosimo, 129

Andrea Luigi (L'Ingegno), 47

Andrea Mantegna, 24, 55, 82

Andrea Sansovino (Andrea Contucci, or Andrea dal Monte Sansovino), 5, 144, 186, 223, 270

Andrea Verrocchio, 35, 39, 81, 90, 92, 112

Angelico, Fra (Fra Giovanni da Fiesole), 73, 154, 185

Angelo, Battista d', 61

Antonio (Antoniasso), 6, 7

Antonio da Correggio, _Life_, 117-122. 83, 125

Antonio da San Gallo, _Life_, 191-205. 145, 254

Antonio del Ceraiuolo, 280

Antonio di Giorgio, 36

Antonio Filarete, 56

Antonio Montecavallo, 140

Antonio Pollaiuolo, 4, 81, 265

Antonio Rossellino, 275

Apelles, 82, 83, 105

Arezzo, Niccolo d', 55

Aristotile da San Gallo, 212

Avanzi, Jacopo (Jacopo Davanzo), 51, 55

Bacchiaccha, Il (Francesco), 46

Baccio Bandinelli, 204, 274

Baccio d' Agnolo, 101, 204, 267, 270

Baccio da Montelupo, 186

Baccio della Porta (Fra Bartolommeo di San Marco), _Life_, 151-162. 82, 151-162, 165-167, 215, 244, 272

Baccio Gotti, 280

Baccio Ubertino, 46

Baldassarre Peruzzi, 145, 146, 200

Baldovinetti, Alesso, 82

Bandinelli, Baccio, 204, 274

Barile, Gian, 238

Bartolommeo, Fra (Fra Carnovale da Urbino), 138

Bartolommeo Clemente of Reggio, 60

Bartolommeo della Gatta, Don (Abbot of S. Clemente), 41, 82, 216, 217

Bartolommeo di San Marco, Fra (Baccio della Porta), _Life_, 151-162. 82, 151-162, 165-167, 215, 244, 272

Bartolommeo Montagna, 52, 60

Bartolommeo Vivarini, 52, 59

Basaiti, Marco (Il Bassiti, or Marco Basarini), 52, 58

Bastiani, Lazzaro (Sebastiano Scarpaccia, or Lazzaro Scarpaccia), 52, 57, 58

Bastiano da Monte Carlo, 179

Battista Borro, 262

Battista d' Angelo, 61

Baviera, 232, 233

Bazzi, Giovanni Antonio (Sodoma), 72, 218

Beceri, Domenico, 283

Bellini, Gentile, 57, 59, 109

Bellini, Giovanni, 57, 58, 82, 109

Bellini, Vittore (Belliniano), 52, 59, 60

Benedetto Buglioni, 155

Benedetto Buonfiglio, 17, 18

Benedetto (Giovan Battista) Caporali, 48, 75, 76

Benedetto Cianfanini, 162

Benedetto da Maiano, 36, 151, 266, 267

Benedetto da Rovezzano, 155

Benedetto Diana, 52, 60

Benedetto Spadari, 262

Bernardino da Trevio, 138

Bernardino Pinturicchio, _Life_, 13-19. 46, 65, 211, 212

Bertoldo, 185

Berughetta, Alonzo, 8

Biagio di Bindo Albertinelli, 165

Bianco, Simon, 60

Bologna, Il, 237

Bolognese, Marc' Antonio, 232, 233

Boltraffio, Giovanni Antonio, 105

Bonsignori, Francesco, 60

Borgo a San Sepolcro, Piero dal (Piero della Francesca), 71, 82, 216

Borro, Battista, 262

Botticelli, Sandro (Alessandro Filipepi, or Sandro di Botticello), 3, 4, 82

Bramante da Urbino, _Life_, 137-148. 199-202, 216, 217, 223, 232, 237, 254

Bramantino, 217

Bresciano, Vincenzio (Vincenzio Zoppa or Foppa), 51, 52, 56

Bronzino, 179

Brunelleschi, Filippo (Filippo di Ser Brunellesco), 137, 185, 266

Bugiardini, Giuliano, 154, 161, 170, 186

Buglioni, Benedetto, 155

Buonarroti, Michelagnolo, 41, 43, 48, 65, 66, 74, 84, 85, 101, 104, 145, 157, 186, 187, 199, 201, 204, 209, 212, 215, 223, 224, 242-245, 259, 270

Buonconsigli, Giovanni, 52, 60

Buonfiglio, Benedetto, 17, 18

Busto, Agostino, 60

Cadore, Tiziano da, 114

Campagnola, Girolamo, 51, 55, 56

Campagnola, Giulio, 51, 56, 57

Caparra, Il (Niccolo Grosso), 268, 269

Caporali, Benedetto (Giovan Battista), 48, 75, 76

Caporali, Giulio, 48

Caradosso, 23, 144

Caravaggio, Polidoro da, 83, 237

Carnovale da Urbino, Fra (Fra Bartolommeo), 138

Caroto, Francesco, 60

Carpaccio (Scarpaccia), Vittore, _Life_, 51-61

Carpi, Ugo da, 233

Cartoni, Niccolo (Niccolo Zoccolo), 9, 10

Castagno, Andrea dal (Andrea degl' Impiccati), 82

Castel Bolognese, Giovanni da, 111

Castel della Pieve, Pietro da (Pietro Vannucci, or Pietro Perugino), _Life_, 33-48. 13, 15, 18, 33-48, 82, 159, 169, 210-212, 236, 242, 243

Castelfranco, Giorgione da, _Life_, 109-114. 82, 125

Catena, Vincenzio, 52, 58

Cecchino del Frate, 162

Ceraiuolo, Antonio del, 280

Cesare Cesariano, 138

Cianfanini, Benedetto, 162

Cimabue, Giovanni, 77

Claudio, Maestro, 254, 255

Conigliano, Giovan Battista da, 52, 58

Contucci, Andrea (Andrea Sansovino, or Andrea dal Monte Sansovino), 5, 144, 186, 223, 270

Cordegliaghi, Giovanetto, 52, 58, 59

Correggio, Antonio da, _Life_, 117-122. 83, 125

Cortona, Luca da (Luca Signorelli), _Life_, 71-76. 82, 216, 261

Cosimo, Andrea di, 129

Cosimo, Piero di, _Life_, 125-134

Cosimo Rosselli, 82, 125, 126, 151, 165

Credi, Lorenzo di, 153, 186, 280

Cristofano, 55

Cronaca, Il (Simone, or Simone del Pollaiuolo), _Life_, 265-275. 101

Davanzo, Jacopo (Jacopo Avanzi), 51, 55

Davanzo, Jacopo (of Milan), 60

Diamante, Fra, 3

Diana, Benedetto, 52, 60

Domenico Beceri, 283

Domenico di Paris, 47

Domenico Ghirlandajo, 36, 65, 82, 279

Domenico Pecori, 257

Domenico Puligo, _Life_, 279-283

Don Bartolommeo della Gatta (Abbot of S. Clemente), 41, 82, 216, 217

Donato (Donatello), 52, 152, 185

Duerer, Albrecht, 232

Ercole Ferrarese (Ercole da Ferrara), 82

Eusebio San Giorgio, 47

Fabiano di Stagio Sassoli, 256, 257

Ferrara, Stefano da, 56

Ferrarese, Ercole (Ercole da Ferrara), 82

Ferrarese, Galasso (Galasso Galassi), 55

Fiesole, Fra Giovanni da (Fra Angelico), 73, 154, 185

Filarete, Antonio, 56

Filipepi, Alessandro (Sandro Botticelli, or Sandro di Botticello), 3, 4, 82

Filippo Brunelleschi (Filippo di Ser Brunellesco), 137, 185, 266

Filippo Lippi (Filippino), _Life_, 3-10. 44, 82, 99, 100, 176, 177

Filippo Lippi, Fra, 3, 5, 9, 185

Fivizzano, 29

Flore, Jacobello de, 51, 55

Foppa, Vincenzio (Vincenzio Zoppa, or Vincenzio Bresciano), 51, 52, 56

Fra Angelico (Fra Giovanni da Fiesole), 73, 154, 185

Fra Bartolommeo (Fra Carnovale da Urbino), 138

Fra Bartolommeo di San Marco (Baccio della Porta), _Life_, 151-162. 82, 151-162, 165-167, 215, 244, 272

Fra Carnovale da Urbino (Fra Bartolommeo), 138.

Fra Diamante, 3